Hockey History

Hamilton and the 1931 Allan Cup – Chapter 3

Next in line for the Hamilton Tigers in their quest for the 1931 Allan Cup were the Sudbury Wolves, a team that recently won the Northern Ontario Hockey Association title after defeating the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds.

But the pre-series talk was highly in favor of Hamilton for the two-game total-goal match-up. Even King Clancy was giving the nod to the Tigers:

“That Hamilton’s Senior OHA team will win Eastern Canada amateur hockey laurels this season is the opinion of Frank “King” Clancy, star defenseman with Toronto’s Maple Leafs in the NHL,” noted a report in the Hamilton Spectator. “The Toronto star replied he thought the team should mop up in Eastern Canada at least.”

The Spec editorialized its sentiment in another article.

“Hamilton’s warriors are hoping they will be able to take a lead of the game at Toronto. They usually travel pretty well on the ice at the Arena gardens.”

Well, the Tigers traveled in style for the first game on that Saturday afternoon in March, shutting out Sudbury 5-0.

“Hamilton’s Allan Cup aspirants established themselves as overwhelming favorites to pass into the next round of the playdowns when they defeated the Sudbury Wolves, 5 to 0, at the Toronto Arena Saturday afternoon,” said the Spec report of the game.

“The Wolves failed to show anything to make the Bengals nervous, although their aggressiveness and determined attacking brought them mighty close to tallies at times.”

Kane scored the lone Hamilton goal in the first period, and then the team let loose with three goals, one from Louch, one from McGowan, and another from Kane. Louch collected his second of the game in the third period.

The newspaper account was quite enthusiastic about the play of Harry Kane:

“Another outstanding figure in yellow and black was ‘Hurry’ Kane who, on familiar Toronto ice, turned on full speed frequently to dazzle the losers. Time after time he raced through the entire Sudbury team by himself, showing masterly stick handling.”

Sudbury showed some grit for the second game, and key Tiger players were taken out of action, but Hamilton won this contest 2-1 and the overall series with a 7-1 tally.
Right-winger Louch was heavily boarded in the third period and had to be replaced, but not before he scored in the second marker, and was a real asset to the team up to the point of his collision.

“Until he sustained his injuries, Bill Louch was unquestionably the standout on the winning team,” noted the Spectator. “Louch drifted the disc from all angles and when properly set the pellet traveled like a dumb-dumb-bullet.”

Red Farrell, right defenseman for the Tigers, was also taken out of the game with a leg injury, and team Manager Del Hannigan had to mix up his usual line-up. McGowan, the team’s center, played either right wing or defense, partnering with defensive regulars Harry Kane and Gordon McKay. Roy Litzen was also in the game more than usual, and left-winger Hahoe and substitute Schwab took center-ice duties.

Kane scored the other Hamilton goal, in the first period in front of the hometown fans at the Barton Street Arena.

Now Hamilton was ready for the next round, which would be either the Montcalms or the Rideaus from Ottawa. The Rideaus won their two-game playdown 3-2 over the Montcalms, and the stage was set for the Eastern Canada Semi-finals. The Maritime and Quebec titles had also yet to be decided, but the Tigers were taking it one step at a time.

Next: Hamilton and Ottawa, evenly-matched, play an extra game to decide the victor.

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