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Hockey HistoryThe 1946 OHA Playoffs – Chapter 8
It was finally here, the day of reckoning. After slugging it out with seven teams, the Hamilton Tigers were getting their shot at hockey immortality as they prepared to face the Calgary Stampeders for the 1946 Allan Cup in Regina. So for the Bengals, they got ready after the long train ride west to play the Stamps in front of 6,000 fans at the Queens City Gardens April 20. The pre-game reports were touting the Tigers, as Tommy Moore reported in the Spectator: “To-night’s the night Hamiltonians have been waiting for and our guess is that every eye and ear will be trained on Regina, where Hamilton’s famous Tigers meet up with Calgary Stampeders in the first game of the Allan Cup finals. “Tigers are confident, says a new report, and the man who wrote it was not kidding for when the Jungle Kings and George Redding left here last Saturday night they had that air of confidence which can only mean one thing – success.” Well the air came out quickly, as Calgary clobbered the Tigers 6 to 2 in the opening game. Calgary showed it was not fooling around, scoring at the 20-second mark of the opening period, and put two more markers past Tiger goalie Art Childs the same period. Johnny Conick opened the Hamilton scoring early in the second period, but Calgary came back with two more goals. Once more the Stamps added to their tally in the third, and Tiger defenseman Laurent responded with a goal in the final frame, but it was a poor showing for the team that had battled so well on its way to the Allan Cup. One factor in the Tigers’ loss was the loss of Dillon Brady, who had been ill previous to the opening game. The stand-out winger dressed for the game, and during his first shift on the ice he was the recipient of a stiff body check, and could not continue. But on the whole, the Tigers were not up to their usual game. “The entire team, with the exception of Childs, lacked cohesion
and drive,” reported the Spec’s Ivan Miller, who covered
the game. “They failed entirely to measure up to any part
of the form that sent them hurtling to the eastern Canada title
with 33 victories against but for losses and, for the first time
during the entire season, they knew the ignominy of trailing by
as many as five goals.” “It was plainly evident the Stampeders had something new to parade to the Bengals. Young and husky, fast of foot and wise in the strategy of play-making, the Bengals’ opponents added durability, a smashing defense that took the starch out of the Tiger attacks with few misses, and used admirable judgment in salting the victory gained in the opening session.” The second game of the series was even worse, as Hamilton succumbed to a 6 to 1 loss, this time playing in their opponents’ hometown, Calgary. While Tiger star Dillon rested in hospital with a severe bout of influenza, his team played as tattered as their uniforms. “A shadow of their former selves as they struggled to regain their stride after a wretched opening performance, Hamilton’s Tigers faded in the late stages of the second Allan Cup battle. The Jungle Kings, champions of eastern Canada, looked anything but champions Saturday night.” Although Hamilton looked better in this game, Calgary continued to take advantage of the Tigers, always in command of the game while Hamilton struggled to pull themselves together. Defenseman Polly Miocinovich took Brady’s spot in the Hamilton line-up, but loose defensive playing, erratic passing, and few scoring opportunities kept the team at bay in the second game of the best-of-seven series. The only Tiger goal came off the stick of Laurent in the second period. Calgary scored once in the first, twice in the second, and three times in the third. Game three was another loss for Hamilton. Played again in Calgary’s Victoria Arena, the Tigers went down three games with a 4 to 3 decision going to the Stamps. The Tigers were up against the wall. “Fighting against elimination, and with desperation lending a needed lift to their ragged play of the first two games, the Bengals dropped a heart-breaking 4-3 verdict to the power-propelled Stamps.” Hamilton Coach Redding changed his line-up with the absence of Brady, as Doug Runion took the wingers’ spot. Conick opened the scoring in the first period, but Calgary responded with two goals. Liscombe and Shillington both scored for Hamilton in the second,
giving the Bengals their first lead in the series, but late in
the period Calgary scored to tie up the contest. “As a result of the loss, Tigers head for Saskatoon for a single game in that city needing a minor miracle to stave off elimination in four straight starts, but the spark that lighted Tigers’ vastly improved play may conceivably stall off the end.” A change of scenery helped the Tigers in the fourth game, as they won in Saskatoon 3 to 1, scoring three times in the first period, but it was Hamilton goaltender Art Childs who was singled out once again for his play: “Childs was figure number one in the smashing victory that prolonged the Canadian championship series, for while the Stampeders never let up and hurled everything in the book at the Hamilton netminder, he kicked everything aside except a lazing open side shot by ‘Bunny’ Dame.” Scoring for Hamilton were Conick, Laurent, and Mason. Perhaps there was hope yet for Hamilton when they returned to Alberta to play in Edmonton. But on the second to last day of April 1946, the hockey season for Hamilton finally ended. Hamilton rallied its strength and prowess, but lost to Calgary 1 to 0. “Tigers outplayed their stalwart opponents from bell to bell,” wrote Miller of the final game. “They played themselves into the ice through the early stages to tie the powerful Stamps into knots. Then, when an undeserved penalty left them shorthanded in the second, and set the stage for the only score of the game, their ill-luck was stretched to the limit as a long shot came from outside the defense that caromed crazily off defenseman Bill Sherry, struck the foot of goaler Art Childs and rolled across the counting line for the tally that was the greatest gift any opposing club had ever been given.” So the Tigers prepared for the long and disappointing trip back east. When they returned to Hamilton, their efforts were fondly remembered. Next: Hamilton pays tribute to its Tigers.
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