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The Hamilton Red Wings and the 1962 Memorial Cup
Chapter Three Red Wings move on after a 4-0 sweep of the Niagara Falls Flyers While the Hamilton Red Wings were ready for their best-of-seven battle with the Niagara Falls Flyers, their next opponent on the road to the 1962 Memorial Cup, pre-game talk was highly in favor of the Flyers, who had defeated the Montreal Junior Canadiens. “Coach Eddie Bush’s Wings are now faced with the chore of battling Hap Emms’ Niagara Falls Flyers, probably the hottest junior team in the country,” mentioned Spectator hockey writer Joe Watkins. “The Flyers have had an impressive record during the past month.” Wings Coach Bush was also taking nothing for granted.
“They’re going to be very tough,” said the Hamilton bench boss. “They have a good team, a fine coach, and it is going to take nothing less than an all-out team effort to beat them,” he added. But all the pre-game hype in favor of Niagara Falls was quickly dismissed as the Wings beat the Flyers 5-3 in the opening round at the Forum. The Flyers became victims of the typical Hamilton game, which was the usual come-from-behind victory. It was 2-1 in favor of Niagara Falls for the start of the third period. John Gofton tied the score at 2-2, the Flyers then jumped ahead with another goal, and Paul Henderson tied up the score at 3-3. Then with seven minutes left, Lowell MacDonald scored to give the Red Wings their first lead of the game. With less than two minutes left, Howie Menard put another Hamilton goal past Flyers’ goalie Wayne Rutledge, who was not happy, tossing the puck out of his net and into the stands. Rutledge was still upset, grabbing Menard the next time the Hamilton captain came skating around his net, getting off with a two-minute penalty. But Menard had the next laugh in the series, scoring the winning goal in a 4-3 victory for Hamilton to take a 2-0 series lead. Playing before a sellout of over 4,000 in Niagara Falls, the teams were tied 1-1 after the first period with a Henderson goal, then Hamilton went ahead 3-2 early in the third thanks to MacDonald and Ron Harris. After Niagara Falls tied the score 3-3, Menard, a Timmins native who would play in the NHL with the Los Angeles Kings and Chicago Blackhawks, gave Hamilton the win at 14:25 in the final period. “The big red machine is rolling again,” said Wings defenseman Bob Wall after the game, which saw a great team effort, as noted by goalie Buddy Blom: “It’s great to be able to stand back there and watch the fellows check the way they did tonight,” said Blom after the game, “It sure gives you a lot of confidence.” For the second game of the weekend, the teams met at the Forum Sunday, March 25, and Hamilton moved within one game of advancing to the next round with a 5-2 win over the Flyers. Power and depth were the keys to the Hamilton victory, as the Wings tallied 43 shots on the Niagara Falls net, 20 alone in the second period. With a 1-1 game going, and a scoreless third period, Hamilton exploded in the second frame to dominate. Earl Heiskala scored the opening Hamilton marker, and teammates Henderson, Menard, Wayne Rivers, and MacDonald scored in the lopsided second period. “I think the Cinderella team lost their slippers,” Coach Bush was quoted as saying after the game. Back in Niagara Falls for the fourth game, Hamilton scored four goals in the first period of a rough and tumble 4-2 game to win four straight and advance to the next round. Scoring at the 1:20 mark of the first period was Hamilton’s Larry Ziliotto, then MacDonald, who eventually went on to an NHL career with the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Los Angeles Kings, scored twice in the opening period. Joe Bujdoso picked up the fourth Hamilton goal. It was all Hamilton needed, as the Flyers, who had nothing to lose, played it that way, and referee Lou Maschio was a busy man, handing out 88 minutes in penalties, including five majors and two misconducts. The Red Wings had won nine games and no setbacks, and were ready to take on their next opponents as the first champions of the revamped OHA Junior A League. The team had a bit of a reprieve as they waited for the Toronto Marlboroughs and the Saint Michaels College Majors to finish their series. And when St. Mikes beat the Marlies, Hamilton would meet up with the Toronto team for their 70th hockey contest of the season. NEXT: The Red Wings go the other way on the QEW to face off with St. Mikes
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