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The Hamilton Red Wings and the 1962 Memorial Cup
Chapter Four Hamilton trips at first, but then steamrolls over St. Michael’s Majors The Hamilton Red Wings were on to their next opponent in their quest for the 1962 Memorial Cup, and during the first week of April of that year the team met up with the St. Michaels Majors for the first game in the best-of-seven series. But the Wings were somewhat taken aback, losing the first game 2-0 to St. Mike’s, especially after beating their previous opponents, the Niagara Falls Flyers, in four straight games. Hamilton was not in the game for the opener, and was embarrassed by their performance, especially with a rookie goalie called in off the bench. “We made too many mistakes,” said Pit Martin. “They (Toronto) put a man at center ice to wait for a breakaway and that’s what killed us.” Hamilton Coach Eddie Bush was not amused at all. “Can you imagine a rookie goalkeeper humiliating our so-called stars the way that fellow did,” he said after the game. “We didn’t get any hockey from at least five of our players. We’re not in shape. If we can’t skate the length of the ice here (Hamilton Forum), how can we do it in Toronto?” Regular St. Mike’s goalie Gary Smith started the game, but pulled a leg muscle, and Coach Father Ted Flanagan called in Bill McNab from the bench. There was also talk about how St. Mike’s, which had won the 1961 Memorial Cup, had little opposition the previous season. Bush said it would be impossible to compare the previous team from the 1961-62 squad as there was little competition in the Metro League, and the Marlboros that they had just played were a poor team. But for the next game, held in Toronto, the Wings got their revenge, with a 5-1 victory. Defenseman Ron Harris scored the first Hamilton marker in almost 90 minutes of total play to start things off in the second game. Bryan Campbell, Wayne Rivers, Earl Heiskala, and Lowell MacDonald scored the other Hamilton goals. The Wings were a different team for this game, dominating the game play and performing with ease and grace. Hamilton goalie Buddy Blom said after the game he had a pretty easy night. “I only had four or five tough shots,” he said, with less that 10 saves on the night. Then Hamilton took a 2-1 series lead with a 5-0 blanking at the Forum for the next game. Hamilton applied pressure at the St. Mike’s net, and goalie Smith had a busy night with the Wings, stopping 42 shots, while Hamilton’s Blom was called on only 18 times. To show the shutout was no fluke for Hamilton, the team crushed St. Mike’s 10-3 in Toronto for the next contest to take a 3-1 series advantage. The Majors were outclassed throughout the game, and the Toronto critics were put silent over the playing of Hamilton. Leading the Hamilton scoring were Martin, Rivers, and Menard, each with a pair of goals, while MacDonald, Heiskala, Bob Dean, and Henderson added singles. Once again, Blom had an easy night in net, making six saves, while his opponent at the other end of the rink, Smith, made 17 saves. The game was a penalty-filled affair with 76 minutes in lockup time to the teams. On Sunday afternoon, April 15, Hamilton became one step closer to the Memorial Cup with a 5-3 win over St. Mike’s and a solid 4-1 series winning lead. Over 3,600 fans witnessed the decisive victory at the Forum, the victory that gave the Red Wings the Ontario Junior A championship. It was an action-packed third period that had the fans up off their seats as the Majors scored twice to make the score 4-3 in favor of Hamilton. But Pit Martin scored his second of the game to give the fans the chance to breathe. While the first period was wild and wooly with nine penalties handed out, the teams settled down in the second to play hockey. By the time most of the public read or heard about the Hamilton victory, the team was on the train to Quebec City to start the best-of-seven Memorial Cup semi-finals against the Quebec Citadels. NEXT: Hamilton sight-sees and plays some find hockey in Quebec City
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