The Boston Bruins went into Chicago last night and despite stellar goaltending by rookie Bernie Parent, dropped a 4-2 decision to the Black Hawks. In the other National Hockey League game, the Toronto Maple Leafs scored twice in the third period to come back and tie the New York Rangers 2-2 in New York.

Parent Stands Out Despite Injury

In Chicago, Parent made 39 saves in a scintillating performance. The 20-year-old freshman give the impression he has ice water in his veins, never being rattled or upset by any turn of events. The Hawks could easily have turned this one into an embarrassing rout had Boston received the kind of goalkeeping it had the past few seasons.

Parent made a number of spectacular saves, and his work was even more notable due to a right-hand injury he sustained on a Bobby Hull shot from close in during the first period.

Golden Jet Returns

Bobby Hull returned to Hawks lineup and garnered 3 assists.

Superstar Hull returned to the Black Hawk lineup and although he failed to notch a goal himself, he proved he can set them up with three assists. The win improved Chicago’s home record to five wins, five losses and a tie.

Boston took an early 1-0 lead just past the five-minute mark of the first frame. Murray Oliver  picked up his second of the season when he cashed in a pass from behind the net by Johnny Bucyk.

Ken Wharram tied the score at 18:52 when he took advantage of a misplay by defenseman Dallas Smith and beat Parent with a perfectly placed shot from about 15 feet.

The Hawks went up 3-1 in the second on goals by Doug Mohns and Doug Jarrett. Bucyk got one goal back with just under three minutes left in the middle frame, but that was as close as the Bruins would get. Bucyk’s goal was a bit on the flukey side, as his pass hit Hawk defenseman Pat Stapleton on the backside and deflected past a surprised Chicago goalie Glenn Hall.

Chico Maki put the game out of reach for Chicago with about three and a half minutes remaining in the game.

Boston was still without their three top defensemen in Leo Boivin, Ted Green and Albert Langlois. Replacing them were minor leaguers Barry Ashbee and Smith, and Ed Westfall, a forward who was moved back to the blue line.

Leafs Rally Ties Up Rangers

For 20 minutes, the New York Rangers looked like one of the best hockey teams on the planet last night. They came out on home ice against the Toronto Maple Leafs and put on a dominating performance. Outshooting the Leafs 19-6 in that first period, they ended the opening frame leading 2-0.

Unfortunately for Rangers, the games are 60 minutes in length, and this club is nowhere near capable of sustaining the kind of pressure they exerted early. After a scoreless second, the Leafs fired a pair of goals in the final 20 minutes to salvage a point on the road.

Bower Kept Leafs in Game

Johnny Bower kept Leafs in the game in early going.

Only the solid work of Toronto goalie Johnny Bower kept the game from becoming a runaway for the Rangers in the first. New York opened the scoring at 7:01 on Jean Ratelle’s sixth of the year. Just over a minute later Earl Ingarfield connected for his sixth and it looked at that point like the rout might be on.

Bower had other ideas, though. He shut the door the rest of the way with a combination of solid positional play and some acrobatics that belied his advanced age.

The teams battled through a wide-open but goalless second, with New York outshooting Toronto 13-11. The Leafs seemed to awaken and began to bump the Rangers at every turn. The increased body contact caused an immediate shift in momentum to the visitors.

The key for the Leafs was a newly formed line of Bob Pulford, Eddie Shack and Orland Kurtenbach. All three players are capable of laying on the muscle and the New Yorkers had no answer for their diligent forechecking.

Ranger Defence Collapsed

Orland Kurtenbach

George Armstrong pulled the Leafs to within one early in the third as the Rangers seemed to play Alphonse and Gaston with the Toronto attack. Frank Mahovlich brought the puck into the Ranger zone and was contained, but inexplicably received the puck back. He threw it into the middle to Dave Keon. Keon was bothered by a Ranger player, but even though he didn’t have full control, he was allowed to send the puck to the right side to Armstrong, who was completely ignored on the play. The Leaf captain waltzed in unencumbered and took his time to beat Ranger goalie Ed Giacomin.

Shack the scored the tying goal at 8:54. He batted in a rebound off a long shot by Bob Baun that Giacomin failed to control. It was Shack’s fifth goal, equalling his total for the entire 1964-65 season. Kurtenbach started the play with a fine rush.

Ranger coach Red Sullivan is at a loss to explain his team’s inability to score goals, but that didn’t stop him from supposing solutions to the problem. Sullivan says he may ban curved stick blades for his forwards.

I’m against them. I almost made them stop using them last season. I gave it serious consideration. It may be like ordering a baseball player to use a different bat, but I’m thinking seriously about it again.

Kurtenbach, a former Ranger, was a standout all night. Armstrong had high praise for the big forward:

That Kurt owned the puck for what seemed minutes on end. I thought the guy had it taped to his stick the way he was prowling out there.

AHL Roundup

Phil Maloney

Portland Buckaroos of the Western Hockey League and Quebec Aces of the American Hockey League skated to a 2-2 overtime tie at Quebec City.

Cliff Schmautz scored both Portland goals while Terry Gray and Ed Hoekstra replied for Quebec.

The Vancouver Canucks of the WHL defeated the AHL Springfield Indians 4-3 in Vancouver. Billy McNeill with two goals led Vancouver. Phil Maloney with the game-winner and Ron Hutchinson added singles. Bill Sweeney, Jim Anderson and Randy Miller were the Indians marksmen.

Jeannot Gilbert score three times in the final 20 minutes to power the Hershey Bears to a 6-4 win over the Cleveland Barons in Cleveland. Other Hershey scorers were Roger DeJordy, Gary Dornhoefer and Gene Ubriaco. For Cleveland it was Tom McCarthy with two, and Bob Courcy with the other. Andre Gill made 43 saves in goal for the Bears.

Notes:

Bill Gadsby

• Boston Bruins GM Hap Emms was at the Toronto – New York game last night, fuelling speculation his team is engaged in trade discussions with one or both teams. Scuttlebutt has Emms trying to pry Eddie Shack away from the Leafs, but the Bruins are woefully weak at centre and could use any number of the Leafs spare parts.
• Detroit Red Wings defenseman Bill Gadsby will undergo surgery tomorrow to remove a cyst behind his right knee. He will be out of action at least a month.
• Howie Young, suspended by the Los Angeles Blades since November 16 for refusing to play, says he is ready to return to the team and play the rest of the season for the amount stipulated in his contract. Young originally said that since he had stopped drinking, he was unable to live on the money he was being paid.
• Juha Widing, a Swedish player in the Saskatchewan Junior League, is the loop’s leading scorer with 34 goals and 22 assists for 56 points.
• Canadiens defenseman J.C. Tremblay will miss two weeks because of a fracture of a facial bone.