Eliot's head?

[Al DeFlorio]

I don't recall the specifics but sometime back in the 50s--I think it was a Rangers-Canadiens game but I could be wrong--one of the two teams found itself in a position where, if it didn't win the game, it had to score some number of goals in the last game of the season to win some kind of tiebreaker in order to get into the Stanley Cup playoffs.  Having fallen behind badly after two periods, they played most or all of the last period without a goalie trying to score enough goals to qualify.  Didn't work, as I recall.



Post Edited (05-09-03 14:35)

[Greg Berge]

Since we've drifted a bit from comebacks to empty nets, the WHL used to have an absurd round-robin qualifier for the Memorial Cup.  On at least one occasion, two teams mutually pulled their goaltenders in the closing minutes of a tied game because a tie would have eliminated both, whereas a win would have advanced one.  IIRC, it didn't matter because neither team got a shot on a goal.



Post Edited (05-09-03 14:21)

[jkahn]

This is strictly from memory, so it's possible that the scores might be off a little, but I think it's pretty damn close to accurate.  Going into the last day of the '69-'70 season, the Rangers were two points behind Montreal for the last playoff spot, and also needed to outscore the Habs by 5 goals to win the tiebreaker.  The Rangers beat the Wings 9-3 in an afternoon game.  In a night game which I listened to on the radio, the Canadiens fell behind the Hawks 5-2 somewhere in the third period with plenty of time left, at which point they knew the needed three more goals to make the playoffs regardless of the result of the game.  They basically played the a good portion of final period without a goalie and lost 10-2, allowing five ENG's.



Post Edited (05-09-03 18:00)

[jkahn]

There was a game we lost to Brown in the '70's in which we pulled the goalie down 3 goalies and scored twice and almost got the tying goal.  It was one of the years when PBS was doing some Saturday afternoon TV games.  I've also seen teams tie it from two down several times in the pros.  There was one season in the mid or late '70's (I was living in New Hampshire then) when the Bruins got tied twice like that.  At least one of them was against the Flyers, maybe both.

[Jim Hyla]

Well, to keep this new thread, 1989 we went to Clarkson for 1/4 finals. That was in the days of the 10 min. mini game to decide the winner ,if the first two games were split.

We won the first 5-3, and the second was 0-0 in the third when Clarkson pulled their goalie to try and win. Neither of us could score, but it was the most exciting 60 minutes of 0-0 I can remember. With the mini game they did not play overtime.

[Greg Berge]

I was not at that 0-0 Potsdam game.  Is it correct that with the Clarkson net empty Cornell hit the post, then Clarkson collected the puck and set up an excellent scoring chance in the final seconds?

[Jim Hyla]

I don't remember if it hit the post, but excellent chance,yes.

[gtsully]

I remember a Bruins/Stars game in Dallas, sometime in the mid-nineties before the Stars were good, where not only did the Stars pull the goalie and score twice to tie the game, but scored again in regulation to win it once the goalie was back in.  Ah, yet another devastating early-season loss to tell the fans "this isn't the year."

[Greg Berge]

BTW, if anybody would like to help collect box scores for some of these classic games, I would appreciate it.  I have all the ECAC finals we have ever appeared in, and I have all the games since 1996.  In addition, I got all the games from my students years (82-86) a few years back by copying them out from microfiche of the Ithaca Journal in Olin Library.

If nothing else, I would love to have box scores of all the NCAA Frozen Four games we have ever been in, the two Providence games 78 and 79, and the 91 Michigan Miracle.  Unfortunately I'm not in a position to find these anywhere but the internet, and so far I have not found them.



Post Edited (05-12-03 17:13)

[Richard Stott \'70]

I'll check my archives.  I'm pretty sure I have the boxes of all of Cornell's final four games.

[Greg Berge]

That would be wonderful Richard; thanks.

[Give My Regards]

Jim Hyla '67 wrote:
We won the first 5-3, and the second was 0-0 in the third when Clarkson pulled their goalie to try and win. Neither of us could score, but it was the most exciting 60 minutes of 0-0 I can remember. With the mini game they did not play overtime.

What made this game really nerve-wracking is that Dan Ratushny got caught with an illegal stick with about 40 seconds left (see, other coaches do it!), giving Clarkson a power play to end the game.  That's when the Knights pulled their goalie, to set up a 6-on-4.

I always felt a little bad for Clarkson goalie Jason Poirier.  I'm not sure how much he played with Big Red nemesis John Fletcher around, but when Fletcher imploded in the first game of the series and allowed four goals in two periods, Poirier took over to start the third.  Except for being pulled at the end of each game (Cornell's fifth goal was an empty-netter), Poirier played the rest of the way, didn't allow a goal... and then went home.

[Jim Hyla]

Bill, thanks for reminding me about the penalty on Ratushny. I had forgotten. Jogging one's memory, for us old folks, is a good thing.

[jkahn]

[Q]
Jim H. wrote:

Does anyone remember when they started to reseed the teams after each round of the playoffs?

Al D. wrote:

1969 was not reseeded. 1973 was. The years between are indeterminate looking back on the results. I don't recall when the change was made.
[/Q]

There would have been reseeding in '72 for sure.  I remember hanging around the radio broadcasters after the quarterfinal waiting for the Harvard-Clarkson overtime score, as that impacted whether we play UNH or  Clarkson.  My guess is that the reseeding system started in '71, as I remember an early discussion about it with a '71 grad who wasn't there in '72 - but it was definitely '71 + or - 1 year.



Post Edited (05-14-03 19:49)