This Day in Hockey History – May 20, 1975 – Buffalo Fogs Up the Flyers

Fog, beer, and a bat – oh my. Game 3 of the 1974-75 Stanley Cup finals, held on May 20, turned out to be a wild night in Buffalo.

The Buffalo Sabres had passed through the Chicago Blackhawks (4-1) and the Montreal Canadiens (4-2) to reach the finals. During the semi-finals, they had two overtime victories, and Game 3 of the finals headed into overtime when rookie defenseman Bill Hajt “lifted the second rebound of a shot by Rick Martin over Philadelphia goalie Bernie Parent” at 9:56 of the third period.

One member of the 15,863 gathered at Memorial Auditorium “poured a big cup of beer on Dave Schultz,” left winger for the opposing Philadelphia Flyers. He was none too pleased despite the high temperatures and humidity in the rink.

Apparently, a bat made its way into the rink. Sabres right winger Jim Lorentz swiped it down with its stick as it made low passes over the ice. As Frank Dolson wrote for the Philadelphia Inquirer, “It was a fair exchange: the Sabres killed the bat, the Flyers killed the penalty.”

The beer and the bat were easily dealt with, but the lingering issue was the fog that kept rolling across the ice hindering visibility. The spring evening was hot enough to raise temperatures inside the non-air-conditioned Memorial Auditorium to 80 or 90 degrees. Flyers defenseman Ed Van Impe said, “It was so bloody hot out there, it was unbearable.” According to Buffalo rookie Danny Gare, “You could only stay on for 45 seconds at a time from the start of the third period on. The heat off the crowd around the sides was the worst part.” Even the supervisor of officials, Frank Udvari, commented, “You should see (referee Lloyd) Gilmour’s sweater. It must weight three pounds. You can imagine how the players feel. This is the hottest I ever recall a building being in 24 years.”

Heat and humidity caused condensation, a fog thick enough to impair the vision of officials and players alike. Referee Lloyd Gilmour had to stop the play five times during the third period and seven times during overtime to have the players skate around to dissipate the fog. Udvari acknowledged the players used the dissipation routines as a ploy to rest, but he could hardly blame them. The goaltenders fared the worst. Buffalo’s Gerry Desjardins explained, “I was a second late on every shot that was coming in.” Thus, he asked Coach Floyd Smith to replace him with Roger Crozier after the first period. “Roger and the rest bailed me out. I’ll be back.” As for Philadelphia’s Bernie Parent, he commented, “By having a fog like this on the ice I didn’t know where the puck was going. I’m surprised it didn’t end before this.”

The game did not end until 18:29 into overtime. Coach Smith explained, “Our only strategy for the overtime was to keep as many fresh legs on the ice as possible.” With 1:31 remaining in the first session, Buffalo right wing Rene Robert picked up the puck after it bounced off the boards after it was dumped into Philadelphia’s zone. He sent a 20-foot slapshot from a deep right angle into the net. Of his goal, Robert merely said, “You just tried to put the puck on the net in a situation like that.” Parent commented, “I saw Robert’s shot too late for me to come out and stop it. I’m surprised the overtime took so long. It was hard to see the puck from the red line. If three men came down and one made a good pass from the red line, you couldn’t see the puck. A good shot from the red line could have won it.”

With Robert’s shot, Buffalo won 5-4. Their coach commented, “It was really tough on the kids, it was tough on both sides. It was just a tough game.” He continued, “But we don’t do anything easy, we don’t do nothing easy. And this was a big one for us. You know it was the first time we have ever been in front of the Flyers in this series. When we got that winning goal, that’s the only time we’ve led them in three games.”

Having lost the first two games of the finals, the Sabres won on May 20 and Game 4 two days later. They then lost the final two games, the first away (5-1) and then the second at home (2-0). Thus, the Flyers won the Stanley Cup. Still, Game 3 was big for the Sabres, who had not defeated the Flyers in 11 matchups (since March 28, 1973). The Sabres had not managed to beat Parent in their entire five-year history until that point. Perhaps the fog helped.

Additional Sources:

• Tom Fitzgerald, “Robert gives Sabres overtime win,” Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, 21 May 1975, pp. 1D-2D.
• Chuck Newman, “Robert’s Goal Beats Flyers,” Philadelphia Inquirer, 21 May 1975, pp. 1D-2D.
• Frank Dolson, “Heat and Fog Drive ‘Em Batty in Buffalo,” Philadelphia Inquirer, 21 May 1975, pp. 1D-2D.
• Skip Myslenski, “No Place Like Home,” Philadelphia Inquirer, 21 May 1975, pp. 1D-2D.