This Day in Hockey History – November 20, 1955 – Coinkydinks in All Rinks

Nov 20, 2019

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One November weekend in 1955, all Original Six teams played home-and-home series. On Saturday, all three home teams won. Then on Sunday, November 20, when the visitors turned hosts, all three games ended in 1-1 ties.

On Saturday, the New York Rangers played the Montreal Canadiens at the Forum. They had the largest crowd of the night with 13,808. The scoring started with penalties for both teams that resulted in a goal by rookie center Bronco Horvath. However, that would be the Rangers’ only goal as they only managed 13 shots on Jacques Plante. The latter half of the first period saw goals by Maurice Richard at 12:09, Bernie Geoffrion at 15:00, and the Rocket’s brother Henri at 16:25. Claude Provost (at 5:28) and Tom Johnson (at 15:24) controlled the second period. Finally, the Rocket scored again at 16:58 of the third. The Canadiens had 32 shots on Gump Worsley to win 6-1. In 36 games at Montreal since 1950, the Rangers had only one victory.

For Sunday’s game, the Canadiens visited Madison Square Garden. Their sellout crowd of 15,358 was the highest all weekend. Still, the home team could not manage more than one goal on Plante, just like in their previous five matchups. That goal was scored by Wally Hergesheimer at 17:51 of the first period. The Canadiens answered when Doug Harvey tied at 16:40 of the second. Both teams had a negative incident. Montreal star Bernie Geoffrion crashed into the boards behind the net after a clean check by Lou Fontinato and reinjured his shoulder bad enough to be out for 3-5 weeks. The Rangers’ bench was penalized when Coach Phil Watson “sassed” referee Frank Udvari after a double penalty was called. With the tie, Montreal continued an 11-game unbeaten streak at 6-0-5.

At Maple Leaf Gardens, the Toronto Maple Leafs hosted the Boston Bruins on Saturday. The 12,771 fans watched anxiously as the Bruins made a valiant attempt at a comeback. The Leafs had taken a two-goal lead in the first period thanks to goals by Earl Balfour (at 4:32) and George Armstrong (at 11:13). Balfour notched another at 7:31 of the second. In the latter half of the third period, the Bruins finally rallied. As the Boston Globe reported, “Murray Costello and Don McKenney beat Harry Lumley within two minutes of each other” (at 11:09 and 13:00 respectively) but to no avail. The 3-2 victory snapped Toronto’s six-game losing streak.

On Sunday, 10,697 fans turned up for the rematch at Boston Garden, the Bruins’ third game in three nights. They got off to a great start when Leo LaBine scored a power play goal only 87 seconds into the game. It was not until 14:01 of the second period that the Leafs tied when Tod Sloan also took advantage of a power play. Terry Sawchuk made 28 saves, and Harry Lumley had two more.

The third game on Saturday involved the Chicago Blackhawks playing the Detroit Red Wings at Olympia for 13,250 fans. A former Wing turned Hawk, John Wilson, scored first on a power play at 6:07 into the game. The remainder of the game belonged to Detroit as they outshot Chicago 41-15. Gordie Howe scored twice, at 10:24 of the second period and at 3:54 of the third. He then assisted Dutch Reibel on a goal at 4:56. Alex Delvecchio finished things off at 17:52. This was only Detroit’s second win in 14 games.

When they switched to Chicago, they had the smallest audience of the weekend at 8,430. The Blackhawks (like the Bruins) played their third game in three nights. Their rookie Hec Lalande netted his first NHL goal at 11:12 of the first period. Then at 17:53, Real Chevrefils, who had been traded to the Wings over the summer, nabbed his first goal with Detroit. Al Rollins had 35 saves for Chicago, while Glenn Hall had 21. With that, Detroit already had nine ties in 15 games. Four of those stalemates were against Chicago. To the press, it looked like the Red Wings might be on their way to setting a franchise or even NHL record for most ties in one season.

With the addition of the three ties, the NHL had a total of 17 stalemates in 58 games, averaging 30%. Because of the ties, the NHL standings did not change. Montreal led with 28 points followed by New York with 20. Boston and Chicago were tied at 18 with Detroit trailing by one point. Toronto was in the cellar at 15 points.

By the end of the 1955-56 season, the Canadiens had remained far ahead with 100 points (45-15-10) and hoisted the Stanley Cup. The Red Wings lost the Final and held second with 76 points (30-24-16). They did not break any records for ties after all. Having dropped to third, the Rangers finished with 74 points (32-28-10). Instead of Chicago, it was the Maple Leafs (24-33-13) and Bruins (23-34-13) close in points with 61 and 59, only one game difference. Finally, the Blackhawks came in last with 50 points (19-39-12), half of what the leaders earned.

Additional Sources:

https://www.nhl.com/scores/1955-11-19
https://www.nhl.com/scores/1955-11-20
“Bruins Score Twice in Third, Lose to Toronto, 3-2,” Boston Globe, 20 Nov. 1955, p. 56.
“Canadiens Rip Rangers, 6-1,” New York Daily News, 20 Nov. 1955, p. 105.
Dink Carroll, “Rocket Richard Scores 2 Goals As Habs Trounce Blueshirts 6-1,” Montreal Gazette, 21 Nov. 1955, p. 26.
“Wings Trip Hawks; Renew Feud in Stadium Tonight,” Chicago Tribune, 20 Nov. 1955, p. F7.
Marshall Dann, “Wings Find Range In 3rd Period, 4-1,” Detroit Free Press, 20 Nov. 1955, p. 2D.
Tom Fitzgerald, “LaBine’s Early Goal Enables Bruins to Tie Leafs, 1-1,” Boston Globe, 21 Nov. 1955, p. 8.
Joe Trimble, “Canucks Tie Blues, 1-1, Boom Boom Hurt Again,” New York Daily News, 21 Nov. 1955, p. 56.
“Bernie Geoffrion Suffers Shoulder Separation Again,” Montreal Gazette, 21 Nov. 1955, p. 26.
Charles Bartlett, “8,430 Watch Hawks, Wings Play 1 To 1 Tie,” Chicago Tribune, 21 Nov. 1955, p. F3.
“Red Wings Tied by Hawks, 1-1,” Detroit Free Press, 20 Nov. 1955, p. 33.