This Day in Hockey History – December 21, 1937 – Thompson Times Two

Dec 21, 2019

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Naturally, brothers who grow up skating together sometimes end up playing in the NHL together. Rarely do those brothers end up having one as a forward shooting on the one in net. The very first time the NHL saw a player scoring a goal on his brother was when Paul Thompson prevented his older brother, Cecil “Tiny” Thompson, from having a shutout on December 21, 1937.

Tiny was born at Sandon, British Columbia on May 31, 1903. The Thompson family had moved to Calgary, Alberta by the time Paul was born on November 2, 1906. Nicknamed ironically because he was the tallest on the team, Tiny only became a goalie to be able to join games. Although the brothers both began playing in Calgary, Tiny soon moved on to play in Duluth and Minneapolis, Minnesota. In June 1926, he signed with the Minneapolis Millers of the U.S. Amateur Hockey Association, and four months later, Paul signed with the New York Rangers of the NHL.

Tiny (along with teammate Ralph “Cooney” Weiland) moved up to the Boston Bruins in May 1928, and he began his NHL career with a shutout that November. At the end of the season, the Thompsons became the first brothers to face each other during playoffs, but Tiny was the one to take home the Stanley Cup. While Tiny remained with the Bruins, Paul was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks in September 1931.

Having faced each other in NHL games since 1928, it took almost ten seasons before Paul managed to score on Tiny. That night, Boston Garden hosted a crowd of 12,000 for what the Boston Globe considered a “close, interesting game which would have brought more scoring except for glittering work by the rival goal tenders.”

For the majority of the game, the only scoring successes were due to the “new offensive combination of Charley Sands and Cooney Weiland.” The two usually played on different lines but were paired up whenever the Bruins were shorthanded or in a tight spot at the end of close games. In the past four games, Weiland had notched six goals and one assist while Sands had four goals and three assists. In this game, they assisted each other to a goal apiece.

The first goal came at 15:46 of the second period while Bill Cowley was serving the second of the game’s only two penalties. Although shorthanded, the Boston Globe reported, “Weiland stole the puck from the raging Hawks, caught Earle Seibert back alone and, waiting cleverly for Sands, fed him a pass on his left. Charley took the puck in full stride, flew around Seibert and then drove a back-hander between Mike Karakas’ legs as the enemy goalie moved to cover the far side.”

The second goal was scored in the final three minutes of regulation. According to the Globe, “Eddie Shore, who played one of the greatest games of his life, got the puck in a jam in the corner behind his net, cleared to Weiland at the blue line, and Cooney, in turn, sent Sands flying down the right. Mush Marsh chased Charley to the right boards, but could not prevent a pass to Cooney, who beat Karakas from 10 feet out.”

As the Chicago Tribune summarized, “The speedy and efficient combination of Cooney Weiland and Charlie Sands gave the Bruins their fourth consecutive victory which strengthened their hold on the tope place in the league’s American division.”

The Bruins did end up winning 2-1, but that sole Chicago goal featured Thompson versus Thompson. Tiny had a shutout going until the very last nine seconds of the game. As the Globe lamented, “It was a pity that the Blackhawks had to score, because Tiny played one of the best games of his brilliant career. And, of course, little brother Paul Thompson had to break the ice.” The Chicago Tribune described the play: “The Blackhawks, in a last desperate bid, sent Lou Trudell inside the Boston defense and during the ensuing scrimmage, Paul Thompson, brother of the Boston goalie, scored on a closeup shot.”

Tiny remained with the Bruins until he was traded to Detroit in November 1938. He finished his career there at the end of the 1939-40 season. Meanwhile, Paul finished his playing career one season earlier. Tiny had played a total of 553 NHL games while Paul had skated in 582. The younger brother had three Stanley Cup championships compared to his older brother’s single victory. However, Tiny also had won the Vezina Trophy four times and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1959.

Both went on to coaching careers. Tiny coached the Buffalo Bisons of the AHL directly after retiring. Paul took over coaching his Blackhawks for the next seven seasons. He then spent two more seasons coaching the Vancouver Canucks of the Pacific Coast Hockey League (PCHL).

About 30 years after Tiny and Paul Thompson retired, Phil and Tony Esposito would face each other while playing (respectively) for the Bruins and the Blackhawks. They were reversed with the forward scoring for Boston and the goalie defending for Chicago. About 40 years after the Thompson brothers did it first, the Esposito brothers would be only the second fraternal set to play against each other during playoffs.