This Day in Hockey History – March 28, 1929 – Just a “Tiny” Stanley Debut

Mar 28, 2020

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The Boston Bruins joined the NHL at the beginning of the 1924-25 season. They spent their first four seasons playing at Boston Arena—now known as Matthews Arena, where the Northeastern University Huskies play—before moving on to the Boston Garden during the 1928-29 season. Apparently, the move to the “Gahden” worked well for the team because they would go on to hoist their first Stanley Cup during the 1929 playoffs.

After sweeping the Montreal Canadiens in the semi-finals (1-0, 1-0, 3-2), they went on to take the Cup in two games against the New York Rangers. The Stanley Cup Final between the Boston Bruins and the New York Rangers was the first time in NHL history that two American-based franchises vied for the silver chalice.

After shutting out the Canadiens twice in the semi-final, Tiny Thompson found himself again between the pipes for the first game between the Bruins and Rangers. The game, which was played at Boston Garden—at that time known as Boston Madison Square Garden—took place March 28, 1929. By the end of the night, the Bruins had their fourth straight win and were just one win away from their first Stanley Cup.

As for Tiny Thompson, he had his third shutout in four games, and became the second NHL goaltender to get a shutout in his Stanley Cup Final debut.

“The Bruins outplayed the New York team with a better exhibition of all-around play than was shown against the Canadiens. In justice to the Rangers it must be admitted they were very weary after their four play-off games leading to last night’s contest,” wrote John J. Hallahan of The Boston Evening Globe.

To be sure, the Bruins had last played March 23rd, when they took the Canadiens out in game three. Meanwhile the New York Rangers had to first defeat the New York Americans before they took on the Toronto Maple Leafs (who defeated the Detroit Red Wings). The Rangers played their final game against Toronto on March 26th and two days later were taking on the Bruins in the Final.

While it was the first time the two teams were both American franchises, the teams themselves were made up mostly of Canadians, so Canada could continue to claim hockey as their national game and talk proudly of their native sons.

“With one or two exceptions every player setting a dizzy pace under the calcium glare of the big tent is a Canadian, and Calgary has contributed in no small way. ‘Tiny’ Thompson and Norman ‘Dutch’ Gainor, two home brews, who learned their hockey on Calgary school rinks and in the city leagues, were the big noise of the Boston Bruins’ five straight wins in capturing the Stanley Cup, emblematic of the world’s hockey supremacy,” wrote Bob Mamini, Calgary Herald’s Assistant Sports’ Editor.

Though Cecil “Tiny” Thompson was born in Sandon, British Columbia in 1903, his family moved to Calgary, Alberta by 1906, where his brother, Paul was born in 1906. When the puck dropped for that first game, the brothers were on opposite sides, as Paul—a forward—wore a Rangers sweater.

“As in the contests against the Canadiens, Tiny Thompson was a power against the Ranger rushers, especially shining in thwarting his brother, Paul. He made two really marvelous stops in the final period, off Bill Cook and Sparky Vail,” wrote Hallahan.

Indeed, if Tiny hadn’t blocked those two in the third, who is to say what might have happened.

The first period saw no goals. It was during the second period that first Aubrey “Dit” Clapper and then Dutch Gainor gave the Bruins their two goals that Tiny made sure were enough to take the win.

“A lapse on the part of the Ranger defence resulted in Boston drawing first blood, Clapper doing the trick when he raced down and, after being worked into the corner, came out to pick up his own pass out to backhand past [John Ross] Roach. Gainor put his team two goals up when he secured his own rebound to beat Roach with a hard shot from a sharp angle,” reported The Winnipeg Evening Tribune.

In the end, it could have been the onslaught of hits dished out by the Bruins that slowed down an already weary New York Rangers team, but that didn’t stop them from putting pucks on Tiny Thompson, who showed that he was big enough between the pipes to keep the rubber out.

Tiny Thompson would play ten seasons wearing the Boston Bruins sweater and, when his time there came to an end, he had played 468 games and had 252 wins. His Bruins franchise record stood until 2019, when Tuukka Rask surpassed him. Rask played his 469th Bruins game when the Bruins took on the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2019 Winter Classic held at Notre Dame Stadium on January 1, 2019. A month later, February 3, 2019, in a 1-0 victory over the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena in Washington, Rask earned his 253rd win.

Tiny Thompson was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1959.

Additional Sources:

Bob Mamini, “Calgary Boys Set Dizzy Pace in Big Leagues,” Calgary Herald (Calgary, Alberta), Saturday, April 6, 1929, Supplement Section, p. 1.
John J. Hallahan, “Bruins Defeat Rangers in Stanley Cup Game 2-0,” The Boston Daily Globe, Friday, March 29, 1929, pp. 1, 30.
“Boston Draw First Blood in Stanley Cup Play-Off,” The Winnipeg Evening Tribune (Winnipeg, Manitoba), Friday, March 29, 1929, p. 9.