ATD #9 Bob Cole Final: #1 Buffalo Bisons vs. #2 Glace Bay Miners

[FissionFire]

Buffalo Bisons
Coach: Dick Irvin
Asst coach & Trainer: Lloyd Percival

Busher Jackson - Stan Mikita(A) - Vaclav Nedomansky
Alex Delvecchio - Tod Sloan - Eddie Litzenberger(C)
Don Marshall - Fleming Mackell - Jerry Toppazzini
Johnny Wilson - Orland Kurtenbach - Murray Balfour
Bill Red Hay

Bill White - Pierre Pilote (A)
Carl Brewer - Neil Colville
Frank Patrick - Doug Barkley
Pat Egan

Chuck Rayner
Gerry McNeil

PP#1
Busher Jackson - Stan Mikita - Vaclav Nedomansky
Frank Patrick - Pierre Pilote

PP#2
Alex Delvecchio - Tod Sloan - Eddie Litzenberger
Carl Brewer - Neil Colville

PK#1
Don Marshall - Jerry Toppazzini
Bill White - Pierre Pilote

PK#2
Johnny Wilson - Fleming Mackell
Carl Brewer - Neil Colville



The Glace Bay Miners
Coach: Ken Hitchcock
Assistant Coach: Al MacNeil
Captain: Bob Gainey
Alternates: Phil Esposito, Chris Chelios

Wayne Cashman - Phil Esposito - Anders Hedberg
Marty Pavelich - Billy Burch - Eddie Oatman
Bob Gainey - Doug Riseborough - Mario Tremblay
Fred Stanfield - Art Chapman - Ron Ellis
Bronco Horvath

Chris Chelios - Guy Lapointe
Allan Stanley - Reed Larson
Jerry Korab - Harvey Pulford
Pekka Rautakallio

Gump Worsley
Paddy Moran

PP#1
Wayne Cashman - Phil Esposito - Anders Hedberg
Chris Chelios - Guy Lapointe

PP#2
Fred Stanfield - Billy Burch - Eddie Oatman
Jerry Korab - Harvey Pulford

PK#1
Bob Gainey - Doug Riseborough
Allan Stanley - Guy Lapointe

PK#2
Marty Pavelich - Mario Tremblay
Chris Chelios - Jerry Korab​

Click to read more...

 

[Transplanted Caper]

Please note once again that Guy Lapointe will take a place on the first PP unit, and Eddie Oatman will switch places with Ron Ellis, as well as moving onto the 2nd PP unit.

Good luck pappy, hopefully this is a good one!

 

[pappyline]

Please note once again that Guy Lapointe will take a place on the first PP unit, and Eddie Oatman will switch places with Ron Ellis, as well as moving onto the 2nd PP unit.

Good luck pappy, hopefully this is a good one!

TC, good luck to you too. I expect a hard fought series.

 

[FissionFire]

Please note once again that Guy Lapointe will take a place on the first PP unit, and Eddie Oatman will switch places with Ron Ellis, as well as moving onto the 2nd PP unit.

Good luck pappy, hopefully this is a good one!

Fixed it. Does it look right now?

 

[God Bless Canada]

Time for a copy and paste post: If you don't think Glace Bay can score enough goals to win over the course of a best-of-seven, don't vote for them. If you think they can, then vote for them.

Buffalo has a lot more depth than any team Glace Bay has faced. The Maroons had a lot of talent, but didn't have the defensive game. Kingston had the 1-2 punch down the middle, but some of their deals left them lacking in other areas. (Scoring presence on the wings and a true No. 1 defenceman).

The Mikita line is probably the best all-round line left in the draft. That's going to be a stiff challenge for Glace Bay's team defence. It's probably the toughest challenge they have faced, or will face, in the draft. Once you get past Buffalo's top line, you get to deal with a very dangerous second line.

I don't know if pappy picked Orland Kurtenbach specifically for this series, but Kurtenbach could be a very important guy in trying to shut down Esposito. And if you shut down Esposito, you shut down the Miners offence.

We know what Riserbrough's line is capable of. But I think Art Chapman is actually better defensively. He's been a consistently underrated in these things, he's terrific defensively, and he'll be really important against Mikita.

Both teams are loaded on defence. Chelios-Lapointe is one of the top pairings left in the draft. They're surrounded by a very good collection of blue-liners. Allan Stanley has some mobility issues, but his hockey sense is elite and that compensates for his lack of skating. Buffalo's top pairing is a cut below Glace Bay's, but they have a better No. 3 in Carl Brewer. Yeah, I know Stanley's in the HHOF, but Brewer was the better defencemen. One of the most underrated defencemen to ever play.

Glace Bay's built to win 2-1, 3-1 type games. But Buffalo can win in those games. And if the scores get high, Buffalo will be very tough to beat.

I give Glace Bay the edge in goal, but it's a marginal edge. Rayner and Worsley are good enough to be No. 1 goalies in this thing.

A big edge to Buffalo behind the bench. Irvin's one of the best ever. Hitchcock's a good coach on a team that suits him perfectly, but he's not in Irvin's class.

 

[pappyline]

Running out of time so I will make a few comments.

Glace Bay has 2 of my most hated players in Espo & Chelios. Not that they aren't good players, I just dislike them.

I pretty much agree with GBC's analysis.

I give Glace Bay a slight edge in goal with Worsely vs Rayner.

I think my forwards match up really well. Cashman/Espo/Hedberg is an Ok first line in a 32 team draft but the other 3 Glace Bay lines all look like checking lines with not a lot of scorring potential. I think my first line is one of the best in the draft. My second line has a lot of scoring potential also. My other lines can go both ways as needed. I am the top seeded team here & will try to match Kurtenbach with Espo whenever possible. Other than that, I am not really concerned about line match ups. I have the type of team that can be effective in any type of game-Wide Open or tight Checking.

Defense is closer. Chelios/Lapointe is one of the best first pairings but so is Pilote/White. I like my second pairing of Brewer/Colville over Stanley/Larson. I would call the defense corps roughly even.

Coaching: Irvin over Babcock - not even close. Buffalo also has the original conditioning guru in Percival. Buffalo will be in very good shape.

 

[Transplanted Caper]

May as well drop my comments in as well.

Once again the Miners will rely on fantastic defense and solid goaltending. As I've said before, puck possession will be key. Coaching is an edge to Buffalo, no doubt, but again, I think Ken Hitchcock gets the most out of a team built to play his style. The 2nd and 2rd lines can provide offense, once again, because their defensive play will allow for chances to return the other way down the ice. Burch has solid offensive instincts and the addition of Oatman to the 2nd line really makes a 2nd line capable of being a threat on the ice.

Wish I had time to say more and debate further.


May the best team win.

 

[seventieslord]

I'll be doing the writeup for this series. Hopefully all game will be done tonight.

 

[seventieslord]

Really sorry guys.... came home from work and just crashed. Had to give milady a ride to the bar and back, haven't had a spare moment, and now it's bedtime. Tomorrow she wants me to be working on wedding planning all day. I will squeak out enough time to do these writeups sometime in the next 24 hours... just can't guarantee when, for sure.

 

[seventieslord]

Game 1: HSBC Arena, Buffalo

The hot sauce and blue cheese arena was filled beyond capacity for game 1 of the Bob Cole Division finals. Buffalo was hockey mad! Don Cherry was at rinkside prior to this Saturday night tilt, and had to utilize his loudest yell to make himself heard over the deafening roar of the crowd. "You know I really like Buffalo. Eddie Litzenberger, I tell ya, what a guy. All you kids out there, you watch Stan Mikita. Watch how Glace Bay runs him, and he turns the other cheek and plays harder. He doesn't put on a visor and go out there trying to be Robocop! What a guy, Stan Mikita, I love this guy. Glace Bay is good, but Buffalo, these guys can't be stopped."

The energy in the building was palpable as the opening puck dropped. Buffalo was surprisingly slow to start the first period. The Miners got the jump on them a few times, and Pilote and White found themselves chasing Pavelich and Oatman around their zone on more than one occasion. After five icings against Buffalo, who had already faced 9 shots after seven minutes, Dick Irvin called a timeout, presumably to light a fire under his team, which for whatever reason, looked sluggish.

After the timeout, Buffalo managed to come to life and fired their second and third shots of the game on Gump Worsley. Both shots were easily turned aside. Buffalo got a lucky break when a Chris Chelios clearing attempt skipped over the glass. On the ensuing powerplay, the Bisons were forced to retrieve the puck from their own end and regroup. On the ensuing rush, Bob Gainey caught Ed Litzenberger looking back for a pass and flattened him with a clean check. Play had to be stopped for Litzenberger to recover. He left to the dressing room and Bisons officials were tight-lipped regarding his status. The powerplay and the rest of the period passed without incident. All told, Buffalo was lucky to escape with a scoreless tie.

During the intermission, Cherry was quite concerned that his Buffalo Boys didn't seem to be playing up to their standards. He applauded Gainey's clean hit on Litzenberger but warned that Buffalo would seek retribution. Ron MacLean closed the segment with the line "If you want to gainey ground on a bison, make litzen berger out of it" which drew a groan from Cherry.

The second period saw the rebirth of Buffalo and they began to show why they were their division's top-ranked team and still alive in round 3 of the playoffs. The Mikita/Pilote combo was again flying, with Pilote finding Mikita with brilliant outlet passes countless times. Mikita was more often than not stymied by Chris Chelios and Allan Stanley, but did get a few solid scoring chances on Worsley. The Gumper flashed the glove on the first two, and got a piece of the third before swiping it away just before it would have trickled over the goal line. Video review confirmed the save was legitimate. The Miners mounted a few assaults of their own but were unable to get it past Rayner. 0-0 after 2 periods.

Phil Esposito, practically invisible for much of the first two periods, came through in a big way just a minute into the third period when he banged home Anders Hedberg's rebound for a 1-0 lead. The lead stood for just 34 seconds, as Irvin's energy line of Wilson, Kurtenback, and Balfour clicked for a pretty give and go that baffled Allan Stanley and Reed Larson. Worsley and Rayner turned aside the rest of the shots that came their way until the final buzzer. Of particular interest was the shorthanded Bob Gainey breakaway that Rayner turned aside with only four minutes to go.

The way this game had gone, everyone was settling in for a long, drawn out overtime. It didn't go the way they thought it would. On the very first shift of overtime, Vaclav Nedomansky got around Chris Chelios on the outside and cut towards Worsley. unable to get a good shot off, he shoveled it towards The Gumper before being shoved by Chelios. A second later the puck was in the net and no one was quite sure how. The Buffalo crowd, ecstatic, had to sit through a two-minute video review demanded by Ken Hitchcock that proved to be pointless. Chelios accidentally nudged his netminder as he shoved Nedomansky, allowing the puck to trickle through. Buffalo fans were going home happy!

Buffalo Leads series 1-0

 

[seventieslord]

I can't post game 2 tonight without taking an earful from the future wife......... sorry fellas. Tomorrow, I promise.

 

[seventieslord]

Game 2: HSBC Arena, Buffalo

Buffalo fans were once again out in full force, looking to take a commanding 2-0 series lead. It was standing room only for this one.

Mikita won the opening faceoff to Pilote, and the duo showed some chemistry instantly again, as Pilote dumped it deep for a streaking Mikita, who broke free from Chelios' obstruction. The play never materialized into a goal, but there was no question that the Bisons were in control of the happenings early on. After Chelios and game-time decision Litzenberger were both sent off with coincidental roughing minors, Buffalo's speed and transition game took over. Pilote carried the puck into the zone and fed Mikita, who dished it off to Busher Jackson at the last moment, for the first goal of the game. This goal would stand for at least the remainder of the period.

The second period was a chippy affair, with Bob Gainey and Marty Pavelich doing admirable jobs of getting under the skins of Vaclav Nedomansky and Ed Litzenberger. Both drew minors for slashing but both times, Rayner shut the door on the potent Glace Bay PP. When Jerry Korab caught Nedomansky with a vicious knee that appeared to have career-ending potential, all hell broke loose. Mikita took on Korab, Pulford fended off Jackson, and Pilote went straight after Mario Tremblay, in an attempt to send a message. Nedomansky, slightly shaken up, but luckily uninjured, was able to skate away from this mess. All told, 56 minutes in penalties were handed out, but this resulted in no man advantage. Once again, 4 on 4 play proved to be very exciting but this time it was the Miners who took advantage. Art Chapman's nifty pass sprang Ron Ellis, who made no mistake on his partial breakaway, while being hauled down by Lapointe. 1-1 heading into the 3rd.

The third could be a war if one team was to get the edge. But with the score knotted at 1-1, shenanigans were kept to a minimum. 7 minutes in, Mikita dished the puck off in similar fashion, this time to the right side, and Nedomansky buried it past a sliding Worsley, for a 2-1 lead. At the 12 minute mark, Marty Pavelich was called for a hook, and though Worlsey stymied the first Bisons PP unit, the second would not be denied, as Alex Delvecchio tipped in a Neil Colville blast from the point. Just 13 seconds later, with Allan Stanley closing in on him, Jerry Toppazzini unleashed what appeared to be a harmless shot in Worsley's direction from 50 feet out. This shot somehow eluded Lorne, and in no time at all, this was a 4-1 game. With just 7 minutes left, the Miners were sensing the game had gotten out of their reach, but mounted the best attack they could. Rayner turned all attempts aside. With just two minutes to go and the score still 4-1, Glace Bay decided to continue the mayhem of earlier on. Chelios cheap-shotted Litzenberger, which drew the ire of Brewer, and Lapointe and Sloan also grappled. The fights would not impact the final score of 4-1.

Buffalo leads series 2-0

 

[seventieslord]

Game 3, Bayplex arena, Glace Bay

The bravado emanating from the 3000-odd Bisons fans who made the trek from Buffalo to Glace Bay was enough to induce vomiting. Many of them were equipped with brooms, despite the fact that their team had only really played one period of dominating hockey. Still, they had the 2-0 series lead. Could the enthusiastic Glace Bay crowd propel their guys back into the series?

Clearly, they could. With the arena busting at the seams with maritime fury, the puck was dropped. Phil Esposito, who had failed to generate much all series, won the faceoff and after a series of passes, led the rush into the Buffalo zone. Esposito, in a show of offensive brilliance, put the puck between Guy Lapointe's legs and roofed a shot that Chuck Rayner had little chance on. First shift, just 12 seconds in, and it was 1-0. The Miners' first line stayed on the ice, and were once again rewarded. The Miners' dump-in was retrieved by Cashman and thrown in front to where Espo was parked. Espo's quick tap to Hedberg was converted to a goal, and in just 47 seconds, Glace Bay had doubled their offensive output in the series. Buffalo, clearly humbled after the first two plays of the game, played a buttoned-down game for the remainder of the period, allowing only four more shots but only managing six of their own.

There was more of the same in the second period, but the Miners were seemingly better able to breach the Bison's zone than vice versa. Buffalo was more often than not content to dump the puck in and go off for a line change, than face punishment from the likes of Korab and Stanley. The second period ended scoreless, but Glace Bay ended up with 10 shots on goal, a few of them quality, and Buffalo directed just six at Worsley. A delayed hooking call to Don Marshall at the 20:00 mark meant the Miners would be playing with the man advantage to start the third.

The Miners' power play unit, anemic until now, managed to produce when a Reed Larson blast from the point eluded about 12 legs including Rayner's. 3-0 Glace Bay. Buffalo finally came to life, particularly Mikita and Jackson, who were buzzing around the Miners' zone furiously for 65 seconds at one point. only the crossbar prevented Mikita from making it a 3-1 game with 11 minutes remaining. Glace Bay, content to sit on their 3-0 lead, attempted to batten down the hatches, but Buffalo's offensive stars kept finding holes and pelting Worsley with more and more rubber. Their best chance came when Johnny Wilson one-timed a Murray Balfour feed, but it was gloved again by Worsley. Watching The Gumper in action, you knew with a few minutes left that it would be a whitewashing tonight and nothing Buffalo could do would change that. After a last ditch effort with Rayner pulled, the score remained as it had been for 19 minutes, 3-0 Miners.

"The guys played great in front of me tonight, letting me see all the pucks," Worsley explained. You have to give credit to Hitch too, he really showed faith in me and in the whole roster, by letting me finish up game 2 after the bad period we had." "We're back in this series now", Hitchcock remarked. "It never crossed my mind to pull Gump, or to start Moran in game 3. Gump's our guy."

Buffalo leads series 2-1

 

[seventieslord]

Slowest...........series................ever.

Sorry guys, I could just **** out a quick writeup of the final games but it wouldn't do this series justice. I regret that I haven't had the time. Some family stuff came up today. I'm going to use time at work tomorrow to do this.

 

[Transplanted Caper]

Slowest...........series................ever.

Sorry guys, I could just **** out a quick writeup of the final games but it wouldn't do this series justice. I regret that I haven't had the time. Some family stuff came up today. I'm going to use time at work tomorrow to do this.

No worries man, family comes first, second, third etc. ATD writeups should be far down that list.

 

[seventieslord]

Game 4, Bayplex, Glace Bay

Having closed the series gap to just one game, Glace Bay was extremely confident heading into Game 4, but at the same time understood that against a team like the Bisons, a 3-1 series lead would be akin to a stranglehold. Game announcer, James "Seventies" Lord, was unable to read the names of the players in each lineup due to what he called a "database error", still, he trucked on anyway, going by memory.

The first period proved to be a plodding affair. Neither team really took the ball and ran with it, so to speak, and shots were just 7-6 in favour of Buffalo. One exciting moment was when Busher Jackson's snap shot from the wing rang off the post, but aside from that close call, Worsley and Rayner were perfect.... as perfect as they had to be, that is. The excitement level of the period was low, with each team's execution of the dump and chase only exceede by their skill in guarding against said method.

Things began to pick up in the second period. Phil Esposito broke away from a check and made a pretty drop pass to Chris Chelios after crossing the blueline. Chelios fired a hard low shot that was kicked aside by Rayner, right onto Espo's stick. Rayner, in a show of amazing athleticism, flashed the leather and made the save. On the following shift, Mikita, Jackson, and Nedomansky made life hell for the Miners in their zone, cycling it endlessly and coming dangerously close to lighting the lamp. On his fourth clearing attempt, Jerry Korab finally was able to ice the puck but was not allowed to change. This play would proce to be costly, as Korab was turned inside out on the very next play by Ed Litzenberger, who made no mistake in roofing it over Worsley's shoulder. Then, near the end of the period, a Pierre Pilote powerplay shot made its way in somehow, to give the Bisons a 2-0 lead heading into the third period.

Buffalo did their best to slow the game down in the third period, but Glace Bay was determined. They unleased a flurry of shots towards Rayner, but were unable to beat him... until the 9 minute mark of the period. Phil Esposito, doing his usual work, picked up a rebound that he got to before Guy lapointe could, and shoveled it home past a sprawling Rayner. 8 minutes later, with the goalie pulled, Glace Bay's prayers were answered when extra attacker Bob Gainey intercepted a clearing attempt and wristed it home. The Miners received the scare of a lifetime when Litzenberger rang one off the post with four seconds to go. No dice. This one's going to overtime.

The first overtime was excruciating to watch for Miners fans. If just one puck was to elude Worsley, hey might not see another playoff game. If they could manage to score, this is a whole new series. They managed just five shots while Buffalo, the team with far less to lose, took 11. Worsley was a godsend, stopping a few screened slappers and a partial breakaway by Jackson. The buzzer sounded, to everyone's relief, and Glace Bay got a reprieve. Things looked a lot more promising when they came out with more jump in the 2nd OT. Marty Pavelich, who had been a thorn in Stan Mikita's side all game, stole the puck and was hooked down by Espo before he could get away. This did not go unnoticed by the referee, and the Miners were going to work on the power play. Esposito was again the hero, as he screened Chuck Rayner while tipping home a Guy La Point shot. Finally, Glace Bay fans could go home and get some rest. They were ecstatic - they had just erased 2-0 game, and series deficits.

Series tied 2-2

 

[seventieslord]

More to come tomorrow... sorry....

 

[Leaf Lander]

is nbc causing a interuption with this series scheduale

 

[seventieslord]

A rare four day series delay was caused by the Christina Aguilera "3 intimate nightzz with da vixen" tour passing through Buffalo. With all the 11-year olds cleared out, it was time to get back to hockey. Game 5 - HSBC arena, Buffalo.

The rabid Buffalo crowd, nervous and stinging from the two defeats their boys suffered while they were away, were nevertheless loud and enthusiastic. There is nothing like a boring period of hockey to quiet down a crowd. A total of 13 shots were fired in the first period, and no player managed more than one. Stan Mikita had the only real scoring opportunity when he snuck around Jerry Korab and tried to clip it through Worsley's legs, but the Gumper would have none of that. Needless to say, this slow, nervous period ended up scoreless.

The second period saw a much more lively Buffalo squad come to life. One one shift, Johnny Wilson and Orland Kurtenbach were credited with two hits each, relentlessly forechecking by slamming Stanley and Larson into the end boards and tipping an errant Wilson pass that could have made for a good scoring chance had it not trickled offside. Glace Bay dodged a bullet and was happy to ice the puck a few seconds later. Alex Delvecchio took advantage of the tired defensemen when he fired off a Tod Sloan faceoff win past Worsley before he could even react. Being down a goal meant Glace Bay could no longer play this way, and Ken Hitchcock began to allow a little more free reign. It paid off when Reed Larson, while entering the Bisons' zone, was tripped by Don Marshall. On the ensuing powerplay, Larson got his revenge, firing a shot from the top of the circle that appeared to graze Phil Esposito's posterior before bulging the twine. The game remained tied at 1 until the end of the second period.

The way the majority of the game had gone, it had a definite "next goal wins" feeling to it, and this was not encouraging either team to go balls-out for the go ahead goal in this pivotal game 5. Finally, after a barrage of shots on a fantastic forechecking shift by their first line, Buffalo was able to break the tie as Nedomansky fed Jackson with a beautiful cross-ice pass that was redirected past Worsley. With just a minute left, the Miners were the beneficiary of a delay of game penalty when Pierre Pilote attempted to clear the puck. With Worsley pulled, the Miners had a two-man advantage. Unfortunately for the Miners, Toppazzini and Marshall tipped two passes and fought hard along the boards for the entire final minute, to seal the victory.

"This was a hard-fought win", Dick Irvin said after the game. The scorers scored and the role players played their roles. We grinded one out tonight. The toughest one to win will be the next one". Glace Bay played a solid game, but one that lacked offensive oomph, which ultimately cost them the game.

Buffalo leads series 3-2

 

[Transplanted Caper]

The entire Miners roster came to Buffalo early for the concert.

 

[seventieslord]

Game 6 - Bayplex arena, Glace Bay

Could this be it for Glace Bay? The home team had won every game in this series so far, so history was on their side, but at the same time they'd have to buck that trend two nights later in Buffalo if they were to stay alive tonight.

The first period was a rambunxious set, with both energy lines really sticking it to the opposing defensemen. Ron Ellis in particular scored a big hit on Pierre Pilote along the side boards as Pilote tried to rush the puck out. The teams traded early goals when Risebrough and Litzenberger tallied, and Toppazzini and Chelios both tried to swing momentum in their teams' favours by tussling. This one was a draw. At the 19:55 mark, fortune shone on the Miners as Stanfield forced a turnover deep in the Buffalo zone and fed Chapman in the slot for a 2-1 lead.

In the second period, we saw more of the same. Glace Bay got on the referees after the fifth penalty of the period, three of which were to the Miners. Observers noted that they were calling it as close to the rule book as they could. No one could deny that it was resulting in numerous shots and scoring opportunities on the power play. At the 14-minute mark, at even strength, someone finally broke the 2nd period ice, and it would be Pierre Pilote, pinching in and taking a pass from Mikita, who was behind the net. The Bisons added another one just 42 seconds later. Don Marshall intercepted a bad Reed Larson pass and skated in alone on Worsley, scoring five hole. Just like that, the Miners were down a goal instead of up a goal. As the seconds ticked down to close out the period, anxiety set in.

The crowd's anxiety was quickly remedied at the start of the third period, however, when Bill White took a double minor for high-sticking Phil Esposito. This was no phantom call this time. Phil's blood needed to be cleaned from the ice before play could continue. With Esposito on the bench, the Miners' first PP unit finally cashed in 105 seconds into the power play, when Billy Burch fired a quick one from the slot. Espo, now fixed up by the Glace Bay trainers, stepped on the ice to play the other half of the power play, and he got the sweetest revenge of all when he banged home his own rebound past a hapless Rayner near the end of the second minor. White's high stick had proven costly, as Buffalo was again down by a goal, 4-3. Carl Brewer was called for a hook at 14:50 and it was beginning to look like lights out. But the Bisons' first PK unit shut the door before Don Marshall, fresh off a line change, was able to intercept another pass and again beat Worsley five hole. The penalty expired, Buffalo had new life and a newly tied game to work with. Then, with only 2:06 remaining, Glace Bay was silenced with Alex Delvecchio and Tod Sloan scored on a beautiful give-and-go.

 

[seventieslord]

It was gut check time for the Miners, and no pun intended, they had to dig deep if they were going to get anything past the Bisons now, even in a 5-4 game. With Worsley on the bench for the final 90 seconds, they had plenty of time to work with. Showing exemplary puck control but not managing any shots, time was running out for the miners. Pilote and White were guarding well as the Miners attempted to cycle the puck but could not seem to get it anywhere. The Miners finally caught a break when Cashman stripped White of the puck behind the Bisons' net on what looked like a blatant hook, and somehow wrapped it in, to everyone's surprise, and Glace Bay's delight. Buffalo was furious that this was not called a penalty, especially tonight, but as they say, there is a different set of rules for overtime, and for all intents and purposes, that's what this was.

The final 12 seconds were uneventful. This possibly-series-clinching match was going to overtime.

 

[Transplanted Caper]

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh

 

[seventieslord]

No one was expecting overtime to last very long in a 5-5 game, and history was on that prognostication's side. Only 2% of overtime games tied at 5 or higher, end up going beyond the first OT.

Mikita's line opened the overtime with a furious shift of forechecking and managed a very good scoring chance on Worsley, that was thwarted. Bill White redeemed himself well by breaking up a Burch/Oatman play going the other way. Hedberg was stopped by the outstretched glove of Rayner a short minute later. With play going fairly hard both ways for the first 8 minutes of OT, Dick Irvin gave his third defense pairing a rare shift. Patrick and Barkley hadn't seen the ice since the 14-minute mark of the third. A great Jerry Toppazzini open-ice hit on Marty Pavelich caused a change in possession. Fleming Mackell carried the puck into the Glace Bay zone, faked a shot, and dropped back to Doug Barkley, who fired a blast from the top of the circle...... that went over an attempted block by Allan Stanley, and found the back of the net! The unlikeliest of heroes had just won the game and the series for the Bisons.

"Thank goodness we can put that one behind us", Irvin said. We all knew what happened last time this series went into overtime and no one was looking forward to a game seven. Don't you know I was keeping Barkley fresh just for this?", Irvin winked.

 

[seventieslord]

Buffalo Wins The Longest Series in ATD History, 4-2.