note- the online league is running 2-week sims at the moment to catch up with the others sports in our universe.
NOVEMBER 18, 1946
MOTORS FIRING ON ALL CYLINDERS
The Detroit Motors are off to a surprisingly quick start through two weeks of North American Hockey Confederation play. The Motors missed the playoffs by a single point each of the past two seasons but lead the way in the early going with a 4-1-0 record good for a league best 8 points. Goaltender Henri Chasse, with a league low 2.40 goals against average and solid group of rearguards in front of him, is the reason for the hot start in the Motor City.
The high-flying Chicago Packers sit in second place thanks as usual to their big line of the Burns brothers and Marty Mahoney. Tommy Burns is off to start that has thoughts of him threatening to rewrite the loop's record book with 6 goals and 14 points through just 5 games while his brother Wes sits third in league scoring with 9 points -one more than the final member of the troika Mahoney, who has 8 points.
One player on the hot seat early is Montreal goaltender Millard Touhey. The 30 year old four-year veteran came into camp out of shape and has drawn the ire of Valiants coach Danny McLachlan for his subpar play. Touhey has a terrible 5.54 goals against average for the defending champs this season and gave up 15 goals in back to back losses in Chicago and Toronto.
Speaking of Toronto, the Dukes have struggled on the road with 3 straight losses away from Dominion Gardens and they find themselves sitting at the bottom of the league with 4 losses already after losing just 9 games all of last season.
Code:
NAHC STANINGS
TEAM GP W L T PTS
Detroit Motors 5 4 1 0 8
Chicago Packers 5 3 2 0 6
Boston Bees 3 2 1 0 4
Montreal Valiants 5 2 3 0 4
Brooklyn Eagles 4 2 2 0 4
New York Shamrocks 3 1 2 0 2
Toronto Dukes 5 1 4 0 2
SCORING LEADERS
NAME TEAM GP G A PTS
Tommy Burns CHI 5 6 8 14
Bobbie Sauer TOR 5 5 5 10
Wes Burns CHI 5 4 5 9
Graham Comeau DET 5 4 4 8
Marty Mahoney CHI 5 2 6 8
Kent Drayton CHI 4 2 5 7
Bill Woodley DET 5 3 3 6
Mahlon Klein TOR 4 1 5 6
Miles Norman BKN 4 1 5 6
GOALIE LEADERS
NAME TEAM W L T ShO GAA
Henri Chasse DET 4-1-0 1 2.40
Norm Hanson CHI 3-2-0 1 2.60
Terry Russell TOR 1-0-0 0 2.61
Pierre Melancon BOS 2-1-0 0 2.68
Tom Brockers BKN 2-2-0 0 3.31
WEEKLY RECAP
Game Summaries From the Past Week
NOVEMBER 2
The Toronto Dukes, owners of the best record in the league a year ago, opened the season on a losing note, falling 6-4 to the New York Shamrocks in the only game of the day. Orval Cabbell -the Shamrocks star center- scored three times in the win with rookie winger Joe Martin -the 2nd overall pick in the draft- assisting on all three.
NOVEMBER 3
Graham Comeau had a goal and an assist while Henri Chasse turned aside all twenty shots he faced as the Detroit Motors spoiled Brooklyn's home opener with a 2-0 victory. In a rematch of last spring's Challenge Cup Finals, the Montreal Valiants edged the Boston Bees 4-3 thanks to Ray Sclisizzi's third period goal. Veteran Joe Morey, who lit the lamp 27 times a year ago, scored twice in a losing cause for the Bees.
NOVEMBER 7
Brooklyn won just two games all of last season but the Eagles doubled the Chicago Packers 6-3 to level their record at 1-1. Newly acquired forward Quinton Pollak was the big star of the day with a hat trick as part of a five-point night while another newcomer to the Eagles, 22 year old winger Sam Coates, had a goal and 3 assists. Chicago outshot the Eagles 44-32 but Tom Brockers made some key saves for Brooklyn.
NOVEMBER 9
Dave Bradley had a goal and two assists to lead Detroit to their second straight victory, a 5-3 win over the visiting Toronto Dukes, who lose for the second straight game.
NOVEMBER 10
An overnight train ride from Detroit to New York did nothing to slow down the Motors, who beat the Shamrocks 5-3 for their third straight victory. Elsewhere, it was a rout in Chicago as the Packers blasted the Montreal Valiants 8-2 behind a huge evening from the Packers big line. Tommy Burns had 3 goals and an assist while his brother Wes had a goal and 2 helpers with right winger Marty Mahoney chipping in with a goal and 3 assists.
NOVEMBER 12
Tommy Burns had a two point night but it was not enough as his Packers fell 4-2 in Boston. Joe Morey, who tallied twice in the Bees opener, added another goal and an assist in this one.
NOVEMBER 14
Another awful night for Valiants goaltender Millard Touhey. After giving up 8 to Chicago four nights earlier he was shelled for 7 goals on 22 shots and was pulled in the second period as Toronto thumped Montreal 8-2. Bobbie Sauer led the Dukes attack with 5 points to help Toronto snap its two game losing streak to start the season. The score in Chicago was even more lobsided as the Packers hammered Brooklyn 9-0. 25 year old rookie Jarrett McGlynn -who was the top scorer in the Great Western Hockey League a season ago- notched his first two NAHC goals in the victory. It must have been an off night for Tommy Burns, as the Packer star 'only' managed 3 points from the 9 Chicago goals.
NOVEMBER 16
Montreal settled down in the second half of the home and home with Toronto. Sophomore defenseman Cory Findlay got the game winner midway through the third period to lift the Valiants to a 3-2 win over the Toronto Dukes. In the other game on the slate the Detroit Motors improved to 4-0 with a 4-1 win over the visiting New York Shamrocks. Miles Barfield scored once and added two assists for the winners as Detroit outshot New York 35-18.
NOVEMBER 17
For the first time this season there were six of the seven NAHC teams in action. Norm Hanson turned aside 32 of the 33 shots he faced to backstop Chicago to a 4-1 win over Montreal. The Valiants started second string goaltender Andy Backlund and the loss cannot be pinned on the 23 year old netminder, who faced a barrage with Chicago shooters firing 55 shots at his cage. Each of the other two games ended in 5-2 scores with Boston, behind a Tommy Hart hat trick, winning in Toronto to drop the Dukes to 1-4 on the year while Brooklyn defenseman Miles Norman had a 4-point night as Brooklyn equalled its win total from all of last year with their second victory, a 5-2 win over Detroit that snapped the Motors 4-game winning streak to start the season.
THE WEEK AHEAD
TUESDAY NOVEMBER 19
Boston at Detroit
New York at Brooklyn
THURSDAY NOVEMBER 21
Chicago at Boston
Detroit at Montreal
Brooklyn at Toronto
SATURDAY NOVEMBER 23
Montreal at Brooklyn
New York at Boston
Toronto at Chicago
SUNDAY NOVEMBER 24
Chicago at Toronto
Detroit at Boston
Brooklyn at Montreal
NEWS FROM LOCAL PAPERS AROUND THE LEAGUE
MELANCON EARLY SURPRISE FOR BEES -Boston is off to a 2-1 start and while goaltending is not a strength of the club, it has not disappointed so far. Pierre Mélançon is in the middle of the pack in goals against average (2.68) in the season's first two weeks and the big concern for Boston coming into the season is the lack of experience between the pipes. There is potential here with Mélançon, but this might be his one year to show Bees management what he can do at the NAHC level. Oscar James has been hailed potentially as the best netminder in the HAA and he will spend the season in Cleveland. James is NAHC ready and Mélançon wants to give the powers that be a lot to think about.
- Finn LeBec / Boston Globe.
EAGLES SOARING -Has the tide finally turned in Brooklyn? After winning just 17 games combined over the past 4 seasons and only two a year ago the new look Eagles won two games in the first two weeks of this season. There is finally some offense with the western trio of Quinton Pollack, Steve Coates and Hank Walsh combining for 13 points in their first four games since joining the NAHC from the coast loop. More good news came just after the season started with word that second round draft pick Robert Sharpley, a big strong two-way defenseman who had 35 points as a 19 year old in Rochester a year ago, agreed to a contract and was in the lineup last week. Sharpley was steady and had two assists and shows great promise going forward. -Jimmy Woods / Brooklyn Daily Eagle
PACKERS WILL GO AS FAR AS BIG THREE WILL CARRY THEM -The Detroit Motors may have the most points so far, but nothing in the early goings can compare to the Chicago Packers offense. No other team has scored at least 20 goals, while the Burns led Packers have placed 26 pucks into the back of the net. Superstar center Tommy Burns is showing everyone why he's the best skater in the NAHC, scoring 6 goals and assisting on 8 goals in 5 games, and his 12 +/- is already higher then his mark from last season. He leads all skaters in goals, assists, points (14), shots (29), and +/-, but he's not doing it all on his own. Older brother Wes has 4 goals, 5 assists, and 9 points, all good for third in the league. The last third of the Packers front line, Marty Mahoney, has assisted on more goals (6) then any non-Packer and his 8 points are fifth in the league. It will be tough to keep up this torrid pace all season, but it looks like NAHC defenses will have their hands full trying to keep these three off the scoresheet.
It is another great start for the veteran trio of Tommy Burns, Wes Burns and Marty Mahoney but that really comes as no surprise as Tommy, despite being just 26, has centered his 30 year old brother and the 25 year old Mahoney for the past six seasons and they have combined for 268 goals during that span. This season, the trio already ranks 1-2-3 in assists and top five in points. Tommy looks to be a generational guy already at the tender age of 26. Brother attacks are common in the Windy City of late and it is fitting that while the Cougars have the pitching Jones brothers the Packers have the Burns brothers. There should be a lot of scoring in Chicago this season. - Archie Irwin / Chicago Daily News
TROUBLE IN DETROIT? - Despite a surprising start to the season in which they won four of their first five games, it appears not all is well in the Motors garage. It seems that Bobo Davis, the Toronto native taken 3rd overall by Detroit in the draft, is making waves in the clubhouse and several of his teammates are already sick of his antics. At this point, Motors coach Mark Moore seems willing to let the situation play out and hopefully resolve itself. If it doesn't sort itself out, don't be surprised if Davis is sent down to Buffalo to see if that will humble the outspoken youngster. Davis has performed well on the ice, with 4 assists and seeing a regular shift in his first five games. -Dan Urbanski / Detroit Times.
SHAMROCKS NEED SOME PUCK LUCK ON ROAD - The New York Shamrocks have not won the Challenge Cup since the spring of 1932 when they beat the cross-town Eagles in the Battle of New York. Many have them tabbed for the basement this season, a spot typically reserved for the woeful Brooklyn Eagles. A good start is essential to return the club to the playoffs for the first since the 41-42 campaign and in that regard the schedule makers did the Shamrocks no favours. After starting with a split of two games at Bigsby Garden the Greenshirts finish the month with 5 of 6 games on the road. That stretch started with a 4-1 loss in Detroit and continues tomorrow with a short hop to Prescott Arena for a meeting with the suddenly relevant Eagles -New York World Telegram
DEFENSIVE ZONE WORRIES IN MONTREAL - The Valiants knew coming into the season that the blue line was a potential weakness. It's played out that way so far. The highest game rating among defencemen through 5 games belongs to 23-year-old rookie Jake Shires (65). Leo Bernard, who should be the defensive leader, is at 61. Bernard has 15 shots with no goals, but he has blocked 9 shots and has 7 takeaways. Though the big concern after two weeks is, as mentioned, the goaltending. Bad goaltending with a subpar defense will make for a long winter in Montreal. Touhey is a vet and I fully expect him to bounce back (he was quite impressive in the opening night win against Boston). -The Montreal Star
DUKES STUMBLE EARLY - The Toronto Dukes are off to a terrible start with just one win in their first five contests. Golatender Gordie Broadway seems to be fighting the puck with a 4.70 GAA .833 Save% in 4 starts. Both of those things are unusual at Dominion Gardens as the Dukes have averaged 32 wins a season over the past three years -two of which ended in Challenge Cup parades through the streets of Toronto. Meanwhile Broadway is the modern day NAHC leader in goaltender wins and boasts a 1.88 career goals against average. He is also the reigning Juneau Award winner as top netminder. - Toronto Mail & Emipre.
OTHER HEADLINES THIS WEEK
- The Cuban Winter League is all set to begin play. Each of the 16 FABL baseball teams are providing some top prospects to staff clubs in the new 8-team loop.
- A week after settling for a tie against St Blane, Rome State lost for the first time since the final game of the 1943 season, falling 30-27 to Academia Alliance school Pierpont. St Blane hammered St Magnus 37-0 and is ranked #1 in the college grid polls.
- AFA defending champion Boston Americans lost for the second week in a row, after the Yanks were blanked 24-0 by the Chicago Wildcats.
- The Kansas City Cowboys top the CFC with a 10-1 record thanks to another big game from former St Magnus three-sport star Pat Chappell at quarterback. Chappell threw for 208 yards and 2 touchdowns in the Cowboys 38-13 win over Brooklyn.
- President Truman pledges co-operation with Congress as necessary to avoid "serious difficulties". It was the President's first public address since last week's election which swept the Republicans into power in Congress.
- Truman also told the nation in an Armistice Day message that "the welfare of the United States and the welfare of the world are wrapped up in one package -peace and welfare of the world as a whole."
Full national sports coverage is available in this week's edition of
THIS WEEK IN FIGMENT BASEBALL