TIGERFAN'S SPORTING DAILY : SUNDAY APRIL 1, 1947
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
BRODA SHUTOUT BACKSTOPS LEAFS TO SWEEP IN NEW YORK
Toronto goaltender Turk Broda turned aside all 35 New York shots as the Maple Leafs blanked the Rangers 1-0 to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven semi-final series. The only goal of the game was scored when Leaf forward Bill Ezinicki redirected a Garth Boesch shot from the point past New York netminder Chuck Rayner. Broda was the difference in the game, particularily in a third period in which the Rangers repeatedly buzzed the Toronto cage and outshot the Leafs 12-3.
The Leafs will look to complete the series sweep with wins on home ice in games 3 and 4 which are slated for Tuesday and Wednesday at Maple Leaf Gardens.
SCORING SUMMARY
P E R I O D 1
No scoring
Penalties- Mortson Tor holding 4:20
P E R I O D 2
TOR Bill Ezinicki 2 (G Boesch) 15:45
Penalties - Ezinicki Tor roughing 9:56
P E R I O D 3
No scoring
Penalties - Meeker Tor slashing 0:07; Kennedy Tor interference 2:47; Lynn Tor high sticking 12:16
SHOTS ON GOAL
Rayner NY 9 8 3=20
Broda Tor 13 11 12=36
SERIES 'B' New York vs Toronto
Thursday March 29 at New York Leafs 5-1
Saturday March 31 at New York Leafs 1-0
Tuesday April 3 at Toronto
Wednesday April 4 at Toronto
Friday April 6 at New York (if necc)
Saturday April 7 at Toronto (if necc)
Tuesday April 10 at New York (if necc)
WINGS TAKE 2-1 SERIES LEAD ON RARE GOAL BY DEWSBURY
Rookie Detroit Red Wings defenseman Al Dewsbury scored only 5 goals during the regular season but he could not have picked a better time to get the first playoff goal of his NHL career. Dewsbury's shot from the point with 1:31 remaining in regulation got through a maze of bodies and behind Montreal goaltender Bill Durnan to give the Detroit Red Wings a 2-1 victory and a 2 games to one lead in their best of seven semi-final series with the Montreal Canadiens.
After a scoreless first period in which Detroit outshot Montreal 14-8 the Red Wings made Montreal pay for a high sticking penalty on Leo Gravelle. Ted Lindsay's one-timer on the powerplay beat Durnan to the stick side and gave the Wings a 1-0 lead midway through the second period. Montreal evened the score 7 minutes into the third period as Maurice Richard notched his third goal of the series.
Game 4 will be tonight in Montreal.
SCORING SUMMARY
P E R I O D 1
no scoring
Penalties: Reise Det tripping 2:05; Bouchard Mon unsportsmanlike 5:54; Bouchard Mon roughing 17:51; Couture Det high sticking 19:18
P E R I O D 2
DET Ted Lindsay 3 (Reise) 6:54 powerplay
Penalties: Gravelle Mon double minor high sticking 5:52; Harmon Mon cross-checking 11:43; Stewart Det roughing 14:47
P E R I O D 3
MON Maurice Richard 3 (Lach, Reardon) 7:51
DET Al Dewsbury 1 (Bruneteau, J Conacher) 18:29
SHOTS ON GOAL
Durnan MON 14 14 9=37
Lamley DET 8 12 11=31
SERIES 'A' Detroit vs Montreal
Tuesday March 27 at Detroit : Red Wings 4-2
Thursday March 29 at Detroit : Montreal 6-3
Saturday March 31 at Montreal : Red Wings 2-1
Sunday April 1 at Montreal
Wednesday April 4 at Detroit
Saturday April 7 at Montreal (if necc)
Sunday April 8 at Detroit (if necc)
BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA
STAGS AND BOMBERS BOTH LOSE, A 1-GAME PLAYOFF NEEDED IN WEST
The Chicago Stags and St Louis Bombers each lost their final regular season games last night to finish with identical 38-22 records and tied for top spot in the West Division. As a result a one game playoff will be needed to determine the division winner. Chicago won a coin toss last week and will host the playoff game Monday evening.
The Stags missed their chance to clinch the division when they fell 81-67 in Providence. Ernie Calverly had 17 points and Earl Shannon 16 for the upset minded Steamrollers. St Louis was beaten on its home court 56-52 by the Boston Celtics. Johnny Logan, with 16 points, was the only St Louis player to hit double figures in the game.
There were two other games last night. In Detroit, the Falcons dropped Toronto 60-52 while Bob Feerick had 27 points as Washington won a shootout 104-90 over Cleveland. The Washington-Cleveland game had no bearing on the playoff picture so the two teams seemed to be content to play as little defense as possible.
Only one playoff matchup is known. Philadelphia will open it's best of three quarterfinal series in Cleveland on Wednesday. Games two and three (if neccessary) will be Saturday and next Tuesday in Philadelphia.
EDITOR'S NOTE - In one issue earlier I mistakenly wrote that St Louis and Chicago finish the season with a game on Monday. It was not that I had simmed ahead but rather because I was using the real BAA schedule for this season and St Louis and Chicago tied in real life, just like in my sim, for top spot and required a one game playoff. Amazingly, the little quick play program I used to sim the season gave me incredibly accurate results. Below are current standings with real life numbers added at the end.
Code:
EAST GP W L PCT GB REAL LIFE
WSH 60 47 13 .783 x 49-11
PHI 59 38 21 .644 8.5 35-25
NY 59 30 29 .508 16.5 33-27
PROV 60 22 38 .367 25.0 28-32
BOS 59 20 39 .339 26.5 22-38
Tor 60 15 45 .250 32.0 22-38
WEST GP W L PCT GB REAL LIFE
CHI 60 38 22 .633 x 39-22 won tiebreaker
STL 60 38 22 .633 x 38-23 lost tiebreaker
CLE 59 33 26 .559 4.5 30-30
DET 60 24 36 .400 14.0 20-40
PIT 60 23 37 .383 15.0 15-45
LAST NIGHT'S GAMES
Detroit 60 Toronto 52
Boston 56 St Louis 52
Washington 104 Cleveland 90
Providence 81 Chicago 67
TONIGHT'S GAMES
New York at Philadelphia
Boston at Cleveland
END OF REGULAR SEASON
MONDAY'S GAME
St Louis at Chicago (West tiebreaker)
HOGAN SHOOTS 65 IN RYDER CUP PREVIEW
What a difference a day makes. After Ben Hogan and Henry Cotton struggled through a very windy back nine at Miami Beach's Bayshore Golf Club Friday, the two had little trouble mastering the course on a calm day yesterday.
Hogan shot a 7 under 65 while Cotton carded a 4 under 68. For those keeping track that gave the American Ryder Cup team captain an 8 stroke victory over his British counterpart in the two day event. However, it was more about raising money to get the British team to Portland for the September event than about competitive golf.
PEP TO DEFEND WORLD FEATHERWEIGHT TITLE APRIL 26
Featherweight champion of the World Willie Pep will put his perfect 17-0 record and his title on the line April 26th against European Champion Ray Famechon. This will be the first title defense for Pep, who earned the belt last September after winning a 15-round unanimous decision over Sandy Saddler in the post-war tournament final. The Hartford native will defend his title close to home as the bout will be held at the Boston Gardens.
Famechon, a native of France, won the European Title in December when he outpointed Finland's Ellis Ask. His postwar record is 25-11 including a loss to Pep by unanimous decision early in the postwar tournament.
In other news, number one Bantamweight contender Luis Galvani of Cuba will face Mexican Luis Castillo in Mexico City this Tuesday. The 27 year old Galvani is coming off an impressive win over Manny Ortiz that improved his career record to 30-4-1. Castillo, a Mexico City native, is 27-11-3 and considered the 6th best bantamweight fighter in the world. The 25 year old has won his last 8 bouts against steadily improving competition. However, Galvani will be by far his biggest test.
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE DRAFT WATCH
The NFL draft is just six days away but the Dallas Cowboys are still not tipping their hand as to who they will take with the first overall pick. It appears the Cowboys are still leaning towards taking Michigan defensive end Len *Ford but the Cowboys did bring Northwestern quarterback Otto *Graham in for a second workout over the weekend. However, the Cowboys also brought in former Pennsylvania DE George *Savitsky as well. One thing is for certain, if the Cowboys pass on Graham it is almost a certainty the Tampa Bay Bucs will grab the potential franchise quarterback with the second overall pick.
Based on rumblings draft expert Syd Nyquist now feels the top 5 picks are expected to be:
1- Dallas: Len *Ford DE Michigan
2- Tampa: Otto *Graham QB Northwestern
3- New York Giants: George *Savitsky DE Penn
4- Green Bay: Ken Murphy CB USC
5- Carolina: Paul *Governalli QB Columbia
IT'S APRIL! MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL JUST TWO WEEKS AWAY
The 1947 major league baseball season opens two weeks from today. One game from each league will be played on Sunday April 15th, before the rest of the teams get started over the following couple of days. The National League season opens in Pittsburgh where the pennant winning Pirates will entertain the St Louis Cardinals on opening day. The Bucs return most of the pieces from their pennant winning squad including Cy Young Award winner Cliff Melton who will be the opening day starter. Melton won a career best 28 games a year ago to claim his 4th career Cy Young Award.
The American League schedule opens in New York with the Yankees home to the St Louis Browns. The Browns will also be the visitor on Tuesday April 17th, when the World Series winning Cleveland Indians stage their season opener.