The Wingham Advance-Times, 1973-03-08, Page 18NEW
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TOr.rGUE.
N CHEEK
ay N ROBERTSON
y Huron
ert
-Youi :know the old saying:
"Mae only counts in horse
shOeS?" Well; I think it's time
ttus was broadened just a little to
dude coaching in the National
'Hockey League. it appears that
close is the only thing that counts
in measuring coaching longevity
in the NIIL.
By only thing, I mean forget the.
guy who actually wins it all. He's
,immediately stuck for an encore,
and thus one way or another
they'll get him even before he has
a chance to' lose it the following
year.
Think I'm talking through the
old chapeau, eh?
Okay then, answer this: Which
coaches of perennially contend-
ing NHL teams have never won a
Stanley Cup?
That's easy! Emile "The Cat"
Francis of the New York Rangers
and Billy Reay of the Chicago
Black Hawks.
Both men consistently come up
with outstanding, power laden
units which torment their fans
into squealing: "At last! This is
our year! Next year has finally
arrived!"
But sure enough, every spring,
,the Rangers and Hawks find a
way of losing, by an eyelash, to
either Boston or Montreal. But
while coaches' scalps are cleaved
all around. them, The Cat and
Billy always manage to survive
to coach another day. And I think
that's fine because they'reboth
good coaches and good people—
. besides being fellow prairie sod -
busters. : And us prairie sod -
busters have to stick together.
Alas, it appears asif both Reay
and Francis are destined to be
bridesmaids .again this season --
but don't worry, they'll be back!
The guy to worry about is Scotty
Bowman of the Montreal Cana -
diens. And if Scotty wins the
Stanley Cup this spring and gets
fired .. well, it's his own fault.,
I' mean, last year he played it
smart, He'iinished third and got
eliminated in the first round of
the.playoffs. That's "next year"
country, where you can always
COO . the -fans and reporters into
belt±eving ghat i 400ts co dd find .
e just one more ^forward or
defenceman, you .Mould win it all.
'Instead of pretending to search
fruitlessly for that "One Big
Guy" to put him over the'hump,
Bowman has gone out and put to-•
gether enough talent to win in a
walk.
Thus, Scotty Bowman is doom-
ed. . doomed to go the way of
the last six previous Stanley Cup
winners, Punch Unlach' (1966-67),
Toe Blake (1967-68),, Claude Ruel
(1968-69), Harry Sinden (1969-70),
Al: McNeif`'(1970-71) and Tommy
Johnson (1971-72).
Mter winning: his fou7rth Stan
ley'Cup, Imlach fell into disfavor
With the late Stafford Smythe and
was fired. Blakey perhaps the
greatest.coach whoever laced on
a skate in the NHL, resigned
shortly, after winnhig it all in 1967'-
68:° And year after year .Stanley
Cuprwinning coaches continued to
tumble like 10 -pins. .
Claude Ruel destroyed himself
right off ;the bat. In his rookie
season behind the bench in the
NIIL he led the Canadiens to a
first place finish and the Cup.
How do you improve on that?
In a desperate attempt to save
his job, Ruel took the Canadiens
all the way to fifth the following
year, right out of the playoffs, but
shortly after he was asked to re-
sign. Finishing fifth, the Cana -
diens could live with: But not with
a guy who had won everything
the year before.
Meanwhile, over in Boston,
Bobby Orr was blossoming into
the best all-round player in the
game, and Harry Sinden had
• methodically taken a perennial
cellar -dweller and built a solid
Stanley Cup championship unit
around the mighty, Orr.
But Sinden made the classic
mistake of going all the way. He
had finished in just the right
spot—in Reay's and Francis'
spot—in 1968-69. Giving Cana -
diens a helluva scare but losing
by a whisker, in the playoffs.
•
The following year it's Harry's
turn to sip the champagne. And,
wouldn't you know, within a
matter of weektAlarry isout as
coach of the ,Boston, Bruins. The
story went that Harry had re-
ceived an offer he couldn't refuse
from a prefabricated housing
company. In truth, Weston
unloaded him by refusing to give •
him a raise. Harry had made the
mistake of upstaging the boy
owner, who didn't feel he'd got
enough credit for the Bruins' suc-
cess -and never would as long as
Harry : was around. The next
year, Canadiens' Al McNeil set a
record which will never be
broken: You've heard of coaches
winning the Stanley Cup in their
' first season? Well, McNeil did it
in just half a season, taking over
from Claude Ruel in December
and going all the way, past Bos-
ton, past Chicago, to the Stanley
Cup and then out the door. •
A month later, like Ruel had
done before him, McNeil "re-
signed". Sam Pollock, he said,
had made him an offer he
.couldn't refuse: He was sending
him -back tothe minors to coag..,;
the Nova Scotia Voyageurs, and.
also to be their general manager.
McNeil was so grateful just to get
out of Montreal away from a
carping French press and a few
ungrateful wretcheswho wore
Canadien sweaters, he went as
he'd come in like a gentleman.
When Sinden walked the: plank,
the Bruins had elevated Tommy
Johnson to replace him. Johnson
played it smart the first year,
just losing by ye olde proverbial
hair to McNeil in seven games in
the Stanley Cep playoffs. But the
next year, Johnson did himself in.
Net only did he finish on top for
the second year in a row, but he
won the dratted Cup. Well, we all
know what happened after that.
Harry Sinden, his old friend (like
who needs enemies?), pulled the
plug on Tommy.
And. now, Scotty Bowman is
making the same mistake the
others did. And next year he'll be
gone—and Reay and Emile will
coach happily ever after.
LDSS GIRLS' CURLING—Team members are: back row, Whitfield, Lead; Donna Newbigging, spare; Mrs. C. Pratt,
left to right, Susan Cooper, vice; Jan Gitlin, second; Susan coach and front row, Karen Harris, skip. (LDSS Photo)
:•VICTORIOUS SCHOOLBOY CURLERS at the Huron;Perth'spiel in Teeswater were this
Exeter South Huron rink proudly holding the pennant symbolic of their topping the boys'
section.,They are Donald Noakes, Alan Hern, John Noakes, Coach Ted: Davies and Donald
Cooper. (Staff Photo)
SEAFORTH DISTRICT HIGH SCHOOL team won the girls' section of the Huron -Perth
curling bonspiel at Wingham Curling Club and are seen proudly holding the pennant and
hardware: Left to right are Darlene Storey, Fay Storey, Coach Mrs. B. Weido, Elizabeth
Pryce and Karen Hemingway. .. (Staff Photo)
ALWAYS RETURNS
The boomerang has been
known to return to the thrower
even after striking the ground.
WINGHAM COACH DAVE HAWK•INS was keeper of the' .
records oh, bonspiel day at Teeswater and here explains the
standings part way through .proceedings to Clinton curlers,
!rry Lobb (centre) and Doug Peterson. (Staff Photo)
Service Diredory
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$15 for dead horses.
$10 for dead cows over; 500
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Now serving these commu-
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LORENZ DEADSTOCK
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24-hour service
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Phone 369-2410 collect
Serving farmers since 1947
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We are now paying $5-$15
for fresh dead or disabled
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License No. 237-C-7
Call us first, you won't
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24 -Hour Service
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CALL COLLECT 4824811 -
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Imphments, Homo,
Household Contents
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WINGHAM, ONT.
357-1442
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Good Quality Holstein or Beef
Calves, 1 to 3 weeks old. Rea-
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ATTENTION FARMERS 44
Due to the increase of meat prices we
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HERE IS A GENERAL VIEWV of the contestants in the
girls' division of they Huron -Perth high school curlers' bon.
Spiel in WInghar m as all eyes are focussed on the game.
(Staff Photo)
RUNNERS-UP IN Huron -Perth curling were these Goderich Coil late girls who com-
peted in the Huron' Perth conference 'spiel at Wingham Curling Cltib bast week: Kathleen
McCreath, Karen Rivett, skip; Brenda Moore and Coach Elmer Roberytson. (Staff Photo)