It’s the 1960-61 EPHL playoffs. Sault Ste. Marie Thunderbirds visit Hull-Ottawa.
The regular season ended March 19th with Hull in first place, Kitchener second, the Soo third and Kingston Frontenacs fourth. Under the screwy playoff logic of the day, first and second place met in one semi-final, and third and fourth in the other. Sault Ste. Marie won their series in five games. It took the Habs seven to eliminate Kitchener.
The 1960-61 Thunderbirds were a farm team of the Chicago Black Hawks. The Black Hawks, who had finished third in the NHL, were currently tied at two wins apiece with Detroit in the Stanley Cup finals, and would go on to win the Cup. In both 1959-60 and 1960-61 the EPHL playoffs went on longer than the NHL’s.
Past and future NHLers on the Thunderbirds roster were Eddie Kachur, Cliff Schmautz, Pat Stapleton, Merve Kuryluk, Dusty Blair, Matt Ravlich, Milan Marcetta, Alain Caron, Bob Wilson, Doug Robinson, Murray Hall, Denis DeJordy and Roy Edwards. The Thunderbirds’ top scorer in 1960-61, Fred Hilts, never played in the NHL.
This was Game One of the finals.
First period: goals by McCreary (Hull) and Rousseau (Hull).
Second period: goals by Smith (Hull) and Schmautz (Soo).
Third period: goals by Schmautz (Soo), Pennington (Hull), Gray (Hull), Kuryluk (Soo) and Skov (Hull).
Final score: 6 – 3.
The Hull-Ottawa Canadiens went on to win the Foley Memorial Trophy in seven games.
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