The return of Vancouver Canucks hockey is right around the corner.
We’re exactly one month away from the start of the regular season for the Canucks, with opening night on October 12 in Edmonton against the Oilers. Before that, there will be prospect games in Penticton, with the Young Stars Classic starting this week on September 16. After that, the veterans will officially report to Canucks training camp and the preseason kicks off on September 25.
But maybe you can’t wait that long.
That’s understandable. The offseason has been very long for Canucks fans, who are hoping for a considerably shorter offseason next year. If you’re eager to watch a Canucks game right now, it’s hard to blame you.
So, let’s go back in time to watch a Canucks game from the past. Way, way back in time, all the way to their very first season — November 7, 1970, when they faced the Toronto Maple Leafs in Vancouver.
Footage of the game has been uploaded to YouTube a few times. This particular video is a recording of when it was shown on the NHL Network. The great Jim Robson has the call on play-by-play, with Jack Dennett providing the colour commentary.
This was the Canucks’ 14th game of the season and their second game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Canucks beat the Leafs 5-3 in their first meeting, with two goals from Wayne Maki and a three-point night for Andre Boudrias. It was their first-ever win.
The rematch on November 7, 1970 was nationally televised and one can assume the Leafs were eager for a measure of revenge. They were likely in a foul mood too after losing 8-4 to the California Golden Seals the night before.
Perhaps that’s why there were 80 minutes of penalties in the game, including 12 fighting majors.
"It's my job to protect him."
The game is picked up already in progress with the score knotted at 1-1. The Leafs’ Jim Harrison opened up the scoring earlier in the period, then took a high-sticking penalty and fought Canucks defenceman Pat Quinn — yes, that Pat Quinn — after which Mike Pelyk took a slashing penalty, giving the Canucks the two-man advantage.
“He went after Bouds [Andre Boudrias],” said Quinn after the game to the Vancouver Sun’s Bob Dunn about his fight with Harrison. “It’s my job to protect him. He scores the goals for me.”
Boudrias is easily identifiable during the game — he’s one of the few Canucks wearing a helmet, he’s wearing a big number 7, and he’s on the ice a lot. The forward dubbed “Superpest” was the Canucks’ first star player, leading them in scoring in four of their first five seasons.
The Canucks scored on the 5-on-3, with the goal initially credited to the Canucks’ first-ever draft pick, Dale Tallon, but it was eventually credited to captain Orland Kurtenbach instead. The action picks up with the Canucks still on the power play after the Kurtenbach goal.
The Canucks have veteran goaltender Charlie Hodge in net, while the Leafs have the legendary Jacques Plante. This was Plante’s best season of his career statistically, putting up a .944 save percentage and 1.89 goals against average, but he only appeared in 40 games — a far cry from the 70 games he played in the 1961-62 season when he won both the Vezina and the Hart.
Hodge makes a pretty spectacular save at around 19:25 in the video, sprawling to stack the pads and rob Ron Ellis on a point-blank chance. Just try to ignore how Ellis is blatantly tripped by Canucks defenceman Poul Popiel as he takes the shot.
At 26:24 in the video, the Leafs take the lead, with Garry Monahan scoring the go-ahead goal in the final minute of the first period. Monahan scooped in a rebound over the sprawling Hodge with Canucks defenceman John Schella unable to tie up the Leafs forward.
Kurtenbach gets a puppy
Not captured in this video is Kurtenbach getting a gift prior to puck drop in the second period — a husky puppy. The dog was given to his son and reportedly named “Canuck.”
At the 41:22 mark comes the turning point of the game or, at least, a turning point. On a Canucks power play, Plante sprawled out to stop Wayne Maki, number 11. When he went down, however, he stayed down and ended up grabbing at his right knee.
Plante stayed in the game momentarily but left a few minutes later, replaced by Bruce Gamble, who had just played the night before in California. Perhaps if Plante had been able to stay in the game, it would have gone differently.
At 51:35, Pat Quinn gets into yet another fight, this time in an unusual spot for him: in front of the opposing net. Quinn didn’t jump up in the rush very often, but he crashed the crease on this occasion, looking for a rebound off a Poul Popiel shot. He didn’t get the rebound, but he did tangle with the Leafs’ Jim Dorey, who may not have liked Quinn running into his backup goaltender who had been forced into action.
55:12 features another great Hodge stop, bailing out Tallon after he lost the puck at the Leafs’ blue line, giving up a 2-on-1 the other way. Honestly, with the way the goaltenders played back then, it seems amazing they made any saves at all. Their athleticism was truly impressive.
More fights erupt at 1:02:54, with Gary Doak and Billy MacMillan throwing some wild punches. Then Rosaire Paiment fights Garry Monahan. It’s wild and completely understandable why people used to joke about watching a fight and then a hockey game broke out.
At 1:09:18, there’s a massive open-ice hit by Canucks defenceman Marc Reaume, as he steps up and crushes Leafs winger Guy Trottier.
Reaume only played in 27 games for the Canucks that season and had just two points, but he could really throw a hit — that wasn’t Reaume’s only big hit of the game.
Tallon ties the game with a solo effort
Tallon’s high-risk, high-reward play paid off towards the end of the second period. Starting at 1:10:12, Tallon makes a spectacular dash up the ice, bursts between two Leafs defenders, and finds a gap in Gamble with a shot from the left side.
“There is a perfect combination of persistence and puck manipulation,” said Dennett.
The Canucks and Leafs went into the third period tied. The Leafs were looking to take the lead on a Mike Pelyk breakaway at 1:16:18 in the video, but Tallon dove out to break up the play, practically tackling Pelyk and getting a penalty.
There was some concern after the helmetless Tallon went crashing into the boards on the play but Tallon was able to continue, despite seeming to smack the back of his head on the boards.
“I’ve got lots of hair,” said Tallon after the game, according to The Province’s Clancy Loranger. “I was stunned for a while, but it wasn’t serious.”
There’s a rather shocking “joke” from Dennett at 1:24:16 as he gives an out-of-town score update: “Montreal 11, Buffalo 2, and Mr. Imlach ready to take the gas pipe.” Yikes.
Game-winner from Hall
The third period features some thrilling action as the Leafs poured on the pressure but Hodge stood tall in the Canucks net, finishing with 27 saves on 29 shots. The penalties died down, as neither team wanted to give up another power play in a tie game, though there may have also been some game management — some seemingly obvious penalties, even by the standards of the time, went uncalled.
The third also featured some great slapstick comedy. Should I laugh at Pat Quinn and Gary Doak colliding with each other like something out of a Keystone Kops routine? They were both fine, so it’s probably okay.
The Canucks finally get the game-winning goal at 1:34:16. Wayne Maki’s shot off the right wing was blocked but he still got the puck in front of the net, leading to a wild scramble with both Orland Kurtenbach and Murray Hall whacking at the puck.
Kurtenbach’s initial shot was stopped but Hall, while falling to the ice, shoveled in the backhand.
“I was on my knees, all twisted around,” said Hall to Dunn. “I tried to dump it past him, hoping it would go in.”
The final minutes feature some fantastic work by Kurtenbach to keep the puck in the Leafs’ zone, preventing them from getting Gamble to the bench for the extra attacker until there was less than a minute left.
That’s the type of game that Canucks general manager Bud Poile was expecting from Kurtenbach when he picked him in the expansion draft. What he wasn’t expecting was Kurtenbach to be a point-per-game player. He scored 21 goals and 53 points in 52 games in the Canucks’ first season.
When Kurtenbach got injured in December and missed three months, the Canucks never recovered and ultimately missed the playoffs.
Stray observations
- One thing that strikes me about the game is that it was decently fast-paced. There’s a general sense that games from past decades were significantly slower than today’s game and, while the game is definitely faster now, it’s still a speedy game, with some legitimate speedsters.
- Tallon could legitimately fly, particularly in comparison to some of the slower skaters. When he stars to wheel from behind the net, it’s pretty exciting.
- The faceoffs are an interesting difference from the modern game. They’re far less physical, with the players standing further apart and primarily using their sticks to swipe at the puck.
- Also, when the puck is tied up along the boards or under a player, the whistle is blown immediately. It’s weird.
- One fun note is that the Canucks were only using one defenceman on their top power play unit. Dale Tallon played one point while centre Ray Cullen played the other point. As much as going with one defenceman and four forwards on the power play is seen as a modern innovation, it’s clearly something that was being done, at least sometimes, over 50 years ago in the NHL.
- The lack of music beyond the traditional organ is refreshing. While it’s tough to pick out exactly what’s being shouted, you can distinctly hear individual fans during breaks in the play. It makes me wish that the Canucks would do at least a few retro nights each season where they go old-school without any music or video board shenanigans. But maybe we don’t want to actually hear what Canucks fans would shout.
- Honestly, it’s nice that one of the few video recordings that survives from the Canucks’ first season was from one of their few wins.
