History of the A's

 
 

A's and Duffs Go Down To The Wire

 

 

ORANGEVILLE WAS GIVEN A BIG SCARE 

MANAGED TO PULL OUT A WIN AT THE FINISH 

LOCALS AHEAD UNTIL THE END 

GOOD EXHIBITION OF NATIONAL GAME ON THE HOLIDAY 

The St. Catharines Standard 

Tuesday August 7, 1923 

Orangeville was given a big scare here yesterday when the Senior Athletics got the jump on them in the first quarter and were never headed until the last period. The Dufferins then got enough goals to pull out a 5 to 4 win, scoring the winning counter in the last ten seconds of play. 

During the first three quarters, the fast and famous Dufferin home was checked to a standstill by the local defense, and only a couple of times did they get in any really effective work. In these three periods, Orangeville scored two goals, both of them from outside. 

The last act was full of excitement and replete with fast work on the part of both teams. Orangeville entered this period on the short end of a 3 to 2 score. They opened with a big rush and were bombarding Rhodes in the net for St. Kitts for all they were worth. In fact, “Dusty” was so busy he couldn’t see where they were coming from. However, he weathered the storm in fine shape, and during the first part of the quarter they did not get it by. Sargent got the score which evened things up with a long shot, and shortly after this, Robinson, who came out fresh at the beginning of the quarter, put the Dufferins in front for the first time during the game, with a well placed shot which Rhodes had no chance to stop. This made the score 4 to 3 for Orangeville. 

St. Catharines tightened up and again became aggressors. They did a little bombarding on their own hook. It was about three minutes later that Perc Oille tied up the score. He took a neat pass from Wagstaffe and went through the Dufferins defense like it was his trade, giving Firth no chance to save. The score stood 4 – 4. 

Both teams were battling hard, trying for the winning goal, and with only a few minutes to go, Oille again got away but he was stopped when Firth left his goal and the two collided just outside the defense, both men going down. Oille was not hurt badly, but Firth’s ankle went bad and he was forced to retire from the game. Bert Booth was thrown into the breach, being given the job of trying to keep the Athletics out. Booth is the regular goalie for the Dufferins, but had his leg broken in the first game of the season against Mimico and has not appeared in uniform since. However, it had mended enough for Bert to handle a wicked stick and he kept the locals out. 

With less than a minute to go and the score still 4 – 4, Gordon for Orangeville took a long shot at the net. Rhodes could probably have made the stop, but one of the visitors got in his way and the ball slipped into the net for the deciding goal of the game. Rhodes and several other local players claimed that the interfering Dufferin was inside the crease when he got in Rhodes way, but the protest availed nothing and the goal was allowed to count. Before the ball was again faced off, the whistle blew and the game was over with the Dufferins ahead by a slim margin of one goal. 

The game was fast all the way through and was featured by a great deal of close, hard checking. The work of the local defense nearly all the game was of a high order and they held the Dufferin sharp shooters at bay nicely. Eddie Sheehan was used at inside home, and he proved a capable man at this position. Goudie also put up a nice game. Oille and Bill Pennie were good at all times and their speed was a big factor in the game. 

Wagstaffe, the local juvenile, got in the game for the last two quarters and relieved Millar in the third quarter. “Red”, however, got back in the game in the final session. 

Scott and Gordon were the best for Orangeville, while Sargent also put up a neat game. Gordon got three of the Dufferins five goals. 

The game started out fast, and was labeled from the first, a close hard checking affair. The Athletics opened the scoring when May was given a free throw by Referee Len Smith. He passed down the field to Eddie Sheehan who went through the opposing defense single-handed and beat Firth with a nice shot. 

There was no further scoring in this period which ended one to nothing for the Athletics. 

In the second, Gordon scored when Birmingham was given a penalty for a bit of slugging which happened to land. 

Oille put St. Kitts in the lead again with a long shot that fooled Firth. The half time score was 2 to 1. 

In the third period, Barber saw a hole in the Dufferin defense and he went through it making the score 3 to 1 for the locals. Gordon brought up the Orangeville total soon after this with another outside shot. 

The score at the end of the third quarter was 3 to 2 for St. Kitts. 

Orangeville started the scoring in the last, Sargent and Robinson each accounting for one. Oille evened the score and Gordon gave the visitors the winning goal. 

The teams lined up as follows: 

Athletics: Rhodes, goal; May, point; G. Pennie, cover; Haffey, 1st defense; Birmingham, 2nd defense; Barber, 3rd defense; Bill Pennie, centre; McIntosh, 3rd home; Miller, 2nd home; Goudie, 1st home; Oille, outside; Sheehan, inside. Spares, O’Malley, Comrie, Wagstaffe. 

Orangeville: Firth, goal; Henderson, point; Cushing, cover; Scott, 1st defense; Ewing, 2nd defense; Cruikshank, 3rd defense; Burnside, centre; Sargent, 3rd home; Robinson, 2nd home; Golden, 1st home; Gordon, outside; Hawken, inside. Spares: Wilson and Brown. 

Referee: Len Smith. 

Judge of play: Carmichael.

RETURN