orillia 37

The Rivalry With The Purple-Clad Terriers

Tonight up at Orillia arena on the shores of Lake Couchiching, optimism was never higher in lacrosse circles than exists in the camp of the St. Catharines Athletics. They are keen to take the purple-white Mann Cup champions right in their own backyard and qualify for the final round against Mimico Mounties, starting later for the Ontario championship. There is no great worry in the camp of Danny Millar and Tip Teather, as they looked over the situation yesterday, following a brisk workout in the late afternoon under the arch lights of the northern arena. True it is that the Terrier rink is not ablaze with lights like the Garden City layout and while they are offering no alibis, the poorer lighting did not help much in the Monday game, which the blue-barred Saints dropped by a 14 – 8 count. But the right sort of confidence, for a team that is still “red-hot”, exists in the A’s headquarters at the Orillia House. With Dan Millar as spokesman, and redheaded Win Millar backing up the statement, the consensus of opinion is that “we’re going to win that third game tonight.” George Hope came home on Monday night, where Dr. V. P. MacMahon yesterday removed the scalp stitches from the injured player’s head. Hope fully expects to be in tonight’s big game and will add a deal of power thereto. Roy (Pung) Morton, who took quite a barging around Monday, is nursing a stiff knee, but other than that and a groin sprain to Jack Jamieson, the Athletics are in tip-top form and “rarin’ to go.” Orillia is really lacrosse mad. ‘Tis the talk of the town and naturally, the northern hamlet is solidly behind the Mann Cuppers. Both Tom Teather and Frank Carroll see victory in the offing, but both cannot win. St. Catharines is said to have asked for a change of referees from Burrell and Leighton. The pair took quite a scalding from Toronto sports scribes who saw the second game. Athletics said nothing then, but they must have thought a lot.

The Athletics are backed against the wall tonight at Orillia. The odds are all against the A’s bringing a win out of the bandbox arena, and yet, one feels the prize dangling at the end of the playoff trail will furnish the extra incentive necessary to put the blue boys over. The team remained over in Orillia following the game Monday night and will return home after tonight’s game.

It is not likely that George Hope will be in tonight’s game. The lad is definitely not back to normal after the bad slash here and, though a helmet has been secured for him, he may not attempt to use it. Hope returned to St. Catharines following the game Monday but will be on the scene tonight, anyway. Hope's injury puts a double burden on the others and at this stage it is a real handicap.

Through the courtesy of the St. Catharines City Council, as sponsors of the occasion in appreciation of the wide interest of residents and the sports fraternity of the city and district, tonight’s senior box lacrosse game at Orillia arena will be broadcast over station CKTB. Sports Commentator Rex Stimers will give the play-by-play description, with Program Manager Mitchell as assistant and the game will go on the air at 9 o’clock (D.S.T.). The general public undoubtedly appreciates to a major extent the fine spirit of sportsmanship exemplified by the city fathers in providing the sports broadcast of the title game.

(At the Tuesday session of the city council, aldermen Goring and Wherry presented a resolution to provide $150 for the broadcast and it was passed without opposition).

The fog has passed. Tonight’s another night and optimism reigns in lacrosse circles again. That Athletics will come through against Terriers in the third tilt and supreme test of the senior semi-finals this evening at the Orillia bandbox. The reasoning of the boosters is sound enough. They doubt that the purple Mann Cuppers can dispense the same stylish brand of box pastiming twice in succession, which is as logical as lightning striking twice in the same place.

Then take the case of young Ray Mortimer. It is extremely doubtful if that the understudy of ole’ Bill McArthur can duplicate the brilliant net minding he did on the holiday night. He was hung with horseshoes on many of the blueshirts sizzlers, while he looked even better when they hurled rubber directly in his path, instead of carefully sorting the open spaces. There is also an answer to that one. On practically all their shots, the checking was so brisk and the snipers so hurried when getting them away that one in every three did no better than rebound off wood.

Quarters were so cramped that an enemy was hanging literally on their necks whenever they turned and this applied to one as well as the other. Though A’s had played twice there this season, it was Terriers’ home plot and exactly the reverse of what transpired down here was in evidence there. The day of rest is sure to do the troopers of Tom Teather a world of good and George Hope will be able to digest solid food now to put renewed vigor into his stalwart frame. The boys will therefore do 50 per cent better tonight than on Monday, so hope is strong.

Now that the A’s have seen the O’s at their fanciest on Monday and just so-so last Friday, the law of averages hardly holds that they can turn in two in a row. The Blues are still “steaming hot” and ready for any openings that show. So things look a deal brighter in hue and even money is all anyone can get on Orillia coming through. The purples are not any too confident themselves of repeating.

‘Twill be Orillia Terriers and Mimico Mountaineers for the senior box lacrosse title of Ontario this season. Last night in the northern stronghold, the purple Mann Cup champions of Frank Carroll withstood the Athletics in the third and deciding game of the semi-finals, sending the blueshirts into elimination by a 12 – 9 score. By quarters the Terriers led 5 – 3, 7 – 4, 9 – 7 and their climaxing 12 – 9 score, but it was anybody’s game for the asking and taking up to the end of the third and Orillia was quick to acknowledge the fact. Catching three penalties against one in the fourth quarter handicapped the blue offensive as the homesters outscored the visitors 3 – 2 for victory.

Terriers were not going to be caught flat as they were here in the opener. Like the second game the purples flashed into a desperate offensive and duplicated the first victory by sniping the initial goal in jig-time when Cheevers slid the pass to Connell, who barged in on Whittaker and clicked in the starter in just 15 seconds. Both coaches leaned toward stacked defences and when a player was benched, it was a guard who took his place. Boettger charged Frank Madsen and was ditched with Steggall coming on for a winger. After Coles whipped in the second tally for Orillia, both teams changed to their second lines. Play was bitterly close, checking tight and tightest battling for loose rubber. It was one of those that Fitzgerald snared to set the score at 2 – 1, but Walsh fed McMahon the snap that boosted Terriers up one in another minute.

The rivals turned on the pressure then and while Hope got a rest for cross-checking Bill Curran, the repeat ones of Ernie Curran on Fitzgerald and Connell on Urquhart escaped official eyes. Barnard from F. Madsen again trimmed the margin back to 3 – 2 and while Barnard cooled off for slashing Coles, Morton combined with Urquhart to knot the tally for the only time during the triple games. Whittaker rose to stardom in saving two sizzlers from Connell, but against the second line that closed the period, both Bill and Ernie Curran tallied to step the purples into the driver’s seat again at 5 – 3 for the period end.

Kelly’s flattening by Barnard escaped the refs in the start of the second with Orillia doubling the score when Jordan’s shot was stopped by Whittaker, but it fell in off his leg at 6 – 3. Walsh tripped Fitz and was jugged as Orillia held out. Picking the upper corner, Steggall from McMahon made it 7 – 3. Lines changed and F. Madsen tripped Connell for a cool-off. Barnard raced into the nets when Whittaker was caught out and saved well on Coles’ hot shot.

Jordan was checked hard by Barnard and carried off the crease, but no penalty followed. On a Millar-Curran tangle it was Hope who was benched and as lines changed again, the star goal of the night came from Gus Madsen, who soloed in and picked the net corner to be crashed flat by Connell, just as he got the shot away that set the tally at 7 – 4 for Orillia at half-time.

The blue seconds started the third chukker against the purple regulars and it was in that quarter that they outscored the homesters 3 – 2, sniping the first and last two of the five while the northerners copped the middle pair of registers.

Kalinoski snared a loose ball for the starter and soloed in with a spinner play that fooled the home defence and gave Mortimer no chance. Cheevers intercepted Hope’s pass and shot the ball to Kelly and again Orillia was three up at 8 – 5. McMahon tossed the next one to Bill Curran and a deceiving back-hander shot past Whittaker at 9 – 5. Two minutes later the Teather-Morton pair functioned and the former pared it back one, with rougher work creeping in. Hope crosschecked Jordan then Boettger necked Millar and Bob Jamieson slashed Connell to put the blues two short.

Nothing daunted, the A’s went on the attack, Kalinoski to Fitzgerald to Gus Madsen and the score read 9 – 7. Steggall tripped Fitzgerald, but the latter’s penalty shot (lone one of the series) was nipped by Mortimer. Morton missed an open net from hasty precision, with the pace red-hot and play flashing from end to end rapidly. So high was the tension that young Ray Mortimer collapsed in the enemy nets and was carried off, bringing veteran Bill McArthur into action. It looked like a good break for the A’s. The quarter ended at 9 – 7 and the game still ready for either.

Saints tried every means to score in the early final, when Connell was ditched for boarding Fitzgerald, but the purples backed in to bolster McArthur. Resorting to long shots, Kelly whistled in one from 50 feet out that fooled Whittaker at 10 – 7 and Ernie Curran duplicated the trick two minutes after with another drifter.

A’s suffered twin penalties then, Hope for slashing Connell and Fitzgerald for tripping Cheevers, but the blues never let up in their desperate battling tactics. They held Terriers out with both at full strength, Walsh pivoted around Hope to coast in on Whittaker and step the champions up five at 12 – 7. Then came the sternest box pastiming of the night. Athletics threw everything in their power against the purple defence, who backed up and stacked the rear wall for McArthur. Terriers were luckier on loose balls, but the blues checked them fiercely and outplayed them in the bitter battling for possession. Morton snared a loose rubber and whirled in on McArthur, who was nearly caught cold more than once before, to trim the lead back to 12 – 6 and Whittaker had busy moments when Urquhart went off for crosschecking Jordan. Another grim series of scrambles for loose balls and Fitzgerald got possession for the closing goal of the game and series, with less than a minute left to play. But there was not time enough to close the three-goal gap and the gong clanged to end the game and round and put the Terriers in the finals and the gallant Athletics out.

	Goal	Assists	Time
Orillia	Connell	-	0:15
Orillia	Coles	-	2:27
St. C.	Fitzgerald	-	4:18
Orillia	McMahon	Walsh	5:50
St. C.	Barnard	F. Madsen	7:10
St. C.	Urquhart	Morton	8:35
Orillia	W. Curran	Walsh	11:20
Orillia	E. Curran	McMahon	13:10

	Goal	Assists	Time
Orillia	Jordan	-	3:10
Orillia	Steggall	McMahon	4:34
St. C.	C. Madsen	-	14:10

	Goal	Assists	Time
St. C.	Kalinoski	-	3:35
Orillia	Kelly	Cheevers	4:42
Orillia	W. Curran	McMahon	7:18
St. C.	Morton	Teather	9:35
St. C.	C. Madsen	Fitzgerald-Kalinoski	11:15

	Goal	Assists	Time
Orillia	Kelly	-	5:12
Orillia	E. Curran	-	7:35
Orillia	Walsh	-	10:14
St. C.	Morton	-	11:50
St. C.	Fitzgerald	-	14:15

A gallant band of blue-garbed warriors, just as full of fight in the dying seconds as they were in the opening ones, went into elimination in senior lacrosse last night up at Orillia and left the Mimico Mounts and north Terriers to battle it out for the Ontario box finals. On the merits of the second and third games, the Mann Cup holders were the better team. They had a little edge in luck or ability at loose balls and holding the balance of play. Beyond that, it could have gone either way to victory.

Whether the Carroll-coached purples can repeat for their fourth title remains to be seen, but if they are taken out of the picture, the light and dark blue Mimicos can thank the Athletics for making their paths a bit easier to travel. The finals may be a brilliant series of soirees in the best three-in-five, but Orillia is free to admit that St. Kitts gave them three grand battles before giving up the lacrosse ghost. Like the second clash, the third period was the best for the A’s in beating Terriers.

Frankly, now that is over, the semi-finals were not the unduly rough ones expected. Checking was brisk, but not brutal. Neither side could afford to waste manpower with penalties, but all the tricks of the box trade were utilized in the hope of “getting by.” A’s spent 18 minutes on the bench to 10 for the O’s, but few proved the costly sort. An idea of the high mental tension can be gleaned from the fact of Mortimer’s collapse after a game and three periods, but that junior goalie certainly earned his net spurs.