January 1922 – One man becomes a machine – the first rover

The subject

On December 24, 1921, the Canadiens were in Ottawa to face the Senators. The game was a clear blowout, with Sen eventually taking the game by a score of 10-0. Ottawa’s sixth goal was scored by Punch Broadbent seven minutes into the third period. It’s important, because you’ve hit every single game since then.

This is Ottawa’s third game of the season. They have played 13 so far, and the punch has scored in all but the second game. That’s exactly 11, because those who count at home. There’s a word for that. That … uh … * Checking notes * … ah here we are, it’s really good.

Punch hasn’t shot like this since 1914-15, when he scored 24 goals in 20 games for the NHA Senators. After that time, he went to serve in the army, he came back in 1918-19, and he has been trying to get that form since then. Job done, it seems.

Will he ever stop scoring? I mean, you have to, eventually. Even the Phantom Joe Malone went a game or two without hitting once in a blue moon. However, when will that happen? Who knows. It may take a while to surpass that record.

Game of the month

1/21 – Tiger 7, Senators 6 (OT) – Whenever you see a Tigers Game, you usually expect to get beat. The Senators are the best team in the league, and the Tigers have always been, not that. So when the score turned 4-1 Ottawa in the first period, no one batted an eyelash.

Next up was tiger trainer Percy Thompson. He pulled Golie Harry Lockhart and replaced him with Harry Mummery, devinseman. A bold move, to say the least.

So when Joe Matte scored a first-time brace to bring the Tigers in, the fury took over from Hamilton. Joe Malone got his second of the game later in the period to even the score.

Frank Boucher struck to give the emotions back the lead, only to be matched by Goldie Prodgers minutes later. Midway through the third, Broadbent punched in his third of the game to give Ottawa a 6-5 lead. In the dying stages of the game, Joe Malone shocked everyone by scoring and sending the game into overtime. Mickey Roach scored for the Tigers at the 8:33 mark in the second period, handing the Tigers a crushing defeat.

So who are those guys?

Last month, we talked briefly about Sprague Cleghorn, the veteran defenseman, who was traded to Brother Odie’s team. It’s a great story, but it’s not the first time the two have played together.

Sprague, one year older than Odie, began his career with a rural outfit in Montreal. He then spent the next season in the New York Wanders of the American Amateur Hockey League. It was in 1909-10 that Odie joined Sprague as an associate. The brothers played the next season with the resurgent kings of the cream of the NHA, then 1911-17 with the Montreal Wanderers.

Each of the two was left with a rough patch in their NHL days, but neither dominated the game due to injuries. When the Wanderer’s fuse burned and the team folded, the two were separated, with Spray to Ottawa, and Odie to Montreal. They played there until this season, when the trade reunited this.

Odie has passed, and he’s quite good at it. He’s been a hitter in his career, but he had a breakout year in 1920-21. Sprague is a defenseman who can score a bit too, but is known more for his physical play. Fans of his team used words like “Hard to play against” and “physical”, while others will use words like “or” beating “. It’s all a matter of perspective.

Power levels

1. Ottawa Senators (10-3-0, +30 Special Purpose)
   If not for that ot loss to the tigers and billy stuart late against toronto, the feeling would have a record of 12-1-0. Get yourself out of the playoff Spow.
2. Toronto St. Patricks (7-6-0, -5 GD)
   What we didn’t say was a week after that big upset by Toronto, the Senators were building teeth in St. You win some, you lose some. Or if you play Ottawa, you win one, you lose a lot.
3. Montreal Canadiens (5-8-0, -15 GD)
   They scored 10 points against Hamilton on the 14th, and eight of those goals came from the Cleghorns (four each). That would be a better story if the whole team was good.
4. Hamilton Tiger (4-9-0, -10 GD)
   An exciting win against the senators may have been the highlight of the Tigers’ season, as they seem to be able to handle any win.