While trolling the web for obscure EHL player pictures, I came across this program with a photo of the 1959-60 Saint Paul Saints. The ad at the bottom answers the question: "Why are Eastern Hockey League fans better than International Hockey League fans?"
Ted Lanyon, John Bailey, Bryan Derrett, Bob Cowan, Hugh Scobie, Lou Crowdis, Joe Woitowich from this team all played in the EHL at one point or another. http://hockeydb.com also includes Don Hart from these Saints as having played for the 1964-65 Jersey Devils, but I'm pretty sure that was actually Art Hart, not Don, on the Devils according to newspaper accounts - though its possible they both could have been on the team.
Okay, it's a lame pretense for an EHL blog, but it was one of the greatest hockey events ever. 35 years ago today, the Philadelphia Flyers dominated the Russian Red Army team 4-1. The Flyers had ex-Salem Rebel Dave Schultz and ex-Jersey Devils Jack McIlhargey and Bobby Taylor on their squad. I'll let the articles and memories speak for themselves...
PLAYING IT BACK, like a train wreck in slow motion, Ed Van Impe can vividly remember the hit that made the Soviets fold like a tent.
The date: 35 years ago today, at the Spectrum, with the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Flyers facing the Red Army team in the final game of the 1976 exhibition Super Series.
Van Impe darted from the penalty box, about midway through the first period, and watched the Soviets' breakout develop as he got a glimpse of his favorite kind of pass.
"It was a sucker pass,'' Van Impe, 70, said yesterday from his home in Vancouver. "I could see the play developing. The winger made a sucker pass and [Valeri] Kharlamov had to turn his head to get it. I remember watching it, almost in slow motion. And the same time the puck connected with Kharlamov, I connected with him and flattened him.
"I just wanted to welcome him to Philadelphia.'' Read More
Hockey’s version of the Cold War reached a pinnacle in the 1970s. Team Canada’s narrow victory at the legendary Summit Series in 1972 only heightened the animosity and that had been between brewing between the powers-that-be in North American and Soviet hockey. ... There was a lot at stake entering the final game. The Flyers were not only defending their status as the NHL’s preeminent team, they also found themselves in the unaccustomed position of representing North American hockey in general and the NHL in particular. Philly was the NHL’s last and best hope for defeating the Red Army.
On the other hand, if CSKA could complete an undefeated gauntlet of games with a win over the Flyers on Spectrum ice (where Philly won a staggering 36 of 40 games in 1975-76, with two ties), the Red Army could rightfully claim to be the best team in any league in the world.
“They didn’t like us and we didn’t like them. So we were ready for a war,” said Flyers Hall of Fame left winger Bill Barber... Read Whole Article
Check out the photos from this article. There's a great shot of Bobby Clarke and Dave Schultz crashing Tretiak in the Soviet nets.
I'm just an old Jersey EHL Devils fan, who loved the old league, and saw a need on the web for an Eastern Hockey League site. In July 2008, I started http://TheEHL.com. This blog is the companion site, allowing me to turn some of the dry raw info I've been collecting into a more interesting readable form. It also gives me a quick way to update people on EHL current events. There's a lot more than you might think!
While trolling the web for obscure EHL player pictures, I came across this program with a photo of the 1959-60 Saint Paul Saints. The ad at the bottom answers the question: "Why are Eastern Hockey League fans better than International Hockey League fans?"
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