Jan. 6, 1965 - Tim Horton, playing an unfamiliar role as a right winger, and ancient Johnny Bower (pictured), the goalkeeper who was supposed to be slipping, played key roles as a crippled Maple Leaf team shot down a healthier Black Hawk club, 3-1, in Chicago tonight in a heavy-hitting game.
You won’t find Horton’s name in the scoring summary, but playing on a makeshift line with spare center Billy Harris and Marlboro junior Brit Selby, who bagged the winning goal, Tim had three Hawks on the seat of their pants before the first stoppage of play.
His robust opening shift lit the fuse under the Leaf muscle brigade, and the Hawk freewheelers, slowed to second gear, spent one of their most miserable and shock-absorbing evenings of the NHL campaign. Horton was the chief blaster throughout with Leaf defenseman Bobby Baun a close second.
But it took more than muscle and dogged checking to ground the Hawks. Bower robbed them blind in the first period with 15 saves, one a sensational one-handed grab on rookie center Fred Stanfield from point-blank range.
The game had to be held up five minutes while Bower had two stitches taken in a cut alongside the right eye inflicted by Dennis Hull’s stick in the opening period. Later in the game, Bower sliced young Dennis for two stitches.
After surviving the rugged first period, the Leafs jumped quickly into the lead on a goal by Bobby Pulford while his team was a man short after just 18 seconds of the second period.
Defenseman Allan Stanley broke up a Hawk power play with a diving sweep check and knocked the puck to Pulford. “I had about 10 strides on Bobby Hull and was able to move in and fake [goalie Denis] Dejordy, who came out of his goal crease,” said Pulford. “I cut to his left and had just enough room to backhand the puck home.”
The Leafs took command at this stage and went three up on two early third-period goals by Selby and Frank Mahovlich before Bobby Hull spoiled Bower’s shutout bid with his 33rd.
“[Billy] Harris did all the work on my goal,” said Selby. “He beat Phil Esposito for the puck back of the Chicago goal and whacked it out to me. It hit Pierre Pilote’s stick on the way, and that’s why they didn’t give Harris an assist. I just slapped the puck, and it caromed in off the goalie’s skate.”
Horton, when told he played right wing like Gordie Howe, laughed and replied: “Enough is enough. I’ll be happy to get back on defense.”
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