9 Defensemen on the Ice ??

SealsFan

Registered User
May 3, 2009
1,735
537
Check out this gem I found in the THN archives, Nov. 10, 1972 issue:

VANCOUVER—
At one stage in a recent game with Buffalo, coach Vic Stasiuk employed five defensemen on a power play, then looked up to see nine defensemen on the ice at the same time… Joe Crozier, his Buffalo counterpart, was employing four defensemen to kill the penalty… “What’s going on here?” Stasiuk asked himself, “have the coaches gone crazy?…
 

Yozhik v tumane

Registered User
Jan 2, 2019
2,024
2,171
I’m guessing this would have been the game:


October 19, 1972
Vancouver 0 — Buffalo 6

This was the only time the two teams had faced each other prior to Nov. 10 that year.

Any more information on the coaches’ reasoning?
 

SealsFan

Registered User
May 3, 2009
1,735
537
Any more information on the coaches’ reasoning?
Not even sure which article it was from, I was scrolling down the page (not the scanned pages) of different parts of the issue to click on and it was a highlighted section by itself. There was a bit more text after what I copied but it didn't have to do with that situation.
 

Theokritos

Global Moderator
Apr 6, 2010
12,655
5,056
Check out this gem I found in the THN archives, Nov. 10, 1972 issue:

VANCOUVER—
At one stage in a recent game with Buffalo, coach Vic Stasiuk employed five defensemen on a power play, then looked up to see nine defensemen on the ice at the same time… Joe Crozier, his Buffalo counterpart, was employing four defensemen to kill the penalty… “What’s going on here?” Stasiuk asked himself, “have the coaches gone crazy?…

Hilarious find, thanks for sharing!
 

Hobnobs

Pinko
Nov 29, 2011
9,362
2,718

Here is a write up on it

Basically the Canucks coach was tired of his smaller forwards wasn't able to crack the sabres defense so he put his biggest players out there who happened to be defensemen.

Pretty interesting read
 
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