9 Defensemen on the Ice ??

[SealsFan]

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?…

Click to read more...

 

[Yozhik v tumane]

I’m guessing this would have been the game:

Vancouver Canucks vs. Buffalo Sabres Box Score: October 19, 1972 | Hockey-Reference.com

Get the latest box score updates on the Vancouver Canucks vs. Buffalo Sabres game played on October 19, 1972 on Hockey-Reference.com

www.hockey-reference.com

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]

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]

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]

The Canucks once used five defencemen on the power play

While current NHL teams experiment with five forwards on the power play, the 1970s Canucks went in the opposite direction for one game.

www.vancouverisawesome.com

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

 

[Doctor Coffin]

The Canucks once used five defencemen on the power play

While current NHL teams experiment with five forwards on the power play, the 1970s Canucks went in the opposite direction for one game.

www.vancouverisawesome.com

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

Interesting read and coaching strategy. In addition to Tallon, who played a good amount of forward in junior hockey, Kearns and Guevremont always had pretty good offensive stats for being defensemen. The best offensive options up front being the size of guys like Boudrias and Bobby Lalonde, in an early-season game against another recent expansion team, why not give it a try...