HOH Top 60 Goaltenders of All Time (2024 Edition) - Round 2, Vote 11
- Thread starter Dr John Carlson
- Start date
jigglysquishy
Registered User
Dzurilla and Hern will do well for me here. Shocked we still don't have Paton. I thought Dzurilla would come up 3 rounds ago.
Giacomin will likely be at the top of my ballot.
Holtby is an interesting name. He has a couple year stretch where I think he was legit a top 2 or 3 goalie in the world. Not many guys left where you can say that.
Giacomin will likely be at the top of my ballot.
Holtby is an interesting name. He has a couple year stretch where I think he was legit a top 2 or 3 goalie in the world. Not many guys left where you can say that.
jigglysquishy
Registered User
| Goalie | Times | Share | |
| 1 | Martin Brodeur | 15 | 5.40 |
| 2 | Dominik Hasek | 11 | 4.76 |
| 3 | Patrick Roy | 17 | 4.63 |
| 4 | Connor Hellebucyk | 5 | 2.63 |
| 5 | Ed Belfour | 11 | 2.51 |
| 6 | Pekka Rinne | 5 | 2.12 |
| 7 | Andrei Vasilevsky | 6 | 2.05 |
| 8 | Tom Barrasso | 7 | 1.98 |
| 9 | Sergei Bobrovsky | 6 | 1.97 |
| 10 | Henrik Lundqvist | 10 | 1.93 |
| 11 | Grant Fuhr | 8 | 1.84 |
| 12 | Braden Holtby | 3 | 1.68 |
| 13 | Roberto Luongo | 9 | 1.66 |
| 14 | Tim Thomas | 3 | 1.55 |
| 15 | John Vanbiesbrouck | 9 | 1.52 |
| 16 | Tuukka Rask | 5 | 1.50 |
| 17 | Miikka Kiprusoff | 7 | 1.44 |
| 18 | Carey Price | 7 | 1.40 |
| 19 | Evgeni Nabokov | 6 | 1.23 |
| 20 | Curtis Joseph | 8 | 1.02 |
| 21 | Pete Peeters | 3 | 1.02 |
| 22 | Igor Shesterkin | 3 | 1.02 |
Miller is at 0.87, Kolzig and Vernon are at 0.84, Saros is at 0.42, Richter is at 0.21
Times top 3
Thomas - 2 (1,1)
Holtby - 2 (1,2)
Kolzig- 1 (1)
Miller - 1 (1)
Nabokov - 1 (2)
Vernon - 1 (2)
Richter - 1 (3)
Saros - 1 (3)
All-Star Team Finishes (1945 onwards)
Okay, I've tried this a few times now and the formatting is broken on the new website. Hopefully this works.
All-Star Team Finishes (1945 onwards)
| Player | First | Second | Third | Total | Weighted Total |
| Ed Giacomin | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 14 |
| Tim Thomas | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10 |
| Braden Holtby | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 8 |
| Roger Crozier | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Evgeni Nabokov | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Ryan Miller | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Olaf Kolzig | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Chico Resch | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Mike Vernon | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Al Rollins | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Gerry Cheevers | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Mike Richter | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Juuse Saros | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
[
MXD
Partying Hard
- Oct 27, 2005
- 52,097
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I had Holtby in the late 40ies, right between Ryan Miller and Connor Hellebuyck (which I already called a mistake). I may have been a bit too lenient, because he was really young when his game cratered, which isn't a great sign. It's crazy to think that he's the same age as Drew Doughty and Jamie Benn, but stopped being relevant about 7 years ago. I'm very comfortable calling him the 2nd best netminder in the world during the mid 2010ies, after Carey Price. He was better than Rinne, better than Lundqvist, better than Varlamov. But that is VERY young for having such a drop off, and it's not like he has the justifications Carey Price had for an apparent drop-off (injuries + very sharp drop in team quality).
Come to think of it, his career trajectory is quite similar to PK Subban. Came out looking great in 2010-11, become star in 2013, become nearly interchangeable in 2018 and retired in 2022. Meanwhile, his former teammate Varlamov, who is also similar-aged, SHOULD have won the Vezina in 2021, and posted a very fine season as a backup in 23-24.
I was really convinced Holtby is a better netminder than Varlamov 4 months ago. Now I'm not so sure. e.
Come to think of it, his career trajectory is quite similar to PK Subban. Came out looking great in 2010-11, become star in 2013, become nearly interchangeable in 2018 and retired in 2022. Meanwhile, his former teammate Varlamov, who is also similar-aged, SHOULD have won the Vezina in 2021, and posted a very fine season as a backup in 23-24.
I was really convinced Holtby is a better netminder than Varlamov 4 months ago. Now I'm not so sure. e.
Last edited:
jigglysquishy
Registered User
Every Roger Crozier playoff game
1964 Playoffs
Crozier came in relief early in the second period in Game 4 (series was Red Wings 2 Black Hawks 1 at this point) after Terry Sawchuk went to the hospital with a shoulder injury. Game was delayed to let Crozier dress as he was in the stands.
Black Hawks win 3-2 in OT
Red Wings 2 Hawks 2
The Windsor Star · Apr 3, 1964
Hawks win 3-2
Shots: Wings 30 Hawks 23
Wings 2 Hawks 2
Saskatoon Star-Phoenix · Apr 6, 1964
Sawchuk played in the game 5 win
Crozier also briefly came in in game 7
All-in-all, three relief games is hard to get much of a read on.
1965 Playoffs
Wings beat Hawks 4-3
Shots: Wings 36 Hawks 32
Wings 1 Hawks 0
Saskatoon Star-Phoenix · Apr 2, 1965 ·
Wings win 6-3
Shots: Wings 35 Hawks 23
Wings 2 Hawks 0
No relevant comments
Hawks win 5-2
Shots: Wings 30 Hawks 16
Wings 2 Hawks 1
No relevant comments
Hawks win 2-1
Shots: Wings 28 Hawks 28
Wings 2 Hawks 2
Saskatoon Star-Phoenix · Apr 9, 1965
Wings win 4-2
Shots: Wings 30 Hawks 25
Wings 3 Hawks 2
Saskatoon Star-Phoenix · Apr 12, 1965
Hawks win 4-0
Shots: Wings 33 Hawks 32
Wings 3 Hawks 3
Saskatoon Star-Phoenix · Apr 14, 1965
Hawks win 4-2
Shots: Wings 23 Hawks 31
Wings 3 Hawks 4
No relevant comments
Overall, not a great series. He is greatly outplayed by Hall. Lots of comments about goals that weren't hit fault. Bobby Hull ate his lunch.
1966 Playoffs
Hawks beat Wings 2-1
Shots: Wings 30 Hawks 28
Wings 0 Hawks 1
No relevant comments
Wings win 7-0
Shots: Wings 32 Hawks 21
Wings 1 Hawks 1
The Montreal Gazette · Apr 11, 1966
Hawks win 2-1
Shots: Wings 30 Hawks 24
Wings 1 Hawks 2
Youngstown Vindicator · Apr 13, 1966
Wings win 5-1
Shots: Wings 32 Hawks 21
Wings 2 Hawks 2
The Montreal Gazette · Apr 15, 1966
Wings win 5-3
Shots: Wings 27 Hawks 31
Wings 3 Hawks 2
Saskatoon Star-Phoenix · Apr 18, 1966
Wings win 3-2
Shots: Wings 30 Hawks 28
Wings 4 Hawks 2
The Windsor Star · Apr 20, 1966
He's outplayed by Hall again, who gets lots of prasie. Gadsby and Howe get some really strong praise. Ullman and Delvecchio get strong praise too. The Detroit defensive prowess is repeatedly noted. It's not a bad series, but he just doesn't get much praise. He had a strong game 7 though.
1966 Stanley Cup Finals
Wings beat Habs 3-2
Shots: Wings 35 Habs 35
Wings 1 Habs 0
Saskatoon Star-Phoenix · Apr 25, 1966
Detroit wins 5-2
Shots: Red Wings 34 Habs 25
Red Wings 2 Habs 0
The Evening Independent · Apr 27, 1966
Montreal wins 4-2
Shots: Red Wings 31 Habs 31
Red Wings 2 Habs 1
The Windsor Star · Apr 29, 1966
Montreal wins 2-1
Shots: Red Wings 23 Habs 33
Red Wings 2 Habs 2
Bobby Rousseau collides with Crozier, who suffered a sprained left knee and twisted ankle. Hank Bassen plays last two periods.
Montreal wins 5-1
Shots: Red Wings 21 Habs 33
Red Wings 2 Habs 3
The Calgary Herald · May 4, 1966
Montreal wins 3-2 in OT
Shots: Red Wings 30 Habs 22
Red Wings 2 Habs 4
No relevant comments, but he does win the Conn Smythe.
This was a strong series. He's the best player over the first two games, but then the Habs just take over. Ullman and Howe get praise too, but Gadsby doesn't get near the praise as round 1. It's clear Crozier was not close to 100% after the game 4 injury.
1970 Playoffs
Crozier started game 4 in the sweep by the Hawks. He asked to be relieved halfway through the second.
1973 Playoffs
Crozier starts game 3 for Buffalo against Montreal (Buffalo is down 2 games to 0)
Habs win 5-2
Shots: Sabres 44 Habs 27
Sabres 0 Habs 3
No relevant comments
Sabres win 5-1
Shots: Sabres 50 Habs 24
Sabres 1 Habs 3
The Calgary Herald · Apr 9, 1973
Sabres win 3-2 in OT
Shots: Sabres 34 Habs 40
Sabres 2 Habs 3
The Calgary Herald · Apr 11, 1973
Habs win 4-2
Shots: Sabres 44 Habs 24
Sabres 2 Habs 4
No relevant comments
No a bad series by any stretch. Buffalo does surprisingly well and Perreault stands out as the star.
1975 Playoffs
Gerry Desjardins starts in round 1 as the Sabres beat the Hawks
Sabres beat Habs 5-6 in OT
Shots: Sabres 43 Habs 31
Sabres 1 Habs 0
No relevant comments. Crozier comes in relief a minute into the game as starter Desjardin hurts his knee
Sabres win 4-2
Shots: Sabres 35 Habs 27
Sabres 2 Habs 0
No relevant comments.
Habs win 7-0
Shots: Sabres 27 Habs 40
Sabres 2 Habs 1
No relevant comments. Crozier is pulled after allowing 5 goals on 31 shots
Habs win 8-2
Shots: Sabres 25 Habs 43
Sabres 2 Habs 2
Desjardin plays
Sabres win 5-4 in OT
Shots: Sabres 45 Habs 19
Sabres 3 Habs 2
Desjardin plays
Sabres win 4-3
Shots: Sabres 27 Habs 32
Sabres 4 Habs 2
Desjardin plays
1975 Stanley Cup Finals
Crozier plays game 6 (Sabres are down 3-2 in series
Flyers win 2-0
Shots: Sabres 32 Flyers 31
Sabres 2 Flyers 4
Observer-Reporter · May 28, 1975
All in all, there's very little outside 1966. Now, 1966 is a really strong playoffs. It's the main reason he's here. Do I think one strong playoff run is enough for this round? No, I don't. But he does have a couple more good years in Detroit (1965 and 1966 regular seasons). He is no longer an NHL starter after age 30 and there's very little meat on the bones.
1964 Playoffs
Crozier came in relief early in the second period in Game 4 (series was Red Wings 2 Black Hawks 1 at this point) after Terry Sawchuk went to the hospital with a shoulder injury. Game was delayed to let Crozier dress as he was in the stands.
Black Hawks win 3-2 in OT
Red Wings 2 Hawks 2
The Windsor Star · Apr 3, 1964
Hawks win 3-2
Shots: Wings 30 Hawks 23
Wings 2 Hawks 2
Saskatoon Star-Phoenix · Apr 6, 1964
Sawchuk played in the game 5 win
Crozier also briefly came in in game 7
All-in-all, three relief games is hard to get much of a read on.
1965 Playoffs
Wings beat Hawks 4-3
Shots: Wings 36 Hawks 32
Wings 1 Hawks 0
Saskatoon Star-Phoenix · Apr 2, 1965 ·
Wings win 6-3
Shots: Wings 35 Hawks 23
Wings 2 Hawks 0
No relevant comments
Hawks win 5-2
Shots: Wings 30 Hawks 16
Wings 2 Hawks 1
No relevant comments
Hawks win 2-1
Shots: Wings 28 Hawks 28
Wings 2 Hawks 2
Saskatoon Star-Phoenix · Apr 9, 1965
Wings win 4-2
Shots: Wings 30 Hawks 25
Wings 3 Hawks 2
Saskatoon Star-Phoenix · Apr 12, 1965
Hawks win 4-0
Shots: Wings 33 Hawks 32
Wings 3 Hawks 3
Saskatoon Star-Phoenix · Apr 14, 1965
Hawks win 4-2
Shots: Wings 23 Hawks 31
Wings 3 Hawks 4
No relevant comments
Overall, not a great series. He is greatly outplayed by Hall. Lots of comments about goals that weren't hit fault. Bobby Hull ate his lunch.
1966 Playoffs
Hawks beat Wings 2-1
Shots: Wings 30 Hawks 28
Wings 0 Hawks 1
No relevant comments
Wings win 7-0
Shots: Wings 32 Hawks 21
Wings 1 Hawks 1
The Montreal Gazette · Apr 11, 1966
Hawks win 2-1
Shots: Wings 30 Hawks 24
Wings 1 Hawks 2
Youngstown Vindicator · Apr 13, 1966
Wings win 5-1
Shots: Wings 32 Hawks 21
Wings 2 Hawks 2
The Montreal Gazette · Apr 15, 1966
Wings win 5-3
Shots: Wings 27 Hawks 31
Wings 3 Hawks 2
Saskatoon Star-Phoenix · Apr 18, 1966
Wings win 3-2
Shots: Wings 30 Hawks 28
Wings 4 Hawks 2
The Windsor Star · Apr 20, 1966
He's outplayed by Hall again, who gets lots of prasie. Gadsby and Howe get some really strong praise. Ullman and Delvecchio get strong praise too. The Detroit defensive prowess is repeatedly noted. It's not a bad series, but he just doesn't get much praise. He had a strong game 7 though.
1966 Stanley Cup Finals
Wings beat Habs 3-2
Shots: Wings 35 Habs 35
Wings 1 Habs 0
Saskatoon Star-Phoenix · Apr 25, 1966
Detroit wins 5-2
Shots: Red Wings 34 Habs 25
Red Wings 2 Habs 0
The Evening Independent · Apr 27, 1966
Montreal wins 4-2
Shots: Red Wings 31 Habs 31
Red Wings 2 Habs 1
The Windsor Star · Apr 29, 1966
Montreal wins 2-1
Shots: Red Wings 23 Habs 33
Red Wings 2 Habs 2
Bobby Rousseau collides with Crozier, who suffered a sprained left knee and twisted ankle. Hank Bassen plays last two periods.
Montreal wins 5-1
Shots: Red Wings 21 Habs 33
Red Wings 2 Habs 3
The Calgary Herald · May 4, 1966
Montreal wins 3-2 in OT
Shots: Red Wings 30 Habs 22
Red Wings 2 Habs 4
No relevant comments, but he does win the Conn Smythe.
This was a strong series. He's the best player over the first two games, but then the Habs just take over. Ullman and Howe get praise too, but Gadsby doesn't get near the praise as round 1. It's clear Crozier was not close to 100% after the game 4 injury.
1970 Playoffs
Crozier started game 4 in the sweep by the Hawks. He asked to be relieved halfway through the second.
1973 Playoffs
Crozier starts game 3 for Buffalo against Montreal (Buffalo is down 2 games to 0)
Habs win 5-2
Shots: Sabres 44 Habs 27
Sabres 0 Habs 3
No relevant comments
Sabres win 5-1
Shots: Sabres 50 Habs 24
Sabres 1 Habs 3
The Calgary Herald · Apr 9, 1973
Sabres win 3-2 in OT
Shots: Sabres 34 Habs 40
Sabres 2 Habs 3
The Calgary Herald · Apr 11, 1973
Habs win 4-2
Shots: Sabres 44 Habs 24
Sabres 2 Habs 4
No relevant comments
No a bad series by any stretch. Buffalo does surprisingly well and Perreault stands out as the star.
1975 Playoffs
Gerry Desjardins starts in round 1 as the Sabres beat the Hawks
Sabres beat Habs 5-6 in OT
Shots: Sabres 43 Habs 31
Sabres 1 Habs 0
No relevant comments. Crozier comes in relief a minute into the game as starter Desjardin hurts his knee
Sabres win 4-2
Shots: Sabres 35 Habs 27
Sabres 2 Habs 0
No relevant comments.
Habs win 7-0
Shots: Sabres 27 Habs 40
Sabres 2 Habs 1
No relevant comments. Crozier is pulled after allowing 5 goals on 31 shots
Habs win 8-2
Shots: Sabres 25 Habs 43
Sabres 2 Habs 2
Desjardin plays
Sabres win 5-4 in OT
Shots: Sabres 45 Habs 19
Sabres 3 Habs 2
Desjardin plays
Sabres win 4-3
Shots: Sabres 27 Habs 32
Sabres 4 Habs 2
Desjardin plays
1975 Stanley Cup Finals
Crozier plays game 6 (Sabres are down 3-2 in series
Flyers win 2-0
Shots: Sabres 32 Flyers 31
Sabres 2 Flyers 4
Observer-Reporter · May 28, 1975
All in all, there's very little outside 1966. Now, 1966 is a really strong playoffs. It's the main reason he's here. Do I think one strong playoff run is enough for this round? No, I don't. But he does have a couple more good years in Detroit (1965 and 1966 regular seasons). He is no longer an NHL starter after age 30 and there's very little meat on the bones.
Michael Farkas
Celebrate 68
These new names are pretty good, it actually checks off a number of my top 40 guys that I haven't seen yet (Saros, Crozier, Resch, and Holtby are all in my 30's)...at a glance, I think I'm down to just four guys that were in my top 40 who haven't come up yet.
Since Roger Crozier was an early talking point, thanks to the tireless work of @jigglysquishy - I'll start there too.
I talked about the links between players carrying on play styles a lot in the prelim thread and a little bit into some of the playoff rounds here...the Glenn Hall to Patrick Roy butterfly gap is not really filled by Tony Esposito, he was not good enough technically to lay claim to that, part of that gap filling is actually Roger Crozier.
Quick instance of butterfly here in his famous 1966 playoffs...
Fairly straightforward save there for butterfly at the time. But one thing you see a lot more of later with Crozier is his wide stance setup that he employed quite a bit at the zone entry portion of the proceedings to my eye (controlled entry or off an in-zone regroup). If there's another trigger for it, I didn't perceive it - so please, shout it out if you see another pattern in your viewings.
You get piece of it here...
Probably a little better look at it here...
Almost a little bit of a Jonathan Quick precursor there in some respects. Obviously, you can't move on these pads (especially this late in the season) like Quick, but there are some elements.
The overly wide stance is interesting and it couples well with his edge work. Take a fast look at skating in a more "familiar" way here...
Crozier loves to come out and play the puck. Because of his hockey sense, he did a pretty fair job of it. He gets in a little hot soup here, but flips his skates quick, shows strong transition ability, and then nice edges to get exactly where he needs to, under control, right to his spot.
Anyway, the wide stance is interesting in the 70's - as things got more loosey-goosey things were maybe moving laterally more than they were before. A wide stance might allow you to pre-load your knees more and cover more ground laterally faster in the butterfly. In other words, Lemaire crosses the blueline with the puck, slows up, and then hits a streaking Lafleur down the wing. Your wide stance allows you to get over towards your post while covering a lot of low net as you push into the shooting lane. As opposed to a guy who stands up, where he might have to sort of shuffle his way over there and if he doesn't have good edges or whatever, he might not get to his spot in a way that's comfortable for him and his save process...so then maybe you're standing there and someone shoots it low corner on you, you look not set. Or you take a tumble trying to make a save after a cross net line pass (think Dryden, a little bit).
Naturally, it has its drawbacks.
You end up with a high shot going against the grain, well...it's tough to get up out of that stance in a hurry, it can throw you off balance. Crozier generally played "down". Knees to the floor, heels to the goalline...he's a down and back goalie and he wanted to block things. Which, again, is a little unique for this period of time. Guys worked towards pucks and shooters a lot more.
This sort of passive, down and back style can create big rebound problems. Especially with the equipment at the time. You have to make yourself real soft, you have to be able to extend those heels out there, etc. to limit your rebounds or you're gonna get into trouble.
For instance, this is a buxom rebound on a long shot. But even here, if you freeze it right after the shot hits him - what do you think is gonna happen here in 1975? That goalie is going to go out there and try to mop up this mess by whatever means necessary, right? Not Crozier. Down and back, down and back. Stay in the net, take up as much net as you can.
Obviously, he's appropriate with it. Unlike a lot of bad goalies today, he doesn't mess up the post integration. Standing up on the posts because you don't need to be down there.
##
Playing for a quickly worsened Detroit team probably didn't help matters...
He had all kinds of ailments and at one point apparently ran away to live in the Northern Ontario woods for months. So, he's definitely one of those goalies. And like a lot of guys that played on the floor during this era, he didn't win. That said, he didn't appear to leave a lot to be desired in the postseason either as noted, and statistically.
Best goalie statistically among three on the '64 Wings, '66 wins the Smythe, 2 goals per game better than Dave Dryden on the '73 Sabres, half a goal better than Gerry Desjardins on the '75 Sabres. His only other playoff was a 7-game loss to the Black Hawks in '65.
I know the traditional "resume" is pretty weak, but a very strong '65 1-AS (just missed taking the 1st half, absolutely killed the 2nd half); 7th Hart in '66 (2nd among goalies), he missed a 2-AS by just a few votes in '66 (was 2-AS in 1H); a weak 6-AS in '67 and '72; a weak 5-AS in '73.
So, what do we have? Well, I like advent points. Crozier offers some. Unique, but somewhat scalable stance modifications that he adapted over time. Didn't get dealt an amazing hand team-wise, not the worst either. But going to an expansion team is tough in this time, and he does help them to get to a Cup within five years. He has a good amount of talent, very good skater for the time, quick, and smart. Had good numbers against Montreal in the early 70's (not so good against Boston, to be fair).
All signs point to this being a very good goalie for me. Eye test is good (for this point in the list), contemporary reports are generally a plus, stats are good for the situations he was in. I think we have a real plus player here, and one that doesn't get talked about a lot even here.
Since Roger Crozier was an early talking point, thanks to the tireless work of @jigglysquishy - I'll start there too.
I talked about the links between players carrying on play styles a lot in the prelim thread and a little bit into some of the playoff rounds here...the Glenn Hall to Patrick Roy butterfly gap is not really filled by Tony Esposito, he was not good enough technically to lay claim to that, part of that gap filling is actually Roger Crozier.
Quick instance of butterfly here in his famous 1966 playoffs...
Fairly straightforward save there for butterfly at the time. But one thing you see a lot more of later with Crozier is his wide stance setup that he employed quite a bit at the zone entry portion of the proceedings to my eye (controlled entry or off an in-zone regroup). If there's another trigger for it, I didn't perceive it - so please, shout it out if you see another pattern in your viewings.
You get piece of it here...
Probably a little better look at it here...
Almost a little bit of a Jonathan Quick precursor there in some respects. Obviously, you can't move on these pads (especially this late in the season) like Quick, but there are some elements.
The overly wide stance is interesting and it couples well with his edge work. Take a fast look at skating in a more "familiar" way here...
Crozier loves to come out and play the puck. Because of his hockey sense, he did a pretty fair job of it. He gets in a little hot soup here, but flips his skates quick, shows strong transition ability, and then nice edges to get exactly where he needs to, under control, right to his spot.
Anyway, the wide stance is interesting in the 70's - as things got more loosey-goosey things were maybe moving laterally more than they were before. A wide stance might allow you to pre-load your knees more and cover more ground laterally faster in the butterfly. In other words, Lemaire crosses the blueline with the puck, slows up, and then hits a streaking Lafleur down the wing. Your wide stance allows you to get over towards your post while covering a lot of low net as you push into the shooting lane. As opposed to a guy who stands up, where he might have to sort of shuffle his way over there and if he doesn't have good edges or whatever, he might not get to his spot in a way that's comfortable for him and his save process...so then maybe you're standing there and someone shoots it low corner on you, you look not set. Or you take a tumble trying to make a save after a cross net line pass (think Dryden, a little bit).
Naturally, it has its drawbacks.
You end up with a high shot going against the grain, well...it's tough to get up out of that stance in a hurry, it can throw you off balance. Crozier generally played "down". Knees to the floor, heels to the goalline...he's a down and back goalie and he wanted to block things. Which, again, is a little unique for this period of time. Guys worked towards pucks and shooters a lot more.
This sort of passive, down and back style can create big rebound problems. Especially with the equipment at the time. You have to make yourself real soft, you have to be able to extend those heels out there, etc. to limit your rebounds or you're gonna get into trouble.
For instance, this is a buxom rebound on a long shot. But even here, if you freeze it right after the shot hits him - what do you think is gonna happen here in 1975? That goalie is going to go out there and try to mop up this mess by whatever means necessary, right? Not Crozier. Down and back, down and back. Stay in the net, take up as much net as you can.
Obviously, he's appropriate with it. Unlike a lot of bad goalies today, he doesn't mess up the post integration. Standing up on the posts because you don't need to be down there.
##
THN 1970 said:
THN 1969 said:
Playing for a quickly worsened Detroit team probably didn't help matters...
THN Feb. 1968 said:
He had all kinds of ailments and at one point apparently ran away to live in the Northern Ontario woods for months. So, he's definitely one of those goalies. And like a lot of guys that played on the floor during this era, he didn't win. That said, he didn't appear to leave a lot to be desired in the postseason either as noted, and statistically.
Best goalie statistically among three on the '64 Wings, '66 wins the Smythe, 2 goals per game better than Dave Dryden on the '73 Sabres, half a goal better than Gerry Desjardins on the '75 Sabres. His only other playoff was a 7-game loss to the Black Hawks in '65.
I know the traditional "resume" is pretty weak, but a very strong '65 1-AS (just missed taking the 1st half, absolutely killed the 2nd half); 7th Hart in '66 (2nd among goalies), he missed a 2-AS by just a few votes in '66 (was 2-AS in 1H); a weak 6-AS in '67 and '72; a weak 5-AS in '73.
So, what do we have? Well, I like advent points. Crozier offers some. Unique, but somewhat scalable stance modifications that he adapted over time. Didn't get dealt an amazing hand team-wise, not the worst either. But going to an expansion team is tough in this time, and he does help them to get to a Cup within five years. He has a good amount of talent, very good skater for the time, quick, and smart. Had good numbers against Montreal in the early 70's (not so good against Boston, to be fair).
All signs point to this being a very good goalie for me. Eye test is good (for this point in the list), contemporary reports are generally a plus, stats are good for the situations he was in. I think we have a real plus player here, and one that doesn't get talked about a lot even here.
Riley Hern
I think we got it right this time around in having Percy LeSueur and Paddy Moran as the first two guys from the 1900ish-1915ish group of goalies (even if I think it should go Moran then LeSueur, haha)- after reading the game summaries and looking back at what contemporaries were saying about that time period, I think it is pretty clear that they were the top two guys. Who comes next is trickier, but Riley Hern is right in that mix for me (and many others, it seems).
My understanding of where Hern fits is complicated by the fact that his career is shifted left in comparison to Moran, LeSueur, and a couple of the other goalies from that time period; despite being a 1878 birth (a year younger than Moran, 3 years older than LeSueur), he began his Senior career a good 5 years before Moran and 7 years before LeSueur, meaning we are looking at getting worse newspaper coverage. It is further complicated by the leagues that Hern spent significant time in- I simply haven’t come across reliably informative coverage of the OHA before 1900, so I’m missing most of his first couple seasons there. Then he jumps to the Pittsburgh Keystones of the WPHL, and we get some really strong coverage, only to have him join the Portage Lakes exhibition team for the 1903-04 season… and I don’t have good papers for Portage Lakes (yet! I’ve found a library that should have some interesting scans, so more information is hopefully coming at some point). He stayed with Portage Lakes for 1904-05 and 1905-06 when they were in the IPHL, where I have limited coverage due to the games against Pittsburgh. And then, of course, he is signed by the Montreal Wanderers, where he spends the rest of his career- 1906-07 to 1910-1911. I have all the EC(A)HA games and SC games from 1906-1907 through 1908-1909, so I’m missing the last two years (I stop at 1909). Long story short- out of a 14 season career, I have what I would call strong coverage for 5 seasons, some coverage for another 3, very little for 2 more, then either nothing or basically nothing for the remaining 4.
In case people don’t want to read the quotes I’ve assembled here, here are what I consider the high-points for Hern right now:
And here are some negatives:
Anyway, here are some quotes-
1897: With Stratford of the OHA
1898: With Stratford of the OHA
1899: With Stratford of the OHA
1900: With Stratford of the OHA
1901: With London in the OHA Intermediate Series
1902: With the Pittsburgh Keystones of the WPHL
1903: with the Pittsburgh Keystones of the WPHL
1904: With the Portage Lakes HC exhibition team
1905: With Portage Lakes of the IPHL
1906: With Portage Lakes of the IPHL
1907: with the Montreal Wanderers of the ECAHA
1908: With the Montreal Wanderers of the ECAHA
1909: with the Montreal Wanderers of the newly re-branded ECHA
All Star Teams (only showing the teams Hern was eligible for)
Miscellaneous Quotes
I think we got it right this time around in having Percy LeSueur and Paddy Moran as the first two guys from the 1900ish-1915ish group of goalies (even if I think it should go Moran then LeSueur, haha)- after reading the game summaries and looking back at what contemporaries were saying about that time period, I think it is pretty clear that they were the top two guys. Who comes next is trickier, but Riley Hern is right in that mix for me (and many others, it seems).
My understanding of where Hern fits is complicated by the fact that his career is shifted left in comparison to Moran, LeSueur, and a couple of the other goalies from that time period; despite being a 1878 birth (a year younger than Moran, 3 years older than LeSueur), he began his Senior career a good 5 years before Moran and 7 years before LeSueur, meaning we are looking at getting worse newspaper coverage. It is further complicated by the leagues that Hern spent significant time in- I simply haven’t come across reliably informative coverage of the OHA before 1900, so I’m missing most of his first couple seasons there. Then he jumps to the Pittsburgh Keystones of the WPHL, and we get some really strong coverage, only to have him join the Portage Lakes exhibition team for the 1903-04 season… and I don’t have good papers for Portage Lakes (yet! I’ve found a library that should have some interesting scans, so more information is hopefully coming at some point). He stayed with Portage Lakes for 1904-05 and 1905-06 when they were in the IPHL, where I have limited coverage due to the games against Pittsburgh. And then, of course, he is signed by the Montreal Wanderers, where he spends the rest of his career- 1906-07 to 1910-1911. I have all the EC(A)HA games and SC games from 1906-1907 through 1908-1909, so I’m missing the last two years (I stop at 1909). Long story short- out of a 14 season career, I have what I would call strong coverage for 5 seasons, some coverage for another 3, very little for 2 more, then either nothing or basically nothing for the remaining 4.
In case people don’t want to read the quotes I’ve assembled here, here are what I consider the high-points for Hern right now:
- If you like goalies who won championships, Hern is your guy. He led a very weak Pittsburgh Keystones team to the WPHL championship in 1901-02 in what was probably the most impressive season from a goalkeeper I’ve read about so far. IPHL champion with Portage Lakes in 1905-06. Stanley Cup victories with the Montreal Wanderers in December 1906 (beating New Glasgow 10-3 and 7-2), March 1907 (beating the Kenora Thistles on total goals, games going 7-2 Wanderers and 6-5 Kenora), January 1908 (beating the Ottawa Victorias 9-3 and 13-1), March 1908 (beating the Winnipeg Maple Leafs 11-5 and 9-3 ; beating the Toronto Pros 6-4), December 1908 (beating Edmonton HC on total goals, games going 7-3 Wanderers, 7-6 Edmonton), and March 1910 (beating the Berlin Dutchmen 7-3).
- All in all, Hern won championships on 3 different teams in 3 different leagues, and 7 Stanley Cup challenges.
- If you like GAA, Riley Hern is for you. Just looking at the Wiki stats (since I don’t care too much for goalie stats, it isn’t something I have tracked myself and thus don’t have anything readily available- this is for people who do think GAA is worth something), we only have Hern’s time in the ECAHA and NHA. So for 1906-07 through 1910-11:
- 1906-07: Hern led the league with a 3.9 GAA. Second place (Percy LeSueur) had a 5.4, third place (Nathan Frye) had a 7.0.
- 1907-08: Hern finished third in the league with a 5.2 GAA. Billy Nicholson was first with a 4.9, Percy LeSueur was second with a 5.1, so we are talking a difference of 3 goals between spots 1 and 3. The real game comes at fourth, where Nathan Frye ended up with a GAA of 7.0 (again).
- 1909: Hern led the league in GAA with a 5.1. LeSueur came in second with a 5.3 (a two goal difference over the season). Bill Baker was third with an 8.6.
- 1910: Hern came in second with a 3.4 GAA. Billy Nicholson came in first with a 3.0 GAA, but he played only one game that year. Third place (or second, if you want to ignore Nicholson’s one game) was Bert Lindsay, with a GAA of 4.5 (7 goals over the course of the season).
- 1910-1911: Hern finished 3rd in GAA with a 5.5. Vezina (3.9 GAA) finished first, and LeSueur (4.3) was second.
- Riley Hern made the Hall of Fame in 1963, becoming just the 9th (tied) goalie admitted. The HoF committee apparently selected Hern over goalies such as Bill Durnan, Clint Benedict, Frank Brimsek, Turk Broda, and Roy Worters. And Hap Holmes (I always forget how long it took for Holmes to make the HoF).
- He gets mentioned in lists of great goalies after his career. Not to the same extent that Moran and LeSueur are, and not as much in the sense that great goalies are compared to him, but rather that he is in the group of names that get mentioned when people talked of the great goalies of the past. I haven’t tried to quantify it, but my general impression/feeling is that he is the third most common name from his era (after- you guessed it- Paddy Moran and Percy LeSueur). I don’t have a post-career mentions tracker going (yet?), so take this feeling/impression with a grain of salt.
And here are some negatives:
- One of the reasons why I don’t like team stats like GAA and wins/championships is that it makes goalies on good teams look better than they were, and goalies on bad teams look worse. Outside of his dynamite 1901-02 season with the Keystones in the WPHL (not the best league around, but there was some talent there), Hern did all his winning on very strong teams. Portage Lakes would win the IPHL again the year after Hern left. The year before Hern joined the Wanderers, they had a 9-1 record (tied with Ottawa HC for the league lead) and had conceded the lowest goals. In Hern’s last year with the Wanderers, they went 7-9, good for 4th in the league; the year after he retired, they went 9-9, good for 3rd in the league.
- Hern’s all star record is quite poor. Now, I like Moran and LeSueur, so there isn’t really shame in being behind those two on the all star teams, but he finished behind Jack Winchester in the only IPHL all star team I’ve found so far (from a Pittsburgh paper, so bias is possible), and behind Nicholson on both the 1908 teams I’ve seen (both behind Moran on each of the teams). I think the only team I have seen Hern on from during his career was a fan-voted All-Montreal team from 1907, meaning his competition was Nathan Frye, George White, and Neil Currie. I’m not particularly moved there, haha.
Anyway, here are some quotes-
1897: With Stratford of the OHA
Basic details: The OHA did their seasons in groups, so unless teams won, they didn’t play very much at the Senior level. I have a player named Hern (or Herne) suiting up in goal for Stratford in two OHA games- A 9-2 loss and a 4-2 win, both against University.
“For Stratford, Mcadden, Downs and Farquharson distinguished themselves, as did Herne, the goal-keeper”
“For Stratford, Mcadden, Downs and Farquharson distinguished themselves, as did Herne, the goal-keeper”
1898: With Stratford of the OHA
Basic details: I have Stratford going 2-2, but I only have a full roster for one of those games, and then a comment that makes it likely he played in a second as well.
“For Osgoode, Carruthers at cover-point and McMurrich in goal played a grand game, while Hern, Easson and Farquharson, for Stratord, played brilliantly”
“For Osgoode, Carruthers at cover-point and McMurrich in goal played a grand game, while Hern, Easson and Farquharson, for Stratord, played brilliantly”
1899: With Stratford of the OHA
Basic details: Stratford went 0-2. I have Hern in goal for both games, but there are no relevant gameplay descriptions.
1900: With Stratford of the OHA
Basic details: Stratford went 3-3-1, losing to the Toronto Wellingtons in the playoffs. Hern played every game I have rosters for (so 6 games), but one of them was as a forward.
“...only the clever work of the Stratford goal keeper saved them from defeat”
“Hern, the Stratford goal keeper, was the star of the evening. He has a very quick eye and made beautiful stops”
“Special mention may be made of Farquharson and Switzter in the forward line, and Hern in goal for Stratford, and Hendry and Seagram on Waterloo’s forward and Raymo in goal”
“Stratford was somewhat weakened by the absence of Downs, which necessitated a change sound on the home team. Hern, the star goal-keeper, was put on the forward line, and his place was taken by Mills, a comparatively inexperienced man”
“...only the clever work of the Stratford goal keeper saved them from defeat”
“Hern, the Stratford goal keeper, was the star of the evening. He has a very quick eye and made beautiful stops”
“Special mention may be made of Farquharson and Switzter in the forward line, and Hern in goal for Stratford, and Hendry and Seagram on Waterloo’s forward and Raymo in goal”
“Stratford was somewhat weakened by the absence of Downs, which necessitated a change sound on the home team. Hern, the star goal-keeper, was put on the forward line, and his place was taken by Mills, a comparatively inexperienced man”
1901: With London in the OHA Intermediate Series
On 17 January 1901, the Hamilton Spectator reported that London defeated Stratford in the intermediate championship series by a score of 6-1. The paper noted that “Hern replaced Johns in goal, and played a brilliant game”
The Toronto Star (18 January 1901 Page 8) reported that a Wm. Hern (Riley Hern’s first name was William) was accused of being a professional. Apparently he moved from Stratford to London “for financial gain and [was] not a bona fide resident of London”.
The plot thickens; on 25 January 1901, the Toronto Star reported that the London intermediate team was suspended “pending the outcome of the Stratford charges” (the accusation above). An affidavit was produced stating that Hern “had been paid for playing two matches with Tavistock under the name of George Dundas”.
The Toronto Star reported on 29 January 1901 that the OHA Executive Committee disposed the case, stating that W.A. Hern was a professional and had played under an assumed name. Frank Winn and several other players were also declared professionals. The London Hockey Club was expelled from the OHA.
In other words, it looks like he played one intermediate level game and at least 2 exhibition games. I would like to note that, unlike in the AHAC/CAHL/ECAHA, I don’t think a player being in the Intermediate Series meant that they were not up to Senior ability- it meant their team/city was put in Intermediate.
The Toronto Star (18 January 1901 Page 8) reported that a Wm. Hern (Riley Hern’s first name was William) was accused of being a professional. Apparently he moved from Stratford to London “for financial gain and [was] not a bona fide resident of London”.
The plot thickens; on 25 January 1901, the Toronto Star reported that the London intermediate team was suspended “pending the outcome of the Stratford charges” (the accusation above). An affidavit was produced stating that Hern “had been paid for playing two matches with Tavistock under the name of George Dundas”.
The Toronto Star reported on 29 January 1901 that the OHA Executive Committee disposed the case, stating that W.A. Hern was a professional and had played under an assumed name. Frank Winn and several other players were also declared professionals. The London Hockey Club was expelled from the OHA.
In other words, it looks like he played one intermediate level game and at least 2 exhibition games. I would like to note that, unlike in the AHAC/CAHL/ECAHA, I don’t think a player being in the Intermediate Series meant that they were not up to Senior ability- it meant their team/city was put in Intermediate.
1902: With the Pittsburgh Keystones of the WPHL
Basic details: The Pittsburgh Keystones were a bad team… but won the league championship, largely on the back of Hern. This is quite possibly the most impressive goalkeeper season I have read through- I’m talking he’s clearly the MVP. Of course, the WPHL wasn’t particularly strong- definitely worse than the CAHL, probably worse than the Manitoba league, too. There were several historically significant players in the league this season (Alf Smith, Bert Morrison, and Lorne Campbell, for example, would all have pretty nice careers), however, so I do think this season has some historical value to it.
“Hern invulnerable at goal”
“Hern played a game at goal for Keystone which had more to do with the result of the game than the work of any other player. He repeatedly stopped what looked like sure shots.”
“He [Richardson] did not have as much to take care of in this line as Hern, who played a brilliant game for Keystone”
“Many persons class Hern as the champion goal tender of the league”
“...Hern, who played a phenomenal game in front of the net”
“One of the main reasons for PAC’s defeat was a case of ‘too much Hern’. The young man is certainly the star goal tender of the league, and one of the best ever seen on Pittsburgh ice”
“The Bankers defense in most of the contests this season has been considered nigh to perfection, while Hern has been time and again bored a ‘beaut’ at the goal tender’s art”
“The superiority of the winners’ game is attested by the magnificent game at goal of Hern, who had more than twice as many stops as Lamb”
“Morrison and Sixsmith winning unstinted applause for their brilliant work. These two stars who, along with Hern, deserve the main credit for keeping Keystone in the lead, scored all of the winners’ goals”
“There is no telling how many points the red and white players would have piled up had it not been for little Hern, the Keystone goal keeper. There’s a boy who knows his business all right and last night was his time for attending to duty”
“TIme and time again the dollar-mark eam made great shots for goal, only to have them stopped by Hern, the best ever in this part of the country”
“The Dollar Marks would have won it had it not been for that Hern boy, the Keystone’s goal tender, who blocked almost a dozen shots which would have got past any other goal tender”
“If the Keystones succeed in winning the championship cup this year, and it looks very much that way, then the cup should go to Hern, because he has contributed more toward Keystones victories than any three players on the team. To tell the honest truth, he is a whole team in himself, and the applause bestowed on him last night when he skated across the rink was a just tribute to a deserving player”
“...but lacking the perfection of team combination necessary to overcome the remarkable goal keeping of Hern”
“The latter [Hern] played as brilliant a game at the net as he has ever put up here, which means that the spectators fully received their money’s worth, even if the score was one sided. He had no less than 10 stops which were simply hair raisers, and again and again the verdict was heard on ever side ‘there’s the boy that has won the championship for Keystone more than any other member of the team’”
“Hern invulnerable at goal”
“Hern played a game at goal for Keystone which had more to do with the result of the game than the work of any other player. He repeatedly stopped what looked like sure shots.”
“He [Richardson] did not have as much to take care of in this line as Hern, who played a brilliant game for Keystone”
“Many persons class Hern as the champion goal tender of the league”
“...Hern, who played a phenomenal game in front of the net”
“One of the main reasons for PAC’s defeat was a case of ‘too much Hern’. The young man is certainly the star goal tender of the league, and one of the best ever seen on Pittsburgh ice”
“The Bankers defense in most of the contests this season has been considered nigh to perfection, while Hern has been time and again bored a ‘beaut’ at the goal tender’s art”
“The superiority of the winners’ game is attested by the magnificent game at goal of Hern, who had more than twice as many stops as Lamb”
“Morrison and Sixsmith winning unstinted applause for their brilliant work. These two stars who, along with Hern, deserve the main credit for keeping Keystone in the lead, scored all of the winners’ goals”
“There is no telling how many points the red and white players would have piled up had it not been for little Hern, the Keystone goal keeper. There’s a boy who knows his business all right and last night was his time for attending to duty”
“TIme and time again the dollar-mark eam made great shots for goal, only to have them stopped by Hern, the best ever in this part of the country”
“The Dollar Marks would have won it had it not been for that Hern boy, the Keystone’s goal tender, who blocked almost a dozen shots which would have got past any other goal tender”
“If the Keystones succeed in winning the championship cup this year, and it looks very much that way, then the cup should go to Hern, because he has contributed more toward Keystones victories than any three players on the team. To tell the honest truth, he is a whole team in himself, and the applause bestowed on him last night when he skated across the rink was a just tribute to a deserving player”
“...but lacking the perfection of team combination necessary to overcome the remarkable goal keeping of Hern”
“The latter [Hern] played as brilliant a game at the net as he has ever put up here, which means that the spectators fully received their money’s worth, even if the score was one sided. He had no less than 10 stops which were simply hair raisers, and again and again the verdict was heard on ever side ‘there’s the boy that has won the championship for Keystone more than any other member of the team’”
1903: with the Pittsburgh Keystones of the WPHL
Basic details: The Keystones would finish dead last, going 2-11. I have Hern playing 12 of those games. The WPHL was stronger this year, with players such as Hod Stuart, Bruce Stuart, Peg Duval, and Chic Henry joining for the season.
“The only man on the Keystone seven who did his full measure of duty last night was Hern, the goal keeper, who played such a sensational game last winter. He is still the same sensational player and it was due to his clever goal tending that the score was only 2 to 0 instead of 20 to 0.”
“He [Hern] is like a jail wall, hard to get through”
...the one-sidedness of the score was helped by erratic form of Hern. He did not play his usual game and apparently could not see the puck, though the terrific shooting of Stuart may have been partly accountable for this. If Hern has lost his eye it means a heavy loss for Keystone”
“Hern’s goal keeping, the greatest exhibition of this department of the game ever given before a Pittsburgh hockey net, was the redeeming feature last night”
“...but if it had not been for Hern the score might have been ten times more one-sided than it was”
“As for Hern, he simply dazzled the spectators with the brilliancy of his stops, and if the Keystone defense had been playing any kind of a game Hern could not possibly have had such and opportunity for the display of his powers. Over and over again Bish and Gordon left him practically unprotected, and in the second half he took care of at least 20 shots, half of his stops being of the most brilliant order”
“The crowd soon realized that Hern was playing in form such as is only reached at times by the best of goal keepers”
“The question of the contest soon resolved itself into whether Hern could be overcome or whether he was invincible. Some of his stops were of high lofts most difficult, while once he took the puck round the back of the net and drew a burst of applause by skating circles around the Banker men who were trying to get at the rubber”
“As in all previous games James Riley Hern, at goal, was the Keystones’ star, and had it not been for his clever work the score would have been fully three times as large”
“...as he [Hern] proved himself to be easily the star of the game, and his clever work called forth cheers time and again from the spectators. Had it not been for Hern, the PAC team would have run its score up to double figures”
“To tell the truth, Hern was of more real value than all the other Keystone players put together. He certainly is a jewel of a goal keeper”
“It seems a pity that such a good goal tender as Riley Hern should be mixed up with such an inferior lot of players as the Keystone talent has shown to be. Outside of Hern there is absolutely nothing to the team”
“The only man on the Keystone seven who did his full measure of duty last night was Hern, the goal keeper, who played such a sensational game last winter. He is still the same sensational player and it was due to his clever goal tending that the score was only 2 to 0 instead of 20 to 0.”
“He [Hern] is like a jail wall, hard to get through”
...the one-sidedness of the score was helped by erratic form of Hern. He did not play his usual game and apparently could not see the puck, though the terrific shooting of Stuart may have been partly accountable for this. If Hern has lost his eye it means a heavy loss for Keystone”
“Hern’s goal keeping, the greatest exhibition of this department of the game ever given before a Pittsburgh hockey net, was the redeeming feature last night”
“...but if it had not been for Hern the score might have been ten times more one-sided than it was”
“As for Hern, he simply dazzled the spectators with the brilliancy of his stops, and if the Keystone defense had been playing any kind of a game Hern could not possibly have had such and opportunity for the display of his powers. Over and over again Bish and Gordon left him practically unprotected, and in the second half he took care of at least 20 shots, half of his stops being of the most brilliant order”
“The crowd soon realized that Hern was playing in form such as is only reached at times by the best of goal keepers”
“The question of the contest soon resolved itself into whether Hern could be overcome or whether he was invincible. Some of his stops were of high lofts most difficult, while once he took the puck round the back of the net and drew a burst of applause by skating circles around the Banker men who were trying to get at the rubber”
“As in all previous games James Riley Hern, at goal, was the Keystones’ star, and had it not been for his clever work the score would have been fully three times as large”
“...as he [Hern] proved himself to be easily the star of the game, and his clever work called forth cheers time and again from the spectators. Had it not been for Hern, the PAC team would have run its score up to double figures”
“To tell the truth, Hern was of more real value than all the other Keystone players put together. He certainly is a jewel of a goal keeper”
“It seems a pity that such a good goal tender as Riley Hern should be mixed up with such an inferior lot of players as the Keystone talent has shown to be. Outside of Hern there is absolutely nothing to the team”
1904: With the Portage Lakes HC exhibition team
Basic details: I don’t have anything to add, as I don’t have a good newspaper source yet.
1905: With Portage Lakes of the IPHL
Basic details: Unfortunately, I only have limited coverage of the IPHL at the moment- 6 Portage Lakes games, of which only a couple had any real gameplay information. Portage Lakes finished 15-7-2, good for second in the league. The IPHL was pretty strong, boasting of such players as Hod and Bruce Stuart, Peg Duval, Lorne Campbell, Fred Lake, Barney Holden, Bert Morrison, Billy Nicholson, Jimmy Gardner, Jack Laviolette, and many more players who would make a name in hockey.
“The star of the evening, however, was Riley Hern, at goal. He stopped shots from Campbell and Roberts that were features”
“The star of the evening, however, was Riley Hern, at goal. He stopped shots from Campbell and Roberts that were features”
1906: With Portage Lakes of the IPHL
Basic details: Portage Lakes went 19-5, winning the league championship. I have the same coverage issues as 1905- still only six games, but at least the coverage for those games is a little more robust”
“Brilliant work by Hern in goal saved Portage Lake from being scored on many times. His stops were remarkable”
“...it is only owing to the cleverness of Riley Hern, the visitors’ goalkeeper, that Pittsburgh did not roll up a big score”
“It seemed as though the puck was made of iron and Riley Hern had magnets in his boots, for shot after shot which the local forwards made was stopped”
“Hern put up as fine an exhibition of goal tending as has been seen here for sometime”
“Hern again put up a great exhibition. It can easily be seen why Portage Lake does not get beaten often. They are strong enough to score a few goals, and Hern is as good as a whole defense line himself”
“Brilliant work by Hern in goal saved Portage Lake from being scored on many times. His stops were remarkable”
“...it is only owing to the cleverness of Riley Hern, the visitors’ goalkeeper, that Pittsburgh did not roll up a big score”
“It seemed as though the puck was made of iron and Riley Hern had magnets in his boots, for shot after shot which the local forwards made was stopped”
“Hern put up as fine an exhibition of goal tending as has been seen here for sometime”
“Hern again put up a great exhibition. It can easily be seen why Portage Lake does not get beaten often. They are strong enough to score a few goals, and Hern is as good as a whole defense line himself”
1907: with the Montreal Wanderers of the ECAHA
Basic details: The Wanderers went 10-0, absolutely dominating the league (105 goals for, 39 goals against, both the best in the league). They would also beat the stuffing out of New Glasgow (games 10-3 and 7-2) during a SC challenge series. The Wanderers would lose a series (4-2, 8-6) against the Kenora Thistles, led by Tommy Phillips (who, unrelated to the project, I am more impressed by the more I dig into his career) in January, but would reclaim the Cup following the season (games 7-2 Wanderers, 6-5 Thistles).
“Riley Hern is not as big a man as some goal keepers who have been known in Montreal, but he is mighty quick and has an odd way of shouting at the man who holds the puck ‘to come on’. It is true he was outwitted almost near the beginning, but things in general were a little ragged as they usually are at the start of a match like this and the shot which did the trick propelled by Marks was entirely unexpected”
“Hern did splendid work for Wanderers in the second half, immediately before and after the score had been tied, but in the first most of those that came his way counted for Thistles. “
“Lesueur and Hern divided honors, both doing sensational work in the nets. Lesueur save the Ottawa twenty times or more, using his shins, stick and head as usual, and sometimes skating out to intercept a pass. In the second half when Ottawa were three or four men shy, Lesueur’s work brought down the house. He stopped the puck with his hands, stick and body, turning it aside in a marvelous manner. Hern was equally effective, and in him the Wanderers apparently have a find”
“Hern gave what may be correctly termed a perfect exhibition of goalkeeping. Wanderers say the first goal was kicked in and the second came from a scrimmage”
“Hern in goal made some stops that amazed every one repeatedly, rushing out and saving after an Ottawa man had passed every one but himself. Then he was cool at all stages and directed the men in front of him”
“ Harry Smith was there with his star shooting, but got little opportunity to get near the nets. He and Alf. did some nice passing and rained many hard shots at Hern”
“Hern, between the posts, is a marvel. He stopped bullet-like trials of Smith as an umbrella wards off a summer showe and the fiercest rushes of the opposing forwards did not seem to rattle him”
“Only the stellar work of Stuart and Patrick prevented a dozen goals on Hern”
“Patrick’s game was his season’s best. The good work of Stuart and Patrick, backed by heady work displayed by Hern in goal, rounded out the Wanderer defence in fine style”
“On the Wanderer side, the forwards were in good fettle, while Patrick at point, and Glass at cover, worked hard when the thought struck them that they were playing hockey. Hern had not much to do”
“Riley Hern is not as big a man as some goal keepers who have been known in Montreal, but he is mighty quick and has an odd way of shouting at the man who holds the puck ‘to come on’. It is true he was outwitted almost near the beginning, but things in general were a little ragged as they usually are at the start of a match like this and the shot which did the trick propelled by Marks was entirely unexpected”
“Hern did splendid work for Wanderers in the second half, immediately before and after the score had been tied, but in the first most of those that came his way counted for Thistles. “
“Lesueur and Hern divided honors, both doing sensational work in the nets. Lesueur save the Ottawa twenty times or more, using his shins, stick and head as usual, and sometimes skating out to intercept a pass. In the second half when Ottawa were three or four men shy, Lesueur’s work brought down the house. He stopped the puck with his hands, stick and body, turning it aside in a marvelous manner. Hern was equally effective, and in him the Wanderers apparently have a find”
“Hern gave what may be correctly termed a perfect exhibition of goalkeeping. Wanderers say the first goal was kicked in and the second came from a scrimmage”
“Hern in goal made some stops that amazed every one repeatedly, rushing out and saving after an Ottawa man had passed every one but himself. Then he was cool at all stages and directed the men in front of him”
“ Harry Smith was there with his star shooting, but got little opportunity to get near the nets. He and Alf. did some nice passing and rained many hard shots at Hern”
“Hern, between the posts, is a marvel. He stopped bullet-like trials of Smith as an umbrella wards off a summer showe and the fiercest rushes of the opposing forwards did not seem to rattle him”
“Only the stellar work of Stuart and Patrick prevented a dozen goals on Hern”
“Patrick’s game was his season’s best. The good work of Stuart and Patrick, backed by heady work displayed by Hern in goal, rounded out the Wanderer defence in fine style”
“On the Wanderer side, the forwards were in good fettle, while Patrick at point, and Glass at cover, worked hard when the thought struck them that they were playing hockey. Hern had not much to do”
1908: With the Montreal Wanderers of the ECAHA
Basic details: The Wanderers won the league championship again, going 8-2. They would beat the Ottawa Victorias of the FAHL (9-3 and 13-1), Winnipeg Maple Leafs of the MHL (11-5 and 9-3) and Toronto Professionals of the OPHL (6-4) in three SC challenge series. The Toronto Pros in particular had a pretty impressive lineup that included Newsy Lalonde, Rowley Young, Bert Morrison, and Bruce Ridpath.
“Ross and Hern both gave good exhibitions, and, as usual, the point’s rushes were a feature. A great many of the shots Hern was called upon to stop were from away out and were not particularly hard, but several times he was in close quarters and acquitted himself well”
“Hern in goal made some great stops, but he let a couple of easy ones go by”
“The defence was its strongest point, and had it not been for the work of Riley Hern and Art Ross, Ottawas would have had twenty or more goals. As it was Ross and Hern were the only Wanderers who seemed in a class with the locals. Hern’s work in the nets was sensational, and even the Ottawa supporters cheered him and Ross”
“Art. Ross and Riley Hern did their share, but they were impotent against the resistless dash and vigor of the Ottawa attack. The real wonder of it is not that the score was twelve, but that it was not more. It speaks well indeed for the excellent work of those two players”
“With the Wanderer lot the two best performers were, as previously said, Hern and Ross. Both did their work well”
“Hern played the finest game in goals that he has yet played since joining the team”
“Hern and Ross were the stars of the Wanderer team. Hern played a splendid game in the nets, and most of the ones that got away from him were batted in shots following a clever block”
“it was then that Hern was called on to do some spectacular work for Wanderers”
“Robinson and Hern were pretty much even up on the night’s work”
“As said before, Ross was good and staunch as ever, and made some fine rushes at times, and Riley Hern did his best, which is saying a good deal”
“Hern, Ross and Blachford were the stars, but there was no weak spot on the seven”
“Moran had less to do than in the Shamrock game and was outstarred by Hern, who was in top form”
“Hern had a lot of difficult work to do, especially in the first half, and he did it well”
“Nicholson and Hern were about even up on the night’s play”
“ Hern at the other end had probably not a fifth of the shots to stop that Winchester had, so a comparison of the two goalers’ work is difficult. Hern did what he had to do”
“Ross and Hern both gave good exhibitions, and, as usual, the point’s rushes were a feature. A great many of the shots Hern was called upon to stop were from away out and were not particularly hard, but several times he was in close quarters and acquitted himself well”
“Hern in goal made some great stops, but he let a couple of easy ones go by”
“The defence was its strongest point, and had it not been for the work of Riley Hern and Art Ross, Ottawas would have had twenty or more goals. As it was Ross and Hern were the only Wanderers who seemed in a class with the locals. Hern’s work in the nets was sensational, and even the Ottawa supporters cheered him and Ross”
“Art. Ross and Riley Hern did their share, but they were impotent against the resistless dash and vigor of the Ottawa attack. The real wonder of it is not that the score was twelve, but that it was not more. It speaks well indeed for the excellent work of those two players”
“With the Wanderer lot the two best performers were, as previously said, Hern and Ross. Both did their work well”
“Hern played the finest game in goals that he has yet played since joining the team”
“Hern and Ross were the stars of the Wanderer team. Hern played a splendid game in the nets, and most of the ones that got away from him were batted in shots following a clever block”
“it was then that Hern was called on to do some spectacular work for Wanderers”
“Robinson and Hern were pretty much even up on the night’s work”
“As said before, Ross was good and staunch as ever, and made some fine rushes at times, and Riley Hern did his best, which is saying a good deal”
“Hern, Ross and Blachford were the stars, but there was no weak spot on the seven”
“Moran had less to do than in the Shamrock game and was outstarred by Hern, who was in top form”
“Hern had a lot of difficult work to do, especially in the first half, and he did it well”
“Nicholson and Hern were about even up on the night’s play”
“ Hern at the other end had probably not a fifth of the shots to stop that Winchester had, so a comparison of the two goalers’ work is difficult. Hern did what he had to do”
1909: with the Montreal Wanderers of the newly re-branded ECHA
Basic details: The Wanderers finished 9-3, good for second in the league behind Ottawa HC (who was led by Bruce Stuart, whose teams simply won championships- this was his fourth consecutive league-winning team (Portage Lake in 1906 and 1907, Montreal Wanderers in 1908, and Ottawa HC in 1909). Prior to the season, the Wanderers would defend the SC against an Edmonton HC team starring Lester Patrick, Didier Pitre, and Tommy Phillips (games were 7-3 Wanderers and 7-6 Edmonton).
“Before the close of the half it was phenomenal work by Hern that saved the Wanderers from losing at least a couple of goals”
“For Wanderers Riley Hern was as careful and painstaking as ever. He treats his goalkeeping as he does his private business, and that is probably the secret of his success”
“Hern played brilliantly in goals, and despite the scores against him, he was a better goal tend than Lindsay”
“Perhaps in this case Lesueur deserves more credit, for the fusilade on his net in the first half was the greatest, although in the second the attack was evenly divided, but Riley Hern no doubt would have done just as well had he been in Lesuer’s place”
“Hern had less to do than Lesueur, but did it equally well. The little fellow was cool in some stiff scrimmaging around his cage, and he used his head in clearing”
“Hern had much less to do than Moran, but he was under a more deadly fire”
“Riley Hern did as usual good work, but had many an unnecessary score as Quebec came flying down”
“In the second half there were times when Wanderers were all played out and but for the sterling work of Hern in goal and of Smaill and Johnson in the open the chances are that Quebec would have retired victors”
“Hern did splendid work in the Wanderer nets, but Lesueur had it on him in every way”
“Hern was as cool as Lesueur in tight places, although he had less to do than the Ottawa man”
“Before the close of the half it was phenomenal work by Hern that saved the Wanderers from losing at least a couple of goals”
“For Wanderers Riley Hern was as careful and painstaking as ever. He treats his goalkeeping as he does his private business, and that is probably the secret of his success”
“Hern played brilliantly in goals, and despite the scores against him, he was a better goal tend than Lindsay”
“Perhaps in this case Lesueur deserves more credit, for the fusilade on his net in the first half was the greatest, although in the second the attack was evenly divided, but Riley Hern no doubt would have done just as well had he been in Lesuer’s place”
“Hern had less to do than Lesueur, but did it equally well. The little fellow was cool in some stiff scrimmaging around his cage, and he used his head in clearing”
“Hern had much less to do than Moran, but he was under a more deadly fire”
“Riley Hern did as usual good work, but had many an unnecessary score as Quebec came flying down”
“In the second half there were times when Wanderers were all played out and but for the sterling work of Hern in goal and of Smaill and Johnson in the open the chances are that Quebec would have retired victors”
“Hern did splendid work in the Wanderer nets, but Lesueur had it on him in every way”
“Hern was as cool as Lesueur in tight places, although he had less to do than the Ottawa man”
All Star Teams (only showing the teams Hern was eligible for)
1905 IPHL all star team originally published by the Pittsburgh Gazette- Winchester named in goal
1906: The only team I think Hern may have been eligible for was the Winnipeg Free Press editor’s “selection of a world’s champion hockey team… showing no favoritism to either East or West”. Dutchy Morrison was the pick at goal. Based on who else was picked I don’t know if Hern really had a shot, since there are no IPHL players listed.
March 1907 published by the Ottawa Citizen- LeSueur named to the team
1907 Fan-Voted All-Montreal team published by the Montreal Herald- Hern named
1907 All-Canadian Hockey Team originally published by the Ottawa Free Press- LeSueur named
1908: Fans voted first and second all-star teams during the halftime of a game on 11 February. Moran was on the first team, Nicholson on the second.
1908 ECAHA all-star team originally published by the Ottawa Free Press- Moran named to the team. The citation for the goalies: “Paddy Moran, of Quebec, has a mortgage on the net position. He is known as an aggressive goalkeeper, somewhat of a misnomer for a man in that position. Very few forwards will venture close to Moran, and it is only at the most hand-to-hand quarters he can be scored upon. Billy Nicholson, of Shamrocks, is the nearest approach to Moran.”
1909 all star team from Harvey Pulford- LeSueur named.
1910: The Ottawa Free Press (notice how it is usually Ottawa papers giving LeSueur the all star nods?) provided an all-star team for the NHA. LeSueur got the nod in goal. 3 of the seven players were from Ottawa.
1911: Tommy Dunderdale picked an NHA all star team, LeSueur being his choice for goal. “On Dunderdale’s team would be found Percy Leseur guarding the nets. While the Ottawa goal tend has two great rivals in Riley Hern of the Wanderers and Paddy Moran of the Quebecs, Tommy’s choice undoubtedly will be a popular one” (Moncton Transcript, 13 March 1911). I’ll add that there are some odd selections, though perhaps that is my general ignorance of the 1911 league- Barney Holden at cover? Don Smith as one of the two selected centers?
1925: Hern was not named to any of the three McLean Magazine teams.
1906: The only team I think Hern may have been eligible for was the Winnipeg Free Press editor’s “selection of a world’s champion hockey team… showing no favoritism to either East or West”. Dutchy Morrison was the pick at goal. Based on who else was picked I don’t know if Hern really had a shot, since there are no IPHL players listed.
March 1907 published by the Ottawa Citizen- LeSueur named to the team
1907 Fan-Voted All-Montreal team published by the Montreal Herald- Hern named
1907 All-Canadian Hockey Team originally published by the Ottawa Free Press- LeSueur named
1908: Fans voted first and second all-star teams during the halftime of a game on 11 February. Moran was on the first team, Nicholson on the second.
1908 ECAHA all-star team originally published by the Ottawa Free Press- Moran named to the team. The citation for the goalies: “Paddy Moran, of Quebec, has a mortgage on the net position. He is known as an aggressive goalkeeper, somewhat of a misnomer for a man in that position. Very few forwards will venture close to Moran, and it is only at the most hand-to-hand quarters he can be scored upon. Billy Nicholson, of Shamrocks, is the nearest approach to Moran.”
1909 all star team from Harvey Pulford- LeSueur named.
1910: The Ottawa Free Press (notice how it is usually Ottawa papers giving LeSueur the all star nods?) provided an all-star team for the NHA. LeSueur got the nod in goal. 3 of the seven players were from Ottawa.
1911: Tommy Dunderdale picked an NHA all star team, LeSueur being his choice for goal. “On Dunderdale’s team would be found Percy Leseur guarding the nets. While the Ottawa goal tend has two great rivals in Riley Hern of the Wanderers and Paddy Moran of the Quebecs, Tommy’s choice undoubtedly will be a popular one” (Moncton Transcript, 13 March 1911). I’ll add that there are some odd selections, though perhaps that is my general ignorance of the 1911 league- Barney Holden at cover? Don Smith as one of the two selected centers?
1925: Hern was not named to any of the three McLean Magazine teams.
Miscellaneous Quotes
1903: The Ottawa Citizen, on 23 November 1903, wrote a 1903-04 WPHL preview/1902-03 WPHL review. The section for the Keystones is as follows: “The Keystones, who had been champions the year previous, had a very unfortunate season. They tried out man after man, but could not get together a winning combination. In fact, the scores against them would probably have run into double figures at all times if it had not been for the exceptionally fine work of their goalkeeper, Riley Hern. Hern is admitted even by the eastern players here to be without exception the best ever. His work at times was marvelous, but always of the very best, and even on one of his off days he was usually capable of doing as good work as 99 per cent of other flagmen at their best. Of the other Keystone men, McCrostie came from Carleton Place, Taylor and Bish, Toronto, Hendry, Waterloo, and Willett, Montreal”
1907: On 25 December 1907, the Victoria Daily Times published an article about the growing salaries of hockey players. The paper reported the following players received the following salaries the previous season- Hod Stuart: $1200-1500 and the Wanderers paid for his lodging at “one of the best hotels in Montreal” ; Pud Glass: $700 at the start of the season, plus another $200 prior to the Winnipeg SC games ; Moose Johnson: $700 ; Riley Hern: $600. “Blatchford and Patrick, two of the best men in the game, were amongst the lowest paid, while the public has yet to be shown Ernie Russell’s bank book”. For the upcoming season, the paper reports that Ernie Russell, Pud Glass, and “Arnie” Johnston [Moose Johnson] are to be paid $900, while Bruce Stuart is being paid $1,000. For other teams, Jack Laviolette was looking for $700 from the Shamrocks, Charlie Ross was looking for $600, Billy Nicholson and Jimmie Gardner were signed for $500 each, and Horace Gaul a bit under that (and a job).
1908: “The Ottawa club, by the way, is hurting to get together a team. Negotiations have practically been completed for the signing of Jack Winchester of Toronto to play goal. Winchester played last year with Winnipeg Maple Leafs and is considered quite up to the standard of Paddy Moran. Winchester was reported signed by Wanderers, but Ottawa got there first.” (The Province, 20 November 1908 Page 13)
1910: “...but Riley Hern’s method of clearing doesn’t give a center man much chance, unless there is a pass, as there is seldom a rebound” (Toronto Star, 10 January 1910)
1912: An article titled “Hugh Lehman One of the Greatest in Nets” from the Vancouver Daily World, 1 February 1912, published discussion about goalies from a fanning bee in Vancouver. As the title would suggest, Lehamn was mentioned, as was Paddy Moran ("Paddy Moran is perhaps the one best bet of the four and his wonderful record with the old Quebec team stamps him as the cleverest goal custodian of the East"), Percy LeSueur ("Percy Leseur is one of the greatest students of hockey. He is always trying to learn some new wrinkles and also always trying to teach others what he knows of the game"), Dutchy Morrison ("'Dutchy' Morrison made a great name for himself in O.H.A. hockey...He then game west and put Portage la Prairie on the hockey map. He was the most finished player that ever performed in that section"), and Whitey Merritt ("'Whitey' Merritt was the old Victoria goal tender... His work is still talked about by the old timers, who claim that the present generation has not seen his equal"). Riley Hern and Jack Winchester were noted as well ("Riley Hern and the late Jack Winchester must also be mentioned as great men between the nets").
1923: “Never let anyone say again that Roach is not a great goalkeeper. He may not be as great as Vezina, who is one of those men that is only born once in a generation, but he is as great if not greater than any of those Montreal has seen, and that does not exclude Riley Hern or any of the others whose names are writ large on the hockey scroll of fame” (Montreal Star, 1 March 1923)
1924: In praising the play of Vernon Forbes in an NHA game, the Ottawa Journal (18 December 1924) reported “Since the day of the old masters like Paddy Moran, Percy Lesueur and RIley Hern to the present luminous lights of the braided cord such as Vezina, Roach and Benedict no greater display of net minding has been revealed that that shown by Forbes”
1934: “Riley Hern deserves a place among the immortals of the game. In his peak years with the Wanderers, he was one of the best goaltenders of his time. Paddy Moran, of Quebec, was probably the only netminder to challenge his claim of being the greatest of his day” (The Gazette, 8 March 1934)
1936: Jimmy MacKay, a former player with a long history in Pittsburgh, selected an all-time all-Pittsburgh team, which was published on 21 December 1936 in the Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph. Riley Hern was named to the first team, Roy Worters to the second team. The write-up for Hern stated: “I consider Riley Hern one of the greatest goal minders hockey has produced. He was small in stature, but quick, with a wonderful eye. He had all of the attributes of a star, including a quick-thinking brain and wonderful intuition. He seemed to know exactly where the puck was coming from and where it was aimed”
1940: A Mr. Jack Tobin, described as the “secretary-treasurer of the St. John’s Senior Hockey League, Newfoundland’s major ice organization, for more than 30 years”, who reportedly visited “Montreal and Toronto on business” and never failed “to take in all the hockey games he can”, provided an all-time all-star team, and put Riley Hern in net.
1941: William (Bill) O’Brien, apparently well known trainer for the Renfrew Millionaires, Montreal Maroons, and baseball Royals, named an “old-timer” team, with Hern getting the nod in goal (Montreal Star, 11 July 1941).
1956: “He [Moose Johnson] didn’t want to pick an All-Star team from his era because he might forget some really good ones, but when pressed he came up with Riley Hern of Wanderers in goal. ‘That Paddy Moran of Quebec was a corker too. You would have to put Cyclone Taylor in there. He was a dazzling skater, and he could play defence or forward equally well. McGee would fit in at centre or you could take Russell and Newsy (Lalonde) who came later. They were artists in their own way and all three were different. I think Alf Smith would fit in at right wing, and Tom Phillips at left. Shucks I am leaving out Hod Stuart, but if I had to pick a rover, I would put Glass in. He was the first to use a hook check as a forward and Boon played it well on defence’” (Montreal Star, 5 January)
1907: On 25 December 1907, the Victoria Daily Times published an article about the growing salaries of hockey players. The paper reported the following players received the following salaries the previous season- Hod Stuart: $1200-1500 and the Wanderers paid for his lodging at “one of the best hotels in Montreal” ; Pud Glass: $700 at the start of the season, plus another $200 prior to the Winnipeg SC games ; Moose Johnson: $700 ; Riley Hern: $600. “Blatchford and Patrick, two of the best men in the game, were amongst the lowest paid, while the public has yet to be shown Ernie Russell’s bank book”. For the upcoming season, the paper reports that Ernie Russell, Pud Glass, and “Arnie” Johnston [Moose Johnson] are to be paid $900, while Bruce Stuart is being paid $1,000. For other teams, Jack Laviolette was looking for $700 from the Shamrocks, Charlie Ross was looking for $600, Billy Nicholson and Jimmie Gardner were signed for $500 each, and Horace Gaul a bit under that (and a job).
1908: “The Ottawa club, by the way, is hurting to get together a team. Negotiations have practically been completed for the signing of Jack Winchester of Toronto to play goal. Winchester played last year with Winnipeg Maple Leafs and is considered quite up to the standard of Paddy Moran. Winchester was reported signed by Wanderers, but Ottawa got there first.” (The Province, 20 November 1908 Page 13)
1910: “...but Riley Hern’s method of clearing doesn’t give a center man much chance, unless there is a pass, as there is seldom a rebound” (Toronto Star, 10 January 1910)
1912: An article titled “Hugh Lehman One of the Greatest in Nets” from the Vancouver Daily World, 1 February 1912, published discussion about goalies from a fanning bee in Vancouver. As the title would suggest, Lehamn was mentioned, as was Paddy Moran ("Paddy Moran is perhaps the one best bet of the four and his wonderful record with the old Quebec team stamps him as the cleverest goal custodian of the East"), Percy LeSueur ("Percy Leseur is one of the greatest students of hockey. He is always trying to learn some new wrinkles and also always trying to teach others what he knows of the game"), Dutchy Morrison ("'Dutchy' Morrison made a great name for himself in O.H.A. hockey...He then game west and put Portage la Prairie on the hockey map. He was the most finished player that ever performed in that section"), and Whitey Merritt ("'Whitey' Merritt was the old Victoria goal tender... His work is still talked about by the old timers, who claim that the present generation has not seen his equal"). Riley Hern and Jack Winchester were noted as well ("Riley Hern and the late Jack Winchester must also be mentioned as great men between the nets").
1923: “Never let anyone say again that Roach is not a great goalkeeper. He may not be as great as Vezina, who is one of those men that is only born once in a generation, but he is as great if not greater than any of those Montreal has seen, and that does not exclude Riley Hern or any of the others whose names are writ large on the hockey scroll of fame” (Montreal Star, 1 March 1923)
1924: In praising the play of Vernon Forbes in an NHA game, the Ottawa Journal (18 December 1924) reported “Since the day of the old masters like Paddy Moran, Percy Lesueur and RIley Hern to the present luminous lights of the braided cord such as Vezina, Roach and Benedict no greater display of net minding has been revealed that that shown by Forbes”
1934: “Riley Hern deserves a place among the immortals of the game. In his peak years with the Wanderers, he was one of the best goaltenders of his time. Paddy Moran, of Quebec, was probably the only netminder to challenge his claim of being the greatest of his day” (The Gazette, 8 March 1934)
1936: Jimmy MacKay, a former player with a long history in Pittsburgh, selected an all-time all-Pittsburgh team, which was published on 21 December 1936 in the Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph. Riley Hern was named to the first team, Roy Worters to the second team. The write-up for Hern stated: “I consider Riley Hern one of the greatest goal minders hockey has produced. He was small in stature, but quick, with a wonderful eye. He had all of the attributes of a star, including a quick-thinking brain and wonderful intuition. He seemed to know exactly where the puck was coming from and where it was aimed”
1940: A Mr. Jack Tobin, described as the “secretary-treasurer of the St. John’s Senior Hockey League, Newfoundland’s major ice organization, for more than 30 years”, who reportedly visited “Montreal and Toronto on business” and never failed “to take in all the hockey games he can”, provided an all-time all-star team, and put Riley Hern in net.
- He also had some interesting comments about the publishing of points, particularly assists; “So the papers publish the scoring records every week, a player looks up the records and sees he needs a few more points to take over the lead, and so he puts up a bigger fight for an assist the next time. It’s got so that a man’s salary isn’t based on his value to his team any more. It’s computed on the number of scoring points he had the previous year. Ridiculous. I always thought team play was what counted” and “And a fellow isn’t considered the most valuable player on his team because he’s scored the most goals. Not at all. That’s where we’re away ahead of you”.
1941: William (Bill) O’Brien, apparently well known trainer for the Renfrew Millionaires, Montreal Maroons, and baseball Royals, named an “old-timer” team, with Hern getting the nod in goal (Montreal Star, 11 July 1941).
1956: “He [Moose Johnson] didn’t want to pick an All-Star team from his era because he might forget some really good ones, but when pressed he came up with Riley Hern of Wanderers in goal. ‘That Paddy Moran of Quebec was a corker too. You would have to put Cyclone Taylor in there. He was a dazzling skater, and he could play defence or forward equally well. McGee would fit in at centre or you could take Russell and Newsy (Lalonde) who came later. They were artists in their own way and all three were different. I think Alf Smith would fit in at right wing, and Tom Phillips at left. Shucks I am leaving out Hod Stuart, but if I had to pick a rover, I would put Glass in. He was the first to use a hook check as a forward and Boon played it well on defence’” (Montreal Star, 5 January)
EDIT: all the tables broke when I added them, so I'll have to figure out a new way.
EDIT again: building the table inside the post works
EDIT again: building the table inside the post works
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jigglysquishy
Registered User
I haven't found a working solution. I don't know why mine worked on the fourth attempt but it did. But copy pasting from excel seems completely broken.
| Name | Birth Year | Number of Players on List Born within 5 Years of Birth Year | Players on List Born within 5 Years of Birth Year |
| Chico Resch | 1948 | 7 | Tretiak, Dryden, Parent, Holecek, Smith, Esposito, Vachon |
| Mike Vernon | 1963 | 7 | Hasek, Roy, Belforur, Fuhr, Joseph, Vanbiesbrouck, Barrasso |
| Mike Richter | 1966 | 7 | Hasek, Roy, Belforur, Fuhr, Joseph, Vanbiesbrouck, Barrasso |
| Braden Holtby | 1989 | 7 | Vasilevskiy, Price, Hellebuyck, Quick, Bobrovskiy, Fleury, Rask |
| Al Rollins | 1926 | 6 | Plante, Sawchuk, Hall, Bower, Lumley, Worsley |
| Olaf Kolzig | 1970 | 6 | Hasek, Roy, Brodeur, Belfour, Joseph, Barrasso |
| Lorne Chabot | 1900 | 5 | Gardiner, Worters, Thompson, Connell, Roach |
| Roger Crozier | 1942 | 5 | Dryden, Parent, Parent, Holecek, Esposto, Vachon |
| Vladimir Dzurilla | 1942 | 5 | Dryden, Parent, Parent, Holecek, Esposto, Vachon |
| Ryan Miller | 1980 | 5 | Lundqvist, Luongo, Kiprusoff, Rinne, Fleury |
| Gerry Cheevers | 1940 | 4 | Parent, Holecek, Esposito, Vachon |
| Tim Thomas | 1974 | 3 | Brodeur, Luongo, Kiprusoff |
| Evgeni Nabokov | 1975 | 3 | Brodeur, Luongo, Kiprusoff |
| Jusse Saros | 1995 | 3 | Vasilevskiy, Hellebuyck, Shesterkin |
| Riley Hern | 1878 | 2 | LeSueur, Moran |
| Ed Giacomin | 1939 | 2 | Holecek, Esposito |
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Dennis Bonvie
Registered User
Roger Crozier was the goalie in the first NHL game I attended. Bruins vs Red Wings, 1965. Detroit won 1-0 on rookie Paul Henderson's goal. But Eddie Johnston was the whole show in goal for the Bruins. Though the Wings had Gordie, Delvecchio and Gadsby, Norm Ullman was their best player at that time. And it showed.
Barely recall Crozier playing.
Barely recall Crozier playing.
Alright, since we have a workaround for the table problem, here is the comparison for each player's age cohort-
It looks like, once we get to the 1910s, our list is fairly consistent across the decades. Dips in the 1910s (war? the list lacking the older players who would spend time playing into the decade?) and 1940s (war), and a sharp increase once we hit the 21st century, but other than that, it looks consistent enough.
The group certainly hasn't been shy about adding contemporary/recent players- the 2010s and 2000s are the most represented, and by a decent amount. Even the 2020s- only half over, with many players still in the beginning/middle of their careers- looks to be represented pretty well.
I've been bringing it up all project so I won't belabor the point too much, but the group really hasn't been kind to goalies from the earliest decades of organized hockey.
It was mentioned last round, but Ed Giacomin is a real oddity. His age cohort is woefully underrepresented in comparison to the rest of the players eligible, but his career years are quite well covered by the players already on our list. I think this is likely due to the goalies in the cohort before Giacomin's having exceptional staying power.
And here is the table showing years active by decade for the players already on our list (standard disclaimer- I used @Dr John Carlson 's dates provided in the overall project thread, and for the rest I made judgment calls for when they started their Senior/Professional career. Any mistakes were made in good faith; I'll correct any errors people point out. I don't think this table shows that one decade is more favored by the group than another if there is a difference of a handful of years, but I think any large disparities should cause us to pause and think why such a disparity exists)-
| Total Calendar Years | 935 |
| Average per Decade | 62.33 |
| Average per Decade w/out 1800s | 71.92 |
| Decade | Calendar Years Active | Percent of Total | % of Average | % of Average w/out 1800s |
| 1880s | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | N/A |
| 1890s | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | N/A |
| 1900s | 18 | 1.93 | 28.88 | 25.03 |
| 1910s | 56 | 5.99 | 89.84 | 77.86 |
| 1920s | 83 | 8.88 | 133.16 | 115.40 |
| 1930s | 68 | 7.27 | 109.09 | 94.55 |
| 1940s | 59 | 6.31 | 94.65 | 82.03 |
| 1950s | 68 | 7.27 | 109.09 | 94.55 |
| 1960s | 74 | 7.91 | 118.72 | 102.89 |
| 1970s | 86 | 9.20 | 137.97 | 119.57 |
| 1980s | 77 | 8.24 | 123.53 | 107.06 |
| 1990s | 85 | 9.09 | 136.36 | 118.18 |
| 2000s | 106 | 11.34 | 170.05 | 147.38 |
| 2010s | 110 | 11.76 | 176.47 | 152.94 |
| 2020s | 45 | 4.81 | 72.19 | 62.57 |
It looks like, once we get to the 1910s, our list is fairly consistent across the decades. Dips in the 1910s (war? the list lacking the older players who would spend time playing into the decade?) and 1940s (war), and a sharp increase once we hit the 21st century, but other than that, it looks consistent enough.
The group certainly hasn't been shy about adding contemporary/recent players- the 2010s and 2000s are the most represented, and by a decent amount. Even the 2020s- only half over, with many players still in the beginning/middle of their careers- looks to be represented pretty well.
I've been bringing it up all project so I won't belabor the point too much, but the group really hasn't been kind to goalies from the earliest decades of organized hockey.
It was mentioned last round, but Ed Giacomin is a real oddity. His age cohort is woefully underrepresented in comparison to the rest of the players eligible, but his career years are quite well covered by the players already on our list. I think this is likely due to the goalies in the cohort before Giacomin's having exceptional staying power.
Since I know some people put a high value on Stanley Cups-
| Name | SC wins | SC Losses | Win Percentage |
| Lorne Chabot | 2 (1928, 1932) | 0 | 100.00 |
| Mike Richter | 1 (1994) | 0 | 100.00 |
| Tim Thomas | 1 (2011) | 0 | 100.00 |
| Braden Holtlby | 1 (2018) | 0 | 100.00 |
| Riley Hern | 7 (1906, 1907, 1908, 1908, 1908, 1908, 1910) | 1 (1907) | 87.50 |
| Gerry Cheevers | 2 (1970, 1972) | 2 (1977, 1978) | 50.00 |
| Mike Vernon | 2 (1989, 1997) | 2 (1986, 1995) | 50.00 |
| Ryan Miller | 0 | 0 | N/A |
| Evgeni Nabokov | 0 | 0 | N/A |
| Al Rollins | 0 | 0 | N/A |
| Vladislav Dzurilla | 0 (N/A) | 0 (N/A) | N/A |
| Chico Resch | 0 | 0 | N/A |
| Juusse Saros | 0 | 0 | N/A |
| Ed Giacomin | 0 | 1 (1972) | 0.00 |
| Olaf Kolzing | 0 | 1 (1998) | 0.00 |
| Roger Crozier | 0 | 2 (1966, 1975) | 0.00 |
jigglysquishy
Registered User
Chico Resch in the playoffs. It's every game he played except the three old-man games he played with the Flyers.
1975 Playoffs
Islanders beat Rangers 3-2
Shots: Isles 25 Rangers 31
Isles 1 Rangers 0
The Evening News · Apr 9, 1975
Rangers win 8-3
Shots: Isles 27 Rangers 31
Isles 1 Rangers 1
No relevant comments
Isles win 4-3 in OT
Shots: Isles 25 Rangers 40
Isles 2 Rangers 1
No relevant comments, Coverage for this series is terrible.
1975 Quarter Finals
Penguins defeat Islanders 5-4
Shots: Isles 40 Penguins 34
Isles 0 Penguins 1
Beaver Country Times · Apr 15, 1975
Penguins win 3-1
Shots: Isles 33 Penguins 47
Isles 0 Penguins 2
Billy Smith played
Penguins win 6-4
Shots: Isles 47 Penguins 32
Isles 0 Penguins 3
Billy Smith played
Islanders win 3-1
Shots: Isles 38 Penguins 28
Isles 1 Penguins 3
Beaver Country Times · Apr 21, 1975
Isles win 4-2
Shots: Isles 19 Penguins 38
Isles 2 Penguins 3
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette · Apr 23, 1975
Islanders win 4-1
Shots: Isles 40 Penguins 32
Isles 3 Penguins 3
Beaver Country Times · Apr 25, 1975
Islanders win 1-0
Shots: Isles 17 Penguins 30
Isles 4 Penguins 3
The Leader-Post · Apr 28, 1975
Gotta love the drama of a reverse sweep. Goalies starred in all 7 games, but the momentum swept pretty strongly from Inness to Resch. Praise is pretty high, but there are cracks (see game 4 and 5 comments). Billy Smith gets chased from the nets, but Al Arbour also stars. This series is still a plus from Resch, but I'm mindful of the mixed reception.
1975 Semifinals
Flyers beat Islanders 4-0
Shots: Isles 21 Flyers 25
Isles 0 Flyers 1
The Calgary Herald · Apr 30, 1975
Flyers win 5-4 in OT
Shots: Isles 30 Flyers 27
Isles 0 Flyers 2
No relevant comments
Flyers win 1-0
Shots: Isles 14 Flyers 32
Isles 0 Flyers 3
The Press-Courier · May 5, 1975
Islanders win 4-3 in OT
Shots: Isles 28 Flyers 39
Isles 1 Flyers 3
The Leader-Post · May 8, 1975
Islanders win 5-1
Shots: Isles 24 Flyers 29
Isles 2 Flyers 3
The Windsor Star · May 9, 1975
Isles win 2-1
Shots: Isles 27 Flyers 29
Isles 3 Flyers 3
No relevant comments
Flyers win 4-1
Shots: Isles 15 Flyers 35
Isles 3 Flyers 4
The Pittsburgh Press · May 14, 1975
Damn. Almost back-to-back reverse sweeps. Resch is spoken of generally well, but not to the extent of the Penguins series. I was hoping for more praise for three straight victories.
1976 Playoffs
Sabres beat Islanders 5-3
Shots: Isles 22 Sabres 26
Isles 0 Sabres 1
Resch is replaced after the second period, letting in 4 goals on 22 shots. Bill Smith plays the rest of the series as the Isles win it 4-2.
Habs beat Isles 3-2
Shots: Isles 17 Habs 29
Isles 0 Habs 1
Billy Smith plays
Habs win 4-3
Shots: Isles 41 Habs 27
Isles 0 Habs 2
The Windsor Star · Apr 30, 1976
Habs win 3-2
Shots: Isles 35 Habs 33
Isles 0 Habs 3
Star-News · May 2, 1976
Islanders win 5-2
Shots: Isles 32 Habs 38
Isles 1 Habs 3
The Journal · May 5, 1976
Habs win 5-2
Shots: Isles 23 Habs 33
Isles 1 Habs 4
No relevant comments.
Wow. Three series in a row down 3-0. That's got to be an NHL record. Resch plays well after Smith is chased from the nets.
1977 Playoffs
Islanders beat Hawks in the preliminary round with Billy Smith in net
Islanders beat Sabres 4-0 in quarterfinals with Billy Smith in net
Habs are up 2-1 in the series with Billy Smith in net
Habs beat Islanders 4-0
Shots: Isles 18 Habs 33
Isles 1 Habs 3
Resch replaced Smith to start the third period after Smith let in 4 goals on 22 shots.
Islanders win 4-3 in OT
Shots: Isles 19 Habs 29
Isles 2 Habs 3
The Montreal Gazette · May 4, 1977
Habs win 2-1
Shots: Isles 28 Habs 20
Isles 2 Habs 4
No relevant comments
Hard to pull much positive this year. Billy Smith is the clear starter through 2.5 rounds and Resch only plays 2.5 games.
1978 Playoffs
Islanders beat Leafs 4-1
Shots: Isles 27 Leafs 30
Isles 1 Leafs 0
No relevant comments
Islanders win 3-2 in OT
Shots: Isles 40 Leafs 30
Isles 2 Leafs 0
Beaver Country Times · Apr 21, 1978
Leafs win 2-0
Shots: Isles 19 Leafs 23
Isles 2 Leafs 1
No relevant comments
Leafs win 3-1
Shots: Isles 32 Leafs 28
Isles 2 Leafs 2
No relevant comments
Islanders win 2-1 in OT
Shots: Isles 40 Leafs 30
Isles 3 Leafs 2
No relevant comments
Leafs win 5-2
Shots: Isles 37 Leafs 24
Isles 3 Leafs 3
The Phoenix · Apr 28, 1978
Leafs win 2-1 in OT
Shots: Isles 23 Leafs 27
Isles 3 Leafs 4
No relevant comments
Functionally no praise over the 7-game series
1979 Playoffs
Islanders beat Hawks 6-2
Shots: Isles 34 Hawks 24
Isles 1 Hawks 0
No relevant comments
Isles win 1-0 in OT
Shots: Isles 40 Hawks 22
Isles 2 Hawks 0
Billy Smith plays
Islanders win 4-0
Shots: Isles 28 Hawks 21
Isles 3 Hawks 0
The Pittsburgh Press · Apr 21, 1979
Islanders win 3-1
Shots: Isles 24 Hawks 28
Isles 4 Hawks 0
Billy Smith plays
1979 Semifinals
Rangers win 4-1
Shots: Isles 22 Rangers 38
Isles 0 Rangers 1
Reading Eagle · Apr 27, 1979
Islanders win 4-3 in OT
Shots: Isles 37 Rangers 37
Isles 1 Rangers 1
Billy Smith plays
Rangers win 3-1
Shots: Isles 17 Rangers 32
Isles 1 Rangers 2
No relevant comments
Islanders win 3-2 in OT
Shots: Isles 26 Rangers 30
Isles 2 Rangers 2
Billy Smith plays
Rangers win 4-3
Shots: Isles 28 Rangers 30
Isles 2 Rangers 3
Billy Smith plays
Rangers win 2-1
Shots: Isles 22 Rangers 27
Isles 2 Rangers 4
No relevant comments
He splits starts with Smith, gets soundly outplayed, and doesn't get any praise.
1980 Playoffs
Resch played 4 games scattered across four rounds. I won't cover them here and he's the clear relief man here.
All in all, not much to go for. Outside 1975 he is never close to the most praised Islander. For most of his time there, he's the #2 behind Smith in the playoffs (even if he sometimes gets more regular season games).
1975 Playoffs
Islanders beat Rangers 3-2
Shots: Isles 25 Rangers 31
Isles 1 Rangers 0
The Evening News · Apr 9, 1975
Rangers win 8-3
Shots: Isles 27 Rangers 31
Isles 1 Rangers 1
No relevant comments
Isles win 4-3 in OT
Shots: Isles 25 Rangers 40
Isles 2 Rangers 1
No relevant comments, Coverage for this series is terrible.
1975 Quarter Finals
Penguins defeat Islanders 5-4
Shots: Isles 40 Penguins 34
Isles 0 Penguins 1
Beaver Country Times · Apr 15, 1975
Penguins win 3-1
Shots: Isles 33 Penguins 47
Isles 0 Penguins 2
Billy Smith played
Penguins win 6-4
Shots: Isles 47 Penguins 32
Isles 0 Penguins 3
Billy Smith played
Islanders win 3-1
Shots: Isles 38 Penguins 28
Isles 1 Penguins 3
Beaver Country Times · Apr 21, 1975
Isles win 4-2
Shots: Isles 19 Penguins 38
Isles 2 Penguins 3
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette · Apr 23, 1975
The News-Dispatch · Apr 23, 1975
Islanders win 4-1
Shots: Isles 40 Penguins 32
Isles 3 Penguins 3
Beaver Country Times · Apr 25, 1975
Islanders win 1-0
Shots: Isles 17 Penguins 30
Isles 4 Penguins 3
The Leader-Post · Apr 28, 1975
Gotta love the drama of a reverse sweep. Goalies starred in all 7 games, but the momentum swept pretty strongly from Inness to Resch. Praise is pretty high, but there are cracks (see game 4 and 5 comments). Billy Smith gets chased from the nets, but Al Arbour also stars. This series is still a plus from Resch, but I'm mindful of the mixed reception.
1975 Semifinals
Flyers beat Islanders 4-0
Shots: Isles 21 Flyers 25
Isles 0 Flyers 1
The Calgary Herald · Apr 30, 1975
Flyers win 5-4 in OT
Shots: Isles 30 Flyers 27
Isles 0 Flyers 2
No relevant comments
Flyers win 1-0
Shots: Isles 14 Flyers 32
Isles 0 Flyers 3
The Press-Courier · May 5, 1975
Islanders win 4-3 in OT
Shots: Isles 28 Flyers 39
Isles 1 Flyers 3
The Leader-Post · May 8, 1975
Islanders win 5-1
Shots: Isles 24 Flyers 29
Isles 2 Flyers 3
The Windsor Star · May 9, 1975
Isles win 2-1
Shots: Isles 27 Flyers 29
Isles 3 Flyers 3
No relevant comments
Flyers win 4-1
Shots: Isles 15 Flyers 35
Isles 3 Flyers 4
The Pittsburgh Press · May 14, 1975
Damn. Almost back-to-back reverse sweeps. Resch is spoken of generally well, but not to the extent of the Penguins series. I was hoping for more praise for three straight victories.
1976 Playoffs
Sabres beat Islanders 5-3
Shots: Isles 22 Sabres 26
Isles 0 Sabres 1
Resch is replaced after the second period, letting in 4 goals on 22 shots. Bill Smith plays the rest of the series as the Isles win it 4-2.
Habs beat Isles 3-2
Shots: Isles 17 Habs 29
Isles 0 Habs 1
Billy Smith plays
Habs win 4-3
Shots: Isles 41 Habs 27
Isles 0 Habs 2
The Windsor Star · Apr 30, 1976
Habs win 3-2
Shots: Isles 35 Habs 33
Isles 0 Habs 3
Star-News · May 2, 1976
Islanders win 5-2
Shots: Isles 32 Habs 38
Isles 1 Habs 3
The Journal · May 5, 1976
Habs win 5-2
Shots: Isles 23 Habs 33
Isles 1 Habs 4
No relevant comments.
Wow. Three series in a row down 3-0. That's got to be an NHL record. Resch plays well after Smith is chased from the nets.
1977 Playoffs
Islanders beat Hawks in the preliminary round with Billy Smith in net
Islanders beat Sabres 4-0 in quarterfinals with Billy Smith in net
Habs are up 2-1 in the series with Billy Smith in net
Habs beat Islanders 4-0
Shots: Isles 18 Habs 33
Isles 1 Habs 3
Resch replaced Smith to start the third period after Smith let in 4 goals on 22 shots.
Islanders win 4-3 in OT
Shots: Isles 19 Habs 29
Isles 2 Habs 3
The Montreal Gazette · May 4, 1977
Habs win 2-1
Shots: Isles 28 Habs 20
Isles 2 Habs 4
No relevant comments
Hard to pull much positive this year. Billy Smith is the clear starter through 2.5 rounds and Resch only plays 2.5 games.
1978 Playoffs
Islanders beat Leafs 4-1
Shots: Isles 27 Leafs 30
Isles 1 Leafs 0
No relevant comments
Islanders win 3-2 in OT
Shots: Isles 40 Leafs 30
Isles 2 Leafs 0
Beaver Country Times · Apr 21, 1978
Leafs win 2-0
Shots: Isles 19 Leafs 23
Isles 2 Leafs 1
No relevant comments
Leafs win 3-1
Shots: Isles 32 Leafs 28
Isles 2 Leafs 2
No relevant comments
Islanders win 2-1 in OT
Shots: Isles 40 Leafs 30
Isles 3 Leafs 2
No relevant comments
Leafs win 5-2
Shots: Isles 37 Leafs 24
Isles 3 Leafs 3
The Phoenix · Apr 28, 1978
Leafs win 2-1 in OT
Shots: Isles 23 Leafs 27
Isles 3 Leafs 4
No relevant comments
Functionally no praise over the 7-game series
1979 Playoffs
Islanders beat Hawks 6-2
Shots: Isles 34 Hawks 24
Isles 1 Hawks 0
No relevant comments
Isles win 1-0 in OT
Shots: Isles 40 Hawks 22
Isles 2 Hawks 0
Billy Smith plays
Islanders win 4-0
Shots: Isles 28 Hawks 21
Isles 3 Hawks 0
The Pittsburgh Press · Apr 21, 1979
Islanders win 3-1
Shots: Isles 24 Hawks 28
Isles 4 Hawks 0
Billy Smith plays
1979 Semifinals
Rangers win 4-1
Shots: Isles 22 Rangers 38
Isles 0 Rangers 1
Reading Eagle · Apr 27, 1979
Islanders win 4-3 in OT
Shots: Isles 37 Rangers 37
Isles 1 Rangers 1
Billy Smith plays
Rangers win 3-1
Shots: Isles 17 Rangers 32
Isles 1 Rangers 2
No relevant comments
Islanders win 3-2 in OT
Shots: Isles 26 Rangers 30
Isles 2 Rangers 2
Billy Smith plays
Rangers win 4-3
Shots: Isles 28 Rangers 30
Isles 2 Rangers 3
Billy Smith plays
Rangers win 2-1
Shots: Isles 22 Rangers 27
Isles 2 Rangers 4
No relevant comments
He splits starts with Smith, gets soundly outplayed, and doesn't get any praise.
1980 Playoffs
Resch played 4 games scattered across four rounds. I won't cover them here and he's the clear relief man here.
All in all, not much to go for. Outside 1975 he is never close to the most praised Islander. For most of his time there, he's the #2 behind Smith in the playoffs (even if he sometimes gets more regular season games).
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