A Rangers-Maple Leafs brawl from April 8, 1971. Believe it or not, this took place during the 1971 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Rangers are in white, so we're looking at Madison Square Garden.
The disrespect for the on-ice officials is unreal. My favorite moments: Eddie Giacomin powering through the grasp of one official to join the brawl, Bernie Parent losing his face mask after somebody tossed it into the crowd and Brad Park putting his arm around another official who was trying to break up a fight. Park's cheekiness earned him a five minute major and a game misconduct.
Re: the mask….”I imagine, Bill, if he doesn’t get that back he’d finish the game w/o one.” Great.
Vic Hadfield actually threw the mask into the crowd, and the Leafs, who were winning big, had to change goaltenders because the fans wouldn’t give in back. It was a nasty brawl, the kind the NHL hasn’t seen in years (though it’s easy to forget that in the late 1980s and into the early 1990s, the early rounds of the playoffs looked like outtakes from Rollerball.
Despite that, the Leafs won the game easily, though the Rangers won the series (their first series win since 1950)
Now THAT is old-time hockey! Damn.
I just saw this game on the hockey channel last night. Awsome! One question if anyone can give it a go, why is this shown in black and white? They had color in the early 70′s. Anyone, anyone?