Ernie Wakely didn't have much playoff success that year, but his 2.11 goals against average in the regular season was the best in the league for goalies who played at least 25 games (look it up).
@@deanschulze3129I saw it in person. I was 16 years old. At first, I thought Plante was dead. The crowd was silent. You could drop a pin in the St. Louis Arena and hear it. After Ernie Wakely came in to replace Plante, there just wasn’t any energy from either the crowd or the Blues. We lost that game 6-1.
Tim Ryan was a suck up for Bobby Clarke and the Flyers. Clarke liked to cause trouble and then let his teammates fight the ensuing battles. I never had any respect for him. His slash from behind on Valery Khlarmaov in the 1972 Summit Series was one of the worst disgraces in hockey.
I was there as a little kid. I hope the Blues have better luck this year. It would be like the Cubs finally winning the World Series, so it is possible! Boston has a nasty habit of beating up on our professional teams, so I'd love to see us win this time. Btw, this was a great video!! R.I.P., Dan Kelly. (The announcer)
We won! The eternal wait is over, and yes, I know the late great Dan Kelly was calling all the games in heaven, for all the Blues fans up there! Probably getting high -sticked and elbowed by his fantastic broadcasting partner, the one and only Guys Kyle. I now know how the Cub and Red Sox fans felt after their eternal wait was over! These Blues shall live in infamy!
Please note: The final two games in Boston, the Blues two best defensemen, Arbour and Barclay were out with injuries. Bob Plager was playing with a separated shoulder(what guts!)! Two minor league defensemen, Ray Fortan and Billy Plager offered little protection to Glenn Hall. The other defenseman, Guy Talbot, was over the hill, despite his "experience". I wonder if Talbot was paired with Picard when Orr scored in OT because Bob Plager was worn out and in too much pain.
@@20thCenturyManTrad Thanks for your input! I was a big Jean-Guy fan, one of my favorite Blues. He had a fine 69-70 season, but in the finals, all of the defensemen were run ragged after Barc and Arbour went out. Talbot played with courage and gave it his best. Only his age betrayed him. And...I'd love to know what you thought of Noel Picard; his off-season injury seemed to affect his balance.
@@donhuber9131 To a point I think it effected his balance, but he was solid, giving the roughness the blues needed. I think with a Healthy Arbour and Barc Plager, coupled with Talbot and Picard, they could have squeaked a cup out. And Bowman should have started Hall, it was cruel throwing Wakely into a situation like that after Plante went out. If Hall could have gotten a win on St. Louis Ice. The Bruins would have been stunned for game 3. This was a strong Blues Club, and very much could have won the cup with a few bounces. Glenn Hall and Jacques Plante were essential, and if Hall had started Game 3, I think it could have been a different story.
@@20thCenturyManTrad Yes, it was a strong Blues team. Goyette made their power play 2nd in the league behind Boston's. Many of us were stunned when Wakely started game two in STL. Hall had a weird regular season. He arrived well after the season started and only appeared in about 16 games, although he beat Montreal twice at the Forum. The Blues would have been maybe unstoppable but for two other unfortunate things. First and foremost was the destruction of Wayne Maki's season due to Ted Green. The thought of Maki on a line with St. Marseille and Sabourin; wow. The other thing was Bowman's only really bad trade during those first three years: Trading Ron Schock to the Penguins for Andre Boudrias. Andre scored 3 goals for the Blues while Schock blossomed in Pittsburgh. Boudrias is the center who loses the faceoff on Espo's 2nd period goal in game 4. My final thought...Bowman should have broken up the team after 12 straight losses in the finals. He did the during the following regular season when he traded Berenson for Unger. I have always felt he should have made a number of off-season blockbuster trades like that to rebuild the team with younger players like Unger before the 70-71 season. Age had finally caught up with the Blues.
That number has to be wrong 125 thousand there yad to be more people the Bruins were the most popular team in town back then. And there where way more people in Boston back then that's when they still had neighborhoods and everybody have 4 or 5 kids and now no neighborhoods no kids
