Game 33: Red Wings 7, Oakland 2

Detroit, MI (12/28/69)- After Friday's horrific performance against Montreal, the Red Wings couldn't wait to hit the ice again.

Sunday, the Oakland Seals felt the Red Wings' wrath.

Gordie Howe scored a hat trick, Bob Baun had five assists and Detroit whipped the Seals, 7-2 at Olympia Stadium.

The Red Wings outshot the Seals, 37-21 and basically dominated play all night.

"Nobody was happy about Friday," Howe said of the 8-3 loss to the Canadiens. "We wanted to put that past us and the best way was to play another game right away."

Howe opened the scoring at 16:20 of the first period, deflecting a shot by Bob Baun past Oakland goalie Gary Smith. Howe completed the hat trick with two goals in the third period, both wrist shots.


Howe netted three goals to lead the Red Wings Sunday night


Billy Dea (twice), Nick Libett and Garry Unger also scored for the Red Wings (16-8-9).

The Red Wings led 2-1 after 40 minutes, then poured it on with five goals in the final stanza. Dea scored twice within 45 seconds to cap the scoring.

In a rarity, the Seals took no penalties the entire game.

OAK 1-0-1 = 2
DET 1-1-5 = 7

1st Period
DET- Howe (Mahovlich, Baun) 16:20
OAK- Ingarfield (Hicke, Roberts) 17:55

2nd Period
DET- Libett (Connelly, Baun) 14:11

3rd Period
DET- Howe (Delvecchio, Mahovlich) 2:35
DET- Unger (Harris, Connelly) 4:03
DET- Howe (Baun) 8:55
OAK- Dillabough (unassisted) 14:33
DET- Dea (Monahan, Baun) 14:52
DET- Dea (Baun, Bergman) 15:37

Shots on Goal
OAK 9-6-6 = 21
DET 9-12-16 = 37

Goalies
Smith (OAK); Edwards (DET)

Power Plays
OAK 1-for-3; DET 0-for-0

Fights
None

Game 32: Montreal 8, Red Wings 3

Detroit, MI (12/26/69)- Yvon Cournoyer registered a hat trick and the Red Wings surrendered a season high eight goals as Montreal skated to an easy 8-3 win at Olympia Stadium on Friday night.

"This was by far the worst game we played all season," lamented Red Wings coach Sid Abel. "We didn't check, we didn't skate, we couldn't stop the puck."

The Habs outshot Detroit 47-19.

The game was actually tied, 2-2, after one period, but the Canadiens blitzed the Red Wings with four goals in the middle period and Montreal wasn't challenged after that.

Cournoyer, fittingly, started the scoring just 13 seconds into the game, firing a wrist shot past Roger Crozier from the left face-off circle.

Four minutes later, Henri Richard put in a rebound to make it 2-0.

The Red Wings, though outshot 14-5 in the period, battled back to tie the game with goals from Nick Libett and Frank Mahovlich.

But the Canadiens kept applying the pressure and when John Ferguson scored at 10:53 of the second period to make the score 5-2, Abel replaced Crozier with Roy Edwards---the first time either goalie has been unable to play a complete game this season.


Red Wings goalie Roger Crozier was constantly under siege during Friday's 8-3 loss to Montreal


Jean Beliveau's goal at 2:28 of the third period made it 7-2 and streams of fans started leaving the arena.

Libett scored twice for the Red Wings (15-8-9), losers of three of their past four games.

"We've been sloppy in our own end lately," Abel said. "Tonight it was just Katie bar the door."

Cournoyer, also fittingly, ended the scoring at 11:24 of the third period, flipping a backhand over a sprawled Edwards.

MON 2-4-2 = 8
DET 2-0-1 = 3

1st Period
MON- Cournoyer (Ferguson, Laperriere) :13
MON- Richard (Laperriere, Harris) 4:41
DET- Libett (Connelly, Brewer) 11:48
DET- Mahovlich (Delvecchio) 16:20

2nd Period
MON- Cournoyer (Backstrom, Harper) 6:47
MON- Lemaire (Redmond, Rousseau) 8:27
MON- Ferguson (Cournoyer, Beliveau) 10:53
MON- Mickey (Laperriere, Backstrom) 14:57

3rd Period
MON- Beliveau (Lemaire, Laperriere) 2:28
DET- Libett (Brewer, Unger) 7:26
MON- Cournoyer (Lemaire, Savard) 11:24

Shots on Goal
MON 14-16-17 = 47
DET 5-4-10 = 19

Goalies
Vachon (MON); Crozier, Edwards* (DET)
*10:53, 2nd Period

Power Plays
MON 1-for-4; DET 0-for-2

Penalty Minutes
MON 4; DET 8

Fights
None

Game 31: Red Wings 7, Toronto 4

Detroit, MI (12/21/69)- Frank Mahovlich and Pete Stemkowski each scored twice as the Red Wings equaled their season high in goals with a 7-4 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs at Olympia Stadium Sunday night.

Norm Ullman scored twice for the Maple Leafs.

Both teams scored twice on the power play.

After falling behind 2-1 in the second period, the Red Wings (15-7-9) overwhelmed Toronto with three straight goals in the stanza. Ullman's second goal early in the third period drew the Leafs within 4-3, but the Red Wings poured it on, scoring twice in 52 seconds to drive goalie Marv Edwards from the net and onto the Toronto bench.


Detroit's Gordie Howe fights off three Toronto defenders during Sunday night's 7-4 victory over the Maple Leafs


Stemkowski's second marker at 16:32 made the score 7-3. Toronto's Ron Ellis added a power play goal at 19:32.

Detroit goalie Roy Edwards wasn't spectacular, but he made 29 saves and kept the Leafs at bay.

The Red Wings snapped a three game winless streak and matched their season high in goals. They scored seven times in Minnesota on November 15.

"Sometimes the puck just goes into the net," said Red Wings coach Sid Abel. "We were living right tonight."

Alex Delvecchio, Nick Libett and Gordie Howe also had goals for Detroit, which is idle until the Montreal Canadiens invade Olympia on Friday.

TOR 1-1-2 = 4
DET 1-3-3 = 7

1st Period
DET- Mahovlich (Delvecchio, Harris) PPG 3;26
TOR- Ullman (McKenny, Glennie) SHG 11:18

2nd Period
TOR- McKenny (Ullman, Horton) PPG 6:15
DET- Howe (Brewer, Mahovlich) 8:18
DET- Delvecchio (Brewer, Mahovlich) 12:50
DET- Stemkowski (MacGregor, Karlander) PPG 17:56

3rd Period
TOR- Ullman (Clancy) 2:22
DET- Mahovlich (Delvecchio, Popiel) 7:54
DET- Libett (Unger, Connelly) 8:46
DET- Stemkowski (MacGregor, Harris) 16:32
TOR- Ellis (Keon, Quinn) PPG 19:32

Shots on Goal
TOR 11-7-15 = 33
DET 8-15-11 = 34

Goalies
Edwards, Gamble* (TOR); Edwards (DET)
*8:46 3rd Period

Power Plays
TOR 2-for-5; DET 2-for-3

Penalty Minutes
TOR 8; DET 12

Fights
None

Game 30: Montreal 3, Red Wings 2

Montreal, QU (12/20/69)- Marc Tardif scored two goals, including the game-winner with 10:27 left in the third period, as the Montreal Canadiens beat the Red Wings, 3-2, at the Forum on Saturday night.

The loss marked the first time the Red Wings (14-7-9) have dropped two consecutive games this season. They are winless in their past three contests.

Frank Mahovlich (power play) and Wayne Connelly scored for Detroit, which trailed 2-0 after one period before knotting the score with goals late in the second period and early in the third.

Tardif started the scoring 1:09 into the game, when he redirected a pass from Christian Bordeleau.

On the game-winning goal, Tardif was again fed by Bordeleau, who drew two defenders behind the Red Wings net, yet managed to find Tardif in the slot, who buried the shot past goalie Roger Crozier.

"We didn't start real good," said Red Wings coach Sid Abel. "I thought we played a strong second period, but too much Tardif, I guess."

Connelly had tied the game 13 seconds into the third period, when he was sent on a breakaway from the Canadiens' blue line off a pass from Bob Baun. Connelly deked goalie Phil Myre and flipped the puck over the sprawled netminder.

Detroit pulled Crozier for an extra attacker with a little over a minute to play, but the Canadiens were stout, led by John Ferguson, and barely allowed the Red Wings a shot on goal.

The Red Wings return home to host Toronto on Sunday before resting until December 26.

DET 0-1-1 = 2
MON 2-0-1 = 3

1st Period
MON- Tardif (Bordeleau, Tremblay)
MON- Rousseau (Cournoyer, Tremblay) 13:50

2nd Period
DET- Mahovlich (Howe, Ravlich) PPG 19:43

3rd Period
DET- Connelly (Baun) :13
MON- Tardif (Bordeleau, Grenier) 9:33

Shots on Goal
DET 8-9-10 = 27
MON 9-7-10 = 26

Goalies
Crozier (DET); Myre (MON)

Power Plays
DET 1-for-6; MON 0-for-4

Penalty Minutes
DET 8; MON 12

Fights
None

Game 29: St. Louis 5, Red Wings 4

St. Louis, MO (12/16/69)- The St. Louis Blues scored four unanswered goals after falling behind 1-0, and then they held on to nip the Red Wings, 5-4, at the Arena on Tuesday night.

The loss was the first for the Red Wings (14-6-9) in nearly a month, when they dropped a 6-2 decision in Montreal on November 19.

Red Berenson scored twice and Gary Sabourin had a goal and an assist for the Blues.

Trailing 4-1 to start the third period, the Red Wings showed the moxie and flair for the dramatic that punctuated their 8-1-7 run in the 16 games prior to Tuesday's.

Garry Unger (4:05) and Al Karlander (7:06) scored three minutes apart to cut the Blues' lead to a single goal. Larry Keenan scored at 15:08 to restore the two-goal cushion, but the Red Wings kept coming. Unger scored again just nine seconds after Keenan's goal to make the score 5-4.

Blues goalie Glenn Hall stood tall in the final minutes as the desperate Red Wings fired shot after shot at the Blues net.

Detroit's Gordie Howe tries to blast a shot through Blues defenseman Jean-Guy Talbot during Tuesday's game

Detroit lifted goalie Roger Crozier with just under two minutes remaining for an extra attacker but it was for naught.

Neither goalie was particularly sharp until the end when Hall stiffened. The nine goals scored by both teams were managed on just 47 shots on goal.

Hall only made 17 saves but several were huge in the waning moments.

"We didn't get enough pressure going on offense a-tall," lamented Red Wings coach Sid Abel, whose team fired just 21 shots at Hall.

The Red Wings are off until Saturday, when they travel to Montreal.

DET 1-0-3 = 4
STL 1-3-1 = 5

1st Period
DET- Mahovlich (Howe, Delvecchio) PPG 12:09
STL- Sabourin (McDonald) 15:27

2nd Period
STL- Berenson (McDonald, Sabourin) 7:31
STL- Berenson (McDonald) 12:32
STL- Crisp (Roberts, Arbour) 16:44

3rd Period
DET- Unger (Connelly) 4:05
DET- Karlander (MacGregor, Bergman) 7:06
STL- Keenan (Boudrias, Talbot) 15:08
DET- Unger (Harris, Libett) 15:17

Shots on Goal
DET 5-5-11 = 21
STL 12-7-7 = 26

Goalies
Crozier (DET); Hall (STL)

Power Plays
DET 1-for-2; STL 0-for-1

Penalty Minutes
DET 4; STL 6

Fights
None

Game 28: Red Wings 2, Montreal 2

Detroit, MI (12/14/69)- Yvon Cournoyer's goal 4:38 into the third period enabled the Montreal Canadiens to salvage a 2-2 tie with the Red Wings at Olympia Stadium Sunday night.

Cournoyer, racing down the right wing, swooped in on goalie Roy Edwards and slipped a backhand shot under the sliding netminder.

The Red Wings (14-5-9) still have only lost once in their past 16 games (8-1-7).

Garry Unger and Gordie Howe scored for Detroit. Mickey Redmond tallied the other Montreal goal.

Edwards made 32 saves while Montreal's Rogatien Vachon stopped 26 pucks.


Garry Unger blasts a shot past Montreal's Rogie Vachon at 15:09 of the second period Sunday night


The game was an evenly played affair and the final outcome was well-deserved on both sides.

"There wasn't much ice out there a-tall," said Red Wings coach Sid Abel. "Not even on the power play."

The game hinged on the penalty kill; a total of 11 power plays were enjoyed, but neither team could score with the extra man. The Red Wings even had a four-minute power play in the first period but couldn't score on Vachon.

MON 0-1-1 = 2
DET 0-1-1 = 2

1st Period
No scoring

2nd Period
MON- Redmond (Lemaire) 12:37
DET- Unger (Connelly) 15:09

3rd Period
DET- Howe (Delvecchio) 3:00
MON- Cournoyer (Ferguson, Rousseau) 4:38

Shots on Goal
MON 9-11-14 = 34
DET 8-10-10 = 28

Goalies
Vachon (MON); Edwards (DET)

Power Plays
MON 0-for-6; DET 0-for-5

Penalty Minutes
MON 12; DET 14

Fights
None

Game 27: Red Wings 4, Toronto 3

Toronto, ON (12/13/69)- Billy Dea scored for the third straight game, red-hot Frank Mahovlich tallied two more goals and the Red Wings held on for a 4-3 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs at Maple Leaf Gardens on Saturday night.

Mahovlich now has 20 goals to lead the NHL.

The Leafs took a 2-1 lead early in the third period on a goal from Ron Ellis, but the surging Red Wings (14-5-8) were not to be denied, netting three pucks in less than seven minutes to take a 4-2 lead.

The Red Wings have lost once in their past 15 games (8-1-6).

Dave Keon fired a wrist shot past Roger Crozier with Toronto goalie Bruce Gamble pulled for an extra attacker late in the third period. The goal at 19:17 brought Toronto to within one goal.

Garry Unger gave the Red Wings their first lead at 5:20 of the third period when he deflected a shot off the stick of Nick Libett past Gamble.

Detroit's Frank Mahovlich battles for the puck during Saturday's 4-3 win over Toronto as Maple Leafs goalie Bruce Gamble looks on

The Red Wings only had one power play in the entire game, but they made the best of it when Mahovlich---who else---slapped a shot over Gamble's right shoulder to tie the game, 2-2, at 3:55 of the third stanza.

"I don't talk to him a-tall," Red Wings coach Sid Abel said of his sniper. "When a fella is that hot you don't dare say anything."

Toronto's Mike Walton opened the scoring 10:13 into the second period on a Maple Leafs power play, converting a pretty pass from Paul Henderson to the right of Crozier.

A little less than three minutes later, Dea scored his third goal in as many games to knot the score.

Crozier made 41 saves on the night.

"I can't say enough about our goaltending," Abel said.

DET 0-1-3 = 4
TOR 0-1-2 = 3

1st Period
No scoring

2nd Period
TOR- Walton (Henderson) PPG 10:13
DET- Dea (Baun, Monahan) 13:02

3rd Period
TOR- Ellis (Pulford, Keon) :17
DET- Mahovlich (Delvecchio) PPG 3:55
DET- Unger (Libett, Ravlich) 5:20
DET- Mahovlich (Ravlich, Delvecchio) 10:26
TOR- Keon (Ullman, Clancy) 19:17

Shots on Goal
DET 8-11-10 = 29
TOR 11-13-20 = 44

Goalies
Crozier (DET); Gamble (TOR)

Power Plays
DET 1-for-1; TOR 1-for-3

Penalty Minutes
DET 8; TOR 4

Fights
None

Game 26: Red Wings 6, Minnesota 2

Bloomington, MN (12/11/69)- Cesare Maniago should make it a point of not playing against the Red Wings anymore this season.

For the second time in a month, Maniago was driven from the net by the Red Wings on Met Center ice as Detroit pasted the Minnesota North Stars, 6-2 on Thursday night.

On November 15, the Red Wings torched the North Stars, 7-2, and Maniago didn't make it past the 11 minute mark of the third period. On Thursday, Maniago's stay was even more brief: he was replaced by Fern Rivard at the 2:21 mark of the second period.

The Red Wings had just taken a 4-0 lead on a goal by Garry Unger when Maniago got the hook.

"He's a good netminder," Red Wings coach Sid Abel said of the North Stars goalie. "We just caught him on a couple of bad nights, is all."

Red-hot Frank Mahovlich scored two goals, giving him 18 for the season. Alex Delvecchio, Wayne Connelly, Billy Dea and Unger also scored for Detroit (13-5-8), which has lost just once in 14 games (7-1-6).

Danny Grant's slap shot made it 4-2 at 4:00 of the third period, and the Minnesota crowd finally came to life. Then Detroit's Carl Brewer was whistled for a penalty three minutes later. But the Red Wings killed the penalty and also the momentum.

"That was a big kill," Abel said. "The building was getting loud."

Dea restored order with a wrist shot past Rivard at 13:59, and Connelly finished the scoring on a 2-on-1 at 15:36.

As for Maniago, he finished this game as he did the one on November 15---at the end of the North Stars' bench.

DET 3-1-2 = 6
MIN 0-0-2 = 2

1st Period
DET- Mahovlich (Howe, Delvecchio) PPG 5:26
DET- Delvecchio (Mahovlich, Popiel) 12:58
DET- Mahovlich (Delvecchio, Howe) 13:44

2nd Period
DET- Unger (Libett, Connelly) 2:21
MIN- Goldsworthy (Grant) 8:22

3rd Period
MIN- Grant (Goldsworthy, Polanic) 4:00
DET- Dea (Brewer) 13:59
DET- Connelly (Popiel, Libett) 15:36

Shots on Goal
DET 8-11-12 = 31
MIN 8-15-14 = 37

Goalies
Edwards (DET); Maniago, Rivard* (MIN) *2:21 2nd Period

Power Plays
DET 1-for-3; MIN 0-for-5

Penalty Minutes
DET 10; MIN 6

Fights
None

Game 25: Red Wings 4, Chicago 4

Chicago, IL (12/7/69)- This may be one of the biggest points the Red Wings get all season.

Trailing 3-0 after one period, playing their fourth game in five nights, on the road against one of the best goalies in the NHL, it would have been easy for the Red Wings to surmise that it just wasn't their night.

But a furious comeback earned the Winged Wheelers a 4-4 tie at Chicago Stadium on Sunday night.

"Very proud of the boys tonight," coach Sid Abel said of his team."Just no quit in them a-tall."

Frank Mahovlich scored twice, including the tying goal at 7:31 of the third period.

The point was even more remarkable because after the Red Wings battled back for a 3-3 deadlock, Chicago's Doug Jarrett scored at 5:11 of the third to put the Black Hawks up, 4-3.

So the Red Wings had to re-tie the game, and they did when Mahovlich slapped a shot past Tony Esposito from between the circles.

One night after starting slow in St. Louis, the Red Wings again were sluggish in the first period, being outshot 18-9 and outscored, 3-0.

Pete Stemkowski and Billy Dea had the other two Red Wings markers.

The Red Wings peppered Esposito with 20 shots in the third period.

Goalie Roy Edwards was shaky in the first period but recovered to make 36 saves.

The Red Wings (12-5-8) are 6-1-6 in their last 13 games.

"We are playing tie games but they're exciting," Stemkowski said.

The Red Wings get a much-deserved rest and don't play again until Thursday.

DET 0-2-2 = 4
CHI 3-0-1 = 4

1st Period
CHI- Pappin (unassisted) PPG 3:14
CHI- B. Hull (Pappin, Mikita) 3:45
CHI- Nesterenko (unassisted) 11:17

2nd Period
DET- Stemkowski (Ravlich, Karlander) 4:43
DET- Mahovlich (Brewer, Delvecchio) 14:20

3rd Period
DET- Dea (Popiel, Harris) 4:02
CHI- Jarrett (Pappin) 5:11
DET- Mahovlich (Bergman, Delvecchio) 7:31

Shots on Goal
DET 9-8-20 = 37
CHI- 18-11-11 = 40

Goalies
Edwards (DET); Esposito (CHI)

Power Plays
DET 0-for-3; CHI 1-for-2

Penalty Minutes
DET 4; CHI 6

Fights
None

Game 24: Red Wings 2, St. Louis 2

St. Louis, MO (12/6/69)- Gordie Howe scored with 1:24 left in the third period as the Red Wings managed a 2-2 tie with the St. Louis Blues at the St. Louis Arena.

Howe's goal came with the Red Wings playing with an extra attacker after pulling goalie Roger Crozier.

Defenseman Ron Harris took a slap shot from the point that was stopped by St. Louis goalie Jacques Plante. Frank Mahovlich poked the rebounded puck to Howe, who slipped a shot under Plante's legs.

The Red Wings (12-5-7) fell behind 2-0 after Red Berenson's goal at 4:31 of the third period.

Wayne Connelly started the comeback with a wrist shot from the left circle that trickled past Plante. The goal came at 6:51.

Roger Crozier was again stellar in net for Detroit, stopping 35 of 37 shots.

The Red Wings only managed 19 shots on goal, and because of Crozier the score was only 1-0 after the first period, during which the Blues had 15 SOG to Detroit's four.

"I don't know where we'd be without Roger tonight," said Red Wings coach Sid Abel. "We had a poor start and he kept us in the game."

Ab McDonald opened the scoring with a backhand shot in front of Crozier at 11:27 of the first period.

The Red Wings have an unusual 6-1-5 record in their past 12 games.

DET 0-0-2 = 2
STL 1-0-1 = 2

1st Period
STL- McDonald (Talbot, Berenson) 11:27

2nd Period
No scoring

3rd Period
STL- Berenson (Barc. Plager, Talbot) PPG 4:31
DET- Connelly (Unger, Ravlich) 6:51
DET- Howe (Harris, Mahovlich) 18:36

Shots on Goal
DET 4-7-8 = 19
STL 15-12-10 = 37

Goalies
Crozier (DET); Plante (STL)

Power Plays
DET 0-for-4; STL 1-for-6

Penalty Minutes
DET 12; STL 8

Fights
None

Game 23: Red Wings 3, Boston 3

Detroit, MI (12/4/69)- Phil Esposito banged home a rebound with 10 seconds to play and the Boston Bruins escaped with a 3-3 tie at Olympia Stadium versus the Red Wings Thursday night.

With goalie Gerry Cheevers pulled for an extra attacker, Derek Sanderson won a faceoff and fired a shot at Detroit netminder Roger Crozier, who couldn't corral the rebound. Esposito was Johnny-on-the-Spot and he deposited the puck past a sprawling Crozier, stunning the partisan crowd.

The Red Wings (12-5-6) have still only lost once in their past 11 games (6-1-4).

Frank Mahovlich scored two goals for Detroit, both in the first period.

Pete Stemkowski put the Red Wings ahead, 3-2, with a wrist shot at 17:10 of the second period. The power play goal was Detroit's second of the night.

"Faceoffs are so big in the National League," Red Wings coach Sid Abel said. "Sanderson won it and we were caught standing around. School's out," he added.

Both goalies played well. Crozier made 34 saves, while Cheevers stopped 31 pucks.

"We had two power play goals and they had none," Abel said. "Usually you win when that happens."

BOS 0-2-1 = 3
DET 2-1-0 = 3

1st Period
DET- Mahovlich (Bergman, Brewer) PPG 7:17
DET- Mahovlich (Howe) 14:13

2nd Period
BOS- Stanfield (D. Smith) 7:31
BOS- Bucyk (Esposito, Doak) 11:37
DET- Stemkowski (Karlander, MacGregor) PPG 17:10

3rd Period
BOS- Esposito (Sanderson, McKenzie) 19:50

Shots on Goal
BOS 13-12-12 = 37
DET 14-10-10 = 34

Goalies
Cheevers (BOS); Crozier (DET)

Power Plays
BOS 0-for-4; DET 2-for-4

Penalty Minutes
BOS 17; DET 17

Fights
Sanderson (BOS) vs. Mahovlich (DET) @ 1:52, 3rd Period

Game 22: Red Wings 6, Pittsburgh 3

Pittsburgh, PA (12/3/69)- The Red Wings' offense is humming.

For the second straight game, the Red Wings scored six goals and drove the starting goalie to the showers, as they whipped the Pittsburgh Penguins, 6-3 at the Civic Arena Wednesday night.

Six different Red Wings scored. Detroit (12-5-5) has lost just once in their past 10 games.

Roy Edwards stopped 33 of 36 shots to earn the victory.

Frank Mahovlich, Alex Delvecchio, Nick Libett, Gordie Howe, Garry Unger and Ron Harris were the Detroit goal scorers.

The Red Wings broke open a 1-1 tie with three goals in the second period. That outburst prompted Penguins coach Red Kelly to switch goalies from Al Smith to Les Binkley to start the third.

The Penguins were down, 5-1 in the third period before scoring two goals within four minutes of each other about halfway through the stanza to get within two of the Red Wings.

But Ron Harris flipped a puck from deep in his own end into an empty Pittsburgh goal to seal the victory after the Pens had pulled goalie Les Binkley, who replaced Al Smith to start the third period.

"It was a good night," said Red Wings coach Sid Abel. "Nothing to complain about a-tall."

DET 1-3-2 = 6
PIT 1-0-2 = 3

1st Period
DET- Mahovlich (Bergman, Brewer) 15:47
PIT- Fonteyne (Schock) 19:27

2nd Period
DET- Delvecchio (Mahovlich, Bergman) 1:55
DET- Libett (Unger, Popiel) 11:31
DET- Howe (Popiel, Harris) 17:49

3rd Period
DET- Unger (Baun) 2:06
PIT- Hextall (Rupp, McCreary) PPG 6:38
PIT- Boyer (Blackburn) 10:05
DET- Harris (Libett) ENG 19:36

Shots on Goal
DET 10-14-6 = 30
PIT 11-9-16 = 36

Goalies
Edwards (DET); Smith, Binkley* (PIT)
*0:00 of 3rd Period

Power Plays
DET 0-for-3; PIT 1-for-1

Penalty Minutes
DET 6; PIT 2

Fights
None

Game 21: Red Wings 6, Oakland 1

Detroit, MI (11/30/69)- This one was never in doubt.

Wayne Connelly scored two goals, Garry Unger had a goal and three assists, and the Red Wings manhandled the Oakland Seals, 6-1 at Olympia Stadium Sunday night.

The Seals, playing the last game of an eight-game road trip, looked tired. They only mustered 16 shots on goal, and only two in the third period.

Bruce MacGregor opened the scoring at 4:23 of the opening period, redirecting a pass from Pete Stemkowski past Oakland goalie Gary Smith. The goal came with the Red Wings shorthanded.

Connelly made it 2-0 11 minutes later, blasting a slap shot from the right circle.

In the third period, the Red Wings poured it on and drove Smith from the net.

Detroit scored three goals in 1:02 of the third period, the last of which got Smith pulled in favor of veteran Charlie Hodge.

Mike Laughton ruined Roy Edwards' shutout bid with a goal at 13:02 of the third period, which was also Oakland's first shot of the stanza.

The Red Wings (11-5-5) are off until Wednesday, when they visit Pittsburgh.

OAK 0-0-1 = 1
DET 2-0-4 = 6

1st Period
DET- MacGregor (Stemkowski) SHG 4:23
DET- Connelly (Unger, Baun) 15:20

2nd Period
No scoring

3rd Period
DET- Brewer (Bergman, MacGregor) 1:37
DET- Connelly (Unger) 2:07
DET- Unger (Ravlich) 2:39
OAK- Laughton (Dillabough, Vadnais) 13:02
DET- Libett (Connelly, Unger) 15:56

Shots on Goal
OAK 10-4-2 = 16
DET 10-9-20 = 39

Goalies
Smith, Hodge* (OAK); Edwards (DET)
*2:39 of 3rd Period

Power Plays
OAK 0-for-4; DET 0-for-2

Penalty Minutes
OAK 9; DET 13

Fights
Vadnais (OAK) vs. Monahan (DET) @7:27 of the 3rd Period

Game 20: Red Wings 2, Chicago 2

Detroit, MI (11/29/69)- Garry Unger fired a wrist shot over the glove of Tony Esposito with less than four minutes remaining in the third period, and the Red Wings skated to a 2-2 tie with the Chicago Black Hawks at Olympia Stadium Saturday night.

Defenseman Gilles Marotte had given Chicago a 2-1 lead when he pounced on a loose puck between the circles and beat Roger Crozier with a slap shot to the stick side. The goal came at 12:43 of the third period.

The Red Wings outshot Chicago, 31-19.

The Black Hawks' Dennis Hull opened the scoring at 14:11 of the first period, banging a rebound home.

Detroit's Nick Libett tied the game at 2:03 of the third period off a nice feed from Unger.

The Red Wings (10-5-5) are back in action Sunday night, hosting the Oakland Seals.

CHI 1-0-1 = 2
DET 0-0-2 = 2

1st Period
CHI- D. Hull (Nesterenko, McKay) 14:11

2nd Period
No scoring

3rd Period
DET- Libett (Unger, Baun) 2:03
CHI- Marotte (unassisted) 12:43
DET- Unger (Popiel, Harris) 16:09

Shots on Goal
CHI 8-5-6 = 19
DET 6-10-15 = 31

Goalies
Esposito (CHI); Crozier (DET)

Power Plays
CHI 0-for-3; DET 0-for-3

Penalty Minutes
CHI 8; DET 8

Fights
None

Game 19: Red Wings 5, Los Angeles 2

Detroit, MI (11/27/69)- The Red Wings stormed out to a 3-0 lead then cruised to a 5-2 win over the hapless Los Angeles Kings at Olympia Stadium on Thursday night.

It was the Red Wings' first home game since November 8.

Alex Delvecchio, Garry Unger and Gary Bergman (first goal) scored for Detroit (10-5-4) by the 11:37 mark of the second period, and the Red Wings kept the last place Kings at arm's length the rest of the evening.

Roger Crozier made 26 saves for the Red Wings.

The Kings had six power plays, but the Red Wings killed five of them, many times getting more shots on goal than Los Angeles.

"I thought we started fast," said Red Wings coach Sid Abel. "We never let (the Kings) get into the game a-tall."

Gordie Howe and Pete Stemkowski (empty net) rounded out the scoring for Detroit, which hosts Chicago on Saturday.

Bill Flett (PP) and Bob Wall scored for the Kings, who have won just three of their first 20 games.

LA 0-0-2 = 2
DET 1-2-2 = 5

1st Period
DET- Delvecchio (Harris, Popiel) 7:49

2nd Period
DET- Unger (Connelly, Baun) 9:39
DET- Bergman (Brewer, Howe) PPG 11:37

Third Period
LA- Flett (Shack, Cahan) PPG 5:27
DET- Howe (Mahovlich, Harris) 8:02
LA- Wall (Campbell) 9:53
DET- Stemkowski (Ravlich, Karlander) ENG 19:39

Shots on Goal
LA- 6-10-12 = 28
DET- 16-13-11= 40

Goalies
Dejordy (LA); Crozier (DET)

Power Plays
LA 1-for-6; DET 1-for-3

Penalty minutes
LA 6; DET 12

Fights
None

Game 18: Red Wings 1, Philadelphia 1

Philadelphia, PA (11/26/69)- Roy Edwards bounced back from a lackluster start to repel 37 of 38 shots as the Red Wings skated to a 1-1 tie with the Flyers in Philadelphia tonight at the Spectrum.

Edwards, who allowed six goals in Montreal last Wednesday, was very sharp against the Flyers, earning the no. 1 star according to the Philadelphia media.

"He was wonderful tonight," said Red Wings coach Sid Abel. "He kept us in there, no question."

The Red Wings (9-5-4) were outshot, 38-21.

The tie capped a six-game road stretch in which the Red Wings finished 3-1-2.

Billy Dea scored for Detroit at 6:59 of the second period, depositing a wrist shot past Bernie Parent from between the circles.

Defenseman Wayne Hillman fired a slap shot through traffic and past Edwards at 2:07 of the third period. The goal was unassisted as Hillman stopped a clearing attempt at the blue line.

"(The Flyers) got a lot of shots but I actually saw a lot of them," Edwards said of his performance, which improved his GAA to 2.00 and his save percentage to a league best .942.

The Red Wings finally return home to face the Los Angeles Kings on Thanksgiving night, which starts a three-game home stand.

DET 0-1-0 = 1
PHI  0-0-1 = 1

1st Period
No scoring

2nd Period
DET- Dea (Monahan, Baun) 6:59

3rd Period
PHI- W. Hillman (unassisted) 2:07

Shots on Goal
DET 8-6-7 = 21
PHI 14-11-13 = 38

Goalies
Edwards (DET); Parent (PHI)

Power Plays
DET 0-for-2; PHI 0-for-5

Penalty Minutes
DET 17; PHI 11

Fights
L. Hillman (PHI) vs. Harris (DET) @ 3:53, 1st period

Note: The game ended in a 1-1 tie in real life, as well! I love it when that happens.

Game 17: Red Wings 3, Toronto 1

Toronto, ON (11/22/69)- Bruce MacGregor's power play goal four minutes into the third period snapped a 1-1 tie and the Red Wings bounced back from a bad loss in Montreal to down the Toronto Maple Leafs, 3-1, in Maple Leaf Gardens.

Wayne Connelly added an insurance tally at 9:38 to help seal the victory for Detroit (9-5-3), which is 3-1-1 on a six-game road trip that concludes in Philadelphia on Wednesday.

"Very pleased with the effort tonight," said Red Wings coach Sid Abel. "Bruce was Johnny-on-the-spot," Abel added about MacGregor's goal, in which he pounced on a loose puck in front of the net and buried it past Toronto goalie Bruce Gamble.

Roger Crozier stopped 33 of 34 Toronto shots to improve to 6-2-2 this season. He was especially sharp late in the third period, when the Maple Leafs buzzed the Detroit net.

"Roger was terrific," Abel said. "He has been from opening night."

Toronto opened the scoring when Bob Pulford tallied a power play goal at 5:18 of the first period, just 25 seconds after Ron Harris was whistled off for holding.

Gary Monahan scored his first goal of the season at 7:20 to tie the game.

The Red Wings are now 4-4-2 on the road.

"You have to win on the road in the National league," MacGregor said. "The boys really responded tonight. We didn't like how we played in Montreal."

DET 1-0-2 = 3
TOR 1-0-0 = 1

1st Period
TOR- Pulford (Keon, Quinn) 5:18
DET- Monahan (Baun, McCann) 7:20

2nd Period
No scoring

3rd Period
DET- MacGregor (Stemkowski, Popiel) PPG 3:52
DET- Connelly (Harris, Popiel) 9:38

Shots on Goal
DET 13-11-12 = 36
TOR 10-8-16 = 34

Goalies
Crozier (DET); Gamble (TOR)

Power Plays
DET 1-for-5; TOR 1-for-3

Penalty Minutes
DET 8; TOR 12

Fights
None

Game 16: Montreal 6, Red Wings 2

Montreal, QC (11/19/69)- Six different Canadiens players scored goals in a 6-2 pasting of the Red Wings at the Forum on Wednesday night.

It was the first meeting of the year between the two Original Six teams.

Red Wings goalie Roy Edwards, whose fast start raised eyebrows around the league, played his worst game of the season, as Montreal scored six goals on 35 shots.

Montreal started fast, scoring three goals in the first period on just 11 shots. Marc Tardif, Yvon Cournoyer and Ralph Backstrom scored in the first 20 minutes.

Jacques Lemaire scored in the second stanza while John Ferguson and Jean Beliveau rounded out the scoring in the third period.

Frank Mahovlich and Nick Libett scored for Detroit (8-5-3).

"We didn't skate," Red Wings coach Sid Abel lamented afterward. "We were one step behind all night. We couldn't get into a rhythm a-tall."

Defenseman Jacques Laperriere had three assists for Montreal.

The loss was the Red Wings' first on their six-game road trip, during which they are 2-1-1.

The trip continues Saturday in Toronto.

DET 1-0-1 = 2
MON 3-1-2 = 6

1st Period
MON- Tardif (Harris) 4:27
DET- Mahovlich (Baun, Howe) 7:03
MON- Cournoyer (Harper, Rousseau) 9:40
MON- Backstrom (Provost) 18:51

2nd Period
MON- Lemaire (Redmond, Laperriere) 5:14

3rd Period
DET- Libett (Connelly, Bergman) 4:15
MON- Ferguson (Savard, Laperriere) 13:23
MON- Beliveau (Tremblay, Laperriere) PPG 17:33

Shots on Goal
DET 13-7-7 = 27
MON 11-12-12 = 35

Goalies
Edwards (DET); Vachon (MON)

Power Plays
DET 0-for-2; MON 1-for-2

Penalty Minutes
DET 11; MON 11

Fights
Harper (MON) vs. Brewer (DET) @ :10 of first period

Game 15: Red Wings 7, Minnesota 2

Bloomington, MN (11/15/69)- On Thursday, it was Frank Mahovlich. On Saturday, it was Garry Unger.

Unger scored a hat trick as the Red Wings routed the Minnesota North Stars, 7-2---two days after Mahovlich tallied four goals in a win at Boston.

The Red Wings (8-4-3) are now 2-0-1 on their six-game road trip, which continues in Montreal on Wednesday.

Unger scored in each period.

The North Stars actually got on the scoreboard first. Bill Goldsworthy deflected a shot by Barry Gibbs past Roger Crozier at 6:19 of the first period.

Four minutes later, Unger scored on a wrist shot from between the circles on a Red Wings power play.

Then the rout was on.

Billy Dea and Nick Libett added first period goals, and Unger scored in the second period as the Red Wings took a 4-1 lead after 40 minutes.

Crozier made 30 saves to move his record to 5-2-2.

Matt Ravlich had three assists for Detroit.

The Red Wings scored two more power play goals, giving them 10 such goals in their last 25 opportunities after a 1-for-24 start.

DET 3-1-3 = 7
MIN 1-0-1 = 2

1st Period
MIN- Goldsworthy (Gibbs) 6:19
DET- Unger (Ravlich, Baun) PPG 10:37
DET- Dea (Monahan) 12:27
DET- Libett (Ravlich, Connelly) PPG 17:14

2nd Period
DET- Unger (Baun, Libett) 4:38

3rd Period
DET- Karlander (Stemkowski, MacGregor) 4:40
DET- Unger (Ravlich) 10:51
DET- Karlander (MacGregor, Harris) 13:28
MIN- Grant (Goldsworthy, Johnston) 17:37

Shots on Goal
DET 10-15-16 = 41
MIN 13-9-10 = 32

Goalies
Crozier (DET); Maniago, Rivard* (MIN) *10:51 3rd

Power Plays
DET 2-for-4; MIN 0-for-4

Penalty Minutes
DET 16; MIN 16

Fights
NONE

Game 14: Red Wings 6, Boston 5

Boston, MA (11/13/69)- Frank Mahovlich scored four goals, including the game-winner with 32 seconds left in the third period, and the Red Wings beat the Boston Bruins, 6-5, at Boston Garden.

The victory avenged a 4-3 defeat at the hands of the Bruins at Olympia Stadium on Saturday night.

As the Bruins did in Detroit, the Red Wings scored three power play goals, giving them eight PP goals in their last 21 opportunities.

The Bruins scored two power play goals.

Ken Hodge scored twice for Boston.

The Bruins scored three goals in a 4:17 span during the third period to take a 5-4 lead.

But Nick Libett tied the game with seven minutes to play, and Mahovlich scored his game-winner as he raced down the left wing before blasting a slap shot past Boston goalie Ed Johnston.

The Bruins managed to pull Johnston with 20 seconds to play, but John McKenzie's slap shot from the circle was stopped by Detroit goalie Roger Crozier.

The Red Wings (7-4-3) continue their six-game road trip on Saturday in Minnesota.

DET  1-2-3 = 6
BOS  1-1-3 = 5

1st Period
BOS- McKenzie (Esposito) 4:37
DET- Stemkowski (Baun, McGregor) 11:44

2nd Period
DET- Mahovlich (Howe) PPG 3:14
DET - Mahovlich (unassisted) PPG 8:51
BOS - Hodge (D. Smith) PPG 16:32

3rd Period
DET - Mahovlich (Howe, Bergman) PPG 2:50
BOS - Orr (unassisted) PPG 6:11
BOS - Hodge (Doak) 7:08
BOS - Bailey (R. Smith, Lorentz) 10:28
DET - Libett (Connelly, Harris) 13:00
DET - Mahovlich (Delvecchio, Harris) 19:28

Shots on Goal
DET 4-16-9 = 29
BOS 18-14-13 = 45

Goalies: Crozier (DET); Johnston (BOS)

Power Plays
DET 3-for-5; BOS 2-for-4

Penalty Minutes
DET 15; BOS 17

Fights
Ravlich (DET) vs. Harrison (BOS) @8:01, 2nd period

Welcome!

I am trying something for the first time in my 40+ year gaming history: a real-time replay of a team's hockey season.

My selection is the 1969-70 Red Wings. They went 40-21-15 and the season is noteworthy for a few reasons.

1. Owner Bruce Norris fired coach Bill Gadsby after a 2-0 start. Yes, after two games. I actually talked to Gadsby about it several years ago and to this day he has no idea why he was fired. He said Norris (who was drinking something alcoholic during their meeting---he was an alcoholic) told him the team was looking for a "more modern coach," whatever the hell that was. GM Sid Abel went behind the bench, where he'd been for many years before hiring Gadsby in 1968. Gadsby had a bunch of fun stories to tell, like how Norris had a telephone installed behind the Red Wings bench so the owner could call Gadsby during games (can you imagine such a thing today?). Eventually Gadsby had the phone torn out.

2. It was the last playoff season for the Red Wings until 1978, which was the last one until 1984. So this season was just before "Darkness with Harkness," referring to new coach Ned Harkness, hired out of Cornell in 1970. Harkness lasted about half a season before being promoted to GM after the players revolted (culminating in a non-effort, 13-0 loss in Toronto on January 2, 1971). Harkness was constantly hammering Garry Unger for the length of Unger's hair. Abel wanted to fire Harkness but Norris wouldn't allow it, so Abel quit. Harkness was GM for 3 years and he was less than brilliant.

3. The Wings lost in the first round of the playoffs, being swept by Chicago. The score of every game in the series was 4-2.

The 1969-70 calendar perfectly matches 2014-15, so it makes it even easier to know when to play the games. So far the Red Wings are 6-4-3 and have a tilt tonight (Thursday) in Boston, who beat them 4-3 on Saturday night.