1940-41 REGULAR SEASON
The Toronto Millionaires continued their insane run at the top of the league, once again taking first place. Newly acquired goaltender Bobby West showed good promise as a back-up to Milo Dunphy, posting respectable numbers in his five starts. Laurie Manfredi ran away with the scoring title, beating Ermis Siskakos’ 50 points with 60 of his own. William Gifford was his partner in crime, netting 45 points with 28 assists on the year. Despite the hard work of the Millionaires’ top guns, they were unable to get any sustained momentum, falling to 16-12, tied with Ottawa. Defensive dynamos Michael Lowry and Michael Johnson continued their insane streak on the blue line, keeping the Millionaires safe in the corners and in front of the net. Unheard of 30-and-25-point seasons put the Two Michaels on top of the CPHL’s defencemen for a second straight year as their stock shot up. Toronto luckily came up with the top seed, beating Ottawa in the last two meetings of the rivals. Across town, the Steelmen repeated their previous season although they fell out of the play-offs, edged out by Quebec’s late victory over Saint John’s. 29-year-old Archibald Rutherford took a big step in play, not netting a ton of points, but becoming more and more important on the ice and in the locker room. His poise and view of the ice had a big impact on the team and provided important mentorship for a couple of the younger members.

A few miles north in the nation’s capital, the Cavalry battled their way to a franchise-high of 32 points. In another franchise first, the Cavalry didn’t have a tragedy or controversy strike them apart from rivalry drama. Harrison Davies clawed his way to a higher echelon of scoring, coming just ahead of Gifford with 46 points, leading the Cavalry. Third year goalie Alex Hawley, who’d distinguished himself in the previous playoffs, was beginning to show his prowess in the crease, posting good starer potential. Watch for him to make White fight for his starting position in the coming season.

For Halifax, things began to fall back together. After a brief feud with management, captain Angus Eliot came to terms with his new role on the team, and eventually came back to form on ice, but the discontent was there. Halifax fought hard all season to keep their spot at the top of the league. Moore, Cavillo, and Hay were insane on the top line, basically creating magic on ice. 23-year-old Caleb Martin was finally finding his way on the second line for the Bulldogs, having good chemistry with Eliot and Watts. Upstart champions St. John’s Mariners tied the Bulldogs, but ended up a lower seed due to a late win by Halifax.

Pembroke squeaked into the play-offs as Hamilton fell to Montreal late in the season. Pembroke’s rookies had immediate impact, helping them power their way to the bottom seed of the play-offs. 18-year-old Russian Slava Yanovich immediately grabbed everyone’s attention with his amazing passing and speed on the ice. Slava’s knack for quick breakout plays and his great footwork cemented him as a star in the making for the Pats.  Meanwhile in the basement, the Montreal Settlers still enjoyed the sofa. Mattias Laduc finally returned to true form after a season and a half of injury-hampered play. With Laduc back in net, the Settlers saw a decided change in their play, their star goalie giving them a confidence boost. Montreal still came in last with an identical 10-18 record, but the eye-ball test showed that they’d improved. 24-year-old Gaston Lavigne stepped up in a big way for the Settlers, providing thirty-some points in the bottom six.

I apologize for the delay. I ran into technical difficulties and a lack of time due to work and other commitments. Without further ado, the first two rounds of the Play-Offs!

1941 PLAY-OFFS

First Quarter Final (Halifax vs Pembroke)
In game one, Pembroke took ownership of the Bulldogs. Pembroke’s top guns, and even some of their depth players, picked Halifax apart to take an imposing a 7-2 win in the first game. Richard Snelling and Chaucer Howardson would each net a goal in a hard-fought game two, putting Halifax behind the eight ball. May and Cavillo would take it upon themselves to win game three, taking it 5-4 in overtime. In Pembroke for game four, Fletcher and Cooke light up Black Jack Jones from the blue line as they blasted three past him in an absolute downpour of rubber to take the game 3-2. Game five saw David Moore net two in the third to win the series for Pembroke.

Second Quarter Final (Saint John’s vs Quebec)
Pelletier and Oswald would each net two as Saint John’s swamped Quebec 4-1 in game one, before rookie Kasper Hoff blanked the Defensuers in game two on a repeat performance. Batteaux and Urbanovsky carried Quebec to a last ditch 2-1 victory in game three, bringing Quebec within spitting distance of a comeback. Phillip Theil and Hoff would team up to bring Saint John’s to the semis with a 1-0 shut-out for the Mariners.

First Semi Final (Toronto vs Ottawa)
Ottawa started the series with a 2-1 victory thanks to the efforts of Milo MacDarcy and Derek Smith. Van Alfredsson and Michael Durand would bring Toronto back to even with the Cavalry, winning 3-0 as Bobby West gets the shut-out. Game three in Ottawa saw Toronto leap to an early 2-0 lead with Gifford and Mitchel scoring. They would hold the lead until half way through the second when Anthony Serre broke Ottawa’s goal drought. Toronto held on to that lead until the third, when Davies and Wilson netting five between them to give Ottawa the series win.

Second Semi Final (Halifax vs Saint John’s)
Unfortunately for Halifax, Saint John’s was hungry for a second appearance in the Finals. Pelletier, Pekar, and Fentrey put the team on their backs, beating Halifax 3-1 and 4-1 rather quickly. Halifax didn’t take well to the embarrassment that the Mariners had heaped on them. Duncan and Watts were teamed up with Matthew Houghton to give Saint John’s a few headaches prior to the finals. The three grinders attempted to rough up the Mariner’s top guns in the last half of the third but fell to their prey’s speed and ended up called for hooking and tripping. Ryan Carter almost made game two 5-1 with a shot that hit the post and fell into Houghton’s outstretched glove.

1942 OFFSEASON

Major Signing in Ottawa
The summer of ’42 began with a block buster signing in the nation’s capital. Fresh off a disheartening loss to the Mariner’s in the Borden Cup Final, Ottawa had to deal with star forward Milo MacDarcy’s contract expiring. MacDarcy had been playing on a team-friendly $120 contract while becoming an all-around star for his hometown, providing many of Ottawa’s memorable moments. Now, he was looking to cash in on his success. After a month of casual negotiations, the organization and player came to terms on a lucrative 10-year deal worth $800 a year. Owner Doug Westfielde made more splashes, signing rising star Camillo Adams to a team-friendly 4-year, $300/year extension, and putting another 4 years on Alex Hawley’s contract.

Windsor United and Moncton Albatross Brands Unveiled
While the MacDarcy and Adams contracts were big news, they were quickly dwarfed by two other events. A couple months later, the league saw the arrival of the first of two teams joining the league, newly-minted Windsor United owned by Zachary French, a man with strong ties to European football clubs, although he claims that the named references the union of the Windsor, Sandwich, East Windsor, and Walkerville into one town. A simple W mark was created to represent the team and its owner’s infatuation with classical European soccer teams with UNITED draped across it. The team’s colours are bright maroon, deep purple and gold in order to create a majestic aura for the team. On the home uniform, the maroon takes center stage with thick purple and gold strips dominating the sleeves above maroon gloves. Maroon pants with gold and purple striping separate the sweater from maroon socks that are trimmed in purple and gold. A white secondary uniform was unveiled that simplified the striping of the sleeves while still prominently displaying team colours.
On the east side of Canada, Moncton, New Brunswick welcomed Oscar Molson and the Moncton Albatross, named for the massive sea bird of The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner fame. Their logo features the head of a browed albatross staring soullessly at you, and is featured prominently on a dark grey sweater. The sleeves of said sweater are topped by a light grey block that is trimmed by black and yellow, all colours of the massive browed albatross. Unfortunately for Oscar Molson, his brand was soon under scrutiny. Doctor Warren filed a lawsuit against Molson and the Albatross, stating the design of the uniform was too similar to that of his team’s former identity as the Bandits despite the drastic difference in colour. His claim said that in the black and white photos of the press, the basic designs could be confused with the Bandits iconic sweaters. As the season neared, Warren’s lawsuit was still mired in legal mud, granting Molson a slight reprieve.

Jacob Aliker, left, and Cyrille Blanc, right, pose in the newly formed Moncton Albatross' first uniform.

Charles Beaux, left, and Tommy Gilmoure, right, show off the uniform of newly established Windsor United,
Major Signings in Pembroke, Halifax
Since Ottawa had signed their star player, Pembroke and Halifax felt they needed to either one up or match the Cavalry. Halifax locked up captain Angus Elliot to a $700, 5-year contract which will take him to age 40. Elliot, a big part of the Bulldogs lineup on and off the ice, stated his joy at staying, saying “We’re already champions. More can come in these five years, and it will.” The signing of Caleb Martin one month later to a 7-year, $550 contract seemed to only grow the confidence building in Halifax. The 24-year-old was becoming one of the brightest stars on the East Coast, hailing from Nova Scotia. The previous season, Martin was able to rally for 46 points with 20 goals in 48 games, including a team-leading thirteen-game goal streak.
Just weeks after the Martin signing, Pembroke owner Nicolas Evert would announce the biggest signing of the year, signing Emmanuel Derringer to a 10-year, $1,000 contract. Apparently, negotiations had been going strong for several months, starting just after the play-offs. The negotiations were intense, including offers of cars, shares and off-season work. The final terms were off-season work in addition to the yearly salary, making him both the first thousand-dollar player in the league and the wealthiest player in the league.

Montreal Releases New Logo, Updates Sweater
In August, the Montreal Settlers released a new logo to replace the previous encircled M. The new logo proudly boasts team colours while also displaying Montreal culture. The logo was an intricately shaped anchor in red and blue and has a M hidden in the upper part of the anchor. The anchor was designed as a way to reference the settling of a new land and in reference to the docks in the city. On the sweaters, the wordmark became bolder and more legible, and the anchor logo is placed on the left shoulder opposite the sash.

Elias Laduc, left, and Martin Genet, right, show the new uniforms of the Montreal Settlers.
Other Signings in the League
Alex Hawley, G, Ottawa, 4 year extension
Johnny Fredriks, F, Pembroke, 3-year $250 extension
Richard Rougemount, F, Halifax, 3-year $150 extension
Leo Watts, F, Halifax, 4-year $280 extension
Matthew Houghton, F, Halifax, 5-year $90 extension
James Walsh, F, St. John’s, 4-year $350 extension
Phillipe Dutoit, F, Quebec, 3-year extension
Xavier Rochette, F, Quebec, 3-year extension
Didier Gigot, F, Quebec, 2-year extension
Raymond Sartre, F, Quebec, 2-year extension
Erik Alond, D, Quebec, 1 year extension
Pascal Charrier, D, Quebec, 5-year extension

Last edited by Osgiliath Guard (6/06/2021 3:45 pm)

1942 Play-Offs
SEMI-FINAL 1 (Pembroke V Halifax)
Halifax and Pembroke meet for the first time in a series outside of the Borden Cup Final. Pembroke was looking to finish off an amazing season with an equally amazing play-off run and it showed early. The first two periods of game one was a goaltenders’ duel with Jones and Hamilton shutting the doors. Early in the third period, though, David Moore and Haider May would connect on a magnificent rush that saw them beat the Derringers for a goal. Slava Yanovich would net his first play-off goal ten minutes later before Halifax responded on a goal from Mike Cavillo. The Bulldogs would lock it down and hold on for a series lead. Silas Law and Yanovich would be the heroes of game two as Pembroke battled back to a 2-1 overtime win before heading back to Pembroke for game three. Angus Elliot opened the scoring for Halifax at the four-minute mark of the first, and that would hold until the third. Going into the third, Pembroke’s Three Musketeers, quiet thus far, were given some breathing room. The trio would unleash their speed and skill on the mishappen Bulldogs, each netting a goal in a series-clinching effort.

QUARTER-FINAL 1 (Quebec V Toronto)
Didier Batteaux would net the first goal for Quebec late in the first. The Millionaires would be stymied by Henri Portier for the entire second period, until Richard Alison was able to push in a rebound in the last minute. Walter Farrier would score part way through the third to give Toronto the win in game one. Batteaux, Urbanovsky, and Gounelle decided that Toronto’s victory needed to be doubled to satisfy the home-town fans. A four-goal performance from Urbanovsky off of passes from his linemates gave the Defensuers an easy 4-1 win in game two, with Toronto’s only goal coming from Michael Lowry on the point. Quebec would expose Toronto’s lack of depth scoring as they would put Toronto out of the play-offs in a 3-1 win in game three.

QUARTER-FINAL 2 (Ottawa V Hamilton)
Game one was the Siskakos and MacDarcy show as the each put up hat tricks as the only scorers in a 6-3 Hamilton win in game one. The narrative going into game two was whether or not they could replicate the performance. The answer was that Siskakos was able to, but Auvrey would shut the door on MacDarcy, leading to a 3-1 win for Hamilton in two games. Once again, Siskakos would be the focus of the press as reporters began speculating who was better? Siskakos or Van Vleet? Who could keep up their insane scoring?

SEMI-FINAL 2 (Quebec V Hamilton)
Siskakos apparently refused to let anyone else on the Steelmen score as he netted both goals for Hamilton. Marc-Antoine Abbadie would try to start a comeback in the third, but the tight checking of the Steelmen limited him to one goal. Abbadie would be able to get a second in game two, while Leon Gauthier was able to slip one in from the point. Hartknoch and Jones were finally able to score as they each scored before setting Siskakos up for the series-clenching goal. With Siskakos’ goal, the Steelmen were headed to their first Borden Cup Final.


BORDEN CUP FINAL 1942
HAMILTON V PEMBROKE
The Hamilton Steelmen and the Pembroke Patriots. Two members of the CPHL elite meeting for the first time in the Finals. Siskakos was visibly nervous as he circled for the opening face-off, and it showed early. After losing the draw, Siskakos’ play was noticeably at a lesser calibre than fans were used to, his passes less crisp and his positioning slightly off. Skippy Van Vleet and the Patriots would take advantage of this, making quick passes through the middle that Siskakos would normally intercept, eventually netting a goal midway through the first. A minor slashing penalty to Andrew Pierson with four minutes left in the period gave the Patriots three-minutes of power-play action. Law and Van Vleet almost connected on a cross-ice pass that caused Auvrey had to have to dive across to stop. Kit Doyle was able to clear the puck for Hamilton, giving them brief respite from the onslaught. The puck was quickly brought in and a sharp shot from Cavillo buried Pembroke’s second of the period. Strong third line grinding saw Hamilton answer with a goal from Quinton Manders close to the end of the period. Siskakos would be denied on a quick snapshot as the clock expired.

As the teams came out for the second, any Hamilton fans who had made the trip to Halifax for the game were shocked. Siskakos was not on the ice to begin the period, Harrison Jones instead was taking the draw between Hartknoch and Holliday. While the line wasn’t as good as it was with Siskakos, it was close. The line, combined with Dunlop and Thompson on the blue line, hemmed the Patriots in for almost a whole three minutes. Eventually, the Patriots broke down and took a minor hooking call putting them short-handed.  Siskakos touched the ice for the first time in the period on the powerplay. Enraged at being benched and his performance, Siskakos picked up the puck in his own end off a clearing by the Patriots. Gaining speed in his trademark style, Siskakos went end-to-end, slipping through the neutral zone and towards the Patriots’ end. Crossing the blue line, Siskakos beat the defenceman by slipping the puck between his legs. A deft movement of his shoulders gave Siskakos an easy target high on the glove side of Black Jack Jones, burying the tying goal. Siskakos jumped into the boards, shouting as he was swarmed by his teammates. Hamilton fans cheered. Ermis Siskakos was back.

The third period saw Siskakos back on the first line with Holliday and Hartknoch opposing the dreaded Three Musketeers of Pembroke. Hartknoch would try and spring Siskakos on a quick break into the Pembroke zone, but a solid hit from Snelling would stop his advance. Snelling’s own pass would be intercepted by Holliday and the dead lock would continue. Hartknoch would go off for a three-minute minor not long after as his stickwork in front of Auvrey would get caught by the official and send the Patriots to the powerplay. Cavillo and Van Vleet parked themselves in front of the net as the Derringers and Law peppered the Hamilton net with shots. A shot sneaked by Auvrey, creaking over the line for a brief second. Pembroke supporters roared but Aiden Cunningham’s quick stick would knock the puck back out of the net for Doyle to clear. The officials waved off the goal and Pembroke started yelling at them, with Van Vleet getting directly in the official’s face. At the other end of the ice, Siskakos would have a shot ring off both posts and get swatted away by Jones. Siskakos would crash into the boards in disbelief. A scrum in the corner was whistled down as the official, Dan Edgeworth, called a match-penalty on Skippy Van Vleet for unsportsmanlike conduct. The arena went quiet as Van Vleet broke his stick on the arena wall as he went down the tunnel to the locker rooms. The last five minutes of the game started to get rough with scrums starting after whistles and a few cheap shots getting thrown behind the play. Somehow, the game ended without any additional penalties being called, although some most definitely should have been. Despite the efforts of Siskakos, Hartknoch, and Holliday, the Pembroke Patriots were able to hold on to the slim lead and win their second Borden Cup. Van Vleet was seen leaving the arena not long after his ejection, and his presence was notably absent during their victory celebration the day after.

In an interview following the game, Siskakos promised a repeat performance in the regular season the following year and stated his intention to make a second straight appearance in the finals and “bring the Cup home.” When asked about Van Vleet’s actions on the ice, Siskakos voiced his disbelief. “The official made the call on the ice. Was it the right one? Maybe, I’m not sure. I was quite far from the play, but Kit and Aiden say that the puck never crossed the goal line, and I believe them. Skip should have respected the official’s decision. I understand that a man’s competitiveness can sometimes be overwhelming, but the official must be respected, especially in the play-offs.”


EDIT: Added the other rounds of play-offs....cause...yeah...

Last edited by Osgiliath Guard (1/19/2022 11:33 am)

ProsecutorMilesEdgeworth wrote:

It always seems like the playoffs have another degree of storytelling. And that’s not a bad thing at all.

Well, the format for the playoffs allows me to expand more on the story. If I went in depth on each team in the regular season...man, that'd be long. The Borden Cup in particular is given extra attention since it's winner take all, 60 minutes to decide the champion. I imagine the hype around such an event would be insane.