Remembering another opening night shutout

DonBuddinE6

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 25, 2005
361
Any other fossil remember the B's opener in the early 60's -- that interminable stretch when they were beyond awful -- where they shut out Montreal 5-0?

The Bruins had been woeful the past couple of years, but, like the season's first game in any sport, we B's fans were hopeful. We had a couple of decent players -- Don McKenney, Doug Mohns, Leo Boivin, and Johnny Bucyk were all in their prime, Teddy Green was coming off a promising rookie year, and Tommy Williams was young and could skate like the wind.

We knew nothing about goalie Bobby Perreault, except that he'd come up in the Canadiens system and had kicked around for awhile. At that time it wasn't easy to break into the league for a goalie: Plante, Bower, Sawchuck, Glenn Hall, and the Gumper weren't going anywhere, which left 1 job available.

My ear was close to the radio for the opener, and I was in disbelief. Fred Cusick was calling the games then -- he really was terrific, except maybe for never bothering to learn how to pronounce French names like Boivin or Chevrefils -- and his excitement was real.

So was mine. This was amazing -- the Bruins that had been so woeful had somehow put 5 behind Jacques Plante. And Bobby Perreault stopped everything that the Habs threw at him. Hallelujah! Two days later, the B's next game was in Maple Leaf Gardens against the powerful Leafs. Perreault shined again, with Boston getting a 2-2 tie, an excellent result.

We have turned it all around! The Bruins are back! Well, no. Didn't exactly turn out that way. After the 1st victory on opening night, the hapless B's went 16 (sixteen!) games before they won their 2nd. Wasn't long before Perreault was on his way back to the minors. And the 62-63 Bruins went on to finish in their accustomed spot, 6th and last.

So, maybe don't put all that much stock in the opening night result.