Ducks, Pucks and Cougar Tales
These are the memories
of my brother-in-law, Herb Schmidt, and the great hockey we had on Long Island.
I, too, made many trips to the (in)famous Long Island Arena in Commack,
Warm-up
This
is the story of a hockey team, as I remember it. It was a replacement for an
earlier team, and after some glory and some lean years, was subsequently
replaced by another team that lasted only two seasons. But those years in
between - I wouldn't surrender for anything.
Let's
back up a bit - to the late 1930's when I was just a youth. My Dad bought me
the latest rage in radio - an Emerson five tube Superhetrodine! Wow! I had it
next to my bed and would listen to the broadcasts of the New York Ranger Hockey
games, not understanding many of the rules, but knowing it had to be an
exciting game.
After
WWII and in high school, a group of us ventured to Madison Square Garden - the
old one that was on the corner of 8th Avenue and 50th
Street in New York City, to see our very first hockey game - The New York
Rovers vs The Montreal Royals. The league was the old Quebec Senior Hockey
League and was a development league for the National Hockey League. My first
impression was that it was evident that the Garden spelled history. Even the
ticket takers at the entrance were impressive - all in tuxedos and black fedora
hats. (I expect this was in deference to the major sport that took most of the
dates - professional boxing). After the game - we all were hooked on hockey,
and returned often. Then one day we decided to stay until Sunday evening and
see the New York Rangers in action - the big time NHL! Their opponent was the
Detroit Red Wings - with Harry Lumley in goal, and Ted Lindsay, Red Kelly, and
a rookie named Gordie Howe in the line up. What a lineup for the first time
seeing a NHL game.
Four
years in the U S Air Force put a hold on hockey, but in 1956, my best gal Marie
and I visited the Garden for some Ranger games. One that stands out in my
memory was against the feared Montreal Canadians - and Maurice Richard in the
lineup. Then my hockey was relegated to TV games as Marie and I were married
and moved farther away from New York City, out on Long Island. Little did we
know that so much hockey enjoyment and excitement was in store.
The Puck is Dropped
We
read with excited anticipation when an article in the now defunct Long Island
Press stated a new hockey arena to seat four thousand was to be built at
Commack, NY - just 20 or so miles from our home. The team was to be the NY
Rovers, and the league was the Eastern Hockey League (EHL). The inaugural game
was played in October of 1959, and Marie and I were there at the opening face
off, along with only a few hundred other loyal souls.
Commack
Arena was a Quonset hut type structure with seating on both sides and one end
of the ice surface. There were two huge heaters above the side stands at center
ice that weren't the most reliable. Cleaning the ice between periods - normally
a 15-minute task - took an hour! The Zamboni ice surface machine was a thing
for the future - so when the last player skated off the ice, a couple of
maintenance people cleaned the surface with snow shovels. Then another man came
out with a garden hose and sprayed the ice again. This would create puddles -
which aggravated the drying. The concession stands loved it…
The
first Rover team to play in the arena - 1959-60 season - came in last place,
but we were seeing ice hockey, and some really entertaining games. The Rovers
did have a few players though that would go on to better times - a defenseman
named John Muckler would become coach of the Ducks in 1961, but eventually
gained notoriety as an NHL coach of the Oilers, Sabres and Rangers. The goaltender
would also go on to some glory years with the NY Rangers and Detroit Red Wings
- his name: Ed Giacomin.
The
Rovers returned for the 1960-61 season, but did not fair much better. Crowds
were low at some games and high at others. But they seemed to be blessed with
some out standing goaltenders. This season Gilles Villemure was in the nets -
who would later pair up with Giacomin with the NY Rangers to win the Vezina
Trophy for best goal tending in the NHL.
This
would be the last year for the Rovers - a new management group took over and a
different team was to play in the arena in the 1961-62 season - and a new era
of hockey was born. The Long Island Ducks would take to the ice for the next
twelve years. And what years they were…
The
1961-62 season saw John Muckler as player-coach, but a leg injury would cause
him to stay off ice and behind the bench - which as history shows was the best
of all things. He then became general manager, and the team roster started to look
more like a hockey team that could win. The hard shooting Norm Ryder, smart
Gordie Matheson, Muckler and the (in)famous John Brophy were a stellar
defensive corps that won as many fights as games. When another tough defenseman
Don Perry joined the team, and forwards Russ McClenaghan, Gene Achtymichuk,
Gordie Stratton, Ed Stankiewicz and Ron Hergott were added - the Ducks were on
their way to a championship - which they attained in the 1964-65 season -
winning the Walker Cup.
During
the mid 1960's, the crowds were pretty good, especially when the Clinton Comets
- with their arsenal of scorers and defensemen like Pat Kelly and goalie Norm
DeFelice came to town. Now DeFelice was a premier goaltender and frustrated
every team. One game a fan got behind him (before the glass was installed on
the boards and a cyclone fence protected the fans from the puck, and the
players from the fans) and razzed Norm unmercifully. He took just so much, then
skated out of his nets and climbed the fence - skates, pads and all - to the
top and started swinging his big goalie stick at the fan.
The EHL possibly was the inspiration for the quote: "I
went to a fight and a hockey game broke out." And the biggest fighter -
not in size but in heart - was John Brophy. He was "hated" wherever
he played, except by the team he played on. One game he was skating in the
pre-game warm-up and a fan was giving him a verbal lashing. John would slap his
stick against the cyclone fence where the fan was standing. The
"brave" fan knew Brophy could not get to him, so he kept up his
tirade. After 3 or 4 slaps AT the fence, John turned his stick around
and poked the shaft THROUGH the fence, and right into the fan's teeth!
John
Brophy holds the all time penalty record for the EHL, and he earned every
minute. He eventually became the Ducks coach and later the L.I. Cougars coach,
but he did go on to be head coach of the NHL Toronto Maple Leafs. His latest
coaching effort is in the East Coast Hockey league, where he won some
championships. During the 1999 ECHL All Star game on TV, commentator Barry
Melrose said Brophy would be his subject if he wrote a book about hockey
characters. When questioned by his TV partner on Brophy's record of penalties,
he said they didn't even give them for tripping and holding! (They did - but
this was Barry's way of describing the pugilistic atmosphere of the EHL.) The
movie "Slap Shot" was said to be a loose biography of John Brophy, his
character being played by Paul Newman.
The
Commack Arena was the scene of numerous incidents that only memory has
recorded:
·
The heaters failed one
Sunday afternoon game with the Clinton Comets. The temperature was around 10
degrees in the stands. One fan removed his shoes and held a cigarette lighter
under his feet. The concession stands ran out of hot coffee and chocolate, so
they sold hot water.
·
Before the wireless
microphone was common, the announcer was at center ice making a speech. The
visiting team skated out on the ice in the darkened arena, and skated over the
mike cord, cutting the wire and the announcers speech!
·
One game, the Ducks received
a delay of game penalty because the organ continued the music after the puck
was dropped.
·
A local Rambler auto dealer
sponsored a game called Ducko where a person would try to shoot a puck from
center ice through a small hole in a board set up on a goal net. To advertise
the dealership, a Rambler auto was driven out on the ice during the Ducko game.
One night, the car got a flat tire while on the ice, and it took over an hour
to get it off. The jack would slide and so would the Rambler.
·
The NY NETS basketball team
started playing at the Commack Arena when they first were formed and they had
special TV lighting installed over the center ice area for their games. The
Ducks decided to use these lights one night, and succeeded in melting a square
of ice just the size of a basketball court. The game was delayed while the ice
re-froze, but it was considerably dimmer on the ice.
·
The infamous mid night
Ducks vs New Haven game has been written about profusely, but this narrative is
my personal account:
My friend Gene and I
arrived at the arena at around 7:15 PM for an 8:00 PM game with New Haven
Blades. They were there but the Ducks weren't - stuck in DC or Philadelphia due
to bad weather. No planes out so they started by bus. The Blades came out and
practiced then left the ice. They dressed and went next door to a movie! Now
nearing midnight, the Ducks trickled out on the ice, some still putting on
their final pieces of their uniforms. It was so late, the referee wouldn't let
them get a practice.
During this wait, many
fans stayed there, and the refreshment stands - especially the beer - was
heavily visited. You can tell the mood of the fans by now. The referee called
the teams to center ice and dropped the puck, and in less than a minute, bedlam
broke out - on the ice and off. Some idiot threw a full beer can down and it
hit one of the Duck players. He went down, and the trainer came out on the ice
to attend to him. Now the ref skates away from a fight (there were many all
over the ice) and tells the trainer to get back to the bench. Bill, the
trainer, says he wants to patch the player, but the ref still was insisting he
leave. With that, Bill gets off his knees and grabs the ref by the throat and
the two of them are wrestling on the ice. One of the players had to separate
them.
The hockey players fought for a considerable time, and it
was over an hour later when the game finally continued - more Ducks &
Blades in the penalty box than on the ice.
The penalty box was
for both teams, with only the penalty timekeeper separating them. He wore an
army helmet most of the time. Gene and I finally got home after 3AM!
·
Another time a visiting
player was hurt and was carried off the ice on a stretcher someone put his
hockey stick on the stretcher with him. As he was going through the exit, a fan
leaned over the rail and expressed his opinion on what he thought his prognosis
should be. The player got off the stretcher and smacked the fan over the head
with the stick!
·
One fan let a burlap bag of
pigeons loose in the arena, and they were there for the rest of the season.
·
Henry, the Zamboni driver
became a fan favorite - waving to the crowd as he drove around cleaning the
ice. He got so involved in waving, he drove through the dasher boards.
·
When John Muckler was
coach, he was a disciplinarian. Every player same to the game in a suit and
tie, and he took the whole team by bus to the barber for a crew cut each week.
(Before longer hair was the style.)
·
The Ducks usually traveled
the league circuit by team bus. The ownership bought a DC-3 transport aircraft
and named it "The Flying Duck". It had a Ducks logo and team colors.
Cost caught up with the aircraft and it was sold, a minor league hockey team
could not handle it.
·
Salaries of the EHL were
minimal, so many of the players had "outside jobs". A number of them
worked at construction jobs, and others worked for United Exterminers, a pest
control outfit owned partially by one of the players.
·
The Ducks had a player
named Sam Gregory. One night he got into a brawl and handed his false teeth to
a fan in the first row. Gregory was banished from the game, and the fan went
off with his teeth. Some years later, a hockey friend that was attending a
party told me, and in a place of honor were Gregory’s false teeth!
·
Aside from the previously
mentioned Ed Giacomin and Gilles Villemure playing for the NY Rangers, a few of
the other ducks made it to the NHL - but as coaches.
Don Perry coached the
Los Angeles Kings
John Brophy coached
the Toronto Maple Leafs
John Muckler coached
the Edmonton Oilers (Stanley Cup), Buffalo Sabres, and NY Rangers.
Even Clinton's Pat
Kelly coached the Colorado Rockies. He also was a founder of the current East
Coast Hockey League.
The
Ducks lasted through thick and thin but ceased operation with the 1972-73
season. My pals and I had season's tickets most of the time. The threat of the
NY Islanders and the new World Hockey League was too much for them. But some
remnants persisted.
The
1973-74 Season brought on the Long Island Cougars - a farm team of the WHA
Chicago Cougars. Some of the Ducks found positions on the new squad. In their
last season, 1974-75, John Brophy launched his full time coaching career with
the Cougars in the new North American Hockey League (NAHL).
The
Commack Arena organization spruced up the old rink, but no matter how much
"class" they tried to institute, the ghosts of the EHL were ever
present. The crowds were no better even with all the management's innovations. A
season ticket holder's only "hospitality room" was opened, with
unlimited drinks free to the season fans between periods. This developed into a
contest to see how many drinks one could gulp down in 15 minutes - with the
expected rowdy results during the following period.
The
Cougars team faired no better than the Ducks. In fact there seemed to be an air
of resentment - those old Ducks were loved. One nice thing they offered was fan
appreciation trips on the bus with the team on road games.
My
pal Gene and I went on one in 1975 to the fabled Clinton Comets arena in
Clinton, NY and on to Syracuse to watch the Blazers game. This trip is a
highlight in my memory bank. On the bus traveling along the New York Thruway,
we chatted with players and fans alike. Across the aisle from me was the
Cougars play-by-play radio announcer Eli Gold. He did some Duck games
previously. We chatted and he was, as I recall, making an audiotape for
practice. He said he wanted to become a big time sports announcer. (He
eventually did reach that goal - as he now has his own TV program on TNN, and
is an anchor NASCAR Winston Cup stockcar race announcer and commentator.)
We
arrived at the Clinton arena, a barn-like structure with no heat and only
folding chairs for the fans. The temperature was 14 degrees in the arena. Could
this be where the "class" of the old EHL was housed, Pat Kelly and
his boys? It sure was. Commack Arena seemed like Madison Square Garden in
comparison.
After
the game, we bussed on to a hotel in Syracuse and bedded down well after
midnight. The players took off for their favorite haunts although they had a
game that evening. In the morning we had breakfast in the hotel restaurant with
coach John Brophy - the terror of the EHL! Off the ice, he is a real gentleman
as we saw it.
That
evening it was on to the Syracuse Was Memorial. When the Cougars arrived, they
were not allowed in the locker room. The "guards" said they never
heard of them (although they played there often before.) This was minor league
harassment in full bloom. Eventually entry was allowed, and the game was
started. After a few minutes of play, a fight erupted, and it spilled over to
the stands. Some of the Cougars were 5 or 6 rows back fighting both fans and
players. The NAHL and the EHL were no different, only the names were changed.
Toward
the end of the 1974-75, and final season, the Cougars were playing the
Johnstown Jets at Commack. Three brothers played on the Jets - the Carlson brothers
- #16, #17, & #18. We were in our usual season seats of Section 3, Row E,
seats 1, 2, & 3, right behind the penalty box. A monster fight started
right in front of us that involved the three Carlson brothers and the Cougars.
(If one saw "Slapshot", the Carlson brothers actually had parts in
the movie - only were named the "Hanson" brothers.) One of the
Carlsons swung his stick into the stands nearly hitting a young boy sitting by
the ice. I, being on the aisle seat, ran down and pulled the child away. An
arena security guard grabbed me for getting involved in the fight with
the players. My friends, whom I had gone to the games with for years, came to
my rescue, and the fight grew in the stands to great proportions. We were
"asked" to leave the arena, but were allowed back in our seats a few
minutes later.
The
season soon was over, and so was hockey at the Commack Arena.
The Final Buzzer
Years
later, I happened to go to South Bay Electrical, a supply house that had a part
I needed for a project. When I entered, I noticed large pictures of Duck
players hanging on the walls. When a man asked me "can I help you", I
immediately recognized the former ducks owner, Al Baron. My comments about the
pictures led me to his office, and we had a nice chat for well over an hour all
about the Ducks. He had uniforms, sticks, and all sorts of Ducks memorabilia in
his office. What treasures I thought, but the chat with Baron was priceless to
me.
The
old EHL is long gone, the Commack Arena has been demolished - progress I guess.
The Ducks and Cougars are only a memory now. But they were fun while they
lasted.
But
good things die hard, and the remnants hang on. The East Coast Hockey League is
a first cousin to the old EHL, but it's run in a very professional manner.
Beautiful facilities are offered, larger crowds attend, and with the ever
expanding NHL and its appetite for new talent, more players have a chance at
the NHL.
Just
recently, now living in South Carolina, I was attending the Greenville Grrrowl
vs the Hampton Roads Admirals game at the new 15,000-seat BI-LO Center in
Greenville, SC. I was there with some dear friends and my son, who went to the
Duck games as a small child. The Admirals coach was John Brophy, and when he
came out and went behind the bench for the pre game skate, he was all alone. I
took the opportunity to go to the bench and introduce myself, and we talked
about the old Ducks for a few moments. His eyes seemed to brighten when he
brought some memories to mind, and I know min did.
The
Ducks may be a distant memory now, but WHAT a memory they are.
