The Icelandic Canadian - 01.12.2002, Síða 22

106
THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
Vol. 57 #3
Harry Sivertson while with brainy, agile
Percy (Ben) Olafson at point and
“Swanny” Swanson, the human dynamo, at
cover point, the IACs were well fortified
on the defence. Let us keep the forwards
out of the picture for the moment and size
up the defence at the other end. In the
Vikings’ net blond Fred Olsen was out-
standing. Fred played with Manitoba
College and later with the Victorias. He
was known as the “board fence” and trav-
elled east with the Victorias in 1903 when
they went in quest of the Stanley Cup.
Reports of these games in Montreal
described Fred as stopping flying pucks
with all parts of his anatomy, even his head.
In front of this great net minder at point
was Paul Johnston who, it might be men-
tioned, was a marksman of the first rank
(having been Manitoba champion trap
shot), sportsman and an amateur photogra-
pher par excellence. Rather slimly built, he
was adept at blocking and out-guessing the
opposition. Six foot Henry Thompson,
towering on the Viking defence at cover
point, dealt out robust body checks.
Possessing a fine physique, he was fast and
added plenty of punch to the Viking attack.
Crafty Magnus (Mike) Johnson held
down rover position for the South-enders.
How Mike could hang onto that old puck
and worm his way through the opposition!
He achieved his stick work through “rag-
ging” the puck on outdoor rinks and on
river rinks, where many of Winnipeg’s best
players learned the game.
Opposed to Mike as rover for the IACs,
“Fusi” Byron was perhaps the most sensa-
tional player of either roster. Fast and
tricky, running and tearing into the attack,
dodging around making extremely rapid
motions with his stick, he was almost
impossible to stop. Fusi had a great mop of
hair and, with a headtossing gesture remi-
niscent of some wild horse, he would
throw back his flowing locks as he broke
away on his frequent forays into the enemy
territory. Whenever Fusi got the puck, two
or three of the Vikings would jump right
on him and what a time they would have
stopping him!
The IAC forward line of Magnus
Peterson, Jack Snidal and Jack Swanson
comprised a clever attacking trio. Magnus
Peterson, for thirty-five years at the City
Hall, many of which he served faithfully as
City Clerk, was fast and a clever stick han-
dler. Jack Snidal of dental fame was a clever
forward and an all-round athlete. Young
Jack Swanson, flashing spectacularly up
and down the right boards, was always a
thorn in the side of “Big Sam” Johnson,
who patrolled the left boards for the
Vikings. Big Sam, curly-haired, six foot-
two man-mountain, weighing no one
knows how much over two hundred
pounds was the Babe Ruth of the Viking
Club and instilled a world of confidence in
his teammates by his mere presence on the
ice. His genial qualities made him a prime
favourite with the player and fan alike.
The legend may have some basis in the
fact that the nimble young Jack, on occa-
sion, slipped through between Big Sam’s
legs. But when brother Swanny, who was
himself quite stoutly built, would crash
into Big Sam, even upsetting him by main
strength the crowd would go wild! Here
was action and the fans on each side would
take up the battle cry, crowds lining the
fence cheering on their favourites and
throwing taunts at the rabid partisans
opposite. It has also become legend that on
one occasion Big Sam, having been
knocked out cold through violent collision
with Swanny, lay flat on his back like some
great giant and gave the impression of
reaching from side to side of the playing
surface.
Oliver Olsen was a clever forward. He
was employed by the Dominion Rubber
Company as a tire salesman. While his
vocation was to “tire” vehicles, as a skater
he was “tireless.” Arni Anderson, who
practised law for a great many years and
filled the position of secretary-treasurer for
the Club, quite often donned his skates and
played a fine brand of hockey. Young
“Guinea” Anderson, short, rotund but
extremely nimble played aggressive hockey
as did Gunnar (Jack), another Anderson
brother, a big, burly defenceman who
turned in some mighty useful games.
Feelings ran high among the players as
well as the supporters of both teams. There
was always plenty of excitement as the bat-