The Icelandic Canadian - 01.12.2002, Blaðsíða 33

Vol. 57 #3
THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
117
wing with uncanny control over the puck.
Slim, who was six foot two inches tall, trav-
elled down the ice at a much faster clip than
the actions of his long limbs indicated. A
few long strides and he’d be down to the
other end of the rink before the opposition
expected. Incidentally, one is reminded of a
little by-play which occurred at one of the
earlier practices of that great season.
Steamer was pressing upon the forwards
the necessity of staying in their position.
Slim had a slight habit of rushing down the
right wing and, as he neared the goal area,
weaving over to centre ice and finally end-
ing up in the opposite corner. At this par-
ticular practice Steamer was so emphatic
about the matter that he instructed for-
wards to keep to their third of the ice sur-
face, dividing the ice into three sections
separately by imaginary lines. Slim had the
misfortune to bump his head quite sharply
on the ice when he collided with another
player. It caused him to become slightly
dazed but nevertheless just a minute or two
later, he grabbed the puck and was off on
another rush on the ice. His old habit
asserted itself; he veered over into the cen-
ter ice and was headed for the opposite cor-
ner when Steamer by fast skating caught up
to him. He was furious and administered a
resounding whack on Slim’s seat to stop
him and inquired in a most aggrieved tone,
“what the devil are you doing over here?”
“I don’t know, Steamer. It must have
been the bump on the head,” replied the
nonplussed Slim. But the same Slim, with
his great puck carrying ability, his tenacity
of purpose and his unselfishness when he
saw a chance to pass, together with Frank
Fredrickson with his speed, weight and
exceptional ability in shooting - these two
whose thoughts and actions were as one,
made a great combination on the attacking
line. Add to this Mike Goodman’s sensa-
tional skating proclivities (he was at the
time Canadian speed skating champion)
and one need not wonder at the power of
their attack and their superb defensive play.
Big Konnie Johannesson with his long
reach and his uncanny ability to divide the
intention of onrushing opponents and little
Bobby Benson, sturdily built, with his
quick aggressiveness, composed a wonder-
ful defence. Bobby’s “Herculean” antics
tickled the fans beyond measure. No man
was too big for little Bobby to hop onto.
They called him the “jumping jack.” this
contrasting pair formed an effective
defence—their understanding of each
other’s play being remarkable. It is said
that the defence was not once split during
the entire season’s play. Behind this bul-
wark was keen-eyed Wally Byron. His
marvellous agility and intuition and his all-
round masterly work in the nets made him
a prime favourite with the fans who packed
the Amphitheatre to the rafters for game
after game.
The plucky, crafty Huck Woodman;
that pugnacious, hard-working, colourful
and crowd-pleasing Eddie Stephenson; the
light, elusive Chris Fridfinnson; the
diminutive, wiry veteran, Harvey Benson
and occasionally Connie Neil of the beau-
tiful skating style upheld the substitute
duties in superb fashion. Babe Elliott the
faithful sub-goalie attended every practice
which was later to prove its value, and the
sturdy Babs Dunlop was also always on
hand.
When a man started off on a rush he and
his team-mates knew which player was to
go down with him, and “speed” was their
watchword as was it that of their host of
supporters. Speed! Speed! Speed! And yet
more speed, was the cry of the crowd that
jammed the rink. Enthusiasm was raised to
a pitch which had never before and has
never since been witnessed at athletic exhi-
bitions in the city. There was colour; there
was speed to burn; there was rivalry
between evenly matched clubs. The strenu-
ous encounters with the famous Selkirk
team were epics of the great winter sport.
Even years later the remark was frequently
heard, “Don’t think we’ll ever see hockey
like the old Selkirk-Falcon games again.”
In the first game of the season the
Falcons were not conceded much of a
chance with the great Selkirk aggregation
which included that hockey wonder, Joe
Simpson (who later, in his debut with the
New York Americans was nicknamed
“Bullet Joe”) one of the finest players who
ever stepped on local ice; Harry Oliver, an
Icelander (who, by the way, became a star