Syracuse Blazers: 2 Time NAHL Champions

The Syracuse Blazers were a relative comet crossing the hockey sky. The franchise entered the Eastern Hockey League in 1967-68 and lasted out the final six years of the EHL’s existence. The club then joined the newly formed North American Hockey League in 1973-74 and when the NAHL ceased operations after the 1976-77 season, so did the Syracuse Blazers. However, in that short ten year period, the Blazers achieved greatness.

The first two years in the EHL were rocky, to say the least. Syracuse won just 21 of 144 regular games over the 1967-68 and 1968-69 seasons combined. In 1971-72, the Blazers reached the Walker Cup finals before losing to the Charlotte Checkers.

In 1972-73, the final year of the EHL, the team was nothing short of legendary. Syracuse won 63 of 76 regular season games, losing nine and tying four for a whopping 130 points. The team charged to the finals and took the final Walker Cup with a victory over the Roanoke Valley Rebels.

Blazers in the NAHL

Syracuse played in all four NAHL seasons between 1973-74 and 1976-77. The team won the Lockhart Cup championship in the first and last years.

1973-74

Syracuse finished first overall in the inaugural NAHL season with 54 wins and 112 points, 19 more than the second place Maine Nordiques in the seven team league. The Blazers met the Long Island Cougars in the finals and captured the championship with a four game sweep.

Mike Morton was the team’s offensive leader, finishing the regular season with a modest 95 points. The Blazers were intimidators, to say the least. Syracuse players finished 2-3-4 in the NAHL for penalty minutes. Dave Ferguson sat 371, Gary Sittler (brother of Hockey Hall of Famer Darryl Sittler) accumulated 316 while the infamous Bill Goldthorpe sat 285 in just 55 games.

The Blazers were coached by Ron Ingram, his only year as head coach of the team. Ingram played pro hockey from 1955-56 to 1969-70, mostly in the American Hockey League. Ingram did find his way into 114 career NHL games with the Chicago Black Hawks, Detroit Red Wings and New York Rangers.

1974-75

The Blazers once again finished first overall in 1974-75 but the numbers were not quite as spectacular. Syracuse won 46 games and finished with 95 points, 12 ahead of the second place Philadelphia Firebirds in the eight team league. The team played an incredibly even semi-final series with the Johnstown Jets. Each team scored 26 goals and the series went to the seventh game with the Jets edging out the Blazers 5-4.

Bob Jones was the team’s offensive leader in 1974-75 with 114 points. Garry Peters was behind the bench for his only year as the team’s head coach. In fact, it was his only year of coaching in pro hockey. Peters played pro from 1963-64 to 1973-74. He appeared in 311 NHL games with the Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers and Boston Bruins. He also played 57 World Hockey Association games with the New York Raiders franchise (and its many reincarnations).

1975-76

The NAHL expanded to ten teams and split into the East and West Divisions. Syracuse finished second in the East, 31 points behind the Beauce Jaros. The Blazers and Jaros met in the semi-finals and Beauce swept the series.

Doug Brindley led the team offensively with 101 points. Dan Belisle stepped behind the bench for his first of two years as the head coach. Belisle played pro from 1957-58 to 1970-71 and appeared in four NHL games with the New York Rangers during the 1960-61 season. Dan went on to become the head coach of the Washington Capitals for the 1978-79 season and 16 games into the 1979-80 season.

1976-77

The Blazers went out the way they came in, as champions. The league was down to one group of eight teams and Syracuse finished first overall with 48 wins and 99 points. Like 1973-74, it was the Maine Nordiques finishing second, this time 14 points behind the Blazers. The two teams met in the finals with the Blazers sweeping in four games.

Bernie Johnston set the team’s NAHL high with 124 points. There were three players that reached the 50 goal plateau. Johnston scored 53, Tom Milani led the team with 56 and Jim Cowell scored exactly 50. Belisle once again coached the team.

 

Bill Goldthorpe: aka Ogie Ogilthorpe

He was the inspiration for the character Ogie Ogilthorpe in the movie ‘Slapshot’ and he was every bit as fearsome in real life as he was in the movie. Yet, the side of Bill Goldthorpe that wasn’t represented in the 1977 cult classic was his scoring ability.

Goldthorpe played in the North American Hockey League sporadically from 1973-74 to 1975-76. His only season that came close to be considered full was 1973-74 with the Syracuse Blazers. In 55 games, Bill sat 285 minutes in the penalty box, a 5.2 PIM per game average. However, he also scored 20 and assisted on 26 more for 46 points. He also appeared in three playoff games in the World Hockey Association with the Minnesota Fighting Saints.

The Blazers finished first overall, winning 54 of 74 regular season games and totalling 112 points, 19 better than the second place Maine Nordiques. Despite playing just 55 games, Goldthorpe had the fourth highest penalty minute total in the NAHL that season. Nick Fotiu of Cape Cod led with 371 while Bill’s Syracuse teammates Dave Ferguson and Gary Sittler finished 2-3.

That year, the NAHL had a round robin in the opening round of the playoffs with the top five teams playing each other twice in order for one team to be eliminated. Syracuse lost just one game to advance to the semi-finals. They took out the Johnstown Jets 4-1 to reach the finals against the Long Island Cougars. The Blazers easily swept Long Island, outscoring their opponents 27-5 over the four games. Goldthorpe accumulated 50 PIM over 15 playoff games but also scored five and assisted on eight for 13 points.

1974-75 was a bit of a dud for Goldie, playing just two games for the Blazers, his last two with the club. He also appeared in seven WHA games with the Michigan Stags franchise.

Goldthorpe found himself with the Binghamton Dusters for a portion of the 1975-76 nahl season. He started the season with a single game as a member of the Erie Blades. He had no points and earned 22 minutes in the box. With Binghamton, Bill went to the sin bin at an 8.2 PIM per game pace. In 19 games with the Dusters, he sat 156 minutes. However, he also went at nearly a point per game pace with 17. He also played 26 games in the WHA, 12 with the Ottawa Civics franchise and 14 with the San Diego Mariners.

His days in the NAHL and WHA had drawn to an end after 1975-76. Goldthorpe had two more seasons in minor pro hockey that would make Ogie Ogilthorpe proud. In 1976-77, playing for the Richmond Wildcats of the Southern Hockey League, Goldthorpe played 25 games and sat 169 minutes. In usual Goldthorpe fashion, he also scored six and assisted on 12 for 18 points.

1978-79 was Goldie’s last real hurrah. He played 39 games for the San Diego Hawks of the PHL and sat 267 minutes in the box. He hadn’t much lost his offensive touch with 13 goals and 15 assists for 28 points.

A documentary on Goldthorpe’s life was apparently filmed in early 2012 with the title ‘Ogilthorpe’. The short film got a lot of press before being released but we can’t seem to find much info on it now. There were two websites (www.ogilthorpethemovie.com and www.goldiegoldthorpe.com) but neither are currently operational.

 

John Brophy: A Great Coaching Career Started in the NAHL

NAHL

John Brophy spent just one year in the North American Hockey League and that came a year after his long playing career was over. Brophy was the head coach of the Long Island Cougars for the 1973-74 inaugural NAHL season.

The Cougars finished third overall in the seven team league, 20 points behind the second place Maine Nordiques and 39 behind the first place Syracuse Blazers.

The opening round of the 1973-74 playoffs featured a round robin with the top five finishing teams. Each team played the other four twice. The Cougars came out with 4-3 record, third among the five. Only one team was eliminated from the group and, ironically, it was the Maine Nordiques. Maine went a dreadful 1-7 after such a great regular season.

In the 1973-74 semi-finals, Long Island took out the Cape Cod Cubs in six games to earn a shot at the Syracuse Blazers in the Lockhart Cup finals. It was no contest. Syracuse swept the Cougars and outscored Long Island 27-5 over the four games.

John Brophy’s NAHL career ended with that series but a lengthy and successful coaching career had begun. It is suggested that his NAHL legacy lives on in theatre. Brophy is reported to be the model for the character Reggie Dunlop, played by Paul Newman, in the movie Slapshot.

Playing Career

John Brophy played 1,142 regular season games in the Eastern Hockey League from 1952-53 to 1972-73. The tough defenseman accumulated and astronomical 3,825 penalty minutes over that time. That number equates to nearly 64 hours or more than two and a half days.

He was EHL PIM leader in the following years:

·         1959-60. 190 PIM with the Charlotte Clippers.

·         1960-61. 290 PIM with the New Haven Blades.

·         1961-62. 281 PIM with the Long Island Ducks.

·         1964-65. 241 PIM with the Long Island Ducks.

Over his EHL career he played for the Troy Uncle Sam Trojans, Baltimore Clippers, Charlotte Rebels, Charlotte Clippers, New Haven Blades, Long Island Ducks, Philadelphia Ramblers and Jersey Devils. He was on one championship team during that time and two other teams that were finalists.

The 1956-57 Charlotte Clippers were first overall with a whopping 30 point lead over the second place Philadelphia Ramblers. In the semi-finals, the Clippers beat the New Haven Blades 4-2 in the semi-finals before facing the Ramblers in the finals. Philadelphia did all they could but fell to Charlotte in seven games.

The Clippers toned it down a bit the following season but still found success. The team finished first overall but just one point ahead of the Washington Presidents. Charlotte once again met New Haven in the semis with the Blades pushing the Clippers to the limit before succumbing. Charlotte then met the Presidents in the final series and fell to Washington in another series that went the limit.

In 1960-61, Brophy was with the New Haven Blades. The team finished first in the Northern Division and third overall. In the first round of the playoffs, New Haven beat the Greensboro Generals 5-4 in an unorthodox nine game series. The Blades earned a bye through the second round and landed directly in the finals against the Johnstown Jets. Johnstown took out the Blades 4-2.

Coaching Career

Brophy found himself behind one hockey bench or another from 1973-74 to 2006-07 and even found himself as head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs from 1986-87 to 1988-89.

John coached his first major league hockey in 1978-79 as head of the Birmingham Bulls of the World Hockey Association. The ‘Baby Bulls’ had an outstanding lineup of teenagers playing their first professional hockey. Rick Vaive, Michel Goulet, Craig Hartsburg, Rob Ramage, Gaston Gingras and Pat Riggin mixed with former NHL veterans like Paul Henderson and Ernie Wakely. If the WHA had survived past the 1978-79 season, this team had the makings of a powerhouse.

Birmingham finished the regular season sixth in the seven team league and did not qualify for the post season. The seventh team was the Indianapolis Racers, a team that folded after 25 games. Still, Brophy was the final recipient of the Robert Schmertz Memorial Trophy as the WHA’s coach of the year.

His true claim to fame, however, came after the WHA and after his tumultuous times in Toronto under Harold Ballard. John Brophy is an ECHL coaching legend. In the league that began play in 1988-89, no other head coach has won three Kelly Cup championships. All John’s post season success came behind the bench of the Hampton Roads Admirals.

In 1990-91, the Admirals took out the Greensboro Monarchs in five games to win the Kelly Cup. The following year, they swept the Louisville IceHawks for the repeat. In 1997-98, Brophy completed his triple as the Admirals shot down the Pensacola Ice Pilots in six games.

In 2003, the ECHL changed the name of the trophy for coach of the year to the John Brophy Memorial Award. Ironically, Brophy was never name ECHL coach of the year despite all his success. In 2009, he was inducted into the ECHL Hall of Fame.

 

Reggie Lemelin: It All Began in the NAHL

A true product of the North American Hockey League that went on to a lengthy NHL career was Rejean Lemelin. Better known as Reggie, Lemelin played three years in the NAHL with the Philadelphia Firebirds from 1974-75 to 1976-77.

Lemelin played two years of major junior hockey in the QMJHL, 1972-73 and 1973-74, with the Sherbrooke Castors (Beavers). He was selected in the seventh round of the 1974 NHL Amateur Draft by the Philadelphia Flyers. He was the 12^th goaltender selected in the draft and went on to play more games in the NHL than any of them. Included in that group above him was Mike Palmateer, selected in the fifth round by the Toronto Maple Leafs. Palmateer played 356 games in the NHL while Lemelin played over 500.

Reggie was also selected way down in the 13^th round of the World Hockey Association Amateur Draft in 1974. He was taken by the Chicago Cougars 209^th overall.

With the NAHL Firebirds, Lemelin was the team’s leading goalie for each of the three seasons. During his time with Philadelphia, Reggie collected eleven shutouts in what was a league with a heavy dose of offense.

In 1975-76, he shared goaltending duties with five others but still played more games at 29. The Firebirds won the Lockhart Cup championship with a 4-2 victory over the Beauce Jaros in the final series. However, Lemelin played just three games during the playoffs with Roger Kosar and Gaye Cooley sharing the bulk of the action.

With the end of the NAHL after the 1976-77 season, Lemelin continued on with the franchise in the American Hockey League for 1977-78 and part of 1978-79. His NHL start came in 1978-79 with the Atlanta Flames.

Reggie played in the National Hockey League from 1978-79 to 1992-93 with the Atlanta / Calgary Flames and Boston Bruins. Although he wears no Stanley Cup rings, Reggie and the Bruins came close in 1987-88. Lemelin appeared in 17 playoff games as the Bruins took out the Buffalo Sabres, Montreal Canadiens and New Jersey Devils before being swept by the Edmonton Oilers in the finals.

His career year on an individual level came in 1989-90. Along with teammate Andy Moog, Lemelin was awarded the William M. Jennings Trophy for playing 25 or more games with the team in the NHL with the fewest goals against. Rejean played 43 games while Moog played in 46. Lemelin’s goals against average was slightly better than his counterparts at 2.80 to Moog’s 2.88.

For hockey card collectors, Lemelin did not appear on major cardboard until the 1981-82 O-Pee-Chee set. The Rejean Lemelin rookie card appears as number 44.

Find Rejean Lemelin rookie cards on eBay, right now!

 

Philadelphia Firebirds

The Philadelphia Firebirds played in the North American Hockey League for three years, from 1974-75 to 1976-77. After the NAHL met its demise after the 1976-77 season, the Firebirds continued on in the American Hockey League for two years before moving to Syracuse for one final season before folding. Gregg Pilling coached the Firebirds in each of the team’s three NAHL seasons. The team played out of the Philadelphia Civic Center, the same venue that housed the WHA’s Philadelphia Blazers during their only season in the league.

1974-75

The Firebirds finished their first season in the NAHL (the league’s second season) second overall to the Syracuse Blazers. In the first round of the Lockhart Cup playoffs, the Firebirds fell to the Long Island Cougars 3-1. The Cougars finished the regular season seventh out of eight teams with 20 points less than Philadelphia.

Bob Collyard led the team in goals (42), assists (61) and points (103). He finished fourth in the NAHL for goals, second in assists and tied for third in points. Collyard was a team leader throughout the team’s NAHL history.

The most significant name on the Firebirds roster was goaltender Rejean Lemelin. For Lemelin, it was his first year of a lengthy pro career. Rejean played in the NHL from 1978-79 to 1992-93 with the Atlanta Flames / Calgary Flames and Boston Bruins. Lemelin played between the pipes for each of Philadelphia’s NAHL seasons.

1975-76

Bob Collyard led the Firebirds in goals, assists and points again with 45 goals, 84 assists and 129 points. Collyard finished 8^th in the NAHL for goals, second in assists and fifth in points.

The Firebirds finished second in the newly formed West Division with 90 points. The team finished third overall in the league to the Beauce Jaros, who finished with 110 points.

Philadelphia captured the Lockhart Cup championship with a 4-2 victory over the Jaros in the final series. In the first round, the Firebirds beat the Mohawk Valley Comets 3-1. In the semi-finals, Philadelphia took out rival Johnstown 4-1. An interesting note in that series is that the final game was won by the Firebirds 14-10.

1976-77

In Philadelphia’s final year in the North American Hockey League, Gord Brooks led the team with 65 goals and 124 points. Bob Collyard led the club with 85 assists. Brooks finished second in the NAHL for goals and Collyard took second place is assists. Both finished in the top ten for points with Brooks finishing fourth and Bob finishing seventh.

The Firebirds finished fourth overall in the eight team league. In the playoffs, Philadelphia was knocked off 3-1 by the Erie Blades.

Notably on the roster for the full season with the Firebirds was Don Hay. Hay was in his final season of pro hockey and has since become a junior hockey coaching legend in Canada. He is the current head coach of the Vancouver Giants of the WHL. Don has coached three teams to Memorial Cup championships, two with the Kamloops Blazers and one with Vancouver. He was the first head coach of the Phoenix Coyotes when they were moved from Winnipeg for the 1996-97 season. Hay also spent time as head coach of the Calgary Flames during the 2000-01 NHL season.