PHL: 1960-61

Season Summary:

The Philadelphia Redshirts entered the 1960-61 season with high hopes after reaching the Lewis Cup final the year before. As the season began, however, so did the nightmare in Philly. In October, goaltender David Zimmer broke his leg, ending his season and threatening his career. A month later, both Vince Ward and Richie Moore were sidelined for the remainder of the season as well. The depleted Redshirts finished in 5th place in the American Division and missed the playoffs. In Hamilton, a 47-goal effort from Jeff Lee helped lift the Kings into a playoff spot, while Ottawa proved their successful first year was no fluke, making the playoffs once again. History was made in Detroit on January 26, when goaltender Bobby Cole made his PHL debut. Cole became the first PHL goaltender to wear a facemask. Cole was followed by Hamilton's Fred Lukas a year later. Chicago owner Fred Garfield said that no goaltender would ever wear a mask on his team and even protested to the league that he felt they should be banned.

In the playoffs, the defending champion Nationale made short work of the Hamilton Kings, sweeping them in four straight, while Toronto downed Ottawa in six. South of the border, the Chicago Shamrocks defeated the Boston Bulldogs in six, while the Detroit Mustangs upset the New York Civics in an emotional 7-game series. Both division finals would go to seven games as Quebec would defeat Toronto and Detroit would pull off another upset, this time against Chicago to reach the Lewis Cup final for the first time in their history. Detroit's unexpected magic would run out in the championship round, however, as they managed just one victory against the powerful Quebec club. Quebec won the series in five game to take their second consecutive title.

Standings:

Canadian Division