PHL: 1961-62

Season Summary:

Tension had been building between the PHL and a group of potential team owners in western North America since the late 50s as several wealthy business men out west had been pushing for franchises and again and again the league continued to reject them. Among these men was former Vancouver Bighorns owner Gerald Smythe, who had been trying to have the Bighorns revived since they folded in 1949. Smythe once again presented a proposal to bring his franchise back in the summer of 1961, only to be rejected again by a league still shell-shocked from it's previous experience in Vancouver. Smythe vowed he would make the league regret it's decision. A new batch of potential stars entered the league in 1961, including Don Banks in Detroit, Guy Dupont in Montreal, Will Pratt in Hamilton, and Guy Benoit in Quebec. Benoit joined and already star-studded cast in Quebec as the Nationale chased their third consecutive title. meanwhile, Don Banks produced one of the best rookie seasons ever with 52 goals as he helped lead the Detroit Mustangs to a second place finish. In Montreal, Guy Dupont formed a deadly combination with veteren Pierre Drouin to lift the Royale back into the playoffs.

The playoffs looked very familiar as the both the Quebec Nationale and the Detroit Mustangs once again found themselves in the Lewis Cup Finals for the second straight year. This time it was much closer, the Mustangs were a much stronger team and it showed as they jumped to a 2-0 series lead before Quebec took the next three to put the Mustangs on their heels for game 6. Game 6 would go to triple overtime as Detroit goaltender Bobby Cole made 67 saves before Andy Reid finally scored the winner, sending the series to a 7th game in Quebec. Game 7 would prove to be a heartbreaker for Detroit, as Gilbert Girouix scored with less than a minute to go to give the Nationale a 4-3 victory and their third consecitive Lewis Cup. Quebec became the first team since the 1946 Boston Bulldogs to win a third cup in a row.

Uniform & Logo Changes