Season Summary:
A lot of changes took place during the summer of 1962. Several star players anounced their retirement, including Montreal's Pierre Drouin, who retired after 15 seasons, and Quebec's Pete Logan, who had played 17 seasons with the Nationale and the Vancouver Bighorns. Logan retired as the last player to have played for Vancouver. There were also two major trades at the beginning of the season. The Redshirts traded longtime goalie David Zimmer to Buffalo in exchange for rookie goaltender Micheal McArdle in October. But the biggest trade in league history to this point took place in November when Boston dealt superstar defenseman Tommy Cooper to Montreal for winger Rejean Bouchard, goaltender Henri Racine, and $50,000 in cash. The trade paid off in a big way for Montreal, as the 14-year veteran Cooper proved he was still very effective. Along with the addition of Cooper, the Royale debuted another star center that they hoped would take the place of Pierre Drouin, 18 year old Rogier LeFlamme. LeFlamme also made a huge impact in Montreal, becoming the second rookie in PHL history to score 50 goals in a season, leading Montreal to 2nd place. The regular season once again belonged to Quebec. Seemingly unphased by Pete Logan's retirement, the Nationale lost only 7 games all year, taking 1st overall. Despite starting a rebuilding phase, Boston still managed to finish second in the American Division, with the Detroit Mustangs taking first place. Buffalo, spurred by the addition of David Zimmer in net, climbed back into the playoffs. In New York, the Civics began to show their age, dropping out of playoff contention. toward the end of the season, the greatest player in PHL history, 39-year-old Sam "Skippy" Cleveland anounced he would retire at season's end. A sellout crowd turned out at Madison Square Garden on March 20, 1963 to watch as Cleveland played his final game, 24 years after his first. Fittingly, Cleveland scored the overtime winner as the Civics ended their season with a 2-1 win over Philadelphia. Cleveland retired with 863 goals and 1203 points to lead the league all-time in both catagories.
In the playoffs, Ottawa nearly pulled off the upset of the century, taking a 3-2 series lead over Quebec before Quebec stormed back to win the series in 7 games. Quebec did meet their end, however, at the hands of their hated rival, the Montreal Royale, losing that series in 7 games. In the American Division, Detroit once again defeated Philadelphia and Boston, both in seven games, to reach the Lewis Cup finals for the third straight year,this time against Montreal. In the Finals, Montreal jumed to a 3-1 series lead, before the Mustangs won an emotional game 5, coming back from a 3-0 third period defecit. They never looked back after that, winning game 6 to force game 7. in game 7, Don Banks and Andy Reid each scored and Bobby Cole make 31 saves to give Detroit a 2-0 win. After years of futility, the Detroit Mustangs were finally Lewis Cup Champions for the first time.
Standings:
Canadian Division
A lot of changes took place during the summer of 1962. Several star players anounced their retirement, including Montreal's Pierre Drouin, who retired after 15 seasons, and Quebec's Pete Logan, who had played 17 seasons with the Nationale and the Vancouver Bighorns. Logan retired as the last player to have played for Vancouver. There were also two major trades at the beginning of the season. The Redshirts traded longtime goalie David Zimmer to Buffalo in exchange for rookie goaltender Micheal McArdle in October. But the biggest trade in league history to this point took place in November when Boston dealt superstar defenseman Tommy Cooper to Montreal for winger Rejean Bouchard, goaltender Henri Racine, and $50,000 in cash. The trade paid off in a big way for Montreal, as the 14-year veteran Cooper proved he was still very effective. Along with the addition of Cooper, the Royale debuted another star center that they hoped would take the place of Pierre Drouin, 18 year old Rogier LeFlamme. LeFlamme also made a huge impact in Montreal, becoming the second rookie in PHL history to score 50 goals in a season, leading Montreal to 2nd place. The regular season once again belonged to Quebec. Seemingly unphased by Pete Logan's retirement, the Nationale lost only 7 games all year, taking 1st overall. Despite starting a rebuilding phase, Boston still managed to finish second in the American Division, with the Detroit Mustangs taking first place. Buffalo, spurred by the addition of David Zimmer in net, climbed back into the playoffs. In New York, the Civics began to show their age, dropping out of playoff contention. toward the end of the season, the greatest player in PHL history, 39-year-old Sam "Skippy" Cleveland anounced he would retire at season's end. A sellout crowd turned out at Madison Square Garden on March 20, 1963 to watch as Cleveland played his final game, 24 years after his first. Fittingly, Cleveland scored the overtime winner as the Civics ended their season with a 2-1 win over Philadelphia. Cleveland retired with 863 goals and 1203 points to lead the league all-time in both catagories.
In the playoffs, Ottawa nearly pulled off the upset of the century, taking a 3-2 series lead over Quebec before Quebec stormed back to win the series in 7 games. Quebec did meet their end, however, at the hands of their hated rival, the Montreal Royale, losing that series in 7 games. In the American Division, Detroit once again defeated Philadelphia and Boston, both in seven games, to reach the Lewis Cup finals for the third straight year,this time against Montreal. In the Finals, Montreal jumed to a 3-1 series lead, before the Mustangs won an emotional game 5, coming back from a 3-0 third period defecit. They never looked back after that, winning game 6 to force game 7. in game 7, Don Banks and Andy Reid each scored and Bobby Cole make 31 saves to give Detroit a 2-0 win. After years of futility, the Detroit Mustangs were finally Lewis Cup Champions for the first time.
Standings:
Canadian Division
- Quebec
- Montreal
- Toronto
- Ottawa
- Nova Scotia
- Hamilton
American Division
- Detroit
- Boston
- Philadelphia
- Buffalo
- New York
- Chicago
Classic Games:
Playoff Tree:
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