1966-67

It was a time of change for the PHL entering the 1966-67 season. Most notably, Ed Norman had retired as league president and had been replaced by Alan Garcia, while two new franchises hit the ice in Winnipeg and Minnesota. Meanwhile, the rival GHL threatened the league more and more seemingly every day. Tommy Cooper had reached the end of his contract with Montreal and was now free to join St. Louis in the rival league. Several other notable players including Chicago goaltender Bruce Wallace, Racers forward Dave Mills, and Nationale defenseman Billy Mulgrew also joined GHL teams. Quebec also took a hit in the expansion draft when Winnipeg selected goaltender Ted McLean. But the death blow for the quickly deteriorating Nationale came in August, when the face of the Quebec dynasty, Gilbert Girouix, signed with a now stacked St. Louis team in the GHL for an unprecedented $500,000. The Giroux signing only confirmed what new president Alan Garcia predicted, after only one year the GHL had become equal to the PHL. As the games began, it became obvious how depleted Quebec's roster had become. The Nationale managed only 23 victories and went on to miss the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. Buffalo also plummeted to the league basement, winning just 6 games all year. As for the expansion teams, Winnipeg finished in the Canadian Division basement, while Minnesota actually looked like a playoff team until Philadelphia won 7 straight in February to pull well ahead of the Lumberjacks. The Boston Bulldogs appeared to have completed their rebuild. Youngsters Johnny Bedford and Jeff Coleman both had breakout years as the 'Dogs took the league regular season title. Montreal, despite the loss of Tommy Cooper, took first place in the Canadian Division. Nova Scotia not only returned to the playoffs, they nearly secured home ice advantage, finishing just six poits Behind Toronto. Perhaps the biggest story of the year was the debut of Chicago's rookie goaltender Bobby Sorel. 19-year-old Sorel set a new mark for shutouts with 18, played in 71 of the Shamrocks' 80 games, and won more games than any rookie goaltender in history, winning 39 of Chicago's 41 victories. 

Chicago fans had reason to be very confident heading into the 1967 playoffs, their hopes were quickly dashed, however, in the form of a 5-game loss to Detroit in the first round. The Nova Scotia Claymores finally won their first-ever playoff series, taking out the Toronto Racers in five, while Ottawa proved to be unexpectedly difficult to beat, taking Montreal to game 7 where the defending champs finally won in a 7-0 rout. The Boston Bulldogs entered the playoffs as the overwhelming favorite to win the Lewis Cup. In a hard-hitting first round series with the Philadelphia redshirts, they appeared to be on their way, taking a 2-0 series lead at home. Few were surprised when the Redshirts -always strong at home- tied the series 2-2 going back to Boston. Boston fans where stunned, however, when Philadelphia won game 5 in Boston 3-0. In game 6, the Redshirts completed the shocking upset with a 5-4 overtime win with sophomore forward David Johnson scoring the winner. The young Redshirts emptied the tank, however, in their Division final series against Detroit, losing to the Mustangs in six games. To determine who would face the Mustangs for the Lewis Cup, the defending champion Montreal Royale took on the Nova Scotia Claymores. The heavily favoured Royale immediately jumped to a 2-0 series lead, winning both games in Montreal. Shifting to Halifax for games 3&4, the Claymores made good use of back to back sellout crowds of 8000 at the Barrington Arena to tie the series 2-2. Nova Scotia would then go on to win two consecutive double overtime games in games 5&6 to complete another huge upset and advance to the Lewis Cup finals for the first time in franchise history. Facing the Mustangs for the Cup, the Claymores never let up, taking a 3-0 series lead in 3 very close games. After Detroit managed a face-saver in game 4, the Claymores handily won game 5 4-1 to claim their first ever Lewis Cup.

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