The Stingers MacNeil scored the first goal of the
game at 4:11. Larose and Campbell were in on the assist. Cincinnati followed up ten
minutes later with a goal by Mike Pelyk to put the Stingers up by two goals. The Cowboys
answered when Dick Sentes put one past Paul Hoganson at 17:56.
|
© Courtesy of Cincinnati Public Library. |
Jacques Locas takes a whack at the puck
while Cowboys goalie Ed Humphreys tried to grab it. |
The second period turned out to be all
Calgary. The Cowboys scored three straight goals in the period. The first came from Ron
Chipperfield and the second and third coming from Bob Lieter. Terry Slater would say
"We went to sleep. We started playing like children, giving goals away. Our club was
tired after three straight games, but you can't use that as an excuse."
So for the third period, Slater decided to shake things
up. He called upon Dale Smedsmo who had a knack for stirring things up when the club
played lackluster. Smedsmo is all about hitting and antagonizing people. What follows is
the hoe-hum crowd starts to get excited. Smedsmo always gets a great ovation from
Cincinnati fans when he enters a game because of his play. And this performance would be
no different.
Smedsmo would be inserted on the same line with
brothers Dennis and Gene Sobchuk. Both brothers came through in the final period, each
scoring a goal to tie the game up. Dennis's goal came after he slapped in a rebound when a
shot by Smedsmo was deflected. It was Sob's 20th goal of the season. Gene Sobchuk tied the
game up shortly after Smedsmo and and Calgary's Steve Hull were penalized for spearing.
The third period ended in a tie, sending the game into overtime.
In overtime, the Stingers came out on top. Smedsmo was
posted right in front of the Cowboys net and he proceeded to knock in the puck after a
rebound from a shot taken by Dennis Sobchuk. Fans were so excited that they started
littering the ice with beer cups and began chanting "Smedsmo-Smedsmo"!
The chants were so loud that Slater could hear them in his office. The Stingers won their
first overtime game played in Cincinnati. After the game Smedsmo would state "What a
feeling. I've never had anything like that happen." |
