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Post by blny on Apr 16, 2016 16:29:00 GMT -5
RIP.
Backup to Plante. Was also a long time scout for the Penguins.
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Post by CentreHice on Apr 16, 2016 17:01:04 GMT -5
RIP. I never had the pleasure of seeing him play. My memories of him are contained in childhood hockey cards when he was the Gumper's backup in the 60s. In the 50s, did NHL teams have a full-time backup on the bench? I see that Hodge was up and down with the Habs in the 50s. The last 12 of his 16 playoff games were played backing up Gump. The first 4 playoff games were in the 1955 playoffs...as a rookie, backing up Plante. |
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Post by blny on Apr 16, 2016 17:07:07 GMT -5
I think in the 50s teams were still carrying just the one goalie a lot of the time.
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Post by CentreHice on Apr 16, 2016 17:18:32 GMT -5
Here's the bio from the link above. Interesting.
While waiting patiently for a chance to play in the NHL on a full time basis, Hodge's minor pro tour took him through the Quebec senior league, the Western Hockey League, the American Hockey League and the Eastern Professional Hockey League. He proved to be a workhorse and a success wherever he strapped on his pads. Four times he was placed on either the First or Second All-Star Teams of the league in which he played. Hodge thought he caught his first major break with a 19 win and four-shutout performance in 30 appearances for the Habs in 1960-61, but it wasn't to be.
Early in 1963-64, he was starting his third consecutive season with the AHL's Quebec Aces when the tide finally turned in his favor. Hodge was called in to replace injured Gump Worsley as the Canadiens' first-string netminder. He stepped in admirably by registering 33 wins and an NHL best eight shutouts. His stellar work was recognized at the conclusion of the season when he was named the winner of the Vezina Trophy and selected to the NHL Second All-Star Team.
Despite being a part-time veteran of the NHL, many wondered if Hodge's success in 1963-64 was a fluke. These reservations proved inaccurate as the plucky netminder put up a 26-16-10 mark in 1964-65. His fine work contributed to the Habs' first Stanley Cup win since 1959-60.
Hodge and Worsley worked superbly together in 1965-66. The shining duo led Montreal to a repeat Stanley Cup performance and shared the Vezina Trophy after recording the stingiest goals-against mark in the NHL. But the very next year things began to unravel for Hodge. He appeared in 37 regular-season games but was the odd man out after young phenomenon Rogie Vachon was called up late in the schedule and played superbly.
Left unprotected by Montreal, Hodge was claimed by the Oakland Seals in the 1967 Expansion Draft. In a matter of months, the veteran backstopper went from an elite defensive club to an inexperienced outfit that guaranteed his exposure to an enormous number of shots. Hodge fought on bravely in 1967-68 with three shutouts and 13 wins in 58 games while sharing the goaltending chores with youngster Gary Smith.
His playing time diminished in 1968-69 and he was demoted to the Vancouver Canucks of the WHL. Hodge played a handful of games the following season before he was claimed by the Vancouver Canucks in the NHL's 1970 Expansion Draft. It seemed that the black cloud of disappointment surrounding his demotion to the WHL two years earlier had a silver lining. Hodge, Dunc Wilson and George Gardner provided the NHL's newest club with solid goaltending, a factor contributing to a respectable 56-point showing for the team.
Hodge retired after his only season in Vancouver. His NHL resume listed a number of individual and team accomplishments along with 24 career shutouts and 152 regular-season victories.
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Apr 16, 2016 18:11:18 GMT -5
... Mr Hodge's last NHL card ...
... 1970-71 O-Pee-Chee card #229 ... he was 38 years old in this card ... RIP ...  |
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Post by Habs_fan_in_LA on Apr 19, 2016 17:09:14 GMT -5
Et Hodge block!
Herd that a few times.
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