Snow? Bah!

[Disgruntled70sHab]

... just a great story ...

[CentreHice]

Great find, Dis! More on the story from a Stubbs Gazette article--Dec. 16, 2013.


It was on Feb. 19, 1972, that he (Cournoyer) and fellow Hall of Famer-to-be Lemaire arrived at the Forum by snowmobile, barely before the start of their game against the Philadelphia Flyers.
“We got a call in the afternoon from Eddy, telling us we’d better come in early because of the storm,” Cournoyer remembered of trainer Eddy Palchak’s summons.
Cournoyer, then living in Baie-d’Urfé, called Lemaire at his home in Beaconsfield and told his teammate he’d pick him up in his four-wheel drive for the ride to the Forum.
“We got to Dorval on the 2&20 (highway) and then everything stopped, completely,” he said.
As would any self-respecting Quebec driver, Cournoyer made a U-turn in the middle of the highway, bouncing across the median to aim west.
He headed back to Lemaire’s home, dropping him off before returning to his own place, both men suiting up head to toe in snowmobile suits to mount the machines they had in their garages.
Strapped aboard were their overnight bags for the Canadiens’ trip later that night to Buffalo, where, even exhausted, they would blank the Sabres 4-0.
All was fine until Lemaire and Cournoyer got to Dorval. The latter’s snowmobile died, so he ditched it on the side of the highway, climbing on behind Lemaire.
Finally churning down Ste-Catherine St. to find only hardy pedestrians and cross-country skiers, the pair pulled up to the Forum’s garage door on de Maisonneuve Blvd., honking for access, then drove inside.
“When we arrived, all the others players were already dressed for the game,” Cournoyer said, laughing. “In our snowmobile suits, we looked like we were from outer space.”
The two astronauts did just fine once the game began. For a crowd of 8,065, less than half the Forum’s capacity, Lemaire opened the scoring and Cournoyer, his eyes swollen from the frigid commute, notched the Canadiens’ second, his 30th of the season, after having assisted on Lemaire’s goal in a 3-1 win.
The Gazette’s Tim Burke catalogued the travel adventures of other Habs.
Marc Tardif hiked 90 minutes from St-Laurent and Bellechasse, having abandoned his car. Jacques Laperrière and Ken Dryden walked for miles. Canadiens shareholder Sam Maislin used a tow truck to round up backup goalie Denis DeJordy and defenceman Guy Lapointe in Beloeil.
Habs coach Scotty Bowman waded through thigh-deep drifts just to get to the Dorval train station. “I was so tired that I reached the point where I thought I wouldn’t make it,” Bowman said. “If I were 10 years older (than his 38), I wouldn’t have.”
At least that 1972 game was played (and Cournoyer, indeed, did get his ditched snowmobile back).

[Willie Dog]

Awesome story... Maybe Todays Prima donnas can learn a thing or 2 about those that paved the way