In
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...
, the Good Friday Massacre (French: )
[
]
was a second-round playoff match-up during the
1984 Stanley Cup playoffs
The 1984 Stanley Cup playoffs, the playoff tournament of the National Hockey League (NHL) began on April 4, after the conclusion of the 1983–84 NHL season. The playoffs concluded on May 19 with the Edmonton Oilers defeating the four time defe ...
. The game occurred on
Good Friday, April 20, 1984 in
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...
, Quebec, Canada, between the
Quebec Nordiques
The Quebec Nordiques (french: Nordiques de Québec, pronounced in Quebec French, in Canadian English; translated "Quebec City Northmen" or "Northerners") were a professional ice hockey team based in Quebec City. The Nordiques played in the W ...
and the
Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...
. It is notable less for its series-ending finish than its epic brawl between the players, which spanned multiple periods and resulted in 11 ejections and 252 penalty minutes.
It was the most infamous episode of the
Battle of Quebec.
Background
The Montreal Canadiens, five years removed from their dynasty of the 1970s, had regressed in the five years since their then-most-recent championship in 1979. After being eliminated in the second round of the 1980 playoffs by the
Minnesota North Stars
The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota, and the team's colors for ...
, the Canadiens did not win another playoff series for the next three years. In 1981, the Habs suffered an embarrassing three-game sweep against the
Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...
to become the first NHL team to lose a playoff series to a former
World Hockey Association
The World Hockey Association (french: Association mondiale de hockey) was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (NHL) ...
team. The next year their new provincial rivals from the WHA stunned the Canadiens by winning the fifth and deciding game in the first playoff series between the two provincial rivals, while 1983 brought another first round sweep for Montreal at the hands of the
Buffalo Sabres
The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team was established in 1970, along w ...
.
The Quebec Nordiques meanwhile had steadily improved in the five years since joining the NHL as part of the
NHL-WHA merger
The 1979 NHL expansion was the culmination of several years of negotiations between the National Hockey League (NHL) and the World Hockey Association (WHA) that resulted in the WHA and its six surviving franchises folding in return for the owners ...
. Quebec reached the playoffs in only their second NHL season and after that did not post a losing season until 1987. Although they narrowly failed to get past the powerful
Philadelphia Flyers
The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Well ...
in their first NHL playoff series, the following year saw the aforementioned upset against Montreal followed by another upset against the
Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...
. After being swept by the
New York Islanders who were then in the middle of their own championship dynasty, the Nordiques met the Bruins once again the following year, this time losing 3–1 in the first round.
The Canadiens regressed further in 1984, playing around .500 hockey for most of the season. Replacing coach
Bob Berry with the defensively-minded
Jacques Lemaire
Jacques Gerard Lemaire (born September 7, 1945) is a Canadian former ice hockey forward and head coach who was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1984. He spent his entire twelve-year National Hockey League (NHL) playing career with the Mo ...
did not initially improve the club's fortunes, and the team ended up losing its last six regular season games to finish with its first losing record in the expansion era. However, under the relatively easy playoff format of the time it was still good enough to qualify since the Canadiens finished 11 points ahead of the last place
Hartford Whalers
The Hartford Whalers were a professional ice hockey team based for most of its existence in Hartford, Connecticut. The club played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1972 until 1979, and in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1979 to ...
. Quebec meanwhile finished with its best NHL record to that point in its history, although its 94 points was still only good enough for third place behind the Bruins and Sabres. However, both Quebec teams stunned their first round opposition with three game sweeps, setting up an unexpected rematch between them for the second round.
The provincial rivals split the first two games in Quebec as well as the next two in Montreal. The Canadiens shut out the Nordiques 4–0 at the
Colisée de Québec
Colisée de Québec (later known as Colisée Pepsi) is a defunct multi-purpose arena located in Quebec City, Quebec. It was the home of the Quebec Nordiques from 1972 to 1995, during their time in the World Hockey Association and National Hockey ...
to give themselves the chance to eliminate the Nordiques at the Forum.
Game play
After a number of
fights, a
bench-clearing brawl
A bench-clearing brawl is a form of fighting that occurs in sports, most notably baseball and ice hockey, in which most or all players on both teams leave their dugouts, bullpens, or benches, and charge onto the playing area in order to fight on ...
broke out as the siren sounded to end the second period.
Amongst the fourteen altercations at the end of the second period were the Canadiens'
Mario Tremblay
Joseph Daniel Mario Tremblay (born September 2, 1956) is a former professional ice hockey player and former coach in the National Hockey League (NHL). As a player, he was a five-time Stanley Cup winner with the Montreal Canadiens.
He was honou ...
smashing the nose of the Nordiques'
Peter Stastny
Peter may refer to:
People
* List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* Peter (given name)
** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church
* Peter (surname), a su ...
, and Nordiques'
Louis Sleigher knocking Canadiens'
Jean Hamel unconscious by sucker-punching him in the eye.
Bruce Hood, the referee for the game, sent the teams off the ice without officially ending the second period by assigning penalties for the brawl.
After the intermission, with all players from both teams on the ice to warm up for the third period, a second brawl broke out. The public address announcer started reading the penalty summary as the players warmed up, and as players heard the confirmation that they were to be ejected from the game anyway, some felt they "might as well take some guys with (them)" (per
Larry Robinson
Larry Clark Robinson (born June 2, 1951) is a Canadian former ice hockey coach, executive and player. His coaching career includes head coaching positions with the New Jersey Devils (which he held on two occasions), as well as the Los Angeles Ki ...
), as "they had nothing to lose" (per
Guy Carbonneau
Joseph Harry Guy Carbonneau (born March 18, 1960) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, coach and executive in the National Hockey League. He was also the president of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League Chicoutimi Saguenéens. ...
).
In particular, the Canadiens players went after the Nordiques' Louis Sleigher, furious with him for the damage he had inflicted on Jean Hamel in the original brawl.
The second brawl included a fight between brothers
Dale Hunter
Dale Robert Hunter (born July 31, 1960) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and the former head coach of the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League and current co-owner, president, and head coach of the London Knights ...
(Nordiques) and
Mark Hunter (Canadiens).
The officials had to be summoned to the ice to restore order; Bruce Hood was roundly criticized for his handling of the situation.
Hood had failed to "complete" the second period by informing the time keeper and the head coaches as to what penalties had been assigned, including which players (including Sleigher) had been ejected from the game and should not return to the ice for the third period.
[ Hood retired after the playoffs that year, doing so amidst speculation that his retirement occurred at the behest of the ]NHL
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
.
A total of 252 penalty minutes were incurred and 11 players were (belatedly) ejected. Hamel managed to return for training camp in the autumn of 1984, but sustained another eye injury in Montreal's October 4 pre-season game, prompting him to retire.
Aftermath
When the brawl took place, the Canadiens were trailing 1–0. After surrendering one more goal to Quebec just over two minutes into the third period, Montreal scored five consecutive goals, eventually defeating the Nordiques 5–3, thereby winning the series 4 games to 2. However, the Canadiens were defeated in the Prince of Wales Conference Finals by the New York Islanders in six games.
Game summary
:''Number in parenthesis represents the player's total in goals or assists to that point of the playoffs''
Broadcast
It was broadcast on CBC Television and Télévision de Radio-Canada in Canada, and on the USA Network
USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison ...
in the United States.
References
External links
*
Boxscore (p. 10)
{{NHL on USA
1984 Stanley Cup
Stanley Cup playoff games
1984
Events
January
* January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888.
* January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...
1984
Events
January
* January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888.
* January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...
National Hockey League brawls
April 1984 sports events in Canada
1984 in Quebec
Nicknamed sporting events