Maroons Lose Opening Stanley Cup Playoff, 1-0, After 176½ Minutes

H. KILREA STARTS PLAY

Makes Pass Which Ends Battle of Goalers in Record Overtime Tilt at Forum

By MARC T. MCNEIL

The red light flashed back of Maroons' net in the Forum at 2.25 o'clock this morning. Motter "Mud" Bruneteau, Rookie Red Wing right winger, had batted a rolling puck past Lorne Chabot after the veteran Hec Kilrea had made the play for him, and Detroit had jumped into a one game lead over the defending Stanley Cup champions with a 1-0 victory as the best-of-five N.H.L. titular series opened, and all records for prolonged overtime play had been eclipsed.

So evenly matched with the rival section leaders that it took them 176½ minutes to score a goal which came in the 17th minute of the sixth 20-minute overtime period. Nearly three full games were played, and the overtime of 16.30 minutes surpassed the league record of 104.46 minutes, set in Toronto in the spring of 1933 by Bruins and Leafs, by over 11 minutes and the local mark of 68 minutes' extra time, established in 1932 by Rangers and Canadiens, by a wide margin.

It was not a spectacular game by any means. It was more a doggedly-fought defensive tussle, in which caution reigned supreme. Relentless back-checking prevailed throughout, stout work by the rival defencemen played a prominent part every step of the way, and backing it all up were the invincible displays of the goaltenders.

Lorne Chabot had no chance on the shot that beat him, and Normie Smith gave a straight-from-the-shoulder reply to his critics. They wondered if he could stand the playoff pace.

He did in sensational style, handling 90 Maroon shots to 68 levelled at Chabot and emerging from the contest possessor of the longest shutout victory on record. Curiously enough it was his vanquished rival, Chabot, who had held this particular mark before Smith, and Lorne might well have established the new one so even was the battle.

A crowd of over 9,000 saw the game and most of them stayed to the bitter end, every minute watching and waiting for one or other to crack.