Unidentified Maple Leafs Photo, Leafs vs. Canadiens

Here is another unidentified hockey photo, this time involving the Maple Leafs and the Montreal Canadiens. For starters, it's a really cool shot clearly showing Habs great, Jean Beliveau being restrained by an official. The player he's trying to get at, seems to be longtime Maple Leaf #10, George Armstrong. Let's start there. 

Both Beliveau and Armstrong began their careers in the early 1950's and played through 1970/71. The Leafs added numbers to their sweater sleeves for the 1962/63 season and they added a tie-down to the neck for 1958/59, so that narrows it down somewhat. Looking closely at the left of the photo, hovering in the back beyond the full glare of the photographer's flash bulb (notice the photo is taken ON the ice as was common back then), is the easily identified Leaf, Sid Smith. In addition, we see that Smith is wearing the captain "C" which he only did for one season, 1955/56. Now we're getting somewhere.

The Maple Leaf directly behind Beliveau sure looks like Ron Stewart who played 13 years in Toronto during this era. A quick look at the Society for International Hockey Research photo database confirms 
this. 
Ron Stewart
Now the question is, who is the other Leaf at the right side of the photo?
Once again, using the SIHR database, I'm leaning toward Rudy Migay. As well, there are multiple images of him wearing an "A" on his sweater.
Rudy Migay

Now, let's see if we can narrow down the date of the photo. Montreal is wearing white, so it has to be one of seven games the Leafs played at the Forum that season. Since this photo looks like it's taken just after a fight of some kind, let's see if Beliveau and Armstrong had any significant penalties in those games. The only game of those seven in which each guy had more than two PIMs was December 22, 1955. And boy did they make up for lost time. On this night at the Forum each player was given 22 PIMs during one incident in the 3rd period. At the 10:04 mark they each received 2 minutes for High Sticking, a 10 minute Misconduct and a Game Misconduct. In addition, the game sheet shows additional penalties were assessed  in the skirmish to Ron Stewart for Fighting, and Rudy Migay a Misconduct. 
This photo HAS to be the aftermath of this kerfuffle. Incidentally, Montreal went on to win the game 3-1.

According to Rex McLeod of The Globe, "The principal eruption came when Ron Stewart and Tom Johnson started 'ge-stickulating'. George Armstrong and Beliveau did likewise and the remainder of the players gathered in a milling mass to watch. No punches were thrown but the threatening gestures resulted in Beliveau and Armstrong getting sent away...Johnson and Stewart were tagged with majors. Rudy Migay happened by and snarled at the referee and he too was awarded a misconduct."
In the Montreal Gazette, Dink Carroll described, "Jean Beliveau and Armstrong started high-sticking each other, though they were pulled apart by Linesmen Doug Davies and Bill Roberts before they could do any damage. In the meantime, Tom Johnson and Ron Stewart dropped their sticks and started belting each other."





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