Tanev, Frycer and Ellis; Last Second Heroes
In the final game of the 2024/25 NHL season, Leaf defender Chris Tanev tied the score with a goal at 19:58 of the 3rd period. This falls one second short of the latest ever tying goal in Maple Leafs history, a distinction held by Miroslav Frycer and Ron Ellis.
In the midst of a horrendous beginning to the season, the Leafs took on the equally awful Vancouver Canucks at Maple Leaf Gardens. Miroslav Frycer equalled the score with one second on the clock, even though the green light had turned on, signifying the end of the game.
"The Canucks thought time had expired, but referee Ron Hoggarth ruled the puck was over the line before the green light flashed to signal the end of the period. The Canucks protested to Hoggarth, but to no avail." described by Toronto Star writer Rick Fraser.
Referee Hoggarth was also playing the part of timekeeper, in his head at least, "I looked at the clock with five seconds left and picked up the count. I start in five, four, three - that's nothing new. All experienced referees do it. I was at two in my countdown when No. 14, what's his name, Frycer?, shot the puck. It hit the goaltender (Frank Caprice) and went in. There's still one second left and I'm pointing. That's the only system you can use in this rink with the automatic timing system. It's humanly impossible for the goal judge to flip the switch in time. The green light comes on, but my count is official."
Canuck coach, Bill LaForge accepted Hoggarth's explanation, "The referee said he kept track of the count in his head and I believe him, I don't think he's a homer." Goalie Caprice wasn't as forgiving, "The puck hit me high on the arm and went in. My guys said before that happened, though, that the green light was on. I don't think it's a referee's job to be a clock."
There was no scoring in the five-minute overtime period, and as was the rule of the day, that's how the score remained. Both the Canucks and Leafs would go on to finish dead last in their respective divisions by a large margin.
The only other time Toronto tied a game in the last second was twenty years prior in 1964, and this incident also had its share of controversy. In New York at Madison Square Garden, the blame from the home team was directed less at the referee and more at the off-ice officials. Rangers President William Jennings was quoted, "This is another example of the National Hockey League officials and the minor officials in this building giving Rangers the works. We can't do anything about the NHL officials - but we are going to get new minor officials for this building." According to Star writer Red Burnett, "Jennings added a number of other things, all unquotable."
The final play unfolded as follows, "Red Kelly fired a shot at goalie Jacques Plante from the face-off in the New York zone. Plante rapped it to the corner and Dave Keon shot it right back. Plante stopped Keon's try but Ellis beat him the rebound and tapped it into the net." Rangers General Manager Emile Francis shared his thoughts, "Time had run out but Williams (timekeeper) was slow reaching for the switch to sound the buzzer and end play. It was a tragic mistake by our own officials. Our own timekeeper messed things up at the finish."
Toronto ended up 4th in the NHL in 1964/65 before losing four games to two to Montreal in the semifinals. New York, as was the custom of the day, finished out of the playoffs.
It's is fascinating to see how the technology around officiating a hockey game has evolved over the decades. From an official at ice-side manually triggering a buzzer to end a period, to a supposedly fool-proof automatic green light marking the end of a period, to a referee merely counting down in his head. Currently, there really is never any controversy around timing issues with the technology of the 21st century. It sdefinitely made for more interesting game back in the day.
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