1939 Goodall Cup

The 1939 Goodall Cup was the 24th edition of the inter-state series between Victoria and New South Wales. It was won by New South Wales, who claimed the championship for the 19th time in total. They would retain the trophy until 1947.

It was the last time the Goodall Cup was played until 1946.

Series results

• July 29, 1939: New South Wales 2 - Victoria 2
• August 1, 1939: New South Wales 2 - Victoria 2
• August 2, 1939: New South Wales 2 - Victoria 1

After the second match, Victorian team manager E.J. Molony stated he would not agree to Mr. J. Paton refereeing the third and final game of the series. Molony felt Mr. Paton was not strict enough in his officiating in light of the bad-tempered second match. He said that unless a more strident official was appointed, it was unlikely the Victorians would play in the match. Molony suggested Mr. W. Moser, an Austrian international official, as an alternative candidate. He went on to state, "Victoria has not won the cup since 1922, and as we have forced New South Wales to two drawn games, it is only fair that a strict umpire, whom the players know will punish them if they infringe the rules, should be in charge of what we all know will be a hard game." The match wound up being officiated by Moser.

Match reports

1st match

"Victoria forced New South Wales to a draw at two goals each in the opening match of the interstate ice hockey series in competition for the Goodall Cup at the Glaciarium on Saturday night. Both teams put such vigour into play that frequently as many as half a dozen were spreadeagled at a time and several were penalised for doubtful tactics. E Kelly was a fine player for Victoria, and he showed speed in weaving his way through the opposing forwards. Lloyd's judgement and position play made him a continual menace to New South Wales. G Barlock and R Sullivan were adept and fast players, and Carson's work in goal was one of the features of the Victorian play."

-The Argus, Melbourne, July 31, 1939

2nd match

"New South Wales and Victoria played a draw two goals each, in the second interstate ice hockey match at the Glaciarium last night, after one of the most willing and hard-fought matches seen for years. The first match on Saturday was also a two-all draw. At one stage half-way through the second term, tempers got the upper hand and a free fight between the opposing teams appeared likely until the umpire Mr J Paton asserted he would send both teams off and declare the match off. The angry outburst then simmered down, and the match was continued. The incident was the culmination of several brushes between players that had occurred in the opening period and as the match was played with considerable spirit there were exchanges of heavy body checking, charging and frequent falls. The trouble occurred when emerging from a melee in the centre of the rink, a New South Wales and a Victorian player were seen standing facing one another with their sticks raised in threatening attitudes. Other players from both teams rushed towards them as a Victorian skated between the two and heavily bumped the New South Wales player. In a moment, both teams were in a pushing and jostling bunch in the centre of the rink. R Carson the Canadian goalkeeper for Victoria added to the tenseness by rushing from his goal and flinging himself headlong among the players. Mr Paton blew his whistle and after he had spoken to the players the match was continued. There was no score in the opening period but Victoria was slightly the better side in positional play and during the early stages played a finely aggressive game. New South Wales took the initiative towards the end of the period and had Victoria on the defensive. G Balork, E Kelly and A White were conspicuous in leading the Victorian attacks and J Brown and J McLaughlain were always in the thick of the play for New South Wales. Early in the second period, J Wiseman made a spectacular dash past several Victorians and passing to C Larsen enabled him to score the home team's first goal. A few seconds later McLaughlain weaved his way through the Victorian defenders and passing from the wing to Wiseman assisted Wiseman to beat Carson with a beautiful shot and give New South Wales the lead 2-0. Victoria rallied splendidly, and from a number of determined efforts pinned the home team down in its defence zone. Following a run by A Tonkin there was a wild scramble in front of the New South Wales goal and R Sullivan dived on the puck as it lay away from the spreadeagled players and sent it into the loose net for the first goal for Victoria. Toward the end of the term a rush by the Victorian forwards culminated in Sullivan netting a well-judged shot and making the score two all. The third period was scoreless with both teams exerting full pressure. The play was open and the advantage was swiftly transferred up and down the rink... The third and final match of the series will be played at the Glaciarium tomorrow night. The Victorian team immediately after the match last night telephoned its captain H Lloyd who returned to Melbourne by aeroplane yesterday to attend to private business, and secured from him an assurance that he would fly back from Sydney tomorrow to play in the deciding match."

-The Sydney Morning Herald, August 1, 1939

3rd match

"New South Wales beat Victoria by two goals to one in the final interstate ice hockey match at the Glaciarium last night, and retained the Goodall Cup. The match aroused great interest and a record crowd was stirred by a high-class and fast display. The match was refereed by Mr W Moser, an Austrian umpire who said it was his 506th important engagement in that capacity. He controlled it admirably and quickly stifled indications of rough play by promptly sending off offending players. Three suffered short terms of suspension for alleged breaches. Both teams played with considerable vigour, and the pace was fast from the first bell to the last. Each availed itself of every temporary halt to rush relay players on to the rink to relieve those who had been bearing the brunt of the strenuous work. Heavy falls and collisions sent players sprawling on the ice, and there were scintillating rushes by the forwards of both teams that forced rapid exchanges of territorial advantage.

The first period was the only one in which goals were scored. The goalkeepers, W Fraser (New South Wales) and R Carson (Victoria), displayed exceptional skill in warding off shots. There were numerous melees near the goals. Victoria was the first to score, A Massina netting by a determined passing rush. Almost immediately, B Moller sent the puck into the Victorian net for New South Wales with a shot that leapt several feet from the ground as Moller lifted it from in front of the Victorian defence line. It was a remarkable shot that gave Carson no chance. J McLachlain then secured for New South Wales and, after a brilliant run, passed to J Brown who scored in spite of a charge by several waiting players. The second period was featured by spirited play, with the New South Wales passing frequently astray. Several opportunities were missed. Victoria made desperate bids in the last periods but although it carried play to the New South Wales defence zone the efforts were stopped by the New South Wales backs. S Hudson played particularly well for New South Wales and his tenacity was an outstanding feature. McLachlain and Brown gave a characteristic display of clever co-operation. B Moller, J Wiseman and H Miller were always a source of trouble to the Victorians.

Before the match the president of the New South Wales association, Mr H Wadell Hoben, said that the appointment of Mr Moser as umpire was not directly in response to a request by the Victorian manager, Mr E J Molony. Mr Noben said that Mr Moser was the umpire originally appointed when the umpire roster for the series was drawn up, and he appeared last night in order of rotation. The association, he added, had every confidence in its referees."

-The Sydney Morning Herald, August 3, 1939

Winning roster

• New South Wales: Jimmy Brown, William Fraser (goaltender), Bert Harrison, Frank Harvey, Norman Hiort, Sydney Hudson, R. Lincoln, Jim McLauchlain, H. Miller, Jim Wiseman.

References

• The Argus newspaper
• The Sydney Morning Herald newspaper
• Ice Legends Australia

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