By: Evan Michael | Follow me on Twitter @00EvanMichael
On this day in Bruins history, March 29th, 1929, Boston became “World Champions” of hockey as one of my favorite vintage team pictures above showcases.
And boy did the B’s put on a show in capturing the franchise’s first ever Stanley Cup, beating the New York Rangers on back-to-back nights (one in Boston at their Garden and the other in New York at Madison Square Garden) to win the best-of-three finals.
Harry Oliver scored a goal and added an assist while Tiny Thompson was near-perfect in net for the then Brown N’ Gold B’s who earned that initial “Champions” banner thanks to a 2-1 win in the Cup-clinching game.
The B’s would go on to raise another five banners to the rafters between then and most recently 2011 (as seen above)… with room, but of course, for another at the end of this season!
Two other notable seasons had a March 29th connection to Bruins history. The first in 1972 marked the end of one of the most impressive unbeaten streaks in goal by any B’s netminder.
Gerry Cheevers lost his first game in 33 starts (he was 24-0-8 over the previous 32 games) to the Maple Leafs, ending a multiple-month-long stretch of hockey where he couldn’t lose even when perilously puck handling like a third defenseman in the vintage video below:
And speaking of goalies, 19-year-old “phenom” Bill Ranford made his victorious debut for the B’s on March 29th back in 1986, helping the Bruins beat the Buffalo Sabres 2-1.
Ranford would serve two stints in Boston, sandwiched between an impressive multiple Cup-winning campaign with the Edmonton Oilers, often being lauded for not only his glove work in the crease but also his amazing mask work.
For more articles on B’s history, alumni and celebratory seasons (like hopefully this one will be), check back in with the Black N’ Gold Hockey blog daily!
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