NHL Hockey Trivia: Bill Barilko of the Toronto Maple Leafs

Bill Barilko played just five years in the National Hockey League in the late 1940’s and early 1950’s, yet his name remains one of the most recognizable amongst Canadian hockey fans to this day. Barilko went missing in dense Northern Ontario forest following a plane crash. His death came shortly after his overtime goal in game five of the Stanley Cup finals gave Toronto the victory over the Montreal Canadiens.

Test and expand your hockey trivia knowledge of Bill Barilko with the following four trivia questions.

Q. What minor league team did Bill Barilko play for before being called up to the Toronto Maple Leafs?

A. Barilko played 1945-46 and 1946-47 with the Hollywood Wolves of the Pacific Coast Hockey League. Barilko was called away from Hollywood after 47 games in 1946-47. The Wolves finished first in the South Division that season but lost in the play-offs semi-final. It was the last season the Wolves existed. Bill was supposed to be heading to the Pittsburgh Hornets of the American Hockey League when he was called away from Hollywood. He never played in the NHL and instead went directly to the Maple Leafs.

Q. What Montreal Canadiens goaltender was in net when Bill Barilko scored the overtime game winning goal in game five of the 1951 Stanley Cup championships?

A. Gerry McNeil was the unfortunate soul to allow the game and series winning goal by Barilko. It, of course, was the last goal the Bill ever scored. McNeil played in the NHL from 1947-48 to 1956-57, all with the Montreal Canadiens. Gerry was the number one goaltender in Montreal until the end of the 1953-54 season when Jacques Plante took over and McNeil drifted off into obscurity.

Q. How many Stanley Cup winning teams was Bill Barilko a member of?

A. Incredibly, in his five years with the Toronto Maple Leafs, they won the Stanley Cup four times. In 1946-47 and 1950-51 they beat the Montreal Canadiens and in 1947-48 and 1948-49 they beat the Detroit Red Wings. In each series with the Red Wings, Toronto swept the Detroit in four games. Hap Day was the head coach of the Maple Leafs for the first three championships while Joe Primeau was the coach in 1951.

Q. How many all-star games did Bill Barilko play in?

A. In the era when Barilko played in the NHL, the all-star game consisted of the Stanley Cup winning team from the previous spring playing against the best players from the other five teams. Therefore, Barilko played in three all-star games and would have played a fourth in 1951.

3 Calder Cup Championships of the Pittsburgh Hornets

The Pittsburgh Hornets existed in the American Hockey League from 1936-37 to 1955-56 and were revived for a stint between 1961-62 and 1966-67. In the first existence of the team, the Hornets won the Calder Cup as AHL playoff champion on two occasions. As the re-incarnated Hornets, the franchise would win one more Calder Cup championship before being chased out of town by the National Hockey League and the Pittsburgh Penguins.

1951-52

The Hornets won their first Calder Cup in 1951-52. The team finished first overall in the nine team league and first in the five team West Division. Pittsburgh knocked out the Hershey Bears, 4-1 in the opening round of the playoffs. After receiving a bye through the second round, Pittsburgh met the Providence Reds in the finals and prevailed in six games.

The 1951-52 Hornets were coached by Toronto Maple Leafs legend, King Clancy. A future Toronto star defenseman played on the blue line for Pittsburgh. Tim Horton played in all eleven playoff games. The following year, Horton became a regular with the Maple Leafs and would continue on in the National Hockey League until his death during the 1973-74 season. He would make his return to Pittsburgh, playing for the Penguins late in his career. Tim also appeared for the New York Rangers and Buffalo Sabres.

1954-55

Two years later, in 1954-55, the Hornets were crowned Calder Cup champions again. The AHL was reduced to a six team, single division league and Pittsburgh finished first overall. Coached by another big name former Toronto player, Howie Meeker, the Hornets beat the Springfield Indians three games to one in the first round before taking out the Buffalo Bisons 4-2 in the finals.

Leading the way for Pittsburgh in 1954-55 was Willie Marshall. Willie went on to become the AHL all-time leader in games played, goals, assists and points, records that stand today. Since 2003-04, the AHL has honoured the player that finishes the regular season with the most goals with the Willie Marshall Award.

1966-67

The reincarnated version of the Hornets knew going in that 1966-67 would be their final season in Pittsburgh. The Penguins had been granted an NHL franchise and were slated to start, along with five other new teams, in 1967-68. There simply wasn’t room for two pro teams in town. Since re-entering the league in 1961-62, the new-style Hornets had been affiliated with the NHL’s Detroit Red Wings. The 1966-67 team was filled with young talent like Peter Mahovlich, Gary Jarrett and Billy Harris, along with long-time veterans Andy Bathgate and Doug Harvey.

The Hornets finished first overall in the nine team AHL, as well as finishing first in the four team West Division. After beating the Hershey Bears four games to one in the opening round, Pittsburgh received a bye through to the finals. They met Rochester in the Calder Cup finals and swept the Americans in four games.