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Plante Made Hit at Souris

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BY KEN MACPHAIL
The Guardian
January 12, 2008

During Jacques Plante's great years with the Montreal Canadiens, we confess to having built up more than a mild dislike for the man, but to be perfectly honest about it, we'd have to admit that the reason was that he was such a terrific goaltender, and seemed especially adept in games against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

There were a couple of other reasons, but they were more of a personal revolt against the revolution Plante was making in the goaltending trade, for example the mask and his nomadic wanderings about the ice.

We just didn't dig it at all, and It was most infuriating that he was accomplishing so much with his off-beat methods. In reality, bowever, we fear that our disdain was almost 100% due the fact that he was goalie for the Canadiens, arch-rivals of the Leafs for as far back as we can remember, and anybody responsible for holding the Toronlonlans off the score sheet as effectively as be did just as effectually as he did came number one on our hockey hate-list.

In Souris at the Sportsmen's Dimler on Friday night, Plante was the honoured guest, and to say that he made a hit with the upwards of 200 sports fans in attendance, including ourselves, is to put it mildly to say the least. An excellent speaker, confident but displaying much humility, Jacques performed as featured guest every bit as brilliantly as he did when guardmg Montreal's goal in those record-breaking years, even though he may have been a bIt dlsmayed to find himself in front of such a partisan Maple Leaf audience.

Jacques answered a number of questions from the floor, and we present here a few whlch we think of interest to hockev fans here on the Island. One man asked who had the hardest shot in the N.H.L., and practically before the words were out of his mouth, Plante answered, "Bobby Hull." He said, "There's no doubt lIt all about this. You can't see it coming in most cases, and about the goalies do Is back off and hope for the best."

Neither did he hesitate in naming Maurice "Rocket" Richard as the most colourful player he's ever seen, and though he called Stan Mikita the top centreman now in the league, he added that Jean Belliveau was certainly the better man in his day. "Mikita's in a class by himself at the moment," Plante said, "but when Beliveau was really in his prime, he was the best there ever was."


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Waldron H. Leard

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