George Abbott (ice hockey)
Encyclopedia
George Henry Abbott was a Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 professional ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

 goaltender
Goaltender
In ice hockey, the goaltender is the player who defends his team's goal net by stopping shots of the puck from entering his team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring...

 who played in one National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...

 game for the Boston Bruins
Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The team has been in existence since 1924, and is the league's third-oldest team and its oldest in the...

 during the 1943–44 NHL season.

Abbott was the practice goaltender for the Toronto Maple Leafs
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...

 as well as a minister. He played for the Dunnville Mudcats before his career ended during a practice session with the Hamilton Tigers when a deflected puck struck him in the eye. On November 27, 1943, the Maple Leafs were due to play the Boston Bruins
Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The team has been in existence since 1924, and is the league's third-oldest team and its oldest in the...

 where the Bruins' starting goaltender Bert Gardiner
Bert Gardiner
Wilbert Homer Gardiner is a former professional ice hockey player who played 144 games in the National Hockey League. He played with the Montreal Canadiens, Chicago Black Hawks, Boston Bruins, and New York Rangers.-References:...

 suffered from illness and couldn't play. Bruins coach Art Ross
Art Ross
Arthur Howey "Art" Ross was a Canadian ice hockey defenceman and executive from 1905 until 1954. Regarded as one of the best defenders of his era by his peers, he was one of the first to skate with the puck up the ice rather than pass it to a forward...

 borrowed Abbott to play for the night. Toronto went on to win the game 7-3 as Abbott faced 52 shots. He was knocked out for a few minutes by a shot from Babe Pratt
Babe Pratt
Walter "Babe" Pratt was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman/left winger who played for the New York Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs and the Boston Bruins in the National Hockey League.Babe was an important member of two Stanley Cup winning teams, the 1940 Rangers and 1945 Maple Leafs...

.Podnieks, p. 3

Abbott was known as "The Preacher," as he became a Baptist minister after giving up hockey after his injury. He was assigned to the Toronto area during 1943 and the Leafs took him on as a practice goalie.

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