Steve Buzinski
Encyclopedia
Steven Rudolph Buzinski was a Canadian
professional ice hockey
goaltender
who briefly played for the New York Rangers
in the National Hockey League
in 1942.
, Saskatchewan
, Buzinski was brought to Swift Current, Saskatchewan
in 1938 to play goal for the senior league Swift Current Indians
where they competed for Allan Cup
berths in the 1940s, winning the western Canadian senior championship in 1940 and 1941, and making it to the regional finals in 1942.
Ravaged by wartime enlistments
- the Rangers would, during the 1943 season, field two 17-year-olds at various points, along with several other teenagers and minor leaguers - New York's key loss entering into the season was the enlistment of regular goaltender Sugar Jim Henry. To replace him, Rangers' manager Lester Patrick
hoped to obtain the services of minor-leaguer Omer Kelly, but he was fixed in a wartime manufacturing job in Baltimore. Buzinski was invited to try out for the team in training camp, and did well enough to be named the starter going into the regular season.
Behind a notably weak Rangers lineup which had only Ott Heller from its previous lineup on defense, and which spent most of the season in last place, Buzinski fared poorly, allowing 55 goals in his nine games as the team's starting goaltender. He provoked several colorful anecdotes, among which was in making his first save in a game, to the glove side, and telling Heller "Nothing like it, Ott, just like picking apples off a tree" before going on to surrender ten goals in that match.
While his worst record came in the season's first four games - in which he allowed 33 goals, including a 10-4 loss to the Montreal Canadiens
on November 8, otherwise notable for surrendering Maurice Richard
's first NHL goal, and a 12-5 loss to Detroit where Red Wings
star Carl Liscombe
set the then-NHL record for points in a game with 7 - after an 8-6 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs
on November 28, Rangers' management had had enough. Replaced with Jimmy Franks, Buzinski was sent to the Rangers' AHL
New Haven Eagles
farm team on December 3 to practice with the club, with coach Frank Boucher
saying, "If they think enough of him, he will get a chance to show what he can do in a regular game." Buzinski subsequently enlisted, never playing another professional game, and after the war returned to the Swift Current Indians senior team, where he played until retiring from organized hockey in 1953.
eliminated them 11 days later as part of wartime cutbacks - until they were restored in 1983.
In civilian life, Buzinski worked for 41 years as a plant breeder for Agriculture Canada during and after his hockey career. The nickname "The Puck Goes Inski" is associated with Buzinski, but there are no contemporaneous uses of the moniker, which appears to have been coined by hockey writer Stan Fischler
sometime in the 1970s.
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 briefly played for the New York Rangers
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the borough of Manhattan in New York, New York, USA. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Playing their home games at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers are one of the...
in the 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...
in 1942.
Playing career
Born in DunblaneDunblane, Saskatchewan
-External links:*-Footnotes:...
, Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
, Buzinski was brought to Swift Current, Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
in 1938 to play goal for the senior league Swift Current Indians
Swift Current Indians
The Swift Current Indians were a Junior "A" team based out of Swift Current, Saskatchewan. They used to play out of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League.-History:...
where they competed for Allan Cup
Allan Cup
The Allan Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the national senior amateur men’s ice hockey champions of Canada. It has been competed for since 1909. The current champion is the Clarenville Caribous hockey club of Newfoundland and Labrador.-History:...
berths in the 1940s, winning the western Canadian senior championship in 1940 and 1941, and making it to the regional finals in 1942.
Ravaged by wartime enlistments
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
- the Rangers would, during the 1943 season, field two 17-year-olds at various points, along with several other teenagers and minor leaguers - New York's key loss entering into the season was the enlistment of regular goaltender Sugar Jim Henry. To replace him, Rangers' manager Lester Patrick
Lester Patrick
Curtis Lester "The Silver Fox" Patrick born in Drummondville, Quebec, Canada, was a professional ice hockey player and coach associated with the Victoria Aristocrats/Cougars of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association , and the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League...
hoped to obtain the services of minor-leaguer Omer Kelly, but he was fixed in a wartime manufacturing job in Baltimore. Buzinski was invited to try out for the team in training camp, and did well enough to be named the starter going into the regular season.
Behind a notably weak Rangers lineup which had only Ott Heller from its previous lineup on defense, and which spent most of the season in last place, Buzinski fared poorly, allowing 55 goals in his nine games as the team's starting goaltender. He provoked several colorful anecdotes, among which was in making his first save in a game, to the glove side, and telling Heller "Nothing like it, Ott, just like picking apples off a tree" before going on to surrender ten goals in that match.
While his worst record came in the season's first four games - in which he allowed 33 goals, including a 10-4 loss to the Montreal Canadiens
Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is officially known as ...
on November 8, otherwise notable for surrendering Maurice Richard
Maurice Richard
Joseph Henri Maurice "the Rocket" Richard, Sr., was a French-Canadian professional ice hockey player who played for the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League from 1942 to 1960. The "Rocket" was the most prolific goal-scorer of his era, the first to achieve the feat of 50 goals in 50...
's first NHL goal, and a 12-5 loss to Detroit where Red Wings
Detroit Red Wings
The Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League , and are one of the Original Six teams of the NHL, along with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, New York...
star Carl Liscombe
Carl Liscombe
Harold Carlyle Liscombe was a Detroit Red Wings hockey player in the 1940s. He was the last surviving member of Red Wings 1943 Stanley Cup team.-Playing career:...
set the then-NHL record for points in a game with 7 - after an 8-6 loss to 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...
on November 28, Rangers' management had had enough. Replaced with Jimmy Franks, Buzinski was sent to the Rangers' AHL
American Hockey League
The American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League...
New Haven Eagles
New Haven Eagles
The New Haven Eagles were a professional ice hockey team that played in New Haven, Connecticut. The Eagles were one of five inaugural franchises in the Canadian American Hockey League, and a founding member of the American Hockey League.-History:...
farm team on December 3 to practice with the club, with coach Frank Boucher
Frank Boucher
François-Xavier "Raffles" Boucher was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and executive. Boucher played the forward position for the Ottawa Senators and New York Rangers in the National Hockey League and the Vancouver Maroons in the Pacific Coast Hockey Association...
saying, "If they think enough of him, he will get a chance to show what he can do in a regular game." Buzinski subsequently enlisted, never playing another professional game, and after the war returned to the Swift Current Indians senior team, where he played until retiring from organized hockey in 1953.
Retirement
Buzinzki finished his NHL career with a record of 2-6-1 and a 6.10 goals against average. His second and final win, a 5-3 victory over the Chicago Black Hawks on November 10, was noteworthy in that it was the last regular-season overtime game played for over 40 years - league president Frank CalderFrank Calder
-External links:*...
eliminated them 11 days later as part of wartime cutbacks - until they were restored in 1983.
In civilian life, Buzinski worked for 41 years as a plant breeder for Agriculture Canada during and after his hockey career. The nickname "The Puck Goes Inski" is associated with Buzinski, but there are no contemporaneous uses of the moniker, which appears to have been coined by hockey writer Stan Fischler
Stan Fischler
Stan Fischler is a hockey and New York City Subway historian, broadcaster, author and professor.For his hockey knowledge, Fischler promotes himself as “The Hockey Maven” in both local and national circles...
sometime in the 1970s.