BERNIE PARENT - SAVE AFTER SAVE

To succeed in the Stanley Cup playoffs a team must have a reliable goalie between the pipes. His ability to gain the confidence of his teammates is crucial. Blunders by a goalie can sink the ship. A hot goalie in the post-season is often referred to as a money-goalie.

On April 16, 1968, Philadelphia Flyers' goalie, Bernie Parent, took possession of the ships' wheel and led the Flyers to a 2-1 double-overtime win against the St. Louis Blues. This was game six of their quarter-final series.

Unwilling to fold under a constant barrage of pucks being fired at him, Parent only surrounded one goal as he faced a total of 64 shots. At the other end, St. Louis goalie Glenn Hall encountered 43 shots. The lone Blues' tally came when Parent wasn't able to stop a backhand shot by Gerry Melnyk at the 18:06 mark of the first period.

In what appeared to be a case of the Flyers not being able to take advantage of Parent's ability to keep them in the game, their offence sputtered through most of the regulation time. It looked like Melnyk's goal would stand as the winner.

With time clicking down on the clock, the Flyers were able to get the equalizer against Glenn Hall. It came about with Parent on the bench for an extra-attacker. Andre Lacroix, with 15 seconds remaining, scored on a scramble in front of Hall, who dove on the ice for the puck. Once Lacroix gained control of the puck, he had an open net and shot it home.

The contest went to a second overtime period when neither team scored in the first twenty minutes of extra-time.

At the 11:18 mark of period two of overtime, Philadelphia forward Don Blackburn settled the matter.

A wire service story wrote that, "Blackburn fooled goalie Glenn Hall with a deflected slider to spoil the night for 13,738 St. Louis fans."

For his part, Blackburn wasn't sure his shot had the accuracy to find the net.

"I didn't think the puck was going to go in when it left my stick," said Blackburn. "It wasn't a good shot, a weirdo that changed direction after hitting a stick. But I won't throw it back."

While much of the attention focused on Blackburn's game-winner, Bernie Parent's performance was just as vital. His save after save following Melnyk's opening goal, brought his team to the point Blackburn could end the game. In the second overtime, Parent turned aside all ten St. Louis shots, while Hall only faced two shots.

The win was huge for Philly as it forced a seventh and deciding game. Also, it marked the first overtime win for the expansion franchise.

In game seven back in Philadelphia, the Blues rebounded with a 3-1 win to eliminate the Flyers.