Overtime win for Blues in 1972

LEAMINGTON — Werner Schmidtgall scored with a slapshot from the blueline in sudden death overtime to give Otton & Malott Blues a 2-1 victory over the Rotary Club Saturday night at the Leamington Arena.

The win gave the Blues the Leamington District Minor Hockey Association Bantam House League title.

Schmidtgall’s tally at 6:40 of the extra period broke up what observers generally conceded was the best contest of all the final games.

The Otton & Malott Blues won the 1971-72 Bantam championship in Leamington. Back row, from left: Wayne Johns, Jerry Rougoor, Werner Schmidtgall, Doug Seili, Brian Edwards. Middle row: coach Bert Richmond, Mark Neufeld, Doug Fletcher, Jerry Omstead, Scott Wilson, Rob Hiller, coach Jerry Woltz. Front row: Eric Lynn, Mark Williams, Al Harris, Tracy Rekuta, Chris Duncan, Rick Zwiers, Randy Foldesi.

Only a single point had separated the two teams in the regular season standings and they played that way on Saturday.

The two-way action featured the great work of both goaltenders — Tracy Rekuta of the Blues and Joe Wickham for Rotary.

The officials called 13 penalties with eight against the winners, who played much of the third period shorthanded.

The Blues went ahead in the dying seconds of the second period as Jerry Omstead uncorked an Eric Lynn feed and beat Wickham with a slapshot on the powerplay.

Rotary pulled even early in the third when Paul Jeffery’s pass sent Goddard in all alone on Rekuta, and he made no mistake.

That set the stage for Schmidtgall’s heroics in overtime.

Otton & Malott: Rekuta, Omstead, Neufeld, Hillier, Schmidtgall, Lynn, Harris, Duncan, Rougoor, Wilson, Williams, Edwards, Seili, Johns, Fletcher, Foldesi, Zwiers.

Rotary: Wickham, Hutchins, Beaupre, Tuffin, Quick, Harder, Jeffery, Marentette, Gillan, Stockton, Goddard, Reid, Murphy, Nicholson, Masciotra.