Former National Hockey League Stanley Cup champion Bill Ezinicki dies at the age of 88
Bill Ezinicki, a former National Hockey League (NHL), who played for Toronto Maple Leafs and won Stanley Cup title three times, has died at the age of 88 on Thursday.
The Winnipeg, Manitoba born player, who became a professional golfer after he got retirement from Hockey, was also a very successful golfer, as he won many titles in Golf as well.
The 5-foot-10, 170 pounder right winger, joined Toronto Maple Leafs in 1944 at the age of 20 and had a good season to start off his career. He played eight games in the first season and won the memorial cup championship in the very first season.
In the second season, he was transferred to Pittsburgh Hornets in the American Hockey League (AHL) for some time and then was brought back to Toronto Maple Leafs after some time.
The 1946-1947 season was a career changing season for him as he jointly top scored for the Maple Leafs with 17 goals, 20 assists and total of 37 points as he helped them to win the Stanley Cup title for the first of the three times. He played a key role
every time Toronto won the Stanley Cup in 1948 and 1949 as well, as they completed the hat-trick of titles.
In 1947-1948 season, Ezinicki scored 11 goals and then scored 13 goals in the 1948-1949 season, which also included 145 minutes in penalty as he helped them become the first ever NHL team to win the Stanley Cup three consecutive times.
In 1949-1950 season his performance was not up to the mark and scored just 10 goals and 22 points and was dropped from the team. He was transferred to Boston Bruins in 1950 season and stayed there for two years. He stayed away from game for two years and
then came back in 1954-1955 season as he played for New York Rangers but retired from the game after that season. In hockey, he is an honoured member of Manitoba Hall of fame.
The NHLer, golfer is a hall of famer in Golf as he won nine major titles from 1957 to 1960 in England, which included four state open titles.
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