Across the Pond
In the 1933-34 season Walter Brown, popular Boston sportsman, brought an all-star team called the Boston (and United States) Rangers across the pond to tour Europe and the British Aisles. They were defending World Champions after ousting the Toronto Nationals at Prague in 1933. By their spectacular performance they became the darlings of hockey crowds from London to Vienna. Starring in goal was none other than netminder Clem Harnedy of Providence. An all-stater at LaSalle and later with the Centerdale Whirlwinds of the Inter-City Amateur Hockey League, Harnedy caught the attention of Brown with his stupendous play in amateur circles. They matched up against the Ottawa Shamrocks of Canada in a series of four meetings winning 1 of 4. At the first meeting of the two teams in front of 12,000 fans at the huge Palais Des Sports in Paris, Harnedy's splendid work saved the team from a more serious defeat than 4-0. They represented the United States in the 1934 World Championships in Milan, Italy beating Germany 5-0 in the semi-finals before losing to the Saskatoon Quakers 2-1 for the championship. Harnedy would go on to play in England the following season for the Richmond Hawks in the English League.
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