Gerry Cheevers’ shutout against the Rangers squares off against Adam Vinatieri’s game-tying ‘Snow Bowl’ field goal in the first round of Boston’s Greatest Sports Moment tournament.
Good goalie play can carry a hockey team to a championship. That’s what happened to the Bruins in 1972. After dropping a one-goal thriller to the New York Rangers at home in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final, the Bruins took their 3-2 series lead south to the other Garden. And in a series that had already seen five games decided by a goal, Game 6, through two periods, appeared to be shaping up to be yet another nail-biter. Bruins great Bobby Orr scored the game’s first goal 11 minutes in as the B’s, behind the flawless play of goalie Gerry Cheevers, took a 1-0 lead into the third. From there, the offense took over. Wayne Cashman poured in his third and fourth goals of the series to up the lead to 3-0, putting the game out of reach for the Rangers and securing the B’s fifth Stanley Cup title. Orr took home MVP honors for the series, but Cheevers’ dominant, shutout performance carried the Bruins to victory in Game 6.
Doing anything outside when it’s snowing is difficult. It’s even harder to play football in the snow. Kicking a 45-yard field goal in the snow? Forget about it, right? Well, not if you’re Adam Vinatieri. Vinatieri made kicking in the snow look easy in a 2002 AFC divisional playoff game against the Oakland Raiders in New England. During a game that would later be referred to as the “Snow Bowl,” or the “Tuck Rule Game,” Vinatieri kicked a 45-yard field goal to tie the game 13-13 with under a minute remaining in the fourth quarter. The game eventually went to overtime, and Vinatieri again saved the Pats with his leg, kicking a 23-yard field goal to win the game. The Patriots would go on to win their first Super Bowl in franchise history later that postseason.
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