12 Sports Aces, January 1943 — page 26: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

24 12 SPORTS ACES 1 OOO ORONO OLD Be Qe Ota yr 0G oe GeO Ge Qe Ore Bee Gee ee Gee Oe Om G11 0 e Oe oe Ore oh oa Be ote Bus Oe Bre Ore Orne Gee Serafina Gos Berio Oer 6 Sweeney swung into position and it was a two-man rush, Fhe Raider defenseman expertly feint- ed the goalkeep, He snapped the rubber to Sweeney. Sweeney fumbled the pass. Then the goalie pulled a page out of the book. He darted out on the ice, slapped the puck away from Sweeney, That was a break for the Hawks and they swiftly eashed in on it. They found a hole down the right lane and the parade went pouring through. It was Sweeney’s slot they were bombard- ing. Behind him Happy threw body ehecks and hoists all over the ice, But a couple of Hawks finally flattened Happy and the red light smiled on their effort. That was typical of Sweeney’s play during the first period. The Hawks skated rings around him, serambling his defen- sive maneuvers and kicking the fuse out of his stick-handling thrusts. He was flitting and skidding over the ice, avoid- ing bruising contacts and almost instinc- tively protecting his battered side. He saw the glint that jumped in Happy’s eyes and let Angel Toland’s hard sarcasm bite into him without a retort. Sweeney was heading for the respite period when he first heard the check-shy cry that Lew Harrigan had long ago suggested in his column. “Hey, check-shy,” a leather-lunged fan bellowed. “Never mind the figure-skat- ing stuff. Let’s have the dynamite.” There was more of the stuff, but Swee- ney didn’t bat an eye. He went into the locker room and Angel Toland clumped in & moment later. His mouth was a bitter slash in his face. “They’ve finally got you labeled,” An- gel snarled. “You’re check-shy, Sweeney,” Angel laughed harshly. “It’s on your mind, isn’t it? The jinx, I mean. But it’s only the beginning. From here on the wraps are off.” Out on the ice again, Happy Holliday stared at Sweeney, puzzled. “Maybe it’s what happened to Rock that’s got you down, I dunno. But you’ve ~ been playing that catch-me-and-kiss-me game a long time. It ean’t he that yen’re afraid of that jinx stuff. I’ve seen you slug it out with Angel once before. I don’t get it, pal.” That was the boiling point. The sparks flew and bit old wounds inside of Sweeney, and ftred his wall of restraint. Check-shy? The thought was intoxicating. It was hot fiquid burning and pouring through Sweeney’s veins. He suddenly wanted an outlet to forget the awful ache in his heart. He wanted to rip and crash and drown out those hurts. “Jinx?” he snorted. “Okay, Fll show you what I think of Angel and his jinx. Let the ref blow that whistle.” The second period was five minutes old when it happened, The fans were stand- ing, roaring and witnessing the antics of @ one-man riot squad. There was Sweeney, plunging into the fray, unload- ing the dynamite and defying the Hawk backliners. Twice he smashed and blitzed the en- emy out of his patch to make battering assaults on the goal. Onee he scored. The Hawks socked into him, hammered and managed to turn his thrusts aside. But they could only check Sweeney, not stop him, Sweeney was going all-out to the point of recklessness. He did not notice Angel Toland weaving in and out of the various formations, a dark and sanguine look shadowing his face. Angel was a falcon, watching and waiting to swoop down on his prey. WEENEY saw none of that. The Hawk forwards stormed down the boards. Sweeney streaked toward the puck-rag- ger. He fought him, tried to poke-check the rubber away. Other Hawks piled into the scrimmage. The Raiders came and there was a tangle of shirts and a reg- ular Donnybrook melee. The sticks started to fly and cold steel flashed its ominous message. From be- hind, Sweeney felt his legs taken from under him. He swiveled his head, got a glimpse of Ange] Toland. It was then that Sweeney felt the blade of Angel’s stick lash into his sealp. The ref’s whis- tle shrilled. There was a pile-up and a ten-ton weight seemed to bury into Swee- ney’s ribs. Lights kept flaring around Sweeney. ~ COMMGEOOOKS (C@