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Uploaded By: PRESIDENT on October 1st, 2017

Joseph Marcel Rejean Paille - Born December 8, 1932 in Shawinigan Falls, Quebec – Died October 7, 2002 in Quebec City, Quebec was a professional ice Hockey goaltender.

Paille played with the Quebec Citadelles from 1949 to 1953, backstopping the team to 2 Memorial Cup appearances.

Paille then played 1 season for the Matane Red Rockets in 1953-54, then the next 2 seasons with the North Bay Trappers and Chicoutimi Sagueneens.

Paille now a pro, started his long American Hockey League / AHL career with the Cleveland Barons in 1956, and he went 34-25-3 with the Barons, backstopping the team to the 1957 Calder Cup championship.

With his NHL rights owned by the New York Rangers, Paille suited up for the Providence Reds in 1957-58 and the Buffalo Bisons in 1958-59, when he played in all 70 games and led the Bisons to a first-place finish.

In 1959 Paille joined the Springfield Indians, where he would cement his place in AHL history as the last line of defense for the league’s greatest dynasty. The Indians won the Calder Cup each year during Paille’s three seasons in Springfield, and they remain the only team ever to secure back-to-back-to-back AHL championships. Paille’s 47 wins in 1960-61 were an AHL record at the time, and he won the Harry “Hap” Holmes Award in 1961 and 1962 for leading the league in goals-against average. Paille went 107-54-8 with 12 shutouts in 169 games with Springfield.

Paille moved on to the Baltimore Clippers, and helped the Clippers reach the playoffs in their inaugural season in 1962-63. He returned to Providence in 1965 and spent seven more seasons with the Reds, returning to the Calder Cup Finals in 1971.

Paille also played in 107 career NHL games, all with the New York Rangers from 1957 to 1965, including the balance of the 1957-58 and 1964-65 seasons. Paille recorded 2 shutouts in his NHL career.

But his NHL career was almost a footnote in his impressive 18 year professional career.

Paille also played 1 season in the Western Hockey League in 1963-64, playing with the Vancouver Canucks and the Denver Invaders.

Paille final 2 seasons of pro Hockey were with the World Hockey Association Philadelphia Blazers in 1972-72, and finished his pro career with Richmond Robins in 1973-74, helping the Robins to a postseason berth.

Paille ranks second in AHL history with 349 wins and tied for fourth with 36 shutouts, and he earned five career postseason AHL All-Star Team nods, including First Team honors in 1959, 1961 and 1962. He holds the AHL records for games played by a goaltender in both the regular season and the playoffs, logging more than 50,000 minutes in an AHL crease. His shutout streak of more than 207 minutes during the 1962 playoffs also remains a league postseason record.

Marcel Paille was inducted into the Springfield Hockey Hall of Fame in 1997.

Marcel Paille was inducted into the American Hockey League Hall of Fame in 2010.

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