This Day in MN Hockey History: Feb. 17

1950:  1st hockey game played at Williams Arena (Later renamed Mariucci Arena) before a crowd of 3,774.  University of Minnesota trounces visiting Michigan State: 12-1.

1957:  Former NHL right winger Archie Henderson born in Calgary, Alta.  Henderson played in the NHL 1980-81 through 1982-83 with Washington, the Minnesota North Stars and Hartford.

1968:  Wayne Connelly scored twice in the North Stars’ 2-2 tie against the Blues in Minnesota. Bill McCreary had a goal and an assist for St. Louis.

1968:  Phoenix (WHL) traded Walt McKechnie to the Minnesota North Stars in exchange for future considerations (Leo Thiffault and Bob Charlebois).

1971:  Minnesota’s Jude Drouin had 3 assists to extend his team-record consecutive game assist streak to 14 games, in the North Stars’ 3-2 win over the visiting California Golden Seals. Drouin scored 21 assists during the 14 game streak.

1973:  Danny Grant scored his 4th career hat trick and added an assist to lead the Minnesota North Stars to a 5-2 win against the Boston Bruins, at the Met Center.

1976:  Former NHL left winger Hnat Domenichelli born in Edmonton, Alta.  Domenichelli played in the NHL 1996-97 through 2002-03 with Hartford, Calgary, Atlanta and the Minnesota Wild.

1977:  Minnesota rookies Glen Sharpley and Roland Eriksson each scored their 20th goals of the season as the North Stars improved to 5-0-1 all-time at home against Washington with a 4-4 tie against the Capitals.

1979:  Rookie Bobby Smith scored twice as the Minnesota North Stars tied 3-3 with Boston at the Met Center.

1983:  Rookie Brian Bellows and Willi Plett each scored twice as the Minnesota North Stars won 6-3 over the visiting Quebec Nordiques.

1986:  Kings’ Bryan Erickson scored two goals, including the winner at 4:36 of overtime and added an assist when Los Angeles won 3-2, at Montreal.

1993:  Ottawa’s Norm Maciver began a team-record 9 game point scoring streak and Mike Peluso became the first player in team history to pick up 250 penalty minutes in one season in the Senators’ 6-4 loss to the Nordiques, at Quebec.

1996:  Dallas Star obtained Darryl Sydor and a 5th round pick in the 1996 Entry Draft (Ryan Christie) from the Los Angeles Kings, in exchange for Shane Churla and Doug Zmolek.

1996:  Ottawa’s Damian Rhodes made 41 saves in a 2-1 overtime loss to the visiting New York Rangers.

1998: The U.S. Women’s Olympic team captures the first ever Gold Medal in Women’s Hockey upon defeating Canada in the Olympic Winter Games.

2004:  Marian Gaborik scored his 6th career hat trick as the Wild tied 4-4 with the Devils at New Jersey.

2008:  Marian Gaborik scored twice, including the game-winning goal with just 4.4 seconds left in overtime and added an assist to lead the Wild to a 5-4 win over the visiting Predators.

2012:  Robbinsdale, MN native Blake Wheeler scored once and picked up two assists as the Jets beat his former team, the visiting Boston Bruins 4-2.

2013:  The inaugural ‘Hockey City Classic’ was played outdoors on this date held in Chicago, Illinois at Soldier Field, home of the NFL’s Chicago Bears.  The day featured a doubleheader with Notre Dame playing Miami of Ohio, and the Minnesota Golden Gophers playing the Wisconsin Badgers.  The Gophers game vs. the Badgers marked the last regular season WCHA matchup for the two schools.

2013:  Minnesota rookie Jason Zucker scored his first career goal and rookie goalie Darcy Kuemper made 29 saves as the Wild rallied for three goals in the second period to overcome a 2-0 deficit for a 3-2 win over the visiting Red Wings.

2014:  Minnesota Wild signed free agent goalie John Curry.

Courtesy of Vintage Minnesota Hockey.com,
your No. 1 source for Vintage Minnesota Hockey History and Hockey Apparel!