This Day in MN Hockey History: Feb. 6

1956:  Former NHL right winger Rob Flockhart born in Sicamous, B.C.  Flockhart played in the NHL 1976-77 through 1980-81 with Vancouver and the Minnesota North Stars.

1974:  Montreal’s 21-year-old Michel Larocque faced Minnesota’s 44-year-old Gump Worsley in a game with the third largest age gap between goaltenders in NHL history (22 years, 328 days); the Seals won the game 4-1 in Toronto; the Canadiens won 4-3 in Minnesota.

1977:  Goaltender Gary Smith recorded his 26th (and final) career shutout (and his only one with Minnesota) in the North Stars’ 3-0 win against the Black Hawks at Chicago.

1981:  Former NHL center Andy Hilbert born in Howell, Mich.  Hilbert played in the NHL 2001-02 through 2009-10 with Boston, Chicago, Pittsburgh, the New York Islanders, and the Minnesota Wild.

1983:  NHL center Joe Jensen born in Maple Grove, MN.  Jensen has played in the NHL since 2007-08.

1986:  Neal Broten became the first Minnesota-born player to get a hat trick in a game in his own state and added an assist, and Dino Ciccarelli picked up four assists in the North Stars’ 8-7 win against the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs.

1987:  Capitals’ Dave Christian began a team-record 9 game assist streak as Washington lost 5-2 to the visiting Hartford Whalers.

1988:  Brian MacLellan scored his third (and final) career hat trick (and his only one with Minnesota) and added an assist, and Dino Ciccarelli picked up four assists in the North Stars’ 8-8 tie against the visiting Winnipeg Jets.

1993:  Former North Star, Mike Gartner scored four goals and an assist (including a first period hat trick) to lead the Wales Conference to a 16-6 win over the Campbells – at the NHL All Star Game in Montreal.  Pierre Turgeon had three goals & two assists in the game.  Mike Modano, and Jon Casey represented the last ever Minnesota North Stars players in a All-Star game before relocating to Dallas the following season.

1995:  Calgary Flames defenseman Phil Housley became the 10th defenseman in NHL history to score 600 career NHL assists, in a 5-4 loss to the Winnipeg Jets.

2001:  Jamie McLennan recorded the first-ever assist by a Minnesota goaltender as the Wild scored three goals in the final period for a 4-2 win at Tampa Bay, in the first game in team history where the Wild won when trailing after 2 periods.

2008:  Dustin Byfuglien took 11 shots for the Blackhawks in a 4-1 loss at Edmonton.

2009:  Zach Parise scored to tied a team record with this third straight 30-goal season and added an assist in a 5-1 Devils’ win in Atlanta.

2010:  Rookie Anton Khudobin made 38 saves in his first NHL start to lead the Wild to a 2-1 win over the visiting Philadelphia Flyers.  The victory gave Minnesota a record of 8-0-1 in 9 home games.

2012:  Elk River native, Nate Prosser signed a two-year, one-way contract extension with the Minnesota Wild.

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