This Day in MN Hockey History: Oct. 24

1920:  The U.S. Amateur Hockey League (precursor to AHAUS) was formed, incorporating teams from St. Paul, Boston, Pittsburgh, and Cleveland.  The league lasted just four years but helped establish rinks in Minneapolis, Duluth, Eveleth and New Haven.

1954:  Former NHL defenseman Joe Micheletti born in Hibbing, MN.  Micheletti played in the NHL 1979-80 through 1981-82 with St. Louis and the Colorado Rockies.

1954:  Former NHL defenseman Harold Snepsts born in Edmonton, Alberta.  Snepsts played in the NHL 1974-75 through 1990-91 with Vancouver, the Minnesota North Stars, Detroit and St. Louis, and later served as assistant coach with the Blues.

1971:  Minnesota’s Murray Oliver set a franchise record with five assists, and added a goal and Bob Nevin scored a goal for his 500th career NHL point as the North Stars won 6-3 at Los Angeles.

1981:  Bobby Smith scored a goal and added two assists to lead the Minnesota North Stars to a 6-3 win over the visiting Los Angeles Kings.

1986:  New York Rangers traded Mark Pavelich to the Minnesota North Stars in exchange for future considerations.

1987:  Phil Housley became the all-time leading scorer among Sabres’ defensemen, as Buffalo lost 5-3 to the Penguins at Pittsburgh.

1987:  Scott Bjugstad scored a goal and added two assists to lead the Minnesota North Stars to a 7-4 win over the Maple Leafs at Toronto.

1990:  Minnesota goalie Jon Casey got his 5th career shutout, and Dave Gagner scored twice as the North Stars won 3-0 over the Hartford Whalers.

1991:  Minnesota North Stars’ Brian Propp scored his 400th NHL goal in a 5-2 loss to Philadelphia. Propp became just the 35th player in NHL history to reach 400 goals.

1998:  Jamie Langenbrunner recorded his 100th career NHL point with a power play goal and Dallas started 5-0-0 at home for the first time in team history with a 2-1 win against the visiting San Jose Sharks.

2000:  Antti Laaksonen scored his first goal as a member of the Wild when Minnesota tied 2-2 against the Canadiens at Montreal.

2002:  Andrew Brunette scored twice in the final period to give the Minnesota Wild a 3-2 win over the Blackhawks, in Chicago.

2003:  Alexandre Daigle scored the game-winning goal in his 500th NHL game, as the Wild scored three times in a 7:33 span in the second period, for a 4-3 win over the Panthers at Florida.

2009:  Marek Zidlicky tied a Minnesota team record for defensemen by taking 7 shots and Cal Clutterbuck scored at 1:55 of overtime to give the Wild a 3-2 win over the visiting Carolina Hurricanes.

2014:  In a pre-game on-ice ceremony University of Minnesota Duluth Men’s Hockey team retired Bill Watson’s #14.

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