On October 17, 1969, the Oakland Seals hosted the Los Angeles Kings at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena, and the game barely had time to settle before chaos struck. Just 42 seconds after the opening faceoff, Kings forward Dennis Hextall was assessed back-to-back minors for hooking and tripping, handing Oakland an early four-minute power play.
Seals veteran Bill Hicke wasted no time making Los Angeles pay. At 1:27 of the first period, he beat Kings goaltender Gerry Desjardins for his first goal of the season, assisted by Bert Marshall and Mike Laughton. Before the Kings could regroup, the same trio stormed back down the ice and scored again just nine seconds later. The rapid-fire goals allowed Hextall to exit the penalty box, but the damage was already done.
Oakland kept the pressure on. At 7:57 of the opening frame, Hicke and Laughton set up Brian Perry to extend the lead to 3-0. The Seals would cruise to a 5-1 victory in one of their most explosive early-game performances of the season.
The two goals in nine seconds stood as a Seals team record and marked Hicke’s only three-point game of the 1969-70 campaign. He finished the year with 15 goals in 69 games. Power-play production was nothing new for Hicke, just two seasons earlier, 12 of his 21 goals had come with the man advantage.
Over the course of his career in the National Hockey League, Hicke appeared in 729 regular season and 42 playoff games with the Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, the Seals, and the Pittsburgh Penguins. He captured two Stanley Cup championships with Montreal, contributing in limited playoff action during the 1958-59 and 1959-60 seasons.
The California Golden Seals: A Tale of White Skates, Red Ink, and One of the NHL's Most Outlandish Teams
Discover the fascinating and unconventional story of the California Golden Seals — one of the NHL’s most memorable and unusual franchises.
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