Henry Boucha Scores His First NHL Goal in His First NHL Game

On February 22, 1972, just ten days after skating for Team USA at the Winter Olympics in Sapporo, Japan, Henry Boucha made his long-awaited NHL debut with the Detroit Red Wings.

Boucha had helped the Americans capture a silver medal at the Olympics, and his transition to the NHL couldn’t have started in more dramatic fashion. Facing the Toronto Maple Leafs at Detroit Olympia, the Red Wings quickly fell behind 4-0. But midway through the second period, Boucha sparked a comeback with his very first NHL goal at 9:47, beating legendary goalie Jacques Plante. Assists went to Mickey Redmond and Bob Wall.

Detroit rallied with four more unanswered goals to complete a thrilling 5-4 win. Although Boucha’s first season saw him record just that lone point in 16 games, he returned in 1972-73 to score 14 goals over 73 games, earning enough attention to place ninth in Calder Trophy voting for rookie of the year.

Boucha’s professional career spanned 247 NHL games from 1971-72 to 1976-77 with the Red Wings, Minnesota North Stars, Kansas City Scouts, and Colorado Rockies. Though injuries prevented him from ever reaching the playoffs, he also spent part of 1975–76 in the WHA with the Minnesota Fighting Saints.

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NHL Hockey Trivia: Henry Boucha

Much more NHL hockey trivia can be found at our website: World's Best Hockey Trivia

1. In which year did Henry Boucha make his NHL debut with the Detroit Red Wings?

1971
1972
1973
1974

2. Which legendary goaltender did Boucha score his first NHL goal against?

Tony Esposito
Jacques Plante
Bernie Parent
Rogie Vachon

3. Boucha was part of Team USA that won a Silver Medal at which Winter Olympics?

Grenoble 1968
Sapporo 1972
Innsbruck 1976
Lake Placid 1980

4. Which of the following teams did Henry Boucha NOT play for in the NHL?

Minnesota North Stars
Kansas City Scouts
New York Rangers
Colorado Rockies

5. In 1975-76, Boucha also played 36 games in the WHA. Which team did he suit up for?

Edmonton Oilers
Winnipeg Jets
Minnesota Fighting Saints
New England Whalers

Lanny McDonald’s Lone Hat Trick With The Colorado Rockies

On February 6, 1981, Lanny McDonald recorded his only hat trick as a member of the Colorado Rockies in a thrilling 6-4 home win against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

McDonald was no stranger to multi-goal games, he tallied 18 career hat tricks, including eight with the Toronto Maple Leafs (one a four-goal outing) and nine with the Calgary Flames. But during his short stay in Denver, fans only got to witness one such performance.

In the first period, McDonald opened the scoring just 5:22 in, beating Pittsburgh’s Nick Ricci with help from Merlin Malinowski. After the Penguins tied it up, McDonald struck again in the second frame with his 24th of the season, assisted by Paul Gagné and WaltMcKechnie, giving Colorado a 3-2 edge.

His third goal sealed the night, coming unassisted into an empty net with just 41 seconds left in the game. Not only did McDonald complete the hat trick, but he also collected two assists on goals by Lucien DeBlois and Mike Gillis, finishing with a five-point night. He registered five of Colorado’s 23 shots, while Rockies goaltender Al Smith turned aside 30 of 34 Pittsburgh attempts for the win.

McDonald’s path to Denver began with a December 29, 1979 trade that sent him and Joel Quenneville to Colorado in exchange for Pat Hickey and Wilf Paiement. His Rockies tenure spanned 142 games over parts of three seasons before he was dealt to Calgary on November 25, 1981, in a trade that saw Don Lever and Bob MacMillan head to Colorado.

About Lanny McDonald

Lanny McDonald played 1,111 regular season and 117 playoff games in the National Hockey League between 1973-74 and 1988-89 with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Colorado Rockies and Calgary Flames. Originally a fourth overall pick by the Maple Leafs at the 1973 NHL Amateur Draft, McDonald was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1992.

NHL Hockey Trivia: Lanny McDonald

Much more NHL hockey trivia can be found at our website: World's Best Hockey Trivia

1. In which year did Lanny McDonald score his only hat trick as a member of the Colorado Rockies?
   1979
   1981
   1983
   
2. Which team did McDonald spend the majority of his NHL career with, including winning a Stanley Cup?
   Toronto Maple Leafs
   Calgary Flames
   Colorado Rockies
   
3. How many career hat tricks did Lanny McDonald record in total?
   12
   18
   22
   
4. What was unique about McDonald’s goal-scoring in the 1982-83 season with Calgary?
   He scored 66 goals, setting a franchise record
   He scored 50 goals in 50 games
   He had more assists than goals for the only time in his career
   
5. In which year was Lanny McDonald inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame?
   1990
   1992
   1995
   

Bonus Round!

NHL Hockey Trivia: Colorado Rockies

1. In what year did the Colorado Rockies first take the ice in the NHL?
   1974
   1976
   1978
   
2. Before moving to Denver, what was the team’s original NHL identity?
   Kansas City Scouts
   Oakland Seals
   Cleveland Barons
   
3. Who was the goaltender most associated with the Rockies, appearing in over 150 games?
   Ron Low
   Chico Resch
   Michel Plasse
   
4. In 1979-80, who coached the Rockies for one memorable season before becoming an NHL legend elsewhere?
   Scotty Bowman
   Don Cherry
   Herb Brooks
   
5. What became of the Colorado Rockies franchise after the 1981-82 season?
   Folded
   Relocated to New Jersey as the Devils
   Merged with the Quebec Nordiques
   

Lanny McDonald's Short Time With The Colorado Rockies

On December 29, 1979, Lanny McDonald was traded from the Toronto Maple Leafs to the Colorado Rockies with Joel Quenneville for Wilf Paiement and Pat Hickey. McDonald hit the ground running (or skating) in Denver, scoring 25 goals in 46 games to finish out the 1979-80 NHL season.

Time In Denver

Lanny was with the Rockies for the full 1980-81 season and 16 games at the start of 1981-82. He scored a total of 66 goals for Colorado over 142 games (all in the regular season as the Rockies did not qualify for the post season). Interestingly, a few years later in 1982-83, McDonald scored that same number of goals in 80 games over one season with the Calgary Flames.

McDonald had just one hat trick over his time with the Rockies. On February 6, 1981, he scored three and added two assists in a 6-4 home win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Nick Ricci was in goal for the Pens for the first two goals and the third was scored into the empty net. Lanny assisted on markers by Lucien DeBlois and Mike Gillis.

In 1980-81, the Rockies won just 22 games. Lanny scored two game winning goals that year. The first was against the Minnesota North Stars in a 4-2 win. It was his only goal of the game but McDonald had a three point night, assisting on goals by Ed Cooper and Walt McKechnie. The second was in a 5-4 win over the Hartford Whalers when he scored at 13:48 of the third period on Mike Veisor, assisted by Mike McEwen and Merlin Malinowski.

Departure From The Rockies

On November 25, 1981, McDonald was traded to the Calgary Flames for Don Lever and Bob MacMillan. He played 16 games for the Rockies prior to the trade, including a three point game at Maple Leafs Gardens against the team that drafted him fourth overall at the 1973 NHL Amateur Draft.

Interestingly, Lanny's final game with the Rockies was against the Calgary Flames. In a 9-2 blowout loss, McDonald had one point, an assist on a Steve Tambellini goal. Two days later, he was playing for the Flames.

Hockey Trivia: NHL Franchise Relocations Of The 1970's, 1980's and 1990's

The 1960’s, 1970’s and 1980’s brought expansion to the National Hockey League. With the rapid growth, poor economy and lack of proper planning, there was quite a bit of movement among franchises in the 1970’s and 1980’s. Test and broaden your hockey knowledge with the following four trivia questions.

Q. The franchise that is now known as the New Jersey Devils came into the NHL in 1974-75 as what team?

A. The Kansas City Scouts are the origin of the New Jersey Devils. The Scouts lasted just two seasons in Kansas City before a short stint in Denver as the Colorado Rockies before moving east to become the Devils.

Over the two years, 1974-75 and 1975-76, the Scouts won a total of 27 of 160 regular season games. In the first year, they were second last in the NHL, ahead of only their expansion partners, the Washington Capitals. In 1975-76, Kansas City once again finished ahead of only the Capitals.

Simon Nolet served as team captain until midway through the second season when he was replaced by Guy Charron. The Scouts drafted Wilf Paiement second overall at the 1974 NHL Amateur Draft. NHL legend Sid Abel had a brief three game stint as the team’s head coach.

Q. In 1976-77, what franchise moved to Cleveland and became the Barons?

A. The California Seals were a product of the first expansion boom in 1967-68. They left California to become the Barons and then merged with the Minnesota North Stars after just two seasons. In both those years, the Barons placed fourth in the Adams Division and did not qualify for the post season.

Despite having an arena that would seat 18,500 in Richfield Coliseum, the Barons averaged around 6,000 fans per game over the two years. At the time, Richfield Coliseum had the largest seating capacity of any National Hockey League venue.

Q. The Calgary Flames were born into the NHL as what team?

A. The Atlanta Flames joined the league in 1972-73 along with the New York Islanders. The deep south wasn’t ready for hockey and the Flames made the move to Calgary for the 1980-81 season. The Flames were a decent team, on the upper end of mediocrity.

Over their eight years in Atlanta, the team reached the post season in six, including their last five. However, they were never able to win a series in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

While in Atlanta, the Flames drafted some good talent in Tom Lysiak, Brad Marsh and Paul Reinhart. The four captains in Atlanta Flames history include Keith McCreary, Pat Quinn, Tom Lysiak and Jean Pronovost.

Q. The franchise currently known as the Dallas Stars originally was located in what northern U.S. city?

A. The Stars franchise was born in the 1967-68 NHL expansion as the Minnesota North Stars. The team uprooted and headed to the Lone Star State for the 1993-94 season. The move was not made due to a poor on-ice product. The North Stars reached the Stanley Cup finals twice in their time in Minnesota. In 1980-81, the team fell to the mighty New York Islanders 4-1 in the finals. In 1990-91, they reached the finals again but fell in six games to Mario Lemieux and the Pittsburgh Penguins.

 

Upsets Abound In 1981-82 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs

The 1981-82 National Hockey League season was the end of an evenly distributed regular season schedule. Teams now played more games against teams in their own division than the other teams in the league. The Colorado Rockies were in their last season in Denver. The following season, the franchise relocated to East Rutherford, New Jersey to become the present day New Jersey Devils. It was also the year that the record for most goals in a single season was set at an unbeatable level with Wayne Gretzky of the Edmonton Oilers scoring 92.

1981-82 was also a year of playoff upsets. The New York Islanders were looking for their third Stanley Cup championship in a row. The Edmonton Oilers, led by Wayne Gretzky, were assured to challenge the Islanders for the ultimate prize. At least, that’s the way it should have played out.

Four of the eight first round matchups were upsets. The Quebec Nordiques ousted their provincial rivals, the Montreal Canadiens, three games to two. The Canadiens finished the regular season with 109 points and were first in the Adams Division. Quebec finished with 82 points and in fourth place in the Adams. That 27 point differential was wiped out in five short games.

In the Norris Division Semi-finals, the fourth place Chicago Blackhawks took out the first place Minnesota North Stars three games to one. Minnesota finished the regular season twenty-two points ahead of the Blackhawks with 94 to Chicago’s 72.

The other Norris Division Semi also ended with the underdog on top. The third place St. Louis Blues beat out the second place Winnipeg Jets in four games. This upset was not quite as dramatic as the Blues finished just eight points behind the Jets in the regular season.

The Edmonton Oilers expected run to a Stanley Cup championship ended prematurely against the Los Angeles Kings in the Smythe Division Semi-finals. The Kings finished the season winning just 24 games while losing 41 and tying 15 for just 63 points. The Oilers finished second overall to only the New York Islanders with a total of 111 points. The Kings took the series in five games. Their run would come to a halt in the next round, however, when they bowed out to eventual Stanley Cup finalist, the Vancouver Canucks.

The upsets continued in the following round. In the Adams Division final, fourth place Quebec beat out the second place Boston Bruins in seven games. In the Smythe Division, fourth place Chicago defeated third place St. Louis in six.

The magic would end for the Quebec Nordiques in the conference finals when they came up against the New York Islanders. The Islanders easily swept the Nordiques in four games. It would also come to an end for the Blackhawks as Chicago lost out to the Vancouver Canucks in five games.

Although Vancouver was always the top seed in each series until the finals when they lost out to the Islanders in four games, their run to the finals should be seen as an upset of sorts. Vancouver finished the season with a weak record of 30 wins, 33 losses and 17 ties. The only reason they ranked high is because they were in the weakest conference. They were seeded second in the Smythe and fourth in the conference. Their point total would have placed them eighth in the other conference.

The Oilers licked their wounds and came back strong the following season. The Islanders won their fourth consecutive Stanley Cup in 1982-83, the last for the franchise, but the Oilers would make it to the finals against New York this time. The following season, the Oilers won the Stanley Cup and would win it again in three of next four seasons. One dynasty had replaced another.

 

Hockey Trivia: 1979 NHL Entry Draft

The 1979 NHL Entry Draft had one of the best first rounds ever. All 21 players selected in the first round went on to careers in the NHL in some degree. The least regular season NHL games any of the first round picks went on to play was 238 (Ray Allison – 18^th overall by the Hartford Whalers).

Test and expand your hockey trivia knowledge of the 1979 NHL Entry Draft with the following four trivia questions.

Q. Who was the first overall pick in the 1979 NHL Entry Draft?

A. The Colorado Rockies chose Rob Ramage as the first overall pick. Ramage was drafted from the Birmingham Bulls of the World Hockey Association, though he played his junior hockey with the London Knights of the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League. Ramage played in the NHL from 1979-80 to 1993-94 with the Rockies, St. Louis Blues, Calgary Flames, Toronto Maple Leafs, Minnesota North Stars, Tampa Bay Lightning, Montreal Canadiens and Philadelphia Flyers.

Q. What player was the only one to be drafted in the first round of the 1979 NHL Entry Draft from the U.S. University system?

A. Mike Ramsey was selected eleventh overall by the Buffalo Sabres. Ramsey previously played for the University of Minnesota. Mike played over 1,000 career NHL games from 1979-80 to 1996-97 with the Sabres, Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings.

Q. What Hockey Hall of Fame member who played 1756 regular season games in the NHL was not selected until the third round of the 1979 NHL Entry Draft?

A. Mark Messier was selected 48^th overall by the Edmonton Oilers after a season with the Cincinnati Stingers of the WHA. Messier scored 694 regular season goals during his NHL career and contributed 1,887 points with the Oilers, New York Rangers and Vancouver Canucks. Mark was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2007.

Mark’s point total places him second all-time in National Hockey League history. He sits just ahead of Gordie Howe but nearly 1,000 points behind Wayne Gretzky. Messier was just recently pushed down to eighth overall for goals scored by Jaromir Jagr. His 1,756 regular season games puts Mark just eleven games behind Howe for the most all-time.

Q. Who was the first European selected in the 1979 NHL Entry Draft?

A. The first round of the 1979 Draft featured players from North America only. In the second round, the New York Islanders selected Tomas Jonsson 25^th overall. Jonsson, from Sweden, played 552 NHL regular season games from 1981-82 to 1988-89 before returning to Sweden to play nine years for Leksands in the Swedish Elite League. Two other Swedes were selected in that second round, Pelle Lindbergh by the Philadelphia Flyers and Mats Naslund by the Montreal Canadiens.