Dale Hawerchuk’s Four-Point Night Not Enough Against the Mighty Oilers

On January 4, 1985, the Winnipeg Jets rolled into Edmonton’s Northlands Coliseum for what turned into one of the most memorable regular season games of the year, at least for Dale Hawerchuk.

By the early minutes of the third period, Hawerchuk had almost single-handedly lifted Winnipeg to a 4-3 lead, scoring three of the team’s goals and setting up another by Perry Turnbull. Unfortunately for the Jets, this was 1985 Edmonton, the era of Gretzky, Kurri, Coffey, and constant comebacks. The Oilers roared back with four unanswered goals to win 7-4.

Hawerchuk was unstoppable early, scoring his 22nd and 23rd of the 1984-85 season in the opening frame, both assisted by Paul MacLean. After two periods, it was literally Hawerchuk 3, Oilers 3. When he netted his 24th goal early in the third, Winnipeg briefly believed they could steal one from the defending Stanley Cup champs.

The Oilers’ offense, however, had other plans. Wayne Gretzky posted three quiet assists, while Jari Kurri and Jaroslav Pouzar each scored twice. Edmonton outshot Winnipeg 42-25, keeping goaltender Andy Moog largely untested while bombarding Brian Hayward at the other end.

For Dale Hawerchuk, that 1984-85 campaign would become his finest. He hit the 50-goal mark for the only time in his career and racked up 130 points, finishing third in NHL scoring, behind only Mario Lemieux and Wayne Gretzky’s unreal 208-point season.

About Dale Hawerchuk 

Dale Hawerchuk played 1,188 regular season and 97 playoff games in the National Hockey League between 1981-82 and 1996-97 with the Winnipeg Jets, Buffalo Sabres, St. Louis Blues and Philadelphia Flyers. He was the first overall pick by the Jets at the 1981 NHL Entry Draft. In 2001, Hawerchuk was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

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NHL Hockey Trivia: Dale Hawerchuk

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

1. In what year did Dale Hawerchuk win the Calder Memorial Trophy as NHL Rookie of the Year?

1980-81
1981-82
1982-83
1983-84

2. Which team selected Dale Hawerchuk first overall in the 1981 NHL Entry Draft?

Winnipeg Jets
Quebec Nordiques
Buffalo Sabres
Toronto Maple Leafs

3. Hawerchuk reached the 100-point plateau several times in his career. How many seasons did he record at least 100 points?

3
6
4
5

4. Dale Hawerchuk was traded to the Buffalo Sabres in a blockbuster deal at the 1990 NHL Draft. Which future Hall of Famer was part of the trade going to Winnipeg?

Phil Housley
Dave Andreychuk
Pat LaFontaine
Mike Ramsey

5. Before joining the NHL, Hawerchuk starred in junior hockey with which OHL team?

Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds
Cornwall Royals
Peterborough Petes
Kitchener Rangers

3 Memorial Cup Championships Of The Cornwall Royals

The Sarnia Sting have been members of the Ontario Hockey League since 1994-95. Before that, the franchise was known as the Newmarket Saints. Even before that, there was the Cornwall Royals. The Royals were in the OHL from 1981-82 but before that, they played in the QMJHL since its inception in 1969-70.

The Memorial Cup is the ultimate prize in Canadian junior hockey, pitting the best teams from the QMJHL, OHL and WHL to determine the best team in the country. The Cornwall Royals won the Memorial Cup three times as a team in the QMJHL.

In 1971-72, just their third season, the Royals finished first overall in the ten team QMJHL, ten points ahead of the next competitor, the Drummondville Rangers. Cornwall powered past the Verdun Maple Leafs, Shawinigan Bruins and Quebec Remparts to win the President’s Cup.

The 1972 Memorial Cup was held in Ottawa, Ontario and featured the Peterborough Petes and Edmonton Oil Kings, along with the Royals. Cornwall met Peterborough in the final game, winning 2-1 to become Memorial Cup champions for the first time. Cornwall goaltender Richard Brodeur was named tournament MVP, earning the Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy.

Cornwall was led by several players that went on to play in the National Hockey League, including Bob Murray, Blair MacDonald, John Wensink and Al Sims. The team was coached by Orval Tessier. Orval would lead the New Brunswick Hawks to a Calder Cup victory in the American Hockey League in 1981-82. The following season, as coach of the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks, Tessier was honoured with the Jack Adams Award as the league’s coach of the year.

In 1979-80, the Royals finished first in the Lebel Division and second overall, behind only the Sherbrooke Castors. A kid named Dale Hawerchuk played for the Royals and was named rookie of the year. Hawerchuk would go on to have a Hockey Hall of Fame worthy NHL career. Cornwall took out the Shawinigan Cataractes, Chicoutimi Sagueneens and Sherbrooke to capture the President’s Cup.

The 1980 Memorial Cup was jointly held in Brandon, Manitoba and Regina, Saskatchewan. Once again, the Peterborough Petes were the OHL representative with the Regina Pats representing the WHL. Recovering from an 11-2 loss to Regina in the round robin portion of the tournament, Cornwall recovered and met Peterborough in the final game and won 3-2 in overtime. Dave Ezard of the Royals was the Stafford Smythe recipient. Besides Dale Hawerchuk, the team was led by future NHLers Scott Arniel, Marc Crawford and Dan Daoust.

The following season, 1980-81, Cornwall finished first overall in the QMJHL. Hawerchuk was the league’s scoring leader with 81 goals and 183 points. The Royals beat the Quebec Remparts, Sherbrooke Castors and Trois Rivieres Draveurs to earn the President’s Cup.

The 1981 Memorial Cup was held in Windsor, Ontario. Joining Cornwall were the Kitchener Rangers and Victoria Cougars. The Royals easily handled the Rangers in the final game by a score of 8-2 to capture their third and final Memorial Cup. Dale Hawerchuk was the Stafford Smythe Trophy winner. The team was supported by mostly the same cast as the year before with Dan Daoust gone but Doug Gilmour in.

1980-81 was the final year in the QMJHL for the Royals. The team shifted to the OHL for 1981-82. Since, the franchise has yet to capture a Robertson Cup as the playoff champion in the Ontario Hockey League. Subsequently, the team has never returned to the Memorial Cup tournament.