Rick Martin Reaches 50 Goals In Style With Historic Hat Trick For Buffalo Sabres

The Buffalo Sabres closed out the 1973-74 NHL season with a memorable night at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium, and Rick Martin made sure the home fans had something special to celebrate. Already one of the league's most dangerous scorers, Martin entered the final game of the season sitting on 49 goals and needing just one more to become the first player in franchise history to reach the coveted 50-goal mark.

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Highlights

• Rick Martin entered the final game of 1973-74 with 49 goals.

• Became the first 50-goal scorer in Buffalo Sabres history.

• Scored goal number 50 against Wayne Stephenson of the St. Louis Blues.

• Recorded a hat trick in Buffalo's season finale.

• Finished the season with 52 goals.

• Scored the game-winning goal in a 5-2 Sabres victory.

• Don Luce assisted on both Martin's 50th and 51st goals.

• Matched his 52-goal total again in 1974-75 despite missing 12 games.   

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Facing the St. Louis Blues on April 7, 1974, Martin wasted little time making history. At 8:39 of the opening period, he beat Blues goaltender Wayne Stephenson for his 50th goal of the season. Paul Terbenche and Don Luce picked up the assists on the landmark tally, and the Buffalo crowd erupted as Martin etched his name into the Sabres record book.

The game remained firmly under Buffalo's control, and Martin added to his historic evening early in the third period. Just 2:47 into the final frame, he scored again, collecting his 51st goal of the year. Assisted by Luce and Mike Robitaille, the goal gave the Sabres a 3-0 lead and ultimately stood as the game-winning goal in Buffalo's 5-2 victory.

With the outcome already decided, Martin still had one more highlight left. With only 47 seconds remaining in regulation, he completed the hat trick by scoring his 52nd goal of the season. Norm Gratton and Gilbert Perreault earned the assists as Martin put an exclamation point on one of the greatest individual scoring performances in early Sabres history.

The hat trick not only made Martin the first 50-goal scorer in franchise history, but it also established 52 goals as the highest single-season total by a Sabres player at the time. Remarkably, he matched that total the following season, scoring another 52 goals in 1974-75 despite missing 12 games. For Buffalo fans, Martin's unforgettable finale to the 1973-74 season remains one of the defining moments of the franchise's early years.

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Don Luce’s Only NHL Hat Trick Gives the French Connection the Night Off

When the Buffalo Sabres visited the Capital Centre on December 22, 1974, all eyes were on the famed French Connection. Washington’s expansion Capitals keyed in on slowing Gilbert Perreault, René Robert, and Rick Martin. For the most part, they succeeded. What they didn’t account for was the damage done by Buffalo’s secondary line.

With Washington desperate for just its fourth win in the first 35 games of its inaugural season, and the Sabres rolling with only six losses in their first 33 contests of 1974-75, holding Buffalo to four goals was an achievement in itself. But one Sabre made those four count. Don Luce.

Luce, skating alongside Craig Ramsay and Bill Hajt, recorded the only hat trick of his NHL career in a dominant two-period stretch. He first contributed with an assist on the game-winning goal, a shorthanded marker by Ramsay at 19:53 of the opening period. Then came the second.

At 9:59, Luce opened the scoring himself, netting his 17th goal of the season at even strength, the only even-strength tally of the game. With Gilbert Perreault in the penalty box later in the period, Luce struck again, this time shorthanded at 13:25, beating Ron Low with help from Ramsay.

Just 23 seconds later, with Perreault still serving his minor, Luce completed the hat trick. This time, Bill Hajt picked up the assist as Luce capped off a rare offensive outburst. That would be all the scoring on the night. Gary Bromley stopped all 27 shots he faced to earn the shutout, while Low made 37 saves in a losing effort for Washington.

The performance came during a career season for Luce, who finished 1974-75 with 33 goals and 43 assists for 76 points. He added 13 more points in 16 playoff games as the Sabres marched to the Stanley Cup Final before falling to the Philadelphia Flyers.

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About Don Luce

Don Luce played 894 regular season and 71 playoff games in the National Hockey League between 1969-70 and 1981-82 with the New York Rangers, Detroit Red Wings, Buffalo Sabres, Los Angeles Kings and Toronto Maple Leafs. Luce had 20+ goals in six seasons, putting up a career best 33 in 1974-75 with Buffalo.

Don Luce NHL Career Stats

Regular Season

Playoffs

NHL Retirees Who Coached In 1983-84 ACHL

1983-84 was the third of six season that the Atlantic Coast Hockey League existed. The teams each played a 72 game regular season schedule. The Erie Golden Blades defeated the Carolina Thunderbirds to win the championship. The players in the six team league were forgettable but four of the teams were coached by quite recognizable names.

Rick Dudley – Carolina Thunderbirds

Rick Dudley coached the Carolina Thunderbirds for four years from 1982-83. The 1983-84 Thunderbirds finished first overall and had the most goals for and least goals against. In the playoffs, Carolina beat the Mohawk Valley Stars in the first round before their defeat at the hands of the Golden Blades in the finals.

Dudley played pro from 1969-70 to 1981-82. He played 309 regular season games in the National Hockey League with the Buffalo Sabres and Winnipeg Jets. He played in the World Hockey Association from 1975-76 to 1978-79, appearing in 270 games with the Cincinnati Stingers.

Rick was head coach of the Buffalo Sabres from 1989-90 to midway through the 1991-92 season. He was also interim head coach of the Florida Panthers for 40 games in 2003-04. In 1987-88, he was awarded the Commissioner’s Trophy in the IHL as coach of the year, leading the Flint Spirits to the finals.

Rick Ley – Mohawk Valley Stars

Rick Ley coached the Mohawk Valley Stars to a fourth overall finish in his only year of coaching in the ACHL. As mentioned earlier, the Stars fell to the Carolina Thunderbirds in the opening round of the playoffs.

Ley was a third round pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1966 and played pro hockey from 1968-69 to 1980-81. In the NHL, Rick played in 310 regular season games with the Maple Leafs and Hartford Whalers. He was a member of the New England Whalers in the WHA for the duration of the league, 1972-73 to 1978-79, playing in 478 regular season games.

Rick coached pro hockey from 1981-82 to 2005-06. In the NHL, he was head coach of the Whalers for the 1989-90 and 1990-91 seasons and head coach of the Vancouver Canucks for 1994-95 and most of 1995-96.

Ley’s greatest coaching success came in the IHL with the Muskegon Lumberjacks. He took the team to the finals for three straight years from 1984-85 to 1986-87, winning in 1985-86. In 1984-85, he was awarded the Commissioner’s Trophy as coach of the year.

Don Luce – Pineridge Bucks

Don Luce coached part of the 1983-84 season with the Pineridge Bucks. The Bucks were a unique team that played out of Spruce Pine, North Carolina, a town of just 2,500 but with an arena that sat 4,000.

Luce was a third round pick of the New York Rangers in 1966. He played pro from 1968-69 to 1981-82 with the Rangers, Detroit Red Wings, Buffalo Sabres, Los Angeles Kings and Toronto Maple Leafs, appearing in 894 regular season games. Luce would only stand behind the bench in one other season, 1986-87 as the assistant coach for the Buffalo Sabres.

Dave Hanson – Birmingham Bulls

Dave Hanson, better known as Jack Hanson from the movie Slap Shot, has the distinction of winning 67% of all the pro games he coached. Unfortunately, this result comes from winning two of three as head coach of the Birmingham Bulls in 1983-84 before the team folded.

Hanson played pro hockey from 1974-75 to 1983-84. He appeared in 103 games in the WHA with the Minnesota Fighting Saints, New England Whalers and Birmingham Bulls. He dressed for 33 games in the NHL with the Detroit Red Wings and Minnesota North Stars.

Hanson is probably most famous for the two years he spent in the North American Hockey League with the Johnstown Jets. The Jets and the NAHL were the inspiration for the movie Slapshot starring Paul Newman.