Barry Beck's Only NHL Hat Trick Came in Just His 26th Game

On December 17, 1977, Barry Beck recorded the only hat trick of his NHL career, and it came remarkably early in his rookie season. Playing just his 26th NHL game, the Colorado Rockies defenseman scored three goals and added an assist in a 5-1 victory over the Minnesota North Stars at McNichols Sports Arena in Denver.

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Highlights

• December 17, 1977 at McNichols Sports Arena

• Colorado defeated Minnesota 5-1

• Beck scored 3 goals and 1 assist

• It was just his 26th NHL game

• His first goal proved to be the game-winner

• Beck led all players with 7 shots

• Doug Favell stopped 34 of 35 shots

• It remained the only hat trick of Beck's NHL career

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The Rockies had selected Beck second overall at the 1977 NHL Amateur Draft, behind only Dale McCourt. He quickly established himself as one of the league's top rookies and would eventually finish second to New York Islanders star Mike Bossy in voting for the 1977-78 Calder Trophy. On this December night against Minnesota, Beck showed exactly why he was generating so much attention.

Colorado struck just 1:18 into the game when Beck assisted on a goal by Paul Gardner. At 11:26 of the opening period, Beck scored his 12th goal of the season, beating Minnesota goaltender Pete LoPresti. The goal, assisted by John Van Boxmeer and Chuck Arnason, would stand as the game-winner. Beck struck again at 14:37 of the second period, once more with Van Boxmeer and Arnason providing the assists, to give Colorado a commanding 4-0 lead.

Beck completed his hat trick at 3:11 of the third period, giving him four points on the night and extending the Rockies' lead to 5-0. He also led all skaters with seven shots on goal. Colorado goaltender Doug Favell nearly completed the evening with a shutout, stopping 34 of 35 shots. However, Brad Maxwell spoiled the bid with an unassisted goal with just seven seconds remaining.

LoPresti stopped 23 of 28 shots for Minnesota in the loss. The performance would remain unique throughout Beck's NHL career: despite eventually playing 615 regular-season games with the Colorado Rockies, New York Rangers and Los Angeles Kings, December 17, 1977 remained Barry Beck's only NHL hat trick.

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5 To Lead AHL in Goals in Consecutive Seasons

Since 1936-37, there have been just five players in the AHL to lead the league in goals in consecutive seasons. The first came in 1937-38 and 1938-39 with the latest in 2008-09 and 2009-10. Interestingly, none of these five players has been inducted into the AHL Hall of Fame since its establishment in 2006. The American Hockey League now consists of 30 teams and is the prime minor league for the NHL.

Phil Hergesheimer – Cleveland Barons

Phil Hergesheimer led the league in goals in 1937-38 and 1938-39, as a member of the Cleveland Barons. Phil score 25 in the first season and 34 in the second. Hergesheimer went on to play 124 games in the National Hockey League from 1939-40 to 1942-43 with the Chicago Black Hawks and Boston Bruins. Phil returned to the American Hockey League after his NHL stint, achieving a personal best 48 goals with the Philadelphia Rockets in 1946-47.

Carl Liscombe – Providence Reds

Carl Liscombe was the next to lead the league in consecutive years, 1947-48 and 1948-49. Liscombe scored 50 goals in the first year and 55 in the second, both as a member of the Providence Reds. Carl previously played 383 games in the NHL with the Detroit Red Wings between 1937-38 and 1945-46. In 1943-44, he led the second place Detroit Red Wings with 36 goals and 73 points in 50 games. The 73 points was good for fourth in the NHL’s scoring race.

Guy Trottier – Buffalo Bisons

Guy Trottier led the league with 45 goals in 1968-69 and 55 goals in 1969-70 as a member of the Buffalo Bisons. Over his career, Trottier played 115 games in the NHL with the New York Rangers and Toronto Maple Leafs. He also played 174 games in the World Hockey Association. Previously, Guy scored 68 goals in 1965-66 and 71 goals in 1966-67 with the Dayton Gems of the IHL.

Paul Gardner – Binghamton Whalers

Paul Gardner is the only one of this group of five to lead the league in consecutive seasons with two different teams. In 1984-85, with the Binghamton Whalers, Gardner led the league with 51 and the following season, with the Rochester Americans, he led with 61. As a junior in the Ontario Hockey Association, Paul scored 69 goals with the Oshawa Generals in 1975-76.

Gardner was the eleventh overall pick of the Kansas City Scouts at the 1976 NHL Amateur Draft. He was also taken in the second round of the WHA Amateur Draft by the Toronto Toros. Paul played 447 NHL games from 1976-77 to 1985-86 with the Colorado Rockies, Toronto Maple Leafs, Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals and Buffalo Sabres.

Alexandre Giroux – Hershey Bears

Alexandre Giroux led the AHL in 2008-09 with 60 goals and, again, in 2009-10 with 50 goals as a member of the Hershey Bears. Giroux is the only one of the five players mentioned in this article to be awarded the Willie Marshall Award. The Award was introduced for the 2003-04 season to honour the top goal scorer in the AHL and is equivalent to the NHL’s Rocket Richard Trophy.

Giroux was a seventh round pick of the Ottawa Senators at the 1999 NHL Entry Draft, 213^th overall. He has, to date, appeared in 48 NHL games, most recently with the Columbus Blue Jackets. He is currently playing in Switzerland’s National League A with Ambri-Piotta.