5 to Score 7 Goals in a Single WHL Game

On five occasions in the history of the Western Hockey League a player has scored seven goals in a single game. Two of the five went on to lengthy NHL careers. One scored all seven of his team’s goals in a 7-4 victory. The last time the feat was accomplished was on October 2, 1990.

Brian Propp – Brandon Wheat Kings

Brian Propp of the Brandon Wheat Kings was the first WHL player to score seven in a game. On January 25, 1977 Propp scored just over half of his team’s goals as they defeated the Portland Winter Hawks 12-6.

Brian was in his first of three seasons with the Wheat Kings. He scored 55 goals that season, then went on to have seasons of 70 and 94 goals. Propp was the fourteenth overall pick of the Philadelphia Flyers in 1979. His NHL career consisted of over 1,000 regular season games between 1979-80 and 1993-94 with the Flyers, Boston Bruins, Minnesota North Stars and Hartford Whalers.

Ray Ferraro – Brandon Wheat Kings

Ray Ferraro was the next to score seven in a game. Ferraro also played for the Brandon Wheat Kings and scored his seven on January 5, 1984 as the Wheat Kings downed the Prince Albert Raiders 15-4. That year, Ray set the current WHL record for most points in a single season with an incredible 108. Despite the performance in the that 1983-84 season, Ray was denied the CHL Player of the Year honours because of a guy called Mario Lemieux playing in the QMJHL.

Ferraro was a fifth round pick of the Hartford Whalers in 1982, before he’d played a game in the WHL. He proceeded to play 1,258 regular season games in the NHL between 1984-85 and 2001-02 with the Whalers, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Los Angeles Kings, Atlanta Thrashers and St. Louis Blues.

Mark Mackay – Moose Jaw Warriors

The following season, Mark Mackay of the Moose Jaw Warriors scored seven on December 19, 1984 as the Warriors downed the Wheat Kings 12-3. 1984-85 was Mackay’s only year in the WHL. He scored 66 goals and assisted on 74 for 140 points in 71 games. Mark was awarded the Jim Piggott Trophy as WHL rookie of the year. The following season, Mackay was in Germany where he played out his professional hockey career.

Dennis Holland – Portland Winterhawks

Dennis Holland of the Portland Winterhawks scored seven on November 23, 1988 as the Winterhawks downed the Kamloops Blazers 10-5. 1988-89 was the fourth of four seasons Holland spent with Portland. He finished the season with 82 goals and 167 points in 69 games and led the WHL in goal scoring and points, earning the Bob Clarke Trophy. He averaged over two points per game during his WHL career with 429 in 209.

Dennis was a third round pick of the Detroit Red Wings in 1987 but never played in the NHL. He wrapped up his pro hockey career after the 1997-98 season after stints in the AHL, IHL, ECHL and three seasons in Germany.

Kimbi Daniels – Swift Current Broncos

Kimbi Daniels was the last, and most impressive, of the seven goal club. Daniels scored all seven goals for the Swift Current Broncos on October 2, 1990 as the Broncos beat the Medicine Hat Tigers 7-4. It was the third of five seasons in the WHL for Kimbi and he totalled 54 goals on the year.

The Philadelphia Flyers picked up Daniels in the third round of the 1990 NHL Entry Draft. He played 27 games with the Flyers, all while he was still a junior in the WHL. He never caught on in the NHL but did play 500 games in the ECHL, contributing 504 points.

6 From 1982-83 Portland Winterhawks With 100+ Points

For the Portland Winterhawks, it was business as usual in the 1982-83 Western Hockey League. The franchise had been dominant in the WHL since relocating from Edmonton, Alberta for the 1976-77 season. The Winterhawks are descendants of the original Edmonton Oil Kings team.

In 1982-83, Portland finished first in the West Division and second overall in the WHL with 50 wins and 100 points over the 72 game regular season schedule. The only team with a better record was the East Division leading Saskatoon Blades with 105 points. The Winterhawks led the WHL with 495 goals.

In the playoffs, Portland plowed through the Seattle Thunderbirds and Victoria Cougars before meeting up with the Lethbridge Broncos in the finals. Despite finishing the regular season with 21 points less than Portland, the Broncos took the series in five games. However, because Portland was hosting the Memorial Cup, both teams advanced. The Winterhawks got their revenge by winning the national title with an 8-3 victory over the Oshawa Generals in the final game.

On that 1982-83 Portland Winterhawks team were six players with 100 points or more. Just short of 100 was rookie Ray Ferraro. The following season, Ferraro would set the as yet unbroken record of 108 goals in a single WHL season while playing for the Brandon Wheat Kings.

Ken Yaremchuk – 160

It was third full season and final full season with Portland over a WHL career where Yaremchuk produced 424 points in just 210 games. In the high offense WHL, Ken’s 160 points placed him just sixth in the league.

Yaremchuk was the seventh overall pick by the Chicago Blackhawks at the 1982 NHL Entry Draft. He went on to play 235 regular season games in the National Hockey League between 1983-84 and 1988-89 with Chicago and the Toronto Maple Leafs. Ken rounded out his professional hockey career playing in Switzerland from 1990-91 to 1998-99.

Randy Heath – 151

Heath was in his second of three years with Portland in 1982-83. His 82 goals placed him second in the WHL, behind Dale Derkatch of the Regina Pats with 84. Randy was a second round pick of the New York Rangers in 1983 and went on to play a total of 13 games with the club in 1984-85 and 1985-86. Like Ken Yaremchuk, Heath finished his pro career in Europe, playing in Sweden’s Elitserien.

Cam Neely – 120

Inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2005, Cam Neely was in his rookie WHL season in 1982-83 and his only full season in the league. The following year, Neely played just 19 games with the Winterhawks before being called up to the Vancouver Canucks to finish the season. The Canucks had chosen him ninth overall at the 1983 NHL Entry Draft.

Cam played 726 regular season games in an injury shortened NHL career. He played for the Canucks and the Boston Bruins but, of course, the bulk of success came while wearing a Bruins jersey. He scored 395 goals over his career with two seasons with 50 or more. In 1989-90, he scored 55 for Boston. In 1993-94, in perhaps one of the most underrated performances in hockey history, he scored 50 goals while playing just 49 games for the Bruins.

Grant Sasser – 119

1982-83 was Grant’s second of three seasons with the Winterhawks. He was a fifth round pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins after just his first year of WHL hockey. His only three NHL games came in 1983-84 with the Penguins before being sent back down to Portland. Sasser played one year of pro hockey after junior. In 1984-85, he split the year between the Baltimore Skipjacks of the American Hockey League and the Muskegon Lumberjacks of the IHL.

Richard Kromm – 103

Kromm was in his second of three seasons with Portland but would play just ten games in 1983-84 before being called up to the Calgary Flames. Richard was a second round pick of the mighty New York Islanders in 1982. He would get his chance to play for the Islanders but started his NHL career in Calgary with the Flames. He played 372 regular season NHL games between 1983-84 and 1992-93 with the Flames and Islanders.

Richard immediately moved on to a life of coaching after the 1992-93 season. He has since coached in the IHL, AHL, UHL, WHL, CHL and ECHL. Kromm was head coach of the Winterhawks for the 2007-08 and 2008-09 season. The past three years, he has coached the Evansville Icemen. For the first two years, the team was in the Central Hockey League. This past season, 2012-13, the Icemen were members of the ECHL.

Brad Duggan – 100

Between 1980-81 and 1983-84, Duggan roamed the Western Hockey League, playing for the Billings Longhorns, Saskatoon Blades, Portland and the Brandon Wheat Kings. Of his 100 points in 1982-83, just 16 were goals. The soft handed defenseman recorded 84 assists. Brad did not continue on to play professional hockey.

U.S. Invasion At The Memorial Cup

Canadian Hockey League teams have been based in the United States of America as early as 1976-77 when the Portland Winterhawks were relocated to Portland, Oregon from Edmonton, Alberta. Three times since, American teams have won the Memorial Cup as CHL champions. On four occasions, U.S. cities have hosted the tournament. Portland hosted in 1983 and 1986 while Seattle, Washington hosted in 1992 and Spokane, Washington hosted in 1998.

It might be called the Canadian Hockey League but teams based in the United States have participated since the Edmonton Oil Kings became the Portland Winter Hawks at the start of the 1976-77 WHL season. The CHL is made up of three leagues across Canada, the WHL, OHL and QMJHL).

Currently, there are three teams from the Ontario Hockey League based in the U.S. (Erie Otters, Plymouth Whalers, Saginaw Spirit) and five teams from the Western Hockey League (Everett Silvertips, Portland Winterhawks, Seattle Thunderbirds, Spokane Chiefs, Tri-City Americans). The Lewiston Maineiacs were the only U.S. team in the QMJHL and they were relocated back to Canada for the 2011-12 season.

Since Portland entered the league in 1976, on just three occasions have American teams been crowned Memorial Cup champions. Only twice has an American team has made an unsuccessful appearance in the final game and six U.S. franchises have gone to the tournament. The Winterhawks reached the final in 2013 before falling to the Halifax Mooseheads of the QMJHL.

In 1983, the Portland Winterhawks beat the Oshawa Generals 8-3 on home ice in the Memorial Cup final to win their first. The Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy as tournament MVP was handed out to Alfie Turcotte of the Winterhawks. Turcotte went on to play 112 games in the National Hockey League with the Montreal Canadiens, Winnipeg Jets and Washington Capitals. Future NHLers Ray Ferraro and Cam Neely led Portland offensively. In fact, the two were part of a group of six players on the team to reach the 100 point plateau. Read more about that excitingly offensive team here: 1982-83 Portland Winterhawks.

In 1991, the tournament was held in Quebec City and the Spokane Chiefs were the victor with a 5-1 win over the Drummondville Voltigeurs in the final. The Stafford Smythe Trophy went to Pat Falloon of Spokane. Falloon was the second overall pick of the San Jose Sharks at the 1991 NHL Entry Draft and played 575 NHL regular season games with the Sharks, Philadelphia Flyers, Ottawa Senators, Edmonton Oilers and Pittsburgh Penguins. Falloon holds a bit of San Jose Sharks trivia as the player with the most points in a rookie season for the National Hockey League club. Trevor Kidd and Ray Whitney were team leaders for Spokane while NHL veteran Bryan Maxwell was the bench boss.

Portland returned to championship form in 1998 as the Winterhawks edged the OHL’s Guelph Storm 4-3 in overtime in the final that was hosted by the Spokane Chiefs in Spokane, Washington. The Smythe Trophy went to the goaltender on the losing team, Chris Madden. Portland was led by NHLers Marian Hossa and Brenden Morrow. The team was coached by Brent Peterson, another NHL veteran.

The latest U.S. teams to qualify for the Memorial Cup tournament before Portland’s 2013 loss to Halifax were the Lewiston Maineiacs and Plymouth Whalers in 2007. Despite the 50/50 odds, neither team made it to the final. The 1995 Detroit Junior Red Wings are the only other American team to make it to the final and lose. The Erie Otters and Seattle Thunderbirds are the only other U.S. based teams to qualify for the tournament. Erie went in 2002, while Seattle participated back in 1992 as the host city.