Gordie Howe hat trick
In ice hockey, a Gordie Howe hat trick is a variation on the hat-trick, wherein a player scores a goal, records an assist, and gets in a fight all in one game. It is named after Gordie Howe, well known for his skill at both scoring and fighting.
The Gordie Howe hat trick is not an official statistic. Its conception is relatively recent; The Hockey News has statistics on it only since the 1996–97 NHL season. The Detroit Red Wings, San Jose Sharks, Calgary Flames, Nashville Predators, Edmonton Oilers, Ottawa Senators, Pittsburgh Penguins, Vancouver Canucks, Montreal Canadiens, Chicago Blackhawks, Philadelphia Flyers, New Jersey Devils and the Carolina Hurricanes are the list of NHL franchises that record their Gordie Howe hat tricks. The Columbus Blue Jackets became the latest franchise to record such a feat when Blue Jacket's forward R.J. Umberger recorded the Gordie Howe hat trick at Nationwide Arena against the San Jose Sharks on February 21, 2012.
The first known Gordie Howe hat trick was achieved by Hall of Famer Harry Cameron of the Toronto St. Pats on December 22, 1920.[1] The namesake of the achievement, Gordie Howe, achieved a Gordie Howe hat trick twice in his NHL career. Howe got his first Gordie Howe Hat Trick on October 11, 1953 when he fought the Toronto Maple Leafs' Fernie Flaman, assisted on Red Kelly's goal, and scored his own. His second happened on March 21, 1954, once again versus the Maple Leafs. Howe scored the opening goal, assisted on two Ted Lindsay goals, and fought Ted "Teeder" Kennedy.[2]
According to the Society for International Hockey Research, the all-time leader in Gordie Howe Hat Tricks is Stan Mikita, who recorded 22 in a career spanning from 1958 until 1980. Ted Lindsay is second with 19, Brendan Shanahan third with 17, Rick Tocchet fourth at 15 and Brian Sutter fifth with 12. The active leader is Jarome Iginla of the Calgary Flames with nine.[3]
A double Gordie Howe hat trick occurred on Jan 10, 2012. Adam Henrique fought Jarome Iginla and Iginla recorded 1G 2A while Henrique recorded 1G 1A. It happened previously on Mar 9, 2010. Fedor Tyutin fought Ryan Getzlaf and Tyutin recorded 1G 2A while Getzlaf recorded 1G 1A.
[edit] References
- ^ Duplacey, James; Zweig, Eric (2010). Official Guide to the Players of the Hockey Hall of Fame. Firefly Books. p. 81. ISBN 1-55407-662-5.
- ^ Going inside the “Gordie Howe Hat Trick”
- ^ "Howe to Hat Trick". The Hockey News 65 (20): 14. 2012-03-16. ISSN 0018-3016.
