MARCH 2006 TOP TEN

1.  Gary Balentine          60
2.  Roger Maynard           50
    Bryan McCready          50
4.  David Zetterman         47
5.  Jerry Kotzman           45
    Tom Mascioli            45
7.  Mark Calandra           40
8.  Pete Hibbard            25
    Mike Taylor             25
10. Eric Pye                22
GOALTENDER TRIVIA YEAR TEN WEEK FIFTEEN (Answers due 10pm MST 03/11/06):

TWO-POINT QUESTION: This goaltender recently became the first in National Hockey League history to record ten consecutive seasons with thirty (or more) regular-season victories. Name him.
CORRECT ANSWER: Martin Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils, who started his streak in 1995-96, the year after his club won the Stanley Cup for the first time. For whatever it's worth, if you ignore the lockout-shortened season of 1994-95, Patrick Roy had eleven consecutive thirty-win campaigns.

THREE-POINT QUESTION: Name the first date on which European-born goaltenders faced one another in the Stanley Cup Finals.
CORRECT ANSWER: On June 4, 2002, Detroit's Dominik Hasek and Carolina's Arturs Irbe met at Joe Louis Arena for Game One of the Stanley Cup Finals. Irbe and the Hurricanes won, 3-2 in overtime.

FIVE-POINT QUESTION: This future National Hockey League goaltender was in class on the day he was drafted, and found out about his fourth-round selection over his school's loudspeaker system. Name him.
CORRECT ANSWER: John Vanbiesbrouck, who needless to say went home for the day after he learned of his selection by the New York Rangers in 1981.

PICTORAL QUESTION: Name the following goaltender:

CORRECT ANSWER: Jamie Storr, in his debut with the Carolina Hurricanes on October 25, 2003. On this night, Storr stopped 28 of 32 Philadelphia shots in a 4-4 tie.

GOALTENDER TRIVIA YEAR TEN WEEK SIXTEEN (Answers due 10pm MST 03/18/06):

TWO-POINT QUESTION: Name the goaltender, making their Olympic debut last month, who has suffered from epilepsy since the age of nine.
CORRECT ANSWER: United States women's team netminder Chanda Gunn began taking Depakote to control her epilepsy as a young girl. Although her road has not been without its bumps, Gunn has persevered to the point where she is now one of the top female goaltenders in the world.

THREE-POINT QUESTION: Name the first goaltender in the history of the National Hockey League to serve as the dressed backup throughout regulation and overtime before being inserted (by coach's decision, not by injury) to play in the shootout.
CORRECT ANSWER: On March 7 of this year, Edmonton's Ty Conklin was replaced prior to the club's shootout against the Dallas Stars. Mike Morrison took over in the Oiler net, and he became the ninth consecutive victim of the Stars' shootout success.

FIVE-POINT QUESTION: The Pittsburgh Penguins were so troubled in the early 1980s that one of their top goaltenders publicly spoke of retiring young to sell wine in Baltimore. Name him.
CORRECT ANSWER: This was a quote from a young Roberto Romano, who instead went to Italy a few years later to play professionally. He would return to the Penguins in early 1994.

PICTORAL QUESTION: Name this one-time NHL goaltender:

CORRECT ANSWER: Gilles Gilbert, celebrating his time with the Detroit Red Wings by wearing the ever-popular "Mike Brady" man-perm.

GOALTENDER TRIVIA YEAR TEN WEEK SEVENTEEN (Answers due 10pm MST 03/25/06):

TWO-POINT QUESTION: Incredibly, Jussi Jokinen of the Dallas Stars went nearly the full 2005-06 National Hockey League season without being stopped in a shootout. Name the goaltender who finally kept him off of the tiebreaker scoreboard.
CORRECT ANSWER: On March 18, countryman Vesa Toskala stopped Jokinen at the end of the San Jose - Dallas match (to be perfectly accurate, Jokinen shot wide of the net). The Stars did remain perfect in shootouts, although they were taken to sudden-death before Antti Miettinen beat Toskala to win the game.

THREE-POINT QUESTION: Currently, the Montreal Canadiens do not have a Quebec-born netminder on their roster, a rarity for a franchise which prides itself on its background. Name the goaltender(s) who played for les Habitants in the last season in which no Quebec-born goaltenders saw action for the club.
CORRECT ANSWER: In 1948-49, Toronto's Bill Durnan played in every minutes of every Montreal game. Every season since, at least one Quebec netminder has made an appearance - it's possible that the streak could be broken next season, although St-Jerome's Yann Danis is first in line should Aebischer or Huet struggle or injure.

FIVE-POINT QUESTION: While serving a stint as colour commentator for the World Hockey Association Toronto Toros, this goaltender came very close to signing a contract to play for the club. However, witnessing the poor ice quality on a team road trip swayed him otherwise. Name this netminder.
CORRECT ANSWER: This is an odd little trivia item that I've had stored away for a few months. Ken Dryden, in his one-year contract holdout with the Montreal Canadiens, must not have felt quite busy enough clerking for a law firm. Working with the Toros, it was in New Jersey where Dryden - watching the puck skip all around the shoddy ice - talking himself out of signing that contract.

PICTORAL QUESTION: Shown here with Jari Gronstrand, name this one-time National Hockey League goaltender:

CORRECT ANSWER: This is Kari Takko, during his first full season in the National Hockey League with the Minnesota North Stars. I don't know the restaurant, but the pizza looks good!

GOALTENDER TRIVIA YEAR TEN WEEK EIGHTEEN (Answers due 10pm MST 04/01/06):

TWO-POINT QUESTION: This Hall of Fame netminder was convinced that he would only play well if he threw up prior to the game. Name him.
CORRECT ANSWER: Glenn Hall. Coach Scotty Bowman tells a story of the April 18, 1968 playoff game where the St. Louis Blues were facing the Philadelphia Flyers in a game seven, and Hall told Bowman prior to the game that he might not play well because he hadn't thrown up. Bowman started to panic, but calmed when he later saw a pair of goal pads sticking out of one of the restroom stalls. Hall threw up, and stopped twenty-six shots in a 3-1 win.

THREE-POINT QUESTION: Before embarking on a Hall-of-Fame goaltending career, this young man broke his arm in a rugby match, resulting in a right arm permanently two inches shorter than his left. Name him.
CORRECT ANSWER: Terry Sawchuk, in just one of the many tragic events which defined his career, and ultimately his life. If you haven't read David Dupuis' excellent biography on Sawchuk, you should - you're in for a rare treat.

FIVE-POINT QUESTION: Due to his goaltending ability, this young actor earned a supporting role in the popular movie "Youngblood". He is now one of Hollywood's most coveted thespians. Name him.
CORRECT ANSWER: Okay, calling him a thespian may have been pushing the envelope, but I needed a synonym for actor. Keanu Reeves played Heaver the goaltender in the Rob Lowe / Patrick Swayze classic.

PICTORAL QUESTION: Name the following goaltender:

CORRECT ANSWER: This is young netminder Jocelyn Thibault, suiting up for the Quebec Nordiques in his rookie 1993-94 season. Thibault would move with the club to Denver before being traded in the December 2005 Patrick Roy deal.