APRIL 2000 TOP TEN

1.  Tom Mascioli            72
    Daryl Turner            72
3.  Bryan McCready          55
4.  Paul Branchaud          50
5.  Gary Balentine          36
6.  Mike Taylor             29
7.  Eric Hansen             13
8.  Brett Corlett           11
9.  Lee Johnston            9
    Njdvl2                  9
GOALTENDER TRIVIA YEAR SIX WEEK TWENTY-FOUR (Answers due 10pm MST 04/07/00):

TWO-POINT QUESTION: Yesterday, this goaltender broke his NHL franchise's single-season mark for wins by a netminder. Name him.
CORRECT ANSWER: This was Carolina's Arturs Irbe, who broke the mark with a 1-0 shutout, and finished the season with thirty-four victories.

THREE-POINT QUESTION: Name the netminder who, in 1975, finished a very close second to Bobby Clarke in the Hart Trophy balloting. (Note to new hockey fans: it used to be a big deal when a goaltender would even get close to winning the Hart, because it happened so infrequently. Times have changed :-)
CORRECT ANSWER: Rogie Vachon, who led the woeful Los Angeles Kings to the Stanley Cup Playoffs that season with a record of 27-14-13, a goals-against average of 2.24, and six shutouts.

FIVE-POINT QUESTION: Before Ken Dryden wore it into retirement, two players wore the number 29 for the Montreal Canadiens. Furthermore, both were goaltenders, and both had rather short careers with the Habs - name them.
CORRECT ANSWER: Riiight. Yes, I blew this one...let's just say that the source I was using is one that I trust completely. Anyhow, the following goaltenders wore #29 for les Habitants before Ken Dryden: Ernie Wakely, Tony Esposito, Charlie Hodge, Phil Myre, and Jack Norris (although only as a backup). After Dryden wore it, three more netminders wore the 29: Rick Wamsley, Mark Holden and Martin Brochu. Oy.

BONUS QUESTION: This NHL goaltender, in one of his more memorable quotes, attributed one of his leg injuries to an old war wound - the Franco-Prussian War, to be precise. Name him.
CORRECT ANSWER: Gilles Gratton, who always had something interesting to say. Gratton may not have begun the stereotype that goaltenders are (to put it nicely) "a little different", but he lent a measure of credibility to the statement.

GOALTENDER TRIVIA YEAR SIX WEEK TWENTY-FIVE (Answers due 10pm MDT 04/16/00):

TWO-POINT QUESTION: Philadelphia's Brian Boucher recently finished his rookie campaign with the Flyers, sporting a goals-against average of under 2.00. The last time that this happened in NHL history, two goaltenders did it in the same season - name one. (An extra point will be awarded for naming both).
CORRECT ANSWER: The year was 1950-51, and the freshmen goaltenders were Toronto's Al Rollins (1.77 GAA) and Detroit's Terry Sawchuk (1.99 GAA). Two other performances of note are Bob Froese's 2.00 GAA in 1982-83, and Peter Skudra's 1997-98 mark of 1.83 (albeit, only in 17 games). Thanks to Mike Taylor and Brett Corlett, respectively, for bringing them to my attention.

THREE-POINT QUESTION: This netminder, who starred for his native Swiss in the early 1990s, only played two periods of NHL hockey in his career, but is credited with popularizing his sport in his homeland. Name him.
CORRECT ANSWER: Pauli Jaks, who replaced Jamie Storr in the Kings' net during the 1995 lockout season, stopped 21 of 23 shots, but never saw the NHL again. He currently plays for Ambri-Piotta in Switzerland.

FIVE-POINT QUESTION: Name the goaltender who was victorious in both the final NHL game played at Toronto's Maple Leaf Gardens and the final NHL game played at Montreal's Forum.
CORRECT ANSWER: The Hawks' Jocelyn Thibault, who was a 6-2 winner over the Leafs on February 13, 1999, was with the Canadiens on March 11, 1996, when they defeated the Dallas Stars in the final Forum game.

BONUS QUESTION: This goaltender, whose father was a general surgeon at Cambridge, won the gold medal in the 1982 World Junior Championships and was named the tournament's top goaltender. Name him.
CORRECT ANSWER: Mike Moffat, a member of the OHA Kingston Canadiens at the time the 1982 WJC, went 3-0-1 with a 1.75 GAA and one shutout. He would go on to play nineteen games for the NHL Boston Bruins.

GOALTENDER TRIVIA YEAR SIX WEEK TWENTY-SIX (Answers due 10pm MDT 04/23/00):

TWO-POINT QUESTION: Colorado's Patrick Roy currently holds the National Hockey League record for most wins in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Who is second on this list?
CORRECT ANSWER: Calgary's Grant Fuhr currently has ninety-two postseason victories. Billy Smith, last with the Islanders, is third with eighty-eight.

THREE-POINT QUESTION: This goaltender stopped all five penalty shots he faced in his NHL career, including a record four in one season. Name him.
CORRECT ANSWER: Allan Bester, who in 1988-89 with the Leafs, stopped all four (Dino Ciccarelli, Michel Goulet, Greg Adams, Anton Stastny) penalty shots that he faced. Of course, behind the Leafs' porous defense, Bester was used to making saves in penalty-shot situations.

FIVE-POINT QUESTION: It used to be the case that, barring injury, a goaltender would play every one of his NHL team's games. In any one season, what is the greatest number of goaltenders to play in each of his team's NHL games? (Extra bonus point for the year, two extra points for the goaltenders.)
CORRECT ANSWER: On three seperate occassions, NHL teams have used seven goaltenders in all of their games:

BONUS QUESTION: Name the most recent QMJHL goaltender to win the triumvirate of post-season awards: the Jacques Plante Trophy (best goaltender), the Raymond Lagace Trophy (top rookie defenseman/goaltender), and the Michael Bossy Trophy (top draft prospect).
CORRECT ANSWER: In 1994-95, the Beauport Harfangs' Martin Biron (now with the NHL Buffalo Sabres) won all three awards after posting a 29-16-9 record, league-leading 2.48 goals-against average and three shutouts.

GOALTENDER TRIVIA YEAR SIX WEEK TWENTY-SEVEN (Answers due 10pm MDT 04/28/00):

TWO-POINT QUESTION: In this spring's Stanley Cup conference quarterfinals, there has been only one team that has never trailed over the course of the series. Name the goaltender who never let his team get behind.
CORRECT ANSWER: Detroit's Chris Osgood, whose Red Wings swept the Los Angeles Kings in the first round. Unfortunately for Osgood's Wings, their momentum ran out when they met the Colorado Avalanche in the semi-finals.

THREE-POINT QUESTION: In which National Hockey League season have the greatest number of future Hall-of-Famer goaltenders (that is, are in the HoF now) played in at least one regular season game?
CORRECT ANSWER: Two possible answers here. In both 1968-69 and 1969-70, the same nine Hall-of-Fame goaltenders played in the N.H.L.: Johnny Bower, Gerry Cheevers, Tony Esposito, Ed Giacomin, Glenn Hall, Bernie Parent, Jacques Plante, Terry Sawchuk and Gump Worsley.

FIVE-POINT QUESTION: Name the most recent National Hockey League goaltender to be charged with a loss without giving up the game-winning goal.
CORRECT ANSWER: Felix Potvin of the Canucks. On April 7, Vancouver coach Marc Crawford pulled Potvin in overtime against the Edmonton Oilers, knowing that to have a chance at the playoffs, they needed a win. The Oilers' Rem Murray scored into the empty net, giving the pine-riding Potvin the "L".

BONUS QUESTION: Name the goaltender who recently became the first North American-born former-NHLer to play in the top Russian league.
CORRECT ANSWER: Vincent Riendeau, who last saw NHL action as a Boston Bruin during the shortened 1994-95 season, has spent the last few years in Europe, including the just-completed season in the Russian Elite League.