1. Paul Branchaud 38
2. Jonathan Braniff 35
3. John Santore 31
4. Marc Arsenault 30
5. Mike Pieters 27
Gene Dupras 27
7. Mark Benvenga 25
Ronald Salahub 25
9. Liam Maguire 21
10. Cameron Thin 20
THREE-POINT QUESTION: This Olympic gold-medal winning goaltender made his
N.H.L. debut in a 33 save, 3-1 victory over the visiting Detroit Red Wings.
After this glorious beginning, he only played 11 more N.H.L. games in his
short career. Who was he?
CORRECT ANSWER: Jack McCartan, goaltender for the gold-medal winning
1960 United States Olympic team, was the answer here. Most Olympic goalies
seem to be doomed to this fate.
FIVE-POINT QUESTION: Two weeks ago, we found that Darren Pang held the record
for the shortest career by a goaltender on the All-Rookie Team. Carrying that
theme a bit further, name the (retired) goaltender who holds the record for the shortest
(in terms of regular season games played) career by a Vezina trophy-winning
goaltender.
CORRECT ANSWER: Johnny Mowers, who won the Vezina during the Second World
War (1943) with the Red Wings, is the "winner" in this category, with a mere
152 career games played. Pelle Lindbergh is second with 157 games played.
THREE-POINT QUESTION: In the mid-1980's, the Montreal Canadiens, led by
Claude Lemieux and Shayne Corson, regularly shot a puck into their opponents'
net following the pregame skate. This practice came to a head in the 1987
Conference Finals, when it led to a pregame brawl. Which goaltender tossed
his stick at Corson's shot immediately preceeding this brawl?
CORRECT ANSWER: This Olympic gold-medal winning goaltender made his
N.H.L. debut in a 33 save, 3-1 victory over the visiting Detroit Red Wings.
After this glorious beginning, he only played 11 more N.H.L. games in his
short career. Who was he?
FIVE-POINT QUESTION: Canuck Mike Fountain stopped all forty shots thrown at
him last week, successfully landing a shutout in his N.H.L. debut. Name the
last goaltender to record a shutout in his first appearance.
CORRECT ANSWER: On this one, you have to go all the way back to
November 1, 1985, when Daren Puppa and the Buffalo Sabres shut out the
Edmonton Oilers 2-0. Valerie Hammerl adds that this was the last time ANY
Sabres goaltender has shut out the Oilers, under any circumstance.
Furthermore, Steve Shikaze presented me with a list of all nineteen
goaltenders who have performed this feat; look for more on this at a later
date!
THREE-POINT QUESTION: Name the first goaltender to yield a player's 500th
career N.H.L. goal.
CORRECT ANSWER: Glenn Hall yielded Maurice "Rocket" Richard's 500th
career N.H.L. goal, on October 19, 1957.
FIVE-POINT QUESTION: Not including Corey Hirsch (last year's winner), there
have been a total of thirteen goaltenders selected to the N.H.L.'s
All-Rookie team since its inception in 1982-83. Name the one who, at the
beginning of this season, has played in the fewest career N.H.L. games.
CORRECT ANSWER: ESPN's Darren Pang is the all-time "leader" in this
dubious category, with 81 career games played. Second is Steve Penney
(91), and Jim Carey (99), although Jim's still alive and kicking.
THREE-POINT QUESTION: When he arrived at his first training camp, Chris
Nilan was already wearing his #30, so he was given the number 32. Name him.
CORRECT ANSWER: The goaltender who was forced out of his #30 was
then-Canadian Patrick Roy, who later switched to his more customary #33
before his first game.
FIVE-POINT QUESTION: Last Saturday night, Dominik Hasek and Patrick Roy
stopped every shot they saw, completing the second N.H.L. double shutout in
just under a month. Before this season, name the last two goaltenders to
completed a double shutout in the N.H.L.
CORRECT ANSWER: Before this season, the last two goaltenders who shared
a double shutout were John Vanbiesbrouck (44 saves) and Mike Richter (23
saves), on February 28, 1995.