DECEMBER 2005 TOP TEN

1.  Lou Ford                45
2.  Ryan Angus              42
3.  Jason Kurylo            38
4.  Gary Balentine          37 
    Bryan McCready          37
6.  Mark Calandra           33
7.  Pete Hibbard            32
8.  Roger Maynard           28
9.  Tom Mascioli            27
10. Jayzin Smith            25
GOALTENDER TRIVIA YEAR TEN WEEK FOUR (Answers due 10pm MDT 12/9/05):

TWO-POINT QUESTION: Recently, this goaltender became the first to face penalty shots in each of his first two career National Hockey League games. Name him.
CORRECT ANSWER: University of Maine alum Jimmy Howard made his NHL debut on November 28th of this year. In his first contest, the Wings' stopper allowed a penalty shot goal to the Kings' Joe Corvo. His redemption came three days later, when he stopped Calgary's Shean Donovan on another penalty shot.

THREE-POINT QUESTION: Who is the only goaltender to allow 500th career (regular season) National Hockey League goals to three separate individuals?
CORRECT ANSWER: I asked this question several years ago, and at the time Patrick Roy was the only goaltender in league history to allow two 500th career goals. On March 23, 2002, Patrick added Detroit's Brendan Shanahan to his list, which already included Steve Yzerman (1/17/96) and Joe Mullen (3/14/97).

FIVE-POINT QUESTION: Currently, there are two 40-year-old goaltenders playing in the National Hockey League, Dominik Hasek and Ed Belfour. Prior to these two, name the last goaltender to appear in an NHL game on their 40th birthday or later.
CORRECT ANSWER: Hall-of-Famer Tony Esposito, born in April of 1943, played eighteen games as Murray Bannerman's backup with the 1983-84 Black Hawks.

PICTORAL QUESTION: Name the following goaltender:

CORRECT ANSWER: On Saturday, November 22, 2003, the Edmonton Oilers and Montreal Canadiens participated in the first-ever National Hockey League game contested outdoors. Immediately prior to that game, the 57,167 fans were treated to a battle between the Oilers' and Canadiens' alumni squads. The goaltender in this photo is Grant Fuhr, who was as acrobatic as ever in blanking (with Bill Ranford) Montreal, 2-0.

GOALTENDER TRIVIA YEAR TEN WEEK FIVE (Answers due 10pm MDT 12/16/05):

TWO-POINT QUESTION: Who allowed the first goal of the 2005-06 National Hockey League regular season?
CORRECT ANSWER: On October 5, 2005, Jean-Pierre Dumont of the Buffalo Sabres scored 3:11 into the first period of their game against the New York Islanders. In net for the Islanders was Rick DiPietro.

THREE-POINT QUESTION: Earlier this calendar year, this goaltender became part of the first brother-sister combination to play on the same team in a North American professional hockey game. Name this goaltender.
CORRECT ANSWER: On January 28, 2005, defenseman (and two-time Olympic medalist) Angela Ruggiero skated in front of her brother, goaltender Bill Ruggiero, as the Tulsa Oilers defeated Rio Grande Valley by a 7-2 count.

FIVE-POINT QUESTION: Name the first goaltender to record a major-league hockey victory at Edmonton's Northlands Coliseum.
CORRECT ANSWER: Replacing the Edmonton Gardens as the home of the WHA Oilers, Northlands Coliseum opened on November 10, 1974 when the Oilers squared off against the Cleveland Crusaders. Hall-of-Famer Jacques Plante earned the 4-1 victory, defeating Hall-of-Famer Gerry Cheevers in the process.

PICTORAL QUESTION: Name the following goaltender:


CORRECT ANSWER: He played fewer than two full games in Anaheim, but Gregg Naumenko was considered one of the Ducks' top goaltending prospects right up until the acquisition of Jean-Sebastien Giguere. Naumenko is now back with the Ducks' farm team in Portland on a professional tryout contract.

GOALTENDER TRIVIA YEAR TEN WEEK SIX (Answers due 10pm MDT 12/30/05):

TWO-POINT QUESTION: Last week, this National Hockey League defenseman suited up as the dressed backup goaltender for his team. Name him.
CORRECT ANSWER: Jamie Allison, who has always had a hard time staying in an NHL lineup, finally found an interesting way to do it on December 13. With Tomas Vokoun out with a knee strain, the Nashville Predators had intended to go with Chris Mason as the starter and Brian Finley as the backup. But Mason's groin had other ideas, forcing him to the sidelines. Enter Finley, and enter Allison as the dressed backup on the Predator bench. Finley allowed seven goals on 41 Florida shots, and many of us were hoping that Allison would get a chance.

THREE-POINT QUESTION: Among this one-time National Hockey League goaltender's pets are a rottweiler and a Columbian red-tail boa constrictor. Name him.
CORRECT ANSWER: Steve Passmore , currently toiling in Helsinki. Passmore's rottweiler is named Zeus, and the boa constrictor is named Damien. He also has a gray tabby cat named Pansey; thank you to the Chicago Sun-Times 2002 season preview for this insight into Passmore's home life.

FIVE-POINT QUESTION: The first recorded instance of a hockey goaltender scoring a goal was on February 18, 1905 when this goaltender skated the length of the ice to score. Name the goaltender scoring the goal, and the goaltender who allowed it.
CORRECT ANSWER: Montreal Westmounts netminder Fred Brophy scored against Quebec Bulldogs goaltender Paddy Moran. Moran was considered perhaps the best goaltender of his era, but he had no recourse when Brophy took the puck and skated the length of the ice to score. The following season, Brophy reprised his feat, putting the puck past Nathan Frye of the Montreal Victorias.

PICTORAL QUESTION: Name the following goaltender:


CORRECT ANSWER: This is Phoenix Coyotes prospect, and current Drummondville netminder, Pier-Olivier Pelletier. Pier could one day be a number-one goaltender in the big leagues - he doesn't stand out with any one particular skill, but he's good at everything, is very steady and consistent.