Vintage Minnesota Hockey - History

1895: Hallock's indoor rink hosts one of State of Minnesota's first documented games in the State.

1912:  Former NHL defenseman Virgil Johnson born in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  Johnson played in the NHL 1937-38 through 1944-45 with Chicago.

1931:  Hall of Famer 'Badger' Bob Johnson born in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  Johnson coached in the NHL 1982-83 through 1990-91 with Calgary and Pittsburgh, and passed away in October 1991.

1941:  Boston set NHL records with 33 shots in the second period and (83 shots in the game) against Chicago goalie Sam LoPresti, in a 3-2 win over the visiting Black Hawks.

1950:  The newly remodeled Williams Arena on the University of Minnesota campus was capped off with a dedicated ceremony between a main attraction Minnesota-Wisconsin basketball game, following ceremonies held within the complex February 27-March 4th.  The official ceremony of dedication took place between halves March 4th.  At the time, Dr. Henry L. Williams, Jr., son of the famed Dr. Henry L .Williams who was the head football coach at Minnesota from 1900 through 1921 acknowledged the naming of the vast structure of his late father.  The structure was to be home of Minnesota basketball & hockey on campus.

1975:  Dennis Hextall scored a goal and added two assists to lead the Minnesota North Stars to a 6-4 win over Vancouver at the Met Center.

1976:  The 32nd annual MSHSL State Boys High School Hockey Tournament is held at the St. Paul Civic Center from March 4-6th at the newly built St. Paul Civic Center.

1979:  Reed Larson had three assists as the Red Wings lost 6-4 to the Bruins at the Olympia.

1985:  NHL center Jake Dowell born in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Dowell has played in the NHL since 2007-08 with Chicago, Dallas, and Minnesota.

1989:  Calgary traded Perry Berezan and Shane Churla to the Minnesota North Stars in exchange for Brian MacLellan and Minnesota's fourth round choice in 1989 Entry Draft.  The Flames used to choice to select Robert Reichel.

1991:  Pittsburgh Penguins acquired Ron Francis, Grant Jennings and Ulf Samuelsson from the Hartford Whalers in trade for John Cullen, Jeff Parker and Zarley Zalapski.

1994:  As a part of the 1992 strike settlement, the NHL and Bruce McNall's Multivision Marketing and Public Relations Co. organized 26 regular season games in cities without a franchise as a litmus test for future expansion.  The Winnipeg Jets-6 vs. Ottawa Senators-1 game was held at Target Center in downtown Minneapolis before 6,388 fans, following the Minnesota North Stars departure to Dallas, TX.

1998:  The 54th annual MSHSL State Boys High School Hockey Tournament is held at the St. Paul Civic Center/Mariucci Arena from March 4-7th.

1999:  Alexei Yashin scored his 5th career hat trick and Damian Rhodes recorded his 10th career shutout in the Senators' 5-0 win over the Flyers.  Ottawa set a team record with their 35th victory of the season and had their first shutout in Philadelphia.

2001:  Aaron Gavey scored twice, including the winning goal at 2:26 of overtime and added an assist as the Minnesota Wild won 4-3 at Vancouver.

2001:  Minnesota Wild traded Sean O'Donnell to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for Willie Mitchell and a conditional pick in 2002.

2003:  Minnesota Wild set a franchise record for most points in a season, with their 75th of the year in a 3-2 win over the visiting New Jersey Devils.

2004:  Montreal Canadiens acquired center Jim Dowd from the Minnesota Wild in exchange for a fourth-round draft pick in 2004.

2008:  Maple Leafs outshot the Devils 42-25, but New Jersey's Martin Brodeur made 41 saves, and Zach Parise scored twice in the Devils 4-1 win at Toronto.  It was also the Devils' 25th straight road victory when leading after two periods.

2008:  Edmonton's Tom Gilbert set a team record for rookie defensemen with his 10th goal of the year in a 5-1 loss to the visiting Nashville Predators; he broke the mark of 9 goals shared by Paul Coffey and Marc-Andre Bergeron.

2008:  Marian Gaborik became the first player to get 200 assists as a member of the Minnesota Wild; he reached the milestone in a 4-2 loss vs Chicago.

2009:  Calgary traded defenseman Ryan Wilson, defenseman Lawrence Nycholat and Montreal's 2nd-round pick in the 2009 Entry Draft (previously acquired) to Colorado for defenseman Jordan Leopold.

2014:  Minnesota Wild acquired goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov from Edmonton in exchange for a 4th round pick in 2014 and signed free agent Zack Mitchell to an entry level contract.

2015:  The 71st annual MSHSL State Boys High School Hockey Tournament is held at the Xcel Energy Center and Mariucci Arena from March 4th-7th