Vintage Minnesota Hockey - History

1949:  Former NHL center Phil Hoene born in Duluth, MN.  Hoene played in the NHL 1972-73 through 1974-75 with Los Angeles, and was just the second player in NHL history to score his first NHL goal on a penalty shot.

1950:  Goaltender Frank Brimsek recorded his 40th (and final) career shutout in the Black Hawks' 4-0 win over the Maple Leafs at Chicago Stadium.

1960:  Former NHL left winger Stewart Gavin born in Ottawa, Ont.  Gavin played in the NHL 1980-81 through 1992-93 with Toronto, Hartford and the Minnesota North Stars.

1961:  Former NHL defenseman Craig Ludwig born in Rhinelander, WI.  Craig played in the NHL 1983 through the 1999 season with Montreal Canadiens, N.Y. Islanders, Minnesota North Stars and the Dallas Stars.

1970:  Minnesota's Bill Collins scored twice as the North Stars won 4-2 in New York for their first road victory over the Rangers.

1972:  Goaltender Mike "Lefty" Curran became the first player to sign with the newly formed WHA MN Fighting Saints.

1975:  Chicago's Tony Esposito became the second goaltender in NHL history to record six straight 30-win seasons.  The milestone came in a 5-2 win over the North Stars, in Minnesota.

1979:  The 35th annual MSHSL State Boys High School Hockey Tournament is held at the St. Paul Civic Center from March 15-17th.

1982:  Minnesota North Stars ran their team record unbeaten streak to 12 games (9-0-3) with a 4-3 win over Pittsburgh.

1987:  Former NHL centerman Chris VandeVelde born in Moorhead, MN.  VandeVelde played in the NHL 2010-11 through 2016-2017 with Edmonton Oilers and Philadelphia Flyers.

1987:  Brian Lawton scored his second career hat trick and added an assist to lead the Minnesota North Stars to a 4-2 win against the Blackhawks, at Chicago.

1990:  NHL center Phil McRae born in Minneapolis. MN.  McRae has played in the NHL since 2010-11 with St. Louis.

1996:  Damian Rhodes made 33 saves for his first career shutout, and the Ottawa Senators' first ever against Vancouver, a 2-0 win over the visiting Canucks.

2008:  Minnesota's Niklas Backstrom recorded his 8th career shutout, and Marian Gaborik scored his 200th NHL goal as the Wild had their first ever shutout against Los Angeles, with a 2-0 win over the visiting Kings.

2009:  Niklas Backstrom set a Minnesota Wild team record by playing in his 59th game of the season, a 5-3 loss at St. Louis.  He broke the mark of 58 games, first set by Manny Fernandez in 2005-06.

2011:  Duluth, MN native Jamie Langenbrunner became the 6th player to score 250 points as a member of the Dallas Stars; he reached the milestone with an assist in a 6-3 loss vs San Jose.

2014:  St. Paul, MN native Kyle Okposo recorded his third straight multi-point game with two goals and an assist and Lubomir Visnovsky picked up three assists as the Islanders beat the visiting Sabres 4-1.