1967–68 Minnesota North Stars season

1967–68 Minnesota North Stars
Division 4th West
1967–68 record 27–32–15
Goals for 191
Goals against 226
Team information
General Manager Wren Blair[1]
Coach Wren Blair
Captain Bob Woytowich
Arena Met Center
Team leaders
Goals Wayne Connelly (35)
Assists André Boudrias (35)
Points Wayne Connelly (56)
Penalties in minutes Dave Balon (84)
Wins Cesare Maniago (21)
Goals against average Cesare Maniago (2.77)
1968–69>

The 1967–68 Minnesota North Stars season was the team's inaugural season in the National Hockey League (NHL). They finished fourth in the West Division with a record of 27 wins, 32 losses, and 15 ties for 69 points. In the playoffs, they defeated the Los Angeles Kings in seven games in the Quarter-finals before losing to the St. Louis Blues in the Semi-finals, also in seven games.

Offseason

On March 11, 1965, NHL President Clarence Campbell announced that the league would expand to twelve teams from six through the creation of a new six-team division for the 1967–68 season.[2] In response to Campbell's announcement, a partnership of nine men, led by Walter Bush and John Driscoll, was formed to seek a franchise for the Twin Cities area of Minnesota.[3][4] Their efforts were successful as the NHL awarded one of six expansion franchises to Minnesota on February 9, 1966.[4] In addition to Minnesota, the five other franchises were California (Oakland), Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and St. Louis.[4] The "North Stars" name was announced on May 25, 1966, following a public contest.[4] The name is derived from the state's motto "L'Étoile du Nord", which is a French phrase meaning "The Star of the North".[5] Months after the naming of the team, ground was broken on October 3, 1966, for a new hockey arena in Bloomington, Minnesota.[4] The home of the North Stars, the Metropolitan Sports Center (or Met Center for short), was built in 12 months at a cost of US$7 million.[3] The arena was ready for play for the start of the 1967–68 NHL season, but portions of the arena's construction had not been completed.[6] Spectator seats were in the process of being installed as fans arrived at the arena for the opening home game on October 21, 1967.[6]

Regular season

Bill Masterton

On January 13, 1968, four minutes into a game against the Seals at the Met Center, North Stars center Bill Masterton was checked by Oakland's Larry Cahan and Ron Harris and fell backwards onto the ice head-first. The force of the back of his head hitting the ice damaged the pons and caused severe hemorrhaging, as blood gushed from his mouth and nose. Masterton was taken to hospital where he died two days later, becoming the only player ever to die as a result of an on-ice injury.

Final standings

West Division[7]
GP W L T GF GA DIFF Pts
1 Philadelphia Flyers 74 31 32 11 173 179 −6 73
2 Los Angeles Kings 74 31 33 10 200 224 −24 72
3 St. Louis Blues 74 27 31 16 177 191 −14 70
4 Minnesota North Stars 74 27 32 15 191 226 −35 69
5 Pittsburgh Penguins 74 27 34 13 195 216 −21 67
6 Oakland Seals 74 15 42 17 153 219 −66 47

Schedule and results

No. R Date Score Opponent Record
1TOctober 11, 19672–2 @ St. Louis Blues (1967–68) 0–0–1
2LOctober 14, 19670–6 @ Oakland Seals (1967–68) 0–1–1
3LOctober 15, 19673–5 @ Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) 0–2–1
4TOctober 18, 19673–3 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) 0–2–2
5WOctober 21, 19673–1 Oakland Seals (1967–68) 1–2–2
6WOctober 25, 19673–2 St. Louis Blues (1967–68) 2–2–2
7LOctober 28, 19672–4 Chicago Black Hawks (1967–68) 2–3–2
8LNovember 1, 19671–4 Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) 2–4–2
9WNovember 2, 19673–1 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) 3–4–2
10TNovember 4, 19672–2 Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) 3–4–3
11WNovember 8, 19675–1 St. Louis Blues (1967–68) 4–4–3
12WNovember 11, 19672–1 Toronto Maple Leafs (1967–68) 5–4–3
13LNovember 15, 19671–5 Montreal Canadiens (1967–68) 5–5–3
14TNovember 18, 19672–2 Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) 5–5–4
15LNovember 19, 19672–5 @ New York Rangers (1967–68) 5–6–4
16LNovember 22, 19670–3 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1967–68) 5–7–4
17LNovember 25, 19671–4 Chicago Black Hawks (1967–68) 5–8–4
18LNovember 26, 19671–2 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1967–68) 5–9–4
19LNovember 29, 19671–5 @ Boston Bruins (1967–68) 5–10–4
20TNovember 30, 19671–1 @ Montreal Canadiens (1967–68) 5–10–5
21WDecember 2, 19675–1 @ St. Louis Blues (1967–68) 6–10–5
22WDecember 3, 19674–3 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1967–68) 7–10–5
23TDecember 6, 19671–1 Toronto Maple Leafs (1967–68) 7–10–6
24LDecember 9, 19672–3 Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) 7–11–6
25WDecember 10, 19677–4 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) 8–11–6
26WDecember 13, 19674–0 Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) 9–11–6
27WDecember 15, 19673–0 @ Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) 10–11–6
28WDecember 16, 19671–0 @ Oakland Seals (1967–68) 11–11–6
29LDecember 21, 19670–6 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) 11–12–6
30LDecember 23, 19670–4 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) 11–13–6
31LDecember 25, 19670–1 St. Louis Blues (1967–68) 11–14–6
32TDecember 27, 19673–3 @ New York Rangers (1967–68) 11–14–7
33LDecember 28, 19672–6 @ Montreal Canadiens (1967–68) 11–15–7
34WDecember 30, 19675–4 Boston Bruins (1967–68) 12–15–7
35WJanuary 3, 19686–0 Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) 13–15–7
36TJanuary 6, 19685–5 @ Oakland Seals (1967–68) 13–15–8
37WJanuary 10, 19686–4 Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) 14–15–8
38TJanuary 13, 19682–2 Oakland Seals (1967–68) 14–15–9
39LJanuary 14, 19682–9 @ Boston Bruins (1967–68) 14–16–9
40LJanuary 17, 19680–5 @ St. Louis Blues (1967–68) 14–17–9
41LJanuary 18, 19682–4 Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) 14–18–9
42LJanuary 20, 19681–5 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1967–68) 14–19–9
43WJanuary 21, 19684–3 Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) 15–19–9
44LJanuary 24, 19682–5 @ St. Louis Blues (1967–68) 15–20–9
45WJanuary 25, 19683–0 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) 16–20–9
46WJanuary 27, 19683–1 Oakland Seals (1967–68) 17–20–9
47WJanuary 28, 19682–1 Detroit Red Wings (1967–68) 18–20–9
48WJanuary 31, 19686–1 Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) 19–20–9
49LFebruary 3, 19681–8 @ Detroit Red Wings (1967–68) 19–21–9
50WFebruary 4, 19684–3 Oakland Seals (1967–68) 20–21–9
51WFebruary 7, 19684–2 @ Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) 21–21–9
52WFebruary 10, 19685–2 @ Oakland Seals (1967–68) 22–21–9
53LFebruary 11, 19682–3 Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) 22–22–9
54LFebruary 14, 19683–6 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) 22–23–9
55LFebruary 15, 19682–6 New York Rangers (1967–68) 22–24–9
56TFebruary 17, 19682–2 St. Louis Blues (1967–68) 22–24–10
57WFebruary 21, 19685–3 Boston Bruins (1967–68) 23–24–10
58LFebruary 22, 19683–7 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) 23–25–10
59LFebruary 24, 19681–3 @ Detroit Red Wings (1967–68) 23–26–10
60TFebruary 25, 19683–3 Oakland Seals (1967–68) 23–26–11
61LFebruary 28, 19683–6 @ Oakland Seals (1967–68) 23–27–11
62WMarch 2, 19683–2 Montreal Canadiens (1967–68) 24–27–11
63TMarch 7, 19682–2 Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) 24–27–12
64TMarch 9, 19681–1 New York Rangers (1967–68) 24–27–13
65LMarch 10, 19680–2 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) 24–28–13
66LMarch 13, 19682–4 Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) 24–29–13
67LMarch 16, 19681–2 Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) 24–30–13
68WMarch 17, 19685–1 Detroit Red Wings (1967–68) 25–30–13
69TMarch 20, 19683–3 @ Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) 25–30–14
70WMarch 23, 19683–0 Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) 26–30–14
71TMarch 24, 19684–4 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) 26–30–15
72WMarch 27, 19685–3 @ Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) 27–30–15
73LMarch 30, 19682–3 @ St. Louis Blues (1967–68) 27–31–15
74LMarch 31, 19683–5 St. Louis Blues (1967–68) 27–32–15

Playoffs

In the first round of the Western Division playoffs, the North Stars defeated the Los Angeles Kings in seven games. The second round of the playoff series would be played against the St. Louis Blues and that series would go to seven games as well. The Blues would win the seventh game and advance to face the Montreal Canadiens in the 1968 Stanley Cup Finals.

Roster

1967–1968 Minnesota North Stars Roster
Goaltenders

Defencemen

Wingers

Centers

Player statistics

Forwards

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes

Player GP G A Pts PIM
Wayne Connelly 74 35 21 56 40
Ray Cullen 67 28 25 53 18
Andre Boudrias 74 18 35 53 42
Dave Balon 73 15 32 47 84
Parker MacDonald 69 19 23 42 22
Bill Goldsworthy 68 14 19 33 68
J. P. Parise 43 11 16 27 27
Bill Collins 71 9 11 20 41
Milan Marcetta 36 4 13 17 6
Bill Masterton 38 4 8 12 4
Bob McCord 70 3 9 12 39
Sandy Fitzpatrick 18 3 6 9 6
Ted Taylor 31 3 5 8 34
Bronco Horvath 14 1 6 7 4
Duke Harris 22 1 4 5 4
Murray Hall 17 2 1 3 10
Ted McCaskill 4 0 2 2 0

[8]

Defencemen

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes

Player GP G A Pts PIM
Mike McMahon 74 14 33 47 71
Bob Woytowich 66 4 17 21 63
Elmer Vasko 70 1 6 7 45
Pete Goegan 46 1 2 3 30
Bill Plager 32 0 2 2 30
Lou Nanne 2 0 1 1 0
Jean-Guy Talbot 4 0 0 0 4
Marshall Johnston 7 0 0 0 0
Don Johns 4 0 0 0 6

Goaltending

Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average

Player GP MIN W L T SO GAA
Gary Bauman 26 1294 1 2 1 0 3.48
Cesare Maniago 52 2877 21 17 9 6 2.77
Carl Wetzel 5 269 1 2 1 0 4.01

Draft picks

Expansion draft

# Player Drafted from
1. Cesare Maniago (G) New York Rangers
2. Garry Bauman (G) Montreal Canadiens
3. Dave Balon (LW) Montreal Canadiens
4. Ray Cullen (C) Detroit Red Wings
5. Bob Woytowich (D) Boston Bruins
6. Jean-Guy Talbot (D) Montreal Canadiens
7. Wayne Connelly (RW) Boston Bruins
8. Ted Taylor (LW) Detroit Red Wings
9. Pete Goegan (D) Detroit Red Wings
10. Len Lunde (C) Chicago Black Hawks
11. Bill Goldsworthy (RW) Boston Bruins
12. Andre Pronovost (LW) Detroit Red Wings
13. Elmer Vasko (D) Chicago Black Hawks
14. Murray Hall (W) Chicago Black Hawks
15. Bryan Watson (D/W) Detroit Red Wings
16. Bill Collins (C) New York Rangers
17. Sandy Fitzpatrick (C) New York Rangers
18. Parker MacDonald (C) Detroit Red Wings
19. Billy Taylor (C) Chicago Black Hawks
20. Dave Richardson (LW) Chicago Black Hawks

See also

References

  1. http://www.azhockey.com/Mi.htm
  2. Showers, Bob (2007), Minnesota North Stars: History and Memories with Lou Nanne, Beaver's Pond Press, p. 5, ISBN 1-59298-197-6
  3. 1 2 Showers, Bob (2007), Minnesota North Stars: History and Memories with Lou Nanne, Beaver's Pond Press, p. 8, ISBN 1-59298-197-6
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Showers, Bob (2007), Minnesota North Stars: History and Memories with Lou Nanne, Beaver's Pond Press, p. 9, ISBN 1-59298-197-6
  5. "Minnesota North Stars". Sports E-cyclopedia. Archived from the original on 10 October 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-13.
  6. 1 2 Showers, Bob (2007), Minnesota North Stars: History and Memories with Lou Nanne, Beaver's Pond Press, p. 28, ISBN 1-59298-197-6
  7. "1967–1968 Division Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". National Hockey League.
  8. http://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/MNS/1968.html

External links

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