Pop Quiz! How many of the eponymous "Gordie Howe Hat Tricks" did Gordie Howe record in his career?
You just wanted to use the word "Eponymous."
Maybe...but it's also a little bit of trivia I recently learned.
For those who are caught unawares, the "Gordie Howe Hat Trick" is named after hockey legend Gordie Howe, widely regarded as one of the best players ever to put on the foil. He led the league in goals 4 times, assists 3 times, and total points 6 times. When he retired, he was the leading goal, assist, and point scorer in the history of pro hockey, only to be surpassed by Wayne Gretzky years later.
Howe also played with a bit of an edge to his game. He was not afraid to throw down the gloves and amassed a career total of 1685 penalty minutes. While this is a far cry from Tiger Williams' record 3966 career minutes in the Sin Bin, it makes Gretzky's 577 minute total look pretty silly.
Long after his retirement, the term "Gordie Howe Hat Trick" was coined to describe when a player registers a Goal, an Assist, and a Fight in a single game. It's a somewhat rare treat in today's game of specialization, where the fighters rarely score, and the scorers rarely fight...but there have been 6 of them so far this season. The question is...how many times did Gordie Howe pull it off?
Answer will be posted tomorrow.
1 comment:
I've heard this trivia before, but I don't remember the answer. Something tells me it was only once.
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