1967–68 Minnesota North Stars season

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.

1967–68 Minnesota North Stars
Division4th West
1967–68 record27–32–15
Goals for191
Goals against226
Team information
General managerWren Blair[1]
CoachWren Blair
CaptainBob Woytowich
ArenaMet Center
Team leaders
GoalsWayne Connelly (35)
AssistsAndré Boudrias (35)
PointsWayne Connelly (56)
Penalty minutesDave Balon (84)
WinsCesare Maniago (21)
Goals against averageCesare Maniago (2.77)

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
1Philadelphia Flyers74313211173179−673
2Los Angeles Kings74313310200224−2472
3St. Louis Blues74273116177191−1470
4Minnesota North Stars74273215191226−3569
5Pittsburgh Penguins74273413195216−2167
6Oakland Seals74154217153219−6647

Record vs. opponents

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, 19673–1Oakland Seals (1967–68)1–2–2
6WOctober 25, 19673–2St. Louis Blues (1967–68)2–2–2
7LOctober 28, 19672–4Chicago Black Hawks (1967–68)2–3–2
8LNovember 1, 19671–4Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68)2–4–2
9WNovember 2, 19673–1@ Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68)3–4–2
10TNovember 4, 19672–2Los Angeles Kings (1967–68)3–4–3
11WNovember 8, 19675–1St. Louis Blues (1967–68)4–4–3
12WNovember 11, 19672–1Toronto Maple Leafs (1967–68)5–4–3
13LNovember 15, 19671–5Montreal Canadiens (1967–68)5–5–3
14TNovember 18, 19672–2Philadelphia 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, 19671–4Chicago 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, 19671–1Toronto Maple Leafs (1967–68)7–10–6
24LDecember 9, 19672–3Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68)7–11–6
25WDecember 10, 19677–4@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68)8–11–6
26WDecember 13, 19674–0Los 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, 19670–1St. 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, 19675–4Boston Bruins (1967–68)12–15–7
35WJanuary 3, 19686–0Los Angeles Kings (1967–68)13–15–7
36TJanuary 6, 19685–5@ Oakland Seals (1967–68)13–15–8
37WJanuary 10, 19686–4Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68)14–15–8
38TJanuary 13, 19682–2Oakland 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, 19682–4Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68)14–18–9
42LJanuary 20, 19681–5@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1967–68)14–19–9
43WJanuary 21, 19684–3Pittsburgh 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, 19683–1Oakland Seals (1967–68)17–20–9
47WJanuary 28, 19682–1Detroit Red Wings (1967–68)18–20–9
48WJanuary 31, 19686–1Los Angeles Kings (1967–68)19–20–9
49LFebruary 3, 19681–8@ Detroit Red Wings (1967–68)19–21–9
50WFebruary 4, 19684–3Oakland 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, 19682–3Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68)22–22–9
54LFebruary 14, 19683–6@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68)22–23–9
55LFebruary 15, 19682–6New York Rangers (1967–68)22–24–9
56TFebruary 17, 19682–2St. Louis Blues (1967–68)22–24–10
57WFebruary 21, 19685–3Boston 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, 19683–3Oakland Seals (1967–68)23–26–11
61LFebruary 28, 19683–6@ Oakland Seals (1967–68)23–27–11
62WMarch 2, 19683–2Montreal Canadiens (1967–68)24–27–11
63TMarch 7, 19682–2Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68)24–27–12
64TMarch 9, 19681–1New York Rangers (1967–68)24–27–13
65LMarch 10, 19680–2@ Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68)24–28–13
66LMarch 13, 19682–4Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68)24–29–13
67LMarch 16, 19681–2Los Angeles Kings (1967–68)24–30–13
68WMarch 17, 19685–1Detroit Red Wings (1967–68)25–30–13
69TMarch 20, 19683–3@ Los Angeles Kings (1967–68)25–30–14
70WMarch 23, 19683–0Pittsburgh 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, 19683–5St. Louis Blues (1967–68)27–32–15

Playoffs

The North Stars, having squeaked into the playoffs by two points (having the same number of wins as Pittsburgh but with two more ties) would play the #2 seed in the newly created Western Division side of the postseason bracket, since the expansion from six to twelve teams put all the new teams in the Western that would ensure one of them to play in the Stanley Cup. At any rate, Minnesota would play in five overtime games in their fourteen postseason matches, winning just two of them. The North Stars, facing the chance to go to the Stanley Cup, took the lead in Game 7 on Walt McKechnie's goal with 3:11 to play. However, the Blues followed it up 31 seconds later with a goal from Dickie Moore that would mean overtime. Cesare Maniago and Glenn Hall combined for 80 saves, but Ron Schock's "Midnight Goal" in double-overtime (it would be known as the "Midnight Goal" by numerous fans) to send the Blues to the Final.

Stanley Cup Quarterfinals

GameDateLocationScoreRecord
1April 4Los Angeles1–21–0
2April 6Los Angeles0–22–0
3April 9Minnesota7–52–1
4April 11Minnesota3–22–2
5April 13Los Angeles2–32–3
6April 16Minnesota4–3 (OT)3–3
7April 18Los Angeles9–44–3

North Stars win series 4–3

Stanley Cup Semifinals

GameDateLocationScoreRecord
1April 21St. Louis3–51–0
2April 22Minnesota3–2 (OT)1–1
3April 25St. Louis5–12–1
4April 27St. Louis3–4 (OT)2–2
5April 29St. Louis2–3 (OT)2–3
6May 1Minnesota5–13–3
7May 3St. Louis1–2 (2OT)3–4

North Stars lose series 4–3

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.

Player statistics

Forwards

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

Player GP G A Pts PIM
Wayne Connelly7435215640
Ray Cullen6728255318
Andre Boudrias7418355342
Dave Balon7315324784
Parker MacDonald6919234222
Bill Goldsworthy6814193368
J. P. Parise4311162727
Bill Collins719112041
Milan Marcetta36413176
Bill Masterton3848124
Sandy Fitzpatrick183696
Ted Taylor3135834
Bronco Horvath141674
Duke Harris221454
Murray Hall1721310
Ted McCaskill40220

[9]

Defencemen

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

Player GP G A Pts PIM
Mike McMahon7414334771
Bob Woytowich664172163
Bob McCord70391239
Elmer Vasko7016745
Pete Goegan4612330
Bill Plager3202230
Lou Nanne20110
Jean-Guy Talbot40004
Marshall Johnston70000
Don Johns40006

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 Bauman26129412103.48
Cesare Maniago5228772117962.77
Carl Wetzel526912104.01

Awards and records

Draft picks

Expansion draft
See also: 1967 NHL 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

Amateur draft

Minnesota's draft picks at the 1967 NHL Amateur Draft held at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Quebec.

Round # Player Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League)
14Wayne Cheesman CanadaWhitby Dunlops (MetJHL)
213Larry Mick CanadaPembroke Lumber Kings (CJAHL)

See also

References
  1. "A to Z Encyclopaedia of Ice Hockey - Mi". Archived from the original on October 17, 2007. Retrieved November 1, 2007.
  2. Showers, Bob (2007), Minnesota North Stars: History and Memories with Lou Nanne, Beaver's Pond Press, p. 5, ISBN 978-1-59298-197-7
  3. Showers, Bob (2007), Minnesota North Stars: History and Memories with Lou Nanne, Beaver's Pond Press, p. 8, ISBN 978-1-59298-197-7
  4. Showers, Bob (2007), Minnesota North Stars: History and Memories with Lou Nanne, Beaver's Pond Press, p. 9, ISBN 978-1-59298-197-7
  5. "Minnesota North Stars". Sports E-cyclopedia. Archived from the original on October 10, 2007. Retrieved November 13, 2007.
  6. Showers, Bob (2007), Minnesota North Stars: History and Memories with Lou Nanne, Beaver's Pond Press, p. 28, ISBN 978-1-59298-197-7
  7. "1967–1968 Division Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". National Hockey League.
  8. "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  9. "1967-68 Minnesota North Stars Roster and Statistics".
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