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1967–68 Minnesota North Stars season

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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)

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

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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

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Bill Masterton

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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

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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


Record vs. opponents

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Schedule and results

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No. R Date Score Opponent Record
1 T October 11, 1967 2–2 @ St. Louis Blues (1967–68) 0–0–1
2 L October 14, 1967 0–6 @ Oakland Seals (1967–68) 0–1–1
3 L October 15, 1967 3–5 @ Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) 0–2–1
4 T October 18, 1967 3–3 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) 0–2–2
5 W October 21, 1967 3–1 Oakland Seals (1967–68) 1–2–2
6 W October 25, 1967 3–2 St. Louis Blues (1967–68) 2–2–2
7 L October 28, 1967 2–4 Chicago Black Hawks (1967–68) 2–3–2
8 L November 1, 1967 1–4 Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) 2–4–2
9 W November 2, 1967 3–1 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) 3–4–2
10 T November 4, 1967 2–2 Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) 3–4–3
11 W November 8, 1967 5–1 St. Louis Blues (1967–68) 4–4–3
12 W November 11, 1967 2–1 Toronto Maple Leafs (1967–68) 5–4–3
13 L November 15, 1967 1–5 Montreal Canadiens (1967–68) 5–5–3
14 T November 18, 1967 2–2 Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) 5–5–4
15 L November 19, 1967 2–5 @ New York Rangers (1967–68) 5–6–4
16 L November 22, 1967 0–3 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1967–68) 5–7–4
17 L November 25, 1967 1–4 Chicago Black Hawks (1967–68) 5–8–4
18 L November 26, 1967 1–2 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1967–68) 5–9–4
19 L November 29, 1967 1–5 @ Boston Bruins (1967–68) 5–10–4
20 T November 30, 1967 1–1 @ Montreal Canadiens (1967–68) 5–10–5
21 W December 2, 1967 5–1 @ St. Louis Blues (1967–68) 6–10–5
22 W December 3, 1967 4–3 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1967–68) 7–10–5
23 T December 6, 1967 1–1 Toronto Maple Leafs (1967–68) 7–10–6
24 L December 9, 1967 2–3 Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) 7–11–6
25 W December 10, 1967 7–4 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) 8–11–6
26 W December 13, 1967 4–0 Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) 9–11–6
27 W December 15, 1967 3–0 @ Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) 10–11–6
28 W December 16, 1967 1–0 @ Oakland Seals (1967–68) 11–11–6
29 L December 21, 1967 0–6 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) 11–12–6
30 L December 23, 1967 0–4 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) 11–13–6
31 L December 25, 1967 0–1 St. Louis Blues (1967–68) 11–14–6
32 T December 27, 1967 3–3 @ New York Rangers (1967–68) 11–14–7
33 L December 28, 1967 2–6 @ Montreal Canadiens (1967–68) 11–15–7
34 W December 30, 1967 5–4 Boston Bruins (1967–68) 12–15–7
35 W January 3, 1968 6–0 Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) 13–15–7
36 T January 6, 1968 5–5 @ Oakland Seals (1967–68) 13–15–8
37 W January 10, 1968 6–4 Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) 14–15–8
38 T January 13, 1968 2–2 Oakland Seals (1967–68) 14–15–9
39 L January 14, 1968 2–9 @ Boston Bruins (1967–68) 14–16–9
40 L January 17, 1968 0–5 @ St. Louis Blues (1967–68) 14–17–9
41 L January 18, 1968 2–4 Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) 14–18–9
42 L January 20, 1968 1–5 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1967–68) 14–19–9
43 W January 21, 1968 4–3 Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) 15–19–9
44 L January 24, 1968 2–5 @ St. Louis Blues (1967–68) 15–20–9
45 W January 25, 1968 3–0 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) 16–20–9
46 W January 27, 1968 3–1 Oakland Seals (1967–68) 17–20–9
47 W January 28, 1968 2–1 Detroit Red Wings (1967–68) 18–20–9
48 W January 31, 1968 6–1 Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) 19–20–9
49 L February 3, 1968 1–8 @ Detroit Red Wings (1967–68) 19–21–9
50 W February 4, 1968 4–3 Oakland Seals (1967–68) 20–21–9
51 W February 7, 1968 4–2 @ Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) 21–21–9
52 W February 10, 1968 5–2 @ Oakland Seals (1967–68) 22–21–9
53 L February 11, 1968 2–3 Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) 22–22–9
54 L February 14, 1968 3–6 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) 22–23–9
55 L February 15, 1968 2–6 New York Rangers (1967–68) 22–24–9
56 T February 17, 1968 2–2 St. Louis Blues (1967–68) 22–24–10
57 W February 21, 1968 5–3 Boston Bruins (1967–68) 23–24–10
58 L February 22, 1968 3–7 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) 23–25–10
59 L February 24, 1968 1–3 @ Detroit Red Wings (1967–68) 23–26–10
60 T February 25, 1968 3–3 Oakland Seals (1967–68) 23–26–11
61 L February 28, 1968 3–6 @ Oakland Seals (1967–68) 23–27–11
62 W March 2, 1968 3–2 Montreal Canadiens (1967–68) 24–27–11
63 T March 7, 1968 2–2 Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) 24–27–12
64 T March 9, 1968 1–1 New York Rangers (1967–68) 24–27–13
65 L March 10, 1968 0–2 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) 24–28–13
66 L March 13, 1968 2–4 Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) 24–29–13
67 L March 16, 1968 1–2 Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) 24–30–13
68 W March 17, 1968 5–1 Detroit Red Wings (1967–68) 25–30–13
69 T March 20, 1968 3–3 @ Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) 25–30–14
70 W March 23, 1968 3–0 Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) 26–30–14
71 T March 24, 1968 4–4 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) 26–30–15
72 W March 27, 1968 5–3 @ Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) 27–30–15
73 L March 30, 1968 2–3 @ St. Louis Blues (1967–68) 27–31–15
74 L March 31, 1968 3–5 St. Louis Blues (1967–68) 27–32–15

Playoffs

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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

Game Date Location Score Record
1 April 4 Los Angeles 1–2 1–0
2 April 6 Los Angeles 0–2 2–0
3 April 9 Minnesota 7–5 2–1
4 April 11 Minnesota 3–2 2–2
5 April 13 Los Angeles 2–3 2–3
6 April 16 Minnesota 4–3 (OT) 3–3
7 April 18 Los Angeles 9–4 4–3

North Stars win series 4–3

Stanley Cup Semifinals

Game Date Location Score Record
1 April 21 St. Louis 3–5 1–0
2 April 22 Minnesota 3–2 (OT) 1–1
3 April 25 St. Louis 5–1 2–1
4 April 27 St. Louis 3–4 (OT) 2–2
5 April 29 St. Louis 2–3 (OT) 2–3
6 May 1 Minnesota 5–1 3–3
7 May 3 St. Louis 1–2 (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

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Forwards

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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
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

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Defencemen

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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
Bob McCord 70 3 9 12 39
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

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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 4 13 5 0 3.48
Cesare Maniago 52 2877 22 16 9 6 2.77
Carl Wetzel 5 269 1 3 1 0 4.02

Awards and records

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Transactions

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Draft picks

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Expansion draft

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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

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

Round # Player Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League)
1 4 Wayne Cheesman  Canada Whitby Dunlops (MetJHL)
2 13 Larry Mick  Canada Pembroke Lumber Kings (CJAHL)

Farm teams

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See also

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References

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  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. ^ a b 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. ^ a b c d e 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. ^ a b 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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