Jerry Lafond

Jerry Lafond
Jerry Lafond
Born	August 21, 1944; Dawson Creek, British Columbia, Canada
Died	April 23, 2022; Dawson Creek, BC
Height	6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight	190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb)
Position	Defenseman
Played for	North Dakota; Providence Reds; Denver Spurs
NHL draft	Undrafted
Playing career	1964–1971

Jerry Lafond is a Canadian retired ice hockey defenseman who was an All-American for North Dakota.^[1]

Career

Lafond began his tenure with the varsity team at North Dakota in 1964. In his first season with the program Lafond scored 14 points and helped the Fighting Sioux jump from 5th place to 1st in the WCHA and finish as runner-up for the conference championship. The team received the second western seed and finished third in the NCAA Tournament. UND declined a bit the following year, posting a 13–9 mark in conference play and tied for second place. During the season Lafond became the first defenseman in program history to record a hat-trick, which he did on November 27.^[2] North Dakota escaped an unenviable draw in the conference first round and pushed a tough Denver team into overtime, but lost the match 3–4.

Lafond was named team co-captain for his senior season and the Fighting Sioux ended atop the WCHA once again. Lafond was named to both the All-WCHA First Team and the All-American team. With the team being the lowest-scoring team in the conference (106 goals in 29 games), North Dakota was highly dependent on Lafond and the defensive corps holding opposing attackers at bay. After winning both games in the WCHA Tournament North Dakota won its first ever conference championship, sharing the crown with Michigan State. UND was placed opposite ECAC Hockey champion Cornell and the offensive troubles continued, UND was unable to score a single goal on Ken Dryden and, despite a valiant effort by Lafond et al., the single goal North Dakota allowed was one too many. The team finished the tournament in fourth place after a dismal effort against MSU.

Lafond continued his playing career after graduating and moved east. He played two seasons as a professional with the Providence Reds, then two more seasons as an amateur, first with the Denver Spurs and then in his home town with the Dawson Creek Canucks.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

			Regular Season					Playoffs
Season	Team	League	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1964–65	North Dakota	WCHA	33	1	13	14	20	—	—	—	—	—
1965–66	North Dakota	WCHA	28	7	12	19	0	—	—	—	—	—
1966–67	North Dakota	WCHA	29	5	10	15	26	—	—	—	—	—
1967–68	Providence Reds	AHL	56	0	23	23	24	8	0	1	1	2
1968–69	Providence Reds	AHL	60	1	10	11	14	9	0	0	0	2
1969–70	Denver Spurs	WHL	71	8	14	22	26	—	—	—	—	—
1970–71	Dawson Creek Canucks	CarHL	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
NCAA Totals			90	13	35	48	46	—	—	—	—	—
AHL Totals			116	1	33	34	38	17	0	1	1	4

Awards and honors

Award	Year
All-WCHA First Team	1966–67	^[3]
AHCA West All-American	1966–67	^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b "1966-1967 All-American Team". The American Hockey Coaches Association. Retrieved 2017-06-21.
^ "North Dakota men's ice hockey 2018-19 Media Guide" (PDF). North Dakota Fighting Hawks. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 16, 2021. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
^ "WCHA All-Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.

External links

Biographical information and career statistics from Eliteprospects.com, or The Internet Hockey Database

[AHCA-1] "1966-1967 All-American Team". The American Hockey Coaches Association. Retrieved 2017-06-21.

[2] "North Dakota men's ice hockey 2018-19 Media Guide" (PDF). North Dakota Fighting Hawks. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 16, 2021. Retrieved January 21, 2021.

[WCHA-3] "WCHA All-Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.

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