Ten Things You Didn’t Know About Ice Hockey

Here are surprising facts that you never knew about ice hockey; however, if you already knew these, it probably means that you are either a huge fan or that you’ve got too much time on your hands. Yeah right!

1. The first NHL goal was scored by Dave Ritchie of the Montreal Wanderers in a game against the Toronto Arenas on the 19^th of December 1917.
2. The first self – propelled ice – clearing machine was invented in 1949 by Frank Zamboni.
3. Forward were never allowed in the game of hockey before the 1927 – 1928 seasons.
4. Bobby Hull holds the fastest slapshot in history, and it was registered at 118 miles per hour.
5. Paul Coffey of the Edmonton Oilers set the record for defencemen, and it was set at 37 points in the playoffs of 1985.

• The Boston Bruins signed Bobby Orr in a five-year contract worth $200, 000 per season in 1971, and this was the first million-dollar contract in the history of the NHL.
• Referees are known to place the puck on the ice between the players’ sticks for face-offs before the 1914 NHL season. However, this led to several kinds of injuries for the referees.
• Hall of Famer Mikita Stan of the Chicago Blackhawks is credited with creating the curved stick blade during the 1960s season. Before then, all blades were straight.
• The former home to the Toronto maple leafs, the maple leaf garden became the first hockey arena to initiate the four-sided game clock in 1932.
• The record for the most points in a single game was ten and was set by Darryl Sittler.

There you have it, at least you now can boast to have a bit of hockey knowledge than the casual hockey fan.