# Bill Armstrong (ice hockey, born 1966)

William Harold Armstrong (born June 25, 1966) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player.

## Early life

Armstrong was born in London, Ontario. As a youth, he played in the 1979 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice hockey team from London, Ontario. Armstrong played at Western Michigan University from 1986 to 1989.

## Career

Armstrong played in one National Hockey League (NHL) game for the Philadelphia Flyers during the 1990–91 NHL season and spent the rest of his professional career in the American Hockey League (AHL) and International Hockey League (IHL). His playing career was cut short due to a brain tumor which required surgery.
He invented a move he called a "high wrap", a lacrosse-style shot he successfully used to score goals starting in the 1993–94 AHL season with the Albany River Rats. The move was later notably used by fellow London, Ontario-born player Mike Legg, who learned it while playing shinny with Armstrong at their hometown arena during the off-season. Legg scored a goal with the Michigan Wolverines, in the high profile 1996 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey tournament – as compared to the "maybe only 3,000 people [...] in the building" at a River Rats game – earning the move the name "Michigan goal" in the United States. The high wrap / lacrosse-style goal / Michigan goal (names used interchangeably in reporting) later gained further attention when used by Sidney Crosby, Miks Indrašis, Mikael Granlund, Andrei Svechnikov, Trevor Zegras, Kent Johnson and Connor Bedard.

## Career statistics

| | | | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1984–85 | London Diamonds | OHA-B | 43 | 17 | 21 | 38 | 102 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1985–86 | London Diamonds | OHA-B | 41 | 26 | 23 | 49 | 81 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1986–87 | Western Michigan Broncos | CCHA | 43 | 13 | 20 | 33 | 86 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1987–88 | Western Michigan Broncos | CCHA | 41 | 22 | 17 | 39 | 88 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1988–89 | Western Michigan Broncos | CCHA | 40 | 23 | 19 | 42 | 97 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1989–90 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 58 | 10 | 6 | 16 | 99 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1990–91 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1990–91 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 70 | 36 | 27 | 63 | 150 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 19 |
| 1991–92 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 64 | 26 | 22 | 48 | 186 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| 1992–93 | Cincinnati Cyclones | IHL | 42 | 14 | 11 | 25 | 99 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1992–93 | Utica Devils | AHL | 32 | 18 | 21 | 39 | 60 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1993–94 | Albany River Rats | AHL | 74 | 32 | 50 | 82 | 188 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1994–95 | Albany River Rats | AHL | 76 | 32 | 47 | 79 | 115 | 13 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 20 |
| 1995–96 | Albany River Rats | AHL | 10 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1995–96 | Indianapolis Ice | IHL | 12 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 13 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1995–96 | Detroit Vipers | IHL | 54 | 34 | 25 | 59 | 66 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 15 |
| 1996–97 | Grand Rapids Griffins | IHL | 35 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 39 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1996–97 | Orlando Solar Bears | IHL | 34 | 4 | 25 | 29 | 55 | 10 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 29 |
| 1997–98 | Orlando Solar Bears | IHL | 62 | 19 | 18 | 37 | 106 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1997–98 | Kansas City Blades | IHL | 9 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 24 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 11 |
| NHL totals | NHL totals | NHL totals | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — |