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 4th 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.
==Off-season==
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. 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. Their efforts were successful as the NHL awarded one of six expansion franchises to Minnesota on February 9, 1966. In addition to Minnesota, the five other franchises were California (Oakland), Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and St. Louis. The "North Stars" name was announced on May 25, 1966, following a public contest. The name is derived from the state's motto "L'Étoile du Nord", which is a French phrase meaning "The Star of the North". Months after the naming of the team, ground was broken on October 3, 1966, for a new hockey arena in Bloomington, Minnesota. The home of the North Stars, the Metropolitan Sports Center (or Met Center for short), was built in 12 months at a cost of $7 million. 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. Spectator seats were in the process of being installed as fans arrived at the arena for the opening home game on October 21, 1967.
==Pre-season==
During the pre-season, the North Stars jersey emblem had a serif in the upper left corner of the "N" pointing downwards. Once the regular season began, the emblem's serif was changed to point horizontally. 
The North Stars held their training camp in Haliburton, Ontario and played 14 exhibition games, finishing with a 6-7-1 record.
September 16, 1967: Memphis South Stars (CPHL) 3, Minnesota 1 @ Haliburton, Ontario
September 17, 1967: Minnesota 3, Oakland Seals 1 @ Port Huron, Michigan
September 18, 1967: Minnesota 7, Los Angeles Kings 3 @ Hamilton, Ontario
September 19, 1967: Los Angeles 6, Minnesota 2 @ Guelph, Ontario
September 20, 1967: Minnesota 10, Memphis South Stars 4 @ Kingston, Ontario
September 23, 1967: Minnesota 4, Oakland 3 @ Kingston, Ontario
September 24, 1967: Minnesota 3, Los Angeles 0 @ Oshawa, Ontario
September 26, 1967: Minnesota 3, Oakland 3 @ Oshawa, Ontario
September 29, 1967: Pittsburgh Penguins 7, Minnesota 2 @ Brantford, Ontario
September 30, 1967: Minnesota 6, Pittsburgh 1 @ Oshawa, Ontario
October 1, 1967: Oakland 3, Minnesota 2 @ Port Huron, Michigan
October 3, 1967: Philadelphia Flyers 4, Minnesota 3 @ Kingston, Ontario
October 4, 1967: Pittsburgh 2, Minnesota 0 @ Belleville, Ontario
October 5, 1967: Pittsburgh 5, Minnesota 2 @ Kingston, Ontario
==Regular Season==
The inaugural North Stars jersey colors were green, white and yellow with a primarily green home jersey and a primarily white away jersey. The jerseys had three stripes on the arms and body, no names on the back and the jersey numbers were outlined. The white jersey had a shoulder yoke and green sleeves below the stripes. The logo was an outlined, stylized "N" with a gold star above. The logo had a slight variation in the pre-season.
Bill Masterton scored the first goal in franchise history during the 2-2 tie against the St. Louis Blues on October 11, 1967.
Workers were still installing seats in the Met Center on October 21, 1967, the day of the home opener as the North Stars faced the California Seals. Minnesota defeated California (soon to renamed Oakland) 3-1 with Bill Goldsworthy scoring the first goal in the Met Center's history and Ray Cullen netting the winner.
On December 13, 1967, the North Stars and Cesare Maniago achieved the first shutout in team history, defeating the Los Angeles Kings 4-0. Maniago and the North Stars went on a shutout streak, beating the Kings 3-0 on December 15 and the Oakland Seals 1-0 on December 16. Maniago had his 4th shutout on January 3, 1968 as the Stars blanked the Kings for the third time, by 6-0. Maniago finished the season with 6 shutouts, tied for second best in the league and the most in a season in his career.
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===
===Game Log===
Regular Season Results	Regular Season Results	Regular Season Results	Regular Season Results	Regular Season Results 	Regular Season Results
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==
===Minnesota North Stars 4, Los Angeles Kings 3===
In the first round of the Western Division playoffs, the North Stars defeated the Los Angeles Kings in seven games.
===St. Louis Blues 4, Minnesota North Stars 3===
The West Division Final between the St. Louis Blues and Minnesota was one of the closest seven game series in NHL history. Games 2 (won by Minnesota on Parker MacDonald's goal), 4 (won by St. Louis' Gary Sabourin's goal) and 5 (won by St. Louis' Bill McCreary, Sr.'s goal) all went to overtime. Game 7 went to double overtime and was won by the Blues Ron Schock's breakaway goal.
==Player Stats==
===Forwards===
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes
# 	Player 	GP	G 	A 	Pts	PIM
12 	Wayne Connelly 	74	35	21	56 	40
10 	Ray Cullen 	67	28	25	53 	18
15 	Andre Boudrias 	74	18	35	53 	42
17 	Dave Balon 	73	15	32	47 	84
6 	Parker MacDonald 	69	19	23	42 	22
8, 9, 14	Bill Goldsworthy 	68	14	19	33 	68
11, 20 	J. P. Parise 	43	11	16	27 	27
18 	Bill Collins 	71	9 	11	20 	41
9 	Milan Marcetta 	36	4 	13	17 	6
19 	Bill Masterton 	38	4 	8 	12 	4
7 	Sandy Fitzpatrick	18	3 	6 	9 	6
11 	Ted Taylor 	31	3 	5 	8 	34
16 	Bronco Horvath 	14	1 	6 	7 	4
16 	Duke Harris 	22	1 	4 	5 	4
9 	Murray Hall 	17	2 	1 	3 	10
7, 20 	Ted McCaskill 	4 	0 	2 	2 	0
7 	Bob Charlebois 	7 	1 	0 	1 	0
14 	Len Lunde 	7 	0 	1 	1 	0
20 	Barrie Meissner 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0
16, 22 	George Standing 	2 	0 	0 	0 	0
20 	Walt McKechnie 	4 	0 	0 	0 	0
7, 8, 16	Andre Pronovost 	8 	0 	0 	0 	0
http://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/MNS/1968.html
===Defencemen===
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes
# 	Player 	GP	G 	A 	Pts	PIM
6 	Mike McMahon 	74	14	33	47 	71
2, 16 	Bob Woytowich 	66	4 	17	21 	63
3 	Bob McCord 	70	3 	9 	12 	39
4 	Elmer Vasko 	70	1 	6 	7 	45
5 	Pete Goegan 	46	1 	2 	3 	30
21 	Bill Plager 	32	0 	2 	2 	30
22, 23	Lou Nanne 	2 	0 	1 	1 	0
3 	Jean-Guy Talbot 	4 	0 	0 	0 	4
20 	Don Johns 	4 	0 	0 	0 	6
16, 22	Marshall Johnston	7 	0 	0 	0 	0
===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
1 	Gary Bauman 	26	1294	1 	2 	1	0 	3.48
30	Cesare Maniago	52	2877	21	17	9	6 	2.77
1 	Carl Wetzel 	5 	269 	1 	2 	1	0 	4.01
==Awards and Records==
*The North Stars did not win any awards this season.
==Transactions==
==Draft Picks==
===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
==Trivia==
*North Stars who recorded a hat trick this season include:
**Wayne Connelly during the 6-4 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on January 10, 1968.
**Wayne Connelly during the 3-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens on March 2, 1968.
==Gallery==
1967-D._Hull_Stapleton_Masterton.jpg|Dennis Hull, Pat Stapleton and Bill Masterton in 1967 action.
13Jan1968-Masterton_stretcher.jpg|Bill Masterton being stretchered off, January 13, 1968.
28Jan1968-Horvath_Howe.jpg|Bronco Horvath played his last NHL games for the North Stars in 1968, replacing Bill Masterton.
1967-68 Stars-Kings.jpg|North Stars and Kings in 1967-68 season action.
==See Also==
* 1967–68 NHL season
==References==
==External Links==
* North Stars on Hockey Database
Category:Minnesota North Stars seasons
Category:1967 in hockey
Category:1968 in hockey