Gordie Howe hat trick

Pavel Datsyuk recognized on the Joe Louis Arena scoreboard for his Gordie Howe hat trick on October 8, 2010.

In ice hockey, a Gordie Howe hat trick is a variation on the hat-trick, wherein a player scores a goal, records an assist, and gets in a fight all in one game.^[1] It is named after Gordie Howe, well known for his skill at both scoring and fighting.

The first known Gordie Howe hat trick was achieved by Hall of Famer Harry Cameron of the Toronto St. Pats on December 22, 1920.^[2]

The namesake of the achievement, Gordie Howe, achieved a Gordie Howe hat trick only twice in his NHL career:

• Howe got his first Gordie Howe hat trick on October 11, 1953 when he fought the Toronto Maple Leafs' Fernie Flaman, assisted on Red Kelly's goal, and scored his own.
• Howe's second happened on March 21, 1954, once again versus the Maple Leafs. Howe scored the opening goal, assisted on two Ted Lindsay goals, and fought Ted "Teeder" Kennedy.^[3]

A double Gordie Howe hat trick, involving two players who fought each other, has occurred on two occasions:

• On March 9, 2010, Fedor Tyutin (who recorded 1G, 2A) fought Ryan Getzlaf (who recorded 1G, 1A)^[1]
• On January 10, 2012, Adam Henrique (who recorded 1G, 1A) fought Jarome Iginla (who recorded 1G, 2A)^[1]

A double Gordie Howe hat trick achieved by two players on the same team occurred on April 5, 2012, in a game between the Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks. Joe Thornton and Ryane Clowe of the Sharks each recorded 1G, 1A and one fight.^[4]

A triple Gordie Howe hat trick occurred on November 14, 1992, in a game between Buffalo Sabres and New York Islanders. Tom Fitzgerald recorded 1G 1A,^[5] Wayne Presley recorded 1G 2A,^[6] Benoit Hogue recorded 2G 1A^[7] and all three players recorded fights.

On April 9, 1981, during a play-off game between the Minnesota North Stars and the Boston Bruins, a triple-double Gordie Howe Hat Trick occurred. Bryan Maxwell and Bobby Smith of the Minnesota North Stars and Brad Park of the Boston Bruins all got Gordie Howe Hat Tricks. Smith and Park fought each other. ^[8][9] Park also scored 1G and 3A. The North Stars won the game nine to six.

An unusual Gordie Howe hat trick that included a player's first NHL goal occurred on November 19, 2014, when Steve Pinizzotto was called up by the Edmonton Oilers and he made his 2014-15 season debut against his previous team, the Vancouver Canucks. Coach's Corner Don Cherry and Ron McLean broadcast the replay of Pinizzotto's Gordie Howe Hat Trick along with multiple broadcasters.^{[10][11][12][13]}

Leaders

According to the Society for International Hockey Research, the all-time leader in regular season Gordie Howe hat tricks is Brendan Shanahan (who would later become the NHL's chief disciplinarian) with 17. In second is Rick Tocchet with 15, followed by Brian Sutter with 12. The active leader is Jarome Iginla of the Colorado Avalanche with 9.^[14]

If one were to include regular season and playoffs, Tocchet has the most Gordie Howe hat tricks as listed below with actual game box scores.

Both regular season and playoff GHHTs included in totals.

Player	Number	Date
Rick Tocchet	18[15]	January 5, 1985 March 9, 1986 October 16, 1986 January 3, 1987 January 15, 1987 December 4, 1988 November 11, 1989 November 23, 1990 February 18, 1991 November 17, 1992 November 23, 1992 October 23, 1993 November 6, 1993 January 22, 1995 October 12, 1996 December 19, 1997 April 1, 1998 December 16, 2000
Brendan Shanahan	17[16]	February 11, 1989 March 10, 1990 March 29, 1990 December 21, 1991 February 15, 1992 March 26, 1992 March 30, 1994 April 25, 1995 December 12, 1996 March 26, 1997 November 9, 1997 February 9, 1999 March 21, 1999 October 10, 2001 April 1, 2002 December 31, 2003 March 30, 2006
Brian Sutter	17[17]	April 6, 1978 January 16, 1979 January 30, 1979 October 9, 1979 April 11, 1981 April 14, 1981 December 30, 1981 April 11, 1982 November 16, 1982 December 23, 1982 February 12, 1983 January 3, 1984 March 18, 1984 October 14, 1984 April 4, 1985 November 2, 1985 December 26, 1985

References

1. Fox, Luke (January 11, 2012). "Fox on NHL: Greatest trick in the book". Sportsnet. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
2. Duplacey, James; Zweig, Eric (2010). Official Guide to the Players of the Hockey Hall of Fame. Firefly Books. p. 81. ISBN 1-55407-662-5.
3. Going inside the “Gordie Howe Hat Trick”
4. "Box score". ESPN. 5 April 2012. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
5. "Thomas Fitzgerald game log". NHL.com. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
6. http://www.nhl.com/ice/player.htm?id=8450523&view=log&season=19921993
7. "Benoit Hogue game log". NHL.com. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
8. "Flyers History - Philadelphia Flyer Game Summary". www.flyershistory.com. Retrieved 2016-06-28.
9. "Gordie Howe Hat Trick: Season in Review; 1980-81". gordie-howe-hat-trick.blogspot.ca. Retrieved 2016-06-28.
10. "HNIC - Don Cherry Coach's Corner November 22, 2014". youtube.com. 2014-11-22. Retrieved 2014-11-22.
11. "IN DEPTH: Persistent Pinizzotto". Edmonton Oilers. 2014-11-23. Retrieved 2014-11-23.
12. "PINIZZOTTO GOES GORDIE HOWE IN 1ST GAME". Sportsnet. 2014-11-19. Retrieved 2014-11-19.
13. "Former Canuck Pinizzotto gets rare Howe hat trick". The Province. 2014-11-20. Retrieved 2014-11-20.
14. "Howe to Hat Trick". The Hockey News. 65 (20): 14. 2012-03-16. ISSN 0018-3016.
15. "Gordie Howe Hat Trick: Career GHHTs: Rick Tocchet". gordie-howe-hat-trick.blogspot.ca. Retrieved 2016-06-28.
16. "Gordie Howe Hat Trick: Career GHHTs: Brendan Shanahan". gordie-howe-hat-trick.blogspot.ca. Retrieved 2016-06-28.
17. "Gordie Howe Hat Trick: Career GHHTs: Brian Sutter". gordie-howe-hat-trick.blogspot.ca. Retrieved 2016-06-28.