1967–68 Minnesota North Stars season

National Hockey League team season March 2026 August 2023 NHL 1967–68 1967 Minnesota North Stars West 4th 27–32–15 17–12–8 10–20–7 191 226 Wren Blairhttp://www.azhockey.com/Mi.htm A to Z Encyclopaedia of Ice Hockey – Mi 2007-11-01 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20071017023352/http://www.azhockey.com/Mi.htm 2007-10-17 Wren Blair Bob Woytowich Elmer VaskoDave BalonMike McMahon Jr. Met Center Wayne Connelly (35) André Boudrias (35) Wayne Connelly (56) Dave Balon (84) Cesare Maniago (21) Cesare Maniago (2.77) The 1967–68 Minnesota North Stars season was the team's inaugural season in the National Hockey League (NHL). They finished fourth 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. 2 Offseason 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. Showers Bob 2007 Minnesota North Stars: History and Memories with Lou Nanne Beaver's Pond Press 978-1-59298-197-7 5 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. Showers Bob 2007 Minnesota North Stars: History and Memories with Lou Nanne Beaver's Pond Press 978-1-59298-197-7 8 Their efforts were successful as the NHL awarded one of six expansion franchises to Minnesota on February 9, 1966. Showers Bob 2007 Minnesota North Stars: History and Memories with Lou Nanne Beaver's Pond Press 978-1-59298-197-7 9 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".Minnesota North Stars http://www.sportsecyclopedia.com/nhl/minnystars/northstars.html Sports E-cyclopedia 2007-11-13 https://web.archive.org/web/20071010125207/http://www.sportsecyclopedia.com/nhl/minnystars/northstars.html 10 October 2007 live 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 US$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. Showers Bob 2007 Minnesota North Stars: History and Memories with Lou Nanne Beaver's Pond Press 978-1-59298-197-7 28 Spectator seats were in the process of being installed as fans arrived at the arena for the opening home game on October 21, 1967. Regular season Bill Masterton 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 MIN Record vs. opponents MIN Playoffs The North Stars, having squeaked into the playoffs by two points (having the same number of wins as Pittsburgh but with two more ties) would play the #2 seed in the newly created Western Division side of the postseason bracket, since the expansion from six to twelve teams put all the new teams in the Western that would ensure one of them to play in the Stanley Cup. At any rate, Minnesota would play in five overtime games in their fourteen postseason matches, winning just two of them. The North Stars, facing the chance to go to the Stanley Cup, took the lead in Game 7 on Walt McKechnie's goal with 3:11 to play. However, the Blues followed it up 31 seconds later with a goal from Dickie Moore that would mean overtime. Cesare Maniago and Glenn Hall combined for 80 saves, but Ron Schock's "Midnight Goal" in double-overtime (it would be known as the "Midnight Goal" by numerous fans) to send the Blues to the Final. In the first round of the Western Division playoffs, the North Stars defeated the Los Angeles Kings in seven games. The second round of the playoff series would be played against the St. Louis Blues and that series would go to seven games as well. The Blues would win the seventh game and advance to face the Montreal Canadiens in the 1968 Stanley Cup Finals. Schedule and results background:#fff; border-top:#009639 5px solid; border-bottom:#FFD100 5px solid; 1967–68 regular season1967-68 Minnesota North Stars Schedule https://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/MNS/1968_games.html Hockey-Reference.com March 26, 2025 y background:#fff; border-top:#009639 2px solid; border-bottom:#FFD100 2px solid; October Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |1||T||October 11, 1967||2–2 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues (1967–68) ||0–0–1 |- |2||L||October 14, 1967||0–6 || align="left"| @ California SealsCurrier Steve The California Golden Seals: a tale of white skates, red ink, and one of the NHLs most outlandish teams 2017 University of Nebraska Press Lincoln 978-0-8032-8848-5 52 (1967–68) ||0–1–1 |- |3||L||October 15, 1967||3–5 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) ||0–2–1 |- |4||T||October 18, 1967||3–3 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) ||0–2–2 |- |5||W||October 21, 1967||3–1 || align="left"| California Seals (1967–68) ||1–2–2 |- |6||W||October 25, 1967||3–2 || align="left"| St. Louis Blues (1967–68) ||2–2–2 |- |7||L||October 28, 1967||2–4 || align="left"| Chicago Black Hawks (1967–68) ||2–3–2 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#009639 2px solid; border-bottom:#FFD100 2px solid; November Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |8||L||November 1, 1967||1–4 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) ||2–4–2 |- |9||W||November 2, 1967||3–1 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) ||3–4–2 |- |10||T||November 4, 1967||2–2 || align="left"| Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) ||3–4–3 |- |11||W||November 8, 1967||5–1 || align="left"| St. Louis Blues (1967–68) ||4–4–3 |- |12||W||November 11, 1967||2–1 || align="left"| Toronto Maple Leafs (1967–68) ||5–4–3 |- |13||L||November 15, 1967||1–5 || align="left"| Montreal Canadiens (1967–68) ||5–5–3 |- |14||T||November 18, 1967||2–2 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) ||5–5–4 |- |15||L||November 19, 1967||2–5 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers (1967–68) ||5–6–4 |- |16||L||November 22, 1967||0–3 || align="left"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1967–68) ||5–7–4 |- |17||L||November 25, 1967||1–4 || align="left"| Chicago Black Hawks (1967–68) ||5–8–4 |- |18||L||November 26, 1967||1–2 || align="left"| @ Chicago Black Hawks (1967–68) ||5–9–4 |- |19||L||November 29, 1967||1–5 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins (1967–68) ||5–10–4 |- |20||T||November 30, 1967||1–1 || align="left"| @ Montreal Canadiens (1967–68) ||5–10–5 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#009639 2px solid; border-bottom:#FFD100 2px solid; December Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |21||W||December 2, 1967||5–1 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues (1967–68) ||6–10–5 |- |22||W||December 3, 1967||4–3 || align="left"| @ Chicago Black Hawks (1967–68) ||7–10–5 |- |23||T||December 6, 1967||1–1 || align="left"| Toronto Maple Leafs (1967–68) ||7–10–6 |- |24||L||December 9, 1967||2–3 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) ||7–11–6 |- |25||W||December 10, 1967||7–4 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) ||8–11–6 |- |26||W||December 13, 1967||4–0 || align="left"| Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) ||9–11–6 |- |27||W||December 15, 1967||3–0 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) ||10–11–6 |- |28||W||December 16, 1967||1–0 || align="left"| @ Oakland Seals (1967–68) ||11–11–6 |- |29||L||December 21, 1967||0–6 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) ||11–12–6 |- |30||L||December 23, 1967||0–4 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) ||11–13–6 |- |31||L||December 25, 1967||0–1 || align="left"| St. Louis Blues (1967–68) ||11–14–6 |- |32||T||December 27, 1967||3–3 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers (1967–68) ||11–14–7 |- |33||L||December 28, 1967||2–6 || align="left"| @ Montreal Canadiens (1967–68) ||11–15–7 |- |34||W||December 30, 1967||5–4 || align="left"| Boston Bruins (1967–68) ||12–15–7 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#009639 2px solid; border-bottom:#FFD100 2px solid; January Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |35||W||January 3, 1968||6–0 || align="left"| Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) ||13–15–7 |- |36||T||January 6, 1968||5–5 || align="left"| @ Oakland Seals (1967–68) ||13–15–8 |- |37||W||January 10, 1968||6–4 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) ||14–15–8 |- |38||T||January 13, 1968||2–2 || align="left"| Oakland Seals (1967–68) ||14–15–9 |- |39||L||January 14, 1968||2–9 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins (1967–68) ||14–16–9 |- |40||L||January 17, 1968||0–5 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues (1967–68) ||14–17–9 |- |41||L||January 18, 1968||2–4 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) ||14–18–9 |- |42||L||January 20, 1968||1–5 || align="left"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1967–68) ||14–19–9 |- |43||W||January 21, 1968||4–3 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) ||15–19–9 |- |44||L||January 24, 1968||2–5 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues (1967–68) ||15–20–9 |- |45||W||January 25, 1968||3–0 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) ||16–20–9 |- |46||W||January 27, 1968||3–1 || align="left"| Oakland Seals (1967–68) ||17–20–9 |- |47||W||January 28, 1968||2–1 || align="left"| Detroit Red Wings (1967–68) ||18–20–9 |- |48||W||January 31, 1968||6–1 || align="left"| Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) ||19–20–9 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#009639 2px solid; border-bottom:#FFD100 2px solid; February Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |49||L||February 3, 1968||1–8 || align="left"| @ Detroit Red Wings (1967–68) ||19–21–9 |- |50||W||February 4, 1968||4–3 || align="left"| Oakland Seals (1967–68) ||20–21–9 |- |51||W||February 7, 1968||4–2 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) ||21–21–9 |- |52||W||February 10, 1968||5–2 || align="left"| @ Oakland Seals (1967–68) ||22–21–9 |- |53||L||February 11, 1968||2–3 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) ||22–22–9 |- |54||L||February 14, 1968||3–6 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) ||22–23–9 |- |55||L||February 15, 1968||2–6 || align="left"| New York Rangers (1967–68) ||22–24–9 |- |56||T||February 17, 1968||2–2 || align="left"| St. Louis Blues (1967–68) ||22–24–10 |- |57||W||February 21, 1968||5–3 || align="left"| Boston Bruins (1967–68) ||23–24–10 |- |58||L||February 22, 1968||3–7 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) ||23–25–10 |- |59||L||February 24, 1968||1–3 || align="left"| @ Detroit Red Wings (1967–68) ||23–26–10 |- |60||T||February 25, 1968||3–3 || align="left"| Oakland Seals (1967–68) ||23–26–11 |- |61||L||February 28, 1968||3–6 || align="left"| @ Oakland Seals (1967–68) ||23–27–11 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#009639 2px solid; border-bottom:#FFD100 2px solid; March Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |62||W||March 2, 1968||3–2 || align="left"| Montreal Canadiens (1967–68) ||24–27–11 |- |63||T||March 7, 1968||2–2 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) ||24–27–12 |- |64||T||March 9, 1968||1–1 || align="left"| New York Rangers (1967–68) ||24–27–13 |- |65||L||March 10, 1968||0–2 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) ||24–28–13 |- |66||L||March 13, 1968||2–4 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) ||24–29–13 |- |67||L||March 16, 1968||1–2 || align="left"| Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) ||24–30–13 |- |68||W||March 17, 1968||5–1 || align="left"| Detroit Red Wings (1967–68) ||25–30–13 |- |69||T||March 20, 1968||3–3 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) ||25–30–14 |- |70||W||March 23, 1968||3–0 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) ||26–30–14 |- |71||T||March 24, 1968||4–4 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) ||26–30–15 |- |72||W||March 27, 1968||5–3 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) ||27–30–15 |- |73||L||March 30, 1968||2–3 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues (1967–68) ||27–31–15 |- |74||L||March 31, 1968||3–5 || align="left"| St. Louis Blues (1967–68) ||27–32–15 |- |- | Legend: #cfc Win (2 points) 1px solid black #fcc Loss (0 points) 1px solid black #ffc Tie (1 point) 1px solid black Playoffs background:#fff; border-top:#009639 5px solid; border-bottom:#FFD100 5px solid; 1968 Stanley Cup playoffs y background:#fff; border-top:#009639 2px solid; border-bottom:#FFD100 2px solid; Quarterfinals vs. (W2) Los Angeles Kings – North Stars win 4–3 Game Result Date Score Opponent Series |- | 1 ||W|| April 4, 1968 || 1–2 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings || North Stars lead 1–0 |- | 2 ||W|| April 6, 1968 || 0–2 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings || North Stars lead 2–0 |- | 3 ||L|| April 9, 1968 || 7–5 || align="left"| Los Angeles Kings || North Stars lead 2–1 |- | 4 ||L|| April 11, 1968 || 3–2 || align="left"| Los Angeles Kings || Series tied 2–2 |- | 5 ||L|| April 13, 1968 || 2–3 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings || Kings lead 3–2 |- | 6 ||W|| April 16, 1968 || 4–3 (OT) || align="left"| Los Angeles Kings || Series tied 3–3 |- | 7 ||W|| April 18, 1968 || 9–4 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings || North Stars win 4–3 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#009639 2px solid; border-bottom:#FFD100 2px solid; Semifinals vs. (W3) St. Louis Blues – Blues win 4–3 Game Result Date Score Opponent Series |- | 1 ||W|| April 21, 1968 || 3–5 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues || North Stars lead 1–0 |- | 2 ||L|| April 22, 1968 || 3–2 (OT) || align="left"| St. Louis Blues || Series tied 1–1 |- | 3 ||W|| April 25, 1968 || 5–1 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues || North Stars lead 2–1 |- | 4 ||L|| April 27, 1968 || 3–4 (OT) || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues || Series tied 2–2 |- | 5 ||L|| April 29, 1968 || 2–3 (OT) || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues || Blues lead 3–2 |- | 6 ||W|| May 1, 1968 || 5–1 || align="left"| St. Louis Blues || Series tied 3–3 |- | 7 ||L|| May 3, 1968 || 1–2 (2OT) || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues || Blues win 4–3 |- |- | Legend: #cfc Win 1px solid black #fcc Loss 1px solid black Player statistics Forwards Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes Player GP G A Pts PIM Wayne Connelly 74 35 21 56 40 Ray Cullen 67 28 25 53 18 Andre Boudrias 74 18 35 53 42 Dave Balon 73 15 32 47 84 Parker MacDonald 69 19 23 42 22 Bill Goldsworthy 68 14 19 33 68 J. P. Parise 43 11 16 27 27 Bill Collins 71 9 11 20 41 Milan Marcetta 36 4 13 17 6 Bill Masterton 38 4 8 12 4 Sandy Fitzpatrick 18 3 6 9 6 Ted Taylor 31 3 5 8 34 Bronco Horvath 14 1 6 7 4 Duke Harris 22 1 4 5 4 Murray Hall 17 2 1 3 10 Ted McCaskill 4 0 2 2 0https://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/MNS/1968.html 1967-68 Minnesota North Stars Roster and Statistics Defensemen Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes Player GP G A Pts PIM Mike McMahon 74 14 33 47 71 Bob Woytowich 66 4 17 21 63 Bob McCord 70 3 9 12 39 Elmer Vasko 70 1 6 7 45 Pete Goegan 46 1 2 3 30 Bill Plager 32 0 2 2 30 Lou Nanne 2 0 1 1 0 Jean-Guy Talbot 4 0 0 0 4 Marshall Johnston 7 0 0 0 0 Don Johns 4 0 0 0 6 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 Gary Bauman 26 1294 4 13 5 0 3.48 Cesare Maniago 52 2877 22 16 9 6 2.77 Carl Wetzel 5 269 1 3 1 0 4.02 Draft picks Expansion draft 1967 NHL 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 Amateur draft Minnesota's draft picks at the 1967 NHL amateur draft held at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal. Round # Player Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League)14 Wayne Cheesman Canada Whitby Dunlops (MetJHL)213 Larry Mick Canada Pembroke Lumber Kings (CJAHL) See also 1967–68 NHL season References External links North Stars on Hockey Database Minnesota Category:Minnesota North Stars seasons Minnesota North Stars Minnesota North Stars