Hat Trick
A “Hat Trick” is when a player scores three goals in one game.
A
“Natural Hat Trick” is scoring three goals in a row within the same period,
with no intervening goals from either team.
A “Gordy Howe Hat Trick”
is when a player has a goal, an assist and a fight during one game.
About Hat Tricks
Why is it called a “Hat Trick”?
This question poses some difficulty as
there exist numerous answers and no definite way of proving which historical
view is correct. Below you will find outlined the four most common answers.
1. Hockey borrowed the term from Cricket. In 1958, a Cricket player in
England took three wickets with consecutive balls, an incredible trick. As a
reward, his club gave the bowler a new hat, hence the name “Hat Trick”.
2. In the early days of hockey history, players earned little money from
their teams and fans were not allowed to give the players money. In those
days, hats were a sign of wealth and affluence and worn by all respectable
men. As a result, the fans gave players hats instead of money. Unable, due
to rules and practicality, to give players a hat after every game, fans
only gave a hat to a player when he accomplished the impressive feat of
scoring three goals in one game.
3. When the sport of hockey first
began, it was a very different game than it is today. Instead of putting the
puck into the net to score, the players had to knock the puck, on the ice,
between two posts. The goal judge sat five feet back from the posts and
waved his hankie when a goal was scored. On one windy day, a goal judge had
his hankie blow away. To get the attention of the players and fans when a
goal had scored, he threw his hat on the ice. It just so happened to be
after the player scored his third goal. From this point on, fans took to
throwing hats on the ice after a player scored three goals.
4. “I take
my hat off to you.” When a player managed the amazing task of scoring three
goals in one game, the fans recognized this by taking their hats off to the
player. This eventually turned into the fans throwing their hats on the ice
after a “Hat Trick”!
Hockey Trivia by the Numbers!
http://www.falmouthicearena.com/funfacts.htm
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