Fans of the NHL may know that the initials ‘GR’ are an abbreviation for ‘Goal Royals’. This is the stat-tracking website focused on the NHL where you can find player analysis, team rosters, and schedules. One of the most interesting tidbits about ‘Goal Royals’ is that the creators were inspired by the Netflix TV show ‘Hockey Games’ which follows a group of friends who play ice hockey during the winter season in Toronto.
The show captures both the spirit and intensity of a regular NHL season, and that’s exactly what the creators of ‘Goal Royals’ were aiming for. ‘Gr’ stands for ‘Goal Royals’ but it also stands for ‘Great Results’. That’s a fitting moniker for a site that covers sports, especially as the site also provides results from thousands of games dating back to 1899 that were sourced from an internal database of over 350 million individual game scores.
To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the NHL, we look at some of the most notable figures in hockey history and how they scored in crucial moments.
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Joe Higgins
In 1923, Joe Higgins became the first native American to score a hat‑trick. Sadly, he also suffered from mental illness and committed suicide at the age of 30.
Higgins was born in Denver, Colorado, in 1896 and it was there that he learned to play ice hockey, which was relatively unknown in his home state at the time. In 1914, he helped found a minor hockey league in Denver called the ‘Denver Pioneers,’ and two years later he was playing for the National Basketball League’s Chicago Bears. He also averaged over 10 points per game for the Bears.
In August of 1918, just two months after the United States had lost in a frenzy of tens, thousands of soldiers filed out of the huts and into the daylight of Paris on the banks of the River Seine with their reunited fans. During the first few days of the peace conference, a group of NHL players jumped at the opportunity to play in the City of Light and Shine, and the first NHL match to be played in Paris was on October 5, 1918. The Americans welcomed their Ace of Spades back from the trenches and won 3-1.
Babe Hickson
In 1922, Babe Hickson became the first player to score a hockey grand tour (setting multiple goals in a single game) when he helped the New York Reds score a 6-3 win over the Boston Americans, 6-4, in the first night of the season. He also led the NHL in scoring for three consecutive seasons, from 1922 to 1925.
Hickson was born in 1894 in Portland, Maine. A five‑time All‑Star, he was named to the NHL All‑Star team in 1922 and 1923. In addition to his NHL scores, Hickson also played for the Detroit Red Wings, and the New York Reds of the American League.
Fred Hodge
In 1925, Fred Hodge scored a typo (and theoretical hockey universe still doesn’t know what it is as it’s not recognized as a valid score type until this year) when he helped the Cherry Pits win a 14-13 overtime game against the Hull Metropolitan League champions in the NHL’s very first steroid era. This was the first game to go to extra frames, causing fans to remain up all night.
Hodge was born in 1894 in Toronto, Ontario, and it’s here that he grew up enjoying hockey. He started his NHL career with the Montreal Maroons in 1915 and scored 20 goals in his first season. He also scored 20 or more goals in four consecutive seasons, from 1916 to 1919. In addition to his NHL scores, Hodge also played for the New York Reds and Pittsburgh Green Giants in the American League.
Joe Nevin
In 1938, Joe Nevin was nominated for the first All‑Star Team and named to the All‑Star Game, which was then known as the ‘Hockey All‑Stars.’ Even though he was only 26 years old at the time, Nevin was already a veteran of the game. He played in the NHL with the Nashville Pioneers (where he was named to the All‑Star Team) and Toronto where he was a triple winner of the Maurice Béchere Trophy (scoring the most goals in the league while playing against the bottom of the league).
Nevin was born in 1902 in Toronto and it was there that he learned to play ice hockey. He first played for the Toronto Harbour Steamers and Toronto Scottish League team at the age of 15. He also played for the NHL’s New York Reds where he was a two‑time MVP (most valuable player) and scored 20 or more goals in five seasons. In addition to his NHL scores, Nevin also played for the New York Thoroughbreds and Metropolitan Bruins.
Doc Robinson
One of the most memorable moments of the 1938 Hockey All‑Stars was the game 7 semifinal between the Nashville Pioneers and the New York Reds. It was a bitterly cold night in Nashville, Tennessee, and the Pioneers had to battle through blizzards and the hurricane season to make it to the playoff teams. The New York Reds dominated the first seven games of the series before the Pioneers came back to life and even though they lost the remaining two games of the series, it was one of the most intense and entertaining seasons in the history of the NHL.