January 3, 1974
Simply one of the best nicknames in all of sports belongs to a beloved Flyer, Dave Schultz. Nicknamed "The Hammer" for the heavy right hand that he would throw during a fight, he also had some scoring skills as well. On this night, his hands stayed inside his gloves as he played more like Bobby Clarke. He recorded his first NHL hat trick as the Flyers beat the N.Y Rangers, 4-2.
He opened the scoring in the first period, scoring his sixth goal of the season, assisted by Rick MacLeish and Don Saleski just 1:43 into the game. Later in the period, Jean Ratelle would score for the Rangers to answer but Saleski scored less than a minute later to make it 2-1 Flyers heading into the second.
Five minutes into the second, the Rangers tied it up at two on a goal by Ted Irvine. Eight minutes later, Schultz notched his second of the game, assisted by Ed Van Impe and Terry Crisp to give the Flyers the lead once again. The Flyers would carry that 3-2 lead into the locker room to start the third.
With the Flyers outshooting the Rangers 23-12 entering the third period, the Broadway Blueshirts would need to make a push to get the game tied. With Gary Dornhoefer off for two minutes for an interference call at 9:21, the Rangers had their golden opportunity to tie the game.
The Flyers, with Hall of Famer Bernie Parent between the pipes, held off the Rangers until Schultz scored his third of the game, assisted by Orest Kindrachuk and Barry Ashbee at 15:23. Hats rained down on the Spectrum ice from the 17,007 in attendance as Schultz celebrated his hat trick and in doing so, helped secure a 4-2 victory.
For the 1973-74 campaign, Dave set a career high with his first 20-goal season. He added two more goals and four assists in the playoffs in which he played 17 games as a part of the Flyers historic run to their first Stanley Cup.
Schultz is known for his enforcer style, legendary fighting and playing a key role of the Broad Street Bullies teams of the 1970's. His 472 penalty minutes in the 1974-75 season is still an NHL record to this day. He’s had many a memorable fight versus the likes of Terry O’Reilly, Clark Gilles and Gary Howatt, among others.
One of Schultz' records that will stand alone is his recording of a song. In 1975, he decided to record "The Penalty Box," released on a 45rpm single. It is the type of song that is half parody, half serious. For the three plus minutes of runtime, you can appreciate some of its humor while remembering that Schultz is by no means, the fifth Beatle. You can listen to the song below.
Here is also a tribute video of many of Schultz' best fights.
Ah, the good old days….
Mike Watson is a contributing writer for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on twitter @Mwats_99
