April 10, 1973: Dornhoefer's OT winner puts Flyers on cusp of 1st playoff series win
With the Flyers tied in their first round playoff series with the Minnesota North Stars, they would have the chance to take a 3-2 series lead with a key matchup at the Spectrum. If they could win this game, they would be one win away from their first ever playoff series win.
In Game 5, an immortalized goal by Gary Dornhoefer in overtime gave them that win.
The game didn’t start out well for the Flyers, as they fell behind 1-0 at 10:38 on a North Stars goal by Danny Grant, beating netminder Doug Favell.
Just seconds later, Minnesota’s Dennis O’Brien would be whistled for a high sticking minor and the Flyers would go on the power play. Wasting little time, Rick MacLeish scored to tie it at one, assisted by "Cowboy" Bill Flett and Bobby Clarke.
The teams would head to the locker room after the first period tied at one, with the North Stars outshooting the Flyers 12-8.
In the second period, it was MacLeish once again, on the power play, notching his second goal of the game at 2:17 to give the Flyers a 2-1 lead. Both teams tightened up on defense as the shots in the second were just 5-4 in favor of Minnesota.
In the third, both teams intensified on offense, but it wasn’t until late in the period that the Stars were able to tie the score. Veteran Bill Goldsworthy beat Favell with just seven minutes left. This pivotal Game 5 would head to overtime.
With a great individual effort, "Dorny" would score one of the most memorable goals in Flyers history.
Beating two men as he skated down the boards, he cut to the net and flipped a shot past goalie Cesare Maniago, just as defenseman Tom Reid upended him. The Spectrum and its capacity crowd of 17,077 erupted.
This huge Game 5 victory propelled the Flyers to dispatch Minnesota in Game 6 by a 4-1 score just two days later and earn them their first playoff series win. The goal itself, was immortalized with a statue, which stood proudly outside the Spectrum for many years.
Mike Watson is a contributing writer for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on twitter @Mwats_99.
