Your Mid-Term Exam

A bunch of college-attending friends of mine are currently stressing their brains and writing mid-term exams. I salute these men and women as they work towards a degree in their chosen fields, and I'm hoping they do well. Writing exams is a tough thing to do for some people. Anxiety, apprehensiveness, and the stress can all make the experience very unpleasant for some, but exams and tests of some sort or another are always waiting on the horizon in the real world. Whether it be exercises that test ethics, morals, or beliefs, or be it a test of knowledge and ability, there's always some experience that will push people to see what they know and/or can do.

HBIC is here today to award someone a prize: an NHL jersey. Because I didn't give away a Guest Blogger Award last month, I'm going to offer this prize up to whoever can complete this exam with a score of 100%. You read that correctly: 100% on this HBIC Exam will get you an NHL jersey of your choosing from the options I have available.

I've broken this exam down into three parts: Nicknames, Numbers, and General Knowledge. The marks will be broken down into a 25-25-50 format, and you will be required to answer them all correctly in order to be available for the prize. I'll open this up for the month of March, and all who get 100% on the exam will be entered. If no one does, I'll look at awarding the jersey to either the highest-scoring participant (ties will be broken with a selection from a hat of all those who tied) or I'll offer it up to whomever can hit 100% first.

This isn't going to be easy, so put your thinking caps on and work away at this all month. It technically is an open-book exam since you can use whatever means at your disposal, so have at it. The questions start below. MAKE SURE YOU READ HOW TO ENTER BELOW THE QUESTIONS!

NICKNAMES

1. What was Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Aldege Bastien better known as?
2. What NHL star did Gordie Howe call "Little Beaver" after a comic strip character?
3. What was the name of the line comprised of Hooley Smith, Babe Siebert, and Nels Stewart?
4. What one-time Maple Leafs centerman answered to "Hinky"?
5. What New England Whalers sniper was nicknamed "Hawkeye" in the WHA?
6. What was Leafs forward "Mirko" Frycer's first name?
7. What Leafs legend inspired author Vincent Lunny to call him "a Rembrandt on the ice, a Nijinsky at the goalmouth"?
8. What was the name of the line that featured Charlie Simmer, Marcel Dionne, and Dave Taylor?
9. What hockey player did Bill Mazer dub "The Golden Golden" on US national TV?
10. What Chicago Blackhawks defenceman answered to the name "Whitey"?
11. What Minnesota North Stars coach and GM was nicknamed "Bird"?
12. What Los Angeles Kings defenceman was dubbed "Captain Crunch"?
13. Which NHL coach was known as "The Fog"?
14. What former Blackhawk was nicknamed "Stash"?
15. Which Montreal Canadiens star did Russian coach Viktor Tikhonov call the world's most technically perfect hockey player?
16. What New York Rangers captain was called "Bubba"?
17. What was the name of the line that featured Gordie Howe, Sid Abel, and Ted Lindsay?
18. What New York Ranger was called both "Mr. Ranger" and "Mr. Hot Rod"?
19. Red Wings goaltender Roger Crozier has what unusual nickname?
20. What was Hockey Hall of Famer David Schriner's nickname?
21. Chuck Rayner, Americans and Rangers goaltender, had what unique nickname?
22. Who was "The Popcorn Kid"?
23. Who did francophones call "Le Demon Blond"?
24. What was the nickname of former NHL referee Ian Morrison?
25. Which member of the French Connection line did Punch Imlach say was "the greatest natural scorer I've ever coached"?
    

NUMBERS

1. What is a goalie's goals-against average if he yields four goals in 80 minutes of play?
2. How many Stanley Cup-winning goals did Maurice Richard score in his career?
3. What Canadiens goaltending legend retired with 14 career playoff shutouts?
4. What Western Hockey League professional legend played a record 1425 games over 22 seasons?
5. How old was Lorne "Gump" Worsley when he stopped his last NHL shot?
6. What defenceman donned #5 in his first NHL All-Star Game in 1968?
7. What number did Bobby Hull wear immediately before switching to his iconic #9?
8. What is the maximum curve, in inches, of an NHL stick's blade?
9. Who was the first player in NHL history to score 60 or more goals and not be named to the NHL's first all-star team?
10. What Red Wings centerman set a record for shorthanded goals in one season in 1974-75 with 10?
11. How many games did each NHL team's schedule increase by for the 1967-68 season?
12. Which team was the first North American hockey club to boast three 50-goal scorers on its roster?
13. Of the 40 road games that the Capitals played in 1974-75, how many did they win?
14. Which player became the first to score 50 goals in a season without scoring a hat trick?
15. Chicago's Sam LoPresti faced 83 shots against the Bruins on March 4, 1941. How many saves did he make?
16. What NHL defenceman scored an NHL-record five goals against the Detroit Red Wings in 1977?
17. What number did Russian defenceman Alexander Ragulin make famous?
18. How many times did the Edmonton Oil Kings win the Memorial Cup during the 1960s?
19. Whose #11 was the first number retired by the Vancouver Canucks?
20. How many times does defenceman Bill Gadsby's name appear on the Stanley Cup?
21. Who was the first Maple Leaf to notch 50 goals in one season?
22. What number did rugged Canadien John Ferguson wear as a member of the Canadiens?
23. Who scored a franchise-record 56 goals for the Hartford Whalers?
24. How old was Gordie Howe when he won the WHA MVP in 1974?
25. What number did Pierre Larouche wear as a member of the Canadiens after being traded by Pittsburgh in 1977?
    

GENERAL KNOWLEDGE

1. Which of the NHL's 1967 expansion clubs was the first to advance to a Stanley Cup Final, and in what year did they perform this feat?
2. What player became the first NHLer to be assessed a triple minor penalty, and what team did he play for?
3. What NHL expansion team modeled its uniform trim on that of the Toronto Maple Leafs?
4. Which soon-to-be NHL bench boss coached Jean Béliveau for two seasons with the Quebec Aces?
5. What NHL star was the spokesman for and user of Grecian Formula?
6. What former Boston Bruins forward scored the first goal in New York Islanders history?
7. Before switching to Easton's aluminum sticks, what brand of hockey stick was Wayne Gretzky famous for using?
8. What Detroit centerman was awarded to the Los Angeles Kings in a compensation dispute by the Sixth US Circuit Court of Appeals?
9. What Schenley Award winner with the CFL's Winnipeg Blue Bombers spent the off-seasons playing hockey for the Toronto Maple Leafs?
10. What former Maple Leafs star and coach represented Waterloo South as a member of parliament in Canada's House of Commons from 1951 to 1953?
11. What animal appeared on the front of the jerseys for the Czechoslovakian national hockey team?
12. Before Glen Sather took over behind the bench for the first time, who coached the Edmonton Oilers?
13. What four men coached the Canadian team at the 1976 Canada Cup?
14. What general manager did The Globe and Mail's Dick Beddoes call "the smartest man... connected with hockey in any front-office job"?
15. What player, who never could crack an NHL roster, rewrote the American Hockey League's record book for 16 seasons with the Cleveland Barons?
16. What Red Wings player lost the sight in his right eye after being clipped by Doug Mohns' stick in 1966?
17. What former NHL coach was behind the bench for Swiss Second Division club Sierres during the 1979-80 and 1980-81 seasons?
18. Who was the last Maple Leaf to win the NHL scoring title?
19. What rookie goaltender did Bernie "Boom Boom" Geoffrion beat for his 50th goal during the 1960-61 season?
20. Besides $500, what did the Detroit Red Wings give Gordie Howe when he signed his first contract with them?
21. What goaltender was the first player to make the NHL first all-star team with three different teams?
22. What former rugged NHL defenceman coached the WHA's Toronto Toros in 1975-76?
23. What team posted a 9-7-3 win-loss-tied record when the NHL Stanley Cup Champions played the NHL All-Stars?
24. Who assisted on all three of Billy Mosienko's goals for the fastest hat trick in history?
25. What former Los Angeles Kings coach was once the player-manager of the Innsbruck team in the Austrian national league?
26. Who broke down and wept after being fired as head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs?
27. Whose last mask, adorned with a red maple leaf, now sits in the Hockey Hall of Fame?
28. What Leafs defenceman led the NHL in penalty minutes for eight consecutive seasons staring in 1932-33?
29. What nation shocked the hockey world by tying Canada 3-3 at the 1982 World Championships?
30. What college did Tony Esposito tend nets for?
31. What player was the first in professional hockey to score 50 goals in less than 50 games from the start of a season?
32. What Canadiens defenceman was offered - and rejected - an offer to tryout for baseball's Boston Braves?
33. Before the goal light was introduced, what did NHL goal judges use to signal a goal?
34. What innovation in hockey did referee Fred Waghorne initiate in 1900?
35. What distinction made the St. Catherines Orioles unique as a hockey team?
36. Who scored the Stanley Cup-winning goal for the New York Islanders in overtime in 1980?
37. Who was the first player to win a scoring title as a member of the 1967 expansion teams?
38. What former NHL goaltender provided color commentary for ABC's television coverage of the 1980 Olympic hockey tournament?
39. What former Penguin and Scout was sentenced to seven years in prison for cocaine importing?
40. What former NHL owner was once a Canadian speedskating champion?
41. What was NHL President Clarence Campbell referring to in 1968 when he coldly stated, "They are available"?
42. In the 1967 expansion draft, who did the Los Angeles Kings select as the first goaltender?
43. What was the first NHL team to have a goal against it credited to an opposing goaltender?
44. What former Ranger was a model for Sassoon jeans?
45. In the 1976 Stanley Cup Final, what did Flyers coach Fred Shero ask for a measurement on, resulting in a penalty against the Montreal Canadiens?
46. Who was the first Czechoslovakian goaltender to play for the Maple Leafs?
47. Who sung the mega-hit Honky the Christmas Goose?
48. Who said, "Dad taught us never to immediately rush at somebody who takes a shot at us"?
49. Who is the only Canadian Governor-General that has been immortalized in the Hockey Hall of Fame?
50. Whose single-season NHL scoring record did Wayne Gretzky eclipse with 212 points?

Now that you've answered all the questions, send me your answers via email with the subject line of "HBIC Exam". If that subject line is not included, it may be discarded by accident as I will be searching for the "HBIC Exam" subject line only. If you want your score returned to you, I'll do that, but I will not tell you which answer you got wrong until the contest is over.

Have at it, kids. Flex that mental muscle, and show me what you've got. It could mean you have a new NHL jersey coming your way at the end of March.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!