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Colorado Rockies (NHL, 1981-82)

1981-82 Regular Season:
Rockies vs. Vancouver Canucks

      1981-82 was the sixth season of Colorado Rockies hockey, and eighth overall for the franchise (they played their first two seasons as the Kansas City Scouts). During it's six-year stay in Denver, the Rockies made the postseason just one time, and never came close to a .500 record. The franchise changed coaches yearly, sometimes during the season as well. The poor performance on the ice and instability in the franchise, along with frequent rumors of the team moving out, caused the attendance average to never climb above 10,000 a game at 16,000-seat McNichols Sports Arena.

     1981-82 was more of the same. Following a 3-17-4 start, head coach Bert Marshall was canned in favor of assistant coach Marshall Johnston, formerly the head coach at the University of Denver. Johnston got the team to play slightly better (15-32-9), but the Rockies ended up buried in the NHL cellar, with a 18-49-13 record. Their meagre 49 points were 14 behind fourth place Los Angeles in the Smythe Division and six points behind the next-worst team in the league, the Detroit Red Wings. Attendance for Rockies games was at 8,180 per game, second-lowest in the league behind Calgary (who played in the 7,000-seat Stampede Corral at the time). 

     Newcomer Brent Ashton, arriving from Vancouver, played in all 80 games and led the Rockies with 24 goals and 60 points. Steve Tambellini led the team with 29 goals. Don Lever, acquired from Calgary during the season, was the only other Colorado player with 20 goals, pumping in 22. As a team, the Rockies scored just 241 goals, worst in the league, 23 behind the Hartford Whalers.

     Colorado was just as bad on defense. Only one player, center Paul Miller, had a positive +/- number

Rockies Roster

(+2), but he only played in 3 games. Veteran Dwight Foster was a team worst -53 in 70 games. The Rockies actually had good goaltenders this year, but they had no help in front of them. Glenn "Chico" Resch, acquired from the New York Islanders last season, bore the brunt of the abuse in net for the Rockies. Chico played in 61 games, sporting a 16-31-11 record with a 4.03 GAA. Veteran Phil Myre fared much worse, with a 2-17-2 record and 5.35 GAA in 24 games. Rick LaFerriere and former "Miracle on Ice" backup goalie Steve Janaszak also made it into games. As a group, the Rockies surrendered 363 goals, fourth most in the NHL.

     This is from the February 26, 1982, game against the Vancouver Canucks. In front of a crowd of 6,996, the Rockies lost to Vancouver Canucks, 4-3. That was Colorado's fourth straight loss.  

     Canucks goaltender Glenn Hanlon is on the front of that night's program. This is a 44-page program, mostly in black-and-white on glossy paper. Page 9 features a price list for Rockies souvenirs, from 75¢ for a 3 1/2" button (all teams) to $35 for a a Rockies jersey. I have the pennant, which I bought on eBay a few years ago. It hung in my classroom for years. Local advertisements include Downing's Electronics, Brown Palace Hotel, the Larimer Press, The Light Store, and Sam's Place Del Norte Border Town Restaurant and Bar.

GOAL Magazine
     This program also came with a copy of GOAL, the official magazine of the NHL. It's 56 pages, all in color, and features articles about Dan Bouchard, the Nashville South Stars, Ed Kea of the St. Louis Blues, and Toronto's Rick Vaive. Pages 5-11 feature an interview with MASH star (and Toledo native) Jamie Farr. Ads include Winston cigarettes, Puerto Rican Rums, Porsche and Smirnoff vodka.

Aftermath: On April 3, 1982, 9,824 fans at McNichols Sports Arena watched the Rockies defeat the Calgary Flames, 3-1, in the last game of the season. This would turn out to be the last-ever game for the Colorado Rockies, as the team would be sold to Houston Astros owner John McMullen in May. McMullen would move the Rockies to East Rutherford, New Jersey, to play in the new 19,040-seat Meadowlands Arena. The team would be renamed New Jersey Devils. The Rockies would be replaced in Denver by the CHL's Colorado Flames, the primary farm team of the Calgary Flames. NHL hockey would not return to The Mile High City until 1995, when the Quebec Nordiques would move to town and become the Colorado Avalanche.



References:

National Hockey League Regular Season Statistics: 1981-82,  from hockeydb.com

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