Michael John Polich (born December 19, 1952) is an American former professional ice hockey player who played 226 games in the National Hockey League from 1977 to 1981. He won the Stanley Cup in 1977 with the Montreal Canadiens and played in the 1981 Stanley Cup Finals with the Minnesota North Stars.
| Mike Polich | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
December 19, 1952 Hibbing, Minnesota, U.S. | ||
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (173 cm) | ||
| Weight | 170 lb (77 kg; 12 st 2 lb) | ||
| Position | Center | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for |
Montreal Canadiens Minnesota North Stars | ||
| National team |
 United States | ||
| NHL draft | Undrafted | ||
| Playing career | 1975–1981 | ||
Playing career
editPolich was a college hockey star for the University of Minnesota and also played for Team USA at the 1974 and 1975 Ice Hockey World Championship tournaments before signing a free agent contract with the Montreal Canadiens of the NHL in 1975. Polich spent most of the next three seasons in Canadiens system with their farm team the Nova Scotia Voyageurs of the American Hockey League, but he did get his name on the Stanley Cup in 1977 as a reserve on the Canadiens' championship winning team. He also played for Team USA in the inaugural 1976 Canada Cup tournament. Polich's NHL career finally took off after he signed for the Minnesota North Stars in 1978 where he became an accomplished defensive specialist and penalty killer. He finally retired in 1981 after three years as a regular North Star.
Career statistics
editRegular season and playoffs
edit| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1969–70 | Hibbing High School | HS-MN | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1970–71 | Hibbing High School | HS-MN | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1971–72 | University of Minnesota | B1G | 32 | 8 | 5 | 13 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1972–73 | University of Minnesota | B1G | 34 | 18 | 14 | 32 | 34 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1973–74 | University of Minnesota | B1G | 40 | 19 | 33 | 52 | 36 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1974–75 | University of Minnesota | B1G | 42 | 25 | 37 | 62 | 84 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1975–76 | Nova Scotia Voyageurs | AHL | 75 | 24 | 19 | 43 | 66 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 6 | ||
| 1976–77 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | — | — | — | — | — | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1976–77 | Nova Scotia Voyageurs | AHL | 69 | 19 | 41 | 60 | 48 | 11 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 6 | ||
| 1977–78 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1977–78 | Nova Scotia Voyageurs | AHL | 79 | 22 | 38 | 60 | 70 | 11 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 4 | ||
| 1978–79 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 73 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1978–79 | Oklahoma City Stars | CHL | 9 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1979–80 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 78 | 10 | 14 | 24 | 20 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | ||
| 1980–81 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 74 | 8 | 5 | 13 | 19 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| AHL totals | 223 | 65 | 98 | 163 | 184 | 31 | 10 | 15 | 25 | 16 | ||||
| NHL totals | 226 | 24 | 29 | 53 | 57 | 23 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | ||||
International
edit| Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | United States | WC-B | 7 | 7 | 5 | 12 | — | |
| 1975 | United States | WC | 10 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 34 | |
| 1976 | United States | CC | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | |
| Senior totals | 22 | 10 | 11 | 21 | — | |||
Awards and honors
edit| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| All-NCAA All-Tournament Team | 1974 | [1] |
| All-WCHA First Team | 1974–75 | [2] |
| AHCA West All-American | 1974–75 | [3] |
References
edit- ^ "NCAA Frozen Four Records" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved 2013-06-19.
- ^ "WCHA All-Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
- ^ "Men's Ice Hockey Award Winners" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
External links
edit- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
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