COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Aaron Broten, Bobby Carpenter, John MacInnes and John Vanbiesbrouck will be enshrined into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame as the Class of 2007 it was announced today by USA Hockey.
The quartet will be formally inducted into the Hall at a dinner ceremony on Friday, Oct. 12, at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center in Grand Forks, N.D. The U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game, pitting defending national champion Michigan State University against host University of North Dakota, will be played at the Ralph Engelstad Arena on Saturday, Oct. 13.
“The members of the Class of 2007 represent the highest standard of excellence and accomplishment,” said Ron DeGregorio, president of USA Hockey. “It is my great pleasure to congratulate and welcome them into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame.”
Broten enjoyed a highly successful two-year playing career (1979-81) at the University of Minnesota before joining the professional ranks. At Minnesota, he set a record for points by a rookie (25-47—72) en route to being named the Western Collegiate Hockey Association’s Freshman of the Year. The following season, he recorded a still-standing Gopher-record 106 points (47-59) to lead the team to the WCHA title and the NCAA championship game.
After leaving Minnesota, Broten went on to play 748 career games in the National Hockey League. During his 12-year career (1981-92), he played for five different NHL teams, including the Colorado Rockies/New Jersey Devils franchise, Minnesota North Stars, Quebec Nordiques, Toronto Maple Leafs and Winnipeg Jets. On the international level, Broten competed at five world championships, two Canada Cups and one world junior championship. He retired from professional hockey in 1992.
Carpenter was the first player to make the jump from high school straight to the NHL in 1981. During his professional career, he played for the Washington Capitals, New York Rangers, L.A. Kings, Boston Bruins and New Jersey Devils. During his 19 seasons in the NHL, Carpenter amassed 728 points (320-408) in 1,178 games. He was the first American to score more than 50 goals in a season when he tallied 53 during the 1984-85 campaign with the Capitals.
Carpenter played in the 1985 NHL All-Star Game, was a member of the 1989-90 Bruins that won the President’s Trophy before falling in the Stanley Cup finals and won the Stanley Cup with the 1994-95 Devils. During his playing career, he also represented the United States at one world championship, a pair of Canada Cups and one world junior championship. Following his retirement in 1999, he served as both an assistant and head coach in the American Hockey League with the Albany River Rats and won Stanley Cup rings in 2000 and 2003 as an assistant coach with the Devils.
The late John MacInnes is one of the most renowned college hockey coaches in U.S. history. After playing two seasons (1945-46/1949-50) at the University of Michigan in goal and three years (1946-49) in the Detroit Red Wings system in the International Hockey League, he became the league director of the Ann Arbor (Mich.) Amateur Hockey League. There, he initiated the first Bantam classification. After four years in Ann Arbor, he headed to Michigan Tech University, where he began a historic 26-year (1956-82) head-coaching career.
While at Tech, MacInnes led the Huskies to three NCAA championships and seven WCHA championships, and was named the NCAA Coach of the Year twice and the WCHA Coach of the Year six times. He has already been inducted into the University Michigan Hall of Honor, Michigan Tech University Sports Hall of Fame, State of Michigan Sports Hall of Fame and Upper Peninsula Sports Hall of Fame. He was honored with the NHL’s prestigious Lester Patrick Award in 1986 and the Legend of College Hockey Award in 1999.
Vanbiesbrouck’s 20-year (1981-82/1983-2002) NHL career represents the longest tenure for an American-developed goaltender in NHL history. Over that span, he played in 882 games and recorded 374 wins, the most ever for an American-born netminder. In addition, he posted 40 career shutouts and a 2.98 goals-against average. Vanbiesbrouck spent time with the New York Rangers, Florida Panthers, Philadelphia Flyers, New York Islanders and New Jersey Devils, and played in three NHL All-Star Games (1994, 1996, 1997).
Vanbiesbrouck was honored with the NHL’s Vezina Trophy as the league’s best goaltender in 1986 and was a runner-up for the award in 1994. He was also a member of the 1991-92 Rangers team that won the President’s Trophy and led the 1995-96 Panthers to the Stanley Cup Finals in only their third year of play. Internationally, Vanbiesbrouck played in the 1998 Olympic Winter Games, four world championships, two Canada Cups and two world junior championships.
U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame inductees are chosen on the basis of accomplishments in the game of hockey, sportsmanship, character, contributions to their team(s) or organization(s) and contributions to the game of hockey in general. A nominee must have distinguished him/herself by exceptional performance and outstanding character reflecting favorably upon the game of hockey.
NOTES: Ticket information for the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Induction Dinner will be released next week … John Mayasich served as the chair of the 2007 U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame selection committee … The U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame was founded in 1973. To date, there are 130 enshrined members in the Hall … USA Hockey and the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame reached an agreement on May 11, 2007, that transferred rights to the selection process and induction event associated with the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame to USA Hockey … The U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Museum, located in Eveleth, Minn., is open daily. For hours of operation and admission prices, call 1-800-443-7825.