Hat tricks

Let’s start with the idea of a hat trick. Jason Krog’s hat trick in the previous game was almost matched by another on Sunday as he scored two goals within about seven minutes in a spanking of the Toronto Marlies. Hat tricks are relatively unusual in standard play, rare in the playoffs. So what is a hat trick?

Much of this information comes from Wikipedia, standard hat trick, three goals of any color in a game.

Gordie Howe hat trick, a goal, an assist and a major penalty in a game. Gordie Howe is reputed to have only scored one of these during his career.

Texas hat trick, four goals in a game. I think it is better to call these a hat trick plus one, as the Chitown Daily News does. That of course leads to a hat trick plus two or plus three… Pretty simple and descriptive. Texas? What does Texas have to do with anything big?

Okay, a natural hat trick. There seems to be some discussion of this. Three goals in a row. Three goals, one in each period. And finally, three goals, all in the same period. I had several discussions with people about whether Krog’s goals, separated by the goal of an opposing player, might qualify as a natural. Apparently not.

Mario Lemieux hat trick. I also heard this called a full cycle. In a single game and in any order, a goal, a short handed goal, an empty net goal, a penalty shot goal and a power play goal. Mario Lemieux is reputed to have scored one of these on a day he also had a treatment for his cancer.