- Mark Pavelich
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Mark Pavelich Born February 28, 1958
Eveleth, MN, USAHeight 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Weight 175 lb (79 kg; 12 st 7 lb) Position Forward Shot Right Played for NHL
New York Rangers
Minnesota North Stars
San Jose SharksNational team 
United StatesNHL Draft Undrafted Playing career 1981–1992 Olympic medal record Men's ice hockey Gold 1980 Lake Placid Team Mark Thomas Pavelich (born February 28, 1958 in Eveleth, Minnesota) is a retired US professional ice hockey forward who played 355 regular season games in the NHL for the New York Rangers, Minnesota North Stars and San Jose Sharks between 1981 and 1992 and was a member of the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team that won the gold medal in what has been called the Miracle on Ice.
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Amateur career
The son of Croatian immigrants, Pavelich grew up in rural Minnesota. He attended the University of Minnesota Duluth as an amateur player for three seasons in 1977–79. Pavelich is best known for being a member of the Miracle on Ice, the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey gold medal team. He got the only assist on the game winning goal by Mike Eruzione.
Professional career
After the Olympics, Pavelich (who was never drafted by an NHL team) played one season for HC Lugano in Switzerland where he scored 73 Points in 60 games. He also returned to the US national team for the 1981 Ice Hockey World Championship tournament. He was brought back to the United States the following year by his former US Olympic coaches Herb Brooks and Craig Patrick, who had assumed control of the New York Rangers since the 1980 Olympics. Despite his small size, Pavelich initially thrived in his role as a quick playmaking centre for the Rangers (he still holds the Ranger record for most points as a rookie(76)). However, his career in New York was ended by a feud with Brooks' successor Ted Sator who introduced a traditional North American dump-and-chase style of play. Pavelich balked at the lack of effectiveness and disorder brought on by the changes.
Pavelich briefly played again for Brooks with the Minnesota North Stars in 1987 before returning to Europe. He had a brief stint in Britain for the Dundee Rockets and played two seasons in Italy for HC Bolzano. The expansion San Jose Sharks brought him out of retirement for the 1991–92 NHL season, but he would play only two games for the Sharks before retiring for good. However, he did manage to record an assist on the Sharks' first-ever goal, scored by Craig Coxe in the third period of a 4-3 loss to the Vancouver Canucks on October 4, 1991.
On February 23, 1983, Pavelich became one of only two Americans to score 5 goals in a single game. Mickey Roach had achieved the feat in 1920.
Legacy
- Ranked No. 83 on the all-time list of New York Rangers in the book 100 Ranger Greats (John Wiley & Sons, 2009).
Personal life
Mark Pavelich's brother in law was also a hockey player and now coaches for the Hibbing Bluejackets, in Hibbing, Minnesota. He currently lives in Tofte, Minnesota.
In popular culture
In a 1981 TV movie about the 1980 U.S. hockey team called Miracle on Ice, Pavelich was played by Jack Blessing.
In the 2004 Disney film Miracle, he is portrayed by Chris Koch. Koch played junior hockey for the Delta Ice Hawks in his native Canada before concussions ended his career.[1]
Awards and accomplishments
- WCHA First All-Star Team (1979)
- NCAA West First All-American Team (1979)
Career statistics
Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1976–77 U. of Minnesota-Duluth NCAA 37 12 7 19 8 — — — — — 1977–78 U. of Minnesota-Duluth NCAA 36 14 30 44 44 — — — — — 1978–79 U. of Minnesota-Duluth NCAA 37 31 48 79 52 — — — — — 1979–80 U.S. Olympic Team Intl 60 16 36 52 14 — — — — — 1981–82 New York Rangers NHL 79 33 43 76 67 6 1 5 6 0 1982–83 New York Rangers NHL 78 37 38 75 52 9 4 5 9 12 1983–84 New York Rangers NHL 77 29 53 82 96 5 2 4 6 0 1984–85 New York Rangers NHL 48 14 31 45 29 3 0 3 3 2 1985–86 New York Rangers NHL 59 20 20 40 82 — — — — — 1986–87 Minnesota North Stars NHL 12 4 6 10 10 — — — — — 1987–88 Bolzano HC Italy 36 31 42 73 19 — — — — — 1991–92 San Jose Sharks NHL 2 0 1 1 4 — — — — — NHL totals 355 137 192 329 340 23 7 17 24 14 References
- ^ Chris Koch biography at the Internet Movie Database http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1537836/
External links
Categories:- 1958 births
- Living people
- People from Eveleth, Minnesota
- American people of Croatian descent
- 1980 US Olympic hockey team
- American ice hockey players
- Bolzano HC players
- Ice hockey players at the 1980 Winter Olympics
- Minnesota–Duluth Bulldogs men's ice hockey players
- Minnesota North Stars players
- New York Rangers players
- Olympic gold medalists for the United States
- Olympic ice hockey players of the United States
- San Jose Sharks players
- Undrafted National Hockey League players
- Olympic medalists in ice hockey
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