High School Ice Hockey:
A NHL Hall Of Fame Goaltender Helps Out Washington Township Hockey Team

By Gregg Williams
SJSports Staff Writer

Do you remember the great voice of the Philadelphia Flyers (Gene Hart) saying "Parent makes the save...Ladies and Gentleman the Flyers are going to win the Stanley Cup, the Flyers have won the Stanley Cup, the Flyers have won the Stanley Cup"? Well, I do, and the players of the Washington Township Hockey Team were greeted at practice by one of the NHL's greatest goaltenders of all time, a member of the NHL Hockey Hall of Fame (1984), the Flyers Hall of Fame (1988), and winner of the 1974 and 1975 Conn Smythe (the MVP of the Playoffs and first in NHL history to repeat) and Vezina trophy... His name is "Bernie" Bernard Marcel Parent.....

Remember the slogan: "ONLY THE LORD SAVES MORE THAN BERNIE!!!!!"

All of the players for Washington Township were not even born yet, but being hockey players and from this area all of them were excited to see Bernie. Mr. Parent took time to help the young goaltenders (Andrew McGinn, Kevin Ciccone, Brain Migliorisi, and Mark Zlatkin) as well as the rest of the team.

Did you know that Bernie was drafted from the Boston Bruins by the Flyers in the NHL expansion draft in June of 1967? He first wore the number 30 for the Flyers. He was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs on January 31, 1971 with the Flyers 1972 NHL second-round pick in exchanged for Mike Walton, Bruce Gamble, and a first-round pick of the Leafs. Bernie was the first NHL player to defect to the World Hockey Association (WHA), and was also the first to defect back to the NHL. His rights were traded back to the Flyers from the Leafs in May of 1973 because he was playing for the WHA's Philadelphia Blazers. He was a winner of many awards; the Dave Pinkney Trophy (leading goaltender in Junior A OHA), Memorial Cup (Junior Hockey Championship Trophy) with the Niagara Falls Flyers in 1965, 2 Vezina Trophies, 2 Conn Synthe Trophies, Sport Magazine Player of the Year, Seagram's Hockey Player of the Year, the John Wanamaker Award (Philadelphia Athlete of the Year) 1974-75, 2 Stanley Cups, and a member of the first expansion team to win a Stanley Cup. Bernie Parent allowed 20 goals in his first game in nets, when he was 11 years old. In 608 regular season games, Bernie posted a 2.55 goals-against average, and 55 shutouts. In 71 playoff games, he posted a 2.43 goals-against average and 6 shutouts.