On This Date in Sports November 7, 1968: Six Goals on Red

In collaboration with the Sportsecyclopedia.com

Red Berenson of the St. Louis Blues lights up the scoreboard, tallying six goals in an 8-0 win over the Philadelphia Flyers at the Spectrum. Berenson is the first player to get a double hat trick on the road, as the previous six players with six or more goals did it in a home game. Berenson’s double hat trick included a nine-minute stretch where he scored four times.

Gordon “Red” Berenson was born December 8, 1939, in Regina, Saskatchewan. Not attracting much attention from NHL teams, Berenson went to the University of Michigan, where he became one of the top stars in the NCAA. After his time at Michigan, Berenson made his NHL debut with the Montreal Canadiens in 1962. Over the next five years, Berenson split time between Montreal and the team’s AHL affiliate the Quebec Aces. In 1966, he was traded to the New York Rangers. Berenson was dealt again a year later as he was traded with Barclay Plager to the expansion St. Louis Blues 19 games into the season. The trade would be a turning point for the Blues that first season as they would go on to play in the Stanley Cup Finals.

As NHL expansion opened the door for many players stuck in the minors, it helped Red Berenson become an NHL All-Star for the Blues. Berenson had never had a three-goal game as the Blues faced the Flyers at the Spectrum in the middle of an Eastern road swing. The Blues entered the game with a record of 5-5-1, while the Flyers were scuffling at 3-6-2. Red Berenson’s hat trick included a nine-minute stretch in which he scored four goals. Fans in Philadelphia were so impressed that they began chanting, “We Want Red.” When the game was over, the Blues had beaten the Flyers 8-0, with Red Berenson scoring six goals while adding one assist. The six-goal game would highlight a career year for Berenson as he netted 35 goals with 47 assists as St. Louis again played in the Stanley Cup Finals.

Red Berenson was the seventh player to have six goals in a game, a “double hat trick.” Only Joe Malone, with the Quebec Bulldogs, had more than six goals, scoring seven goals in 1920. Malone also had a six-goal game that same season. Other players with six-goal games included Newsy Lalonde with the Montreal Canadiens, brothers Corb Denney with the Toronto St. Pats, and Cy Denney with the Ottawa Senators did it in 1921, while Syd Howe had the most recent six-goal game with the Detroit Red Wings in 1944. In the years after Red Berenson, Darryl Sittler of the Toronto Maple Leafs had a six-goal game in 1976. There have been none since. Red Berenson’s double hat trick at the Spectrum was the only one in a road game, giving him the record for most goals by a visiting player.