A History of Hat-Tricks in San Jose

Last night Sharks Captain Joe Thornton logged a hat trick against the New Jersey Devils, beating goaltender Martin Brodeur with a slap shot above the circles, a tap in from the paint, and a fortuitus bounce off the end boards that ended up on his stick right in front of a gaping net. It marked the second time he had scored a hat-trick in a Sharks uniform, with his first coming against the Phoenix Coyotes on March 25, 2008, and the fourth time he had done so in his career.

During the twenty year history of San Jose Sharks hockey, there have been twenty four players to score hat-tricks for the team. Those players have accounted for forty two hat-trick performances in that time span, with Bay Area legends such as Owen Nolan, Mike Ricci, Igor Larionov, and Patrick Marleau populating the list.

The roll call of hat-trick specialists in team history is a fairly unsurprising one, with former Rocket Richard winner (and current Worcester Shark) Jonathan Cheechoo lying unchallenged at the top with an astounding nine hat tricks, five of which came in his award winning 2005-2006 campaign. Cheechoo's 05-06 season total alone is more than any other Shark has amassed in their entire regular season career with the team, which shows you just what kind of special performance Cheechoo put on for the Sharks that year:

Players with one hat-trick in their Sharks career are Mike Ricci, Ryane Clowe, Marco Sturm, Teemu Selanne, Sergei Makarov, Vincent Damphousse, Bill Guerin, Todd Harvey, Alyn McCauley, Kevin Miller, Ray Sheppard, Scott Thornton, Ulf Dahlen, Johan Garpenlov, and Alexei Yegorov.

Marleau also has scored three hat-tricks during the postseason for the Sharks, perhaps none bigger than his hat-trick against the Colorado Avalanche in game one of their semi-finals matchup during the 2004 playoff run to the Western Conference Finals. It was his second hat trick of that postseason, and jumpstarted the Sharks against a battle-tested Avalanche squad that had knocked them out of the playoffs two years before.

The first hat-trick in Sharks history was scored by Rob Gadreau, who shot a perfect 100% against the Hartford Whalers in a 7-5 loss on December 3, 1992. He followed that up with a repeat hat-trick performance the very next week against the Quebec Nordiques, scoring three goals in yet another loss where the Sharks gave up seven markers against.

Owen Nolan holds the franchise record for most goals scored in a game, notching four tallies against the Anaheim Ducks (who were still "Mighty" at that point) on December 19, 1995.

But no matter which way you cut every single one of these performances, there is no doubt that the best hat-trick in San Jose history would have to be Mike Ricci's on April 7, 2001. In the dying seconds of regulation, with the Sharks down 4-3, he tipped in a shot from the point to beat Ed Belfour of the Dallas Stars and put the game into overtime. The play literally had everything-- Ricci winning a draw and driving hard to the net, Ed Belfour being victimized in San Jose on a last second goal, the home crowd cheering on one of the most legendary players to ever wear a Sharks jersey. It was a moment that went down in storybooks everywhere, even if the Sharks ended up dropping the game.

To say nothing of the fact that it was Fan Appreciation Night. And the giveaway?

Hats. Loads and loads of cheap hats.

Right there, ladies and gentleman, is what professional sports are all about.

Go Sharks.