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69-70PitPen
1969–70 Pittsburgh Penguins
Division 2nd West
1969–70 record 26–38–12
Goals for 182
Goals against 238
Team information
General manager Jack Riley
Coach Red Kelly
Alternate captains Keith McCreary
Duane Rupp
Ken Schinkel
Bob Woytowich
Arena Pittsburgh Civic Arena
Average attendance 6,998
Team leaders
Goals Dean Prentice (26)
Assists Michel Brière (32)
Points Dean Prentice (51)
Penalty minutes Bryan Watson (189)
Wins Al Smith (15)
Goals against average Joe Daley (2.95)

The 1969–70 Pittsburgh Penguins season was the franchise's 3rd season in the National Hockey League. The Penguins finished 2nd in the West Division and made the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. In the Division Semi-finals, they defeated the Oakland Seals 4 games to 0 and then lost in the Division Finals to the St. Louis Blues 4 games to 2.

Off-season[]

Having not made the playoffs in their first two seasons, GM Jack Riley overhauled the Penguins via the inter and intra-league draft. He added five players who became regulars including Dean Prentice, Nick Harbaruk, Glen Sather, Bob Blackburn and most significantly, goalie Al Smith.

Via the amateur draft, Riley picked promising center Michel Brière and traded for Ron Schock and Bryan Hextall. Hextall played the next four seasons for the Penguins while Schock played eight and became the team's captain.

The Penguins jerseys remained the same as in the 1968-69 season.

Regular Season[]

Briere 1st goal-1Nov1969

Michel Brière scores his first NHL goal, November 1, 1969.

Rick Kessell played his first NHL game on March 21, 1970 in the 5-3 loss to the Chicago Black Hawks.

Tragedy struck the Penguins in 1970 when promising rookie center Michel Briere, who finished third in scoring on the team, was injured in a car crash. After spending a year in the hospital, he died.

Final Standings[]

West Division
GP W L T GF GA PTS
St. Louis Blues 76 37 27 12 224 179 86
Pittsburgh Penguins 76 26 38 12 182 238 64
Minnesota North Stars 76 19 35 22 224 257 60
Oakland Seals 76 22 40 14 169 243 58
Philadelphia Flyers 76 17 35 24 197 225 58
Los Angeles Kings 76 14 52 150 168 290 38

Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points
Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.


Game Log[]

Regular Season Results
No. R Date Score Opponent Record
1 T October 11, 1969 2–2 Oakland Seals (1969–70) 0–0–1
2 T October 15, 1969 3–3 Philadelphia Flyers (1969–70) 0–0–2
3 T October 18, 1969 3–3 Boston Bruins (1969–70) 0–0–3
4 L October 19, 1969 0–4 @ Boston Bruins (1969–70) 0–1–3
5 L October 21, 1969 3–4 @ Oakland Seals (1969–70) 0–2–3
6 L October 22, 1969 0–2 @ Los Angeles Kings (1969–70) 0–3–3
7 W October 25, 1969 4–1 @ Minnesota North Stars (1969–70) 1–3–3
8 L October 29, 1969 1–3 New York Rangers (1969–70) 1–4–3
9 W November 1, 1969 6–3 Minnesota North Stars (1969–70) 2–4–3
10 L November 2, 1969 3–4 @ Detroit Red Wings (1969–70) 2–5–3
11 L November 5, 1969 2–4 Detroit Red Wings (1969–70) 2–6–3
12 L November 8, 1969 1–4 Chicago Black Hawks (1969–70) 2–7–3
13 W November 12, 1969 3–0 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1969–70) 3–7–3
14 L November 13, 1969 0–4 @ St. Louis Blues (1969–70) 3–8–3
15 W November 15, 1969 3–1 Los Angeles Kings (1969–70) 4–8–3
16 L November 19, 1969 0–4 St. Louis Blues (1969–70) 4–9–3
17 W November 22, 1969 5–3 Philadelphia Flyers (1969–70) 5–9–3
18 L November 23, 1969 2–3 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1969–70) 5–10–3
19 T November 26, 1969 4–4 @ Minnesota North Stars (1969–70) 5–10–4
20 W November 29, 1969 5–3 Oakland Seals (1969–70) 6–10–4
21 T November 30, 1969 3–3 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1969–70) 6–10–5
22 W December 3, 1969 2–1 Detroit Red Wings (1969–70) 7–10–5
23 L December 6, 1969 0–5 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1969–70) 7–11–5
24 W December 7, 1969 3–2 Toronto Maple Leafs (1969–70) 8–11–5
25 W December 10, 1969 2–0 @ Los Angeles Kings (1969–70) 9–11–5
26 L December 12, 1969 1–4 @ Oakland Seals (1969–70) 9–12–5
27 L December 14, 1969 1–2 @ Boston Bruins (1969–70) 9–13–5
28 L December 17, 1969 2–5 Montreal Canadiens (1969–70) 9–14–5
29 L December 20, 1969 4–6 Boston Bruins (1969–70) 9–15–5
30 L December 21, 1969 0–4 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1969–70) 9–16–5
31 W December 26, 1969 3–2 @ New York Rangers (1969–70) 10–16–5
32 L December 27, 1969 0–3 Chicago Black Hawks (1969–70) 10–17–5
33 W December 31, 1969 4–2 Montreal Canadiens (1969–70) 11–17–5
34 L January 3, 1970 0–6 @ St. Louis Blues (1969–70) 11–18–5
35 T January 4, 1970 4–4 Toronto Maple Leafs (1969–70) 11–18–6
36 L January 7, 1970 3–5 New York Rangers (1969–70) 11–19–6
37 L January 8, 1970 1–3 @ Montreal Canadiens (1969–70) 11–20–6
38 L January 10, 1970 3–5 Detroit Red Wings (1969–70) 11–21–6
39 L January 14, 1970 0–5 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1969–70) 11–22–6
40 L January 17, 1970 0–4 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1969–70) 11–23–6
41 W January 18, 1970 6–4 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1969–70) 12–23–6
42 T January 21, 1970 3–3 Oakland Seals (1969–70) 12–23–7
43 W January 24, 1970 4–2 Los Angeles Kings (1969–70) 13–23–7
44 L January 25, 1970 1–3 @ Boston Bruins (1969–70) 13–24–7
45 T January 28, 1970 4–4 Toronto Maple Leafs (1969–70) 13–24–8
46 W January 31, 1970 2–1 St. Louis Blues (1969–70) 14–24–8
47 L February 1, 1970 0–6 @ New York Rangers (1969–70) 14–25–8
48 W February 4, 1970 7–5 @ Minnesota North Stars (1969–70) 15–25–8
49 W February 7, 1970 3–1 Los Angeles Kings (1969–70) 16–25–8
50 W February 8, 1970 6–3 Minnesota North Stars (1969–70) 17–25–8
51 L February 11, 1970 1–7 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1969–70) 17–26–8
52 L February 14, 1970 0–3 Boston Bruins (1969–70) 17–27–8
53 W February 15, 1970 4–2 @ Detroit Red Wings (1969–70) 18–27–8
54 W February 17, 1970 4–2 Philadelphia Flyers (1969–70) 19–27–8
55 W February 19, 1970 6–1 @ Los Angeles Kings (1969–70) 20–27–8
56 L February 21, 1970 3–6 @ Oakland Seals (1969–70) 20–28–8
57 L February 25, 1970 2–3 @ Montreal Canadiens (1969–70) 20–29–8
58 W February 26, 1970 1–0 Los Angeles Kings (1969–70) 21–29–8
59 W February 28, 1970 3–2 Oakland Seals (1969–70) 22–29–8
60 W March 4, 1970 2–1 Montreal Canadiens (1969–70) 23–29–8
61 L March 5, 1970 3–5 @ Detroit Red Wings (1969–70) 23–30–8
62 T March 7, 1970 2–2 St. Louis Blues (1969–70) 23–30–9
63 T March 8, 1970 0–0 @ New York Rangers (1969–70) 23–30–10
64 T March 11, 1970 2–2 @ Oakland Seals (1969–70) 23–30–11
65 L March 12, 1970 1–4 @ Los Angeles Kings (1969–70) 23–31–11
66 L March 14, 1970 3–6 @ Minnesota North Stars (1969–70) 23–32–11
67 L March 18, 1970 0–2 New York Rangers (1969–70) 23–33–11
68 L March 19, 1970 1–3 @ St. Louis Blues (1969–70) 23–34–11
69 L March 21, 1970 3–5 Chicago Black Hawks (1969–70) 23–35–11
70 L March 22, 1970 4–5 @ Montreal Canadiens (1969–70) 23–36–11
71 W March 25, 1970 2–0 Minnesota North Stars (1969–70) 24–36–11
72 W March 28, 1970 2–1 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1969–70) 25–36–11
73 T March 29, 1970 5–5 St. Louis Blues (1969–70) 25–36–12
74 W April 1, 1970 4–1 Philadelphia Flyers (1969–70) 26–36–12
75 L April 4, 1970 1–3 @ St. Louis Blues (1969–70) 26–37–12
76 L April 5, 1970 1–5 Minnesota North Stars (1969–70) 26–38–12

Playoffs[]

Pittsburgh Penguins 4, Oakland Seals 0[]

1970-Apr12-Binkley-McCallum-Vadnais

#26 Dunc McCallum checks #5 Carol Vadnais as Les Binkley makes a save, Quarter-finals Game 4, April 12, 1970.

In Game 1, Nick Harbaruk's goal midway through the third period was the winner as Pittsburgh won 2–1. In Game 2, Gary Jarrett gave Oakland a 1–0 lead, but Pittsburgh came back to win 3–1. Game 3 at Oakland featured a hat trick by Ken Schinkel of the Penguins as Pittsburgh won 5–2. In Game 4, Oakland had 1–0 and 2–1 leads, but the Seals just couldn't hold on and the game was tied 2–2 at the end of regulation time. Michel Brière scored the winner as the Penguins won the first playoff series in their history.

St. Louis Blues 4, Pittsburgh Penguins 2[]

The Penguins would reach the playoffs for the first time in 1970, advancing to the Western Conference Finals where they lost to the St. Louis Blues. In the West Division Finals, the St. Louis Blues beat the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games.

1970 Playoffs
Conference Semi-finals vs Oakland: 4–0 (Home: 2–0 ; Road: 2–0)
# Date Visitor Score Home Series
1 April 8 Oakland Seals 1 – 2 Pittsburgh 1–0
2 April 9 Oakland 1 – 3 Pittsburgh 2–0
3 April 11 Pittsburgh 5 – 2 Oakland 3–0
4 April 12 Pittsburgh 3 – 2 Oakland 4–0
Conference Finals vs St. Louis Blues: 2–4 (Home: 2–1 ; Road: 0–3)
# Date Visitor Score Home Series
1 April 19 Pittsburgh 1 – 3 St. Louis Blues 0–1
2 April 21 Pittsburgh 1 – 4 St. Louis 0–2
3 April 23 St. Louis 2 – 3 Pittsburgh 1–2
4 April 26 St. Louis 1 – 2 Pittsburgh 2–2
5 April 28 Pittsburgh 0 – 5 St. Louis 2–3
6 April 30 St. Louis 4 – 3 Pittsburgh 2–4

Player Stats[]

Forwards[]

Note: GP= Games played; G= Goals; AST= Assists; PTS = Points; PIM = Points

# Player GP G AST PTS PIM
20 Dean Prentice 75 26 25 51 14
12 Ken Schinkel 72 20 25 45 19
21 Michel Briere 76 12 32 44 20
19 Jean Pronovost 72 20 21 41 45
7 Bryan Hextall 66 12 19 31 87
17 Ron Schock 76 8 21 29 40
10 Keith McCreary 60 18 8 26 67
16 Glen Sather 76 12 14 26 114
8 Val Fonteyne 68 11 15 26 2
18 Wally Boyer 72 11 12 23 34
11 Nick Harbaruk 74 5 17 22 56
14 Rick Kessell 8 1 2 3 2
25 Ron Snell 3 0 1 1 0
15 George Swarbrick 12 0 1 1 8

Defencemen[]

Note: GP= Games played; G= Goals; AST= Assists; PTS = Points; PIM = Points

# Player GP G AST PTS PIM
3, 23 Bob Woytowich 68 8 25 33 49
26, 27 Jim Morrison 59 5 15 20 40
2 Duane Rupp 64 2 14 16 18
6 Tracy Pratt 65 5 7 12 124
4 Bob Blackburn 60 4 7 11 51
5 Bryan Watson 61 1 9 10 189
26 Mike McMahon 12 1 3 4 19
26 Dunc McCallum 14 0 0 0 16

Goaltending[]

Note: GP= Games played; MIN= Minutes; W= Wins; L= Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals Against

# Player GP MIN W L T SO GAA
1 Joe Daley 9 528 1 5 3 0 2.95
29 Al Smith 46 2555 15 20 8 2 3.03
30 Les Binkley 27 1477 10 13 1 3 3.21

Awards and Records[]

  • The Penguins did not win any awards this season.

Transactions[]

The Penguins were involved in the following transactions during the 1969–70 season:

Trades[]

May 20, 1969 To Pittsburgh Penguins
Bryan Hextall
To Vancouver Canucks (WHL)
Paul Andrea
John Arbour
loan of Andy Bathgate
June 6, 1969 To Pittsburgh Penguins
Craig Cameron
Ron Schock
To St. Louis Blues
Lou Angotti
1st round pick in 1971 Draft (Gene Carr)
October 28, 1969 To Pittsburgh Penguins
Mike McMahon
To Detroit Red Wings
Billy Dea
November, 1969 To Pittsburgh Penguins
Jim Morrison
To Baltimore Clippers (AHL)
Bob Rivard
cash

Additions and Subtractions[]

Additions
Player Former team Via
Nick Harbaruk Vancouver Canucks (WHL) Inter-League Draft (1969–06)
Bob Blackburn New York Rangers Intra-League Draft (1969–06–11)
Dean Prentice Detroit Red Wings Intra-League Draft (1969–06–11)
Glen Sather Boston Bruins Intra-League Draft (1969–06–11)
Al Smith Detroit Red Wings Intra-League Draft (1969–06–11)
Subtractions
Player New team Via
Noel Price Springfield Kings (AHL) Reverse Draft (1969–06–10)
Charlie Burns Minnesota North Stars Intra-League Draft (1969–06–11)
Marv Edwards Toronto Maple Leafs Intra-League Draft (1969–06–11)
Bill Speer Boston Bruins Intra-League Draft (1969–06–11)

Draft Picks[]

Round Pick Player Nationality
2 15 Rick Kessell Flag of Canada Canada
3 26 Michel Briere Flag of Canada Canada
4 38 Yvon Labre Flag of Canada Canada
5 50 Ed Patenaude Flag of Canada Canada
6 62 Paul Hoganson Flag of Canada Canada

Trivia[]

Gallery[]

References[]


Pittsburgh Penguins
Team FranchisePlayersCoachesGMsSeasonsRecordsDraft PicksMellon ArenaPPG Paints Arena
Coaches Sullivan • Kelly • Schinkel • Boileau • WilsonJohnston • Angotti • Berry • Creamer • Ubriaco • Patrick • Johnson • Bowman • Constantine • Brooks • Hlinka • Kehoe • Olczyk • Therrien
Seasons 1967-681968-691969-701970-711971-721972-731973-741974-751975-761976-771977-781978-791979-801980-811981-821982-831983-841984-851985-861986-871987-881988-891989-901990-911991-921992-931993-941994-951995-961996-971997-981998-991999-002000-012001-022002-032003-042004-052005-062006-072007-082008-092009-102010-112011-122012-132013-142014-152015-162016-172017-182018-19
Affiliates Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL), Wheeling Nailers (ECHL)
This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at 1969–70 Pittsburgh Penguins season. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with Ice Hockey Wiki, the text of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License 3.0 (Unported) (CC-BY-SA).


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