Georges Laraque Talks Hat Trick

“To have that hat-trick in Edmonton, and for a tough guy, was like a miracle, like a dream,” recalled Laraque. “I fought Steve McKenna and when I got two goals and with 1 1/2 minutes left, the fans started chanting my name to go in for the empty-netter. Ron Low (coach) looked at me and said: ‘Sorry, Georges. I can’t put you in because the game was to be first in the division, so the defensive line with Todd Marchant, Mike Grier and Janne Niinimaa goes out and they score with 30 seconds left in the game.

“Then, he (Low) puts us back out there and I’m with Jim Dowd and Boyd Devereaux and we were the kid line and doing well that year. But I never thought I was going to score because the goalie (Stephane Fiset) went back in and the game is over because it was 5-3 (after Niinimaa scored). But the puck goes into their (Kings) zone and Dowd gives it to me and I’m in front of Aki Berg — and I don’t know why I did it — but I did a Denis Savard spin-a-rama. I tried it in practice but kept losing the puck all the time.