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The Monday Night Miracle

Doug donned the "Blue Note" jersey Dec. 21, 1983, coming to St. Louis in a trade from Montreal.

Doug Wickenheiser. . .

1961-1999

... is most known for his game-winning, overtime goal in Game 6 of the 1986 Campbell Conference finals game between Doug's St. Louis Blues and the Calgary Flames. The Blues were down, 5-1, with 14 minutes to play. Doug scored to spark a four-goal rally which sent the game to overtime.

Seven minutes, 30 seconds into the sudden-death overtime, Doug scored a rebound goal to send the series to a seventh game, sending the packed Checkerdome crowd into a frenzy. The fans refused to leave the arena and players were fearful the building would collapse.

Al MacInnis, a current Blues player who played for Calgary in 1986, called the game "The greatest night in Blues' history."

The folks in St. Louis still refer to that Game 6 as the "Monday Night Miracle."

A powerful player, always big for his age, Doug was the first pick in the 1980 NHL draft, selected by Montreal.

He scored 111 goals and had 165 assists in a 10-year NHL career before playing a few years in the minor leagues. Ultimately, he was forced into retirement because of the cancer. "He was 6-foot-2, 200 pounds and just a dominating, dominating player," Hall said of Doug. "When he was 10, he was playing with 13- and 14-year-olds and Doug was the best player out there. He was always two years ahead of himself. Even when he was 15, he looked like he was 17."

May 12, 1986

It was the shot heard 'round the Arena and a small part of the world. "Wick's" overtime goal creases the Calgary net for a 6-5 Blues comeback victory that kept their playoff hopes alive. "Wick," at left, signals the score, as Calgary's goalie lies sprawled on the ice.

Well, we've had some great electrifying crowds here in St. Louis. And I don't know if you've watched games in the old arena but it was one of those buildings that had a lot of ambience, a lot of character to it. The people really got into the games and they really are excitable fans.

It's not like in Canada for the most part where they sit on their hands. Here, they go crazy anyways. But for all the years that I played here, I never ever felt that electricity in a building after we won that game.

To come back the way we did, it was basically all over. Even Jacques Demers basically said to us after the second period that he was really proud of us and whatever happened in that third period it didn't really matter because we had battled and this was Game Six of the semi-finals.

No one expected us to be there. We had 20 players basically, we didn't have a minor system, we were on bare necessity. The strings were tied there and we weren't really spending that much on the organization.

So when we went out for the start of the third period, really we were just playing with no pressure on us. And then we got the first goal and then the second one and then we tied it and the whole building came down. And then to go into overtime and score, and I was on the ice for the game winner, it was just like the most unbelievable time of my whole career. Even though it was just a semi-final game that we had won, it really wasn't the Stanley Cup or anything, but I think as a special moment, it was the neatest hockey moment that I experienced in all the time I played.

And it was also really special for me because it was my 30th birthday and it was almost like a birthday present. It was almost after midnight when it happened but it was really a special moment. And I think if you talk to hockey fans in St. Louis, they'll tell you that that was probably the most special moment of all the years of hockey here in St. Louis.

Bernie Federko

Wick Loses His Flame

After battling cancer for over a year, St. Louis Blues playoff hero Doug Wickenheiser succumbed to the disease that consumed him. He was 37. "Aside from being one of the most exciting hockey players, he was a truly great person and had a great family," said Susie Mathieu, the Blues' publicity director when Wickenheiser was with the team. "He embodied it all."

Wick is best remembered for the "Monday Night Miracle" when he scored the game-winning overtime goal in Game 6 of the 1986 Campbell Conference Finals against Calgary.

In the game, St. Louis trailed 5-2 with 11:52 left in the game when the Blues clawed back to tie the game in regulation. Wickenheiser's goal in overtime sent the series to a seventh game, which Calgary eventually won 2-1. Wearing a Bluenote for 230 games, Wick had 51 goals and 67 assists. His career spanned 10 years and four other teams - New York Rangers, Washington, Montreal, and Vancouver.

During Wickenheiser's struggle with cancer, the Blues wore a circular emblem with a lit candle and the number 14 above the flame. In a ceremony to honor Wickenheiser's life prior to St. Louis's game with Toronto, the Blues unveiled a banner with that symbol on it that will hang between the American and Canadian flags for the rest of the season.

It will be moved permanently outside of the Blues Alumni Box at the Kiel Center starting next season.

Although the hero has passed on, his teammates will always remember him for the joy he had on the ice. "I remember the pumping of his fists," said Bernie Federko the franchise's career leading scorer, now a radio analyst with the team. "I can see it right now, and the smile on his face. That's what we remember him by, not the last few months."

The Blues established the Fourteen Fund as their charitable trust which features a special logo of a lit candlewick with the number 14 above the flame. The banner hangs nearby retired Blues numbers from the rafters inside the Savvis Center.

Forward (center)

Born: Mar 30, 1961 — Regina, SASK

Height: 6' 1" — Weight: 196

Selected by Montreal Canadiens round 1 #1 overall 1980 NHL Entry Draft

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