Michael John Polich (born December 19, 1952) is an American former professional ice hockey player who played 226 games in the National Hockey League from 1977 to 1981. He won the Stanley Cup in 1977 with the Montreal Canadiens and played in the 1981 Stanley Cup Finals with the Minnesota North Stars.

Mike Polich
Born (1952-12-19) December 19, 1952 (age 71)
Hibbing, Minnesota, U.S.
Height 5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
Weight 170 lb (77 kg; 12 st 2 lb)
Position Center
Shot Left
Played for Montreal Canadiens
Minnesota North Stars
National team  United States
NHL draft Undrafted
Playing career 1975–1981

Playing career

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Polich was a college hockey star for the University of Minnesota and also played for Team USA at the 1974 and 1975 Ice Hockey World Championship tournaments before signing a free agent contract with the Montreal Canadiens of the NHL in 1975. Polich spent most of the next three seasons in Canadiens system with their farm team the Nova Scotia Voyageurs of the American Hockey League, but he did get his name on the Stanley Cup in 1977 as a reserve on the Canadiens' championship winning team. He also played for Team USA in the inaugural 1976 Canada Cup tournament. Polich's NHL career finally took off after he signed for the Minnesota North Stars in 1978 where he became an accomplished defensive specialist and penalty killer. He finally retired in 1981 after three years as a regular North Star.

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1969–70 Hibbing High School HS-MN
1970–71 Hibbing High School HS-MN
1971–72 University of Minnesota B1G 32 8 5 13 14
1972–73 University of Minnesota B1G 34 18 14 32 34
1973–74 University of Minnesota B1G 40 19 33 52 36
1974–75 University of Minnesota B1G 42 25 37 62 84
1975–76 Nova Scotia Voyageurs AHL 75 24 19 43 66 9 4 5 9 6
1976–77 Montreal Canadiens NHL 5 0 0 0 0
1976–77 Nova Scotia Voyageurs AHL 69 19 41 60 48 11 4 4 8 6
1977–78 Montreal Canadiens NHL 1 0 0 0 0
1977–78 Nova Scotia Voyageurs AHL 79 22 38 60 70 11 2 6 8 4
1978–79 Minnesota North Stars NHL 73 6 10 16 18
1978–79 Oklahoma City Stars CHL 9 0 7 7 0
1979–80 Minnesota North Stars NHL 78 10 14 24 20 15 2 1 3 2
1980–81 Minnesota North Stars NHL 74 8 5 13 19 3 0 0 0 0
AHL totals 223 65 98 163 184 31 10 15 25 16
NHL totals 226 24 29 53 57 23 2 1 3 2

International

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Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM
1974 United States WC-B 7 7 5 12
1975 United States WC 10 2 5 7 34
1976 United States CC 5 1 1 2 4
Senior totals 22 10 11 21

Awards and honors

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Award Year
All-NCAA All-Tournament Team 1974 [1]
All-WCHA First Team 1974–75 [2]
AHCA West All-American 1974–75 [3]

References

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  1. ^ "NCAA Frozen Four Records" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved 2013-06-19.
  2. ^ "WCHA All-Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  3. ^ "Men's Ice Hockey Award Winners" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
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Awards and achievements
Preceded by WCHA Most Valuable Player
1974–75 (With Tom Ross)
Succeeded by