Zach trick: Wild's Parise sends hats flying in opposing arena
Zach Parise completed his third career hat trick in stirring fashion on Thursday, helping the Minnesota Wild overcome a three-goal deficit en route to a 5-4 season-opening victory over the host Colorado Avalanche.
Parise's power-play goal midway into the third period sent hats flying on the ice at the Pepsi Center. A traditional sight to be certain when a player scores three times, except the Wild were on the road.
"You never expect that in a road game. That was pretty cool," Parise told the team's website. "... You never expect hats in a road game, but it's fun."
Parise hit the post on his first shot in the initial period before his sharp wrist shot sailed inside the right post to put Minnesota on the scoreboard 6:55 into the second period. The 31-year-old tallied again 5:07 into the third before his one-timer from just above the right circle beat Semyon Varlamov for the eventual game-winning goal.
Yeo on Parise: That's what you need. We need a relentless work ethic and he showed that tonight. #mnwild
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) October 9, 2015
Parise joined Marc Chouinard (2005) as the only Wild players to record a hat trick in a season opener, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The 17th overall pick of the 2003 draft, Parise collected 33 goals and 29 assists in 74 games for Minnesota in 2014-15, with 11 tallies coming on the power play.
(h/t Minnesota Wild)
