At the NHL level, Michel Plasse was a well-traveled goalkeeper who was often a backup and sometimes the front guy for six different big-league clubs. But his most memorable experience in pro hockey came before he ever established a toehold in an NHL crease.
On the night of February 21, 1971, Plasse was in net for the Kansas City Blues who were struggling to hang on to a 2-1 advantage over the Oklahoma City Blazers late in the game. The Blazers had pulled their goalie and were storming the Blues' zone when Plasse fired the puck the length of the ice in an effort to stave off the charge. He did such a good job that the disk slid all the way into the unguarded enemy cage. He became the first professional goalie in the history of the game to score a goal.
From there, Plasse left the Blues' organization with one NHL start to his credit to serve as Ken Dryden's backup in Montreal. His first season brought a Stanley Cup win although Plasse saw no action during the playoffs.
After two seasons with the Canadiens, he put in a year with the Kansas City Scouts before joining the Pittsburgh Penguins where in 1975-76 he got his first run as a number-one goalie. He continued this trend the following year with the Colorado Rockies where he faced more than his share of expansion rubber.
Plasse remained with the Rockies until the early eighties when he signed as a free agent with the Quebec Nordiques. He started 41 games over two seasons before retiring from the Binghamton Whalers of the AHL in 1982.
