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.
Playing career 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 Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs 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 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 Award Year All-NCAA All-Tournament Team 1974 All-WCHA First Team 1974–75 AHCA West All-American 1974–75
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