Penguins History

‘It’s a Great Day for Hockey’: New Penguins Exhibit at Heinz History Center

Published

5 years ago

January 24, 2019

The John Heinz History Center welcomed Pittsburgh’s sports media on Thursday to celebrate the opening of its “A Great Day for Hockey” exhibit. The display holds memorabilia from each year the Penguins took home the Stanley Cup – 1991, 1992, 2009, 2016 and 2017. The exhibit paid homage to current and former players like Evgeni Malkin, Sidney Crosby, and Mario Lemieux.

The new exhibit opens Saturday.

Check out photos from the event and leave a comment below!

The exhibit is titled, “It’s a Great Day for Hockey.”

It always is. No one will ever forget Badger Bob Johnson and his iconic expression. Here is his legendary practice jacket, seen in so many photos:

Remember thousands of people crowding the Pittsburgh Airport? Remember Mike Lange shouting, “Oh Lord Stanley, Lord Stanley, get me the brandy,”?

Seven years after the Pittsburgh Penguins drafted Mario Lemieux, Super Mario finally took his place among the hockey champions.

One of the great moments in Pittsburgh and great moments of Lemieux’s career. The 1990 NHL All-Star game. Lemieux scored just 21 seconds into the game and the old Melon Arena shook.

And Pittsburgh fans let Wayne Gretzky know who they thought was the best ever. Lemieux scored a hat trick and was the game MVP.

The exhibit also pays tribute to one of the great sled hockey players and Olympic gold medalist–Pittsburgh native, Dan McCoy. Dan’s family donated several items from his career, including one his first sleds which he had not seen since he was eight years old.

For more on the inspirational player whose family is leading the local sled hockey expansion to involve more children, here is the first of the two-part feature piece published by Pittsburgh Hockey Now.