Worcester, MA- Last night in Toronto goaltender John Grahame made his goaltending debut for the Boston Bruins. It was incorrectly reported that he and his father Ron Grahame were the first father-son combination to play goal for the same NHL team. Current Worcester IceCats goaltender Brent Johnson, who is under contract with the St. Louis Blues, surely preceded the Grahame’s. Brent was in net for six games last season for the Blues, while his father Bob Johnson backstopped St. Louis for 12 games during the ‘72-73 season. The Johnson’s earned the distinction when Brent was in net for the Blues on February 15, 1999 against Vancouver.

The Johnson family hockey history goes even further back as Brent’s grandfather Sid Abel began a fantastic 14-year NHL career during the 1938-39 season with the Detroit Red Wings. “Boot Nose”, as he was known, tallied 472 points in 612 NHL games as a centerman for Detroit and Chicago. He won the Hart Trophy and was captain of the Wings when they won the Stanley Cup in 1943.

Upon review, two other father-son goaltending tandems were found. These duos, however, did not play for the same team. Sam LoPresti tended the nets for Chicago in the early 40’s, while his son Pete LoPresti was later in goal for both Minnesota and Edmonton from 1975-81. Father Dennis Riggin played 18 NHL games for the Red Wings in the early 60’s. Son Pat Riggin made 350 goaltending appearances for five NHL teams during the 80’s, none of which were the Red Wings.