Housley, Johnson among U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame inductees

EVELETH, Minn. -- Minnesota natives Phil Housley and Mark Johnson will be among four men inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in October.

Housley, who made the leap from preps to pros at the age of 18, is the top American-born scorer in NHL history. The defenseman played 1,495 career games with eight different NHL teams, finishing the 2002-03 season with Toronto after Chicago traded him. He's ranked fourth in all-time goals scored by a defenseman, with 338.

Housley played for Team USA in the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City.

Johnson played collegiate hockey at the University of Wisconsin and led the Badgers to the 1977 national championship as a freshman. The forward helped the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team win a gold medal with two goals in the semifinals and an assist in the finals.

After an 11-year NHL career, Johnson turned to coaching. Currently, Johnson is the head women's coach at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Also scheduled to be inducted into the Hall are Mike Ilitch and Paul Coppo.

The formal induction is scheduled on Oct. 7 at the RiverCentre in St. Paul. The U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame is located in Eveleth in northern Minnesota.

AP NEWS
The Associated Press News Service

Copyright 2004, The Associated Press, All Rights Reserved