The Edmonton Oilers' Wayne Gretzky made NHL history at the Aud on February 24, 1982, when he scored a natural hat trick during the game's final seven minutes to help defeat the Sabres 6–3. Gretzky broke Phil Esposito's record for goals in a season (76) with the hat trick's first goal, his 77th of the season. In March 2009, Gretzky visited Buffalo as the Phoenix Coyotes' head coach and recounted his memories of Memorial Auditorium in an interview with "Buffalo News" hockey reporter Mike Harrington: