This is just one of those great hockey stories that the players, the organization and the fans got behind to make history;

As the team prepared for its home opener against the Calgary Flames on October 8, 1995, a rat entered the dressing room, startling several players. Scott Mellanby reacted by shooting the rat across the locker room with his stick, killing it. He then went out and scored two goals in a 4–3 victory over the Flames, leading the Panthers to their first win of the season. Vanbiesbrouck described the incident to reporters after the game, stating that while Mellanby failed to score a hat trick, he did manage a “rat trick”.