Patrick Roy, the record-setting netminder, and the late Herb Brooks, architect of the "Miracle on Ice", headlined the class of 2006 enshrined in ice hockey's Hall of Fame on Monday.

With four Stanley Cup rings, two each with the Montreal Canadiens and Colorado Avalanche, the record for career (551) and playoff (151) wins, three Con Smythe trophies and three Vezina trophies as the NHL's top netminder, Roy's place was assured the day he announced his retirement in May 2003.

"Time goes fast, really fast," Roy told reporters. "This is something I never thought was possible.

"When I started all wanted to do was survive in the NHL and hope that I could have a good career but it went beyond that."

Indeed, Roy's contributions and legacy to the sport go well beyond the mountain of records and honours he accumulated over a spectacular 18-year career.

Selected in the third round of the 1984 NHL draft by the Canadiens, Roy quickly assumed the starting job in the Montreal net and his butterfly style of goaltending changed forever the way the position would be played.

Roy also displayed plenty of the quirky habits of his goaltending fraternity, frequently talking to his goal posts while his bounced up and down like a bobble-head doll.

But Roy was also a fiery competitor.

In 1995, Montreal rookie coach Mario Tremblay left Roy in net before pulling him after giving up nine goals in an 11-1 loss to the Detroit Red Wings.

Burning with rage, Roy skated off the ice and immediately sought out team president Ronald Corey sitting behind the team bench and informed him that after 11 seasons he would never play another game for the Canadiens.

A few days later the all-star goaltender was traded to the Colorado Avalanche.

In contrast to Roy's career, Brooks owes his place in the Hall of Fame to single defining moment, leading an underdog group of university players to victory over the all-conquering Soviet Union and the ice hockey gold medal at the 1980 Lake Placid Winter Olympics.

The stunning upset captured the imagination of an entire nation and remains a watershed moment in American sporting history, immortalized in movies, books and statues.

Following the Olympics, Brooks, made the jump to the NHL, coaching the New York Rangers, Minnesota North Stars, New Jersey Devils and Pittsburgh Penguins but he never won a Stanley Cup.

A master motivator, Brooks also made stops in Switzerland and coached France at the 1998 Winter Games.

ANOTHER MIRACLE

For the 2002 Salt Lake Olympics, Brooks returned as U.S. coach but was unable to pull off another miracle as the team lost to Canada in the gold medal game.

Brooks was killed in a car accident the following year.

"My father is in the Hall because of that (1980 Olympic victory) and I realise that but I want him to be remembered as well as a great NHL coach," said Brooks's son Dan, accepting the honour on his father's behalf.

Also inducted were Original Six era forward Dick Duff, who won six Stanley Cups with the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs, and Harley Hotchkiss, part owner of the Calgary Flames and chairman of the NHL's board of governors for 10 years.