All-Star Selectors Likely To Give ‘Hot Hershey Trio Cold Shoulder

HERSHEY, Pa.— The Hershey Bears trio of Myron Stankiewicz, Mike Nyko-luk and Pete Conacher, who happen to be playing on the same line, are enjoying their greatest professional seasons, but odds are not one of them will get a nod in the All-Star balloting. Through the first 67 games, they combined for 61 goals, including six game winners. Nykoluk, a do-everything centreman, paced the AHL in playmaking at the 67game mark with 61 assists. His previous pro high was 38. Stankiewicz showed 23 goals, while Conacher had 31. Last season Conacher scored 29 for his all-time high, while Stankiewicz’s best previous effort was 21 goals. In the balloting among league coaches for their annual all-star team for THE HOCKEY NEWS, only Conacher polled any votes. He received a first and third team ballot. “I can’t understand…

Long Penalty Count, Theft Of Trophy, Give Extra Thrills In Cup Playoffs

MONTREAL, Que. Hockey’s Stanley Cup playoffs have become a high point with sports fans and it is primarily because the post-season games tend to produce the unexpected. The “world series” of pro hockey, which invariably attracts a mass audience, has been noted for coming up with the unusual or humorous events each year. Such incidents as the 31-penalty fiasco and the long-penalty count that highlighted the first game of this year’s semi-final playoff-round between Canadiens and Maple Leafs is typical of the unusual that invariably crops into the spring classic. Then, too, how many fans can remember the last time a rookie goalkeeper — like Detroit’s Bob Champoux, who came out of the stands to spell off injured Terry Sawchuk — produced a playoff win in his first game in the NHL. There was the…

Detroit, Toronto Rate Home Ice Big Factor After Wins On Road

DETROIT, Mich.— The Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings—the pre-series underdogs in the Stanley Cup playoffs—were looking to the future with renewed hope and with good reason. They are back home for the next two games of the semi-final playoff round and playing in their own backyard is tantamount to stepping on the ice with a one-goal edge. Both the Leafs and Wings have fared well at home this season and for this they are thankful. Now they can look ahead to the third and fourth games of their best-of-seven series with the odds spread a little thinner and not stacked against them as they were when the firing began last week in Montreal and Chicago. The Red Wings pulled off the big surprise when they dumped the powerful Hawks 5-4 in spacious…

Western Hockey League Summaries