The Hockey News has been providing the most comprehensive coverage of the world of hockey since 1947. In each issue, you'll find news, features and opinions about the NHL and leagues across North America and the world.

February 12, 1966

The Hockey News February 12, 1966

<div class="byline">By Ken McKenzie</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-01628/2325511-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg" title="f0006-01" width="373" height="418"></div>THE INTERNATIONAL HOCKEY WEEKLYFounded October 1st, 1947Published weekly excent monthly May through Sentember by Ken-Will Publishing Co. Ltd. 1434 St. Catherine Street West,Montreal 25, Que.Kenneth William McKenzie, Will V. Cote,President and Publisher Vice-Pres. and Gen Mgr.Yearly Subscription Rates: $4.00 in Canada and the British Commonwealth $5.00 in the U.S.A, and $7.00 in Foreign Countries.Postage paid at Rouses Point, N.Y.Authorized as second class mail, Post Office Department, Ottawa, and for payment of postage in cashPrinted in Canada.Vol. 19 MONTREAL, FEBRUARY 12, 1966 No.18Ken McKenzie&rsquo;s column, Passing The Puck, will not appear in this week&rsquo;s issue. He is presently on a business trip in California and will resume writing upon his return. &#9632;

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IN THIS ISSUE

PASSING PUCK

<h2>AMERICAN LEAGUE WESTERN LEAGUE</h2>(Including Games of Sunday, February 6)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-01575/2326430-1-eng-US/f0013-012.jpg" title="f0013-01" width="936" height="257"></div> &#9632;

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Interlocking Scoreboard:

BY JIM PROUDFOOTTORONTO, Ont. &mdash;Still a widespread myth among hockey fans is the idea that the Vezina Trophy honors the National Hockey&rsquo;s 1eague &lsquo; best goalie.It doesn&rsquo;t, of course.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-01610/2326031-1-eng-US/f0011-012.jpg" title="f0011-01" width="274" height="448"><figcaption class="caption-body">Johnny Bower</figcaption></div>It, and the $1,000 league bonus which accompanies it, are awarded automatically to the man, or men, guarding the nets for the team which gives up the fewest opposition goalsAs such, it actually recognizes the league&rsquo;s most efficient defensive club and does it by rewarding those fortunate enough to play in goal for that club.Chances are the all-star voting give a sounder indication of who&rsquo;s best. Only five times in the last 10 seasons has the Vezina winner been the all-star goalie, as well. Here, a man can get a prize even though he plays behind a porous defence.Leafs&rsquo; Johnny Bower is an excellent example of the way injustices can develop.As Leafs passed the 40-game mark in their 1965-66 schedule, Bower had a 2.38 goals against average in 24 matches. That was easily the best in the league.However, Bower&rsquo;s understudy, Terry Sawchuk, owned a 3.47 per game average and his total combined with Bower left them far out of the running for the Vezina.They won it last year, you may recall, but with only a 2-goal margin over Detroit&rsquo;s Roger Crozier. And the four goals Carl Wetzel yielded one night when he replaced Crozier briefly would account for that.Sawchuk worked 36 games last year, Bower 34, yet it was Bower&rsquo;s 2.38 goalkeeping that won the Vezina for them. The fact they&rsquo;d come so close to splitting the season exactly in half led to a change in the Vezina conditions.At one time, the trophy went to the goalie who&rsquo;d played the most games for the team giving up the fewest goals.Sawchuk bluntly announced he wouldn&rsquo;t accept the Vezina under those conditions because, although he qualified by playing 36 of 70 scheduled games, it had been Bower&rsquo;s excellence that had won the thing.So now the Vezina goes to the goalie or goalies who&rsquo;ve played at least 25 games for the team yielding the fewest opposition goals.Bower&rsquo;s idea would be to base the Vezina award on averages, requiring a goalie to play a certain number of games to qualify, perhaps 45 or 50. That would recognize individual ability, while taking into consideration the established fact that a big-league club needs two goalies in modern hockey and that it is almost impossible for one man to play all, or nearly all, his clubs&rsquo; matches.It was noticeable, too, that Leafs were a much more successful team with Bower in goal than with Sawchuk. Of Bower&rsquo;s 24 games, they had won 13, lost seven and tied four, totalling 30 of a possible 48 points.That kind of hockey would have put Leafs in first place. But Sawchuk was 7-9-1. &#9632;

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Bower Suggests Vezina Be Decided On Coaler’s Average

(1) Did former NHL left wing star, Bert Olmstead, ever find himself on a first All-Star team?(2) One of the players listed below was born in England. Can you pick him out?Doug BarkleyKen HodgeStan MikitaTerry HarperEd Westfall(3) What hockey immortal was the playing coach of two successive Stanley Cup teams &mdash; each in a different city?(4) Two defensemen share the record for the most assists in one season by rearguards. These fellows collected 46 assists in different campaigns. Name them.(5) On January 22, 1961, an NHL team scored 4 goals in 2 minutes and 3 seconds. This is a mark which stands in the record book as the fastest 4 goal spree by one team. Do you know the name of the club?(6) Sometimes records are things a club likes to forget. The Canadiens, for instance, hold the record for the most penalties in one period by one team. This happened on December 9, 1953, in a fiery battle with the Leafs in Toronto. How many minutes were they assessed? Was it: 96, 81, 101, 77, 60.(7) Pit Martin, once a Red Wing and now a Boston Bruin, has, of course, a given name. Do you know what it is?(8) Last season only one member of the Maple Leafs had a 3 goal night. Now you might think it was the Big M or the crafty Dave Keon, but it wasn&rsquo;t. Do you know the player&rsquo;s name?(9) Besides being smallish forwards the aforementioned Keon and Martin have something else in common. What is it?(10) True or False? Andy Pronovost, the ex-NHL player, is a brother of Marcel of Toronto?(Answers next week)<h2>LAST WEEK&rsquo;S SOLUTION</h2>(1) 23.(2) Ted Lindsay.(3) Three.(4) Frank Mahovlich & Ron Ellis.(5) Chicago.(6) Toe Blake because he&rsquo;s not in The Hall of Fame.(7) Four.(8) All are publicists for NHL teams.(9) Bronco Horvath in 59-60.(10) False.<h2>SPORTS PHOTOS !</h2>Thousands of different 8x10 glossy photos. Ideal for your bar, den or clubroom 5 for $3.00 Write for FREE new and enlarged illustrated catalog. Send 10$ (stamps or coin) to cover postage and handling.ALL SPORTS PHOTOS Box 267-H Freeport, N.Y. &#9632;

HOCKEY … Quiz

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0001-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0001-01115/2327666-1-eng-US/f0001-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Canadiens&rsquo; netminder LORNE (GUMP) WORSLEY shown making a save off Leafs&rsquo; veteran RED KELLY in a recent NHL game, is rapidly becoming the league&rsquo;s top goalkeeper. Worsley, who picked up his first shutout this past week, has moved on top of the Vezina Trophy race along with Charlie Hodge. The Montreal duo has permitted 116 goals, best goals-against average among NHL puck-stoppers.</figcaption></div>MONTREAL. Que. &mdash;Hockey Historians would have to dig deep in the National Hockey League archives to uncover a race comparable to the current hot three-way battle that&rsquo;s going on for first place.The Montreal Canadiens. Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Black Hawks hardly have breathing room at the top of the NHL as they wage a tense duel to wrest first place away from one another.Through last weekend&rsquo;s games, none of the teams were succeeding All three were reluctantly locked in first spot with 56 points apiece.It&rsquo;s been one of those exceptional seasons as far as the team race is concerned. First Chicago, then Montreal, jumped ahead and appeared to be ready to open up a sizeable lead but neither team was able to maintain the pace. Detroit took over, but the Wings, too, sputtered in time, and today all three teams stand shoulder to shoulder in first position.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0001-0292/2327659-1-eng-US/f0001-022.jpg" title="f0001-02" width="277" height="420"><figcaption class="caption-body">Terry Sawchuk</figcaption></div>This year&rsquo;s spectacular race recalls the 1962-63 campaign when Toronto, Montreal and Chicago finished three points apart in one of the NHL&rsquo;s most exciting races in history. The Leafs ended on top with 82, Montreal had 81 and Chicago 79 at the conclusion of the schedule.While the team race was gaining momentum, the individual personal struggle of Bobby Hull to score 50 goals in 50 games was slowly losing ground and the team that helped slow the Hawks&rsquo; Golden Jet&rsquo; down was Toronto Maple Leafs. Goalie Terry Sawchuk, who was riddled for 16 goals in three games, came back with a scintillating weekend performance to slam the door on Hull, who is now reduced to three games in which to score six times to equal Maurice Richard&rsquo;s feat of 50 goals in 50 games. It seems like a mighty tall order. &#9632;

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Three-Way Race For Lead Most Exciting In Years

Following are the latest player movements in hockey:<h2>NATIONAL LEAGUE</h2>NEW YORK &mdash; Don Simmons, goalkeeper, assigned to Baltimore of AHL. Mike MeMahon, defenseman, optioned to Minnesota of CPHL Ray Cullen, forward returned to Baltimore.TORONTO &mdash; Gary Smith, goalkeeper, recalled from RoChester of AHL and returned.MONTREAL &mdash; Noel Price, defenseman, called up from Quebec of AHL Red Beren-son, forward, also called up from Quebec.DETROIT&mdash;Ab McDonald, forward, sent to Memphis of CPHL.CHICAGO &mdash; John Miszuk, defenseman, recalled from St. Louis of CPHL. Art Stratton, forward, returned to St. Louis. Miszuk also returned<h2>AMERICAN LEAGUE</h2>BUFFALO &mdash; Norm Corco ran, forward, released.ROCHESTER &mdash; Rollie Wilcox, forward, reassigned to AHL team by parent Toronto Maple Leafs, Les Duff, forward, recalled from Tulsa of CPHL.<h2>CENTRAL LEAGUE</h2>TULSA &mdash; Milan Marcetta, forward, and Fred Hucul, defenseman, loaned from Victoria of WHL by parent Toronto LeafsMINNESOTA &mdash; Mike Corbett, forward, secured from Baltimore of AHLMEMPHIS &mdash; Dwight Carruthers, forward, recalled from Johnstown of EHK on emergency basis. Jim Cardiff, defenseman, secured from Pittsburgh of AHL.<h2>NTERNATIONAL LEAGUE</h2>TOLEDO &mdash; Mickey Cherevaty, forward, secured from St. Louis of CPHL. Eno Kraft, forward, picked up from New Haven of EHL on waivers. Ron Cadaura, forward, signed from Woodstock of Senior OHA.<h2>EASTERN LEAGUE</h2>NASHVILLE &mdash; Benny Froese, forward, dropped. Wally Spangle, forward, secured from Jersey of EHL.LONG ISLAND &mdash; Barry Zoback, forward, returned by Providence of AHL.JOHNSTOWN &mdash; Bob Howard, defenseman, secured from Winnipeg Maroons. &#9632;

Movement Of Players

<div class="byline">BY STAN FISCHLER</div>NEW YORK, N.Y. &mdash;The 1966 training season has begun for the Rangers a good eight months ahead of schedule.When the erratic Blues skated out on Chicago Stadium ice last week there was among them, a 19-year-old defenseman named Al Hamilton, who stands 6-2 and weighs 205 pounds and plays for the Edmonton Oil Kings of the Central Alberta League.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-01539/2325160-1-eng-US/f0002-012.jpg" title="f0002-01" width="244" height="388"><figcaption class="caption-body">Denis DeJordv</figcaption></div>Hamilton is one of several propects the New Yorkers expect to study for future use. Another is defenseman Bob Plager now captaining the Minnesota Rangers of the Central Pro League.There are some who believe that Hamilton is gifted to play in the NHL today, if not next year or the year after that.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a better defenseman now than Bert Marshall of the Red Wings,&rdquo; says Ranger GM-coach Emile Francis.That&rsquo;s an extremely laudatory remark because the calm, calculating Marshall is one of the best rookies in the league and the reason why Detroit is not obliged to worry about a Ranger threat to their security.Another move that reveals the Blues&rsquo; long-range thinking was the banishment of goalie Don Simmons to Baltimore &mdash; along with center Ray Cullen &mdash; for, the remainder of the season.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-03455/2325153-1-eng-US/f0002-032.jpg" title="f0002-03" width="460" height="562"><figcaption class="caption-body">ED GIACOMIN &hellip; Up For Season</figcaption></div>This means, that the Local Six will go with young Ed Giacomin and Cesare Maniago, both of whom will be viewed by the brass for their usefulness in future seasons.If either or both betray egregious weaknesses, the Rangers will be compelled to look elsewhere for a goalie and may be fortunate enough to land Chicago castoff Denis DeJordy in the draft &mdash; that is, if the Hawks let him go in favor of Dave Dryden. And that is a possibility.If the Rangers expect to lift themselves out of the fifth place rut they must solidify their defense and goaltending. A week ago the Blues were 15 points behind fourth place Toronto, yet had outscored the Leafs 127-123. But the Rangers had given up 168 goals and the Leafs only 115.Hardly anybody has the nerve these days to suggest that Rangers still have a chance for fourth place but left wing Vic Hadfield is in the distinguished minority.&ldquo;We play Toronto five more times,&rdquo; says Vic, &ldquo;if we win those five that&rsquo;s 10 points.&rdquo; &#9632;

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Rangers Already Looking To Next Year, Test Prize Rookie Hamilton Under Fire

TORONTO, Ont.&mdash;When Frank Mahovlich scored in the second period of a National Hockey League game against Boston Bruins Jan. 29, he was not aware he had become Toronto Maple Leaf&rsquo;s all-time highest scorer.The goal was the leftwinger&rsquo;s 242nd and surpassed Harvey (Busher) Jackson&rsquo;s career total of 241.Andy Bathgate (302) and Dickie Moore (256), both former Leafs, and current player Red Kelly (264) have scored more goals but they have spent most of their hockey careers with other teams. Bathgate played with New York Rangers, Moore with Montreal Canadiens and Kelly with Detroit Red Wings. &#9632;

‘Big M’ Top Leafs’ Scorer

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0002-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-02516/2325229-1-eng-US/f0002-022.jpg"></div><h2>OVERALL WON AND LOST RECORDS THIS SEASON Including Games of Sunday, February 6)</h2><h2>HOME GAMES</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-04333/2325222-1-eng-US/f0002-042.jpg" title="f0002-04" width="554" height="270"></div>AWAL GAMES<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-05232/2325215-1-eng-US/f0002-052.jpg" title="f0002-05" width="556" height="270"></div> &#9632;

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How NHL Teams Compare

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-01538/2325260-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg" title="f0003-01" width="478" height="568"><figcaption class="caption-body">GILLES MAROTTE &hellip; Rise To NHL Fast</figcaption></div>BOSTON, Mass.It is common knowledge around the league that Gil Marotte had his choice between two professional sports careers.A top-flight catcher in the Quebec Senior Baseball League (comparable to Class A ball in the States) Gil hit a healthy .356 last season and was offered bonus money to sign with three major-league clubs, the Cleveland Indians, Philadelphia Phillies, and Houston Astros.There were two principal reasons he chose hockey over pro baseball: (1) he thought he was &ldquo;closer to the top&rdquo; in hockey, (2) each baseball contract stipulated &ldquo;no more hockey&rdquo;. So far, the Bruins&rsquo; management has voiced no objection to Gil continuing his summer ball. And he plans to play again once the hockey season ends.Also on tap is a late May wedding with a Vietoriaville girl.&mdash; Gates &#9632;

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Bruin Star Could Play Pro Baseball

BOSTON, Mass.&mdash;Boston hockey fans came to the Garden to get a look at some of the Bruins&rsquo; stars of tomorrow the night of Feb. 6 as the NHL club brought its two top junior farm clubs&mdash;Oshawa Generals and Niagara Falls Flyers &mdash; here for their annual game.A crowd of 6,644 turned out for the game, which Niagara won 5-2. &#9632;

Niagara, Oshawa Draw 6,644 To Boston Game

<div class="byline">BY BOB GATES</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0003-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-02431/2325315-1-eng-US/f0003-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Boston Bruins&rsquo; two prize rookies this season, Gilles Marotte and goalie BERNIE PARENT, shown with Bruin coach MILT SCHMIDT, came up to the NHL after being junior teammates with Boston&rsquo;s Niagara Falls club in Ontario Hockey Association. Both are destined for stardom in big time.</figcaption></div>BOSTON, Mass.Shortly before Gil Marotte&rsquo;s first appearance in a Bruins&rsquo; uniform this season, Milt Schmidt, the Boston coach, told this reporter that the rookie defenseman had the best shot from the point that he had ever seen.&ldquo;You mean in junior hockey,&rdquo; the writer affirmed.&ldquo;No,&rdquo; Schmidt shot back. &ldquo;I mean anywhere I&rdquo;It was quite an endorsement on a raw 20-year-old making his first appearance in the National League &mdash; one that left a listener wondering if all those Boston reversals weren&rsquo;t beginning to get at the Bruins&rsquo; coach.But it didn&rsquo;t take Gilles Jean Marotte long to make believers out of fans around the circuit. His low, accurate, wrist shot from the point explodes off his stick with the howitzer force of a deadly slatshot &mdash; and with none of the tell-tale warning.&ldquo;Surprise is the big thing,&rdquo; the burly 5 ft. 10 in., 190-pounder asserted. &ldquo;It takes more time to get the slapshot away. And, of course, when you windup it gives the goalie and defense time to get set.&rdquo;This was one of the lessons Bruins&rsquo; general - manager Hap Emms, then owner-coach of the Niagara Falls Flyers, hammered into Marotte during three seasons of OHA junior play.&ldquo;When I first came to the Falls, I was just spraying my shots,&rdquo; Gil explained. &ldquo;They were going every which way &mdash; very few of them of any use behind a screen. Hap got me to concentrate my power and direction through the wrist shot.&ldquo;He showed me how, by blending wrist strength, timing and weight, I could have a powerful, more-effective shot by forgetting about the slap. In fact he even threatened to fine me every time he caught me winding up.&rdquo;It didn&rsquo;t come easily for this native Montrealer.While it has been said and attested to that Gil&rsquo;s close friendship was instrumental in Bernie Parent&rsquo;s rise to the NHL, Marotte pointed out that their relationship was a two-way street at the Falls.As Bernie&rsquo;s interpreter, Gil supported the homesick young goalie with a lot of &ldquo;big brother&rdquo; encouragement. But Parent worked for it.Many were the mornings and long hours that the pair would work out on the ice together, just the two of them &mdash; Parent learning to keep his feet in the manner of a standup-type puck stopper, and Marotte &ldquo;wristing&rdquo; countless missies at the teen-age goaler.It was slow in coming. But Gil is a persistent young man whose determination is perhaps best illustrated in his desire to play, even when saddled with injury. On one occasion he suffered a broken jaw on Friday, was out of the hospital on Sunday, and back on the ice Monday.&ldquo;I never believe in sitting around with injuries,&rdquo; Marotte said. His philosophy: &ldquo;play hard and forget about it.&rdquo;Few who saw this rock-hard defenseman in his first season at Niagara Falls were ever aware that Gil reported to camp just one month after having a cast removed from a broken leg. Marotte grimaced through the first half season. But he never complained.This was just another sample of the same rugged determination which rebelled two years previous when, as a 15-year-old, he was told he was too small to be a defenseman.Spotted by Chuck Katto, Bruin scout Roland Mercier&rsquo;s &ldquo;bird dog&rdquo; in Verdun, Que., Marotte first came under Boston sponsorship at Vietoriaville, where lie was told he wasn&rsquo;t big enough to play defense. So they put him at left wing.But young Gil had his own ideas about this. The next summer he took a job as an iron worker, added a muscular 20 pounds, and came back the following season to win a regular job on defense.The hard-hitting young defenseman, who has already dealt some bone-rattling checks around the league, has had a lot to learn his first professional season. But he has been doing so in proud fashion.Among his early observations:&ldquo;Everything is faster up here &hellip; The passes are quicker. You can&rsquo;t look at the player bearing down on you and then the puck and then the player again. He&rsquo;s gone &hellip; In junior the average player slows down when he hits your blue line and looks around. Up here there isn&rsquo;t any hesitation. They&rsquo;re flying when they hit the blue line and they keep coming. They know where they&rsquo;re going &hellip; In Junior hockey guys are running all over the ice, so you don&rsquo;t know what to expect. You don&rsquo;t get hit as much up here &mdash; just harder !&rdquo; &#9632;

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Boston Coach Lauds Young Gilles Marotte As Player With Hardest Point Shot In Hockey

BOSTON, Mass.Bruins&rsquo; winger Ed Westfall is ready to retract his statement that he will swap &ldquo;seven stitches for two points any night.&rdquo;Boston&rsquo;s answer to Lamont Cranston (The Shadow) said this after the Bruins had beaten Chicago and Bobby Hull had given him a seven-stitch part on the top of the head.Two victories later Eddie was nicked for six more, three stitches on the bridge of the nose and three more on his right eyelid.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s still wonderful to win, but this stitch-for-points business can go a bit too far,&rdquo; he cracked. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s getting so we don&rsquo;t need a trainer or doctor at our games. If this keeps up I&rsquo;ll have to bring my tailor.&rdquo; &#9632;

Westfall Has Change Of Heart

Dodger shortstop Maury Wills saw his first big league hockey game recently at Madison Square Garden and, in the time it takes him to steal a base, defined the previously indefinable Rangers.&ldquo;They are the Mets of hockey,&rdquo; said Wills as he watched the Blues rob the Red Wings of a victory on Jan. 26 in the third period and come out on top, 4-3Maury didn&rsquo;t mean to disparage the Rangers. How could he when Jean Ratelle pushed Reg Fleming&rsquo;s rebound behind Detroit goalie Roger Crozier with only 62 seconds left in the game?&ldquo;I get a thrill watching them,&rdquo; Wills continued. &ldquo;They&rsquo;ve got a lot of spirit and don&rsquo;t lack for fight.&rdquo;Vic Hadfield underlined Maury&rsquo;s point at 13:07 of the third period when he dropped his stick and went after exRanger Bill Gadsby who slashed him in the head for five stitches. The two slugged to a draw.&ldquo;He hit me from behind with his stick,&rdquo; snarled Vic. &ldquo;He won&rsquo;t be around long if he keeps that up. I&rsquo;ll cut his (censored) head off.&rdquo;Hadfield is the kind of peppery player that attracted Wills&rsquo; attention.&ldquo;I like to watch and see how much courage certain players have,&rdquo; he explained. "That Gary Bergman impressed me on the Detroit defense and those two goalies - Crozier and Ed Giacomin - gotta have courage to face those pucks without a mask. That&rsquo;s worse than being a catcher.&rdquo;Maury became interested in hockey through his musical arranger and partner in their touring show, Bruce Innes, who once played junior hockey in Calgary, Alberta. Wills said if he could play hockey he&rsquo;d like to be a forward or defenseman.&ldquo;Definitely not a goalie.&rdquo;&ldquo;Speaking of goalies,&rdquo; he went on, &ldquo;I thought Ed Giacomin played a whale of a game.&rdquo;Recalled from Baltimore when Cesare Maniago was injured last week in Toronto, Giacomin grew stronger as the game wore on and made a key move that led to the game-winning rush when it appeared Detroit had the winner.It was enough to lift 14,444 of the faithful out of their seats and inspired Maury Wills to inspire the Rangers.&ldquo;They don&rsquo;t need a Gordie Howe to get in contention&rdquo; said the Dodgers&rsquo; hero. &ldquo;They can do it with a bunch of solid guys and teamwork. In hockey no one man can strike out 20 guys for you.&rdquo;Unfortunately, Maury never has seen Bobby Hull. &#9632;

Rangers ‘Mets Of Hockey’ Says Maury Wills

BOSTON, Mass.Detroit Red Wing hockey star Gordie Howe received a series of threatening letters and was provided with bodyguards when he got off a plane last week for a game here.Red Wing officials said two plainclothesmen met Howe at Logan International airport and escorted him to his hotel. It was believed the men were Federal Bureau of Investigation agents.FBI officials here and in Detroit refused comment on the report. The Red Wings met and defeated the Boston Bruins 4-2 at Boston Garden.The Red Wing spokesman said Howe&rsquo;s hotel room was not guarded during the night and he went to breakfast without bodyguards. Howe scoffed at a report he was in any danger but NHL club officials took no chances and security measures were taken.In Detroit, it was reported Howe received a threatening letter about two weeks ago. The letter, with a New York postmark and address, was sent to NHL President Clarence Campbell. It was not given to police or the FBI. &#9632;

Howe Given Police Guard After Threatening Letters

(Including Games of Sun., Feb. 6)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-01601/2325425-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg" title="f0004-01" width="581" height="2816"></div>Penalties in Minutes by Clubs<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-02561/2325418-1-eng-US/f0004-022.jpg" title="f0004-02" width="562" height="254"></div> &#9632;

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NHL Point Race

BY JACK BERRYDETROIT, Mich. &mdash;Doug Barkley is Meet, 2-inches tall. Usually tall players have few facial injuries and, until the night of Jan. 30, in the second period at Olympia, that was true of the Red Wing defenseman.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-01559/2325456-1-eng-US/f0005-012.jpg" title="f0005-01" width="265" height="418"><figcaption class="caption-body">Doug Barkley</figcaption></div>Then, fighting by the blue line, at the boards, with Doug Mohns for the puck, Mohns tried to lift Barkley&rsquo;s stick. Instead, he hit Barkley in the right eye with his own.&ldquo;Doug was bent over,&rdquo; said rookie Bert Marshall, Barkley&rsquo;s defense partner and bachelor quarters mate.Mohns&rsquo; stick tore the lunus of the eye. allowing the fluid in which the lens floats to escape. Barkley was rushed to the hospital in uniform&mdash;they cut it off him &mdash; wheeled into surgery and operated on immediately.It was the most serious injury suffered by a Red Wing since Gordie Howe&rsquo;s near-fatal skull injury in the 1950 Stanley Cup playoffs against Toronto. However, goalie Dennis Riggin, being primed for the Red Wing job, was hit by shots in both eyes in three season at Edmonton and they ended his career. Riggin nearly lost his sight.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s amazing there aren&rsquo;t more eye injuries,&rdquo; said Dr. Milton Kosley, one of the club physicians.Barkley&rsquo;s injury was added to the growing string of disabilities suffered by NHL rearguards this season. The same night Toronto&rsquo;s Marcel Pronovost suffered a knee injury in New York and the previous night Chicago&rsquo;s Elmer Vasko reinjured his shoulder when dumped by Barkley.And, as Barkley left the lineup, for two weeks at least, Warren Godfrey, who underwent knee surgery Dec. 21, returned.Manager-coach Sid Abel was hopeful that with the comeback of Godfrey, he would be able to spot 20-year man Bill Gadsby, thus keeping him fresher. The Barkley injury washed that out, for the present at least.Shortly before Barkley&rsquo;s injury, when the Wings reached first place after a climb from the cellar, Abel was asked if he thought the club could hold on for a second straight league title.&ldquo;Barring injury, yes,&rdquo; he answered.Only time will tell how well they can get over the loss of Barkley who one week earlier was named to the second AllStar team, not too many points shy of a first team position.Also hampering the Wings was Gordie Howe&rsquo;s heavy, persistent chest cold which he has been carrying around for four weeks, despite a carload of antibiotics and training room treatments.In the between-periods break in one game, Howe coughed so violently that he had to take off his sweater and shoulder harness.While Howe was excused from practices in an attempt to shake his cold, Ab McDonald was sent down to Memphis to get in shape after a thigh injury.McDonald, who had one hot spell of 13 points in 11 games in December while working with Andy Bathgate and Bruce MacGregor, didn&rsquo;t have a goal in seven weeks and only five for 38 games.Memphis played five games in as many nights, had six scheduled in seven nights so McDonald had the chance to either get in shape or fall through exhaustion.Abel promised that he would recall the big left winger in two weeks.Defenseman Gary Bergman was sent down for two weeks of the Memphis treatment &mdash; &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a skating league,&rdquo; says Abel &mdash; earlier in the season and now is playing the way Abel expected of him.The demotion of McDonald left the parent club with just one man in the big league from the six players obtained in summer deals with Toronto and Boston &mdash; Bathgate. And, also farmed out was draftee Don McKenney.The Detroit deficiencies on left wing and defense which Abel sought to plug by trade, have been plugged by Made in Detroit products &mdash; Paul Henderson, shifted from right to left wing, and Marshall, up from the farm system to a regular post at the blue line.ICE CHIPS: The Quebec Old-timers won their rematch with the Red Wing Oldtimers, 5-1, before a sellout crowd of 12,394 at Olympia &hellip; since the game was televised live, there were no standees.Referee Red Storey had to warn both clubs to cool down after play began getting rough. The main antagonists were Ted Lindsay (naturally) and Bob Goldham on the Detroit side and Ken Reardon, Ken Mosdell and Dickie Moore on the Quebec side. &#9632;

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Red Wings Suffer Bitter Blow As All-Star Rearguard Barkley Suffers Serious Injury To Eye

DETROIT, Mich.What is it about the Chicago Black Hawks that brings out the worst in the Red Wings?Sid Abel wishes he knew, just as Boston Bruin coach Milt Schmidt wonders how he can beat Chicago and have so little success with Detroit.At one stage during the season the Wing-Hawk games were comparatively close with superb goaltending by Glenn Hall the difference.Lately the Hawks have had almost no trouble with the Wings, even using rookie Dave Dryden in goal in two starts at Olympia and winning both handily, 4-1 and 5-1.Not only that but the Hawks beat the Wings without their two best defensemen, Pierre Pilote and Elmer Vasko.Bobby Hull hasn&rsquo;t been exactly spectacular against the Wings, has missed a couple of meetings in fact, but he hasn&rsquo;t been missed.The Wings especially have trouuble in Chicago Stadium where they&rsquo;ve won only four times in 39 starts over this season and the five previous ones. They&rsquo;ve lost 25 and tied 10.The most recent tie came on Alex Delvecchio&rsquo;s slap shot from the point with only two seconds left on the clock and goalie Roger Crozier pulled for an extra attacker.Detroit&rsquo;s greatest assets are skating and tireless checking but every time they go against the Hawks it&rsquo;s as if they&rsquo;re anchored to the ice.Detroit&rsquo;s inability to beat Chicago (1-7-1 through January) and ability to whip Boston almost at will (8-0-0 through January) is one of the mysteries of the league.Over the past 6% seasons the Wings hold a 59-21-12 won-lost-tied bulge over the Bruins.Typical of the Chicago-Detroit series was the last meeting at Olympia, won 5-1 by the Hawks who used it to move into a first place tie with the Wings.Stan Mikita, loafing out of the Detroit zone after Crozier stole a goal from Kenny Wharram on a setup from Mikita, took a long pass from Pat Stapleton and went in solo, crossed the net and pumped the puck past Crozier for the game&rsquo;s opening goal.The Wings screamed that it was an offside play, that Stapleton had been behind his own blue line when he passed it up to Mikita. Rookie Wing defenseman Bert Marshall said he saw the linesman raise his arm to signal offside so he slacked up and Mikita, like a lonesome end, took the pass and was gone.As in most arguments with officialdom, the Wings lost and the goal stood.BERRY &#9632;

Black Hawk Jinx’ Puzzles Wings’ Abel

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0006-03" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-03374/2325573-1-eng-US/f0006-032.jpg"></div><h2>NHL Clubs Should Share Player Wealth</h2>Hockey News Editor:So as to acquire a share of the revenue available in coast-to-coast television, the National Hockey League is sailing merrily into expansion and its slice of the lucrative network pie. The league has charted this course without having resolved its current problem of an unbalanced six team structure, caused by the talent-rich clubs monopolization of talented young players being channeled to the big time.In professional athletics, the partaking in the wealth of talent by all clubs is essential as the lifeblood of competitive balance and complete financial stability. Discrimination against New York and Boston in this respect makes it difficult for them to compete with the rest of the league.Take the plight of New York. The Rangers one American Hockey League affiliate, Baltimore, now owns ten players on its roster, having added seven this season despite considerate treatment by the parent club in the shuffling of personnel. The Blues now are grooming only six men, the balance of the Baltimore roster, in the strongest minor league !Until recently, Montreal and Toronto had a fifty-mile territorial radius in which they had exclusive rights to players of all calibre. This radius has been cut by the league, but in all their years of existence the Rangers never got a Rousseau or a Laperriere from the city of Newark.Although Red Kelly and many other native and justly proud Canadians don&rsquo;t care to play in New York, or perhaps Boston, the esprit de corps on the Rangers is good. However, the styles of players integrated on the local team from all over Canada, don&rsquo;t always blend well. Some good players such as Dick Duff become disenchanted with the system and don&rsquo;t work in here.I have always dreamed of the equality of one team in each minor and amateur league for each parent club &mdash; stocked with players who are the exclusive property of that major club. This would give New York and Boston the basis for respectability in league standings. In their present crisis the Bruins must promote top OHA prospects to Boston without the benefit of professional experience.Finally, expansion to an eight club league would allow practical scheduling, preserve 70-game season records, and enable the promotion of the roughly two dozen minor league players deserving National Hockey League status. But alas, it appears that the NHL has chosen to dilute its strength by adding six &ldquo;weak sister&rdquo; franchises to the ones it now has.Robert H. Bonter,New York, N.Y.<h2>World Pen Pal Club Pulling For Hull</h2>Hockey News Editor:For the past few seasons, the Hawks&rsquo; Golden Jet, Bobby Hull has been attempting to break the fifty-goal plateau. Accomplishing this has been somewhat difficult for Hull, even though he did reach that mark several years ago to tie the record previously held by the Canadiens&rsquo; Richard and Geoffrion. Howe once had 49 and the Leafs&rsquo; Big M 48; but number 51 seems to be out of reach for even the finest players.Hull&rsquo;s second half of the 64-65 hockey campaign proved to be disastrous after getting off to a fast start. With forty-two goals to his credit this year, he has twenty-six games remaining to smash the record.On behalf of the hockey Fan Clubs in Canada and the US, members of the World-Wide Hockey Pen-Pal Association and of the many Bobby Hull fans, I would like to wish him the best of luck in breaking the fifty-goal record.No doubt he will be under pressure as he nears the mark, but there is an old saying, &ldquo;You have to have a goal in order to score.&rdquo; His goal will be fiftyplus.Byron Christopher,Campbellton, N.B. &#9632;

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FAN FORUM

(As Seen in The Montreal Gazette)There is a lot of pressure on goalkeepers these days, Sid Abel admits, but Roger Crozier is standing up under it manfully.&ldquo;If the other teams are waiting for him to crack, they better forget about it,&rdquo; the manager-coach of the Detroit Red Wings said.&ldquo;This time last year he was tired and we sent him to Florida for a brief rest. But he isn&rsquo;t a bit tired now and he&rsquo;s playing great hockey for us. He has completely recovered from that stomach ailment that bothered him at the start of the season.&rdquo;Abel&rsquo;s big worry now is Doug Barkley, his ace defenseman, who is out indefinitely with an eye injury.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-02500/2325542-1-eng-US/f0006-022.jpg" title="f0006-02" width="301" height="423"><figcaption class="caption-body">Roger Crozier</figcaption></div>&ldquo;The doctors don&rsquo;t know when he&rsquo;ll be back,&rdquo; he said. It could be in a couple of weeks and it could be not before next season. Even when he does come back, it will take him weeks to skate himself into condition again.&ldquo;He was our best defenseman this year, I was disappointed when he didn&rsquo;t make the First All-Star team at the end of the first half of the season. I thought he deserved it. He hadn&rsquo;t missed a game until he got hurt and he hadn&rsquo;t played a bad one, either.&rdquo;It was pointed out that when a team is going as well as the Red Wings, somebody else usually picks up the slack when a key man is injured.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s true,&rdquo; he agreed. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got Warren Godfrey back now and maybe he can do the job.&rdquo;<h2>Howe Has Sinus Trouble</h2>There was a report that Gordie Howe was suffering from a sinus condition and he was asked about that.&ldquo;I know he had the flu and he&rsquo;d hardly got over when he got it again.&rdquo; said Abel. &ldquo;It bothers him.&rdquo;The physician&rsquo;s report was that Howe suffered from the flu and then the sinus condition developed. He&rsquo;d been sleeping in a room with a humidifier, his chest had been X-rayed and he&rsquo;d been examined by a specialist.&ldquo;If Gordie didn&rsquo;t make his living playing hockey and was just another person, we would put him in bed for a week or 10 days and the condition would be corrected,&rdquo; Dr. Lindsey, the club physician, said. &ldquo;Because he does play hockey, the best we can do is guard against extra irritants.&rdquo;Abel said that Howe was being excused from some practices and just loosened up at others. If a player has sinus trouble, it doesn&rsquo;t do him any good to get heated up in the rink and then go out into the chill air.The Wings&rsquo; manager-coach was asked if he&rsquo;d read what Pit Martin, the centre the Wings traded to the Boston Bruins for Parker MacDonald, had said, about him and the Detroit club.&ldquo;No,&rdquo; he replied, &ldquo;but I know he&rsquo;s been scoring some big goals.&rdquo;What Martin said was that Hap Emms, the Bruins&rsquo; general manager, had asked him how the Wings practiced and he&rsquo;d told him the Wings concentrated on shooting.<h2>They Concentrate On Shooting</h2>&ldquo;Well, he didn&rsquo;t tell Emms a lie,&rdquo; he commented. &ldquo;We spend at least 50 per cent of our practice time shooting. We send the players down in one and two-man breaks. There&rsquo;s no defense &mdash; just the goalie.&ldquo;You can&rsquo;t win games unless you score. We want to get them into the habit of shooting and to forget about trying to make fancy passing plays in front of the net. You can waste a lot of good scoring chances by making one pass too many.&rdquo; treated well by the Wings&rsquo; manager-coach.&ldquo;I know he had problems and lots of centres and I don&rsquo;t think he wanted to trade me,&rdquo; Martin had been quoted as saying. &ldquo;But he did trade me and gave me a chance to play in the NHL.&rdquo;Abel didn&rsquo;t want to dwell too long on the subject. He&rsquo;d needed Parker MacDonald to play left wing on the line with Howe and Alex Delvecchio and he had to give up Martin to get him.A reference was made to the whammy the Wings had on the Canadiens and the Toronto Leafs in Detroit Olympia.&ldquo;I hope we can keep it on them,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Look at what Chicago does to us! I think we&rsquo;re going to make a pretty good run from now on &mdash; if we can steer clear of the injuries.&rdquo;What young Martin had said about Abel was that he&rsquo;d been &#9632;

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Crozier Standing Up To Pressure Of NHL

HOCKEY NEWS this week asked Western League fans this question:Are hockey fights legitimate? Why do they happen more than in other sports? Do you like them? Who&rsquo;s the best fighter you ever saw?PHIL BEZONSKY, L A. accountant: Of course, hockey fights are real. They happen in hockey because it&rsquo;s the fastest game and has so much body-contact. They are part of the game, but I don&rsquo;t miss them when they don&rsquo;t happen. If a person is a fight-fan he should go to the boxing arena, not the hockey rink. Fernie Flaman was pretty good, about the best fighter I&rsquo;ve seen.EDGAR ABRAMS, L. A. garment-cutter: Definitely, hockey fights are the real thing. They come from the terrific speed and body contact. It&rsquo;s only human nature to hit back when you get hit. Fights are part of the game. Fern Flaman was the best I ever saw.JOAN WILSON, San Francisco clerk: I think they&rsquo;re real. There&rsquo;s more fast hitting in hockey than other sports, so players get upset more. And the sticks get players mad. I like the fights because they scare me, especially stick fights. They&rsquo;re not being paid to fight, like boxers, so it&rsquo;s like it&rsquo;s for real, and really exciting. Orland Kurtenbach, who used to be with the Seals, and Larry McNabb are good fighters.DON RYAN, Portland salesman: Most of the time there&rsquo;s just pushing and shoving, but the players do get angry because of the sticks flying around. More important, they&rsquo;re brought up in hockey taught fighting is perfectly OK. I&rsquo;d like them more if the players really fought when they got down to it. Most of them don&rsquo;t really want to fight. Like Howie Young of L.A. He&rsquo;d back off if our Arnie Schmautz went at him. Arnie&rsquo;s the smallest player in hockey. Considering his size, he&rsquo;s the best fighter I ever saw.DON RUSSELL, L. A., IBM operator: Oh, yes, they&rsquo;re legitimate. It&rsquo;s faster than other games and has more contact. But I don&rsquo;t look for fights and I don&rsquo;t know the best fighter because they don&rsquo;t happen as often as I thought they would.MRS. VIRGIE DUDDLES, Van Nuys, Calif., telephone operator: Yes, hockey fights are legitimate. It&rsquo;s such a fast game, the players are more tense and excitable than in other sports. But, no, I don&rsquo;t like them.CY COMIN, Anaheim, Calif., foundry foreman: They&rsquo;re legitimate. They come in hockey because there&rsquo;s more contact than any other sports. I think they&rsquo;re part of the game. Gordie Howe and Carl Brewer are the best I&rsquo;ve seen.TED THOMPSON, Seattle mechanic: They&rsquo;re for real and they come in hockey because of the sticks. The defensemen who play rough and seem to look for fights often aren&rsquo;t the real fighters, though Lou Fontinato could start a fight and finish one, too. I used to live in New York. Andy Bathgate was the best I ever saw. He didn&rsquo;t get in many fights, but when he did get in one, he won quickly and easily and decisively and never lost. Gordie Howe was the dirtiest player and a good fighter, but few would challenge him. &#9632;

IN THE CORRIDOR

BOSTON, Mass. &mdash;There is little doubt naw how much Teddy Green means to the Boston Bruins.When the ram-bunctious defenseman missed five weeks battling an illness in late November and early December, the Bruins went through 12 straight games without a victory.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-01580/2325628-1-eng-US/f0007-012.jpg" title="f0007-01" width="264" height="409"><figcaption class="caption-body">Ted Green</figcaption></div>The night he returned to action Boston throttled New York, 4-2.And more recently, after the Bruins had won four in a row (their best showing in six years), Green&rsquo;s departure with stretched ligaments brought an immediate end to prosperity.Fortunately for Boston, Ted&rsquo;s internment won&rsquo;t be for as long as first anticipated. It was orginally estimated that Green would be out for a month. But now it is hoped the cast will be removed from his right knee this week (CQ) and he could be back in action in time for the club&rsquo;s long six-game road trip beginning Feb. 19.&ldquo;Ted demands respect back there on defense,&rdquo; Coach Milt Schmidt declared. His aggressiveness keeps rival forwards honest. During his absence the opposition practically sets up camp on the Bruins&rsquo; goal crease.But also noticeably missed is Green&rsquo;s steadily improved ability to clear the puck out of the Boston zone. In light of periodic flareups his aggressiveness commands major attention, and is indeed a needed spark to the Bruins&rsquo; attack. But his defensive steadiness in moving the puck from behind and over the Boston blue line is also missed considerably when the brawny Winnipeg native is on the sideline.He is indeed a major key In the Bruins&rsquo; fortunes. &#9632;

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Green’s Injury Sends Boston Into Tailspin

DETROIT, Mich.Mrs. Lillian Morandy, mother of Red Wings manager-coach Sid Abel&rsquo;s wife, Gloria, died suddenly in Harper Hospital at the age of 72.Mrs. Morandy also is survived by another daughter, Edna Morandy, and sons James and Leonard, five grandchildren and three great grandchildren. &#9632;

Wings’ Coach Bereaved As Mother-in-law Dies

<div class="byline">BY JIM PROUDFOOT</div>TORONTO, Ont.&mdash;Leaf&rsquo;s quest for defensive stability has been the story of the 1965-66 hockey season in Toronto.It&rsquo;s been a frustra ting saga.First there was the retirement of Carl Brewer, leaving a gap in what had shaped up as a solid rearguard. The way coach Punch Imlach analyzed it he&rsquo;d acquired Marcel Pronovost as insurance in case Allan Stanley finally yielded to advancing old age.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-02536/2325683-1-eng-US/f0007-022.jpg" title="f0007-02" width="280" height="418"><figcaption class="caption-body">Kent Douglas</figcaption></div>Stanley didn&rsquo;t, which was a pleasant surprise, especially in view of Brewer&rsquo;s unexpected departure.Then came Bobby Baun&rsquo;s knee injury, again punching a hole in what had seemed strong.Fortunately, Larry Hillman was able to move up from the American league farm team at Rochester and do a first rate job &mdash; so good , in fact, that he&rsquo;s probably earned permanent promotion to the big-time lineup.It seems fairly certain now that when the personnel problems eventually sort themselves out, Hillman will be kept and Kent Douglas sent down.Meanwhile, Pronovost was beginning to resemble his old self after a very disappointing start with his new employers.Then he received a knee injury that figured to keep him out of the lineup at least three weeks.Again Leafs were fortunate because it so happened that Baun was about ready to rejoin the team just at that juncture.But you can see the plight they&rsquo;d have been in if Imlach hadn&rsquo;t dealt lavishly to build up reserve depth at the defensive positions.Only that foresight has enabled Leafs to survive a series of misfortunes that would have plunged almost any other team in the league down into the second division. &#9632;

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Imlach’s Reserve Defense Strength Pays Off For Leafs As Injuries Hit

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-03439/2325714-1-eng-US/f0007-032.jpg" title="f0007-03" width="864" height="733"></div>Les Canadiens&rsquo; Ralph Backstrom and Claude Provost are shown wearing these wonderful &ldquo;Kambern Originals.&rdquo; Ralph in an orange low button 4-hole golfer model and Claude in a blue cross over cardigan.&ldquo;Kambern Originals&rdquo; &hellip; sold for men of discriminating taste at all leading men&rsquo;s wear and department stores from coast to coast.The newest and most daring approach to sweaters. Style sets the pace and colour runs wild !Highland Knitting MillsMontreal, Canada &#9632;

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OUR “HAT TRICK” FOR ‘66

<div class="byline">BY BOB GATES</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0008-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-01614/2325769-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">PIT MARTIN &hellip; Big Future With Bruins</figcaption></div>BOSTON, Mass. &mdash;&ldquo;Right now he&rsquo;s just going in spurts. When he gets stronger he&rsquo;ll go like that all the time.&rdquo;This was Bruins&rsquo; coach Milt Schmidt enthusing over young Hubert Jacques (Pit) Martin, who just may be Boston&rsquo;s best trade catch in many years.Coming to the Bruins as a New Year&rsquo;s present from Detroit (Boston returned Parker MacDonald in the one-for-one exchange), Martin, 22, gave a pretty fair demonstration of what the future could offer when he scored four goals in powering Boston to a 5-3 victory over Chicago.It was only the second time in Bruins history that a Boston player had noticed a &ldquo;hat-trick plus one&rdquo; (Woody Dumart was the first, collecting four also against Chicago way back on March 3, 1951 &mdash; 15 years ago).For Martin, a soft-spoken little 5 ft. 9 in., 160-pounder, the quartet gave him eight goals in five games and he had 14 points after 14 games in Boston trappings.But it isn&rsquo;t just the Martin scoring touch which has been delighting Schmidt and the Bruin fans. Pit, a native of Noranda, Que., has been hustling every second he&rsquo;s been on the ice, forechecking, back-checking, digging, shooting &mdash; a frenzy of motion the likes of which Boston hasn&rsquo;t seen in many years.And it has been catching. Witness: the Bruins&rsquo; recent string of four straight victories, the best Boston hockey showing in six years !Following Martin&rsquo;s lead, all the Bruin forwards were working harder, digging, coming back to help out.Who is this whirling dervish sporting No. 7 on a field of, gold and black?He&rsquo;s a product of the Detroit farm system who had an 85-point season in 49 games with Hamilton in OHA play in 1962-63. The following year, after 50 games with the parent Red Wings, he was chosen Detroit&rsquo;s top rookie, before being carved for some 50 stitches on successive Thursday nights (please note his recent four-goal night was also a Thursday).Forty stitches over the left eye and another dozen across the ear left young Martin a little gun shy. And a sliding helmet which hampered his vision didn&rsquo;t help matters either. But it had been more an abundance of center-ice talent in the Detroit organization than any failure on Martin&rsquo;s part which made Pit expendable.Word is that Jimmy Skinner, head Red Wings scout, is still fuming over the trade, so &ldquo;high&rdquo; is he on the young Frenchman&rsquo;s potential.In a recent interview with Cliff Keane of the Boston Globe, Martin gave some valuable insight as to how he has been operating with the Bruins of late on a line with right wing Johnny Bucyk and Ron Stewart, a pair of veterans who have knit well with this enterprising young center-ice man.&ldquo;When the puck is being taken by my check,&rdquo; said Martin, &ldquo;I forecheck him aggressively. I want him to pass the puck, preferably to Bucyk&rsquo;s man. Now I know if I can get this to happen, then there&rsquo;s a good chance Bucyk will be strong and outmuscle the guy for the puck.&ldquo;Once then that I see that Bucyk has a good chance to get the puck, I break for the goal and get in front.&rdquo; (On all four of his goals against Chicago, Bucyk dug the puck out for him, fed him beautiful passes, and Martin simply &ldquo;finished them off.&rdquo;).It was easy to see Pit has the &ldquo;touch&rdquo; around the ne. which has been so sorely lacking among the Bruins all season.One of the better-educated young players in the league he&rsquo;s nearing completion of a B.A. degree in French and history at McMaster in Hamilton, Martin readily admitted he was shocked at first by his being traded to Boston. He had made many friends and plans for a future in Detroit, and all his thinking centered around a career in the Motor City. In fact he may still take up offseason residence in Windsor, Ont., just across the river.However, he Was quick to realize immediate opportunities would be markedly better with the Bruins, and for this he was largely grateful. &#9632;

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Pit Martin New Rage With Bruins, Seen As Best Trade Catch In Years

<h2>POWER PLAY GOALS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-01598/2325821-1-eng-US/f0009-012.jpg" title="f0009-01" width="520" height="578"></div><h2>GAME WINNING GOALS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-02570/2325814-1-eng-US/f0009-022.jpg" title="f0009-02" width="514" height="234"></div><h2>FIRST GOALS OF GAME</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-03506/2325807-1-eng-US/f0009-032.jpg" title="f0009-03" width="512" height="492"></div><h2>TEAM POWER PLAY GOALS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-04434/2325800-1-eng-US/f0009-042.jpg" title="f0009-04" width="474" height="232"></div>(Statistics include games of Sun. Jan. 30) &#9632;

f0009-01

Important NHL Goals

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0009-05" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-05348/2325852-1-eng-US/f0009-052.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Here&rsquo;s the veteran ALEX DELVECCHIO sitting on the boards as he chats with Detroit&rsquo;s manager-coach SID ABEL. Delvecchio is NHL&rsquo;s ninth highest scorer of all time with 301 goals.</figcaption></div>DETROIT, Mich.It could only happen to Alex Delvecchio.Sixth among all NHL scorers at mid-season. Third among centers. Averaging one scoring point per game. Pivot on Detroit&rsquo;s No. 1 line. Ninth highest scorer in league history with 300 goals. He scored the big goal Feb. 3 in Boston as the Wings won 4-2.Delvecchio, 34 and in his 15th season with the Red Wings, is one of those athletes who does a lion&rsquo;s share of the work and receives a lamb&rsquo;s credit.In the mid-season voting for All-Star center, Delvecchio received only three points, finishing behind five other centers although he was the league&rsquo;s third-best scorer at that position.The graceful veteran, a master at riding off tough body checks, has not won an AllStar berth since 1959, despite scoring 20 or more goals for the past five seasons in a row.Delvecchio&rsquo;s inability to draw more votes this season for the All-Star team points up the abundance of top-flight centers playing in the NHL. It also points up the fact he is underrated.Delvecchio&rsquo;s only real claim to fame is his annual high-standing in competition for the league&rsquo;s Lady Byng Trophy, awarded to the most sportsmanlike player. He won the award in 1959, finished second last season and currently holds a 22-point lead over Montreal&rsquo;s Bobby Rousseau for honors this season.It is one award, however, Delvecchio doesn&rsquo;t relish.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s nice to win the money ($250 for leading at mid-season),&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;but the coaches and managers keep knocking the Lady Byng so who wants to win it ?&rdquo;Delvecchio would prefer other honors. And his record qualifies him as a legitimate contender.Delvecchio is the Wings third-leading scorer and sixth in the league with 21 goals and 28 assists.Now in his fourth season as Red Wings&rsquo; captain, Delvecchio already has a total of eight 20-goal seasons, six in a row, and two more when he scored 19 goals each.Durability is also one of Alex&rsquo;s main assets. Between October 1956 and November 1965, Delvecchio played in 548 consecutive games. He has also played out the full 70-game schedule nine times. &#9632;

f0009-05

Delvecchio Scores 300th Big League Goal

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-06297/2325883-1-eng-US/f0009-062.jpg" title="f0009-06" width="502" height="715"></div> &#9632;

f0009-06

NHL’s Select 250-Goal Club

&ldquo;you like 7up 7up likes you&ldquo;you like 7up 7up likes youMONTREAL, Que.The Montreal Canadiens have swung into a road trip during which they&rsquo;ll tangle with every other club in the league.They opened the tour against New York last Sunday. From there they go to Boston, Chicago, Detroit and Toronto in that order. The trip is a vital one, for Habs need every point they can get in the closer - than - your - next - breath race for top spots in the standings.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-01613/2325914-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg" title="f0010-01" width="292" height="421"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jean Beliveau</figcaption></div>Grimmest part of the road trip is almost certain to be next weekend, when Canadiens visit Chicago on Saturday, Feb. 12 and Detroit the night after. They&rsquo;ll have to find a way to stop the rampaging Bobby Hull in Chicago Stadium, and then break the now famous &ldquo;jinx&rdquo; which has haunted them in Detroit&rsquo;s Olympia. Canadiens haven&rsquo;t won a game on Detroit ice since Feb. 16, 1964. Thus, the contest slated for next Sunday, Feb. 13, is almost an anniversary for Canadiens. If they fail to win again, it&rsquo;ll mark two years of near-famine for them in the Motor City. They have managed a few ties in Detroit over the years, but victory has remained outside their grasp.Meanwhile, individual members of the Habs continued to rank high in the scoring parade in the early part of the second half. Bobby Rousseau, Henri Richard and Jean Beliveau were all in the top ten in the first week of February, and both Rousseau and Beliveau had more points than they&rsquo;d managed all last season. Beliveau appeared to have recovered from a bothersome groin injury which had slowed him somewhat around the halfway mark of the schedule. It was, in fact, turning out to be quite a season for Big Jean. He&rsquo;d moved into fourth place among hockey&rsquo;s all-time scorers, when he rifled his 372nd career goal to edge past ex-linemate Boom Boom Geoffrion. The latter now stands fifth in the standings with a total of 371.Beliveau is now taking dead aim on third place in the alltime lists, and at the present writing needed only five more goals to get it. That would give him one more than Ted Lindsay&rsquo;s 379, amassed in 17 NHL seasons with Detroit and Chicago. Big Jean would then rank behind Gordie Howe and Maurice Richard as hockey&rsquo;s greatest goal-getter.One man who wasn&rsquo;t having as good a season as last year, but still merited words of praise from his coach, was Claude Provost. The veteran rightwinger, low on goals but pretty high on assists, was doing a lot of digging for Habs and Toe Blake had a comment to make about it.Said the coach: &ldquo;No doubt, Provost isn&rsquo;t playing as well as last year. After all, he was the No. 1 all-star right winger. But, he has been working and doing a fine defensive job as well as getting his share of scoring points. I certainly thought he&rsquo;d fare better than he did in the all-star voting at the end of the first half of this season,&rdquo; mentioned Toe. &ldquo;Maybe he didn&rsquo;t deserve a place on either of the teams, &mdash; maybe, &mdash; but he didn&rsquo;t get so much as one single vote. You can&rsquo;t tell me he didn&rsquo;t deserve better than that,&rdquo;Also doing a pretty fair job for Canucks, and a man who might be a potent force on the road was Gilles Tremblay. After having gotten off to a somewhat slow start, due mainly to the months of idleness brought about by his broken leg, Gilles was starting to find the range. He had 15 goals after 42 games, but with a little luck could&rsquo;ve had several more. He was particularly dangerous in an early February contest against Toronto, when Habs came from behind to post a 5-4 win. Gilles got three assists in that one, and was robbed of a sure goal in the opening minutes when Terry Sawehuk slid in front of a close-in shot that was labelled. If he keeps his confidence and continues to work as he has in recent games, Tremblay is going to come up with a clutch of goals one of these nights &hellip; and it&rsquo;ll probably happen when Habs need them most. &#9632;

f0010-01

Canucks Hit Road — Visit Five Cities

(Standings on Wed., Feb. 9)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-02534/2325945-1-eng-US/f0010-022.jpg" title="f0010-02" width="558" height="186"></div>GAMES COMPLETEDWed., Feb. 2New York 3 at Chicago 4Thurs., Feb. 3Toronto 4 at Montreal 5Detroit 4 at Boston 2Sat., Feb. 5Detroit 2 at Montreal 2Chicago 2 at Toronto 5New York 3 at Boston 5Sun., Feb. 6Montreal 4 at New York 0Toronto 2 at Chicago 3Boston 3 at Detroit 3GAMES TO COMEWed., Feb. 9New York at TorontoDetroit at ChicagoThurs., Feb. 10Montreal at BostonNew York at DetroitSat., Feb. 12Montreal at ChicagoDetroit at TorontoBoston at New York (afternoon game)Sun., Feb. 13Montreal at DetroitToronto at BostonNew York at ChicagoWed., Feb. 16Montreal at TorontoChicago at New YorkDetroit at BostonSat., Feb. 19Chicago at MontrealNew York at TorontoBoston at DetroitSun., Feb. 20Montreal at New YorkToronto at DetroitBoston at Chicago &#9632;

f0010-02

How They Stand

While his chances seem remote, Stan Mikita&rsquo;s hopes of winning a third NHL scoring championship are always uppermost in the mind of the Black Hawks&rsquo; rugged centre.This past week he was the most productive of the NHL&rsquo;s &lsquo;Big 10&rsquo; scorers with six points and while he still trails teammate Bobby Hull by 16 points, he continues to pick up the points from game to game in the event Hull should be injured or go into a slump.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-03454/2325976-1-eng-US/f0010-032.jpg" title="f0010-03" width="292" height="427"><figcaption class="caption-body">Stan Mikita</figcaption></div>Mikita scored three times last week to raise his season total to 24, the same number as Detroit&rsquo;s Norm Ullman, who lost his second place hold to Mikita in the point race.Indicative of Mikita&rsquo;s courage as a big leaguer came last weekend when he appeared on the Chicago ice wearing a helmet to protect a 13-stitch head cut. Mikita turned around scored twice ond set up the third goal as the Hawks toppled the Toronto Leafs 3-2.Chicago coach Billy Reay lauded Mikita for his gritty performance.El Producto is pleased to add congratulations to Stan Mikita, who is nominated as the NHL player-of-the-week. &#9632;

f0010-03

The Player Of The Week

MONTREAL, Que.A man who has spent the majority of his career in the minor leagues, looked good on the Montreal Canadiens&rsquo; defence, recently.Noel Price, a 30-year-old native of Brockville, Ont., was given a brief whirl on the Hab blueline when injuries sidelined a couple of regulars. Price played a near-starring role in a recent Canadiens victory over Toronto Maple Leafs. He set up two goals, including the game winner by Jean Beliveau.Price has been a pro for nine seasons and has done stints with several NHL clubs. He played for Toronto in the late &lsquo;fifties, before being traded to N.Y. Rangers. They traded him to Detroit on Feb. 16, 1962, for Pete Geogan. Then, in a curious development on Oct. 8, 1962, Detroit traded him back to the Rangers in a straight player deal involving Pete Goegan, again.Before playing his first game for the Canadiens at the beginning of this month, Price had amassed the sum total of one assist in 56 NHL games. He got two assists in his first game for Montreal.&mdash; SMITH &#9632;

AHL Call-Up Noel Price Sharp In Big League Whirl With Habs

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0011-12" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-12182/2326062-1-eng-US/f0011-122.jpg"></div>A&mdash;When two goaltenders of one team play in same game, each is given half a credit for the final result. &#9632;

f0011-12

Goalkeepers’ Records

<h2>Wed., Feb. 2</h2>NEW YORK 3 at CHICAGO 4NEW YORK&mdash;Goal: Giacomin, Maniago, Defense: Neilson, Hillman, Howell, Brown, Seiling, Forwards: Marshall, Goyette, Nevin, Robinson, Fleming, Ingarfield, Hadfield, Hicke, Ratelie, Peters, Hamilton.CHICAGO&mdash;Goal: Dryden, Dejordy, Defense: Ravlich, Miszuk, Stapleton, MacNeil, Jarrett, Forwards: Hull, Esposito, Maki, Mohns, Angotti, Hay, Hodge, Nesterenko, Wharram, Lunde, Mikita.Referee: Friday, Linesmen, Pavelich, Armstrong.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-02563/2326156-1-eng-US/f0011-022.jpg" title="f0011-02" width="570" height="622"></div><h2>Thurs., Feb. 3</h2>TORONTO 4 ot MONTREAL 5TORONTO &mdash; Goal: Sawchuk, Smith; defense: Hillman, Baun, Horton, Stanley, Douglas; forwards: Kelly, Pulford, Shack, Ellis, Armstrong, Selby, Stemkowski, Keon, Boyer, Kurtenbach, Mahovlich.MONTREAL &mdash; Goal: Worsley, Hodge; defense: Laperriere, J. C. Tremblay, Harper, Price; forwards: Backstrom, Larose, Ferguson, Beliveau, Duff, Cournoyer, Provost, Rousseau, Richard, G. Tremblay, Roberts.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-03487/2326149-1-eng-US/f0011-032.jpg" title="f0011-03" width="568" height="758"></div>DETROIT 4 at BOSTON 1DETROIT &mdash; Goal: Crozier, Bassen; defense: Gadsby, Bergman, Godfrey, Marshall, Watson; forwards: Ullman, Smith,. Hendreson, Howe, Delvecchio, MacDonald, Fonteyne, Murphy, MacGregor, Bathgate.BOSTON &mdash; Goal: Parent, Johnston; defense: Langlois, Boivin, Marotte, Woytowich, Awrey; forwards: Martin, Stewart, Bucyk, Williams, Westfall, Dillabough, Oliver, McKenzie, Prentice, Kennedy.Referee: Ashley. Linesmen: D&rsquo;Amico. A tanas.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-04403/2326142-1-eng-US/f0011-042.jpg" title="f0011-04" width="550" height="544"></div><h2>Sat., Feb. 5</h2>NEW YORK 3 at BOSTON 5NEW YORK: Goal&mdash;Maniago, Giacomin. Defense&mdash;Hillman, Neilson, Howell, Brown, Hamilton. Forwards&mdash;Goyette, Nevin, Marshall, Ingarfield, Robinson, Hicke, Ratelle, Fleming, Hadfield, Peters.BOSTON: Goal &mdash; Johnston, Parent. Defense &mdash; Boivin, Awrey, Marotte. Woytowich, Langlois. For wards&mdash;Williams, Westfall, Dillabough, Oliver, Prentice, McKenzie, Stewart, Bucyk, Martin, Kennedy.Referee&mdash;Friday. Limesmen&mdash;Atanas, D&rsquo;Amico.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-05336/2326135-1-eng-US/f0011-052.jpg" title="f0011-05" width="556" height="650"></div>DETROIT 2 at MONTREAL 2DETROIT &mdash; Goal: Crozier, Bassen. Defense: Marshall, Gadsby, Godfrey, Watson, Bergman. Forwards: Delvecchio, Howe, Macdonald, Ullman, Fonteyne, Murphy, MacGregor, Smith, Henderson, Bathgate.MONTREAL &mdash; Goal: Worsley, Hodge. Defense: Laperriere, J.C. Tremblay, Harper, Price. Forwards: Beliveau, Provost, G. Tremblay, Backstrom, Larose, Duff, Cournoyer, Rousseau, Richard, Ferguson, Roberts.Referee &mdash; Udvari. Linesmen &mdash; Pavelich. Casselman.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-06300/2326128-1-eng-US/f0011-062.jpg" title="f0011-06" width="560" height="332"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-07272/2326121-1-eng-US/f0011-072.jpg" title="f0011-07" width="560" height="270"></div>CHICAGO 2 at TORONTO 5CHICAGO: Goal&mdash;Dryden, Edwards. Defense&mdash;MacNeil. Jarrett, Stapleton, Ravlich, Vasko. Forwards &mdash; Mohns, Angotti, Esposito, Hull, Hay, Hodge, Nesterenko, Maki, Wharram, Mikita.TORONTO: Goal&mdash;Sawchuk, Smith, Defense &mdash; Douglas, Hillman, Stanley, Horton, Baun, Forwards&mdash;Kelly, Ellis, Armstrong, Selby, Stemkowski. Keon, Boyer, Pulford, Shack, Kurtenbach, Mahovlich.Referee &mdash; Ashley. Linesmen&mdash;Sopp, Armstrong.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-08259/2326114-1-eng-US/f0011-082.jpg" title="f0011-08" width="560" height="676"></div><h2>Sun., Feb. 6</h2>MONTREAL 4 at NEW YORK 0MONTREAL: Goal&mdash;Worsley, Hodge. Defense &mdash; Laperriere, Harper, J. C. Tremblay, Price. Forwards &mdash; Rousseau, Beliveau, Duff, Provost, Richard, G. Tremblay, Larose, Backstrom, Ferguson, Roberts, Cournoyer, Berenson.NEW YORK: Goal &mdash; Giacomin, Maniago. Defense&mdash;Howell, Brown, Neilson, Hillman, Hamilton. Forwards &mdash; Nevin, Goyette, Marshall, Fleming, Ratelle, Hadfield, Hicke, Ingarfield, Robinson, Seiling, Peters.Referee&mdash;Udvari. Linesmen&mdash;Frampton, D&rsquo;Amico.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-09247/2326107-1-eng-US/f0011-092.jpg" title="f0011-09" width="560" height="600"></div>TORONTO 2 at CHICAGO 3TORONTO: Goal&mdash;Sawchuk, Smith, Defense &mdash; Douglas, Stanley, Hillman, Baun. Forwards &mdash; Kurtenbach, Stemkowski, Horton, Kelly, Ellis, Armstrong. Selby. Keon, Boyer, Pulford, Shack, Mahovlich.CHICAGO: Goal &mdash; Hall, Dryden. Defense &mdash; Ravlich, Stapleton, Vasko, MacNeil, Jarrett. Forwards &mdash; Mohns, Mikita, Wharram, Angotti, Esposito, Hull, Hay, Hodge, Nesterenko, Maki.Referee &mdash; Buffey. Linesmen&mdash;Armstrong, Sopp.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-10224/2326100-1-eng-US/f0011-102.jpg" title="f0011-10" width="550" height="554"></div>BOSTON 3 at DETROIT 3BOSTON: Goal &mdash; Johnston, Parent.Defense &mdash; Langlois, Boivin. Marotte, Woytowich, Awrey. Forwards&mdash;Martin, Stewart, Bucyk, Williams, Westfall, Dillabough, Oliver, McKenzie, Prentice, Kennedy.DETROIT: Goal &mdash; Crozier, Bassen. Defense &mdash; Gadsby, Bergman, Godfrey, Marshall, Watson, Crashley. Forwards &mdash; Ullman, Smith. Henderson, Howe, Delvecchio, Macdonald, Fonteyne, Murphy, MacGregor, Bathgate.Referee &mdash; Ashley. Linesmen &mdash; Pavelich, Casselman.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-11199/2326093-1-eng-US/f0011-112.jpg" title="f0011-11" width="554" height="516"></div> &#9632;

f0011-02

National Hockey League Summaries

<div class="byline">BY JOE GORDON</div>PITTSBURGH, Pa.&mdash;Scoring droughts by some key performers and a not too productive power play have some what the warted the Pittsburgh Hornets&rsquo; drive to overtake the Rochester Americans in the Western Division race of the AHL.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-01581/2326187-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg" title="f0012-01" width="281" height="430"><figcaption class="caption-body">Ted Hampson</figcaption></div>The letdown in these key departments comes at a most unfortunate time as the first place Americans give signs of faltering. Rochester was experiencing it&rsquo;s first losing streak of the season.As a result, Pittsburgh Coach Eddie Bush has made some forward line changes in an effort to get more balance out of his attacking units.He broke up the team&rsquo;s Production Line by switching centers Murray Hall, the club&rsquo;s leading point-maker, and Captain Ted Hampson. Hall now skates between Claude LaForge and Duke Harris while Hampson is centering for Andre Pronovost and Norm Beaudin. Beaudin tops the Wasps in goals scored.The line of Billy Harris at center with Don McKenney and rookie Gary Jarrett on the wings remains intact. It has been the second place Hornets&rsquo; most effective unit.Hall, Hampson, LaForge and Pronovost have all been going through the pangs of collective scoring slumps. This, in part, caused the shuffling.Hall has just one goal in ten games. He went through an eight-game stretch without scoring.Hampson has a single tally in eight outings. Pronovost is worse off with one score in nine games.LaForge is the big puzzle. After getting off to a great start in which he rammed in seven goals in the first 12 games, the 30-year-old Veteran left wing hit the skids. Since then he has had only two goals in Pittsburgh&rsquo;s next 32 games. His latest dry spell has now reached 12 games.Earlier in the season when the Hornets made their big push toward the top of the Western Division the power play was their most lethal weapon. They were clicking on better than 25% of their manpower advantages and holding the opposition to just one goal in about every ten chances. &#9632;

f0012-01

Bush Shakes Up Hornets’ Attacking Units To Take Advantage Of Slowdown By Amerks

<h2>WALLY</h2>NORTHERN PRO HOCKEY STICKS<h2>WALLY</h2>POOL TABLES TABLE TENNIS CROQUET SETS<h2>How They Stand</h2>(Standings on Tues., Feb. 8)<h3>EASTERN DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-2011/2326225-1-eng-US/f0012-202.jpg" title="f0012-20" width="562" height="158"></div><h3>WESTERN DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-217/2326218-1-eng-US/f0012-212.jpg" title="f0012-21" width="558" height="110"></div>(NHL Affiliation: 1. Toronto; 2. Montreal; 3. Chicago; 4. Detroit; 5. New York; 6. Boston, x-independent).GAMES COMPLETEDTues., Feb. 1Rochester 2 at Quebec 4Springfield 2 at Baltimore 3Wed., Feb. 2Springfield 3 at Hershey 1Fri., Feb. 4Buffalo 3 at Baltimore 3San Francisco 3 at Rochester 5Cleveland 3 at Springfield 2Sat., Feb. 5San Francisco 2 at Cleveland 3Buffalo 1 at Hershey 8Rochester 0 at Pittsburgh 7Quebec 4 at Springfield 3Sun., Feb. 6San Francisco 0 at Buffalo 5Baltimore 0 at Cleveland 4Hershey 6 at Providence 1Pittsburgh 0 at Rochester 3GAMES TO COMETues., Feb. 8Cleveland at BaltimorePittsburgh at QuebecWed., Feb. 9Providence at BuffaloCleveland at HersheyThurs.. Feb. 10Pittsburgh at QuebecFri., Feb. 11San Francisco at BaltimoreHershey at ClevelandSat., Feb. 12Buffalo at ClevelandSan Francisco at HersheyProvidence at PittsburghBaltimore at SpringfieldQuebec at SeattleSun., Feb. 13Hershey at BaltimoreCleveland at BuffaloSan Francisco at ProvidenceSpringfield at Rochester &#9632;

f0012-20

AMERICAN LEAGUE

PITTSBURGH, Pa. &mdash;One thing George Gardner never lacked was confidence. The Hornet netminder always thought he was a good goalkeeper and could do the job wherever he played. And he didn&rsquo;t mind letting anyone know about it. Mind you, he wasn&rsquo;t and still isn&rsquo;t cocky nor is he a braggart. He just oozes with self-confidence.Now people are believing him. So much so that they are doing his horn-blowing and letting George tend to his goal which he is doing in grand fashion.With seven shutouts in the first half of the season, Gardener is well within reach of erasing a couple of records. The Pittsburgh mark of seven seems almost certain of going down the drain. Incidentally, the team record is held jointly by Gardner&rsquo;s present boss, Hornet General Manager Baz Bastien, and Alfie Moore. Baz posted that number of blankings in the 1946-47 season while Moore performed the feat in the 1937-38 campaign.More important, however, is Gardner&rsquo;s run at the league record of nine. Former Buffalo goalie Gordie Bell turned in that many whitewashings during the 1942-43 season. &#9632;

Hornets’ Gardner Threatens AHL Shutout Record Of Nine

<h2>Tues., Feb. 1</h2>ROCHESTER 2 at QUEBEC 4<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-02491/2326399-1-eng-US/f0012-022.jpg" title="f0012-02" width="559" height="619"></div>SPRINGFIELD 2 at BALTIMORE 3<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-03375/2326392-1-eng-US/f0012-032.jpg" title="f0012-03" width="542" height="452"></div><h2>Wed., Feb. 2</h2>SPRINGFIELD 3 at HERSHEY 1<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-04271/2326385-1-eng-US/f0012-042.jpg" title="f0012-04" width="548" height="452"></div><h2>Fri.. Feb. 4</h2>CLEVELAND 3 at SPRINGFIELD 2<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-05190/2326378-1-eng-US/f0012-052.jpg" title="f0012-05" width="544" height="82"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-06148/2326371-1-eng-US/f0012-062.jpg" title="f0012-06" width="548" height="584"></div>SAN FRANCISCO 3 at ROCHESTER 5<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-07125/2326364-1-eng-US/f0012-072.jpg" title="f0012-07" width="552" height="738"></div>BUFFALO 3 at BALTIMORE 3<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-08107/2326357-1-eng-US/f0012-082.jpg" title="f0012-08" width="556" height="446"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-0989/2326350-1-eng-US/f0012-092.jpg" title="f0012-09" width="554" height="312"></div><h2>Sat., Feb. 5</h2>SAN FRANCISCO 2 at CLEVELAND 3<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-1079/2326343-1-eng-US/f0012-102.jpg" title="f0012-10" width="556" height="570"></div>ROCHESTER 0 at PITTSBURGH 7<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-1171/2326336-1-eng-US/f0012-112.jpg" title="f0012-11" width="550" height="686"></div>QUEBEC 4 at SPRINGFIELD 3<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-1254/2326329-1-eng-US/f0012-122.jpg" title="f0012-12" width="552" height="154"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-1345/2326322-1-eng-US/f0012-132.jpg" title="f0012-13" width="552" height="570"></div>BUFFALO 1 at HERSHEY 8<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-1439/2326315-1-eng-US/f0012-142.jpg" title="f0012-14" width="556" height="708"></div><h2>Sun., Feb. 6</h2>HERSHEY 6 at PROVIDENCE 1<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-1533/2326308-1-eng-US/f0012-152.jpg" title="f0012-15" width="552" height="508"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-1628/2326301-1-eng-US/f0012-162.jpg" title="f0012-16" width="560" height="100"></div>PITTSBURGH 0 at ROCHESTER 3<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-1719/2326294-1-eng-US/f0012-172.jpg" title="f0012-17" width="552" height="456"></div>SAN FRANCISCO 0 at BUFFALO S<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-1816/2326287-1-eng-US/f0012-182.jpg" title="f0012-18" width="556" height="554"></div>BALTIMORE 0 at CLEVELAND 4<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-1914/2326280-1-eng-US/f0012-192.jpg" title="f0012-19" width="550" height="630"></div> &#9632;

f0012-02

American League, Interlocking Games Summaries

Special to The Hockey NewsBALTIMORE, Md. &mdash;Terry Reardon was behind the bench for the first time in 13 years when Johnny Crawford was released as coach of the Baliti more Clippers and Reardon doubled up as general manager and bench boss, a situation that will exist for at least the rest of this season.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-02532/2326461-1-eng-US/f0013-022.jpg" title="f0013-02" width="297" height="442"><figcaption class="caption-body">Terry Reardon</figcaption></div>Reardon, the Clippers&rsquo; general manager since their inception for the 1962-63 season, will finish the season holding both posts and a decision on a new coach has been shelved for the present.The Clippers tried to sign George (Red) Sullivan, let out earlier as coach of the parent New York Ranger&rsquo;s, but Sullivan declined, Sullivan is currently scouting for the Rangers.Reardon coached the Providence Reds for six terms, and was the Reds&rsquo; general manager for eight others before moving to Baltimore.By co-incidence, the Clippers scored their first win under Reardon&rsquo;s direction in Providence.Coaching is hardly a new experience for the veteran Reardon who launched his pro hockey career with Hershey of the AHL in 1938-39. After three seasons with the Bears, Reardon played with Montreal of the NHL from 1940-41 to 1943-44 when he entered the Canadian Armed Forces during World War II. After two years in the service, Reardon resumed his career with the Boston Bruins in 1945-46, and two years later became player-coach of the Providence Reds.Following seven years with the Rhode Island Reds as a player and coach, Reardon then moved into the general manager&rsquo;s position and from there came to launch the Baltimore franchise in 196263. As coach, Reardon follows Red Sullivan (62-63), Aldo Guidolin (62-63-64) and Crawford (64-65). &#9632;

f0013-02

Reardon To Take Over Clippers In Dual Role For Balance of Year

(Including Gaines of Sun., Feb. 6)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-06325/2326499-1-eng-US/f0013-062.jpg" title="f0013-06" width="568" height="382"></div><h2>GOALKEPERS&rsquo; RECORDS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-07305/2326492-1-eng-US/f0013-072.jpg" title="f0013-07" width="560" height="340"></div><h2>PENALTY LEADERS</h2>Most Penalized Team &mdash; Rochester, 650 minutes.Most Penalized Player &mdash; Aldo Guldolin, Prov. 113 minutes. &#9632;

f0013-06

AHL Point Race

<div class="byline">BY CHARLEY BARTON</div>BUFFALO, N.Y. &mdash;The Buffalo Bisons, buried in the American Hockey League&rsquo;s Western Division cellar from the season&rsquo;s outset, were making like playoff contenders as this edition of THE HOCKEY NEWS went to press.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-03494/2326530-1-eng-US/f0013-032.jpg" title="f0013-03" width="274" height="433"><figcaption class="caption-body">Alain Caron</figcaption></div>The Bisons had won five of their last six, but were unable to gain on the Cleveland Barons, firmly entrenched in third place, the last playoff spot. The Barons, with two games in hand, held a seven-point lead, and were streaking themselves.Five games remained between the teams, three in Cleveland, and Phil Watson, the Buffalo coach, was eagerly pointing to them.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s nothing new, simply the old story of doing it for ourselves, and not depending on anyone else,&rdquo; Watson said. &ldquo;We have to beat Cleveland. It&rsquo;s as simple as that. And when we do, we&rsquo;ll make the playoffs without help from anybody.&rdquo;The Bisons held a 2-1 edge in the first three games between the teams this season, having taken 3-2 and 4-0 decisions in Buffalo, and dropping a 3-2 squeaker in Cleveland.&ldquo;We should have won that one in Cleveland, as well,&rdquo; Watson added. &ldquo;However, there isn&rsquo;t any point in looking back. We must look ahead, think positively.&ldquo;They keep telling us we&rsquo;re a bunch of castoffs. Well, it took our bunch to end Rochester&rsquo;s streak at home. Any club that can do that, certainly should be able to handle Cleveland.&rdquo;<h2>ALONG THE BOARDS &mdash;</h2>The Bisons&rsquo; fortunes started soaring when Dave Richardson came aboard. They have won 5 of 7 with Richardson in the lineup. Dave, a left-hand shot, is playing right wing on a line with Billy Dean and Jerry Melnyk, and has given the club a big lift &hellip; The Bisons released right-winger Norm Corcoran, who joined the club in November as a free agent &hellip; Alain (Boom Boom) Caron rediscovered the range, and was leading the AHL in goals with 29 as this was written &hellip; The only line Watson hasn&rsquo;t reshuffled is the Caron-Mel Pearson-Billy Carter unit &hellip; The two severest storms of the winter, on successive Sundays, hurt the Bisons at the box office, cutting attendance to 1,600 and 1,500. &#9632;

f0013-03

Lowly Bisons Flex Muscles Ending Amerks’ Home Streak

<div class="byline">BY SHEL FULLERTON</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-04453/2326568-1-eng-US/f0013-042.jpg" title="f0013-04" width="460" height="574"><figcaption class="caption-body">HOWIE GLOVER&hellip; Finds Scoring Range</figcaption></div>CLEVELAND, OHIO &mdash;Professional boxing may have died a dog&rsquo;s death throughout much of the United States but the Golden Glovers continue to flourish.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-05378/2326561-1-eng-US/f0013-052.jpg" title="f0013-05" width="282" height="420"><figcaption class="caption-body">Cec Hoekstra</figcaption></div>As far as can be determined, Cleveland is the only city favored by two exhibitions put on by the Golden Glovers. One comes in the squared ring; the other on the ice at the Cleveland Arena.The latter is developing into a top-notch show. Injuries and operations out of the way, permanently it is hoped, the Glover brothers, Fred and Howie, are reunited on the ice once again.Their return to action, as the two wingmen for center Ron Att-well, has been a big factor in the resurgence of the Cleveland Barons who, at this writing, have captured five of their last six starts. The last was a hard-fought conquest over the Rochester Americans, the only club in the league to eke out a narrow win over the Barons in their recent winning streak.The Glovers achieved their peak in a game with the Hershey Bears, as both Fred and Howie pounded home two goals apiece in a 5-3 win in which Coach Fred garnered four points.Not only have the Glovers spiced up the first line; their availability has resulted in stabilization of the third line of Cecil Hoekstra, Keith McCreary and Tqm McCarthy into a productive unit.Hoekstra, especially, has reacted to the creation of the new unit.Out for most of last season due to a back operation, the tall center reported in excellent condition this year. For much of the current campaign, Hoekstra was thrown in with makeshift lines that were feeling their way.Now on an established unit, Hoekstra is responding with key goals and assists that are sending his scoring total mounting steadily. He came through with two key goals in a recent victory over Seattle and his two assists set up important goals in the club&rsquo;s recent win over Rochester.A graceful skater, gifted with fine speed and stamina that belies his slight-appearing frame, Hoekstra is especially valuable to the Barons for his ability to help kill penalties and to rag the puck when enemy forwards are pressing the Cleveland defense during a power play.Hoekstra was a key figure in the win over Rochester, which saw goalie Les Binkley rise to his greatest heights of the season. Binkley was absolutely sensational as he kicked out 46 shots, several of the breakaway variety.The whole picture is brightening for the Barons.And the whole change in fortunes was made possible by the return to action of the Golden Glovers! &#9632;

f0013-04

Fiery Brother Act Gives Barons Life

<div class="byline">BY JOHN TRAVERS</div>HERSHEY, Pa. &mdash;The &ldquo;Mathers Express&rdquo; got itself derailed in a hurry, practically costing it any chance of over - hauling the Quebec Aces in the chase to the finish line in the Eastern Division.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-08288/2326599-1-eng-US/f0013-082.jpg" title="f0013-08" width="259" height="397"><figcaption class="caption-body">Gary Dornheofer</figcaption></div>Coach Frank Mathers&rsquo; Hershey Bears launched the month of January with six wins and a tie in its first nine games. Then the roof caved in as the club dropped five straight games in a seven day span.In the meantime the Aces were clobbering everyone in sight and raced into an unsurmountable 25 point lead over the second place Bears in the Eastern Division with 28 games remaining.At the same time the Bears were fast losing their grip on the runner-up slot as the on-rushing Springfield Indians, under Jack Butterfield, pulled to within a point of Hershey by Jan. 30.Hershey&rsquo;s problem is simple. The Bears suddenly can&rsquo;t stop the opponents from scoring. In the five setbacks, Hershey gave up 25 goals, whereas earlier in the month the club allowed an average of three goals a start.Mathers replaced Claude Dufour in the nets with Andre Gill, but still the move didn&rsquo;t stop the Bears&rsquo; backward slide.Added to this, he replaced Wayne Rivers, a right winger, with Gary Dornhoefer, who recently returned here from the Boston Bruins.One of the most shocking setbacks came Jan. 26 when Seattle, down 3-0 entering the final period, roared from behind to beat the Bears, 5-3. The Totems had played nine games in 14 days.&ldquo;It was the low point in the season as far as I&rsquo;m concerned,&rdquo; said Mathers, who was irked with the clubs inept final period play. &ldquo;Seattle isn&rsquo;t even a good hockey team and we blow a game that we had won.&rdquo;Then along came Providence three nights later to hang a 5-4 overtime defeat on the Bears.The Reds had gone through 17 games without a win. 15 defeats &mdash; including a string of 12 straight &mdash; and two ties.And once again it was chunky Eddie Kachur who proved the Bears&rsquo; undoing. He hammered in the overtime game winner. &#9632;

f0013-08

Bears’ Hopes To Overhaul Aces Fading

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0014-13" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-1352/2326797-1-eng-US/f0014-132.jpg"></div><h2>TEAM RECORDS AGAINST EACH OTHER</h2>(Including Games of Sunday. January 30HOME GAMES<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-1438/2326790-1-eng-US/f0014-142.jpg" title="f0014-14" width="562" height="286"></div>AWAY GAMES<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-1533/2326783-1-eng-US/f0014-152.jpg" title="f0014-15" width="574" height="276"></div> &#9632;

f0014-13

How WHL Teams Compare

SEATTLE, Wash. &mdash;The Seattle Totems wrapped up a rough trip so impressively they must be favored to beat out San Francisco for the fourth and last playoff berth in the Western League and must be given an outside chance to overhaul Vancouver for third place. The Totems played nine games in 14 nights on the road and won five of them. Included were six games against AHL teams in the East and the Totems became the first to win as many as two games in such a tour.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-01570/2326644-1-eng-US/f0014-012.jpg" title="f0014-01" width="252" height="413"><figcaption class="caption-body">Len Haley</figcaption></div>However, the Totems have only four games at home during the entire month of February, so they are going to have to continue their improved travelling form. By the time this reaches print, their hot pursuers, San Francisco&rsquo;s Seals, will be winding up an eight-game, 16-day trip that includes its six-game AHL tour of the East, which may determine its future. With Charley Burns hospitalized for an operation, manager Bud Poile was back in the coaching box.The most favorable schedule during the season&rsquo;s final 10 weeks belongs to Los Angeles with 17 games at home of 26 remaining. However, the Blades are not going anywhere. Among the contenders, Vancouver is most favored with 15 games at home out of 25, including the first seven in a row. San Francisco had the most games remaining, 32, but 17 were on the road. Seattle has 14 of the last 26 on the road.In the battle for first, Victoria has 13 at home, 16 on the road left, Portland 14 at home, 16 on the road. The two have three meetings remaining, two of them in Victoria. Splitting their last two, Victoria leads Portland on the season 5-3-1.SHORT SHOTS &mdash; Coach Bobby Kromm&rsquo;s Seattle club lost the middle four games of its AHL tour, but recovered to rally from an 0-3 deficit and win the finale in Hershey 5-3. While tough rookie Earl Heiskela was sidelined with a shoulder separation, newcomer Bob Taylor, normally a defenseman, filled in with rugged play up front.Winning two of their first three back at home, Seattle went without ace defenseman Gordy Sinclair for a pair. His father-inlaw died. Len Haley, who scored at least one point in 16 of his first 17 games after being acquired from San Francisco, was a big help. Back in goal after being benched, Jimmy McLeod played well.San Francisco gave Jack McCartan a rest and played John Henderson three games. McCartan scored his second shutout in his first game back, but the Seals were floundering. Along with Burns, they also had Ron Harris on the ailing list with a mending broken shoulder and Wayne Maxner with bruised ribs. Burns will be coaching again in a couple of weeks, but will not play again this season.Vancouver traded Moe Mantha and Ron Hutchison to Providence of the AHL for winger Wayne Larkin and defenseman Bob Blackburn. The Canucks had veteran Phil Maloney sidelined with torn rib cartilage. Jack Evans drew an automatic $100 fine for hitting San Francisco&rsquo;s Larry McNabb with his stick and drawing blood.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-1168/2326637-1-eng-US/f0014-112.jpg" title="f0014-11" width="488" height="649"><figcaption class="caption-body">CHARLIE BURNS</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-1261/2326630-1-eng-US/f0014-122.jpg" title="f0014-12" width="464" height="533"><figcaption class="caption-body">PHIL MALONEY</figcaption></div>L.A.&rsquo;s Howie Young was suspended by the league for six games for spearing Vancouver&rsquo;sBob McCusker in the face with a stick, inflicting a nine-stitch gash. Young had already decided not to take a two-game road trip with the Blades. L.A.&rsquo;s Buddy Boone was hobbled by a groin injury. The Blades won their first in eight games against Vancouver 8-4 as Willie O&rsquo;Ree and Jimmy Baird scored two goals and had two assists each. Baird&rsquo;s pair came 16 seconds apart.Cliff Schmautz of Portland has his point streak ended at a teamrecord 17 games overall and 20 games at home, but the Bucks drew the season&rsquo;s largest WHL Crowd, 10,260, for a win over visiting Victoria. The Bucks are now averaging 7,670 after 22 home games. They have Mike Donaldson out for two weeks after an emergency appendictomy. &#9632;

f0014-01

Seattle Given Edge For Last Playoff Spot

<h2>Tues., Jan. 25</h2>SAN FRANCISCO 2 atVANCOUVER 1<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-02470/2326752-1-eng-US/f0014-022.jpg" title="f0014-02" width="554" height="444"></div><h2>Wed.. Jan. 26</h2>VANCOUVER 8 at L. ANGELES 4<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-03353/2326745-1-eng-US/f0014-032.jpg" title="f0014-03" width="554" height="826"></div>SAN FRANCISCO 3 at PORTLAND 4<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-04268/2326738-1-eng-US/f0014-042.jpg" title="f0014-04" width="574" height="632"></div><h2>Fri., Jan. 28</h2>VANCOUVER 5 at SAN FRANCISCO 2<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-05204/2326731-1-eng-US/f0014-052.jpg" title="f0014-05" width="548" height="410"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-06167/2326724-1-eng-US/f0014-062.jpg" title="f0014-06" width="548" height="216"></div>VICTORIA 3 at SEATTLE 2<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-07126/2326717-1-eng-US/f0014-072.jpg" title="f0014-07" width="556" height="484"></div><h2>Sat., Jan. 29</h2>VANCOUVER 3 atLOS ANGELES 3<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-08104/2326710-1-eng-US/f0014-082.jpg" title="f0014-08" width="560" height="662"></div>PORTLAND 2 at VICTORIA<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-0991/2326703-1-eng-US/f0014-092.jpg" title="f0014-09" width="564" height="656"></div><h2>Sun., Jan. 30</h2>VANCOUVER 0 at SAN FRANCISCO 3<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-1078/2326696-1-eng-US/f0014-102.jpg" title="f0014-10" width="564" height="346"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-05231/2326689-1-eng-US/f0015-052.jpg" title="f0015-05" width="544" height="216"></div>VICTORIA 1 at PORTLAND 2<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-06194/2326682-1-eng-US/f0015-062.jpg" title="f0015-06" width="552" height="560"></div>LOS ANGELES 3 at SEATTLE 4<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-07175/2326675-1-eng-US/f0015-072.jpg" title="f0015-07" width="554" height="612"></div> &#9632;

f0014-02

WHL Summaries

<div class="byline">BY BILL LIBBY</div>LOS ANGELES, CalifIf, as expected, the National Hockey League takes little or no action toward the firm com mitment of franchises in the new expansion division, it will be most unfortunate.Men who have given much of themselves in an effort to win adoption into the NHL&rsquo;s tight family group but cannot properly prepare for an NHL future until they know a franchise is theirs are beginning to lose interest in the ludicrous situation. An outlaw league is being whispered. Threats of lawsuits and indemnity demands are being whispered.St. Louis, which may be losing its arena to a highway project, may be losing its franchise as well. Buffalo, despite its close proximity to Toronto and Detroit, especially in TV terms, may be gaining one. Jim Norris has money tied up in the St. Louis arena. He does business with the wealthy men behind the Buffalo bid. A new arena has been voted, but not acted on in Vancouver. If it is admitted, Vancouver could drag expansion into the distant future.From the beginning, it has been obvious that the NHL should have expanded to eight teams with the admission of Los Angeles and San Francisco, then expanded into a two-division, 12 team setup later as the right additions solidified. National TV might be a reality today.Going into the New York meetings, the Dan Reeves-Dan Martin syndicate, heading up the incumbent Blades of the WHL. appeared no better than an even-money bet against the bids of Jack Kent Cooke and the Tony Owen syndicate, among eight in all advanced from the lush precincts of Southern California.Perhaps Reeves, Martin and their executive director, Jack Geyer, dismiss too lightly their failures in the WHL, which they blame primarily on lack of a close, rewarding tieup with an NHL club. They conceded they were not prepared to go all out to develop a minor league team in a major league environment, but were merely staking out a claim. They admit they are involved with other teams in other sports. Reeves owns the football Rams. Minority stockholders Bob Reynolds and Clint Murchison own parts of the baseball Angels and football Cowboys.On the other hand, they have made changes in the past few months and feel they have profited by the mistakes of their four-plus years of operation, gaining an experience the other bidders would first face.Permitted by the NHL to have an interest in the hockey team as long as it is not the controlling interest, Reeves has signed over control to Martin, a wealthy Beverly Hills businessman and former under secretary of State. Sitting in his Ram offices, Reeves said, &ldquo;We feel we can offer the NHL the strongest possible management for the future. We have the experience in other sports and in TV dealings to make a great success in hockey here.&rdquo;Martin said, &ldquo;We are prepared to get the best hockey talent money can buy to build a top team.&rdquo;&ldquo;We established hockey here, we have acted in good faith and we like to think we will be treated fairly,&rdquo; director Geyer says.The sentiment of the present WHL people favors their current Dartner. Reeves.Reeves was unable to come to terms with rival bidders Cooke or Owen for any merger. There has been a reallignment of the ownership in San Francisco, however, which may have assured the new organization the NHL berth. The Shasta Corporation, under the direction of George Flehartty, has purchased control of the club, although Bing Crosby money is said to be heavily invested.Young Barry Van Gerbig will move to San Francisco to assume much of the leadership. Mel Swig, the popular incumbent is all or most of the way out. With nothing being done toward erection of a new arena in San Francisco, the new tenants probably will vacate the large, but antiquated Cow Palace and play in the new Oakland Coliseum under a new name, the Golden Gate, Bay Area or California Seals, beginning next season in the WHL &#9632;

Reeves Hopes In L.A. - Shasta Acts At Frisco

<div class="byline">By Bill Libby</div><h2>McNeill Belongs in NHL</h2>THE OUTSTANDING PLAYER in the Western League today is Billy Mc-Neill of Vancouver. It is our belief that he not only could play effectively in the National League, but could star there. He would be the best centre New York or Boston had, for example, and they are foolish if they do not grab him now, before expansion elevates him to super-star status. When he played in the majors before, McNeill was troubled by personal tragedy, employed at right wing and yanked up and down so much he could not get his bearings. His personal life is running smoothly now, he is settled down at centre where he belongs and he is simply sensational.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-01547/2326859-1-eng-US/f0015-012.jpg" title="f0015-01" width="295" height="442"><figcaption class="caption-body">Billy McNeill</figcaption></div>A 200-pounder and a speedster, McNeill is much like an express train rolling downhill. He is durable and doing double-duty, playing 30 minutes a game. He is always on the ice and when he is on the ice, he is controlling play. He is a fine shooter, though he prefers to make plays. WHL publicist Murray Costello says he is the most exciting player in the league today &ldquo;for the simple reason that something extra happens every time he is on ice. He is one of the fastest skaters in the league and has the stamina to maintain his fast pace almost all of the time.&rdquo;The other night in L.A., McNeill was being closely checked from his left side as he blasted across the crease with the puck. In mid-stride, he transferred control of his stick from one hand to the other and managed a perfect pass resulting in an unstoppable shot on goal. He has the quick reflexes to act on an unusual imagination. Billy is also one of the most impressive young men in sports, articulate, witty and pleasant. His wife is expecting his second child momentarily. He retains an interest in his own bakery equipment business, but has been lured back into the Carling Brewery fold. &ldquo;I&rsquo;d go back to the NHL of course, but it would have to be a very good offer,&rdquo; he says.<h2>Young Handed Suspension</h2>IN A RECENT GAME in L.A., Howie Young picked the wrong player to abuse. Howie had avoided a fight all season. But he roughed up McNeill and McNeill fought back. Billy landed 10 punches while Howie was making sure his new blue helmet was on firmly. Separated in the penalty box, Billy stood up, grinning at and taunting an infuriated Young. In a return game three nights later, Young speared Vancouver&rsquo;s Bob Mc Cusker in the face, causing a nine-stitch gash. Referee Lloyd Gilmour did not see it and no penalty was assessed. However, he warned coach Lynn Patrick it would be wise to sit Howie out the rest of the game.As Howie sat sullenly on the bench, it was easy to predict he was getting into an AWOL frame of mind. After the game, the member of Alcoholics Anonymous called coach Patrick aside and suggested that, since he left so jittery he might be about to fall of the wagon and was-worried about his pregnant wife, it might be best if he did not leave that night on the team&rsquo;s road trip. Patrick said, &ldquo;Be my guest.&rdquo; Two days later, WHL president Al Leader announced that after an investigation of the McCusker incident, Young had been suspended for six games. In view of the fact that he had not been penalized during the game, the Blades might have protested the act had any other player been involved. On hearing the news, the Blade players went out and romped in Vancouver, a team they had not beaten in seven previous meetings.If the Dan Reeves - Dan Martin syndicate, which owns the Blades, lands the L.A. berth in the NHL&rsquo;s expansion division, Patrick will be promoted to executive status to organize the club&rsquo;s recruiting and farm program. If his release from his present employers can be secured amicably and if he can be made interested in the position, the brilliant Hal Layco may be offered the job of managercoach. Without wanting to get ahead of themselves or tamper with someone else&rsquo;s property, the Blades are trying to make plans.<h2>Poile&rsquo;s Future Clouded</h2>SINCE THE SHASTA Corporation and Barry Von Gerbig took over direction of the San Francisco Seals, managercoach Bud Poile&rsquo;s future is in doubt. He lost his best friend in court when Mel Swig departed. However, Poile is a very large man with a tremendous record and the team&rsquo;s recent difficulties must be placed not at his feet alone, but in the hands of all who have been tossing club leadership around. And with star player and new coach Charley Burns out for an operation on a ruptured disc in his back, Poile has reassumed active bench direction of the team, which guarantees fireworks. After Seal Larry McNabb threw punches at Portland&rsquo;s Chuck Holmes and Connie Madigan in a game, Buck coach Laycoe warned his players to stay away from McNabb in the rematch under threat of fines. He said, &ldquo;The players on my team have all the courage I want from them. They don&rsquo;t have to prove their courage to McNabb by fighting with him.&rdquo; A few days later, Vancouver&rsquo;s Jack Evans was fined $100 for cutting McNabb with his stick.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-02488/2326852-1-eng-US/f0015-022.jpg" title="f0015-02" width="265" height="433"><figcaption class="caption-body">Bud Poile</figcaption></div>The Seals&rsquo; planned move into the new Oakland Coliseum next season may be a mistake. Oakland&rsquo;s 390,000 citizens are suffering an economic depression and threatened by racial strike. San Franciscans might not cross the bridge to see hockey in Oakland. On the other hand, L.A. sportscaster Jim Raser, who hails from that area, claims that the bulk of the area population and majority of sports enthusiasm lies on the Oakland side of the bay &hellip; Bert Olmstead is a cold, tough man, a loner. He works his Vancouver club harder than any WHL club has been worked in years. The player who does not produce is sent away. A rookie coach regarded as a certain major leaguer before long, Olmstead suffers each game severely. And he is doing a most impressive job. His club is old, but skates hard and plays hard. The future is promising. &#9632;

f0015-01

Western Ad Lib

(Standings on Tues., Feb. 8)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-03409/2326897-1-eng-US/f0015-032.jpg" title="f0015-03" width="564" height="184"></div>(NHL Affiliation; 1. Toronto; 5. New York; 6. Boston: x-independent).GAMES COMPLETEDTues., Feb. 1Los Angele 8 at Vancouver 4San Fran at Seattle 3Wed., Feb 2Losngel Portland 10San Francisco 4 at Victoria 2Thur., Feb 3Victoria 3 nt T.n Angeles 2Fri., Feb. 4Portland 3 at Vancouver 2San Francisco 3 at Rochester 5Sat., Feb. 5Victoria 2 at Angeles 7Seattle 3 Portland 5San Francicn 9 at Cleveland 3Sun.,Feb 6Vancouvf 5 Seattle 2Victoria 3 at Portland 3San Francisco 0 at Buffalo 5GAMES TO COME Tues. Feb. 8Los Angela at VancouverWed., Feb. 9Portland at VictoriaFri., Feb. 11San Francisco at BaltimoreLos Angeles at SeattleVictoria at VancouverSat., Feb. 12San Francisco at HersheyVancouver at PortlandQuebec at SeattleLos Angeles at VictoriaSun., Feb. 18San Francisco at ProvidenceLos Angeles at PortlandLEADING SCORERS(Including games of Sun. Jan. 30)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-04310/2326890-1-eng-US/f0015-042.jpg" title="f0015-04" width="552" height="486"></div> &#9632;

f0015-03

<div class="byline">BY MATT DENNIS</div>MEMPHIS, Tenn.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re still in there just battling our way out of a slump&rdquo;, said coach Vic Stasiuk of the Memphis Wings as he looked at his club sitting third in the Central Professional Hockey League race after 42 games.&ldquo;I said at the start of the season that the St. Louis club would be tough before this season was through and look at them now. Tied with Oklahoma City for first place. There is a lot of experienced talent on that team. Just look at Fred Stanfield and Dennis Hull alone. They both are young but have NHL experience behind them and I know Art Stratton from the American league as playmaker. That goalie Dennis DeJordy is one of the top netminders in the minor leagues &hellip; But our Wings are going to make it interesting,&rdquo; he said.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-01391/2326928-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg" title="f0016-01" width="285" height="421"><figcaption class="caption-body">Paul Andrea</figcaption></div>The Wings journeyed to Winnipeg, Man. to blank the Canadian national team in late January by a 2-0 count with Real Lemieux and Jim Watson taking care of the scoring and Joe Daley and Geoffrey Wood sharing the shutout.With Max Mestinsek and John MacMillan out with injuries and Pat Quinn trying to play with a broken toe, Stasiuk put in a call for Dwight Carruthers from Johnstown of the Eastern League for emergency help.To aid out on defense, Jim Cardiff, a 170-pound rearguard was sent to Memphis from the A.H.L. Pittsburgh Hornets where he is playing in his rookie season.OKLAHOMA CITY &mdash; The Blazers drew 8,201 fans through their home turnstiles at the State Fair Arena, Jan. 22 when they defeated the Memphis Wings, 3-1 marking the top attend ance for the season.Goalie Gerry Cheevers missed one game with a sprained shoulder, Keith Wright was sidelined with a jammed neck and Glen Sather was bothered by a bruised shoulder but the Blazers kept winning pressure contests to share the top rung in the standing with St. Louis.In his first 13 games with the Blazers after joining the club from the NHL Boston Bruins in late December, Cheevers gave up only 27 goals for a 2.08 goals-against mark.Veteran Pete Panagabko tops the Oklahoma City scoring parade showing 16 goals and 21 assists for 37 points in his first 38 games.ST. LOUIS &mdash; Art Stratton, C.P.H.L. scoring leader with the St. Louis Braves, was called up by the Chicago Black Hawks of the NHL for two games when Stan Mikita and Ken Hodge were sidelined.Lou Angotti, another high-scoring forward with St. Louis, also joined the Chicago club and a week later when Elmer Vasko was injured, John Miszuk played with St. Louis Saturday night, joined Chicago at Detroit Sunday and picked up a goal and an assist as the Hawks stopped the Detroit Red Wings, 5-1.Oscar Gaudet was the top sniper of the circuit after 38 games with 23 goals. Stratton had 40 assists in 37 outings as the loop&rsquo;s top playmaker.MINNESOTA &mdash; In order to add more ruggedness to their lineup, the Rangers sent Jim Baird to Los Angeles Blades of the Western Hockey League and worked a deal with Baltimore of the American League to obtain Mike Corbett.A combination forward - defenseman, the 195-pound free-skating stylist scored four goals and had 18 assists with Tulsa of the C.P.H.L. last season.Centerman Bill Collins was sidelined for two weeks with a leg injury.Rightwinger Paul Andrea kept up his chase for the league&rsquo;s scoring honors and flashed the light 21 times and drew 30 assists for 51 points in his first 39 games.Wayne Rutledge continues his sparkling play in the nets keeping his goals-against average below 3.00 and had three shutouts over his first 39 games.TULSA &mdash; Jim Wilcox returned to the Oilers lineup after being out for six games and Les Duff was recalled by Rochester of the American League.In their first 18 home games, the Oilers drew 70,415 fans, an increase of 12,465 over last season at the same time.Bruce Gamble has been consistent in goal chasing Minnesota&rsquo;s Wayne Rutledge for goaltending honors keeping his goals-against average under 3.00 and chalking up three shutouts over his first 37 games.HOUSTON &mdash; In order to shake up the club to get more defensive strength, the Apollos sent defenseman Keith Walsh and right wing Bill Staub to Providence Reds of the American League in return for Bob Barber who scored one goal and assisted on 12 with Providence last season.After playing 37 games, the Apollos were 10 points off the pace of the front-running St. Louis Braves and Oklahoma City Blazers. &#9632;

f0016-01

Stasiuk Predicts St. Louis Tough Club But Sees His Wings In Thick Of Fight

(Standings on Wed., Feb. 9)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-1629/2326966-1-eng-US/f0016-162.jpg" title="f0016-16" width="560" height="180"></div>(NHL Affiliation: 1. Toronto; Z. Montreal; 3. Chicago; 4. Detroit; 5. New York; 6, Boston).GAMES COMPLETEDWed., Feb. 2Minnesota 4 at Houston 5Memphis 1 at Oklahoma City4 Thurs., Feb. 3Memphis 2 at Tulsa 2Fri., Feb. 4Minnesota 1 at Oklahoma City 1Houston 5 at Memphis 1Sat., Feb. 5Minnesota 2 at Houston 7Memphis 2 at St. Louis 2Oklahoma City 0 at Tulsa 6Sun., Feb. 6Minnesota 4 at Tulsa 1St. Louis 2 at Memphis 0Houston 4 at Oklahoma City 4GAMES TO COMETues., Feb. 8Tulsa at MinnesotaOklahoma City at MemphisWed., Feb. 9St. Louis at HoustonFri., Feb. 11Memphis at Houston St. Louis at Tulsa Oklahoma City at Minnesota Sat., Feb. 12Houston at St. LouisTulsa at Oklahoma CitySun., Feb. 13Houston at MinnesotaOklahoma City at St. LouisLEADING SCORERS(Including games of Sun., Jan. 30)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-1728/2326959-1-eng-US/f0016-172.jpg" title="f0016-17" width="552" height="354"></div> &#9632;

f0016-16

<h2>Wed.. Jan. 19</h2>TULSA 2 at MINNESOTA 5<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-02321/2327088-1-eng-US/f0016-022.jpg" title="f0016-02" width="546" height="576"></div>MEMPHIS 3 at OKLAHOMA C. 1<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-03244/2327081-1-eng-US/f0016-032.jpg" title="f0016-03" width="566" height="434"></div>ST. LOUIS 4 at HOUSTON 1<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-04197/2327074-1-eng-US/f0016-042.jpg" title="f0016-04" width="552" height="506"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-05138/2327067-1-eng-US/f0016-052.jpg" title="f0016-05" width="546" height="90"></div><h2>Fri., Jan. 21</h2>TULSA 2 at HOUSTON 0<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-06108/2327060-1-eng-US/f0016-062.jpg" title="f0016-06" width="550" height="374"></div>ST. LOUIS 4 at MINNESOTA 2<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-0797/2327053-1-eng-US/f0016-072.jpg" title="f0016-07" width="552" height="510"></div><h2>Sat., Jan. 22</h2>TULSA 4 at HOUSTON 5<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-0888/2327046-1-eng-US/f0016-082.jpg" title="f0016-08" width="552" height="476"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-0973/2327039-1-eng-US/f0016-092.jpg" title="f0016-09" width="567" height="131"></div>MINNESOTA 2 at ST. LOUIS 5<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-1061/2327032-1-eng-US/f0016-102.jpg" title="f0016-10" width="554" height="642"></div>MEMPHIS 1 at OKLAHOMA C. 3<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-1151/2327025-1-eng-US/f0016-112.jpg" title="f0016-11" width="540" height="398"></div><h2>Sun., Jan. 23</h2>MEMPHIS 1 at MINNESOTA 5<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-1239/2327018-1-eng-US/f0016-122.jpg" title="f0016-12" width="550" height="282"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-1333/2327011-1-eng-US/f0016-132.jpg" title="f0016-13" width="548" height="326"></div>HOUSTON 1 at OKLAHOMA C. 5<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-1431/2327004-1-eng-US/f0016-142.jpg" title="f0016-14" width="552" height="600"></div>TULSA 2 at ST. LOUIS 5<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-1530/2326997-1-eng-US/f0016-152.jpg" title="f0016-15" width="552" height="612"></div> &#9632;

f0016-02

Central Hockey League Summaries

<div class="byline">BY HARVEY POLLACK</div>JACKSONVILLE, Fla.Pat Egan, Jacksonville&rsquo;s pilot, thinks there&rsquo;s a different tune being sung by John Muckier of the Long Island Ducks, these days as a result of his Rockets improved performances in Eastern Hockey League play.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-01312/2327126-1-eng-US/f0017-012.jpg" title="f0017-01" width="284" height="410"><figcaption class="caption-body">Pat Egan</figcaption></div>Muckier recently remarked that he wished his Ducks could play Jacksonville 13 times a season as Southern Division pacesetter Nashville did. This statement was meant to intimate that the Ducks could wipe up the ice with the Rockets.Egan evidently used these remarks to toss a challenge at his Rockets and especially when the Ducks, the Northern Division leaders, were the opposition. Soon after the statement was issued, Long Island came south for a two-game set with the Rockets.The first game at St. Petersburg before another large turnout of 5575, Jacksonville upended the Ducks, 4-2. The following night here, the Rockets held the Ducks all even until four minutes were left. Then Long Island exploded for three quick goals for a 6-3 triumph.In both games Egan only had 10 men at his disposal due to an injury to Mike Fisher and AWOL movement by Butch Morris. Yet the Rockets could very well have won the pair of games.Then two nights later, to add insult to injury, the Rockets traveled to the Ducks rink in Commack, L. I., and held the EHL champions to a 1-1 stalemate to narrowly miss gaining their first road victory of the season. The fourth game in six days between the clubs at Commack resulted in a Ducks&rsquo; victory, but Muckier was the first to admit that he&rsquo;s glad he only has to face the Rockets once more this year.Egan felt that if his team had been at top manpower strength that the Rockets would have won three of the four games. As it is, Pat figures his team still has an outside chance of catching Knoxville for the fourth playoff berth in the South.NEW HAVEN: Half dozen games with Jersey likely will determine whether Blades will make playoffs. Don Bamburak returned to duty after a month&rsquo;s absence with shoulder separation. Ron Kapitan on disabled list. Bamburak&rsquo;s goal beat Charlotte.NASHVILLE: Flyers have taken 9 out of 11 from Knoxville this year. Six Flyers were onetime Knights to possibly account for good record &hellip; Marv Edwards suffered shin bruises in auto accident. In same mishap, Gilles St. Jacques suffered 60-stitch facial lacerations and trainer Joe Sgro&rsquo;s car was demolished. Flo Pilote had 11-game scoring streak. Attendance below last year with 23-game total 64,487. Burl Ives attended two games here and visited Flyers dressing room. Benny Froese dropped and Wally Sprange secured from Jersey.CHARLOTTE: George Hill tabbed four goals at New Haven. Ivan Walmsley subbed for injured Rick Charron for two games and blanked New Haven in one. Andre Daoust also filled goalie spot when Charron suffered dizzy spells after head injury at Jersey. Grant Warwick bothered by perforated ulcer. Moe Savard&rsquo;s wife died. Tenth anniversary game with Nashville postponed by snow.GREENSBORO: Don DiBerardino continues steady point production. Gens trying to avoid third place finish which would be their lowest status since their inaugural 1959-60 campaign. Coach Ron Spong is confident his club can beat out Charlotte for second spot. Pat Draper&rsquo;s play has improved since his brother Mike joined club. Garry Sharp and Jacques Monette have trouble sleeping on travelling bus, but Draper brothers and Greg Gordon have no such problems. Sharp has taken over scoring lead from Don Carter.KNOXVILLE: Wayne Doll back on duty at goal. Play of 38-year-old Bev Bentley in his absence was lauded by coach Doug Bentley. Six one goal losses to Nashville and Greensboro have hurt team&rsquo;s chances of rising. Eddie Burr posted hat trick vs. Jacksonville after being shifted to wing. Clare Wakshinski had 3-goaler too. Injuries to Les Calder and Ken Turlik have cut into club&rsquo;s manpower.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-0950/2327119-1-eng-US/f0017-092.jpg" title="f0017-09" width="471" height="565"><figcaption class="caption-body">FLO PILOTE&hellip; 11-Game Streak</figcaption></div>JACKSONVILLE: Butch Morris jumped team after a tiff with coach Pat Egan. Rockets trying to make a deal for him. Mike Fischer fractured ankle versus Knoxville. Chuck Goddard had brilliant 37-save game in win over Long Island at St. Petersburg. Egan disappointed with small home crowd following that triumph. Rockets have two ties on road now. Ron Willy top pointmaker.LONG ISLAND: Gene Achtymichuk and Wayne Kitchen posted hat tricks versus Jersey as Gordie Dibley gained first shutout. Gordie Stratton had two goals and five assists for 7-point game. Ex-goalie Jim Armstrong finally reported to Toledo. Barry Zoback called up by Providence for a game and tallied goal. Ducks are 19-2-2 at home. Bob Sabourin playing with pulled hamstring muscle.JERSEY: Benny Woit was so disgusted with team&rsquo;s 11-0 rout at L. I. that he left bench after second period to take a seat in the stands. He fined whole team on percentage basis following debacle. Norm DeFelice, back after knee injury, almost was sidelined again by a hard slap shot in practice. Fortunately his mask was on and he only suffered a 7-stitch cut near his eye. Norm and Bobby Boucher assessed misconduct penalties after Jets game for arguing with ref.JOHNSTOWN: Jets home winning streak was stopped after 15 straight by Long Island. Billy Reid&rsquo;s goal topped Devils. Dick Roberge could catch scoring leader Ron Hergott any day. Gordie Carruthers played game for Memphis for second time this season. Dennis Rathwell has been steady pointmaker of late. Team has perked up with addition of defenseman Bob Howard and has hopes of catching Clinton.CLINTON: Comets had trouble again squelching Jacksonville in overtime. Team, has won 19 straight at home, not losing since early November. Ed Babiuk blanked New Haven to take league lead with five shutouts. Borden Smith and Jack Kane in tight fight for club scoring lead. Comet fans are more rabid in games here than at Utica frays. Ian Anderson is crowd-pleaser with aggressive defense play. &#9632;

f0017-01

Lowly Rockets Make Ducks’ Muckier Eat Words

<h2>EASTERN HOCKEY LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Tues., Feb. 8)NORTHERN DIVISION<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-02265/2327199-1-eng-US/f0017-022.jpg" title="f0017-02" width="566" height="158"></div>SOUTHERN DIVISION<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-03207/2327192-1-eng-US/f0017-032.jpg" title="f0017-03" width="570" height="132"></div>GAMES COMPLETEDTues., Feb. 1Knoxivlle 5 at Charlotte 2Wed., Feb. 2Long Island 3 at New Haven 1Greensboro 5 at Jacksonville 3Thurs., Feb. 3Greensboro 2 at Nashville 1Fri., Feb. 4Clinton 1 at Long Island 1New Haven 5 at Johnstown 8Jacksonville 2 at Greensboro 12Nashville 2 at Charlotte 4New Jersey 2 at Knoxville 4Sat., Feb. 5New Haven 2 at Clinton 3Long Island 1 at Johnstown 7Knoxville 3 at Grensboro 4Charlotte 1 at Nashville 2New Jersey 4 at Jacksonville 1Sun., Feb. 6Clinton 2 at New Haven 3Johnstown 0 at Long Island 6Greensboro 3 at Charlotte 4Nashville 2 at Knoxville 2LEADING SCORERS(Including games of Sun., Jan. 30)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-04153/2327185-1-eng-US/f0017-042.jpg" title="f0017-04" width="566" height="286"></div>GOALKEEPERS&rsquo; RECORDS<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-05116/2327178-1-eng-US/f0017-052.jpg" title="f0017-05" width="566" height="332"></div>Most Penalties: Ball, New Haven, 223 minutes.<h2>ONTARIO SENIOR LEAGUE</h2>(Including games of Sun., Jan. 30)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-0694/2327171-1-eng-US/f0017-062.jpg" title="f0017-06" width="564" height="158"></div>(x-plays four-point games except against Oakville).GAMES COMPLETEDTues., Feb. 1OHA All-Stars 5 at Guelph 6Fri., Feb. 4Galt 6 at Woodstock 7Oakville 2 at Guelph 6Sat., Feb. 5Guelph 1 at Galt 3Sun., Feb. 6Woodstock 5 at Oakville 6LEADING SCORERS<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-0787/2327164-1-eng-US/f0017-072.jpg" title="f0017-07" width="558" height="536"></div>GOALKEEPERS&rsquo; RECORDS<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-0861/2327157-1-eng-US/f0017-082.jpg" title="f0017-08" width="558" height="188"></div>(More Standings on P. 19) &#9632;

f0017-02

Hockey Races

NEW YORK, N. Y.Eastern Hockey League president Tom Lockhart announced the suspension of New Haven coach, Jackie LeClair, for an indefinite period.The suspension effective Jan. 31 was due to LeClair&rsquo;s refusal to bring his team back to the ice after a fight broke out between his players and the Long Island Ducks at Commack, N.Y. on Jan. 21. Only 1.29 had elapsed in the game when the fight erupted.Lockhart also said that LeClair was fined $100 and would put no time limit on his suspension. It hadn&rsquo;t been determined as yet who would take over the reins of the New Haven team during LeClair&rsquo;s absence. The Blades not only lose their coach, but also one of their best players.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-1042/2327230-1-eng-US/f0017-102.jpg" title="f0017-10" width="286" height="442"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jackie LeClair</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0017-10

LeClair Suspended By EHL For Keeping Team Off Ice

<div class="byline">BY BOB REED</div>TOLEDO, OInternational Hockey League players may be on their way to a new record in hat tricks.By the end of January the league&rsquo;s sharpshooters had run up a total of 34 of the three-goal performances. While there is no official league record in this department listed in the IHL yearbook, close followers of play in the circuit believe more hat tricks are being clicked off than ever before.Leading in this department was Dayton&rsquo;s Guy Trottier, who posted his fourth in an 11-7 victory over Des Moines. Several others had three, including Bob Regis of Dayton and Merv Dubchak of Fort Wayne. Regis registered all three within a period of 12 days, on January 8, 9 and 19.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-01318/2327261-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg" title="f0018-01" width="284" height="398"><figcaption class="caption-body">Lloyd Maxfield</figcaption></div>The IHL, individual record for hat tricks is seven, set by Moe Bartoli of Minneapolis in the 1962-63 season. Bartoli had a total of 56 goals in that year.FORT WAYNE &mdash; Merv Dubchak had a hat trick against Dayton for his 46th goal in 43 games &hellip; In the same game three other players picked up six points, Len Thomson on two goals and four assists, Bob Rivard a goal and five assists and Lionel Repka one goal and five assists &hellip; Repka, leading defenseman in scoring, ran his total points to 46 &hellip; John Goodwin scored his 13th goal in 15 games &hellip; The Komets and Gems combined for four goals within the space of 70 seconds.DES MOINES &mdash; Barry Jakeman had a hat trick against Dayton &hellip; The Oak Leafs drew 4,336, biggest crowd of the season for a game with Dayton &hellip; The Leafs lost ten out of 11 against Muskegon, winning only once in overtime.PORT HURON &mdash; Marcel Goyette, captain and defenseman, took charge of the Flags&rsquo; practice in the absence of playing coach Lloyd Maxfield, who was in the hospital with two hairline fractures of the skull, received when he was struck by a flying puck off the stick of Muskegon&rsquo;s Roly Campeau. Ray Germain was filling in at center &hellip; The Flags had only two wins in eight starts with rival Muskegon &hellip; Bob McCammon missed a hat trick when the final buzzer beat his goal by a split second.MUSKEGON &mdash; The Mohawks had the benefit of the first penalty shot call of the season but Joe Kastelic missed the attempt against Toledo goalie Jim Armstrong &hellip; The Hawks scored their first victory in two seasons on Toledo ice and only their second in three seasons &hellip; Nine Mohawks were in double figures in goals scored &hellip; Ten goals were scored by ten different players in a 7-3 win over Des Moines &hellip; Joe Faita had a hat trick against Port Huron,DAYTON &mdash; With 22 victories, the Gems were within one of last year&rsquo;s total &hellip; Pat Donnelly had his second hat trick, for which he received $100 and a pair of shoes &hellip; The Gems had 4,069, largest crowd of the season for a Des Moines game &hellip; The Gems got down to 12 men when Guy Trottier and Roger Ouimet were out with injuries.TOLEDO &mdash; G. M. Ken Wilson announced the purchase of Mickey Cherevaty from St. Louis of the Central League, Eno Kraft from New Haven of the Eastern League and Ron Cadaura from Woodstock of the Ontario Senior A League &hellip; The Blades didn&rsquo;t score more than three goals in any game from Dec. 31 to Jan. 30, inclusive. &#9632;

f0018-01

Gems’ Trottier Nets 4th Hat As Loop Records 34 For Year

<h2>INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Tues., Feb. 8)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-02232/2327299-1-eng-US/f0018-022.jpg" title="f0018-02" width="562" height="182"></div>(NHL Afnlition: 2. Montreal; o. Chicago: 6. Boston, x-independent).GAMES COMPLETEDWed., Feb. 2Des Moines 4 at Fort Wayne 7Port Huron 2 at Dayton 9Thurs., Feb. 3Dayton 5 at Muskegon 7Fri., Feb. 4Port Huron 3 at Toledo 6Fort Wayne 4 at Des Moines 1Sat., Feb. 5Port Huron 3 at Muskegon 7Fort Wayne 1 at Des Moines 2Dayton 4 at Toledo 5Sun., Feb. 6Muskegon 4 at Dayton 4Toledo 3 at Port Huron 3LEADING SCORERS(Including games of Sun. Jan. 30)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-03145/2327292-1-eng-US/f0018-032.jpg" title="f0018-03" width="552" height="383"></div> &#9632;

f0018-02

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0018-04" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-04105/2327330-1-eng-US/f0018-042.jpg"></div><h2>ACROSS</h2>1. Pictured Montreal player.4. Played recently for Detroit&rsquo;s Old Timers.7. Recently suspended WHL player.8. This Springfield player hails from Timmins, Ont.11. Initials of 4 across.12. Name given Sweeney of Springfield.13. Relationship between Maki and Esposito.15. Initials of Armstrong of Toronto.16. Native province of 2 down (abbr.)18. Number of NHL teams Billy Reay has coached.20. Initials of Ward of Seattle.21. Initials of a Hershey player.24. Name given a Black Hawk forward.26. Former New York defenseman.30. Same as 16 across.31. Ocean (abbr.)32. Given name of Reaume, ex-NHL defenseman.33. Frank Udvari is one (abbr)34. Initials of a Black Hawk winger.36. Initials of one of the Leafs.37. Given name of the late Nels Stewart<h2>DOWN</h2>1. Given name of Cain, once an NHL scoring champion.2. A recently injured Boston Bruin.3. Doug Barkley has had an operation on one4. 7th & 21st letters of the alphabet.5. Native country of pictured star.6. Some players eat these on game days.9. 15th & 9th letters of the alphabet.10. First two letters of flavour.14. Nine seasons &mdash; Harry Watson was playing pro hockey.17. Number of seasons Howe wants to play.19. Initials of Ezinicki, ex-NHL forward.22. Some NHL rinks got new ones recently.23 Bobby Hull can do this.25. Initials of one of Hull&rsquo;s teammates.27. Nickname of Bernie Geoffrion&rsquo;s club.28. Initials of a Chicago rearguard.29. All players strive to make a &mdash; in hockey.35. Warrant Officer (abbr.)SOLUTION IN NEXT WEEK&rsquo;S ISSUE<h2>LAST WEEK&rsquo;S SOLUTION</h2><h2>ACROSS</h2>1. Bucyk3. C.P.5. Wray6. Olmstead10. Depth11. W. S.13. P.E.14. OH A16. Cal.17. Ray.18. UL19. D.L.20. B.O.21. Boucher24. Two25. Oar26. Toronto29. John30. K.D.<h2>DOWN</h2>1. Broda2. Campbell3. Crawford4. Pads5. W.E.7. L.E.8. St.9. T.H.12. Taylor13. Paul15. Ha.19. Det.20. Bert.21. Both22. Cook23. Hand27. On28. O.K. &#9632;

f0018-04

Hockey Crossword Puzzle

<div class="byline">BY AL BRENNAN</div>NORTH BAY, Ont.&mdash;With only 10 games remaining in the regular NOHA Junior &ldquo;A&rdquo; Southern Group schedule, North Bay Trappers hold a five-point lead over second - place Sault Greyhounds and only their 500 record against Sudbury Wolves has kept them from making a run-away of the race.The Trappers have suffered only seven defeats and a tie in their first 30 performances and four of the losses have been inflicted by the third place Sudbury club. In Sudbury, coach Howie Parker&rsquo;s league leaders have won two of three, but the Wolves have three victories in five starts on North Bay ice, coming out on the winning side in their last three appearances.Trappers have been hit hard by injuries too, in fact they even had to postpone one game with the tail-end Garson-Falconbridge, Combines because only nine players were available for duty. Hardest hit is the blueline corps with both Al DeMarco and Alec McConnell on the sidelines. DeMarco is out with an eye injury, while McConnell has a face and neck infection, the result of scratches in a fight with Sault&rsquo;s Bob Toolbari.Others among the &ldquo;walking wounded&rdquo; include, Ron Ringler, broken nose; Sean Leahy, cracked ribs; Wayne Heasman out for a season with a back injury; Terry Wall, throat infection and the flu; and Ron Webb, broken wrist. &#9632;

North Bov Troopers Holding Lead As Race Nears End

<h2>QUEBEC SENIOR LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Mon., Feb. 7)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-01294/2327490-1-eng-US/f0019-012.jpg" title="f0019-01" width="565" height="128"></div><h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3>(Including games of Sun., Jan. 30)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-02245/2327483-1-eng-US/f0019-022.jpg" title="f0019-02" width="565" height="283"></div><h3>GOALKEEPERS&rsquo; RECORDS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-03196/2327476-1-eng-US/f0019-032.jpg" title="f0019-03" width="563" height="282"></div><h2>MANITOBA SENIOR LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Sun., Jan. 30)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-04171/2327469-1-eng-US/f0019-042.jpg" title="f0019-04" width="559" height="153"></div><h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-05143/2327462-1-eng-US/f0019-052.jpg" title="f0019-05" width="568" height="259"></div><h2>ALBERTA SENIOR LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Thurs., Jan. 27)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-06119/2327455-1-eng-US/f0019-062.jpg" title="f0019-06" width="565" height="132"></div><h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-07107/2327448-1-eng-US/f0019-072.jpg" title="f0019-07" width="559" height="311"></div><h2>QUEBEC JUNIOR LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Mon., Jan. 31)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-0899/2327441-1-eng-US/f0019-082.jpg" title="f0019-08" width="559" height="157"></div><h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-0986/2327434-1-eng-US/f0019-092.jpg" title="f0019-09" width="548" height="431"></div><h2>CENTRAL JUNIOR LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Mon., Jan. 31)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-1074/2327427-1-eng-US/f0019-102.jpg" title="f0019-10" width="557" height="280"></div><h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-1166/2327420-1-eng-US/f0019-112.jpg" title="f0019-11" width="555" height="235"></div><h2>SASKATCHEWAN JUNIOR</h2>(Standings on Mon., Jan. 31)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-1261/2327413-1-eng-US/f0019-122.jpg" title="f0019-12" width="565" height="231"></div><h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-1352/2327406-1-eng-US/f0019-132.jpg" title="f0019-13" width="564" height="403"></div><h3>GOALKEEPERS&rsquo; RECORDS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-1452/2327399-1-eng-US/f0019-142.jpg" title="f0019-14" width="564" height="253"></div><h2>NORTHERN ONTARIO JUNIOR</h2>(Standings on Mon. Jan. 31)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-1646/2327392-1-eng-US/f0019-162.jpg" title="f0019-16" width="560" height="156"></div><h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-1742/2327385-1-eng-US/f0019-172.jpg" title="f0019-17" width="560" height="332"></div> &#9632;

f0019-01

<div class="byline">BY JACK GATECLIFF</div>ST. CATHARINES. OntWith only a month left in the schedule, every position in the Ontario Hockey Association junior A league is wide open.The only question is where the greater action is &hellip; at the top &hellip; in middle or at the lower extremity.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-1548/2327521-1-eng-US/f0019-152.jpg" title="f0019-15" width="292" height="446"><figcaption class="caption-body">Bobby Orr</figcaption></div>All teams have approximately 10 games remaining to play and not one spot is even close to being clinched.Peterborough Petes, after splitting their two games during the week, clung to first position, just a point over Niagara Falls Flyers.The Petes lost a last-minute 5-4 decision to St. Catharines Black Hawks, then edged Niagara Falls Flyers 3-2 before their home fans.The Flyers were the busiest team in the nine-club group, splitting their four games.The defending Memorial Cup champions defeated the improving London Nationals 4-1 and Kitchener Rangers 7-1 but lost to Peterborough and by a 4-2 in Maple Leaf Gardens to Toronto Mailboros.Oshawa Generals, in a slump lately after leading the league for six weeks recovered from consecutive losses to Hamilton (5-4) and London (7-4) to defeat Kitchener 4-2.The Generals remained in third place, just two points behind the Falls.The middle three teams, Montreal, Hamilton and Marlboros are just as closely matched as the top group &hellip; and all are within striking distance of the first three positions.Montreal Canadiens had a perfect record during the week with a 5-1 win over St. Catharines and a 6-1 decision over London, both games being played in the Montreal Forum.However they remained tied in fourth place with Rudy Pilous&rsquo; stubborn Hamilton Red Wings who defeated Oshawa and came back from a 2-0 deficit to tie St. Catharines Black Hawks 2-2.Both teams are just seven points back of Oshawa.The Marlboros, an inconsistent team so far this season, are sixth with 34 points after splitting their two games. They lost in Maple Leaf Gardens 7-4 to St. Catharines, then downed Niagara Falls 4-2, also in Toronto.It&rsquo;s almost an identical situation with the lower three teams.St. Catharines, after losing in Montreal and tying Hamilton have a slight edge with 29 points but are only three ahead of the co - holders of the eighth place, Kitchener and London.Eight of the nine teams qualify for the playoffs.One of the strangest plays of the year occurred during the St. Catharines-Hamilton game.Fred Speck, a native of Thorold, Ont. playing with the Red Wings threw his stick at St. Catharines player Bob Sicinski on a breakaway early in the third period.Sicinski completed the play and was beaten on his shot by Hamilton goaltender Gerry Gray.Referee Gerry Denomme of Kitchener assessed Speck a major penalty but St. Catharines manager Ken Campbell has filed an official protest, claiming that a penalty shot should have been awarded.The question is from which area of the rink did Speck throw his stick?If it was thrown outside the Hamilton blueline the major penalty was the correct call. Had it been tossed in the defending zone a penalty shot should have been the result.Few in the building actually saw the stick thrown as all eyes were on Sicinski as he moved in on goal.A decision is expected within the next 10 days on the protest.In the points race, the brilliant Oshawa defenceman Bobby Orr cut six points off the leagueleading total of Peterborough centre Andre Lacroix.However, Lacroix still has few worries.With 94 points on 26 goals and 68 assists Lacroix has a 14-point margin over Orr.Orr&rsquo;s total is made up of 31 goals and 49 assists.Danny Grant of Peterborough and his linemate Mickey Redmond are third and fourth with 76 and 71 points respectively.Grant leads in actual goals scored with 37.Among the regular goaltenders, Brian Caley of Peterborough has the best goals against average with 3.12 in 25 games.Bob Ring of Niagara Falls and Ted Ouimet of Montreal are tied with identical 3:16 records. &#9632;

f0019-15

All Playoff Positions Wide Open As Teams Head For Home Stretch; Orr Gains On Lacroix In Scoring

<h2>ONTARIO JUNIOR LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Tues. Feb. 8)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-1838/2327559-1-eng-US/f0019-182.jpg" title="f0019-18" width="562" height="250"></div>(NHL Affiliation.: 1. Toronto. 2. Montreal. 3. Chicago. 4. Detroit. 5. New York 6. Boston).GAMES COMPLETEDTues. Feb. 1Toronto 8 at London 3Thurs. Feb. 3Montreal 2 at Hamilton 6St. Catherines 3 at Peterborough 4Fri. Feb. 4Montreal 5 at Niagara Falls 2Toronto 3 at Kitchener 8Sat. Feb. 5Hamilton 4 at Oshawa 7Sun. Feb. 6Kitchener 6 at Montreal 4Toronto 3 at St. Catharines 4GAMES TO COMETues., Feb. 8Hamilton at LondonKitchener at Niagara FallsThurs., Feb. 10Peterborough at HamiltonFri., Feb. 11Montreal at LondonPeterborough at Niagara FallsSt. Catharines at TorontoHamilton at KitchenerSat., Feb. 12Kitchener at OshawaSun., Feb. 13London at KitchenerMontreal at TorontoOshawa at St. CatharinesHamilton at PeterboroughLEADING SCORERS(Including Games of Sun., Jan. SO)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-1934/2327552-1-eng-US/f0019-192.jpg" title="f0019-19" width="558" height="284"></div> &#9632;

f0019-18

WATERLOO, la.Waterloo&rsquo;s USHL-leading Black Hawks successfully met the challenge last week, turning back Green Bay twice while Marquette and St. Paul were dividing a two-game series, increasing their circuit lead to six points &mdash; widest margin since the first of the year.At the same time, Paul Johnson retained his three-point scoring edge over Bill Masterton of St. Paul, each scoring two points in weekend action. The Waterloo ace&rsquo;s 26 goals are tops in the league, while Len Lilyholm of Rochester still has the most assists &mdash; 23, although he didn&rsquo;t play over the weekend.Fox Valley, scheduled to appear at Rochester January 29, to make a game originally slated for November 14, didn&rsquo;t make the scene, reporting that the Astros&rsquo; bus had broken down. Rochester officials plan to claim a forfeit, and have petitioned USHL Commissioner Hal Trumble to so rule.Trumble also notified Waterloo that its protest of St. Paul goal at Waterloo January 15 had been denied.Transportation trouble also plagued St. Paul, after its 4-2 loss at Marquette on Sunday, January 30. Engine trouble developed on the Steers&rsquo; plane, scheduled to depart at 5 p.m., and the St. Paul club wasn&rsquo;t airborne until 12.40 a.m. Monday &mdash; an eight-hour delay.All six clubs are slated for double duty this weekend as the circuit heads towards its late-March playoffs, for which a definite site has not yet been announced.<h2>UNITED STATES LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Mon., Jan. 31)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-2028/2327597-1-eng-US/f0019-202.jpg" title="f0019-20" width="558" height="178"></div>LEADING SCORERS<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-2119/2327590-1-eng-US/f0019-212.jpg" title="f0019-21" width="564" height="262"></div> &#9632;

f0019-20

Waterloo Tops USHL Ice Race

<div class="byline">BY DAN MOULTON</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0020-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-01178/2327628-1-eng-US/f0020-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Chicago coach BILLY REAY talks with his super star centre STAN MIKITA during lull in Hawks&rsquo; workout. Mikita has scored 24 goals this season and ranks second to teammate Bobby Hull in the individual points race. Mikita hasn&rsquo;t given up hope of winning third NHL scoring title in row despite trailing Hull by 16 points.</figcaption></div>CHICAGO, III.Billy Reay was charging around the Black Hawks&rsquo; dressing room last weekend extolling rugged Stan Mikita.&ldquo;Can you imagine that performance,&rdquo; marvelled Reay. &ldquo;A guy tries to cut his head off one night and the next he bounces back and picks us up a win,&rdquo; chortled the Chicago coach.Reay was referring to Mikita&rsquo;s role as &lsquo;tough guy&rsquo; for the Hawks. After having been cut for 13 stitches in his head, Mikita donned a helmet and went out and scored twice and set up a third goal as Hawks spilled the Leafs 3-2.Mikita said he liked the idea of wearing the helmet. &ldquo;I plan to use it more often in the future. It certainly gives a fellow confidence when he goes into those corners,&rdquo; said Mikita, who now has 24 goals for the year, second only to Hull&rsquo;s 44.Meanwhile, the Hawks marvellous player depth, missing in past years in the club&rsquo;s bid for an NHL championship, has become one of the club&rsquo;s strong points this year.Most recent examples are Lou Angotti and John Miszuk, summoned from St. Louis of the CPHL when injuries hit Elmer Vasko, Pierre Pilote and Mikita.A bit earlier, Pat Stapleton was brought up from the Central league team when Al MacNeil&rsquo;s elbow went out of kilter and earned himself a spot as a regular rearguard.Angotti seems to be following the same pattern and may well qualify for full-time duty between Eric Nesterenko and Bill Hay. And Miszuk&rsquo;s debut was impressive enough to at least earn him consideration as the fifth defenseman.In fact, only veteran minor leaguer Art Stratton failed to respond when the opportunity to impress Hawk brass presented itself.Art, enjoying an excellent season in the Central league, was summoned along with Angotti when Mikita hurt his knee. Placed at Stan&rsquo;s spot between Ken Wharram and Doug Mohns, Art performed acceptably during a 4-2 victory over Montreal but on the next night chose to cruise along the Hawks&rsquo; blue line in Boston while the Bruins&rsquo; Pit Martin, whom he was supposed to be checking, was allowed to loiter in the &ldquo;slot&rdquo; often enough to come up with four goals.Stratton was back in St. Louis before the Hawks&rsquo; next game.Angotti, on the other hand, worked well in that Montreal game, tailed off slightly the next two nights, then came on against the Red Wings in Detroit, setting up a goal with a bit of dilligent forechecking and making himself a general pain in the rompers to the Wings.Angotti, who languished on the Ranger bench for most of the first half of the season before the Hawks acquired him in exchange for their claim on Larry Mickey, played only nine games for St. Louis before the call from the big club came, prompted by his record of 10 goals and eight assists.At the time of his arrival, Coach Billy Reay insisted that while the 28-year-old former Michigan Tech star was far from a polished hockey player, his hustle and drive made him a tough man to play against. &#9632;

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February 12, 1966

PASSING PUCK

Interlocking Scoreboard:

Bower Suggests Vezina Be Decided On Coaler’s Average

HOCKEY … Quiz