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.

May 13, 1967

The Hockey News May 13, 1967

<div class="byline">By Ken McKenzie</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-02686/3096267-1-eng-US/f0006-022.jpg" title="f0006-02" width="487" height="512"></div>&bull; NEWS LEAKED OUT on the Conn Smythe Trophy winner along with the champagne at the Toronto Maple Leafs&rsquo; victory celebrations following their Stanley Cup triumph over Montreal&hellip; Jim Proudfoot had the story in the Toronto Star hours before the official release date &hellip; Dave Keon was a worthy winner as the outstanding player in the Stanley Cup playoffs but there were many hockey followers who believed Terry Sawchuk would have been a better choice &hellip; Sawchuk was in the Toronto goal for six of : their eight playoff wins and was agreed by most every one that Toronto wouldn&rsquo;t have defeated Chicago in the semi-finals without Sawchuk&hellip; Toe Blake of Canadiens said the Leafs beat S the Habs because Terry was too much for the I Montreal goal-getters&hellip; Other Toronto players who received honorable mention for the top playoff performer were Jim Pappin, Bob Pulford and veteran defensemen Tim Horton I and Marcel Pronovost&hellip; Punch Imlach&rsquo;s choice of going with his old guard of Allan Stanley, Tim Horton, Red Kelly, George Armstrong and Bob Pulford, heroes of former Cup victories, s thwarted Canadiens&rsquo; last-minute stand when Toe Blake threw out six Montreal attackers. Leafs&rsquo; oldtimers stopped the Canadiens cold Iand fans were pleased with Imlach&rsquo;s show of. sentiment in putting the veterans out there &hellip; Imlach called his team &ldquo;the guttiest gang I&rsquo;ve ever been associated with&rdquo;&hellip; Imlach now I leads the men who have succeeded in the dual role of manager-coach with four Stanley Cups&hellip; Red Kelly has more playoff honors than most players&hellip; It marked his eighth time on a Stanley Cup winner&hellip; four with Detroit and four with Toronto&hellip; Maurice Richard shares this honor. The Rocket played on eight winners with Canaidiens&hellip; Kelly played in more playoff games than any player &mdash; 164 and participated in more playoff years &mdash; 19&hellip; Brian Conacher and Mike Walton, Toronto rookies, played on their first Cup winner and both will be married this month.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-03500/3096260-1-eng-US/f0006-032.jpg" title="f0006-03" width="347" height="500"><figcaption class="caption-body">Punch Imlach</figcaption></div>&bull; A POPULAR guessing game these days is just what players the NHL clubs will protect in the draft next month&hellip; Dick Duff and Claude Provost appear certain to leave Canadiens&hellip; Montreal followers thought Toe Blake might have dressed I Provost in the last game of the playoffs. The hardworking winger has given Canadiens a lot of terrific hockey over the years&hellip; Gump Worsley panned the Toronto fans for their fickleness in booing Terry Sawchuk one night after cheering him most other games &hellip; &ldquo;Aren&rsquo;t those fans something? He puts the team in the finals and they boo him because he lets in a couple of softies on a night when his team is stinking the joint out. Now he&rsquo;s won the I Cup for them and becomes the greatest thing since sliced bread,&rdquo; the popular Gumper reported&hellip; Blake felt that Johnny Bower&rsquo;s 3-0 shutout in the second game of the finals was the turning point of the series. That and the Leafs&rsquo; overtime win &hellip; &ldquo;But I&rsquo;m not beefing,&rdquo; added Blake, who has won seven Stanley Cups in 12 seasons as Montreal coach &hellip; &ldquo;There was a time this season when it looked as if we wouldn&rsquo;t even make the playoffs.&rdquo;.. &rsquo;. Fathers of Allan Stanley and George Armstrong were first on the ice after Leafs clinched the Cup. They got a big charge out of proceedings. This is getting to be old hat for Allan Stanley&rsquo;s father, who has jumped on the ice after several previous Leaf Cup wins&hellip; When George Armstrong, Toronto captain, had his 12-year-old son Brian accompany him to receive the Stanley Cup it marked the first time this has happened&hellip; Imlach and Sawchuk both left the ice I immediately the game ended and were not in sight when the Cup was presented&hellip; Billy Taylor, former NHL star who was banned for life from the NHL for gambling back in the 1940&rsquo;s, wants to move his family back to Ontario from Florida where he is presently residing&hellip; Every NHL expansion club is reported making overtures to Bob Lemieux, Canadiens&rsquo; property, who had a standout season with Seattle in the Western League. Bob was among the best defensemen in the league and just missed winning the rookie award &hellip; Rod Gilbert of the Rangers was asked if hockey fights were faked. His answer : &ldquo;If they were faked, you would see me in more of them.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-04347/3096253-1-eng-US/f0006-042.jpg" title="f0006-04" width="352" height="490"><figcaption class="caption-body">Gum Worsley</figcaption></div>&bull; FRANK SELKE JR., recently appointed president of the California Seals by Chairman-Owner Barry Van Gerbig, started as a &ldquo;rink rat&rdquo; at the Montreal Forum 21 years ago&hellip; Moving up from an ice scraper, electrician&rsquo;s and plumber&rsquo;s helper right through the ranks, Junior Selke has become an unqualified success at every job he&rsquo;s undertaken on the road up the hockey ladder and there&rsquo;s no reason to feel he will stop now that he&rsquo;s reached the upper strat of hockey ranks. As he says himself: &ldquo;I&rsquo;m as ready as I&rsquo;ll ever be for this Oakland challenge.&rdquo;&hellip; Selke is making his first visit to Oakland this week. He i hopes to ink Bert Olmstead to a coaching contract. If Olmstead declines then Selke says he i will recommend Floyd Curry for the job&hellip; i Broaching the subject of a possible move and i a new job Selke asked his oldest boy the ; other day : &lsquo;If we decided to move where would you like to go?&rdquo; After thinking it over for a minute the youngster replied : &ldquo;Next door&rdquo; &hellip; The seventh annual Adam Brown golf tournament will be held in Hamilton on June 24. Interested parties should contact Hank Goldup or Bob Abbott at the Glendale Golf Club, Hamilton, Ont&hellip;. Boston Bruins are after Phil Esposito from Chicago. The Bruins are also after Fred Stanfield and Chico Maki from the Hawks. Depends what the Bruins can turn over to the Hawks in a trade&hellip; Fast gaining a reputation as one of the most knowledgeable young men in the expansion movement is Barry Van Gerbig, sole owner of the California Seals &hellip; New York&rsquo;s Rod Gilbert has bought a thoroughbred and appropriately named it &ldquo;Hot Rod&rdquo;&hellip; He is one of several NHL players who have joined the horsey set&hellip; Our congratulations to well-known and popular executive, George Thomson, on his recent appointment as president of Shulton of Canada Ltd. Frank Mathers, successful manager-coach of the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League, has refused more NHL offers to coach and manage in the Big Leagues than anyone. He is happy in Hershey and his future is assured.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-05285/3096246-1-eng-US/f0006-052.jpg" title="f0006-05" width="349" height="505"><figcaption class="caption-body">Frank Mathers</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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IN THIS ISSUE

PASSING THE PUCK

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-02684/3096615-1-eng-US/f0012-022.jpg" title="f0012-02" width="742" height="2780"></div> &#9632;

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AHL Playoffs

<div class="byline">By MATT DENNIS</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-01589/3096856-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg" title="f0016-01" width="324" height="488"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jake Milford</figcaption></div>OMAHA, Neb.&mdash;No sooner had the Omaha Knights packed their equipment away after bowing to the Oklahoma City Blazers in the Central Professional Hockey League Adams Cup final, than general manager Jake Milford was in conference with Ak-Sar-Ben Coliseum officials to settle dates for next season.Emile Francis, general manager of the parent New York Rangers, said it was &ldquo;99% certain&rdquo; that the I Knights would operate in Omaha next season.The only major stumbling block. was a complication that saw the Ice Follies move into the Coliseum | just at the time the Knights were in the finals. It was necessary that the Knights move out after only two playoff dates.Tom Brock, general manager of the Ak-Sar-Ben building, said that the snarl came when the Ice Follies booking was made a year and a half in advance and it was hoped that the ice show might come into the building during Easter week.Francis said, &ldquo;That would be okay with us. We&rsquo;d prefer to lose ice time during the regular season than at playoff time.&rdquo;Undisturbed by Milford&rsquo;s figures that the Knights could possibly show a financial loss between 30 and 35 thousand dollars, Francis stated, &ldquo;We look at this with a broad view in that we are working to develop major league players. Young talent does not step out of amateur hockey in the majority of instances and go right to the major league. There has to be time and money spent in the development and we realize this and that is why we have a Central League club.In discussing the deficit in dollars, it was revealed that due to the NHL draft coming up next month in Montreal, all clubs carried extra players and that meant extra salaries.Milford commented that &ldquo;first-year expenses in any operation usually go high but go lower in the following seasons.&rdquo;&ldquo;We figure our operation here last season at about $275,000. At the gate we drew around 154,000 fans for an intake of $215,000,&rdquo; he continued, using round figures.On the debit side, salaries were in the $130,000 range, travel $45,000, Ak-Sar-Ben rental at $1,000 ger game, CPHL assessment fee at $12,000 and training camp expenses the same amount and then another $17,000 for equipment and insurance.&ldquo;So that left us about $35,000 in expenses over incoming revenue.&rdquo;Milford said, &ldquo;This is a good hockey city,&rdquo; and recently purchased a new house.&ldquo;We can break even here and if we could gather t &gt;gether a group like those Hockey Hounds in Oklahoma City, who sold 1,600 season tickets and handled the program, we would be all right next season,&rdquo; he said with optimism.Meanwhile, Coach Fred Shero and defenseman Jack Chipchase remained in Omaha after the playoff final.Shero and Chipchase will join the Ak-Sar-Ben Field crew. Shero will work through the summer while Chipchase&rsquo;s job is only temporary.Defenseman Al Hamilton is planning to marry Barbara Callaghan of Edmonton in the Alberta city, July 29. Hamilton will work with the Edmonton Recreation Commission in the summer.Max Mestinsek left for a vacation in Mexico and Florida before returning to his Edmonton home.Centerman Sandy Fitzpatrick was planning to attend classes at Waterloo University at Waterloo, Ont.Forward Danny Johnson was set to manage Pithers Point Park at Fort Frances, Ont., and Trevor Fahey was to take a job with the Canada Silo Company at Tillson-burg, Ont. where he is the member of a five-man crew and &ldquo;we can build a silo'in five days,&rdquo; he commented.Gary Sabourin will work with his uncle operating a marina at Britt, Ont. while Paul Andrea will work in construction at Glace Bay, Nova Scotia and Bob Ash planned to be in the same field at Brandon, Manitoba.George Konik was planning to return to classes at the University of Minnesota over the early summer working on his master&rsquo;s degree before returning to his former job in the engineering aero division of the Minneapolis-Honeywell Regulator Co.Dune McCallum was set to manage the Brandon City Golf course while Wayne Hall was planning a trip to Europe. Terry Ball will be working in a steel plant in Winnipeg.Goalie Wayne Rutledge was looking toward his summer job with a Canadian brewery. &#9632;

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Rangers To Keep Knights In Omaha As Club Seeks Better Deal On Dates

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-01485/3097173-1-eng-US/f0019-012.jpg" title="f0019-01" width="725" height="2128"></div> &#9632;

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IHL Playoffs

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0001-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0001-01160/3097311-1-eng-US/f0001-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Leafs' captain GEORGE ARMSTRONG and his 12-year-old son, BRIAN, proudly hoist the Stanley Cup after Toronto won it for 11th time beating Montreal Canadiens in last week's NHL season windup. Leafs now are within one of tieing Habs for most all-time cup victories.((Hockey News Stanley Cup Photos Pages 1, 2, 3, 11 By John Maiola))</figcaption></div>TORONTO, Ont.&mdash;The Toronto Maple Leafs are becoming almost as proficient at winning the Stanley Cup as the Montreal Canadiens.The Leafs sipped champagne from the famed hockey trophy last week for the 11th time as they beat out the Canadiens 4-2 in the 1967 finals.The win also moved the Leafs to within one game of tieing the Canadiens for most all-time Stanley Cup victories.But more significant was the fact that this year&rsquo;s Montreal-Toronto final conceivably is the last &lsquo;all-Canadian&rsquo; championship series of the NHL.Long and bitter playoff rivals from as far back as the 30&rsquo;s, the Leafs and Canadiens are not likely to cross paths again in a Stanley Cup final with expansion descending on the league next season.The likelihood is that cross-section playoffs between the new and old division of the NHL in 1967-68 will rule out such a possibility.In 11 series meetings, Leafs won 6-5 and held a 33-26 edge in 59 playoff games between the teams. Leafs&rsquo; win in the final also handed them a 3-2 margin in championship series as well. &#9632;

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Leafs Close In On Habs With 11th Cun Win

<div class="byline">By KEN McKENZIE</div>MONTREAL. Que.&mdash;The progressive Philadelphia Flyers continued to set the pace for the National Hockey League&rsquo;s expansion teams by becoming the first of the new clubs to acquire a readymade minor league affiliate team.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0001-02132/3097342-1-eng-US/f0001-022.jpg" title="f0001-02" width="327" height="496"></div>Bill PutnamPhiladelphia&rsquo;s energetic president Bill Putnam pulled an expansion first when he disclosed to THE HOCKEY NEWS that he had completed arrangements to secure a controlling interest in the Quebec Aces of the American Hockey League.&ldquo;We have been working for more than a year on this transaction and we are extremely pleased with the outcome,&rdquo; said Putnam.The Philadelphia team has been negotiating with Aces&rsquo; president Gerry Martineau to secure the franchise and last week managed to close the deal that will give the new NHL club property rights to 16 AHL class players, rights to 16 amateurs, the Quebec junior Aces team in the Quebec junior League and control of the ces&rsquo; four city-operated junior &lsquo;B&rsquo; Teams.Putnam said the Flyers will also sponsor the Aces&rsquo; vast minor hockey program around Quebec with aul Dumont, its 25-year director remaining as top man.Putnam will become the pre-ident of the Quebec Aces Hockey Tub and will serve as its govern-r on the AHL board replacing Martineau, who is stepping aside or health and business reasons. Jo price was disclosed for the ale of the club.The Philadelphia owner-president said the Aces would retain he same directors as in the past with Frank Carlin remaining as general manager and Phil Watson as bench coach.An agreement was reached to have the Flyers and Aces train together next season starting September 10 in Quebec City&rsquo;s Coliseum.The acquisition of the Aces represents a major move on the part of the Philadelphia club in its efforts to build up a solid farm system. It also marks the first expansion team to secure a bona fide minor farm club. Several of the other new NHL teams are in the course of negotiating for teams, notably the Springfield Indians, who are being sought by at least four of the expansion clubs.Putnam, who has left no stone unturned in his efforts to make Philadelphia a major league hockey city with a big league program, said he visualized the move in &ldquo;buying out the Aces&rdquo; as a start in giving the Flyers a working nucleus towards icing an NHL club next season.Among the 16 Quebec-owned players who will become Philadelphia property are Jim Morrison, John Hanna, Bill Sutherland, Keke Mortson, Guy Gendron, Claude Laforge, Ray Larose, Wayne Hicks, Roger Pelletier and Gil Banville. &#9632;

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Philadelphia Grabs Quebec As Affiliate

TORONTO, Ont.&mdash;The National Hockey League&rsquo;s top four referees will demand $20,000 exclusive of bonuses to blow their whistles in the NHL next season.The Toronto Star said in a story that the four senior referees &mdash; Vern Buffey, Art Skov, John Ashley and Bill Friday &mdash; have decided to ask the NHL for a considerable increase in salary before the coming of expansion next season.NHL referees reportedly are paid in the neighbourhood of $16,000 now for their services.The story said that because of the extra travel to the West Coast and the prospect of working more games in expansion, the referees feel they are entitled to an increase and will ask the NHL to boost their wages when they meet with NHL referee-in-chief Scotty Morrison and president Clarence Campbell. &#9632;

Four Top Referees Ready To Demand $20,000 From NHL

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0002-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-01749/3095984-1-eng-US/f0002-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Old Pros Like Terry Sawchuk Brought Leafs Through.</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-02697/3095977-1-eng-US/f0002-022.jpg" title="f0002-02" width="2020" height="982"><figcaption class="caption-body">Dave Keon, in center, was constant threat to NHL playoff rivals.</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-03568/3095970-1-eng-US/f0002-032.jpg" title="f0002-03" width="370" height="499"><figcaption class="caption-body">Dave Keon</figcaption></div>TORONTO, Ont.-Little Dave Keon can look back on 1967 as the year he landed hockey&rsquo;s two biggest playoff prizes in one swipe.The 27-year-o1d versatile Maple Leaf center was selected as the winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player in the recently completed Stanley Cup playoffs in which he played a major part in Toronto Maple Leafs winning the playoff title.Keon&rsquo;s grab of the Smythe Trophy also enriched the fast-skating, two-way checking pivot by another $1,500 giving him an overall $8,000 playoff bonus money.Selected by the six governors of the NHL for the playoff award, Keon proved an admirable choice as he beat out teammate Terry Sawchuk in the balloting.Playing on his fourth cup winner in seven seasons, the Noranda, Que. native received the playoff award during a ceremony at Toronto Maple Leaf Gardens two days following the conclusion of the final series against Montreal. In addition to the cash award, Keon was given a bronze plaque.The $1,500 boosted his bonuses to $8,000. He earned $500 as run-nerup for the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy awarded to Chicago&rsquo;s Stan Mikita, $5,250 as a member of the Stanley Cup champions and $750 for his team&rsquo;s third place finish in the regular schedule.The trophy was donated by Maple Leaf Gardens in 1964 to honor Conn Smythe, former coach, manager, president and owner of the Leafs and now an NHL honorary life governor.The award was first presented three years ago. Jean Beliveau of Montreal was the first recipient and Detroit&rsquo;s Roger Crozier won it last year.There was no announcement as to the actual voting breakdown but it was learned that Keon did not get a unanimous vote. Sawchuk reportedly was favored by at least one NHL governor.However, there was little argument that Keon deserved to win the trophy. He scored three goals and added five assists as Leafs eliminated Chicago and Montreal in 12 games to take the 11th cup.His biggest asset to the Leafs was his forechecking, particularly as a penalty killer. One of the smaller players in the league at 5 feet 9 inches and 163 pounds, Keon was deadly against Canadiens and Black Hawks.&ldquo;He might have only scored three goals, but how many did he prevent 1&rdquo; asked Captain George Armstrong.Marcel Pronovost compared Keon with Gordie Howe, Detroit&rsquo;s great all-star.Pronovost, who played with Howe for many years, said, &ldquo;pound for pound Davey is as good as Howe.&rdquo;Leaf coach Punch Imlach said : &ldquo;It was &ldquo;certainly a wise choice. He&rsquo;s on our power play; he kills penalties and takes a regular shift. What more can you ask 1 He worked for it. Keon is a competitor who wants to win. He gives 100 per cent all the time.&rdquo;<h2>Coming Next Month</h2><h3>Statistical Issue</h3>Readers of THE HOCKEY NEWS are reminded that the June issue will be our annual statistical edition and will contain final records of all pro and amateur hockey leagues. This valuable and informative issue is one all true hockey fans will want to secure and keep as a reference for the years ahead. It will also be bigger, with 16 pages.WATCH FOR IT! &#9632;

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Leafs' Center Named Smythe Trophy Winner

<div class="byline">By BOB HARRIS</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0003-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-01754/3096029-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Leafs' Tim Horton (7) and George Armstrong, right, were big cup factors.</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-02630/3096022-1-eng-US/f0003-022.jpg" title="f0003-02" width="1326" height="810"><figcaption class="caption-body">Veteran Marcel Pronovost (3) Never Played Better.</figcaption></div>TORONTO, Ont.&mdash;Manager-coach George Imlach struggled back to his Garden desk after a round of cup celebrations and the big question in his mind, as it would be with any NHL executive at this time, what about expansion ?Imlach will be faced with many problems with an aging hockey club. The expansion draft, June 5 in Montreal, will undoubtedly produce radical changes.Imlach will have to decide before May 15 &mdash; the date when NHL rosters are frozen for the expansion draft &mdash; whether he will leave captain George Armstrong and possibly defenseman Allan Stanley unprotected and arrange with the other NHL clubs not to touch them in order to retain them in the organization for their long service to the Leafs.<h2>Sawchuk to part ?</h2>Then again, there is the question of what goalkeepers to keep. Will Imlach protect Johnny Bower and leave Terry Sawchuk open ? Sawchuk himself says the Leafs will keep Bower and likely Al Smith which means Terry would be left open to the draft by the new teams.Imlach must also decide if players like Eddie Shack, Bob Baun, Larry Jeffrey and Kent Douglas, should be traded before the deadline or left to be claimed in the draft.At any rate, the Leafs&rsquo; vibrant manager-coach is certain to remain partial to the team&rsquo;s &lsquo;old pros&rsquo;, the core of seasoned performers who so gallantly and defiantly stood off the challenge of both the Chicago Black Hawks and Montreal Canadiens to return the Stanley Cup to Toronto for the 11th time in history.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-03422/3096015-1-eng-US/f0003-032.jpg" title="f0003-03" width="2683" height="1248"><figcaption class="caption-body">Leafs' Jim Pappin (18) helps Captain George Armstrong raise Stanley Cup in victory.</figcaption></div>Imlach was lavish in his praise of his veteran players. &ldquo;They said we didn&rsquo;t have a chance because we had too many old guys. Well we sure rammed it down their throats this time, didn&rsquo;t we,&rdquo; he added.Imlach&rsquo;s resilient oldtimers combined with the club&rsquo;s zestial younger element to overpower the Canadiens and to a man, the old pros, with the exception of Shack and Baun, who rode the bench through the series, played their part.The most astonishing had to be Sawchuk and-Armstrong, a pair of not-so-young 37 year olds, Stanley, a sprightly 41, 39-year-old Red Kelly and Tim Horton and Marcel Pronovost, also both in the 37 bracket. And don&rsquo;t forget the granddaddy of them all &mdash; 42-year-old Johnny Bower.Imlach&rsquo;s experiment of implementing young legs with soild hockey experience, proved an unbeatable combination. The Leafs were rated only third best in the pre-playoff speculating among the fourth teams in the Stanley Cup round. Yet they came out on top.It was a tribute to Imlach&rsquo;s ingenuity and the courage and efficiency of the old pros. Sawchuk was nothing short of brilliant in the final two games as he limited Montreal to two goals in stopping nearly 90 shots. The defense was remarkable with Pronovost the most glittering performer. They said he never played better m his NHL career.Keon and Armstrong were tremendous going both ways and the big surprise of the playoffs, the Bob Pulford-Pete Stemkowski-Jim Pappin line was the clincher. They dominated the offensive side of the final series with Pappin emerging as the top playoff point man. Ron Ellis, Mike Walton and Brian Conacher, Leafs' 'new breed' contributed much.And so it went all the way down the line. The Leafs were superb and for most of the vets is was their greatest playoff thrill and also for some their last in a Stanley Cup final together and individually.Imlach's parting gesture was a tribute to the players who made him the winningest manager coach in NHL history (he has won four cups in his dual role) and also the high esteem in which be held his charges.&ldquo;They're the best bunch of players I've ever had. And great guys, too. It's tremendous they should win it in their final year before they change the rules".lmlach was referring to expansion, his next headache and one that could even become bigger than anything he acquired after those multi-cup celebrations. &#9632;

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Leafs' Coach Heaps Praise On “Old Pros”

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0004-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-01813/3096060-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg"></div> &#9632;

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Stanley Cup Story By The Years

MONTREAL, Que.&mdash;The National Hockey League &rsquo; put the frosting on the cake in its 50th year celebrations by top-ping the 3,000,000 mark in attendance for the first time in history.Excluding Stanley Cup playoffs, of course, the six NHL teams played before a total audience of 3,084,759 for its 210-game schedule, which represents an increase of 143,759 paid admissions over the 1965-66 season.The NHL has proved beyond a doubt that it is gaining more fans each year. The league has shown an upsurge of 261,773 fans in the past two years.A breakdown of the various teams indicates that five of the six clubs reported larger crowds than the previous season with one exception. The Chicago &ldquo;Black Hawks showed a slight dip at the box office.This was considered remarkable since the Hawks won their first NHL championship this past season in the club&rsquo;s 41-year history. There is no doubt that Bobby Hull&rsquo;s slow start becatise of injuries in the first month of the season affected the Hawks&rsquo; attendance for the overall season.Chicago still maintained the highest average of 17,750 per game but the club&rsquo;s total crowd mark of 621,260 was below last year&rsquo;s peak 630,913 attendance.Toronto Maple Leafs were closest to Chicago in total attendance, with 551,801, more than 30,000 ahead of its mark of last year. Montreal followed with 524,805, as opposed to the 1965-66 attendance of 508,060. New York had 472,248 paid admissions followed by Detroit with 469,930 and Boston, 444,714. The Bruins, although last-place finishers, increased its II attendance by 39,361 fans.The year&rsquo;s average attendance was 14,689. Last year&rsquo;s average was 14,006. Average attendance during the 1964-65 season was 13,442. Its 64-65 total attendance of 2,822,986 was 261,773 less than this year&rsquo;s mark. Gross income, of course, was well ahead, because there have been increases in the price of admissions in most NHL cities during the last couple of seasons.Here are the NHL's attendance figures by clubs for the last three years:<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-02767/3096091-1-eng-US/f0004-022.jpg" title="f0004-02" width="698" height="609"></div> &#9632;

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NHL Peak Attendance Passes Three Million

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-01756/3096129-1-eng-US/f0005-012.jpg" title="f0005-01" width="701" height="1907"></div>Here's FRANK J. SELKE Jr., the newly appointed president of the California Seals in the NHL's expansion program. Selke reads up on latest West Coast hockey doings in top right photo through the medium of THE HOCKEY NEWS. At left, he's on the phone ready to do business with the California team in his role as chief executive.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-02649/3096122-1-eng-US/f0005-022.jpg" title="f0005-02" width="1299" height="912"></div> &#9632;

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New Seals 'Boss Ready For Expansion

MONTREAL, Que.&mdash;It takes a hitter to know a hitter.John Ferguson, an undisputed authority on the subject of throwing weight around, has had plenty of opportunity to assess the opposition when it comes to exchanging checks.Since breaking into the NHL in 1963, Ferguson has traded bodychecks with some of the most devastating hitters in the game. Consequently, when he singles out an opponent as the hardest body-checker of them all, that man can feel complimented to say the least.A 37-year-old veteran of the Toronto Maple Leaf defense corps gets Fergie&rsquo;s vote as the hardest body-checker among the opposition. He&rsquo;s Tim Horton, a 5&rsquo; 10, 180 lb. defenseman who has completed his 16th season with the Toronto club.&ldquo;Horton&rsquo;s the hardest b o d y-checker I&rsquo;ve ever come up against,&rdquo; says Ferguson. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s strong as an ox and hits with terrific force.&rdquo; &#9632;

Fergy Tags Horton 'Hardest Hitter'

<div class="byline">By STAN FISCHLER</div>NEW YORK, N.Y.-Well, it was nice knowing the Rangers. Certainly, we won&rsquo;t be knowing them the way we did last season; not with the expansion draft syphoning a good chunk of the present club to other cities; and the chance that trades will result in the transfer of a few regulars.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-03479/3096184-1-eng-US/f0005-032.jpg" title="f0005-03" width="340" height="497"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jim Neilson</figcaption></div>The most-travelled rumor of all has defenseman Jim Neilson departing for other ice floes. This report has some basis in recent history.Neilson never has emerged as the super-star the publicist &mdash; no doubt mistakenly &mdash; predicted he would be when he came to town after an illustrious junior and minor pro career. The suspicion exists here that Jim never was able to acclimatize himself to New York crowds, New York press and New York generally. fIt seemed to many that he was. as they say in hip circles, &ldquo;up-tight&rdquo; and his play, which indicated better things, never measured up to hopes.Neilson, who had played quietly and capably during the season, dismayed g.m.-coach Emile Francis early in the Stanley Cup semi-finals with Montreal and was benched in favor of fifth defenseman Al McNeil.This precipitated rumors that he would go, rumors that undoubtedly will be confirmed if Francis can execute a reasonable trade for a defenseman of similar stature but perhaps more exuberance.Although Francis has yet to commit himself, it would appear that Harry Howell, Wayne Hillman and, perhaps, Arnie Brown will be his nucleus on defense unless he can negotiate a deal for the latter two. It seems in conceivable that Howell would be dealt away unless a Stan Mikita type can be obtained in return.Claims to the contrary, there undoubtedly isn&rsquo;t an &ldquo;untouchable&rdquo; Ranger up front. Closest are Rod Gilbert and Bob Nevin. But Gilbert&rsquo;s mystery back and Nevin&rsquo;s phlegmatic play compel one to consider a deal if the deal is attractive.The big men, such as Reg Fleming, Orland Kurtenbach and Vic Hadfield are desirable for the bulk alone but some must go. Don&rsquo;t be surprised If it&rsquo;s Fleming; with Kurt the most likely to remain.Phil Goyette and Don Marshall, because of happy seasons, are prime trade bait. They&rsquo;re smallish, clever, on the older side and so valuable that at least one is going to remain. Take your pick.Red Berenson is almost sure to depart. Ditto Cesare Mania-go, Al MacNeil and Ken Schinkel.Most debatable are Jean Ra-telle, Bernie Geoffrion and Earl Ingarfield.Surest to remain is Ed Giaco-min.Tune in a month from now to see how wrong I am. &#9632;

f0005-03

Blues Would Like To Unload Jim Neilson Early

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0006-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-01843/3096215-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg"></div>Hockey News Editor:There are always many players in the playoffs who come up with outstanding performances. Some of them this year are Sawchuk, Beliveau, Backstrom, Bower, and Vachon. But one player who does not receive much recognition is Keon. Keon has to be the most underrated player on Toronto and in the playoffs this year.He has played well in every game but was never picked number one star even though he deserved this rating in three games. Keon&rsquo;s worth does not ap pear in goals and assists. It is shown in his outstanding forechecking and steady play.Keon&rsquo;s play game after game makes him the most consistent Leaf and MVP to the Leaf team. In killing penalties, Keon is all over the ice, checking the opposition and breaking up plays. He is the hardest digger on his line and when on power plays, it is Keon who carries the puck down the ice most of the time. Here&rsquo;s hoping Keon wins the Conn Smythe Trophy.David HoffmanSheho, Sask.<h2>Banning Major Juniors Blunder By The CAHA</h2>Hockey News Editor :Well, the East should win the Memorial Cup this year. After all, they do not have to face competition from the West. Sure, they are playing against a western team but there is no opposition.The best Junior teams from the West are all in the Canadian Major Junior League. The games have been more exciting and of better calibre than ever with the inclusion of Edmonton into the League.The C.A.H.A.&rsquo;s outlawing of the League and banning the C.M.J.L. from Memorial Cup play was another one of C.A.H.A.&rsquo;s blunders. This made Memorial Cup play from the West very weak and the Memorial Cup finals nothing but a farce.I hope the C.A.H.A. will straigthen this problem out before another year rolls around.Thank you for a very informative hockey paper. THE HOCKEY ; NEWS is a great paper.Dan HeffnerFoam Lake, Sask.<h2>Junior Star Fairbairn Brandon Boy, Not 'Peg</h2>Hockey News Editor:In the recent edition of HOCKEY NEWS, an editorial written by Matt Dennis stated that Jake Milford, General Manager of the Omaha Knights, arranged for Bill Fairbairn, a Junior from Winnipeg, to join the club for a five-game workout.I would like to point out that this statement is totally incorrect in respect that Fairbairn is not from Winnipeg but from Brandon, Manitoba.There are many readers of HOCKEY NEWS in Manitoba, especially in the Brandon region who are very proud of the Junior Wheat Kings&rsquo; star, and feel it is only right that this editorial statement be corrected to read that he is playing hockey with the Brandon Wheat Kings, and hails from Brandon, Manitoba.We believe in giving credit where credit is due. We have many conscientious hockey followers who certainly would not like misrepresentation.Buck Watiowsky, Brandon, Man.<h2>No Bobby Bell Playing In Professional Hockey</h2>Hockey News Editor:In order to settle an argument will you please let us know if a Bobby Bell has played for the Chicago Black Hawks this year.A friend, whose maiden name was Bobby Bell, insists that Bobby Bell&rsquo;s name was given in the television broadcast of the Chicago Black Hawks&rsquo; games, and all our efforts to convince her that she is confusing the name of Bobby Hull with Bell have been unsuccessful.W. W. Wilson, Barrington Passage, N.S.(Editor&rsquo;s note: Sorry, but there is no Bobby Bell playing professional hockey much less vvith the Black Hawks. Obviously your friend was confusing Bell with Bobby Hull). &#9632;

f0006-01

FAN FORUM

<div class="byline">By TOM MONAHAN</div>BOSTON, Mass.&mdash;Boston University recently Announced plans for a $3-million kthletic complex that will inclu-lie a hockey rink and is scheduled for a 11969 opening.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-01830/3096305-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg" title="f0008-01" width="329" height="519"><figcaption class="caption-body">Weston Adams</figcaption></div>This is just another of the many hockey rinks that have been springing up around the Boston area in recent Lears and combined with upcoming expansion, has encouraged local fanatics to believe the day of a home-bred influx of talent into the National Hockey League is not far off.Nothing would please Bruins&rsquo; president Weston Adams more than to be able to graduate two or three Boston trained hockey players to the B&rsquo;s. But those who think this is going to happen overnight simply because of available ice facilities are deluding themselves.Adams can&rsquo;t see any serious chance until high schools and colleges in the area adopt NHL rules.&ldquo;We are playing two entirely different games,&rdquo; says Adams. &ldquo;And it is just too difficult for our local high school and college players to make the necessary adjustments to pro rules to make a significant invasion.&rdquo;The sad part of this to Adams is that until home-bred youngsters reach high school age they are able to hold their own with Canadian equivalents.&ldquo;We send pee wee and bantam teams to Canada and they send teams down here almost every year,&rdquo; he says, &ldquo;and our youngsters do well. They win their share of games. But when they get to be 15 and 16 years old there is a marked difference.&ldquo;To me the difference in the rules is ridiculous. There is no logical reason why our young players shouldn&rsquo;t be playing pro rules.&ldquo;They are allowed to body check up to center ice on offense but once they cross the red line they can&rsquo;t hit.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m still trying to get someone to tell me why a six inch dividing line makes such a difference.&rdquo;Adams went to the ECAC championships in Syracuse when Cornell and Boston University &mdash; dominated by Canadian players &mdash; met in the finals.He made a case for a change in the collegiate rules but was turned down flatly.&ldquo;The colleges take the attitude that they aren&rsquo;t training their students to be professional hockey players,&rdquo; he said.&ldquo;They aren&rsquo;t training them to be professional baseball or football or basketball players but the fact is that many of those athletes do become professionals.&ldquo;Now that we will have more NHL teams in American cities it would be nice to have American players representing them. But until our kids are able to play the same rules from pee wee all the way up, it will be difficult for them to compete on equal basis with the Canadians.&rdquo;Tom Williams, the Bruins&rsquo; forward who has been the only American to crack the NHL on a regular basis in recent years, agrees with his boss.Williams graduated to profesional hockey after playing for the U.S. Olympic team.&ldquo;But,&rdquo; says the young Minnesotan,&rdquo; it wasn&rsquo;t an easy jump. I know I would have been better prepared for pro competition if I had learned my hockey under pro rules.&ldquo;Furthermore,&rdquo; he goes on, &ldquo;I feel that&rsquo;s the reason I have been injured while playing for the Bruins.&ldquo;Even after five years 1 still get caught not looking every so often and when I do, bang. There I go for a week or so with a knee or something else.&rdquo;But even the arguments by Adams and Williams can&rsquo;t change the minds of the educators who rule the schoolboys and collegians.And ice alone is not the answer to American players cracking the NHL.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-03613/3096298-1-eng-US/f0008-032.jpg" title="f0008-03" width="1322" height="1927"><figcaption class="caption-body">TOM WILLIAMS &hellip; Lone Yank In The Big Time</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0008-01

Sees Little Chance For Americans In NHL

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-02740/3096336-1-eng-US/f0008-022.jpg" title="f0008-02" width="342" height="497"><figcaption class="caption-body">Hal Freeman</figcaption></div>PHILADELPHIA, Pa.&mdash;Spectrum is the unique, official name of the $12-million-dollar sports arena being constructed in South Philadelphia.The new sports and entertainment landmark will be the home of the world champion 76ers of the National Basketball Association and the new Flyers of the National Hockey League, as well as the site of boxing, wrestling, track, tennis and other sports competition and a host of entertainment features, including ice shows, circuses, musical concerts and stage shows.&ldquo;This distinctive name &mdash; The Spectrum &mdash; was selected after compilation of a wide range of choices&rdquo;, building president Hal Freeman disclosed. &ldquo;We canvassed members of the press, radio and TV corps, sports and business officials throughout the community, a number of advertising and art directors and a host of interested sports fans. In all, we considered 54 different names.&rdquo;The dictionary states that a spectrum is &ldquo;a series of images &hellip; which forms a display of colors&rdquo; and, according to Freeman, it will be the goal of The Spectrum to &ldquo;present every colorful form of entertainment under the sun.&rdquo;The Spectrum was chosen because it is a distinctive, bright, attractive and crisp name. A suggested breakdown shows the SP standing for sports, E for entertainment, C for concerts and circus, T for theatrics, R for relaxation and recreation and UM for places of major assembly such as an auditorium, stadium, etc. The SP also could stand for South Philadelphia, site of the modern new facility, and the first four letters, SPEC for spectacle, spectator, special and spectacular.Mel Richman, Inc, of Bala-Cynwyd, designed the logotype symbol for The Spectrum.The building is scheduled to be completed in September. Tentative opening events are planned for the final week in September.The building is being developed by Jerry Wolman and constructed by McCloskey and Co. &#9632;

f0008-02

New Philly Arena Named “Spectrum”

(As seen in the Toronto Star)Punch Imlach, the Peerless Leader of the Leafs, is said to have icc water for blood and a paving stone for a heart. In other words, Punch supposedly is as warm and kindly and considerate &mdash; according to the charts -&mdash; as a Moscow cop's handcuffs.That being the case, he was out of character in the cup windup. With all the marbles in the ring, Punch revealed himself as a sentimental creampuff. Before the game, he made a speech in which he said some of his warriors would be playing their last game as members of the club.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-01807/3096367-1-eng-US/f0009-012.jpg" title="f0009-01" width="618" height="636"><figcaption class="caption-body">JOHNNY BOWER &hellip; Command Performance</figcaption></div>&ldquo;Some of you have been with me for nine years,&rdquo; he went on. It would be nice to say there wasn&rsquo;t a dry eye in the room but it wouldn&rsquo;t be quite right. Several of the serfs fingered their whip scars and waited suspiciously for what would come next.,&ldquo;It has been said that I stuck with the old men so long we couldn&rsquo;t possibly win the Stanley Cup. For some of you it&rsquo;s a fare well. Go out there and put that Puck down their (Canadiens&rsquo;) throats.&rdquo;Imlach then pointed at a somewhat startled Johnny Bower, the elder statesman of shinny, and told him he was to dress in full regalia and sit on the bench.Johnny, who confesses to being 42 &mdash; but never under oath &mdash; would have squatted on the time clock in a bikini if Imlach had asked &mdash; and especially if it would improve his chances of collecting the winners&rsquo; end of the loot.But Bower had spent the last days ducking doctors who sought to punch needles through his leathery hide as treatment for a muscle which popped during a pre-game warmup. There was no chance he could go in goal if Terry Sawchuk got hurt in what was to be the last game.&ldquo;You won&rsquo;t be asked to play, but be there,&rdquo; Imlach roared. Al Smith, a third goalie who is too young (21) to be considered seriously by the Leafs for about 15 years yet, was dressed and stashed away in the television room.Thereupon, one of the elders &mdash; a member of the probable departing patriarchs &mdash; skated out and robbed the Habs of everything but their underwear. Canadiens are not discouraged easily. Otherwise, Terry Sawchuk would have broken their hearts before the game was 15 minutes old. He did almost as many impossible things as he did in Chicago the day Leafs ambushed the Black Hawks &mdash; and as he did in Montreal in the fifth game of the finals.<h2>An angry elder</h2>This was the same Sawchuk who couldn&rsquo;t stop a porcupine with a pike pole in the fourth game. Frustrated fans had applauded derisively when he cleared a loose puck from the side of the cage. It was the kind of encouragement Dick Stuart, the Old Stonefingers of baseball, used to receive when he picked up a gum wrapper that was blowing across the infield.&ldquo;I got mad,&rdquo; Sawchuk admitted. &ldquo;I got mad at myself.&rdquo;That was when Montreal Canadiens commenced their slide into oblivion, although they didn&rsquo;t realize it at the time. They thought they were lucky in getting rid of Bower, who had allowed only two goals out of 94 shots which the Habs fired at him in two games.After the final crushing defeat, the Habs were saying: &ldquo;First Bower &mdash; then Sawchuk. But we might have expected it. They&rsquo;re both old pros. And look at Gump (Worsley) in our net. He hadn&rsquo;t played a full game since March 12. Yet he was great.&rdquo;Thus, the Stanley Cup carnival just ended may become known as the mardi gras of the condemned. Some of the outstanding performers were men who will be marked for exile to the six new expansion clubs &mdash; strictly on the basis of age.Who was better than Sawchuk &mdash; just for openers ? He put Leafs into the final round by killing off Chicago. Then he bailed out the good guys, with two key wins after Bower got hurt. He&rsquo;s 37.Bower is 40-plus. Red Kelly, Allan Stanley, Marcel Pronovost and George Armstrong all are getting extremely long in the tooth Kelly definitely played his final game as a Leaf. It was his best since the playoffs began.Sawchuk denies a story that he would ask to be returned tc Detroit. Stanley has no retirement thoughts and no coaching plans He would like to be back. Sawchuk probably feels the same way Armstrong, too.Imlach, though, left them all wondering with his Old Boys reunion stunt. They probably are wishing he hadn't gone soft ant sentimental. Why couldn&rsquo;t he have been his snarly, chilly, impatient normal self ? &#9632;

f0009-01

The Sentimental Side Of Imlach

<div class="byline">By JACK BERRY</div>DETROIT, Mich. &mdash;Norm Ullman couldn't figure it out.&ldquo;I just didn't have any drive,&rdquo; the normally energetic center said.Detroit Red Wing coach Sid Abel kept saying &ldquo;This isn't the Normie Ullman we know.&rdquo;And, after the season ended, disastrously for the Red Wings who finished fifth and failed to make the Stanley Cup playoffs, it was discovered it WASN'T the Normie Ullman that Abel knew.Ullman, feeling unwell physically, went into Detroit Osteopathic Hospital for a complete checkup and the doctors found he'd been suffering from a thyroid condition.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-02724/3096398-1-eng-US/f0009-022.jpg" title="f0009-02" width="603" height="612"><figcaption class="caption-body">NORM ULLMAN&hellip; Veteran Hospitalized</figcaption></div>&ldquo;They said it was a wonder I finished the season,&rdquo; Ullman said.And they kept him in the hospital for five days.Ullman looked himself during only one stretch of the season, the time the HUM Line was humming, from its melding on New Year's Eve when Paul Henderson returned to the lineup after a long ailment and Bruce MacGregor was put on right wing.From then on and into early February the HUMmers lifted the Wings into contention for a playoff position. For a time, a short time, it was conceivable they could catch the then-second place New York Rangers.The Wings, and Ullman, reached a peak in Maple Leaf Gardens when Ullman scored the hat trick, Roger Crozier stopped Pete Stemkowski's penalty shot and the Wings climbed over Toronto into fourth place.That was Toronto's worst hour. It was the Maple Leafs' 10th straight defeat. The Leafs then began a string of 10 games without a loss and the Wings plummeted from their peak.Ullman's efficiency began falling and it's a tribute to his remarkable desire that he still finished as the National Hockey League's third highest scorer.Now he's looking forward to next season &hellip; a healthy one &hellip; and so are the Wings. &#9632;

f0009-02

Ullman Played final Weeks Of Season With Thyroid Condition Say Doctors

<div class="byline">By GIL SMITH</div>MONTREAL, Que.&mdash;The records win show that Canadiens lost the Stanley Cup to Toronto Maple Leafs on May 2nd, 1967, by a score of 3-1. That&rsquo;s the official version. Unofficially, they blew it by dropping a 4-1 decision to the Leafs on April 29th in Montreal, in the tide-turning fifth game of the series.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-01822/3096429-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg" title="f0010-01" width="358" height="502"><figcaption class="caption-body">Dick Duff</figcaption></div>Habs seemed to have everything going for them in that fifth contest. They had the advantage of home ice. They scored the first goal. They completely outplayed the Leafs for the first 15 minutes and, in fact, outshot them 13-7 in the opening period. Even when Jim Pappin scored to make it 1-1 late in the period while Claude Larose was serving a stupid penalty for boarding, there didn&rsquo;t seem to be any reason to panic. Yet, there is no disguising the fact that from there on, Habs went as flat as the proverbial pancake. They let down, almost to a man, then, in the words of Toe Blake: &ldquo;&mdash;gave the puck away and stood around and watched Leafs put it in the net.&rdquo;It was a development as unexplainable as it was surprising, but this much is certain : it was a game Canadiens had no business losing and they paid dearly for it, despite their best efforts to pull the series out of the fire in the sixth game in Toronto.The Leafs, &mdash; above all, Terry Sawchuk, &mdash; deserve full credit for their hard won victory in the sixth game. Habs, too, went out like champions in that final contest. They skated like fiends and didn&rsquo;t let up till the final siren, hurling 41 shots at the beleaguered Sawchuk, who came up with one of his most sensational performances.Only Dick Duff, scoring what was probably the prettiest goal of the entire series, was able to beat the veteran netminder. Others, like Jean Beliveau and John Ferguson were robbed blind as they broke in on Sawchuk for what looked like certain counters. Only once in the sixty minutes : did Sawchuk look the least bit shaky, and that was when he bobbled a long shot from centerice by Henri Richard. The puck fell from Saw; chuk&rsquo;s hands and lay invitingly in the crease, but no Canadien was near it and Terry had time to : recover.It was, in many ways, an &ldquo;in-and-out&rdquo; series, : with inconsistency the keynote in four of the first : five games. At various stages Canadiens over: whelmed the Leafs with speed and power, while ; at other times Toronto made Habs look bad with : tight checking and standout goaling. When Mont: real opened the series with a convincing 6-2 win, ! people were tempted to say that they&rsquo;d wrapt it ! up in four or five games. You couldn&rsquo;t fault their reasoning at that stage, for Habs so dominated the first game that it was scarcely a contest. They outshot Leafs 44-26, blazed pucks past Sawchuk and generally looked as though they were playing against their farm club. Yet, only two nights : later, Leafs humiliated them with a 3-0 shutout : during which they outskated, outchecked and out; played the Habs in a complete reversal of form.The one game that could&rsquo;ve gone either way was the third meeting, when the series shifted to : Toronto. That was the 3-2 thriller won by the Leafs via Bob Pulford&rsquo;s goal in overtime. It was a tremendous skating game, and one which also featured brilliant goaltending by both Johnny Bower and young Rogatien Vachon. However, the ; erratic pattern quickly resumed when Canadiens i; plastered Leafs by another 6-2 score in the !; fourth game, and then were hammered 4-1 in the crucial fifth contest. &#9632;

f0010-01

Did Habs Really Lose Cup In Fifth Game?

The Quiet Man got the job done for the Toronto Maple Leafs.It's a way of saying that little Dave Keon played a big role in the Leafs' Stanley Cup conquest and as the result emerged as the outstanding player of the 1967 playoffs to win the Conn Smythe Trophy.Keon played a tremendous two-way playoff both in the semi-final and final series and his selection could not be faulted although his teammate, Goalie Terry Sawchuk, gave him a good run in the opinion of many for the playoff award.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-02706/3096460-1-eng-US/f0010-022.jpg" title="f0010-02" width="355" height="505"><figcaption class="caption-body">Dave Keon</figcaption></div>Keon's sustained skating and checking was far superior to anything the Montreal Canadiens had in the finals and it was the difference when the time came to dole out the Stanley Cup. The 27-year-old Maple Leaf center picked up $1,500 in bonus money as he became the third winner of the Smythe Trophy. Detroit's Roger Crozier took it last year and Jean Beliveau of Montreal the first time two years ago.Little Davey only scored three times and assisted on five others, as well as scoring one game winner, but his overall two-way play throughout the Leafs' 12 playoff games was the big factor in his selection as the top player in the playoffs.El Producto is pleased to salute Dave Keon as the player-of-the-week in the NHL in this the final selection of the season. &#9632;

f0010-02

The Player Of The Week

MONTREAL, Que.&mdash;There were, from the Montreal Canadiens&rsquo; point of view, some standout performances and some disappointments throughout the Stanley Cup playoff rounds.Jean Beliveau, Henri Richard and Ralph Backstrom played well. So did John Ferguson, for the most part, and Ted Harris. Rookie Rogatien Vachon was a standout until the fifth game of the finals. Bobby Rousseau and J. C. Tremblay were good in spots, but not throughout the piece as they were a year ago. Gilles Tremblay, Jacques Laperriere and Yvan Cournoyer were disappointments, in that order. In general, though, too many of the Habs failed to come through when they had a chance to repulse the Leafs. &#9632;

Too Many Habs Disappointed

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-01812/3096515-1-eng-US/f0011-012.jpg" title="f0011-01" width="758" height="3622"></div> &#9632;

f0011-01

NHL Playoffs

<h2>Game Six</h2><h3>'Old Pros' Help Oust Canadiens</h3>Tues. May 2MONTREAL 1 at TORONTO 3TORONTO, Ont.&mdash;The Maple Leafs returned the Stanley Cup to Toronto for the 11th time here the night of May 2 as they defeated the Montreal Canadiens 3-1 to wrap up the. best - of - seven final series in six games.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-02739/3096560-1-eng-US/f0011-022.jpg" title="f0011-02" width="349" height="500"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jim Pappin</figcaption></div>The Leafs received a supreme effort from both the club&rsquo;s galaxy of &lsquo;old pros&rsquo; and some brisk skating and checking from the &lsquo;younger&rsquo; set to throttle the Canadiens in an exciting finish to the 1967 cup classic.The victory for the Leafs inched them a step closer to Montreal in the all-time race for cup wins. The Canadiens, who had won the playoffs the last two years, have been in the winner&rsquo;s circle 12 times, the Leafs 11.Toronto coach Punch Imlach, heaping praise on his veteran performers &mdash; Terry Sawchuk, Johnny Bower, George Armstrong, Red Kelly, Tim Horton, Marcel Prono-vost, Allen Stanley, Bob Pulford, Dave Keon and Frank Mahovlich &mdash; said the win was doubly sweet.&ldquo;It was nice to win again because we jammed it down a lot of people&rsquo;s throats,&rdquo; said Imlach. &ldquo;Everybody wrote us off as too many old guys,&rdquo; he added.The man Imlach had in mind specifically was Sawchuk, the injury-racked goalkeeper who turned in a fabulous playoff performance to lead the Leafs back to the NHL throne room.While Sawchuk was stopping everything the vaunted Montrealers could throw at him &mdash; he handled 41 shots &mdash; the Leafs picked up two goals from the younger members of the club, Ron Ellis and Jim Pappin, and the insurance goal by the seasoned captain of the Leafs, Armstrong in the final minute of the game with the Montreal net unguarded.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-03617/3096553-1-eng-US/f0011-032.jpg" title="f0011-03" width="1984" height="1644"><figcaption class="caption-body">While series standout TERRY SAWCHUK watches puck at left, Leafs' TIM HORTON (7) fences with Canadiens' JOHN FERGUSON during final game of series that saw Leafs win 3-1 to capture 11th Stanley Cup in club's history.</figcaption></div>Pappin&rsquo;s goal was his seventh of the playoffs, and enabled him to finish as the leading playoff scorer with seven goals and eight assists for 15 points.The Leafs had built up to a 2-0 lead on goals by Ellis and Pappin when Dick Duff, a veteran and exLeaf, stormed up the left wing to drive a backhander past Sawchuk for Montreal&rsquo;s only goal of the game. The play was electrifying and many believed it should have ignited a Montreal comeback that never materialized mainly because Sawchuk was too hot.The Canadiens were pressing and carrying the play to the Leafs in the final minutes of the game. In a desperate move to get the equalizer, Coach Toe Blake lifted goalie Gump Worsley for a sixth attacker but even that strategy backfired on the Habs. Armstrong, Kelly and Pulford combined from a corner face-off in the Toronto end to work the puck over the blueline where Pulford relayed it to Armstrong on the open right wing. The Leafs&rsquo; captain merely fired it straight at the unguarded net and the puck went in for the goal that clinched the cup for the Leafs.MONTREAL &mdash; Goal : Worsley, Vachon; defence: Laperriere, J.C. Tremblay, Harris, Talbot, Harper; forwards: Beliveau, Backstrom, Duff, Larose, Cournoyer, Rousseau, Richard, Balon, G. Tremblay, Ferguson, Rochefort, Roberts.TORONTO &mdash; Goal : Sawchuk, Bower; defence : Hillman, Horton, Pronovost, Baun, Stanley; forwards : Kelly, Ellis, Armstrong, Stemkowski, Koon, Walton, Pappin, Pulford, Conacher, Shack, Mar-cetta, Mahovlich.Referee : Ashley; linesmen : Casselman, Pave-lich.<h2>FIRST PERIOD</h2>No scoring.Penalties : Conacher 2:30, Backstrom 5:16, Beliveau 10:21, Conacher 13:25, Ferguson 18:50.<h2>SECOND PERIOD</h2>1-Toronto, Ellis (Kelly, Stanley) 6:252-Toronto, Pappin (Stemkowski, Pulford) 19:24 Penalties: Harper 3:05, Stemkowski 7:14, Stanley 13:23, Rousseau 14:44.<h2>THIRD PERIOD</h2>3-Montreal, Duff (Harris) 5:284-Toronto, Armstrong (Pulford, Stanley) .. 19:13 Penalty : Pappin 11:46,SHOTS AGAINST :SAWCHUK &hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip; 17 14 10-41WORSLEY &hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip; 11 16 9-36Attendance : 15,977.It was one of the better games of the series and well handled by Referee John Ashley, who called 10 penalties evenly.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-01795/3096546-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg" title="f0012-01" width="2719" height="1658"><figcaption class="caption-body">Members of the triumphant Pittsburgh Hornets are a happy crew as they gather around the Calder Cup during presentation of the famed trophy to Hornets' manager-coach BAZ BASTIEN, left, by AHL President JACK BUTTERFIELD. Hornet players shown in rear are, left to right, DOUG HARVEY, GARY JARRETT, BOB McCORD, DUKE HARRIS and PETE MAHOVLICH. Front row, left, AB McDONALD, and BILLY HARRIS. Hornets won AHL playoff championship by beating Rochester four straight in cup final.</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0011-02

Maple Leafs Capture 11th Cup

CANTON, N.Y.-Veteran coach George Menard will be missing from the St. Lawrence University hockey picture next season. Menard has been granted a sabbatical leave to pursue an MBA degree at Syracuse University. Replacing him as head hockey coach for the 1967-68 season will be Bernard McKinnon, currently head lacrosse coach and coach of the freshman hockey and soccer teams at St. Lawrence. Menard will resume his hockey coaching duties upon completion of his studies.It will be a case of pupil following teacher as Bernie McKinnon assumes the reins. The native of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia who attended high school in Hamden, Connecticut played on the first two Larrie teams coached by Menard. &#9632;

McKinnon Replacing Menard As Interim Larries' Coach

<div class="byline">By CHUCK SANTANIELLO</div>SPRINGFIELD, Mass.&mdash;There&rsquo;s a very unusual man working in the general manager&rsquo;s office of the Springfield Indians. The guy is the most versatile hockey executive in organized, professional hockey. And that includes major and minor league play. He&rsquo;s Jack Butterfield, of course.Jack has a full and complete background in the sport. He is now serving as interim head of the American Hockey League. The former Canadian Air Force flyer was picked as temporary boss when league officials could not decide who would succeed former AHL head Jack Riley.This season has been hectic for Butterfield, which is the way he likes it. Besides his AHL post, he is also general manager of the Indians, probably one of the most nerve-wracking in hockey what with strikes and player unrest this year. The jobs keep him very busy. The AHL and Western Leagues are in process of talking of merging, so Butterfield has spent lots of time on this work, too.During the season he was busy around the home ice plant of the Indians, the Eastern States Coliseum. He&rsquo;s afraid of hard work. You are liable to find him anywhere, preparing the ice, selling cold drinks, taking tickets or helping fans to their seats. Hard work is the major reason why he&rsquo;s such a big success.Jack has a good reputation as a pro hockey coach. Last season, coach Al Murray abruptly quit the Indians. The team wallowed in last place in the Eastern division. Shore was wondering who to hire, but not for long. He had the man right under his nose sitting in the front office.Butterfield took over as coach in mid-season last winter, rallied the team, got the boys playing together and drove them into a playoff position, something they had not accomplished for several seasons. They made it to the semi-finals in the playoffs before they were eliminated. Jack got back into the act as assistant to Ted Shore when he was named coach after Harry Pidhirny resigned.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-01776/3096653-1-eng-US/f0013-012.jpg" title="f0013-01" width="608" height="667"><figcaption class="caption-body">JACK BUTTERFIELD &hellip; Dual Hockey Man</figcaption></div>&ldquo;My biggest problem right now,&rdquo; he explained, &ldquo;is working on the American and Western Hockey League merger. Both leagues will act jointly in anything we do if it comes off. The NHL expansion next season will force realignments of some of our clubs.&rdquo;He feels an AHL-WHL merger plus a universal draft system which would make players available to every club, would be the greatest thing that happened to pro hockey in 25 years. It would also mean he might be considered for the job as head of the merged leagues, a very important position.Despite his loyalty to Indians&rsquo; owner Eddie Shore, Jack has been a fair but firm interim head of the AHL this season.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-02712/3096646-1-eng-US/f0013-022.jpg" title="f0013-02" width="2715" height="1426"><figcaption class="caption-body">Hockey fans who journey to the Montreal Forum are greeted by this bevy of eye-catching young ladies who serve as the rink's usherettes. They are posted at strategic places at ice level during Montreal Canadiens' games and help fans in the more expensive seats to find their way. Front row, left to right, they are MARY BAXTER, CECILE ST. JEANI IDA MAURI and MONIQUE LEROUX. Back row, MARCELLE DUMAIS, RAYMOND LEVESQUE, ROSE MARIE LONGPRE and GINETTE ST. PERE. ((Photo By Famous Studio &mdash; Montreal))</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0013-01

AHL Interim Head Jack Butterfield Finds Time To Serve Two Masters

OMAHA, Neb.&mdash;Larry Mickey, the seriously injured New York Ranger chattel with the Omaha Knights of the Central Pro Hockey League, will likely leave hospital here and visit New York to consult specialists about his broken arm sustained in a season-ending auto accident that claimed the life of his young wife.Mickey, who resides at Box 793, Ponoka, Alberta, Canada, in the off season, has asked THE HOCKEY NEWS to convey his sincere gratitude to all hockey clubs across the U.S. and Canada and the thousands of hockey fans who sent flowers, cards and messages of sympathy during his recent bereavement.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-03654/3096684-1-eng-US/f0013-032.jpg" title="f0013-03" width="332" height="491"><figcaption class="caption-body">Larry Mickey</figcaption></div>Mickey's mother, who has been visiting him from Alberta, said he is coming along well but still hasn't gotten over the shock of losing his wife. &#9632;

f0013-03

Mickey Says “Thank You”

NEW YORK, N.Y.&mdash;A four-team field, headed by powerful Cornell, will compete in the seventh annual Eastern College Athletic Conference Holiday Hockey Festival to be held Dec. 21 and 22 at Madison Square Garden, it was announced by Asa Bushnell, commissioner of the ECAC.Cornell, the defending National Collegiate Athletic Association champion and the defending ECAC seasonal champion, will be jo.ned in this year&rsquo;s Festival by Brown, Clarkson and St. Lawrence, all participants in previous Holiday Festivals.Both Clarkson and Cornell arc previous Holiday Festival winners, with the Golden Knights winning the inaugural Festival in 1961 and repeating in 1963, while the Big Red captured the crown in 1965. Brown competed in both the 1963 and 1964 Festivals, going to the finals in 1964 before bowing to Northeastern.Doubleheaders on both the 21st and 22nd will make up this year&rsquo;s Festival, with the winners of the opening night games meeting for the championship the next night, while the losers compete in a consolation game for third place. &#9632;

Powerful Cornell To Head N.Y. Garden Hockey Action

<div class="byline">By Norman Maclean</div>NEW YORK, N.Y &mdash;Ranger President Bill Jennings stood side by side with General Manager-Coach Emile Francis and answered the questions fired at them by the press. The scene was the Madison Square Garden press room immediately following a particularly galling defeat at the hands of the Chicago Black Hawks.Referee John Ashley had made some very questionable calls, and missed a few more &mdash; and Jennings was irate.&ldquo;Ashley is bush, I repeat he is bush &mdash; and the Rangers will protest his use in the playoffs,&rdquo; said Jennings at the time.This was the same Jennings who had offered a bounty for any Ranger who would bring down Terrible Ted Green of the Boston Bruins, after Green had deliberately speared Ranger center Phil Goyette. This occured last season when the Rangers were on their way to the bottom of the NHL.<h2>Hockey News Profile</h2>With the renaissance of the New York six this season and the upcoming expansion of the National Hockey League into one of truly major status, the spotlight shifted in Jennings&rsquo; direction.The Ranger President is 46 and a partner in the law firm of Simpson Thacher and Bartlett at 120 Broadway in New York City. When Irving Mitchell Felt&rsquo;s Graham Paige Company bought out the Jaffies Norris-Arthur M. Wirtz interest in Madison Square Garden in 1959, Jennings handled the transaction.Jennings recalled, &ldquo;Mr. Felt and myself had been avid sports fans for almost any sport that you can think of. We like all the sports that the Garden presents, but particularly are interested in hockey.&rdquo;When the Graham Paige interests took over the Garden, they left the patriach of New York in charge, General John Reed Kilpatrick. However, when General Kilpatrick died in 1960, Admiral John J. Bergen became President. At this point, Jennings took an extremely active part in the running of the Rangers. The results are now bearing fruit.At this point the Rangers were being |run by General Manager Murray &ldquo;Muzz&rdquo; Patrick, a scion of the famous hockey family. They were changing coaches almost every year. Patrick (then arranged the deal with the Montreal Canadiens which led to the era of Doug Harvey as both the New York player-coach and later as just a player.&ldquo;Harvey&rsquo;s play in the 1961-62 season was one of the finest demonstrations of desire and ability I have ever seen,&rdquo; said Jennings. &ldquo;He had a lot to do with getting us into the 1961-62 playoffs.&rdquo;This same 1961-62 season gave the present Ranger president his biggest kick out of the game so far. On March 14, New York met Detroit in a clutch battle for the fourth and last playoff spot.&ldquo;I will never forget that game,&rdquo; says Jennings. &ldquo;Gordie Howe got his five hundredth goal early in the contest and then came the piece de resistance in the third period. Dean Prentice was fouled from the rear when he had a clear shot at the goal. Referee Eddie Powers called a penalty shot and allowed the Rangers to pick the player to take the shot. Harvey, the Ranger Coach, picked Bathgate &mdash; and Andy drilled it home. After that, we were never headed in the playoff battle.&rdquo;Just after the Rangers were eliminated in the 1961-62 playoffs by Toronto, the Garden Corporation made a change again in the superstructure of the New York club. They elected Bergen Chairman of the Board and made Jennings the President.Things went downhill for New York the next season, mainly because Harvey had suffered severe business reverses in Montreal and was no longer able to coach. Even his playing was sloughing off &mdash; and New York finished nowhere. It was this season that saw Emile Francis arrive on the New York scene.&ldquo;I had meet Emile in 1960-61 when he was coaching at Guelph &mdash; and was immensely impressed with him. Actually, though, it was Muzz Patrick who picked Francis for bur organization. When we had no backup man behind Muzz in 1962-63 it was decided to bring him to New York as the Assistant General Manager,&rdquo; recollected Jennings.When it became increasingly evident that New York was still going no place fast, even under Coach George &ldquo;Red&rdquo; Sullivan, Jennings suggested that something be done.&ldquo;If the Yankees were not winning with Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle would they stand still?&rdquo; Jennings reasoned.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-01777/3096739-1-eng-US/f0014-012.jpg" title="f0014-01" width="622" height="663"><figcaption class="caption-body">BILL JENNINGS &hellip; Revived the Rangers</figcaption></div>The result was the Patrick-Francis engineered trades of February 1963 and 1964. They cleaned house and left New York bereft of such as Bathgate and the popular Camille Henry. The players who were brought in included &rsquo;Boo Nevin, Wayne Hillman and Arnie Brown.In the fall of 1964, when Patrick received the opportunity to become associated with the new Madison Square Garden Center, Jennings elevated Francis to the general managership. The resultant demise of Sullivan and assumption of the dual role of coach and general manager by Francis also has Jennings&rsquo; full approval.The tremendous job that Francis did with New York this past season placed him in line for the award as Coach of the Year. Thus, Jennings has raised the stature of New York hockey &mdash; and literally lifted the moribund Ranger franchise by its bootstraps.&ldquo;I never went for that bunk that the Rangers had a small hard core clientele. Hockey is and has been very popular around New York for a long time. Now that we are not finishing fifth and sixth, the fans are more vocal. Heck, I have been a rooter for twenty-two years &mdash; and think that hockey is the best spectator sport of all,&rdquo; says Jennings.Because he wanted hockey to be truly major in scope &mdash; and to get in on some of the television money which football was lapping up, the fighting New York prexy talked his lodge brothers in the tight little eastern corporation that was the National Hockey League, into expansion.As everyone knows, next season will see the doubling of the NHL with teams being entered from Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Minnesota, Los Angeles and the San Francisco-Oakland area. The Columbia Broadcasting System will telecast games on a network basis &mdash; and did a weekly game during this season&rsquo;s Stanley Cup Playoffs.Most of this was Jennings&rsquo; work. He was intensely proud when the National Broadcasting Company picked up last season&rsquo;s playoffs. The only fly in the ointment was that all the Rangers in the finals were ex-Rangers who were performing for the Detroit Red Wings.This season, the grey thatched, handsome Jennings got his wish. The Rangers were in the playoffs and the coverage was coast to coast.Speaking of the playoffs, this season was the first New York played all of its home games at Madison Square Garden. In the past the arrival of the Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus pre-empted the hockey club. In 1950 the Blueshirts went to the final &mdash; and lost a hard fought seven game set, one in which they played two games on neutral Toronto ice and the remainder in Detroit.&ldquo;This will never happen again,&rdquo; says Jennings. &ldquo;Mr. Felt and the present management of the Madison Square Garden Center will not countenance such a state of affairs.Next season will be a big one for all of the Garden executives. On December 1, 1967, the new Madison Square Garden will open. It will be ready sooner, except for the main artena, which has been projected for late Fall.With a contending team in a truly major league ready for play in the continent&rsquo;s finest indoor sports palace, Jennings&rsquo; cup will truly run over.It could not happen to a better person, as some of the other activities of the Ranger executive will show. In 1963, 1964 and 1965 he was the General Chairman of three Thunderbird Golf Tournaments. This season he is running the $250,000 Westchester Golf Classic. The first prize is $50,000.With all of this, Jennings still finds time for his'attractive family. His wife Elizabeth and he have been blessed with five handsome children. They are Mitchell Jr, 22, a senior at New York University, Jeff, 21, a Senior at Denver and three daughters Lory, 18, Lisa, 13 and Priscilla, 10.<h2>WHL'S Best Performers</h2>LEADER CUPMost Valuable&mdash;GUYLE FIELDER, Seattle.HAL LAYCOE CUPBest Defenseman&mdash;LARRY CAHAN, Vancouver.FRED HUME CUPMost Gentlemanly Player&mdash;GUYLE FIELDER, Seattle.LESTER PATRICK CUPWHL Playoff Championship&mdash;Seattle Totems.GOVERNORS CUPWHL League Championship&mdash;Portland Buckaroos.INDIVIDUAL TROPHY AWARDSBest Rookie Of Year&mdash;RON BOEHM, Vancouver.Leading Point Scorer&mdash;GUYLE FIELDER, Seattle.Leading Goalkeeper&mdash;JIM McLEOD, Seattle. &#9632;

f0014-01

The Power Behind The Big NHL Push For Expansion

<div class="byline">&#x2014; By Bill Libby</div><h2>Decisions Facing WHL</h2>At the moment, me western League is in a turmoil, hoping to resolve many problems at its May 16-17 meetings in Portland. A decision on whether to sue the NHL for compensatory payment for invasion of the L.A. territory may be made at that time. A decision on whether or not to merge with the American League may be made. And, finally the makeup of the league for next season may be determined. Portland, Seattle, Vancouver and San Diego are staying. Oakland is leaving. Victoria and L.A. may be leaving. Phoenix and Fresno may be coming in. Edmonton and Calgary are outside possibilities for re-admission. All of these matters are treated in more detail in the accompanying story, based on talks with WHL president Al, Leader.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-01751/3096770-1-eng-US/f0015-012.jpg" title="f0015-01" width="338" height="494"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jerry Toppazzini</figcaption></div>Battled-scarred Jerry Toppazzini, retiring from hockey as a player, and hoping to catch on as a coach &mdash; a position for which he is enormously well qualified, incidentally &mdash; is having his face lifted. They had to hit his nose five times with a metal pipe to re-break it. However, he is not going through all of this to play the lead Connie Madigan, in the new Universal movie &ldquo;Madigan.&rdquo; Henry Fonda and Kirk Douglas star in that one. And it is not ; about the lovely Portland player at all, but i about a New York cop.Guyle Fielder deserves most of the honors ; he has received, but the players voting him ; &ldquo;the most gentlemanly player of skill&rdquo; in the ; WHL this season instead of Milan Marcetta j was ridiculous. Marcetta, who scored 40 goals ? and drew only one minor penalty, should have won in a breeze. Victoria had three players in the top four among the &ldquo;gentlemanly,&rdquo; which may be why they finished so disappointingly f this season. There was something significant about burly, high-scoring Dick Meissner of L.A. being fifth in the &ldquo;most gentlemanly&rdquo; balloting, too &hellip; In our few years of covering the Western League, the most impressive executives have been Harry Glickman of Portland and I Bob Breitbard of San Diego, the best coach Hal Laycoe of Portland, and the best players (Billy McNeill of Vancouver and Guyle Fielder of Seattle.Jack Kent Cooke has made Bill Van Breda Kolff coach of his Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Assn., moved Fred Schaus up from coach to general manager, and has moved Lou Mohs up from general manager to a position as executive vice-president of California Sports Inc., overseeing not only the Lakers, but the new Kings of the NHL, the Wolves of the United Soccer League and the new Forum. All three are quality gentlemen and capable leaders. However, the Lakers are a troubled ball-club, which must be rebuilt drastically if it is to regain its recent eminence. Now, however, Cooke can turn more of his attention to organizing leadership of similar quality to head his new Kings. Presumably, Larry Regan will be named general manager and Red Kelly coach this month. If negotiations can be finalized for the purchase from Eddie Shore of the Springfield AHL club as the Kings&rsquo; No. 1 farm, a new general manager and coach will be named for that operation, too.<h2>Minnesota Coach Surprise</h2>Meanwhile, free from such inner turmoil, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Minnesota and St. Louis continue to plot their 1967-68 season debut. Minnesota must name its new coach yet. &ldquo;He will be a man presently coaching in hockey, and his name may surprise many people,&rdquo; general manager Wren Blair says &hellip; Extensive renovations on the old St. Louis Arena will begin June 1. There will be new theater-type seats installed in the choice locations, a new four-sided score-clock with a message panel hung from the ceiling, and a 12-foot-high, 100-foot-long marquee sign, featuring animated hockey action, placed on the outside of the building &hellip; The Oakland Club is dropping its black-and-gold color scheme and will adopt a new blue-and-green motif. Green will be dominant. The St. Louis and L.A. clubs also will feature blue, while Minnesota will feature green.Beginning with the next issue, which will ! be the first of the off-season monthly issues, the name of this column will be changed to &ldquo;Hockey Ad Lib&rdquo; and it will broaden its cover! age to include all hockey, although primarily the major leagues, and the new expansion division in particular. Our coverage from the West will seek to complement boss Ken McKenzie&rsquo;s &ldquo;Passing the Puck&rdquo; column from the East. We hope the readers will benefit from the enlarged scope. For all those wishing to write us, or place us on mailing lists, our address is 4534 Pinafore St. (#16), L.A., Calif. 90008, and our phone number is (213) 295-7262. We have. enjoyed our association with the Western League and hope never to get very far away from this circuit. &#9632;

f0015-01

Western Ad Lib

<div class="byline">By BILL LIBBY</div>SEATTLE, Wash &mdash;For the first time in the history of the Western League, one man has swept both the Al Leader Cup as &ldquo;the most valuable player to his team in the circuit, and the Fred J. Hume Cup as &ldquo;the most gentlemanly player&rdquo; of outstanding ability. Not surprisingly, he is Seattle&rsquo;s Guyle Fielder. Each award is based on a vote of the players and is worth $300.Thus Fielder has won the MVP honor for the sixth time and the &lsquo;most gentlemanly laurel for the second time. The latter, however, was a great upset. This season he led the league in scoring for the ninth time and was named to the first all-star team for the eighth time.Fielder overhauled ana caught. the mid-season scoring leader and MVP favorite Art Jones of Portland in both races. As MVP he drew 227 voting points from the players to 159 for both Jones and Larry Cahan of Vancouver. Next came Don Simmons of Vancouver with 146 points. A distant, but significant fifth was Les Binkley, beleaguered goalie for last-place San Diego.Based on the voting, the MVP&rsquo;s for each team were Fielder of Seattle, Jones of Portland, Cahan of Vancouver, Binkley of San Diego, Charley Burns of Oakland, Milan Marcetta of Victoria and Norm Johnson of Los Angeles.Fielder&rsquo;s selection as &ldquo;most gentlemanly&rdquo; was a stunning surprise which is certain to evoke much controversy throughout the loop. Guyle, who scored 20 goals and 91 points, had 22 minutes in penalties. Milan Marcetta of Victoria scored 40 goals and 75 points, but had only one minor penalty for two minutes. Most people figured Marcetta a shoo-in for the honor, but Fielder beat him out, 219-170.Here is the complete voting:<h2>MVP</h2>Guyle Fielder, Seattle 227; Art : Jones, Portland 159; Larry Cahan, Vancouver 159; Don Simmons, ; Vancouver 146; Les Binkley, San Diego 80; Connie Madigan, Portland 77; Gordon Vejprava, Vancouver 60; Charley Burns, California 38; Milan Marcetta, Victoria 23; Jim McLeod, Seattle 22; Andy Hebenton, Victoria 20; Fred Hilts, San Diego 10; Norm Johnson, Los Angeles 9; Phil Maloney, Vancouver 8; Gerry Goyer, Portland 5; George Swarbrick, California 5; Forbes Kennedy, California 5; Larry Lund, Seattle 2; Gerry Odrow-ski, California 1; Jim Armstrong, Seattle 1; Sandy Hucul, Victoria 1; Noel Picard, Seattle 1.<h2>"Most Gentlemanly&rdquo;</h2>Guyle Fielder, Seattle 219; Milan Marcetta, Victoria 170; Andy Hebenton, Victoria 153; Gordon Vejprava, Victoria 79; Dick Meissner, Los Angeles 68; Art Jones, Portland 67; Bill Dineen, Seattle 58; Phil Maloney, Vancouver 54; Gerry Goyer, Portland 44; Fred Hilts, San Diego 20; Bill Saunders, Portland 19; Len Lunde, Portland 15; Norm Johnson, Los Angeles 13; Lou Jankowski, Victoria 10; Charley Burns, California 9; Larry Popein, Vancouver 8; Gerry Leonard, Seattle 6; Howie Hughes, Seattle 6; Warren Hynes, San Diego 5; Chuck Holmes, Seattle 3; Bob Barlow, Victoria 3; Jim Powers, Seattle 3; Dan Belisle, California 1; Norm Evans, Los Angeles 1; John Gravel, California 1; John MacMillan, San Diego 1. &#9632;

Fielder Makes History By Sweeping League's Two Top Player Awards

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-02676/3096825-1-eng-US/f0015-022.jpg" title="f0015-02" width="756" height="1768"></div> &#9632;

f0015-02

WHL Playoffs

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla.&mdash;With the league championship and the Adams Cup in their possession, the Blazers marked the finish to a successful campaign with each player picking up bonus rewards totalling $1,700.Most of the players planned to be back home in Canada within a week with the exception of three; forward Doug Favell and forward Glen Sather will not leave until the conclusion of the spring semester of Oklahoma City University where they are enrolled and Cheevers was awaiting examination for a possible shoulder operation.Jean Pronovost and Ted Irvine were planning marriages during the off season.Looking ahead to next season, Blazers&rsquo; general manager Bill Bevins said, &ldquo;If the Boston Bruins send Derek Sanderson to us next season, we have a strong prospect. He had better than 35 goals and looks like a terrific prospect.&rdquo; The young centerman played two games for the Blazers in the playoffs. &#9632;

Winning Oklahoma Blazers Pocket $1,700 In Bonuses

AMARILLO, Tex.-Jack Adams, president of the Central Professional Hockey League visited Amarillo in company with Bud Poile, general manager of the new Philadelphia Flyers and his coach Keith Allen to look over projected arena plans in the city, and evidence indicated that a CPHL franchise could be in the offing.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-02511/3096911-1-eng-US/f0016-022.jpg" title="f0016-02" width="336" height="505"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jack Adams</figcaption></div>Poile noted, &ldquo;Amarillo has a great many plusses in its favor. We like the geographical convenience to other cities which eventually will make up the Central League family plus the fact that hockey would fill in a wintertime need for the excitement of this type of sport.&rdquo;The Philadelphia executive went ahead so far as to even discuss dates that might be available during the winter of 1968-69 in the planned 4.5 million dollar Coliseum in the new Civic Center building complex.It was also revealed that Wichita, Kansas was under consideration like Amarillo for a CPHL franchise in the 1968-69 season. The new NHL Minnesota entry is reported to have expressed a strong interest in Wichita as the site for a farm club.Bill DeWald, director of Amarillo public buildings, told Poile that if the Flyers make a decision soon to come to Amarillo, they could virtually have the pick of dates.&ldquo;Bill Putnam, president and owner of the Philadelphia Flyers will have the final decision in relation to our club and Amarillo and will be a visitor here soon to look over the prospects,&rdquo; said Poile.Adams commented that as of the moment, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Omaha, Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth and Kansas City appear to be the cities that will be represented in the CPHL in the 1967-68 season. &#9632;

f0016-02

Amarillo Seen Next Entry For CPHL

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-03409/3096942-1-eng-US/f0016-032.jpg" title="f0016-03" width="771" height="1886"></div> &#9632;

f0016-03

CPHL Playoffs

<div class="byline">By HARVEY POLLACK</div>CHERRY HILL, N.J.&mdash;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-02446/3096973-1-eng-US/f0017-022.jpg" title="f0017-02" width="352" height="509"><figcaption class="caption-body">Tom Lockhart franchise</figcaption></div>The Eastern Hockey League, which had figured on unbalanced divisions previously for the 19 6 7-68 campaign, may become even more unbalanced if the Jersey Devils sell their to southern interests.Latest reports have a group headed by director Harold Aranow striving to save the franchise for this locale against the decision of the other directors to sell to a group from either West Palm Beach or Tampa, Florida. Aranow was attempting to organize a new combine to match the reported $50,000 offer of the Florida groups.As things now stand, the EHL will have six teams in the southern division next seasoff since Salem, Va. was admitted to the circuit last month. They join Charlotte, Knoxville, Nashville, Greensboro and Jacksonville in the southern sector.Up north, Clinton, Long Island, New Haven, and Johnstown are active along with Jersey. Should Jersey move, that would place seven teams in the south and four in the north. That division would be difficult to schedule, even for the super schedule maker, prexy Tom Lockhart who will be a busy man in the off season with the EHL&rsquo;s problems mounting.So the alternative is to move one of the southern teams to the North. That would have to be Salem since that would be the closest city to the North. Actually the Northern teams would have the veto power over the proposed sale since approval of eight of the existing 11 franchises would be required for the move to Florida to be made. Since the Northern clubs wouldn&rsquo;t want their division chopped down to four, it&rsquo;s not likely Jersey could gather the necessary votes.Two months ago the admission of West Palm Beach and Miami was delayed by the league because of the uncertainty of talent next season due to the NHL expansion. A second factor was the extra mileage in transportation necessary to go south of Jacksonville. It&rsquo;s not likely that some of the teams thus would agree to the move.Salem itself may be one of the roadblocks. If the new club was moved into the Northern Division, it would mean excessive travel in its many meetings with Northern rivals. There are few inter-division games as the bulk of each team&rsquo;s schedule is on an intradivision basis.The five directors who voted to sell to Florida interests did so on the basis of three factors. These men feel that the coming of the Philadelphia Flyers to the area next season would have a detrimental effect on the Devils&rsquo; attendance even though the club did fairly well this past season. These directors deem the Flyers&rsquo; presence as a definite blow to Devils fans.Secondly, the Flyers have had sort of a working agreement with the Devils this past season, supplying the Devils with coach Vic Stasiuk, assistant coach Marcel Pelletier, and other front office personnel. In addition, they helped the team secure players that enabled the team to finish second in the Northern Division regular race and to go to the championship finals before bowing to Nashville. It&rsquo;s a foregone conclusion that this agreement would be terminated if the Devils remained, for the Flyers evidently want the whole hockey field to themselves and don&rsquo;t want any hockey lures in the vicinity.The third principal factor is a recent increase that the owners of the Cherry Hill Arena have proposed for next season. The Arena owners supposedly have other plans for the Arena, but they must be good ones to offset the absence of 40 or so dates for hockey.Despite all these deterrents, Aranow said, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m doing everything I can to keep the team here.&rdquo; He has organized a group of 14 businessmen and associates and hopes to convince them to put up the money to match the Florida offers. There seems to be some dispute as to whether that $5,000 figure is correct for Aranow said he hadn&rsquo;t seen any firm offer for that figure.Should the league disapprove the transfer, there are two alternatives. The directors can reconsider and decide to run the team next season or else they can look for a northern site to shift the franchise. A third possibility is that the franchise could be inactive next season.Aranow was encouraged in his efforts by a petition sent by the Devils Fans Club containing TOO signatures. It requested the directors to keep the team here.&ldquo;Many of the members come from Philadelphia,&rdquo; Aranow said. &ldquo;They are the hard-core hockey fans in this area. They&rsquo;ve indicated to me that they won&rsquo;t attend many Flyers games if the Devils leave. The people like our brand of hockey and our prices. The Flyers have a long way to go to build up the position we&rsquo;re in now.&rdquo;Aranow said the Devils&rsquo; prices fit the pocketbook of the Fan Club, many of whom are in the working man class. He said the major league prices are too steep for these fans, and that the Devils would be able to compete with the Flyers as long as they maintained their present level of prices. Aranow said the two teams could operate here since they don&rsquo;t plan to play on the same nights, and pointed out that basketball, the college and the pro variety, have flourished together.The Flyers already have pulled Pelletier out of the Devils&rsquo; organization, making him a member of their front office staff. Tfiey have announced that Stasiuk also will be with the team in some capacity. Bud Poile, Flyers&rsquo; GM, said the Devils made some money this year with a hard core of 2,000 faithful fans plus other crowds up to 4,000 helping get the team into the black.Elsewhere in the league at last reports neither New Haven nor Knoxville had come up with a coach to replace the departed Jackie Leclair and Doug Bentley, respectively. Also Nashville mentor John McLellan was still musing several offers before deciding whether to return as the Dixie Flyers&rsquo; pilot next season.<h2>EHL, IHL May Link Schedules</h2>NEW YORK, N.Y.&mdash;When the Eastern Hockey League holds its meeting this month in Colorado among the many problems President Tom Lockhart and his executive will discuss, will be the possibility of playing an interlocking schedule next year with the International Hockey League.There has been talk around the EHL that some sort of agreement may be worked out with the IHL, either an interlocking schedule, a merger or even a series between the two circuits.There also could be a decision on what to do about playing personnel in the two leagues. &#9632;

f0017-02

Jersey Devils' Group Strives To Save Club, Second Favors Florida Buyers Taking Team

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-01501/3097004-1-eng-US/f0017-012.jpg" title="f0017-01" width="727" height="4691"></div> &#9632;

f0017-01

Play off races

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-03368/3097035-1-eng-US/f0017-032.jpg" title="f0017-03" width="776" height="1820"></div> &#9632;

f0017-03

EHL Playoffs

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-01505/3097066-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg" title="f0018-01" width="358" height="498"></div>Andre LagueuxDRUMMONDVILLE, Que.&mdash;The power-packed Drummondville Eagles, displaying few if any weaknesses, had the Allan Cup all but locked up as they dominated the Western Canada champions &mdash; the Calgary Spurs &mdash; in the first three games of the best-of-seven series.The Quebec senior hockey champions generated too much all round power for the Spurs and as a result had outscored the Calgarians 15-6 while running up a 3-0 lead in the series.With the entire National final being played on their home ice, the Eagles were in a position to Andre L.gueux sweep the championship and regain the Allan Cup the Drumhcller Miners lifted from the Sherbrooke Beavers last year in the Canadian finals.The Eagles overwhelmed the Spurs 4-0, 3-2 and 8-4 in the first three games of the series and it appeared only a stunning reversal of form on the part of Tony Schneider s Westerners would save the Spurs from the ignominity of a sweep.In the series opener, Ron Roberts scored twice and Rollie Leclerc and Ray Eortin once each as Claude Cyr hung up a shutout. In game two, it was a late third-period goal by Leclerc, the former Valleyfield Braves&rsquo; winger, that won the decision 3-2. Roberts and Rejean Richer also scored while Jim Brown and Marty Desmarais, the Spurs&rsquo; best performer to date in the series, collected singles for Calgary.Andre Lagueux, who is destined for an expansion tryout in the new NHL next season along with four of his teammates, scored two goals along with Leclerc and Roger Picard to spark the Drummondville romp in game three.The Eagles were far and away the superior hockey club in all three games. They outshot the Spurs 130-91 and only in the second game was the issue in doubt as the Spurs pressed to break a 2-2 tie and salvage a win.Winner of the series will take possession of the Allan Cup and earn the right to represent Canada next winter on a European exhibition tour. &#9632;

f0018-01

Drummondville Power Too Much For Calgary As Eagles Near Title

<div class="byline">By FRANK ORR</div>(Toronto Daily Star)FORT WILLIAM, Ont.&mdash;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-02409/3097097-1-eng-US/f0018-022.jpg" title="f0018-02" width="347" height="492"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jim Gregory</figcaption></div>Despite their opening game 6-3 victory over the Port Arthur Marrs in the start of the Memorial Cup finals, it will be school classes as usual for the Toronto Marl-Jim Gregory boros as they spend the next week here seeking to grab the Canadian junior hockey title.Marlies have four university students and 13 high schoolers on their roster. Three of the college boys completed their final exams when the team departed from Toronto, but the high school students are in the middle of the most important period of the school year leading up to final exams.To give the students as much chance as possible of passing, Marlies had tutors on the plane with the players. Doug Harper, who has just completed his third year in chemistry at University of Toronto&rsquo;s Victoria College provided teaching in chemistry, physics and mathematics.Harper&rsquo;s cousin, Ann Maram, a Fort William resident who is a French major at University of Western Ontario provided tutelage in the languages.&ldquo;There are two reasons for this,&rdquo; commented Marlie manager Jim Gregory. &ldquo;The main one, of course, is to do everything in our power to help the boys successfully complete their school terms. We plan to have regular school sessions in the morning and afternoons, just the same as they do at home.&ldquo;Secondly, being in a strange town for a week or 10 days can become awfully boring to a gang of teenagers. Their routine at home is to fit hockey in around their school work. We&rsquo;ll attempt to keep this routine intact in Fort William. We have two boys in grade 10, four in grade 11, three grade 12s and four in 13.&rdquo;Marlie defenseman Mike Pelyk wrote his last U of T exam before he left. Another defender, Chris Evans, will have exams to write at Ryerson Polytcchnical Institute when he returns. &#9632;

f0018-02

But it's School As Usual For Toronto Junior Stars

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0018-03" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-03306/3097142-1-eng-US/f0018-032.jpg"></div><h2>ACROSS</h2>2. 30 across once served as one. (abbr.)4. Recent winner of Smythe Trophy.6. This former player scored 5 goals in one playoff game.8. Initials of Cushenan of Buffalo.9. Allan Stanley was born in this month, (abbr.)12. Plays goal for Baltimore.14. Body of water.16. One of the Buffalo Bisons.17. First name of a former Red Wing.18. The. (fr.)19. Edmonton Jr. Kings.21. &rsquo;56-57 Calder trophy winner.24. Denotes scoreless tie.25. Initials of an NHL trophy.26. Initials of one of the Wings.28. Players some times cat these between periods.30. 1960-61 Lady Byng trophy winner.31. Estimated Time of Arrival.<h2>DOWN</h2>1. Pictured player.2. Initials of Costello, an ex-Bruin.3. One of the Hawks answers to this.4. Initials of a former Hab defenseman.5. This former player played briefly in the NHL with Toronto.7. Nickname of ex-Leaf Bailey.10. Same as 25 across.11. One of the Victoria Maple Leafs.13. Western Hockey League President.SOLUTION ON PAGE 12This Week's Answers For Crossword Puzzle<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-03541/3097135-1-eng-US/f0012-032.jpg" title="f0012-03" width="687" height="833"></div>15. Nickname of a former power play specialist.20. One of the Bruins.22. First name of one of the Rangers.23. One of the Pittsburgh Hornets.26. Goalers protect this.27. Native country of the Western Hockey League scoring champ.28. 15th and 12th letters of the alphabet.29. Initials of one of the Rochester Americans.<h2>LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-04238/3097128-1-eng-US/f0018-042.jpg" title="f0018-04" width="573" height="658"></div> &#9632;

f0018-03

Hotkey Crossword Puzzle

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-02415/3097204-1-eng-US/f0019-022.jpg" title="f0019-02" width="341" height="506"><figcaption class="caption-body">Glenn Ramsay</figcaption></div>TOLEDO, O.&mdash;The Toledo Blades Booster Club had a bit of a problem: how t o select a most valuable player from the club that had won the International Hoc-key League&rsquo;s Turner Cup in the post-season playoffs and gone from last to third in the standings in one year.So the boosters took the issue to the six coaches in the IHL, asking them to do the voting. The verdict came back&mdash;Glenn Ramsay.Ramsay received the most valuable player accolade at the annual hockey banquet at Parkcrest Hall.The &lsquo;Rammer&rsquo; led the league&rsquo;s netminders in goals against average and was selected as the IHL&rsquo;s all-star puckstopper in both the mid-season and postseason voting.The guys he played with liked Glenn too. They picked Ramsay as the Blades&rsquo; most popular player.Next year, Ramsay will have a go at the National Hockey League when he tries out for the goaltending job with the St. Louis expansion club. &#9632;

f0019-02

Ramsay Top Blade Sweeping Honors At Toledo Windup

<div class="byline">By BOB REED</div>TOLEDO, O.&mdash;The International Hockey League went far outside its own territory in selecting a site for its annual meeting, which is being held in Colorado Springs on May 11-14 inclusive.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-03339/3097235-1-eng-US/f0019-032.jpg" title="f0019-03" width="344" height="470"><figcaption class="caption-body">Len Thomson</figcaption></div>Although the session is scheduled for four days, some of the IHL governors believe that all of its business will not be concluded in that time and that a recess will be called t&rsquo;. finish its business at a later date.The first three days will be devoted to exclusive IHL business and on the fourth there will be a joint session with the Eastern Hockey League. At this time problems concerning both leagues will be discussed. One aim is to establish closer player relations between the two circuits with the idea of expediting player trades and sales.Also to be discussed is a possible playoff between the champions of the two leagues.While a possible expansion of the IHL has been rumored it is not believed that any new cities will be added. Cincinnati, Duluth and Huntington, W.Va. have been mentioned as possibilities.The IHL completed its 22nd season, one of the most successful in its history. Highlights of the season :The Toledo Blades moved from a last-place finish to the Turner Cup playoff championship, fifth in their history. Terry Slater was the winning coach in his first season at the helm.Dayton won the season championship in its third year in the league with 91 points.Fort Wayne&rsquo;s Len Thomson set a scoring record with 139 points. He won the most valuable player trophy for the sixth time, including one tie for the honor. Thomson has a career record of 1,214 points and 794&rdquo; assists.Seven players cracked the 100-point barrier : Thomson, 139; Guy Trottier, Dayton, 135; Frank St. Marseille, Port Huron, 118; John Goodwin, Fort Wayne, 106; Ken Saunders, Port Huron, 106; Moe Bartoli, Columbus, 103 and Chick Chalmers, Toledo, 101.Glenn Ramsay of Toledo was the leading goalie for the sixth time.Columbus Checkers, in their first year, did not win a playoff berth but finished 23-48-1 for one of the best-place records in league history. Toledo and; Des Moines, under new managements and coaches, had impressive comebacks both in league play and at the box office. &#9632;

f0019-03

Expansion Seen Unlikely For Next Year; IHL Awaits Joint Meeting With EHL Loop

<div class="byline">By DAN ROSENBURG</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-01331/3097280-1-eng-US/f0020-012.jpg" title="f0020-01" width="313" height="459"></div>Rogatien VachonTHETFORD MINES, Que.&mdash;Thetford Mines Canadiens, who produced standout goalie Rogatien Vachon for the National Hockey League, are on the verge of coming up with not one, but three more NHL prospects tabbed for future delivery to the parent Montreal Canadiens.The Eastern Canada Memorial Cup finalists, who created quite a stir by knocking off Toronto Marlboros 4-3 in the second game of their best-of-five series, were one of the youngest teams ever to advance that far in the Memorial Cup playdowns.The average age was little more than 17 years per man, and it was the three youngest men on the club who carried the bulk of Thetford&rsquo;s fortunes all season and who are almost certain to be starring in big-league cities in the not too distant future.The trio &mdash; all forwards &mdash; consists of wingers Marc Tardif and Rejean Houle, both 16, and 15-year old center Gilbert Perreault. Tardif and Houle are strapping types with fearsome shots, while Perreault is modelled after the shifty Henri Richard.The Thetford youngsters helped their squad turn Quebec Junior Hockey League president Jacques Plante&rsquo;s pennant race into a joke, and kept right on rolling in high gear during the playoffs.Ron Caron, assistant to Canadiens&rsquo; chief scout Claude Ruel, was assigned to keep close watch on the Thetford crew in the playoffs. He has a &lsquo;book&rsquo; on the various strengths and weaknesses of the three youngsters, but about the only flaw he has beer able to detect so far is inexperience &mdash; a minor detail which w, unquestionably iron itself out in time.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-02245/3097273-1-eng-US/f0020-022.jpg" title="f0020-02" width="593" height="575"><figcaption class="caption-body">MARC TARDIF</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-03203/3097266-1-eng-US/f0020-032.jpg" title="f0020-03" width="607" height="597"><figcaption class="caption-body">REJEAN HOULE</figcaption></div>Former Habs&rsquo; scout Cliff Fletcher, now serving in that capacity for the new St. Louis Blues, doesn&rsquo;t mince words when describing the flashy Thetford triumvirate.&ldquo;They&rsquo;re terrific,&rdquo; says Fletcher, &ldquo;all three of them. There&rsquo;s no way they can miss making the NHL.Perreault, of course, is the youngest of the group. But he has been known to consistently outskate, outcheck, outhustle and outdeke with ease opposing players who are four years his senior.The 5&rsquo;10&rdquo;, 165-pound native of Victoriaville (the town that launched Jean Beliveau) registered 24 goals and 40 assists during the regular 45-game season. At 15 he is still growing, and there are those close to the scene who figure he will one day be about as big as Beliveau, in size if not in stature.&ldquo;The kid has a lot of Beliveau&rsquo;s moves out there,&rdquo; says Caron. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a smart hockey player who can pass off both sides, take the puck out of his zone and set up plays. He&rsquo;s a strong skater and a real &lsquo;sleeper&rsquo;.&rdquo;Houle, like Maurice Richard, is a right wing who shoots left. Caron describes him as a &ldquo;tremendous worker who forechecks well and has a good shot.Houle wound up the schedule with 60 points, equally divided between goals and assists. But the team&rsquo;s leading scorer was Tardif. A six-foot, 180-pound left winger from Granby, Tardif notched 36 goals and 44 assists with Thetford. &#9632;

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May 13, 1967

PASSING THE PUCK

AHL Playoffs

Rangers To Keep Knights In Omaha As Club Seeks Better Deal On Dates

IHL Playoffs