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.

January 13, 1968

The Hockey News January 13, 1968

<div class="byline">BY JOHN WHITE</div>SEATTLE, Wash.-Before the games, all the fans were walking around saying things like &ldquo;Happy New Year.&rdquo;But someone forgot to tell the players about the happiness bit, and before lone a large number of them were punching one another In the mouth.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-01555/3302137-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg" title="f0018-01" width="291" height="479"><figcaption class="caption-body">Chuck Holmes</figcaption></div>And that&rsquo;s the way 1968 dawned In the Western Hockey League.On New Year&rsquo;s Eve in Seattle, the Phoenix Roadrunners, who suddenly think they are a hockey club and quite possibly may be right, stunned the first-place Totems, 2-1,behind the goaltending of Gilles Banville, a surprise starter who had been a spectator most of the time since early season.In the process, big Tom Polanic of the &lsquo;Runners and Gerry (Grump) Leonard of Seattle put on a slugging match that, according to one neutral witness, would have made Saturday night In a Northwest logging camp a &ldquo;love-in.&rdquo;On New Year&rsquo;s night, the Totems travelled to Portland to exchange greetings.Now in a hockey game, penalty totals don&rsquo;t always tell the story. There can be 42 penalties in a game and if they &lsquo;ne all for hooking the chances are that no one walks out of the arena limping.But when Seattle played in Portland on New Year&rsquo;s night, the penalties did tell a story.Right smack in order, in one stretch, it was Don Ward for boarding, Earl Heiskala for boarding, Connie Madigan for cross-checking, Mike Donaldson for elbowing, Cleland Madigan for cross-checking, Dick Vanlmpe for high sticking, Connie Madigan for slashing and Gary Kilpatrick for cross-checking.Well, so much for the preliminary bouts.By now everyone was thoroughly testy. So when Donaldson of Port-land put Charlie Holmes of Seattle Into the side of the Buckaroo nets, off came the gloves.They swung away as freely as possible, with Holmes landing the hardest punch &mdash; right in the puss of an unlucky linesman.But this was not one of those forgive-and-forget affairs.Holmes still was so mad 13 minutes later than with only 26 seconds left in the game he flattened Donaldson in a corner and watched the rest of the clash from the sidelines.Tills, however, was only the semi-windup.The main event started with stick swings between Seattle&rsquo;s Kilpatrick and Portland&rsquo;s Arnie Schmautz. When their sticks broke, they went at It with fists.Arnie was giving away quite a few pounds, but that&rsquo;s strictly normal. As the 5-7,140-do under puts it, &ldquo;I can&rsquo;t find anyone my own size to fight.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-02452/3302130-1-eng-US/f0018-022.jpg" title="f0018-02" width="636" height="627"><figcaption class="caption-body">GARY KILPAIKK-n &hellip; Flexing Muscles</figcaption></div>The two finally were separated, with Larry Leach of Portland winding up on the Ice with Kilpatrick at one point.Then Doug Messier of the Bucks stuck his jaw into the affair.Kilpatrick spotted the jaw. One punch was thrown, and Messier was on his back.About this time referee Ron Wicks decided the temperature of the shower water was exactly right for Kilpatrick. And Kilpatrick, al-ready socked with 19 minutes, agreed with Wicks and left the rink.And let&rsquo;s say one thing right here and get It off the old chest. Hockey referees take the worst verbal pounding in sports because the game is so intensely personal.In Portland on New Year&rsquo;s night, Ron Wicks in his striped sweater did one of the finest jobs ever of handling what could have been the worst riot in the league&rsquo;s history.At both benches, the guns were loaded. Earl Heiskala and Don Head of Seattle could hardly wait to get through the gate. And Connie Madigan of the Bucks was In one of those mean moods, too.Wicks, Instead of just watching the fighting on the Ice, skated over, took command, kept the players of both clubs on the benches and made them stay there with autority that just wouldn&rsquo;t quit.So what&rsquo;s the point of all this?The point is that the Western Hockey League appeared to be toughening up considerably for the stretch run to the championship.The first half of the season had been strange in that there were few really bitter rivalries.But muscles suddenly were flexing as the battle for cash in the pocket began to warm up.And, as 1968 began, this was the capsule outlook, team by team:SEATTLE: The Totems hadn&rsquo;t been out of first place since the start of the season in their drive for a first league title since 1959.Coach Bill MacFarland had added muscle in the form of defensemen Kilpatrick and Ray LaRose. And he was making no secret about the reason. Hard hitting won a Lester Patric Cup for Seattle last spring. There was no reason to change the formula.The Tolems needed a bit more offense to stay on top &mdash; despite fine first-half production from Holmes and Leonard, much better known as strong checkers than scorers.Larry Lund, bothered by Injuries the first half, could come on strong and make a big difference. So could Mortson, especially after MacFarland decided to shift him from wing to center where he could sheel more freely.PORTLAND. The Buckaroos, as the new year started, still had to rank as the team to beat.The big turning point could be the swing East through the American League. A 500 road record on that one would sent Portland home in strong position to take a fourth-straight regular-season title.Goaltending from both Jim McLeod and rookie Marv Edwards was spectacular in the first half and it would have to hold up.Portland&rsquo;s major problem seemed to be spreading the goals around. The Bucks looked as If they could whip anyone In the National League In winning games by such scores as 13-1, 9-1 and 8-1.But the Bucks still were losing more close ones than any Portland team since hockey returned to the Rose City in the fall of 1960.Intense desire would be the real key to a title for Portland, because the raw material already was there.VANCOUVER: This definitely was the team to watch in the stretch.Rookie Tony Esposito had headed the Canucks In the right direction after a bad start.Wholesale player changes over one stretch made the Canucks a now-you-see-em-and-now-don&rsquo;t club.But none of the changes appeared to hurt the club.Top performances by such proven veterans as Gerry Od-rowski and Billy McNeill could make the Canucks the power In the stretch.SAN DIEGO: The Gulls were going to have to start winning on the road.Home Ice was no problem in the first half as the largest crowds in the league cheered on their favorites.But San Diego won only two of its first 13 games away from home. And that&rsquo;s not enough road victories to contend for a championship.The Gulls also were the only club in the league which might be lacking in muscle. Pound-for-pound, the San Diego players all have courage. But there weren&rsquo;t quite enough pounds.And most of San Diego&rsquo;s opponents would be running at the Gulls the rest of the way.PHOENIX: The Roadrunners appeared out of it until Portland came south for a three-game series between Christmas and New Year&rsquo;s.Phoenix became a most dedicated and physical club, took five out of a possible six points with two victories and a tie from the second-place Bucks.And with that 2-1 victory In Seattle, Phoenix started the new year with four-game undefeated streak.The Roadrunners definitely would be aiming at San Diego the rest of the way &mdash; with 10 games left against the Gulls.<h2>How They Stand</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-03341/3302123-1-eng-US/f0018-032.jpg" title="f0018-03" width="686" height="1613"></div> &#9632;

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IN THIS ISSUE

Tightness Of Team Race Showing As Tempers Flare On All Fronts

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-01893/3301427-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg" title="f0008-01" width="646" height="3062"></div> &#9632;

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Movements of Players

VANCOUVER, B.C.-Babe Pratt, the hockey Hall of Fame member who hadn&rsquo;t coached a team in 15 years, came back to the Ice wars last week.Pratt was hustled into the coaching role of the Vancouver Canucks of the Western Hockey League when regular pilot Jim Gregory was rushed to hospital with an attack of kidney stones.Gregory flew to Toronto Dec. 28 for observation and treatment. Canuck GM Annis Stukus said Pratt would stay with the club as long as Gregory was away.Pratt last coached in 1952-53 when he was playing-coach of the New Westminster Royals of the WHL. &#9632;

Pratt Steps In For Gregory

<div class="byline">BY LOU PRATO</div>PITTSBURGH, Pa.-In his 38 years, Pittsburgh Coach Red Sullivan has seen and played more hockey than he cares to remember. Yet never before has he experienced the pressure he feels this season as coach of a National Hockey League expansion team.&ldquo;The pressure is tremendous, really tremendous,&rdquo; Sullivan said as the Penguins closed out 1967. &ldquo;You win a couple of games and you&rsquo;re right in the middle of the pack. You lose a couple and you&rsquo;re in second division battling to get back up there. This is pressure.&ldquo;Every team and every coach feels it. There&rsquo;s no one who is out of this (Western Division) race yet because of the way the season has been going. There&rsquo;s absolutely no one who can be discounted from the playoffs. And that&rsquo;s why we feel the pressure.&rdquo;As Sullivan spoke his team was locked in a third place tie with Minnesota, four points behind second place Los Angeles and eight points back of first place Philadelphia but Just four points ahead of fifth place St. Louis. And Immediately ahead of him for the week were three games with either Los Angeles or Philadelphia.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll tell you how much the pressure affects our team,&rdquo; Sullivan said. &ldquo;We put three or four wings together and we&rsquo;re breathing down Philadelphia&rsquo;s neck. But if we lose three or four then we&rsquo;ll find ourselves looking up at four or five other clubs. That&rsquo;s why every game means so much.&rdquo;It has been the Penguins&rsquo; inability to win three or four games in a row which has kept them trailing Philadelphia and Los Angeles for most of the season.Several times they&rsquo;ve won back-to-back games and looked like a champion-ship team in the process. But then they would suddenly reverse them-selves, stumbling to several defeats or ties.&ldquo;We simply need more consistent and harder checking and better skating,&rdquo; says Sullivan in analyzing Pittsburgh&rsquo;s erratic play. &ldquo;And we have to get a little bit meaner.&rdquo;There are some observers who figure the Penguins rather inept performance during the power play is also costing them a chance to overtake Philadelphia. The Penguins have had the manpower advantage 144 times and scored just 12 while Pittsburgh foes have have scored 15 times with an advantage on 90 occasions.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not because we&rsquo;re not getting the chances to shoot,&rdquo; Sullivan says, &ldquo;We&rsquo;re just not bearing down when in their area. My fellows are just not working hard enough on it; we&rsquo;re not aggressive enough.&ldquo;But really, every club has trouble with the power play. That&rsquo;s because the other team is working just as hard, maybe harder, to kill the penalty. There&rsquo;s only one way to score on the power play and that&rsquo;s by working hard. The team that works the hardest will succeed. I&rsquo;m a firm believer of that&rdquo;. &#9632;

PRESSURE TREMENDOUS SAYS SULLY

<div class="byline">BY DAN MOULTON</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0001-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0001-02169/3302675-1-eng-US/f0001-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Hawks&rsquo; great star BOBBY HULL is well harnessed by Philadelphia defenders in recent NHL game. Hawks have feasted on expansion clubs this season posting 11-3-2 mark against new National League teams.</figcaption></div>CHICAGO, III.-The Black Hawks swung into the second half of the season with a three-point hold on the National Hockey league&rsquo;s Eastern division lead and a minimum of problems.In fact, things looked so bright at the beginning of the New Year that Coach Billy Reay was a bit apprehensive, recalling the team&rsquo;s early-season woes and wondering when disaster, in the form of injury, would strike again.&ldquo;The team&rsquo;s comeback to first place after losing its first six games of the season has been one of the big thrills of my life in the game,&rdquo; said Billy. Individuals have stood out of course, but that old bit about team effort never was more true than in our case.&ldquo;Sure, Stan Mikita&rsquo;s great spurt (16 consecutive games in which the Hawks&rsquo; great center picked up at least one point), the play of Bobby Hull, and Denis Dejordy&rsquo;s return to form have been very important.&ldquo;But we never could have got out of the dumps unless every guy I used gave 100 percent every second on the ice and every guy has.&ldquo;Even players like Gerry Goyer, Tommy Reid, Wayne Maki, and Goalie Dave Dryden, who don&rsquo;t see much action these days, make their contributions, when they are called upon.&ldquo;And when they aren&rsquo;t their attitude on the bench is so good that the morale of the entire team is kept way up there.&rdquo;Only possible cause for concern at the halfway mark was the fact that the Hawks were just about out of Western division foes. Only 8 of their final 37 games were scheduled against expansion clubs, against whom the Hawks had lost 3 and tied 2 in 16 meetings during the first half of the campaign. &#9632;

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Reay Calls Hawks’ Rise “Team Effort”

MONTREAL, Que. &mdash;Most everyone around the National Hockey League expected Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita to take home the lion&rsquo;s share of the first half bonus money but who would have wagered that a pair of brash 22-year-olds would come along and snap up the NHL&rsquo;s goalkeepers&rsquo; award money.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0001-0378/3302706-1-eng-US/f0001-032.jpg" title="f0001-03" width="273" height="466"><figcaption class="caption-body">Doug Favell</figcaption></div>Hull, the blond Chicago bomber who scored his 400th NHL goal last week, won the first half scoring award of $500because he collected more goals than Mikita even though they ended up tied in points. Mikita had to settle for $250.But the big story of the NHL&rsquo;s first half 37 games had to be the emergence of Philadelphia&rsquo;s Doug Favell and Bernie Parent as the league&rsquo;s No.1 net minding team. The Flyers&rsquo;goaling team combined brilliantly to allow a meagre 77 goals to beat out Toronto&rsquo;s John Bower and Bruce Gamble.It was a remarkable feat considering that Favell is playing his first season in the NHL. Ironically, both Favell and Parent were plucked by the Flyers from the Boston Bruins in the expansion draft.They have already managed to hang one defeat on their erstwhile teammates since expansion made its NHL bow. &#9632;

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PHILLY GOALERS SURPRISE OF NHL

<div class="byline">BY BILL LIBBY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0002-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-01815/3301106-1-eng-US/f0002-012.jpg"></div>LOS ANGELES, Calif.-The fabulous Forum in the Los Angeles suburb of Inglewood opened on Saturday afternoon, Dec. 30, the next-to-last day of 1967. One expects a new venture to draw praise from honored guests at the inaugural, many of whom are close friends of the proprietor. Jack Kent Cooke, but the comments exceeded the usual cliches.National Hockey League president Clarence Campbell said, &ldquo;it is a fantastic building, the finest sports emporium in creation.&rdquo;Central Hockey League president Jack Adams said, &ldquo;It is simply gorgeous, the best sports facility yet. I&rsquo;m only glad I lived long enough to see it.&rdquo;Bill Shea, for whom Shea Stadium in New York is named, said: &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think it ever will be duplicated.&rdquo;Lord Thomson of Fleet, former employer and partner of Cooke&rsquo;s, and the world&rsquo;s outstanding publisher, said: &ldquo;It&rsquo;s outstanding, the most beautiful arena I&rsquo;ve ever seen.&rdquo;Bill Putnam, president of the Philadelphia Flyers, who just opened The Spectrum, said, &ldquo;This is truly a gorgeous place.&rdquo;Cooke, himself, said, &ldquo;I am completely satisfied. It exceeds even my highest expectations.&rdquo;The circular building, ringed by Roman-like columns on the outside, plush with deep carpets and drapes on the inside, is listed to have cost $16,000,000, but insiders estimate the final cost ran closer to $18,000,000. Atlantic-Richi-field Oil, which partly sponsors broadcasts of Cooke&rsquo;s basketball Lakers and hockey Kings, and which has its name on the handsome $100,000 scoreboard, presumably helped finance the project.The Forum was designed by the Charles Luckman firm and built by the Clair Peck firm, but many of the smallest details were tended by Cooke person-nally. Told that large railings in the L.A. Sports Arena obstructed the view in the balcony, Jack saw to it that the slimmest possible flat railings were used in the Forum.The steepest rise permissable by law was used, providing a lung-taxing climb to the heights, but placing the most distant customers as close as possible to the floor. There is not a bad seat in the house, which has an atmosphere of Intimacy, despite seating capacities of 15,048 for hockey and 16,602 for basketball.The accomodations include private and public restaurants and bars. The private-membership Forum Club, expensive to join and expensive to enjoy, rivals the finer restaurants. Hard-liquor cocktails at $1 a throw and beer are available even in the lobby. Such spirits are prohibited at the country-owned L.A. Sports Arena and Coliseum.The usherettes wear mini-togas, which is worth a paragraph all to itself.Many found flaws. The journalists were completely unhappy with their makeshift press box, which proved once again that Cooke is not the slave to good public relations that hehas been called. However, the journalists were quite happy with their private press lounge, which Cooke furnished from the private Gallery Room he had at the Sports Arena.Seating on one side is orange, on the other yellow. Patrons must enter their proper portion. You can make only a half-circle of the building through the lobby. The inner walkway may be a bit narrow. The parking lot, listed as holding 3,600 cars, may be inadequate for the larger turnouts. At the opener, those arriving a half-hour before game-time were turned away from the full lots and had to park more than a mile away. However, arrangements have been made to use some of the adjoining Hollywood Park (horse-racing plant) lots.But no one and nothing is perfect, not even this writer, though I&rsquo;m sure many readers will disagree. Cooke, himself, said, &ldquo;You never reach perfection in life.&rdquo; This place does come close. Even the opening ceremonies, carried partly on CBS-TV as the first of this season&rsquo;s network weekend hockey telecasts, were brief and touching.Canadian Lorne Greene emceed. A lovely music teacher, Jackie Shabbasian, slipped on the ice and fell on her duff as she walked forward to sing the Canadian national anthem, moments before the show went on the air. She arose to carry on gallantly. Harve Presnell sang the U.S. anthem rapidly, but reverently.Richfield&rsquo;s Lew Ream made an official dedication speech. Cooke made a short, but sweet welcoming speech. His mother, Nancy, was honored publicly. His wife, Jeanne, handled the ribbon-cutting ceremonies. Casey Kelly, the seven-year-old daughter of the Kings&rsquo; coach, bestowed a bouquet, then unexpectedly went over and kissed Cooke, then took his hand for the walk off.&ldquo;She did it at the rehearsal, without any planning, then asked me if she could do it again at the official ceremonies,&rdquo; Jack beamed. &ldquo;I told her, &lsquo;Honey, you can kiss me every minute on the minute".Dame fortune has kissed Jack Kent Cooke, though even she Is Imperfect. In the opener, witnessed by a near-capacity 14,366 fans, the largest crowd ever to see hockey In the Far West, the home team was beaten 2-0 and played so badly there were boos at the finish, dampening everyone&rsquo;s spirits.&ldquo;I&rsquo;d trade this whole place to have had a victory,&rdquo; Cooke mourned.But he didn&rsquo;t mean It, as he admitted not long afterwards.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-02751/3301099-1-eng-US/f0002-022.jpg" title="f0002-02" width="1282" height="1131"><figcaption class="caption-body">Owner JACK KENT COOKE, right, and the man who designed the new $18,000,000 Los Angeles Forum, CHARLES LUCKMAN, had many talks before the roman-styled sports complex was finally completed. The new building, shown from a panoramic view above, seats 15,048 for major league hockey.</figcaption></div><h2>WHERE THE NHL TEAMS ARE</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-03601/3301092-1-eng-US/f0002-032.jpg" title="f0002-03" width="1304" height="801"></div> &#9632;

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L.A. Forum Opens Amid Glowing Tributes

<div class="byline">BY GEOFFREY FISHER</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0003-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-01820/3301137-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">The St. Louis Blues&rsquo; have in NOEL PICARD, a bruising, hard-hitting defenseman who revels in the heavy going. He is the club&rsquo;s &lsquo;policeman&rsquo; on the ice.</figcaption></div>ST. LOUIS, Mo.-On Christmas night a gargantuan gent, looking somewhat like Paul Bunyan on ice skates, cocked his crooked war club in a gesture so menacing that the front row customers in the Metropolitan Sports Center at Bloomington, Minn. ducked their heads apprehensively. Then, as though releasing an arrow from a mighty bow, Noel Picard, a hulking defenseman of the St. Louis Blues, sent a chunk of frozen rubber screaming into the goal of the Minnesota North Stars.It was enough to give the Blues a 1-0 victory in a December revival that had them showing the best record of the month in the expansion division with seven wins, four losses and one tie in their last 12 games. Seven of these games were away from the hospitable confines of the St. Louis Arena.There was something incongruous about a tough-looking giant named Noel playing Santa Claus for the Blues but if his game winning blast was scarcely in the spirit of Christmas for the North Stars, it nevertheless was perfectly fitting for defenseman Picard. It was his birthday and it was his first major league goal.Noel Picard, born Christmas Day in 1928 in Montreal, Quebec, represents a pretty fair cross section of why the Blues are the third best defensive club in the entire National Hockey League. He also is a good example of what the St. Louis entry will be throwing at the enemy for the duration of this inaugural year of the expansion league. He&rsquo;s big, he&rsquo;s tough, and he likes nothing better than to feel the flesh of an opposing forward yielding under his powerful blocks.In the National Hockey-League the player who persists in getting the &ldquo;cheap&rdquo; penalty is not long for his job and this is enough to drain the excessive venom from the most enthusiastic bashers. Thus it is that Noel has curbed some of his more flamboyant tendencies that marked him as a sort of gangland torpedo during a raucous career in a variety of minor hockey leagues.At year&rsquo;s end he had rung up nearly 80 minutes of penalty time while on good behaviour and there was no doubt in anybody&rsquo;s mind that he was both the official and self-proclaimed bodyguard of the St. Louis Blues.As Noel put it to this writer: &ldquo;I have to heet hard when I play because I don&rsquo;t feel so good when I don&rsquo;t heet.&rdquo;The good-natured (off the ice) French Canadian is a product of the rough East Side of Montreal. It was heavily populated with Italian immigrants when Noel was growing up in a family that includes four boys and six girls.He credits his older brother, Roger, a forward now with the Blues&rsquo; Kansas City farm club, with teaching him the fine art of removing someone&rsquo;s teeth with a fist.&ldquo;Roger, he used to give me five cents every time I beat up some keed,&rdquo; says Noel with an almost reverent look on his rugged face.But Noel, as we said earlier, represents the tough kind of defensive club the Blues have forged. Despite a nightmare at Toronto, Saturday evening, December 30 where the Blues were ripped 8-1, the St. Louis club skated into the New Year with only Philadelphia of the new division and Toronto and Montreal of the established sector owning better goals-against records.The stingy defense of the Blues is no accident. It was conceived by General Manager Lynn Patrick and Coach Scotty Bowman as far back as the draft meeting at Montreal last summer when they picked Jimmy Roberts, a hard-rock buzz bomb, as first draft choice and grabbed Noel Picard the second round. They filled out the defense corps with Arbour, who has many of the attributes of an octopus in front of a net, and the pugnacious Plager brothers, Bob and Barclay, plus the rookie Ray Fortin, who captained the Drummondville club that swept the Allan Cup last year.Coach Bowman has come up with another device unique in the NHL. He has been playing six defensemen, platooning three pairs whenever the forward line changes.&ldquo;This way the defensemen get to know the habits of their partners as well as the forwards do,&rdquo; says Bowman. &ldquo;It means that we have to sacrifice an extra forward but it gives us a the kind of defense that can have the advantage of playing with the same combinations whenever we are at full strength.&rdquo;One of Bowman&rsquo;s numerous lineup experiments was the shifting of Jimmy Roberts from right wing to right defense and has paired him with Barclay Plager, a fellow who has already established himself as an effective puck carrier. Roberts and Barclay Plager were defensive sidekicks away back in their junior hockey days and Roberts is happy with his new assignment.&ldquo;I feel comfortable back there,&rdquo; he says, &ldquo;and Barclay likes to carry that puck up ice and I&rsquo;m perfectly willing to back him up on defense when he does.&rdquo;Bowman has teamed Noel Picard with Bob Plager and rookie Fortin with Arbour. The veteran Freddy hucul is available when needed.The new six-man defense platooning system was paying off offensively too. With Roberts and Barclay Plager and Ray Fortin the Blues had added some speed to the blueline corps and with it came improvement with moving the puck out of the defensive zone and setting up offensive thrusts.And since scoring remained a major problem for the Blues, Bowman continued to make moves that would add some punch to the attack.He would settle for the answer to getting more goals from whatever source.Even the way the Blues tied up Pittsburgh 1-1 at the St. Louis Arena, Friday night, December 29. Goalie Seth Martin batted the puck halfway up the ice to Barclay Plager who went into score on a 30-footer past Les Binkley. It&rsquo;s a hard way to build an offense but the goal went to a defenseman and the assist to the goaltender. The Blues won it, 2-1, and the 34-year-old rookie Martin was congratulated later in the dressing room for having had an outstanding night with one goal and one assist.BLUES ITEMS-Dickie Moore remained sidelined with a rib injury as the New Year arrived &hellip; Glenn Hall, who missed several games when he returned to Canada following the death of his father, was back to relieve Seth Martin who sustained a groin injury at Toronto. Blues attendance at home was 118,736 for first 16 games (7,421 average). &#9632;

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Rugged Rearguard Picard Gives Blues Solid, Respected Defense At Blueline

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0004-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-02829/3301168-1-eng-US/f0004-022.jpg"></div><h2>Excessive Tie Games Hurting NHL Image</h2>Hockey News Editor:I would like to see one 5 or 10 minute sudden death overtime period played after all tie games in the National Hockey League. I don&rsquo;t think the ice would have to be re-surfaced so the time element would be small and we could probably eliminate half the tie games we have now.Sure, the Eastern Division is playing to capacity so why change, but at the prices we pay to see these games how many people really feel they got their money&rsquo;s worth after a tie? I don&rsquo;t. Some games would still be tied after an overtime period, but the excitement generated during the overtime should justify the remaining tie. If sudden death overtime was adopted it would probably help the poor attendance figures turned in from the Western Division.It&rsquo;s generally accepted that the teams go through the motions for the last few minutes of a tied game and this would probably happen for the last few minutes of the overtime, but we would still be adding 5 or 10 minutes of all out effort to tie games which very likely could break the tie.With expansion and National Television bringing hockey to many new people I sincerely believe excessive tie games are detrimental to the sport. Someone who watches a game for the first time might be very disappointed to see it end tied.If there are more fans who feel as I do on this subject I wish they would voice their opinion because we must convince the owners and league officials that overtime is what we want.RONALD EGGERT, Skokie, Illinois<h2>Canadians Rank as True &ldquo;Amateurs&rdquo;</h2>After reading a letter in the Fan Forum by Michael Kaplan I felt compelled to state my opinion. Reader Kaplan states that Canada has sent only third rate hockey clubs to the World Tournament.I disagree with this statement because the Canadian team is truly composed of amateurs whereas the top European teams are composed of players who are paid extremely well to be &ldquo;amateurs.&rdquo; The letter also went on to state that many of Canada&rsquo;s top juniors would not represent their country.On the present squad a lone there are three former super star junior players who have continually spurned pro offers. Young center Gary Dineen reportedly turned down a fantastic contract with Minnesota.Center Fran Huck, who compiled a fabulous record at Regina, has turned down the offers of the Canadiens and youthful defense star Brian Glennie, who was counted on to turn pro in the Leaf organization, are important members of the National team.In the past, such fine pros as Rod Seiling Darryl Sly, and Seth Martin have represented Canada with a fair schedule, and top flight officiating, as well as unlimited body checking I feel that Canada would still rate as the world&rsquo;s No. 1 amateur power.NORM RONSKIBrooklyn, N.Y. &#9632;

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FAN FORUM

<div class="byline">By Ken mc Kenzie</div>&bull; THE FUNERAL for Charlie Conacher, one of hockey&rsquo;s all-time greats, was one of the biggest in the history of Toronto &hellip; Over 1,200 attended the funeral for the Hall of Famer who was somewhat of a folk hero in his native Toronto &hellip; Many stories involving the one-time scoring great and former NHL coach are currently making the rounds and this one involves Conacher and King Clancy, who were roomies when both played for the Maple Leafs &hellip; Clancy was refereeing a game in the Forum between Canadiens and the Chicago Black Hawks, who had just appointed Charlie as coach. Soon after the game started, Charlie rapped on the boards with a stick to get Clan-cy&rsquo;s attention. The latter skated close to Charlie and shouted: &ldquo;Now don&rsquo;t tell me YOU know the rules. That&rsquo;s RIDICULOUS.&rdquo; &hellip; The Detroit Red Wings have been using the airlines to get from city to city for over 30 years now. The Wings were the first professional sports team to travel by air, beginning in the early 1930&rsquo;s. It was a most radical move at the time. Jack Adams, who was running the Red Wings back in the 1930&rsquo;s, was always a keen advocate of airline travel &hellip; Comedian Johnny Wayne tells this about the opening of Jack Kent Cooke&rsquo;s $18&mdash;million Forum in Los Angeles in an interesting story in Toronto Star Weekly. His concluding paragraph: &ldquo;A close friend took Cooke aside and tried to cheer him up. &lsquo;look at it this way. Jack&rsquo;, he said. &lsquo;You have the most beautiful sports arena in North America. You have just had a sensational opening, a tremendous crowd has gathered to wish you well and friends from all over the world have come to be with you. So what if your team lost the game. You can&rsquo;t have it all&rsquo;. Cooke looked him straight in the eye and said very earnestly: &lsquo;Why not?&rsquo; &ldquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-01873/3301227-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg" title="f0004-01" width="477" height="501"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-03724/3301220-1-eng-US/f0004-032.jpg" title="f0004-03" width="282" height="476"><figcaption class="caption-body">King Clancy</figcaption></div>&bull;SWEDEN&rsquo;S UPSET 6-4 win over Russia in the Canadian International Hockey Tournament stage at Winnipeg last week was one of the finest-played and most exciting games to be shown to the Canadian public in a long time. The game was televised nationally across Canada. Over 10,000 Winnipeg fans braved 38-below zero weather to witness the contest which makes Winnipeg one of the best amateur hockey cities in Canada &hellip; Winnipeg is making a strong bid to be the site of the 1970 World&rsquo;s Hockey Championships &hellip; General Manager Milt Schmidt of the Boston Bruins thinks Fred Stanfield an underrated player. He points out that Stanfield is the playmaker on the line with John Bucyk and Johnny McKenzie, which is the highest-scoring unit in the National Hockey League &hellip; The fans in Boston are making plans to honor Bucyk with a special Night on March 28. He is the senior man on the team in years of service. Johnny is playing his 11th season with the Bruins and enjoying his finest one yet &hellip; Only two s forwards on the New York Rangers, Vic Hadfield and Phil Goyette, improved their scoring production during the first half of the season over what they had a year ago &hellip; Three of the six NHL expansion-cities had entries in the NHL before &hellip; Pittsburgh from 1924 to 1930, Philadelphia in 1931, and St. Louis in 1934 &hellip; When Montreal plays Oakland there are three players answering to the name of Harris on the ice and none of them are related. There&rsquo;s Ted Harris with Montreal and Billy and Ron Harris with Oakland &hellip; Organizers of the Boston-Montreal Old-timers game at the Forum on January 28 anticipate a sellout &hellip; Long Beach, Long Island, is the winter home of the New York Ranger families. Thirteen of the players live there, including Rod Seiling, Boom Boom Geoffrion, Orland Kurtenbach and Jean RatelIe. The only players who do not live there, or in neigh boring Glen Oaks, are Rod Gilbert and Bob Nevin.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-04622/3301213-1-eng-US/f0004-042.jpg" title="f0004-04" width="281" height="468"><figcaption class="caption-body">Fred Stanfield</figcaption></div>&bull;YARDLEY&rsquo;S PLAYER OF THE-MONTH on the January issue of HOCKEY PICTORIAL is Johnny Bucyk of the Boston Bruins &hellip; Boston players are starting to receive some of their just recognition this season &hellip; Al Rollins, former NHL goa-lie with Toronto and Chicago, is back playing goal for the Drumheller Miners of the Alberta Senior Hockey League &hellip; Bobby Orr becomes annoyed when people say &rsquo; the Boston Bruins are just another team with out him. Philadelphia Flyers&rsquo; Joe Watson, roomed with Orr last season when he played with the Bruins, and he says: &ldquo;That Orr is the greatest defenseman I&rsquo;ve ever seen. I learned a lot by playing with him. When he is playing his regular game there is no finer defenseman any-where.&rdquo; &hellip; 200 members of the Rangers Fan Club motored up to Montreal in five buses to watch their heroes lose to Canadiens, 5-2, last Saturday after-noon &hellip; Jacques Lemaire, Montreal&rsquo;s 22-year-old rookie, is one of the best in the NHL this season and should come in for plenty of votes in the Calder Trophy balloting. He scored his 12th NHL goal against the Rangers last Saturday which made him the second highest goal-getter on the club &hellip; Two senior sportswriters, Baz O&rsquo;Meara and Lloyd McGowan, both of the Montreal Star, retired at the end of 1967 &hellip; There&rsquo;s talk of an International Amateur League being formed for next season with entries, from Canada, Russia, Sweden, United States and Czechoslovakia.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-05497/3301206-1-eng-US/f0004-052.jpg" title="f0004-05" width="276" height="480"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jacques Lemaire</figcaption></div><h2>EXPANSION SCOREBOARD</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-06371/3301199-1-eng-US/f0004-062.jpg" title="f0004-06" width="1349" height="310"></div> &#9632;

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PASSING THE PUCK

<div class="byline">BY GLENN REDMANN</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-01807/3301272-1-eng-US/f0005-012.jpg" title="f0005-01" width="294" height="472"><figcaption class="caption-body">Ted Taylor</figcaption></div>TWIN CITIES, Minn.&mdash;The 5-for-2 deal that brought Milan Marcetta and Jean-Paul Parise to Minnesota from Rochester just before the new year arrived paid immediate dividends for the North Stars.After suffering the humiliation of three straight shutouts during which his charges were outscored by an 11-0 margin, Minnesota manager-coach Wren Blair saw the newcomers play key roles in their first three games.The Stars managed 10 goals while winning one, losing one and tying another &mdash; all against established East Division foes-and were at this writing deadlocked with Pittsburgh for third place in the West Division.In order to get Marcetta and Parise, who between them had scored 28 goals for Rochester, Blair had to give up defenseman Don Johns and four forwards &mdash; Ted Taylor, Murray Hall, Duke Harris and Len Lunde.Former U.S. Olympic goalkeeper Carl Wetzel, who has been playing for the Stars&rsquo; CPHL farm club at Memphis, also was loaned to the Americans for the balance of the season. The Stars are to get another player, too, but probably not until after the present campaign ends.While some members of the press were led to believe that Blair&rsquo;s move was impulsive and born out of sheer desperation following a 1-0 loss to St. Louis here on Christmas night, Wren revealed that this was untrue.&ldquo;Actually, (Rochester GM) Joe Crozier and I had been discussing the possibility of a trade for almost three weeks,&rdquo; said Blair.&ldquo;He was interested in quantity and I wanted to land at least one forward who could step right in and play on one of my three lines.&rdquo;Crozier&rsquo;s insistence that Taylor &mdash; the only traded player who had seen appreciable action for Minnesota &mdash; be included more or less stymied the trade, according to Blair.&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t want to part with Ted even though he hadn&rsquo;t scored as much (three goals and five assists in 31 games) as I&rsquo;d hoped he would. But when Crozier offered two players whom I thought could play regularly here, I had no choice but to give Teddy up. I still think he&rsquo;s capable of making it in the NHL, though.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-02688/3301265-1-eng-US/f0005-022.jpg" title="f0005-02" width="612" height="964"><figcaption class="caption-body">JEAN-PAUL PARISE &hellip; First Goal Broke Tie</figcaption></div>Marcetta and Parise made their debuts for Minnesota in a come-from-behind 3-3 tie against the Rangers in New York, performing on the same line with snake-bitten Bill Goldsworthy.They were together again the following night in a 6-2 loss at Montreal, then returned here to help the Stars rally from a two-goal deficit in edging Boston&rsquo;s red hot Bruins, 5-4, as 13,919 Saturday afternoon fans cheered wildly.Parise notched his first goal in a North Star sweater that day to break a 3-3 tie which was forged earlier when Marcetta assisted on Goldsworthy&rsquo;s first goal in almost six weeks.&ldquo;It sure felt good to see it go in,&rdquo; said J.P., who made many friends in the Twin Cities a few years back when he played for Harry Sinden&rsquo;s Minneapolis Millers in the CPHL.J.P. still can&rsquo;t figure why Oakland didn&rsquo;t give him a longer trial in training camp after taking him ninth in the historic expansion draft last June.&ldquo;I think I was the second leading scorer on the club in the first five exhibition games,&rdquo; he recalled. &ldquo;Then the next thing I know, they trade me and Brian Hextall to Toronto for Gerry Ehman. And when I was told to report to Rochester I was really down.&rdquo;Both J.P. and the 31-year-old Marcetta, who scored 102 goals in his last three seasons in the Western League, look upon their new opportunity with cautious optimism.&rsquo;It&rsquo;s one thing to get the chance up here,&rdquo; said Marcetta, who according to Blair has all the moves to make it, &ldquo;butit&rsquo;s something else to play well enough to stay. I just hope I can do the job and I would imagine J.P. feels the same way.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-03500/3301258-1-eng-US/f0005-032.jpg" title="f0005-03" width="613" height="966"><figcaption class="caption-body">MILAN MARCETTA&hellip; Has All The Moves</figcaption></div>Blair, naturally, thinks they can.In the case of Marcetta, who definitely gives the club more strength at the center position, Blair says it is only a question of whether Milan&rsquo;s speed can pick up once he becomes acclimated to the NHL.&ldquo;Maybe he hasn&rsquo;t scored in our first three games,&rdquo; said Wren, &ldquo;but he&rsquo;s come mighty close four or five times &hellip; and I thought he did some real fine forechecking in our win over Boston. &#9632;

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North Stars Get Fast Return As Newcomers Parise, Marcetta Lift Club’s Sagging Offense

TWIN CITIES, Minn.-The next time the Minnesota North Stars play a West Division team at home, it might not be a bad idea for them to check and see if one of their opponents has a birthday.If so, they might consider presenting him a birthday cake before the game with a dynamite stick for a candle.Why? Well, consider the case of defensemen Noel Price of Pittsburgh and Noel Picard of St. Louis, each of whom celebrated their birthdays last month by scoring goals against the Stars at Metropolitan Sports Center.Price, the balding blueliner from Brockville, Ont., turned 32 on Dec. 9 when his goal helped the Red Sullivan &mdash; coached Penguins edge Minnesota, 3-2.Picard, at 6-3 and 212 pounds one of the biggest rearguards in all of pro hockey, put all his considerable bulk behind a slap shot from the right point in the third period Christmas night.The result? Noel&rsquo;s first NHL goal on his 29th birthday and a 1-0 victory for Scotty Bowman&rsquo;s crew. It was the North Stars&rsquo; third straight shutout loss after they themselves had gained three consecutive whitewash trimphs behind Cesare Maniago.-REDMANN &#9632;

Picard, Price Net Winners Against Stars On Birthdays

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0006-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-02728/3301358-1-eng-US/f0006-022.jpg"></div><h2>OVERALL WON AND LOST RECORDS THIS SEASON BESTWEEN NHL TEAMS</h2>(Statistics include games of Wednesday, January 3) &#9632;

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How Teams Compare In National League

<div class="byline">BY JACK BERRY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-01905/3301327-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg" title="f0006-01" width="278" height="488"><figcaption class="caption-body">Gary Jarrett</figcaption></div>DETROIT. Mich.&mdash;There&rsquo;s a trade the Red Wings made a few seasons back that they&rsquo;d like to sweep under the rug. It was an eight-man swap with Toronto in which the principals were Marcel Pronovost and Andy Bathgate.The only survivors with the clubs that made the deal are Pronovost with Toronto&mdash;the experienced defenseman the Wings so sorely need&mdash;and Gary Jarrett with the Wings.Jarrett only made it to Detroit for training camp the two seasons following the deal but the 25-year-old forward, once an office boy in Maple Leaf Gardens, is paying dividends after all.Jarrett has an excellent chance of being one of the rare National Hockey League rookies to score 20 goals in his debut.But, despite an excellent training camp during which he so impressed the brass that he opened the season on left wing on Gordie Howe&rsquo;s line, Jarrett still had to do some convincing.It helped that Baz Bastien is general manager Sid Abel&rsquo;s assistant: Bastien handled Jarrett the past two seasons in the minors and Jarrett scored 52 goals for him.&ldquo;Let&rsquo;s face it,&rdquo; Jarrett said, &ldquo;no matter how old you are when you go into the NHL, you&rsquo;re nervous. This is what I&rsquo;ve always dreamed of. There&rsquo;s a tremendous adjustment to make and the pressure is unbelievable. Every game is so important.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s rougher and it&rsquo;s faster. Everything is faster. Three-quarters of the guys you go into the corners with try to give you a tough time; in the minors there are just a couple on each club like that.&ldquo;I had a big adjustment from junior to pro and I turned pro while I still had a year of junior left. It took me two years to adjust. I used to get banged around something fierce,&rdquo; said the 5-foot-8, 170 pounder. &ldquo;Last year I finally felt like a complete player.&rdquo;Jarrett had five full seasons in the minors before finally reaching the NHL with the Wings this season and he always was a strong scorer.But when he didn&rsquo;t score until the Wings&rsquo; ninth game this season, he was removed from the Howe unit and sat out four games, he worried and his confidence was shaken.&ldquo;I was thinking that maybe I&rsquo;d be sent down. There was trade talk at the time, too, and I was expendable. I felt sure my name came up.&rdquo;But Jarrett, an excellent, swift skater, worked his way back into the lineup and his versatility helped. He&rsquo;s played on all three lines and he&rsquo;s played all three positions. A natural left-hander, he played some on right wing in the minors so the Wings used him there when injuries hit.When Ted Hampson, third line pivot, was knocked out by a sore shoulder and pulled groin, Jarrett went to center.&ldquo;I play well when I&rsquo;m skating and when I played center those few games I had to skate and chase the puck. Then when I went back on the wing, I just kept skating.&rdquo;The aggressiveness has paid off in goals for his line and, two games short of the midway mark, Jarrett had 11 goals. Nine of them were against the NHL&rsquo;s Eastern Division, three against Montreal, two against Chicago and Toronto and singles against Boston and New York.And Jarrett qualifies now for one of those Charlie Brown sweatshirts the kind that says: &ldquo;Happiness is being one of the gang.&rdquo; He is. &#9632;

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Gary Jarrett Started Paying Dividends

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0007-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-01846/3301396-1-eng-US/f0007-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">During his hockey heydeys, CHARLIE CONACHER formed a part, of one of the game&rsquo;s greatest scoring units &mdash; the Maple Leafs&rsquo; &lsquo;Kid Line&rsquo;. Conacher, JOE PRIMEAU, center, and the late HARVEY JACKSON, right, who was the first of the line to die, were feared by NHL netminders.</figcaption></div>TORONTO, Ont.-It is not easy to explain to the professionals of 1968 why Charlie Conacher is a legend in the game which they play from mid-September through April. When Conacher finally lost his hopeless battle with cancer December 30th, there were graying men who vowed he was the most spectacular individual our game ever knew.You don&rsquo;t fault them for that. As Bill Klem, the ancient umpire, once said: &ldquo;I never called one wrong in my heart.&rdquo; That&rsquo;s how it is with the Conacher cult. When they say it, they believe it.And there are valid reasons. To them, Conacher was a symbol, even more than a star. He represented the hopes and dreams of kids from Halifax to Prince Rupert &mdash; kids with holes in the seats of their pants and Eaton&rsquo;s catalogues stuffed into their woollen stockings for shin pads &mdash; kids whose turtleneck sweaters sometimes got slightly high from the sweat which was shed in the schoolyard shinny games at recess.Those are the kids who are silver-thatched executives, doctors dentists, bookkeepers, and machinists today. To them, Conacher was the greatest. He made it big. In a way, they went along with him.It wasn&rsquo;t easy to be growing up in Canada then. Countless thousands had no job. They depended on a weekly food voucher to ward off starvation. Those who had work lived in mortal fear of the layoff.There wasn&rsquo;t much room for fun and excitement&mdash;not until Saturday night, when Foster Hewitt opened the door on the greatest show in the country. When Conn Smythe, who was running the Leafs then, signed the 19-year-old Conacher in October of 1929, every Canadian kid was looking over the big Marlboro shoulder.Suddenly, they saw a chance to show up their elders. Professional hockey then was for tough, battle-scarred old campaigners who had a way of dealing with interlopers. Conacher flattened Joe Lamb twice with right-hand shots, in one game at Ottawa. He challenged Babe Siebert, Hooley Smith, Nels Stewart &mdash; anybody who wanted to fight. His claque, from coast to coast, patted its fists and flexed its muscles.<h2>Young Canada joined in</h2>Smythe was no square. He sensed what the public wanted. It was looking for new faces, the recklessness of youth as opposed to the stereotyped style of the veterans.And youth already was serving Smythe well. He had signed Red Horner off the Marlboro club for the 1928-29 season. The bashing defenceman was hated in every rink except the old Mutual St. arena &hellip; Another common denominator for this brash rookie at every whistle stop in the league was that he sold tickets.When Conacher scored for Leafs, almost the first time he touched the puck in a league game, Smythe began to think of the 18-year-old linemate whom Conacher had left behind with Marlboros. The kid had come off Grenadier Pond and his name was Harvey Jackson.Conacher scored two more goals in his second pro game, although he was suffering from a back injury inflicted by tough old Taffy Abel. At the time, Conacher was on a line with Harold Cotton and Joe Primeau, a 147-pound kid whom Smythe had salvaged from the wreckage when the New York Rangers fired him. Smythe then had Primeau on a personal contract.With the signing of Jackson in the early part of December, 1929, the Leafs became young Canada&rsquo;s team &mdash; and young Canada&rsquo;s dream. In a game against Montreal Canadiens, Smythe sent out Primeau, Conacher and Jackson, with Horner and Hap Day as his defence.Smart showman that he was, Smythe could feel the excitement and tension in the stands. Old Mutual St. arena was an historic place. All the game&rsquo;s greats had played there &mdash; Newsy Lalonde, Frank Nighbor, Howie Morenz, Seldom had there been such commotion as the new Kid Line created.What Smythe couldn&rsquo;t know was that he had given every boy who ever whacked a frozen potato with a crooked stick an avenue of escape from drabness and frustration. Hockey suddenly became the key to first-class hotels, Pullman cars, pictures on the sports sheets, and Hudson roadsters.<h2>Even Smythe got taken</h2>The way the sports columnists wrote it and the way the sports-casters told it, hockey was fun. Tough as he was, Smythe realized the free publicity ride his new venture was getting from the horseplay of Conacher, Day and King Clancy, after the King came in from Ottawa.Occasionally, even Smythe was taken in. He rushed into the Leaf car during one trip to see who was being stabbed. The cries of anguish were coming from Cotton. Conacher had placed Harold&rsquo;s new derby hat (or so Cotton thought) on Clancy&rsquo;s head. When Clancy attempted to take it off, Conacher bore down so hard that King&rsquo;s head came through the crown. He was wearing the rim like a horse-collar.Smythe was furious at this seemingly deliberate vandalism &mdash; until Conacher produced the real Cotton lid. He and Clancy had purchased one for a prop. After that experience, Smythe was careful not to render a verdict until all the evidence was in.There was a day when he was of a mind to fine Conacher. The club was training at St. Catharines. Smythe was called away for a business meeting. He left a physical instructor in charge of the Leaf conditioning. The moment Smythe disappeared, Conacher took over and announced there would be a football game. It was a huge success &mdash; except that Goalie Benny Grant broke an ankle.Despite all the clowning, there never was anything facetious about the Leafs on ice. Conacher probably spent more time than any man in the game perfecting his shot. He always had an idea for a play that might Improve the team&rsquo;s scoring chances.&ldquo;I really think he was the first man to try the slapshot,&rdquo; Clancy said recently. &ldquo;He told me to drop the puck back to him and split the defence. Just as I broke through, he would let drive.&ldquo;You know what happened. He hit me on the seat of the pants. I felt like somebody had turned a blow-torch on me. I was black and blue for weeks. When I limped back, Conacher told me we&rsquo;d try it again. I said: &lsquo;Okay, Charlie, but this time you split the defence. I&rsquo;ll do the shooting.&rsquo; He thought it was a big joke.&rdquo;No, Conacher&rsquo;s 225 goals are not big in NHL hockey. His own brother Roy, scored 226. Who knows it? Gordie Howe will score 700. Conacher&rsquo;s shot sounded like gunfire when it hit the boards. Bobby Hull and Frank Mahovlich undoubtedly shoot harder.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-02729/3301389-1-eng-US/f0007-022.jpg" title="f0007-02" width="557" height="605"><figcaption class="caption-body">CHARLIE CONACHER</figcaption></div>Conacher was great in his day but that isn&rsquo;t the crux of his saga. A generation swears by him because it straggled along in his skate tracks. If those young Canadians didn&rsquo;t realize their dreams personally, Conacher was their proxy. &#9632;

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Charlie Conacher Remained A Legend

<div class="byline">BY ED CONRAD</div>PHILADELPHIA, Pa.-A funny thing happened to Doug Favell on his way to the rocking chair.The Flyers&rsquo; goalie has been persuaded that, at 22, he is just a little too young to start collecting an old-age pension.All it took to change Doug&rsquo;s mind about retirement has been the relaxation of qualifications needed to earn the bonus in his contract.Given an excellent opportunity to qualify for the cash bonus at season&rsquo;s end, Favell is once again looking forward to a long and fruitful relationship with the Flyers.Doug, who was sporting a 2.08 goals-against average in 12 games with the National Hockey League expansion team, threatened to give up the game recently because he felt he wasn&rsquo;t getting enough work.Bernie Parent, the Flyers&rsquo; top draft choice, has been going so well in the Philly net that the Flyers apparently had no alternative but to keep Favell on the bench.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not saying I&rsquo;m better than Bernie (an average of 2.00 in 19 games),&rdquo; said Doug. &ldquo;But I think I&rsquo;ve proven I can do the job. I&rsquo;m no hog, either, because I don&rsquo;t want to play all the games.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve played only three in the last month, though, and you can&rsquo;t stay sharp that way. A goalie has to be sharp because a split second means the difference between a save and a goal.&rdquo;Favell informed general manager Bud Poile about his displeasure with the situation and warned, if things didn&rsquo;t change, he&rsquo;d quit the team and return to his home in St. Catharine&rsquo;s, Ont.&ldquo;I understood Doug&rsquo;s problem and I just wanted him to understand ours,&rdquo; said Poile. &ldquo;So we spent a couple days talking and, during that time, we laid all the cards on the table.&ldquo;Doug wants to play and he&rsquo;s mad because he&rsquo;s not playing,&rdquo; added Bud. &ldquo;I can&rsquo;t fault him for that. I&rsquo;d be mad if he wasn&rsquo;t mad because he&rsquo;s not playing.&rdquo;One of the reasons for Favell&rsquo;s decision may have been due to the fact that he had become engaged during Christmas and had to think of the future.Another may have been Doug&rsquo;s personal impression that, by not playing, he was growing an ulcer on the bench and missing a chance to collect the bonus.&ldquo;I realize (coach) Keith Allen has a problem,&rdquo; said Favell. &ldquo;But this business of not playing is tearing me up inside. I know he can&rsquo;t bench Bernie when he&rsquo;s going so good and I probably sound crazy talking like this. I just can&rsquo;t help it, though.&ldquo;Bernie and I are the best of friends and I&rsquo;m really happy when he does well. But I just can&rsquo;t stand sitting there all the time. I&rsquo;ve been through too much of it in the last four years.&rdquo;For the past four seasons, Favell has been playing second-fiddle to Parent (also 22) at numerous stops along the trail to the big time.Therefore, Poile had to employ the wisdom of Solomon to put a smile back on Doug&rsquo;s face.&ldquo;One of the reasons for Doug&rsquo;s displeasure was the fact that, by not playing, he&rsquo;d lose a chance to collect the bonus in his contract&rdquo; admitted Bud.&ldquo;Both Doug and Bernie have bonuses written into their contract which (because of not playing when the other guy is going well) they can lose through no fault of their own.&ldquo;We decided to change all that,&rdquo; continued Poile. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve decided that, if one of them qualifies for the bonus, they both win it.&rdquo;Apparently, this was enough to make Favell&rsquo;s view from the bench a little more tolerable. He still wants to play, of course, but is pleased at his improved chances of gaining the cash bonus at season&rsquo;s end. &#9632;

Flyers Talked Goalie Out Of Quitting

<div class="byline">BY TOM MONAHAN</div>BOSTON, Mass.&mdash;As the National Hockey League season approaches the halfway mark, the Bruins&rsquo; Johnny Bucyk is high among the contenders for the first leg * of the Lady Byng Trophy.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-01868/3301482-1-eng-US/f0009-012.jpg" title="f0009-01" width="277" height="432"><figcaption class="caption-body">Johnny Bucyk</figcaption></div>While enjoying the best scoring season of his career, the veteran Bruins wing also has been an example of deportment going through the first 34 games without a single minute in penalty time.Carrying a cash prize of $250 for the first half of the season, an additional $250 for the second half leader and $1,000 for the overall trophy, Chicago&rsquo;s Stan Mikita was the run-away winner a year ago.This was one of the more suprising developments of the 1966-67 season. Just two years ago the talented Black Hawk center had established a record for penalty time for a center with 154 minutes. Last year Mikita&rsquo;s total time in the cooler was but 12 minutes.In his 10 previous National Hockey League seasons, Bucyk never was particularly reputed as penalty-prone. His first year with the Bruins&mdash;1057-58&mdash;he logged his highest total of 57 minutes. &#9632;

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Bruins’ Bucyk Top Byng Trophy Hope

<div class="byline">BY BILL LIBBY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-02776/3301513-1-eng-US/f0009-022.jpg" title="f0009-02" width="275" height="493"><figcaption class="caption-body">Terry Sawchuk</figcaption></div>LOS ANGELES, Calif.-It was only 15 months after ground was broken in suburban Inglewood, but the opening of The Forum, their new and permanent home, could not have come too soon for the L.A. Kings, who were staggering at the box-office and on the ice at mid-season.The Kings drew only 98,095fans, an average of 5,770 per game, for the 17 contests they had to play at two &ldquo;home&rdquo; arenas before The Forum opened Dec. 30. There are many excuses that can account for much of this, but it remains a deeply disappointing figure.The Kings drew 71,165 fans, an average or 6,469, for 11 appearances at the L.A. Sports Arena, and 26,930 fans, an average of 4,732, for six appearances at the Long Beach Arena, 25 miles from midtown L.A.The club pulled in 48,928 per-sons, an average of 8,154, for six games against established Eastern Division foes, only49,167 persons, an average of 4,469, for 11 games against expansion Western Division foes.The opener in the Forum against the expansion Philadelphia team on a Saturday afternoon drew 14,366, the most persons ever to see a hockey game on the West Coast, surpassing the 13,459 drawn by San Francisco vs the Los Angeles Blades at the L.A. Sports Arena g on Jan. 26, 1963, which stands at the record in the minor league Western League.One assumes the beautiful new building will stimulate attendance for a while. And one also assumes that eventually a growth in hockey enthusiasm will spark steadily-growing turnouts in Southern California. But, at first at least, the Kings may have to be a good attraction in their own right if the fans are going to follow them, and right now they are not that.After a fast start, they have sagged sadly. They remain in the fight for first place in the Expansion Division as this is written, but they fell below 500 for the first time this season in their 36th game and as mid-season came in, the Kings appeared to be going out.They had lost four straight and seven of their last ten. They had been shut out four times in their last 11 games and five times in the season.The Kings, who have made only a few changes this season, made three recently. Sent down to Springfield were Brian Kilrea, who had no goals and one assist in 17 games since coming off the injured list, defenseman Dave Amadio, who had taken the team lead in penalties with 66 minutes, and goalie Jacques Caron, who played his heart out without help in a 4-2 loss in his only NHL start. Goalie Terry Sawchuk, who has been either injured or ineffective, was restored to active duty, while forward Mike Corrigan, the youngest player taken in the expansion draft, and defenseman Larry Johnston were recalled from the AHL team.In the last two years with the B&rsquo;s he spent but 12 minutes in the box in each season.But his scoring was not anything near equal to his present pace.While cracking two Bruin career records and moving in on the 250-goal mark this season, the burly Bucyk has already scored 20 goals and has 19 assists to place him third behind Bobby Hull and Mikita.His 236 goals as a Bruin and his 582 points already have wiped Milt Schmidt&rsquo;s name out of the record book. His 346 assists has tied Bill Cowley&rsquo;s career mark.Moreover, he is only seven goals short of his personal high for one season. Twice he has hit 27 goals for the year first in 1962-63 and again in 1965-66.Since changing from a Detroit to a Boston uniform, Bucyk has been the Bruins most consistent scorer. Only four times has he failed to hit the 20-goal mark and last year a back injury limited him to 18 goals as he missed the final three games of the season.Starting this year, Bucyk still was bothered by his back. He sat out all of the exhibition games and had to have a special corset made for support.From the opening game, however, it was obvious that Johnny was not going to let the back bother him this year.One of the most telanted men in the league at digging the puck out of the corner, Bucyk was more aggressive than ever and after switching to left wing for Fred Stanfield and Johnny McKenzie he suddenly found the scoring touch.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s difficult to explain just why the goals suddenly started to go in in the early part of the season,&rdquo; says Bucyk. &ldquo;I never have been a fast starter for some reason and about the only thing I can figure is that I suddenly was getting more good scoring opportunities.&ldquo;Both McKenzie and Stanfield have a knack of getting the puck out in front of the net and I was finding myself in better position.&rdquo;Nor can Johnny explain why he has been so free of penalties.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m playing the game the same way I always did,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;I always have believed the only way to play this game is to be on the ice. You try not to get nailed with penalties but you can &lsquo;t a ways control things in this respect.&rsquo;Whatever the reason it is nice to see Bucyk on the ice as much as he has been this season. And if Johnny gets the Lady Byng vote he will become just the third player in Bruins history to get the award.The late Bobby Bauer won it three times. Don McKenney was the last to win it in the 1959-60.ICE CHIPS: &mdash;Eddie Johnston finally returned to goal during the Bruins New Year&rsquo;s Eve 6-4 defeat by Detroit, playing with a cast that extended over his wrist to protect a broken bone in his left hand &hellip; Andre Gill, brought up from Hershey after the injury to Johnston and Gerry Cheevers&rsquo; dislocated shoulder experienced difficulty after winning his first three NHL starts &hellip; He was beaten 5-4 at Minnesota and was shaky against the Red Wings &hellip; &#9632;

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New Rink Timely For Kings As Club Sags At Box Office

<div class="byline">BY NORMAN MACLEAN</div>NEW YORK. N.Y. &mdash;Emile &ldquo;The Cat&rdquo; Francis put himself on a hot griddle with National Hockey League President Clarence Camp bell when he invaded the cool Ice of Madi son Square Garden to protest Referee Bill Friday&rsquo;s failure to call a penalty shot upon the Chicago Black Hawks&rsquo; Doug Jarret, in the last five minutes of a 3-3 tie.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-01883/3301544-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg" title="f0010-01" width="275" height="476"><figcaption class="caption-body">Emile Francis</figcaption></div>With the Oakland Seals&rsquo; Bert Olmstead and Montreal&rsquo;s Toe Blake having also Invaded the scared playing surface of then Boston Garden In a recent con-tests, tempers were above boiling in the hot NHL races.Francis&rsquo; indiscretion took place on Saturday afternoon December 30 before the Blueshirts fifth sellout of the season, when with five and a half minutes to go, Emile stormed over the boards and ran pell mell to within ten feet of Friday, who was meting out his brand of do nothing justice, in front of the Chicago net. Jarret had fallen on the puck in the crease after Bob Nevin, Camille Henry and Phil Goyette all had had shots at the open Chicago cordage.Emile was saved from further trouble by Nevin and defenseman Arnie Brown who picked up their leader and carried him bodily off the ice with his arms and legs swinging.The Cat was still stewing in the press room after the game and Insisted on being quoted as follows, &ldquo;Friday Is a guy with all of the answers, but none of the calls. He doesn&rsquo;t even know the rules. He has no guts. He would have called a penalty shot If the score was 6-1 instead of 3-3.&rdquo;BilI Jennings, the Rangers&rsquo; president added his backing with, &ldquo;Either Friday doesn&rsquo;tknow the rules or he choked.&rdquo;Francis was hit for $250 for his actions. Toe Blake and Bert Olmstead were similary fined the same mount by Campbell for going on the ice in recent weeks.In a serious vein, the Francis explosion may have been a smart move on the part of the fiery little leader. The Rangers exploded themselves the following night against Toronto and chalked up a 4-0 shutout in what was easily the best game of the season for New York. This added up to a skein of seven games with only one loss, included were victories over St. Louis, Detroit, Philadelphia and Toronto and ties with Minnesota and Chicago as well as a loss to Boston.Thus as the Blues head Into the New Year things were looking up.Jim Neilson was playing at an All Star pace on defense and Camille Henry had fit in perfectly as a replacement tor the Injured Donnie Marshall on the Goyette-Nevin line. Camy fed Goyette who in turn hit Nevvy with the pass that led to the tying goal against the Hawks on the day that Francis flipped. Also the threesome probably would have scored the winner if the Garden ice was not so bumpy and rutted. Nevin could not control the puck long enough to get good wood on it. &#9632;

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Emile Francis Third NHL Coach To Pay Fine Of $250.00

NEW YORK, N.Y.&mdash;The Rangers took a page out of the past during Christmas week | when they recalled left winger Camille &ldquo;The Eel&rdquo; Henry from the, Buffalo club. Henry, the second highest I scorer In Broad-way history with 248 New York goals was brought up tor only one purpose&mdash;to score some goals and get the anemic Ranger power play back on the beam.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-02750/3301582-1-eng-US/f0010-022.jpg" title="f0010-02" width="286" height="478"><figcaption class="caption-body">Don Simmons</figcaption></div>Exactly eleven years ago a worried Ranger coach, Phil Watson, recalled Camille from Providence, with the same injuction, &mdash;put some punch In a ragged Ranger attack. In 1956-57, The Eel responded with fourteen goals and fifteen assists in the thirty six games he played In the second half of the campaign. If he can do as well this time, Emile Francis, the Blueshirts&rsquo; current mentor will have no complaint.&ldquo;We desperately need someone who can put the puck in the net,&rdquo; said Francis. &ldquo;Our power play just hasn&rsquo;t had any power&mdash;and I hope that Camy can help us out there.&rdquo;The Blues have scored 20 goals in the 94 times the opposition has been shorthanded but have run into a recent snag during which they hit on only 6 out of 36 chances. This is atrocious. The thinking is that Henry, the aptly named &ldquo;EEL&rdquo; will be able to tip in some of the many shots that such as Boomer Geoffrion and Rodrigue Gilbert keep blasting from the point.In fairness to Geoffrion it must be reported that he gives everything he&rsquo;s got, but because of his ulcer, his stamina is suspect. He must stay on a bland diet and this is tough when one is engaged in making his living in the National Hockey League.In another move, made at the same time, Francis sent second string goalie Gilles Villemure to Buffalo and returned the veteran 37-year-old Don Simmon to the New York backup post. Villemure is expected to see more action in Buffalo, although he still will have to unseat Ed Chadwick there. Simmons, a Stanley Cup veteran with Toronto and Boston is the only right handed goaltender in captivity. He should serve as a capable standby for Eddie Giacomin the regular netminder.Giacomin played sensationally in the Ranger s&rsquo; visit to Philadelphia on Christmas evening. He stopped 33 Flyer shots, many of them big saves, as New York won their 24th Christmas present in 35 games dating back to 1927, by a 3-1 count.Things looked up for New York at this point, what with another expansion club next on the schedule two nights later, and with Rod Gilbert&rsquo;s continued emergence in his accustomed role as the Blues&rsquo; lamp lighter. Gilbert scored the first Ranger tally in the Quaker City and was beginning to inch up in the pointparade.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-03601/3301575-1-eng-US/f0010-032.jpg" title="f0010-03" width="612" height="664"><figcaption class="caption-body">CAMILLE HENRY &hellip; Back In Big Time</figcaption></div>When the Minnesota North Stars arrived at the Garden, everything went according to plan for two periods and a little bit. Then the Stars literally fell upon the Blue shirts. With Ray Cullen getting two goals and Parker MacDonald one, the Northerners blew down a 2-0 Ranger lead and took over 3-2. It look a desperate last minute and twelve second goal by Gilbert to salvage the die.&ldquo;More moves are in the fire,&rdquo; emphasized Francis. &ldquo;This is only the beginning.&rdquo;The problem is up front. The lack of a big man on the scoring line doomed the Blues to fourth place a year ago instead of the second that their scramble and hustle had almost earned. With first line left winger Donnie Marshall nursing an ankle injury, Henry will be inserted with Phil Goyette and Bob Nevin. What is needed is a big man ala Bobby Hull, Gordie Howe or as mentioned before the sudden maturing of Gilbert into the super star that he can be. &#9632;

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Blues Threatening Further Shakeup

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0011-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-01870/3301613-1-eng-US/f0011-012.jpg"></div>INDIVIDUAL SCORING LEADERS(Including Games of Sun. Jan. 7) &#9632;

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NHL SCORING RACE

<div class="byline">BY GIL SMITH</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-02788/3301644-1-eng-US/f0011-022.jpg" title="f0011-02" width="269" height="486"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jean Beliveau</figcaption></div>Montreal, Que.Jean Beliveau has superseded Maurice &ldquo;Rocket&rdquo; Richard as the highest-s co ring Canadien of all-time.The big Hab center set a new mark in terms of total points by a Jean Beliveau Montreal player, when he notched four assists against Minnesota North Stars on December 28th, at Montreal. That gave him 967 scoring points, including 411 goals.Richard retired in 1959-60 with 965 points, of which 544 were goals.Beliveau now ranks second only to Gordie Howe as the highest scorer in history. Richard remains second among all-time goal scorers, however, with Beliveau holding down the No. 3 spot in that respect.Beliveau&rsquo;s four assists ignited the team to a 6-2 rout of Minnesota, and also resulted in Gilles Tremblay picking up the first hattrick of his eight-year career in the NHL. Tremblay, playing on a line with Big Jean, was set-up three times in succession in the second period. Jean&rsquo;s other assist was on a goal by Claude Provost.But, while Canadiens finished 1967 on a happy note, they had to fight for their lives to emerge with a 1-1 tie against Toronto in their first effort of the new year. Again, It was the combination of Beliveau and Gilles Tremblay who came through for Montreal, with Tremblay deflecting Beliveau&rsquo;s 40-footer into the net in the late stages.Meanwhile Toe Blake, the team&rsquo;s kindly and cordial old coach, was clutching at straws in an effort to find something good in a season that has seen Habs holding a long-term lease on the basement.&ldquo;At least our goaling and defence has been strong,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Otherwise, we&rsquo;d be worse off than we are.&rdquo;There are those among us who feel that that was an understatement on the part of the well-loved old coach, and that if it hadn&rsquo;t been for a brilliant goalie and two defensemen, the team would&rsquo;ve dropped from sight. The goalie, of course, is Worsley, who has saved them time and again from the most lopsided of beatings. As recently as the January 3rd game against Toronto, the Gumper was all that stood between them and an all-out thumping during the course of the first two periods. He robbed Leafs blind as they swarmed in for shots that were labelled.Defense-wise, Jacques Laper-riere is the man who has been putting the cement in it, and he&rsquo;s been doing it since the season began. Lately, however, J.C. Tremblay has been showing something of the form that he&rsquo;s capable of and that represents a plus-mark for Canadiens. Tremblay, when he&rsquo;s right, has few peers at getting the puck out of the Montreal end, and has been something of a defensive leader over the past few seasons. &#9632;

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Beliveau Replaces Famed ‘Rocket’ As Habs’ All-Time Scoring Champ

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0011-03" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-03644/3301675-1-eng-US/f0011-032.jpg"></div> &#9632;

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LOOKING AT NHL RACE

Every time he touches the puck, i Chicago&rsquo;s great left winger Bobby Hull electrifies the National Hockey League.The Hawks&rsquo; Golden Jet this past week became the fourth man in NHL history to attain the 400-goal plateau when he scored his 30th and 31st goals of the season. Hull now has 401 to rank fourth in the i all-time race behind Gordie Howe, Maurice Richard and Jean Beliveau.<div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-01854/3301730-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg" title="f0012-01" width="147" height="239"><figcaption class="caption-body" style="width: 147px">Bobby Hull</figcaption></div>Hull&rsquo;s goal-scoring feats also earned him the league&rsquo;s first-half bonus of $500 for finishing in first place at the halfway mark in the individual point race. Tied with teammate Stan Mikita in points with 43, Hull got the nod because of his superior goal production.Hull continues to threaten hockey&rsquo;s all-time goal scorers leaders and at his present rate of putting the puck in the net, he could ultimately become the No. 1 man even to the extent of replacing Howe, who is nudging 670.THE HOCKEY NEWS and El Producto Cigars are pleased to salute the NHL&rsquo;s player-of-the-week in the East:Bobby Hull&hellip; Chicago &#9632;</div>

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NHL Player Of The Week — IN THE EAST

Gerry Ehman is a latecomer to National Hockey League expansion but the way he has been popping goals for the Oakland Seals you get the impression he should have been among the early selections.The 35-year-old right winger enjoyed a highly productive weekend for the lowly Seals scoring five times in Oakland&rsquo;s most successful two-game stretch of the season.<div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-02741/3301761-1-eng-US/f0012-022.jpg" title="f0012-02" width="139" height="223"><figcaption class="caption-body" style="width: 139px">Gerry Ehman</figcaption></div>Ehman pumped in a pair of goals as the Seals tied Minnesota 5-5 and then came up with an exciting &lsquo;hat trick&rsquo; to lead the aroused Seals to a 6-0 romp over Los Angeles.A prolific minor league goal scorer &mdash; he counted 237 goals in 7 years with Rochester of the AHL &mdash; Ehman could be the man to lead the downtrodden Seals back into NHL contention. Oakland certainly hopes so.THE HOCKEY NEWS and El Producto Cigars are pleased to salute the NHL&rsquo;s player-of-the-week in the West:Gerry Ehman&hellip; Oakland &#9632;</div>

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NHL Player Of The Week — IN THE WEST

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0013-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-01838/3301799-1-eng-US/f0013-012.jpg"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-01817/3301792-1-eng-US/f0015-012.jpg" title="f0015-01" width="1376" height="3697"></div> &#9632;

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National Hockey League Summaries

<div class="byline">&#x2014; By Bill Libby</div><h2>New Forum Hockey Palace</h2>Jack Kent Cooke doesn&rsquo;t like to look at it that &rsquo; way, but The Forum in suburban Los Angeles is a monument to him, to his imagination, to his determination and to his ability to accomplish a staggering objective. He is a controversial character. All do not like him. Recently. Pasadena columnist Joe Hendrickson wrote that &ldquo;Jack Kent Cooke is the kind of man who wants to die in his own arms,&rdquo; which we pass on because it is a classic line and because it characterizes the feeling some have for him. But those who do not admire his ability and are not in awe of his accomplishments are fools. He. swiftly has become the most powerful single person in the history of sports.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-01840/3301844-1-eng-US/f0014-012.jpg" title="f0014-01" width="291" height="488"><figcaption class="caption-body">Clarence Campbell</figcaption></div>The Forum is a present-day palace. It will make a haunted house of L.A.&rsquo;s Sports Arena, which is very sad and most unfortunate because. that eight-year-old beauty is surpassed by only two or three buildings in the U.S. and Canada today. But if the politicians who control The Sports Arena had not underestimated Mr. Cooke, he would not have been driven to build his building which will put their building in the shadows. Every step he has taken, there have been people doubting he would take another. Yet he strides on, a remarkable man who marches to his own tune. And I salute him.At the opener, NHL President Clarence Camp-bell said, &ldquo;One thing expansion certainly has done is to upgrade the level of buildings in which major league hockey is played. We have been scrubbing our faces and putting on new clothes, so to speak. Right now, the only one of our 12 arenas which needs to be replaced is Montreal&rsquo;s Forum, which will be done. The ceiling will be raised and sus-pended, and the building rebuilt beneath it. This is not the cheapest or the best way to do it, but it is the fastest.&rdquo;While Campbell would not say the Seals would stay in the Oakland Arena, he did state flatly, &ldquo;The NHL wants the San Francisco Bay Area market and is there to stay.&rdquo; &hellip; The crowd of 9,650 fans the Seals drew in Oakland for a game with St. Louis in late December was a pleasant, surprise &hellip; Would you say Campbell was stepping on a toe when he fined Montreal coach Toe Blake $200 for &ldquo;coaching from the stands&rdquo; after being ejected from a game recently? &hellip; Having ended his retirement of more than a year and rejoined Vancouver, Billy McNeill is being eyed hungrily by two NHL clubs.<h2>Bruins Added &ldquo;Muscle&rdquo;</h2>Harry Sinden is the brightest young coach to come into hockey&rsquo;s major leagues in years. He was sought by several other teams, but preferred to remain with his parent Boston organization until he moved up with the Bruins last season. The Bruins have finished next-to-last or last for eight straight seasons, including Sinden&rsquo;s debut season, but after around half of this season they were first. &ldquo;I was trying to force the action with small forwards last season and there was no way we could manage it, no way. This season we have some big strong guys up front and we&rsquo;re forcing the play and it&rsquo;s made all the difference in the world,&rdquo; the handsome mentor comments. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ll take all we can get, of course, but I don&rsquo;t expect miracles, we were looking for improvement. We&rsquo;re looking to make the playoffs, &rsquo; and now we have a little padding.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-02726/3301837-1-eng-US/f0014-022.jpg" title="f0014-02" width="284" height="430"><figcaption class="caption-body">Harry Sinden</figcaption></div>The Bruins have been brawling their way to the top, intimidating the opposition a bit. They have been involved in four of five major brawls in the NHL this season. There was one large melee and a couple of lesser ones in Boston games. And the Bruins have been picking up the? tab for such aggressiveness. They&rsquo;ve been fined heavily, and they&rsquo;ve had to bear up under a lot of Injuries, including one to super-star Bobby Orr. &ldquo;Our spirit is good. We&rsquo;re hitting and hustling. Just like football, when you block and tackle, you win,&rdquo; Sinden says. &ldquo;But we&rsquo;re not playing dirty and we don t expect to scare anyone. Frankly, I think most people in hockey have the same ideas as to how this game should be played. I don&rsquo;t think there&rsquo;s much difference at all in the philosophies of the coaches in the National League. Coaching then comes down to handling of men, and how you play with what you have.&rdquo;Wren Blair, the imaginative Minnesota master-mind, says, I believe we have only scratched the surface in a scientific approach to this game. We are not playing enough to our opponents&rsquo; weaknesses. If you dump the puck into an old defenseman&rsquo;s corner, you&rsquo;re going to wear him out. If you find that a player has a weakness going to one side or another, for example, or is having a bad night, I believe you should attack that weak-ness. We play too much the same style against all opponents. We could borrow a leaf from football&rsquo;s book in this respect, in laying out a game plan and gearing your play to each specific y opponent. Of course, it&rsquo;s tough when you have to y play several games a week, often two or three on consecutive nights. We don&rsquo;t have the time to A prepare for each opponent that a football team does.&rdquo;<h2>Russians Want NHL Game</h2>The Russians continue to request a test against &rsquo; an NHL team, Minnesota president Walter Bush says, &ldquo;They&rsquo;d be a good minor pro team. &ldquo;Russian official Victor Kutznetzov says, &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know what the result would be. I just know that the professionals won&rsquo;t play us.&rdquo; It&rsquo;s too bad, the rules can&rsquo;t be waived to permit such an exhibition. The Russians want it. So should we. A good NHL team probably would wallop the Russians. If not, more power to the Russians &hellip; Sid Abel now has seven rookies on his Detroit Red Wing roster. He&rsquo;s trying to ride a kiddie cart to the top. His and several other NHL teams now are considerably younger than the Russian national team.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-03568/3301830-1-eng-US/f0014-032.jpg" title="f0014-03" width="284" height="473"><figcaption class="caption-body">John Hanna</figcaption></div>John Hanna, who has only a few games to go to qualify for the NHL minimum pension of $3,000 a year, beginning at the age of 45, and a $30,000 life Insurance policy, has been promised those games by the Philadelphia Flyers. Lately, John has been sitting out the games. He says, &ldquo;Sure I&rsquo;d like to be playing &hellip; but I don&rsquo;t mind. I&rsquo;m in the NHL and that&rsquo;s a far cry from the minors. I rode the bus the last six years in the minors and I don&rsquo;t ever want to go back to that. The only thing I can do is keep in shape and wait for my chance. When the chance comes, I&rsquo;ll be ready. I know I can do the job, whatever job the coach asks me to do.&rdquo; &hellip; At the rate Toronto&rsquo;s Johnny Bower is going, he&rsquo;ll be eligible for his pension while he&rsquo;s still playing. He&rsquo;ll be 45 on Nov. 8, 1969.When Minnesota recalled Andre Pronovost from Memphis, the veteran forward was caught short without winter clothing, but went happily anyway. He said he feels more like playing hockey in cold weather. And he likes the fact that his three sons will get more ice time in Minnesota, where rinks are plentiful. And he added, &ldquo;my wife doesn&rsquo;t mind the change, either. She has all the furs now, but the only one she could wear in Memphis was her mink stole.&rdquo;Poor Mrs. Pronovost.Also, Andre just got sent down again. &#9632;

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Hockey Ad Lib

<div class="byline">BY JIM PROUDFOOT</div>TORONTO, Ont.-The Maple Leafs have been displaying their customary midwinter inconsistency, winning just often enough to stay within striking distance of the National Hockey League leaders, but also losing with sufficient regularity to avoid overtaking those front-running clubs.They never show enough power, on a full-time basis, to justify optimism about their future as defending Stanley Cup champions but, on the other hand, they never look bad enough to warrant exclusion from any listing of the NHL&rsquo;s best teams.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-04412/3301875-1-eng-US/f0014-042.jpg" title="f0014-04" width="270" height="478"><figcaption class="caption-body">Frank Mahovlich</figcaption></div>It&rsquo;s been enough to rile up the ulcers of Punch Imlach, Leafs&rsquo; coach and general manager, and that&rsquo;s precisely what did happen in December. Imlach was hospitalized briefly for treatment of stomach ulcers, prompting him to say &ldquo;these guys are trying to get rid of me sooner this year.&rdquo; Last season, you may recall, Imlach was shelved with a painful digestive ailment called a hiatus hernia and Leafs were unbeaten during his convalescence. King Clancy, Imlach&rsquo;s assistant, was caretaker coach.There were only three reasons, really, for getting excited about Leafs over the Christmas holiday period: Mike Walton&rsquo;s headlong charge toward a big year&mdash;he finished 1967 with 19 goals&mdash;Captain George Armstrong&rsquo;s unexpected productivity&mdash;he&rsquo;s well on his way to a 20-goal campaign&mdash;and the dynamic comeback of Frank Mahov-lich.The Big M was out of Leafs&rsquo; lineup and in hospital for an 11-game stretch beginning Nov. 2. He was receiving treatment for extreme tension and nervousness and there was no way of knowing how he&rsquo;d shape up after rejoining the club at the end of November, or how long he might last this time. The worries, however, were exaggerated. The new Mahovlich was better thaneven the most optimistic observers had forecast. Moreover, the fans at Maple Leaf Gardens, having learned their negative reactions had been a major cause of the Big M&rsquo;s frustration, generously applauded every move he made. And that approval had a snowballing effect, just as the booing had done previously.Mahovlich Is best when he&rsquo;s hitting and that&rsquo;s what he&rsquo;s been doing since coming back to work. It was his check which fractured Bobby Orr&rsquo;s collar bone and knocked him off the Boston roster for a month. Nobody wants to see a player injured, but the fact Mahovlich had thrown such a destructive nody blow was considered a good sign in Toronto. In a subsequent match he flattened Montreal Canadiens&rsquo; most persistent checker, Claude Provost. But the biggest ovation of all was still to come. That was Dec. 30, when he counted three goals&mdash;his eighth, ninth and 10th of the season&mdash;against St-Louis Blues and was chosen first star of the evening.Mahovlich will be 30 on Wednesday, Jan. 10. He is in his 11th big-league season and started the current campaign with 277 goals. He is a solid citizen now, a married Torontonian with two children and a third on the way. An Important development, though, may be the public acceptance which his most recent illness seems to have obtained for him.Mahovlich always has seen himself as a team player, contributing to the kind of overall effort it takes to win hockey championship. The Gardens spectators always have expected prodigious individual feats from him&mdash;of which he is physically capable, to be sure&mdash;and have been bitterly disappointed when he has failed to fit the image they fabricated for him. Now, perhaps, they will be content to accept Mahovlich as he really is.The Big M&rsquo;s return to maximum output had to await center Dave Keon&rsquo;s recovery from injuries of his own. Young Walton was superb as Keon&rsquo;s replacement but Mahovlich seems to work best at left wing on an established forward line with Keon at centre and Armstrong on the right side. When that group was reunited, everybody got rolling again. It&rsquo;s and ideal attacking combination&mdash;Keon&rsquo;s diligent forechecking and playmaking, Mahovlich&rsquo;s muscular swooping and Armstrong&rsquo;s overall competence.If there&rsquo;s any obstacle involved in this arrangement, it would be this: the man who skates with Keon and Armstrong misses considerable ice time because they are used to kill penalties and, when Leafs are playing the efficient defensive hockey that&rsquo;s their trademark, they do get penalties. Now whether it makes sense to minimize the Big M&rsquo;s working hours is a good topic for discussion and argument. &#9632;

f0014-04

Walton, Army’s Scoring, Comeback Of Mahovlich Easing Imlach’s Ulcers

<div class="byline">BY HANS TANNER</div>ROCHESTER, N.Y.-Well, Joe Crozier figured the time was &ldquo;rotten-ripe&rdquo; for change, and change he did, altering the whole appearance of the Rochester Americans the day after Christmas in the biggest deal in Amerk history.With his Rochester team on its longest losing streak (six) in Crozier&rsquo;s five-year tenure as coach and in the totally unfamiliar surroundings of last place in the Western Division of the American Hockey League, Joe traded away his leading scorer &mdash; Milan Marcetta &mdash; and his most aggressive winger and No. 3 point getter &mdash; Jean-Paul Parise.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-02721/3301906-1-eng-US/f0015-022.jpg" title="f0015-02" width="276" height="428"><figcaption class="caption-body">Len Lunde</figcaption></div>But before demanding a head-shrinker for Crozier, take a peek at what he got from the National League&rsquo;s Minnesota North Stars in exchange for the pair:1-Ted Taylor2-Murray Hall3-Len Lunde4-Duke Harris5-Don Johns6-The loan of Carl Wetzel for the balance of the season.If the addition of that package of exceptional minor league talent doesn&rsquo;t move the local icemen back up into contention, well, Joe doesn&rsquo;t want to think about that.Marcetta and Parise departed with 18 goals and 22 assists and 10 goals and 18 assists, respectively in 30 games.While none of the newcomers has an overly impressive record this season, all have excellent past performance charts in the American League.Lunde, it will be recalled, scored 50 goals and had 46 assists for 96 points and was the All-Star left wing while with Buffalo in 1964-65. He had 30 goals and 43 assists for the Bisons the previous season. He&rsquo;s one right wing for the Amerks.Taylor and Harris were members of last season&rsquo;s Calder Cup champion Pittsburgh Hornets. Ted had 20 goals and 38 assists and Harris 27 goals and 27 assists. Taylor is a left wing and Harris a right wing.Hall had 29 goals and 33 assists for Pittsburgh in 1964-65 and 28 goals and 45 assists for the &lsquo;65-66 Hornets. He totaled 27 goals and 42 assists last season while playing for Detroit, Pittsburgh and Los Angeles.John is an experienced defenseman with three seasons of NHL play who was at Quebec the past two years. Wetzel is the American-born goalie who was the most valuable player in the World Tournament last year.Taylor and Harris had been with Minnesota all season, Hall had moved back and forth between the North Stars and Memphis of the Central Pro League, Lunde had gone home to Edmonton after being ordered to Memphis by Minnesota a month or so ago, and Johns and Wetzel were with Memphis all season.The North Stars paid one million dollars for 20 hockey players in the June expansion draft. Of these, the Amerks landed nearly a sixth &mdash; getting the sixth (Taylor), eighth (Lunde) and 12th (Hall) picks. And Harris was the 20th player protected by Detroit and Johns the 22nd &ldquo;saved&rdquo; by Montreal.This was the third major deal made by Crozier this season. He dealt Gerry Ehman to Oakland for Parise and Bryan Hextall before the schedule started, so actually now&rsquo; has given up Ehman and J Marcetta in return for Hextali, Hall, Taylor, Harris, Lunde, Johns and the loan of Wetzel. Not bad, eh?In his other move, Crozier picked up veteran Bill Sweeney from Vancouver, but at this writing still hadn&rsquo;t given the-Canucks a body for him.There&rsquo;s no place to go but up for the Amerks, and that&rsquo;s exactly where they&rsquo;re headed now. &#9632;

f0015-02

Slumping Amerks Get 6 New Faces As Crozier Shakes Up Rochester

<div class="byline">BY CHUCK SANTANIELLO</div>SPRINGFIELD, Mass.-Veteran winger Jimmy Anderson is now playing his 12th season with the Springfield Kings. In all that time, he has been a popular figure with local fans. But he has added responsibility this season. He&rsquo;s team captain.It was the first time ever in his long pro hockey career that Jimmy was ever honored with the job as team captain. It has reflected in his great play this season. He&rsquo;s checking hard, hustling and living up to his responsibilities.Anderson, who resides with his family permanently in the Feeding Hills section of Agawam, has been with the Kings since 1954. He started his pro hockey career with the Edmonton Flyers in the Western League in 1952, where he spent two seasons.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-01645/3301944-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg" title="f0016-01" width="295" height="483"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jimmy Anderson</figcaption></div>Presently, Andy rates fourth among the all-time goal scorers in the American Hockey League. Ahead of him are former Indians player and coach Harry Pidhirny, Willie Marshall and Fred Glover. The last two are still active in the game.In 63 games with that team last season, Jim tallied 54 points on a total of 25 goals and 29 assists. He only picked up four minutes in penalties last season. Before the start of this season, he had the amazing total of 392 goals in 826 games.The 36-year-old Anderson is not Mg as hockey players go. He stands 5&mdash;10 and weighs 180 pounds. This season his play has been quite agressive. He&rsquo;s also ahead of last season&rsquo;s scoring pace. At this writing, he has 12 goals and 12 assists in 32 games.In addition to his great value as a leader on the ice, Jimmy is also a valuable penalty killer. Infact, he specializes in this type of play. That makes extra work for him, but he would not have it any other way.During the off season, he is a great golfer in this area and used to be a good softball player. He&rsquo;s held a number of good, off-season jobs here. Last season, he was honored on &ldquo;Jim Anderson Night&rdquo; with many valuable prizes and gifts by the fans.<h2>How They Stand</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-03447/3301937-1-eng-US/f0016-032.jpg" title="f0016-03" width="686" height="1903"></div> &#9632;

f0016-01

Anderson Suited For Ice Leader Role

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0016-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-02559/3301975-1-eng-US/f0016-022.jpg"></div> &#9632;

f0016-02

American Hockey League Summaries

<div class="byline">BY AL FISCHER</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-01549/3302006-1-eng-US/f0017-012.jpg" title="f0017-01" width="274" height="473"><figcaption class="caption-body">Willie Marshall</figcaption></div>BALTIMORE, Md.-Other American Hockey League clubs always seem to come up with players when needed &mdash; note Joe Szura goes to Buffalo Rochester gets five for three from Minnesota&mdash;Hanna sent to Quebec.Baltimore, however, is having trouble getting replacements and no sooner do they get them than they&rsquo;re recalled &mdash; note &mdash; Bill Speer, George Konik and Dune McCallum &mdash; once in Baltimore, now all back in Pittsburgh.Coach Terry Reardon has been desperately seeking a replacement for veteran Willie Marshall. Marshall, the league&rsquo;s second leading scorer is sidelined for at least another seven weeks and nobody wants to help the Clippers.Baltimore&rsquo;s plight is not a new one for the Clippers.They suffered through the same situation in their first few years in the league when they were affiliates of the New York Rangers When the Rangers needed aid, they would dip into Baltimore and once they went up, they never came back.They are faced with the same plan with Pittsburgh as the working partner.It is true that the Penguins did option such stalwarts as Tom McCarthy, Bob Rivard, Joe Daley and Ted Lanyon to the Clippers before the season started, but since then recalls have been more prevalent than help for the Clippers.Despite the recalls and Baltimore&rsquo;s trouble to get above the. 500 mark, attendance has been excellent due to the Clipper&rsquo;s fine home record, which shows the club with but one loss in 15 starts.The average turnout for those 15 home tests is well above the 5,000 mark per game, much higher than Oakland&rsquo;s N.H.L. expansion club and close to Pittsburgh, St-Louis and Los Angeles, other expansion cities.In the new year, the Clippers will have to start winning on the road if they are to stay in contention for a playoff berth. They have won but twice in 16 games away from home, the last win coming on November 12 in providence.CLIPPER CLIPS;-Art Chiup-ka, amateur whose pro rights are owned by the Clippers, was optioned to Des Moines and has scored ten goals in eight games. He could be recalled.Sub goalie Gilles Boisvert is the only unbeaten netminder in league, showing two wins and a tie, including Baltimore&rsquo;s only shutout of the season. &#9632;

f0017-01

Clippers Desperately Hunting Player Help As Injuries Mount

BALTIMORE, Md.-Latest to join Baltimore&rsquo;s hospital corps was the team&rsquo;s top scorer enjoying one of his finest season&rsquo;s in the game, the seemingly ageless 36-year-old wonder, Willie Marshall.Marshall broke his ankle Christmas Eye. But, it didn&rsquo;t happen the way most hockey injuries do, on a sheet of ice In an Indoor rink. No sir, this one took place on a small piece of ice on the steps of teammate Bob Brinkworth&rsquo;s home.It seems that Marshall was playing Santa Claus for the children of fellow Clippers. He, along with Tam McCarthy and Brinkworth were laden with Yuletide packages to take to the three sons of Bob Cunningham.As Marshall began to make his way down the backstairs with the Christmas gifts, he tumbled to the ground and then was unable to rise.Rushed to the Maryland General Hospital where team physician Ross Pierpont presides as Chief of Surgery, ex-rays revealed that Willie had a broken ankle and would be sidelined for about six weeks. &#9632;

Marshall Breaks Ankle-Playing Santa

<div class="byline">BY SHEL FULLERTON</div>CEVELAND, Ohio-Recalling to mind, once again, that gage-old hockey formula for success &mdash; win like crazy at home and break even on the road &mdash; the Cleveland Barons have everything going in their favor as the American Hockey League race approaches the half-way mark.In pulling ahead by seven points at year&rsquo;s end in the Western Division scramble, the Barons have followed the formula to perfection. They have won nine and tied four at home, losing only once, and have compiled an 8-7&mdash;1 record on the road.What&rsquo;s more, by the first day of the new year, they had completed exactly half of their road schedule and still had 22 games remaining on their home ice. One of the club&rsquo;s two prolonged road trips was out of the way, including its junket into Western Hockey League territory.There are other factors that enter into the success formula, all being followed religiously by Coach Fred Glover&rsquo;s blue-shirts.They have the best defensive record in the league and one of the top goalies in young Jerry DesJardins, who has held the opposition to 2.92 goals a game while playing every minute of every game. He leads the league in shutouts, with three.They are getting balanced scoring from all their forward lines. The Jim Paterson &mdash; Norm Ferguson &mdash; Bob Ellett combination has rapped in 37 goals; the Cecil Hoekstra Howie Glover &mdash; Wilf Martin trio has scored 34 and the Fred Glover &mdash; Norm Dennis &mdash; Wayne Schultz &mdash; Doug Senior quartet, which shifts around a bit as the situation demands, has scored 27.In Paterson, Ferguson, Martin, DesJardins and defenseman Doug Piper, they have five hot candidates for rookie of the year.Just because everything was rosy at the end of 1967 does not guarantee that things will stay that way. Few clubs ever pound through a whole season without a slump hitting at some point along the line.In the Barons&rsquo; favor is their youth, their proven ability to bounce back and the fact that, with games in hand on all their Western Division opponents, plus their substantial lead, they are in better position tow with stand a slump than any of their opponents.As the club reached the turn of the year, the roster was padded by one when 21-year-old defense-man Don Fedun, who had been playing at Seattle, was dispatched to the Barons by the Montreal Canadiens.&ldquo;He could be a good one,&rdquo; observed Glover. &ldquo;He has the physical ability required.&rdquo;<h2>Point Race</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-02486/3302061-1-eng-US/f0017-022.jpg" title="f0017-02" width="647" height="778"></div> &#9632;

f0017-02

Win At Home-Break Even On Road

<div class="byline">BY CHARLEY BARTON</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-03403/3302092-1-eng-US/f0017-032.jpg" title="f0017-03" width="273" height="469"><figcaption class="caption-body">Gilles Villemure</figcaption></div>BUFFALO, N.Y. &mdash;Gilles Villemure was sent to the Buffalo Bisons when the New York Rangers recalled goalie Don Simmons, and Villemure steered the Herd to a 3-3 tie against his erstwhile Baltimore Clipper&rsquo;s teammates in his debut.The teams met the following night in Buffalo, and his time the Bisons rang up a 5-3 victory.&ldquo;Villemure will do a real good job for us,&rdquo; said Coach Fred Shero. &ldquo;With Villemure and Ed Chadwick, our goaltending is in good hands.&rdquo;Chadwick, who had given way to Simmons and then was forced out of the lineup with a pulled hamstring, earned a 2-2 tie in Rochester with a first-rate performance.Although the club had put together a six-game unbeaten streak, 2 wins and 4 ties, as this was written, Shero and General Manager Fred Hunt were seeking additional help. They were in constant touch with Emile Francis, manager-coach of the parent New York club, and a series of changes was considered imminent.&ldquo;We are planning several changes,&rdquo; said Hunt. &ldquo;Our offense lacks bounce, and we have to get some bite into the attack.&ldquo;Fred (Shero) and I haven&rsquo;t been too pleased with some of the guys we have. Emile is in agreement, and we are planning changes.&rdquo;ALONG THE BOARDS &mdash; Ray Brunel, a much-traveled center was brought up from Omaha of the Central Pro League when Larry Wilson entered hospital for treatment of a back ailment &hellip; Bob Davidson, Toronto; Don Graham, Detroit; Gary Young, Boston, and Chirp Brenchley, Pittsburgh, were in Buffalo scouting the annual Nichols School College Invitation Tournament. Cornell beat the University of Toronto, 1-0, in overtime in the title round. Hunt was at the tourney for the Bisons and the Rangers. &#9632;

f0017-03

Villemure Bolsters Herd Goaling Crew

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0019-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-02457/3302168-1-eng-US/f0019-022.jpg"></div> &#9632;

f0019-02

WHL Summaries

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0019-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-01536/3302223-1-eng-US/f0019-012.jpg"></div> &#9632;

f0019-01

How WHL Teams Compare

<div class="byline">BY MATT DENNIS</div>-FORT WORTH, Tex.When your team is the highest-scoring In the Central Professional Hockey League and has the lowest goals-against mark, a coach may not be overly-worried.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-02289/3302261-1-eng-US/f0020-022.jpg" title="f0020-02" width="283" height="500"><figcaption class="caption-body">Pete Mahovlich</figcaption></div>But such is not the case with Fern Flaman, handling the bench duties of the Fort Worth Wings, pace-setters of the CPHL&rsquo;s Southern Division.&ldquo;Every game is a big one to me and I want my players to think that way, too. To win in this Central League, you have to hustle all the time you are on the ice. As the young players in the league gain experience, they become better, not only our club but the others too,&rdquo; says the veteran coach who starred as one of the toughest rearguards in the National Hockey League only a few years ago.With the Fort Worth Wings designated as a development team for the parent Detroit Red Wings of the NHL, so often they have found themselves in the midst of player changes. When the major league team is hit by injuries and needs help, it&rsquo;s Fort Worth they look to for assistance.Already this season, Rick McCann, Gary Marsh, Ron Anderson, Jimmy Peters, Doug Roberts and Warren Godfrey have worn Fort Worth and Detroit uniforms.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m all for young players getting a chance to make it in the NHL. It&rsquo;s my job to help them develop here,&rdquo; says Flaman.With Rick McCann the league&rsquo;s top point-getter after 29 games, Marsh and Pete Mahovlich showing that they can put the puck in the net by each counting four goals in a single game and Ron Anderson notching a point per game the Wings are formidable up front.TULSA &mdash; Veteran Len Haley, Andre Hinse and Gerry Meehan continued their starry play as the most productive unit in the league as they combined for 91 points over the Oilers first 30 games.Ron Ward, the converted defenceman, is producing up front with 12 goals and 11 assists in his first 28 games.OKLAHOMA CITY-Ron Buchanan continued to hold the top spot in the team&rsquo;s point-getting race with eight goals and 22 assists in 28 contests. Rookie Jim Lorentz trailed him with 12 goals and 16 assists.Barry Gibbs was still the top &ldquo;badman&rdquo; of the loop with 119 minutes in penalties.KANSAS CITY-Goalie Don Caley was called to the parent St. Louis Blues to fill in for Glenn Hall who returned to his home to attend his father&rsquo;s funeral. Caley later returned to the CPHL Club.Playing coach Doug Harvey started wearing No. 2, the same number he wore in his All-Star playing days with the Montreal Canadiens.For their first 12 home games, the Blues attracted 55,227 fans an average of 4,602.DALLAS-The Black Hawks were the first team to shut out the Fort Worth Wings in 29 games with goalie Bob Sneddon wielding the whitewash brush backing up a goal by Bob Schmautz.Sneddon came back his next time out with another shutout, a 4-0 &ldquo;blank&rdquo; of Kansas City.Brian McDonald kept the lead as the club&rsquo;s top point-getter showing 10 goals and 22 assists for 32 points in 20 outings.Schmautz trailed with a 12-15 record while rookies Jean Paul Leblanc and Jim Stanfield were showing improvement in their bid for rookie of the year nominations.MEMPHIS-Bob Charlebois, top sniper of the circuit, was back in the South Stars&rsquo; lineup after a trip to the parent Minnesota North Stars. He showed 16 goals in 24 CPHL contests.Sandy Fitzpatrick is the club&rsquo;s top point-getter with 11 goals and 16 assists in 33 outings.OMAHA&mdash;Steve Brklacich left his director of scouting post for eastern Canada with the parent New York Rangers to take over the coaching chores of the Knights with &ldquo;Jake&rdquo; Milford holding the general manager&rsquo;s post.Wayne Hall was the Knights&rsquo; leading point-getter with 10 goals and 13 assists over the first 25 games.<h2>How They Stand</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-01381/3302254-1-eng-US/f0020-012.jpg" title="f0020-01" width="660" height="1300"></div> &#9632;

f0020-02

Fort Worth’s Young Wings Fly High; Marsh, Mahovlich Shoot 4-Goal Games

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0020-04" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-04176/3302299-1-eng-US/f0020-042.jpg"></div><h2>Point Races</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-03244/3302292-1-eng-US/f0020-032.jpg" title="f0020-03" width="631" height="884"></div> &#9632;

f0020-04

Central League Summaries

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-01231/3302330-1-eng-US/f0021-012.jpg" title="f0021-01" width="659" height="4473"></div> &#9632;

f0021-01

Hockey Race

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-02171/3302399-1-eng-US/f0021-022.jpg" title="f0021-02" width="652" height="2681"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-03125/3302392-1-eng-US/f0021-032.jpg" title="f0021-03" width="644" height="275"></div> &#9632;

f0021-02

Looking At EHL Race

<div class="byline">BY HARVEY POLLACK</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-0586/3302361-1-eng-US/f0021-052.jpg" title="f0021-05" width="288" height="458"><figcaption class="caption-body">Ed Babiuk</figcaption></div>JOHNSTOWN, Pa.&mdash;The Johnstown Jets have reset their sights In the Northern Division race of the Eastern Hockey League.For a stretch this year, the Jets entertained hope of catching Clinton for the divisional title, by the fact that the Comets had just two losses at the half way mark of the season has changed the outlook of pilot Dick Roberge. Now he realizes that it&rsquo;s virtually an impossible task to catch the Comets, and he better concentrate on beating out New Haven and Long Island for the second spot which would give his team the odd home game in the first round of the playoffs.The Jets are one of the higher scoring teams in the circuit and boast the league&rsquo;s scoring leader in Reg Kent and two other top Roberge. Their problem has been both injuries and a weak defense. Goalie Andy Brown has a four goal average which rates him down in the pack and his goals allowed total was topped only by one other goalie in the latest statistics.The loss of Mike Crupi at defense also hurt. Another failing has been the tendency to lose some games they figure to win. Examples of these fallings include being blanked at Jersey and suffering the same fate at home to Clinton twice this season. Their seventies this season did prevent defeats but cost them valuable figures in the points column.A stretch of six losses in seven games didn&rsquo;t help matters, and in this period the offense dipped. Roberge hopes to straighten out matters for though he has given the regular season crown to Clinton, barring an unexpected siege of injuries and slumps by the Comets, he has in no fashion given up hopes of winning the playoff crown. In a short series, anything can happen, and the Jets attack could provide the spark to help the Jets go a long way. But that&rsquo;s the future. Roberge now wants some daylight between his club and New Haven and Long Island.NASHVILLE: Flo Pilote scored winning goal for Flyers in big game at Greensboro. Lloyd Hinchberger hopes his Flyers can catch Generals in last half and feels return of Injured Norm Ryder will help in that quest. Flyers are far from being the most penalized club this year as they were in the past. Wally Sprange is menacing Don Carter&rsquo;s hold on southern scoring lead.SYRACUSE: Blazer&rsquo;s Roger Wilson had 24 saves in one period vs New Haven. Bob Peters suffered fractured jaw and Danny Sandford a shoulder injury and were sidelined. Center Ray Ad-duono is bright light on offense with over 60 points. Defenseman Rod Hibbert and goalie George Mohr dropped. Garry Cooke still on disabled lost with fractured ankle.KNOXVILLE: Harley Hodgson handicapped by shoulder injury. Local high school girls have formed cheerleading group for Knights David Lee&rsquo;s shooting hurt by shoulder bruise. Dennis Longpre secured from Charlotte in completion of Ted Baylis deal. Pete Shearer broke his arm after impressing in several games. He was secured from Port Huron, Knights and University of Tennessee team staged twin bill.SALEM: Rebels hit season high with six goals against Knoxville. Dave Lucas likes to play Knights, beating them three straight times, the first time ending a 23-game non-winning streak. Lucas believes Bern Fitzgerald would be a big asset for his team if &ldquo;he would just get mean and stay that way.&rdquo; Bob Zupan has passed the 1,000 mark in saves.NEW HAVEN: Ray Crew was a steady spectator at Blades&rsquo; games here until he joined Jersey. Murray Klein and Dave Derdall placed on waivers to make room for Terry Jones coming off the injury list. Coach Don Perry held an intra-squad game and blamed his team&rsquo;s loss on the abundance of defenseman on his squad. Bruce Reler and Ron Hergott have moved into the northern division&rsquo;s top ten scorers. Goalie Al Johnstone&rsquo;s blanking of Jersey gave him league lead with four shutouts.LONG ISLAND: Ducks picked up Benny LeBlanc from Salem. They also signed Norm Schmitz, a defenseman who played for Buffalo last year. He&rsquo;ll fill John Brophy&rsquo;s spot. Hal Willis slowed by shoulder injury. Ed Lawson&rsquo;s hat trick beat Johnstown Crowd here chanted &ldquo;we want Brophy&rdquo; but he&rsquo;ll have to sit it out until EHL prexy Tom Loak-hart deems otherwise. Goalie Wayne Doll served as Boston&rsquo;s backup goalie for game at New York.CHARLOTTE: Checkers sent Dennis Longpre to Knoxville with coach Fred Creighton claiming Longpre&rsquo;s size was his biggest drawback. Claude Ouimet with his goal total around the 30 mark Is far ahead of last year&rsquo;s pace. Checkers trying to stave off challenging Nashville for second place in the South. Goalie Bob Whidden came up with big game at Florida.CLINTON: Ed Babiuk posted his fourth shutout over Jersey. Bill Bannerman&rsquo;s two goals paced win in a game which was shifted here from Utica when the Utica ice making machine broke down. Bannerman later scored in the final session to enable the Comets to tie the Devils at Jersey and preserve their record of not losing to the Devils in 10 clashes.GREENSBORO: Largest crowd of year, 6,617, saw Gens nipped by Nashwille, for first loss to Flyers in seven meetings. Bill Young&rsquo;s four goals and three assists paced win over Salem. Bill also had goal recalled and missed a penalty shot in the game. Don Carter and Bob Sicinski sidelined for several games with injuries. Roger Wilson missed a period of a game because his broken skate couldn&rsquo;t be welded.JERSEY: Devils involved in three straight shutouts, losing two to New Haven and Clinton and whipping Johnstown on Andre Daoust&rsquo;s first whitewashing in three years of gaoling in organized hockey. Claude Boucher injured, back. Reggie Meserve hurt his right hand trying to break up fight between Wayne Kitchen and New Haven&rsquo;s Murray Kuntz. Ted Sydlowski and Lorne O&rsquo;Donnell also ailing. Red Simpson suspensed for refusing to make trip to Clinton.FLORIDA: The Rockets have dropped 13 one-goal games this season. Ron Willy Is the team&rsquo;s scoring leader and hovering just off the league&rsquo;s top 10 In pointmaking. Jim Lorette punched Knoxville&rsquo;s Larry Mick in mouth to precipitate a melee at the Knights rink. Goalie Harrison Gray received misconduct for leaving his crease to join the fight. Coach Bob Sabourin believes schedule favors Rockets here on in.JOHNSTOWN: Jets signed Steve Keller, a right winger from Denver University and Hamilton Junior A. Detroit Red Wings sent Ron Barkwell to Port Huron on loan. Pierre Roy tested the fists of Jersey&rsquo;s Clobie Collins, the Nova Scotia boxing champion, and also tangled with Clinton&rsquo;s Jack Kane. Mike Crupi received a misconduct penalty and fine for arguing with ref Bob Giovati after game with Clinton had ended. &#9632;

f0021-05

Leading Clinton Out Of Reach, Jets Concentrate On 2nd Place

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-01252/3302430-1-eng-US/f0022-012.jpg" title="f0022-01" width="660" height="1763"></div> &#9632;

f0022-01

Hockey Races

<div class="byline">BY BOB REED</div>DES MOINES, I.-The International Hockey League&rsquo;s fourth shutout of the season was re-corded on Dec. 28, when goalie Phil Headley of Des Moines blanked Toledo 4-0.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-03159/3302468-1-eng-US/f0022-032.jpg" title="f0022-03" width="272" height="480"><figcaption class="caption-body">Moe Benoit</figcaption></div>It was also the fourth whitewash job turned in by one of the league&rsquo;s new goalies. The previous shutouts were administered by Ray Reeson of Port Huron, Tim Tabor of Muskegon and Robbie Irons of Fort Wayne.All of these are rookies, around the 20-year mark in age. Headley can hardly be termed a rookie, although It is his first year in the IHL. He Is 26 years of age. He played In the Alberta Senior League last winter, being voted the most valuable player. He had three unsuccessful trials with the New York Rangers.Headley had 24 saves in blanking Toledo. He was called upon to stop only two shots in the final period.IHL goalies are just about even with last year&rsquo;s shutouts, which numbered five up to the first of the year. However, they finished with 11 for the season, which still leaves the netminders with plenty of work to do If they are to approach that figure.COLUMBUS-The Checkers set a new scoring record for their second year In the IHL when they trounced Dayton, 11-4 &hellip; A scoring streak brought them 36 goals in five consecutive games&hellip; Ted LeBioda was suspended when he refused to report to the Eastern League &hellip;FORT WAYNE-When the Flags were unable to reach here for a game on Dec. 27, it was the first Komet cancellation since the 1964 playoffs when the Komets were awarded the sixth game by forfeit &hellip; Komet Injuries hit a high point with goalies Robbie Irons and Jerry Randall, Merv Dubchak, Lionel Repka and Rick Hextall all hurt &hellip; Captain Len Thomson handled the team for four games with Coach Ken Ullyot bedded down with flu &hellip; Two back-to-back week-end games drew 5,388 and 4,870.DAYTON&mdash; Barry Merrell had a four-goal game when the Gems trounced Des Moines, 15-1 and followed with a hat trick next night against Port Huron. Cliff Bristow had a &ldquo;hat&rdquo; in both games and Sid Garant&rsquo;s made It four for the Gems In two nights &hellip; Defenseman Moe Benoit appeared out for the season with a broken leg &hellip; Garant took over for Coach Warren Back In the two high scoring games, aided by General Manager Lefty McFadden.MUSKEGON-Gary Ford scored a hat trick in a 7-1 victory over Fort Wayne &hellip; Dayton&rsquo;s Gems halted a six-game Mohawk winning streak &hellip; Goalies Tim Tabor and Bob Perantl had a remarkable combined average of only 2.64 goals against.PORT HURON-Guy James, who holds the record for consecutive games In the IHL, almost had the string broken when he went to the hospital with an Injured ankle but it proved not to be broken and he came back for his 615th straight game &hellip; The Flags had a new right winger, Ron Barkwell, sent here by the Detroit Red Wings.TOLEDO-Veteran Bill Mitchell, nearing his 38thbirthday came out of retirement to help the Blade. down to two healthy defensemen &hellip; Hal Murphy, 21-year-old goalie, was called up from a junior league In Cornwall, Ont. to replace Jim Helkie, who was subbing for Glenn Ramsay &hellip; Coach Terry Slater was fined by Commissionner Andy Mulligan for &ldquo;statements over the public address system and to the press&rdquo; following a disputed goal.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-05106/3302461-1-eng-US/f0022-052.jpg" title="f0022-05" width="595" height="696"><figcaption class="caption-body">PHIL HEADLEY&hellip; Sparkles For Leafs</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0022-03

Columbus, Dayton Rack Up ‘Double-Figure’ Wins

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-02184/3302506-1-eng-US/f0022-022.jpg" title="f0022-02" width="654" height="1893"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-04125/3302499-1-eng-US/f0022-042.jpg" title="f0022-04" width="300" height="266"></div> &#9632;

f0022-02

LOOKING AT IHL RACE

<div class="byline">BY JACK GATECUFF</div>It may have been a Happy New Year for many celebrants as 1968 was rung in, in traditional style.However for the leading teams in the Ontario Hockey Association junior A league it was anything but merry.Four games were played New Year&rsquo;s Day and in every case the team lower in the standing rose up and defeated their previous tormentors.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-01231/3302537-1-eng-US/f0023-012.jpg" title="f0023-01" width="275" height="453"><figcaption class="caption-body">Bill Long</figcaption></div>The biggest upset of the day occured in Ottawa where the 67s, the newest entry in the league, defeated fifth place Hamilton Red Wings 3-2.It was only the third win in 29 games for the 67s and still left them deep in the 10-team basement but it at least signalled what could be the start of better things for the club coached and managed by Bill Long.The 67s, in fact, have been playing much better hockey since transferring their games from the Hull arena into the new Ottawa auditorium.Oshawa Generals, ninth in the league, also had cause to celebrate, defeating third place Toronto Marlboros 4-3 while fourth place Montreal downed second place Kitchener Rangers 5-2 sixth position St. Catharines Black Hawks edged the league-leading Niagara Falls Flyers 3-2.Vacation time rather than loss of player personnel through injuries damaged Toronto Marlboros&rsquo; hopes of displacing the Flyers in first place.Brad Park, their No. 1 defenceman, left for a Christmas-New Year&rsquo;s holiday and since he departed the Marlies lost four in succession &mdash; to St. Catharines, Kitchener, Peterborough and Oshawa.Although Ottawa can not be considered a serious playoff contender, the remaining teams in the league have closed the gap on the first division.Peterborough won three games in succession (4-2 over London; 5-1 over Ottawa; 5-4 over Oshawa) and are now tied with the London Nationals for seventh place.Those two teams are being hotly pursued by the Oshawa Generals, just two points behind as the three scramble for the final two playoff berths.St. Catharines Black Hawks have been the most consistent team in recent weeks and, after a slow start, are now closing in on Hamilton and Montreal.The Hawks, still sixth, have lost only twice in their last 12 games and, with two ties, have 20 of a possible 26 points.With the midway point in the 54-games per team schedule now passed six of the 10 clubs are in the running for first place. &#9632;

f0023-01

Lowly 67’s, Generals Erupt, Pull New Year’s Day Upsets

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0023-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-02182/3302568-1-eng-US/f0023-022.jpg"></div> &#9632;

f0023-02

Looking At OHA Race

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0023-04" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-04107/3302613-1-eng-US/f0023-042.jpg"></div><h2>SOLUTION IN JANUARY 20 ISSUE</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-0675/3302606-1-eng-US/f0023-062.jpg" title="f0023-06" width="1145" height="1517"></div><h2>LAST WEEK&rsquo;S ANSWERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-0766/3302599-1-eng-US/f0023-072.jpg" title="f0023-07" width="984" height="1002"></div> &#9632;

f0023-04

Hockey Crossword

<div class="byline">BY GREG DOUGLAS</div>VANCOUVER, B.C.-The big knock against junior hockey on the west coast steins from the fact youngsters in this area are forced to take a back seat to those in the east when it comes to skating.Each year when a B.C. junior A representative goes against a club from, say, the prairies, the inferior skating of the coast players generally stands out like Bobby Hull&rsquo;s bicep in one of those swim wear ads.But every once in a while an exceptionnally smooth product plunges forth. One such youngster is Jackie Taggart, Jr., a 17-year-old defenseman from Penticton, B.C.Jack is the son of the former rearguard who was a member of the 1955 world champion Penticton V&rsquo;s.The youngster is a strapping 170-pounder presently playing for the Penticton Broncos of the new B.C. Junior A Hockey League.But he won&rsquo;t be with the Broncs for long, because Father Bauer and Jackie McLeod of Canada&rsquo;s national team have their i eyes fixed on him for next season.Despite the fact young Taggart is only in his second year of junior competition, the Nationals had him in their lineup in mid-October during the pre-Olympic International tournament J in Grenoble, France.Bob Fenton, coach and founder of the New Westminster Royals junior club, says Taggart is the brightest prospect B.C. has had I in 10 years.&ldquo;The boy is a beautiful stick-handler,&rdquo; Fenton will tell you. &ldquo;He carries the puck well, he&rsquo;s a good rusher and he has one of the nicest shots in amateur hockey.&rdquo;Fenton should know. He added the youngster to the Royals&rsquo; lineup last season when New Westminster advanced to the Canadian western finals. Taggart had finished the year with the Penticton team that was then a member of the Okanagan League.&ldquo;Jackie took right over,&rdquo; Fenton adds. &ldquo;He was our team leader right through the finals.&rdquo;The Royals lost out to Port Arthur in their quest for the Memorial Cup after victories over Edmonton and Saskatoon.It&rsquo;s difficult to get an appraisal from Taggart&rsquo;s coach in Penticton for the simple reason the coach is Jack Sr.Which isn&rsquo;t a bad recommendation when you consider the &lsquo;old man&rsquo; was with Memorial Cup winners in 1942 (Winnipeg Rangers) and again in 1943 (Oshawa Generals).He also played two seasons of senior A hockey with the old Quebec Aces and later made it to the Allan Cup finals with Calgary in 1950.Jack Jr., was born in Calgary Feb. 3, 1950 and moved to Penticton shortly after. The late Clarence Moher of the Detroit Red Wings organization scouted young Taggart two seasons ago and had him at the Wings&rsquo; summer school in Edmonton both this year and last.Then in May of this year he received a letter from the Nationals inviting him to attend their August training camp. From there it was to Grenoble, France, for the pre-Olympic tournament and back to Penticton and the B.C. Junior League.&ldquo;I won&rsquo;t be surprised at all if Jackie sticks with the Canadian team next year, &ldquo;Fenton predicts. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been handling youngsters on the west coast for 10 years and believe me &hellip; this boy is one fine exception.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-01234/3302644-1-eng-US/f0024-012.jpg" title="f0024-01" width="592" height="1223"><figcaption class="caption-body">JACK TAGGART JR. Like Father, Like Son</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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January 13, 1968

Tightness Of Team Race Showing As Tempers Flare On All Fronts

Movements of Players

Pratt Steps In For Gregory

PRESSURE TREMENDOUS SAYS SULLY