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

February 10, 1968

The Hockey News February 10, 1968

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0010-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-02759/3346097-1-eng-US/f0010-022.jpg"></div>(Statistics include games of Wednesday, January 31) &#9632;

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IN THIS ISSUE

How Teams Compare In National League

<div class="byline">BY CHUCK SANTANIELLO</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0017-04" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-04314/3346504-1-eng-US/f0017-042.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Kings&rsquo;s trainer BILL BURNETT tends to injured Springfield player on ice. He has been with club last four years.</figcaption></div>SPRINGFIELD, Mass.&mdash;Perhaps the busiest guy around any professional hockey team is the trainer. Springfield is no exception. They say a good trainer can win from 5 to 10 games per season for the club he works with. This is true with the Kings. Bill Burnett has charge of the training room with the Kings. He does an able, responsible job and is perhaps the busiest guy in the organization, as he goes around trying to keep 22 guys on the club fit and healthy.&ldquo;My job is mostly routine,&rdquo; Burnett told us, &ldquo;like any other professional hockey club. My job is to keep the team in top physical condition. Of course, I have plenty of other work to do around the training room to keep me busy.&rdquo;And he is not kidding either. Bill, as do many other trainers, sharpens skates for the players, sews equipment and gear as well as offers personal care to the players and coach, if needed. He also gives regular diathermy and ultra sonic treatments.Burnett also keeps busy in the summer. The last two seasons, he was trainer for the Waterbury, Conn. Giants in the Eastern Baseball League; former Springfield resident Chick O&rsquo;Malley was general manager. He has a promotion coming up next summer. He&rsquo;ll serve as trainer for the International League Buffalo Bisons, one step under the big leagues.Burnett, who is 40 years old and single, has been with the Springfield hockey club four seasons. He took over the job from Wally Barlow, who held it many years, but decided to go to American International College as its trainer.He is a native of Thorold, Ontario and has been a trainer for 19 years. He was with the St. Catharines, Ont. Tee Pees for 11 years before he decided to go into professional hockey. This club won two Memorial Cups, as national champs.His first pro job was with Sudbury in the now disbanded Eastern Pro Hockey League. He put in one season there before he moved to Sault St. Marie, Ont. where he spent one season.Bill spent three seasons with luskegon in the International League before he came to Springfield. &#9632;

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Kings’ Burnett Does Double Duty As Hockey, Baseball Trainer

<div class="byline">BY BOB HARRIS</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0001-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0001-02174/3347046-1-eng-US/f0001-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Expansion rivalry is keen and exciting. Here&rsquo;s L.A.&rsquo;s Dale Rolfe (6) dumping Minnesota&rsquo;s Bill Goldsworthy in a new division contest.</figcaption></div>PHILADELPHIA, Pa.&mdash;National Hockey League expansion stock rose considerably the past two weeks.The unexpected upward trend by the new NHL teams both on the ice and at the box office was hailed in hockey circles as a big step forward for increased major league hockey exposure throughout the United States.The new teams came within a few thousand fans of outdrawing the established NHL East clubs last weekend in the expansion division&rsquo;s finest hour at the turnstiles. Led by Philadelphia, which pulled off a rare weekend sweep against two old clubs, the Flyers attracted a whopping 29,292 for back-to-back games in their new Spectrum. Pittsburgh pulled in 12,563, St. Louis drew 11,802 and Minnesota had 9,852 for a dismal nation-wide television attraction with Oakland. It all totalled up to 63,508 fans for a tingling five-game weekend average of 12,701.As a means of comparison, the old teams averaged 14,822 &mdash; taking their best five games as a measuring stick &mdash; drawing some 74,114 fans.Here&rsquo;s how four of the NHL&rsquo;s top expansion teams fared at the box office in their last four or five games: Philadelphia 62,085; Minnesota 48,153; St. Louis 40,608; and Pittsburgh 29,699.And to prove that their new image is constantly improving, the expansion teams showed a slight but inspiring edge over their established NHL brothers in actual game competition. In the last 14 interlocking games, the NHL&rsquo;s new teams have won seven, tied two and lost five. &#9632;

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New Team Crowds Spiral; Weekend Average 12,000

<div class="byline">BY HARVEY POLLACK</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-02175/3346811-1-eng-US/f0021-022.jpg" title="f0021-02" width="298" height="501"><figcaption class="caption-body">Borden Smith</figcaption></div>NASHVILLE, Tenn. &mdash;Apparently the two big fights in the Eastern Hockey League the rest of the year will be the identity of the second place occupants in each division.There will have to be a collapse by Clinton and Greensboro, the division leaders, for them to lose the top rungs. At the same time, Florida in 4th spot in the South has nothing to fear from Knoxville and Salem, while Long Island apparently doesn&rsquo;t have to look behind at Jersey and Syracuse in the north.Thus the big battles are between Nashville and Charlotte for second place in the south and New Haven and Johnstown for the runner-up spot in the north.The southern fight has added significance in that Nashville is the defending league champion, and yet this season the Flyers are out of the first place fight and having a tough time catching Charlotte. This difficulty for the Flyers was anticipated when their squad was wrecked by expansion.But Lloyd Hinchberger says the rebuilt team has come along faster than he had anticipated and he figures they will be strong in the stretch. The team&rsquo;s two successive routs of Greensboro recently have given the team new life regardless of where they finish.Hinchberger believes the Flyers can win any playoff series and but for the serious injuries to Norm Ryder and Flo Pilote, he figures they would be much higher in the race. As it is, &ldquo;Hinch&rdquo; is crediting winger Wayne Clairmont with much of the team&rsquo;s success.&ldquo;Wayne has seen a lot of ice time this year,&rdquo; said the skipper,, &ldquo;but it&rsquo;s been necessary to play him because we&rsquo;ve had so many life and death games. We need his experience right down the stretch too. His speed and hustle and his ability to engage in body contact when necessary make him one of the most valuable members of our team. &ldquo;FLORIDA: Cummy Burton father of new daughter. Rockets have new white jerseys with their names on the back. Rookie Bob Mullins&rsquo; goal nipped Charlotte. Harrison Gray seeing much better in goal without mask. Harold White evicted from Nashville game for molesting official and no doubt will be fined. Sub referee worked game when Ted Daily failed to appear.CLINTON: Howie Dietrich&rsquo;s 3-goal hat trick sparked win over Long Island. Borden Smith hit the 50-goal mark but Bill Bannerman still paces club scoring. Largest crowd of year saw New Haven contest. Comets have cleared 300 mark in goals scored and are approaching the 100 mark in points. Ed Babiuk&rsquo;s fine play in nets continues to restrict opposition&rsquo;s scoring.JERSEY: Devils halted their 8-game losing streak as newcomer Fred Bassi posted hat trick vs Syracuse. Reggie Meserve also had 3-goaler as Devils stayed ahead of Blazers in Northern race to avoid cellar. Ray Crew injured knee and Ted Szydlowski his groin. Bob Peters secured on loan from Boston Bruins organization. GM Eddie Ferenz, serving as bench coach, was evicted by referee Bill Pringle for disputing call against Crew.KNOXVILLE: Dave Patterson, former Nashville prexy, has volunteered his services as GM for rest of year. Don Labelle is new skipper for Pat Egan. Ken Rodgers sent away on waivers. Referee Ed Robins worked six junior games in afternoon and then worked game here at night. Harley Hodgson back in action after shoulder injury sidelined him. Salesman Frank Dafferner put up $5,000 to save team.NEW HAVEN: Ray Carpentier&rsquo;s hat trick helped down Jersey. Blades&rsquo; 17-0 rout of Syracuse marked highest total in club&rsquo;s history. Carpentier, Jean Marie Nicole and Murray Kuntz all had hat tricks as Al Johnstone posted his sixth shutout to take league lead. Don Perry eliminated all bonus deals for his players this year, deciding that they do not abet team morale.SALEM: Rebels displayed best skating of year vs Greensboro in gaining a 5-2 lead in a game which eventually wound up in a 7-7 tie. Bob Dickson and Claude Guenette each had 2-goal games. Both Jim Jago and Tom Schiller missed games due to illness. Rebs played Florida in exhibition at West Palm Beach, Flo. Bob Zupan at last count had allowed more goals than any netminder in loop.JOHNSTOWN: Jets set club record of 10 straight wins. Team also created gate mark with 4.280 crowd in win over Clinton. Bill Reid&rsquo;s back injury healed. Galen Head and Bill Ives each have three hat tricks and team is approaching club mark of 19 hat tricks. Andy Brown had rare goalie&rsquo;s assist at Syracuse. Reg Kent&rsquo;s six assists ve Blazers tied club record. So did John Gofton&rsquo;s five goals.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-03127/3346804-1-eng-US/f0021-032.jpg" title="f0021-03" width="591" height="673"><figcaption class="caption-body">WAYNE CLAIRMONT &hellip; Keeps Flyers Rolling</figcaption></div>LONG ISLAND: John Brophy filed suit to be reinstated and EHL counter-attacked with suit preventing Brophy from playing until court made decision. Benny Leblanc&rsquo;s hat trick and another 3-goaler by Les Calder plus five assists by Ed Lawson sparked win over Syracuse. Gene Achtymichuck off disabled list. Tom Burgess waived. Calder, shooting for club record of 57 goals held by Buzz Deschamps is new team captain Norm Schmitz may return shortly from face injury. Ducks secured Bob Taylor on loan from Salem. Dwight Winters&rsquo; 3rd hat trick beat Jersey.SYRACUSE: Blazers routed by 17-0 count at New Haven. Thirteen foes have scored at least 10 goals against Blazers including a high of 18 by Clinton. Clobie Collins secured from Jersey in a deal for Fred Bassi. Team has yet to win on road. Roger Wilson back in cage after George Mohr had miserable time including a 69-save game.GREENSBORO: Tommy Ivan, Chicago GM, watched Gens play two games and was impressed with the seven Hawks hopefuls on the team (Stu Roberts, Bill Young, Bob Sicinski, Kas Lysionek, Rick Morris, Don Burgess and Roger Wilson). Gens have cleared 100,000 mark in attendance. Ron Spong gave goalie John Voss a rest and used trainer Bob Smith in nets in loss to Nashville. Lysionek tallied four goals against Knoxville to become ninth man in Gens history to turn trick.CHARLOTTE: Ernie Dyda tallied 10 goals in six games after a 39-day famine. Claude Ouimet back in action after 20-day side-lining. Jack McCreary injured shoulder just as Ouimet recovered from his ankle injury. Barry Simpson&rsquo;s goal with 28 seconds left tied Salem in a game in which just 11 Checkers were healthy. Club showed a profit for first half of season as 58,868 fans paid to see first 18 games. &#9632;

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Wayne Clairmont’s Sparkling Ice Play Keeping Nashville In Thick Of Race

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0001-01201/3347077-1-eng-US/f0001-012.jpg" title="f0001-01" width="308" height="493"><figcaption class="caption-body">Henri Richard</figcaption></div>MONTREAL, Que.&mdash;It would appear that it is open season on confused, and fatigued hockey players in the National Hockey League.First to feel the strain was Detroit b Roger Crozier. Then Billy Harris walked out on the Oakland Seals disgusted with himself and his play.Latest to join the hockey exiles is Henri Richard of Montreal Canadiens. A super star with the Habs for nearly all of his 13 big years in the NHL, Richard failed to show for the team&rsquo;s meeting Feb. 3 and did not dress for the game with Los Angeles.Repeatedly injured this season, Richard was benched by coach Toe Blake because the latter felt the &lsquo;Pocket Rocket&rsquo; wasn&rsquo;t in shape. Richard said he would rather quit than ride the Montreal bench.His defection caught the Canadiens by surprise. Team officials said that they are leaving the door open for Richard to return but they also stipulated that he will be welcomed back at &ldquo;the club&rsquo;s terms". &#9632;

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Richard Ponders Future

<div class="byline">BY JIM PROUDFOOT</div>TORONTO, ONT. -<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-01828/3345535-1-eng-US/f0002-012.jpg" title="f0002-01" width="273" height="478"><figcaption class="caption-body">Johnny Bower</figcaption></div>Perhaps he&rsquo;s joking, but Johnny Bower claims he refuses to shovel snow. &ldquo;They say It&rsquo;s dangerous for men in my age group,&rdquo; Bower explains. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s supposed to be hard on the ticker.&rdquo;If true, this would be the only concession Bower makes to the advancing years which, he says, have reached 44 in his case, and not the 43 listed in the National Hockey League guide.Sport&rsquo;s most amazing antique, Bower has been acting younger and friskier than ever this season and was named all-star NHL goaltender in midseason voting. And, as this issue of THE HOCKEY NEWS went to press, he was No. 1 contender for the Vezina Trophy, a statistical award which goes to the goalie or goalies &ldquo;having played a minimum of 25 games for the team with the fewest goals scored against it.&rdquo;Bower had won the Vezina in 1961, hard shared it with Terry Sawchuk in 1965 and also had been chosen all-star netminder in 1961.Goalkeeping was rated Leafs&rsquo; most urgent problem, as they faced this 1967-68 campaign. Sawchuk was gone, having been lost to Los Angeles Kings in the NHL&rsquo;s expansion draft, and that left Bower and Bruce Gamble to handle the job, with young Al Smith the backup man. Reserve strength had been depleted further when Oakland Seals drafted Gary Smith.The breakdown went this way: Bower had become distressingly prone to injuries in recent seasons and may have become undependable as first-stringer. Secondly, Gamble was unproven despite notable achievements in short-term emergency assignments.Well, Leafs are still contenders and the reasons are chiefly these: Gamble has been a more capable replacement than most analysts imagined and Bower has shown no signs of yelding to senility. If anything, he&rsquo;s better than he was last year.As a matter of fact, Leaf goalkeeping has been sufficient to offset weaknesses elsewhere, such as the continuiing attempt to work newcomer Duane Rupp into the regular defensive alignment and inconsistency on the forward lines.Bower was injured in a Jan. 6 match and missed three weeks of work before returning under critical circumstances in a Jan. 28 visit to Chicago. His netminding was the key factor in a 3-1 victory which ended a Leaf slump that was beginning to take on overtones of disaster. Actually, he&rsquo;d got his feet the night before, playing the final 11 minutes after Leafs had blown a home game to the Black Hawks, 4-1. It hadn&rsquo;t been one of the better evenings for Gamble, who doesn&rsquo;t play well against the Chicago club.Bower, of course, has become a big uncertainity. His future, obviously, is brief now and each injury is liable to be the one that ends his career. So Leafs are faced with the continuing spectre of Gamble as their first-stringer with the inexperienced Smith his understudy.Sometimes Gamble looks as though he could handle such a task; other times, he doesn&rsquo;t.Bower is cryptic about his plans. Recently, he said: &ldquo;After a while, I&rsquo;ll start wearing a mask. That should add three or four years to my career.&rdquo;And before a recent Chicago invasion here, he said: &ldquo;You think tickets are hard to get, eh? Wait till next season when Chicago only comes here four times. Lucky I won&rsquo;t be around then. You&rsquo;d like to bet on that? No, sir. You wouldn&rsquo;t want to put up the kind of money I&rsquo;d be willing to bet on that.&rdquo;So does he or doesn&rsquo;t he? Will he or won&rsquo;t he? Nobody knows, least of all Bower, for his outlook simply varies from day to day. At times, he feels as though he could go on playing forever and on other occasions, he thinks he&rsquo;d like to forget the whole business.As for Punch Imlach, Leafs&rsquo; coach and general manager, he doesn&rsquo;t believe in crossing any bridges until he comes to them. If a goaltending crisis develops, he&rsquo;ll attend to it. But not before. &#9632;

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Bower Supposedly Reaching End of Great NHL Career, Bounces Back As All-Star

Following are the latest player movements in hockey:<h2>NATIONAL LEAGUE</h2>PHILADELPHIA &mdash; Jim Johnson, forward, returned to Quebec of AHL.MONTREAL &mdash; Claude Larose, forward, assigned to Houston of CPHL.DETROIT &mdash; Ron Anderson, forward, recalled from Fort Worth of CPHL.NEW YORK &mdash; Walt Tkaczuk, forward, returned to Kitchener of Junior OHA after five-game pro tryout. Allan Hamilton, defenseman, and Bob Jones, forward, returned to Buffalo of AHL.LOS ANGELES &mdash; Poul Popiel, defenseman, and Jim Anderson, forward, returned to Springfield of AHL.PITTSBURGH &mdash; Gene Ubriaco and Bobby Rivard, forwards, recalled from Baltimore of AHL.TORONTO &mdash; Al Smith, goalkeeper, returned to Tulsa of CPHL.BOSTON &mdash; John Arbour, defenseman, returned to Oklahoma City of CPHL.<h2>CENTRAL LEAGUE</h2>OKLAHOMA CITY &mdash; Bob Heaney, defenseman, returned to Hershey of AHL.MEMPHIS &mdash; Bill Sweeney, forward, secured from Rochester of AHL. Ken Block, defenseman, sent to Vancouver of WHL.<h2>WESTERN LEAGUE</h2>SEATTLE &mdash; Bob Courcy, forward, secured from Cleveland of AHL. Tom lannone, forward, dropped from roster.<h2>INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE</h2>PORT HURON &mdash; Gary Mork, forward, released.<h2>EASTERN LEAGUE</h2>NEW JERSEY &mdash; Bob Peters, forward, secured from Boston of NHL on loan.KNOXVILLE &mdash; Ken Rodgers, forward, released on waivers.SYRACUSE &mdash; Clobie Collins, defenseman, secured from New Jersey, of EHL in exchange for Fred Bassi, forward.LONG ISLAND &mdash; Bob Taylor, defenseman, obtained from Salem of EHL on loan. Tom Burgess, forward, dropped. &#9632;

Movements of Players

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0002-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-02763/3345597-1-eng-US/f0002-022.jpg"></div>TORONTO, ONT. &mdash;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-03606/3345590-1-eng-US/f0002-032.jpg" title="f0002-03" width="255" height="479"><figcaption class="caption-body">Stafford Smythe</figcaption></div>Stafford Smythe, Toronto Maple Leafs&rsquo; delegate to the National Hockey League board of governors, believes helmets will become compulsory throughout the sport.This was the reasoning behind his recent order that all players with Marlboro juniors begin wearing protective headgear immediately. Maple Leaf Gardens, of which Smythe is president, operates the junior club.&ldquo;They&rsquo;ll have to wear them eventually, so they might as well get used to them now,&rsquo;&rsquo;Smythe reasoned.&ldquo;He also said: &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll support any move to make them compulsory in the NHL.&rdquo;Marlboros were the third team to adopt helmets after Bill Masterton, a centre with Minnesota North Stars, died of head injuries received in a tumble to the ice during an NHL match. It was generally accepted that a helmet might have saved his life.Brian Conacher appeared with a helmet immediately after the Masterton tragedy and soon other players were experimenting with them, both in workouts and actual games. Among them: Ron Ellis, Bob Pulford, Wayne Carleton, Pete Stemkowski, Mike Walton.Everybody seemed sold on the idea but the older a player is, it seems, the more reluctant he is to try the new equipment. Add to that a suspicion a helmeted player is somehow at a disadvantage. That is why some players have suggested they be made mandatory. Their reasoning is that wearing helmets is not optional as long as a player damages his ability to do his job by putting one on.Bob Haggert was about the only person in Toronto with mixed emotions. As Leaf trainer, he sees the advantages of wearing helmets. But as an entrepreneur, he and a partner went out of the helmet business about two years too soon. &#9632;

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Smythe Predicts Helmets Will Be Mandatory In NHL

<div class="byline">BY BILL LIBBY</div>LOS ANGELES, Calif. -<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-01833/3345635-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg" title="f0003-01" width="283" height="489"></div>As January was running out the Los Angeles Kings lost in their home Forum to Oakland. Immediately after the game, coach Red Kelly&rsquo;s voice could be heard rising loudly and angrily through the inner dressing room door. A trainer was sent out to lock the outer door, barring the writers who waited in the passage way.When Kelly emerged, he said of his team&rsquo;s play, &ldquo;It was a lousy, stinking performance.&rdquo; His eyes flashed fire. He obviously was disgusted. For Red, who usually passes up profanity, it was a potent post-mortem. Behind him, the players, showered and dressed, slipped away shame-facedly, with heads lowered and eyes averted, to escape into the night.Upstairs in the plush pressroom, General Manager Larry Regan sat at the bar like a man who wanted to drink himself into oblivion, but he had no taste for the sauce. He held a drink, himself but didn&rsquo;t drink it. &ldquo;Can you believe what went on out there tonight?&rdquo; he asked. &ldquo;Why it looked like our guys weren&rsquo;t even trying.&rdquo;A hard-loser, Regan restrained himself, but bitterness betrayed him. He spoke of possibly fining the players for their poor performance. When someone suggested Kelly was getting tough, Regan perked up. &ldquo;I hope so,&rdquo; he said. Regan thinks Red, a rookie coach, may already be the best coach in hockey. But he does think he has to get tougher. &ldquo;I learned when I coached,&rdquo; he said wistfully.Oakland had won only three of its last 13 starts, but all three came against L.A. Oakland had not won on the road in almost two months, but had it easy in L.A. The Kings had played like queens in losing ten of their last 12 games. All the margin they built up with a swift start had evaporated. Every expansion team except Oakland had caught up to them, and Philadelphia had passed them.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-02705/3345628-1-eng-US/f0003-022.jpg" title="f0003-02" width="2688" height="1507"><figcaption class="caption-body">The return of veteran goalie TERRY SAWCHUK to the Kings&rsquo; net has helped put the L.A. club on a winning kiel again. Sawchuk performed in 10 straight games after a Iong stretch on injury list.</figcaption></div>The Kings&rsquo; mid-season collapse had reached the crisis stage by the Oakland loss. After it, they faced a six-game road trip. They had won only five of 23 games on the road. Incredibly, they had won only one of 16 games against expansion foes on the road. After this road trip, which figured to be crucial to their hopes this season, and which may be wrapped up by the time you read this, they have only 23 games to play, less than one third of their schedule.Responding, the Kings opened the tour in extremely promising fashion by upsetting Pittsburgh 5-3, then shocking Philadelphia 2-0. Pittsburgh has been easy for them, but Philly has not. Philly had won four straight from them and had humiliated them 9-1 and 7-2 in Philly. Suddenly, the Kings felt resurgent, but four games remained on their tough trip.This is a skating club, not a stylish or a strong club. There is not a hitter on the whole team. There even are a few who do not relish rough play. Hungry for a hitter, Regan inquired about burly veteran minor-leaguer Connie Madigan only to find out Connie has broken leg. Nor has he been successful in finding other good men to purchase or reasonable deals he could make to bolster the team.The Kings thought they had depth, but it has not developed. Largely because of injuries, they have at one time or another recalled almost every qualified player from Springfield, but only one or two have helped. At least by now, however, they do know who they have. And they will have to go with what they have.There is strong talent in what they have. In their slump, they had no fire. They repeated fundamental mistakes. They seemed unable to concentrate. Buoyed by their good early play, Owner Jack Kent Cooke, Regan and Kelly practiced patience until recently when they seemed to resign themselves to the fact that some players, sadly, must be prodded to produce. The brass began to breathe fire. The singed players responded with fiery play against Pitt and Philly.The stars of the road wins included Howie Menard, Howie Hughes, Bill Flett, Eddie Joyal, Terry Gray, Dale Rofe, Bill White and Terry Sawchuk.Menard, rescued from Springfield, and Hughes, rescued from the bench, are the only two new regulars who have helped. They&rsquo;re small, but the Howies hustle.Rolfe and White are big backliners who are not hitters by nature but must play aggressively if the Kings&rsquo; loose defense is to tighten up.Joyal and Gray are among several veteran forwards who have the ability to play better than they have so far, and must do so if the Kings are to close strong.Flett is one of three kids who carried the Kings in the early going. He had only one goal in nine games and no assists in 11 games when he scored twice and assisted twice against Pitt.Another, moody Ted Irvine, doesn&rsquo;t have a point in a dozen games and may be sent down to regain his balance. The third wunderkind, rookie goalie Wayne Rutledge is rusting on the bench.While Sawchuk was injured or ineffective, Rut was the team&rsquo;s key man. Now Sawchuk has played ten straight games. He is playing better and better, but not that good. His record is 6-13-2. Rutledge&rsquo;s is 14-10-2.The Kings aren&rsquo;t overlooking many bets. One, however, is the power-play. Oddly, Kelly doesn&rsquo;t believe in a special unit. The Kings have only one goal in 49 opportunities with a manpower advantage over 16 games. Normally, teams look to score once every five opportunities.May be the Kings were over their head in the early going and too much is expected of them now, but the brass remain optimistic. Regan says, &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve shown what we can do. We&rsquo;ll get going, you&rsquo;ll see. &ldquo;Kelly says, &ldquo;Every team has a slump like this sometime every season. We&rsquo;ll snap out of it.&rdquo;May be they have now. Maybe. &#9632;

f0003-01

Kelly, Regan Sear Players In Bid To Get Los Angeles Winning Again

<div class="byline">By Ken McKenzie</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-02842/3345687-1-eng-US/f0004-022.jpg" title="f0004-02" width="448" height="470"></div>&bull; IF YOU haven&rsquo;t already entered the Old Spice Hockey Contest be sure to do so today. See all the particulars on the back page of this issue. This is by far the biggest contest to run in THE HOCKEY NEWS and there are plenty of prizes to be awarded. All you have to do is - select the winning teams in the Eastern and Western Divisions of the National Hockey League. The entry form appears on the back page &hellip; The new Madison Square Garden which opens on the 11th of this month is the fourth building in New York to bear this name &hellip; Close to 75 teams will compete in Quebec City&rsquo;s Pee Wee tournament, February 16-24. This is one of the most popular hockey tourneys for boys to be found anywhere &hellip; Dick Williams, manager of the AL pennant-winning Boston Red Sox, sublets his Peabody, Mass, apartment to the Bruins&rsquo; Bobby Orr during the winter months &hellip; There are six sets of brothers performing in the NHL this season. Chicago leads the way with two sets, the Hulls, Bobby and Dennis and the Makis, Chico and Wayne &hellip; The St. Louis Blues have the Picard freres, Noel and Roger &hellip; The other brother combinations play against each other&hellip; There are the McCrearys, Keith with Pittsburgh and Bill with St. Louis, while the Hillman brothers finds Larry with Toronto and Wayne with New York &hellip; Brian Smith plays with Los Angeles while his brother Gary toils with Oakland &hellip; There are three Lemieux in the National League and they are not related in any way. Real and Jacques play with the Los Angeles Kings and Bob is an Oakland defenseman &hellip; There are players with the same names but no relation, such as Jim Roberts of St. Louis and Doug of Detroit &hellip; There are four players with the last name of Harris but not related in any way. There&rsquo;s Billy and Ron with Oakland, Ted with Montreal and Duke with Minnesota &hellip; There&rsquo;s Seth Martin of the Blues and Pit Martin of the Black Hawks.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-03737/3345680-1-eng-US/f0004-032.jpg" title="f0004-03" width="269" height="470"><figcaption class="caption-body">Bobby Hull</figcaption></div>&bull; WHEN PHILADELPHIA FLYERS meet the Rangers in the first NHL game in the new Madison Square Garden on February 18, it will mark the fourth arena the Flyers have opened to hockey this season &hellip; Other arenas the Flyers assisted in opening to NHL hockey this season were the Oakland Coliseum on October 11, their own Philadelphia Spectrum on October 19. and the new Forum in Los Angeles on December 30 &hellip; Any one knowing of a Gordie Howe Fan Club should contact Mary Jane Matthys of Box 511, Essex, Ont &hellip; Gil Mayer, star goalie with the Pittsburgh Hornets, was the first hockey man to win Pittsburgh&rsquo;s Dapper Dan award and not Baz Bastien. Mayer won it in 1950 informs John Sullivan of Plainfield, Conn &hellip; Mayer now makes his home in Pawtucket, Rhode Island &hellip; Rogatien Vachon, Canadiens&rsquo; fine young goalkeeper, is growing the longest sideburns in the National League. Rod Gilbert of the Rangers held that distinction at one time &hellip; Bobby Hull is getting a little fed up with the close checking he is receiving from rival players in the NHL. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t mind them skating with me like that as long as they do something offensively. This is supposed to be a two-way game, you know,&rdquo; he reported one night last week after a particularly harrassing evening &hellip; The Stanley Cup playoffs could take a total of 35 days this year if all of the scheduled rounds each went the maximum of seven games &hellip; Whenever possible the schedule will follow the former pattern of 2-2-1-1-1. However, if Los Angeles plays Philadelphia for example, it would be silly to go back and forth for one game. In this event they will play the first two games in one city, the next three in the other, and then the last two in the first city &hellip; Arthur Wirtz, chairman of the board of the Chicago Black Hawks, has now entered the harness racing business. He recently purchased a 50 percent interest in the Fair Chance Farm.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-04635/3345673-1-eng-US/f0004-042.jpg" title="f0004-04" width="281" height="450"><figcaption class="caption-body">Rogatien Vachon</figcaption></div>&bull; THE OFFICIAL NATIONAL HOCKEY ANNUAL for 1968 is now on the newsstands and this is the best 50c buy around today. This once-a year-magazine has a special TV Section where you&rsquo;ll find the names and numbers of the 12 National League teams plus the names and numbers of all the referees and linesmen &hellip; As a special bonus in this TV Section this year is a list of all the radio and television stations throughout the NHL carrying the games. If you can&rsquo;t locate it on your newsstands send 50c plus 10c for handling to HOCKEY PICTORIAL, Box 901, Montreal, 3, Canada &hellip; Punch Imlach feels sorry for Blake and the Canadiens. He thinks the Habs are hitting their peak too soon and they have only one place left to go and that&rsquo;s down &hellip; Larry Fredericks, sports and special events director at Montreal&rsquo;s CKVL, now covers all sporting events in Montreal for the UPI news service &hellip; &ldquo;A Look at the Trades That Shook Hockey is a Hash-back special in the February issue of HOCKEY PICTORIAL. The big bonus feature in this same edition is &ldquo;Why Women Like Hockev!&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-05510/3345666-1-eng-US/f0004-052.jpg" title="f0004-05" width="294" height="491"><figcaption class="caption-body">Punch Imlach</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0004-02

PASSING THE PUCK

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0004-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-01886/3345718-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg"></div><h2>Esposito More Deserving Of All-Star Than Walton</h2>HOCKEY NEWS EDITOR:I would like to voice my opinion on the recent All-Star selections and the overlooking of Phil Esposito of the Boston Bruins as an all star center. I concede the first string berth to Stan Mikita but I cannot see Mike Walton ahead of Esposito on the second team. At this time Esposito has 24 goals and 24 assists for 48 points while Walton has 22 goals and 16 assists for 38 points, a ten-point difference. For some reason Phil has been overlooked in many all-star selections because he was not even chosen for the all star game in Toronto when the previous year he finished 7th in the league in scoring. He is a big reason that the Bruins are one of the best teams in the N.H.L. and I think he hasn&rsquo;t gotten any credit at all for his achievements. I have nothing against Walton for he is one of the finest centers in the league.JIM LAZAR, South Boston, Mass.<h2>Wings Not Tough Enough, Fan Sees Abel Too Soft</h2>HOCKEY NEWS EDITOR:By now it must be pretty obvious to Bruce Norris that the real cause of the lack lustre Detroit Red Wings is &ldquo;conditioning". Players come and go in trades - nothing! Players who show so little ability that they themselves get the idea that they are all through. They are traded - then they blossom out and show real ability. This often happens when a player is traded - granted. But with the Wings the trend is too consistent to be attributed to this quirk, especially when they are traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs. To name a few; Red Kelly, Terry Sawchuck, Marcel Pronovost, etc. Does the Toronto coach &ldquo;Punch&rdquo; Imlach have some magical power to bring forth latent talent that Sid Abel doesn&rsquo;t possess? I actually believe he does, and it&rsquo;s called &ldquo;conditioning".Of course Abel is a good coach. He is the most liked coach by all the NHL Players. On the order hand many players dislike Imlach he &ldquo;works them too hard". But at the same time when the Stanley Cup checks are handed out &ldquo;Punch&rdquo; is a hero.I have been a Red Wing fan ever since the Detroit Olympia was built. I have seen great Red Wing teams and I think the current Red Wing team has plenty of talent - latent talent, enough that if it were developed, would surprise everyone in the NHL. But it has to be developed by constant not sporadic (after a five or six game losing streak). Maybe that will require a sacrifice by Sid Abel - losing the &ldquo;most liked coach&rdquo; image but I&rsquo;ll bet it would be worth it.F.V. MCNAMARA, D&eacute;troit, Mich.<h2>Bobby Hull No Centre, Reay Move Questioned</h2>HOCKEY NEWS EDITOR:During a recent Montreal-Chicago home game, I noticed that Billy Reay switched Bobby Hull to centre from left wing and hence it decreased Hull&rsquo;s chance of scoring. He was, as one could see, not used to the position and quite awkward. Why would Reay do such a thing?Bobby only had a few shots on goal and it seemed he came in more often like a left wing than as a centre.NAN V. LEFEBVRE, Caughnawaga, Que. &#9632;

f0004-01

FAN FORUM

MONTREAL, Que -<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-01811/3345749-1-eng-US/f0005-012.jpg" title="f0005-01" width="281" height="433"><figcaption class="caption-body">Stan Mikita</figcaption></div>Stan Mikita, the flashy center with the Chicago Black Hawks and the only player ever to win three individual National Hockey League awards in one season, is headed for another possible &ldquo;triple crown&rdquo; season.Results of the voting among the 12 NHL coaches for the four individual trophy awards show that Mikita though being pushed leads in the mid-season poll for both the Hart Trophy and the Lady Byng Trophy. He already picked up $250 as runner-up to mid-season scoring leader and teammate Bobby Hull and if he finishes the season on top of the scoring parade he will again win the Art Ross Trophy for a three-trophy year for a second straight season.In the results of voting for the other two trophies, Boston Bruins&rsquo; great young defenseman Bobby Orr was a near-unanimous choice for the James Norris Trophy as best all-around defenseman while another Bruin, freshman forward Derek Sanderson, took a wide lead in the voting for the Calder Trophy as the outstanding rookie.The Bruins, out of the playoffs for the last eight seasons but making a determined bid for first place this season, thus have high hopes for their best showing by their players in individual awards since 1940-41, the last time Boston finished in first place. In that season, center Bill Cowley won both the Art Ross Trophy and the Hart Trophy and the late Bobby Bauer won the Lady Byng Trophy. Since then, however, only eight Bruins have won individual awards and in the last 20 years five Bruins were trophy winners, including Calder Trophy winners goaltender Jack Gelineau (1949-50), forward Larry Regan (1956-57) and Orr last season.Orr and Sanderson have comfortable leads in the awards they are leading but Mikita&rsquo;s edge in both the Hart and Lady Byng Trophies, which he won last season, is small.Orr polled 56 points in the Norris Trophy voting while runner-up Tim Horton of Toronto Maple Leafs collected 22 points. Third was three-time winner Pierre Pilote of Chicago. As in the other three awards decided by vote, another pool will be taken for the Norris Trophy at the end of the regular schedule and the points accumulated by players in each poll will be added together to produce the official winner of the trophy.The leader in each award in the two polls receives $250 while the over-all winner receives $1,000 from the League and the runner-up in the over-all results in each award, $500.Sanderson, a 21-year-old native of Niagara Falls Ont., who is attempting the big jump from junior A hockey to the NHL, had 13 goals and 13 assists in Bruins&rsquo; first half of the season. His strong play helped Boston in its climb from sixth place last season to first place for a few weeks in the first half of the season.The strongest showing by a West Division player in the voting was made in the Calder Trophy section where goaltender Doug Favell of Philadelphia Flyers placed second with 28 points, 22 fewer than Sanderson&rsquo;s 50 but 18 more than third-place Jacques Lemaire of Montreal Canadiens. Favell and his goaltending partner, Bernie Parent, shared $250 as leaders in the Vezina Trophy race at mid-season when they had the best team average in the goals-against department.Mikita, who had little trouble winning the three trophies last season, hasn&rsquo;t as wide a margin in the voting this time. In the Hart Trophy, awarded to the player considered most valuable to his team, the Chicago center polled 34 points, only two more than teammate Bobby Hull and five more than Orr. In the Lady Byng results, Mikita received 41 points, two more than Bruins&rsquo; left winger Johnny Bucyk. Third was Bobby Hull with nine points.The 1966-67 winners were: Mikita, the Hart and Lady Byng Trophies; Harry Howell of the New York Rangers, the Norris; and Orr; the Calder.Despite the fact that 74 players were eligible for the Calder Trophy in the first half of this season, only 11 players drew votes. &#9632;

f0005-01

Mikita Seen Headed For Second ‘Triple Crown’ Trophy Conquest

MONTREAL, Que. -Following is a list of the complete results for each of the four individual NHL awards. Voting was based on the system of five points for a first-place choice; three for a second; and one for a third. A unanimous vote would total 60 points.<h2>HART TROPHY</h2>Stan Mikita, Chicago, 34; Bobby Hull, Chicago, 32; Bobby Orr, Boston, 29; Gordie Howe, Detroit, 4; Jean Beliveau, Montreal, 4; Johnny Bower, Toronto, 2; Mike Walton, Toronto, 1; Johnny Bucyk, Boston, 1; Glenn Hall, St. Louis, 1.<h2>LADY BYNG TROPHY</h2>Stan Mikita, Chicago, 41; John Bucyk, Boston, 39; Bobby Hull, Chicago, 9; Fred Stanfield, Boston, 6; Phil Esposito, Boston, 4; Phil Goyette, New York, 4; Gilles Tremblay, Montreal, 3; J.C. Tremblay, Montreal, 1; Mike Walton, Toronto, 1.<h2>CALDER TROPHY</h2>Derek Sanderson, Boston, 50; Doug Favell, Philadelphia, 28; Jacques Lemaire, Montreal, 10; Les Binkley, Pittsburgh, 4; Dale Rolfe, Los Angeles, 3; Art Stratton, Pittsburgh, 3; Bill White, Los Angeles, 3; Gary Jarrett, Detroit, 3; Bart Crashley, Detroit, 2; Ed Hoekstra, Philadelphia, 1; Seth Martin, St. Louis, 1.<h2>NORRIS TROPHY</h2>Bobby Orr, Boston, 56; Tim Horton, Toronto, 22; Pierre Pilote, Chicago, 11; J.C. Tremblay, Montreal, 5; Gary Bergman, Detroit, 4; Jacques Laperriere, Montreal, 3; Harry Howell, New York, 3; Pat Stapleton, Chicago, 1; Ed Van Impe, Philadelphia 1; Kent Douglas, Oakland-Detroit, 1; Bill White, Los Angeles, 1. &#9632;

How NHL Awards Voting Went

<div class="byline">BY TOM MONAHAN</div>BOSTON, Mass.&mdash;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-01917/3345804-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg" title="f0006-01" width="279" height="487"><figcaption class="caption-body">Fred Stanfield</figcaption></div>The Bruins have experienced the good and the bad this year, but one of the most pleasant experiences, and probably the least noticed, has been the work of Fred Stanfield.When the Bruins announced that they had traded Gilles Marotte, Pit Martin and Jack Norris to Chicago for Phil Esposito, Ken Hodge and Stanfield there were only two people not surprised that the 23-year-old center from Toronto was a part of the swap.Stanfield himself and the man who engineered the deal, B&rsquo;s General Manager Milt Schmidt.&ldquo;I had been in the Chicago system for three years,&rdquo; said Stanfield. &ldquo;I wasn&rsquo;t surprised they had traded me. I had played 58 games with the Hawks in the 196465 season but after starting the next two seasons with them I spent most of my time in the minors.&ldquo;With expansion coming up I expected I&rsquo;d go to one of the new teams or be traded and I had heard rumors that I might be traded to Boston. So when I got the word I had been traded to the Bruins it was something I almost expected.&rdquo;In making the announcement of the trade, Schmidt said Stanfield &ldquo;very well could be the key man in the deal".Milt was not down-grading the importance of Esposito and Hodge.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s just that no one knew just what Fred could do in the National Hockey League,&rdquo; says Schmidt.&ldquo;Esposito had a record that could be checked and Hodge too had been around with Chicago for a couple of years.&ldquo;But Fred was virtually unknown.&ldquo;Actually in three seasons with the Black Hawks he spent hardly enough time in Chicago to have a cup of coffee.&rdquo;There were a couple of items that influenced Schmidt on Stanfield, however.The first was the fact that he was a center&mdash;a position Schmidt was looking to strengthen. The second was the fact that he had some size.Stanfield stands 5:10 and weighs close to 185 pounds.There was a third factor, Stanfield had spent two summers at the same camp with Schmidt at Fenelon Falls as a hockey instructor and counsellor.&ldquo;Fred is rather an impassive individual,&rdquo; says Schmidt. &ldquo;He rarely changes expression. If you don&rsquo;t know him you never know what he is thinking by his expression. He never changes.&ldquo;If he is happy or unhappy, his expression is the same. He has control of himself and doesn&rsquo;t let emotions interfere with his work.&ldquo;I saw him work on the ice with those kids for two summers. I also saw him on the football field and in other areas working with the kids. He worked hard and his interest always was with what the kids. He worked hard and his interest always was with what the kids were doing.&ldquo;He impressed me greatly as a person and from the little I had seen of him as a hockey player I thought he could do a job for us just on his size alone.&ldquo;The fact that he hadn&rsquo;t stayed with Chicago for two seasons didn&rsquo;t bother me. After all with the talent they had, a kid had to be a Bobby Hull to get a look.&ldquo;I felt he was worth more to us than a look.&rdquo;Schmidt&rsquo;s estimate certainly has been justified by Stanfield&rsquo;s performance in his first real opportunity at NHL play.He has been one of the Bruins&rsquo; strongest offensive assets with 15 goals and 32 assists in 47 games to rank just behind Esposito as the B&rsquo;s most productive point getter.&ldquo;He has shown he can score,&rdquo; says Schmidt. &ldquo;He is one of the few players in the league who can shoot at full stride. He also is an excellent passer and when he wants to be aggressive no one knocks him off his feet.&ldquo;His only fault is that he may not be agressive enough all the time. But remember he is only now getting his feet wet in this league. I thought he would help us. He certainly has and even beyond my expectations.&rdquo;ICE CHIPS Veteran goalie Eddie Johnston has fully recovered from a torn rib cartilage and is ready for full time action once again &hellip; But Coach Harry Sinden can&rsquo;t fault the work of Gerry Cheevers in the nets while the Bruins dropped four games in a row to New York, Montreal (twice) and Pittsburgh &hellip; &ldquo;We just couldn&rsquo;t buy a goal,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;yet the team played well enough to win all but the 4-2 game in Montreal&rdquo; &hellip; With Bobby Orr back in top shape, rookie defenseman John Arbour was returned to Oklahoma City &hellip; The fact that Orr and Derek Sanderson were picked as first half leaders for the Norris and Calder Trophies was no surprise to Sinden or the Bruins &hellip; The only question was why Orr did not receive unanimous voting for the Norris award. &#9632;

f0006-01

Stanfield’s Surprising Play Pleases B’s

<div class="byline">BY SPENCE CONLEY</div>OAKLAND, Calif. -<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-03535/3345842-1-eng-US/f0007-032.jpg" title="f0007-03" width="292" height="481"><figcaption class="caption-body">Billy Hicke</figcaption></div>Bill Hicke finally got back into the Oakland lineup and the Seals are w o n d e ring what things would be like if they&rsquo;d have had him for the 17 games he&rsquo;s missed this season.Hicke, only partially recovered from the lung ailment which has put him in the hospital twice, threatened his career, and got him a 10-day trip in Hawaii, returned to the Seals with a bang last week, scoring once and assisting on another in his first game.In that first game, Hicke scored his 14th goal, helped Gerry Ehman get his 13th and played a fairly decent game as the Seals clouted Los Angeles, 3-0.He had some great chances in the next game, a 3-1 loss to Minnesota, now apparently recovered from the shock of Bill Master ton&rsquo;s death. But for all of the effort, he couldn&rsquo;t score.Against the Rangers on Jan. 28, Hicke was the key man in a cricial power-play score which held the Seals in the game for a while anyway. They subsequently lost, 4-2.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think a person ever really loses the ability to score goals,&rdquo; says Hicke, &ldquo;but being out like that, has really caused a lot of difficulty with my legs. I am in the position of having to skate myself back into condition in games. It&rsquo;s just like training camp all over.&ldquo;The one big thing is that I can breath a lot better than I could before,&rdquo; Hicke says.With Hicke out, as well as powerful George Swarbrick, the Seal offense had really short-circuited and when Oakland acquired classy center Ted Hampson, the entire offensive load fell on the ex-Red Wing&rsquo;s shoulders.But credit to Hampson, he was amazing and right now he&rsquo;s clicking along at a point-a-game (2 goals and 7 assists in 9 games).Hicke went back to work on a line with Hampson at pivot and Gerry Ehman on right wing.In a way, Hicke loses a lot of his effectiveness as a left wing and certainly would be a better weapon on the right side, since he plays his off-wing naturally and with better efficiency.&ldquo;He does wonders for our offense,&rdquo; says Seal coach Bert Olmstead. &ldquo;He has a great attitude and he gives every thing he&rsquo;s got. He&rsquo;s a good man to have around.&ldquo;Back in training camp and later I thought his tiredness was because he wasn&rsquo;t in condition, and tried to tell him how important it was that he get into shape. But since we&rsquo;ve found out he has this bronchial condition &mdash; and has had it for a long time &mdash; a lot of things become clearer and you can understand him a lot better,&rdquo; Olmstead said.Certainly Hicke has been one of the few bright spots in the Seals&rsquo; dismal first year in the NHL (currently last in the Western Division) but Hampson and now John Brenneman have been impressive.Unfortunately for Oakland, just about the time Brenneman was going good, Hicke came back and Brenneman was ticketed for the minors to fulfill a league requirement.He was due back on Feb. 1 to meet the Seals in Philadelphia.But add to Hicke, Brenneman and Hampson, the drastically improved play of Gerry Ehman, Charlie Burns, Wally Boyer, and Alain Caron, and you&rsquo;ve got a much better team than played in the first half.Burns has been more effective since his switch to center; Ehman has finally found the range with eight goals in 12 games, and two assists; Caron, the wing with the booming shot, has just lately seen more action and he has responded with three goals and five assists in seven games.But Boyer, the ex-Chicago Black Hawk center, has been the best pointmaker.Wally has five goals and eight assists in 12 games, the best record of any Seal since the first of the year, and all accomplished as a left wing.&ldquo;When I was at center,&rsquo;&rsquo;explains Wally, &ldquo;I was working hard but accomplishing nothing. All my efforts were going to waste. But now as a left winger I can conserve my strength and make my move when I have to. &ldquo;<h2>EAST-WEST HOCKEY PICTURE</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-04380/3345835-1-eng-US/f0007-042.jpg" title="f0007-04" width="1270" height="892"></div> &#9632;

f0007-03

Ailing Hicke’s Return Gives Team Lift

<div class="byline">BY DAN MOULTON</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-01853/3345880-1-eng-US/f0007-012.jpg" title="f0007-01" width="604" height="612"><figcaption class="caption-body">PAT STAPLETON &hellip; Broken Sinus Bone</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-02734/3345873-1-eng-US/f0007-022.jpg" title="f0007-02" width="277" height="493"><figcaption class="caption-body">Paul Terbenche</figcaption></div>CHICAGO, III.-Hawk Coach Billy Reay has termed the incident in which the stick of Toronto&rsquo;s Bob Pulford fractured Hawks&rsquo; defenseman Pat Stapleton&rsquo;s sinus bone &ldquo;one of the worst cases of hooking I&rsquo;ve ever seen.&rdquo;Pat suffered the injury during the second period of a recent Hawk-Maple Leaf game in Toronto, when the blade of Pulford&rsquo;s stick came over Stapleton&rsquo;s shoulder and caught him near the right eye.The Leafs&rsquo; forward was given a major penalty for slashing by Referee Bob Sloan and Stapleton was sent to the sidelines for at least five games.&ldquo;I just don&rsquo;t see how that could have been called slashing,&rdquo; stormed Reay. &ldquo;Pat had beat Pulford behind our goal and was drawing away near the blue line, &ldquo;Pulford hooked him once and couldn&rsquo;t slow him down, so he put the blade of his stick out a second time and took him right across the face.&ldquo;It should have called for a match penalty at least and it sure wasn&rsquo;t slashing.&rdquo;Billy further charged the Toronto press with an attempt to cover up the incident by comparing it to the time two years ago when Detroit&rsquo;s Doug Barkley lost the sight of one eye during a scramble with Hawk Left Wing Doug Mohns.&ldquo;They aren&rsquo;t fooling me with that stuff,&rdquo; Billy snapped. &ldquo;The two situations weren&rsquo;t at all alike. Mohns and Barkley were fighting for the puck along the boards.&ldquo;Mohns hooked Barkley&rsquo;s stick attempting to lift it away from the puck and both sticks came up. One of them caught Barkley in the eye. There wasn&rsquo;t even a penalty called on the play.&rdquo;Stapleton&rsquo;s injury and a lame leg that put veteran left wing Doug Mohns on the shelf for a few games hit at a time when the Hawks were having trouble winning with a full crew and forced Reay to reshuffle all of his lines.Dropped from the Bobby Hull line was Pit Martin, who moved back to center for Dennis Hull and either Wayne Maki or Paul Terbenche. Chico Maki moved from right wing to center for Bobby Hull, while Eric Nesterenko moved up to replace Maki at right wing.Terbenche, a defenseman throughout his career until the Hawks converted him to forward this year, was forced to double as fifth reaguard in Stapleton&rsquo;s absence while Rookie Tom Reid took over as a regular.Reay and Manager Tommy Ivan had considered bringing up a replacement at forward from the Hawks&rsquo; Dallas farm team but decided against it.&ldquo;The only players we felt could be of any help to us are injured,&rdquo; said Ivan. &ldquo;There isn&rsquo;t much point in just bringing up a body to have it around.&rdquo;&ldquo;Besides,&rdquo; added Reay. &ldquo;Terbenche will handle the job very well if we have to call on him.&rdquo;In another move designed to snap the Hawks out of a midseason slump, Goalie Denis DeJordy was replaced by Dave Dryden for a week-end home-and-home series with the Maple Leafs. Dave responded by turning in a brilliant performance in Maple Leaf Gardens while his mates skated to a 4-1 victory, then came back the next night to play well in a 3-1 defeat, one of the Leafs&rsquo; goals going into an empty net with 17 seconds left to play. &#9632;

f0007-01

High Sticking Of Stapleton Angers Reay

<div class="byline">BY ED CONRAD</div>PHILADELPHIA, PA. &ndash;The Flyers&rsquo; health has suddenly changed but don&rsquo;t start sending sympathy cards or flowers.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-02806/3345911-1-eng-US/f0008-022.jpg" title="f0008-02" width="262" height="472"><figcaption class="caption-body">Keith Allen</figcaption></div>True, the Flyers&rsquo; runaway bulge atop the Western Division of the National Hockey League has disappeared but the club still feels it&rsquo;ll snap out of it and finish in first place.&ldquo;We lose a couple in a row and right away people are saying we&rsquo;re dead and they&rsquo;ve trying to bury us,&rdquo; said left wing Billy Sutherland. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re not dead and we&rsquo;re far from buried. We&rsquo;re just suffering through a slump and we&rsquo;ll soon pull out of it.&rdquo;The Flyers had achieved one of the highlights of their first season with a sterling 2-1 victory over the defending Stanley Cup champion Maple Leafs in Toronto but then came consecutive losses to Minnesota, Detroit and Los Angeles.In the meantime, their advantage in the West dwindled drastically from its nine-point pillow as the runnerup clubs started winning with consistentcy.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re still playing good hockey,&rdquo; reasoned defenseman Ed Van Impe. &ldquo;But we&rsquo;ve run into a few teams who came up with real good efforts and were able to beat us.&ldquo;We fought too hard to get into first place and we don&rsquo;t intend to finish anywhere else,&rdquo; said Ed. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re still going to accomplish what we started out to do &mdash; finish in first place.The Flyers had every reason to push the panic button, however, because the club absorbed back-to-back shutouts on its home ice &mdash; twice as many shutouts as it had suffered the whole previous campaign. According to Los Angeles Kings&rsquo; coach Red Kelly, whose club blanked the Flyers, 2-0, behind veteran goalie Terry Sawchuk, the pressure evidentally has caught up to them.&ldquo;I know how it is when you&rsquo;re in first place and you&rsquo;ve got all that pressure on you,&rdquo; volunteered Red. &ldquo;You lose a couple and you don&rsquo;t score goals and it makes it a little rougher all the way around. You start pressing and that&rsquo;s no good.&rdquo;Kelly figures, however, that the Flyers were ripe for a tailspin.&ldquo;Philly had been going real good all season and didn&rsquo;t have a serious slump,&rdquo; said Kelly. &ldquo;They were due for one and maybe this is it. Nevertheless, I&rsquo;d have to say we beat them because we finally came up with a great team effort against them. We checked better and we stayed with our men better than any other game we&rsquo;ve had with Philadelphia.&rdquo;Leon Rochefort, the only Flyer to play in the recent All-Star Game, figures the only reason his club has been caught in a slump is because it is not playing good hockey.&ldquo;I think the last 10 games, maybe we had one good game &mdash; against Toronto,&rdquo; said Leon. &ldquo;We are not playing the way we were earlier in the season. I don&rsquo;t know what it is.Coach Keith Allen is at a loss for an answer, too. He told his players not to let the recent slump get them down because that&rsquo;s the worst thing that can possibly happen.&ldquo;I think we&rsquo;ve been playing some good hockey on the road but we&rsquo;ve been playing badly at home and I can&rsquo;t figure out why,&rdquo; said Keith, who contemplated juggling his lines a bit to get more scoring punch in the lineup.The toughest part about the offensive lapse came in the loss to Los Angeles because, in the only two games previous to the shutout, the Flyers had averaged eight goals against the Kings. They had won 7-2 and 9-1.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not good what happened to us, that&rsquo;s for sure,&rdquo; summarized Rochefort. &ldquo;It was nice having that big lead and it hurts to see us lose it so fast.&ldquo;If we&rsquo;re going to have our slump, it is better to have it now than later.&rdquo; &#9632;

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Tail-spinning Flyers Hope To Shake Slump

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-01905/3345949-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg" title="f0008-01" width="596" height="637"><figcaption class="caption-body">BILL SUTHERLAND&hellip; Trying To Bury Us</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-03670/3345942-1-eng-US/f0008-032.jpg" title="f0008-03" width="572" height="2333"></div> &#9632;

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two minute hockey quiz

<div class="byline">BY GEOFFREY FISHIER</div>ST-LOUIS, Mo.&mdash;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-01880/3345980-1-eng-US/f0009-012.jpg" title="f0009-01" width="300" height="462"><figcaption class="caption-body">Larry Keenan</figcaption></div>There&rsquo;s no denying it any longer &mdash; the St. Louis Blues have taken dead aim on a first place finish in the expansion division of the National Hockey League and you will find few sectors of the circuit foolhardy enough to treat the matter lightly.Any day now it can be anticipated that St. Louis fans will be rewriting that old American Revolutionary war cry &ldquo;The Red Coats are Coming&rdquo; to &ldquo;The Blue Shirts are Coming.&rdquo; Because coming they are with 11 wins and six ties in their last 22 games up to Sunday, January 28.The rest of the NHL may yet call an emergency Summit Meeting to ponder on how to deal with these supposedly harmless up starts from the banks of the Mississippi.A pair of back-to-back games with the Red Wings in Detroit and with the New York Rangers in St. Louis Jan. 25 and Jan. 27provided all the evidence needed to prove this first edition of the St. Louis entry has all it needs to go all the way. They smashed through a Red Wing fortification In the Detroit Olympia to build up a 4-1 advantage before Delvecchio, Howe and Co. recovered sufficiently to scramble desperately to a 4-4 tie. Then, back at the St. Louis Arena they ran into a Ranger juggernaut that ripped home three goals in the first 12 minutes and seemed bent upon total destruction of the hometown forces. But the Blues calmly gathered their shattered defenses and stormed back to win, 4-3.Said soft-spoken St. Louis coach Scotty Bowman after that one; &ldquo;These gays have the spirit and the desire to overcome anything. I think we&rsquo;ve got a good chance to go to the top.&rdquo;Bowman pointed to a series of events that took place after the first 20 games of the season as the major reasons for the St. Louis resurgence.&ldquo;We were searching hard for some good combinations, particularly since we were being hurt bad by injuries (Don McKenney, Fred Hucul, Larry Keenan) and we brought up the kids (Frank St. Marseille, Tim Ecclestone and Gary Sabourin). &ldquo;They gave us a lot of spark and drive. Then we made the deal with the Rangers that got us Red Berenson and Barclay Plager.&rdquo;The Blues began to function with great success soon after Berenson and Barclay Plager joined the club.How far and how fast St. Louis has come was clearly seen in the win over the Rangers, their first in four meetings with the New Yorkers.And it was Larry Keenan, who at the age of 27 has spent more time on crutches than on skates in recent years, who ignited the fuse.The crew-cropped left winger, a brilliant performer back in his amateur days with the St. Michael&rsquo;s College Jrs., and later with Victoria in the Western League, has been hit with enough injuries to make even the Blue Cross quiver with apprenhension.Keenan, who was expected to be a top gun for the Blues, broke his right leg in the seventh game of the season at Minnesota. He had it in a cast for six weeks. He returned to the firing line Dec. 27 and three nights later in Toronto he was knocked into the boards of the Maple Leaf Gardens by Pete Stemkowski and suffered deep bruises of the shoulder and hip.He had scored four goals in the first six games before breaking the leg. Now, playing his seventh full game, he scored the first and second St. Louis goals against the Rangers, giving him a total of six goals in seven games this season.For a team that shot as many blanks as the Blues, the Keenan net magic was a mighty welcome addition. All season the Blues had been fighting through the thickets of the NHL on the stength of a stout and unflinching defense. After 46 games only two players had better goal scoring records than Keenan who had played only seven games. They were Gordon (Red) Berenson with 13 and Frank St. Marseille with 10. &#9632;

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Aroused Blues Taking Aim At First Place NHL Finish

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0009-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-02785/3346011-1-eng-US/f0009-022.jpg"></div> &#9632;

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LOOKING AT NHL RACE

<div class="byline">BY LOU PRATO</div>PITTSBURGH, Pa. -There&rsquo;s something wrong with the Pittsburgh Penguins team Coach Red Sullivan has put together and no one is quite sure what it is.Perhaps, it&rsquo;s the absence of a genuine leader who can stimulate the club when the spirit is low?Or, it could be the propensity of opposing teams to get a little more than their proverbial share of luck when playing Pittsburgh?Or, maybe, the 15 men or so who comprise the NHL expansion team simply don&rsquo;t have the overall talent to be consistent winners in the league?But whatever is wrong, the situation is slowly dropping the Penguins out of contention for a Stanley Cup Playoff berth.On one night, the Penguins can look and play like world beaters, scoring at the end of well executed plays and checking so hard that the enemy all but quits on the ice.But then they&rsquo;ll turn around and give a listless and inept performance that makes the home town Pittsburgh fans, at least, wish wistfully for a return of the old AHL Hornets.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know exactly where to pinpoint the trouble,&rdquo; Coach Red Sullivan says angrily, &ldquo;but I know some of these guys aren&rsquo;t taking their jobs seriously. Some guys aren&rsquo;t pulling their weight and I&rsquo;m sick and tired of it.&ldquo;I know I&rsquo;ve got a good hockey club and that&rsquo;s what really tees me off. We&rsquo;ll look good on one night and sloppy the next.&ldquo;Some of my guns haven&rsquo;t come through in recent games; (Art) Stratton and (Ab) McDonald, for instance. They have not been cutting it. I don&rsquo;t know why, but they&rsquo;re not skating or checking like I know they can.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want to put the onus on those two alone. They&rsquo;re just a couple of examples. There are other guys, too.&rdquo;As Sullivan spoke, his Penguins were in fifth place in the Western Division and fading. A shakeup was due and it came swiftly.Forward Bobby Dillabough, who earlier in the year had been tabbed as a coming star, was shuttled off to Baltimore along with defenseman Dick Mattiussi. Bobby Rivard, the AHL Rookie of the Year last season, was elevated to the main club as was defenseman Dune McCallum, who had two previous stints in Pittsburgh this year. &#9632;

Penguins’ Nosedive Angers Perplexed ‘Red’ Sullivan

<div class="byline">BY GIL SMITH</div>MONTREAL, Que.-<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-01896/3346066-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg" title="f0010-01" width="293" height="487"><figcaption class="caption-body">Claude Provost</figcaption></div>Claude Provost Is a 34-year-old veteran who&rsquo;s been showing the hustle of a rookie in Canadiens&rsquo; recent drive to the top of the standings.In addition to taking a regular turn on the right side of the Backstrom-Fergusonline, Provost has been killing penalties and scoring while his team has been shorthanded. So far, this season, he&rsquo;s clicked for three goals while playing the role of penalty-killer.Provost has long been one of the more underrated players in hockey. He joined Canadians 13 years ago, when the team was loaded with superstars and was promptly relegated to a checking line. His mates were Phil Goyette and Andre Pronovost, and they spent their time protecting the leads which had been built up by the Richards, Beliveaus, Geoffrions and Moores. Later, Provost branched out as a kind of super-checker against opposing stars, and gained his greatest fame by shadowing Bobby Hull.Where Provost has been overlooked the most, however, is in the scoring department. He has 225 career goals, to date, and certainly figures to wind up in hockey&rsquo;s exclusive 250-goal club. That&rsquo;s a lot of goals for a man whose main business has been to act as a checker throughout his career.Says Toe Blake: &ldquo;provost gets a lot of scoring opportunities because he checks, and when a player checks he winds up with the puck. It&rsquo;s a wonder more players don&rsquo;t realize that.&rdquo;Claude&rsquo;s latest caper, scoring while penalty-killing, seems to bear out that theory. In any case, he&rsquo;s almost certain to wind up the highest-scoring defensive forward in hockey.Jean Beliveau became the first Canadien to hit the 20-goal mark this season, when he scored against New York Rangers on February 1st. Beliveau has scored 20 or more goals in all but four of his 15 seasons with Habs. The fact that he&rsquo;s already hit the 20-goal mark this season is remarkable, for he missed 15 games in the first part of the schedule. What it amounts to, in Beliveau&rsquo;s case, is 20 goals in just 33 games.Canadians had gone 16 games without a loss in their rags-to-riches rise from the cellar to first place. They had 14 wins and two ties, and 12 of the wins were in succession before the Rangers stopped them Feb. 3 In New York.The league&rsquo;s coaches haven&rsquo;t exactly endeared themselves to Montreal with their mid-season picks for all-star teams and individual awards.After overlooking Jacques Laperriere for the second all-star team, they awarded a paltry ten votes to rookie Jacques Lemaire in the Calder Memorial Trophy voting. Lemaire may not be quite as good as Derek Sanderson, but he&rsquo;s a lot better than the 40-point spread between them would indicate. Lemaire was one of Habs&rsquo; top goal-getters in the first half, despite the fact that he saw only part-time duty.The Canadiens have sent right-winger Claude Larose to the Houston Apollos of the Central Pro Hockey League.Under existing NHL rules, he must remain in Houston for a minimum of two weeks.Larose, a huge disappointment this season, had appeared in 32 games with Habs, but scored just one goal. He also had eight assists. &#9632;

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Vet Provost Shows Gallop As Habs Grab Lead

<div class="byline">BY GLENN REDMANN</div>TWIN CITIES, Minn. -<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-02793/3346128-1-eng-US/f0011-022.jpg" title="f0011-02" width="275" height="479"><figcaption class="caption-body">Mike McMahon</figcaption></div>Minnesota&rsquo;s Mike McMahon recently took exception to being called an underrated defenseman.But what better description is there of a man who doesn&rsquo;t draw a single vote in the half-way All Star balloting despite the fact that he&rsquo;s the leading point-getter among West Division blueliners at this writing?If this sounds like a suggestion that some of the NHL coaches (who selected the mid-season All Stars) should have their heads examined, then so be it.The snubbing of McMahon may be supported in some circles by those who prefer to think of the 5-foot-11, 180-pound Quebec native as strictly an offensive-type defenseman.But this would be a foolish and unfair appraisal, because all season long Mike has played steady if not sensational hockey while North Star opponents have been on attack.&ldquo;McMahon&rsquo;s a very intelligent hockey player,&rdquo; said Oakland manager-coach Bert Olmstead following a 3-1 Minnesota victory over the Seals here late last month.&ldquo;I think this is either the sixth or seventh game we&rsquo;ve played against the North Stars, and I can&rsquo;t recall McMahon playing a bad one yet.&rdquo;The two-time Most Valuable defenseman in the Central League (1964-65 at St. Paul and 1966-67 at Houston) put his team ahead to stay in the second period of that game with his ninth goal.The way it happened was typical of Mike&rsquo;s Johnny-on-the-spot alertness. J.P. Parise, who seems to give it just a little extra against a Seals team which traded him away, came out of a scramble behind the net and let go with an intended rink-wide pass to Billy Plager from the left sideboards.Mike, stationed about 25 feet in front of Oakland goalie Charlie Hodge, Intercepted, and quick as a wink his screen shot turned on the red light.&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t want one of our stupid forwards to get it,&rdquo; he joked later.After Oakland pulled to within 2-1 in the third period, McMahon&rsquo;s 16th assist on a goal by clever Parker MacDonald put the game out of the Seals&rsquo; reach.Less than 24 hours later, in a nationally-televised game against Detroit played before 14,580 fans at Metropolitan Sports Center, McMahon contributed another assist in the North Stars 2-1 win over the Red Wings.After stealing the puck from a Red Wing attacker just inside the North Star blueline, the 26-year-old one-time New York Ranger fed Wayne Connelly near center ice. Connelly, in turn, wheeled down the middle to beat come-backing Roger Crozier with a 35-foot slap shot that broke a 1-1 tie.That goal, Connelly&rsquo;s 18th, helped ease the disappointment of a missed penalty shot only a few minutes earlier by the former Boston right winger.McMahon, whose father Mike Sr. played on the Montreal Stanley Cup championship team of 1943-44, was purchased by Minnesota from Montreal after the expansion draft.The off-season golf enthusiast hasn&rsquo;t surprised manager-coach Wren Blair with his puck-carrying and shooting prowess. &ldquo;He scored 20 goals and had 41 assists for St. Paul one season,&rdquo; said Blair.That opportunity frequently finds the tough, combative McMahon getting between 35 and 40 minutes of ice time per game lately. Injuries to Capt. Bob Woytowich, Moose Vasko and Mike&rsquo;s equally underrated partner, Bob McCord, have forced the heavy duty.Not only does Blair take advantage of Mike&rsquo;s accurate, quick shot when the North Stars have a manpower edge &mdash; he also calls on Iron Mike&rsquo;s puck-clearing shot-blocking abilities whenever one of McMahon&rsquo;s teammates is sent off the ice for a penalty. &#9632;

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North Stars Feel McMahon Snubbed As NHL All-Star

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0011-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-01878/3346159-1-eng-US/f0011-012.jpg"></div>INDIVIDUAL SCORING LEADERS(Including games of Sun. Feb. 4) &#9632;

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NHL SCORING RACE

<div class="byline">BY JACK BERRY</div>DETROIT, Mich.&mdash;It was a thought, shared by many, that once the National Hockey League action reached midseason, the upstart expansion teams would play like expansion teams should and the old boys play like you&rsquo;d expect the old boys to play.It isn&rsquo;t working out that way, though, and it&rsquo;s the best thing that could have happened to the NHL.The expansion teams, after the first flush of victory against the established Eastern Division clubs, didn&rsquo;t fold their tents and sneak off into the bushes.Nor did the Eastern Division, once over the shock of losing or nearly losing to new teams, assert an overwhelming supremacy.The Western Division&rsquo;s early successes largely were written off as psychological. A flock of fringe players wanted to prove that they belonged on a big league payroll. Throw in some eager young Junior graduates and that was it.Well and good. But they&rsquo;ve kept it up for so long that they&rsquo;re believing it themselves and they&rsquo;re playing tough hockey against the Eastern Division.The Red Wings found out quite painfully in late January with the expansion teams helping to put another crimp in Detroit&rsquo;s already dimming Stanley Cup playoff chances.In one four-day period the Wings posted a 1-1-1 record against Western Division teams and they were mighty lucky to break even despite having two of the three games on home ice.The pattern was the same in all three. Detroit was strong at the start but excellent goalkeeping stopped the Wings.Then the expansion clubs ridded themselves of whatever awe they had of Gordie Howe, Alex Delvecchio, Norm Ullman and associates and skated right with the Wings the rest of the game &hellip; and, in some instances, skated better.The three teams were St. Louis, Philadelphia and Minnesota.St. Louis appeared to have a victory locked up, leading 4-1 &mdash; and clearly deserving it, with only 8:09 to play. Then Detroit scored three fast goals, the first by Howe on a power play, and the Wings salvaged a 4-4 tie and counted themselves extremely fortunate.Then they outshot Philadelphia, 36-16, but barely managed a 3-2 Victory with the Flyers in the game right up to the time Gary Dornhoefer was penalized with five seconds to play.And 24 hours later the Wings where 2-1 victims in their first meeting with the North Stars, populated by former teammates Bob McCord, Parker MacDonald and Ray Cullen.Again the North Stars played an energetic, close-checking game and drew excellent goalkeeping from large Cesare Maniago.It&rsquo;s interesting to note that aside from the late lapse by St. Louis, the three expansion clubs very effectively muffled Detroit&rsquo;s potent offense. &#9632;

Detroiters’ Hopes Dim For Playoffs

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-01867/3346221-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg" title="f0012-01" width="312" height="456"><figcaption class="caption-body">Gordie Howe</figcaption></div>One of the most amazing performers in this and any other National Hockey League season has to be Gordie Howe.The 22-season veteran of the Detroit Red Wings appears to be getting better with age. This year he will be 40 and he continues to confound the hockey experts who often wonder how he can keep going at his present pace.Howe emerged as the NHL&rsquo;s leading point scorer of last week with eight, four goals and four assists. The flurry of points pushed Howe into third place in the individual scoring race behind Stan Mikita and Bobby Hull of the Hawks.Howe, who scored his 675th regular season goal of his long career last weekend, has 26 goals this season and 55 points. No one expects Howe to win the scoring title &mdash; he already has done this six times &mdash; but it wouldn&rsquo;t surprise anyone if he pushed through to steal it away from Chicago&rsquo;s two super stars.THE HOCKEY NEWS and El Producto cigars are pleased to salute the NHL&rsquo;s player-of-the-week in the East:<blockquote class="pullQuote">Gordie Howe&hellip; Detroit</blockquote><h2>Penalties In Minutes By Teams</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-02752/3346214-1-eng-US/f0012-022.jpg" title="f0012-02" width="1360" height="705"></div> &#9632;

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NHL Player Of The Week — IN THE EAST

There isn&rsquo;t a harder working player in the new section of the National Hockey League than Philadelphia&rsquo;s Forbes Kennedy.The hard-nosed Philly center has scored only seven times but he always manages to come up with a key goal, like the one he tallied last weekend to help upset the Chicago Black Hawks 5-3. Kennedy bagged the winning goal and picked up two assists as well in the game.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-03590/3346252-1-eng-US/f0012-032.jpg" title="f0012-03" width="336" height="477"><figcaption class="caption-body">Forbes Kennedy</figcaption></div>In a game with Toronto the previous night, Kennedy didn&rsquo;t score but he helped set up two Philadelphia goals that contributed to another victory over Toronto.The expansion Flyers pulled off a rare sweep against the old teams and little Forbes Kennedy played a key role in both games.THE HOCKEY NEWS and El Producto cigars are pleased to salute the NHL&rsquo;s player-of-the-week in the West:<blockquote class="pullQuote">Forbes Kennedy&hellip; Philly</blockquote> &#9632;

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NHL Player Of The Week — IN THE WEST

<div class="byline">-By Bill Libby</div><h2>Memories Of The Garden</h2>New York&rsquo;s old Madison Square Garden stands shivering now, a monument to memories. It is about to be torn down but ghosts of its past will haunt the Big Town forever. Rocky Marciano knocked out Joe Louis here. Henry Armstrong won the third of his triple crown here, from Lou Ambers. Ray Robinson won the first of his titles here, from Tommy Bell. Willie Pep regained his championship from Sandy Saddler here. More than anything else, the Garden was a boxing building, Because boxing is not now what it once was, perhaps it is just as well the old Garden is making way for the new.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-01852/3346297-1-eng-US/f0014-012.jpg" title="f0014-01" width="274" height="480"><figcaption class="caption-body">Lou Fontinato</figcaption></div>The Garden was much else, too, of course. It was indoor track, with Warmerdam soaring 15 feet on a bamboo pole and Ron Delaney cutting them down from behind in a slow mile. And it was basketball, with lean Joe Lapchick suffering on the sidelines with the Knicks, and with the college double-headers packing the place until the fix-scandals forever stole the spirit from the sport. And as much as anything else, it was hockey, with Lester Patrick masterminding from the bench and the battles between, the hometown rivals, the Rangers and Americans, filling the house until the Amerks folded during World War II.The Rangers played their first game in the Garden before I was born, on Nov. 16, 1926. Ching Johnson and Nels Stewart clashed in bloody battle, Bill Cook scored the only goal and Hal Winkler blanked the opposition as the Montreal Maroons were shaded, 1-0, before more than 13,000 fans. Over the years, such standouts as Cook, Johnson, Bryan Hextall, Frank Boucher, Andy Bathgate, Lynn and Muzz Patrick, Bill Gadsby, Lou Fontinato, Davey Kerr and Chuck Rayner played for the Broadway Blues. So did Hy Buller, Bronco Horvath, John Hanna, Ulf Sterner and a couple hundred others remembered by few.<h2>Fontinato My Favorite</h2>My favorite Ranger had to be Fontinato, even if some might think it a bloody bore. He had guts. He fought Gordie Howe there the best hockey fight I ever saw. And he belted Bert Olmstead the hardest body-check I ever saw. I keep meaning to ask Bert about it, but I don&rsquo;t because we don&rsquo;t talk to each other. My favorite coach was Phil Watson, the iron hand in an Iron glove, simply because he drove the Rangers to win when no one else could. I remember the battles fiery Phil had with the Gumper, worsley. And I remember a long, soft shot skidding by the Gumper to take the Rangers out of the playoffs one year. And I remember Andy Hebenton banging in a goal to beat Montreal in overtime in the playoffs, because the Rangers didn&rsquo;t win many playoff games in my memory, and because they won this one when my hands were soaked with sweat because I was still rooting in those days, really rooting, like a fool. And I remember Bill Mosienko of the Black Hawks setting a record which still stands, scoring three goals in 21 seconds back in March of 1952, because that&rsquo;s the kind of team the Rangers were when I rooted for them, so foolishly.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-02735/3346290-1-eng-US/f0014-022.jpg" title="f0014-02" width="275" height="495"><figcaption class="caption-body">Phil Watson</figcaption></div>New York used to be my home town. But the New York I knew is gone with the Polo Grounds, Ebbets Field and now the big bam on Eighth Avenue. I began to go to the Garden when I could barely afford the buck or so for a spot in the end balcony, which seemed a city block from the action. I wound up with free passes to the side loge, but somehow it wasn&rsquo;t as much fun then as it had been before. The youthful enthusiasm which fires the young has faded from me.The Rangers have won the NHL pennant only three times and the Stanley Cup only three times, and none since the war years. In the last 20 years, they have been terrible most of the time. But I seldom missed a game when I was there. And I know guys who still haven&rsquo;t missed a game for ten or fifteen seasons. No team even had more loyal followers. They boo, they suffer, and they complain, but they stick it out. They ought to place a plaque in the ground under the lobby where we used to convene before each game, dedicated to Paul Gardella and Lefty Adelson and the rest of the faithful, when they bust up that old building.Actually, the first Madison Square Garden was built by P.T. Barnum, the circus man, in Madison Square, of all places, in 1879. The second and third, retaining the name, if not the location, were built in 1890 and 1925, respectively. Now after 43 years, and a delay of four months beyond the planned opening, the fourth Madison Square Garden has risen a mile downtown, on Thirty-Fourth Street, atop Penn Station. And as it swings wide its doors on Feb 11, a great old building passes into discard.The new Garden is a marvellous, large, modern, clean, complex circular structure, part of a multi-million-dollar development. The old Garden is ugly. You will be able to see all the action superbly in the new Garden, as you seldom could in the old. The new Garden is needed. Now that it is here, the old Garden is not. The new Garden is progress. But the old Garden is memory. We congratulate the constructors as the fourth of the four new NHL buildings is inaugurated this season. But we curse the passing years and weep for what once was.<h2>Expansion Taking Hold</h2>Expansion seems to be taking hold in good fashion. St. Louis drew 13,873 for a visit by an established team, the Rangers, recently. On the same weekend the expansion L.A. club drew 11, 156 and 13,577, respectively, in the expansion cities of Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. And Minnesota drew 12,790 for an expansion visitor, last-place Oakland, one night, and 14,580 for an established invader, Detroit, the very next afternoon. If the brass will be patient, as they always say they are going to be, but as they seldom are, prosperity is just around the corner.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-03572/3346283-1-eng-US/f0014-032.jpg" title="f0014-03" width="286" height="481"><figcaption class="caption-body">Tracy Pratt</figcaption></div>Vancouver, expecting to get an NHL franchise next season, hosted 12,403 at the inaugural of its new building. And Phoenix set a record with 10,012 in its fairly new palace. There is no shortage of strong cities hoping to make the big time. Denver is going to give it another try in the Western League next season. Rudy Pilous, who always bounces back, returns as the new manager and coach of the Colorado club. But if Vancouver jumps, what happens to the Western League? Losing its lone Canadian outlet could be fatal to the fine circuit, which surrendered its two California clubs this season. Realignment of the minor leagues may be the next major move in hockey.Tracy Pratt, Babe Pratt&rsquo;s son and a rookie in the NHL with Oakland, gave rough Ranger Reg Fleming all he wanted in a toe-to-toe fist-fight recently. Tracy is a tough one, as his old man was. Tracy once told us he wasn&rsquo;t smart enough to listen to the old man, but he was shrewd enough to inherit Babe&rsquo;s strong fiber. Another fight recently involved Larry Zeidel, Philly&rsquo;s fountain of youth, and Noel Picard, the St. Louis sinner. Laced on the jaw, Larry laughed at Noel; &ldquo;You&rsquo;re losing your stuff, kid&mdash;I didn&rsquo;t even go down.&rdquo; Earlier, Zeidel said walloped him. Larry always has a line to laugh at. But he doesn&rsquo;t have many teeth left. &#9632;

f0014-01

Hockey Ad Lib

<div class="byline">BY NORMAN MacLEAN</div>NEW YORK, N.Y. -<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-04416/3346328-1-eng-US/f0014-042.jpg" title="f0014-04" width="279" height="472"><figcaption class="caption-body">Walter Tkaczuk</figcaption></div>In the first three months of the campaign, the New York Rangers were literally kept afloat by their record against the Western Division clubs. In fact, up until January they had lost only one game to the new expansion group and were carrying the torch high for the old N.H.L. establishment.Now as February starts the early stretch drive, the Blueshirts are 13-3-1, not bad, but those two-losses at key spots have really hurt. They were to the Los Angeles Kings in LA on January 19 and to the St. Louis Blues on January 27 in the Mound City. Both came at a time when wins would have put the New Yorkers right up in to the top three of the torrid N.H.L. race.As we went to press, New York was in a mad five way scramble with everyone but Detroit for the four Stanley Cup qualifying spots in the old NHL. They were three points from first place, yet not sure of making the playoffs! A quick bit of arithmetic will show that had they not slipped on the expansion banana peel, they would now be in first place.Emile Francis, the Rangers General Manager-Coach, is in the main, quite pleased with his troops&rsquo; work against the new clubs, despite the two miscues.&ldquo;We got beat by our own mistakes In St. Louis, when we gave them a couple of goals, but the boys have gotten up against the new clubs and we do have the best record In the league against the,&rdquo; notes Francis.New York rebounded from Its St. Loo debacle when they clobbered the Oakland Seals 4-2, on January 28, before a sellout crowd of 15,925. They outshot the Seals by a 46-13 count and were much the better club. The score did not indicate the true margin.A bright point for the Blues has been the work of the French Line of Jean Ratelle. Rod Gilbert and Camille Henry. Henry, who is subbing for the Injured Vic Hadfield has done wonders for the time he has played with this trio.An interesting point could be made of the fact that this line should be called &ldquo;The Spinal Fusion Line". All three have had spinal operations, with Gilbert having undergone two. Nonetheless, they have fused as an effective combination, which despite the lack of weight and muscle, has succeeded in digging the puck out of the corners, and getting it to either Henry for his tip ins, or Gilbert for his longer range blasts.Injuries have hurt the New Yorkers, although this observer feels that when the team suffers from a series of problems, the rest of the boys work that much harder and produce more. When Hadfield, Larry Jeffrey, Wayne Hillman and Boomer Geoffrion all missed the Boston showdown of January 24, the team came through with a superb effort, and won 2-1 sparked by Jean Ratelle&rsquo;s two goals.On the Injury front, Hadfield should be back to limited duty by the time that you read this. His Injured shoulder is coming along fine. Hillman has a bad hand, Jeffrey hurt his knee again while climbing over the boards and Geoffrion has the miseries from time to time.As replacements, the New Yorkers employed Allan Hamilton on defense and again returned him to Buffalo, Bob Jones, a forward, shuffled back to Buffalo and Walter Tkaczuk up from his starry role as the leading center of the Kitchener (OHA Jr. A) Rangers. Walter, (I can&rsquo;t pronounce the last name) did well when he took a couple of Orland Kurtenbach&rsquo;s turns when Kurt was in the penalty box against the Bruins. He Is the Rangers &rsquo; center of the future &mdash; and with Ratelle augurs well for the team&rsquo;s future center ice strength.BLUE CHIPS - New York must improve on its 1966-67 mark this term in the stretch if it is to make it. Last year, the Blues went 6-4-1 in February, 3-6-4 in March and 0-2 in April &hellip; Also they have only 24 games with Expansion clubs and have already played 17 of them, so that their opposition will tend to Improve &hellip; In February, Rangers have two away games with Montreal and two home games; they play Boston one time at home; the Red Wings play New York once at MSG and twice in the Olympia; Rangers play at Pittsburgh and at Minnesota once each, host the Philly Flyers in the opener in the new MSG and split home and away games with Toronto &hellip; Phil Goyette, who was rapped around the head vs St. Louis is now wearing a helmet&hellip;One consistent fact about New York is their eleven straight Sunday victories capped off with their Oakland win of January 28. &#9632;

f0014-04

Rangers Blow Chances To Move Up With Flubs Against “New” Teams

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0015-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-01829/3346359-1-eng-US/f0015-012.jpg"></div> &#9632;

f0015-01

National Hockey League Summaries

<div class="byline">BY VIN CIMINI</div>PROVIDENCE, R.I. &ndash;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-02571/3346397-1-eng-US/f0016-022.jpg" title="f0016-02" width="276" height="489"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jean-Pierre Mallette</figcaption></div>Serving a twist to the birthday tradition, Jean-Pierre Mallette celebrated the 25th renewal of the happy event on the offering end as his two goals guided the Rhode Island Reds to a 3-2 victory over the Hershey Bears on January 28th.In doing so the Reds capped another successful weekend of action and found themselves in an even more challenging position to not only gain a playoff berth but also make a strong bid for the divisional crown.Every week, it seems, the Reds have found someone new providing the heroics and their latest such doer-of-good-deeds has come in the person of young Mallette.The story of Mallette&rsquo;s coming to the Reds is quite unique as the Roosters waged a two-month battle with the Montreal Canadiens to obtain his rights several seasons ago. Although he had been secured for some time and had appeared in two training camps he did not receive his first good shot with the Reds until late last season and he responded admirably with 3 goals and 2 assists in his brief stay.Reds&rsquo; general manager Buster Clegg remarked at the time, of the similarity of Mallette&rsquo;s play to that of Willie Marshall but added one enlightening note, &ldquo;He&rsquo;s not afraid of going in the corners. He&rsquo;s going to be a good one.&rdquo;But Jean &ldquo;almost&rdquo; never gave himself the chance to prove those words true.It was in Victoriaville, situated midway between Montreal and Quebec, that Mallette was being offered a fine job which would also allow him the chance to continue playing hockey for that city&rsquo;s entry in the Quebec Senior League, a team which he had led in scoring the previous year.After much deliberation Jean felt he just couldn&rsquo;t pass up the opportunity he was being given by the Reds. But for a while in the early part of this season he must have thought he had made the wrong decision.He missed 21 of the Reds&rsquo; first 26 games this year but then he cracked the starting lineup for good.Now, twenty games later, he has become a gleam in Dave Creighton&rsquo;s eye.He&rsquo;s been the big difference in our third line. Jean plays well with Bobby Leduc and Jim Mikol and never stops working.&rdquo;A clever puck-handler, Jean has been most remarkable defensively.&ldquo;Mallette&rsquo;s not too big (5&rsquo;9, 160 1bs),&rdquo; Creighton said, &ldquo;but he has a good sense of covering up for not only his mistakes but other&rsquo;s mistakes. He uses his body well and he&rsquo;s a good example of what position means on defense.&rdquo;Right now Jean Mallette figures highly in the Reds&rsquo; hopes and in all probability he&rsquo;ll figure even more significantly in the future.<h2>How They Stand</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-01657/3346390-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg" title="f0016-01" width="657" height="515"></div>GAMES COMPLETEDTues. Jan. 30Cleveland 4 at Baltimore 4Wed. Jan. 31Buffalo 2 otProvidence 4Quebec 3 atSon Diego 6Fri. Feb. 2Providence 2 at Baltimore 3Springfield 2 of Cleveland 5Buffalo 0 at Rochester 1Quebec 6 at Phoenix 5Hershey 4 of Vancouver 3Sat. Feb. 3Providence 2 at Cleveland 2Baltimore 3 at Springfield 5Hershey 0 at Portland 7Sun. Feb. 4Cleveland 4 at Buffalo 1Baltimore 2 at Providence 5Springfield 2 at Rochester 6Hershey 4 at Seattle 2 &#9632;

f0016-02

Mallette Sparkles After Missing 21 Games

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0016-04" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-04354/3346435-1-eng-US/f0016-042.jpg"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-03459/3346428-1-eng-US/f0016-032.jpg" title="f0016-03" width="897" height="183"></div> &#9632;

f0016-04

American Hockey League Summaries

<div class="byline">BY CHARLEY BARTON</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-03408/3346473-1-eng-US/f0017-032.jpg" title="f0017-03" width="257" height="474"><figcaption class="caption-body">Guy Trottier</figcaption></div>BUFFALO, N.Y. -The doctors had a grim message for Fred Shero. Shero has a grim message for his players and the day, naturally, turned out to be a grim one for the Buffalo Bisons.The unpleasantness began for Shero, the Bisons&rsquo; freshman coach, when he learned Guy Trottier required surgery on his left knee and would be lost to the club for six to eight weeks.&ldquo;A re-examination disclosed a torn cartilage in the knee, &ldquo;said Dr. Howard Lehman, the team physician. &ldquo;Guy will be unable to skate for six to eight weeks.&rdquo;Trottier, who turned pro with the Bisons last fall following a brilliant career in the upper amateur leagues, was hurt in a game at Cleveland Jan. 5. The injury first was described as a bruised knee.The hard-working French-Canadian from Ottawa is the second right-winger to be seriously injured this season. Larry Mickey broke his left arm for the second time in less than a year, and is through for the season.Although the Bisons have had more than their share of injuries, Shero was even more concerned with the club&rsquo;s attitude.&ldquo;Losing Trottier is a big blow,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;However, there isn&rsquo;t anything we can do about that. But we can change our attitude.&ldquo;We have to start playing as a team. We haven&rsquo;t been helping each other, and we&rsquo;ve been playing as individualists.&ldquo;Our goalies have been attacked, and nobody came to their side. One of our players is being pushed by three guys, and again, no one goes to his side. That has to change. We must start playing as a unit, with more muscle than we&rsquo;ve been showing.&rdquo;ALONG THE BOARDS: Goalie Gilles Villemure gave the club a scare when Wayne Muloin of Providence fell across his leg, and Villemure was slow getting up. Defenseman Allan Hamilton fell heavily on one knee, but suffered nothing worse than a bruise &hellip; A quirk in the schedule has the Bisons idle for six straight Saturdays. Plagued with a record number of Injuries, the Bisons can use the rest &hellip; Trainer Frank Christie issued eight helmets recently, and seven were returned the same day.<h2>AHL Point Race</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-01559/3346466-1-eng-US/f0017-012.jpg" title="f0017-01" width="645" height="1006"></div> &#9632;

f0017-03

Loss Of Trottier, Sagging Attitude Hurt Bisons

<div class="byline">BY SHEL FULLERTON</div>CLEVELAND, Ohio-Somewhere between the first successful heart transplant and the operations of an international smuggling ring, evil days befell the Cleveland Barons in mid-January.Their misfortunes came at precisely the time of year when the Barons normally start grinding out victories in profusion. This season, the grinding came earlier. Their mid-January miseries moved them out of first place, at least temporarily, for the first time since the season&rsquo;s first puck was dropped.In neither the heart transplant nor smuggling case could the Barons do much about it. What transpired between the two, they could help.The heart transplant was the infusion of new blood &mdash; and new heart &mdash; in the Rochester Americans as a result of its major swap with the Minnesota North Stars to bring Ted Taylor, Len Lunde, Murray Hall, Duke Harris, Don Johns and Carl Wetzel to the Rochester fold.Since the new heart was injected into the Americans, they have rolled along, knocking off all comers, gaining on the Barons even when the Barons were winning the majority of their games.The international smuggling episode was a little less publicized. Already in the throes of a mild slump, the Barons saw the letdown grow to major proportions when they took a trip to Quebec and smuggled back an-international flu bug that laid practically the whole Cleveland team low on the eve of a three-game weekend against Baltimore, San Diego and Springfield.What already was a matter of some concern became serious in nature as the flu germs got in their licks. Scarcely anyone on the club was spared.But in between, the Barons were guilty of some slipshod hockey to get the slump under way.As will happen to any club, any year, the Barons suddenly stopped checking, stopped digging, started pressing, the defense turned shaky and the forwards stopped scoring.Slumps are part of the game. One was bound to come. Coach Fred Glover&rsquo;s problem is to snap the club out of it, which he should be able to do now that the flu bug has had its innings. &#9632;

Revamped Amerks, Flu Bug Push Barons Off Top Rung

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0018-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-02461/3346604-1-eng-US/f0018-022.jpg"></div> &#9632;

f0018-02

WHL SUMMARIES

<div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-04265/3346635-1-eng-US/f0018-042.jpg" title="f0018-04" width="133" height="239"><figcaption class="caption-body" style="width: 133px">Larry McNabb</figcaption></div>VANCOUVER, B.C. &ndash;Each player with the team that finishes in first place in the National Hockey League this season will receive a payoff of $2,250.Poof! Strictly minor league!Larry McNabb, large economy-sized defenseman of the Vancouver Canucks, has the chance to earn a minimum of $2,500 for a maximum of 30 minutes of action at the conclusion of the Western Hockey League playoffs.All McNabb has to do to collect the $2,500 check &mdash; in U.S. dollars, if you please &mdash; is to travel to Portland after the playoffs and climb in the ring.His opponent?Rising young heavyweight boxing contender Boone Kirkman, a protege of venerable old Jack Hurley, who previously managed such fighters as Harry (Kid) Matthews and Billy (The Fargo Express) Petrolle.The offer was made by Managing Director Harry Glickman of Portland - and he means it &mdash; in a telegram to McNabb.The offer was sparked by McNabb&rsquo;s quick TKO of Buckaroo defenseman Jim (Red Eye) Hay in a recent game in Portland.Hay, who occasionally displays more courage than good sense, should have known better, since he was playing that night the 1,164th game of his professional hockey career.But Hay dropped the gloves and assumed a pugilistic stance. Six seconds and four punches later, Hay was on the ice, his face crimson from a two-stitch cut over one eye.&ldquo;This guy,&rdquo; says Glickman of McNabb, &ldquo;is in the wrong racket.&rdquo; And so the offer was telegraphed.It&rsquo;s difficult to see how McNabb can refuse the offer. Most of his life, after all, he&rsquo;s been fighting for nothing, so to speak. And with bare fists and the danger of getting whacked with a stick by a sore loser.This one would be with regulation gloves in a regulation ring. &#9632;</div>

f0018-04

McNabb’s Quick KO of Hay Brings $2,500 Ring Offer

<div class="byline">BY JOHN WHITE</div>PORTLAND, Ore. -<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-03345/3346573-1-eng-US/f0018-032.jpg" title="f0018-03" width="249" height="463"><figcaption class="caption-body">Hal Laycoe</figcaption></div>If you wanted to take a good solid shot at Harold Richardson Laycoe, and this has been done a few times in the past, then this, on the surface, is your big chance.During the past few seasons, the coach and general manager of the Portland Buckaroos has wheeled and dealed enough for a seat on the New York stock exchange.And, on the surface again, the trades have exploded in Laycoe&rsquo;s face.As February approached, a Buckaroo castoff, Len Ronson of the San Diego Gulls, was the top goal scorer in the Western Hockey League with 27.The runnerup in goals with 24 was another Buckaroo reject, Tommy Me Vie of the Phoenix Roadrunners.Willie O&rsquo;Ree of San Diego, turned down by Portland after local doctors said he had an eye problem, had scored 14 times for the Gulls to rank in the league&rsquo;s top 15.Charlie Holmes, traded by Portland to Seattle for Gordon Sinclair, was one of the top five road scorers in the Western League. Sinclair, dealt off to San Diego before he ever played a game for the Bucks, was tied for the scoring lead among Western League defenseman.Dick Meissner, cut by the Buckaroos after seeing almost no action in the first couple of weeks of the current campaign, went to Baltimore and scored 16 goals in his first 21 games.Another Baltimore Clipper, Tom (The Bomb) McCarthy, was among the American Hockey League&rsquo;s top five scorers. He had been bounced by Portland after the 1963-64 season.Pat Hannigan, traded by Portland in a deal that brought Cliff Schmautz from Buffalo, was in the National Hockey League with Philadelphia.Goalie Rick Charron, sent to Phoenix by the Bucks, was leading the Western League in shutouts with four. Goalie Dave Kelly, sent to San Diego by the Bucks, was enjoying the lowest goals-against average (3.08) of his career.Rugged Don Head, traded to Seattle for Jimmy McLeod, was runnerup to McLeod in the battle for WHL net-minding honors but was winning some awfully big ones for the Totems.Quite an indictment of Laycoe&rsquo;s judgment of hockey talent, &lsquo;eh?Laycoe &mdash; and let&rsquo;s make it perfectly clear that he did not say it because the coach seems a bit touchy this season - had only one answer.As February became reality, the Portland Buckaroos, coached by Harold Richardson Laycoe, were in first place in the Western Hockey League.They finished first in 1967. They finished first in 1966. They finished first in 1965. They finished first in 1963. They finished first in 1962.If the Buckaroos were to stay on top the rest of the way, it would be four straight regular-season championships and six in the last seven campaigns for the scholarly but nails-tough Laycoe.A couple of seasons back &mdash; 1964-65 to be precise &mdash; a writer in Buffalo laughed it up quite a bit about the trade of Hannigan for Cliff Schmautz.Hannigan went wild for the Bisons that season &mdash; 92 points on 38 goals and 54 assists, plus an enthusiastic 118 minutes in penalties.Schmautz, meanwhile, scored only 59 points, including 17 goals, for Portland that year.Yuk! Yuk! Yuk! Laycoe sure stubbed his big toe on that transaction, said the Buffalo writer in different words.It is possible that the Buffalo expert missed the point.The Bisons that season, with Hannigan in the lineup, finished second and failed to make it to the Calder Cup finals.The Buckaroos that season, with Cliff Schmautz in the lineup, won both the regular-season title and the Lester Patrick Cup in the playoffs.And no offense is intended to fun-loving Pat, a fine, aggressive hockey player. But this thing started back East and deserves an answer.Maybe Buckaroo trainer Berlyn Hodges wrapped it all up a couple of years ago when he told bouncy correspondent Bill Libby of THE HOCKEY NEWS, &ldquo;I could name you a dozen of the highest scorers in the league who couldn&rsquo;t play for Hal.&rdquo;As February approached, Portland by no means had a fourth straight title wrapped up.The Bucks had completed their American League swing (2-5-1 conditions that fouled up travel schedules) but still faced seven more games in San Diego and Phoenix where they had won only once in seven tests.But Portland was getting brilliant goal-tending from both Jimmy McLeod and Marv Edwards.Art Jones was warming up for the stretch run &mdash; goals in six straight games in late January for the longest streak of the Western Hockey League season.The Bucks and Seattle Totems were the toughest road clubs in the WHL.And most important, perhaps, Portland was starting to sizzle an home ice again. Defeated 4-1 oy Vancouver on December 16, the Bucks left the rink with a so-so 8-6-1 home record.They then won seven straight at home to close out January and outscored opponents by a whopping 43-7 margin in the process.A fourth straight title was becoming a reasonably good bet.<h2>How They Stand</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-01567/3346566-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg" title="f0018-01" width="668" height="1692"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-03368/3346559-1-eng-US/f0019-032.jpg" title="f0019-03" width="612" height="574"></div> &#9632;

f0018-03

Laycoe’s Buckaroos Still Top Guns In West

<div class="byline">BY NORMAN MacLEAN</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-01547/3346673-1-eng-US/f0019-012.jpg" title="f0019-01" width="291" height="497"><figcaption class="caption-body">Pat Rupp</figcaption></div>NEW YORK, N.Y. -&ldquo;I will be disappointed if we don&rsquo;t improve on our showing in the World Tourney last season, and also make a few of the experts who picked us for fifth in this Olympic competition change their minds,&rdquo; says Murray Williamson, the coach of the United States Olympic squad.Williamson was speaking from the dressing room of the Riverdale Skating Rink in the Bronx, where the Olympians held their final workout prior to winging across the Atlantic to Grenoble for the 1968 games.This year the squad will average four years younger than last season&rsquo;s UJS. Nationals and is fifteen pounds heavier in the aggregate. The star spangled crew lines up with the acrobatic Pat Rupp In goal. Rupp formerly was the spare netminder for the Detroit Red Wings. He is returning from last season &mdash; and is very adequately backed by Jim Logg, whose dental work was saved by his mask when hit by an errant shot in the final workout.Helping the goaltenders are a premier crew of blueliners, perhaps the best the U.S. has ever sent over to Europe. One pair is North Dakota&rsquo;s Don Ross, 24 and the youthful 21-year-old Paul Hurley, a former Boston College forward. Another set shows Lou Nanne, perhaps the best defender, with Michigan&rsquo;s two-time All American Bruce Riutta. The reserve crew Includes Brown&rsquo;s great rusher Bob Gaudreault and the rough-tough pro prospect Bob Paradise.Up front Coach Williamson really has reason to smile. He has the largest line in amateur hockey with Doug Volmar, 217 pounds, Jack Cuniff, 185 and Jack Morrison, 190. Volmar, the Boomer Geoffrion of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association two seasons ago, is a definite pro prospect, after graduation from the playgrounds of Cleveland, Ohio. He won the WCHA scoring title two years ago and has popped 40 goals in the thirty-three games the squad has played.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-02465/3346666-1-eng-US/f0019-022.jpg" title="f0019-02" width="574" height="613"><figcaption class="caption-body">LARRY PLEAU &hellip; Ex-Canadien Pivot</figcaption></div>Cuniff, the famed Flying Eagle of Boston College, whose coach Snooks Kelley uses only Americans, frequently works out with the Boston Bruins.The second line has the U.S. Army&rsquo;s Larry Pleau, a Montreal Canadien amateur farmhand who was discovered by the Canadiens&rsquo; Ralph Backstrom at a Worcester, Mass, clinic. He pivots for Len Lillyholm and Craig Falkman. The third line shows the team&rsquo;s best all around forward Herb Brooks working with Tom Hurley, Jack Daley and Larry Stordahl.As Williamson looked around the new Riverdale Rink, he commented, &ldquo;With a facility like this available in New York, we will be able to plan an exhibition game here next year &mdash; it is very similar to the conditions that we will face in Grenoble, France &mdash; as it is an indoor rink with an outdoor feel.&rdquo;Williamson at first demurred when asked to pick an Olympic order of finish, but finally agreed to judge his opposition if he could skip picking his own squad. His picks are as follows: Russia, Czechoslovakia, Canada, Sweden, Finland, East Germany and finally West Germany.For the United States to squeeze into the top three, they will have to improve on their exhibition showing which although logged at 22-8-5 shows three losses to the touring Russian National squad and two to the Canadian Nationals. &#9632;

f0019-01

Williamson Expecting U.S. To Make Improved Showing

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0019-04" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-04313/3346704-1-eng-US/f0019-042.jpg"></div> &#9632;

f0019-04

OLYMPIC GAMES HOCKEY SCHEDULE

<div class="byline">BY MATT DENNIS</div>OKL AHOM A C IT Y, Okla. -<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-01393/3346742-1-eng-US/f0020-012.jpg" title="f0020-01" width="267" height="484"><figcaption class="caption-body">George Gardner</figcaption></div>After a slow start, centre Ron Buchaman has hit stride and has issued a challenge to Tulsa&rsquo;s Len Haley and team mate Jim Lorentz for the league scoring championship.Buchanan, in his third season with the Oklahoma City Blazers, fired 17 goals and drew 28 assists in his first 41 outings, has counted one &ldquo;hat trick&rdquo; and on two occasions was a two-goal marksman in a single game.Born in Montreal, Que., the six-foot-three 175-pound pivotman notched 27 goals and chalked up 16 assists for 43 points in the 1965-66 campaign, his rookie term. Last winter he upped his output to 34 goals and 35 assists.With rookies Jim Lorentz and Grant Erickson contributing 38 goals and Buchanan and Wayne Cashman providing 32 tallies, the Blazers who only trail Fort Worth and Tulsa in the team scoring race, are gearing for a showdown stretch battle with the Red Wings for first place in the Southern Division race.Boston Bruins called up defenceman John Arbour to fill in while Bobby Orr was on the injured list and Bob Heaney, a Blazer of last season came in as a replacement.Barry Gibbs was sidelined from the rearguard corps with a sprained ankle and forward Garn Bailey was out with a bruised knee.Blazers were showing improvement on their power-play and while having the manpower advantage over 42 games had clicked for 42 goals and had only given up 32 when shorthanded.FORT WORTH - Goalie Roger Crozier returned to the parent Detroit Red Wings and in his five games with the Wings gave up 12 goals.Rick McCann kept up his playmaking pace as the top assist-maker in the circuit with 32 in 40 games.George Gardner was sent to the Wings when Sid Abel, general manager coach of the Detroit Red Wings decided to keep Roy Edwards and Crozier as his goaltending duo. Gardner knows the Central League having played with Minneapolis in the 1963-64 season and spending the 1964-65 term and part of the 1966-67 campaign at Memphis.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-02297/3346735-1-eng-US/f0020-022.jpg" title="f0020-02" width="616" height="593"><figcaption class="caption-body">RON BUCHANAN&hellip; Hits Scoring Stride</figcaption></div>Irv Spencer was staying with the Detroit club as a utility defenceman and forward.TULSA &mdash; Bronco Horvath scored one goal and assisted on two for the Oilers in his four games on his trip from Rochester-to-Tulsa-to-Minnesota.With their 5-3 victory over Fort Worth, the Oilers set a new league record with 13 consecutive victories at home.Goalie A1 Smith was expected back from the Toronto Maple Leafs to help out Serge Aubry who posted a 3.69 goals-against mark in 18 games.Andre Hinse was the Oilers&rsquo; top sniper with 22 goals in 43 games and Ron Ward was right behind him with 21 in 41 contests.KANSAS CITY - The parent St. Louis Blues of the National League called up rearguard Darryl Edestrand as an injury replacement for Barclay Plager.Over their first 20 games at home, the Kansas City Blues attracted 92,387 fans, an average of 4,619 per game, best in the league. There were 6,399 for a game against Oklahoma City.George Guilbault was the top goal-getter for the Blues with 19 goals over the first 41 games.DALLAS - Coach Bob Kromm drew a $200 fine levied by Central Pro League president Jack Adams for his public remarks criticizing league officiating.Jack Stanfield triggered his first &ldquo;hat trick&rdquo; of the season as the Black Hawks battled Fort Worth Wings to a 4-4 deadlock.Bob Schmautz was the Hawks&rsquo; leading goal-getter with 18 goals over the first 42 games.HOUSTON - Jude Drouin took over as the top point-getter for the Apollos with 9 goals and 23 assists over the first 44 games. Gary Monohan was the top sniper with 12.Goalie Ernie Wakely left the goaltendieng job to rookie Rocky Farr when he was called to the Montreal Canadiens as the backup netminder behind Rogatien Vachon.Farr notched the first shutout of his pro career as the Apollos blanked Kansas City, 5-0. Wakely returned to Houston last weekend.MEMPHIS - Centre Bill Sweeney was sent to the South Stars from Rochester of the American League as part of a trade involving the parent Minnesota North Stars.Ken Block on loan to Memphis was sent to Vancouver of the Western League. Lou Kazowski, who has seen little action, will replace Block until Bill Plager is returned from Minnesota.South Stars&rsquo; Bob Charlebois was the league&rsquo;s top goal-getter with 23 in 36 games. Charlebois had 40 points trailed by Germain Gagnon and Sandy Fitzpatrick with 33 points apiece.OMAHA &mdash; General Manager Jake Milford and coach Steve Brklacich are pleased with the progress made by rookie forwards Bill Fairbairn, Juha Widing and Joe Johnston and goalie Gary Kurt.&ldquo;The team is not high in the standing but we have terrific young talent loaded with pro potential,&rdquo; said Milford.Randy Legge returned to the lineup after being sidelined with a knee injury.Widing was the top Knights&rsquo; goal-getter with 18 over the first 38 games. &#9632;

f0020-01

Blazers, Wings Geared For Stretch Battle

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0020-03" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-03249/3346773-1-eng-US/f0020-032.jpg"></div> &#9632;

f0020-03

Central Hockey League Summaries

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-01240/3346842-1-eng-US/f0021-012.jpg" title="f0021-01" width="679" height="4509"></div> &#9632;

f0021-01

Hockey Races

<div class="byline">BY BOB REED</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-01263/3346880-1-eng-US/f0022-012.jpg" title="f0022-01" width="277" height="497"><figcaption class="caption-body">Moe Bartoli</figcaption></div>COLUMBUS, O. &mdash;The Columbus Checkers, seeking to get into the playoffs in their second year in the International League, were running, far ahead of their won-and-lost record of last season.Likewise, they were showing an increase in another and less desirable department, that of penalty minutes.The Chex set a new league record last season when they racked up a total of 1,275 minutes in the penalty box. They are in a fair way to extend that mark and by a good margin.In their first 47 games the Chex had amassed a total of 1,112 minutes in penalties, whereas at the same time last year they had drawn only 865 minutes. At the present pace the Checkers could come up with approximately 1,700 minutes in the sin bin.One factor that will be operating against the possibility of the Chex reaching this unlikely figure is the fact that Ted Lebioda has departed the scene. He had 153 PIM against him when he left and is still second in the league in that department. His successor is not likely to maintain that kind of average.Fiery playing coach Moe Bartoli had taken over Lebioda&rsquo;s position as top penalty man with 134 minutes. Chuck Kelly had 110.Their winning record hasn&rsquo;t been helped by the increase in penalties, according to Jerry Schmelzer, club&rsquo;s public relation&rsquo;s officer. &ldquo;We are hurt by being shorthanded so much&rsquo;&rsquo;, he declared. Chex opponents had 39 power goals 35 with the Checkers one man short and four with them two short.Bert Fizzell, team scoring leader, had one of the cleanest records in the penalty department.FORTWAYNE&mdash; Norm Waslwaski hit for two goals within 28 seconds to give the Komets a 5-5 tie with Columbus, which had beaten them seven out of nine &hellip; The Komets had their second largest crowd of the season &mdash; 7,983 &hellip; Referee Jean Zicat called two quick back-to-back penalties on the Komets and Checkers for too many men on the ice.DAYTON &mdash; Defenseman Alain Beaulle had two goals and two assists in a 10-5 win over Des Moines, third double figure victory for the Gems in recent weeks &hellip; The Gems drew 5,302, largest crowd of the season for a game with Columbus &hellip; Ken Sutyla, secured from the Checkers, hit his fourth, goal in seven games &hellip; The line of Barry Merrell, Gary McMillan and Dune Rousseau became the Gems&rsquo; top point line.PORT HURON &mdash; Loss on the road restrained the Flags, who had won only five, tied one and lost 18 out of 24 &hellip; Coach Jerry Toppazzini went back into action when defenseman Marcel Goudreau was injured &hellip; The Flags handed a release to the veteran Gary Mork.MUSKEGON - Rookie Ford continued his torrid scoring, adding four goals in wins over Port Huron and Toledo for a total of 35 &hellip; The Mohawks Goalie Bob Perani needed only six saves in the last two periods against the Flags &hellip; The Mohawks hadn&rsquo;t lost a game at home since Dec. 8.COLUMBUS &mdash; Coach Moe Bartoli went on a talent hunt into Canada and hoped to add a couple of &ldquo;good big junior players&rdquo; before the deadline. The Checkers were the second team in the league to hit 200 goals, following Dayton &hellip; General Manager Lefty McFadden of Dayton protested a 1-1 game when a local referee was substituted for George Harrison, who was delayed. The protest was disallowed.DES MOINES &mdash; Six players who started the season with the Oak Leafs were still on the squad &mdash; John Annable, Lyle Bradley, Rich Brown, Ivan Prediger, Dave Pad-zerski and Ivan Robertson &hellip; The Leafs gained their first point of the season against Muskegon in eight games when Trevor Fahey&rsquo;s goal with three minutes remaining salvaged a tie &hellip; The Leafs lost an 8-5 exhibition to Waterloo, la. but were short three players and picked up Bill Swarbrick, who serves as linesman, to fill in on defense.TOLEDO - The Blades had a four-game win streak broken at Muskegon which went 6-0-2 against them for the season &hellip; Veteran defenseman Bill Mitchell and Joe Kiss, recent acquisitions, were proving a big help for the Blades.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-02195/3346873-1-eng-US/f0022-022.jpg" title="f0022-02" width="619" height="623"><figcaption class="caption-body">GARY FORD &hellip; Nets 35th Goal</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0022-01

Columbus On Way To IHL Penalty Record

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0022-03" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-03168/3346911-1-eng-US/f0022-032.jpg"></div> &#9632;

f0022-03

Looking At The Hockey League Races

<div class="byline">BY JACK GATECLIFF</div>MONTREAL, Que. -<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-01243/3346970-1-eng-US/f0023-012.jpg" title="f0023-01" width="296" height="497"><figcaption class="caption-body">Tom Webster</figcaption></div>The air around the Ontario Junior Hockey League is tingling these days and with good reason.There&rsquo;s a hot three-corner fight going on for first place with the OHA playoffs fast creeping up on the teams.The principles involved of course are Montreal Canadiens, Niagara Falls Flyers and Kitchener Rangers.And the tight race is reflected in the Increased attendance, particularly in the Montreal Forum.A crowd of 15,680, believed to be the largest ever to see a junior game in Montreal watched the Canadiens defeat the Flyers 7-5 in the big showdown game and regain a share of the top spot with the Falls club.The Flyers, who were playing their third game in as many nights, had beaten London 9-4 and Oshawa Generals 5-2 in the previous 48 hours.Although the Canadiens rely more on balance than individual stars they are drawing far larger crowds than even in the days when great stars like defenceman Jacques Laperriere and forwards Yvan Cournoyer and Andre Boudrias were filling the nets for the Montrealers.Almost as interesting as the fight for the pennant is the battle between Peterborough and Oshawa to avoid playoff elimination.Eight of the nine teams qualify for the post-season games and only a couple of points separate the Petes and Generals as they vie for the final position.Hamilton and Toronto are also involved in a fight for fourth place while St. Catharines is fairly certain of sixth and London, despite its goaltending problems, is firmly entrenched in seventh.The new entry, Ottawa 67 s, have no hope of catching a playoff berth.While the Flyers are no longer dominating the team standings, their players are still running one-two in the individual scoring.Tom Webster appears ready to succeed last year&rsquo;s scoring champion Derek Sanderson (now with Boston) while Garry Swain is his closest rival.Webster, Sanderson and Swain were teammates a year ago.Richie Bayes of Toronto Marlboros, the early-season leader, has an outside chance but must come up with at least three or four big nights to threaten the leaders.Phil Myre of Niagara Falls is still the top goalie with a 2.76 goals against average. Gerry Gray of Hamilton is second with 2.80.If there was one area in which you would think that Turk Broda would have no problems it&rsquo;s goaltending.Broda spent a dozen seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs in the National Hockey League, made the all-star team three times and, was generally considered one of the greatest &ldquo;clutch&rdquo; goaltenders in the history of major league hockey.In the past 10 days the onetime Fatman of the NHL probably wished that his birth certificate would permit him to make a comeback in junior A hockey.In four games Broda&rsquo;s team the London Nationals, gave up 34 goals.It wasn&rsquo;t that Broada didn&rsquo;t try to stop the avalanche.During a game in Niagara Falls he alternated goaltenders Ron Marlow and Ted Ouimet every five minutes.&ldquo;The boys thought it was a great idea", said Broda. &ldquo;But I can&rsquo;t say it really worked. We lost 9-4".Two nights later Broda started Ouimet in the nets in St. Catharines.The youngster gave up two goals in the first period, was replaced by Marlow who allowed six more. Ouimet finished the game with no greater success and the Nationals were beaten 11-1.London also lost 8-1 to Kitchener and were beaten 5-3 on home ice by the St. Catharines Black Hawks and virtually lost any chance of moving higher than their present seventh position.<h2>How They Stand</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-04115/3346963-1-eng-US/f0023-042.jpg" title="f0023-04" width="646" height="1050"></div><h2>Hockey Crossword</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-02191/3346956-1-eng-US/f0023-022.jpg" title="f0023-02" width="1144" height="1533"></div><h2>SOLUTION IN FEBRUARY 17 ISSUE</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-0594/3346949-1-eng-US/f0023-052.jpg" title="f0023-05" width="1163" height="1415"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-0682/3346942-1-eng-US/f0023-062.jpg" title="f0023-06" width="977" height="996"></div> &#9632;

f0023-01

Habs, Flyers, Rangers Locked In Hot Battle For First Place

<div class="byline">BY DAVID SHOIHET</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-01246/3347001-1-eng-US/f0024-012.jpg" title="f0024-01" width="555" height="888"><figcaption class="caption-body">BILL MARKELL &hellip; Small But Swift</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-02185/3347015-1-eng-US/f0024-022.jpg" title="f0024-02" width="238" height="206"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-03129/3347008-1-eng-US/f0024-032.jpg" title="f0024-03" width="236" height="192"></div>CORNWALL, Ont. -The Markell family of Cornwall have made quite a name for themselves on the hockey map.First there is Clarence &ldquo;Picket&rdquo; Markell, who was president of the Cornwall Flyers&rsquo; a team that made it to the Allan Cup finals in 1937-38.Then, there is C.B. &ldquo;Bunny&rdquo; Markell, who played in the OH A Junior A series with Galt in 1940.Now the Markell clan has a new &ldquo;flash&rdquo; in the hockey wars. He is William Markell, a little kid who can flap his wings with the best of them in the Central Junior A Hockey League.Bill, a 5&rsquo;8", 158-lb left winger, is in his third season with Cornwall Royals &mdash; Eastern Canada Memorial Cup semi-finalist of 1966-67.But don&rsquo;t let his size fool you.Markell finished seventh in the league&rsquo;s scoring derby last season with 19 goals and 40 assists. He played most of the season at centre and was the Royals&rsquo; key man in killing penalties and on power-plays. Sort of a handy guy to have around.Markell started playing organized hockey for a public school league at the tender age of 10. Then joined the Cornwall Minor Hockey Association&rsquo;s set up two years later.It seemed that since he came from a hockey family, it seemed reasonable to him to get involved in the game &mdash; despite his size.So armed with a hockey stick and a pair of skates, Bill was out to prove that size means nothing in the game &mdash; it&rsquo;s ability that counts. He proved the theory in short order.In 1965-66 season, Markell scored a hat trick in the Memorial Cup playoffs against Halifax Junior Canadians.&ldquo;I guess that would have to be my greatest thrill in hockey,&rdquo; Bill said proudly.Last season, young Bill, who has one more year of junior eligibility left, scored one hat trick and had one four-goal game.At the moment, Bill is one of the most sought after athletes in this area. Four U.S. Colleges are seeking his talents for next year.Not only does he excel in hockey, but he shoots golf in the mid 70&rsquo;s. Both hockey and golf scholarships have been offered.&ldquo;My first thought is to get an education, then I would like to take a crack at pro hockey,&rdquo; Markell pointed out.Markell reminds you of a Stan Mikita type. Small, fast, powerful and loaded with hockey talent. &#9632;

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February 10, 1968

How Teams Compare In National League

Kings’ Burnett Does Double Duty As Hockey, Baseball Trainer

New Team Crowds Spiral; Weekend Average 12,000

Wayne Clairmont’s Sparkling Ice Play Keeping Nashville In Thick Of Race