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 17, 1968

The Hockey News February 17, 1968

<div class="byline">BY JOHN KOROBANIK</div>NELSON, B.C.Spokane Jets continue to make the Western International Hockey League championship race a one - team competition while Nelson Maple Leafs and Kimberley Dynamiters maintained their battle for second place.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-01495/3126223-1-eng-US/f0019-012.jpg" title="f0019-01" width="281" height="481"><figcaption class="caption-body">Brian Russill</figcaption></div>The Jets won their 18th consecutive home game last weekend, remaining unbeaten on Coliseum ice this season, and further increased their league-lead over Nelson.Defending champion Nelson have finally began to show the championship form from last year, giving signs they are about to snap the month long slump that has plaged the club.Nelson had to ride the red-hot netminding of rookie Dave Halme to take a 1-0 victory over Kimberley and remain in sole possession of second position.Trail holds the final playoff spot with Cranbrook Royals in the cellar.CRANBROOK- Under new coach Holdaway the Royals have displayed a desire to win, making the WIHL a five-team league again, despite their last-place position. Royals rallied in third period to nip Nelson 5-4 and battled the Jets on even grounds until the final period before dropping a 7-4 decision. Ron Huston top scorer with 33 goals, 30 assists in 34 games. Gary Kulcheski proving to be Royals&rsquo; best addition this year.TRAIL- Some Eaters, always slow to start, are beginning to make noises in the second half, closing the grap between fourth and second place.Harry Smith starting to roll along with the Smokies&rsquo;, best hockey player, Dave Rusnell who experienced his problems during the first half of the schedule.KIMBERLEY- The Dynamiters hit a tail-spin last week, losing four in a row, including the 1-0 decision to Nelson. Dick Vincent continued to hold league scoring lead with 33 goals, 39 assists, 72 points in 34 games. Leg injury to Walt Peacosh was most evident as Wally Souter unable to fill his position on the Nitro Line.NELSON- Finally playing the spirited hockey expected of them, the Leafs scored in 45 seconds against Kimberley &mdash; Brian Russill getting the goal &mdash; then matched the Dynamiters break for break to win 1-0. Defenceman Bill Steinke faces operation on his elbow. Carl Chwachka faces same fate with his knee but has been playing. Hopes of first place rest on their performance against Spokane as they meet the Jets five times in the final month of the schedule. Coach Frank Carlson forced to play when Leafs had only 10 players available for Cranbrook game.SPOKANE- Injuries haven&rsquo;t hurt the Jets thus far but captain Tom Hodges faces possible BCAHA suspension following major and match misconduct penalties for intent to injure. Netminder Jim Letcher continues to be Jets&rsquo; No. 1 man, allowing only 3.02 goals per game, best in the WIHL. &#9632;

f0019-01

IN THIS ISSUE

Spokane Jets Flying Too High For Rest of Teams In Loop

<div class="byline">BY BILL LIBBY</div>LOS ANGELES, Calif. &ndash;If the Los Angeles Kings are going to hang on to squeeze into the playoffs in the one-third of the season that remains at this writing, their defensemen are going to have to play up to their potential.Only Detroit has given up more goals than L.A. in the NHL this season.Only a few of the Kings&rsquo; forwards backcheck strongly enough to permit the Kings&rsquo; defensemen to move up to meet opposition rushes at the blue-line. Only a few of the Kings&rsquo; forwards help out the Kings&rsquo; defensemen on defense.There are no hitters on the entire team, not even on the rearguard. The Kings&rsquo; defensemen, scrambling to do the job on skill and without physical strength, are getting trapped out of position as the opposition hammers hard-to-handle shots at the Kings&rsquo; goaltenders.Bill White, Dale Rolfe and Bob Wall have been the Kings&rsquo; regular defensemen this season. Dave Amadio, Jacques Lemieux, Larry Johnston, Poul Popeil and recently Jim Murray and Brent Hughes have taken turns filling the fourth slot without outstanding results. Lately, however, Hughes has begun to look good, while Murray shows promise.White, Rolfe and Wall are all veteran minor league stars with the talent to make it on top. This is the first chance for White and Rolfe, who were buried alive in Eddie Shore&rsquo;s Springfield prison, but Wall has had a few shots with Detroit in the past.White and Rolfe are big, rangy guys, while Wall is a little guy.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-01832/3125612-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg" title="f0010-01" width="598" height="1123"><figcaption class="caption-body">BRENT HUGHES &hellip; Looking Good</figcaption></div>By nature, none is a hitter. White and Rolfe rely on long reaches to poke-check, while Wall tries to outmaneuver his foes. The Kings are being pushed around, so all three are trying to play more aggressively now.All three have skating skill. White isn&rsquo;t fast, but maneuvers well, as does the faster Wall. Rolfe eats up ground with great strides. All three can handle the puck, though all have been careless frequently this seson. Rolfe has been working to overcome a tendency-to flip too-soft passes.White was the Kings&rsquo;best player through the first half of this season, but fell off along with the whole team&rsquo;s mid-season slump. Lately, he has been playing extremely well again. Wall had begun to play better when he was sidelined for a few games with an injured leg. He is the team&rsquo;s captain and a take-charge type. Rolfe, who many feel has the talent to be a super-star, has had some good games lately.Rolfe has been unhappy with his performance this season. &ldquo;I got off to a slow start, as I usually do. The puck just hasn&rsquo;t been bouncing right for me,&rdquo; he says, making a face. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve made some stupid mistakes. I keep getting into the wrong place at the wrong time. I&rsquo;m playing in bad luck. This is a big chance for me and maybe I&rsquo;ve been pressing too hard. I know I can do a job up here.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-02716/3125605-1-eng-US/f0010-022.jpg" title="f0010-02" width="590" height="1136"><figcaption class="caption-body">JIM MURRAY &hellip; Shows Promise</figcaption></div>Wall says, &ldquo;My first half was just mediocre. My history is that I&rsquo;m a second-half player. It&rsquo;s the same thing every year. I detest pre-season training camp from the first to the last day and it takes me until around Christmastime to get rolling.&ldquo;I hope to finish strong. Then this summer, I&rsquo;ll have to take a long, hard look at myself. You can&rsquo;t throw away the first-halfs in the majors.&rdquo;He admits, &ldquo;It&rsquo;s been tougher than most of us thought it would be this first expansion season. We know now nothing but our best will work. Getting our families settled in strange cities and adjusting to new teammates who had played a wide variety of styles in the past also has hampered us.&ldquo;We should steady down and play better and better now.&rdquo;The Kings&rsquo; defense trio would benefit from a solid performance in the fourth backline slot. Since none of the top three is a hitter, it would help if the fourth was a tough guy to police the backline. Manager Larry Regan inquired about veteran minor-league mauler Connie Madigan only to find he has a broken leg.The Kings&rsquo; goalies are usually under heavy fire. Terry Sawchuk had started 12 straight games until Wayne Rutledge, the rookie hero of the first half, returned for a couple of starts. Then Sawchuk got a shot jammed against his mask, injuring his right eye and sidelining him for awhile. Sawchuk has a 6-14-2 record, Rutledge a 15-11-2 record. Sawchuk has a 3.55 goals-against mark, Rutledge a 2.96 mark.KINGS THINGS- Having lost 10 of their previous 12 games, the Kings were happy to finish with a 3-3 record on a crucial nine-game road swing, although they wound up getting ripped in Montreal and Chicago. At this point, their home record is 13-8-1, their road record 8-18-3. They are 8 9-0 against established foes, but only 13-17-4 against fellow expansion foes. Of their last 23 games, 15 are at home and seven, four at home, are against established teams.The most spectacular stop on tour was an 8-6 win in Detroit, the Kings&rsquo; first come-from-behind win in 12 chances in 29 games since mid-November. Floyd Smith b fourth goal of that game against them was the first short handed tally scored on them all season. They have the best defensive power-play in the NHL. The Kings scored their fourth and fifth shorthanded tallies of the season on the trip.Their foes scored eight power-play goals in 27 opportunities in the last seven games against the Kings. Meanwhile, coach Red Kelly practiced a special power-play unit for the first time and the Kings, who had scored just one power-play goal in 55 chances over 18 games, scored one against Detroit and two against Chicago.Eddie Joyal, who had only one goal in 13 games, got a goal in Pitt and totalled seven points on the trip. Bill Flett, who had only one goal in nine games, banged in two in Pitt, three in Detroit and one in Chicago and had 10 points on the trip. It was his second &ldquo;hat trick&rdquo; of the season. &#9632;

f0010-01

Defense Seen Key To Kings’ Playoff Hopes

<h2>Montrealers Depth Sways Hawks&rsquo; Coach</h2>CHICAGO. III. &mdash;Billy Reay, the coach of the Chicago Black Hawks, has always held Montreal&rsquo;s Canadiens in highest esteem.It could emamate from his playing days with the Habitants but it doesn&rsquo;t.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/cover-02421/3126541-1-eng-US/cover-022.jpg" title="Cover-02" width="308" height="365"><figcaption class="caption-body">Billy Reay</figcaption></div>Reay recognizes hockey power when he sees it and take it from the head man of the Tribe, the Canadiens are still the team to beat for the National Hockey League title.Reay said it at the outset of the year and reiterated it around the first of the new year when the Canadiens were actually languishing in last place. &ldquo;They won&rsquo;t stay there long,&rdquo; Reay was reported to have said.&ldquo;Nobody is going to catch that team now,&rdquo; Reay was quoted as telling Montreal hockey writer Red Fisher. &ldquo;Too much depth, too much of everything,&rdquo; moaned Ready after the Habs had twice skated roughshod over his Hawks in back-to-tack weekend games.Like the man said. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re too hot to handle.&rdquo; &#9632;

Cover-02

REAY SAYS HABS TOO HOT TO HANDLE

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0013-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-01788/3125819-1-eng-US/f0013-012.jpg"></div> &#9632;

f0013-01

National Hockey League Summaries

<div class="image-hero"><img title="Cover-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/cover-01551/3126510-1-eng-US/cover-012.jpg"></div>NEW YORK, N.Y. -There wasn&rsquo;t a dry eye in old Madison Square Garden the night of Feb. 11 when the doors closed on 43 years of glorious sports history &mdash; much of which was devoted to ice hockey.It was only fitting that when they paid final tribute to the &rsquo;old&rsquo; Garden that some 60 past and present National HockeyLeague greats should be on hand for the nostalgic moment.The galaxy of NHL stars paraded up and down the Garden ice for the last time. There were some of the greatest names in hockey present for the closing. The fabled Eddie Shore was there. And so was Ching Johnson, King Clancy and Dit Clapper. The most famous Ranger line of all time &mdash; the Cooks, Bill and Bun and Frank Boucher &mdash; were present along with such notable Ranger stars as Cecil Dillon, Earl Seibert, Dave Kerr, Murray Murdoch, Andy Bathgate, Bryan Hextali and more.Players who carved their niche in the Garden down through the years came back to say farewell to the old ice palace. They included Maurice &lsquo;Rocket&rsquo; Richard, Gordie Howe, Sid Abel, Bill Cowley, Milt Schmidt, Doug Bentley, Elmer Lach, Jacques Plante, Ted Lind say and a raft of past NHL greats.Rangers, who moved into their new $25,000,000 Madison Square Garden Center complex in midtown Manhattan this week, played hosts to the hockey stars. The old Garden, which first opened in 1925 with a hockey game between the now defunct New York Americans and Montreal Canadiens, was closed by the Rangers and Detroit Red Wings. &#9632;

Cover-01

Garden Closing Proves Nostalgic Affair

<div class="byline">BY DAN MOULTON</div>CHICAGO, ILL.&mdash;On the day Pierre Pilote Is inducted into hockey&rsquo;s Hall of Fame &mdash; and that day almost certainly will come &mdash; you can be certain there will be a contingent of Chicago hockey fans on hand to offer a lusty boo when his name is announced.Pilote&rsquo;s unpopularity with a large and highy vocal portion of Chicago fandom is one of the mysteries of the game here. Other less skillful Hawks can commit horrendous hockey crimes without so much as a ripple of criticism. But let a puck jump over Pilote&rsquo;s stick while he&rsquo;s working the point on a power play, or let a goal be scored when the veteran defenseman is anywhere in the vicinity of the action, and from the reaction in the stands you&rsquo;d think he had just nominated Charles De Gaulle as man of the year.His name even is booed when, as happens more frequently with him than with any defenseman in the game, it&rsquo;s announced among the assists on a Hawk goal.Nothing fazes his critics. Tb be sure, he&rsquo;s been named to the NHL first all-star team a total of eight times, including this season&rsquo;s midseason selection, and five of those times as a first stringer. He captured the Norris Trophy as the league&rsquo;s outstanding defenseman, three years in a row. The league record for points by a defenseman 59, is held by the 13-year Hawk veteran. But none of this matters.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s &ldquo;boo Pierre, get off the ice. &ldquo;Boo Pierre, hang &rsquo;em up,&rsquo;&rsquo; &ldquo;Why don&rsquo;t you join the Ice Follies.&rdquo;The reaction of the fans has to bother Pilote, who has all the credentials anyone could ask for to discredit his critics.But he&rsquo;d rather miss an open net than admit the yapping gets to him.&ldquo;It doesn&rsquo;t bother me,&rdquo; he insists, &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve never been much to look at, so I guess I haven&rsquo;t got much of a following among the women. And I guess the guys don&rsquo;t like the way I play the game. It&rsquo;s my style, though, and I can do it any other way.&rdquo;The principal complaint seems to be that Pierre isn&rsquo;t a heavy hitter. Men who take to their beds for three days with hangnails become incensed when Pilote fails to flatten 195-pound forwards with his 5-10, 175-pound body.Whether he takes the man out or not doesn&rsquo;t really matter. He doesn&rsquo;t try to knock him down of ten enough.While Pierre refuses to beef, his teammates are so reluctant.&ldquo;Fans have awfully short memories,&rdquo; said veteran rightwing Kenny Wharram. &ldquo;Pierre has been a great hockey player for this team for more than 10 years. You&rsquo;d think he&rsquo;d be entitled to some respect. Of course, he&rsquo;s not a flawless player. Nobody who handles the puck as often as he does is going to go through a game without making a couple of mistakes.&ldquo;We aren&rsquo;t machines. But Pierre makes many more good plays, great plays actually, than he does poor ones. Fans just don&rsquo;t seem to be able to notice them, though.&rdquo;A good example of the fans&rsquo; Inability to recognize Pilote&rsquo;s value was provided in a recent game against Los Angeles. Early in the game, Pierre, who had just crossed the Hawks&rsquo; blue line, spotted Pit Martin breaking into a hole along the right boardsWithout even appearing to look in Pit&rsquo;s direction Pierre fed a perfect pass through a host of defenders right onto the stick of Martin, who had just hit the Kings&rsquo; blue line.Two more strides and Pit was in free to beat Terry Sawchuk with a 10-footer.A cheer went up when Martin was announced as having scored and when Gilles Marotte, who had fed the puck to Pilote deep in Hawk ice, was named as one of the assistants, another big cheer issue red forth.But when Pilote&rsquo;s most vital contribution was acknowledged publicly, nothing but hoots.Hawk coach Billy Reay feels that Pilote simply is a victim of his style of play.&ldquo;Pierre is our play-maker and he handles the puck far more often than the average defenseman,&rdquo; said Reay. &ldquo;Mind you. our style of play calls for the defensemen to carry the puck, so we&rsquo;re perfectly happy with the way he goes. But any man who attempts to do the things he does, is going to get into trouble now and then.&ldquo;The fans see the mistakes but somehow, they never seem to remember all of the great plays he makes.&rdquo;There have been other boo-bird victims in recent years. There was a time when the fans were unable to recognize the contributions being made nightly by veteran right wing Eric Nesterenko.And for a while early this year, Dennis Hull&rsquo;s inability to play back to last season&rsquo;s 25-goal performance had him leaving the ice after each shift under a shower of abuse.But the all-time long-term victim has to be Pilote which is why that delegation will be on hand in Toronto on that future date when the doors of hockey&rsquo;s hall open for one of the great performers in modern hockey.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-01761/3125160-1-eng-US/f0002-012.jpg" title="f0002-01" width="631" height="1132"><figcaption class="caption-body">PIERRE PILOTE &hellip; Criticism Unwarranted</figcaption></div><h2>Movements of Players</h2>Following are the latest player movements in hockey:NATIONAL LEAGUEMINNESOTA - Ted McCaskill, forward, recalled from Memphis of CPHL.BOSTON - Barry Gibbs, defenseman, recalled from Oklahoma City of CPHL.PHILADELPHIA--- Keith Wright, forward, recalled from Quebec of AHL and returned. Simon Nolet, forward. recalled from Quebec.DETROIT - Bob Falkenberg, defenseman, and Nick Libett, forward, recalled from Fort Worth of CPHL. Howie Young and Irv Spencer, defensemen, and Doug Roberts, forward, assigned to Fort Worth.ST. LOUIS - Ron Schock, forward, assigned to Kansas City of CPHL.LOS ANGELES - Jacques Caron, goalkeeper, recalled from Springfield of AHL.PITTSBURGH - Dick Mattiussi, defenseman, and Bob Dillabough, forward, sent to Baltimore of AHL.CHICAGO - Mel Pearson, forward, recalled from Portland of WHL and returned. Matt Ravlich, defenseman, sent to Dallas of CPHL.TORONTO - Andre Hinse, forward, and Mike Pelyk, defense man, recalled from Tulsa of CPHL. Duke Harris, forward, recalled from Rochester of AHL. Brian Conacher, forward, assigned to Rochester of AHL. Jim Pappin, forward, suspended for failing to report to Rochester.AMERICAN LEAGUESPRINGFIELD - Bob Perani, goalkeeper, recalled from Muskegon of IHL.WESTERN LEAGUESAN DIEGO - Jim Eagle, defenseman, secured from Fort Worth of CPHL.PHOENIX - Jim Dorey, defenseman, secured from Tulsa of CPHL.INTERNATIONAL LEAGUEDEb MOINES - Gary Mork, forward picked up from Port Huron of IHL on waivers.PORT HURON - Meehan D.Bonnar, forward, secured from Dayton of IHL on waivers. Jack Hendrickson, defenseman, added to roster. Bobby Walton, forward, signed on tryout basis.EASTERN LEAGUEJOHNSTOWN - Wayne Wilson, forward, dropped.KNOXVILLE - Bob Stoyko, forward, left team.SYRACUSE - Ron Ircha, defenseman, added to roster.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-02707/3125153-1-eng-US/f0002-022.jpg" title="f0002-02" width="682" height="1676"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-03571/3125146-1-eng-US/f0002-032.jpg" title="f0002-03" width="1309" height="796"></div> &#9632;

f0002-01

Hawks’ Pilote Subject Of Boo-Birds

<div class="byline">BY LOU PRATO</div>PITTSBURGH, Pa. -It may be considered a sacrilege to some but Pittsburgh Penguins coach Red S u11i van swears his &rsquo; rookie goalie; Les Binkley, is one of the three best in the National Hockey League today.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-01767/3125205-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg" title="f0003-01" width="372" height="414"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-02641/3125198-1-eng-US/f0003-022.jpg" title="f0003-02" width="307" height="442"><figcaption class="caption-body">Les Binkley</figcaption></div>&ldquo;I know of only one man who has the edge on Binkley,&rdquo; says Sullivan, &ldquo;and that&rsquo;s (Johnny) Bower (of Toronto). &ldquo;There are one or two others who are Bink&rsquo;s equal and there are several who get more publicity.&ldquo;But there is no one outside of Bower who has more ability as a goaltender than Binkley.&rdquo;Now Sullivan&rsquo;s pronouncement Is bound to get arguments from New York to Los Angeles. In the Western Division alone, there are five goalies who on any given day could rank as the best in the section.Certainly the veterans Terry Sawchuk In Los Angeles and Glenn Hall In St. Louis have slipped a little from their greatest days In the pre-expansion league. But they are far from being has-beens. And among the newcomers, Philadelphia&rsquo;s Bernie Parent and Doug Favell and Minnesota&rsquo;s Cesare Manlago certainly rate the high praise they have received this year. Still, Sullivan is not detered from his thinking about Binkley.&ldquo;He consistently plays a fantastic game,&rdquo; Sullivan says of his 32-year-old rookie. &ldquo;Sure, he&rsquo;s not infallible. I&rsquo;ve seen him make some bad plays. But for every bad one, he&rsquo;ll make 10 to 15 big saves. I&rsquo;ll match him against anyone in the league.&rdquo;It was perhaps Binkley&rsquo;s goaltending during the last of January which earned him Sullivan&rsquo;s public plaudits. One night he shutout Boston, 1-0, making 33 saves In what Sullivan and Boston Coach Harry Sinden agreed was one of the greatest performances they had ever seen by a goalie. The nearly 14,000 fans at the Boston Garden thought so, too, for they gave Binkley a standing ovation when the game ended.&ldquo;You&rsquo;ve got to be doing something right to get an ovation like that from these fans, &ldquo;Sullivan observed.&ldquo;They&rsquo;re hard to please.&rdquo;Another night, Binkley shut out St. Louis, 2-0, turning back 22 shots, and a few nights later he stopped 37 shots as thePenguins came from behind and tied Toronto 3-3. At this writing he has five shutouts tying him with Minnesota&rsquo;s Manlago for the league lead.Still, there are some people who rarely see Binkley in action who doubt he can be so good. They read the NHL game summaries regularly and wonder how a goalie who can get pounded for seven goals in one period and lose 9-4 (as Binkley did against St. Louis recently) one night can turn around and score a 2-0 shutout against the same team the next night.There is no simple explanation. In Binkley&rsquo;s case, he is as good as the defense In front of him. And sometimes he is better. But when the Penguins defense falters, the pressure is often too much even for a goalie of Binkley&rsquo;s caliber.&ldquo;Sometimes you just get worn out,&rdquo; Binkley says. &ldquo;You just need a rest. People talk about being shell shocked and I guess that&rsquo;s true. You need to get refreshed every so often and sometimes you stay in there too long. When that happens, they really can get to you.&rdquo;Binkley is well aware of the praise he is receiving but he isn&rsquo;t overwhelmed by it.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m just trying to do my job,&rdquo; he says in his usual soft-speaking voice. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve never thought of playing a spectacular game or getting a lot a shutouts. I&rsquo;m just happy to be in the National League and with the Penguins.&rdquo;Binkley spent seven years In the minors, including last season when the Penguins sent him to San Diego after buying his contract from Cleveland $30,000. He was rated the second best goalie in the Western League and the most valuable player on the San Diego team.Binkley was outstanding in pre-season practice but when the season opened he was backing up veteran Hank Bassen at the Pittsburgh nets. Within a month and a half, however, Bassen had given way to the Walkerton, Ontario, resident.&ldquo;I still like to shift my goalies around a little bit to give a guy a rest now and then,&rdquo; says Sullivan. &ldquo;But the way Binkley is playing, he doesn&rsquo;t need as much of a rest. He may be a rookie but he&rsquo;s a great one.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-03431/3125191-1-eng-US/f0003-032.jpg" title="f0003-03" width="1972" height="1246"><figcaption class="caption-body">Pittsburgh goalie LES BINKLEY under fire against Minnesota North Stars</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0003-01

Sullivan Rates Pittsburgh’s Binkley One Of Three Best Goalies In NHL

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0004-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-01825/3125236-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg"></div>HOCKEY NEWS EDITOR:I previously predicted that Oakland will take first in the Western Division, and with Oakland deep in the cellar and Philadelphia high in first place, it is doubtful that Oakland will win it this year. I am not now predicting that Oakland will end up last, either. In fact, I am not predicting anything anymore. I am leaving that to the hockey &ldquo;experts&rdquo;.But I feel another hockey fan besides me has to eat his words too. A certain disgusted Maple Leaf fan couldn&rsquo;t see why Punch Imlach was relying on George Armstrong this year instead of on a younger player. Well, Armstrong had reached the 11-goal mark by New Year&rsquo;s Day with more than half the season remaining. He has played great two-way hockey and is a strong factor on the Keon-Mahovlich-Armstrong line, Toronto&rsquo;s best forward unit this year.DAVID HOFFMAN, Sheho, Sask.Inequality Still Exists Between Old, New TeamsHockey News Editor:With all due respect to the players of the new Western Division of the NHL, I feel that their so-called success over the Eastern Division is being highly over-rated. I firmly believe that any team from the American or Western Hockey Leagues would win their share of points if pitted against NHL teams over a 74-game schedule. However, over a 74-game schedule they would never make the playoffs, just as none of the Western Division teams could in the Eastern Division.A glance at the respective standings of the two Divisions bears this out. Philadelphia, the first place team in the Western Division, would only be able to rank sixth In the EasternDivision over Detroit, the current sixth place team. None of the other Western Division teams have point totals comparable to the established teams.The individual scoring statistics of the player also point out the gap between the two divisions. There are only three players from the Western Division in the top twenty-five scorers. Andy Bathgate, Lou Angotti and Art Stratton have this distinction.Please don&rsquo;t get me wrong I am heartily behind expansion and the resulting new teams but I feel that there is still a great inequality between the two divisions that most newspapermen and sportscasters are failing to recognize.BOB GROSE, Winnipeg, Man.White Filling Need For L.A. &lsquo;Hitter&rsquo;Hockey News Editor:For the past month in THE HOCKEY NEWS your West Coast correspondent Bill Libby has been claiming that the Los Angeles Kings have no &ldquo;hitters", no player who can bodycheck consistently and make opponents &ldquo;hear footsteps&rdquo; In the attacking zone. Well, the Kings do have a solid hitter on the blueline. Bill White has been dealing out vicious bodychecks all season and has not been getting the credit he deserves.In one game this season against Philadelphia I counted twenty-three &ldquo;hits&rdquo; for Bill. The only defenseman I know who ever handed out more punishment than that in one game is Bobby Baun, who once registered 26 bodychecks in a game for the Maple Leafs a few years ago.LARRY ALBANO, Lindenhurst, N.Y. &#9632;

f0004-01

Fan Went Out On Limb For Seals — He’s Sorry

<div class="byline">By Ken Mc Kenzie</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-02777/3125288-1-eng-US/f0004-022.jpg" title="f0004-02" width="472" height="496"></div>DOUG MOHNS, a member of Chicago Black Hawks&rsquo; Scooter, Line, plans to design his own type of hockey helmet. He&rsquo;s been wearing one off and on for quite some time now, but has become more conscious of its importance since the tragic death of Bill Masterton &hellip; Bobby Hull is said to be working closely with an equipment manufacturer on developing a new type of hockey helmet and once it&rsquo;s ready to be marketed he will endorse it and will wear the &ldquo;Bobby Hull Helmet&rdquo; at all times &hellip; As soon as one of the NHL super stars such as Hull wears a helmet regularly look for all the other pros to start doing the same &hellip; Mike McMahon, defenseman with the Minnesota North Stars, has been one of the big surprises in the NHL this season. Mike has been the fourth highest scoring defenseman in the entire loop for some time now. Only Pierre Pilote, Bobby Orr and Gary Bergman were ahead of him &hellip; The North Stars and the Minneapolis Tribune have been conducting hockey clinics in towns throughout Minnesota &hellip; John Ferguson, Montreal Canadiens&rsquo; top policeman, can coach Montreal&rsquo;s entry in the newly-formed lacrosse league, if he so wishes &hellip; Detroit Red Wings have a 19-station radio network carrying their games in Michigan and Ohio &hellip; Hockey fans in Canada felt more than a little let down when Canada&rsquo;s National Team lost to Finland, 5-2 &hellip; It was just another illustration of how European countries have improved in recent years while Canada has stood still on its efforts to improve in World competition &hellip; Just discovered via Harold Atkins&rsquo; column in the Montreal Star that the word hockey, is from the Mohawk &lsquo;ho-Ghee&rsquo;, meaning &lsquo;it hurts&rsquo; &hellip; As Babe Pratt would say, &ldquo;How about that?".<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-03675/3125281-1-eng-US/f0004-032.jpg" title="f0004-03" width="287" height="487"><figcaption class="caption-body">Mike McMahon</figcaption></div>MOST OF the NHL clubs have scouts watching the 1968 Olympic Games just in case there in some player they can possibly develop into National League stardom &hellip; The 45th anniversary of the first game played between the Royal Military College of Canada and the United States Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. takes place on March 9, at Kingston, Ont &hellip; The Western Canada Junior Hockey League All-Star game takes place on Sunday, February 25 at Estevan, Sask. The game will be preceded by a dinner and dance on February 24 &hellip; The Estevan Bruins will oppose the WCJHL All-Stars &hellip; Hec Highton, who played goal in the NHL with Chicago and in the American Hockey League with St. Louis, among other pro teams, is the director of all 20 road games telecast by the Los Angeles Kings &hellip; Hec has made a prominent career for himself in Los Angeles as a sports director and producer. He is under contract to KTLA, Channel 5, the Gene Autry station. He also directs and produces Los Angeles Lakers games and various boxing bouts out of LA &hellip; Sam Pollock, Canadiens&rsquo; general manager, admitted that five NHL clubs contacted him about the possibilities of landing Henri Richard on the heels of Richard&rsquo;s &ldquo;play me or trade me&rdquo; ultimatum &hellip; Emile Francis of the New York Rangers wants more power play goals from his charges &hellip; &ldquo;We scored 35 in 199 opportunities last year, and I&rsquo;m looking for 45 this season, the diminutive managercoach reported &hellip; Boom Boom Geoffrion hasn&rsquo;t been much help to the Rangers this season. He is seldom noticed when out on the ice &hellip; New Iron Man in the NHL is Alex Delvecchio of Detroit, now that Toronto&rsquo;s Tim Horton was forced to miss a game last week. Horton&rsquo;s streak ended at 486 games &hellip; The NHL record for most consecutive games is held by Andy Hebenton with 630 games.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-04576/3125274-1-eng-US/f0004-042.jpg" title="f0004-04" width="290" height="479"><figcaption class="caption-body">Alex Delvecchio</figcaption></div>EDDIE SHACK is featured in a cartoon by Art Brewster on the February cover of HOCKEY WORLD &hellip; Brewster will be doing more cartoons in the future for HOCKEY NEWS and HOCKEY WORLD&hellip; Cy Denneny a member of Hockey&rsquo;s Hall of Fame and star with the old Ottawa Senators, is believed to be the first player to use a curved stick &hellip; Some of the oldtimers say he used to soak the blade of his stick in hot water so that he would be able to bend it to his liking &hellip; They also report that Cy used to be able to shoot a puck that would actually curve in flight, in a manner that the current players are not able to do&hellip; Only a little more than half the players on the Toronto Male Leafs are members of the NHL Players Association. There are two non-members on Minnesota and one on Philadelphia &hellip; All of the other players in the loop are members &hellip; KPOJ and KPOJ-FM, Portland, Oregon, will continue complete coverage of all Portland Buckaroo games through the 1970-71 season &hellip; These stations have broadcast hockey exclusively since its return to Portland in 1960 &hellip; Knowledgeable Bill Anderson is the radio &ldquo;Voice of the Bucks&rdquo; &hellip; The Green Bay Bobcats are on an extended win streak in the United States Hockey League, with Waterloo, Iowa still heading the standings &hellip; University of New Hampshire have extended their win streak to 11 games in United States college competition &hellip; Warren Back getting his share of praise for his fine coaching job with Dayton Gems this season. He has had his team in first place or close to it all season.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-05458/3125267-1-eng-US/f0004-052.jpg" title="f0004-05" width="296" height="488"><figcaption class="caption-body">Emile Francis</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0004-02

PASSING THE PUCK

<div class="byline">BY NORMAN Mac LEAN</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0005-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-01767/3125326-1-eng-US/f0005-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Vic Hadfield</figcaption></div>NEW YORK, N.Y. -The Rangers were one period from disaster on Saturday February 3, when an almost complete metamorphosis took place In between the second and third periods In their rather sumptous new quarters In the visiting dressing room of the Boston Garden. From a lacklustre, team which was not able to score enough and one that was definitely not hitting enough, the Blues became transfixed by new horizons.They stormed out of that Boston dressing room and proceeded to forecheck the Bruins Into a 3-3 tie. This kept them alive, despite two straight losses In the Eastern or Old Division. On Wednesday January 31, the Rangers completely outplayed Chicago, outshot them by a two to one margin and yet lost 3-2. Thursday came a quick trip to Montreal where the red hot Canucks quickly boffed New York 5-2. The Rangers were down and slipping fast when they reached Beantown and eventually their 3-3 tie, which was only salvaged after overcoming a 1-3 deficit.The night of Sunday February 4, was truly a night to remember for New York and Ranger fans. The Blueshirts completely dominated the game against Montreal, and won 3-0 for a $100 special shutout for Eddie Giacomin, but also it marked the dramatic return to action of Vic Hadfield.Hadfield was dressing for his first game In ten &mdash; and when he didn&rsquo;t see any action at all In the first period, his appearance seemed to be merely a first step in the long process usually needed to retrain an injured player during the course of a season. At the midway mark in the second period General Manager-Coach Emile Francis tapped Hadfield on the shoulder and sent him into the fray with his usual linemates, Center Jean Ratelle and right wing Rod Gilbert.The sold out 15,925 witnessing the last ever Montreal-New York game at the old MSG gave Vic a solid round of applause. Thirty five seconds or so later they literally tore down the house as Hadfield took a Gilbert pass and ripped a blazing 45 foot slap shot past Rogatien Vachon In the Montreal net. Vachon actually ducked, such was the velocity of the shot. This made the score 1-0 and It stood up as the winner as New York disorganized the mighty Canucks who came to Gotham on the heels of a 12-game winning strak and a 16-game unbeaten skein.The win put the Rangers Into a fourth-place tie with Toronto, who unexpectedly lost to the Philadelphia Flyers in the Quaker City and pushed New York to within six points of first place.&ldquo;This was a big one,&rdquo; said Bob Nevin, the Ranger Captain. &ldquo;It was the difference between being 6 points out of first and 10 points. Now we still are within range. A quick five-game win streak and we are right in there.&rdquo;Also helping the New York cause is the schedule which shows that Boston must play nine of their next ten games on the road. One New York executive privately thinks that the Bruins are the club New York must take to make the post season playoffs.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know which club we will knock out,&rdquo; says Francis. &ldquo;But, I do know one thing, we will be in there.&rdquo;This sounds an awful lot like a public relations release but fact backs it up. Even in the Chicago loss, the depth that is the Ranger squad showed through. Don Simmons, now the Rangers&rsquo; recognized Chicago specialist played his fifth Ranger game this season and lost, but it only brought his record down to 2-1-2, with his Blackhawk tally being even at 1-1-2. Ron Stewart, Bobby Hull&rsquo;s special shadow did allow Babe Ruth to score one time on January 31, but even this mortal sin only reduced Stew&rsquo;s record versus Hull to one goal in four games. Anyone who can hold Bob to one In four is doing A-OK.The Ratelle, Gilbert line is doing nicely, thank you with Camille Henry having proven to be an Interchangeable part while Hadfield was out. Phil Goyette, Donnie Marshall and Bob Nevin still are the men Francis turns to when things are tough, but the key to the big Montreal win was the work of the Orland Kurtenbach, Reg Fleming, Ron Stewart combination. Their orders were to stop the Jean Beliveau, Yvan Cournoyer, Gilles Tremblay unit and they kept these dangerous marksmen off the scoreboard.The defense is really a five man group now with Jim Neilson playing the best defense In the NHL and that includes Bobby Orr who was shelved recently with an injury. Rod Selling has also developed amazingly as a replacement for the sometimes injured Wayne Hilman. Selling and Arnie Brown are both rushing the puck and Selling with Neilson are developing as point men with a youthful flare. BLUE CHIPS-Ratelle won 17 of 21 faceoffs In the key Montreal game &hellip; Rangers have now won 12 straight Sunday encounters &hellip; Gilbert has exceeded last season&rsquo;s point total and with 19 goals may exceed last years&rsquo; 28 tallies &hellip; Boomer Geoffrion Is reduced to playing the point on the power play and occasional forays late In a game when New York must score. He has the shot but physically seems to have gone back &hellip;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-02660/3125319-1-eng-US/f0005-022.jpg" title="f0005-02" width="278" height="474"><figcaption class="caption-body">ED GIACOMIN &hellip; A $100 Shutout</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0005-01

Vic Hadfield’s Return Timely As Blues Get Into Title Fight

NEW YORK, N.Y. &mdash;Two seasons ago the thought of pairing Rod Seiling with Jim Neilson on the Ranger defense would have made Rangerville shudder. Neither of these esteemed young gentlemen hit much harder than papier mache and both could still be suckered by a slick forward.Today, Jim Neilson is the best young defenseman in the National Hockey league with the exception of Bobby Orr. Neilson is now rushing the puck a la Doug Harvey. He scored against Boston on February 3 and then hit the post after going around J.C. Tremblay of Montreal on February 4. Jim&rsquo;s shot hit the post square on.The 26-year old Neilson is in his sixth NHL season. He made his debut in 1961-62 beside Doug Harvey and now bids fair to make a younger segment of fans forget Harvey. Jim, a rugged six-foot two-inch 205-pounder is half Cree Indian and half Dane and as one wag put it &mdash; all hockey player. The only rap on Neilson up until this season has been his inability to want to hit people. While still no hellon skates out there, Neilson has learned to play the body when needed and right now is so sharp in the rest of his game that he literally is asking for the puck at all times so that he can move it up the ice.Selling, whom New York traded Andy Bathgate to obtain along with Bob Nevin back in February of 1964 is a talented young man of 23 who finally seems to have combined a burgeoning maturity with the savy and polish he always possessed. At 20 Rod played a full season as a Ranger regular on defense. Since then, he was sent to the minors a couple of times in order to gain experience, but Emile Francis thought so highly of Rod that when he was drafted by the St. Louis Blues in the June expansion draft, he ransomed him sending the highly rated forward Tim Ecclestone, veteran journeyman Bob Sabourin and defensemen Bob Plager and rookie Gordon Rannegiesser to the Blues for Rod.Now, suddenly Selling seems to know what it is all about. This probably is unfair to Rod, but it just seems that all the pieces have fit together at once.Seiling says, &ldquo;I have confidence now &mdash; and playing alongside of Neilson has helped me a lot.&rdquo; Bill Jennings, the Ranger Prexy enthuses, &ldquo;We have the nucleus of a pretty fair young group of defensemen now with Neilson leading the way for Seiling and Arnie Brown, 26.&rdquo;An odd thing about Seiling is that, although he shoots left, he plays the right side better than he does the left. Pierre Pilote also is a lefty who is better on the right. If New York could really develop the right handed Alan Hamilton for its blue line, the pesky right side problem would be solved. Hamilton is playing with Buffalo after a starry Junior career with the Edmonton Oil Kings.This does not mean that Wayne Hillman is out of a job or even that Selling will play ahead of Hillman, who in Francis&rsquo; words &ldquo;came to play,&rdquo; but it is a healthy sign and again shows the Rangers depth. &#9632;

Blueliners Neilson, Seiling Come Into Own With Rangers

ST. LOUIS. Mo. -Seth Martin, the 34year - old rookie goalie of the St. Louis Blues who carries a fine 2.53 goals-against average in 22 games, was hit in the mask by a Larry Keenan shot in practice February 2 and sustained a deep contusion under the left eye. The shot was so hard it cracked the mask and very likely saved Martin from far more serious damage. Martin designs his own masks and has sold a number of them. Because of the injury, Glenn Hall has been backstopping the Blues beyond his normal rotation. Martin had just recovered from a groin injury.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-02697/3125412-1-eng-US/f0006-022.jpg" title="f0006-02" width="305" height="504"><figcaption class="caption-body">Seth Martin</figcaption></div>The crowd of 11,802 who saw St. Louis defeat Oakland Saturday, February 3 was the second largest of the season at the St. Louis Arena and the largest to see an expansion team in St. Louis &hellip; It was a rough night in relations between Referee Tom Smith and the Blues as St. Louis protested a goal that was disallowed by Smith who claimed time had run out in the first period. But the referee blew this one because the red goal light cannot go on when the green &ldquo;time out&rdquo; light is on. The red light did flash signifying a goal by rookie Craig Cameron and according to Blues&rsquo; Executive Sid Salomon III, Smith later told him &ldquo;I owe you one.&rdquo; The Blues won the game 4-2. In another incident the normally mild mannered Billy McCreary was handed a misconduct penalty following a vigorous protest of an offside call against McCreary as he was home free on goalie Gary Smith.-FISHER &#9632;

f0006-02

Martin Suffers Cut Eye In Spite Of Face Mask

<div class="byline">By GEOFFREY FISHER</div><h2>Blues Roll Losing Only 6 of Last 26</h2>ST. LOUIS, Mo. &ndash;There&rsquo;s been enough of this business of upholding the honor so far as the St. Louis Blues are concerned. Now they would like to see the old guard of the National Hockey League start winning more games from their expansion division playmates.&ldquo;We aren&rsquo;t getting much help,&rdquo; declares Bob Plager, the tough rearguard of the Blues. When the season got started all of us in the expansion division were playing our hearts out to prove that we were not going to be the pushovers for the old clubs that everyone seemed to think we would be. So we have certainly proved it against every club in the old section and now we would like to see the old clubs give us a little help by beating some of the teams in our division.&rdquo;With or without help from outside sources, the Blues were continuing to flow along as steadily and relentlessly as the Mississippi River which snakes along the Eastern border of this city. When they fully dominated the Oakland Seals here Saturday night, February 3, by a score of 4-1 it was their fifth win in six tangles with that club, one other match ending in a tie. At that point the Blues had lost only six games in their last 26. After a painfully slow beginning, St. Louis had won 12 of their last 15 matches at home and had lost only one of their last six road tests.There could no longer be any real doubt about the Blues ability to skate with any club in the National Hockey League. They had beaten and tied Detroit, held victories over Toronto, Boston and New York. They had led Chicago Impressively in Chicago before settling for a tie. Only Montreal has dominated the Blues in the two games played to date.In their own division the Blues had been able to stay even with the best and had beaten the rest - with the single frustrating exception of the Philadelphia Flyers who continued to cling tenaciously to the top of the Western Division standings. In seven meetings the Blues had lost five and tied two with the Flyers. In the St. Louis camp it was crystal clear that between the Blues and a shot at the league lead remained three major engagements with Philadelphia and the outcome of these three games might well determine which club finished on top.Other than the very weighty factor that the Flyers had taken 12 out of a possible 14 points in tangles with St. Louis, these two clubs were remarkably similar in performance statistics. After 49 games the Flyers had scored 124 goals against 113 for the Blues. The Flyers had been scored on 113 times and the Blues 120 times. Both clubs relied heavily on stout defense and in this department the Blues could be expected to become even stronger when Jean Guy Talbot and Barclay Plager returned to action after injuries.Meanwhile, St. Louis which had struggled through the formative weeks of the early season seeking to find some scoring combinations, appeared to have come up with the necessary detonaters to set off some explosions. Foremost of these was Gordon (Red) Berenson, who up to February 3, had scored 13 goals in 15 games. Berenson centered a most remarkable forward unit cooked up by Coach Scotty Bowman. At left wing was the veteran center Don McKenney and at right wing the veteran center Gerry Melnyk and as most capable centers are most proficient in the passing game, this platoon was moving the puck the way the Harlem Globe Trotters handle a basketball.Evidence of their new firepower was provided in games against Pittsburgh and Oakland, January 31 and February 1. In smashing the Penguins, 9-4, St. Louis blistered Goalie Les Binkley for five goals in the second period. Tree nights later they scored five in the first period against the Seals&rsquo; Charley Hodge, the last of which was disallowed by Referee Tom Smith.There is no denying that this club, forged from scraps and bits, gathered through barter, draft, and in a few cases, by persuasion, has been built by Lynn Patrick and Bowman into one of the most exciting hockey clubs in the NHL. They have speed and muscle and hustle. They can forecheck and backcheck with the best. They have goaltending in Hall and Martin that can make forwards weep with frustration. They have spirit that is a wonder to behold professionals and they have enthusiastic support from St. Louisans that has contributed immeasureably to their well-being in a new and strange environment in this first year of National Hockey League play.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-01855/3125381-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg" title="f0006-01" width="620" height="587"><figcaption class="caption-body">BOB PLAGER &hellip; Old Teams Should Help</figcaption></div><h2>two minute hockey quiz</h2>1&mdash;Toe Blake, Elmer Lach and Maurice Richard formed the famed Prdution Line&rsquo;&#9633; True Or False &#9633;2&mdash;Bobby Hull of theHawks has scored 50 goals in four NHL seasons.&#9633; True Or F alse O3&mdash;Boston Bruins&rsquo; coachHarry Sinden formerly played defense in theNHL.&#9633; True Or False &#9633;4&mdash;Terry Sawchuk of LosAngeles is the firstNHL goaler to record100 shutouts.&#9633; True Or False &#9633;5&mdash;Billy Reay of theHawks once coached the Toronto MapleLeafs in the NHL.&#9633; True Or False &#9633;6&mdash;Detroit Red Wings ran up the highest score in league history beatingRangers 15-0.&#9633; True Or False7&mdash;Stan Mikita of the Stan Mikita of the Hawks was actually the NHL&rsquo;s second &lsquo;Triple Crown&rsquo; winner.&#9633; True Or False &#9333;8&mdash;Punch Imlach of the Leafs has won more Stanley Cups than any other NHL coach.&#9633; True Or False &#9333;9&mdash;Retired Red Kelly was the first NHL defenseman to get his name on the Norris Trophy.&#9633; True Or False &#9633;10&mdash;Vern Buffey and Matt Pavelich are two of the NHL&rsquo;s most proficient referees.&#9633; True Or False &#9633;HOCKEY QUIZ ANSWERS1&mdash;False. They were thePunch Line.2&mdash;False. He has 3 50-goal years.3&mdash;False. He never played in NHL.4&mdash;True.5&mdash;True.6&mdash;True.7&mdash;False. He was first last year.8&mdash;False. Toe Blake has won more.9&mdash;True.10&mdash;False. Pavelich is an NHL linesman. &#9632;

f0006-01

Expansion Team Exerts Authority Over Old NHL Clubs

<div class="byline">BY GIL SMITH</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0007-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-02695/3125450-1-eng-US/f0007-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">HENRI RICHARD &hellip; Returns To Face Music</figcaption></div><h2>Richard&rsquo;s Reaction To Benching No Surprise</h2>MONTREAL, Que. &ndash;The rhubarb surrounding Henri Richard and the Montreal Canadiens continues to be a hot topic in hockey circles.Most observers seem to think that Henri made a bad blunder in challenging the authority of his employers to use him when and where they saw fit.As most people know, Henri was sidelined with a knee injury and during his absence the team went on a near record winning streak that lifted them clear into first place. When Richard was ready to come back, Canadiens weren&rsquo;t ready to use him &mdash; at least not to any great extent. He did see very brief action in games against Toronto and New York, but the key word is brief. In the New York game on Feb. 1 he appeared on the powerplay, after Rangers&rsquo; Rod Gilbert was penalized at 1.23 of the opening period. Henri was on the ice 26 seconds, when he tangled with defenceman Jim Neilson and both got minors. Richard saw no further action. He then failed to report for a club meeting prior to a Feb. 3 clash with Los Angeles, and the fat was in the fire, so to speak.It&rsquo;s to the credit of Sammy Pollock, Canadiens&rsquo; general manager, that he called an immediate press conference, even prior to the start of the Los Angeles game, to advise the news media of developments. He also discussed the problem quite openly at subsequent press meetings, even though he hadn&rsquo;t heard from Richard and was still in the dark as fo a solution. Pollock Insists that Henri was not benched, but he&rsquo;ll get a lot of arguments on that point, particularly from Richard. But, whether it&rsquo;s labelled benching, or &ldquo;inactivity,&rdquo; Henri sat it out, and that didn&rsquo;t sit well with Henri.The surprising part of it all, of course, is that people seemed to be surprised that the Pocket Rocket reacted the way that he did.Hockey teams spare no effort in building up competitive spirit in their players, and woe-be-tide the man who doesn&rsquo;t respond to such urgings. A man can remember an occasion when a player was heard whistling in the Canadiens&rsquo; dressing room after a loss, and the reaction was such that that boy hasn&rsquo;t been heard whistling since, even on the street. Even the stick-boy is expected to wear a murderous look after a losing effort, and the writers, who, technically, aren&rsquo;t supposed to give a damn one way or the other in the interest of impartial reporting, are well-advised to look downcast when stepping into the den of the losing team. In the winner&rsquo;s room, be sure not to look complacent.In a league that encourages such attitudes, is it any wonder that a star of the magnitude of Henri Richard would balk at being left out of action? Could a man of his pride and spirit react any other way? How would it be if Henri lounged on the bench, perfectly content to draw his salary and do nothing? He wouldn&rsquo;t be the Henri Richard we&rsquo;ve known all these years if he did. Henri never says much, but there&rsquo;ve been few keener competitors on Canadiens than this pint-sized Pocket Rocket. Even Toe Blake is quick to admit that he wouldn&rsquo;t want a man on his team who didn&rsquo;t care whether he played, or not. He, more than anyone, knows the value of Henri&rsquo;s contribution to Canadiens over the years, and he&rsquo;s familiar with the spirit that made it possible.Richard isn&rsquo;t likely to win this battle with Canadiens. To use a cliche, no man is bigger than the team and no player can be allowed to dictate the terms to the organization that employs him. Pollock and Blake are dead right when they say, in effect, that &ldquo;Henri will be welcomed back, but on our terms.&rsquo;&rsquo; The Pocket Rocket was ill-advised to act the way that he did. But, the spirit that caused him to rebel was the same one that made him a star in the first place.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-01800/3125443-1-eng-US/f0007-012.jpg" title="f0007-01" width="1394" height="2121"></div> &#9632;

f0007-02

Pocket Rocket Challenges Management

<div class="byline">BY GLENN REDMANN</div>TWIN CITIES. Minn. -It has taken nearly two-thirds of the season, but manager-coach Wren Blair believes that he has finally found an effective power play combination for his Minnesota North Stars.In the wake of eight power play goals over a stretch of six games from Jan. 25 to Feb. 4, Blair was hopeful that the pace would continue long enough for his team to catch Philadelphia in the NHL&rsquo;s red hot West Division race.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-01842/3125488-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg" title="f0008-01" width="294" height="511"><figcaption class="caption-body">Bronco Horvath</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-02747/3125481-1-eng-US/f0008-022.jpg" title="f0008-02" width="304" height="485"><figcaption class="caption-body">Parker MacDonald</figcaption></div>It doesn&rsquo;t figure to be easy, especially after the Flyers&rsquo; back-to-back victories at home over Chicago and Toronto on Feb. 3 and 4.But because (at this writing) Minnesota had four games left on its schedule against Keith Alien&rsquo;s Philadelphians, Blair and his charges took an optimistic outlook regarding the possibility of outfinishing the Flyers.That six-game streak of power play proficiency produced five victories, one a 3-0 win for the Stars over Philadelphia on the Flyers&rsquo; ice. It was big Cesare Maniago&rsquo;s fifth shutout, and gave the Minnesotans a 3-2-1 edge for the season over Allen&rsquo;screw &mdash; two of the wins coming in the City of Brotherly Love.But getting back of the new-found power play, Blair gives newcomer Bronco Horvath a lion&rsquo;s share of the credit for making it an extremely effective weapon.The one-time NHL (1959-60) scoring champion at Boston usually makes the pass that gets things under way, then takes up a position at the right point.Mike McMahon, easily the best offensive defenseman in the West Division with 10 goals and 19 assists in his team&rsquo;s first 50 games, plays the left point.Former New York Ranger and Detroit farmhand Ray Cullen, who alternates between center and right wing regularly, centers left winger Parker MacDonald and right winger Wayne Connelly to complete the power play unit.&ldquo;I say Horvath has been the key,&rdquo; smiled Blair after his team&rsquo;s 2-1 win over Detroit late last month, &ldquo;because he not only sets things up real well, but he&rsquo;s also doing a heckuva job keeping the puck in our opponent&rsquo;s zone.&ldquo;MacDonald has made some fine passes, too, and I admire him for being cool enough to take only good shots.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s what we strive for &mdash; good shots. After all, it takes only one good shot to get the job done during those two minutes that the other club is shorthanded.&rdquo;Cullen, whose West Division-leading 23rd goal in a 4-3 win over Oakland Feb. 4 wasn&rsquo;t on a power play, has probably been the chief digger of the calm quintet.He gets some help from Connelly, but Wayne&rsquo;s biggest asset has been his whistling shot and deft passes to McMahon, breaking in from the left side.Horvath, now 37 and in his 18th season as a pro, rarely has seen action outside of power play situations. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s still not in the best of shape,&rdquo; said Blair, &ldquo;because that busted hand kept him idle quite awhile before we bought his contract from Toronto (on Jan. 20).&ldquo;I like his spirit,&rdquo; added Blair. &ldquo;He talks it up continually on the bench and he lets you know that he&rsquo;s around during practices.&rdquo;In his first eight games in a North Star sweater, Bronco contributed five assists &mdash; all on the power play.Oakland was ahead 2-1 in the Feb. 4 game when Bronco was credited with an assist on Dave Baton&rsquo;s tying goal at 13:39 of the second period.Before the period ended, the crafty MacDonald put his team ahead to stay by threading the needle with a 20-footer from a tough angle to beat Seals&rsquo; goalkeeper Gary Smith.It was MacDonald&rsquo;s 13th goal, matching his total for 69 games in 1964-65 (his last full NHL season), and ruining Smith&rsquo;s 24th birthday.After that game, Blair also had words of praise for McMahon, Bob McCord and the checking line of J.P. Parise, Andre Boudrias and Bill Collins. They forechecked like crazy to keep the puck in Oakland&rsquo;s end for more than a minute after John Brenneman&rsquo;s second goal pulled the Seals to within 4-3 at 18:21.&ldquo;I thought Moose Vasko put a heckuva check on (George) Swarbrick, too,&rdquo; said Blair. &ldquo;It was right after that when Parise controlled the loose puck and put that 50-footer past Smith.&rdquo;That goal, Parise&rsquo;s sixth in 19 games as a North Star, came at 6:01 of the third making it 4-2. It proved to be the winner when Brenneman struck for a second time. &#9632;

f0008-01

Blair ‘Discovers’ Power Play Secret, Lifts North Stars’ First Place Hopes

TWIN CITIES, Minn.&mdash;Minnesota manager-coach Wren Blair almost always gets in the last word whenever he has an off-ice chit-chat with one of his North Stars.On the afternoon of a recent game against Los Angeles, right winger Bill Goldsworthy peeked his head into Blair&rsquo;s Metropolitan Sports Center office and declared:&ldquo;I hope you don&rsquo;t have any more of those letters (from fans saying Bill should be in the minors).&ldquo;You know, not everybody thinks I&rsquo;m playing bad. I got a letter just the other day from some group that said they were going to name a tree after me.&rdquo;Blair looked at his young prospect, who had gone nine games without a goal, and retorted:&ldquo;You know why they&rsquo;re naming a tree after you? Because a tree stands still. That&rsquo;s what you&rsquo;ve been doing too much of lately.&rdquo;With that, the door slammed shut and Goldy walked down the corridor, presumably talking to himself.But maybe the good-natured kidding did him some good, because he went out that night and scored his 10th goal in the Stars&rsquo; 6-1 win over the Kings.-REDMANS &#9632;

Rookie Discovers Blair Has His Say

<div class="byline">BY JIM PROUDFOOT</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-01820/3125543-1-eng-US/f0009-012.jpg" title="f0009-01" width="619" height="561"><figcaption class="caption-body">MIKE PELYK &hellip; Called By Leafs</figcaption></div>TORONTO, ONT. &ndash;It was Leafs&rsquo; traditional January slump, all right. They&rsquo;d just delayed it until February. But it was just as serious as ever, and perhaps even more so because of the nearness of the Stanley Cup playoffs.Ending with a 4-1 defeat In Philadelphia Feb. 4, Leafs had gone through a 6-game stretch during which they won once, tied once and lost four times. Still to come, too, were the final three matches in a 7-game road series, necessitated by the visit of the Ice Follies to Maple Leaf Gardens.Punch Imlach, Leafs&rsquo; coach and general manager, was deeply concerned, of course, and was Issuing his annual threats about demotions to the minors, and elevation of promising farmhands.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s easier to talk about than to do,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;They give me a great game like they did In Chicago the other night and you know everything you need is there. But you ask yourself how long you can wait for it.&ldquo;And just when you&rsquo;re ready to throw up your hands, they come up with another big one under difficult circumstances.&rdquo;That Leafs are an exasperating club is not a new proposition to Toronto hockey fans. It&rsquo;s been this way for years. Leafs&rsquo; Inconsistency has deprived them of the recognition they truly deserve.Imlach sought to confirm some of his Impressions in a Pittsburgh game, observing from a seat while his assistant, King Clancy, took care of the actual coaching. It might have been an Instructive experience because Leafs held 2-0 and 3-2 leads over the understaffed Penguins before settling for an unsatisfactory 3-3 draw.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s a lot of pressure from the farm system,&rdquo; Imlach said. &ldquo;By that forced to bring them up and give them a tryout. As an example, I hope to have a look at our Tulsa club dlrlng our trip to Chicago, Oakland and Los Angeles.&rdquo;Leafs have had serious problems on defence, where only all-star Tim Horton has been adequate. Allan Stanley and Duane Rupp have had especially notable difficulty. Balancing this fact against the excellent reports Imlach has received about minor-leaguers Jim Dorey and Mike Pelyk and you get some Idea of what could happen In the near future.The best defence prospect In the Leaf organization, Rochester&rsquo;s Jim McKenny, has blown the 196768 season because of a broken ankle. He has resumed skating.Also outstanding, according to communiques, is Tulsa left-winger Gerry Meehan. &#9632;

f0009-01

Leafs Sink Into Usual Late Slump

<div class="byline">BY SPENCE CONLEY</div>OAKLAND. Calif. -Time is running out on the struggling Oakland Seals.Although mathematically still holding a chance to make the National Hockey League&rsquo;s Western Division Stanley Cup playoff the seals have been hammered by every bad break in the book-scheduling, injuries, sickness, slumps.But now the Seals are at the point where, regardless of what problems may hit them, they&rsquo;ve got to stay with it, to make up 13 points in 25 games.Right now, the Oaklanders are in the middle of a six-game home stand, their longest home series of the season, and a stand which surely will make or break their playoff hopes.They began the string Feb. 7 against Pittsburgh&rsquo;s Penguins, then followed with Minnesota and Toronto and this week play Philadelphia, Boston and Chicago.It appears a long way for the tailenders to travel, but the players are optimistic.Certainly the Seals are a vastly improved squad in this half than they were in the first and that&rsquo;s because of what now has been referred to as &ldquo;The Trade".The acquisition of wing John Brenneman and defensemen Bert Marshall as frosting on a deal for Ted Hampson, has become the most significant things that has happened this year to the Seals.Marshall is playing well, Hampson is going along at nearly a point a game, but Brenneman is the biggest surprise.The leadership they&rsquo;ve all three shown has had an effect on the rest of the Seals.&ldquo;We know that all it takes is concentration for 60 minutes and a good team effort and we can make it,&rdquo; says Hampson.Marshall agrees: &ldquo;We aren&rsquo;t quitting, we&rsquo;ve still got a chance and as long as we do have a chance, we&rsquo;re going to do our best to make it.&rsquo;&rsquo;The biggest problem is trying to overcome a horrible first half showing. They only won seven of 37 games.Individual slumps were the rule, not the exception. Then came injuries and illness.Bill Hicke, the team&rsquo;s best goal-scorer was struck by a tenacious bronchial condition which he still hasn&rsquo;t beaten 100 percent. He has missed 18 games because of it.Defensive ace Bob Baun, the Seal captain, sufferred a pinched nerve in his shoulder. He missed seven games.Wing George Swarbrick broke the index finger on his right (shooting) hand and missed 18 games.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-02736/3125574-1-eng-US/f0009-022.jpg" title="f0009-02" width="289" height="489"><figcaption class="caption-body">Bert Marshall</figcaption></div>Then when they came back, Gerry Odrowski was hit in the eye by Rod Gilbert&rsquo;s stick last week and was hospitalized for eight days in New York while doctors tried to learn if the injury was serious enough to keep him out of action for the rest of the year.Defenceman Tracy Pratt, a big, tough youngster who had worked his way into a regular job, suffered a shoulder injury last week and will miss two weeks. Goalie Charlie Hodge hurt an elbow and was not his best.Bill Harris, the slim ex-Maple Leaf centerman, is still under suspension trying to figure out what his future will be after walking out between the second and third periods in a home game against New York.&ldquo;You name the problem and we&rsquo;ve had it,&rdquo; says Seal publicist Tim Ryan. &ldquo;Just about the time we thought we were going to make a move, we&rsquo;d find ourselves faced with a long series of games against Eastern teams who were trying to use us as a spring board to the division lead.&ldquo;But there&rsquo;s no question about it now, we are playing much better and with a couple of positive breaks, we could make it,&rdquo; says Ryan hopefully.The big plusses for the Oaklanders are the play of Brenneman, Hampson and Hicke as a unit, the revival of the Charlie Burns line (Wally Boyer and Gerry Ehman), and Marshall&rsquo;s job defensively.Brenneman who had a great start interupted by an NHL ruling which forced him back into the minors for nine days when Hicke got back into the lineup, picked up right where he left off and by Feb. 7 had scored six goals in his last seven games.In his first 10 games with Oakland he had eight points. His speed on left wing, combined with that of Hampson and Hicke give the Seals one of the quickest, most productive lines in the division.Burns&rsquo; line has been plugging along with good consistency but now the Seals have got to come up with a third unit to complete the balance.Larry Popein, the ex-Ranger veteran, is centering for Swarbrick and Alain (Boom Boom) Caron, but there may be a couple of other changes on that line before it&rsquo;s all over.Swarbrick&rsquo;s first game back was a nationally TV&rsquo;d match with Minnesota. He scored once, upping his goals total to 11, and whammed a shot off a pipe which might have turned the direction of a game the Seals lost 4-3.So the guns are back on the firing line; now the question is, will they be able to prevent an early summer vacation for Oakland? &#9632;

f0009-02

Seals Optimistic Of Catching Playoff But Time Growing Short For New Team

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-03581/3125664-1-eng-US/f0010-032.jpg" title="f0010-03" width="907" height="1453"></div>In this automated age of industrial technology, Northland still makes hockey sticks the old-fashioned way. By hand. Completely.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-04447/3125657-1-eng-US/f0010-042.jpg" title="f0010-04" width="901" height="736"></div>Northland has a group of fiercely-proud master craftsmen who still consider their trade a work of art. The creation of each stick is its own source of self-satisfaction to our specialists. Nothing but the finest will ever pass through their hands. George Mountin, for example, has eyes like an eagle. He can spot a whisper of wavering wood grain at 20 paces. His discerning eye only accepts northern white ash that is straight as an architect&rsquo;s rule for the handle of each hockey stick. If, for some remote reason, a slightly-defective handle escapes him, he&rsquo;ll hear about it&hellip; from Philip Leifeld, who has hands like a caliper. He gently sands each stick into perfect shape and balance. He can feel the tiniest flaw in a seemingly-perfect stick; but just to double check, Leifeld also uses conventional measuring methods. He&rsquo;d better, because any stick that isn&rsquo;t perfectly balanced&hellip;irritates Joann Zeck, who can be a real spitfire. She matches the pattern models (exact curve required by various NHL stars) to every custom stick as closely as humanly possible. Then she carefully wraps the blade with fibreglass tape to make sure it&rsquo;ll stand up under rugged NHL action. Her work had better pass inspection, too&mdash;for if it doesn&rsquo;t &hellip; she&rsquo;ll incur the wrath of Paul Mayer, the plant foreman. He&rsquo;s responsible for every stick that gets on the ice. He knows that the pros demand the right combination of lightness, flex, and stiffness and the ability to snap back into original shape. He wants to keep them happy. He must do a great job; the five top scorers (among others) in the NHL use Northland, and Paul hasn&rsquo;t heard a peep from them. Except for compliments.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-05341/3125650-1-eng-US/f0010-052.jpg" title="f0010-05" width="422" height="396"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-06265/3125643-1-eng-US/f0010-062.jpg" title="f0010-06" width="554" height="712"></div>In fact, George, Phil, Joann, and Paul never hear a peep from each other, either. Except for compliments. Northland has a happy plant. Full of old-fashioned craftsmen and their works of art.Look on the ice&hellip;NOTICE THE NORTHLANDS!NORTHLANDDivision of Larson Industries. Inc.St. Paul, Minn., & Laconia, N. H. &#9632;

f0010-03

Hockey demands skilled hands at both ends of the stick

<div class="byline">BY ED CONRAD</div>PHILADELPHIA. Pa. &ndash;Nobody in their right mind knocks southern Florida these days but Garry Peters is one guy who&rsquo;d prefer an 18-inch snowfall to sun-swept beaches.That&rsquo;s because Garry and his expectant wife, Louise, would certainly rather be back up north than spending part of February in Florida.After all National Hockey League action is still running hot and heavy and Peters, a center for the Flyers would love to be back out there on the ice.Garry is unable to do so, how ever, because an injury to his left eye has knocked him out of action for the rest of the year.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s why we want to get away for a little while &mdash; Louise and me,&rdquo; explained Garry. &ldquo;These past few weeks have really been tough on both of us.&rdquo;Actually. Peters had suffered an injury to the lens of his left eye in the Christmas game against the New York Rangers. He had been struck by the blade of a stick during a scramble in front of the Flyers&rsquo; net.The fiber tissues which hold the lens of the eye in place were damaged and eye specialists felt it best that Garry remain off skates tor the duration of the campaign.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s the toughest part about it,&rdquo; lamented Peters. &ldquo;At least when you&rsquo;ve got a shoulder separation or something, you know you can&rsquo;t play. But my eye feels real good and I feel I have complete vision. However, I can&rsquo;t get out there and play.&rdquo;Two specialists at Wills Eye Hospital &mdash; best eye hospital in the world &mdash; examined Garry over a period of weeks following the Injury before deciding that he not play anymore this season. They feared the risk of possible loss of vision if banged up during a game or in practice before the eye was completely healed.&ldquo;We understand that the damage could heal itself in four or five months,&rdquo; said Flyers&rsquo; general manager Bud Poile. &ldquo;However, if he had the misfortune of getting struck again before that time, the specialists warned us that permanent damage could result. We don&rsquo;t want to risk that.&rdquo;Eye specialists informed Poile that Peters&rsquo; visibility is 20-20 but the fiber tissues in the lens of the eye are not quite 100 per cent strength.&ldquo;The doctors seem to feel that Garry will be ready to go again by the time we go to training camp next fall,&rdquo; continued Poile. &ldquo;While we are going to miss him, we are happy that he will be able to resume his career next year,&rdquo;Until he received this information from the specialists, Peters admitted he was worried about ever playing hockey again. The doctors had told him they feared the injury was permanent.&ldquo;That was quite a shock,&rdquo; admitted Garry, 25. &ldquo;Honestly, I thought perhaps my career was at an end. Believe me, I spent more than a few sleepless nights.&ldquo;But now that I know what the situation is, I&rsquo;m thankful that the in ury hadn&rsquo;t been a lot more serious. Now, at least, they say I&rsquo;ll be ready for next season. Things could&rsquo;ve been a lot worse.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-02750/3125702-1-eng-US/f0011-022.jpg" title="f0011-02" width="617" height="622"><figcaption class="caption-body">GARRY PETERS &hellip; Looking To Next Year</figcaption></div>&ldquo;After the latest report. I&rsquo;m very much relieved.&rdquo; he added, &ldquo;Sure, it will be real tough sitting out the rest of the season. But now I know everything looks like it wil&rsquo; be okay next year. &ldquo;While waiting for next season, Garry has been invited to, remain with the Flyers in Philadelphia instead of returning home to Regina, Sask.&ldquo;Bud told me I could go home if I wanted to,&rdquo; said Peters. &ldquo;But he added that he would rather have me stay right with the club He said he wanted me to feel I was still part of the team. I&rsquo;d do some scouting or statistical work.&rdquo;Poile remembers the capable job Garry had done during the early part of the season, having come on like Gangbusters after a slow start in training camp.&ldquo;Garry is one of the best forecheckers on our club,&rdquo; said Poile. &ldquo;The toughest part about losing him when we did was that he was coming on strong when he was injured".Peters, himself, doesn&rsquo;t really remember what happened when he was injured but he does recall being in perfect position for a goal.&rsquo;If there was anything I was sure about, it was putting the puck in the net because (Rangers&rsquo; goalie Ed) Giacomin had come out,&rdquo; concluded Garry, &ldquo;But I never even got the shot away,&rdquo;NHL SCORING RACE<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-01824/3125695-1-eng-US/f0011-012.jpg" title="f0011-01" width="1394" height="3946"></div> &#9632;

f0011-02

Eye Injury Ends Hockey Season For Flyers’ Star Garry Peters

The Montreal Canadiens are probably thanking their lucky stars today that no one grabbed up Dick Duff in the summer hockey draft. He was available for the asking since the Habs didn&rsquo;t bother to protect him.In the past few weeks, the 32-year-old fiery left winger has been one of the most exciting hockey performers for the Canadiens. Supposedly on the block, Duff has comethrough with 17 goals, five more than he scored all last season.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-01807/3125757-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg" title="f0012-01" width="273" height="476"><figcaption class="caption-body">Dick Duff</figcaption></div>Duff fired two more last weekend to help sink the Black Hawks 6-4 and his overall play has been hailed in team circles. Duff now has 240 lifetime goals and he is rapidly closing in on the select 250-goal club.THE HOCKEY NEWS and El Producto Cigars are pleased to salute the NHL&rsquo;s player-of-the-week in the East:Dick Duff&hellip; Montreal &#9632;

f0012-01

NHL Player Of The Week — IN THE EAST

When Charlie Burns decided to give up coaching and attempt to win a berth with an expansion team, many hockey men were of the opinion Charlie was doing himself out of a future.After more than half a season in the expanded NHL, Burns is beginning to make his presence felt with the Oakland Seals. Burns has only scored seven times, but his value to the new league club cannot be calculated in goals and assists. He is one of the best defensive players in the Western Division of the NHL.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-02696/3125788-1-eng-US/f0012-022.jpg" title="f0012-02" width="266" height="492"><figcaption class="caption-body">Charlie Burns</figcaption></div>Burns finds time to pop in a goal or two. Last weekend he connected for a pair in one game and he couldn&rsquo;t have scored two more important goals. He helped beat Toronto Leafs 4-3 and personally contributed the game-winning goal.THE HOCKEY NEWS and El Producto Cigars are pleased to salute the NHL&rsquo;s player-of-the-week in the West:Charlie Burns&hellip; Oakland &#9632;

f0012-02

NHL Player Of The Week — IN THE WEST

<div class="byline">BY JACK BERRY</div>DETROIT, MICH. -Sid Abel shook his head as the games dwindled down and likewise the Red Wings&rsquo; playoff chances.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t ever remember such a timid Red Wing team,&rdquo; the Detroit manager-coach said.Abel had just returned from another match in which Detroit was beaten on the Ice and on the scoreboard.&rsquo;&rsquo;No one gets mad,&rdquo; said Abel. &ldquo;They get knocked down, they get beat and they don&rsquo;t get mad. A little guy like John McKenzie seesaws them up and down and they don&rsquo;t do a thing.&ldquo;And when a guy like Tommy Williams throws his weight around and you don&rsquo;t hit back &hellip;&rdquo;Abel, exasperated, didn&rsquo;t finish the sentence.Ted Lindsay, who came out of a three-year retirement to almost single-handedly fire the Wings to the league championship in 196465, said during a radio interview that the present Wings &ldquo;don&rsquo;t have any spirit.&rdquo;And his old Production Line mate, Abel, wished he knew how to inject it.Fines?Abel said he hasn&rsquo;t levied any.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not a matter of discipline,&rdquo; Abel said.&ldquo;A couple of guys are having terrible years,&rdquo; he continued. &ldquo;Paul Henderson and Bruce MacGregor are stinkin&rsquo; the place out.&ldquo;Since Doug Roberts put a helmet on he hasn&rsquo;t hit anyone &mdash; it looks like he put the helmet on his skates instead.Abel decided to send Roberts, Irv Spencer and Howie young to Fort Worth and brought in big Bob Failkenberg and Nick Libett from the CPHL farm team to take their places.Would he like, say, Eddie Shack who isn&rsquo;t playing much in Boston now?&ldquo;Yes, I&rsquo;d like to get a guy like Shack,&rdquo; Abel answered.But he said he hasn&rsquo;t tried to get him.And the Wings continue scoring goals by the handful but yielding them by the bushel.&ldquo;We say in a team meeting we&rsquo;re going to play a 0-0 game. We did that before our last game in Pittsburgh. So they won, 8-5.&ldquo;We say we&rsquo;re going to go up and down the wing and first thing you know, the other team has a couple goals and then we&rsquo;ve got to go all out,&rdquo; Abel said.And, as the Wings flounder along, more and more fans have been taking it out on Abel who hardly heard a word of criticism during his 10 previous years as coach.Only twice in the Wings&rsquo; 42-year history have they failed to make the Stanley Cup playoffs in successive years and both occurred during the team&rsquo;s first five years of existence. But now the Wings are in clear danger of failing to make the lucrative playdowns for the second straight year.&ldquo;The next week to 10 days is critical,&rdquo; Abel said. &ldquo;Right now we&rsquo;re not that far out of contention.&ldquo;I fully believe we have the players capable of making the playoffs but they&rsquo;re just not playing the hockey they can play,&rdquo; he said.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been criticized for shaking up the lines but that&rsquo;s the only way I know of now to get them moving.&rdquo;So, after playing three games in four days, rising at 5:30 a.m. to return to Detroit the morning following the third game, Abel shepherded the team right past the waiting wives at the airport, bused them to Olympia and put them on the Ice for a lenghty workout.But, after the drill during a lunchepn to publicize the annual Red Wing Old-Timers game, Abel showed he still has his humor.&ldquo;I just phoned Last Vegas and got the latest odds on the Feb. 25 game (Old-Timers vs. present Wings). They said it&rsquo;s 6-5, take your pick,&rdquo; he cracked.The Wings&rsquo; futility reached its peak just when it seemed the club was going to straighten out. Detroit beat the Black Hawks in Chicago for practically the first time since the great fire but then returned to Olympia and had to score three goals In the last 8:09 to get a tie with St. Louis.That was the first of five straight games against expansion teams and by the end of the run, the Wings were fortunate to break even.They outshot Philadelphia, 36-16, but barely nipped the Flyers on the scoreboard, 3-2.Then it was a 2-1 loss in Minnesota with big Cesare Maniago too much for them and, worst of all, an 8-6 loss to Los Angeles In which defense was completely forgotten. Five goals were scored in a span of 3:05, four of them by the Kings. Whatever it was, it wasn&rsquo;t hockey.The Wings, who&rsquo;d forsaken position play long ago, tried it in the final game of the five game series with Western Division teams and scored five goals on passouts from behind the net to a man in the middle in an 8-1 victory over Minnesota.But the next night they lost in Boston.&ldquo;We can&rsquo;t keep going like this, lose one, win one, lose, tie &mdash; we&rsquo;ve got to put three or four victories together to get going,&rdquo; Abel said.ICE CHIPS: As the Wings&rsquo; losses mounted, especially the way they&rsquo;ve been losing, there&rsquo;s been more fan discontent. But, thanks to the newspaper strike in Detroit, they&rsquo;ve escaped criticism there.Floyd Smith&rsquo;s biggest night as a National Leaguer had a sour ending. Smith scored four goals but they came in an 8-6 loss to L.A.Defenseman Kent Douglas had 12 points in his first 13 games as a Detroiter on five goals and seven assists. Another goal was washed out when a hard slap hit the net a split-second after a game-ending buzzer. &#9632;

Angered Abel Says Players “Too Timid”-Young sent down in shuffle

<div class="byline">BY TOM MONAHAN</div>BOSTON, Mass.-A stretch of 15 days from Feb. 12 to Feb. 27 very well could determine whether the Bruins can start accepting orders for playoff tickets for the first time since 1959.In the next fortnight, the Bruins are scheduled for seven games on the road and four of those seven games will be against Western Division competition.With the Eastern Division tighter than a Gay Ninety girdle, not even that great oracle Punch Imlach of Toronto can say who will or will not make a Stanley Cup playoff berth.Punch has tried to the extent of predicting the Bruins would not, for the simple reason that they are not accustomed to the pressure of a stretch drive.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-01790/3125850-1-eng-US/f0014-012.jpg" title="f0014-01" width="291" height="501"><figcaption class="caption-body">Eddie Shack</figcaption></div>This thought by Imlach rankles Sinden a bit, but Harry does agree that what happens on this impending road trip will have a great bearing on the final results.&ldquo;We had a schedule advantage a couple of weeks ago when we were playing at home,&rdquo; says Sinden. &ldquo;But we lost three games in a row and that erased the advantage.&ldquo;It now puts a bit more pressure on us to win more than our share of the next seven games.&ldquo;You might say that because we have four games with new teams this is a break. But the way the expansion teams have been playing all season no one can count those games as sure points. We have to go out and beat them.&rdquo;In the first 16 games with Western Division teams this season, the Bruins were held to a 9-7 record Only Toronto had that much troubles with the newcomers as the defending Stanley Cup champions managed an 8-7-2 record.By comparison New York picked up 27 of its points with a 13-3-1 record, Chicago totaled the same with 12-4-3, Detroit took 24 with 11-6-2 and Montreal picked up 22 with 10-4-2.&ldquo;The way the season has gone so far, though,&rdquo; said Sinden, &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think anyone can look beyond the next game.&ldquo;I think if we come through this trip in good shape we will have overcome the disadvantage we now face on the schedule. We&rsquo;l then have a near balance of seven games at home and six on the road.&ldquo;But the important thing is not to lose ground right now. In the final two weeks of the season we&rsquo;ll all be playing each other and if the race stays as close as it is right now there is no doubt that it will go down to the end of the season.&ldquo;A big factor will be health. An injury right now to any team can be damaging. Time is running out. Early in the season a player can recover from an injury and come back but at this time of the year an injury can mean the end of the season for a player.&ldquo;Naturally you don&rsquo;t look for those things but sometimes you have to think about the possibility.&ldquo;This would be a great time for us to start a winning streak. We haven&rsquo;t had a real good stretch since early in the season when we went eight games without a loss. We won six of the eight.&ldquo;We are about due for something like that now.&rdquo;But the next two weeks will tell the story.ICE CHIPS &mdash;Sinden made a major change in his lineup last week resting Eddie Shack for the better part of two games &hellip; &ldquo;But I am counting heavily on Shack in the stretch,&rdquo; said Sinden &hellip; &ldquo;Eddie just seemed to lose some of the spark he had earlier in the season and I felt a rest and a chance to collect himself would be beneficial both to him and the club&rdquo; &hellip; Johnny Bucyk finally has recovered from an ankle sprain that has been hampering him for almost three weeks &hellip; &ldquo;I just couldn&rsquo;t move the way I wanted.&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;But I feel better now than I have in a month and I&rsquo;m looking forward to a good finish&rdquo; &hellip; Johnny McKenzie broke a scoring slump by hitting for three against Detroit to give the Bruins a 5-4 victory and their first win in seven games &hellip; Phil Esposito was bothered by an abscessed tooth last week and wound up losing two of his lower teeth before the Bruins left town for games at St. Louis and Detroit. &#9632;

f0014-01

Impending 15-GameTrip Through Cities In NHL May Settle Bruin Finish

<div class="byline">&#x2014; By Bill Libby</div>Blues Quit The SticksQuotes: Scotty Bowman, coach of the St-Louis Blues: &ldquo;If you don&rsquo;t enjoy your work, you don&rsquo;t usually do it very well. I like to make sure that my teams enjoy what they&rsquo;re doing. When we first went into Los Angeles and Oakland this season, for example, we were stuck in hotels miles from anywhere. A guy can go stircrazy in places like that, away from the action. So we began to move closer to the bright lights. These guys are adults and they have to be treated as such. If they abuse the privilege I&rsquo;ll slap on a curfew. But no more staying out in the sticks for me. It&rsquo;s too doggone lonesome.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-02676/3125895-1-eng-US/f0014-022.jpg" title="f0014-02" width="315" height="492"><figcaption class="caption-body">Scotty Bowman</figcaption></div>(When Blues&rsquo; manager Lynn Patrick turned over the coaching reins to Bowman, the St-Louis team was seven games under 500. Since then, under the rookie mentor, the Blues have played four games above 500. Right now, they are the hottest team in the division. And they&rsquo;re having fun.)Larry Regan, manager of the Los Angeles Kings: &ldquo;After a game on the road, the players have 90 minutes in which to return to the hotel. I think the players will get in trouble without a curfew. It&rsquo;s because I want them to realize that they are not individuals, but part of a team. I think the players expect a curfew. I think they want discipline.&rdquo;(The Kings were the hottest team in the expansion division for one third of the season. They slumped severely in the middle third. They have one third left to prove themselves.)Social Notes: The last time Philadelphia played in Toronto, the Flyers&rsquo; rookie goalie Doug Favell bought tickets for around 50 of his family and friends, including his mother, father and fiancee, to come up from his nearby hometown of St-Catharines to see him play in Maple Leaf Gardens. The cool kid backstopped his team to a 2-1 win. Afterwards his girl rushed up and kissed him. &ldquo;Would you believe it?&rdquo; the youngster wondered wistfully later. &ldquo;This was the greatest thrill of my life.&rdquo;The victory or the kiss?In Philadelphia, old Larry Zeidel decided to take his wife, two daughters and son to a game against St-Louis. First Larry was crashed into a goal-post. Then he was rammed into the boards. Then he was kicked. He started to throw punches. Before long, almost everyone on both teams was ripping away at one another Zeidel pause: &ldquo;I thought,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;what a game to bring my kids! What must they think?&rdquo;Asked, son Jay said, &ldquo;Good. Good. Good.&rdquo; Clearly, a chip off the old block-head.Little Howie Looms BigBill Masterton&rsquo;s: unfortunate death was the first in the 51 years of the NHL. The five most dangerous professional sports in the U.S. are motorcycle racing, automobile racing, boxing horse racing and football. The five most dangerous participant sports in the U.S. are hunting scuba and skin diving, boating, swimming and skiing. More than 2,000 hunters will be shot this year. Around 25,000 skiiers will break bones.Chicago&rsquo;s Doug Mohns, who was wearing his son&rsquo;s pee-wee helmet, said after a stick-fight with Boston&rsquo;s Teddy Green: &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think Green would have whacked me the way he did if I had been bareheaded. &ldquo;&hellip; In Chicago, a hard shot hit L.A. goalie Terry Sawchuk in the mask. It either penetrated the holes which are webbed through the mask or pressed part of the mask against one eye. Sawchuk suffered a cut by the eye and severe swelling and mild damage to the eye, sidelining him.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-03531/3125888-1-eng-US/f0014-032.jpg" title="f0014-03" width="308" height="481"><figcaption class="caption-body">Howie Menard</figcaption></div>Howie Menard has sparkled for L.A. since being recalled from the minors. Menard has been around for awhile without getting a chance at the majors because he stands only 5-6 and weighs only 160 pounds. Kings&rsquo; coach Red Kelly can&rsquo;t criticize his play. Menard is so small, Kelly can&rsquo;t find him to watch him. Manager Larry Regan says the only reason he brought Howie up is because he can fly on a child&rsquo;s fare. Asked if Howie was the smallest man in the league, Regan said, &ldquo;Heck he&rsquo;s the smallest man anywhere.&rdquo;When Jim Anderson was called up to L.A. from the minors, he became, at 37, the oldest rookie in the NHL. He played six games without scoring a goal. In his seventh game, he got a goal. The next day he was sent back down &hellip; Philadelphia called young Rosaire Paiement up from the minors for a game. He flew in, but his skates were lost. He found them just before game time. He got on the ice and within two minutes had scored a goal. That night he was returned to the minors.Perhaps it is better not to be noticed.Pilote A Maple Leaf?Here and there: Recently we credited a critical comment on Jack Kent Cooke to Joe i Hendrickson of Pasadena. It belonged to Bud Tucker of San Gabriel. Cooke is bound to be criticized, but he is a gentleman: He has never once corrected us for calling his fabulous Forum Roman-styled. It is Grecian-styled. And he knows &hellip; Blues singer Aretha Franklin drew more than 14,000 fans to the Forum the other night. Her share of the gross for the one night was more than $40,000.Getting booed by ungrateful fans, Chicago&rsquo;s Pierre Pilote would welcome a trade &hellip; To Toronto? &hellip; Toronto&rsquo;s Punch Imlach told his players he would fine them $100 each the next time they lost to an expansion team. They promptly went out and lost to two &hellip; After Philly lost a game, coach Keith Allen smiled and called it, &ldquo;A team effort.&rdquo;&hellip; Before he jumped the Montreal team, injury-ridden troubled 32-year-old Henri Richard had confided to friends this was his his last season. Montreal&rsquo;s feat of winning 12 straight games, within two of Boston&rsquo;s 1930 record, before New York knocked them off, was truly remarkable without Richard. Youth did it. Young goal-tender Rog Vachon was the unsung hero. Toe Blake&rsquo;s club is gaining momentum for the playoffs. If New York could play its playoff games at home on Sunday nights, it would win the Stanley Cup. The Rangers have won 12 straight at home on Sundays. Always on Sunday &hellip; New York writers are outraged over poor press-box facilities in the new Garden &hellip;In years to come Philadelphia hockey fans may never have a greater thrill than its back. to-back Saturday-Sunday conquest of Chicago and Toronto before two sellout crowds of 14,646 at the Spectrum &hellip; A Pittsburgh record turnout of 12,563 saw the Penguins tie Toronto. . And 11,802 turned out to see St. Louis whip lowly Oakland. Hang on, men, hockey is here to stay &hellip; It is not improbable all of this first expansion season&rsquo;s playoff games will be sold out, even in the new cities.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-04384/3125881-1-eng-US/f0014-042.jpg" title="f0014-04" width="315" height="491"><figcaption class="caption-body">Pierre Pilote</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0014-02

Hockey Ad Lib

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0015-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-02683/3125957-1-eng-US/f0015-022.jpg"></div>GRENOBLE, France &ndash;Canada and the United States faced one of the biggest tasks in hockey as they entered the second and final week of the Olympic Hockey Tournament here.Both teams arrived in Grenoble with the hope of winning a medal but after last week&rsquo;s action, their chances of climbing into the charmed medal circle seemed remote.Canada could have remained on even terms with the invincible Russians, Czechoslovakians and Swedes but they came up against a stubborn from Finland who fought to the end probably pulled one of the biggest upsets In world hockey competition.The Finns outmanoeuvred the Canadians at every turn when they met last week and the final result saw Canada skate off the ice on the short end of a 5-2 score.The Americans can almost be written off as medal winners in the tournament.Going into this week&rsquo;s action, they were winless in four games, including a 3-2 loss to Canada, and had scored only eight goals, an average of two per game which really isn&rsquo;t enough to win a hockey game anywhere.However, the U.S. faced the easier part of the schedule this week, with games scheduled against West Germany, East Germany and the Finns.Canada went into the second week with the schedule calling for them to meet the big three: Czechoslovakia, Sweden and Russia.Canada did manage to display that they had the ability to score goals when they clobbered East Germany 11-0 in a game last week.The Russians showed why they are superior to any other teams competing in the tournament by winning all four games last week, scoring 36 goals while giving up only three.The Russians blanked Finland 8-0 and then turned around and shut out East Germany 9-0. Following that they hammered the Americans 10-2 and then walloped West Germany 9-1.Coach Murray Williamson of the U.S. team shook his head following his club&rsquo;s loss to the Russians.&ldquo;They&rsquo;re not good, they&rsquo;re great,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t see anybody beating them.&rdquo;The Soviet win over the U.S. kept alive a winning skein over the Americans that dates back to 1961, the year following the Americans&rsquo; victory at the Squaw Valley Olympics. &#9632;

f0015-02

Canada, U.S. Olympic Hopes Jolted As Russia Shows Early Superiority

<div class="byline">BY VIN CIMINI</div>PROVIDENCE, R.I. -It seems that practically every series of games the Rhode Island Reds have played over the past month has had the &ldquo;crucial&rdquo; label on it. And what&rsquo;s more, if the repetition is beginning to get to you, you&rsquo;d better turn the American Hockey League off until sometime late in April or you&rsquo;ll wind up with a nervous breakdown with what&rsquo;s to come.For the Reds it all began in early January when their general manager, Buster Clegg, described his club&rsquo;s Western tour as, &ldquo;our most important trip of the year, barring none.&rdquo;Important it was, but Buster would have done better to qualify that statement with something along the lines of, &ldquo;most important to date,&rdquo; if he knew how well his Roosters were to do on that trip winning three out of five.It was that swing that set the stage for their next &ldquo;ultissimo&rdquo; endeavor. They responded with two wins and two ties in a four game span and had once again given Dave Creighton the opportunity to utter the word, &ldquo;crucial".This came on a weekend when the Reds were to travel to the ice surface of their keenest rival, Baltimore, and on to Cleveland, before returning to Providence to host the Baltimore Clippers in what turned out to be the game that brought &ldquo;King Hockey&rdquo; back to the Rhode Island scene.Before we get on with how the Reds did on that weekend, it should be noted that while the Reds were battling off their challengers and moving on to new foes, their confidence was building along with their position in the Eastern Division race. This factor, maybe more than anything else, had been the key to the Reds&rsquo; success.&ldquo;When we came back from that Western trip,&rdquo; said Clegg, &ldquo;there was a new air about the team.&ldquo;It was like for the first time, everyone really knew for sure that they could win on the road. That&rsquo;s when they knew that if they worked hard they&rsquo;d be winners.&ldquo;We knew that we had a good hockey team but how good was another thing.&ldquo;The 3-1 game in Hershey that broke the road streak and this Western trip showed us how well we could play and we&rsquo;re proving it every game.&rdquo; &#9632;

Reds Challenge For Lead With Kev Puck Victories

<div class="byline">BY SHEL FULLERTON</div>CLEVELAND, Ohio -What had been a cake-walk through the American Hockey League&rsquo;s Western Division for the Cleveland Barons turned a bit on the nightmarish side when Coach Fred Glover&rsquo;s leers stopped cakewalking and started tailspinning.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-01764/3125926-1-eng-US/f0015-012.jpg" title="f0015-01" width="283" height="493"><figcaption class="caption-body">Fred Glover</figcaption></div>Paraphrasing the oldie, &ldquo;Sam, you made the pants too long!&rsquo;&rsquo; the Barons turned their version into &ldquo;Sam, you made the games too long!&rdquo;In a seven-game span in which they failed to post a single victory, the Barons had several ties turned into losses and several victories turned into ties when rival sharpshooters found the range In the final two minutes of the third period.The result was four losses in a row, followed by three ties, before the Barons could snap back on the winning track with an easy 5-2 win over the Springfield Kings.The winless streak was Cleveland&rsquo;s longest of the season and represented their first slump, which had been overdue. Scarcely ever does a team escape a slump at some point during the season and the Barons had been perking along on high since the very opening of the campaign. Even though the win over Springfield signalled an end to the winless streak, it did not immediately end the Barons&rsquo; problems. The very next night, with a victory over the Providence Reds seemingly in the bag, the Red spushed in the equalizer less than three minutes before the final gong.There was no accounting for the Barons&rsquo; kicking away games at the last minute unless the team unconsciously let down. Glover thinks that it did.He resurrected an old cliche when he indicated that no game is over until the buzzer sounds but that&rsquo;s exactly what he meant. Even when the Barons snapped the streak, asked when he felt that the team had the victory locked up, Glover replied, &ldquo;When there was one second to go and we had a three-goal lead.&rdquo;There is hope that the slump has reached its end. To end it, " Glover reshuffled his lines, going back to earlier successful combinations. It paid off. &#9632;

f0015-01

Barons Hit Unexpected Ice Slump

<div class="byline">BY HANS TANNER</div>ROCHESTER, N.Y. -Since Les Duff joined the Rochester Americans back in the summer of 1963, he has totalled just 34 goals - getting 11 in 1963-64, 11 in &rsquo;64-65, five in 1965-66, three last season and four thus far in 1967-68.Obviously the 33-year-old left wing never will make the American Hockey League record book for his goal-scoring feats, but that doesn&rsquo;t mean he shouldn&rsquo;t be there.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-01599/3126026-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg" title="f0016-01" width="307" height="482"><figcaption class="caption-body">Les Duff</figcaption></div>It&rsquo;s doubtful anybody in the long history of the AHL ever has accomplished in a full season a scoring performance it took Les the space of just 15 days to do.He scored the game-winning goal here against Hershey Jan. 7 and here against Quebec Jan. 21 both while on the ice in a penalty-killing role!And these weren&rsquo;t just goals that wound up being game-winners. They were scored at the tensest of moments for the home club.On the 7th, the Amerks had battled back from a 2-0 deficit to tie Hershey 2-2, but a penalty gave the Bears a chance to take the steam out of Rochester&rsquo;s comeback. Instead, Duff broke in for a goal and the Americans went on for a 9-2 romp.The game of the 21st with Quebec was all knotted 2-2 in the third period when Les took a nice pass from Ted Taylor and roared in to score the go-ahead and game-winner again with a teammate in the penalty box.Oddly, the penalty box occupant this time was Andre Champagne, who normally is relegated to penalty killing chores as Duff&rsquo;s partner up front. But Andre got a chance at even strength and wound up in the box.Scoring goals while on the ice to prevent the opposition from doing that with a man advantage is nothing new for Les. One of his 11 tallies for the Americans in 1963-64 was of this variety, two of his first three in 1964-65 also came with his club short-handed and one of his five in 1965-66 was scored in this situation.So, of Duff&rsquo;s 34 goals as a Rochester American at this writing, six have been scored while killing penalties.Les already considers the 196768 season fortunate for him in one respect.He seems to have had trouble getting past the early part of the campaign in the last couple of seasons starting in odd-number years. Duff suffered a hairline fracture of his left ankle in the fourth game of the &rsquo;63-64 campaign, and was kayoed by an appendix operation after just three games in 1965-66.How They Stand<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-02520/3126019-1-eng-US/f0016-022.jpg" title="f0016-02" width="675" height="1215"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-03417/3126012-1-eng-US/f0016-032.jpg" title="f0016-03" width="2082" height="4148"></div> &#9632;

f0016-01

Penalty Killer Legs Duff Making Habit Of Scoring With Amerks Shorthanded

<div class="byline">BY JOHN TRAVERS</div>HERSHEY, Pa.&mdash;It&rsquo;s been quite a while since the Hershey Bears had so many candidates for all-starrecognition.But there&rsquo;s no question that coach Frank Mathers&rsquo; squad will have at least a halfdozen trader consideration, not to mention two prime candidates for rookie-of-the-year honors in wingers Don Marcotte and Bud Debrody.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-01511/3126078-1-eng-US/f0017-012.jpg" title="f0017-01" width="310" height="489"><figcaption class="caption-body">Don Marcotte</figcaption></div>On the backline there&rsquo;s Ralph Keller, Barry Ashbee and Mike Mahoney, a trio of defensemen who can stack up to any in the American League.&ldquo;Ashbee has had a tremendous season,&rdquo; said Bears&rsquo; captain Mike Nykoluk, the league&rsquo;s most valuable player last season. &ldquo;Barry satout all last year after a back operation and he&rsquo;s returned to really do a great job.&ldquo;A lot of people overlook Barry because he&rsquo;s not a flashy player,&rdquo; added Nykoluk. &ldquo;He deserves recognition, and the same goes for Keller and Mahoney.&rdquo;If there was such an award as the &ldquo;Most Unheralded Player&rdquo; it would have to go to Chuck Hamilton, who was converted from wing to defense by Mathers this season. The veteran performer has done an amazing job at his new position. Not only that he&rsquo;s taking the odd turn on the forward lines along with killing penalties.At the rate goalie Andre Gill has been playing he could easily retain his first team all-star berth. Should the Bears hold on to their Eastern Division title, the little guy will have to be considered for the MVP prize. Since his return early in January from a brief stand with the Boston Bruins, he&rsquo;s backstopped the club to seven wins and two ties while losing only twice. That figures to 16 out of a possible 22 points.Nykoluk, Roger Dejordy, Bob Leiter, Myron Stankiewicz, along with Debrody and Marcotte, have all played well and merit all-star attention.&ldquo;Right now,&rdquo; said Mathers, &ldquo;Marcotte is the best rookie in the league. He and Debrody are two of the best rookies, if not the best, we&rsquo;ve had since I&rsquo;ve been at Hershey. It should be Interesting to watch the play of these two kids going to the wire. They&rsquo;re both eager to win the award, one prize no Hershey player ever won.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-03378/3126071-1-eng-US/f0017-032.jpg" title="f0017-03" width="630" height="634"><figcaption class="caption-body">BARRY ASHBEE &hellip; Spectacular Year</figcaption></div>Mathers won&rsquo;t be pinned against the wall, but there&rsquo;s no question he feels the 1967-68 Bears outfit could eventually turn out to be one of the strongest ever iced here. At last count, the club was the league&rsquo;s most potent offensively, while boasting the best defensive mark. One would have to go back to the late 1950&rsquo;s when Hershey iced two teams that won the Calder Cup two years in a row to find comparable units to this aggregation, one that has youth, experience thoughness, and speed.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-04297/3126064-1-eng-US/f0017-042.jpg" title="f0017-04" width="638" height="626"><figcaption class="caption-body">ANDRE GILL &hellip; May Be All-Star Again</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-02456/3126057-1-eng-US/f0017-022.jpg" title="f0017-02" width="661" height="1150"></div> &#9632;

f0017-01

Bears Boast Some Half Dozen Hopefuls For All-Star Teams

<div class="byline">BY CHARLEY BARTON</div>BUFFALO. N.Y. -Larry Wilson planned to play the closing quarter of the American Hockey League season with a sore back but, as the Buffalo Bisons&rsquo; elder statesman says, it beats not playing at all.Muscle spasms in his back put Wilson in hospital for a week, forced him to sit out 16 games and severely restricted his movement. He rejoined the club in a 1-0 loss at Rochester, and drew praise from Coach Fred Shero.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve never seen Larry throw as many body-checks as he did in that game,&rdquo; Shero said. &rsquo;I hadn&rsquo;t planned to use him a great deal, but when he started out so well, and was hitting so often, I played him regularly.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-06207/3126109-1-eng-US/f0017-062.jpg" title="f0017-06" width="290" height="490"><figcaption class="caption-body">Larry Wilson</figcaption></div>&ldquo;It might have been his best game of the season. He didn&rsquo;t complain afterward, and looked good in every way. &ldquo;Wilson said his back bothered him when he arose the following morning, but added the pain eased as the day wore on.&ldquo;It was sore during the game, but at least I was able to straighten up.&rdquo; I couldn&rsquo;t do that before, and that was the big problem.&ldquo;I still can&rsquo;t straighten up in a hurry, but I can straighten up.&ldquo;I ran into a couple of guys in Rochester. I know I hit Dick Gamble several times. Let&rsquo;s face it, it was a scoreless hockey game until the last minute, and it was a shame for us to lose that one.&rdquo;Wilson, on skates only three or four times in the past month, was short of conditioning, and hopes to regain his top form in competition.&ldquo;After training camp, the only way to remain in condition is by playing,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I want to play. The back is sore, but I hate to sit out.&rdquo;ALONG THE BOARDS&mdash; Don Altman and Ray Weil, co-chairman of the Frank Christie Night program, said they were pleased with the progress of the event. Christie, scheduled to be honored Feb, 9 after 21 seasons as the Bisons&rsquo; trainer, was assured of a flock of gifts, including a new station wagon &hellip; Guy Trottier was in Deaconess Hospital here after surgery to repair cartilage damage in his left knee. The rookie right-winger may be able to resume skating in mid-March. &#9632;

f0017-06

Wilson Shows Old Form Despite Back Problems

<div class="byline">BY CHUCK SANTANIELLO</div>SPRINGFIELD, Mass.-The AHL schedule maker has been good to the Kings. The final six weeks of the season, starting Feb. 24, the club plays just 14 games, with 9 of them at home and only five on the road to finish out the Kings &rsquo; season.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-05245/3126140-1-eng-US/f0017-052.jpg" title="f0017-05" width="310" height="471"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jacques Caron</figcaption></div>Well the schedule might help the locals at that for they have their trouble winning games away from home. Perhaps the moment of truth comes on the three-game road trip. March 24, the team is in Rochester. March 26, they visit Baltimore and close out March 27 in Hershey.The Springfield Kings Booster Club is a bunch of hardy people. Some 39 of them visited Baltimore in late January. They bussed it some seven hours from here. Heading the group was Booster Club president Dick Hafey and Jim McDonald, vice president.To save tiring future trips, the Boosters will look into flying costs. The club started back in 1954. They are a tough bunch of travelers who have followed the many good and poor Springfield teams on the road for years. They visited every AHL city but Quebec. They&rsquo;ll hit that one next season.One of the more prominent people in the Booster Club is Sandy Wymers of Palmer, who used to be club president and has been actively engaged in affairs they have sponsored during the many years.The Boosters plan many social affairs and banquets for the Kings throughout the season, including a Christmas party and the final, breakup dinner when the season has been completed.If and when the Kings make the playoffs, the local Booster Club will travel on a regular basis to follow the club. They have to be hardy souls, for they&rsquo;ve made those long bus trips to Cleveland, Buffalo, Pittsburgh.We ran into some faithful box seat rooters for the Kings in section 24 at the Coliseum. We mean Charlotte Wrona and Rita Dias, both from Ludlow. They are solid rooters for the Kings and really enjoy themselves at the games, typical of local fans.At this writing, Jacques Caron has been re-called to LA due to another injury to goalie Terry Sawchuck. He&rsquo;ll be there two weeks. It leaves George Wood with the job here. Bob Perani from Muskegon in his likely backup man. No player help has come as yet from Los Angeles.AHL Point Race &#9632;

f0017-05

AHL Schedule Windup Favorable For Kings

<div class="byline">BY JOHN WHITE</div>SEATTLE. Wash. -Making money in the stock market is a snap. Just buy stocks when they&rsquo;re low in price and sell &rsquo;em when they&rsquo;re high.The problem, obviously, is to know whether they&rsquo;re going to climb or dive.And that, if you&rsquo;ll stick around for a minute, is the story of the Seattle Totems&rsquo; season in the Western Hockey League.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-01515/3126192-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg" title="f0018-01" width="269" height="483"><figcaption class="caption-body">Earl Heiskala</figcaption></div>The Totems, bidding for a first regular-season title since &rsquo;59, have been the hottest team in the league &hellip; then the coldest &hellip; then the hottest &hellip; then the coldest &hellip;None of this win one, lose one, win one stuff for the Totes! They either win a bunch or lose a bunch. Nothing in between.Seattle started the season by going unbeaten in 10 straight to set a Western League record. Coach Bill Mac Far land laughs it up.The next eight straight games produce two Seattle victories and six defeats. Mac Farland is not laughing.Then it&rsquo;s four victories in five games, and we&rsquo;re on our way, boys. But the hot streak is followed by four straight defeats.Getting the picture? It&rsquo;s not over, either. Seattle then wins five out of six. Now we&rsquo;re really on our way.Oops! The Totems next play seven in a row without winning once. So they&rsquo;re out of it? Nope, they finish out January with four straight victories.Any hockey club as erratic as the Totems obviously has had some problems.Goaltending?Nope! You hardly can fault Don Head when his goals-against average in early February is 2.32 &mdash; below the Western League&rsquo;s all time season low of 2.40.And Jim Armstrong at 3.04 hasn&rsquo;t hurt that much.Toughness?Naw, the Totems still were tough, leading the league in minors, majors and total penalty minutes trademarks of last season&rsquo;s Lester Patrick Cup champions.Bad road club?Quite to the contrary, Seattle in early February boasted the best road record (9-11-2) in the whole Western League.Well, there must be something!The big reasons seemed in early February to be these: First, a tendency to let down on home ice; second, a tendency to let down in third periods; third, and most important, a suddenly impotent attack.Taking &rsquo;em one at a time:After six home games this season, Seattle was unbeaten. The next 17 games in Seattle Center Coliseum produced 9 victories and 8 defeats. Three of Seattle&rsquo;s four hot streaks, in fact, had ended in front of home fans. Championship contenders must do better.Third periods? In their first 18 defeats, Seattle outscored opponents only twice in final periods. That alone is the difference between first and second place.And goal-scoring?In 16 defeats since November 18 the Totems had been shut out five times and had sniped a grand although Coach MacFarland wouldn&rsquo;t like that choice of words total of just 19 goals.You could have Terry Sawchuk, Johnny Bower and Bill Durnan playing goal at the same time and find it a little difficult to win when you&rsquo;re averaging 1.19 goals a contest on offense.Individually, some of the slumps were astounding.Cleland Mortson, always a high scorer in the American Hockey League, started the season as though he was going to love the West.Mortson scored 21 points in his first 20 games and ranked in the League&rsquo;s top 10.In his next 25 games he produced exactly 4 points &mdash; all on assists.Rugged Earl Heiskala was a puzzle. As a rookie two years ago, the hard-rock winger scored 8 goals. Last season he sniped 18. He started this campaign with 12 goals in his first 20 games &mdash; a 40-goals-a-season pace &mdash; and the big question seemed to be whether Seattle could hold off National League expansionists.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-02418/3126185-1-eng-US/f0018-022.jpg" title="f0018-02" width="606" height="772"><figcaption class="caption-body">DON HEAD&hellip; Holding Up In Goal</figcaption></div>In his next 25 games, Heiskala added exactly 4 goals to his season total.There were lesser problems.Guyle Fielder collected 42 points in 43 games and certainly was producing in the clutch with a game-winning assist in 10 of Seattle&rsquo;s first 23 victories to lead the Western League.But Fielder is a victim of his own brilliance. A point-a-game pace is not up to par for the all time scoring champion of the WHL.You couldn&rsquo;t say Larry Lund was having a really bad season with 31 points, including 11 goals, in 41 games in which he had been bothered by injuries. But he certainly would have to explode in the stretch to match his 34-38-72 record of last year.Bill Dineen started with 15 goals in 30 games &mdash; ahead of his pace last season when he sniped a career high of 32 goals. Then Dineen could collect only 4 goals in his next 15 contests.MacFarland couldn&rsquo;t ask much more offensively from veterans Charlie Holmes or Gerry Leonard.Holmes started February with 16 goals &mdash; two more than he scored in the entire season last year, six more than he scored with Portland in 1965-66.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-03314/3126178-1-eng-US/f0018-032.jpg" title="f0018-03" width="693" height="1605"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-04244/3126171-1-eng-US/f0018-042.jpg" title="f0018-04" width="2057" height="1406"></div><h2>Vancouver Crowd Average Hits 9,110</h2>VANCOUVER. B.C.-The new coliseum of the Vancouver Canucks continues to pack in the fans in this hockey-crazy western Canadian metropolis.The first six games in the new arena drew 54,659 fans &mdash; an average of 9,110 a contest, higher than the average of the Western Hockey League&rsquo;s season attendance leader. San Diego.Most remarkably, these fans have been attracted despite a last place hockey club.The only problem has been that the Canucks, on the Ice, have continued to write the same sad story that has hurt most of the Western League at the gate this season.The two biggest crowds were 12,403 and 10,609 &mdash; a combined turnout of 23,012That&rsquo;s right! The Canucks lost both games - 4-2 to Providence and 4-3 to Hershey.American Hockey League dominance?Heck no. The Canucks won four of the five other games played at home against AHL opponents. &#9632;

f0018-01

Erratic Offense Costs Seattle Away

PORTLAND. ORE. -Portland Buckaroo Captain Art Jones, perhaps affected by the death of Bill Masterton, has put on a helmet for the first time in his 11 professional seasons.Now Jones wonders why he waited so long.In his first game with a helmet, the veteran center scored the first goal and the game-winning goal in a 3-2 victory over Phoenix.In his second game, he earned three assists in a 7-0 triumph over Hershey.In his third game, he scored three assists, Including the game-winner in overtime, as the Buckaroos nipped Vancouver. 4-3.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-02424/3126254-1-eng-US/f0019-022.jpg" title="f0019-02" width="298" height="475"><figcaption class="caption-body">Art Jones</figcaption></div>Three games with a helmet &mdash; eight points.And Jones moved into second place in the Western League scoring race 53 points in 46 contests. He also scored his 350th WHL goal and collected his 900th point to reach two personal milestones. &#9632;

f0019-02

Jones Nets 350th WHL Goll After Swinging To Helmet

<div class="byline">by MATT DENNIS</div>FORT WORTH. Tex.-It&rsquo;s great to be back after playing 10 games in 15 days but my boys were able to play. 500 hockey and I can&rsquo;t really complain, &rsquo;&rsquo;said Fern Flaman of the Fort Worth Wings still engaged in a tussle with the Oklahoma City Blazers for first place in the Southern Division of the Central Professional Hockey League. A stock show and rodeo sent the Wings to the road.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-01340/3126299-1-eng-US/f0020-012.jpg" title="f0020-01" width="295" height="483"><figcaption class="caption-body">Dave Rochefort</figcaption></div>After 48 games, the Wings had coralled 57 points, one less than the Blazers who had a game in hand.Looking at his club, Flaman said, &ldquo;The return of Warren Godfrey has given us more solidity on defence. He is a veteran with that National League experience behind him and doesn&rsquo;t make many mistakes. He is a defenseman all right but he is a strong playmaker from back of that blueline and can make that pass to send a forward away.Flaman also looked at the improvement of center Dave Rochefort with pleasure noting, &ldquo;Dave&rsquo;s always been one of my hardest workers and it was only a question of time until he got that puck into the net. He&rsquo;s now got 12 goals and 12 assists over 44 games and coming right along. He&rsquo;s getting key goals now that can pull the club up.&rdquo;OKLAHOMA CITY-Coach Murray Davison is finally getting all his club on ice beating a siege of injuries that had persisted since the opening of season.Jean Pronovost has returned after a six-week absence with a broken ankle; Garn Bailey missed six weeks and then another 10 days with a knee injury and Barry Gibbs was back on defence after suffering a severe ankle sprain.Captain John Arbour rejoined the Blazers after being called to Boston Bruins as an injury replacement for Bobby Orr.Rookie pivotman Jim Lorentz kept up his battle with Len Haley of Tulsa for the lead in the league point race and after both had played 47 games, Lorentz showed 24 goals and 29 assists to Haley&rsquo;s 21 goals and 32 assists both marks good enough for 53 points.TULSA &mdash; The Oilers were giving away nothing going 15 games without a defeat to set a new league record and were 12 points up on the Kansas City Blues in their effort to nail down first place in the league&rsquo;s Northern Division.Goalie Al Smith returned to the club from Toronto and was the leading netminder in the circuit with a 2.74 mark, shading Dennis Gibson of the Oklahoma City Blazers.Ron Ward tied a league record coming up with six assists in a single game. The half dozen points came on Tulsa ice as the Oilers rapped Dallas, 12-3.KANSAS CITY-Goalie Don Caley registered his first shutout of the season blanking Omaha Knights, 7-0 in his 37th game of the campaign.Gary Veneruzzo was the top point-getter for the Blues showing 17 goals and 31 assists in 46 games and he was trailed by George Guilbault with 20 goals and 24 assists.Over their first 22 appearances before home fans in the American Royal Arena, the Blues attracted 100,605 paying fans through the turnstiles.Max MestinSek returned to the Blues lineup and Harvey was pleased with his progress showing four goals and six assists. Injured in an off-season automobile accident, it might be playoff time before he hits his previous top form.DALLAS &mdash; Coach Bob Kromm suspended forward Mike Chernoff for the balance of the 1967-68 season.Al Lebrun had to take time off with a bruised thigh muscle.Brian McDonald remained as the Black Hawks top pointgetter with 14 goals and 29 assists for 43 points followed by Bob Schmautz with 19 goals and 20 assists.The Black Hawks showed 53,186 as attendance over their first 23 home games in the midst of the football frenzy that sweeps Dallas every fall and through a big part of the hockey season.HOUSTON &mdash; Claude Larose was sent to the Apollos from Montreal in order to lend more experience and power to the attack as coach Ray Kinasewich&rsquo;s crew bids for third place and a playoff berth.Rookie Chris Bordeleau was the top point-getter for the Apollos showing 16 goals and 21 assists for 37 points in 49 games.Carol Vadnais has been a strong defenceman in front of both goalies Rocky Farr and Ernie Wakely and Paul Curtis, Danny Sharpe and Murray Flegel, all rookies look to him to help them inprove their play.Bryan Watson remained the top penalty-getter in the loop serving 188 minutes.MEMPHIS-Goalie Lynn Zimmerman who played for Charlotte in the Eastern Amateur League last season has helped Chuck Goddard carry the netminding load for the South Stars and recorded a pair of shutouts in his first five outings.Bob Charlebois was the top point-getter for Johnny Muckier&rsquo;s Wings with 23 goals and 22 assists for 45 points over 43 games. Germain Gagnon follows with 42, three more than Leo Thiffault and Sandy Fitzpatrick.OMAHA &mdash; Cal Purinton returned to the Knights&rsquo; lineup after sitting out a back injury.Rearguard Doug Barrie was trying to adjust after suffering a hairline thumb fracture.Ken Gustafson was giving help to the club since he joined the Knights on loan from San Diego.Coach Steve Brklacich put Gustafson, who attends San Diego State College in the offseason, on a line with rookies Bill Fairbairn and Juha Widing.&ldquo;Widing and Fairbairn can really skate and it&rsquo;s great playing with them.How They Stand<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-02254/3126292-1-eng-US/f0020-022.jpg" title="f0020-02" width="736" height="1734"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-03211/3126285-1-eng-US/f0020-032.jpg" title="f0020-03" width="2788" height="2445"></div> &#9632;

f0020-01

Wings Stay In Fight With Good Road Record

<div class="byline">BY HARVEY POLLACK</div>NEW HAVEN, Conn. &mdash;If there is one thing that New Haven Blades fans like, it is a winner. And they respond to such a club by supporting it handsomely in Eastern Hockey League competition.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-02143/3126358-1-eng-US/f0021-022.jpg" title="f0021-02" width="286" height="480"><figcaption class="caption-body">Don Perry</figcaption></div>As a consequence of the team&rsquo;s second place status in the Northern Division and its colorful style of play, the Blades have taken a new lease on life this season both at the gate and in the standings. Coach Don Perry has his team hustling at home and on the road and battling to stave off any bid by Johnstown to catch them for second place.Some 4,000 fans were ecstatic as the Blades beat Clinton here for their first win of the year over the Comets. The triumph was noteworthy in that the Blades now know that Clinton can be beaten and that they can be taken in the playoffs. There is no hope of catching the Comets in the regular race but the playoffs are something else again.Perry is so content with his personnel that he has forgotten any ideas of seeking help to shore up his team for the stretch and the playoffs. &ldquo;Since these guys never stop hustling, there is no reason to drop anyone,&rdquo; says the popular skipper.One of Perry&rsquo;s favorites is Ron Hergott, the veteran forward who is currently shooting for the 100-point mark. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s passing and checking well and I only have to get him to shoot more. He&rsquo;s the best shot in the league and better than 75 percent of the shooters in the NHL.&rdquo;Another winger to get a boost from Perry, who is the back-slapping type of coach instead of the critical one, is Jean Marie Nicol, the youngster who has been coming along with a flourish. Don had to caution the lad at first about his one-man forays through the opposition. Now he is playing his position, checking and not panicking.JOHNSTOWN: Wayne Wilson dropped after playing 45 games in his rookie year at wing. Jets set AHA and club records with 3 goals in 23 seconds, 4 in 42 and n in 1:26 vs Jersey. Reg Kent, the northern scoring leader, posted hat trick vs Devils. John Gofton has cleared 50 goals mark and Kent is past the 90 assist mark. Jets celebrated 1,300th game since formation with win. Jets have lost six straight at Long Island. Coach Dick Roberge bothered by shoulder ailment.KNOXVILLE: Frank Dafferner has taken over as GM and relieved Dave Patterson, the volunteer interim GM, of his duties. Ken Rodgers who was waived to Salem failed to report. Bob Stoyko alter refusing to take a salary cut has returned to school at North Dakota U. Ken Schutz lost four teeth from a stick. Knights trying all sorts of promotions to attain 2.2011 average needed to stop the club from losing money. Chances of playoffs are slim.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-03101/3126351-1-eng-US/f0021-032.jpg" title="f0021-03" width="598" height="642"><figcaption class="caption-body">RON HERGOTT &hellip; Apploe O Laude By Coach</figcaption></div>SYRACUSE: Blazers have changed coaches again with Wayne Caufield getting heave ho after 17-0 rout by New Haven. Carlos Longarini and Ray Adduono are serving as cocoaches. Largest crowd of 2,447 saw New Haven game. Team continues to fare fairly well at home but gets routed on road. Goalie Roger Wilson in and out of lineup with injuries and trainer Porky Palmer, George Mohr and Norm Parrish all got shot at cage chores. New defenseman is Ron Ircha. Benny Greco fractured his wrist. Wilson needed four stitches to finger laceration. Adduono close approching 100-point mark!SALEM: Rebels have been stomped twice lately with 15-goal outbursts by Greensboro and Nashville. Coach Dave Lucas helped Rebels win exhibition vs Jacksonville at West Palm Beach. Club finding it next to impossible to win on the road but has fair success at home. Team has less wins than any EHL entry and also has scored less goals.CHARLOTTE: Art Hart frustrated five times in one game by Knoxville&rsquo;s goalie Gaye Cooley who stopped five dead-on shots by Hart. Barry Simpson is club&rsquo;s top scorer but he may be overtaken by Claude Ouimet, the early leader until sidelined by injuries. Jim Lane and Ted Baylis form fine defensive twosome for Checkers. Largest Tuesday crowd in two years, 4,111, saw Greensboro tie. Rick Foley menacing Pat Kellys&rsquo; league record of 73 points for a defenseman.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-0486/3126344-1-eng-US/f0021-042.jpg" title="f0021-04" width="603" height="640"><figcaption class="caption-body">JEAN MARIE NICOL &hellip; Boosted By Perry</figcaption></div>FLORIDA. Poor turnout for team&rsquo;s exhibition at West Palm Beach. Ron Willy posted hat trick in win over Knoxville after Bob Mullins had three goals vs Greensboro. A punch by Greensboro&rsquo;s Stu Roberts loosened Willy&rsquo;s front tooth. Big crowd of 4,894 cheered Rockets win over Gens&hellip; Coach Bob Sabourin says goalie Harrison Gray&rsquo;s instructions to his defensemen have been solid. Talk here that franchise may be in danger caused a fast rise in attendance.NASHVILLE: Wally Sprange has widened his lead over Don Carter in southern scoring race. Gil St. Jacques moved to line with Sprange and Wayne Clairmont. Attendance off here. Flyers broke loose for 15 goals vs Salem. Norm Ryder and Leo Oliver working on play of rookie defensmen Wayne Spooner and Andre Aubrey. Prexy Mark Parrish expects Flyers to lose money this year but says team will be back.NEW HAVEN: Goalie Al Johnstone hit his peak on his 21st birthday to hold Clinton to one goal in Blades win. Long Island and Blades had wingding that took 25 minutes to settle. Ray Carpentier giving Ron Hergott a close battle for team scoring laurels. Johnstown, Clinton and Long Island draw big here with Jersey and Syracuse the weak sisters at the gate. Don Walker was hit in practice and had two black eyes as souvenirs.JERSEY: Fred Bassi and Reggie Meserve each posted hat trick in one of few routs of year for Devils over Syracuse. Newcomer Bob Peters has helped defense. Reggie bothered by twisted knee. Goalie Andre Daoust is being bombarded in virtually every game to account for his goals allowed average being above six per contest. Ted Szydlowski and Ray Crew playing despite mishaps.LONG ISLAND: Ducks had to rally from 4-0 deficit to tie Syracuse. Center Ed Lawson used on backline during defensive Emergency. Butch Morris sidelined with ankle injury. A fan tried to join fight on ice between Ducks and New Haven and fortunately escaped unscathed. Les Calder shooting for club mark of 57 goals and Dwight Winters after club mark of 118 points.GREENSBORO: Trainer Bob Smith doing fine job in cage in sub role for John Voss who has slumped after doing well all year. Bob Sicinski&rsquo;s puckstealing has been sensational. Gens&rsquo; 15 goals vs Salem one below club record. Ron Muir hit his 400th goal. Rick Morris and Stu Roberts had hat tricks. Smith had 57-saver vs Charlotte. Don Carter has lost southern scoring lead but still paces Gens.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-01197/3126337-1-eng-US/f0021-012.jpg" title="f0021-01" width="712" height="4600"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-01217/3126330-1-eng-US/f0022-012.jpg" title="f0022-01" width="760" height="4529"></div> &#9632;

f0021-02

Steady Wins, Good Fans Stimulant For New Haven’s Aroused Blades

<div class="byline">BY BOB REED</div>MUSKEGON, Mich.&mdash;To Pierre LeBlanc, rookie right winger of the Muskegon Mohawks goes the honor of recording the first five-goal game of the International Hockey League season.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-02153/3126396-1-eng-US/f0022-022.jpg" title="f0022-02" width="291" height="503"><figcaption class="caption-body">Pierre LeBlanc</figcaption></div>Le Blanc&rsquo;s high-scoring performance happened in a game at Columbus in which both clubs were popping in goals at a rapid-fire rate. So LeBlanc&rsquo;s five goals were the deciding margin in a game won by the Mohawks, 10-8. He had the hat trick in the first two periods, then connected for two more in the third, including the winner.LeBlanc was only one short of the league record of six, held by four different players. There have been a couple of four-goal games this season, by Mery Dubchak of Fort Wayne and John Annable of Des Moines.This outstanding performance by the Mohawk rookie emphasizes the success the Muskegon club has had this season with its new and youthful players. The Mohawks started the season with only four veterans of IHL play back &mdash; Bryan McLay, Joe Kastelic, Jean-Guy Lagace and Lome Weighill, who was later sold to Dayton.They later added Carl Brewer and Harry Pidhirny, veterans of many years in pro hockey but they still have only five veterans, about half of what most of the other clubs have.Coaches Moose Lallo and Brewer have been given credit for developing the young talent that has been assembled by Jerry De-Lise, board chairman and Frank Gallagher, administrative coordinator.FORT WAYNE- MeryDubchak got back into the game and scored his first goal in Muskegon, where he had broken his leg on Dec. 8. .. After 48 games the Komets were about even with last season in the loss column but the difference was in tie games, where they had eight, against one last season &hellip; Doug Reid had a two-goal game that beat Des Moines, 4-3&hellip; Komet attendance was 110,733 for 25 home games.DES MOINES- Rich Brown had a shoulder broken in a game at Dayton and is probably lost for the season &hellip; Coach Howie Milford added several new players &mdash; Gary Mork, from Port Huron and Steve Keller, from the University of Denver, who had a goal in his first game &hellip; The Oak Leafs broke a string of nine games without a victory by beating Port Huron, 5-3.DAYTON &mdash; The Gems went ahead in the season series with top rival Muskegon, 4-2-2, by handing the Mohawks their first defeat on home ice since Dec. 8. .. Don Westbrooke passed Mohawk Gary Ford in their see-saw race for league scoring honors &hellip; Bob Regis, who has had head and eye injuries, started wearing a helmet.PORT HURON- The Flags secured right wing Meehan Bonnar from Dayton and were expecting defenseman Jack Hendrickson, who played the last three seasons with Los Angeles in the Western League. They were giving a week&rsquo;s trial to Bob Walton, younger brother of Toronto&rsquo;s Mike Walton &hellip; The Flags were basing their hopes on a home schedule the rest of the way of 14 out of 21.COLUMBUS- The largest crowd in Checker history &mdash; 5,473 &mdash; turned out for City Hall Night and saw them beat the Blades, 5-2. .. Nelson Tremblay had a hat trick in the game &hellip; Goalie Gordon Dibley returned to the nets after missing 19 games with an eye injury.TOLEDO &mdash; The Blades drew a crowd of 5,703, largest in Toledo since 1948, for a game with Columbus &hellip; Defenseman Joe Kiss and forward Yves Caouette, secured in trade from Des Moines, were helping the Blades. Caouette had his second goal in two games &hellip; The Blades took sole possession of third place by winning six of their last eight.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-03131/3126389-1-eng-US/f0022-032.jpg" title="f0022-03" width="1371" height="1133"></div> &#9632;

f0022-02

Muskegon Winning With Young Skaters; Mohawks’ Rookie Fires Five-Goal Game

<div class="byline">BY JACK GATECLIFF</div>ST. CATHARINES, Ont. &ndash;With only a month left in the Ontario Hockey Association junior A schedule only two teams seem to be assured of their present positions.Ottawa 67s, despite winning their fourth game of the season 4-1 over St. Catharines Black Hawks, are destined to finish last in their first season in the Ontario circuit.The Black Hawks, barring a sudden collapse or a surge from one of the teams below them are stranded in sixth place.However all other spots are wide open.Kitchener Rangers, with perhaps the greatest array of future National Hockey League talent in the league, have taken over first place from Niagara Falls Flyers but are still being threatened by Montreal Canadiens, the Flyers, Toronto Marlboros and the steady if unspectacular Hamilton Red Wings.Hamilton, coached by former NHL defenseman Eddie Bush, made the largest gain during the week with three consecutive victories over Toronto (4-2), Peterborough (4-3) and London (7-5) and are outside threats to catch any of the front-runners.However at the moment it appears as if the pennant may develop into a battle between Kitchener and Montreal.After being held to a 3-3 tie in Peterborough, the Rangers trounced the Petes 8-3, then defeated Niagara Falls 7-3.The Canadiens dropped only their second home game 6-3 to Toronto Marlboros before another near-capacity crowd at the Forum, then bounced back to take London 7-2.Peterborough and Oshawa are locked up in a life and death struggle for the final eighth playoff position.Although neither team has won consistently, the Petes earned a single point with their unexpected draw with Kitchener and Oshawa picked up three points with a 5-2 win over London and a 6-6 tie with St. Catharines, both on home ice.The Generals appeared to have the Hawks beaten with a 6-2 lead late in the third period but gave up four consecutive goals and had to settle for the draw.All-Star InjuryApproximately 2,600 fans turned out to the annual all-star game in Niagara Falls with the proceeds going into a special fund for injured players.After spotting the Eastern selects a 4-0 lead the western team came back to take a 5-4 decision, scoring their tying and winning goals in the third period.The game was not without its unfortunate side as St. Catharines Black Hawks lost the services of their captain and top defenseman Barry Salovaara in the final period.Salovaara collided with Jim Krulicki of Kitchener, suffered torn ligaments in his right knee and will miss the remaining St. Catharines games.Also a fine junior lacrosse defenceman Salovaara was expected to play in the newly-organized professional lacrosse league but may be forced to sit out the summer season as well.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-01195/3126441-1-eng-US/f0023-012.jpg" title="f0023-01" width="646" height="695"><figcaption class="caption-body">BARRYSALOVAARA &hellip; Lost For Season</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-02154/3126434-1-eng-US/f0023-022.jpg" title="f0023-02" width="1345" height="995"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-03122/3126427-1-eng-US/f0023-032.jpg" title="f0023-03" width="671" height="702"></div> &#9632;

f0023-01

Kitchener-Montreal ‘Showdown’ Looms For First Place In Loop

<div class="byline">BY CLEM KEALEY</div>OTTAWA, Ont. -For many members of Ottawa 67s, flrst-year entry in the OHA Junior A Hockey League, this hockey season will be one they&rsquo;d just as soon forget.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/c0004-0186/3126479-1-eng-US/c0004-012.jpg" title="C0004-01" width="308" height="457"><figcaption class="caption-body">Bill Long</figcaption></div>After 42 of the team&rsquo;s 54 scheduled games 67&rsquo;s statistics are an unflattering four wins, three ties and 35 losses. There may be a team in organized hockey with a more anemic output but 67s will do until another is uncovered.Those statistics aren&rsquo;t usually designed to engender optimism in team owners or put fans in the rink. But there are few wet eyes among owners of the Capital City entry and spectators have been turning out for league games in surprising numbers.Perhaps the biggest reason for the satisfactory attendance (average 3,000 for team&rsquo;s first 19 games) and the optimistic outlook adopted by team owners has been the outstanding play of right-winger Pierre Jarry.Jarry, like every other member on 67&rsquo;s roster except two is eligible to play again next year and already he has NHL scouts drooling in anticipation of his graduation date from junior ranks.While the team has managed very little in its 42 games, Jarry&rsquo;s individual contribution has been nothing less than staggering. The Montreal native who hopes to be drafted by an NHL expansion team in the summer of 1969 has already scored 30 goals &mdash; sixth highest total in the entire 10-team league. The Ottawa club has only engineered 75 goals to this point in the schedule, so Jarry counting his 10 assists, has been instrumental in more than half the total.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/c0004-0265/3126472-1-eng-US/c0004-022.jpg" title="C0004-02" width="565" height="582"><figcaption class="caption-body">PIERRE JARRY &hellip; Lone Bright Spot</figcaption></div>Bill Long knew before he ever took over the coaching chores of Ottawa last fall that this was going to be a frustrating season. Starting from scratch is a tall order in any league and an almost impossible mission in such a formidable grouping as the OHA represents..But even Long has had his moments of satisfaction this year and Jarry has provided many of them.&ldquo;Oh&rdquo; moaned Long recently after another disappointing loss &ldquo;if I only had 15 Jarrys out there. We wouldn&rsquo;t be anywhere near where we are now (deep in the basement).&rdquo;What&rsquo;s Jarry got that most of the other 67s and most of the other players in the league for that matter, haven&rsquo;t?Well first off he&rsquo;s up to his eyeballs in hockey. While most teenagers his age might be thumbing through the latest copy of Playboy, Pierre&rsquo;s reading habits consist solely of hockey material: THE HOCKEY NEWS, HOCKEY PICTORIAL, if there&rsquo;s a hockey player on the cover Jarry&rsquo;s a customer.Secondly Jarry has, that sometimes undefinable knack, of being able to score goals. He&rsquo;d also be a better than average playmaker if 67&rsquo;s had two other goal-scorers to match him with.Then too as Long says &ldquo;you know there are very few forwards in the league who carry the puck as well as Pierre does.&rdquo;Like the famous Rocket, Jarry is a left-hand shot although he plays the right side. 67s were tipped off to Jarry by NHL scout Cliff Fletcher and they&rsquo;ve been indebted to him ever since.Jarry started last season with Sherbrooke in the Quebec Provincial League. He scored 18 goals and assisted on 15 others but after 26 games the team folded operations. He then went to St. Catharines but, due to branch transfer limitations, was declared ineligible.Like many great goalscorers, Pierre started his career as a goaltender.In the 1963-64 season while playing nets for the Laval College midgets, Pierre decided to abandon the crease for a forward position. He has never regretted the switch. &#9632;

Search for your favorite player or team

February 17, 1968

Spokane Jets Flying Too High For Rest of Teams In Loop

Defense Seen Key To Kings’ Playoff Hopes

REAY SAYS HABS TOO HOT TO HANDLE

National Hockey League Summaries