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 24, 1968

The Hockey News February 24, 1968

<div class="byline">BY JOHN TRAVERS</div>HERSHEY, Pa. &ndash;The Hershey Bears used Western Hockey League opponents as a springboard to the top of the ladder in the American League&rsquo;s Eastern Division title race.Coach Frank Mathers&rsquo; charges returned from a five-game swing through West Coast cities with three wins to their credit, the victories vaulting them into first place in the east division.Only last month Hershey was camped in second place, r trailing the Springfield Kings by a dozen points.However, since Jan. 1 the Bears ran off 11 wins and two ties in 19 games to pass the Kings, whose ranks were depleted by player recalls by the parent National League Los Angeles club.During the western swing John Henderson came on in relief of regular Andre Gill, who suffered a groin injury in the club&rsquo;s first stop at Vancouver. He was hurt in the opening period.Henderson, in finishing the game, allowed only two goals to backstop the team to a 4-3 triumph. The lanky cage cop then posted wins at Seattle (4-2) and Phoenix (5-2), while getting beat by Portland (7-0) and San Diego (8-2).In returning from the coast the Bears still had played five less games than the Kings, finding themselves in excellent position to open ground on the Bay State club entering the final month of the season.Prior to leaving on the trip, Mathers said he would be satisfied if his outfit won three of the five matches.&ldquo;If we can maintain the pace we&rsquo;ve shown the last month,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;I think our club can come on to win it all. &ldquo;We were bothered with injuries for awhile, but lately, with the exception of Gill, everyone is in good shape.&rdquo;Roger DeJordy, the Bears&rsquo; top goal sniper, connected for four goals on the western swing, while Bob Leiter hit for two markers and set up five other goals. Mike Nikoluk aided in a half-dozen tallies and Don Marcotte, the &iacute; Bears leading candidate for rookie-of-the-year honors, jacked his season goal total to 25 by lighting the lamp twice.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-02458/3130771-1-eng-US/f0017-022.jpg" title="f0017-02" width="635" height="644"><figcaption class="caption-body">BOB LEITER &hellip; Sizzled In West</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-03380/3130764-1-eng-US/f0017-032.jpg" title="f0017-03" width="683" height="1173"></div> &#9632;

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IN THIS ISSUE

Bears Climb To Top On ‘Western’ Wins

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0013-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-01790/3130488-1-eng-US/f0013-012.jpg"></div> &#9632;

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National Hockey League Summaries

<div class="byline">BY VIN CIMINI</div>PROVIDENCE, R.L &mdash;If you think things are getting tense right about now around the American Hockey League, well think no more about it-they are.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-01766/3130595-1-eng-US/f0015-012.jpg" title="f0015-01" width="296" height="509"><figcaption class="caption-body">Buster Clegg</figcaption></div>With the Rhode Island Reds fighting head-and-head for the playoff berth which has eluded them for three years now, the tension crept into their camp some time ago.It had been a novelty to see the Reds&rsquo; players and management on edge over an upcoming game but this season it has been commonplace. And what&rsquo;s more, the Edginess has extended into the stands, silencing the hecklers and filling the stands with nervous anticipation which erupts into hysteria every time the Reds hit for a score.An added characteristic of play during this part of the season is the tendency to be cautious. Seldom gambling, seldom taking chances and ever aware.Within the confines of the R.I. Auditorium the tension has grown with every game but the caution &hellip; well, that&rsquo;s another story. At least that&rsquo;s the case if the style of play in the last game between the Reds and the Springfield Kings is any Indication.A fan couldn&rsquo;t ask for a more wide open, rock&rsquo;em sock&rsquo;em hockey game. But Reds&rsquo; general manager Buster Clegg could have asked for a lot less. He must&rsquo;ve added a new color to the Spectrum when he saw his team blow a 3-1 first period lead and trail by a 5-3 count midway in the second session.All four goals in that first period came within the first four minutes and at that rate it looked like the score was going to run well into the ten mark for both clubs.But things slowed down until the opening minutes of the second stanza when the Kings hit for four quickiesWith everyone expecting the Reds to roll over and play dead they came on with a barrage of shots on the Kings&rsquo; Jacques Caron and just as quickly as they fell behind they once again forged into the lead on player-coach Dave Creighton&rsquo;s goal. And with the lead returned Buster Clegg&rsquo;s natural color.They eventually won 7-6 with the aid of some fine defensive play in the closing minutes and the victory kept the Reds a pace with the division leaders, only 5 points behind.Down in the dressing room, Clegg&rsquo;s press box pacing made it appear that he was as weary as the hard-working Creighton, who was then readying for the showers. The sight of the two exhausted figures standing together could only make one think of what everyone had given to put the Reds where they were and, even more signified the struggle which was yet to come. &#9632;

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Tension Mounts As Reds Eye Elusive AHL Playoff Berth

<div class="byline">BY BILL LIBBY</div>LOS ANGELES, Calif. -Howie Hugnes and Howie Menard are so small that when they play on a L.A. Kings&rsquo; line with 6-3, 195-pound Doug Robinson, as they have been, it looks like Doug is doing a solo, closely pursued by two fleas. Hughes is 5-9 and weighs 170 pounds. Menard is 5-6 and weighs 160 pounds. When asked if Menard was the smallest man in the NHL, manager Larry Regan said, &ldquo;Heck, he&rsquo;s the smallest man anywhere.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-01802/3130198-1-eng-US/f0007-012.jpg" title="f0007-01" width="307" height="497"><figcaption class="caption-body">Howie Menard</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-02697/3130191-1-eng-US/f0007-022.jpg" title="f0007-02" width="282" height="489"><figcaption class="caption-body">Howie Hughes</figcaption></div>Even among hockey players, Who seldom are sizeable, Hughes and Menard seem small. Managers and coaches go around saying size doesn&rsquo;t matter, that it&rsquo;s the man that counts, but Hughes and Menard know better. Hughes is 28 and has been a pro eight years and Menard is 25 and has been a pro six years and both have had excellent minor league marks and yet the only games either has had in the majors before this year were the three games Menard had with Detroit four years ago.Both had good-pre-season camps, but when the season opened, Hughes, who was the L.A. club&rsquo;s ninth draft choice, was on the bench, and Menard, who was acquired when the club purchased Springfield, was back in Springfield. It was not until around mid-season that Hughes was rescued from the penalty killing corps and Menard was called up and both were given regular duty. Since then, both have been outstanding. For awhile, during the team&rsquo;s recent slump, the hustling Howies were among the few who were giving 100 per cent. Now that the team seems to be rolling again, the two little guys continue to shine.Hughes is an honest workman who skates his right wing, plays his position, guards his man and is slick with the stick. Menard is a center who digs foes to distraction. Neither hits hard, but few others on the club do, either. Both accept punishment as well as any.In 17 games since the mid-season mark, Hughes has five goals and Menard four and between them they have 20 points. In one 5-2 upset of visiting New York, Menard scored two goals, including the game-winner, and set up two, while Hughes had a goal and an assist. Menard also got the goals that touched off 2-0 upset wins in Philadelphia and at home against Toronto. These have been the team&rsquo;s three biggest wins lately. The little guys produce in the clutch.Hughes says, &rsquo;1 just do the best I can. I&rsquo;ve always felt that if I got to play I could do a job anywhere.&rdquo; Menard says, &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve waited a long time for this chance. I know I can play with anyone.&rdquo; Both are confident, but cynical. They know that when you are small, it is one slip and back to the bench or to the minors.They know that happened to Billy Inglis earlier this year. Called up from Springfield, Billy impressed everyone with his shifty skating. Coach Red Kelly raved about the clever kid. But Billy, who is only 5-8 and 155 pounds, gotonly one goal in the few games he got in and promptly went down. They said he&rsquo;d be back, but so far he hasn&rsquo;t been.KINGS THINGS-Since camp, the big brass has been disappointed because the team&rsquo;s biggest player, 6-4, 205-pound defenseman Dale Rolfe, was not a hitter. Recently, word leaked out he was to be demoted. When in a 3 1 win over Pittsburgh, Rolfe played well on a wing and made the night&rsquo;s prettiest play to set up the first goal this slob of a reporter sentimentally selected him as first star of the game, as if it might save a good guy&rsquo;s job. It didn&rsquo;t. He went down the next day. Brought back up was 6-1, 205-pound Dave Amadio, the rough player coach Kelly has been fighting for permission to recall.Another &ldquo;little guy,&rdquo; 5-11, 170-pound Real Lemieux was the sparkplug of the Kings 2-0 conquest of Toronto before 12,307 fans, by far their finest showing of the season. Wayne Rutledge, the brilliant rookie, got his second shutout. &#9632;

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Hughes, Menard Proving Little Man Can Succeed In Robust Big League

<div class="image-hero"><img title="Cover-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/cover-01552/3131155-1-eng-US/cover-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">The Boston Bruins are always an entertaining hockey team on the ice but they may have been accused of going to extremes during a recent Montreal sgame. Here&rsquo;s EDDIE &lsquo;THE ENTERTAINER&rsquo; SHACK putting his best foot forward for the fans at left. On the right, goalie EDDIE JOHNSTON has to go into a juggling act to keep possession of a hot puck.</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/cover-02422/3131148-1-eng-US/cover-022.jpg" title="Cover-02" width="1249" height="1717"></div><h2>Kings, Stars Join Flyers In Title Hunt</h2>PHILADELPHIA. Pa. -Just when it looked as though the Philadelphia Flyers were about to run away and hide from the rest of the expansion teams, things began to happen in the National League&rsquo;s new division.The Flyers themselves gave the NHL&rsquo;s Western division its biggest lift by dropping three games last week, a move that deflated their chances of an early lock-up on the section title.The three setbacks, one a 4&mdash;0 licking by the lowly Oakland Seals, gave both the pursuing Minnesota North Stars and Los Angeles Kings new life for the stretch drive.The aroused Kings took advantage of the Flyers&rsquo; leaky play by winning twice and tying once for five out of a possible eight points. The North Stars only managed a tie in three games but they gained on the Flyers, nevertheless.With 18 games per team remaining&mdash;the Kings have only 17 &mdash; the three clubs appear to be heading into a dogfight run down to the wire.Don&rsquo;t count the St.Louis Blues out of the race by along shot. They have 19 games left on their schedule and they could penetrate the expansion section&rsquo;s upper circle with any kind of a win streak. &#9632;

Cover-01

THE ENTERTAINER AND THE JUGGLER

<div class="byline">BY NORMAN MacLEAN</div>NEW YORK, N.Y. -When the Rangers and the Red Wings played the last ever hockey match at the old Madison Square Garden on Sunday February 11th, there were enough tears in the S.R.O. crowd of 15,925 to freeze the ice without benefit of water from the tap.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-01763/3129918-1-eng-US/f0002-012.jpg" title="f0002-01" width="314" height="505"><figcaption class="caption-body">Gordie Howe</figcaption></div>The old Garden opened on November 25,1925 with an amateur boxing show, followed a few days later by a six day bike race and then a light heavyweight championship fight. The official opening, dripping in ermine and mink was the first ever hockey match in New York featuring the New York Americans and the Montreal Canadiens. The Canucks won 3-1. The Rangers coming on the scene a year later defeated the now defunct Montreal Maroons 1-0 on Bill Cook&rsquo;s goal. The date was November 16, 1926 and Cook returned to the scene of his triumph by firing the last puck of the fantabulous pre-game ceremonies, into the enemy net, exactly forty one years, two months and fifteen days later.Perhaps the biggest cheer was for Andy Bathgate, the Rangers&rsquo; all time point leader who is present captain and big point man for the expansion Pittsburgh Penguins. Maurice &ldquo;Rocket&rdquo; Richard and Gordie Howe were close behind in the decibel&rsquo;s race with the Rocket firing the disc into the Rangers&rsquo; net with his old time flair and eclat.The Detroit Production Line of Sid Abel, Gordie Howe and Ted Lindsay took their final turn on MSG ice and blew an open net. Howe finally scored on a pass out from Lindsay, but Abel was not credited for an assist in the hilarious festivities?A total of 59 Oldtimers were on hand representing the first team all stars of the present NHL Eastern Division plus such out of existence outfits as the Americans and Maroons. Not to be forgotten were the men in orange and white, the referees, Cooper Smeaton, Bill Chadwick and Frank Udvari, more modernly attired in stripes. Naturally, these men got a solid reception from the Garden Gallery, many of whom will no longer have thier hang-over view in the new Garden.Baldy Northcott, representing the old Montreal Maroons said, &ldquo;I just hope I make it to the other end of the rink, never mind that turn you want me to do out there.&rdquo;Northcott, who was the second skater on the ice not only made it but seemed to gain confidence at the end of his trial run. Wally Stanowski, the former whirling dervish of the Toronto Maple Leafs actually wound up and gave it a couple of hipper steps as he pranced on the MSG pond for the last time. Doug Bentley of Chicago looked fit and trim as did Aurel Joliat, Howie Morenz&rsquo; right wing and the Rocket&rsquo;s predecessor in the hearts of Canadien fans. Joliat, who always played with a baseball cap, was wizened and white but still spry and tipped his hat to the fans amidst a roar of approval.Jacques Plante made his usual Gallic entrance and drew a warn reception. It seemed sad to see Dickie Moore once more skating as an old timer when as recently as December 17 he was scoring for the St. Louis Blues against the Rangers.At the Official Reception a Gallaghers&rsquo;s Thirty Third Street eatery just prior to the United Service Organization &mdash; sponsored opening of the new Garden, Harry Howell, Andy Bathgate and Camille Henry were closeted with their families and closest friends. It seemed like 1957 all over again, except that Fiery Phil Watson, of the whip, could not make it. Edgar Laprade, the non pareil Ranger smoothie of the post war era, who along with Bonnie Prince Chuck Rayner in goal kept New York in the NHL, also was in attendance.The present day Rangers were only half as good as their old time originals who won their first game. The New Yorkers had to rally to get a 3-3 tie on two tallies by Jean Ratelle and one by Don Marshall.Even before the wreckers moved in, souvenir hunting Ranger fans had done quite a job on the old building. Although not quite as bad as the emotional sacking that the New York Giant fans did to the old Polo Grounds on closing day in 1957, just before the move to San Francisco, still the fans showed that their heart was in the old wreck on 50th street and 8th Avenue.One stalwart climbed into the press box and started to remove the lights from the advertising board in front of the fourth estate&rsquo;s work pen. He was forcibly thrown out by the fast action of the Rangers&rsquo; John Halligan and John Roach, the press box attache. Other fans broke up their seats and took them home as souvenirs while still others removed the section Identification signs from their favorite pews.<h2>Movements of Players</h2>Following are the latest player movements in hockey:NATIONAL LEAGUEMONTREAL - Danny Grant, forward, sent to Houston of CPHL.DETROIT &ndash; Peter Mahovlich, forward, recalled from Fort Worth of CPHL.ST. LOUIS &mdash; Ray Fortin, defense man, and Gary Veneruzzo, forward, recalled from Kansas City of CPHL. Ron Schock, and Don McKenney, forwards, and Fred Hucul, defenseman, assigned to Kansas City.PHILADELPHIA - Wayne Hicks, forward, recalled from Quebec of AHL. Simon Nolet, forward, returned to Quebec.OAKLAND - Mike Laughton, forward, sent to Vancouver of WHL.MINNESOTA - Sandy Fitzpatrick, forward, recalled from Memphis of CPHL. Ted McCaskill, forward, assigned to Memphis. Bronco Hovath, forward, returned to Rochester of AHL. Walt McKechnie, defenseman, called up from Phoenix of WHL.PITTSBURGH - Ted Lanyon, defenseman, recalled from Baltimore of AHL.TORONTO &mdash; Jim McKenny, defenseman, recalled from Rochester of AHL. Duke Harris, forward, returned to Rochester.CENTRAL LEAGUETULSA &mdash; Jim Dorey, defenseman, returned by Phoenix of WHL.INTERNATIONAL LEAGUEFORT WAYNE - Ron Burman, defenseman, acquired from Port Huron of IHL on loan. Eddie Megaffin, defenseman, placed on waivers.PORT HURON - Rick Hextall, forward, claimed on waivers from Fort Wayne of IHL. Henry Jaruga, defenseman, released. Harry Orr, defenseman, purchased from Toledo of IHL.COLUMBUS - Jules Bouchard, defenseman, secured from Providence of AHL.DES MOINES - Bob Sutcliffe, defenseman, released.EASTERN LEAGUEJOHNSTON - Bob Young, forward, secured from Greensboro of EHL on loan.NEW HAVEN - Bob Buchanan, defenseman, dropped.CHARLOTTE - Neil Clark, forward, secured from Rochester of AHL. Roger Wilson, goalkeeper, recalled from Syracuse of EHL.JACKSONVILLE - Ken Hicks, forwards, secured on loan from Charlotte of EHL.LONG ISLAND - Bob Taylor, defenseman, obtained from Salem of EHL.SYRACUSE &ndash; Wayne Caufield, forward and ex-coach, rejoined team as player. &#9632;

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Old Time NHL Stars Turn Back The Clock

NEW YORK. N.Y. -When the New York Rangers completed their last week with their head quarters at the old Madison Square Garden on 8th Avenue and 50th Street, the finished it with a win and two ties &mdash; and the feeling that somehow, by nook or crook they would make the Stanley Cup playoffs again this season.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-02709/3129956-1-eng-US/f0002-022.jpg" title="f0002-02" width="277" height="493"><figcaption class="caption-body">Rod Gilbert</figcaption></div>When the Blues blasted the Red Wings in Detroit on February 8, on the wings of a very hot performance by Hot Rod Gilbert they envisioned a move into the upper reaches Gilbert, who has been moving at a point a game clip since the worm turned via a hat trick against St. Louis on December 17 is now carrying the Blues attack &agrave; la the star right wing that Emile Francis is paying him to be. He, along with his buddy Jean Ratelie, both the proud possesors of twenty goals have boomed the New York offense in the last two months. Since the other bellw athers, Phil Goyette and Bob Nevin have not fallen off, New York now can say that it has a legitimate NHL attack for the first time this season.The key to the New York defense up front, is the third line of Orland Kurtenbach, Ron Stewart and Reg Fleming. Reg still gets the odd penalty, but Francis is using this line against the enemy big guns. When they keep them off the board the Blues now usually win via goals from the other two attacking units.Such was not the case in the double tie over the weekend of February 10-11, when New York again slipped against the expansion Pittsburgh Penguins 2-2 in the Steel City and had to rally for a 3-3 draw with Detroit as the old MSG closed on February 11th.BLUE CHIPS - Vic Hadfield has reinjured his shoulder and may have to miss a few games &hellip; Camille Henry&rsquo;s value to N.Y. has been proven over and over again during Hadfield&rsquo;s absence &hellip; Henry is interchangeable on either of the first two Rangers attack lines &hellip; The tie against Detroit broke the New York record of twelve straight on Sunday &hellip; The always on Sunday Blues are now 12-0-1 at home on the Sabbath and have only lost once on Sunday 3-2 to Detroit in the Motor City in October &hellip; The loss of Bobby Orr via knee surgery may cause the Boston Bruins to be the team to drop out of the five club scramble for entrance into the four Stanley Cup berths &hellip; Toronto also seems to be having problems with age and Punch lmlach&rsquo;s spartan regime having caused some rebellion in operatives like Jim Pappin and Brian Conacher &hellip; Rangers may profit by the disadvantages of these two outfits and with Chicago still lacking depth could move right up there if they stop blowing key games when opportunity knocks&hellip; Popular announcer Bob Wolf, the director of public relations of MSG did a masterful job as emcee for the pre game ceremonies &hellip; Emile Bouchard, the rugged looking former Canadien defenseman was in an auto accident in the fall which made him a non skater for the show &hellip; Bill Gadsby looked fit enough to play for one of those expansion clubs. .. The Rangers line of Frank Boucher, Bun Cook and Bill Cook were very emotional and spent the evening reminiscing about way back when &hellip; When Howe blew open net in the ceremonies, Bathgate remarked &ldquo;Gee Whiz, he is getting old.&rdquo; Forty years from now when MSG no. 5 goes up, Jean Ratelle will probably be invited back for his feat in scoring the last ever goal in the old MSG &mdash; and we hope that Jean can still skate as good then as did Joliat, the Canadien whiz who thoroughly enjoyed himself as the oldtimers took their final spin around the ice to the applause of the emotionally drained crowd &hellip;<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-03572/3129949-1-eng-US/f0002-032.jpg" title="f0002-03" width="1333" height="809"></div> &#9632;

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Rangers Solidify Playoff Bid, Seek To Move Up In NHL Race

<div class="byline">BY GIL SMITH</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-01769/3130001-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg" title="f0003-01" width="513" height="448"></div>MONTREAL, Que. -One of the less-publicized developments on Canadiens, this year, has been the success of Yvan Cournoyer as a full-time performer.The chunky little winger has been taking a regular turn on the Beliveau-Gilles Tremblay line, as well as appearing on the powerplay. That may not rank as a headline accomplishment with some people, but, in Cournoyer&rsquo;s case, it&rsquo;s a matter of some significance.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-02643/3129994-1-eng-US/f0003-022.jpg" title="f0003-02" width="279" height="489"><figcaption class="caption-body">Yvan Cournoyer</figcaption></div>It was only a season or two ago that Cournoyer was considered something of a bust as a regular performer. Though deadly on the powerplay, Yvan couldn&rsquo;t seem to find the net under normal circumstances. Toe Blake had him working on a line with Beliveau and Ferguson, but the youngster wasn&rsquo;t scoring. He wasn&rsquo;t checking either, of course, and eventually he was taken off the line and confined to powerplay. The move brought mass indignation from Montreal fandom, who filled the Forum with chants of &ldquo;We want Cournoyer!&rdquo; They&rsquo;d get particularly vocal whenever Habs would fall behind in the score, and, pretty soon, a sticky situation developed between coach Blake and the fans; the essence of which was &lsquo;Who was going to run the team?&rsquo;Meanwhile, Cournoyer was filling the net whenever he turned up on the powerplay formation. In 1965-66 he had 16 powerplay goals, out of a total of eighteen for the season. Last season, 20 of his 25 goals were scored while Canadiens held the man-advantage. But, the story this year is a different one.Cournoyer has been playing regularly on a line, and has been scoring consistently. As of mid-February he was the second highest scorer on the team, after Beliveau, and the second man to have reached the 20-goal plateau. Thirteen of those goals were scored while Canadiens and the opposition were at full-strength. Six were scored on the powerplay. He got the other one while Montreal was short-handed.He also had 21 assists, which ranked among the highs on the club, and was also a personal career-high. In fact, his 41 points in 43 games was one more than he had all last season, when he appeared in 69 contests.The one rap against Cournoyer continues to be his lack of checking, but he&rsquo;s still young enough to overcome it. A former scoring sensation with the Junior Canadiens, Yvan isn&rsquo;t likely to develop into a defensive whiz. But, he certainly has enough speed to be able to get back and pick up his check, before his offensive efforts are cancelled out at the other end of the rink.This is only the fourth full season that Gournoyer has spent in the NHL, and, at twenty-four, his peak years are still ahead. When he first came up, there was some question about his ruggedness, for he&rsquo;s only 5&rsquo;7&rdquo; and weighs 165 lbs. He&rsquo;s built on solid lines however, with powerful arms and legs, and he&rsquo;s a gritty little guy who has no aversion to going into the corners, or behind the net. There&rsquo;s another encouraging sign in the number of assists he&rsquo;s collected this year, for, as a 63-goal scorer in Junior ranks, he wasn&rsquo;t exactly schooled in passing the puck. But, in recent games, particularly a St. Valentine night clash against Toronto, Cournoyer showed that he&rsquo;s developed a lot of puck sense.In that game he took a pass from Beliveau in the Canadiens&rsquo; end, and streaked along the boards into the Toronto zone. There were plenty of Leaf defenders around, and they were probably waiting for Yvan to let go one of his patented blasts at the net from far out. Instead, he went deep, carried around behind the net and fed a perfect pass-out to Terry Harper, who was unprotected about 30 feet out. Harper made no mistake with a low shot to the open corner, but Cournoyer&rsquo;s work on the play was the eye-catcher.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-03433/3129987-1-eng-US/f0003-032.jpg" title="f0003-03" width="2726" height="1722"><figcaption class="caption-body">Another member of the Canadiens who is thriving on more ice time this season is goalie ROGATIEN VACHON, the acrobatic little netminder, who is the hottest piece of goaling property in the NHL at the moment. Like Yvan Cournoyer, Vachon has been one of the big surprises of the Canadiens this season since becoming a regular.</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0003-01

Cournoyer Quits Part-Time Ice Role To Blossom Out As Top Scoring Wing

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0004-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-01827/3130032-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg"></div><h2>Maritimes Becoming Memorial Cup Threat</h2>Hockey News Editor:I have been reading and enjoying your publication for some years now, and I congratulate you and your reporters on your excellent hockey coverage.But there is one area in which I believe your reporting could be improved, and that is on the Atlantic Canadian hockey scene.Although this season sees only one senior calibre hockey league operating (in Newfoundland), there has been a great interest in Junior &ldquo;A&rdquo; hockey in the area. Crowds of up to 5,000 have not been uncommon for a great number of games this season.The three top Junior &rsquo;A&rsquo; clubs in the Maritimes, the Halifax Junior Canadiens, the Moncton Alpine Seals and the Fredericton Red Wings have the strength and power to provide competition for almost any other Junior &lsquo;A&rsquo; club in the nation.Halifax, which is purely OHA Junior material, has competed this season against most OHA clubs and has compiled a tremendous record against them. One of the top OHA coaches has been quoted as saying that if this club were given a chance to play regularly in the OHA, second or third place could possibly be theirs. Halifax is considering joining the OHA in the not too distant future.Moncton and Fredericton, although perhaps not quite as strong as Halifax, can handle themselves against the best of them. An example is when Moncton upset London Nationals of the OHA Junior circuit 6-0 earlier this year in their only meeting with an OHA team.To sum up the Maritime Junior &ldquo;A&rdquo; hockey scene, one may conclude that the Maritime clubs are not to be taken lightly by any team, and that Junior &lsquo;A&rsquo; hockey fans elsewhere in the country can be prepared for a tough battle from the Atlantic Provinces from now on in competition for the Memorial Cup.BOB PRICE Moncton,. N B.Eddie Joyal Should Be Considered For HartHockey News Editor:I would like to express my opinion on Ed Joyal of the Los Angeles Kings. In the I second half of the Western Division schedule, Joyal has kept the Kings in the thick of the race for first place. I think Joyal should get serious consideration for the Hart Trophy.WARD L. CHAPIN. Longueuil. Que. &#9632;

f0004-01

FAN FORUM

<div class="byline">By Ken Mc Kenzie</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-02779/3130084-1-eng-US/f0004-022.jpg" title="f0004-02" width="496" height="511"></div>&bull; BALTIMORE CLIPPERS of the American Hockey League have been running all kinds of special promotions this season as &rsquo;&rsquo;Kids Night&rdquo; and &rsquo;&rsquo;Family Day&rdquo; in order to lure more spectators through the turnstiles. Oodles of fine prizes are awarded at these special nights &hellip; Canada&rsquo;s plans to have a five-nation International League next season seems to have been zeroed out by Bunny Ahearne, who runs hockey in Europe&hellip; Jackie McLeod, coach of Canada&rsquo;s National team, will renew pressure for games with NHL clubs when he returns home &hellip; Did you notice that Oakland Seals were winning more games since Bert Olmstead removed himself from behind the bench in place of Gordon Fashoway? &hellip; Over 18,000 fans, largest crowd to attend a hockey game in Canada, were out to see the Montreal and Vancouver Oldtimers play in Vancouver&rsquo;s new hockey arena last weekend &hellip; Tracy Pratt, son of Babe Pratt and one of the brighter prospects on defense for the Oakland Seals, may have to undergo an off-season operation to repair a shoulder separation &hellip; Tony Esposito, younger brother of Boston&rsquo;s Phil Esposito, is the star netminder with Vancouver Canucks of the WHL &hellip; Gerry Desjardins, outstanding goalie with the Cleveland Barons, belongs to the Montreal Canadiens &hellip; Don&rsquo;t forget to send your entry into THE HOCKEY NEWS for the Old Spice Pick the Winners Contest. Just select the winners of the Eastern and Western Divisions of the NHL. Plenty of prizes for those with the correct entries. Contest closes February 28 &hellip;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-03676/3130077-1-eng-US/f0004-032.jpg" title="f0004-03" width="294" height="480"><figcaption class="caption-body">Gordon Fashoway</figcaption></div>&bull; CHICAGO BLACK HAWKS had a bouncy landing at Chicago&rsquo;s O&rsquo;Hare Airport recently, but Stan Mikita wasn&rsquo;t as upset as were some of his teammates. &ldquo;I knew I&rsquo;d be O.K.,&rdquo; said Stan. &ldquo;I owe too much money to die&rdquo; &hellip; Rumors persist that Jackie McLeod, coach of Canada&rsquo;s National team, will be in the New York Rangers organization next season. He played with the Rangers a number of years ago and is a long time friend of Emile Francis &hellip; Roger Crozier, the first NHL player to go into and out of retirement this season, appears extremely relaxed despite Detroit&rsquo;s losses. &ldquo;The main thing is just don&rsquo;t let the pressure get you,&rdquo; he stated recently &hellip; Most NHL teams have trouble adjusting to the California climate and time differential when they visit Los Angeles and Oakland &hellip; &ldquo;Everything gets changed around,&rdquo; points out Boston&rsquo;s John McKenzie. &ldquo;Your eating and sleeping habits. I was glad to get out of there on our previous visit&rdquo; &hellip; St. Louis Blues boast one of the best team records in the NHL during the last month &hellip; Timmins, Ont. &mdash; birthplace of so many NHL stars over the years &mdash; opened its new arena recently and in order to help pay for it the Timmins Winter Carnival Committee is staging a Marathon Skating Contest on March 9. Roily Richer, coach of the Porcupine Oldtimers, is the moving force behind this novel promotion. 200 entries are expected and the person who remains longest on the ice will receive a magnificient trophy. Entry fee is $2.00.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-04577/3130070-1-eng-US/f0004-042.jpg" title="f0004-04" width="328" height="492"><figcaption class="caption-body">Roger Crozier</figcaption></div>&bull; LOS ANGELES KINGS are anxious to make a deal with Toronto for Jim Pappin. So far the Leafs want more than the Kings have offered &hellip; Bill White of the Los Angeles Kings is one of the best defensemen in the NHL and certainly the best to enter the league this season. He&rsquo;s not a flashy player but he does everything well and seldom plays a poor game &hellip; Ron Ellis and Dave Keon have been the best road players on the Leafs this term &hellip; Former Toronto residents now living in Los Angeles who witnessed the Leafs poor showing in losing 2-0 to the Kings were chanting: &ldquo;Bring on the Marlboros&rdquo; &hellip; Toronto fans are beginning to wonder if this is going to be the first Punch Imlach-coached team to miss the playoffs. Personally, we wouldn&rsquo;t bet on it &hellip; Hockey fans visiting Montreal enjoy dining at Auberge Le Vieux Saint Gabriel, oldest restaurant in North America and located on one of Montreal&rsquo;s oldest thoroughfares. Owner Rosario Depelteau has done a superb job in enlarging and improving this world-renowned restaurant&hellip; The ice surface at the new Madison Square Garden is 14 feet longer and a foot narrower than at the former home of the New York Rangers &hellip; Fort Worth Wings appear to be here to stay in the CPL hockey picture. Forth Worth and Dallas Black Hawks have both been drawing well and playing entertaining hockey in their first seasons as members of the Central Pro League &hellip; More than 1,100 people attended the Lloyd Saunders testimonial dinner at Saskatoon last month. It was an overwhelming success and a tremendous tribute to the veteran sports announcer. From now on the Executive of the Year in the Western Canada Junior Hockey League will receive the Lloyd Saunders Trophy &hellip; The current issue of Sport magazine contains an article intriguingly titled: &ldquo;When Johnny Bucyk Starts Coughing". It has nothing to do with the flu season, but it&rsquo;s worth reading.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-05459/3130063-1-eng-US/f0004-052.jpg" title="f0004-05" width="286" height="482"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jim Pappin</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0004-02

PASSING THE PUCK

<div class="byline">BY GEOFFREY FISHER</div>ST. LOUIS, Mo.&mdash;When the name Tim Ecclestone comes up in casual conversation among knowledge-able hockey folks there is likely to be some reference to how much he resembles the living legend Gordie Howe when Howe was just a fresh rookie breaking in.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-01769/3130129-1-eng-US/f0005-012.jpg" title="f0005-01" width="310" height="497"><figcaption class="caption-body">Gary Sabourin</figcaption></div>Whether or not there is any similarity is not at all important to the St. Louis Blues management because they wouldn&rsquo;t swap you the 20-year-old Ecclestone for the 40-year-old Howe, plus a bucket of pucks.Ecclestone is one of the happiest things that has happened to the Blues in this freshman expansion season of the National Hockey League. Making the situation even more satisfying is the fact that the youngster from Toronto has developed at so fast a pace that even hardened hockey executives such as Blues&rsquo; General Manager Lynn Patrick finds it almost too good to believe.Ecclestone came into the St. Louis igloo in what amounted to a grab-bag package when the New York Rangers swapped four of their chattels for the fourth draft choice of St. Louis at last summer&rsquo;s drawing in Montreal. With Ecclestone came Gary Sabourin, Bob Plager and Gordon Kannegeisser. In return the Rangers got Rod Seiling.&ldquo;We never thought of these fellows as anything but future prospects,&rdquo; says Patrick. &ldquo;We were concerned about getting enough talent together to give us a team that could get us started in the NHL and at the same time try to get some players who we could develop in our farm system for future consideration with the big club.&rdquo;The grab-bag proved to be gold-plated since three of the quartet have earned regular positions with the Blues and the fourth &mdash; rangy defenseman Gordon Kannegeisser &mdash; played a number of games with St. Louis before being ticketed for Kansas City where Coach Doug Harvey has been imparting some of the wisdom that only Harvey has to offer a rookie with big league in his future.But Ecclestone, who was still a teenager of 19 when the St. Louis club went into pre-season drills last autumn, is at the age of 20 a rookie with all the parts necessary to become a top-notch major leaguer. Only Bobby Orr, the highly-publicized and highly-paid sophomore of the Boston Bruins, is younger than Ecclestone. Orr won&rsquo;t be 20 until March 20th.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-02661/3130122-1-eng-US/f0005-022.jpg" title="f0005-02" width="1288" height="904"><figcaption class="caption-body">TIM ECCLESTONE &hellip; Bargain At Any Price</figcaption></div>Scotty Bowman, the 32-year-old ex-agent of the Montreal Canadiens, who was moved into the head coaching chair by Patrick in November, is not a fellow who throws accolades around loosely but Bowman finds it easy to speak with enthusiasm about Ecclestone.&ldquo;Tim has got natural hockey sense,&rdquo; declares Bowman, &ldquo;he&rsquo;s intelligent, a better than average skater and he has a fine wrist shot that he can get away without telegraphing it to the opposition.&rdquo;Bowman is particularly impressed with Ecclestone&rsquo;s speed, which he says is deceptive.&ldquo;He has a major league stride,&rdquo; says Scotty, &ldquo;and he can move away from any one who is checking him or trying to tie him up.&rdquo;possibly the highest praise Bowman can give Ecclestone and his linemates, rookie Craig Cameron and the veteran Billy McCreary, is that he does not pick spots for them to go into action.Moved from his normal right wing position to the pivot spot late in January, Ecclestone has found himself face-to-face with the class of the NHL. He has taken his regular turn against Chicago&rsquo;s Stan Miklta, Detroit&rsquo;s Alex Delvecchio, and Pittsburgh&rsquo;s Earl Ingarfield. With his line-mates, McCreary and Cameron, riding herd on such illustrious performers, the Ecclestone platoon has one of the more impressive defensive records in the league. He has always been a good goal scorer and has already given flashes of knowing how to get the puck in the net in the big time. Earlier in the season it was a pair of goals by Tim that lifted the Blues into a 3-3 tie with the Rangers in Madison Square Garden, a game which St. Louis eventually lost. Against Pittsburgh January 31, Ecclestone hit the net for two more.It wasn&rsquo;t until the Blues had played a dozen games and ran into a series of injuries that Eccle-stone was summoned from Kansas City.&ldquo;I never figured to get a chance in the NHL so fast,&rdquo; he says.It was a huge leap for a kid who had only played one year of Junior A hockey at Kitchener.&ldquo;A fellow has to have confidence in himself,&rdquo; says Ecclestone,&rdquo; and I have always been confident that I could do a job if I worked as hard as I possibly can. Besides, when I joined St. Louis I found that playing with better players helped me play better.Does he find some of the veterans of the NHL picking on him because of his inexperience and youth?&ldquo;Yes, there are a few who try to Initiate you the hard way,&rdquo; he admitted. &ldquo;Gordie Howe threw an elbow into my face at Detroit and he got a penalty for it. We scored a goal while they were short a man. That wasn&rsquo;t a bad exchange for an elbow. I&rsquo;ll take an elbow anytime for a goal.&rdquo;The Blues came out of that one with a 4-4 tie against the Red Wings.Patrick calls Ecclestone a &ldquo;natural athlete whose rapid development is due in large part to his ability to react to situations instinctively.&rdquo;&ldquo;Maybe I get it from my uncle. Cam Ecclestone,&rdquo; says Tim. &ldquo;He was one of Canada&rsquo;s best softball pitchers.&rdquo;Tim &rsquo;s dad, who is six foot, five inches tall, was a pretty fair basketball player and his older brother, Bill, a top-notch player in the Toronto Metro hockey league.At 5 foot, 10 inches and 180 pounds, Tim Ecclestone has not yet attained his fullest adult strength. But it&rsquo;s already apparent he has a brilliant future in the big league of ice hockey.<h2>HOW MUCH DOES LIFE INSURANCE COST?</h2>It depends on what kind of Life Insurance you buy. But remember, you can never buy Life Insurance for LESS than you can TODAY. Talk to an Empire Life representative SOON, and discuss a long-term program WHICH YOU CAN AFFORD for the security of your family, and for your own retirement.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-03488/3130115-1-eng-US/f0005-032.jpg" title="f0005-03" width="1182" height="421"></div><h2>Tempers Flare In Old St. Loo Over Disputed Goal By Bruins</h2>ST. LOUIS, Mo. -In the wildest ruckus to erupt in this first NHL season here the St. Louis Blues dropped a 6-4 decision to the Boston Bruins, Wednesday night, February 7, and St. Louis Coach Scotty Bowman 72 hours later was still alleging that the Blues were robbed.The play in dispute came in the final period with Boston ahead 5-4 The Bruins&rsquo; John McKenzie sent a high hard one at Goalie Glenn Hall that bounced back towards the Blues&rsquo; blueline as fast as it went goalward. There was no red goal light flashed and no whistle heard from Referee Bob Sloan. The Blues&rsquo; Al Arbour took charge of the loose puck, sailed in on Boston&rsquo;s Ed Johnston and sent a low liner into the net. The Blues thought they had tied the score at 5-5 but after an extraordinary lapse of time, Referee Sloan ruled that McKenzie&rsquo;s shot was a goal and the Arbour score was thus disallowed. The partisan St Louis crowd of nearly 10,000 showered so much debris on the ice that the game was delayed for 17 minutes.After viewing films of the play, Bowman said he was still convinced McKenzie&rsquo;s shot was not a goal. Goal judge Rich Schweigler said he did not see the puck go into the net but Linesman Brent Casselman, who was nearest the goal, convinced Sloan that the shot had gone in.-FISHER &#9632;

f0005-01

Thrown In Trade By Rangers, Rookie Ecclestone Develops Into Prize Package For Blues

<div class="byline">BY LOU PRATO</div><h2>Penguins Scramble To Stay In Playoff Race</h2>PITTSBURGH, Pa.-It was a disappointed but optimistic Pittsburgh team that headed past the quarter turn of the National Hockey League race and into the home stretch.With some 20 games left in the schedule, the Penguins are no longer fighting for the Western Division lead as they had been in the first half of the season. Now, they are fighting for survival battling hard to stay out of fifth place and gain a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.Yet, the Penguins confidently feel they can reverse themselves and climb back to within reach of front-running Philadelphia. The optimism stems from the surprise that they have been able to stay as close as they have despite a rash of injuries which have crippled the club.Since the last week of January, Coach Red Sullivan rarely has been able to put together a solid lineup. At one time four of his regulars were sidelined by injuries and one or two other frequently-used reserves also were hurting.&ldquo;With all the injuries we&rsquo;ve had you&rsquo;ve got to give these guys credit,&rdquo; says Sullivan. &ldquo;You know, it would have been easy for them to let down; they would have had a natural excuse. But they&rsquo;ve skated their hearts out.&ldquo;Sometimes injuries are a blessing in disguise. They give some guys a needed rest and let other guys get more ice time. And that&rsquo;s what has happened in our case. everyone is skating and checking better now.&rdquo;Sullivan has been particularly pleased by the way the injury-plagued Penguins have looked against the NHL&rsquo;s Eastern Division teams. They&rsquo;ve been unbeaten in their last four games against Detroit, Boston, Toronto and New York &mdash; winning two and trying two. The deadlocks with Toronto 3-3, and New York, 2-2, have been especially satisfying since Pittsburgh had to come from behind in the third period to gain both ties.&ldquo;That showed me that these guys won&rsquo;t give up,&rdquo; Sullivan says. &ldquo;I also think the big crowds at home helped too. They gave the team a fighting spirit.&rdquo;Pittsburgh&rsquo;s most serious injury has been to Ken Schinkel, the team&rsquo;s only representative on the mid-season all-star team. The second line right winger broke a bone in his right ankle in stopping a Bobby Orr slap shot on Jan. 28 in a 1-0 win over Boston. His leg has been in a cast ever since and it will be early or midMarch before he is ready to play again.Schinkel was just one man left home when the Penguins made their next to last swing to the West Coast. Center Earl Ingarfield, the team&rsquo;s first round draft choice who missed nearly two months of the season after injuring his knee in late October, was sidelined by pulled tendons in his left heel. Penalty killer Val Fonteyne, a slick-looking skater, was out after being struck by puck on his ankle during a practice session. Defenseman Noel Price also was limping from stretched ligaments in his left Knee but he did make the trip.And to top all this, forward Bobby Dillabough, recalled from Baltimore to replace the injured was hospitalized even before he got to play a game. Dillabough had been sent to Baltimore on Jan. 27 after spending all season with the Penguins. When recalled for the Toronto game he came down with a illness that had doctors mystified but later diagnosed as either rheumatic fever or pleurisy.&rdquo;But with the injuries, little used forwards like George Konik and Gene Ubriaco, also recalled from Baltimore, have been seeing plenty of action and making their chance pay off.Konik, obtained in a three-for-one trade that sent Larry Jeffrey back to New York at the expansion draft, has developed into a fine penalty killer and a clutch scorer. It was his goal that beat Boston, 1-0, and another tap-in that gave the Penguins the tie with New York. Ubriaco the wise-cracking, veteran minor leaguer who started the season with the Penguins but wound up with Baltimore in January, has been sensational since being recalled after Schinkel&rsquo;s injury. He is scoring and assisting with the proficiency that Penguin officials had always expected.The play of defenseman Dune McCallum and center Bob Rivard, who were recalled from Baltimore just before the ailments erupted also has helped ease the loss of the injured Penguins.&ldquo;I think we&rsquo;ve proven that we&rsquo;re not dead, yet,&rdquo; Sullivan says, &ldquo;and anyone who thinks so will have to find out for himself. This race is going right down to the wire.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-01857/3130160-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg" title="f0006-01" width="639" height="882"><figcaption class="caption-body">GENE UBRIACO &hellip; Latecomer Clicks</figcaption></div><h2>two minute hockey quiz</h2>1&mdash;This former Chicago Black Hawks&rsquo; player is credited with the fastest three goals in one game. Can you name him?2&mdash;Which of these three players wasn&rsquo;t a 50-goal scorer &mdash; Bernard Geoffrion, Gordie Howe or Maurice Richard?3&mdash;What player is credited with the most points in one season by a defenceman?4&mdash;The NHL record for most assists in one game by a rookie is four.-Who holds the mark?5&mdash;Can you remember who was the last player to score five goals in one game?6&mdash;Two former Montreal stars hold the record for most points in one game eight. Can you name them?7&mdash;The NHL&rsquo;s modern record for the longest consecutive goal-scoring streak is 10 games. Name the player who established the mark.8&mdash;Who holds the record for most power-play goals in one season?9&mdash;The mark for most points in one season by one line is 226. Who were the members of the high-scoring line?10&mdash;This rugged player has the dubious honor of holding the NHL record for most penalty minutes in one game. Who is he?<h2>HOCKEY QUIZ ANSWERS</h2>1&mdash;Bill Mosienko &mdash; three goals in 21 seconds against New York, March 23. 11)52.2&mdash;Gordie Howe3 &mdash; Pierre Pilote, Chicago, had 59 points in 1961-65 season.4&mdash;Earl &ldquo;Dutch&rdquo; Reibel of Detroit Oct. 8, 1953.5 &mdash;Bobby Rousseau of Montreal, scored five against Detroit Feb. 1, 1965.6&mdash;Maurice Richard and Bert Olmstead.7 &mdash;Andy Bathgate while he was with New York in 1962-63.8&mdash;Bobby Hull, Chicago, scored 22 power-play goals in 1965-66.9&mdash;Centre Norm Ullman, right wing Gordie Howe, left wing Ted Lindsay of Detroit.10 &mdash;Reg Fleming, while playing with Chicago Oct. 19, 1960, picked up 37 penalty minutes against New York &mdash; 1 minor, 3 majors, 1 misconduct and one game misconduct. &#9632;

f0006-01

Battle For Survival

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0007-03" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-03519/3130229-1-eng-US/f0007-032.jpg"></div>GRENOBLE, France &mdash;The Soviet Union didn&rsquo;t originate hockey but the Russians certainly play as though the game belongs to them.The Russians who have only been competing in world hockey for 14 years, just won their third gold medal in four tries since throwing their hats into the international hockey ring by defeating Canada&rsquo;s National hockey team 5-0 in the final game of the 10th Winter Olympics.Canada could have won the gold medal with a victory over the Soviet Union but the Russians came through in flawless fashion and once again they carted off the gold.The Canadians had to settle for the third-place bronze medal, behind Czechoslovakia. The United States ended up in fifth place in the seven-team &ldquo;A&rdquo; division, after battling to a 1-1 deadlock with Finland on the last day of play.The gold medal &lsquo;showdown&rsquo; game was exactly as tournament organizers had planned it. They pitted Russia against Canada in the pre-tourney draw and that&rsquo;s the way two world powers entered the final day of the Olympics &mdash; all tied at the top of the standings with identical 5-1 records.Russia had displayed early superiority in the tourney and then wilted slightly. Canada, on the other hand, started off slowly and came on strong in the closing action leading up to the championship game. However, the Canadians didn&rsquo;t have it when the chips were on the line.The Canadians came out and started the championship game as though they were going to check the Russians into the ice in the final game. Then Evguenii Zimine took a penalty and the Canadian power-play backfired as Anatoly Firsov scored the first of his two goals of the game and the Russians were on their way.Ken Broderick was an outstanding figure for the Canadians in goal as he made several dazzling stops that held the score down.However, the Russians outmanoeuvred the Canadians at every turn with an awsome skating and passing attack and they appeared to gain strenght as the game wore on.Netminder Victor Konova-lenko had a few busy moments in the second period as the Canadians buzzed around the Soviet net. But he stood his ground and fought off the Canadians, who directed 12 shots at him in the middle frame.Broderick and Fran Huck, the speedy Canadian hustler, were selected to the Olympic AU-Star squad following the final game. Firsov was the only Russian who made the select team and no Americans were chosen.Two rushing defencemen were named all-star rearguards &mdash; Jan Suchy of Czechoslovakia and Lennard Svedberg of Sweden.Suchy led the defencemen with 33 votes and Svedberg got 28.Marsh Johnston, from Birch Hills, Sask., came third among the defencemen with eight votes.Broderick played in five of Canada&rsquo;s seven games. He was on the losing end 5-2 against Finland and 5-0 against Russia. But he was superb in holding off Cze-choslovakia 3-2, Sweden 3-0 and the United States 3-2. It was Ylonen who was mainly responsible for Finland&rsquo;s upset win that cost Canada the silver medal for second place. The Canadians won the third-place bronze.<h2>Olympic Hockey Picture &#9632;</h2>

f0007-03

Russia Wins Olympic Title To Continue Hockey Domination

<div class="byline">BY SPENCE CONLEY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0008-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-01844/3130267-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Defenseman TRACY PRATT of Seals left, and Rangers&rsquo; REG FLEMING square off in ice brawl.</figcaption></div>OAKLAND, Calif. -Bert Olmstead has vacated his coaching Job &ldquo;indefinitely", Gary Smith is laughing up his sleeve at the Toronto Maple Leafs, Bill Harris&rsquo; suspension has ended, and the Oakland Seals continue to lose ground in the National Hockey League&rsquo;s Western Division.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-02749/3130260-1-eng-US/f0008-022.jpg" title="f0008-02" width="271" height="475"><figcaption class="caption-body">Gary Smith</figcaption></div>Olmstead turned over the coaching chores to top aide Gordon Fashoway last week in order to view the Seals from afar and offered his explanation:&ldquo;I was sick and tired of looking at them and I&rsquo;m sure they were sick and tired of looking at me. I had to get off the bench to keep my sanity. But I&rsquo;m getting a new perspective; maybe players and I aren&rsquo;t made of the same material, &ldquo;he said.&ldquo;I saw a lack of effort and a lack of trying. They are not passing, and not checking, and not skating. Ninty-nine percent of the time when you aren&rsquo;t skating you aren&rsquo;t putting out,&rdquo; he added.But in answer to those charges, the unpredictable Seals turned in their finest game of the season just last Sunday (Feb, 11) and shocked the Toronto Maple Leafs, 4-3, with an unbelievable four-goal third period rally.It was the first time this year that that the Seals have refused to fly apart when the going got rough and that was mainly because of &ldquo;Suitcase&rdquo; Smith, the 6&rsquo;4", 215 pound goalie who once wore the Toronto blue and white.Flamboyant and daring in his play (as usual), Smith held the Seals in the game even though he gave up two quick goals to Bob Pulford and Ron Ellis 24 seconds apart in the second period.But then Charlie Burns, and the Ted Hampson line (Bill Hicke and John Brenneman) blitzed goalie Bruce Gamble for three goals in the first 4:36 of the period and after Mike Walton drew Toronto even again, Burns scored with 2:58 left to win the game.Smith was quick to note that the victory had significant meaning for him:&ldquo;Imlach (Punch) told me I put on a pretty good show, but that I couldn&rsquo;t win in this league. Well I&rsquo;m pretty happy that we beat Toronto.&rdquo;Smith was drafted from Toronto as the Seals&rsquo; backup goalie and he does in fact put on a good show, and he showed Imlach he can win as well.Billy Harris, after additional talks with Olmstead, came back &ldquo;on Olmstead&rsquo;s terms", the details of which have not been revealed. But most certainly they include a heavy fine.Olmstead has made no secret that he would like to trade the ex-AHL MVP and admitted that he had talked seriously with both New York and St. Louis but nothing materialized.Meanwhile, Olmstead lifted the suspension and allowed Harris to work out and subsequently put him into the lineup. He was out of action from Jan. 19 to Feb. 10, missing eight games.Fashoway was impressed by Harris&rsquo; renewed vigor and explained &ldquo;he&rsquo;s thinking a lot differently now. It was all a mental thing with him. He&rsquo;s playing much better.&rdquo;Harris&rsquo; return finally forced Olmstead to make a move on young Mike Laughton who was sent to Vancouver. &#9632;

f0008-01

HAD TO GET OFF BENCH TO KEEP SANITY-OLMSTEAD

<div class="byline">BY ED CONRAD</div>PHILADELPHIA, Pa. -Joe Watson&rsquo;s eye may be bigger than his stomach but, don&rsquo;t bother passing the mustard, he doesn&rsquo;t inted to eat his words.Watson, the Flyers&rsquo; defenseman, is fully confident his club will win the National Hockey League&rsquo;s Western Division championship in a breeze.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-01821/3130298-1-eng-US/f0009-012.jpg" title="f0009-01" width="281" height="482"><figcaption class="caption-body">Joe Watson</figcaption></div>&ldquo;Damn right we could &mdash; and we will!&rdquo; boomed Watson. &ldquo;If we just keep on playing the kind of hockey we&rsquo;ve been playing, I see no reason why we shouldn&rsquo;t finish 10 points ahead of everyone else in our division.&rdquo;Watson&rsquo;s confidence was buoyed by the Flyers&rsquo; 3-2 victory over the Minnesota North Stars, a win which enabled the Philly skaters to keep considerable daylight (five points) between them and the runnerup North Stars. Every other divisional foe, meanwhile, had dropped at least 10 points off the pace.&ldquo;We had our problems there for awhile, I&rsquo;ll admit that,&rdquo; continued Joe, &ldquo;But we just kept hanging in there and, almost before you knew it, we were playing good hockey once again.&rdquo;The Flyers had been molding a runaway situation in the Western Division just a few short weeks ago but then became saddled with their longest winless streak of the year. Three straight losses followed by a tie proved costly because it seemed every other club used the situation to pull within striking distance of Keith Allen&rsquo;s team.Nevertheless, the Flyers snapped back to life with consecutive victories over the Chicago Black Hawks and the Toronto Maple Leafs before sellout crowds at the Spectrum. It was more than enough to get the club moving out of reach of most of the teams in the six-team division.&ldquo;One of the reasons we&rsquo;ve been able to shake out of that slump is because we&rsquo;ve stayed loose,&rdquo; admitted Watson. &ldquo;You&rsquo;ve got to be loose if you want to win in this game. This team has got to be the loosest team I&rsquo;ve ever played on.&ldquo;Of course, you&rsquo;ve also got to have plenty of confidence,&rdquo; he added, &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got every reason in the world to be confident, though, because we&rsquo;ve got some real good hockey players. They&rsquo;ve proven to me that they&rsquo;re winners.&rdquo;Watson agrees that the Flyers&rsquo; strong point has been defense.&ldquo;Everybody on the club &ndash; not just the defensemen &mdash; have been doing a great job,&rdquo; said Joe. &ldquo;Ed Van Impe, Jean Gauthier, John Miszuk, Larry Zeidel and John Hanna all have been going real well but the other players have been helping out, too.&ldquo;Bernie (Parent) and Doug (Favell) have been doing a great job in goal and the forwards also have been playing real good defense.&ldquo;Strong defense can carry a team a long way,&rdquo; he emphasized. &ldquo;Some nights you manage to score only two goals but, if you hold the other team to just one goal, you win, 2-1. It&rsquo;s as simple as that.&rdquo;Watson, who came to the Flyers from the Boston Bruins as Philly&rsquo;s No. 2 draft selection, thinks the high number of low-scoring games in which his club has been involved this season should have it in excellent shape for the Stanley Cup playoffs.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s the kind of hockey they play in the playoffs,&rdquo; volunteered Joe. &ldquo;Usually there aren&rsquo;t too many goals scored because they&rsquo;re usually defensive battles. That&rsquo;s the kind of hockey we&rsquo;ve been playing all year.&ldquo;In fact, the established teams in the Stanley Cup playoffs had better not become overconfident about a championship,&rdquo; he concluded. &ldquo;They may be in for a little surprise.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0009-01

Watson Out On Limb-Calls Flyers In Romp

Statistics for the first 37 games of the season, recently released by the NHL, show that Dick Duff is a straight-shooter.Duff was the highest ranking Canadien, in terms of shooting accuracy, based on players who had seven or more goals in the first half. Duff had eight goals in 29 games through the first half of the schedule. He missed eight games through injury.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-02737/3130329-1-eng-US/f0009-022.jpg" title="f0009-02" width="288" height="445"><figcaption class="caption-body">Dick Duff</figcaption></div>To get his eight goals, Duff needed just 38 shots on the net. That gave him a scoring percentage of 21.0, and made him top gun on the Montreal team among players in the seven-or-more goal category. Actually, young Danny Grant had the highest single percentage, 27.3 on 11 shots which netted him three goals. Under the statistical setup, Grant was four goals away from qualifying.Duff, who celebrated his 32nd birthday on February 18th, is having one of his better years. Since the statistics were compiled, he&rsquo;s added nine more goals for a total of 17 in 45 games. He could be in for his best goal-scoring year since 1958-59, when he hit a career high of 29 goals while with Toronto Maple Leafs. He has hit the 20-goal plateau just once since then, in 1965-66, when he fired 21 tallies for Canadiens.His first-half showing this season placed him third on the list of most accurate shooters in the league. Johnny Bucyk, of Boston, led the parade through the first 37 games with a scoring percentage of 26.0. He had 77 shots, which resulted in 20 goals. &#9632;

f0009-02

First Half Statistics Show Canucks’ Duff Dead-Eye Dick

<div class="byline">BY GLENN REDMANN</div><h2>Flyers Catch Up With Sleepy North Stars</h2>TWIN CITIES, MINN. &ndash;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-01834/3130381-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg" title="f0010-01" width="655" height="1072"><figcaption class="caption-body">BERNIE PARENT &hellip; High In Expansion Play</figcaption></div>The North Stars and their West Division brethren of the National Hockey League may well have it tougher next season when the schedule calls for 36 (Instead of 24) games against the established East Division clubs.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-02718/3130374-1-eng-US/f0010-022.jpg" title="f0010-02" width="271" height="504"><figcaption class="caption-body">Wren Blair</figcaption></div>But you won&rsquo;t hear any of the NHL newcomers complaining.One of the main reasons, says Minnesota goalkeeper Cesare Maniago, is it will mean one, perhaps two fewer trips to the West Coast for games against Los Angeles and Oakland.&ldquo;It isn&rsquo;t too bad when we have a day off between games out there,&rdquo; said Maniago, &ldquo;but it&rsquo;s murder when a club has to fly out of Oakland after midnight West Coas, time and get into the Twin Cities about 10 in the morning on the day of a night game.&rdquo;Maniago who has had more than his share of travelling with 14 different clubs in his eight seasons as a pro, naturally was referring to what the North Stars had to face prior to their 3-2 losing effort at the hands of West Division-leading Philadelphia Sunday, Feb. 11.Less than 22 hours earlier, the Minnesotans had skated off the Oakland Coliseum ice with a 5-2 victory over the Seals. It was their seventh triumph in the last eight starts and they had to be happy.But that happiness disappeared Sunday night following the Flyers* 12th road victory against 11 losses and three ties which kept the Stars from pulling to within a point of Keith Alien&rsquo;s defense-minded crew.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-03582/3130367-1-eng-US/f0010-032.jpg" title="f0010-03" width="612" height="897"><figcaption class="caption-body">CESARE MANIAGO &hellip; We Needed The Sleep</figcaption></div>&ldquo;Philadelphia&rsquo;s a real good club added Maniago, who had little chance on any of the Flyers&rdquo; three goals, &ldquo;but it might&rsquo;ve been different if our guys would&rsquo;ve been able to get a good night&rsquo;s sleep".Minnesota general manager-coach Wren Blair didn&rsquo;t appear to be as alarmed over his team&rsquo;s mid-morning Sabbath arrival as Maniago, and even made it a point to mention that the Flyers had to travel, too, after beating St. Louis, 2-1, Saturday night Feb. 10 in the Mound City.Yes, I know they got in from St. Louis a lot earlier (2 a.m.) than we did from Oakland,&rdquo; said Blair. &ldquo;But I can&rsquo;t see that being a valid reason for us not skating any better than we did.&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t think Philadelphia skated real well either. But they skated better than we did, and as far as I&rsquo;m concerned, deserved to win. If you want to finish first, you gotta go out and get it when the opportunity is there. They did. That&rsquo;s why they&rsquo;re five points ahead of us now. We didn&rsquo;t. That&rsquo;s why we&rsquo;re five out instead of one.&rdquo;<h2>How NHL Goalers Rate</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-04448/3130360-1-eng-US/f0010-042.jpg" title="f0010-04" width="1410" height="2046"></div> &#9632;

f0010-01

Maniago Laments Long West Coast Trips

<div class="byline">BY JIM PROUDFOOT</div>TORONTO, Ont.&mdash;Mike Pelyk wasn&rsquo;t at all sure he was Interested last fall when Toronto Maple Leafs offered him a job in professional hockey.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-02752/3130419-1-eng-US/f0011-022.jpg" title="f0011-02" width="294" height="468"><figcaption class="caption-body">Mike Pelyk</figcaption></div>He had a season of junior eligibility left and was serious about remaining In Toronto and coninuing his education.Pelyk finally did relent and now finds himself with a permanent appointment to Leafs&rsquo; National Hockey League defence.Injuries and a Leaf slump brught about his sudden promotion from Leafs&rsquo; Central League farm club at Tulsa, Okla.Regulars Tim Horton and Allan Stanley were hurt. And Jim McKenny, top defence prospect In the Toronto organization, had just returned to Rochester&rsquo;s American League lineup after recovering from a broken leg. Pelyk was the best available replacement.And a shakeup was Indicated. Leafs had picked up only three points in six games and were descending toward fifth place in the NHL standings. Punch Imlach, their coach and general manager, had to act.Pelik and left-winger Andre Hinse (pronounced Heinz) were brought in from Tulsa and right winger Duke Harris flew down from Rochester. Brian Conacher was demoted to Rochester, Mike Walton was benched and it was indicated subsequently that Jim Pappin also was earmarked for temporary Rochester duty.The shakeup wasn&rsquo;t immediately successful. Leafs took a 2-0 lead in Chicago but wound up losing 3-2, their fifth defeat in seven attempts. To Increase their worries, veteran goalie Johnny Bower was benched after yielding Hawks&rsquo; tying score on a 70-foot shot.Pelyk distinguished himself and Imlach announced soon afterwards that the youngster would be staying with Leafs for the balance of the 1967-68 season.Imlach then embarked on a scouting trip while his assistant, King Clancy, took Leafs home for three days of practice before a trip to California, where they would meet Oakland Seals and Los Angeles Kings before returning from a 7-game road series.Conacher went quietly, but Pappin refused to accept the Rochester assignment. He announced his retirement from hockey, then disappeared amid rumors he was going Into business with his father-in-law.Walton remained out of the active lineup though, for the time being, he was being retained as reserve strength at centre. It was an odd situation for a team&rsquo;s leading shooter (22 goals) and the NHL&rsquo;s second-string all-star in midseason voting.Pelyk, who is big and rough, played with Toronto&rsquo;s Marlboros juniors last winter when they won the Memorial Cup, symbolic of the national championship. He was regarded as a promising recruit but his rise all the way to the NHL was not foreseen.Hinse is almost as much of a surprise. He spent the 1966-67 campaign with Charlotte, N.C., in the Eastern League. However, he demonstrated a deft scoring touch, potting 41 goals, and was equally as hot at Tulsa this year.-He led the Central League with 26 goals when Imlach elevated him.Duke Harris, a veteran minor-leaguer, went to Rochester as part of the deal which sent Milan Mar-cetta and Jean-Paul Parise to Minnesota North Stars. His promotion was regarded as temporary, but Pelyk is up to stay and the same could be true of Hinse. The danger of missing the playoffs may have forced Imlach to abandon his left-wing experiment with young Wayne Carleton.Leafs&rsquo; latest sag makes a fifth-place finish a distinct possibility. The teams ahead of them Canadiens, Hawks, Rangers and Bruins &mdash; all are definitely capable of remaining there, especially in view of Leafs&rsquo; repeated failure to capitalize on situations where they appear likely to win. For example, they have suffered frequent losses to members of the NHL&rsquo;s new, or western, division. These failures have kept them in hot water, despite a proven ability to play powerfully under critical circumstances.<h2>Jim Pappin Says He&rsquo;s Through</h2>TORONTO, Ont. -Jim Pappin said he&rsquo;d rather quit hockey than play in the minor leagues.The 29-year-old forward, who refused to report to Rochester Americans after being demoted by the Toronto Leafs said he wasn&rsquo;t worried about the money he is losing.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s no way I&rsquo;ll change my mind,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;As far as I&rsquo;m concerned I&rsquo;m through until next September, maybe forever.&rdquo;Pappin was ordered to report to the Maple Leafs&rsquo; farm team Feb. 8. He refused and was suspended.Two days later he joined his wife and children in Sudbury, where his father-in-law has a business.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-01826/3130412-1-eng-US/f0011-012.jpg" title="f0011-01" width="1381" height="4085"></div> &#9632;

f0011-02

Reluctant To Sign Pro Contract, Rookie Pelyk Lands In Big Time

<div class="byline">BY TOM MONAHAN</div>BOSTON, MASS. -The Bruins are resigned to the loss of brilliant young defenseman Bobby Orr for the remainder of the NHL schedule but they are far from throwing in the towel.&ldquo;As I told the rest of the squad the day Bobby was operated on,&rdquo; said Coach Harry Sinden, we have too many good hockey players on this club to fold in the stretch just because Bobby won&rsquo;t be able to play. &ldquo;orr was operated on for the removal of the medial-cartilage in his left knee last Feb. 12 at Newton-Wellesley Hospital.According to Dr. Ronald Adams, the Bruins&rsquo; team physician, the operation was &ldquo;completely successful and badly needed".Just when or how Orr injured his knee, no one really knows. It is the same knee he injured last year when pinned along the boards by Marcel Pronovost in a game with Toronto at Boston Garden. The injury then was to the ligaments.The knee had been bothering him somewhat for a couple of weeks. Then playing at St. Louis on Feb. 7 the knee locked on him. He was held out of most of the second period and all of the third period.At first it was believed the trouble was not serious but it locked on him again in the next game at Detroit on Feb. 10 and further examination showed surgery would be necessary.This is the third injury Orr has suffered this season. He sustained a cracked collar bone in December and a severe shoulder bruise in the All-Star game on Jan. 16.While Dr. Adams says,&rdquo; There is no reason to assume Bobby will not be able to skate in five weeks", this means he will not be available until at least the playoffs.Five weeks of recuperation will be up on March 17. Bobby then will need at least another week to regain enough condition to be able to play.It&rsquo;s possible that he might be back in the lineup in time for the final three games of the season against New York, Boston and Toronto. But that&rsquo;s cutting things a bit fine to say the least and no one is betting on it.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve just got to accept the fact that we won&rsquo;t have him,&rdquo; says Sinden, &ldquo;and play accordingly. The guys all realize this. None of them are happy about losing Bobby but they know they made the mistake of letting his injury early in the season bother them to the extent that they forget to play their own game.&ldquo;There is no doubt about Bobby&rsquo;s ability and the way he leads the play. But we have other guys with ability and guys who can lead the play.&ldquo;Teddy Green used to do it very well before Bobby came along and he can do it now. And Phil Esposito is that type of player too.&ldquo;Losing Bobby makes things a little harder, I&rsquo;ll admit. But with everyone playing a little harder we will be all right.&ldquo;We still are in good position. We&rsquo;ve had a stretch of five games with a defeat and we&rsquo;ve been playing good hockey.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got 62 points in the till and we have 20 games left on the season. I originally thought it would take 86 points to make the playoffs. But the expansion teams have changed my mind, I think now 81 or 82 points will do it. This means if we play just 500 hockey the rest of the way we&rsquo;ll be in there.&ldquo;I think we can do that even without Orr.&rdquo;ICE CHIPS &mdash; The Bruins started a seven-game 15-day road trip last Wednesday at Chicago &hellip; The other games take them to Oakland, Los Angeles, Minnesota, Detroit, Toronto and Pittsburgh before they return to the Garden for a game with the Maple Leafs on Feb. 29. After this trip the B&rsquo;s will have just two games remaining with expansion teams, St. Louis at the Garden on March 3 and at Philadelphia on March 7 &hellip; The Bruins recalled Barry Gibbs from Oklahoma City to fill out their defensive squad following Orr&rsquo;s operation &hellip; Gibbs also 19-years-old, filled in for Orr for three games when Bobby cracked his shoulder. . Don Awrey continued to pair with Teddy Green and Gary Doak moved up to right defense alongside Dallas Smith with Gibbs in reserve.<h2>NHL Player Of The Week &mdash; IN THE EAST</h2>The New York Rangers are moving and much of their momentum has been generated by the scoring heroics of their super star right winger Rod Gilbert.&ldquo;Hot Rod&rdquo; as he has come to be known by the Gallery Gods in New York, has come on strong in the second half on the NHL campaign and his inspiring play has lifted the Rangers to the dizzy heights of challenging the Chicago Black for second place. Last year the Blues were content to settle for fourth spot. But not this season.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-02698/3130457-1-eng-US/f0012-022.jpg" title="f0012-02" width="304" height="497"><figcaption class="caption-body">Gene Ubriaco</figcaption></div>Gilbert turned in another of his patented scoring performances last weekend as the Rangers upset the Toronto Leafs 3-2 in Toronto. Gilbert more than did his part. He drilled two goals, including the game winner to boost his season output to 25, only three less than he scored all last year in 64 games.THE HOCKEY NEWS and Simon&rsquo;s Cigarillos are pleased to salute the NHL&rsquo;s player-of-the-week in the East:Rod Gilbert&hellip; New York<h2>NHL Player Of The Week &mdash; IN THE WEST</h2>The Pittsburgh Penguins knew Gene Ubriaco could score in the minor leagues but they didn&rsquo;t know what his big league potential would be unless they could see him under fire.Summoned somewhat hastily from the American League, Ubriaco woke up one morning to find himself traded to the Penguins by Hershey Bears in exchange for his old teammate, Jeannot Gilbert.The Penguins won&rsquo;t have to worry about Ubriaco any linger. They know he can put the puck in the net in the NHL as well.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-01808/3130450-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg" title="f0012-01" width="286" height="485"><figcaption class="caption-body">Rod Gilbert</figcaption></div>The fast-skating Pittsburgh forward enjoyed a productive week as he scored four times and set up a fifth goal in the Penguins&rsquo; three games. Twice he turned in two-goal games to give him 13 for the season.THE HOCKEY NEWS and Simon&rsquo;s Cigarillos are pleased to salute the NHL&rsquo;s player-of-the-week in the West:Gene Ubriaco&hellip; Pittsburgh &#9632;

f0012-02

Sinden Says Boston Club Won’t Fold

<div class="byline">&#x2014; By Bill Libby</div>Tough Year For BlairRecently, Minnesota was playing in Los Angeles and Ray Cullen was bawled out on the bench by manager coach Wren Blair for not putting out on the ice. Ray protested that he had been slashed by a stick just above the right ankle and was in terrible pain, wren immediately sent Ray to have the injury examined. It turned out he had been carrying on with a hairline fracture. He was hospitalized, his leg was placed in a cast, and it was estimated he would be out for two to three weeks.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-01792/3130533-1-eng-US/f0014-012.jpg" title="f0014-01" width="312" height="493"><figcaption class="caption-body">Ray Cullen</figcaption></div>It was only the most recent of many injuries which have hounded hockey this season, the most serious of which was the accidental death of Minnesota&rsquo;s Bill Masterton, of course. Always a good-natured and gracious person, Blair now seems tense. He has had it tough this year. Like others in the expansion division, he is delighted with how well expansion teams have done, yet says, &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll just be glad when this season is over.&rdquo; Similarly, Cullen now is depressed. He was having his finest season when he was sidelined.Ray, whose brothers Brian and Barry were NHL players before him, has been an outstanding scorer in his brief career. As an amateur, he scored 66 goals one season, 48 another season. In his first year of pro, in the Central League, he scored 46 goals. He had eight games with New York Rangers in 1966, scoring once, and 28 games with Detroit Red Wings last year, scoring eight. It is hard to understand why those clubs so swiftly were willing to surrender him. Similarly, he was not selected in the expansion draft until Minnesota took him in the second round. Yet, I two-thirds of the way into this, only his fifth pro season, before he was hurt, he had 24 goals, the most of any expansion player.Injuries Plague CullenRay got off to a slow start this year. A fine family man, he was deeply concerned because his wife, Jacqueline, was expecting a baby and was alone at home with three children, the oldest of whom was only four. The baby, their fourth son, arrived, Ray had gathered his family around him in a Minnesota suburb by Christmas time, and things began to pop for pop. Not a strong skater, he is a steady performer, solid defensively and masterful with his stick. &ldquo;He is only 25 and he is going to be I one of the great ones in this I league,&rdquo; coach Blair says.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-02678/3130526-1-eng-US/f0014-022.jpg" title="f0014-02" width="305" height="500"><figcaption class="caption-body">Wayne Rutledge</figcaption></div>I sat with Ray in the dark, still Forum several hours before a recent game. He said, &ldquo;I have found it is almost impossible, to go around defensemen in this league with the puck, but it is very easy to do without the puck. If you play position hockey properly and work to get in the right place at the right time, and if you have good line-mates to help you, you can get a job done. I feel real good about things right now. I broke my leg last season and missed quite a bit of action. If I can get by without breaking my leg again, I think I can do all right in this league.&rdquo;Then he went out and broke his leg for the second time.However, if the Minnesota hockey club finds his hospital expenses too much to bear, other clubs will take him off the North Stars&rsquo; hands.He is one of the four or five most outstanding young players to escape the established clubs in the expansion draft. Among others are Mike McMahon of Minnesota, Bill Flett and Wayne Rutledge of L.A., and Ed Van Impe, Bernie Parent and Doug Favell of Philadelphia. When the established clubs said they were giving up no one of consequence, they were wrong. These fellows could be important men on any establishment team in the NHL right now. Except Cullen. He has a broken leg.Hockey Suffers SetbacksHERE AND THERE - The death of young Bruce Draper, recently a promising Toronto prospect, from leukemia at the age of 27 was expected but depressing &hellip; It has been a long and often sad season in this sport and one can only hope that the good breaks begin to come this way &hellip; New York Ranger captain Bob Nevin&rsquo;s wife recently went into the I hospital with a serious illness &hellip; The left eye injury suffered by Philadelphia&rsquo;s Garry Peters when he was struck by a stick Christmas night will sideline him the remainder of the season. He has regained perfect vision, but the fiber tissues that hold the lens of the eye in place were damaged and have not regained full strength. Doctors feel that if he is hit in the eye again now, he might suffer permanent injury. They feel that four or five months may provide time to heal the fibers. &ldquo;It was quite a shock. I was frightened for my eye and for my career and I&rsquo;ve spent many sleepless nights. Now I feel everything will be all right next year,&rdquo; Peters says.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-03533/3130519-1-eng-US/f0014-032.jpg" title="f0014-03" width="324" height="484"><figcaption class="caption-body">Bobby Hull</figcaption></div>Billy Hicke of Oakland, who was sent to Hawaii to recuperate from his latest bout with a chronic bronchial condition, is back in action again, but knows he will have to contend with the problem throughout his career &hellip; On the brighter side, veteran New York writer Stan Fischler, one of the best, has just gotten married to the former Shirley Walton, whom he regards as a more critical hockey fan than I am, than he is, than anyone is. The Ranger brass find that hard to believe. They&rsquo;ll welcome her with open arms. Because New York newspapers, the few that are left, consider press-box facilities in the new Madison Square Garden Center to be woefully inadequate, they have bought their writers &rsquo; regular-sections seats so they can see satisfactorily.Jack Kent Cooke was deeply concerned when the ice surface at his new and beautiful $16,000,000 Forum was so faulty that a recent game was threatened with cancellation. Reportedly, he had all his employees empty their refrigerator trays and barred the sale of highballs in his place to provide extra ice. Realistically, he spoke to his staff into the wee hours and conscientiously set about remedying the problem. A series of midget auto races, which require the floor to be stripped, were cancelled. Building temperature was lowered for hockey games. Recent ice has been excellent&hellip; The Chicago brass is unhappy with Bobby Hull&rsquo;s remarks criticizing their trading of his linemate and soulmate Phil Esposito, but they are not so unhappy they&rsquo;ll get rid of Bobby, who I may get rid of them first. Bobby may retire to his beloved cattle ranch long before anyone really expects it. Toronto continues to be interested in acquiring Pierre Pilote from Chicago, which may let him go &hellip; Philadelphia&rsquo;s Spectrum recently hosted 53,158 fans for two basketball games and two hockey games in a48-hour period. And it just got its scoreboard Installed. Now that J the fans know what&rsquo;s happening, will attendance rise or fall? &#9632;

f0014-01

Hockey Ad Lib

<div class="byline">BY JACK BERRY</div>DETROIT, Mich. -Tying one on isn&rsquo;t doing the Red Wings one bit of good now.&ldquo;What we need are victories,&rdquo; said manager-coach Sid Abel, surveying the standings which found the Detroiters still in the basement and falling farther behind in the quest for a role in the Stanley Cup playoffs.The Wings had just played a pair of tie games and, in a critical home-and-home set with New York, managed only one of a possible four points.Through changes, threats and fire and brimstone, the Wings tightened considerably defensively and began playing tougher but it looks like it&rsquo;s too little too late.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-04386/3130564-1-eng-US/f0014-042.jpg" title="f0014-04" width="324" height="496"><figcaption class="caption-body">Nick Libett</figcaption></div>Abel demoted defenseman Howie Young and forward Doug Roberts to Fort Worth - Roberts&rsquo; second trip to the minors this season - and promoted rookie forwards Ron Anderson and Nick Libett and rookie defenseman Bob Falkenberg.Anderson and Libett, both sophomore pros, drew good words from Abel immediately.Anderson scored the Wing goal in a 1-1 tie with Boston and he did it on hustle, barging in for his own rebound.What Abel liked even more was the big rookie&rsquo;s willingness to check and mix it up in the corner.Several of the Wings&rsquo; high-priced hands have been taking batterings in every game with not even a hint of retaliation and even the light checkers on the other clubs are knocking them down.Abel dispatched assistang general manager Baz Bastien, who had been running the team from the bench, to the farms to look over prospects and Bastien recommended the callup of Anderson, Libett and Falkenberg.Libett, after a disappointing training camp, was loaned to San Diego of the Western League and then was assigned to Fort Worth in the Central League.The 6-foot-l, 175-pounder from Stratford, Ont., averaged nearly a point a game in 39 games with Fort Worth, scoring 10 goals and assisting on 28.Abel put Libett and Anderson together on a line with Bruce MacGregor at center and gave them heavy duty.The old HUM Line of Paul Henderson, Norm Ullman and MacGregor remained the season&rsquo;s major disappointment.Despite the prospect of a 30 goal season, Ullman isn&rsquo;t, as Able says, &ldquo;the Ullman we know.&rdquo;Abel called Ullman In for an office consultation and asked if anything was the matter physically - some of the players suggested that Ullman might not have recovered from an early season shoulder injury.Ullman assured Abel that wasn&rsquo;t a problem.Abel even resorted to taking him off center and putting him on left wing but that didn&rsquo;t last long. Then Ullman scored twice against New York, making his own play on one by driving in for a shot and bagging the rebound.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s the Ullman we know,&rdquo; Abel said afterward, expressing the hope that his former All-Star center would remain that way.While Ullman still managed to score goals while playing poorly, Henderson and MacGregor didn&rsquo;t and haven&rsquo;t.Abel has tried MacGregor at center, moved Henderson back to right wing, his natural berth, without notable success. Then, because of the shortage of left wings, Henderson was moved back again.MacGregor had a futility string of one goal in 19 games, Henderson one in 12 games. MacGregor brought a string of three 20-plus goal seasons into this campaign and Henderson had a pair. Both are in jeopardy.And, of course, so is the whole club. &#9632;

f0014-04

Latest Wings’ Callups, Anderson, Libett Draw Praise From Coach Abel

<div class="byline">BY SHEL FULLERTON</div>CLEVELAND, OHIO -&ldquo;Puck sense&rdquo; is that intangible something that separates the men from the boys as far as hockey players are concerned. Some have it and some don&rsquo;t. Those not gifted with it face a hockey life of mediocrity.Because &ldquo;puck sense&rdquo; is what he has in quantity, the littlest Baron of all the Cleveland Barons should make it big in pursuit of a long and illustrious career.Norm Ferguson, only 5-9 and 165 pounds, is making a strong bid for the honor of being the American Hockey League&rsquo;s outstanding rookie because he knows where the puck is going before it gets there because he sets into position to do something about it and because he carries out his intentions so well when he makes his move.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-02684/3130626-1-eng-US/f0015-022.jpg" title="f0015-02" width="325" height="504"><figcaption class="caption-body">Norm Ferguson</figcaption></div>That is partially the reason why he is one of the two Barons to reach the 30-goal mark this season. Only Howie Glover, a veteran enjoying his most prolific campaign, has topped Ferguson&rsquo;s goal productionFerguson, a kid who played only three years of amateur hockey and one year as a professional before joining the Barons, has to be one of the brighter lights among the chattels of the Montreal Canadiens.In his first year as a pro, at Houston, he popped in only eight goals, in 55 games, in many of which he saw only spotty service. As of mid-February this year, in 53 games, he lit the red light 30 times. Teamed with Jim Paterson and Bob Ellett, he helps form the Barons&rsquo; hottest scoring unit.The ability to score is only one of Norm&rsquo;s assets. Combined with his scoring talent is an inner drive that keeps him perking along at full tilt, driving into corners after the puck and swapping bodychecks with many a bigger opponent.The 22-year-old from Sydney, Nova Scotia, is first and foremost a &ldquo;puck hound.&rdquo; From the second he hits the ice to the instant he leaves, he never stops working.The result of his efforts is reflected in the scoring column. Second to Howie Glover among the Barons in goal-production, he also is second to Paterson in scoring. To top it off, he spends little time sitting out penalties.Ferguson has come a long way since leaving the Montreal Jr. Canadiens two years ago and the Houston Apollos last year. At the rate he is going, it will not be too long before he is doing his lamp-lighting I as a member of a National Hockey League team. &#9632;

f0015-02

Little Baron Norm Ferguson Rates High In ‘Puck Sense’

<div class="byline">BY CHUCK SANTANIELIO</div><h2>Rathwell Makes Good On Second Try</h2>SPRINGFIELD, Mass.-Dennis Rathwell has been going like a house afire for the Kings. The 27 year old, 5-8,180 pounder from Dryden, Ontario potted five goals in three weekend games in mid-February to spark the local team.Dennis is no rookie, either. In fact, it is his second time around for the lad who is better known as a hard checker, digger and worker on the ice. The last two seasons, he was a member of the Johnstown Jets of the Eastern League.He came to the Kings camp last fall in a final bid to make the pro hockey grade. It would have been the end had he not caught on with locals. But he did, not as a first line player at the beginning.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-01600/3130671-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg" title="f0016-01" width="299" height="489"><figcaption class="caption-body">Dennis Rathwell</figcaption></div>But after many call ups and injuries, he got his chance with Springfield and has been doing very well lately. He started as a spare forward in training camp and under Coach Johnny Wilson&rsquo;s skilled handling turned into a top man.Rathwell&rsquo;s start in professional hockey goes back to 1960 when he turned pro with the Western Hockey League Spokane, Wash. Comets. The next season he moved to Sudbury, Ont. of the now disbanded Eastern Canadian Pro League.After a return in 1962 to the Western League, Rathwell played two seasons with the Memphis, Tenn. club of the Central Pro League. Eddie Shore then drafted him for Springfield. But he never played here, instead becoming a reinstated amateur.He is much better known as a hitter and rough checker on the ice than a top scorer. So the new found ability to put the puck into the nets is a big bonus for both the club and himself. He certainly has worked hard for every bit of success.Even while playing with Johnstown, Denny was never known as a real top scorer. His main job was to keep the other guys on opposing teams from scoring. He netted 27 goals last season, not high for the Eastern League.Dennis has a wife and 10-montholdson. He works as a truck driver in the off-season. He&rsquo;s really shooting for post-season playoff money with the Kings. Then he wouldn&rsquo;t have to work as hard next summer at his off-season work.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-02522/3130664-1-eng-US/f0016-022.jpg" title="f0016-02" width="641" height="1914"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-03419/3130657-1-eng-US/f0016-032.jpg" title="f0016-03" width="2736" height="2862"></div> &#9632;

f0016-01

Kings Uncover New Hot Scorer

<div class="byline">BY HANS TANNER</div>ROCHESTER, N.Y. -Attention, Fred Glover, player-coach, of the Cleveland Barons.Better designate your brother, Howie as a right winger when it comes time for the voting for the American Hockey League All-Star team.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-01513/3130702-1-eng-US/f0017-012.jpg" title="f0017-01" width="321" height="490"><figcaption class="caption-body">Bob Barlow</figcaption></div>Bob Barlow of the Rochester Americans is laying claim to the left wing berth already, and his credentials look pretty good.Why point the finger at Howie Glover?Well, Howie is having a tremendous year, but he has played both right and left wing, and according to league publicity chief Jack Button, it probably will be up to Baron boss Freddy Glover to decide at which position Howie should get his votes.His chances on the right side certainly appear to be better than if he has to go against the hustling Barlow, back in the AHL for the first time since 1961 62.Bob, incidentally, passed his previous American League high of 28 goals when he scored his 27th, 28th and 29th in a 6-2 win over Springfield here Sunday, Feb. 4. He played four complete campaigns in the AHL before &mdash; scoring 27 and 28 goals for Cleveland and only 12 and 11 for Quebec.At this writing, the hard-working winger was fourth in the league&rsquo;s individual point race with 30 goals and 31 assists for 61 points in 51 games.In one recent three-game stretch Barlow netted two goals, including the winner, in a 4-1 victory over Baltimore, the lone goal at 19:16 of the final period in a 1-0 nod over Buffalo and the three-goal hat trick in the 6-2 conquest of Springfield.Glover too seems a cinch to surpass the 40-goal mark and has played a major role in keeping the Barons atop or near the top of the Western Division standings for the last month. He had 34 goals and 19 assists at this writing.Barlow knows what it is to be selected an all-star. He made the first team in the Western League for 1965-66 after scoring 42 goals and adding 39 assists for Victoria, and he was a second team pick in 1962-63 when he poured in 47 goals and added 30 assists for Seattle.So a word to the wise, Fred, remember to list Howie as a right wing for the voting. &#9632;

f0017-01

Amerks’ Barlow All-Star Hope With Glover Top Opposition

<div class="byline">BY CHARLEY BARTON</div>BUFFALO, N.Y.&mdash;This is the time of year when hockey coaches start studying schedules with a view to determining their influence on the stretch drive for playoff positions.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-04299/3130733-1-eng-US/f0017-042.jpg" title="f0017-04" width="316" height="499"><figcaption class="caption-body">Fred Shero</figcaption></div>The Bisons&rsquo; Fred Shero spends as much time as any poring over the remaining games in the Western Division program, and is willing to suggest, however faintly, that the schedule favors the Bisons somewhat.Although Shero stoutly insists it&rsquo;s far too soon to concede the first two places to Cleveland and Rochester, he readily admits he is more concerned with the fortunes of the Quebec Aces.The Bisons have 11 games left at home and 11 on the road, while the Aces must play 13 of their remaining 22 games on the road. The disparity in away games is what favors the Bisons, currently two points back of the third-place Aces.Home ice always has been considered among the great equalizers, yet Shero refuses to put too much faith in that theory, particularly where the Aces are concerned.&ldquo;I must say I feel the schedule favors us a bit, but not as much as some people think,&rdquo; Shero said. &ldquo;This Quebec club is probably the best skating team in the league, and they have a good bunch of body-checkers.&ldquo;They win their share of road games, and now, when the chips are on the line, they will be tougher. And at home, those wild Frenchmen up there really spur them on.&ldquo;It looks like Cleveland and Rochester should be in, but I can&rsquo;t concede them anything. Remember, both those teams have had extended winning streaks. We haven&rsquo;t had one, and if we can get healthy and put together a streak now, who is to say either Rochester or Cleveland might not be knocked out?&ldquo;The big thing for us is to get healthy and stay that way. We&rsquo;ve hung close despite all our injuries, and that is a good sign. We&rsquo;re right there with Quebec, and without all our injuries, we might be well ahead of them.&rdquo;Shero has been scrambling his lines from the outset of the season, and appears doomed to a similar role the rest of the way. &#9632;

f0017-04

Shero Sees Aces Bisons’ Barrier To Playoff Spot

BUFALLO, N.Y.&mdash;Frank Christie, in his 21st season as trainer of the Buffalo Bisons, received a flock of gifts, including a new station wagon when he was honored with a &ldquo;night&rdquo; in Memorial Auditorium.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-05246/3130802-1-eng-US/f0017-052.jpg" title="f0017-05" width="304" height="483"><figcaption class="caption-body">Frank Christie</figcaption></div>Christie, a transplanted New Yorker, was brought to Buffalo by the late Art Chapman after a stint with the old New York Americans as a stick-boy.Frank and his wife, Ruth, a native of this city, live in the Town of Tonawanda, a suburb of Buffalo.Among the hockey notables who came here to help Frank celebrate his night were King Clancy, Jack Gordon Jack Butterfield, the AHL president; Jack Button, the AHL secretary, and Edgar Brenchley, chief Eastern Canada scout for the Pittsburgh Penguins.Ray Weil and Don Altman were co-chairmen of the affair. Charlie Bailey, veteran Buffalo sportswriter and sportscaster, was the master of ceremonies. &#9632;

f0017-05

Pro Hockey Notables Gather To Honor Trainer Christie

<div class="byline">BY JOHN WHITE</div>SEATTLE, Wash.&mdash;As the seattie Totems prepared to head East and the Baltimore Clippers prepared to swing West, the second interlocking series between the Western and American hockey leagues was just about history.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-01517/3130847-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg" title="f0018-01" width="298" height="484"><figcaption class="caption-body">Fred Hilts</figcaption></div>As a &ldquo;competition,&rdquo; in fact, the series already was over. The American Leaguers held an advantage over the West of 3825-4. The Westerners would have to win the last 13 in a row &mdash; 8 in the East and 5 in WHL cities &mdash; to pull even.So complete was AHL domination in the &ldquo;standings&rdquo; that if Buffalo, Quebec and Springfield won final home-ice games against Seattle, there wouldn&rsquo;t be a single American League loser in the interlocking series.Of the Western clubs, only Seattle, with the swing East to play, and Portland, with one home game left against Baltimore, could win in the series.There were two key factors in American League success this season.First, American Leaguers played much better on western League ice than they did two years ago when they won the overall interlocking series 38-32-2.Two years ago, the home-ice edges were 28-6-2 for the American League and 26-10-0 forThis season &mdash; with the Seattle swing still ahead &mdash; the AHL home-ice advantage wasn&rsquo;t much different &mdash; 22-6-4. But the American League, before Baltimore&rsquo;s trip West, had won 16 and lost 19 on Western League ice &mdash; a big improvement.The second major factor in AHL success was that the boys from the East won the close ones.Thirteen of the interlocking games were decided by a single goal and the American League won 11 of them.That 11-2 edge was the difference. Turn it around, and the Western League would have been leading in the series.Individually, the top scorer for the West in the interlocking series as the stretch run began was San Diego winger and Captain Fred Hilts. He had scored 23 points against the AHL on 13 goals and 10 assists.Top challengers were a pair of Phoenix Roadrunners, Tommy McVie with 17 points on 12 goals and 5 assists and linemate Del Topoll with 17 points on 5 goals and 12 assists.Eastern leaders againts the WHL with 14 points each, were Norm Ferguson of Cleveland and Andre Lacroix of Qu&eacute;bec. Ferguson had sniped 10 goals and had added 4 assists. Lacroix had 6 goals, 8 assists.Top goaltending, for the most part, was on Western League clubs going into the stretch run.Against the American League, Seattle&rsquo;s Don Head was 2.00, Portland&rsquo;s Marv Edwards was 2.19, Portland&rsquo;s Jim McLeod was 2.20 and Seattle&rsquo;s Jim Armstrong w s 2.25.Head and Armstrong, of course, still had to face the Eastern swing.For the American League, the leaders against the WHL were Joe Daley of Baltimore at 1.75 and Bobby Perreault of Rochester at 2.00. And Daley still had to face five games in the West.So much for performance on the ice!How about the box office?There was one really astounding aspect of attendance for the interlocking series. With Baltimore&rsquo;s five games to play, American League teams were drawing slightly better in Western League cities than Western League teams were drawing in Western League cities.Yeah, you read that right.In the West, the first 35 games against American League foes drew 219,612 fans &mdash; an average of 6,275 a contest.The first 96 games in the West against Western League foes drew 554,444 fans &mdash; an average of 5,775 a contest.The American League was out-drawing the Western League in Vancouver (6612 average to 5040 average for the entire season), in Seattle (5667 to 5292) and in Phoenix (5178 to 4837).The WHL was king in San Diego (8675 to 8064) and in Portland (6132 to 5852).American Leaguers drew much better in the West than Western Leaguers drew in the East which isn&rsquo;t surprising in the slightest because professional hockey draws so much better in the Western than in the American League.In fact, the worst attendance average for American League teams in WHL cities was in Phoenix &mdash; 5178.The best average for Western League teams in the East was in Rochester with a 4770 average.(All figures are before the Seattle trip East and the Baltimore swing West.)<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-02420/3130840-1-eng-US/f0018-022.jpg" title="f0018-02" width="1344" height="1625"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-03315/3130833-1-eng-US/f0018-032.jpg" title="f0018-03" width="698" height="1573"></div><h2>Western League Defenses Tougher Than Last Season</h2>SEA TTLE, Wash. -When the expansion draft took a pot pouri of Western Hockey Leaguers last June, it would have been logical to predict a sharp rise in scoring this season in the WHL.Only one of the Western League&rsquo;s top 14 scorers from &rsquo;67 - Howie Hughes of Seattle &mdash; was touched.Key losses were such outstanding WHL defenseman as Aut Erickson, Larry Cahan, Noel Picard, Gerry Odrowski, Fred Hucul and Jean Gauthier.Instead, Western League snipers this season are facing perhaps the toughest defenses in WHL history.As one measuring stick, netminders Jim McLeod and Marv Edwards of Portland and Don Head of Seattle all owned goals-against averages in mid-February well below the all-time WHL season low of 2.40 posted by Lorne (Gump) Worsley of Vancouver in &rsquo;54.But more amazing was the fact that in mid-February there were only three players in the entire league scoring at a point-a-game pace.As action got under way on February 14 Fred Hilts of San Diego had 59 points in 46 games. Art Jones of Portland had 59 points in 50 games. And Len Ronson of San Diego had 54 points in 50 games. &#9632;

f0018-01

Seattle Final Hope To Prevent Interlocking Sweep By AHL Teams

<div class="byline">BY BRIAN MARSHALL</div>MOOSE JAW, Sask. &ndash;Some people think that the National Hockey League has cornered the market on colorful managers and coaches. They have the nervous, gum-chewing Toe Blake of the Canadiens, the flamboyant Maple Leaf mentor, Punch Imlach and the often-fined general-manager of the Rangers, Emile Francis.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-02426/3130892-1-eng-US/f0019-022.jpg" title="f0019-02" width="320" height="486"><figcaption class="caption-body">Brian Shaw</figcaption></div>But in the Western Canada Junior Hockey League, there is a man who could fit into that elite company any day. He is 37-year-old Brian Shaw, manager-coach of the Moose Jaw Canucks.He is a man of immaculate dress, high principles, a strict disciplinarian, eloquent and vociferous and above all an excellent manager-coach.While Canucks were still in the now-defunct Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League in 1965, Shaw took over the reins as manager-coach.At that time, few people had heard of him. A native of Nordegg, Alberta, he did not have an impressive hockey background. He never played more than intermediate hockey during his career.But he was a diligent organizer. He organized the complete minor hockey system in Jasper Place and ran it in competition to the mighty Edmonton OH King system.Prior to going to Moose Jaw, he won three consecutive Alberta juvenile A championships and recruited the cream of that club to help him win the Canadian Major Junior Hockey League title last year.When he arrived in Moose Jaw in 1965, he promised the fans a winner within two years. He refused to have Interference from the club executive after his budget was set.In the 1965-66 season, his club finished fourth in the SJHL and was eliminated in the semi-finals by Estevan Bruins.The club also finished fourth in the CMJHL In 1966-67 but beat Oil Kings in a classic nine-game semi-final series which went to the limit then ousted Regina Pats in five games in a best-of-seven final.He likes to build his club around the team idea. He prefers a hard skating, checking club with good goaltending to one with high scoring and no checking.Shaw, a bachelor, is probably the sternest coach in the league. He has stiff curfews and a fine system for players who break the club rules.His players don&rsquo;t necessarily like him but they certainly respect him because he teaches them to be winners. He hates to lose. If his club loses a bad game at home, he&rsquo;ll have a tough half-hour practice after the game.He has been known to return from long bus trips and practice after a game in which his charges failed to perform to his standards.Probably because he is a sharp dresser himself, Shaw insists that his players present the young athlete image on the streets and while they are travelling.All players must wear executive slacks, a tie and jacket while on the road and going to home games. He fines players for scruffy hair and for being unshaven.His strength is in his recruiting contacts and he goes to no end to get a player whom he wants with his club.By the same extent, he is always first in line to offer assistance to a league team upon which misfortunes have fallen.During the off-season, he lives in sunny Oakland California where he is a public relations executive for a brewing company. He is a man who Invests his money wisely. While he was in Edmonton, he was a paint and beer sales representative.Brian Shaw is the terror of opposing rinks because of the way he can needle opposing teams and incite their fans.The debonair whiz of the WCJHL is a classic operator and is highly regarded by Tommy Ivan, general manager of the Chicago Black Hawks.Shaw is a definite asset to the league but it has been rumored that he is being groomed for a front office job for the Chicago farm system if he ever decides to quit coaching.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-01497/3130885-1-eng-US/f0019-012.jpg" title="f0019-01" width="1378" height="2943"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-03346/3130878-1-eng-US/f0019-032.jpg" title="f0019-03" width="1377" height="1043"></div> &#9632;

f0019-02

Canucks’ Brian Shaw Seen Colorful But Stern Coach

<div class="byline">By MATT DENNIS</div>FORT WORTH, Tex.-The Fort Worth Wings, girding for their battle with Oklahoma City Blazers for first place in the Southern Division of the Central Professional Hockey League, welcomed veteran defenseman Howie Young to their lineup from the parent Detroit Red Wings.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-01342/3130930-1-eng-US/f0020-012.jpg" title="f0020-01" width="310" height="485"><figcaption class="caption-body">Howie Young</figcaption></div>Along with Young came Irv Spencer who had played 40 games earlier in the season with the Fort Worth club and right winger Doug Roberts, who had spent eight games with Fort Worth.In return, the Detroit club called up rearguard Bob Falkenberg and forward Nick Libett.&ldquo;A three-for-two deal can&rsquo;t be too bad. Young, spencer and Roberts are all seasoned pros and should help us along the way. The Detroit club has been having trouble working toward an NHL playoff berth and called on us for help. We&rsquo;re still giving the Blazers a battle,&rdquo; said Flaman.Rick McCann continued as the top point-getter for the Wings with 14 goals and 38 assists in 48 games. Gary Marsh followed with 16 goals and 21 assists.Ron Anderson who scored 21 goals and assisted on 19 before heading to Detroit and Nick Libett sporting 11 goals and 28 assists left big holes in the Wings&rsquo; offence.Allan Johnson, veteran pro winger back in the lineup after a knee injury showed 15 goals and 17 assists in 29 outings.George Gardner and Buddy Blom were handling the goaltending duties after Roger Crozier returned to Detroit.TULSA&mdash;The Oilers sent left-winger Andre Hinse and defenseman Mike Pelyk to the parent Toronto Maple Leafs of the National League &rsquo;&rsquo;on a temporary basis&rdquo; according to general manager Ray Miron.Jim Dorey, who had been loaned to Phoenix of the Western League, rejoined the Oilers and Miron was hoping that if Hinse stayed with Toronto, Gary Unger might return to Tulsa from Rochester.Ron Ward and Len Haley were knotted as the top point-getters for the Oilers each showing 22 goals and 33 assists, one point less than league pace-setter Ron Buchanan of the Oklahoma City Blazers.Al Smith had his goals-against average down to 2.75 to top the circuit&rsquo;s netminders.Jim Davidson notched his first goal of the season in a 7-3 victory over Kansas City.OKLAHOMA CITY-Goalie Russ Gillow racked up his third shutout of the season whitewashing Tulsa, 3-0. In 24 games, Gillow had given up only 52 goals.Ron Buchanan took over as the point-getting leader of the circuit with 22 goals and 34 assists for 56 points in 48 games.Jim Lorentz was the top sniper for the Blazers with 24 goals in 49 games trailing Tulsa&rsquo;s Hinse who had 26 in 47 outings.The Oklahoma City Blazers&rsquo; game program has been sent on request to hockey fans in 25 States, every Canadian province and to England and Sweden.KANSAS CITY - The Blues received Ron Schock from the parent St. Louis Blues and the centreman helped with his experience up front before returning to the NHL. Roger Picard suffered a broken toe on his right foot and was expected to be out for 10 days.Plans were near the finalization stage for the Blues to take the American Royal Arena as their home for the 1968-69 and 196970 seasons.There have been drawings made on plans that make for the installation of new rink-side seats and also extra seats on the over hanging orchestra platform above the north end of the rink.The Blues attracted 105,880 fans through the turstiles for their first 23 home games.DALLAS&mdash;Due to requests from fans, the Black Hawks will start the balance of their home games for the 1967-68 campaign at 8p.m.With three games in hand the Black Hawks were tied with the Houston Apollos for third place in the Southern Division.Brian McDonald, with 15 goals and 29 assists, was the top point-getter for Dallas with 44 points in 47 games. Bob Schmautz was the top goal-getter with 20 tallies in 50 outings.Doug Shelton has been strong on offence with 10 goals and 26 assists in 43 outings since joining the club from Chicago in early November.Attendance has been on the upswing and the Hawks have drawn 55,761 fans in 24 home appearances.MEMPHIS&mdash; Bob Charlebois was the leading point-getter with 23 goals and 24 assists for 47 points in 46 games. Sandy Fitzpatrick was becoming a strong two-way threat with 15 goals and 28 assists in 55 outings.An Increase in attendance has been noted over last season with the South Stars drawing 69,966 through the turnstiles in 27 home appearances at the Mid-South Coliseum.HOUSTON-Jude Drouin, 19-year-old forward of the Apollos, was named the Most Popular Houston player in the month of January by the fans.With Robin Burns 21 and Brian Lavender 20, they form the youngest line in the Central Pro circuit. Lavender, the centreman was with Regina last winter while Drouin and Burns were with the Montreal Jimior Canadiens.The trio has accounted for 31 goals and 49 assists this season.Chris Bordeleau is the leading point-getter for the Apollos with 19 goals in 52 games.Claude Larose scored four goals and assisted on the same number for eight points in his first six games with the Apollos after being sent to them from the parent Montreal Canadiens.OMAHA &mdash; Juha Widing missed five games with a jaw infection but came back to notch three assists giving him 19 goals and the same number of assists in 44 outings.Bill Fairbairn showed 17 goals and 22 assists for 39 points as the Knights, top point-getter over the first 49 games.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-02255/3130923-1-eng-US/f0020-022.jpg" title="f0020-02" width="3417" height="2623"></div> &#9632;

f0020-01

Fort Worth Girds For Stretch Battle With Blazers

<div class="byline">BY HARVEY POLLACK</div>JACKSONVILLE. Fla. -Defense man Marc Brunet&rsquo;s ability to learn an important hockey lesson has paid dividends this year for the Jack-sonville Rockets and helped the team virtually clinch its first Eastern Hockey League playoff berth.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-02145/3130982-1-eng-US/f0021-022.jpg" title="f0021-02" width="287" height="469"><figcaption class="caption-body">Howie Dietrich</figcaption></div>Brunet, a 195-pound rearguard who has a flair for swinging his fists, has learned to cool it. Not that he&rsquo;ll back off from any foe when it comes to a man to man battle, but Marc realizes his value to the team is lessened when he&rsquo;s sitting in the penalty box.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not that I don&rsquo;t want to fight. But I realize that our team wants to win and I don&rsquo;t like to lose either. If I blow my top and we play a man short, I&rsquo;m only hurting my mates,&rdquo; explains Brunet.So nowadays Brunet curbs his short temper and concentrates instead on cutting down his foes legally instead of using his handy dukes. As a consequence the 22-year-old has gained the respect of his opponents.His skipper, Bob Sabourin, evaluates his protege as compared to his first season last year. &rsquo;&rsquo;He&rsquo;s much more consistent than a year ago. Now he handles the puck well, shows a hard slap shot and he checks hard. He can so anything as long as he puts his mind to it. There&rsquo;s no place for Marc to go but up.&rdquo;Last year Brunet had two bad scrapes &mdash; one with Ted McCaskill of Nashville and the other with Charlotte&rsquo;s Rick Fcley. Actually Marc didn&rsquo;t win either battle but both were corkers.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not out there to fight,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;If I wanted to fight, I would go into boxing. You don&rsquo;t worry about a fight. You just have to play the game tough and go into the corners and rough it up.&rdquo;The Rockets have been faring much better in the late stages of the campaign and Brunet&rsquo;s talents may enable them to go deep into the playoffs.NASHVILLE: Eight game winning streak has lifted Flyers into second place and into contention for division lead. Leo Olivier suspended for one game for walking out of practice and failing to show for a game. Wally Sprange&rsquo;s two goals beat Charlotte and kept him slightly ahead of Don Carter in scoring race. Team&rsquo;s 15-1 win over Salem set club mark for most goals and biggest winning margin. Ron Hindson, Neil Clairmont and Andre Lajeunesse all had hat trick vs Salem. Some 6,318 saw Kids Day game.JERSEY: Largest crowd in Devils&rsquo; history, 4,563, saw club beat Johnstown on Kids Night. Gordie Stratton discouraged with some of his men claiming &ldquo;they are just going through the motions. &rsquo;&rsquo;Eddie Ferenz promised to &ldquo;bring in some younger players and get rid of some of the deadwood.&rdquo; Reggie Meserve ousted for decking Jets&rsquo; Bob Young with a left hook and then high-sticking his foe. Lome O&rsquo;Donnell suffered eye injury from stray stick;LONG ISLAND: Ducks feel they still have shot at third place which would enable the team to avoid meeting Clinton in opening round of playoffs. Successful operation on Norm Schmitz&rsquo;s eye has permitted the defenseman to return to duty. Bob Taylor back in action after being sidelined with pulled thigh muscle. Ray Melnyk posted second hat trick and could have best season for a rookie since Buzz Deschamps in 1962-63.JOHNSTOWN: Bob Young secured from Greensboro on Ioan. Mike Crupi and Bill Armour moved to wings from defense slots. Galen Head&rsquo;s nose broken when he was checked against an official&rsquo;s skate. He suffered 9-stitch gash too. League scoring leader Reg Kent was Reg Tashuk last year until he legally changed his name. Dick Roberge and Andy Brown infuriated over goal at Long Island and there was so much furore ref Bon Smith tacked 2: 39 remaining onto the third period.NEW HAVEN: Goalie Al Johnstone injured leg and trainer Ken Garrett had to fill his shoes. Bob Buchanan placed on waivers as Blades decided to stick with Sandy McAndrew as the fourth defenseman. Ron Herpott had fist battle with Bill Bannerman of Clinton. Johnstone&rsquo;s six shutouts top league. Ten Blades are wearing Texas style hats via Johnstone&rsquo;s shutouts or hat tricks.CLINTON: Comets beat New Haven back to quell any Blades hopes of catching them. Don Davidson piled into Blades goalie Al Johnstone after latter swung his stick at prone Howie Dietrich. Don Davidson&rsquo;s hat trick topped Long Island. Dietrich posted his league leading fifth hat trick vs Syracuse. When Dietrich hits the 100-point mark, he&rsquo;ll join four mates in the century class.GREENSBORO: Gens are in slump and coach Ron Spong has been juggling goalies John Voss and Bob Smith. Ron Muir posted third hat trick vs Florida as his career goals moved deeper into the 400&rsquo;s. Gens activated Bill Adair at defense as Ken Campbell, chief Chicago scout, watched. Muir is shooting for 50-goal mark. Spong trying to get club to regain early season stride.CHARLOTTE: Rick Foley slowed in his quest for scoring record for defensemen. Neil Clark, a forward from Rochester, is expected to bolster team. Moe Savard missed several games with flu. Checkers had 7-game non-losing streak. Ken Hicks loaned to Jacksonville for the season. Savard returned to center spot when Jack McCreary came off injured list.FLORIDA: Rockets and Salem have special attendance duel between the Jaycees in the two cities. The game of Feb. 24 here and Mar. 9 at Salem will determine the winner. Reports here indicate club is about $12,000 in red and needs strong attendance in remaining home games plus good playoff showing to come t ahead. Rockets won over Nashville after 5-1 first period deficit.SALEM: Rebels non-winning streak reached 16 games at last count but it is still short of earlier 23-game skein. Defense collapsed in 15-1 rout by Nashville. Jim Jago is club&rsquo;s top goal getter. A sellout 4.500 saw Kids Night game. Bob Taylor loaned to Long Island for cash. Jago missed tieing Nashville game when his goal was ruled coming one second after final buzzer.KNOXVILLE: Since the near loss of the team, Knight fans have dropped their cat calls and switched to cheers. Dave Lee had hat trick vs Greensboro. Ken Turlik playing well since switch to defense and Dennis Longpre doing well as wingman after serving at defense. New owner Frank Dafferner gave 4,000 programs away at recent game and plans country music as sidelight to games. Pete Shearer off injured list for first time since December. Gaye Cooley had 51 saves at Charlotte. Larry Mick&rsquo;s goal with 16 seconds left tied Charlotte.SYRACUSE: George Mohr is now regular netminder since Charlotte has recalled Roger Wilson. Club trying all sorts of gimmicks to improve attendance Tim McCormick scoring steadily. Wayne Canfield rejoined team as player. Ray Adduono approaching 100-point mark.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-01199/3130975-1-eng-US/f0021-012.jpg" title="f0021-01" width="744" height="4733"></div><h2>EHL ALL-STAR TEAMS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-03103/3130968-1-eng-US/f0021-032.jpg" title="f0021-03" width="651" height="642"><figcaption class="caption-body">BORDEN SMITH</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-0487/3130961-1-eng-US/f0021-042.jpg" title="f0021-04" width="636" height="628"><figcaption class="caption-body">REG KENT</figcaption></div>Here&rsquo;s Eastern Hockey League All-Star teams selected by coaches:Northern Division Southern DivisionEd Babuik, Clinton Goal Gaye Cooley, KnoxvillePat Kelly, Clinton Defense Rick Foley, Charlotte Bill Murray, GreensboroReg Kent, Johnstown Center Don Carter, BreensboroBill Bannerman, Clinton R. Wing Dam DiBerardino, GreensboroBorden Smith, Clinton L. Wing Ron Muir, GreensboroDon Perry, New Haven Coach Ron Spong, GreensboroRay Adduono, Syracuse Top Rookie Stu Roberts, Greensboro &#9632;

f0021-02

Fist-Swinger Marc Brunet Cools Temper To Help Make Florida Rockets Hot Club

<div class="byline">BY BOB REED</div><h2>More Players Start Wearing Helmets In IHL</h2>TOLEDO, O-Like almost every other organization in hockey, the International Hockey League has become helmet - conscious since the death of Bill Masterton of the Minnesota North Stars as the result of a head injury.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-01219/3131027-1-eng-US/f0022-012.jpg" title="f0022-01" width="319" height="501"><figcaption class="caption-body">Don Westbrooke</figcaption></div>Before Masterton&rsquo;s tragic death only a few scattered players in the IHL were wearing the protective headgear, usually because of a previous injury. But in recent weeks more players have decided to don helmets.Three members of the Des Moines Oak Leafs &mdash; Rich Brown, Jim Currie and Art Chiupka &mdash; put on the headgear the day after Masterton&rsquo;s death. Another who decided just recently to adopt the safety measure was Dayton&rsquo;s Bob Regis, who had a head injury in the past and finished last season with a serious eye injury.Others around the league who have been observed as consistent wearers of the headgear, not necessarily because of the Masterton death, are Ron Meier and Gerry Mazur of the Dayton Gems, Dave Parenteau and Ron Burman, recent additions to the Fort Wayne Komets; Chick Bal&oacute;n of Toledo, Serge Boudreault of Columbus and a number of others.The subject of helmets has been discussed several times at IHL meetings, without any action being taken. The players themselves are reluctant to don the headgear voluntarily, although they, of course, will do so if it becomes mandatory which many coaches in the league believe will be only a matter of a few years.Players who recently took to the helmets have varied reactions. Jim Currie of Des Moines noted one subtle change in the way he&rsquo;s been treated by rival players. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m getting hit on the head with sticks a lot more. I guess the other guys think you&rsquo;re safe with the helmet on, so they let you have it, where they might think twice if your head weren&rsquo;t protected&rsquo;&rsquo;.FORT WAYNE &mdash; The Komets acquired defenseman Ron Burman from Port Huron and asked waivers on Eddie Megaffin and Rick Hextail, who was picked up by the Flags &hellip; The Komets drew 12,294 for Saturday night and Sunday afternoon back-to-back games and had 15,661 for three games in five days &hellip; Three defensemen scored in a 5-3 win over Dayton &hellip; Merv Dubchak, back after a long absence, scored his 25th goal in 29 games.DAYTON &mdash; Don Westbrooke was the first in the league to hit the 40-goal mark &hellip; Barry Merrell had scored a point in 21 consecutive games before he tore a ligament in his knee in a game at Fort Wayne that may shelve him for a while &hellip; A season record crowd of 5,302 pushed season attendance over the 100,000 mark for the fourth straight year.MUSKEGON &mdash; Gary Ford and Joe Kastelic returned to action and scored two goals each to beat Dayton, 64 &hellip; The Mohawks hadn&rsquo;t lost a game to either Toledo or Des Moines &hellip; Veteran Harry Pidhirny centered a new &ldquo;hot&rdquo; line with Pierre LeBlanc and Bob Tombari.COLUMBUS &mdash; The Checkers beat Port Huron for the first time in eight meetings, 4-3, on Columbus ice and then repeated at Port Huron, 5-4 &hellip; Nelson LeClair broke a bone in his ankle in a warmup at Toledo and is probably lost for the season &hellip; Choo-Choo Bouchard, just in from Providence of the AHL, engaged in fights with Bob Kelly and Randy Prior of the Flags.PORT HURON &mdash; Ray Cyr scored his first hat trick in a 7-1 rout of Des Moines, Flags&rsquo; best offensive display of the season &hellip; Moe Morrissette and Meehan Bonnar were expected to be out for the season and the Flags took on Rick Hextall of the Komets on waivers &hellip; The Flags had a fine home record of 14-6-4 but were only 5-19-5 on the road.TOLEDO &mdash; The Blades won six, lost two and tied one in their next nine games after the trade with Des Moines &hellip; Glenn Ramsay was sensational in a 3-3 tie with the Komets, stopping 42 shots &hellip; The Blades hadn&rsquo;t won in eight starts against Muskegon &hellip; Chick Balon, having his greatest season in the IHL, topped the Blades in goals with 33.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-02155/3131020-1-eng-US/f0022-022.jpg" title="f0022-02" width="605" height="545"><figcaption class="caption-body">CHICK BALON &hellip; Blades&rsquo; 33-Goal Man</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-03133/3131013-1-eng-US/f0022-032.jpg" title="f0022-03" width="2700" height="3659"></div> &#9632;

f0022-01

Masterton’s Death Leaving Impact

<div class="byline">BY JACK GATECLIFF</div>OSHAWA, Ont.&mdash;It was just 20 years between the time Ike Hildebrand played his last game of hockey for Oshawa Generals and when he signed last fall as coach of the same club.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-01197/3131079-1-eng-US/f0023-012.jpg" title="f0023-01" width="309" height="488"><figcaption class="caption-body">Ike Hildebrand</figcaption></div>With the late Charlie Conacher coaching in the 1946-47 season the Generals finished in third place and were eliminated in the second round of the playoffs.Hildebrand, who in his younger days was perhaps more noted for his lacrosse ability than his hockey talents, may have the suspicion these days that he checked back into Oshawa a year too soon.With one of the younger teams In the circuit Oshawa has had little go right this season.Few of their players have escaped injury at some point in the schedule and what could have been the death knell as far as their playoff hopes are concerned occurred when they not only dropped two games by decisive scores to the first place Kitchener Rangers but also lost four of their more experienced men through injury.Goaltender Dune Wilson and forwards Dale Tallon, Fred O&rsquo;Donnell and Brian Morenz all suffered leg injuries and were expected to be out of action for at least a week.That could be just long enough to do irreparable damage to their playoff chances.The two losses to Kitchener (10-1 and 9-3) left the Generals in ninth place, one point behind Peterborough and three back of London Nationals.Ottawa 67s, the only new entry in the 1967-68 schedule, have already been mathematically eliminated from playoff contention with only 11 points in their first 45 games.Eight of the other nine teams will qualify.Hildebrand however isn&rsquo;t about to write off his team&rsquo;s chances.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve had some rough luck but nobody&rsquo;s crying the blues,&rdquo; said Hildebrand. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s still three weeks left and with a couple of wins in the right spot we could be right back in there.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-02156/3131072-1-eng-US/f0023-022.jpg" title="f0023-02" width="610" height="597"><figcaption class="caption-body">TOM WEBSTER &hellip; Extends Scoring Lead</figcaption></div>The double victory by Kitchener enabled the Rangers to retain a solid first place margin over Niagara Falls Flyers, Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Marlboros and Hamilton Red Wings &mdash; all still in the hunt for the junior A pennant.The Flyers tied the Red Wings 3-3 in Hamilton, then beat the Wings 5-2 on home ice and came from behind to win 5-3 in St. Catharines.The game in Hamilton was one of the more riotous of the season and Niagara Falls coach Paul Emms because so incensed at the officiating that he threw hockey sticks and finally his hat onto the ice.He was ejected from the game and his position was taken over by his dad, Hap Emms, manager of the club and for the previous two years general manager of the Boston Bruins.Montreal Canadiens continued in third place, just one-half game behind Niagara Falls with home ice victories over Peterborough (4-1) and Toronto (5-4) while only one point separates Toronto and Hamilton.Tom Webster of Niagara Falls scored three goals in the Flyers, 5-3 win in St. Catharines and boosted his first place points total to 101 on 43 goals and 58 assists.That is the identical total Derek Sanderson registered while winning the points championship a year ago.Sanderson graduated from Niagara Falls to Boston and was the mid-season leader for rookie-of-the-year honors.Webster has a clear 10-point edge over teammate Garry Swain who has scored 37 goals, 54 assists for 91 points.Richie Bayes of Toronto Marlboros, the leader early in the season, is now well off the pace in third place with 80 points.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-03124/3131065-1-eng-US/f0023-032.jpg" title="f0023-03" width="1356" height="1379"></div><h2>Hockey Crossword</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-0496/3131058-1-eng-US/f0023-042.jpg" title="f0023-04" width="1095" height="1407"></div><h2>SOLUTION IN MARCH 2 ISSUE</h2>ACROSS1&mdash;Pictured player.8&mdash;1st half all-star second team selection.9&mdash;Initials of Rangers captain.10&mdash;Initials of Erickson of Oakland.11&mdash; First name of a Pittsburgh defenseman.13&mdash;An ex-New York defenseman.15&mdash; 26 down is one.16&mdash;Positive answer.17&mdash;Initials of one of the Rangers.18&mdash;Initials of one of the Hawks.19&mdash;Beverage.20&mdash;Initials of one of the Hawks.22&mdash; First name of 14 down.25&mdash;One of the Flyers.28&mdash;4 down injured one this season.29&mdash;21st and 2nd letters of the alphabet.30&mdash;Each, (abbr.)32&mdash;One of the Kings.34&mdash;This former Hawk was nicknamed "Rags".35&mdash;Senior Baseball Circuit.3&mdash;Initials of Labadie of Buffalo.4&mdash; First name of one of the Hawks.5&mdash;Nickname of an N.H.L. coach.6&mdash;Same as 9 across.7&mdash; First name of pictured player.11&mdash;Initials of Thiffault of Memphis.12&mdash; One of the Penguins answer to this.14&mdash;One of the Buffalo Bisons.19&mdash;A St. Louis defenseman.20&mdash;Wears No. 19 for Montreal.21&mdash;Nickname of former Leaf Bailey.23&mdash;This Hawk won the W.H.L. rookie award in 1965-66.24&mdash;Initials of Former Hab Turner.26&mdash; One of the St. Louis Blues.27&mdash;Initials of a former Red Wing centre.31&mdash;Initials of 19 down.32&mdash;7th and 14th letters Of the alphabet.33&mdash; Initials of Locas of Springfield.DOWN1&mdash;One of the Bruins.2&mdash; First N.H.L. team of 25 across.<h2>LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS</h2>1&mdash;DOUGLAS.7&mdash;REIBEL.9&mdash;L.A.10&mdash; A.O.11&mdash;S.O.12&mdash;LYNN.13&mdash;P.A.14&mdash;ERA.16&mdash;RON.17&mdash;CEC.18&mdash;U.S.19&mdash;PIT.20&mdash; H.G.22&mdash; P.T.23&mdash;IRVINE.26&mdash; O.K.28&mdash;O.E.29&mdash; EVANS.32&mdash;B.O.33&mdash;NINETEENDOWN1&mdash;DELVECCHIO.2&mdash;GRAY.3&mdash;LEON.4&mdash; A.I.5&mdash;S.B.6&mdash;SLOAN.8&mdash;ESPOSITO.12&mdash;LACH.15&mdash;R.E.16&mdash;RUPP.21&mdash;GREEN.24&mdash; IVAN.25&mdash;EAST.27&mdash; KEON.30&mdash;VI.31&mdash;N.E.32&mdash;B.E. &#9632;

f0023-01

Injuries Plague Oshawa But Hildebrand Still Hopeful Generals Will Make Playoffs

<div class="byline">BY DAN MOULTON</div>CHICAGO, III-The Black Hawks pretty well have abandoned any hopes of repeating as the first place team In the Eastern division, thanks mainly to the demonstrated superiority of the Montreal Canadiens.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/c0004-0187/3131117-1-eng-US/c0004-012.jpg" title="C0004-01" width="352" height="508"><figcaption class="caption-body">Ken Wharram</figcaption></div>So, the question now is whether or not Billy Reay&rsquo;s crew can nail down a spot in the playoffs for the 10th season In a row. Reay is pretty sure It can but that doesn&rsquo;t mean he plans to let up during the remaining few games of the season.The Hawks fell out of the chase for first place during the week-end of Feb. 10-11 when the Canadiens blasted them in a week-end series, 6-4 in Montreal, and 6-0 in Chicago.And after the second game, Reay launched his campaign to get his charges back into gear. Shaky goaltending by both Dave Dryden and Denis Dejordy was a factor in the twin disasters but Billy refused to let the pair shoulder more than a proportionate share of the blame.&ldquo;When a team allows 12 goals in 2 games it&rsquo;s a total disgrace,&rdquo; snapped Reay. &ldquo;Everyone has to take the blame from the goalies on out. We didn&rsquo;t skate, we didn&rsquo;t hit, we didn&rsquo;t do anything. And its&rsquo; been that way for several games.&rdquo;Billy was refering to the fact that the Hawks had been giving up goals early in their recent games and were forced to fight from behind each time.&ldquo;We were down 0-2 in Boston, but managed to come back and get a 4-4 tie,&rdquo; he continued. &ldquo;Then we fell down 0-3 to Philadelphia, came back to tie them up, then lost 5-3 in the last period. Next time out, we got down 0-2 to Toronto, before coming on to win, 3-2.&ldquo;Then in the first game against Montreal, we came from being down 0-4 to tying it up before they beat us 6-4. And in the last one, we were out of it before we even got started.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/c0004-0266/3131110-1-eng-US/c0004-022.jpg" title="C0004-02" width="2668" height="1466"><figcaption class="caption-body">Chicago super star BOBBY HULL (9) sails through the air as he tests Montreal goalie ROGATIEN VACHON during recent NHL action. Hull has been attempting to carry sagging Hawks all by himself.</figcaption></div>That rather alarming tendency toward dropping off the early pace has forced the Hawks to play what Reay calls, &ldquo;hit-or-miss&rdquo; hockey.&ldquo;You fall behind and you have to open up, gamble,&rdquo; said Reay. &ldquo;You play it hit-or-miss. Sometimes, you can get hot and get back into the game before the other team takes advantage of your open style. But against the real good teams, like the Canadiens, it doesn&rsquo;t work often.&rdquo;And Reay does believe that the Canadiens are the better team. In fact, he&rsquo;s been insisting right from the start that they&rsquo;d finish on top in the East.&ldquo;No team will be able to touch them from here on,&rdquo; said Billy. &ldquo;They just have too much depth. They came out of the expansion draft in much better shape than we did and it was just a matter of time before that superior talent would take charge.&ldquo;Even when they were rolling around in last place at the start of the year I kept saying that they were the team to beat but a lot of guys laughed at me, They just skated us into the ice in those two big games.&ldquo;In fact, I&rsquo;d say they have players in Houston right now who could make our team.&rdquo;Only Bobby Hull and Kenny Wharram escaped Reay&rsquo;s wrath, H ill because he seemed to be trying to do it all against the Canadiens and Wharram because he did manage to perform consistently, if not brilliantly.Of particularly to concern was the sluggish work of Wharram&rsquo;s Scooter line mates Center Stan Mikita and Left Wing Doug Mohns.&ldquo;They just haven&rsquo;t been moving at all in the last five or six games,&rdquo; said Billy. I bet Mohns hasn&rsquo;t really taken off the way he can for a month.&ldquo;What&rsquo;s more, I can&rsquo;t figure what&rsquo;s happened to that line defensively. Last year, it had the best defensive record in the league. But so far, it hasn&rsquo;t been able to hold up at all on defense.&rdquo;Billy figures that the key to getting the Hawks&rsquo; offense into gear lies with the defensemen.When Pierre Pilote and Pat Stapleton are moving with the puck the way they can, and beating the odd checker, we get our scoring chances,&rdquo; said Billy. &ldquo;But when the defensemen are hesitating, the passes go bad and the entire offense hogs down.&rdquo; &#9632;

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February 24, 1968

Bears Climb To Top On ‘Western’ Wins

National Hockey League Summaries

Tension Mounts As Reds Eye Elusive AHL Playoff Berth

Hughes, Menard Proving Little Man Can Succeed In Robust Big League