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.

December 14, 1968

The Hockey News December 14, 1968

<h2>WED. NOV. 27 PORTLAND 3 At DENVER 2</h2><h3>FIRST PERIOD</h3>1&mdash;Portland, Johnson (Messier, Van Impe) &hellip; 7:58Penalties &mdash; Lemieux 5:57, Kears 10:59, Mavety 11:54, Schmautz 13:40, Holdaway 18:40, Schella 17:11.<h3>SECOND PERIOD</h3>2&mdash;Denver, Holdaway (Foley, Hoekstra) &hellip; 1:203&mdash;Denver, Martin (Hoekstra) &hellip; 7:014&mdash;Portland, Saunders (Kearns) &hellip; 16:47Penalties &mdash; Saunders 5:36. Holdaway 8:05, Schmautz 14:31, Schella 14:31, Picard 18:19.<h3>THIRD PERIOD</h3>5&mdash;Portland, Gover (Schmautz, Van Impe) &hellip; 9:52Penalties: Messier 3:07. Madiaan 4:33, Foley 4.33, Miller 7:37, Rodger 17:21, McLeod (served by Hay) 7:44.Saves by. McLeod 31, Farr 32.Attendance: 4,369.<h2>PHOENIX 2 At SAN DIEGO 7</h2><h3>FIRST PERIOD</h3>No Scorina.Penalties &mdash; Erickson 7:07, Eagle 11:27, Hucul 17:13.<h3>SECOND PERIOD</h3>1&mdash;San Diego, Hilts (Hynes, MacMillan) &hellip; 2:362&mdash;Phoenix, Pronovost &hellip; 8:103&mdash;San Diego, Hilts (On penalty shot) &hellip; 13:174&mdash;San Diego, Faulkner (Hunt) &hellip; 15:255&mdash;Phoenix, Hucul (Wilcox, Kabel) &hellip; 17:20Penalties &mdash; Sinclair 4:36.<h3>THRID PERIOD</h3>6&mdash;San Diego, Cardiff (Hilts, Hynes) &hellip; 7:067&mdash;San Dieao Faulkner (O&rsquo;Ree, Carmichael) &hellip; 9:568&mdash;San Diego, Richardson (Ronson, Nicholson) &hellip; 14:21Penalties &mdash; San Diego, Cardiff, 17:01, Phoenix, Shaw, 19:39.Saves by: Charron 43, McCarton 27.Attendance: 8,457.<h2>VANCOUVER 2 At SEATTLE 5</h2><h3>FIRST PERIOD</h3>1&mdash;Vancouver, Hextall (Hall, Barlow) &hellip; 1:52Penalties &mdash; Ward 11:21.<h3>SECOND PERIOD</h3>2&mdash;Seattle, Dineen (Powers, Stratton) &hellip; 10:173&mdash;Seattle, Leonard (Boileau, Holmes) &hellip; 12:204&mdash;Seattle, Larose (Fielder, Courcy) &hellip; 14:085&mdash;Vancouver, Harris (Sly, Lunde) &hellip; 19:35Penalties &mdash; Lemieux and Lund (5 minutes fighting, 10 minutes misconduct) 7:13, Hann 12:48, Taylor 13:06, Leonard 18:18.<h3>THIRD PERIOD</h3>6&mdash;Seattle, Holmes (Leonard, Boileau) &hellip; 6:027&mdash;Seattle, Kilpatrick (Fielder) &hellip; 13:20Penalties &mdash; Larose 7:17, Kilpatrick 18:16.Saves by: Head 19, Gardner 30.Attendance: 4,967.<h2>FRI. NOV. 29 PHOENIX 2 At DENVER 5</h2><h3>FIRST PERIOD</h3>1&mdash;Denver, B. Carler (Hoekstra, Velprava) &hellip; 2:252&mdash;Phoenix, Charlebois (Cabel, Erickson) &hellip; 19:58Penalties &mdash; Polanic (p) 1:30, Mavety (d) 6:51, Shaw (p) 17:00.<h3>SECOND PERIOD</h3>3&mdash;Denver, Veiprava (B. Carter) &hellip; 6:104&mdash;D. Carter (unassisted) &hellip; 7:16Penalties &mdash; Polanic 8:18, D. Carter (d) 8:18, Cote (p) 13:07.<h3>THIRD PERIOD</h3>5&mdash;Denver, Picard (B. Carter, Johnson) &hellip; 4:316&mdash;Denver, Lemieux (Foley, Hoekstra) &hellip; 6 247&mdash;Phoenix, Charlebois (Snell) &hellip; 18:14Penalties &mdash; None.Saves by. Charron 24, Farr 16.Attendance: 1,784<h2>SEATTLE 2 At VANCOUVER 3</h2><h3>FIRST PERIOD</h3>1&mdash;Vancouver, Barlow (Sly, Hextall) &hellip; 17:09Penalties &mdash; Head (served by lannone) 5:10, Johns 12:33.<h3>SECOND PERIOD</h3>2&mdash;Vancouver, Harris (ttorlow, Johns) &hellip; 1:293&mdash;Vancouver, Harri# (Hall, Hextall) &hellip; 10:47Penalties - Johns 8:15, Larose 10:32, Pratt 14:05, Boileai 14:05, Head (S&rsquo; served by lannone) 18:07.<h3>THIRD PERIOD</h3>4&mdash;Seattle, Powers (Stratton) &hellip; 15:065&mdash;Seattle, Courcy (Michie, Kilpatrick) &hellip; 18:45Penalties &mdash; Stratton 3:32, Ward 5:42, Taylor 5:42, Larose 6:04, Ward 9:04, Pratt 12:31.Saves by: Head 32, Gardner 27.Attendance: 6,737.<h2>Sat. Nov. 30 PORTLAND 2 at SAN DIEGO 2</h2><h3>FIRST PERIOD</h3>No scoring.Penalties &mdash; Jones 2:41, O&rsquo;Ree 2:41, Madigan 2:51, Messier 10:43, Jonefl3:46, Madigan 19:38.<h3>SECOND PERIOD</h3>1&mdash;San Diego, Ronson (Faulkner, O&rsquo;Ree) &hellip; 8:292&mdash;Portland, Johnson (Jones, Schmaut) &hellip; 16:29Penalties &mdash; Hilts 0:42, Messier 7:30, Hebenton 10:09, Richardson 10:09, Evans 14:33, Haculak 15:30.<h3>THIRD PERIOD</h3>3&mdash;San Diego, Faulkner &hellip; 2:494&mdash;Portland, Bellerive (Hebenton, Gover) &hellip; 5:18Penalty &mdash; Huculak 3:17.Saves by McLeod 40, McCartan 27.Attendance 12,877.<h2>PHOENIX 2 at DENVER 5</h2><h3>FIRST PERIOD</h3>1&mdash;Phoenix, Polanic (Kabel, Lamoreaux) &hellip; 8:072&mdash;Denver, B. Carter (Lemieux, Hoekstra) &hellip; 12:47Penalties &mdash; Dupont 12:37<h3>SECOND PERIOD</h3>3&mdash;Denver, Shires (D. Carter, Picard) &hellip; 6:024&mdash;Denver, Johnson (Schella, Hoekstra) &hellip; 16:04Penalties &mdash; Hucul 2:27, Martin 2:40<h3>THIRD PERIOD</h3>5&mdash;Phoenix, Shaw (Carleton) &hellip; 0:496&mdash;Denver, Johnson (Hoekstra, Caron) &hellip; 8:297&mdash;Denver, Rodger (Lemieux) &hellip; 8:05Penalties &mdash; None.Saves by Charron 20, Farr 21.Attendance: 2,096<h2>Sun. Dec. 1 PORTLAND 2 at PHOENIX 2</h2><h3>FIRST PERIOD</h3>1&mdash;Portland, Bellerive (Goyer) &hellip; 9:10Penalties &mdash; Charlebois 6:44, Kabel 8:54, Campbell 11:10, Erickson 11:52, Saunders 12:46, Hucul 19:59.<h3>SECOND PERIOD</h3>2&mdash;Phoenix, McVie (Carleton, Hucul) &hellip; 2:24Penalties &mdash; Dunville 6:50, Hebenton 11:40. Kabel 16:39.<h3>THIRD PERIOD</h3>3&mdash;Portland, Saunders (Donaldson, Hebenton) &hellip; 2:494&mdash;Phoenix, Pronovost (Dunville, Erickson) &hellip; 9:25Penalties &mdash; Saunders 7:49, Carleton 12:39.Saves by Kelly 22, Charron 20.Attendance: 3,289<h2>VANCOUVER 5 at SEATTLE 4</h2><h3>FIRST PERIOD</h3>No scoring.Penalties &mdash; Taylfer 9:16, Johns 10:31, Larose 18:27.<h3>SECOND PERIOD</h3>1&mdash;Seattle, Courcy (Fielder, Hanna) &hellip; 4:582&mdash;Seattle, Stratton (Fielder, lannone) &hellip; 8:503&mdash;Seattle, Courcy (Fielder, Kilpatrick) &hellip; 9:074&mdash;Vancouver, Bathgate (Lunde, Sly) &hellip; 9:195&mdash;Vancouver, Bathgate (McNeill, Taylor) &hellip; 14:036&mdash;Vancouver, Bathgate (McCaskill, Lunde) &hellip; 18:17Penalties &mdash; Head (served by lannone) 6:29, Reaume 7:27, Sly 7:36, Michie 9:55, Powers 17:59.<h3>THIRD PERIOD</h3>7&mdash;Seattle, Courcy (Fielder) &hellip; 3:338&mdash;Vancouver, Harris (Lemieux) &hellip; 6:509&mdash;Vancouver, Barlow (Reaume) &hellip; 18:28Penalties &mdash; Stratton 6:27, McCaskill 7:36, Johns (misconduct) 16:39.Saves by Gardner 26, Head 21.Attendance: 4,402. &#9632;

IN THIS ISSUE

WHL Summaries

Misfortune has struck New York Rangers in their bid to take over first place in the NHL&rsquo;s Eastern Division.Just when the Rangers appeared to be ready to pull away from their Eastern rivals following a 4-2 victory over Montreal Canadiens in Montreal, disaster hit in the form of a broken ankle to right wing ace Rod Gilbert.Gilbert, who stands 10th in the NHL&rsquo;s individual scoring race with nine goals and 18 assists, was injured during the Rangers&rsquo; 5-2 loss in Toronto Dec. 7. Besides the fractured left ankle, he suffered torn ligaments and is expected to be out of the lineup from four to six weeks.Coupled with the crippling injury to Gilbert was the team&rsquo;s sudden inability to keep the puck out of their own cage. The Ranger defense, a strong point most of the season, suddenly became porous as the Broadway Blueshirts plunged into an inopportune three-game losing streak. Veteran Orland Kurtenbach is also through for the season because of a spinal fusion operation. &#9632;

Rangers Hopes’ Crushed As Gilbert Breaks Ankle

THE INTERNATIONAL HOCKEY WEEKLYFounded October 1st, 1947Published weekly except monthly June through September by Ken-Will Publishing Co. Ltd. 1434 St. Catherine Street West Montreal 3, Canada.Kenneth W. McKenziePresident and PublisherWilliam Z. StevensonManaging DirectorYearly Subscription Rates: $5.00 in Canada and the British Commonwealth $6.00 in the U.S.A, and $8.00 in Foreign CountriesPostage paid at Rouses Point, N.Y. Authorized as second class mail, Post Office Department, Ottawa and for payment of postage in cash.Printed in Canada &#9632;

The Hockey News

For Something Different, Informative In Hockey Reading See T.V. Sections, Thumbnail Sketches In HOCKEY ANNUALHOCKEY NEWS Makes An Ideal Gift At Christmas. Give A Subscription To Dad Or Brother &#9632;

CENTRAL LEAGUE

<h2>NATIONAL EAGUE</h2>DETROIT &mdash; Peter Mahovlich, forward, assigned to Fort Worth of CHL. Hank Monteith, forward, Roy Edwards and Gerry Gray, goalkeepers, recalled from Fort Worth.PHILADELPHIA &mdash; Bob Sneddon, goalkeeper, acquired from Portland, WHL, and assigned to Quebec. AHL.CHICAGO &mdash; Brian Bradley, forward, acquired from Quebec, AHL, and assigned to Dallas, CHL.OAKLAND &mdash; John Brenneman, forward, assigned to Cleveland, AHL.MINNESOTA &mdash; Gary Dineen, Mike Chernoff and Danny Seguin, forwards, returned to Memphis, CHL.MONTREAL &mdash; Ernie Wakely, goalkeeper, recalled from Cleveland, AHL.TORONTO &mdash; George Armstrong, forward, rejoined team off inactive list.NEW YORK &mdash; Wayne Rivers, forward, recalled from Buffalo of AHL.ST. LOUIS &mdash; Myron Stankiewicz, forward, sent to Omaha of CHL on loan.BOSTON &mdash; Barry Gibbs, defenseman. and Joe Junkin, goalkeeper, recalled from Oklahoma City of CHL.<h2>AMERICAN LEAGUE</h2>PROVIDENCE &mdash; Michel Jacques, forward, acquired from Amarillo, CHL.CLEVELAND &mdash; Rocky Farr, goaltender, acquired from Denver, WHL, on loan.SPRINGFIELD &mdash; Jacques Lemieux, defenseman. acquired from Denver. WHL, on loan.<h2>INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE</h2>MUSKEGON &mdash; Bob Pate, defenseman, acquired from Denver, WHL.JACKSONVILLE &mdash; Bob Pugh, forward, secured from Muskegon of IHL. Bob Howard, defenseman. sold to Des Moines of IHL. Ron Dundas, forward, sent to Syracuse of EHL.LONG ISLAND &mdash; Jacques Sevigny, forward, secured from Charlotte of EHL.SYRACUSE &mdash; Stan Reddick, and Lee English, forwards, secured from Toledo of IHL.SALEM &mdash; Larry Gibbons, forward, secured from Greensboro of EHL. Claude Piche, forward, secured from Clinton of EHL. Bobby Taylor, defenseman traded to Johnstown in return for Billy Ives, forward.CLINTON &mdash; John Chapman, forward, picked up on waivers from Syracuse of EHL. &#9632;

Movements of Players

<div class="byline">BY JACK BERRY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0002-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-02600/2627173-1-eng-US/f0002-022.jpg"></div>DETROIT, Mich. &mdash;Every goal that Gordie Howe scores simply adds to his own record. Long ago, matter of fact it was Nov. 10, 1963, Howe became the greatest goal scorer in National Hockey League history.But every time the 40-year-old Red Wing super-duper star nears a &ldquo;milestone&rdquo; goal there&rsquo;s all, sorts of hoopla and ballyhoo.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-01629/2627180-1-eng-US/f0002-012.jpg" title="f0002-01" width="224" height="430"><figcaption class="caption-body">Gordie Howe</figcaption></div>Take Howe&rsquo;s 600th goal. The Red Wings passed out 600 souvenir pucks to commemorate the occasion. The night he scored 545 bags of balloons, bearing the numerals 545, were released from the Olympia rafters.But none of Howe&rsquo;s milestone goals was prepared for the way Red Wing public relations director Ron Cantera and the various media went for No. 700 &mdash; a goal Howe scored in Pittsburgh Dec. 4.Cantera hired motion picture crews to follow Howe every time he got on the ice with one camera taking slow motion, another regular footage and the third was at ice level. He had five still photographers, three of them shooting color.Three Detroit television stations had crews out at the home games. Another channel covered the road games. It seemed like more film was shot than during World War 11.Four big plastic bags, filled with 700 balloons, were suspended from the girders, high in Olympia, ready to be dropped like at the political conventions if Howe netted the goal at home.The object of all the attention didn&rsquo;t go for the fuss at all.&ldquo;Messed up your plans, eh?&rdquo; Howe cracked to Cantera after he failed to get No. 700 in a game against the Philadelphia Flyers.&ldquo;I got one,&rdquo; Howe said after the game, &ldquo;but they wouldn&rsquo;t count it&hellip; it was in the warmup against Ukey (Terry Sawchuk).&rdquo;Red Wing general manager Sid Abel wanted Howe to get past 700, too.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been through all the milestones,&rdquo; said Abel who assisted on Howe&rsquo;s first NHL goal and his 100th, &ldquo;and I can&rsquo;t wait to see him get that damned goal.&ldquo;Gordie is probably the calmest player you&rsquo;d want to meet. But he tenses up when it gets to some thing like this and everyone on the team tries to set him up instead of just playing their own game.&rdquo;And another problem like that the Wings didn&rsquo;t need. They&rsquo;ve continued to play lusterless hockey against the expansion division and instead of fattening up on the new boys they&rsquo;ve been lucky to escape with a .500 record.Coach Bill Gadsby set a goal of .750 hockey against the Western Division which means three out of each four points. He&rsquo;s been getting two out of four.&ldquo;We play like demons against clubs from our own division but won&rsquo;t put three periods together against the other division,&rdquo; Gadsbv said.&ldquo;And we play better, more consistent hockey on the road than we do at home. Why? I don&rsquo;t know.&rdquo;Gadsby showed his dissatisfaction by shuffling the second and third lines and calling up a succession of forwards from Fort Worth.Ed Hatoum, who has the distinction of being the only NHLer born in Beirut, Lebanon, was one of them and impressed Gadsby in his first start on right wing.The second line, praised just a few weeks ago, fell into deepest disfavor.&ldquo;That was supposed to be our tough, defensive, checking line,&rdquo; Gadsby said of the Dean Prentice Pete Stemkowski-Bruce MacGregor combination. &ldquo;Instead, they&rsquo;re on for six of our last eight goals.&rdquo;And, he might have added, couldn&rsquo;t do anything right on offense.Prentice was dropped to penalty-killing duty, Stemkowski remained as center of the line but got two new flankers, Hank Monteith and Hatoum. Monteith, former star at the University of Toronto, also was brought up from Fort Worth.MacGregor was put on the third line with Nick Libett and Garry Unger and Danny Lawson, also recently praised, was in the limbo of spare forwards.Peter Mahovlich, who began the season as a regular and then was benched during an earlier Wing slump, injured his elbow and finally was sent to Fort Worth with orders to coach Fern Flaman to give him plenty of ice time.&ldquo;We still feel Peter can play in the National League and he&rsquo;ll be back before Christmas,&rdquo; Abel said.While Pete had his problems his brother Frank, left wing on the Howe line, couldn&rsquo;t buy a point kt alone a goal after a brisk start that saw him score 11 goals in the first 14 games.Going into the Dec. 4 game at Pittsburgh, Frank hadn&rsquo;t scored a goal or picked up an assist in six games and had just one goal in eight games.He didn&rsquo;t have a shot in one of the games but other than that was getting his share of shots but couldn&rsquo;t get one in the net.<h2>How Gordie Scored 700</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-03505/2627166-1-eng-US/f0002-032.jpg" title="f0002-03" width="1222" height="409"></div> &#9632;

f0002-02

All-Time Hockey Great Gordie Howe Reaches Milestone With 700th Goal

<div class="byline">BY TOM MONAHAN</div>BOSTON, Mass. &mdash;A year ago this time, Bruins veteran left wing Johnny Bucyk was being flooded with ink. Today his name is hardly mentioned in casual conversation about the B&rsquo;s.Yet Coach Harry Sinden is loud in his acclimation that Bucyk is playing by far the best hockey since he has been coaching the team.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-01631/2627242-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg" title="f0003-01" width="269" height="371"><figcaption class="caption-body">Harry Siden</figcaption></div>The reason for the attention accorded Bucyk last year and the lack of it this year is seen in the scoring column.Last year Bucyk was popping in goals at a rate that was to give him 30 for the year, enable him to rewrite the Bruins record book and put him in the select group of 250-goal career scorers.This was unusual. Not the fact that he should finally make the 250-class, mind you, but the fact that he was off to such a great start.In 10 previous years with the Bruins, Bucyk had failed to score 20 or more goals only four times. But he traditionally was a slow starter.While he was enjoying his hot hand, Johnny himself was at loss to explain the sudden change.Now he has reverted to his history and he is equally unable to explain the fact that he has scored only three goals in 22 games.&ldquo;I think I&rsquo;m doing things just as 1 did last year at this time,&rdquo; says Bucyk. &ldquo;In fact I think there are lots of things I am doing better.&rdquo;Last year there was concern about Bucyk&rsquo;s back. He had been troubled the previous winter and there even had been talk of possible surgery.Yet the way he started he soon chased away any thought of that.&ldquo;And this year I have no back problem whatsoever,&rdquo; he said.So what&rsquo;s the difference?&ldquo;I think Johnny has just been unlucky as far as his scoring is concerned,&rdquo; said Sinden.&ldquo;But the fact that he has scored only three goals is unimportant to me at the minute. The main thing I&rsquo;m concerned in is how he is playing the game.&ldquo;From what I have seen he couldn&rsquo;t be playing any better. This is the best I&rsquo;ve ever seen him play.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s skating hard, he&rsquo;s checking, he&rsquo;s digging the puck out of the corners. He&rsquo;s doing everything a coach could ask of a man and sometimes a lot more.&ldquo;I think everyone places too much stress on who gets the goals these days.&ldquo;They forget to look and see that Johnny has 14 assists.&ldquo;That means he&rsquo;s getting to the puck and he&rsquo;s got to be doing something right.&ldquo;Don&rsquo;t forget this that while he is getting assists someone else is scoring and Freddie Stanfield is off to a great start.&ldquo;Remember last year Freddie was getting a lot of assists. Today he has 12 goals but he has only four assists.&ldquo;Another area where Bucyk has been doing a great job for us but hasn&rsquo;t been given much credit is on the power play.&ldquo;He has been the key there right from the opening game.&ldquo;The way Johnny has been playing adds up to winning hockey and I&rsquo;m not going to worry about his scoring.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-02514/2627235-1-eng-US/f0003-022.jpg" title="f0003-02" width="1755" height="2120"><figcaption class="caption-body">Here&rsquo;s Boston veteran JOHN BUCYK taking command of puck in NHL action.</figcaption></div>&ldquo;He has hit the post several times and generally been unlucky around the net. But he is doing the job. I coul4n&rsquo;t be more pleased with the job he has done.&ldquo;His goals will come. I keep repeating that. Scoring is a funny thing. But the scorers always get their share of goals over the season.&ldquo;Bucyk may not be getting his now but he will. And you can bet when they start coming they&rsquo;ll all oe counters.&rdquo;ICE CHIPS &mdash; Young defensman Gary Doak was ordered to sit out for a week to rest an ailing back &hellip; he had been playing with a corset for two weeks &hellip; Barry Gibbs was brought up from Oklahoma City to fill in as spare defenseman &hellip; The Bruins also sent 28-year-old rookie goalie Colin McCormick back to Oklahoma City after sitting on the bench as backup for Gerry Cheevers the past month &hellip; Rookie Joe Junkin was brought in from Oklahoma City to be net spare instead &hellip; Veteran goalie Eddie Johnston started skating the past week for the first time since suffering a head injury Oct. 31 in Detroit &hellip; He probably will put on the pads this week as his conditioning improves. &#9632;

f0003-01

Boston’s John Bucyk Rolls Along Despite Lack of NHL Recognition

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0004-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-01693/2627297-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg"></div><h2>Coincident Minors Should Not Lessen Manpower</h2>Hockey News Editor:Recently I was watching a game between New York Rangers and Pittsburgh Penguins. In this game there was a big brawl between the clubs.Referee Bruce Hood gave both teams one five-minute and one two-minute penalty. In this situation where both teams are at equal strength, I think there should be a rule that both clubs should be allowed to ice their full six-man squads so that regular action can continue.Neither team can be hurt with such a rule, and if it was done the fans would not be gipped of exciting hockey.RONALD ROSENBERG, Roslyn, N.Y.Ed. &mdash; Such a rule already exists in the case of coincident majors, but not for coincident minors.<h2>No Rule Prohibits No. 13 In Hockey</h2>Hockey News Editor:Is there a league rule which prohibits NHL players from wearing number 13, or is it because hockey players in general are a superstitious lot?There are football, basketball and baseball players wearing the number. I&rsquo;d like to see the look on Punch Imlach&rsquo;s face if one of his players skated out wearing number 13!GEORGE O&rsquo;LEARY, Ottawa, Ont.Ed.&mdash; No, there&rsquo;s no such rule.<h2>Hobs&rsquo; Games Broadcast In French Language, Too</h2>Hockey News Editor:I seem to remember from the time I lived in Canada that Montreal Canadiens&rsquo; games were broadcast in French as well as in English.Isn&rsquo;t this still true? You make no mention of French broad cast crews in your recent issue that listed broadcasters in all NHL cities.JEAN-PAUL COTE, Lynn, Mass.Ed. &mdash; The French language team is headed by play-by-play man Rene Lecavalier and was omitted due to an oversight.<h2>How Can 30-Goal Man Ride Leafs&rsquo; Bench?</h2>Hockey News Editor:Just what does Mike Walton have to do to get a regular turn with Toronto Maple Leafs? Last year he scored 22 goals in the first half of the season and came up with eight more in the second half which frequently found him on the bench.By contrast, team captain George Armstrong was a regular all year with only 13 goals to his credit.JIM STUART, Cobble Hill, B.C.<h2>Hat-Trick Scorers Also Deserve Bonus</h2>Hockey News Editor:I am a true New York Ranger fan, but I have one thing in which I disagree with the team&rsquo;s front office.Every time goalie Ed Giacomin gains a shutout it is published that he receives a $100 reward. I saw a game this year with the Rangers on top 7-0. Bob Nevin got the scoring honors with a hattrick. In the morning paper I read that Giacomin or 100 for a &ldquo;well played game&rdquo; I did not see anywhere that New in got anything for his three-goal outing.The rangers usually get three or four hat-tricks a year, but Giacomin picks up eight or nine shutouts. In my opinion, three goal men should also get a suitable reward.ROBERT KNAUS, Union, N.J.<h2>Teacher Wants Hockey Blended With Education</h2>Hockey News Editor:Being a school teacher and also a hockey fan, I would like to know if hockey development in Canada is too demanding to allow a college education or if the education system is too demanding.Certainly Canada is more noted for its hockey players than for its educated people. I would like to see continued top quality hockey players with more education.The Hockey News should devote a column to interviewing hockey players at all levels in regards to their complete feelings on living, including their future after their playing careers end.This could have a great impact on many of your young readers.BRIAN J. McFALONE, Walnut Creek, Cal. &#9632;

f0004-01

FAN FORUM

<div class="byline">Ken McKenzie&#x2019;s</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-02644/2627356-1-eng-US/f0004-022.jpg" title="f0004-02" width="327" height="449"></div>ORLAND KURTENBACH is the fourth member of the New York Rangers to undergo spinal fusion surgery. Camille Henry, now with St. Louis Blues, Jean Ratelle and Rod Gilbert are the others Philadelphia Flyers attempted to buy Larry Pleau from the Canadiens but Sammy Pollock. Montreal&rsquo;s cagey GM, put a $100,000 asking price on the Massachusetts-born center. Marcel Pelletier, who coaches the Jersey Devils of the Eastern Hockey League, puts a &ldquo;can&rsquo;t miss&rdquo; sign on the youngster, currently in the U.S. Army at Fort Dix. N.J. and playing hockey in his spare time &hellip; Members of the press from such faraway places as Accra, Algiers, Ceylon and Kabul, attended the last Montreal-New York game at the Forum. They were guests of the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs &hellip; When Tony Esposito played goal for Canadiens against Boston the other night it reminded old timers when Chicago&rsquo;s Paul Thompson was a redhot scorer and his brother Tiny, a standout goalie with Boston Bruins &hellip; Phil Esposito had a great night against his younger brother, Tony, scoring both of the Bruins goals in the 2-2 draw &hellip; Mrs. Bobby Hull expects the stork in early January, while Mrs. Stan Mikita is expecting a call from the same bird in March &hellip; The Quebec Old Timers will play several games in Europe this March. They have games scheduled in Germany, Switzerland and France. Red Storey will go along as referee for their games &hellip; Wayne Connelly is the only member of the Minnesota North Stars who has played in every game since the Stars entered the National Hockey League last season. Top point-getter of the Stars last season with 56 and leading goal scorer of the Western Division with 35, Wayne is far behind that pace this term.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-03549/2627349-1-eng-US/f0004-032.jpg" title="f0004-03" width="235" height="424"><figcaption class="caption-body">Larry Pleau</figcaption></div>LOS ANGELES KINGS are the youngest team in the NHL this season with an average age per player of 26.1 years &hellip; Pittsburgh Penguins have the oldest club with an average of 30.8 years, just a shade older than St. Louis Blues with an average of 30.6 &hellip; Oakland Seals are the second youngest team with a 26.8 average, followed by Minnesota with a 27.1 average &hellip; Mike Laughton&rsquo;s first appearance in the Oakland Coliseum saw the youngster score a goal for the home team against Canadiens. He has been called up from Cleveland three games earlier while the Seals were on the road &hellip; New York Rangers Fan Club have arranged trips to Philadelphia, Toronto and Montreal this season. They will visit Philadelphia on Christmas Night &hellip; Rangers Bob Nevin says he&rsquo;s scoring more this season because he doesn&rsquo;t have to kill penalties any more &hellip; New York is the sole NHL club during 1968-69 who have not played a tie game &hellip; Rocket Richard scored five goals for the Quebec Old Timers in a recent contest &hellip; Outstanding Canadian pro footballer, Bobby Taylor, will play hockey with Johnstown Jets of the Eastern League this winter &hellip; NHL rivals are complaining about Boston&rsquo;s favorable schedule this season. The Bruins have 13 games in which they are rested and their opponents have played the previous night &hellip; Coach Boom Boom Geoffrion of the Rangers rates Jean Beliveau as the greatest center he has seen. He claims stopping Beliveau is the only way to beat Canadiens and that&rsquo;s exactly what the Rangers did last week in downing the Stanley Cup champs, 4-2 &hellip; Young Walt Tkaczuk did a great job in shadowing Beliveau, who was without a shot on goal for the entire game. Tkaczuk (pronounced Tay-chuck) has performed brilliantly for the Rangers and is a leading contender for the top rookie award.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-04477/2627342-1-eng-US/f0004-042.jpg" title="f0004-04" width="223" height="408"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jean Beliveau</figcaption></div>WAYNE CARLETON told everyone he came in contact with that he was happy Toronto was sending him to Phoenix of the CHL. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s great to be going some place where I&rsquo;ll be treated like a human being,&rdquo; he stated &hellip; Carleton and Punch Imlach have had a strained relationship for some time &hellip; Carleton asked to be traded to another NHL team &hellip; If he has the ability it won&rsquo;t take him too long before he&rsquo;s back in the Major League, but if Carleton has been spoiled as some people claim, he&rsquo;ll spend the rest of his playing career in the minor leagues &hellip; Montreal Forum used to boast the best ice in the NHL but this year both home and visiting players have been complaining about the change. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s too hard and it chips easily,&rdquo; said Claude Larose of Minnesota after his first visit to Montreal this season &hellip; Tony Esposito hadn&rsquo;t heard from his brother Phil for more than two months but he refused to call him up all day in Boston before Canadiens played the Bruins. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t believe in talking to my opponents,&rdquo; claimed Tony. He talked to Phil after the 2-2 deadlock, however, jokingly berating his brother for scoring two goals against him. &ldquo;One was bad enough, but two was ridiculous&rdquo;, offered the Michigan Tech grad &hellip; It&rsquo;s a pity there were less than 5,000 fans attending the game in Pittsburgh the night Gordie Howe scored his epochmaking 700th goal &hellip; Boston&rsquo;s rugged Johnny McKenzie and New York&rsquo;s equally rugged Reg Fleming are feuding. One of McKenzie&rsquo;s teammates mentioned that Reggie had discarded his familiar crew cut in favor of longer hair. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m surprised,&rdquo; said McKenzie. &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t think you could grow hair on cement&rdquo; &hellip; Tiny Tim, the highly-publicized pop singer, has just taken out five-year subscriptions to HOCKEY NEWS, HOCKEY PICTORIAL and HOCKEY WORLD.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-05414/2627335-1-eng-US/f0004-052.jpg" title="f0004-05" width="244" height="424"><figcaption class="caption-body">Wayne Carleton</figcaption></div><h2>EAST-WEST SCOREBOARD</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-06336/2627328-1-eng-US/f0004-062.jpg" title="f0004-06" width="1252" height="233"></div> &#9632;

f0004-02

PASSING THE PUCK

<div class="byline">BY SPENCE CONLEY</div>OAKLAND, Calif.&mdash;It&rsquo;s too bad the Oakland Seals can&rsquo;t substitute Montreal and Chicago for St. Louis and Pittsburgh on their annual national Hockey League schedule they&rsquo;d make the playoffs for sure.Every time the Seals have had a chance to get ahead in the West Division standings, they&rsquo;ve come up against the Blues or the Penguins and come away second best.The same was true last year and it cost the Seals one of the worst seasons ever by a NHL team.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-01646/2627394-1-eng-US/f0005-012.jpg" title="f0005-01" width="258" height="422"><figcaption class="caption-body">Gary Smith</figcaption></div>So far in five games against the two clubs (3 against Pittsburgh) the Seals have only one point and have singlehandedly kept the Penguins from dropping off the end of the standings.While Seal coach Fred Glover is willing to concede that there&rsquo;s a pretty solid club in St. Louis, he doesn&rsquo;t feel the same about Pittsburgh.&ldquo;Pittsburgh ought to be down with the dregs. We should have a 10-point lead on them. Instead of that it&rsquo;s just two and the unbelieveable thing is that we&rsquo;ve given them five points. FIVE POINTS! We can&rsquo;t do that and expect to make the playoffs.&rdquo;Another things which has hurt them is their failure to make hay on the power play. In 22 games the Seals had approximately 76 power play advantages and yet scored only 10 goals.Glover hasn&rsquo;t actually set up a power play team, per se, but uses five available players depending on the situation.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s no reason at all which five guys off our roster can&rsquo;t score on the power play. The biggest problem is that of self-confidence, the mental attitude which causes them to think that &ldquo;here&rsquo;s the break now we&rsquo;re going to get one.&rdquo;&ldquo;A lot of the problem goes right back to the defense. When we get the puck, our defense takes a look and I&rsquo;ll bet 20 times in our game against Pittsburgh (Dec. 1) we had the center and both wings open and the guy wouldn&rsquo;t pass. Instead it&rsquo;s back to hide behind the net and all of a sudden get trapped coming out. It&rsquo;s unbelievable,&rdquo; Glover says.The defense &mdash; Bryan Watson, Carol Vadnais, Frank Lacombe, Bert Marshall and Doug Roberts &mdash; has had its good spots but didn&rsquo;t exactly help make young Chris Worthy&rsquo;s brief NHL tour a happy one.Chris took over the cage for six games. He beat Detroit, 2-1, tied Montreal, 3-3, and lost four others including two one sided affairs, 7-0 to St. Louis and 6-3 to Boston.The unfortunate thing is that Worthy played well. Sure he had his moments but after all he&rsquo;s just 20 and not even a year out of Junior hockey.Gary Smith has replaced Worthy and credit Smith with a kind of aura which infects his teammates somehow to score goals.Smitty appeared in 11 games through Dec 1, and had won five, tied two and lost four. Charlie Hodge, who is 0-5-2 through Dec 1, continues to ride the bench.Among the forwards, things are getting better.Mike Laughton was called up from Cleveland to replace the benched and later traded Billy Harris and he has done a great job between Bill Hicke and Gary Jarrett.Brian Perry, after a long, slow start, is going well, giving some badly needed support to young right wing Norm Ferguson, a surprisingly quick, accurate shooter, not afraid to go into the corners with anybody.Of course, Ted Hampson, working with George Swarbrick and Gerry Ehman, continues to turn in his routinely great games.Ferguson, a 23-year-old wing from Sydney, N.S., has been a suprising performer for being a rookie.<h2>MEET THE ROOKIES</h2>One of the big surprises of the Oakland Seals this season has been the play of rookie Norm Ferguson. The 23-year-old winger had six goals and five assists in his first 22 games. &ldquo;Fergie has proven time and again that he can do the job in the NHL,&rdquo; says coach Fred Glover. &ldquo;He has exceptional shooting skill and some terrific moves. A lot of the time he does his own work, picking up the puck faking his way past the defense and then getting away a shot. On at least two. of his goals, he was the guy who not only scored by made an unbelievable play to get into position for the shot. He&rsquo;s thinking all the time and it&rsquo;s paying off not only for him but us as well.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-02588/2627387-1-eng-US/f0005-022.jpg" title="f0005-02" width="1170" height="1293"><figcaption class="caption-body">NORM FERGUSON &hellip; Oakland Seals</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0005-01

Seals Get Ahead At Expense Of NHL’s Established Clubs But They Can’t Beat New Teams

<div class="byline">BY ED CONRAD</div>PHILADELPHIA &mdash;Perhaps by the time you read this, Doug Favell will be wearing the uniform of a team other than the Flyers.The young goaltender was most prominently mentioned in trade rumors through-out the NHL, and even Doug himself agreed they made plenty of sense.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-01720/2627425-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg" title="f0006-01" width="246" height="438"><figcaption class="caption-body">Doug Favell</figcaption></div>After all, the Flyers&rsquo; offensive drought never ran as dry as it did during the club&rsquo;s longest losing streak in its brief history &mdash; six in a row. So the club seemed forced to acquire some goalscoring muscle and the most expendible, it appeared, was Favell.True, Doug had been a sensation in the nets for the Flyers as a rookie last season but this year just wasn&rsquo;t his old self. His past performance, however, still meant he could get back in the groove and be the answer to some other club&rsquo;s problem.Favell felt sure there was plenty of truth to reports that the Flyers were seeing what they could get for him. But if and when he&rsquo;d leave Philly, he felt he had a score to settle first.&ldquo;I really feel I&rsquo;ve let the team down,&rdquo; said Doug. &ldquo;We wouldn&rsquo;t be where we are right now if I had done my job in front of the nets. I&rsquo;ve been playing lousy the last few games and its really hurt us in the standings.Favell, who was the victim of Red Berenson&rsquo;s six-goal performance at the Spectrum awhile back, had an alarming 3.75 goals-against average in eight games. Last season he was 2.27 in 38 games.&ldquo;In hockey, a goalie wins a number of games for his team during the season and the team, in turn, wins a number of games for the goalie. Things usually balance out over the season but right now I know I&rsquo;m minus.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s tough when you&rsquo;re in a slump like we are and the tougher part is that everybody blames the goalie. This hasn&rsquo;t been completely true with us (he and Bernie Parent) because our club hasn&rsquo;t been scoring goals.&rdquo;The Flyers, who were tied for the cellar with Pittsburgh after their 1-0 loss to St Louis, had scored only 39 goals in 21 games for an average production of fewer than two per game &mdash; worse record in the NHL.&ldquo;Take our 1-0 loss to the Blues for example,&rdquo; continued Doug. &ldquo;Bernie lets in only one goal and St Louis is able to steal the victory. It makes it pretty tough when the team behind you isn&rsquo;t scoring any goals.&ldquo;The worse part, it shows on the goaltender. A skater can have a bad night but hardly anybody notices it because, if he doesn&rsquo;t score goals, he can at least skate up and down the ice and check people But the goalie makes a mistake and everybody knows it.&rdquo;The Flyers who opened a sixgame home stand with a pair of victories over Los Angeles and Boston, had lost four straight to close out the home stand before the defeat in St. Louis. Their offensive plight was never worse, with the club scoring only four goals during the five-game losing streak and getting shut out twice.For that reason, the Flyers undoubtedly realized they had to obtain a goal-scorer at all costs even if it meant losing Favell, who still seems to have a long and bright NHL career ahead of him.&ldquo;When the goalie&rsquo;s going bad and the team&rsquo;s not winning, it looks pretty bad,&rdquo; said Doug. &ldquo;I know I haven&rsquo;t been playing the kind of hockey I can play but I&rsquo;m sure I&rsquo;ll snap out of it. When you&rsquo;re playing badly, you have to work twice as hard and your sharpness eventually returns.&ldquo;When tings aren&rsquo;t going right for you, it seems nothing goes right. And when things are going good, everything seems to go good.&ldquo;Right now I feel I&rsquo;m still stopping the shots, but they&rsquo;re still winding up in our nets. That&rsquo;s what happens when you&rsquo;re in a slump. I&rsquo;ve also been giving away too many gift goals, though, the kind where you stop the shot but they still end up as goals.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s especially tough when your own club isn&rsquo;t dumping the puck into the other team&rsquo;s net. I&rsquo;m not stopping the puck like I should be, but I can&rsquo;t score goals, either.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0006-01

Flyers May Use Favell As Trade Bait To Land Scoring Punch On Club

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0007-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-02609/2627494-1-eng-US/f0007-022.jpg"></div>TORONTO, Ont. &mdash;Toronto Maple Leafs, who appeared on the verge of hiring a new general manager and coach a week ago, have suddenly rallied &lsquo;round beleaguered leader &lsquo;punch&rsquo; Imlach.The Leafs perked up their performance noticeably on the ice, racking up three straight victoires after Imlach&rsquo;s crucial &ldquo;vote of confidence&rdquo; meeting with team president Stafford Smythe.The Leafs began their sudden return to productiveness with a midweek win over Minnesota North Stargs in the expansionists&rsquo; home rink and then followed up with a dramatic Maple Leaf Gardens triumph over the highly-rated New York Rangers on the weekend.The 5-2 win over New York was immediately succeeded by a 4-1 romp over Pittsburgh Penguins Sunday night in Pittsburgh, which moved the Leafs to within three points of the second place Rangers and Boston Bruins.A couple of staid old veterans, Normie Ullman and Pierre Pilote, were the key men in the two weekend efforts. Ullman downed New York almost singlehandedly with his first hat-trick in a Toronto uniform. Pilote did his first bit of scoring since joining the Leafs from Chicago in an off-season trade as he notched a brace of goals to sink the Penguins.<h2>LOOKING AT NHL RACE</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-03479/2627487-1-eng-US/f0007-032.jpg" title="f0007-03" width="1098" height="302"></div><h2>GAMES COMPLETED</h2>Wed. Dec. 4New York 4 at Montreal 2Toronto 4 at Minnesota 2Chicago 3 at St. Louis 3Philadelphia 1 at Los Angeles 3Detroit 7 at Pittsburgh 2Thurs. Dec. 5New York 2 at Detroit 4Montreal 2 at Boston 2Fri. Dec. 6Philadelphia 0 at Oakland 4Sat. Dec. 7Chicago 3 at Montreal 6New York 2 at Toronto 5Pittsburgh 1 at St. Louis 1Minnesota 2 at Los Angeles 3Detroit 1 at Boston 4Sun. Dec. 8Detroit 4 at New York 2Toronto 4 at Pittsburgh 1Minnesota 4 at Oakland 1St. Louis 4 at Philadelphia 4Boston 4 at Chicago 7<h2>GAMES TO COME</h2>Wed. Dec. 11Montreal at TorontoBoston at New YorkDetroit at Los AngelesSt. Louis at ChicagoPittsburgh at MinnesotaThurs. Dec. 12St. Louis at MontrealToronto at PhiladelphiaDetroit at OaklandSat. Dec. 14Philadelphia at MontrealSt. Louis at TorontoNew York at MinnesotaChicago at BostonOakland at DetroitLos Angeles at PittsburghSun. Dec. 15Philadelphia at New YorkPittsburgh at BostonMinnesota at DetroitOakland at ChicagoLos Angeles at St. Louis &#9632;

f0007-02

Leafs ‘Boost’ Imlach With Victory Streak

<div class="byline">BY NORMAN MacLEAN</div>NEW YORK, N.Y. &mdash;A year ago Walter Tkaczuk was playing for the Kitchener Rangers in the Ontario Hockey Association Junior A, after refusing to turn pro with the New York farm outlet at Omaha in the Central Pro Hockey League. To some degree, Emile Francis and the other members of the New York front office were not happy about Tkaczuk&rsquo;s refusal to leave Junior ranks for professional seasoning.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-01672/2627456-1-eng-US/f0007-012.jpg" title="f0007-01" width="534" height="559"><figcaption class="caption-body">WALT TKACZUK&hellip; Hot Rookie</figcaption></div>Today, Walter is forcing Ranger coach Bernie &ldquo;Boom Boom&rdquo; Geoffrion to make a decision &mdash; whether to keep Tkaczuk on a permanent basis with New York or return him to Buffalo of the American Hockey League. In the opinion of this observer, Walter has made the Rangers.Geoffrion, always cautious when making observations about his players, only says, &ldquo;The time of decision is near on Tkaczuk, but I still don&rsquo;t want to say that he has made the team.&rdquo;There were those who thought that Walter, a 6 foot 185 pound native of Emstedetten, Germany, was the team on the weekend of November 30-December 1. New York was coming off of a dreadful loss to the Chicago Black Hawks, the team which had vanquished the Blueshirts in their Stanley Cup bid last Spring &mdash; and they were faced with a double dose of Eastern Division power,&rsquo; Boston on Saturday and Toronto on Sunday.Boston had routed New York only a week before by a 5-1 count and seemed to consider the Rangers as easy pickings. Nonetheless, with Eddie Giacomin performing wonders in the Ranger net, the game remained scoreless until midway in the second period. Then Tkaczuk (pronounced Ta-chook) struck. He took a pass from fellow rookie Brad Park and deposited the puck behind Gerry Cheevers in the Boston goal. Rod Gilbert also received and assist on the key play.With this as a starter, and backed by Giacomin&rsquo;s superlative goaltending, the Rangers kept driving and recorded a neat 4-1 win over the tough Bruins. Gilbert, Donnie Marshall and Bob Nevin all chipped in for counters. Giacomin lost his shutout only seconds after stopping a Fred Stanfield breakaway. Eddie was hit in the groin by the puck &mdash; and then just missed getting Tommy Williams, shot when he returned.The next evening, New York faced a similar situation, when the practically peerless leader, Punch Imlach, brought his Toronto Maple Leafs to town. Toronto had beaten the Rangers in Madison Square Garden on their first visit, despite an early 2-0 New York lead.Before the game, Emile Francis, the Rangers General Manager said, &ldquo;We have to win this game. If Toronto comes in here and wins twice in a row they might begin to think that they can beat us. This is a must for us&rdquo;Thirty four seconds after the game started Tkaczuk made his prettiest score of the young season when he swooped around the Leaf goal and tucked the puck between Goalie Bruce Gamble and the post via a neat backhand shot. To some veteran observers, he looked like a reincarnation of the Delisle, Sask, dandy, Max Bentley, who was famous for this play.&ldquo;Tkaczuk played a whale of a game,&rdquo; said Geoffrion later in the post game post mortem. &ldquo;He moves the puck real well. I had to take him out in the third period when one of Arnie Brown&rsquo;s passes hit his ankle, but we have Dave Balon and Davey finished up the job for Walter.&rdquo;In pre season evaluations, &ldquo;Kachook&rdquo; was scheduled for Buffalo with Phil Goyette centering one Ranger line, Jean Ratelie another and Orland Kurtenbach the third. Balon was the reserve for all three lines, but when Kurtenbach came up with a bad back in training camp which didn&rsquo;t respond to treatment in the early days of the season, Geoffrion reached down and brought up Tkaczuk. In certain games, Balon gets the nod, as he did in a key first place battle with Montreal, but of late it has been last year&rsquo;s best Canadian Junior who has been getting the ice time. The versatile Balon sometimes plays wing on this line, which in reality makes it a four man combo. Kurtenbach, in the meantime has been shipped to Omaha of the Central Pro League to regain his touch. So far, his back has still bothered him. With Walter&rsquo;s initial contribution as a starter, the Rangers went on to vanquish Toronto 3-1 before a sellout Garden crowd of 17,250. The win moved them up into second place, one point ahead of Boston and one behind pace setting Montreal. It made their record against the stronger East a better sounding 4-5 as compared with 11-2 against the West. More important, it proved that New York could beat the East and that the boys had picked up the tempo which is so important when playing the old line clubs.&ldquo;Against the Western teams it seems that we have a split second more to make a play,&rdquo; notes Ranger Captain Bob Nevin. &ldquo;Also we tend to wander a bit more when playing them and then this must be corrected when we play an Eastern team.&rdquo;Two other plusses in the Ranger revival against the East is the play of Center Jean Ratelie and Goalie Eddie Giacomin. Ratelle, the slick straight man between the curved bladed Rod Gilbert and Vic Hadfield was superb in recent games. He even was shooting more, although with trigger men like Rod and Vic on the same line this can be difficult. Hadfield likes to blast away so much now that he seems to be shooting BEFORE he gets over the opposition&rsquo;s blue line.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s alright,&rdquo; says Geoffrion. &ldquo;If you don&rsquo;t shoot, you don&rsquo;t score.&rdquo;BLUE CHIPS: $2,500 worth of equipment was stolen from the New York locker room at their Skateland, L.I. practice base &hellip; As a result, Harry Howell suffered an eight stitch cut on his elbow when he fell on a poorly fitting elbow pad that was used as a replacement for one of the stolen items &hellip; Bernie Geoffrion was the guest at the opening of Marv Albert&rsquo;s Hockey Luncheon&rsquo;s a take off on football&rsquo;s popular fan-celebrity get togethers &hellip; Tickets for Ranger games with Eastern Division clubs are becoming impossible to get, although some remain for games with the Expansion teams. A New York financial institution, The Washington Heights Federal Saving and Loan Association has included Ranger tickets with New York Football Giant and Jet ducats in a weekly giveaway &hellip; This shows the tremendous job that the Rangers have done in raising New York hockey to a position of eminence. &#9632;

f0007-01

Tkaczuk’s Inspired Ice Play Puts Boomer In Quandary

<div class="byline">&#x2014;By Bill Libby</div>IN THE SHADOWS &mdash; Before the game in L.A.&rsquo;s Fabulous Forum, he offered the girl a buck for a program and she took it, giving him change, of course. Then he went downstairs to visit the Montreal team in the dressing room, but a guard stopped him at the head of the corridor and wouldn&rsquo;t let him through at first. Talking about it later, Toe Blake smiled and shrugged and took it all philosophically. After all, Los Angeles is new to big-time hockey and not everyone there can be expected to know and honor the man who coached the Canadiens to eight pennants and nine Stanley Cup triumphs. He retired from coaching this season. Let&rsquo;s face it, you can be forgotten fast.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-01706/2627525-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg" title="f0008-01" width="499" height="863"><figcaption class="caption-body">TOE BLAKE</figcaption></div>&ldquo;I had to quit,&rdquo; Blake said wistfully. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not that I had no new worlds to conquer. Every game, every season is a new challenge. But I&rsquo;d been meeting these challenges as coach of Canadiens for twelve years. I&rsquo;m 56 years old. The pressure was getting to be unbearable. The day of the game, I was getting to be unbearable. The afternoons were the worst. All the thinking. And then the waiting, waiting, waiting. I was no good to anyone, not even my family. I thought I&rsquo;d take a year off. I&rsquo;m not saying I&rsquo;ll never come back. Don&rsquo;t have me saying that. I&rsquo;ts a helluva game. I had to quit, but I won&rsquo;t say I&rsquo;ll never come back.&rdquo;He hunched over a little, shaking his head. &ldquo;I miss coaching, but I missed playing more when I stopped that. That was the hardest thing, retiring as a player. Jeez, that was tough,&rdquo; he sighed. &ldquo;I played thirteen years for Montreal and I was one of five or six veterans who had been together a long time &mdash; guys like Durnan and Bouchard and Chamberlain &mdash; and I was the first to go. and it hurt me to go while they stayed on. I broke my leg bad and I had a good coaching offer and I had no choice, but once you&rsquo;ve been a player, you never stop wanting to go on being one. You just don&rsquo;t know much you&rsquo;ll miss it until you stop.&ldquo;They used to quit when their time came. I remember when Richard quit. He could have still played. He could have scored 300 more goals if he&rsquo;d kept playing. He was capable of it. But it was his time, so he quit. Now they don&rsquo;t know when their time is. They just don&rsquo;t quit. I remember when Doug Harvey left Canadiens. That must have been 1960, 1961. No one could possibly have imagined that he&rsquo;d be playing in the NHL in 1968, 1969. And he played a game against us the other night. I&rsquo;ll tell you he wasn&rsquo;t the worst player on the ice. Plante. Howe. You know something, though, the ones that endure are the super stars.&rdquo;Toe Blake pressed his shoulders back against the corridor wall and said, &ldquo;What you miss most is being with the guys. You&rsquo;re part of a club. You&rsquo;re one of the boys. You&rsquo;re in there with the sweat and the suffering and the fun and the excitement.It&rsquo;s never the same when you&rsquo;re not playing any more. It&rsquo;s never the same as a coach. But as a coach, you&rsquo;re still close to the guys and part of the action. Even now, I travel with the club a lot. I&rsquo;m still with the team. But it&rsquo;s not the same. I think I made the right decision. I&rsquo;m feeling easier in a way. I can get through the afternoons now. But thank the Lord I&rsquo;m still in the game. I couldn&rsquo;t leave the game. I couldn&rsquo;t even say I won&rsquo;t coach again some day. I couldn&rsquo;t ever say that. The only thing I can say for sure is I&rsquo;ll never play again. And it hurts to say that, even now, all these Ion years later.&rdquo;IN THE SPOTLIGHT&mdash;The Canadiens came from behind to win the game and as they tripped contentedly in the steaming profane dressing room, their new coach, Claude Ruel, passed among them slapping them on their bare backs and butts, congratulating them. Then he stood off to the side, sweat streaming down his round, flushed face, and he said, &ldquo;You don&rsquo;t enjoy the game, but you enjoy the winning. It is a tough thing, this coaching. It never give you no rest. Is not easy, no?His playing career ended when he was an amateur and caught a stick in his left eye and lost his sight in the eye. He was in the Montreal organization and they kept him. out of loyalty and sympathy, as a junior coach, then as a scout, and they found that they had one of the shrewdest and most inspirational leaders in the game on their hands. He is only 30 and at 5-5 and 225 pounds he is almost comical-looking but when Blake quit, Montreal made him the youngest and fattest coach in the majors.&ldquo;I know everyone saying I crazy to take this job,&rdquo; he admits. &ldquo;I can&rsquo;t just win, I have to win everything not to fail. The team&rsquo;s at the top. I can only hope to stay there. I can&rsquo;t go up. I can go down. But, what the heck, I been with this organization since I was 15 years old, I&rsquo;m going to turn them down when they offer me the biggest job in the organization? I never got to play in the majors, I&rsquo;m going to turn down a chance to coach in the majors?&rdquo;He wiped his wet face. &ldquo;Maybe this team, they big stars, but I&rsquo;m coach now. I no change things around whole lot. Montreal&rsquo;s way is my way, anyway. And they win this way. I just try to keep the guys up, to get them to give their best. It doesn&rsquo;t matter big star, no big star, you got to be up and give your best to win and keep winning, and I let them know about it no matter who they are,&rdquo; he said. He grinned and poked me in my belly, which is about as big as his, and said, &ldquo;Is never easy, nothing that&rsquo;s worthwhile, is it? Hard, yes. Work. Worry. Suffer. Sweat. No sleep lots of nights. But is better than being with bad team, losing. Is better than being with no team at all, no place. Is much better than that.&rdquo;AND STILL PLAYING&mdash; He had done his thing, easily, effortlessly, hardly noticed all game, and when he got his chance&mdash;the puck landing at his feet with the goalie out of position &mdash; Jean Beliveau put his stick to it and lifted it neatly past the scrambling goalie and into the nets, easily, effortlessly, with the practiced skill of the professional veteran and Montreal was on its way back to another victory.Now, 37-vear-old Jean Beliveau, in his eighteenth year in the NHL, nearing 1,000 games and 450 goals, towelled himself off from his shower and said, &ldquo;I never think of retiring. I just never think about it. The season starts and I show up and I play. Maybe some day I won&rsquo;t be able to play well enough. But I don&rsquo;t think about it.&rdquo; He smiled and looked around the locker room, where the guys were happy. &ldquo;Who wants to think about not being around any more?&rdquo; he said softly. &#9632;

f0008-01

Hockey Ad Lib

<div class="byline">By BILL LIBBY</div>LOS ANGELES, Calif. &mdash;Throughout much of the summer the Los Angeles Kings made fewer changes than any other NHL team and it appeared they would be satisfied to stand pat with their first club. However, then they began to make changes and they have not stopped since and one fourth of the way into this, their second season, six new players appear on their 19-man roster.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-02621/2627556-1-eng-US/f0008-022.jpg" title="f0008-02" width="549" height="582"><figcaption class="caption-body">JIMMY PETERS</figcaption></div>These are goal-tender Gerry Desjardins, defenseman Larry Cahan, centers Skip Krake and Jimmy Peters, and wingers Ron Anderson and Marc Dufour. There will be other changes, possibly some before this reaches the reader. Not all of the new men have secured their places. And the club has been carrying one extra man, sitting out different men from game to game.The lastest change sent center Gordon Labossiere and winger Lowell MacDonald down to the Kings&rsquo; Springfield American League farm in exchange for center Howie Menard and winger Dufour. Ironically Labossiere was the Kings&rsquo; prize first choice in the expansion draft, while Dufour was their 18th and last choice, when everyone was grabbing at straws.The Kings went a long way with Labossiere, a 28-year-old veteran of 11 pro seasons, including one prior shot at the big time. He played some good defense but scored only 13 goals in 68&rsquo;games last season and only one in 19 games this season. MacDonald, 27, was one of hockey&rsquo;s big surprises last season. However, he is a worrier. Off to a fast start last season, he scored 21 studious sort he has spoken of quitting to complete college.Dufour a 27-goal-old, 6-foot, 175-pounder had one prior NHL shot, but was not rated rugged enough for the majors. However, he had 12 goals in 20 games in the AHL this season, earning another chance. Menard had only three goals, but 15 assists in the AHL. The 5-6, 160-pounder, 26 years old, is a little fireball who was called up and sparked the Kings the last part of last season and probably should have stayed with the team all the way this season.Of all the new players none has helped the Kings more than Peters. The handsome 24-year-old bachelor was just a body picked up to make the deal which got rid of Terry Sawchuk to Detroit look good. He was supposed to go right to Springfield, but the Kings needed an extra hand for an exhibition game and figured they should at least look at him. &ldquo;I sent him out to kill a penalty and he looked so good, I sent him out again. I&rsquo;ve been sending him out on the ice ever since and he looks better and better,&rdquo; coach Red Kelly says. &ldquo;He played himselfConscientious and efficient, young Peters, who picked up a lot from his dad, Jim Sr., who played with Montreal Boston, Chicago and Detroit between 1946 and 1954, is tall at 6-2 and strong at 185 pounds. A fair skater, puck handler and shooter, he makes the most of varied talents and is an outstanding checker. &ldquo;He takes a man out as well as any center in the league already,&rdquo; says coach Kelly who played with the father and now is coaching the son.Jimmy is a young gentleman extremely polite and reserved. Curiously, while he was been around hockey all his life and says he was anxious to see if he could make it in the majors, he is not hung up on hockey as a carrer.He was tickled with the trade that gave him a fresh big-time opportunity, but he is studious and seriously suggests he may leave the game to complete work in Sociology or Physical Education already begun at Flint Junior College in Michigan. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s real important to have a good education these days,&rdquo; he says. &#9632;

f0008-02

Newcomer Jimmy Peters Bright Hockey Prospect Since Joining Ice Kings

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0009-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-01687/2627587-1-eng-US/f0009-012.jpg"></div>In today&rsquo;s game, this young man handed out five stiff body checks, blocked two slap shots from the point, was boarded by a big right winger, caught an elbow while digging the puck out of the corner, was flattened trying to clear the puck, and picked up an assist on a goal.He played a good game.He played it hard.But most important, he&rsquo;sstill in one piece.That&rsquo;s the part we played in today&rsquo;s game.Hockey Equipment Don&rsquo;t play games with anything else. &#9632;

f0009-01

Cooper

<div class="byline">BY LOU PRATO</div>PITTSBURGH &mdash;Jack Riley is not a vindictive man but as General Manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins he is most happy about the embarrassment his team has been causing in the National Hockey League recently.Just about everyone from official brass to average fan had tabbed the Penguins for last in the NHL&rsquo;s Western Division. And for a time the Penguins played like everyone said they would.But suddenly, Pittsburgh has surged back into contention for a playoff spot. After losing seven games in a row and gaining just six points in the first 15 games, the Penguins did an about face. As the season reached the quarter mark, the Penguins found themselves just two points out of second place and owners of a six game unbeaten streak.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not surprised one bit,&rdquo; Riley said of the Penguins&rsquo; sudden reversal. &ldquo;I thought the club was playing well before but just wasn&rsquo;t getting the breaks.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-01706/2627618-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg" title="f0010-01" width="249" height="437"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jack Riley</figcaption></div>&ldquo;Well, now we&rsquo;re starting to get our breaks. And now we&rsquo;re starting to show everyone what I&rsquo;ve said all along; that this is a darn good hockey club.&ldquo;People wrote us off too early. They said we were lousy and everyone wanted us to make changes. But we stayed calm and didn&rsquo;t panic and now it&rsquo;s showing up on the ice.&ldquo;I know people don&rsquo;t like to hear anyone complain about bad breaks. They think you&rsquo;re using that as an excuse. But I know three specific games where a bad break led to a loss &mdash; and all with the other division. In Chicago we were tied when they scored with 17 seconds to go on a shot they never should have got: against New York we got a bench minor on a bad call that left us two men short and New York scored the goal to beat us 2-1; and Montreal beat us 5-4 up there when they got a goal that I felt should have been called back because of offsides. These were all bad breaks but now we&rsquo;re starting to get some good ones.&rdquo;Riley downplays any suggestion that changes in personnel led to the Penguins comeback. Although there was no major shakeup, Riley made several moves that obviously improved his lineup.During early November he brought several minor league players into Pittsburgh for a game or two when injuries depleted his first lines. And although none of the farmhands stuck they must have worried several of the veterans who had been chastized by Coach Red Sullivan for their ineffective play.In a move to bolster the less than rugged defense, rookie John Arbour was dispatched to Baltimore and Billy Speer, a crowd favorite last year in Pittsburgh, was recalled. Although Arbour had shown signs in training camp of being the team&rsquo;s &ldquo;policeman&rdquo; he became rather harmless after a game or two of official combat. Meanwhile, Speer had skated back into condition at Baltimore.&ldquo;Billy Speer has been helpful,&rdquo; Riley concedes, &ldquo;but he&rsquo;s not the big reason why we started playing well. This club just started to believe in itself. That&rsquo;s all. When you&rsquo;re losing you get down on yourself. And when you start winning, you get confidence in yourself. That&rsquo;s what happened here.As the Penguins made their climb out of the Western Division cellar, Riley made another move to help the team&rsquo;s sometimes inconsistent attack. He traded reserve Bobby Dillabough to Oakland for center Billy Harris, a favorite of Pittsburgh hockey fans when a member of the old Hornets of the AHL.&ldquo;I knew Harris could help this team,&rdquo; Riley said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s got that experience. I was ready to send Dillabough down but I promised him I&rsquo;d try to trade for him. And I did when Harris became available.&rdquo;Riley says he&rsquo;ll make more trades if necessary to keep his team in contention. But he doubts whether he&rsquo;ll need to trade.&ldquo;I told everyone a month ago I wasn&rsquo;t about to make wholesale changes in this club just because we were down,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Well, I meant that. We&rsquo;re going to win with what we&rsquo;ve got because what we&rsquo;ve got is a pretty good hockey club.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0010-01

Penguins Surprise Sully With Unbeaten Streak To Revive Club’s Hopes

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0011-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-01698/2627663-1-eng-US/f0011-012.jpg"></div>(Including Games of Sun. Dec. 8)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-02646/2627656-1-eng-US/f0011-022.jpg" title="f0011-02" width="604" height="2068"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-03557/2627649-1-eng-US/f0011-032.jpg" title="f0011-03" width="619" height="2068"></div> &#9632;

f0011-01

NHL SCORING RACE

<div class="byline">BY DAN MOULTON</div>CHICAGO, Ill. &mdash;No one has to tell Bobby Hull the facts of National Hockey league life. In his 11-plus season as reigning super-star with the Black Hawks he&rsquo;s experienced every glory and heartbreak the game has to offer.But there&rsquo;s one aspect of life in the NHL that both puzzles and angers the Golden Jet. And while he&rsquo;s learned to tolerate it, he&rsquo;ll never accept it.It&rsquo;s this: Officials will allow defensive players to do things to Hull that would earn penalties if the victims were any other player in the league. Seldom does Bobby make it over the opposition blue line with the puck on his stick without being held, hooked, tripped, or boarded. And if he&rsquo;s moving in the offensive zone without the puck, the standard operational procedure for opposing skaters is to interfere.That Bobby manages to score at all sometimes seems amazing; and that he does it with such frequency is overwhelming testimony to his greatness.If Bobby were treated by officials as any other player in the league it&rsquo;s reasonable to believe he&rsquo;d set scoring records no one ever could approach.As a rule, Bobby accepts the special treatment he receives from enemy skaters and officials with quiet anger. He&rsquo;s not normally given to rapping opponents, win or lose.But a recent loss to the &ldquo;Canadiens in the Stadium found Bobby both unwilling and unable to accept what had happened to him during two encounters with Canadiens defenseman Larry Hillman in the first period.Hillman&rsquo;s chore, it seemed, was to tie up Bobby every time he moved within squinting distance of Goalie Rogatien Vachon and he carried out his assignment dutifully.Twice, Bobby endured the holding and interference stolidly for several seconds, then retaliated.Both times it appeared as though referee Vern Buffey watched the Hillman&rsquo;s performance impassively and blew his whistle only after Bobby struck back. The first time, both went for high-sticking, the second time each drew minors for fighting.&ldquo;He grabbed my stick every time I got close to the net,&rdquo; said Bobby. &ldquo;How long are you supposed to take that? Hillman also should have been called for interference every time the puck went into the Canadiens&rsquo; zone. Nobody from our team got past him if they were going into the corner after a loose puck.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-04469/2627694-1-eng-US/f0011-042.jpg" title="f0011-04" width="527" height="552"><figcaption class="caption-body">BOBBY HULL&hellip; Prime Target</figcaption></div>Hawk Coach Billy Reay has been beefing about the treatment accorded Bobby, just as his predecessor Rudy Pilous did, and as Manager Tommy Ivan has since Bobby came into the league.Billy has decided that his cause is all but futile but he can&rsquo;t resist an occasional gripe.&ldquo;There were two penalties called on us for the whole game and both were against Bobby,&rdquo; Billy said, with a grim chuckle. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s ridiculous. Hillman should have been gone before anything started both times. Bobby sure wasn&rsquo;t holding him.&ldquo;Sometimes you have to wonder how Bobby ever gets anything done. The other night in St. Louis, Al Arbour had his stick in across Bobby&rsquo;s chest every time he tried to make a move. It was incredible.&rdquo;With all the grief, Hull is off to what could be the best season of his career. Not only is he leading the league&rsquo;s scorers, he&rsquo;s leading the Hawks in every phase of the game, skating his regular shift, filling in on extra lines, killing penalties, leading the power-play, and making plays that many observers, who see him mainly as a goal-producer, felt he couldn&rsquo;t make.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s at his greatest right now,&rdquo; said Ivan, who brought Bobby into the NHL at 18 more than 11 years ago. &ldquo;When you get a player of his ability, who will give you 150 per cent, you have to feel blessed.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0011-04

‘Hackers’ Having Field Day Trying To Stop Bobby Hull

<div class="byline">BY PAT CURRAN</div>MONTREAL, Que.&mdash;Goaltending will be the big key during the next few weeks to Montreal&rsquo;s chances of taking the Eastern Division lead into the new year. But neither veteran Gump Worsley nor his young nor his young partner Rogatien Vachon will be around to turn it.It&rsquo;s old hat now that Worsley stopped the hockey world and got off a plane at Chicago on the Canadiens&rsquo; last trip to the West Coast. After he arrived home, the 39-year-old goalie consulted the club doctor who found Worsley on the brink of a nervous breakdown.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-01674/2627725-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg" title="f0012-01" width="246" height="425"><figcaption class="caption-body">Rogatien Vachon</figcaption></div>Aerophobia was only part of his problem and Gump was ordered to stay away from hockey for a full month.That left the main netminding job up to Vachon who has come through so many times in the clutch since his jump to the NHL two years ago. And it looked like Roggie was going to emerge with flying colors after a big performance in the Habs&rsquo; 3-1 victory at Chicago.However, the rash of injuries that has been hitting NHL goalies all season caught up with Vachon in a routine practice. He raised his stick hand to ward off sizzling shot from Jacques Lemaire and would up leaving the ice in pain.The result of x-rays showed a fracture of the fifth metarcal bone in his right hand. Doctors originally hoped that a small cast might enable Vachon to keep on playing. However the goalie couldn&rsquo;t hold his stick properly and had to accept the bad news of being sidelined two or three weeks.A rush call went out to Ernie Wakely, veteran Montreal minorleague property with Cleveland Barons, who was put on the spot in a first-place battle with the Rangers at the Forum. However the Canadiens got off to another poor start on home ice, Wakely was beaten for two bad goals in a 4-2 setback and lasted only the one game.Next night at Boston, the goalie&rsquo;s role went to Tony Esposito, 25-year-old graduate of Michigan Tech who had his first pro season in 1967-68 with Vancouver. He had been impressive in Montreal&rsquo;s training camp, gave up only eight goals in 15 games at Houston but looked bad in his only previous outing with the Habs the previous week.That was at Oakland in a 5-4 setback. Esposito played the last 26 minutes against the Seals but appeared weak on the winning goal, a sharp-angled backhander by Bill Hicke.During the playing of the anthem at Boston Garden, Tony Esposito looked like a bundle of nerves and it appeared that the first shot would blow right through him. However he settled down to make several fine stops in a 33-save game with only brother Phil able to beat him in a 2-2 deadlock.The five-eleven, 185-pound Tony is a right-handed netminder with an unorthodox style and his tendency to roam often has teammates going crazy. However he has quick reflexes and a snappy catching hand that may stand up in big-league netminding.Besides the loss of their two top goalies, the Canadiens will also miss veteran defenceman Terry Harper until well into January. After playing despite a knee ailment since training camp, Harper was admitted to hospital again for surgery.It was the second operation on his right knee from which a cyst and cartiledge had been removed after the 1968 playoffs. The recurrence of fluid of the knee necessitated surgery this time.The absence of Harper left Coach Claude Ruel with five defenceman, Ted Harris, Jacques Laperriere, Jean Claude Tremblay with Larry Hillman and Serge Savard alternating.Ordinarily the Canadiens could boast an enviable schedule through December with seven of nine games at home. However Forum ice hadn&rsquo;t been good to the defending champs this season and fans were still waiting for them to show old time form. &#9632;

f0012-01

INJURY - RACKED HABS BANK ON ROOKIE

It&rsquo;s not every day a fellow reaches the 700-goal plateau in the National Hockey League. In fact, it&rsquo;s not even every century.But the incomparable Gordie Howe became the first player in NHL history to achieve the magic number last week when he fired home goal number 700 of his career in Pittsburgh to spark a 7-2 Detroit Red Wings&rsquo; victory over the Penguins.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-02580/2627756-1-eng-US/f0012-022.jpg" title="f0012-02" width="255" height="411"><figcaption class="caption-body">Gordie Howe</figcaption></div>And Howe didn&rsquo;t stop here. He helped the Wings skate to a pair of victories over the first-place pretenders, New York Rangers, to brighten Detroit playoff hopes considerably.Howe set up Kent Douglas with the first goal of the game as the Wings went on to tame the Rangers 4-2 at Detroit Olympia and then three nights later he erupted for two goals and two assists in the first period to power the Red Wings to a 5-2 romp in Madison Square Garden.Howe thinks he can play at least one more season after this one. A look at the current scoring race where Gordie holds second place behind Bobby Hull with 14 goals and 24 assists, indicates he may be around for a much longer period of time than that.Who knows? Before Howe hangs &lsquo;em up, he may even crash the 800-goal mark!El Producto and THE HOCKEY NEWS are pleased to salute the player-of-the-week in the East:Gordie Howe &hellip; Detroit &#9632;

f0012-02

NHL Player Of The Week — IN THE EAST

If anyone had mentioned before the start of the current season that an expansion team would go off on a 12-game undefeated tear, his sanity undoubtedly would have been questioned.Yet that&rsquo;s what has developed as the St. Louis Blues continue to make a shambles of the Western Division race.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-03454/2627787-1-eng-US/f0012-032.jpg" title="f0012-03" width="267" height="415"><figcaption class="caption-body">Ab McDonald</figcaption></div>The Blues played to three straight deadlocks last week, and one of the main performers responsible for keeping the St. Louis unbeaten skein alive was much travelled left winger Ab McDonald.McDonald, traded off by five NHL teams before the Blues picked him up from Pittsburgh this year, was fiving in the manner reminiscent of his old Chicago Scooter Line days.His 10th goal of the season triggered a St. Louis comeback against Chicago that wiped out a 3-1 deficit and salvaged a 3-3 draw last week. Three nights later he set up Red Berenson for the only St. Louis goal in a 1-1 stalemate with Pittsburgh, and then he capped off a productive week with a goal and an assist as the Blues battled to a 4-4 saw-off in Philadelphia.Of course there were several other high-flying castoffs who have been spearheading the Blues on their streak &mdash; fellows like Berenson, Doug Harvey, Jacques Plante and Glenn Hall &mdash; but McDonald&rsquo;s rejuvenation certainly ranks as another feather in the cap of coach Scotty Bowman.El Producto and THE HOCKEY NEWS are pleased to salute the player-of-the-week in the West:Ab McDonald &hellip; St. Louis &#9632;

f0012-03

NHL Player Of The Week — IN THE WEST

<h2>WED. DEC. 4 NEW YORK 4 MONTREAL2</h2><h3>FIRST PERIOD</h3>1&mdash;New York, Ratelie (Nevin, Gilbert) &hellip; 1:102&mdash;New York, Ratelle (Nevin, Hadfield) &hellip; 6:213&mdash;Montreal, Lemaire (Cournoyer, Richard) &hellip; 8:254&mdash;New York, Hadfield (Park, Gilbert) &hellip; 12:32Penalties &mdash; Lemaire 0:56, Nevin 4:00, Ferguson 15:37.<h3>SECOND PERIOD</h3>5&mdash;New York, Stewart (Neilson, Tkaczuk) &hellip; 6:43Penalties &mdash; Park 0:38, Tkaczuk 11:37, Beliveau 16:24.<h3>THIRD PERIOD</h3>6&mdash;Montreal, Rousseau (Richard, Harris) &hellip; 15:43Penalties &mdash; Laperriere 9:57.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-01665/2627937-1-eng-US/f0013-012.jpg" title="f0013-01" width="554" height="106"></div><h2>CHICAGO 3 At ST. LOUIS 3</h2><h3>FIRST PERIOD</h3>1&mdash;Chicago, Pappin (Mikita, R. Hull) &hellip; 12:04Penalties &mdash; Marotte 8:44, Picard 11:04, 18:51, R. Hull 14:52, D. Hull 19:48.<h3>SECOND PERIOD</h3>2&mdash;St. Louis, Berenson (Picard) &hellip; 1:373&mdash;Chicago, Mohns (Wharram, R. Hull) &hellip; 13:374&mdash;Chicago, Nesterenko (Maki, Jarret) &hellip; 17:24Penalties &mdash; Chicago (bench penalty served by Pappin) 1:59, Sabourin 8:02, Ravlich, Ecclestone (minor, major)&rsquo; B. Plager 13:24, Stapleton 15:47.<h3>THIRD PERIOD</h3>4&mdash;St. Louis, McDonald (Henry, Harvey) &hellip; 11:035&mdash;St. Louis, Sabourin (St. Marseille, Harvey) &hellip; 12:10Penalties &mdash; Young 1:14, Marotte 10:02.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-02620/2627930-1-eng-US/f0013-022.jpg" title="f0013-02" width="550" height="101"></div><h2>TORONTO 4 At MINNESOTA 2</h2><h3>FIRST PERIOD</h3>1&mdash;Toronto, Walton &hellip; 14:342&mdash;Toronto, Keon (Ellis, Horton) &hellip; 16:063&mdash;Minnesota, Parise (Larose, O&rsquo;Shea) &hellip; 19:45Penalties &mdash; Pulford 18:50, Horton 19:28.<h3>SECOND PERIOD</h3>4&mdash;Toronto, Keon (Pilote) &hellip; 0:235&mdash;Minnesota, Connelly (Cullen, Parise) &hellip; 18:12Penalties &mdash; Pelyk 7:04, McCord 18:28.<h3>THIRD PERIOD</h3>6&mdash;Tornoto, Ullman (Henderson) &hellip; 1:28Penalties &mdash; O&rsquo;Shea 14:24<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-03576/2627923-1-eng-US/f0013-032.jpg" title="f0013-03" width="548" height="100"></div><h2>DETROIT 7 At PITTSBURGH 2</h2><h3>FIRST PERIOD</h3>1&mdash;Pittsburgh, McCreary (Speer, Ingarfield) &hellip; 4:542&mdash;Detroit, Howe, (F. Mahovlich, Delvecchio) &hellip; 7:133&mdash;Detroit, MacGregor (Popeil) &hellip; 11:22Penalties &mdash; Speer 9:10, Libett 14:30.<h3>SECOND PERIOD</h3>4&mdash;Detroit, Libett (Douglas) &hellip; 9:525&mdash;Detroit, Unger (Baun, MacGregor) &hellip; 15:22Penalties &mdash; Popiel 4:26, Woytowich 5:24, Bergman 5:57, Unger 12:14.<h3>THIRD PERIOD</h3>6&mdash;Pittsburgh, B. Harris (Pronovost) &hellip; 1:337&mdash;Detroit, Baun (Libett) &hellip; 9:028&mdash;Detroit, Lawson (Monteith, Unger) &hellip; 16:299&mdash;Detroit, Libett (Popeil, Stemkowski) &hellip; 17:46Penalties &mdash; Stemkowski, Boivin 10:07.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-04526/2627916-1-eng-US/f0013-042.jpg" title="f0013-04" width="551" height="100"></div><h2>PHILADELPHIA 1 At LOS ANGELES 3</h2><h3>FIRST PERIOD</h3>1&mdash;Philadelphia, Gendron (Sarrazan, Lacroix) &hellip; 4:36Penalties &mdash; Van Impe 0:49, Hughes 4:13.<h2>SECOND PERIOD</h2>2&mdash;Los Angeles, Q. Joyal 9:20 (Lemieux, White) &hellip; 9:20Penalty &mdash; Cherry 8:11.<h3>THIRD PERIOD</h3>3&mdash;Los Angeles, Joyal &hellip; 12:104&mdash;Los Angeles, Joyal (Lemieux, White) &hellip; 17:07Penalties &mdash; Miszuk 5:01, Amadio5:50, Sarrazin 7: 7:09, Kennedy Anderson, 10:09.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-05432/2627909-1-eng-US/f0013-052.jpg" title="f0013-05" width="563" height="115"></div><h2>THURS. DEC 5 (MONTREAL 2 BOSTON 2</h2><h3>FIRST PERIOD</h3>1&mdash;Boston, Esposito (Green, Murphy) &hellip; 7.55Penalties &mdash; Green, 8:31, Richard 13:40, McKenzie 20:00.<h3>SECOND PERIOD</h3>2&mdash;Montreal, Rousseau (Richard) &hellip; 12:58Penalties &mdash; Lemaire 0:18, Beliveau 16:47.<h3>THIRD PERIOD</h3>3&mdash;Montreal, Cournoyer (Beliveau, G. Tremblay) &hellip; 1:084&mdash;Boston, P. Esposito (Orr, D. Smith) &hellip; 9:48Penalties &mdash; None.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-06367/2627902-1-eng-US/f0013-062.jpg" title="f0013-06" width="556" height="108"></div><h2>NEW YORK 2 At DETROIT 4</h2><h3>FIRST PERIOD</h3>1&mdash;Detroit, Douglas (Delvecchio, Howe) &hellip; 5:322&mdash;New York, Neilson &hellip; 12:433&mdash;Detroit, Hatoum (Libett, Stemkowski) &hellip; 17:00Penalties: Fleming 9:46, Libett 17:13.<h3>SECOND PERIOD</h3>4&mdash;Detroit, Stemkowski (Douglas, Libett) &hellip; 2:445&mdash;Detroit, F. Mahovlich (Douglas) &hellip; 4:506&mdash;New York, Gilbert (Neilson) &hellip; 17:07Penalties &mdash; Libett 7:33, Speck 15:40, Brown 18:29.<h3>THIRD PERIOD</h3>No Scoring.Penalties &mdash; Howe9:01, Gilbert 15:01.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-07338/2627895-1-eng-US/f0013-072.jpg" title="f0013-07" width="551" height="102"></div><h2>FRI. DEC. 6 PHILADELPHIA 0 At OAKLAND 4</h2><h3>FIRST PERIOD</h3>1&mdash;Oakland, Vadnais (Swarbrick, T. Hampson) &hellip; 7:28Penalties &mdash; Marshall 3:46, Zeldel 6:27, Kennedy 18:50.<h3>SECOND PERIOD</h3>No Scoring.Penalties &mdash; Vadnais 8:25, Odrowski, Gendron 9:57, Blackburn 17:17.<h3>THIRD PERIOD</h3>2&mdash;Oakland, Szura &hellip; 9:283&mdash;Oakland, Ferguson &hellip; 13:484&mdash;Oakland, Jarrett (Hicke) &hellip; 14:55Penalties &mdash; None.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-08318/2627888-1-eng-US/f0013-082.jpg" title="f0013-08" width="552" height="99"></div><h2>SAT. DEC. 7 NEW YORK 2 At TORONTO 5</h2><h3>FIRST PERIOD</h3>1&mdash;Toronto, Ullman (F. Smith, Pilote) &hellip; 5:582&mdash;New York, Marshall (Goyette) &hellip; 11:273&mdash;Toronto, Walton (Ullman, Pilote) &hellip; 16:49Penalties &mdash; Hadfield 16:45.<h3>SECOND PERIOD</h3>4&mdash;New York, Nevin (Seiling, Neilson) &hellip; 1:525&mdash;Toronto, Keon (Quinn, Oliver) &hellip; 4:456&mdash;Toronto, Ullman 9:07Penalties &mdash; Ellis 0:42, Walton 3:01, Pelyk 5:56, Tkaczuk 9:35, Neilson 12:56, Quinn 15:20, Neilson 19:36.<h3>THIRD PERIOD</h3>7&mdash;Toronto, Ullman &hellip; 15:14Penalties &mdash; Pilote 3:59, Mickey, Jeffrey 18:19.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-09302/2627881-1-eng-US/f0013-092.jpg" title="f0013-09" width="552" height="102"></div><h2>CHICAGO 3 At MONTREAL 6</h2><h3>FIRST PERIOD</h3>1&mdash;Montreal, Beliveau (Cournoyer, Lemaire) &hellip; 4:082&mdash;Chicago, Mikita (Stapleton) &hellip; 15:25Penalties &mdash; Martin 4:00, R. Hull 7:28, (major, Ferguson (double major, misconduct) 7:28, Orban 12:52, Ravlich (major, minor) 18:06, Mikita 18:36.<h3>SECOND PERIOD</h3>3&mdash;Montreal, Duff (Provost) &hellip; 4:164&mdash;Montreal, Ferguson (Backstrom) &hellip; 12:045&mdash;Montreal, Rousseau (Richard, Lemaire) &hellip; 15:196&mdash;Chicago, D. Hull (Martin, Pappin) &hellip; 15:31Penalties &mdash; D. Hull 5:12, Orban, Savard (major, minor) 8:24, Ferguson 12:37.<h3>THIRD PERIOD</h3>7&mdash;Montreal, Rousseau (Duff, Richard) &hellip; 1:408&mdash;Chicago, Wharran (Roban, Young) &hellip; 9:339&mdash;Montreal, Harris &hellip; 18:01Penalties &mdash; Savard 2.00, Martin 11:15, Rousseau 11:24.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-10281/2627874-1-eng-US/f0013-102.jpg" title="f0013-10" width="551" height="102"></div><h2>DETROIT 1 At BOSTON 4</h2><h3>FIRST PERIOD</h3>1&mdash;Boston, Green (Stanfield, Bucyk) &hellip; 16:38Penalties &mdash; Awrey 3:42, Popeil 6:41, Stemkowski 15:46.<h3>SECOND PERIOD</h3>2&mdash;Detroit, Bergman (Howe) &hellip; 7:413&mdash;Boston, Bucyk (Orr, Stanfield) &hellip; 16:03Penalties&mdash;Mahovlich, Orr (major) 3:05, Awrey 7:07, Popeil 10:30.<h3>THRID PERIOD</h3>4&mdash;Boston, McKenzie (Bucyk) &hellip; 11:265&mdash;Boston, McKenzie (Stanfield, Bucyk) &hellip; 17:50Penalty &mdash; Howe 16:37.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-11256/2627867-1-eng-US/f0013-112.jpg" title="f0013-11" width="552" height="103"></div><h2>PITTSBURGH 1 At ST. LOUIS 1</h2><h3>FIRST PERIOD</h3>1&mdash;St. Louis, Berenson (Schock, McDonald) &hellip; 16:58Penalties &mdash; W. McCreary 8:37, Woytowich 16:22, McCreary, Crisp 19:58.<h3>SECOND PERIOD</h3>2&mdash;Pittsburgh, Angotti (Boivin) &hellip; 5:40Penalties &mdash; Arbour 2:09, Dea 11:16.<h3>THIRD PERIOD</h3>No Scoring.Penalties &mdash; Dea, Ecclestone 8:05.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-12223/2627860-1-eng-US/f0013-122.jpg" title="f0013-12" width="553" height="102"></div><h2>MINNESOTA 2 At LOS ANGELES 3</h2><h3>FIRST PERIOD</h3>No Scoring.Penalties &mdash; Cahan 10:08.<h3>SECOND PERIOD</h3>1&mdash;Los Anteles, Robinson (Peters, Anderson) &hellip; 4:372&mdash;Los Angeles, Joyal (Lemieux, Flett) &hellip; 11:153&mdash;Los Angeles, Joyal (Lemieux, Flett) &hellip; 12:484&mdash;Minnesota, Connelly (Cullen, Parise) &hellip; 14:24Penalties &mdash; Joyal 6:20, Johnston 12:34.<h3>THIRD PERIOD</h3>5&mdash;Minnesota, Parise (Cullen, Connelly) &hellip; 19:47Penalties &mdash; Amadio, Goldsworthy 9:05.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-13189/2627853-1-eng-US/f0013-132.jpg" title="f0013-13" width="552" height="103"></div><h2>SUN. DEC. 8 DETROIT 5 At NEW YORK 2</h2><h3>FIRST PERIOD</h3>1&mdash;Detroit, Howe (Mahovlich) &hellip; 4:112&mdash;New York, Marshall (Nevin, Goyette) &hellip; 7:023&mdash;Detroit, Prentice (Unger, Howe) &hellip; 11:554&mdash;Detroit, Mahovlich (Douglas) &hellip; 12:595&mdash;Detroit, Howe (Bergman, Mahovlich) &hellip; 14:056&mdash;Detroit, Unger (Libett, Howe) &hellip; 18:36Penalties &mdash; Lawson (major, minor), Hadfield (double minor) 1:34, Howell 16:42.<h3>SECOND PERIOD</h3>No scoring.Penalties &mdash; Unger, Brown (double minors) 4:25, Stemkowski 8:06, Douglas 16:40.<h3>THIRD PERIOD</h3>7&mdash;New York, Nevin (Goyette, Neilson) &hellip; 9:17Penalties &mdash; Baun 1:54, Unger 13:23.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-14158/2627846-1-eng-US/f0013-142.jpg" title="f0013-14" width="552" height="103"></div><h2>TORONTO 4 At PITTSBURGH 1</h2><h3>FIRST PERIOD</h3>1&mdash;Toronto, Pilote (Ullman, Meehan) &hellip; 15:35Penalties &mdash; Pilote 8:10, Speer 14:48.<h3>SECOND PERIOD</h3>2&mdash;Toronto, Oliver (Ellis) &hellip; 0:253&mdash;Toronto, Pilote (Oliver, Ellis) &hellip; 6:074&mdash;Pittsburgh, Boivin (Fonteyne, Boyer) &hellip; 15:24<h3>THIRD PERIOD</h3>5&mdash;Toronto, Keon (Oliver, Ellis) &hellip; 1:18Penalty &mdash; Mickey 11:29<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-15129/2627839-1-eng-US/f0013-152.jpg" title="f0013-15" width="551" height="105"></div><h2>BOSTON 4 At CHICAGO 7</h2><h3>FIRST PERIOD</h3>1&mdash;Chicago, D. Hull (Young) &hellip; 4:042&mdash;Chicago, Mohns (Wharram, Stapleton) &hellip; 6:50Penalties &mdash; Hodge 5:31, Nesterenko 8:42, Marotte 11:03, Smith 16:33, Awrey 18:02, Green 18:35.<h3>SECOND PERIOD</h3>3&mdash;Chicago, R. Hull (Maki, Marotte) &hellip; 6:264&mdash;Chicago, R. Hull (Stapleton, Mikita) &hellip; 9:125&mdash;Chicago, D. Hull (Martin, Schmautz) &hellip; 10:366&mdash;Boston, Hodge (Esposito, Murphy) &hellip; 18:077&mdash;Boston, Orr (Hodge, Smith) &hellip; 18:34Penalties &mdash; Maki 1:48, Awrey (minor), Westfall (misconduct) 7:15, Marotte 14:23.<h3>THIRD PERIOD</h3>8&mdash;Boston, Sanderson 3 &hellip; 549&mdash;Chicago, Ravlich (Mikita, Mohns) &hellip; 5:5910&mdash;Boston, Esposito (Hodge, Murphy) &hellip; 6:4211&mdash;Chicago, R. Hull (Maki, Dryden) &hellip; 12:01Penalties &mdash; Young 0:59, Stapleton 17:59.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-1690/2627832-1-eng-US/f0013-162.jpg" title="f0013-16" width="549" height="108"></div><h2>ST. LOUIS 4 at PHILADELPHIA 4</h2>1&mdash;Philadelphia, Nolet (Gendron) &hellip; 0:032&mdash;St. Louis, McDonald (Schock, Henry) &hellip; 9:533&mdash;St. Louis, McCreary (Roberts) &hellip; 13:29Penalties &mdash; Picard 0:31, Gendron 1:07, Van Impe 2:16, Crisp 5:01, Kennedy, B. Plager 5:30, Picard (minor, major), Hannigan (double minor, major, misconduct) 8:34, B. Plager 17:56.<h3>SECOND PERIOD</h3>4&mdash;Philadelphia, Stanley (Sarrazin) &hellip; 13:415&mdash;St. Louis, Henry (McDonald) &hellip; 15:206&mdash;Philadelphia, Nolet (Stanley) &hellip; 18:13Penalties &mdash; Peters 8:42, Roberts 8:55, Sabourin 12:03.<h3>THIRD PERIOD</h3>7&mdash;St. Louis, Picard (Keenan, Berenson) &hellip; 4:528&mdash;Philadelphia, Kennedy (Hannigan, Blackburn) &hellip; 12:04<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-1771/2627825-1-eng-US/f0013-172.jpg" title="f0013-17" width="562" height="105"></div><h2>MINNESOTA 4 at OAKLAND 1</h2><h3>FIRST PERIOD</h3>1&mdash;Minnesota, O&rsquo;Shea (Larose, Grant) &hellip; 13:50Penalties &mdash; Roberts 2:46, O&rsquo;Shea 3:59, Vadnais 16:54, Swarbrick (major) 16:54, O&rsquo;Shea (minor and misconduct) 16:54, McCord, (minor and major) 16:54.<h3>SECOND PERIOD</h3>2&mdash;Oakland, Laughton (Hicke, Jarrett) &hellip; 19:04Penalties &mdash; Larose 1:14, 12:01, Vadnais 14:25.<h3>THIRD PERIOD</h3>3&mdash;Minnesota, Larose &hellip; 0.084&mdash;Minnesota, Cullen (Parise, Connelly) &hellip; 1:445&mdash;Minnesota, McCord (Grant, McMahan) &hellip; 11:42Penalty: Marshall 10:27.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-1860/2627818-1-eng-US/f0013-182.jpg" title="f0013-18" width="559" height="102"></div> &#9632;

f0013-01

National Hockey League Summaries

<h2>MONTREAL</h2>Goal, Esposito, Wakely. Defense, Laperriere, J.G Tremblay, Harris, Hillman, Savard, Forwards, Beliveau, G. Tremblay, Backstrom, Duff, Cournoyer, Provost, Rousseau, Richard, Ferguson, Redmond. Lemaire.<h2>TORONTO</h2>Goal, Bower, Gamble, Bower. Defense, Pilote, Pronovost, Horton, Pelyk, Dorey, Ley. Forwards, Ellis, Ullman, Oliver, Keon, Mickey, Walton, F. Smith, Henderson, Pulford, Armstrong.<h2>CHICAGO</h2>Goal, Dryden, Norris. Defense Marotte, Young, Reid, Ravlich. Stapleton. Forwards, Orban, Martin, Pappin, B. Hull, D. Hull, Mohns, Nesterenko, C. Maki, Wharram, Schmautz.<h2>NEW YORK</h2>Goal, Giacomin, Simmons. Defense, Howell, Brown, Hamilton, Neilson, Seiling. Forwards, Gilbert, Nevin, Fleming, Jeffrey, Hadfield, Stewart, Balon, Ratelie, Goyette, Marshall, Rivers, Tkaczuk.<h2>DETROIT</h2>Goal, Crozier, Sawchuk. Defense, Baun, Douglas, Popiel, Bergman, Harris. Forwards, Unger, Howe, Delvecchio, F. Mahovlich, MacGregor, Libett, Lawson, Stemkowski, P. Mahovlich, Prentice.<h2>BOSTON</h2>Goal, Cheevers, Johnston. Defense, Orr, Green, Westfall, Smith, Doak, Awrey. Forwards, Esposito, Hodge, Bucyk, Williams, Sather, Sanderson, Stanfield, McKenzie, Shack, Murphy.<h2>PHILADELPHIA</h2>Goal, Parent, Favell. Defense, Van Impe, Watson, Miszuk, Stanley, Hale, Cherry, Forwards, Lacroix, Rochefort, Selby, Gendron, Nolet, Sarrazin. Peters, Paiement, Heiskala, Johnson, Kennedy.<h2>OAKLAND</h2>Goal, Hodge, Smith, Worthy, Defense, Roberts, Vadnais, Lacombe, Watson, Marshall, Odrowski. Forwards, Laughton Ehmen, Hicke, Hampson, Jarrett, Swarbrick, Dillabough, Ferguson, Szura, Perry.<h2>PITTSBURGH</h2>Goal, Binkley, Daley. Denfese, Boivin, Speer, Price, McCallum, Woytowich. Forwards, Angotti, Fonteyne, Burns, Ingarfield, Ubriaco, Schinkel, Dea, Harris, Boyer, Pronovost, McCreary.<h2>ST-LOUIS</h2>Goal, Hall, Plante, Defense, Arbour, Bob Plager, Roberts, Barclay Plager, Talbot, Picard. Forwards, Berenson, St. Marseille, Schock, Sabourin, Ecclestone, McCreary, Cameron, Keenan, McDonald, Henry, Stankiewicz.<h2>MINNESOTA</h2>Goal, Maniago, Bauman. Defense, W. Hillman, McKenzie, Vasko, McCord, McMahon. Forwards, O&rsquo;Shea, Goldsworthy, Marcetta, Cullen, Parise, Connelly, Boudrias, Johnston, Larose, Collins, Grant.<h2>LOS ANGELES</h2>Goal, Rutledge, Desjardins. Defense, Wall, Amadio, Rolfe, B. Hughes, Cahan, White. Forwards, Krake, Peters, R. Lemieux, H. Hughes, MacDonald, Irvine, Joyal, Flett, Labossiere, Robinson, Anderson. &#9632;

NHL TEAM LINEUPS

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-01662/2628006-1-eng-US/f0014-012.jpg" title="f0014-01" width="305" height="418"></div>THE LAST TIME I WAS IN NEW YORK, Bernie (Boom Boom) Geoffrion had his Rangers in first place and was going around wowing the natives with French proverbs. The Boomer had reason to be feeling his quotes, so to speak. His Broadway Blues had bounced Montreal out of top spot a couple of days before with a 3-2 victory. In the Ranger dressing room there was a correlated slogan chalked on the blackboard: &ldquo;Let&rsquo;s Stay 1st!&rdquo;Getting back to the French proverbs: Red Kelly, the coach of the Los Angeles Kings, had irritated Mr. Geoffrion by asserting after a 2-0 victory over the Rangers in the city of sunny smog: &ldquo;The Rangers aren&rsquo;t that good. They can&rsquo;t beat the teams in their own division.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-02554/2627999-1-eng-US/f0014-022.jpg" title="f0014-02" width="286" height="384"><figcaption class="caption-body">Bernard Geoffrion</figcaption></div>His Gallic pride touched to the quick, the Boomer snorted: &ldquo;How come we&rsquo;re in first? Mr. Kelly and his Kings are going to see a different kind of game this time.&rdquo;Mr. Kelly, Geoffrion went on, should remember the old French proverb: &ldquo;If you throw garbage into the wind, it will hit you in the face.&rdquo;You&rsquo;ll have to take Mr. Geoffrion&rsquo;s word for the veracity of that proverb. But you can take my word for the fact that he was right in his prediction. Rangers did show the Kings a different kind of game and won by a 4-2 margin.THE BOOMER IS ONE of my favourite hockey people and he&rsquo;s doing an excellent job in his first fling as an NHL coach. One reason is that he is a sincere hockey man, a guy who has always been dedicated to the game. As a player he was a superstar. There&rsquo;s no reason why he can&rsquo;t be the same as a coach.Emile (Cat) Francis, likeable Ranger GM who turned over the coaching chores to Bernie, says the thing that impressed him most about Geoffrion was the way he took orders as a player. &ldquo;A guy who can take orders,&rdquo; The Cat philosophized, &ldquo;usually can give them.&rdquo; There were other things, of course. Bernie was a star, a champion, he had the respect of the New York players. Though he was astonished when the coaching job was suddenly offered him, he was grateful. He accepted readily.Bernie doesn&rsquo;t talk about it, but it&rsquo;s no secret that he was shocked and thoroughly disenchanted over not getting the coaching post with Montreal Canadiens when it was generally understood that he was Toe Blake&rsquo;s heir presumptive. He&rsquo;s a proud guy, a square shooter. You know he&rsquo;s out to prove that a few people were wrong.One thing he doesn&rsquo;t have to worry about: Ulcers, the great occupational hazard of all coaches. He&rsquo;s already travelled that route. After last season he had most of his stomach removed to eliminate the bleeding ulcers that had plagued him as a player with Rangers the last couple of seasons.&ldquo;The doctor told me I&rsquo;d feel like a new man. He was right, Boomer said, adding with a chuckle: &ldquo;When we&rsquo;re winning.&rdquo;AUTUMN HIATUS &hellip; Prior to their game with New York, the Kings deviated from their usual travel routine and stayed the better part of three days at Bear Mountain Inn, nestled amid the multi-hued trees and mountains 55 miles north of the Big Town, and practiced on the huge ice surface (230 feet long and 90 feet wide) of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.Jack Riley is the hockey coach at West Point. He is not the Jack Riley of Pittsburgh, nor are they related, although over the years the name similarity has produced many moments of confusion. &ldquo;When I originally came here as hockey coach,&rdquo; the West Point Riley remarked, &ldquo;it was just for one year. I&rsquo;m now in my 19th. But when Jack Riley took the job as Pittsburgh generalmanager. everybody left West Point.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-03421/2627992-1-eng-US/f0014-032.jpg" title="f0014-03" width="287" height="428"><figcaption class="caption-body">Fred Stanfield</figcaption></div>NOTEWORTHY, . . How many goals will Bobby Hull score this year? Bernie Geoffrion predicts 45 &hellip; The Kings were the first NHL team to stay nearby and practice at West Point during a season &hellip; Ranger play an annual game there &hellip; West Point has a million dollar budget for sports every year and the football team provides all that revenue and more &hellip; The best hockey player he&rsquo;s ever had at West Point, Riley says, was All-American all-sport Pete Dawkins &hellip; Boston Bruins certainly surged when Fred Stanfield and Johnny McKenzie returned to the lineup. The Bruins are playing it rough and tough and getting coincidental results &hellip; Weston Adams and his directors can take a bow for the great refurbishing job they&rsquo;ve done on ancient Boston Garden. The dressing rooms are downright palatial. &#9632;

f0014-01

Footloose with ED FITKIN

<div class="byline">BY GLENN REDMANN</div>TWIN CITIES, Minn.&mdash;Pretend for a minute that you&rsquo;re the North Star&rsquo;s correspondent tor Hockey News and at this writing the Minnesota national Hockey League entry ahs:1&mdash;Gone seven games without victory.2&mdash;Been shut out three times during this span.3&mdash;Scored 14 goals while allowing the opposition 25.4&mdash;Managed only a trio of 3-3 ties while suffering 2-0, 4-3, 6-0 and 4-0 setbacks.5&mdash;Seen rivals fire 280 shots on goal for an even 40 per game average while getting only 206 itself, a 29.5 mark.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-04320/2628037-1-eng-US/f0014-042.jpg" title="f0014-04" width="243" height="425"><figcaption class="caption-body">Claude Larose</figcaption></div>What, pray tell, can be written in a pleasant vein?Well, let&rsquo;s see.Cesare Maniago was in goal for all but that 6-0 setback against the Black Hawks in Chicago, so that means he yielded only 19 goals in the other six games.Nothing to brag about, you say? We disagree, considering the fact that big Cec had 246 shots fired at him in those six games and kicked out 227 of them including 51 in a 3-3 tie at St. Louis.Then, perhaps, a good word could be said for the [May of Ray Cullen, whose eight points during the seven-game dry spell&mdash;two goals and six assists &mdash; enabled the clever centerman to take the club scoring lead with 23 markers in 22 games.Or what about Claude Larose, the hard-skating former Canadien? He whipped in two goals and helped set up three others and was averaging an even point per game after the first seven weeks of the season. That&rsquo;s 22 and twice as many as he logged in 42 games for the Habs in a &ldquo;lost&rdquo; 1967-68 campaign.Come to think of it, the strong performances of Maniago, Cullen and Larose have been reported here before this season.So let&rsquo;s study the statistics a little closer and perhaps we&rsquo;ll find someone else deserving of a good word.Bob McCord, four assists despite missing two games and part of another with the first groin pull in his 14-year career as a professional defenseman. Not bad, not bad at all.Wayne Connelly, one goal and three assists. Definitely an improvement for last season&rsquo;s West Division leader in goals (35), and maybe a signal of things to come for the slow-starting right winger.J. P. Parise. Ah, yes, there&rsquo;s our man.In the Stars&rsquo; first 15 games of the season, the soft-spoken left winger out of Smooth Rock Falls, Ont. had managed only two goals and three assists, a performance which caused general manager Wren Blair to scratch his head and wonder out loud if J. P.&rsquo;s 27 points in just over a half season a year ago wasn&rsquo;t a fluke.But in the next seven? Four goals and three assists and, remember, the club was shut out in three of those games.Why the sudden change?It could be that coach John Muckier&rsquo;s move of putting Cullen between J.P. and Connelly &mdash; little Andre Boudrias started the season there &mdash; has given both Parise and Wayne a new lease on life.&ldquo;If I said that&rdquo; said j.P., &ldquo;it would sound as if I&rsquo;m knocking Boud. Just say I&rsquo;m getting a few more opportunities and now some of them are going into the net.&rdquo;Like the one mid-way in the third period of that game in St. Louis which turned out to be the equalizer when Ron Schock&rsquo;s power-play tally a few minutes later gave the Blues their deadlock.Or the first and third goals in Toronto on the last day of November which took a little of the sting out of a 4-0 whitewashing in Boston the next night.And when J.P. wasn&rsquo;t turning on the red light himself, he had a hand in goals by Cullen and Connelly that enabled the stars to jump to a 3-0 lead over Oakland at the Sports Center in nearby Bloomington on Nov. 27.Trouble is the Minnesotans couldn&rsquo;t hold it and the Seals ended a long road trip with a 3-3 standoff which sent nearly 13,000 pre-Thanksgiving Day fans home a wee bit disappointed.Incidentally, McCord wasn&rsquo;t the only ailing member of Muckier&rsquo;s cast which was 5-1-3 against rivals in its own division but only 1-11-1 against the East after taking it on the chin from Boston.Others who missed ice time were goal-scoring leader Danny Grant and Boudrias, both with groin pulls, and defenseman Wayne Hillman (bad back).It almost seemed as if things couldn&rsquo;t possibly get worse. &#9632;

f0014-04

North Stars Hit Bleak Slump As Blair Puzzled By Slide

<div class="byline">BY GEOFFREY FISHER</div>ST. LOUIS. Mo. &mdash;There are many good reasons why the astounding St. Louis Blues are scrambling the best and obliterating the rest in the National Hockey League steeplechase, but the key reason to be the friendly rivalry between Glenn (Hall of Famer) Hall and Jacques (The Snake) Plante, their two great cage cops.Hall, drafted by St. Louis from Chicago in June 1967. and Plante, drafted by St. Louis from New York a year later, have combined in the early months of this season to give St. Louis a shield across the goal mouth that is as nearly impenetrable as any the National Hockey League has seen in a long time.After the first 22 games of the season, playing an alternating platoon system, they led the entire league with a 2.05 goals-against average. At one point in mid-November Hall allowed only one goal in over 200 minutes in the nets, and in blitzing the Philadelphia Flyers before another standing room crowd of 15.314 Saturday night. November 30. the Humbolt, Saskatchewan farmer notched his 75th regular season career shutout.Meanwhile Plante, who was back at the business of fighting off rubber showers after a three year retirement, had already hung up three shutouts.While neither of these illustrious members of the Blues was talking about it. there could be little doubt that the circumstances that had brought them together on the same club had also created an unavoidable and natural rivalry which sprang purely from personal pride.The two are on the best of terms and have frequently confided to reporters that they could not be happier with General Manager-Coach Scotty Bowman&rsquo;s policy of alternating them on a regular basis. Plante has told this Hockey News correspondent that fie looks forward to the relief he gets when Hall takes over and he says he can feel relaxed in knowing that the Blues are getting the finest goaltending in the world when Hall is in the nets. This from a goaltender whose credits include winning the Vezina Trophy six times (fewest goals scored against) and six times elected to the NHL All Star team.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-01637/2628075-1-eng-US/f0015-012.jpg" title="f0015-01" width="544" height="521"><figcaption class="caption-body">GLENN HALL&hellip; Vezina Trophy-bound?</figcaption></div>As for Hall, a two-time winner of the Vezina and a member of 10 NHL All Star teams, the chance to sit out games is welcome indeed. Hall, by nature, has always been under tremendous pressure in building himself up for combat in the nets and over the years this has exacted an enormous drain on his nervous system. With Plante in relief Hall can take full benefit from his brief layoffs both physically and mentally, knowing that the Blues are not being weakened by his absence.Neither Hall nor Plante have to prove anything to anybody anymore. Both of them are certainly among the five greatest goaltenders to ever play in the National Hockey League.But there is for both the matter of personal pride. Here they are together &mdash; these two masters of the art of stopping six ounce bullets. They are playing for the same club, aided by the same defense, by the same forward units. No longer is there room to argue whether the team in front of them made the difference in their success or failure in any given season. Plante was winner of the Vezina Trophy five straight seasons between 1956-60 but in front of him he had an All Star defenseman named Doug Harvey and a team that won the NHL title five of those six years. On the other hand. Hall played behind a Chicago Black Hawk team that won the NHL title only once in his 10 seasons with them.So what is probably the ice game&rsquo;s greatest goaltending tandem of all time is being spurred by something a litte extra as the St. Louis Blues raced away to an impressive first place lead with about one third of the season completed.After their first 22 games the Blues had given up only 43 goals or less than two per game. The startling St. Louisans were far ahead of the entire NHL field in defense, topping front-running Montreal in the East and the New York Rangers, and sported a goals against record in the West that was 20 goals better than their closest opposition.What was even more remarkable to those who looked upon the Blues as &ldquo;one of those weaker expansion clubs&rdquo; was the fact they had played the Eastern Division clubs to a standoff in their first 12 engagements, winning four, losing four and tying four.<h2>NHL Goalkeepers&rsquo;Race</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-02572/2628068-1-eng-US/f0015-022.jpg" title="f0015-02" width="1204" height="1531"></div> &#9632;

f0015-01

Goalkeepers Spark Blues To Huge Lead In West Race

ASK YOUR DEALER ABOUT LOUISVILLE SLUGGER HOCKEY STICKS (FORMERLY WALLY) (Hockey sticks distributed in the U.S. through the Hillerich & Bradsby Co.ASK YOUR DEALER ABOUT $ LOUISVILLE SLUGGER $ HOCKEY STICKS $ (FORMERLY WALLY) (Hockey sticks distributed in the U.S. through the 6; Hillench & Bradsby Co.) A*&rdquo; &#9632;

AMERICAN LEAGUE

<div class="byline">BY SHEL FULLERTON</div>CLEVELAND Ohio &mdash;Although Jackie Gordon found himself tending a revolving door through which players shuffled in and out during his first week at the helm of the Cleveland Barons, the former Baron great proved that he has lost none of his coaching knack in the three and one-half years he spent on the scouting trail for the New York Rangers.Eight days and two defeats after his return to the coaching ranks, he had his youthful Barons on a modest winning streak, tied for second place with Rochester in the American Hockey League&rsquo;s Western Division and safely ahead of Quebec in the standings, at least for the time being.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-01483/2628130-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg" title="f0016-01" width="270" height="433"><figcaption class="caption-body">Milan Marcetla</figcaption></div>At this writing, three straight wins over Springfield, Baltimore and Quebec gave the Barons their biggest winning streak since the 1967-68 season.Gordon has pulled the right strings despite a few difficulties.Just prior to his first game as the Barons&rsquo; boss, center Mike Laughton was recalled by Oakland. A day later, defenseman Duane Rupp was summoned by the Minnesota North Stars, who followed Rupp&rsquo;s recall by issuing a hurry-up call for combination winger-defenseman Marshall Johnston.Minnesota compensated by sending center Milan Marcetta and defenseman Lou Nanne to the Barons, the latter being pressed into immediate service. Marcetta, a scoring star with Rochester in the early days of last season, balked at reporting and still had not arrived on the scene as the Barons began to hit the victory road.His immediate failure to report was partially offset by the return to action of winger Brian Harper and defenseman Pierre Bouchard, both of whom had been nursing injuries.Nanne, a 6-0, 183-pound naturalized United States citizen who graduated from the University of Minnesota and captained last year&rsquo;s U.S. Olympic hockey team, made a good impression from the start. Teamed on the blue line with Bouchard, who is beginning to display his vast potential, he helped give the Barons a hardrock defense pair not averse to dishing out bruising bodychecks.One of Gordon&rsquo;s first &mdash; and most successful moves &mdash; was to reunite the line of Gary Monahan, Jim Mikol and Bob Berry. The strategy paid off as this threesome popped in all four Cleveland goals in the win over Baltimore. &#9632;

f0016-01

Gordon Makes Triumphant Return To AHL

<h2>SUN. DEC. 1 CLEVELAND 1 At QUEBEC 1</h2><h3>FIRST PERIOD</h3>1&mdash;Quebec, Morrison (Bernier, Heiskala) &hellip; 5:43Penalties: Heiskala 1:12.<h3>SECOND PERIOD</h3>2&mdash;Cleveland, Comeau (Sentes, Glover) &hellip; 6:32Penalties: Bernier, Monahan 5:07, Sentes 11:08, Cates 14:30.<h3>THIRD PERIOD</h3>No Scoring.Penalties: Berry, Ed estrand 0:44.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-02411/2628210-1-eng-US/f0016-022.jpg" title="f0016-02" width="554" height="101"></div><h2>SPRINGFIELD 1 At PROVIDENCE 4</h2>1&mdash;Springfield, Tudik &hellip; 6:182&mdash;Providence, Goegan (Creighton, Locos) &hellip; 12:383&mdash;Providence, Macks (Malette, Gauthier) &hellip; 15:57Penalties: Clearwater 0:18, Corbett 5:32, Murray 15:57.<h3>SECOND PERIOD</h3>4&mdash;Providence, Sleaver &hellip; 11:27Penalties: Gauthier 11:04, Keller 16:15.<h3>THIRD PERIOD</h3>5&mdash;Mallette Kachur (Clearwater) &hellip; 1:08Penalty: Corbett 11:35.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-03326/2628203-1-eng-US/f0016-032.jpg" title="f0016-03" width="549" height="101"></div><h2>BALTIMORE 0 At BUFFALO 5</h2><h3>FIRST PERIOD</h3>1&mdash;Buffalo, Blackburn (Attwell, Hall) &hellip; 10:582&mdash;Buffalo, Blackburn (Trottier, Hextali) &hellip; 17:33Penalties: Polano 7:57, Hicks, Hoxtall 18:11, Arbour, Beaudm 19:43.<h3>SECOND PERIOD</h3>3&mdash;Buffalo, Kassian (Hextail, Legge) &hellip; 18:48Penalties: Polano 1:15, Mortson, major, Jones 2: 57, Arbour 4:07, Hornung 10:36, Baltimore team penalty, served by Rochefort 13:26, Mortson, Kassian 13:48, Kassian 19:07, Marshall, minor, 10-minute misconduct 19:36.<h3>THRID PERIOD</h3>4&mdash;Buffalo. Trottier (Jones, Hextail) &hellip; 5:225&mdash;Buffalo, Kassian (Hextail, Legge) &hellip; 5:56Penalties: Blackburn 130, Legge 2:17, Brinkworth 5:10, Trottier, minor, major 5:43, Mortson 5:43, Ash 15:08, Arbour, Rivers 18:36.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-04259/2628196-1-eng-US/f0016-042.jpg" title="f0016-04" width="555" height="78"></div><h2>HERSHEY 4 At ROCHESTER 2</h2><h3>FIRST PERIOD</h3>1&mdash;Hershey, Harvey (Ashbee, Mahoney) &hellip; 3:15Penalties: Mosdell9:19, Marcotte 12:07.<h3>SECOND PERIOD</h3>2&mdash;Rochester, Cherry (Kilrea, McKenney) &hellip; 8:073&mdash;Hershey, Marcotte (Keller) &hellip; 15:58Penalties: Harvey 6:37, Chipchase two minors 6: 37, Barber 8:02, Bailey 9.59<h3>THIRD PERIOD</h3>4&mdash;Rochester, McCarthy (Ward, Kilrea) &hellip; 5:315&mdash;Hershey, Harvey (Gilbert) &hellip; 17:376&mdash;Hershey, Bailey (Mahoney) &hellip; 19:58Penalties: DeBrody minor and major 4:03, Armstrong major 4:03, Godfrey 10:47, Mosdell 16:27, Cashman 19:16.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-05191/2628189-1-eng-US/f0016-052.jpg" title="f0016-05" width="549" height="101"></div><h2>TUES DEC. 3 HERSHEY 8 at QUEBEC 3</h2><h3>FIRST PERIOD</h3>1&mdash;Quebec, Drolet (Laforge, McKillop) &hellip; 1:582&mdash;Hershey, Hamilton (Gilbert, Ashbee) &hellip; 19:41Penalties &mdash; Ball 9:20, Marcotte 13:56, Hamilton 17:02, Rivard 18:18.<h3>SECOND PERIOD</h3>3&mdash;Hershey, Harvey (Gilbert) &hellip; 3:294&mdash;Hershey, Gilbert (Nykoluk) &hellip; 8:355&mdash;Quebec, Heiskala (Cates, Bernier) &hellip; 9:596&mdash;Hershey, Hamilton (Harvey, Gilbert) &hellip; 15:287&mdash;Hershey, Marcotte (Nykoluk) &hellip; 16:168&mdash;Quebec, Drolet (Morrison, Laforge) &hellip; 16:529&mdash;Hershey, Cashman (Leiter, Keller) &hellip; 19:20Penalties &mdash; Debrody 7:43, Rivard 11:52, McEwan, Bailey (majors) 19:35.<h3>THIRD PERIOD</h3>10&mdash;Hershey, Leiter (Cashman, Mahoney) &hellip; 9:4111&mdash;Hershey, Hamilton (Bailey, Leiter) &hellip; 19:22Penalties &mdash; Dufour 4:42, 10:14, Debrody 14:22.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-06155/2628182-1-eng-US/f0016-062.jpg" title="f0016-06" width="575" height="113"></div><h2>FRI. DEC. 6 BUFFALO 4 at BALTIMORE 4</h2><h3>FIRST PERIOD</h3>1&mdash;BUFFALO: Kassian (Attwell) &hellip; 9:542&mdash;BUFFALO: Trottier (Kassian) &hellip; 10:38Penalties: Attwell 0:53, Hicks 0:53, Blackburn 5: 25, Arbour 12:27, Attwell (match) 12:27, Ash 12:27, Blackbum 15:20. Legge 18:28, Mortson 18:28.<h3>SECOND PERIOD</h3>3&mdash;BALTIMORE: McGregor (Marshall, Cossette) &hellip; 12:394&mdash;BUFFALO: Hextall (Blackburn, Beaudin) &hellip; 15:145&mdash;BALTIMORE: Marshall (Cossette, McGregor) &hellip; 15 286&mdash;BALTIMORE: Cossette (Marshall, Hicks) &hellip; 6:36Penalties: Knibbs 11:00. Polano (minor) 18:22. Knibbs (minor and major) 18:22<h3>THIRD PERIOD</h3>7&mdash;BUFFALO: Beaudin (Hall) &hellip; 5:168&mdash;BALTIMORE: Morrison (Mortson, Bartlett) &hellip; 9 44Penalty: Guidoin 0:04.Saves: Brown 27; Villemure41.<h2>ROCHESTER 0 at CLEVELAND 1</h2><h3>FIRST PERIOD</h3>Scoring: NonePenalties: Berry and Mosdell 19:39<h3>SECOND PERIOD</h3>Scoring NonePenalties: McKenny 1:47, Schultz 3:56, Watson 7: 28<h3>THIRD PERIOD</h3>1&mdash;CLEVELAND: Glover (Berry, Monahan) &hellip; 10:51Penalty: Glover 19:58Saves: Farr, 27, Wood 40.<h2>HERSHEY 1 at QUEBEC 3</h2><h3>FIRST PERIOD</h3>1&mdash;HERSHEY: Hamilton (Mahoney) &hellip; 11:132&mdash;QUEBEC: Laforge (McKillop, Drolet) &hellip; 12:58Penalties: Debrody 6:45, Heiskala 10:13, Drolet, Marcotte 13:36, Keller 16:03.<h3>SECOND PERIOD</h3>3&mdash;QUEBEC: Drolet (Laforge, MacSweyn) &hellip; 5:174&mdash;QUEBEC: McKillop (Drolet, Laforge) &hellip; 12:11Penalties: Ball, Marcotte 4:29, Debrody 6:13, Edestrand 6:48.<h3>THIRD PERIOD</h3>Scoring: NonePenalties: Balt 5:41, Cates 13:15, Hamilton 14:12.Saves: Banville 23; Gill 30.<h2>SAT. DEC. 7 BALTIMORE 2 At SPRINGFIELD 10</h2><h3>FIRST PERIOD</h3>1&mdash;Springfield, Labossiere (Murray, Rothwell) &hellip; 1:052&mdash;Springield, Murray (Dufour, Labossiere) &hellip; 5:493&mdash;Baltimore, Hicks (Mortson) &hellip; 6:314&mdash;Springfield, Labossiere (Lemieux, Dufour) &hellip; 8:545&mdash;Springfield, Turlik (Inglis, Lemieux) &hellip; 11:47Penalties &mdash; McGregor (misconduct) 1:05, Corbett 1:46, Arbour, (double minor), Johnston 5:00, Labossiere 5:49.<h3>SECOND PERIOD</h3>7&mdash;Springfield, Dufour &hellip; 0:418&mdash;Springfield, Corrigan (Campbell, Prior) &hellip; 12:28Penalties &mdash; Rothwell 7:06, Polano 18.26, Arbour (minor, major), Johnston, (minor, major) 18:58.<h3>THIRD PERIOD</h3>9&mdash;Springfield, Croteau (Turtik, Inglis) &hellip; 10:1810&mdash;Springfield, Dufour (Labossiere, Lemieux) &hellip; 17:1811&mdash;Baltimore, Marshall (Cossette, McGregor) &hellip; 17:3212&mdash;Pringfieid, Johnston &hellip; 15:25Penalties &mdash; Polano 5:58, Croteau 15:13.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-07142/2628175-1-eng-US/f0016-072.jpg" title="f0016-07" width="551" height="103"></div><h2>BUFFALO 2 At CLEVELAND 2</h2><h3>FIRST PERIOD</h3>1&mdash;Cleveland, Berry (Bouchard, Mikol) &hellip; 17:40Penalties &mdash; Sentes 12:15, Jones 16:41.<h3>SECOND PERIOD</h3>2&mdash;Buffalo, Ingram (Hextall, Kassian) &hellip; 7:38Penalties &mdash; Manahan 10:03, Blackburn 15:22, Hextall 19:11.<h3>THIRD PERIOD</h3>3&mdash;Cleveland, Berry (Mikol, Glover) &hellip; 1:114&mdash;Buffalo, Jones (Attwell, Rivers) &hellip; 2:04Penalty &mdash; Bouchard 14:34.Shots on goal by:Buffalo 37, Cleveland 27.<h2>How They Stand</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-08130/2628168-1-eng-US/f0016-082.jpg" title="f0016-08" width="579" height="277"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-09110/2628161-1-eng-US/f0016-092.jpg" title="f0016-09" width="573" height="173"></div><h2>GAMES COMPLETED</h2>Tues. Dec. 3Hershey 8 of Quebec 3Fri. Dec. 6Buffalo 4 at Baltimore 4Cleveland 1 at Rochester 0Quebec 3 at Hershey 1Sat. Dec. 7Buffalo 2 at Cleveland 2Baltimore 2 at Springfield 10Sun. Dec. 8Springfield 3 at Baltimore 5Cleveland 2 at Buffalo 1Hershey 3 at Providence 10Rochester 2 at Quebec 7<h2>GAMES TO COME</h2>Tues. Dec. 10Rochester at QuebecWed. Dec. 11Providence at HersheyFri. Dec. 13Hershey at BaltimoreProvidence at BuffaloSat. Dec. 14Quebec at ClevelandRochester at HersheyProvidence at SpringfieldSun. Dec. 15Baltimore at BuffaloProvidence at QuebecCleveland at RochesterHershey at Springfield &#9632;

f0016-02

American League Summaries

<div class="byline">BY BOB ELMER</div>BALTIMORE, Md. &mdash;All of a sudden the Baltimore Clippers are being caught with their defense down.What has been a bonanza year for the Clippers in rear guardsmen, has recently turned into a drought produced through injuries and recalls, and the Baltimore entry in the American Hockey League has suffered as a consequence.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-01398/2628241-1-eng-US/f0017-012.jpg" title="f0017-01" width="249" height="398"><figcaption class="caption-body">John Arbour</figcaption></div>Not too long ago, Coach Aldo Guidolin had so many backliners, it was necessary to re-assign them to other clubs. Now, he wouldn&rsquo;t mind having some of them back in good health and ready to distribute their muscle on the bodies of a few rivals.When the present campaign began, the Clippers started with Guidolin himself as a playing coach abetted by veteran All-Star Jim Morrison, home owned Wally Chevrier and Nick Polano and 6-foot-2 Jim Watson on loan from the Detroit Red Wings, and burly Bill Speer, sent here by Pittsburgh&rsquo;s Jack Riley.Blessed with six defensemen, the Clippers soon received another in Bob Falkenberg, also on loan from Detroit. However, it&rsquo;s not so simple to keep seven backliners working regularly, so Falkenberg was dispatched to Fort Worth where he could get more playing time and continue to develop in the Red Wing system.No sooner had the personable blond youngster been dispatched to the wide open spaces of Rip Johnson&rsquo;s Texas territory, than injuries and recalls took their toll. Speer, was recalled by Pittsburgh, Chevrier suffered a severe shoulder injury during a practice session at the Clippers training rink in Towson, and a week later Watson came down with a mysterious back affliction that put him in traction at Dr. Ross Pierpont&rsquo;s Maryland General Hospital. The latter was warming up in Buffalo prior to the game there against the Bisons when &ldquo;something seemed to snap in my back&rdquo;, Watson reported, and has been unable to play since.Alleviating the situation somewhat, however, was the arrival of young John Arbour from Pittsburgh, whom Penguin GM Jack Riley sent to replace Speer. A natural southpaw, Arbour had to play off the right side, however, as the Clippers, like most clubs today, are short on portsiders from the blue line.CLIPPER CLIPPINGS: More than 17,000 fans attended the two special &ldquo;Kids Night&rdquo; attractions here in October and November &hellip; Another big house turned out for the annual Stick Day game on Sunday afternoon, December 8 with the Springfield Kings &hellip; On Friday, December 20th, the management will toss a Turkey Shoot at their fans with a 14 pound Esskay bird as the bait for participating in the puck shooting contest &hellip;Robert C. (Jake) Embry, president of the Baltimore Ice Sports, Inc, owners of the Clippers, also serves as general manager of the Baltimore Sunpapers new FM radio station, WMAR-FM &hellip; Although Bob Brinkworth was favored. Jim Morrison Clippers team captain won their annual fall golf tourney at nearby Pine Ridge &hellip; Harry Dalton, GM of the Baltimore baseball Orioles, and sidekick Jack Dunn III are constant hockey visitors to the Civic Center &hellip; &#9632;

f0017-01

Clippers Now Desperate For Defense Help

<div class="byline">By JOHN TRAVERS</div>HERSHEY, Pa.&mdash;For awhile the Hershey Bears appeared to be on shaky footing in November but coach Frank Mathers, charges finally came on strong to close out the month with a winning record.Entering the final five games of the month, Hershey showed a losing 3-4-1 standard for the previous eight games. However, Mathers shook up two of the three forward lines and it suddenly reaped dividends.Rookie forwards Stan Gilberston and Garnet (Ace) Bailey began finding the range, along with a few of the veteran sharpshooters like Michel Harvey and Don Marcotte and the club suddenly regained the winning touch.In its final five games of the month, Hershey won three, tied one and lost one, garnering seven of a possible ten points to increase its lead over the pack in the Eastern Division race.Goalie Andre Gill was in the nets for a 3-2 victory at Springfield on Nov. 29 and then a 7-5 decision over Rochester the following night at Hershey. It was the club&rsquo;s first back-to-back wins since Nov. 1-2, when ironically the Bears beat the same two clubs on successive nights.Among one of Mathers more interesting experiments in trying to light a fire under the club was defenseman Larry McNabb being used as a starting winger.&ldquo;McNabb is the type of guy who can spark a team,&rdquo; said Mathers. &ldquo;I wanted to get him into the action early. With his style of play, he seems to make the guys play a little tougher.&rdquo;Sam Pollock, Montreal&rsquo;s general manager, who was in Hershey on a scouting trip, agreed with Mathers&rsquo; opinion of McNabb.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s one of the toughest guys in hockey,&rdquo; said Pollock. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s where the action is.&rdquo;Two injuries cropped up just prior to a short four-game road swing. Roger DeJordy injured his ankle in a game at Springfield while center Bob Leiter took a hard tumble to the ice against Rochester when hit with a blind side check. He&rsquo;s expected to miss a couple of games.Harvey, who had been in a six game slump, broke out with a bang against Rochester, rapping in two goals and setting up three others for five points, jacking his 19 game total to 15 goals, 13 assists for 28 points.The club continues to pack in the crowds, drawing 59,810 for the first 11 home games, close to a 5,500 average, one of the best early attendance marks in recent years at the 7200-seat Sports Arena.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-02349/2628272-1-eng-US/f0017-022.jpg" title="f0017-02" width="590" height="807"></div> &#9632;

f0017-02

Bears Coming On Strong Again After Line Shakeup By Mathers

<div class="byline">By CHUCK SANTANIELLO</div>SPRINGFIELD, Mass. &mdash;Two more local hockey players get a chance to play in the major league. Marc Dufour, a steady winger and center Howie Menard, a regular at Los Angeles most of ast season, have been called up from Springfield by the parent Los Angeles Kings.Returning to Springfield in their place were Lowell MacDonald and Gordon Labossiere, both familiar names in this area. They were with the big Kings all of last season, but tailed off badly and were sent here.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-03286/2628310-1-eng-US/f0017-032.jpg" title="f0017-03" width="247" height="428"><figcaption class="caption-body">Marc Dufour</figcaption></div>Dufour was making his best start locally in two years. He was the team&rsquo;s leading scorer and worked hard all season. Generally, he made a real slow start. However, his rapid improvement apparently caught the eye of the LA brass.Menard is happy to be back in the big time. He was not happy being sent back here at the start of the season. But he worked hard and though not a top scorer did set up lots of plays. Howie was a valuable man with Los Angeles last season.Dufour had prior though limited experience in the National Hockey League. He played 10 games in 1963 with the New York Rangers and two games in 1964. So he is no stranger to his new surroundings.Labossiere will certainly help Springfield. His return to AHL Action recalls his great play while a member of the Quebec Aces in 1965 and 1966. In a two season period, Gordon tallied 71 goals and 106 assists. He gained a berth in 1966 to the AHL All-Stars. He was also top scorer in the league that season, too.But with Los Angeles this season, Labossiere had his problems. He had just a single goal and 13 assists this season. Last year with LA, he managed 13 goals and 27 assists in his full season in the National Hockey League.MacDonald is and old pro, with prior service in the AHL with both Pittsburgh and Rochester. His work in the NHL included time with both Detroit and Los Angeles. He managed to pop 21 goals last season with 24 assists. This season he had but a single goal and 3 assists.Big Kings general manager Larry Regan hopes a term here will give Labossiere. and MacDonald a chance to find themselves. At the same time, Dufour and Menard get a well-deserved opportunity to make it back into major league hockey.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-04224/2628303-1-eng-US/f0017-042.jpg" title="f0017-04" width="533" height="573"><figcaption class="caption-body">HOWIE MENARD&hellip; Moves Up Again</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0017-03

NHL Kings Dip Into AHL To Fill Major Loop Roster

<div class="byline">By CHARLEY BARTON</div>BUFFALO, N.Y. &mdash;All four shutouts recorded in the first 84 games played in the American Hockey League this season belonged to Gilles Villemure, the Buffalo Bisons&rsquo; brilliant goaltender.Probably the fourth, which came at home less than 24 hours after No. 3 in Springfield, was the most hectic. although Villemure&rsquo;s main problems didn&rsquo;t come from opposition shots.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-05180/2628341-1-eng-US/f0017-052.jpg" title="f0017-05" width="243" height="417"><figcaption class="caption-body">Gilles Villemur</figcaption></div>He whipped the Baltimore Clippers, 5-0, here and escaped serious injury when the Clipper&rsquo;s Keke Mortson hit him with his stick across the bridge of the nose. Villemure&rsquo;s mask softened the blow.Mortson broke in all alone, and belted Gilles after the goalie had moved out, cut down the angle and caught the shot. Villemure and his teammates thought Mortson belted him intentionally.As a result, in three separate fights, the Bisons&rsquo; Guy Trottier. Dennis Kassian and Bob Jones all belted Mortson with a series of punches.Mortson denied hitting Villemure intentionally.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been playing this game since 1952 and I&rsquo;ve never hit a goalie on purpose,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I was swinging at the puck, and wound up getting pounded pretty good by three guys.&rdquo;Villemure had a different version.&ldquo;Mortson is goofy,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;How could he be going for the puck when I had it in my glove?&rdquo; he asked. &ldquo;That guy never changes.&rdquo;Later, Villemure appeared to swing his stick at Mortson in a play behind the net. He said he wasn&rsquo;t trying to hit Mortson.&ldquo;There are enough guys on my team to hit him,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I was trying to trap the puck.&rdquo;Villemure has been running into problems recently.In a workout, teammate Wayne Rivers bounced a slap shot off his head, and only the mask prevented a serious injury. In a game here, a fan hit the goalie in the right temple when he tossed a puck from the stands. &#9632;

f0017-05

Herd Goalie Leading AHL In Shutouts

For The Best In Hockey Reading It&rsquo;s HOCKEY PICTORIAL Hockey&rsquo;s Most Exciting PublicationIt Will Be A Merry Christmas If You Put The HOCKEY NEWS On Your Gift List &#9632;

WESTERN LEAGUE

<div class="byline">BY JOHN WHITE</div>PHOENIX. Ariz. &mdash;Unless there&rsquo;s a drastic reversal of form, it might be appropriate to change the name of the Phoenix hockey club from the Roadrunners to the Homerunners. For the second straight season the &lsquo;Runners Alf Pike are getting killed games a way from home.It was bad enough last year when professional hockey made its bow in the land of sunshine. On home ice, the Roadrunners were respectable &mdash; 19 victories, 15 defeats and 2 ties. But they owned the worst road record in the league &mdash; just 9 triumphs, 2 deadlocks and 25 losses.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-01404/2628396-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg" title="f0018-01" width="256" height="416"><figcaption class="caption-body">Sandy Hucul</figcaption></div>This season it was even worse. Phoenix was not last in the Western Hockey League in victories on the road. As December became reality, the Denver Spurs still had not won a game away from home.The Roadrunners had won a game.One!And that single victory away from home was accompanied by a single tie &mdash; and 10 defeats.The particularly puzzling aspect of this record is that the Roadrunners have the type of hockey club that normally is strong on foreign ice. Occasionally a bad road team will exhibit just a tad of timidity away from home. Not Phoenix. The &lsquo;Runners are as courageous and tough as any team in the Western League.In Tom Polanic and Sandy Hucul and Harry Shaw &mdash; in particular &mdash; the &lsquo;Runners have enough policemen to handle a political convention.The whole story has been goals. Lack of them! And in the final analysis, that&rsquo;s still the game.In their first six road tests this season, the Roadrunners scored only seven times. Then they exploded for a clubtieing record of eight goals in Seattle in racking the Totems for their only victory. But the next five games away from home produced only eight more goals.And when you score a total of 15 goals. Lack of them! And in the you are going to have a bit of difficulty winning without a shutout.In their first 12 games away from home, only two Roadrunners scored more than two goals &mdash; Bob Charlebo with five and Andre Pronovost with four.Phoenix was having a couple of other problems, too.For one thing, everyone was getting the jump on the Roadrunners. They scored the important first goal in their first five straight games of the season &mdash; and lost only once. In their next 16 games, they scored first only three times.In addition, the &lsquo;Runners won their first one-goal decision of the year, 4-3. Then they dropped their next four in a row in October and November. And no club can lose too many close ones and stay in title contention.In some games, at least in the first two months of the season, Phoenix seemed uncertain about battle strategy &mdash; whether to freewheel or check tenaciously, whether to play it rough or avoid penalties.The early-season facts said that the Roadrunners were having their most success in games in which they lived up to their nickname by doing a little running. In seven of their first 21 games they drew six or more minor penalties. They lost only two of those seven games.Goaltending was holding up well for Phoenix, with Rick Charron, especially, determined to make The HOCKEY NEWS eat its words about him being erratic.With a week to play in November, the youngster&rsquo;s goalsagainst average had dropped to a sizzling 2.38.Actually, the &lsquo;Runners seemed to have the potential to explode at any minute.Tommy McVie, one of the Western League&rsquo;s all-time snipers, could do a lot better than his five goals in 21 games. So could Morris Stefaniw, who had only two goals in 21 games after scoring eight in 17 at the end of the last campaign.In fact, the only really hot sniper was Bob Charlebois, with 13 goals in 21 games &mdash; and 7 of his 13 were against Denver.Just the unlocking of a little firepower and Phoenix still could give Western Hockey League rivals plenty of problems over the final two-thirds of the campaign. &#9632;

f0018-01

Phoenix Runners Ineffective On Rood

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-01381/2628458-1-eng-US/f0019-012.jpg" title="f0019-01" width="581" height="315"></div><h2>GAMES COMPLETED</h2>Tues. Dec. 3Vancouver 0 at Phoenix 3Wed. Dec. 4San Diego 5 at Denver 3Thurs. Dec. 5Vancouver 2 at Phoenix 2San Diego 5 at Denver 3Fri. Dec. 6Phoenix 0 at Denver 5Sat. Dec. 7Denver 3 at Phoenix 5Vancouver 7 at San Diego 4Sun. Dec. 8Vancouver 4 at San Diego 1<h2>GAMES TO COME</h2>Tues. Dec. 10Vancouver at PhoenixWed. Dec. 11Vancouver at DenverPhoenix at San DiegoSeattle at PortlandFri. Dec. 13Denver at PhoenixPortland of SeattleSan Diego at VancouverSat. Dec. 14Phoenix at DenverSon Diego at PortlandSun. Dec. 15San Diego at Seattle<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-02329/2628451-1-eng-US/f0019-022.jpg" title="f0019-02" width="607" height="473"></div> &#9632;

f0019-01

How They Stand

<div class="byline">BY PAT CONNOLLY</div>HALIFAX. N.S. &mdash;The rapid emergence of Moncton Beavers and Charlottetown Islanders as solid Maritime Junior &ldquo;A&rdquo; Hockey League contenders has prompted other Atlantic area centres to look more enthusiastically to league expansion in 1969-70.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-03266/2628489-1-eng-US/f0019-032.jpg" title="f0019-03" width="250" height="427"><figcaption class="caption-body">Turk Broda</figcaption></div>Before the present season began, certain skeptics were convinced that neither Islanders nor Beavers could assemble teams capable of challenging the three year superiority of Halifax Canadiens. But they reckoned without considering the savvy Al Goguen acquired in Moncton when he signed Turk Broda to coach the Beavers. And they certainley underestimated the organizational qualities of Boyd White, Ron MacDonald, &ldquo;Hawk&rdquo; Larter, Jackie Hynes et al in Charlott-etown. Not only have the Islanders and Beavers caught up to Canadiens in a relatively short time, there is suspicion in some circle that they&rsquo;ve passed the defending Maritime champions.Beavers have handler Canadiens like lost cousins winning all three of their last meetings, including a 7-6 decision on Halifax ice. The following day, Islanders displayed superlative comeback qualities when they roared from behind a 3-0 deficit to earn a 6-6 standoff at the Forum.Canadiens coach Leo Bossy has experienced some frustrating nights while several of his top horses have trouble locating their proper gait. But Leo the Lion remains convinced he has the best club, despite recent reverses and believes it&rsquo;s only a matter of time before his kids pull away from their tormentors.Islanders boast one of the finest young prospects the Maritimes have produced in years in 16-year-old centre Angus Beck. This Charlottetown product has great puck see a quality seemingly inhere in Island &mdash; bred youngsters, although he appears to have a little more. Broad is getting great mileage out of Dale Turner, a clever playmaker and fine shooter who returned from senior ranks several weeks ago to bolster Moncton.Mike O&rsquo;Dohertv, the Arvida boy who suffered a broken jaw in the opening game of the season, has returned to score some important goals for Canadiens. Beavers returned defenceman Marcel Labrie to Kitchener. Just about everybody&rsquo;s choice to become the league&rsquo;s all-star right wing is Hilliard Graves, a Dartmouth product who captains the Islanders.The six Nova Scotia Metro Valley Junior &ldquo;B&rdquo; teams have settled into an interesting race with only Dartmouth Lakers getting off to a poor start. Lakers have made a coaching change, appointing the well known Alt&rsquo; Hollings worth to rescue the club from the depths. Former senior star Billy (Hap) Hanson doing another splendid job with his challenging East Hants Penguins. Armdale Rangers of the Halifax Suburban Hockey League have a father-son combination as one time Maritime and International League scoring champion Bob Bowness teams with his 16-year-old son Laurie to form an interesting unit. &#9632;

f0019-03

Junior Expansion Outlook Bright

<h2>CENTRAL LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Wed. Dec. 11)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-01228/2628551-1-eng-US/f0020-012.jpg" title="f0020-01" width="602" height="204"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-02158/2628544-1-eng-US/f0020-022.jpg" title="f0020-02" width="587" height="236"></div><h2>GAMES COMPLETED</h2>Wed, Oct 4Dallas 6 at Kansas City 6Tulsa 3 at Fort Worth 3Thurs. Dec. 5Houston 5 at Fort Worth 2Fri. Dec 6Kansas City 2 at Dallas 5Sat. Dec. 7Amarillo 1 at Houston 4Kansas City 4 at Fort Worth 4Oklahoma City 3 at Tulsa 3Omaha 4 at Memphis 2Sun. Dec. 8Houston 2 at Amarillo 4Oklahoma City 6 at Omaha 1Tulsa 5 at Kansas City 7<h2>GAMES TO COME</h2>Wed. Dec. 11Oklahoma City at Kansas CityTulsa at DallasThurs. Dec. 12Omaha at HoustonFri. Dec. 13Dallas at TulsaFort Worth at MemphisKansas City at AmarilloOmaha at Oklahoma CitySat. Dec. 14Amarillo at OmahaFort Worth at Kansas CityMemphis at DallasOklahoma City at HoustonSun. Dec. 15Memphis at Oklahoma City &#9632;

f0020-01

<div class="byline">BY MATT DENNIS</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0020-03" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-03128/2628582-1-eng-US/f0020-032.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">The Oklahoma City Blazers were a busy organization during the past CHL off-season. Men like FRASER GLEESON, left, the club trainer, BILL LEVINS, the tarn&rsquo;s general manager a nd publicist RON NANCE, right, embarked on more than 1,000 sales calls to land $37,885 worth of advertising for the Blazers&rsquo; 68-page program, here being shown by Levins Tremendous efforts of Gleeson and Nance during hot summer months resulted in revenue that approached NHL team standards.</figcaption></div>OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla.&mdash;Those Blazers under coach Murray Davison and general manager Bill Levins were under full steam ahead and racked up a perfect three-for-three victory skein downing Wranglers, Memphis South Stars and Houston Apollos for a 10-game winning streak.They opened a seven-point lead over Houston in their battle for first place in the Central League&rsquo;s Southern Divison. It was a nine point bulge over Fort Worth Wings and Dallas Black Hawks, sharing third spot.Their lone loss since October 22 was handed them by an 8-3 count on Omaha ice.Davison was pleased with his offence that had shoved the Blazers to the top as the most prolific fire-power crew in the nine team circuit as they produced 79 goals over 20 outings, nearly four per contest. Russ Gillow had racked up four shutouts, half of the total he came up with last season to top the league and the club had given up only 43 goals overall.Steve Atkinson, Jim Harrison, Dan Schock and Clem Tremblay, all rookies, had not yet shown their full potential but as Davison commented, &ldquo;They are learning through experience and should all be flying by the time the halfway mark of the season comes.&rdquo;KANSAS CITY &mdash; A pair of ties in three outings was all the Blues could grab off and as a result over the week Tulsa passed them to take over a single-point grasp on first place in the Northern Division race. Omaha Knights were breathing down their necks, two points off the pace.Larry Keenan was sent down to the Blues to help out on offence and was expected to be in Kansas City for at least two weeks.TULSA &mdash; As the parent Toronto Maple Leafs were having troubles through injuries, the Oilers tried to help them and defenceman Pat Quinn and right winger Mike Byers headed to the NHL as injury replacements.Gary Marsh, who scored 25 goals for Forth Worth last season and was claimed by Toronto in the NHL draft, joined the Oilers along with Jim Blain, a first-year pro rearguard from Rochester of the American League.HOUSTON &mdash; The Apollos faltered, falling off the pace in the Southern Division gaining only a tie in four outings.They lost goalie Tony Esposito who was called up to the parent Montreal Canadiens when goalie Gump Worsley was given a rest. Defenceman Murray Flegel was still on loan to Cleveland of the American League.The Apollos were averaging three goals per game but saw their goals-against average shoot up giving up 17 in their four winless contests.OMAHA &mdash; Finding their way back after a slump, the Knights knocked off Houston, Omaha and Dallas and their 5-0 triumph over the Black Hawks was their first shutout triumph of the campaign.Coach Popein saw his defence strengthened when Randy Legge joined the rearguard corps and had Sheldon Kannegeisser, Larry Brown, Roger Lafreniere, John Barber and Terry Pembroke available.FORT WORTH &mdash; Coach Fern Flaman kept juggling his lineup as his Fort Worth Wings were trying to help out the parent Detroit Red Wings who were having rough going in the National League.Fred Speck went up to Detroit as Sandy Snow returned and Ed Hatoum headed for Detroit when lanky Pete Mahovlich was sent to Fort Worth. Mahovlich, a 20-goal scorer in 42 games last season at Fort Worth, is troubled with a bruised elbow.AMARILLO &mdash; The Wranglers were only able to grab a tie in three outings over the week falling into the basement of the Southern Division.They were having trouble defensively and their 72-goalsagainst mark over 22 games was second-highest for the league.MEMPHIS &mdash; Picking up points in three of their four outings with a pair of wins and a deadlock, the South Stars under Parker MacDonald made their way back into the fight with Omaha for third place in the Northern Division. Their 2-0 whitewash on Kansas City ice was their first shutout of the campaign.DALLAS &mdash; With Dennis Dejordy giving standout performances in goal, the Black Hawks moved up to challenge for second place in the Southern Division. They were knotted with Fort Worth, two points back of Houston.Dejordy had a 2.30 goals against mark over 10 games and has the club&rsquo;s only shutout, a 5-0 win over Amarillo. &#9632;

f0020-03

Blazers On 10-Game Win Streak

<h2>THUR. NOV. 21 DALIAS 2 at HOUSTON 4</h2><h3>FIRST PERIOD</h3>No Scoring.Penalties: Shelton and Hicke 2:52, Graham, Lapointe and Ellett 6:43, Shmyr and Lapointe (minor, misconduct) 11:44, McKay 13:19, Lavender 18:20.<h3>SECOND PERIOD</h3>1&mdash;Houston, Bordeleau (Roberts) &hellip; 2:042&mdash;Dallas, Rizzuto (Stanfield, Gaudet) &hellip; 10:583&mdash;Houston, Hicke (Lavender, Grenier) &hellip; 14:414&mdash;Houston, Lavender (Hicke, Grenier) &hellip; 15:57Penalties &mdash; Hicke 3:41, 7:03, McKay (two minors, misconduct) 11:38, Drouin 18:33.<h3>THIRD PERIOD</h3>5&mdash;Dallas, Maki (Long, McDonald) &hellip; 14:026&mdash;Houston, Lapointe (Drouin) &hellip; 16:37Penalties &mdash; Lapointe 4:23, Bond 11:35.Saves: Espositio 34, Dejordy 20.<h2>FRI. NOV. 22 AMARILLO Oat TULSA 2</h2><h3>FIRST PERIOD</h3>No Scoring.Penalties &mdash; Legace 3:55, Robert 4:34, Harbaruk 8:17, Nelson 12:45, Johnson 14:48, Barrie 18:05.<h3>SECOND PERIOD</h3>1&mdash;Tulsa, Byers (Marsh, Nelson) &hellip; 14:58Penalties &mdash; Robert 10:26, Adduono 14:47.<h3>THIRD PERIOD</h3>2&mdash;Tulsa, Hinse (Johnson, Seiwood) &hellip; 9:57Penalties &mdash; Quinn 3:05, Lanyon 6:14, Barrie 7:51, Edwards (minor, misconduct, game misconduct) 19:35, Harbaruk 18:57.Saves: Reason 23, Edwards 30.<h2>FORT WORTH 5 at KANSAS CITY 7</h2><h3>FIRST PERIOD</h3>1&mdash;Fort Worth, Gates (Perkins, Leclerc) &hellip; 2:112&mdash;Kansas City, Obendorf (Veneruzzo, Giesebrecht) &hellip; 8:493&mdash;Fort Worth, Speck (Walters, Cunniff) &hellip; 9:454&mdash;Fort Worth, Speck (Walters) &hellip; 11:355&mdash;Kansas City, Buchanan (Dennis, Gray) &hellip; 16:49Penalties &mdash; Falkenberg 11:04, Neikamp and Guilbault 19:31.<h3>SECOND PERIOD</h3>6&mdash;Kansas City, Proceviat &hellip; 4:577&mdash;Kansas City, Gray (Guilbault, Buchanan) &hellip; 18:06Penalties &mdash; McCann 9:06, Dennis 14:39, Perkins 16:37, Hart 19:23.<h3>THIRD PERIOD</h3>8&mdash;Kansas City, Buchanan (Dennis) &hellip; 5:149&mdash;Fort Worth, Mortenson (Hart) &hellip; 6:4410&mdash;Fort Worth, Perkins &hellip; 9:3511&mdash;Kansas City, Veneruzzo (Obendorf, Giesebrect) &hellip; 9:4412&mdash;Kansas City, Fortin (Gray, Dennis) &hellip; 10:47Penalties &mdash; Perkins and Cardin 7:16, Lemire 9:10 Spencer, Lecler (major) and Veneruzzo (major) 9:58, Reichmuth 18:14.Saves: G. Edwards 29, R. Edwards 20, Gray 8.<h2>HOUSTON 2 at OKLAHOMA CITY 7</h2><h3>FIRST PERIOD</h3>1&mdash;Oklahoma City, Lonsberry &hellip; 11:092&mdash;Oklahoma City, Lorentz (Atkinson, Webster) &hellip; 15:433&mdash;Oklahoma City, Lonsberry (Harrison, Tremblay) &hellip; 17:21Penalties &mdash; Myre 3:41, Hicke 6:41, Gibbs 13:14.<h3>SECOND PERIOD</h3>4&mdash;Oklahoma City, Lorentz (Lonsberry, Smith) &hellip; 2:405&mdash;Houston, Grierson(Bordeleau, Hicke) 15:176&mdash;Oklahoma City, Webster(Gibbs, Lorentz) 18:24Penalties &mdash; Roberts (two minors) and Lonsberry .19, Harrison 1:13, 11:14, Atkinson 14:10.<h3>THIRD PERIOD</h3>7&mdash;Oklahoma City, Harrison &hellip; 4:338&mdash;Oklahoma City, Webster (Lorentz, Erickson) &hellip; 7:039&mdash;Houston, Bordeleau &hellip; 12:46Penalties &mdash; Bradley and Gibbs 15:17Saves: Gillow 18, Myre 35<h2>MEMPHIS 4 at DALLAS 7</h2><h3>FIRST PERIOD</h3>1&mdash;Dallas, Bond (Graham, Wiste) &hellip; 4:302&mdash;Memphis, Senior &hellip; 18:52Penalties &mdash; McDonald 7:24, Long 10:01, Johnston 12:01, Lebrun 17:05<h3>SECOND PERIOD</h3>3&mdash;Dallas. Maki (Shmyr, McDonald) &hellip; 0:244&mdash;Dallas, Maki (Shelton, McDonald) &hellip; 0:515&mdash;Memphis, Hunt (Meissner, Senior) &hellip; 5:196&mdash;Dallas, Koroll (Wiste) &hellip; 7:027&mdash;Dallas, Korroll (Wiste, Bond) &hellip; 8:238&mdash;Memphis, Senior &hellip; 15:49Penalties &mdash; Meissner 3:08, Hunt 3:12, Long 8:50, Shmyr 12:35, Seguin 15:37.<h3>THIRD PERIOD</h3>9&mdash;Dallas, Rizzuto (Long, Leblanc) &hellip; 3:5010&mdash;Memphis, Chernoff (Johnston, Paterson) &hellip; 6:3711&mdash;Dallas, Leblanc (Rizzuto, Gaudet) &hellip; 9:51Penalties &mdash; Lanyon 1:21, Leblanc 7:58, McKay 11:39, Legave 18:35, Gaudet 19:39.<h2>SAT. NOV. 23 DALLAS 5 at AMARILLO 0</h2><h3>FIRST PERIOD</h3>No Scoring.Penalties &mdash; Lanyon 1:21, Leblanc 7:58, McKay 11:39, Legave 18:35, Gaudet 19:39.<h3>SECOND PERIOD</h3>1&mdash;Dallas, Bond (Wiste, Koroll) &hellip; 4:492&mdash;Dallas, Shelton (Leblanc, McDonald) &hellip; 16:163&mdash;Dallas, McDonald (Shelton, Maki) &hellip; 18:19Penalties &mdash; Leblanc 1:35, McDonald and Legace 6:04, Graham 12:12, Adduono 14:13.<h3>THIRD PERIOD</h3>4&mdash;Dallas, Gaudet (Rizzuto, Leblanc) &hellip; 12:295&mdash;Dallas, Wiste (Morris, Stanfield) &hellip; 16:21Penalties &mdash; Graham, Bond, Barrie and Adduono (maiors) 6:57. Graham 13:27, Billows 18:00, Barrie (two minors) and Lebland (two minors) 19:58.Saves: Blom 20, Dejordy 35.<h2>FORT WORTH 4 at OMAHA 3</h2><h3>FIRST PERIOD</h3>1&mdash;Fort Worth, Monteith (McCann, Gribbons) &hellip; 10:102&mdash;Omaha, Widing (Lafreniere) &hellip; 19:143&mdash;Fort Worth, Cunniff (Ketter, Speck) &hellip; 19:41Penalties &mdash; Falkenberg 3:48, Spencer and Krulicki 5:07, Kannegeisser 9:01.<h3>SECOND PERIOD</h3>4&mdash;Omaha, Barber (Lafreniere, Parizeau) &hellip; 4:555&mdash;Fort Worth, Gates (Mortenson) &hellip; 10:00Penalties &mdash; Speck 2:56, Fairbairn 7:00, Egers15:00, Ketter and Fairbairn 19:11.<h3>THIRD PERIOD</h3>6&mdash;Fort Worth, Hatoum (Monteith, Ketter) &hellip; 10:487&mdash;Omaha, Parizeau (Haley, Widding) &hellip; 19:03Penalties &mdash; Widing 11.06, Ketter 17:14.Saves: Caley 21, Edwards 23.<h2>KANSAS CITY 5 at TULSA 7</h2><h3>FIRST PERIOD</h3>1&mdash;Kansas City, Fortin (Obendorf, Giesebrecht) &hellip; 5:122&mdash;Kansas City, Cardin (Fortin) &hellip; 7:353&mdash;Kansas City, Gray (Faranski, Buchanan) &hellip; 7:534&mdash;Tulsa, Hinse (Bazay, Johnson) &hellip; 13:555&mdash;Tulsa, Bazay (Johnson, Seiwood) &hellip; 17:17Penalties &mdash; Quinn 4:12, Johnson 6:21, Kannegeisser 11:23.<h3>SECOND PERIOD</h3>6&mdash;Tulsa, Bazay (Hinse, Johnson) &hellip; 1:077&mdash;Kansas City, Proceviat (Giesebrecht, Veneruzzo) &hellip; 9:188&mdash;Kansas City, Guilbault (Dennis, Cardin) &hellip; 19:39Penalty &mdash; Heaney 17:15.<h3>THIRD PERIOD</h3>9&mdash;Tulsa, Campbell (Harbaruk) &hellip; 6:2610&mdash;Tulsa, Johnson (Hinse, Bazay) &hellip; 8:1811&mdash;Tulsa, Byers (Campbell, Quinn) &hellip; 9:5012&mdash;Tulsa, Byers (Seiwood) &hellip; 14:09No penalties.Saves: Aubry 6, Reeson 19; Ouimet 36. &#9632;

Central League Summaries

<h2>EASTERN LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Tues. Dec. 10)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-0195/2628679-1-eng-US/f0021-012.jpg" title="f0021-01" width="581" height="268"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-0266/2628672-1-eng-US/f0021-022.jpg" title="f0021-02" width="571" height="228"></div><h2>GAMES COMPLETED</h2>Tues. Dec. 3Long Island 8 at Syracuse 3Charlotte 4 at Salem 7New Jersey 2 at Jacksonville 4Wed. Dec. 4Syracuse 1 at New Haven 6Nashville 3&rsquo;at Greensboro 9New Jersey 0 at Charlotte 3Thurs. Dec. 5New Haven 8 at Syracuse 3New Jersey 3 at Nashville 7Fri. Dec. 6Clinton 0 at New Jersey 2Salem 0 at Johnstown 5Greensboro 2 at Charlotte 5New Haven 6 at Long Island 3Sat. Dec. 7New Jersey 1 at Syracuse 3Long Island 3 at Clinton 8New Haven 1 at Johnstown 6Jacksonville 5 at Salem 4Charlotte 2 at Greensboro 3Sun. Dec. 8Johnstown 1 at New Haven 3Clinton 2 at Long Island 4Greensboro 6 at Nashville 3<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-0338/2628665-1-eng-US/f0021-032.jpg" title="f0021-03" width="595" height="452"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-0430/2628658-1-eng-US/f0021-042.jpg" title="f0021-04" width="600" height="382"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-0527/2628651-1-eng-US/f0021-052.jpg" title="f0021-05" width="594" height="392"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-0622/2628644-1-eng-US/f0021-062.jpg" title="f0021-06" width="582" height="298"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-0718/2628637-1-eng-US/f0021-072.jpg" title="f0021-07" width="600" height="514"></div> &#9632;

f0021-01

Hockey Races

<div class="byline">BY HARVEY POLLACK</div>JACKSONVILLE, Fla. &mdash;Often times the addition of one player can turn the fortunes of a hockey club and the Jacksonville Rockets are hopeful the acquisition of defenseman Ted Baylis can prove beneficial to their aspirations in the Eastern Hockey League&rsquo;s Southern Division.Actually it is surprising that Baylis is even a member of the Rockets for it was never believed that the Charlotte Checkers, to whom he belonged earlier in the campaign, would permit him to migrate to a divisional rival. Baylis had been suspended by the Checkers for failing to report for a game after being fined for lackadaisical play in a previous contest.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-0814/2628724-1-eng-US/f0021-082.jpg" title="f0021-08" width="244" height="434"><figcaption class="caption-body">Norm Defelice</figcaption></div>Creighton, Charlotte skipper, tried to make a deal for him with a northern team but evidently couldn&rsquo;t make the right transaction. So rather than allow such a valuable performer to languish on the sidelines, Creighton agreed to a Jacksonville overture for him.And Baylis has proven a big aid to Bob Sabourin&rsquo;s team even though he was off skates for several weeks. In his first full week with the team, the Rockets went through a whole week without a defeat. This was one of the few times, if not the only time, in the club&rsquo;s history that such an occurrence happened.What made &lsquo;the week even sweeter was that two of the contests involved frays with Charlotte &mdash; one at home and one on the road. Baylis scored a goal in one to help the Rockets gain a tie and his efforts in the other at Charlotte also helped Jacksonville gain a deadlock.JACKSONVILLE: Rockets acquired forward Bob Pugh from Muskegon, sold Bob Howard to Des Moines and sent Ron Dundas to Syracuse on waivers. Trainer Joe Woitowich&rsquo;s decision to give club flu shots credited with cutting down illness on recent road jaunts. Harley Hodgson operating up front and back.LONG ISLAND: Jacques Sevigny acquired from Charlotte. Defensemen Norm Ryder, and Norm Schmitz both sidelined with broken fingers. Norm Defelice&rsquo;s first shutout came at timely time vs Clinton. Coach John Brophy doesn&rsquo;t think any northern club is strong enough to pull away from the pack.SYRACUSE: Biggest crowd of year, 2700, attended stick night game. Ron Dundas acquired from Jacksonville. Stan Reddick picked up from Toledo. Center Lee Inglish also secured from Toledo and replaced Greg Smith who returned to Canada to be with his ill father. He plans to play junior hockey too. Rick Switzer&rsquo;s rib injury, Wayne Goetz&rsquo; fractured hand and Chuck Charlong&rsquo;s knee ailment hurt Blazers.SALEM: Larry Gibbons secured on loan from Greensboro and Claude Piche from Clinton. Blazers traded Bobby Taylor, who is finishing up some Canadian football play, to Johnstown for Billy Ives. Jim Jago, Wally Chase, and Jan Popiel all sidelined with varied injuries. Bob Taylor injured shoulder for fourth time this year. Gerry Firn moved to wing. George Surmay&rsquo;s second shutout came against Nashville.NEW HAVEN: Rookie Mike Hornby making a trong bid for both divisional scoring laurels and rookie of the year. Winger Joe McCrea&rsquo;s dad came in from Kitchener to watch Blades play. Don Perry&rsquo;s knee is bothering him and he may have to undergoknee surgery. Don infuriated heckling Long Island fans after scoring a goal by skating a figure 8 and patting himself on the back.CLINTON: Borden Smith scored four goals vs Jersey. John Chapman secured from Syracuse on waivers and Claude Piche sent to Salem to make room. Comets retained rights to reacquire Piche at end of year. Joe Robertson and Don Herriman suffered head injuries. Syracuse&rsquo;s goalie Anton Gale had to be escorted from ice here after battle in which he kicked Smith.JOHNSTOWN: All time penalty record broken here when Jets were handed 72 minutes in sin bin vs Long Island. For first nine dates, crowds averaged 3114. Ted Staehli&rsquo;s return to active duty prompted trade of Billy Ives to Salem. Garry Sharp still sidelined with thumb injury, mining 18 of club&rsquo;s first 19 games. Jim Mair&rsquo;s fight with Clinton&rsquo;s Joe Robertson saw the Jet kayo the Comet with a solid right to the Jaw. Dan Patrick has knee ligament injury.CHARLOTTE: Al Sutherland&rsquo;s two goals beat Salem. Neil Clark has taken over Chuck Stuart&rsquo;s center spot on the No. 1 line while the latter recuperates from broken ankle. Ernie Dyda continues to get coach Fred Creighton&rsquo;s praise for his great penalty killing efforts. Return of Barry Simpson from injured list and acquisition of Duncan MacDonald from Baltimore have helped attack.JERSEY: Devils coach Marcel Pelletier strolls a lot during a game to chat with fans. Largest crowd of season, 3593, saw club nipped by Johnstown. Pelletier says goalie Bob Taylor has been improving steadily. Dim lighting here caused visiting Philly Flyers goalie Bernie Parent to say, &ldquo;Boy I&rsquo;d hate to play goal here and have a guy like Bobby Hull shoot from the blue line.&rdquo;NASHVILLE: Cliff Pennington&rsquo;s first period hat trick topped Jacksonville. It was his third trio of season. Flo Pilote had hot scoring streak from his defensive slot. Prexy Mark Parrish awarded three college scholarships at Kids Day game. Trio of Andre Lajeunesse, Neil Claremont and Pennington has been top threesome. Captain Wayne Claremont scoring consistensv.GREENSBORO: John Murray playing well for Gens although he&rsquo;s no scoring threat from his defensive slot. Don Burgess, southern scoring leader, was approaching 30 goals at last count. Goalie Pete McDuffe&rsquo;s brilliant plav preserved one-goal win in Florida prompting coach Ron Spong to declare, &ldquo;he&rsquo;s best in league. He should have been in Dallas.<h2>Point Race</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-0911/2628717-1-eng-US/f0021-092.jpg" title="f0021-09" width="587" height="373"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-1011/2628710-1-eng-US/f0021-102.jpg" title="f0021-10" width="576" height="255"></div> &#9632;

f0021-08

Baylis Returns To Haunt Old Mates As Rockets Pin Hopes On Newcomer

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-01112/2628818-1-eng-US/f0022-012.jpg" title="f0022-01" width="597" height="457"></div><h2>GAMES COMPLETED</h2>Tues. Dec. 3Ottawa 5 at London 4Thurs. Dec. 5St, Catharine&rsquo;s 6 at Hamilton 3Ottawa 4 at Peterborough 2Fri. Dec. 6Toronto 3 at Montreal 9Kitchener 0 at Niagara Falls 6Peterborough 2 at London 7Oshawa 2 at Ottawa 7Hamilton 2 at St. Catharine&rsquo;s 3Sun. Dec. 8London 2 at St. Catharine&rsquo;s 12Kitchener 4 at Hamilton 6Peterborough 0 at Montreal 8Niagara Falls 4 at Oshawa 3Ottawa 4 at Toronto 3<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-0256/2628811-1-eng-US/f0022-022.jpg" title="f0022-02" width="588" height="366"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-0345/2628804-1-eng-US/f0022-032.jpg" title="f0022-03" width="586" height="291"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-0433/2628797-1-eng-US/f0022-042.jpg" title="f0022-04" width="612" height="435"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-0525/2628790-1-eng-US/f0022-052.jpg" title="f0022-05" width="611" height="317"></div><h2>NEW YORK METRO LEAGUE</h2>(Standing on Mon. Dec. 2)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-0621/2628783-1-eng-US/f0022-062.jpg" title="f0022-06" width="583" height="201"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-0721/2628776-1-eng-US/f0022-072.jpg" title="f0022-07" width="575" height="199"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-0819/2628769-1-eng-US/f0022-082.jpg" title="f0022-08" width="584" height="309"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-0916/2628762-1-eng-US/f0022-092.jpg" title="f0022-09" width="575" height="350"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-1014/2628755-1-eng-US/f0022-102.jpg" title="f0022-10" width="589" height="522"></div> &#9632;

f0022-01

<div class="byline">BY BOB REED</div>PORT HURON, Mich. &mdash;The Flags, always seeking to bolster their position in the tight International Hockey League bought a new and young right winger, Len Fontaine and he could become the center of a legal battle between the Flags and the newly formed Canadian Hockey League.Fontaine signed a registration card with the Flags back in August but failed to report to training camp. He was playing with the Sarnia Legionnaires in the Western Ontario Junior A League when he decided to return to the Flags.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-1113/2628863-1-eng-US/f0022-112.jpg" title="f0022-11" width="255" height="439"><figcaption class="caption-body">Ted Garvin</figcaption></div>Frank Basso, Guelph, Ont., president of the Canadian loop, announced that the league will go to court over the rights to Fontaine.Flags&rsquo; president John Wismer said, &ldquo;They haven&rsquo;t a case. Fontaine has been our property since August and his registration card is in on file at the office of the Amateur Hockey Association and legally under contract in the IHL.Coach Ted Garvin of the Flags said, &ldquo;I checked with Phil Thompson, secretary of the United States Amateur Hockey Association and we filed our registration form on Fontaine on June 28 and according to Thompson and IHL Commissioner Andy Mulligan, Fontaine belongs to the Flags.&rdquo;In his debut with the Flags Fontaine had a goal and two assists. In the same game center Geoff Powis registered his first hat trick for the Flags in the 6-4 victory over Des Moines.FORT WAYNE &mdash; Doug Reid, hard-working left wing, broke a goal famine with four goals in two nights&hellip; The Komets ended a streak of seven games without a win when they nosed Des Moines, 4-3&hellip; Len Thomson returned to the coaching post but not to active play. Reggie Primeau returned after missing 18 games and assisted on a winning goal&hellip; Ten-game attendance hit a total of 61,204.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-1212/2628856-1-eng-US/f0022-122.jpg" title="f0022-12" width="551" height="570"><figcaption class="caption-body">GEOFF POWIS&hellip; Nets hat trick</figcaption></div>DAYTON &mdash; The Gems&rsquo; first loss at home in 11 games was also their first defeat in five Thanksgiving Eve contests. They had 16 straight without a loss at home dating back to last Feb&hellip; Garry McMillan was moved from right wing to center&hellip; The Gems averaged 4,058 for 11 home games.COLUMBUS &mdash; Andre Courtemanche, smallest of the Checkers at 5-6 and 160 pounds, had a hat trick against Des Moines &hellip; Oak Leaf goalie Phil Leadley had 52 saves in addition to the nine goals against him in this game &hellip; Coach Moe Bartoli hit the tying goal against the Komets with 44 seconds left &hellip; New goalie John Fischer lost his first start but had 40 saves to his credit.TOLEDO &mdash; Ten of the Blades were in double figures in scoring, topped by Jim Sanko with 27 &hellip; The Blades, who set the record for tie games last year with 14, had four non-decisions &hellip; The Blades soared to the top with a string of nine games without a loss &hellip; Bob Regis netted his seventh goal in 11 games.MUSKEGON &mdash; The Mohawks had two new players in the lineup, goalie Bruce Mullett and defenseman Bob Pate, who came by way of Denver in the Western League. Mullett, at 6-1 and 210 pounds is one of the biggest goalies in the league &hellip; Coach Moose Lallo rapped' his players for not hitting hard in the Toledo arena.<h2>How They Stand</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-1311/2628849-1-eng-US/f0022-132.jpg" title="f0022-13" width="592" height="359"></div><h2>GAMES COMPLETED</h2>Tues. Dec. 3Muskegon 5 at Des Moines 6Wed. Dec. 4Dayton 4 at Columbus 7Fort Wayne 2 at Toledo 4Thurs. Dec. 5Muskegon 4 at Des Moines 1Fri. Dec. 6Dayton 1 at Toledo 4Fort Wayne 4 at Columbus 7Sat. Dec. 7Toledo 0 at Fort Wayne 2Columbus 7 at Muskegon 11Dayton 3 at Port Huron 3Sun. Dec. 8Toledo 2 at Dayton 5Muskegon 3 at Fort Wayne 3Columbus 4 at Port Huron 7 &#9632;

f0022-11

Legal Battle Looms Over Status Of Flags’ Rookie Len Fontaine

<div class="byline">BY JACK GATECLIFF</div>OSHAWA, Ont. &mdash;One of the toughest decisions ever made by Oshawa Generals, manager Mat Layden came up a month ago when, after deliberation with his board of directors, he decided to replace Ike Hildebrand as coach.Hildebrand, one of the alltime greats of box lacrosse and a professional hockey player with Cleveland Barons, had been handling the Generals two seasons and while he put his heart and soul into the job, the Generals just couldn&rsquo;t win consistently.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-0194/2628894-1-eng-US/f0023-012.jpg" title="f0023-01" width="243" height="414"><figcaption class="caption-body">Bob Stewart</figcaption></div>They missed the playoffs last season and after six weeks of the 1968-69 schedule were flirting with last place.Layden, a former Ontario Hockey Association president whose connection with Oshawa hockey goes back to the days of Billy Taylor and Bill Ezinicki, had become a close personal friend of Hildebrand but decided that the situation was desperate and a shift had to be made.He appointed Doug Williams as coach, a young man who had handled the Generals briefly a few years ago and is also vice-principal of an Oshawa school.In their first game after Williams&rsquo; appointment the Generals were bombed 9-3 by Niagara Fall Flyers and the wiseacres were quick to point out that what the Generals needed more than a new coach was new talent.But the Generals, basically, were not as weak as they appeared.They almost invariably led for one or two periods, then collapsed in the final 20 minutes.Just what Williams has done with the team since that 9-3 loss is classified information but their improvement has been positively remarkable.The Generals won their next four consecutive games, beating Hamilton Red Wings 4-2, Montreal Canadiens 8-5 and Toronto Marlboros twice 5-2 and 9-4.And in all four starts they played better in the third period than in the first two.As a result the Oshawa club not only left ninth place but jumped into a fifth place tie with Hamilton and within breathing distance of both Toronto and the slumping Niagara Falls Flyers.The scoring spark for the Generals, oddly enough, came from 18-year-old defenceman Bob Stewart, a native of Charlottetown, P.E.I. who, in his first season with the Generals last year took numerous foolish penalties and spent most of his time either on the Oshawa bench or the penalty bench.Williams instructed Stewart to carry the puck more and that&rsquo;s exactly what he did in weekend games against Montreal and Toronto.In those two starts he accumulated nine points, including seven assists, exactly doubling his production from his first 19 games.While the Generals were climbing, Niagara Falls Flyers after an excellent start, fell to third place on three consecutive losses.The defending Memorial Cup champions were beaten 6-4 in London, then dropped back-to-back games with Hamilton Red Wings 8-5 and 1-0.The 1-0 loss on home ice was the first time the Flyers had been blanked before their home fans since they entered the Ontario Hockey Association junior A league seven years ago.Peterborough and St. Catharines continued their two-way battle for first place.The Petes gained an edge on the Hawks with a 4-3 win over the St. Catharines team in Peterborough, then blanked Hamilton 5-0 in the Hamilton Forum. &#9632;

f0023-01

Incoming Oshawa Coach Lifts Generals

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-0259/2628925-1-eng-US/f0023-022.jpg" title="f0023-02" width="871" height="1157"></div>SOLUTION IN DECEMBER 21 ISSUE<h2>ACROSS</h2>1&mdash;Pictured player.5&mdash;Initials of one of the Leafs.7&mdash;Canoeing requisite.8&mdash;Golf term.9&mdash;An N.H.L. general manager.11&mdash;First name of one of the Habs.13&mdash;To make mistakes.14&mdash;Pictured player is one. (abbr.)15&mdash;Distress signal.17&mdash;15th and 12th letters of the alphabet.18&mdash;Nickname of a former N.H.L. coach.20&mdash;Number worn by Reg Fleming.24&mdash;One of the North Stars.25&mdash;Initials of former Leaf Ezinicki.27&mdash;Initials of one of the Lefafs.28&mdash;This N.H.L. general manager coached two different N.H.L. teams.30&mdash;Played 65 games for Oakland last year.<h2>DOWN</h2>1&mdash;One of the Leafs.2&mdash;Wears No. 6 for St. Louis.3&mdash;First name of one of the Penguins.4&mdash;Period of time.5&mdash;Initials of Attwell of Buffalo.6&mdash;A Red Wing forward.8&mdash;Bill Masterton trophy winner.10&mdash;9th and 10th letters of the alphabet.12&mdash;Pronoun.16&mdash;A Toronto centre.19&mdash;One of the Blackhawks.21&mdash;Initials of Armstrong of Rochester.22&mdash;Initials of one of the Bruins.23&mdash;Girl&rsquo;s name. 26&mdash;Initials of one of the Hawks.27&mdash;Initials of Ellett of Houston.29&mdash;22nd and 15th letters of the alphabet.<h2>Last week&rsquo;s answers</h2><h3>ACROSS</h3>2&mdash;T.G.4&mdash;MARC7&mdash;NEILSON10&mdash;GREEN11&mdash;DAN13&mdash;A.R.14&mdash;WREN16&mdash;FOE18&mdash;AHL19&mdash;IRE20&mdash;E.B.21&mdash;RAY22&mdash;LAFORGE26&mdash;D.N.27&mdash;RANGER30&mdash;HER31&mdash;TO32&mdash;HAY33&mdash;EHMAN<h3>DOWN</h3>1&mdash;INGARFIELD2&mdash;TIE3&mdash;GLEN4&mdash;M.O.5&mdash;ANDREA6&mdash;CONNELLY8&mdash;ERR9&mdash;S.N.12&mdash;A.E.15&mdash;GEE17&mdash;ORBAN21&mdash;REG23&mdash;ORE24&mdash;RARE25&mdash;G.N.28&mdash;E.T.A.29&mdash;RON30&mdash;HY &#9632;

f0023-02

Hockey Crossword

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0024-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-01106/2628956-1-eng-US/f0024-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Yale University goaler STEVE HOLAHAN, centre, and his coach, DICK GAGLIARDI, right, are shown with Rangers&rsquo; general manager EMILE FRANCIS at Madison Square Garden where they were guests of NHL club. Holahan&rsquo;s Yale team plays in new MSG Dec. 19-20.</figcaption></div>NEW YORK. N.Y. &mdash;For the first time three schools from the tradition rich Ivy League will vie for the championship in the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament at New York&rsquo;s Madison Square Garden on December 19 and 20.Yale, Brown and Dartmouth will have their work cut out for them as their opponent in the four team elimination is Clarkson, a former two time winner of this annual Christmas time tournament, which is now in its eighth season.ECAC commissioner Aza Bushnell commented, &ldquo;The field is extremely well balanced and we are expecting a keenly competitive series of games. This year&rsquo;s Festival will be the first in the new Garden and it should be one of the best.&rdquo;Clarkson won the first ECAC tourney in 1961 and repeated in 1963. Brown has gone to the finals-twice, but lost in the title game in 1964 when North-eastern triumphed and last year when Cornell rolled to victory.Doubleheaders on both the 19th and 20th of December will comprise this year&rsquo;s tourney, with the winners of the opening night semi-finals meeting for the championship on the next night. The opening night losers will compete in a consolation game for third place. &#9632;

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December 14, 1968

WHL Summaries

Rangers Hopes’ Crushed As Gilbert Breaks Ankle

The Hockey News

CENTRAL LEAGUE