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 3, 1971

The Hockey News December 3, 1971

<div class="byline">BY TOM LOBAUGH</div>LOUISVILLE SLUGGERHOCKEY STICKSMade in Canada byHILLERICH & BRADSBY, LTD.Arnold Street, Wallaceburg, OntarioSold in U.S. and CanadaLOUISVILLE SLUGGERHOCKEY STICKSMade in Canada byHILLERICH & BRADSBY, LTD.Arnold Street, Wallaceburg, OntarioSold in U.S. and Canada<h4>Blues Land Selby In NHL Club Shakeup.</h4><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-01117/2922669-1-eng-US/f0028-012.jpg" title="f0028-01" width="534" height="566"><figcaption class="caption-body">BRIT SELBY</figcaption></div>KANSAS CITY&mdash;Sparked by the heroics of a 20-year-old rookie goalkeeper, the Kansas City Blues have sent back the sympathy cards, and notified the mourners they were a bit premature.Things didn&rsquo;t look too bright in KC as the Central League season started. Locked out of their American Royal Arena home for the first three weeks, the Blues compiled a 2-3-1 record on the road.Then they played their first game at home, Nov. 6, and were victims of Michel Dumas&rsquo; shutout goaltending as Dallas spoiled the opener, 4-0.But the Blues then proceeded to win three straight, two at home and one in Omaha&rsquo;s Ak-Sar-Ben Coliseum. At the week&rsquo;s end they had climbed from the cellar into fourth place.John Garrett was the rookie netminder who sparkled in a 6-0 whitewash of the Fort Worth wins in KC, Nov. 10. Garrett, who toiled for the Peterborough Prestigious Ontario Hockey Association&rsquo;s Major Junior loop last season, came up with 35 saves, and his mates erupted for four goals in a wild third period. Garrett has been sharing the KC nets with 24-year-old Chris Worthy a third-year pro who was understudy at California in the NHL last year.Holdover left wing Floyd Thomson, who was setting the early KC scoring pace, was called up by the parent St. Louis Blues, but they sent down a talented replacement in 26-year-old Brit Selby, who will be remembered as the NHL rookie of the year for Toronto in 1965-66.Ron Climie, another holdover at left wing, captain Norm Dennis, a 29-year-old veteran at center, and rookie right wing Bob Roselle have taken up the scoring slack since Thomson&rsquo;s departure. Roselle split last season between Dayton and Toledo.&ldquo;Selby will be a real help to us,&rdquo; remarked coach Johnny Choyce. &ldquo;He has a good attitude and he wants to do the job for us. He can help us produce.&rdquo;The defense was strengthened by the return of holdover Dave Pulkkinen from Denver, where he had been loaned to help an injury problem.TULSA:&mdash; The Oilers ran their home winning streak to seven games by trimming Oklahoma City, 6-3, Nov. 13.But coach Marcel Pronovost was even happier with a 5-1 triumph in Fort Worth the previous night. It was the first road game in which the league-leading Oilers had scored more than one goal.They had won their first road test of the campaign, Oct. 23, on Murray McLachlan&rsquo;s 1-0 shutout at Fort Worth. Then came three 4-1 losses at Oklahoma City, Oct. 30; at Omaha, Nov. 3, and at Dallas, Nov. 10. Rookie goalie Ron Low from Dauphin, Man. (by way of Jacksonville) got his second start and his second victory in the game at Fort Worth.Center Jean Payette continued to be the Oilers&rsquo; big playmaker. He had a goal and five assists in two weekend victories to move within a point of the league scoring leadership.The previous weekend it was the line of Cal Swenson, Bob Duncan and Murray Heatley teaming for seven goals in two nights, a 5-2 victory over Omaha and a 6-3 triumph over Fort Worth, both at home. Swenson without a goal until Nov. 5, had two in the Nov. 13 victory to run his total to five.DALLAS:&mdash; The Black Hawks had also won all their home games, as two victories ran their string to five. But they were finding trouble on the road, dropping a 6-2 decision in Oklahoma City and playing a 1-1 tie in Omaha.Dave Hudson led the Hawk scoring with six goals and 14 points.Rookie goalie Michel Dumas, who won the 4-0 shutout in Kansas City, Nov. 6, almost had two straight whitewash jobs. The only goal he allowed in Omaha Nov. 7 was when Norm Gratton&rsquo;s pass from behind the net was accidentally knocked into the net by Dumas&rsquo; stick. That second period tally produced a 1-1 tie, matching Larry Romanchych&rsquo;s first period goal for Dallas.Dumas also sparkled in a 4-1 home triumph over Tulsa, but suffered a bombing in Oklahoma City two nights later, leaving after he gave up four goals in the middle period. His mates gave him an early cushion in a 5-4 home victory over Fort Worth the following night. Don Gordon led the parade with two goals, as Hawks took a 5-1 lead in the second period.Right wing Ron Dussiaume, a 22-goal scorer as a Dallas rookie last season, was sent on loan to Tidewater of the American League. Dussiaume, who took 10 days off from training camp and the early CHL schedule to get married, had been unable to win a spot in the lineup at Dallas this season.OKLAHOMA CITY:&mdash; The Blazers hadn&rsquo;t been beaten in their last five games at home, but they had lost their last four road games.While veteran center Greg Sheppard was tied for the CHL scoring lead with Fort Worth&rsquo;s Ross Perkins (18 points through Nov. 14), the hottest Oklahoma City line turned out to be a brand-new combination.Chris Oddliefson, returning to action with a football-type face mask to protect his broken jaw, was centering for left wing Ken Tarnow and right wing Dave Forbes, both up from Dayton for five-game amateur trials, when he left to join the Boston organization after California traded him off.Oddliefson scored five goals in a three-game span. In the two games he played with the rookies, their line accounted for seven of the nine Blazer goals, including shorthanded tallies by Oddliefson and Tarnow against Fort Worth.The Blazers released Jim Adair, second-year center, who was promptly claimed by Detroit and sent to Tidewater of the AHL.Also cast loose was defenseman-left wing Bob (Battleship) Kelly, a 25-year-old who was later claimed by the Boston system from Providence on waivers early this season.Right wing Bill Klatt, the club&rsquo;s early scoring leader, was still sidelined with his Nov. 3 knee injury.OMAHA:&mdash; The Knights, regular-season and playoff champions the past two years, were winless in four straight games, including two at home.Injuries thinned the defensive ranks. Veteran Bob Ash suffered an eye injury in Kansas City, Nov. 13, rookie Steve Durbano had an ankle injury, and rookie Larry O&rsquo;Connor missed three games with a bad back.General manager Jake Milford was still looking for reinforcements from the parent New York Rangers, especially on defense.Norm Gratton, who had been leading the Knights&rsquo; scoring with 11 points, was blanked in two weedend games, and was tied by Gary Coalter, who had one assist.FORT WORTH:&mdash; Four straight losses, and six winless roadtrips, had manager-coach Bob Lemieux fretting. &ldquo;Maybe we&rsquo;re a second-half club, and we&rsquo;ll get turned around in a little bit,&rdquo; he moaned. &ldquo;But we&rsquo;ve got a lousy record so far (3-8-2).The Wings sent defenseman Lee Carpenter to Tidewater, and Doug Hinton to Port Huron in the International League. Along with forwards Al Genovy and Herb Boxer.Perkins remained a bright spot in the Fort Worth picture. With a goal and two assists in the loss at OC, he ran his point total to 18 and shared the league led with Blazer Ace Sheppard.Joe Zanussi, All Star defenseman last season who had been converted to right wing, was returned to the blueline, as Lemieux juggled his lines in hopes of finding a clicking combination. &#9632;

f0028-01

IN THIS ISSUE

Kansas City Rebounds With Win Streak To Quit CHI Cellar

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-01467/2921916-1-eng-US/f0017-012.jpg" title="f0017-01" width="441" height="292"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-02415/2921909-1-eng-US/f0017-022.jpg" title="f0017-02" width="487" height="293"></div><h2>Tues. Nov. 16 CALIFORNIA 2 at MONTREAL 7</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-03343/2921902-1-eng-US/f0017-032.jpg" title="f0017-03" width="582" height="729"></div><h2>DETROIT 2 at ST. LOUIS 2</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-04269/2921895-1-eng-US/f0017-042.jpg" title="f0017-04" width="581" height="504"></div><h2>MINNESOTA 5 at PITTSBURGH 1</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-05222/2921888-1-eng-US/f0017-052.jpg" title="f0017-05" width="580" height="613"></div><h2>Wed. Nov. 17 LOS ANGELES 1 at TORONTO 5</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-06186/2921881-1-eng-US/f0017-062.jpg" title="f0017-06" width="582" height="602"></div><h2>VANCOUVER 0 at CHICAGO 3</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-07164/2921874-1-eng-US/f0017-072.jpg" title="f0017-07" width="575" height="447"></div><h2>Thurs. Nov. 18 ST. LOUIS 2 at MONTREAL 2</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-08133/2921867-1-eng-US/f0017-082.jpg" title="f0017-08" width="576" height="476"></div><h2>VANCOUVER 0 at BOSTON 5</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-09118/2921860-1-eng-US/f0017-092.jpg" title="f0017-09" width="582" height="556"></div><h2>CALIFORNIA 7 at BUFFALO 5</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-10108/2921853-1-eng-US/f0017-102.jpg" title="f0017-10" width="589" height="986"></div><h2>LOS ANGELES 0 at PHILADELPHIA 2</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-1191/2921846-1-eng-US/f0017-112.jpg" title="f0017-11" width="580" height="405"></div><h2>PITTSBURGH 3 at MINNESOTA 4</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-1281/2921839-1-eng-US/f0017-122.jpg" title="f0017-12" width="579" height="654"></div><h2>Sat. Nov. 20 PHILADELPHIA 2 at MONTREAL</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-1364/2921832-1-eng-US/f0017-132.jpg" title="f0017-13" width="576" height="524"></div><h2>CALIFORNIA 1 at TORONTO 5</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-1453/2921825-1-eng-US/f0017-142.jpg" title="f0017-14" width="574" height="572"></div><h2>NEW YORK 1 at MINNESOTA 4</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-1543/2921818-1-eng-US/f0017-152.jpg" title="f0017-15" width="576" height="524"></div><h2>CHICAGO 1 at BOSTON 2</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-1641/2921811-1-eng-US/f0017-162.jpg" title="f0017-16" width="576" height="423"></div><h2>St-LOUIS 4 at PITTSBURGH 2</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-1734/2921804-1-eng-US/f0017-172.jpg" title="f0017-17" width="578" height="619"></div><h2>DETROIT 1 at LOS ANGELES 3</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-1828/2921797-1-eng-US/f0017-182.jpg" title="f0017-18" width="581" height="482"></div><h2>Sun. Nov. 21 TORONTO 4 at BUFFALO 3</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-1922/2921790-1-eng-US/f0017-192.jpg" title="f0017-19" width="578" height="713"></div><h2>CALIFORNIA 1 at NEW YORK 12</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-2014/2921783-1-eng-US/f0017-202.jpg" title="f0017-20" width="582" height="947"></div><h2>ST. LOUIS 2 at BOSTON 6</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-02219/2921776-1-eng-US/f0020-022.jpg" title="f0020-02" width="586" height="694"></div><h2>DETROIT 2 at VANCOUVER 2</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-03183/2921769-1-eng-US/f0020-032.jpg" title="f0020-03" width="582" height="485"></div><h2>PITTSBURGH 3 at CHICAGO 7 &lsquo;</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-04140/2921762-1-eng-US/f0020-042.jpg" title="f0020-04" width="575" height="748"></div><h2>MINNESOTA 1 at PHILADELPHIA 1</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-0575/2921755-1-eng-US/f0020-052.jpg" title="f0020-05" width="578" height="396"></div> &#9632;

f0017-01

National Hockey League SUMMARIES

The Kansas City Blues are roiling in high gear in the CHL race and their exciting rookie John Garrett is the hottest of the league goalers. Garrett was in the KC net for their four straight wins as he lowered his goals-against average to an amazing 1.00 with a pair of shutouts. A fine start for the Blues&rsquo; freshman netminder.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-0188/2922787-1-eng-US/f0029-012.jpg" title="f0029-01" width="496" height="506"><figcaption class="caption-body">JOHN GARRETT</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0029-01

Player Of The Week

<div class="byline">BY CHUCK SANTANIELLO</div>SPRINGFIELD&mdash;Next season the Springfield Kings will be playing in the new Civic Center in Springfield. A five-year lease was recently negotiated by Eddie Shore, owner of the AHL franchise, making arrangements with Lou Harp, manager of the new center, which will open next September. There will be 7,800 seats in the facility, with the construction cost put at $10 million.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-01135/2922413-1-eng-US/f0025-012.jpg" title="f0025-01" width="243" height="447"><figcaption class="caption-body">Eddie Shore</figcaption></div>According to terms the Kings will be allowed two practice hours daily as well as play their exhibition games, regular season and playoff contests. Shore will pay the center $1,250 per game for use of the building. However, he did not reveal what he will charge the Kings.Presently, Shore is renting the Eastern States Coliseum, where the Kings are presently playing with 5,934 seats. He pays around $35,000 per season for the lease and in turn, he leases the building, including time for practice, to the Kings for the sum of $94,000. It is a new era as far as the Kings are concerned.In all, Shore has 70 dates at the new Civic Center for hockey and other attractions, including ice shows and the roller derby. Shore is also making sure that he does not get competition. He also has the rights to run Eastern Hockey League games at the center.Meanwhile, Bill Wynne, who is manager of the Eastern States Coliseum, plans to take over the building and keep it open year around, as well as making many major improvements. High school, semi-pro and college as well as amateur games will be played at the Coliseum, with Shore out of that operation.Presumably, an Eastern League club could still come to this area, as the Coliseum will be available. In addition, franchise holders of the New England entry in the new World Hockey Association are still hopeful of locating a club in this region.Members of the WHA, who plan the New England team, hope to arrange a regional club, like the many successful teams which operate in the American Basketball Association. Plans would include games to be played in Springfield, New Haven, Providence and Boston, in as much as all have suitable buildings and dates could be booked from these cities.As far as the Springfield center is concerned, there will be parking for over 5,000 automobiles. If there is any drawback, the new center should have been built with a larger seating capacity, at least 10.000.<div class="sidebar">More AHL On Page 32 &#9632;</div>

f0025-01

Kings, Shore Agree To Five-Year Lease For New Civic Rink

<div class="image-hero"><img title="Cover-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/cover-01517/2923502-1-eng-US/cover-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">JEAN RATELLE First Big Scoring Outburst of Year (Hockey News Photo by Stephen Nowman)</figcaption></div>&mdash;Page 15PRENTICE JOINS 350 GOAL SCORERS&mdash;Page 13BURNS STARTED IT-NOW 600,000 WEARING HELMETS&mdash;Page 3<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/cover-02390/2923495-1-eng-US/cover-022.jpg" title="Cover-02" width="1283" height="1121"><figcaption class="caption-body">CHARLIE BURNS Started Helmet Craze After Serious Injury (Hockey News Photo by Richard Pellegrini)</figcaption></div>RATELLE&rsquo;S FOUR-GOAL BLAST TRIGGERED RANGER RECORD&mdash;Page 16 &#9632;

Cover-01

HAWK GOALERS RULE NHL

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0002-03" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-03546/2920771-1-eng-US/f0002-032.jpg"></div>The 1971-72 college hockey season is underway and in next week&rsquo;s issue of THE HOCKEY NEWS we will bring our readers the first report of the collegiate leagues. Tom Burke of Boston will again report on the East and John Gilbert of Minneapolis will cover the West. &#9632;

f0002-03

COLLEGE HOCKEY SCENE

<div class="byline">BY NORMAN MacLEAN</div>NEW YORK&mdash;In separate trades less than 24 hours apart, the New York Rangers obtained twenty year old rookie Gene Garr and experienced defenseman Gary Doak.Carr, the fourth pick in the June amateur draft and a sensation with the Elin Elon Bombers of the Western Canada Hockey League last season came to I he Blue shirts from St. Louis along with wingers Jim Lorentz and Wayne Connelly. General Manager-Coach Emile Francis then swapped Connelly, left winger Dave Balon and Ron Stewart, the veteran penalty killer who has been playing for Providence, to Vancouver for Doak and center Jim Wiste.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-01700/2920740-1-eng-US/f0002-012.jpg" title="f0002-01" width="540" height="518"><figcaption class="caption-body">GENE CARR&hellip;Key man in trade</figcaption></div>Leaving New York in the Carr transaction were wingers Jack Egers. and Mike Murphy and defenseman Andre Dupont. Egers. the CHL leading scorer two seasons ago, had failed to score regularly in the NHL. He appeared a trifle late with his booming slap shots, usually allowing the opposition to get in front of them. Dupont, a wild man on defense, will be a colorful addition to the Blues, but it is difficult to see where he could have cracked the Ranger lineup with Brad Park, Dale Rolfe, Jim Neilson, Rod Seiling and lately Ab DeMarco playing so well. Murphy, a good player, was performing for Omaha of the Central League. He will help the Blues. Dupont had been playing with Providence of the AHL.Dennis Ball, the Rangers director of player personnel said. &ldquo;Carr will become the Rangers first super star.&rdquo;Of course, this remains to be seen, but previous Erancis transactions which brought Peter Stemkowski. Rolfe and Bruce MacGregor to New York have been highly successful. 1 he number four draft selection is not normally available and it is the feeling here that perhaps St. Louis gave up on Gene too soon. With the Rangers he can be brought along slowly with a successful team. This is smilar to the treatment given Rick Martin and Gil Perrault with Buffalo, which is not expected to win. The Rangers will win in 1971-72 no matter what Carr does so he will have a gradual break in period. Gene can play both center and left wing.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-02660/2920733-1-eng-US/f0002-022.jpg" title="f0002-02" width="268" height="436"><figcaption class="caption-body">Gary Doak</figcaption></div>Doak. a former Boston Bruin for three year, has been with Vancouver since they were organized. He is only 25 moves the puck pretty well and should welcome the chance to get back in the money again. Gary will serve as injury insurance should any of the experienced defenders get hurt as has been the case in both of the previous seasons.Wiste cannot hurt the Rangers. He is fast quick and fairly good. This season he has split between Rochester and Seattle. Jim is a former All American at Denver University and first came up with Chicago two years ago. Jim is also 25.Connelly, 31. had five goals and five assists with St. Louis. He did not fit into New York&rsquo;s plans. Wayne will help the Canucks who need wingers desperately. Connelly can score but is not loo good a defensive player.Balon. the left wing on the Bulldog line with Walter Tkaczuk and Billy Fairbairn, scored 33 goals and 36 goals in the last two years. It was his hat trick on the last day of the 1969-70 season which got the Rangers into the playoffs that year. However, he has been going down hill since February of last year, did not do well in the playoffs and at 33. was not going to be protected next season when expansion again is in the cards. His transfer to Vancouver may enable Dave to stay in the city, close to his Western Canada birthplace for four or five more years.Lorentz has been in the NHL for two seasons, playing as a utility man on the 1970 Cup winning Bruins and with St. Louis since then.The Rangers got four players whose average age is 23, while giving up six with an average of 28.Franics commented, &ldquo;This trade will help presently and in the future. Left wing is a weak spot in the entire NHL at present and we now have Vic Hadfield, Carr, Peter, Stemkowski, who can play both center and the left side, Ted Irvine and Pierre Jarry. Jarry is normally a right wing, but we can look at him on the other side. Carr was they key man, however in the trades. Doak will give us insurance should anyone get hurt on defense and he is a proven NHL player.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0002-01

Ranger Official Predicts Carr Will Be Club’s First Super Star

<div class="byline">BY DAN PROUDFOOT</div>TORONTO&mdash;Engineers and designers sweat over them, neuro surgeons modify them, players approve them, players reject them, boys must wear them and parents buy them.What are they? Hockey helmets, that&rsquo;s what.More than 600,000 are sold each year in the United States and Canada.They&rsquo;re the one single piece of equipment which consume the most time and dollars of manufacturers&rsquo; research. Yet they&rsquo;re seldom worn by more than two dozen players in the National Hockey League.Amateur hockey authorities, however, have been quicker than the pros to recognize the importance of helmets. Most associations make helmets mandatory for all boys, and if most top prospects reject them when they turn professional, that is their risk. Meantime, manufacturers spend more than $10,000 a year in research and developmnt of new models, each of which is considered and improvement that dramatically lessens the chances of head injury.Helmets remain the most-maligned, most-rejected, and potentially most-important item in a player&rsquo;s equipment bag.The men who design and make them consider the latter factor: the importance of protection, and it takes only a few minutes discussion with such a man, George Lynn of Cooper Canada, to realize the intensity of the work behind such a simple-appearing item.There are a dozen or more companies now manufacturing helmets, many of them equally involved. Three were surveyed: Cooper Canada, CCM and Winn-well (Wellinger and Dunn.)&ldquo;There are three types of hockey accidents which we have to consider,&rdquo; says Lynn, Cooper&rsquo;s director of design, research and development. &ldquo;The first one is when a small object&mdash;a puck or stick&mdash;hits the head.&ldquo;The second is the worst. The player&rsquo;s feet go from under him somehow and he flies into the boards head first, or his head cracks against the ice. This is where the player&rsquo;s head is the accelerated object. The trouble is, the blow is inward, it&rsquo;s contrapuntal. Put it this way: your head hits, and inside the head the brain is still accelerating. Then your brain hits against your skull. So not only is your skull hit, from outside, possibly fracturing it, there is damage to the brain itself because of its impact again the skull.&rdquo;Lynn is an enthusiastic man, like his boss, John Cooper. When he gets deep into an explanation, he tends to grab helmets and bang and bend them to illustrate what he means. As a result, you don&rsquo;t have to be an industrial&rsquo; designer, like him, or an involved neurosurgeon, like Dr. Bruce Hendrick of Toronto Sick Children&rsquo;s Hospital, to understand he&rsquo;s talking about more than headaches.&ldquo;A helmet must deflect the blow over as large an area as possible, it must deaccelerate the inward motion, and it must absorb. And you&rsquo;ve got to have all three characterisitcs.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re all learning. There&rsquo;s so much to learn.&rdquo;No helmet manufacturer claims perfection. But, each is sure his product is superior to his competitors, and each has some basis for that claim. Significantly. no universally-recognized or clearly impartial means of testing lelmets exists.The Canadian Standards Association, a non-profit organization which approves many types of equipment, has set standards for motorcycle helmets and construction worker&rsquo;s hard hats, but hasn&rsquo;t been able to devise tests which would cover the full variety of hockey accidents involving the head.&ldquo;The CSA, in their wisdom, have chosen not to do any half tests,&rdquo; explains Cooper, the president of Cooper-Canada. &ldquo;What&rsquo;s causing all their problems is that they haven&rsquo;t been able to devise tests which will simulate all the conditions of a game.&ldquo;In other words, a hockey helmet can&rsquo;t be tested like a hardhat, by dropping steel balls on it. In hockey, the many types of blows make things more complicated. You&rsquo;ve got ice, goalposts, boards, skates, sticks and the puck.&rdquo;Cooper is deeply involved in his company&rsquo;s helmet projects, working with designer Lynn and consulting with Dr. Hendrick.The most recent areas of improvement in helmet design involve new shaping to protect the temples. The critical areas are believed to be the temples, the back of the head, the forehead, the areas behind the ears, and the top of the skull.&ldquo;Styling is no longer a term that has any applicability in the design of protective equipment,&rdquo; said one designer. Only the amount of protection counts, and the design approaches are so numerous that development time stretches and stretches.CCM, for example, has a new model which has several new features.For one temple protection is improved by 50 per cent over the previous model, according to George Parsons, the CCM representative to NHL players and general manager of the associated Standard Cycle Products.CCM uses Ensolite padding inside a polycarbonate shell. A feature Parsons mentions is that with each of the new model helmets, which sell for about $15, the buyer receives a supply of multi-sized Ensolite buttons, all gummed on one side. The buyer applies buttons throughout the interior until he achieves a perfect fit.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve been fully two years deciding which way we would go,&rdquo; says Parsons. &ldquo;We tested air suspension system and webbing suspensions, but this method we use results in a helmet made to fit the head just lightly, yet securely.&ldquo;We have ridges at the back at the helmet to add strength and vents on those ridges so an effective flow of air results through the helmet. We&rsquo;ve had players test them in hour and a half practices and heard them say they never noticed any beat.&rdquo;The Cooper helmet has a high impact polyethylene shell and a lining of Rubatex. another foam like material with the quality of absorbing shock. The newest model still is under development, simply because designer Lynn still is working on refinements.The Cooper approach involves use of different types of foam. Beside the Rubatex lining, there are rolls of foam called a cell core in the interior&mdash;sized according to the area of the head being protected. As in every case, temple protection and cooling are prime considerations. The price is about $10, with a much less expensive model available. CCM also has an economy range helmet.Wellinger and Dunn, whose product is known as Winnwell, sell only one production helmet, at about $5. Bob Ostrander, the compagny&rsquo;s president, is like John Cooper or George Parsons. He consideres his helmet to be the best in the business.The Winnwell design incorporates Dupont Polyethylene and Rubatex. Ostrander says he is particularly proud of his helmet&rsquo;s feature that it can be adjusted to fit any head without any effect on its temple protection. The helmet has been on the market just more than a year and a half and, as Ostrander says &ldquo;with the amount of research and development that&rsquo;s necessary, we have to be sure of a design before we produce it. We don&rsquo;t get our money back in a year.&rdquo;Winnwell also makes specialty helmets. &ldquo;I remember talking with the late Mr. Wellinger, many years ago, and him telling me about making a helmet for a player back in the 1920s. It was made especially for a player who had a head injury.&ldquo;Then, of course, there was the case of Charlie Burns, who plays now with Minnesota North Stars.&ldquo;Charlie suffered such a serious head injury&mdash;a skull fracture through the temple&mdash;playing junior in the 50s that the NHL wouldn&rsquo;t let him in. So he played for Canada in the world tournament, and with the special helmet we made for him they finally let him in.&ldquo;Now, that type of protective helmet is different than the type we produce for the average player. Charlie has to protect a specific injury, so he doesn&rsquo;t mind a heavy helmet.&ldquo;But, the boy playing the game who needs protection but hasn&rsquo;t had a head injury is more concerned with comfort. When equipping a hockey player, you&rsquo;re not equipping a football player. Weight is a factor. So you have to make your helmet light and confortable, yet effective.&rdquo;The problems are immense, it&rsquo;s true, and the point remember is that no manufacturer claims perfecton. Development continues, and meantime the progress already has been significant. If the problems are immense, so is the market, and the manufacturers work with the confidence that their concern ultimately will be rewarded with sales. Each thinks the safest helmet will sell best, and the winner from all this thinking is the boy who plays hockey, and gets his head banged&mdash;and doesn&rsquo;t get hurt.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-02582/2920830-1-eng-US/f0003-022.jpg" title="f0003-02" width="830" height="969"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-03389/2920823-1-eng-US/f0003-032.jpg" title="f0003-03" width="828" height="978"><figcaption class="caption-body">Two popular helmet lines are Cooper of Canada&rsquo;s SKI20 Jr., on left for mites, and the SKI20 for older players. Helmets are mandatory in both Canadian and American amateur leagues.</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-01702/2920816-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg" title="f0003-01" width="546" height="586"><figcaption class="caption-body">CHARLIE BURNS&hellip;Fitted by Winnwell</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-01793/2920809-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg" title="f0006-01" width="1146" height="798"><figcaption class="caption-body">Manufacturers of helmets are constantly researching ways to make their headgear more efficient. Here is a cutaway of the new Cooper Canada SKI20 helmet for 1972 with its protective interior.</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-02647/2920802-1-eng-US/f0006-022.jpg" title="f0006-02" width="1158" height="1125"><figcaption class="caption-body">PHIL GOYETTE&hellip;one of few in NHL wearing helmets luk</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0003-02

HELMETS TOP ITEM IN HOCKEY BAGS AS MANUFACTURERS TURN OUT 600,000

<div class="byline">Ken McKenzie&#x2019;s</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-01764/2920875-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg" title="f0004-01" width="512" height="518"></div>&bull; WALTER BUSH, president of the Minnesota North Stars, has been named to represent the NHL on the Hockey Hall of Fame Selection Committee. Bush is the only United States-born man on the committee and he considers it one of his highest honors&hellip;Babe Pratt of the Vancouver Canucks&rsquo; front office delivered a good crack recently while scouting a Buffalo-New York game. &ldquo;When a second-phase expansion team like Buffalo or Vancouver plays New York or Montreal or Boston, it&rsquo;s like the Christians when they went against the lions. Only the Christians had a better chance.&rdquo;&hellip;Bob Plager of the St. Louis Blues shaved off the thick moustache he&rsquo;s been wearing since the start of the season. Plager noted that the Philadelphia Eagles of the NFL began winning after their players were ordered to be clean-shaven. Plager said with his own team in a slump he shaved &ldquo;for the good of the Blues&rdquo;&hellip;The Blues&rsquo; Sid Abel had this to say on long hair: &ldquo;That&rsquo;s just the style. I&rsquo;ve-had a few bald-headed players on my teams and never made them wear wigs. Why should I make these guys cut their hair, as long as they can see where they&rsquo;re going on the ice&rdquo;&hellip;Ken Hodge of the Boston Bruins seethes when he&rsquo;s not playing regularly and he was really angry when he rode the bench as Bruins downed Los Angeles, 11-2, recently. Eddie Westfall had taken his place alongside Phil Esposito on the Bruins&rsquo; big line. Just about every NHL team could use a player of Hodge&rsquo;s ability and he would be great trading material for the Bruins&hellip;The St. Louis Arena will be the site of a unique hockey-basketball tournament for college teams during the Christmas holidays. The two four-team tournaments will schedule games on alternate nights with Harvard, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and St. Louis University competing in hockey&hellip;Roy Storey of San Francisco, who travelled 70,000 miles broadcasting the Golden Seals&rsquo; games last season, is available to travel anywhere to fill in for a regular NHL announcer who is unable to fulfill certain commitments&hellip;&hellip;Had our first look at the enlarged and refurbished Memorial Auditorium in Buffalo and they certainly did a fine job on this venerable building. The home of the Sabres compares with any of the NHL, arenas now&hellip;The Sabres are building a solid&rsquo; young hockey club and looked very impressive in their 2-2 tie with Montreal&hellip;Doug Barrie, youthful Buffalo defenseman, rates as one of the most improved players in the NHL and Roger-Crozier is playing as fine a goal as anyone in the league at present&hellip;&ldquo;This is the best skating team I&rsquo;ve had since I was put in charge of the Rangers&rdquo;, stated Emile Francis the other day&hellip;A sign in the Pittsburgh Civic Arena, home of the hockey Penguins, reads: &ldquo;Webster says: &ldquo;A Penguin is a weak winged defenseless bird&rsquo;&hellip;what?&rdquo;&hellip;Winger Simon Nolet of the Philadelphia Flyers is one of the hottest goal scorers in the NHL right now. He scored his 11th goal this season in his 39th shot on the net&hellip;Coach Fred Shero of the Flyers wants his young players to set the pace for the veterans which is sort of a switch. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve only had this club a short time, but I&rsquo;ve seen enough to know the kids will have to pressure the old guys into giving that extra effort,&rdquo; Shero mentioned.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-02715/2920868-1-eng-US/f0004-022.jpg" title="f0004-02" width="255" height="423"><figcaption class="caption-body">Doug Barrie</figcaption></div>&bull; TWO SEASONS ago the Boston Bruins scored a record 81 power play goals. Last year when they set 37 NHL records they scored 80. So far this season their play hasn&rsquo;t been clicking with anything like the same regularity, and Coach Tom Johnson may do some changing around. The Boston powerplay in recent years had Phil Esposito centering Johnny Bucyk and John McKenzie with Fred Stanfield and Bobby Orr on the points. The Stanfield-Bucyk-McKenzie line has been in a slump of late and this has affected the power play, too&hellip;Ed Van Impe scored a goal against Toronto the other night which marked his first goal in 178 games. He hadn&rsquo;t scored since Feb. 8, 1969, when he tallied twice against the Bruins&hellip;General Manager Garry Young of the California Seals calls Carol Vadnais &ldquo;the guts of our hockey team&rdquo;&hellip;and he&rsquo;s tired of hearing repeated stories about Carol being traded. &ldquo;If he&rsquo;s traded it won&rsquo;t be my decision.&rdquo; Young emphatically states&hellip;New York Rangers were hot after Vadnais and offered the Seals lour players for him. When this was turned down the Rangers made their deal with St. Louis two days later&hellip;Captain Ted Harris of the Minnesota North Stars played his 500th NHL game recently&hellip;Peter Fordyce, advertising manager of Rawlings Sporting Goods Company, announces the appointment of Mark Saltzman as assistant advertising manager of Rawlings&hellip;The United States National Team will play about three exhibition games a week prior to the Winter Olympics in Sapporo, Japan&hellip;Detroit Red Wings&rsquo; Gary Bergman and his wife Jane, parents of a new baby daughter. They also have two sons&hellip;Bryan Hextail and Ken Schinkel both set Pittsburgh Penguin scoring records during a three-game scoring splurge. Hextall had five goals in three games for one record while Schinkel&rsquo;s eight points in three games was another&hellip;Ken Mantin has resigned as Development Coordinator of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association to accept the post of Executive Director of Sport for Nova Scotia&hellip;Billy Harris, a veteran of 15 NHL seasons and now coaching Sweden&rsquo;s National Team, would like to see the NHL expand to Europe and figures the Europeans could compete successfully&hellip;Andre Dupont, 6&rsquo;1&rdquo;, 195-pound defenseman, recently traded by New York to St. Louis is ecstatic about the trade. &ldquo;Now I get a chance to play regularly. I&rsquo;ve never been as happy in my life.&rdquo; Last year&rsquo;s most valuable player in the Central League while playing with Omaha, Dupont feels he didn&rsquo;t get a fair chance to show what he could do with the Rangers.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-03617/2920861-1-eng-US/f0004-032.jpg" title="f0004-03" width="271" height="428"><figcaption class="caption-body">Carol Vadnais</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0004-01

PASSING THE PUCK

OFFICIAL NATIONAL HOCKEY WEEKLYFounded October 1st, 1947Published weekly except monthly June through Septemberby Ken-Will Publishing Co. Ltd.1434 St. Catherine Street West Montreal 107, Canada.U.S. Office: 16 Maple Street, Rouses Point, N.Y. 12979Kenneth William McKenzie President and PublisherCharlie Halpin Editorial DirectorYearly SUBSCRIPTION Rates. $6.00 in Canada $7.00 in the U.S.A, and $9.00 in Foreign Countries.Postpage paid at Rouses Point, N.Y. 12979. Send address changes to 1434 St. Catherine Street West, Suite 212, Montreal, 107, P.Q.Second class mail&mdash;Registration No. 1327Printed in CanadaVol. 25 MONTREAL, DECEMBER 3, 1971 No.9 &#9632;

The Hockey News

<h2>New Anti-Fight Rule Produces Better Play</h2>I don&rsquo;t think enough publicity is given to the fact that the NHL referees are doing a very fine job this year, especially in the area of controlling fights.It is good to see officials clamping down on the real aggressors in a fight and protecting the players who really don&rsquo;t want to fight and are just trying to protect themselves. Many good players will not fight back so as not to handicap their teams with a penalty.With this new attitude of the officials trying to punish the real instigator of the fight and not the innocent victim, together with the new rule against third-man intervention in a brawl, the result is we are seeing a much better display of hockey and less delays in the action.LARRY BEDNARZ,&nbsp; Smooth Rock Falls, Ont.<h2>Atlanta Not Proven Hockey Territory</h2>I would like to question the wisdom of the NHL governors in selecting Atlanta as the site of one of their two new franchises. What worries me is that the city has not even had a minor pro or amateur league representation before, so it is almost impossible to gauge the potential fan intrest there.Disappointing attendances in California and Los Angeles would seem to indicate some problem of the game catching on in the warm weather areas. I think it would be better to expand into a Canadian city where the game has proven fans even if the population isn&rsquo;t as large as Atlanta.K. SAUVI,&nbsp; Penetang, Ont.<h2>NHL Realignment Plan Suggested By Reader</h2>With the addition of the Long Island and Atlanta franchises to the NHL further divisional realignment is inevitable.Here&rsquo;s how I think they should arrange the 16 teams for next year. Eastern Division: Boston, New York, Long Island and Philadelphia; Mideast Division: Montreal, Toronto, Pittsburgh and Buffalo; Midwest Division: Chicago, Detroit, Atlanta and St. Louis; Pacific Division: Vancouver, Los Angeles, Oakland and Minnesota.DENNIS ZNANIECKE,&nbsp; Queens, N.Y.<h2>New NHL Ruling Speeds Up Play</h2>I&rsquo;d like to say how much I agree with the new NHL rule that penalizes a goaltender for shooting the puck into the crowd.For every one time it is a genuine accident on the goalie&rsquo;s part, there are ten other times that it is nothing more than a deliberate action to gain a stoppage in play when the other team has the heat on.With the new ruling there has been a noticeable decrease in the number of times a game is delayed for this reason and as a consequence everybody is seeing better hockey.MILT SMITH,&nbsp; Winnipeg, Man. &#9632;

Fan Forum

<div class="byline">BY CHARLEY BARTON</div>BUFFALO&mdash;For 58 minutes and 7 seconds, the Buffalo Sabres appeared headed for the first victory in their short history over the world champion Montreal Canadiens.Then a mistake enabled Marc Tardif to score, and the teams settled for a 2-2 tie in their first meeting of the season here. A years ago, the Canadiens won three, and three others finished in ties. This season, in their first encounter, the Canadiens coasted to a 9-3 decision in Montreal.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-01716/2920954-1-eng-US/f0005-012.jpg" title="f0005-01" width="278" height="452"><figcaption class="caption-body">Chris Evans</figcaption></div>The Sabres put together a six-game unbeaten streak&mdash;one short of the NHL record for expansion teams&mdash;before dropping a 4-2 decision to Los Angeles here and taking a 5-2 pasting in New York.In the unbeaten string, made up of two wins and four ties, the Sabres were outshot in five games and were the recipients of superb goaltending from Roger Crozier.The Sabres drew with the world champions less than 24 hours after losing a matinee engagement on Broadway with the Rangers. In that one, the Sabres managed only three shots in the first period while the New Yorkers were taking 18.Against the Canadiens, the Sabres were outgunned, 25-13, for two periods, then came back to take a 20-9 advantage in the closing period.Punch Imlach, the Buffalo general manager and coach, was heartened by the club&rsquo;s strong showing at the end.&ldquo;We finally gave Crozier some support inside our own blueline,&rdquo; Imlach said. &ldquo;Our defense has been the No. 1 problem, but I must say against Montreal the defense was much improved.&ldquo;We can&rsquo;t look back to Crozier every night. The game simply can&rsquo;t be played that way.&rdquo;Imlach assigned Danny Lawson to check Frank Mahovlich, and Lawson did a great job. The &lsquo;Big M&rsquo; managed only two shots before he was banished midway through the third period with a game misconduct. Referee Bryan Lewis was the official, and Mahovlich used abusive language when Lewis failed to impose a penalty after J.C. Tremblay was tripped.&ldquo;A point against Montreal for a new team is big one,&rdquo; Imlach said. &ldquo;We looked like a real NHL club against the Canadiens, and that is what counts with me. We were hitting, skating and not giving away the puck.&rdquo;The Sabres had misplaced their skating legs, and Imlach was hopeful they had been found in good health. &ldquo;If we don&rsquo;t skate and hit people, we&rsquo;re dead,&rdquo; Imlach said. &ldquo;We don&rsquo;t figure to finesse anybody.&rdquo;The Sabres hit with authority against the Canadiens, something which had been lacking earlier this season. Doug Barrie, Jim Watson, Chris Evans and Mike Robitaille all connected with jarring body-checks and some of the forwards followed suit.ALONG THE BOARDS: Scotty Bowman, the Montreal coach, was upset when his trainers were unable to gain admittance to Memorial Auditorium until 6:30 in the morning. The Canadiens had arrived shortly after 2 from Minnesota&hellip;The Sabres scored 15 power-play goals in their first 18 games, and allowed 10 goals while playing shorthanded themselves&hellip;The Sabres sold out here for seven of their first eight games. The non-sellout was 15,010 against Los Angeles, 160 below capacity. &#9632;

f0005-01

Hitting Defense Makes Punch Smile Again

<div class="byline">&#x2014;BARTON</div>BUFFALO&mdash;The Entertainer came up with a comparatively new act in Memorial Auditorium.In a scuffle with the Montreal Canadiens&rsquo; Guy Lapointe, the Buffalo Sabres&rsquo; Eddie Shack connected with three solid head butts.Shack and Lapointe were holding each other, with neither giving signs of releasing his grip, while the Sabres&rsquo; Doug Barrie was pummeling Rejean Houle with a series of blows to the head.Finally, Shack drew Lapointe in, and connected with three butts, sometimes know as ko-ko butts in pro wrestling.A sellout throng of 15,370 responded with a thunderous cheer. &#9632;

Shack Butt New Weapon

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-02629/2921009-1-eng-US/f0005-022.jpg" title="f0005-02" width="885" height="828"></div><h2>Be A Quick Passer</h2>How quickly can you pass? You&rsquo;ll do it much faster if you keep the top hand on your stick away from your body.If you keep your top hand and arm close to your body you&rsquo;re all tied up. You lose strength and the stick blade moves in an arc rather than square to the direction of the pass.Keep your head up, too. A good stick man can control the puck by feel alone so he can watch for a body checking opponent. &#9632;

f0005-02

Hockey for Kids

Asked to name their favourite Scotch, today&rsquo;s outgoing people are finding more and more that John Begg comes most easily to their lips. Gentle in taste. Light in price. Growing in demand. Only the Scots could have perfected such a blend. How canny can you get!JOHN BEGGOLD SCOTCH WHISKYDistilled, blended and bottled in Scotland. Represented by: The Distillers Company Canada Limited<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-03472/2921054-1-eng-US/f0005-032.jpg" title="f0005-03" width="561" height="313"></div><h2>UNITED STATES LEAGUE</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-04318/2921047-1-eng-US/f0005-042.jpg" title="f0005-04" width="592" height="127"></div><h2>LEADING SCORERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-05206/2921040-1-eng-US/f0005-052.jpg" title="f0005-05" width="594" height="335"></div> &#9632;

f0005-03

The Incoming Scotch for Outgoing People

<div class="byline">BY BOB VERDI</div>CHICAGO&mdash;To call Keith Magnuson a &ldquo;new&rdquo; man would be a bogus bit of labeling, because there is still plenty of bounce to the ounce in this likeable redhead.And he still is one of the quickest chaps in the National Hockey League when it comes to dropping gloves for the purpose of throwing and accepting fists.But the popular Black Hawks&rsquo; defenseman is a little more discreet these days. After 17 games, he had gathered only 44 minutes for his sins, and that is a much slower pace than last season, when he established a league record of 291.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not consciously avoiding penalties,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;And I wouldn&rsquo;t say that I&rsquo;m mellowing. But I&rsquo;ve found that as you get more experience, you learn to pick your spots more and more.&ldquo;I might be controlling my temper a little better, but the only thing I&rsquo;m making a point to avoid are the misconducts. I got too many of them last year, and they really don&rsquo;t prove a thing.&rdquo;The NHL rules makers might also have accounted for Magnuson getting a little more ice time and a little less penalty time. During the summer, they passed legislation stating that the third man to intervene in an altercation may enjoy the rest of the evening off.This bit of strategy curtailed gang warfare, which was practiced often by the Boston Bruins. And it also tamed policemen such as Magnuson.&ldquo;Now, even if you want to go and help a teammate out in a fight, it doesn&rsquo;t pay&hellip;you get thrown out of the game,&rdquo; noticed Magnuson, with a shade of regret.&ldquo;Of course,&rdquo; he added, &ldquo;you can still do something on your own.&rdquo;Magnuson and his defense mate, Doug Jarrett, turned in an outstanding first month of the campaign. It was a decided turnabout from last spring&rsquo;s playoffs, when both were ailing and struggling. One Chicago sports caster opined that Magnuson should be traded, and that prompted considerable flack from Maggie&rsquo;s slew of followers.At any rate, Magnuson was perhaps playing as well as he ever had for the Hawks during the early portion of the season.&ldquo;I am conserving my energy more this year,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I used to stay out on the ice after practice and sometimes work for an extra hour. But now I don&rsquo;t do that as much. I try to save my strength. The other thing I&rsquo;ve been doing differently is keeping my head up more, especially when I&rsquo;m going back into my own zone. This way I have a better idea of where everybody is.&rdquo;All the Hawk rearguards, plus Goalies Tony Esposito and Gary Smith, helped the team etch an impressive record during its first seven home games. All were victories, three were shutouts, and the other four were yields of just one goal each.Another unusual aspect of the first seven home games was Chicago&rsquo;s scoring production: of their 21 goals, 15 came in the second period.&ldquo;We play it pretty close in the first period,&rdquo; Esposito analyzed. &ldquo;Then once we feel the other team out, we get our timing down a little better, and we open up a little more.&rdquo;As for Esposito, he staged a comeback of sorts on Nov. 14 when the Chicago-flavored California Golden Seals came to town. Esposito split his left index finger in a Nov. 2 practice session and had given way to Smith thereafter. Espo&rsquo;s last appearance had been in Vancouver on Halloween, when the Canucks punctured him for four goals in the third period.But against the Seals, he was strong. After allowing a first period tally, he blanked the visitors he rest of the way, although admitting &ldquo;I was a little jumpy at the strat.&rdquo;The game&mdash;a 4-1 verdict for the Hawks on four second period scores-marked the return to the Windy City for Gilles Meloche, Gerry Pinder and Paul Shmyr, all of whom were Chicago hands.&ldquo;I miss the guys and I like the city,&rdquo; said Shmyr. &ldquo;But I don&rsquo;t miss not playing. Billy Reay just doesn&rsquo;t make proper use of his reserve players.&rdquo;HAWK-EY TALK: Magnuson and Cliff Koroll, busy men but dedicated athletes, had to bow out of teaching hockey in suburban Oak Brook&rsquo;s Twin-Ice Forum&hellip;Billy Reay Jr., son of Hawks&rsquo; coach, scored the first goal of the opening game for the University of Wisconsin hockey team. Bill Jr. is a right wing&hellip;Hawks had an enviable schedule for the months of November, December and January. During that span, they were to play 24 home games and only 13 on the road&hellip;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-01744/2921085-1-eng-US/f0007-012.jpg" title="f0007-01" width="554" height="850"><figcaption class="caption-body">KEITH MAGNUSON&hellip;Less Misconducts</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0007-01

Magnuson’s New Approach

<div class="byline">&#x2014;By Bill Libby</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-01779/2921123-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg" title="f0008-01" width="277" height="362"></div><h2>Overcoming An Ordeal</h2>TWO YEARS AGO IN FEBRUARY, Pat Stapleton, Chicago&rsquo;s little defenseman, went crashing into a goal-post, wrecking his left knee. Last February, he still was recouvering from the injury, the knife which repaired the injury, and the atrophying of muscles and the stiffness of joints encased in plaster casts for a long time.&ldquo;You can&rsquo;t believe how bad the pain was,&rdquo; he admits shyly. It was just agonizing. Dr. Ted Fox, the Chicago Bears&rsquo; team physician, who took care of me, said he couldn&rsquo;t believe how bad my injury was. There are injuries and there are injuries. There are knees and there are knees. My knee injury was bad. And the rehabilitation exercises were torture.&rdquo;While he was out of action, he passed many sleepless nights worrying about his future. &ldquo;I was young enough yet to hope to play good and earn a good salary a good many more years so it wasn&rsquo;t like something which happens at the end of a guy&rsquo;s career,&rdquo; Stapleton says. I knew, of course that many guys had come back from knee injuries but my knee injury seemed so severe and it took so much longer than usual for it to begin to get better that I had my doubts.&rdquo;Pat has more than his share of responsibilities. He and his wife, Jackie, have five children&mdash;Mary. 11; Maureen, 9; Tom, 8; Susan, 6, and Mike, 5. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s a lot of mouths to feed,&rdquo; he grins.&rdquo; Of course, webrought it on ourselves. Not that it was intended exactly that way. My wife only has one sister. I only have one sister. But my sister has seven children. And I have five. It just happened. But it&rsquo;s not happening any more, I guarantee you that.&rdquo;They rent a three-bedroom house in suburban Bellwood, Illinois, from White Sox pitcher Joel Horlen winters. The boys have bunk beds, the girls trundle beds. The house is crowded, but with good cheer. &ldquo;We never felt like turning any of the kids back,&rsquo;&rsquo; Pat smiles. &ldquo;However, I can&rsquo;t pass up any pay checks, either. And I can&rsquo;t pass up any opportunities to add to my income. I&rsquo;m opening up Downer&rsquo;s Grove Ice Arena outside of Chicago this winter. And I have a 350-acre farm in Ontario where we spend our summers. Farming is hard work, but so is providing for a family with five kids.&rdquo;When Stapleton came back last season, he lacked his usual speed and mobility. Primarily a puck-carying defenseman, who rushes and passes effectively and sets up a lot of goals for the forwards, he simply couldn&rsquo;t get around the way the could before he was hurt. Chicago coach Billy Reay says, &ldquo;Pat is a fine, heady hockey player, who knows what to do with the puck, but when he was slow regaining his former form, his defense partner Bill White had to do a lot of covering up for him. White is a remarkable hockey player and he did a tremendous job doing his job and half Pat&rsquo;s as well. It was a sin when Bill wasn&rsquo;t voted All Star. It made us as a team when we got him in a trade with Los Angeles.&rdquo;That was in the last part of the 1969-70 season, when Bill, Bryan Campbell and Gerry Desjardins went to the Hawks in exchange for Gilles Marotte, Jim Stanfield and Denis DeJordy. Buried in the minors in the Toronto system and then five seasons with Eddie Shore&rsquo;s spartan Springfield club, White finally got his first chance at the NHL with expansion in the 1967-68 season. He was badly underrated in Los Angeles, where he became dissatisfied and let it affect his play, but he was the Kings&rsquo; best player for, awhile and he has been one of Chicago&rsquo;s best since the Black Hawks &ldquo;stole&rdquo; him away.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-02689/2921116-1-eng-US/f0008-022.jpg" title="f0008-02" width="559" height="890"><figcaption class="caption-body">PAT STAPLETON&hellip;Coming Back Wasn&rsquo;t Easy</figcaption></div><h2>A Helping Hand</h2>STAPLETON WAS VOTED SECOND ALL STAR last season, while White got blanked. And then Stapleton stood out with 17 assists in the playoffs and White was overshadowed, although some felt Bill was the best defensive player in the post-season play. White, a 6-2, 190-pounder, now 32 and in his 12th pro season and fifth in the majors, shrugs and says, &ldquo;I guess I&rsquo;m one of those guys who isn&rsquo;t flashy and doesn&rsquo;t attract a lot of attention. But I&rsquo;m happy in Chicago and happy that my bosses and my teammates feel I&rsquo;m doing a job. Helping out Pat when he needed it was just a job that had to be done. Normally, Pat doesn&rsquo;t need any help. He does certain things very well and I do certain things and we fit together well. I can tell you, he got better game after game.&rdquo;That Stapleton did, completing a remarkable comeback. &ldquo;Just when I felt it was never going to come back, it began to happen,&rdquo; he says, &ldquo;but I&rsquo;d have been in serious trouble if it hadn&rsquo;t been for White. He carried me on his back for awhile.&rdquo; It was quite a burden, although Pat is only 5-8 and 185 pounds. He and White often are referred to as a &ldquo;Mutt and Jeff&rsquo; combination. Now 31, Stapleton, too, has been underrated and overlooked in his life. In his 12th pro season, too, and seventh in Chicago, Boston gave him only 1 1/2 years up top while burying him down below for many years He was considered too small. But he is husky and a brilliant all-around player and as tough as they come.&ldquo;I waited a long time for my chance and then I was afraid it was over all too soon,&rdquo; Irish Paddy sighs. &ldquo;All the time I was out, my wife never said a word about my future and we never discussed that I might be finished because we were afraid to talk about it. When I came back, I was surprised how fast others skated. That&rsquo;s because I no longer was skating fast. But the coach stayed with me and my partner stayed by my side and I got faster and stronger and better and if we hadn&rsquo;t lost the Stanley Cup in the seventh game of the finals I&rsquo;d have been a happy man at season&rsquo;s end.&rdquo; Now it is another season and he is playing well and still skating scared. &ldquo;An athlete always worries about a knee&rdquo; he admits. &ldquo;I banged mine into the boards this season and tore up the operation a little.&rdquo; he sighed. &#9632;

f0008-01

Hockey Ad Lib

<div class="byline">BY DONALD BERNS</div>ST. LOUIS&mdash;The St. Louis Blues have some more adjustments to make after a big seven-player trade and an unfortunate injury to Noel Picard.The Blues are off to a slow start this season, and part of the problem has been the meshing of old and new players. Bill McCreary. the team&rsquo;s second coach of the season. has complained that his players are skating as individuals and &ldquo;not playing well collectively.&rdquo;But the Blues have decided to gamble with their recent big trade with the New York Rangers. The Blues gave Gene Cart. Wayne Connelly and Jim Lorentz in exchange for Andre Dupont. Jack Egers, Mike Murphy and another player to be named later.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-03569/2921154-1-eng-US/f0008-032.jpg" title="f0008-03" width="277" height="433"><figcaption class="caption-body">Noel Picard</figcaption></div>The 20-year-old Carr was the Blues&rsquo; top amateur draft choice six months ago, and his trade was a shock to those who had seen him jump into the Blues&rsquo; lineup from the Flin Flon Bombers. Carr had played well with flashes of brilliance, and everyone in the Blues&rsquo; organization agreed that the husky blond youngster will be one of the great ones.General manager Sid Abel said after the trade. &ldquo;Carr is and will be a heck of a player. If we had got off to a good star, we might not have considered it. But something had to be done.&rdquo;The 31-year-old Connelly, a right wing, is valuable primarily because of his blazing accurate shot and had been to the Blues in the Garry Unger-Red Berenson trade, that also sent Tim Ecclestone to Detroit. Although Connelly is a consistent scorer, he apparently was considered expendable by the Blues because of his age on a club whose average age has been steadily dropping since Jacques Plante was traded to Toronto.Lorentz was a high scorer in the minor leagues in the Boston organization, and the Blues believed that the Bruins simply could not work him into their lineup. So the Blues acquired Lorentz before last season. But their disappointment in the young forward had grown, and Lorentz was not given the opportunity he wanted&mdash;playing at his normal center position rather than at wing.The trade was made known just a few hours after the announcement that Picard had suffered a compound fracture of the right foot, ankle and heel in a horseback-riding mishap. The big defenseman had been riding alone near Ironton, Mo., when the horse reared, and the horse&rsquo;s rump fell on Picard&rsquo;s foot. Picard underwent emergency surgery at Jewish Hospital in St. Louis and will be out of action indefinitely. The fracture is severe, and the recuperative period could take virtually the entire season.Dupont, a defenseman, appeared to be a replacement for Picard, although Dupont is lefthanded. and Picard right handed. With the loss of Picard the only right handed defenseman the Blues had was Jim Roberts, who also occasionally plays forward. Bob Plager is lefthanded but has been playing on the opposite side.Dupont was playing at Providence at the time of the trade. He was the Rangers&rsquo; top draft choice in 1969. He had played seven games with the Rangers last season but has spent most of the last two years at Omaha, where last season he was named the Central Hockey League&rsquo;s leading defenseman and shared the league&rsquo;s most valuable player award eith Gerry Ouellette. Peter McDuffe and Joe Zanussi.Dupont is 22. Egers 22. and Murphy 21. Egers played 60 games with the Rangers last season and had 17 points. He had been the scoring champ the previous year in the CHL with 42 goals and 49 assists. Murphy was the CHL&rsquo;s rookie of the year last season with 24 goals and had one goal in eight games with Omaha at the time of the trade. &#9632;

f0008-03

Injury To Picard, Multi Player Swap Shakes Up Blues

<div class="byline">BY BILL LIBBY</div>LOS ANGELES&mdash;In their four-plus seasons, the Los Angeles Kings, lacking many good defensive players, have been hard on their goal-tenders. Along the way, veterans such as Terry Sawchuk and Denis DeJordy proved inequal to the bombardment to which they were subjected, but youngsters such as Wayne Rutledge and Gerry Desjardins did sparkle before paling.In their first season, the Kings uncovered in Rutledge a tough rookie who proved he could handle pressure. In their second season, the club came up with Desjardins, who had an even more spectacular rookie campaign. No team in the NHL seemed as well protected in the nets for the long run.People forget how good Rutledge was in backstopping the team to nearly a .500 finish, a percentage the team has not even remotely approached since. And Desjardins was even better for a less effective club, winning or keeping them in 1-0 and 2-1 and 3-2 games they since have been losing 7-0 and 8-1 and 11-2.But Rutledge rusted away with a lingering groin injury and was returned to the minors and Desjardins grew dejected with defeats and gave in to injuries and was traded with Bill White, a super defenseman, to Chicago for Gilles Marotte and DeJordy in a disappointing deal. Today. Rutledge lingers in the minors, while Desjardins&rsquo; future seems periled by the failure of a broken arm to mend. And the Kings still are seeking to solve their net woes.Recently, they gave their best voting defense prospect. Red Hoganson, and others to Montreal for young veteran goaler Rog Vachon, who since, as of mid November. has lost his three starts for the team, though he is a good goaler and is not to be held responsible.Earlier, during the off-season. the Kings drafted Gary Edwards, who has been overshadowed, but who was in goal for all three of the Kings&rsquo; victories and their one tie in their first 17 games this season, so deserves some spotlight.Manager-Coach Larry Regan opened the season with Edwards, who tied in Oakland. 4-4, and won in Vancouver. 4-3. For awhile then he alternated with DeJordy. but Gary broke the team&rsquo;s four-game losing streak with his first big league shutout. 7-0. in Philadelphia.After Regan was replaced by Fred Glover as coach, DeJordy. then Vachon worked in the nets while Edwards waited. When another losing streak had reached seven straight, Glover tried Edwards for the first time and Gary responded by snapping another slump with a 4-2 victory in Buffalo.Several nights later. Edwards got another shot and was almost killed. 11-2, in Boston, but that can happen to a King goal-tender facing a Bruin attack.Edwards is only 5-9 and 160 pounds, is not sure of all the angles yet and gives too many rebounds, but he tries hard and is tough. All his triumphs have come on the road.He really hasn&rsquo;t had much experience at the age of 24. A Toronto boy, St. Louis got him out of the Leaf system and turned him pro in the 1968-69 season, but gave him only one full game in the NHL. Buffalo drafted him prior to last season, but didn&rsquo;t even give him a game up top.Most of his prior three-year career has been spent playing 30 to 35 games a season in the minors with Kansas City. Last season, he missed two months with a shoulder separation. then was sent to San Diego&rdquo; for the rest of the season.&rdquo; He no more had driven there with all his possessions than he was recalled, had to fly back to K.C. and lived out of a suitcase the rest of the way.He guarded the goal as his team won 18 of its last 22 games in a drive for the Central League playoffs that just missed, finished with a fine 2.58 goals against average and L.A. grabbed him. He never had been given a chance to beat out veterans such as Glenn Hall, Jacques Plante and Roger Crozier in other camps, but he made the club when he got a chance with the Kings.If he survives this season he may have an NHL future.He admits, &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been nervous at times. I&rsquo;m just learning and I have a long way to go. Every goal I give up could cost the team a victory it needs badly. But 1 want to play. I don&rsquo;t mind Vachon playing, too, just so I play my share. All we can do is do our best in the nets and take all the help the other guys can give us and not let our spirits get down.&rdquo; &#9632;

Edwards Hopes To End Myth

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0009-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-01758/2921209-1-eng-US/f0009-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">DARRYL MAGGS&hellip;Chicago Black Hawks</figcaption></div>Young Darryl Maggs of the Chicago Black Hawks is a unique rookie. The freshman hopeful of the Hawks came into the NHL this season as a defenseman and ended up making the grade as a right winger. Maggs, a six-foot-one, 195-pounder, played defense for Dallas of the CHL last year and arrived in the Chicago camp this season bidding for a backline berth. But the Hawks converted him to an at-tacker because of this checking proficiency and he made the club. Maggs scored 14 times and added 36 assists with Dallas in 1970-71, which is a tipoff on why Chicago moved him to the attack. &#9632;

f0009-01

MEET THE ROOKIES

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-02692/2921240-1-eng-US/f0009-022.jpg" title="f0009-02" width="362" height="578"><figcaption class="caption-body">JACQUES PLANTE</figcaption></div>Since 1955 I have been working to find a mask that could combine: protection, good visibility and lightness. I was never completely satisfied until I found the &ldquo;FUTURAMIC&rdquo; model last year&hellip;with the stream lines to deflect pucks easier.I am now offering you this same &ldquo;FUTURAMIC&rdquo; mask that I, and many of the best goalies in the world use.I have so much confidence in them, that I will replace each one that might break under normal use. Furthermore, an insurance company has insured each mask for ONE MILLION dollars, against bodily damages. No company would have done so, if they didn&rsquo;t have faith in my mask.You should find them in your local sport stores. If not, write me at: 1259 Didace street, Magog, P.Q., Canada and will gladly send you some literature. The masks sell from $12.00 to $22.50 in Canada. (Two dollars more in the United States and Europe).FIBROSPORT INC.JACQUES PLANTE PRESIDENT &#9632;

f0009-02

MILLION DOLLAR MASK

<div class="byline">BY GIL SMITH</div>MONTREAL&mdash;&ldquo;My great, good friend Marc Tardif is a very underrated hockey player,&rdquo; says Habs&rsquo; Rejean Houle. &ldquo;He doesn&rsquo;t look like he&rsquo;s doing much on the ice, but give him a slight opening around the net and bang! he scores.&rdquo;Houle makes a pretty fair assessment of his pal&rsquo;s ability. Tardif is the &ldquo;sleeping giant&rdquo; type who looks like he&rsquo;s just out for a skate, but who suddenly erupts for goals. Just when you think he&rsquo;s out of the play completely, he gets the puck and rifles it past a startled netminder.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s dangerous,&rdquo; says Minnesota&rsquo;s Gump Worsley, who recently watched Tardif whip three shots past him for what amounted to the kid&rsquo;s second hat trick in the NHL. &ldquo;And, the reason he&rsquo;s dangerous is because he looks like he ain&rsquo;t doing anything.&rdquo;Tardif&rsquo;s performance against the Gumper capped a mid-November weekend during which he scored four of Canadiens&rsquo; seven goals against Minnesota and Buffalo. It brought his goal count to 11 for that part of the season and made him the best sniper on the squad after Frank Mahovlich.It also put him well ahead of last year&rsquo;s pace when he finished with 19 goals in 76 games.In his brief career with Canadiens&mdash;he came up from the Voyageurs in &lsquo;69-70 and played 18 games, then went the full route, less two games, last year&mdash;Tardif has shown great promise. He can skate, shoot and score; and, when the mood seizes him, can also check. At 6&rsquo; and 180-Ibs he has the size, too. But, for awhile, people wondered a bit about his desire. Quite a bit, in fact.Maybe Tardif was a raging inferno underneath a calm exterior, but he seemed indifferent to what was going on around him. He cruised around the way Frank Mahovlich and Dick Duff used to when they were in Punch Imlach&rsquo;s doghouse in Toronto, and he didn&rsquo;t reach for a pass that was a foot-and-a-half away from his stick. Off the ice, he was as silent as Henri Richard used to be when he first came up and played in the shadow of the Rocket. But, there was one thing Tardif had that Henri never did. A fluent, voluble spokesman who polished Tardif&rsquo;s image with the press. The spokesman was his long time buddy. Rejean Houle.&ldquo;Don&rsquo;t misunderstand my great friend Marc,&rdquo; Houle would say as writers eyed the glowering figure of Tardif in the Hab dressing room. &ldquo;If he doesn&rsquo;t speak it&rsquo;s not because he&rsquo;s unfriendly. He&rsquo;s just shy. Wait&rsquo;ll he knows you better. He&rsquo;ll speak. He&rsquo;s a wonderful fellow.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-01775/2921295-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg" title="f0010-01" width="544" height="569"><figcaption class="caption-body">MARC TARDIF&hellip;World Of Potential</figcaption></div>On the ice, Tardif showed good progress as last season rolled along; got his first hattrick against Philadelphia, and notched 133 minutes in penalties while proving that he wasn&rsquo;t going to back away from NHL baiters. He had three goals in the 20 playoff games last spring, and also took 40 minutes in penalties. He finished the regular season with 49 points and all agreed that he possessed a world of potential. This year, a good bit of that potential may be realized.HAB-BITS: Rushing rear, guard Guy Lapointe has been one of the real bright spots for Habs in the early going. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m carrying the puck into the other team&rsquo;s zone more,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;I seem to have more confidence.&rdquo; He&rsquo;s also playing both sides of the ice, works the power play, kills some penalties and recently played his 100th game in a Canadiens&rsquo; uniform&hellip;Pierre Bouchard, son of the famed Butch of by-gone Canadiens days, is following his dad&rsquo;s footsteps in some respects at any rate. He&rsquo;s opening a steakhouse on the premises of his father&rsquo;s restaurant in Montreal&hellip;Canadiens have been playing two good periods of hockey in most of their games this year, and counting on Ken Dryden to keep them alive in the other 20 minutes. Dryden continues to be the bane of NHL super-stars. &ldquo;When you go in on goal against Dryden,&rdquo; says Boston&rsquo;s Phil Esposito, &ldquo;you got only one thing to shoot at Him.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0010-01

Habs’ Tardif Foots Rivals With Lazy Look’ On Ice

Following are the latest player movements in hockey:<h2>NATIONAL LEAGUE</h2>NEW YORK Jack Egers, and Mike Murphy forwards, Andre Dupont, defenseman, and unnamed player to be delivered later, traded to St. Louis in exchange for Gene Carr, Wayne Connelly and Jim Lorentz, forwards. Connelly. Dave Balon and Ron Stewart, forwards, traded to Vancouver for Gary Doak, defenseman, and Jim Wiste, forward, who was later assigned to Providence of AHL to replace Stewart.PHILADELPHIA&mdash;Larry Mickey, forward, traded to Buffalo in exchange for Larry Keenan, forward. Lew Morrison, recalled from Richmond of AHL. Rick MacLeish, forward, assigned to Richmond.ST. LOUIS&mdash;Bill Plager, defenseman. recalled from Denver of WHL. John Arbour, defenseman assigned to Denver as replacement.LOS ANGELES&mdash;Bill Mikkelson, defenseman. recalled from Springfield of AHL as replacement for Paul Curtis defenseman. placed on disabled list with kneee injury.PITTSBURGH&mdash;Brian McKenzie, forward, returned to Hershey of AHL.BUFFALO&mdash;Reg Fleming, forward, recalled from Cincinnati of AHL and reassigned to Salt Lake of WHL.DETROIT&mdash;Art Stratton, forward, purchased from Seattle of WHL and Jim Adair, forward. claimed from Oklahoma City of CHL on waivers. Both players sent to Tidewater of AHL.BOSTON&mdash;Ivan Boldirev, traded to California in return for Chris Oddliefson forward, and a player to be named later. Oddliefson assigned to Boston Braves of AHL.CALIFORNIA&mdash;Richard Leduc, forward, recalled from Cleveland of AHL and loaned to Boston for reassignment to Boston Braves of AHL. Gary Kurt, goalkeeper, sent to Baltimore of AHL.VANCOUVER&mdash;Bobby Lalonde, forward, assigned to Rochester of AHL.<h2>AMERICAN LEAGUE</h2>HERSHEY&mdash;Bob Fitchner, forward, assigned to Fort Wayne of IHL.NOVA SCOTIA&mdash;Michel Poirier, defenseman, assigned to Muskegon of IHL. Bernie Blanchette, sold to St. Louis of NHL for reassignment.<h2>WESTERN LEAGUE</h2>SALT LAKE&mdash;Joe Robertson, forward, sent to Seattle of WHL.DENVER&mdash;Dave Pulkkinen, defenseman, returned to Kansas City of CHL.SEATTLE&mdash;Barry Meissner, forward, secured from Providence of AHL. Dave Dunn and Tom Riley, defensemen, secured from Rochester of AHL. Tommy McVie, forward, removed from active roster.PORTLAND&mdash;Connie Madigan, defenseman, returned to active roster after completing 30-day suspension. Dave Woodley, defenseman, removed from active roster.PHOENIX&mdash;Frank Hughes, forward, secured from, California of NHL.<h2>CENTRAL LEAGUE</h2>FORT WAYNE&mdash;Herb Boxer and Al Genovy, forwards, assigned to Port Huron of IHL.KANSAS CITY&mdash;Derek Harker, defenseman, sent to Port Huron of IHL.OKLAHOMA CITY Dave Forbes and Ken Tarnow, for wards, called up from Dayton of IHL on five-game pro tryouts.DALLAS&mdash;Ron Dussiaume, forward, sent to Tidewater of &lsquo;AHL on loan.<h2>INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE</h2>PORT HURON&mdash;Billy Le-Caine, forward, returned to active roster from retired list. Steve Sutherland, forward, returned to active roster off injury list. Phil Wittleff, forward, assigned to New Jersey of EHL after coming off injury list.FORT WAYNE&mdash;Danny Jones, forward, released and returned to home in Ponoka, Alta.TOLEDO&mdash;Jim Paterson, forward, secured from Providence of AHL.MUSKEGON&mdash;Bob Smith, forward, returned to active roster. Marty Desmarais, forward placed on waivers.COLUMBUS&mdash;Roy Atcheynum, defenseman, dropped from roster.<h2>EASTERN LEAGUE</h2>SUN COAST&mdash;Bob Malcolm, defenseman, secured from Clinton of EHL. Gregg Philling, forward, signed as free agent after return from Switzerland. Pete Sullivan, forward, returned to Muskegon of IHL. Terry Sexsmith, forward rejoined club after being released.NEW HAVEN&mdash;Bobby Guindon, forward, secured from Muskegon of IHL to replace Dwight Winters, forward, who went on disabled list.GREENSBORO&mdash;Ken Rzepecki, defenseman, placed on disabled list with knee injury.CHARLOTTE&mdash;Jack Wells, forward, signed as free agent. John Morrison, forward, on disabled list with injured shoulder.LONG ISLAND&mdash;J.P. Mallette, forward, quit team and announced retirement. Gerry Lamoureux, forward added to roster as replacement.STRACUSE&mdash;Leejnglis, forward, on disabled list with leg injury. Greg Stamler, forward, sent to Jacksonville of EHL. Joe Mutch, and John Gruen, defensemen, placed on waivers. &#9632;

Movements of Players

<div class="byline">BY BOB SMIZIK</div>PITTSBURGH&mdash;While the Penguins were agonizing through a nine-game winless streak (0-7-2) in early November, Coach Red Kelly was searching everywhere for a scoring punch to go with his Syl Apps, Greg Polis, Jean Pronovost line.He experimented this way and that way, but with little success. Meanwhile, all the time the answer was right before his nose.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-01766/2921326-1-eng-US/f0011-012.jpg" title="f0011-01" width="266" height="428"><figcaption class="caption-body">Bryan Hextall</figcaption></div>Kelly reunited the line of Bryan Hextall, Ken Schinkel and Ron Schock in St. Louis and the results were electrifying. It was the same line the Penguins coach had begun the season with, but which had done little in the way of scoring.But when they got back together again, wow!It started slowly at St. Louis (Nov. 9) with Hextall getting the winning goal in a 4-1 victory on an assist from Schinkel. Schinkel also assisted rookie Brian McKenzie on his first NHL goal and Schock got an assist on Rene Robert&rsquo;s power play goal.The line really got going the next night against Vancouver as Hextall boomed home two goals in a 3-1 victory. Schinkel assisted on both and Shock on one.Two nights later the real explosion came. Hextall and Schinkel scored twice and had two assists and Schock chipped in with two assists in a 6-4 win over Los Angeles.In the three-game span the line had seven goals and 19 points.In the previous 15 games they had scored only four goals and 16 points. Some turnabout.Hextall looked on the surge by his line philosophically. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve just had good chances to put the puck in the net,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;You can go along and work hard, but you don&rsquo;t get the chance. Now I&rsquo;m getting them.&rdquo;Hextall&rsquo;s scoring splurge came after he had switched from a conventional straight-bladed stick to one that was slightly curved. The curve of the stick helps him with his back handed shot.&ldquo;With the straight blade my back hand shots were always going high,&rdquo; said Hextall. &ldquo;But with the curved blade they stay down better.&rdquo;Accordingly, Hextall&rsquo;s first three goals during his streak came on back handers, all from almost exactly the same spot&mdash;25 feet out and slightly to the left of the goal.Schinkel believed his turnabout came in St. Louis when Kelly started his line and left them on for every shift.&ldquo;That gave us the confidence to get going. That makes quite a difference to a guy. Even if you make some bad passes, you&rsquo;re not looking to see if you&rsquo;re going to be yanked,&rdquo; he said.Earlier in the season Schinkel, who was voted the starting right wing for the Western Division in last season&rsquo;s All-Star game, had been playing sporadically and sometimes wasn&rsquo;t even dressing.&ldquo;I was more or less feeling sorry for myself,&rdquo; he said.&rdquo; I knew I wasn&rsquo;t playing well and letting the team down. That&rsquo;s what hurt me more than anything.&rdquo;Now the hurt is gone.PENGUIN PATTER: Greg Polis snapped out of his two-week slump by scoring five goals in a seven-game period. Jim Rutherford returned to the net against Los Angeles after a 20day layoff and defeated the Kings, 6-4. Except for a six-minute lapse at the start of the third period when the Kings scored three goals, Rutherford performed well.Tim Horton, who broke his ankle Oct. 20, is back skating and Kelly expects the 41-year-old defensemen to be back in the lineup by December&mdash;possibly sooner.With Horton in the lineup at the start of the season the Penguins were 5-1. After he broke his leg they went on a nine-game winless streak. &#9632;

f0011-01

Hextall Line Putting New Punch In Pens With Rash Of Goals

<div class="byline">BY HAL SIGURDSON</div>VANCOUVER&mdash;The Vancouver Canucks have gambled on defense for goals in an all-out bid to win the race for the National Hockey League&rsquo;s fourth playoff spot in the Eastern Division.Desperate for more scoring power on their left and right flanks, the Canucks acquired left winger Dave Balon, right winger Wayne Connelly and veteran penalty killer and utility player Ron Stewart.But the price was high. The Canucks gave up Gary Doak, their best defensive defenseman, and minor league centre Jim Wiste, who had been playing in Seattle.Technically it was two-for-three deal with the New York Rangers, but actually it was a three-cornered affair with the St. Louis Blues the third trading partner.A day before completing the deal with Vancouver, Ranger general manager-coach Emile Francis sent Jack Egers, Mike Murphy and Andre Dupont to St. Louis for rookie Gene Carr, Jim Lorentz and Connelly.Connelly was acquired specifically to complete the deal with Vancouver for Doak, Connelly had played for Canucks&rsquo; general manager Bud Poile when he was with San Francisco of the Western League.In two seasons there Connelly scored 36 and 45 goals, and nothing will impress a GM a like a player with 81 goals in two seasons, even if they were in the minor leagues.And, when you consider that Connelly scored 35 goals with Minnesota and 23 with Detroit, then you can appreciate what the Canucks were trying to do.In acquiring Connelly, Balon and Stewart, the Canucks suddenly got over 2,000 games of NHL experience and a trio that has scored over 500 goals in the big league.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-03512/2921357-1-eng-US/f0012-032.jpg" title="f0012-03" width="259" height="443"><figcaption class="caption-body">Dave Balon</figcaption></div>With the exception of elder statesman Orland Kurtenbach, the one thing the Canucks have lacked is a few old timers who could settle down the youngsters.&ldquo;I expect that Balon, Connelly and Stewart will be talking playoffs from the day they arrive,&rdquo; said Laycoe. &ldquo;Guys who have been there before (in the playoffs) should act as leaders on our team.&rdquo;Until the new trio arrived on the scene, the most experienced and highest scoring Canuck player was the veteran center Kurtenbach, who has had 85 goals in 480 NHL games.&ldquo;What we gave up was a fine 25-year-old defenseman for three players who have proven that they can play and score in the National League,&rdquo; said Laycoe. &ldquo;The scoring exploits of Balon and Connelly are well known and I think they are both young enough to be prolific scorers for years to come.&rdquo;Stewart, of course, is recognized as one of the really good penalty killers in the National League and Laycoe added: &ldquo;I know he didn&rsquo;t play regularly for the New York Rangers at right wing but that doesn&rsquo;t mean to say that he couldn&rsquo;t play there for the Vancouver hockey club.&rdquo;Laycoe said that trying to fit his new players into the lineup was like being back at training camp, but it also sounded as though he was enjoying working on his new problem. &#9632;

f0012-03

Canucks Sacrificed Defense For Scoring In Trade

<div class="byline">BY JIM ROBSON</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-01745/2921395-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg" title="f0012-01" width="341" height="348"></div>LA SOIREE DU HOCKEYVANCOUVER&mdash;I&rsquo;ve got the best job in the world. I know that because all my friends tell me I have, but you know, they are right. Hockey broadcasters and hockey players are among the few people who are doing just what they want to do, and how many readers of this HOCKEY NEWS are fortunate enough to be in the same position?The best part of my job is probably getting a complimentary letter from a shut in, which happens once in a while, but you get all kinds of letters. One of the letters I received last year said I was too much like Bill Hewitt. Another asked, &ldquo;why can&rsquo;t you be like Bill Hewitt&rdquo;. Several letters a year come from youngsters wanting to be hockey announcers. I tell them the secret is to be in the right place at the right time. Believe me, I was the hockey broadcaster in Vancouver at the right time and the NHL boom has really hit Canada&rsquo;s far west.One night a week, our Canuck broadcast is carried by 22 radio stations in Western Canada, from Saskatchewan West&hellip;And crowd reaction at pre-season games on the Prairies indicates the majority are Canuck fans. But like all hockey fans in Canada, Canuck fans are knowledegable and somewhat critical and are getting impatient for more victories. Vancouver won 24 games last season, a very commendable first year effort, but winning many more this season is going to be difficult. The Canucks are being taken seriously this time &lsquo;round.Vancouver has improved over last year, but it&rsquo;s doubtful the improvement is enough to make the playoffs. There are too many question marks, such as unproven NHL goalkeeping, inexperience on defense and a lack of size up front.Many ask, what&rsquo;s the best city to visit in the NHL? That&rsquo;s easy. Montreal.That&rsquo;s where the broadcast location is the best, the atmosphere is the best, where hockey is king and where the scenery is the finest in the land&mdash;And I don&rsquo;t mean mountains, lakes and streams.Toronto is an exciting place to watch hockey too, as there&rsquo;s so much tradition wrapped up in Maple Leaf Gardens.Our broadcast location in New York is poor&mdash;miles away from the action, in fact many of the buildings don&rsquo;t really seem to care about providing good broadcast facilities.But when I look over the vast NHL map, soon to extend all the way to Atlanta, I&rsquo;m most happy to be the voice of the Canucks. Vancouver is a great city, and as I said before, I&rsquo;ve got the best job in the world.In the December 17th issue our guest editor will be Bob Goldham, TV commentator in Toronto.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-02647/2921388-1-eng-US/f0012-022.jpg" title="f0012-02" width="263" height="432"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jim Robson</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0012-01

HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA

MONTREAL&mdash;As far as Yvan Cournoyer of Montreal Canadiens and Minnesota&rsquo;s Dean Prentice are concerned, the night of Tuesday, Nov. 16 will always have a significant place in their hockey lives.It&rsquo;s a night they&rsquo;ll remember as the time they both reached important but separate milestones in their National Hockey League careers.For Prentice it was doubly thrilling. It pushed the 39-year-old left winger into 12th place in the all-time big league hockey lists as he scored the 350th goal of his 19-year NHL career.For the younger Cournoyer it marked the achievement of notching his 200th career goal in a little over seven years as a big leaguer.Ironically both men attained their milestone goals under almost similar circumstances.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-02684/2921433-1-eng-US/f0013-022.jpg" title="f0013-02" width="549" height="583"><figcaption class="caption-body">DEAN PRENTICE&hellip;Another Milestone</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-01733/2921426-1-eng-US/f0013-012.jpg" title="f0013-01" width="1157" height="1578"><figcaption class="caption-body">YVAN COURNOYER&hellip;Stepping Up The Ladder (Hockey News Photo by Robert Shaver)</figcaption></div>While Cournoyer was blasting three past California. Prentice was firing two by the Pittsburgh Penguins., the team that dumped him early this season as being too old for the NHL.In reaching his latest scoring plateau, Prentice moved past a former Ranger teammate, Andy Bathgate into 12th spot on the all-time list. &#9632;

f0013-02

Prentice Joins NHL’s 350-Coal Scorers

Here&rsquo;s how the top 13 scorers rate after games played last weekend: 1. Gordie Howe, 786; 2. Bobby Hull, 564; 3. Maurice Richard, 544; 4. Jean Beliveau, 507; 5. Frank Mahovlich, 436; 6. Norm Ullman, 421; 7. Alex Delvecchio, 420; 8. Bernie Geoffrion, 393; 9. Ted Lindsay, 379; 10. John Bucyk 373; 11. Stan Mikita 357; 12. Prentice 351. 13. Bathgate 349. &#9632;

Top Scorers

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0014-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-01733/2921600-1-eng-US/f0014-012.jpg"></div><h2>TOP 25 SCORERS</h2>(Including Games of Sunday, Nov. 20)<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-1644/2921593-1-eng-US/f0014-162.jpg" title="f0014-16" width="1396" height="818"></div><h2>BOSTON Bruins</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-02622/2921586-1-eng-US/f0014-022.jpg" title="f0014-02" width="728" height="781"></div><h2>BUFFALO Sabres</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-03484/2921579-1-eng-US/f0014-032.jpg" title="f0014-03" width="726" height="788"></div><h2>CALIFORNIA Seals</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-04352/2921572-1-eng-US/f0014-042.jpg" title="f0014-04" width="728" height="764"></div><h2>CHICAGO Black Hawks</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-05263/2921565-1-eng-US/f0014-052.jpg" title="f0014-05" width="722" height="694"></div><h2>DETROIT Red Wings</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-06222/2921558-1-eng-US/f0014-062.jpg" title="f0014-06" width="732" height="765"></div><h2>LOS ANGELES Kings</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-1742/2921551-1-eng-US/f0014-172.jpg" title="f0014-17" width="734" height="775"></div><h2>MINNESOTA North Stars</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-07180/2921544-1-eng-US/f0014-072.jpg" title="f0014-07" width="732" height="664"></div><h2>MONTREAL Canadiens</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-08154/2921537-1-eng-US/f0014-082.jpg" title="f0014-08" width="730" height="721"></div><h2>NEW YORK Rangers</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-09140/2921530-1-eng-US/f0014-092.jpg" title="f0014-09" width="740" height="726"></div><h2>PHILADELPHIA Flyers</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-10124/2921523-1-eng-US/f0014-102.jpg" title="f0014-10" width="732" height="750"></div><h2>PITTSBURGH Penguins</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-11111/2921516-1-eng-US/f0014-112.jpg" title="f0014-11" width="728" height="864"></div><h2>ST. LOUIS Blues</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-12100/2921509-1-eng-US/f0014-122.jpg" title="f0014-12" width="728" height="786"></div><h2>TORONTO Maple Leats</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-1383/2921502-1-eng-US/f0014-132.jpg" title="f0014-13" width="722" height="790"></div><h2>VANCOUVER Canucks</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-1464/2921495-1-eng-US/f0014-142.jpg" title="f0014-14" width="728" height="786"></div><h2>NHL&rsquo;S EAST-WEST SCOREBOARD</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-1555/2921488-1-eng-US/f0014-152.jpg" title="f0014-15" width="1428" height="206"></div>(Statistics include games of Sunday, Nov. 21) &#9632;

f0014-01

PLAYERS SCORING-PENALTY RECORDS

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0015-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-01707/2921631-1-eng-US/f0015-012.jpg"></div>MONTREAL&mdash;The National Hockey League&rsquo;s goalkeepers&rsquo; race is almost as intense as the individual scoring battle going on at the moment between Boston and New York players.In the netminding race, however, it&rsquo;s the Chicago Black Hawks who are stealing the thunder. The Hawks&rsquo; duo of Tony Esposito&mdash;who leads in shutouts with three&mdash;and Gary Smith have an average of 1.65 goals-against per game to hold top spot. Right behind is Minnesota&rsquo;s combination of Lome Worsley and Cesare Maniago with 1.70.Best personal mark in the NHL belongs to Rangers&rsquo; Gilles Villemure with 1.22 in nine games. He has not lost a game this season in nine starts&hellip;.In the won-lost category, Montreal&rsquo;s Ken Dryden is the big winnel with a 12-1-5 mark followed by Esposito, who is 9 and 3. Ed Johnston of Boston is 8-2 and Maniago fourth with 8-3.<h2>COMPLETE GOALKEEPING RECORDS FOR NHL TEAMS &#9632;</h2>

f0015-01

Hawks’ Esposito, Smith Maintain Goaling Lead

MONTREAL&mdash;Boston Bruins&rsquo; Phil Esposito is only one point behind his pace of last season but he isn&rsquo;t nearly as comfortable as individual leader in the National Hockey League&rsquo;s list of scoring leaders.The rangy center has 15 goals&mdash;one more than he had after 19 games in 1970-71&mdash;and 19 assists for 34 points. Last season he held a seven point lead over teammate Ken Hodge. Now he has only a slim two-point lead over Vic Hadfield of New York. In fact, the entire Ranger line of Hadfield, Jean Ratelie and Rod Gilbert is in a record-pursuing chase against Esposito.Ratelle and Gilbert are tied with Boston defenseman Bobby Orr for third place with 31 points each, five more than rookie sensation Richard Martin of Buffalo. Last season&rsquo;s record-breaking rookie, Gilbert Perreault of Buffalo, is seventh with 25 points.Esposito and Frank Mahovlich of Canadiens share the goal-scoring lead with 15 goals each, one more than Hadfield, Ratelle, Martin and Marc Tardif of Montreal. Orr is the assist leader with 22.Most of the scoring leaders this season have improved greatly on their records of last season. Here are the 10 leaders with their 1970-71 corresponding figures in brackets: Esposito, 15 goals, 19 assists, 34 points (14, 21, 35); Hadfield, 14-18&mdash;32 (8-8&mdash;16); Ratelle, 14-17&mdash;31 (10-10&mdash;20); Gilbert, 13-18&mdash;31 (7-9&mdash;16), Orr, 9-22&mdash;31 (6-20&mdash;26); Martin, 14-12&mdash;26 (no record); Perreault 9-16&mdash;25 (10-7&mdash;17); Stan Mikita, Chicago, 915&mdash;24 (2-12&mdash;14) Murray Oliver, Minnesota, 9&mdash;13&mdash;22 (2-4&mdash;6); Norm Ullman, Toronto, 5-17&mdash;22 (8-7&mdash;15).Ratelie, incidentally, became the first player to score four goals in one game this season as he led Rangers to a 12-1 march over California in a game which broke several Rangers&rsquo; records and tied or broke two NHL marks. He was the 14th player to score at least three goals in one game this season. There were two three-goal games at this time a year ago.Although he did not receive a penalty last week, Philadelphia defenseman Rick Foley is still penalty leader with 67 minutes, seven more than Barclay Plager of St. Louis. &#9632;

NHL WEEK—In Review

<h2>In The East</h2>Jean Ratelle and his Ranger &lsquo;Hot Line&rsquo; teammates Rod Gilbert and Vic Hadfield are virtually tearing up the National Hockey League and their scoring exploits could head them right for an NHL point record at their present pace.Ratelle turned in the league&rsquo;s first four-goal performance of the season as he led the New Yorkers&rsquo; 12I rout of the California Seals, raising his season count to 14 goals, 17 assists and 31 points, good for third place in the individual scoring race.Ratelle, already 11-points ahead of his 1970-71 pace, led a 23-point one period onslaught against California with his four goals to set an NHL record.The Rangers are back in first place in the East Division race thanks to the prolific scoring of Ratelie, Gilbert and Hadfield.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-02477/2921724-1-eng-US/f0016-022.jpg" title="f0016-02" width="540" height="654"><figcaption class="caption-body">JEAN RATELLE&hellip;New York Rangers</figcaption></div><h2>In The West</h2>After a somewhat slow start, Stan Mikita is coming on strong for the Chicago Black Hawks in a manner reminiscent of the days when he four times won the NHL individual scoring title.Mikita pumped in three goals last week, two in one game to help down Pittsburgh 7-3 and another along with an assist as the Hawks slammed the door on Vancouver 3-0.The outburst for the helmeted Chicago center pushed his season total to 24 points on nine goals and 15 assists making him the No. 1 Hawk point producer of the year. At this time last season, Mikita had only 14 points and scored only twice, a good indication that he could be in for another of his whirlwind seasons.With nine goals already, Mikita appears well on the way to surpassing his 24-goal output of last season for the pace-setting Hawks.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-03376/2921717-1-eng-US/f0016-032.jpg" title="f0016-03" width="544" height="650"><figcaption class="caption-body">STAN MIKITA&hellip;Chicago Black Hawks</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0016-02

Player’s of the week

<div class="byline">BY TOM MONAHA</div>LOUISVILLE SLUGGER HOCKEY STICKS Made in Canada by HILLERICH & BRADSBY, LTD. Arnold Street, Wallaceburg, Ontario Sold in U.S. and CanadaLOUISVILLE SLUGGER HOCKEY STICKS Made in Canada by HILLERICH & BRADSBY, LTD. Arnold Street, Wallaceburg, Ontario Sold in U.S. and CanadaBOSTON&mdash;Back in the dark ages of despair when the Bruins were struggling to get out of the National Hockey League cellar one of the few things the Boston fans had to cheer about was the performance of Eddie Westfall.As the shadow&rsquo; for Bobby Hull and Gordie Howe and any of the opposition&rsquo;s big scorers. Eddie earned a reputation as one of the premier checkers in hockey.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-01554/2921686-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg" title="f0016-01" width="275" height="440"><figcaption class="caption-body">Ed Westfall</figcaption></div>Steady Eddie as he was known while his name was seldom seen in the scoring column, did more than his share to keep the goals against somewhere within reason.Last year with the most dynamic offense in the league. West fall was freed from most of his checking chores and he bagged a personal high of 25 goals with 34 assists and still was one of the best penalty killers in the business.He had no reason to expect that when he went to training camp in September that he would be assigned to any other position but right wing on the line with Derek Sanderson and Mike Walton.Walton figured to be the only change in the Bruins&rsquo; starting lines that had demolished a carload of NHL records.But suddenly he was dropped from his right wing post, replaced by rookie Reggie Leach.&ldquo;I was as low as I could be.&rdquo; admits West fall. &ldquo;I couldn&rsquo;t understand it. I wondered what 1 had done wrong.&ldquo;Here I was 11-years into my career and I&rsquo;d been in on the bitter and the sweet.&rdquo; he went on. &ldquo;This I figured would be particularly sweet. But I arrived in camp and found out 1 didn&rsquo;t have a regular job.&ldquo;Frankly I was stunned. I couldn&rsquo;t think of anything else. Either off or on the ice. I felt I was no longer part of the team. It was a shock, because I was looking forward to what a great line we&rsquo;d have.&rdquo;Fortunately Westfall is not one of those many professional athletes who gives vent to his thoughts and feelings with an explosion against the establishment.He is not one of those &ldquo;play-me-or-trade me&rdquo; guys.Instead he had a private talk with coach Tom Johnson.&ldquo;He was very understanding.&rdquo; says West fall, &ldquo;and I suppose they wanted to see certain players under certain conditions. But I still felt sort of like mv hands were tied.&ldquo;But at the same time I figured I&rsquo;d just have to prove to them that they were wrong.&ldquo;All I could do was get in shape, do my job and wait and see what would happen.&rdquo;When the Bruins broke camp and returned to Boston it seemed the worst had happened.Instead of being assigned one of three blue practice shirts worn by the Stanfield line Westfall was handed one of the &lsquo;Black Aces.&rsquo;The Bruins lost their opening game, however and the very next practice Trainer Dan Canney placed a blueshirt in his locker area.&ldquo;I felt like a kid with a new toy.&rdquo; said Eddie. &ldquo;It was a great relief.&rdquo;He has been wearing that blue-shirt in practice ever since and he has proved he is the same old Steady Eddie.His regular position has been right wing for Sanderson and Walton. But when the Bruins found themselves in a defensive game with the loss of Don Awrey with a broken ankle and Ted Green&rsquo;s continued stomach problem he filled out the game on defense against Montreal.ICE CHIPS:&mdash; Although Johnson was elated with the Bruins&rsquo; offensive display against the Kings, he was quick to warn the squad against overconfidence&hellip;&ldquo;Maybe we are finally back on the track,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We skated and shot the puck and we got good momentum,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;But we also had some luck.&rdquo;&hellip;Hodge was miffed at being benched against the Kings but Johnson claimed it was only a temporary move and that he had no intention of breaking up the Hodge, Esposito. Wayne Cashman combination&hellip;Cashman sat out the game with a bad ankle&hellip;Johnson also has been pleased with the development of Ace Bailey. &#9632;

f0016-01

Westfall Survived Early ‘Crisis’ To Star For Bruins

<h2>MONTREAL</h2>GOALKen DrydenPhil MyreDem DeJordyDEFENSETerry Harper AJacques LaperriereGuy LapointePierre BouchardJ.C. Tremblay ADale HogansonCENTERHenri Richard CJacque LemairePete MahovlichR. WINGYvan CournoyerClaude LaroseRejean HouleGuy LafleurL. WINGMarc TardifFrank Mahovlich APhil RobertoLarry PleauINUREDSerge Savard<h2>CHICAGO</h2>GOALTony EspositoGary SmithDEFENSEPat StapletonBill WhiteKeith MagnusonDoug Jarrett AJerry KorabCENTERStan Mikita APit MartinBryan CampbellLou AngottiAndre LacroixR. WINGCliff KorollChico MokiEric Nesterenko AJim PappinDarryl MaggsL. WINGBobby HullDennis HullDanny O&rsquo;SheaINJUREDGerry Desjardins<h2>BOSTON</h2>GOALGerry CheeversEd JohnstonDEFENSEBobby OrrDallas SmithRick SmithMatt RavlkhBob StewartCENTERPhil Esposito AFred StanfieldDerek SandersonR. WINGJohn McKenzieEd Westfall AReg LeachKen HodgeL. WINGJohn Bucyk AWayne CashmanGamet BaileyMike WaitonINJUREDDon MarcotteDon AwreyTed Green A<h2>ST. LOUIS</h2>GOALErnie WakelyJim McLeodPete McDuffeDEFENSEAndre DupontCarl Brewer AJim Roberts CBarclay Plager ABob PlagerBill PlagerCENTERGarry UngerChris BordeleauTerry CrispGene CarrCurt BennettR. WINGGary Sobourin AFrank St. MarseilleMike MurphyJack EgersL. WINGGeorge MorrisonFloyd ThomsonMike ParizecuINJUREDNoel Picard<h2>DETROIT</h2>GOALAl SmithJoe DaleyDEFENSEGary Bergman AArnie Brown ARon StackhouseRon HarrisLarry JohnstonBob WallCENTERAlex Delvecchio CRed Berenson AGuy CharronMarcel DionneAl KarianderR. WINGTim EcclestoneMickey RedmondLeon RochefortBill CollinsBill SutherlandL. WINGBrian ConacherNick LibettAb McDonaldINJUREDGerry Hart<h2>CALIFORNIA</h2>GOALGillet MelocheLyle CarterDEFENSECarol Vadnais CBert Marshall AMarshall JohnstonDick RedmondPoui ShmyrCENTERTommy WilliamsJoey JohnstonWalt McKechnieBobby SheehanIvan Bold ire vR. WINGNorm FergusonCraig PatrickErnie HickeL. WINGWayne CarletonGary CroteauStan GilbertsonGerry PinderGary JarrettINJUREDTom Webster<h2>TORONTO</h2>GOALBernie ParentJacques PlanteDEFENSEBob Baun AJim McKennyBrad SeiwoodBrian GlennieJim DoreyMike PelykCENTERNorm Ullman ADave Keon CJim HarrisonR. WINGRon Ellis ABrian SpencerGuy TrottierL. WINGPaul HendersonDenis DupereDon MarshallDarryl SittierINJUREDBilly MacMillan<h2>PHILADELPHIA</h2>GOALDoug FavellBruce GambleDEFENSEBarry Ashbee ALarry BrownWayne HillmanBrent HughesEd Van ImpeJoe WatsonRick FoleyCENTERBobby ClarkeSerge BernierJimmy JohnsonLarry WrightR. WINGGary Dornhoefer ALarry MickeyPierre PlanteSimon NoletLew MorrisonL. WINGJean-Guy GendroiBob KellyBill LesukLarry KeenanINJUREDNone<h2>NEW YORK</h2>GOALEd GiacominGilles VillemureDEFENSEBrad Park AJim Neilson ARod SeilingDole RolfeAb DeMarcoGary DoakCENTERJean RatelieWalt TkaczukBobby RousseauR. WINGRod Gilbert ABill FairbairnPierre JarryBruce MacGregorL. WINGJim LorentzVic Hadfield CTed IrvineGlen SatherINJUREDPete Stemkowski<h2>PITTSBURGH</h2>GOALRoy Ed wordsLes BinkleyJim RutherfordDEFENSEDarryl EdestrandDave BurrowsSheldon KannegiesserBryan WatsonBob WoytowichJoe NorisCENTERSyl AppsRon SchockBobby LeiterRene RobertBryan HextaliR. WINGNick HarbarukBill HickeKen Schinkel AL. WINGKeith McCreary AVal FonteyneGreg PolisRobin BurnsINJUREDTim Horton AJean Pronovost<h2>BUFFALO</h2>GOALRoger CrozierDave DrydenDEFENSEAl Hamilton ADoug BarrieRay McKayJim WatsonChris EvansMike RobitailleCENTERGilbert Perreault AGerry Meehan CDon LucePhil Goyette AR. WINGRon AndersonSteve AtkinsonKevin O&rsquo;SheaEddie ShackHoyd SmithLarry Mickey AL. WINGDanny LawsonRichard MartinDick DuffRod ZaineINJUREDTracy Pratt<h2>LOS ANCELES</h2>GOALRogation VachonGary EdwardsDEFENSELarry HillmanHarry Howell AGilles Marotte AJean PotvinBill MikkelsenCENTERRalph Backstrom AButch GoringBob Pulford CJuha WidingJim StanfieldR. WINGMike ByersBill RettLucien GrenierAl McDonoughL. WINGEd Joyal ABob BerryRoss LonsberryReal LemieuxINJUREDPaul Curtis<h2>VANCOUVER</h2>GOALGeorge GardnerDune WilsonDEFENSEDale Tallon APat QuinnJocelyn GuevremontBarry WilkinsDennis KearnsJohn SchellaCENTEROdand Kurtenbach CAndre Boudrias ADanny JohnsonRon WardR. WINGRosaire PaimentMurray HallBobby SchmautzWayne ConnellyI. WINGWayne MakiPoul PopielMike CorriganTed TaylorDave BatonINJUREDRon Stewart<h2>MINNESOTA</h2>GOALCesare ManiagoLorne WorsleyDEFENSETed Harris CTom ReidBarry Gibbs ADennis O&rsquo;BrienDoug MohnsCENTERJude DrouinTed HampsonMurray OliverCharlie Burns AR. WINGBill GoldsworthyLou NanneBob NevinCraig CameronL. WINGDonny GrantJean-Paul Parise ADean PronticeINJUREDDennis Hextall &#9632;

NHL Team Rosters

TORONTO&mdash;What a difference a week makes!Only seven days ago coach John McLellan&rsquo;s blue-clad warriors from Toronto looked for all the world as if they were going to give Buffalo, Detroit and Vancouver a real battle for the cellar spot in the National Hockey League&rsquo;s East Division.Now, after three victories in as many outings, the club, which many observers figured to be the real sleeper in the NHL East this season, has turned things around and have their sites pointed upwards in the standings.The Toronto squad stated it off with a 5-1 triumph over the Los Angeles Kings&mdash;always a welcome visitor for a team in a slump&mdash;at home, then followed it up with another 5-1 victory over California, also in the Gardens, and added a come-from-behind effort the following night that resulted in a 4-3 win in Buffalo.The six points enabled the Leafs to open a comfortable margin between themselves and the bottom three clubs in the division and, in effect, produced a picture that many expects predicted at the start of the season&mdash;Boston, New York and Montreal in one tight group, Detroit, Buffalo and Vancouver in another close battle, with the Leafs in between.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-01472/2921971-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg" title="f0018-01" width="250" height="433"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jim Dorey</figcaption></div>Besides the obvious gain of the important six points, another encouraging factor about the three wins was that the club totaled 14 goals, far above their early season pace that left them as one of the poorest shooting teams in the NHL.The most satisfying of the three victories was, of course, the 4-3 decision over Buffalo at the Memorial Auditorium.It was the first meeting between the two clubs since the Sabres had stunned everyone by repeating their astonishing 7-2 win in Toronto on their first trip into the Gardens this year, just as they had done a year ago.Defenseman Jim Dorey, who has come under some heavy criticism lately for his inconsistent play, was the hero against the Sabres as he stepped from the penalty box in the third period in time to accept a break-away pass from Norm Oilman and go in to score the winner. Dorey&rsquo;s marker capped an uphill struggle for the Leafs that saw them overcome a 3-1 Buffalo margin.LEAFLETS: A five assist week moved center Norm Ullman, the Leafs&rsquo; top point man, into tenth spot among the league scoring leaders with five goals and 17 helpers&hellip;Left winger Paul Henderson is next in line with a team-high 12 goals and eight assists&hellip;The speedy Henderson is one of only 11 NHL shooters with 10 or more goals to date&hellip;Leafs received good news when it was discovered that defenseman Pelyk did not suffer a broken foot in a recent game, but only a bad bruise&hellip;Right winger Guy Trottier, out for most of the early going with damaged knee ligaments, returned to action and scored his first goal of the seasons in the 5-1 win over L.A. &#9632;

f0018-01

Leafs’ Spurt Leaves Three Clubs Gasping In NHL’s Eastern Race

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0019-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-01451/2922002-1-eng-US/f0019-012.jpg"></div> &#9632;

f0019-01

Which brand of skates is recomended by the National Hockey League Players Association?

<div class="byline">BY DWAYNE NETLAND</div>TWIN CITIES&mdash;A lot of bouquets have been handed out to a number of people for Minnesota&rsquo;s high-speed getaway to this National Hockey League season. Jack Cordon has been credited with an outstanding coaching job, and deservedly so. The goaltending, the strong defensive work and the all around play of the forwards have come in for their share of tributes, and everyone involved has earned them.But there has been another source for the success of the North Stars, a source that has not always received its just credit. That would be general manager Wren Blair, and when you mention Blair, you must also include his staff of scouts and advisors.Wren is a prominent and popular figure in the Minnesota hockey community, but over the years he has encountered more than his share of criticism. Perhaps this is true, to an extent, of any general manager in big-time professional sports. The stakes are high, the pressure is binding, and occasionally the man must make a move which does not always have the unanimous approval of the paying customers.Consider, however, the 1971-72 North Stars. Right down the line, they are a team assembled by Blair, bit by bit and piece by piece. It has required a lot of work, and a fair amount of aggravation. but the facts speak for themselves.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-01296/2922040-1-eng-US/f0020-012.jpg" title="f0020-01" width="562" height="589"><figcaption class="caption-body">DOUG MOHNS&hellip;Justified Trade</figcaption></div>One of the National Hokey League&rsquo;s finest lines is composed of Danny Grant. Jude Drouin and Bill Goldsworthy. Grant was obtained in a 1968 trade with Montreal. Drouin came in a 1970 trade with the Canadiens. Goldsworthy was taken from Boston in the 1967 expansion draft. Goldsworthy and goalie Cesare Maniago. picked in the same draft, are the only charter members still with the club.Another Minnesota line has J.P. Parise. Ted Hampson and Bob Nevin. Parise was obtained in December of 1967. in a seven-player trade with Rochester of the AHL. Hampson joined Minnesota last February, as part of the deal that sent Tommy Williams to California. Nevin captained the New York Rangers until he became a North Star last May in a trade for Bobby-Rousseau.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-0657/2922033-1-eng-US/f0020-062.jpg" title="f0020-06" width="277" height="434"><figcaption class="caption-body">Wren Blair</figcaption></div>Blair&rsquo;s most significant maneuvering is reflected in the line of Dean Prentice. Murray Oliver and Lou Nanne. Prentice was plucked from Pittsburgh just before the season began for a cash payment between $10,000 and $15,000. He was available earlier for the waiver price of $30,000, but Blair gambled that nobody would take him and got him two weeks later at a bargain price. Oliver became Minnesota property 10 minutes before the midnight trading deadline in May of 1970. The cost: Terry O&rsquo;Malley, the rights to Toronto of Brian Conacher and cash.Nanne, a former All-American defenseman at the University of Minnesota and captain of the 1968 U.S. Olympic team, was selling envelopes in Minneapolis when Blair talked him into turning pro in the spring of 1968. It took a bit of persuasion by Wren to get him, but Nanne has delivered handsomely.Minnesota&rsquo;s three other forwards also bear the stamp of Blair. Dennis Hextail was pried off the California roster last summer in exchange for Joey-Johnston and Walt McKechnie. Charlie Burns was taken from Pittsburgh in the 1969 draft. Craig Cameron, bound from St. Louis to Montreal, was detoured instead to the North Stars when Wren issued a last-minute waivers claim for him.On defense, the theme continues. Capt. Ted Harris came from Montreal in June of 1970, in a complex deal which also involved Bobby Rousseau. Barry Gibbs was acquired in a 1969 trade with Boston, along with Tommy Williams. for Fred O&rsquo;Donnell and a draft pick who turned out to be Don Tannahill.Doug Mohns was a long time member of the Chicago Black Hawks until Blair got him last February, together with Terry Caffery. for Danny O&rsquo;Shea. It was one of the deals for which Wren received the most heat, but Mohns has been a vital part of the Minnesota upsurge.Tom Reid was another former Black Hawk. He came to Minnesota in February of 1969 for Mike McMahon, who has since retired. The fifth defenseman, Dennis O&rsquo;Brien, was a product of the Minnesota scouting staff. He was taken in the 1969 junior amateur draft.In the nets, Maniago&rsquo;s Minnesota genesis has already been explained. Gump Worsley had quit the Montreal club to play an occasional game for the Canadien Old-Timers when Blair talked Sammy Pollack&mdash;with the aid of some cash&mdash;into his rights. Gump was originally obtained as a push for a 1970 playoff berth, but two years later, at the age of 42, he is playing some of the best hockey of his career.Minnesota&rsquo;s scouting staff is composed, on a full time basis, of Harold Cotton, Ted O&rsquo;Connor, Gerald Blair and Leo Boivin. They work closely and harmoniously with Blair, and it was their recommendations which brought glittering young talent like Buster Harvey, Fred Barrett, Gilles Gilbert, Caffery and Billy Heindl into the Minnesota fold. &#9632;

f0020-01

Stars ‘Lofty NHL Position Credit To Blair’s Dealing

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0020-07" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-0748/2922078-1-eng-US/f0020-072.jpg"></div>(Standings on Tuesday, Nov. 23)<h2>EAST DIVISION</h2><h2>WEST DIVISION</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-0841/2922071-1-eng-US/f0020-082.jpg" title="f0020-08" width="1096" height="333"></div><h2>GAMES COMPLETED</h2>Tues. Nov. 16California 2 at Montreal 7Detroit 2 at St. Louis 2Minnesota 5 at Pittsburgh 1Wed. Nov. 17Los Angeles 1 at Toronto 5Vancouver 0 at Chicago 3Thurs. Nov. 18St. Louis 2 at Montreal 2Vancouver 0 at Boston 5California 7 at Buffalo 5Los Angeles 0 at Philadelphia 2Pittsburgh 3 at Minnesota 4Sat. Nov. 20Philadelphia 2 at Montreal 2California 1 at Toronto 5New York 1 at Minnesota 4Chicago 1 at Boston 2Detroit 1 at Los Angeles 3St. Louis 4 at Pittsburgh 2Sun. Nov. 21Toronto 4 at Buffalo 3California 1 at New York 12St. Louis 2 at Boston 6Detroit 2 at Vancouver 2Pittsburgh 3 at Chicago 7Minnesota 1 at Philadelphia 1<h2>GAMES TO COME</h2>Tues. Nov. 23Minnesota at VancouverLos Angeles at St. LouisWed Nov. 24Montreal at ChicagoToronto at PittsburghSt. Louis at New YorkBoston at PhiladelphiaDetroit at CaliforniaBuffalo at Los AngelesThur. Nov 25Philadelphia at BostonFri. Nov. 26Minnesota at CaliforniaSat. Nov. 27Pittsburgh at MontrealChicago at TorontoNew York at DetroitBoston at St. LouisBuffalo at VancouverMinnesota at Los AngelesSun. Nov 28Montreal at DetroitToronto at ChicagoNew York at PhiladelphiaBuffalo at CaliforniaTues. Nov. 30Chicago at VancouverCalifornia at St. LouisWed. Dec. 1Los Angeles at MontrealSt. Louis at TorontoBuffalo at New YorkDetroit at PittsburghCalifornia at MinnesotaThur. Dec. 2Detroit at PhiladelphiaLos Angeles at BuffaloFri. Dec. 3Chicago at California &#9632;

f0020-07

NHL SCOREBOARD

<div class="byline">BY JOHN PORTER</div>OAKLAND&mdash;Stan Gilbertson grew up a home run away from Tommy Williams.Across the street from a Duluth, Minn., baseball field&rsquo;s home plate was the Gilbertson residence, while just beyond the center field fence was the Williams household.Summer months were filled with baseball for the two American kids, but cleats, bats and balls were exchanged for skates, sticks and pucks when the first sheet of winter ice made its appearance on the field.&ldquo;Sure, I&rsquo;m happy being in the NHL,&rdquo; Gilbert-son will tell you. &ldquo;Especially since I was a U.S. kid. When Williams would come back during the summer after playing with Boston, I thought it was the greatest thing in the world for a Duluth boy to make it in the big league.&ldquo;The odds have been greater against U.S. players making it in the NHL. but then that makes the thrill bigger if you make it. Right? Even if it&rsquo;s just for one game.&rdquo;As far as the California Golden Seals are concerned, Stan will be playing a lot more than that alter the defensive and offensive records he has toted up in the early part of the season.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-01159/2922109-1-eng-US/f0021-012.jpg" title="f0021-01" width="282" height="431"><figcaption class="caption-body">Stan Gilbertson</figcaption></div>In a stretch of 14 games in which Gilbertson was killing penalties and playing regularly at left wing on Walt McKechnie&rsquo;s line, the 26-year-old NHL rookie was not on the ice for a single opposition goal when the sides were even.His offensive stats picked up after a slow start. He scored three of California&rsquo;s four goals in losses at Boston, St. Louis and Chicago to give him five goals and three assists for 17 games.&ldquo;I realize our line has to work hard,&rdquo; said Gilbertson, &ldquo;but it is beginning to pay off. Fergie (Norm Ferguson) gives us experience on the right side and Walter is a good forechecker.SEALS SHOTS: Ferguson suffered a broken nose in the second period at Boston, but a doctor straightened it between periods and Fergie came back in the third period with a piece of adhesive taped over the injured beak&hellip;Seals trainer Barry Keast fixed up a football type face mask for Norm to wear in future games&hellip;Wayne Carleton missed two games with a bruised knee suffered in Boston&hellip;Gary Kurt, the Seals&rsquo; rookie goaltender who started the season for California, has been sent to Baltimore&hellip;Coach Vic Stasiuk says he doesn&rsquo;t want to change goalie Gilles Meloche&rsquo;s style one iota. &ldquo;He knows all the moves and is playing the shots the way you&rsquo;re supposed to play them.&rdquo; said the coach. &#9632;

f0021-01

Making NHL Ton Thrill For Seals’ U.S. Born Rookie

LOUISVILLE SLUGGERHOCKEY STICKSMade in Canada byHILLERICH & BRADSBY, LTD.Arnold Street, Wallaceburg, OntarioSold in U.S. and CanadaLOUISVILLE SLUGGERHOCKEY STICKSMade in Canada byHILLERICH & BRADSBY, LTD.Arnold Street, Wallaceburg, OntarioSold in U.S. and Canada<h2>HOW THEY STAND</h2>(Standings on Tues. Nov. 23)<h3>EAST DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-01176/2922161-1-eng-US/f0022-012.jpg" title="f0022-01" width="573" height="152"></div><h3>WEST DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-02116/2922154-1-eng-US/f0022-022.jpg" title="f0022-02" width="572" height="280"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Tues. Nov. 16Nova Scotia 2 at Boston 4Cleveland 3 at Cincinnati 3Wed Nov. 17Springfield 5 at Hershey 5 CincinnThurs. Nov. 18Rochester 1 at NovaFri. Nov. 19Cincinnati 4 at Cleveland 7Springfield 1 at Richmond 3Providence 1 at Rochester 3Sat. Nov. 20Cincinnati 0 at Baltimore 4Richmond 3 of Cleveland 6Boston 3 at Hershey 2Sun. Nov. 21Cincinnati 3 at Novo Scotia 7Boston 3 at Providence 5Richmond 3 at Rochester 1<h3>GAMES TO COME</h3>Tues. Nov. 23Hershey at BaltimoreRochester at BostonSpringfield at CincinnatiProvidence at Nova ScotiaWed. Nov. 24Springfield at ClevelandBaltimore at HersheyRichmond at TidewaterThurs. Nov. 25Nova Scotia at RochesterFri. Nov. 26Springfield at BaltimoreRichmond at CincinnatiSat. Nov. 27Tidewater at BaltimoreNova Scotia at BostonRichmond at ClevelandCincinnati at HersheySun. Nov. 28Springfield at Nova ScotiaTidewater at ProvidenceCincinnati at RichmondBaltimore at RochesterMon. Nov. 29Hershey at TidewaterTues. Nov. 30Richmond at BostonBaltimore at CincinnatiSpringfield at Novo ScotiaWed. Dec. 1Nova Scotia at ProvidenceThur. Dec. 2Rochester at TidewaterFri. Dec. 3Hershey at BostonBaltimore at ClevelandRochester at RichmondNova Scotia at Springfield<h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3>(Including games of Sun. Nov. 14)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-03102/2922147-1-eng-US/f0022-032.jpg" title="f0022-03" width="577" height="610"></div><h3>GOALKEEPERS&rsquo; RECORDS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-0484/2922140-1-eng-US/f0022-042.jpg" title="f0022-04" width="577" height="709"></div> &#9632;

f0022-01

AMERICAN LEAGUE

<div class="byline">BY GREG FARLEY</div>BOSTON&mdash;Derek Sanderson of the Bruins, who is doing his best to avoid reporters these days, was gracious enough to voice his thoughts on the Braves.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not too surprised that they&rsquo;ve done so well,&rdquo; explained the Turk, &ldquo;I could see back in training camp that they were going to have some talented hockey players on the Braves.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-0574/2922192-1-eng-US/f0022-052.jpg" title="f0022-05" width="269" height="434"><figcaption class="caption-body">Garry Peters</figcaption></div>&ldquo;I played with some of these guys, like Donny Tannahill, in junior hockey, and I&rsquo;m sure a lot of them can &bull;make it in the NHL eventually.&rdquo;With the Bruins, Derek?&ldquo;Right now I&rsquo;d say no, at least not in the near future, but you never can be sure about those things with trades and injuries, etc. Two of our best players, Don Awrey and Teddy Green, are sidelined now, and Bob Stewart and Matt Ravlich are up from the Braves to replace them.&ldquo;I suppose,&rdquo; he continued, &ldquo;that if one of them was outstanding, he might stay up with us on a look-see basis. These days the Bruins&rsquo; organization isn&rsquo;t the easiest one to crack, because you know it&rsquo;s going to take years to get a shot at the top.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m sure many of these guys would be good bets to make it with some of the expansion teams though. And I can tell you that seeing how well these guys are doing makes us want to do that much better.&ldquo;If there was any complacency on this team about jobs before the season started, the success of the Braves has dispelled it.&rdquo;Meanwhile, back in Indian country, Garry Peters&rsquo; four-goal game against the Amerks failed to excite the veteran center.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve had a few of them before.&rdquo; Peters admitted. &ldquo;I did it in juniors, and the last time I scored four in one game was in 1967 when 1 was with Houston of the Central League.&rdquo;Still, four goal games aren&rsquo;t easy in any league, and it was quite a feat for the Regina. Sask, native, who regained the AHL scoring lead in the process.Garry credited his linemates for setting him up. which prompted left winger Ron Boehm to sigh. &ldquo;Garry and Doug (Roberts) were great, but I couldn&rsquo;t even get one lousy assist&rdquo;.Meanwhile another AHL attendance record was broken when the Braves defeated the Reds a couple of weeks back. The new figure is 14,031 eclipsing the previous mark of 13.964 established eleven days earlier when the Braves whipped Cincinnati.Attendance marks will be set and reset until the Braves finally sellout the Garden, and that day isn&rsquo;t far away. As the team continues to roll, fan interest burgeons.Tickets are still available&mdash;good ones, too&mdash;and can be purchased as late as the night of the game. Braves&rsquo; games are an excellent take and are unquestionably exciting.Peters&rsquo; red-hot scoring binge, along with the outstanding goaltending of reservist Ross Brooks, has the fans enraptured.Peters has opened up a substantial lead in the scoring race, and Brooks&rsquo; goals against average had dwindled to 0.66.Both are veterans, and each would like to better his position&mdash;to the NHL, for instance. Especially Peters, who makes no secret of the fact that he wants to get back to the NHL in a hurry.&ldquo;Sure, I think a good season this year could land me back in the NHL next year,&rdquo; reasoned Garry, &ldquo;but I&rsquo;d like to get back there this year if I possibly could.&rdquo;BRAVES BRIEFS: Many Braves&rsquo; partisans were upset at the loss of defenseman Bill Speer, who was sold outright to the Reds following recovery from an ankle injury. Speer had fallen into disfavor with management&hellip;Bob Stewart and Matt Ravlich will rejoin the Braves as soon as the Bruins patch up their defensive problems&hellip;The Braves unveiled an attractive new flag, featuring the team emblem on a white background, at the Nov. 9 Providence game, which hangs from the rafters alongside the Bruins&rsquo; banner&hellip;The injuns will have to go some to surpass the league record for most consecutive home games without defeat. That mark, held by the 1947-48 Cleveland Barons, is 27 games. &#9632;

f0022-05

Hot Scoring Peters Wants Back—In NHL

<div class="byline">BY BOB BROWN</div>CLEVELAND&mdash;The Cleveland Barons have shown flashes of their potential in the early stages of this hockey season but have not consistently displayed the strength of their game. That, according to their coach and general manager John Muckier, is skating.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re capable of skating with anybody,&rdquo; Muckier said. &ldquo;When we use our speed, we&rsquo;re a very good hockey club. That&rsquo;s our greatest asset. We have to use it to win in this league.&rdquo;The Barons have been battling without success to reach the elusive five hundred mark the past few weeks but this doesn&rsquo;t yet bother Muckier. &ldquo;We got off to a slow start on the road,&rdquo; he added. &ldquo;After going 0-4-1, we only lost three times in our next eleven games.&rdquo;Cleveland played 11 of its first 18 games on foreign ice while settling into third place in the AHL&rsquo;s Western Division. Now, the Barons have begun a string of six straight home games and will play 11 of their 15 games through December at the Cleveland Arena.The Barons, too, had some aggravating injuries particularly on the backline where veterans Roger Cote and Wayne Muloin have been hampered with minor ailments.Now both are healthy as are the forwards, strengthened by the recent arrival of young Gary Gambucci from Minnesota. The Cleveland skaters appear to be solid in goal with Gil Gilbert and Fern Rivard sharing netminding chores.The only question about this Cleveland club is its muscle.The Barons, a smaller team than last season&rsquo;s edition, has not been as physical as last year&rsquo;s. This, Muckier feels, will be improved by the return of Cote and Muloin to good health. If it is and the Barons keep skating, Muckier&rsquo;s crew will make a genuine bid for honors in the West. &#9632;

Muckier Points To Skating As Barons’ Biggest Asset

<div class="byline">BY BOB ELMER</div>BALTIMORE&mdash;As defending western division AHL champions, this year&rsquo;s issue of the Baltimore Clippers will have to improve sharply in all departments of their game if they wish to retain their laurels.At this writing, one-fifth of the present season is already over. This seems especially difficult for Clipper fans to believe, since ten of the fifteen games have taken place on the road as the local heroes have only shown before Civic Center a mere five times.Be that as it way, the first five weeks of the season are in the record books and the figures fall far short of last year&rsquo;s results. At the 15-game mark this year&rsquo;s team has won but three games, lost nine and tied three. Last year&rsquo;s winners had won ten, lost but four and tied one. That&rsquo;s 21 points for the 1970-71 aggregation as against nine for the current inhabitants.Offensively last year&rsquo;s Clippers had registered 58 goals to this year&rsquo;s 36. The assists showed 93 scoring passes for last winters team against 63, for a total imbalance of 156 against 99.Defensively last year&rsquo;s club had allowed 41 goals compared to 54 this year, but, curiously, goalie Bob Whidden had played in ten games at this point last year for a total of 600 minutes action between the pipes and had permitted 32 goals. This year, the hard-working Sudbury, Ontario, native got the call for nine games and his 540 minutes also resulted in an identical 32 goals against.So, it seems to boil down to the Clippers early season problems being laid on the lap of the offense, and not so much the defense. However, in the latter department it is to be noted that on the power play goals, Baltimore has scored 10 but allowed 14 to the opposition.At this stage of the season last year, all star rookie Fred Speck who is now toiling for Vancouver, and veteran right winger Marc Dufour, were leading the Clippers&rsquo; attack, each with 20 points.This year&rsquo;s scoring shows sophomore Pete Laframboise in the van with six goals and nine assists for 15 points, and veteran Howie Menard in the runnerup spot with six goals and four assists for 10 points. Only two other players have as many as five goals in which Joe Szura and Red Armstrong are deadlocked at that level.CLIPPER CLIPS: General Manager and Coach Terry Readon was the honoree at the annual Ted Levin memorial scholarship banquet at Blue Crest North. Since his team was playing in Hershey that night, club president Robert C. Embry accepted the trophy on behalf of his coach: Coach Omer Kelly&rsquo;s Old Timers, who are back-stopped by club promotions director Woody Ryan and bulwarked on defense by Reardon, made their 1971 debut recently and came off with a 3-3 tie against the Orchard Rink All Stars&hellip;Harvey Needle is the mew president of the active Clippers Booster Club&hellip;Morning Sun hockey writer Al Fischer is back in action again following a brief hospitalization&hellip; &#9632;

Sub-Par Offense Hampering Clippers In Early AHL Play

The Baltimore Clippers have been looking for some new scoring punch this season and they may have suddenly found it in Howie Menard. The one-time NHL skater culminated a hot week for the Clippers with three goals in a 6-3 decision over Cleveland for his second hat trick of the compaign to raise his season total to 10 goals.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-0929/2922271-1-eng-US/f0023-092.jpg" title="f0023-09" width="438" height="468"><figcaption class="caption-body">HOWIE MENARD</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0023-09

<h2>Fri. Nov. 12CLEVELAND 3 at BALTIMORE 6</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-01156/2922351-1-eng-US/f0023-012.jpg" title="f0023-01" width="577" height="697"></div><h2>ROCHESTER 4 at SPRINGFIELD 1</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-02117/2922344-1-eng-US/f0023-022.jpg" title="f0023-02" width="568" height="469"></div><h2>TIDEWATER 3 at BOSTON 3</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-0391/2922337-1-eng-US/f0023-032.jpg" title="f0023-03" width="565" height="548"></div><h2>Sat. Nov. 13 TIDEWATER 4 at SPRINGFIELD 4</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-0473/2922330-1-eng-US/f0023-042.jpg" title="f0023-04" width="566" height="594"></div><h2>Sun. Nov. 14 SPRINGFIELD 4 at PROVIDENCE 3</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-0557/2922323-1-eng-US/f0023-052.jpg" title="f0023-05" width="571" height="668"></div><h2>RICHMOND 1 at NOVA SCOTIA 2</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-0648/2922316-1-eng-US/f0023-062.jpg" title="f0023-06" width="571" height="374"></div><h2>BOSTON 4 at ROCHESTER 1</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-0744/2922309-1-eng-US/f0023-072.jpg" title="f0023-07" width="568" height="569"></div><h2>BALTIMORE 2 at TIDEWATER 5</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-0836/2922302-1-eng-US/f0023-082.jpg" title="f0023-08" width="565" height="639"></div> &#9632;

f0023-01

American League Summaries

<div class="byline">BY JOHN TRAVERS</div>HERSHEY&mdash;Bob Birdsell and Rick Kessell haven&rsquo;t earned many headlines for their specialty work, but the two newcomers to the Hershey Bears have played key roles in the first dozen games.Coach Frank Mathers has the pair handling the penalty killing chore and he&rsquo;s more than pleased with their efforts.The Bears, pacesetters of the American League&rsquo;s Western Division, allowed only three goals while shorthanded through the first 12 games. In contrast, Hershey&rsquo;s power play has been awesome with the club racking up 21 of its first 55 goals with the opponent skaters cooling their blades in the penalty box.&ldquo;Birdsell and Kessell have done a tremendous job for us as penalty killers, &ldquo;said Mathers, &ldquo;and they&rsquo;ve given us a good lift on offense, too.&rdquo;Kessell had tallied five goals as of Nov. 12, while Birdsell showed seven points, six coming on assists.The two young Pittsburgh Penguin farmhands have been around pro ranks for only a few years. Birdsell, 23-year-old winger, has played at Salt Lake City, Kansas City and Amarillo, while Kessell, 22, a center, was at Baltimore, Amarillo and played 14 games in the National League with the Penguins.Veteran center Gil Gilbert, off to one of his fine starts, has been deadly on the power play, racking up seven of his first nine goals, while Ron Snell has four power markers and Mike Nyko-luk and defenseman Ralph Keller three each.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve been able to hold our own in the close games because of the penalty killing of Kessell and Birdsell,&rdquo; said Mathers. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s made a big difference.&rdquo;The Bears have won five games by two goals or less, while gaining ties in two others, which represents 12 points. Hershey has lost only one game, that by a single goal against the Boston Braves.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-01167/2922382-1-eng-US/f0024-012.jpg" title="f0024-01" width="440" height="571"><figcaption class="caption-body">RICK KESSELL&hellip;Lifts Offense, Too</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0024-01

Birdsell, Kessell Win Plaudits As Bears’ Penalty Killing Aces

<div class="byline">BY DOUG MCCONNELL</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0026-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-01143/2922444-1-eng-US/f0026-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">GUYLE FIELDER&hellip;Still Going Strong At 41</figcaption></div>LOUISVILLE SLUGGERHOCKEY STICKSMade in Canada byHILLERICH & BRADSBY, LTD.Arnold Street, Wallaceburg, OntarioSold in U.S. and CanadaLOUISVILLE SLUGGERHOCKEY STICKSMade in Canada byHILLERICH & BRADSBY, LTD.Arnold Street, Wallaceburg, OntarioSold in U.S. and Canada<h4>Vet Racks Up 1,810th Point</h4>SALT LAKE CITY&mdash;Guyle Fielder became the leading scorer in the history of professional hockey when he picked up an assist in the Salt Lake Golden Eagles&rsquo; 5-2 victory over the defending Western Hockey League champion Portland Buckaroos at Portland.The 41-year-old center had tied Gordie Howe&rsquo;s record of 1,809 points with three assists at Seattle the night before.The Eagle victory at Portland was the Buckaroos&rsquo; first home loss of the season.Fielder has spent his entire 22-year pro career&mdash;with the exception of three games at Chicago and six at Detroit&mdash;in the minor leagues and only one season was outside the WHL. He played the 195253 season for St. Louis in the American League, led the loop in assists and won the rookie-of-the-year honors.The 5-9, 165-pound center won, the Pacific Coast Hockey League (forerunner of the WHL) rookie award in 1951-52 and every other award eligible to him.Fielder has won the WHL scoring title nine times, the Leader Cup as the most valuable player six times and the Hume Cup as the most gentlemanly three times.He has been named to the WHL&rsquo;s first All Star team eight times and to the second squad four times.Reg Fleming joined the club just before Fielder&rsquo;s fete. The 5-10, 185-pound left winger was assigned by the Buffalo Sabres.Fleming 35, in his 15th professional season, is fourth on the career penalty list in the National Hockey League with over 1,400 minutes.Fleming started the NHL season with Buffalo but was assigned to the Cincinnati Swords of the AHL where he played for the last three weeks prior to coming here.In other developments, the Eagles won four games in a one week span to jump into fourth place ahead of the Portland Buckaroos, the first time they have ever ranked higher than the Bucks in their short life in the WHL. &#9632;

f0026-01

Fielder Replaces Great Howe As Pro Hockey Scoring Leader

SEATTLE&mdash;The Seattle Totems are still struggling, dropping 13 of their first 15 games in this season&rsquo;s Western Hockey League play, but they are attempting to do something about it.Their latest acquisitions were three centermen. Jimmy Peters had been coaxed out of retirement and is on loan from the Los Angeles Kings. Jim Wiste, the leading scorer at Rochester in the American Hockey League this season, was shipped in by the Vancouver Canucks only to be recalled and sold to New York in the recent only three-way NHL trade.Then, Joe Robertson came off the Salt Lake City bench, courtesy of the Buffalo Sabres.Robertson, 23, is 5-11 and 185. In his rookie year last season with Salt Lake, he scored 12 goals and 28 assists.In other player developments involving the Totems, Seattle sent Art Stratton to Detroit in a straight cash deal, and dropped veteran Tommy McVie from the roster. New Totems included defensemen Dave Dunn and Tom Riley, and right winger Barrie Meissner, all shipped in from teams in the AHL.The injury jinx has hit the Totems hard, depriving them of their outstanding performer, and according to the player vote, one of the league&rsquo;s outstanding performers.John Hanna, winner of the outstanding defenseman award last season for the second time in three years and the league&rsquo;s most valuable player winner in 1969-70 and runnerup for that honor last season, is lost indefinitely.What was first thought to be a pulled groin has been diagnosed as a hernia and Hanna has undergone surgery.Center Dick Mortenson also needed surgery to correct damaged cartilage in his knee. Defenseman Bob Paradise missed several games with a knee injury and left winger Jack Michie four games with a bruised shoulder. &#9632;

Struggling Totems Continue To Move Players In And Out

Hard-driving Art Jones of Portland is off and running in his bid for a fifth straight WHL scoring title. The Buckaroos&rsquo; prolific center enjoyed another big week and was the hottest performer around the league as he moved to within two points of the scoring leadership. Jones counted seven points in four games including four goals.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-0296/2922499-1-eng-US/f0026-022.jpg" title="f0026-02" width="539" height="495"><figcaption class="caption-body">ART JONES</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0026-02

<div class="byline">BY DOUG MCCONNELL</div>PORTLAND&mdash;Connie Madigan, the Portland Buckaroos&rsquo; defenseman, may be the most hated player in the Western Hockey League, but he&rsquo;s also the top drawing card.When Madigan played his first game after a 30-day suspension for his knockout of referee Dave Newell in last spring&rsquo;s playoffs, there were 11,471 fans to greet him in Phoenix.The controversial bad man is as popular at home in Portland as he is unpopular everywhere else. He wouldn&rsquo;t have it any other way.A $500 fine accompanied Madigan&rsquo;s suspension and the Portland fans paid most of it, along with fines to Norm Johnson, Andy Hebenton and Rick Foley stemming from the same game. They totalled $1,400.The 37-year-old Madigan, whose suspension kept him out of the first 11 games this season, needed only 34 penalty minutes to break the all-time Western Hockey League mark of 1,462 minutes, set by Madigan&rsquo;s former teammate, Jim (Red Eye) Hay.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-01127/2922544-1-eng-US/f0027-012.jpg" title="f0027-01" width="292" height="439"><figcaption class="caption-body">Connie Madigan</figcaption></div>Madigan has never recorded under 100 penalty minutes in any of his 13 professional season and last season his 175 minutes tied his career high.The product of Thunder Bay, Ontario, also set a WHL record for defensemen last season with 59 assists. He also scored a career high of 67 points to rank second only to teammate Rick Foley, now with the Philadelphia Flyers.Madigan, six times and All Star in the last seven seasons, was ready to play. The 5-10 rearguard weighed 180 pounds, three under last season&rsquo;s playing weight. He spent the summer working on a pipeline in Canada and more recently in the roofing industry in Portland.<h2>HOW THEY STAND</h2><h3>WESTERN LEAGUE</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-0296/2922537-1-eng-US/f0027-022.jpg" title="f0027-02" width="571" height="224"></div>(Standings on Wed. Nov. 24)<h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Wed. Nov. 17Phoenix 8 at San Diego 1Denver 3 at Portland 4Thurs. Nov. 18Phoenix 1 at Salt Lake 1Fri. Nov. 19San Diego 2 at Denver 4Sat. Nov. 20Phoenix 4 at Seattle 0Sun. Nov. 21San Diego 4 at Portland 1<h3>GAMES TO COME</h3>Wed. Nov. 24Salt Lake at DenverSan Diego at SeattleThur. Nov. 26Portland at DenverSalt Lake at PhoenixSat. Nov. 27Salt Lake at San DiegoPortland at PhoenixSun. Nov. 28San Diego at SeattleWed. Dec. 1Phoenix at DenverSan Diego at PortlandThur. Dec. 2San Diego at Salt LakeFri. Dec. 3Salt Lake at DenverSeattle at Phoenix<h2>LEADING SCORERS</h2>(Including games of Sun. Nov. 14)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-1322/2922530-1-eng-US/f0027-132.jpg" title="f0027-13" width="587" height="472"></div> &#9632;

f0027-01

Returning Madigan Greeted By 11,471

<h2>Wed. Nov. 10 SEATTLE 1 al DENVER 3</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-0371/2922638-1-eng-US/f0027-032.jpg" title="f0027-03" width="577" height="419"></div><h2>PHOENIX 2 at PORTLAND 6</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-0465/2922631-1-eng-US/f0027-042.jpg" title="f0027-04" width="580" height="648"></div><h2>Thurs. Nov. 11 SEATTLE 3 at SALT LAKE 6</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-0552/2922624-1-eng-US/f0027-052.jpg" title="f0027-05" width="579" height="628"></div><h2>DENVER 2 at PHOENIX 3</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-0645/2922617-1-eng-US/f0027-062.jpg" title="f0027-06" width="584" height="502"></div><h2>Fri. Nov. 12 SALT LAKE 4 at SEATTLE 2</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-0739/2922610-1-eng-US/f0027-072.jpg" title="f0027-07" width="581" height="503"></div><h2>PORTLAND 6 at SAN DIEGO 4</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-0836/2922603-1-eng-US/f0027-082.jpg" title="f0027-08" width="577" height="852"></div><h2>Sat. Nov. 13 PORTLAND 2 at PHOENIX 6</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-0935/2922596-1-eng-US/f0027-092.jpg" title="f0027-09" width="583" height="630"></div><h2>DENVER 3 at SAN DIEGO 3</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-1033/2922589-1-eng-US/f0027-102.jpg" title="f0027-10" width="583" height="629"></div><h2>Sun. Nov. 14 SALT LAKE 5 at PORTLAND 2</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-1129/2922582-1-eng-US/f0027-112.jpg" title="f0027-11" width="577" height="550"></div><h2>DENVER 6 at SEATTLE 2</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-1227/2922575-1-eng-US/f0027-122.jpg" title="f0027-12" width="585" height="607"></div> &#9632;

f0027-03

Western League Summaries

<h2>Sat. Nov. 6 DALLAS 4 at KANSAS CITY 0</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-0264/2922756-1-eng-US/f0028-022.jpg" title="f0028-02" width="584" height="411"></div><h2>Sun. Nov. 7 FORT WORTH 3 at TULSA 6</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-0340/2922749-1-eng-US/f0028-032.jpg" title="f0028-03" width="580" height="740"></div><h2>Wed. Nov. 10 FORT WORTH 0 at KANSAS CITY 6</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-0429/2922742-1-eng-US/f0028-042.jpg" title="f0028-04" width="585" height="597"></div><h2>TULSA 1 at DALLAS 4</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-0523/2922735-1-eng-US/f0028-052.jpg" title="f0028-05" width="596" height="499"></div><h2>Fri. Nov. 12 TULSA 5 at FORT WORTH 1</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-0618/2922728-1-eng-US/f0028-062.jpg" title="f0028-06" width="583" height="546"></div><h2>OMAHA 2 at KANSAS CITY 5</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-0715/2922721-1-eng-US/f0028-072.jpg" title="f0028-07" width="590" height="610"></div><h2>DALLAS 2 at OKLAHOMA CITY 6</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-0813/2922714-1-eng-US/f0028-082.jpg" title="f0028-08" width="579" height="677"></div><h2>Sat. Nov. 13 OKLAHOMA CITY 3.at TULSA 6</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-0910/2922707-1-eng-US/f0028-092.jpg" title="f0028-09" width="584" height="755"></div><h2>FORT WORTH 4 at DALLAS 5</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-1011/2922700-1-eng-US/f0028-102.jpg" title="f0028-10" width="585" height="743"></div> &#9632;

f0028-02

Central League Summaries

<h2>CENTRAL LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Wed. Nov. 24)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-0263/2922825-1-eng-US/f0029-022.jpg" title="f0029-02" width="573" height="228"></div><h2>GAMES COMPLETED</h2>Wed. Nov. 17Omaha 2 at Fort Worth 1Fri. Nov. 19Omaha 2 at Dallas 4Oklahoma City 3 at Fort Worth 2Tulsa 3 at Kansas City 2Sat. Nov. 20Dallas 2 at Omaha 1Fort Worth 6 at Oklahoma City 4Kansas City 3 at Tulsa 2Sun. Nov. 21Dallas 3 at Kansas City 1Omaha 2 at Tulsa 1<h2>GAMES TO COME</h2>Wed. Nov. 24Tuha at DallasFort Worth at OmahaKansas City at Oklahoma CityThurs. Nov. 25Dallas at TulsaFort Worth at Kansas CityFri. Nov. 26Omaha at Oklahoma CitySat. Nov. 27Fort Worth at DallasOmaha at Kansas CityTulsa at Oklahoma CitySun. Nov. 28Fort Worth of TulsaKansas City at OmahaWed. Dec. 1Dallas at Oklahoma CityThur. Dec. 2Kansas City at Fort WorthFri. Dec. 3Kansas City at DallasOklahoma City at Tulsa<h2>LEADING SCORERS</h2>Including games of Sun. Nov. 14)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-0338/2922818-1-eng-US/f0029-032.jpg" title="f0029-03" width="572" height="834"></div> &#9632;

f0029-02

HOW THEY STAND

<div class="byline">BY HARVEY POLLACK</div>ST. PETERSBURG&mdash;If there&rsquo;s a more outspoken skipper in the Eastern Hockey League than Lloyd Hinchberger of the Sun Coast Suns, he&rsquo;s vet to make his presence felt.Hinchberger is determined that his club will make the EHL play-offs in the Southern Division in its first year of operation. And when he sees his charges commit &ldquo;atrocious acts&rsquo;&rsquo; that belie their status as hockey players, he certainly lets off a lot of steam.After an exceptionally bad performance at Jacksonville, Hinch fined the club and said afterwards &ldquo;if they&rsquo;re not going to produce, they&rsquo;re not going to get paid. They seem to have the idea they&rsquo;re stars and are worth a lot of money but they&rsquo;re not. They&rsquo;re guys nobody wanted. I&rsquo;ve got to shake &lsquo;em up, make &lsquo;em mad, make some changes.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-01110/2922863-1-eng-US/f0030-012.jpg" title="f0030-01" width="274" height="441"><figcaption class="caption-body">Gregg Pilling</figcaption></div>Actually the Suns have not disgraced themselves this year and have been in front of last place Jacksonville all year long. But Hinchberger realizes that his club doesn&rsquo;t have any safe advantage over the Rockets and they must hustle all year to make one of the coveted four playoff spots.What irks Hinchberger most of all is when his club doesn&rsquo;t follow instructions. He&rsquo;s an experienced vet of the league and knows the opposition very well. So when he tells his men how to play their foes, he knows where of he speaks. And when they don&rsquo;t do what he says, he really becomes infuriated.He has been shuffling his troops with regularity too, bringing in players and releasing others. He realizes that it&rsquo;s not an easy job to blend together a team of players who didn&rsquo;t perform with each other prior to this season.The coach has been trying to get his players to play tough. His philosphy is this: &ldquo;the only way to play this game is to get the other guy before he gets you. If he finds out you&rsquo;re not gonna try to get him, he&rsquo;s got to take advantage of you.&rdquo;One thing&rsquo;s for sure. The Suns will play Hinch&rsquo;s way or they won&rsquo;t be around or their pocketbooks will be lighter. For the skipper is determined that the Sun Coast season will extend past March 5, the last day of the regulation season.Suns acquired the rights to Bob Malcolm from Clinton and also Gregg Pilling, ex-Charlotte player who has been in Switzerland. Gary Mills out with tendonitis and Bob Lacey with a spinal muscle spasm. Hinchberger withdrew fines on club after a good performance against Charlotte. Pete Sullivan returned to Muskegon. Defenseman Terry Sexsmith rejoined club after testifying in accident case. Suns travel in leased plane to some games.NEW HAVEN: Trainer Gunner Garrett tended goal in one game to rest Dave Hainsworth, but new goalie Jim Armstrong is now splitting chores with Dave. Bob Guindon from Muskegon has replaced Dwight Winters while he is on the disabled list. Rangers scout &ldquo;Boom Boom&rsquo; Geoffrion watched game here.JERSEY: Coach Red Hay took a beating from Clinton&rsquo;s Dennis Desrosiers. Club&rsquo;s first win came in 14th game at Johnstown. Defenseman Gary Cunningham, waived by Richmond, was picked up by Devils. John Brophy is steadying club&rsquo;s defense.JOHNSTOWN: Goalie Bob Vroman had 59 saves against New Haven. Gene Peacosh is the club&rsquo;s top scorer with coach Eddie Kachur next in line. Reg Kent&rsquo;s slow start has club worried.JACKSONVILLE: Bobby Thomson had four-goal night against St. Petersburgh. Blake Ball tossed out of game by referee Pat McCormiek for arguing. Ball upset that his Rockets aren&rsquo;t mixing it up more with opposition. Team went through one game without a single penalty. Ball trying to rouse rivalry with St. Petersburg.GREENSBORO: Don Carter&rsquo;s absence hurt club&rsquo;s scoring and checking. Mike Healey at defense while Ken Rzepecki is on injured list with bad knee. Don Burgess had hat trick against Salem. Ron Spong unhappy with club&rsquo;s offense and he may realign his forwards, Carter was hurt when he his face hit wire around boards at Roanoke.CLINTON: Dennis Desrosiers scored on first shot of game at 39 second mark with Jersey. Bill Bannerman has taken over club scoring lead from Brian Mc-Bratney. Pat Kelly is dressing goalies Ted Tucker and Cal Hammond each game and making his decision on the starter just before game time. Spectators were involved in clash here with Syracuse as some plexiglass panels came down. Bannerman lost two teeth and Kelly got two-stitch cut in New Haven game.ROANOKE VALLEY: Attendance up slightly over a year ago. Goalie Roger Kosar&rsquo;s efforts saved game with Greensboro. Defenseman Norm Bean out with pulled leg muscle. Bob Buchy hurt his foot by dropping a weight on his foot while working out in his apartment. No club picked up the waived Jim Letcher and Don Rozich. Latter will stick around here in case of emergencies.CHARLOTTE: Rick Loe&rsquo;s five goals against Long Island tied club record held by Jim McNulty and Mike Rouleau. Prexy Al Manch hospitalized with stomach pains. Allie Sutherland&rsquo;s goal nipped Sun Coast home streak reached 31 at last count. Mike Rouleau suspended for three games by EHL prexy Tom Lockhart for stick swinging. Jack Wells availability delayed by waiver clearance. Checkers out-drew basketball Cougars here. Dislocated shoulder put John Morrison on disabled list.LONG ISLAND: Butch Morris had hat trick in game with Jersey. Billy Morris suffered shoulder injury. J.P. Mallette left club and said he was quitting hockey. Gerry Lamoureaux replaced him. Ducks happy with southern split.SYRACUSE: Ron Ingram says he&rsquo;s concentrating on club&rsquo;s defense since the offense is working well. Ray Adduono by far the club&rsquo;s top scoring leader and also the divisional pacesetter. Ray had hand in all seven goals Blazers scored at Long Island. Lee Inglis on disabled list with leg injury. Winger Greg Stamler went to Jacksonville and Joe Mutch and John Gruen waived.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-0265/2922856-1-eng-US/f0030-022.jpg" title="f0030-02" width="546" height="574"><figcaption class="caption-body">BUTCH MORRIS&hellip;Hat For Ducks.</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0030-01

Hinchberger Cracks Down On Errant Suns

(Standings on Tues. Nov. 23)<h2>EASTERN LEAGUE</h2><h3>NORTHERN DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-0341/2922901-1-eng-US/f0030-032.jpg" title="f0030-03" width="573" height="182"></div><h3>SOUTHERN DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-0431/2922894-1-eng-US/f0030-042.jpg" title="f0030-04" width="586" height="229"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Tues. Nov. 16Sun Coast 5 at Charlotte 1New Jersey 6 at Jacksonville 3Wed. Nov. 17Roanoke 4 at Greensboro 5New Jersey 2 at Sun Coast 3Clinton 4 at Syracuse 2Long Island 3 at New Haven 6Thurs. Nov. 18Greensboro 3 at Roanoke 4Jacksonville 1 at Sun Coast 6Syracuse 3 at Long Island 3New Hoven 3 at Johnstown 4Fri. Nov. 19Nedey 1 at horlotte 4Sun Coast 2 at Jacksonville 4Johnstown 3 at Clinton 3New Haven 5 at Long Island 5Sat. Nov. 20New Jersey I at Greensboro 8Charlotte 2 at Sun Coast 3Syracuse 3 at Clinton 3Long Island 2 at Johnstown 3Sun. Nov. 21New Jersey 1 at Roanoke 3Charlotte 6 at Jacksonville 7Long Island 5 at Syracuse 2<h3>GAMES TO COME</h3>Tues. Nov. 23Clinton at CharlotteRoanoke Valley at Sun CoastSyracuse at JacksonvilleWed. Nov. 24Clinton at GreensboroSyracuse at Sun CoastNew Jersey at New HavenLong Island at JohnstownThurs. Nov. 25Clinton at Roanoke ValleyNew Jersey at JohnstownFri. Nov 26Jacksonville at Charlottelong Island vs Clinton (at Utica)New Haven at New JerseySat Nov. 27Jacksonville vs Roanoke (at Salem)Syracuse at GreensboroNew Haven at ClintonNew Jersey at Long IslandSun. Nov. 28Syracuse vs Roanoke Volley (at Salem)Jacksonville at GreensboroJohnstown at New HovenLong Island at New JerseyTues. Nov. 30Roanoke Valley at GreensboroSyracuse at CharlotteSun Coast at JacksonvilleJohnstown at Long IslandWed. Dec 1Sun Coast at GreensboroNew Jersey at New HavenThur. Dec. 2Greensboro at Roanoke ValleyFri. Dec. 3Sun Coast at CharlotteGreensboro at JacksonvilleNew Haven vs Clinton (at Utica)Johnstown at New Jersey &#9632;

f0030-03

<div class="byline">BY JOHN GUGGER</div>PORT HURON&mdash;Success in the International Hockey League is usually tied in with a team&rsquo;s ability to win on the road.The Port Huron Wings were making big strides in improving their miserable road record of a season ago, but suddenly earning points on home ice had become a problem.&ldquo;I can&rsquo;t understand it,&rdquo; Wings&rsquo; coach Ted Garvin said. &ldquo;If someone had told me wed split our first nine road games, I would have told him we&rsquo;d be leading the league.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-0194/2922932-1-eng-US/f0031-012.jpg" title="f0031-01" width="272" height="458"><figcaption class="caption-body">Al Genovy</figcaption></div>&ldquo;But look at us. We&rsquo;re in third place, just a few points ahead of the last-place team in the North Division. The good part, though, is that we&rsquo;re only a win out of first place, too.&rdquo;The Wings, who won just four games all of last season on the road, took four wins and a tie out of opposition rinks in their first nine games away from home. At home, they were able to post just a 3-3-1 mark.The Wings lost a 5-4 game in McMorran Arena to Toledo, then took 8-7 and 6-5 victories on the Hornets&rsquo; home ice. On the other hand, they were able to manage only a 2-2 tie with lowly Columbus at McMorran, the first point the Golden Seals had managed after seven losses in a row.&ldquo;How can we tie a team like that?&rdquo; Garvin said after the Seals had held off the Wings for the overtime tie.Despite their lack of home-ice success, the Wings were more than three months ahead of 197071 in posting their fourth road win. And they were being bolstered by the acquisition of several pros from the Detroit farm system.Defenseman Doug Hinton and forwards Al Genovy and Herb Boxer, all of whom played at Fort Worth last season, joined the Wings along with rearguard Derek Harker, St. Louis property.The return of Bob McCammon and Bill LeCaine from retirement and Steve Sutherland, from an injury, were immediate boosts, too.Goalie George Hulme was seeing most of the action for the Wings and, after a shaky start, had begun to lower his goals against average. Port Huron&rsquo;s defensive-style of play on the road also was instrumental in dropping the St. Catharine grad&rsquo;s goals-against-mark to 3.69.FORT WAYNE: Coach Marc Boileau was unhappy with club&rsquo;s goaltending, considered its strong point&hellip;Rookie Gil Smith led club in scoring and goals&hellip;Team had 13 power-play goals in 15 games&hellip;an improvement over last season&hellip;K&rsquo;s scored three goals within 53 seconds in 8-3 romp over Columbus&hellip;Komets have outshot opposition in nearly every game&hellip;DES MOINES: Bob Pate made first start after reporting from Port Huron&hellip;Jean Losier had 12 goals in 13 games&hellip;Peter Slater brawled with Flint&rsquo;s Dennis Gidluck&hellip;Rematch with rival Port Huron was quiet affair, with just one penalty in game&hellip;Leafs game with Flint here, a 3-3 tie, took three and a half hours to complete&hellip;TOLEDO: Newcomer Jerry DeMarco hit hat trick against Columbus&hellip;Greg Jablonski&rsquo;s goal with 22 seconds left beat Seals&hellip;Jim Paterson, forward, obtained from Providence&hellip;Rick Duffett has claimed No. 1 goaltending position&hellip;Jerry and Mike DeMarco form IHL&rsquo;s only brother combination&hellip;Bill Staub out with separated shoulder, Dino Mascotte with bad knee&hellip;FLINT: Dave Gorman scored hat trick in 3-3 tie in Des Moines&hellip;Bob Perani received stitches in brawl with Muskegon&rsquo;s Lynn Margarit&hellip;Generals and Mohawks drew six game misconducts, two majors, and 108 minutes in penalties in game&hellip;Gens had 254 straight sellout crowd&hellip;Duane Wylie became first General in history to lead IHL in scoring&hellip;Gens 0-5-1 in last six starts in Des Moines&hellip;MUSKEGON: Hawks activated center Bob Smith&hellip;Marty Desmarais placed on waivers&hellip;Gary Ford led league in assists, averaging nearly two a game&hellip;Coach Moose Lallo wanted club to hit more&hellip;Rangers&rsquo; scout Boom Boom Geoffrion impressed with Muskegon&rsquo;s sharp passing&hellip;Club&rsquo;s 10-goal outburst against Columbus was biggest production since Jan. 10, 1970&hellip;DAYTON: Gary MacMillan scored shorthanded goals in successive games&hellip;Dave Forbes and Ken Tarnow called up to Oklahoma City for tryout&hellip;Jim Benzelock scored overtime winner against Port Huron&hellip;Gens had 11-3 start with all losses on road&hellip;COLUMBUS: Defenseman Roy Atcheynum dropped&hellip;Goalie Ray Belanger had 48 saves in 2-2 tie in Port Huron&hellip;Seals squandered 3-1 lead against Fort Wayne and 6-3 edge over Toledo in losing&hellip;Dan Helm scored first goal of season to tie Port Huron&hellip;Seals&rsquo; defense was allowing more than 40 shots a game to foes&hellip; &#9632;

f0031-01

Wings Romp On Road Puzzling Turnabout

DAYTON&mdash;Gordon Malinoski, star defenseman for the Dayton Gems, has been suspended for six games for knocking down Referee Dale Jones with his stick during a recent game in Fort Wayne.International Hockey League Commissioner Bill Beagan sent a telegram to Gems&rsquo; General Manager Lefty McFadden which said: &ldquo;Player Gordie Malinoski is suspended for six games beginning with Wednesday&rsquo;s game.&rdquo;McFadden said, &ldquo;I think the Commissioner was most fair. I am sure that he weighed all of the circumstances before making his decision. Certainly we don&rsquo;t condone this sort of thing, and I hope that Gordie has learned his lesson. After all he is a very important cog in our team.&rdquo;The suspension will carry through the game of November 26 in Toledo.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-0533/2922963-1-eng-US/f0031-052.jpg" title="f0031-05" width="518" height="585"><figcaption class="caption-body">GORDON MALINOSKI</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0031-05

Hitting Referee Brings 6-Game Ban On Malinoski

<h2>INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Wed. Nov. 24)<h3>NORTHERN DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-0270/2923008-1-eng-US/f0031-022.jpg" title="f0031-02" width="575" height="104"></div><h3>SOUTHERN DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-0355/2923001-1-eng-US/f0031-032.jpg" title="f0031-03" width="583" height="99"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Wed. Nov. 17Flint 4 at Dayton 5Toledo 0 at Fort Wayne 7Port Huron 5 at Columbus 3Muskegon 4 at Des Moines 5Fri. Nov 19Dayton 2 at Flint 1Fort Wayne 4 at Port Huron 8Des Moines 3 at Toledo 7Sat. Nov. 20Des Moines 3 at Fort Wayne 3Dayton 3 at Muskegon 5Columbus 1 at Port Huron 4Flint 5 at Toledo 2Sun. Nov. 21Des Moines 3 at Dayton 6Toledo 5 at Columbus 4Muskegon 2 at Flint 3<h3>GAMES TO COME</h3>Wed. Nov. 24Muskegon at ToledoPort Huron at DaytonDes Moines at FlintFort Wayne at ColumbusThur. Nov. 25Columbus at Fort WayneDes Moines at MuskegonFlint at Port HuronFri. Nov. 26Dayton at ToledoSat. Nov. 27Flint at Fort WayneColumbus at MuskegonDayton at Port HuronToledo at Des MoinesSun. Nov. 28Muskegon at DaytonPort Huron at ColumbusToledo at Des MoinesFort Wayne at FlintTues. Nov. 30Muskegon at Port HuronWed. Dec. 1Port Huron at Fort WoyneFlint at ColumbusDayton at Des MoinesFri. Dec. 3Fort Wayne at ToledoColumbus at FlintPort Huron at Des Moines<h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3>(Including Games of Sun. Nov. 14<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-0441/2922994-1-eng-US/f0031-042.jpg" title="f0031-04" width="577" height="494"></div> &#9632;

f0031-02

HOW THEY STAHD

<div class="byline">BY HANS TANNER</div>ROCHESTER&mdash;The Rochester Americans&rsquo; 1971-72 road company is receiving rave notices while the hometown &ldquo;reviewers&rdquo; (the fans) continue giving the cast here critical reviews.Bob Blackburn, a defenseman who has been around&mdash;like Quebec City, Kingston, Providence, Vancouver, Buffalo, New York, Baltimore and Pittsburgh, called the Amerk fans the worst he&rsquo;s ever seen&hellip;and the season was just barely a month old when he said it.Captain Doug Dunville has said publicly that the team actually feels more at ease on the road and that he, and many of his teammates, believe the team&rsquo;s home ice problems can be traced largely to the spectators.Rochester&rsquo;s record would seem to bear out that the club doe: indeed play better in foreign rinks than on its friendly home ice at the War Memorial.The Amerks had a 4-4-1 record for their first nine games on the road&mdash;winning in Richmond, Hampton, Va. (over Tidewater), Cincinnati and Springfield.But at home, the Americans had won two, lost four and tied two of their first eight.&mdash;hardly a pace destined to earn the favor of the fans.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-01106/2923039-1-eng-US/f0032-012.jpg" title="f0032-01" width="263" height="461"><figcaption class="caption-body">Bob Blackburn</figcaption></div>While hard to believe, general manager-coach Doug Adam&rsquo;s skaters matched the total number of road victories for each of two earlier Amerk seasons when they grabbed a 4-1 decision in Springfield on Nov. 12.The 1962-63 squad had a 4-302 away record, and the 1969-70 cellar-dwellers were 4-25-7.The real Amerk followers are taking heart from their club&rsquo;s solid performances on the road.They point out that this is an indication of a much-improved squad over those which stumbled home last each of the past three seasons. The 1968-69 team, the first to hit the depths, was 6-25-6 away, in &lsquo;69-70 it was 4-25-7, and last season&rsquo;s athletes posted an 8-24-4 mark in enemy rinks.Of course it is the bitter memories of these last three teams that has bugged the Amerk fans to the point where they expect a repeat this season. So every bad play, every goal against and every defeat or tie on home ice only infuriates them further.There&rsquo;s no place like home&hellip;and thus far the 1971-72 Amerks are happy there isn&rsquo;t. &#9632;

f0032-01

Amerks’ Players Admit They Play Better—Away From Home

<h2>New York Group Develops All Kids</h2>NEW YORK&mdash;The Greater New York City Ice Hockey League, which provides instruction and competition for 1.500 boys from the ages of six to 20. is truly deserving of its banner. On its rosier are youngsters from all five boroughs as well as neighboring Long Island. Westchester, and New Jersey.Over the past few years, the league has become synonymous with success. Since 1970. the league has sent seven players to Canada to further their hockey education. Notably. Max Hansen. formerly a standout with the league&rsquo;s Brooklyn Stars entry in the Metropolitan Junior Hockey Association, is currently playing for the St. Catharines Jr. A. Black Hawks of the prestigious Ontario Hockey Association. and Joe DeVirgilio&mdash;also a Stars product&mdash;is excelling with the St. Catharines Junior B Falcons.League President Bart Grillo feels that &ldquo;if a boy shows marked talent when he is eleven or twelve years of age. it is very possible that with proper guidance he can eventually play in the professional ranks.&rdquo; Grillo believes he has a number of youths in this age group who may have long, rosy careers ahead of them.Greg Vairo of Far Rockaway. N.Y. is a high-scoring center who started his hockey career only two years ago. Greg is an all-around athlete and has won trophies in all sports, but hockey is his favorite. In many respects, the sixth grader at St. Mary&rsquo;s School can do everything the big boys do. only in miniature. But at age 11, he has a great deal of time to develop his talents.It has often been said that the sport of ice hockey does not cater to minority groups, but the league has helped change this image by introducing the game to all city youngsters. Bruce Jones is only one of many blacks and Puerto Ricans in the program. The 11-year-old Brooklyn native got his hockey start on roller skates and switched to ice last year. An all-around athlete. Bruce is already one of the strongest skaters in his age group.<h2>Ottawa Ace Fox Leads CJHL Race</h2>OTTAWA&mdash;Scoring three goals in one game. Bill Fox. diminutive right winger with the league-leading Ottawa M & W Rangers, held doggedly to the Central Junior &ldquo;A&rdquo; Hockey League&rsquo;s scoring lead.Fox. with 14 goals and nine assists, has 23 points and leads Steve Croucher of Pembroke and Steve Hull of Smiths Falls by a single point.Two points back and putting on the pressure is Hull&rsquo;s Bernard Duguay. He matches Fox in goal production with 14 and has seven assists for 21 points. Tied with Duguay at 21 are Smiths Falls teammates Shawn Howard and Don Robertson.Netminding honors are held by Hull&rsquo;s Rick Bourgeois. In 420 minutes of play he&rsquo;s allowed just 21 goals for a 3.00 goals per game average. Second is Ottawa&rsquo;s John Spicer at 3.10. &#9632;

The Amateur Scene

<div class="byline">BY PAT CONNOLLY</div>HALIFAX&mdash;The Price wasn&rsquo;t excessively high but the product has been such that Nova Scotia Voyageur&rsquo;s coach Al MacNeil was able to turn his ship around and point it in a winning direction and first mate Noel Price turned out to be just what the Captain ordered. Price won&rsquo;t be 36 until Christmas Day but MacNeil&rsquo;s early present came gift wrapped just in time to correct a Voyageur habit of losing momentum at critical stages in early games.Price, with left winger Doug Robinson, was wrapped in a package of four and delivered from the Los Angleles Kings along with &lsquo;other considerations&rsquo; to the Montreal Canadiens in return for goaler Rogatien Vachon. The two were promptly turned over to MacNeil and since the veterans arrived to shore up a couple of gaping holes, the good ship Voyageur has been steaming along smoothly in the American League&rsquo;s tight Eastern Division race.Price joined the team on Nov. 6 in time to help salvage a 3-3 tie with the Barons at Cleveland and Robinson checked into Halifax five days later and immediately picked up a key goal as the Vees edged Richmond Robins, 3-2, in the first of a two-game series. Both played prominent roles in the Nova Scotian&rsquo;s 2-1 win over the Robins Nov. 14 as Voyageurs moved into third place in the league behind Boston Braves and Springfield Kings.Where as the team had been tailing off badly in recent games after taking early leads, Price proved to be the great stabilizer upon his arrival and also chipped in with a pair of key assists in the Vees sweep of Richmond.Both Price and Robinson were candid in their reactions to the five player swap that brought them to the east coast.&ldquo;I&rsquo;d be less than honest if I didn&rsquo;t say I was disappointed at leaving Springfield&rdquo; said Price. &ldquo;My family had just settled into a home and we like the city very much. But the disappointment has been tempered by the fact that this is a fine hockey club and now that I&rsquo;m here, I&rsquo;m ready to give Al 100% of my ability&rdquo;. That is a rather sizeable percentage of skill to offer because Price has been a tremendous defender for a number of teams spanning his pro career.Robinson said he was more surprised than disappointed in leaving Seattle where he had been assigned this season by Los Angeles. Like Price, Robby is married with two children and it meant uprooting his family and making the long jaunt from one coast to the other. &#9632;

Disappointed By Trade, New Vees Produce

<h2>NORTHERN ONTARIO JUNIOR</h2>(Standings on Thurs. Nov. 18)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-0190/2923219-1-eng-US/f0033-012.jpg" title="f0033-01" width="576" height="102"></div><h2>LEADING SCORERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-0263/2923212-1-eng-US/f0033-022.jpg" title="f0033-02" width="572" height="377"></div><h2>SOUTHERN ONTARIO JUNIOR</h2>(Standings on Tues. Nov. 16)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-0342/2923205-1-eng-US/f0033-032.jpg" title="f0033-03" width="570" height="201"></div><h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-0430/2923198-1-eng-US/f0033-042.jpg" title="f0033-04" width="572" height="375"></div><h2>NOHA-SOHA INTERLOCKING</h2>(Standings on Thurs. Nov. 18)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-0526/2923191-1-eng-US/f0033-052.jpg" title="f0033-05" width="574" height="302"></div><h2>NEW ENGLAND LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Fri. Nov. 12)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-0619/2923184-1-eng-US/f0033-062.jpg" title="f0033-06" width="577" height="149"></div><h2>LEADING SCORERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-0716/2923177-1-eng-US/f0033-072.jpg" title="f0033-07" width="566" height="250"></div><h2>MID-WEST AMATEUR LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Wed. Nov. 10)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-0814/2923170-1-eng-US/f0033-082.jpg" title="f0033-08" width="575" height="152"></div><h2>ONTARIO SENIOR LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Fri. Nov. 19)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-0912/2923163-1-eng-US/f0033-092.jpg" title="f0033-09" width="573" height="198"></div><h2>NEW YORK METRO LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Mon. Nov. 8)<h3>EASTERN DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-1010/2923156-1-eng-US/f0033-102.jpg" title="f0033-10" width="570" height="130"></div><h3>WESTERN DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-1110/2923149-1-eng-US/f0033-112.jpg" title="f0033-11" width="573" height="103"></div><h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-1210/2923142-1-eng-US/f0033-122.jpg" title="f0033-12" width="573" height="480"></div> &#9632;

f0033-01

<div class="byline">BY BOB BRISCOE</div>BRANDON&mdash;This Western Manitoba city isn&rsquo;t the largest in the Western Canada Hockey League but it has a history in hockey as treasured and honored as any place of any size in the west.Now after several years of holding up the rest of the league from the basement of the Eastern Division, the Wheat Kings have roared from the outhouse to the penthouse.There are those who&rsquo;ll say former pro mentor Rudy Pilous is the man directly responsible for new life of the Wheat Kings There may be some truth to that suggestion. But Pilous isn&rsquo;t the entire reason.Knowledgeable WCHL hockey people will say Pilous is winning this year with Gerry Brisson&rsquo;s hockey team. Brisson coached the club last season and was odd man out when the club was converted to a private operation from a community team and Pilous was brought in to run it.The fact is that Brisson did a fine recruiting job last year and that for the most part his work provided Wheat Kings with their first place talent. The major difference is that Brisson had them when they were a year younger and losing.Keys to Brandon&rsquo;s success have been defenseman Dwayne Pentland,&mdash;a certain All Star&mdash;and goaler Dave McLelland. Both come from Penticton, the result of Brisson deals within the league.As if the high standing wasn&rsquo;t enough for the loyal Brandon fans, they are in ecstacy these days over word that work on a new arena may begin again soon.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-0198/2923250-1-eng-US/f0034-012.jpg" title="f0034-01" width="280" height="478"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jack Cummings</figcaption></div>Wheat Kings are playing out of the ManEx Arena&mdash;a converted curling rink that has been their home since the city three years ago sold the property on which stood the old Wheat City Arena.Work began last year on a 5,-000-seat arena which is part of a sprawling Keystone Center on the Exhibition grounds. That got snarled up politically and through lack of finances but the latest word is that work will continue soon with an almost 100 per cent chance that the Wheaties will be in a new home by next fall.One of the keys to their early success has been two wins in Winnipeg. In fact, there are those who feel Brandon wouldn&rsquo;t be anywhere near their 10-2 record had it not been for a rather startling turn of events in the first game. Wheaties were trailing 4-1 early in the game but came back to win it.In the rematch in Winnipeg, playing with more confidence, they came away with a 4-3 win to give them the 10-2 slate.After threatening to solidly take over second place in the Eastern Division, Winnipeg Jets suffered three straight losses, two at home, to slump into fifth, just a point ahead of the last-place Swift Current Broncos.Saskatoon Blades and Regina Pats emerged as solid contenders for second. Jackie McLeod&rsquo;s Blades and the Pats of Earl Ingarfield moved to within three points of Wheaties&mdash;Blades with a 9-3 win over Edmonton Oil Kings and Pats with a 6-3 win over Winnipeg.SWIFT CURRENT: Broncos, after suffering two losses in which they allowed 16 goals and scored only two, started to put things together with a big victory over New Westminster Bruins in New Westminster. They displayed they were for real by losing only by one goal the next night to Vancouver Nats.FLIN FLON: Bombers, in fourth place in the east with 16 points but with the most losses in the league, completed a swap with Winnipeg with the hopes of reversing their losing percentage. Bombers gave up Gary Haverty and Bob Mclnstry, two last-year forwards, for Bob Thomson and Parny Robinson. &ldquo;Thompson is in his draft year and Robinson has another season of eligibility. Also involved were the rights to a couple of rural Manitoba midgets.&rdquo;EDMONTON: Oil King coach Brian Shaw threatened some lineup changes after his club missed a chance to move into undisputed possession of first place in the west division when they were bombed 9-3 in Saskatoon.&ldquo;We stunk the place out. Everybody in the lineup was fined for indifferent play,&rdquo; Shaw fumed.Just the night before, Oil Kings moved into a first-place tie with Calgarv Centennials with a 2-0 shutout win in Calgary, gaining some revenge for two earlier losses to Cents. It was the second straight shutout victory for Edmonton.Goaltender Larry Hendrick was the hero for Edmonton in that game. Hendrick, only 16, played a key role in Oil Kings&rsquo; march to the Memorial Cup final last year. Cents, however, were playing without captain and center Brian Walker and forward defenceman Jim McMasters. Walker was suspended for a game and McMasters for two after in incident involving an official in a loss in New Westminster. In that one, Bruins won in overtime after they were awarded a penalty shot on which they tied the game.NEW WESTMINSTER: Bruins held third place in the division with 14 points but were experiencing goaltending and defensive problems. Their total of 72 goals-against was the second highest in a division which includes two expansion teams&mdash;Victoria and Vancouver. They are also without center Lome Henning, out for a month with sickness. He&rsquo;s their offensive sparkplug and a certain top draft.New West was shut out 4-0 in Vancouver before dropping a one-goal decision for Swift Current at Queen&rsquo;s Park Arena.MEDICINE HAT: Just when it appeared as though there were few bright days ahead for the Tigers, they won in overtime in Winnipeg to move to within two points of Bruins. Coach Jack Shupe has Tigers scoring profusely&mdash;they&rsquo;re second in the division only to Oil Kings&mdash;but they are again having defensive problems, having allowed the third highest goals-against total.Tigers may have to think about dealing some for their offensive power for some blueline or goal help if they hope to improve on their fourth-place standing.Tigers&rsquo;s president Rod Carry was hit with a $1,250 fine for an incident involving an official in Medicine Hat earlier in the season. League secretary-manager Tom Fisher also reprimanded team manager Joe Fisher.VANCOUVER: Things weren&rsquo;t looking too bright for the Nats a couple of weeks ago. They were last in their division and weren&rsquo;t drawing well. Then a couple of players&mdash;including goaltenders Jack Cummings&mdash;missed curfew on the road.But with Cummings, the former Edmonton Oil King, playing strong goal, Nats then won two in a row at home, one by a shutout, and moved into fifth, three points ahead of Victoria Cougars. And the people began to return to Kerrisdale arena.VICTORIA: Cougars, meanwhile managed only a tie in a string which saw them play eight of nine games on the road. With only seven points in 18 games, Cougars swung a deal with Brandon in order to acquire more experience. Cougars gave up the WCHL rights of Bruce Affleck, a star defensemen with Pentiction of the B.C. league, for experienced Brandon forwards Barry Chemos and Gerry Dudar. &#9632;

f0034-01

Aroused Wheat Kings Scramble To Top As Talk Of New Arena Pops Up Again

<h2>WESTERN CANADA LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Sat. Nov. 13)<h3>EASTERN DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-0614/2923288-1-eng-US/f0034-062.jpg" title="f0034-06" width="580" height="145"></div><h3>WESTERN DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-0712/2923281-1-eng-US/f0034-072.jpg" title="f0034-07" width="576" height="153"></div> &#9632;

f0034-06

<h2>MICHIGAN JUNIOR LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Mon. Nov. 15)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-0253/2923340-1-eng-US/f0034-022.jpg" title="f0034-02" width="578" height="154"></div><h2>LEADING SCORERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-0337/2923333-1-eng-US/f0034-032.jpg" title="f0034-03" width="573" height="259"></div><h2>CENTRAL JUNIOR LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Fri. Nov. 19)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-0423/2923326-1-eng-US/f0034-042.jpg" title="f0034-04" width="580" height="102"></div><h2>LEADING SCORERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-0521/2923319-1-eng-US/f0034-052.jpg" title="f0034-05" width="581" height="254"></div> &#9632;

f0034-02

<div class="byline">BY JACK GATECLIFF</div>ST. CATHARINES&mdash;The rich got richer and the poor got poorer as the Ontario Hockey Association Major Junior A schedule reached the one-quarter mark.The league-leading Oshawa Generals added a single point in their only game&mdash;a 3-3 tie with Peterborough but there was little breathing space between Kitchener and Niagara Falls, Peterborough, Ottawa, Toronto and London.St. Catharines, Hamilton and Montreal still found difficulty adding to their points totals.The Black Hawks struck their worst slump in years, losing seven straight games while Hamilton&rsquo;s only points came at the expense of last place Montreal Canadiens.The Canadiens have still not reached anything resembling their form of previous years and after 13 games had only three points on one win and a tie.The Canadiens have still not reached anything resembling their form of previous years and after 13 games had only three points on one win and a tie.The biggest brawl of the season occurred late in the Hamilton-Montreal game and Red Wing owner Nick Durbano, involved in no controversy this year after a hectic 1970-71 schedule, was set down for three games for allegedly sending some of his players on to the ice to join in the battle.Eight of the 10 teams qualify for the playoffs and at the present time it appears to be a scramble between St. Catharines, Hamilton and Montreal for the final post-season playoff berth.OSHAWA: Generals&rsquo; fans are still rubbing their eyes in disbelief as the club which has been at or near the bottom for four seasons showed no signs of relinquishing its grip on first place&hellip;Oshawa leads not only in wins and total points but also in goals scored, has a defensive record second only to Ottawa 67s and the least defeats in the league.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-0186/2923371-1-eng-US/f0035-012.jpg" title="f0035-01" width="265" height="451"><figcaption class="caption-body">Wayne Chrysler</figcaption></div>NIAGARA FALLS: A goal in the last 64 seconds by Wayne Chrysler salvaged a 4-4 tie for the Flyers with Kitchener Rangers and both manager Hap Emms and coach Paul Emms are overjoyed at the steady play by last year&rsquo;s 10th place club&hellip;Fans who stopped following the Flyers during three lean years are now back in the seats and the Emms family must be wondering whether to go through with their rumored plans of moving the franchise to Sudbury next season.KITCHENER: The Rangers are moving steadily towards the top and don&rsquo;t seem to have a weak position&hellip;Goaltender Glen Seperich was particularly brilliant in 6-1 win over St. Catharines, stopping 27 shots before Bob MacGuigan spoiled his shutout bid in the third period.PETERBOROUGH: The Petes are going on no long win streaks which carried them to first place a year ago but are playing steady enough hockey to remain a threat for the first division&hellip;It&rsquo;s a rebuilding year for coach Roger Neilson and he should be satisfied if his club finished in fourth or fifth position&hellip;With their positional hockey they may be a threat by playoff time.OTTAWA: Although not winning as regularly as many predicted before the season started the goaltending of Bunny Larocque, stout defensive work by Dennis Potvin and consistent scoring by Ron Bobbette and Brian McSheffrey still stamp the 67s as bonafide championship contenders&hellip;Coach Bill Long predicted it would take the 67s five years to reach the top after they were granted a franchise in 1967&hellip;This is the fifth year and he could be correct.TORONTO: The Marlboros still look great one night and ordinary the next&hellip;After losing 4-3 to Peterborough they trounced Montreal 11-6, then doubled the score on Peterborough in Maple Leaf Gardens at 6-3&hellip;Bill Harris scored four of the six goals on home ice and when other proven scorers such as Dave Gardner, Steve Shutt and Paulin Bordeleau are on target the opposition is in for a rough evening.LONDON: Winger Dennis Ververgaert, one of the top scorers in the league, quit the Knights for one game (against St. Catharines) over a salary dispute but returned from his home in Grimsby, Ont. and rejoined his linemates Reg Thomas and Randy Osburn&hellip;That trio has formed one of the most potent units in Junior A and has accounted for better than 50 per cent of the Knights&rsquo; goals.ST. CATHARINES: The Black Hawks have had fine goaltending from rookie Brian Cousineau and former Marlboro Mike Ralph but their forwards just can&rsquo;t find the net&hellip;Captain Bob MacMillan expected back in 10 days after a bout with hepatitis&hellip;Hawk President Fred Muller was named St. Catharines Sportsman of the Year in recognition of bringing the city its first Ontario Junior A title in 11 years last season.HAMILTON: Red Wings had first-year coach Harry Neale feeling he had the club on the right track after 11-6 win over Montreal but they promptly lost their next game 6-3 to Ottawa&hellip;Despite their poor record the Wings have lost several exceptionally close games and look to better things by the New Year&hellip;Attendance poorest in years and if Ho increase is shown owner Nick Durbano may have to look for another city to move his franchise.MONTREAL: An unfamiliar story for the Canadiens&hellip;They won only one of their first 13 games but oddly enough it was against first place Oshawa&hellip;The Canadiens have been a powerhouse since joining the. strong Ontario group but this season has, so far, been a disaster&hellip;Coach Roger Bedard still looking for ways of strengthening his club but has been blocked from obtaining talent by the improving Quebec Junior Hockey League which is reluctant to grant transfers. &#9632;

f0035-01

Six-Team Race Puts New Life In Fight For Playoff Spots

<h2>ONTARIO MAJOR JUNIOR</h2>(Standings on Mon. Nov. 22)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-0262/2923409-1-eng-US/f0035-022.jpg" title="f0035-02" width="589" height="254"></div><h2>GAMES COMPLETED</h2>Tues. Nov. 16Ottawa 6 at Niagara Falls 3Toronto 3 at St. Catharines 2London 1 at Montreal 1Hamilton 4 at Peterborough 3Thurs. Nov. 18Niagara Falls 2 at Peterborough 3Fri. Nov. 19Peterborough 4 at Niagara Falls 4Hamilton 2 at Ottawa 7Oshawa 3 at Kitchener 8St. Catharines 3 at Toronto 11Sun. Nov 21Ottawa 8 at Oshawa 3Hamilton 2 at London 1Niagara Falls 2 at St. Catharines 9Kitchener 4 of Toronto 8Peterborough 3 at Montreal 3<h2>QUEBEC JUNIOR LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Mon. Nov. 22)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-0340/2923402-1-eng-US/f0035-032.jpg" title="f0035-03" width="577" height="251"></div> &#9632;

f0035-02

<div class="byline">BY JOHN ARNOLD</div>SOLUTION IN DECEMBER 10 ISSUE<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-0434/2923440-1-eng-US/f0035-042.jpg" title="f0035-04" width="815" height="1082"></div><h2>ACROSS</h2>1&mdash;Pictured player.7&mdash;An NHL center.9&mdash;One of the Canucks answers to this.10&mdash;Number of seasons Bill Gadsby played in the NHL.12&mdash;Non-negotiable. (abbr.)13&mdash;To make mistakes.15&mdash;1959-60 Calder Trophy winner.17&mdash;Hadfield of New York wears this number.18&mdash;I across is 35.21&mdash;A Buffalo rearguard answers to this.22&mdash;Number of playoff goals scored by pictured player last season.25&mdash;Initials of a Hawk veteran.27&mdash;Former NHL defenseman.29&mdash;Recently traded to New York and Vancouver.<h2>DOWN</h2>1&mdash;An NHL captain.2&mdash;1965-66 Norris Trophy winner.3&mdash;Initials of one of the North Stars.4&mdash;25th and 7th letters of the alphabet.5&mdash;Ex-Ranger Heller answers to this.6&mdash;An NHL General Manager, (first name).8&mdash;Boston coach Johnson used to wear this number while with Montreal.11&mdash;Initials of an NHL coach.14&mdash;First name of a Chicago right winger.16&mdash;1st and 9th letters of the alphabet.19&mdash;Recently retired Red Wing.20&mdash;A former Black Hawk winger answers to this.23&mdash;An NHL linesman.24&mdash;Montreal and Buffalo did this Nov. 14th.26&mdash;One of the Flyers.27&mdash;A former New York captain, (init.)28&mdash;Preposition.29&mdash;Initials of ex-forward Lynn.<h2>LAST WEEK&rsquo;S ANSWERS</h2><h3>ACROSS</h3>1&mdash;TREMBLAY.6&mdash;VI.7&mdash;L.R.9&mdash;S.M.10&mdash;KEON.13&mdash;LEONARD.15&mdash;111.16&mdash;P.O.17&mdash;N.B.19&mdash;ROD.22&mdash;R.S.23&mdash;APR.25&mdash;BLACKBURN.28&mdash;RAY.29&mdash;ELLIS.30&mdash;A.N.31&mdash;R.N.32&mdash;D.D.33&mdash;RUEL.<h3>DOWN</h3>1&mdash;TESSIER.2&mdash;E.V.3&mdash;MIKE.4&mdash;LEON.5&mdash;Y.L.8&mdash;RED.11&mdash;E.O.12&mdash;NAP.13&mdash;LINDSAY.14&mdash;RON.18&mdash;BURNS.20&mdash;ORLAND.21&mdash;PAUL.24&mdash;PRICE.25&mdash;BRAD.26&mdash;KEN.27&mdash;B.L.31&mdash;R.R. &#9632;

f0035-04

HOCKEY CROSSWORD

<div class="byline">BY JACK BERRY</div>DETROIT&mdash;They&rsquo;re not quite the &ldquo;Over the Hill Gang&rdquo; like George Allen&rsquo;s thirtyish Washington Redskins of the National Football League but Johnny Wilson&rsquo;s Red Wing defense corps certainly is flirting with middle age&hellip;as defensemen go.Two are 29&mdash;Arnie Brown and Ron Harris, one is on the verge of it&mdash;Bob Wall, Larry Johnston is 28 and Gary Bergman is the senior citizen of the group at 32. The only youngster is 22-year-old Ron Stackhouse.,None of them have ever made the National Hockey League All Star team and there&rsquo;s no groundswell of support for such recognition although I did receive a letter from HOCKEY NEWS reader in Washington, D.C., who grew up in Cleveland, watched Bergman there and Bergman says continues to impress from afar with his fortitude, dash, competitiveness yet comparative gentlemanliness.&rdquo;But as a group, the Red Wing defense is beginning to pull itself together and give the club the kind of efficiency it needs to reverse the early disasters and gain respectability and perhaps a shot at a playoff spot in the East Division.And it is some group.Wilson has decided to go with six defensemen, a change from predecessor Doug Barkley who determined to go with five because with six, they weren&rsquo;t getting sufficient work.But Wilson has taken age into account plus the fact that Harris really still is mending from offseason knee surgery.And while the often-underrated Bergman and Brown are the anchors of the defense, Wilson more and more is working in two veteran American Leaguers, Wall and Johnston.Johnston figured the big time had just about passed him by when he couldn&rsquo;t stick with the Los Angeles Kings who acquired him when they bought the Springfield Indians lock, stock and barrel. The 5-foot-ll, 200-pound Kitchener product played just four games with the 1967-68 Kings and those were his only NHL appearances until Wilson brought him up from the Tide water Wings a couple weeks ago.Johnston looks older than his 28 years and that&rsquo;s understandable. His face has seen more stitches than a Singer sewing machine&mdash;he was a resident &lsquo;badman&rsquo; in the AHL, piling up penalty totals of 197 and 240 minutes in 1967-68 and 1968-69 to lead the league. He led the Central League in his rookie pro year, 1964-65, with 262 minutes in 57 games at Tulsa&mdash;that&rsquo;s an average of better than four minutes a game.Wilson knows Johnston and had him for those two big penalty years at Springfield and then they were reunited in the Tidewater training camp this season. Wilson figured Johnston could do more than run people and fight, that he could play some defense and he&rsquo;s been doing that since his recall. He had a most modest eight penalty minutes in his first four games and didn&rsquo;t go on any rampages.Johnston found his way to Detroit from Los Angeles ownership in the Feb. 20, 1970 deal with the Kings that also brought Dale Rolfe and Gary Croteau to Detroit for Garry Monahan and Brian Gibbons.Johnston is the only survivor on the Detroit end of the deal.While Wilson is more familiar with Johnston, he has worked in the past with Wall, too. Wall was with the Kings during Wilson&rsquo;s half-season as interim coach and he of course saw him during the training camps.Neither Wall nor Johnston is flashy but Wilson isn&rsquo;t look for flash&mdash;he&rsquo;s looking for consistency in the Red Wing zone. There&rsquo;s been some indication that he&rsquo;s getting it&hellip;why the Red Wings even managed to cool the red-hot Minnesota North Stars in the Met Sports Center and win a one-goal game, 2-1.And, as expected, the ice show-enforced November journey seemed to be what the doctor ordered for the floundering Wings who were edgy in front of their dissatisfied home fans. Wilson&rsquo;s two-hour workouts and road cooking gave the Wings ties in Buffalo and St. Louis and victories in Minnesota and Philadelphia before it all came to an end in Los Angeles. &#9632;

Search for your favorite player or team

December 3, 1971

Kansas City Rebounds With Win Streak To Quit CHI Cellar

National Hockey League SUMMARIES

Player Of The Week

Kings, Shore Agree To Five-Year Lease For New Civic Rink