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

February 25, 1972

The Hockey News February 25, 1972

<div class="byline">BY HANS TANNER</div>ROCHESTER&mdash;It used to be that 20 goals was a target figure for most forwards during a season. But changes in the style of play have raised that figure to 30 and 35 for a player to have a successful season.The Rochester Americans, however, seem to be operating under the old system.As the Amarks struggled into February, prospects of a single 30-goal scorer on their squad were so remote as to not even be worth talking about.In fact, 20-goal men are going to be few and far between for the 1971-72 Rochester Americans unless there is a dramatic upswing in goal production for the final two months of the season.Through the first 49 games of their schedule, the Amerks didn&rsquo;t even have a player with 15 goals! At the same time, there were 19 players in the American League who already had reached the 20-goal plateau and another 17 in the 15-to-19 category.That means 36 players had scored at least 15 goals through the end of January, and not one of them was an Amerk.All the other 10 teams had a minimum of two shooters on the list of 36.Should the Rochester players continue at their present snail&rsquo;s pace the rest of the way, only two&mdash;Doug Brindley and Duke Harris&mdash;will barely reach the 20-goal mark. Bobby Lalonde and Bobby Walton have a shot at it, too.It is this lack of firepower that has kept the Amerks at the bottom of the AHL Eastern Division much of the season and is the reason they&rsquo;ll finish there unless there is a turn-about.The frustration of it all was brough home to rookie coach Don Cherry on January 30 when Springfield thumped his Amerks here by an 8-5 score.&ldquo;I watched Wayne Rivers score his 34th and 35th goals of the season in that game,&rdquo; Cherry commented later. &ldquo;Then I looked down my bench for our big scores&mdash;and could see only players with 14, 13, 13, 12, 11 and 10 goals.&ldquo;The night before we were in Cleveland and they&rsquo;ve got four guys with more than 20 goals and another two with more than 15.&ldquo;A big goal scorer is a leader who can help pick up a team. We don&rsquo;t have one and that&rsquo;s why we are in trouble.&rdquo;How important is scoring a goal in the first period? Well, for the Americans it is vital.Through the first weekend in February, the Amerks had been blanked in the first period 10 times on home ice. They won just one of those games, tied another and lost eight.On the road, they were held scoreless in 12 first periods. The Amerks won two of those, tied another and lost nine.That&rsquo;s a combined record of three wins, 17 losses and two ties for games in which they failed to score in the opening 20 minutes.On the other hand, Rochester had a fine 11-4-2 home ice record for games in which they scored in the first period, and away were a respectable 4-8-2 for a combined mark of 15 wins, 12 defeats and four ties.Firstperioditis is the disease that has made the Amerks sickly in the standings, and it may be too late for them to recover.One thing they did recover from, however, was a recent long day coming home from Halifax, Nova Scotia.The Amerks played there on a Thursday night and were to face Providence, the team they have to beat to gain a spot in the playoffs, here the following night.The players got up at 6 a.m. in Halifax to catch a 7:30 flight. But rain, sleet, snow and wind forced the plane they were to take to bypass Halifax. Finally, along about 1:30 in the afternoon, a plane was able to take the team to Toronto. They landed about 3:45 and bused the rest of the way to Rochester, arriving here at 7:25 p.m. for the scheduled 8 o&rsquo;clock game. The start was delayed 35 minutes as a result.Providence had arrived here Thursday and was well rested.Everything pointed to an easy victory for the Reds, right?So you know what happened&hellip;the Amerks roared out and scored three goals in the first 10 minutes on the way to a 5-3 victory that kept their playoff hopes alive.ICICLES: Roy Boe, owner of the new Long Island franchise in the NHL, has expressed an interest in purchasing Rochester from Vancouver&hellip;World Hockey Association representatives from the Ontario franchise were here for a couple of days looking over the War Memorial facilities. &#9632;

IN THIS ISSUE

Lack Of 20-Goal Scorers Holding Americans Down

TULSA&mdash;The Oilers broke even in two road starts, but suffered a tremendous jolt when ace center Cal Swenson was lost for a month with a broken bone in the lower part of his back.The injury came Feb. 4 after he had scored two goals in the 5-2 triumph at Kansas City. Cal tried to play in Omaha the next night, but had to give it up, and watched the Oilers suffer a 4-2 setback.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a blow,&rdquo; fretted Tulsa general manager Ray Miron, as he searched frantically for a replacement. &ldquo;Even if we can find someone to put a uniform on, there&rsquo;s no way we can replace Cal&rsquo;s scoring and playmaking ability.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a terrible blow to Cal, too. He was right in the thick of the fight for the league scoring leadership.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-0436/2972203-1-eng-US/f0029-042.jpg" title="f0029-04" width="263" height="436"><figcaption class="caption-body">Cal Swenson</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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Tulsa Jolted With Swenson Out A Month

<div class="byline">BY BILL LIBBY</div>LOS ANGELES&mdash;Sometimes it is better to be lucky than good. The Kings have been bad for a long time. Lately, they have been good. Unfortunately, they got unlucky at the same time.Through their 55th game of the season, through the first week of February, they had their hottest streak of the season going. They were undefeated in six straight games with three victories and three ties and had lost only three of their last 12 games over a four-week period.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-01463/2971225-1-eng-US/f0019-012.jpg" title="f0019-01" width="266" height="430"><figcaption class="caption-body">Billy Smith</figcaption></div>But in their 54th game they lost for the season their regular goaltender Rogatien Vachon with a knee injury and this will hurt them just when coach Fred Glover has them going good.The streak started with consecutive l-l ties against established teams on the road in Toronto and Boston. The Kings then lost in Detroit, but tied in Philadelphia.Coming home, they lost to New York, but beat Philadelphia. They went to Minnesota and lost, but came home to beat Toronto. Their first victory over a team with a winning record all season. Back on the road they tied in Detroit and Buffalo.They came home for a spectacular 7-4 upset of Chicago, the best team they have beaten all season, and with this one vacated the cellar. The Hawks were looser than usual, but the Kings were aggressive and the wild game thrilled the home fans.Next out. Kings played tighter and held Montreal to a 1-1 tie in a fine contest. Only great goal tending by Ken Dryden deprived them of a victory. Vachon was injured early in the second period of this one and Gary Edwards took over to blank Montreal the rest of the way.After Vachon underwent surgery to repair a torn ligament and remove a cartilage, Edwards returned to the nets and the Kings made it easy for him with an 8-1 romp over Pittsburgh before more than 10,(XX) frenzied Forum fans. Their record remained poor at 15-33-7, but they were within six points of a playoff spot.It remains to be seen if the Kings can remain rolling. Rookie Edwards had a much better record than Vachon-9-10-4 now to 6-19-3, but Rog had taken on tougher foes, is tough and was playing well, while the surprising Edwards has had a stamina problem in the past and went to the Institute of Physical Fitness in Toronto last summer to build up.Called up to back him up is Billy Smith, an untested 21-year-old rookie, who was spectacular as Springfield won the American Hockey League playoffs last season, and has been outstanding there this season.The Kings are a new team. After their trade of Bill Flett, Eddie Joyal and Ross Lonsberry to Philadelphia for Jim Johnson, Serge Bernier and Bill Lesuk following the 50th game, there remained on the roster not a single player who had been there continuously since before the trade for Gilles Marotte in February of 1970. &#9632;

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Kings Struggle To Make It With Hot And Cold Club

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/cover-01528/2972873-1-eng-US/cover-012.jpg" title="Cover-01" width="730" height="994"></div>BRAD PARKPARK SETS HAT TRICK MARK FOR DEFENSEMEN<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/cover-02401/2972866-1-eng-US/cover-022.jpg" title="Cover-02" width="1748" height="1572"></div>MICKEY REDMONDScoring Heroics Could Make Him An All StarYOUNG DEFENSE ASSURES BRIGHT FUTURE FOR CANUCKS<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/cover-03178/2972859-1-eng-US/cover-032.jpg" title="Cover-03" width="511" height="944"></div>BLACK HAWKS NEARLY UNBEATABLE AT HOME &#9632;

Cover-01

BRUINS’ OFFENSE SHUFFLED

<div class="byline">BY TOM MONAHAN</div>BOSTON&mdash;The loss of a Bobby Orr, Phil Esposito, Ken Dryden, Bobby Hull or Jean Ratelle may be considered disastrous in the National Hockey league. But what meaning has the loss of a Ken Hodge?At the minute Hodge went to the sidelines for an estimated four weeks with a broken ankle after having been slashed by Minnesota&rsquo;s goalie Cesare Maniago, the loss was considered insignificant.Two games later the loss is suddenly incalculable.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-01710/2969994-1-eng-US/f0002-012.jpg" title="f0002-01" width="269" height="445"><figcaption class="caption-body">Wayne Cashman</figcaption></div>Without Hodge the Bruins defeated Detroit 3-2 in a ragged game. Then they played back to one of the worst games since they battled out of their old NHL cellar spot when they lost to Buffalo 8-2.Naturally, not all of this could be blamed on the loss of Hodge. In 51 games he had accounted for only 14 goals and 32 assists for a total of 46 points.The Bruins supposedly have manpower to throw away to any expansion team that comes along and still run pool on the rest of the East Division.They could shift Wayne Cashman, a normal right wing, over from his left wing spot and go with Don Marcotte or Ace Bailey on the left of Esposito.Or they could keep Cashman at left wing and put Reg Leach at right wing.No one gets hurt, either way.Somewhere along the line. however, it seems those logical shifts don&rsquo;t work immediately.Esposito goes scoreless in two games and gets only one shot on net in the fiasco with the Sabres.Not only that, the shifting cost coach Tom Johnson the use of his Black Aces and instead of having four solid lines to throw at the opposition he had only one.Johnson is the first to admit it takes time to make line changes effective.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not fair to say that Cashman can go to right wing immediately and play his normal game,&rdquo; he said.&ldquo;And it takes time for the players to make adjustments to each other.&rdquo;Cashman&rsquo;s approach was one of willingness to play right wing,&rdquo; But it makes you change your thinking to play the other side,&rdquo; he said.&ldquo;It should be easier for me because I&rsquo;m a right hand shot. But a couple of times I&rsquo;ve caught myself going down the wrong side.&rdquo;Moving up with Esposito also had an effect on Marcotte.&ldquo;On the Black Aces we are used to busting all around the ice. But Phil likes you to skate your wing and not wander that much.&rdquo;Esposito himself thinks the man who has to make the greatest adjustment is Cashman.&ldquo;For two years he has been taking everything on his backhand and passing that way,&rdquo; said Phil. &ldquo;Now he was to change to 1ake the pass on his forehand.&ldquo;He had to learn to do everything backwards and he mastered it. Now he has to learn the reverse.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-02667/2969987-1-eng-US/f0002-022.jpg" title="f0002-02" width="571" height="596"><figcaption class="caption-body">KEN HODGE</figcaption></div>And left wing still is a problem as Johnson broke his third line unit of Derek Sanderson, Eddie Westfall and Mike Walton by moving Walton up to left wing with Espo and Cashman.The whole point is that the loss of Hodge may not be disastrous to the Bruins but it points up the age-old fact that hockey is a premium on timing and reflex actions.One missing cog can throw the whole gear-box out of kilter. &#9632;

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Esposito Gets New Linemates As Injury Shelves Ken Hodge

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0002-03" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-03550/2970025-1-eng-US/f0002-032.jpg"></div>Buffalo&rsquo;s Rick Martin plays puck against Bruins.<h2>MARTIN EQUALS ROOKIE MARK</h2>BUFFALO&mdash;Rick Martin scored his 38th goal of the National Hockey League season last weekend to equal the record for a rookie set last year by teammate Gilbert Perreault.Martin, a top contender for the Calder Trophy rookie award, gave the selectors something to think about as he pumped in his recordtieing goal. With 21 games remaining on the schedule, the Buffalo Sabres&rsquo; freshman sensation could conceivably reach 50 at his present momentum.<h2>CAMPBELL WINS PATRICK AWARD</h2>NEW YORK&mdash;NHL President Clarence Campbell, who has been in the chief executive&rsquo;s chair for the past 26 years, has been named winner of the 1972 Lester Patrick Memorial Trophy.Campbell, who has guided the NHL through three expansions since 1967, was named for the award as the man who made the biggest contribution to hockey in the United States last year. He was a unanimous selection.The 66-year-old Campbell will receive the award at the seventh annual Patrick Trophy dinner in New York&rsquo;s Plaza Hotel, March 13.<h2>NEW NHL ENTRY&rsquo;ISLANDERS&rsquo;?</h2>NEW YORK&mdash;If you are wondering what the new National Hockey League expansion team in Long Island is going to known as when it starts play next fall, you might try the name &lsquo;Islanders&rsquo;.It seems, Ralph Caso, Nassau County executive, has asked club owner Roy Boe to append the name to the new NHL club which would be known as the &lsquo;New York Islanders&rsquo;.How would New Yorkers react to the new name? Staunch hockey fan Marvin Fricklas of Freeport, Long Island, thinks the name &lsquo;Islanders&rsquo; would go over well.<h2>RUSSIA-CANADA OPEN PLAY NEAR</h2>SAPPORO&mdash;An open hockey tournament featuring Russia and Canada appears to be in the making.Fred Page, Canada&rsquo;s representative on the International Ice Hockey Federation, expects the way to be cleared for such a competition now that the Olympic Games are out of the way. Russian coach Anatoli Tarasov has been huddling with Canadian officials and the outcome could be an &lsquo;open&rsquo; tournament with top players from both countries.to begin possibly in May, 1972. &#9632;

f0002-03

Deadline Stoppers

<div class="byline">BY BOB VERDI</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0003-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-01714/2970056-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg"></div>CHICAGO&mdash;There is a record in the National Hockey League archives which at this moment bears surveillance. It is the mark for fewest home defeats during a season, two shared by the 196162 Montreal Canadiens and the 1970-71 New York Rangers.The team most likely to put a dent in that entry would be the current version of the Chicago Black Hawks. Through 28 outings on friendly frozen water this winter, the Chicagoans won 23 times, lost but once and tied four.Surely, there were eleven occasions remaining for the Hawks to sag as of this writing. But the most remarkable aspect of the record at home was that the team was incredibly stingy&mdash;and a defensive posture like this is more of a positive indication than a situation where you win 65 games.Through those 28 games, the Hawks had yielded but 41 goals on home ice. Five came in the only setback, Dec. 29, when the Boston Bruins nailed a convincing 5-1 defeat on the Billy Reay Six.Also through the first 28 games, the Hawks had authored ten shutouts on Chicago Stadium ice. Seven were by Tony Esposito and three by Gary Smith. And again the most remarkable aspect of all the whitewashes was that the goalies were receiving plenty of help.&ldquo;The guys cover up well,&rdquo; Espo said after recording his seventh blank on Feb. 6 against Minnesota 5-0. &ldquo;They weren&rsquo;t getting in on me at all.&rdquo;Another record the Hawks were eyeing was the team standard for shutouts, 15, established in the 1969-70 season when Esposito achieved all of them.The previously mentioned contest against the North Stars was significant also because it was Chicago&rsquo;s fifth straight triumph over their nearest pursuers and it propelled the Hawks into a 14-point lead in the West Division, equalling their highest bulge of the season.This was a typical North Stars-Hawks confrontation&hellip;at least typical for this season. While the Minnesotans usually act like one of the best teams in hockey, when they play the Black Hawks it is usually onesided.&ldquo;They may not play that well, but maybe it&rsquo;s partly because we play well,&rdquo; defended Dennis Hull, who registered two goals in that latest meeting against Cesare Maniago. The pair represented the 27th time in Dennis&rsquo; career that he&rsquo;s managed a two-goal game, but he&rsquo;s never had a hat trick.&ldquo;Can you imagine 27 chances and not getting a hat trick?&rdquo; he smiled. &ldquo;Actually I don&rsquo;t care if I never get one. They&rsquo;re not that important. Besides, if I did get one. then I&rsquo;d just be one of a lot of guys who got them. This way, I&rsquo;m more of a celebrity. Maybe I should never get one.&rdquo;Coach Reay altered his third line at the start of the month, and the immediate loser was Danny O&rsquo;Shea. Reay inserted Andre Lacroix at center for right wing Jim Pappin and left wing Bryan Campbell. O&rsquo;Shea, who had been playing left wing and then a little center, took a seat.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s just not been playing well,&rdquo; said Reay, &ldquo;and he knows it. He&rsquo;s starting to press and the best thing for him is a few games to get away from it all.&rdquo;O&rsquo;Shea bagged two goals in the Hawks&rsquo; opening night victory at St. Louis, but had managed only four since. When he came to Chicago in a trade a year ago, he was primarily a center. Reay tossed him over at left wing, and O&rsquo;Shea has never quite mastered the port side.The Hawks saw a chance to unload O&rsquo;Shea and promptly sent him to St. Louis Blues in a straight player exchange for Christian Bordeleau, also a center. Bordeleau responded with a goal for the Hawks and O&rsquo;Shea did likewise for St. Louis) &#9632;

f0003-01

BLACK HAWKS UNBEATABLE AT HOME…ALMOST

<div class="byline">Ken McKenzie&#x2019;s</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-01776/2970108-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg" title="f0004-01" width="509" height="530"></div>&bull; RICHMOND&mdash;BIGGEST SUCCESS story this season has been the launching of professional hockey in this tradition-steeped Virginia city and the almost unbelievable way it has been accepted in such a short time by the sporting public here. When E. Claiborne Robins Jr. was granted an American Hockey League franchise many skeptics thought the game would never go over in this Southern locale which has no hockey background whatsoever. However, they failed to take into account the business acumen and organizational skills of this wealthy 28-year-old president and majority owner. One of the first moves he made was hiring Hillman Lyons and Charlie Evranian as general manager and assistant GM respectively. Both men had been successful front-office baseball operators but were unknown to the pro hockey world&hellip;Lyons is the first to admit he knows little about the technical end of hockey but he is an acknowledged master at getting people to attend sporting events and has a varied and experienced background in this respect. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got the best promoter in the United States barring none,&rsquo; Robins stated on the day he hired Lyons&hellip;It didn&rsquo;t take Richmond fans long to get behind Robins&rsquo; new hockey franchise. Playing in the brand-new beautiful Richmond Coliseum, which seats 10,000 for hockey and cost $25 million to build, the Robins drew 152,708 fans for their first 24 home dates. They&rsquo;ve played to four full sellouts already this season and have three more coming up shortly&hellip;&rdquo;The response and the enthusiasm by the sports fans of Richmond has been incredible, Robins told us the other day in his office. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve reached a point right now that I thought would take us close to three years to reach&rdquo;&hellip;Philadelphia Flyers own one-third of the team and supply the players. Veteran coach Eddie Bush has a battle on his hands to get the Robins into the AHL playoffs during their initial term but most astute American League followers feel that the club will make it&hellip;But it has been the driving force of Lyons and his numerous promotions that has been putting the people into the seats. Some of the successful promotions worked have been Yo-Yo Night, TeeShirt Night, Merchants Night, Scholarship Night and Christmas Partv Night&hellip;Lots of prizes are awarded on these special evenings and a $500 scholarship was awarded on Scholarship Night&hellip;It costs $3100 just to open the doors for an event at the ultra-elegant Coliseum and some attraction or other takes place at the building every second night&hellip;Lyons hired Bill Hamilton, veteran play-by-play announcer from the Pittsburgh Penguins, to do all home and away games over radio. Hamilton also handles media relations and statistics&hellip;Clay Robins is building his own arena so that his team will have a place to practice and also to house minor league hockey, as the Robins plan to organize and foster hockey among the youngsters. They have already received countless queries from the youth of the area wanting to know when this is going to happen&hellip;Yes, indeed, the Ice Age Has Come to Richmond!<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-02727/2970101-1-eng-US/f0004-022.jpg" title="f0004-02" width="259" height="451"><figcaption class="caption-body">Hillman Lvons</figcaption></div>&bull; BALTIMORE&mdash;TERRY REARDON, popular general manager-coach of the Clippers received his HOCKEY NEWS Award as Top Minor League Executive at a special luncheon here last week. This was for the 1970-71 season when the Clips dominated the regular AHL schedule and established a new club attendance record. Reardon is the only GM the Clippers have ever had and he&rsquo;s done a splendid job since the team came here in 1962&hellip;Brooks Robinson, baseball&rsquo;s &ldquo;Mr. Everything&rdquo; is a regular at most games here&hellip;There is talk here of building a multi-million dollar downtown sports complex that would house the Baltimore Orioles, Colts Bullets and Clippers. The arena would seat 16,000 for hockey which would of course then make Baltimore a natural for the NHL&hellip;Zan Krieger, who is chairman of the board of the Baltimore Clippers, was responsible for bringing the Baltimore Colts to the city. He also served as treasurer of the Balti more Orioles and is one of the chief owners of that organization&hellip;Bob Embry, better known as &ldquo;Jake&rdquo; to his friends, is president of the Clippers and has a varied and successful sports background. At one time he was president of the Baltimore Colts in the All-America Football Conference and was treasurer of the AAFC. He pioneered pro basketball in Baltimore and was president of the original Bullets. He&rsquo;s been a top man on the radio scene here since 1935 and is presently general manager of the Sunpapers WMAR-FM&hellip;Peter Demers, youthful trainer of the Springfield Kings, is rated by many of the AHL execs, as one of the best in the business. Now in his third year with the Kings he previously worked with the Providence Reds. They say he can&rsquo;t miss being in the NHL soon&hellip;Jack Butterfield, president of the American Hockey League, attended the luncheon here, and answered many queries from the media on future AHL expansion. Jack&rsquo;s circuit is enjoying a fine year and with New Haven joining the league next season it will bring the total number of teams to 12. Providence and Springfield, both hockey hotbeds, will have spanking new arenas to go along with the outstanding arenas in the circuit right now&hellip;Tidewater Wings play their home games between two of the finest hockey arenas to be found anywhere. Some games are played at the Hampton Roads Coliseum and others at the Scope in Norfolk. The Wings have been slow getting started in their first year in the loop but are starting to come now and won a very exciting 7-5 victory over Springfield the night we saw them play. Everything about the operation is firstrdass but it hasn&rsquo;t lifted off the ground as fast as some new.franchises. However, it seems to be coming now and Doug Barkley has done a phenomenal job with the team since taking over as coach. He&rsquo;s made the difference. Jack Timmins, a long-time associate of Ned Harkness of Detroit Red Wings, is general manager of the Tidewater Wings. He has a long hockey background and along with Barkley should make the Wings into a success in Virginia&hellip;Cincinnati is having a poor year at the gate and there is talk of moving the Cincinnati franchise to some other city next season. The city most mentioned is Charlotte of the East-ern Hockey League&hellip;Jack Butterfield isn&rsquo;t too keen on moving to Charlotte unless Greensboro is also included&hellip;The two North Carolina cities are 100 miles apart and both have arenas as good as any American League franchise would ever need&hellip;It would hurt the Eastern League immeasurably if Charlotte and Greensboro left that group.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-03629/2970094-1-eng-US/f0004-032.jpg" title="f0004-03" width="260" height="444"><figcaption class="caption-body">Bob Embry</figcaption></div>&bull; CHARLOTTE&mdash;FRED CREIGHTON, who did such an outstanding job as general manager-coach of the Charlotte Checkers last season when the Checkers walked away with everything in sight in the Eastern Hockey League, was the recipient of THE HOCKEY NEW&rsquo;S Award as the. Top Minor League Coach for 197071 at a special luncheon here and in addition at pre-game ceremonies&hellip;The Checkers are acknowledged as the most successful franchise in the EHL at present and set a new EHL attendance record last season. They are ahead of that record right now and stand to better last year&rsquo;s mark. Creighton is &ldquo;Mr. Hockey&rdquo; in these parts and has made an enviable reputation for him-self. He is big league all the way and it will surprise many if he doesn&rsquo;t move up the hockey ladder soon. Fred works closely with Al Mancn, president of the club, and a board of directors composed of prominent Charlotte business executives&hellip;Al attended his first game in several months while we were here. He is recovering from a severe heart attack&hellip;The Charlotte Coliseum is managed by Paul Buck, veteran arena official, and Paul tells us most sporting attractions and special events are drawing very well this year. Hockey remains his favorite sport&hellip;The Charlotte Checkers Booster Club rates as one of the best of such clubs and has a membership of 112 at present&hellip;Bob Lamey broadcasts most of the Checkers home and away games over WSOC. He is well-liked by the local fans although he admits to being a &ldquo;homer&rdquo;&hellip;They play &ldquo;Dixie&rdquo; at the start of each game and two lit tle girls carrying the United States and North Carolina State flags also participate in each game&rsquo;s opening.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-04539/2970087-1-eng-US/f0004-042.jpg" title="f0004-04" width="267" height="439"><figcaption class="caption-body">Fred Creighton</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0004-01

PASSING THE PUCK

Founded October 1st, 1947Published weekly except monthly June through September byKen-Will Publishing Co. Ltd.1434 St. Catherine Street WestMontreal 107, CanadaU.S. Office: 16 Maple Street, Rouses Point, N.Y. 12979Kenneth William McKenziePresident and PublisherCharlie HalpinEditorial DirectorLyndon LittleAssistant To EditorYearly 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. 1327 Printed in CanadaVol. 25 MONTREAL, FEBRUARY 25, 1972 No. 21 &#9632;

The Hockey News OFFICIAL NATIONAL HOCKEY WEEKLY

<h2>Don&rsquo;t Dismiss Power Of Russian Ice Side</h2>In response to the hockey fan who felt that the Russian &ldquo;amateur&rdquo; team would have little chance against National Hockey League teams, I can only say that I saw the Russians beat the American Olympic team, 11-4, at Madison Square Garden and got a totally different feeling.It is true that there was very little body checking in the game by either side. However, this is due to the world amateur rules and not for any lack of checking willingness or ability. I am sure that if the rules where changed the Russians could adapt since they are big enough physically to dish it out and to take it as well.A team that has been together for years and has the speed, passing ability and conditioning that the Russians possess should not be put down without a chance to prove their prowess.ALBERT BARTOLOZZI&rsquo; Secaucus, N.J.<h2>All Star Performers Deserve Fan Respect</h2>I am a Bruins&rsquo; season ticket holder. Last year, at the All Star game held in Boston, the Boston fans gave players such as Bobby Hull and Gordie Howe sustained applause&mdash;a standing ovation. We in Boston know and appreciate great hockey players, even if they do not wear a Bruins&rsquo; uniform.This year, while watching the All Star game in Minnesota, I was amazed to hear a chorus of boos greet Johnny McKenzie upon his introduction! Boos are definitely out of place at an All Star game. Players such as Bobby Hull, Phil Esposito and Bobby Orr were given only meager applause, when they should have been recognized as the great hockey players they are.L.M. LIMONE, Winthrop, Mass.<h2>Tired Hockey Players Produce SubPar Show</h2>I disagree with Chicago coach Billy Reay&rsquo;s recent statement about Montreal rescheduling a game on a Saturday afternoon because of a matinee game in Chicago the next day. If Montreal felt they would get more rest if they changed the Saturday game, then more power to them. In fact, I think the NHL ought to go a step further.Recently, I watched television game between the North Stars and the Rangers from New York. The teams played each other the night before in Minnesota, and were obviously tired by the third period. As a result, their play suffered because of it.I suggest the NHL rule that teams playing a Sunday afternoon game after playing the night before, reschedule their Saturday games to the afternoon. I&rsquo;m sure the players, as well as the fans, would welcome it.IVAN HODES, New Haven, Conn.<h2>Flin Flon Captains Make NHL Material</h2>At last count, I was able to number five former captains of the Flin Flon Bombers junior hockey club currently starring in the National Hockey League. They are: Ted Hampson of (Minnesota), Bobby Clarke (Philadelphia), Gerry Hart (Detroit), Reg Leach (Boston) and Gene Carr (New York).Not bad for a town of approximately 12,000 people!SID LUNDQUIST, Flin Flon, Man. &#9632;

Fan Forum

<div class="byline">BY CHARLEY BARTON</div>BUFFALO&mdash;Maybe he couldn&rsquo;t believe his eyes. Maybe he thought it had been The Impossible Dream. Then again maybe he simply wanted to savor and relish it again and again.Dave Forman, the popular and energetic executive vice president of the Buffalo Sabres, was in the press room moments after the Sabres had clobbered the Boston Bruins, 8-2.&ldquo;Gentlemen, I think I&rsquo;ll go up to the Aud Club and see this one again on closed-circuit television,&rdquo; he said, with a mile-wide grin.It was truly a night to relive&hellip;and relive&hellip;and relive.The Sabres, struggling under a seven-game winless streak, chose to end it against the powerful Bruins, of all people. The Bruins came here with a six-game winning streak, unbeaten in their last 13 games.They left wondering what hit them. It was only their third loss in 39 games, hardly a record to be ashamed of, yet the lopsided lacing was embarrassing.The Boston Bruins, certain to win the East Division this season and just as certain to enter the Stanley Cup playoffs as odds-on favorites, had been humiliated.The standing ovations for the Sabres started early. It was 3-0 after one period, and a jampacked throng of 15,360 in Memorial Auditorium stood as one.It was 6-0 in the second period, and the tributes followed each goal. Before the period ended, Mike Walton scored the first of his two goals, this one with Buffalo two men short. His second came with the Sabres a man short.It was 7-2 with less than two minutes remaining in the last period when the Sabres toyed with the Bruins as a father with a child. Richard Martin, set up by Gilbert Perreault&rsquo;s brilliant rush. scored with 23 seconds remaining, the first time in the Sabres&rsquo; two-year history they reached the eight-goal plateau.At the final buzzer, in a state of near-hysteria, the assemblage gave the Sabres a lasting ovation. Instead of the customary &ldquo;three stars&rdquo; named here after each game, Joe Crozier, the interim coach, and the Sabres&rsquo; squad were announced as the stars.Again, the roar of the crowd was deafening.This was just one game in a 78-game schedule, only the 11th victory against 30 defeats and 13 ties. Yet it had the sweet smell of success usually associated with a playoff triumph, and the fans were enjoying every last second of it.In their finest performance of the season, the Sabres matched any of their previous high points. There were the identical 7-2 victories in Toronto, and the 7-5 win in Boston a year ago.This one matched them all.In the well-appointed Aud Club, where the highlights of every game are shown to postgame diners each night, this one would be replayed in its entirety.Dave Forman wasn&rsquo;t about to miss it. &#9632;

Sabres’ Grounding Of ‘Flying’ Bruins Rates As Club’s Finest Hockey Moment

BUFFALO&mdash;When ailing Punch Imlach went home from hospital he travelled in style&mdash;a spanking new Cadillac Eldorado&mdash;a gift of the Buffalo Sabres&rsquo; club owners.Imlach, who was discharged from the Deaconess Hospital after a 25-dav stay following a pretty serious heart attack last month, was chauffered to his Toronto suburban home by John Ardersen, the Sabres director of Scouting and Imlach&rsquo;s personal aide. Mrs. Dodo Imlach also accompanied her convalescing husband on the trip home.The 53-vear-old manager coach of the Sabres has not consented to talk to reporters because of his condition but he did declare that he would not be re turning to the team for the rest of this season. There has been speculation that Punch will possibly give up one of his portfolios, likely the coaching, to Joe Crozier, and concentrate on the general manager&rsquo;s duties, providing his doctors give their approval.Imlach was in the hospital&rsquo;s intensive care unit for 12 days.He has been ordered to remain at his home in Toronto for an idefinite period of rest and recuperation.Meanwhile, Fred Hunt was the Sabres&rsquo; acting general manager and Crozier was the acting coach.&ldquo;Punch will be around the house in his robe and slippers for a while just taking things easy,&rdquo; said Dr. Joe Sheedy, one of several doctors who attended him here.While Imlach may be consulted via telephone, it isn&rsquo;t expected he will see the team play again this season.Imlach, his doctors report, has made a satisfactory recovery, but he has been cautioned to take it easy. This has been difficult for a hyper-active individual. However, he is trying to obey orders.But even Imlach admits it&rsquo;s a hard thing to do. &#9632;

Imlach Rides Home In Style, New Cadillac Gift Of Sabres

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0006-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-01805/2970235-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg"></div><h2>Accuracy</h2>Did you ever wonder how NHL playerS can shoot the puck into a small space in the net? Watch them &ldquo;thread the needle.&rdquo; It isn&rsquo;t luck, it was constant practice when they were young and more practice now.Here&rsquo;s a way you and your teammates can practise, even when you can&rsquo;t get ice time.Make a wood frame the same size as a goal mouth. Make barriers the same height as the goal mouth and different widths. Use narrow barriers to start with and gradually use wider ones as the accuracy of your shots improves. You&rsquo;ll be shooting at smaller and smaller openings. You can practise for hours away from the icp. &#9632;

f0006-01

Hockey for Kids

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-01753/2970287-1-eng-US/f0007-012.jpg" title="f0007-01" width="561" height="566"><figcaption class="caption-body">MIKE CURRAN</figcaption></div>SAPPORO&mdash;Any time a fourth-ranked world hockey power can rise up and skate off with an Olympic silver medal, it has to overshadow anything else in the Winter hockey extrava-ganza.It happened this year at the 1972 Winter Olympic Games here where the odds-on-favorites, the Russians, dominated the competition to win the gold medal again. But the underdog Americans came along to steal the limelight by grabbing the silver out of the clutches of two countries that both ranked higher&mdash;Czechoslovakia and Sweden.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-04367/2970280-1-eng-US/f0007-042.jpg" title="f0007-04" width="257" height="437"><figcaption class="caption-body">Kevin Ahearn</figcaption></div>The U.S.A, team, sparked by the excellent goaltending of Mike Curran, a 27-year-old veteran of the United States Hockey League, unexpectedly went home with the second place silver in their pockets despite finishing in a two-way deadlock with Czechoslovakia.By virtue of an early stunning 5-1 upset of the Czechs, in which Curran turned in a tremendous goalkeeping display to thwart the Europeans, the Americans were awarded second position behind the Russians, relegating Czechoslovakia to third. Sweden, coached by former National Leaguer Billy Harris, ultimately ended fourth in the six-country round-robin event after sustaining two unexpected defeats at the hands of Finland and the Czechs.Coming into the Olympic hockey competition fourthranked behind Russia, Czechoslovakia and Sweden, the American team&rsquo;s play surprised the hockey enthusiasts who came annually to these international hockey events.Including their preliminaryround romp over Switzerland, the Yanks finished with an overall 4-2 record in spite of a 7-1 licking at the hands of the championship-bound Russians.The unbeaten Soviets, displaying a powerful offense that produced 32 goals in five games, won it all again when they disposed of the Czechs 5-2 on the final day of the week-long hockey tournament. It gave them a 4-0-1 log for the Games.The Americans, who came up with their finest Olympic showing since 1960 when they won a gold medal at Squaw Valley, Calif., with Jack McCartan starring in their goal, won their silver after knocking the Czechs back on their heels early in the tourney.Curran, who stopped 51 of the 52 shots the Czechs hurled at him, gave a performance reminiscent of McCartan&rsquo;s in 1960 when the Americans went undefeated against the top world powers to win the only hockey gold medal the United States had ever won in Olympic events.The defeat of the Czechs, aided by goals from Keith Christiansen, Kevin Ahearn, Craig Samer, Frank Sanders and Ron Naslund, gave the Americans the incentive they needed in their remaining games.After an opening 5-1 loss to Sweden, the Yanks rallied to spill the Czechs before running into the Russians. They quickly recouped behind Curran&rsquo;s netminding to down the Finns 4-1 and finally rolled over Poland 6-1 in their windup game which put them into a tie with the Czechs in the final standing.The silver medal culminated several years work and effort by general manager Hal Trumble and coach Murray Williamson, who went into the games confident the team would emerge successfully.<h2>OLYMPIC HOCKEY</h2><h3>GROUP A Final Standings</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-02662/2970273-1-eng-US/f0007-022.jpg" title="f0007-02" width="585" height="227"></div><h2>GAMES COMPLETED</h2>Preliminary RoundCzechoslovakia 8, Japan 2Sweden 8, Yugoslavia 1USA 5, Switzerland 3Poland 4, West Germany 0Finland 13, Norway 1(Russia given bye into championship round)<h3>Championship Round</h3>GROUP Afri. Feb 4Sweden 5, USA 1Sat. Feb. 5Russia 9, Finland 3Czechoslovakia 14, Poland 1Sun. Feb. 6No gomes scheduledMon. Feb. 7Sweden 3, Russia 3USA 5, Czechoslovakia 1Finland 5, Poland 1Tues. Feb. 8Czechoslovakia 7, Finland 1Wed Feb. 9Russia 7, USA 2Sweden 5, Poland 3Thurs. Feb. 10USA 4, Finland 1Russia 9, Poland 3Czechoslovakia 2, Sweden 1Fri. Feb. 11No games scheduledSat. Feb. 12USA 6, Poland 1Sun. Feb. 13Russia 5, Czechoslovakia 2Finland 4, Sweden 3<h2>GROUP B</h2><h3>Final Standinqs</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-03504/2970266-1-eng-US/f0007-032.jpg" title="f0007-03" width="583" height="201"></div><h2>GAMES COMPLETED</h2><h3>Championship Roud</h3>GROUP BSun. Feb. 6Norway 5, Yugoslavia 2West Germany 5, Switzerland 0Mon. Feb. 7West Germany 6, Yugoslavia 2Japan 3, Switzerland 3Tues. Feb. 8No games scheduledWed. Feb. 9Japan 3, Yugoslavia 2West Germany 5, Norway 1Thurs. Feb. 10Norway 5, Japan 4Switzerland 3, Yugoslavia 3Fri. Feb. 11No games scheduledSat. Feb. 12Japan 7, West Germany 6Norway 5, Switzerland 3 &#9632;

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Surprising Americans Grab Silver

<div class="byline">By Bill Libby</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-01791/2970325-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg" title="f0008-01" width="281" height="362"></div><h2>A Flash Of Lightning&hellip;</h2>THE MOST INNOCENT of moves in the mildest of sporting contests can be destructive. Athletes stretch muscles and twist joints beyond reason in their ordinary activities. When it is least expected, serious injury may occur. You can study the films of the tackle which tore up Gale Sayers&rsquo; knee and all but finished this finest of football&rsquo;s runners and you simply cannot see how it could have come out so severe. Wilt Chamberlain was ambling down court all alone when he collapsed in a pile of pain with a knee that needed a surgeon&rsquo;s scalpel to make him whole again. You can&rsquo;t anticipate it or protect against it except that you know you must expect it to happen sooner or later and when it happens you can only accept it. It strikes like lightning from a cloudless sky.On the first Thursday in February, Montreal&rsquo;s Canadiens were in Los Angeles to pick up a victory from the expansionist Kings at Jack Kent Cooke&rsquo;s fabulous Forum. Montreal was on the rise, while L.A. had just escaped the cellar. Less than 10,000 fans were on hand for the contest, which was well played, but not especially violent. The Kings led 1-0 when Canadien Larry Pleau broke in on King goaltender Rogatien Vachon from right wing while Jacques Lemaire bore in on the left side. Pleau had the puck and he faked a pass to Lemaire, sending Vachon to his right. Pleau drew the puck back in with a marvellous move and fired into the opened area of the net. Trying desperately to get back to cover, Vachon made a quick move back to his left. And collapsed in agony. He tried to play for a few minutes after that, but then had to be relieved.Meanwhile, young Gary Edwards went into the King nets and the game resumed. And Gilles Marotte, the King defenseman who is built almost exactly like a bull, bent a shoulder into Terry Harper, the powerful Montreal defenseman, to check him cleanly, and in doing so raised him into the plexiglass above the side-boards with frightening force, bending it so far this stuff, which seldom breaks, burst. Although it is supposed to dissolve into powder on breaking, when it gave, it slashed through muscles and tendons in Harper&rsquo;s right forearm which was pressed against it, and sprinkled salt like particles which cut a fan on the chin and nose when he sought to brush them off. Harper was helped off, the fan was treated and the game was continued to conclude in a 1-1 tie.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-02701/2970318-1-eng-US/f0008-022.jpg" title="f0008-02" width="541" height="793"><figcaption class="caption-body">ROGATIEN VACHON&hellip;Knew It Was Bad</figcaption></div><h2>The Slash Of A Scalpel&hellip;</h2>MONTREAL&rsquo;S HARPER already had been rushed to an Inglewood hospital, wl ere surgeons repaired his arm. Dr. Vincent Carter later said he was fortunate the other side of his arm had not been razored, where more nerves and more critical muscles were contained. But how long would it be before he could effectively grip a hockey stick? The veteran had just had his 32nd birthday and he would be out four to six weeks at least, just as his club was contending for high honors.Meanwhile, Dr. Carter stood by Vachon&rsquo;s side as the stocky, 26-year-old newlywed, outrageously dressed in gaudy sports clothes and a tie that will never die, sat resting his bandaged knee, crutches by his side, as team owner Jack Kent Cooke rushed up in deep concern. &ldquo;I am so sorry,&rdquo; said Cooke.&ldquo;So am I,&rdquo; sighed Vachon.The only owner who sits in his arena&rsquo;s most distant seats, Cooke commented, &ldquo;I knew immediately it was bad, even from where I sat.&rdquo;&ldquo;You diagnosed it from there?&rdquo; Young doctor Carter smiled.&ldquo;Yes, I did,&rdquo; Cooke said, emphatically.It had been diagnosed as probable ligament damage and possible cartilage damage by Dr. Carter&rsquo; Hopefully, Cooke asked, &ldquo;You can&rsquo;t be sure yet, can you?&rdquo;Carter shrugged as if he was all too sure, but said, &ldquo;No, of course you can&rsquo;t be sure yet.&rdquo;Cooke said to Vachon, &ldquo;Rest assured you will have the finest care. You go to the hospital tomorrow morning where Dr. Robert Kerlan will examine you. He has cared for Sandy Koufax, Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West, our finest athletes. He is the greatest in the world. And he and his equally splendid assistant, Dr. Frank Jobe, will do what must be done.&rdquo; Remembering Carter, he turned back to the young doctor and said, &ldquo;Not that this young doctor is not equally good, he is just not equally experienced.&rdquo; Carter laughed with that, Cooke patted Vachon wistfully on the back and departed.Painfully, Vachon got up to go. He said, &ldquo;When it happened, I heard a pop. And it really hurt. My first thought was, &lsquo;It&rsquo;s bad.&rsquo; My second thought was, &lsquo;Maybe it&rsquo;s not bad.&rsquo; I tried to play, hoping it was just pain, which would pass., But it wouldn&rsquo;t pass and I knew it was bad. The knee simply does not bend sideways.&rdquo;His bride was watching as he made the move which was so slight and seemed so innocent and left him in the operating room the following morning where the knee was opened and a cartilage was removed and a tom ligament sewn into place and the knee was sewn up and a cast fixed about it and it would be months before he would walk with it again and longer before he would submit to the long program of exercises to rebuild it and then try to play on it again.A slender rookie, Gary Edwards, now was the regular goaler for this team. He confessed his knees were shaking when he went in to replace Vachon. I don&rsquo;t know why, but it was a tough spot and an unexpected call,&rsquo; he sighed. He has a facial twitch and someone was saying the pressure of his profession must be getting to him, but he laughed and said, &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve had it since I was four years old. As an amateur, I was called &lsquo;Blinky&rsquo;. It didn&rsquo;t help that I didn&rsquo;t use to wear a mask. Now I&rsquo;d tend nets in a suit of armor if I could.&rdquo; He has done well this season, but now he would have to do it all. &ldquo;You can get hurt just thinking about it,&rdquo; he smiled wistfully.And sometimes it seems just that easy. &#9632;

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Hockey Ad Lib

<div class="byline">BY DWAYNE NETLAND</div>TWIN CITIES&mdash;The Minnesota North Stars had to wait 18 weeks for the first dividend on their investment in Dennis Hextall, but as a long-term policy the rusty-haired center appears to have been a good buy.Hextall was acquired by the North Stars last summer from the California Seals in a deal for two other centerman, Walt McKechnie and Joey Johnston. The North Stars were elated over the transaction, because Hextall had scored 21 goals for the Seals last season.He was, moreover, just the rugged type of center the Minnesota club had been lacking and looking for. Hextall had logged 217 penalty minutes with the Seals in 1970-71, second in the entire National Hockey League to Keith Magnuson of Chicago.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-03579/2970356-1-eng-US/f0008-032.jpg" title="f0008-03" width="261" height="448"><figcaption class="caption-body">Dennis Hextall</figcaption></div>Shortly after the opening of training camp, however, Hextail came up with a knee problem. He underwent surgery on Oct. 4, the Monday before the NHL season opened.A long period of recuperation was compounded when Hextall, in his third game, took a jolt on the knee Dec. 5 in Buffalo and went back on the shelf for another month. He finally returned to the lineup in early January and then the other night, to the delight of 15,399 customers at Metropolitan Sports Center, Hextall scored the tying goal with 2:25 left in a 3-3 deadlock with Buffalo.It was Hextall&rsquo;s first goal of the season, 125 days after he faced the surgeon&rsquo;s knife last October. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve never had to wait that long for that first goal,&rdquo; said Hextall. &ldquo;But actually this whole season has been sort of a long wait for me. My main ambition right now is to be fully sharp and ready by the playoffs.&rdquo;The truth is that the North Stars really aren&rsquo;t expecting much from him until the last month or so of the season. Normally most proficient at 180 pounds, Hextall dropped down to below 170 during his extended idleness and is just now regaining some of that lost weight.&ldquo;January and early February were like training camp for me, Hextall explained. &ldquo;Everybody else was at peak condition and I was just skating myself into shape. I like to play aggressively, but it&rsquo;s hard to hit people when you&rsquo;re weak and underweight&rdquo;.Hextall is one of the most abrasive players in the NHL, a characteristic never associated with his father, Bryan, during his own brilliant career with the Rangers. Dennis would take anyone on, including Bill Goldsworthy of the North Stars in a memorable battle last season on the Minnesota ice.That&rsquo;s one reason why Wren Blair, the Minnesota general manager was attracted to Hextall. Blair wanted a rugged penetrating center who could take his lumps and still make the play. Hextall was, also a competent forechecker with the Seals, another quality that Blair found desirable.Coach Jack Gordon has been very patient with Hex during his recovery period. Jack brought him along slowly, first on the penaltykilling unit and then on a regular shift with J.P. Parise and Bob Nevin for portions of the game.&ldquo;I&rsquo;d feel great for two periods,&rdquo; Hextall admitted. &ldquo;By the third period of a tight game I was winded and Jack knew it. It will just take me awhile to get the legs back.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0008-03

North Stars Expect Trade For Hextall Will Soon Pay Off

ANAHEIM&mdash;In a secret, preferred draft of present National Hockey League performers, minor professionals and some top amateurs, the new World Hockey Association proceeded to select 48 players in their first draft meeting.Some of the NHL&rsquo;s top names, like Stan Mikita, Bobby Hull, Ken Dryden, Brad Park and others were chosen by WHA teams, A spokesman for the WHA said players on the preferred list had not necessarily indicated they would jump to the new league but some had expressed a willingness privately.Following are the preferred selections made by the WHA teams:Calgary&mdash;Barry Gibbs, Minnesota; Jim Harrison, Toronto; Dale Hoganson, Montreal; Jack Norris, Seattle.Chicago&mdash;Stan Mikita, Chicago; Jerry Korab, Chicago; Jim McKenny, Toronto; Gary Smith, Chicago.Dayton&mdash;Guy Trottier, Toronto; Andre Hinse, Phoenix; Larry Lund, Phoenix; Wayne Rutledge, Denver.Edmonton&mdash;Norm Ullman, Toronto; Bob Clarke, Philadelphia; Bruce MacGregor, New York; Phil Myre, Montreal.Los Angeles&mdash;Ken Dryden, Montreal; Gil Perreault, Buffalo; Steve Sutherland, Port Huron.Miami&mdash;Bernie Parent, Toronto; Jude Drouin, Minnesota; Derek Sanderson, Boston; Bill White, Chicago.St. Paul&mdash;Peter Mahovlich, Montreal; Mike Curran, U.S. Olympic team; Bill Goldsworthy; Minnesota; Dale Tallon, Vancouver.New England&mdash;Bob Sheehan, California; Eddie Johnston, Boston; Rick Ley, Toronto; Larry Pleau, Montreal; Matt Ravlich, Boston.New York&mdash;Gerry Desjardins, Chicago; Dave Gardner, Steve Shutt, Bill Harris, Toronto Marlboro juniors.Ontario Doug Favell, Philadelphia; Dave Keon, Toronto; Brad Park, New York; Eddie Shack, Buffalo.Quebec&mdash;Gilles Villemure, New York; Guy Lapointe, Montreal; Jacques Lemaire, Montreal; John McKenzie, Boston.Winnipeg&mdash;Bobby Hull, Chicago; Ted Green, Boston; Ted Irvine, New York; Ernie Wakely, St. Louis. &#9632;

WHA Teams Draft Top NHL Names

MONTREAL&mdash;Playing on the power play has been a contributing factor in making Boston&rsquo;s Phil Esposito the great point scorer that he is.A statistical review by Ron Andrews, the National Hockey League&rsquo;s Director of Information and Statistics, of the 14 teams&rsquo; first 39 games shows that the top 10 scorers received a total 552 points of which 178 were gained on the power-play. Esposito of Boston, runner-up to New York&rsquo;s Jean Ratelle at the halfway mark in total points, led all players in power-play scoring with 14 goals and 12 assists for 26 points.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-01768/2970387-1-eng-US/f0009-012.jpg" title="f0009-01" width="273" height="447"><figcaption class="caption-body">Phil Esposito</figcaption></div>An interesitng aspect is the fact that Espositd and teammate Bobby Orr combined for a total 20 power-play goals in Boston&rsquo;s first 39 games&mdash;two power-play goals more than the entire Ranger line of Vic Hadfield, who led in power-play goals with 15, Ratelle (two power-play goals) and Rod Gilbert (one).None of the leading scorers, however, received half their total points from power-play action although Gilbert Perreault of Buffalo came close with 47.8 per cent&mdash;22 of 46 points. Among players with 30 or more points during the first half of the season, two received more than 50 per cent of their points from play while their team enjoyed a man advantage. John Bucyk of Boston had 37 points, 21 of which were on the power-play, and defenseman J.C. Tremblay of Montreal had a similar number of points with 19 of those from the powerplay.Esposito, who led all players in shots on goal in 1970-71 with a record 550, was again the leader in the first half of this season with 205. His 34 goals produced a scoring percentage of 16.5. Best percentage belonged to Ratelie with 26 goals of 115 shots and 22.6 per cent, a shade better than linemate Hadfield, who acored his 28 goals on 125 shots for 22.4 per cent.The other players with a percentage of 20 or better were Paul Henderson of Toronto&mdash;21 goals, 98 shots, 21.4 per cent; and Gilbert, 27 goals, 128 shots and 21.0 per cent.Bobby Hull and Orr were runners-up to Esposito in shots on goal, each with 175. Hull scored 28 times for 16.0 per cent and Orr 19 times for 10.8.Among team streaks in the first half of the season, Chicago, West Division leaders, won eight straight games and New York, leaders in the East Division at the midway mark, had the longest undefeated streak&mdash;14 games, which included 11 wins and three ties. The dubious honor of longest losing streak went to Los Angeles with seven while Buffalo and St. Louis shared the winless streak of 10 games each, both with records of eight losses and two ties.Montreal Canadiens went through the entire first half without losing a game at home, winning 15 and tying three.Three were 26 times in which players scored at least three goals in a game, one being a four-goal effort by Jean Ratelle. Canadiens had six three-goal games, including two by rookie Guy Lafleur. Only Detroit, Los Angeles and Vancouver failed to have one player score three times in any game.Most assists in one game was recorded by Minnesota&rsquo;s Murray Oliver, who had five during a 6-3 win at Los Angeles, Oct. 24. Most points in one game was six, by Orr with three goals and three assists, Nov. 14 at Boston against Los Angeles during an 11-2 Bruins&rsquo; victory.Frank Mahovlich had the most shots on goal in one game when he fired 12 times at Pittsburgh goaltender Les Binkley, Nov. 27, at Montreal. Binkley, however, stopped the Big M each time.Most shots by a team in the first half of the season during one game was 57 by Minnesota against Vancouver and goaltender George Gardner. North Stars won the game 7-0 at Minnesota. Oct. 20 &#9632;

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Espo No. 1 Power Play Storer, Best NHL Shooter In First Half

Following are the latest player movements in hockev!<h2>NATIONAL LEAGUE</h2>CHICAGO&mdash;Danny O&rsquo;Shea, forward, traded to St. Louis in exchange for Christian Bordeleau, forward.NEW YORK&mdash;Mike Mo-Mahon, defenseman, returned to Providence of AHL.MONTREAL&mdash;Bob Murdoch, defenseman, recalled from Neva Scotia of AHL after injury to Terry Harper, defenseman. placed on disabled list for six weeks. Germain Gagnon, forward. returned to Nova Scotia.PHILADELPHIA&mdash;Don McLead, goalkeeper, recalled from Providence of AHL after Bruce Gamble, goalkeeper, suffered heart attack and placed on disabled list for rest of season. Larry Keenan, forward, sent to Richmond of AHL.PITTSBURGH&mdash;John Stewart, forward, assigned to Hershev of AHL.CALIFORNIA&mdash;Ken Davidson, forward, called up from Oklahoma City of CHL. Terry Murray, defenseman, recalled from Baltimore of AHL and reassigned to Boston of AHL on loan.DETROIT&mdash;Kevin Morrison, defenseman. recalled from Tidewater of AHL and assigned to Rochester of AHL on loan.BUFFALO&mdash;Mike Robitaille, defenseman, recalled from Cincinnati of AHL. Terry Ball defenseman, returned to Cincinnati.ST. LOUIS&mdash;Curt Bennett, forward, recalled from Denver of WHL and later returned. Dick Proceviat, defenseman, returned to Kansas City of CHL.VANCOUVER&mdash;Garth Rizzuto, forward, recalled from Rochester of AHL and reassigned to Seattle of WHL.<h2>AMERICAN LEAGUE</h2>CINCINNATI&mdash;Gary Bromley, goalkeeper, recalled from Charlotte of EHL. to replace Ray Reeson, goalkeeper, who went on injury list.RICHMOND&mdash;Glenn Irwin, defenseman, sent to Flint of IHL.SPRINGFIELD&mdash;Ron Docken, goalkeeper, recalled from Johnstown of EHL to act as backup to Bruce Landon. Mike Boland, forward, placed on disabled list for eight weeks with fractured ankle.<h2>WESTERN LEAGUE</h2>SEATTLE&mdash;Camille Lapierre, forward, returned tc Springfield of AHL.SALT LAKE&mdash;Bob Jones, forward, sold outright to Port land of WHL.<h2>CENTRAL LEAGUE</h2>TULSA&mdash;Cal Swenson, forward, placed on disabled list for month with broken bone in lower back.<h2>INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE</h2>FLINT&mdash;Moe L&rsquo;Abbe, forward, quit team and returned to, home in St. Catharines, Ont., Derek Harker, defenseman. sent to Long Island in EHL. Larry Gibbons, defenseman. released.DES MOINES&mdash;Larry O&rsquo; Conner, defenseman, added to roster.FORT WAYNE&mdash;Terry Thomson, defenseman, on i jury list for rest of season after knee surgery. Ron Wilson, defenseman, secured from Cleveland of AHL. Bob Fowler, forward, released.COLUMBUS&mdash;Brian Cadle, forward, secured from Des Moines of IHL.TOLEDO&mdash;Willie Marshall, forward, announced his retirement to return to business in Niagara Falls, Ont.<h2>EASTERN LEAGUE</h2>NEW HAVEN&mdash;Ed Sidebottom, defenseman, secured from Des Moines of IHL.ROANOKE&mdash;J C. Garneau, rejoined team on tryoug basis. &#9632;

Movements of Players

<div class="byline">BY BOB SMIZIK</div>PITTSBURGH&mdash;The Penguins sudden and violent plunge to the depths of the NHL&rsquo;s Western Division is no mystery to anyone who pays the slightest attention to scoring statistics.The Penguins have a pronounced inability to put the puck over the goal-line. The four feet by six feet cages at each end of the rink look like four inches by six inches to the Penguins.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-01787/2970466-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg" title="f0010-01" width="262" height="452"><figcaption class="caption-body">Darryl Edestrand</figcaption></div>Red Kelly has made every sort of lineup scramble imaginable&mdash;short of returing himself to playing status&mdash;in an effort to find some offensive punch to the lineup. The biggest hole has been at left wing where only Greg Polis&mdash;the team&rsquo;s No. 1 draft pick in 1970&mdash;has not pleased Kelly with his all-around style of play. The coach expected a lot more from Polis than he is getting.While Polis has been a regular at left wing all season. Kelly has gone through eight other players at that position. Keith McCreary, Ron Schock, Vai Fonteyne. Bob Leiter, Brian McKenzie. John Stewart, Darryl Edestrand and now steye Cardwell, have all had a go at left wing.The true depth of the team&rsquo;s problem at that position is that Edestrand&mdash;a rookie delenseman&mdash;has been given a long, hard look by Kelly. And he has turned up not wanting in comparison to others the Penguins have tried.Kelly put Edestrand on left wing in January on a line with Bryan Hextall and Ken Schinkel and while the rookie hasn&rsquo;t done a lot of scoring, he has helped make that line the Penguins most effective.Cardwell, the latest to be tried on the left side, wasn&rsquo;t considered a serious contender for the parent club this season, but his play at Hershey earned him a shot. He had scored seven goals in six games with the American Hockey League club before the Penguins recalled him early in February.&ldquo;We always knew he was a hard-nosed kid,&rdquo; said General Manager Jack Riley, &ldquo;and when he started scoring goals, we thought we ought to take a look at him.&rdquo;Cardwell scored his first NHL goal in his first game up against St. Louis.But he was hardly the answer to the Penguins&rsquo; scoring problems. At one stretch in February the Penguins lack of scoring punch looked like this.Leiter: no goals in 11 games; Jean Pronovost; no goals in seven games; Rene. Robert: no goals in 12 games; Syl Apps: one goal in IS games.Nick Harbaruk: one goal in 14 games; Schock: two goals in 25 games; Edestrand: one goal in 15 games.That&rsquo;s a statistical study that needs no explanation.PENGUIN PATTER&mdash;The Penguins 8-1 loss at Los Angeles Feb. 5 equalled a record for the team&rsquo;s largest margin of defeat. Fonteyne returned to the lineup after being out for nearly three weeks with minor surgery.General Manager Riley said the Penguins have no intention of trying to get goalie Roy Edwards to rejoin the team. Edwards quit early in January, announcing the pressures of the game were too much for him. &#9632;

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Penguins Lack Left Wing Scoring Punch

<div class="byline">BY DAN PROUDFOOT</div>TORONTO&mdash;While Toronto Maple Leafs biggest scorers were fighting the midwinter goal freeze, rookie Rick Kehoe stood out as the top shooter on the team.In one ten-game stretch in which Leafs scored only 14 goals, six of them were Kehoe&rsquo;s.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s scoring,&rdquo; said coach John McLellan, &ldquo;because he&rsquo;s trying so hard to stick with the team.&rdquo;Kehoe, 20, Leafs&rsquo; first selection in last June&rsquo;s amateur draft, the 22nd player chosen, started the season with Tulsa in the Central Hockey League. But general manager Jim Gregory moved him to Leafs just before Brian Spencer was demoted.Kehoe earned and assist in his first game, was used sparingly for some time, sat out a game in Montreal and then became a regular at right wing with Jim Harrison and Darryl Sittler.Suddenly, he found himself scoring goals, something no other Leaf was able to do with any regularity.Discussing the fact with him revealed his simple, even-keeled approach to hockey.&ldquo;I try to keep the same attitude all the time, whether I&rsquo;m in a slump or whether I&rsquo;m scoring well.&ldquo;I just try not to think about how I&rsquo;m doing, and just play the game.&rdquo;McLellan rates his skating and toughness highly. Checking and positional play need improvement, the coach notes. &ldquo;But then, you can say that about a lot of our guys.&rdquo;What McLellan likes, though, is Kehoe&rsquo;s willingness to listen. In fact, Kehoe likes listening. &ldquo;John always points out my mistakes,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;Sometimes, like the other night, he leaned right over the boards just before a faceoff to point out to me that I was wandering.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s the only way to learn&mdash;to have your mistakes pointed out to you.&rdquo;Kehoe, one of the handful of juniors who have made the NHL this season, finds the emphasis on defensive play to be the biggest difference between pro hockey and that of the Ontario Hockey Association Major Junior A League.&ldquo;Billy Harris, my last coach with Hamilton (he now coaches the Swedish national team) taught me a lot about positional play.&ldquo;But I still have a lot to learn for this reason. In junior hockey vou didn&rsquo;t watch vour man all that closely. It was offensive that you were concerned with. But up here you have to be offensively and defensively effective.&rdquo;McLellan was pleased with Kehoe&rsquo;s work checking Bobby Hull, one sign that the rookie is learning. Hull complimented Kehoe by calling him a &ldquo;good roader&rdquo;, meaning a player who was as effective on the road as at home.Kehoe notes that NHL expansion is having a profound effect on the attitude of junior players. &ldquo;In the old days when there were six teams and every junior team was tied up with an NHL team, not many players thought they could make the NHL. You had to be a junior star or you figured you wouldn&rsquo;t make it.&ldquo;Now there are enough openings that it pays to keep playing. It&rsquo;s good because a lot of players bloom late, and this was they get a chance.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-01776/2970497-1-eng-US/f0011-012.jpg" title="f0011-01" width="549" height="536"><figcaption class="caption-body">RICK KEHOE &hellip;Top Shooter On Leafs</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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Newcomer Kehoe Steals Spotlight

<div class="byline">BY JACK BERRY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0012-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-01757/2970528-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">MICKEY REDMOND&hellip;New Firepower For Red Wings (Hockey News Photo by Clifton Boutollo)</figcaption></div>DETROIT&mdash;Mickey Redmond may have been overlooked for the All Star game but the way the curly-haired Kirkland Lake, Ont., right wing is popping in goals, he may well make the team when it really counts&mdash;at the conclusion of the season.&ldquo;All Star team? Why not?&rdquo; snorted Red Wing coach Johnny Wilson after Redmond&rsquo;s first three-goal game as a professional sparked Detroit to an 8-2 romp over the California Golden Seals, the Red Wings&rsquo; biggest goal splurge of the season.&ldquo;Tell me who has done better,&rdquo; Wilson said.The New York Rangers&rsquo; Rod Gilbert was mentioned but Wilson hardly lost a stride. &ldquo;Well, if Redmond keeps scoring the way he has, he can pass him up too.&rdquo;Gilbert has a sizeable lead on Redmond in total points but through Feb. 8, Gilbert&rsquo;s goal lead was only 34-32, and Redmond had five game winners to Gilbet&rsquo;s four.And wouldn&rsquo;t you know but when Gilbert finally seemed ready to step up as hockey&rsquo;s premier right wing, a Red Wing would be right on him. Always before there was Gordie Howe, the perennial All Star right wing. Now, after 25 seasons, Howe is retired and Redmond is supplying the firepower from the right side.Redmond already has scored more goals than Howe did in each of his last two seasons and, with eight weeks left in the season and the old pass-master, Alex Delvecchio, feeding him, he could surpass Howe&rsquo;s 44 goals of three seasons ago, Gordie&rsquo;s top mark in his last 18 years. Howe&rsquo;s single season high was 49 in 195253.The 24-year-old Redmond certainly wasn&rsquo;t figuring on anything like this when the season started though.&ldquo;I thought we&rsquo;d have to check close this year to get anywhere near a playoff spot and when you play a tight brand of hockey, you don&rsquo;t expect to score a lot.&rdquo;Nevertheless, he does have goal bonuses in his contract and, asked if one was for 20 goals, Redmond grinned and said &ldquo;they&rsquo;re over that.&rdquo;Mickey has not been a one-way player and that was a rap against Frank Mahovlich when Detroit traded the super star class left wing to Montreal a year ago for Redmond, Guy Charron and Bill Collins.Redmond hustles back to cover his man and he said that while &ldquo;I still have problems here and there, I think I&rsquo;m plus four or five.&rdquo;That means he was on the ice for four or five more Detroit goals than he was on for opposition goals. It&rsquo;s a figure they don&rsquo;t include in the weekly National Hockey League statistics but it is one that is kept, both by the league and by most clubs and it is one that the general managers and coaches watch very closely.Redmond and his linemates, Delvecchio and left wing Al Karlander, definitely have established themselves as Detroit&rsquo;s best unit.Delvecchio is playing his best hockey of the year and Karlander is a hard-plugging, digging wing who certainly is one of the Wings&rsquo; more overlooked performers.Together, through 54 games which found Detroit in fourth place, the line accounted for the winning goal in 13 of the Red Wings&rsquo; 23 victories. Redmond had five and Delvecchio, and Karlander each had four.And that was the line that did the heavy work in the Wings&rsquo; biggest victory of the season, the showdown game with Toronto for fourth place on Feb. 1.Delvecchio got the opening goal in the 4-0 victory, Karlander and Redmond assisting, and Redmond got the clincher with Delvecchio making his 750th regular season assist. Red Berenson wrapped up that game with two goals in the final minute, the first into an empty net.While Redmond is scoring from all angles on all kinds of shots&mdash;he had a slap, wrist and tip-in for hrs three goal game&mdash;Delvecchio continues to progress toward a 20-goal season which would make it 13 in 21 seasons&mdash;he stopped at 19 twice.After Redmond&rsquo;s three-goaler, Delvecchio was passing out the traditional post-game box of Gold Label cigars from club owner Bruce Norris and when he got to Redmond he laughed and said: &ldquo;Take three.&rdquo;RED WING NOTES: The Wings completed their season set with California and finished dead-even with Vic Stasiuk&rsquo;s fast-skating club: 2-2-2 won-lost-tied. After absorbing an 8-2 shellacking by Detroit, Stasiuk predicted the Red Wings would make the playoffs.The Detroit defense pair of Arnie Brown and Ron Stackhouse had its biggest point night in that one, Brown assisting on four goals and Stackhouse on three&hellip;and he his the post on one drive with the goaltender beaten.It was a really big night for the defense with nine points&mdash;Gary Bergman and Larry Johnston also picked up an assist apiece.Al Karlander has 13 goals and six of them have been against Philadelphia which would just as soon not see him again.Red Wing vice president Gordie Howe resisted the urge to go to Japan to see his 16-year-old son, Mark, play for the United States in the Olympic games.&ldquo;I thought it would be best to let him get some experience on his own. But I&rsquo;ll say one thing, when he gets back we&rsquo;ll have a long father-son talk&hellip;the only thing is, I expect him to do all the talking. He&rsquo;s going to be the center of attention around our house for some time,&rdquo; said proud papa.The Wings were represented in Sapporo, however. Jack Paterson, head United States scout, went to the games.The 15,922 that crammed Olympia for the Toronto showdown&mdash;the official seating capacity is 13,808&mdash;fractured the record for a hockey game set on Jan. 20, 1964, when Ted Lindsay got together with old Production Linemates Howe and Sid Abel in the first Old-Timers Game&hellip;it drew 15,555 and tickets were 81 a seat &#9632;

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Redmond’s Heroics Could Make Him All Star

<div class="byline">&#x2014;SMITH</div>MONTREAL&mdash;Canadiens, who had their share of problems at the center ice position this season, decided to give Larry Pleau another shot at the job and the result has been over whelming.Pleau responded with one two-goal game and over a seven-game stretch since his recall from Nova Scotia Voyageurs of the AHL, he had scored five times and secured three assists.Pleau, the 25-year-old native of Lynn, Mass., has been in the Montreal chain for years, but knee injuries have slowed his progress. He had been up earlier this season, but saw limited action with the big team. Eventually, Habs sent him to their top farm team, the Voyageurs of the AHL, along with young rearguard Dale Hoganson. That was in January. They recalled him early this month.A smooth-skating youngster with style and presence on the ice, Pleau was discovered by former Hab center Ralph Backstrom who found him in a hockey school.Brought to the Junior Canadiens, Pleau impressed as a hot prospect. He gained experience with the Baby Habs, as well as the Jersey Devils of the EHL. He also played for the U.S. National Team and the Voyageurs, before joining the NHL Canadiens for the first time in 1969-70). He played 20 games and collected his first NHL goal.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-01745/2970559-1-eng-US/f0013-012.jpg" title="f0013-01" width="559" height="387"><figcaption class="caption-body">LARRY PLEAU</figcaption></div>Last season, he severed ligaments in his knee. The injury was slow to respond and, for awhile, there was a danger that Pleau&rsquo;s promising NHL career would be cut short. He was able to play only 19 games, last season. &#9632;

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Pleau Sizzles After Recall By Canadiens

<div class="byline">BY GIL SMITH</div>MONTREAL&mdash;It&rsquo;s been a season of despair for both of them in different ways, but all will be forgotten if only there&rsquo;s a happy ending.Serge Savard and Guy Lapointe, two of the most mobile and effective rearguards on the team when at their best, were both hoping to recapture the magic touch and make important contributions to their club through the latter part of the current season.Savard, a star of the first magnitude before suffering two leg fractures over the past two campaigns, returned to action earlier this month after more than a year on the sidelines. Early reports on his play were encouraging and Serge, himself, seemed confident that he could make it back all the way.&ldquo;The leg feels better than after the first time I broke it,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It feels stronger. But, I&rsquo;ve been skating since training camp, so it&rsquo;s had a good chance to respond.&ldquo;Some guys said I&rsquo;d be worried about going into the corners when I got back,&rdquo; Serge observed. &ldquo;But, they were wrong.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-02690/2970590-1-eng-US/f0013-022.jpg" title="f0013-02" width="268" height="418"><figcaption class="caption-body">Serge Savard</figcaption></div>Savard&rsquo;s size, speed and pucksense made him one of the most valuable defensemen on the team and Habs have missed him, plenty. He had also developed into a penalty-killer almost without peer. If his comeback is successful it could ignite the team in a way that could power them through the stretch and, quite likely, into a second-place finish.The other oft-injured warrior on the club is Guy Lapointe. He, too, may be due to break out and salvage something out of a season that started well, but then ground to a halt.Like Savard, Lapointe is a fine, rushing defenseman. He has the size and speed, though he lacks Savard&rsquo;s finesse. He played great hockey earlier this season, in fact he&rsquo;d been scoring almost a point a game up till last Nov. 28th. Then, in a game against Detroit Red Wings, he fractured his cheekbone when hit in the face by a puck.He came back wearing a protective faceguard and helmet, but by Christmas night in Pittsburgh he was no longer wearing it. As fate would have it, a puck bounced up off his glove and again fractured his cheekbone.He missed another clutch of games, but returned in January. He was having difficulty regaining his stride, however, and Scotty Bowman noted that his effectiveness had diminished.&ldquo;His timing is off and I think his confidence may have been affected, too,&rdquo; Bowman said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s too bad, because he certainly was outstanding in the early part of the season.&rdquo; &#9632;

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Can Lapointe-Savard Duo Snark Habs’Stretch Run?

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0014-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-01744/2970733-1-eng-US/f0014-012.jpg"></div><h2>TOP 25 SCORERS</h2>Including games of Sunday, Fob. 13)<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-02632/2970726-1-eng-US/f0014-022.jpg" title="f0014-02" width="1408" height="911"></div><h2>BOSTON Bruins</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-03493/2970719-1-eng-US/f0014-032.jpg" title="f0014-03" width="742" height="758"></div><h2>BUFFALO Sabres</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-04360/2970712-1-eng-US/f0014-042.jpg" title="f0014-04" width="741" height="810"></div><h2>CALIFORNIA Seals</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-05270/2970705-1-eng-US/f0014-052.jpg" title="f0014-05" width="744" height="756"></div><h2>CHICAGO Black Hawks</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-06228/2970698-1-eng-US/f0014-062.jpg" title="f0014-06" width="735" height="733"></div><h2>DETROIT Red Wings</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-07186/2970691-1-eng-US/f0014-072.jpg" title="f0014-07" width="742" height="742"></div><h2>LOS ANGELES Kings</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-08160/2970684-1-eng-US/f0014-082.jpg" title="f0014-08" width="736" height="678"></div><h2>MINNESOTA North Stars</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-09146/2970677-1-eng-US/f0014-092.jpg" title="f0014-09" width="743" height="736"></div><h2>MONTREAL Canadiens</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-10130/2970670-1-eng-US/f0014-102.jpg" title="f0014-10" width="741" height="774"></div><h2>NEW YORK Rangers</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-11117/2970663-1-eng-US/f0014-112.jpg" title="f0014-11" width="732" height="743"></div><h2>PHILADELPHIA Flyers</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-12106/2970656-1-eng-US/f0014-122.jpg" title="f0014-12" width="737" height="798"></div><h2>PITTSBURGH Penguins</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-1389/2970649-1-eng-US/f0014-132.jpg" title="f0014-13" width="737" height="820"></div><h2>ST. LOUIS Blues</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-1470/2970642-1-eng-US/f0014-142.jpg" title="f0014-14" width="743" height="817"></div><h2>TORONTO Maple Leats</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-1561/2970635-1-eng-US/f0014-152.jpg" title="f0014-15" width="744" height="794"></div><h2>VANCOUVER Canucks</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-1650/2970628-1-eng-US/f0014-162.jpg" title="f0014-16" width="750" height="748"></div><h2>NHL&rsquo;S EAST-WEST SCOREBOARD</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-1748/2970621-1-eng-US/f0014-172.jpg" title="f0014-17" width="1391" height="387"></div> &#9632;

f0014-01

PLAYERS SCORING PENALTY RECORDS

<div class="byline">BY ED CONRAD</div>PHILADELPHIA&mdash;Just when the Philadelphia Flyers figured they were back in business in their bid for a playoff spot, misfortune struck in the form of a heart attack to goaler Bruce Gamble.The veteran puck stopper was admitted to an Oakland hospital after complaining of chest pains, exhaustion and apparently high blood pressure. Doctors say the 33-year-old Gamble is now in stable condition but they have also ruled his playing is over.The blow was a crushing one for the Flyers, who were crediting Gamble with making a key contribution to their playoff bid.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-01719/2970764-1-eng-US/f0015-012.jpg" title="f0015-01" width="272" height="472"><figcaption class="caption-body">Bruce Gamble</figcaption></div>The Flyers brought up rookie Ecn McLoed from Providence of the AHL to replace Gamble and act as backup to Doug Favell, who now must shoulder the big responsibility of getting the Flyers into the playoffsGamble&rsquo;s consistently standout goaltending helped the Flyers snap out of their tailspin just when it appeared they were on the verge of dooming themselves to the position of also ran.Coach Fred Shero simply wasn&rsquo;t pleased with the consistency of Favell. So, when Gamble was impressive despite a losing cause, he stuck with Bruce for eight consecutive contest and his hunch paid off. The Flyers were back in the ball game.Gamble, a time-tested NHL veteran who &ldquo;came to Philly in the Bernie Parent trade one year ago, had been more-or-less relegated to stature as No. 2 in the Flyers&rsquo; goaltending picture. It is a role he accepted, although he and those who know his talent feel he can certainly play consist ently well game-in and game-out.&ldquo;When you&rsquo;re not playing regularly, you&rsquo;re too tensed up out there,&rdquo; reasons Bruce. &ldquo;You&rsquo;re trying to be extra careful and a lot of time it simply backfires.The big thing, a goalie can&rsquo;t be fighting the puck all the time. The other team in bound to score some times but you try to avoid giving them bad goals. As long as the goals you give up aren&rsquo;t bad ones, you know you&rsquo;re still sharp. If you give up a good goal now and then, you just shake it out of your mind.&rdquo;Gamble, in pro hockey since the 1958 season, came to the Flyers&rsquo; rescue much the same way he played outstandingly to help the club finish in third place a year ago. The Flyers had hoped for a repeat performance this season.Favell suffered a concussion when he fell and hit his head on the ice in practice with several weeks remaining in last year&rsquo;s regular season. Gamble took over and enabled the Flyers to leapgrog from fifth to third.It was Bruce&rsquo;s performance in the stretch drive which endearned him to the fans of Philadelphia. It should be noted, though, that there had been no adverse reaction because he is wearing No 30, Parent&rsquo;s old number.&ldquo;Look, when I came to Philly, I had a good idea of what Bernie meant to the club since the team was in the league,&rdquo; he explained. &ldquo;I was just one of the players involved. I think the fans were well aware of this. They&rsquo;ve been extremely fair.&rdquo;Gamble goaltending in the most recent stretch had coincided with the Flyer&rsquo;s new life following the multiplayer trade with the Los Angeles Kings.Forwards Eddie Joyal, Bill Flett, Ross Lonsberry and defenseman Jean Potvin had inspired their new teammates to a three-game winning streak, longest of the season.The win over Toronto, in Maple Leaf Gardens, was especially significant because the Flyers had gone 19 games without a victory on the road. In this one Gamble, playing in front of his old fans, stopped 45 shots in a 31 triumph.Then Lady Luck dealt the Flyers a smashing blow, one they could conceivably not recover from. &#9632;

f0015-01

Gamble’s Heart Attack Blow To Flyers’ Hopes

MONTREAL&mdash;Brad Park of the New York Rangers last week became the first defenseman in at least 30 years to register two three-goal-games in a single season. Remarkably, goaltender Jim Rutherford of Pittsburgh Penguins was the unfortunate victim on both occasions&mdash;during a 6-1 Ranger win at New York, and at Pittsburgh when Rangers posted an 8-3 victory.The 23-year-old Toronto, Ont. native, who is enjoying his finest season since joining the NHL in 1968-69, now has 16 goals and 56 points, both Rangers club records for a defenseman, and a share of 12th place in the scoring race.Along a similar vein, rookie right winger Guy Lafleur of Montreal established a modern area record of his own during Canadiens&rsquo; 7-1 romp over Chicago Black Hawks when he performed his third three-goal-game of the season. No first-year player has recorded more than two such feats in a season since at least 1946-47.Lafleur&rsquo;s three three-goal-games lead the League in that department this season but are four short of Phil Esposito&rsquo;s record seven which he recorded with Boston last year.The efforts of Park and Lafleur brought this season&rsquo;s total three-goal-games to 37 compared to 28 at the same time a year ago.Meanwhile, Phil Esposito scored six points last week for a total of 94 to maintain a narrow margin atop the scoring parade over Rangers&rsquo; Jean Ratelle, whose 91 points break the New York club record of 88 established by Andy Bath gate in 1958-59. &#9632;

NHL WEEK—In Review

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0015-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-02644/2970833-1-eng-US/f0015-022.jpg"></div><h2>THE TOP NETMINDERS</h2>(Includinq games of Sunday. Feb. 13)<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-03542/2970826-1-eng-US/f0015-032.jpg" title="f0015-03" width="1116" height="294"></div><h2>COMPLETE GOALKEEPING RECORDS FOR NHL TEAMS</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-04423/2970819-1-eng-US/f0015-042.jpg" title="f0015-04" width="1131" height="2279"></div> &#9632;

f0015-02

LOOKING AT NHL GOALERS

<div class="byline">BY DONALD BERNS</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 CanadaST. LOUIS&mdash;When the number of injured St. Louis defensemen reached four, the name on the lips of many Blues&rsquo;s fans was Barclay Plager.The fans knew that the man to hold the defense together in that time of crisis would be the seemingly in-destructible Plager.John Arbour was sidelined with a hand injury, and Bob Plager, Bare&rsquo;s brother, went out with a cracked rib at the same time. Carl Brewer was already out of action with a knee injury, and Noel Picard was starting his third month of recuperation from the painful foot injury suffered in a horseback-riding mishap.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-01566/2970864-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg" title="f0016-01" width="254" height="436"><figcaption class="caption-body">Barclay Plager</figcaption></div>Barclay, now in his fifth season with the Blues&rsquo; was left on the blueline with his younger brother, Billy, and rookie Andre Dupont. Larry Hornung was quickly called from the farm club at Kansas City, so the Blues could have at least two pairs of healthy defensemen.Fortunately for the Blues Barclay Plager personifies that old saying that, &ldquo;when the going gets tough, the tough get going.&rdquo; The Blues had seven games in the next 15 days, and Plager was playing his best hockey of the season. If that particular stretch of games had occured several weeks earlier, Plager&rsquo;s performance probably would have earned him a spot on the Western Division squad in January&rsquo;s All Star game.St. Louis coach Al Arbour said, &ldquo;The injuries overloaded Barc with more play, and he blocked a lot of shots. Of course, the pressure was on everybody, and Barc kept his penalties down.&rdquo;Plager, said, &ldquo;I guess the injuries put a little more responsibility on me, but responsibility never hurt anybody. I tried to put extra effort into it, but my contribution was no more than the other 17 guys. I was just worried about not having a good game, because I didn&rsquo;t want to be the reason for a loss on some silly play.&rdquo;Any added work or responsibility put on the shoulders of the toughened Plager would never be enough to cripple his determination. Indeed, he thrives on playing the game in adversity. In short, he is the kind of player that you especially want on your team when the situation looks bleak.Arbour, who was Plager&rsquo;s defensive partner for most of the three years that they were St. Louis teammates, says, &ldquo;Barc is the type of guy who hates to lose in the worst way. He gives his best at all times.&rdquo;Asked whether he talked with Plager specifically about the defensemen shortage. Arbour said, &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t have to. He realized the situation and he realized he had to really put out.&rdquo; Plager admitted to being &ldquo;really tired in a couple games,&rdquo; but he said, &ldquo;The forwards worked overtime to help us on defense. Some of our young players don&rsquo;t realize how good they are. Sometimes the main reason that a young guy will make mistakes is only that he&rsquo;s trying so hard.&rdquo;In the seven games that the Blues played with four defenseman, the team was in a scoring slump and scored only 10 goals. But the defense, led by Plager, remained tough, and the Blues won three of the games.In the last game of the sevengame stretch before Brewer returned to action the Blues, lost, 5-2, to the Boston Bruins in Boston. Plager was off the ice for three Boston goals because his forehead was being stitched in the dressing room after being cut by Bobbv Orr&rsquo;s stick.Plager got eight stitches in his head and was back on the ice within 11 minutes. &#9632;

f0016-01

Defense Crisis Brought Out Best In Barclay Plager

<h2>In The East</h2>Rookie right winger Guy Lafleur of the Montreal Canadiens has been making great strides lately in his effort to demonstrate that his selection as No. 1 in the National Hockey League&rsquo;s draft, was a wise choice by the Habs.This past week the former Quebec City junior scoring sensation continued his penchant for scoring goals in bunches as he connected three times in a 7-1 Montreal thrashing of Chicago Black Hawks and, in the process, became the first NHL rookie in the modern era to record three hat tricks in a season. Just two days later, Lafleur was right back again as he thrilled Montreal fans with the winning goal with just 22 seconds remaining as the Habs edged Los Angeles 6-5.Lafleur&rsquo;s four-goal week raised his season&rsquo;s mark to 22 goals and 24 assists.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-02489/2970902-1-eng-US/f0016-022.jpg" title="f0016-02" width="551" height="663"><figcaption class="caption-body">GUY LAFLEUR&hellip;. Montreal Canadien*</figcaption></div><h2>In The West</h2>The Philadelphia Flyers were reported recently as considering tempting offers to part with their slick young center Bobby Clarke.If that is indeed the case, then it is likely the Flyer management is very happy they resisted the temptations because this past week the talented Clarke carried the hottest scoring stick in the NHL circuit.The five-foot-ten, 180 lb. Flin Flon, Manitoba native scored twice and added an assist in a 3-1 Philly victory over the Vancouver Canucks, contributed another assist in a 3-2 loss to the California Golden Seals a day later, the came back with a 2-goal, 1-assist performance as Philadelphia battled Buffalo to a 4-4 standoff.Clarke&rsquo;s seven-point week brought his season&rsquo;s point total to 48 and propelled him well on his way to his finest campaign in the NHL.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-03388/2970895-1-eng-US/f0016-032.jpg" title="f0016-03" width="549" height="642"><figcaption class="caption-body">BOBBY CLARKE&hellip;Philadelphia Flyers</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0016-02

Player’s of the week

<h2>MONTREAL</h2>GOALPhil MyreDenis DeJordyKen DrydenDEFENSEJacques La per rierePierre BouchardJ.C. Tremblay AGuy LapointeSergo SavardCENTERHenri Richard CPeto MahovlichRey ComoauLarry PleauR. WINGYvan CoumoyorGuy LafleurJim RobertsRejean HouleL. WINGFrank Mahovlich AJacques LemaireClaude LaroseINJURREDTorry Harper A.Marc Tardif<h2>CHICAGO</h2>GOALTony EspositoGory SmithGerry DesjardinsDEFENSEPat StapletonBill WhiteKeith MagnusonDoug Jarrett AJerry KorabCENTERStan Mikitu APit MartinBryan CampbellLou AngottiAndro LacgoixR. WINGCRH KorollChico MakiEric Nesterenko JDarryl MaggsJim PappinL. WINGBobby HullDennis HullChris BordeleauINJUREDnone<h2>BOSTON</h2>GOALGerry CheeversEd JohnstonDEFENSEBobby OrrDallas SmithRick SmithMatt RavfichTed Green ACENTERPhil Esposito AFred StanfieldDerek SandersonR. WINGJohn McKenzieEd Westfall AReg LeachL. WINGJohn Bucyk AWayne CommonGarnet BaileyMiko WaltonDon MarcotteINJUREDKen Hodge<h2>ST. LOUIS</h2>GOALErnie WakelyJacques CaronWayno StephensonDEFENSEAndro DupontBarclay Piagor ABill PlagerLarry HornungBob Plager ACad Brewer ACENTERGarry UngerTorry CrispFrank St. Marseille ADanny O'ShoaCurt BonnettR. WINGGary SabourinMiko MurphyGerry OdrowskiPhil RobertoL. WINGGeorge MorrisonFloyd ThomsonJock EgersBrian LavenderINJUREDNoel PicardJohn Arbour<h2>DETROIT</h2>GOALAl SmithJoe DaleyDEFENSEGary Bergman AAmie Brown ARon StackhouseLorry JohnstonBob WallCENTERAlex Delvecchio CRed Berenson AMarcel DionneAl KarlanderR. WINGMickey RedmondBill CollinsDoug VolmarL. WINGNick LibettDanny JohnsonGuy CharronINJUREDRon HarrisTim EcclestoneLeon Rochefort<h2>CALIFORNIA</h2>GOALGillet MelocheGory KurtDEFENSECarol Vadnais CBert Marthall AMarthall JohntfonDick RedmondPaul ShmyrKen BairdCENTERWalt McKechnieIvan Boldt revKen DavidsonBobby SheehanR. WINGNorm Ferguson AGerry Pinder AWayne CarletonL. WINGGary CroteauStan GilbertsonErnie HickeGarry JarrettJoey JohnstonINJUREDTom Webster<h2>TORONTO</h2>GOALBemie ParentJacques PlanteDEFENSEBob Baun AJim McKonnyBrad SeiwoodBrian GlennieRicky LeyJim DoreyCENTERNorm Ullman ADave Keon CJim HarrisonDon MarshallR. WINGRon Ellis AGuy TrottierRick KehoeBilly MacMillanL. WINGGarry MonahanDenis DupereDarryl SittierPaul HendersonINJUREDMike Pelyk<h2>Philadelphia</h2>GOALDoug FavellDon McLeodDEFENSEBarry Ashbee AWayne HillmanEd Van ImpeJoo WatsonRick FoleyJean PotvinBrent HughesCENTERBobby ClarkeEd JoyalBell ClementDick SarrazinR. WINGGary DornhoeferLew MorrisonBill FlettSimon NoietL. WINGJean-Guy GendiBob KellyMike ParizeauRoss LansberryINJUREDBruce Gamble<h2>NEW YORK</h2>GOALEd GiacominGilles VillemureDEFENSEBrad Park AJim Neilson ARod SeilingGary DoakDale RolfeCENTERJean RatelieWalt TkaczukBobby RousseauPeto StemkowskiR. WINGRod Gilbert ABill FairbairnPierro JarryBruce MacGregorL. WINGVic Hadfield CTed IrvineGlen SatherGene CarrINJUREDAb DeMarco<h2>PITTSBURGH</h2>GOALJim RutherfordLos BinkloyDEFENSEDarryl EdestrandDavo BurrowsSheldon KannegiesserBryan WatsonTim Horton ADuane RuppCENTERRon SchockRene RobertBryan HextaliSyl AppsR. WINGl Nick HarbarukKen Schinkel AJean PronovostAl McDonoughL. WINGn Greg PolisBobby LeiterStevo CardwellVai FonteyneINJUREDKeith McGroary A<h2>BUFFALO</h2>GOALRoger CrozierDave DrydenDEFENSEAl Hamilton ALarry HillmanJim WatsonChris EvansTracy Pratt.CENTERGibort Perreault AGerry Meehan CDon LuceJim LorentzR. WINGRon AndersonSteve AtkinsonKevin O'SheaEddie ShackMike ByersL. WINGDanny LawsonRichard MartinCraig RamsayINJUREDRay McKay<h2>LOS ANGELES</h2>GOALGary EdwardsBill SmithDEFENSEDoug BarrieHarry Howell APaul CurtisBob WoytowichGillos Marotte ACENTERRalph Backstrom AButch GoringJuha WidingJimmy JohnsonR. WINGLucien GrenierSerge BernierMike CorriganL. WINGBob BerryBob Pulford CReal LemieuxBill LesukINJUREDLarry BrownRogation Vachon<h2>VANCOUVER</h2>GOALDune WilsonGeorge GardnerDEFENSEPat QuinnJocelyn GuevremontDennis KeamsJohn ScholiaGrog BaddyCENTEROrlandKurtenbach CAndre Boudrias ARon WardRichard LemieuxR. WINGRon StewartWayne ConnellyRosa ire PaiementBobby SchmautzL. WINGWayne MakiTod TaylorDave BalonDale Tallon APoul PopielINJUREDBarry Wilkins<h2>MINNESOTA</h2>GOALCesare ManiagoLome WorsleyDEFENSETed Harris CTom ReidDennis O'BrienDoug MohnsBarry Gibbs ACENTERk Ted HampsonMurray OliverCharlie Bums AJude DrouinDennis HextaliR. WINGBill GoldsworthyLou NanneBob NevinL. WINGDanny GrantDean PrenticeINJUREDCraig CameronJean-Paul Parise A. &#9632;

NHL Team Rosters

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-01479/2971101-1-eng-US/f0017-012.jpg" title="f0017-01" width="438" height="311"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-02426/2971094-1-eng-US/f0017-022.jpg" title="f0017-02" width="491" height="298"></div><h2>Tues Feb. 8 PHILADELPHIA 3 at VANCOUVER 1</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-03352/2971087-1-eng-US/f0017-032.jpg" title="f0017-03" width="591" height="542"></div><h2>TORONTO 2 at ST. LOUIS 1</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-04277/2971080-1-eng-US/f0017-042.jpg" title="f0017-04" width="583" height="439"></div><h2>Wed. Feb 9 PITTSBURGH 4 at TORONTO 1</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-05228/2971073-1-eng-US/f0017-052.jpg" title="f0017-05" width="587" height="515"></div><h2>CHICAGO 1 at NEW YORK 4</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-06193/2971066-1-eng-US/f0017-062.jpg" title="f0017-06" width="592" height="538"></div><h2>LOS ANGELES 1 at MINNESOTA 4</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-07171/2971059-1-eng-US/f0017-072.jpg" title="f0017-07" width="588" height="537"></div><h2>PHILADELPHIA 2 at CALIFORNIA 3</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-08139/2971052-1-eng-US/f0017-082.jpg" title="f0017-08" width="596" height="613"></div><h2>Thurs. Feb. 10 CHICAGO 1 at MONTREAL 7</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-09124/2971045-1-eng-US/f0017-092.jpg" title="f0017-09" width="607" height="663"></div><h2>VANCOUVER 1 at BOSTON 9</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-10114/2971038-1-eng-US/f0017-102.jpg" title="f0017-10" width="591" height="740"></div><h2>BUFFALO 2 at DETROIT 4</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-1197/2971031-1-eng-US/f0017-112.jpg" title="f0017-11" width="594" height="574"></div><h2>LOS ANGELES 1 at PITTSBURGH 6</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-1286/2971024-1-eng-US/f0017-122.jpg" title="f0017-12" width="595" height="583"></div><h2>MINNESOTA 3 at ST. LOUIS 1</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-1370/2971017-1-eng-US/f0017-132.jpg" title="f0017-13" width="593" height="468"></div><h2>Sat. Feb. 12 LOS ANGELES 5 at MONTREAL 6</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-1459/2971010-1-eng-US/f0017-142.jpg" title="f0017-14" width="600" height="823"></div><h2>CALIFORNIA 0 at TORONTO 3</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-1548/2971003-1-eng-US/f0017-152.jpg" title="f0017-15" width="594" height="477"></div><h2>NEW YORK 8 at PITTSBURGH 3</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-1646/2970996-1-eng-US/f0017-162.jpg" title="f0017-16" width="595" height="859"></div><h2>BUFFALO 1 at BOSTON 5</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-1739/2970989-1-eng-US/f0017-172.jpg" title="f0017-17" width="596" height="605"></div><h2>CHICAGO 3 at DETROIT 3</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-1833/2970982-1-eng-US/f0017-182.jpg" title="f0017-18" width="600" height="555"></div><h2>VANCOUVER 4 at ST. LOUIS 5</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-1927/2970975-1-eng-US/f0017-192.jpg" title="f0017-19" width="595" height="720"></div><h2>PHILADELPHIA 1 at MINNESOTA 5</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-2018/2970968-1-eng-US/f0017-202.jpg" title="f0017-20" width="588" height="552"></div><h2>Sun. Feb. 13 MONTREAL 2 at BOSTON 2</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-01484/2970961-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg" title="f0018-01" width="586" height="499"></div><h2>TORONTO 1 at CHICAGO 2</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-02392/2970954-1-eng-US/f0018-022.jpg" title="f0018-02" width="590" height="509"></div><h2>LOS ANGELES 2 at NEW YORK 4</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-03292/2970947-1-eng-US/f0018-032.jpg" title="f0018-03" width="592" height="618"></div><h2>PHILADELPHIA 4 at BUFFALO 4</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-04229/2970940-1-eng-US/f0018-042.jpg" title="f0018-04" width="592" height="763"></div><h2>VANCOUVER 4 at PITTSBURGH 6</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-05174/2970933-1-eng-US/f0018-052.jpg" title="f0018-05" width="584" height="837"></div> &#9632;

f0017-01

National Hockey League SUMMARIES

<div class="byline">BY NORM MacLEAN</div>NEW YORK&mdash;It took five games, four of which were won by the Boston Bruins, but even diehard Ranger Ians are beginning to believe that New York cannot catch the Beantowners for the NHL East pennant this season.Emile Francis, the Rangers general manager-coach commented, &ldquo;We don&rsquo;t figure to get too much help from the other teams. However, I never give up and I told the boys to just try and win our games and see what happens.&rdquo;Analytically, The GAG Line cannot win the pennant all by itself. Hockey&rsquo;s best line has now broken the all time Ranger record for points and goals, with 237 points and 101 goals in 52 games. No other Ranger line has ever scored over 100 goals in a season. Dave Anderson, the columnist of The New York Times; rates Jean Ratelle and company as the best line in New York history.&ldquo;I can&rsquo;t imagine anyone playing any better, even counting that they were playing against expansion teams much of the time,&rdquo; said Dave.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-06143/2971156-1-eng-US/f0018-062.jpg" title="f0018-06" width="268" height="444"><figcaption class="caption-body">Pete Stemkowski</figcaption></div>Ratelle with 33 goals now has set a new career high as have Rod Gilbert and Vic Hadfield every time they score. Gilbert and Hadfield both have 34 goals.Still, the GAG Line needs help from the other trios. The Rangers had 222 goals the most in the NHL at press time, but without Ratelle and his pals 101 markers, they would be in trouble. This is over forty percent of the grand total a fantastic achievement, but one which leaves doubt as to the overall balance.More goals are needed from the second and third trios. Walter Tkaczuk, Bill Fairbairn and Gene Carr work hard, but both Carr and Fairbairn have suffered in front of the net. This handicaps Tkaczuk, a superior center, who made a big scorer out of the now departed Dave Balon.The third line now is Peter Stemkowski, Bruce MacGregor and Ted Irvine with Bobby Rousseau back in his original role as swing man. Stemmer is rounding into form pretty well now after his early season head and back problem. Rousseau hit a dry spell and went 13 games without scoring, but his overall contribution has remained high. In future switches Francis could put Stemkowski on left wing and Rousseau back at center if he desired. Stemmer won a Stanley Cup for Toronto in 1966-67, playing the left side with Jimmy Pappin on right wing and Bob Pulford at centerThe schedule has also hurt the Rangers of late. Two weeks running they had to play back to back Saturday night-Sunday afternoon games.Stemkowski summed it up with &ldquo;this is crazy, travelling all the time and playing without any sleep.&rdquo;Dale Rolfe has returned to action, although Gary Doak still was getting most of the ice time with Brad Park.If the Rangers do finish second they would face Montreal in the playoffs. It is imperative that they succeed in staying second in order to get the extra home game and the first two contests in the cup games. After losing to Boston 2-0 on Feb. 2, New York defeated Buffalo 4-2 the next night and then lost 6-5 to St. Louis on Feb. 5, followed by a 2-2 tie with Toronto on Feb. 6. A rough schedule indeed.The Rangers have had problems with the ice in recent Garden games, especially in the afternoon contests in which ice is put down after a basketball game the night before.Francis noted, &ldquo;They can send a man to the moon, but they can&rsquo;t develop an insulated floor to put down.&rdquo;In both the 2-0 loss to Boston and the tie with Toronto the Rangers seemingly were victimized by bad decisions. In the Boston game with the score 0-0, Stemkowski scored for New York, but was ruled to be offside by a linesman. The TV instant replay negated this ruling without a doubt, in the Toronto game, Rod Gilbert &ldquo;scored&rdquo; a goal which would have given New York a 3-0 lead at the time, but it was disallowed because referee Bill Friday ruled it as being batted in by Rod&rsquo;s hand. Again, the TV replay showed it having hit Gilbert in the chest and bouncing in. Rod raised his hand in celebration when he saw the puck in the net and this caused Friday&rsquo;s mistake&mdash;although he had help from one of the linesman who was quite a distance from the scene of the action.Once more Ranger fans have been disappointed, but in hockey everyone gets a chance again in the playoffs&mdash;the real championship. Perhaps it will be different then.BLUE CHIPS: Vic Hadfield with 19 power play goals is leading the NHL in that department&hellip;Hadfield appeared between periods of the CBS Game of the Week Feb. 6 as Jim Gordon&rsquo;s guest&hellip;Jack Egers scored a hat trick for the Blues in the Feb, 5 games, making his cup runneth over&hellip;Roy Boe of the new Long Island NHL entrant appeared at a recent hockey writer&rsquo;s luncheon and made a smash impression&hellip; &#9632;

f0018-06

Ranger Pennant Hopes Fade

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0018-07" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-07125/2971194-1-eng-US/f0018-072.jpg"></div>(Standings on Tuesday, Feb. 15)<h2>EAST DIVISION</h2><h2>WEST DIVISION</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-08105/2971187-1-eng-US/f0018-082.jpg" title="f0018-08" width="1108" height="343"></div><h2>GAMES COMPLETED</h2>Tues. Feb. 8Toronto 2 at St. Louis 1Philadelphia 3 at Vancouver 1Wed. Feb. 9Pittsburgh 4 at Toronto 1Chicago 1 at New York 4Philadelphia 2 at California 3Los Angeles 1 at Minnesota 4Thur. Feb. 10Chicago 1 at Montreal 7Vancouver 1 at Boston 9Buffalo 2 at Detroit 4Los Angeles 1 at Pittsburgh 6Minnesota 3 at St. Louis 1Sat. Feb. 12Los Angeles 5 at Montreal 6California 0 at Toronto 3New York 8 at Pittsburgh 3Buffalo 1 at Boston 5Chicago 3 at Detroit 3Vancouver 4 at St. Louis 5Philadelphia 1 at Minnesota 5Sun. Feb. 13Montreal 2 at Boston 2Toronto 1 at Chicago 2Los Angeles 2 at New York 4Philadelphia 4 at Buffalo 4Vancouver 4 at Pittsburgh 6<h2>GAMES TO COME</h2>Tues. Feb. 15New York at VancouverCalifornia at BostonChicago at St. LouisWed. Feb. 16California at MontrealToronto at PittsburghDetroit at MinnesotaPhiladelphia at ChicagoSt. Louis at Los AngelesThur. Feb. 17New York at Los AngelesBoston at PhiladelphiaPittsburgh at BuffaloFri. Feb. 18New York at CaliforniaSt. Louis at VancouverSat. Feb. 19Philadelphia at MontrealBuffalo at TorontoBoston at MinnesotaDetroit at Pittsburgh (afternoon)Vancouver at Los AngelesSun. Feb. 20Montreal at BuffaloToronto at PhiladelphiaDetroit at New YorkBoston at Chicago (afternoon)Pittsburgh at Minnesota (afternoon)St. Louis at CaliforniaTues. Feb. 22New York at MontrealToronto at DetroitBoston at VancouverWed Feb. 23Pittsburgh at TorontoPhiladelphia at New YorkBoston at CaliforniaBuffalo at ChicagoSt. Louis at Los Angeles &#9632;

f0018-07

NHL SCOREBOARD

<div class="byline">BY JOHN PORTER</div>OAKLAND&mdash;A couple of years ago when Ivan Boldirev and Paul Shmyr were playing on different teams in the Central League, they were supposed to have had a terrific fight.&ldquo;Shmyr told me,&rdquo; said California Golden Seals&rsquo; General Manager Garry Young last year &ldquo;the only fight he ever lost was to Ivan.&rdquo; After a practice early in February this month, Shmyr and Boldirev had a good time reliving the fistic meeting, but neither made a big deal out of it. Instead, they made it sound funny.&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t want to tell you this with Paul here,&rdquo; said Boldirev later, &ldquo;but we really miss him. All you have to do is look at our recent record.&rdquo;A look at the recent record without Shmyr (broken thumb) revealed a 2-2 tie with Montreal, but poorly-played losses to Vancouver (5-1) and Detroit (8-2).Of the five goals the Golden Ones had in those three games. two belonged to Joey Johnston and one to Gerry Pinder, who just happen to be Ivan&rsquo;s current linemates.&ldquo;I&rsquo;d never heard of him before,&rdquo; said veteran California winger Gary Jarrett when the club announced they had him buried down in their organization somewhere.&ldquo;Ivan&rsquo;s a big, strong centerman. He plays the same kind of game as Orland Kurtenbach&mdash;carries the puck a lot and doesn&rsquo;t have to go looking for trouble.&rdquo; Jarrett continued. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s like Phil Esposito, too. He holds the puck and pulls the defense in at the blue line then passes it off.&rdquo;Boldirev is one of many additions Young has secured to make the Seals a playoff contender. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve got to get us a big, playmaking center,&rdquo; he would often say earlier this season.In Boldirev, a 6-foot, 190-pounder, ex-Bruin talent scout Young got exactly what he wanted. Ivan had nine goals and 20 assists through 48 games with California. He&rsquo;d won a fight with Chicago&rsquo;s Keith Magnuson, but he wasn&rsquo;t a chippy player.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t try to play anybody&rsquo;s style,&rdquo; claimed Bodlirev. &ldquo;I just love to play the way I play. Gordie Howe used to by my idol when I was a kid, but he&rsquo;s a right winger.&rdquo;Seals trainer Jim Pickard calls Yvan &ldquo;Phil&rdquo; all the time, perhaps because Boldirev came from Boston, or the players look a little alike or because they both grew up in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want to be compared to Espo,&rdquo; said Ivan. &ldquo;I have my own style.&rdquo;Boldirev&rsquo;s coach looked at it this way.&ldquo;If I were still playing,&rdquo; said Vic Stasiuk, &ldquo;I&rsquo;d be dying to get on Boldirev&rsquo;s line. He&rsquo;s so smooth on the ice. Any winger could look great with him at center.&rdquo;<h2>UNITED STATES LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on fri. Feb. 8)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-01308/2971263-1-eng-US/f0020-012.jpg" title="f0020-01" width="580" height="164"></div><h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-02227/2971256-1-eng-US/f0020-022.jpg" title="f0020-02" width="587" height="514"></div> &#9632;

f0020-01

Seals Look Back On Trades, Rate Boldirev prize Catch

<div class="byline">BY JOHN ARNOLD</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-03188/2971294-1-eng-US/f0020-032.jpg" title="f0020-03" width="846" height="1134"></div><h2>SOLUTION IN MARCH 3 ISSUE</h2><h3>Across</h3>1&mdash;Pictured player formerly in NHL.2&mdash;An NHL center.6&mdash;A former Leaf and Bruin forward.10&mdash;Every team likes to get an early one.11&mdash;First name of AHL defenseman Douglas.12&mdash;4th and 9th letters of the alphabet.13&mdash;A U.S. States (init.)14&mdash;One of the Bruins answers to this15&mdash;Goaltenders protect this.16&mdash;Pictured player answers to this.18&mdash;Initials of an NHL veteran.19&mdash;Initials of Leach of Portland.21&mdash;Last season&rsquo;s top defenseman.24&mdash;Pronoun.26&mdash;A former Bruin.28&mdash;Initials of an NHL coach.29&mdash;Preposition.30&mdash;A Red Wing forward.<h3>Down</h3>1&mdash;A veteran WHL forward.2&mdash;Broken bones do this.3&mdash;First name of one of the Red Wings.4&mdash;Initials of one of the Wings.5&mdash;A former NHL coach.7&mdash;Former NHL defenseman now a broadcaster.8&mdash;9th and 1st letters of the alphabet.9&mdash;A former Black Hawk answers to this.17&mdash;An NHL coach.20&mdash;1965-66 Calder Trophy winner answers to this.22&mdash;Initials of a Leaf forward.23&mdash;A New York forward (init.)25&mdash;Former New York defenseman.26&mdash;An injury to one will keep a player on the sidelines.27&mdash;Distress signal.<h2>LAST WEEK&rsquo;S ANSWERS</h2><h3>Across</h3>1&mdash;MIKITA.5&mdash;AM.7&mdash;ONT.9&mdash;CARON.11&mdash;HER.13&mdash;TAYLOR.14&mdash;M.l.15&mdash;INN.17&mdash;ACE.19&mdash;LOB.20&mdash;V.A.22&mdash;CHI.25&mdash;CAN.26&mdash;OSHAWA.28&mdash;S.S.29&mdash;GEOFFRION.<h3>Down</h3>1&mdash;MACNEIL2&mdash;KURTENBACH.3&mdash;TONY.4&mdash;A.N.6&mdash;MAR.8&mdash;THOMAS.10&mdash;O.A12&mdash;ERIC.16&mdash;NO.18&mdash;EVANS.20&mdash;VASKO.21&mdash;DOUG.23&mdash;HALF.24&mdash;I.W.27&mdash;APR. &#9632;

f0020-03

HOCKEY CROSSWORD

<div class="byline">BY RICK PEARSON</div>ST. PAUL&mdash;Across the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, they giggled. Why St. Paul would build a downtown, $19-million, municipally-funded, multi-purpose arena was beyond them. For what, they asked, does St. Paul need it?But the gigglers paused to listen last winter when it was rumored a St. Paul group was seeking a National Hockey League franchise, expansion or otherwise. Despite the first-glance absurdity of playing in the Minnesota North Stars&rsquo; backyard, the idea made sense to those who know St. Paul&rsquo;s strong hockey history.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-01169/2971325-1-eng-US/f0021-012.jpg" title="f0021-01" width="262" height="424"><figcaption class="caption-body">Chuck Catto</figcaption></div>The North Stars, however, reportedly grumbled something about &ldquo;territory,&rdquo; and the proposal was dumped on a since-forgotten snowbank. More giggles.But then in November, with St. Paul an important mid-wife, the World Hockey Association was born. The giggles, strangely, have been replaced by statements like, &ldquo;No question, hockey will draw in St. Paul. And isn&rsquo;t it fortunate the WHA will have that nice new building to use?&rdquo;Yes, it is.No one in the WHA is suggesting the league&rsquo;s arena situation looks exactly rosy, but one thing is certain&hellip;the St. Paul Civic Center, future home of the Minnesota Fighting Saints, will duel Miami&rsquo;s Executive Square Garden for &ldquo;show place of the league&rdquo; billing.St. Paul&rsquo;s pride and joy will hold approximately 16,500 spectators for hockey, and the project includes an already-completed parking ramp for 1,430 autos. Is that enough to solve the parking problems of a downtown arena? Based on four persons per car, it holds only 6,520 customers.&ldquo;But, within three blocks, including curbside spaces, lots and other parking ramps, there is room for 4,000 cars,&rdquo; noted John Friedmann, managing director of the Civic Center.Friedmann is understandably proud of the facility. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a great deal like The Forum in Los Angeles, Madison Square Garden and the new Nassau County Coliseum (on Long Island) in design, sight lines and total floor space,&rdquo; he said.The Saints hope to play in the structure by January, 1973, when completion is scheduled. Construction, now 52 percent finished, is virtually on time, said Friedmann. Prior to January, the Saints will use the existing (and adjoining) St. Paul Auditorium, which is sufficient but hardly big league by comparison.Conditions in the old auditorium precipated construction of the Civic Center. &ldquo;It would have been just too impractical to renovate the present facilities,&rdquo; said Friedmann. &ldquo;The city felt it had to have a competitive building.&rdquo;The new auditorium then helped land the WHA. &ldquo;The St. Paul group would have sought the franchise anyway,&rdquo; said Friedmann, &ldquo;but I&rsquo;m sure the building gave them some impetus.&rdquo;Friedmann anticipates WHA success in St. Paul. &ldquo;If you had a hockey franchise and could put it anywhere in the United States that didn&rsquo;t have a team already, where would you put it? Atlanta? No! You&rsquo;d put it in St. Paul.&ldquo;This is hockey country. If the hockey is good, if it&rsquo;s exciting to watch, there will be good crowds.&rdquo;And some of the gigglers across the river have already ordered tickets.In other WHA happenings, Chuck Catto has quit the California Golden Seals of the NHL to accept the post of assistant general manager to Bill Hunter of the Edmonton Oil Kings of the WHA. Catto, who was GM of the Columbus team of the 1HL, was also director of player personnel for the NHL Seals&hellip;Arthur Dunphy, former sports information director at Boston University, will become director of public relations for the New England Whalers of the WHA&hellip;Vern Buffey, the WHA&rsquo;s new referee-in-chief, was the man who ran the league&rsquo;s first draft at Anaheim, Calif. Buffey was designated draft master by Hunter, owner of the Edmonton club and the one responsible for putting the draft plans together. &#9632;

f0021-01

New St. Paul Center League ‘Show Place’

LOUISVILLE SLUGGER HOCKEY STICKS Made in Canada by HILLERICH & BRADSBY, LTD. Arnold Street, Wallaceburg, Ontarie Sold in U.S. and CanadaLOUISVILLE SLUGGER HOCKEY STICKS Made in Canada by HILLERICH & BRADSBY, LTD. Arnold Street, Wallaceburg, Ontarie Sold in U.S. and Canada<h2>HOW THEY STAND</h2>AMERICAN LEAGUE(Standings on Wed. Feb. 16)<h3>EASTERN DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-01187/2971370-1-eng-US/f0022-012.jpg" title="f0022-01" width="580" height="152"></div><h3>WESTERN DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-02125/2971363-1-eng-US/f0022-022.jpg" title="f0022-02" width="582" height="280"></div><h2>GAMES COMPLETED</h2>Tues Feb. 8Rochester 2 at Boston 1Springfield 4 at Hershey 1Tidewater 1 at Nova Scotia 6Baltimore 3 at Richmond 6Thur. Feb. 10Springfield 5 at Tidewater 7Fri. Feb. 11Springfield 3 at Baltimore 3Tidewater 1 at Cleveland 7Cincinnati 5 at Providence 3Rochester 0 at Richmond 0Sat. Feb. 12Providence 1 at Boston 4Hershey 3 at Cleveland 6Rochester 3 at Springfield 6Nova Scotio 4 at Tidewater 1Sun. Feb. 13Cincinnati 1 at Baltimore 3Rochester 3 at Providence 15Nova Scotia 3 at Richmond 2<h3>GAMES TO COME</h3>Tues Feb. 15Springfield at CincinnatiHershey of RichmondWed. Feb. 16Nova Scotia at BaltimoreSpnngfield at ClevelandFri. Feb. 18.Hershey at ProvidenceBaltimore at RichmondNova Scotia at SpringfieldSat. Feb. 19Tidewater at BaltimoreBoston at ClevelandHershey at SpringfieldSun. Feb. 20Rochester at Baltimore (afternoon)Boston at CincinnatiHershey at Nova ScotiaCleveland at ProvidenceTidewater at RichmondTue. Feb. 22Cleveland at BaltimoreHershey at CincinnatiRochester at Tidewater 2 (at Norfolk)Wed. Feb. 23Boston at HersheyCleveland at RochesterThur. Feb. 24Richmond at Novo ScotiaCincinnati at Tidewater 1 (at Hampton Rodds)Fri. Feb. 25Hershey at BaltimoreRochester at ProvidenceRichmond at Springfield<h2>LEADING SCORERS</h2>(Including games of Sun. Feb. 6)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-03108/2971356-1-eng-US/f0022-032.jpg" title="f0022-03" width="585" height="548"></div> &#9632;

f0022-01

AMERICAN LEAGUE

<div class="byline">BY BOB ELMER</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0022-04" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-0489/2971401-1-eng-US/f0022-042.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Two of Baltimore&rsquo;s top Scorers, PETE LAFRAMBOISE, left, and JOE SZURA, pose with little merritt DWORKIN, age 9 1/2, who is offering her ice favorites a giant-sized tooth brush and oversized set of false teeth as a reminder of Dental Health Week In Baltimore.</figcaption></div>BALTIMORE&mdash;One of the nicest guys wearing a Baltimore Clipper uniform this winter and having as much to do with the success of the team has to be Joe Szura.It is also a truism, that this likable, lanky 33-year-old center of Polish parentage, has toiled in pro hockey ranks with some of the best teams that have ever graced the American Hockey League&mdash;and yet, he has received very little recognition from the media, hockey fans and others who regard themselves as avid students of the game.At this writing, Szura is Baltimore&rsquo;s second leading point getter behind the sophomore sensation Pete Laframboise, for whom he centers the line of Lafram-boise, Szura and veteran Marc Dufour. As of Feb. 1, the clever pilot has netted 22 goals and handed out 25 assists for 47 points and seems likely to surpass his scoring of the last two years in Providence even though they were highly productive seasons with a 21-46-67 log in 196970, and 21-53-74 mark last winter.But, enough of mere statistics. They reflect the man&rsquo;s ability, as in this case, five great years with the Cleveland Barons including two title winners; another in Buffalo and a full season in the NHL with the Oakland Seals in 196869. What they don&rsquo;t reveal, of course, is a pleasant, soft-spoken, quiet nature, a family man with a genuine regard for other people and a great reluctance to tout his hockey ability.Szura, who married the former Lou Battiston from Thunder Bay 12 years ago and who have produced a fine family consisting of John, 9, Joey III, 7, and a fairly recent addition and only girl, Jodine, age 1 1/2, thinks the Cleveland team of 1963-64 which swept to the Calder Cup on the wings of nine straight post-season wins, was the best club he has played on to date, but is hopeful of another title winner this year with the Clippers. &#9632;

f0022-04

Szura Top Producer Despite Aging Years

<div class="byline">BY JERRY LINDQUIST</div>RICHMOND&mdash;In little more than two weeks the Richmond Robins went from a genuine, bonafide contender for the Western Division crown to an also-ran, with little relief in sight.After building a robust five-game winning streak that left them only four points from the top, the Robins did a dramatic and equally disastrous turnabout. They had only one tie to show for their next nine games.With the possible exception of goaltenders Michel Belhumeur and Bob Taylor, it was a collective tumble. Most everyone had a hand in the breakdown.But, the most notable was lack of scoring punch, something that plagued the team a season ago as the Quebec Aces and proved a problem at current season&rsquo;s start. Richmond simply could not put the puck into the net with any consistency, and it wasn&rsquo;t for lack of opportunities either.&ldquo;We don&rsquo;t have anyone with a killer instinct,&rdquo; one player said. &ldquo;We don&rsquo;t have that guy who will keep digging and digging until he scores. What we need is a leader.&rdquo;Through 48 games, the Robins did not have a player with 20 goals. Nor did they have anyone among the top 30 in scoring overall.During the non-winning streak, Richmond managed to score three goals in only two games, one a 3-3 standoff at home with Springfield. The other was a 5-3 loss in Providence where the Reds did all their scoring in the first period.It was away from home that the Robins were especially pitiful offensively. They hadn&rsquo;t won a game on the road since November 26. The overall record on foreign ice was 3-18-4. &#9632;

Robins Slipping Back In Race

The Rochester Americans have been accused of being unproductive this season but you could hardly blame it all on Bobby Walton. The Amerks&rsquo; winger turned up with the hot hand in the AHL last week racking up 11 points in just three games. His high point was a two-goal, four assist performance against the Nova Scotia Voyageurs.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-01165/2971480-1-eng-US/f0023-012.jpg" title="f0023-01" width="541" height="514"><figcaption class="caption-body">BOBBY WALTON</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0023-01

Player Of The Week

<h2>Tues. Feb. 1 SPRINGFIELD 3 at BOSTON 8</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-02126/2971609-1-eng-US/f0023-022.jpg" title="f0023-02" width="585" height="727"></div><h2>ROCHESTER 0 at NOVA SCOTIA 6</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-0399/2971602-1-eng-US/f0023-032.jpg" title="f0023-03" width="593" height="503"></div><h2>Wed. Feb. 2 PROVIDENCE 3 at BALTIMORE 6</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-0478/2971595-1-eng-US/f0023-042.jpg" title="f0023-04" width="588" height="723"></div><h2>CLEVELAND 3 at HERSHEY 3</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-0562/2971588-1-eng-US/f0023-052.jpg" title="f0023-05" width="593" height="550"></div><h2>RICHMOND 3 at TIDEWATER 3</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-0653/2971581-1-eng-US/f0023-062.jpg" title="f0023-06" width="584" height="502"></div><h2>THUR. FEB. 3 ROCHESTER 7 at NOVA SCOTIA 4</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-0749/2971574-1-eng-US/f0023-072.jpg" title="f0023-07" width="594" height="856"></div><h2>Fri. Feb. 4 PROVIDENCE 3 at ROCHESTER 5</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-0841/2971567-1-eng-US/f0023-082.jpg" title="f0023-08" width="600" height="637"></div><h2>RICHMOND 3 at CINCINNATI 1</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-0933/2971560-1-eng-US/f0023-092.jpg" title="f0023-09" width="590" height="449"></div><h2>BOSTON 3 at SPRINGFIELD 3</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-1025/2971553-1-eng-US/f0023-102.jpg" title="f0023-10" width="591" height="500"></div><h2>Sat. Feb. 5 TIDEWATER 2 at SPRINGFIELD 2</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-1118/2971546-1-eng-US/f0023-112.jpg" title="f0023-11" width="583" height="446"></div><h2>Sun. Feb. 6 SPRINGFIELD 2 at PROVIDENCE 4</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-1216/2971539-1-eng-US/f0023-122.jpg" title="f0023-12" width="594" height="565"></div><h2>BALTIMORE 0 at BOSTON 2</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-1311/2971532-1-eng-US/f0023-132.jpg" title="f0023-13" width="584" height="375"></div><h2>CINCINNATI 1 at CLEVELAND 5</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-1410/2971525-1-eng-US/f0023-142.jpg" title="f0023-14" width="591" height="528"></div><h2>TIDEWATER 1 at NOVA SCOTIA 1</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-159/2971518-1-eng-US/f0023-152.jpg" title="f0023-15" width="585" height="407"></div><h2>RICHMOND 5 at ROCHESTER 4</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-168/2971511-1-eng-US/f0023-162.jpg" title="f0023-16" width="599" height="719"></div> &#9632;

f0023-02

American Hockey League Summaries

WEST SPRINGFIELD&mdash;A record setting $260,000 pool, an increased field of eight teams and a completely new schedule of games feature the 1971-72 Calder Cup playoff plan announced by American Hockey League President Jack Butterfield.Butterfield, who has weathered the storm of criticism of previous playoff plans, was beaming while making the big announcement calling this year&rsquo;s new plan, &ldquo;The playoff we have all been waiting for in the American Hockey League.&rsquo;&rsquo; The whopping $260,000 pool is almost twice that of the $140,000 offered last year and $92,000 more than has ever been up for grabs in the AHL. $168,000 was offered two years ago.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-01177/2971640-1-eng-US/f0024-012.jpg" title="f0024-01" width="254" height="430"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jack Butterfield</figcaption></div>The increased pool means any player on a team qualifying for the Calder Cup playoffs will have a shot at earning himself an extra $4,000 by winning the cup. This also is almost double what he could have made in the past few years.For the first time in the league&rsquo;s 36 year history eight teams will qualify for the post-season classic. These of course will be the first four finishers in the Eastern and Western Divisions. There will be no playoff for any position as the increased number of teams means an increase in the number of games therefore making time an important factor.The actual schedule of games features seven best-of-seven series and is set up as follows: The division champions will meet the fourth place teams in their respective divisions in quarter-final series A and B. The other half of the quarter-final set series C and D matches the second and third place teams in each division.The semi-final series, E and F, will match up the winners in their respective divisions, thus the finals will match the surviving teams in each division and the eventual winner of the Calder Cup will prove itself the overall champion of the American Hockey League.In the actual breakdown of the record pool there is no concession for any positional finish money. The reason is to give the players on each team an equal opportunity at the $4,000.&ldquo;We are really very proud of this year&rsquo;s plan&rdquo;, said Butter field. &ldquo;Expansion this season has afforded us the opportunity to develop a plan that not only offers the players a chance at some substantial extra money but also will give the fan more games and a chance to see their respective teams in the playoffs,&rdquo; Butterfield continued.Here&rsquo;s how the $260,000 pool will be sliced up for the playoffs. The losers in series A, B, C and D, the quarter-finals, will receive $750 per player. The losers in series E and F, the semi-finals, will get $1,500. In the Calder Cup finals, the winners pocket $4,000 and the loser $3,000 per man. &#9632;

f0024-01

AHL Sets Up Record $260,000 Playoff Pool

<div class="byline">BY GREG FARLEY</div>BOSTON&mdash;Following in the foot steps of teammate Don Marcotte, who spent two weeks with the Braves playing himself into shape after recovering from a serious back injury, Boston Bruin defenseman Don Awrey decided that a brief stint with the Braves would provide a severe test for his mended ankle.&ldquo;I was worried about it from the night I broke it,&rdquo; confessed Awrey, &ldquo;and I was dying to get back in action as soon as it healed.&ldquo;I realized that if I rejoined the Bruins immediately. I&rsquo;d be unable to get the ice time I required to play myself back into condition. So I decided that a few games with the Braves would do the trick.&rdquo;Coach Bep Guidolin accomodated Awrey in his very first game with the Braves, a 3-3 tie at Springfield. The hardrock blueliner was given penalty-killing and power play assignments in addition to a regular turn on defense, and saw between 35-40 minutes of action in the contest.&ldquo;I was really exhausted after that one,&rdquo; smiled Don, &ldquo;but I was very satisfied with the results. I thought I played pretty well and, more importantly, my ankle withstood its first severe test.&rdquo;Coach Guidolin was equally satisfied.&ldquo;There&rsquo;ll be a spot for Don Awrey On this team anytime he wants to take it. Seriously though, our objective was to get Don into condition and back with the Bruins as soon as possible.&ldquo;He asked for a lot of ice time, and we gave it to him. Donnie&rsquo;s got a great attitude&mdash;he&rsquo;s a valuable man to have on any team.&rdquo;In Awrey&rsquo;s first three games with them, the Braves allowed the total of just five goals&mdash;a vast improvement over their defensive play of recent weeks. &#9632;

Awrey Gets Double Duty In Stint With Braves

<div class="byline">BY GEORGE DUFFY</div>PROVIDENCE&mdash;Newspapers are starting to note baseball training camp happenings and this is usually the time hockey folks begin to wonder about the playoffs and All Star teams.When the selectors in the American Hockey League start looking at defensive prospects, they had better take a long and very hard look at Ray Clearwater.The 30-year-old backliner, who has spent most of his professional career with Providence, is having a sensational season with the Reds. As of February 1 he was the third highest scorer on the team while playing a strong game at defense.Ray was in every one of the first 52 games played by the Reds and scored 10 goals plus 25 assists for 35 points. Only Don Blackburn (68) and Alton White (48) led Clearwater at that point in the scoring.Always known as one of hockey&rsquo;s better skaters, Clearwater had a slow training camp and then ran smack into &lsquo;Boo Birds&rsquo; in the stands at R.I. Auditorium. Their plan was to try and rattle Clearwater. But Ray answered the hecklers with a steadily improving type of hockey. At times Clearwater was simply spectacular.A year ago, Ray collected 39 points in 63 games. He is sure to better that and is hoping to go over 50. &ldquo;I feel good,&rdquo; he was saying,&rdquo; and everything seems to be falling into place. I don&rsquo;t even think of the tough days of early season. I just want to do well and help the Reds into the playoffs.&rdquo;The catcalls that greeted Clearwater each time he came on the ice, have long since disappeared. &ldquo;When the fans get on you, it is tough to take at times. But I guess you just have to work harder and win them over.&rdquo; Clearwater has done this so well he is sure to gain the attention of the selectors when All Star balloting comes around.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-01146/2971695-1-eng-US/f0025-012.jpg" title="f0025-01" width="542" height="655"><figcaption class="caption-body">RAY CLEARWATER&hellip;A Two-Way Star</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0025-01

Clearwater’s Scoring Tops Most Forwards

<div class="byline">BY CHUCK SANTANIELLO</div>SPRINGFIELD&mdash;Upsets continue to hound the Springfield Kings. First it was injuries, now it&rsquo;s callups to the parent club. The team does not go a week without something happening and it seems nothing short of a miracle that they are in third place. Latest callup sent goaler Bill Smith up to Los Angeles to replace Rogatien Vachon, who hurt a knee and is likely out for the season, meaning Smith won&rsquo;t return here.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-0297/2971726-1-eng-US/f0025-022.jpg" title="f0025-02" width="263" height="438"><figcaption class="caption-body">Wayne Chemecki</figcaption></div>Mike Boland, a nifty winger, will be out of action for some time with a broken ankle suffered in a game in Cincinnati against the Swords while Bill Orban, another productive player, has been out of action with a concussion and injured ankle from the same game.Coach Gary Dineen wonders why his team does not play a more aggressive type of hockey.The defense in particular has been coming in for much criticism. They let up on a lot of goals, their checking is nonexistent and they are allowing the other clubs to roam at will around their goal. Since Noel Price was traded, the Kings&rsquo; defense has continued to falter badly.Rookie center Wayne Chernecki from Winnipeg has been playing well after going into a slump earlier this season. He connected for eight goals in a recent nine-game span. He is considered a good NHL prospect.A hastily put together line by coach Dineen is paying off and not a single member of the line is more than a two year pro. Bob Poffenroth centers this unit and is a good rookie. John Healey, the only two-year man on the line, is on right wing with American&mdash;bom Phil Hoene from Duluth, Minn., on the other wing. &#9632;

f0025-02

Dineen Wants Kings To Show More Muscle

<div class="byline">BY JOHN TRAVERS</div>HERSHEY&mdash;Winger Steve Cardwell was recalled by the Pittsburgh Penguins and it broke up a fine line of center Gil Gilbert and Jean Gratton, one which had consitently begun to blink the opponent&rsquo;s goal light.In the last five games as a unit before Cardwell&rsquo;s recall, the line had notches 13 goals and aided in 21 for a whopping 34 points.The 21-year-old Cardwell got the hook on Feb. 2 with the Penguins returning left winger John Stewart, who had a two month stand in the National League. Stewart had a hot hand before he was summoned, having notched seven goals in his last 11 games with the Bears.Carcwell is the second Pittsburgh farmhand snared within the past several weeks. Earlier, the Penguins, battling to try and remain in contention for a Stanley Cup playoff position, recalled defenseman Duane Rupp. His departure put a marked dent in the Bears&rsquo; blueline corps which has had its share of illness and injury.Latest of the defensemen to wind up on the shelf was Jean Guy Lagace who broke his wrist Jan. 29 in a game against Baltimore. He will be out for at least a month.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-0370/2971757-1-eng-US/f0025-032.jpg" title="f0025-03" width="266" height="450"><figcaption class="caption-body">Steve Cardwell</figcaption></div>Earlier, Ralph Keller, a steady veteran, was on the sidelines for 10 games, while Larry Bignell had been in and out of the lineup through December and January with illness and injury.In fact, January is one month coach Frank Mathers would line to forget. No less than seven different skaters were sitting it out at one time or another.And it showed in the win-loss column. The Bears launched the month in first place in the West, but after turning in a 6-7-1 log for January saw the Baltimore Clippers take command. Actually, the club&rsquo;s slump extended over a two month period, dating back to a six-game road swing in early December. For the two month span, the Bears were 9-14-4 as compared with 13-4-3 for the first two months of play.&ldquo;Things have to break our way soon,&rdquo; said Mathers. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve had more than our share of injuries. It seems lately we have to break our back to score every goal.&rdquo;Five defeats in the last four weeks were by the margin of a goal, four of the set backs coming on home ice.Before Cardwell departed, the Toronto native, had taken over as the club&rsquo;s top scorer with 43 points. He had 17 goals and 26 assists. &#9632;

f0025-03

Bears’ Cardwell Left Mark Before Retail By NHL Pens

LOUISVILLE SLUGGER HOCKEY STICKS Made in Can by HILLERICH & BRADSBY. LTD. arnold street wallaceburg Sold in U.S. and CanadaLOUISVILLE SLUGGER HOCKEY STICKS Made in Can by HILLERICH & BRADSBY. LTD. arnold street wallaceburg Sold in U.S. and Canada<h2>HOW THEY STAND</h2><h3>WESTERN LEAGUE</h3>(standing on Wed Feb. 16)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-01153/2971795-1-eng-US/f0026-012.jpg" title="f0026-01" width="582" height="256"></div><h2>GAMES COMPETED</h2>Wed. Feb. 9Seattle 4 at Denver 9Son Diego 2 at Phoenix 3Soh lake 2 at Portland 4Fri. Feb. 11San Diego 8 at Denver 2Salt Lake 5 at Phoeni 1Portland 2 at Seattle 3Sat. Feb. 12Phoenix 3 at Portland!Salt lake 6 at Son Diego 2Sun. Feb. 13Phoenix 0 at Seattle 7<h3>GAMES TO COME</h3>Wed. Feb 16Seattle at DenverSon Diego at PorilondThur. Feb. 17Seattle at PhoenixFri. Feb. 18Soh lake at Son DiegoPortland at DenverSat. Feb. 19Denver at PhoenixPortland at SeattleSun. Feb 20Salt Lake at PortlandMon. Feb. 21Soh Lake at SeattleWed. Feb. 23Soh Lake at DenverPodiond at Son DiegoThur. Feb 24PSoem at Soh lakeFri. Feb. 25Phoenix at DenverPortland at Seattle<h2>LEADING SCORERS</h2>(Including Games of Sun. Fob. 6)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-02105/2971788-1-eng-US/f0026-022.jpg" title="f0026-02" width="584" height="420"></div> &#9632;

f0026-01

WESTERN LEAGUE

<div class="byline">BY DOUG MCCONNELL</div>SEATTLE&mdash;The Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League have purchased the. controlling interest in the Seattle Totems of the Western Hockey League.Terms of the sale were not immediately announced, subject to legal work. Murray Costello has been relieved of his duties as general manager of the Seattle club. He indicated he would like to remain with the organization and was reportedly negotiating with Canuck general manager. Bud Poile.Poile will direct the Seattle operations.The Canucks announced that their Rochester franchise in the American Hockey League would not be affected but guesses were that the AHL club would be sold at the end of this season and the Vancouver farm club moved to Seattle. The short distance between the two cities would reduce costs for the Canucks and afford greater convenience.The Totems, in financial difficulty, were taken over in December by the WHL which began looking for a buyer.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-0383/2971826-1-eng-US/f0026-032.jpg" title="f0026-03" width="269" height="465"><figcaption class="caption-body">Murray Costello</figcaption></div>Vince Abbey, the largest minority stockholder, said that he expected Seattle to have an NHL franchise in two years under the commitment by the NHL to make half of the expansion franchises in the next three expansions available to WHL cities which can meet the requirements.&ldquo;Our hooku|vwith Vancouver guarantees us a viable hockey situation for the present,&rdquo; Abbey said. &ldquo;And our plans for upgrading are on schedule.Abbey said that under proper circumstances, including possible enlargement of the Seattle Center Coliseum, money for the NHL would be available.Abbey said he planned to meet soon with officials of the Seattle Super Sonics of the National Basketball Association to discuss coliseum enlargement.The Canucks gave assurances that should an NHL franchise be awarded Seattle, they will step aside. In that event, the Canucks have been assured another WHL franchise at no extra cost. &#9632;

f0026-03

Seattle Planning Future NHL Franchise

PHOENIX&mdash;The Veterans Memorial Coliseum here has been in the same state lately as the top of the Western Hockey League&rsquo;s individual scoring race&hellip;crowded with Phoenicians.The Roadrunners have drawn a total of 32,827 fans in a one week span for their last three home games&hellip;10,517 aainst San Diego and 11,371 against Denver.The Runners have drawn over 11,000 three times this season with a high two weeks ago of 11,486. The record crowd is 11,871, set in a game with San Diego late last season.Seating capacity of the Coliseum is 11,826.The Runners&rsquo; season average is 7,749.Larry Lund is second in the point scoring rade to Art Jones, 74 points on 26 goals and 49 assists to Jones&rsquo; 78 points. Lund&rsquo;s left winger, Andre Hinse, and Denver&rsquo;s Fran Huck are tied for third with 59 points. Hinse has 25 goals and 34 assists. Bob Whitlock, the rookie of the Runners&rsquo; second line, has climbed to fifth with 24 goals and 30 assists for 54 points. &#9632;

Phoenix Draws 32,827 For Three Home Games

PORTLAND&mdash;The Portland Buckaroos wouldn&rsquo;t let anything spoil Jim McLeod&rsquo;s homecoming.McLeod let one of the first shots of the game, a 75-footer by Phoenix Roadrunner defenseman Harry Shaw, escape him, but the Buckaroos connected for six consecutive goals for a 6-3 victory in McLeod&rsquo;s first Western Hockey League start of the season.The 34-year-old veteran netminder was repurchased from the St. Louis Blues who took him in last summer draft.Shaw&rsquo;s shot struck Mcl.eod on the knee of his leg pad. ran up his leg and skittered into the net.McLeod was disappointed that he didn&rsquo;t stick in the National Hockey League, but shrugged, &ldquo;What can you do?&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-0461/2971881-1-eng-US/f0026-042.jpg" title="f0026-04" width="263" height="449"><figcaption class="caption-body">Bob Jones</figcaption></div>Apparently pick up where you left off.McLeod led the WHL in goaltending last season, the fourth time he has done it in a seven year span. He set the WHL goals against record of 2.29 in 196970.Cliff Schmautz, who has been on a hot streak, couldn&rsquo;t take part in the homecoming celebra tion. He had stepped on a glove and injured his right knee in a fight with Salt Lake City&rsquo;s Reg Fleming.The injury, which isn&rsquo;t expected to keep Schmautz out of the lineup for more than a few games, ended a 19-game streak in which Cliff had scored 19 goals after just six in the first 23 games. He has a total ot 25.Elsewhere with the Bucks: Art Jones continues as the W&rsquo;HL points leader with 78, including 27 goals. He has a tour-point edge over Larry Lund ot the Phoenix Roadrunners.Bob Jones, 26-year-old center and left wing, was purchased in a straight cash deal from the Salt Lake Golden Eagles. Jones reported with his leg in a walking cast to protect knee ligaments torn in a game Dec. 20. It has been removed and he has resumed skating. In 27 games, Jones scored nine goals for Salt Lake City, six of them in a four game span. He also had seven assists.Defenseman John Barber, who fractured his ankle in a freak training camp accident, catching his foot in a rut in the ice, has resumed skating and will be back in the lineup soon. &#9632;

f0026-04

Jim McLeod Winner In Portland Return

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0027-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-01138/2971919-1-eng-US/f0027-012.jpg"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-02104/2971912-1-eng-US/f0027-022.jpg" title="f0027-02" width="1206" height="836"><figcaption class="caption-body">Denver netminder PETER McDUFFE, left, and San Diego goalkeeper KEN BRODERICK, at right, had the distinction of participating in the first 0-0 game in the WHL in over four years and only the eighth in league history. Shutout was Broderick&rsquo;s third of year. (Phoenix Gazetie Photos)</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0027-01

Goalers Flawless In Only Eighth WHL Storeless Game

SAN DIEGO&mdash;The San Diego Gulls and the Denver Spurs played the first scoreless tie in the Western Hockey League in over four years and only the eighth in league history.It came before a crowd of 10,234 here with sterling performances by Ken Broderick with 30 saves for San Diego and Pete McDuffe 35 for Denver.The shutout was Broderick&rsquo;s third of the season, all on home ice. It was McDuffe&rsquo;s first in WHL play. He had three last season for Omaha in the Central League.Broderick lauded his opponent.&ldquo;He had the tougher saves,&rsquo;&rsquo; he said. &ldquo;We had the better chances to score but McDuffe wouldn&rsquo;t allow it.&rdquo;The shutout gave the San Diego defense a big lift. It had allowed 24 goals in four consecutive games.Broderick was elected &ldquo;Gull of the Year&rdquo; by the San Diego Amateur Hockey Association and received a trophy before the double shutout.George Swarbrick watched this one from the stands, having undergone surgery two days before for a broken jaw. He had been caught between Bob Barlow and Kerry Bond in a game at Phoenix with Bond throwing a vicious check. &#9632;

Scoreless Game Lifts Gull Defense

<h2>Sun. Jan. 30 SEATTLE 3 at DENVER 4</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-0377/2972016-1-eng-US/f0027-032.jpg" title="f0027-03" width="596" height="586"></div><h2>PHOENIX 1 at SAN DIEGO 4</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-0471/2972009-1-eng-US/f0027-042.jpg" title="f0027-04" width="592" height="627"></div><h2>SALT LAKE 6 at PORTLAND 4</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-0557/2972002-1-eng-US/f0027-052.jpg" title="f0027-05" width="587" height="737"></div><h2>Wed. Feb. 2 SEATTLE 1 at DENVER 5</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-0649/2971995-1-eng-US/f0027-062.jpg" title="f0027-06" width="586" height="504"></div><h2>SALT LAKE 3 at PORTLAND 4</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-0743/2971988-1-eng-US/f0027-072.jpg" title="f0027-07" width="595" height="531"></div><h2>Thur. Feb 3 SEATTLE 2 at SALT LAKE 2</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-0840/2971981-1-eng-US/f0027-082.jpg" title="f0027-08" width="584" height="308"></div><h2>SAN DIEGO 4 at PHOENIX 5</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-0939/2971974-1-eng-US/f0027-092.jpg" title="f0027-09" width="600" height="780"></div> &#9632;

f0027-03

Western League Summaries

<div class="byline">BY TOM LOBAUGH</div>LOUSVILIE SLUGGER HOCKEY STICKS Mada in Canada by HILLERICH & BRADSBY, LTD. arnold streett Wallacaburg, OmtarieuterSold in U. S. and CanadaLOUSVILIE SLUGGER HOCKEY STICKS Mada in Canada by HILLERICH & BRADSBY, LTD. arnold streett Wallacaburg, OmtarieuterSold in U. S. and CanadaKANSAS CITY&mdash;Unable to win, even in their own American Royal Arena, the Kansas City Blues fell four points back in the battle for third place in the Central Hockey League, but were still tied with Oklahoma City for the fourth and last playoff spot after the weekend of Feb. 4-5.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re in a little bit of a slump,&rdquo; general manager-coach Johnny Choyce admitted. &ldquo;I guess you&rsquo;d call it that. We&rsquo;ve got to start picking up the slack. We&rsquo;re just not putting everything together. This is a better hockey club than we&rsquo;ve shown the last few games.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-01128/2972047-1-eng-US/f0028-012.jpg" title="f0028-01" width="265" height="441"><figcaption class="caption-body">Brian Spencer</figcaption></div>The Blues&rsquo; road record has not been enviable all season, but they could generally count on picking up points when they returned to their friendly barn, where they hadn&rsquo;t been beaten in five outings.But &ldquo;home cooking&rdquo; wasn&rsquo;t the answer, as they lost three in a row on their own ice.Losing to league-leading Dallas, 5-1, Feb. 1 was nothing new. That was the Blues&rsquo; ninth straight loss to the Hawks, and five of these reversals had come in Kansas City.The KC fans had come to expect a home victory over second-place Tulsa. After all, the Blues had won their last three home games against the Oilers, and hadn&rsquo;t lost in six previous clashes with the Tulsans.But Brian Spencer&rsquo;s hat trick, and Cal Swenson&rsquo;s two goals proved more than the Blues could answer, and the Oilers skated off with a 5-2 triumph, Feb. 4.Then last-place Forth Worth invaded the Royal, Feb. 5, and the two teams staged one of the wildest opening periods the CHL has ever seen. It was 5-4 for the Wings after one period, and the visitors went on to take an 8-4 decision.&ldquo;It was just one of those games,&rdquo; Choyce moaned. &ldquo;Checking was loose in both ends in that first period. We had as many chances as they did. Strange as it may seem, superior goaltending made the difference. Andy Brown made some unbelievable stops, especially in the second period. If he doesn&rsquo;t play one whale of a game, we&rsquo;re out in front by plenty.&rdquo;John Garrett, who looked a little weak in the first two periods, played tremendously for the Blues in the third, but by then the starch had been taken out of the KC club, as Fort Worth had mounted a 7-4 margin.Veteran left wing Brit Selby injured a hand in the Tulsa game, not too seriously, but sat out the Fort Worth contest. The Blues got back defenseman Dick Proceviat from St. Louis at the start of the week, but the parent club was still hanging on to veteran blueliner Larry Hornung.Chris Worthy had played five straight games in the KC nets through Feb. 4, and had only a tie to show for his efforts when Choyce decided to rest him in favor of rookie Garrett.The dismal week ran the Blues&rsquo; streak to four straight losses, and seven games without victory. On the road they had lost four, and also played seven games without a triumph.Captain Norm Dennis had a good week, with three goals and three assists, padding his lead in the club scoring race. He had 20 goals and 49 points to Ron Climie&rsquo;s 19 and 38.DALLAS: The red-hot Hawks of coach Bobby Kromm padded their firsbplace margin to 13 points over runnerup Tulsa by winning three games during the week, and were Threatening to take over the league scoring race en masse.Veteran center J.P. Leblanc broke out of a tie for first place in the league pointmaking by scoring two goals and nine assists in four starts. He wound up with 15 goals and 49 assists for 64 points, eight more than his closest rivals, Jean Payette and Cal Swenson of Tulsa.Bob Sicinski was fifth with 54 points, J.P. Bordeleau was tied for sixth at 51, and Dan Maloney was threatening with 48.The week started unhappily for the Hawks, as a four-game winning streak was snapped in Omaha, Jan. 30, 5-4. The Knights took a 3-0 first-period lead, and made it 4-0 midway of, the second. Hawks didn&rsquo;t get on the scoreboard until 1:05 remained in the midle period, but three quickies tied the score in the third. Gary Coalter won it for Omaha with 6:15 left.Feb. 4 the Hawks again found themselves on the short end of a 3-0 score, this time after 5 1/2 minutes at Oklahoma City. But this time the Dallas rally wasn&rsquo;t to be denied. They tied the count with three goals in the second period, and won a 5-4 verdict.They had won rather easily in Kansas City, 5-1, Feb. 1. But they really put on their scoring togs when the OC Blazers invaded Dallas for a rematch, Feb. 5. Six goals in the first period launched the Hawks to a 9-0 romp behind the shutout goaltending of Ken Brown, his second of the season.Leblanc had five assists in that barrage, while Bordeleau and Danny Lodboa each notched a pair of goals. It was the Hawks&rsquo; fourth straight triumph on home ice.Forward Larry Romanchych was out indefinitely with a broken ankle, and right wing Milt Black was expected to miss another six weeks with a broken arm. But defenseman Bart Crashley returned to duty after missing several games with a cut arm.TULSA: Spencer, sent down from the parent Toronto Maple Leafs in January picked up the Oilers&rsquo; sixth hat trick of the season in the triumph at KC. Previously Swenson had scored two, with other hat tricks going to Gerry O&rsquo;Flaherty, Jean Payette, and Jan Popiel.The Feb. 5 loss at Omaha was a brawling game, with referee Alf Lejeune counting out 130 minutes in penalties, 68 on Tulsa and 62 on Omaha. There were three game misconducts handed out at 1:01 of the final period, with the Oilers losing Spencer and defenseman Dave Fortier, and the Knights losing defenseman Steve Durbano.The Oilers had several minor injuries. Left wing Errol Thompson, who had just come back to duty after missing most of eight weeks with a groin injury, was sidelined by an ankle sprain. The club was hoping rookie defenseman John Grisdale would soon be ready, after missing four weeks with a wrenched instep.Swenson had two goals and an assist in Kansas City, while Payette had an assist the next night in Omaha. With 56 points, they were tied for the club lead, and shared second in the league race behind Dallas&rsquo; J.P. Leblanc.OMAHA: Weekend victories over Fort Worth (6-2) and Tulsa, following the Sunday upset of Dallas, pulled the Omaha Knights into undisputed third place, seven points behind Tulsa, and four ahead of Kansas City and Oklahoma City.Linemates Norm Gratton and Bill Hogaboam were tied for the club scoring lead with 51 points, sharing sixth place in the league race with J.P. Bordeleau of Dallas. Hogaboam had a goal and three assists in the week&rsquo;s three games, while Gratton had a goal and two assists, all in the Feb. 4 triumph over Fort Worth. Jerry Butler scored twice in that game, while Tom Williams had two goals the following night against Tulsa.OKLAHOMA CITY: Bill Klatt broke a long scoring slump with two goals for the Oklahoma City Blazers against Dallas, Feb. 4, but the early OC advantage turned into a 5-4 Hawk verdict. The next night in Dallas, only the Blazer goalies made news, as coach Jimmy Anderson sent each of his netminders into the game twice.Rookie Curt Ridley was the starter, and he lasted less than 10 minutes, giving way to veteran John Adams after the Hawks took a three-goal lead at 9:49Dallas counted its sixth goal with 12 seconds left in the opening period, and Ridley was back at the start of the second. He gave up two more tallies in that period, and the Hawks made it 90 at 10:38 of the third. That brought back Adams, who blanked the Hawks for the last 9 1/2 minutes.Ken Davidson, rookie center lrom Dartmouth, was called up by the California Seals, but was expected back within a week.Center Greg Sheppard lost ground in the league scoring race, getting a lone goal for the week. He was fourth in the CHL with 55 points, while Klatt was tied for ninth at 50.FORT WORTH: The Wings of coach Bob Lemieux hadn&rsquo;t had much to cheer about this season, but they unveiled some scoring fireworks in the 8-4 victory at Kansas City, Feb. 5. Eight different Wings scored goals, with Ralph Stewart getting three assists to go with his tally.Ross Perkins continued to lead the club scoring. A goal and three assists for the week ran his total to 51 points, tied for ninth in the league. &#9632;

f0028-01

Slumping Blues Buttle Blazers For Lust Playoff

<h2>Sun., Jan. 30 DALLAS 4 at OMAHA 5</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-0272/2972141-1-eng-US/f0028-022.jpg" title="f0028-02" width="597" height="746"></div><h2>Tue., Feb. 1 DALLAS 5 at KANSAS CITY 1</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-0347/2972134-1-eng-US/f0028-032.jpg" title="f0028-03" width="593" height="563"></div><h2>Fri., Feb. 4 TULSA 4 at KANSAS CITY 2</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-0436/2972127-1-eng-US/f0028-042.jpg" title="f0028-04" width="599" height="613"></div><h2>FORT WORTH 2 at OMAHA 6</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-0529/2972120-1-eng-US/f0028-052.jpg" title="f0028-05" width="593" height="716"></div><h2>DALLAS 5 at OKLAHOMA CITY 4</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-0622/2972113-1-eng-US/f0028-062.jpg" title="f0028-06" width="589" height="734"></div><h2>Sat., Feb. 5 FORT WORTH 8 at KANSAS CITY 4</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-0719/2972106-1-eng-US/f0028-072.jpg" title="f0028-07" width="595" height="816"></div><h2>OKLAHOMA CITY 0 at DALLAS 9</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-0817/2972099-1-eng-US/f0028-082.jpg" title="f0028-08" width="593" height="718"></div><h2>TULSA 2 at OMAHA 4</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-0914/2972092-1-eng-US/f0028-092.jpg" title="f0028-09" width="592" height="638"></div><h2>HOW THEY STAND</h2>CENTRAL LEAGUE(Standings on Fri. Feb. 18)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-0198/2972085-1-eng-US/f0029-012.jpg" title="f0029-01" width="577" height="178"></div><h2>GAMES COMPLETED Wed Feb 9</h2>Tulsa 6 al Dallas 8Kansas City 5 al Fort Worth 5Omaha 3 at Oklahoma City 5Fri. Feb 11Kansas City 4 at Dallas 4Fort Worth 5 at Oklahoma City 2Omaha 3 at Tulsa 4Sat. Feb 12Dallas 6 at Tulsa 4Fort Worth 3 at Omaha 1Kansas City 1 at Oklahoma City 3Sun. Feb 13Dallas 4 at Omaha 1Fori Worth 1 at Kansas City I<h3>GAMES TO COME</h3>Fri. Feb 18Dallas at TulsaFort Worth at OklahomaCity Kansas City at OmahoSat. Feb. 19Fort Worth at DallasOmaha at Kansas CityTulsa at Oklahoma CitySun. Feb. 20Tulsa at Fort WorthOklahoma City at OmahaThur. Feb. 24Omaha at Fort WorthFri. Feb. 25Omaha at DallasFort Worth at TulsaOklahoma City at Kasas City<h2>LEADING SCORERS</h2>(Including Games of Sun. Feb. 6)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-0273/2972078-1-eng-US/f0029-022.jpg" title="f0029-02" width="589" height="831"></div> &#9632;

f0028-02

Central Hockey League Summaries

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-0347/2972172-1-eng-US/f0029-032.jpg" title="f0029-03" width="510" height="519"><figcaption class="caption-body">J.P. LEBLANC</figcaption></div>The Dallas Hawks&rsquo; overwhelming offense loomed large last week as the Texans poured in 23 goals in four games. Their leader was hard-working J.P. Leblanc, who personally figured in 11 of those goals, scoring twice and setting up nine more, including five in one game to set a club record. Leblanc&rsquo;s prolific week put him into first place in the individual scoring race with 61 points. &#9632;

f0029-03

<div class="byline">BY HARVEY POLLACK</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-01121/2972297-1-eng-US/f0030-012.jpg" title="f0030-01" width="559" height="594"><figcaption class="caption-body">RAY ADDUONO&hellip;On Record Course</figcaption></div>CHERRY HILL&mdash;Barring an unexpected turn of events, the role of the Jersey Devils in the waning days of the Eastern Hockey League chase will be that of the &ldquo;spoiler.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-1011/2972290-1-eng-US/f0030-102.jpg" title="f0030-10" width="265" height="449"><figcaption class="caption-body">Bob Gerrard</figcaption></div>There is only the most remote chance that a sustained winning streak by the Devils could get them into the contention for a playoff spot in the Northern Division. So they must confine their efforts to crimping the hopes of their rivals.Of late the Devils have been doing well, especially on their home rink. But they just can&rsquo;t seem to cut the mustard on enemy rinks and their home wins are balanced by road defeats.There have been some reports that the club is on shaky ground, and possibly there could be some changes in ownership for next season. Other reports say that the club is looking for help from the World Hockey Association and that one of the new clubs believed to be the New York entry, would adopt the Devils as a farm team. Owner Jerry Burg certainly wouldn&rsquo;t turn down any investment into the franchise.&ldquo;We would be glad to work out an agreement with any team which is willing to help us operate the club&rsquo;&rdquo; said Burg.Attendance at the club&rsquo;s games picked up in January despite the club&rsquo;s lowly estate in the Northern basement, a slot it has occupied all year. Burg feels the area will support a winner and is disappointed that the club didn&rsquo;t produce one this year under coach Red Hay and GM Ross Turnbull.There have been some bright spots such as Pete Donnelly&rsquo;s play in the cage, but the Jersey fans are not happy about having losers year after year. Neither is Burg. The future hope is that a WHA affiliation will remedy the situation. Meantime for the rest of the season the Devils hope to make life miserable for NewHaven, Syracuse, Long Island, Clinton and Johnstown.Two goals by Bob Gerrard helped surprise Syracuse. Ken Southwick&rsquo;s goal with 58 seconds left nipped Johnstown. Donnelly&rsquo;s great stop on a penalty shot earlier had saved the game. Third period has been Devils bugaboo this season.SYRACUSE: Ray Adduono has shot at EHL record of 153; points. He&rsquo;s reached 500 career 1 plateau in four years here. WFBL radio will broadcast all road games the rest of season. Blazers won benefit tilt with Syracuse at nearby Oswego as Brian Elwell had hat trick. Mike Ruest nearing club scoring record for defensemen. Blazers already have surpassed road wins of last year.LONG ISLAND: Injury to Jean-Marie Nicol&rsquo;s shoulder hurt club. He tried to play with pain killer but it was no go. Ducks may set attendance mark this year due to closeness of race. Ducks&rsquo; PR man, John O&rsquo;Reilly, is radio announcer on road games. Jacques Blain&rsquo;s two goals against Johnstown made difference. Al Baron in all-out fight to get his Ducks into Nassau Coliseum next season.ROANOKE VALLEY: Rebels picked up five points on northern jaunt to exceed expectations. J.C. Garneau, former Rebel, is working out with team in hopes of gaining berth. Gary Creggar hired as trainer and he is also emergency goalie. Colin Kilburn prodding Jim Jago, Dale Mac-Leish, Ken Miller and Dave Parenteau to lose weight. Rebel&rsquo;s tied team record with six goals in period at Jersey.NEW HAVEN: Don Perry has broken up his French line. Denis Romanesky back in lineup with face mask and operating at defense after Norm Bean didn&rsquo;t join Blades. Perry has been unable to make deal for defenseman that he&rsquo;s been seeking all year. Pierre LeBlanc tallied his 100th EHL goal. Clock broke down here and fans had no time piece to observe for two periods. Ed Sidebottom picked up from Des Moines of IHL.SUN COAST: Suns slumped after fine road trip. Six game losing streak plummeted team from second to fourth place. Lack of ice to practice blamed by coach Lloyd Hinchberger. Team only had ice for its games. Bill Yeo has been called upon for countless saves during club&rsquo;s tailspin.JOHNSTOWN: Jets boosting center Vern Campigotto for rookie of year laurels. Vern missed penalty shot against Jersey that could have averted a loss. Bob Vroman recorded second shutout in eight days by blanking Clinton. Gene Peacosh is aiming for 100-point season. Jets have stingiest defense in north. Len Cunning back in action after missing four games with knee injury.CLINTON: Comets lost 13 straight road games to hurt play off chances. Flu hit various members of the team including coach Pat Kelly and rookie Brian McBratney. Club&rsquo;s road record worst in league. Bill Bannerman pacing club scoring and Borden Smith and Dennis Desrosiers even in goal race. Borden Smith aspires to be radio announcter when his playing days are through.CHARLOTTE: Fred Creighton lauded the body&mdash;checking of Jack Wells. Creighton credited a fight with inspiring team to beat Sun Coast with a four-goal third session. Last count showed Checkers drew 139,183 for 28 games for an average 4,971&hellip;Line of Frank Golembrosky, Mike Rouleau and Robert Richer top Checkers in most categories. Rouleau had three fights in three games.GREENSBORO: Karl Haggarty yelping about inconsistency of Pat McCormick&rsquo;s officiating, claiming one night he&rsquo;ll call everything and the next night nothing. Brian Randall had first EHL hat trick against suns. Smallest crowd (1,225) in four years watched game. Pierre Duguay dropped. New Atlanta NHL club may drill here next fall until its rink is ready.<h2>HOW THEY STAND</h2>EASTERN LEAGUE(Standings on Mon. Feb. 14)<h3>NORTHERN DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-0276/2972283-1-eng-US/f0030-022.jpg" title="f0030-02" width="575" height="183"></div><h3>SOUTHERN DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-0352/2972276-1-eng-US/f0030-032.jpg" title="f0030-03" width="581" height="258"></div><h2>GAMES COMPLETED</h2>Tuse. Feb. 8Sun Coast 3 at Charlotte 9Wad. Feb. 9Roanoke 3 at Sun Coast 7Greensboro 2 at New Haven 6Johnstown 1 at New Jersey 9Clinton 2 at Syracuse 6Thur. Feb. 10Roanoke 2 at Sun Coast 5Syracuse 5 at Clinton 2Fri, Feb. 11Greensboro 1 at Syracuse 7New Haven 1 at Long Island 3Johnstown 2 at New Jersey 6Sot. Feb. 12Charlotte 2 at Roanoke 3Greensboro 0 at Clinton 3New Haven 2 at New Jersey 6Syracuse 4 at Johnstown 4Sun. Feb. 13Roanoke 0 at Charlotte 8Syracuse 1 at New Haven 7Greensboro 0 at Long Island 3Clinton 0 at Johnstown 3<h3>GAMES TO COME</h3>Tues. Feb. 15Sun Coast at CharlotteWed. Feb. 16Sun Coast at GreensboroNew Jersey at SyracuseJohnstown at Clinton (at Utica)Long Island at New HovenThur. Feb. 17Sun Coast at Roanoke ValleyFri. Feb 18Roanoke Valley at CharlotteSyracuse at LongIsland Clinton at New JerseyNew Haven at JohnstownSat. Feb. 19Greensboro at Roanoke ValleyNew Hoven at SyracuseNew Jersey at ClintonLong Island at JohnstownSun. Feb. 20Sun Coast at Roonoke VolleyGreensboro at CharlotteClinton at New HavenJohnstown at Long IslandSyracuse at New JerseyTue. Feb. 22Greensboro at CharlotteRoanoke Volley at Sun CoastWed. Feb. 23Roanoke Valley at Sun CoastJohnstown at New Haven LongIsland at New JerseyThur. Feb. 24Long Island at Syracuse<h2>LEADING SCORERS</h2>(Including games of Sun. Feb. 6)<h3>NORTHERN DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-0440/2972269-1-eng-US/f0030-042.jpg" title="f0030-04" width="581" height="284"></div><h3>SOUTHERN DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-0537/2972262-1-eng-US/f0030-052.jpg" title="f0030-05" width="584" height="287"></div><h2>NEW ENGLAND LEAGUE</h2>(Standinas on Fr. Feb. 4)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-0628/2972255-1-eng-US/f0030-062.jpg" title="f0030-06" width="577" height="184"></div><h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-0720/2972248-1-eng-US/f0030-072.jpg" title="f0030-07" width="579" height="282"></div><h2>MID-WEST AMATEUR LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Tues. Feb. 1)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-0816/2972241-1-eng-US/f0030-082.jpg" title="f0030-08" width="578" height="182"></div><h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-0913/2972234-1-eng-US/f0030-092.jpg" title="f0030-09" width="577" height="287"></div> &#9632;

f0030-01

Jersey Devils Relegated To Spoiler Role; Blazers’ Adduono Aims At New Point Mark

<div class="byline">BY JOHN GUGGER</div>FLINT&mdash;Only limited home-ice success was preventing a complete collapse as the Flint Generals headed into the last quarter of the International Hockey League season.The Generals, after early road success, had turned into easy marks in recent away-from-home appearances. Flint had won just once in its last 13 road games after a 56-2 start away from home.At home, the Gens were 8-6 in their last 14 games after pushing out to 11 wins and a tie in their first 14 home outings.Apparently too far behind Port Huron to catch the second-place Wings in the IHL&rsquo;s North Division, and too far ahead of lastplace. Toledo to worry about missing the playoffs, the Generals had hopes of improving their road performances before postseason play.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a cinch we won&rsquo;t get anywhere in the playoffs if we don&rsquo;t win some road games,&rdquo; coach Ken Hodge said. &ldquo;We won&rsquo;t have the home-ice advantage if we finish third, so all that&rsquo;s left is to win on the road.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-01104/2972349-1-eng-US/f0031-012.jpg" title="f0031-01" width="264" height="426"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jim Benzelock</figcaption></div>The Generals had a 9-18 mark for their last 27 games and most of the blame was being laid on the offense. They had scored just 25 goals in the 13 road games which resulted in 12 losses, less than two goals per match. In addition, they had scored more than three goals just once in that time.Three of the losses were extremely embarrassing as they came at the hands of the lowly Columbus Golden Seals, who had just 10 victories in their first 56 outings. All were by scores of 3-2.The Generals had been carrying as many as four players over the maximum of 17, but that situation had changed some.Moe L&rsquo;Abbe, who broke in with seven goals in his first six games after being secured from Portland, suddenly left the team and returned to his home in St. Catharines, Ont. L&rsquo;Abbe had scored just three goals in 24 games prior to leaving.Defenseman Derek Harker was shipped to Long Island of the Eastern League while Glen Irwin, who had been with Richmond of the American League, was brought in for a trial.TOLEDO: Veteran center and former AHL great Willie Mar shall retired, citing personal and business problems&hellip;Rookie Dean Jeffrey stopped 137 of 14f shots in busy three-game weekend&hellip;Leading scorer Jim Paterson hit 3()th goal&hellip;Regular goalie Glenn Ramsay sulfered 10-inch out on nose in pre-game drills&hellip;Hornets 20 victories were three more than last season&hellip;MUSKEGON: Bob Smith scored overtime winner to beat Toledo and hike Hawks&rsquo;s homeice streak to 17&hellip;Best crowd of season, 4,047, saw Dayton game the night after second-worst crowd, 1,446, turned out&hellip;Hawks lost all five games in Flint, won all five here against Generals&hellip;Mohawks have nine of 15 games in February on road&hellip;Sunday afternoon games scheduled tc test crowd appeal&hellip;PORT HURON: Charlie Shaw sidelined for three weeks with cracked ankle&hellip;Al Genovy&rsquo;s goal with 43 seconds to play beat Muskegon&hellip;Don Grierson hit for 38th goal&hellip;Wayne Ego has provided offensive boost&hellip;Wings went 3-1 on last extended road swing of season&hellip;Bob McCammon&rsquo;s versatility, he&rsquo;s played every position except goal, has proven valuable&hellip;DAYTON: Jim Benzelock set team record with five goals against Des Moines&hellip;Gems had 8-2 season advantage on Oak Leafs, their nearest competition in South Division&hellip;Reg Bechtold moved into No. 3 spot in league scoring&hellip;Gems gave away one-carat gem Worth $1,000 as part of promotion&hellip;Chick Balon had 21 minutes in penalty time in single game&hellip;DES MOINES: Goalie Bob Perreault banished from game after run-in with referee Chuck Meadows&hellip;Coach Terry Slater had some players wear nightshirts in pre-game warmup at Dayton after all-night bus trip from Des Moines&hellip;Ed Sidebottom sent to New Haven of EHL&hellip;Pete Slater out with injured leg&hellip;Leafs hit four goals in six minutes in 7-2 rout of Fort Wayne&hellip;FORT WAYNE: Terry Thompson lost for season following knee surgery&hellip;Paul Hoganson had 45 saves in 5-1 victory in Des Moines&hellip;Rick Pagnutti boosted his point total to 47, best in league for a defenseman&hellip;Ron Wilson, defenseman, obtained from Cleveland&hellip;K&rsquo;s lost 10th game at home, two more than last season&hellip;Bob Fowler released&hellip;COLUMBUS: Brian Cadle obtained from Des Moines&hellip;Seals were 0-8 against Dayton&hellip;Mike Jakubo recovered quickly from concussion&hellip;Seals owned three 3-2 wins over Flint here&hellip;Angus Beck held scoreless two games in row for first time since&rsquo; Christmas.<h2>HOW THEY STAND</h2>INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE(Standings on Wed. Feb. 16)<h3>NORTHERN DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-0279/2972342-1-eng-US/f0031-022.jpg" title="f0031-02" width="574" height="132"></div><h3>SOUTHERN DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-0364/2972335-1-eng-US/f0031-032.jpg" title="f0031-03" width="576" height="205"></div><h2>GAMES COMPLETED</h2>Tues. Feb. 8Des Moines 1 at Port Huron 5Wed. Feb. 9Muskegon 1 at Fort Wayne 4Des Moines 2 at Toledo 4Flint 5 at Dayton 6Fri. Feb. 11Columbus 2 at Flint 3Muskegon 2 at Des Moines 1Sat. Feb. 12Columbus 2 at Fort Wayne 10Muskegon 9 at Des Moines 5Flint 1 at Port Huron 3Dayton 3 at Toledo 5Sun. Feb. 13Flint 3 ot Fort Wayne 6Toledo 4 at Dayton 7<h3>GAMES TO COME</h3>Wed. Feb, 16Muskegon at ToledoFort Wayne at ColumbusFri. Feb. 18Flint at MuskegonPort Huron at ToledoFort Wayne at Des MoinesSat. Feb. 19Fort Wayne at Des MoinesPort Huron at MuskegonDayton at ColumbusFlint at ToledoSun. Feb. 20Flint at ColumbusToledo at Port HuronTue. Feb. 22Muskegon at ColumbusDes Moines at Port HuronWed. Feb. 23Muskegon at DaytonDes Moines at ToledoFri. Feb. 25Columbus at Des MoinesPort Huron at Flint<h2>LEADINGS SCORERS</h2>Including Games of Sun. Feb. 61<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-0449/2972328-1-eng-US/f0031-042.jpg" title="f0031-04" width="580" height="513"></div> &#9632;

f0031-01

Flint’s Road Apathy Rankles Coath Hodge

<div class="byline">By Tom Burke</div><h2>Clarkson, Dartmouth Pull Double Upset On Cornell</h2>Historians of Eastern college hockey went scurrying for their record books a couple of times during the first week in February, as two whopping upsets over Cornell, 4-2 by Clarkson and 3-2 in overtime by Dartmouth respectively, stunned fans from Canton to Providence.Clarkson&rsquo;s win over the Big Red came on Lynah Rink ice, the first time Cornell has lost at home to an Eastern club since 1967 when Yale beat them 4-3 in overtime. Last year&rsquo;s 7-2 loss to the U.S. Nationals didn&rsquo;t count in the home ice streak. In the overall series between the two clubs, the Golden Knights have a 15-5-2 edge over Red, the widest spread of any of their regular competitors. Looks like someone has the Ithacans&rsquo; number.&ldquo;It was a great game,&rdquo; recalled coach Len Ceglarski later. &ldquo;It was cleanly played, the shots on goal were pretty much even, and both teams skated vey well.&rdquo;When asked to comment on his team&rsquo;s apparent hex over Cornell, he thought a minute, then chuckled. &ldquo;Well, I don&rsquo;t know about that. But, funny, we had a little trouble arranging a pre-game meal down there, so I sent the kids out to eat on their own. Maybe they had something special, I don&rsquo;t know&rdquo;.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-0270/2972442-1-eng-US/f0032-022.jpg" title="f0032-02" width="261" height="436"><figcaption class="caption-body">Fred Riggall</figcaption></div>The only strategy Ceglarski admitted to was putting his biggest and heaviest line&mdash;Russ Audycki, Pete Harasym, and Brian MacKenzie&mdash;against Cornell&rsquo;s top trio of Larry Fullan, Dave Westner, and Doug Dunsmuir. Audycki tipped in a drive from the point by Larry Fleetham at 12:12 of the third period to break a 2-2 deadlock, and MacKenzie soloed in on a breakaway at 14:56 to wrap it up. Fullan&rsquo;s line scored once.Dartmouth had a week off to prepare for its remarch with Cornell following an 80 whitewash in Ithaca the Saturday before. Coach Grant Standbrook make only one move, putting second line winger Fred Riggall up to the first unit with captain Mike Turner and Steve Arndt Riggall responded with two goals, including the winner at 3-18 of the extra period. He had the only goal of the first period on a breakaway down the right side and Turner upped the count to 2-0 in the second frame. Cornell battled back with Westner and Craig Brush scoring to tie it up with 9:28 to go. But goalie Peter Proulx took charge from then on, stopping 18 shots in the third period alone and a total of 40 overall. Cornell didn&rsquo;t get a shot on him in the extra period.&ldquo;The whole thing was a matter of getting of some more scoring back,&rdquo; explained Standbrook. &ldquo;We&rsquo;d had it at the beginning of the year, then we lost some defensemen and had to do some shuffling there. But we knew that we were much better thant that 80 game showed.&rdquo;Elsewhere, Yale made some ripples with a 10-6 win over Boston College, their first in 17 years over BC. Sophomores did it all,&rsquo;as Bob Kane clicked for the hat trick and Mike Walsh had two goals along with senior Greg Rivet. Soph rearguard d&rsquo;Arcy Ryan, reinstated on the blue line, had a goal and five-assists and played a superb game. Dick Gagliardi&rsquo;s sextet followed that one up with a 3-1 win over Princeton, with soph Phil Clark scoring twice and Dan Hurtibise once. Tim Coleman had the goal for Princeton. The Tigers are hurting from Rich Hockings departure; a promising sophomore, he dropped from school and off high-scoring Walt Snickenberger&rsquo;s line at mid-year. Ed Swift has been pleasing in goal, according to Bill Quackenbush.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-0339/2972435-1-eng-US/f0032-032.jpg" title="f0032-03" width="263" height="429"><figcaption class="caption-body">Greg Rivet</figcaption></div>BC came back home and edged out Colgate 3-2 on a goal by Joe Fidler with 2:23 remaining. Geoff McMullen was scintillating in the Red Raiders&rsquo; net with 31 saves but the Raiders&rsquo; effort to pull it out just fell short. The night before. Colgate had Boston University 2-1 until Bob Gryp tied the game at 6:07 of the third period. McMullen stopped 47 BU shots to just 15 for soph Ed Waish. tilling in for Dan Brady in the BU net.Clarkson players couldn&rsquo;t long savor their momentous victory, as they went home Saturday night to get edged by Providence, 4-3 in overtime. Ceglarski called it the most disheartening game of the year for his team. They volleyed 49 shots at PC goalie Brian Reynolds and came away nearly empty handed. Freshman Sean Shanahan scored his second goal of the game on a breakaway at 3.4 i of sudden death to give the Friars their one win against two losses for the week. Mike Conroy had a pair of scores for Clarkson.The night before in Canton, St. Lawrence broke open a 3-2 game with Providence and went on to post an 83 win, their first divisional triumph since December 20 in New York. Earlier in the week. Brown roared from a 4-1 deficit with five goals in the first fourteen minutes of the third period to down PC 6-5 and keep their own playoff hopes alive. Six different Bruins had goals, with the winner off the stick of Wayne Radomsky at 13:43, Mike Gaffney had two tor the Friars.Al Soares then took his charges to Philadelphia for a tilt with Penn. Two goals by the Quaker&rsquo;s fine soph John Harwood and one by Bill MacDonnell put Penn up 3-0 in the third frame, but Brown battled back on scores by Mike Powers and Keith Smith and just fell short.Nondivisionhl games of note saw New Hampshire return from exams to upend St. Louis 6-1, then journey to Vermont and lose by the same score, a surprising 6-1. Vermont goalie Steve Eckerson had 40 saves. That Saturday night, the Catamounts knocked off their second Division One foe in a row when they nipped Northeastern 3-2 at Boston Arena. Ted Castle&rsquo;s second goal of the game at 8:59 was the difference, as Vermont held NU to four shots in the third period. &#9632;

f0032-02

DOWN EAST

BOWLING GREEN&mdash;Jack Vivian&rsquo;s Bowling Green Falcons would much rather be Central Collegiate Hockey Association champions than just another 20-game winner.The Falcons are striving to push their 187 record to the 20-victory plateau but Vivian figures winning the CCHA title would be more rewarding.The current CCHA league landings show BG (4-2) and Ohio State (4-3) tied for second place with eight points. St. Louis (5-3) leads the with 10 points, but the Falcons have two games in hand on St. Louis, and the Billikens must come to Bowling Gieen for a two-game series the final weekend of the season.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m glad to get back to league play after all these exhibitions,&rdquo; said Vivian. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s one of the reasons I don&rsquo;t like a four-team league. There should be at least eight teams, and then you would have league contests almost every weekend.&rsquo;&rsquo;All six of the games remaining on the Bowling Green schedule are CCHA contests, and five of the six are on Falcon ice. This could prove to be favorable in the Falcon quest of the league championship.&ldquo;St. Louis has the better forwards and can put the puck in the net,&rdquo; Vivian said in comparing the Billikens with Ohio State. &ldquo;State, however, has a better defense, and they did beat us on our ice. To be sure of the title, we have to win five out of the six remaining games.&rdquo;Meanwhile, highly-favored Bowling Green are still talking about their weekend sweep against Lake Forest College. The pesky Forresters didn&rsquo;t yield to the Ohioans without a fight.The BG skaters won 5-3 and 63 but they had to be surprised by the determination shown by Coach Andy Sweet&rsquo;s gritty Forresters. It was one of LFC&rsquo;s finest performances despite a losing cause.The Forresters, with a 10-5-1 record going into the series, were the underdogs for their twin outing against Bowling Green, which then stood atop their conference race with an imposing lit-7 log. Coach Vivian didn&rsquo;t underestimate the visiting Forresters but he had to be surprised by their strength and depth.&ldquo;We came to Bowling Green ready to prove that we are a top notch college hockey team ready to battle any good university squad,&rdquo; said Sweet. &ldquo;We proved that and maybe more,&rdquo; he added.Forrester goaler Strawn Cathcart was outstanding in the games with the Falcons. Fie turned aside 19 shots alone in the final period of the first game to hold off the powerful Bowling Green offense. In the return match, Cathcart stopped 45 shots to keep the game respective.Roger Archer, a 5&rsquo;10&rdquo;, 160-pound Bowling Green freshman, slammed what proved to be the winning goal from the blueline in the second game. Steve Ball, Jack Hoogeveen and Gord Mc-Cosh contributed to the scoring as well as Archer. Veteran goaler Paul Galaski recorded the 1,OOOth save of his college career when he stopped a puck from the stick of Lake Forest&rsquo;s Steve Penman in the first game. Galaski back-stopped both BG wins over the Forresters.Ed Belanger, Tom Budny, Pete Taylor and Fred Dick with two, carried the Forresters&rsquo; offense in the two games.The weekend sweep proved costly for the Bowling Green team. They lost the services of junior center McCosh for the second year in a row due to injury. The 5-11, 175-pound native of Ajax suffered a broken collar bone against Lake Forest. Last year, he suffered a cracked vertebrae in his neck. McCosh will miss the final 11 games of the year, including six regular season CCHA games and the CCHA play-offs. This year, McCosh had scored 38 points in 22 games compared to 40 points in 19 games last year. &#9632;

Bowling Green Eyeing Ice Title; Lake Forest Sweep Tough Series

<div class="byline">By John Gilbert</div><h2>Lowly Minnesota Squad Bursts Wisconsin Bubble</h2>Thanks to lowly Minnesota, the Western Collegiate Hockey Association became a race again. The 10th&mdash;place Gophers burst the bubble of first-place Wisconsin, sweeping two games to give them three of the four played between the two.Wisconsin had been running away from a scrambled pack fighting for second place, but while Minnesota won 4-2 and 7-5, the Badgers&rsquo; record fell to 15-5 and their point total stayed at 38. Suddenly North Dakota, Minnesota-Duluth and Denver were right in the middle of the race, within six points of the leader.&ldquo;We don&rsquo;t have an overpowering team, Wisconsin coach Bob Johnson had said before the Minnesota series. &ldquo;We just keep going from game to game. It&rsquo;s been tough all year and it&rsquo;ll get tougher.&rsquo;&rsquo;Johnson proved to be a prophet. Jimmy Gambucci&rsquo;s two goals and superb goaltending from Dennis Erickson led the Gophers to a 4-2 decision over Wisconsin the first night. Then Doug Peltier got a hat trick and Minnesota pulled to the 7-5 win. Minnesota led in that one 3-0, but it was 4-4 after two periods. Another three-goal burst made it 7-4 before Wisconsin tallied in the closing 14 seconds. Minnesota sophomore John Matschke got a goal in each game on identical 30-foot blasts from his favorite spot on right wing. Wisconsin was without freshman defenseman Bob Lundeen, who sprained his ankle in the first period of the first game, and left wing Jim Young missed the weekend with an eye injury.The rest of the WCHA was thankful for Minnesota&rsquo;s effort, but only Minnesota-Duluth and Michigan State were able to capitalize. Duluth had to switch its trip to Notre Dame from the weekend to midweek because the Fighting Irish scheduled a car show in their arena that weekend. But it didn&rsquo;t bother UMD, which swept both games to take second place. Walt Ledingham, UMD&rsquo;s chief gunner, continued to come up with big goals to lead the Bulldogs toward the top and move himself toward the scoring lead.Michigan State drew the unenviable task of playing Michigan Tech at Tech&rsquo;s Winter Carnival celebration in Houghton, Mich But Tech showed that its new arena was not as cozy as the tiny Dee Stadium it vacated in mid-season and Michigan State took two 5-3 victories. MSU goalie Jim Watt, considered by many the top goaltender in the WCHA, was outstanding in both games as defending conference champion Tech faded from much hope of contending. The sweep gives State seven straight WCHA wins.Denver and North Dakota, both anxious to make up ground on Wisconsin, split a series at Denver, giving North Dakota three of the four games between the two. North Dakota edged the Pioneers 4-3 tor the Sioux&rsquo;s seventh straight victory as linemates Jim Cahoon Earl Anderson and Dennis Johnson got a goal apiece. Cahoon and Anderson got another each the next day, but Denver winger Tom Peluso scored twice and the Pioneers pulled away midway through the game for a 7-3 triumph.North Dakota could then look ahead to a critical series at Duluth, and two series, home and home, with Michigan Tech. Denver has a heavy home slate before finishing at Wisconsin in a pair of four-point games.Michigan, which had appeared content to reside in ninth place, suddenly came to life and stung Colorado College 7-5 and 9-6. Bernie Gagnon&rsquo;s hat trick helped Michigan complete the sweep, as Colorado found its late season road schedule difficult. Jean Cartier and Buck Straub had two goals each in the first game.Behind Wisconsin&rsquo;s 38 points, Duluth and Denver have 34 each and North Dakota 32. Michigan State has 28<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-01115/2972404-1-eng-US/f0032-012.jpg" title="f0032-01" width="260" height="430"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jim Watt</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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WESTERN WAY

<h2>ECAC CONFERENCE</h2>(Standings on Mon. Feb. 7)<h3>DIVISION I</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-0199/2972592-1-eng-US/f0033-012.jpg" title="f0033-01" width="579" height="451"></div><h3>DIVISION II</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-0272/2972585-1-eng-US/f0033-022.jpg" title="f0033-02" width="585" height="580"></div><h2>GAMES COMPLETED DIVISION I</h2>Yale 10. Boston College 6Brown 6, Providence 5Clarkson 4, Cornell 2Boston University 5, Colgate 3Boston College 3, Colgate 2St. Lawrence 8. Providence 3Providence 4, Clarkson 3Dartmouth 3, Cornell 2Yale 3, Princeton 1<h2>INTER-DIVISIONAL GAMES</h2>New Hampshire 6. St. Louis 1Northeastern 7. Bowdoin 4Army 4, Williams 2Vermont 6, New Hampshire 1St. Anselm&rsquo;s 3. Army 2Vermont 3, Northeastern 2RPI 7, Waterloo 0<h3>DIVISION II</h3>Mernmock 5. Bowdoin 4Massachusetts 8. Merrimack 5AIC 8. Colby 6Holy Cross 4, Trinity 2Lowell Tech 8, New Haven 6Vermont 6, Colby 2Bowdom 7, AIC 3Middlebury 7, Hamilton 3Norwich 4. Colby 3Amherst 5, Holy Cross 3Boston State 4, Lowell Tech 3<h2>WCHA CONFERENCE</h2>(Standings on Wed. Feb. 9)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-0351/2972578-1-eng-US/f0033-032.jpg" title="f0033-03" width="575" height="270"></div><h2>GAMES COMPLETED</h2>Minn-Duluth 5, Notre Dome 3Minn-Duluth 6. Notre Dame 3Michigan Tech 6, Colorado College 5Minnesota 4, Wisconsin 2Minnesota 7. Wisconsin 5North Dakota 4. Denver 3Denver 7, North Dakota 3Michigan 7. Colorado College 5Michigan 9. Clorado College 6Michigan State 5. Michigan Tech 3Michigan State 5. Michigan Tech 3<h2>CENTRAL JUNIOR LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Tues. Feb. 8)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-0439/2972571-1-eng-US/f0033-042.jpg" title="f0033-04" width="576" height="152"></div><h2>ONTARIO CONFERENCE</h2>(Standings on Tues. Feb. 8)<h3>EASTERN DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-0534/2972564-1-eng-US/f0033-052.jpg" title="f0033-05" width="577" height="206"></div><h3>WESTERN DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-0626/2972557-1-eng-US/f0033-062.jpg" title="f0033-06" width="580" height="205"></div><h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3>EASTERN DIVISION<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-0723/2972550-1-eng-US/f0033-072.jpg" title="f0033-07" width="582" height="254"></div><h3>WESTERN DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-0821/2972543-1-eng-US/f0033-082.jpg" title="f0033-08" width="578" height="257"></div><h2>GAMES COMPLETED</h2>Toronto 14, Brock 2Ottawa 3, Carleton 2McMaster 5. Guelph 4York 9, Waterloo 2Western 3, Windsor 3aurentian at McMaster (postponed)Lutheran 6, Brock 1Toronto 5, Ottawa 2Toronto 6, Carleton 4York 14. Lutheran 3Laurentian6. Windsor 3Queen&rsquo;s 8. Brock 4<h2>QUEBEC CONFERENCE</h2>(Standings on Sun. Feb. 13)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-0918/2972536-1-eng-US/f0033-092.jpg" title="f0033-09" width="578" height="221"></div><h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-1016/2972529-1-eng-US/f0033-102.jpg" title="f0033-10" width="578" height="275"></div><h3>MARITIME CONFERENCE</h3>(Standings on Tues Feb. 8)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-1115/2972522-1-eng-US/f0033-112.jpg" title="f0033-11" width="573" height="270"></div><h2>MINNESOTA INTERCOLLEGIATE</h2>(Standings on Mon. Jan. 31)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-1214/2972515-1-eng-US/f0033-122.jpg" title="f0033-12" width="577" height="235"></div><h2>INTERNATIONAL COLLEGIATE</h2>(Standings on Mon. Jan. 31)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-138/2972508-1-eng-US/f0033-132.jpg" title="f0033-13" width="578" height="126"></div><h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-147/2972501-1-eng-US/f0033-142.jpg" title="f0033-14" width="581" height="452"></div><h2>CENTRAL COLLEGIATE</h2>(Standings on Tues. Feb 2)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-156/2972494-1-eng-US/f0033-152.jpg" title="f0033-15" width="579" height="135"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-165/2972487-1-eng-US/f0033-162.jpg" title="f0033-16" width="579" height="308"></div><h2>NEW YORK COLLEGE LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Sun. Feb. 6)<h3>EASTERN DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-175/2972480-1-eng-US/f0033-172.jpg" title="f0033-17" width="579" height="177"></div><h3>WESTERN DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-183/2972473-1-eng-US/f0033-182.jpg" title="f0033-18" width="577" height="178"></div> &#9632;

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COLLEGE HOCKEY RACES

<div class="byline">BY BOB BRISCOE</div>EDMONTON&mdash;A quick glance at the standings in the Western Division of the Western Canada Hockey League reveals the defending league champions are at their lowest position in years.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-0263/2972644-1-eng-US/f0034-022.jpg" title="f0034-02" width="268" height="456"><figcaption class="caption-body">Brian Shaw</figcaption></div>Last year&rsquo;s Memorial Cup finalists were third in the Western Division after 44 games, normally cause for concern in a city where winning is expected. A closer scrutiny of the figures, however, revealed Oil Kings, coached by Brian Shaw, are in good shape to finish second&mdash;at least&mdash;and they have by no means given up hopes of grabbing the pennant from Calgary Centennials.After 44 games, Oil Kings had won 28 games, lost 14 and tied two. They were two points behind second-place New Westminster Bruins and 11 back of the Centennials.Bruins and Cents, however, have both played more games than Oil Kings, who own the second-best winning percentage in the 12-team league.Oil Kings held four games in hand over Bruins and only one on Calgary.After a key 4-2 victory over Calgary, in Edmonton, Shaw said he still hopes to put the pressure on Calgary for first place.&ldquo;We hgve enough games left against them to pull within three points if we win them all. We&rsquo;ll need some help but I think they&rsquo;ll be losing some more games as the season draws to a close,&rdquo; Shaw predicted.Cents have lost only 10 of 45 games, the last the 4-2 decision to Edmonton in which they were very badly outplayed. Goaltender John Davidson saved Calgary from complete humiliation when he held Edmonton to a 2-0 lead during a first period in which Cents were outshot 24-2.Oil Kings got themselves in trouble in the race for first place by losing two straight games at home to Medicine Hat and Saskatoon. In both of those losses, Kings&rsquo; highly-regarded defensive corps coughed up easy goals by giving the puck away, once in sudden-death overtime.CALGARY: Cents&rsquo; coach Chuck Holdaway was disgruntled with play of Cents following the 4-2 loss in Edmonton&hellip;&ldquo;If it hadn&rsquo;t been for Big John (goaltender Davidson), it would have been 8-0 in that first period. We had to ice the puck six times when playing at even strength,&rdquo; moaned Holdaway over Cents&rsquo; performance which saw them manage only 19 shots on goal&hellip;Ron Homenuke the team&rsquo;s leading scorer with 22 goals and 41 assists through 43 games. &bull;NEW WESTMINSTER: Bruins suffered three successive losses after a 17-game winning streak that saw them reach second spot&hellip;Ernie McLean&rsquo;s squad got back in the right track, however, by defeating Medicine Hat Tigers, the club that had handed them two of those losses&hellip;Centre Lorne Henning continues to make strong gains in the scoring department with 30 goals and 44 assists in 37 games&hellip;He was ill for the most part of a month.MEDICINE HAT: Jack Shupe&rsquo;s Tigers, probably the most exciting scoring team in the league, haven&rsquo;t given up hopes of a better than fourth-place finish&hellip;Tigers moved right into the picture with two wins tn three games against New West and another against Victoria&hellip;Tigers have won 26 and tied one of 49 games&hellip;Tom Lysiak and Stan Weir continue to lead the league in scoring, Lysiak No. 1 with 30 goals and 65 assists and Weir No. 2 with 40 goals and 50 assistsVICTORIA: There is a wide gap between the playoffs and the two new teams in the West Division&mdash;Victoria and Vancouver&hellip;Whatever consolation it is, it appears as though Fred-Hucul will herd his Cougars into fifth place with 13 wins and two ties in the bank after 45 games&hellip;Gary Donaldson leads the team in scoring with 11 goals and 37 assists in 38 games&hellip;. Reg Malinoski, acquired in trade from Winnipeg, has the most goals with 23&hellip;VANCOUVER: Nats had 12 wins out of 48 games and appeared destined to last place&hellip;Coach Charlie Hodge and the front office were looking at several young players in an effort to set a base for next season&hellip;Gord Stewart leads the team in scoring with 23 goals and 18 assists in 44 games&hellip;No other Nat had more than 30 points&hellip;REGINA: Pats managed only a tie at home against Flin Flon Bombers but came out of the week with a seven-point lead on Saskatoon Blades&hellip;Regina fans continue to set modern junior hockey attendance records at the ancient Exhibition Stadium as they warmed to the pennant race&hellip;Dennis Sobchuk headed toward an almost certain rookie-of-the-year award as he lead the team is scoring with 32 goals and 47 assists in 44 games&hellip;That was good enough for fourth in the scoring derbv.SASKATOON: The Blades fell slightly more off the pennant pace by suffering back-to-back road losses in Brandon and Winnipeg&hellip;Blades won 25 games and tied three of 46 games&hellip;Lawrence Sacharuk, who plays most of the time on the blueline, continues to lead the team in scoring with 28 goals and 23 assists&hellip;Another defenseman, young Pat Price, leads the team in the assist department with 28.BRANDON: Wheat Kings entered the last 20 games of the schedule only a point behind Blades&hellip;Wheaties are th highest scoring club in the East ern Division with 231 goals in 4 games but are third worst in the goals-against department. Forwards Rob Neale and Roi Chipperfield both with another season of junior eligility, con tinue to lead the team in scoring Neale with 29 goals and 50 as sists and Chipperfield with 4-goals and 35 assists.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-01108/2972637-1-eng-US/f0034-012.jpg" title="f0034-01" width="550" height="590"><figcaption class="caption-body">RON CHIPPERFIELD&hellip;40-Goal Scorer</figcaption></div>FLIN FLON: Bombers hel fourth place even though the^ were nine games below.500 witl 21 wins and a tie in 54 games&hellip;An obvious lack of defensivie strength has caused Bombers to give up the second highest total of goals in the entire league. Captain Blaine Stoughton, draft in &lsquo;73, continues to pour i on in the scoring race, holding down third spot with 39 goals and 42 assists.WINNIPEG: Jets still harbor hopes of reaching fourth place although they were 10 games below.500 with 18 wins and a tie after 47 games&hellip;They hope to use seven games in hand on Flin Flon to make the grade&hellip;Jeff Hunt leads the team scoring with 25 goals and 20 assists with only four other Jets in the 30-point range.SWIFT CURRENT: With only 15 wins and a tie in 48 games, Broncos&rsquo; playoff hopes were dim&hellip;Swift Current fans, however, continued to support the club well&hellip;Team&rsquo;s leading scores are Terry McDougall with 27 goals and 31 assists and Brent Leavins with 21 goals and 18 assists&hellip;<h2>HOW THEY STAND</h2>WESTERN CANADA LEAGUE(Standings on Mon. Feb. 7)<h3>EASTERN DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-0346/2972630-1-eng-US/f0034-032.jpg" title="f0034-03" width="580" height="183"></div><h3>WESTERN DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-0432/2972623-1-eng-US/f0034-042.jpg" title="f0034-04" width="579" height="158"></div> &#9632;

f0034-02

Oil Kings Still Eyeing Western Lead; Blades Losing Ground To Regina In East

<div class="byline">BY DOUG AUSTIN</div>NIAGARA FALLS&mdash;While the power-packed Toronto Marlboros and the surprising Oshawa Generals continue to wage a dog-eat-dog fight for pennant honors in the Major &ldquo;A&rdquo; OHA hockey circuit, two of the hottest clubs in the ten-team loop since the midway mark of the season may be found down in the lower reaches of the league.Eastern Canada Memorial Cup finalists just last season before owner and manager Fred Muller broke off the series with Quebec City Remparts because he feared for the safety of his players, the St. Catharines Black Hawks of coach Frank Milne were generally given short shrift by the pre-season experts this year. Most had the Hawks battling the Hamilton Red Wings for the loop cellar this time around.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-0272/2972682-1-eng-US/f0035-022.jpg" title="f0035-02" width="280" height="464"><figcaption class="caption-body">Frank Milne</figcaption></div>For much of the season, the Hawks were in danger of making these detractors look good indeed. They barely managed to keep their hold on the eighth and final playoff spot in the circuit in front of the rookie-laden Montreal Canadiens and the floundering Hamilton Red Wings.But Coach Milne now has his club making threatening noises in their late bid to overtake the slumping Niagara Falls Flyers for as high as sixth place in the league. The return to action of injured captain Bob MacMillan, stout netminding by newcomer Brian Cousineau and the coming of age of youthful front-line rookies Dave Gorman, Max Hansen and Joe DiVirgilio has the Hawks making believers of their fans again.After the first week of February the Hawks had reeled off their longest win streak of the season. They had put together five victories in a row to tie London Knights for seventh place and just five points in back of the Flyers. One of their wins was over the Flyers while another saw them beating Bill Long&rsquo;s 67&rsquo;s by a 5-3 score right in Ottawa after the Hawks had battled a snow storm for 10 and a half hours to make the game in Bytown which started over an hour and a half late.&ldquo;Cousineau has been playing a fine game in the nets for us since Mike Ralph was injured&rdquo;, admitted coach Frank Milne. &ldquo;We have also been getting much bet ter defensive play of late with Tim Jacobs the most improved in this regard. We have been using four lines of late and this hs helped us play 60 minutes of hockey, something we couldn&rsquo;t do earlier in the season&rdquo;.At the same time, Muller and Milne are proving the claim of Minnesota&rsquo;s Wren Blair that American-born hockey players only need the same coaching and opportunity afforded their Canadian counterparts to turn out future NHL&rsquo;ers. No less than three American players are with the Hawks, including young Max Hansen and DiVirgilio from the metropolitan area of New York City and defenseman Ron Serafini who played with Marty Howe in Detroit last season.Along with the Hawks, the London Knights under freshman coach and ex-Bruin Bronco Horvath are making a strong bid to overtake the Flyers despite recent setbacks to Hamilton and Kitchener. With 18 games left to play, the Knights share seventh spot with the Hawks and have their big line of Dennis Ververgaert, Reg Thomas and Randy Osburn all among the top ten scorers.Ververgaert and Thomas both have another junior year remaining after this one while Osburn is up for grabs in this June&rsquo;s NHL draft. All three were once the property of other junior clubs which undoubtedly makes it the best &ldquo;lease-lend&rdquo; unit in junior hockey.Osburn was traded to London by the talent-starved Wings of owner Nick Durbano. Ververgaert was sent to the Knights by the Hawks in exchange for a player since departed from OHA climes. Thomas was a former top draft choice of Kitchener but when he wouldn&rsquo;t report to the Rangers, a deal was worked out with the Knights.After the first week in February, Ververgaert had moved up to third place in the standings with his 34 goals and 52 assists for 86 points. Thomas was 33-40 for 75 points in seventh place with Thomas one notch behind at 31-40 for 71 points.The league leader who has held that perch almost since the start of the season continues to be captain Don Lever despite the slump of his Flyers since New Year&rsquo;s. With seven weeks left in the schedule, the two-way playing Lever continues to score at a goal-a-game clip with 45 goals in 45 games.Despite pressure from his closest pursuers and the fact that he is the only prolific sniper on Hap Emms&rsquo; club while his nearest rivals all play on potent lines, Lever had a five-point lead after the first week of February. He had 48 assists to go with his 45 toals for 93 points and should pass the century total before the<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-0196/2972675-1-eng-US/f0035-012.jpg" title="f0035-01" width="484" height="567"><figcaption class="caption-body">DON LEVER&hellip;Fires 45th Goal</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0035-02

Hawks, Knights Coming Back Strong

<h2>ONTARIO MAJOR JUNIOR</h2>(Standings on Tues Feb. 15)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-0349/2972804-1-eng-US/f0035-032.jpg" title="f0035-03" width="581" height="276"></div><h2>GAMES COMPLETED</h2>Tues. Feb. 8St. Catharines 6 at Hamilton 4Kitchener 4 at Ottawa1Niagara Falls 4 ot London 6Thur. Feb. 10St. Catharines 8 at Peterborough 1Fri. Feb. 11Ottawa 6 ot Kitchener 4Oshawa 2 at Niagara Falls 5London 4 at Toronto 5Halmilton 5 at Montreal 0Sat. Feb.12Toronto 9 ot St. Catherines 3Sun. Feb 13Ottawa 1 at Toronto 5Niagara Falls 5 at Montreal 2Hamilton 1 at London 10Peterborough 6 at Oshawa 1Kitchener 7 at St. Catharines 7<h2>QUEBEC JUNIOR LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Mon Feb. 14)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-0442/2972797-1-eng-US/f0035-042.jpg" title="f0035-04" width="575" height="272"></div><h2>MICHIGAN JUNIOR LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Mon. Feb. 7)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-0537/2972790-1-eng-US/f0035-052.jpg" title="f0035-05" width="577" height="177"></div><h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-0627/2972783-1-eng-US/f0035-062.jpg" title="f0035-06" width="579" height="160"></div><h2>SOUTHERN ONTARIO JUNIOR</h2>(Standings on Tues. Feb.8)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-0727/2972776-1-eng-US/f0035-072.jpg" title="f0035-07" width="583" height="234"></div><h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-0823/2972769-1-eng-US/f0035-082.jpg" title="f0035-08" width="583" height="284"></div><h2>NORTHERN ONTARIO JUNIOR</h2>(Standings on Thurs. Feb. 10)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-0923/2972762-1-eng-US/f0035-092.jpg" title="f0035-09" width="578" height="135"></div><h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-1017/2972755-1-eng-US/f0035-102.jpg" title="f0035-10" width="578" height="330"></div><h2>CANADIAN CENTRAL LEAGUE</h2>(STANDINGS ON WED. FEV. 2)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-1115/2972748-1-eng-US/f0035-112.jpg" title="f0035-11" width="581" height="157"></div><h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-1210/2972741-1-eng-US/f0035-122.jpg" title="f0035-12" width="582" height="186"></div><h2>ONTARIO SENIOR LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Tues. Feb. 8)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-137/2972734-1-eng-US/f0035-132.jpg" title="f0035-13" width="580" height="234"></div><h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-147/2972727-1-eng-US/f0035-142.jpg" title="f0035-14" width="588" height="538"></div><h2>ALBERTA JUNIOR LEAGUE</h2>(Standinas on Mon. Jan. 31)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-157/2972720-1-eng-US/f0035-152.jpg" title="f0035-15" width="579" height="208"></div><h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-166/2972713-1-eng-US/f0035-162.jpg" title="f0035-16" width="582" height="408"></div> &#9632;

f0035-03

Looking At The Amateur Races

<div class="byline">BY HAL SIGURDSON</div>VANCOUVER&mdash;The accepted theory on building a hockey team is start from goal and build oui.That&rsquo;s the master plan behind the construction of the second-year Vancouver Canucks, but as general manager Bud Poile and coach Hal Laycoe will readily tell you, the process doesn&rsquo;t happen over night.What you do is locate the best young prospects you can find to play goal and defense and hope their skills ripen quickly.No hockey team, of course, can win without talented forwards as well, but building a hockey team is like building a house. You start with the foundation.Only time will tell how well Poile and Laycoe have built, but though they become understandably impatient at times, they have ample reason to be optimistic.For more than a month now Dunc Wilson, with occasional relief from George Gardner, has given the Canucks solid goaltending. And at 23, Wilson is just entering his best years.But the Canucks&rsquo; real Kiddie Corps is their defense and during the course of the current National Hockey League season it has been the source of both their biggest apprehension and greatest optimism.With the trade of Gary Doak to New York, the injury to Barry Wilkins and the apparent dissatisfaction with Pat Quinn, the load of protecting Wilson has fallen mostly on Dennis Kearns, Greg Boddy, John Schella and Josh Guevremont.In that crowd, the 24-year-old Schella ranks as the veteran. Schella was called up from Rochester at the mid-way point of last season and took part in 37 games. Kearns, Boddy and Guevremont are all playing their first NHL season.There are times when their inexperience causes mistakes that leave Poile and Laycoe silently grinding their teeth and wishing they could advance the clock two or three years. But the four also show the kind of promise that suggests the Canucks could be set behind the blueline for the next 10 years.Each has a special reason for being in the NHL. Kearns is a skilled puck handler. Boddy has exceptional skating ability. Guevremont is deft with the poke check and owns a blazing slap shot. Schella is tough, fearless a id a good hitter.&mdash;But they make mistakes&mdash;the kind that saw Montreal&rsquo;s Jimmy Roberts score a short-handed goal that propelled the Canadiens to a 4-2 victory after the Canucks appeared to have them on the ropes.But the promise is there. All four could become outstanding NHLers. Add in Wilkins, now almost recovered from a severe shoulder separation, Dale Tallon, basically in defenseman though currently playing on right wing and Jim Hargreaves, a top prospect refining his skills in Rochester. Together they give Poile and Laycoe every reason to believe that defense is no problem. &#9632;

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February 25, 1972

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