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.

April 7, 1972

The Hockey News April 7, 1972

<h2>WESTERN CANADA LEAGUE</h2><h3>EASTERN DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-0266/2990505-1-eng-US/f0034-022.jpg" title="f0034-02" width="588" height="190"></div><h3>WESTERN DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-0349/2990498-1-eng-US/f0034-032.jpg" title="f0034-03" width="591" height="182"></div><h3>PLAYOFF GAMES</h3>Quarter-FinalsSun. March 26Edmonton 4, New Westminster 2Saskatoon 8, Brandon 0Flin Flon 3. Regina 2(First of best-of seven series)<h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3>(Including games of Sun. March 12)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-0435/2990491-1-eng-US/f0034-042.jpg" title="f0034-04" width="598" height="666"></div><h2>ALBERTA JUNIOR LEAGUE</h2>(Final Standings)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-0530/2990484-1-eng-US/f0034-052.jpg" title="f0034-05" width="586" height="135"></div><h3>SOUTH DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-0621/2990477-1-eng-US/f0034-062.jpg" title="f0034-06" width="582" height="135"></div><h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-0716/2990470-1-eng-US/f0034-072.jpg" title="f0034-07" width="589" height="1357"></div> &#9632;

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IN THIS ISSUE

HOW THEY STAND

NEW YORK&mdash;Eddie Giacomin. the goalie, made NHL history against the Leafs. He was credited with two assists in the same game, the first lime this has ever been done by an NHL goalie.&ldquo;I would trade them for a goal any time.&rdquo; grinned Eddie. &ldquo;This puts me in third place in the family scoring race. Six year old David scored the winning goal in a playoff game at Skateland last Saturday and Mark, 8, has eleven goals, so 1 know where I stand.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-02648/2988553-1-eng-US/f0015-022.jpg" title="f0015-02" width="271" height="456"><figcaption class="caption-body">Ed Giacomin</figcaption></div>Right now. Eddie stands pretty high in the Ranger goaling derby. He played four straight games, admitting, &ldquo;Emile tooled me two times out of three and then I just gave up guessing. He knows his goalies and both Gilles (Villemure) and I&rsquo;ll be there.&rdquo;This is a switch from the midseason situation in which Villemure seemed to be getting the trust in key situations. Last season. Francis went to Giacomin in the stretch and in the playoffs.BLUE CHIPS: Giacomin&rsquo;s two assists put him ahead of Villemure. three assists to two in the NHL scoring race. Ken Dryden of Montreal had three the last time we looked and Al Smith, the youthful Red Wing netminder, has set a new NHL mark with four, erasing Bernie Parent&rsquo;s old standard of three, set with Philadelphia&hellip;Bruce MacGregor pulled or tore a muscle in his lower back against Toronto and may miss some action. This has to hurt as Francis has been juggling his lines, using as many as seven combinations in some games&hellip;Phil Goyette joined up in Philly and got an assist by winning a key power play face off&hellip; Vic Hadfield, playing his heart out without Ratelle and Gilbert, has 45 goals and 99 points. With luck, the Captain could reach the fabled fifty mark, something unfortunately denied Ratelie&hellip; &#9632;

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Giacomin’s Two Assists NHL Record

(Including games of Sun. March 26)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-03396/2987818-1-eng-US/f0003-032.jpg" title="f0003-03" width="596" height="720"></div> &#9632;

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ALL TIME LEADERS

Jim Stanfield of the Springfield Kings came up with the hot hand last week in the AHL as he turned in a four-goal game during a 5-3 win over Rochester. It was the seventh time this season a player had scored four times in a game. Stanfield has scored the winning goal in four straight games and has tallied 11 goals in his last 11 games for the Kings.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-02130/2989266-1-eng-US/f0023-022.jpg" title="f0023-02" width="491" height="541"><figcaption class="caption-body">JIM STANFIELD</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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Player Of The Week

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/cover-01532/2990681-1-eng-US/cover-012.jpg" title="Cover-01" width="967" height="1537"><figcaption class="caption-body">MARCEL DIONNE Becomes Highest Scoring Rookie (Hockey News Photo by Clifton Bauteile)</figcaption></div>&mdash;Page 2DIONNE SETS POINT MARK FOR ROOKIES&mdash;Page 13CHEEVERS NHL&rsquo;S MOST CONSISTENT NETMINDER&mdash;Page 6HAWKS WIN THIRD TITLE IN SUCCESSION&mdash;Page 7HULL SINKS NO.600<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/cover-02405/2990674-1-eng-US/cover-022.jpg" title="Cover-02" width="1173" height="1817"><figcaption class="caption-body">BOBBy HULL Reaches Another NHL Milestone</figcaption></div>LEAFS TO GO WITH CLANCY&mdash;Page 2 &#9632;

Cover-01

PLAYOFF BERTHS STILL UP IN AIR

<div class="byline">BY DAN PROUDFOOT</div>TORONTO&mdash;Some teams shuffle lines, some make trades, and some reach into their farm systems to find improvement. Toronto Maple Leafs, however, have been unique in the National Hockey League this season with their rotating coaching system.The coaching bullpen is staffed by John McLellan and Frank &lsquo;King&rsquo; Clancy, and much has been made of the latter replacing the former and lifting the team from a slump.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-01714/2987725-1-eng-US/f0002-012.jpg" title="f0002-01" width="273" height="442"><figcaption class="caption-body">John McLellan</figcaption></div>In the latest move, McLellan took over again behind the bench after Clancy had won six games, tied three and lost two. The six wins came in Clancy&rsquo;s first six appearances, and he then coached through five games without a win. Jim Gregory, Leaf general manager, announced McLellan was returning.But it didn&rsquo;t last. McLellan went behind the bench and Leafs blew one 6-3 in Vancouver. McLellan suffered a relapse and Gregory promptly rushed Clancy back into the breach. Leafs won 4-0 in L.A. and the club quickly announced Clancy would be their man for the rest of the season to allow McLellan more time to fully recover&mdash;if that is possible.In all fairness it must be reported that the basis of the Frankie and Johnny act had no direct connection with winning or losing. Rather, rotations inside McLellan&rsquo;s stomach initiated the changes.The duodenal ulcer which afflicted McLellan in February didn&rsquo;t disappear as soon as Clancy took over. The enforced Florida vacation helped the regular Leaf coach, but he still wasn&rsquo;t well enough to assume his old duties when he returned to Toronto early in March.While away from the bench, McLellan spent his time scouting and learning more than he wanted to know about medical tests. For example, he now can match any ulcer patient&rsquo;s stories about the difficulty of swallowing certain chalky liquids in the name of good health.The most difficult chore was adopting to a strict, new diet. He expected the ban on eating anything fried, but was surprised by being permitted only certain kinds of fruits and fish.McLellan found that he felt fine some days, and had stomach trouble on others. But he began subjecting his ulcer to an acid test, namely, watching Leaf games from the same cubby hole as Gregory and president Harold Ballard. The presidential pillbox contains more pressure than any spectator&rsquo;s seat, but McLellan survived.The next development came when the ulcered coach found himself missing the challenges of bench management.Gregory announced before Clancy&rsquo;s proposed farewell appearance, March 22 in Montreal Forum (a come-from-behind 3-3 tie) that McLellan would be returning in the next game at Vancouver regardless of the result against the Canadians.&ldquo;Clancy has done a wonderful job for us,&rdquo; said Gregory. &ldquo;He got us going and coached us to six wins and a tie before losing one, and that moved us back into fourth place.&ldquo;But it&rsquo;s a tough grind, even if he is the youngest 69-year-old in the world,&rdquo; said Gregory.But fate and McLellan&rsquo;s health dictated Clancy will return to take the Leafs the rest of the way.In the meantime, the Leafs appeared to have a lock on the fourth playoff berth in the East Division as they went into the closing week of the schedule with a three-point bulge on the pursuing Detroit Red Wings. Both teams had three games left to play to settle their battle for the last playoff spot.Boston Bruins wrapped up first place and the Prince of Wales Trophy while the New York Rangers needed only a tie or a win in the their last three games to capture second place allocating Montreal to third for the playoffs.In the West Division, Chicago and Minnesota were one, two finishers with St. Louis as good as in for third place but the big scramble loomed for the fourth and final berth with Philadelphia, California and Pittsburgh two points apart in the final run to the wire. The Flyers, with an extra game, appeared to have the best chance of grabbing off fourth position ahead of the Seals and Pens. &#9632;

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Leafs Going With Clancy As McLellan Suffers Relapse

MONTREAL&mdash;A total of nine minutes in penalties for a potentially dangerous stick swinging incident was judged insufficient punishment by National Hockey League President Clarence Campbell, and the two players involved&mdash;Dennis Hextall of the Minnesota North Stars and Wayne Cashman of the Boston Bruins&mdash;were handed three-game suspensions and additional monetary fines.The affair took place during a March 19 Boston-Minnesota Sunday afternoon matinee at the Boston Garden with a national U.S. television audience also looking on. According to reports, Bruin right winger Cashman precipitated the altercation by slashing the Minnesota center twice in the area of the ankles. Before a minor penalty could be administered by referee Bill Friday, Hextall retaliated with an attempt to speer the Boston forward. Cashman, in turn, returned Hextall&rsquo;s assault with a full two-handed swing with his stick.Referee Friday, who apparently did not have a clear view of the incident and was informed of Cashman&rsquo;s retaliation by linesman John D&rsquo;Amico, assessed a double minor to Cashman and a speering major to Hextall.Aided by CBS television footage of the fight, Campbell conducted a full review of the incident and summonded all principals to his Montreal office where he ruled the suspensions.Cashman was assessed an additional $200 fine for his part and Hextall was tabbed for $50.The Boston management initally announced plans to appeal the verdict, but later withdrew the request when it was revealed that it might mean Cashman would be forced to miss some playoff action if the appeal was not sustained by the league governing body. &#9632;

NHL Cracks Down On Stick Swingers

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-01718/2987787-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg" title="f0003-01" width="883" height="431"></div>CHICAGO&mdash;When the great Gordie Howe retired and left the monumental total of 786 lifetime goals behind him, the hockey cynics were quick to speculate that it would never be approached or broken.But they could have been whistling in the dark when they said it, because the Golden Jet, Bobby Hull, appears to be hot in pursuit of the Howe milestone and excluding injury or an early retirement, the brilliant Chicago Black Hawks&rsquo; sharpshooter could be near Howe&rsquo;s mark within the next four and a half years providing he maintains his high average of 40 plus goals per year.Hull rang up his celebrated 600th goal against Boston&rsquo;s Gerry Cheevers as he brought his 15-year regular season average to just over 40 goals per year. No other player has ever maintained as high an average over so long a period.With 47 goals heading into the closing week of the season, Hull could conceivably hit the 50-mark for the fifth time in his illustrious big league career. He is the No. 2 goal scorer in the overall NHL this year and top man on the Hawks with 88 points. Hull&rsquo;s all-time single season high is 58 goals in the 1968-69 season.In the scoring race, meanwhile, Boston&rsquo;s Phil Esposito continues to maintain his 15-point margin over teammate Bobby Orr, 131 points to 116. Esposito leads the NHL in goals with 64 while Orr leads in assists with 80. New York Rangers&rsquo; Jean Ratelle, Vic Hadfield and Rod Gilbert with 109, 102 and 95 points respectively maintain third, fourth and fifth positions in the point parade even though Ratelle and Gilbert are sidelined with injuries. Frank Mahovlich of Montreal is sixth with 93 points, five more than Hull and 12 more than John Bucyk of Boston.It was a big week for milestones in the NHL both from a veteran and rookie level.Rookie center Marcel Dionne of Detroit Red Wings led all pointgetters scoring nine points in three games to leap ahead of Buffalo Sabres&rsquo; Rick Martin and be the first to establish the record for points in a season by a rookie. Dionne now has 76 points, four more than Buffalo&rsquo;s Gilbert Perreault had last season when he won the Calder Trophy with a record 72 points. Martin, of course, still holds the rookie goal-scoring record with 44 thus far.Veteran winger Bucyk of Boston scored his 394th and 395th career goals last week to move past retired great Bernie Geoffrion into eighth place in the all-time list of goal scorers.Syl Apps Jr. of Pittsburgh Penguins scored his 40th assist to break by one the Penguin record held since 1967-68 by Andy Bathgate. (The previous week, Jean Pronovost broke the Pittsburgh record for goals which Dean Prentice set in 1969-70 when he scored 26. Pronovost now has 29 goals.)Bill Goldsworthy of Minnesota North Stars scored his 30th and 31st goals of the season to become the first West Division player to ever record three consecutive 30-goal seasons. Hull, of course, has also done it but prior to last season, Hawks were in the East Division.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-02596/2987780-1-eng-US/f0003-022.jpg" title="f0003-02" width="1174" height="1698"><figcaption class="caption-body">(Hockey News Photo by Robert Shaver)</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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BOBBY HULL HITS 600…

<div class="byline">Ken McKenzie&#x2019;s</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-01780/2987863-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg" title="f0004-01" width="521" height="525"></div>&bull; BOSTON&mdash;WHEN the Bruins defeated Montreal 5-4 it clinched the Prince of Wales Trophy for the second consecutive year for hockey&rsquo;s current powerhouse. Bruins&rsquo; fans were treated to three standout games in a row as the Bruins downed New York, tied Chicago and edged Montreal in the next to last week of the regular schedule&hellip; The Bruins are determined not to make the same mistakes in the playoffs this year and they won&rsquo;t be satisfied until they&rsquo;ve recaptured the Stanley Cup from the Montreal Canadiens&hellip;Bobby Orr&rsquo;s 170-foot goal into the empty New York net is rated as some kind of record for such things&hellip;Chicago&rsquo;s Bobby Hull, always a popular player here, received a standing ovation when he scored his 600th regular season NHL goal. This action by the fans proved once again how the knowledgable Boston public appreciates outstanding performances by opposing players as well as their own. Hull&rsquo;s goal was the tying marker of the game and it was a beauty all the way&hellip;Ted Green has played very little in recent weeks for the Bruins. When he made one of his rare appearances against Montreal he was given a rousing cheer&hellip;Defenseman Don Awrey has been playing extremely well for the Bruins of late and is fast becoming a popular player here&hellip;Gerry Cheevers played in goal against New York and Chicago and extended his unbeaten string to 32 games. He has 24 wins and eight ties. Gerry hasn&rsquo;t lost a game since November 10 when he lost to Chicago, 3-1&hellip;Derek Sanderson, the Bruins&rsquo; colorful center, was voted the WSBK-TV, Channel 38, Seventh Player Award before the Chicago game. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m surprised and shocked,&rdquo; he said upon acceptance of the award and the keys to a sporty new Datsun auto which went along with it&hellip;Jack Nicholson, formerly with the Boston Patriots, was recently hired as assistant to Eddie Powers, who runs the Boston Garden. He will supervise all public relations for the venerable old building which is playing to packed houses almost every night these weeks&hellip;When singer Tom Jones was felled by the flu here over the weekend the only person he knew in Boston was Derek Sanderson, and Derek recommended the Bruins&rsquo; team physician Dr. Ashby Moncure to look after him&hellip;Al Shaver, Minnesota North Stars&rsquo; hockey voice at WCCO-Radio, Minneapolis, signed a new three-year contact. A former Canadian he is one of the best in the business&hellip;Donna Peterson was picked as the 2,000,000th fan to see the Minnesota North Stars play at Metropolitan Sports Center. Her prize was a road trip with the team and she and her sister made a swing through Montreal and Boston&hellip;Orval Tessier did an outstanding job this season as coach of the Cornwall Royals of the Quebec Junior League. He took a last-place club of a year ago to a first-place finish this year.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-02731/2987856-1-eng-US/f0004-022.jpg" title="f0004-02" width="252" height="435"><figcaption class="caption-body">Derek Sanderson</figcaption></div>&bull; THE 12 MEMBER clubs of the World Hockey Association have been asked to post $100,000 performance bonds by April 15&hellip;The New England Whalers still do not have a place to play. They are trying to rent the Boston Garden for Monday nights&hellip;Dennis Hull has never scored an NHL hat trick. Bobby&rsquo;s younger brother is playing effective hockey for the Black Hawks and is considered one of the better left wingers in the league today&hellip;The retired John Ferguson is trying to buy into the Quebec City franchise of the WHA&hellip;Our good friend Nick Mileti, owner of the Cleveland Arena and Cleveland Barons of the American Hockey League, has really branched out recently. Nick now owns the Cleveland Cavaliers basketball team, a Cleveland radio station, and just the other day purchased the Cleveland Indians baseball club&hellip;Detroit&rsquo;s Marcel Dionne may not win the NHL rookie award but he&rsquo;ll finish the season with the most scoring points ever amassed by a first-year player in the NHL. With all of his various bonus arrangements he could earn $60,000 for his first season&rsquo;s play&hellip;Philadelphia Flyers look to be in the best spot at this time to finish fourth in the NHL West, and Toronto appears to have clinched the same position in the NHL East&hellip;Green Bay Bobcats had their own fan plane at Thunder Bay, Ont. for their United States Hockey League playoff&hellip;Tommy Lockhart, president of the Amateur Hockey Association of the United States as well as prexy of the Eastern Hockey League, celebrated his 80th birthday last week&hellip;Binghampton, N.Y. has a 5,500 War Memorial Arena under construction. Four groups are presently interested in bringing a hockey team into the area. Binghampton will no doubt ice a franchise in the EHL&hellip;Several of the top players in Sweden have been receiving serious offers from NHL and WHA clubs. Tommy Bergman, considered the best player in Sweden, confirmed he received an offer from a National League club The 25-year-old Bergman said that about half of Sweden&rsquo;s national team has been contacted by U.S. and Canadian clubs.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-03633/2987849-1-eng-US/f0004-032.jpg" title="f0004-03" width="255" height="429"><figcaption class="caption-body">Nick Mileti</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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PASSING THE PUCK

Founded October 1st, 1947Published weekly except monthly June through September byKen-Will Publishing Co. Ltd.1434 St. Catherine Street West Montreal 107, Canada.U.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, Montr&eacute;al, 107, P.Q.Second class mail&mdash;Registration No. 1327Printed in CanadaVol. 25 MONTREAL, APRIL 7, 1972 No. 27 &#9632;

The Hockey News OFFICIAL NATIONAL HOCKEY WEEKLY

<h2>Don&rsquo;t Overlook Dionne For Rookie Award</h2>In recent weeks there has been a lot of talk about the candidates for the Calder Trophy. However the name Marcel Dionne is seldom listed as one of the three serious contenders. Marcel is under extreme pressure each time he takes the ice as the fans expect him to be an instant replacement for Gordie Howe. Despite this burden he has set a record for points by a rookie. Although he doesn&rsquo;t have Gil Perrault to feed him the puck or to convert his passes as in the case of Rick Martin of Buffalo, Dionne has scored more points than the number one draft pick, Guy Lafleur and more than Martin, too. Ken Dryden, sensational as he is, is not a rookie in the true sense of the word.Marcel is an excellent passer, a skillful stickhandler, an exceptional skater and a tireless checker. Along with the majority of hockey fans in the Niagara region and Detroit area, as well as many other parts of Canada and the U.S. I feel that Dionne is the best all round rookie in the NHL and the number one choice for the Calder Trophy.DON FRETZ, St. Catharines, Ont.<h2>Boston Fans Also Booed All Stars</h2>In your Feb. 25 issue you published a letter by a Mr. L.M. Limone pertaining to the idea that when Minnesota fans booed Boston&rsquo;s Johnny McKenzie during the January All Star game, it was unfair. He also said that the year before, Boston fans had cheered everyone when the game was hosted there.This is untrue. Anyone who watched the 1971 All Star game should remember that th&eacute; Bruin fans even booed their own Johnny Bucyk because of his gentlemanly play.BRUCE LESLIE, Cote St. Luc, Que.<h2>Super Bruin Bobby Orr Deserves His Publicity</h2>In regard to the letter in the March 17 Fan Forum labeling Bobby Orr &ldquo;the most conceited, over-rated, and overprotected hockey player in the NHL&rdquo;. I&rsquo;d like to say I feel it is a shame that Mr. Steve Langer can&rsquo;t appreciate the great skill of this fine hockey player.I&rsquo;m thirteen and it is my opinion as well as that of many other fans and players that Bobby is one of the greatest, if not the greatest, of players.It is true that he gets a lot of attention, but doesn&rsquo;t he deserve it? He doesn&rsquo;t ask for the publicity, his talent does. Not only is he a great player but he&rsquo;s also very modest&rsquo;. Whenever he&rsquo;s interviewed he talks about his teammates and credits them for his success.L. MacDONALD, Plymouth, Mass.<h2>Wings&rsquo; Delvecchio Still Going Strong</h2>A year or so ago there were trade rumors concerning Alex Delvecchio, maybe a clue to the Howe retirement. At summer camp Delvecchio was to be left out as a regular, and to make the squad as a penalty-killer. Was it that the guy that had set up Gordie Howe so often was through? No way! This season there is one Mickey Redmond (without a doubt an All Star) at Delvecchio&rsquo;s right-wing, and his 40th goal was seen on nationwide T.V. Mach 12. On the left side of the Wings production-line is Al Karlander, also having by far his finest season. Coincidental?Delvecchio & Co. have brought the fans back to the Olympia and the revitalized fans have seen the Wings fight back into play off contention, plus some new-found hustle and muscle.I suggest one nomination for Alex Delvecchio for unsung hero 1972 (The Michel Briere Award).JOHN BAKER, Hartsdale, N.Y.Editor&rsquo;s Note: The Michel Briere Award already exists. It is a team trophy presented annually to the top rookie on the Pittsburgh Penguins. Greg Polis was last year&rsquo;s recipient. Delvecchio qualifies more for the Bill Masterton Trophy, which is awarded annually to the NHL&rsquo;s &lsquo;Unsung&rsquo; performer. Last year Jean Ratelle won it. &#9632;

Fan Forum

<div class="byline">BY DWAYNE NETLAND</div>TWIN CITIES&mdash;The qualifications for the award mentions characteristics such as perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.The Minnesota North Stars have felt for some time that Charlie Burns embodies those qualities rather markedly, and they are curious to see how Charlie will do in the balloting this spring for the Bill Masterton Memorial Award.It was created by the Professional Hockey Writers to honor a player each year who best typifies the spirit of the late Minnesota center, who died as the result of an injury in a 1968 game.To the North Stars, Burns represents perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication. Nobody puts more into his work than Charlie, who has played all three forward positions, killed penalties and served on the power play unit with equal distinction this season.His natural position is center, but coach Jack Gordon made a regular left winger out of him last season. He has played a lot of left wing this season, in addition to a couple of hitches at right wing and some valuable duty at center while the North Stars were missing regulars Jude Drouin and Dennis Hextall for a time.When Drouin suffered a jammed heel that put him out for 10 days, Gordon employed Burns as the center on the line with J.P. Parise and Bill Goldsworthy.&ldquo;I&rsquo;d almost forgotten how much work there is involved in playing center,&rdquo; said Burns. &ldquo;You get a lot more skating than you do on the wings.&ldquo;Actually this is just what I need to stay sharp, but I wish I could make a better contribution in several ways. I know I&rsquo;ve had trouble taking the puck out of our end.&rdquo;This is Charlie&rsquo;s third year at Minnesota. He coached the North Stars the last two-thirds of the 1969-70 season, guiding them to a third-place finish in the West. Burns became a playing coach on March 1 of that season, spotting himself on the checking line for occasional shifts.When Jack Gordon took over as coach in 1970, Charlie became one of the boys again. He filled what could have been an awkward role with dignity and poise, earning the gratitude of his successor.&ldquo;Charlie really is a valuable man on our hockey club, in so many ways.&rdquo; says Gordon. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s difficult to think how we&rsquo;d get along without him, because he&rsquo;s so much a part of our team.&rdquo;Burns 36, is interested in continuing his coaching career some day. He still has at least a couple of good active years ahead of him, however, although if the right coaching opportunity came along he would give it serious thought.NORTH STAR NOTES: Dennis Hextall was summoned to Montreal for a hearing with NHL president Clarence Campbell after a stick-swinging episode March 19 with Wayne Cashman in Boston Garden. He was handed a three-game suspension along with Cashman&hellip;The injuries to Drouin and goalie Cesare Maniago, who missed two weeks with a sore knee, are worrying Gordon. He wants them both fit for the playoffs. &#9632;

North Stars Touting Burns For Bill Masterton Award

<div class="byline">BY TOM MONAHAN</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0006-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-01809/2987966-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Bruins&rsquo; goaler GERRY CHEEVERS has a 30-game unbeaten streak going as the NHL season comes down to the wire. Cheevers has a 26-3-7 record for the year. (Hockey News Photo by John Barnett)</figcaption></div>BOSTON&mdash;They say facetiously around the Bruins&rsquo; dressing room that no one ever taught Gerry Cheevers how to be a goal-tender. The word is that someone helped him on with the tools of ignorance, pointed him towards the cage, and that was it.But for the fact that the Bruins drafted him from Toronto in 1965 after Punch Imlach tried to hide him as a forward, there would be some basis for the fabrication.Cheevers&rsquo; record of 30 games without a loss from Nov. 10 through March 19 has been Something to marvel at.But the 31-year-old native of St. Catharines, Ont. actually believes he is doing just what comes naturally.&ldquo;I just go out there to try to stop as much rubber as I can,&rdquo; says the witty and apparently nerveless Cheevers.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t worry about records or shutouts or whether I&rsquo;m playing good or bad. I just look to see if we have more goals for us than we have against us.&rdquo;It can&rsquo;t be said that Cheeveres is exaggerating on this because his record shows that he will win by a shutout, by one goal or as many as four as he did turning back Minnesota for his 23rd victory against the North Stars.And it is for this reason that coach Tom Johnson decided to break his rotation of Cheevers with Eddie Johnston last week when the Bruins seemed a bit shaky and the veteran Johnston was bothered by a cold.&ldquo;I honestly believe,&rdquo; said the coach, &ldquo;there isn&rsquo;t a better or more consistent goalie in the league than Cheevers.&ldquo;I do think he does what comes naturally to him. Take Ken Dryden of Montreal, he has won a lot of games for Montreal since he came into the league but he still hasn&rsquo;t done what Cheevers has done for us this year.&ldquo;And I know that Gerry doesn&rsquo;t have any idea that he had gone through 30 games without a loss. But he knows what the standings are and he always knows what the score is.&rdquo;It has been written before that Cheevers is one of the Bruins real assets when the opposition is pressing because of his ability to clear the puck and to get it to an open teammate.And his technique of flipping the puck over the dasher to cause a halt in play influenced an experiment with the rules to prevent such action.The experiment didn&rsquo;t pan out and Cheevers and every other goalie in the league still will force a whistle when necessary.But Cheevers is the first to point out that his success with the Bruins is directly attribitable to the men in front of him.&ldquo;The way our guys skate and check and play defense,&rdquo; makes it easy for a goal-tender to be relaxed,&rdquo; he says.&ldquo;You know when you are facing from 40 to 50 shots a game, it&rsquo;s a lot different that 25 or 35.&ldquo;It makes it a lot easier to grow old gracefully when you are playing with a team like the Bruins in front of you.&rdquo;But it&rsquo;s also nice for the Bruins to know that age and grace are not synonymous when Cheevers is in the nets. &#9632;

f0006-01

B’s Cheevers Ranked As Most Consistent Of All NHL Goalers

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-02666/2988028-1-eng-US/f0007-022.jpg" title="f0007-02" width="979" height="646"></div><h2>Bouncing Pucks</h2>Goaltenders have nightmares over pucks which jump and take crazy bounces in front of the net. They stop more of them than they miss, mainly because they have lightning reflexes.Forwards sometimes score with flip shots which land just in front of the goal&mdash;not so close the goalie can smother it, not so far out he can get set.The ideal situation is for a forward to have a teammate ready to break in for a rebound. A crazy hop might put the goalie off balance and unable to recover fast.If you&rsquo;re a forward, use the shot. If you&rsquo;re a goaltender, pray you won&rsquo;t have to play them often. &#9632;

f0007-02

Hockey for Kids

CHICAGO&mdash;Stan Mikita, the crafty center of the Chicago Black Hawks, received the first penalty shot of his 14-year career in mid-March&hellip;and missed it.Mikita was scooting into New York ice during a game at Chicago when he was tripped from behind by Ranger defenseman Brad Park. Ref John Ashley signalled the rare infraction and the play was on.&ldquo;The referee spent a minute and a half telling me what I could do and couldn&rsquo;t do,&rdquo; said Mikita afterward. &ldquo;Then Bobby Hull spent a minute and a half telling me how I should do it, and then I prayed for another minute and a half. By the time I got out there to take it, I forgot what I was supposed to do. I have a lot of penalty shots in my dreams, but I&rsquo;ve always made them.&rdquo;Mikita wasn&rsquo;t distressed over his miss because the Hawks won the game 3-1 and held the Rangers to a season-low (for them) 15 shots.&ldquo;Actually, I played the puck just where I wanted to&hellip;only a little high,&rdquo; said Mikita of his 15-footer which Goalie Ed Giacomin blocked with his right thigh. &ldquo;I wanted to put it a little lower&hellip;just about six or eight inches lower. When I started down toward him, I figured he would come out, and then I was going to try to deke him. But he stayed back pretty well, so I shot.&rdquo; &#9632;

Mikita Misses First Penalty Shot

<div class="byline">BY BOB VERDI</div>CHICAGO&mdash;Though he&rsquo;s an impeccable fellow in every respect, Cliff Koroll does not feel he&rsquo;s yet a model of consistency. This, then, was his primary concern as the young right winger reached the highest of heights in his three-year career with the Black Hawks&mdash;scoring his 20th goal.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-01757/2987997-1-eng-US/f0007-012.jpg" title="f0007-01" width="269" height="454"><figcaption class="caption-body">Cliff Koroll</figcaption></div>&ldquo;I&rsquo;d like to be more even,&rdquo; stated Koroll, who is his own stiffest critic. &ldquo;So far, since I&rsquo;ve been in the league, I seem to go in spurts. I started the year well&mdash;a good start&mdash;then I went into a slump and didn&rsquo;t score in something like 18 games. Then I came around again, and now I feel much better. I suppose every player goes in and out of slumps, but I wish I didn&rsquo;t have them.&rdquo;Koroll notched his 20th in a 31 victory against New York on March 15. In his rookie campaign, he bagged 18. Then last season, one also dotted by spurts and dry spells, he collected 16. In the playoffs, he&rsquo;s been a good source of production&mdash;8 goals, 13 assists in 26 games&mdash;and this, among other things, has labeled him as a good clutch performer.But he&rsquo;s also a worrier. The goal is not to be just acceptable, the goal is to be excellent.&ldquo;I take the game home with me,&rdquo; he admits. &ldquo;I should leave it at the rink, but I can&rsquo;t. During that slump this year, I would hash over every game and think about the things that I didn&rsquo;t do right. The scoring chances I missed or the odd bad pass. And I always worry about the defensive record, too.&rdquo;On a line with Stan Mikita and Dennis Hull, Koroll has completed a rather stingy threesome in the plus-minus derby. Late this season, a succession of instances&mdash;team slump, injury&mdash;separated Hull from the trio, but Koroll and Mikita remain. And Koroll has always tossed toward Mikita any praise given him.&ldquo;Stan&rsquo;s a tremendous help to me,&rdquo; Koroll said. &ldquo;On the ice and off the ice when he teaches and talks to me.&rdquo;After a late-January jolt to his head in Pittsburgh, Koroll donned a helmet. It&rsquo;s helped him, he feels, and he&rsquo;ll continue to wear it. Now if he could just satisfy himself&hellip;meanwhile, there are about 13 clubs in the league which would like to have him muscling for those loose pucks in the corner.The Hawks clinched their third straight first place finish by dead-locking the Toronto Maple Leafs on March 18 by a 2-2 count. There was no champagne and no gala celebration, just a few quiet handshakes from the bossman.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t care what sport you&rsquo;re in,&rdquo; said Billy Reay. &ldquo;Anytime you finish on top three years in a row, that&rsquo;s really something to be proud of. You&rsquo;re real champions. After the fantastic season we had last year, I wondered if we could equal it this year. Well, we&rsquo;re coming pretty close.&rdquo;Through Reay certainly wouldn&rsquo;t admit it, the title clinching in Toronto was an interesting bit of poetic justice. It was there, after all, that he was fired as Leafs&rsquo; coach in 1958.In fact, the previous two titles were iced in apropos locales. Last season, the Chicagoans clinched the West crown in Montreal, where Reay had once played. The year before, the Hawks culminated their Cinderella last place-to-first dash by copping the title on the final night of the year in Chicago, where the fans earlier that season had called for Reay&rsquo;s neck.But all Reay found time to do was praise his athletes&hellip;and worry about them a little bit. During the pre-playoff stretch, a streak of injuries haunted the club&mdash;some light, some more serious.&ldquo;It seems just around this time of the season that the main thing you have to worry about is injuries,&rdquo; Reay mused, &ldquo;and then that&rsquo;s all you get.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0007-01

Koroll Hits Career ‘High’ As Hawks Win Third Title

<div class="byline">&#x2014;By Bill Libby</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-01795/2988090-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg" title="f0008-01" width="286" height="371"></div><h2>The Professional Player&hellip;</h2>ORLAND KURTENBACH is a professional hockey player. He is not a super star. He is not an outstanding scorer or an especially stylish performer. He is big and strong and unselfish and he does a job up front for a team. He has been with 13 different teams in 17 seasons, so he has been bounced around some. He has been drafted three times and traded once, and he has been promoted from the minors and demoted down and promoted up again several times.He is tough, considered the best fist-fighter in the sport in recent years, but he has been hurt in hockey. A couple of years ago when he was with the Rangers he had to have spinal surgery. He recalls, &ldquo;It was real tough to handle. I had a 12-inch brace in front and a 16-inch brace in back supporting my back after the operation. For months, I couldn&rsquo;t even tie my own shoes.&rdquo;He came back from that and last season he tore ligaments in a knee, requiring another operation, another recuperation period and another comeback. &ldquo;It was difficult at first, but I just stayed with it until it improved. If it cost me any speed or agility, those never were my main things anyway,&rdquo; he says.He played in the big leagues for Rangers two different times, for Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs and now Vancouver Canucks. He went to Vancouver in the expansion draft and says he did not feel demeaned to be let go to a first-year franchise. He said, &ldquo;I am a professional. I play where they pay me and I do the best for every team I have ever played with.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-02705/2988083-1-eng-US/f0008-022.jpg" title="f0008-02" width="554" height="882"><figcaption class="caption-body">ORLAND KURTENBACH&hellip;Not Ready To Retire</figcaption></div>Nor does he admit to being depressed by being with a down team. The last to shower after a recent loss, as this season was ending, he stood dressing in the Vancouver room and said, &ldquo;Losing is disheartening. But I honestly believe every professional goes to the rink and goes on the ice thinking his team is going to win. Possibly it&rsquo;s a case of psyching yourself, but it would be hard to play without hope.&rdquo;But what hope is there when any realist realizes the team has little hope to make the playoffs, much less contend for the pennant? &ldquo;There is that,&rdquo; he admitted. &ldquo;You lack that extra incentive players have who are driving for those rewards. And as the season progresses, it gets tougher to go out there. You play on pride alone after awhile.&ldquo;But, there are other factors. This team is well supported in Vancouver and you want to give the fans their money&rsquo;s worth. Even on the road, you want to do your best. You&rsquo;re a member of an organization that is paying your salary. You&rsquo;re part of a program that is building for the future. Everyone wants to win, the men in charge in Vancouver as much as anyone else.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s no surprise we&rsquo;re down. I played with long-established teams in New York and Boston which were down. Most of the new expansion teams are in their fifth seasons and how many of them are competitive with the best in the business? In Vancouver, we&rsquo;re one of two teams only in our second season. We&rsquo;ve got some good players and we&rsquo;ve come up with some excellent young prospects, but we&rsquo;re not a solid team yet. It will take awhile. I hope to be around when we&rsquo;re better.&rdquo;At 35, Kurt is not ready to retire. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m gonna&rsquo; play as long as someone up here wants me,&rdquo; he says. Presumably, he would not want to return to the minors. Actually, there is no reason to suppose he will be asked to do so in the near future. Expansion to two new franchises next season will spread the talent even thinner. Kurtenbach never scored more than 15 goals in an NHL season until last year when he tallied 21, and he will top that this season.<h2>He&rsquo;s Appreciated Now&hellip;</h2>THIS WAS ONLY his ninth full season in the big time. Emile Francis, his coach in New York, says, &ldquo;Kurt was unappreciated for a long time. He does a lot of different things well. He&rsquo;s very solid, the sort who can contribute to a winner very well. If it had not been for his back injury, we&rsquo;d have liked to have held on to him, but we were on a building program and had a lot of young players who deserved the opportunity to play.Hal Laycoe, his coach in Vancouver, says, &ldquo;He came to us without a complaint and helped us off to a fast start last season. We surprised a lot of people and looked like we might make the playoffs until he hurt his knee. That hurt us a lot. He was very valuable to us.&rdquo; The Canucks faded and have been struggling ever since, despite Orland&rsquo;s return.Laycoe and manager Bud Poile are under fire, rumored on the ropes. It is unfortunate. Both are able hockey men. Vancouver is a hockey hotbed. Patience would reward everyone in the long run. Constant change and resultant turmoil do not accelerate an infant franchise&rsquo;s development.Only one team can win the championship each season. About half of the others can be winners. If the rest are trying to become respectable we should treat them respectably. There are some sick souls, including writers, self-styled hatchet-men, who try to cut others down to their size. It seems a shame we can&rsquo;t take each game of this exciting sport and judge it on its own merits, without weighing it against pennants and playoff berths. Why can&rsquo;t we just enjoy the games?Kurtenbach says that&rsquo;s what he does. He has a wife and four children and he supports them in this sport. He is a working man. He likes his work. He plays each game as best he can. Because of his reputation of having the fastest fists in the West, he is challenged to fight from time to time. &ldquo;When I have to fight, I fight,&rdquo; he shrugs. He does what he has to do. He regrets that his club isn&rsquo;t a contender, but he gives an honest effort every time. He is soft-spoken, withdrawn, almost unemotional. He reserves his fire for foes. &#9632;

f0008-01

Hockey Ad Lib

<div class="byline">BY BILL LIBBY</div>LOS ANGELES&mdash;With two weeks left in the regular season, the Kings were eliminated from the playoffs. They became the first expansion team to miss the playoffs three straight seasons. So it has been just another disappointing year. But some of their individuals have had good seasons. And they per-haps deserve all the more credit for perservering under the circumstances.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-03583/2988121-1-eng-US/f0008-032.jpg" title="f0008-03" width="255" height="461"><figcaption class="caption-body">Gilles Marotte</figcaption></div>Paramount among these is Gilles Marotte, who won the majority vote of the local hockey writers as the team&rsquo;s most valuable player. The stocky 26-year-old defenseman, who came to the Kings in February of 1970, has become the team&rsquo;s senior in service, since the roster has been turned over completely in the two years since that time.Deemed disappointing early in his career with Boston and Chicago, he has matured. Too much was expected of him too soon. Still young, he now has steadied down and is an effective performer on both defense and of-fense. He is a solid and consistent player these days, whose showings are lost in his team&rsquo;s losses.Marotte succeeds Eddie Joyal, Gerry Desjardins, Ross Lonberry and Juha Widing as King MVP&rsquo;s. Bill White is the one King of the earlier years who deserved this award but was denied it. It does not insure tenure, however, as all have been traded except Widing.Widing also has had an excellent season. He has become the first player to score 25 or more goals two seasons in a King uniform. He scored 25 last season and surpassed that this season. He bounced back from a benching because of inconsistent defense. He overcame the breakup of his line, the best the club ever has had. He is a super-skater who sometimes makes super plays. He scores in bunches. He is verging on stardom at the age of 24.Ralph Backstrom also bounced back from a bit of bench duty. He survived a long scoreless drought. He has hustled all season, giving unusual effort, and will come close to 20 goals at the finish. He has been a good hockey player for this team, and at 34 has mileage left in him.Butch Goring is yet another of the team&rsquo;s better players who had to battle back from a benching. He is aggressive and talented, has scored acceptably and has provided many of the team&rsquo;s most exciting moments. He, too, will come close to 20 goals at the finish.Only Marotte of the Kings&rsquo; top players was not benched this season.Finally, little rookie goaltender Gary Edwards has been brilliant in spots. While getting regular rest early in the season, he gave the team almost all its important victories. Since being asked to perform most of the games after Rog Vachon was injured, his record has declined, but at 24 he has established himself as a major leaguer.KINGS THINGS: Billy Smith, the chubby, red-nosed rookie who backstopped Springfield to the AHL playoff title last season, has been showcased in some games in hopes of setting up a trade, but his performances have been uneven. He is cocky and fearless, however, and may use his stick more viciously to keep his crease clear of foes than any other netminder. Thus he is frequently forced to fight and has the reputation of being a powerful fighter He proved it recently when he exploded with his fists and pounded Buffalo&rsquo;s Tracy Pratt into total submission. Later, like a kid who has just been crowned &ldquo;king of the hill,&rdquo; he grinped and said, &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t mind fighting. I never have. No, I don&rsquo;t remember ever losing.&rdquo; He beat Buffalo for his first NHL victory after two defeats, then tied Pittsburgh in mid-March. He gave up 19 goals in his first four starts. He is 21, a second-year pro, and if the team doesn&rsquo;t trade him, almost certainly will lose him in the draft this summer. &#9632;

f0008-03

Marotte Voted MVP After Kings Miss Playoffs Once More

<div class="byline">BY JOHN PORTER</div>OAKLAND&mdash;The outcome of the struggle for the last two playoff spots in the National Hockey League&rsquo;s West Division wouldn&rsquo;t be decided until the last week of the season, but there were other things on Garry Young&rsquo;s mind in addition to his young club&rsquo;s immediate fortunes.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-01772/2988152-1-eng-US/f0009-012.jpg" title="f0009-01" width="269" height="364"><figcaption class="caption-body">Gary Croteau</figcaption></div>Foremost among them were the players he&rsquo;ll protect in the upcoming expansion draft, the threat of the World Hockey Association and reportedly, his own future with the California Golden Seals.For the record, owner Charlie Finley says Young is his man and the first-year general manager says he won&rsquo;t quit, despite numerous reports to the contrary.As for World Hockey league, there is the feeling around the club that, provided Young stays with the club, there will be few defections. If he leaves, there is no one close to the players left in the organization and everything that has been built up&mdash;and the standings show it&rsquo;s been considerable for just one year&mdash;could collapse.Young isn&rsquo;t about to tip his hand who he&rsquo;ll protect from the new Long Island and Atlanta franchises, but he made one exception.&ldquo;There was no time this season,&rdquo; the GM declared, &ldquo;that I wasn&rsquo;t planning to protect Gary Croteau. He&rsquo;s one player who never gave up and now look what he&rsquo;s doing for us. I guess there are a few teams that would like to have him now, eh?&rdquo;The helmeted left winger scored 15 goals for the Seals last season, including the club&rsquo;s only hat trick. He was the third leading scorer with 43 points.But the goals wouldn&rsquo;t come this year. Admittedly, Gary wasn&rsquo;t playing as much as he did the year before when he was on Dennis Hextall&rsquo;s line. This year you could always find Croteau on the ice after practice, working, working, working.In 57 games Croteau had but four goals, then the Seals big trade with Boston made a big change in his playing life and that of center Joey Johnston, too.As part of the Carol Vadnais deal, the Seals received right wing Reggie Leach, sparingly used by the Bruins for more than a year.Both Johnston and Croteau credit Leach with the new tack their line has taken.&ldquo;Reggie does everything right,&rdquo; said Croteau, who scored seven times in 10 games with Leach at right wing. &ldquo;Reggie handles the puck, passes and shoots in a way that has us thinking offense.&rdquo;Johnston, who began scoring, too, pointed the laudatory finger at Leach.&ldquo;We were defensive before Reggie came, always watching our check. Now we know we can do both because Leach is such a good skater,&rdquo; he said.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s great to see Croteau smiling again, isn&rsquo;t it?&rdquo; asked Young. &ldquo;But you know something, I was never worried about him. He never complained. He had heart.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0009-01

Young Eyes Croteau For Protected List

<div class="byline">&#x2014;PORTER</div>OAKLAND&mdash;Center Walt McKechnie returned to the lineup for the last two weeks&hellip;defenseman Bert Marshall, also with a leg injury, wouldn&rsquo;t be ready until the playoffs&hellip;The Seals considered calling up another defenseman to replace Capt. Marshall after Bob Stewart suffered a minor leg injury, but he was pronounced fit and the idea was scuttled&hellip;The Seals did call up three of their kids from Columbus to work with the big club&mdash;defenseman Danny Helm and Al Simmons and center Del Hall&hellip;Columbus goalie Ray Martynuik was sent to Oklahoma City and IHL rookie of the year Angus Beck was dispatched to Baltimore&hellip;Seals set a club record 18 for season ties when Gerry Pinder scored with nine seconds left to deadlock Pittsburgh in Oakland March 19&hellip;Seals also passed the 200-goal mark in that game; they had 199 all of last year. &#9632;

Seals Eclipse 1971 Goal Mark

Following are the latest player movements in hockey:<h2>NATIONAL LEAGUE</h2>PHILADELPHIA&mdash;Rick MacLeish, forward, recalled from Richmond of AHL. Bob Sneddon, goalkeeper, recalled from Seattle of WHL and later returned.CHICAGO&mdash;J.P. Bordeleau, forward, returned to Dallas of CHL.NEW YORK&mdash;Norm Gratton, forward, recalled from Omaha of CHL.BOSTON&mdash;Doug Roberts, forward, returned to Boston of AHL.VANCOUVER&mdash;Ed Dyck, goalkeeper, recalled from Rochester of AHL. Dale Tallon, defenseman, placed on disabled list for rest of season after knee surgery. Barry Wilkins, defenseman, placed on disabled list for rest of season to undergo stomach surgery.ST. LOUIS&mdash;Wayne Stephenson, goalkeeper, returned to Kansas City of CHL.CALIFORNIA&mdash;Danny Helm and Al Simmons, defensemen, and Del Hall, forward, called up from Columbus of IHL for standby duty on roster. Ray Martynuik, goalkeeper, recalled from Columbus and reassigned to Oklahoma City of CHL. Angus Beck, forward, recalled from Columbus and sent to Baltimore on five-game pro trial.<h2>AMERICAN LEAGUE</h2>RICHMOND&mdash;Glen Irwin, defenseman, recalled from Flint of IHL for emergency role and later returned. Ken Southwick, defenseman, called up from New Jersey of EHL on five-game pro, trial.HERSHEY&mdash;Rick Kessell, forward, placed on disabled list for rest of season after surgery for shoulder separation. Mike Nykoluk, forward, placed on injury list with cracked ankle.CLEVELAND&mdash;Ron Wilson, defenseman, returned to Fort Wayne of IHL. Cal Hammond, goalkeeper, called up from Clinton of EHL to act as standby netminder.SPRINGFIELD&mdash;Billy Yeo, goalkeeper, called up from Sun Coast of EHL to act as standby netminder.BALTIMORE&mdash;Jim Bartlett, forward, returned to roster from inactive list. Hartland Monahan, forward, recalled from Columbus of IHL and later returned.<h2>WESTERN LEAGUE</h2>SALT LAKE&mdash;Don Wallis, goalkeeper, placed on inactive list.PHOENIX&mdash;Wayne Hicks, forward, returned to active roster.<h2>CENTRAL LEAGUE</h2>TULSA&mdash;Dale Smedsmo, forward, from Bemidji State College, added to roster for five-game pro trial.OKLAHOMA CITY&mdash;Jake Forbes, forward, and Wayne Morusyk, defenseman, sent to Boston of AHL. Craig Sarner, forward, returned to home in St. Paul after five-game pro trial.FORT WORTH&mdash;George Hulme, goalkeeper, recalled from Port Huron of IHL for five-game pro trial and later returned. Doug Grant, goalkeeper, from Memorial University, St. John&rsquo;s Nfld., added to roster for five-game protrial.<h2>INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE</h2>FLINT&mdash;Bill Pettinger, forward and Barry Graham, defenseman, placed on disabled list for rest of season with serious injuries sustained in car crash.<h2>EASTERN LEAGUE</h2>NEW HAVEN&mdash;Pete Donnelly, goalkeeper, secured on loan from New Jersey of EHL as emergency replacement for injured goaler Jim Armstrong. &#9632;

Movements of Players

<div class="byline">BY ED CONRAD</div>PHILADELPHIA&mdash;It was the fleeting seconds of the final game of the regular season and the Flyers, with their goaltender out of the net, were pressing the attack on Gump Worsley. They needed a goal to salvage a tie to make the playoffs.&ldquo;Everybody was congregated in front and suddenly I lost sight of the puck,&rdquo; remembers Gump. &ldquo;I just threw out my glove and somehow stopped the shot. How, I guess I&rsquo;ll never know.&rdquo;Had the shot gone in, the game would&rsquo;ve ended in a 1-1 tie instead of a 1-0 Minnesota victory and the Flyers would&rsquo;ve made the 1969-70 Stanley Cup playoffs. Instead, this second straight 1-0 shutout on home ice had ended the Flyers season in a state of shock.After almost guaranteed a playoff berth two weeks earlier, the Flyers had lost 3-2, 3-2, 2-1, 4-2, 1-0 and 1-0 &hellip; their longest losing streak in history. The scores prove they were in every game.Vic Stasiuk, then the Flyers&rsquo; coach, remembers well his feeling at the final buzzer. It was too difficult for words.&ldquo;Later on, I went into the dressing room, but all I could say to the players was, &lsquo;I&rsquo;m sorry it had to happen&rsquo;,&rdquo; sighed Vic. &ldquo;And then I walked right out.&ldquo;I walked around the Spectrum eight times. I came back in and sat in the seats. The arena was empty by then, except for the workmen changing it over for basketball. I was trying to figure out how it had happened.&ldquo;Did it happen in January? When did it happen? I replayed all the games, every close one we lost or tied. All we&rsquo;d needed at the end was one more point, one more goal, so close and yet so far.&rdquo;With another playoff race now down to its final days, it is well to remember the tight of Stasiuk and the Flyers&hellip;when again one more point or one more goal might make the difference in who makes it and who doesn&rsquo;t. The shock might not be as bad, but it&rsquo;ll still be tough to take for those who just miss out.It seems a good bet that it may all depend on how contending teams arrived at their point totals, since at least one deadlock in standings seems conceivable due to the closeness of the race.To break ties, the team with the greater number of victories therefore fewer ties) finishes higher up.Again the Flyers are involved in the heat of the situation. They have been locked in a playoff duel this past month with the St. Louis Blues, California Golden Seals (now coached by Stasiuk) and Pittsburgh Penguins. Only two of the four will make it.There for awhile, the Flyers seemed to be in the best position of all. They had a slight edge in points on their playoff competitors, in addition to having several games in hand.Another key factor in their favor, or so it seemed, was Philly&rsquo;s schedule which had the Flyers at home in seven of their final nine games.Now the Flyers head into the final weekend of the regular season and&mdash;same as the Blues, Seals and Penguins (providing they still haven&rsquo;t assured a playoff berth)&mdash;get their final shot.They all desperately want to make it, even if it means fourth place and a confrontation with the rugged Chicago Black Hawks in the opening playoff series. It&rsquo;s like spring training in baseball, when every manager envisions a pennant before a game is played.A year ago the Flyers were eliminated in four quick games by the Black Hawks&mdash;thanks to Bobby Hull&rsquo;s sensational series&mdash;but still they&rsquo;d give anything to get an opportunity to redeem themselves.Hope is eternal that, what the team couldn&rsquo;t do consistently all season, it will turn it all around and make the year a success. &#9632;

Flyers Battling For Last Playoff Spot, Hoping 1970 Finish Won’t Haunt Them

PHILADELPHIA&mdash;Bruce Gamble has a lot on his mind nowadays, but he doesn&rsquo;t have to worry about his future.The Flyers announced that the 33-year-old goalie, who suffered a heart attack five weeks ago, has a full-time job in the Flyers&rsquo; organization waiting for him when he recovers.In addition, club chairman Ed Snider said the Flyers also will underwrite all costs for the education of Gamble&rsquo;s three sons, Dean. 14. Mark, 13, and Todd, 9.&ldquo;This doesn&rsquo;t even begin to repay Bruce for his contribution to hockey and to Philadelphia,&rdquo; sais Snider. &ldquo;Flyers&rsquo; president Joe Scott and vice chairman Fitz Dixon and I want Bruce to know he has a place in our organization if he so desires,&rdquo; he added.Meanwhile, National Hockey League president Clarence Campbell has advised that Gamble is eligible to receive &ldquo;a substantial contribution&rdquo; from the league Player&rsquo;s Emergency Fund, which is financed by player fines and the league.Apart from this, Gamble&rsquo;s teammates, headed by captain Ed Van Impe, have been working on a Bruce Gamble Appreciation Nite to take place at the Flyers&rsquo;-Pittsburgh game at the Spectrum April 1.The Players privately have been coordinating the night with knit goods executive John Ashe, who is chairman of the public fund-raising activities.Van Impe and Ashe are urging fans and businesses who wish to make the night a success to send donations and gifts to Bruce Gamble Nite, c/o John Ashe, Castor & Erie Aves., Phila., Pa. 19124.Gamble is recuperating at his Cherry Hill, N.J., home with his wife Virginia, and family. He already has agreed to stay in the Philadelphia area and work at the Radnor Rink&rsquo;s summer hockey camp along with coach Fred Shero and other Flyers players. &#9632;

Gamble’s Future Set By Flyers

<div class="byline">&#x2014;CONRAD</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0011-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-01780/2988279-1-eng-US/f0011-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">BOBBY CLARKE &hellip; A Flyer Until 1977 (Hockey News Photo by Stephen Newman)</figcaption></div>PHILADELPHIA&mdash;The World Hockey Association had better plan to get along without Bobby Clarke for the next five years, at least.Clarke, the outstanding young center of the Flyers, apparently will remain a Flyer right through 1977.The Flyers brushed off any chance of Clarke accepting a lucrative offer from the. WHA by signing their star playmaker and hustler to an unprecedented five-year contract.Clarke 22, admitted that his agent, Howard Casper, and the Flyers had been negotiating for a multiple-year contract. However, he expressed surprise at the length of the pact, which makes Bobby the longest contract-holder in the club&rsquo;s history.Both Bobby and Flyers&rsquo; GM Keith Allen, who announced the singing, said they were &ldquo;very happy&rdquo; at the pact estimated at $400,000 ($80,000 per year).Said Allen: &ldquo;We feel this is the best approach. This way Bobby doesn&rsquo;t have to worry about holdouts or prolonged negotiations and we can concentrate on other important things, such as getting more Bobby Clarkes.&rdquo;Clarke already had shattered almost every club scoring record including goals (30), assists (42) and points (72) with seven games remaining in the regular season.Bobby, who played his amateur hockey with his home town Flin Flon (Man.) Bombers, is now in his third season in the NHL. He is a certainty to be named the team&rsquo;s most valuable player. &#9632;

f0011-01

Flyers Sign Clarke To Record Contract

<div class="byline">BY NORM MacLEAN</div>NEW YORK&mdash;&ldquo;They really broke their tails to win three out of four games against Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia and Toronto,&rdquo; said Emile Francis, the grim looking Ranger general manager-coach.Three of the four were on the road and three of the four were against teams contending for the last playoff spot and therefore desparate. And the Rangers played without Jean Ratelle and without Rod Gilbert for two periods in Detroit, and then the entire game in Philadelphia.In a tight defensive struggle in Detroit, eventually won by New York 2-1, Francis benched both Gilbert and Bobby Rousseau for the second and third periods after starting them on the line with Vic Hadfield.&ldquo;They weren&rsquo;t moving the puck and when I got things straightened around I couldn&rsquo;t see any reason to put them back in. It was a tight defensive game and the first goal was going to be a big one,&rdquo; said the Cat.Gilbert has been benched on at least one previous occasion for defensive reasons and had the odd turn skipped, but he was in the midst of his best ever season&mdash;and had scored a neat goal, his 42nd, in Chicago in a losing 3-1 contest, the night before the Detroit sitdown.Then, after the Detroit game, Rod returned to New York and underwent treatment on a strained neck muscle which has been bothering him. He missed the Philadelphia game, but returned to action at Madison Square Garden against Toronto the next night and appeared to play his normal game, although it did not reflect on the scoreboard in the 5-3 Ranger win. Following this appearance, the Rangers announced that Rod-rique would be out seven to ten days with the neck problem, at which time it would be re-evaluated, prior to making a decision as to his return to action.Gilbert, obviously downcast, was even quoted in a New York afternoon paper as indicating that he thought he might have a slipped disc, but the Rangers indicated that X-rays did not show any such problem.It is to be hoped that Gilbert returns to the lineup as soon as possible. Seven to ten days means he will miss the action against Boston on March 23, wherein New York, down by five points and with Boston having a game in hand, gets their last real shot at the Bruins and any slight possibility of first place. And it means that he misses the March 25 game in the Forum in Montreal, wherein New York hopes to hold off the surging Canadiens in the battle for second place and the extra game in the playoffs. It also means that a healthy, happy Gilbert is a must for any Ranger hopes in the playoffs.Rod is a proven clutch playoff player, probably the best on the Rangers. Even in 1969-70, when he had a bad season, as far as goal scoring with only 16, he rose to the occasion in the playoffs. He has never had a bad playoff and along with Ratelle and Vic Hadfield constituted the best line in the NHL before the injury to Ratty. When Ratelle returns for the playoffs, it has to be important that his linemates are in shape and producing.Without Gilbert and Ratelle, Hadfield and Walter Tkaczuk have taken hold and played their hearts out. Vic and Walter were the main reasons for the win in Philadelphia. Ed Van Impe dumped Tkaczuk early in the game and Walt limped off-scaring the entire New York rooting section. It looked like a knee problem, but the solid black haired, six foot, 185 pound, fourth year man returned and eventually was named the star of the game. All he did was center the Rangers best offensive line with Hadfield and Billy Fair-bairn, kill penalties and skate the Flyers into their own end of the ice. The statistics read: Hadfield 1-2-3, Tkaczuk 1-1-2, but they only told part of the tale.&ldquo;There is no way they could get Walter out of there,&rdquo; said Steve Brklacich, the Rangers&rsquo; Director of Player Personnel. &ldquo;He is all heart.&rdquo;&ldquo;Billy Fairbairn did as much as I did,&rdquo; said Walter later, pointing to his partner in forechecking and penalty killing. &ldquo;He doesn&rsquo;t talk much, but he drives the other guys crazy taking that puck from them.&rdquo;Fairbairn now has four shorthanded goals in his total of 22,<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-01761/2988310-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg" title="f0012-01" width="439" height="581"><figcaption class="caption-body">BILL FAIRBAIRN&hellip;Gets Job Done</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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Battered Rangers Carry On

<div class="byline">BY JACK BERRY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0013-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-01749/2988341-1-eng-US/f0013-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">MARCEL DIONNE &hellip; New Points&rsquo; Record For Rookies (Hockey News Photo by Robert Shaver)</figcaption></div>DETROIT&mdash;Young Marcel Dionne has already become the highest scoring rookie in the history of the National Hockey League.The 20-year-old Dionne set a record for points in one season by a rookie when he scored twice&mdash;his 27th and 28th of the year&mdash;and added two assists for a four-point night in Detroit&rsquo;s vital 6-3 victory over Los Angeles. Dionne pushed his total to 75 points, three more than Gilbert Perreault of Buffalo Sabres, who established the mark last year.Enjoying a fantastic freshman year, Dionne also has set his sights on Jude Drouin&rsquo;s rookie year mark of 52 assists. With 47 heading into the final week of the schedule, the hustling little Red Wing could come up a double record holder in his first year under the big top.Dionne was remiscing about his recent good fortune against Montreal.When you are French-Canadian and you grow up in Quebec, there can be only one team&mdash;the Montreal Canadiens.It was understandable then when Dionne, surrounded by reporters from Montreal and Detroit, said &ldquo;there is nothing like beating Montreal. They are the best.&rdquo;Dionne had just scored the winning goal, his third of the wildest game of the season at Olympia, with 1:15 to play, and the reporters were quizzing him in relays, first the French, then the English.Dionne admitted that Boston and New York and Chicago are very fine teams but to beat the Canadiens, ah, that is what life is about. Why even the Bruins and Rangers and Black Hawks feel that way. Montreal is Montreal.Again, it was understandable. Dionne is young, he&rsquo;s French, he was just given a long standing ovation from the packed house and he&rsquo;d just put together his first three goal game of his budding National Hockey League career.And, once again, he outshone his chief rivals for the Calder Memorial (rookie) Trophy, Montreal goalie Ken Dryden and right wing Guy Lafleur. Matter of fact, in head-to-head play against Dryden, Lafleur and Buffalo&rsquo;s Richard Martin this season, Dionne clearly got the best of the two forwards&hellip;and he scored four goals against Dryden.Dionne put his 24th, 25th and 26th pucks past Dryden in this game and, in a night when 13 goals were scored, Lafleur didn&rsquo;t get a point.Neither Dionne nor Detroit had any complaints about the season set with Montreal&mdash;they each won their three home ice games.If the Wings had done half as well against the three other top rated teams, Boston, New York and Chicago, they could have looked forward to selling playoff tickets before they embarked on a critical three game swing to Vancouver, Los Angeles and St. Louis, their three &ldquo;soft&rdquo; games in the final two weeks of the season.After those three on the road the Wings faced Boston at home and finished on the road against New York and Chicago.And their record against those three clubs prior to the final meetings was a collective 1-13-1&hellip;just three points out of a possible 30.Dionne has been in on three victories over the Canadiens but he has yet to taste a victory over the Bruins or Black Hawks and while they may not have the glamor of the bleu, blanc et rouge right now, they&rsquo;ve got the defense.The Red Wings found it surprisingly easy to score on Montreal in the three Olympia games, averaging nearly six goals a game and Dryden was in the nets for all three. In his defense, the Canadien defense was lackluster or worse in the three games.The 7-6 victory over the Canadiens in their final meeting was almost unbelieveable. Dionne scored with the game only 2:14 old and finished it with the winner with 1:15 to play.It cooled the Canadiens who had run up 12 straight games without a defeat on 11 victories and a tie, it broke Detroit&rsquo;s longest losing streak&mdash;four games&mdash;since just before Johnny Wilson took over as coach.And it also pointed up the importance of Gary Bergman to the Detroit defense. Bergman has had a strong season for a club that has been on the playoff borderline for several months. But when you&rsquo;re in fifth, fighting for fourth, not many people notice defensemen.The scorers are obvious, the defensemen more often aren&rsquo;t. But Bergman and Larry John-ton, a 27-year-old rookie who foiled long in the American League and blossomed under Wilson, formed an exceptionally strong pair for Detroit.It was broken up when Bergman suffered a back injury on March 5 and he missed most of the next two weeks. When he did play, he was far from being 100 percent able.Dionne, Bergman and Johnston weren&rsquo;t the only players who performed well for the Red Wings in their late-starting attempt to rise from the cellar to a playoff berth.Billy Collins, in his third NHL stop, closed strong both defensively as a penalty killer and on his line with Dionne and Libett.Then, thrown out with a fourth line in the 7-6 victory over Montreal, he turned playmaker and set up Leon Rochefort and Danny Johnson.Libett has had an exceptional season and 40-year-old captain Alex Delvecchio must certainly be thinking of sticking around for at least another one. Mickey Redmond&rsquo;s 40 goals put him in the running for the All-Star team.But the players, from the 20-year-old rookie Dionne on up, said they wouldn&rsquo;t count the season a success unless they made the playoffs, that making the playoffs is the true measure of success.By that standard, with time running out, it appeared the season would be a failure but the team is generating a new excitement and no one generates it more than the 5-foot-8 Dionne.RED WING NOTES: It is traditional at Olympia to show one of Detroit&rsquo;s finest products&mdash;a new car&mdash;between the first and second intermission. The car is driven around the ice and its features are extolled over the loudspeaker.The presentation usually is met with yawns and the backs of fans who are hustling out to the refreshment stands. There weren&rsquo;t any yawns and the fans stopped in their tracks at a recent game when a model, barely wearing a scanty bikini, was perched on the sun roof of that night&rsquo;s car.There were wolf whistles, shouts and applause&hellip;and apparently a dip in beer sales because at the next game instead of a bikinied model and a snazzy car, a van was driven around the ice&hellip;and everyone hustled off to the refreshment stands.Can&rsquo;t Win &rsquo;Em All Dept.: A special souvenir program given to everyone on the occasion of the retirement of Gordie Howe&rsquo;s sweater had two drawings of No. 9 in action&hellip;the greatest righthander of all time was shown handling the puck left-handed. &#9632;

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Dionne Becomes NHL’s Highest Scoring Rookie

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0014-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-01748/2988484-1-eng-US/f0014-012.jpg"></div><h2>TOP 25 SCORERS</h2>(Including games of Sunday, March 26)<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-02636/2988477-1-eng-US/f0014-022.jpg" title="f0014-02" width="1411" height="912"></div><h2>BOSTON Bruins</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-03496/2988470-1-eng-US/f0014-032.jpg" title="f0014-03" width="749" height="761"></div><h2>BUFFALO Sabres</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-04363/2988463-1-eng-US/f0014-042.jpg" title="f0014-04" width="734" height="683"></div><h2>CALIFORNIA Seals</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-05273/2988456-1-eng-US/f0014-052.jpg" title="f0014-05" width="746" height="831"></div><h2>CHICAGO Black Hawks</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-06231/2988449-1-eng-US/f0014-062.jpg" title="f0014-06" width="734" height="730"></div><h2>DETROIT Red Wings</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-07189/2988442-1-eng-US/f0014-072.jpg" title="f0014-07" width="734" height="766"></div><h2>LOS ANGELES Kings</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-08163/2988435-1-eng-US/f0014-082.jpg" title="f0014-08" width="729" height="725"></div><h2>MINNESOTA North Stars</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-09149/2988428-1-eng-US/f0014-092.jpg" title="f0014-09" width="736" height="724"></div><h2>MONTREAL Canadiens</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-10133/2988421-1-eng-US/f0014-102.jpg" title="f0014-10" width="743" height="800"></div><h2>NEW YORK Rangers</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-11120/2988414-1-eng-US/f0014-112.jpg" title="f0014-11" width="742" height="827"></div><h2>PHILADELPHIA Flyers</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-12109/2988407-1-eng-US/f0014-122.jpg" title="f0014-12" width="744" height="762"></div><h2>PITTSBURGH Penguins</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-1392/2988400-1-eng-US/f0014-132.jpg" title="f0014-13" width="733" height="822"></div><h2>ST. LOUIS Blues</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-1473/2988393-1-eng-US/f0014-142.jpg" title="f0014-14" width="733" height="886"></div><h2>TORONTO Maple Leafs</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-1564/2988386-1-eng-US/f0014-152.jpg" title="f0014-15" width="736" height="827"></div><h2>VANCOOVER Canucks</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-1653/2988379-1-eng-US/f0014-162.jpg" title="f0014-16" width="731" height="727"></div><h2>NHL&rsquo;S EAST-WEST SCOREBOARD</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-1751/2988372-1-eng-US/f0014-172.jpg" title="f0014-17" width="1396" height="249"></div>(Statistics include games of Sun. March 26) &#9632;

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PLAYERS SCORING PENALTY RECORDS

<div class="byline">BY DONALD BERNS</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-01723/2988522-1-eng-US/f0015-012.jpg" title="f0015-01" width="547" height="541"><figcaption class="caption-body">DANNY O&rsquo;SHEA&hellip;Playoff Experience</figcaption></div>ST. LOUIS&mdash;The St. Louis Blues remain the only team in the National Hockey League that has never missed the Stanley Cup playoffs.The Blues have gone into the playoffs each of their five years of existence. Of the other 13 NHL teams 11 have missed the playoffs within the past four years, and New York and Boston have missed within the past seven.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-03546/2988515-1-eng-US/f0015-032.jpg" title="f0015-03" width="265" height="444"><figcaption class="caption-body">Al Arbour</figcaption></div>But the St. Louis team in the playoffs this year is vastly different than the St. Louis teams of the past four years, and the difference is playoff experience.In past seasons the Blues were loaded with postseason experience. They had such players as Glenn Hall and Jacques Plante and Al Arbour and Doug Harvey and Dickie Moore and Ab McDonald and Phil Goyette and Camille Henry and Jean-Guy Talbot&mdash;men who had been through the playoff wars with other teams in the days before expansion.But this season the situation is different. None of those mentioned above is still playing for the team. The bulk of the current Blues&rsquo; playoff experience is held by five players, Gary Sabourin, Bob and Bare Plager, Frank St. Marseille and Terry Crisp, who have been with the team since the first season and have amassed their totals of playoff experience exclusively in the St. Louis uniform.Those five account for about 70 per cent of the playoff experience of the current Blues. Of the 22 St. Louis players who finished the season eight had never been in a playoff game. Wayne Stephenson, Jacques Caron, Andre Dupont, Chris Evans, Mike Murphy, Brian Lavender, Kevin O&rsquo;Shea and Larry Hornung are getting their first taste this year.The remaining nine players on the team have an average of about 12 games each in the playoffs. Danny O&rsquo;Shea was high with 24 games, and John Arbour low with two.Experience in the playoffs is valuable, but the team that has little of it can&rsquo;t waste time in worrying about the lack of it. For an expansion team the Blues over the past four years have had an inordinate amount of Stanley Cup experience. In this respect they are now roughly on a par for the first time with some other expansion teams.Coach Al Arbour says, &ldquo;Our new guys want to get a taste of the playoffs. There&rsquo;s a lot of pressure in the playoffs, but we were under pressure during the regular season, too, especially near the end, and I have been very pleased at the way all our guys have reacted under pressure.&rdquo;The Blues had to fight for a playoff spot for the first time in four years, and St. Marseille agreed that the momentum at the end of the season would help in the playoffs.&ldquo;It should carry us through,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;The playoffs don&rsquo;t make any difference, if we can keep playing well.&rdquo;Barclay Plager added, &ldquo;I hope it works for us the way it worked our first year. It was new to a lot of guys that year, and we went to the finals. Maybe we can do the same this year.&rdquo; &#9632;

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Blues Ride With Youth For Sixth Playoff Try

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0015-04" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-04427/2988598-1-eng-US/f0015-042.jpg"></div><h2>THE TOP NETMINDERS</h2>(Including games of Sunday, March 26)<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-05318/2988591-1-eng-US/f0015-052.jpg" title="f0015-05" width="1117" height="419"></div><h3>COMPLETE GOALKEEPING RECORDS FOR NHL TEAMS</h3><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-06265/2988584-1-eng-US/f0015-062.jpg" title="f0015-06" width="1140" height="2109"></div> &#9632;

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LOOKING AT NHL GOALERS

<div class="byline">BY BOB SMIZIK</div>LIUISVILLE SLUGGER HOCKEY STICKS Made in Canada by HILLERICH & BRADSBY, LTD. Arnold Street, Wallaceburg, Ontario Sold in U. S. and CanadaLIUISVILLE SLUGGER HOCKEY STICKS Made in Canada by HILLERICH & BRADSBY, LTD. Arnold Street, Wallaceburg, Ontario Sold in U. S. and CanadaPITTSBURGH&mdash;For a while it looked as though nothing would shake Penguin left winger Greg Polis out of the slump that was seriously hurting the team&rsquo;s chances of making the Stanley Cup playoffs.Coach Red Kelly was trying to let Polis know in not such a gentle way that he was dissatisfied with his recent play.First he took Polis of the team&rsquo;s top line which included Syl Apps and moved him to a fourth line which played only an occasional shift.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-01570/2988629-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg" title="f0016-01" width="251" height="402"><figcaption class="caption-body">Greg Polis</figcaption></div>Polis&rsquo; play still didn&rsquo;t perk up and Kelly told him not to suit up March 5 at Detroit. It may have been the turning point for Polis.&ldquo;It was the low point of my career,&rdquo; he admitted.&ldquo;I think sitting in the stands did him some good,&rdquo; said Kelly.Another thing happened while Polis sat in the stands. Tim Horton separated his shoulder. This forced Kelly to move Darryl Edestrand from left wing back to defense, his original position and gave Polis a spot on the Bryan Hextall-Ken Schinkel line.In Polis&rsquo; first six games with the Hextall line he scored five goals and was a big help to the team as it fought furiously for one of two playoff spots remaining in the Western Division.&ldquo;I guess it was just a matter of getting my head straightened out,&rdquo; said Polis, admitting that his attitude may have had much to do with his slump which saw him go 11 games without a goal.But still, Polis had scored 26 goals through the Penguins&rsquo; first 72 games, not a bad total for a second-year player, particularly considering the 11-game famine.&ldquo;I can&rsquo;t be dissatisfied with 26 goals,&rdquo; Polis said, while the Penguins still had six games left on the schedule. &ldquo;My hope at the start of the season was to score 30 and I still think I can do it.&rdquo;Pausing for a second, he added. &ldquo;Not many guys do that. I guess you couldn&rsquo;t call that a bad season.&rdquo;Strangely, in Pittsburgh even if Polis does score 30, people will be dissatisfied.Maybe it&rsquo;s because the 21-year-old Dapp, Alberta native was labeled the Penguins&rsquo; great hope for the future almost from the day he came out of the amateurs.Maybe people are expecting too much from Greg Polis.Maybe he&rsquo;ll still come on to live up even to those expectations.PENGUIN PATTER: Eddie Shack gave the Penguins a big push down the stretch drive, particularly on power plays where Kelly teamed him and Al McDonough on the points, where the team had lacked punch for much of the season.Keith McCreary, who underwent knee surgery in January and was expected to be lost for the season, was ready to play by mid-March but Kelly had no place to put him. The team was going so well and the left wingers, Polis, Shack, Val Fonteyne and Steve Cardwell, were doing the same that the veteran stayed out of uniform.Pronovost broke Dean Prentice&rsquo;s club record of most goals in one season. 26, when he scored his 27th March 14 at Vancouver. &#9632;

f0016-01

Cooling Heels In Stands Put New Life In Penguins’ Polis

<h2>In The East</h2>Talented Marcel Dionne is proving conclusively that the Detroit Red Wings knew what they were doing when they made the classy little center from the St. Catharines junior club their No. 1 selection in last summer&rsquo;s amateur draft.The former scoring champion from the tough OHA junior A league went on a rampage this past week that netted him a grand total of nine points. A two-goal, two-assist night against the Los Angeles Kings in a 6-4 Red Wing victory pushed Dionne past the 72-point mark for the season and enabled him to eclipse the record for scoring by an NHL rookie established last year by Gil Perreault of the Buffalo Sabres.Dionne, a prime Calder Trophy candidate this season, now stands among the top 12 in league scoring with 28 goals and 48 assists.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-02493/2988667-1-eng-US/f0016-022.jpg" title="f0016-02" width="548" height="612"><figcaption class="caption-body">MARCEL DIONNE&hellip;Detroit Red Wings</figcaption></div><h2>In The West</h2>It&rsquo;s always a thrill to score a milestone goal in the National Hockey League, but when your a super star like Bobby Hull of the Chicago Black Hawks, chances are it will be an important goal for your team as well.That was the case when Hull, the second-ranking goal-scorer in NHL history, notched his 600th regular season tally against the Boston Bruins. The historic marker came in the final three minutes of play and enabled the Hawks to tie the powerful Bruins 5-5 on Boston&rsquo;s home ice.It was a productive week for hockey&rsquo;s celebrated &ldquo;Golden Jet&rdquo; as he totaled six points on three goals and an equal number of assists, good for seventh spot in the league standings.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-03392/2988660-1-eng-US/f0016-032.jpg" title="f0016-03" width="549" height="640"><figcaption class="caption-body">BOBBY HULL&hellip;Chicago Black Hawks</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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Players of the week

C-Captain.A-Alternate Captain<h2>MONTREAL</h2>GOALPhil MyreDenis DeJordyKen DrydenDEFENSEJacques laperrierePierre BouchardJ.C. Tremblay AGuy LapointeSerge SavardDale HogansonBob MurdochCENTERHenri Richard CPete MahovlichLarry PleauR. WINGYvan CoumoyerGuy LafleurJim RobertsRejean HouleL. WINGFrank Mahovlich AJacques LemaireClaude LaroseMarc TardifINJURREDTerry Harper A.<h2>CHICAGO</h2>GOALTony EspositoGary SmithGerry DesjardinsDEFENSEPat StapletonBill WhiteKeith MagnusonDoug Jarrott AJerry KorabCENTERStan Mikita APit MartinBryan CampbellAndre LacroixR. WINGCliff KoreilEric Nesterenko ADarryl MaggsJim PappinChico MakiL. WINGBobby HullDennis HullChris BordeleauINJUREDLou Angotti<h2>BOSTON</h2>GOALGerry CheeversEd JohnstonDEFENSEBobby OrrDallas SmithCarol Vadnais CTed Green ADon AwreyCENTERPhil Esposito AFred StanfieldDerek SandersonR. WINGJohn McKenzieEd Westfall AKen HodgeL. WINGJohn Bucyk AWayne CashmanGarnet BaileyDon MarcotteMike WaltonINJUREDNone<h2>ST. LOUIS</h2>GOALErnie WakelyJacques CaronDEFENSEAndro DupontBarclay Plager ABill PlagerLarry HornungBob Plager AJohn ArbourChris EvansCENTERGarry UngerTerry CrispFrank St. Marseille ADanny O&rsquo;SheaR. WINGGary SabourinMike MurphyPhil RobertoKevin O&rsquo;SheaL. WINGJack EgersBrian LavenderGerry OdrowskiCurt BennettINJUREDNoel PicardCarl Brewer A<h2>DETROIT</h2>GOALAl SmithJoe DaleyAndy BrownDEFENSEGary Bergman AAmie Brown ARon StackhouseLarry JohnstonBob WallRon HarrisCENTERAlex Delvecchio CRed Berenson AMarcel DionneR. WINGMickey RedmondBill CollinsDoug VolmarLoon RochefortTim EcclestoneL. WINGNick LibettDanny JohnsonGuy CharronHenry BouchaAl KarlanderINJUREDNone<h2>CALIFORNIA</h2>GOALGilles MelocheGary KurtDEFENSERick SmithMarshall JohnstonDick RedmondPaul ShmyrBob StewartCENTERWalt McKechnieBobby SheehanR. WINGNorm Ferguson AGerry Pinder AWayne CarletonCraig PatrickReg LoachL. WINGGary CroteauStan GilbertsonGarry JarrettJoey JohnstonErnie HickeINJUREDTom WebsterBert Marshall CIvan Bold:rev<h2>TORONTO</h2>GOALBernie ParentJacques PlanteDEFENSEBob Baun AJim McKennyBrad SeiwoodBrian GlennieRicky LeyMike PelykCENTERNorm Ullman ADave Keon CJim HarrisonDon MarshallR. WINGRon Ellis AGuy TrottierRick KehoeBilly MacMillanPierre JarryL. WINGGarry MonahanDenis DupereDarryl SittlerPaul HendersonINJUREDBrian Spencer<h2>PHILADELPHIA</h2>GOALDoug FavellBob TaylorDon McLeodDEFENSEBarry Ashbee AWayne HillmanJoe WatsonRick FoleyJean PotvinBrent HughesBill BrossartEd Van ImpeCENTERBobby ClarkeEd JoyalBill ClementRick MacLeishR. WINGGary Domhoefer ALew MorrisonBill FlettSimon NoletL. WINGJean-Guy GendronBob BellyMike ParizeauRoss LansberryINJUREDBruce Gamble<h2>NEW YORK</h2>GOALEd GiacominGilles VillemureDEFENSEJim Neilson ARod SoilingGary DoakDale RolfeCENTERWalt TkaczukBobby RousseauPete StemkowskiR. WINGBill FairbairnBruce MacGregorRon StewartNorm GrattonL. WINGVic Hadfield CTed IrvineGlen SatherGene CarrINJUREDAb DeMarcoJim DoreyJean RatoltoBrad Park ARod Gilbert A<h2>PITTSBURCH</h2>GOALJim RutherfordLos BinkleyDEFENSEDave BurrowsSheldon KannegiesserBryan WatsonDuane RuppDarryl EdestrandCENTERRon SchockBryan HextallSyl AppsBobby LeiterR. WINGNick HorbarukKen Schinkel AJean PronovostAl McDonoughEddie ShackL. WINGGrig PolisSteve CardwellVal FonteyneINJUREDKeith McCreary ATim Horton a<h2>BUFFALO</h2>GOALRoger CrozierDave DrydenDEFENSEAl Hamilton AJim WatsonTracy Pratt.Mike RobitailleLarry HillmanCENTERGerry Meehan CDon LuceJim LorentzGibert Perreault ARene RobertR. WINGSteve AtkinsonMike ByersDanny LawsonL. WINGRichard MartinCraig RamsayRandy WyrozubGeorge MorrisonJohn GouldINJUREDNone<h2>LOS ANGELES</h2>GOALGary EdwardsBill SmithDEFENSEDoug BarrieHarry Howell APaul CurtisBob WoytowichGilles Marotte ACENTERRalph Backstrom AButch GoringJuha WidingJimmy JohnsonR. WINGLucien GrenierSerge BernierMike CorriganL. WINGBob BerryReal LemieuxBill LesukBob Pultord CINJUREDLarry BrownRogatien Vachon<h2>VANCOUVER</h2>GOALDune WilsonGeorge GardnerEd DyckDEFENSEPat QuinnJocelyn GuevremontDennis KearnsJohn ScholiaGreg BoddyCENTEROrland KurtenbachAndre Boudrias ARon WardRichard LemieuxR. WINGWayne ConnellyRosa ire PaiementBobby SchmautzL. WINGWayne MakiTed TaylorDave BatonBobby LalondeINJUREDDale Talton ABarry Wilkins<h2>MINNESOTA</h2>GOALLorne WorstoyCesare ManiagoDEFENSETed Harris CTom ReidDennis O&rsquo;BrienDoug MohnsCarry Gibbs ACENTERTed HampsonMurray OliverCharlie Bums AJude DrouinDennis HextallR. WINGBill GoldsworthyLou NanneBob NevinL. WINGDanny GrantDean PrentierJeon-Paul PariseINJUREDCraig Comoran &#9632;

NHL Team Rosters

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-01483/2988852-1-eng-US/f0017-012.jpg" title="f0017-01" width="435" height="289"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-02429/2988845-1-eng-US/f0017-022.jpg" title="f0017-02" width="483" height="300"></div><h2>TUE. MARCH 21 DETROIT 7 AT VANCOUVER 5</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-03355/2988838-1-eng-US/f0017-032.jpg" title="f0017-03" width="592" height="981"></div><h2>CALIFORNIA 2 at MINNESOTA 4</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-04280/2988831-1-eng-US/f0017-042.jpg" title="f0017-04" width="590" height="613"></div><h2>Wed. March 22 TORONTO 3 at MONTREAL 3</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-05231/2988824-1-eng-US/f0017-052.jpg" title="f0017-05" width="590" height="542"></div><h2>DETROIT 6 at LOS ANGELES 4</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-06196/2988817-1-eng-US/f0017-062.jpg" title="f0017-06" width="605" height="784"></div><h2>BUFFALO 4 at PITTSBURGH 3</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-07174/2988810-1-eng-US/f0017-072.jpg" title="f0017-07" width="590" height="614"></div><h2>CALIFORNIA 1 at ST. LOUIS 4</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-08142/2988803-1-eng-US/f0017-082.jpg" title="f0017-08" width="593" height="620"></div><h2>Thur. March 23 NEW YORK 1 at BOSTON 4</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-09127/2988796-1-eng-US/f0017-092.jpg" title="f0017-09" width="606" height="593"></div><h2>MINNESOTA 4 at BUFFALO 4</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-10117/2988789-1-eng-US/f0017-102.jpg" title="f0017-10" width="608" height="721"></div><h2>CHICAGO 4 at PHILADELPHIA 2</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-11100/2988782-1-eng-US/f0017-112.jpg" title="f0017-11" width="613" height="634"></div><h2>Fri. March 24 TORONTO 3 at VANCOUVER 5</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-1289/2988775-1-eng-US/f0017-122.jpg" title="f0017-12" width="607" height="640"></div><h2>Sat. March 25 NEW YORK 3 at MONTREAL 3</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-1373/2988768-1-eng-US/f0017-132.jpg" title="f0017-13" width="609" height="669"></div><h2>CHICAGO 5 at BOSTON 5</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-1462/2988761-1-eng-US/f0017-142.jpg" title="f0017-14" width="613" height="879"></div><h2>DETROIT 3 at ST. LOUIS 5</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-1551/2988754-1-eng-US/f0017-152.jpg" title="f0017-15" width="603" height="745"></div><h2>CALIFORNIA 0 at PHILADELPHIA 3</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-1649/2988747-1-eng-US/f0017-162.jpg" title="f0017-16" width="596" height="518"></div><h2>MINNESOTA 2 at PITTSBURGH 3</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-1742/2988740-1-eng-US/f0017-172.jpg" title="f0017-17" width="593" height="507"></div><h2>TORONTO 4 at LOS ANGELES 0</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-1836/2988733-1-eng-US/f0017-182.jpg" title="f0017-18" width="589" height="479"></div><h2>Sun. March 26 MONTREAL 4 at BOSTON 5</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-01488/2988726-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg" title="f0018-01" width="617" height="693"></div><h2>MINNESOTA 5 at NEW YORK 0</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-02396/2988719-1-eng-US/f0018-022.jpg" title="f0018-02" width="603" height="570"></div><h2>PITTSBURGH 2 at BUFFALO 2</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-03296/2988712-1-eng-US/f0018-032.jpg" title="f0018-03" width="594" height="539"></div><h2>VANCOUVER 1 at PHILADELPHIA 4</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-04232/2988705-1-eng-US/f0018-042.jpg" title="f0018-04" width="595" height="524"></div><h2>ST. LOUIS Oat CHICAGO 4</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-05177/2988698-1-eng-US/f0018-052.jpg" title="f0018-05" width="593" height="443"></div> &#9632;

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National Hockey League SUMMARIES

<div class="byline">BY GIL SMITH</div>MONTREAL&mdash;With the season rapidly drawing to a close, Montreal Canadiens&rsquo; coach Scotty Bowman has something of a problem in goal.Specifically, Scotty sees the need for giving backup goalies Phil Myre and Denis Dejordy some work in case they should be called upon unexpectedly in playoffs. But, the coach is virtually committed to going all the way with Ken Dryden, barring injury or other unforseen developments.&ldquo;There are several reasons for staying with Dryden, most of which are obvious,&rdquo; Bowman says. &ldquo;First, you go with your best and he&rsquo;s our best. Then, we&rsquo;re still in a tight race for second place and need every point we can get. We&rsquo;re not like some clubs who&rsquo;ve sewn up their positions in the late stages of the race and can afford to gamble with netminders.&rdquo;Bowman was referring principally to Chicago and Minnesota in the NHL West Division. Those clubs clinched first and second place respectively with time remaining in the schedule. Thus, they have been free to experiment.&ldquo;You also have to remember that Dryden is still in the running for the Vezina Trophy,&rdquo; continues Bowman. &ldquo;Not to mention the rookie-of-the-year award and most valuable player awards. Taking him out could endanger his chances.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s also very much in the running for an All Star berth,&rdquo; Bowman noted.However, there&rsquo;s an even more compelling reason for staying with Dryden, and it&rsquo;s this: With him, Canadiens win. Without him, they don&rsquo;t. At least that seems to have been the general rule, this season. At this writing, Dryden had missed only 13 games. Canadiens had lost eight of those thirteen.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve said it before, we depend on him a bit too much,&rdquo; said Bowman. &ldquo;The guys know how good he is and they leave him alone back there while they bust into the other team&rsquo;s end. If a new netminder were suddenly put in, the team would have to change it&rsquo;s whole style. I&rsquo;m aware of that and I worry about it, but I&rsquo;m still going with Dryden.&rdquo;Bowman pointed to the lastest meeting with Detroit Red Wings on March 19th as an example of what usually happens when Dryden is not at his best. Habs lost the game 7-6.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not that he was bad in that game,&rdquo; Bowman pointed out. &ldquo;He gave us ordinary netminding, the kind other teams get as a general rule. But, he wasn&rsquo;t sensational, as he so often is. So, what happens? We lose.&rdquo;If you press him on the subject, Bowman will admit he worries plenty about what would happen should Dryden be inadvertently sidelined.&ldquo;I&rsquo;d just have to throw one of the backup goalies in cold,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;I wouldn&rsquo;t like to do it. but I&rsquo;d have to.&rdquo;Denis Dejordy, one of the backups, says the second game would be worst than the first.&ldquo;When the different goalie is thrown in, the team makes a special effort to protect him,&rdquo; Dejordy points out. &ldquo;They just about forsake their offensive game in order to give the goalie a hand.&ldquo;By the second game, the team is back to playing its usual style,&rdquo; Denis explains. &ldquo;In the case of the Canadiens, that means attack-style hockey. The goalie is bound to be left on his own occasionally. And, if he isn&rsquo;t sharp, he&rsquo;ll blow the shots that come at him.&rdquo;HAB-BITS: Canadian Arena Co., owner of the Forum and Canadiens, made an unsuccesful bid to buy CFCF TV and Radio station in Montreal. Rumored offer was $20 million. The segment of the Bronfman family active in Placement Rondelle, which bought Canadian Arena last December, were &lsquo;edged out in the initial bidding for CFCF by their cousins who are active in Multiple Access, the firm whose offer was accepted. Sounds like some interesting infighting going on&hellip;The Montreal Fire Dep&rsquo;t. presented white firemen&rsquo;s helmets, signifying honorary chief status, to six Canadiens players who had heroic roles in the St. Louis Motel fire. Tremblay, Lapointe, Savard, Bouchard, Hoganson and Houle were the honored six. Overlooked was trainer Bob Williams who, witnesses say, played a key role in rescue operations&hellip;One man who should be ready for the playoffs with a March 23 game against Toronto, Savard was being given increased ice time with penalty killing added to regular defense duties. He&rsquo;s usually at his best in playoffs&hellip;Terry Harper remained a question mark at this writing, with little strength in the fingers of his right hand&hellip; &#9632;

Goaler Ken Dryden So Good He’s A ‘Problem’ For Hubs

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0018-06" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-06146/2988938-1-eng-US/f0018-062.jpg"></div>(Standings on Tues. March 28)<h2>EAST DIVISION</h2><h2>WEST DIVISION</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-07127/2988931-1-eng-US/f0018-072.jpg" title="f0018-07" width="1115" height="352"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Tues. March 21Detroit 7 at Vancouver 5California 2 at Minnesota 4Wed. March 22Toronto 3 at Montreal 3Detroit 6 at Los Angeles 3Buffalo 4 at Pittsburgh 3California 1 at St. Louis 4Thur. March 23New York 1 at Boston 4Minnesota 4 at Buffalo 4Chicago 4 at Philadelphia 2Fri. March 24Toronto 3 at Vancouver 5Sat. March 25New York 3 at Montreal 3Toronto 4 at Los Angeles 0Chicago 5 at Boston 5Detroit 3 at St. Louis 5California 0 at Philadelphia 3Minnesota 2 at Pittsburgh 3Sun. March 26Montreal 4 at Boston 5Minnesota 5 at New York 0Pittsburgh 2 at Buffalo 2Vancouver 1 at Philadelphia 4St. Louis 0 at Chicago 4<h3>GAMES TO COME</h3>Tues. March 28Boston at DetroitVancouver at St. LouisPhiladelphia at MinnesotaWed. March 29Montreal at ChicagoBoston at TorontoDetroit at New YorkVancouver at Los AngelesCalifornia at PittsburghThur. March 30Buffalo at PhiladelphiaFri. March 31Los Angeles at VancouverMinnesota at CaliforniaSat. April 1Boston at MontrealNew York at TorontoChicago at St. LouisPittsburgh at PhiladelphiaCalifornia at Los AngelesSun. April 2Montreal at New YorkToronto at BostonDetroit at ChicagoPhiladelphia at BuffaloMinnesota at Vancouver (afternoon)St. Louis at Pittsburgh &#9632;

f0018-06

NHL SCOREBOARD

PROVIDENCE&mdash;The Providence Reds and Rochester Americans were still locked in a tense battle for the fourth and final playoff spot in the East Division as the American Hockey League schedule moved into the last week of the regular season.The Reds held a slim advantage over the Americans in the standings with four games remaining in the schedule but they also faced a tougher slate of games than the Amerks.Providence, after 72 games, had a record of 26 victories, 35 losses and 11 ties for 63 points and fourth place. The Amerks had the same number of victories but were saddled with 38 losses and eight ties for 60 points.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-01466/2988969-1-eng-US/f0019-012.jpg" title="f0019-01" width="247" height="415"><figcaption class="caption-body">Don Blackburn</figcaption></div>With the schedule drawing to a close, the Reds still had a home-and-home series with the Nova Scotia Voyageurs, a one-game stand with the Boston Braves and one game against the Springfield Kings.They don&rsquo;t come much tougher than that. The Voyageurs are battling the Braves for first place in the East, so they&rsquo;re not going to coast along the rest of the way. What it means is that the Reds are going to have to play their best hockey of the season in order to entertain any post-season hopes.Providence was at Nova Scotia March 28 and the teams journeyed back to Rhode Island for a game there the next night. The Reds then travelled the short distance to Boston to meet the Braves in an afternoon game before closing out the season at home April 2 against the Kings, holders of third-place in the East.Meanwhile, the Americans played at Baltimore, West Division leaders, March 28 and then went into Hershey March 29 to meet the second-place Bears. The Amerks continued their gruelling schedule March 31 by entertaining the Braves and then faced the Cincinnati Swords at home in the season finale.The week of March 21-26 saw the Reds win two and tie on in their three scheduled games.They started out by blanking the Tidewater Wings 1-0 at Norfolk scope. Then they downed the Kings 5-2 in Springfield and came home to tie the Bears 5-5.The Americans played only two games in the same period and had to settle for a split. They lost 2-1 to the Voyageurs at home March 24 but then toppled the Kings 5-3 March 26.Meanwhile, forward Don Blackburn continues in his bid to become the first Providence player to win a league scoring title since Zellio (The Topper) Toppazzini turned the trick in the 1955-56 campaign.In a 64-game schedule, Toppazzini had 113 points on 42 goals and 71 assists.Blackburn has 30 goals and 61 assists for 91 points over the first 69 games of the season.Meanwhile, the jostling for playoff spots continued in the West Division.The Clippers, after 72 games, had 77 points, three better than the Bears, who had played one less game.The Swords, a first-year team just like the Braves, were a close third with 72 points after 71 games.Cleveland Barons were in fourth place (the last playoff spot) with 70 points, two ahad of the Richmond Robins, but were rapidly running out of games. The Barons only had two games remaining in the schedule and the Robins were left with four as the schedule moved into its final week. &#9632;

f0019-01

Reds Winning Battle For Final Playoff

<div class="byline">BY JOHN ARNOLD</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-01312/2989000-1-eng-US/f0020-012.jpg" title="f0020-01" width="828" height="1105"></div><h2>SOLUTION IN APRIL 14 ISSUE</h2><h3>ACROSS</h3>1&mdash;This Leaf was a former Red Wing.7&mdash;Former Hawk Fogolin answers to this.8&mdash;Native Province of pictured player. (abbr.)10&mdash;McKay of Cincinnati answers to this.12&mdash;Skating requisite.13&mdash;Initials of a former NHL defenseman.14&mdash;The. (fr.)15&mdash;Number worn by Delvecchio.18&mdash;Initials of one of the Penguins.19&mdash;Number of goals scored by Dennis Hull March. 12.20&mdash;Serge Bernier was born in this month. (abbr.)22&mdash;Initials of an NHL captain.23&mdash;An NHL goaltender.27&mdash;Compass point.28&mdash;Denotes number worn by Marc Tardif.29&mdash;16 down used to play for this team.32&mdash;First name of an NHL referee.34&mdash;An NHL coach.<h3>DOWN</h3>1&mdash;Pictured player.2&mdash;Rocket Richard used to wear this number.3&mdash;Former NHL forward Ingarfield answers to this.4&mdash;A minor league defenseman.5&mdash;15th and 5th letters of the alphabet.6&mdash;One of the Minnesota North Stars.9&mdash;Nickname given Bailey of Boston.11&mdash;Initials of a Vancouver center.15&mdash;Beverage.16&mdash;1969-70 Calder Trophy winner.17&mdash;Gilles Meloche played junior hockey here.21&mdash;A Philadelphia forward.24&mdash;Initials of Stratton of Tidewater.25&mdash;This NHL coach is in his 9th season with the same club.26&mdash;Initials of a Leaf defenseman.30&mdash;Denotes scoreless tie.31&mdash;Former Detroit left winger.33&mdash;One of the Flyers.<h2>LAST WEEKS ANSWERS</h2><h3>ACROSS</h3>1&mdash;HORTON.6&mdash;AIR.7&mdash;AUG.9&mdash;RIVERS.12&mdash;L.O.13&mdash;VAL.14&mdash;HULL.16&mdash;RED.17&mdash;N.S.18&mdash;R.H.20&mdash;B.O.21&mdash;R.D.22&mdash;HARPER.25&mdash;PAR.26&mdash;PAT.27&mdash;ABEL29&mdash;NEILSON.<h3>DOWN</h3>1&mdash;HARVEY.2&mdash;RAVLICH.3&mdash;TIE.4&mdash;ORR.5&mdash;CULLEN.8&mdash;GOLDSWORTHY10&mdash;I. A.11&mdash;S.H.15&mdash;U.R.18&mdash;ROD.19&mdash;PAPPIN.20&mdash;BRIAN.22&mdash;HALL.23&mdash;A.R.24&mdash;E.A.25&mdash;P.E.I.28&mdash;B.E. &#9632;

f0020-01

HOCKEY CROSSWORD

Mr. Bob Dulhanty of 6248 Allan Street, Halifax, N.S., Canada, is the March winner of the Gruen Precision Watch contest. &#9632;

WINS GRUEN WATCH

<div class="byline">BY RICK PEARSON</div>ANAHEIM&mdash;It&rsquo;s time for the World Hockey Association to find out who can stand the heat and who will vacate the kitchen.The 13 member franchises in the WHA have been asked to post a $100,000 performance bond by April 15. &ldquo;The posting of the bonds will give us a $1.2 million war chest and guarantee the soundness of our league,&rdquo; said WHA Executive Vice-President Dennis Murphy.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-01173/2989031-1-eng-US/f0021-012.jpg" title="f0021-01" width="265" height="435"><figcaption class="caption-body">Phil Watson</figcaption></div>The bonds represent an irrevocable investment by each team to fulfill its own performance and the performnce of the league.If precedent is an indicator, don&rsquo;t look for any attrition. All 12 franchises have consistently been up to snuff on other assessments, including San Francisco, which met its obligations to the league but couldn&rsquo;t find suitable local financing. Quebec snapped up the franchise.So, the WHA partisans who have been insisting the league will begin play with a franchise in each of the dozen cities currently on the league roster appear to be right.Meanwhile, Jack Kelley, who officially becomes general manager-coach of the New England Whalers April 1, closed out a brilliant intercollegiate hockey coaching career by directing the Boston University to back-to-back National Collegiate Athletic Association championships.Kelley&rsquo;s Terriers captured the 1972 title at Boston March 18 with a 4-0 victory over Cornell. A year ago, BU nipped Minnesota 4-2 for the 1971 crown.Through 16 years of coaching at Colby (89-51-5) and BU (20680-8), Kelley compiled an overall record of 295-131-13.The Terriers won 20 or more games in eight of Kelley&rsquo;s last nine years as a coach. In the other year, BU won 19 games.Kelley&rsquo;s influence on the Whalers is already evident in the players he helped the club select in the WHA draft.The six players on the Eastern All-America team are Whaler draft choices. Goalie Dan Brady, defenseman Bob Brown and forward Jack Danby are members of the Terriers. Defenseman Steve Warr is from Clarkson College, forward Dave Hynes from Harvard and forward Larry Fullan from Cornell.Brady was named the NCAA tournament&rsquo;s most valuable player last year and was in goal during the Terriers&rsquo; regular season this year. But, he was injured just prior to the national tourney and Tim Regan, a member of the U.S. Olympic team and another Whaler draft choice, came off the bench to give up only one goal in two games and win the 1972 MVP award.Regan&rsquo;s shutout of Cornell was the first ever in a NCAA final game and the first time Cornell had been blanked in 225 games, dating back to 1964.Recent scuttle but has it that Ben Hatskin, owner of the Winnipeg Jets, has upped his offer to the Black Hawks&rsquo; Bobby Hull. The offer now is supposedly $2.5 million for 10 years.Hatskin would neither confirm nor deny he has signed&mdash;or even offered&mdash;the Chicago left winger such a contract.Laughing at the figure, Hatskin wondered aloud if Hull&rsquo;s position with the club would be &ldquo;president or player.&rdquo;Then, he admitted such a report &ldquo;could&rdquo; be right.Hull, of course, confessed long ago he had talked to Hatskin, though at the time the reported offer was $1 million for five years. The Golden Jet and the Winnipeg Jet? Promoters dream of such a natural.The New England Whalers have received requests for nearly 2,000 season tickets&hellip;The Los Angeles Sharks weren&rsquo;t officially into their L.A. Sports Arena office until April 1, but the fans found them in mid-March anyway&hellip;&ldquo;We&rsquo;re overwhelmed by the season ticket response,&rdquo; said Sharks&rsquo; public relations director Gary Morrell&hellip;&ldquo;Every single day we get orders for season tickets from people paying full cash.Personnel Director Phil Watson of the Miami Screaming Eagles has been beating the bushes in the Province of Quebec because that&rsquo;s where he believes the best hockey players are.Watson mentioned seven players in the Quebec Junior A League he&rsquo;d like to see signed to Miami contracts. The seven are defenseman Richard Campeau (Sorel), center Francois Boudreau (Laval), left winger Pierre Henry (Drummondville), center Claude St. Sauveur (Sherbrooke), left winger Rene Villemure (Shawinigan), defenseman Frank Bowles (Cornwall) and left wing Richard Grenier (Verdun). &#9632;

f0021-01

Teams Must Show Intent By Posting $100,000 Bonds

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 Canada<h2>HOW THEY STAND</h2><h3>AMERICAN LEAGUE</h3>(Standings on Tues. March 28)EASTERN DIVISION<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-01191/2989128-1-eng-US/f0022-012.jpg" title="f0022-01" width="580" height="156"></div>WESTERN DIVISION<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-02129/2989121-1-eng-US/f0022-022.jpg" title="f0022-02" width="588" height="278"></div><h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3>(Including Games of Sun. March 19)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-03112/2989114-1-eng-US/f0022-032.jpg" title="f0022-03" width="598" height="828"></div><h3>GOALKEEPERS&rsquo; RECORDS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-0493/2989107-1-eng-US/f0022-042.jpg" title="f0022-04" width="587" height="613"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Tues. March 21Cleveland 7 at Baltimore 1Nova Scotia 2 at Boston 2Wed. March 22Cleveland 2 at Hershey 6Providence 1 at Tidewater 0Thur. March 23Richmond 2 at Cincinnati 2Fri. March 24Hershey 3 at Baltimore 4Cincinnati 3 at Boston 3Nova Scotia 2 at Rochester 1Providence 5 at Springfield 2Sat. March 25Nova Scotia 2 at Cleveland 1Baltimore 1 at Hershey 6Cincinnati 3 at Springfield 7Richmond 3 at Tidewater 4Sun. March 26Nova Scotia 1 at Cincinnati 3Richmond 3 of Cleveland 3Hershey 5 at Provindence 5Springfield 3 at Rochester 5Baltimore 6 at Tidewater 4<h3>GAMES TO COME</h3>Tues. March 28Rochester at BaltimoreHershey at BostonRichmond at CincinnatiProvidence at Nova ScotiaWed. March 29Rochester at Hershey NovaScotia at ProvidenceCincinnati vs Tidewater at NorfolkFri. March 31Tidewater at CincinnatiHershey at ClevelandBaltimore at RichmondBoston at RochesterNova Scotia at SpringfieldSat. April 1Cincinnati at BaltimoreProvidence at Boston (afternoon)Tidewater at ClevelandRichmond at HersheyRochester at SpringfieldSun. April 2Hershey at BaltimoreBoston at Nova ScotiaSpringfield at ProvidenceTidewater at RichmondCincinnati at Rochester<h2>PRAIRIE HOCKEY LEAGUE</h2>(Final Standings)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-0582/2989100-1-eng-US/f0022-052.jpg" title="f0022-05" width="584" height="186"></div><h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-0662/2989093-1-eng-US/f0022-062.jpg" title="f0022-06" width="591" height="718"></div><h3>GOALKEEPERS RECORDS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-0756/2989086-1-eng-US/f0022-072.jpg" title="f0022-07" width="584" height="262"></div> &#9632;

f0022-01

AMERICAN LEAGUE

<div class="byline">BY GREG FARLEY</div>BOSTON&mdash;Going into the final weekend of the regular season, the Braves are still wondering who their opponent will be in the opening round of the playoffs beginning next week.Coach Bep Guidolin insists that the Braves prefer neither Providence nor Rochester, claiming that &ldquo;both have given us trouble during the second half of the season, and either one is capable of giving us a heckuva time in the playoffs.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-0848/2989180-1-eng-US/f0022-082.jpg" title="f0022-08" width="268" height="446"><figcaption class="caption-body">Bep Guidolin</figcaption></div>Checking the records, it appears that the Amerks would provide the Braves with a more formidable foe than Providence.The Reds, despite taking a 2-1 decision on Garden ice in February, have not been extremely tough for the Braves this year. The Bostonians hold a decided edge in the series, although there have been a number of ties be-tween the two teams.Rochester was easy pickings for the Braves earlier in the campaign, but the Amerks have bounced back to claim two of the last three decisions&mdash;both on Boston Garden ice&mdash;with the other meeting at Rochester winding up in a 5-5 deadlock.Despite their status as a first year AHL expansion team, the Braves figure to enter the playoffs as odds-on favorites&mdash;especially after sweeping those two very important road encounters at Halifax from Nova Scotia Voyageurs 2-1 and 6-4.Goaling hero of the Braves&rsquo; double win was veteran Ross Brooks, who backstopped both victories over the Vees. Gary Peters bagged the winning goal in the 2-1 game and Don Tannanhill fired two in the return contest for the B&rsquo;s. Doug Roberts, who leads the AHL with eight winning goals, performed well in both outings since returning from the NHL Bruins where he did an emergency stint.The Braves, despite occasional lapses over the second half of the schedule, have come through in every &ldquo;must&rdquo; game they&rsquo;ve been faced with and headed for the finish line with what appeared to be a commanding lead over the Voyageurs.It hasn&rsquo;t been an easy road either&mdash;untimely injuries shelved key performers Steve Stirling and Fred O&rsquo;Donnell just when both had developed into reliable goal-scorers.Additionally, the team lost high-scoring captain Garry Peters for almost two months with a knee injury, while rugged Terry O&rsquo;Reilly&rsquo;s bad ankle kept him on the sidelines for even longer.Nevertheless, the Braves have excelled in the face of adversity, making a mockery of the so-called experts who picked them for last place in their division.There&rsquo;s little doubt that the Braves are the team to beat in the battle for the Calder Cup.BRAVES BRIEFS: The Braves close out the regular season with a busy&mdash;and most vital&mdash;weekend. Following Friday night&rsquo;s potential playoff preview engagement at Rochester (TV 38 8:00 p.m.), the Braves hustle home for a Saturday afternoon (2:00 p.m.) contest with the Reds. Then its back to Halifax for the final game of the season on Sunday evening&hellip;Like the parent NHL, all AHL playoff series are best-of-seven games. Unlike the NHL, however, there is no cross-over in the semi-finals. It&rsquo;s east vs. east and west vs. west until two victors emerge to battle it out for the Calder Cup&hellip;There will be an additional charge of $1.00 per ticket for Braves playoff games.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-0944/2989173-1-eng-US/f0022-092.jpg" title="f0022-09" width="549" height="510"><figcaption class="caption-body">ROSS BROOKS&hellip;Backstopped Wins</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-1036/2989166-1-eng-US/f0022-102.jpg" title="f0022-10" width="551" height="537"><figcaption class="caption-body">GARRY PETERS&hellip;Shot Game Winner</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-1132/2989159-1-eng-US/f0022-112.jpg" title="f0022-11" width="375" height="553"><figcaption class="caption-body">DOUG ROBERTS&hellip;Payoff Scorer</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0022-08

Braves Await First Playoff After Sweep Of Nova Scotia

<div class="byline">BY JOHN TRAVERS</div>HERSHEY&mdash;Veteran center Jeannot (Gil) Gilbert with a personal nine-game scoring streak has taken over as the Hershey Bears top scorer.The 31-year-old forward, who has played with an assortment of wingers, showed 55 points at the 65-game mark.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-01169/2989211-1-eng-US/f0023-012.jpg" title="f0023-01" width="539" height="912"><figcaption class="caption-body">GIL GILBERT&hellip;On Scoring Streak</figcaption></div>Gilbert, who now has Robin Burns and Ted Snell as his wingmen, showed 22 goals and 33 assists for the lead among the club&rsquo;s pointmen.In one nine-game span&mdash;Feb. 25 to Mar. 15&mdash;Gilbert racked up 13 points, scoring at least a point in every match for his top effort of the season.He needs only eight more goals in the remaining 11 games to crack the 200 goal level.Gilbert and his wingers, Burns and Snell combined for 23 points on ten goals and 13 assists in his nine-game scoring binge.Meanwhile, the Bears, caught in the thick of the Western Division race, have had to take drastic steps in order to ice three forward lines because of injuries.Coach Frank Mat hers switched two defensemen, Yvon Labre and Joe Noris, to forward positions. Noris, who played a center in his junior days, had Jean Gratton on right wing with Labre handling left wing.Noris, following his first appearance as a forward, said he felt like he could &ldquo;sleep for a week.&rdquo;&ldquo;It&rsquo;s the skating that tires you,&rdquo; said the young rookie. &ldquo;You don&rsquo;t have to do that much skating on defense.&rdquo;Mathers thought that Noris and Labre both handled themselves well in their first crack at a forward job Mar. 15 against the Providence Reds. Hershey won, 3-2, on winger John Stewart&rsquo;s breakaway goal in the final three minutes.&ldquo;We can&rsquo;t play conventional hockey now,&rdquo; said Mathers. &ldquo;We have to try and stir up something.&rdquo;In a game Mar. 11 against Tidewater, Mathers used six different line combinations in the opening period, striving to &ldquo;stir up&rdquo; the club.Among the defensive corps, Ralph Keller continues as the top pointman with 31. He has eight goals and 23 assists. Keller holds the league record for most career goals scored by a defenseman with 94. &#9632;

f0023-01

Bears’ Hot Veteran Gil Gilbert Nears 200-Goal Mark

<div class="byline">BY CHUCK SANTANIELLO</div>SPRINGFIELD&mdash;The Cleveland Barons think they have troubles, with some 10 members of their current team drafted for next season by the new World Hockey Association! Well, the Springfield Kings have no less than 13 from their current roster who were actually selected by teams in the new WHA.Actually, it does not mean that these members will play for the new teams. What is does mean is that it will give many of the players a stronger hand when it comes time for contract signing. The WHA will stock member teams mainly with WHL. CHL and AHL players as well as some Russians. Czechs and Poles along with a few stars from the NHL.Of the 1,073 players grabbed for future consideration by the WHA. an incredible 55 former Springfield Kings and Springfield Indians were on that list, including many who are now famous stars in the NHL. A few of the veteran Kings, with no hope of making the big leagues, now get a second chance with the WHA.An example is 10-year veteran Wayne Rivers, who is just 30 years old. He was claimed by the Ottawa club in the WHA for next season along with Mike Boland and goaler Billy Smith.Rivers is way ahead having reached a new team record with 48 goals to shatter a club record held by former Kings&rsquo; star Doug Robinson, now with Nova Scotia. Robinson made his record three years ago. Rivers has a shot at the 55, record now held by three players in the AHL.Edmonton of the WHA took Brian Carlin of the Kings, sure to be in the running for the rookie of the year in the AHL. and now up with Los Angeles for two weeks. It is a big break for him as Carlin lives in Edmonton and could get a chance in the majors and be near home.Veteran Ed Hoekstra, was tabbed by the new Dayton club along with young defenseman Wayne LaChance. It could be a final chance in the big time for the 35-year-old Hoekstra. The Miami club picked Neil Komadoski for defense,Winnipeg took Bill Mikkelson, recently retired from the game and back home in Brandon, Manitoba which is very close to Winnipeg. This could lure him back into the game again. The other player tabbed was center Wayne Chernecki, a home town boy who could also find himself in the major league play next fall.New York took classy winger Bill Orban for future play while Calgary listed goal-tender Jack Norris among its players. Los Angeles of the WHA included defenseman Alain Beaule among its players while New England Whalers grabbed goaler Bruce Landon and Jim Stanfield. Could be a big break for Bruce who now lives permanently in West Springfield with his wife. &#9632;

13 Kings ‘Drafted’ By WHA

<h2>Sun. March 18 RICHMOND 1 at BALTIMORE 3</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-03103/2989332-1-eng-US/f0023-032.jpg" title="f0023-03" width="581" height="436"></div><h2>PROVIDENCE 3 at CLEVELAND 2</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-0482/2989325-1-eng-US/f0023-042.jpg" title="f0023-04" width="582" height="453"></div><h2>BOSTON 6 at NOVA SCOTIA 3</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-0566/2989318-1-eng-US/f0023-052.jpg" title="f0023-05" width="587" height="687"></div><h2>ROCHESTER 3 at SPRINGFIELD 5</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-0657/2989311-1-eng-US/f0023-062.jpg" title="f0023-06" width="589" height="507"></div><h2>Tue. March 21 NOVA SCOTIA 2 at BOSTON 2</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-0753/2989304-1-eng-US/f0023-072.jpg" title="f0023-07" width="585" height="481"></div><h2>FRI. MARCH 24 NOVA SCOTIA 2 at ROCHESTER 1</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-0845/2989297-1-eng-US/f0023-082.jpg" title="f0023-08" width="586" height="456"></div> &#9632;

f0023-03

American League Summaries

<div class="byline">BY DICK JOHNSTON</div>BUFFALO&mdash;It was tough enough for Joe Crozier to step into the shoes of his old pal, Punch Imlach, and coach an expansion hockey club, the Buffalo Sabres, when Punch suffered a heart attack in early January.But the way the Sabres have been playing since Joe took over would be enough to give any interim coach the heebie jeebies, let alone such an intense man as Crozier.Not that the Sabres are that bad.No, indeed. Sometimes they&rsquo;re very good. And that&rsquo;s what makes it so difficult for Crozier to take when they are just the opposite.Look at the victories they have had since Crozier took over: Over Montreal, 4-2; over Minnesota, 4-3; over Boston, 8-2 (that&rsquo;s right) and twice over Chicago, 21 and 5-3 on successive days, away and at home. And then they went back to Chicago again and tied, 3-3, with the Black Hawks gaining the deadlock in the closing minutes on a fluke goal.Great, huh? But in the meantime Crozier was suffering through losses to California, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and, worst of all, Vancouver.And what&rsquo;s more, many of these losses were coming at home. Especially galling was a 62 defeat at the hands of the Canucks in Buffalo, which mar-ked the Sabres&rsquo; third straight home setback in a streak that saw them win only one of eight games on their own ice.&ldquo;Three games in a row that we didn&rsquo;t play well at home,&rdquo; said Joe, after that one. &ldquo;I guess I&rsquo;m the one who wanted to win this one the most.&rdquo;Crozier hates to lose to Vancouver. He left that city under less than friendly circumstances after coaching the Canucks to the Western League championship and playoff title.When Crozier joined the Sabres&rsquo; organization as coach of the American League Cincinnati Swords. Punch agreed to have Joe handle the Sabres in one of the visits to Vancouver. Crozier flew into Vancouver and ran the club for a game against the Canucks on Nov. 27. The Canucks won 5-2.After Crozier succeeded Imlach as Buffalo coach, the Sabres played the Canucks three times. The Canucks won two of them and lost only one, 1-0, in Buffalo. And in that one loss, Vancouver Coach Hal Laydoe said his club played its best game against Buffalo.It&rsquo;s tough for any coach to get his team up for games once they have lost any chance for the playoffs but Crozier kept trying. &ldquo;The season is 78 games,&rdquo; said he. &ldquo;The players are paid until April 2 so they should keep playing hockey until then.&rdquo;His practices continued to be just as gruelling in the tailend of the campaign as when he took over. He had players riding the stationary bike when they had a minus game. He even took two of the bikes on a late-season five-game road trip that included three games on the West Coast.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-01181/2989363-1-eng-US/f0024-012.jpg" title="f0024-01" width="549" height="471"><figcaption class="caption-body">JOE CROZIER</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0024-01

Sabres’ Inconsistency Rubs Joe Crozier

<div class="byline">BY BARRY SWINEHART</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-01150/2989394-1-eng-US/f0025-012.jpg" title="f0025-01" width="553" height="583"><figcaption class="caption-body">TERRY CAFFERY&hellip;Hot On Return</figcaption></div>CLEVELAND&mdash;Cleveland center Terry Caffery, who teams with linemate Buster Harvey to give the Barons&rsquo; a strong one-two punch, has returned to the line up and is making another strong run at the American Hockey League rookie award. The Garrett Trophy, which goes annually to the loop&rsquo;s top first-year player, has Caffery as one of its prime candidates this season.In his first AHL season, the 59, 165 pound Caffery had totaled 81 points while playing in only 59 of the Barons first 70 contests. In addition to his totals, his linemates Harvey and Billy Heindl&middot; ranked first and fifth respectively on the Barons in scoring. Caffery&rsquo;s outstanding passing helped the line to register 84 goals in that time.Barons&rsquo; general-manager-coach John Muckier commented, &ldquo;I definitely feel that Terry should be one of the league&rsquo;s top rookie candidates.&rdquo; Muckier made that remark after Caffery had just finished celebrating his return from a fractured cheekbone with a goal and six assists in his first two contests back.Caffery missed nine late season games with the injury and the Barons suffered through a long road trip with only one win to show for eight starts. He registered a goal and an assist in his first game back, a Barons loss, but then exploded for five assists as the Barons broke a scoring slump with a 7-4 victory over Hershey.The 22-year-old Caffery not only helped himself but helped Harvey break out of a slump. Buster, the highest scoring Baron in the last decade, picked up five points with Terry&rsquo;s return on two goals and three assists.At his current pace the youthful Baron should surpass his combined total point output for his first two years of professional hockey with Dallas in the Central Hockey League.<h2>BARON BLUELINERS&rsquo;</h2>Wayne Muloin&rsquo;s recent first goal of the season ended an almost two season drought.! he newest Baron, defenseman Jim McElmury, took only nine games to score his first goal and then marked up the first one unassisted. Only defenseman Fred Barrett remained on the Barons&rsquo; injured list. Goalie Gilles Gilbert was still up with Minnesota on an emergency basis due to Cesare Maniago&rsquo;s injury. &#9632;

f0025-01

Barons’ Caffery Strong Rookie Award Candidate

<div class="byline">BY HANS TANNER</div>ROCHESTER&mdash;Willie Marshall now is the proud holder of the American Hockey League all-time career records for goals and games played, as well as for assists and points.The 40-year-old Rochester American center erased Fred Glover&rsquo;s name from both lines in the record book here Thursday, March 9. Ironically, only 2,984 spectators, the smallest turnout here in the last 15 games, witnessed the feat.Marshall played only a minute and 12 seconds in the game, but that was long enough to start the Amerks on their way to a 3-1 victory over Springfield and to grab sole possession of both the goal and games-played records.Willie set the games-played mark at 11:44 of the first period when he stepped on the ice during a Rochester power play. It was his 1,202nd AHL game. He and Glover were tied at 1,201.A minute and 12 seconds later he was scampering after the puck which he had put behind goalie Jack Norris for the 523rd goal of his long career.Norris had thwarted a move out of the corner by Willie only a few seconds before. Marshall came out of the corner to the goalie&rsquo;s left and tried to jam the puck in by the post, but Norris stopped him.The puck stayed in the Springfield end and Murray Hall controlled it by the side of the net. He spotted Marshall alone about 10 feet straight out in front. Hall passed&hellip;Marshall shot&hellip;and the record was his.The fans gave him a standing ovation and his teammates congratulated him, as did coach Don Cherry when a beaming Marshall practically floated back to the bench. He didn&rsquo;t get on the ice again that night, but he was happy.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m glad to get the goal&hellip;I&rsquo;d missed so many chances I was wondering it I&rsquo;d ever get it,&rdquo; Marshall said afterward.&ldquo;Rochester has been great to me&hellip; I just hope I can help the club get into the playoffs.&rdquo;Ed Hatoum can always go into the prophecy business as a sideline if his other predictions are a true. When Willie stepped on the ice for that shift, Hatoum turned to goalie Serge Aubry sitting next to him on the bench and said:&ldquo;This will be the time for Willie to score&hellip;one shift on the ice and a power play.&rdquo;And Marshall did. &#9632;

Marshall Holds Four AHL Marks

<div class="byline">BY DOUG MCCONNELL</div>LOUISVILLE SLUGGER HOCKEY STICKS Made in Canada by HILLER1CH & BRADSBY. LTD. Arnold Street, Wallaceburg, Ontario Sold in U. S. and CanadaLOUISVILLE SLUGGER HOCKEY STICKS Made in Canada by HILLER1CH & BRADSBY. LTD. Arnold Street, Wallaceburg, Ontario Sold in U. S. and Canada<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-01157/2989463-1-eng-US/f0026-012.jpg" title="f0026-01" width="570" height="595"><figcaption class="caption-body">SANDY HUCUL&hellip;Salute From Fans</figcaption></div>PHOENIX&mdash;The Phoenix Roadrunners are over the hump, not over the hill, says team captian Ted McCaskill.The Roadrunner team captain drew a parallel, comparing last season&rsquo;s team which sprinted out of the basement at Christmas and finished second to this season&rsquo;s club which began floundering at Christmas.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-02109/2989456-1-eng-US/f0026-022.jpg" title="f0026-02" width="267" height="438"><figcaption class="caption-body">Bob Liddington</figcaption></div>&ldquo;We had the pressure on us right to the end of the schedule,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;then we let down in the playoffs.&rdquo;The Runners needed overtime twice to take a 2-1 lead in games over the Denver Spurs before finally winning the best-of-seven semi-final series, 4-1. Then they lost the final series, 4-1, to Portland.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve already had our letdown,&rdquo; insists McCaskill, &ldquo;Now, we&rsquo;re ready to go all the way.&rdquo;The Roadrunners ended a streak of six losses in eight games with a three-game winning streak, putting their record for 1972 back to .500 at 16-16.They whipped the Buckaroos twice, 5-1 at Portland and 3-0 at Phoenix, with a 10-2 shelling of the Seattle Totems in between, to pull six points ahead of the Buckaroos after they were tied for second earlier in the week. Portland moved back to four points the next night while the Roadrunners were idle.McCaskill, 35, proved he wasn&rsquo;t over the hill, with a six-point night in the victory over Seattle. He scored three goals and three assists in his biggest night in pro hockey.He tied the WHL season&rsquo;s high of six points in a game. Art Jones and defenseman Connie Madigan of the Buckaroos and Bob Courcy of San Diego have also had six-point games this season.McCaskill&rsquo;s biggest previous night in pro hockey was two goals and two assists&mdash;against the Roadrunners when he played for Vancouver three years ago.With the Runners, he has been employed largely on a checking line and in killing penalties.As a penalty-killing team, McCaskill and Bob Liddington turn the opposition power play into a Roadrunner weapon.The Runners have scored 11 shorthanded goals this season, Liddington has five shorthanded goals and two assists on the season. McCaskill has two goals and six assists in short handed situations.&ldquo;When Liddington sees me get control of the puck,&rdquo; says McCaskill, &ldquo;he makes a break and once he gets going, nobody is going to catch him.&rdquo;Liddington. a 23-year-old rookie winger, has been employed mostly in a defensive role, like McCaskill, but has been installed as a regular on Bob Whitlock&rsquo;s line recently and has 19 goals for the season.McCaskill has 13 after a slow start.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m feeling a lot better now,&rdquo; said McCaskill, whose skating has been much stronger the past six weeks. &ldquo;I think I had such a bad start because I went to camp too heavy. I was 209 and I was still over 200 when the season started.&rdquo;McCaskill weighed out of his big game at 186.ICE CHIPS&hellip;The 3-0 victory over Portland provided Marv Edwards with his first shutout of the season and despite making 26 saves, he said it was his easiest night in ages. He couldn&rsquo;t remember having to make a save on a rebound nor facing anyone in a one-on-one situation&hellip;Bob Whitlock, the Runners&rsquo; candidate for rookie-of-the-year honors, and Andre Hinse, last season&rsquo;s All Star left winger, have both joined the 30-goal club.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-0385/2989449-1-eng-US/f0026-032.jpg" title="f0026-03" width="567" height="1135"><figcaption class="caption-body">Veteran TED McCASKILL counted three goals and three assists against Seattle for his biggest single night production of his pro career. (Phoenix Gazette Photo)</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0026-01

Revived Runners Ready To Go All The Way

PHOENIX&mdash;Defenseman Sandy Hucul, 38, the only member of the original 1967-68 club still with the Runners, was named player-of-the-month for February. He just passed the 1,100-game mark and the Roadrunner Booster Club have announced plans for a &ldquo;night&rdquo; for the veteran who has played more WHL games than anyone except Guyle Fielder.The Booster Club, with a membership of 1,500, have set April 7 as the date for honoring Hucul in the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum.This is Sandy&rsquo;s 18th year as a professional player. He has been on the Western Hockey League All Star team five times. Sandy is very active in community affairs, spending a great deal of his time with the &ldquo;Youth for Christ&rdquo; movement. He was the first Roadrunner to set up permanent residence in Phoenix. He was team Captain for three years and took over mid-season one year to serve as coach. He presently is an alternate captain. &#9632;

Night Set For Hucul In Phoenix

<h2>WESTERN LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Tues. March 28)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-0463/2989525-1-eng-US/f0026-042.jpg" title="f0026-04" width="586" height="232"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Wed March 22Portland 4 at Denver 6Phoenix 6 at 3alt Lake 7Seattle 3 at San Diego 5Fri. March 24San Diego 4 at Denver 1Portland 2 at Salt Lake 8Seattle 5 at Phoenix 1Sat. March 25Phoenix 3 at San Diego 1Sun. March 26Salt Lake I at Phoenix 2Denver 6 at Portland 4<h3>GAMES TO COME</h3>Tue. March 28Denver at Salt LakeSeattle at PhoenixWed. March 29Phoenix at DenverSeattle at San DiegoThur. March 30Phoenix at Salt LakeFri. March 31Portland at San DiegoSat. April 1San Diego at PoenixSalt Lake at PortlandDenver at SeattleSun. April 2Denver at PortlandSalt Lake at SeattleWed. April 5San Diego at DenverSeattle at PortlandFri. April 7Denver at PhoenixPortland at SeattleSan Diego at Salt Lake<h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3>(Including games of Sun. March 19<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-0554/2989518-1-eng-US/f0026-052.jpg" title="f0026-05" width="587" height="387"></div> &#9632;

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Looking At WHL Race

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0027-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-01142/2989563-1-eng-US/f0027-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">BARRY LONG&hellip;Establishes Scoring Record.</figcaption></div>PORTLAND&mdash;Art Jones had his consecutive point scoring streak broken at 27 games in a 3-0 shutout loss at Phoenix but rebounded for a four point game the next night in a 60 shutout victory over San Diego.The victory ended a four-game Portland losing streak and a seven game San Diego unbeaten string.Meanwhile, Portland rookie defenseman Barry Long, 23, has broken the WHL record for most goals by a defenseman and is just four points short of the rookie point record.Long, who gets all of his 6-2 and 225 pounds behind his point shot, has 13 goals and 42 points. The rookie record for goals was 11, set by Larry Reardon with Vancouver in 1949-50. The rookie record for points, 45, was set in 1969-70 by Rick Foley, with Portland.Jones, the captain of the Buckaroos, had 35 goals and a total of 115 points for a 26-point lead over his nearest rival in the scoring race, Larry Lund of Phoenix.Jones has nine games left to break the record of 127 points he established two years ago.The 36-year-old center is over the 100 point mark for the sixth time in his career and his fourth in succession.The helmeted redhead has all but locked up his fifth consecutive scoring title, a new Western Hockey League record. He shared the record of four in succession with his teammate, Guyle Fielder. who won four of his nine scoring titles from 1957 through 1960. He played for Seattle in those years.The record of scoring points in 23 consecutive games was set by Barrie Ross with the Winnipeg Warriors in 1958-59 and matched earlier this season by Denver&rsquo;s Fran Huck.The Buckaroos, who lead the league leading Denver Spurs in goals scored, 270-251, have three 30-goal scorers and one ready to join the club any day.Besides Jones, there&rsquo;s Cliff Schmautz with 35 and Bill Saunders with 31. Ken Campbell has 29 and Andy Hebenton, with 24, still has an outside chance.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-1134/2989556-1-eng-US/f0027-112.jpg" title="f0027-11" width="1165" height="867"><figcaption class="caption-body">Portland&rsquo;s high-scoring veteran ART JONES skates in to help dear puck from Buckaroo goal. Jones had his 27-game scoring streak halted by Phoenix.</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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Buckaroo Rookie Long Sets One Record, Nears Another

<h2>Wed. March 15 SALT LAKE 1 at DENVER 4</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-02108/2989643-1-eng-US/f0027-022.jpg" title="f0027-02" width="599" height="507"></div><h2>PHOENIX 5 at PORTLAND 1</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-0381/2989636-1-eng-US/f0027-032.jpg" title="f0027-03" width="605" height="569"></div><h2>SEATTLE 2 at SAN DIEGO 4</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-0475/2989629-1-eng-US/f0027-042.jpg" title="f0027-04" width="598" height="537"></div><h2>Thurs. March 16 PHOENIX 10 at SEATTLE 2</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-0561/2989622-1-eng-US/f0027-052.jpg" title="f0027-05" width="606" height="814"></div><h2>Fri. March 17 PORTLAND 2 at SAN DIEGO 5</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-0653/2989615-1-eng-US/f0027-062.jpg" title="f0027-06" width="603" height="619"></div><h2>Sat. March 18 SAN DIEGO 2 at DENVER 2</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-0746/2989608-1-eng-US/f0027-072.jpg" title="f0027-07" width="597" height="481"></div><h2>PORTLAND 0 at PHOENIX 3</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-0843/2989601-1-eng-US/f0027-082.jpg" title="f0027-08" width="591" height="488"></div><h2>Sun. March 19 SAN DIEGO 0 at PORTLAND 6</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-0942/2989594-1-eng-US/f0027-092.jpg" title="f0027-09" width="606" height="640"></div> &#9632;

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Western Hockey League Summaries

It would be difficult to top the performance of Marv Edwards of the Phoenix Roadrunners last week. The veteran goal-tender allowed but three goals, stopped 88 shots in three Roadrunner victories, which included a 3-0 shutout win over Portland. Edwards has a 16-103 record this season for the Runners.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-1039/2989674-1-eng-US/f0027-102.jpg" title="f0027-10" width="512" height="509"><figcaption class="caption-body">MARV EDWARDS</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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Player of The Week

<h2>Sun., March 12 TULSA 6 at OMAHA 7</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-0276/2989792-1-eng-US/f0028-022.jpg" title="f0028-02" width="603" height="943"></div><h2>FORT WORTH 2 at OKLAHOMA CITY 4</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-0351/2989785-1-eng-US/f0028-032.jpg" title="f0028-03" width="597" height="492"></div><h2>Wed., March 15 DALLAS 3 at KANSAS CITY 2</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-0439/2989778-1-eng-US/f0028-042.jpg" title="f0028-04" width="589" height="506"></div><h2>Fri., March 17 OMAHA 9 at KANSAS CITY 6</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-0531/2989771-1-eng-US/f0028-052.jpg" title="f0028-05" width="605" height="1006"></div><h2>TULSA 3 at OKLAHOMA CITY 5</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-0624/2989764-1-eng-US/f0028-062.jpg" title="f0028-06" width="600" height="645"></div><h2>DALLAS 5 at FORT WORTH 4</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-0721/2989757-1-eng-US/f0028-072.jpg" title="f0028-07" width="602" height="707"></div><h2>Sat., March 18 KANSAS CITY 3 at OMAHA 8</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-0819/2989750-1-eng-US/f0028-082.jpg" title="f0028-08" width="602" height="844"></div><h2>TULSA 5 at DALLAS 4</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-0916/2989743-1-eng-US/f0028-092.jpg" title="f0028-09" width="606" height="746"></div><h2>OKLAHOMA CITY 2 at FORT WORTH 4</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-1016/2989736-1-eng-US/f0028-102.jpg" title="f0028-10" width="600" height="584"></div> &#9632;

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Central League Summaries

OKLAHOMA CITY&mdash;Hockey writers (and several general managers) of the Central League breathed a sigh of relief, March 16, when they learned the proposed merger with the Western League had been postponed until the 1973-74 season.The writers had been perturbed about the thought of games on the West Coast, finishing between 12:30 and 1 a.m. (Central time), and the difficulty of beating newspapaer deadlines.General managers were aghast at the added expense (estimated at $30,000) of an interlocking schedule, with no reason to expect increased revenue.In fact, by cutting down the number of games between state rivals Tulsa and Oklahoma City, the interlocking schedule would mean a loss of big gate-receipt games. And the interlocking schedule would also have required more mid-week games, which have not attracted good crowds. &#9632;

Merger Between CHL, WHL Shelved Until 1973-74

<div class="byline">BY TOM LOBAUGH</div>LOUISVILLE SLUGGER HOCKEY STICKS Made in Canada by HILLERICH A BRAOSBY. LTD. Arnold Street Wallaceburg, Ontario Sold in U.S. and CanadaLOUISVILLE SLUGGER HOCKEY STICKS Made in Canada by HILLERICH A BRAOSBY. LTD. Arnold Street Wallaceburg, Ontario Sold in U.S. and CanadaDALLAS&mdash;The Dallas Black Hawks, to the surprise of no one, clinched first place in the Central League Mar. 17 by rallying for a 5-4 victory in Fort Worth, two nights after a 3-2 home triumph over Kansas City.The explosive Hawks took both games the hard way, winning with two goals in the final period. J.P. Leblanc scored two goals just 18 seconds apart to sink the Blues. In Fort Worth Bart Crashley scored his second goal of the night to tie the game, and Dave Hudson won it with 4.30 left on the clock.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-01132/2989705-1-eng-US/f0028-012.jpg" title="f0028-01" width="271" height="462"><figcaption class="caption-body">J.P. Leblanc</figcaption></div>Actually Dallas would have clinched first place without the victory in Fort Worth. Second-place Tulsa dropped a 5-3 decision in Oklahoma City that night, and fell 21 points off the pace, with only nine games left.So it didn&rsquo;t matter (in the first-place battle) that the Oilers came into Dallas, Mar. 20, grabbed an early lead and held on for a 5-4 victory. This time the Hawks scored three goals in five minutes, late in the third, but the rally came too late.The first-place finish is Dallas first in five years of CHL membership. It&rsquo;s also the first for coach Bobby Kromm, who handled the Chicago farmhands at St. Louis in 1966-67, then moved with the franchise to Dallas in 1967.Kromm&rsquo;s Hawks won the CHL playoffs in 1969, but had to work up to the finals after finishing behind Oklahoma City in the Southern Division of the then-divided league.Leblanc&rsquo;s two quick goals against KC ran his personal total to 20 for the season, and he was just two shy of 100 for his six-year pro career. Those two Wednesday goals broke the Dallas club scoring record of 78 points, set by Oscar Gaudet in 1969-70.J.P. picked up assists in his next two outings, and was leading the league with 81 points, as of Mar. 18. His lead was whittled to two points over Tulsa&rsquo;s Jean Payette, who had three goals and four assists for the week, and three points over Oklahoma City&rsquo;s Greg Sheppard, who collected two goals and four assists.Bob Sicinski of the Hawks, with 75 points, was tied for fourth with Fort Worth&rsquo;s Ross Perkins and Omaha&rsquo;s Bill Hogaboam. Hawks J.P. Bordeleau and Dan Maloney were tied for ninth with Norm Dennis of Kansas City and Bill Klatt of Oklahoma City, all with 65 points. Bordeleau didn&rsquo;t add to his 36 goals, and lost the lead in that department to Sheppard, who notched his 38th.Blueliner Crashley was the hero of the victory in Fort Worth, with two goals and three assists, having a hand in every Hawk tally.&ldquo;They played extremely well in the last period,&rdquo; Kromm commented. &ldquo;It may have been their best third period of the season for all-around play. Naturally, I was very pleased.&rdquo;TULSA: While the Black Hawks may still have been celebrating the clinching of first place, when the Tulsa Oilers invaded Dallas, Mar. 18, the Tulsans were deadly serious. They had just dropped a 5-3 showdown in Oklahoma City, and had seen their second-place margin cut to five points over the surging Blazers.That was the Oilers&rsquo; fifth straight road loss, but they did an abrupt turnabout in Dallas, jumping to a 5-1 lead early in the third before the Hawks&rsquo; late explosion.Left wing Jan Popiel had his points streak of 11 consecutive games broken in that loss at OC. But the Danish-born Oiler came back on the beam with two goals and an assist at Dallas. His 19th goal, second of the night, proved to be the winner. It came on a power play early in the third period when Popiel put up his stick in self defense as Murray Heatley&rsquo;s blast came at him in front of the Dallas net.Cal Swenson notched his 30th goal in the loss at Oklahoma City, then assisted on three Oiler tallies in the victory at Dallas. Jean Payette registered his 29th goal in that victory.Dale Smedsmo, big left wing from Bemidji (Minn.) State College, started his five-game pro trial in the game at OC, and assisted on Swenson&rsquo;s tally.Although they had clinched the series with their turnpike rivals (it stood 9-5 after the Mar. 17 loss), the game in Oklahoma City was a bitter disappoointment to the Oilers.They jumped into an early 3-1 lead, and still led, 3-2, after two periods. Al Caron tied it up for the Blazers, and Bill Klatt got the actual winning goal with 6.43 left, when the rebound of his shot from a breakaway bounced back into the net off onrushing Oiler defenseman John Grisdale.Payette&rsquo;s three goals and four assists for the week gave him 79 points, two back of Dallas&rsquo; Leblanc. Swenson was in eighth place with 71.OMAHA: By scoring 24 goals in the week&rsquo;s three games, the surging Knights of coach Larry Popein moved into a third-place tie with Oklahoma City.They started the week with a come-from-behind 7-6 home triumph over Tulsa, outlasted the KC Blues, 9-6, in Omaha, Mar. 17, then went into Kansas City for an 8-3 victory the next night.Center Bill Hogaboam led the attack with five goals and five assists, including a hat trick in the Friday home victory over the Blues. Norm Gratton had two goals against Tulsa. Eight different Knights put the puck in the net at Kansas City.Defenseman Steve Durbano, the league&rsquo;s record-breaking penalty box occupant, had a great week handling the puck. He had eight assists, with four coming in the Friday home victory.Hogaboam&rsquo;s 10 points moved him into a fourth-place tie in the CHL scoring race, tying Ross Perkins of Fort Worth and Bob Sicinski of Dallas with 75. Gratton had four goals and as assist, and stood eighth in the league with 72 points.OKLAHOMA CITY: Bill Klatt was credited with his 30th goal, the winner against Tulsa, Mar. 17, when the rebound of his shot came back into the net off an Oiler player.The Blazers had opened the week with a 4-2 home triumph over Fort Worth. Mar. 12. But after the rallying victory over Tulsa, a trip into Fort Worth the next night brought a 4-2 set back.Greg Sheppard scored the only Blazer goals in that loss, both in the second period. They put the OC crew in front, but the Blazers couldn&rsquo;t withstand a three-goal barrage by the Wings in the third.Sheppard led the league in goals, with 38, and was third in league scoring on 78 points. Klatt was tied for ninth with 65.FORT WORTH: The Wings refused to be counted out of the battle for playoff spots. But a week that brought two losses and one victory left them six points back of Oklahoma City and Omaha, who were tied for third. The Wings had nine games left, only four at home, with three scheduled in Dallas.Tom Martin scored the Wings&rsquo; first two goals in the Saturday triumph over Oklahoma City. Ross Perkins continued to be the Wings&rsquo; big gunner, with 75 points (tied for fourth in the league), picking up two goals and one assist for the week.With Andy Brown sticking with the parent Detroit Red Wings, Fort Worth unveiled a new goalie in amateur Doug Grant, 225-pound, 6-3 giant from Memorial University in St. John&rsquo;s, Newfoundland. He lost to Dallas and beat OC in his first two trial games, was scheduled to. make one more start and then head back to college for exams.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s big, and he&rsquo;s quick,&rdquo; said Wing coach Bob Lemieux. &ldquo;Detroit obviously thinks he has possibilities, or they wouldn&rsquo;t have sent him to us during our stretch drive. I thought he played well.&rdquo;KANSAS CITY: Rookie Wayne Stephenson, &ldquo;unfrozen&rdquo; from the St. Louis roster so the KC Blues would have one able bodied goalkeeper, was taking his lumps. The Blues lost all three games during the week, a 3-2 setback in Dallas followed by the two shellackings from Omaha.Rookie John Garrett suffered pulled ligaments in his right knee in the 5-4 upset victory at Dallas, Mar. 10. He tried to play the next night in Tulsa, but had to leave the game in the second period. Chris Worthy, who also has a lame knee, finished that game, but was in no condition for regular duty.Coming so soon after the jinx breaking victory in Dallas, the March 15 loss to the Hawks in KC was a heart-breaker. The Blues took a 2-1 lead in the second period, only to succuml to Leblanc&rsquo;s two goals in 18 seconds, the winner coming with 5.12 on the clock. &#9632;

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Dallas Wraps Up First League Title

Being selected player of the week is becoming old hat for Bill Hogoboam of the Omaha Knights. The speedy young Knight held the hot hand again in the CHL for the second time in four weeks as he collected 10 points on five goals and five assists. Included among Hogaboam&rsquo;s outburst was a hat trick against Kansas City which raised his season total to 28 goals.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-01102/2989847-1-eng-US/f0029-012.jpg" title="f0029-01" width="528" height="508"><figcaption class="caption-body">BILL HOGABOAM</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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<h2>CENTRAL LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Tue. March 28)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-0277/2989878-1-eng-US/f0029-022.jpg" title="f0029-02" width="573" height="231"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Tue. March 21Kansas City 3 at Tulsa 4Wed. March 22Kansas City 3 at Fort Worth 4Fri. March 24Fort Worth 5 at Dallas 3Oklahoma City 6 at Kansas City 6Tulsa 3 at Omaha 5Sat. March 25Dallas 1 at Fort Worth 1Omaha 4 at Kansas City 3Oklahoma City 1 at Tulsa 3Sun. March 26Omaha 0 at Dallas 4Fort Worth 4 at Tulsa 2<h3>GAMES TO COME</h3>Tue. March 28Oklahoma City at Fort WorthWed. March 29Dallas at OmahaKansas City at Oklahoma CityFri. March 31Dallas at Kansas CityOmaha at Fort WorthTulsa at Oklahoma CitySat. April 1Fort Worth at DallasKansas City at TulsaOmaha at Oklahoma CitySun. April 2Dallas at TulsaOklahoma City at Fort Worth &#9632;

f0029-02

ST. LOUIS&mdash;Central League players were cheered Mar. 17, when the league sweetened the playoff pot by $18,000.Winners of the Adams Cup will receive $900 each (compared to $700 last year), while the losing semifinalists will get $600 (up from $400). In the two first-round series, the winning players will get $750 per man (increased from $600) and the losers $500 (increased from $400).There was no change in the announced playoff for the first four teams in the regular schedule. The first-place Dallas Black Hawks will receive $600 per players. Second place will be worth $400. third $300. and fourth $200. &#9632;

CHL Raises Playoff Pot

<div class="byline">BY HARVEY POLLACK</div>CHARLOTTE&mdash;It may have taken a real threat of elimination from the Eastern Hockey League playoffs to get the Charlotte Checkers back on the road to the Walker Cup.The Checkers ousted the Sun Coast Suns in six games but not until they had to come from a 2-1 deficit to accomplish the trick. Meantime Greensboro took Roanoke Valley in six games to earn the right to face Charlotte for the Southern title. Up North meantime, Johnstown easily beat Clinton in five games, while Syracuse had to go down to the wire in the seventh and deciding game of their best-of-seven series with New Haven before knocking off the Blades 5-2. So it was Johnstown and Syracuse in the Northern final for the right to oppose the South winner for the overall EHL title.Coach Fred Creighton was concerned over the way his Charlotte club finished the regular season. They didn&rsquo;t run roughshod over their opposition as they did earlier in the campaign. I fact Greensboro more than held its own with the Checkers in the waning stages of the season.Creighton tried to rouse his charges but some key injuries hindered his efforts. It appeared that the Checkers would be involved in the biggest upset of post-season play when Sun Coast took the second game of their series in overtime on the rink here to square the series at one a piece. When the Suns went home to beat the Checkers again for a 2-1 edge and with the fourth game on their home ice, things looked bleak for the defending champs.But when things looked darkest, Creighton rallied his club and they copped the vital fourth game to go home all even. This win inspired Charlotte to an easy 7-1 decision at home and then a 2-2 overtime clincher to eliminate a Sun Coast team which had nothing to be ashamed about either over its regular season play or its activities in the post-season competition.Actually the winning goal in the sixth game came when the Checkers were shorthanded. Rick Loe retrieved a blocked shot, and despite a bad leg that was injured in the second period, he sent the puck past goalie Bill Yeo at 13:56 of sudden overtime.Trainer Jerry Maloney has to get an assist for getting Loe back on the ice after the forward crashed the back of his left leg into a goal post in the second period when he was tripped. Maloney packed ice on the leg and eventually Loe told Creighton he could skate if needed.Loe also remembered some pre-game instructions from Creighton. Yeo was injured in an earlier game but wobbled out for the sixth game with his left leg swathed in tape and bandages to protect torn ligaments.Creighton told Loe to aim. for the lower left hand corner. He said Yeo would have trouble getting his body down low to block anything in that direction and he did. &ldquo;So that&rsquo;s where I shot,&rdquo; said the Checkers&rsquo; hero.Creighton was delighted with the comeback of his club. &ldquo;It looked like everything was against us. But our guys wouldn&rsquo;t quit even when Yeo made so many incredible saves. For awhile I thought destiny was against us. We picked ourselves up when a lot of folks thought we were dead,&rdquo; said the skipper.SUN COAST: Pennington hurt his shoulder when he caught his skate on a nail protruding from the boards. His absence was especially felt on power plays. Suns wouldn&rsquo;t be intimidated by rough Checkers. Lloyd Hinchberger upsert by Mickey Grosso&rsquo;s officiating.SYRACUSE: Blazers have drawn biggest crowds in either division for their home playoff games. Dave Ferguson, father of twins Dave and Doug, watched game here. GM Bill Charles protested each game Blazers lost due to presence of Blaine Ryd-man in New Haven lineup. Paul Larose, Ray Adduono and Lee Inglis continued prolific scoring in series.NEW HAVEN: Backup goalie Pete Donnelly from Jersey played nets when Jim Armstrong suffered knee injury. Pierre Leblanc&rsquo;s hat trick included two shorthanded goals.GREENSBORO: Gens and Rebels took turns winning at home until Ernie Miller turned tide by blanking Roanoke Valley in clinching sixth game on road. Don Burgess had two hat tricks. Ron Hindson, the southern penalty leader, curtailed his roughness in early action and helped the Gens considerably.ROANOKE: Rebels&rsquo; failure to overcome road jinx at Greensboro hurt their cause. Loss of Jack Chipchase also was costly when he injured his ankle. Dale MacLeish tormented by Gens fan but latter backed off when MacLeish advanced toward him. Rebels had third period doldrums again.JOHNSTOWN: Bobby Vroman&rsquo;s goaltending deemed the big difference in 4-1 series victory over Clinton. Gene Peacosh scored clincher in fifth game. Series wasn&rsquo;t as physical as games with New Haven or Syracuse.CLINTON: Cal Hammond not available in playoffs as he was recalled by Cleveland. Ray Butterworth suffered jaw injury. Lack of scoring punch hurt Comets.LONG ISLAND: Ducks rehired Ed Stankiewicz as general manager-coach for the 1972-73 season. Al Baron said, &ldquo;we&rsquo;re delighted to have Ed back with us and no one can fault him for our failure to make the playoff.&rdquo; Butch Morris led club in scoring with 100 points and 62 assists and Alain Langlais had most goals (45).JERSEY: Ken Southwick went to Richmond to play defense when the Robins had a series of defensive injuries. Jamie Kennedy had hat trick as a group of Devils played an exhibition at the new building in Savannah, Ga. Bob Miller, Claude Chartre Cal Booth and Bob Murphy also made jaunt. &#9632;

Pesky Play Of Suns Cave Checkers Stare

<h2>NORTHERN DIVISION</h2><h3>Finals</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-01125/2989992-1-eng-US/f0030-012.jpg" title="f0030-01" width="585" height="110"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Thur. March 23Johnstown 1 at Syracuse 7Fri. March 24Johnstown 2 at Syracuse 8Sat. March 25Syracuse 2 at Johnstown 9<h3>GAMES TO COME</h3>Tues. March 28Syracuse at JohnstownThur. March 30Johnstown at SyracuseSat. April 1Syracuse at Johnstown (if necessary)Sun. April 2Johnstown at Syracuse (if necessary)<h3>Semi-Finals</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-0280/2989985-1-eng-US/f0030-022.jpg" title="f0030-02" width="580" height="108"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Thur. March 9New Haven 1 at Syracuse 5Sun. March 12New Hoven 2 at Syracuse 5Tue. March 14Syracuse 5 at New Haven 3Thur. March 16Syracuse 4 at New Haven 8Fri. March 17New Haven 3 at Syracuse 4Sun. March 19Syracuse 3 at New Haven 4Tue. March 21New Haven 2 at Syracuse 5<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-0356/2989978-1-eng-US/f0030-032.jpg" title="f0030-03" width="578" height="111"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Wed. March 8Clinton 0 at Johnstown 8Sat. March 11Clinton 3 at Johnstown 4Sun. March 12Johnstown 2 at Clinton 6Tues. March 14Johnstown 3 at Clinton 0Thur. March 16Clinton 1 at Johnstown 2<h2>SOUTHERN DIVISION</h2><h3>Finals</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-0444/2989971-1-eng-US/f0030-042.jpg" title="f0030-04" width="578" height="111"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Tue. March 21Greensboro 0 at Charlotte 5Wed. March 22Charlotte 3 at Greensboro 5Fri. March 24Greensboro 5 at Charlotte 6Sun. March 26Charlotte 4 at Greensboro 0<h3>GAMES TO COME</h3>Tue. March 28Greensboro at CharlotteThur. March 30Charlotte at Greensboro (if necessary)Fri. March 31Greensboro at Charlotte (if necessary)<h3>Semi-finals</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-0541/2989964-1-eng-US/f0030-052.jpg" title="f0030-05" width="575" height="107"></div><h2>GAMESCOMPLETED</h2>Tues. March 7Sun Coast 1 at Charlotte 6Fri. March 10Sun Coast 3 at Charlotte 2Sun. March 12Charlotte 3 at Sun Coast 5Mon. March 13Charlotte 4 at Sun Coast 2Tues. March 14Sun Coast 1 at Charlotte 7Wed. March 15Charlotte 3 at Sun Coast 2<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-0632/2989957-1-eng-US/f0030-062.jpg" title="f0030-06" width="574" height="104"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Tues. March 7Roanoke 2 at Greensboro 5Wed. March 8Greensboro 2 at Roanoke 3Mon. March 13Roanoke 3 at Greensboro 8Tue. March 14Greensboro 3 at Roanoke 4Wed. March 15Roanoke 3 at Greensboro 6Sat. March 18Greensboro 4 at Roanoke 0 &#9632;

f0030-01

EHL PLAYOFFS

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-0723/2990079-1-eng-US/f0030-072.jpg" title="f0030-07" width="254" height="403"><figcaption class="caption-body">Guy DeNoncourt</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-0818/2990072-1-eng-US/f0030-082.jpg" title="f0030-08" width="269" height="400"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jim Pritchard</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-0915/2990065-1-eng-US/f0030-092.jpg" title="f0030-09" width="262" height="403"><figcaption class="caption-body">Ray Adduono</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-1012/2990058-1-eng-US/f0030-102.jpg" title="f0030-10" width="262" height="400"><figcaption class="caption-body">Alain Langlais</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-119/2990051-1-eng-US/f0030-112.jpg" title="f0030-11" width="260" height="402"><figcaption class="caption-body">Billy Yeo</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-128/2990044-1-eng-US/f0030-122.jpg" title="f0030-12" width="260" height="398"><figcaption class="caption-body">Mike Rouleau</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-137/2990037-1-eng-US/f0030-132.jpg" title="f0030-13" width="259" height="398"><figcaption class="caption-body">Frank Golembrosky</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-146/2990030-1-eng-US/f0030-142.jpg" title="f0030-14" width="270" height="394"><figcaption class="caption-body">Allie Sutherland</figcaption></div>NEW YORK&mdash;The Eastern Hockey League&rsquo;s two pennant winners&mdash;Charlotte and Syracuse&mdash;dominated the official EHL All Star teams picked by the coaches.The Southern champion Checkers placed three on the first team and came up with the rookie-of-the-year in Don Brennan while Syracuse had two players named and the Northern Division coach-of-the-year award went to Blazers&rsquo; Ron Ingram.Here&rsquo;s how the two teams were selected:<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-156/2990023-1-eng-US/f0030-152.jpg" title="f0030-15" width="1135" height="391"></div> &#9632;

f0030-07

Charlotte, Syracuse Gain Most EHL All Star Berths

<div class="byline">BY JOHN GUGGER</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-01108/2990124-1-eng-US/f0031-012.jpg" title="f0031-01" width="533" height="528"><figcaption class="caption-body">BILL PETTINGER</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-0283/2990117-1-eng-US/f0031-022.jpg" title="f0031-02" width="537" height="524"><figcaption class="caption-body">BARRY GRAHAM&hellip;Cut Out Of Wreck</figcaption></div>FLINT&mdash;It appeared the Flint Generals would move into the International League playoffs from a position of strength.The Generals had struggled through the middle portions of the schedule. hut finally put together a three-game win streak in the next-to-last week of the regular-season. It was their longest run of victories since november. Then disaster struck.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-0368/2990110-1-eng-US/f0031-032.jpg" title="f0031-03" width="234" height="435"><figcaption class="caption-body">Bob Olein</figcaption></div>Winger Bill Pettinger and defenseman Barry Graham were lost to the team when a late-model sports car Graham was driving went out of control and crashed into two other cars, injuring both seriously. Pettinger suffered a broken hip, punctured lung, and internal injuries in addition to having his spleen removed. Graham suffered a broken jaw, broken ribs, plus head and internal injuries.Firemen had to use torches to cut the pair out of the mangled auto.Left wing Pettinger, who was initially listed in extremely poor condition, had been up for a pro tryout with Portland earlier in the season. Though he wasn&rsquo;t a big goal-scorer, he was a strong checker and most of his production had come at pivotal stages in Flint games.Graham was used mostly as a fifth man on defense, but had seen considerable action on the blueline because of numerous injuries to the team&rsquo;s rearguards.&ldquo;Everything else is insignificant now,&rdquo; Flint general manager Frank Gallagher said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re concerned only with Bill&rsquo;s welfare.&rdquo;The loss of Pettinger, whose hockey future was clouded by the accident, and Graham left the Generals with 14 men for two games in Des Moines. Defenseman Glen Irwin was on emergency duty with Richmond at the time.Remarkably, the Generals went out 24 hours after the accident and defeated Des Moines, 21, for their first win in the Iowa city since January of 1971. The victory was accomplished despite the loss of Stan Fuller for part of the game with a dislocated shoulder and goalie Bob Perani midway through the match.&ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t try that win-for-the-Gipper routine because that puts too much pressure on a team,&rdquo; coach Ken Hodge said. &ldquo;But a couple of guys in the dressing room said, &lsquo;Just remember, there are two guys back home that would like to be here,&rsquo; and I guess that was our motivating force.&rdquo;MUSKEGON: A 4-4 tie in the finale at Flint deprived Mohawks of tying league victory record of 50&hellip;Mohawks took overall point championship, edging Dayton by two points&hellip;Bob Olein, with 11 goals in 64 games, fired four against Toledo&hellip;Bryan McLay edged out Toledo&rsquo;s Jim Paterson for goal-scoring title&hellip;Hawks set club record of 49 wins&hellip;Muskegon went 10-0 against Columbus&hellip;PORT HURON: Wings totalled around 65,000 in attendance, an average of 1,800 per game&hellip;Brian Cropper had season-high of 50 saves in Muskegon&hellip;Bill LeCaine broke 10-game slump with winner against Toledo&hellip;Wings dropped 11 of last 13 one-goal decisions&hellip;Cropper&rsquo;s goals against mark of 3.40 best in team&rsquo;s history&hellip;Wings hoped to have goalie George Hulme back for playoffs&hellip;TOLEDO: Greg Jablonski named most popular Hornet and Paterson chosen as the most valuable&hellip;Paterson fired fifth hat trick in Muskegon&hellip;Jablonski played in all of his teams games for ninth time in 12-year IHL career&hellip;Goalie Glenn Ramsay missed last four games with pulled hamstring&hellip;Defenseman John Gravel led club in assists with 42&hellip;Hornets averaged just under 1,900 per home date&hellip;DAYTON: Injured Gordie Malinoski was doing color on radio broadcasts&hellip;Lorne Weighill named most valuable, Mike Sauter the most popular among players&hellip;Gems humiliated in 10-1 loss at Fort Wayne, which took them out of overall title picture&hellip;Game at Columbus began late when Gems became confused over starting time&hellip;Dave Simpson working in playoffs with broken thumb&hellip;Gems finished hear 1,300 minutes in penalties, a new club record&hellip;FORT WAYNE: Komets had crowd of 6,936 for home finale&hellip;Goaltending of Paul Hoganson was strong in successful drive for second place&hellip;Jim Pearson suffered rib injury&hellip;K&rsquo;s closed regular season with nine wins in 12 games&hellip;K&rsquo;s won 13 road games&hellip;DES MOINES: Bob LePage broke own scoring record for defenseman with 49th point&hellip;Leafs&rsquo; players donated $155 to Shorty Malanchuk fund&hellip;Leafs televised home finale&hellip;Bob Perreault recorded first shutout, 7-0, over Flint&hellip;Jack Criel scored two goals, his second and third of season, 30 seconds apart against former Toledo teammates&hellip;Duke Asmundson had best year ever with more than 30 goals and 80 points&hellip;COLUMBUS: Pete Vipond named most valuable player&hellip;Club reached coach Terry Gray&rsquo;s projected victory total of 15 by routing Des Moines, 8-2, in last game&hellip;Angus Beck, Del Hall, Al Simmons, and Dan Helm all moved up to pros for five-game trial at conclusion of season&hellip; &#9632;

f0031-01

Car Crash Jolts Flint’s Playoff Chances; Komets Knocked Dayton Out Of Title Race

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-0543/2990155-1-eng-US/f0031-052.jpg" title="f0031-05" width="525" height="730"></div>MUSKEGON&mdash;With 109 points, Gary Ford of Muskegon Mohawks won his second IHL scoring championship. He previously won the honor in the 1967-68 season notching 115 points. League record for most points in a single season was set by Len Thomson of Fort Wayne Komets when he notched 139 in the 1966-67 campaign.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-0453/2990162-1-eng-US/f0031-042.jpg" title="f0031-04" width="239" height="429"><figcaption class="caption-body">Gary Ford</figcaption></div>Bryan McLay of Muskegon was the top goal-getter of the season with 48, his best output since entering the league in the 1957-58 season with Cincinnati.<h2>FINAL SCORING LEADERS &#9632;</h2>

f0031-05

Ford Grabs Second IHL Point Title

Semi-Finals<h2>SERIES &lsquo;A&rsquo;</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-0626/2990207-1-eng-US/f0031-062.jpg" title="f0031-06" width="570" height="111"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Wed. March 22Dayton 3 at Muskegon 6Sat. March 25Dayton 4 at Muskegon 5Sun. March 26Muskegon 1 at Dayton 4<h3>GAMES TO COME</h3>Wed. March 29Muskegon at DaytonSat. April 1Dayton at MuskegonThur. April 6Muskegon at Dayton (if necessary)Sat. April 8Dayton at Muskegon (if necessary)Quarter-Finals<h2>SERIES &lsquo;B&rsquo;</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-0721/2990200-1-eng-US/f0031-072.jpg" title="f0031-07" width="576" height="115"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Wed. March 22Flint 2 at Port Huron 3Fri. March 24Port Huron 1 at Flint 5Sat March 25Flint 0 at Port Huron 2<h3>GAMES TO COME</h3>Tue. March 28Port Huron at FlintWed. March 29Flint at Port Huron (if necessary)<h2>SERIES &lsquo;C&rsquo;</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-0818/2990193-1-eng-US/f0031-082.jpg" title="f0031-08" width="574" height="111"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Tue. March 21Des Moines 3 at Fort Wayne 5Wed. March 22Des Moines 3 at Fort Wayne 5Fri. March 24Fort Wayne 5 at Des Moines 1 &#9632;

f0031-06

IHL PLAYOFFS

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0032-09" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-095/2990349-1-eng-US/f0032-092.jpg"></div><h2>DIVISION I TEAMS</h2><h2>DIVISION II TEAMS</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-105/2990342-1-eng-US/f0032-102.jpg" title="f0032-10" width="1145" height="518"></div> &#9632;

f0032-09

How They Picked Them

<div class="byline">By Tom Burke</div><h2>BU, Cornell Romp Swings Power East</h2>For the second straight year, the best in the East was the best in the country in college hockey and oh, my, Aunt Bertha, how times have changed!Boston University&rsquo;s 4-0 strangling of Cornell marked the first time in history that an ECAC team has repeated as National champ. The Terriers skated, checked, and forced the breaks in a flawless game which taught the Big Red a few things about playoff hockey, a subject in which they&rsquo;ve been majoring for several years themselves.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s the only way to do it,&rdquo; sobbed a soaking wet Jack Kelley after emerging from the Boston Garden shower room from the first dunking of his career.&ldquo;Maybe that&rsquo;s the greatest tribute this dedicated bunch of boys can pay me, to throw me in the shower for the first time,&rdquo; he joked. &ldquo;They almost succeeded in making me lovable old Jack Kelley with that move.&rdquo;Kelley might have pointed to his team&rsquo;s perfect game execution which brought the NCAA Title to Boston before an all-time record NCAA final crowd of 14,995. It was probably the tribute of which he was thinking. Skating four lines to match the Big Red line-for-line, BU managed to pin the first shutout in eight years and some 225 games on the Cayuga crew. The Terriers opened the championship tourney on Thursday, March 16 with a convincing 4-1 win over Wisconsin, a game won in much the same style after yielding an early goal and territorial edge to the Badgers.Cornell played a pretty much identical Eastern-style game the following night, giving away nothing to a hard-hitting but slower skating Denver University team and outracing them by an astounding score of 7-2. If this was the best the West has to offer, the balance of power has certainly shifted East of the Mississippi.&ldquo;We definitely didn&rsquo;t play our best in the championship game,&rdquo; reflected Cornell coach Dick Bertrand candidly. &ldquo;But even if we had, and even if BU hadn&rsquo;t had that extra night&rsquo;s rest on us, we still would have run into a brick wall out on that ice. We&rsquo;d have been in plenty of trouble still.&rdquo;Ron Anderson and Ric Jordan, junior wing and defenseman respectively. each score twice to lead BU to the championship. Anderson had been paired up against Cornell&rsquo;s All-America winger Larry Fullan and was assigned to shadow him. He scored a power play goal in the first period, his first ever against Cornell, and finished off a 2-on-1 break with Toot Cahoon in the third frame for his second tally.Jordan, who&rsquo;d wanted to enroll at Cornell out of junior hockey in Canada, blasted home a second period power play score and took a feed from Cahoon in front at 13:13 of the third period to wrap up the scoring. He was feeling especially chipper after it was over.&ldquo;Yeah, I wanted to go to the Cornell Agriculture School,&rdquo; he cracked. &ldquo;But they wouldn&rsquo;t let me in. My plant died.&rsquo;Cornell was obviously spent after going hell-bent-for-election against powerful Denver in the semi-final. They, and BU as well, showed the superiority of a swift, reckless abandon forechecking game to a controlled, heavier hitting style favored by DU. One coach in attendance observed that perhaps the Western teams would be at a disadvantage against East squads in that their schedules are made up of two-game weekend series in which they always have to play with a mind to having something left for the following night. Coincidentally, seven of Denver&rsquo;s overall 11 losses this season came on Friday nights.The Big Red was obviously a better coordinated team than the Pioneers. Also BU and Cornell were more closely knit untils than Wisconsin and Denver and that neither Eastern team had been allowed or opted to use freshmen on the varsity; perhaps a year of indoctrination into a single hockey philosophy and system takes away from some individual development, but it certainly doesn&rsquo;t hurt team cohesion. Denver, by the way, was making its tenth NCAA appearance and had never finished fourth. Wisconsin took care of that distinction in the Saturday afternoon consolation game behind a hat trick by Gary Winchester.Dave Westner scored four goals against Denver after serving a misconduct penalty in the first period. He beefed at a call by referee Frank Larson from the penalty box, and Larson slapped him with an extra ten. Goalie Dave Elenbaas was an uncertainty until right before the Friday faceoff, but a cortisone shot for his hamstring muscle took effect and he had 32 saves.Bob Murray, steady senior defenseman, missed the toumement with kidney trouble but was spelled nicely by Dave Warner for BU. Tim Regan, of course, won the MVP when Dan Brady&rsquo;s knee gave out on him and he had to yield his spot in the BU goal, where he himself earned MVP in Syracuse last year.NCAA NOTES: Kudos to Northeastern University and Boston College for an excellently-run tournement&hellip;the schools were co-hosts with NU&rsquo;s personnel picking up most of the work this time around&hellip;BC will do likewise next year as the NCAA Tourney returns to the Garden for the second of a three-year hitch&hellip;and why not make the Garden a permanent home for it?&hellip;Bob Krieger was generally acclaimed to be the most individually talented skater in the tourney, followed closely by Denver mate Brian Morenz&hellip;Wisconsin brought along about 1,000 hilariosly devoted fans who brightened up the picture considerably&hellip;at the consolation, with about 2,500 in attendance, they switched ends each period so as to be seated behind the Denver goalie. &#9632;

DOWN EAST

<div class="byline">BY TOM BURKE</div>BOSTON&mdash;The American Hockey Coaches&rsquo; Association held their annual convention at Boston&rsquo;s Parker House during the NCAA Tournament. The coaches debated and recommended rule changes which were to be considered by the NCAA Hockey Rules Committee later in the month in Florida.A sizable bloc among the coaches favors having one referee and two linesmen assigned to college games, rather than the two referees used now. Uniformity of interpretation is the goal of this movement, since now there might be one &ldquo;strict&rdquo; ref and one &ldquo;lenient&rdquo; ref assigned to the same game.Several coaches are for changing of the checking rule, allowing bodychecking all over the ice. Up to now, bodying in the offensive zone has been outlawed, but the conservative element in the coaching ranks continues to lose support in its stand here. The change seems inevitable, if not this year then in the near future.The red line will never be inserted into the college game, however. It would take away much of the game&rsquo;s speed and emphasis on skating.The coaches also debated several other measures such as dimensions of the special faceoff spot, and voted for their coach of the Year and All-America teams, which were monopolized by the newly-crowned NCAA champs&mdash;Boston University.John &ldquo;Snooks&rdquo; Kelley, retiring from Boston College after 36 seasons, won the Spencer Penrose Award for the Division One Coach of the Year. Kelley finished up his career with a total of 501 victories.The Division Two award went to Jack Canniff of the University of Massachusetts. Canniff, who played for Kelley at BC in the &rsquo;50&rsquo;s, coached UMass to the ECAC Division Two title this season.BU players named to the East All-America team included goaler Dan Brady, defenseman Bob Brown and forward John Danby.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-01118/2990287-1-eng-US/f0032-012.jpg" title="f0032-01" width="252" height="436"><figcaption class="caption-body">John Danby</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-0273/2990280-1-eng-US/f0032-022.jpg" title="f0032-02" width="255" height="433"><figcaption class="caption-body">Larry Fullan</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-0342/2990273-1-eng-US/f0032-032.jpg" title="f0032-03" width="251" height="434"><figcaption class="caption-body">Steve Warr</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-0431/2990266-1-eng-US/f0032-042.jpg" title="f0032-04" width="243" height="430"><figcaption class="caption-body">Dave Hynes</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-0520/2990259-1-eng-US/f0032-052.jpg" title="f0032-05" width="249" height="434"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jim Watt</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-0612/2990252-1-eng-US/f0032-062.jpg" title="f0032-06" width="255" height="430"><figcaption class="caption-body">Bob Winograd</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-079/2990245-1-eng-US/f0032-072.jpg" title="f0032-07" width="249" height="433"><figcaption class="caption-body">Doug Palazzari</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-087/2990238-1-eng-US/f0032-082.jpg" title="f0032-08" width="247" height="435"><figcaption class="caption-body">Walt Ledingham</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0032-01

Champion BU Dominates All America Selections

TORONTO&mdash;The six-time Canadian champion Toronto Varsity Blues dominated the Ontario Universities Athletic Association All Stars in the annual Canadian collegiate selections.The Blues captured the most positions on the OUAA teams and shared the honor with Loyola Warriors in the Quebec Conference and with University of British Columbia Thunderbirds in the West, as the most popular with the selectors.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-01102/2990401-1-eng-US/f0033-012.jpg" title="f0033-01" width="258" height="435"><figcaption class="caption-body">Dave McDowall</figcaption></div>Unlike the Blues, both Loyola and UBC were among the vanquished and failed to reach the college national playdowns in a pair of stunning upsets.Toronto, led by defenseman Dave McDowall and center John Wright, both first-team repeaters, placed four players on the two Ontario Eastern All Stars. Goaler Dave Tataryn of Varsity was also chosen on the first team. Two other first-team picks were Steve Latinovich of York, who once played with Dallas in the CHL, and Frank Hamill of Laur-entian, a former member of Muskegon Mohawks of the IHL.In the Western Section voting of the OUAA, Western University Mustangs had three firstteam selections.Loyola completely monopolized the Quebec All Stars getting three players on the first team and five on the second. Gavin Kirk, who started the year with Phoenix Roadrunners of the WHL, was chosen center on the first team after winning the individual scoring title with Loyola.In the West, champion Alberta Golden Bears had three men on the first team and one on the second but UBC topped the voting with two on the first and three on the second team.<h2>Ontario All Stars</h2><h3>EASTERN SECTION</h3><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-0275/2990394-1-eng-US/f0033-022.jpg" title="f0033-02" width="1203" height="286"></div><h2>Quebec All Stars</h2><h3>WESTERN SECTION</h3><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-0354/2990387-1-eng-US/f0033-032.jpg" title="f0033-03" width="1215" height="659"></div><h3>Western All Stars</h3><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-0442/2990380-1-eng-US/f0033-042.jpg" title="f0033-04" width="1201" height="273"></div> &#9632;

f0033-01

Toronto, Loyola, UBC Make Impact On College All Stars

<div class="byline">BY BOB BRISCOE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-01111/2990439-1-eng-US/f0034-012.jpg" title="f0034-01" width="498" height="591"><figcaption class="caption-body">JOHN DAVIDSON&hellip;Top Net Star</figcaption></div>EDMONTON&mdash;Major confrontations for better playoff positions in the Eastern and Western Division of the Western Canada Hockey League failed to materialize during the week when the challengers blew important home games.In the Eastern Division, the Regina Pats unfurled the pennant with a 6-5 victory over Saskatoon Blades in Saskatoon. That was a game Blades had to win to keep their slim first-place hopes alive.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-0812/2990432-1-eng-US/f0034-082.jpg" title="f0034-08" width="253" height="431"><figcaption class="caption-body">Rob Neale</figcaption></div>Over in the Western Division. Edmonton Oil Kings clinched second with a 3-2 victory over New Westminster Bruins in New Westminster. Although Oil Kings white on to win three more coast road games, the victory over Bruins was the one they needed to secure second.Calgary Centennials easily won first place and the right to face fourth-place Medicine Hat Tigers in one of the West Division semi-final series with Edmonton and New Westminster meeting in the other.Regina Pats will meet fourth place Flin Flon Bombers in the A series of the East Division playoffs with Blades meeting Brandon Wheat Kings in the other.All series are best-of-seven affairs and the following is a glimpse at what is most likely to happen down the WCHL playoff trail.Regina vs Flin Flon: On the season&rsquo;s performance, Pats should win in six or seven games providing injured players Glen Burdon and Ken Marit make it back into the lineup. Bombers have been receiving better goaltending of late from Roger Swanson and have a long playoff history that will help overcome some serious talent shortage.Saskatoon vs Brandon: Blades should win in six games because they&rsquo;ve proven over the season that they can play good defensive hockey. Wheat Kings have some defensive short comings but will give Blades an uncomfortable time if the young and talented forwards can build up some early momentum.Probable final: Regina vs Saskatoon with Pats winning in a series that could go right down to the last minute of the final game in Regina.Calgary vs Medicine Hat: Here&rsquo;s a classic confrontation of Centennials, the best defensive team in the league, meeting Tigers, the highest scoring team. Calgary should win in six games because of goaltending sensation John Davidson, best in the league by a mile, and the ability to control the puck.Edmonton vs New Westminster: This series could go right down to the seventh and deciding game if Bruins are able to shake a playoff jinx that has caused them problems in the last two years. Edmonton should win if their young goaltending doesn&rsquo;t give them problems. Bruins have experienced forwards that could swing the series the other way.Probable final: Calgary vs Edmonton with Calgary winning their first division title ever on the strength of great goaltending and better last-year forwards.Divisional meeting: Calgary vs Regina with Calgary winning on strength of their experience over Pats, who won first place with a young hockey team that should be championship material for the next two seasons at least.Statistically despite a 14-point spree last week, the chances are remote that Rob Neale of Brandon will overtake leader Tom Lysiak, of Medicine Hat in the WCHL scoring race.Neale, a second-year centre, got nine goals and five assists in three games to jump to fourth from seventh with 118 points. He gained nine points on Lysiak.However, Neale remains well off Lysiak&rsquo;s pace and only has four games left in the 68-game schedule. Lysiak leads the race with 137 points on 44 goals and a league high of 93 assists.Lysiak&rsquo;s teammate, Stan Weir, is second with 130 points including 73 assists, while Blaine Stoughton of Flin Flon holds third place with 122 points.Neale is two points ahead of Jeff Ablett of Medicine Hat and Regina&rsquo;s Dennis Sobchuk, each with 116 points. To games last Sunday, Ablett and Ron Chipperfield of Brandon shared the goal-scoring race with 59 goals apiece, one more than Stoughton and two ahead of Weir.Chuck Arnason, formely of Flin Flon, took the WCHL title last year with 163 points. Bobby Clarke, also an ex-Flin Flon player, set the points record of 168 in the 1967-68 season.Lawrence Sacharuk of Saskatoon Blades continues to lead defencemen in scoring with 81 points, good enough for 17th place in the points department. His total includes 47 goals. &#9632;

f0034-01

Calgary Goaling Makes Cents Top Choice With Regina Main Hurdle To WCHL Title

<div class="byline">BY JACK GATECUFF</div>TORONTO&mdash;To the surprise of very few people Toronto Marlboros won the Ontario Hockey Association Junior A pennant and now are odds-on favorites to take the provincial championship now that the playoffs are underway.Although they had a rather hesitant start and were in second place to Oshawa Generals until they started winning with regularity in mid-January there was little doubt coach Frank Bonello had put together another powerful team with the emphasis on offense.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-0199/2990543-1-eng-US/f0035-012.jpg" title="f0035-01" width="271" height="442"><figcaption class="caption-body">Steve Shutt</figcaption></div>Last season, although they established a Junior A record with 353 goals, their defense and goaltending was not up to par and they finished fifth.However they advanced into the finals before being eliminated by St. Catharines Black Hawks.This year their offense is even stronger headed by such veterans as Dave Gardner, Steve Shutt, Billy Harris and George Ferguson and while there have been better defensive teams in the league&rsquo;s history, the Marlies are more than adequate in that department.All four&mdash;Gardner, Shutt, Harris and Ferguson&mdash;will almost certain to be selected in the first round of the National Hockey League June draft in Montreal.It marked the first time the Marlboros had led the OHA Junior A League since 1964 and barring an upset they seem headed to the Memorial Cup finals which will be a round-robin affair this season in Ottawa involving the champions from Ontario, Quebec and Western Canada hockey leagues.TORONTO: Steve Shutt suffered a cracked hip in a game against Oshawa when he crashed into a goal post while trying to save a shot on the open net in game won by the Generals 65&hellip;Shutt will be back for the playoffs but his injury halted his bid to break the single-season goal-scoring record of 71 set by Richard Martin last season with Montreal Junior Canadiens&hellip;The injury also nullified any hope the Marlboro line had of becoming the highest-scoring unit in OHA Junior A history&hellip;The record is held by Hugh Barlow, Brian and Barry Cullen of the 1953-54 St. Catharines Tee Pees who put together 389 points&hellip;Paulin Bordeleau scored four successive goals in 9-2 win over St. Catharines&hellip;Coach Frank Bonello missed the game against the Hawks because of the death of his mother&hellip;His position was taken over by assistant manager Jack White.OSHAWA: Definitely the surprise team of the league this season the Generals under coach Gus Bodnar jumped from ninth place to second&hellip;It marked only the second time in five years the Generals qualified for the playoffs&hellip;Seventeen-year-old Bill Lochead scored four goals in first game back while wearing cast on broken hand&hellip;Gilles Gratton still playing well in goal and Mike Amodeo solid on defense.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-0275/2990536-1-eng-US/f0035-022.jpg" title="f0035-02" width="546" height="600"><figcaption class="caption-body">BILL HARRIS&hellip;High In Draft</figcaption></div>PETERBOROUGH: The Petes, coached by Roger Neilson are regarded in many quarters as the team with the best chance of up setting the Marlboros&hellip;Peterborough in the past has started strongly, then faded in the stretch&hellip;This year they have played steadily throughout the schedule and seem to be reaching their peak as the playoffs opened&hellip;Last season the Petes finished first and were eliminated in the opening round by the Marlboros.OTTAWA: Goaltending by Michel (Bunny) Larocque and defensive work of Denis Potvin give the 67s an honest shot at the OHA championship&hellip;However despite line-juggling by coach Bill Long Ottawa did not come close to Toronto, Peterborough, Kitchener or Niagara Falls in scoring power and this could be serious handicap in title hopes&hellip;Ottawa has best defensive record and if forwards start finding the range they may pose a threat.KITCHENER: Ranger&rsquo;s chances of avoiding fifth place and first round confrontation with Marlboros jeopardized when held to 3-3 tie by cellar-dwelling Hamilton Red Wings&hellip;Inconsistency still the chief problem faced by coach Ron Murphy&hellip;Excellent play by rookie 19-year-old forward Al Blanchard has kept club within range of first division but several veterans have been disappointing in final season of junior eligibility&hellip;NIAGARA FALLS: Flyers appeared certain of finishing sixth after ending last the past two seasons&hellip;A big improvement but manager Hap Emms and his son and coach Paul Emms had hoped for better after good start&hellip;Don Lever still the key to the Falls attack but has had able assistance from Wayne Chrysler, who scored three goals in 6-1 win over Ottawa.ST. CATHARINES: After months of injuries to veterans such as captain Bob MacMillan, Mike Bloom and Jeff Jacques Hawks finally had full team in Toronto but were trounced 9-2 by Marlboros&hellip;Rookie Dave Gorman one of few bright spots for Hawks&hellip;Toronto native whose family moved to St. Catharines five years ago became first 16-year-old in Junior A history to score than 30 goals and led team in that department.LONDON: Coach Bronco Horvath had hoped for first division finish but had to settle for one of the lower playoff spots&hellip;Strong line of Dennis Ververgaert, Randy Osburn and Reg Thomas one of best in league but bench week and goaltending excellent some nights, weak on other occasions&hellip;Late season 33 tie with Peterborough one of best performances by Knights in last two months.MONTREAL: Loss of outstanding 1970-71 players left Canadiens with little to build on this season and as a result team missed playoffs for first time since entering Ontario league a decade ago&hellip;Plunge from third to ninth cut deeply into attendance at Forum. &#9632;

f0035-01

Marlboros’ Power Feared As Playoffs Get Underway

ST. CATHARINES&mdash;There&rsquo;s mutiny in the ranks of the St. Catharines Black Hawks it seems.The club&rsquo;s three netminders bolted the team in a revolt that saw Mike Ralph, Brian Cousineau and Gordon Black, pack their bags and head for home.Ralph, the 19-year-old spokesman for the group, said the three goalkeepers thought it over between them and decided to walk out reluctantly. Their complaint was they didn&rsquo;t get enough ice time.&ldquo;With three goaltenders, none of us got into enough games,&rdquo; said Black, who started only three complete games. &ldquo;It was a matter of loss of pride. We just didn&rsquo;t see eye to eye with management.&rdquo; Ralph and Cousineau were in 24 games each.The Hawks were left with a 16-year-old midget, Bill Cheropita, to finish the schedule. &#9632;

Hawk Goalers Pull Walkout

<h2>ONTARIO MAJOR JUNIOR</h2>(Final Standings)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-0352/2990619-1-eng-US/f0035-032.jpg" title="f0035-03" width="583" height="289"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Tue. March 21Kitchener 5 at Niagara Falls 9Toronto 6 at Hamilton 2Montreal 3 at Peterborough 4Oshawa 3 at Longon 5Thur. March 23Oshawa 1 at Peterborough 9Fri. March 24London 5 at Niagara Falls 6Peterborough 7 at Kitchener 3Montreal 2 at Ottawa 2Sat. March 25Niagara Falls 4 at Oshawa 4Sun. March 26London 1 at St. Catharines 9Toronto 4 at Kitchener 6Peterborough 3 at Ottawa 4Niagara Falls 2 at Montreal 11<h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3>(Including games of Tue. March 21)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-0445/2990612-1-eng-US/f0035-042.jpg" title="f0035-04" width="586" height="532"></div><h3>GOALKEEPERS RECORDS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-0540/2990605-1-eng-US/f0035-052.jpg" title="f0035-05" width="584" height="208"></div><h2>QUEBEC JUNIOR LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Mon. March 27)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-0630/2990598-1-eng-US/f0035-062.jpg" title="f0035-06" width="584" height="287"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Mon March 20Drummondville 7 at Laval 2Tue. March 21Sorel 8 at St. Jerome 3Sherbrooke 3 at Trois-Rivieres 4Shawinigan 5 at Cornwall 3Thur. March 23Verdun 4 at Cornwall 6Fri. March 24Trois-Rivieres 4 at Sherbrooke 2St. Jerome 3 at Sorel 5Drummondville at Quebec (postponed)Shawinigan at Verdun (postponed)Sun. March 26Drummondville 1 at Shawinigan 5Sorel 6 at Quebec 8Laval 3 at St. Jerome 7Cornwall 9 at Sherbrooke 3Verdun 6 at Trois-Rivibres 11 &#9632;

f0035-03

<div class="byline">BY HAL SIGURDSON</div>VANCOUVER&mdash;When things start to go wrong, it seems as if the sky is the limit. At least it does as far the Vancouver Canucks are concerned.Just as the Canucks appeared set to break out of the most agonizing slump of their brief NHL history, they received not one, but two painful body blows.The first was delivered Sunday, March 19; the second some 36 hours later. And suddenly coach Hal Laycoe was forced into the position of finishing the balance of the schedule without two of his most valuable performers.The absentees are Dale Tallon and Barry Wilkins.Tallon was injured late in the third period of the Canucks&rsquo; unbelievable game with the St. Louis Blues.Playing perhaps the best hockey of his career since moving back to forward from defense. Tallon came charging in off right wing and unloaded a wicked shot at St. Louis goaltender Jacques Caron.An instant after letting it go he was hit with a crunching (and perfectly legal) knee-high body check by St. Louis defenseman Boh Plager.Tallon did a complete cartwheel in the air. landed on his back and slid skates first into the boards.&ldquo;He got me real good,&rdquo; Tallon was to explain later. &ldquo;I knew he&rsquo;d be coming at me low; but I thought I had time to pull up and let him slide by in front of me. I didn&rsquo;t. When he hit me I felt something pop. It felt like my knee was way over here and the rest of my leg way back there.&rdquo;The next day Tallon&rsquo;s worst suspicions were confirmed. The cartilage and knee ligaments in his left knee were both torn.Tallon underwent corrective surgery that night. The operation went smoothly, but doctors estimate it will be late May or early June before he well be mobile again.The big sophomore was no more than comfortably settled in his Royal Columbian Hospital room, when he received company. Wilkins was admitted at 5 the next morning.He has had more than his share of injury problems this season&mdash;first a shoulder separation, then seven lost teeth when a deflected slap shot hit him in the mouth.But this time the burly defenseman&rsquo;s problem was illness rather than injury&mdash;a kidney stone attack. Wilkins had two minor attacks earlier this season, but in each case was able to shake them off.Not so, the latest. This time he may need an operation which means he, too, will probably be out for the season.The twin setbacks came at a time when the Canucks don&rsquo;t have much left to lose as a team, but they add up to a big loss to the players involved.Tallon had been playing extremely well since moving back to right wing. He had increased his goal total to 17 and appeared well on the way to his first NHL 20-goal season. In most players&rsquo; contracts, the 20-goal plateau means a bonus.The setbacks also came at a time when the Canucks had just finished putting together a win and a tie to move within two points of the sixth place Buffalo Sabres, giving them a chance to avoid the eastern division basement.The Canucks had just completed a 6-2 conquest of the Sabres in Buffalo and appeared well on their way to a win over St. Louis when lightning struck in the final two minutes.Down 3-1. St. Louis coach Al Arbour pulled his goaltender with 2:09 left to play. Frank St. Marseille scored 17 seconds later. Then with Caron back in the net the Blues scored again. This time Phil Roberto did the honors.So in dramatic fashion the Blues transformed almost certain defeat into a 3-all tie to hold, temporarily at least, third place in the West Division&rsquo;s frantic playoff race.In fact. Vancouver goaltender Dune Wilson had to make a big save on Jack Egers in the closing seconds to preserve the tie.&ldquo;If that one had gone in I&rsquo;d have had to leave town.&rdquo; grinned a relieved Wilson. But if it had. it would have blended in nicely with the Canucks&rsquo; overall picture. &#9632;

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April 7, 1972

HOW THEY STAND

Giacomin’s Two Assists NHL Record

ALL TIME LEADERS

Player Of The Week