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

December 27, 1974

The Hockey News December 27, 1974

<div class="byline">By Bill Libby</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-01965/3582143-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg" title="f0008-01" width="292" height="355"></div><h2>The Gift Of Giving&hellip;</h2>EDWIN VERNON WESTFALL is a good hockey player, but a better person. At Christmas season it is appropriate to appreciate a gentleman who has learned the gift of giving; He is a good guy. who does not boast about his charitable activities, but appreciates the honor he has received. This spring he accepted the Charlie Conacher Cancer Research Award for his outstanding humanitarian contributions, mainly with the mentally retarded. He is the fifth winner of this National Hockey League award. Previous winners were George Armstrong, Bob Baun, Gordie Howe and Gary Bergman.Eddie won out over such finalists as Bobby Clarke and Bill White, who were worthy of the honor, also. Clearly he is not the only National Hockey League | player who participates extensively in contributions to his community but he is a worthy one.&ldquo;The honor meant a tremendous amount to me,&rdquo; he admits. &ldquo;You don&rsquo;t give because you expect to get trophies in return, but 1 guess that down deep everyone who gives a lot likes to think others appreciate it. We&rsquo;re only human. 1 am. anyway,&rdquo; he smiles. &ldquo;Actually, 10 players i were nominated originally.knew&rsquo; 1 was one of the nominees, which was an honor in itself, but 1 didn&rsquo;t know 1 would be one of the finalist. I&rsquo;m sure others were as worthy of winning as I was. That&rsquo;s not false modesty. 1 don&rsquo;t know how you measure a man&rsquo;s charitable activities. It probably shouldn&rsquo;t be conducted as a contest. All the finalists were invited to the banquet at which the award was to be announced. It was sort of like a Miss America pageant &mdash; you know, second runnerup&hellip; first runnerup. Everything but Bert Parks crowning the winner and singing a song while 1 paraded down a runway with a smile on my face and tears in my eyes,&rdquo; he laughed. &ldquo;But the banquet has raised a half-million dollars for cancer research over the years, so it serves a purpose.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-02865/3582136-1-eng-US/f0008-022.jpg" title="f0008-02" width="307" height="580"><figcaption class="caption-body">Eddie Westfall</figcaption></div>Charlie Conacher was one of lOchildren reared in a middle-class slum in Toronto. His father worked as a teamster for $20 a week and Charlie once recalled, &ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t have enough money to buy a tube of tooth paste.&rdquo; He and his brothers learned to play hockey without skates on the streets. An older brother, Lionel, was voted in 1950 Canada&rsquo;s greatest all-around athlete of the half-century, and led Charlie and younger brother Roy into the NHL, where all became All Stars. Charlie became the best in hockey. He had the hardest shot of his day and was high-scoring in the low-scoring era of the 1930&rsquo;s. He played with Joe Primeau and Busher Jackson on &ldquo;The Kid Line,&rdquo; which was the most skilled unit of its time. After nine years with the Maple Leafs he played three years with the Red Wings and the old New York Americans.HIS CAREER was curtailed by injuries. It was almost cut short in his second season when he had to have a kidney removed, but he recuperated and continued. He suffered broken bones in both hands and both wrists, a separated shoulder and a fractured collarbone, but he went on. These took their toll, however, and by 1941, when he retired, he had little left. Elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1961, he died at the age of 58 of cancer in 1967 and a memorial award designed to raise funds for the fight of cancer was designed in his honor. He was an excellent example of a courageous performer, as is Eddie Westfall, who now has won this special plaque.A big guy like Conacher, Westfall played 11 seasons with the Boston Buuins and helped them win two Stanley Cups. Unlike Conacher, he is not a high scorer, however, and in an era of high scoring his high-scoring team considered him expendable and let him go to the Americans&rsquo; successor as the other team in New York, the Islanders, in 1972. The Bruins have not been as solid since, while Westfall has become captain and inspirational leader of an improving club, contributing his consistent all-around defensive, stickhandling and playmaking talents. At 34, Westfall&rsquo;s career cannot be compared to Conacher&rsquo;s as a player, but he matches him as a man.Eddie is one of four sons of hard-working middle-class parents in Oshawa. His father started as a butter-maker at a dairy and has since spent 30 years as an engineer at a General Motors plant. He never made a great amount of money, but after their youngest son was born mentally retarded, the elder Westfall and his wife devoted themselves to raising funds for a center in their community at which the handicapped could be trained to care for themselves. After 25 years of dedication they not only saw their center a reality, but a workshop as well. And now their youngest son works at the workshop and helps others as he was helped.The oldest son, George, is area manager for a distillery. Stan is a dispatcher for a trucking firm. Eddie is a hockey player.&ldquo;HOWARD IS A mongoloid,&rdquo; Eddie says, sim-ply. &ldquo;When he was born, others like him were hidden away in their homes or buried in mental institutions by parents who were proud and they refused to do this. 1 remember my father saying &ldquo;God brought him into the world this way just as he brought everyone else into the world, one way or another.&rdquo; He was determined his youngest son would have the same opportunity to make the most of himself as his other sons. It was hard on all concerned. Howard was ridiculed cruelly at times, especially by other kids while he was growing up. It was infuriating to my family.&ldquo;However, as we loved him and learned to accept him for what he was. so have others around town, and it has helped the plight of all like him and led to the first such center to train the handicap our area has had. Today at 28, physically, Howard is about seven or eight, mentally, but he dresses himself, feeds himself, rides the bus to and from work by himself.teaches crafts to others at the workshop, and earns his salary. 1 imagine that is as far as it will go and when my parents go he will move in with my brothers back home or with me. I do not believe he ever has missed one of my games in Maple Leaf Gardens. My family really wants him. Myadiildren love him. He takes them for walks in the wood with his dogs, swims with them, takes them on a boat and fishes with them. We tell him to take care of the kids and he really likes the responsibility. He is a warm, affectionate person. He is totally unaware he is handicapped. He is the happiest person I know, which says something for the burdens of knowing too much of the world.&rdquo;EDDIE, DARKLY handsome, heavy-browed, and his wife Jo-Anne have four children&mdash;Barry, Steve, Kim and Sherry. When Eddie was traded they decided his hockey career was too near its end to take their children away from their year-round home in suburban Pelham, New Hampshire, so they are apart and lonely for each other through the winters right now. However, Eddie bought a small private plane he pilots himself so he can make quick trips and he visits them and they visit him often and they make the most of the marvellous summers. Accordingly. this agreeable gentleman admits he is trying to cut down on his outside activities because he believes his own kids need him, too.&ldquo;1 am glad to give what 1 can give.&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;Many others do. why shouldn&rsquo;t I? I regret that many others do not when the need is so great. Many young players today are spoiled by their paychecks and their prominence and think only of themselves and their pleasures. I don&rsquo;t mind discussing what 1 do because I hope it will encourage others do to do something.&rdquo; Well, he is an example to be put before other players. Or other men. &#9632;

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IN THIS ISSUE

Hockey Ad Lib

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-0359/3585583-1-eng-US/f0043-032.jpg" title="f0043-03" width="871" height="745"></div><h2>The Butterfly Drop</h2>There are always arguments over which goalies are best &mdash; those who are standup or those who flop. It doesn&rsquo;t matter what the critics say. The answers are always in the goals-against averages.The illustration shows the butterfly drop. You can see most of the lower part of the net is covered to stop those dangerous sliding pucks. The goalie&rsquo;s stick hand is alert and he&rsquo;s ready with his glove hand.The butterfly drop is a good defence against screened shots from fairly close in and especially good for stopping shots from rebounds.Practise dropping to your knees so you can do it well without losing your sense of balance. Every time you drop in practice, glance at your glove hand t(rsee it&rsquo;s extended to cover that side. Look down to make sure your legs are spread wide and the stick blade is covering the area between your knees.Getting up quickly from the drop is just as important. Squeeze your knees together, tighten up your thigh muscles and rise in one smooth movement. Now do you see why leg exercises are so important? &#9632;

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MINOR HOCKEY TIPS

<div class="byline">BY MIKE LUCAS</div>ANN ARBOR&mdash;A box lacrosse player with two gimpy knees may well be the key to Michigan&rsquo;s chances in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association.Robbie Moore, a diminutive All-American goaltender, figures he has a lot of catching up to do. and much to prove.The 5-foot-5 junior from Sarnia, Ontario, was confined to the bench for the first month of the season after undergoing surgery on his left knee.He suffered the injury prior to the Wisconsin series in early November and was replaced by freshman Frank Zimmerman who miraculously kep the Wolverines in contention during his absence.&ldquo;With a healthy Robbie Moore. I definitely feel we can make a run for the championship,&rdquo; said Michigan coach Dan Farrell now in his second season at Ann Arbor.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-0385/3584909-1-eng-US/f0037-032.jpg" title="f0037-03" width="281" height="465"><figcaption class="caption-body">Robbie Moore</figcaption></div>Moore, who had his other knee operated on three years ago. is chomping at the bit to return. In his first two seasons at Michigan, he didn&rsquo;t miss a game&ldquo;It was pretty tough to sit out. I just wasn&rsquo;t used to it,&rdquo; Moore explained. &ldquo;Just watching from the press box. though. I was able to pick up a lot of things from the game that I never noticed.&ldquo;Bascially, 1 just want to get back. I&rsquo;ve got so many things to prove to people who thought last year was only a fluke.&rsquo;Goaltending became the thing to do when Moore was 13 years old. He watched a lot of television and his idol was Roger Crozier because &ldquo;he bounced around so much.&rdquo;But size has always been the biggest complaint against him.&ldquo;New England drafted me and then didn&rsquo;t even contact me, which made me feel bad,&rdquo; said Moore. &ldquo;Because of my size have to rely on speed and quickness around the cage. I work on angles as much as possible.&rdquo;Farrell believes Moore&rsquo;s injury may have been a blessing for the Wolverines, who had the tendency to rely too heavily on Robbie.&ldquo;Our defensemen in the past figured they could always &lsquo;let Robbie do it&rsquo; if they got in trouble,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Now. we have much better balance.&rdquo;The Wolverines have cut down drastically on their &ldquo;shots against&rdquo; average. Last year, it was over 50 per game now it&rsquo;s under 30.Farrel pointed to the play of defensemen Rob Palmver, who &ldquo;has been just super&rdquo;, Greg Fox, Tom Lindskog, and Doug Trudeau for the improvement.A rejuvenated offense has also taken much of the pressure off. Angie Moretto, a towering 6-4 junior from Toronto, has been deadly in the slot along with linemates Frank Werner and Gary Morrison.&ldquo;Angie is just unbelievable strong.&rdquo; said Moore, who has faced the big center often in practice. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s so tough in front of the net that he can reach out with his long arms and poke the puck into either corner. He&rsquo;s very hard to neutralize.&rdquo;Farrell expects the return of Don Dufek to bolster his line-up even more. Dufek is working his way back in shape after playing the Wolf Man for Bo Schemechler and his Michigan defense;He doesn&rsquo;t score much, but his presence is always felt, whether while crashing into the boards or intimidating opposing forwards.&ldquo;Just looking at Don on the bench gives us an added inspiration,&rdquo; said Moore.a devout box lacrosse fan in the off-season. &ldquo;He gives us the spark. He knows how to relax when he isn&rsquo;t playing, because of football, and so when he goes out there, he gives 110 percent.&ldquo;With Don back and if we can continue to put the puck in the net. we ll have a good shot at winning it all.&rdquo;Lacrosse may have to wait until after the playoffs. &#9632;

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All-American Goaler Moore Seen Kev To Michigan’s Title Hopes

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-01600/3582981-1-eng-US/f0019-012.jpg" title="f0019-01" width="529" height="649"><figcaption class="caption-body">ROGIE VACHON &hellip;Lowest Averaae</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-02494/3582974-1-eng-US/f0019-022.jpg" title="f0019-02" width="496" height="649"><figcaption class="caption-body">BERNIE PARENT &hellip;Ranks No. 2</figcaption></div>(Including Games of Sun. Dec. 15)<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-03387/3582967-1-eng-US/f0019-032.jpg" title="f0019-03" width="1138" height="2959"></div> &#9632;

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Looking At NHL Goalers

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0002-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-01888/3581770-1-eng-US/f0002-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Detroit Red Wings traded veteran Guy Charron to Kansas City in a five-player swap. It was one of two NHL deals swung last weekend.</figcaption></div><h2>WINGS TRADE CHARRON</h2>DETROIT&mdash;Guy Charron had known for some time he didn&rsquo;t fit into the Red Wing picture this season but last weekend it was spelled out for him. He was packaged with minor league defenseman Claude Houde and shipped to the expansionist Kansas City Scouts for three players.Charron had seen only limited service with Detroit this year and trade rumblings involving the fast-skating winger were growing in recent weeks. In exchange for Charron, the Red Wings picked up two defensemen &mdash; Larry Giroux and Bart Crashley &mdash; and a 28-year-old right winger Ted Snell. Charron is 25 and came to Detroit four years ago in a trade involving Frank Mahovlich.The Detroit-K.C. swap was one of two last weekend. The Washington Capitals shipped Lew Morrison off to Pittsburgh in return for Ron Lalonde, a center. Neither player had distinguished himself this season and a change of scenery could prove beneficial to both.<h2>RUSSIANS ROLL ALONG</h2>SAULT STE. MARIE&mdash;The touring Moscow Selects continued to roll up victories on their crosscountry North American tour as they whipped a pair of Ontario Major Hockey League teams.The Russians beat the Sault Greyhounds 7-3 and the Sudbury Wolves 7-5 for their third and fourth victories on their tour. They had earlier downed the Edmonton Oil Kings and New Westminster Bruins of the Western Canada Hockey League. The only obstacle in the Russians&rsquo; path was a tour-opening date with the Montreal Juniors of the Quebec Major League. The Montrealers won 4-3 in a brawling first game but the Canadians needed the help of six pros from the Nova Scotia Voyageurs to turn the trick. Voyageurs&rsquo; goaler Dave Elenbaas was the hero of the game stopping over 40 shots.<h2>NHL INJURIES MOUNT</h2>NEW YORK&mdash;NHL club owners are no doubt crying in their beer and who can blame them. The way the injuries to key players are piling up, teams are beginning to wonder about their respective physical conditioning programs.Latest casualties include Gilles Marotte of the Rangers who came up lame with a badly sprained left knee. He joined other Ranger &lsquo;cripples&rsquo; Dale Rolfe, Ron Harris, Bob Rousseau and Walt Tkaczuk on the shelf. Only Rolfe has a chance to get back before a month. Minnesota&rsquo;s Lou Nanne fractured his wrist and is gone for six to eight weeks. Mike Robitaille and Dennis Ververgaert of Vancouver both underwent surgery and are out indefinitely. All together there are 25 NHL players on the current injury list and most of them are shelved with breaks for at least six to eight weeks and five are possibly finished for this season<h2>WHA ALL STAR FORMAT</h2>EDMONTON&mdash;The WHA is planning to salute Team Canada &lsquo;74 as the theme of its 1974-75 All Star game on Jan. 21 in Edmonton&rsquo;s new Coliseum. The lineup for the game will be geographic now that the WHA is dividied divided up into three divisions.Plans call for Eastern based teams to face Western teams in a vote among the league players. The Eastern team will be picked from New England, Cleveland, Chicago, Toronto, Quebec, Indianapolis and Michigan.The Western stars will be selected from Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Minnesota, Houston, San Diego arid Phoenix. &#9632;

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Deadline Stoppers

<div class="byline">BY BOB VERDI</div>CHICAGO&mdash;Break up the Black Hawks?Many of their frustrated fans would say yes. please do. But management says nay. there&rsquo;ll be no p-p-panic in the Windy City over its faltering hockey team.&ldquo;When you&rsquo;re down like we are,&rdquo; said Coach Billy Reay after the club dipped below .500 in early December, &ldquo;it&rsquo;s not the best time to try and make a move.&ldquo;When you make a move out of desperation. other clubs know it and they just try to take advantage of you. When you&rsquo;re losing, the value of your players on the market just seems to dip anyway.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-02817/3581801-1-eng-US/f0002-022.jpg" title="f0002-02" width="253" height="388"><figcaption class="caption-body">Tony Esposito</figcaption></div>&ldquo;Not that we&rsquo;re anxious to deal. I still feel, when we get everybody healthy, that we&rsquo;ll be all right. We&rsquo;ve had so many injuries, it&rsquo;s taking its toll.&rdquo;But, as the defeats mounted. Hawk alibis were packing no more substance that last week&rsquo;s melba toast. Fact is, that by Dec. 8, they had lost their 12th game of the season. Last year, they dropped only 14.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know when we&rsquo;ll come out of it&hellip; maybe we never will,&rdquo; said Jim Pappin. &ldquo;We need a guy like Maggie (Keith Magnuson) back, because he works 100 percent all the time. Not everybody is right now.&ldquo;You would think that where we are&mdash;13 points behind Vancouver already &mdash; would shake us up. but it hasn&rsquo;t.&ldquo;But I&rsquo;m not going to pop off and say anymore, because the other guys will see it and say, &ldquo;look, he&rsquo;s got 15 goals, so he&rsquo;s telling us what&rsquo;s wrong&rsquo;.&rdquo;The Black Hawks bombed Kansas City 7-3 Dec. 4, then travelled to Philadelphia and lost 3-2 but played rather well.&ldquo;After that, 1 thought we were coming around,&rdquo; said Dennis Hull. &ldquo;But we can&rsquo;t seem to play two good games in a row. Sometimes, we can&rsquo;t even play one good one in a row. I don&rsquo;t know what&rsquo;s going on.&rdquo;The obvious deduction was that the Hawks were not pushing it out. All those injuries &mdash; to Magnuson, Pit Martin, Dale Talton, Bill White, J.P. Bordeleau &mdash; could have propelled those who were healthy to work harder.Or so one would think.&ldquo;Something&rsquo;s missing&hellip; the desire, the spark, something.&rdquo; said Stan Mikita. &ldquo;Some nights half the guys are waiting for the other half to do everything. Then the next night, it&rsquo;s the other way around.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not so sure it&rsquo;s a lack of desire as much as it is a lack of confidence All of us here are used to winning. We have for so many years. Now that we&rsquo;re not, all that confidence we&rsquo;ve built up seems to have been wiped out.We&rsquo;re pressing.Things became so askew with King Arthur Wirtz&rsquo;s Knights that goalie Tony Esposito, the man who usually saves his mates, was yanked from the Chicago net for the first time in memory during a 7-4 loss to the Rangers.Esposito yielded six goals in 40 minutes. and was supplanted by Mike Veisor.&ldquo;1 didn&rsquo;t do it to embarrass Tony or to indicate in any way that it was all his fault,&rdquo; said Coach Billy Reay. &ldquo;I&rsquo;mjust interested in trying to give the team a little spark. Lord knows, we need it.&rdquo;But it didn&rsquo;t work. The next night, the Maple Leafs came into town, scored four goals in the third period, and whipped the Hawks 4-1 before a growling Chicago Stadium audience. That placed the record at II wins, 12 losses, three ties.The last time the Hawks showed such a poor mark at that point in time was in 1968-69. That year they finished sixth, and last.PARTING SHOTS: Hawks called up center Duane Wylie and defenseman Roger Wilson for a week, but returned them when Magnuson and J.P. Bordeleau were due to return. Bordeleau got sliced up around the mouth Dec. 1 against Minnesota&hellip; Cliff Koroll and wife Lynnae have adopted a 2&frac12; year old boy, Jason&hellip; Ted Damata, veteran scribe of the Chicago Tribune, was due to retire at month&rsquo;s end. A big bash was held to honor the peerless hockey writer in mid-December. It was staged where Damata spent some of his happiest hours &mdash; the Chicago Stadium. &#9632;

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No Drastic Changes For Tumbling Hawks As Reay Prefers To Ride Out The Storm

<h2>NHL TEAMS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-03628/3581860-1-eng-US/f0002-032.jpg" title="f0002-03" width="516" height="748"></div><h2>WHA TEAMS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-04429/3581853-1-eng-US/f0002-042.jpg" title="f0002-04" width="510" height="584"></div><h2>OTHER LEAGUES</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-05304/3581846-1-eng-US/f0002-052.jpg" title="f0002-05" width="506" height="418"></div><h2>COLUMNISTS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-06208/3581839-1-eng-US/f0002-062.jpg" title="f0002-06" width="518" height="126"></div><h2>OTHER FEATURES</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-07125/3581832-1-eng-US/f0002-072.jpg" title="f0002-07" width="514" height="174"></div> &#9632;

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WHERE YOU’LL FIND IT ALL

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0003-03" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-03513/3581943-1-eng-US/f0003-032.jpg"></div><h2>ELIGIBLE JUNIORS SIGNED BY WHA IN 1973-74</h2><h2>ELIGIBLE JUNIORS DRAFTED BY WHA IN 1974</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-04304/3581936-1-eng-US/f0003-042.jpg" title="f0003-04" width="1257" height="480"></div><h2>ELIGIBLE JUNIORS DRAFTED BY NHL IN 1974</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-05171/3581929-1-eng-US/f0003-052.jpg" title="f0003-05" width="1253" height="581"></div> &#9632;

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How They Drafted Them

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0003-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-01893/3581898-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">WILF PAIEMENT&hellip;Drafted by NHL Expansion Club</figcaption></div>BY FRANK ORRTORONTO &mdash;Perhaps Frank Bonello, the shrewd general manager of the Toronto Marlboros of the Ontario Major Junior Hockey Series, placed the question of the major league drafting of o&rsquo;underage&rdquo; Junior hockey players in its proper perspective.&ldquo;Many pro scouts tell us that we&rsquo;re not doing a very great job in developing talent for the big league and not producing many outstanding players,&rdquo; Bonello said.&ldquo;Then they decide to draft &lsquo;exeptional&rsquo; players&rsquo; who have remaining junior eligibility. All of a sudden, they can find a couple of dozen 17 and 18-year-olds who they can&rsquo;t wait to get their hands on.&ldquo;At one time, the pros used to say that there were only two or three exceptional Juniors in any one season. But what do you know? In 1974, there are exceptional Juniors popping up all over the place! Kinda unusual, isn&rsquo;t it?&rdquo; Bonello has abundant reason to be cynical because his Junior team was the first to be raided by major league hockey which is desperate for talent.The Marlboros won the Memorial Cup in 1973 with an extraordinary team of young players. Graduation hit the club, of course, but the returnees seemed sufficient to grarantee the Marlies another shot at a national title in the 1973-74 season.Then the World Hockey Association entered the picture. First, the Houston Aeros drafted Mark and Marty Howe, claiming that their U.S. birth exempted them from the Canadian Junior eligibility rules.Next, the Cleveland Crusaders signed defenseman Tom Edur from the Marlies with the claim that if an 18-year-old could vote and drive a car, then he could play pro hockey if he wanted.Then Wayne Dillon, the Marlies&rsquo; 17-year-old center of great potential, approached the Toronto Toros about aborting his Junior career. The Toros were happy to oblige.The Cincinnati Stingers, who won&rsquo;t make their WHA debut until the 1975-76 season, got into the act by signing Dennis Sobchuk of the Regina Pats and Jacques Locas of the Quebec Remparts to long-term contracts. The two lads were allowed to complete their junior careers and this season, they&rsquo;re with other WHA teams, waiting for the Stingers to bow in.The National Hockey League, wich had an agreement with the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association was reluctant to get into the grabbing of eligible Juniors. But when it was obvious that the WHA, who had no agreement with the CAHA, planned to take underage Juniors in its 1974 draft, the NHLwas forced into the market.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-02761/3581891-1-eng-US/f0003-022.jpg" title="f0003-02" width="1141" height="1020"><figcaption class="caption-body">WAYNE DILLON&hellip;Wanted Out Of Junior Hocke</figcaption></div>&ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t want to draft them but we couldn&rsquo;t place ourselves at such disadvantage in the acquisition of talent,&rsquo; said NHL president Clarence Campbell. &ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t want to disrupt the order in hockey because the Junior team operators need all the aid they can get. But we had no other choice.&rdquo;In the 1974 draft. NHL teams claimed 14 underage Juniors. Of these 14, nine are in the NHL this season, three playing minor professional hockey, one (Mark Howe, claimed by Boston) is in the WHA and another. Bryan Trottier, who was drafted by the New York Islanders, returned to Junior hockey.The WHA didn&rsquo;t fare as well in the underage market place. Of the 12 eligible Juniors drafted by WHA teams, only five are playing in the WHA and one (Pierre Larouche) signed with the NHL Pittsburgh Penguins. The other six returned to Junior hockey.What does the future hold for players who have Junior eligibility remaining when the 1975 drafts roll around? Most of the kids are eyeing the big contracts available in prohockey these days and drooling slightly. Suddenly, the $60 per week in Junior hockey has little appeal.The CAHA is attempting to reach agreements with the NHL and WHA. Recently, the three parties held discussions, the first time that has happened. However, nobody would disclose if any progress was made.Before any deal over draft age and payment for drafted players is finalized, it must be binding to all parties. The Major Junior team operators have protected themselves by forcing players to sign contracts with give the Junior teams a percentage of the players&rsquo; pro contract in lieu of payments from the NHLand WHA.Most hockey men. it seems, would prefer to have the Juniors complete their Junior eligibility before being drafted. There has been talk of lowering the Junior age limit a year to 18, but that isn&rsquo;t likely to happen.?A consensus seems to be this: The NHL would prefer to retain the existing age limit if the WHA is tied to the same arrangement, fhe WHA operators are divided on the question.Some favor draft openings for the &ldquo;exceptional&rdquo; player at 18. The problem comes from defining which players fit that category.&ldquo;I feel we should allow the Juniors to complete their eligibility before drafting them, with the exceptional Junior being eligible a year earlier,&rdquo; said Lynn Patrick, St. Louis Blues&rsquo; senior vice president.Of course, how do we define the exeptional Junior? It seems fairly obvious which players qualify, although it&rsquo;s certainly not as many as the teams claimed this year.&ldquo;If the great players in hockey were in the NHL in their teens.&mdash; Gordie Howe, Bobby Orr, Frank Mahovlich. Bobby Hull, Carl Brewer &mdash; to name a few, it certainly wouldn&rsquo;t have helped Orr to stay in Junior any longer.and a kid like Denis Potvin was ready two years before he was drafted. Being 18 years of age didn&rsquo;t hurt Mark Howe, either.&rdquo;Most Junior team operators and owners claim the taking of eligible players is a serious blow to them because Junior hockey needs its own &ldquo;star system&rdquo; to be a viable box-office commoditv. For instance, Jack Valiquette, drafted at 17 by the Toronto Maple Leafs, would have sold many tickets for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds.George Armstrong, the coach of the Marlboros, sees the taking of the top Juniors by the pros as having a different, perhaps more dangerous, effect.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s very difficult to detect any depreciation in the calibre of play in the Ontario Major league because many of the top players were taken away,&rdquo; Armstrong says. &ldquo;The league has been very competitive this season, although overall the teams are younger.&ldquo;Where losing the top players hurts, in my view is this: The only way a hockey player learns to play the game and improves is through working against players who are better than he is.&ldquo;For instance, young defensemen improve more by trying to handle a Mark Howe or Wayne Dillon or Wilf Paiement than they do in trying to stop players who aren&rsquo;t as good. The same is true for a young winger working against a top Junior defenseman.&ldquo;The top stars in Junior hockey this winter just aren&rsquo;t as good as they would have been if all those good ones hadn&rsquo;t been drafted. When players are working against the best, they improve much more.&ldquo;Therefore, the calibre of player produced in Junior hockey this season won&rsquo;t be as good because they just won&rsquo;t have that experience against the top players.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0003-01

WHAT’S LEFT FOR JUNIOR HOCKEY — NOT MUCH?

<div class="byline">Ken McKenzie&#x2019;s</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-01944/3581995-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg" title="f0004-01" width="441" height="437"></div>&bull; MURRAY WILLIAMSON, former coach of the U.S. National and Olympic teams and now head of the Midwest Junior Hockey League in Minnesota, isays that the future of those Juniors is in jeopardy because of finances, lack of recognition and obstacles presented by the college rulemakers, the NCAA. It&rsquo;s possible. Williamson has hinted, that the league will disband and accept an offer from the Western Canada Junior Hockey League to form |two United States teams for that circuit&hellip; Two NHL teams are contending for a new trophy, the i Silver Puck Award. The honor will go to the winner of the season series between the league&rsquo;s two Missouri teams, the St. Louis Blues and the Kansas City Scouts&hellip; Ben Hatskin, former owner of the Winnipeg Jets, and Scotty Munro, GM-coach of the Calgary Centennials of the Western Canada Junior Hockey League, are apparently joining forces and making a strong bid to purchase and transfer the Chicago Cougars of the WHA to Calgary. The team would play in the renovated Calgary Stampede Corral, which will hold over 14,000 people&hellip; Pittsburgh Penguins would be just as happy not to play in Boston Garden. Their record there is 0-17-2 in their last 19 games. The Pens have won only once in Boston since they joined the NHL in 1967&hellip; With farm systems on the verge of collapse, the NHL. will soon add taxi squads of eight players to each club roster.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-02900/3581988-1-eng-US/f0004-022.jpg" title="f0004-02" width="296" height="484"><figcaption class="caption-body">Murray Williamson</figcaption></div>&bull;ATLANTA FLAMES say they won&rsquo;t underwrite i their farm team at Omaha of the Central League for ianother year unless another NHL club shares half the costs&hellip; Those who knew Kansas City Scouts&rsquo; (Gordie Merchant, the trainer who committed suicide recently, say none of his problems involved Shockey&hellip; Mike McMahon, who played with Montreal Canadiens&rsquo; 1944 Stanley Cup champions, (died the other day in Fort Erie, Ont. He was 59. (His son, Mike McMahon Jr., plays with the Minnesota Fighting Saints of the WHA&hellip; A fine young sjgoaling prospect is David Hulme of the University of Toronto Blues&hellip; Recovered from his 1973 heart attack but cautioned by doctors to avoid emotional stress, Jack Kent Cooke has been taking in two periods of his Kings&rsquo; games at home this season, but leaves before the final period begins. The team&rsquo;s play has been too good for him to resist this year.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-03795/3581981-1-eng-US/f0004-032.jpg" title="f0004-03" width="262" height="372"><figcaption class="caption-body">Mickey Redmond</figcaption></div>This hasn&rsquo;t beenagood yearforthe NHL&rsquo;sbigname stars. Injuries have played havoc with the key menon most clubs. The latest casualty is Mickey Redmond, who is undergoing back surgery and could conceivably been through for the rest of the season. There are five NHL players in the same position as Redmond. They are out for the year. It&rsquo;s one of those seasons.&bull;BOBBY HULL had 17 shots at Michigan Stags&rsquo; (goalie Gerry Desjardins in a recent game between Winnipeg and the Stags.There were 107 shots by both teams&hellip; Phil Maloney took over as the Vancouver Canucks&rsquo; coach Jan. 14. 1974. In the first 62 games the club has played under his direction it earned 68 points. In four previous NHL seasons the most points earned by a Vancouver club was 59. Maloney credits two men who frequently go unnoticed with much of the Canucks&rsquo; current success. Former Ranger coach Larry Popein, who was hired as the Canucks&rsquo; western scout but who has become Maloney&rsquo;s right hand man, and Pat Dunn, the new trainer who Maloney claims is the best in the NHL. Popein travels with the Canucks and takes care of all the details on the road as well as acting as a second pair of eyes during games&hellip; Gordon Ullman, son of Norm Ullman, Toronto&rsquo;s veteran Forward, is captain of the freshman hockey team at Yale&hellip; Denis DeJordy is the first full-time goalkeeping coach ever employed by an NHL team. Detroit Red Wings hired i Denis to instruct their young netminders Jim Rutherford and Doug Grant. Grant is the promising New fie from Corner Brook who&rsquo;s in his second National League season&hellip; Attendance at Minnesota North Star games is down about 1,000 a game and club president Walter Bush said that even if they sold out every game the club still couldn&rsquo;t break even. Bill Goldsworthy, star member of the North Stars, for one, earns $180,000 a year&hellip; Hockey owners are really worried these days and players&rsquo; salaries just have to come down&hellip; Dennis Hextali, fiery Minnesota center, is steadily losing poundage and is now down to 167, eight below his normal playing weight. He thinks he may have an ulcer&hellip; Philadelphia&rsquo;s Bobby Clarkej.trdered and distributed 16-by-24 inch color team photos of the Flyers&rsquo; Stanley Cup champions. Each photo carried the inscription: &ldquo;We will walk together forever.&rdquo;&hellip; The Flyers have held their opponents to 18 shots or under seven times in their first 27 games, prompting goalie Bernie Parent to say: &ldquo;If this keeps up I&rsquo;ll have to drop seven or eight pounds oto stay sharp.&rdquo; Bernie has been playing at 195 pounds&hellip;Steve Dowling is the first American NHL referee since Bill Chadwick. He is rated [one of the best of the younger officials. Dowling was captain of the Boston College hockey team in 1967-68.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-04693/3581974-1-eng-US/f0004-042.jpg" title="f0004-04" width="265" height="437"><figcaption class="caption-body">Phil Maloney</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0004-01

PASSING THE PUCK

Vol. 28No. 12DECEMBER 27, 1974OFFICIAL NATIONAL HOCKEY WEEKLYFounded October 1st, 1947Published weekly except monthly June through September by W.C.C. Publishing Ltd., 1434 St. Catherine Street West, Montreal, Canada H3G 1R7. U.S. c/o W.C.C. Publishing, 150 E. 58th Street, New York, N.Y. 10022.Kenneth W. McKenzie Charlie Halpin Hans HoenigPresident, Publisher and Advertising Director Editorial Director Administration ManagerUnited Stated Advertising Representatives: Boston Steve Ganak, Ad. Reps. 479 Statler Office Bldg. Boston, Mass 02116. telephone (617) 524-6913: Chicago: Hooper Jones & Associates. 3322 W. Peterson Ave. Chicago III 60659 telephone (312) 478-5544 New York Bill Hitzig, National Sports Publishing Corp.. 150 East 58th Street. New York. N.Y. 10022, Telephone (212) 593-2100.YEARLY SUBSCRIPTION RATES: $9.50 in Canada $10.50 In the U.S.A. and $14.00 in Foreign Countries. Second class postage paid at New York, N.Y., 1001 and at additional mailing offices. SEND ADDRESS CHANGES TO 1434 &lsquo;ST. CATHERINE STREET WEST, SUITE 217, MONTREAL, CANADA. H3G 1R7. Second Class mail Registration No. 1327. All inquiries pertaining to subscriptions should be addressed to Subscription Dept., The Hockey News, 1434 St. Catherine St W. Montreal, Canada H3G 1R. Printed in Canada &#9632;

THE HOCKEY NEWS

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0004-05" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-05562/3582026-1-eng-US/f0004-052.jpg"></div><h2>NHL Should Adopt Overtime</h2>It&rsquo;s about time that the NHL moguls smartened up a bit and adopted a rule initiated by their WHA counterparts &mdash; the ten minute sudden death overtime. Up to Dec. 6, 41 of the 225 NHL games played this season had ended in ties, or 18.2 percent. On the other hand, only three of 143 WHA games were ties. This is 2.1 percent. On this evidence, it seems ludicrous that the NHL keep their present system.The prospect of an overtime period heightens the tan appeal of games; it really &ldquo;leaves them hanging. Sure, these games are worth a point in the standings for both clubs, but there is just something lacking in games when they don&rsquo;t go to a win-lose decision. There is also a tendency for teams, especially when on the road, to play for a tie with ten minutes or more left in the third period. They get overcautious, they don&rsquo;t take chances, resulting in a succession of icings, offsides and some generally dull and uninspired play late in the third period. Overtime will eliminate this tendency and I feel it should be adopted by the &ldquo;established&rdquo; league as soon as possible.STEVE EHRLICH, Westwood, N.J.<h2>Islanders NHL&rsquo;s Team Of The Future</h2>I think the New York Islanders will be a team to beat in the near future. Veterans like Eddie Westfall, Bert Marshall, Ernie Hicke and Gerry Hart can contribute their experience, but there are also many young players. They have an outstanding sophomore in Calder Trophy winner Denis Potvin. Their goalies, Billy Smith and Glen Resch, are strong, theirdefense is well balanced, and their forwards have strengthened considerably.I also think that the coaching of Al Arbour will help a lot. Even if the Islanders don&rsquo;t make the playoffs this year, I pick them for second place next year.LESLIE ELLCHUK, Elphinstone, Man.<h2>Minor League Stars Overlooked</h2>After reading the Nov. 8 issue of THE HOCKEY NEWS, I fully agree with Bill Inglis of the Hershey Bears (AHL) when he says that &ldquo;They don&rsquo;t always pick the 20 best players for the NHL.&rdquo; I think that when reasons such as &ldquo;too many centers&rdquo; or &ldquo;poor skater&rdquo; are given for banishing players from the NHL, it&rsquo;s just a lot of bunk.I&rsquo;m sure the NHL could help teams like Kansas City and Washington by loaning them players, who would be on recall should injuries develop. I mean players like Marc Dufour, Larry Fullan, Jimmy Peters or Lynn Zimmerman, just to name a few. Coaches such as Al MacNeil and Doug Barkely could help these teams too. Something should be done before such teams fold. A record like 5-35-6 doesn&rsquo;t attract a lot of fans.A.S. MacDONALD, James Park, N.B.<h2>Violence Abounds In NHL Games</h2>After watching the game between the Leafs and the Flyers where Bobby Clarke hit and cut Rod Seiling for 10 stitches, I began to wonder if Clarence Campbell knows what violence is. Incidents like this are totally uncal led for. Later on in that same game, Philadelphia&rsquo;s so-called super star literally hooked the blade of his stick around Bill Flett&rsquo;s neck. Had there been a loose sliver in his stick, he would have injurerfFlett seriously.Clarke apologized later, but what good would that have been if there had been a serious injury. And Clarke wonders why people like Barry Cummins of the Seals and Whitey Widing of the Kings have been taking swipes at him. I&rsquo;m not saying that Clarke is the only one. There are probably worse butchers than him playing hockey. But if people in the NHL really think that any fight involving Steve Durbano and Dave Schultz is more important than attempts to injure opponents with swinging sticks, then somebody has rocks in his head.BRIAN GRASSENS, Aurora, Ont.<h2>Canadian Division Should Leave WHA</h2>I think the time is right to form a Canadian Hockey League from the Canadian Division of the WHA. All the big names are on the Canadian teams: Plante, Henderson, Mahovlich, Tremblay, Nedomansky, Hull and many others. Without Winnipeg and Toronto the American teams could never come close to filling their arenas. Edmonton has a new arena and Quebec is on the way to one. Toronto, Vancouver and Winnipeg all have solid financial backing and fan support.Hamilton, Calgary and Ottawa could be added to the league to give it eight teams. Then, the next time we send a national team against the Russians, we could pick the players from our own league and forget about trying to acquire a Canadian star from the American team he&rsquo;s been playing with.DAVE RAINE, Toronto, Ont.<h2>Hawks&rsquo; Fall Due To Poor Effort</h2>At the beginning of the 1974-75 season, the Stanley Cup championship did not seem to be out of the realm of possibility for the Chicago Black Hawks. For the first time since they won the Cup in 1960-61, the Hawks seemed to have the depth and balance needed by a contender. Through trade and the Junior draft, they had acquired some future stars and seemed to be working on their major weakness, goal scoring. With the new four division set up, the Hawks seemed assured a first place finish based on talent alone.Yet now the Hawks are barely struggling along at the .500 level. Vancouver, in the same division, is opening up quite a point spread. Having watched a few of the winning teams in action, I have noticed them following Philadelphia&rsquo;s successful motto, &ldquo;Work at all Costs&rdquo;. The Hawks seem complacent; they&rsquo;re giving less than 100 percent. They seem willing to let Tony Esposito win games by himself.I put all the blame on coach Billy Reay for lack of hustle and work on the team. He isn&rsquo;t motivating his players enough. A coaching change should be made now, before the Hawks get into a dogfight just to make the playoffs.BRUCE PURCHASE, Montreal, Que.<h2>Referees Being Intimidated More</h2>Recently, there have been several incidents of players pushing referees around because of questionable calls. This has got to stop. Last year, Mike Curran of the Minnesota Fighting Saints was frustrated over the fact that a questionable goal was allowed in the playoffs, so he attacked the ref.So far this year, Rick Newell of San Diego shoved ref Bob Korali, Frank Hughes of Houston cross-checked ref Brent Casselman and, most recently, Bill White of the Black Hawks pushed ref Bob Myers into the boards. In each of these incidents, these players were suspended, but only for a few games. If stiffer penalties are not handed out, players will be able to intimidate the officials and control of the games will be lost.JOHN WHEATLEY, Wellesley, Mass.<h2>Rangers, Not Fans Are Unsophisticated</h2>I was disappointed with the cliche-ridden article by Frank Orr in his Nov. 22 column concerning Rod Seiling and how he was &ldquo;booed out of New York&rdquo; by those &ldquo;unsophisticated, know-nothing&rdquo; Rangers fans. Obviously, Mr. Orr has never sat through a game in the Garden in which the &ldquo;solid but unspectacular&rdquo; Seiling earned his reported $150,000.It&rsquo;s not that Seiling, or any &ldquo;unspectacular&rdquo; player is not worth $150,000. It&rsquo;s just that there are (or were) so darn many of them with the Rangers. Seiling&rsquo;s play was more stolid than solid, and worse, he was epitomized the overpaid, underproducing Rangers for a number of years. Remember, the team hasn&rsquo;t won the Cup in 34 years!Yet management boasts of playoff status eight years running. The Flyers didn&rsquo;t exist eight years ago, and they&rsquo;ve won the Cup! It is very frustrating to hear all kinds of &ldquo;this is the year&rdquo; talk when young players are continually being dealt away and the gold-plated deadwood remains. This year, Ranger management is finally seeing the light and going with some &mdash; youth &mdash; a crop of players which might finally produce a winner.So, Frank Orr, save your typewriter tears not for Seiling, Neilson, Hadfield and the rest, but for the hockey-ignorant, paying customers hanging around the Garden. By the way, aren&rsquo;t those sophisticated Leaf fans who would &ldquo;appreciate&rdquo; Seiling the same ones who booed someone named Frank Mahovlich out of town a few years back? &#9632;

f0004-05

FAN FORUM

<div class="byline">BY NORM MacLEAN</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0006-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-01976/3582105-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">GILLES MAROTTE&hellip; He Gives Blood On The Ice</figcaption></div>NEW YORK&mdash;With two wins, over Detroit and Chicago, and a tie with Montreal, the Rangers began what appears to be an inexorable advance towards second place in the Lester Patrick Division. Backup goalie Gilles Villemure. taken from the moth ball fleet, more or less, veteran winger Rod Gilbert, outspoken center Derek Sanderson and underrated defenseman Gilles Marotte all helped.After the Rangers beat Detroit 4-2 and Chicago 7-4, Gilbert, the 33-year-old, 5&rsquo;9&rdquo; right wing, said,&rdquo;We&rsquo;refinally finishing some of our chances off in front of the net. Despite the guys out with injuries we have ground to make up and can&rsquo;t slip further back.&rdquo;Part of the reason New York didn&rsquo;t disappear completely despite five players being out was the steady sniping of Gilbert. With Vic Hadfield, his former linemate now a Pittsburgh Penguin, and longtime teammate and linemate Jean Ratelle under some early season fire, Gilbert has remained a tower of strength.&ldquo;The guy goes both ways and he goes into the corners and digs out the puck now,&rdquo; said an admiring Tony Esposito, after Rod had gotten two against him. &ldquo;He is playing with great desire.&rdquo;In that same Chicago game Derek Sanderson scored twice and played one of his better games of the year, yet came away angry.&ldquo;It was the first game in six that my line was scored on while I was on ice,&rdquo; growled Derek. &ldquo;Jimmy Pappin got the goal (one of two). I gave Greg Polis (Pappin&rsquo;s check) heck about it.&rdquo;Pappin observed, &ldquo;Sanderson always plays well in Chicago. He used to come in here with Boston and beat us.&rdquo;Polis was benched for part of the Chicago game, but restored to duty with Sanderson and Bill Fairbairn in the Montreal 3-3 tie. When Greg digs and goes both ways, as he did in the Canadiens tussle, he is an effective two way performer.With Dale Rolfe and Ron Harris of the defense and forwards Bobby Rousseau and Walter Tkaczuk all out, the Rangers lost rookie-of-the year candidate Rick Middleton to a knee sprain in the Chicago game. He tried to play against Montreal, but quit after skating in the pre-game warmup. Gilles Marotte, who with Brad Park is the only blueliner with NHL experience, hurt an ankle against Chicago, but insisted on playing against Montreal.&ldquo;He gives blood, that Marotte. said Emile Francis, the Rangers&rsquo; general manager-coach. &ldquo;He played a tremendous game out there and could hardly walk before it.&rdquo;Marotte and Park are teamed together whenever possible, on penalty killing details. At other times Park works with John Bednarksi and Marotte with Ron Greschner. Nick Beverly is the fifth man. He got a neat assist on a Gilbert goal in Chicago.Marotte is not fast, but is one of the better body checkers in the NHL. He has played forward and is proud of the fact that he played two years in the league before expansion.&ldquo;I made it when it was only six teams and that sums it up,&rdquo; says Gilles. &ldquo;Greschner is learning fast. He has a lot of ability and can really move the puck.&rdquo; Ron rushes more than Gilles, who usually stays back when Greschner tries one of his forays.Harry Howell, who played more games with the Rangers than anyone else in history, before going to Oakland and then the Los Angeles Kings, became quite friendly with Marotte when both played with the Kings.&ldquo;Gilles has to play regularly to be effective. Then he takes charge and plays his heart out. He is tough and is very hard to beat. He plays the man, not the puck. When he plays regular he keeps his weight down and does the job for you.&rdquo;Marotte has done just that &mdash; and at 29 is finally gaining some long overdue recognition. He is a human tank on skates. standing 5&rsquo;9&rdquo; and weighing 205.Gilles Villemure, the goalie long in the wings, finally got two starts and won both of them. He beat Detroit and then when Francis went with the hot hand, gave the Cat the win over Chicago, outplaying Tony Esposito by a big margin.&ldquo;I try to practise hard and stay ready.&rdquo; said Villemure, the off season harness driver.Villemure had retired and unretired during pre-season in a dispute with Francis over his contract. He had played only 21 games last year due to a severe bronchitis attack and a lingering knee injury. With the contract problem delaying his conditioning Francis had played him against the weaker opponents. before he got the Detroit-Chicago assignments.Ed Giacomin returned against Montreal &mdash; and was less than brilliant on two of the three goals he allowed. But overall the return to form of Villemure augers well fora healthy Rangergoaling situation. Giacomin is tried and true &mdash; and will be better if he doesn&rsquo;t have to carry the whole load alone.BLUE CHIPS: Jerry Butler got nine shots on net in the Chicago game, but didn&rsquo;t score despite a couple of close-in tries. Bugsy tightens things defensively when he is operating out there&hellip; Steve Vickers continues to impress with pure raw power, better skating than most expect and quite a bit of finesse&hellip; Emile Francis was coaching his 600th NHL game when New York played Montreal at MSG Dec. 8&hellip; Rangers&rsquo; power-play set new record with goals in 13 straight games when Bill Fairbairn scored in Chicago&hellip; The power-play streak was snapped against Montreal&hellip; Francis&rsquo; coaching record is 317 wins. 188 losses and 95 ties for a .634 winning percentage, second only to Toe Blake in NHL history. &#9632;

f0006-01

Villemure, Gilbert, Marotte Show Way As Rangers Make Long-Awaited Upsurge

<h2>NATIONAL LEAGUE</h2>DETROIT&mdash;Guy Charron, forward, and Claude Houde, defenseman, traded to Kansas City in return for Bart Crashley and Larry Giroux, defensemen, and Ted Snell, forward. Thommie Bergman, defenseman. Brian Murphy and Brian McCutcheon, forwards, assignedo Virginia of AHL.PITTSBURGH&mdash;Ron Lalonde, forward; traded td&rsquo;Washington in exchange for Lew Morrison, forward. Colin Cartipbell, and Bob McManama, forward! defenseman, recalled from&mdash;Hawhey of AHL. Wayne Biarichin, forward, returned to Johnstown of-NAHL.CALIFORNIA&mdash;Georjjfe Pesut, defenseman, secured-from ila delphia to complete trade made during off-season for Reg Leach.CHICAGO&mdash;Rob Palmer, forward, recalled from Dallas of CHL. Roger Wilson, defenseman. and Duane Wylie, forward, returned to Dallas.KANSAS CITY&mdash;Bryan Lefley, defenseman.&rsquo; recalled from Baltimorexrf AHL. Glen Burdon, and Hugh Harvey, forwards sentPHILADTTZrTTl A&mdash;Jean Payette, forward, signed as free agent and assigned to Richmond of AHL.WASHINGTON&mdash;Gordon Smith, defenseman, Jim Hrycuik, forward, and John Adams, goalkeeper, recalled from Richmond of AHL. Adams later returned to Richmond.BUFFALO&mdash;Paul McIntosh, defensetpan, returned to Hershey of AHI.&rsquo;ATLANTA&mdash;Vic Mercredi, forward, assigned to Omaha of CHL.VANCOUVER&mdash;Harold Snepsts, defenseman, recalled from Seattle of CHL.<h2>WORLD HOCKEY ASSN.</h2>VANCOUVER&mdash;Pete McNamee and Serge Beaudoin, defensemen. and John Migneault, forward, traded to Phoenix in return for Hugh Harris, forward.PHOENIX&mdash;Serge Beaudoin, defenseman, assigned to Tulsa of CHL.MINNESOTA&mdash;Pat Westrum, defenseman, and Joe Robertson, forward, assigned to Johnstown of NAHL. Westrum later recalled again.CLEVELAND&mdash;John Stewart, forward, and Ron Anderson, defenseman, assigned to Cape Codders of NAHL.CHICAGO&mdash;Dick Proceviat, defenseman, recalled from Long Island of NAHL and sold to India&rsquo; napolis in return for future considerations. Don Gordon, forward, recalled from Long Island.SAN DIEGO&mdash;Reg Krezanski, defenseman. and Doug Volmar, forward, recalled from Syracuse of NAHL. Jamie Bateman, forward, assigned to Syracuse. Krezanski later returned.<h2>AMERICAN LEAGUE</h2>VIRGINIA&mdash;Nelson Pyatt, forward, left team and announced retirement from hockey.ROCHESTER&mdash;Ken Broderick, goalkeeper, assigned to J Broome of NAHL.NEW HAVEN&mdash;Sam Clegg, goalkeeper, recalled from Columbus of IHL under emergency conditions.RICHMOND&mdash;Garth Malarchuk, goalkeeper, recalled from Kalamazoo of IHL under emergency conditions and later returned.CENTRAL LEAGUEOMAHA&mdash;Cam Botting, forward, assigned to Des Moines of IHL as replacement for Bobby Geoffrion, forward, who is on disabled list with knee injury.<h2>INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE</h2>COLUMBUS&mdash;Pat Rupp, goalkeeper, signed as free agent as replacement for Sam Clegg, goalkeeper, recalled by New Haven.LANSING&mdash;Ivan Belisle, defenseman. placed on 17-day disabled list wiht head injury. Mark Calder, forward, signed from Michigan State.SAGINWA&mdash;Mike Palmateer, goalkeeper, on disabled list indefinitely with knee injury.MUSKEGON&mdash;Joe Nathe, forward, signed from Bemidji State.FORT WAYNE&mdash;John Dobie, forward, secured from Springfield of AHL on loan. Yves Bernier, signed as free agent. Jim Shires, forward, announced retirement from hockey. Dale Power, forward, also retired with knee injury. Larry Finck, forward, placed on waivers.PORT HURON&mdash;Don Grierson, forward, placed on disabled list indefinitely with broken leg. Tom Peluso, forward, placed on waivers. Doug Hearns, forward, activated after Peluso released.KALAMAZOO&mdash;Bob forward, secured from Greensboro of SHL. Ned Dowd, forward, returned to Johnstown of NAHL.<h2>NORTH AMERICAN LEAGUE</h2>MAINE&mdash;Richard Dupras, forward, secured from Mohawk Valley of NAHL.PHILADELPHIA&mdash;SteveShort, forward, placed on active roster.JOHNSTOWN&mdash;Galen Head, forward, placed on 14-day disabled list with injury. Norm Descoteaux, John Perpich, Moe St. Jacques and Jim Wilcox, forwards, placed on waivers.SYRACUSE&mdash;John Kiely, goalkeeper, placed on disabled list for 6-8 weeks after knee surgery. &#9632;

Movements of Players

<div class="byline">BY HARRY KLAFF</div>LONG ISLAND&mdash;There were only ten seconds left in a scoreless first period as the Islanders and Maple Leafs battled at the Nassau Coliseum early in December. Then Norm Ullman pounced on a loose puckin front, and suddenly it was a 1-0 game.It was a tough goal to give up, as Al Arbour grimly escorted his club to the dressing room. The coach told his charges that there would be a change for the second period. Andre St. Laurent would replace Ralph Stewart on the Clark Gillies &mdash; Craig Cameron line.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-03724/3582174-1-eng-US/f0008-032.jpg" title="f0008-03" width="259" height="376"><figcaption class="caption-body">Al Arbour</figcaption></div>&ldquo;1 was just trying to generate something.&rdquo; offered Arbour of the move afterward. But that didn&rsquo;t seem to satisfy the Isles&rsquo; big. blond center ice man.&ldquo;Heck, you can call it what you want,&rdquo; said Stewie. &ldquo;To me it was just a plain benching. You can bet 1 was a bit ticked off about it. 1 didn&rsquo;t like it one bit.&rdquo;Arbour&rsquo;s shakeup didn&rsquo;t appearto do the club too much good, however, as the Leafs held on to a 2-1 advantage late in the game. When Gary Sabourin potted a power play effort, the Islanders found themselves behind by two goals with a little more than seven minutes left to play.Dave Fortier blasted a shot from the point only 12 seconds later to put the Islanders back into the game. Then Arbour summoned his secret weapon, and off the bench came Stewart.&ldquo;1 was hoping he&rsquo;d be mad enough to do something out there.&rdquo; said Arbour of his change in heart. The move ultimately made the coach look like a genius.With a minute and three seconds left on the clock. Jim McKenny of the Leafs drew a two minute penalty for hooking speedy Bob Bourne as the latter broke dangerously into the Toronto zone. Arbour sent out Stewart with the usual orders a coach gives a player in such a situation. &ldquo;Put the puck in the net,&rdquo; said Al.The Leafs got the puck out into the neutral zone with thirteen seconds left, but the Isles came back for one more rush. Bill MacMillan shoveled the puck to Ed Westfall, who managed to push the puck in the direction of the goal.Dave Dunn got a piece of it, but it squibbled through to the goal mouth. Stewart was Johnny-on-the-spot, and lifted it past a startled Dune Wilson.&ldquo;You just can&rsquo;t keep a player of my calibre on the bench for long,&rdquo; said a smiling Stewart afterward. &ldquo;That sure was a smart move the coach made, putting me back in the game.&rdquo;Big things have been forcasted for Stewart ever since he turned pro with the old Houston Apollos of the Central League. He was the property of the Montreal Canadiens then, and was considered one of the many young faces who would insure the perpetual return of the Stanley Cup.Stewie never played for the Habs, nor for the Detroit Red Wings, who would later own his contract. In between, he did appear in three games for the Vancouver Canucks in 1970-71.At the time the Islanders landed him midmay through their initial season, he was leading the Central League in scoring with 21 goals and 36 assists for 57 points in only 38 games. He picked up a couple of points in his first game as an Islander, the celebrated 9-7 win over the Bruins at Boston Garden.He was somewhat of a disappointment over the rest of the stretch, but began to fly once the &lsquo;73-&rsquo;74 campaign commenced. He appeared to be headed for a thirty goal season when a broken collarbone shelved him for more than a month. Stiil, the Ft. William, Ontario native hit for 23 goals.Excluding the benching incident, Stewart has been off to a fine start this year, and is a cinch to better his totals of a year ago. Yet in spite of his scoring prowess, Ralph is considered to be the best defensive forward on the squad. It is his line that invariably draws the assignment of checking the opposition&rsquo;s most potent trio.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a challenge to stop the other guys,&rdquo; says Stewart. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s great to score goals, but it gives you a good feeling when you know that you&rsquo;ve kept some of these stars around the league off the board as well.&rdquo;Stewart has established a reputation around the league as a top two-way player. And he knows that reputations don&rsquo;t grow while one is sitting on the bench.ISLAND SOUNDS: Glenn Resch made his first appearance in more than three weeks against the Kansas City Scouts on Dec. 7. Only a breakaway goal by Ted Snell emerging from the penalty box spoiled his shutout bid&hellip; Ernie Hicke was still in pain from a cracked vertebrae, but resumed skating after only two weeks on the sidelines&hellip; Bob Bourne was another Islander sitting on the end of the bench recently, but broke out of his slump with a strong game against the Scouts&hellip; Dave Fortier is quickly establishing himself as a high-scoring rearguard. The goal against Toronto was his fifth of the year. Dave scored 10 for Oklahoma City of the CHL last year. &#9632;

f0008-03

‘Benching’ Of Stewart Ploy By Coach Arbour To Stimulate Islanders

<div class="byline">BY HILL HEUFELDER</div>PITTSBURGH&mdash;To use one of today&rsquo;s most popular terms, the Pittsburgh Penguins are having trouble putting it all together.They opened the National Hockey Hockey League season with great expectations. a young, enthusiastic club and a vibrant coach in search of something more than a playoff berth.if a break went their way here and there they thought, the Penguins just might steal the j Norris Division title.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-02828/3582212-1-eng-US/f0009-022.jpg" title="f0009-02" width="286" height="414"><figcaption class="caption-body">Dennis Owchar</figcaption></div>A little less than one-quarter of the way through the campaign, coach Marc Boileau continues to wait for his Pittsburgh club to assert itself.&ldquo;On only one occasion have we won three games in a row.&rdquo; he said, realizing that, in the meantime. Los Angeles and Montreal drew away from the Penguins.The Kings, particularly, are a thorny topic. Not only have they smothered Pittsburgh in two of three head-to-head meetings, but Boileau points out. &ldquo;1 don&rsquo;t think anybody would have believed before the season started that they would go this long without losing a game on the road.&rdquo;To their credit, the Penguins havedisplayed one of the league&rsquo;s most potent attacks, but they&rsquo;ve proved to be much too vulnerable defensively. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re scoring.&rdquo; Boileau says, &ldquo;but everybody in the league is scoring goals.&ldquo;We just haven&rsquo;t been able to play consistently for 60 minutes a game. &ldquo;What we need is to win eight or nine in a row.&rdquo;A prime example, he mentioned, of the team&rsquo;s disjointed efforts was the recent 4-2 win over Toronto at the Civic Arena. Through two periods, the fans, restless over the uninspiring showing of the Penguins, clearly expressed their displeasure.Boileau, in fact, sided with the fans and he did something about the situation on the spot. He spread Syl Apps, Lowell MacDonald and Jean Pronovost &mdash; known often as the Century Line for its 100-plusgoals last season &mdash; on three different units at the start of the final period against the Leafs.Presto! Eighteen seconds later. Nelson Debenedet. playing the left side with Apps and Rick Kehoe, delivered a goal that broke a I-1 tie.Chuck Arnason. on assists from his new&rsquo; linemates. Ron Schock and MacDonald. blasted home what proved to be the winning goal and Vic Hadfield sealed the triumph with an empty-net goal.Rather than feel he was stuck with an unwanted alignment. Boileau emphasized he would keep the Century Line scattered, at least temporarily.Drastic measures of some sort-were in order as the Penguins managed only one victory &mdash; the one against the Leafs &mdash; in a seven-game stretch.Several accusing fingers for the defensive lapses are being pointed at the goaltending, which remains in the youthful. relatively inexperienced hands of Gary Inness and Bob Johnson.Playing sparingly and struggling to steady himself in the NHL. Johnson, although he seemed uncertain at times, backstopped Pittsburgh to the win over Toronto. He was not as successful three nights later in Montreal where the Canadiens cruised to a 5-2 victory.Boileau. in rising to the defense of his goalies, says, &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think we&rsquo;ve got to re-evaluate the goaltending. We just haven&rsquo;t been working together as a team.&rdquo;With each succeeding game, the absence of defenseman Steve Durbano leaves a deeper effect. On that point. Boileau will agree. &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t think at the time that his loss would affect the club as much as it did.&rdquo; he said.Likely to be sidelined the remainder of the season with a severely broken wrist suffered in the third game of the season. Durbano provided the aggressive. often combative qualities that seemed to keep the Penguins in a spirited mood.To complicate the situation. Bob Kelly, who combined with Durbano to command respect for the Penguins from the opposition, was forced out of the lineup with bruised ribs.One player willing to lend an aggressive quality to the club is 21-year-old Dennis Owchar. A willing hitter and capable puncher. Owchar also has demonstrated an ability to score effectively since given an opportunity to play regularly.With only one year of pro experience, however. Owchar is learning. While impressed with the potential the youngster has shown. Boileau said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s trying to beat the other guy. which he&rsquo;s done a couple of times, instead of making the quick pass to the open man.&rdquo;As the Penguins drift further away from the .500 mark. Boileau, constantly looking for solutions to his surprising number of problems, says. &ldquo;We have a lot more losses than 1 expected at this stage of the season.&rdquo;PENGUIN NOTES: Pierre Larouche. the club&rsquo;s No. I draft choice, jumped the club overnight after he was benched near the end of a home loss to Buffalo&hellip; The 19-year-old center arrived in Buffalo in time to face the Sabres the next night&hellip; With Kelly sidelined and MacDonald alerted to his father&rsquo;s failing health in Nova Scotia, the Penguins, as a precautionary measure, recalled Wayne Bianchin. who has been playing himself back in shape since a serious off-season neck injury.<h2>CARTOON CORNER</h2>BY BILL MAKI<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-01935/3582205-1-eng-US/f0009-012.jpg" title="f0009-01" width="1141" height="1096"></div>&ldquo;I Suppose You Think It&rsquo;s Easy Being A Buily!&rdquo; &#9632;

f0009-02

Lack Of Sustained Victory Streak Keeping Team Below.500

<div class="byline">BY BILL FLEISCHMAN</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0010-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-01955/3582243-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">DON SALESKI&hellip; Flyers&rsquo; New MBP (Most Booed Player)</figcaption></div>PHILADELPHIA&mdash;One year Brent Hughes was the Spectrum&rsquo;s MBP: Most Booed Player. Last year Tom Bladon and Bill Flett shared low billing.And now, presenting this year&rsquo;s MBP: Don (Big Bird) Saleski. The anti-Saleski sentiment actually surfaced late last season when the towering right wing labored through 31 consecutive games without a goal. The famine was particularly noticeable because Saleski. a sixth-round amateur draft choice in 1969, had scored 15 goals by February.Reaction to Saleski thudded to an embarrassing point during the Flyers&rsquo; 3-2 victory over the New York Islanders Dec. 8. Flyers&rsquo; wives were modeling fur coats on the Spectrum ice during the first intermission. When Mary Ann Saleski was introduced some fans booed her. Immediately others cheered to drown out the minority.The incident will be filed among other cherished moments in Philadelphia sports history such as Eagles&rsquo; football fans throwing snowballs at Santa Claus and some Flyers&rsquo; fans booing the. message board note that Henri Richard had suffered a broken ankle.Coincidentally. Saleski wasn&rsquo;t suited up for the Islanders&rsquo; game and didn&rsquo;t learn of his wife&rsquo;s forgettable experience until later.&ldquo;They did what?&rdquo; he exclaimed. Shaking his head, he said, &ldquo;People who lower themselves to that don&rsquo;t show much class. They can boo me all they want, but to boo a guy&rsquo;s wife&hellip;&rdquo; Bobby Clarke was also stunned. &ldquo;Anybody who boos another guy&rsquo;s wife has to be missing a few marbles,&rdquo; said the club captain.Despite what some opponents think. Saleski has all his marbles. The Moose Jaw. Sask, native explains his disfavor with this analysis:&ldquo;It&rsquo;s partly because of my slump last year, but I think that should be over by now. I haven&rsquo;t exactly been tearing the league up, but I don&rsquo;t think I&rsquo;ve been playing bad.&ldquo;1 think 1 got bad press over what happened in Oakland. The stories made me look like a real villain, even to the home fans.&rdquo;Saleski and Bob Kelly also got six-game suspensions from NHL president Clarence Campbell for their involvement in the penalty-record setting Oct. 25 Oakland brawl.Part of Saleski&rsquo;s problem is even though he is 6&rsquo;3&rdquo;, 205 pounds and still reasonably aggressive, his role as a &ldquo;Mad Squad&rdquo; villain has been minimized by the revelation that he isn&rsquo;t exactly hockey&rsquo;s most effective fighter. However, many observers believe he is still valuable even when he isn&rsquo;t scoring goals or fighting.&ldquo;Professional sports are funny,&rdquo; said Clarke. &ldquo;When you&rsquo;re struggling you&rsquo;re judged by effort, but when you win you&rsquo;re judged by results. Saleski works hard and he should be judged by that. Everybody isn&rsquo;t as talented as a Rick MacLeish.&rdquo;And everybody can&rsquo;t have a wife who until recently was full-time secretary to Ed Snider, the Flyers&rsquo; board chairman. There were rumblings that Mary Ann Saleski&rsquo;s job was causing internal strife among Flyers and their wives.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think anybody resented it,&rdquo; said Clarke, &ldquo;but by working there she knew a lot, like salaries. If we were a losing team there might have been complaints.&rdquo;Mrs. Saleski now works only parttime for Snider, which gives her the opportunity to open a new office: the Complaint Department. By now she should be an expert.FLYER FACTS: Coach Fred Shero gets incensed over fans booing his players: &ldquo;If they think the booing will make me change my lineup they&rsquo;re wrong. I&rsquo;m running this team.&rdquo; Saleski believes a scoring spree would soothe his critics: &ldquo;My four goals this season were all on the road. &ldquo;&hellip; After his six goals-in-four-games splurge, Reg Leach predicted he&rsquo;ll score &ldquo;over 30 goals&rdquo; this season&hellip; With Gary Domhoefer discarding the helmet he wore while his cheekbone healed, the Flyers hope he and linemates MacLeish and Ross Lonsberry will return to their Stanley Cup-season effectiveness. &#9632;

f0010-01

Saleski Incensed After Wife Booed During Ice Fashion Show

<div class="byline">BY DONALD BERNS</div>ST. LOUIS &mdash;Garry Unger picked consecutive Saturday nights to break the St. Louis Blues&rsquo; career records for most points and most goals.In the game celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Montreal Forum Unger scored a goal which was his 268th point in a St. Louis uniform. The i following Saturday against the Washington Capitals at the St. Louis Arena Unger scored his 137th St. Louis goal.The previous records of 267 points and 136 goals were both held by Gary Sabourin. who spent seven seasons with St. Louis before being traded last May to the Toronto Maple Leafs.Unger broke Sabourin&rsquo;s records in a little more than half the time it took Sabourin to set them. Sabourin played in 463 games for the Blues to amass his leading scoring totals. Unger broke the points record in his 284th game with St. Louis and the goals record in his 287th.Unger is pleased with the new distinctions but he minimizes talk about them.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll probably think about it sometime this summer.&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;Something like this can get you high for aw hile, but you&rsquo;re only as good as your last goal, and you have to have confidence all the time. You have to have pride whether you&rsquo;re getting paid $10 a week in junior or $ 100.00 a year in the NHL.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-01923/3582274-1-eng-US/f0011-012.jpg" title="f0011-01" width="268" height="391"><figcaption class="caption-body">Garry Unger</figcaption></div>The freckle-faced Unger, who broke into the National Hockey League with Toronto six and one-half years ago. is well past the latter salary figure now but he can always be found standing in awe of those who have done more than he in professional hockey. Unger knows that at his present scoring clip he will probably end his career years hence among the top handful of scorers in the history of the league but he&rsquo;ll wait for those achievements to come before he talks about them. One of the reasons he is somewhat reticent about his recent record-breaking achievements is because of his respect for what went before him in the early years of the Blues&rsquo; franchise.&ldquo;The guy who made these records I broke isn&rsquo;t here anymore.&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s an honor to have them.&rdquo;Unger came to the Blues in the trade that sent Red Berenson to Detroit Feb. 6. 1971. and since that day Unger has been expected to carry the scoring burdens that Berenson handled as the Blues went to the Stanley Cup finals their first three years. Unger has done that.&ldquo;The guy I was traded for was a big hero.&rdquo; Unger says. &ldquo;I was just a kid.&rdquo;The night that Unger played his first game in a St. Louis uniform Sabourin listened in the dressing room as the handsome Unger spoke with poise about the trade and about his outstanding performance in the game. &ldquo;I guess he&rsquo;s got it all.&rdquo; said an admiring Sabourin out of Unger&rsquo;s earshot. When Sabourin established the points and goals scoring marks last season, he accepted congratulations, then said. &ldquo;I probably won&rsquo;t have them long. Unger&rsquo;s going to break all of them eventually.&rdquo;St. Louis captain Barclay Plager. a close personal friend of Sabourin over seven seasons with the Blues, said. &ldquo;Sabby was right, but I think now that it will take a longtime before Unger&rsquo;s records are broken. He&rsquo;s a gifted hockey player and he&rsquo;s meant a lot to this club. We&rsquo;re just lucky we got him on our side.&rdquo;Plager. incidentally, was not overshadowed during the breaking of team scoring records. In the first period of the game in which Unger set the goals record Plager assisted on a goal by Doug Palazzari for his 200th point with the Blues. There are five players who have scored more than 200 points for St. Louis &mdash; Unger. Sabourin. Frank St. Marseille. Berenson and Plager. The closest challenger to that select group is Pierre Plante, who has 115 points but is moving at a pace of about 60 points a year. &#9632;

f0011-01

Unger Establishes Two St. Louis Club Records For Most Goals, Points

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0012-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-01926/3582312-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg"></div><h2>Campbell Speaks Out</h2>NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE president Clarence Campbell visited Pittsburgh recently, inspected the Penguin franchise and engaged in a freewheeling press conference. Campbell was in good form which meant frank, straight-forward answers to all questions.The prez had good reason to be in Pittsburgh. The NHL is injecting money into the troubled Penguin franchise and on the night Campbell was there, he found out why the support is necessary. Only 7,500 customers were on hand for a game between the Pens and the Toronto Maple Leafs.Campbell touched on a wide range of subjects in his hour&rsquo;s chat with the media. Here are his observations which do much to illuminate the state ot hockey. 1974.On the California Seals, the lawsuit against the NHL by the Seals&rsquo; original owner Barry Van Gerbig and the league ownership of the team: &ldquo;If we had handled ourselves properly, we never would have granted that franchise to a schoolboy (Van Gerbig) who wore a Princeton tie and played a good game of golf. He had a list of 50 supporters but one of them were committed to helping him out with money. A month after the first season opened, he was threatening the fans by saying he&rsquo;d move the team if they didn&rsquo;t turn out for the games.&ldquo;The California situation has been a very bleeding one on the NHL. The lawsuit has cost us $4,000 per day in leagal fees for two years, more than $3,000,000. It prevented any possible moving of the team and now we have the cost of operating the team as an additional drain. &ldquo;We received a summary judgement against the plaintiff and now we&rsquo;re trying to find out if the other side wishes to continue the matter.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-02800/3582305-1-eng-US/f0012-022.jpg" title="f0012-02" width="458" height="472"><figcaption class="caption-body">Clarence Campbell</figcaption></div><h2>Talking With Russians</h2>On a possible move of the Seals&rsquo; franchise: &ldquo;Yes. there is an offer from the people who have the 1976 expansion franchise for Denver to buy the Seals and move it. The governors will consider it soon. But a move to Denver for that franchise and possible new expansion franchise is pure conjecture at this point.&rdquo;On future series between the NHL and Soviet Union: &ldquo;The NHL will never again play gainst the Soviet Union with an All Star team and we certainly will not allow any NHL players to play in such a series under the control of another organization or inconjuction with players from the WHA. Future Russia-NHL series will be between club teamsand we&rsquo;re negotiating for such games now.&rdquo;On Philadelphia Flyers Bobby Clarke, who claimed Campbell was too old for the job but later apologized: &ldquo;Bobby Clarke isjust a boy. He&rsquo;s associated with an organization which tends to be maverick in its own concept. It would be below the dignity of the league office to try to punish such action. That would have to come from the governors or the players&rsquo; own governor.&rdquo;On the drafting of underage juniors: &ldquo;The NHL certainly didn&rsquo;t want to be involved in the drafting of 18-yearolds but we had to become involved when the WHA did. We had to protoect our position in the acquisition of talent. We certainly don&rsquo;t want to continue such a draft in 1975 but we may be forced into it.&rdquo;On the Washington and Kansas City expansion franchises: &ldquo;The talent distribution is not any different now than it was for the original expansion in 1967. It&rsquo;s not the talent which a new team gets in the expansion draft that decides its future. It&rsquo;s what it does through trades and the amateur draft.&ldquo;Sure, the established teams should have protected fewer players and made more available. But we can&rsquo;t change that now for new teams. It wouldn&rsquo;t be fair to the teams which have already paid to enter the NHL.&rdquo;<h2>Salaries Reach Peak</h2>On NHL salaries: &ldquo;I feel that salaries have reached a peak, the economic situation dictates that. The arenas are only so big and ticket prices can be only so high. Operating costs are soaring and income isn&rsquo;t increasing for the owners.&rdquo;On U.S. College hockey: &ldquo;Fve always thought that it was stupid for the U.S. colleges to bring down Canadian boys to staff their hockey teams. High school hockey in the U.S. produces players who are every bit as good as Canadian players but the college recruiters go for the Canadians because of the publicity value. But every time they do. the Canadian takes away a spot from a U.S. kid who could develop into a top prospect.&rdquo;On hockey executives: &ldquo;It&rsquo;s always been my view that the best hockey executives are those who have scuffled around through the minor ranks in Canada, who operated teams at ail levels and learned all facets of the game. They are the best prepared to handle a team.&rdquo;On moving the NHL head office to the U.S.: &ldquo;It would be a mistake to move the head office out of Canada. There are some certain advantages to keeping it there from a legal standpoint which are very clear.&rdquo;On the NHL&rsquo;s voting down of the change-on-the-fiy rule which was tried in the pre-season games: &ldquo;I was extremely disappointed in the fact that the rule was adopted and I&rsquo;ve told the governors that in plain language. It was good rule that would have helped the, game. and I can&rsquo;t understand why it wasn&rsquo;t accepted.&rdquo;On an agreement with the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association in regards to payments for drafted players: &ldquo;We don&rsquo;t have one and there&rsquo;s no easy solution on the horizon. We certainly can&rsquo;t tie ourselves to an agreement that places us at a disadvantage to our opposition (WHA). We&rsquo;re willing to talk, though, and we hope that some binding agreement will be reached.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0012-01

FRANK ORR SAYS:

<div class="byline">BY JACK BERRY</div>DETROIT &mdash; &ldquo;I think,&rdquo; said Hank Nowak, &ldquo;a few guys were waiting for me to do that.&rdquo;They were. And what they were waiting for the 24-year-old DetroitRed Wing left wing to to was to. well, to fight. Nowak was talking about his Boston Garden bout with Bruin defenseman Carol Vadnais.When Detroit dealt Nelson Debenedet to the Pittsburgh Penguins last spring, the Wings figured they were getting w hat is known in the trade as &ldquo;a hard-nosed hockey player&rdquo; which means a fighter.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-03626/3582343-1-eng-US/f0012-032.jpg" title="f0012-03" width="258" height="402"><figcaption class="caption-body">Hank Nowak</figcaption></div>And Nowak was impressive in training camp and at the beginning of the season when manager-coach Alex Delvecchio put him on a line centered by Red Berenson.But Nowak seemed to go into a state of suspended animation&hellip; except that he wasn&rsquo;t very animated in the corners.Delvecchio talked to him prior to the Wings&rsquo; post-Thanksgiving game in Kansas City. By then Detroit had lost six in a row and was slipping out of sight in the Norris Division.Nowak came on strong that night, played well with rookie linemates Blair Stewart and Earl Anderson in a 4-2 loss at New York and then really blossomed in Detroit&rsquo;s 6-4 victory over the Bruins at Boston Garden.That&rsquo;s w here Nowak came of age, as it were. Early in the game Vadnais gave Nowak a shot and Nowak didn&rsquo;t retaliate.&ldquo;I figured &lsquo;What the heck, it wasn&rsquo;t that much and kept on going. But the guys said not to take that.&ldquo;Then suddenly there was a fight next to the net and Vadnais was next to me and 1 figured &lsquo;I&rsquo;m gonna get you now.&rsquo;&ldquo;The guys said I hit him 17 times to his one and I think that&rsquo;s what they were waiting for me to do.&ldquo;I did quite a bit of that last year and I guess that&rsquo;s what the Wings were thinking about when they traded for me,&rdquo; Nowak said.The 6&rsquo;1&rdquo;, 195-lb. Oshawa. Ont. native did pile up 90 penalty minutes in 56 games in Hershey in the American League and he had die season before at Hershey.He also showed he could score, with 32 goals last season and 25 the previous year. But the Penguins didn&rsquo;t show much interest in bringing him up and Nowak wasn&rsquo;t interested in the World Hockey Association although three teams, Vancouver, Phoenix and Minnesota, tried to get him.&ldquo;I just always wanted to play in the National Hockey League,&rdquo; he said. And so did his parents &mdash; his mother told the WHA &ldquo;no&rdquo; when it called.When the Red Wings called, Nowak talked to ex-Pittsburgh teammate Jack Lynch who arrived in Detroit last season. &ldquo;He said they treated him well and it&rsquo;s a good place to play.&rdquo; Nowak said.&ldquo;When 1 went to training camp, though, they had Pierre Jarry, an experienced pro, Danny Grant. Nick Libett and Bill Lochead (the No. I draft choice) on left wing and 1 figured I&rsquo;d have to work my fanny off just to sit on the bench.&ldquo;But Alex gave me a really good opportunity&hellip; I couldn&rsquo;t believe how much hockey I was playing.&rdquo;Nowak didn&rsquo;t score until the Wings&rsquo; 14th game but he got two that night, the first after just leaving the penalty box. That was a big boost because Nowak felt he&rsquo;d played his worst game in the one that preceded that, a 4-2 home ice loss to Vancouver.&ldquo;I just seemed to lose confidence,&rdquo; Nowak said.It&rsquo;s coming back, though, with the Vadnais fight triggering the rise. Then Nowak scored in a 3-3 tie at Toronto and added his fifth goal of the season in the Wings&rsquo; 4-2 Olympia victory over the Smythe Division-leading Canucks.That was a big night for what amounts to the Wings&rsquo; &ldquo;hard-nosed, checking line&rdquo;. Anderson, the University of North Dakota product who fired 62 goals for the London (England) Lions last winter, also scored.The scoring was a bonus because the thing that Delvecchio is trying most to impress on the line &mdash; and the entire team &mdash; is the need to backcheck. And aggressiveness. And Nowak and Blair Stewart, getting into action now after breaking his lee last summer, are sup plying it.RED WING NOTES: When Mickey Redmond, who blistered 50-plus goals past opposition netminders in each of the last two seasons, let a sizzler go at Vancouver goalie Bruce Bullock, the Olympia organist struck up music from. &ldquo;The Sting.&rdquo;As Red Berenson was recovering from a rib cage injury, manager-coach Alex Delvecchio said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;ll be tough to knock the other three guys out at center.&rdquo; No. 1, of course, is Marcel Dionne, having an outstanding season, and the others are Rick McCann, called up after injuries to Berenson and Bill Hogaboam, and aggressive Blair Stewart. &#9632;

f0012-03

Nowak Displays Aggressiveness Red Wings Expected From Outset

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0012-04" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-04424/3582374-1-eng-US/f0012-042.jpg"></div>RICK MIDDLETON&hellip; New York RangersMost young hockey players who come into the NHL designated as likely rookie of the year usually come direct from junior ranks. Not so Rick Middleton of the New York Rangers, who is one of the hotshot freshmen stars burning up the league. Middleton spent his first pro year in the minors with Providence but this season the 5&rsquo;11&rdquo;, 170-pounder came ready for the big time and most hockey observers have labelled him as a can&rsquo;t miss prospect. His Providence coach, John Muckier, claims he has more around-the-net skills than some of the great players he&rsquo;s seen in the NHL. Middleton was a first amateur draft choice of the Rangers in 1973 and came up to the NHL this season after winning the AHL rookie-of-the-year award in 1973-74. &#9632;

f0012-04

MEET THE ROOKIES

<div class="byline">BY JAY GREENBERG</div>KANSAS CITY &mdash;Ask Robin Burns why he tempts the hockey fates by wearing No. 13 on his back, and his logic is overwhelming.&ldquo;1 figure what the heck.&rdquo; he says and that is probably as good a place as any to begin. Robin has touched enough cities and organizations that he shouldn&rsquo;t need any further introduction.Burns. the Scouts&rsquo; keeper of the good cheer as the first year club&rsquo;s record sank to 4-17-1. kept them rolling in the aisles in both Montreal and Pittsburgh, but neither organization found anything funny about his goal production.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-01899/3582405-1-eng-US/f0013-012.jpg" title="f0013-01" width="258" height="452"><figcaption class="caption-body">Robin Burns</figcaption></div>in three trials with Pittsburgh lie had yet to score a goal, and his reputation developed as a good guy and a hard worker, who nonetheless would blow breakaways on the Grand Canyon In other words, he wasn&rsquo;t too slick around the net.Yet an excellent (31 goals and 35 as sists year at Hershey. Pa. last year convinced both the Scouts and Washington Capitals that here was a lost minor-league soul worth reclaiming. The Penguins apparently thought otherwise, for they left him exposed in the expansion draft, and the luck of the draw brought Robin to Kansas City.&ldquo;There are a lot of people who would be upset about the No. 13.&rdquo; Robinsays. &ldquo;But no one I every played for accused me of not being serious when I put on the skates and go out and play the game.&rdquo;No one ever accused Robin of not being funny, either. He&rsquo;s great in crowded airports, locker rooms, anytime the tension of a first-year loser needs breaking. He&rsquo;s a good man to have around to ease the growing pains, but he s not doing it here by special request. Burns has always found things to laugh about.I ist year at Hershey we had a guy on the team. Steve Andrascik. who spoke Czechoslovakian, and we managed to convince this kid taping a radio interview that I was a Russian hockey player. Boris Strongkof (he flexes his muscles) was my name. (Robin gives some of his best fake Russian as an example. &ldquo;The guys asked me how I got to be a good hockey player. 1 told him (he makes a waving motion with his arm along with more garbled Russian) Steve translated. He said When he was very young he used to skate down the river!&rdquo;There are many more stories, not all of them exactly printable, but most of them very funny. &ldquo;When I came in here the first day of training camp the guys were sitting around like 30 cigar-store Indians. I had to do something to liven things up.&rdquo;But even funny men&rsquo;s hockey lives are not lengthened, if performances on the ice do not bring an equal smile to a coach or general manager&rsquo;s face. At the beginning of the season. Robin&rsquo;s jokes were coming faster than the goals.The year at Hershey, he said, had rebuilt his confidence to the point he felt he was ready again for the NHL. &ldquo;It was the best thing that ever happened to me, staying there the whole year,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;1 owe Frank Mather(the Bears&rsquo; general manager) a lot. For three years with Pittsburgh I was on the toilet-seat run. up and down, up and down. Last year I felt 1 proved I could score.&rdquo; *Proving it in the minors and in the NHL would be a different and more difficult job. and for the first 10 games of this season, the new Robin looked pretty much like the old. &ldquo;If I can just get one to get going,&rdquo; he said. Finally, in the 10th game, he did a freak job that hit off the shaft of his stick, but one that was accepted gratefully nonetheless. It came against the Penguins. Since then, he&rsquo;s gone on to score three more and add nine assists, and the improvement in his play has been noticeable.&ldquo;They said I wasn&rsquo;t very good around the net.&rdquo; said Robin. &ldquo;But it was a case of never really getting to the net. I&rsquo;m big and it Jakes me awhile to get going. I never really had a chance to play for any length of time that I could get started.&rdquo;&ldquo;He&rsquo;s doing much better.&rdquo; said Bep Guidolin, the Scouts&rsquo; coach. &ldquo;If we can just get him to quit roaming and just play his wing, it would help a lot more too.&rdquo;Playing on the Scouts&rsquo; first line with Simon Nolet and Dave Hudson hasn&rsquo;t hurt Robin, either, but slumps will come and go. He obviously has the temperament to withstand them.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s been a lot of people who have tried to tell me 1 was three quarters crazy.&rdquo; he.says. &ldquo;Well I think you&rsquo;ve got to be half nuts to play this game, anyway.&ldquo;Pitter-patter, little chatter,, we&rsquo;ll just go at er.&rdquo;That&rsquo;s nothing new really, but this is another chance.LOOSE PUCKS: The Scouts suffered through on eight-period goal drought, lasting over the last two period of 4-2 loss to Atlanta and shutout losses to Detroit l-0, and Philadelphia, 10-0. The loss at Philadelphia was clearly the Scouts&rsquo; most abysmal of the season&hellip;Defenseman Roger Lemelin, the Scouts&rsquo; No. 4 amateur choice, was recalled from Baltimore after back injuries to Brent Hughes and Mike Baumgartner. He played well in five games, but was returned to the Clipperfor more work. Brian Lefley, sent to Baltimore two weeks ago, was recalled. The Scouts also recalled left-winger Norm Dube from Providence. &#9632;

f0013-01

Burns Puts Out For New NHL Team Despite Wearing No. 13

<div class="byline">BY JACK MCCARTHY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0014-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-02773/3582436-1-eng-US/f0014-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">GILLES GILBERT&hellip; Putting Out Despite Fans&rsquo; Razzing</figcaption></div>BOSTON &mdash;As the Bruins continued to trudge along. 14 points behind the Buffalo Sabres in the Adams Division, although they had three games in hand, the natives were getting a bit restless, and the old bazoo was being heard throughout the land.Gilles Gilbert, the fine young goalkeeper, was beginning to get the razz, even as a gent named Eddie Johnston before him. although Gilbert was playing hurt for a good deal of the time, and the Bruins have not been clicking on all cylinders.Gilbert had been beaten by the Detroit Red Wings in the Garden in a 6-4 game, and he got the treatment. This prompted his alter ego. Ross Brooks, to come to his defense. Brooksie was not the only Bruin angered by the booing of Gilbert, either.Brooks stepped in when Gilbert was sidelined with agroin pull, and beat the Pittsburgh Penguins in Boston Garden, 3-2. Although he was happy to win in a game played in very muggy conditions on Dec. 8 &mdash; that&rsquo;s right, muggy in Boston on Dec. 8 &mdash; Brooks felt compelled to come to his buddy&rsquo;s defense.Said Brooks, &ldquo;The guy at the other end of the room has played hard and the people do that to him. I don&rsquo;t think that&rsquo;s right at all. He has busted his back all season.&ldquo;It takes 20 guys to win and 20 guys to lose. You can&rsquo;t blame it all on one man. It&rsquo;s unfair&hellip;&rdquo;Meanwhile, the goal that won this game for Boston and for Brooks was a screamer from the stick of Bobby Orr, which is nothing at all new &mdash; except that it was his 16th. This is some kind of production, even for the great defenseman, posting such a total by Dec. 8.It came at 15:33 of the final period, and it pointed up a facet of the Boston play this year which has been puzzling. Once upon a time, in the days of the Big Bad Bruins not so long ago, Boston would come out and jam goal after goal into the net early. Then they would let up, which was natural, and win games like 8-5, 7-4. etc.This did not do much for the goalkeepers&rsquo; averages, but the club won game after game anyway, and two Stanley Cups also. Now, the Bruins have been falling behind early, and have to go like blazes to catch up. One finish of this order was a big final-period effort which tied Canadiens in the Forum.One way out of this dilemma would be to heed the old hockey axiom which says that the idea is to score the first goal. Well, in its first 26 games. Boston scored the first goal in the first 13 games, and won 11. lost one and tied one.For the other 13 games, the record reads 2-6-5, with the enemy getting the first marker, and quite often, the first two goals.Playing catch-up is not the best way to win at anything, and when a hockey club has to open up and go for goals in desperation, then the path is open for the opposition to get the breakaways.Mention of the Big Bad Bruins recalls that the tag does not apply anymore. There are quite a few teams in the league much more physical than Boston nowadays, and the odd thing is that when Boston went to size up front, and Harry Sinden turned them loose to &ldquo;play the body&rdquo;. Boston started the present trend by which it is now being victimized.A pertinent statistic is the penalty minutes, where the Bruins are 14th on the list of 18.Pertinent? Maybe. But there is no question that Boston does not hit like it once did.Capt. Johnny Bucyk got his 700th career assist against the Penguins, setting up Bobby Schmautz for his fifth goal of the season. &#9632;

f0014-02

Big Bad Bruins’lmage Slipping As Sabres Pull Away

<div class="byline">By Jules Furth</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-01909/3582467-1-eng-US/f0014-012.jpg" title="f0014-01" width="192" height="310"></div><h2>Bench Locale Advantage</h2>Dear Jules:Unless I am mistaken, the NHL rules state that the penalty boxes for both teams must be on one side of the ice while the two players&rsquo; benches are on the other. If this is so, why is the Montreal Forum set up with the team benches across from each other and the penalty boxes next to the one team&rsquo;s bench? Obviously, this is a nice advantage for the Canadiens since their men are only a couple of strides from their bench while an opposing player must cross the entire rink to his bench when coming off a penalty. Why has this situation been permitted for so long and who in particular is responsible for it?David Kujawa, Bel Air, Md.Dear David:It&rsquo;s not so much of a mistake as a case of semantics. The NHL Rules state that &ldquo;The Players Benches should be on the same side of the playing surface opposite the penalty bench etc.&rdquo; Rule 9(a). Under Rule 10(a) it says in part. &ldquo;Separate penalty benches be provided for each team and they shall be situated on opposite sides of the Timekeeper&rsquo;s area&rdquo;.I don&rsquo;t think any one person in-particular is responsible for this except maybe the shrewd planners of the Forum. I do know that the NHL is well aware of the condition and has stipulated that this situation would not exsist in any hew arenas. This directive has been complied with since. Think of all those season ticket holders who have seats behind the Montreal bench. They are made part of family willsand are only passed on after death. Those folks &lsquo;aren&rsquo;t ready to move their seat locations. Besides in Boston the same condition exists. Boston Bruins&rsquo; bench is on same side also.<h2>Offender Gets Sprung</h2>Dear Jules:Here is an actual situation from a recent AHL game. Team A gets a two minute penalty. In the process of killing this. Team A gets amother two minute penalty, delayed because Team B has possession of the puck. Team B pulls their goalie, adds a skater and scores. The question is this.&rdquo;Is the delayed penalty waved off because of the goal, or does the Team A man already in the penalty box come back on the ice and skate a man down for a full two minutes because of the delayed penalty?&rdquo;Joe Maksween, Syracuse, N.Y. Dear Joe:The answer to your two part question is.&bull; Wave goodbye to the delayed penalty and.&bull; Wave as the first A player leaves the box. Both penalties are cancelled.<h2>Faceoff Came Back All The Way</h2>Dear Jules:in a recent North American Hockey League game between the Broome Dusters and Long Island Cougars, the referee made a call which after much searching through the NHL and AHA rule books I have not been able to figure out. The puck was in the Dusters&rsquo; offensive zone when two players, one from each team, swung their sticks above the shoulders. The referee signaled for high sticking and he then ordered the faceoff in the Duster defensive zone. Why is this?Vince Nash, Endwell, N.Y. Dear Vince:The only way this is possible is if the Dusters had a power, play or man advantage and their player hit the puck with his stick above the shoulder. Look at Rule 58 (e) in either NHL or AHAUS book under &ldquo;High Sticks&rdquo;. The faceoff is brought back to the special spot (adjacent to the goal) of the offending team. Incidentally, Vern Buffey has instructed WHA officials to differentiate their signals for &ldquo;high sticking&rdquo; as a penalty and striking the puck above the height of the shoulder. The penalty signal is a chopping motion and the other is making a brushing motion upwards across the forearm to indicate &ldquo;the puck touched&rdquo;. Think back. Were the Dusters &ldquo;a man up&rdquo; at the time?<h2>Are Goalies Stuck in the Crease?</h2>Dear Jules:A goalie is not allowed to leave the crease if there is a fight, but what if the fight is very very close to the crease or even in the crease? Will the goalie get penalized for moving out of the crease, because if he doesn&rsquo;t he might be the &lsquo;third man in&rsquo;. Also, in a Flyers-Islanders game this season there was a donneybrook and a couple of fights broke out. Dave Schultz was not involved at all. but he was asked to leave for the good of the game. Why? This isn&rsquo;t fair.Bob Weiner, Rydal, Pa.Dear Bob:If a fight breaks out in the crease, the goalie may legally move out of the way to avoid getting mixed up in the donneybrook. The rule doesn&rsquo;t say he has to stay in the crease but merely &ldquo;in the vicinity&rdquo; and as long as he doesn&rsquo;t go to the bench or wander too far, he will be OK.I answered the Dave Schultz question in a previous issue this month. He was not asked to leave. His hand was injured.Any reader having any questions regarding rule interpretations or game situations can write to HEY REF, c/o THE HOCKEY NEWS, 1434 St. Catherine Street West, Montreal, Canada H3G 1R7. &#9632;

f0014-01

hey, ref!

<div class="byline">BY BILL LIBBY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-01882/3582505-1-eng-US/f0015-012.jpg" title="f0015-01" width="541" height="905"><figcaption class="caption-body">TERRY HARPER &hellip;Playing Solidly</figcaption></div>LOS ANGELES &mdash;After nine weeks and 25 games of the season &mdash; close to a third of the campaign &mdash; the Kings were a lowly I4th in the NHL in goals scored, but first in fewest goals allowed, which accounts for their remarkable record of having lost only two games. Captain Terry Harper admits, &ldquo;I would never have believed we could be this good, but I do now believe we are for real.&rdquo;Since the Kings have been outshot the obvious secret to the success of their defense has been the goaltending of regular Rogie Vachon and reserve Gary Edwards. An enormous asset has been the league&rsquo;s most effective penalty-killing by Butch Goring and Bob Nevin.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-02744/3582498-1-eng-US/f0015-022.jpg" title="f0015-02" width="276" height="448"><figcaption class="caption-body">Gary Edwards</figcaption></div>Other elements enter into it. primarily the defensemen themselves. The forwards have helped. Most of them have backchecked determinedly in most games. This has enabled the defensemen to gamble and move up to break up attacks at the blueline. The defensemen have made very few mistakes. Most of the shots they surrender are not good scoring opportunities.Harper has teamed with Larry Brown, replacing the defected Barry Long, while Bob Murdoch has teamed with Sheldon Kannegiesser. The spare set, young Neil Komadoski and Dave Hutchison, serve only a few shifts a game. Each of the four regulars has performed superbly, using the system installed by coach Bob Puiford.Some explanation of Pulford&rsquo;s system is in order. Basically, it stresses team defense over offense, which accounts in part for the modest scoring. If you think defense, offense must suffer. Trained in conservative Toronto techniques, Pully doesn&rsquo;t go for gambles. Forwards don&rsquo;t make offensive moves until the defensive end has been secured, which is why they don&rsquo;t get many breakaways. Harper admits, &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve become conservative to the point where we don&rsquo;-t head-man the puck enough.&rdquo;Two things stand out in Pulford&rsquo;s system for his defensemen. One. they play the man, not the puck. Two, the two defensemen move the puck out instead of the center. The veteran Harper admits the latter technique troubled him at first: &ldquo;Any sound system will work if the players believe in it and all play it with enthusiasm.&rdquo; he explains, &ldquo;but you don&rsquo;t buy blind.&ldquo;For nine or ten years I played with successful Montreal teams that used the center to clear the puck. I was willing to try it Pully&rsquo;s way, but I doubted it until it&rsquo;s worth was shown to me. It works, so now I&rsquo;m all for it.&rdquo;He admits it has its weaknesses. He points out, &ldquo;Since you&rsquo;re handling the puck from behind the net, you&rsquo;re not in front to defend the net. You have to rely on the forwards filling in, and you can&rsquo;t afford to lose the puck.&ldquo;I like it because my strong suit always has been not losing the puck, keeping it while I&rsquo;m carrying it and not throwing it away when I&rsquo;m passing it. I&rsquo;m not a classy stickhandler, but I am a careful one. So are our other regular defensemen. When we have lost the puck, we&rsquo;ve had the best goaltending I&rsquo;ve seen in years to save us.&rdquo;Harper says, &ldquo;Aside from the system, I think our improved defensive play comes from practiced think the four regular defensemen are better individually than anyone realized and since we&rsquo;ve just gotten together in the last year or two, we&rsquo;re just getting to know one another while we&rsquo;re just starting to master Pully&rsquo;s system. I really enjoy playing with Brownie. We play the same way and work well together. He&rsquo;s the surprise star of this team.&rdquo;However, the key player on the book line remains Terry. The defense started to toughen when Pully started to coach and Harper arrived from Montreal three seasons back and the system would not work as well without Terry. He&rsquo;ll be 35 in January, but he never has been better. He is underrated and desserves to be an All Star. He hasn&rsquo;t scored a goal in 110 games since March 24th, 1973, and voters ridiculously rated defensemen on offense, but he is the most defensive defenseman in hockey.He is consistent, intelligent and tough, rarely gets trapped out of position, needles foes to distraction, and harasses them physically into ineffectiveness. Despite his age. he played the most minutes of any King last season and has worked hard and wonderfully well this season He is the captain of this team, its inspirational leader and gives it a lot of its guts.While Terry owns a 110-acre farm in the Montreal area, he, his wife Gladys and their children Jeff, Bridgett and Greg, have taken to southern California as though they were born to it. They bought a beach house here and it&rsquo;s so hard to icSf Trv away from the surf and sun that he&rsquo;s always the last King to arrive at the arena. On the other hand, he&rsquo;s always the last to leave, too. He really enjoys his job and does it superbly.He has helped this team to a 1.6 goals-against average, which has enable-goals-against average, which has enabled it to win despite a mere 3.2 goalscoringaverage. Together, Vachon and Edwards have permitted only 41 goals, which at this point puts them 19 goals ahead of Philadelphia and 24 ahead of Chicago in the Vezina Trophy race. Vachon, who plays about two games out of three, has been the best goaler in the league with a 1.4 average and several game-savers a game. Edwards has been almost equally effective at 2.0.KINGS THINGS: A few teams have more points although they have lost more games because they have won games the Kings have tied. Clearly this comes from playing close, low-scoring games, but Harper believes teams get into streaks of ties when they begin to settle for ties at the end of even games. He feels the Kings are doing this right now&hellip;The Kings did score the second-most goals they have gotten in a game this season when they lashed Atlanta, 6-2, the first Saturday in December to stretch their latest undefeated string to seven games.They have had 15 of their first 25 games at home and three soft two-game back weeks, but their schedule will be getting rougher. &#9632;

f0015-01

Harper Key King Of No. 1 Defense

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-03598/3582536-1-eng-US/f0015-032.jpg" title="f0015-03" width="516" height="1146"></div>Johnny Esaw, Vice-President, Sports, for CTV Television Network Ltd. Mr. Esaw, who joined the Network as Sports Director in 1966, was formerly Sports Director of CFTO-TV, a CTV Network affiliate. He will be responsible for all Network negotiation of national and international sporting events and their production. &#9632;

f0015-03

ANNOUNCEMENT

<div class="byline">BY DICK JOHNSTON</div>BUFFALO&mdash;A forward line with all three members hitting the 20-goal mark in the same game. The 29th game of the season!That&rsquo;s what the French Connection did. And it must have been the first in the history of the NHL to do so. Even if any line had 60 goals in the first 29 games, they certainly couldn&rsquo;t have been evenly distributed among the three members.Gil Perreault, Rick Martin and Rene Robert each scored a goal in the Sabres&rsquo; 5-0 shutout of the Minnesota North Stars in Buffalo. It was goal No. 20 for each and climaxed a three-game week in which the Connection scored 11 goals and totalled 25 points..The opposition wasn&rsquo;t great, but even so. not many lines have such a three-game performance.Rick Martin had his big night in Washington to start things. Rick, who suffered torn ligaments on the thumb of his right hand two games before, had gone through one game without a shot. Then he had a light cast put over the injury two days before the Washington game.Buffalo defeated the Capitals, 5-3, and Rick scored four goals.All four came from the slot and none of the shots had Rick&rsquo;s usual velocity. &ldquo;I was just guiding the puck tonight,&rdquo; he commented, &ldquo;just trying to hit the net. 1 think I beat the goalie because he was expecting good, hard shots.&ldquo;it goes to prove that it&rsquo;s not how hard you shoot them but where you put them. Of course, if you put them where you want to. and can shoot hard, it&rsquo;s all the better.&rdquo;Two nights later, the Capitals played in Buffalo&rsquo;s Memorial Auditorium. The Sabres won, 9-2. Gil Perreault scored three goals and assisted on a fourth. Martin had three assists and Robert had a goal and two assists.Gil&rsquo;s four points tied him with Boston&rsquo;s Bobby Orr for first place in the NHL scoring race, ahead of the Bruins&rsquo; Phil Esposito for the first time since Perreault entered the league in 1970, except for maybe the first couple of games in a season.In the Minnesota game three nights later, Gil staged quite a performance in the second period.Early in the period he and Martin broke into the Minnesota zone, passing back and forth. A North Star defenseman blocked one of Gil&rsquo;s passes but without missing a stride the flashycenter retrieved the puck and sent it to Martin at the goalmouth for an easy score.About five minutes later. Perreault made a rush half the length of the ice. stickhandling past three defenders. He pulled the goalie and flicked the puck into the far corner.After the game, Cesare Maniago, who tended goal for the North Stars, said, &ldquo;You have to say they (the French Connection) are the best line in hockey. They all ha.ve speed, they all have shots and you don&rsquo;t know what they are going to do.&rdquo;Jackie Gordon, the North Stars&rsquo; coach, praised Perreault. &ldquo;Once he gets underway there&rsquo;s not much you can do. When you think you&rsquo;re containing him. he comes out pretty good. And when he&rsquo;s going, there&rsquo;s nobody can touch him in the open. Nobody in the game today is as explosive as Perreault.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-02618/3582567-1-eng-US/f0016-022.jpg" title="f0016-02" width="541" height="1177"><figcaption class="caption-body">GIL PERREAULT &hellip; Hard To Stop</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0016-02

Maniago Labels ‘French Connection’ “Best Line In Major League Hockey”

BUFFALO &mdash;Although the French Connection dominated the scoring in the recent Minnesota game, it took the Sabres&rsquo; ace penalty killers. Don Luce and Craig Ramsay, to get the club going in a tight first period.Luce stole the puck and set up Ramsay for a shorthanded goal. It was the SSores fifth of the season, a club season record. Luce has two. Ramsay two and Jerry Korab one.&rdquo; That victory also set a club record for consecutive games without defeat &mdash; II. It also was the Sabres&rsquo; 11th straight victory on home ice.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-01716/3582598-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg" title="f0016-01" width="268" height="466"><figcaption class="caption-body">Don Luce</figcaption></div>Jim Schoenfield, team captain and star defenseman, returned to action after being sidelined by a broken bone in his left foot. Another defenseman. Josh Guevreniont, missed the Minnesota game because of a score left thigh that had been bothering him for some time. And rookie backliner Lee Fogolin was out because of a broken right foot. So Schoenie had to play a regular shift as rookie Paul McIntosh had been returned to Hershey.&mdash; JOHNSTON &#9632;

f0016-01

Luce, Ramsay Started Win Over Stars

<div class="byline">BY FRANK ORR</div>TORONTO&mdash;Because very little of a positive nature has happened to the Toronto Maple Leafs to date in the 1974-75 National Hockey League season, Claire Alexander&rsquo;s unabashed enthusiasm about his first big league goal stood out.It wasn&rsquo;t much of a score, the fifth Leaf goal in a 7-1 win over the Washington Capitals, a long shot from the point which Cap goalie Ron Low gloved, then drbpped into the net.&ldquo;But when I tell my grandchildren about that goal, I&rsquo;ll tell them how I deked three guys, slipped the puck through another&rsquo;s feet, gave the goalie three fakes and pulled him out of the net and fired the puck in,&rdquo; Alexander beamed.Alexander is 29 years of age and two years ago, he was a full time milkman in Orillia, Ont., where he played senior amateur hockey as a hobby. The rapidly changing times in hockey and a series of injuries to Leaf defensemen brought Alexander to the Toronto defense and that first major league goal.At a time in history when cynicism, rather than enthusiasm, is the common reaction to accomplishment, Alexander was a refreshing change.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not ashamed to say that goal was the biggest thrill of my life, a lifelong dream come true,&rdquo; Alexander said. &ldquo;It doesn&rsquo;t matter if you&rsquo;re 19 or 59 or 29, if you play hockey, you want to play in the NHL and score agoal. Well, I did it and darn it, I wasthe happiest man in the world when that light went on.&rdquo;A native of Collingwood. Alexander played Junior A hockey with Kitchener, then spent six seasons in the Ontario Senior league with Collingwood and Orillia, where he was a high scorer both as a winger and a defenseman.Near the end of the 1972-73 season, the Maple Leafs invited Alexander to take a five-game tryout with their Tulsa farm team in the Central League when that club had injury problems.Alexander produced five goals in those (james but returned to his Orillia job on the milk route.&ldquo;I was a milkman for three and a half years,&rdquo; Alexander said. &ldquo;I had a big route, too. 390 deliveries. I really enjoyed the job. 1 like meeting people and being a milkman is the way to do that.&rdquo;Impressed by his work in a tryout, the Leafs offered Alexander a pro contract for the 1973-74 season.&ldquo;We&rsquo;d just bought a home in Orillia and with a signing bonus and a good contract, it gave me a chance to get a few extras for my family,&rdquo; Alexander said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;d just about given up hope of a pro career.&rdquo;Alexander had socko pro debut with Oklahoma City Blazers in the Central League. He established a CHL goal record for defensemen with 23 scores, added 37 assits for 60 points and won rookie-of-the-year. top defensemen and All Star honors.Because defense was a Leaf strong point. Alexander returned toOklahoma this season. Then injuries to incumbents Borje Salming. Ian Turnbull and Rod Seiling decimated the Leaf backline and Alexander was called up.He has no illusions about the promotion being permanent. He realizes that when the injured are whole again, he&rsquo;ll be back in Oklahoma.&ldquo;You know. I&rsquo;ll wind up back on my milk route some day,&rdquo; Alexander said. &ldquo;But I&rsquo;ll always have that goal to remember.&rdquo;LEAF NOTES: The Maple Leafs were showing some signs of turning their disastrous season around. Ties against the New York Islanders and Detroit Red Wings and a win over Chicago Black Hawks were produced by hard work although the Leafs did give up the lead in the final two minutes in both ties.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-01614/3582629-1-eng-US/f0017-012.jpg" title="f0017-01" width="520" height="833"><figcaption class="caption-body">CLAIRE ALEXANDER &hellip;Something To Remember</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0017-01

Leafs’ Rookie Alexander Cherishes Thrill Of First NHL Goal

<h2>Trades, Draft Put Vancouver On Top Pedestal</h2>MONTREAL&mdash;&bull; Few teams have demonstrated such dramatic overall improvement as have the Vancouver Canucks in 1974.When Phil Maloney took control of the team last Jan. 14. Canucks had played 41 games, had won only nine, lost 25 and tied seven &mdash; a percentage of .305. Under Maloney&rsquo;s direction Canucks won 15, lost 18 and tied four of their remaining 37 games &mdash;.459 &mdash; and finished the season with 59 points for a .378 average overall. Add to that this season&rsquo;s Vancouver record of 19 wins, eight losses and five ties (.672), and one sees that Maloney&rsquo;s charges have earned 77 of their last 138 possible points for a .558 percentage.Somehow. Maloney seems to have instilled his players with the confidence and ability that many of them appeared to lack only last season. Many of those same players came to the Canucks via canny trades and the basic teambuilder, the Amateur Draft.&bull; Example John Gould, left winger (obtained from Buffalo Sabres. Dec. 27. 1973), scored 13 goals. 12 assists. 25 points in 75 games last season; he is 15-14-29 already this season. Example: Chris Oddleifson, center (obtained from Boston, Feb. 7, 1974). had 13 goals, 16 assists. 29 points in 70 games in 1973-74; he is 11-19-30 in Canucks 32 games so far. Example Garry Monahan, left wing (obtained from Toronto, Oct. 16, 1974), scored nine goals, I6assists. 25 points in all 78 Maple Leaf games last season; is now 7-10-17. The acquisition of Gerry Meehan. Ab DeMarco. Mike Robitaille and John Grisdale, all via trades this season, have also bolstered Canucks&rsquo; performance. And there are the draft choices: Dennis Verergaert (1st choice. 1973). leading goal-scorer among rookies last season with 26; scored 10 goals and 24 points in 23 games this season before being sidelined with an injury. Bob Dailey (Canucks&rsquo; 2nd choice in 1973), 7-17-24 in 76 games last season and 5-17-22 already this campaign. Paulin Bordeleau (Vancouver&rsquo;s 3rd choice in same draft), 11-13-24 in 68 games last season and 10-12-22 today.&bull; Not to be overlooked is Canucks&rsquo; goaltending, led by Gary Smith, which has trimmed their goals-against from 122 this time a year ago to 89 in 32 games this season. That&rsquo;s over a goal-per-game improvement. Smith shares the league-lead in shutouts &mdash;5&mdash; with Bernie Parent of Flyers. In Vancouver&rsquo;s first four seasons in the NHL, its goalies managed a total six shutous.&bull; Elsewhere. Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito have recaptured the scoring lead from Gilbert Perreault and Rene Robert of Buffalo. Orr leads with 56 points. &#9632;

NHL WEEK — In Review

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0018-11" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-1188/3582936-1-eng-US/f0018-112.jpg"></div><h2>ATLANTA</h2>Flames<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-01625/3582929-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg" title="f0018-01" width="163" height="142"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-02505/3582922-1-eng-US/f0018-022.jpg" title="f0018-02" width="744" height="610"></div><h2>BOSTON</h2><h3>Bruins</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-03378/3582915-1-eng-US/f0018-032.jpg" title="f0018-03" width="172" height="175"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-04281/3582908-1-eng-US/f0018-042.jpg" title="f0018-04" width="746" height="586"></div><h2>BUFFALO</h2><h3>Sabres</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-05212/3582901-1-eng-US/f0018-052.jpg" title="f0018-05" width="202" height="199"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-06173/3582894-1-eng-US/f0018-062.jpg" title="f0018-06" width="746" height="640"></div><h2>CALIFORNIA</h2><h3>Seals</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-07148/3582887-1-eng-US/f0018-072.jpg" title="f0018-07" width="271" height="121"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-08123/3582880-1-eng-US/f0018-082.jpg" title="f0018-08" width="748" height="644"></div><h2>CHICAGO</h2><h3>Black Hawks</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-09105/3582873-1-eng-US/f0018-092.jpg" title="f0018-09" width="205" height="193"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-1092/3582866-1-eng-US/f0018-102.jpg" title="f0018-10" width="746" height="576"></div><h2>DETROIT</h2><h3>Red Wines</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-1280/3582859-1-eng-US/f0018-122.jpg" title="f0018-12" width="259" height="136"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-1368/3582852-1-eng-US/f0018-132.jpg" title="f0018-13" width="748" height="642"></div><h2>KANSAS CITY</h2><h3>Scouts</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-1463/3582845-1-eng-US/f0018-142.jpg" title="f0018-14" width="211" height="196"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-1561/3582838-1-eng-US/f0018-152.jpg" title="f0018-15" width="744" height="558"></div><h2>LOS ANGELES</h2><h3>Kings</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-1659/3582831-1-eng-US/f0018-162.jpg" title="f0018-16" width="205" height="223"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-1748/3582824-1-eng-US/f0018-172.jpg" title="f0018-17" width="740" height="552"></div><h2>MINNESOTA</h2><h3>North Stars</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-1844/3582817-1-eng-US/f0018-182.jpg" title="f0018-18" width="211" height="184"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-1940/3582810-1-eng-US/f0018-192.jpg" title="f0018-19" width="740" height="578"></div><h2>MONTREAL</h2><h3>Canadiens</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-2041/3582803-1-eng-US/f0018-202.jpg" title="f0018-20" width="217" height="175"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-2139/3582796-1-eng-US/f0018-212.jpg" title="f0018-21" width="742" height="586"></div><h2>NEW YORK</h2><h3>Islanders</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-2236/3582789-1-eng-US/f0018-222.jpg" title="f0018-22" width="205" height="202"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-2334/3582782-1-eng-US/f0018-232.jpg" title="f0018-23" width="742" height="576"></div><h2>NEW YORK</h2><h3>Rangers</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-2433/3582775-1-eng-US/f0018-242.jpg" title="f0018-24" width="190" height="202"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-2533/3582768-1-eng-US/f0018-252.jpg" title="f0018-25" width="746" height="586"></div><h2>PHILADELPHIA</h2><h3>Flyers</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-2632/3582761-1-eng-US/f0018-262.jpg" title="f0018-26" width="229" height="169"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-2731/3582754-1-eng-US/f0018-272.jpg" title="f0018-27" width="742" height="578"></div><h2>PITTSBURGH</h2><h3>Penguins</h3><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-2827/3582747-1-eng-US/f0018-282.jpg" title="f0018-28" width="130" height="127"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-2922/3582740-1-eng-US/f0018-292.jpg" title="f0018-29" width="746" height="588"></div><h2>ST. LOUIS</h2><h3>Blues</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-3022/3582733-1-eng-US/f0018-302.jpg" title="f0018-30" width="169" height="148"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-3121/3582726-1-eng-US/f0018-312.jpg" title="f0018-31" width="740" height="604"></div><h2>TORONTO</h2><h3>Maple Leafs</h3><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-3220/3582719-1-eng-US/f0018-322.jpg" title="f0018-32" width="148" height="157"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-3320/3582712-1-eng-US/f0018-332.jpg" title="f0018-33" width="742" height="642"></div><h2>VANCOUVER</h2><h3>Canucks</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-3417/3582705-1-eng-US/f0018-342.jpg" title="f0018-34" width="223" height="157"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-3517/3582698-1-eng-US/f0018-352.jpg" title="f0018-35" width="744" height="578"></div><h2>WASHINGTON</h2><h3>Capitals</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-3615/3582691-1-eng-US/f0018-362.jpg" title="f0018-36" width="274" height="154"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-3713/3582684-1-eng-US/f0018-372.jpg" title="f0018-37" width="738" height="638"></div> &#9632;

f0018-11

Players’ Sconngr Penalty Statistics!

<div class="byline">BY ALAN TRUEX</div>ATLANTA&mdash;For the Atlanta Flames, the holiday season did not start out as a happy one. There was nothing joyful nor triumphant about it.The Flames, who all season had not lost more than two games in a row, dropped four straight in a road trip to begin the month of December.And it wasn&rsquo;t just the loss of games that had coach Bernie Geoffrion depressed, it was the loss of a couple of his best players for what was expected to be several weeks.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-04328/3583012-1-eng-US/f0019-042.jpg" title="f0019-04" width="280" height="469"><figcaption class="caption-body">Eric Vail</figcaption></div>Defenseman Randy Manery suffered a severe ankle injury, involving the stretching of ligaments, while left winger Eric Vail broke his left wrist.At the time of his injury, Vail hadjust begun to establish himself as a strong rookie-of-the-year candidate. He had .scored 13 goals and 21 points through the first 29 games.The injuries to Vail and Manery continued an alarming trend. Almost all of the team&rsquo;s top players have missed some games through injuries this year.Left winger Jacques Richard, right winger Larry Romanchych and center Bob Leiter, the three leading goalscorers of last year, all have missed at least three weeks of action.And injuries of more minor natures have struck down center Tom Lysiak, right wing Buster Harvey and defenseman Dwight Bialowas, all of whom have missed at least a game.Still, injuries can not account for the Flames&rsquo; all-around shoddy play during the 0-4 road trip through Montreal. Oakland. Vancouver and Los Angeles. The Flames did not even come within a goal of winning any of the games.The breakdowns occurred everywhere, even in goal. Atlanta&rsquo;s defense. which has been strong all-year, gave up 13 goals in two days, as the Flames lost 7-5 to Vancouver and 6-2 to Los Angeles.Dan Bouchard played goal in Vancouver, but Geoffrion didn&rsquo;t blame him for the loss. &ldquo;Bouchard played excellent.&rdquo; Geoffrion insisted. &ldquo;The rest of my team played awful. &ldquo;The next night it was Phil Myre&rsquo;s turn, and for the first time this year. Geoffrion said something negative about a goaltender. &ldquo;I thought Phil looked nervous,&rdquo; the coach said, commenting that Myre let in some goals he usually stops.But the goaltending wasn&rsquo;t the main problem. The bulk of the blame for the team&rsquo;s failures can be evenly divided among the forwards and the defensemen.Geoffrion was particularly displeased with the play of Bob Murray, who he said was responsible for two goals allowed in Vancouver.Murray was subsequently benched, and the Flames called up rookie Ed Kea from Omaha to take a regular turn in the defensive rotation. Geoffrion said, &ldquo;I would rather play Kea&rdquo; than Murray, who had played well until December.Offensively, the Flames were playing unaggressively, and even Lysiak, the team&rsquo;s finest player, was guilty of four straight mediocre games.In Los Angeles, he was moved off the team&rsquo;s top line, as Geoffrion disconnected Lysiak from wingers Harvey and Curt Bennett. Bryan Hextali moved in to center Bennett and Harvey.&ldquo;Hextail is 33 years old.&rdquo; Geoffrion granted, &ldquo;&lsquo;but he plays harder than my kids&rsquo;..During the disastrous road trip, the Flames developed a disconcerting habit of playing one-man offense. That is, one player would take a shot on goal, but no one else would move in for a rebound.To make matters worse, the Flames were confronted with a schedule that looked like a sentence for felony. After that early December road excursion, they faced home games against Chicago and Philadelphia, with a game in Toronto the night after playing Philly. &#9632;

f0019-04

Flames Lose Zest For Winning Along With Club’s Top Stars

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-05272/3583043-1-eng-US/f0019-052.jpg" title="f0019-05" width="598" height="786"></div> &#9632;

f0019-05

Team Penalties

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0019-06" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-06211/3583074-1-eng-US/f0019-062.jpg"></div>(Including games of Sun. Dec. 15) &#9632;

f0019-06

TOP NHL SCORERS

<div class="byline">BY PAT THOMPSON</div>Team PenaltiesLOUISVILLE SLUGGERHOCKEY STICKSMade in Canada by HILLERICH & BRADSBY. LTDArnold Street. Wallaceburg. Ontaric Sold in U.S. and CanadaLOUISVILLE SLUGGERHOCKEY STICKSMade in Canada by HILLERICH & BRADSBY, LTD Arnold Street. Wallaceburg, Ontario Sold in U.S. and CanadaTWIN CITIES&mdash;Every road trip is an Odyssey for the Minnesota North Stars. Or it seems.The North Stars, through two months of the season, could not put it together in opposing rinks. In their first 14 road games, they won one, tied two and lost 11. compared with a home record of 8-2-2.&ldquo;There have been many little breakdowns.&rdquo; sighed GM-coach Jack Gordon. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s been a team effort.&rdquo;And there have been other contributing factors. Travel seems to go smoothly in and out of Minnesota, except when the North Stars decide to go on the road.The North Stars whipped Chicago 5-3, for example, on a Saturday night at home, then booked a Sunday morning departure for the return match in Chicago.Weather conditions forced the team to Milwaukee and a bus trip to the Windy City and a 3-0 loss. The flight seemed smooth enough to Vancouver, but the North Stars lost 6-5 in the final minute.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-01446/3583105-1-eng-US/f0020-012.jpg" title="f0020-01" width="561" height="1392"><figcaption class="caption-body">CESARE MANIAGO &hellip;Veteran Depressed</figcaption></div>Then more flight problems developed en route to Los Angeles, and the North Stars did not arrive at their hotel until 6 a.m. the same day of the game. The next day, after a 4-1 loss, the North Stars headed for California and arrived on schedule&hellip; but they had to wait on the luggage.It&rsquo;s been that type of year. &ldquo;To win on the road, you have to check well and get good goaltending,&rdquo; said Gordon. &ldquo;You need desire, too. 1 can&rsquo;t lay all of the blame on our goal tenders and defensemen. not when Vancouver gets 43 shots in Vancouver and 51 in Los Angeles. The forwards have to come back deep and help out.&rdquo;The ups and downs of the season can best be reflected by what defenseman Barry Gibbs has gone through.Just when the 26-year-old alternate captain started piling up the points, he strained a wrist against Los Angeles. Before that, he had picked up a goal and three assists in the victory over Chicago and came back with three more assists in the loss to Vancouver.On the previous road swing, on which the North Stars went 0-4, Gibbs played but was bothered by another problem.&ldquo;There were about five or six games last month when 1 was so sick I could hardly skate.&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I was on the operating table the&rsquo;day of one game so they could stick a tube in my ear and drain an infection. I had plugged sinuses, an ear infection and a chest cold.&ldquo;Every time I went aboard a plane, my ears plugged up. The last time, they didn&rsquo;t unplug. But with the tube in my earfor three orfour months. 1 shouldn&rsquo;t have any problem. Now, it&rsquo;s the wrist.&rdquo;Gibbs, the highest career scoring defenseman in North Star history, had three goals and 13 assists this year before the injury.He has no specific explanation about Minnesota&rsquo;s troubles away from home.&ldquo;I can&rsquo;t pinpoint any one thing,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s an over-all thing. You have to play a checking game on the road and we&rsquo;re not doing it. It&rsquo;s just something we have to work out. If we&rsquo;re not going to match shots, we have to cut down the ones flying at our own net.&rdquo;Cesare Maniago and Pete LoPresti would agree. In LoPresti&rsquo;s first four starts, the North Stars were shut out twice and scored one goal another time. The other game was a 4-4 tie against Washington.Gordon was highly complimentary about his 20-year-old rookie goalie after he made 47 saves in the LA game.&ldquo;He was sensational,&rdquo; said the coach, who is often quite reserved with his praise. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s hard to judge young goalies. He has played fairly well for us. I think he is starting to stand up better. We like to feel that a standup goalie is not as vulnerable!&rdquo;Gibbs vowed the team would dedicate a victory to the youngster from Eveleth, Minnesota.&ldquo;We owe him one,&rdquo; Gibby pledged. &ldquo;That loss to LA certainly wasn&rsquo;t his fault.&rdquo;And as if the Stars didn&rsquo;t have enough probelms, Maniago, their crutch on defense, decided three rapid goals by the Montreal Canadiens in succession during last week&rsquo;s Met game was sheer futility on his part and he took a walk to the dressing room without saying a word to anyone.The veteran goaler, feeling depressed over the kind of season the team is experiencing, skated directly off the ice past a bewildered coach Gordon, his teammates and fans, to the dressing room where he remained in street clothes until the game was over.LoPresti finished up as the Canadiens hung a 5-3 home ice loss on the North Stars.NORTH STAR NOTES: Doug Hicks, 19-year-old defenseman who was Minnesota&rsquo;s No. 1 amateur choice, registerd his first NHL goal in the Vancouver game Dec. 3. Blake Dunlop got his first against the Black Hawks Dec. I. Defenseman Chris Aherns was the only rookie of the six (not counting LoPresti) on the club without his souvenir puck. Fern Rivard, backup goalie injured since Nov. 7. was ready to skate with the team for the first time when they returned from that December road sojourn. The North Stars had only four home games on their December schedule, nine out of town. Fred Stanfield returned from an elbow injury to score a goal. Tom Reid was on the injured list for a time with a wrist injury, the same time as Gibbs and just when Dennis O&rsquo;Brien was getting ready to try a comeback from tom knee ligaments. Versatile Lou Nanne bounced back and forth from defense and right wing. &#9632;

f0020-01

Troubled North Stars Continue To Lose Edge On Road

JOHN BUCYK Boston BruinsJohn Bucyk with his sevenpoint week, including five goals, led the Bruins to perfect 4-0 record in which the Boston outscored their opposition 31-6.Bucyk scored once in 5-2 win over Islanders, once in 12-1 thrashing of Washington, once in 6-2 romp over Kansas City and the final two goals as the Bruins ended the L.A, Kings&rsquo; undefeated road string at 11 games with 8-1 shellacking.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-02334/3583143-1-eng-US/f0020-022.jpg" title="f0020-02" width="441" height="617"></div>REG LEACH Philadelphia FlyersReg Leach finally appears to be living up to the expectations of the Flyers&rsquo; management.He comes off a five point week, built on four goals and a single assist, as the Flyers registered three consecutive victories.Leach notched a hat-trick in 6-0 blanking of Minnesota and picked up other marker in 3-2 win over Atlanta.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-03275/3583136-1-eng-US/f0020-032.jpg" title="f0020-03" width="449" height="624"></div> &#9632;

f0020-02

Stars of the week

<div class="byline">BY RUSS WHITE</div>WASHINGTON &mdash;On his return from a knee injury, Greg Joly is going to be tried as a centerman by the beleagured Washington Capitals, intent on buliding themselves a future in the Nation&rsquo;s Capital.Joly, the club&rsquo;s top amateur draft choice, did play one shift at center in a game at Buffalo. In that same game on Dec. 5 he was injured in a board collision with Jocelyn Guevremont of the Sabres.This caused Joly to miss two weeks of NHL play.The Capitals have not been particularly pleased with Joly&rsquo;s work as a defenseman this year. He was slowed at training camp with an achilles tendon strain. Later he had to have a couple of wisdom teeth extracted.His transition from top flight junior A with the Regina Pats to the major leagues was also slowed because he was playing with a raw expansion club.There were enough flashes of brilliance to excite the Caps but coach Jimmy Anderson has felt for some time Joly might be more adapted to play forward than defense.On a couple of occasions he had Joly at a wing on the club&rsquo;s power-play.&ldquo;As soon as Greg can skate again.&rdquo; Anderson said, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m going to start working him as a center in both practices and in games. He has ideal size and he can skate.&rdquo;The possible move of Joly to center created trade speculation that the Caps might deal veteran forward Tommy Williams, who has been a positive factor in what little success the Capitals have enjoyed.Williams. 34, could help a strong club in the Stanley Cup race and several teams have expressed interest in him. Washington is desperate to build with younger players. It would reluctantly part with Williams if it could find youth elsewhere.Joly has a five year contract calling for an estimated $800,000 in Washington. He should become the team leader in that span.He has scored only one goal and assisted on four in his first 26 games, disappointing to himself and the club.&ldquo;Even Bobby Orr didn&rsquo;t arrive overnight,&rdquo; Anderson has insisted. &ldquo;Joly is going to be all right. But it is going to take time&rdquo;.The Capitals made Joly their No. 1 amateur draft choice after first flirting with the idea of taking defenseman Pat Price. That Price had already come to terms with the Vancouver Blazers of the WHA helped turn general manager Milt Schmidt&rsquo;s thoughts to Joly.Joly.in turn, led Regina to the Memorial Cup championship and was named the MVP in the playoffs.&ldquo;He convinced us he should be No. 1Schmidt said.In his final season of junior hockey at Regina, Joly scored 21 goals and had 71 assists. He was able to rush by junior defenses and the Washington scouts were convinced he could elude big league forechecking.They still believe he can.He will skate more often, however, as a centerman, the position that troubles the new Caps more than anything else.Schmidt is so anxious to get a center that he has been trying to peddle next year&rsquo;s top amateur picks. At the rate the Caps are playing &mdash; 2-24-3 &mdash; they&rsquo;ll have the No.l pick locked up shortly.&ldquo;It wasn&rsquo;t something we were counting on,&rdquo; Schmidt said.The Caps won only once in October, one more in November, and are for-December, They had a ten-game losing streak earlier and are closing in quickly on another.Theirfans have kept amazingly calm. A crowd of 10,215 showed up for a Sunday home game againstSt. Louis just hours after the Blues had blistered the Caps in St. Louis with 60 shots on goal.Of the banners that appeared at the Capital Centre game the only ugly ones were hurled at the Washington press.The most insulting blow to the Capitals was a challenge from players in Washington&rsquo;s Chesapeake Hockey League to play a league All Star team in an exhibition.A loss in that one would be hard for Schmidt to take.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-01290/3583174-1-eng-US/f0021-012.jpg" title="f0021-01" width="569" height="803"><figcaption class="caption-body">GREG JOLY &hellip;Slow Progressing</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0021-01

Caps To Experiment With Joly As Center

<div class="byline">BY HAL SIGURDSON</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-01316/3583226-1-eng-US/f0022-012.jpg" title="f0022-01" width="514" height="448"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-02241/3583219-1-eng-US/f0022-022.jpg" title="f0022-02" width="463" height="460"></div>VANCOUVER &mdash;By all outward appearances, the Vancouver Canucks are a team that has the world by the tail on a downhill pull.Despite crippling injuries to Dennis Ververgaert, Mike Robitaille and John Grisdale they continued to win by every conceivable means. They won by scores of 1-0 and by scores of 7-5. They opened up big leads and hung on for victory. They dropped behind and pulled out victory with third period rallies.On the odd occasion when they lost it has seemed their closest rivals in the National Hockey League&rsquo;s Smythe Division also lost &mdash; a state of affairs that allowed the Vancouver upstarts to open up a 13-point lead atop their division heading into the second week of December.An ideal situation, right? Not entirely. General manager-coach Phil Maloney has at least one perplexing problem that to this point has defied solution. Who does he play in goal to give Gary Smith an occasional night off?An almost mystical rapport has built up between Smith and the rest of the Canucks. With Smith&rsquo;s 6&rsquo;3&rdquo;, 220-pound frame guarding their nets the rest of the players seem to have the odd notion they&rsquo;re invincible.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-03211/3583212-1-eng-US/f0022-032.jpg" title="f0022-03" width="1189" height="1495"><figcaption class="caption-body">GARY SMITH&hellip; Best In The League?</figcaption></div>&ldquo;We figure Smitty&rsquo;s the best in the league,&rdquo; says Grisdale. &ldquo;We know that if we hang in there and keep plugging away. Smitty will pull us through.&rdquo;And mostly that&rsquo;s been true. In their first 28 games Smith started in 23. The Canucks won 15, tied four and lost four. In the five where he didn&rsquo;t start, they lost three and in one of the two wins Smith had to be called in from the bench in the third period to allow the Canucks to break away from a 4-4 tie with the first-year Kansas City Scouts.So that&rsquo;s 16 wins for Smith and just one for Ken Lockett and Bruce Bullock. the people Maloney has employed to give his big guy the odd breather.But don&rsquo;t blame that entirely on Lockett, who has started four games, or Bullock, who has had just one. The team that plays in front of them simply isn&rsquo;t the same one that plays in front of Smith.When Smith lets in a soft goal, which every goaltender occasionally does, his teammates shrug it off as an accident unlikely to be repeated. Then they go out and score two. When Lockett or Bullock, who was called up from Seattle for a one-game safari to Detroit, lets in a softie there is a tightening of the jaw muscles and an obvious letdown.Simply stated, the Canucks do not skate as swiftly, check as tenaciously or play with the same poise when Smith is not their goaltender.All this may be building a case for Smith to win the Hart Trophy as the league&rsquo;s most valuable player, but it isn&rsquo;t solving Maloney&rsquo;s problem. He can&rsquo;t play Smith every game and he can&rsquo;t afford to concede two points when he doesn&rsquo;t.And what happens if Smith is hurt? Asa matter of fact. Smith has been hurt. He has a painful groin injury, the kind only rest can cure, but Maloney has been able to give him only one partial and one complete game off in the past three weeks.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-04166/3583205-1-eng-US/f0022-042.jpg" title="f0022-04" width="550" height="739"><figcaption class="caption-body">GARY SMITH &hellip;He&rsquo;s Mr. Durable</figcaption></div>And on both occasions the Canucks lost. Fortunately for the Canucks, however, Smith is large, strong and durable. Last season he appeared in 65 games. This season it could be even more. &#9632;

f0022-01

Canucks’ Players Admit Smith Pulls Them Through

<div class="byline">BY DEREK COOPER</div>The California Golden Seals have acquired defenseman George Pesut from the Philadelphia Flyers as final consideration in a three-for-one player trade made nearly seven months ago.When the news finally came, it did not exactly hit the Bay Area with the force of the 1906 earthquake. There were no trumpet fanfares, hosannas, or dancing in the streets.&rsquo; In fact, there was little reaction at all with the exception of several &ldquo;Who&rsquo;s he?&rdquo; queries from some curious hockey groupies.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-01296/3583264-1-eng-US/f0023-012.jpg" title="f0023-01" width="278" height="488"><figcaption class="caption-body">George Pesut</figcaption></div>But the California hockey fans could not really be blamed for their apathetic reaction to the long awaited completion of the Reggie Leach for Larry Wright-Al MacAdam-Mr. X&rsquo; trade, made way back on May 24, 1974. Understandably, after hearing names like Clement, Dupont and Kindrachuk being bandied about for the past six months. Seals&rsquo; fans were less than excited about the arrival of what they considered to be a no-name minor leaguer.But in hockey circles. George Pesut is anything but a non-entity. and had you mentioned his name in Philadelphia two months ago it would have brought plenty of reaction &mdash; all favorable.A 21-year-old ,6-1,197-pounder, Pesut fit right into the Flyers physical style of play. He was the last player cut before the opening of the current season and would have been the only rookie to make the Flyer squad.Bill McCreary, Seals&rsquo; director of hockey operations, is no stranger to the native of Saskatoon, Sask. In his capacity as head of (he St. Louis Blues scouting system, McCreary had observed Pesut and given him a high enough rating to be drafted in the second round by the Blues in 1972. He was traded to the Flyers early last season and spent the year with the Richmond Robins of the AHL.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s going to be a great one.&rdquo; enthuses McCreary. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a big, strong kid who fits right into our plan to build the California team around size, youth and mobility.&rdquo;He also fits into the California plan to have enough defensemen to put out on the ice each night. His arrival coincides nicely with the Seals&rsquo; latest injury problems which have sidelined defensemen Mike Christie and Tom Price.But McCreary is more interested in the long range effects of the trade and agrees that the long delay in completing it was indeed a blessing in disguise.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve had our eye on George for a long time,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;And the longer we&rsquo;ve had to observe him. the better he has looked. 1 don&rsquo;t think we would have been so anxious to get him at the beginning of the season, but now we realize that we need some more blueline help. We think that George was one of the best defensemen playing in the minors and can really help this hockey team.&rdquo;George Pesut did not make much news when he arrived in California. McCreary is hoping that his young defenseman will be making plenty of headlines before the season is over.SEAL NOTES: Seals&rsquo; record against expansion teams Washington and Kansas City is 1-2-1&hellip; the lone win was a 5-2 decision over Washington Capitals, which broke the Seals&rsquo; 20-game road losing skid&hellip; Left wing Joey Johnston and defenseman Len Frig lead the Seals&rsquo; lackluster power-play with three red lights&hellip; Individual hot streaks include: left wing Dave Hrechkosy with 12 points in 13 games, including nine goals, and Butch Williams with four goals in four games&hellip; Frig played in his 100th NHL game against the Washington Caps on Dec. 20&hellip; Defenseman Jim Neilson still seeking elusive 300th NHL point&hellip; Ex-Seals goalie Gary Smith continues his remarkable hex over California. In four appearances in the Canucks&rsquo; uniform, he has a 0.73 goals-against average. Smith has two shutouts, one one-goal game and one generous two-goal game. As a matter of fact Smith has not lost to Seals since he left the Bay Area in 1971. He had a 3-0-1 record over Seals while playing for Chicago, with a 2.74 Montreal in last 10 home games. The Seals have not defeated Habs at home since November 11. 1970 when they scored a 2-0 victory&hellip; Prior to Kansas City game on December 12, rookie defenseman Rick Hampton, with eight points, led the blueline corps in scoring&hellip; Seals&rsquo; point total through 30 games this season is 17 points (6-19-5) &mdash; exactly the same total at this time last season (7-20-3).<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-02234/3583257-1-eng-US/f0023-022.jpg" title="f0023-02" width="1801" height="1372"><figcaption class="caption-body">Seals&rsquo; Dave Hrechkosy blasts puck past Ranger goaler Ed Giacomin for his first NHL goal. The goal triggered a hot scoring spree for Hrechkosy, who went out and tallied seven times in eight games.</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0023-01

Newcomer Pesut Final Payment In Leach Trade

(Standings on Tue. Dec. 17)<h2>NORRIS DIVISION</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-2116/3583592-1-eng-US/f0024-212.jpg" title="f0024-21" width="570" height="230"></div><h2>ADAMS DIVISION</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-2215/3583585-1-eng-US/f0024-222.jpg" title="f0024-22" width="564" height="194"></div><h2>PATRICK DIVISION</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-2315/3583578-1-eng-US/f0024-232.jpg" title="f0024-23" width="584" height="196"></div><h2>SMYTHE DIVISION</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-2413/3583571-1-eng-US/f0024-242.jpg" title="f0024-24" width="560" height="218"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Tue. Dec. 10St. Louis 2 at N.Y. Islanders 3; Montreal 5 at Minnesota 3; California 0 at Vancouver 3; Boston 6 at Kansas City 2.Wed. Dec. 11Chicago 5 at Atlanta 2; Los Angeles 4 at Toronto 1.Thu. Dec. 12N.Y. Rangers 6 at Washington 6; Minnesota 0 at Philadelphia 6; Montreal 3 at Pittsburgh 3; St. Louis 4 at Detroit 3; Los Angeles 1 at Boston 8; Vancouver 5 at Buffalo 3; California 3 at Kansas City 5.Fri. Dec. 13Philadelphia 3 at Atlanta 2.Sat. Dec. 14N.Y. Rangers 2 at St. Louis 6; Los Angeles 0 at N.Y. Islanders 3; Atlanta 2 at Toronto 4; California 3 at Montreal 5; Washington 1 at Boston 12; Chicago 3 at Pittsburgh 6; Vancouver 2 at Kansas City 2; Buffalo 2 at Minnesota 4.Sun. Dec. 15Los Angeles 3 at N.Y. Rangers 3; N.Y. Islanders 2 at Boston 5; St. Louis 2 at Philadelphia 7; Toronto 1 at Washington 3; Pittsburgh 3 at Detroit 2; Vancouver 2 at Chicago 4; California 5 at Buffalo 5.<h3>GAMES TO COME</h3>Tue. Dec. 17N.Y Islanders at St Louis; Atlanta at Boston. Washington at VancouverWed. Dec. 18Minnesota at N.Y. Rangers. N.Y Islanders at Buffalo. Montreal at California. Pittsburgh at Toronto; Detroit at Chicago: Los Angeles at Kansas City.Thu. Dec. 19N.Y Rangers at Boston; Toronto at Philadelphia. Washington at Los Angeles: Kansas City at PittsburghFri. Dec. 20St Louis at Atlanta; Montreal at Vancouver. Washington at California.Sat. Dec. 21Chicago at N.Y. Islanders. Philadelphia at Detroit: Montreal at Los Angeles. Pittsburgh at Minnesota: Kansas City at St. Louis. Boston at Toronto.Sun. Dec. 22Atlanta at N.Y Rangers. N.Y Islanders at Kansas City: Pittsburgh at Philadelphia; Buffalo at Washington. Detroit at Boston; Vancouver at California; Toronto at ChicagoThurs. Dec. 26N.Y. Islanders at Atlanta; Philadelphia at Washington; St. Louis at Pittsburgh; Minnesota at Detroit; Vancouver at Los Angeles: Chicago at BuffaloFri. Dec. 27Buffalo at N.Y. Rangers; Detroit at Montreal. Boston at California. &#9632;

f0024-21

LOOKING AT THE NHL SCOREBOARD

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0024-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-01303/3583540-1-eng-US/f0024-012.jpg"></div>WARNING-The Deoartment of National Health and Welfare advises that danger to health increases with amount smoked.<h2>Tue. Dec. 10</h2>ST. LOUIS 2, ISLANDERS 3<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-02235/3583533-1-eng-US/f0024-022.jpg" title="f0024-02" width="612" height="556"></div>MONTREAL 5, MINNESOTA 3<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-03163/3583526-1-eng-US/f0024-032.jpg" title="f0024-03" width="610" height="558"></div>CALIFORNIA 0, VANCOUVER 3<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-04121/3583519-1-eng-US/f0024-042.jpg" title="f0024-04" width="610" height="470"></div>BOSTON 6, KANSAS CITY 2<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-0593/3583512-1-eng-US/f0024-052.jpg" title="f0024-05" width="612" height="538"></div><h2>Wed. Dec. 11</h2>CHICAGO 5, ATLANTA 2<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-0680/3583505-1-eng-US/f0024-062.jpg" title="f0024-06" width="613" height="391"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-0766/3583498-1-eng-US/f0024-072.jpg" title="f0024-07" width="628" height="181"></div>LOS ANGELES 4, TORONTO 1<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-0861/3583491-1-eng-US/f0024-082.jpg" title="f0024-08" width="612" height="530"></div><h2>Thu. Dec. 12</h2>RANGERS 6, WASHINGTON 6<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-0956/3583484-1-eng-US/f0024-092.jpg" title="f0024-09" width="622" height="624"></div>MINNESOTA 0, PHILADELPHIA 6<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-1050/3583477-1-eng-US/f0024-102.jpg" title="f0024-10" width="612" height="478"></div>MONTREAL 3, PITTSBURGH 3<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-1148/3583470-1-eng-US/f0024-112.jpg" title="f0024-11" width="612" height="646"></div>ST. LOUIS 4, DETROIT 3<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-1242/3583463-1-eng-US/f0024-122.jpg" title="f0024-12" width="612" height="216"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-1332/3583456-1-eng-US/f0024-132.jpg" title="f0024-13" width="610" height="414"></div>LOS ANGELES 1. BOSTON 8<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-1426/3583449-1-eng-US/f0024-142.jpg" title="f0024-14" width="614" height="610"></div>VANCOUVER 5, BUFFALO 3<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-1522/3583442-1-eng-US/f0024-152.jpg" title="f0024-15" width="604" height="426"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-1620/3583435-1-eng-US/f0024-162.jpg" title="f0024-16" width="614" height="194"></div>CALIFORNIA 3, KANSAS CITY 5<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-1718/3583428-1-eng-US/f0024-172.jpg" title="f0024-17" width="616" height="626"></div><h2>Fri. Dec. 13</h2>PHILADELPHIA 3, ATLANTA 2<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-1817/3583421-1-eng-US/f0024-182.jpg" title="f0024-18" width="616" height="560"></div><h2>Sat. Dec. 14</h2>RANGERS 2. ST. LOUIS 6<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-1917/3583414-1-eng-US/f0024-192.jpg" title="f0024-19" width="614" height="832"></div>LOS ANGELES 0. ISLANDERS 3<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-2016/3583407-1-eng-US/f0024-202.jpg" title="f0024-20" width="604" height="292"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-01250/3583400-1-eng-US/f0025-012.jpg" title="f0025-01" width="602" height="118"></div>ATLANTA 2, TORONTO 4<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-02180/3583393-1-eng-US/f0025-022.jpg" title="f0025-02" width="614" height="544"></div>CALIFORNIA 3, MONTREAL S<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-03122/3583386-1-eng-US/f0025-032.jpg" title="f0025-03" width="626" height="624"></div>WASHINGTON 1, BOSTON 12<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-0493/3583379-1-eng-US/f0025-042.jpg" title="f0025-04" width="620" height="686"></div>CHICAGO 3, PITTSBURGH 6<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-0578/3583372-1-eng-US/f0025-052.jpg" title="f0025-05" width="618" height="560"></div>VANCOUVER 2, KANSAS CITY 2<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-0662/3583365-1-eng-US/f0025-062.jpg" title="f0025-06" width="620" height="502"></div>BUFFALO 2, MINNESOTA 4<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-0759/3583358-1-eng-US/f0025-072.jpg" title="f0025-07" width="604" height="548"></div><h2>Sun. Dec. 15</h2>LOS ANGELES 3, RANGERS 3<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-0851/3583351-1-eng-US/f0025-082.jpg" title="f0025-08" width="608" height="490"></div>ISLANDERS 2, BOSTON 5<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-0945/3583344-1-eng-US/f0025-092.jpg" title="f0025-09" width="606" height="472"></div>ST. LOUIS 2, PHILADELPHIA 7<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-1032/3583337-1-eng-US/f0025-102.jpg" title="f0025-10" width="596" height="602"></div>TORONTO 1, WASHINGTON 3<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-1126/3583330-1-eng-US/f0025-112.jpg" title="f0025-11" width="600" height="406"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-1221/3583323-1-eng-US/f0025-122.jpg" title="f0025-12" width="610" height="196"></div>PITTSBURGH 3, DETROIT 2<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-1317/3583316-1-eng-US/f0025-132.jpg" title="f0025-13" width="598" height="612"></div>VANCOUVER 2, CHICAGO 4<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-1415/3583309-1-eng-US/f0025-142.jpg" title="f0025-14" width="602" height="204"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-1513/3583302-1-eng-US/f0025-152.jpg" title="f0025-15" width="606" height="398"></div>CALIFORNIA 5, BUFFALO 5<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-1612/3583295-1-eng-US/f0025-162.jpg" title="f0025-16" width="604" height="604"></div> &#9632;

f0024-01

National Hockey League Summaries

C&mdash;CaptainA&mdash;Alternate*&mdash;Rookie<h2>BOSTON</h2><h3>GOAL</h3>Gilles GilbertRoss Brooks<h3>DEFENSE</h3>Gary DoakDarryl EdestrandBobby Orr AAl SimsDallas Smith ACarol Vadnais<h3>CENTER</h3>Phil Esposito AWalt McKechnieAndre SavardGregg Sheppard<h3>R. WING</h3>Ken HodgeTerry O&rsquo;ReillyDave Hynes*Bobby Schmautz<h3>L. WING</h3>John Bucyk CDave ForbesDon Marcotte<h3>INJURED</h3>Wayne Cashman<h2>BUFFALO</h2><h3>GOAL</h3>Gary Bromley *Rocky Farr*Roger Crozier<h3>DEFENSE</h3>Larry CarriereLee Fogolin*Bill Hajt*Jerry KorabJ. GuevremontJ. Schoenfeld C<h3>CENTER</h3>Don Luce AJim LorentzGil Perreault A<h3>R. WING</h3>Norm GrattonLarry MickeyRene RobertDanny Gare *<h3>L. WING</h3>Richard MartinCraig RamsayBrian SpencerRick Dudley<h3>INJURED</h3>Peter McNab*<h2>DETROIT</h2><h3>GOAL</h3>Jim RutherfordDoug Grant<h3>DEFENSE</h3>Gary Bergman AJean HamelJack LynchBryan WatsonBarry Salovaara *Bart CrashleyLarry Giroux<h3>CENTER</h3>Blair Stewart*Marcel Dionne CRick McCann*<h3>R. WING</h3>Earl Anderson*Ted SnellBill Lochead*Doug Roberts<h3>L. WING</h3>Nick Libett AHank Nowak*Danny Grant<h3>INJURED</h3>Bill HogaboamRed BerensonMickey Redmond A<h2>ISLANDERS</h2><h3>GOAL</h3>Glen Resch *Billy Smith<h3>DEFENSE</h3>Dave Fortier*Gerry HartDave LewisBert Marshall AJean PotvinDenis Potvin<h3>CENTER</h3>Lorne HenningBob Bourne*Ralph Stewart AEddie Westfall CDoug Rombough<h3>R. WING</h3>Craig CameronBilly Harris ABob NystromAndre St Laurent<h3>L. WING</h3>Clark Gillies*Garry HowattBilly MacMillan<h3>INJURED</h3>Ernie HickeMONTREAL<h3>GOAL</h3>Ken DrydenMichel LarocqueWayne Thomas<h3>DEFENSE</h3>Pierre BouchardGuy LapointeLarry RobinsonSerge Savard AJ. Van BoxmeerDon Awrey<h3>CENTER</h3>Jacques LemairePete MahovlichDoug Risebrough *Yvon Lambert<h3>R. WING</h3>Yvan Cournoyer AGlenn Goldup*Jim RobertsGuy LafleurMario Tremblay *<h3>L. WING</h3>Bob GaineyGlen SatherSteve ShuttMurray Wilson<h3>INJURED</h3>J. LaperriereHenri Richard C<h2>RANGERS</h2><h3>GOAL</h3>Ed GiacominGilles Villemure<h3>DEFENSE</h3>Nick BeverleyBrad Park CJohn Bednarski*Ron Greschner*<h3>CENTER</h3>Jean RatelleDerek SandersonPete StemkowskiABob MacMillan<h3>R. WING</h3>Jerry ButlerBill FairbairnRod Gilbert A<h3>L. WING</h3>Ted IrvineSteve VickersGreg PolisBert Wilson *<h3>INJURED</h3>Rick Middleton*Dale RolfeRon HarrisBobby RousseauWalt TkaczukGilles MarotteTORONTO<h3>GOAL</h3>Doug FavellDune Wilson<h3>DEFENSE</h3>Brian GlennieJim McKennyBob NeelyClaire Alexander*Dave Dunn<h3>CENTER</h3>Dave Keon CDarryl SittierNorm Ullman AGeorge Ferguson<h3>R. WING</h3>Ron Ellis ABill FlettBlaine StoughtonLanny McDonaldGary Sabourin<h3>L. WING</h3>Inge HammarstromLyle Moffat*Eddie ShackErrol Thompson<h3>INJURED</h3>Ian TurnbullRod SeilingBorje Salming<h2>VANCOUVER</h2><h3>GOAL</h3>Gary SmithKen Lockett*Bruce Bullock*<h3>DEFENSE</h3>Bob DaileyDennis KearnsTracy PrattAb DeMarcoHarold Snepsts *<h3>CENTER</h3>Andre BoudriasChris OddleifsonGerry Meehan<h3>R. WING</h3>Paulin BordeleauGregg BoddyLeon RochefortJerry O&rsquo;Flaherty<h3>L. WING</h3>John GouldDon LeverBobby LalondeGarry Monahan<h3>INJURED</h3>Mike RobitailleDennis VervergaertJohn Grisdale<h2>KANS</h2>OALMichePeterDEFENMike BaBrent HlJim McEi.Bryan L.Claude<h3>CENTER</h3>Eddie GiRichr GuDave HuLynn P<h3>R. WING</h3>Simon NelWilf PaieRandy R<h3>L. WING</h3>Robin BuGary CroNorm<h2>ATLANTA</h2><h3>GOAL</h3>Dan BouchardPhil Myre<h3>DEFENSE</h3>Dwight Bialowas*Jean LemieuxEd Kea*Pat Quinn ANoel Price ABob Murray*<h3>CENTER</h3>Curt BennettRey ComeauBryan HextailTom Lysiak<h3>R. WING</h3>Hilliard GravesBuster HarveyDean Talafous*Tim Ecclestone<h3>L. WING</h3>Jacques RichardKeith McCrearv CLarry Romanchych<h3>INJURED</h3>Bob Leiter ARandy ManeryEric Vali<h2>CALIFORNIA</h2><h3>GOAL</h3>Gilles MelocheGary Simmons*<h3>DEFENSE</h3>Len Frig ARick Hampton*Jim NeilsonBob StewartTerry MurrayGeorge Pesut*<h3>CENTER</h3>Ron Huston*Larry Patey*Stan WeirDave Gardner<h3>R. WING</h3>Al MacAdam*Morris MottWarren Williams<h3>L. WING</h3>Joey Johnston CJohn StewartDave Hrechkosy*Brian Lavender<h3>INJURED</h3>Mike Christie*Tom Price*Wayne King*Jim Moxey*<h2>CHICAGO</h2><h3>GOAL</h3>Tony EspositoMike Veisor*<h3>DEFENSE</h3>Doug Jarrett ADick RedmondPhil RussellBill White ARoger Wilson*<h3>CENTER</h3>Ivan BoldirevStan Mikita ARob Palmer*<h3>R. WING</h3>J.P. BordeleauAlain Daigle*Cliff KorollGrant Mulvey*Jim Pappin<h3>L. WING</h3>Dennis HullDarcy RotaJohn MarksGermain Gagnon<h3>INJURED</h3>Keith MagnusonDale TallonPit Martin<h2>LOS ANGELES</h2><h3>GOAL</h3>Rogatien VachonGary Edwards<h3>DEFENSE</h3>Larry BrownTerry Harper CDave Hutchison*S. KannegeisserNeil KomadoskiBob Murdoch<h3>CENTER</h3>Gene CarrButch GoringVic VenaskyJuha Widing A<h3>R. WING</h3>Mike CorriganDon KozakMike MurphyBob NevinFrank St. MarseilleJL WINGBob BerryDan Maloney ATom Williams<h3>INJURED</h3>None<h2>MINNESOTA</h2><h3>GOAL</h3>Cesare ManiagoPeter LoPresti *<h3>DEFENSE</h3>Barry Gibbs ADougHicks *Fred BarrettTom ReidChris Ahrens*<h3>CENTER</h3>Jude DrouinDennis Hextail AMurray OliverFred StanfieldMINNESOTA<h3>R. WING</h3>Bill Goldsworthy CJohn Flesch*Henry Boucha<h3>L. WING</h3>Don Martineau*Blake Dunlop*Jean-Paul PariseRichard Nantah<h3>INJURED</h3>Fern RivardDennis O&rsquo;BrienLou Nanne<h2>PHILADELPHIA</h2><h3>GOAL</h3>Wayne StephensonBernie ParentBob Taylor<h3>DEFENSE</h3>Andre DupontTed HarrisEd Van ImpeTom BladonJimmy WatsonJoe Watson<h3>CENTER</h3>Rick MacLeishBill ClementTerry Crisp AOrest KindrachukBobby Clarke CPhiladelphia<h3>R. WING</h3>Gary Dornhoefer AReg LeachDon Saleski<h3>L. WING</h3>Bill BarberDave SchultzA. Bob KellyRoss Lonsberry<h3>INJURED</h3>None.<h2>PITTSBURGH</h2><h3>GOAL</h3>Gary Inness*Bob Johnson*<h3>DEFENSE</h3>Dave Burrows AColin Campbell*Ron StackhouseBob ParadiseDennis Owchar*Jean-Guy LagacePITTSBURGH<h3>CENTER</h3>Syl Apps ARon Schock CPierre LaroucheBob McManama*<h3>R. WING</h3>Chuck ArnasonRick KehoeJean PronovostLew Morrison<h3>L. WING</h3>Vic HadfieldNelson DebenedetKelly Pratt*Lowell MacDonald<h3>INJURED</h3>Steve DurbanoBarry WilkinsBob Kelly<h2>ST. LOUIS</h2><h3>GOAL</h3>John DavidsonEddie Johnston<h3>DEFENSE</h3>Bob Gassoff*Bob Hess*Barclay Plager CBob Plager ALarry Sacharuk*Chris Evans<h3>CENTER</h3>Wayne MerrickGarry Unger ADoug Palazzari*Ken Richardson *<h3>R. WING</h3>Bill CollinsPierre PlanteClaude LaroseCraig Patrick<h3>L. WING</h3>Ace BaileyStan GilbertsonFloyd ThomsonPhil RobertoChuck Lefley<h3>INJURED</h3>None<h2>WASHING</h2><h3>GOAL</h3>Michel BelRon Low<h3>DEFENSE</h3>Yvon LabreBill MikkelscDoug Mohr.jMurray And w.Willie Bross<h3>CENTER</h3>Jim Hrycuik*Pete LaframbcTommy WllliaLDave KryskowRon Lalonde<h3>R. WING</h3>Steve AtkinsoGordie BrooksMike Marson*Mike Bloom*<h3>L. WING</h3>Bruce Cowick*Denis DuperePaul Nicholson*Bill Lesuk<h3>INJURED</h3>Jack EgersGreg Joly* &#9632;

NHL Team Rosters

<div class="byline">BY DOUG McCONNELL</div>LIUISVIILE SLUGGERHOCKEY STICKSMade in Canada by HILLERICH & BRADSBY, LTD. Arnold Street, Wallaceburg, Ontario Sold in U.S and CanadaLOUISVILLE SLUGGERHOCKEY STICKSMade in Canada by HILLERICH & BRADSBY, LTD. Arnold Street, Wallaceburg, Ontario Sold in U.S. and CanadaPHOENIX&mdash;The Roadrunners were shocked. The fans were shocked.But no one was more jolted than Hugh Harris.The bis left wine who was the No. 2 scorer on the Roadrunners was traded to the Vancouver Blazers for three players. The Roadrunners al so gave up&rdquo;future considerations&rdquo;. &ldquo;We think we got some guys who will help us,&rdquo; was coach Sandy Hucul&rsquo;s explanation of the deal. &ldquo;Now and in the future.&rdquo; The Roadrunners received left wing John Migneault and defensemen Peter McNamee and Serge Beaudoin.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-01255/3583647-1-eng-US/f0026-012.jpg" title="f0026-01" width="297" height="469"><figcaption class="caption-body">John Migneault</figcaption></div>Migneault and McNamee joined the Roadrunners immediately and Beaudoin remained with the Tulsa Oilers farm club, shared by the Roadrunners and the Blazers.&ldquo;It was a good term deal,&rdquo; said club president Bill MacFarland, &ldquo;but better in the long run. Beaudoin has a good future, McNamee is a good tough kid and Migneault&rsquo;s record is similar to Harris&rsquo;.&rdquo;Harris played for Vancouver general manager Joe Crozier at Cincinnati in the American League and Buffalo in the National League.Crozier had told Harris in the preseason that he was working on a deal for him.&ldquo;Crozier approached us some time ago,&rdquo; said MacFarland, &ldquo;but what he was offering then wasn&rsquo;t enough to interest us.&rdquo;Harris, through 22 games with the Roadrunners, had 10 goals and 10 assists. The 26-year-old left wing came to the Roadrunners from the New England Whalers in a trade for the WHA rights to two National League players the Whalers can sign.Possessor of a hard and accurate shot, Harris scored 24 goals and 28 assists, for the Whalers and was selected to the Eastern Division All Star team for the annual mid-season classic.Migneault, 5&rsquo;11&rdquo; 180, started the season at Tulsa but after three goals in four games, was recalled by Vancouver where he scored three goals and two assists in 13 games.In his first shift as a Roadrunner, he slammed into a Toronto Toro and was called for tripping.&ldquo;I thought it was a good check,&rdquo; said MacFarland. &ldquo;but the way the game was going, no hitting at all, the referee probably wondered what was that and called a penalty.&rdquo;In his second shift. Migneault buzzed around the Toro net and narrowly missed on two scoring chances.&ldquo;They&rsquo;ll come.&rdquo; said MacFarland. &ldquo;He&rsquo;ll get his share.&rdquo; Migneault&rsquo;s share last season was 21 goals for Vancouver.McNamee gives the Roadrunners eight defensemen, including Rick Newell who just had the wiring removed from his broken jaw. Hucul said he wasn&rsquo;t sure where he&rsquo;d use McNamee.&ldquo;He can play both wings and center as well as defense,&rdquo; said the Roadrunner coach of the 5&rsquo;11&rdquo;, 200-pound 24-year-old, who was born in Jamaica, West Indies.McNamee scored a pair of goals for Vancouver from defense after being called up from Tulsa where he scored a goal and seven assists in lOgames while being whistled for 48 penalty minutes.Last season, with the Roanoke Rebels of the Southern League, McNamee was charged with 154 minutes in 68 games.Beaudoin, 22, at 6&rsquo;3&rdquo; and 215, is the largest player in the Roadrunner organization. Last season, split between Roanoke and Vancouver, he collected 216 penalty minutes. This season at Tulsa he has three goals, 16 assists and 77penalty minutes in 20 games.Adam Keller, who captained the Roadrunners in the Western League the last two seasons and is the Tulsa coach this season, reports that all three &ldquo;are good two-way players and should fit well into Sandy&rsquo;s system of play&rdquo;.Elsewhere, the Roadrunners were dealt their first WHA shutout, a 2-0 job by San Diego and Joe Junkin although they outshot the Mariners 27-12.SAN DIEGO: The San Diego Mariners may not be creating much of a stir at home, but their popularity almost shot right off the scale in Indianapolis.The Mariners&rsquo; 5-3 loss to the Racers in the Market Square Arena ended the Indianapolis Racers&rsquo; 13-game losing streak, a World Hockey Association record.John Sheridan, a rookie center out of the University of Minnesota, scored a pair of first period goals to start the Racers on only their fifth win in 26 games.It was the Mariners&rsquo; third straight loss, all on the road, after winning five straight road games. The Mariners also own a home-ice three-game losing streak.One of the five straight victories provided Joe Junkin his first shutout of the season and the Mariners with theirs as a team. He stopped 27 shots in a 2-0 victory in Phoenix, the first whitewash suffered by the expansion Roadrunners.MINNESOTA: The Fighting Saints opened the month of December on a brighter note, a three-game winning streak, after the worst month in their history.The Saints, scrambling to catch the expansion Phoenix team which holds third place in the World Hockey Association West, came out of November with a 4-7-0record. In past Novembers, the Saints posted records of 10-4-0 (1972-73) and 7-6-0 (1973-74).The Saints began December with a 4-3 victory over Phoenix, in St. Paul, as Danny O&rsquo;Shea stole the puck off veteran Phoenix defenseman Gerry Odrowski in the final minutes for the winning goal. O&rsquo;Shea, Mike Walton and Fran Huck scored first period goals as the Saints were never headed in a 6-3 triumph in Quebec City and Wayne Connelly bagged his eight goal of the season and added two assists in a 4-2 triumph in Winnipeg.The streak came to an end in Vancouver where the Blazers parlayed three second period goals into a 4-2 victory.Mearrwhite. at home the Saints&rsquo; attendance is up 29 per cent over last season after nine games. The Saints have averaged 8,229 compared to 6.400 a year ago.MICHIGAN: Nobody said things were coming easy for the Michigan Stags. They&rsquo;re already an endangered species being kept alive with league funds.They were only outshot 25-24 at Edmonton but suffered a 7-0 shutout, Jacques Plante&rsquo;s first in the World Hockey Association.At home, earlier the same week, they needed Jerry Zrymiak&rsquo;s first goal of the season to defeat New England 2-1 in Detroit and only 1,406 were in the stands to appreciate the fruits of Zrymiak&rsquo;s determined effort.The 6&rsquo; 1 &ldquo;, 195-pound defenseman lugged the puck end-to-end with New England&rsquo;s Brad Seiwood, not exactly a midget at 6&rsquo;1&rdquo;, 190. hanging onto him from the blueline and eventually plowing him into the end boards &#9632;

f0026-01

Harris’ Trade Shocks Phoenix Fans — And Harris, Too

SERGE: BERNIER Quebec NordiquesSerge Bernier tallied at least one goal in each of the Nordiques&rsquo; four outings this past week en route to an eight-point output.He scored twice in Quebec&rsquo;s 5-2 win over Cleveland and again in the 6-4 loss to Minnesota while scoring singles in the Nordiques&rsquo; 4-3 victory over Edmonton and in the 9-4 setback at the hands of New England.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-03168/3583685-1-eng-US/f0026-032.jpg" title="f0026-03" width="501" height="588"></div>WAYNE CONNELLY Minnesola SaintsWayne Connelly led the Saints to a 2-3 week with five goals and a single assist for six points.Connelly&rsquo;s two third period markers lifted Minnesota past the Toros 4-2 and he scored once in three other outings, the 6-4 win over Quebec and losses to Edmonton 5-4 and Phoenix 4-3.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-04128/3583678-1-eng-US/f0026-042.jpg" title="f0026-04" width="493" height="585"></div> &#9632;

f0026-03

HOUSTON&mdash;It surprised no one that Gordie Howe scored the winning goal in a 3-2 victory at Winnipeg which put the record in the World Hockey Association record hook for consecutive road victories and consecutive unbeaten road games.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-02205/3583716-1-eng-US/f0026-022.jpg" title="f0026-02" width="285" height="433"><figcaption class="caption-body">Gordie Howe</figcaption></div>That raised the Houston Aeros&rsquo; winning streak to nine. It ended there&hellip; rather at Quebec City where the Nordiques recorded a 2-1 victory. Wayne Rutledge kept the badly outplayed Aeros in the game with 41 saves while Houston gof off 25 shots.The previous road victory streak of six was set by the Minnesota Fighting Saints last season.The previous undefeated road streak was also six. first set by the Cleveland Crusaders (five wins and a tie) in 1972 and matched last season by Minnesota and by the Houston Aeros (also with five wins and a tie). &#9632;

f0026-02

Houston’s Record Road Run Stopped At Nine By Quebec

<div class="byline">BY TONY GALLAGHER</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-01239/3583768-1-eng-US/f0027-012.jpg" title="f0027-01" width="565" height="1808"><figcaption class="caption-body">CHRIS BORDELEAU &hellip;Dumped By Jets</figcaption></div>QUEBEC CITY &mdash;Quebec Nordiques have been trying to bring Marc Tardif to Quebec City so long they forgot when they started negotiations.Nevertheless. Les Nordiques have acquired the tormer Montreal Canadiens left winger and his Michigan Stag teammate Steve Sutherland in one of two deals the Canadian Division club made last week.The other deal brought the disgruntled Chris Bordeleau from the Winnipeg Jets, g&rsquo;iving Les Nordiques three new forwards for the second half of the season.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-02189/3583761-1-eng-US/f0027-022.jpg" title="f0027-02" width="261" height="425"><figcaption class="caption-body">Eddie Joyal</figcaption></div>In exchange for this cargo, Nordiques surrendered defenseman Alain Beaule to the Winnipeg Jets and three forwards to the Stags &mdash; Pierre Guite Mike Rouleau and Alain (Boom-Boom) Caron.Tardif, who had 11 goals so far this season with the Stags, was obviously a means whereby the Stags could rid themselves of their most expensive contract. Tardif, making at least $80,000 per year, was costing the Stags money they didn&rsquo;t have, and the best way they could unload him was to trade him to a club that wanted his services.Tardif, who had 40goals with the Los Angeles Sharks last season, should augment Quebec&rsquo;s scoring punch, although Nordiques nearly cried at having to give up Guite.The rugged forward had 14 goals so far and was just beginning to show coach Jean-Guy Gendron what he could do. Caron, who has scored 67 goals over the past two seasons, had seven goals before his departure and Rouleau, although he scored 44 goals in the minors last season, had only one.The most controversial of the deals was the trade that brought Bordeleau to Quebec. The Jets&rsquo; second leading scorer last season with 26 goals was furious with Winnipeg management over his constant presence on the bench.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve proven myself. I was established in the National Hockey League, and I didn&rsquo;t come to sit on the bench. I came here (Winnipeg) to play,&rdquo; said Bordeleau.Les Nordiques seemed to be in the right spot at the right time on both deals however, and they appear to have strengthened themselves.Meanwhile Michel Parizeau&rsquo;s goal in the third period broke a 1-1 tie with Houston and gave Nordiques a 2-1 victory, one that ended Aeros&rsquo; record string of most conseccutive road victories at eight. The win also kept Quebec in second place in the Division, one point ahead of third place Toronto.VANCOUVER: Trades were much a part of the action here as general manager and coach Joe Crozier pulled off a three-for-one deal with Phoenix that he hopes will strengthen his left side.Hugh Harris, the Roadrunners&rsquo; leading scorer with 10 goals and 10 assists to date, was acquired for three pretty good hockey players &mdash; Peter McNa mee, John Migneault and Serge Beaudoin. Migneault is a forward.&ldquo;I think maybe I gave up a little too much,&rdquo; said Crozier after the trade, &ldquo;but you always think that aftera trade. I hated to see McNamee and Migneault go. They both give you 100 percent all the time, but I thought Harris could help us more.&rdquo;McNamee, who had played some of the season in Tulsa, had three goals as did Migneault so far during the season while Beaudoin had spent the first half of the year as a rushing defenseman with the Central League team.Harris was in Vancouver&rsquo;s line-up for one of their two weekend wins as the Blazers stayed hot, having won five out of their last six games. They remain in last place however, as everyone else in the division keeps winning.EDMONTON: It&rsquo;s win at home and lose on the road for the Oilers, who beat Vancouver at home, lost in Phoenix and came home again to clobber the Stags.And while Ron Climie, Mike Rogers and Blair MacDonald are going well for Oilers, it is Ed Joyal that is pleasing coach Brian Shaw with his penalty killing and particularly with his two-goal performance in the home win over Vancouver.&ldquo;Every time Ed scores a goal for us it&rsquo;s a bonus,&rdquo; said Shaw. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s been doing a great job killing penalties for us. Somebody says he never used to check when he was in the NHL, but they should see him now.&rdquo;Oilers remain in fourth place, five points behind Winnipeg but with four games in hand.WINNIPEG: Rudy Pilous, bench coach of the Jets, sounded as though he was glad to get rid of Bordeleau in the trade with Quebec.He said the club would not miss the veteran and added: &ldquo;Would he have been in the corners checking? Ask the wingmen who do the checking on his line. It&rsquo;s a game of intimidation. It&rsquo;s not a problem not having him with us.&rdquo;That may be, but Jets began hurting a little in their 5-2 win over Chicago when they lost center Danny Spring when he injured his shoulder taking a check from rugged Darryl Maggs. With Anders Hedberg already out, the Jets forward lines are looking a little depleted.TORONTO: Toros lost their fifth straight game at home when Aeros took a 5-4 decision but they regained their form somewhat on the road when they gained a split in Phoenix and Chicago.Tom Simpson&rsquo;s 20th and 21st goals of the year pulled the club out of their mini nose-dive as Toros won in Phoenix 5-2.Although they are still atop the toughest division of the league, coach Billy Harris had to be worried about the prodigious number of goals his club has surrendered. Their total of 101 in 27 games is the third highest total in the WHA. The only saving grace is of course the fact that they have scored 123 goals, which is the second highest average per game after the Houston Aeros.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-04109/3583754-1-eng-US/f0027-042.jpg" title="f0027-04" width="574" height="592"><figcaption class="caption-body">HUGH HARRIS &hellip;Newest Blazer</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-0584/3583747-1-eng-US/f0027-052.jpg" title="f0027-05" width="562" height="595"><figcaption class="caption-body">MARC TARDIF &hellip;Salary Too High</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0027-01

Tardif, Bordeleau More Power For Nordiaue Offense

(Including Sun. Dec. 15)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-03139/3583799-1-eng-US/f0027-032.jpg" title="f0027-03" width="580" height="892"></div> &#9632;

f0027-03

WHA Leaders

(Standing on Tue. Dec. 17)<h2>CANADIAN DIVISION</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-2517/3584176-1-eng-US/f0028-252.jpg" title="f0028-25" width="570" height="177"></div><h2>EAST DIVISION</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-2614/3584169-1-eng-US/f0028-262.jpg" title="f0028-26" width="565" height="151"></div><h2>WEST DIVISION</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-2714/3584162-1-eng-US/f0028-272.jpg" title="f0028-27" width="566" height="193"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Tue. Dec. 10Vancouver 4 at Cleveland 3; Winnipeg 5 at Indianapolis 2; Minnesota 4 at Toronto 2; Michigan4at San Diego; Phoenix 4 at Chicago 2.Wed. Dec. 11Vancouver 2 at Houston 5; Edmonton 3 at Quebec 4; Minnesota 1 at New England 3.Thu. Dec. 12Vancouver 2 at Phoenix 4; Winnipeg 3 at Michigan 5; Cleveland 2 at Quebec 5.Fri. Dec. 13Edmonton 5 at Minnesota 4; Cleveland 6 at Toronto 7.Sat. Dec. 14Minnesota 3 at Phoenix 4; Winnipeg-3 at Houston 5; Indianapolis 0 at San Diego 2; Michigan 0 at Chicago 6; Quebec 4 at New England 9.Sun. Dec. 15Edmonton 3 at Indianapolis 1; Quebec 4 at Minnesota 6: San Diego 4 at Houston 3; New England 4 at Winnipeg 3; Toronto 7 at Michigan 2; Clevelandl at Vancouver 2<h3>GAMES TO COME</h3>Tue. Dec. 17Edmonton at Houston; Vancouver at Indianapolis; Winnipeg at Toronto; Cleveland at San Diego; Quebec at Chicago; New England at Michigan.Wed. Dec. 18Vancouver at Phoenix: Winnipeg at Quebec.Thu. Dec. 19Vancouver at Houston; Minnesota at Indianapolis; Edmonton at San Diego; Cleveland at Michigan.Fri. Dec. 20Indianapolis at Minnesota; Michigan at Phoenix; New England at Cleveland; Chicago at QuebecSat. Dec. 21San Diego at Vancouver; Edmonton at Chicago; Houston at New England.Sun. Dec. 22Phoenix at Winnipeg; San Diego at Edmonton; Chicago at Toronto; Houston at Cleveland; New England at Indianapolis. Quebec at Michigan.Mon. Dec. 23Cleveland at Toronto.Thu. Dec. 26Minnesota at Edmonton; Michigan at Vancouver; Winnipeg at Phoenix; Cleveland at Chicago.Fri. Dec. 27New England at Minnesota; Quebec at Cleveland; Chicago at Toronto; Indianapolis at Vancouver.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-2814/3584155-1-eng-US/f0028-282.jpg" title="f0028-28" width="252" height="282"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-2914/3584148-1-eng-US/f0028-292.jpg" title="f0028-29" width="208" height="278"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-3014/3584141-1-eng-US/f0028-302.jpg" title="f0028-30" width="244" height="242"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-3114/3584134-1-eng-US/f0028-312.jpg" title="f0028-31" width="250" height="252"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-3214/3584127-1-eng-US/f0028-322.jpg" title="f0028-32" width="240" height="238"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-3314/3584120-1-eng-US/f0028-332.jpg" title="f0028-33" width="318" height="220"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-3413/3584113-1-eng-US/f0028-342.jpg" title="f0028-34" width="248" height="252"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-3511/3584106-1-eng-US/f0028-352.jpg" title="f0028-35" width="260" height="248"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-3611/3584099-1-eng-US/f0028-362.jpg" title="f0028-36" width="226" height="220"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-3710/3584092-1-eng-US/f0028-372.jpg" title="f0028-37" width="280" height="200"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-3810/3584085-1-eng-US/f0028-382.jpg" title="f0028-38" width="206" height="250"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-398/3584078-1-eng-US/f0028-392.jpg" title="f0028-39" width="267" height="271"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-406/3584071-1-eng-US/f0028-402.jpg" title="f0028-40" width="319" height="321"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-414/3584064-1-eng-US/f0028-412.jpg" title="f0028-41" width="319" height="281"></div> &#9632;

f0028-25

WHA Scoreboard

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-01227/3584026-1-eng-US/f0028-012.jpg" title="f0028-01" width="595" height="502"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-1923/3584033-1-eng-US/f0028-192.jpg" title="f0028-19" width="162" height="220"></div><h2>Sun. Dec. 8</h2>MINNESOTA 2, VANCOUVER 4TORONTO 5, PHOENIX 2<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-02160/3584019-1-eng-US/f0028-022.jpg" title="f0028-02" width="628" height="480"></div><h2>Tue. Dec. 10</h2>VANCOUVER 4, CLEVELAND 3<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-03121/3584012-1-eng-US/f0028-032.jpg" title="f0028-03" width="628" height="562"></div>WINNIPEG 5, INDIANAPOLIS 2<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-0498/3584005-1-eng-US/f0028-042.jpg" title="f0028-04" width="612" height="562"></div>MINNESOTA 4, TORONTO 2<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-0584/3583998-1-eng-US/f0028-052.jpg" title="f0028-05" width="624" height="594"></div>MICHIGAN 4 SAN DIEGO 4<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-0670/3583991-1-eng-US/f0028-062.jpg" title="f0028-06" width="604" height="614"></div>PHOENIX 4, CHICAGO 2<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-0760/3583984-1-eng-US/f0028-072.jpg" title="f0028-07" width="614" height="508"></div><h2>Wed. Dec. 11</h2>VANCOUVER 2. HOUSTON 5<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-0855/3583977-1-eng-US/f0028-082.jpg" title="f0028-08" width="628" height="560"></div>EDMONTON 3, QUEBEC 4<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-0951/3583970-1-eng-US/f0028-092.jpg" title="f0028-09" width="600" height="478"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-1050/3583963-1-eng-US/f0028-102.jpg" title="f0028-10" width="632" height="104"></div>MINNESOTA 1, NEW ENGLAND 3<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-1144/3583956-1-eng-US/f0028-112.jpg" title="f0028-11" width="612" height="468"></div><h2>Thu. Dec. 12</h2>VANCOUVER 2, PHOENIX 4<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-1241/3583949-1-eng-US/f0028-122.jpg" title="f0028-12" width="608" height="502"></div>WINNIPEG 3. MICHIGAN 5<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-1337/3583942-1-eng-US/f0028-132.jpg" title="f0028-13" width="616" height="422"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-1431/3583935-1-eng-US/f0028-142.jpg" title="f0028-14" width="606" height="136"></div>CLEVELAND 2, QUEBEC 5<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-1531/3583928-1-eng-US/f0028-152.jpg" title="f0028-15" width="612" height="552"></div><h2>Fri. Dec. 13</h2>EDMONTON 5. MINNESOTA 4<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-1627/3583921-1-eng-US/f0028-162.jpg" title="f0028-16" width="608" height="624"></div>CLEVELAND 6, TORONTO 7<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-1722/3583914-1-eng-US/f0028-172.jpg" title="f0028-17" width="620" height="228"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-1823/3583907-1-eng-US/f0028-182.jpg" title="f0028-18" width="608" height="568"></div><h2>Sat. Dec. 14</h2>WINNIPEG 3. HOUSTON 5<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-2021/3583900-1-eng-US/f0028-202.jpg" title="f0028-20" width="604" height="528"></div>MINNESOTA 3, PHOENIX 4<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-2121/3583893-1-eng-US/f0028-212.jpg" title="f0028-21" width="602" height="560"></div>INDIANAPOLIS 0. SAN DIEGO 2<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-2220/3583886-1-eng-US/f0028-222.jpg" title="f0028-22" width="602" height="378"></div>MICHIGAN 0, CHICAGO 6<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-2320/3583879-1-eng-US/f0028-232.jpg" title="f0028-23" width="610" height="550"></div>QUEBEC 4, NEW ENGLAND 9<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-2418/3583872-1-eng-US/f0028-242.jpg" title="f0028-24" width="608" height="682"></div><h2>Sun. Dec. 15</h2>EDMONTON 3, INDIANAPOLIS 1<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-01223/3583865-1-eng-US/f0030-012.jpg" title="f0030-01" width="619" height="466"></div>QUEBEC 4, MINNESOTA 6<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-02169/3583858-1-eng-US/f0030-022.jpg" title="f0030-02" width="634" height="673"></div>SAN DIEGO 4, HOUSTON 3<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-03125/3583851-1-eng-US/f0030-032.jpg" title="f0030-03" width="628" height="562"></div>TORONTO 7. MICHIGAN 2<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-0496/3583844-1-eng-US/f0030-042.jpg" title="f0030-04" width="649" height="622"></div>CLEVELAND 1,VANCOUVER 2<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-0568/3583837-1-eng-US/f0030-052.jpg" title="f0030-05" width="607" height="373"></div>NEW ENGLAND 4, WINNIPEG 3<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-0654/3583830-1-eng-US/f0030-062.jpg" title="f0030-06" width="589" height="607"></div> &#9632;

f0028-01

World Hockey Association Summaries

(Including Sun. Dec. 9)<h2>TORONTO</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-01192/3584333-1-eng-US/f0029-012.jpg" title="f0029-01" width="640" height="646"></div><h2>PHOENIX</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-02156/3584326-1-eng-US/f0029-022.jpg" title="f0029-02" width="628" height="589"></div><h2>WINNIPEG</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-03109/3584319-1-eng-US/f0029-032.jpg" title="f0029-03" width="622" height="625"></div><h2>MINNESOTA</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-0482/3584312-1-eng-US/f0029-042.jpg" title="f0029-04" width="634" height="613"></div><h2>QUEBEC</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-0575/3584305-1-eng-US/f0029-052.jpg" title="f0029-05" width="616" height="589"></div><h2>CHICAGO</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-0658/3584298-1-eng-US/f0029-062.jpg" title="f0029-06" width="634" height="472"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-0746/3584291-1-eng-US/f0029-072.jpg" title="f0029-07" width="628" height="127"></div><h2>NEW ENGLAND</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-0839/3584284-1-eng-US/f0029-082.jpg" title="f0029-08" width="634" height="601"></div><h2>SAN DIEGO</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-0935/3584277-1-eng-US/f0029-092.jpg" title="f0029-09" width="616" height="664"></div><h2>EDMONTON</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-1031/3584270-1-eng-US/f0029-102.jpg" title="f0029-10" width="643" height="598"></div><h2>CLEVELAND</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-1127/3584263-1-eng-US/f0029-112.jpg" title="f0029-11" width="616" height="604"></div><h2>HOUSTON</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-1223/3584256-1-eng-US/f0029-122.jpg" title="f0029-12" width="613" height="598"></div><h2>VANCOUVER</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-1317/3584249-1-eng-US/f0029-132.jpg" title="f0029-13" width="625" height="376"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-1416/3584242-1-eng-US/f0029-142.jpg" title="f0029-14" width="625" height="307"></div><h2>MICHIGAN</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-1512/3584235-1-eng-US/f0029-152.jpg" title="f0029-15" width="628" height="628"></div><h2>INDIANAPOLIS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-1610/3584228-1-eng-US/f0029-162.jpg" title="f0029-16" width="613" height="733"></div>TOP 10 GOALERS<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-179/3584221-1-eng-US/f0029-172.jpg" title="f0029-17" width="619" height="193"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-189/3584214-1-eng-US/f0029-182.jpg" title="f0029-18" width="628" height="160"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-194/3584207-1-eng-US/f0029-192.jpg" title="f0029-19" width="550" height="685"><figcaption class="caption-body">WAYNE DILLON &hellip;No. 1 On Toros</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0029-01

WHA’s Team Scoring, Penalty Statistics

<h2>CLEVELAND</h2><h3>GOAL</h3>Gerry CheeversBob Whidden<h3>DEFENSE</h3>Ray ClearwaterTom EdurLarry HillmanWayne MuloinPaul ShmyrWayne Hillman<h3>CENTER</h3>Jim HarrisonRich LeducRon Ward<h3>R. WING</h3>Terry Holbrook *Skip KrakeAl McDonough<h3>L. WING</h3>Steve CardwellGrant EricksonGarry JarrettGerry PinderRuss Walker<h3>INJURED</h3>None.<h2>CHICAGO</h2><h3>GOAL</h3>Dave DrydenCam Newton<h3>DEFENSE</h3>Bryon BaltimoreDarryl MaggsJim WatsonLarry MavetyPat StapletonDune MacCallum<h3>CENTER</h3>Ralph BackstromMark Lomenda *Gary MacGregor*Rod ZaineJoe Hardy<h3>R. WING</h3>Pete Mara*Duke HarrisRosaire PaiementDon Gordon<h3>L. WING</h3>Bob LiddingtonRick MorrisJan PopielFrankie Rochon<h3>INJURED</h3>None.<h2>EDMONTON</h2><h3>GOAL</h3>Ken BrownChris WorthyJacques Plante<h3>DEFENSE</h3>Doug BarrieKen BairdAl HamiltonBarry LongRay McKayJim McCrimmon<h3>CENTER</h3>Eddie JoyalRoss PerkinsMike Rogers *Bobby SheehanRon Buchanan<h3>R. WING</h3>Tom GilmoreBruce MacGregorRusty PatenaudeDon Herriman<h3>L. WING</h3>Ron ClimieBlaii MacDonaldSteve Carlyle<h3>INJURED</h3>None.<h2>HOUSTON</h2><h3>GOAL</h3>Wayne RutledgeRon Grahame<h3>DEFENSE</h3>Larry HaleMarty HoweGlen Irwin*Poul PopielJohn Schella<h3>CENTER</h3>Gord LabossiereLarry LundTerry Ruskowski,Jim Sherrit<h3>R. WING</h3>Murray HallGordie HoweFrank HughesBill Prentice<h3>L. WING</h3>Andre HinseMark HoweTed TaylorDon Larway*Bill Preston *<h3>INJURED</h3>None.<h2>INDIANAPOLIS</h2><h3>GOAL</h3>Andy BrownEd Dyck<h3>DEFENSE</h3>Dick ProceviatRoger CoteMurray KennettJim HargreavesCraig Hanmer *Ralph HopiavouriBilly HortonKen Desjardine<h3>CENTER</h3>Bob FitchnerBob SicinskiBob Whitlock.Jacques LocasSteve Richardson*<h3>R. WING</h3>Ross Smith*Nick HarbarukBrian McDonald<h3>L. WING</h3>Jim WisteKerry Bond*Rich PumpleJohn Sheridan*<h3>INJURED</h3>None.<h2>MICHIGAN</h2><h3>GOAL</h3>Gerry DesjardinsJim McLeod<h3>DEFENSE</h3>Paul CurtisLarry JohnstonJohn MiszukArnie BrownRandy Legge*Jerry Zrymiak *<h3>CENTER</h3>J.P. LeblancSteve WestJim JohnsonFred SpeckReg Thomas<h3>R. WING</h3>Len FontaineEd Johnstone *Gary Bredin*Guy TrottierSteve AndrascikAlain Caron<h3>L. WING</h3>Danny Gruen*Gary VeneruzzoPierre GuiteMike RouleauTom Serviss<h3>INJURED</h3>None.<h2>MINNESOTA</h2><h3>GOAL</h3>Mike CurranJohn GarrettJack McCartan<h3>DEFENSE</h3>John ArbourTerry BallBob BoydRon BusniukPat Westrum *Rick SmithMike McMahon<h3>CENTER</h3>Ted HampsonDanny O&rsquo;SheaFran HuckMike AntonovictGary Gambucci<h3>R. WING</h3>Mike WaltonWayne ConnellyKevin O&rsquo;SheaCurt Brackenbury<h3>L. WING</h3>Murray HeatleyGeorge MorrisonDon TannahillGord Gallant<h3>INJURED</h3>None.<h2>NEW ENGLAND</h2><h3>GOAL</h3>C. AbrahamssonTed Ouimet*<h3>DEFENSE</h3>T. AbrahamssonuoreyPaul HurleyBrad SeiwoodTed Green<h3>CENTER</h3>Terry CafferyLarry PleauGary Swain<h3>R. WING</h3>Mike ByersFred O&rsquo;DonnellTim SheehyTom Earl<h3>L. WING</h3>Wayne CarletonDon BlackburnJohn FrenchNick Fotiu<h3>INJURED</h3>Al SmithRick LeyAl KarlanderTom Webster<h2>PHOENIX</h2><h3>GOAL</h3>Garry KurtJack Norris<h3>DEFENSE</h3>mi MacLeodWendell BennettGerry OdrowskiMike StevensJim NiekampJohn HughesPete McNamee*<h3>CENTER</h3>Bob BarlowJim BoydMurray KeoganDennis SobchukRobbie Ftorek<h3>R. WING</h3>Don BorgesonCam ConnorJohn GrayBob Mowat<h3>L. WING</h3>Michel CormierHowie YoungJohn Migneault<h3>INJURED</h3>Rick Newell<h2>QUEBEC</h2><h3>GOAL</h3>Serge AubryRichard BrodeurMichel DeguiseutFENSEDale HogansonRic JordanPierre RoyJ.C. TremblayFrancois Lacombe<h3>CENTER</h3>Serge BernierAndre GaudetteJeannot GilbertMichel ParizeauChris Bordeleau<h3>R. WING</h3>Rene LeclercReal CloutierRejean HouleJoan Garneau *Steve Sutherland<h3>L. WING</h3>Charles ConstantinBobby GuindonMarc Tardif<h3>INJURED</h3>None.<h2>SAN DIEGO</h2><h3>GOAL</h3>Joe JunkinRuss GillowBob<h3>DEFENSE</h3>Ron PlumbKen BlockHarry HowellBob FalkenbergBob Wa<h3>CENTER</h3>Andre LacroixRay AdduonoWayne RiversMike LaughtonDoug Volmar<h3>R. WING</h3>Rick SentesJamie BatemanSfian MorenzTed ScharfKevin Morrison<h3>L. WING</h3>Kevin DevineGene PeacoshCraig ReichmuthNorm Ferguson<h3>INJURED</h3>None.<h2>TORONTO</h2>OALGilles GrattonLes<h3>DEFENSE</h3>Mike AmodeoRick CunninghamSteve CuddieJim TurkiewiczGeorge KuzmiczBrian Gibbons<h3>CENTER</h3>Pat HickeyGavin KirkVaclav NedomanskyWayne Dillon<h3>R. WING</h3>Tony FeatherstoneTom MartinTom Simpson<h3>L. WING</h3>Paul HendersonFrank MahovlichBrit SelbyRichard Farda<h3>INJURED</h3>Jim snawBob Leduc<h2>VANCOUVER</h2>VANCOUVER<h3>DEFENSE</h3>Jim CardiffDon McCullochMike PelykPat PriceDuane Rupp<h3>CENTER</h3>Bryan CampbellRon ChipperfieldClaude St. SauveurRob&rsquo;WaltonJohn Shmyr<h3>R. WING</h3>Danny LawsonPaul TerbencheJohn McKenzieAndy Bathgate<h3>L. WING</h3>Don BurgessJimmy Jones *Butch DeadmarshPeter Driscoll *Huh Harris<h3>INJURED</h3>Pete DonnellyMurray Myers<h2>WINNIPEG</h2>OALJoe DaleyErnie WakelyCurt Larsson<h3>DEFENSE</h3>Larry HornungDuke AsmundsonHeikki RiihirantaLars-Erik SjobergBob WoytowichPerry MillerAlain Beaule<h3>CENTER</h3>Danny JohnsonVeil Ketola *Ulf NilssonJean-Guy Gratton<h3>R. WING</h3>Norm BeaudinRon AshtonDanny SpringRon SnellHnders Hedberg<h3>L. WING</h3>Mike FordMilt BlackBobby Hull<h3>INJURED</h3>None &#9632;

WHA Team Rosters

<div class="byline">BY RICH PASSAN</div>CHICAGO&mdash;The Cougars, for the third year in a row, are off to a slow pace and one of the reasons this season is the even slower start of veteran center Ralph Backstrom.But now, the 37-year-old pivot is beginning to do the things he does so well and it&rsquo;s more than a coincidence the Cougars are starting to make noises again in the World Hockey Association&rsquo;s East Division.The Windy City crew has won five of its last six outings and seven of its last 10 to completely reverse a 4-13 start. The reason for his latent start, Backstrom said, was his Team Canada sojourn. &ldquo;I was gone for about 45 days,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Starting all over again seemed a little anti-climactic.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-0743/3584388-1-eng-US/f0030-072.jpg" title="f0030-07" width="283" height="481"><figcaption class="caption-body">Ralph Backstrom</figcaption></div>&ldquo;I was at a high peak for three-and-a-half months and when it was all over, naturally there was a big letdown,&rdquo; the sparkplug of the Chicago offense said. &ldquo;The first game back with the Cougars took a great adjustment on my part.&ldquo;I was keyed up with Team Canada from day one. All of a sudden, here it was all over again. Seventy-seven more games after this one. Physically, I felt fine. It takes a little while for the smoke to clear.&rdquo;&ldquo;It&rsquo;s been a gradual thing where things are just starting to come around for me,&rdquo; Backstrom said. &ldquo;I feel like playing again. It&rsquo;s like I&rsquo;ve been through one season already this year.&ldquo;I was speaking to some of the guys on Team Canada &lsquo;72 and they told me they didn&rsquo;t start coming around until around Christmas.&rdquo;Now the pieces are beginning to fall into place. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s starting to come around for me,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m more eager and aggressive than I was earlier.&ldquo;The fact I was not contributing bothered me,&rdquo; Backstrom added. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s discouraging when you&rsquo;re not playing well.&rdquo;Just as discouraging have been disquieting rumors that the Cougars, having arena and attendance problems, are headed for Baltimore. &ldquo;Absolutely not true,&rdquo; said a club spokesman. &ldquo;Those rumors are coming out of Baltimore.&rdquo;This makes it that much more difficult for the Cougars. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re fighting desperately t6 here,&rdquo; reported Backstrom. &ldquo;A lot of fellows homes here and this news is unsettling.&ldquo;But I think we&rsquo;ve turned the corner now and it looks like we&rsquo;re going to stay. I&rsquo;m very glad because Chicago is a great hockey town. It would be a shame to lose Chicago. It&rsquo;s big enough for two teams. We&rsquo;re not in competition with the Black Hawks. We think we can develop our own following.&rdquo;Backstrom is probably the youngest 37-year-old in the WHA. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t feel as though I&rsquo;m 37,&rdquo; he chuckled. &ldquo;I enjoy the game as much as ever and my legs are as good as ever. I love to skate.&ldquo;The only way they&rsquo;ll get me to retire is to rip the sweatef vfT!PV back. I&rsquo;m in the second year of a five-year contract. I&rsquo;ll be in my 40th year by then.&rdquo;Backstrom has an interesting observation on players who retire in their early and mid-30s. &ldquo;Too many hockey players retire too early.&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re told that when they get to be 34 or 35, they are finished. No one tried to tell me this.&ldquo;They say your legs go first but I believe trit head goes first Once you lose your desire to play, then the legs go.&rdquo;Quite apparently. the head and legs of Ralph Backstrom have many years to look forward to.CLEVELAND: The Crusaders continue to flounder on offense and sparkle on defense as they maintain a firm grip on second place. Al McDonough&rsquo;s eight goals lead the team in that department after 18 gamesThe big surprise, but not to him. has been the fine goaltending of Bob Whidden. who has become the darling of the Cleveland hockey crowds. Regular netminder Gerry Cheevers Has been having his problems between the pipes and the normally patient Crusader fans have been voicing their displeasure.Another target of the boo birds has been center Jim Harrison, who has been far from the sensational scorer he was in his first two seasons with the Edmonton Oilers.The Cleveland penalty killing has improved greatly, but the power-play continues to resemble a pop gun. More often than not. the Cs&rsquo; opponents get more opportunities to score during a Cleveland power-play than do the Crusaders.Defenseman Ron Anderson and rookie center John Stewart were dispatched to Cape Cod of the North American League&hellip; Veteran defenseman Wayne Hillman, who refused to report to a trade earlier, is dressing but not playing.INDIANAPOLIS: The Racers finally did it. On the night of Dec. 8 at the Market Square Arena, the East Division expansionists shattered the longest losing streak in WHA history. The 13-game skein came to a grinding halt with a 5-3 victory over the San Diego Mariners.Hero of the game was rookie center John Sheridan, who popped home two goals. The University of Minnesota alumnus also has scored five goals in eight games since being recalled from the minor leagues.The triumph came just a few days after a Dayton. O. architect and real estate developer, Paul Deneau. purchased the club. A club spokesman said no changes will be made at the present time. In the front office, that is.On the ice. the Racers picked up defenseman Dick Proceviat from the Chicago Cougars for future considerations. Proceviat was a regular with the Cougars last season before sustaining an injury.NEW ENGLAND: The Whalers were battered and beleaguered after spending 13 of 14 games on the road, but they were not unbowed. Not by a long shot.They won seven of those road games, which isn&rsquo;t bad in any league, and maintained a tight hold on first place in the East.General Manner Jack Kellv was more than pleased with the showing, even though most of the last half of the trip was played with several key regulars nursing injuries.Defenseman Rick Ley missed several games with bronchitis; high scoring right winger Tom Webster missed a few with a shoulder injury; Al Karlander tried to come back from an ankle injury too soon and aggravated it, and goaltender Al Smith suffered a partial tear of a shoulder muscle and missed several outings.&ldquo;The big thing about the trip.&rdquo; said Kelley, &ldquo;was the fact we won all the games against teams in our own division. We don&rsquo;t want those teams gaining at our expense.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0030-07

Cougars Finally Rolling In High Gear After Dismal Start

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0030-08" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-0836/3584419-1-eng-US/f0030-082.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">GARY MacGREGOR&hellip; Chicago Cougars</figcaption></div>When you have scored 100 goals as a graduating junior, you can expect the hockey scouts to come flocking to your door. And that&rsquo;s exactly how it was for young Gary MacGregor of the Chicago Cougars after he wound up a sensational junior career last season with Cornwall Royals of the Quebec Major Hockey League. The Montreal Canadiens were deeply interested in the 20-year-old center, who stands 5&rsquo;11&rdquo; and weighs only 176 pounds. But so were the Cougars and they bid high for the high-scoring youngster, who hasn&rsquo;t disappointed the WHA club in the least. He had 11 goals and 20 points in his first 23 games, including one game winner and a power-play goal. &#9632;

f0030-08

WHA ROOKIE PARADE

LEADING SCORERS<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-02161/3584495-1-eng-US/f0031-022.jpg" title="f0031-02" width="612" height="626"></div>GOALERS&rsquo; RECORDS<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-03135/3584488-1-eng-US/f0031-032.jpg" title="f0031-03" width="612" height="824"></div> &#9632;

f0031-02

AHL Leaders

<div class="byline">BY HANS TANNER</div>LOUISVILLE SLUGGERHOCKEY STICKSMade in Canada by HILLERICH & BRADSBY, LTD Arnold Street, Wallaceburg. Ontario Sold in U.S and CanadaLOUISVILLE SLUGGERHOCKEY STICKSMade in Canada by HILLERICH & BRADSBY, LTD Arnold Street, Wallaceburg, Ontario Sold in U.S and CanadaNEW HAVEN&mdash;Tom Miller suffered a bad break last year&hellip; literally.And he&rsquo;s still waiting to see what effect it has on his fieure as a Drofessional hockey player.He had been advancing, while not spectacularly, steadily enough that it seemed the former U.S. collegian was set for regular employment in the National Hockey League.Now here he is back in the American Hockey League with the New Haven Nighthawks, and even then he isn&rsquo;t certain about his future in the game. It all goes back to early in training camp a year ago. The 6-foot-1, 192-pound forward was coming off a season of 13 goals and 17 assists for the New York Islanders.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-01203/3584457-1-eng-US/f0031-012.jpg" title="f0031-01" width="286" height="460"><figcaption class="caption-body">Dave Reece</figcaption></div>It all goes back to early in training camp a year ago. The 6-foot-l. 192-pound forward was coming Off a season of 13 goals and 17 assists for the New York Islanders.&ldquo;I was playing in our second exhibition game about the eighth day of training camp,&rdquo; Miller recalls. &ldquo;Lew Morrison of Atlanta was trying to check me. I tried to straight-arm him to keep him away and I broke my right wrist.&ldquo;The cast was on until the end of January, then I went to Fort Worth fora month and finally back to the Islanders for a month. 1 didn&rsquo;t play that many games (he was in uniform for 11 for Fort Worth and 19 for New York).&ldquo;It was a wasted year, that&rsquo;s for sure.&rdquo;But Miller reported to camp this past fall ready to resume where he left off as a regular in 1972-73.&ldquo;I felt I&rsquo;d make it this year, but I guess I didn&rsquo;t have a good enough camp. I played one exhibition game four days after camp opened and that was all. I never did have a good chance to show myself.&rdquo;Miller, who admits he&rsquo;s not a super goal scorer (he reached 19 for Omaha in his first year as a pro in 1969-70 and 18 for Cincinnati of the AHL in 1971-72), started out in startling fashion for the Nighthawks. He scored New Haven&rsquo;s first goal of the season Oct. 11 at home against Hershey. And he scored the second goal of the game, too, sparking his team to a 5-4 verdict.He went up to the Islanders for a game which New York won 6-3 over Montreal and he got to play on one of the four lines as well as killing penalties.Then he came back, but goal three in the AHL didn&rsquo;t come until Nov. 29&mdash;19 games after the opener. 11 was an mportant goal as it was the Nighthawks&rsquo; last in a 4-4 tie in Nova Scotia.&ldquo;I think the AHL is a super league.&rdquo; he says seriously. &ldquo;Some of the guys on the team were talking about it the other day, and we think it&rsquo;s easier to play in the NHL than it is in the American League. &ldquo;They play their positions better in the National League. You have one guy chasing you when you carry the puck, not three or four guys running at you from all sides as you do here.&rdquo;The civil engineering graduate of Denver University thinks New Haven will dig itself out of the cellar, but is less sure of his own future.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re too strong to be kept down where we are. Except for Providence, I don&rsquo;t think any of the other teams in our division are any better than we are.&ldquo;We just haven&rsquo;t been playing that well, and that plus the injuries in Minnesota which cost us some players have hurt. We haven&rsquo;t had any big breakout games where we had an easy time winning except for our 6-1 win in Hershey early last month. I think about eight of our losses have been by one goal.&ldquo;As for me, it depends on how the Islanders feel about me. I&rsquo;m on the last year of a two-year contract. There are times when I get in a slump that I feel like packing it up. Right now. I don&rsquo;t know.&rdquo;New Haven started December with three straight one-goal defeats before winning in Springfield and was getting improved goaltending with the recall of Sam Clegg from Columbus of the International League.Peter LoPresti, a rookie, was the Nighthawks&rsquo; goaltender to start the season and was doing well until summoned by Minnesota because of Fern Rivard&rsquo;s injury. Brian Holderness, another rookie, stepped in and wilted under barrages of shots that reached 49 on home ice!Clegg, who played three games for New Haven last season, returned and while losing his first two games, he allowed three Hershey goals in 42 shots during a 3-2 loss in Hershey, then was beaten 2-1 on home ice by powerful Providence. Then he stopped springfield 4-1 in Springfield.The only goal in the Providence game was scored by Walt Ledingham, running his consecutive-game goal-scoring streak to five games. That entend in the victory at Springfield, howeverROCHESTER: Buoyed by the come-from-behind victory over Providence on home ice, the Amerks took off on their first real road trip of the season with high hopes that they&rsquo;d soon be challenging for the North Division lead.But after averaging about 5.3 goals for the previous seven games, the Amerks suddenly started shooting blanks.They went into Norfolk and were blanked 2-0 by Bill McKenzie. Two nights later, they suffered the same fate in Baltimore as Lynn Zimmerman, Rochester&rsquo;s regular goalkeeper the previous three seasons, faced his old team for the first time and stopped it cold.&ldquo;I was determined they wouldn&rsquo;t get that first one (goal) because I remember last year in Rochester. When we scored that first one, we got awfully tough,&rdquo; said Zimmerman.&ldquo;It was fun beating them, even though Matty (Amerk coach Dick Mattiussi) was my roommate last year and he&rsquo;s a great guy.&rdquo;The Amerks got themselves untracked the following night in Hershey, scoring three early goals on the way to a 4-2 victory, and they finished the trip with a come-from-behind 2-1 triumph in Richmond the night after the Hershey game.Dave Reece was in goal for both victories and was credited by Mattiussi with the key play in the Richmond game. It was 1-1 in the third period when Reece stopped Bob Sirois on a solo dash, and a few minutes later Rod Graham scored the game-winner for Rochester.NOVA SCOTIA: Ron Andruff did not have the kind of season the Montreal Canadiens or Nova Scotia Voyageurs expected of him last season.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-04109/3584450-1-eng-US/f0031-042.jpg" title="f0031-04" width="577" height="1213"><figcaption class="caption-body">TOM MILLER &hellip;Breaks All Bad</figcaption></div>After scoring 43 goals in 66 games with the Flin Flon Juniors. Andruffwas a second-round draft pick by Canadiens in 1973. But he mustered only 11 goals and 27 assists for coach Al MacNeil.Anybody who saw Andruff play Dec. 5 against Syracuse will agree he finally has arrived.He scored a shortanded goal to make it 2-0 at 5:57 of the first period. He set up Mike McKegney for a 3-0 lead at 19:32. He assisted on the first of Louis Chiasson&rsquo;s three goals for 4-1 bulge at 9:42 of the second period. He scored again at 13:44 for a 5-2 lead and it was the eventual winninggoal. And finally hecapped it off by setting up Chiasson at 11:32 of the final period for the last goal of the game in a 7-4 Voyageur victory.The five-point performance gave Andruff 11 goals and 11 assists and shoved him into the middle of the league&rsquo;s scoring race.When 4,309 turned out to see the 1-0 loss to Providence on the 8th. it was the fifth crowd already this season larger than any that watched the Vees play last season. The top crowd last season was 3,156 to see Cincinnati Jan. 20. The 4.309 was second this season only to the 4.560 for the opener Oct. 8.The Halifax Forum seats 5,206 and has had as many as 6,123 for a Voyageur game.SPRINGFIELD: The Kings suddenly lost their shooting eyes. too. collecting only one goal in Dec. 7 weekend losses in Baltimore (4-0) and at home 4-1 to New Haven, a game which ended a nine-game winless streak for the Nighthawks.Especially frustrating for coach Ron Stewart&rsquo;s team was the shutout in Baltimore. It followed six days a 7-0 victory over the same Clippers, but in Springfield. And in the blanking in Baltimore, the Kings had a wide edge in shots &mdash; 37 to 22 &mdash; and enjoyed a 27-10 bulge in shots on goal over the final two periods. But the Clippers scored the only goal of either period and Lynn Zimmerman slammed the door on Springfield.Almost the same thing happened on home ice the following night. The Kings escaped a scoreless first period despite being outshot 15-6, but then carried the attack, firing 16 shots at Clegg while the Nighthawks were getting only nine. &#9632;

f0031-01

Miller Sees Nighthawks Rising Up But Ponders Own Future In Hockey

<h2>Sun. Nov. 24</h2>RICHMOND 2, PROVIDENCE 2FIRST PERIODRichmond. 1&mdash;Coates (Lajeunesse. M. Anderson) 9:08; 2&mdash;Fullan (Mcllhargey) 13:04; Providence, 3&mdash;Craig (Monahan, B. Anderson) 14 11.Penalties: MacMillan 2:08, Short 5:16, Maloney 7:09, McLean 10:38, Short 15:05, Gateman 17:38SECOND PERIODProvidence. 4&mdash;MacMillan (B. Anderson) 14:57.Penalties: Mcllhargey 3:41, Gateman 7:02, Paddock 10:31, Wright 10:59, MacMillan 12:20.THIRD PERIODNo Scoring.Penalties: MacSweyn 6:59, Mcllhargey 15:27.OVERTIME PERIODNo Scoring.Penalties: None.Saves, Adams (Rich.) 25, Seperich (Prov.) 18. Attendance: 4,601SYRACUSE 1,ROCHESTER 6FIRST PERIODRochester, 1&mdash;Graham (Sturgeon, Knibbs) 2:32: 2&mdash;Merrell (McKillop) 11:45; 3&mdash;Rathwell (Sturgeon, Knibbs) 14:01; 4&mdash;Garwasiuk (Clark. Stirling) 17:19; 5&mdash;Stirling (Milbury, Sarner) 17:43.Penalties: Shaw 4:35, Foley 5:36, Lachance 10:00, Swenson 15:28, Foley 16:04.SECOND PERIODRochester, 6&mdash;Garwasiuk (Merrell. Simmons) 4:45; Syracuse. 7&mdash;Swenson (Rycroft. Pulkkinen) 6:16.Penalties: Orr 4:27, Lachance 10:31, Foley 19:32.THIRD PERIODNo Scoring.Penalties: Pulkkinen 6:02, Ferguson (double major). Garwasiuk (minor, major) 11:18, Gresdale (double minor, major, game misconduct, match misconduct). Foley (major). Bonnar (major), Graham (double minor, major, game misconduct), Maluta (major), Shaw (major) 13:05.Saves, Carter (Syr.) 43, Sneddon (Roch.) 20. Attendance: 6,664.NOVA SCOTIA 6, NEW HAVEN 4FIRST PERIODNova Scotia. 1&mdash;Sullivan (Cahoon, Busniuk) 10:11; 2&mdash;McKegney (Andruff) 12:29; New Haven,3&mdash;Ledingham (Kessell. Chinnick) 15:54.Penalties: Chinnick 5:32, MacPhail 9:04, Andruff 20:00.SECOND PERIODNew Haven. 4&mdash;Chinnick (Ledingham, Kessell) 1:32; Nova Scotia. 5&mdash;Busniuk (Chiasson. Chartraw) 4:03; New Haven. 6&mdash;Kessell (Rogers. Giannini) 9:36.Penalties: Chiasson 4:21, McTavish 8:56, Sullivan 9:44, Ostlund 12:13.THIRD PERIODNova Scotia. 7&mdash;Sullivan 6:48; 8&mdash;Busniuk 9:21; New Haven. 9&mdash;Rogers (Ledingham) 19:21; Nova Scotia, 10&mdash;Howse (Andruff) 19:34Penalties: Ostlund (minor, major, game misconduct), McTavish (minor, major) 6:15, Shanahan 10:39, MacDougall 13:13, McTavish, Geldart (misconduct) 18:17.Saves. Elenbaas (NS) 30. Holderness (NH) 43. Attendance: 4,561.<h2>Wed. Nov. 27</h2>PROVIDENCE 5, VIRGINIA 3FIRST PERIODProvidence, 1&mdash;Dube (Craig) 11:05; Virginia,2&mdash;Jakubo (Krieger. Drolet) 14:43.Penalties: Providence bench 13:08, Craig 14:02.SECOND PERIODProvidence. 3&mdash;Monahan 0:17; Virginia. 4&mdash;Bathe (Mann) 10:32; Providence. 5&mdash;Wright (Maloney) 13:22.Penalties: Craig 1:15, Bathe 4:05. Jakubo (miner, major), Laganiere (major) 12:09. Bathe, Laganiere 18:28.THIRD PERIODProvidence, 6&mdash;Wright (Monahan. Maloney) 5:39; Virginia. 7&mdash;Stewart (Krieger) 7:15; Providence. 8&mdash;Monahan 19:47.Penalties: Gateman 1:35. Simpson 4:11, Nichols (major), Jakubo (major) 14:35, Providence bench 16:20.Saves, Ridley (Prov.) 29. McKenzie (Va.) 25. Attendance: 3,561NOVA SCOTIA 3, SPRINGFIELD 2FIRST PERIODNova Scotia, 1&mdash;Cahoon 7:22; Springfield. 2&mdash;Lewis (Sargent, Abgrall) 17:05.Penalties: Chartraw 0:15, Cassidy 4:03. Delparte 5:31, Cummins 7:47. (major). Latulippe 12:41.SECOND PERIODNo Scoring.Penalties: Buhr 8:18, Cummins 11:40, Shanahan 15:18.THIRD PERIODSpringfield. 3&mdash;Poffenroth (Peters) 4:37; Nova Scotia. 4&mdash;Howse 9:57; 5&mdash;Sullivan (Nyrop) 16:13.Penalties: Sargent 7:57, Chartraw (minor, misconduct) 11:42.Saves, Walsh (NS) 38. Rexe (Spr.) 19. Attendance: 3,166.BALTIMORE 1, HERSHEY 2FIRST PERIODHershey. 1&mdash;Inglis (Bergeron, McManama) 11:38.Penalties: Inglis 3:27, Bignell 8:32, Murray 10:05, Douglas 11:38, Bergeron 15:54.SECOND PERIODBaltimore, 2&mdash;Horbul (Bechtold) 9:53.Penalties: Bennett 0:20, 7:32, Menard 11:18, Ewasiuk 17:39, Ketter 19:14.THIRD PERIODHershey, 3&mdash;Ewasiuk (Bennett. Seiling) 2:41Penalties: McManama 11:00, Campbell 12:12. Saves. Zimmerman (Balt.) 25, Herron (Her.) 24 Attendance: 7.343.<h2>Fri. Nov. 29</h2>PROVIDENCE 0, BALTIMORE 3FIRST PERIODBaltimore. 1&mdash;Gilmour 2:20; 2&mdash;Kemp (Rousseau) 15:00.Penalties: Bignell 4:47, Nichols 5:24. Dufour 11:12.SECOND PERIODNo Scoring.Penalties: O&rsquo;Connor 5:40, Rousseau 13:53.THIRD PERIODBaltimore, 3&mdash;Rousseau (Gilmour) 19:38.Penalty: Baltimore bench (served by Dufour) 19:58.Saves, Ridley (Prov.) 23. Zimmerman (Balt.) 35.Attendance: 3.090.NEW HAVEN 4, NOVA SCOTIA 4FIRST PERIODNew Haven. 1&mdash;Langlais (Cressman) 10:29.Penalties: Chiasson 3:59, Goldup 15:37, Geldart. Cahoon, Giannini 17:59.SECOND PERIODNew Haven, 2&mdash;Langlais (Colley) 7:27; Nova Scotia, 3&mdash;Andruff (penalty shot) 17:25, 4&mdash;Lupien (Sullivan. McKegney) 18:09.Penalties: Rogers 1:53, Ostlund 3:50, McTavish 4:38. Andruff, Ostlund 7:17, Holderness (served by Norrish) 8:22, Chiasson 10:55. Goldup, Ostlund 14:27, Lupien 15:45, Holderness (misconduct, served by Chinnick), Geldart (misconduct) Ledingham 16:50. Holderness (served by MacPhail) 19:15.THIRD PERIODNew Haven, 5&mdash;Ledingham (Kessell) 3:20; Nova Scotia. 6&mdash;Hubick (Howse. Goldup) 12:24; New Haven, 7&mdash;Miller (Rogers) 14:32; Nova Scotia. 8&mdash;Howse (Sullivan, McKegney) 16:14.Penalties: Hubick 6:52, Chartraw 14:26, New Haven bench (served by Norrish) 15:25, Howse (major), Wilson (major) 16:14.OVERTIME PERIODNo Scoring.Penalties: Nyrop. Rogers 0:33, Goldup 2:42. Saves, Holderness (NH) 30, Elenbaas (NS) 19. Attendance: 2,708. &#9632;

American League Summaries

<div class="byline">BY HANS TANNER</div>PROVIDENCE&mdash;How times have changed! When the Reds won 1-0 in Nova Scotia on Dec. 8. it was their 10th road victory in 14 games this season and had people already looking into the record book. The AHI. record for road victories is 22 set by Cincinnati in 1972-73. so Providence is in position to go for the mark.That success story certainly is a far cry from what befell the Reds a few years ago.They once went 64 straight games on the road without a victory!The Reds lost 57 and tied seven in the streak which started Feb. 9. 1966. and extended to Dec. 30. 1967.Rookie Jerry Holland scored the game-winning goal in the Dec. 6.2-1 victory in New Haven. It was his sixth game-winner of the season and second against New Haven. It also was his 16th goal ofthe season, tops in the league.Also in that game. Norm Dennis finally scored his first goal of the season. The hard-working center had been unable to buy a goal this season. He set up Hartland Monahan for the lone goal in the Nova Scotia game.Goalie Curt Ridley, riddled forthe six goals in Rochester five nights earlier, was a tower of strength in the nets against New Haven as he stopped 46 of 47 shots, then followed with a 37-save night in the shutout in Halifax.The Reds added Glen Burdon. Kansas City&rsquo;s second pick in the June amateur draft. The 20-year-old forward had been suspended by the Scouts for jumping the NHL club.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-0570/3584550-1-eng-US/f0033-052.jpg" title="f0033-05" width="592" height="484"><figcaption class="caption-body">GLEN BURDON &hellip;Demoted By K.C</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0033-05

Reds’ Early Road Victory Pace Seen Threat To AHL Record

<h2>AMERICAN LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Wed. Dec. 18)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-01182/3584609-1-eng-US/f0033-012.jpg" title="f0033-01" width="612" height="456"></div><h2>GAMES COMPLETED</h2>Wed. Dec. 11Nova Scotia 4 at Syracuse 1; Baltimore 0 at Virginia 2.Fri. Dec. 13Baltimore 5 at New Haven 5; Syracuse 3 at Providence 8; Nova Scotia 4 at Rochester 3: Richmond 1 at Springfield4; Hershey 5 at Virginia 4Sat. Dec. 14Providence 3 at Baltimore 3; New Haven 6 at Hershey 3; Nova Scotia 1 at Springfield 8: Rochester 5 at Syracuse 3.Sun. Dec. 15Springfield 2 at New Haven 7; Richmond 1 at Nova Scotia 8; Hershey 1 at Providence 1; Syracuse 3 at Rochester 5.<h2>GAMES TO COME</h2>Wed. Dec. 18Baltimore at Richmond; Virginia at Syracuse.Fri. Dec. 20Virginia at Baltimore; Nova Scotia at New Haven; Springfield at Providence; Richmond at Rochester.Sat. Dec. 21Rochester at Hershey; Nova Scotia at Springfield. Baltimore at Syracuse; New Haven at Virginia.Sun. Dec. 22Springfield at Nova Scotia; New Haven at Providence. Virginia at Richmond; Baltimore at Rochester.Mon. Dec. 23Hershey at Virginia.Wed. Dec. 25Springfield at Providence.Thu. Dec. 26Virginia at Hershey. Providence at Nova ScotiaFri. Dec. 27Virginia at Baltimore; Hershey at Richmond.Sat. Dec. 28Syracuse at Baltimore; Richmond at Hershey; Providence at Springfield.Sun. Dec. 29Springfield at New Haven; Virginia at Nova Scotia; Richmond at Providence; Syracuse at Rochester.<h2>CENTRAL LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Mon. Dec. 16)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-02138/3584602-1-eng-US/f0033-022.jpg" title="f0033-02" width="604" height="392"></div><h2>GAMES COMPLETED</h2>Mon. Dec. 9Dallas 3 at Salt Lake 5.Tue. Dec. 10Oklahoma City 4 at Denver 3.Wed. Dec. 11Omaha 6 at Tulsa 4; Fort Worth 1 at Denver 4.Thu. Dec. 12Denver 5 at Seattle 8.Fri. Dec. 13Omaha 2 at Dallas 9; Oklahoma City 4 at Tulsa 4; Salt Lake 2 at Seattle 1.Sat. Dec. 14Tulsa 1 at Dallas3; Fort Worth 4 at Salt Lake 4.Sun. Dec. 15Oklahoma City 2 at Omaha 4; Fort Worth 2 at Seattle 6<h2>GAMES TO COME</h2>Mon. Dec. 16Denver at Salt Lake.Tue. Dec. 17Salt Lake at SeattleWed. Dec. 18Omaha at Oklahoma City; Tulsa at DenverThu. Dec. 19Salt Lake at Seattle.Fri. Dec. 20Omaha at Fort Worth; Tulsa at Salt LakeSat. Dec. 21Denver at Fort Worth; Dallas at Oklahoma City; Tulsa at Seattle.Sun. Dec. 22Oklahoma City at Dallas; Denver at Omaha.Wed. Dec. 25Tulsa at Oklahoma City.Thu. Dec. 26Denver at Fort Worth; Tulsa at Omaha; Dallas at Salt Lake.Fri. Dec. 27Denver at Dallas.Sat. Dec. 28Tulsa at Fort Worth; Dallas at Denver; Oklahoma City at Salt Lake; Omaha at SeattleSun. Dec. 29Oklahoma City at Tulsa; Omaha at Denver.<h2>INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Wed. Dec. 18)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-03104/3584595-1-eng-US/f0033-032.jpg" title="f0033-03" width="604" height="480"></div><h2>GAMES COMPLETED</h2>Wed. Dec. 11Columbus 2 at Fort Wayne 3; Muskegon 5 at Des Moines 2; Kalamazoo 1 at Saginaw 5Fri. Dec. 13Lansing 1 at Kalamazoo 3: Saginaw 4 at Flint 3. Dayton 5 at Columbus 7; Port Huron 3 at Muskegon 0; Des Moines 5 at Toledo 3.Sat. Dec. 14Muskegon 4 at Fort Wayne 2; Flint 1 at Columbus 3; Saginaw 2 at Port Huron 5; Kalamazoo 1 at Lansing 5; Des Moines 2 at Dayton 5.Sun. Dec. 15Des Moines 0 at Flint 4; Port Huron 3 at Saginaw 4; Columbus 1 at Toledo 2; Dayton 4 at Kalamazoo 3.<h2>GAMES TO COME</h2>Wed. Dec. 18Des Moines at Fort Wayne; Flint at Dayton; Muskegon at Columbus.Fri. Dec. 20Lansing at Des Moines; Fort Wayne at Toledo; Saginaw at KalamazooSat Dec. 21Lansing at Des Moines; Dayton at Fort Wayne; Flint at Muskegon; Saginaw at Columbus; Kalamazoo at Toledo.Sun. Dec 22Fort Wayne at Flint; Goiumbus at Dayton; Toledo at Saginaw; Muskegon at Port Huron; Des Moines at Kalamazoo.Wed. Dec. 25Kalamazoo at Fort Wayne; Toledo at Muskegon; Flint at Port Huron; Lansing at Columbus; Dayton at Saginaw.Fri. Dec. 27Toledo at Des Moines; Fort Wayne at Columbus. Muskegon at Kalamazoo; Flint at Lansing; Port Huron at Daytori.Sat. Dec. 28Toledo at Des Moines. Columbus at Fort Wayne; Lansing at Muskegon; Dayton at Port Huron; Flint at SaginawSun. Dec. 29Des Moines at Columbus; Port Huron at Lansing; Muskegon at Flint; Fort Wayne at Dayton; Saginaw at Toledo.<h2>NORTH AMERICAN LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Tue. Dec. 17)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-0486/3584588-1-eng-US/f0033-042.jpg" title="f0033-04" width="608" height="264"></div><h2>GAMES COMPLETED</h2>Wed. Dec. 11Mohawk Valley 4 at Cape Codders 12; Maine 3 at Broome 7; Long Island 3 at Philadelphia 6.Tue. Dec. 12Long Island 1 at Mohawk Valley 0.Fri. Dec. 13Johnstown 3 at Syracuse 7; Maine 0 at Philadelphia 5.Sat. Dec. 14Syracuse 2 at Long Island 3; Broome 3 at Mohawk Valley 5; Maine 4 at Johnstown 3; Philadelphia 4 at Cape Codders 3.Sun. Dec. 15Long Island 3 at Syracuse 2; Maine 4 at Johnstown 3; Cape Codders 5 at Broome 3; Mohawk Valley 3 at Philadelphia 5.<h2>GAMES TO COME</h2>Tue. Dec. 17Syracuse at Maine; Long Island at Philadelphia.Wed. Dec. 18Mohawk Valley at Broome; Maine at Long Island.Fri. Dec. 20Mohawk Valley at Long Island; Philadelphia at Syracuse.Sat. Dec. 21Broome at Johnstown; Syracuse at Mohawk Valley; Long Island at Cape Codders; Philadelphia at Maine.Sun. Dec. 22Broome at Syracuse; Long Island at Maine.Thu. Dec. 26Mohawk Valley at Broome.Fri. Dec. 27Cape Codders at Maine; Syracuse at Mohawk Valley.Sat. Dec. 28Maine at Cape Codders; Broome at Long Island; Johnstown at Mohawk Valley.Sun. Dec. 29Cape Codders at Syracuse; Long Island at Broome; Philadelphia at Johnstown.Tue. Dec. 31Mohawk Valley at Johnstown.Wed. Jan. 1Cape Codders at Maine; Johnstown at Broome; Philadelphia at Mohawk Valley.Fri. Jan. 3Broome at Cape Codders; Johnstown at Syracuse; Mohawk Valley at Long Island.Sat. Jan. 4Broome at Maine; Long Island at Mohawk Valley; Syracuse at Johnstown.Sun. Jan. 5Cape Codders at Long Island; Maine at Mohawk Valley; Philadelphia at Johnstown.<h2>SOUTHERN LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Tue. Dec. 17)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-0656/3584581-1-eng-US/f0033-062.jpg" title="f0033-06" width="620" height="182"></div><h2>GAMES COMPLETED</h2>Mon. Dec. 9Winston-Salem 7 at Hampton 3Tue. Dec. 10Roanoke 0 at Charlotte 1.Wed. Dec. 11Hampton 3 at Greensboro 5.Thu. Dec. 12Roanoke 2 at Hampton 6.Fri. Dec. 13Winstom-Salem 5 at Charlotte 10. Greensboro 7 at Roanoke 4.Sat. Dec. 14Greensboro 3 at Winstom-Salem 6; Hampton 2 at Roanoke 7.Sun. Dec. 15Roanoke 1 at Winston-Salem 2; Charlotte 5 at Hampton 3.<h2>GAMES TO COME</h2>Tue. Dec. 17Greensboro at Hampton.Wed. Dec. 18Winston-Salem at Greensboro.Thu. Dec. 19Hampton at Winston-Salem.Fri. Dec. 20Greensboro at Charlotte; Winston-Salem at RoanokeSat. Dec. 21Roanoke at Greensboro; Charlotte at HamptonSun. Dec. 22Charlotte at Winston-Salem; Roanoke at Hampton.Mon. Dec. 23Hampton at Greensboro.Thu. Dec. 26Greensboro at Roanoke; Winston-Salem at Hampton.Fri. Dec. 27Greensboro at Charlotte; Roanoke at Hampton.Sat. Dec. 28Charlotte at RoanokeTue. Dec. 31Roanoke at Greensboro; Charlotte at Hampton.Thu. Jan. 2Winston-Salem at Hampton.Fri. Jan. 3Hampton at Charlotte; Winston-Salem at Roanoke.Sat. Jan. 4Greensboro at Roanoke; Charlotte at HamptonSun. Jan. 5Charlotte at Winston-Salem. Roanoke at Greensborn &#9632;

f0033-01

LOOKING AT THE MINOR LEAGUE SCOREBOARD

NHL: 1&mdash;Montreal. 2&mdash;Detroit. 3&mdash;Boston 4&mdash;N.Y. Rangers. 5&mdash;Chicago. 6&mdash;Toronto. 7&mdash;Los Angeles. 8&mdash;Pittsburgh. 9&mdash;California. 10&mdash;Philadelphia. 11&mdash;Minnesota 12&mdash;St. Louis 13&mdash;Vancouver. 14&mdash;Buffalo 15&mdash;N.Y Islanders. 16&mdash;Atlanta. 17&mdash;Kansas City. 18&mdash;WashingtonWHA 19&mdash;Cleveland. 20&mdash;San Diego. 21-Vancouver. 22&mdash;Michigan 23&mdash;Toronto 24&mdash;Quebec. 25&mdash;Edmonton. 26&mdash;Houston 27&mdash;Chicago 28&mdash;Winnipeg. 29&mdash;Minnesota. 30&mdash;New England. 31&mdash;Indianapolis. 32&mdash;Phoenix. 33&mdash;Cincinnati.Inter-League: 34&mdash;Phoenix (WHA) & Vancouver (WHA) 35&mdash;Philadelphia (NHL) & Washington (NHL). 36&mdash;Los Angeles (NHL) & California (hiHL) 37&mdash;Minnesota (NHL) & N.Y. Islanders (NHL) 38&mdash;Kansas City (NHL) & N.Y. Islanders (NHL). 39&mdash;St. Louis (NHL). Montreal (NHL) & N.Y. Rangers (NHL) 40&mdash;Pittsburgh (NHL) & Buffalo (NHL). 41&mdash;Boston (NHL) & Washington (NHL). 42&mdash;New England (WHA) & Cleveland (WHA). 43&mdash;Buffalo (NHL). California (NHL) & Vancouver (WHA).44&mdash;Winnipeg. (WHA), Houston (WHA). Cleveland (WHA). Indianapolis (WHA). Phoenix (WHA). 45&mdash;Michigan (WHA). N.Y. Islanders (NHL) & Quebec (WHA) 46&mdash;Edmonton (WHA) & N.Y Rangers NHL). 47&mdash;Boston (NHL) &mdash; Washington (NHL). 48&mdash;N Y Rangers (NHL) &mdash; Kansas City (NHL). 49&mdash;Chicago (NHL) &mdash; Edmonton (WHA). 50&mdash;Vancouver (NHL). Philadelphia (NHL) &mdash; Atlanta (NHL) 51&mdash;Indianapolis (WHA) &mdash; St. Louis (NHL) 52&mdash;Michigan (WHA) &mdash; San Diego (WHA) 53&mdash;New England (WHA) &mdash; Cleveland (WHA) 54&mdash;Indianapolis (WHA) &mdash; Toronto (WHA) 55&mdash;Buffalo (NHL). California (NHL) &mdash; Vancouver (WHA). 56&mdash;Winnipeg (WHA). Houston (WHA). Cleveland (WHA). Indianapolis (WHA) &mdash; Phoenix (WHA) 57&mdash;Michigan (WHA). Quebec (WHA) &mdash; N.Y. Islanders (NHL). 58&mdash;Edmonton (WHA) & N.Y. Rangers (NHL) 59&mdash;Minnesota (WHA) & Pittsburgh (NHL). 60&mdash;San Diego (WHA). Michigan (WHA) & Philadelphia (NHL). &mdash;Independent.center &#9632;

Minor League Affiliations

<div class="byline">BY TOM LOBAUGH</div>LOUISVILLE SLUGGERHOCKEY STICKSMade in Canada by HILLERICH & BRADSBY. LTD Arnold Street. Wallaceburg. Ontario Sold in U.S and CanadaLOUISVILLE SLUGGERHOCKEY STICKSMade in Canada by HILLERICH & BRADSBY, LTD Arnold Street. Wallaceburg. Ontario Sold in US and CanadaDALLAS&mdash;Not that they needed it, but the Dallas Hawks got some timely player help back from the parent Chicago Hawks and went out and won a pair of games that propelled the Centra) Hockey League team back into first place in the loop&rsquo;s South Division race.Coach Bobby Kromm undoubtedly spread the welcome mat for defense man Roger Wilson and forward Duane Wylie as the two played a major role in the Hawks&rsquo; imposing 9-2 romp over Omaha Knights and a 3-1 decision against Tulsa.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-01197/3584664-1-eng-US/f0034-012.jpg" title="f0034-01" width="561" height="1184"><figcaption class="caption-body">BILLY KLATT &hellip;On Scoring Spree</figcaption></div>Wilson contributed to the Dallas scoring in the rout of the Knights enhancing the record of club defensemen, who have scored 23 goals in 28 games this season.Terry Smith, who got a hat trick against Omaha, is playing steady hockey and is now second to Rejean Giroux in team goal-scoring with 11, including four game-winning goals. Michel Dumas with two excellent back-to-back performances against Omaha and Tulsa has taken the league lead for best goalkeeper average away from Pierre Hamel with a fine 2.70 average. Moe L&rsquo;Abbe still out with knee injury that may require an operation.OKLAHOMA CITY: The Blazers have played six straight on the road and still remain in a tie for first place by playing. .500 during that stretch &mdash; two wins, two losses, and two ties. Oklahoma City had 25 shots in the third period on John Voss of Omaha but coulsn&rsquo;t finish Voss off and suffered a tough 4-2 loss. The 25 shots were a season high for shots on goal in a single period. Arch-rivals Oklahoma City and Tulsa played to a 4-4 tie in Tulsa. Highlight of the game was a penalty shot by Mike Sauter at the 12-minute mark of the third period with the scored tied. However, goalie Ed Humphreys of Tulsa made the save. Oklahoma City has three players with 100 or more minutes in penalties. Pat Boutette and cookie Jack Valiquette leading club in total points with 26, while rooke Dave Williams has taken over the goal scoring lead with 12.TULSA: Defenseman Serge Beaudoin will be lost to team for two months as a result of knee surgery. Amazingly, the Oilers are only six points out of first despite a series of lineup changes due to recalls as Vancouver Blazers and Phoenix Roadrunners suffered injuries. Center Don Liesemer and defenseman Gary Lariviere split the Oilers&rsquo; four goals in their hard-fought, penalty-filled tie with Oklahoma City. Two goals and an assist by left-winger Gene Sobchuk in the 6-4 loss to Omaha helped carry Sobchuk into the team leadership in both goals (15) and points (25). Young centerman Mike Hobin, up from Charlotte on a five-game tryout, has looked impressive for the Oilers including scoring his first goal in the Oilers 3-1 loss to Dallas.FORT WORTH: The Texans had one of those tough western swings last week with stops in Denver, Salt Lake City, and Seattle and they only managed a tie in the three games. Lome Henning continued his stellar performance for the Texans as he garnered two goals and one assist in the 4-4 tie with the Golden Eagles. Centerman Jim Webster remained in tie for the league lead in assists with Salt Lake&rsquo;s Chai lie Simmer as both men have 24 assists for the season. Young left-winger Ron Kennedy is now leading the CHL in power-play? goals with six&hellip; Texans are hopeful of the return to service of Skeeter teal within the next several days.SALT LAKE: Coach Jack Evans saw his Golden Eagles jump into a three-point lead in the North Division race-ahead of Denver with wins over Dallas, and Seattle while tieing Fort Worth 4-4.t The red hot Eagles have lost only onet game in their last seven games while: Denver has faded winning only twice in&rsquo; seven starts.Team captain Lyle Bradley is back in the lineup after missing 16 games recuperating from an appendix operation. Bob Murdock was the first player in the league to hit the 20-goal mark. With Bradley. With these centermen sho-have great scoring punch at center ice. Denis Meloche is leaging the CHL in points and rookie Charlie Simmer is tied for most assists with Jim Webster of Ft. Worth with 24. To back up these three is clever Bob McAneeley, normally a wing man, who also got a point a game while filling in at center for the ailing Bradley. With these gentermen showing the way Salt Lake leads the league with 137 goals in 33 games &mdash; no less than six Eagles have already scored hattricks.DENVER: Spurs closed out the week three points behind Salt Lake but with two games in hand. These two teams meet in Salt Lake this week in an important four-pointer. In a similar situation two weeks ago Denver whipped the Eagles 5-2 that night in Salt Lake. Spurs defense having problems despite two one-goal games. The Spurs have given up 40 goals in their last eight games. Howie Heggedal has been on a point scoring spree with 13 points in his last six games to move into third place in the point scoring race. Murray Kuntz has picked up a point a game with six goals and nine assists in the 15 games he has played since being assigned by St. Louis Blues. Brian Ogilive had four goals, five assists in six games before being sidelined with a broken wrist. Denver and Salt Lake each have six players who have scored 10 or more goals &mdash; by contrast Ft-Worth, Seattle and Dallas have two each and Tulsa only one.OMAHA: The Knights had their eight-game winning streak snapped by Dallas but bounced right back with a 4-2 win over Oklahoma City. Omaha is the hottest club in the league and appears to be solid enough to throw the North Division into a three team race for the top spot. Bill Klatt continues to produce &mdash; he has 12 goals in the 12 games he has been with the Knights. The line of Klatt, Jerry Byers and 18-year old rookie centerman Guy Chouinard are the hottest line in the league. Young Chouinard had a big night against the Tulsa Oilers as he had two goals and two assists in the Knights 6-4 win. Omaha also in excellent shape at center ice with Dean Talafous being assigned by Atlanta giving coach Fred Creighton a nice problem. Talafous, Wayne Schaab, Chouinard and Vic Mercredi give him four good playmakers.SEATTLE: Seattle Totems won two of their three games last week &mdash; they are only five points out of a playoff spot in the tough North Division. They are 18 points out of first &mdash; their 26 points would put them only six points out of first in the South Division. The North Division record for all inter-division play is 40 wins, 26 losses and six ties. Totems only loss for the week was a tough 2-1 game with Salt Lake. &#9632;

f0034-01

Dallas Duo Makes Timely Return As Hawks Roll

CHICAGO &mdash;Three United States Hockey League youngsters, all coming from similar backgrounds, enjoyed a most productive week.Center Ron Guzzo and defenseman Bill Slewidge of Chicago and winger Don Gagnon of Marquette, all former Sault Ste. Marie (Ont.) Jr. Greyhound stars, led their respective teams in victories during the past week.The combined efforts of Guzzo and Slewidge paced Warriors to a come-from-behind 7-6 overtime win at Sioux City before 2,467 fans, the largest Musketeer crowd in their three year history. Chicago, trailing 6-2 after two periods, tied the score on rookie Slewdige&rsquo;s three consecutive markers and went on to register their third straight win as Guzzo, a 30 goal man last season, potted the winner in overtime.The third place Warriors started their winning ways the previous week stopping Thunder Bay 10-6 as Guzzo tied a team scoring record with seven points, scoring twice and assisting on five other Chicago goals.At Marquette, the Iron Rangers moved into a temporary first place tie with Thunder Bay by downing Milwaukee Admirals 7-2 after scoring a 7-4 win the previous night in Copper Country. Leading Rangers offensively, Don Gagnon scored twice against the Chiefs and the winning goal against Milwaukee!, giving the 22-year-old winger 13 goals to date, tied with rookie Gord Nelson as team leader. Gagnon saw limited service with Milwaukee last season, collecting 17 goals before being sidelined with shoulder injury in midseason.The following evening, Thunder Bay moved back into sole possession of first place by defeating Iron Rangers 8-1. Dave Bragnalo led Twins to their 11th straight home win with two goals and veteran Gary Linquist collected three assists to take over top spot in individual scoring derby.Green Bay Bobcats remained in contention by scoring weekend victories over Central Wisconsin and Copper Country. Led by the high scoring Purpur brothers. Bobcats defeated Flyers 9-1 as brothers Bob, Dick and Cliff scored twice and Gary once to account for seven of Cats&rsquo; nine goals.At Copper Country, forward Dan Tremblay&rsquo;s first hat-trick of the season paced Green Bay to 6-2 win over Chiefs. &#9632;

Around The USHL

<h2>UNITED STATES LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Fri. Dec. 13)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-01186/3584740-1-eng-US/f0035-012.jpg" title="f0035-01" width="616" height="547"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Fri. Dec. 6Milwaukee 2 at Thunder Bay 13; Chicago 4 at Waterloo 2; Marquette 7 at Copper Country 4.Sat. Dec. 7Central Wisconsin 1 at Green Bay 9; Milwaukee 2 at Marquette 7; Chicago 7 at Sioux City 6.Sun. Dec. 8Waterloo 3 at Central Wisconsin 2; Green Bay 6 at Copper Country 2; Marquette 1 at Thunder Bay 8.<h2>LEADING SCORERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-02152/3584733-1-eng-US/f0035-022.jpg" title="f0035-02" width="622" height="835"></div><h2>NEW YORK METRO JUNIOR</h2>(Standinos on Tue. Nov. 19)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-03113/3584726-1-eng-US/f0035-032.jpg" title="f0035-03" width="628" height="340"></div><h2>NEW ENGLAND JUNIOR</h2>(Standings on Mon. Dec. 2)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-0491/3584719-1-eng-US/f0035-042.jpg" title="f0035-04" width="640" height="241"></div> &#9632;

f0035-01

HOW THEY STAND

<h2>Mon. Nov. 25</h2>OMAHA 1, SALT LAKE 3FIRST PERIODNo Scoring.Penalties: Bilodeau 0:51, Ribble 16:45.SECOND PERIODSalt Lake. 1&mdash;Meloche 12:59.Penalties: Botting 10:03, Ahern 16:31THIRD PERIODSalt Lake. 2&mdash;Healey (Girard. Meloche) 6:05;3&mdash;Ahern (Simmer, Hall) 8:04; Omaha. 4&mdash;Schaab (Sutherland, Huber).Penalties: Van Horlick 7:31. Mercredi 9:07, Affleck 18:06.Saves, Voss (Om.) 28. Martyniuk (SL) 20 Attendance: 5,122.<h2>Tue. Nov. 26</h2>SEATTLE 7, TULSA 2FIRST PERIODSeattle, 1&mdash;Seguin (Spruce) 1:03; Tulsa. 2&mdash;Andrea (Erickson, DeLorenzi) 5:58.Penalties: Wiley 13:55; Chernoff 17:31.SECOND PERIODSeattle. 3&mdash;Wiley (Hughes, Hurlburt) 1:13; Tulsa, 4&mdash;Sobchuk (Gorman. Liesemer) 17:44; Seattle, 5&mdash;Hurlburt (Wiley, Hughes) 19:00.Penalties: Beaudoin 3:13, Israelson 6:18. Mair 7:53, McCord 9:48, Chernoff 18:22.THIRD PERIODSeattle. 6&mdash;Westner (Wiley. Hughes) 2:02; 7&mdash;Homenuke (Seguin, Spruce) 4:12; 8&mdash;Wiley (Homenuke, Hughes) 9:26; 9&mdash;Wisener (Hughes. Seguin) 12:35.Penalties: Israelson 0:48, Driscoll 7:46.Saves, Bullock (Sea.) 24. Hoganson (Tul.) 26 Attendance 2,197<h2>Wed. Nov. 27</h2>TULSA 0, DALLAS 5FIRST PERIODDallas. 1&mdash;Koleff (Logan, L&rsquo;Abbe) 2:04.Penalties Murray 2:57, Beaudoin 4:53, Andrea 7:13, Murray 10:39, Smith 13:12, Adair 13:36, Elliott 17:14, Sobchuk (major). Donaldson (major), Driscoll (major), Holt (major) 19:29.SECOND PERIODDallas, 2&mdash;Giroux (Smith, Palmer) 0:53.Penalties: Held 2:46, Palmer 8:00, Hinton 13:25.THIRD PERIODDallas, 3&mdash;Donaldson (McKegney) 1:11;4&mdash;L Abb6 (Ness, Koleff) 2:09; 5&mdash;Holt (Smith, Palmer) 5:33.Penalties: Lariviere 2:22, Beaudoin 8:26, Orban 9:41, Israelson. Logan, Erickson. Hinton (major). Held (game misconduct) 10:16, Adair 11:56. (misconduct) 13:56. Logan 17:43Saves. Aberhart (Tul.) 30, Dumas (Dal.) 31. Attendance: 2,636.SEATTLE 4, OKE CITY 4FIRST PERIODNo Scoring.Penalties: Garland 0:53, McCord 5:53, Mair, Brady (served by Wilcox) 10:57, Williams 13:29.SECOND PERIODSeattle, 1&mdash;Hughes (Hurlburt, Snepsts) 6:03; Oklahoma City, 2&mdash;Hassard (Alexander. Garland) 9:31; Seattle, 3&mdash;Spruce (McCord. Wisener) 13:49Penalties: Sedlbauer 9:17, Marsh 9:47THIRD PERIODOklahoma City, 4&mdash;Boutette (Kuruliak. Burgess) 3:53; 5&mdash;Valiquette (Handrahan. Alexander) 4:53; Seattle, 6&mdash;Westner 9:15; 7&mdash;Wiley (Hughes. Hurlburt) 10:28; Oklahoma City. 8&mdash;Williams (Valiquette. Handrahan) 15:27.Penalty: Handrahan 0:51.Saves. Brady (Sea.) 31. Hamel (OC) 30. Attendance: 2,381.FORT WORTH 2, OMAHA 5FIRST PERIODOmaha, 1&mdash;Sutherland (Schaab. Young) 19:47. Penalty: Bilodeau 7:53.SECOND PERIODFort Worth. 2&mdash;Webster (R. Kennedy. Teal) 0:34, Omaha. 3&mdash;Law (Bilodeau, Mercredi) 2:53;4&mdash;Klatt (Chouinard, Houston) 8:53; 5&mdash;Byers (Kkatt) 15:22.Penalties: Schaab 12:00, Dempster 16:41.THIRD PERIODFort Worth, 6&mdash;Webster (Anderson, Dempster) 12:34; Omaha, 7&mdash;Klatt (Ribble) 17:08.Penalties: Cutts (double major). Schaab (double major) 15:28. McPhail. Van Horlick 18:37, Houston 18:54Saves. Cutts (FW) 36, Voss (Om) 25. Attendance: 3,658.<h2>Thu. Nov. 28</h2>OKE CITY 2, TULSA 3FIRST PERIODOklahoma City, 1&mdash;Dolloff (Marsh) 3:13; Tulsa. 2&mdash;Liesemer (Adair) 6:49; 3&mdash;Gorman (Israelson, Lariviere) 7:06.Penalties: Deslauriers 5:36. Butters 18:29, Beaudoin 19:04.SECOND PERIODOklahoma City. 4&mdash;Dolloff (Boutette) 8:36; Tulsa. 5&mdash;Andrea (Clarke. Liesemer) 11:25.Penalties: Kuruliak, (minor and major), Beaudoin (minor and major) 5:10. Williams (minor and major). Driscoll (minor and major) 6:04, Garland (minor and major) Erickson (major) 7:22, Valiquette 13:53, Deslauriers 15:13. Butters 16:08. Clarke 17:50.THIRD PERIODNo Scoring.Penalties: Williams (major), DeLorenzi (major) 1:13, Deslauriers 3:08. Beaudoin 6:08, Watt 11 29, Clarke 16:42.Saves. McRae (OC) 31. Hoganson (Tul.) 23. Attendance: 4,209.DENVER 5, SALT LAKE 2FIRST PERIODNo Scoring.Penalties: Tower 4 44, Buynak (major). Holt (major) 7:10, Murdock 8:22, Stumpf 13:57. Sera-fini 17:03.SECOND PERIODDenver. 1&mdash;Johnson (Borotsik, Buynak) 4:34; 2&mdash;McPherson (Kelly, Kuntz) 9:11; 3&mdash;Babin (McCord) 18:14Penalties: Murray 6:29. T.McAneeley 18:09.THIRD PERIODDenver, 4&mdash;Wiseman (Heggedal) 1:15; Salt Lake, 5&mdash;Seagrist (Meloche. T. McAneeley) 5:03;6&mdash;Murdock (Simmer, Holt) 15:23; Denver.7&mdash;Kelly 18:40Penalties: None.Saves. Belanger (Den.) 19. Martyniuk (SL) 24 Attendance: 9,714<h2>Fri. Nov. 29</h2>DALLAS 6, DENVER 8FIRST PERIODDenver, 1&mdash;Kuntz (Babin. Buynak) 3:58; 2&mdash;Babin (Borotsik. Buynak) 17:30.Penalties: Heggedal 6:00, Holt 6:46, Buynak 10:52.SECOND PERIODDenver. 3&mdash;Winchester (Roberts. Borotsik) 6:15; 4&mdash;McCord (Babin. Ogilvie) 9:03; Dallas.5&mdash;Ness (McKegney, Holt) 14:09Penalties: Smith 7:56, Heggedal 12:57. Palmer 13:37, Hinton 15:46, Buynak 18:21.THIRD PERIODDallas. 6&mdash;L&rsquo;Abbe (Palmer. Holt) 0:27; 7&mdash;Holt (Hinton. Palmer) 1:05; 8&mdash;Logan (Ness, Giroux) 2:06; 9&mdash;Elliott (McKegney. Koleff) 4:18; Denver. 10&mdash;McPherson (Kelly. Tower) 11:35; 11&mdash;Johnson (Serafini. Borotsik) 12:35; 12&mdash;Winchester (McCord) 14:53; Dallas 13&mdash;Palmer (Logan, L&rsquo;Abbe) 17:29; Denver. 14&mdash;Johnson (Borotsik. lower) 19:36.Penalties: Smith, Serafini 3:38. Holt 13:28, Dumas 15:03, Heggedal 16:45. Belanger 18:15Saves, Dumas (Dal.) 31. Belanger (Den.) 23. Attendance: 5,449<h2>Sat. Nov. 30</h2>FORT WORTH 2, DALLAS 7FIRST PERIODDallas, 1&mdash;Murray (Elliott. Palmer) 2:11; 2&mdash;Koleff (Giroux Orban) 15:22; Fort Worth, 3&mdash;R. Kennedy (Webster, R. Smith) 17:19; Dallas, 4&mdash;Holt (McKegney, Orban) 19:44.Penalties Helm 0:43, Hinton 3:39, R. Smith 4:13, Ness 6:18, Murray 10:45, Logan 16:27SECOND PERIODDallas. 5&mdash;T Smith (McKegney) 0:10,6&mdash;L Abbe (Palmer. Murray) 2:33; 7&mdash;Koleff (Giroux) 19:20Penalties: Helm 0:58, Elliott 1 36, Holt 9:11.THIRD PERIODDallas. 8&mdash;Orban (McKegney, Giroux) 11:10. Fort Worth. 9&mdash;Dempster (Webster, Nicholson) 15:25.Penalties Helm 2:21, Desgagnes 12:18. Helm. Hinton 14:55, Hinton (major) 16:55.Saves. Cutts (FW) 21. Germain (Dal.) 24. Attendance: 4,282.TULSA 3, OKE CITY 8FIRST PERIODTulsa. 1&mdash;Watt 1:01. Oklahoma City; 2&mdash;Williams (Ruest. Garland) 11.30; 3&mdash;Burgess (Boutette, Handrahan) 11:42; 4&mdash;Dolloff 13:33; 5&mdash;Valiquette 16:51Penalties Driscoll 9:31, Sauter 12 45SECOND PERIODTulsa. 6&mdash;Sobchuk (Olmstead. Mandryk) 7:37Penalties: Beaudoin 2:43. Liesemer 9:56. Garland 10:44. Erickson 17:24, DeLorenzi 19.31.THIRD PERIODOklahoma City. 7&mdash;Sykes (Garland) 6:33; 8&mdash;Doll off (Valiquette. Ruest) 7:36; 9&mdash;Handrahan (Marsh) 12:50; Tulsa. 10&mdash;Andrea (DeLorenzi. Lariviere) 17:53; Oklahoma City. 11&mdash;Sykes (Garland, Marsh) 18:49Penalties: Boutette 13:51. Gorman 19 13Saves. Hoganson-Aberhart (Tul.) 30, Hamel (OC) 29.Attendance: 4,618.DENVER 2, OMAHA 5FIRST PERIODOmaha. 1&mdash;Klatt (Chouinard) 0:53; 2&mdash;Klatt (Houston. Byers) 7:14; 3&mdash;Klatt (Conroy. Byers) 11:44.Penalties: Roberts 6:51, Tower (major). Van Horlick (major) 9:13; Johnson 10:03. Kuntz (misconduct) 15:58, Roberts 16:16.SECOND PERIODOmaha. 4&mdash;Klatt (Byers, Chouinard) 18:14Penalties. Huber 4 08. 6:35. Roberts (major). Huber 15:00, Huber (major) 17:00, (misconduct) 20:00.THIRD PERIODDenver, 5&mdash;Johnson (Kuntz. Serafini) 5:32; 6_Kelly (McPherson. Heggedal) 11:13; Omaha. 7&mdash;Schaab 18:50Penalties: Bilodeau 4:51, Buynak 16:32, Heggedal (Major), Houston (major), Stumpf (game misconduct) 19:25.Saves. Belanger-Watt (Den.) 29. Voss (Om.) 26. Attendance. 3,621.SEATTLE 5, SALT LAKE 1FIRST PERIODSeattle, 1&mdash;Hughes (Westner) 1:45.Penalties: Affleck 5:52, T. McAneeley 7:24. Seguin 11:36.SECOND PERIODSeattle. 2&mdash;Spruce (Seguin) 11:22; 3&mdash;Seguin 14:02; 4&mdash;Wisener (Homenuke. Seguin) 17:19.Penalties Patrick 3:33, Meloche 9:03. Westner 20:00.THIRD PERIODSeattle. 5&mdash;O&rsquo;Neil (Sedlbauer, McCord) 5:06; Salt Lake. 6&mdash;Murdock (B. McAneeley. T. McAneeley) 15:52.Penalty: Homenuke 10:53Saves. Bullock (Sea.) 30, Martyniuk (SL) 28. Attendance 5,724.<h2>Sun. Dec. 1</h2>SALT LAKE 3, OMAHA 5FIRST PERIODSalt Lake, 1&mdash;Meloche 2:48. Omaha. 2&mdash;Schaab (Young. Sutherland) 4:50; 3&mdash;Huber (Houston. McMasters) 8:04. 4&mdash;Conroy (McMasters. Houston) 17:50.Penalties: B McAneeley 2:13, T. McAneeley 13:16.SECOND PERIODSalt Lake. 5&mdash;Murdock (Holt. B. McAneeley) 1:24; Omaha. 6&mdash;Schaab (Young. McMasters) 10:13.Penalties Klatt 1:43. B. McAneeley 2:48, Mercredi 5:47.THIRD PERIODSall Lake, 7&mdash;Hall (Simmer, T. McAneeley) 5:18; Omaha, 8&mdash;Kea 14:28Penalty: Byers 11:17.Saves, Martyniuk (SL) 36, Voss (Om.) 30 Attendance; 2,522. &#9632;

Central League Summaries

<div class="byline">BY LEN HOYES</div>LOUISVILLE SLUGGERHOCKEY STICKSMade in Canada by HILLERICH & BRADSBY. LTD Arnold Street. Wallaceburg. Ontario Sold in U.S and CanadaLOUISVILLE SLUGGERHOCKEY STICKSMade in Canada by HILLERICH & BRADSBY, LTD Arnold Street. Wallaceburg. Ontario Sold in US and CanadaMUSKEGON&mdash;Almost everyone in the International Hockey League concedes that the Muskegon Mohawks will be in the battle for the North Division title all the way.After all, what team can match the line of Gary Ford, Bob Tombari and Ernie Moser?There&rsquo;s also tradition on the Mohawks&rsquo; side. They&rsquo;ve won the Huber Trophy as the overall point champion four times and won a North Division title another time in the last seven seasons. But this year the chief reason for Muskegon success may be the coaching genius of Moose Lallo, the onetime All Star defenseman.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-01166/3584802-1-eng-US/f0036-012.jpg" title="f0036-01" width="280" height="463"><figcaption class="caption-body">Moose Lallo</figcaption></div>Except for the Ford-Tombari-Moser line, which has been intact since the fourth game of the season. Lallo has done a juggling act in an effort to find two more lines. It&rsquo;s not that he really needs two more lines because the No. I trio produced 55 goals in the first 27 games, almost exactly two per game.Ford, 28. is the acknowledged IHL scoring king and has taken up where he left off in 1972-73 when he tallied a league record of 141 points. There was some question of his ability to regain peak efficiency after he sat out most of last season in a contract dispute with the Minnesota North Stars. He played in only 25 games.Tombari, also 28. is in his eighth season with the Mohawks. He&rsquo;ll rank among the IHL&rsquo;s all-time 20 best goal producers by New Year&rsquo;s Day. His entire IHL career has been played in the shadows of Ford and now-retired Brian McLay. who are among the 11 men to score more than 300 career goals.But Tombari and Ford resembled a bird with one wing as Lallo struggled to find a right winger through the training-camp period. He even tried defenseman Lynn Margarit there.The acquisition of Moser from the Flint Generals was a coup for Lallo. He surrendered the rights to one-time AllStar defenseman Dan Sharpe, who had retired. Sharpe didn&rsquo;t report to the Generals so, in effect. Lallo gave up nothing to get Moser who produced 14 goals in the Hawks&rsquo; first 27 games.That line accounted for 27 powerplay goals and is en route to a certain record. Nine other Mohawks have scored on power-plays and the team total of 45 was within sight of the listed IHL record of 58 for a full season.Defenseman Murray Flegel, who played the last two seasons at Omaha, returned to join Margarit as the point man on the power-play. Flegel was the highest-scoring defenseman in the league with a 6-23-29 combination and Margarit was close behind at 2-25-27.Also important was the return of goalie Dave Hainsworth who last played for the Mohawks in 1972-73. He played in 23 of the first 27games and had a good 3.08 goals-against average. He had more playing time than thy other IHL netminder.But behind those six, Lallo was havingproblems. His chief woes were centers for the second and third lines. Bob Olein, a 19-goaler last season, was benched. Rookie Carlo Ugolino was sidelined by a fractured cheekbone which required surgery.Lallo tried Bert Scott and Pat DeMarchi, both normally wingers in the pivot. Scott had 11 goals in 27 games but that was below the pace which made him the IHL&rsquo;s top-scoring right winger last season. DeMarchi, a 32-goaler for the Mohawks in 1972-73, had only five in 20 games.&ldquo;We need centermen badly,&rdquo; Lallo said, &ldquo;but there just aren&rsquo;t any around. I&rsquo;ve had the chance to pick up&rsquo;a lot of bodies but we aren&rsquo;t in the market for just anybody. We need someone who can help us.&rdquo;Lallo also became unhappy with his over-all defense after yielding 20 goals during a three-game losing streak. &ldquo;They just plain stink.&rdquo; he said.Yet, the news from the wigwam wasn&rsquo;t all bad.Sid Prysunka, a rookie from the New York Islanders, had scored 11 goals in his first 19 games at left wing. And Bob Fowler, a pro-on-option from Fort Worth (Central), scored six goals, including two game-winners, in his first 10 games.Most of all, his IHl. rivals are offering little sympathy for Lallo&rsquo;s selfannounced predicaments.&ldquo;We&rsquo;d like to have his problems,&rdquo; said one rival coach who was struggling to keep his team in playoff contention. &ldquo;Heck, that Ford line will score 150 goals this season and you can always depend upon Moose to put together a good defense.&ldquo;Besides, he&rsquo;s almost in first place. How can you complain too much about problems like that?&rdquo;Come to think of it. maybe rivals are correct in their lack of sympathy.Who else has anyone to match Gary Ford & Co.COLUMBUS: Owls staying close to second place via 3-1 edge over runnerup Des Moines&hellip; Postponed game of Dec. I against Toledo rescheduled for Feb. 26&hellip; Mike Powers bagged winner in 4-3 victory at Port Huron, ranked only one point behind Marty Renyolds in team scoring&hellip; Jerry DeMarco hospitalized to determine extent of eye injury suffered at Port Huron&hellip; Ex-Dayton goalie Pat Rupp signed when No. I netminder Sam Clegg was called to New Haven (AHL) for indefinite stay.LANSING: Terry Ryan tied for fouth in league scoring, and Dave Staffen for ninth despite Lancers&rsquo; 8-15-1 record&hellip; Head injury forced Ivan Belisle into 17-day injured list&hellip; Don Hay switched to defense&hellip; Former Michigan State star Mark Calder signed &hellip; Lancers won at Fort Wayne, getting first back-to-back victories&hellip; Jim l.anzi signed as backup goaler when Dean Jeffrey asked for time off&hellip; Owner Paul Bright still waiting for Metro Ice Arena owners to solve financial problems with mortgage holders, denied team planning shift to Grand Rapids. Mich, or Dearborn. Mich&hellip; TrainerJohn Dooland banished by referee Sam Sisco.DES MOINES: Caps took overtime 8-7 decision from Saginaw in first meeting of Turner Cup finalists&hellip; That was first overtime success in 1-3-2 record&hellip; Caps assessedieam-record 114 penalty minutes in game at Columbus&hellip; Emile deMoissac&rsquo;s 14th goal was game winner in 4-3 victory at Fort Wayne, giving Caps 3-1 edge in series&hellip;Len Ircandia more than halfway toward John Huber&rsquo;s team record of 282 penalty minutes&hellip; Pete Slater bagged 1 Ith goal in 22 games&hellip; Dave Mcl.elland lowered GAA to 3.45 while backstopping 2-1 victory over Kalamazoo&hellip; Cam Bolting obtained from Omaha to replace Bob Geoffrion. out with knee injury&hellip; Dan O&rsquo;Donohue sidelined with shoulder injury.SAGINAW: Jim Johnston scored hattrick in 7-6 victory over Muskegon, continued scoring spree with two goals in 6-3 triumph at Lansing&hellip; Paul Evans scored points in seven straight games&hellip; Defenseman Kurt Walker tried at right wing when Marcel Comeau was benched temporarily&hellip; String of 11 losses at Muskegon ended in 6-5 victory. Gears scored 24 goals, yielded 24 in four-game stretch which produced 2-2 record&hellip; Goalie Mike Palmateer suffered knee injury, feared lost indefinitely.. Evans scored winning goals in back-to-back victories over Muskegon.DAYTON: Capt. Dave Simpson welcomed back from injured list but Gems playing short after Gordon Lane suffered broken thumb&hellip; Gems missed equal ling team record when eight-game win string ended in 9-2 setback at Des Moines&hellip; Goalie P.J. Flaherty unbeaten in eight starts&hellip; Steve Self scored 15th goal in 11-game stretch&hellip; Larry Bolonchuk added to injured list with mysterious abdominal complaint&hellip; Lane first Gem to exceed 100 penalty minutes&hellip; Gems&rsquo; singlegame record equalled when Toledo-Dayton game produced 187 PIM.MUSKEGON: Gary Ford. Bob Tombari continue 1-2 in league scoring derby&hellip; Ford produced two goals, incl uding game-winner at 0:13 of overtime, to end three-game losing streak in 2-1 victory at Kalamazoo&hellip; Mohawks 7-1 in seven-game road stretch before losing at Saginaw&hellip; Road record of 9-4-1 far ahead of 1973-74 when eighth road triumph came on Feb. 8&hellip; Joe Nathe added as right winger after leaving Bemidji (Minn.) State&hellip; Bob Olein benched. Bert Scott switched to center&hellip; Ford hat-trick wasted in 7-5 loss to Kalamazoo&hellip; GM-coach Moose Lallo. unhappy about performances of defensemen. benched Lynn Margarit briefly.FORT WAYNE: John Dobie acquired from Springfield via Toledo. Yves Bernier added as right winger after Jim Shires abruptly retired four days after Dale Power retired because of knee injury&hellip; Larry Finck placed on waivers&hellip; Komets surrendered 32 goals in six-game losing streak&hellip; Coach Ralph Keller took team to Port Huron a day early, Komets responded with 4-3 triumph&hellip; Ken Tarnow bagged winning goal, giving him nine points in five games&hellip; Capt. Terry Pembroke scored first goal of season but couldn&rsquo;t prevent 7-4 loss at Lansing&hellip; Goalie Robbie Irons sidelined by knee injury&hellip; Kellerpleased by early efforts of defenseman Rich Perron.PORT HURON: Don Grierson sidelined indefinitely with broken leg&hellip; Billy LeCaine scored goals 51 seconds apart to beat ex-coach Ted Garvins Toledo Goaldiggers. 5-4&hellip; Flags drew biggest crowds of season. 2,183 and 2.532, in back-to-back games, then dipped to season low of 1.314&hellip; Russ Elliott activated&hellip; Doug Hearns activated and saw first service after Tom Peluso was benched and placed on waivers&hellip; Goalie Mike Ralph&rsquo;s 2.48 GAA second best in league despite Flags&rsquo; 9-15-2 record.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-0458/3584795-1-eng-US/f0036-042.jpg" title="f0036-04" width="568" height="787"><figcaption class="caption-body">GARY FORD &hellip;Top IHL Scorer</figcaption></div>TOLEDO: Paul Tantardini passed team record of 201. boosted penalty minutes to 230&hellip; Goaldiggers missed chance to redeem $50 fines in 5-4 loss at Port Huron. Top-scoring Juri Kudrasovs sidelined up to three weeks with shoulder separation&hellip; Ian MacPhee suffered eye injury. Diggers finished with only nine players in 6-3 loss at Dayton&hellip; Jim McCabe grabbed team scoring lead with 32 points in tight race with Moe Brunet (31). Darwin Mott (30) and Kudrasovs (29)&hellip; Diggers continue to attract 4.000-plus crowds despite 11-15-1 record&hellip; Michel Laurendeau an immediate sensation. scoring hat-trick in 12-2 victory over Lansing, winning goal in 6-5 victory over Columbus&hellip; MacPhees second goal ended 16-game drought.FLINT: Doug Manchak equalled six-season team record when four goals triggered 11-5 victory at Fort Wayne, boosted league-leading total to 24&hellip; Kirk Bowman drew five assists, hiked team-leading total to 33 points .. Murray Hanson ended 14-game drought with two goals at Fort Wayne&hellip; Dave Bonter scored goals in three straight games&hellip; Merlin Jenner. Bob Volpe ranked 1-3 in GAA with 2.32 and 2.58, respectively&hellip; Generals&rsquo; 11-1-2 homeice record best in league&hellip; Jim Bannatyne&rsquo;s first goal triggered 3-2 victory over Kalamazoo&hellip; Doug Kerslake rounding into top shape, earning respect from enemy &ldquo;bad men&rdquo;.KALAMAZOO: Glen Ing. Mike Wanchuk scored hat-tricks and Wings scored three goals in 51 seconds en route to first road victory. 7-5. at Muskegon&hellip; Ned Dowd waived through league, placed on inactive list&hellip; Jean-Paul Gilbert bagged first two goals for Wings, helped 6-2 victory over Flint&hellip; Coach Bob Lemieux pleased about defense which allowed 36 goals in 12-game span&hellip; Goalie Garth Malarchuk called to Richmond (AHL) in emergency but returned&hellip; Doug Keeler shelved by ankle injury&hellip; Winger Bob Wright acquired from Greensboro (SHL). &#9632;

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Lallo’s Player Juggling Showing Results As Muskegon Stays In Thick Of Title Race

<h2>LEADING SCORERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-02121/3584840-1-eng-US/f0036-022.jpg" title="f0036-02" width="622" height="478"></div><h2>GOALERS RECORDS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-0389/3584833-1-eng-US/f0036-032.jpg" title="f0036-03" width="628" height="712"></div> &#9632;

f0036-02

IHL Leaders

<div class="byline">BY TOM BURKE</div>BOSTON&mdash;This may be a season for the favorites after all in ECAC Division One.As the campaign settles down for the lone climb up the back stretch after the first week in December, we find Brown. Boston University, and Harvard, three of this year&rsquo;s coaches poll top five selections leading the way.The Terriers, though stung by a non-league loss to Bowling Green earlier, own the top spot with a perfect 4-0 league slate. Their latest victims were Dartmouth. 14-3, and highly regarded New Hampshire, 6-2. Both wins were on BU&rsquo;s home ice.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-01152/3584878-1-eng-US/f0037-012.jpg" title="f0037-01" width="289" height="433"><figcaption class="caption-body">Leigh Hogan</figcaption></div>Harvard hasn&rsquo;t been quite so awesome. tipping Northeastern 5-3 at Boston Arena and then edging Princeton 4-1 at Watson Rink. Sophomore-stocked Brown swung into league action with a 6-6 overtime tie againt Boston College at home. But Dick Toomey&rsquo;s Bruins followed up with impressive road wins of 8-4 at Colgate and 4-3 in overtime at Cornell.Northeastern rates as the biggest early season surprise with a 3-1 league mark. After their loss to Harvard, the Huskies nipped non-league Bowdoin in overtime 7-6 and blasted Penn 8-4. NU played shorthanded for almost nine minutes of the first period, allowing the Johns to run upa3-0lead. Two of the goals were scored on a 4-on-3 situation while Hobie Taylor was sitting out a high sticking major penalty.Todd Nieland&rsquo;s slap shot along the ice at 17:13 upped Harvard&rsquo;s lead to 2-0 of the initial frame, and Leigh Hogan converted a crease pass from Ted Thorndike 41 seconds later to give Harward the early bulge. Charlie Huck&rsquo;s two goals led the charge in the final period after a scoreless second stanza, but it was only enough to get Huskie fans thinking of the opening Beanpot Round in February, which will see NU and Harvard at it again.Dave Sherlock, who along with Huck and Jim Martel has been carrying the NU offense, posted a hat trick in the win over Penn. Freshman Darrell Deck added a pair as NU peppered Kevin Crovo with 55 shots to 45 on Jay Mason.&ldquo;I have to give a lot of credit to my captain, Duncan Finch, for getting the players to keep hanging together&rdquo;, assessed NU coach Fernier Flaman. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s got Sherlock and Martel as his assistants this year, which is something new to me. They&rsquo;re calling a lot of meetings, and the spirit is really good&rdquo;.Only time will tell whether this year&rsquo;s edition of the Huskies will equal or better the NU teams of the mid-sixties, who had good front-line talent but who suffered in the end for lack of depth.Jack Parker&rsquo;s Terriers had a picnic with Dartmouth, limiting the Green to 25 shots in the 14-3 cakewalk, The following Saturday. Pat Devlin had a shutout of New Hampshire going until the halfway mark of the third period when Cecil Lockern and Dave Lumley broke the ice. Lumley was playing his first game since being suspended for illegal money received in junior hockey in Canada.Princeton, after Vermont&rsquo;s Tom McNamara shut them out 4-0 with a 30-save show, journeyed to Harvard and threw a scare into the preppies before bowing. Dave Gauthier had to score a pair of third period goals to break open a 2-1 tilt and clinch the win.Brown is living up to expectations. The Bruins highlighted their week with the first win at Cornell since 1963 when sophomore Bill Gilligan&rsquo;s overtime tally capped an amazing comeback. Defessemen Jack Ahern and Tom Colehour both scored in the final minute to knot the count at 3-3 to pave the way for Gilligan. The rookie whiz from Beverly. Mass, had netted a hat trick the night before at Colgate, and had provided the assist on fellow soph Bob McIntosh&rsquo;s score at 19:12 of the third frame against Boston College. McIntosh&rsquo;s tally came after Jim Madich vacated the net for an extra skater against the resilient Eagles.Brown had hopped out to a 4-1 first period lead, but BC. also a very young team, kept digging and nearly pulled it out. led by Richie Smiths three scores. The Eagles had lost in overtime, 8-7, to St.Louis earlier in the week thanks to Mike Ballanger&rsquo;s second straight OT goal.The win at BC was Bill Selman&rsquo;s first in nine tries in visits to the Boston area during the past four years. The Billikens then went to the North Country and split a pair, losing 5-3 at Clarkson and edging St. Lawrence 3-1.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-02116/3584871-1-eng-US/f0037-022.jpg" title="f0037-02" width="576" height="1097"><figcaption class="caption-body">RON WILSON &hellip; Sniped For Friars</figcaption></div>If they keep winning against major ECAC and WCHA competition, St. Louis will rate a shot at the NCAA Tnurruiment Rut Selman noted with satisfaction that his was not the only team that could carry the ball for an independent to make the NCAA&rsquo;s via commitee decision. Bowling Green, winner of the North Country Thanksgiving Tournament and also a CCHA member, might also rate consideration and give more weight to a CCHA title.Dave Groulx has started with a bang for Cornell, netting four goals in the Big Red&rsquo;s 8-2 win over RPI and adding another two in a 5-2 win over Yale at Ithaca. Yale&rsquo;s record slipped to 0-5 the next night in Hamilton as previously winless Colgate stomped them 10-1. Two shorthanded goals by frosh Bob Ries aided the romp.Providence and Clarkson are off to excellent starts. The Friars raised their overall record to 5-1-1 with a 4-4 tie against UNH in the Snively snake pit. Soph defenseman Ron Wilson bagged a third period power play goal to tie the count. This year represents the best start ever for a Providence team.Freshmen could lead Clarkson back into the playoffs. Coach Jerry York is pleased with the play of rookies Bill Scheer and Rick Tarasuk, who flank Sandry McAdam, a senior. Scheer netted the hat-trick in Tech&rsquo;s 7-3 triumph at RPI. Defensemen Bill Blackwood and Murray Wright have been playing well as a team despite inexperience. Syl Larose is back in action following knee troubles but will have trouble beating out George Galbraith, who made 30 saves at Troy. &#9632;

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Favorites Ruling Roost In ECAC Race With Brown, Boston U., Harvard On Top

<h2>ECAC CONFERENCE</h2><h3>Division I</h3>(Standings on Mon. Dec. 9)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-0469/3584954-1-eng-US/f0037-042.jpg" title="f0037-04" width="613" height="553"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>ECAC CONFERENCEHarvard 5, Northeastern 3Vermont 4. Princeton 0New Hampshire 6. Dartmouth 1Boston College 6. Brown 6Cornell 8. RPI 2Penn 8, Yale 2Boston University 14, Dartmouth 3Providence 4, New Hampshire 4Brown 8, Colgate 4Cornell 5, Yale 2Boston University 6, New Hampshire 2Harvard 4, Princeton 1Colgate 10. Yale 1Northeastern 8, Penn 4Brown 4, Cornell 3Clarkson 7. RPI 3<h3>NON-CONFERENCE GAMES</h3>Clarkson 5, St.Louis 3Northeastern 7, Bowdoin 6St. Louis 3, St. Lawrence 1Boston College 9, St. Anselm&rsquo;s 3McMaster 5, St. Lawrence 4St. Anselm s 5. Vermont 2<h2>WCHA CONFERENCE</h2>(Standings on Mon. Dec. 9)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-0553/3584947-1-eng-US/f0037-052.jpg" title="f0037-05" width="641" height="368"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Wisonsin 7, Denver 3Wisconsin 6. Denver 5Michigan 8, Colorado College 5Michigan 7, Colorado College 3Michigan State 5, Notre Dame 3Michigan State 4, Notre Dame 4Michigan Tech 8, North Dakota 2Michigan Tech 8. North Dakota 3Minnesota 5, Minn-Duluth 4Minnesota 3, Minn-Duluth 2Wisconsin 7. Colorado College 4Colorado College 5. Wisconsin 2Michigan Tech 9, Denver 2Michigan Tech 4, Denver 3Notre Dame 5, Michigan 4Michigan 5, Notre Dame 4<h3>NON-CONFERENCE GEMES</h3>North Dakota 5. St. Louis 3St. Louis 5, North Dakota 0Bowling Green 7, Michigan State 4Michigan State 4. Bowling Green 3<h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-0643/3584940-1-eng-US/f0037-062.jpg" title="f0037-06" width="604" height="1032"></div> &#9632;

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College Races

Follow All The Action Every Week By Subscribing Today ToTHE HOCKEY NEWSSuperb HockeyReading Each MonthHOCKEY WORLD & HOCKEY PICTORIAL<h2>BROOME</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-02133/3585048-1-eng-US/f0038-022.jpg" title="f0038-02" width="613" height="541"></div><h2>PHILADELPHIA</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-0397/3585041-1-eng-US/f0038-032.jpg" title="f0038-03" width="637" height="625"></div><h2>CAPE CODDERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-0464/3585034-1-eng-US/f0038-042.jpg" title="f0038-04" width="619" height="622"></div><h2>JOHNSTOWN</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-0546/3585027-1-eng-US/f0038-052.jpg" title="f0038-05" width="613" height="367"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-0637/3585020-1-eng-US/f0038-062.jpg" title="f0038-06" width="622" height="307"></div><h2>MOHAWK VALLEY</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-0732/3585013-1-eng-US/f0038-072.jpg" title="f0038-07" width="634" height="706"></div><h2>SYRACUSE</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-0821/3585006-1-eng-US/f0038-082.jpg" title="f0038-08" width="610" height="673"></div><h2>MAINE</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-0918/3584999-1-eng-US/f0038-092.jpg" title="f0038-09" width="622" height="490"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-1016/3584992-1-eng-US/f0038-102.jpg" title="f0038-10" width="610" height="169"></div><h2>LONG ISLAND</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-1114/3584985-1-eng-US/f0038-112.jpg" title="f0038-11" width="616" height="709"></div> &#9632;

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NAHL Scoring Statistics

<div class="byline">BY DEREK KNIGHT</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-01180/3585086-1-eng-US/f0038-012.jpg" title="f0038-01" width="565" height="605"><figcaption class="caption-body">JOHN CUNNIFF &hellip;Top Scorer</figcaption></div>YARMOUTH&mdash;New players continued to shuffle in as the North American Hockey League sought to improve its product. Key injuries are starting to take its toll on league teams as the race tightens up.Cape Codders, striving to climb up with the NAHL leaders, took Mohawk Valley apart 13-4 after dividing a home and home series, with Long Island Cougars.Codders John Cunniff, playing finest hockey of his career, has been among the top five scorers in the league all season long. He has 18 goals in his first 24 games. Teammate John Danby led loop in assists with 26 in 24 games. Coach Larry Kish had to juggle lineup with Bob Charlebois, Ted Ouimet, Nick Fotiu, and Don Blackburn shuffling between Codders and Whalers. Codders two top defensemen Ron Anderson and Gerry Methe got their act together again. Because of injuries and callups the two backliners had played in only one game together all year. Their second game together helped produce a 3-0 shutout win for Ouimet over Long Island. Big Alan Hangsleben leads in penalty minutes with 80. Mike Penasse was a close second. Crusader rookie John Stewart is now with Cape Codders after being sent down by Cleveland.JOHNSTOWN: Center Joe Robertson recently acquired from Indianapolis in a trade, was assigned by Minnesota; re-assigned to Jets was defender Pat Westrum. Galen Head placed on 14 day injury list. Ron Docken olaying well after return from injury. In nine games the &ldquo;Doc&rdquo; held a sparkling 3.05 goals against average. Pittsburgh recalled forward Wayne Bianchin for two games then returned him to Johnstown. Ned Dowd, a left winger who notched 34 goals with last year&rsquo;s club, has returned to theJets.PIacedon waivers wereNorm Descoteaux, John Perpich, Moe St. Jacques, and Jim Wilcox. Wilcox and Descoteaux played on last year&rsquo;s Jets.BROOME: Rod Bloomfield still league&rsquo;s top scorer. Defenseman Dale McBain out of action with a ruptured spleen. Dusters dropped two straight home games. John Donnelly reactivated by Dusters. Gary Jacquith topping backliners with 14 assists. Paul Brown high in penalty minutes with 69. Top effort from netminders Roger Kosar and Rich Lemay. Roger with a 3.39 goals against average and an 8-5-1 won-lost-tied record was just ahead of Lemay&rsquo;s 3.46 and 7-6-0 record. Goaltender Ken Broderick added by way of Bruins organization.SYRACUSE: Blazers aiding parent club who summoned Doug Volmar and Red Krezanski. Sent to Syracuse was young Jamie Bateman, a highly regarded Mariner draft choice. Krezanski was later returned. Blazers were closing in on first place and center Tom Trevelyan was climbing in points with 20in 19 games. Gary Sittier over the 100-mark in penalty minutes. Dean Boylan is not too far behind him. Captain Bob Jones first in goals with 14. Alton White coming on with 11 goals. Krezanski up to 21 points with 15 coming on assists.LONG ISLAND: Cougars continued overtime unbeaten skein, now standing 5-0-2 in seven games. Dick Proceviat who played in a few games with Long Island was dealt to Indianapolis by the parent club. In exchange, the Chicago club was to receive a future draft choice along with a player to be named later. Keith Kokkola nearing 100 minutes in penalties. Young defenseman Michel Dubois recently scored his first professional goal. General manager Gerry Lamoureux is pleased with club&rsquo;s performances. &ldquo;We have had some injuries and some recalls but we&rsquo;re still up there. It&rsquo;s tougher when you have to juggle lines around but you still do the best you can.&rdquo; Coach Ron Racette&rsquo;s second half of season is more favorable to Long Island with plenty of home games. Brian Coates leading club in scoring with 23 points.PHILADELPHIA: Rookie Steve Short activated by Firebirds. Mark Bousquet will miss action due to a knee injury, but leading scorer, Tom Young has returned from injury list. Dan Sullivan sporting sporting a 9-7-1 record in Philly nets. Michel Plante now back in fine form. The talented center came up with a three goal performance and followed that with a game winning goal over Syracuse in a key game. Plante&rsquo;s goal right off the faceoff at the five and a half minute mark in overtime nipped the Blazers 5-4. The win came before an enthusiastic Civic Center crowd of 3.106. Bob Collyard now the top Philly gunner with 34 points. Pierre Henry closing in on 30 points. Norm Barnes missed afewgames with a broken nose.MOHAWK VALLEY: Jeff Jacques is the point leader with 31. Doug Brindley and John Cook only two behind. Lou Nistico&rsquo;s 56 penalty minutes topped club. Brian McKenzie picked up six assists in first four games. Comets 8-6 win &hellip;Sent By Saints over Johnstown was seventh straight on home ice. With two sellout crowds already the Comets may have three more by the end of December. Advance sales indicate a possible sellout for Dec. 14 against Broome and Dec. 21 and 27 with Syracuse. Pete Marrin has scored at least one point in every game he&rsquo;s played in since joining the Comets.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-1213/3585079-1-eng-US/f0038-122.jpg" title="f0038-12" width="571" height="832"><figcaption class="caption-body">JOE ROBERTSON</figcaption></div>MAINE: Nordiques had Cougars number on one December weekend. Despite being badly outshot by Long Island, the Nordiques came up with a 2-1 victory and a 4-4 tie in a home-and-home series. Goaltender Bernie Wolfe recent arrival from Washington on loan was the key making one great save after another. Club purchased center Richard Dupras from Mohawk Valley. Rich Molinaro scored a game winner in first game. Defenseman Jean Bernier tops club defenders in assists with 14 and points with 18. Captain Paul Larose came up with two big goals in overtime tie with Long Island. They brought his total to 16 and increased his point total to 31. taking the club lead by one point over center Bob Murphy. Denis Patry topped club in penalty minutes with 56. Nordiques were improving but still looking for additional strength. &#9632;

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December 27, 1974

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MINOR HOCKEY TIPS

All-American Goaler Moore Seen Kev To Michigan’s Title Hopes

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