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.

January 3, 1975

The Hockey News January 3, 1975

<div class="byline">BY RALPH BRIDGLAND</div>TROIS-RIVIERES &mdash;Players and management are backing their own candidate for coach of the Trois-Rivi&eacute;res Draveurs of the Quebec Major Junior Hockev League.Claude Dolbec was and still is the players&rsquo; choice but Michel Bergeron appealed more to the club&rsquo;s executive.Bergeron was named coach of the Draveurs after a series of weird events had led to the resignation of Dolbec and managing director Sylvain Cinq-Mars.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-01133/3443664-1-eng-US/f0039-012.jpg" title="f0039-01" width="269" height="425"><figcaption class="caption-body">Daniel Beaulieu</figcaption></div>Bergeron coached the North Division Metropolitan Junior &ldquo;B&rdquo; champion Pointe-aux-Trembles Jets last season.Claude Mongrain, owner of the club, signed Bergeron to a two-year contract but now that Cinq-Mars is gone the players would prefer Dolbec to return.Dolbec was apparently good to his players and they couldn&rsquo;t figure out why the coach of a team, one point out of first place, would be fired.Coach Bergeron got a rude welcome to the QMJHL as the Draveurs dropped a 7-0 decision to the first-place Remparts in Quebec. The club bounced back to take a 6-4 home ice victory from Chicoutimi. Mario Roulliard was the big man for the Draveurs with a hattrick.Trois-Rivieres remains one point behind Quebec but the Remparts have two games in hand.QUEBEC: Remparts retained slim one-point lead atop Eastern Division with wins over Laval (3-1) and Trois Rivieres (7-0).Gaetan Boucher scored twice in the victory over the Nationals while Daniel Beaulieu had two markers in shutting out Draveurs.CHICOUTIMI: Sagueneens pulled into second place tie with Trois-Rivi&eacute;res by dumping Montreal 9-7 but then dropped an important 6-4 decision to the Draveurs.Marc Desforges, Marc D&rsquo;Amico and Daniel Lecours led Chicoutimi to win over Montreal with two goals apiece while Raymond Laroche, Alain Cote, Desforges and D&rsquo;Amico tallied in loss to Draveurs. Lecours leads club in points with 48, 22 goals and 26 assists.SHAWINIGAN: Dynamos fell 11 points out of third place as they were drubbed 12-3 by Sherbrooke. Beavers peppered 60 shots at Shawinigan net while Dynamos managed only 32.Jean Thibodeau, Claude Larose and Yvan Hamelin accounted for the Dynamos&rsquo; offense.SOREL: Black Hawks remained three points behind fourth-place Dynamos after losing 4-2 to Cornwall. Sorel had built up 2-1 second period lead only to have Royals score three unanswered markers in final period.Richard David and Pierre Mondou tallied for SorelSHERBROOKE: Beavers moved five front of second place Cornwall with wins over Shawinigan (12-3) and Laval (3-0).Michel Brisebois, Robert Simpson and Benoit Plouffe tallied in shutout against Laval. Plouffe scored three times in the opening period to pace the Beavers&rsquo; attack while Bernard Harbec, Simpson and Richard Mulhern notched two apiece.CORNWALL: Royals still trail Sherbrooke despite two wins and a tie.Yvon Disotell, John Marshall, Bill Smith and Adrian Facco scored in 4-2 win over Hull. Smith, Pierre Brassard, Ron Davidson, and Disotell recorded singles in 4-2 win over Sorel. Smith scored twice and John Allan once in 3-3 tie with Festivals.MONTREAL: Dropped 13 points behind leading Beavers after 9-7 loss in Chicoutimi.Garth McGuigan had the hat-trick while Mike McDougall scored twice. Singles went to Robert Picard and Normand Dupont.Dupont continues to lead QMJHL scoring with 62 points on 38 goals and 24 assists.HULL: Festivals moved with one point of Montreal despite managing only a win and a tie in three games.Pierre Yves Giroux, Scott Hunter and Jim Montgomery scored in 3-3 tie with Cornwall. Denis Pomerleau and Glenn Sharpley were lone snipers in 4-2 loss to Royals. Eight players shared scoring in 8-3 thumping of Laval.Ted Bulley leads club in scoring with 50 points, 25 goals and 25 assists.LAVAL: Nationals continued to have problems as they lost three straight, 3-1 to Quebec, 3-0 to Sherbrooke and to Hull 8-3.Mike Bossy scored lone goal in loss to Quebec. Jean Trottier, Michel Hamel and Yvon Vatour scored in loss to Festivals.Bossy second in league scoring with 57 points, 31 of them goals. &#9632;

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IN THIS ISSUE

Draveurs’ Owner Has Last Word—Dumps Dolbec

<div class="byline">BY DEREK COOPER</div>OAKLAND&mdash;If the saying &ldquo;It&rsquo;s always darkest before the dawn&rdquo; is true, then the California Golden Seals were playing during a total eclipse on the night of Nov. 19.Before the game, coach Marshall Johnston learned that defenseman Jim Neilson would not play because of a leg injury. During the game, rookie blueliner Mike Christie went off with torn knee ligaments that eventually required surgery. And after the game, the Seals had dropped a 6-4 decision to the Washington Capitals to extend their non-winning road streak to 18 games.But despite all the turmoil on this darkest of nights, a small flickering light &mdash; a promise of things to come, still managed to shine through the gloom. And from that night on it continued to grow in intensity to the point where it now appears to be the very light that might lead the Seals out of the NHL wilderness.That light is rookie left winger Dave &lsquo;The Wrecker&rsquo; Hrechkosy.Prior to the Washington game Hrechkosy had not been playing with great regularity. He had not dressed for the first five games of the season and when he finally did graduate to sitting on the bench he was only seeing spot action as a penalty killer, with one goal and no assists to show for his efforts. Infact, he was not even supposed to dress for the Washington game!&ldquo;Marsh (Johnston) told me that morning that I wouldn&rsquo;t be dressing,&rdquo; recalls Hrechkosy. &ldquo;But when Jimmy (Neilson) was scratched before the game. Marsh asked me if 1 was ready to play&rdquo;Hrechkosy was ready. In fact he was so ready that he skated a regular shift, killed penalties, and even scored a shorthanded goal. For his efforts he received a new appraisal from Johnston.&ldquo;As far as I&rsquo;m concerned, the Washington game was the one that turned it around for Hrechkosy,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;He played well enough there to deserve a shot at playing regularly.&rdquo;And as Hrechkosy started playing more, the goals started to come. One in Boston, two against the Islanders, two against the Caps &mdash; and suddenly Hrechkosy had seven goals in eight games. Then the assists started to fall into place. The scoring barrage continued to the point where &lsquo;The Wrecker&rsquo; had tallied 15 points in 15 games, including nine goals.&ldquo;The improvement in Dave during such a short period of time has been just fantastic,&rdquo; says Johnston, who no longer has to debate whether or not to dress his rookie phenomenon.&ldquo;But he&rsquo;s really been working hard to improve and he deserves everything that he&rsquo;s now getting.&rdquo;Hrechkosy, in turn, credits Johnston for giving him some of his initiative.&ldquo;I really wasn&rsquo;t doing well during the early part of the year and I was a little discouraged at not playing more,&rdquo; he admits. &ldquo;But Marsh told me to keep working and that if I kept improving I would be playing regularly soon.&rdquo;Part of Hrechkosy&rsquo;s slow start might be attributed to an early season weight problem. He reported to camp at 219, but has steadily dropped to a solid 208, which he carries well on his 6&rsquo;2&rdquo; frame. Another early problem, typical of most rookies, was a lack of faith in his own ability.I&ldquo;used to beat everybody in the Western League.&rdquo; he says, and his 36 goals and 35 assists with Salt Lake last season make that easy to believe. &ldquo;Some games didn&rsquo;t even mark up a sweat. But up here I wasn&rsquo;t sure that I could skate with the other players.&rdquo;It took Boston defenseman Bobby Orr to prove to Hrechkosy that he could.&ldquo;I beat Orr twice in a game and scored a goal,&rdquo; he relates. &ldquo;And right then I knew that I could stay with the players in the NHL. All my confidence came back and I think that getting it back has really helped me.&rdquo;Another helpful aspect has been the play of his two linemates on the &lsquo;Wrecking Crew&rsquo;, which during one seven-game period had combined to score 11 of the Seals&rsquo; 22 goals. During that stretch center Ron &lsquo;Spike&rsquo; Huston had five goals and three assists, and right wing Butch Williams four goals and one assist. &lsquo;The Wrecker&rsquo; chipped in with two goals and six assists.&ldquo;Things are falling into place now,&rdquo; says Hrechkosy. &ldquo;The line is going good and should get even better during the season.&rdquo;The dawn may finally be breaking in California after some very long nights.SEALS&rsquo; NOTES: For the first time in their eight year NHL history the Seals will be on the nationally televised NHL &ldquo;Game of the Week.&rdquo; The Seals&rsquo; January 19th game against the Chicago Balck Hawks from Chicago Stadium will be the featured game on BC. Prior to this season, the closest the Seals came to national television exposure were, two regional appearances throughout the West Coast during the 1969-70 season. Tim Ryan, a former Seals&rsquo; P.R. Director, will handle the play-by-play commentary for NBC&hellip; An up and coming Seal line is right wing Morris Mott, center Stan Weir and left wing Al MacAdam. They combined fot five points recently against Montreal. Weir, with 21 points, is off to his best start in two seasons.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-02750/3441266-1-eng-US/f0014-022.jpg" title="f0014-02" width="541" height="681"><figcaption class="caption-body">DAVE HRECHKOSY &hellip;Point-a-game Pace</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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Rookie Hrechkosy Lights Way Through Seals’ Darkest Hours

<div class="byline">BY BILL HEUFELDER</div>PITTSBURGH &mdash;The ecology program of North America suffered a setback in 1971 when the Detroit Red Wings enticed Nelson Debenedet to turn pro.A University of Toronto student with a year of studies behind him towards a doctorate in urban forestry, Debenedet had been content playing defense on the school&rsquo;s varsity team.He has made measured progress in less than four professional seasons, his accomplishments now benefitting the Pittsburgh Penguins, who acquired him during the off-season from Detroit.When the status of Wayne Bianchin became uncertain due to a serious neck injury, the young left winger sustained while vacationing in Hawaii, the Penguins sought help at the position.They came up with Debenedet, surrendering in exchange Hank Nowak and a third-round draft choice last spring.The trade did not have the impact of Pittsburgh&rsquo;s acquisition of another left winger, Vic Hadfield, from the New York Rangers, but Debenedet is proving a valuable member of the club.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-01895/3441142-1-eng-US/f0011-012.jpg" title="f0011-01" width="259" height="433"><figcaption class="caption-body">Barry Wilkins</figcaption></div>Consider this: Lowell MacDonald is called away because ot a serious illness in his family at home in Nova Scotia. Skating in MacDonald&rsquo;s place on Pittsburgh No. 1 line, Debenedet. in two games, scores twice and adds an assist.Consider further: The Penguins, playing sluggishly through two periods against Toronto, are tied, l-1. Coach Marc Boileau, in preparing for the final period, drastically revises his three lines. After only 18 seconds of the period. Debenedet, on a unit with Syl Apps and Rick Kehoe, scores and the Penguins eventually beat the Leafs, 4-2.The latest call for Debenedet was caused when Bob Kelly, a 12-goal scorer, sustained bruised ribs that have healed slowly since he was injured Nov. 30 at home against Buffalo.&ldquo;His attitude is really good,&rdquo; Boileau said with enthusiasm in speaking of Debenedet. &ldquo;Wherever I&rsquo;ve used him, he&rsquo;s responded.&rdquo;The possibility seemed very real to Debenedet that, despite Bianchin&rsquo;s absence, the Penguins would put him in Hershey when the season opened.&ldquo;My chances seemed a little sparse at the time.&rdquo; he admits. &ldquo;The left side was already spoken for.&rdquo;The Penguins obviously had plans for MacDonald. Kelly and Hadfield, but Boileau gave Debenedet an opportunity with the big club by playing four lines through the exhibition season.When the campaign opened, the Penguins numbered Debenedet among them. Yet, the uncertainty of his future hangs over him.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s still a feeling that you don&rsquo;t know whether you&rsquo;ll stay or not, he says. Despite the circumstances, Debenedet leaves no doubt where he wants to be. &ldquo;Even if you don&rsquo;t get a regular shift, you want to stay up here, he said.Apparently, the only serious threat to his status with the Penguins is Bianchin, who has made progress in his drive to regain a berth on the club. Called up briefly, he appeared in two games in spot roles before the Penguins assigned him to Johnstown of the North American League where he had registered eight goals in four games.Meanwhile. Debenedet leaps into a regular job whenever an emergency exists on left wing, and kills penalties with Ron Lalonde.Despite his 27 years. Debenedet realizes that he&rsquo;s still learning in overcoming a delayed start in pro hockey. At the suggestion of the Red Wings, he agreed to move up front from his more familiar position on defense which he played through a three-year career at Michigan State, a season in the International League and with the University of Toronto.A polished skater, Debenedet has yet to spend sufficient time on a regular big-league line to assess his own ability as a scorer, but with Tidewater two years ago, he knocked home 29 goals in 76 games and produced 27 assists.In two separate stretches with the Red Wings last season, he accounted for four goals in 15 games while used primarily in a utility role.His ability to contribute under difficult circumstances with the Penguins has allowed Debenedet to remain in good spirits and look optimistically to an extended hockey career.&ldquo;Financially, the game is pretty good,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;A long as feel it&rsquo;s mentally good for me, I&rsquo;ll stay in the game.&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;And financially, it&rsquo;s pretty good.&rdquo;That kind of thinking is good enough for the Penguins.PENGUIN NOTES: Defenseman Barry Wilkins required 50 stitches after he was struck with a puck during a 3-3 tie against Montreal&hellip;Ron Stackhouse, whom Boileau rates his best defenseman in recent weeks, was idled with a foot injury&hellip;Ron Schock, who continues to lead the club in scoring, produced 19 points in November and was named the Penguins&rsquo; outstanding player&hellip;After watching Bianchin with his team, Boileau said, &ldquo;He needs to play regularly and get his confidence back. He still gets headaches once in awhile, and has pain in his neck and back.&rdquo; He was sent back to Johnstown of the NAHL to get more ice time.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-02806/3441135-1-eng-US/f0011-022.jpg" title="f0011-02" width="533" height="1736"><figcaption class="caption-body">NELSON DEBENEDET &hellip; Traded From Detroit</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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Debenedet Shelves Forestry Career To Plant Spark In Struggling Pens

<h2>NHL TEAM</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-03614/3440670-1-eng-US/f0002-032.jpg" title="f0002-03" width="523" height="651"></div><h2>WHA TEAMS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-04421/3440663-1-eng-US/f0002-042.jpg" title="f0002-04" width="513" height="619"></div><h2>OTHER LEAGUES</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-05296/3440656-1-eng-US/f0002-052.jpg" title="f0002-05" width="517" height="383"></div><h2>COLUMNISTS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-06200/3440649-1-eng-US/f0002-062.jpg" title="f0002-06" width="521" height="137"></div><h2>OTHER FEATURES</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-07119/3440642-1-eng-US/f0002-072.jpg" title="f0002-07" width="521" height="165"></div> &#9632;

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WHERE YOU’LL FIND IT ALL

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0002-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-01852/3440611-1-eng-US/f0002-012.jpg"></div>The Rangers felt the full wrath of Phil Esposito&rsquo;s scoring prowess when the big center racked up seven points to tie a club record as the Bruins humbled the Rangers 11-3.<h2>ESPO ON POINT SPREE</h2>BOSTON&mdash;There was a time when a six or seven-point outburst by a player was something to behold. That was until a couple of fellows named Phil Esposito and Bobby Orr came along.Then the extraordinary turned into a regular occurrence. Espo&rsquo;s seven-point splurge in the Bruins&rsquo; 11-3 bombing of the Rangers tied a club record for more points in one game which was set by none other than Orr.Oddity of the seven-point feat is that Orr originally set the mark on Nov. 15, 1973 also against the Rangers. Don&rsquo;t bet it won&rsquo;t happen again and soon with the likelihood Esposito or Orr will turn the trick.<h2>HARD-LUCK PENGUIN</h2>PITTSBURGH&mdash;A defenseman&rsquo;s life is getting to be dangerous not only on the ice but also while resting on the bench.Barry Wilkins of the Pittsburgh Penguins was recently hit by a puck in the mouth area which resulted in the loss of several teeth and the application of 50 stitches.Being the true breed cf hockey player, Wilkins was soon back in action. While sitting on the bench in between shifts of a preceding game, Wilkins was the victim of an errant puck which struck him ont the face and resulted in a broken cheekbone.Who was it that said only goalies need facial protection? It certainly wasn&rsquo;t Wilkins.<h2>CAHA POINTS FINGER</h2>TORONTO&mdash;The Canadian Amateur Hockey Association is making loud noises against the NHL and WHA for not paying their debts. It seems both professional leagues owe the amateur hockey governing body a sum reported to total $640,000 for payment of amateur players they both drafted.A CAHA official told a Toronto newspaper that the NHL is in arrears to the CAHA for about $340,000 and the WHA for $300,000.Under an agreement with the pros, the CAHA is to receive payment for drafted players by the NHL by last Nov. 1 while the WHA had 30 days to turn over the money. Neither has complied. The NHL originally owed $1,200,000 and paid $860,000 while the WHA&rsquo;s tab Was $540,000 and $240,000 was forwarded.<h2>WHA REF WANTS OUT</h2>TORONTO&mdash;The WHA&rsquo;s top official on the ice, Bill Friday, has decided he&rsquo;s had enough of the league&rsquo;s travel-weary schedule and is willing to throw it and his reported $85,000 contract over for the tranquility of doing something more leisurely.Friday, who has been a referee for 22 years, is fed up and mailed his resignation into the WHA. &ldquo;The travel is brutal. I just got so fed up, I sat down and wrote my retirement out and mailed it in,&rdquo; Friday said. He was awaiting word from the WHA on his decision. He had no comment on other plans.When the WHA was formed three years ago, Friday and Vern Buffey jumped the NHL refereeing ranks to go with the new league. Buffey is still executive administrator of the officiating staff. &#9632;

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Deadline Stoppers

Because of the holiday season earlier deadlines have been imposed on THE HOCKEY NEWS. We were forced to close early and miss the normal Dec. 20-22 weekend games. However, they will be brought to you in their entirety in our next issue. &#9632;

HOLIDAY DEADLINE

<div class="byline">BY HAL SIGURDSON</div>VANCOUVER &mdash;A great deal of emotion has sprung up around the Dec. 15 incident that led to Chris Oddleifson&rsquo;s broken jaw.The Vancouver Canucks feel their tan, competitive center was deliberately mugged by a man using a casl as a blunt instrument.The Chicago Black Hawks point out that their man, defenseman Keith Magnuson, was playing only his third game since suffering a fractured right wrist and that his cast was a necessary protective device.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-02784/3440580-1-eng-US/f0002-022.jpg" title="f0002-02" width="289" height="445"><figcaption class="caption-body">Chris Oddleifson</figcaption></div>Magnuson and Oddleifson simply had a fight, they contend, and the fact Oddleifson came out of it with his jaw fractured in two places was not because of any malice aforethought.True, Magnuson did receive a match penalty, the Hawks concede, but add that is now automatic because of a note added this season to rule 49, the one covering deliberate injury of opponents.The new note reads: &ldquo;Any player wearing tape or any other material on his hands who cuts or injures an opponent during an altercation shall receive a match penalty tinder this rule.&rdquo;&ldquo;Magnuson knew the rule,&rdquo; said Chicago coach Billy Reay, &ldquo;he just forgot himself and dropped his gloves.&rdquo; The NHL has since suspended Magnuson for three NHL games and fined him $200 for his actions.At this point a little background is in order.When the NHL season began, the Hawks were established as overwhelming favorites to finish first in the Smythe Division, but when Vancouver arrived for that Dec. 15 game in Chicago Stadium it was the Canucks who were in first place.The Hawks were third. 16 points behind Vancouver and two behind the St. Louis Blues.Obviously, this was a game they needed not only to win, but to win convincingly to re-establish their credentials as pennant contenders and to demonstrate to the Canucks they are still the bell cow of the division.Two scraps broke out at the end of the first shifts of the game. Then, at 3:09 of the first period, Magnuson and rookie Vancouver defenseman Harold Snepts collided along the end boards and both players immediately dropped their gloves and started swinging.After the pasting Magnuson took, most players would have had enough offightingforone night, but the fiercely competitive Magnuson is not your average player. At 12:07 of the same period, with referee Bruce Hood signalling a delayed penalty to Vancouver defenseman Tracy Pratt for hooking, Magnuson and Oddleifson battled for the puck along the boards.Magnuson, with no apparent provocation, started swinging. Oddleifson tried to fight back, but somewhere along the line caught the punch that broke the left side of his jaw in two places.Did Magnuson set out to use his cast to break heads? Any such suggestion would be grossly unfair. The Hawks defenseman has a reputation as a tough competitor and a battler with a short fuse, but no one has ever accused him of being an assassin.But the whole incident demonstrates the league should take a second look at its rule governing the situation. The present one has two glaring flaws.First of all, it comes into effect only after the damage is done and does nothing to prevent injury.Secondly, it does nothing to prevent a player legitimately wearing a cast or some other protective material from being provoked into a match penalty situation, causing his team to play a man short for 10 minutes.Meanwhile, Oddleifson, who has scored 11 goals and 19 assists, will be out of the Vancouver lineup for from three to four weeks. Combined with all their other injuries, that&rsquo;s a loss the Canucks can ill afford to bear.When Oddleifson was kocked out of their lineup in Chicago, they were left without five regulars. Defensemen John Grisdale and Mike Robitaille and right winger Dennis Ververgaert were out with earlier injuries. Center Bobby Lalonde had the flu and though dressed was unable to play. That made them even worse off than the Hawks, who went into the game without Dale Tallon, Pit Martin and J.P. Bordeleau before losing Magnuson for the duration.However, despite their 4-2 loss the Canucks still had a 14-point cushion in first place and Grisdale (knee) and Robitaille (wrist) were almost ready to return to action. But it will be mid-January or later before Ververgaert and Oddleifson return. &#9632;

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Vancouver Charges Hawks’ Magnuson Used Cast Breaking Oddleifson’s Jaw

<div class="byline">BY E.M. BARTLETT</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-01857/3440732-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg" title="f0003-01" width="877" height="1412"><figcaption class="caption-body">Whether They&rsquo;re On The Ice For The Entire Game Or Not It&rsquo;s An Accepted Fact The Netminder Has The Toughest Job</figcaption></div>LOS ANGELES &mdash;A goaltender could be compared to a quarterback in football or a pitcher in baseball, as far as the team position is concerned, but the comparison ends there. A quarterback is only used for offensive plays, while a pitcher is utilized only when he is on the mond or actually batting. A goalie is on the ice playing the entire game, whether it lasts 60 minutes or tow hours.&ldquo;Goal has to be the toughest job,&rdquo; explains New York Ranger goalie Ed Giacomin, a former high school quarterback. &ldquo;The quarterback can throw the ball to somebody. If you&rsquo;re a goalie, somebody has to be shooting at you.&rdquo;Of course you can always count on the shooting to be fast and furious, especially when pucks come flying at you up to speeds of 120 mph. It&rsquo;s no wonder that many goalies have suffered from frayed nerves.Bill Durnan won the Vezina Trophy, for best goaltending, six times in seven seasons during the Forties, but quit the Montreal Canadians at the height of his career. &ldquo;The pay was good,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;but the wear and tear was more than I could take.&rdquo;Another goalie, Wilf Cude, played during the 30s sustaining numerous injuries and pressures before suddenly deciding to retire. &ldquo;I was having my afternoon steak before a game,&rdquo; Cude recalled. &ldquo;I just started to eat the steak when my wife Beulah made some casual remark about a trivial subjets. For no good reason, I picked up my steak and threw it at her.&rdquo;Fortunately his wife ducked and the steak hit the wall. It hung there for a moment, then slowly began to peel. &ldquo;Between the time that steak hit the wall and then hit the floor, I decided I&rsquo;d been a touchy goalkeeper long enough. By the time it landed I&rsquo;d retired.&rdquo;It seems to be every goaltender&rsquo;s epitaph that he succumb to the pressures. When Terry Sawchuk joined the Detroit Red Wings in 1950, he was a chubby, 200-pound rookie with a carefree approach to life. Ten years later he was a gaunt 160 pounder with a moody disposition and a short temper.This might explain why most goalies are loners. They contend that no one but another goalie comprehends the problems and pressures they must face. &ldquo;There is no way people will ever understand our particular kind of pressure,&rdquo; remarked netminder Roger Crozier of the Buffalo Sabres. &ldquo;Anyone who isn&rsquo;t a goaltender probably won&rsquo;t experience once what we experience hundreds of times. Even other players don&rsquo;t know what a goalie goes through in a game.&rdquo;But what kind of pressures could these men face that would cause them to have such extreme reactions?<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-02728/3440725-1-eng-US/f0003-022.jpg" title="f0003-02" width="1784" height="1340"><figcaption class="caption-body">Leafs&rsquo; Doug Favell, top, doesn&rsquo;t take kindly to intruders in his goal crease. And Sabres&rsquo; veteran Roger Crozier, right, came back to face the big league ice wars once more after several sessions In the hospital.</figcaption></div>&ldquo;How would you like it if you were a business executive and every time you made a mistake a red light flashed and 18,000 people screaned at you,&rdquo; replied goaltending great Jacques Plante.Other players on the team can compensate for a mistake by scoring a goal or assisting with one, but the goalie is the last line of defense. If he makes a mistake a red light flashes. &ldquo;When that happens you feel like crawling under the ice,&rdquo; remarked Boston Bruin goaltender Ken Broderick.Those that can&rsquo;t crawl under the ice contemplate jumping off bridges or some, like Rogie Vachon of the Los Angeles Kings, stay awake most of the night thinking about that fluke goal.But defeat doesn&rsquo;t come any easier even with age. &ldquo;You never play well when you loose,&rdquo; observed Gump Worsely, who retired at the end of last season after surviving 21 years in the NHL. The 36-year-old netminder was an outstanding protector during his career, sharing the Vezina Trophy twice and winning the Calder Trophy, for outstanding rookie in the National Hockey League.However, even the &ldquo;Gump&rdquo; suffered from all the pressures of his job. He retired four times during his career, once after refusing to fly back with the team on an airplane. Worsely was petrified of flying.Unfortunately, he wasn&rsquo;t the only one with hangups. Jacques Plante, another old timer, suffered from claustrophobia while playing with the Montreal Canadiens during the &lsquo;50&rsquo;s.A similar situation occured to Gary Smith, when he was playing for the California Golden Seals during the 1970-71 season. That year the team set a new NHL record with 53 defeats. Smith suffered through 71 of 78 games in the nets when he began to experience chest pains. He couldn&rsquo;t move his right arm and found it almost impossible to breathe.&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t know what was happening to me&rdquo;, he remarked. &ldquo;I thought I&rsquo;d had a heart attack. For a while I was convinced that I was dying&rdquo;.He wasn&rsquo;t dying, just suffering a nervous breakdown. His ailments disappeared however, when he was traded that summer to the Chicago Black Hawks.When Roger Crozier played for Detroit during the &lsquo;60&rsquo;s, the Red Wings.would send him to Florida for a week or so in midseason, to recuperate from the pressures.Not all goalies had it so good. Glenn Hall, possibly the most tormented and successful goalie of his day, played in 502 consecutive games between 1955 and 1963. By the time his career ended in 1971, he had played in 906 NHL games, maintained a 2.51 goals-against average and the shutout record of 84 times. With all this success he still was unable to overcome his pre-game sickness.&lsquo;Mr. Goalie&rsquo;, as he was known, would throw up before every game and a bucket would be kept at the bench for use during the game. Sick or not, Hall claimed he hated his job and called it, &rsquo;60 minutes of Hell&rsquo;. Yet he played for 16 seasons, won the Venzina Trophy as leading goalie three times and was chosen for the All Star team eleven times.His ability was respected by everyone, but even his own teammates used to kid him. &ldquo;He has to be in the Hall of Fame,&rdquo; said one, &ldquo;but he&rsquo;ll have to take his bucket with him.&rdquo;It these men suffer so much, why do they stay with it? Glenn Hall used to tell people with a slight smile, that it was the only way he could support his family. Jacques Plante used to say it was &lsquo;the challenge of the job&rsquo;.Regardless of their reasons, many of the major-league goalies took up the position by accident.Plante originally began playing defense at six, but because of a chronic asthma condition he was forced to play goal. Johnny Bower, who played in the NHL until he was 46, became a goalie because his parents were too poor to afford skates and goal was the only position he could play without them.Another great contemporary, Terry Sawchuk, played for 20 years in the NHL. At the age of 10 he inherited the goaltending equipment of an older brother who had died of a heart attack. New York Rangers&rsquo; Eddie Giacomin became a goalie because as a small boy he wasn&rsquo;t a good skater. Since then his skating has improved and his trademark is roaming from the net to clear away loose pucks.The Kings&rsquo;Rogie Vachon was placed in goal because he was the smallest kid on the team. It was believed years ago that small, quick men were best suited for the nets. The trend now has changed from 5&rsquo;7&rdquo; Vachon to 6&rsquo;4&rdquo; Ken Dryden. The big men can cover more of the net, but this isn&rsquo;t the reason why fellows like Ken Dryden, Bernie Parent and Tony Esposito ended up there.&ldquo;Every Canadian kid wants to shoot the puck, and he needs someone to shoot it at&rdquo;, commented Phil Esposito, the brother of Chicago&rsquo;s netminder. &ldquo;I was a year older than Tony, so I did the shooting&rdquo;.From Esposito&rsquo;s performance over the years, it lools like Phil had his best interests in mind. After entering the NHL in 1969, Tony recorded 15 shutouts, breaking the old record of 13 held by Harry Lumley of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Also that same season &ldquo;Tony-O&rdquo; earned the Vezina Trophy as top goalie and Calder Trophy as best NHL rookie. Not bad for a little brother. &#9632;

f0003-01

SIXTY MINUTES OF HELL

<div class="byline">By Ken McKenzie&#x2019;s</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-01910/3440784-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg" title="f0004-01" width="469" height="457"></div>&bull;SIX MEMBERS of the Pittsburgh Penguins have college backgrounds. They are the two goalies, Gary Iness and Bob Johnson, along with Syl Apps, Nelson DebenedeL Lowell MacDonald and Bob Paradise&hellip; Inness recently experienced a memorable week that began with his first NHL shutout, a 6-0 win over Washington Caps. Three days later he faced his first major league penalty shot, getting beat by Toronto&rsquo;s Dave Keon. and three days later, the nifty young Pittsburgh goaltender was involved in a scoreless tie with Los Angeles&hellip; Hockey Night in Canada&rsquo;s executive producer and Canadian Sports Network production head, Ralph Mellanby, will be loaned to the Canadian Olympic Radio and Television organization, at their request. for the duration of the Olympic Games&hellip; Ralph is the only outside producer requested by the O.R.T.O. and the host broadcaster RadioCanada&hellip; Station WSB in Atlanta will not be televising NBC NHL games this season much to the chaerin of Elames&rsquo; fans&hellip; Borje Salming&rsquo;s return is the key to the Toronto Leafs&rsquo; revival according to coach Red Kelly. &ldquo;Salming is as important to our defense and our team as Bobby Orr is to the Bruins, if not more important.&rdquo; Kelly said&hellip; Jeff Mohler, director of administration of the New Haven Nighthawks, draws plenty of raves for the outstanding job he does organizing and promoting games against the Russians played in New Haven.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-02866/3440777-1-eng-US/f0004-022.jpg" title="f0004-02" width="273" height="448"><figcaption class="caption-body">Gary Inness</figcaption></div>&bull;MINNESOTA FIGHTING SAINTS report a healthy attendance increase this season. After six home games the Saints were averaging 8.792. which is an increase of 32 percent over the same period a year ago&hellip; George Morrison, the Saints&rsquo; ace forward, had his goal-scoring streak stopped at eight games recently by a former St. Louis Blues&rsquo; teammate, Ernie Wakely, in Winnipeg, The record is nine games and was set last season by Danny Lawson of the Vancouver Blazers&hellip; The ice surface at Buffalo&rsquo;s Memorial Auditorium was measured by a class from SS. Peter and Paul School in tne city as part ot tneir study of the metric measuring system. They determined the rink is 35 meters, 40 centimeters long and 27 meters wide. That translates to 196 feet by 85 feet&hellip; Three former Sabres, Tracy Pratt, Gerry Meehan and John Gould, helped the Vancouver Canucks end a Buffalo unbeaten streak at 11 games beating the Sabres, 5-3, on Buffalo ice, where the home team had won 11 straight and was unbeaten in 13.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-03761/3440770-1-eng-US/f0004-032.jpg" title="f0004-03" width="292" height="451"><figcaption class="caption-body">George Morrison</figcaption></div>Meehan and Gould each assisted on a goal&hellip; Michael Haggerty does an exceptionally fine job as publicist for the Chicago Cougars&hellip; Channel 7&rsquo;s Frank Mathie. Chicago&rsquo;s answer to George Plimpton, will take a turn as &ldquo;Cougar goalie for a day&rdquo; on WLS-TV in Chicago. The filmed segment will run on the six o&rsquo;clock news&hellip; Don Awrey has made a big hit with Montreal fans and Canadiens&rsquo; latest defense hero says he has set a number of goals for himself during his hockey career and he&rsquo;s fulfilled most of them. There is one goal left that he hopes to do something about this season however. That is to ride in a Montreal Stanley Cup parade&hellip; Canadiens still hoping they can make a deal for goalie Wayne Thomas, who has yet to play a game for the Habs this season&hellip; A capacity crowd of 18,000 fans are expected to be on hand for the third annual World Hockey Association All Stargame, to be played on January 21 in the new Edmonton Coliseum&hellip; The NHL All Star game will be played on the same evening in Montreal&hellip; New York Rangers can&rsquo;t recall a season when they&rsquo;ve been so riddled with injuries. The booing at Ranger home games has increased considerably this season.&bull;DAVE FORBES has been playing some great hockey for the Boston Bruins of late. Dave attended American International College. The Springfield Mass, college has always had a highly-devloped hockey program&hellip; Now that the OFFICIAL NATIONAL HOCKEY ANNUAL for 1975 is in circulation it&rsquo;s pretty well agreed that it&rsquo;s the finest edition yet published. There is more informative information to please a National League fan in this book than you&rsquo;ll find in any&rsquo;other hockey annual&hellip; St. Paul&rsquo;s Bill Klatt celebrated his return to pro hockey by scoring eight goals in his first nine games (including four in one game) with the CHL Omaha Knights&hellip; Denver Spurs have three Detroit players on their roster. Gord Buynak, Ron Serafini and Dave Roberts were all born and brought up in the Michigan metropolis. Jim Watt of Duluth, Minn., and George Tower of Hartford, Ct., round out the American born and developed players on the Spurs&hellip; Doug Laurie, whose sporting goods store was a longtime landmark at Mapie Leaf Gardens in Toronto, died the other day after ia lengthy illness. He sold his business several years ago&hellip; One of hockey&rsquo;s best trainers, Jack Curran, who bowed out when the old Los Angeles Blades folded in 1967, is back in hockey this season with the Phoenix Roadrunners&hellip; Boston Bruins are having second thoughts about letting Chris Oddleifson get away from them. Chris has been sensational since ojoining the Vancouver Canucks.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-04659/3440763-1-eng-US/f0004-042.jpg" title="f0004-04" width="283" height="430"><figcaption class="caption-body">Dave Forbes</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0004-01

PASSINC THE PUCK

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0004-05" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-05533/3440839-1-eng-US/f0004-052.jpg"></div><h2>Likes All-Canadian Pro Hockey League</h2>I recently read in a local newspaper that the five Canadian teams of the WHA were considering breaking away from that league and forming an all-Canadan league. This would include the fantastic possibility of the three NHL teams in Canada (Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal) merging with the other five teams.In my opinion, this could bring Canadian hockey to a peak never before seen. The fans would pack their local arenas to see Toronto against Edmonton or Montreal against Winnipeg. There could eventually be a coast-to-coast expansion to include cities such as Halifax, Calgary, Hamilton and Regina. The only drawback would be no longer seeing top stars from American teams like Orr, Esposito, Howe and Clarke. Even so, I would predict a lot of jumping of players from south of the border to the Canadian teams.MICHAEL FLEMING Halifax, N.S.<h2>Blues Better Than Aeros</h2>Ed Cooksey of Houston, Tex. (Fan Forum, Nov. 29) doesn&rsquo;t know his hockey. He said that the St. Louis Blues are not a major league team, and compared them to teams in the WFL But take a look at the Blues and the Houston Aeros. position by position, and the Blues come out on top all the way. Look at defensemen like Bob Hess and Larry Sacharuk, wingers such as Brian Ogilvie, Pierre Plante and Andre Hinse, centers Gary Unger and Wayne Merrick. And compare St. Louis goalies John Davidson and Eddie Johnston to Aeros&rsquo; goalies Wayne Rutledge and Ron Grahame. St. Louis wins by the length of a football field. Looking at the roster, there&rsquo;s no way anyone can say the Blues are not major league material.JEFF SULLIVAN St. Louis, MO.<h2>Leafs-Flyers&rsquo; Game Disgusting</h2>The Nov. 23 game between the Leafs and the Flyers was disgusting. The only thing proven was that Dave Schultz and Bobby Clarke should be banned from professional hockey forever! Schultz couldn&rsquo;t take a clean check and went beserk. Clarke just couldn&rsquo;t seem to keep his stick on the ice, so he speared Rod Seiling instead. He is the dirtiest player in the NHL. What good are his apologies after he&rsquo;s seriously, senselessly injured another player. If this is what Flyer fans want to see, let them form their own league and leave the rest of us to ours, where good defensive plays and clean checks are what real hockey is all about.SUE DEGAN, Downsview, Ont.<h2>Canadiens Seen Only Competition</h2>Cimon Brian Beare of Fillmore, Sask.; I think you area little biased for the Montreal Canadiens and cannot be objective about what is going to happen in Division III this season.For too long the Canadiens have been living with shuffled and reshuffled lines; for too long the Canadiens have waited for Jacques Laperriere to return and steady the average defense; for too long the Canadiens have been playing on their old reputation of being the best team; and for too long the Canadiens have been playing without a reputable policeman.I&rsquo;m not going to predict the L.A. Kings to win Division III, but I certainly think that Montreal will be their only competition for the title.I&rsquo;ll just bet that you are the kind of guy who probably picks Montreal to win the Stanley Cup each year and never considers an expansion team to even come close. I wouldn&rsquo;t walk the streets of Philadelphia alone if I were you.RICK LEWIS, Santa Monica, Cal.<h2>Orr Deserves Norris Trophy</h2>I&rsquo;m writing in response to a letter that was in Fan Forum on Nov. 29. I don&rsquo;t see how anyone could think that Bobby Orr does not deserve the Norris Trophy. Just in watching his play throughout the season, you see what a consistently great, defensive defenseman he is, especially when the Bruins are shorthanded. Orr&rsquo;s scoring is just proof of his being such a great player and his going above and beyond the call of duty. People should also remember that Orr led the NHL with a plus 84 at the end of last season.SUSAN ROSS, Barrington, R.l.<h2>New Breed Of N.Y. Fan</h2>Many things have been written in your paper about New York hockey fans, and though I always thought that the verbal shots taken at them were exaggerated, I&rsquo;m beginning to change my mind. In New York, we have the new breed of fan that would rather see someone&rsquo;s head bashed in than see a breakaway.I was at the Flyers-Rangers game played in the most poorly-constructed arena in the NHL, an arena that charges fans for seats where you have to stand on the arm rests to see your end of the ice. It all began during the practice, when the obscenities flowed faster than the beer at the refueling stands. Everyone knows it is the custom of some players to throw the puck into the stands at the end of practice. Well, this is what Dave Scuultz did, for which he was viciously struck on the head by a golf ball thrown by a depraved fan; Schultz pointed the maniac out to the so-called security force, but they did nothing, just let him go on to brag to his friends about what he had done.I can also imagine the slob who laboured over his &ldquo;Kill All Flyers&rdquo; banner. It must have taken him an hour to figure out how to spell &ldquo;kill&rdquo;. There were other such dictums decorating the walls of the cage they call Madison Square Garden.And this kind of behavior is not limited to the male of the species. In a recent St. Louis Blues-Rangers game, when Bob Plager was cut by a skate, a blood-thirsty young woman yelled her approval, wanting to see more of the same.Garden officials, who seem to condone these actions, should wake up to the fact that they have a shameful mess on their hands.BOB ANGAROLA, Bronx, N.Y. &#9632;

f0004-05

FAN FORUM

Following are the latest player movements in hockey:<h2>NATIONAL LEAGUE</h2>N.Y. RANGERS: Dave Maloney and Joe Zanussi, defensemen. Curt Ridley, goalkeeper, and Jerry Holland, forward, recalled from Providence of AHL.N.Y. ISLANDERS: Walt Ledingham, forward, recalled from Fort Worth of CHL as replacement for Garry Howatt, forward, who went on disabled list with with pulled muscle in side.CALIFORNIA: Terry Murray, defenseman, sent to Salt Lake of CHL.PITTSBURGH: Mario Faubert, defenseman. recalled from Hershey of AHL.KANSAS CITY: Dave Hudson, forward, placed on disabled list indefinitely with hairline fracture of ankle.<h2>WORLD HOCKEY ASSN.</h2>MINNESOTA: Pat Westrum, defenseman, recalled from Johnstown of NAHL. Curt Brackenbury, forward, returned to Johnstown.PHOENIX: Rick Newell, defenseman, sent to Tulsa of CHL.TORONTO: Gordie Titcomb, forward, recalled from Mohawk Valley of NAHL.EDMONTON: Jacques Plante, goalkeeper, placed on disabled list with ear injury. Ray McKay, defenseman, placed on disabled list indefinitely with broken bone in his ankle.MICHIGAN: Bill Reed, defenseman, recalled from Syracuse of NAHL. Paul Hoganson, goalkeeper, recalled from Greensboro of SHL. Ed Johnstone, forward, sent to Greensboro.SAN DIEGO: Bob Blanchet, goalkeeper, recalled from Syracuse of NAHL. Joe Junkin, goalkeeper, assigned to Syracuse as replacement.<h2>AMERICAN LEAGUE</h2>HERSHEY: Dean Sheremeta, forward, recalled from Fort Wayne of IHL.NOVA SCOTIA: Peter Proulx, goalkeeper, recalled from Hamp-ton of SHL.VIRGINIA: Pierre Jarry, forward, returned to club and was removed from suspended list. Mike Korney, defenseman. returned to Greensboro of SHL.<h2>CENTRAL LEAGUE</h2>TULSA: Mike Hobin, forward, recalled from Charlotte of SHL.<h2>SOUTHERN LEAGUE</h2>WINSTON-SALEM: Bobby Miller, forward, picked up on waivers from Hampton of SHL. Yvon Pouliot, goalkeeper, recalled from waivers. Gaetan Picard and Bob Vinet, forwards, signed as free agents. Brian Molvik, defenseman. placed on disabled list indefinitely after suffering fractured skull.<h2>NORTH AMERICAN LEAGUE</h2>SYRACUSE: Dan Schock, forward, picked up as free agent from Syracuse of AHL.PHILADELPHIA:Mike Clarke, forward, returned to Richmond of AHL.BROOME: Ted McCaskill, forward, signed as free agent. Dale McBain, defenseman, placed on disabled list indefinitely with ruptured spleen. Wayne Morusyk, defenseman, released. &#9632;

Movements of Players

<div class="byline">BY JACK McCARTHY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0006-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-01940/3440894-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">KEN HODGE&hellip; His Revival Important</figcaption></div>BOSTON&mdash;Kenny Hodge got his first goal in 11 games; the Bruins limited the Kings to only 16 shots in the game; Phil Esposito got his 24th goal, and Johnny Bucyk broke through for two goals. Perhaps the Bruins were on their way.The Bruins had defeated L.A., 8-1, in Boston Garden, for the Kings&rsquo; first loss on the road in 12 games, and Kings coach Bob Pulford said, &ldquo;That was as good as I&rsquo;ve seen the Bruins play in two or three seasons.&rdquo;Among the other events of the evening was the third straight win for goaler Ross Brooks, although he had very little to do. But it is the ability of Brooks to step in and hold the fort in times when Gilles Gilbert is ailing that keeps the Bruins chasing the Sabres and remaining within hailing distance of the top in the Adams Division of the NHL.Said Gregg Sheppard, who had scored his sixth goal of the season, &ldquo;I think it was the best game we have played in both ends all season. Certainly it was the best we&rsquo;ve played through three full periods, with no letdowns&hellip;&rdquo;Said coach Don Cherry, &ldquo;A good game, a solid game. But we&rsquo;ve played a lot of other good ones, even at Montreal, when we had to pull it out late in the game&hellip;&rdquo; (4-4 tie).Cherry had to be happy that his club was apparently beginning to move in a solid way, and that Espo and Hodge (minus injured Wayne Cashman) were beginning to find the range again.And also that his penalty-killers, Sheppard, Donnie Marcotte, and friends, were almost perfect. Amazingly, L.A. did not get a shot on five power-play opportunities, and only two on another chance.Said Hodge, &ldquo;We must have been playing well to put eight goals past a defense-minded team like the Kings.&rdquo;One game, of course, does not make the season, but the all-around play that was being exhibited by Boston was more indicative that its talent was beginning to show.Over the long haul, the Bruins do not figure to be so far behind Buffalo, and the Bruins&rsquo; watchers, who have seen them lately, agree.The revival of Hodge could mean a great deal to Boston if he begins to score as he has shown he can. He had gone 11 games without a goal, a long, long time for a shooter like he is.In the past two seasons, Kenny has had 50 and 37 goals, respectively, and the Bruins look to him for production. When he got his ninth, he remarked, &ldquo;Now, I can go home and talk to my son&hellip;&rdquo;While Hodge was going through his scoring drought, he had continued to dig the puck out, and forecheck, and to use his body to good advantage. The scoring from his big shot was inevitable, and he may take off from here.Orr, of course, is scoring very well, and his shot from outside seems to have picked up even more power than it had when he shot with a big cannon.He continues to dominate play in any game he is in, and with Espo finding the touch around the net, the Bruins will be hard to keep off the board.Meanwhile, Wayne Cashman has been released from Massachusetts General Hospital, where he under went surgery for a disc fragment which had been imbedded in a nerve. &#9632;

f0006-01

Hodge Nets First Goal in 11 Games As Bruins Start Move Toward Top

<div class="byline">BY BOB VERDI</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-01865/3440932-1-eng-US/f0007-012.jpg" title="f0007-01" width="577" height="629"><figcaption class="caption-body">KEITH MAGNUSON &hellip; Match Misconduct</figcaption></div>CHICAGO&mdash;Unusual is not the word for the current edition of Chicago&rsquo;s Black Hawks. But bizarre might do.An avalanche of injuries, puzzling inconsistency, and the Vancouver Canucks helped make the Chicagoans a mere .500 club tied for second place by midDecember with fans in the Windy City becoming extremely grouchy over their heroes&rsquo; gaffes in the Smythe Division that was supposed to be a cinch.When the Hawks departed for Pittsburgh on Friday the 13th, maybe we should have known that a most important weekend for them would turn out screwy.Chicago was coming off an ultra-solid win in Atlanta with aspirations of getting a streak going. So what happens in Pittsburgh but Dennis Hull is thown out of the game in the third minute because coach Billy Reay failed to pencil in his name before the contest on the official lineup.&ldquo;The official scorer told me that Reay had written in just 15 skaters, but then in the warmup, 1 counted 16,&rdquo; said Penguins&rsquo; coach Marc Boileau. &ldquo;He had left Hull out. Rules are rules.&rdquo;When Hull braked to end his first shift, Boileau immediately pointed out the impropriety and the burly winger took his earliest shower in some time.The written lineup is a relatively recent practice. Used to be that-coaches would work off the game program, scratching out any ineligibles and penning in any additions. But the last couple of years, coaches have been requested to fill out a completely new sheet before game time, listing each name of each available body.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll never fill out one of these bleeping things again,&rdquo; said Reay. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s pretty bad when you get the official scorer for a home club running over to the coach to alert him.&rdquo;NHL Supervisor of Officials Dan McLeod, in attendance, said that the ineligibility rule is an appeal call &ldquo;just like a batter batting out of turn in baseball.&rdquo; Had Hull&rsquo;s absence from the lineup sheet been pointed out to Lewis at any time during the game, Lewis would have been empowered to eject him.Oh, yes. Chicago lost the game 6-3.A mere 24 hours after this, back home against the Canucks, the Hawks lost Keith Magnuson on another technicality. Magnuson, who had fought and lost to Harold Snepts in the game&rsquo;s fourth minute, tried Chris Oddleifson eight minutes later and whopped him.One problem. Magnuson shed his gloves during Round Two, and exposed to the world and Phil Maloney a protective covering garnished by tape around his recently-fractured right wrist. That, according to the new NHL rule, is illegal, and Magnuson was expelled with a match misconduct.Furthermore, Oddliefson suffered a broken left jaw.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m sorry about it because I had a broken jaw and I know what it&rsquo;s like,&rdquo; said Magnuson. &ldquo;I knew the rule, and it would have been okay if I kept my gloves on. But 1 don&rsquo;t think the tape had anything to do with his injury. And that protective thing didn&rsquo;t come down to my fist.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-02741/3440925-1-eng-US/f0007-022.jpg" title="f0007-02" width="565" height="605"><figcaption class="caption-body">DENNIS HULL &hellip; Takes Early Shower</figcaption></div>Maloney, the ebullient Canucks&rsquo; GM-coach who has built the club into a winner, said something about how there would be a day of reckoning for Magnuson. And Reay said something about how &ldquo;there&rsquo;s a bit of feeling building between these two clubs. I like a game like that.&rdquo;Why not? Chicago won 4-2. Who got the first goal? Hull. &#9632;

f0007-01

Bizarre Things Happening As Fans In The Windy City Grow Grouchy Over Hawks

CHICAGO&mdash;Ted Damata, a veteran and much-renown hockey writer for the Chicago Tribune, will retire at the end of December.His readers are the losers. Damata didn&rsquo;t just cover the game for 45 years, he lived it. He didn&rsquo;t just tell you how many goals were scored, he told you why. He didn&rsquo;t just string words together, he painted a picture.Damata covered his first match in 1929 and, though his newspaper career touched on all facets, he&rsquo;s been following the Chicago Black Hawks ever since.&ldquo;I was with the old Daily News back then in &lsquo;29,&rdquo; said Damata. &ldquo;There was a game that night, and nobodv wanted to cover it. I was low man on the totem pole, so I went.&rdquo;He&rsquo;s been on the go ever since. Perhaps his favorite scoop was in the early 1960s, when he uncovered the near deal that would have sent Frank Mahovlich from the Toronto Maple Leafs to the Black Hawks for $1 million.&ldquo;The best season, the most exciting,&rdquo; said Damata, &ldquo;was in 1969-70, when the Black Hawks went from last to first and didn&rsquo;t clinch it &lsquo;till the last night of the season. That was the year it went down to the last day with five clubs, and Montreal finally got squeezed out.&rdquo;Some of Damata&rsquo;s best writing, though, occurred when he covered the 1972 Winter Olympics in Japan. But hockey was and is his main love.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s the greatest game in the world played by the greatest people in the world,&rdquo; said Damata. &#9632;

Veteran Scribe Damata Ends 45-Year Career

<div class="byline">By Bill Libby</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-02830/3440994-1-eng-US/f0008-022.jpg" title="f0008-02" width="316" height="361"></div><h2>The Spotlighted One&hellip;</h2>AS WE TURN into the new year of 1975, the most spectacular player in hockey remains Robert Gordon &ldquo;Bobby&rdquo; Orr. Whether or not he is the top player in this sport at this time, indeed if not of all time, he is the one everyone wants to see themost and watches the closest. The spotlight shines hottest on him and at times it has singed him.He has been built up since he was a teenager in Parry Sound, Ontario. He has heard how good he was and was going to be for the greatest part of his life and he is one of the few athletes in sports who has lived up to unrealistic advance notices. He knew he was supposed to make a winner out of a loser and he has, indeed, helped Boston&rsquo;s Bruins rise from the bottom to the top.If Phil Esposito is thunder, Bobby Orr is lightning. He is an incomparable player who is one of the few who has altered the dimensions of his sport. He is a defenseman who plays as much offense as defense. Because he is the best of skaters and quickest of athletes, he could manage what other men could not.The ice is open to defensemen who are not being checked bv forwards and he has taken advantage of this opportunity to solo a way no previous player ever did. He has a swift, hard shot, accurate from all angles. He draws defenders to him in droves and makes marvellous passes to his freed teammates. The points pile up.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-01929/3440987-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg" title="f0008-01" width="295" height="727"><figcaption class="caption-body">Bobby Orr</figcaption></div>He is trapped out of position at times, but he is swift enough to get back most times. When he is back, he is the most fearless shot-blocker in the sport, becoming a second goaltender. However, because he is on offense so much, he can be beat on defense. Terry Harper says, &ldquo;At Montreal we beat Boston by taking advantage of Orr&rsquo;s rushes with swift strikes on offense while he was at the other end. But he beats most teams by scoring or setting up a lot more scores than he gives up.&rdquo;Orr holds all of the records for scoring by a defenseman. He is the only one to have won scoring laurels in the league and after 30 games he was leading the league again this season. It is hard to believe but he will enter his 10th season next season. He went into this season with 213 goals and 735 total points in 541 games. He has scored 30 or more goals four seasons, and totalled 100 or more points six straight seasons. One season he assisted on 100 goals.He had to prove himself with his fists at first. &ldquo;You do what you have to do,&rdquo; he shrugs. Now no one takes him on and he is not roughed up the way the man in the middle is, for example, Phil Esposito. Bobby does have bad legs and has had to battle back from four knee operations. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s something I&rsquo;ve learned to live with,&rdquo; he sighs. He only now appears to be approaching his peak. Veterans of this sport are still astonished by him. His new coach, Don Cherry, says, &ldquo;I find myself along the bench just watching him and almost forgetting the game.&rdquo;He has at once opened up the game offensively and done more to damage it than any other single player ever. He is copied by so many kids who come up rushing from the rear that defense is a lost art. The problem is no one has his special skills, so most waste what they do have by trying to be what is. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m sorry about that, but I can only play the game my way, the way that came natural to me. I don&rsquo;t recommend it to others&rdquo;, he says. &ldquo;At hockey schools I try to teach kids to make the most of their own particular talents&rdquo;.IT IS DIFFICULT to decide whether he or Phil Esposito is most valuable to this team, but Bobby is the more spectacular and he has been voted by the writers most valuable player in the league three times and Esposito only twice. Bobby says, &ldquo;Phil and I don&rsquo;t fight over such things. Awards aren&rsquo;t as important as winning. We&rsquo;re both important to our team winning&rdquo;. Phil says, &ldquo;Bobby doesn&rsquo;t ask for awards. Believe it or not, he&rsquo;d just as soon not be noticed at all&rdquo;.As spectacular as he is off the ice, Bobby has been absolutely unspectacular off the ice. He was the youngest player in the league when he arrived and almost painfully shy. He tried to duck out of the spotlight so he could slip through shadows. He said, &ldquo;I just want to go my own way, doing my own things. I&rsquo;m a private sort of person. I give all of myself to the games, I&rsquo;m on display every night. That&rsquo;s the only me people need to know. What I do away from the arena is my business. Too much is made of me, anyway. I&rsquo;m nothing special as a person&rdquo;.This is not true. He knows how good he is, but he remains modest. He makes big money and enjoys the good life, but he remains unspojled by it. Money means so little to him he frequently forgets to cash large checks, carrying them about him crumpled in his pockets. He visited hospitals and orphanages and donated a lot of dough to needy kids&rsquo; causes, but was angry when this attracted attention.He finally told a reporter, &ldquo;Its&rsquo; very personal with me. It cuts deep into me and I&rsquo;d rather not talk about it. Okay, I&rsquo;m lucky, right I&rsquo;ve been gifted, right? But the world is full of people who have not been gifted but have had things taken away from them. That knocks me down pronto&rdquo;.HE STILL VISITS before games in Boston with a young lady who is a fan of his, who is crippled by illness and comes in a wheelchair to root for him. &ldquo;She makes me feel like very small potatoes&rdquo;, he sighs.He has been one of the hardest players to interview in sports. Comfortable only in the campanionship of other players, he sank into a shell when reporters entered the dressing room. He spoke only when spoken to. Ask him a question, he&rsquo;d answer it, but carefully, taking care not to comment controversially. I don&rsquo;t need publicity and I don&rsquo;t need to create trouble for myself or my team&rdquo;, he says.FORMER COACH Tom Jonhson says, &ldquo;He faces a lot of presure from the press. He handles himself amazingly well. Maybe he doesn&rsquo;t give them the sort of stuff they want, but he presents super image for his sport. He conducts himself with class at all times&rdquo;.At 26. Bobby has matured a lot. He was married last year to a teacher, a speech therapist, and he and Peggy had a son, Robert Darren, born in July. Reportedly he had a helicopter on call at his hockey camp so he could get to her side in time at the right time. He smiles and says, &ldquo;We really had it so we could go golfing or play tennis in our free time. But. no, it was there when it was needed. She was late, but I wasn&rsquo;t. I saw the whole thing and it was a thrill.&rdquo;They have a cottage in Canada, but live modestly in a three-room apartment in Boston during the seasons. I enjoy my money, but I&rsquo;m not a big spender,&rdquo; he says. Marriage and having a baby has changed my life, but I never was one for going out a lot. In my position, if I have one beer in a saloon, a story get: out I was carried out drunk. I take it easy in season Out of season I like to swim and fish. Fishnggets me away from the world and relaxes me. I&rsquo;d fish in swimming pool.&rdquo;Hockey hammers at him in season. He is aware all expect him to make miracles nightly. &ldquo;It gets tougl at times to live up to what people expect of you,&rdquo; he sighs. &ldquo;I do the best I can, but it&rsquo;s a long, hard season and I get tired at times just like anyone else, don&rsquo;t always sleep well. I give so much to the game: I don&rsquo;t have a lot left between games. I still enjoy it but it&rsquo;s not like when I was a kid, no. Was I ever kid?&rdquo; he smiles. &ldquo;It seems so long ago now.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0008-02

Hockey Ad Lib

<div class="byline">BY BILL FLEISCHMAN</div>PHILADELPHIA&mdash;Early in December THE HOCKEY NEWS headline read &ldquo;Leach Not Impressing Philly&rsquo;s Fans.&rdquo;The summation was accurate as the potentially high scoring right wing was struggling with just four goals in 19 games. Flyers&rsquo; GM Keith Allen admitted he expected more after arranging Reg Leach&rsquo;s freedom from the California Seals. Even Leach agreed it was &ldquo;my worst start ever.&rdquo;As we drop in again on Leach could this be the same player The statistics say Leach scored 12 goals in 10 games and set a club record of 12 consecutive scoring games. With Leach suddenly in high gear with linemates Bobby Clarke and Bill Barber, the threesome is 30 points ahead of last season&rsquo;s pace when Bill Flett (now with Toronto) was Clarke&rsquo;s right winger.During his streak, Leach, who rates strong All Star Game consideration for the Campbells against the Wales, collected two hat tricks and moved into the club lead with four game-winning goals.Leach&rsquo;s game-winner in the Flyers&rsquo; 3-2 victory over Chicago was as classy a maneuver as NHL fans will see. Accepting a pass from Barber at center ice, Leach sped past Bill White, then deked Dick Redmond at Chicago&rsquo;s blue line. In alone against Tony Esposito, Leach scored to give the Flyers at 3-1 lead.As his scoring spree mounted, Leach varied his attack. Boston&rsquo;s top 1970 amateur draft choice might launch his awesome slapshot, or he&rsquo;d flick a wrist shop past a startled goaltender. Opposing NHL masked men never knew what to expect from Leach.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m going for the holes now instead of standing around like I did the first 20 games,&rdquo; Leach said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m moving, especially when Clarkie is working in the corners. And I&rsquo;m making sure I get my shot on the net.&rdquo;Leach&rsquo;s emergence as the gamebreaking scorer the Flyers were counting on hasn&rsquo;t surprised Clarke. Even when Leach was less than spectacular his former Flin Flon centerman never lost the faith.&ldquo;Reggie is just starting to use the skills he&rsquo;s always had, but hasn&rsquo;t had to use for three years,&rdquo; Clarke observed. &ldquo;Everybody knows he can shoot the puck and he&rsquo;s a good skater who can get in the clear. When he shoots from the circle he can score on anybody.&rdquo;While Clarke has concentrated on helping Leach adapt to the Flyers&rsquo; system, Barber has been quietly playing at All Star pace on the left side. The Flyers&rsquo; top 1972 amateur pick seems headed for a third straight 30-goal season. After 30 games he was three goals and three assists ahead of last season&rsquo;s totals.With Leach receiving considerable attention, Barber was asked if he sometimes feels ignored.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know&rdquo;, he shrugged. &ldquo;He (Clarke) is the centerman and he throws the puck where he can without giving it away. In some games I&rsquo;m playing against pretty dangerous scores, Minnesota&rsquo;s Bill Goldsworthy to name one. so I have to be a little more careful. I can&rsquo;t go on the offensive all the time.&rdquo;As effective as Clarke and associates have been, coach Fred Shero insists the Rick MacLeish &mdash; Gary Domhoefer &mdash; Ross Lonsberry line should be the Flyers&rsquo; best. When MacLeish&rsquo;s line, which is 12 points below last season&rsquo;s pace, finds its groove rival goalies may request smaller goal cages to improve their chances.Barber&rsquo;s parting line can only make goalies cringe: &ldquo;Our line will get better as the year goes on.&rdquo;FLYER FACTS: Don Saleski silenced the Spectrum boobirds with a 2-2-4 outburst against St. Louis. It was Saleski&rsquo;s highest scoring NHL game&hellip;Bobby Clarke was running 16 points ahead of his Stanley Cup &mdash; season scoring totals when he led the old West Division with 87 points. &#9632;

Leach’s Scoring Burst Has GM Allen Glowing After Worst Start Ever

<div class="byline">BY BILLMAKI</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0009-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-01899/3441073-1-eng-US/f0009-012.jpg"></div> &#9632;

f0009-01

CARTOON CORNER

<div class="byline">BY DONALD BERNS</div>ST. LOUIS&mdash;The St. Louis Blues and New York Rangers broke three National Hockey League penalty records and tied another in one of the liveliest, roughest games seen in many seasons.Regeree Dave Newell, who got a piece of paper and pencil from the scorer&rsquo;s table to scribble names during the wild, bench-clearing brawl in the third period, called a total of 246 minutes in penalities, a new record for one game He assessed 186 minutes, which tied a record, in the third period. And the two teams set records for most penalties in one period, 30, and most in one game.The old records, all set in a game Oct. 25 of this seasons between the Philadelphia Flyers and California Seals, were 232 penalty minutes in a game on 44 penalties and 27 penalties in one period.Before the Philadelphia-California game some of the records had dated back to a game 21 years ago between Montreal and Toronto at Toronto Dec. 9, 1953. In the third period of that game the Canadiens and Maple Leafs got 184 minutes on 26 penalties. The same two teams also had 26 penalties in the third period of a game 17 years later at Toronto Dec. 9, 1970.That 1953 game also had the record for most penalties minutes with 204. The previous record for most penalties by two teams in one game had been 39 by the Los Angeles Kings and Minne sota North Stars at Minnesota Jan 10, 1970.The St. Louis-New York game may stand as a record for some time. It encompassed some of the most ferocious play either team has exhibited in many moons.The big crowd at the St. Louis Arena was treated to some flashy skating and crisp checking from the opening faceoff. Jerry Butler and Pierre Plante drew the game&rsquo;s first penalties when they bumped chests with sticks raised in anger at 9:13 of the opening period. Newell gave them each two minutes for roughing, and the circus of penalties had begun.Eddie Giacomin, thrown out of a game for the first time in his career because of his role in the third-period melee, also kept the first period lively when he left his crease and slammed Claude Larose into the boards behind the net. Larose flailed back at the veteran goalie, and first Gilles Marotte, then Derek Sanderson went after Larose. Sanderson and Larose battled toe-to-toe and got fighting penalties.In the second period Steve Vickers irritated 5-foot-5 Doug Palazzari, and Palazzari leaped up to slug the 6-foot Vickers, who quickly pounded Palazzari to the ice. Larry Sacharuk feared the worst for his tiny teammate, pounced on Vickers and drew a game misconduct before the main event began.Before the middle period ended Bob Plager bumped into Sanderson from behind after a whisle had stopped play, and Sanderson turned to yell at Plager. Sanderson&rsquo;s face was inviting, and Plager smashed it with a rabbit-quick punch. Player followed with another eight solid blows before he quit a blackened left eye. Newell gave Sanderson a minor for roughing and Plager a double minor for roughing.Then, in the third period, the big skirmish started with 3:12 left. Greg Polis socked Larose and those two were still struggling when Floyd Thompson and Brad Park began bashing one another. Giacomin went to Park&rsquo;s aid and leaped on Thomson, at which time John Davidson raced from the St. Louis net to even the sides and leaped on Giacomin. Newell admonished the benches to stay off the ice, but soon the players of both teams poured over the boards with every man picking out a favorite target. Newell went to get his pencil and paper and was scribbling names furiously with a half-dozen toe-to-toe boxing matches in progress.Polis, Giacomin, Bob Gassoff and Rick Wilson were thrown out of the game, and the other players with more than three minutes 12 seconds in penalties were filing off the ice at such a steady pace that the game seemed to be ending prematurely. However, New York put Gilles Villemure into goal to replace Giacomin, and three players for each team skated away the remaining minutes of the game.The game, not incidentally, was a big 6-2 win for the Blues, who passed the Chicago Black Hawks to take sole possession of second place behind Vancouver in their division. The Rangers dropped behind the New York Islanders and into last place in their division. &#9632;

Tempers Wild As Rangers, Blues Set Penalty Mark

<div class="byline">BY CHRIS ZELKOVICH</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0010-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-01920/3441104-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">GUY LAFLEUR &hellip; Improved Right Winger</figcaption></div>MONTREAL&mdash;A year. 365 days. 8,766 hours. Doesn&rsquo;t sound like much time, but you can bet your season&rsquo;s tickets it is.Was it really only a year ago that the Montreal Canadiens were battling for second place behind the Boston Bruins and falling further behind with each games? Was it only a year ago that the Canadiens were the possessors of a miserable 6-5-1 home record? Was it only a year ago that the Canadiens were leading the National Hockey League in controversy with at least three players making public their distaste for coach Scotty Bowman?Somehow it doesn&rsquo;t seem possible that those dark and stormy days occurred only one year ago, certainly not with the calm that has descended on Montreal this year.As the Canadiens head into the Christmas season this year they rest in first place in the Norris Division, which didn&rsquo;t even exist a season ago. The Canadiens have reclaimed first from the Los Angeles Kings and, barring a collapse, should hold it for the remainder of the 1974-75 season.The team is on a nine-game undefeated streak and has lost only two of its last 20 games. In addition, the Habs&rsquo; home record is an impressive 9-2-5, a mark that pleases the home fans to no limit.It is indeed the season to be jolly in Montreal.There are basically two reasons for all this jolliness and levity in the Forum.First of all, there are only two players out of uniform because of injury. Henri Richard is out with a fractured ankle and Jacques La-perriere is still sidelined with a knee injury he suffered last season.That&rsquo;s it. Richard has the only injury suffered by a member of the Canadiens this season. One injury.At this point last season Guy Lapointe, Yvan Cournoyer, Claude Larose and Frank Maho-vlich were suffering from various injuries, either minor or major, in a season that would finish with only one player (Pete Mahovlich) playing all 78 games.No team can expect to stay as healthy as the Canadiens have this season but any team that can avoid a rash of injuries will be near the top.Just prior to Christmas last year the ballots for the NHL All Star teams were distributed to members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association. Writers were so impressed with the Canadiens last season they voted two of them, Frank Mahovlich and Cournoyer. to the team. Another pair, Larry Robinson and Richard, made the team because of injuries.Without the possibilities opened up by the traditional rash of convenient injuries prior to the game, at least four Canadiens will play when the Prince of Wales Conference All Stars meet the Clarence Campbell Conference All Stars Jan. 21 at the Forum. That should make the already contented Montreal fans even happier.Guy Lafleur, who has already matched last season&rsquo;s total of 21 goals, is the best right winger in the league this year. Serge Savard and Guy Lapointe, although they&rsquo;ve been a little lax defensively, will make the team easily.Yvon Lambert, who has scored 15 goals so far and is doing an outstanding job on left wing, will face a tougher battle from men such as Rick Martin, Craig Ramsay, Danny Grant, Denis Dupere and Johnny Bucyk, but he has a good chance of making the All Star team.Pete Mahovlich, who cooled off after a fast start but is picking up speed again, could win a berth at center. Cournoyer isn&rsquo;t having one of his best seasons so far, but a lack of quality right wingers in the conference will give him a shot at making the team.Ken Dryden, although he hasn&rsquo;t performed as expected, has an outside shot at being one of the All Star netminders. But he&rsquo;ll receive stiff competition from Gilles Meloche, Gilles Gilbert and Gary Inness in the fight to back up Rogie Vachon.That makes three players who will definitely be on the team and another four who have a chance.That in itself is an indication of how much more impressive the Canadiens are this season.HAB-BITS: Lapointe scored his 12th and 13th goals last week, matching his total for last season&hellip; The Canadiens have alternated victories and ties for their last seven games&hellip; They could be on their way to setting a team record for ties in a single season. &#9632;

f0010-01

Stormy Days Replaced By Calm in Montreal

<div class="byline">BY NORM MacLEAN</div>NEW YORK&mdash;&ldquo;You have to wonder where it will stop,&rdquo; said a concerned Emile &ldquo;Cat&rdquo; Francis, the Rangers&rsquo; general manager-coach.Francis was informing the press that defenseman Gilles Marotte has sprained his left knee and would join Messrs. Dale Rolfe, Ron Harris, Bobby Rousseau, Walt Tkaczuk and Rick Middleton on the sidelines.&ldquo;Middleton&rsquo;s knee is getting better, but since we aren&rsquo;t even at the half-way mark I&rsquo;m not rushing him back, yet.&rdquo;The Rangers gave their followers cause for conern when they blew a three goal third period lead to the first year Washington Capitals. The final was 6-6.&ldquo;We played it too easy. We thought it was too easy,&rdquo; said Brad Park.With Marotte out, Park is the only survivor of the New York defense of last spring. This listed Rolfe with Park, Rod Seiling with Marotte and Jim Neilson as the extra man. John Bednarski has been working with Park and Marotte was partnering Ron Greschner.&ldquo;I can&rsquo;t carry anyone completely alone,&rdquo; said Park. &ldquo;The kids are learning under fire.&rdquo;On Dec. 14 the Blues humiliated the Rangers 6-2, with Greg Polis and Claude Larose part of a bench clearing brawl which broke the NHL record for PIM. Referee Dave Newell called a total of 246 minutes. Even Ranger goalie Ed Giacomin was banished by Newell.Polis got 32 minutes, with Bob Gassoff of St. Louis earning 30. Polis literally ran after Larose.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t like Larose. He butt ended a couple of guys when I was with Pittsburgh and I kinda remembered that,&rdquo; said Greg.&ldquo;The fight was a good thing.&rdquo; said Francis. &ldquo;The guys stuck together and it may have brought them together. I don&rsquo;t want to say more because of what Clarence Campbell may do.&rdquo;Polis, the 24-year-old roly poly left wing who played with the Blues for the last portion of 1973-74, came awake against the Los Angeles Kings in the Rangers&rsquo; next game. His goal earned New York a 3-3 sawoff on December 15.&ldquo;Polis can score if he shoots,&rdquo; said Francis.&ldquo;The Cat told me I had to play a disciplined style of hockey if I wanted to play for his team,&rdquo; said Greg, &ldquo;I had been unhappy when he sat me down and told him. so. He wants me to shoot more often &mdash; not dipsy doodle so much and look to the slot more often. On Pittsburgh and St. Louis, I was expected to carry more of the load myself. I have to come back better and pick up my man better.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-03601/3441211-1-eng-US/f0012-032.jpg" title="f0012-03" width="853" height="880"><figcaption class="caption-body">GREG POLIS&hellip; Fists Sparked Rangers</figcaption></div>Polis had been half-benched on many occasions and had totalled just 8 goals to date.Gilles Villemure played his best game of the year against Los Angeles &mdash; and robbed Don Kozak on a game saving breakaway near the end.&ldquo;Villemure was very sharp,&rdquo; noted Kings&rsquo; coach Bob Pulford. &ldquo;If he plays that way New York has no goalie problem.&rdquo;If the LA game was Villemure&rsquo;s best, the Washington game was his worst.&ldquo;A couple of the six goals were screened,&rdquo; informed Gilles. &ldquo;1 didn&rsquo;t see the game tying goal.&rdquo;With Marotte out, Francis will bring a new defenseman from Providence of the AHL &mdash; or go into the trade market. He cannot make a strong run at Philadelphia with Brad Park and a crew of talented, but inexperienced, youngsters on the blue line. Even Park is beginning to feel the pressure and was unfairly booed in the Garden. And Atlanta and the Islanders are challenging for playoff spots.BLUE CHIPS: Gilles Villemure is 6-2-2 with Ed Giacomin being 6-7-6 as of December 18&hellip;Gene Carr, Tommy Williams, Mike Murphy and Bob Nevin all admitted they played harder against the Rangers in MSG because of trades away from Gotham&hellip;Carr said, &ldquo;I got so I was scared to make a mistake in NY because of the boos,&rdquo; &#9632;

f0012-03

Polis Takes Out Frustrations In ‘Brawling’ St. Louis Game

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0012-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-01891/3441180-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg"></div><h2>Lindsay Hasn&rsquo;t Mellowed</h2>TED LINDSAY IS A MAN who never has been reluctant to state an opinion. In fact, Lindsay does more than call a spade a spade; he calls it a (bleep) shovel.Lindsay was one of the best two or three left wingers in the history of the National Hockey League. He scored 379 regular season goals in 17 seasons and shot another 47 scores in the playoffs. He was an All Star nine times and a member of four Stanley Cup teams.In addition. Lindsay was the most penalized player in NHL history with 1,808 minutes, 194 minutes in the playoffs. Pound-for-pound, he probably was the toughest man ever to play in the NHL.Time hasn&rsquo;t mellowed Ted Lindsay in the least, it&rsquo;s pleasing to report. Ask him a question and he tells you what he really feels. Lindsay is a successful businessman in Detroit now and the color commentator in NBC-TV&rsquo;s Game-Of-The-Week, a joo in which he&rsquo;s not at all reluctant to point out that some NHL players don&rsquo;t roar into the corners with reckless abandon.Lindsay&rsquo;s run-ins with the NHL establishment were many. Once, he criticized a referee and was fined by president Clarence Campbell. Lindsay called Campbell&rsquo;s office a &ldquo;kangaroo court&rdquo; and said the league would have to sue him to collect the fine. Lindsay apologized &mdash; and paid &mdash; to avoid suspension.When Lindsay was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1966, he refused to attend the induction ceremony because his family wasn&rsquo;t invited to the luncheon which followed the ceremony.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-02766/3441173-1-eng-US/f0012-022.jpg" title="f0012-02" width="517" height="574"><figcaption class="caption-body">Ted Lindsay</figcaption></div><h2>Tried To Start Union</h2>IN THE LATE 1950s, Lindsay was one of the players who attempted to organize the NHL players into an association. The NHL owners quickly quelched the &ldquo;union&rdquo;. Lindsay soon was traded to the Chicago Black Hawks.Thus, he&rsquo;s an old hand at feuds with the men who run the teams and the league. However, he doesn&rsquo;t agree with all the achievements of the NHL Players&rsquo; Association, a group which has assumed great power under the leadership of attorney Alan Eagleson, the NHLPA&rsquo;s executive-director.&ldquo;Back in the 1950s when we tried to form an association, we saw it as a vehicle to perpetuate things which would be good for the game of hockey, not just the players,&rdquo; Lindsay said.&ldquo;I think the NHL Players&rsquo; Association, in many ways, has hurt the game while upgrading the players&rsquo; lot in life. It&rsquo;s my view that Alan Eagleson is one of the biggest detriments in sport.&ldquo;Sport needs a militaristic training approach to produce the best product, and this is gone from the NHL.&rdquo;Lindsay was discussing the quality of tough guys in the NHL these days. He claims that the game simply isn&rsquo;t as physical as it was during his playing career and not enough players deliver flatout, aggressive efforts.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think that getting in a few phoney fights where no real punches are tossed is the way to measure if a player is tough,&rdquo; Lindsay said. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s much more to it than that.&rdquo;<h2>No Tough Guys Left</h2>&ldquo;MY DEFINITION OF TOUGH includes wanting to win so badly that you give it all you&rsquo;ve got every shift, going into the corners without looking ahead to see who&rsquo;s there, backing up your mates if they&rsquo;re in trouble and stepping into guys, even if they&rsquo;re bigger than you. How many guys qualify these days? Not too many.&rdquo;Lindsay feels the players&rsquo; association has turned the NHL into one big, happy family.&ldquo;The players&rsquo; association has created one household for all the players,&rdquo; Lindsay said. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s just too much familiarity. Players are just too close to their opponents.&ldquo;Players from different teams work at summer hockey schools, spend a month or so and become buddies. The next season, they aren&rsquo;t too willing to take a chunk of their buddies. I always admired John Ferguson when he was with the Montreal Canadiens. He wouldn&rsquo;t work at a hockey school with a guy from another team.&ldquo;Long-term contracts, even to fringe players, have produced complacency. The fact that players can play out their options gives them freedom which I don&rsquo;t think is justified.&rdquo;Lindsay adds that he thinks the fringe players have had a large role in the reduction of physical play in hockey.&ldquo;Fringe players used to impress the coach with agressiveness, knocking people down to draw attention,&rdquo; he continued. &ldquo;Now these players have the security of long-term contracts plus the fact that most teams don&rsquo;t have strong farm systems containing players who are pushing hard for big league jobs.&ldquo;How do coaches motivate these players? They can&rsquo;t send them to the minor leagues and they can&rsquo;t fine them because the players&rsquo; association raises a commotion.&rdquo;Lindsay claims that it&rsquo;s time the players took a long look at the way the game is going and the obligation they have to the fans to stage the best possible show.&ldquo;Hockey is a game that is meant to be played flatout and aggressively and, in many cases now, it isn&rsquo;t played that way,&rdquo; he said.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve grown disenchanted with the over-emhpasison the glamor of the pro athlete. I hope hockey players are smart enough to realize the facts of life. It&rsquo;s not the owners and management who are being cheated, it&rsquo;s the fans, the people who pay the shot.&rdquo;Other Lindsay observations:On Fred Shero, coach of the Philadelphia Flyers: &ldquo;Fred talks a great deal about the way the Russians play hockey and how much he&rsquo;s learned from them. But I think he&rsquo;s been far more influenced in his approach by Hap Day (coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1940s) than he has by Anatoli Tarasov.&rdquo;On the Flyers: &ldquo;They play the game the way I like &mdash; with discipline and aggressiveness. If one of their guys is trouble, they help him out without thinking about the consequences. They have guys who work all the time, like Bobby Clarke and Dave Schultz.&rdquo;On the Russian approach to hockey: &ldquo;It seems we got a little lazy in our approach to hockey and when the Russians came along, a great many people suddenly figured there was much we could learn from them. I don&rsquo;t think the Russians have taught us anything new. But they certainly reminded us of a lot of things about the way we used to play the game.&rdquo; &#9632;

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FRANK ORR SAYS:

<div class="byline">BY ALAN TRUEX</div>ATLANTA&mdash;In the space of three December weeks, the Atlanta Flames dropped from the brink of first place into last place in the Patrick Division.The Flames got caught up in a combination of a cruel schedule, a tough division, key injuries and lousy performances in all areas of their play.With their second-leading goal scorer, Eric Vail, out for several weeks with a broken wrist, Atlanta&rsquo;s offense could produce just two goals for three straight games.And the defense, missing injured Randy Manery, wobbled in many of the team&rsquo;s seven straight losses to start off the month.Even the goaltending of Phil Myre and Daniel Bouchard started fluctuating from its previous high level of excellence.Through it all, coach Bernie Geof-frion exhibited a calmness entirely uncharacteristic of him. Indeed, he was far more critical of his team during the earlier, more successful stage of the season than he was when the Flames went into their December collapse.Most of Geoffrion&rsquo;s postgame commentary consisted of shrugs. &ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t play that badly&rdquo; or &ldquo;Ask the players.&rdquo;At times Geoffrion preferred to blame the schedule. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think anybody&rsquo;s played as many road games as we have,&rdquo; he pointed out. In their first 29 games of the season, the Flames were on the road for 16.The team has played poorly away from home, but through October and November, the Flames were bailed out by their undefeated Omni record.Then even their home efficiency vanished, as the Flames lost two in a row in the Omn. to Chicago and Philadelphia.Those losses were enough to plunge Atlanta into lastplace among the Patrick Division&rsquo;s four teams. All of the division&rsquo;s teams except Atlanta were above .500.What was shocking about the Flames&rsquo; decline was the speed of it. Before the seven-game losing streak, Atlanta was 13-6-5 and just two points behind Philadelphia.While the Flames recently have been on a general downswing, there has at least been a few encouraging developments.Jacques Richard, who scored 27 goals last year but has done little this season. finally started coming around in mid-December. Richard, bothered by numerous injuries earlier in the year, lately has been skating with his former speed and graceful style.Richard&rsquo;s performance pickedup noticeably when Geoffrion paired the young left-wing with center Tom Lysiak, who played with Richard last year but not much of this season.Also encouraging was the play of rookie defenseman Ed Kea, who was brought up from Omaha and provided some compensation for Manery&rsquo;s absence caused by an injured ankle.Kea&rsquo;s physical style of play added a new dimension to the Flames&rsquo; defense. Aside from Pat Quinn and rookie Dwight Bialowas, Atlanta&rsquo;s defensemen bad not been among the hard hitters of the NHL.Unfortunately, Kea has been caught up ice too frequently, but Geoffrion was willing to forgive the mistakes. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s gonna happen to any kid, but overall I&rsquo;m pleased with his playing.&rdquo; &#9632;

Boomer Stays Calm As Slumping Flames Slip Into Cellar

<div class="byline">By Jules Furth</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-01875/3441297-1-eng-US/f0014-012.jpg" title="f0014-01" width="205" height="317"></div><h2>Referee Can&rsquo;t Coach</h2>Dear Jules:I am very close follower of the WCHL and I recently witnessed one of the poorest officiated games that could ever be imagined. Darryl Havrelak made some pathetic calls in an Edmonton-Brandon game. One move he made upset me a great deal, where he made the coach of Brandon change his goalies. The team was behind in the scoreboard, but the coach didn&rsquo;t seem to have any intentions of replacing the goalie. What I would like to know is. how can a referee decide when a team should change goalies? Wouldn&rsquo;t this move be up to the coach? Especially when there were no penalties at that time.Debbie Dembiski, Edmonton, Alta.Dear Debbie:A referee cannot decide when a team should change goalies. He can advise a captain or coach of a new rule this year whereby, if they don&rsquo;t change goalies, they would be subject to a minor penalty and this evidently is what poor official Darryl Havrelak did at Edmonton. (Besides being a bad referee in the WCHL, Darryl is a pretty fair part-time linesman in the WHA).The new rule requires that the goalie be substituted for if he comes to the bench during the game at any time other than the end of a period, injury time-out for another player, delayed penalty being called, etc. The substitute goalie must play until the next stoppage of play. Failure to comply with the above results in a minor penalty on the goalie which is served by a player on the ice at the time of the infraction.Don&rsquo;t be upset Deb, he did your team a favor?<h2>All Star Selection</h2>Dear Jules:Now that there are four divisions, and no more East or West divisions, how will the All Star teams be selected? And to add to this question, who will pick this year&rsquo;s All Stars?Tony Monte, Philadelphia, Pa.Dear Tony:Instead of East and West, you will see teams from the divisions representing the Clarence S. Campbell and Prince of Wales conferences. The teams will be picked by the members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association. See you in Montreal on January 21.<h2>Sabres And Stars Use Heads And Feet In Fight</h2>Dear Jules:Everybody talks about how bad and dirty the Flyers are, however, in a recent Buffalo-Minnesota game dirty fighting and questionable refereeing almost helped the North Satrs to defeat the sensational Sabres. The dirty fighting I&rsquo;m talking about happened between Rick Dudley and Dennis O&rsquo;Brien. It started with Brian &ldquo;Spinner&rdquo; Spencer and Chris Ahrens exchangingblows. While the players paired off, Dudley and O&rsquo;Brien had words and started going at it. It was clear to see that Dudley had the edge when O&rsquo;Brien started kicking him. Now a fight can be accepted but kicking is for girls or soccer players not hockey players with sharpened blades on theirfeet. Then when the penalties were assessed they both got five for fighting, plus 10 minutes misconducts, also match penalties. What 1 don&rsquo;t understand is why did they get more than the five. Also why didn&rsquo;t O&rsquo;Brien get more for the kicking?Tome Herkey, Depew, N.Y.Dear Tom:It is amazing to what lengths those poor teams have to resort to in order to beat the &ldquo;sensational Sabres&rdquo; this year. They can&rsquo;t be outscored so the referees have to help the opponents? After checking the box score of the game you mentioned (November 14), I couldn&rsquo;t find the name of the referee or either linesman as having scored any goals or earned any assists. I did find a few majors for fighting and some match penalties they assessed for the situation you refer to. While the linesmen were trying to break up the original Ahrens vs. Spencer tussle, Dudley and O&rsquo;Brien started jersey holding. Then they waltzed. Since the linesmen were occupied and couldn&rsquo;t cut in. they danced harder and harder. Dudley used his head. He used it to butt O&rsquo; Brien . O&rsquo; Brien kicked about this. He used his feet which had those sharp skates&rsquo; on. Both got five minute majors for fighting, and kicking and buttint call for match penalties. End of dance. Neither were hurt, but could have been. Now if both of those guys had really used their heads, neither would have had a kick coming.P.S. Kicking isn&rsquo;t only for girls. Have you ever seen Thai boxing? Also, the Sensational Sabres are second in team penalties to the fighting Flyers. They seem to be holding their own with the rest of the league.Any reader having any questions regarding rule interpretations or game situations can write to HEY REF, do THE HOCKEY NEWS, 1434 St. Catherine Street West, Montreal, Canada H3G 1R7. &#9632;

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hey, ref!

These beautiful 100% polyester ties with embroidered hockey players. A perfect gift for any hockey fan. Available in 3 color combinations.Maroon (red) with gold embroidered hockey players Navy (blue) with red embroidered hockey players Green (forest) with gold embroidered hockey players Just $6.50 each plus $1.00 for handling and shipping. NOTE: N.Y. State residents please add applicable sales tax. &#9632;

HOCKEY PLAYER TIES

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0016-03" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-03478/3441418-1-eng-US/f0016-032.jpg"></div><h2>NHL SCORING LEADERS</h2>(Including Thu. Dec. 19)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-04369/3441411-1-eng-US/f0016-042.jpg" title="f0016-04" width="561" height="1328"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-05270/3441404-1-eng-US/f0016-052.jpg" title="f0016-05" width="544" height="460"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-06217/3441397-1-eng-US/f0016-062.jpg" title="f0016-06" width="545" height="468"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-07194/3441390-1-eng-US/f0016-072.jpg" title="f0016-07" width="1052" height="785"><figcaption class="caption-body">Bobby Orr&hellip; Top Scoring Defenseman</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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Players’ Scoring & Penalty Statistics

<div class="byline">BY DICK JOHNSTON</div>BUFFALO &mdash;One of the most surprising things about the surprising Sabres, as they took an early lead in the Adams Division and maintained it into December, was that thev had five rookies who played regularly.One of them, Danny Gare, a right winger from the Calgary Centennials, figures as an early leader for the Calder Trophy. Tw others not first-year pros like Gare but up from the American League, rate consideration. One is Bill Hajt, a steady, hardworking defenseman, and the other is Gary Bromley, a goaltender who doesn&rsquo;t have one of the league&rsquo;s best goals-against averages but who has an impressive won-lost percentage.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-01681/3441359-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg" title="f0016-01" width="283" height="475"><figcaption class="caption-body">Bill Hajt</figcaption></div>Gare had 12 goals and 15 assists for 27 points after the Sabres&rsquo; first 30 games, which put him ahead of all other first-year NHL&rsquo;ers in scoring at that time. Eric Vail of Atlanta and Rick Middleton of the New York Rangers were ahead in goals, with 13 each, but both were behind Danny by a fair margin in points.Danny not only can score goals, he sets them up too, and what&rsquo;s even more important, he&rsquo;s a fine two-way player. He fitted right in with Don Lude and Craig Ramsay on the Sabres&rsquo; checking line.The 20-year-old blond bomber from Nelson B.C. isn&rsquo;t a big guy by any means &mdash; 5&rsquo;9&rdquo; and 175 pounds &mdash; but he never backs off from the rough going and when it comes to fisticuffs, he&rsquo;s always ready.Danny comes from a skating family. An older brother, Ernie, has played Senior &ldquo;A&rdquo; hockey with the Spokane Jets and a 12-year-old brother plays peewee. Three sisters are figure skaters.Their father, Ernie Sr., a physical education instructor at the University of Notre Dame in Nelson, still skates well enough to center a line with Ernie Jr. and Danny as his wingmen in a summer exhibition game in Nelson against pro players.Danny has a strong wrist shot, which he gets off in a hurry, and he goes into the corners after the puck. He credits his linemates for his fast start. And it was fast! He scored at the 18-second mark of his first NHL game, again st the Boston Bruins.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think I could break in with two greater guys than Luce and Ramsay,&rdquo; Gare says, &ldquo;They tell me what to do, they pat me on the back when I do something good, they don&rsquo;t yell at me if I do something wrong.&ldquo;We talk a lot togetheron the ice to let each other know what&rsquo;s going on.&rdquo;Says Luce, of his youthful winger, &ldquo;Danny plays our type of game. He works in the corners and he&rsquo;s smart for a rookie. He wants to work to prove himself. When you get somebody like that, you have a good thing.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-02593/3441352-1-eng-US/f0016-022.jpg" title="f0016-02" width="1156" height="1572"><figcaption class="caption-body">DANNY GARE&hellip; Making Impressive NHL Start</figcaption></div>Coach Floyd says, merely, &ldquo;Gare plays his position better every game.&rdquo;Besides Gare, Hajt and Bromley, the Sabres have two others who have played regularly but were sidelined by injuries. Peter McNab scored six goals and had five assists in 15 games before knocked out of action by pulled knee ligaments.McNab, like Hajt and Bromle, played for the Cincinnati Swords in the AHL last season. Lee Fogolin. the Sabres&rsquo; No. I pick in the 1974 draft, started the season as a spare defenseman but he was playing a regular shift when he was benched by a broken bone in his foot.A sixth rookie. Rocky Farr, is the club&rsquo;s third goaltender. With Bromley and veteran Roger Crozier doing most of the netminding work. Farr has played little. &#9632;

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Buffalo Staying On Top With 5 Young Regulars

<div class="byline">BY FRANK ORR</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0017-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-01582/3441449-1-eng-US/f0017-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Errol Thompson, left, along with his linemates George Ferguson and Lanny McDonald, has been, instrumental in the Leafs&rsquo; attempt to turn things around and start winning some hockev games. Here ThomDson is watched closely by Ralph Stewart of the Islanders.</figcaption></div>TORONTO &mdash;Errol Thompson has one claim to fame which no other National Hockey League player can make: He&rsquo;s the only graduate of Sandy&rsquo;s Royals now earning a paycheck in major league hockey.Thompson was playing for fun with the senior amateur team in Charlottetown, P.E.I. back in 1970 when he was spotted by Toronto Maple Leaf scout Johnny Bower. Bower&rsquo;s enthusiastic recommend led to the Leafs&rsquo; drafting Thompson in the 1970 amateur selection.Now, four years later, Thompson is a first stringer with the Leafs, one of the talented young players on whom the team is pinning its future. Thompson has transformed that potential into performance in flashes but his good work recently gives hope that he&rsquo;s arrived as a front-liner.The Leafs staged a modest three-game unbeaten streak with ties against the New York Islanders and Detroit Red Wings and a win over the Chicago Black Hawks. Thompson scored two goals in each of the games against the Wings and Hawks.Of course, a three-game unbeaten skein isn&rsquo;t much when compared to the victory binges launched by clubs such as Ruffalo and Los Angeles. But in the Leafs&rsquo; disappointing, injury-laden campaign, it represented a small sign of a turnaround in the team&rsquo;s fortunes.The work of the young forward line of Thompson, center Geroge Ferguson and Lanny McDonald was pivotal in those games, even though the Los Angeles Kings cooled the Leafs out with a 4-1 win at Toronto.While Leaf coach Red Kelly has juggled his forward personnel repeatedly in an effort to find some sort of a balanced attack, he hasn&rsquo;t tampered with the young line. All three were Leafs&rsquo; high draft picks who have required time to adjust to pro hockey.&ldquo;The fact that our line has stayed together all season has helped us,&rdquo; Thompson said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re getting accustomed to each other&rsquo;s style and moves.&rdquo;Ferguson and Thompson both have excellent speed and big shots while McDonald, who was a big goal scorer in junior hockey with Medicine Hat. has developed into a fine defensive player.It was thompson&rsquo;s speed that caught Bower&rsquo;s eye when he spotted Thompson with Sandy&rsquo;s Royals. At the time. Thompson had abandoned any hope of a hockey career.Bower was in Charlottetown to scout Hilliard Graves, now with the Atlanta Flames, when Leaf birddog Jack Ready took him to see the senior game. Thompson was a defenseman in those days and the night Bower was there, he played almost the entire game.&ldquo;I&rsquo;d played two years of junior hockey in Halifax, then I quit in my third season,&rdquo; Thompson said. &ldquo;I was our of the game for almost two seasons and working in Charlottetown when the senior team, sponsored by Sandy&rsquo;s service station, talked me into playing a few games for fun.&ldquo;Like many kids that age, I just didn&rsquo;t know what I wanted to do and had decided to go back to school when Leafs drafted me. I had played only I6 games of mediocre senior hockey in two years when they called to see if I would report to camp if they drafted me.&ldquo;Of course, said I would. I loved playing hockey even though there were some other things in my life I didn&rsquo;t have sorted out.&rdquo;The Leafs assigned him to their Central League farm team at Tulsa for the 1970-71 season. He played the first 25 games on defense, then Tulsa coach Marcel Pronovost shifted him to left wing, where he scored 15 goals.The Leafs wanted to promote him during the l971-72 season but injuries prevented it. A sprained muscle and a long-running groin injury held him in the minors. He did manage to score 21 goals in 46 games.In &lsquo;72-73. he earned a Leaf spot and scored l3 goals. Last season, he was a spot player and counted only 7 scores in 56 games.The defection of Paul Henderson to the World Hockey Association depleted the Leafs&rsquo; left wing complement but Thompsons&rsquo;s steady improvement indicates that he could solve the problem.&ldquo;The potential and ability is there for Errol to be a first rate winger but he has to develop consistency,&rdquo; Kelly said. &ldquo;All three players on that line &mdash; Thompson, Ferguson and McDonald &mdash; need time to get it together in this league. But I have a hunch that they&rsquo;re going to be a big line for us in the next few seasons.&rdquo;LEAF NOTES: Although Ian Turnbull&rsquo;s knee problems likely will keep the talented young defenseman out of the lineup for the duration of season. Borje Salming, out with a cracked heel bone, has returned to action. Leafs expected to have wounded backliner Rod Seiling (bruised knee), back before the end of 1974&hellip; Center Darryl Sittler, the team&rsquo;s top scorer, was expected to miss two weeks with a bruised shoulder. He was unable to lift his left arm but skated every day to keep his legs in shape&hellip; Leafs continued to receive excellent goaltending from Doug Favell and Dune Wilson. &#9632;

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Leafs’ Thompson Has Come Long Way In Short Time

<div class="byline">BY JAY GREENBERG</div>LOUISVILLE SLUGGERHOCKEY STICKSMade in Canada byHILLERICH & 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 Canada<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-01590/3441480-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg" title="f0018-01" width="571" height="682"><figcaption class="caption-body">GUY CHARRON &hellip; Proven NHL Scorer</figcaption></div>KANSAS CITY&mdash;After months of verbal sparring in the smoke-filled rooms of the National Hockey League, the Scouts have finally completed their first honest-to-goodness major trade, the juicy kind that puts them on the flesh-market map.The deal sent defensemen Bart Crashley and Larry Giroux and right wing Ted Snell to Detroit for Guy Charron and minor-league defenseman Claude Houde.In the case of Crashley and Charron, the rider on the trade may have been a doghouse to be named later. Both had found themselves in one with their prior teams, and both will now get a chance to start over again.Designed to help both teams? Has there ever been a trade that wasn&rsquo;t But if Charron&rsquo;s problems, which found him seeing only part-time duty with the Wings, are Detroit oriented only, the Scouts may have struck a bargain.Charron is a proven NHL scorer and an excellent playmaker who scored 25 goals and 30 assists a year ago.&ldquo;We hope he&rsquo;ll be happy here,&rdquo; said Sid Abel, the Scouts&rsquo; general manager. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s coming to a team with Lemieux, Nolet, and Dube (French-Canadian players) and he&rsquo;ll fit right in here.&rdquo;Charron, upon arriving in Kansas City a day later said he really wasn&rsquo;t that unhappy about his treatment in Detroit. But for reasons that he says were mostly unexplained, he wasn&rsquo;t playing regularly.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a big question mark in my mind,&rdquo; said Charron. &ldquo;But he (Alex Delvecchio) is the one who called the shots. I was pleased when I found out about the trade. Very pleased. I just wanted a chance to play regularly.&rdquo;He&rsquo;ll get it with the Scouts. With Dave Hudson suffering a hairline ankle fracture the Scouts were left with only Ed Gilbert and Rich Lemieux at center, with Lynn Powis, normally a left wing as a fill in. But the Scouts obviously weren&rsquo;t considering Charron as just emergency help.His reputation is as a poor defensive player, and how he fits in with the Bep Guidolin school of backchecking remains to be seen, but the desire for scoring punch took precedence in this case.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re happy for two reasons,&rdquo; said Abel. &ldquo;We think defensively this guy (Houde) will play as well or better than Crashley or Giroux, and Charron will put the puck in the net.Crashley&rsquo;s Kansas City days became numbered after making a mistake which led to the winning goal 7-6 loss to Montreal. Guidolin hung him out to dry publicly for it, and Crashley saw only part-time duty after that.Asked if he expected to be traded, Crashley said: &ldquo;It wouldn&rsquo;t disappoint me.&rdquo; A little less than four weeks later, he got his wish.Although Crashley&rsquo;s play was erratic, Giroux had played reasonably well for the Scouts and took his regular shift inagame with Vancouverevenafterthe trade had been consummated. He made his share of mistakes, but with the exception of one brutal when he was on the ice for six goals in a 7-3 loss at Chicago, had a knack for getting back and covering up in time.Snell, was being used mostly as a penalty-killer, and was the club&rsquo;s fourth right wing behind Will Paiement, Simon Nolet and Randy Rota. Like with Giroux, speed was a problem. Rota had been used sometimes on the left wing, and with minor-leaguer Gary Coalter recovering from an ankle break, Abel said Snell probably would have been sent to the minors soon.Charron says his reputation as a poor defensive player is unearned. &ldquo;That was one of the reasons, I guess,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Sometimes I wonder why they say something like that when I really had one of the best records on the club as far as minus goes.&rdquo; &#9632;

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Scouts See Trade As Upward Step

KANSAS CITY &mdash;It took an extra two months for the Scouts to see it Butch Deadmarsh&rsquo;s way, but they finally coneeded to his wishes.In the first recorded cash player transaction between the National Hockey League and the World Hockey Association, the Scouts have released him to join the Vancouver Blazers. An undisclosed amount of cash helped make the divorce less painful for the Scouts.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-02478/3441511-1-eng-US/f0018-022.jpg" title="f0018-02" width="274" height="384"><figcaption class="caption-body">Butch Deadmarsh</figcaption></div>Deadmarsh, through his attorney, Keith Hanson of Minneapolis, had been trying to negotiate his release from the NHL expansion club since he signed a contract for the 1975-76 season with the Blazers in August. The Scouts had resisted, still hoping Deadmarsh&rsquo;s contributions would be a help even for one year.Butch, who was the second player the Scouts selected in the expansion draft in June, had tried to renegotiate a long-term contract with the Scouts over the summer. They refused, so he signed with the Blazers, and refused to report for the Scouts&rsquo; training camp when it opened Sept. 15.When Sid Abel, the Scouts&rsquo; general manager, announced a suspension and fine. Deadmarsh finally came in on the fifth day of camp, said he was happy to be there, and pledged to give it his best shot in his lame-duck year.The Scouts who hoped Deadmarsh could give them some desperately needed muscle, never felt they got it. After three weeks he was used on a fourthline and for penalty-killing, and they decided his place on the roster was better taken up by someone who would be around for more than a year.They called up Glen Burdon, their No. 2 amateur draft choice, whom they had farmed to Baltimore 17 days earlier. Deadmarsh passed waivers through the league, signed his release, and was off the same day to Vancouver.&ldquo;We feel he is a better hockey player than how he had been playing,&rdquo; said Abel. &ldquo;We were all disappointed. He didn&rsquo;t give us the kind of hockey he was supposedly capable of. He&rsquo;s building a home in Vancouver and playing here it just seemed like he was putting the year in.&rdquo;&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve never seen a hockey player so pleased to leave a team before,&rdquo; said Bep Guidolin, whose disdain for the W.H.A. is well documented. &ldquo;He played but not up to what I had seen him do in the minors.&rdquo;Burdon, who replaced Deadmarsh, lasted with the club three days. Despondent over a lack of ice time, and feeling he was losing confidence, he left the club when it arrived in Chicago from Philadelphia, Dec. 2 and flew home to Kansas City.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s not really sure himself why he did it,&rdquo; said Abel, who two days later, after meeting with Guidolin, Baz Bastien, the Scouts&rsquo; assistant general manager, and President Ed Thompson, fined Burdon and sent him to Providence of the American League. Abel promised no hard feelings towards Burdon&rsquo;s future, but added he was going to have to prove to Guidolin that it wouldn&rsquo;t happen again. &#9632;

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Deadmarsh’s Play Turned Scouts Off

PHIL ESPOSITO Boston Bruins Phil Esposito appears to be making a determined bld to stay ahead in the NHL scoring race as he gets some unexpected opposition from Bobby Orr.Esposito collected nine points in two games as the Bruins defeated Atlanta 5-3 and then trounced the Rangers 11-3. The splurge pushed him ahead of Orr In points, 63-62.Espo registered one goal and an assist in cooling the Flames but exploded for seven points, three goals and four assists, against the archrival Rangers.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-03358/3441549-1-eng-US/f0018-032.jpg" title="f0018-03" width="442" height="525"></div>DEREK SANDERSON New York Rangers Derek Sanderson tallied his first hat-trick in a Ranger uniform against Minnesota in 7-0 romp as he continues to play sterling hockey for the New Yorkers.Sanderson has admitted that he never really scored the third one, it really belonged to Bill Fairbairn. Fairbairn apparently centered the puck and it went In off a North Star skate, not off Sanderson, Fairbairn never complained saying that a point is a point whether it be a goal or an assist.Turk also added one assist in the contest<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-04271/3441542-1-eng-US/f0018-042.jpg" title="f0018-04" width="430" height="532"></div> &#9632;

f0018-03

Stars of the week

<div class="byline">BY BILL LIBBY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0019-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-01570/3441580-1-eng-US/f0019-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">BOB MURDOCH&hellip; Thinks Defense First</figcaption></div>LOS ANGELES&mdash;The tenth week of the current campaign found the Kings return to reality. After playing a favorable schedule in which 15 of 25 games were played at home and most were well spaced, the southern California club ran into four games in five nights on the road. After losing only two of their first 26 games, they lost two in a row.Penalty-killers Butch Goring and Bob Nevin turned the trick in Toronto to lead a 4-1 win over the Leafs which left the Kings undefeated in 11 starts on the road this season. The league record was only four games away. But then the Kings were completely outplayed in Boston and bombed by the Bruins, 8-1. Great goaltending by Garry Edwards averted a rout for awhile, but before long it came.Embarrassed and brought back to earth, the club waltzed to a 3-0 loss to the Islanders in Long Island before bouncing back to a 3-3 tie with the Rangers in Manhattan. Now coach Bob Pulford and his players face the true test of how they can handle adversity and some of the returns will be in by the time this reaches print.One of the players the Kings have come to count on the most is Bob Murdoch. In his third full major league season at the age of 28, the 6-foot, 190-pounder has become one of the better all-around defensemen in the game. In one of the best deals the team has made he was acquired from Montreal for Randy Rota and an amateur draft choice prior to last season. He was instrumental in turning this team around.The helmeted, mustachioed right-defenseman is rugged, if not rough. He is a good skater and stickhandler and does not make many mistakes. And he is an opportunistic performer and a sharp shooter who represents the team&rsquo;s only offensive threat from the rear line. He does not try to be a Bobby Orr, but he will attack at times. He tallied eight times last season and four times the first 30 games this season. The team&rsquo;s other defensemen had two among them.He scored two in two games just before the quarter-pole, against top teams and goalers. Facing Chicago, he hammered home a power-play score from in front of Tony Esposito. A few nights later, he stole a Montreal pass and soloed in, splitting the defense with marvellous moves, to fire one past Ken Dryden. &ldquo;Mud&rdquo; had 11 shots on goal that night, but says it was just one of those nights.&ldquo;You take your chances when they come, but I try to think defense first. In Pully&rsquo;s system you are supposed to think defense first. In his system, the defensemen carry the puck out of our end so we have a lot of responsibility. We play conservatively to avoid mistakes. When we&rsquo;ve made them, we&rsquo;ve had marvellous goaltending behind us. We&rsquo;re an improved team and I don&rsquo;t think we&rsquo;ll take many bad beatings. We&rsquo;re a team which will bounce back from bad games and win many more games than we lose,&rdquo; he says.&ldquo;The team has matured, and so have I. I&rsquo;m a better player psychologically now, if not physically. The more I play, the more I realize this game is almost completely mental. I used to get upset by a bad game. If I had personal problems, I let them affect me. If I had a headache or was tired, I used to dread the game, feeling 1 would not do well. I used to feel if I got up for most of the games, that was sufficient.&ldquo;Now I feel ready for every game. I don&rsquo;t have to be &ldquo;up.&rdquo; I know what I can do and I do it. No matter what happens during the day, I can concentrate on the game in the arena that night. 1 have learned to shut the rest of my live out of that part of my life. If I miss my pre-game meal when I usually have it, so what? If my kid woke me up in the middle of the night and I lost some sleep, so what? I&rsquo;ve got two hours of a game to go, and I go.&rdquo;Bob married the former Doris Wendelken in May of 1971. They have two children &mdash; Scott born in September of 1972, and Stacey, born in October of this year. He watched the birth of both in the delivery room and regards it as &ldquo;one of the greatest experiences&rdquo; of his life. He has been awakened by his new daughter at times the first few months of this season, but it doesn&rsquo;t bother him.He says, &ldquo;I want to make the most of my sport while I can play it. With the exception of a Bobby Orr, most of us have about the same physical capabilities. Those who succeed are those who are willing to make the necessary sacrifices to make the most of ourselves. The Flyers showed us what could be done with hard work last season and we are getting a lot done this season. &#9632;

f0019-01

Kinas Stooped Four Games Shy Of NHL Record

<div class="byline">BY PAT THOMPSON</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-01413/3441618-1-eng-US/f0020-012.jpg" title="f0020-01" width="505" height="445"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-02315/3441611-1-eng-US/f0020-022.jpg" title="f0020-02" width="457" height="437"></div>TWIN CITIES &mdash;They&rsquo;re contemplating additional equipment for Minnesota North Star goalies.Parachutes. They need to bail out the way their team plays in front of them. This is no joke. Long has been the cry of disgruntled athletes, &ldquo;Play me or trade me.&rdquo; In Minnesota, it&rsquo;s become, &ldquo;Rest me.&rdquo; Cesare Maniago, 35-year-old veteran who has played in the majority of games in each of the seven-plus seasons he&rsquo;s been with the North Stars, does not find all of this the least bit funny.He, in fact, bailed out for a time. Cesare made the dash from a game against the Montreal Canadiens Dec. 10, and did not come back in. The North Stars were riding a five-game losing streak when the Canadiens came to Minnesota, the fifth loss of that string being a 5-0 loss to Buffalo with the North Stars getting only 14 shots on goal.So when Cesare inadvertently diverted a puck into his net against Montreal for the fourth and deciding Canadien goal of the game, he stalked off the ice.&ldquo;It was a matter of frustration that has been building up for some time,&rdquo; he said after refusing to comment about the incident for a day. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s all it amounted to. A man can take so much. I had never taken myself out of game before. But the situation had almost reached a point of insanity.&rdquo;Much of the problem lies with the way the North Stars play away from home &mdash; through the first two weeks of December, they had won only one on the road with 14 losses and two ties. In most of those games, they had been out-shot and out-played.When Cesare made his quick exit, saucer-eyed Peter LoPresti made his first appearance before his homestate fans.&ldquo;When I was six years old, my father tried to talk me out of being a goalie,&rdquo; said LoPresti. &ldquo;Now I know what he meant.&rdquo;LoPresti&rsquo;s father, Sam, is a former NHL goalie who still holds the record of having an 80-shot barrage fired at him in the Chicago Black Hawk goal by the Boston Bruins in 1941.The 20-year-old LoPresti, the youngest goalie in the NHL, found out how his father must have felt when the Los Angeles Kings out-shot the North Stars 51-16 in a 4-1 Kings victory in LA.In the impromptu stint against the Canadiens, LoPresti impressed the 14,329 North Star fans with 11 saves on 12 Montreal shots.&rsquo;&ldquo;When Cesare skated off, I thougl he was coming back to the bench for new stick,&rdquo; LoPresti said. &ldquo;It didn take long after that to figure out wh was going in. I was the only guy left, certainly didn&rsquo;t have any time to gonervous.&rdquo;GM-coach Jack Gordon met wit Maniago the next day. and they agree Cesare needed a few days off to &ldquo;thin about things&rdquo;.LoPresti started the next night in Ph ladelphia. and took a 6-0 lesson from th Stanley Cup champion Flyers an award winning goalie Bernie Parent. &#9632;

f0020-01

Stars’ Goaler Equipment Could Include Parachutes

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0020-03" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-03263/3441649-1-eng-US/f0020-032.jpg"></div> &#9632;

f0020-03

IS YOUR SMILING FACE IN THIS PICTURE? IT CAN BE IN ’75

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-04187/3441764-1-eng-US/f0020-042.jpg" title="f0020-04" width="400" height="406"><figcaption class="caption-body">YVAN COURNOYER Director</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-05103/3441757-1-eng-US/f0020-052.jpg" title="f0020-05" width="382" height="400"><figcaption class="caption-body">JACQUES LEMAIRE Director</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-0677/3441750-1-eng-US/f0020-062.jpg" title="f0020-06" width="394" height="406"><figcaption class="caption-body">CLAUDE LAROSE</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-0768/3441743-1-eng-US/f0020-072.jpg" title="f0020-07" width="349" height="403"><figcaption class="caption-body">GUY LAFLEUR</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-0859/3441736-1-eng-US/f0020-082.jpg" title="f0020-08" width="403" height="409"><figcaption class="caption-body">GUY LAPOINTE</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-0942/3441729-1-eng-US/f0020-092.jpg" title="f0020-09" width="373" height="412"><figcaption class="caption-body">LEON ROCHORT</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-02191/3441722-1-eng-US/f0021-022.jpg" title="f0021-02" width="373" height="413"><figcaption class="caption-body">STEVE SHUTT</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-03136/3441715-1-eng-US/f0021-032.jpg" title="f0021-03" width="400" height="412"><figcaption class="caption-body">DENIS DEJORDY</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-04107/3441708-1-eng-US/f0021-042.jpg" title="f0021-04" width="409" height="418"><figcaption class="caption-body">MURRAY WILSON</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-0592/3441701-1-eng-US/f0021-052.jpg" title="f0021-05" width="394" height="409"><figcaption class="caption-body">CHUCK LEFLEY</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-0677/3441694-1-eng-US/f0021-062.jpg" title="f0021-06" width="403" height="406"><figcaption class="caption-body">JACQUES LAPERRIERE</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-0766/3441687-1-eng-US/f0021-072.jpg" title="f0021-07" width="400" height="415"><figcaption class="caption-body">PIERRE BOUCHARD</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-0861/3441680-1-eng-US/f0021-082.jpg" title="f0021-08" width="385" height="400"><figcaption class="caption-body">LARRY ROBINSON</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0020-04

NATIONAL HOCKEY SCHOOL 1975

<div class="byline">BY RUSS WHITE</div>WASHINGTON&mdash;Doug Mohns, the oldest player in the National Hockey League, was bom Friday the Thirteenth of December 1933. He turned 41 on Friday the Thirteenth 1974.His hair has thinned but his legs remain strong. So is Doug Mohns&rsquo; heart.His heart beat wildly on the eve of brithday No. 41 as there was more excitement at Capital Centre than on the usual hockey nights in Washington.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-01260/3441795-1-eng-US/f0021-012.jpg" title="f0021-01" width="553" height="776"><figcaption class="caption-body">DOUG MOHNS&hellip;Just Turned 41</figcaption></div>In their most spirited never-say-die game, the Capitals wiped away a three-goal deficit in the last period to gain a 6-6 tie with the New York Rangers. The tie snapped a seven-game Washington losing streak.Doug Mohns was more than pleased with the tie as a gift.He had a pair of assists in the game, pushing his 22-year National Hockey League record to 699 points scored. He went for No. 700 two nights later at Boston Garden, where he began his fine career.&ldquo;I feel as good today as I ever have in my life, &ldquo;Mohns said the night of the 6-6 tie. &ldquo;Maybe I feel even better.When an athlete reaches my age, he tries hard to look ahead rather than behind.I&rsquo;ve never taken a loss lightly and I don&rsquo;t think any of the fellows on this Washington team take &ldquo;them that way either,&rdquo; Mohns said. &ldquo;This has been a frustrating experience for all of us &mdash; guys like myself and for the young fellows up in the NHL for the first time.&ldquo;To come back as we did against one of the more experienced teams, one of the oldies, is a most satisfying experience. It is something to relish. I may not be the only one celebrating this particular game.&rdquo;Mohns said that there have been many clubhouse meetings by the players in recent days.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve tried to talk over our problems&hellip;talk about what we can accomplish in this trying season. The guys want to make something of it. They&rsquo;ve got pride. For the Ranger game everyone skated hard and there was plenty of hitting.&ldquo;Surprisingly, Mohns wasn&rsquo;t too tired.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t feel tired,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Oh, there have been nights when it was an ordeal just getting up to shower after a bad game. But when things click, like in a win or tie for us, it&rsquo;s easier. A guy feels younger.&ldquo;Mohns had a talk about his career a week ago with his 12-year-old daughter, Andrea.&ldquo;She is pushing me to keep playing.&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;She wants me to play as long as Gordie Howe does. I told her that may not be possible.&ldquo;1 still enjoy the game, as much as ever, despite the aches and pains, despite the fact I&rsquo;m with an expansion club. I wonder from time to time how much longer can play. I&rsquo;ll stay, of course, only as long as I am useful.&rdquo;In a few years there may be another Doug Mohns in the NHL.Doug Mohns, 17. is a senior at Thayer Academy&rsquo;in Braintree. Mass, and is quite a hockey player. He is 6&rsquo;1 &ldquo;. 194-poundsand his dad said he is indeed clever with the puck. &ldquo;Dougie has size, has the desire,&rdquo; Mohns said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;ll go on to college, play hockey there and maybe&hellip;&rdquo;As for Mohns&rsquo; future, he has several things on the pot.He runs a camp in the summers in Braintree and has other business enterprises. He will, he said, consider coaching proposals. He might just play till Gordie Howe&rsquo;s age too, maybe to be joined by Doug Jr. &#9632;

f0021-01

Hair Thinned But Legs Still Strong

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0022-13" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-1337/3441938-1-eng-US/f0022-132.jpg"></div>WARNING: The Department of National Health and Welfare advises that danger to health increases with amount smoked.<h2>Tue. Dec. 17</h2>ISLANDERS 4, ST. LOUIS 8<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-01284/3441931-1-eng-US/f0022-012.jpg" title="f0022-01" width="613" height="556"></div>ATLANTA 3, BOSTON 5<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-02211/3441924-1-eng-US/f0022-022.jpg" title="f0022-02" width="628" height="357"></div>WASHINGTON 2, VANCOUVER 4<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-03183/3441917-1-eng-US/f0022-032.jpg" title="f0022-03" width="613" height="517"></div><h2>Wed. Dec. 18</h2>MINNESOTA 0. RANGERS 7<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-04140/3441910-1-eng-US/f0022-042.jpg" title="f0022-04" width="604" height="511"></div>Attendance: 17,500ISLANDERS 2. BUFFALO 3<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-05117/3441903-1-eng-US/f0022-052.jpg" title="f0022-05" width="610" height="487"></div>MONTREAL 4, CALIFORNIA 3<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-0690/3441896-1-eng-US/f0022-062.jpg" title="f0022-06" width="622" height="585"></div>PITTSBURGH 4, TORONTO 6<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-0779/3441889-1-eng-US/f0022-072.jpg" title="f0022-07" width="619" height="673"></div>DETROIT 5, CHICAGO 7<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-0869/3441882-1-eng-US/f0022-082.jpg" title="f0022-08" width="637" height="235"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-0962/3441875-1-eng-US/f0022-092.jpg" title="f0022-09" width="634" height="394"></div>LOS ANGELES 6, KANSAS CITY 0<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-1052/3441868-1-eng-US/f0022-102.jpg" title="f0022-10" width="616" height="525"></div><h2>Thu. Dec. 19</h2>RANGERS 3, BOSTON 11<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-1148/3441861-1-eng-US/f0022-112.jpg" title="f0022-11" width="625" height="430"></div>TORONTO 1, PHILADELPHIA 5<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-1244/3441854-1-eng-US/f0022-122.jpg" title="f0022-12" width="610" height="262"></div>KANSAS CITY 4, PITTSBURGH 4<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-1429/3441847-1-eng-US/f0022-142.jpg" title="f0022-14" width="613" height="583"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-1527/3441840-1-eng-US/f0022-152.jpg" title="f0022-15" width="597" height="557"></div>WASHINGTON 1, LOS ANGELES 4<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-1621/3441833-1-eng-US/f0022-162.jpg" title="f0022-16" width="573" height="819"><figcaption class="caption-body">GILLES VILLEMURE&hellip;Blanked Minnesota</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-1718/3441826-1-eng-US/f0022-172.jpg" title="f0022-17" width="601" height="517"></div> &#9632;

f0022-13

MarkTen presents

(Standings on Fri. Dec. 20)<h2>NORRIS DIVISION</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-1817/3441990-1-eng-US/f0022-182.jpg" title="f0022-18" width="597" height="185"></div><h2>ADAMS DIVISION</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-1917/3441983-1-eng-US/f0022-192.jpg" title="f0022-19" width="605" height="167"></div><h2>PATRICK DIVISION</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-2016/3441976-1-eng-US/f0022-202.jpg" title="f0022-20" width="609" height="151"></div><h2>SMYTHE DIVISION</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-2116/3441969-1-eng-US/f0022-212.jpg" title="f0022-21" width="601" height="187"></div>GAMES COMPLETEDTue. Dec. 17N.Y Islanders 4 at St Louis 8 Atlanta 3 at Boston 5: Wshington 2 at Vancouver 4.Wed. Dec. 18Minnesota 0 at N.Y. Rangers 7; N.Y. Islanders 2 Buffalo 3: Montreal 4 at California 3; Pittsburgh 4 at Toronto 6; Detroit 5 at Chicago 7; Los Angeles 6 at Kansas City 0.Thu. Dec. 19N.Y. Rangers 3 at Boston 11: Toronto 1 at Philadelphia 5; Washington 1 at Los Angeles 4; Kansas City 4 at Pittsburgh 4.GAMES TO COMESat. Dec. 21Chicago at N.Y. Islanders; Philadelphia at Detroit; Montreal at Los Angeles; Pittsburgh at Minnesota; Kansas City at St. Louis; Boston at TorontoSun. 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 Chicago.Thur. 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 CaliforniaSat. Dc. 28N.Y. Islanders at Toronto. Philadelphia at Chicago. Atlanta at Pittsburgh. Kansas City at Montreal. California at Los Angeles. Boston at Vancouver. Minnesota at St. Louis.Sun. Dec. 29Kansas City at N.Y Rangers; N.Y. Islanders at Washington; Philadelphia at Buffalo; St Louis at ChicagoMon. Dec. 30N.Y Rangers at Minnesota: Toronto at Pittsburgh; Los Angeles at DetroitTue. Dec. 31California at Detroit; Los Angeles at ChicagoWed Jan. 1Chicago at N Y. Rangers; Philadelphia at Vancouver. California at TorontoThu. Jan. 2.Washington at N.Y Islanders. Montreal at Atlanta. Minnesota at Pittsburgh; Boston at Los Angeles. St Louis at Kansas CityFri. Jan. 3Buffalo at California &#9632;

f0022-18

LOOKING AT THE NHL SCOREBOARD

<div class="byline">BY HARRY KLAFF</div>LONG ISLAND &mdash;A depressed Islander team dressed slowly following a 4-2 defeat at the hands of the Kansas City Scouts in mid-November. The club had blown a third neriod lead.and already bits of coach Al Arbour&rsquo;s scathing post-game remarks were reaching the forces.The most depressed member had to be rookie netminder Glenn Resch. Resch was clobbered the night before in Pittsburgh, and had to be lifted in favor of Billy Smith in the third period, but Arbour showed enough confidence in him to bring him right back. This loss certainly didn&rsquo;t help.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-01262/3442028-1-eng-US/f0023-012.jpg" title="f0023-01" width="283" height="442"><figcaption class="caption-body">Garry Howatt</figcaption></div>It would be three weeks before Resch would appear in another NHL game. Once again his foe was the Scouts, but this time at the Nassau Coliseum. The score was also a bit different, as the Isles cruised to an easy 4-1 win as the 26-year-old freshman starred in the nets.Only a second period breakway goal by K.C.&rsquo;s Ted Snell spoiled Resch&rsquo;s bid for his first NHL shutout. It was one of those fluke plays where a player steps out of the penalty box just in time to take a lead pass at the blue line.&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t have to work too hard tonight.&rdquo; said Resch afterward. &ldquo;But I had to be pleased with my game. I thought I had him (Snell), but I made a mistake by going with him and he lifted it past me.&rdquo;&ldquo;I have all the confidence in the world in Glenn Resch,&rdquo; said Arbour after the game. The coach showed how strong his confidence was by starting him the following night in the lion&rsquo;s den of hockey rinks, the Philadelphia Spectrum.Resch was outstanding and kept the Islanders in the game, as they eventually dropped a 3-2 decision. Glenn faced 35 shots, compared to the mere 13 that Bernie Parent stood up to at the opposite end of the rink.&ldquo;He played a great game,&rdquo; said Parent, who might be considered to be a fair judge of goalkeeping. &ldquo;I was a little suprrised the way he played. He sure knows what he&rsquo;s doing out there.&rdquo;The recipient of last year&rsquo;s Central League most valuable player award. Resch said that he wasn&rsquo;t too surprised that he started gainst Kansas City and Philadelphia. But he didn&rsquo;t expect to play against St. Louis on December IOth, marking the first time he had appeared in three NHL games in succession.This was a big game for the Islanders, especially coming off the loss to the Flyers. A victory would have put them even with the Rangers, and one point behind the Flames in the tough struggle for playoff berths in the Patrick Dvi-sion. A loss could have sent the club into a tailspin.The result was a hard-fought 3-2 Islander victory in a game that easily could have gone either way. But there was no doubt in Arbour&rsquo;s mind why his team was on top at the end.&rdquo;I&rsquo;dhave to say &lsquo;Reschy&rsquo; won the game for us.&rdquo;After falling behind 1-0, the Isles potted three straight goals to take a 3-1 lead into the third period. But Garry Unger&rsquo;s 14th goal of the campaign off defenseman Gerry Hart&rsquo;s skate made it 3-2 with more than nine minutes left to play.Only 15 seconds after Unger put the Blues within one. Islander Bob Bourne was flagged off by referee Art Skoy for hooking. Resch stopped the Blues cold, including a great glove save on a blistering drive by Larry Sacharuk. Later he denied Unger twice in the closing seconds to ice the victory.&ldquo;They were calling me the&rsquo;Kansas City Kid&rsquo; because I only played against the Scouts, but I felt good playing against some of the other teams,&rdquo; said Resch. &ldquo;The whole thing is confidence. If you don&rsquo;t have it and challenge the guys, they&rsquo;re going to get to you.&ldquo;But my confidence really won&rsquo;t be built up until I get to play a lot of games. How many games do I want to play in? Only the ones I&rsquo;m going to win,&rdquo; concluded Glenn.Hockey men around the NHL have conceded that the Isles have a top netminder in Billy Smith. But they felt that Resch&rsquo;s questionable status might weaken the club if anything happened to Smitty. Glenn&rsquo;s three game stint did more than add to the rookie&rsquo;s confidence.ISLAND SOUNDS: The brothers Potvin have been on a scoring tear of late. Denis posted two goals and six assists in the first four games in December, while Jean had two and three. The Potvins accounted for four of the five goals against Philadelphia and St. Louis&hellip; Left winger Garry Howatt has already equalled his entire production of the 1973-74 season. He did it with his sixth goal against the Blues&hellip;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-02204/3442021-1-eng-US/f0023-022.jpg" title="f0023-02" width="571" height="661"><figcaption class="caption-body">GLENN RESCH &hellip;&rsquo;Kansas City Kid</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0023-01

Rookie Resch Gives Isles Depth In Goal

C&mdash;CaptainA&mdash;Alternate*&mdash;Rookie<h2>BOSTON</h2>GOALGilles GilbertRoss BrooksDEFENSEGary DoakDarryl EdestrandBobby Orr AAl SimsDallas Smith ACarol VadnaisCENTERPhil Esposito AWalt McKechnieAndrd SavardGregg SheppardR. WINGKen HodgeTerry O&rsquo;ReillyDave Hynes*Bobby SchmautzL. WINGJohn Bucyk CDave ForbesDon MarcotteINJUREDWayne Cashman<h2>BUFFALO</h2>GOALGary Bromley *Rocky Farr*Roger CrozierDEFENSELarry CarriereLee Fogolin*Bill Hajt*Jerry KorabJ. GuevremontJ. Schoenfeld CCENTERDon Luce AJim LorentzGil Perreault AR. WINGNorm GrattonLarry MickeyRene RobertDanny Gare *L. WINGRichard MartinCraig RamsayBrian SpencerRick DudleyINJUREDPeter McNab<h2>DETROIT</h2>GOALJim RutherfordDoug GrantDEFENSEGary Bergman AJean HamelJack LynchBryan WatsonBarry Salovaara *Bart CrashleyLarry GirouxCENTERBlair Stewart*Marcel Dionne CRick McCann*R. WINGEarl Anderson*Ted SnellBill Lochead*Doug RobertsL. WINGNick Libett AHank Nowak*Danny GrantNJUREDBill HogaboamRed BerensonMickey Redmond A<h2>ISLANDERS</h2>GOALGlen Resch *Billy SmithDEFENSEDave Fortier*Gerry HartDave LewisBert Marshall AJean PotvinDenis PotvinCENTERLorne HenningBob Boume*Ralph Stewart AEddie Westfall CDoug RomboughR. WINGCraig CameronBilly Harris ABob NystromAndre St LaurentL. WINGClark Gillies*Walt Ledingham*Billy MacMillanINJUREDEmle HickeGarry Howat<h2>MONTREAL</h2>GOALKen DrydenMichel LarocqueWayne ThomasDEFENSEPierre BouchardGuy LapointeLarry RobinsonSerge Savard AJ. Van BoxmeerDon AwreyJim RobertsCENTERJacques LemairePete MahovlichDoug Risebrough *R. WINGYvan Cournoyer AMario Tremblay *Guy LafleurL. WINGBob GaineyGlen SatherSteve ShuttMurray WilsonYvon LambertINJUREDJ. LaperriereHenri Richard C<h2>RANGERS</h2>GOALEd GiacomlnGilles VlllemureCurt Ridley*DEFENSENick BeverleyDave Maloney*Brad Park CJohn Bednarski*Ron Greschner*Joe Zanussi*CENTERJean RatelieDerek SandersonPete StemkowskiABob MacMillanR. WINGJerry ButlerBill FairbairnRod Gilbert AJerry Holland*L. WINGTed IrvineSteve VickersGreg PolisBert Wilson *INJUREDRick Middleton*Dale RolfeRon HarrisBobby RousseauWalt TkaczukGilles Marotta *<h2>TORONTO</h2>GOALDoug FavellDune WilsonDEFENSEBrian GlennieJim McKennyBob NeelyBorje SalmingDave DunnCENTERDave Keon CDarryl SittierNorm Ullman AGeorge FergusonR. WINGRon Ellis ABill FlettBlaine StoughtonLanny McDonaldGary SabourinL. WINGInge HammarstromLyle Moffat*Eddie ShackErrol ThompsonINJUREDlan TurnbullRod Seiling<h2>VANCOUVER</h2>GOALGary SmithKen Lockett*Bruce Bullock*DEFENSEBob DaileyDennis KearnsTracy PrattAb DeMarcoJohn GrisdaleHarold Snepsts *CENTERAndre BoudriasBobby LalondeGerry MeehanR. WINGPaulin BordeleauGregg BoddyLeon RochefortJerry O&rsquo;FlahertyL. WINGJohn GouldDon LeverGarry MonahanNJUREDMike RobitailleDennis VervergaertChris Oddieifson<h2>KANSAS CITY</h2>GOALMichel PlassePeter McDuffe*DEFENSEMike Baumgartner*Brent Hughes AJim McElmury*Bryan LefleyClaude Houde*CENTEREddie Gilbert*Richard LemieuxLynn PowisGuy CharronR. WINGSimon Nolet CWilf Paiement*Randy Rota AL. WINGRobin Burns*Gary CroteauNorm DubeINJUREDDave Hudson<h2>ATLANTA</h2>GOALDan BouchardPhil MyreDEFENSEDwight Bialowas*Jean LemieuxEd Kea*Pat Quinn ANoel Price ABob Murray*CENTERCurt BennettRey ComeauBryan HextailTom LysiakR. WINGHilliard GravesBuster HarveyDean Talafous*Tim EcclestoneL. WINGJacques RichardKeith McCrearv CLarry RomanchychINJUREDBob Leiter ARandy ManeryEric Vail<h2>CALIFORNIA</h2>GOALGilles MelocheGary Simmons*DEFENSELen Frig ARick Hampton*Jim NeilsonBob StewartGeorge Pesut*CENTERRon Huston*Larry Patey*Stan WeirDave GardnerR. WINGAl MacAdam*Morris MottWarren WilliamsL. WINGJoey Johnston CJohn StewartDave Hrechkosy*Brian LavenderINJUREDMike Christie*Tom Price*Wayne King*Jim Moxey<h2>CHICAGO</h2>GOALTony EspositoMike Velsor*DEFENSEDoug Jarrett ADick RedmondPhil RussellBill White AKeith MagnusonCENTERIvan BoldirevStan Mikita ARob Palmer*R. WINGJim PappinAlain Daigle*Cliff KorollGrant Mulvey*LWINGDennis HullDarcy RotaJohn MarksGermain GagnonINJUREDDale TallonPit MartinJ.P. Bordeleau<h2>LOS ANGELES</h2>GOALRogatien VachonGary EdwardsDEFENSELarry BrownTerry Harper CDave Hutchison*S. KannegeisserNeil KomadoskiBob MurdochCENTERGene CarrButch GoringVic VenaskyJuha Widing AR. WINGMike CorriganDon KozakMike MurphyBob NevinFrank St MarseilleL. WINGBob BerryDan Maloney ATom WilliamsINJUREDNone.<h2>MINNESOTA</h2>GOALCesare ManiagoPeter LoPresti *DEFENSEBarry Gibbs ADoug Hicks *Fred BarrettTom ReidChris Ahrens*CENTERJude DrouinDennis Hextali AMurrav OliverFred StanfieldR. WINGBill Goldsworthy CJohn Flesch*Henry BouchaL. WINGDon Martineau*Blake Dunlop*Jean-Paul Parise A.Richard Nantais*INJUREDFem RivardDennis O&rsquo;BrienLou Nan<h2>PHILADELPHIA</h2>GOALWayne StephensonBemie ParentBob TaylorDEFENSEAndre DupontTed HarrisEd Van ImpeTom BladonJimmy WatsonJoe WatsonCENTERRick MacLeishBill ClementTerry Crisp AOrest KindrachukBobby Clarke CR. WINGGary Domhoefer AReg LeachDon SaleskiL. WINGBill BarberDave SchultzBob KellyRoss Lonsberry<h2>PITTSBURGH</h2>GOALGary Inness*Bob Johnson*DEFENSEDave Burrows AColin Campbell*Mario Faubert*Bob ParadiseDennis Owchar*Jean-Guy LagaceCENTERSyl Apps ARon Schock CPierre Larouche*Bob McManama*R. WINGChuck ArnasonRick KehoeLew MorrisonL. WINGIVic HadfieldNelson Debenedet*Kelly Pratt*Lowell MacDonaldINJUREDSteve DurbanoBarry WilkinsBob KellyRon StackhouseJean Pronovost<h2>ST. LOUIS</h2>GOALJohn DavidsonEddie JohnstonDEFENSEBob Gassoff*Bob Hess*Barclay Plager CBob Plager ALarry Sacharuk*Chris EvansCENTERWayne MerrickGarry Unger ADoug Palazzari*Ken RichardsonR. WINGBill CollinsPierre PlanteClaude LaroseCraig PatrickL. WINGAce BaileyStan GilbertsonFloyd Thom sonPhil RobertoChuck Leffley cINJUREDNone.<h2>WASHINGTON</h2>GOALMichel BelhumeurRon LowDEFENSEYvon LabreBill MikkelsonDoug MohnsMurray AndersonWillie BrossartCENTERJim Hrycuik*Pete LaframboistTommy WilliamsDave KryskowRon LalondeR. WINGSteve AtkinsonGordie BrooksMike Marson*Mike Bloom*L. WINGBruce Cowick*Denis DuperePaul Nicholson*Bill LesukINJUREDJack EgersGreg Joly &#9632;

NHL Team Rosters

<div class="byline">BY RICH PASSAN</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 CanadaCLEVELAND&mdash;To say the 1974-75 hockey season has been frustrating for Crusaders&rsquo; center Jim Harrison would be a gross understatement.Harrisson obtained from the Edmonton Oilers in a celebrated trade early in the camipaign. came here with all the celebration due a star. So far. however, he has been anything but that.In his first 17 games for the purple. black and white, the stocky pivot has been a distinct disappointment. He has deposited only four pucks behind enemy goaltenders in 17 games. And the Cleveland fans have not been kind to him, showering him with a multitude of boos because of the slow start. What they don&rsquo;t know is Harrison is laboring because of back troubles.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-01269/3442083-1-eng-US/f0024-012.jpg" title="f0024-01" width="289" height="439"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jim Harrison</figcaption></div>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m a long way from being 100 percent.&rdquo; confided Harrison who scored at a rate of almost 1&frac12; points a game in his first two World Hockey Association seasons. &ldquo;But I expected it because of the back operation I had during the offseason.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s almost impossible to do what I want to do on the ice,&rdquo; he continued. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m certainly not skating or checking the way I can. There has been some progress, but I&rsquo;m not like I would like to be.&rdquo;The back injury was sustained about five years ago when he was a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League. An operation ostensibly cleared up the troubles, but Harrison experienced muscle spasms last season and a second operation was necessary to clean out what had been left in the first operation.He went down to 173 pounds &mdash; about 15 under his playing weight &mdash; during his Team Canada training camp. &ldquo;I was weak,&rdquo; said the high-scoring center, who eventually ballooned to over 200 pounds by the time he reported to the Crusaders.He has taken treatments for his back, but he cannot work too hard for fear of aggravating it. &ldquo;If I work too hard, I can hardly walk a couple of hours later,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It does more harm than good.&ldquo;Then Al Eagleson became my representative, he sent me to some doctors to check out the original prognosis. They all said it would be about a year before I would be like my old self again.&rdquo;The pressure to produce, however, weighs heavily on Harrison&rsquo;s broad shoulders. His reputation as a big scorer in the WHA is the reason. &ldquo;I know what the (Cleveland) management expects of me,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I know why they got me.&rdquo;Harrison has heard the catcalls of the Cleveland fans. &ldquo;I haven&rsquo;t exactly set the world on fire,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m stinking out the joint and playing terribly. Maybe it (the booing) is justified.Harrison is used to playing hurt. &ldquo;I played with a bad knee last year,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I wasn&rsquo;t supposed to play. I don&rsquo;t mind playing with an injury if I&rsquo;m playing for something with a purpose. Then it&rsquo;s worth it.&rdquo;While he is suffering offensively, it has been virtually overlooked he is doing the job defensively. &ldquo;I always enjoyed playing defensive hockey,&rdquo; he admitted. &ldquo;I know that&rsquo;s one thing the management and goaltenders appreciate. I know I&rsquo;m not getting the chances to score, but they&rsquo;re sure not going to score agaifist me.&ldquo;The fans don&rsquo;t have a clue about what&rsquo;s going on out there. They don&rsquo;t know how many goals you save or how many fancy plays you make. That&rsquo;s important to me.&rdquo;Harrison is also as puzzled as anyone at the Crusaders inability to win consistently at home. To date, they have split their first eight games or home ice and have not looked good in any of them.Conversely, they have played well on the road, although their mark on foreign ice reads 6-7-1. &ldquo;New York (Rangers) used to be brutal at home all the time because of where they lived and had to go play their games,&rdquo; said Harrison, referring to the Crusaders having to travel nearly 20 miles to the new Coliseum.&ldquo;Also, we&rsquo;ve never practised in our new rink. That&rsquo;s the main thing. It&rsquo;s different to us. We don&rsquo;t play as aggressively at home, which you have to do.&rdquo;From now on, the Crusaders will practice at their old home, the Cleveland Arena, which offers a much larger ice surface than their old practice site.NEW ENGLAND: The Whalers are running away and hiding from the rest of the East Division with some great early-season performances. In fact, you might say the East Division has two divisions &mdash; New England and then the rest of the clubs.The Whalers&rsquo; nearest rival is 17 points out of first place. And the pleasing part of this to New England brass is the fact this margin was piled up despite a sizeable number of injuries.But now, everybody is back and the club is looking forward to playing in its new home in Hartford. It&rsquo;s not going to be easy leaving Springfield, however, since the Whalers lost only one of their first 11 games there.Coming back from relative obscurity to help the cause lately has been veteran left winger Don Blackburn, who has seen the Whalers more from the stands this season than from the bench.Since being rescued from mothballs, Blackie has been sensational. In a 9-4 victory over Quebec, he scored a hat trick, then came back to set up three more goals in a 4-3 victory at Winnipeg.Goaltender Al Smith made his first appearance in two weeks in the latter contest and proved he is ready to take up where he left off after a shoulder injury. Christer Abrahamsson did a fine job of filling in for Smith, winning three and losing two during that stretch.INDIANAPOLIS: In an effort to give the front office a fresh new look, new Racers&rsquo; owner Paul Deneau has spirited Jim Browitt away from league haed quarters in Newport Beach, Calif., to become president and general manager.&ldquo;Browitt was my first and only choice for the job,&rdquo; said Deneau in making the appointment. &ldquo;Jim has been associated with the WHA since its inception. His expertise was what we wanted. It will be of great value in our efforts to build a great franchise.&rdquo;Browitt, second in command to league president Dennis Murphy at the time of his appointment, will still be available to Murphy for special assignments until a replacement can be found.One of Browitt&rsquo;s first moves was to obtain center Joe Hardy from the Chicago Cougars for future considerations&hellip;The Racers&rsquo; 5-24 record is the worst in the league at&rsquo;this point&hellip;The roster now totals 24 men. That will be pared shortly. &#9632;

f0024-01

Cleveland Wondering And Walting For Harrison To Deliver

CHICAGO&mdash;To compensate for the loss of Joe Hardy, the Chicago Cougars obtained the services of veteran Lou Angotti, who resigned as coach of the St. Louis Blues earlier this season.Indianapolis owned An gotti&rsquo;s WHA rights, but the veteran pivot wanted to play in Chicago, so the Racers shipped the negotiation rights to the Cougars for future considerations.Angotti signed a one-year contract and, in so doing rejoined former Chicago Black Hawks&rsquo; teammate Whitey Stapleton. The soon-to-be 37-year-old Angotti is a 10-year Veteran of the NHL and scored 103 goals.The Cougars narrowed the gap between third and second place to one point with Cleveland with a strong showing in late November and early December&hellip; Dave Dryden recorded the club&rsquo;s first shutout with a 6-0 whitewash over Michigan&hellip; Angotti is playing between Rosaire Paiement artd Jan Popiel.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-02205/3442114-1-eng-US/f0024-022.jpg" title="f0024-02" width="514" height="622"><figcaption class="caption-body">LOU ANGOTTI</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0024-02

Angotti Back On Ice With Chicago Cougars

MICHEL CORMIER Phoenix RoadrunnersMichel Cormier scored his second hat-trick of the season in 5-3 win over Vancouver Blazers. He also added an assist.The young Roadrunner notched the tying goal, set up the winner and added the insurance marker.If he keeps up the pace he is at right now, he will be sure to improve on his 16 goal, 31 assist, 47-point season of last year.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-03144/3442152-1-eng-US/f0024-032.jpg" title="f0024-03" width="478" height="594"></div>DANNY LAWSON Vancouver BlazersDanny Lawson may be just the man to lead the Blazers out of their doldrums.Lawson scored the opening goal in Vancouver&rsquo;s 3-2 win In Indianapolis and tied the game at one apiece as the Blazers went one to defeat the Houston Aeros 3-1. The only game Lawson failed to score in was a 5-3 setback in Phoenix. He did contribute two assists however.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-04111/3442145-1-eng-US/f0024-042.jpg" title="f0024-04" width="475" height="592"></div> &#9632;

f0024-03

WHAs Stars of the week

DETROIT &mdash;The World Hockey Association trustees were reported planning to meet in Chicago to consider moving the Stags to Calgary in January.The league is already paying Stags&rsquo; bills.The Stags, although playing in a beautiful building, Cobo Arena, have only an 8-19-1 record for a last place standing in the WHA and have not been drawing as expected in this rabid hockey center.A crowd of nearly 4,000 sat in on a 5-3 upset of the Winnipeg Jets and coach John Wilson commented, &ldquo;I&rsquo;d be satisfied to see crowds like that for the rest of the season&rdquo;.The upset performance was triggered by a hat-trick off the stick of Pierre Guite just obtained in a trade with the Quebec Nordiques. Guy Trottier accounted for the other two Michigan goals.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s worker out there&rdquo;, Wilson said of Guite. &ldquo;He was just fantastic. Next to Bobby Hull I don&rsquo;t see any better on the left side around the league.&ldquo;I liked what I saw tonight. That&rsquo;s the kind ofhockey I&rsquo;ve been waitingfor since training camp.&rdquo;The Stags were victimized at home by Tom Simpson&rsquo;s hat trick in a 7-2 route by the Toronto Toros in which Stag forward Michel Rouleau was ejected for attempting to spear Tony Featherstone.The two had collided earlier and after emerging from the penalty box, Rouleau took a run at the Toronto forward apnearing to attempt to hit him in the face. The two dropped their sticks and fought. &#9632;

Are Troubled Stags Bound For Calgary?

(Standings on Fri. Dec. 20)<h2>CANADIAN DIVISION</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-03110/3442357-1-eng-US/f0025-032.jpg" title="f0025-03" width="561" height="179"></div><h2>EAST DIVISION</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-0484/3442350-1-eng-US/f0025-042.jpg" title="f0025-04" width="535" height="143"></div><h2>WEST DIVISION</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-0573/3442343-1-eng-US/f0025-052.jpg" title="f0025-05" width="555" height="173"></div>GAMES COMPLETEDTue. Dec. 17Edmonton 2 at Houston 7; Vancouver 3 at Indianapolis 2 Winnipeg 4 at Toronto 1; Cleveland 3 at San Diego 8; Quebec 6 at Chicago 1; New England 2 at Michigan 2.Wed. Dec. 18Vancouver 3 at Phoenix 5; Winnipeg 1 at Quebec 5.Thu. Dec. 19Vancouver 3 at Houston 1; Minnesota 6 at Indianapolis 0; Edmonton 7 at San Diego 6: Cleveland 0 at Michigan 1.GAMES TO COMESat. 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.Sat. Dec. 28New England at Houston; Cleveland at Phoenix; Winnipeg at San Diego. Minnesota at Chicago; Michigan at Quebec.Sun. Dec. 29Cleveland at Minnesota; Indianapolis at Edmonton; Chicago at Michigan; Winnipeg at Houston.Mon. Dec. 30Phoenix at Quebec.Tue. Dec. 31Chicago at Cleveland; Phoenix at Michigan.Wed. Jan. 1Indianapolis at Quebec; Cleveland at Minnesota; San Diego at Edmonton.Thu. Jan. 2Indianapolis at Cleveland; Phoenix at Vancouver; Michigan at Houston.Fri. Jan. 3San Diego at Minnesota; Phoenix at Edmonton; New England at Toronto<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-0657/3442336-1-eng-US/f0025-062.jpg" title="f0025-06" width="252" height="282"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-0754/3442329-1-eng-US/f0025-072.jpg" title="f0025-07" width="208" height="278"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-0846/3442322-1-eng-US/f0025-082.jpg" title="f0025-08" width="244" height="242"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-0940/3442315-1-eng-US/f0025-092.jpg" title="f0025-09" width="250" height="252"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-1027/3442308-1-eng-US/f0025-102.jpg" title="f0025-10" width="240" height="238"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-1121/3442301-1-eng-US/f0025-112.jpg" title="f0025-11" width="318" height="220"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-1217/3442294-1-eng-US/f0025-122.jpg" title="f0025-12" width="248" height="252"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-1313/3442287-1-eng-US/f0025-132.jpg" title="f0025-13" width="260" height="248"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-1411/3442280-1-eng-US/f0025-142.jpg" title="f0025-14" width="226" height="220"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-159/3442273-1-eng-US/f0025-152.jpg" title="f0025-15" width="280" height="200"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-168/3442266-1-eng-US/f0025-162.jpg" title="f0025-16" width="206" height="250"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-177/3442259-1-eng-US/f0025-172.jpg" title="f0025-17" width="267" height="271"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-185/3442252-1-eng-US/f0025-182.jpg" title="f0025-18" width="319" height="321"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-194/3442245-1-eng-US/f0025-192.jpg" title="f0025-19" width="319" height="281"></div> &#9632;

f0025-03

WHA Scoreboard

<div class="byline">BY DOUG McCONNELL</div>PHOENIX &mdash; The Roadrunners are still having trouble getting started, being outscored 39-21 in first periods, but coming back strong for a 30-21 advantage in the second period and a 36-28 edge in the third periods.They exploded for a three-goal third period to overcome a 3-1 Minnesota Fighting Saints&rsquo; lead for a 4-3 victory, the first time they have put victories back-to-back on home-ice since surprising the World Hockey Association by winning their first two games (over San Diego and Houston) in midOctober.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-01220/3442190-1-eng-US/f0025-012.jpg" title="f0025-01" width="289" height="478"><figcaption class="caption-body">Cam Connor</figcaption></div>Together with a victory at Chicago earlier in the week &mdash; their third straight televised road win &mdash; the Roadrunners put together a three-game winning streak, their longest of the season. It momentarily jumped the Roadrunners into second place in the WHA West but he San Diego Mariners regained it later that night.Cam Connor, the Roadrunners&rsquo; ligh-priced bonus rookie, provided he winning goal against Minnesota. It was only his third of the season and came with 1:02 left in the game.Coach Sandy Hucul broke from his goaltender rotation to start Gary Kurt who made a half-dozen breakaway saves against the explosive Saints in extending his unbeaten streak to seven games &mdash; six wins and a tie. He has an 8-4-2 overall record and his 3.30 goals against average is sixth best in the WHA.The trade which brought John Migneault and Pete McNamee from Vancouver for Hugh Harris is looking better all the time. Migneault provided two big assists in a 4-2 victory over Vancouver, had one in Chicago and added another against the Saints.McNamee, who club president Bill MacFarland introduced as &ldquo;a good tough kid&rdquo; challenged the WHA&rsquo;s top-ranked fighter, Gord Gallant in a pair of scraps. He won the first handily and lost a close decision in the second.Besides, McNamee assisted on the tying and winning goals.At the same time, the Roadrunners sent defenseman-left wing Rick Newell to Tulsa of the Central League to play himself into shape after he had the wiring removed from his proken jaw.HOUSTOfi: Gordie Howe&rsquo;s two goals in a 5-3 Houston Aeros&rsquo; victory over the Winnipeg Jets in the Sam Houston Coliseum were the 900th and 901st of his career.They included 70 goals in playoffs with the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League and the Aeros of the WHA.Gordie and son Mark had scored 28 seconds apart in a second period rally which sparked the Aeros to a 5-3 victory over the Vancouver Blazers earlier in the week.Howe stands 12th in the WHA&rsquo;s individual points race with 14 goals and 19 assists.Frank Hughes triggered his 25th goal of the season but Bobby Hull scored in the same game to remainone ahead of Hughes for the WHA goal scoring leadership.Hughes&rsquo; center, Larry Lund, had a five-point week but fell three points behind the Golden Jet in the points race. Hull has 47 and Lund 44. They had been tied a week earlier.Hughes has 39 points, and Andre Hinse, the left wing on the &lsquo;Go Go Line&rsquo; has 35, including 14 goals.Wayne Rutledge and Ron Grahame rank one-two in WHA goaltending for the Aeros, who have opened a nine-point bulge over San Diego in the WHA West standings.Rutledge has a 2.94 average and a 10-6-0 record. Grahame owns a 2.98 average and a 9-4-0 mark.Rutledge and Grahame played behind Don McLeod last season. McLeod, who went to the Vancouver Blazers after a pre-season salary dispute, led the WHA in goaltending last season with a 2.56 average.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-02158/3442183-1-eng-US/f0025-022.jpg" title="f0025-02" width="562" height="775"><figcaption class="caption-body">FRANK HUGHES &hellip; Chasing Golden Jet</figcaption></div>Elsewhere, Aeros&rsquo; president and general manager Jim Smith made a joint announcement with Ray Schindler, president of KVRL-TV, of the signing of a contract for Channel 26 in Houston to televise a minimum of 10 regular season away games during the remainder of the season. The telecast schedule starts with the Aeros&rsquo; game in the new Cleveland Coliseum, Dec. 22.Jack Stanfield, former Houston left wing, joins play-by-play broadcaster Jerry Trupiano for the color analysis.KVRL-TV telecast 11 regular season games last season and all of the Aeros&rsquo; games in the final two rounds of the playoffs.The TV station is initiating a half-hour Aeros&rsquo; Hi-Lite Show, featuring coach Bill Dineen and Stanfield. It will be shown Tuesday nights from 9 to 9:30 p.m. during the regular season and playoffs. Besides highlights of the Aeros&rsquo; games, the show will include interviews and player profiles. &#9632;

f0025-01

Slow-Starting Runners Moving Up; Howe Gets 900th, 901st Career Goals

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-01225/3442486-1-eng-US/f0026-012.jpg" title="f0026-01" width="619" height="604"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-1616/3442493-1-eng-US/f0026-162.jpg" title="f0026-16" width="171" height="221"></div><h2>Tue. Dec. 17</h2>EDMONTON 2, HOUSTON 7VANCOUVER 3, INDIANAPOLIS 3<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-02174/3442479-1-eng-US/f0026-022.jpg" title="f0026-02" width="631" height="487"></div>WINNIPEG 4, TORONTO 1<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-03140/3442472-1-eng-US/f0026-032.jpg" title="f0026-03" width="634" height="450"></div>CLEVELAND 3, SAN DIEGO 8<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-04106/3442465-1-eng-US/f0026-042.jpg" title="f0026-04" width="625" height="622"></div>QUEBEC 6, CHICAGO 1<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-0585/3442458-1-eng-US/f0026-052.jpg" title="f0026-05" width="613" height="472"></div>NEW ENGLAND 2, MICHIGAN 2<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-0665/3442451-1-eng-US/f0026-062.jpg" title="f0026-06" width="580" height="559"></div><h2>Wed. Dec. 18</h2>WINNIPEG 1, QUEBEC 5<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-0754/3442444-1-eng-US/f0026-072.jpg" title="f0026-07" width="619" height="547"></div>VANCOUVER 3, PHOENIX 5<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-0846/3442437-1-eng-US/f0026-082.jpg" title="f0026-08" width="629" height="545"></div><h2>Thu. Dec. 19</h2>VANCOUVER 3, HOUSTON 1<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-0940/3442430-1-eng-US/f0026-092.jpg" title="f0026-09" width="623" height="493"></div>MINNESOTA 6, INDIANAPOLIS 0<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-1037/3442423-1-eng-US/f0026-102.jpg" title="f0026-10" width="593" height="133"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-1134/3442416-1-eng-US/f0026-112.jpg" title="f0026-11" width="605" height="423"></div>CLAVELAND 0. MICHIGAN 1<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-1328/3442409-1-eng-US/f0026-132.jpg" title="f0026-13" width="605" height="333"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-1424/3442402-1-eng-US/f0026-142.jpg" title="f0026-14" width="619" height="171"></div>EDMONTON 7, SAN DIEGO 6<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-1713/3442395-1-eng-US/f0026-172.jpg" title="f0026-17" width="609" height="783"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-1521/3442388-1-eng-US/f0026-152.jpg" title="f0026-15" width="557" height="573"><figcaption class="caption-body">MIKE ROGERS&hellip;Overtime Winner</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0026-01

World Hockey Association Summaries

(Including Thur. Dec. 19)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-1228/3442524-1-eng-US/f0026-122.jpg" title="f0026-12" width="621" height="1441"></div> &#9632;

f0026-12

WHA Leaders

<h2>CLEVELAND</h2>GOALGerry CheeversBob WhiddenDEFENSERay ClearwaterTom EdurLarry HillmanWayne MuloinPaul ShmyrWayne HillmanCENTERJim HarrisonRich LeducRon WardR. WINGTerry Holbrook *Skip KrakeAl McDonoughL. WINGSteve CardwellGrant EricksonGarry JarrettGerry PinderRuss WalkerINJUREDNone.<h2>CHICAGO</h2>GOALDave DrydenCam NewtonDEFENSEBryon Baltimore *Darryl MaggsJim WatsonLarry MavetyPat StapletonDune MacCallumCENTERRalph BackstromMark Lomenda *Gary MacGregor*Rod ZaineR. WINGPete Mara*Duke HarrisRosaire PaiementDon GordonL. WINGBob LiddingtonRick MorrisJan PopielFrankie RochonINJUREDNone.<h2>EDMONTON</h2>GOALKen BrownChris WorthyDEFENSEDoug BarrieKen BairdAl HamiltonBarry LongJim McCrimmonCENTEREddie JoyalRoss PerkinsMike Rogers *Bobby SheehanRon BuchananR. WINGTom GilmoreBruce MacGregorRusty PatenaudeDon HerrimanL. WINGRon ClimieBlair MacDonaldSteve CarlyleINJUREDJacques PlanteRay McKay<h2>HOUSTON</h2>GOALWayne RutledgeRon GrahameDEFENSELarry HaleMarty HoweGlen Irwin*Poul PopielJohn SchellaCENTERGord LabossiereLarry LundTerry Ruskowski *Jim SherritR. WINGMurray HallGordie HoweFrank HughesBill PrenticeL. WINGAndre HinseMark HoweTed TaylorDon Larway*Bill Preston *INJUREDNone<h2>INDIANAPOLIS</h2>GOALAndy BrownEd DyckDEFENSEDick ProceviatRoger CoteMurray KennettJim HargreavesCraig Hanmer *Ralph HopiavouriBilly HortonKen DesjardineCENTERBob FitchnerBob SicinskiBob Whitlock.Jacques LocasSteve Richardson*Joe HardvR. WINGRoss Smith*Nick HarbarukBrian McDonaldL. WINGJim WisteKerry Bond *Rich PumpleJohn Sheridan*INJUREDNone.<h2>MICHIGAN</h2>GOALGerry DesjardinsJim McLeodPaul HogansonDEFENSEPaul CurtisLarry JohnstonJohn MiszukArnie BrownRandy Legge*Jerry Zrymiak *Bill Reed*CENTERJ.P. LeblancSteve West *Jim JohnsonFred SpeckReg ThomasR. WINGLen FontaineGary Bredln*Guy TrottierSteve Andrascik *Alain CaronL. WINGDanny Gruen*Gary VeneruzzoPierre GuiteMike RouleauTom ServlssINJUREDNone.<h2>MINNESOTA</h2>GOALMike CurranJohn GarrettJack McCartanDEFENSEJohn ArbourTerry BallBob BoydRon BusniukPat Westrum *Rick SmithMike McMahonCENTERTed HampsonDanny O&rsquo;SheaFran HuckMike AntonovichGary GambucciR. WINGMike WaltonWayne ConnellyKevin O&rsquo;SheaL. WINGMurray HeatleyGeorge MorrisonDon TannahillGord GallantINJUREDNone.<h2>NEW ENGLAND</h2>GOALC. AbrahamssonTed Ouimet*DEFENSET. AbrahamssonJim DoreyPaul HurleyBrad SeiwoodTed GreenCENTERTerry CafferyLarry PleauGary Swain *R. WINGMike ByersFred DonnellTim SheehyTom EarlLWINGWayne CarletonDon BlackburnJohn FrenchNick Fotiu *INJUREDAl SmithRick LeyAl KarlanderTom Webster<h2>PHOENIX</h2>GOALGarry KurtJack NorrisDEFENSEAl MacLeodWendell BennettGerry OdrowskiMike Stevens *Jim NiekampJohn Hughes *Pete McNamee*CENTERBob BarlowJim Boyd *Murray KeoganDennis SobchukRobbie Ftorek.R. WINGDon Borgeson *Cam Connor*John Gray *Bob Mowat *L. WINGMichel Cormier *Howie YoungJohn MiqneaultINJUREDNone.<h2>QUEBEC</h2>GOALSerge AubryRichard BrodeurMichel DeguiseDEFENSEDale HogansonRic JordanPierre RoyJ.C. TremblayFrancois LacombeCENTERSerge BernierAndre GaudetteJeannot GilbertMichel ParizeauChris BordeleauR. WINGRene LeclercReal Cloutier *Rejean HouleJean Garneau *L. WINGCharles Constantin *Bobby GuindonMarc TardifSteve SutherlandINJUREDNone.<h2>SAN DIEGO</h2>GOALRuss GillowBob Blanchet*DEFENSERon PlumbKen BlockHarry HowellBob FalkenbergBob WallCENTERAndre LacroixRay Adduono *Wayne RiversMike LaughtonDoug Volmar *R. WINGRick SentesBrian MorenzTed ScharfKevin MorrisonL. WINGKevin Devine *Gene PeacoshCraig ReichmuthNorm FergusonINJUREDNone<h2>TORONTO</h2>GOALGilles GrattonLes BinkleyJim Shaw.DEFENSEMike AmodeoRick CunninghamSteve CuddieJim Turkiewicz.George Kuzmicz *Brian GibbonsCENTERPat HickeyGavin KirkVaclav NedomanskyWayne DillonR. WINGTony FeatherstoneTom MartinTom SimpsonL. WINGPaul HendersonBrit SelbyRichard Farda *Gordie Titcomb*INJUREDFrank MahovlichBob Leduc<h2>VANCOUVER</h2>GOALDon McLeodWayne Wood*DEFENSEJim CardiffDon McCullochMike PelykPat Price *Duane RuppCENTERBryan CampbellRon Chipperfield *Claude St. SauveurRob WaltonJohn ShmyrR. WINGDanny LawsonPaul TerbencheJohn McKenzieAndy BathgateL. WINGDon BurgessJimmy Jones *Butch DeadmarshPeter Driscoll *Hugh HarrisINJUREDPete DonnellyMurray Myers<h2>WINNIPEG</h2>GOALJoe DaleyErnie WakelyCurt Larsson *DEFENSELarry HornungDuke AsmundsonHeikki RiihirantaLars-Erik Sjoberg*Bob WoytowichPerry Miller *Alain BeauleCENTERDanny JohnsonVeil Ketola *Ulf Nilsson *Jean-Guy GrattonR. WINGNorm BeaudinRon AshtonDanny SpringRon SnellAnders Hedberg *L. WINGMike Ford *Milt BlackBobby HullINJUREDNone. &#9632;

WHA Team Rosters

<div class="byline">BY TONY GALLAGHER</div>VANCOUVER &mdash; Vancouver Blazers discovered the fond pleasures of a road trip that involves three games in three nights in three different cities in mid-December. And I don&rsquo;t think there were many of the team too thrilled with the idea, especially in light of the fact that they must do it three more times this season.The reason Joe Crozier&rsquo;s charges may have been a littie droopy in their game in Phoenix &mdash; a 4-2 loss &mdash; was because it was their fifth game in six nights as well as the third in three nights.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-01207/3442593-1-eng-US/f0027-012.jpg" title="f0027-01" width="250" height="481"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jacques Plante</figcaption></div>But out of this adversity came some of Joe Crozier&rsquo;s most positive statements. The coach and general manager of the Blazers says he can see progress and that his club is going to get better.&ldquo;I see signs of a good hockey club,&rdquo; said Crozier after the loss to Phoenix which left his club just under .500 hockey on the road this season.One of the signs Crozier sees is goaltender Don McLeod. Under some fire at the beginning of the year for his play, McLeod has begun to play superb goal and was chiefly responsible for Blazers&rsquo; 4-3 win in Cleveland, a game in which McLeod handled many excellent Crusader scoring chances.But Blazers&rsquo; big problem lies not so much within themselves, as all coaches believe, but within the context of their play. They are in the toughest division in the league, and every time Vancouver gets within range of the fourth place Edmonton, the Oilers pull off a big road win or something equally devastating.It appears not only possible, but highly likely, that both wild card teams will come from the Canadian Division. Crozier and the Blazers are worried about one thing &mdash; getting out of last place &mdash; because there&rsquo;s no way you can make the playoffs from there.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s no guarantee you&rsquo;re going to make the playoffs if you finish third in your division,&rdquo; said Crozier. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got to try to make it to second place.&rdquo;EDMONTON: Oilers pulled off a big win when they knocked over Minnesota Fighting Saints 5-4 in overtime on Rusty Patenaude&rsquo;s winner, but that was the same day they got some bad news.An injured eardrum, of all things, will sideline their winningest goaltender, Jacques Plante, for about 10 days.The pre-historic goaler was injured in a practice session and club doctors said he would be out until the tissue had an opportunity to heal itself. Another of the fallen is Ray McKay, the defenseman Edmonton secured from the California Golden Seals at the beginning of the year.McKay has a fractured bone in his foot which will keep him out for eight weeks and leave Oilers a little thin on the back line. The injury occurred in Quebecbut wasnotdis-covered until two days later by Saints&rsquo; team physician Dr. Lyle Johnson.Plante, practicing with the Edmonton Oil Kings of the Western Canada League when the injury occiirred, had a record of eight wins and one loss and his 2.62 goals-against mark was the best in the World Hockey Association.QUEBEC: Nordiques have already begun to benefit from their trade with the Michigan Stags. Although they hated to part with Pierre Guite, Marc Tardif has two goals in his first two games and Steve Sutherland, the other player involved in the deal, scored the winning goal in overtime that allowed the second place Nordiques to creep within one point of the first place Toros at that time. The club has not lost since making the trade, and when Rejean Houle returns from the injured list, coach JeanGuy Gendron is expected to join the line of Houle, Tardif and Serge Bernier.Serge Aubry continues to play well in goal for Les Nordiques as he played in both wins over Edmonton and Cleveland.TORONTO: It&rsquo;s hard to imagine a club losing six straight home games and still leading a division, but the Toros have managed such a feat. Although in danger of falling into second had they lost another at home, Tom Martin scored in overtime to give Toros a 7-6 win over Cleveland.Again the old formula for the Toros proved most successful &mdash; score more goals than the opposition. Despite the presence of Gerry Cheevers. Toros got two goals from Paul Henderson, the second being his 17th of the season, in storming Cleveland for 46 shots on goal. The win moved Toros three points out ahead of Quebec and gave the 8,000 fans at Maple Leaf Gardens something other than exciting losses to cheer about.WINNIPEG: The Jets found out about Pierre Guite the hard way as their road trip to Indianapolis and Michigan netted two points. Guite scored the hat-trick, his 17th goal of the season being the winner in the Stags&rsquo; 5-3 win over the Jets. Jets had earlier in the week gained an identical win over Indianapolis on the strength of the club&rsquo;s two outstanding offensive performers to date &mdash; Ulf Nilsson and Bobby Hull.Hull brought his league leading goal total to 25 with his two during the week and Nilsson scored two and assisted on one of Hull&rsquo;s in the Michigan game to keep himselfwell up in the scoring race.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-02162/3442586-1-eng-US/f0027-022.jpg" title="f0027-02" width="559" height="751"><figcaption class="caption-body">RAY McKAY &hellip; Foot Injury</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-03124/3442579-1-eng-US/f0027-032.jpg" title="f0027-03" width="565" height="769"><figcaption class="caption-body">TOM MARTIN &hellip;Overtime Winner</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0027-01

Blazers Unhappy With Road Trips; Trade With Stags Helps Nordiques

<h2>LEADING SCORERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-02136/3442676-1-eng-US/f0028-022.jpg" title="f0028-02" width="622" height="760"></div><h2>GOALERS RECORDS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-03101/3442669-1-eng-US/f0028-032.jpg" title="f0028-03" width="613" height="799"></div> &#9632;

f0028-02

AHL Leaders

<div class="byline">BY JERRY LINDQUIST</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 CanadaBALTIMORE &mdash;For a while it appeared as though lyrics to that familiar fight song here would have to be revised, something like &ldquo;There go the Baltimore Clippers, there go the Clippers of Balti more&hellip; So long you Baltimore Clippers, you are no more.&rdquo;Heavy was the cloud that hung over the Clippers&rsquo; heads, the threat of imminent sale or disbandoning the franchise or both. The World Hockey Association was trying desparately to move one ot its ailing franchises &mdash; either the Chicago Cougars or Michigan Stags &mdash; to the Civic Center, and a local group was willing to oblige.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-01198/3442638-1-eng-US/f0028-012.jpg" title="f0028-01" width="265" height="349"><figcaption class="caption-body">Pierre Jarry</figcaption></div>For the Clippers themselves that meant several weeks of uncertainty. Every day new rumors. Everyone tried to go about business as usual but it wasn&rsquo;t easy. The old cliche Here Today, Gone Tomorrow suddenly became very real. Was it likely to happen to them?How much the speculation affected the players&rsquo; performance must be left to the imagination. Obviously it didn&rsquo;t help.As the alleged deadline approached, and the Cougars were supposed to be Baltimore-bound, the Clippers reached the low point of what was expected to be a glorious season. They dropped a listless 7-0 decision in Springfield, and there was some question whether they&rsquo;d be together longenough to make their next scheduled commitment &mdash; three days later in Richmond.What happened, of course, is that the World Hockey Association didn&rsquo;t come to the Land of Pleasant Living then. Negotiations broke down when local investors reportedly failed to come up with the necessary cash.On the afternoon of the game in Richmond, Clippers management issued a statement, affirming intentions to continue play in the American Hockey League. Coach Jimmy Morrison passed the news on to the players, and they responded with a 4-3, come-from-behind victory over the Robins.Trailing 3-1, Baltimore was even by second period&rsquo;s end, then won on Bob Rivard&rsquo;s goal 6:33 from the end. Had the news relieved their minds? &ldquo;Certainly,&rdquo; Rivard said. &ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t know if we&rsquo;d have a job one day to the next.&rdquo;From Richmond, the Clippers returned home and posted back-to-back shutouts over Rochester (2-0) and Springfield (4-0) within 24 hours. &ldquo;That defeat in Springfield was the only time all season that we really made a poor showing,&rdquo; Morrison said. &ldquo;I was embarrassed. I think we all were. That&rsquo;s why it was especially nice to get revenge.&rdquo;By weekend&rsquo;s completion, the Clippers had built their winning streak to four, a 6-4 romp in Syracuse continuing their binge, and they were locked into first place in the Southern Division.four points head of second-place Richmond. What&rsquo;s more, they owned the only winning record in the five-team division, 10-9-6.Prior to the game with Rochester, chairman of the board and principal stockholder Zanvyl Krieger spoke to the players. &ldquo;He told them what went on&hellip; that he&rsquo;s figuring on continuing in the AHL as long as the crowds warranted it,&rdquo; Morrison said.Average attendance at Baltimore games has been in the not-impressive neighborhood of 3,000, hardly enough to keep red ink from inundating the books. WHA speculation didn&rsquo;t help. Likewise the emergence of the National Hockey League&rsquo;s Washington Capitals not too many minutes away in Landover, Md.Outstanding in the competitive turnabout was goaltender Lynn Zimmerman. He worked all four games, securing his second and third shutouts of the season and all at the expense of Northern Division clubs. His first had been at Providence&rsquo;s expense.&ldquo;He was hot,&rdquo; said Morrison in another classic example of understatement.&ldquo;He made the big save when we needed it.&rdquo;What&rsquo;s, more, the feisty 32-year-old former Rochester hand was at his roaming best, oftentimes moving into the corners if necessary &mdash; or behind the net &mdash; to assist his defensemen. In Richmond he wound up in a fight with the Robins&rsquo; Steve Coates then proceeded to blank the home team over the last 30 minutes.Zimmerman is small (5&rsquo;8&rdquo;, 165) but durable. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s the type who could play every game,&rdquo; said Morrison who added, &ldquo;&hellip; and I&rsquo;ll probably continue using him until he drops.&rdquo;Another reason for the Clippers&rsquo; sudden turn for the better was a decision to switch Rivard from center to left wing. He had only three goals to show for 21 games when Morrison took the 35-year-old veteran out of the middle and moved him to the left side on a line centered by Morris Stefaniw. In their first appearance together, they collaborated for the winning goal against Richmond, Rivard crossing behind Stefaniw to take a perfect drop pass and beat goaltender Graham Parsons from inside the right circle.&ldquo;It looks like things ate starting to jell,&rdquo; Morrison said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s just taken a little longer than expected.&rdquo;VIRGINIA: Pierre Jarry, who jumped club and went home, changed his mind and rejoined Red Wings after two-week absence. Left winger asked to be traded and Detroit organization tried to oblige&hellip; Bill McKenzie gave team first shutout. 2-0 over Rochester&hellip; Parent club returned Brian McCutcheon. Also sent down was defenseman Thommie Bergman who suffered groin injury in first practice and was expected out for minimum of 10 days&hellip; Wings finally met state rival Richmond first time this season and won. 5-4, on Mike Jakubo&rsquo;s hat-trick. Former Robins&rsquo; Captain Rene Drolet scored goal against former teammates, his first in nine games&hellip; Attendance up 13,482 over comparable period of a season ago&hellip; Club still looking for first shorthanded goal.HERSHEY: Buffalo returned rookie defenseman Paul McIntosh&hellip; Dean Sheremeta sent to Ft. Wayne (International)&hellip; Billy Inglis remained club scoring leader with 27 points after 23 games. He was tied for lead in goals (12) with rookie Yves Bergeron&hellip; Second in scoring waS Harvard alumnus Bob McManama (8-12-20).SYRACUSE: Danny Schock resumed trial with Eagles after week&rsquo;s absence. He played three games then left club and didn&rsquo;t return until Dec. 8 game with Baltimore&hellip; President and general manager Bill Charles held his second meeting of the season with the players. Coach Art Stratton not invited. &ldquo;It was a nice, open-minded conversation. We tried to air a few things out&hellip; to make for a better situation,&rdquo; Charles explained&hellip; In his first seassion after the Eagles failed to win in their first nine games, Charles read the riot act. Not this time. &ldquo;I think this was the best, most fruitful meeting,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;The guys know I&rsquo;m concerned. If we just pull together, we&rsquo;ll be in the playoffs. I&rsquo;m sure of it.&rdquo;RICHMOND: Shuttle between Richmond and Washiagton remained open. Capitals took goaltender John Adams for two games, both vs Buffalo, then sent him back after Sabres poured 91 shots in his direction, good for 14 goals&hellip; Andre Peloffy returned. Gordie Smith, last year&rsquo;s AHL defenseman of the year sent down, too, but he remained long enough for two practices. Robins were in Syracuse when Smith got message to rejoin Capitals as replacement for injured Greg Joly.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-0479/3442631-1-eng-US/f0028-042.jpg" title="f0028-04" width="565" height="451"><figcaption class="caption-body">LYNN ZIMMERMAN&hellip;Outstanding In Turnabout</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-0566/3442624-1-eng-US/f0028-052.jpg" title="f0028-05" width="535" height="454"><figcaption class="caption-body">BOB RIVARD &hellip;Worried About Job</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0028-01

Clipper Brass Clears Uncertainty As Players Respond With Four Wins

<div class="byline">BY HANS TANNER</div>ROCHESTER&mdash;Penalities, as the word implies, are supposed to hurt. The Rochester Americans are inflicting more than the usual amount of pain on those who run afoul of the rules.The Amerks scored 40 power-play goals in their first 27 American Hockey League games to lead the league.After mustering 14 power-play goals in the first 14 games, they exploded for 26 goals with a manpower advantage in the nest 13 games and they were shut out in two of those games meaning 26 power-play goals in 11 games.Last season, when the Amerks had Murray Kuntz, a 51-goal scorer and Art Stratton, they mustered only 53 power-play goals for the 76-game season. Providence led the league with 90 followed by New Haven with 81.Coach Dick Mattiussi hasn&rsquo;t had only one unit produce the goals against the short-handed enemy.Thirteen players scored power-play goals over the first 27 games. Doug Gibson, Ron Garwasiuk, Larry McKillop and Craig Samer led with five each.Mattiussi thinks the way the team has been moving the puck is the main reason the power-play has been so successful.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re moving itaround wellandthe guys who don&rsquo;t have the puck are getting in the open. I think our guys shoot the puck quicker than most, and, let&rsquo;s face it, we&rsquo;ve been fortunate to score&rdquo;, he says.The Syracuse Eagies will have to agree.In the first six meetings of the club this season, the Amerks poured 14 power-play goals past past Syracuse goaltenders. They also scored 14 at even strength and one short handed goal.A brawl as the teams were leaving the ice after the second period marred their last meeting in Rochester. Mike Mil-bury of the Amerks and Ron Dussiaume were the first combatants with three players from each club eventually getting game misconducts.Syracuse defenseman Blake Ball was arresred and charged with third degree assault for alledgedly striking a police officer during the scramble. He was allowed to plead guilty to a reduced charge of disorderly conduct the next day and was given a conditional discharge.NEW HAVEN: After going nine games without a victory, the nighthawks suddenly turned it around with a victory in Springfield and then an 18-goal outburst for two victories and a tie.Of the 18 goals, six were scored by the Tom Colley-Alain Langlais-Bob Cook line, six by the Rick Kessell-Wait Ledingham-Rick Chinnick line and five by the Rod Norrish-Tom Miller-John Rogers line. The other goal was scored by defenseman Jerome Engele.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re got three lines scoring now, not just one&rdquo;, smiled coach Dean Prentice.PROVIDENCE: Ken Campbell didn&rsquo;t waste any time making his presense felt when he returned to the Reds&rsquo; lineup.Expected to be a big offensive starfor Providence this season, Campbell had two assists in the season opener then tumbled off a motorcycle and suffered a broken left hand.In his third game back he scored a short-handed goal to open the scoring against Syracuse and then scored the go-ahead goal after Eagles tied the game 2-2.Two nights later, against Hershey, Campbell scored the tying goal with 39 seconds left in regulation as the Reds rallied for a 1-1 standoff.The late goal enabled the Reds to remain undefeated at home. They had eight victories and three ties. On the road they had lost only three of 15 games.SPRINGFIELD: &ldquo;This may sound strange, but I thought it was one of our better games of the year&rdquo;, said coach Ron Stewart.He was referring to a game in which his club poured 51 shots on the New Haven net while the Nighthawks had 24. The final score in the game was 7-2. But New Haven won.more than that loss what they lost &ldquo;They were hitting the comers with their shots and their goaltender (Sam Clegg) played very well for them. I experimented late in the game and tried five forwards together for a while. It didn&rsquo;t work and they scored two goals&rdquo;, expounded Stewart.What bothered Stewart and the Kings more that that loss was what very lost one night earlier.They defeated Nova Scotia 8-1 but Gary Sargent, a very good offensive defenseman, went out with tom knee ligaments that will keep him sidelined for the rest of the season.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-01164/3442707-1-eng-US/f0029-012.jpg" title="f0029-01" width="559" height="559"><figcaption class="caption-body">BLAKE BALL &hellip;Charged With Assault</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0029-01

Rochester Power Play Devastates Rivals

<h2>Wed. Dec. 4</h2>NEW HAVEN 2, HERSHEY 3<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-02131/3442773-1-eng-US/f0029-022.jpg" title="f0029-02" width="585" height="407"></div>BALTIMORE 4. RICHMOND 3<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-0388/3442766-1-eng-US/f0029-032.jpg" title="f0029-03" width="601" height="585"></div>BALTIMORE 0. VIRGINIA 2<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-0466/3442759-1-eng-US/f0029-042.jpg" title="f0029-04" width="619" height="349"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-0560/3442752-1-eng-US/f0029-052.jpg" title="f0029-05" width="619" height="179"></div><h2>Sat. Dec. 7</h2>RICHMOND 4, VIRGINIA 5<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-0645/3442745-1-eng-US/f0029-062.jpg" title="f0029-06" width="613" height="653"></div>Wed. Dec.7NOVA SCOTIA 4. SYRACUSE 1<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-0736/3442738-1-eng-US/f0029-072.jpg" title="f0029-07" width="629" height="561"></div> &#9632;

f0029-02

AHL Summaries

ST. PAUL&mdash;Hot goaling knocked the St. Paul Velcans back a notch in their bid to climb in the Midwest Junior Hockey League race.Some exceptional goaltending by Dave Bjugson of Fargo-Moorhead and Bill Milner of Austin stymied efforts by the Vulcans. Bjugson kicked out 43 shots in the Sugar Kings&rsquo; 6-5 overtime win over St. Paul, while Milner stopped 51 shots in the Mavericks 7-3 defeat of the Vulcans. The two losses cost St. Paul second place as Fargo-Moorhead pulled ahead by a game.FARGO-MOORHEAD: Don Madson, the Sugar Kings&rsquo; high-scoring center from Grand Rapids, clinched Fargo-Moorhead&rsquo;s 6-5 victory at St. Paul. Madson&rsquo;s goal off a face-off slipped into the net just as the siren sounded to tie the contest 5-5 and send it into sudden-death overtime. In the overtime, Madson slapped in the winning goal, his third for the evening. Two nights later. Madson&rsquo;s wing, Bob Fish, got two goals and two assists for the Sugar Kings in an 8-4 loss to Minnesota. Madson took over again with a pair of goals to lead the Sugar Kings to a 7-5win over the St. Cloud Jr. Blues.ST. CLOUD: Playing without key performers, veteran center Vince Hope and defensemen Mike Knoke of Roosevelt and Brian Zewers of Kellogg, the Junior Blues went down to defeat to both the Minnesota Jr. Stars (8-2) and Fargo-Moorhead (7-5) last week.AUSTIN: After dropping a close one (4-3) to Minnesota, Austin recouped by taking a crucial game away from St. Paul 7-3. Four of Austin&rsquo;s goals in that affair were tallied by Mitch Corbin of Duluth CathedralMINNESOTA: The only team undefeated last week. Minnesota marked up wins over Austin (4-3) Fargo-Moorhead (8-4) and St. Cloud (8-2). It was a big week for Junior Stars Jeff Furney of Jefferson with nine points and Mike Erickson of South with eight points in three games.Meanwhile, coach Andre Beaulieu has called the final training camp prior to the CCM World Junior Hockey Tournament for U.S. World team candidates at Met Center.The team will train at the Met Dec. 16 through Dec. 18 leaving the 18th for avisit to the Hockey Hall of Fame. Eveleth, and training at Grand Rapids. On Dec. 19, the U. S. World Junior Team will meet a team of U.S. Senior All Stars in an evening exhibition at Roseau. Beaulieu&rsquo;s squad will train at Roseau Dec. 20 and move to Warroad Dec. 21 for an exhibition game with the St. Boniface Mohawks, defending Manitoba senior champions. The U. S. Team will return to Met Center Dec. 22 for training through Christmas day, when the team leaves for Winnipeg and competition in the World Junior Tournament opening Dec. 26. &#9632;

St. Paul Vulcans StruggleAgainst MJHL Goallng

<h2>AMERICAN LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Fri. Dec. 20)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-01193/3442856-1-eng-US/f0030-012.jpg" title="f0030-01" width="595" height="437"></div>Fri. Dec. 13Baltimore 5 at New Haven 5; Syracuse 3 at Providence 8; Nova Scotia 4 at Rochester 3; Richmond 1 at Spri ngfield 4; Hershey 5 at Virginia 4.Sat. 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.Wed. Dec. 18Des Moines 2 at Fort Wayne 5: Flint 4 at Dayton 4; Muskegon 2 at Columbus 4.GAMES TO COMESat. Dec. 21Rochester at Hershey; Nova Scotia at ginia.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 Scotia. Fri. 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.Wed. Jan. 1Providence at Rochester.Thu. Jan. 2New Haven at Nova Scotia; Springfield at Syracuse.Fri. Jan. 3Hershey at Baltimore; Rochester at New Haven; Nova Scotia at Providence.Sat. Jan. 4Virginia at Baltimore; Proyidence at Hershey; Syracuse at Richmond; Rochester at Springfield.Sun. Jan. 5Richmond at New Haven; Springfield at Nova Scotia; Virginia at Providence; Baltimore at Rochester.<h2>CENTRAL LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Fri. Dec. 20)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-02141/3442849-1-eng-US/f0030-022.jpg" title="f0030-02" width="593" height="369"></div>GAMES COMPLETEDTue. 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 Dallas 3; Fort Worth 4 at Salt Lake 4.Sun. Dec. 15Oklahoma City 2 at Omaha 4; Fort Worth 2 at Seattle 6.Mon. Dec. 16Denver 4 at Salt Lake 2.Tue. Dec. 17Salt Lake 1 at Seattle 8.Wed. Dec. 18Omaha 4 at Oklahoma City 1; Tulsa 4 at Denver 8.Thu. Dec. 19Salt Lake 1 at Seattle 5.GAMES TO COMESat. Dec. 21Denver at Fort Worth; Dallas at Oklahoma City; Tulsa at SeattleSun. 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 Seattle.Sun. Dec. 29Oklahoma City at Tulsa; Omaha at Denver.Wed. Jan. 1Denver at Salt Lake.Thu. Jan. 2Oklahoma City at Fort Worth.Fri. Jan. 3Oklahoma City at Dallas; Denver at Tulsa; Seattle at Salt Lake.Sat. Jan. 4Denver at Dallas; Tulsa at Fort Worth; Oklahoma City at Omaha.Sun. Jan. 5Fort Worthat Tulsa; Dallas at Omaha; Denver at Seattle.<h2>INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Fri. Dec. 20)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-03108/3442842-1-eng-US/f0030-032.jpg" title="f0030-03" width="591" height="423"></div>GAMES COMPLETEDGAMES COMPLETEDWed. Dec. 11Columbus 2 at Fort Wayne 3; Muskegon 5 at Des Moines 2; Kalamazoo 1 at Saginaw 5.Fri. 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.Wed. Dec. 18Baltimore 1 at Richmond 7; Virginia 6 at Syracuse 1.GAMES TO COMESat. Dec. 21Lansing at Des Moines; Dayton at Fort Wayne; Flint at Muskegon; Saginaw at Columbus; Kalamazoo at Toledo.Sun. Dec. 22Fort Wayne at Flint; Columbus 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 Kalamazo; Flint at Lansing, Port Huron at Dayton.Sat. Dec. 28Toledo at Des Moines; Columbus at Fort Wayne; Lansing at Muskegon; Dayton at Port Huron; Flint at Saginaw.<h2>NORTH AMERICAN LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Fri. Dec. 20)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-0483/3442835-1-eng-US/f0030-042.jpg" title="f0030-04" width="587" height="261"></div>GAMES COMPLETEDFri. 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.Tue. Dec. 17Syracuse 7 at Maine 4; Long Island 1 at Philadelphia 8.Wed. Dec. 18Mohawk Valley 5 at Broome 3; Maine 1 at Long Island 8; Johnstown 5 at Philadelphia 6.GAMES TO COMESat. Dec. 21Broome at Johnstown; Syracuse at Mohawk Valiey; 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/f0030-0564/3442828-1-eng-US/f0030-052.jpg" title="f0030-05" width="589" height="177"></div>GAMES COMPLETEDMon. Dec. 9Winston-Salem 7 at Hampton 3.Tue. 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.GAMES TO COMESat. Dec. 21Roanoke at Greesboro; Charlotte at Hampton.Sun. 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 Roanoke.Tue. Dec. 31Roanoke at Greensboro; Charlotte at Hampton. &#9632;

f0030-01

LOOKING AT THE MINOR LEAGUE SCOREBOARDAMERICAN LEAGUE

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;Washington.WHA: 19&mdash;Cleveland. 20&mdash;San Diego. 21&mdash;Van-couver. 22&mdash;Michigan. 23&mdash;Toronto 24&mdash;Quebecf 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-Leagle: 34&mdash;Phoenix (WHA) & Vancouver (WHA). 35&mdash;Philadelphia (NHL) & Washington (NHL) 36&mdash;Los Angeles (NHL) & California (NHL) 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), Clevelanc (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) 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. &#9632;

Minor League Affiliations

<div class="byline">BY MIKE LUCAS</div>MADISON&mdash;It&rsquo;s mid-December and there&rsquo;s snow on the lawns, ice on the streets and students sliding down Bascom Hill on stolen cafeteria trays. Finals. Vacation. Wisconsin hockey.In this college community of more than 35,000 where boycotting basketball has become as popular as boycotting grapes, hockey continues to flourish.The Dane County Coliseum shakes on weekends from the vibrating drum beats, the staccato hand-clapping, and the screaming of &ldquo;Sieve&rdquo; frpm 8,431 crazed banshees.(Amo Bessone called one sellout crowd &ldquo;banshees&rdquo; after a particularly frustrating night for the Michigan State coach two years ago. It has stuck.)The Badgers will lead the nation in attendance again this year. The faithful have gone nutty over a peach fuzz group of freshmen who have generated most of the excitement and kept Wisconsin near or on top of the weekly college ratings.Bob Johnson and his assistant, Bill Rothwell, can take a bow for their recruiting success. They signed everything in sight from Grand Forks, N.D., to Kanata, Ont.But even the coaches didn&rsquo;t expect the frosh to be so good so soon.&ldquo;It appears that they are all making the adjustment to the WCHA much faster than any other group I&rsquo;ve had here,&rdquo; said Johnson. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re quicker than we have been, and we should get better.&rdquo;At first, veteran winger Steve Alley didn&rsquo;t know what to expect from the freshmen who, if nothing else, almost outnumbered the varsity returnees.However, his appreciation grew immensely the moment they stepped on the ice and started buzzing around the cage like miniature Yvan Cournoyer&rsquo;s.&ldquo;They were all excellent skaters, but their biggest asset was quickness,&rdquo; pointed out Alley, ajunior from Anoka, Minn. &ldquo;The main thing was that they were accepted right away by the upperclassmen and consequently, gained confidence immediately.&ldquo;They&rsquo;re a very mature bunch of guys. In fact, they even study during the week, which takes a lot of discipline from newcomers.&rdquo;Johnson recruited his freshmen for spots. He chose Mike Eaves of Kanata, Ont. for the departed Gary Winchester; Craig Norwich of Edina, Minn, for defenseman Dave Arundel; and Mark Ca-pouch of Grand Forks, N. D. for winger Stan Hinkley.He added defensemen Ian Perrin and Norm McIntosh, along with the Johnson brothers, Brad and Murray, to complement his list.Johnson then received a bonus when Dave Herbst, Jack Gregory, and Tom Ulseth chose to &ldquo;walk-on&rdquo; at Wisconsin without any scholarship aid.All have played major roles in the Badgers&rsquo; climb to first place in the Western Collegiate Hockey Assn.&ldquo;You have to remember they&rsquo;ve been given the opportunity to play and ice time is very important in developing a player,&rdquo; Johnson said. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re all hard working individuals and they want to get better.&rdquo;The freshmen, however, cited the obvious adjustment problems, particularly in dealing with the pace of the game and the strength of the players.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-01174/3442925-1-eng-US/f0031-012.jpg" title="f0031-01" width="543" height="583"><figcaption class="caption-body">BRAD JOHNSON &hellip;Brother Act</figcaption></div>&ldquo;The speed was something else,&rdquo; admitted Eaves, the Badgers&rsquo; leading scorer to date. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve had to concentrate much more, too. But the more we play the more everything is falling in place.&rdquo;Said Norwich; &ldquo;I was really surprised by the strength of some of the guys. In high school, you had big guys, but they couldn&rsquo;t skate. Here they are strong and can skate, which makes it twice as tough.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-02134/3442918-1-eng-US/f0031-022.jpg" title="f0031-02" width="553" height="569"><figcaption class="caption-body">TOM ULSETH &hellip;No Scholarship Aid</figcaption></div>&ldquo;At the beginning of the year,&rdquo; he continued, &ldquo;I was afraid to make a bad play and I was always worried. But now it doesn&rsquo;t bother me anymore.&rdquo;The freshmen transistion has been aided by the steady play of upperclassmen like Alley, Dave Lundeen, George Gwozdecky, and the goaltenders, Mike Dibble and Dick Perkins.The Badgers were only the second team in 11 years to sweep a series at Denver, but the victories were taken rather nonchalantly by all involved.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-0487/3442911-1-eng-US/f0031-042.jpg" title="f0031-04" width="550" height="580"><figcaption class="caption-body">MIKE EAVES&hellip;Leading Scorer</figcaption></div>&ldquo;We&rsquo;re taking everything in stride,&rdquo; said Gwozdecky, a hustling junior from Thunder Bay, Ont. &ldquo;At Denver, it was like we knew all along that we would win. There was no doubt in anyone.&rdquo;It&rsquo;s a great feeling. You know, we really didn&rsquo;t get that excited after sweeping the series. We just accepted it like an everyday thing. It&rsquo;s amazing.&rdquo;So are the freshmen. Just ask any banshee. &#9632;

f0031-01

Wisconsin Led By Peach Fuzz Freshmen And Screaming, Hand-Clapping “Banshees”

<div class="byline">BY TOM BURKE</div>It was only December tenth, and already the prognosticators were labeling the Boston University-Harvard hockey game at Harvard&rsquo;s Watson Rink the December Beanpot Final, the ECAC Championship preview, and a peek at the NCAA title game.The feature show between the pre-season kingpin and poll runnerup turned almost into a short subject. Harvard swamped favored Boston University 7-2 behind sophomore Dave Bell&rsquo;s three goals to assume the early lead at the top of ECAC Division One&rsquo;s race.The Crimson footnoted their concincing triumph over the Terriers with a 5-3 decision at Brown the following Saturday, setting a breakneck early season pace with five wins and no losses as the majority of the East&rsquo;s sextets adjourned pre-Christmas exam break.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-03111/3442956-1-eng-US/f0031-032.jpg" title="f0031-03" width="249" height="432"><figcaption class="caption-body">Dave Gauthier</figcaption></div>The Terriers, who just didn&rsquo;t have their usual zip at Watson, were hurt by the early loss of fine defenseman Peter Brown. Brown absorbed a wrenching check by Dave Gauthier and was sidelined for a month or so with ligament damage.&ldquo;That was probably the best defensive game we&rsquo;ve ever played,&rdquo; exulted Harvard coach Bill Cleary. &ldquo;Hold BU to 18 shots on net during a game and you&rsquo;ve got to be doing &rsquo; something right.&rdquo;&ldquo;I&rsquo;d have to say that this was the best game our team has ever played, at least that I&rsquo;ve seen,&rdquo; he added. Harvard&rsquo;s four-line offense converted three of five power play attempts while BU managed one of four. Six Harvard tallies, including all three of Bell s, came on rebounds after Terrier netminder Pat Devlin had made the initial stop.&ldquo;We played sloppily,&rdquo; admitted BU coach Jack Parker. &ldquo;But they forced us to. I&rsquo;ve never seen such pressure.&rdquo;Across town, some dissenters to the December Beanpot Theory were going at it. Improved Northeastern and Boston College tussled at BC&rsquo;s McHugh Forum with the Eagles taking an easy 7-4 decision from the Huskies.Seven different players scored for BC in their first divisional win, while three of the four NY goals were unassisted. Soph goalie Bill Wilkens stopped 29 shots before leaving with a pulled leg muscle late in the third period.Cornell broke for the holidays with a 10-4 thrashing of St.Lawrence in Ithaca behind the four goals scored by Dave Peace and five assists by Dave Groulx. The two share the scoring for the Big Red with 16 points a piece. Cornell settled into third spot in Division One with a 3-1 slate, behind Harward and BU. The Larries, off to a 1-5 start similar to a year ago, slipped to 0-2 in league play.Pennsylvania raised its league mark to 2-3 with a 5-3 decision at Princeton. Craig Brickley&rsquo;s power play goal was the eventual winner, as Princeton slipped a couple of late scores by Penn goalie Carl Jackson. With 34 saves to Mike O&rsquo;Leary&rsquo;s 28, Jackson wobbled through the last minute of play after stopping a Mark Stuckey shot with his nose.The Tigers kept with Penn a couple of nights later where they journeyed to Colgate to dump the Red Raiders 6-4, raising their mark to 2-3 as well.Clarkson, making good progress in this season&rsquo;s early going, took a 2-0 lead into the second period and a 2-1 advantage into the last ten minutes in Vermont&rsquo;s Gutterson Field house but failed to hold on. Bill Reber beat goalie George Galbraith at 15:28 of the third frame for the game winner.Both the Golden Knights and Catamount then won nonleague tilts before hitting the books. UVM thrashed Hamilton 10-4 and Clarkson broke a nine-game University of Toronto win streak with an 8-6 triumph at Potsdam. Up 7-2 after two periods, Jerry York&rsquo;s crew managed to hang on and defeat the Blues and take a 6-4 record into vacation.Brown&rsquo;s loss to Harvard dropped the Bruins out of the unbeaten ranks. Dick Toomey&rsquo;s young club had thumped Yale 7-2 in New Haven earlier in the week behind Bill Gilligan&rsquo;s two goals. Gilligan and Jack Ahern tallied in the first period against the Crimson after Harvard had taken a quick 2-0 lead. Outshot 49-20, the Bruins were still in the game until Paul Haley&rsquo;s third goal with 5:45 left put it away beat rookie Eagle goalie Dale Redmond high to the near side.New Hampshire also recessed with a 3-1-1 league record after coming from a 5-4 second period deficit with six third period goals to whip Northeastern 10-5 in Durham. Jamie Hislop opened the outburst at 3:40, and added another to go with linemate Dave Bertollo&rsquo;s two scores. Jim Martel, with a hat trick, and Dave Sherlock with two scores, provided all the firepower for NU, which slipped to 3-3 in EC AC Division One play.RPI and Dartmouth, already in break, did not play. record ever, 6-1-1 overall and 3-1-1 in loop play following a 6-4 win over Boston College in Schneider Arena. Inconsistent officiating allowed the rough stuff to boil over at times. Late whistles, missed infractions, and crowd calls fueled ill feeling in what otherwise was a tight, competitive game. Ken Richardson, Ron Wilson, and Steve Roberts all scored in a six minute span to boost PC out to a 5-2 third period lead. After Rich Hart and Tom Songin narrowed it to 5-4 during a major penalty to Dave Dornseif, Dave Kelley scored the clincher unassisted at 17:23. Stealing the puck along the right wing boards, Kelly took off for the BC zone and, as the pursuit closed in, let go a 40 foot wrist shot that &#9632;

f0031-03

Boston U.—Harvard Rumble Turned Into Crimson Show

ONTARIO COLLEGES(Standings on Mon. Dec. 9)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-0574/3443029-1-eng-US/f0031-052.jpg" title="f0031-05" width="595" height="556"></div>QUEBEC COLLEGES(Standings on Mon. Dec. 9)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-0652/3443022-1-eng-US/f0031-062.jpg" title="f0031-06" width="587" height="171"></div>MARITIME COLLEGES(Standings on Mon. Dec. 9)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-0741/3443015-1-eng-US/f0031-072.jpg" title="f0031-07" width="584" height="308"></div>WESTERN COLLEGES(Standings on Mon. Dec. 9)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-0835/3443008-1-eng-US/f0031-082.jpg" title="f0031-08" width="594" height="338"></div>ECAC CONFERENCEDivision I(Standings on Fri. Dec. 20)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-0925/3443001-1-eng-US/f0031-092.jpg" title="f0031-09" width="589" height="514"></div><h2>GAMES COMPLETED</h2>ECAC CONFERENCEHarvard 7, Boston University 2Boston College 7, Northeastern 4Vermont 3, Clarkson 2Brown 7, Yale 2Cornell 10, St. Lawrence 4Penn 5. Princeton 3Providence 6. Boston College 4New Hampshire 10, Northeastern 5Princeton 6, Colgate 4Harvard 5, Brown 3NON-CONFERENCE GAMESColgate 8. Buffalo 4New Hampshire 10. Bowdoin 4Vermont 10. Hamilton 4Clarkson 8, Toronto 6Colgate 5, Oswego 3LEADING SCORERS<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-1019/3442994-1-eng-US/f0031-102.jpg" title="f0031-10" width="583" height="313"></div>LEADING GOALERS<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-1116/3442987-1-eng-US/f0031-112.jpg" title="f0031-11" width="582" height="201"></div> &#9632;

f0031-05

College Races

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 CanadaLEADING SCORERS<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-01175/3443060-1-eng-US/f0032-012.jpg" title="f0032-01" width="588" height="317"></div> &#9632;

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CHL Leaders

DALLAS&mdash;Terry Smith, sophomore center of the Dallas Black Hawks, has been selected as the Central Hockey League &ldquo;player of the week&rdquo;. Smith scored three goals when Dallas overwhelmed the Omaha Knights 9-2 and he came right back the next night to score the game winning goal against the Tulsa Oilers in the Hawks 3-1 win. &ldquo;Smitty&rdquo; now leads the Central League in scoring game winning goals with four.The 5&rsquo; 11&rdquo; 180-pound Smith has been playing steady hockey all season and is on his way to surpassing his fine rookie year production of 38 points made up of 17 goals and 21 assists. In his first 28 games this season Terry has scored 11 goals and added 10 assists for 21 points&mdash;good for fourth spot in his teams, scoring race.Smith has scored game winning goals for the Black Hawks against Omaha and the Seattle Totems on the road and against Omaha and Tulsa on home ice. Terry has been particularly effective against the rugged Knights as he has scored six goals in the first six Omaha-Dallas games this season.Smith has an outstanding career record as a &ldquo;winner.&rdquo; He played his last two Junior &ldquo;A&rdquo; seasons with his home&rsquo; town team, Edmonton Oil Kings and both years they won the Western Canada Junior championship. Drafted by Chicago Black Hawks in June 1972. Terry played the &lsquo;72-73 season with Flint Generals of the International League and helped that team to a first place finish. He joined the Black Hawks last season and they went all the way to capture the Adams Cup as Central Hockey League playoff champions and keep Smith&rsquo;s enviable record intact.Dallas coach Bobby Kromm was delighted with Smith&rsquo;s weekend performance as the Black Haks had been in a mild slump due to a rash of injuries and player recalls and he was looking for a player to take charge. Terrance Gregory Smith, a young man used to winning, was that player as he came up with an award winning performance to lead the Black Hawks back into a first place &#9632;

Smith Fires Hat Trick In Dallas Romp

<div class="byline">By MORLEY HOWE</div>SIOUX CITY &mdash;Sioux City Musketeers moved to within two points of Waterloo Black Hawks in the Southern Division race of the United States Hockey League and they did it by winning two of three road games.On Friday the 13th at Chicago, Musketeers got two goal performances from forward Alex Shibicky and Steve Heathwood to spoil opening of Warrior&rsquo;s new rink, coming from behind to post a 9-6 win. Chicago&rsquo;s newest sports complex, Hat Trick Arena, was officially opened with Jim Van Essen, USHL executive of the year, dropping the opening puck.At Calumet, Michigan, Copper Country Chiefs enjoyed a most productive week, tying Thunder Bay 7-7 &mdash; and winning 9-3 over Central Wisconsin Flyers. Graham Wise and Jim Carter lead the Chiefs offensively with four goals in the two games.Green Bay Bobcats closed to within three points of Marquette, stopping Musketeers 5-2. Bobcats leading scorer, Cliff Purpur, again led pack, scoring the game&rsquo;s first goal and assisting on two, including the winner. Purpur&rsquo;s three-point evening brings his total to 34 in 16 games to date.Waterloo, playing before 2,500 home fans, downed Milwaukee Admirals 11-2. Bryan Matlock scoring hattrick, plus Ron Dorgan, George Klasons, and Ron Na-gurski with two goals each paced Hawks to fifth win in past six games.<h2>All Star Format Set</h2>Meanwhile, plans are now being finalized for the 1974-75 All Star Game, scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 14, Brown County Arena, Green Bay.For the first time in league history, the mid-season contest will feature two divisional All Star teams as South vs. North.Hockey interest in all league cities is rapidly reaching a peak. Morley Howe, the USHLs publicist, will announce All Star rosters on Dec. 31.This year, all players on both teams are being chosen by news media.Coaches, selected by the league board of governors, are Paul Coppo of Green Bay, piloting the Northern Division and Waterloo&rsquo;s Dave Swich for the Southern Division All Stars. Swich was coach of the year last season.A sellout crowd is expected with many hockey fans in other league cities taking in the, contest. &#9632;

Around The USHL

<h2>Thu. Dec. 5</h2>SALT LAKE 9, DENVER 9FIRST PERIODSalt Lake, 1&mdash;Seagrist (Affleck) 6:58; 2&mdash;Murdock (Patrick) 7:09; Denver, 3&mdash;Wiseman (Stumpf, Heggedal) 7:24; Salt Lake, 4&mdash;Healey (Seagrist, Meloche) 10:17; Denver, 5&mdash;Heggedal (Ogilvie, Roberts) 17:37; 6&mdash;Heggedal (Wiseman) 19:59Penalties: Winchester 4:13, Patrick 12:37.SECOND PERIODSalt Lake, 7&mdash;Healey (Seagrist, Meeke) 2:40; 8&mdash;Hall (Simmer, Ahern) 9:20; Denver, 9&mdash;Kuntz (Serafini, Ogilvie) 11:12; 10&mdash;Johnson (McPherson) 15:55; Salt Lake. 11&mdash;Murdock (Holt, Patrick) 17:00.Penalties: Heggedal 5:23, Affleck 11:06, Kelly 12:38, Tower 14:19, Ahern 18:29, Ogilvie 19:47.THIRD PERIODDenver, 12&mdash;Ogilvie (Buynak, Heggedal) 3:07; 13&mdash;Ogilvie (Tower, Stumpf) 5:16; Salt Lake, 14_Holt (Stamp, Murdock) 6:31; Denver, 15&mdash;Kuntz (Kelly, Johnson) 8:02; 16&mdash;Kelly (Wiseman, Heggedal) 10:49; Salt Lake, 17&mdash;Hall (Ahern, Simmer) 11:33; 18&mdash;Healey (Meloche) 13:58.Penalty: Simmer 11:51.Saves, Martyniuk Miller (SL) 35, Watt (Den) 36.Attendance: 3,452.OKE CITY 2, FORT WORTH 2 FIRST PERIODFort Worth, 1&mdash;Grenier (M. Kennedy) 3:29; Oklahoma City, 2&mdash;Boutette (Burgess, Ruest) 5:01.Penalties: Dolloff 1:06, D. Andersen 4:52, Marsh 5:29, Butters (minor, misconduct) 7:33, Dempster 10:18, Burgess (triple minor, major) Grenier (major) 16:37.SECOND PERIODOklahoma City, 3&mdash;Handrahan (Burgess. Butters) 18:04.Penalties: Dempster 8:32, Kuruliak (major), McPhail (major) 12:33, Handrahan 12:59, Garland 19:44.THIRD PERIODFort Worth, 4&mdash;Marchinko (Nicholson, Desgagnes) 17:20.Penalty: B. Anderson 3:46.Saves, Hamel-McRae (OC) 27, Hughes (FW) 29. Attendance: 1,513.<h2>Fri. Dec. 6</h2>OMAHA 5, SEATTLE 4FIRST PERIODOmaha, 1&mdash;Kea (Schaab. Sutherland) 5:01 2&mdash;Sutherland (Kea) 9:37; 3&mdash;Sutherland (Houston) 10:13; Seattle, 4&mdash;Gloor (Wilcox, Sedlbauer) 10:55; 5&mdash;Folco (McCord, Wilcox) 16:28.Penalties: Huber, McCord 6:04, Ribble, Hulme 8:05, McMasters, Hurlburt 8:21, Mair 8:34, Surbey 15:29, Hurlburt 18:55.SECOND PERIODOmaha, 6&mdash;Kea (Sutherland) 12:58.Penalties: Bilodeau 4:51, Mair 10:15, Folco 11:34.THIRD PERIODSeattle, 7&mdash;Seguin (Spruce, McCord) 1:28; Omaha. 8&mdash;Kea 6:13; Seattle, 9&mdash;Sedlbauer (Wilcox) 10:30Penalties: Wilcox 3:20, Surbey 7:10, Spruce 10:18, Mair 17:07, Houston 17:42, Ribble (major), Spruce (major) 19:21, Snepsts (misconduct) 20:00.Saves, Hulme (Om.) 21, Brady (Sea.) 34.Attendance: 2,603.FORT WORTH 4, TULSA 2FIRST PERIODTulsa, 1&mdash;Chernoff (Adair, Andrea) 17:56.Penalties: Johnson (major), Driscoll (major) 2:29.SECOND PERIODFort Worth, 2&mdash;Henning (Marchinko, Johnson) 1:21; 3&mdash;R. Kennedy (Barber, Dempster) 12:36; Tulsa, 4&mdash;Andrea (Lariviere, Chernoff) 17:47.Penalties: Held 2:33, Clarke 11:30, Nicholson 17:07, Barber 18:43.THIRD PERIODFort Worth. 5&mdash;R. Kennedy (Dempster, Webster) 4:50, 6&mdash;Johnson (Henning, Marchinko) 19:14.Penalties: M. Kennedy, Chernoff 16:32, Beaudoin 19:58, (misconduct, game misconduct) 20:00.Saves, Hughes (FW) 30, Aberhart (Tul.) 22. Attendance: 2,171.<h2>Sat. Dec. 7</h2>OMAHA 6, DENVER 1FIRST PERIODOmaha, 1&mdash;Houston (Law, Conroy) 12:09, 2&mdash;Sutherland (Young, Ribble) 12:31; Schaab (Young, Byers) 18:28.Penalties: Roberts 2:35, Tower 17:28, Van Horlick (major, game misconduct), Tower (major), Serafini (major), Young (major) 19:06.SECOND PERIODOmaha, 4&mdash;Law (Conroy) 2:05; 5&mdash;Chouinard 16:06; Denver, 6&mdash;Ogilvie (Wiseman, Tower) 17:43.Penalty: McMasters 4:15.THIRD PERIODOmaha, 7&mdash;Sutherland (Schaab, Young) 10:38. Penalties: None.Saves, Hulme (Om) 35. Belanger (Den.) 20. Attendance: 4,500.OKE CITY 5, SEATTLE 3FIRST PERIODSeattle, 1&mdash;Folco (Wiley, Hughes) 12:15;2&mdash;Westner (Gould, Wilcox) 13:37.Penalties: Butters 1:34, Ruest 3:07, Wiley 6:23, Mair (misconduct) 7:31. Garland (major), Hurlburt 9:09, Handrahan, Murfey 10:10, Sauter, Spruce 14:50, Handrahan (major), Folco (major) 16:08, Garland 16:43, Sauter (major), Spruce (major) 16:5.SECOND PERIODOklahoma City, 3&mdash;Garland 1 55; 4&mdash;Garland (Sykes, Butters) 2:34; 5&mdash;Dolloff (Garland, Marsh) 18:32.Penalties: Wiley 1 18, Ruest 5:46, Williams 6:23, Hurlburt 9:27, 14:02.THIRD PERIODOklahoma-City; 6&mdash;Sykes (Garland, Dolloff) 3:11; Seattle, 7&mdash;Spruce (Homenuke, Folco) 10:53; Oklahoma City. 8&mdash;Kuruliak (Bowles. Boutette) 12:04.Penalties: Homenuke 14:04, Sedlbauer (misconduct) 16:12, Butters 19:17.Saves, McRae (OC) 25, Brady (Sea.) 41.Attendance: 3,251.SALT LAKE 2, DALLAS 1FIRST PERIODSalt Lake, 1&mdash;Seagrist (T. McAneeley, Simmer) 10:27; 2&mdash;Meloche (Seagrist, Affleck) 11:32.Penalties: None.SECOND PERIODNo scoring.Penalties: Hinton 4:02, Affleck 10:27, Ahern(misconduct) 16:29.THIRD PERIODDallas, 3&mdash;Orban (McKegney, Archambault) 7:24.Penalties: T. McAneeley 8:26, Ahern 16:14. Saves, Martyniuk (SL) 24, Dumas (Dal.) 26. Attendance: 3,163.OKE CITY 1, DENVER 9FIRST PERIODDenver, 1&mdash;Ogilvie (Serafini, Buynak) 4:54; 2&mdash;Borotsik (Stumpf, Roberts) 8:46; 3&mdash;Spring (Roberts, Babin) 17:04.Penalties: Stumpf 1:29, Handrahan 2:53, Stumpf 6:32, Boutette (double minor), Serafini 14:08, Tower (minor, misconduct) 18:27, Bowles 18:57.SECOND PERIODDenver, 4&mdash;Kuntz (Babin, Borotsik) 5:56; 5&mdash;Serafini (Kuntz, Babin) 17:37.Penalties: Ogilvie 2:51, Butters 5:12, Marsh (major), Ogilvie (major) 6:26, Sauter. Buynak 8:09, Buynak 11:13, 13:34, Handrahan 15:52, Deslauriers 17:32, Bowles 19:28.THIRD PERIODOklahoma City, 6&mdash;Boutette (Deslauriers, Aleandersson) 3:24; Denver. 7&mdash;Wiseman (Heggedal. Tower) 4:42; 8&mdash;Heggedal (Ogilvie, Wiseman) 7:04; 9&mdash;Heggedal (Ogilvie, Wiseman) 18:26; 10&mdash;Cournoyer (Roberts) 19:48.Penalties: Kelly 2:39, Hamel 7:04, Stumpf 11:35, Tower 19:19.Saves, Hamel (OC) 37, Belanger (Den.) 31. Attendance: 3,698.SEATTLE 1, OMAHA 6FIRST PERIODOmaha. 1&mdash;Houston (Byers, Schaab) 6:29; 2&mdash;Byers (Surbey) 10:04; 3&mdash;Klatt (Byers, Chouinard) 19:36.Penalties: Houston 3:45, Wisener, Ribble 4:32, Mair 4:59, Houston 14:08, Bilodeau 16:56.SECOND PERIODOmaha. 4&mdash;Young (Schaab, Huber) 0:28.Penalties: Hughes. Huber 1:02. Hurlburt 1:56, Bilodeau 4:49, McMasters 5:56, Gloor 8:52, Wilcox, Bilodeau, Sedlbauer (misconduct, game misconduct) 18:44.THIRD PERIODOmaha, 5&mdash;Huber (Young, Schaab) 2:23; Seattle, 6&mdash;Gould (Westner, Folco) 4:43; Omaha, 7&mdash;Klatt (Byers, Chouinard) 6:43.Penalties: Huber 2:51, Mair 9:30, Kea 11:38, Folco 14:19, (major), Ribble (major) 18:59.Saves, Bullock (Sea.) 21. Voss (Om.) 28. Attendance: 4,126.<h2>Sun. Dec. 8</h2>SALT LAKE 5, FT. WORTH 1FIRST PERIODSalt Lake, 1&mdash;Meeke (Simmer, Healey) 10:3.0; 2&mdash;Seagrist (Meloche) 11:24.Penalties: McPhail 6:01. Meeke 7:07, B. Anderson 12:11.SECOND PERIODSalt Lake, 3&mdash;B. McAneeley (T. McAneeley) 1:03; Fort Worth, 4&mdash;Marchinko (Johnson) 2:10.Penalties: Simmer 10:13, Marchinko 12:44, Holt 17:33.THIRD PERIODSalt Lake, 5&mdash;Seagrist (Patrick, Meloche) 18:26; 6&mdash;Murdock (T. McAneeley) 19:42.Penalties: Affleck, Dempster 9:40, Meloche 11:00.Saves, Miller (SL) 26, Hughes (FW) 29.Attendance: 1,629.TULSA 2, OMAHA 4FIRST PERIODOmaha, 1&mdash;Chouinard (Young, Houston) 14:56.Penalties: Mercredi 4:58, Held 13:23, Surbey 15:33.SECOND PERIODOmaha, 2&mdash;Young (Schaab, Houston) 12:30.Penalties: Held 11:55, Conroy 15:13, Houston 17:19.THIRD PERIODTulsa, 3&mdash;Israelson (Sobchuk, Olmstead) 5:18; Omaha, 4&mdash;Mercredi (Young, Sutherland) 9:34; Tulsa, 5&mdash;Israelson (Sobchuk) 11:03, Omaha, 6&mdash;Byers (Ribble, Chouinard) 12:51.Penalties: Erickson 1:44, Van Horlick 18:21.Saves, Humphreys (Tul.) 29. Voss (Om.) 23. Attendance: 3,867.DALLAS 4, FORT WORTH 7FIRST PERIODDallas, 1&mdash;Archambault (Donaldson. Smith) 2:03; Fort Worth. 2&mdash;D. Andersen (M. Kennedy. B. Anderson) 17:29; 3&mdash;R. Kennedy (Smith, Webster) 19:19.Penalties: Henning 0:57, Johnson 1:55, Nicholson. Fort Worth bench (served by Desgagnes) 3:15, Giroux 6:54, Hinton 9:40, Orban 12:21, Logan 14:54, Johnson 19:29.SECOND PERIODDallas. 4&mdash;Holt (Palmer) 14:36; Fort Worth, 5&mdash;Dempster (R. Kennedy) 16:21; 6&mdash;Marchinko (Henning, Johnson) 17:08; 7&mdash;B. Anderson (Grenier, M. Kennedy) 17:20.Penalties: Koleff 5:47, Logan 9:41, Blais 14:53, Dumas served by Hinton) 18:08.THIRD PERIODDallas. 8&mdash;Palmer(Holt, Elliott) 1:00; Fort Worth,9&mdash;R. Kennedy (Henning, Smith) 5:21; Dallas.10&mdash;Orban (Palmer. McKegney) 9:51; Fort Worth,11&mdash;Henning 10:46.Penalties: Logan 2:01, R. Kennedy 2:47, Elliott 3:33, Marchinko6:01. Johnson 13:46, D. Andersen 15:28, Dempster 16:33.Saves, Dumas-Germain (Dal.) 28, Hughes (FW) 22.Attendance: 2,680SALT LAKE 1, TULSA 7FIRST PERIODTulsa, 1&mdash;Held (Lariviere. Mandryk) 1:39; 2&mdash;Watt (Sobchuk, DeLorenzi) 5:30; 3&mdash;Adair 12:16.Penalties: Murdock 6:30, Olmstead 10:08, Beaudoin 14:36, Lariviere 16:46, Patrick 19:19.SECOND PERIODTulsa, 4&mdash;Israelson (Beaudoin, Gorman) 3:23; 5&mdash;Sobchuk (Watt. DeLorenzi) 11:05; 6&mdash;Liese-mer (Driscoll, Mandryk) 12:38; Salt Lake, 7&mdash;T. McAneeley (Murdock. B. McAneeley) 19:19.Penalties: Ahern, Patrick 7:43, Beaudoin 19:14.THIRD PERIODTulsa, 8&mdash;Lariviere (Liesemer) 8:22.Penalties: Meloche 15:38, T. McAneeley (major), Watt (major) 17:28. Meeke (minor, major), Larividre (major) 18:45, Patrick (minor, major), Chernoff, Beaudoin (major, game misconduct) 18:56.Saves, Martyniuk-Miller (SL) 30. Humphreys (Tul.) 21.Attendance: 2.263. &#9632;

Central League Summaries

UNITED STATES LEAGUE(Standings on Tues. Dec. 17)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-01155/3443184-1-eng-US/f0033-012.jpg" title="f0033-01" width="591" height="369"></div>GAMES COMPLETEDFri. Dec. 13Thunder Bay 7 at Copper Country 7; Sioux City 9 at Chicago 6.Sat. Dec. 14Sioux City 2 at Green Bay 5; Thunder Bay 6 at Marquette 1; Central Wisconsin 3-at Copper Country 9; Milwaukee 2 at Waterloo 11.Sun. Dec. 15Sioux City 5 at Central Wisconsin 1.LEADING SCORERS<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-02115/3443177-1-eng-US/f0033-022.jpg" title="f0033-02" width="587" height="317"></div>CONTINENTAL LEAGUE(Standings on Wed. Dec. 11)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-0384/3443170-1-eng-US/f0033-032.jpg" title="f0033-03" width="587" height="199"></div>LEADING SCORERS<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-0468/3443163-1-eng-US/f0033-042.jpg" title="f0033-04" width="591" height="323"></div> &#9632;

f0033-01

HOW THEY STAND

MADISON&mdash;&ldquo;Its a long ride here,&rdquo; said Kenosha&rsquo;s Reggie Fleming after the Madison Blues held off the Kenosha Flyers 7-6, at Madison&rsquo;s Dane County Coliseum before some 2,000 youth hockey night fans.The game itself was not reminiscent of little boys playing hockey. It was a bruising game with the Flyers taking the early lead, 2-1, after the first period. In the second period the Blues scored four times. The goals came from Bob Shaughnessy, Don Harvey, Sam Grosso and Stan Hinkley.Fleming, who played 11 seasons with the Chicago Black Hawks and two with the Chicago Cougars, played with guile and conserved his energy. The 38-year-old wing even had a hat-trick for the evening, but it wasn&rsquo;t enough to hold off the youthful Blues.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s smart.&rdquo; said Madison&rsquo;s player-coach Greg Campbell of Fleming after the game. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s not too old. He&rsquo;s a real pro.&rdquo;Fleming&rsquo;s former Chicago Cougar teammate Brian Glenwright alsi had a hat-trick for the evening. Glenwright signed with the Flyers just before the game. and was very impressive in his first start.Hinkley scored two goals, his second at five minutes into the third period on a breakaway. The score was then 6-3, and the Blues seemed home free. But after trading goals, Kenosha scored twice more and the Blues did well to come away with a one goal victory.After the game, Fleming relaxed and said, &ldquo;It was a good game. I `m just playin&rsquo; for fun, havin a good time.&rdquo; &#9632;

Ex-Cougars Fail To Halt CHL’s Blues

<div class="byline">BY LEN HOYES</div>For the finest In Hockey Magazines subscribe today to the Hockey Twins:HOCKEY WORLD & HOCKEY PICTORIALFor the same price as a ticket to ONE GAME you can read over 1600 PAGES of outstanding news about Hockey by subscribing today toTHE HOCKEY NEWSCOLUMBUS&mdash;Al Hillier made &lsquo;em forget about Bobby Clarke in Flin Flon &mdash; well maybe not forget, but at least move over a little bit. Now the Columbus Owls are hoping the little centerman will give them something to remember in the International Hockey League.Apparently downgraded by the pro scouts because he was too snail, Hillier has been an early-season sensation for Coach Moe Bartoli. With the season approaching the halfway point, he was among the JHl&rsquo;s top 20 scorers and one of its best playmakers.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s an unusual player.&rdquo; Bartoli said of the 5-foot-7. 155-pounder, &ldquo;because he&rsquo;d rather pass off than shoot for goals.&rdquo; On most IHL clubs nonshooters are almost as scarce as dodo birds which have long been extinct.Bartoli dismissed Hillier&rsquo;s lack of size. &ldquo;He runs at people like a 200-pounder,&rdquo; said the veteran coach who has the Owls locked in a four-team scramble for second place behind Dayton in the South Division.In three seasons at Flin Flon. Hillier scored 85 goals in 177 games. That&rsquo;s pretty good total, even for the high scoring Western Canada Hockey League.But the startling points were his 225 assists and 310 points, the latter a pace of almost two per game. Last year he led the league with 108 assists and ranked fourth with 138 points.Yet, he wasn&rsquo;t taken in the National Hockey League draft of 247 men and rated only 117th in the World Hockey Association draft, being taken behind such other IHL rookies as Brian Kinsella (Dayton), Dave Inkpen (Flint), Mike Palmateer (Saginaw), Brad Winton (Flint), Carlo Torresan (Muskegon), etc. In fact, there are 13 IHL rookies who were taken before Hillier was tapped by the Minnesota Fighting Saint.He came to Columbus almost by accident. The Saints had him ticketed for Johnstown, Pa,, in the North American Hockey League but a friend. Mike Thompson, was headed for Columbus and convinved Hillier to give the IHL a try.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s been a pleasant find, to say the least,&rdquo; Bartoli said.SAGINAW: Stu Irving&rsquo;s goal with 27 seconds left earned 4-3 victory at Flint, returned Gears to North Division lead with team-record six game winning streak&hellip;Jim Johnston hiked personal total to 12 goals, scored twice in first 39 seconds to spur 4-3 triumph over Port Huron&hellip;Tom Thomson set club record for defensemen with five assists in 6-2 victory over Lansing.DES MOINES: Frank DeMarco finding range with six goals in three games but wasted two in 4-2 setback by Dayton&hellip;Defenseman Dan O&rsquo;Donohue placed on waivers but recalled&hellip;Ernie Campe returned after being out six weeks with broken wrist&hellip;Pat Russell scored final two goals in 5-3 victory at Toledo&hellip;Defenseman Duane Bray recalled to Tulsa (Central).MUSKEGON: Gary Ford, Bob Tombari remained 1-2 in league point derby but Ford&rsquo;s 14-game point string ended in 3-0shutout by Port Huron. Mohawks first to win 10 road games&hellip;Sid Prysunka, Tombari scored goals in first 1:55 to spur 5-2 victory at Des Moines&hellip;Pat DeMarchi two goals included first game-winner&hellip;Ford scored on penalty shot in 4-2 victory at Fort Wayne.DAYTON: Vet. Dave Simpson fined $25 on assault and battery charge for allegedly assaulting a fan in Des Moines&hellip;Goalie Jim Pettie drew three-game suspension for pushing incident with referee Kerry Fraser in Des Moines&hellip;Coach Tommy McVie ordered two-day rest after 6-2 loss against Fort Wayne&hellip;Defenseman Yvon Bilodeau&rsquo;s 11th, 12th goals not enough to help in 7-5 setback by Columbus.PORT HURON: Mike Ralph tied for league lead with 3-0 shutout of Muskegon, 22 saves helping third whitewash&hellip;Ralph carried from ice with muscle pull in following game. 5-2 loss against Saginaw&hellip;Larry Jacques foiled on penalty shot by Saginaw&rsquo;s Mike Palmateer&hellip;Mike Legge bagged first two goals after arrival from Columbus&hellip;Goalie Tim McQuistion dropped&hellip;Billy LeCaine idled by recurring back miseries.FORT WAYNE: Chick Baton&rsquo;s goal at 1:31 of overtime best Columbus, 3-2, ending five-game losing streak at home&hellip;Brian Walker, Doug Gibson scored two goals in 6-2 triumph over Dayton&hellip; Komets scored 10 power-play goals in seven-game stretch&hellip;Defenseman Marty Feschuk obtained from Saginaw&hellip;Dean Sheremeta recalled by Hershey, defenseman John Dobe sidelined by kidney injury&hellip;Walker scored nine goals in five-game span.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-0389/3443246-1-eng-US/f0034-032.jpg" title="f0034-03" width="556" height="537"><figcaption class="caption-body">AL HILLIER &hellip;Not Too Small</figcaption></div>FLINT: Bob Volpe equaled team record, lowered GAA to 2.50 by blanking Des Moines, 4-0, for second time among four shutouts&hellip;Doug Manchak maintained league lead with 27th goal, scoring 24 times in 24-game period&hellip;Kirk Bowman ended 11-game goal drought with final tally against Des Moines&hellip; Doug Kerslake walked out. apparently from injury list, defenseman Rod Collins sidelined.TOLEDO: Goaldiggers&rsquo; hit 812 penalty minutes, well above last yearfinal total of 771&hellip;Craig Stamp best on club with plus-18&hellip;Diggers&rsquo; defenseman led league with 18 goals&hellip;Stamp returned from trial at Salt Lake City&hellip;Darwin Mott scored goals in five straightgames, pints in seven straight&hellip;Diggers missed chance to redeem $50 fines loss at Port Huron&hellip;Paul Tantardini out six weeks with broken ankle. Michel Laurendeau scored six goals, six assists in first seven games.KALAMAZOO: Coach Bob Lemieux ejected after hassle with referee Hanhem&hellip;Record crowd of 5,196 viewed 2-1 loss to Muskegon&hellip;Wings&rsquo; Gordon McCormick released&hellip;Nick Holmes scored four assists against Muskegon setting club record&hellip;Wings 1-8 in one-goal games, lost five seven by one goal&hellip;Mike Wanchuk scored goals 57 seconds apart. Wings totaled three in 1:26 to beat Lansing, 3-1.COLUMBUS: Hopes for second place hurt by 1-4 record overtime games, almost a repeat of last year&rsquo;s 1-5 record&hellip;Captain Steve Lyon voted Player-of-month for November&hellip; Elgin McCann scored fifth short-handed goal of year in 7-5 victory over Dayton, Owls&rsquo; first in 1-4-1 record against South leaderLANSING: Coach Real Turcotte ejected in game at Saginaw&hellip;Lancers outscored by 24-7 in three-game losing streak&hellip;Dave Staflen&rsquo;s 20th and 21st goals not enough to prevent 6-5 loss to Kalamazoo&hellip;Ivan Belisle welcomed back after eight-game absence because of head injury &hellip;Dean Jeffrey went home because of &ldquo;family problems,&rdquo; Jim Lanzi signed as backup goalie.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-0467/3443239-1-eng-US/f0034-042.jpg" title="f0034-04" width="545" height="457"><figcaption class="caption-body">MIKE RALPH &hellip;Third Shutout</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0034-03

Unwanted Owl Hillier Early-Season Hit; Saqinaw Back On Top With Winning Streak

<h2>LEADING SCORERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-01168/3443284-1-eng-US/f0034-012.jpg" title="f0034-01" width="585" height="321"></div><h2>GOALERS RECORDS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-02118/3443277-1-eng-US/f0034-022.jpg" title="f0034-02" width="585" height="490"></div> &#9632;

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IHL Leaders

<div class="byline">BY JACK GATECLIFF</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-01157/3443322-1-eng-US/f0035-012.jpg" title="f0035-01" width="565" height="853"><figcaption class="caption-body">LYNN JORGENSON&hellip;Five-Goal Game</figcaption></div>TORONTO &mdash;Anyone who was under the impression Toronto Marlboros were easing up after regaining first place in the Ontario Hockey Association Major Junior A League would have a change of mind after reading their score against Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds.Playing before a fairly slim Maple Leaf Gardens crowd of 3,200, the Marlboros fattened their scoring marks by trouncing the Greyhounds 17-4.It was the most decisive loss suffered by the Sault since they entered the league three years ago and was one of the highest scores in the past five years.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-0835/3443315-1-eng-US/f0035-082.jpg" title="f0035-08" width="247" height="387"><figcaption class="caption-body">Mike Crombeen</figcaption></div>Strangely enough the league&rsquo;s top marksman Bruce Boudreau failed to score a goal &mdash; an indication of the depth and balance put together by Marlboro coach George Armstrong.Lynn Jorgenson and Mike Krszycki, two relatively unknown rookies, counted five and three goals respectively while John Anderson, Mark Napier and Bill Wells had a pair.Peter Lochead replied with two for the Greyhounds who were outshot 4925 and trailed by period scores of 4-2 and 9-3.The eight goals scored by the Marlies in the last period were the most in any single 20-minute span this season by an Ontario Major Junior team and lifted the goals-for record by Toronto to 20 above their closest rivals.Strangely enough the Marlie guns were not nearly as powerful 24 hours later when they just sneaked past Kitchener Rangers 5-4 and were actually behind the last place club 2-0 in the first period.However Napier and Anderson scored twice later in the game to clinch the win.HAMILTON: The Fincups are continuing to be the most amazing team in the league and are staying right on the heels of the Marlboros&hellip;After finishing last in 1973-74 with 37 points in 70 games they have already gone over that total with less than half the schedule completed and are regularly drawing more than 2,000 spectators&hellip;Last season they didn&rsquo;t hit the 1.000 mark even once&hellip;After beating St. Catharines 5-0 on home ice, they invaded Garden City Arena and came up with a 3-3 tie thanks to third period goafs by Glen Richardson and Dan Shearer&hellip;They then nudged Peterborough 3-1 at the Hamilton Forum with Richardson picking up a pair of goals and Archie King one&hellip;Team leader though is still Dale McCourt, their captain and center, who is an outstanding professional prospect&hellip;PETERBOROUGH: The Petes, after a hesitant start, are now making noises as if they are about to confirm their third place standing &mdash; or possibly higher&hellip;They walloped Ottawa 11-2 with five goals in the third period, were narrowly beaten 3-1 in Hamilton but bounced back to take Kingston Canadians 6-2&hellip;Captain Doug Jarvis had a great night at the 67s&rsquo; expense, scoring twice and assisting on five others while Stan Jonathan picked up a pair&hellip;Gary Purdon opened the scoring in Hamilton but the Fincups counted the next three to claim the two points&hellip; Against Kingston, the Petes had another big third period with four unanswered goals to break a 2-2 tie&hellip;Red Laurence scored twice and it was the first time this year the Petes had beaten the Canadians&hellip; They then played to a 4-4 tie in Brantford against the Marlboros on a third period penalty shot by Gary McMonagle&hellip;The penalty shot was called by referee Bob Nadin after McMonagle was tripped by Mike McEwen on a breakaway.OTTAWA: The 67s are clinging to fourth place which would mean the extra home game in the first round of the playoffs but it&rsquo;s a tight fit with Oshawa, Kingston, St. Catharines, Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie and London not too far behind&hellip;After being humiliated 11-2 in Peterborough they met Hamilton at home and were on the short end of a 5-3 score&hellip;Ottawa&rsquo;s only two scorers in the Peterborough game were Doug Lawrence and Tom McDonnell and attendance, which had started to climb, was dropping again&hellip;Bruce Baker scored two of the three against Hamilton.KINGSTON: Kingston&rsquo;s spectacular start has developed into a slide into the lower reaches of the league a they were nudged 5-4 at home by Sault Ste.Marie and 6-2 on the road in Peterborough&hellip; Mike Crombeen played brilliantly despite the loss to the Greyhounds, scoring three goals while Brad Rhiness and Mike O&rsquo;Connell were the only marksmen in Peterborough&hellip;Moving on to London after their defeat to the Petes, the Canadians led 3-2 with less than three minutes left but had to settle for a tie on Ron Zanussi&rsquo;s goal on a 15-foot shot.OSHAWA: Coach Gus Bodnar is keeping his club in contention for one of the higher positions despite the continued absence of their sparkplug Andy Whitby&hellip; Oshawa won its two games of the week 8-3 at home over Kitchener and St. Catharines 4-3&hellip; Captain Bud Stefanski counted the winner against the Hawks with the only third period goal and scored another two against Kitchener&hellip; Greg Malone, a steady performer all season, also added two goals to his total in the Kitchener game.ST. CATHARINES: The Black Hawk slump continues although they have earned five ties in eight games&hellip; But lack of victories has dropped them precariously close to missing the playoffs for only the third-time in 32 seasons&hellip; At home they held a 3-1 lead on a pair of goals by Rick Adduono and one by Ken Breitenbach, then lost 6-4 in Sault Ste. Marie after being tied going into the third period&hellip; Coach Paul Emms was ejected for arguing too strenously over one of four minor penalties assessed Greg Craig, who had only six minutes all last season and was suspended twc games&hellip; Gary McAdam much improved and figured in all four goals at the Sault&hellip; The Hawks finally picked up win, 6-5 in Sudbury with Craig and Bil Hamilton scoring twice.SUDBURY: Rod Schutt scored twice in the last three minutes of the third period but it was too little too late as the Wolves were beaten 5-3 in London&hellip; The victory enhanced the Knights&rsquo; hopes of catching a playoff spot and kept Sudbury &mdash; like so many other teams &mdash; wondering whether they&rsquo;d be in or out when the schedule ends in late March&hellip; Bobby Russell scored the other Sudbury goal against the Knights&hellip; Al home with St. Catharines they fell behind by two goals on three occasions, came back to tie the score but finally lost 6-5 on Ken Martyn&rsquo;s game-winnei late in the second&hellip; Reese Dobrick sco red twice for the Wolves.SAULT STE. MARIE: The Grey hounds moved, at least temporarily into seventh place with a well-played 6-4 decision over St. Catharines as their top marksman Cary Farelli fired three goals including the clincher into an open net&hellip; Attendance hovering just above the 2.000 mark but if the Greyhounds make the playoffs for the first time they&rsquo;ll pack the arena&hellip; Manager Angelo Bumbacco and coach Bob Farelli feel this is the year their team will qualify&hellip; The previous week the Sault nudged Kingston 5-4 after their 17-4 drubbing at the hands of the Marlies&hellip; &ldquo;Just proves we can come back.&rdquo; said Bumbacco in the understatement of the year.. Bruce O&rsquo;Grady had two goals and assisted on another against the Canadians.LONDON: The Knights, who seemed to be absolutely out of playoff contention, have come alive in recent weeks and are now right in the thick of the battle for any position up to fourth&hellip; They defeated Sudbury 5-3 thanks to a three-goal effort by Dennis Maruk and at home with Kingston only managed a 3-3 tie which at least briefly halted their march into the higher ranks&hellip; Coach Bill Long has one of the most experienced teams in the league and the acquisition of goaltender Mike Kasmetis from Peterborough seems to have turned their season around&hellip; He was positively brilliant in game with Sudbury.KITCHENER: Attendance is dipping in Kitchener as the Rangers&rsquo; playoff hopes do the same&hellip; Only 2,210 turned out to watch the club play London, very poor by usual Kitchener standards and to compound their woes their lost 6-4&hellip; Even in defeat Don Edwards played brilliantly and was commended by general manager Ted Maki and coach Eddie Bush&hellip; However Maki was not so kind to the other players who he said &ldquo;showed a complete lack of effort&rdquo;&hellip; &#9632;

f0035-01

Marlles Continue To Set Torrid Pace With Fincups, Petes In Hot Pursuit

MIDWEST JUNIOR LEAGUE(Standings on Mon. Dec. 9<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-02130/3443388-1-eng-US/f0035-022.jpg" title="f0035-02" width="587" height="175"></div>LEADING SCORERS<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-0397/3443381-1-eng-US/f0035-032.jpg" title="f0035-03" width="587" height="287"></div>BRITISH COLUMBIA JUNIOR(Standings on Sun. Dec. 8)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-0480/3443374-1-eng-US/f0035-042.jpg" title="f0035-04" width="583" height="375"></div>MICHIGAN JUNIOR(Standings on Sun. Dec. 8)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-0566/3443367-1-eng-US/f0035-052.jpg" title="f0035-05" width="583" height="317"></div>ONTARIO PROVINCIAL JUNIOR(Standings on Mon. Dec. 16)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-0654/3443360-1-eng-US/f0035-062.jpg" title="f0035-06" width="585" height="369"></div>SOUTHERN ONTARIO JUNIOR(Standings on Mon. Dec. 16)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-0748/3443353-1-eng-US/f0035-072.jpg" title="f0035-07" width="589" height="197"></div> &#9632;

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ONTARIO MAJOR LEAGUE(Standings on Tue. Dec. 17)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-0934/3443426-1-eng-US/f0035-092.jpg" title="f0035-09" width="585" height="335"></div>GAMES COMPLETEDSat. Dec. 14Ottawa 6 at Sault 4; London 6 at Oshawa 7Sun. Dec. 15London 6 at St Catharines 4; Oshawa 7 at Toronto 10; Hamilton 5 at Kitchener 7; Ottawa 6 at Sudbury 10; Peterborough 8 at Kingston 4.QUEBEC MAJOR LEAGUEStandings on Fri. Dec. 20)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-1027/3443419-1-eng-US/f0035-102.jpg" title="f0035-10" width="587" height="397"></div>GAMES COMPLETEDMon. Dec. 16Sherbrooke 3 at Laval.Tue. Dec. 17Chicoutimi 4 at Trois Rivieres 6.Wed. Dec. 18Chicoutimi 1 at Sorel 0; Sherbrooke 2 at Hull 0.Thu. Dec. 19Quebec 5 at Cornwall 5. &#9632;

f0035-09

<div class="byline">BY DEREK KNIGHT</div>Follow All The Action Every Week By Subscribing Today ToTHE HOCKEY NEWSSuperb Hockey Reading Each MonthHOCKEY WORLD & HOCKEY PICTORIALPHILADELPHIA &mdash;You&rsquo;ve heard it before that Gregg Pilling&rsquo;s Philadelphia Firebirds were no ordinary expansion team. This was evident after Pilling&rsquo;s club marched into first place midway through the month of December. Other clubs were also on their way as the Long Island Cougars picked up four big points with back-to-back wins over the defending champion Syracuse Blazers.JOHNSTOWN: Jets dropped back-to-back games to Maine and Johnstown, keeping them from advancing upward in the NAHL standings. Injuries have been a problem with goaltender Louie Levasseur joining forwards John Gofton and Galen Head on the injured list. Levasseur returned, however, to the active roster when Don Atchison was recalled by the Pittsburgh Penguins. Jets dropped a 7-3 decision to Syracuse with Jet goals scored by forwards Dave Hanson, Joe Robertson, and Jack Carlson. Ned Dowd, recently added to the club, chipped in with an assist. Dowd was one of the stars of last year&rsquo;s Jet club. Top defenseman Pat Westrum was once again summoned to the parent Minnesota Fighting Saints.BROOME: For the first time since October 22 the Dusters were not a first place club. Instead the club dropped to second as injuries began to mount. Ron Boehm has missed a month with a broken finger &ldquo;while an ankle injury has kept Rod Bloomfield from seeing extensive duty. A ruptured spleen will keep Dale McBain office for a good 6-8 week period. Defenseman Wayne Morusyk was released. Veteran Ted McCaskill could prove to be a most valuable addition. A fine penalty killer, the aggressive, experienced forward should provide the club with some on ice leadership.LONG ISLAND: Club was rapidly becoming a good traveling show with road wins in Mohawk Valley and Syracuse. It was the first ever Cougar victory in Syracuse and it came just 24 hours after the Cougars had knocked off the Blazers at home. The Long Island Arena based club has come up with six road wins and a tie at the time of this writing. Coach Ron Racette has a pleasant problem in the goaltending department. His netminders, Rich Coutu and Chris Grigg, had combined for a league leading 2.52 goals-against average after 27 games, including five shutouts. Credit the overall teamwork for the club&rsquo;s strong rating as the NAHL&rsquo;s number one defensive club. Brian Coates scored thrilling overtime winner at Mohawk Valley with just 57 seconds remaining on the scoreboard clock. In their next outing. Cougar captain Jim Pritchard and Bob Falconer came up with third period goals to defeat Syracuse 3-2. The next night the Cougars won in Syracuse by the identical score after trailing 2-0 after one period. Defenseman Keith Kokkola notched the game winner.SYRACUSE: Club picked up forward Dan Schock from rival AHL Eagles on a tryout basis. Schock, younger brother of Pittsburgh&rsquo;s Ron Schock, scored 48 goals two seasons ago while playing for Richmond. Bill Reed was recalled by Michigan while Bob Blanchet was recalled to San Diego. Bob Jones, Blazer captain, was setting strong example with a club high 37 points. &ldquo;Jonesy&rdquo; had 16 goals in his first 26 games. Blazers attendance has been steadily climbing with close to 8,000 fans attending two weekend games. Return of netminder Joe Junkin can only be a plus. Along with being a top netminder, Junkin is also a most popular figure in Syracuse with fans remembering him for his 28 of 32 regular season wins in 1972-73 season, the last year of the Eastern Hockey League when Joe led them to the Walker Cup. Blazer general manager Brian Elwell has a strong club that was best exemplified in recent Cougars-Blazers series when John Raynak, a forty plus goal scorer last season, found himself sitting up in the press box due to a nice Blazer problem called depth.MAINE: Nordiques are not to be taken lightly anymore. Back-to-back wins over Johnstown must have made a happy weekend for coach Jean-Charles Gravel. Goaltending had a lot to do with it as Bernie Wolfe continued to earn raves around the NAHL with his stellar netminding performances. In the double victory over the Jets Bernie stopped 117 shots, 60 in one game, 57 in the other. His play in goal has been a big. factor in the club&rsquo;s improved play. Captain Paul Larose still a couple of points ahead of teammate Bob Murphy. 37 to 35, after 29 games. Denis Patry&rsquo;s 58 minutes in penalties was high on the club. Forward Norm Descoteaux was claimed on waivers from Johnstown. Nordiques have made several acquisitions of late but no one can argue the moves made since the new Nordiques have all been effective.MOHAWK VALLEY: Left winger Gordie Titcomb was recalled by the parent Toronto Toros after injuries hit the big club on the left side. Titcomb, off to a good start in the NAHL. was expected to return as soon as the Toros&rsquo; injury problems subsided. Brian McKenzie had an impressive start as well for the Comets after his assignment from Indianapolis. McKenzie came up with 11 points (4 goals and 7 assists) in his first 7 games. Jim Park&rsquo;s 3.79 goals-against average is rather misleading since the skilled netminder has been impressive coming up with a 10-6-1 won-lost-tied record.CAPE CODDERS: A three-goal hattrick by Robbie Neale set the pace as the Cape Codders came up with a record setting 13 goals in a 13-4 romp over Mohawk Valley. Bob Charlebois, Billy Heindl, John Cunniff, and John Stewart netted two goals apiece. In goal that night were local home town heroes. With Mike Falconieri starting in goal for Cape Cod (a local product) and Steve Eckerson (another local product) going for Mohawk Valley, a first may have been set in professional hockey. Codders four game win streak snapped by Firebirds. Ted Ouimet back with Codders&rsquo; four game win streak snapped by was disappointed as the Codders came up with a 5-3 victory. The play of left winger John Cunniff has really drawn attention. In 27 games &ldquo;Cunny&rsquo;s&rdquo; 21 goals and 44 points were tops in the league. Codder newcomer is center John Harris, the number two scorer on last year&rsquo;s NCAA Champion Minnesota Golden Gophers.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-0373/3443464-1-eng-US/f0036-032.jpg" title="f0036-03" width="445" height="705"><figcaption class="caption-body">TED McCASKILL&hellip;Valuable Addition</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-0451/3443457-1-eng-US/f0036-042.jpg" title="f0036-04" width="529" height="683"><figcaption class="caption-body">JOE JUNKIN&hellip;Returns To Blazers</figcaption></div>PHILADELPHIA: Firebirds put together a five-game win streak along with 7 out of 8 thanks to improved play of goaltenders Danny Sullivan and R&eacute;jean Lemelin. Centers Michel Plante and Bob Collyard were key offensive performers. Plante, one of the NAHL&rsquo;s top players and clutch performers, is enjoying a banner season in Philly with 32 points in 29 games. Collyard in 31 games had 39 points. Mike Clarke reassigned to Richmond on emergency basis. Mike Boland and Pierre Henry coming on strong for Gregg Pilling&rsquo;s crew. &#9632;

f0036-03

Firebirds Are No Ordinary Expansion Team

<h2>LEADING SCORERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-01137/3443502-1-eng-US/f0036-012.jpg" title="f0036-01" width="589" height="493"></div><h2>LEADING NETMINDERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-0296/3443495-1-eng-US/f0036-022.jpg" title="f0036-02" width="587" height="385"></div> &#9632;

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January 3, 1975

Draveurs’ Owner Has Last Word—Dumps Dolbec

Rookie Hrechkosy Lights Way Through Seals’ Darkest Hours

Debenedet Shelves Forestry Career To Plant Spark In Struggling Pens

WHERE YOU’LL FIND IT ALL