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 31, 1975

The Hockey News January 31, 1975

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0004-05" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-05467/3163420-1-eng-US/f0004-052.jpg"></div><h2>Goaltenders Heroes Of Expansion Caps</h2>Last night, my husband and I witnessed the greatest hockey game ever between the Washington Capitals and the Boston Bruins. We have been to a number of Capitals&rsquo; games this season, but the team we saw last night was not the same team we had seen before. Even though the game ended in a 3-3 tie, it was a moral victory for the Capitals. Maybe Caps management shouldn&rsquo;t have spent so much money on &ldquo;Bonus Babies&rdquo; such as Greg Joly, who has yet to prove himself, but they&rsquo;re certainly getting fine performances out of goalies Michel Belhumeur and Ron Low. Last night, Belhumeur made a terrific showing before he was hurt. According to the local newspaper, he made approximately twelve saves in eight seconds. Can you believe that? And Ron Low did much more than his share. These men are the real heroes of the Caps.JOAN LEWIS, Manassas, Va.<h2>Seals NHL&rsquo;s Giant Killers</h2>Question: What NHL team has given the Flyers their most decisive defeat this year? Better yet, what team recently garnered a rare two points from the LA Kings? This mystery team, probably the youngest in the league, has also slain other league giants.Here are some hints: Their number nine is worn by a fiery redhead whose talent will overwhelm you. They have a goaltender nicknamed &ldquo;Cobna&rdquo;, whose mask was painted by Indian children. They have a player of Indian ancestry who was All Star material last year. They also have a player nicknamed &ldquo;Wrecker&rdquo;, who is wrecking the confidence of goalies throughout the league. Finally, they have a player named Stan who is really &ldquo;Weir-d&rdquo;.The answer: The California Seals!DAVE HACKER, Georgetown, Ont.<h2>Hair Pulling Tactic Unbecomes Players</h2>One of the dirtiest and cheapest fighting tactics used by hockey players today is hair-pulling. This occurs quite often but nobody seems to notice or care. Two recenl examples which point out the unfairness of allowing hair-pulling occurred between Danny Garq (Sabres) and Rick Wilson (Blues) on Jan. 5 and between Lanny MacDonald (Leafs) and Ron Sedlbauer (Canucks) on Jan. 8. In both cases, the players had become entangled in ar arm-lock. One player pulled an arm free, grabbed hold of the other&rsquo;s hair, yanked his head back and gol in three or four more good punches before the referee intervened. Talk about an unequal and unfair situation. Why not institute a minor penalty to discourage this childish action, or at least have the linesmer move in sooner. Hair-pulling is a disgusting practice which should be stopped as soon as possible.ALAN DYCK St. Catharines, Ont<h2>Little Difference Between NHL, WHA</h2>I have followed both the NHL and the WHA and see very little difference in the way they play. Many NHL fans like to believe the WHA is a scrub league. But guys like Price, Chipperfield, Ruskowski and Hickey have added a lot of talent to this league and teams like the Whalers, Aeros, Toros and Fighting Saints could show come top NHL teams a real battle.GERRY STEINBERG, Franklin Square, L.l.<h2>Special Tribute To Blues&rsquo; Management</h2>I would like to pay a special tribute to the gutsy front office of the St. Louis Blues, Sid Salomon III and Lynn Patrick, who have built the Blues into a young, aggressive, hard-hitting hockey club. Some recent trades have brought them Claude Larose, Chuck Lefley and Red Berenson. If you don&rsquo;t think these trades are paying off, just look at the league standings.JOEHESSLAU, Jackson, Mich.<h2>Orr More Valuable On Forward Line</h2>Boston Bruins are my favorite hockey team, but I think that if Bobby Orr wants so much to be in the scoring leaders, he should play as a forward. I truly think that if Carol Vadnais and Dallas Smith handled defense and Orr and Esposito did the scoring, the Bruins would win more games and could beat Buffalo in the Adams Division.ALYN HOW, Louisbourg, N.S.<h2>Making Heroes Out Of Loafers</h2>I suppose I am a hockey nut. I live in an area where I can watch from one to three games a week on television. I can also get to Toronto, Buffalo, Montreal and Pittsburgh quite often.I have watched many NHL players who started off&rsquo;as honest, rough, tough, hard-working men like Gordie Howe or Rocket Richard turn into overpaid Prima Donnas. I am thinking of Rod Gilbert, the Mahovlich brothers, Stan Mikita, Dennis Hull, Gary Unger, Jacques Lemaire and dozens of others. These people all have the ability to be great hockey players. But they seem to spend most of their time carrying their money to the bank, signing autographs and doing commercials. Once in awhile, they&rsquo;ll go out and play a little hockey. The rest of the time they loaf. And what&rsquo;s more, all the newspapers make heroes out of these bums.Now, along comes a real hockey team, the Philadelphia Flyers, who are shaking up the NHL. Granted they are doing a lot of fighting, but they have to. It takes a big explosion to blast all those other super stars off their fannys. The Flyers will do whatever is necessary to win. They all work hard and give their fans their money&rsquo;s worth. When I see the news media, the refs and antiquated Clarence Campbell go out of their way to give the Flyers a hard time, I feel like swinging myself. More power to the Flyers!GEORGE NICHOLS, Massena, N.Y. &#9632;

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IN THIS ISSUE

FAN FORUM

<div class="byline">Ken McKenzie&#x2019;s</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-01838/3163365-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg" title="f0004-01" width="430" height="442"></div>&bull; VROGIE VACHON continues to haunt the Montreal Canadiens. As a result of the great goaltendings by the diminutive Los Angeles goalie, the Kings are managing to stay ahead of the Canadiens in their race for top spot in their division&hellip; Mickey Redmond. Detroit&rsquo;s ace goal scorer. will be lucky if he plays anymore this season. He is recovering from spinal surgery&hellip; Veteran Ron Buchanan of the Edmonton Oilers, finally made good on his repeated threats of retiring&hellip; Gordie Howe, who played in 22 NHL All Star eames. 14 of them in a row. took part in the World. Hockey Association&rsquo;s All Star game in Edmonton&hellip; It was a severe blow to the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association when the Western Canada Hockey League decided to withdraw from that organization. &ldquo;We now will control our own destiny and we&rsquo;re through with dealing through a third party (CAHA) comprised of people who have no direct investment in the sport.&rdquo; stated Ed Chynoweth. president of the WCHL. Chynoweth also believes the other major junior leagues in Canada, the Ontario Hockey Association Major Junior Series and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, will follow the WCHL&rsquo;s lead.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-02791/3163358-1-eng-US/f0004-022.jpg" title="f0004-02" width="284" height="456"><figcaption class="caption-body">Rogie Vachon</figcaption></div>&bull; FRED SHERO and Marshall Johnston, coach of the California Seals, are forming a mutual admiration society. Shero says Johnston is one of the most qualified coaches in hockey, with his Denver University. Canadian Olympic team and pro hockey background. Says Johnston: &rdquo; I&rsquo;d like to spend some time talking with Fred.&rdquo; &hellip; Philadelphia Spectrum sign painters are adopting Shero&rsquo;s inspiring thoughts he writes on the blackboard in the Flyers&rsquo; dressing room. This banner appeared during Flyers&rsquo; 0-3-1 slump: Great men reioice in adversity iust as brave soldiers triumph in war.&rdquo;&hellip; How about this for a coincidence: Pittsburgh Penguin right winger Jean Pronovost, who wears No. 19, recently scored his 19th goal at 19:19 of the first period in a 4-3 win over Vancouver. It also marked the Penguins&rsquo; 19th home game of the season&hellip; Captain Barclay Plager of the Blues feels this is the best team he&rsquo;s played on, mainly because they have so many good young players. The Blues have five potential 25-goal scorers with an average age of 24. They are Garry Unger. Wayne Merrick. Pierre Plante. Ace Bailey and Chuck Lefley&hellip; The new Philadelphia Flyers&rsquo; Yearbook is available to the public. Complied and edited by John Brogan and Joe Kadlec, it is must reading for followers of the 1974 Stanley Cup champions. It can be obtained by sending $2 plus 50c for mailing to The Spectrum. Flyers&rsquo; Novelty Dept.. Philadelphia, Pa. 19148.. World Hockey Association attendance is said to be running 44 percent ahead of last year&hellip; Dennis Murphy. WHA president, is deternimed to keep the number of WHA teams at 15&hellip; There were 44 goalies who participated in the NHL last season. Of those. Wayne Thomas of Canadiens ranked sixth in goals-against average. Yet. Thomas has not played a single game for the Canadiens this season. The only time he gets between the pipes is in practices. What a waste of talent!&hellip; NHL referee Bob Myers underwent knee surgery the other day and will be out for the year&hellip; Buffalo&rsquo;s power play has been a big nothing since Rick Martin was injured.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-03687/3163351-1-eng-US/f0004-032.jpg" title="f0004-03" width="284" height="448"><figcaption class="caption-body">Marshall Johnston</figcaption></div>&bull; BILL HUNTER, general manager of the Edmonton Oilers and Howard Baldwin, president and managing partner of the New England Whalers are both prominently mentioned as the successor to Dennis Murphy when he retires as president of the World Hockey Association this summer&hellip; Claude Ruel is doing an excellent job as assistant to Scotty Bowman and has become more popular with the players than he ever was as head coach five years ago. He appears to have matured&hellip; Cliff Koroll has scored five winning coals for the Black Hawks this season&hellip; Cat Francis has been ignoring Greg Polis of late. The Rangers haven&rsquo;t been playing the former high-scoring left winger of the Pittsburgh Penguins very much. The knock against Polis is that he doesn&rsquo;t patrol his wing properly and is weak defensively&hellip; Pocumtuck Hockey School (a successful school in Greenfield. Mass, for the last four years) is now moving its entire operation to the Williston Northampton School in Fasthampton. Mass&hellip; Gary Bromley celebrated his 25th birthday with his fourth shutout of the season in leading the Buffalo Sabres to a 5-0 win over Kansas City&hellip; Quebec Nordiques are packing the people into their home games like the good old days when Jean Beliveau played with the Quebec Aces. The club this season is a winner on the ice and at the box office&hellip; Pierre Plante&rsquo;s second hat trick of the season was a lesson in economy. He scored the three goals on just four shots. And on the fourth one Larry Sacharuk got the rebound and scored. Plante got four hats thrown on the ice. He picked out a brown one and said: &ldquo;I might keen this one to go fishing &ldquo;.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-04588/3163344-1-eng-US/f0004-042.jpg" title="f0004-04" width="267" height="438"><figcaption class="caption-body">Greg Polis</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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PASSING THE PUCK

<div class="byline">BY DONALD BERNS</div>ST. LOUIS &mdash;The new year quickly turned sour for the St. Louis Blues, who lost four of their first five games in 1975.The Blues weren&rsquo;t guilty of a collapse. Indeed, they were Dlaving some decent hockey. Nevertheless, the wins and points weren&rsquo;t coming, and the Blues were losing ground in their second-place battle with the Chicago Black Hawks.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-01777/3163923-1-eng-US/f0015-012.jpg" title="f0015-01" width="253" height="397"><figcaption class="caption-body">Barclay Plager</figcaption></div>&ldquo;If anything needs improvement, it&rsquo;s our confidence,&rdquo; said team captain Barclay Plager. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re a young team, and we&rsquo;ll be all right if we don&rsquo;t quit working.&rdquo; &ldquo;I dont&rsquo; believe I&rsquo;m overlooking any problems with the team,&rdquo; he added. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve always been critical of this team, and I don&rsquo;t see anything else wrong.&rdquo;The Blues were having difficulty in scoring goals, but the remedy for that disease is as inscrutable as the disease itself. The Blues scored 10 goals in the first five games of 1975.Their tailspin began after starting the new year by avenging an earlier embarrassing loss to the expansion Scouts in Kansas City, 5-3. This time in the cross-state hockey city the Blues snatched a 2-1 win on a goal by Chuck Lefley.Then, however, the Blues were flat and listless in a 4-1 loss to the Atlanta Flames at the St. Louis Arena. The Blues, who are again leading the National Hockey League in attendance, disappointed their largest crowd of the season, 19,218, who came to see Red Berenson, playing his first game in a St. Louis uniform in nearly four years.The Blues then had to hit the ice in Buffalo about 14 hours late for a Sunday afternoon game and lost, 4-2, as the defense abandoned John Davidson while the Sabres controlled the puck almost at will.&ldquo;The way they were flying was unbelievable,&rdquo; said Davidson. &ldquo;They really controlled the puck.&rdquo;Berenson and Bill Collins scored, but coach Garry Young said his players were guilty of &ldquo;trying to make one play too many instead of pulling the trigger.&rdquo; One of the ills contributing to the Blues&rsquo; losing was a siege of flu that hit various members of the team.Back home the Blues lost, 3-2, to the California Seals, and their losing streak reached three, longest for the team this season. It went to four when the Blues ran into the red-hot New York Rangers, who won their eighth straight for the National Hockey League&rsquo;s longest winning streak of the season.For the Ranger game the Blues had four players not dressed. The acquisition of defenseman Bruce Affleck from Springfield in exchange for Denver&rsquo;s Frank Spring and cash put the Blues at 23 players. Affleck, Bob Plager, Chris Evans and Ken Richardson sat out the Ranger game.Young continues to get solid performances from young players such as Lefley, Ace Bailey, Wayne Merrick, Bob Gassoff, Bob Hess and Rick Wilson. And, of course, there is always the solid work of Garry Unger, the only St. Louis player voted to the All Star Game. Unger outpolled some other big-name centers such as Stan Mikita, Jean Ratelie and Dennis Hextail to finish second in the voting behind Bobby Clarke in the Clarence Campbell Conference.Young says, &ldquo;We&rsquo;re building a team that is going to win the Stanley Cup championship. This is a team that is going to keep improving the rest of this season and could be the surprise of the playoffs.&rdquo;Plager said &ldquo;We played a couple of good games and lost; maybe later in the season we&rsquo;ll play a couple of bad ones and win. This is the best team the Blues have ever had and it&rsquo;s going to keep getting better because we have so many good, young players who will keep improving.&rdquo; &#9632;

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Blues’ Lack Of Confidence Turns New Year Sour

(Including Sun. Jan. 12)<h2>EDMONTON</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-01150/3165485-1-eng-US/f0028-012.jpg" title="f0028-01" width="584" height="560"></div><h2>WINNIPEG</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-0293/3165478-1-eng-US/f0028-022.jpg" title="f0028-02" width="584" height="484"></div><h2>QUEBEC</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-0365/3165471-1-eng-US/f0028-032.jpg" title="f0028-03" width="584" height="492"></div><h2>TORONTO</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-0452/3165464-1-eng-US/f0028-042.jpg" title="f0028-04" width="588" height="588"></div><h2>MINNESOTA</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-0542/3165457-1-eng-US/f0028-052.jpg" title="f0028-05" width="582" height="560"></div><h2>SAN DIEGO</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-0635/3165450-1-eng-US/f0028-062.jpg" title="f0028-06" width="580" height="430"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-0729/3165443-1-eng-US/f0028-072.jpg" title="f0028-07" width="584" height="88"></div><h2>CHICAGO</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-0826/3165436-1-eng-US/f0028-082.jpg" title="f0028-08" width="582" height="516"></div><h2>PHOENIX</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-0923/3165429-1-eng-US/f0028-092.jpg" title="f0028-09" width="586" height="526"></div><h2>NEW ENGLAND</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-1022/3165422-1-eng-US/f0028-102.jpg" title="f0028-10" width="590" height="550"></div><h2>CLEVELAND</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-1116/3165415-1-eng-US/f0028-112.jpg" title="f0028-11" width="586" height="536"></div><h2>INDIANAPOLIS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-1214/3165408-1-eng-US/f0028-122.jpg" title="f0028-12" width="583" height="574"></div><h2>HOUSTON</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-1310/3165401-1-eng-US/f0028-132.jpg" title="f0028-13" width="586" height="392"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-144/3165394-1-eng-US/f0028-142.jpg" title="f0028-14" width="580" height="136"></div><h2>VANCOUVER</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-154/3165387-1-eng-US/f0028-152.jpg" title="f0028-15" width="590" height="488"></div><h2>MICHIGAN</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-163/3165380-1-eng-US/f0028-162.jpg" title="f0028-16" width="578" height="58"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-172/3165373-1-eng-US/f0028-172.jpg" title="f0028-17" width="586" height="486"></div><h2>TOP 10 GOALERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-182/3165366-1-eng-US/f0028-182.jpg" title="f0028-18" width="586" height="306"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-192/3165359-1-eng-US/f0028-192.jpg" title="f0028-19" width="560" height="788"><figcaption class="caption-body">MIKE WALTON&hellip;Leading Saint</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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WHA’s Team Scoring, Penalty Statistics

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0001-01175/3166444-1-eng-US/f0001-012.jpg" title="f0001-01" width="573" height="473"></div>&mdash;Page 8WHO ARE THEBEST ROOKIES IN NHL, WHA?&mdash;Page 3HULL BACK AS COACH OF JETS&mdash;Page 2NORDIQUES FLY HIGH IN WHA&mdash;Page 25<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0001-02146/3166437-1-eng-US/f0001-022.jpg" title="f0001-02" width="1124" height="1900"></div>VETERAN PARISE GIVES ISLANDERS TOUCH OF CLASS&mdash;Page 9BRUINS&rsquo; FORBES HIT HARD BY NHL&mdash;Page 10<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0001-0372/3166430-1-eng-US/f0001-032.jpg" title="f0001-03" width="553" height="1016"><figcaption class="caption-body">JEAN PAUL PARISE Newest Islander</figcaption></div>SYRACUSE EAGLES HUNTING NEW COACH&mdash;Page 30 &#9632;

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MOTIVATION TURNS KINGS ON

<div class="byline">BY DICK JOHNSTON</div>BUFFALO&mdash;&ldquo;It doesn&rsquo;t seem as though we&rsquo;re ever going to have all our guys together,&rdquo; sighed Floyd Smith, coach of the Buffalo Sabres.His team iust had finished defeating the Vancouver Canucks, 5-1, in Buffalo&rsquo;s Memorial Auditorium to atone for a defeat at the hands of the same club a month earlier in the same rink. Smitty&rsquo;s French Connection had been reconnected in this game for the first time in eight games. Rick Martin returned after being sidelined by torn thumb ligaments on his right hand.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-02720/3163085-1-eng-US/f0002-022.jpg" title="f0002-02" width="274" height="442"><figcaption class="caption-body">Gil Perreault</figcaption></div>Rick scored the first goal of the game. Rene Robert, who had been in a scoring slump, scored twice. Gil Perreault assisted on all three goals.But &mdash; in the third period, Perreault went down to the ice after a hip check by his former Sabre teammate, Mike Robitaille. Gil was helped to the dressing room, apparently in pain.Gil was walking almost normally in the dressing room after the game and said his knee was &ldquo;OK, nothing wrong&rdquo;.But the next day when the leg was examined and X-rayed it was learned that the flashy center had a severely strained left knee that would keep him out of action for up to six weeks. That meant the end of the high-scoring French Connection until near the end of February.The Sabres certainly will miss Le Gros. He was their leading scorer with 27 goals and a total of 64 points when he was hurt. He had scored in six of his last seven games before this one.&ldquo;This was one of our better games,&rdquo; Smith noted, hoping that is signalled the return of the Sabres to the form that gave them a wide lead in the Adams Division in the early going.Between the two Vancouver games, the Sabres saw their lead over the Boston Bruins dwindle to two points. Between the two games they won four, lost four and tied two.The local fans were getting on goalie Gary Bromley, who let in some easy goals in home games. Veteran netminder Roger Crozier, who missed some games because of the flu. was overweight and Smitty withheld him from action until Roger lost a few pounds.But Bromley made some important saves in a 3-3 tie with the Red Wings the night before the victory over Vancouver and he was outstanding against the Canucks.And Crozier had lost weight and appeared ready to start playing again.Another encouraging aspect in the Detroit contest was that all three lines scored for the first time in many games. Two of the lines scored against Vancouver and defenseman Jocelyn Guevremont, who had missed several games because of thigh problems, chipped in with a goal and assisted on two others.&ldquo;At least the mistakes we&rsquo;re making aren&rsquo;t because we&rsquo;re not hustling or skating,&rdquo; noted the coach.ICE CHIPS: Robert recorded his 100th NHL goal in the Vancouver game. &ldquo;This one I was really looking forward to.&rdquo; admitted the speedy right winger.When Perreault went down and had to be helped off. nearly everyone in the usual capacity crowd of 15,863 must have recalled the night in October. 1973 when he fell to the ice and suffered a broken left ankle that kept him out for 23 games.Robitaille, then a Sabre, was involved in that accident, too. Brian Spencer, now with the Buffalo club but then a member of the New York Islanders, bumped into Robitaille, who fell on Perreault&rsquo;s leg.Jerry Korab, who once was a Canuck, knocked Vancouver goalie Gary Smith out of action with a slap shot. The puck hit Smith in the mask and he suffered a bruised cheekbone. Ken Lockett finished the game.Martin revealed that while he was sidelined he never sat in the stands and watched the Sabres play. &ldquo;I can&rsquo;t watch a hockey game my team is playing.&rdquo; said Rick. &ldquo;It feels funny. Home games I watched on closed circuit television and road games I tuned in on the radio near the end to see how they came out.&rdquo;Rookie Danny Gare ended a scoring drought that lasted eight games by getting the third Buffalo goal against Detroit. &#9632;

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Perreault’s Six-Week Forced Sabbatical Puts Sabres’ French Connection On Ice

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0002-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-01775/3163116-1-eng-US/f0002-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Dave Forbes of the Boston Bruins was hit with the third biggest suspension in NHL history this past week. Forbes was set down for 10 games for his stick attack on Minnesota&rsquo;s Henry Boucha. For details see page 10.</figcaption></div><h2>HABS&rsquo; STREAK ENDED</h2>MONTREAL&mdash;Montreal Canadiens were sailing along on an unbeaten streak of 21 games and headed for a shot at tying the NHL record of 23 games set by the Boston Bruins in 1940-41 when they were rudely interrupted by the Toronto Maple Leafs.The Canadiens had the ideal situation for their attempt at equalling the record with back-to-back games at home, the first against the Leafs and the next night against the Los Angeles Kings.Most observers felt that the L.A. contest would be the one to determine whether the Habs would reach the mark. But the Leafs decided things 24 hours earlier than the experts predicted.Catching the Montrealers on an off night, conbined with 60 minutes of solid hockey enabled Toronto to walk off with a 5-3 victory.The following evening, the game which was billed as do-or-die for the record, also was the Canadiens come out on the short end, this time 6-3 to the Kings.The win moved L.A. into sole possession of first place in the Norris Division, one point ahead of the Canadiens.<h2>HULL BACK AS COACH</h2>WINNIPEG&mdash;Bobby Hull has again assumed a dual role with the Winnipeg Jets of the World Hockey Association.Hull has become player-coach in an attempt to pull the Jets out of their present tailspin.Rudy Pilous, who had coached the club to this point in the season, will now move upstairs and focus his attention on personnel and player acquisitions.Hull&rsquo;s return to the dual responsibility was highlighted by the Jets 9-4 home ice thrashing of the Cleveland Crusaders.<h2>BUCYK BREAKS FOOT</h2>BOSTON &mdash;Veteran John Bucyk, who was taking deam aim at the 500-goal plateau when misfortune struck, had to sit out NHL&rsquo;s 28th annual All Star game in Montreal as the result of breaking a bone in his foot.Bucyk, with 19 goals for the season and 485 for his NHL career, needed 15 in the second half of the season to make the coveted 500-goal club. It appears Bucyk will be on the sidelines for at least six weeks with the injury.<h2>YOUNG JOINS JETS</h2>WINNIPEG&mdash;Howie Young, who was becoming a fixture in Phoenix hockey circles, has been acquired by the Winnipeg Jets of the World Hockey Association.Young, a veteran defenseman of the National Hockey League and the Western Hockey League, had spent the first half of this season with the Phoenix Roadrunners in their first year of operation in the WHA.Last season he was voted the most valuable player for Phoenix of the WHL. &#9632;

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Deadline Stoppers

<h2>NHL TEAMS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-03580/3163175-1-eng-US/f0002-032.jpg" title="f0002-03" width="510" height="720"></div><h2>WHA TEAMS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-04401/3163168-1-eng-US/f0002-042.jpg" title="f0002-04" width="512" height="550"></div><h2>OTHER LEAGUES</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-05279/3163161-1-eng-US/f0002-052.jpg" title="f0002-05" width="506" height="382"></div><h2>COLUMNISTS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-06184/3163154-1-eng-US/f0002-062.jpg" title="f0002-06" width="508" height="130"></div><h2>OTHER FEATURES</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-07106/3163147-1-eng-US/f0002-072.jpg" title="f0002-07" width="506" height="124"></div> &#9632;

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WHERE YOU’LL FIND IT ALL

<div class="byline">BY FRANK ORR</div>TORONTO&mdash;There&rsquo;s a huge difference in the players who are eligible for the rookie-of-the-year awards in the National Hockey League and World Hockey Association.In the WHA. several candidates for the freshman award are well past their 25th birthdays. In the NHL rookie class, most of the top players are fresh from junior hockey, and several are still in their teens.The top three rookie scorers in the two leagues demonstrate the disparity of the competitors for the first-year player laurels.The top trio in the WHA are Ulf Nilson, 24, of the Winnipeg Jets, Toronto Toros&rsquo; Vaclav Nedomansky. 30, and Murray Koegan, 24, of Phoenix. &#9632;

News Special

<h2>NHL</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-01780/3163237-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg" title="f0003-01" width="604" height="514"></div><h2>WHA</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-02655/3163230-1-eng-US/f0003-022.jpg" title="f0003-02" width="600" height="412"></div> &#9632;

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Top Rookie Candidates

NEW YORK&mdash;Rookie candidate Rick Middleton suffered a broken leg during Rangers&rsquo; Jan. 15 game when he collided with Minnesota center Dennis Hextali.The injury, diagnosed as a fractured left fibula, will put Middleton on the sidelines for from four to six weeks and possibly longer. The 21-year-old right winger is a top aspirant for the Calder Cup rookie award and the injury could be a blow to his Calder chances. Middleton had 18 goals and 13 assists in 32 games when he was injured. &#9632;

Rangers’ Rookie Hope Breaks Leg

In the NHL, the three leading rookie point-collectors are two 20-year-olds, Danny Gare of the Buffalo Sabres and Rick Middleton of New York Rangers, and Pierre Larouche, 19, of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Middleton broke his leg in a game last week and unfortunately it will have a damaging affect on his chances.There are two reasons for the rather elderly frosh gang in the WHA. The league recruited heavily in European hockey this season and acquired 10 players. Two of them &mdash; Nedomansky and defenseman Lars-Erik Sjoberg of Winnipeg &mdash; are 30, veterans of long experience in world amateur championship circles.However, the WHA rules state that any player who has performed in fewer than 16 major league (NHL or WHA) games is eligible.When the Phoenix Roadrunners entered the WHA this season, the team brought along a stock of players from that city&rsquo;s Western League entry. These experienced pro players have made the Roadrunners very successful in their first WHA season and most are eligible for the rookie award.To be eligible for the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL&rsquo;s leading rookie, a player cannot have played more than 25 games in any single preceding season nor in six or more games in each of any two preceding seasons.The NHL rules make no allowances for players with WHA experience. Those who have jumped back to the NHL from the WHA such as Colin Camnbell of Pittsburgh and Los Angeles&rsquo; Dave Hutchison are Calder eligibles.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-03444/3163289-1-eng-US/f0003-032.jpg" title="f0003-03" width="571" height="625"><figcaption class="caption-body">VACLAV NEDOMANSKY &hellip;Toronto Toros</figcaption></div>In both leagues, the rookie award winners are selected by the hockey writers, who face a major problem in making wise picks: They don&rsquo;t see the teams often enough to evaluate carefully the players eligible for the rookie, or any other award.Not even the coaches in the NHL and WHA are able to make sound judgments. In both leagues, teams play each other only five or six times. Many writers cover only the home games of teams in their cities and, therefore, see the players they&rsquo;re trying to rate only two or three times.&ldquo;There just isn&rsquo;t a really good way to pick award winners any more,&rdquo; said Jim Gregory, general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs. &ldquo;Sometimes it&rsquo;s difficult to get a thorough evaluation of players when we&rsquo;re talking trades, so how do we accurately pick the best rookie or the best defenseman?&rdquo;Because of the lack of familiarity with the candidates, statistics become pivotal in the ratings of many selectors. Thus, a defenseman without impressive offensive mathematics stands little chance of acquiring much support.The WHA, however, offers an advantage to those selectors who rely on statistics. The league&rsquo;s extensive weekly statistical release includes the important plus-minus figures for every player, the difference between goals for and against a player&rsquo;s team when he&rsquo;s on the ice in equal manpower situations.The NHL is extremely reluctant to release the plus-minus stats, claiming that they could prove embrassing to the players. The NHL teams often place great value on the plus-minus numerals in evaluating players but they deny award-pickers this advantage.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-04258/3163282-1-eng-US/f0003-042.jpg" title="f0003-04" width="565" height="637"><figcaption class="caption-body">DAVE HRECHKOSY &hellip;California Seals</figcaption></div>Thus, a scan of the WHA lists in attempting to rate the 1974-75 rookie crop provides this information and adds weight to the case for several players.At the halfway mark of the season, Winnipeg&rsquo;s Nilsson had a 12-33-45 point total and a plus of 34. Nedomansky had scored 20 goals and 17 assists but his plus was only 7.Were the WHA plus-minus figures not available, there would be a tendency to downgrade the rookie pro season of Phoenix defenseman John Hughes. Although he topped the WHA in penalties. Hughes had only a 1-7-8 point total in 32 games.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-05151/3163275-1-eng-US/f0003-052.jpg" title="f0003-05" width="562" height="1045"><figcaption class="caption-body">DANNY GARE &hellip;Buffalo Sabres</figcaption></div>But Hughes had a plus of 25 which indicates he&rsquo;s made an abundant contribuation to the Roadrunners&rsquo; first season in the WHA.A new wrinkle has been added to the Calder race in the NHL &mdash; publicity campaigns by the teams for their top candidates, an unheard of development until the past two or three years. Writers will be bombarded with press releases in the last two months of the schedule. tunes which laud the virtues of the various freshmen.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-06104/3163268-1-eng-US/f0003-062.jpg" title="f0003-06" width="562" height="1030"><figcaption class="caption-body">ULF NILSSON&hellip;Winnipeg Jets</figcaption></div>Last season, the New York Islanders. on behalf of Denis Potvin, and Atlanta Flames, for Tom Lysiak, spread the word, or rather a few thousand words, about their young stars.The Maple Leafs felt that defenseman Borje Salming rated much consideration last season for the Calder award.However, the Leafs had five rookies on the team and management figured that spreading propaganda about Salming would have been unfair to the others.The Calder race this season seems to boil down to Gare. the excellent little winger from Buffalo&rsquo; Middleton. the gifted attacker of the Rangers: Dave Hrechkosy. who appears headed for a 30-goal season with the California Seals and young Larouche of Pittsburgh.Three young defensemen also rate consideration &mdash; 18-year-old Bob Hess, a poised, cool operator for the St. Louis Blues; Ron Greschner of the New York Rangers, who got a late start but has played extremely well in the Rangers&rsquo; rebound; and Dennis Owchar. the hard-nosed backliner of the Pittsburgh Penguins.Then there&rsquo;s Gary Bromley, who has solved a large problem in the Buffalo net.The WHA race is wide-open. Some of the elder rookies are handicapped in the selection. After all. if two rookies are almost equal, one is 30 years of age and the other is 20. the younger man has a psychological edge in the voter&rsquo;s mind. &#9632;

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NHL SELECTORS EYEING KID STARS; EUROPEANS DOMINATE WHA PICKS

Vol. 28No. 17JANUARY 31,1975OFFICIAL NATIONAL HOCKEY WEEKLYFounded October 1st, 1947Published weekly except monthly June through September by W.C.C. Publishing Ltd., 1434 St. Catherine Street West,Montreal, Canada H3G 1R7. U.S. c/o W.C.C. Publishing, 150 E. 58th Street, New York, N.Y. 10022.Kenneth W. McKenzie President, Publisher and Advertising DirectorCharite Halpin Editorial DirectorHans Hoenig Administration ManagerRalph Bridgland Asst. To EditorUnited Stated Advertising Representatives: Boston Steve Ganak, Ad Reps. 479 Statler Office Bldg Boston. Mass 02116. telephone (617) 524-6913: Chicago Hooper Jones & Associates, 3322 W. Peterson Ave.. Chicago. Ill 60659 telephone (312) 478-5544. New York Bill Hitzig, National Sports Publishing Corp 150 East 58th Street New York. N.Y. 10022, Telephone (212) 593-2100YEARLY SUBSCRIPTION RATES: $9.50 in Canada $10.50 in the U.S.A, and $14.00 in Foreign Countries. Second class postage paid at New York. N.Y.. 10001 and at additional mailing offices SEND ADDRESS CHANGES TO 1434 ST. CATHARINE STREET WEST, SUITE 217, MONTREAL CANADA, H3G 1R7, Second Class mail Registration No 1327 All Inquiries pertaining to subscription should be addressed to Subscription Dept., The Hockey News, 1434St. Catherine St. W. Montreal, Canada H3G 1R7. Printed in Canada.Printed in Canada. &#9632;

THE HOCKEY NEWS

<div class="byline">BY ALAN TRUEX</div>ATLANTA&mdash;One thing about the Atlanta Flames, they have to be the streakingest team in the National Hockey League.First, there was the Great Omni Unbeaten Streak, when the Flames were undefeated in their first 13 home games.Then there was the December Slump, when Atlanta lost eight straight games to start the month. It was a club record.Then the Flames turned that all around by putting together a nine-game non-losing streak, which directly followed the loss string. Atlanta&rsquo;s latest unbeaten streak also set a club record.The Flames now figure they&rsquo;re headed in the right direction, although it appears the New York Rangers are headed in the same direction, only they&rsquo;re going faster.For despite the Flames&rsquo; hot streak, they could not close ground on the Rangers in the Patrick Division. New York was winning regularly and digging solidly into second place.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-01779/3163451-1-eng-US/f0005-012.jpg" title="f0005-01" width="481" height="607"><figcaption class="caption-body">BARRY GIBBS&hellip;Surprised By Trade</figcaption></div>&ldquo;Philly&rsquo;s going to finish first,&rdquo; said Bernie Geoffrion. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s no two ways about that. But I&rsquo;m hoping we can finish second or third.&rdquo; That, of course, would be high enough for a playoff berth.Atlanta general manager Cliff Fletcher credited his team&rsquo;s late turnaround to &ldquo;playing sounder defensively. We&rsquo;re cutting down on mistakes in our end.&rdquo;The team made two changes to tighten the defense. One, rookie Ed Kea was brought up from Omaha and given a regular assignment. He provided the physical play which had been lacking from others on the club.The Flames signed Kea as a free agent, after he failed tryouts with two other NHL teams. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a 100 per cent improved player,&rdquo; Fletcher says. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s not that mobile, but he doesn&rsquo;t put himself into a position where he makes mistakes. He&rsquo;s a safety-first type of player.&rdquo;The second key change the team made was acquiring defenseman Barry Gibbs from the Minnesota North Stars. Fletcher and coach Bernie Geoffrion both rank Gibbs among the top 10 defensemen in the league.Geoffrion called the trade for the 26-year-old Gibbs &ldquo;a steal&rdquo;. Atlanta gave up two rookies to get him, defenseman Dwight Bialowas and center Dean Talafous.Gibbs was surprised by the trade. &ldquo;I had heard rumors of trades,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;but I&rsquo;d been told I was one of two or three players who would be kept to be the backbone of the team.&ldquo;I guess Minnesota just decided some guys had been there a long time and they weren&rsquo;t winning and they want to get some young players and start from scratch again&hellip; they&rdquo;ll get rid of a lot more players, I feel.&rdquo;Flames goalie Phil Myre was ecstatic about having Gibbs around to help on defense. &ldquo;Not to take anything away from Dwight, who&rsquo;s a good kid, but he&rsquo;s not the guy who can control the play the way Gibbs will,&rdquo; Myre said. &ldquo;Barry will take the puck out of our end and get into the other end.&rdquo;Besides the additions of Kea and Gibbs, the Flames were also aided recently by the return of Randy Manery. An ankle injury had MSnery out for three weeks, and it might have cost him voting support for the All Star Game.But with Manery returning and regaining his prior effectiveness, the Flames appeared to be solid on defense. The statistics, at least, indicated that as Atlanta moved up to third in the league in fewest goals allowed.FLAME NOTES: The Flames&rsquo; players were disappointed that Phil Myre failed to finish among the top two goaltenders in voting for the Clarence Campbell Conference All Star team. But Myre went into a hot streak after the votes had been cast. He gave up seven goals in four games, shutting out Washington and allowing Montreal just one goal.&hellip;Jacques Richard continued his outstanding play at left wing, and scored eight goals in 10 games. He and his close friend, center Tom Lysiak, were working very well together on the same line. &ldquo;Jacques can score 30 goals,&rdquo; Lysiak smiled, &ldquo;if I stay healthy &hellip; Richard&rsquo;s effectiveness has increased as he has lowered his shot. It&rsquo;s no longer sailing into the stands the way it used to. Richard, a good golfer, pointed to his stick and said, &ldquo;It used to be a wedge. Now it&rsquo;s a nine-iron.&rdquo;&hellip; Left winger Eric Vail is playing with a fiberglass cast on his left arm &mdash; and scoring with it. &#9632;

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Flames Trailing Rangers Despite Unbeaten Streak

Following are the latest player movements in hockey:<h2>NATIONAL LEAGUE</h2>DETROIT &mdash; Larry Giroux, defenseman, and Dennis Polonich, forward, recalled from Virginia of AHL as emergency replacements for injured players. Polonich and Tom Mellor, defenseman, returned to Virginia recently.PHILADELPHIA &mdash; Robert Sirois, forward, recalled from Richmond of AHL.N.Y. RANGERS &mdash; Curt Ridley, goalkeeper and Bob MacMillan, forward, returned to Providence of AHL.BOSTON &mdash; Craig Sarner, forward, recalled from Rochester of AHL. Dave Hynes, forward, sent to Rochester as replacement. Gordie Clark, forward, recalled from Rochester under emergency conditions for one game and returned.ST. LOUIS &mdash; Murray Kuntz, forward, assigned to Syracuse of AHL on loan.<h2>WORLD HOCKEY ASSN.</h2>INDIANAPOLIS &mdash; Jim Hargreaves, defenseman, traded to San Diego in exchange for Ken Block, defenseman. Craig Hanmer and Ross Smith forwards, assigned to Mohawk Valley of NAHL.SAN DIEGO &mdash; Bruce Aberhart, goalkeeper, recalled on emergency conditions, returned to Tulsa of CHL.PHOENIX &mdash; Gene Sobchuk, forward, recalled from Tulsa of CHL.NEW ENGLAND &mdash; Alan Hangsleben, defenseman, recalled from Cape Codders of NAHL.CLEVELAND &mdash; Ron Anderson, forward recalled from Cape Codders of NAHL.VANCOUVER &mdash; Rick Jodzio, forward, recalled from Charlotte ofSHL.<h2>AMERICAN LEAGUE</h2>RICHMOND &mdash; Bernie Wolfe, goalkeeper, recalled from Maine of NAHL and later returned. Randy Osburn, forward, assigned to Philadelphia of NAHL. Norm Barnes, defenseman, and Steve Short, forward, recalled from Philadelphia.SYRACUSE &mdash; Cal Swenson, forward, named interim playingcoach of AHL Eagles after Art Stratton removed from coaching job. Don Uren, goalkeeper, signed to five-game pro tryout.VIRGINIA &mdash; Jim Makey, goalkeeper, returned to Kalamazoo of IHL after playing under emergency conditions. Garth Malarchuk, goalkeeper, Craig Steele, defenseman, recalled from Kalamazoo. Dennis Johnson, forward, recalled from Hampton of SHL.NEW HAVEN &mdash; Dave Heitz, goalkeeper, returned to Columbus of IHL.<h2>INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE</h2>KALAMAZOO &mdash; Les Jackson, forward, secured from Dayton of IHL. Norm Metcalfe, forward, released.<h2>SOUTHERN LEAGUE</h2>WINSTON-SALEM &mdash; Tom Stachniak, forward, placed on suspended list for six games for altercation with official.CHARLOTTE &mdash; Brian Cousineau, goalkeeper, released.<h2>NORTH AMERICAN LEAGUE</h2>MAINE &mdash; Norm Descoteaux, forward, placed on waivers.LONG ISLAND &mdash; Paul Sheard, forward, acquired from Vancouver of NHL on loan. &#9632;

Movements of Players

<div class="byline">BY CHRIS ZELKOVICH</div>MONTREAL&mdash;Yvan Cournoyer knows it&rsquo;s going to happen. Jacques Lemaire and Scotty Bowman know it&rsquo;s going to happen. The Montreal Canadiens&rsquo; fans know it&rsquo;s going to happen. None of them, though, are sure just when.The big event everyone is awaiting is the return of Yvan Cournoyer as the National Hockey League&rsquo;s most feared skater, the day Coumoyer starts looking more like the Roadrunner and less like Wile E. Coyote. And even though everyone is sure that the great day is just around the corner they all have to be wondering just how much longer it&rsquo;s going to take.Cournoyer is presently experiencing the poorest start of his 10-year NHL career. The man they call the Roadrunner had scored but 13 goals after the Canadiens&rsquo; first 43 games, which is discouraging since 43 games not only constitutes a poor start but takes a big step towards a poor year.What is additionally discouraging is that Coumoyer has done little to live up to his nickname. The blazing Roadrunner speed that has given opposing defensemen nightmares the past 10 years has seldom been seen this season. When Cournoyer has managed to burn up the ice he&rsquo;s usually done coyote things like missing the net or hitting the post.Canadiens&rsquo; fans have witnessed the most un-Coumoyer like season on record. White 13 goals in half a season would be regarded as a good total for some players, for a player the calibre of Cournoyer it&rsquo;s a little better than half of what he&rsquo;s expected to score.&ldquo;I guess a coach tends to worry about any of his players who aren&rsquo;t going well,&rdquo; says Cournoyer&rsquo;s coach, Scotty Bowman. &ldquo;But I was more concerned about Yvan at the beginning of the season when he wasn&rsquo;t getting any chances. At least now he&rsquo;s getting opportunities to score.&ldquo;It&rsquo;ll come. One night he&rsquo;s going to break out and score a few and it&rsquo;ll be all over. The guy&rsquo;s got too good a record to stay down much longer.&rdquo;Cournoyer&rsquo;s center, Jacques Lemaire, agrees with Bowman that bad luck has been a big part of the Roadrunner&rsquo;s poor start.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s just not getting any breaks,&rdquo; Lemaire says. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t remember him being this unlucky before. I think that&rsquo;s all it is &mdash; bad luck. He&rsquo;s working as hard as ever. Oh, he may be skating a little slower but it&rsquo;s amazing how much faster a guy can look when he&rsquo;s scoring goals.&rdquo;Cournoyer prefers to think about his team&rsquo;s 20-game undefeated streak rather than his unproductive play, which is understandable.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s better not to even think about it,&rdquo; he said after a particularly frustrating evening that saw him hit the goalpost three times. &ldquo;I&rsquo;d rather think about how well the team&rsquo;s going. I just keep working and hope it&rsquo;s going to end.&ldquo;Some years everything you shoot goes in and other years they don&rsquo;t. Maybe this is just one of those years. When things are going like this I&rsquo;d rather think about the way the team&rsquo;s going. As long as we&rsquo;re winning it doesn&rsquo;t really matter.&ldquo;If we were losing, then I&rsquo;d have something to worry about.&rdquo;Does the Roadrunner think, that at the age of 31, he just might be slowing down a bit?&ldquo;No,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not that. When you hit as many posts as I did tonight it&rsquo;s either bad luck or bad shooting. Actually, I think it&rsquo;s both.&rdquo;Be it bad luck, bad shooting or a temporary loss of speed, nobody is concerned that it&rsquo;s anything more than a matter of time before Cournoyer snaps out of his 43-game slump. The thought of him continuing to play poorly is as improbable as old Wile E. catching the Roadrunner. It just couldn&rsquo;t happen. Could it?HAB-BITS: The Canadiens ran their unbeaten streak to 20 Jan. 12 with a 7-2 win over Washington. That broke the team record of 18&hellip;Bunny Larocque broke Philadelphia&rsquo;s streak of 111 straight games when he shut them out Jan. 11. The shutout was Larocque&rsquo;s third of the year and extended his unbeaten streak to 11 games&hellip;Ken Dryden and his wife Lynda became parents for the first time recently&hellip;Guy Lafleur has scored 19 goals and added 16 assists during the team&rsquo;s 20-game streak&hellip;Defenseman Serge Savard leads the team in plus-minus rating with a plus-45 mark&hellip;Pierre Bouchard calls the Steve Shutt-Pete Mahovlich - Guy Lafleur line the Doughnut Line. Why? &ldquo;Because it has no center,&rdquo; says Pierre. &#9632;

Habs Waiting For Speedy Cournoyer To Break Out Of Season Long Slump

Jack Riley&rsquo;s All American Hockey Camp, for boys 8-19, is located at the Lenox School in Mass.It features Jack himself, hockey coach at West Point and coach of America&rsquo;s last Olympic Gold Medal Hockey Team.It features small-group instruction in every aspect of the game. Plus good, wholesome food, comfortable living quarters, and extracurricular activities.Best of all, it features ice time, the missing ingredient at many hockey camps. Four hours a day for every camper!Weekly sessions run from June 22 to August 16, and the time to apply is now. Call (212)697-9220, or send in the coupon.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-01869/3163530-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg" title="f0006-01" width="482" height="248"></div> &#9632;

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Jack Riley says: “I can give you more ice time.”

<div class="byline">BY BILL HEUFELDER</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0007-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-01812/3163561-1-eng-US/f0007-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">PIERRE LAROUCHE&hellip; Recognizes His Limitations</figcaption></div>PITTSBURGH&mdash;A couple of months past his 19th birthday, Pierre Larouche. rookie center of the Pittsburgh Penguins, is not without problems.He has exceeded his own ambition for productivity thus far, but recognizes his limitations in matching muscle with other National Hockey League players, most of them older and stronger.And there is the difficulty of developing a defensive style, a facet of the game quite unfamiliar to a youngster who last season registered a staggering 251 points with Sorel of the Quebec Junior League.&ldquo;I have a lot of trouble defensively,&rdquo; he says candidly. &ldquo;I think I got an offensive style. Here, you got to have both.&rdquo;One of several under-age junior players selected in last summer&rsquo;s amateur draft, Larouche did not arrive meekly to the Penguins. He prepared himself for a leap into the NHL without touching down in the minors.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want to be in Hershey,&rdquo; he said.His closest brush with the minors was playing some exhibition games with the Bears. When the NHL season began, Larouche was on the Pittsburgh roster, although he sat out the opener.Bob McManama, slowed by a lingering case of the flu, gave way to Larouche in the next game and thereby lost his job. When the Penguins later made a choice of which center to retain, Larouche won out.Through slightly more than one-third of the campaign, he has accounted for 32 points, bunching him with Buffalo&rsquo;s Dan Gare and New York Ranger center Rick Middleton as the most productive rookies.Larouche is surprised. &ldquo;I figured if I had 15 or 20 points in the first half of the season, I&rsquo;d be satisfied,&rdquo; he explained. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s very nice. I&rsquo;m very lucky.&rdquo;Lucky. It&rsquo;s a word Larouche is using often these days as he continues in the role of the team&rsquo;s No. 3 centerman between Chuck Arnason and Battleship Kelly. In fact. Penguin play-by-play announcer Mike Lange gave him a nickname that stuck. It&rsquo;s Lucky Pierre.The recognition doesn&rsquo;t create any pressure. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s fun,&rdquo; Larouche says simply.With another season of eligibility permitted him in juniors, Larouche suggests he left a potentially difficult situation behind him in Sorel.&ldquo;If I stayed in junior, you can&rsquo;t tell what would have happened,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It would have been practically impossible to get that many points again.&ldquo;The fans might not have understood. The team scored 600 goals and there are 13 guys gone from there this year.&rdquo;You&rsquo;re reading it right&hellip; 600goals. To be precise, the figure was 620. Larouche knocked in his share, 94 of them, and added 157 assists as he won the league scoring championship, in the process doubling the output of the previous champion, Boston&rsquo;s Andre Savard.Larouche&rsquo;s linemate on right wing, Jacques Cossette, who went to the Penguins in the second round of the draft, connected for 97 goals and had a total of 214 points.The third member, Michel Deziel, scored 92 goals and contributed 135 assists for 227 points.Charging Coward a 20-goal season with the Penguins, Larouche has scored 14 times and added 17 assists. A recent hot flurry netted him four goals and three assists in seven games.The points have not come easily. &ldquo;You need to be strong here,&rdquo; Larouche says. &ldquo;The defensemen are very strong. When you come in front of their net, they just push you down.&rdquo;A trim 5&rsquo;11&rdquo;, Larouche strives to be more stubborn. He has added 10 pounds since reporting to camp, pushing his weight to 174. or 14 pounds more than he weighed a year ago with Sorel.Coach Marc Boileau has urged Larouche to shoot more, but the youngster is reluctant to do so.&ldquo;That isn&rsquo;t me,&rdquo; Larouche says. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t shoot the puck a lot.&rdquo;But his confidence is growing with each succeeding point. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m a lot more comfortable,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;At the start of the season, 1 was afraid to touch the puck.&rdquo;PENGUIN NOTES: The Penguins apparently have solved their need for a goaltender to share the workload with Gary Inness&hellip; They acquired Michel Plasse from Kansas City in return for goalie Denis Herron and Jean Guy Lagace.Plasse, a product of the Montreal organization, owned a 4.05 average in 24 games with the Scouts&hellip; Herron, who was never able to gain a foothold with the Penguins in his 1 &frac12; years with Pittsburgh, departed with a 6.11 average in three appearances&hellip; Lagace. a spirited, little defenseman. had collected nine points and 39 penalty minutes in 27 games.Larouche&rsquo;s junior linemates. Cossette and Deziel. are teammates in Hershey&hellip; The Penguins extended their record home winning streak to 11 with a 6-3 win over California, marking Plasse&rsquo;s first start for his new club. &#9632;

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Penguins’ Larouche Havinq Problems Defensively

<div class="byline">By Bill Libby</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-03630/3163613-1-eng-US/f0008-032.jpg" title="f0008-03" width="273" height="345"></div>THE KINGS had just lost a lead and been tied by the Canadiens. There was a time when the Kings celebrated a tie with Montreal, but now a new day had dawned and in the dressing room the silence showed their deep disappointment. In an adjoining room. Bob Pulford received the press. Speaking soflty and slowly, he said, &ldquo;We played well enough to win. We have no reason to hang our head.&rdquo;But his head was hung.It is his way. He speaks softly and slowly because he hates to talk, especially to the press. While he speaks, he stares at the ground. There are writers covering the club who could not tell you the color of his eves. He is intense and introverted. He is only 38, but greying rapidly and after defeats he seems terribly tired.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-01856/3163606-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg" title="f0008-01" width="500" height="526"><figcaption class="caption-body">BOB PULFORD &hellip;Believes In System</figcaption></div>He admits, &ldquo;Talking to reporters is hard for me. I found it hard as a player and I find it harder as a coach. I feel they saw the game as well as I did. I&rsquo;m not going to knock a player publicly, so I hesitate to praise one too much. If there&rsquo;s any controversies I&rsquo;m not going to go into them. I think of this as a team game and I like to keep everything within the team.&rdquo;USC coach John McKay admitted to us he got a reputation as a great wit when he found out he could get rid of the writers by giving them a funny line to use. Pully sighs and says, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not by nature a funny fellow. I wish I was. I recognize my responsibilities. I realize reporters have a hard job to do, too, and I want to help them. I think there&rsquo;s only been two on three times in three years I ducked them. But it&rsquo;s difficult for me.&rdquo;It was this inability to communicate with the world that caused some of us to doubt his ability to coach successfully. We knew he had been a championship player, if not an All Star, and a student of his sport who took notes on every game, but we wondered if he could deal directly as a coach with players he&rsquo;d played with when he became the club&rsquo;s sixth coach in six years three years ago.However, I had seen players come to him for help and I saw he saw things others didn&rsquo;t see and helped players others couldn&rsquo;t help. I should have seen he is at home on a team, comfortable in the fraternity of players, and able to talk to players and show them how they can make the most of themselves.Privately, players rap coaches all the time, but I have yet to hear a King who does not praise Pulford as the real reason for this team&rsquo;s success. Bob Berry says, &ldquo;He doesn&rsquo;t say much, but what he says makes sense.&rdquo; Mike Murphy says, &ldquo;He shows confidence in you, which gives you confidence in yourself.&rdquo; Terry Harper says, &ldquo;He showed us a system which works.&rdquo;THE LAST couple of years before Bob became coach of this club it was setting records for apathy. He got off to a terrible start with this team before straightening it out, but since then it has progressed rapidly to the point where it is competitive with the top teams. Some other coaches have done some wonderful work recently, but none better than Bob.He spoke about it as he sat in his office recently. It is a bare office, as colorless as he is. He said, &ldquo;Most of our players were here when I took over. Trades added a few important players who fit the sort of team we wanted. These players had talent, but lacked confidence in themselves and their team. Talent is the most overworked word in sports, anyway. A player needs desire as well as talent.&ldquo;The team was playing wide-open hockey, scoring a lot of goals, but giving up a lot and losing a lot. I felt we would begin to win more if we gave up less goals even if we scored less. I installed a system to that end and it has worked. With winning has come confidence and increased desire. When you&rsquo;re winning, you want to play.&rdquo;His is his old Toronto system. It is conservative and stresses defense. Defensemen think defense before offense. Forwards backcheck. At least one forward drops back on defense to confront foes&rsquo; attacks so there are three &ldquo;defensemen&rdquo; to face the foes&rsquo; three forwards. &ldquo;We feel when we create a one-on-one situation, they wont&rsquo; score often,&rdquo; he says.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-02759/3163599-1-eng-US/f0008-022.jpg" title="f0008-02" width="496" height="511"><figcaption class="caption-body">JACK COOKE &hellip;Motivated Pulford</figcaption></div>Defensemen clear the puck instead of forwards, so the forwards have to protect the goaltender. With this, the Kings cannot afford many mistakes. They have not made many and have had great goaltending when they have.Pully wants his forwards to forecheck to break up foes&rsquo; plays before they begin. &ldquo;I think of forechecking as defensive rather than offensive. When we forecheck effectively it enables us to move our defensemen up higher to meet our opponents before they can organize their offense,&rdquo; he observes.FOREC HECKING does create scoring opportunities. The Kings usually are outshot, but seldom outscored. They look for the good shot and make a good percentage of shots, while their foes are hounded into bad shots and frustrated by good goaltending on their good shots. The good goaltending is the one part of this team&rsquo;s success for which the system is not primarily responsible.Pully says, &ldquo;It is important to have a system so all the players know what is expected from them at all times. Any system will work if all the fellows will follow it. There is no secret to our system. If there is a secret to our success it is getting the players to pull together in the system. I believe our players believe in our system now.&ldquo;At one time I thought there were some teams a lot stronger than us, but now I think the differences between teams is a lot less than it was. We don&rsquo;t always stick to our system, but when we do we stay close, in games and can win, and when we work it well we can beat anyone. The success of Philadelphia last season has inspired a lot of us to work hard for what had seemed beyond us.&ldquo;I work my team hard. We have hard practices, if not long ones. Like Lombardi I believe in repititious practice of plays to perfection. We work out most off days. We go on the ice for a sharpener even on game days. We have a lot of team meetings. The players accept it all as long as it pays off. We have a lot of togetherness. We&rsquo;ve been through a lot together. We suffered a lot of losses. Now we want to enjoy winning.&ldquo;I can talk to my players. I think they think they can talk to me. I have been happy to have players who were unhappy about something come to me to talk it out. I don&rsquo;t believe you can make a lot of pep-talks meaningful over a long season, but the big thing is to motivate your men. We stress taking the games one at a time. It means as much to beat a bad team as a good one. Both wins are worth two points. You have to win away from home as well as at home. A rink is a rink, a game is a game.&ldquo;I DON&rsquo;T expect my men to make miracles. All I expect is for them to give me what they have every game. I expect them to make mistakes. I don&rsquo;t expect them to make the same ones over and over. They don&rsquo;t need me to tell them every time they make a mistake. If I do have something to say to a player, I put it to him in private. I try to treat them as men. I don&rsquo;t think I have to holler to make my points.&ldquo;I try to learn what each player is like personally so I can approach him as an individual, but the same rules apply to all. We don&rsquo;t have many rules, but we enforce those we have. We insist on punctuality. We have curfews on the road. We can&rsquo;t have them at home or we would. I want to be firm, not tough. I want to be a friend to my players, even if I can&rsquo;t be pals with them any more. I respect them and I want them to respect me.&rdquo;They do. So does the owner, Jack Kent Cooke, who had confidence in him from the old days in Toronto. Jack says, &ldquo;Bob is one of the best coaches in the game and he may become the best.&rdquo; Jack is an owner who operates his teams, but Bob says he not only does not mind being called into conferences by Cooke, but benefits from these sessions. &ldquo;Everyone needs motivation and on a team motivation starts at the top,&rdquo; Pully says. &ldquo;Cooke is a man who knows how to motivate men.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-04429/3163592-1-eng-US/f0008-042.jpg" title="f0008-04" width="509" height="525"><figcaption class="caption-body">TERRY HARPER&hellip;Coach Showed Us</figcaption></div>Pully works well with general manager Jake Milford, so well he is sorry Milford does not travel with the team at all times. He admits, &ldquo;It is a lonely life, coaching. I miss going out with the guys after games. 1 admire Milford and I like to have him to talk to after games. Especially on the road. Those hotel rooms can be depressing when you&rsquo;re alone. At home, I have my family.&ldquo;I TRY not to take the games home with me. but I believe you have to think out what has happened in games to profit from them before you can set them aside. But then you have to prepare properly for the next game. You go around with the games in your gut. I relax reading novels. I play cards. But the games are always with me.&rdquo;His sport dominates his days through the lone winter with only his family for real respite. With his family, he is not the same man others see at the rink. He and his wife, Roslyn, have three children &mdash; Robbie, 9; Lindsay, 6, and Jennifer, 4. At first they missed Canada, but now they are at home in southern California. They have a house in Sherman Oaks in the suburban San Fernando Valley, Within a halfhour&rsquo;s drive of the practice rink and the Forum.&ldquo;We really like it here, now,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;We have a lot a friends here now. though few in hockey. My oldest son plays hockey here and I get to see him in some games. Coaching keeps me away from the kids a lot more than is right, but I try to make up for it summers, which we spend together as a family. We have a cabin on a lake in northern Ontario, where we vacation for four or five weeks and forget hockey for awhile.&rdquo;However, hockey is his life. Coaching is insecure, but it is what he wants to do with his life. Fortunately, he is financially secure because of investments suggested by his wife, who, he says, is sharp enough to be a professional stockbroker. Like all men who have it, he says money doesn&rsquo;t matter that much, anyway. &ldquo;What matters is making the most of yourself,&rdquo; he says.&ldquo;COACHING is not an easy life. You don&rsquo;t enjoy winning for worrying about the next game. And losing is hard to handle. But it&rsquo;s what I always wanted to wind up doing and it&rsquo;s wonderful that is seems to be working out. I&rsquo;ve had other offers, but my contract with the Kings continues through two more seasons and I&rsquo;m happy here,&rdquo; he says.He just doesn&rsquo;t show it.He says several individuals have been influential in shaping his coaching career.&ldquo;In hockey, I have been most influenced by Punch Imlach as a coach and Bert Olmstead as a player. Imlach was maddening. I admired him and hated him. He taught me a lot about how to prepare for games and how to run games, but he did not treat his men as men individually. I spent hours talking to Olmstead about the sport and learned a lot from him, but he may not have been temperamentally suited to coaching. It drove him mad. It can do that to you.&ldquo;When I first took over this team, Mr. Cooke sent me to spend some time with George Allen at preseason training of his Washington Redskins football team and I learned a lot about organization. But I think the single person who has influenced me the most has been Vince Lombardi. I have read a lot of Lombardi and try to put his principles to use in my own coaching.Mr. Cooke, of course, gave me the opportunity to coach and stuck with me when we lost a playoff position the last week of my first season because of my inexperience. I am learning all the time and constantly trying to improve my coaching. I work at it hard because all the men I&rsquo;ve admired in this game worked at it hard and were very intense about it.&rdquo;Introverted, intense, a young-old man. Bob Pulford stalks expressionlessly behind the bench during games, suffers through the post-game post-mortems with the press, and continues to quietly lead his team&rsquo;s spectacular rise. His style is not spectacular but his success is, and attendance in this sport is increasing in this hot-weather city at last.The fans want a winner. They&rsquo;d rather win a bad game then lose a good one. Pulford&rsquo;s conservative tactics may produce a lot of ties, but at least not a lot of losses. A private person, he is paying the penalty of becoming a public celebrity in this city of celebrities. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re recognized around here now,&rdquo; he sighs. &ldquo;Well, it increases your motivation even if it doesn&rsquo;t do much for your privacy.&rdquo;Only losers are allowed privacy. &#9632;

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Hockey Ad Lib

<div class="byline">BY HARRY KLAFF</div>LONG ISLAND&mdash;&ldquo;All we lack is experience,&rdquo; was the way that Islander general manager Bill Torrey summed up his team&rsquo;s prospectus back in October. Torrey and coach Al Arbour had a tine nucleus of young talent, but with the exception of Eddie Westfall and Bert Marshall. lacked the comforting hand that a veteran could provide.When Torrey plucked 34-year-old Jean-Paul Parise from the withering Minnesota North Stars, he obtained a sturdy left winger who has been part of the NHL scene since 1966. And the price couldn&rsquo;t be beat, as all the Isles had to give up was left winger Ernie Hicke and center Doug Rombough, both of whom had been big disappointments on the Island.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-01832/3163644-1-eng-US/f0009-012.jpg" title="f0009-01" width="250" height="397"><figcaption class="caption-body">J.P. Parise</figcaption></div>Many Islander fans were dismayed when the North Stars opened their rummage sale by shipping top defenseman Barry Gibbs to the Atlanta Flames. But the Isles got a couple of bargains of their own in landing Parise and center Jude Drouin in separate transactions 48 hours apart.&ldquo;We had been talking with Jack Gordon (Minnesota general manager) ever since training camp,&rdquo; said Torrey. &ldquo;I get a chance to talk with Jack more often than other managers because our clubs have a mutual interest in the New Haven franchise of the AHL. As a result we&rsquo;re constantly on the phone with each other, and trade talk is more than likely to come up in the course of conversation.&rdquo;Parise had been a member of the North Stars in their better days, and was very disappointed in the club&rsquo;s recent about-face. &ldquo;I was in Minnesota for seven years, and it&rsquo;s tough when things go bad,&rdquo; said J.P. &ldquo;You feel responsible for the way that the team is going.&rdquo;Parise reached his peak with the North Stars in 1972-73 when he clicked for 27 goals and 48 assists. Last year he slipped to 18-37-55, and had scored only nine goals this season at the time of the trade.&ldquo;When I had that big season, I was used on the power-play.&rdquo; explained Parise. &ldquo;Last year I wasn&rsquo;t, and that alone took off a sizable number of points.&rdquo;Parise received a rousing greeting from the L.I. Welcome Wagon in his first game as an Islander against Toronto. Banners bearing his name hung from the rafters, and the electronic message center on the scoreboard flashed a giant &ldquo;J.P.&rdquo;J.P. repaid the crowd almost instantly as he helped set up two goals in the Isles&rsquo; 5-3 triumph. Playing on a line with Ralph Stewart at center and Ed Westfall on the right flank, Parise added some offensive spark to the old checking unit which formerly featured Stewart, Hicke, and Craig Cameron, who went to Minnesota that night for Drouin.&ldquo;It feels great to be in a game after the first period.&rdquo; grinned Parise in his first meeting with the New York press following the game. His reference was to the feeling that the North Stars appeared to be out of contention before a contest was more than twenty minutes old.Parise agreed that there were problems in Minnesota, but there was no dissension. &ldquo;Maybe there was a lack of discipline on the ice,&rdquo; explained J.P. &ldquo;People weren&rsquo;t doing their job. The fans were also getting a little rough at home, especially in light of the way that the club was going.&ldquo;Gibbs was really upset when he found out that he was traded. He was the best defenseman by far. I was disappointed at first, too, but it was more of the feeling that I wasn&rsquo;t doing what I should.&rdquo;The 5&rsquo;9&rdquo;, 175 pound native of Smooth Rock Falls, Ont. skated for more than a month with trade winds blowing over his head. &ldquo;The last week I was there, I really expected a trade. There were rumors at first that I would be going to Boston.&rdquo;In addition to picking up the two assists in his first game in Islander finery. Parise also treated the fans to a display of his all-out play in the corners. Coaches agree that there are few performers in the game who can dig out a puck better than the Isles&rsquo; new acquisition.Parise paid another big dividend two games later, as he scored the Islanders&rsquo; first goal late in the game to spark an all-important 2-2 tie with the Atlanta Flames. Jean Potvin later provided the equalizer with a power-play tally to keep the Islanders within striking distance of third place.Winning teams are built with youth, but you must have some experience serving as a catalyst. The addition of Parise should prove to be a positive chemical reaction.ISLAND SOUNDS: Doug Rombough was the leading goal-getter among the departed Islanders. Rombough had managed five goals, with Hicke and Cameron accounting for one apiece&hellip; Lome Henning, once the last man on the bench and a frequent spectator in the press box, has been given a new lease as a penalty killer, teaming with Westfall. The combo didn&rsquo;t allow a power-play goal in its first three games&hellip; Bill Smith played perhaps the best game of his career as the Islanders upset the Flyers 3-1 on Jan. 9. It was the Isles&rsquo; first win ever at the Spectrum&hellip; The Islanders&rsquo; new broadcasting team of Dorn Valentino and Jim Garvey has rated fine reviews. The pair gives a sense of identification with the team that was lacking previously&hellip; The Islanders averaged 13.380 fans at the Coliseum over the first half of the season. And attendance traditionally picks up over the second half with the end of football season. &#9632;

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Parise Gives Youthful islanders Rare Touch Of Hockey Class On Ice

<div class="byline">BY BILLMAKI</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0009-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-02746/3163675-1-eng-US/f0009-022.jpg"></div> &#9632;

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CARTOON CORNER

<div class="byline">BY JACK McCARTHY</div>BOSTON&mdash;The Bruins have been hanging lough behind the Buffalo Sabres in the Adams Division of the NHL, getting the scoring heroics from the unbelievable Phil Esposito and good goalkeeping from Ken Broderick. who had come through in the clutch with a run of four straight victories. And all this without the services of one of the better left wingers in hockey&hellip; Wayne Cashman.As Esposito was doing things like scoring his 25th career hat-trick, and running his goal total to 42 before mid-season, and Broderick was proving to be a fantastic backup goaler, Cashman was laboring to get back on the blades.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-01845/3163706-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg" title="f0010-01" width="266" height="462"><figcaption class="caption-body">Ken Broderick</figcaption></div>Plagued by back trouble for three years, the rugged Cashman finally had to undergo surgery for a chipped disc in his back, which had been causing him excruciating pain as it was nestled on a nerve.While it is doubtful as to when he will be able to play, he has been up and about and doing some exercising, and should be available for the second half of the season and the playoffs. And any team, first place or not, cannot help but benefit from having this guy digging in the corners again.Cashman should be even better now that he is relieved of that stabbing pain in his back. There is the memory of him leaving the Garden after a practice and saying, &ldquo;The pain shoots down my leg. and sometimes the leg feels numb&hellip;&rdquo; But there never was any mention of not playing. In fact, he didn&rsquo;t quit until after 14 games this season, when the doctors ordered him home to bed. and finally operated.In an exhibition game in New York two years ago. he had injured the back, suffering a slight crack in a verterbrae. He played that whole year in pain and got 28 goals. That summer, he was treated with an injection program, and that cured those particular troubles, because he ran in over 30 goals &mdash; a career high for him.As he and Esposito and Ken Hodge began this season as the Bruins&rsquo; &ldquo;Big Line&rdquo; again, Cash appeared to be back in his prime. But he rammed into a goai post at Boston Garden in the second game of the season against Toronto and injured the back once more. A chip had been knocked off a verterbrae and nestled next to a nerve, causing terrible pain. It finally came to the operation.He has been up and taking nourishment for some time now, is able to walk and drive his car. It&rsquo;s just a matter of time before he&rsquo;ll be back kicking the puck around in the comer and leaning on people.His old center, Espo, meanwhile has been doing nicely, thank you, still reminding the old-timers of Joe Malone. In a game at Boston Garden against Vancouver, Phil scored his 39th, 40th and 41st goals to tie him with Jean Beliveau, the classy retired Canadien great, at 507 goals on the all-time list.Then, against the Chicago Black Hawks, he scored his 42nd goal, and the 508th of his career, moving him up all alone in fifth place among the alltime scorers. That made 42 goals in 41 games, and he was well on his way to break his single-season mark of 76 goals&hellip;Bobby Orr, incidentally, rammed in No. 24, and the quietly tough and efficient two-way player, Don Marcotte, racked up No. 19.By the time you read this, Carol Vadnais will probably have scored his 100th NHL goal, although he was having a mighty struggle to get the big one. &#9632;

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Bruins Hanging Tough Without Rugged Cashman

January 13, 1975Mr.Ted LindsayNBC30 Rockefeller CenterNew York, NYDear Mr. Lindsay:I recently read with interest, your remarks regarding the WHA in a sports publication recently and I hope you will forgive me for saying that I take exception to many of them.There is no question that the WHA has had a profound impact on the calibre of play in professional hockey. Naturally, when 12 teams are added to the already existing structure of a professional sport, there is bound to be a dilution factor. I also agree with your comments that many players are not performing to their capabilities and I further agree that there are players in the game today that perhaps wouldn&rsquo;t be, under ordinary circumstances.However, Ted, don&rsquo;t you think it is too simple to blame all of the above on the WHA? Don&rsquo;t you think that by increasing their number of teams from six to 18 within seven years, that the National Hockey League has had something to do with your criticisms of the game today, and within two years they will be adding four more teams?As a former player, don&rsquo;t you realize how grossly underpaid you were in relation to team profits during your tenure with the Red Wings? You are fortunate in that you have continued to be employed by the NHL, but how many of your associates have not been quite as fortunate? For that matter, the WHA has, in fact, created good jobs for former players and given them the opportunity to exercise their skills as operators.The WHA has many plusses which you have chosen to overlook. For years the NHL only had two teams in Canada. The WHA started with four and in its second year went to five. More importantly, the WHA has proven that cities such as Winnipeg, Edmonton and Quebec, always ignored by the NHL, are truly great hockey cities.How about cities such as Houston. San Diego, Phoenix, Indianpolis, Cleveland and Hartford? Are they not proving that they are worthy of major league hockey?I would be the first to admit we have made some mistakes in our selections of cities for the WHA, but don&rsquo;t pound your chest over Oakland, Pittsburg and Detroit, and only time will tell how Washington and Kansas City will accept their expansion teams.Hasn&rsquo;t the WHA stimulated interest from a player&rsquo;s standpoint? Many players, perhaps reluctant to attempt a career in professional hockey due to financial circumstances, can now pursue a hockey career knowing he will be justifiably rewarded for his services.I take particular exception to your remarks about the people running the WHA and their reasons for investing. I have been an owner and an operator in the WHA since it&rsquo;s inception. I invested because I love the game of hockey and could not afford the investment of the NHL. I will match the Whalers&rsquo; ownership and the Whalers&rsquo; organization with any in professional hockey. I will match Jack Kelley&rsquo;s ability as a general manager with any in professional hockey.I am proud to be associated with Nick Mileti of Cleveland, John Bassett of Toronto. Bill Hunter of Edmonton, Ben Hatskin of Winnipeg and everyone else in the WHA.Perhaps your efforts should be geared toward doing something constructive for professional hockey such as calling for a meeting of all hockey people, including players&rsquo; reps, so that we all might sit down and intelligently discuss some of the mutual problems that you and I both know exist.Sincerely yours.Howard I.. BaldwinManaging General PartnerNEW ENGLAND WHALERS HOCKEY CLUB &#9632;

An Open Letter From Howard Baldwin To Ted Lindsay

MONTREAL &mdash;Dave Forbes of the Boston Bruins is sitting out the third severest penalty handed down by National Hockey League president Clarence Campbell during his term as NHL head.Forbes has been suspended 10 games as the result of an incident involving himself and Henry Boucha of the Minnesota North Stars in Bloomington Jan. 4.The longest suspension clamped on a player by Campbell was 15 games to Maurice &lsquo;Rocket&rsquo; Richard of the Montreal Canadiens in 1955.Forbes was assessed a match penalty by referee Ron Wicks, in the first period of the game which Boston won handily 8-0, for deliberately injuring Boucha with the butt-end of his stick.Boucha suffered a serious injury in the area of his eye and a fractured cheekbone. He has undergone surgery to correct double vision in his right eye but apparently has to appear before the surgeon&rsquo;s knife again, as the situation was not corrected in the first operation.The four members of the Bruins who participated in the NHL All Star game in Montreal, Bobby Orr, Carol Vadnais, Phil Esnosito and lohnnv Bucvk. were prepared to boycott the mid-season classic in protest of the heavy suspension their teammate received. Only a plea from Forbes himself persuaded the four to play in the game.Meanwhile, there were reports from Minneapolis that a grand jury, considering evidence gathered for the Hennepin County attorney, had indicted Forbes on a charge of aggravated assault.Such a charge can carry a prison sentence of up to five or 10 years depending on the circumstances surrounding the crime. &#9632;

Forbes Handed 10-Game Suspension, Heads Off Bruin All Star Boycott

<div class="byline">BY BILL FLEISCHMAN</div>PHILADELPHIA&mdash;Rick MacLeish doesn&rsquo;t worry about walking under ladders or black cats crossing his path, but don&rsquo;t tell him there is nothing unluckv about number 13.MacLeish, the Flyers&rsquo; only 50-goal scorer, collected his 13th goal against Pittsburgh just before Christmas. By mid-January MacLeish&rsquo;s goal figure hadn&rsquo;t changed.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-03557/3163823-1-eng-US/f0012-032.jpg" title="f0012-03" width="280" height="454"><figcaption class="caption-body">Rick MacLeish</figcaption></div>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m just stuck on 13,&rdquo; he said shrugging. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not doing much offensively, but we re all right defensively.&rdquo; After MacLeish had gone eight consecutive games without a goal, coach Fred Shero decided a change was needed. Shero&rsquo;s line juggling was prompted by the Flyers&rsquo; low point of the season: a three-game losing streak, including the nationally televised 6-0 wipeout in Montreal.Shero wasn&rsquo;t condemning MacLeish alone. Except for Bobby Clarke&rsquo;s line, the Flyers&rsquo; attack was punchless &mdash; in the goal-scoring sense. For instance, the Orest Kindrachuk - Dave Schultz Don Saleski line had managed just one goal in 10 games.Shero&rsquo;s solution was to slide Kindrachuk betwen Ross Lonsberry and Gary Dornhoefer and switch MacLeish. ordinarily the number two line&rsquo;s pivot, to left wing with either Terry Crisp or Bill Clement at center and rookie Bob Sirois on right wing. Early returns were good: the Flyers besieged California goaltender Gary Simmons with 48 shots (including 9 by MacLeish) in a 2-1 victory.&ldquo;I like the way Kindrachuk played on the line with Lonsberry and Dorny,&rdquo; said Shero. &ldquo;And I like MacLeish on the wing. I want to see him get more shots from the side (left circle).&rdquo;Observers agreed the changes had to help the Flyers, at least temporarily, but Shero sounded as if MacLeish might remain on left wing awhile. Such an assignment would be puzzling since MacLeish didn&rsquo;t blossom into a dangerous goal-scorer until he was moved to center from leftwing.&ldquo;MacLeish was a great scorer before he was a center,&rdquo; Shero insisted. &ldquo;Change sometimes does people good. They work harder.&rdquo;MacLeish reacted as if he has no aversion to hard work, but his new position didn&rsquo;t have him clicking his skates with glee.&ldquo;I wouldn&rsquo;t call this a promotion,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;But I&rsquo;ll play where he wants me.&rdquo;Meanwhile, Kindrachuk, one of the NHL&rsquo;s most poised playmakers, was enthusiastic about his new linemates. No wonder: they produced the first goal against California, which had led the season series 2-1-0, and Lonsberry assisted on both goals.&ldquo;I thought we had a pretty good game,&rdquo; said Kindrachuk. &ldquo;We really talked a lot out there. It felt like we had been together for years. Of course, we had finished up power-plays so it wasn&rsquo;t like we had never been together.&rdquo;Lonsberry also endorsed the exchange of centers. Smiling, he said. &ldquo;It should work: &lsquo;O&rsquo; is the same speed as Dorny and I.&rdquo;FLYER FACTS: MacLeish has been through a lengthy scoring famine before: during his 50-goal season he went eight games without a goal about the same time of year&hellip; Flyers were beginning to believe in jinxes. The game&rsquo;s first goal by Dornhoefer was disallowed in Montreal when he left the penalty box too soon. The next night against California, Spectrum goal judge George Torchiana was on the hot seat for not lighting the lamp on an apparent Kindrachuk goal, also the game&rsquo;s first. Torchiana was summoned the board chairman Ed Snider&rsquo;s office between periods to view the replay&hellip;Andre (Moose) Dupont&rsquo;s game-winner vs. the Seals was his third decisive goal of his five this season&hellip;Rookie Bob Sirois, up from Richmond, played his second solid game, scored his first NHL goal against Kansas City and was expected to remain with the Flyers&hellip;The shutout by Montreal was the Flyers&rsquo; first in H2 games. The last one was also against the Canadiens, on Oct. 25, I973. The goalie? Wayne Thomas (remember him?) &#9632;

f0012-03

It’s That Time Of Year Again As MacLeish Plunges Into Slump

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0012-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-01817/3163792-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg"></div><h2>Marlies Just Roll Along</h2>WHILE MANY CLUBS in hockey encounter assorted problems, the Toronto Marlboros roll on with incredible consistency, doing their job of supplying excellent shinny entertainment and developing top professional prospects with great efficiency.Sure, the Marlies had a setback in the 1973-74 season when the World Hockey Association kidnapped four top players before their junior eligibility had expired. But this season, the young Toronto team is back on top of the Ontario Major Series, their roster loaded with talented, big kids who make the pro scouts drool.Only three Marlie players are in their final junior season and if the WHA and National Hockey League give the juniors a break and leave their eligible players alone in the 1975 draft, the club will be dominant in Canadian junior hockey for the next two or three seasons.A big feather in the young Marlies&rsquo; cap was a 7-6 loss to the touring Soviet Union Red Army team. The comrades&rsquo; roster included nine members of the Soviet National team.The game was a splendid exhibition of hockey which delighted more than 16,000 Maple Leaf Gardens spectators, fast and high-strung. The Soviet team included familiar names &mdash; Vladislav Tretiak, Valery Kharlamov, Victor Lutchenko, Vladimir Petrov, Boris Mikhailov and Victor Kuzkin.&ldquo;The fact that we shot six goals behind Tretiak was a very satisfying experience for us,&rdquo; said Marlie manager Frank Bonello. &ldquo;We were able to give the Soviets considerable trouble with our forechecking.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-02707/3163785-1-eng-US/f0012-022.jpg" title="f0012-02" width="504" height="694"><figcaption class="caption-body">Frank Bonello</figcaption></div>&ldquo;In fact, all the teams in our junior league did a good job against the Red Army. When they played us, the Red Army didn&rsquo;t use two or three young players who had been regulars against the other teams. They didn&rsquo;t get off the bench against us.&rdquo;In the game, which afforded the pro scouts a rare opportunity of seting the Marlie boys against the Soviet men. lads such as Bruce Boudreau. Mark Napier, John Smrke, John Tonelli, John Anderson and Mike Kitchen demonstrated that there are plenty of good Canadian kids playing the game if the so-called big leaguers will give them a chance to develop at their own level.<h2>Batch Of Good Pros</h2>THAT MARLIES OWN A BATCH of excellent big league prospects this season is no surprise. In the past five seasons, they&rsquo;ve produced pro talent in almost unprecedented numbers. There are 23 Marlie graduates of those years now working in the WHA and NHL.Bonello had a big hand in the Marlie success. He was manager-coach of their Junior B farm team from where much of this talent originated before taking the job as Marlie coach in 1970. In 1972, he moved up to the general manager&rsquo;s job and George Armstrong, the former captain of the NHL Maple Leafs, was hired as coach.Bonello is the first to concede that Marlies sit in a fertile area for hockey talent. The vast Metropolitan Toronto Hockey League with its thousands of players at all levels and good arena facilities supplies a superb away of young prospects.Marlies&rsquo; junior rivals, of course, haven&rsquo;t allowed this domain to be the exclusive property of the Toronto entry. The Ontario group&rsquo;s rules limit drastically the number of minor age-group players Marlies can protect.&ldquo;Of course, there&rsquo;s no way we could be allowed to have the first pick of all the best players the Toronto area,&rdquo; Bonello conceded. &ldquo;If we did have, then the other teams simply couldn&rsquo;t compete with us. It would be the same as the NHL if the Montreal Canadiens had first call on any player produced in Quebec or if the Leafs had Ontario as their development area.&ldquo;At times, though, I&rsquo;ve felt that the only thing the Ontario Major league concerned itself with was finding ways to cut us down to size. But the league needs a strong team in Toronto to attract attention and supply a good gate attraction in the smaller cities.&rdquo;<h2>The Low Kev Chief</h2>FEW JUNIOR HOCKEY COACHES ever have had Armstrong&rsquo;s touch in handling teenagers. He&rsquo;s a low-key, funny, irreverent man. a born leader as his record as Leaf captain indicates.&ldquo;The Chief can be your teacher, buddy and the boss all at the same time,&rdquo; said Boudreau, the jack-rabbit center who turned down a contract with the WHA Minnesota Fighting Saints to return to Marlies this season.&ldquo;He makes us laugh, think and want to run through the wall for him all at the same time. I don&rsquo;t know exactly how he does it but he does.&rdquo;Armstrong often downgrades the role of a coach with statements such as: &ldquo;My secret as a coach? Ijust remember that 1 got a good hockey team and try not to ruin it with a lot of coaching.&rdquo;Armstrong doesn&rsquo;t expound many fancy theories even when he&rsquo;s serious. One of his favorite practice gimmicks is &ldquo;hog&rdquo;, a game of river hockey in which large groups of players chase one puck.Each season, Armstrong&rsquo;s teams play flatout offensive hockey in the early &lsquo;part of the schedule, then gradually mature defensively.The Marlies have assorted prime young prospects this season. Center Tonelli, 18, is a big, strong, determined worker of the Walt Tkaczuk variety. Winger Napier, 17, is a chunky, bow-legged speedster who&rsquo;s as tough as an old boot and has an insatiable hunger for the net when he crosses the blueline.To Harold Ballard, president of the Maple Leafs who also is president of the Marlies, the team and all its great young talent represents a constant reminder of how it once was in the NHL in the days when Leafs sponsored the junior team.&ldquo;When I look around at all the Marlies playing in the NHL and figure how good the Leafs would be if we had tern, I long for the good old days,&rdquo; Ballard said. &#9632;

f0012-01

FRANK ORR SAYS:

<div class="byline">BY JAY GREENBERG</div>KANSAS CITY&mdash;Ken Murray knew what was expected of him and felt some sense of urgency to get started.&ldquo;I like to feel they called me up because I can hit.&rdquo; he said. And so he did. &ldquo;Everything in the rink.&rdquo; said Bep Guidolin. his coach.The acquisition of a 50-goal scorer couldn&rsquo;t have made Guidolin any happier than what he saw in the 26-year-old defenseman in his Scouts&rsquo; debut. At long last the Scouts, just like almost everyone else in the National Hockey League, have someone who delights in hitting people. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s just the game I play,&rdquo; said Murray, after the bodies had been picked up after the 2-1 victory over Detroit at Kemper Arena. &ldquo;I go to the body. I knock &lsquo;em down if I can catch &lsquo;em.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-01802/3163854-1-eng-US/f0013-012.jpg" title="f0013-01" width="271" height="415"><figcaption class="caption-body">Ken Murray</figcaption></div>That may be the catch, for this is Murray&rsquo;s fourth organization in his seven years as a pro. and with players of his psyche not in over-abundance, he hasn&rsquo;t proven he can handle other, more mundane defensive chores on a regular basis in the NHL.That&rsquo;s why the Scouts, who took him in the expansion draft from the Detroit organization, farmed him to Baltimore mid-way through training camp and appeared to have no immediate disposition towards bringing him back. Injuries to Mike Baumgartner and Claude Houde, and a desire to give rookie Roger Lemelin a little more time for minor-league seasoning, forced them to change their minds.&ldquo;He just seemed to be a little awkward during training camp,&rdquo; Bep remembers. &ldquo;We thought a month would help him.&rdquo;&ldquo;It didn&rsquo;t. A week into the season, Murray suffered a concussion, which crippled his chances for a quick recall. It finally came on New Year&rsquo;s day, when he was told to be in Kansas City for a game with St. Louis Thursday night. Bad weather forced his flight to reroute to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where he spent a night in a snowy airport, with no hockey game, and alas, nobody to hit.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a hell of a way to make my debut,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Stranded in a little town in the snow while the team&rsquo;s playing.&rdquo; The debut was postponed two days, and as much as Bep loved it, the fans&rsquo;joy knew no bounds.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t pay attention to the fans,&rdquo; said Murray. &ldquo;I just try to do my job the best I can. If they like it, that&rsquo;s fine. If they don&rsquo;t they can boo me. They pay their money.&rdquo;With the Scouts dressing five defensemen and with Baumgartner and Houde possibly coming back within the next few weeks, there promised to be more defensemen than jobs. Murray realizes what he&rsquo;s going to have to do to survive. Hit.&ldquo;If I don&rsquo;t,&rdquo; he says, &ldquo;it&rsquo;s back to the old Clipper ship.&rdquo; That&rsquo;s not necessarily via Cedar Rapids, but he&rsquo;s still not anxious to return.LOOSE PUCKS: The victory over Detroit, the Scouts&rsquo; sixth of the season, broke a 7-game non-winning streak and a 5-game losing streak. It was also their first victory ever over a pre-1967 club&hellip; Mike Baumgartner was making good progress from an eye injury suffered in game with Vancouver Dec. 14 and was expecting an okay to begain practicing again&hellip; Houde was expected to be out two weeks with a shoulder separation&hellip; Goaltender Peter McDuffe came up with two 2-goal games back to back with St. Louis and the Rangers, but lost both, 2-1. In the next start, Michel Plasse beat the Wings, 2-1. &#9632;

f0013-01

Scouts Finally Have Hitting Defenseman In Murray

<div class="byline">BY NORM MacLEAN</div>NEW YORK&mdash;There is no doubt of it. Brad Park and Nick Beverley make up the New York Rangers version of the odd couple. Park, the All Star defenseman. is short and stocky and at six-foot even and 205 pounds resembles a skating tank. Beverley, tall and rangy, is 6&rsquo;2&rdquo; and a slender 190.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-01801/3163892-1-eng-US/f0014-012.jpg" title="f0014-01" width="268" height="451"><figcaption class="caption-body">Brad Park</figcaption></div>Nick was obtained in the off season in the deal which sent former Ranger captain Vic Hadfield to the Pittsburgh Penguins. He was the odd man out in the various Ranger defense combinations and didn&rsquo;t even get a full shift when first Ron Harris and then Dale Rolfe were out with injuries. Finally when Gilles Marotte missed a few games in December, GM-coach Emile Francis paired Nick with Brad. John Bednarski, called up just after Ron Greschner had been elevated from Providence of the AHL in November, had been playing with Park. Almost immediately, Park seemed to improve in his play and the steady goals against that had flooded the Rangers stopped. The combination worked as Park rushed the puck and Beverley played back on defense.&ldquo;Beverley is a steady defenseman. He plays his position, moves the puck up to the forwards and does the job,&rdquo; said Francis. &ldquo;He has been playing super hockey, with very few giveaways. When Dale Rolfe returns we will have an embarrassment of riches.&rdquo;&ldquo;Nick has done the job,&rdquo; said Park. &ldquo;Maybe we are the odd couple. I shoot left and I&rsquo;m playing the right side. Nick shoots right and he is playing the left. He covers very well for me when I rush. You notice I got a hat-trick in Kansas City (the third of Park&rsquo;s NHL career) with Beverley as my partner.&rdquo;Garry Young, the St. Louis Blues coach, noted, &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve seen quite a few left hand shots playing right defense, but I can&rsquo;t remember when I saw a right hand shot work the left.&rdquo;Beverley, when congratulated on his fine job. said, &ldquo;Let&rsquo;s wait a few more games and see how things keep going. I&rsquo;m getting more certain on the left side. I should be able to play either side with only a normal amount of adjustment. I played some on the left in Junior.&rdquo;When asked if he was surprised at his trade for Hadfield, Nick admitted he was, saying, &ldquo;You bet, but it hasn&rsquo;t put any extra pressure on me. 1 don&rsquo;t think about it at all now.&rdquo;As to whether he could hold off Rolfe when Dale returns, Nick opined, &ldquo;That&rsquo;s up to Mr. Francis. I&rsquo;ll just do my job, play the position and see what happens.&rdquo;Both Rolfe and Beverley are tall, rangy types, with Dale having a great burst of speed. He broke a foot in November and feels that in one respect it was a lucky break.&ldquo;My knee had been hurting and the enforced rest took care of it,&rdquo; said the 34-year-old rearguard known as &ldquo;Goat&rdquo;.Rolfe agreed with one of Francis&rsquo; pet theories, that a team couldn&rsquo;t have too many defensemen.&ldquo;Someone always seems to get hurt. Nick&rsquo;s done a great job, there&rsquo;s a place for him &mdash; and Bednarski, too,&rdquo; said Dale.Winners of two of their first three on the annual January Ice Show road trip, the Blueshirts whipped Kansas City 6-1, St. Louis 5-3 and lost to Chicago 4-2. Derek Sanderson returned in the Hawk contest, making Francis rich at center with four topnotchers, Jean Ratelie, Walt Tkaczuk, Pete Stemkowski and Sanderson. Fill-in Bobby MacMillan, who had contributed a key goal in a Ranger win over the Islanders, was returned to Providence as was goalie Curt Ridley. Ed Giacomin. out with a knee injury since Dec. 19. dressed as the backup against Chicago.&ldquo;We want both of these young men to start playing regularly again,&rdquo; said Francis. &ldquo;They both contributed when we needed them the most.&rdquo;The Rangers, once in last place in the Patrick Division, are now pointing towards first and the Philadelphia Flyers.&ldquo;We have to beat them when we play.&rdquo; said Stemkowski. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s all there is to it.&rdquo;For the record, the schedule shows games with Philadelphia on Feb. 5 and 6, home and home, and on Sunday afternoon Feb. 23 at the Garden and April 3 in the Spectrum.BLUE CHIPS: When Giacomin was hurt, Gil Villemure told Fast Eddie to take a month off. Now the log shows Villemure with 14-4-2 and a 2.75 GA&hellip; Giacomin, who held up the team during its early season problems is 6-7-6 with a 3.53 GA&hellip; Rangers&rsquo; eight-game win streak was the longest of the year in surpassing Boston&rsquo;s seven gamer&hellip; In their first 19 games together the Jean Ratelie - Steve Vickers - Rod Gilbert line had totalled 33 goals and 61 assists for 94 points.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-02689/3163885-1-eng-US/f0014-022.jpg" title="f0014-02" width="537" height="605"><figcaption class="caption-body">NICK BEVERLEY &hellip;Doing The Job</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0014-01

Beverley And Team Captain Park, N.Y. Rangers’ Newest Odd Couple

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-02529/3164199-1-eng-US/f0016-022.jpg" title="f0016-02" width="742" height="590"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-01608/3164206-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg" title="f0016-01" width="163" height="142"></div><h2>ATLANTA</h2><h3>Flames</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-03424/3164192-1-eng-US/f0016-032.jpg" title="f0016-03" width="172" height="175"></div><h2>BOSTON</h2><h3>Bruins</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-04327/3164185-1-eng-US/f0016-042.jpg" title="f0016-04" width="739" height="636"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-05244/3164178-1-eng-US/f0016-052.jpg" title="f0016-05" width="202" height="199"></div><h2>BUFFALO</h2><h3>Sabres</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-06196/3164171-1-eng-US/f0016-062.jpg" title="f0016-06" width="737" height="640"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-07180/3164164-1-eng-US/f0016-072.jpg" title="f0016-07" width="271" height="121"></div><h2>CALIFORNIA</h2><h3>Seals</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-08164/3164157-1-eng-US/f0016-082.jpg" title="f0016-08" width="732" height="661"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-09142/3164150-1-eng-US/f0016-092.jpg" title="f0016-09" width="205" height="193"></div><h2>CHICAGO</h2><h3>Black Hawks</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-10120/3164143-1-eng-US/f0016-102.jpg" title="f0016-10" width="730" height="611"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-11106/3164136-1-eng-US/f0016-112.jpg" title="f0016-11" width="1444" height="745"></div><h2>DETROIT</h2><h3>Red Wings</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-1290/3164129-1-eng-US/f0016-122.jpg" title="f0016-12" width="259" height="136"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-1379/3164122-1-eng-US/f0016-132.jpg" title="f0016-13" width="739" height="636"></div><h2>KANSAS CITY</h2><h3>Scouts</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-1473/3164115-1-eng-US/f0016-142.jpg" title="f0016-14" width="211" height="196"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-1563/3164108-1-eng-US/f0016-152.jpg" title="f0016-15" width="735" height="607"></div><h2>LOS ANGELES</h2><h3>Kings</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-1660/3164101-1-eng-US/f0016-162.jpg" title="f0016-16" width="205" height="223"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-1753/3164094-1-eng-US/f0016-172.jpg" title="f0016-17" width="731" height="527"></div><h2>MINNESOTA</h2><h3>North Stars</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-1846/3164087-1-eng-US/f0016-182.jpg" title="f0016-18" width="211" height="184"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-1942/3164080-1-eng-US/f0016-192.jpg" title="f0016-19" width="735" height="697"></div><h2>MONTREAL</h2><h3>Canadiens</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-2042/3164073-1-eng-US/f0016-202.jpg" title="f0016-20" width="217" height="175"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-2139/3164066-1-eng-US/f0016-212.jpg" title="f0016-21" width="735" height="613"></div><h2>NEW YORK</h2><h3>Islanders</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-2237/3164059-1-eng-US/f0016-222.jpg" title="f0016-22" width="205" height="202"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-2335/3164052-1-eng-US/f0016-232.jpg" title="f0016-23" width="737" height="605"></div><h2>NEW YORK</h2><h3>Rangers</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-2433/3164045-1-eng-US/f0016-242.jpg" title="f0016-24" width="190" height="202"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-2529/3164038-1-eng-US/f0016-252.jpg" title="f0016-25" width="736" height="636"></div><h2>PHILADELPHIA</h2><h3>Flyers</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-2627/3164031-1-eng-US/f0016-262.jpg" title="f0016-26" width="229" height="169"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-2722/3164024-1-eng-US/f0016-272.jpg" title="f0016-27" width="733" height="635"></div><h2>PITTSBURGH</h2><h3>Penguins</h3><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-2820/3164017-1-eng-US/f0016-282.jpg" title="f0016-28" width="130" height="127"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-2913/3164010-1-eng-US/f0016-292.jpg" title="f0016-29" width="745" height="614"></div><h2>ST. LOUIS</h2><h3>Blues</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-3013/3164003-1-eng-US/f0016-302.jpg" title="f0016-30" width="169" height="148"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-3113/3163996-1-eng-US/f0016-312.jpg" title="f0016-31" width="733" height="610"></div><h2>TORONTO</h2><h3>Maple Leafs</h3><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-329/3163989-1-eng-US/f0016-322.jpg" title="f0016-32" width="148" height="157"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-339/3163982-1-eng-US/f0016-332.jpg" title="f0016-33" width="742" height="618"></div><h2>VANCOUVER</h2><h3>Canucks</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-345/3163975-1-eng-US/f0016-342.jpg" title="f0016-34" width="223" height="157"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-353/3163968-1-eng-US/f0016-352.jpg" title="f0016-35" width="734" height="640"></div><h2>WASHINGTON</h2><h3>Capitals</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-362/3163961-1-eng-US/f0016-362.jpg" title="f0016-36" width="274" height="154"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-372/3163954-1-eng-US/f0016-372.jpg" title="f0016-37" width="730" height="650"></div> &#9632;

f0016-02

Players’Sconngra Penalty Statistics

<div class="byline">BY RUSS WHITE</div>WASHINGTON &mdash;Jimmy Anderson has been changing lines quicker than he or anybody else could shake an angry fist at National Hockey League expansion. And maybe the Washington Capitals have come up with a three-some with some fight.Some are calling it the Blood Line.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-01519/3164237-1-eng-US/f0017-012.jpg" title="f0017-01" width="271" height="444"><figcaption class="caption-body">Mike Marson</figcaption></div>It is centered by Pete Laframboise with Mike Marson and Mike Bloom on the wings. The two Mikes were involved in fights in two consecutive games, which is more than the Caps themselves were involved. Marson battled Ernie Hicke at the Nassau Coliseum and drew the praise of coach Anderson. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s the type of player Marson was in the juniors.&rdquo; Anderson cooed. &ldquo;We want him to be physical, to be aggressive. It makes his whole game better.&rdquo;It wasn&rsquo;t Marson&rsquo;s first NHL fight and he promised it would not be his last.He insisted also this one had nothing racial involved. Marson doesn&rsquo;t get into fights because he is the only black player in the league. He gets into them because it&rsquo;s his style.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m no headhunter.&rdquo; Marson said. &ldquo;But if I get a stick in the face or a cheap hit I come back with something in return. I enjoy getting hit. hitting back. It&rsquo;s pow, pow. powand I&rsquo;m in the game. It&rsquo;s What hockey is all about. I feel I can be more valuable to the team when I&rsquo;m involved.&rdquo;Although 19 and still with much to learn in the NHL. Marson has come on since his Hicke brawl. He was first star in Washington&rsquo;s surprising 3-3 tie at home against the Boston Bruins. Marson scored two goals in that game and assisted Laframboise for the other.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve been together since day one.&rdquo; said Laframboise. Marson&rsquo;s road roommate. &ldquo;It was only a matter of time before we clicked.&rdquo; It was center Laframboise who assisted Marson on his two Bruin goals.Marson and Laframboise credited big Mike Bloom with supplying the muscle in that game. Bloom is at his best in corners, digging out the puck. He was angry that Anderson had sat him out a game after he had a rousing draw in a slugfest against Pierre Bouchard of the Montreal Canadiens.Bloom and Bouchard went at it after the Canadiens had already completed their scoring in a 10-0 Forum rout of the Caps.&ldquo;The fight was too late to help,&rdquo; Bloom said. Nonetheless Bloom established himself as a NHL fighter. Bouchard landed some excellent blows but couldn&rsquo;t drop Bloom, who regained his balance nicely and delivered some fine shots at Bouchard.The Forum audience enjoyed the fight more than the lopsided game.&ldquo;He can take a punch and he can fight.&rdquo; said Montreal coach Scotty Bowman of Bloom. &ldquo;He handles himself okay.&rdquo;Anderson benched Bloom the next night in Atlanta, however.&ldquo;I wanted to save him for the Bruins.&rdquo; Anderson explained. &ldquo;Get him angry.&rdquo;Bloom preferred to get angry his own way. &ldquo;Id&rsquo; rather get angry playing not sitting.&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been on my butt too much this year.&rdquo;Despite the tie with Boston the Capitals dipped lower and lower into what is shaping up as hockey&rsquo;s worst record. The Caps are 0-21 on the road after a 5-3 defeat at Kansas City. Anderson wanted that one badly. KC is 2-0 in games against its expansion baby twin.Still, the crowds at Capital Centre keep coming in.The Capitals are outdrawing the Washington Bullets pro basketball team at Capital Centre while the Bullets have the best record in the NBA.&ldquo;The fans here have really been tremendous.&rdquo; Pete Laframboise said.One of the gimmicks that may have helped the Caps in their 3-3 Boston tie was that for the first time that evening the Washington players wore their names on the back of their jersies. It had to help because they kept their jersies, their pants and their game on for 60 minutes.The remarkable Bobby Orr developed a stiff neck in the first period of the game. Said Washington&rsquo;s Anderson: &ldquo;It stiffened in the breeze created when our euvs skated oast him.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0017-01

Fans Hang ‘Blood Line’ Tag On Capitals’ New Ice Unit

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-04246/3164299-1-eng-US/f0018-042.jpg" title="f0018-04" width="500" height="968"></div>WE&rsquo;VE GOT IT ALL&hellip; THAT&rsquo;S WHY WE RE ACKNOWLEDGED AS ONE OF THE BEST HOCKEY SCHOOL AND CAMP&hellip; ANYWHERE. IN FACT WE RE SO PROUD OF OUR REPUTATION THAT WE OFFER A GUARANTEE&hellip; PROBABLY THE FIRST ONES TO DO SO.* TOP RATED HOCKEY INSTRUCTION FROM AN EXCELLENT STAFF OF INSTRUCTORS HEA-DED UP BY WALTER TKACZUK, OF THE NEW YORK RANGERS, DENNIS DUPERE OF WASHINGTON CAPITOLS AND OTHERS.* POWER SKATING SESSIONS DAILY, TAUGHT BY A PRO SKATER.* NHL REFEREES WEEKLY CLINIC.* CAMP FACILITIES THAT INCLUDE SWIMMING POOL, MINIA-TURE GOLF COURSE, BASKET-BALL, BASEBALL, FIELD HOCKEY, SOCCER AND OTHER ACTIVITIES.* AN ATMOSPHERE THAT MAKES FOR AN IDEAL TIME FOR EVERY YOUNG BOY WHO WANTS TO ENJOY PLAYING HOCKEY, MORE.FOR INFORMATION: WRITE:WALTER TKACZUK HOCKEY SCHOOL AND CAMP, 104 BIRCHCLIFF AVE., KITCHENER, ONTARIO. CANADA. &#9632;

f0018-04

SUPER STAR HOCKEY CAMP

RICK DUDLEY Buffalo Sabres The loss of star centerman Gil Perreault meant someone was going to have to pick up the scoring slack or the Buffalo Sabres were in trouble.Rick Dudley appears to be the man to have taken it upon himself to see that the Bruins don&rsquo;t take over the Adams Division lead.He tallied twice in 4-0 blanking of California, had a goal and two assists in 5-0 win over Kansas City and a single marker in 4-2 victory over slumping Vancouver.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-02425/3164337-1-eng-US/f0018-022.jpg" title="f0018-02" width="488" height="582"></div>BOB NEVIN Los Angeles Kings Just like a fine wine, Bob Nevin seems to get better with age.During the past week the L.A. Kings finished their seven-game road trip with a record of six wins and a single defeat, and have moved ahead of the Montreal Canadiens into first place in the Norris Division.Nevin sparked the Kings 6-3 win over Montreal with three goals and an assist and also registered a goal and an assist in 6-2 win over Washington.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-03320/3164330-1-eng-US/f0018-032.jpg" title="f0018-03" width="486" height="574"></div> &#9632;

f0018-02

Stars of the week

<div class="byline">BY JACK BERRY</div>LOUISVILLE SLUGGERHOCKEY STICKSMade in Canada by H1LLERICH & 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 CanadaDETROIT&mdash;Consistency. It&rsquo;s what the candy-makers strive for, what the brewmasters strive for, what coaches strive for.It&rsquo;s no problem to get a team up for the super teams. Everyone wants to be at his best against the super teams. It&rsquo;s a point of honor. But what about the less-than-super teams? That&rsquo;s a different matter entirely and every coach of every mediocre team knows the frustration of trying to get a team up for a game against one that that&rsquo;s only slightly better or even a little worse. The Detroit Red Wings played two strong games against division leaders in the span of four nights, being tied by Montreal and tying Buffalo. Then they came up flat against the so-so St. Louis Blues, losers of four straight, and lost, 2-1. Deservedly.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-01523/3164268-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg" title="f0018-01" width="258" height="386"><figcaption class="caption-body">Danny Grant</figcaption></div>And all three of those games were on Olympia ice. Two points of a possible six when you&rsquo;re supposed to win at home and play .500 on the road.&ldquo;What can I say.&rdquo; asked managercoach Alex Delvecchio. &ldquo;You&rsquo;ve gotta play against all these guys the way you play against Montreal and Buffalo.&rdquo;But it took the Wings two periods to realize the puck had been dropped and by then the Blues had a 2-0 lead on goals by rookie defenseman Bob Hess and old Red Wing favorite Garry Unger.Marcel Dionne scored a third period power-play goal, his 300th career point and. again no player in N.H.L. history has had a start to equal the stocky little center&rsquo;s.Not Bobby Orr. not Gil Perreault, not Bobby Clarke, not Gordie Howe, not anyone.This is Dionne&rsquo;s fourth season and &ldquo;Beaver&rdquo; has been working like one with 113 goals and 187 assists in 269 games for the 300 points.But back to the main topic &mdash; consistency. The Red Wings, as in years past, haven&rsquo;t shown a winning consistency, a consistency of playing good hockey against everyone, not only the really good teams.After those draws with the powerful Canadiens and Sabres, Delvecchio talked of how the Wings were beginning to play the kind of hockey he&rsquo;d been seeking, of going up and down the wings, of how he saw signs of progress.But the thing is, the Red Wings let the other team set the tempo. They&rsquo;re not strong enough to set the tone of the game. and. unfortunately for their fans, there isn&rsquo;t any sign they&rsquo;ll be in a position to do so for some time to come.For two periods Buffalo simply smothered the Wings with its forechecking, with its strength. The Sabres had only themselves to blame for letting up and that&rsquo;s what coach Floyd Smith, a Red Wing from the club&rsquo;s happier days, said in his post-game assessment.Delvecchio broke up his checking line of Hank Nowak-Blair Stewart-Earl Anderson for the Blues game because &ldquo;Stewie hasn&rsquo;t been playing well and Andy hasn&rsquo;t been scoring.&rdquo;He might&rsquo;ve added that Nowak hasn&rsquo;t been fighting, eitherIt was a line that had numerous scoring opportunities because of its forechecking but it couldn&rsquo;t score with a faceoff in an empty net.Nor were the replacements anything to strike terror in the heart of a goaltender.This once proud team is a long, long way from challenging, from respectability.RED WING NOTES: Strange but true&hellip; the Sabres outdrew the Canadiens at Olympia. Buffalo drew 13,772 on a Saturday night against 13,120 for the Canadiens the previous Wednesday&hellip; it might&rsquo;ve been because so many Buffaloans came over for the game. They festooned the Olympia balcony with more signs that any Red Wing group over has put up.Danny Grant needed 12 stitches to close a jagged gash on his left temple after crashing into the boards following a beautiful, but futile play against the Sabres. Grant tried to get up then sank to the ice.&ldquo;That wasn&rsquo;t a TKO,&rdquo; Grant said afterward, &ldquo;that was a full knockout.&rdquo;Nevertheless, he was back on the ice the following night to stretch his consecutive game streak to 482, second among active players only to St. Louis&rsquo; Garry Unger who reached 525 in that game. &#9632;

f0018-01

Inconsistency Creating Problems For Red Wings

<div class="byline">BY BOB VERDI</div>CHICAGO&mdash;The Chicago Black Hawks had a most disappointing first half of this season, and you aren&rsquo;t the only one anticipating better things from now until April.Include team president Bill Wirtz among those who have great expectations for his employees.&ldquo;1 think we&rsquo;re going to get rolling soon,&rdquo; said Wirtz, donning his rosecolored glasses one day recently.But considering all the problems we&rsquo;ve had with injuries, I&rsquo;m satisfied so far.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-01503/3164375-1-eng-US/f0019-012.jpg" title="f0019-01" width="259" height="439"><figcaption class="caption-body">Bill White</figcaption></div>&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve had so many key people out that we just haven&rsquo;t been able to jell. Pit Martin is an important player for us, and he&rsquo;s still not right after his appendectomy.&ldquo;And Bill White&hellip;well, he&rsquo;s as vital to our club as Bobby Orr is to Boston. You just can&rsquo;t lose people like we&rsquo;ve lost and not be hurting. I think once we get everybody back, we&rsquo;ll have a big second half.&rdquo;Wirtz doesn&rsquo;t issue that statement as a threat, nor does his vote of confidence indicate the owners&rsquo; kiss of death as it often does.The Wirtz family isn&rsquo;t known to be quick with the trigger finger; some critics say they aren&rsquo;t quick enough. And panic is not part of their management tactics.Mind you, they don&rsquo;t like the mediocre record of the club and they don&rsquo;t like those empty seats showing up at the Stadium instead of people. But they&rsquo;re not likely to get flustered.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s no way we&rsquo;re going to make trades just to make trades or make changes just to make changes,&rdquo; said Wirtz. &ldquo;I think everybody is trying, and we&rsquo;re not going to be like other franchises that just give away players when things get a little tough.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve looked around a little to see where we might help ourselves, trying to find out who might be in the doghouse and who might be available. But a lot of the players who can be had would just give us short-term help.&ldquo;As for the people running our club. Tommy Ivan is the best general manager around and Billy Reay is the best coach in the game. If we wanted to make any changes there, we would have made them five years ago when we finished last.&ldquo;My gosh, they&rsquo;re the best at what they do. You don&rsquo;t replace a coach who has won 480 games because his team has lost 18. That&rsquo;s ridiculous.&rdquo;Those 18 losses in 40 games were more than double what the Hawks had last year at the midway mark. After 39 contests last season on the 78-game schedule. Chicago&rsquo;s record was 18 wins (the same as this year), 8 losses and 13 ties. The club was in seeond place with 49 points, four behind Philadelphia.The Hawks this year had 40 points for 40 games, nine in arrears of first-place Vancouver.The primary difference this year is the Hawks defensive record. Last season, they had surrendered 83 goals for 40 games, compared with 120 this season. The goal production was up from 137 to 140.Martin, down from 18 goals to 5 and Dennis Hull, who has dropped from 19 to 13. showed the most pronounced decreases from 1973-74. Jim Pappin, up from 11 to 20, and Stan Mikita, up from 13 to 18, exhibited the best hikes.PARTING SHOTS: Mikita scored his 450th career goal Jan. 12 in a 4-2 victory over the New York Rangers at Chicago. It produced a standing ovation for the popular veteran, who remarked, &ldquo;I haven&rsquo;t heard anything like that since Bobby Hull left.&rdquo;&hellip;Dennis Hull has been named an alternate captain in addition to Mikita, Bill White and Doug Jarrett. The Hawks are one of only three NHL clubs with no captain. &ldquo;I thought we could use another &lsquo;A&rsquo; out there with White hurt,&rdquo; said Reay. &ldquo;Plus, Dennis is struggling with himself, and maybe this will help him relax. He knows when he isn&rsquo;t playing well, and when the team is losing he takes it upon his own shoulders.&rdquo;&hellip;Boston super star Phil Esposito, asked to appraise the Hawks, said: &ldquo;I know one thing they&rsquo;re missing. Chico Maki.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-02432/3164368-1-eng-US/f0019-022.jpg" title="f0019-02" width="550" height="580"><figcaption class="caption-body">DENNIS HULL &hellip;Given New Role</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0019-01

Wirtz Sees Big Second Half For Hawks

<div class="byline">BY DEREK COOPER</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-01349/3164420-1-eng-US/f0020-012.jpg" title="f0020-01" width="490" height="433"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-02260/3164413-1-eng-US/f0020-022.jpg" title="f0020-02" width="460" height="454"></div>OAKLAND&mdash;Vancouver, Indianapolis, San Diego, Seattle, Denver. All of these cities have two things in commons.The first is that at one time or another they all wanted the Seals hockey team to call their city home. The second is that the first never has and never will occur.Each year a story appears on the national wires saying that the Seals are moving. Once alarming, these stories have since become a Bay Area tradition, much like the Chinatown parade. The Seals&rsquo; publicity office is seriously contemplating sending out a fill-in-the-blank denial saying &ldquo;Rumors that the Seals are moving to &mdash; have been denied by league and front office management&rdquo;, which the newspapers could update to fit the situation.&ldquo;Everytime somebody wants to create some hockey news he calls a press conference in his town and says that he would like to buy the Seals,&rdquo; says Seals&rsquo; president Munson Campbell, who has already been called upon to issue two of the aforementioned denials this year. &ldquo;The serious buyers are the ones who don&rsquo;t call the press conferences.&rdquo;In fact, no decision has been reached on a future home for the NHL-owned Seals, but one particular area is looking better every day. This area has shown a dramatic rise in hockey interest, has a beautiful facility, and a perfectly suited climate.Believe it or not, sports fans, it&rsquo;s the Bay Area. That&rsquo;s right. In the midst of all the talk about the team moving, no one has noticed the sharp increase in hockey enthusiasm in the area that everyone says can&rsquo;t support a hockey team. But don&rsquo;t take my word for it. Consider the statistics recently released by the Seals.FACT: For the first time in the club&rsquo;s eight year NHL history, season ticket sales nearly doubled over the previous year.FACT: Through 18 home games, the Seals have averaged 1,800 more fans per game than last season. Traditionally the first half of the hockey season is a slow draw in the Bay Area owing to the annual playoff activities of the Oakland A&rsquo;s and Oakland Raiders.But through 18 games, attendance is up 30,000 from last year, and with an even greater increase anticipated for the second half of the season, the Seals will set an all-time single season attendance record.&ldquo;The Seals have shown the second biggest increase at the box office in the entire NHL this season,&rdquo; says Seals&rsquo; ticket manager Steve Bieri, who is suddenly faced with the happy dilemma of telling people that only balcony seats are left for certain games. &ldquo;People are now beginning to realize that they better get their tickets early.&rdquo;The sudden rise in hockey enthusiasm is due to a number of factors, foremost of which is the way the team has been playing at home. The Seals won decisively before the three biggest crowds of the year &mdash; twice defeating the Flyers and a victory over the Bruins. The second Philadelphia game, which drew a near capacity 11,157 fans, was the largest single game gross in the club&rsquo;s history.What all of this means is that a competitive, well-promoted team cannot only survive, but do very well, in the Bay Area.The NHL jury may still be out on the fate of the Seals, but if the current box office trend continues, it should make their decision much easier. The new home of the Seals next season may just be their old home. And that&rsquo;s no fill-in-the-blank release.SEALS NOTES: Center Larry Patey after tailing off a couple of weeks ago is beginning to hit again and scored eight goals in 11 games. He has taken over the team leadership in power-play goals (six) and game winning goals (three)&hellip; Seals&rsquo; power play shortcircuited against Buffalo on Jan. 15 going 0-9. Before that game the power play had produced 11 goals in 38 advantages&hellip; Seals have allowed eight shorthanded goals through Jan. 15. The club record is 14 set last season. Buffalo&rsquo;s Don Luce, the league leader in that department, was the latest to turn on the light&hellip; Captain Joey Johnston became the Seals&rsquo; all-time leading goal scorer with his 80th against Atlanta. Johnston&rsquo;s next milestone is to pass Ted Hampson and become the Seals all-time leading scorer.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-03216/3164406-1-eng-US/f0020-032.jpg" title="f0020-03" width="556" height="508"><figcaption class="caption-body">JOEY JOHNSTON &hellip;Aims For Club Mark</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0020-01

Bay Area Still Best Home For Seals

<div class="byline">BY HAL SIGURDSON</div>VANCOUVER &mdash;On Dec. 28. 1974, the Vancouver Canucks played their 37th game of the National Hockey League season and earned their 48th and 49th points.After 43 games and the 1975 calendar stretching into mid-January the Canucks still had 49 points.Surpringly. though, they were still first in the Smythe Division as the pursuing Chicago Black Hawks and St. Louis Blues went into slumps almost as dismal as their own.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-01204/3164451-1-eng-US/f0021-012.jpg" title="f0021-01" width="286" height="434"><figcaption class="caption-body">Phil Maloney</figcaption></div>&ldquo;Who knows, maybe 49 points will be enough to win it,&rdquo; cracked general manager-coach Phil Maloney after watching his charges drop their sixth in a row.But Maloney isn&rsquo;t particularly given to making jokes after losses.&ldquo;Either we&rsquo;re going to have to start playing better or I&rsquo;m going to have to bring Monty&rsquo; out of mothballs,&rdquo; he warned.&ldquo;Monty&rdquo; as in Monty Hall of Let&rsquo;s Make a Deal, is the nickname the players hung on Maloney when he made two trades in one day. In one he obtained Gerry Meehan and Mike Robitaille from Buffalo and in the other he landed Garry Monahan and John Grisdale from Toronto.&ldquo;But Monty hans&rsquo;t done much recently,&rdquo; Maloney warned. &ldquo;Maybe it&rsquo;s time to shake things up again.&rdquo;What has shaken up the Canucks most, of course is injuries. In their six straight losses, the Canucks never had less than three regulars out of the lineup and sometimes as many as five.But the survivors haven&rsquo;t been playing as well in the new year as they did in the old. Larry Popein. former Ranger boss and now Maloney&rsquo;s top aide, explained why.&ldquo;In our own end.&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;we haven&rsquo;t been getting our passes up to the open man quick enough. Instead we&rsquo;ve waiting Until trouble is right on top of us. I hate to think how many goals we&rsquo;ve given up recently by losing the puck in our own end. In the other end all we&rsquo;ve been doing is shooting the puck in and chasing it. instead of carrying the puck over the opposition blueline and challenging their defensemen. Montreal is playing just great right now and you&rsquo;ll notice they almost always carry the puck into the attacking zone. When they beat Philadelphia 6-0 I don&rsquo;t think they shot the puck into the Philly end more than three times. We were playing that way.too. early in the season. We&rsquo;ve got to get back to it.&rdquo;CANUCK CAPERS: When goaltender Gary Smith was voted to the Campbell Conference All Star team, he became the first Vancouver player to make it by the direct route. Every other Canuck has been added to the team by the All Star coach&hellip; Perhaps that will allow Smith to avoid the fate that has befallen every Vancouver player who has participated in the game, three in all&hellip; Dale Tallon was Vancouver&rsquo;s lone representative in the 1971 and &lsquo;72 games&hellip; Bobby Schmautz represented them in &lsquo;73 and Schmautz and Josh Guevremont both played on the 74 team&hellip; What do Tallon. Schmautz and Guevremont have in common?.. The Canucks have traded all of them&hellip; When the Canucks&rsquo; game in Minnesota Jan. 11 was cancelled by a snow storm, it marked the second time in their brief history they&rsquo;ve had that problem&hellip; They had a game in Montreal snowed out in 1971. &#9632;

f0021-01

Canucks’ Slump May Start Maloney Thinking Trade Again

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0022-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-01224/3164727-1-eng-US/f0022-012.jpg"></div>WARNING: The Deoartment of National Health and Welfare advises that danger to health increases with amount smoked.<h2>Tue. Jan. 14</h2>ST. LOUIS 3. ISLANDERS 3<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-02158/3164720-1-eng-US/f0022-022.jpg" title="f0022-02" width="590" height="458"></div>PHILADELPHIA 6, KANSAS CITY 4<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-03136/3164713-1-eng-US/f0022-032.jpg" title="f0022-03" width="588" height="614"></div>LOS ANGELES 6. WASHINGTON 2<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-04110/3164706-1-eng-US/f0022-042.jpg" title="f0022-04" width="592" height="520"></div><h2>Wed. Jan. 15</h2>RANGERS 5, MINNESOTA 3<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-0596/3164699-1-eng-US/f0022-052.jpg" title="f0022-05" width="586" height="512"></div>ATLANTA 3, PITTSBURGH 5<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-0672/3164692-1-eng-US/f0022-062.jpg" title="f0022-06" width="580" height="302"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-0764/3164685-1-eng-US/f0022-072.jpg" title="f0022-07" width="582" height="113"></div>BOSTON 3, MONTREAL 5<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-0856/3164678-1-eng-US/f0022-082.jpg" title="f0022-08" width="586" height="606"></div>VANCOUVER 1, CHICAGO 2<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-0950/3164671-1-eng-US/f0022-092.jpg" title="f0022-09" width="584" height="376"></div>TORONTO 4, ST. LOUIS 1<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-1041/3164664-1-eng-US/f0022-102.jpg" title="f0022-10" width="580" height="148"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-1137/3164657-1-eng-US/f0022-112.jpg" title="f0022-11" width="590" height="404"></div>BUFFALO 4, CALIFORNIA 0<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-1233/3164650-1-eng-US/f0022-122.jpg" title="f0022-12" width="584" height="494"></div><h2>Thu. Jan. 16</h2>WASHINGTON 0, PHILADELPHIA 4<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-1327/3164643-1-eng-US/f0022-132.jpg" title="f0022-13" width="586" height="348"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-1419/3164636-1-eng-US/f0022-142.jpg" title="f0022-14" width="590" height="232"></div>KANSAS CITY 4, DETROIT 7<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-1517/3164629-1-eng-US/f0022-152.jpg" title="f0022-15" width="586" height="720"></div>LOS ANGELES 4, BOSTON 1<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-1612/3164622-1-eng-US/f0022-162.jpg" title="f0022-16" width="582" height="290"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-179/3164615-1-eng-US/f0022-172.jpg" title="f0022-17" width="582" height="170"></div><h2>Fri. Jan. 17</h2>RANGERS 4. CALIFORNIA 4<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-188/3164608-1-eng-US/f0022-182.jpg" title="f0022-18" width="586" height="644"></div>LOS ANGELES 0, ATLANTA 5<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-198/3164601-1-eng-US/f0022-192.jpg" title="f0022-19" width="586" height="500"></div>BUFFALO 4. VANCOUVER 2<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-207/3164594-1-eng-US/f0022-202.jpg" title="f0022-20" width="592" height="498"></div><h2>Sat. Jan. 18</h2>RANGERS 3. VANCOUVER 2<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-217/3164587-1-eng-US/f0022-212.jpg" title="f0022-21" width="586" height="486"></div>DETROIT 1, ISLANDERS 5<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-01202/3164580-1-eng-US/f0023-012.jpg" title="f0023-01" width="592" height="438"></div>ATLANTA 1, PHILADELPHIA 4<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-02161/3164573-1-eng-US/f0023-022.jpg" title="f0023-02" width="590" height="522"></div>TORONTO 5, MONTREAL 3<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-03128/3164566-1-eng-US/f0023-032.jpg" title="f0023-03" width="592" height="610"></div>BOSTON 4. PITTSBURGH 4<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-04100/3164559-1-eng-US/f0023-042.jpg" title="f0023-04" width="594" height="604"></div>CHICAGO 1, KANSAS CITY 4<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-0580/3164552-1-eng-US/f0023-052.jpg" title="f0023-05" width="590" height="566"></div>MINNESOTA 4, ST. LOUIS 5<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-0668/3164545-1-eng-US/f0023-062.jpg" title="f0023-06" width="586" height="492"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-0762/3164538-1-eng-US/f0023-072.jpg" title="f0023-07" width="586" height="88"></div>Sun. Jan. 19LOS ANGELES 6. MONTREAL 3<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-0851/3164531-1-eng-US/f0023-082.jpg" title="f0023-08" width="586" height="820"></div>PITTSBURGH 3, WASHINGTON 2<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-0942/3164524-1-eng-US/f0023-092.jpg" title="f0023-09" width="590" height="580"></div>MINNESOTA 4, DETROIT 4<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-1034/3164517-1-eng-US/f0023-102.jpg" title="f0023-10" width="586" height="286"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-1126/3164510-1-eng-US/f0023-112.jpg" title="f0023-11" width="592" height="332"></div>CALIFORNIA 1, CHICAGO 3<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-1222/3164503-1-eng-US/f0023-122.jpg" title="f0023-12" width="590" height="434"></div>KANSAS CITY 0. BUFFALO 5<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-1317/3164496-1-eng-US/f0023-132.jpg" title="f0023-13" width="580" height="114"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-1416/3164489-1-eng-US/f0023-142.jpg" title="f0023-14" width="584" height="344"></div>TORONTO 3. BOSTON 6<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-1515/3164482-1-eng-US/f0023-152.jpg" title="f0023-15" width="588" height="582"></div> &#9632;

f0022-01

MarkTen That’s taste!

<h2>(Standings on Wed. Jan. 22)</h2>NORRIS DIVISION<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-226/3164779-1-eng-US/f0022-222.jpg" title="f0022-22" width="532" height="172"></div>ADAMS DIVISION<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-236/3164772-1-eng-US/f0022-232.jpg" title="f0022-23" width="532" height="142"></div>PATRICK DIVISION<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-245/3164765-1-eng-US/f0022-242.jpg" title="f0022-24" width="532" height="142"></div>SMYTHE DIVISION<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-254/3164758-1-eng-US/f0022-252.jpg" title="f0022-25" width="534" height="172"></div>GAMES COMPLETEDTue. Jan. 14St. Louis 3 at N.Y. Islanders 3; Philadelphia 6 at Kansas City 4; Los Angeles 6 at Washington 2.Wed. Jan. 15N.Y. Rangers 5 at Minnesota 3; Atlanta 3 a* Pittsburgh 5; Boston 3 at Montreal 5; Vancouver 1 at Chicago 2; Toronto 4 at St. Louis 1; Buffalo 4 at California 0.Thu. Jan. 16Washington 0 at Philadelphia 4; Kansas City 4 at Detroit 7; Los Angeles 4 at Boston 1.Fri. Jan. 17N.Y. Rangers 4 at California 4; Los Angeles 0 at Atlanta 5; Buffalo 4 at Vancouver 2.Sat. Jan. 18N.Y. Rangers 3 at Vancouver2; Detroit 1 at N.Y. Islanders 5; Atlanta 1 at Philadelphia 4; Toronto 5 at Montreal 3; Boston 4 at Pittsburgh 4; Chicago 1 at Kansas City 4; Minnesota 4 at St. Louis 5.Sun.Jan.19Los Angeles 6 at Montreal 3; Pittsburgh 3 at Washington 2: Minnesota 4 at Detroit 4; California 1 at Chicago 3; Kansas City 0 at Buffalo 5; Toronto 3 at Boston 6.GAMES TO COMETue. Jan. 21All Star Game at Montreal.Wed. Jan. 22California at Pittsburgh.Thu. Jan. 23Atlanta at N.Y. Rangers; N.Y. Islanders at Chicago; Philadelphia at St. Louis; Montreal at Minnesota; Vancouver at Washington. Detroit at Buffalo; Toronto at Los Angeles; Kansas City at Boston.Fri. Jan. 24Vancouver at Atlanta. Toronto at California.Sat. Jan. 25N.Y. Rangers at Pittsburgh; Los Angeles at N.Y. Islanders. Buffalo at Montreal; Washington at Detroit; Chicago at St Louis. Kansas City at Minnesota.Sun. Jan. 26Los Angeles at N.Y. Rangers; Philadelphia at Boston; Atlanta at Buffalo; Pittsburgh at Montreal; Detroit at Washington; Toronto at Vancouver; California at ChicagoMon. Jan. 27Boston at Kansas CityTue. Jan. 28N.Y. Rangers at Los Angeles. Minnesota at N.Y Islanders. Montreal at Vancouver. Detroit at St Louis.Wed. Jan. 29N.Y. Islanders at Minnesota. Atlanta at Kansas City. Chicago at Pittsburgh. California at TorontoThu. Jan. 30N.Y. Rangers at Buffalo; Toronto at Philadelphia; Washington at Los Angeles; Pittsburgh at Detroit. California at BostonFri. Jan. 31St. Louis at Atlanta &#9632;

f0022-22

LOOKING AT THE NHL SCOREBOARD

C&mdash;CaptainA&mdash;Alternate*&mdash;Rookie<h2>BOSTON</h2>GOALDave Reece*Ross BrooksGilles GilbertDEFENSEGary DoakDarryl EdestrandBobby Orr ADallas Smith ACarol VadnaisRod Graham *CENTERPhil Esposito AWalt McKechnieAndre SavardGregg SheppardR. WINGKen HodgeTerry O&rsquo;ReillyCraig Sarner *L. WINGDave ForbesDon MarcotteINJUREDAl SimsWayne CashmanJohn Bucyk CBobby Schmautz<h2>BUFFALO</h2>GOALGary Bromley *Rocky Farr*Roger CrozierDEFENSELarry CarriereLee Fogolin*Bill Hajt*Jerry KorabJ. GuevremontJ. Schoenfeld CCENTERDon Luce AJim LorentzPeter McNab*R. WINGLarry MickeyRene RobertDanny Gare *Rick DudleyL. WINGCraig RamsayBrian SpencerMorris Titanic *Norm GrattonRichard MartinINJUREDGil Perreault A<h2>DETROIT</h2>GOALJim RutherfordBill McKenzie *DEFENSELarry Giroux*Jean HamelJack LynchBryan WatsonBarry Salovaara *Bart CrashleyCENTERBill HogaboamMarcel Dionne CPierre JarryDennis Polonich *R. WINGEarl Anderson*Ted SnellBill Lochead*Doug RobertsL. WINGNick Libett AHank Nowak*Danny GrantPhil RobertoINJUREDBlair Stewart*Gary Bergman AMickey Redmond A<h2>ISLANDERS</h2>GOALGlen Resch *Billy SmithDEFENSEDave Fortier*Gerry HartDave LewisBert Marshall AJean PotvinCENTERLorne HenningBob Bourne*Ralph Stewart AR. WINGJude DrouinBilly Harris ABob NystromAndre St. LaurentL. WINGClark Gillies*Walt Ledingham*Jean-Paul PariseINJUREDEddie Westfall CDenis PotvinGarry Howatt<h2>MONTREAL</h2>GOALKen DrydenMichel LarocqueWayne ThomasDEFENSEPierre BouchardGuy LapointeLarry RobinsonSerge Savard ADon AwreyJim RobertsCENTERJacques LemairePete MahovlichDoug Risebrough *R. WINGYvan Cournoyer AMario Tremblay *Guy LafleurL. WINGBob GaineyRon Andruff*Steve ShuttMurray WilsonYvon LambertINJUREDGlen SatherJ. LaperriereHenri Richard C<h2>RANGERS</h2>GOALGilles VillemureEd GiacominDEFENSENick BeverleyGilles MarotteBrad Park CJohn Bednarski*Ron Greschner*Dale RolfeCENTERJean RatelleDerek SandersonPete StemkowskiAWalt Tkaczuk AR. WINGBill FairbairnRod Gilbert AJerry Holland*Jerry ButlerL. WINGTed IrvineSteve VickersGreg PolisBert Wilson *INJUREDRon HarrisBobby RousseauRick Middleton*<h2>TORONTO</h2>GOALDoug FavellDune WilsonDEFENSEBrian GlennieBob NeelyBorje SalmingDave DunnRod SeilingClaire Alexander*CENTERDave Keon CDarryl SittierNorm Ullman AGeorge FergusonR. WINGRon Ellis ABlaine StoughtonLanny McDonaldGary SabourinL. WINGInge HammarstnDave Williams*Errol ThompsonBill FlettINJUREDIan TurnbullJim McKenny<h2>VANCOUVER</h2>GOALGary SmithKen Lockett*DEFENSEBob DaileyDennis KearnsTracy PrattAb DeMarcoJohn GrisdaleHarold Snepsts *Mike Robitaille ACENTERAndre BoudriasBobby LalondeGerry MeehanR. WINGGregg BoddyLeon RochefortJerry O&rsquo;FlahertyL. WINGJohn GouldDon LeverGarry MonahanRon SedlbauerINJUREDDennis VervergaertChris Oddleifson APaulin Bordeleau<h2>KANSAS CITY</h2>GOALDenis HerronPeter McDuffe*DEFENSEBrent Hughes AJim McElmury*Claude Houde*Ken MurrayJean-Guy Lagac6CENTEREddie Gilbert*Richard LemieuxLynn PowisGuy CharronDave HudsonR. WINGSimon Nolet CWilf Paiement*Randy Rota AL. WINGRobin Burns*Gary CroteauNorm Dube*INJUREDMike Baumgartner<h2>ATLANTA</h2>GOALDan BouchardPhil MyreDEFENSEBarry GibbsJean LemieuxEd Kea*Pat Quinn ANoel Price ABob Murray*Randy ManeryCENTERCurt BennettRey ComeauBryan HextaliTom LysiakBob Leiter AR. WINGHilliard GravesBuster HarveyTim EcclestoneL. WINGJacques RichardKeith McCrearv CLarry RomanchychEric VailINJUREDNone.<h2>CALIFORNIA</h2>GOALGilles MelocheGary Simmons*DEFENSELen Frig ARick Hampton*Jim NeilsonBob StewartGeorge Pesut*CENTERLarry Patey*Stan WeirDave GardnerRon Huston*R. WINGAl MacAdam*Morris MottWarren WilliamsFrank Spring *L. WINGJoey Johnston CJohn StewartDave Hrechkosy*Brian LavenderINJUREDMike Christie*Wayne King*<h2>CHICAGO</h2>GOALTony EspositoMike Veisor*DEFENSEDoug Jarrett ADick RedmondPhil RussellKeith MagnusonCENTERIvan BoldirevStan Mikita ARob Palmer*Pit MartinR. WINGJim PappinAlain Daigle*Cliff KorollGrant Mulvey*J.P. BordeleauL. WINGDennis HullDarcy RotaJohn MarksGermain GagnonINJUREDDale TallonBill White A<h2>LOS ANGELES</h2>GOALRogatien VachonGary EdwardsDEFENSELarry BrownTerry Harper CDave Hutchison*S. KannegeisserNeil KomadoskiBob MurdochCENTERGene CarrButch GoringJuha Widing AR. WINGMike CorriganDon KozakMike MurphyBob NevinFrank St. MarseilleL. WINGBob BerryDan Maloney ATom WilliamsINJUREDNone<h2>MINNESOTA</h2>GOALCesare ManiagoPeter LoPresti *DEFENSEDwight Bialowas*Doug Hicks *Dennis O&rsquo;BrienTom ReidChris Ahrens*Fred BarrettCENTERCraig CameronDennis Hextail AMurrav OliverFred StanfieldDoug RomboughR. WINGDean Talafous *John Flesch*Alain Langlais *L. WINGDon Martineau*Blake Dunlop*Ernie HickeINJUREDHenry BouchaFern RivardBill Goldsworthy CLou Nann<h2>PHILAOELPHIA</h2>GOALWayne StephensonBernie ParentBob TaylorDEFENSEAndre DupontTed HarrisEd Van ImpeTom BladonJimmy WatsonJoe WatsonCENTERRick MacLeishBill ClementTerry Crisp AOrest KindrachukBobby Clarke CR. WINGGary Dornhoefer AReg LeachDon SaleskiL. WINGBill BarberDave SchultzBob KellyRoss LonsberryINJUREDNone.<h2>PITTSBURGH</h2>GOALGary Inness*Michel PlasseDEFENSEDave Burrows AColin Campbell*Bob ParadiseDennis Owchar*Ron StackhouseBarry WilkinsCENTERSyl Apps ARon Schock CPierre Larouche*Bob McManama*R. WINGChuck ArnasonRick KehoeLew MorrisonJean PronovostL. WINGVic HadfieldNelson Debeneaet*Kelly Pratt*Lowell MacDonaldBob KellyINJUREDSteve Durbano<h2>ST. LOUIS</h2>GOALJohn DavidsonEddie JohnstonDEFENSEBob Gassoff*Bob Hess*Barclay Plager CBob Plager ALarry Sacharuk*Chris EvansBruce Affleck *CENTERChuck LefleyGarry Unger ADoug Palazzari*Ken Richardson *Red BerensonR. WINGBill Collins APierre PlanteClaude LaroseL. WINGAce BaileyStan GilbertsonFloyd ThomsonWayne MerrickCraig PatrickINJUREDNone<h2>WASHINGTON</h2>GOALJohn AdamsRon LowDEFENSEYvon LabreBill Mikkelson ADoug Mohns CMurray AndersonGord Smith*CENTERMike Bloom*Pete LaframboiseTommy Williams ADave KryskowRon LalondeR. WINGSteve AtkinsonGordie BrooksMike Marson*L. WINGBruce Cowick*Denis DuperePaul Nicholson*Bill LesukINJUREDMichel BelhumeurJack Egers AGreg Joly*Willie BrossartJim Hrycuik* &#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 CanadaINDIANAPOLIS &mdash;Respectability, that&rsquo;s what new president and general manager Jim Browitt wants from his Racers before the season is over. &ldquo;We want to start to gain resnectabilitv immediately.&rdquo; declared Browitt, who resigned earlier in the season as the World Hockey Association&rsquo;s administrator to move here.Browitt. 52, began by reconstructing the porous Indianapolis defense by obtaining Dick Proceviat from the Chicago Cougars and Bob Woytowich from the Winnipeg Jets. Then he completed his new defensive alignment by swapping rearguard Jim Hargreaves to the San Diego Mariners for Ken Block. &ldquo;Block will give us lockerroom leadership,&rdquo; declared Browitt. &ldquo;Now we&rsquo;ve got to start to do a little something to get us scoring.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-01209/3164841-1-eng-US/f0024-012.jpg" title="f0024-01" width="284" height="450"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jim Browitt</figcaption></div>And scoring the Racers haven&rsquo;t been doing this season. In their first 41 games of the season, the expansionists have deposited only 92 pucks behind enemy gealtenders.But Bullet Bobby Whitlock, owner of one of the hardest shots in all of hockey, has 20 of the lamplighters. Which means the other 71 are distributed among 20 others. Which also means production is too low all the way around.With this in mind, Browitt is trying hard to land Ron Buchanan from the Edmonton Oilers. The tall, thin center iceman refuses to play for the Oilers, preferring instead to play his hockey in the United States.&ldquo;I&rsquo;d love to have Bucky very much, but Bill Hunter (the Edmonton GM) wants too much,&rdquo; Browitt said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s having trouble on defense with injuries, so we loaned him Murray Kennett just trying to be nice. Maybe we&rsquo;re too nice.&rdquo;Browitt honestly believes his club &ldquo;still has a fighting chance&rdquo; to gain a playoff spot this season. &ldquo;Cleveland and Chicago are having their problems and we&rsquo;re through ours,&rdquo; he said optimistically.&ldquo;The playoffs are not out of reach. If we think we can&rsquo;t make them, then we won&rsquo;t. If we think we can, then we have a very good chance. The attitude of our club has changed over the last three weeks,&rdquo; he continued.&ldquo;They are coming so close to winning, but can&rsquo;t quite cut it. That&rsquo;s where the mental conditioning comes in. If they think they can do it, then they have a better chance of doing it.&rdquo; Browitt went on.&ldquo;But we really have our eye on next year and the year after. This is an exciting place with a fantastic building and a great community. The potential here is terrific,&rdquo; assessed Browitt of his new home.Regarding the status of coach Gerry Moore, who has had more than his share of misfortune, Browitt said, &ldquo;We made a commitment to him when we took over the team that he had to prove his mettle. As far as I know, he will be here at the end of the season.&rdquo;Then he quickly added, &ldquo;Unless some problems develop in the meantime.&rdquo;Browitt knows this area fairly well since he lived for many years in Louisville, Ky., which isn&rsquo;t faraway. He was the man who took over the front office chores for the ill-fated New York Raiders in the WHA&rsquo;s inaugural campaign. His handling of the club was credited with saving the franchise that eventually wound up in San Diego by way of Cherry Hill, N.J.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-02153/3164834-1-eng-US/f0024-022.jpg" title="f0024-02" width="548" height="726"><figcaption class="caption-body">JIM HARRISON &hellip; Playing Inspired Hockey</figcaption></div>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s good to get back into the swing of things,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been nonpartisan too long.&rdquo;CLEVELAND: The brouhaha over the John Hanna firing has simmered down and the Crusaders are beginning to play better, more inspired hockey. Particularly center iceman Jim Harrison.Harrison, who came here in the trade that saw Buchanan go to Edmonton. has peeled off most of his excessive baggage around the middle and his sore back has not been giving him much trouble.Harrison&rsquo;s scoring is becoming more consistent and his skating has been devastating. He&rsquo;s also beginning to hit anyone who isn&rsquo;t wearing the Purple, Black and White.New coach Jack Vivian is working with his team to make the plays at the blueline instead of dumping the puck in. &ldquo;We just don&rsquo;t forecheck that well to do that.&rdquo; he said.All three centers-&mdash; Harrison, Richie Leduc and Ron Ward &mdash; are playing well and scoring. Now, Vivian hopes, the wingers will follow suit&hellip; In their first victory for Vivian, a 6-4 triumph over Vancouver, the C&rsquo;s were down to two defensemen at the end with two in the penalty box and another out injured.NEW ENGLAND: As expected, the Whalers played to a standing room only crowd when they opened the Hartford Civic Center on Jan. 11. And, as expected they won, defeating the San Diego Mariners, 4-3, in overtime.But it took a short-handed goal by penalty killer Gary Swain to pull out the victory. Swain stole the puck at the Mariners&rsquo; blueline and drilled the disc home as Thommy Abrahamsson was sitting out a penalty. It was only the third victory in the last 12 games for the struggling Whalers.&ldquo;It wasn&rsquo;t a classic,&rdquo; said New England coach Ron Ryan; &ldquo;but the guys worked hard. They really did, considering all the pressure they have faced. The win was super before a super crowd.&rdquo;Said Swain of his game-winner, &ldquo;That&rsquo;s about the only shot I had left in me. It was awfully hot out there and I was really drained.&rdquo; The game was sent into the extra session by Mike Rouleau, who scored at 14:09 of the final period. &#9632;

f0024-01

New Racers’ President-GM Wants Respectability

(Including Sun. Jan. 19)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-03107/3164872-1-eng-US/f0024-032.jpg" title="f0024-03" width="586" height="406"></div> &#9632;

f0024-03

WHA Leaders

ANDERSHEDBERG Winnipeg JetsWinnipeg Jets have slipped into a last place tie with Vancouver in the Canadian Division but one of the bright spots on the club has been the play of its foreign imports.One of these players, Sweden&rsquo;s Anders Hedberg, counted seven points, five of them goals during the past week.Four of the five tallies came in the Jets 9-4 romp over Cleveland and the single marker in 4-2 home ice loss to Vancouver.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-0483/3164910-1-eng-US/f0024-042.jpg" title="f0024-04" width="532" height="586"></div>ANDRE HINSEHouston AerosVery seldom does a player notch five goals in one week let alone five in one game.Andre Hinse triggered the red light five times in Houston Aeros 9-2 trouncing of Edmonton. He also contributed two assists in 5-4 loss to San Diego for a sevenpoint total.The five goal outburst boosted Hinse&rsquo;s season goal total to 22 as the Aeros sail along a top the Western Division.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-0567/3164903-1-eng-US/f0024-052.jpg" title="f0024-05" width="526" height="546"></div> &#9632;

f0024-04

WHA’s stars of the week

<div class="byline">BY TONY GALLAGHER</div>TORONTO&mdash;The most unbelievable aspect of the fact that Billy Harris is stepping down as coach of the Toronto Toros is that there had been suggestions by some club directors that he be replaced.After all he had done for the franchise last season, when the Toros nearly reached the Avco finals, and then his efforts with Team Canada, it seems hard to believe that any of the John Bassett Jr.helpers would think badly enough of him to suggest he be removed.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-01169/3164948-1-eng-US/f0025-012.jpg" title="f0025-01" width="286" height="408"><figcaption class="caption-body">Billy Harris</figcaption></div>Regardless, Harris, who has coached the Toros for two and one-half seasons, is stepping down because of serious illness in his family. In leaving left winger Bob Leduc as the interim coach. Harris said that he had a meeting with Toros&rsquo; president Bassett and &lsquo;requested two weeks leave of absence to think things over&rdquo; and that the chances of him returning &ldquo;are slim&rdquo;.Harris said that Bassett asked him whom he thought should take over the club and that he had responded in favor of Leduc. who had the respect of all the other players.&ldquo;My wife Sylvia is sick and has to re-enter hospital.&rdquo; said Harris. &ldquo;My six-year-old daughter Patty requires major surgery and then there is the hockey team. I can&rsquo;t handle all three. I can only handle one.&rdquo;Harris had been under some fire for the Toros&rsquo; inability to pull away in the Canadian Division, but the fact remains that they have been in first place for most of the season.&ldquo;I wasn&rsquo;t fired and I didn&rsquo;t quit,&rdquo; said Harris. &ldquo;The players understood that I didn&rsquo;t quit on them. I made the decision for personal seasons.&rdquo; He also denied reports the Bassett had put any pressure on him to step down although he said he had heard of some directors pressuring Bassett to make a coaching change.Toros responded to the Harris move with considerable enthusiasm as they beat the San Diego Mariners 4-3 at home in his last game behind the bench and then went into Houston the following game and knocked off the Aeros 7-4 in the Sam Houston Coliseum.Vaclav Nedomansky got the winner in the San Diego game, his 20th goal in his Canadian career and rookie Jeff Jacques scored four goals as the replacement for Leduc in the game against Houston. Tom Simpson also scored his 30th goal of the season, in the win which moved the Toros to within three points of the high flying Quebec Nordiques.QUEBEC: Nordiques have been going so well lately that coach Jean-Guy Gendron doesn&rsquo;t know who should get the most praise.Nordiques beat Vancouver Blazers 4-3 on Serge Bernier&rsquo;s late goal set up beatifully by Rejean Houle and then they walked into the Edmonton Coliseum and stopped the ailing Oilers 3-1 as Bernier scored his 30th goal of the year.&ldquo;Houle has really been playing well since he got back from his injury about a month ago.&rdquo; Gendron was saying after the Vancouver game. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s been going at full speed. You just have to say that he&rsquo;s a hard working player.&rdquo;But Gendron also had nice things to say about Bernier and Marc Tardif who has been red hot since joining Les Nordiques from the Michigan Stags.Tardif has six goals and seven assists in his last seven games and has been one of the main reasons Les Nordiques have taken over first place by three points in the Division.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-02114/3164941-1-eng-US/f0025-022.jpg" title="f0025-02" width="556" height="602"><figcaption class="caption-body">MARC TARDIF</figcaption></div>&ldquo;We were trying to get Tardif since last summer.&rdquo; said Gendron. &ldquo;And I guess you&rsquo;ve got to give up something to get someone. We were also glad to get Steve Sutherland in that deal because he&rsquo;s very rough and a very strong winger and we needed a player like that.&rdquo;J.C. Tremblay, who has made Quebec&rsquo;s power-play much of what it is, scored his ninth goal of the year in the victory over Edmonton, with Rene Leclerc scoring his ninth as well, the goal that turned out to be the winner.WINNIPEG: Bobby Hull continues his goal-a-game pace for the Jets even though the club is still dangerously close to the Vancouver Blazers, who occupy the divisional cellar. Jets lost a chance to lose the Blazers when they were beaten 5-4 by the Stags in Michigan, then had their home game against Indianapolis Racers cancelled because of the big snow storm that hit the midwest.Jets would have beaten Stags had it not been for the goaltending of Paul Hoganson, who made one save off Hull late in the third period that drew raves from Michigan coach Johnny Wilson.&ldquo;I haven&rsquo;t seen a save like that since the 1954 Stanley Cup playoff when Detroit played against Montreal,&rdquo; said Wilson. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s what kept us in the game.&rdquo;EDMONTON: Oilers brought in Murray Kennett from Indianapolis to shore up their depleted defense and the fine play of Mike Rogers allowed the Oilers to gain a home victory over Minnesota. Jacques Plante returned to the line-up in that game and played very well, as he did in a losing cause against Quebec. Oilers have been having trouble scoring goals and only their goaltending and outstanding team defensive play has kept them in third place in the division.VANCOUVER: Blazers have hit the skids on their most recent six-game road trip. Although undefeated in their last eight home games. Blazers have lost five in a row and were saved for an opportunity for their sixth straight by a snow storm that cancelled their game with the Fighting Saints.The latest loss was a fight-filled 6-4 game with the Cleveland Crusaders which saw Hugh Harris, Mike Pelyk and rookie Rick Jodzio, just called up from Charlotte in the Southern League, all involved in altercations. Blazers won most of the fights but let in too many goals.Danny Lawson scored three goals on the trip including one on a penalty shot against the Whalers. The goal forced overtime late in the third period but the Blazers went on to drop the game when Don Blackburn scored just over a minute into the session.Joe Crozier has been juggling his lines chronically and he even had Mike Pelyk at center for a shift of two to try and solve the club&rsquo;s season-long scoring drought. &#9632;

f0025-01

Harris’ Chances Of Returning Seen Slim; Hot Quebec Nordiques Flying High

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-22/3165304-1-eng-US/f0026-222.jpg" title="f0026-22" width="254" height="282"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-23/3165297-1-eng-US/f0026-232.jpg" title="f0026-23" width="206" height="272"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-24/3165290-1-eng-US/f0026-242.jpg" title="f0026-24" width="240" height="236"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-25/3165283-1-eng-US/f0026-252.jpg" title="f0026-25" width="246" height="254"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-26/3165276-1-eng-US/f0026-262.jpg" title="f0026-26" width="236" height="238"></div>(Standings on Wed. Jan. 22)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-36/3165269-1-eng-US/f0026-362.jpg" title="f0026-36" width="574" height="198"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-37/3165262-1-eng-US/f0026-372.jpg" title="f0026-37" width="584" height="174"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-38/3165255-1-eng-US/f0026-382.jpg" title="f0026-38" width="578" height="200"></div>GAMES COMPLETEDTue. Jan. 14Toronto 4 at San Diego 6; Quebec 6 at Vancouver 2; Phoenix 2 at Chicago 5;i Indianapolis at Michigan (postponed).Wed. Jan. 15Toronto 5 at Phoenix 5; Edmonton 2 at Houston 9; Minnesota 4 at Cleveland 2; Vancouver 4 at Winnipeg 2; Chicago 5 at New England 7.Thu. Jan. 16Cleveland 2 at Indianapolis 4; Edmonton 2 at San Diego 3; Chicago at Michigan (postponed).Fri. Jan. 17Edmonton 7 at Phoenix 1; Toronto 1 at New England 2.Sat. Jan. 18Edmonton 1 at Phoenix 3; Houston 4 atSan Diego 5; New England 2 at Quebec 8: Minnesota 2 at Chicago 3; Michigan 1 at Cleveland 2.Sun. Jan. 19Cleveland 4 at Winnipeg 9; Indianapolis 1 at Vancouver 5; Minnesota 3 at New England 1; Quebec 5 at Chicago 2.GAMES TO COMETue Jan. 21All Star Game at Edmonton.Wed. Jan. 22Vancouver at Minnesota; Chicago at Phoenix; Indianapolis at Winnipg.Thu. Jan. 23Chicago at Indianapolis; Toronto at Michigan; Vancouver at San Diego: Cleveland at Quebec.Fri. Jan. 24Toronto at Minnesota; Houston at Edmonton; New England at Phoenix: Winnipeg at Vancouver.Sat. Jan. 25Chicago at Quebec; Michigan at Cleveland: New England at San Diego.Sun. Jan. 26Michigan at Minnesota; Toronto at Edmonton. Indianapolis at Phoenix; Winnipeg at Vancouver.Mon. Jan. 27Cleveland at New England.Tue. Jan. 28Minnesota at Michigan; Quebec at Toronto; Winnipeg at San Diego; Cleveland at Chicago; Phoenix at Indianapolis: Houston at Edmonton.Wed. Jan. 29Phoenix at Cleveland: Michigan at New England.Thu. Jan. 30Winnipeg at Phoenix; Toronto at Indianapolis; Quebec at Chicago.Fri. Jan. 31Houston at Minnesota; Cleveland at Edmonton; Vancouver at Toronto; Michigan at New England.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-27/3165248-1-eng-US/f0026-272.jpg" title="f0026-27" width="316" height="230"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-28/3165241-1-eng-US/f0026-282.jpg" title="f0026-28" width="248" height="250"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-29/3165234-1-eng-US/f0026-292.jpg" title="f0026-29" width="256" height="244"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-30/3165227-1-eng-US/f0026-302.jpg" title="f0026-30" width="214" height="212"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-31/3165220-1-eng-US/f0026-312.jpg" title="f0026-31" width="276" height="200"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-32/3165213-1-eng-US/f0026-322.jpg" title="f0026-32" width="202" height="250"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-33/3165206-1-eng-US/f0026-332.jpg" title="f0026-33" width="298" height="238"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-34/3165199-1-eng-US/f0026-342.jpg" title="f0026-34" width="300" height="304"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-35/3165192-1-eng-US/f0026-352.jpg" title="f0026-35" width="240" height="238"></div> &#9632;

f0026-22

WHA Scoreboard

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-01176/3165154-1-eng-US/f0026-012.jpg" title="f0026-01" width="592" height="500"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-39/3165161-1-eng-US/f0026-392.jpg" title="f0026-39" width="144" height="198"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><h2>Sun. Jan. 12</h2>QUEBEC 3, EDMONTON 1TORONTO 7, HOUSTON 4<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-02128/3165147-1-eng-US/f0026-022.jpg" title="f0026-02" width="602" height="670"></div>PHOENIX 2, CLEVELAND 4<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-03101/3165140-1-eng-US/f0026-032.jpg" title="f0026-03" width="598" height="612"></div><h2>Tue. Jan. 14</h2>PHOENIX 2, CHICAGO 5<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-0476/3165133-1-eng-US/f0026-042.jpg" title="f0026-04" width="592" height="518"></div>TORONTO 4 SAN DIEGO 6<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-0562/3165126-1-eng-US/f0026-052.jpg" title="f0026-05" width="592" height="638"></div>QUEBEC 6, VANCOUVER 2<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-0647/3165119-1-eng-US/f0026-062.jpg" title="f0026-06" width="582" height="274"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-0737/3165112-1-eng-US/f0026-072.jpg" title="f0026-07" width="588" height="234"></div><h2>Wed. Jan. 15</h2>TORONTOS PHOENIX 5<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-0829/3165105-1-eng-US/f0026-082.jpg" title="f0026-08" width="588" height="632"></div>EDMONTON 2, HOUSTON 9<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-0924/3165098-1-eng-US/f0026-092.jpg" title="f0026-09" width="588" height="628"></div>MINNESOTA 4 CLEVELAND 2<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-1021/3165091-1-eng-US/f0026-102.jpg" title="f0026-10" width="590" height="580"></div>VANCOUVER 4, WINNIPEG 2<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-1119/3165084-1-eng-US/f0026-112.jpg" title="f0026-11" width="584" height="574"></div>CHICAGO 5, NEW ENGLAND 7<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-1214/3165077-1-eng-US/f0026-122.jpg" title="f0026-12" width="584" height="316"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-1314/3165070-1-eng-US/f0026-132.jpg" title="f0026-13" width="592" height="350"></div><h2>Thu. Jan. 16</h2>CLEVELAND 3, INDIANAPOLIS 4<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-1410/3165063-1-eng-US/f0026-142.jpg" title="f0026-14" width="586" height="576"></div>EDMONTON 2, SAN DIEGO 3<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-158/3165056-1-eng-US/f0026-152.jpg" title="f0026-15" width="580" height="496"></div><h2>Fri. Jan. 17</h2>EDMONTON 7, PHOENIX 1<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-165/3165049-1-eng-US/f0026-162.jpg" title="f0026-16" width="590" height="582"></div>TORONTO 1, NEW ENGLAND 2<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-174/3165042-1-eng-US/f0026-172.jpg" title="f0026-17" width="582" height="436"></div><h2>Sat. Jan. 18</h2>EDMONTON 1. PHOENIX 3<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-184/3165035-1-eng-US/f0026-182.jpg" title="f0026-18" width="588" height="460"></div>HOUSTON 4, SAN DIEGO 5<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-194/3165028-1-eng-US/f0026-192.jpg" title="f0026-19" width="588" height="580"></div>NEW ENGLAND 2, QUEBEC 8<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-202/3165021-1-eng-US/f0026-202.jpg" title="f0026-20" width="584" height="606"></div>MINNESOTA 2, CHICAGO 3<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-212/3165014-1-eng-US/f0026-212.jpg" title="f0026-21" width="586" height="434"></div>MICHIGAN 1, CLEVELAND 2<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-01160/3165007-1-eng-US/f0027-012.jpg" title="f0027-01" width="585" height="521"></div><h2>Sun. Jan. 19</h2>CLEVELAND 4. WINNIPEG 9<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-02123/3165000-1-eng-US/f0027-022.jpg" title="f0027-02" width="578" height="664"></div>MINNESOTA 3, NEW ENGLAND 1<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-0394/3164993-1-eng-US/f0027-032.jpg" title="f0027-03" width="582" height="500"></div>INDIANAPOLIS 1. VANCOUVER 5<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-0487/3164986-1-eng-US/f0027-042.jpg" title="f0027-04" width="580" height="514"></div>QUEBEC 5, CHICAGO 2<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-0573/3164979-1-eng-US/f0027-052.jpg" title="f0027-05" width="582" height="556"></div> &#9632;

f0026-01

World Hockey Association Summaries

<div class="byline">BY DOUG McCONNELL</div>HOUSTON&mdash;The Houston Aeros&rsquo; seven-game winning streak was broken right at home and it was a rookie, playing in his first World Hockey Association game, who was mostly responsible.Jeff Jacques scored three of his four goals in the final period in a 7-4 victory by the Toronto Toros.The Aeros, who took a 6-4 victory the night before over the Phoenix Roadrunners, still lead the WHA West by nine points over the Roadrunners.The Aeros are 26-8 in their last 34 games and goaltender Ron Grahame has his personal streak alive, a WHA record tying 10 consecutive games.Grahame&rsquo;s 10th victory in the string came against the Roadrunners, but not against Phoenix goaltender Gary Kurt who set the record two weeks earlier.Meanwhile, Aero coach Bill Dineen, who will coach the West team in the All-Star game, named Houston captain Ted Taylor and Vancouver&rsquo;s Danny Lawson as his two additional selections.Taylor&rsquo;s addition to the team means 12 members of the Aero organization will participate in the mid-season classic.MINNESOTA: Everybody, including Mother Nature, is ganging up on the Minnesota Fighting Saints.The Saints have lost only three of their last 12 games but can&rsquo;t gain any ground on the Houston Aeros. World Hockey Association Western Division leaders, and the Phoenix Roadrunners, the second place club.The Aeros and Roadrunners have been on hot streak of their own.Then, on a night when the Aeros and the Roadrunners were both losing &mdash; Phoenix to Cleveland and Houston to Toronto &mdash; the Saints saw a game postponed because of a snowfall.PHOENIX: The Phoenix Roadrunners came home home from a six-game road trip in which they won eight of a possible 12 points (3-1-2), collected a point in a 1-1 tie with the New England Whalers and hit the road again, but not with as much success.The loss at Cleveland was only the second dealt Phoenix goaltender Gary Kurt in 17 games. He had won 13 and tied two.SAN DIEGO: The San Diego Mariners seemed to have broken the jinx held over them by the New England Whalers as Andre Lacroix scored a goal and two assists in a 5-3 victory in San Diego.Later the same week, however, and in the Whalers&rsquo; first game in their new home, the Hartford Civic Center, the New England team did it again.Garry Swain gave the Whalers a 4-3 victory with an unassisted goal. &#9632;

Toro Rookie Scuttles Aeros’ Win Streak In One-Man Show

<h2>CLEVELAND</h2>GOALGerry CheeversBob WhiddenDEFENSERay ClearwaterTom EdurLarry HillmanWayne MuloinWayne HillmanVANCOUVERCENTERJim HarrisonRich LeducRon WardJohn Stewart*R. WINGTerry Holbrook *Skip KrakeAl McDonoughRon AndersonRuss WalkerL. WINGSteve CardwellGrant EricksonGarry JarrettGerry PinderINJUREDPaul Shmyr<h2>CHICAGO</h2>GOALDave DrydenCam NewtonDEFENSEBryon Baltimore *Darryl MaggsLarry MavetyPat StapletonDune MacCallumCENTERRalph BackstromPete Mara*Gary MacGregor*Rod ZaineLou AngottiR. WINGMark Lomenda *Duke HarrisRosaire PaiementDon GordonL. WINGBob LiddingtonRick MorrisJan PopielFrankie RochonINJUREDNone.<h2>EDMONTON</h2>GOALKen BrownChris WorthyJacques PlanteDEFENSEDoug BarrieRay McKayMurray Kennett *Barry LongJim McCrimmonSteve CarlyleCENTEREddie JoyalRoss PerkinsMike Rogers *Bobby SheehanR. WINGBlair MacDonaldBruce MacGregorRusty PatenaudeBilly LaingL. WINGRon ClimieTom GilmoreDon HerrimanKen BairdINJUREDAl Hamilton<h2>HOUSTON</h2>GOALWayne RutledgeRon GrahameDEFENSELarry HaleMarty HoweGlen Irwin*Poul PopielJohn SchellaCENTERGord LabossiereLarry LundTerry RuskowskiJim SherritR. WINGMurray HallGordie HoweFrank HughesDon Larway*L. WINGAndre HinseMark HoweTed TaylorBill Preston *INJUREDNone<h2>INDIANAPOLIS</h2>GOALAndy BrownEd DyckDEFENSEDick ProceviatRoger CoteBob WoytowichKen BlockKen DesjardineBob AshBilly HortonCENTERBob FitchnerBob SicinskiBob WhitlockJacques LocasJohn Sheridan*R. WINGRich PumpleNick HarbarukBrian McDonaldL. WINGJim WisteKerry Bond *Joe HardvJim JohnsonINJUREDNone.<h2>MICHIGAN</h2>GOALGerry DesjardinsPaul HogansonJim McLeodDEFENSEPaul CurtisLarry JohnstonJohn MiszukArnie BrownRandy Legge*Jerry ZrymiakCENTERJ.P. LeblancSteve West *Reg nomasR. WINGTom ServissGary BredinSteve AndrascikAlain CaronL. WINGSteve Richardson*Gary VeneruzzoCraig ReichmuthBilly Evo *INJUREDPierre GuiteDanny Gruen*<h2>MINNESOTA</h2>GOALMike CurranJohn GarrettJack McCartanDEFENSEJohn ArbourTerry BallRon BusniukPat Westrum *Rick SmithMike McMahonCENTERTed HampsonDanny O&rsquo;SheaFran HuckMike AntonovichGary GambucciR. WINGMike WaltonWayne ConnellyKevin O&rsquo;SheaJoe RobertsonL. WINGMurray HeatleyGeorge MorrisonDon TannahillGord GallantINJUREDNone<h2>NEW ENGLAND</h2>GOALAl SmithC. AbrahamssonBill Berglund*DEFENSET. AbrahamssonPaul HurleyBrad SeiwoodTed GreenAlan Hangsleben*CENTERLarry PleauGary SwainBob CharleboisR. WINGMike ByersFred O&rsquo;DonnellTim SheehyTom EarlTom WebsterL. WINGWayne CarletonDon BlackburnJohn FrenchNick FotiuINJUREDRick LeyAl KarlanderTerry Caffery<h2>PHOENIX</h2>GOALGarry KurtJack NorrisDEFENSEAl MacLeod *Wendell BennettGerry OdrowskiMike StevensJim NiekampJohn HughesCENTERJim BoydMurray KeoganDennis SobchukRobbie Ftorek*R. WINGGene Sobchuk*Cam ConnorJohn GrayBob MowatL. WINGMichel CormierDon BorgesonJohn MigneaultPete McNamee*Bob BarlowINJUREDNone.<h2>QUEBEC</h2>GOALSerge AubryRichard BrodeurDEFENSEDale HogansonRic JordanPierre RoyJ.C. TremblayFrancois LacombeJean Bernier *CENTERSerge BernierAndre GaudetteJeannot GilbertMichel ParizeauChris BordeleauR. WINGRene LeclercReal CloutierRejean HouleJean GarneauL. WINGBobby GuindonMarc TardifSteve SutherlandINJUREDNone.<h2>SAN DIEGO</h2>GOALRuss GillowErnie WakelyDEFENSERon PlumbJim HargreavesHarry HowellBob FalkenbergKevin MorrisonAndre LacroixRay AdduonoBrian MorenzMike LaughtonMike RouleauCENTERR. WINGRick SentesWayne RiversTed SCharfNorm FergusonL. WINGBrian BradleyGene PeacoshTom TrevelyanINJUREDBob WaLL<h2>TORONTO</h2>GOALGilles GrattonLes BinkleyJim Shaw.DEFENSEMike AmodeoRick CunninghamSteve CuddieJim TurkiewiczGeorge KuzmiczBrian GibbonsJim DoreyCENTERRichard FardaGavin KirkVaclav NedomanskyWayne DillonR. WINGTony FeatherstoneTom MartinTom SimpsonL. WINGPaul HendersonFrank MahovlichPat HickeyGordie Titcomb*INJUREDBrit SelbyBob Leduc<h2>VANCOUVER</h2>GOALDon McLeodWayne Wood*DEFENSEJim CardiffDon McCullochMike PelykPat PriceDuane RuppPaul TerbencheCENTERBryan CampbellRon ChipperfieldClaude St. SauveurRob WaltonR. WINGDanny LawsonJohn McKenzieJimmy Jones *Murray Myers*Rick JodzioL. WINGLarry Israelson*Butch DeadmarshJohn ShmyrHugh HarrisINJUREDPete Donnelly<h2>WINNIPEG</h2>GOALJoe DaleyCurt Larsson *DEFENSELarry HornungDuke AsmundsonHeikki Riihiranta *Lars-Erik Sjoberg*Thommie BergmanPerry MillerAlain BeauleCENTERDanny SpringVeli Ketola *Ulf Nilsson *R. WINGNorm BeaudinMilt BlackJean-Guy GrattonRon SnellAnders HedbergHowie YoungL. WINGMike FordRon AshtonBobby HullDanny JohnsonINJUREDNone. &#9632;

WHA TEAM ROSTERS

<div class="byline">BY HANS TANNER</div>LOUISVILLE SLUGGERHOCKEY STICKSMade in Canada by HILLERICH & BRADSBY LTD Arnold Street. Wallaceburg. Ontario Sold in U.S. and CanadaLOUISVILLE SLUGGERHOCKEY STICKSMade in Canada by HILLERICH & BRADSBY. LTD Arnold Street. Wallaceburg. Ontario Sold in U.S. and CanadaNEW HAVEN &mdash;Scott MacPhail has been what you&rsquo;d have to call an overlooked hockey player.He started the 1973-74 season with Portland of the Western Leaeue and after getting to play only one game in three weeks, was sent to New Haven. &ldquo;Nobody here knew I was coming,&rdquo; he recalls. &ldquo;I sat in the stands a couple of weeks while they decided what to do with me. We had five right wings on the Nighthawks when I came back.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-01118/3165547-1-eng-US/f0029-012.jpg" title="f0029-01" width="255" height="391"><figcaption class="caption-body">Glen Seperich</figcaption></div>Admittedly, MacPhail&rsquo;s statistics might be easy to overlook. With Cleveland in his first year as a pro (1972-73), the 5&rsquo;10&rdquo;, 175-pound right wing had 10 goals and 14 assists in 74 games. Then came last season&rsquo;s three-week stay in Portland for one game and his return to New Haven. Again he finished with 10 goals and 14 assists for the regular season.The Newfoundland-born but much travelled MacPhail, must have been noticed by somebody in the Minnesota organization, however, because at a time when a lot of players have been dropped, MacPhail still is employed. And he&rsquo;s doing quite well. As the AHL campaign hit the halfway point, he already had matched his previous high of 10 goals and had contributed 10 assists to the Nighthawk attack.MacPhail played his Junior years with the Montreal Junior Canadiens, sandwiching a year at the University of New Hampshire between them.With Cleveland, MacPhail found himself one of four right wings and he was assigned penalty-killing chores most of the time. When he returned from Portland last season, he became New Haven&rsquo;s fifth right wing, but he eventually got his chance when Terry Holbrook went up to the parent North Stars and Denis Desrosiers was sent back to Saginaw of the International League.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s hard to get a good contract unless you&rsquo;re a goal scorer, and I&rsquo;ve been used mostly as a defensive player until this year,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m on a two-year contract and I&rsquo;ll just play it by ear after next season if nothing comes up before then.&rdquo;New Haven coach Dean Prentice feels that MacPhail is one of those players who take longer to adjust from Junior to the pros.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a steady hockey player and while he&rsquo;s not spectacular, he gets the job done,&rdquo; says Prentice. &ldquo;He can be an effective hockey player if he puts his mind to it. He has to keep being aggressive.&rdquo;PROVIDENCE: The Reds&rsquo; January thaw continued for a bit with four defeats in their first five games of 1975. Coach John Muckier&rsquo;s skaters were soundly beaten 7-2 in Rochester but finally turned things around the following night at home against the Amerks with a 7-5 triumph.It was an important victory for Providence because it regained an eight-point lead over Rochester in the Northern Division. And it was the Amerks&rsquo; first of five visits to Providence while the Reds have made four of their five trips to Rochester.Goalie Glen Seperich, who was yanked after giving up six goals in two periods in Rochester, then allowed five in the victory the following night, helped his average Jan. 12 with a 3-0 shutout of Baltimore in Providence. It was Seperich&rsquo;s first AHL shutout. He made 25 saves.NOVA SCOTIA: The Voyageurs were off to a fine start in 1975 with four victories and two ties despite the fact that half their first six games were played on the road.Goalie Ed Walsh is continuing to do a spectacular job in the nets. The rookie from Boston University hasn&rsquo;t even had a backup man available except for one game since Dave Elenbaas was injured back on Dec. 9.His teammates haven&rsquo;t always been throwing up a shield in front of him to make his job any easier, either. After facing only 20 shots in a 3-2 triumph over Baltimore. Walsh faced a 50-shot barrage in a 5-5 overtime tie in Hershey, then had 41 more shots come at him the following night in a 2-2 overtime tie in Rochester.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-0293/3165540-1-eng-US/f0029-022.jpg" title="f0029-02" width="564" height="777"><figcaption class="caption-body">SCOTT MacPHAIL&hellip; Moved About</figcaption></div>ROCHESTER: The Amerks appeared to be surging toward the top in the Northern Division when they outshot leading Providence 27-9 over the first two periods on the way to a 7-2 rout at home. Rochester had two goals on the board before the Reds had a shot on goal.Rookie defenseman Mike Milbury, who played for Colgate University last season, started Rochester off with his first goal as a pro. Steve Stirling, getting a chance to play regularly because of an elbow injury to veteran Billy Knibbs, scored twice. &#9632;

f0029-01

Overlooked In Hockey’s Shuffle System, MacPhail Finally Makes It With Hawks

<div class="byline">BY JERRY LINDQUIST</div>SYRACUSE&mdash;The Syracuse Eagles fired Art Stratton as coach, and last year&rsquo;s American Hockey League MVP immediately indicated he would like to return to active status as a player.Stratton said he I hoped word would I circulate that he was available, that he planned to play &ldquo;if anyone is into rested in me. It should take roughly two and a half weeks to get into game condition. Maybe not that long. I&rsquo;vebeen working out every day tor the past couple of months.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-01142/3165578-1-eng-US/f0030-012.jpg" title="f0030-01" width="281" height="444"><figcaption class="caption-body">Mike Jakubo</figcaption></div>Last year Stratton, veteran center from Winnipeg, registered 24 goals and 71 assists to rank third in AHL scoring while leading the Rochester Americans to first place in the Northern Division. The previous season, Stratton had 30 goals and 50 assists for the Virginia Red Wings. When Don Cherry left Rochester to become coach of the Boston Bruins, Stratton was considered most likely to replace him behind the Amerks&rsquo; bench. When that didn&rsquo;t work out. he signed a one-year pact as nonplaying coach of the Eagles, the AHL&rsquo;s newest team.It was an entry starting virtually from scratch. Bill Charles and friends having purchased the Jacksonville franchise (sans players) from Nick Mileti and moving it to upstate New York, and from the outset there were problems.Syracuse didn&rsquo;t have a win to show for its first nine games. Twice Charles, president and general manager, went into the dressing room to meet with the players and attempt to stir them to greater things. On a couple of occasions he was openly critical of Stratton.Finally, the axe fell, curiously enough after the last-place Eagles (823-5) won two of their last four games and led, 3-0. before bowing &mdash; to Richmond &mdash; in another.Apparently Charles and fellow stockholders decided to remove Stratton at a meeting Jan. 7, but he wasn&rsquo;t given the word until after practice two days later. He was summoned to the office and handed a letter explaining why the action was being taken.A few days later Charles explained why Stratton was let go. insisting at the same time that he was not soley responsible for the decision. &ldquo;The Board of Directors removed Art. I didn&rsquo;t do it personally.&rdquo; Charles said.Charles listed &ldquo;lack of positive attitude&rdquo; and &ldquo;various dissensions on the club itself&rsquo; as being foremost among them.There were reports &mdash; off and on &mdash; of conflict between Stratton and Charles. &ldquo;He told me I was not to go into the dressing room without his permission,&rdquo; Charles continued. &ldquo;He told me to stay away, to enjoy myself with the other owners, but my partners wanted me closer to the situation.&rdquo;Stratton said. &ldquo;The whole trouble started with a verbal agreement &mdash; and he (Charles) can deny it of course &mdash; that no player be signed unless I gave the okay. I wouldn&rsquo;t have signed unless I had that agreement. Wish now I had put it in writing.&rdquo;Veteran Cal Swenson was named interim player-coach, with defenseman Billy Orr his assistant.Rochester still holds Sratton&rsquo;s playing rights, but Americans&rsquo; coach Dick Mattiussi was quoted as saying he wouldn&rsquo;t stand in the way of Stratton signing on with any team. The Americans indicated they might be interested in him themselves.RICHMOND: Robins built overtime record to 3-0-1 when Andre Peloffy beat Hershey goaltender Tim Regan 51 seconds into sudden death. Final score was 2-1&hellip; Whashington Capitals recalled goaltender John Adams as emergency remplacement for Michel Belhumeur (torn back muscle). Robins replaced Adams with rookie Bernie Wolfe, on loan to Maine of the North America League. He stayed three games then returned, with Garth Malarchuk brought in from Kalamazoo (International)&hellip; Caps own both Wolfe and Malarchuk&hellip; Randy Osburn sent to Philadelphia (North American) Firebirds. with rookie winger Steve Short recalled from same club&hellip;Peloffy scored in nine straight games (10 goals, eight assists). &hellip;.VIRGINIA: Red Wings retained division lead by two points, splitting riotous weekend with Richmond&hellip; Game in Norfolk attracted 6,973 which saw home team survive physical beating to register 5-2 decision&hellip; Late second-period bench clearing brawl resulted in eight players &mdash; five Robins &mdash; ejected from game&hellip; Former Richmond captain Rene Drolet set pace with two goals but Wings lost leading goal scorer Mike Jakubo upwards of two weeks because of knee injury&hellip; Next night in Richmond. Robins romped, 7-1.HERSHEY: Bears failed to take advantage of several games in hand over division leaders, dropping eight of 11, tying only one&hellip; At mid-point of schedule the defending Calder Cup champions were 13-20-5. This time a season ago they were 21-10-7&hellip; Morris Titanic expected to remain longer with Buffalo Sabres than originally intended because Gil Perreault out six weeks.BALTIMORE: Attendance continued to drop (average under 3,000) as Clippers lost five straight&hellip; Marc Dufour suffered injury to achilles tendon and went home to Quebec. He wasn&rsquo;t expected back for six weeks, possibly lost for season&hellip; Loss of Ken Murray to Kansas City and injuries to Kent Douglas forced coach Jimmy Morrison to shift forward Hugh Harvey back to defense&hellip; After 40 games last year, the Clippers &mdash; en route to Southern Division regular-season title &mdash; had 140 points from among veterans Bob Rivard, Howie Menard arid Dufour. At same time this year they had accounted for 58. &#9632;

f0030-01

Eagles Hunt For New Bench Boss After AHL Veteran Stratton Fired

<h2>LEADING SCORERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-0296/3165609-1-eng-US/f0030-022.jpg" title="f0030-02" width="576" height="629"></div> &#9632;

f0030-02

AHL Leaders

<div class="byline">BY HANS TANNER</div>SPRINGFIELD&mdash;The Springfield Kings will finish the American Hockey League season&hellip;if.At least that was the agreement hammered out between Eddie Shore and the Los Angeles Kings. Under the terms, the Kings will leave their players in Springfield for the rest of this season and will pay the players, while Shore will be responsible for the rest of the operating expenses.Los Angeles owner Jack Kent Cooke had threatened to pull all his players &mdash; which would have been 15 of the 19 &mdash; because of mounting financial losses.The &ldquo;if&rdquo; attached to the promise that Springfield will complete the schedule refers to the attendance. Shore said he would pick up the day-to-day expenses if the crowd turnouts show that Springfield want hockey to remain.On the ice, meanwhile, at the same time L.A. was talking about pullingout, it sent forward Vic Venasky down for a two-week conditioning stint.Springfield piled up its third 10-goal game of the season Jan. 10 in a 10-2 rout of Baltimore. That followed 10-goal outbursts against Syracuse Oct. 11 and New Haven Nov. 16. The Kings outshot the Clippers 46-19 and the 10-2 romp followed a 7-0 rout the last time Baltimore visited here.The easy victory ended a six-game winless streak for coach Ron Stewart&rsquo;s skaters, but the following night they went down to a 6-4 defeat in New Haven to see their margin over the lastplace Nighthawks dwindle to four points.But they returned the difference to six points the following night with a 4-0 triumph over the Nighthawks here as only 1.610 spectators showed up.New Haven goalie Sam Clegg, who earlier had made 49 and 48 saves in Nighthawk victories, wasn&rsquo;t as fortunate this time, although he was almost as busy. Clegg made 44 stops but his teammates couldn&rsquo;t get any of their 20 tries past Rick Charron, who posted his second shutout of the season.Tom Cassidy and Bob Poffenroth were the offense leaders for the Kings over the three-game weekend. Cassidy had three goals and four assists and Poffenroth three goals and three assists. &#9632;

L.A., Springfield Settle Differences — Kings To Stay

(Standings on Wed. Jan. 22)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-01125/3165692-1-eng-US/f0031-012.jpg" title="f0031-01" width="588" height="436"></div>GAMES COMPLETEDTue. Jan. 14Baltimore 3 at Virginia 6Wed. Jan. 15Syracuse 4 at Baltimore 4; Virginia 1 at Hershey 3: Providence 2 at New Haven 3.Thu. Jan. 16Rochester 2 at Nova Scotia 3: Syracuse 6 at Richmond 4.Fri. Jan. 17Hershey 5 at Baltimore 3: Nova Scotia 1 at Providence 4: New Haven 1 at Rochester 13: Richmond 4 at Springfield 6: Syracuse 4 at Virginia 4.Sat. Jan. 18Baltimore 5 at Hershey 4. Providence 6 atSpringfield 6.Sun. Jan. 19Springfield 2 at New Haven 6; Syracuse 1 at Nova Scotia 7: Richmond 3 at Providence 4: Baltimore 2 at Rochester 5: Hershey at Virginia(postponed).GAMES TO COMEWed. Jan. 22New Haven at Baltimore; Richmond at Hershey; Rochester at Nova ScotiaThu. Jan. 23New Haven at RichmondFri. Jan. 24Hershey at Syracuse; Rochester at Springfield; Virginia at Baltimore; Nova Scotia at Providence.Sat. Jan. 25Rochester at Baltimore: Syracuse at Hershey. Providence at Richmond; Nova Scotia at Springfield: New Haven at VirginiaSun. Jan. 26Baltimore at New Haven: Springfield at Nova Scotia: Syracuse at Providence; Hershey at Rochester.Tue. Jan. 28Nova Scotia at Baltimore: Rochester at Syracuse.Wed. Jan. 29Nova Scotia at Hershey; Providence at New Haven; Richmond at VirginiaFri. Jan. 31Hershey at Baltimore Providence at Nova Scotia: Richmond at Rochester: New Haven at Springfield; Virginia at Syracuse.Sat. Feb. 1Baltimore at Hershey: Rochester at New Haven: Virginia at Springfield.Sun. Feb. 2Hershey at Baltimore; Virginia at New Haven.Providence at Nova Scotia. Springfield at Rochester: Richmond at Syracuse<h2>INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Tue. Jan. 21)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-0299/3165685-1-eng-US/f0031-022.jpg" title="f0031-02" width="584" height="466"></div>GAMES COMPLETEDTue. Jan. 14Saginaw 5 at Kalamazoo 3Wed. Jan. 15Dayton 3 at Fort Wayne 3; port Huron 3: Port Huron 3 at Toledo 1; Lansing 2 at Muskegon 8: Saginaw 2 at Columbus. 8.Fri. Jan. 17Des Moines 4 at Port Huron 3; Fort Wayne 5 at Dayton 2; Flint 7 at Kalamazoo 4; Muskegon 5 at Columbus 4.Sat. Jan. 18Des Moines 0 at Fort Wayne 2; Columbus 2 at Port Huron 7; Flint 2 at Saginaw 2; Kalamazoo 2 at Toledo 8Sun. Jan. 19Des Moines 4 at Muskegon 4; Fort Wayne 2 at Saginaw 3; Kalamazoo 5 at Flint 1: Port Huron 0 at Dayton 6; Toledo at Columbus 7.GAMES TO COMETue. Jan. 21Flint at Lansing: Muskegon at Toledo: Port Hu ron at Kalamazoo.Wed. Jan. 22Saginaw at Dayton.Fri. Jan. 24Columbus at Des Moines; Saginaw at Muske-gon; Lansing at Flint; Toledo at Dayton; FortWayne at Port Huron<h2>CENTRAL LEAGUE</h2>(Standing on Tue. Jan. 21)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-0383/3165678-1-eng-US/f0031-032.jpg" title="f0031-03" width="586" height="322"></div>GAMES COMPLETEDTue. Jan. 14Seattle 1 at Fort Worth 3;Dallas 7 at Oklahoma City 3;Omaha 4 at Tulsa 3.Wed. Jan. 15Seattle 5 at Dallas 3;Denver 0 at Omaha 2;Tulsa 3 at Salt Lake 6.Thu. Jan. 16Seattle 5 at Fort Worth 5.Fri. Jan. 17Tulsa 2 at Oklahoma City 4;Fort Worth 5 at Salt Lake 10.Sat. Jan. 18Seattle 4 at Dallas 5;Fort Worth 4 at Omaha 6.Sun. Jan. 19Seattle 2 at Oklahoma City 6;Dallas 3 at Omaha 4.GAMES TO COMETue. Jan. 21Tulsa at Salt Lake.Wed. Jan. 22Denver at Dallas.Thu. Jan. 23Seattle at Salt Lake.Fri. Jan. 24Fort Worth at Oklahoma City; Dallas at Tulsa:Seattle at Omaha.Sat. Jan. 25Fort Worth at Dallas; Oklahoma City at Tulsa;Seattle at Omaha; Denver at Salt Lake.Sun. Jan. 26Omaha at Oklahoma City: Salt Lake at Denver<h2>NORTH AMERICAN LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Tue. Jan. 21)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-0467/3165671-1-eng-US/f0031-042.jpg" title="f0031-04" width="584" height="264"></div>GAMES COMPLETEDMon. Jan. 13Long Island 2 at Philadelphia 7Wed. Jan. 15Syracuse 4 at Broome 5;Maine 5 at Cape Codders 6:Johnstown 2 at Long Island 1Thu. Jan. 16Syracuse 2 at Maine 3;Johnstown 1 at Mohawk Valley 7.Fri. Jan. 17Syracuse 6 at Mohawk Valley 2:Broome 3 at Philadelphia 7.Sat. Jan. 18Cape Codders 2 at Johnstown 0;Long Island 3 at Maine 5Sun. Jan. 19Cape Codders 5 at Johnstown 8;Mohawk Valley 5 at Long Island 5:Syracuse 5 at Broome 3:Maine 2 at Philadelphia 10.GAMES TO COMETue. Jan. 21Broome at MaineWed. Jan. 22Maine at Syracuse; Broome at Cape Codders:Johnstown at Mohawk Valley.Thu. Jan. 23Philadelphia at Long IslandFri. Jan. 24Long Island at Johnstown; Maine at MohawkValley; Syracuse at Cape Codders.Sat. Jan. 25Mohawk Valley at Syracuse; Broome at Johnstown; Philadelphia at MaineSOUTHERN LEAGUE(Standings on Tue. Jan. 21)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-0556/3165664-1-eng-US/f0031-052.jpg" title="f0031-05" width="582" height="180"></div>GAMES COMPLETEDTue. Jan. 14Hampton 4 at Charlotte 3Wed. Jan. 15Charlotte at Greensboro 4Winston-Salem 0 at Hampton 9Thu. Jan. 16Charlotte 7 at&rsquo;Winston-Salem 5Greensboro 4 at Roanoke 4Fri. Jan. 17Hampton 6 at Charlotte 3Roanoke 1 at Greensboro 4Sat. Jan. 18Winston-Salem 5 at Roanoke 1Sun. Jan. 19Roanoke 1 at Charlotte 3Greensboro 2 at Winston-Salem 8GAMES TO COMETue. Jan. 21Winston-Salem at Charlotte: Hampton atGreensboro.Thu. Jan. 23Roanoke at Winston-SalemFri. Jan. 24Winston-Salem at Greensboro: Roanoke atCharlotte.Sun. Jan. 26Hampton at Winston-Salem.Tue. Jan. 28Greensboro at Charlotte.Wed. Jan. 29Charlotte at Greensboro: Roanoke at Hampton.Thu. Jan. 30Hampton at Roanoke: Greensboro at Winston-Salem.Fri. Jan. 31Hampton at Charlotte: Winston-Salem at Greensboro. &#9632;

f0031-01

LOOKING AT THE MINOR LEAGUE SCOREBOARD

NHL: 1&mdash;Montreal 2&mdash;Detroit. 3&mdash;Boston. 4&mdash;N.Y. Rangers 5&mdash;Chicago. 6&mdash;Toronto 7&mdash;Los Angeles. 8&mdash;Pittsburgh. 9&mdash;California 10&mdash;Philadelphia. 11&mdash;Minnesota. 12&mdash;St. Louis. 13&mdash;Vancouver 14&mdash;Buffalo. 15&mdash;N.Y. Islanders 16&mdash;Atlanta. 17&mdash;Kansas City. 18&mdash;Washington. WHA 19&mdash;Cleveland. 20&mdash;San Diego 21-Vancouver. 22&mdash;Michigan 23&mdash;Toronto. 24&mdash;Quebec, 25&mdash;Edmonton. 26&mdash;Houston. 27&mdash;Chicago.28&mdash;Winnipeg 29&mdash;Minnesota 30&mdash;New England 31&mdash;Indianapolis 32&mdash;Phoenix 33&mdash;Cincinnati.Inter-League 34&mdash;Phoenix(WHA) & Vancouver (WHA). 35&mdash;Philadelphia (NHL) & Washington (NHL). 36&mdash;Los Angeles (NHL) & California (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). Clevelano. (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 (YVHA) &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 TOM LOBAUGH</div>LOUISVILLE SLUGGERHOCKEY STICKSMade in Canada by HILLERICH & BRADSBY, LTD Arnold Street. Wallaceburg. Ontario Sold in U.S. and CanadaLOUISVILLE SLUGGERHOCKEY STICKSMade in Canada by HILLERICH & BRADSBY. LTD Arnold Street. Wallaceburg. Ontario Sold in U.S. and CanadaTULSA&mdash;Speedsters Robbie Ftorek and Gene Sobchuk, reunited after half a season, set a fast pace as the Tulsa Oilers turned things around with three straight victories over the Central Leaeue&rsquo;s divisionleaders. Two victories over Dallas, 6-2 in Tulsa and 5-3 in Dallas, jolted the Hawks out of a first-place tie in the CHL&rsquo;s Southern Division. Then a 5-4 Oiler squeaker at home against Denver cleared the Spurs off the top rung in the Northern Division.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-01130/3165754-1-eng-US/f0032-012.jpg" title="f0032-01" width="268" height="440"><figcaption class="caption-body">Robbie Ftorek</figcaption></div>Ftorek, 22-year-old center who was born in Needham, Mass., scored four goals and two assists, and had the hat trick in the home win over Dallas. Sobchuk. 24-year-old left wing from Lang, Sask., had three goals and five assists for the week. His 22nd goal, in the Denver game, tied for the league lead in lamplighting with Denver&rsquo;s Mitch Babin (who got his 22nd in the same game) and Salt Lake&rsquo;s Bob Murdoch. With 42 points, Sobchuk shared fourth place in the CHL scoring race.Ftorek and Sobchuk played together last season with the Virginia Wings of the American League, along with Rick Newell, 26-year-old defenseman from Winnipeg. All three now belong to the Phoenix Roadrunners of the World Hockey Association, and have been farmed to Tulsa.By matching their best win string of the season, the Oilers pulled to within six points of the division lead. (Dallas regained a first-place tie with Oklahoma City as the week ended), and widened its margin to eight points ahead of fourth-place Fort Worth.The Jan. 8 home victory over Dallas broke an Oiler string of five home games without victory since Dec. 7 (they spent most of December on the road). Ftorek&rsquo;s hat trick featured the victory, as three quick goals put Tulsa in command. Garry Larivierre, Ftorek and Israelson scored in the first four and a half minutes.OKLAHOMA CITY: The Blazers were blessed with six straight games at home, Jan. 10-24, but could only break even in the first two. They rallied from a 3-1 deficit to outpoint the Denver Spurs, 5-4, and take sole possession of the Southern Division lead. But the next night they were victimized by Salt Lake goalie Ray Martyniuk in a 4-0 shutout, and by the week&rsquo;s end were sharing first place with Dallas again.Coach Ray Miron was pleased with the play of 37-year-old veteran left wing Eddie (the Entertainer) Shack, who requested a two-week assignment in Oke City from the Maple Leafs. Shack was playing well, and had a goal against Denver.Miron was also tickled with the 6,194 fans who paid to see that game. It was 10-cent beer and hot dog night.Pat Boutette and Jack Valiquette shared the club scoring lead on 37 points, and were tied for 10th in the league.FORT WORTH: The Texans broke even for the week. One game was a victory, one game was a loss, and one game didn&rsquo;t happen. All the action was in their own Will Rogers Coliseum, as a scheduled invasion of Omaha, Jan. 10, got only as far as Kansas City. A 19-inch blizzard canceled any plans for landing in Omaha, so the Texans went back home.Coach Ed Chadwick&rsquo;s lads had the lead twice at home against Salt Lake, but three Eagle goals in the middle period added up to a 4-3 setback for the Texans.After the non-trip to Omaha, the Texans made up for the early week loss. They came back from an early 0-3 deficit to rout the Dallas Black Hawks, 6-3. The fierce turnpike rivalry stood at 3-2 in Dallas&rsquo; favor, with one tie.DALLAS: Three straight losses, one of them at home, didn&rsquo;t make Black Hawk coach Bobby Kromm very happy, but Dallas ended the week with a 5-2 triumph at home over Denver that regained a first-place tie in the Southern Division.Duane Wylie scored his second hat trick in two weeks, getting all three goals in a span of five and a half minutes in the first period at Fort Worth. But even though the Hawks had a 3-0 lead at 13:13 of the opening period, they succumbed, 6-3, on a flurry of four goals in the last period by the Texans.Backup goalie Bernie Germain, who had looked impressive in two starts the week before, was bombed in Tulsa and Fort Worth. Three goals in the first four and a half minutes started the Oilers toward a 6-2 triumph, and Fort Worth scored four in the last period for a 6-3 verdict. In between Michel Dumas lost a 5-3 home game to Tulsa (with one goal into an empty cage). Dumas came back to post the Sunday win over Denver.OMAHA: The big hockey news in Omaha for the week was the two games which weren&rsquo;t played. What was termed the worst blizzard in the city&rsquo;s history hit Omaha the afternoon of Jan. 10, and the Knights set a CHL record by having two straight games postponed because of weather.Returning from Seattle, the Knights reached home at 5:30 p.m. on the last plane permitted to land at the Omaha airport that day. The Fort Worth Texans were due in for a &ldquo;20-cent hot dog night&rdquo;, and the Knights were expecting more than 7.000 in attendance. The game was postponed when the Texans were unable to reach Omaha. With streets impassable, the game probably wouldn&rsquo;t have been played, even if both teams were available.Scheduled to fly back to Seattle the next day, the Knights were unable to get out of town, and that game, too, will have to be rescheduled.Coach Fred Creighton&rsquo;s Knights broke even in the games they did play, both on the road. They won a 2-1 decision in Salt Lake, on second-period power-play goals by Jerry Byers and Wayne Schaab, but dropped a 4-2 game in Seattle, despite a 2-1 second-period lead on goals by Schaab and Allie Sutherland.Schaab had three assists for the week to keep the club scoring lead with 42 points (tied for fourth in the league). Rookie center Guy Chouinard had 37 points (tied for 10th).SALT LAKE: Although the Golden Eagles&rsquo; first-place hopes were set back by a 2-1 home loss to Omaha, they went on the road and moved into first place in the Northern Division with a 4-3 decision in Fort Worth and Ray Martyniuk&rsquo;s 4-0 shutout in Oklahoma City.The whitewash was Martyniuk&rsquo;s third of the season, tying him with Oklahoma City&rsquo;s Pierre Hamel for the league lead. He shaved his leagueleading average down to 2.72.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-0283/3165747-1-eng-US/f0032-022.jpg" title="f0032-02" width="558" height="588"><figcaption class="caption-body">EDDIE SHACK &hellip;Back On Track</figcaption></div>DENVER: The Spurs&rsquo; 10-game road trip was turning into a nightmare. Only an early-January victory in Tulsa kept it from being complete disaster. But they followed with five straight losses, including a rematch in Tulsa, and fell out of first place. Previously the Spurs&rsquo; longest losing streak of the season had been two games. With still three road games left before their return home, Jan. 26, the Spurs had yielded an average of 5.29 goals per game on the trip. They scored nine goals in the first trip to Tulsa, but for the other six games were averaging barely two a night.Coach Jean-Guy Talbot was burning over the officiating in Tulsa. First there was an apparent icing, which wasn&rsquo;t called on the Oilers, while the Spurs were trying to kill a five-minute shorthanded stretch in the last period with the score 4-4. The Oilers scored on that play, and later the clock was seen to move a few seconds on several stoppages of play.The Spurs were in that game all the way, but the next night in Dallas Talbot called their performance &ldquo;the flattest of the season.&rdquo;Denver lost its No. 2 goal scorer, right wing Frank Spring, who was traded by the St. Louis Blues to the California Seals. The Blues kept Bruce Affleck, who was obtained in the deal.Although the club scoring slacked off, left wing Howard Heggedal and center Mitch Babin continued to lead the league pointmakers. Heggedal notched three goals and an assist for 54 points, two more than teammate Babin.SEATTLE: It&rsquo;s bad enough to lose any Saturday home date. For the Seattle Totems, the postponement of the Jan. 11 game, because of a blizzard that kept the Omaha Knights home, was an especially bitter disappointment. It was to have been their last home date before a 10-game road swing that would keep them out of Seattle for 22 days.Thanks to the Nebraska snowdrifts, it was the second straight week in which the Totems played only one game. They managed a 4-2 decision over Omaha on Thrusday and were eagerly awaiting the Knights&rsquo; return for a Saturday rematch.&ldquo;We felt we had them on the ropes,&rdquo; said publicist Robb Glazier. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve made that three-games-in-three-nights trip to the midwest and back four times. Now it was their turn, and they lucked out.&rdquo;Denfeseman Randy Holt was quoted in a newspaper interview as planning to cut down on his numerous penalties, and blasting his teammates for not helping on defense. The interview was published just ahead of the home loss to Tulsa in which Holt set club records by drawing eight penalties for 32 minutes (minor, major, misconduct, game misconduct). He padded his league-leading total to 273 minutes in the sin bin. &#9632;

f0032-01

Lowly Oilers Turn Giant Killers Knocking Dallas, Denver Off Top

<div class="byline">BY MORLEY HOWE</div>WATERLOO&mdash;Severe weather conditions forced the postponement of two United States Hockey League games last weekend. However, eight of the scheduled 10 contests were played.In the Southern Division, the league leading Waterloo Black Hawks moved seven points in front of second place Sioux City Musketeers by registering 6-4 victories over Thunder Bay and Green Bay before a combined crowd of 6,400. Mike Randolph and Jim Gospodar paced the Hawks with seven scoring points each.Central Wisconsin Flyers, under new playing coach D&rsquo;Arcy Keating, scored their second win by defeating Marquette Iron Rangers 5-2 at Stevens Point, Wise. ExBobcat forward Bruce Sandbeck&rsquo;s sixth and seventh goals of the season led the USHL&rsquo;s newest expansion club in a come-from-behind victory. Defenseman Keating, signed the previous day, also scored.Milwaukee Admirals continued their fine play under new coach Andre Carone with victories over Chicago and Central Wisconsin. Winger Bruce Salnier fired his fourth hat trick of the season in 10-3 win over Warriors and Ed Boucha, younger brother of Henry Boucha of Minnesota North Stars, scored a pair of markers in 9-2 win over Flyers. The two wins moved the vastly improved Admirals into a third place deadlock with Chicago.Copper Country Chiefs continued to be the hottest club in the Northern Division by scoring their fourth victory in past five road games with a 5-4 overtime win at Marquette to move into a third place tie with the Iron Rangers. However, the win could prove costly to the Chiefs as center Jim Crawford suffered a broken arm and is expected to be out for the balance of the season. Crawford, an Ontario native joining Copper Country last season, is currently leading all league scorers with 54 points in 29 games to date.In an exhibition contest at Traverse City, Michigan, the Bays defeated visiting Copper Country Chiefs 7-5, sparked by the three-goal performance of Brian MacDonnell. Traverse City, scheduled to begin regular USHL play next fall under coach and general manager Bill Ostwald, outshot the Chiefs 41-31 before 2,609 fans.Here are the USHL&rsquo;s leading scorers by divisions:<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-01111/3165785-1-eng-US/f0033-012.jpg" title="f0033-01" width="516" height="672"></div> &#9632;

f0033-01

Around The USHL

<h2>UNITED STATES LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Wed. Jan. 15)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-0282/3165830-1-eng-US/f0033-022.jpg" title="f0033-02" width="581" height="384"></div>GAMES COMPLETEDThu. Jan. 9Copper Country 5 at Marquette 4; CentralWisconsin 2 at Milwaukee 9.Fri. Jan. 10Thunder Bay 4 at Waterloo 6; Green Bay 8 atChicago 5.Sat. Jan. 11Marquette 2 at Central Wisconsin 5; Chicago 3 at Milwaukee 10; Green Bay 1 at Waterloo 4; Thunder Bay at Sioux City (postponed).Sun. Jan. 12Thunder Bay 5 at Sioux City 2; Marquette at Copper Country (postponed).EXHIBITION GAMECopper Country 5 at Traverse City 7<h2>CONTINENTAL LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Sat. Jan. 11)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-0360/3165823-1-eng-US/f0033-032.jpg" title="f0033-03" width="576" height="202"></div>GAMES COMPLETEDSat. Jan. 4St. Louis 9 at Madison 25; Chicago Cardinals 6 at Kenosha 10.Sun. Jan. 5St. Louis 4 at Peoria 10<h2>LEADING SCORERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-0446/3165816-1-eng-US/f0033-042.jpg" title="f0033-04" width="576" height="487"></div> &#9632;

f0033-02

HOW THEY STAND

MADISON&mdash;When the St. Louis Saints boarded their team bus for the trip to Madison, Wisconsin Jan. 4 they found more than the usual number of empty seats.Team GM Randye Hoffman was informed by the club doctor that 10 members of the Saints were bitten by the flu bug. Some had temperatures of 103 and couldn&rsquo;t make the trip. There was nothing the Saints could do but make the long haul to Madison where a sellout crowd was waiting.The result was inevitable. Madison devastated the Saints 25-9 in a regular Continental Hockey League game as St. Louis played with seven skaters and two goalers.Bob Shaughnessy, the league&rsquo;s leading scorer, and Cal Harris each had five goals for the Blues. Madison player-coach Greg Campbell, Billy Reay Jr., and Laurent Viens each had four.After the game Blues player-coach Campbell said, &ldquo;Sure it&rsquo;s unbelievable at this level of hockey, but look at the stats. We skated three lines against their seven skaters. We took 86 shots on net. Their goaltender Rick Montrotus stopped 61 shots. He&rsquo;s the real hero. Their seven players have a lot of guts to have played the game. There was no way we could cancel. It was to late. This game will go down in history, but their seven players and goaltender are the real winners.&rdquo;In other Continental League action, the Peoria Blades downed the St. Louis Saints 10-4, before a sell-out crowd at Peoria&rsquo;s Iceadrome. Randy Salahub scored the hat trick for the Blades. &#9632;

Flu Bug Bites Saints, Blues Romolo 25-9 Win

<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 NEWSPORT HURON&mdash;Morris Snider would love to see his Port Huron Flags turn into streakers.He&rsquo;s not advocating nudism for his International Hockey League club, merely hoping i&rsquo;v&rdquo; more victories from his fourth-place team.Through their first 42 games, the Flags were unable to do better than five two-game winning streaks. On the other hand, they had a four-game streak and four three-game losing spells.Yet the personable Port Huron general manager refused to panic in the face of adversity. He&rsquo;s riding out the storm and figures that maybe Lady Luck will finally smile his way.He said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been in hockey for twenty-seven years and I&rsquo;ve never seen a year like this one.&rdquo; Port Huron&rsquo;s woes run the gamut of possibilities.The Flags won&rsquo;t have to worry about being threatened by Lansing any longer. The financially woeful Lancers have thrown in the towel and suspended operations Jan. 16 resting in fifth position in the six-team North Division.Owner Paul Bright, who had sought a better place&rsquo;to play than the club&rsquo;s present 950-seat rink, said he couldn&rsquo;t carry on any longer and asked the league to suspend his operation for the rest of the 1974-75 season. Bright had sought to transer the club to another city but the IHL governors turned down his request.Meanwhile Flags&rsquo; coach Bobby McCammon preferred to look upward at third place, which could be out of the team&rsquo;s reach even now.Further good news was possible in the form of Len Fontaine, the IHL&rsquo;s most valuable player in 1971-72.After dividing the 1972-73 and 197374 seasons between the Detroit Red Wings and their Virginia farm team. Fontaine jumped to the World Hockey Association last May. signing with the Michigan Stags.If he could approach anything close to the 41 goals he scored for the Flags in 1971-72. Fontaine might easily be the missing link in their hope to become a factor in the Turner Cup playoffs.KALAMAZOO: Les Jackson scored goal in first game after return to IHL. helping 4-1 victory over Fort Wayne&hellip; Goalie Jim Makey welcomed back after two-week stay in Virginia (AHL)&hellip; Mike Wanchuk&rsquo;s24th goal ended scoreless string of 160:27 but couldn&rsquo;t avert 3-2 loss to Toledo, ending Wings&rsquo; four-game win string on home ice&hellip; Norm Metcalfe released&hellip; Expansion club&rsquo;s attendance averaged 3.378 for first 17 home games.COLUMBUS: Mike Fox scored hat trick in 7-2 victory over Lansing, pushing home-ice record to 12-0-1 for last 13 starts&hellip; Marty Reynolds scored goals. Bill Yeo made 31 stops in 1-0 victory over Dayton before 5,526. second-largest crowd in city&rsquo;s sevenseason IHL history&hellip; Bill McEwan underwent knee surgery.LANSING: Lancers shifted home game to Kalamazoo and earned 3-2 victory before 1.618 as Dave Haley scored clincher.. Bill Ciraulo ousted with game misconduct for throwing gloves at referee Jim Hanham&hellip; Brian Mason scored only nine seconds after start. Dave Staffen scored hat trick and John Gravel added two goals in 6-0 shutout of Des Moines.DES MOINES: Five-game losing streak on home ice ended in 6-3 victory over Saginaw with Pete Slater scoring hat-trick and Caps piling up 50-31 shot edge&hellip; Frank DeMarco facing knee surgery after injury at Dayton&hellip; Caps built 5-2-1 edge in series against Toledo.SAGINAW: Gears roared to top of North Division with six-game victory string, eight wins in nine starts&hellip; Jean-Marie Nicol ended five-game goal drought with hat trick in 6-3 victory at Des Moines. Russ Friesen&rsquo;s goal ended 12-game drought&hellip; Dennis Desrosier first Gear to score 100 goals in IHL&hellip;DAYTON: Dave White returned from suspended list, scored first goal since Dec. 21 to help 7-1 victory over Des Moines&hellip;Brian Kinsella out three weeks with shoulder surgery&hellip; Gem&rsquo;s defense totaled 89 points more than last season&rsquo;s entire total of 82 for blueline corps&hellip; Four-game winning streak ended in 1-0 loss toColumbus.MUSKEGON: Gary Ford retained six-point lead in IHL scoring derby but Mohawks puzzled by Capt. Bob Tombari&rsquo;s 16-game goal drought&hellip; Mohawks&rsquo; 59th power-play goal couldn&rsquo;t avert 5-2 setback by Flint.FORT WAYNE: Brian Walker&rsquo;s 25th goal earned 2-2 tie at Toledo, one night after Komets suffered 10-3 thrashing at Port Huron&hellip; Defenseman Terry Thomson welcomed back from injury list&hellip; Marty Feschuk out with eye injury suffered in scrap with Lansing&rsquo;s Dave Staffen.PORT HURON: Bill Watt scored winner in 3-2 victory over Muskegon&hellip; Russ Elliott scored hat trick in 10-3 victory over Fort Wayne. Ray Germain tallied 280th IHL goal and Alex Kogler scored shorthanded goal.TOLEDO: Paul (The Terrible) Tantardini collected 13 PIM in return to action, resumed &ldquo;sure thing&rdquo; move toward league penalty record&hellip; John Martin&rsquo;s two goals wasted in 5-3 setback at Flint but included game-winner in pair at Kalamazoo.FLINT: Doug Manchak&rsquo;s third hat trick of season helped 5-2 victory over Dayton, boosted league-leading total to 40.. Reactivated Brad Winton doubled goal total with two in 5-3 victory over Toledo&hellip; Dwane Byers regained goalscoring touch&hellip; Clyde Simon scored 5-14-19 combination in 15 games after return from injured list&hellip; Kirk Bowman boosted league-leading assist total to Merlin Jenner. Bob Volpe 1-2 among IHL goal-tenders&hellip; Generals played worst game of year in 7-1 loss at Columbus. &#9632;

Snider Hopes Flags Start Streaking; Troubled Lansing Lancers Quit IHL

<h2>LEADING SCORERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-01124/3165916-1-eng-US/f0034-012.jpg" title="f0034-01" width="590" height="470"></div><h2>GOALING RECORDS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-0279/3165909-1-eng-US/f0034-022.jpg" title="f0034-02" width="588" height="708"></div> &#9632;

f0034-01

IHL Leaders

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-01111/3165947-1-eng-US/f0035-012.jpg" title="f0035-01" width="506" height="694"><figcaption class="caption-body">RICK KENNEDY &hellip; Leads Scorers</figcaption></div>ST. LOUIS&mdash;It was simply an outstanding college hockey game. And it belonged to the Billikens. It was not what you would call &ldquo;just another win&rdquo;.. For St-Louis University had come back from a humiliating 13-3 defeat at the hands of No. 3 ranked Harvard on a Friday night to best the Crimson on Sunday evening, 5-4.The game saw Harvard precision prevail after a scoreless first period to give coach Bill Cleary&rsquo;s club a 3-0 bulge midway through the second. But, inexorably, the Bills&rsquo; agressive skating began paying dividends. At 16:26 Wayne Ormson got his first power-play goal of the year on the Bills&rsquo; sixth extra man situation of the game. Three minutes later, Mike Ballanger neatly evaded two Crimson defenders to get SLU within one and send them into the locker room with some momentum.The third period proved to be the most exciting seen by Billiken fans. Tri-captain and senior center Rick Kennedy tied the game from the slot at 8:02 and frosh Gary Murphy got an unassited tally on a rebound 26 seconds later. SLU led Harvard for the first time in the series.But the Crimson showed why they&rsquo;re the pick of the East as they capitalized on a power-play situation at 11:05 to again knot the score.Refusing to be buckled, Bill Selman&rsquo;s club kept skating. And finally, at 15:50, it was Kennedy again. He neatly darted a shot by Harvard goalie John Aiken to give the Bills the margin of victory. Kennedy leads the Billikens in scoring with 21 goals and 11 assists.Thus the Billikens ran their record to 14-10 and gave Harvard only its second loss in 11 games, in the process scoring more goals against the Crimson than any other team this season. &#9632;

f0035-01

Billikens’ Comeback Nips Harvard

<div class="byline">BY TOM BURKE</div>DURHAM&mdash;At first impression, Charlie Holt sounded like a life insurance salesman advising a client that his present coverage was more than adequate.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re trying to be agressive,&rdquo; said the University of New Hampshire coach after his charges had defeated Boston College. 5-1, at Snively Arena.But then the coach elaborated on his observation, and it began to make more sense to those who had not witnessed UNH&rsquo;s three-game win streak in early January after a spotty 5-3-1 start.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-0287/3165978-1-eng-US/f0035-022.jpg" title="f0035-02" width="254" height="418"><figcaption class="caption-body">Bob McIntosh</figcaption></div>&ldquo;In that first Penn game, we outshot them by a wide margin and ended up losing, 6-4,&rdquo; explained Holt, now in his seventh season at UNH.&ldquo;Then in the second game, the shots were like tonight&rsquo;s, more or less even. We just played less aggressively on offense because we knew we had to help out our defensemen more.&rdquo;High scoring right wing Jamie Hislop tallied the important goals against BC. Stationed at the right side of the net with the score tied at 1-1 in the second period, Hislop converted a cross-crease pass from freshman linemate Bob Miller for the actual game winner at 15:24. He then provided the clincher almost midway through the third frame on a Miller pass from behind the net. Gary Burns and Jon Corriveau added the padding a few minutes later.New Hampshire, you may recall, had paper hopes of repeating as ECAC Division One regular season champions. Last year, their 15-5 league mark was good for top seed in the playoffs, making the Cats the first team since Clarkson in 1966 to break the Cornell-Boston University oligopoly. They also became the first team not to make the semifinals from top seed when RPI upset them at Durham in the quarterfinals. But with only two graduating from last year, the good people of the Durham Downtown A.C. looked for an encore.Holt is more realistic, in view of his team&rsquo;s performance, injury outlook, and records of 8-3-1 overall and 5-2-1 in league play after the BC game.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re not going to overpower anybody this year,&rdquo; he predicted. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ll just play for a goal or two lead and try to hang into it. Remember too that we had seven freshmen playing out there against BC tonight.&rdquo;Nevertheless, New Hampshire is a solid contender for any playoff berth from fourth through eighth. Harvard&rsquo;s 10-0 slate puts them almost out of reach, with the possible exception of 6-1 BU and Vermont, neither of whom figures to fade down the stretch.Much will hinge on the shoulder of fine junior center Cliff Cox, the East&rsquo;s leading scorer last year. Cliff banged into something early in the season and played in pain until the Blue-Green Tournament when the doctors ordered him home for a rest. He may not return until February. Freshman Jon Fontas is out for the year with a broken ankle after a good start, while junior Joe Marsh has a puzzling back ailment.Elsewhere in the East, Harvard&rsquo;s three-win week at Watson Rink ensconced them in first place until at least the Beanpot Tournament in February. Dan Bolduc&rsquo;s second period goal edged a surprisingly tough Boston College 2-1, and then Jim Thomas&rsquo; two goals paved the way for a 4-2 win over Cornell. Thereafter came chuckle time, 14-4, over lowly Colgate.Cornell got a peek at goalie Dave Chrastina in the finals of the Madison Square Garden Holiday Festival Tourney, which saw the Red whip St. Lawrence 7-4. The Ithacans had won a loosely played 10-7 first round game over Boston College while St. Lawrence edged Brown 4-3. Rick Heimbach, subbing for injured Bob Mars, scored the winner and empty-net clincher in Brown&rsquo;s 6-4 consolation game win over BB.Dick Toomey&rsquo;s club had already heard plenty of bad news in the injury department, as defenseman Jack Ahernbroke a leg in the St. Lawrence game. Mars&rsquo; concussion put him onto indefinite status, but Brown went on the next week to win a pair of 8-5 games anyway, thanks in part to the return of superb soph Bob McIntosh. Out for five games with knee woes, McIntosh tallied twice as Brown beat Providence and had a hattrick as the Bruins whipped RPI at Troy. The wins made for a 6-3-1 divisional slate as Brown entered exams.Vermont and BU kept pace in second place. BU bounced Northeastern 8-2 while UVM nailed winless Dartmouth 6-2.Penn, rewriting Marco Polo&rsquo;s book, unobtrusively remained within striking distance as they journeyed to the North Country and bested St. Lawrence 6-3 before tying Clarkson, 7-7. Also in to play the upstate twins was Northeastern, who tied St. Lawrence 1-1 in Canton after Clarkson&rsquo;s first line of Dan O&rsquo;Driscoll, Marco Cardoni, and Dave Taylor accounted for six Clarkson goals in a 9-6 Golden Knights&rsquo; win. &#9632;

f0035-02

Unbeaten Harvard Class Of ECRace But New Hampshire Keeps Hopes Alive

MINNEAPOLIS &mdash;Minnesota&rsquo;s sweep over Notre Dame and Michigan State&rsquo;s split with Colorado College once again tightened up the Western Collegiate Hockey Association&rsquo;s furious battle for first place.The Gophers stopped Notre Dame 8-1 and 5-3 while CC turned back the Spartans 8-1 before losing 6-5. As a result Michigan State, with a 134-1 record for points, maintained a one-point margin over the Gophers, who now are 13-5 for 26 in the WCHA. Colorado College remained very much in contention with its 12-6 mark, good for third place.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-0362/3166009-1-eng-US/f0035-032.jpg" title="f0035-03" width="250" height="408"><figcaption class="caption-body">Rob Larson</figcaption></div>Wisconsin, which defeated UMD 6-4 before losing 8-5, stayed in fourth with 11 wins against seven losses, one game ahead of Michigan Tech, now 10-8. Tech split with Michigan, winning 6-0 after losing 5-4 in overtime, to keep its fifth spot in the standings while the Wolverines remained in sixth. Denver moved into a tie for seventh with Notre Dame, both now with 6-11-1 records. The Pioneers split with North Dakota, winning the Friday night game 8-4 to break an eight-game losing streak but falling to the Sioux on Saturday 5-4. UMD is ninth with 5-12-1 and North Dakota tenth at 3-15.Minnesota posted the only series sweep of the WCHA weekend in defeating Notre Dame twice. Highlight of the first game came in the second period with the Gophers leading 4-0. Center Mike Polich rammed a slap shot home from just inside the blueline when Minnesota was playing two men short. After the Fighting Irish collected their lone goal of the game, Polich connected from almost the same spot with the Gophers still having one man in the penalty box.On Saturday Brian Fredrickson got his first of the season to give Minnesota a 1-0 first period edge, the only tally coming from a 26-shot-on-goal attack by the Gophers in that 20-minute span. Notre Dame moved into a 3-2 lead later on with goals by Dave Bossy and Terry Fairholm. However, Minnesota retaliated quickly in the third. Buzz Schneider deadlocked the match with the period 10 seconds young and Pat Phippen got the game-winner at 1:14.Michigan State and Colorado College split a wild two-game series at Colorado Springs, with 16 of the total 20 goals scored being affected by power-plays. CC won the opener 8-1 but dropped a 6-5 decision Saturday.In the opener State went ahead on a power-play goal by center Tom Ross, but CC tallied four times in each of the final two periods. Four of these were on power-plays and three short-handed, two of the man-short tallies coming off the stick of Jim Kronchnabel. In the second game the score was knotted 3-3 at the end of one and 5-5 at the end of two. Daryl Rice scored State&rsquo;s gamewinner at 13:05. In that match Ross, the WCHA&rsquo;s leading scorer, had one goal and four assists for a two-game total of 2-4&mdash;6. CC&rsquo;s Mike Straub and Dave Hanson also had two goals as did State&rsquo;s Brendon Moroney.Michigan and Michigan Tech exchanged victories at Houghton, the Wolverines emerging victorious in the opener when Angie Moretto scored an overtime goal at 4:34 for a 5-4 final. It was Michigan&rsquo;s first win at Tech since the 1966-67 season. The Huskies stormed back Saturday with a 6-0 victory with Jim Warden getting the second WCHA shutout of the season. &#9632;

f0035-03

Minnesota Makes Move To Unseat Michigan S.

<h2>ECAC CONFERENCE</h2>(Standings on Mon. Jan. 13)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-0454/3166061-1-eng-US/f0035-042.jpg" title="f0035-04" width="586" height="516"></div>GAMES COMPLETED ECAC CONFERENCEProvidence 8, Colgate 3Boston 12, RPI 3Northeastern 8, Colgate 6Vermont 6. Pennsylvania3Harvard 2, Boston College 1Cornell 8, Colgate 4New Hampshire 6, Pennsylvania 3Boston University 8, Northeastern 2Brown 8, Providence 5Clarkson 9, Northeastern 6Vermont 6, Dartmouth 2Harvard 4, Cornell 2Pennsylvania 6, St. Lawrence 3New Hampshire 5, Boston College 1Brown 8, RPI 5Northeastern 1, St. Lawrence 1Harvard 14, Colgate 4Pennsylvania 7, Clarkson 7Providence 11, Princeton 5Cornell 7, Dartmouth 6NON-CONFERENCE GAMESLoyola 3, Clarkson 2Harvard 13, St. Louis 3St. Louis 5, Harvard 4Toronto 6, Clarkson 3RPI 7, Merrimack 5Boston University 3, St. Louis 3ECAC HOLIDAY TOURNAMENTCornell 10, Boston College 7St. Lawrence 4, Brown 3Brown 6, Boston College 4Cornell 7, St. Lawrence 4(Cornell wins tournament)<h2>WCHA CONFERENCE</h2>(Standings on Fri. Jan. 17)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-0547/3166054-1-eng-US/f0035-052.jpg" title="f0035-05" width="588" height="316"></div>GAMES COMPLETED WCHA CONFERENCEColorado College 8, Michigan State 1Michigan State 6, Colorado College 5Denver 8, North Dakota 4North Dakota 5, Denver 4Michigan 5, Michigan Tech 4Michigan Tech 6, Michigan 0Minnesota 8, Notre-Dame 1Minnesota 5, Notre-Dame 3Wisconsin 6. Minn-Duluth 4Minn-Duluth 8, Wisconsin 5LEADING SCORERS<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-0636/3166047-1-eng-US/f0035-062.jpg" title="f0035-06" width="582" height="688"></div><h2>MARITIME COLLEGES</h2>(Standings on Wed. Jan. 15)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-0734/3166040-1-eng-US/f0035-072.jpg" title="f0035-07" width="586" height="312"></div>GAMES COMPLETEDNew Bruinswick 10. Acad la 0St. Mary&rsquo;s 6. UPEI4Mount Allison 2, Memorial 0Memorials, Mount Allison 2Moncton 5, Dalhousie 31St. Francis Xavier 9, UPEI3Acadia 7, Moncton 6 &#9632;

f0035-04

College Races

<div class="byline">BY DEREK KNIGHT</div>Follow All The Action Every Week By Subscribing Today ToTHE HOCKEY NEWSSuperb HockeyReading Each MonthHOCKEY WORLD&HOCKEY PICTORIALPHILADELPHIA &mdash;Keith Allen is a man who is well respected in hockey circles. His overall knowledge of the game and its players brought the first Stanley Cup home to Philadelphia. Thus, Allen&rsquo;s complimentary remarks about the NAHL are not to be taken lightly. Said Allen, &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been impressed with the NAHL, especially the calibre of play this season. The games have been very entertaining and I know Philadelphia fans have en joyed the games I&rsquo;ve been too. Allen also spoke about the second year league as being &ldquo;well run&rdquo; and the fact that most fans appreciate a well run league. His most outstanding remarks came in this paragraph. &ldquo;I have sent the Firebirds several young hockey players and am very pleased at the calibre of play in the league. The list of good solid pros on the NAHL clubs is impressive and it is obvious to me that teams must work hard to win hockey games. This makes for a fast league and one where young hockey players can gain valuable experience in their hockey developement. From what I&rsquo;ve seen, nobody can just go through the motions, they must work hard to excel in the NAHL and this is important in player development.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-01101/3166092-1-eng-US/f0036-012.jpg" title="f0036-01" width="258" height="460"><figcaption class="caption-body">Rod Bloomfield</figcaption></div>BROOME: Rod Bloomfield notched his third hat trick of the year and second against Long Island in a recent Duster win. The club sold out their Long Island game on Super Bowl Sunday. Randy MacGregor closing gap to team scoring leadership. Roger Kosar was placed on the 14-day injury list. Gary Jacquith leading defenders in scoring. Ted McCaskill bagged nine points in first 11 games, but more important, he was providing on-ice leadership. Rich Lemay&rsquo;s won-lost record was impressive, 13-9. After a bad slump, the club got things together and started winning again.SYRACUSE: Team captain Bobby Jones continues to enjoy a banner season with 21 goals and 38 assists for 59 points. In limited duty left winger John Raynak had 32 points in 29 games. Raynak netted four assists in a Blazer 7-4 triumph over Philadelphia. Alton White had the hat trick bringing his goal total to 19. Doug Volmar banged home nine goals in his first 11 games. A disputed 7-6 loss in Johnstown was the first Blazer loss in January in three years. Neminder Bob Blanchet&rsquo;s record was a good one, 11-6-1 with a 2.69 goals-against average.MOHAWK VALLEY: Jeff Jacques was recalled by the parent Toronto Toros after an injury to Tony Featherstone. Leading the Comets in goals (25) and points (54) Jeff played his first game as a Toro in Houston. The result, Toronto 7, Houston 4, with Jacques scoring four goals and assisting on another. Bob Murray, John Cook, and Doug Brindley were the next Comet high scorers. Defenseman Craig Hanmer was assigned to the Comets from Indianapolie Morrin games. Jim Park&rsquo;s 4.02 goals-against average was misleading. Park&rsquo;s record stood at 15-13-2. Bob Murray and Doug Brindley should easily hit 30 goals barring injury or recall.CAPE CODDERS: John Cunniff&rsquo;s pace could conceivably net him 60 goals this year. At the half way point he had 29 goals. Defenseman Alan Hangsleben was recalled by New England. Guy Dufour leading up in power-play goals with seven. John Cunniff trails with five. Defenseman Ron Anderson was recalled by Cleveland. Big Mike Penasse leads club in penalty minutes with 119. Goaltender Ted Ouimet standing tall with a 10-6-4 record. Codders were thumped 7-1 in Long Island and then dropped a 3-1 decision in Philadelphia.PHILADELPHIA: At present pace Bob Collyard could net 50 goals this year. Mike Clarke&rsquo;s hat trick led Philly past Long Island 7-2. It was Danny Sullivan&rsquo;s 15th win. Rychard Campeau leading defensemen in goals scored with 11. Randy Osborn, a principle in the Bill Flett trade found himself on the Firebirds&rsquo; roster. In return Richmond (AHL) recalled Steve Short. A crowd of 4,178 saw the Firebirds lose to Syracuse 7-4, but they saw some fine hockey. Firebirds took over from the Cape Codders tne title of the NAHL&rsquo;s most explosive offense. The Firebirds however, had played more games.LONG ISLAND: You need a program to recognize the new Cougars. Along with newcomers Kevin Ahearn and Ken Ireland, the club added right winger Paul Sheard and defenseman Norm Schmitz. Sheard had previously been property of the NHL&rsquo;s Vancouver Canucks. Hustling left winger Bob Falconer was placed on waivers. Club named Ray Amira as new director of marketing. Captain Jim Pritchard&rsquo;s seven goals lead all Cougar defensemen. Brian Coates now among league&rsquo;s top scorers with 54 points in 38 games. Five of his 20 goals have come on the power play. Bill Fraser&rsquo;s 12 goals leave him one shy of the 13 he scored all last year. Dave Walter, the club&rsquo;s leading goal scorer with 21 leads in shortlanded tallieswiththree.UpcomingCougar promotions include an evening for Firebirds&rsquo; co-owner Robin Roberts, one of the alltime great baseball pitchers, and a night for Pat Stapleton, player-coach, and now part owner of the WHA&rsquo;s Chicago Cougars.JOHNSTOWN: Galen Head practicing but still not yet back in action at press time. Jack Carlson should be over 200 minutes in penalties by the time you read this page. Brother Steve has invaded the top 10 scorers with 48 points. Jerry Welsh approaching 20 goals. Jets have been lacking offensive punch with Galen Head, Ned Powd and Vem Campigotto, three of last years stars, tallying a combined 12 goals in 75 combined games. The Carlson line and Jerry Welsh have been the only real thrust for Dick Roberge&rsquo;s Jets. Jim Adair scored game winner in a Johnstown 2-1 road victory at Long Island. Ron Docken stopped 44 Cougar shots that evening.MAINE: Club lost the services of Bernie Wolfe as he was recalled to Richmond (AHL), however he was returned the next week. Nordiques have been playing strong hockey at home, dropping Long Island 9-6. More player help was expected from Quebec with general manager Maurice Ducharme still seeking a couple of key players. Hoplessly out of the race in November, the club was slowly but surely shooting to get out of the NAHL basement. Forward Norm Descotteaux was placed on waivers. &#9632;

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Dusters Start Winning Following Bad Slump

<div class="byline">BY JACK GATECLIFF</div>OSHAWA&mdash;There seems to be absolutely no doubt as to which team will succeed Kitchener Rangers as pennant-winners in the Ontario Hockey Association Major Junior A League.loronro ivianboros have a see mingly insurmountable lead with more tha half the schedule completed an show no sighs of letting up. However where the real battleground lies is towards the bottom of the 11-team group where six clubs are earn a toothold on one of three playoff positions still open. At the time this was written only four points separated Sault Ste. Marie, Kingston, St. Catharines, Sudbury and London while Kitchener was making motions in the basement that they too might become a contender.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-0192/3166123-1-eng-US/f0037-012.jpg" title="f0037-01" width="279" height="443"><figcaption class="caption-body">Terry Martin</figcaption></div>As a result, with little more than two months before playoff time, the action is warming up and every point won or lost is of the greatest importance to the six teams concerned with whether they&rsquo;ll end their season when the schedule closes or at least advance into the first playoff round.&ldquo;1 haven&rsquo;t seen as close a race for the final few positions in years&rdquo;, said Gus Bodnar whose Oshawa Generals are relatively safe in fifth place. &ldquo;I just hope it starts bringing out more fans. Right now a lot of clubs are suffering at the gate&rdquo;Included among the teams which are far down in attendance are Bodnar&rsquo;s Generals. St. Catharines Black Hawks and London Knights.LONDON: Although they aren&rsquo;t putting any lengthy winning streak together Knights are definitely a playoff threat now after a horrible start&hellip; They were shutout 9-0 against Ottawa, then lost at home 5-2 to Sudbury but rebounded to win 9-4 in Kingston&hellip; That&rsquo;s been the story of the season for coach Bill Long&rsquo;s club &mdash; inconsistency&hellip; Ron Zanussi and Jim Hamilton scored the goals for the 10th place Knights in loss to Sudbury&hellip; Terry Martin and Vern Stenlund had two each in the nine-goal London splurge-TORONTO: There just seems to be no way of stopping the Marlboros&hellip;It&rsquo;s been many years since there has been such a one-sided race for first place and the Marlies are doing it with a super offense&hellip; They have scored almost 100 more goals than any other club and have two of the three 40-goal scorers in their lineup &mdash; Bruce Boudreau and Mark Napier&hellip; Tim Young of Ottawa is the other.OTTAWA: The 67s registered their first shutout of the season. 9-0 over London, before 3,400 fans at the Ottawa Civic Centre&hellip; Tim Young, Danny Blair, Jamie Masters and Bruce Baker all had two-goal nights for the well-balanced 67s&hellip; However the Marlboros were just a little bit too much and they were beaten by the future pennant-winners 7-5 with Baker, Peter Lee. Dale Ross. Young and Ken Campbell picking up one each&hellip; The 67s could prove to be a stumbling block (if any team is) to Marlboros on their way to a possible Ontario title as they almost upset them in game mentioned above.PETERBOROUGH: The Petes are sticking in there for second place while playing their customary disciplined hockey under coach Roger Neilson&hellip; Some have compared their style of play to what Bob Pulford has instilled in the Los Angeles Kings&hellip; Both teams make few errors at either end of the rink&hellip; The Petes picked up a pair of points with 5-3 win over Sault Ste. Marie thanks to two goals each by Tony Casolato and Red Laurence but were surprised 3-2 by last place Kitchener Rangers right on the Petes&rsquo; home ice.HAMILTON: Fincups started the week off right with 4-2 in St. Catharines as they were given brilliant goaltending by Greg Redquest&hellip; Fincups haven&rsquo;t lost to the Hawks this season, winning three and tying one and were led by Rick Seiling&rsquo;s two goals&hellip; At home later in the week, playing before their largest crowd in years (3,124) they lost by the same 4-2 score to the Marlboros which stretched the Toronto club&rsquo;s unbeaten streak to 15 games.OSHAWA: Generals may not have the balance to win the championship but no one can fault them for lack of effort as they downed Kingston 5-2 and St. Catharines 4-2 before losing 8-5 in Sault Ste. Marie in the first half of their Northern Ontario swing&hellip; The following night they were slugged again, this time 6-1 in Sudbury.SAULT STE MARIE: By defeating Oshawa 8-5 in the Sault, Greyhounds jumped.at least temporarily, into sixth place, the highest they have ever been at this stage of the schedule in their three-year history&hellip; Goalie Dave Legree atoned for his club&rsquo;s defensive lapses in important victory, playing one of best gamesof season&hellip; Roman Carlucci also had a great night with three goals.KINGSTON: The Canadians, who made such a spectacular start in their sophomore season and at one time held first place, are continuing to slide and lost another two games &mdash; 5-2 in Oshawa and 9-4 at home to London&hellip; Jack Bownass, coach of the year in 1973-74 even though his team failed to make the playoffs, is not about to panic and feels club will recover when casualties return&hellip; Against Generals Canadians trailed 4-1 going into the last period with Larry Murphy and Alex Forsythe scoring their only goals&hellip; Robbie Plumb had a pair in losing cause with London.ST. CATHARINES: Defending 1973-74 Ontario champions are having their problems&hellip; They dropped their second straight at home 4-2 to Hamilton, then were beaten 4-2 in Oshawa and in London were edged 3-2&hellip; Playoff hopes are precarious at best with only Greg Craig and Dave Salvian scoring regularly.SUDBURY: Wolves are still scrapping for their playoff lives &mdash; like all the others in the second division&hellip; They picked up a rare point from the Marlboros, holding them to a 2-2 tie in Brantford&hellip; Actually it was the Marlies who had to come back with a power-play goal by Craig Crawford to salvage the draw.KITCHENER: The Rangers may be down but they&rsquo;re not out as evidenced by their remarkable 3-2 win in Peterborough which boosted them to within 10 points of the last playoff spot&hellip; Eddie Bush remains confident that the club can still squeeze in but they&rsquo;ll have to pick up points regularly. &#9632;

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67s Could Be Marlies’ Stumbling Block; Attendance Drop Putting Teams In Red

<div class="byline">BY BOB STRUMM</div>VICTORIA &mdash;Somebody pushed the wrong button at the 1975 Western Canada Hockey League All Star game. Instead of niceties, there were a lot of nasties eminatina from this island naradise.First, Medicine Hat Tiger rightwinger Don Murdoch expressed harsh displeasure at not being selected to the Western Division team despite his lofty perch in the WCHL scoring race. Murdoch had a league-leadine 47 goals at the All Star break and was the top-scoring rightwinger with 81 points. Yet, he failed to make the first two team selections which were decided on a vote by the coaches. Then All Star coach Harvey Roy of the Kamloops Chiefs failed to add Murdoch as an extra rightwinger. Instead, Roy added Neil Lyseng of his own Chiefs, a young man who is a pretty fair two-way hockey player but has scored only 11 goals.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-0268/3166154-1-eng-US/f0037-022.jpg" title="f0037-02" width="266" height="454"><figcaption class="caption-body">Ed Chvnoweth</figcaption></div>The biggest bombshell was yet to come however. At 4:18 on a rather pleasant afternoon, WCHL president Ed Chynoweth announced the league&rsquo;s intention to break from the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association for the third time in nine years.The WCHL&rsquo;s declaration of independence will become effective May 12, the day following the Memorial Cup final. Finances dictated much of the WCHL decision, but Chynoweth also cited a lack of direction from the CAHA as part of the problem.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s quite obvious to us this is the decision we had to make. We&rsquo;re concerned about the lack of leadership from the CAHA,&rdquo; said Chynoweth.&ldquo;Pro hockey (WHA and NHL) owes us $640,000 for players drafted last year. There are still eight NHL teams and six WHA teams who have not yet paid a cent. We pay the same interest rates as they do. We were supposed to have our money in the fall,&rdquo; continued Chynoweth.&ldquo;What&rsquo;s the good of an agreement when people don&rsquo;t live up to it. 1 find it hard to believe pro hockey is not standing up to its commitments.There&rsquo;s no doubt the CAHA has been lax in collecting money in arrears and the pro leagues have been tardy in paying. Chynoweth feels there&rsquo;s a way to eliminate the problem.&ldquo;We will negotiate our own agreement with the pros,&rdquo; explained Chynoweth. &ldquo;We have a committee set up to approach both leagues.In this way, the WCHL would become a semi-development league for the pros, akin to the old sponsorship days. Instead of footing a hefty salary for a young man who isn&rsquo;t quite ready to slice the Big Apple, pro clubs will now be able to ship them back to the WCHL for one more year of seasoning.&ldquo;I think there&rsquo;s a lot of merit in the use of over-age players,&rdquo; insisted the WCHL prexy. &ldquo;Look at Orest Kindrachuk of the Philadelphia Fivers. I&rsquo;m notsure he would have made the NHL had he not had that one extra year of development with us as a 20 year old. His play improved tremendously during that season, so much so that he was on his way to the NHL.Men like Scotty Munro and Del Wilson didn&rsquo;t fall out of the cradle yesterday. Who&rsquo;s kidding who when it comes to dealing with finances and running a successful hockey operation?There are at least four WCHL clubs that are on thin financial ice at the moment, and part of the problem is a mismanagement of finances from the CAHA.There was only one question mark hovering over the WCHL announcement. The decision was made without its major junior brethren, the Quebec and Ontario leagues.It has been a habit in recent months for this threesome to move in unison. In this case, the WCHL is only trying to be a leader.&ldquo;Certainly we considered that point, but we felt now was the time for the announcement. One thing I&rsquo;ll say about the owners in the WCHL&hellip; when they believe in something, they stand up for it,&rdquo; said Chynoweth.This direction chosen by the WCHL could affect the entire future of hockey from the grass roots to the Big Apple. WCHL members have seen fit to grab the reins during these unsettled times in the hockey world, because the CAHA seemed to be holding up the show.And so it was good riddance.By the way, the Western Division All-Stars, defeated the Eastern Division 4-1. &#9632;

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WCHL Will Break From CAHA For Third Time In Nine Years

<h2>HOW THEY STAND</h2>ONTARIO MAJOR LEAGUE (Standings on Thu. Jan. 16)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-0345/3166192-1-eng-US/f0037-032.jpg" title="f0037-03" width="590" height="344"></div><h2>WESTERN CANADA LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Fri. Jan. 17)EASTERN DIVISION<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-0436/3166185-1-eng-US/f0037-042.jpg" title="f0037-04" width="586" height="492"></div> &#9632;

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OHA MAJOR HOCKEY LEAGUE

<div class="byline">BY BILL BRILL</div>WINSTON-SALEM &mdash;The general consensus around the Southern League is that nobody is going to catch Charlotte in the regular season. But the race for the next three playoff spots goes on.and winston-salem coach Forbes Kennedy has his own opinion on how it will turn out.Kennedy thinks that Hampton will wind up second, that his Polar Twins will take third and that defending champion Roanoke will slip all of the way to fourth.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-01113/3166223-1-eng-US/f0038-012.jpg" title="f0038-01" width="268" height="424"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jim Murray</figcaption></div>Kennedy reasons this way: &ldquo;The veterans will make Hampton tough the rest of the way. They&rsquo;ve been there before and they&rsquo;re starting to come now. I think we have a good chance to grab third with Roanoke dropping back to fourth.&ldquo;Roanoke will have to contend with us as our youngsters learn from the veterans we&rsquo;ve brought in. Let Charlotte and Roanoke tear each other up in the first round of the playoffs.&rdquo;Kennedy&rsquo;s team started 1975 in fine style, winning three of the first four games in what the front office has termed &ldquo;The year of the Bear&rdquo;. But the Polar Twins stumbled at home. 5-4. to Hampton just as they were starting that ran toward third.&ldquo;I said 1 was going to have an aggressive team.&rdquo; said the former National League veteran. &ldquo;I shipped out most of last year&rsquo;s team because 1 wanted somebody tougher. Then we went out and battled everybody. The problem was, we were winning fights and losing games.&rdquo;Now Kennedy&rsquo;s team has righted itself because he has squared away the defense. Veteran Jim Murray was signed and he promptly got a goal and three assists in a win at Roanoke Valley.With another veteran. Wayne Morusyk. just recovering from a knee injury, the Twins are finally doing something about what was the weakest defense in the league. &ldquo;I keep bringing in seasoned defensemen to work with the youngsters and we&rsquo;re playing better because of it,&rdquo; said Kennedy.&ldquo;I like to think my coaching reflects my playing style. 1 never scored much and 1 believe good defense is the secret of winning hockey games. If you keep the goals-against down low enough, the rest will come.&ldquo;This means I&rsquo;ve got to teach these young forwards to check and I&rsquo;ve got to have a strong defense.&rdquo;Just when the Twins were making their move, they learned they would have to get along without captain Tom Stachniak for six games. The veteran winger was suspended by the SHL for shoving an official during an altercation in a game at Roanoke.CHARLOTTE: Pat Kelly finally had to make the move he didn&rsquo;t want to make. Gaye Cooley was healthy, so he had three goalkeepers. Kelly finally dropped Brian Cousineau, who had been excellent, to keep Don Muio, who also had played well. &ldquo;I hated to do it but I can&rsquo;t keep three of them.&rdquo; said Kelly. Muio showed his appreciation by beating Roanoke Valley, 5-4, for the Checkers&rsquo; first win on Roanoke ice. Charlotte&rsquo;s ability to score late has been a big asset. The Checkers forced a tie with a minute left against Greensboro, then beat the Generals 4-3 in overtime on Wayne Chrysler&rsquo;s goal.GREENSBORO: Generals had their biggest crowd of the year, 3,405. for a tough 6-5 loss to Charlotte. All five of the Greensboro goals came on the power play, but the Gens missed a chance at the end on another power play. Player-coach Garry McMillan pulled his goalie, but the Gens couldn&rsquo;t convert on the 6-4 advantage. Even Jacques Royer&rsquo;s hat trick couldn&rsquo;t save Greensboro the previous night in a 4-3 overtime loss at Charlotte. The back-to-back defeats to the Checkers came despite some of Greensboro&rsquo;s finest play of the season. Return of Ed Johnstone from Michigan helped the weakened Greensboro offense.ROANOKE VALLEY: The Rebels continued to play shorthanded, and were down one more man after winger Pierre Cournoyer quit the team just before a game at Charlotte. Center Michel Boudreau, who had been hot with nine goals in five games, was ill and in a back-to-back series with Charlotte, the Rebels actually didn&rsquo;t have a legitimate center. Roanoke won in Charlotte for the first time, 6-2, with rookie Randy Andreachuk getting his first pro hat trick. Goalie Yves Archambault continues to be the SHL&rsquo;s best. He stopped 50 shots in win over Charlotte, then 38 more in 4-2 victory over Hampton.HAMPTON: Lome Rombough ontinues to be No. 2 in goal scoring behind Charlotte&rsquo;s Andre Deschamps. He got his 32nd in a loss at Roanoke. Coach John Brophy views this as a key month for the Gulls. &ldquo;In February we have 11 of 13 at home,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s why 1 think we&rsquo;ll take over second from Roanoke.&rdquo; The Gulls won two of three on their first January swing, winning at Greensboro 5-3 and Winston-Salem 5-4. &#9632;

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Kennedy Predicting Third Place For His Twins

THE HOCKEY NEWSEVERY WEEK for the price of a ticket to a SINGLE GAME!Superb Hockey Reading Each MonthHOCKEY WORLD & HOCKEY PICTORIALLEADING SCORERS<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-0271/3166254-1-eng-US/f0038-022.jpg" title="f0038-02" width="586" height="420"></div> &#9632;

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SHL Leaders

<div class="byline">BY JOHN ARNOLD</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-0349/3166285-1-eng-US/f0038-032.jpg" title="f0038-03" width="772" height="1048"></div><h2>SOLUTION IN FEBRUARY 7 ISSUE</h2><h3>ACROSS</h3>1&mdash;Former Buffalo defenseman.6&mdash;Teams travel this way.7&mdash;Ken Dryden was born in this month.9&mdash;San Diego forward.12&mdash;12th and 15th letters of the alphabet.13&mdash;Fonteyne answers to this.14&mdash;Leads the WHA in goal scoring.16&mdash;An NHL coach answers to this.17&mdash;Native Province of Al McNeil. (abbr.)18&mdash;Injured Ranger defenseman. (init)20&mdash;One of the Bruins, (init)21&mdash;Initials of a Buffalo forward.22&mdash;An NHL captain.25&mdash;Golf term.26&mdash;Stapleton answers to this.27&mdash;An NHL general manager.29&mdash;One of the Seals.<h3>DOWN</h3>1&mdash;Pictured player.2&mdash;Former NHL defenseman.3&mdash;1 point each.4&mdash;Last season&rsquo;s Norris winner.5&mdash;These brothers used to play for the Leafs.8&mdash;Wears No. 8 for Minnesota.10&mdash;9th and 1st letters of the alphabet.11&mdash;South Hampton&hellip; (abbr.)15&mdash;21 st and 18th letters of the alphabet.18&mdash;First name of one of the Rangers.19&mdash;Chicago rightwinger.20&mdash;One of the Leafs answers to this.22&mdash;Former NHL All Star net&mdash;minder.23&mdash;Initials of an NHL trophy.24&mdash;Each, (abbr.)25&mdash;Prince Edward Island, (abbr.)28&mdash;Former AHL forward Ellett. (init.)LAST WEEK&rsquo;S ANSWERSACROSS1&mdash;GENDRON.8&mdash;OREE9&mdash;HOWE11&mdash;SAVARD13&mdash;DET.16&mdash;SHE17&mdash;ILL.18&mdash;ONE.20&mdash;W.K.21&mdash;RON.22&mdash;TIE.23&mdash;KENNEDY.26&mdash;HOOD.27&mdash;IAN.28&mdash;JOYAL29&mdash;G.A.<h3>DOWN</h3>1&mdash;GOLDSWORTHY2&mdash;E.R.3&mdash;NESTERENKO.4&mdash;DEA.5&mdash;O.H.A.6&mdash;NORRIS.7&mdash;P.E.10&mdash;W.D.12&mdash;VI.14&mdash;E.H.15&mdash;MICKEY19&mdash;NO.20&mdash;WIDING.22&mdash;T.E.24&mdash;EDDY.25&mdash;NEIL. &#9632;

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HOCKEY CROSSWORD

QUEBEC MAJOR LEAGUE(Standings on Thu. Jan. 16)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-0267/3166368-1-eng-US/f0039-022.jpg" title="f0039-02" width="594" height="400"></div><h2>GAMES COMPLETED</h2>Thu. Jan. 9Trois-Rivieres 4 at Cornwall 6.Fri. Jan. 10Sorel 7 at Montreal 5; Laval 3 at Sherbrooke 7; Hull 2 at Quebec 10; Trois-Rivieres 6 at Shawinigan 3.Sun. Jan. 12Trois-Rivieres 4 at Sorel 3; Sherbrooke 8 at Montreal 3; Laval 1 at Quebec 10; Shawinigan 6 at Hull 13; Cornwall 9 at Chicoutimi 4.Mon. Jan. 13Sherbrooke 6 at Shawinigan 7; Hull 5 at Lava. 8.Tue. Jan. 14Quebec 5 at Chicoutimi 1; Cornwall 2 at Trnis-Rivifirfts R<h2>LEADING SCORERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-0349/3166361-1-eng-US/f0039-032.jpg" title="f0039-03" width="588" height="254"></div><h2>NEW YORK METRO JUNIOR</h2>(Standings on Tue. Jan. 8)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-0444/3166354-1-eng-US/f0039-042.jpg" title="f0039-04" width="587" height="283"></div><h2>LEADING SCORERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-0535/3166347-1-eng-US/f0039-052.jpg" title="f0039-05" width="588" height="230"></div> &#9632;

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January 31, 1975

FAN FORUM

PASSING THE PUCK

Blues’ Lack Of Confidence Turns New Year Sour

WHA’s Team Scoring, Penalty Statistics