Rockies Value Dupere's Experience

DENVER— Although it would be nice, most players in the National Hockey League aren't super stars. In fact, the list is very short, despite the fact that many journeymen performers would have you think they're first-raters, or that they would be if only for this or that or the other. More realistic thinkers in the league realize they're not stars and never will be. But they also take pride in the fact that the particular skills they do have are of value to their team, and they hone those skills to the highest degree possible. This brings us to Denis Dupere, the veteran left winger of the Colorado Rockies, who admits in his seventh NHL campaign, “I'm never gonna be an All Star. Maybe when you're younger, you think you might someday make…

Balance Key Factor In Cincinnati's Success

CINCINNATI— Picking the stars of the game during the Cincinnati Stingers' recent home stand was as tough as picking the trifecta in horse racing. The selectors were perplexed. How could you pick only three players, when it usually seemed all the Stingers deserved the honor? The Stingers got balanced scoring—and lots of it—steady defense and superb goaltending as they won four out of five games at Riverfront Coliseum. “Everybody played well,” coach Terry Slater repeated after each victory. Two rookies, Norm Lapointe and Greg Carroll, figured prominently in separate victories. Lapointe, who had become the Stingers' No. 1 goaltender, picked up his first major league shutout against Phoenix 8-0. The victory was his fourth in a row and lowered his GAA to 3.04. Carroll, a center, came off the bench to score one…

Kroc Threatens To Shift Mariners Out Unless Stadium Manager Is Removed

SAN DIEGO— Either the operator, of the San Diego International Sports Arena goes or his hockey club does, says Ray Kroc, owner of the San Diego Mariners of the World Hockey Association. Kroc told city officials to either get rid of Peter Graham, who operates the arena under a lease from the city, or he'll move his team to Seattle. Kroc, the Big Mac of the McDonald's hamburger chain who also owns the San Diego Padres baseball team, said he cannot do business with Graham. “If the city council or the mayor doesn't do something,'' Kroc said. “I'll take the hockey team and leave. This is no threat or bluff. If I'm going to live here. I'm going to have pride in my product.” Graham said he has been meeting almost daily with team manager…

World Hockey Association Summaries