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.

March 4, 1977

The Hockey News March 4, 1977

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-011111/4209396-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg" title="f0010-01" width="318" height="502"></div><h2>Game Of Week Good Move</h2>THE NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE is often condemned, and rightly so, for postponing action on its problems. In many cases', owners with winning teams and full buildings act as if they can't be bothered with their league's headaches.One area where the NHL deserves credit for taking positive action is its &ldquo;Monday night with Marv and either Gene, Jiggs or Dan&rdquo; show. The interest created by the NHL's nationally televised Monday night games is merely a ripple compared with Monday night football, but for those concerned with expanding hockey's appeal, the NHL games are at least a start.Thanks to Roone, Howard, Dandy Don and the Giffer, Americans and Canadians, who have access to U.S. telecasts, are trained to Monday night sports viewing. Program NHL games on weekends, where the tube is cluttered with everything from basketball to boxing to demolition derbies to barrel jumping, and hockey would be lost.Schedule NHL games on Mondays and generally the league has the sports fan to itself. Whether the average fans will bolster the NHL's ratings isn't known at this writing. Overnight returns in New York and Los Angeles following the game of the week debut were double the normal hockey ratings, according to Carl Meyers.Meyers, the NHL's vice president of broadcasting, admits those double ratings are only a slender twig compared with 'Roots', or even 'Wonder Woman'. But after such exciting games as Philadelphia Montreal, New York Islanders-Philadelphia, and Boston-Montreal, Meyers sounded reasonably satisfied with the league's first-year effort.<h2>Added Exposure For NHL</h2>&ldquo;WE KNEW IT WOULD take awhile for our games to hit their stride with viewers,&rdquo; said Meyers. &ldquo;Our main goals this season are to cover expenses and give the league exposure. If we make revenue, fine.&rdquo;Meyers said the NHL games are aired in the top 10 United States markets. The only league city where the games aren't carried, according to Meyers, is Minneapolis. The NHL feature also reaches such Canadian cities as Toronto, London (Ont.) and Victoria (B.C.) Why the games aren't bounced off the satelite into Montreal, the league's head quarters, can only be answered by those thinkers who occupy the TV stations' executive offices.Meyers says the Monday night concept developed out of the league's Stanley Cup playoffs success. Although the Montreal-Philadelphia finals were brief, Meyers says the telecasts attracted more viewers per 1,000 households than the NCAA and NBA basketball playoffs.&ldquo;When I filed my report with Don Ruck (president of NHL services) last spring, he asked where we'd go from here,&rdquo; Meyers recalled. &ldquo;I met with Brian O'Neill (NHL executive director) last Memorial Day. When we were checking the schedule board, we thought that the Jan. 3 Montreal-Flyers game would be a great start for a Monday TV series. It was a natural transition.&rdquo;<h2>Orr, Hawks Missing</h2>PERHAPS THE BIGGEST criticism of the Monday series was skipping Chicago and Bobby Orr. In retrospect, with Orr's great career in jeopardy, the decision to omit the Black Hawks turned out well. Meyers says the league wanted Chicago as a Monday night participant, but encountered opposition from Black Hawks' president Bill Wirtz.&ldquo;Boston-Chicago was our first choice for the second week, but Mr. Wirtz didn't want to move his game (from Sunday to Monday),&rdquo; said Meyers.The way the Black Hawks are drawing&mdash;with and without Orr, it doesn't seem to matter what night they play.Anyway, Meyers said he has been impressed with the cooperation his crews have received elsewhere. For example, when the scheduled Toronto-at-Snowfalo game was jeopardized by the New York city's disastrous snowbound conditions, the Flyers and Atlanta Flames agreed to switch from Sunday to Monday.Meyers, whose TV background was in sales with the Hughes network, has noticed one critical area the league must work on, along with strengthening weaker teams and realignment.&ldquo;We have to market our stars better,&rdquo; Meyers said. &ldquo;There's as whole new breed in the league&mdash;the Clarkes and Bennetts and others. They're very attractive people with things to say and it's up to us to make them better known. Marketing athletes is no different from selling a Jello box on the shelf. Players and coaches must be more accessible. &ldquo;I'll raise my raspberry Jello to that statement. &#9632;

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IN THIS ISSUE

Bill Fleischman's HOCKEY WORLD

<div class="byline">BY BILL LIBBY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0014-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-011065/4209589-1-eng-US/f0014-012.jpg"></div>LOS ANGELES&mdash;After watching Glenn Goldup, one King fan commented, &ldquo;I thought he was supposed to be a better skater than that.&rdquo; The fact that Glenn had torn knee ligaments in the pre-season period, had a delicate operation, and undergone difficult rehabilitation to restore the strength and flexibility to his left leg meant little to the fan, who, typically, expects players to perform miracles as a matter of course.Goldup missed four months before he got back into action with the Kings in January. He had been expected to help the team a lot originally and a lot of people had been waiting a long time for his return in the hope that he could yet help with about one third of the season left. Maybe too many expect too much of the 23-year-old minor league veteran obtained from Montreal in the off-season, but he gave them more than they had a right to hope for.The six-foot, 190-pound left-wing showed a lot of toughness, laying some heavy checks on the Canadiens in one game and scoring three goals in one stretch of four games. &ldquo;I feel real good,&rdquo; he said later. &ldquo;I'm surprised I don't have any pain in my knee. I wish I had more strength in my legs. If I did, I'd be skating better. I've been told it will be next season before I regain my full strength.&ldquo;I was six weeks in a cast, had eight weeks of really painful, tough therapy, and it was a long time before I could even get back on skates so I'm satisfied. The operation seems to have been successful, so I have to be satisfied.&rdquo;Dr. Vince Carter did the cutting and his physical therapist. Mike Levas, supervised the recuperation. Goldup says he's super pleased with their work on his behalf and grateful they got him back into action as soon as they had promised they would.This was the first serious injury he has suffered in his career and it scared him some. Trainers Peter Demers and John Holmes have pitched in to put him back in the best shape possible and he may yet reward the Kings for the draft picks they gambled on him.The son of Hank Goldup, who played with the Leafs and Rangers in the early '40s, playing with Ab DeMarco's father and King manager Jake Milford. Glenn is the only one of the children to follow in the father's footsteps.There were five girls and three boys in the family the father has supported, since retiring, in the liquor business. Glenn says, &ldquo;Dad has been a great help to me. He hasn't meddled in my career or pushed me, but he was a good teacher and encourages me a lot.&rdquo;Glenn needed encouragement because he admits he got discouraged for a while. He scored 42 goals in 54 games in his last season as a junior teammate of Mike Murphy's on the Toronto Marlboros. He went to Montreal in the second round of the summer, 1973, draft of graduating amateurs, the 17th selection in the draft, but then spent three straight seasons in the minors with the Nova Scotia club.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-02877/4209582-1-eng-US/f0014-022.jpg" title="f0014-02" width="1014" height="1417"><figcaption class="caption-body">KING-SIZE SKATE:. Members of the Los Angeles took time off from the NHL ice wars to take part in a &ldquo;Skate With the Kings night at the Forum. Here's goaler Rogie Vachon helping two youngsters around the ice surface while 'bad-man' Dave Schultz looks pretty passive at right as he signs autographs for youngsters. Event was overwhelming success and gave fans a chance to meet the players.</figcaption></div>Each season he got a few games in the majors with Montreal, but these totalled only 15 games and he did not feel he got a good chance to make it up top.Goldup scored 18 goals his first season, slipped to 15 his second season in Nova Scotia, and admits he did not give it his best. &ldquo;I had a bad attitude. I believed I belonged in the big time. I saw lesser players making it with lesser teams. I didn't see how I was going to beat out those great players with the Montreal team and I floated for two years, sulking.&rdquo; he confesses. &ldquo;Finally, I figured the best way to get to the top was to do so well some other teams would want me. It worked.&rdquo;Glenn scored 23 goals last season and his all-around play as an aggressive, hard- -hitting forward brought him second All Star honors in the American League. Then he fired eight goals in nine games to lead the Voyageurs to the Calder Cup playoff title. Last summer the Kings made a deal for him.&ldquo;I couldn't have been happier,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;It was a big break for me. I knew I'd get a chance to play with L.A. and I knew I'd prove I could play in the majors. Was I ever disappointed when I got hurt. But I'm going to battle back and make it big,&rdquo; concluded the ultra-confident young man who will be 24 on April 27 and appears to have a fine future.Glenn, who wears his dark hair long and wears a mustache, was married to the former Sherry Neilsen of Saskatoon and Toronto in July of 1973. They have a two-year-old daughter Brandy, and a new home in the San Fernando Valley. He says, &ldquo;We love it here and hope to stay year-round. We're looking forward to the summer when we can see some of the sights. But right now I'm looking forward to finishing this winter as fast as I can. I know a lot of people expect a lot of me, and I hope to help.&rdquo;Right now, his in-and-out team needs all the help it can get to stabilize itself prior to the playoffs. &#9632;

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Goldup Returns In Time To Help Los Angeles

<div class="byline">BY BILL ADLER</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0036-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-01302/4210524-1-eng-US/f0036-012.jpg"></div>DALLAS&mdash;With the toughest part of their schedule facing them and some serious injuries depleting their roster, coach Roger Neilson and the Dallas Hawks have emerged as serious challengers for the Adams Cup.Despite the loss of forwards Greg Hubick and Alain Belanger and All Star defenseman Ian McKegney along with nagging injuries to defensemen Mike O'Connell and Randy Holt that limited their effectiveness, the Hawks have won eight along with one tie in their last 10 games including four wins in five games last week.Goalie Mike Veisor registered his first shutout of the season in a 3-0 whitewash over the Tulsa Oilers in Dallas. The shut-out was the 13th of his CHL career, tieing him with former Black Hawk Michel Dumas for the all-time lead in that category. Rookie Gary McFadyen scored twice while Doug Rombough added the other goal for the Hawks.Center Bruce Boudreau returned from his brief stint in Toronto to bolster the offense with a goal in the Hawks. 3-2 win in Fort Worth Bob Warner broke a 2-2 tie late in the second period before the Hawks unleashed their tight-checking game to hold the Texans scoreless in the final twenty minutes.Another Hawk center Greg Vaydik reached the 20-goal plateau whit his first &ldquo;hat trick&rdquo; of the season as the Hawks downed Salt Lake 6-2 in Salt Lake. Two nights later the Hawks borrowed Ted Bulley for the second time this season from the Flint Generals and for the second time in two games, the good-looking left-winger recorded the game-winning goal.KANSAS CITY : Success for the Blues is paying dividends in Kansas City. The fans have finally realized that the Blues are one of the outstanding hockey teams around these days. Thus, attendance has been on the upswing in Kansas City since the beginning of January. During the past six weeks the Blues have been averaging over 4,300 fans per game and Kansas City fans have not been disappointed with the performance of their local favorites who have rushed to a commanding lead in the CHL stantings.Reflecting the growth of the home crowds is the sharp play of the Blues in Kemper Arena. Kansas City possesses a 21-5-1 home ice record so far this season. The Blues are also holders of the only road winning record in the CHL having captured 11 of their first 25 road games along with five ties.However, it has not been all that easy this season for rookie coach Barclay Plager. Three weeks ago Plager saw his outstanding young line of Bernie Federko, Rick Bourbonnais and Brian Sutter all recalled by St. Louis. Most recently his number one goalie and the top goaltender in the CHL this season Yves Belanger joined the parent club in a similar fashion as goalie Doug Grant did several weeks ago. Then Derek Sanderson left the club when St. Louis sold his contract to the Vancouver Canucks.Yet the Blues continue to enjoy success despite the roster changes. Ed Staniowski joined the Kansas City team and after a slow start has begun to display that same form that he displayed in the NHL playoffs last season. Staniowski recorded three wins in four strong performances for the Blues last week.FORT WORTH: With only two wins in their last 14 games, it is now readily apparent that the Texans are faced with a door-die situation if they are to rally in order to earn a playoff berth for the first time in four years. Both victories in that stretch have come at the expense of the last-place Oklahoma City Blazers. During the 12 losses the team has managed to score only 24 goals or an average of only two goals per game.How does a team with a high-powered offense suddenly lose all its strength? A quick look at some of the high-powered guns shows the reason. Brad Anderson, a 32-goal scorer last year, has tallied only 10 so far this season with only one goal coming in his last 27 games. Dave Salvian, a 38-goal scorer in his rookie season, has 22 this year but has now gone 12 straight games without a goal. Rookie Steve Clippingdale tops all Texan goal-scorers with 24 but the rangy forward has scored only three times in his last 18 contests. New York Islanders, number one draft selection, Alex McKendry, has played in 42 games this season with the Texans with a total of three goals.SALT LAKE: With the fate of the Cleveland Barons still undecided, the action remains good in Salt Lake with the young Eagles. Splitting four home contests last week enabled Salt Lake to extend their lead to seven points over Ft. Worth in the battle for the fourth and final playoff spot.The four contests drew 23,945 in the Salt Palace for an average of 5,986. The fans have shown great patience with this young team that possesses no fewer than six first-year professionals.After suffering a pair of defeats at the hands of Dallas, the Golden Eagles regrouped and overwhelmed the Oklahoma City Blazers twice with a pair of seven goal efforts In a 7-2 win, rookies Rick Shinske and Ken Kuzyk both tallied twice while Charlie Simmer, Denis Meloche and Tom Sundberg added the other goals.The following evening the Golden Eagles rallied from a 2-0 first-period deficit on second-period goals by Lyle Bradley. Meloche and John Martin to overtake the Blazers on their way to a 7-3 victory.Despite the presence of six rookies and four second-year professionals in their lineup the Golden Eagles continue to have a successful season. The young players have shown that necessary improvement in their personal development, a tribute to the patience of their fine second-year coach Marv Edwards.OKLAHOMA CITY: With things getting tougher and tougher general manager-coach Murray Davison had to put the uniform back on. returning to active duty on the blueline for the second time this season. An injury to defenseman Glen Irwin along with the defection of Tom Ser-viss created the player shortage once again for the Blazers.The bright light for the team and the Oklahoma City fans continues to be center Steve West who has regained the scoring lead with 71 points, two points agead of the departed Bernie Federko. West's total of 46 assists also tops the CHL in thepa&mdash;that category.In somewhat of a surprise move, the Toronto Maple Leafs recalled goaltender Pierre Hamel as backup to Mike Palmateer following an injury to Wayne Thomas. Injuries and a rather weak defense has made it a very frustrating season for the second team All Star goalie of last year.Second-year professional Roger Swanson returned to the nets following two months of inactivity due to knee surgery. Swanson had suffered through two rather dismal seasons, last year in Tucson and so far this season with the Blazers. This native of Flin Flon managed only six victories in his first 50 starts.TULSA: With their playing ranks depleted, the Oilers dipped into the International Hockey League for rookie Mike Will who started the year in Tulsa before being shipped to Ft. Wayne by the Vancouver Canucks.Injuries sidelined rookie defenseman Rick Hodgson (hernia) and forward Glen Richardson (inflamed elbow) while the Atlanta Flames recalled defenseman Pat Ribble.Will immediately made his presence felt, scoring a pair of goals in the Oilers' 5-3 win over Ft. Worth in Tulsa.Two nights earlier a pair of goals by Ralph Stewart enabled the Oilers to jump to a 6-1 lead over the league-leading Kansas City Blues on their way to an easy 6-3 win.<h2>CHL Team Scoring</h2><h2>Where CHL Teams Play</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-02229/4210517-1-eng-US/f0036-022.jpg" title="f0036-02" width="622" height="1034"></div> &#9632;

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Crippled Hawks Show Determination In Winning

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0042-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-0290/4210800-1-eng-US/f0042-022.jpg"></div> &#9632;

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Minor League Scoreboard

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0002-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-011044/4208975-1-eng-US/f0002-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Goaler Rogation Vachon came close to making hockey history last week when he supposedly scored a goal and then had it taken away from him. (Photo by Stove Babineau)</figcaption></div><h2>VACHON MISSED HISTORY</h2>LOS ANGELES&mdash;Hockey fans across the country woke up to the news one morning this past week that an NHL goaltender had finally scored a goal. It was a history-making first and the hero was Rogatien Vachon of the Los Angeles Kings. But before the print on the headlines was hardly dry, a league official did some videotape checking of the goal and discovered that Vachon didn't score the goal at all.Official scorer John Bealy in L.A. reviewed the play over and over again with other game officials and camp up with the same conclusion&mdash;that the last man to touch the puck was center Vic Venasky and not goaler Vachon. It all started when the Kings were called for a delayed penalty. Goaler Glenn Resch of the Islanders headed for the bench. Bryan Trottier of the Islanders attempted to pass the puck and it slithered into the unguarded New York net. Everyone thought Vachon had touched the puck last but the videotape showed otherwise. In the. 60-year history of the NHL no netminder has ever scored a goal.<h2>BARONS GET ULTIMATIUM</h2>CLEVELAND&mdash;The Cleveland Barons are still skating on thin ice and owner Mel Swig has to feel like a man in the middle of the ocean without a paddle as he attempts to keep the NHL team afloat. The players have given Swig an ultimatium that he either pays them their back salaries or finds someone who will come up with the money. If not the Cleveland Barons are dead.Baron player rep Bob Stewart said the members of the team reversed their decision not to play in two weekend games but informed Swig that it would all end this week unless Swig could produce the finances or a new 'angel'. All players would free agents and would make their own deals. Stewart says the players had the backing of the entire NHL Players' Association. Some players have already moved out. Seldom-used defenseman Glenn Patrick jumped to Edmonton of the WHA and five members of Barons' Salt Lake farm club in the CHL quit the team and went home, declaring themselves free agents.<h2>DEREK TRADED AGAIN</h2>VANCOUVER&mdash;Derek Sanderson has come back to the NHL after being traded for the umpteenth time. The Vancouver Canucks took over Sanderson's $160,000 per year contract and hoped the controversial center would give them some late-season spark to make the playoffs. Sanderson had been languishing in Kansas City of the CHL, nursing an injury after the Blues apparently quit on him ant farmed him out.In other player moves, the Philly Flyers grabbed defenseman Rick LaPointe, a Red Wing first draft pick, from Detroit in exchange for defenseman Terry Murray and three minor leaguers from Springfield. Mike Korney was also thrown into the deal by the Wings but LaPointe was the man the Flyers had been angling for some time. In another development, goaler Al Smith, who walked out on the Buffalo Sabres, said he was retiring from hockey. The unhappy Sabre goaler said moving around 30 times in an 11-year pro career and not getting a fair chance from the Sabres convinced him it was time to quit.<h2>VADNAIS IN HOT WATER</h2>NEW YORK&mdash;Defenseman Carol Vadnais is the latest NHLer to be set down for stick swinging action during a league game. Vadnais has been suspended for one game after a swinging duel with Philadelphia's Orest Kindrachuk. He also was involved in an altercation with Islanders' Garry Howatt and was given a major and match penalty. Last week the NHL suspended Vancouver defenseman Jack McIlhargey for 10 games for cutting Detroit's J.P. Leblanc for 28 stitches with his stick. The NHL will review Vadnais's case. &#9632;

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DEADLINE STOPPERS

<div class="byline">BY ALAN TRUEX</div>ATLANTA-In 1973, Tom Lysiak signed a long-term contract with the Atlanta Flames, for an annual salary reportedly in the vicinity of $150.000.Today, Lysiak says, &ldquo;I don't have any money.&rdquo;He is one of many professional athletes who alleges player agent Richard Sorkin owes them money. &ldquo;When 1 looked at my financial statement last summer,&rdquo; Lysiak said, &ldquo;I saw that I had nothing.&rdquo;Lysiak and teammates Ken Houston and Eddie Kea reportedly have taken legal action against Sorkin, of Rockville Center, N.Y. The case is currently before the courts.Both Lysiak and Houston admitted all their savings have been wiped out. Kea's losses were less. &ldquo;All I lost was my tax return,&rdquo; the Atlanta defenseman said. &ldquo;I guess I was lucky.&rdquo;Lysiak, on the other hand, has had to alter his high-rolling bachelor lifestyle to fit his suddenly-depressed financial condition. &ldquo;This has made me do a few things differently,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;I don't spend like I used to.&ldquo;I have nothing to show for my three years. I've just been playing the game for the love of the game.&rdquo;The players have little hope of recovering their losses. &ldquo;I don't think we're gonna get anything back,&rdquo; Kea said.It is the peak of irony, how the hockey players obtained extremely lucrative contracts by letting agents negotiate them, but now the players end up losing their wealth, because of their agent's unsound investments.Bill Clement, a Flames' player who was not a client of Lysiak's agents isn't surprised by the misfortune that has befallen so many NHL players.&ldquo;It had to happen,&rdquo; Clement said.&ldquo;There are too many players who let their agents have complete control of their finances. There are good agents and there are bad ones.&rdquo;Although the public may not be aware of it, player agents do far more than negotiate contracts. That is just the beginning of their involvement.In many cases, the agent takes over his client's total finances. Houston, for example, had his Flames' paycheck mailed directly to his agent, who sent the player a living allowance. The rest of Houston's money was kept presumably so it could be invested. But he ended up losing it.The problem with this arrangement, as Clement pointed out, is that &ldquo;even if they improve on the money you've given them, you don't know how much they've improved on it. They may have made a lot of money off your money, and you may only be getting a small part of the profit.&ldquo;You ask him where your money is, and he might say. I've got a hundred thousand dollars of it, and I'm just waiting to do something with it.&rdquo;Yet it is easy to see why players such as Lysiak and Houston would put themselves completely at their agent's mercy. As Lysiak said, &ldquo;What do I know about managing money? I never had any until I signed my professional contract.&rdquo;Last spring Lysiak began to suspect his funds were being mismanaged. &ldquo;There were a couple of late things, a couple of loans, a couple of car payments. I suddenly found out I was four car payments behind.&rdquo;Lysiak said he not only is out of money, he is in debt.Kea began his relationship with his agent three years ago, in Omaha. &ldquo;I was looking for an agent,&rdquo; Kea said. &ldquo;I didn't check him out.&rdquo;The Flames' defenseman said he &ldquo;was really happy&rdquo; with the way his agent negotiated his contract and advised him on business matters.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-02946/4209013-1-eng-US/f0002-022.jpg" title="f0002-02" width="636" height="1230"><figcaption class="caption-body">TOM LYSIAK &hellip; Money Just Went</figcaption></div>But Kea, wisely, made his own investments. &ldquo;The first couple of years he didn't handle any of my money.&rdquo; Kea said. &ldquo;Then he did my taxes for me. That's where I made my mistake. He kept holding my tax returns on me.&ldquo;The second year he held 'em about six months before I finally received them. He would just send a portion at a time.&ldquo;And last year he kept all of my returns. That's when 1 got a lawyer.&rdquo;FLAME NOTES: Atlanta's two righthanded defensemen. Dave Shand and Barry Gibbs, both caught infectious mononucleosis in mid-February, and they left the lineup for an indefinite period. Rookie defenseman Pat Ribble was called up from Tulsa to fill in.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-03703/4209006-1-eng-US/f0002-032.jpg" title="f0002-03" width="963" height="4353"></div> &#9632;

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Lysiak Ripped Off By Player Agent, Admits He's Broke

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0003-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-011051/4209065-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">JACQUES LEMAIRE&hellip; Reaches NHL Milestone (Photo by Steve Babineau)</figcaption></div>MONTREAL&mdash;One of hockey's highlights during the course of time has been the inevitable race to get ahead in the National Hockey League's all-time scoring race, whether it be goals or assists.Being there with hockey's elite is the paramount thrill for many of the big name players who reach the scoring peaks of the NHL and this past week and probably into the next week ahead, the face of the all-time NHL scoring lists has taken on a change.During the course of last week alone, two members of the Montreal Canadiens, Yvan Cournoyer and Jacques Lemaire, climbed into hockey's select high scoring company. Cournoyer scored his 400th career goal and Lemaire came through with his 300th and ironically, both scoring stars reached their respective plateaus on the same night and in the same game&mdash;against PhiladelphiaWhile the two productive Montrealers have taken their place in history still another is about to step up to become only the NHL's lighth 500-goal scorer, Stan Mikita. the hard-nosed Black Hawk, is on the threshold of his milestone goal and closed out last weekend by scoring his 499th career goal.Only such scoring luminaries as Gordie Howe 786. Bobby Hull 604, Phil Esposito 592, John Bucyk 551, Maurice Richard 544, Frank Mahovlich 533 and Jean Beliveau with 507 goals, have scored more times in the NHL than the 37-year-old Mikita, who is playing his 18th year in the big time with Chicago.While Cournoyer, Lemaire and Mikita are making goal scoring history another spectacular NHL performer has entered his name in hockey's all time scoring book. Rod Gilbert of the Rangers attained a major league milestone when he collected his 1,000th scoring point last weekend against the New York Islanders.Gilbert's record-making assist made him only the 11th man in NHL history to reach the 1,000 point mark in his career.And the day isn't far off when space will be reserved among hockey's 400-goal scorers for Gilbert as well. The great Ranger right winger has 397 career goals and only recently passed Montreal immortal Bernie Geoffrion on hockey's all-time scoring ladder.Cournoyer and Gilbert both headed into the current season striving to win the race for the 400-goal plateau. Each started with 377 goals but the diminutive Montreal captain has been hot of late and spurted to the 400-mark just ahead of the Rangers' scoring leader. Another veteran NHLer who is laying back within range of his 400-goal milestone is Boston's Jean Ratelle, who has 393 and needs only seven more to make it. R&acirc;telle is deadlocked with Geoffrion in 13th place on the all-time list.Cournoyer has moved into 11th place behind the retired Alex Delvecchio, who finished his career with 456 goals and, strangely, both have the distinction of scoring 400 goals but never having been selected to a first NHL All Star team. Lemaire, with 300 career goals, also has never been named to an All Star team&mdash;either first or second&mdash;in his career.And don't count the wily Esposito out of the milestone scoring race. With 30 season goals and a career total of 592, Espo needs 13 to move ahead of Bobby Hull into second place behind Howe in the NHL scoring race. If he doesn't do it this season, he'll make it next year but Esposito could still finish up by scoring his 600th in the Rangers' remaining 19 games.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-03613/4209058-1-eng-US/f0003-032.jpg" title="f0003-03" width="1322" height="993"><figcaption class="caption-body">STAN MIKITA&hellip; Needs One For 500th Goal</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-04366/4209051-1-eng-US/f0003-042.jpg" title="f0003-04" width="1322" height="1589"><figcaption class="caption-body">YVAN COURNOYER&hellip; In Select Company (Photo by Bruce Bennett)</figcaption></div><h2>NHL's TOP 25 Scorers</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-02905/4209044-1-eng-US/f0003-022.jpg" title="f0003-02" width="1354" height="950"></div> &#9632;

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COURNOYER NETS 400th, LEMAIRE 300th NHL GOALS—GILBERT GETS 1,000th POINT

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-011102/4209117-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg" title="f0004-01" width="486" height="501"></div>&bull; CANADIENS APPEAR to have Philadelphia's number. They've beaten the Flyers in 10 consecutive games counting playoffs and exhibition games&hellip; Ray Kroc. owner of the San Diego Mariners, is fast becoming disillusioned with hockey. The reason: guaranteed annual salaries of $180,000 to Paul Shmyr and $150,000 to Andre Lacroix&hellip; Jean Pronovost, Pittsburgh Penguins' ace goal getter, has scored 30 or more goals in five of the nine seasons he's been with the club&hellip; Phil Esposito celebrated his 35th birthday by reaching the 30-goal mark for the 10th straight season&hellip; Attendance has been on the increase at Pittsburgh and Washington of late&hellip; Condolences to Bob Casey and his family on the recent death of his father. Bob is public relations director of of the National Hockey League&hellip; Defenseman Rick Lapointe was thrilled about the trade that sent him from Detroit to Philadelphia. &ldquo;You can't beat going from an 18th place team to the second place team in one move,'' he chortled&hellip; Stan Mikita, Chicago's veteran center had this to say the other day: &ldquo;I see players on our team and on other teams who can't pass a puck backhanded, and they all want $100,000"&hellip; Flyers' captain Bobby Clarke is disappointed in his play and plans to ask management for a few days off. The dynamic Philadelphia leader just can't seem to go at the same place as other years and it's bothering him&hellip;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-021057/4209110-1-eng-US/f0004-022.jpg" title="f0004-02" width="326" height="545"><figcaption class="caption-body">Rick LaPointe</figcaption></div>&bull; AL HILL, who scored two goals and had three assists in his first NHL game for Philadelphia Flyers, is a graduate of the productive Trail. B.C. hockey incubator Trail is starting to turn out a goodly number of pro players, HUI came to me Flyers from Springfield Indians of the American Hockey League. He scored on his first two shots on goal in his NHL debut against St. Louis&hellip; Mike Milbury, the hard-nosed defenseman out of Walpole. Mass, and Colgate University, has already been given 133 penalty minutes this season and stands a good chance to establish a new Bruins' record for most penalty minutes in a season. Eddie Shore set the record back in 1927-28 with 165 minutes&hellip; Dallas Smith, colorless but effective Boston defenseman, has played in over 700 NHL regularly-scheduled games&hellip; Maple Leaf Gardens report that the $700,000 revenue they lost when Toronto Toros moved to Birmingham has been more than made up by other attractions playing the building&hellip; In a letter directed to the Hon. Coleman A. Young, mayor of Detroit, dated Feb. 14,1977, Red Wings' owner Bruce A. Norris announced: &ldquo;After many months of analysis, research and difficult deliberations, I must, on behalf of the Olympia Stadium and the Detroit Hockey Club, advise that we cannot join with you in the proposed Riverfront Arena&rdquo; &hellip; Bep Guidolin says the Kansas City Scouts still owe him $105,000 from previous employment. Now coaching Edmonton of the WHA, Bep said: &ldquo;I have been treated far better in Edmonton than I was in the NHL.&rdquo; He also said he wasn't interested in an offer from Pittsburgh Penguins to coach that team next season&hellip; Montreal Canadiens players are not a bit enthusiastic about a global championship series with the Russians. They figure the season is far too long already&hellip; Chicago would trade Dick Redmond if any kind of worthwhile deal could be worked out&hellip; Gerry Cheevers, Boston's veteran goalie, has syndicated 50 percent of his Kentucky Derby favorite Royal Ski for $1 million. The pool was the largest ever paid for a three-year-old prior to the Kentucky Derby,&rdquo; said Cheevers.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-03952/4209103-1-eng-US/f0004-032.jpg" title="f0004-03" width="326" height="551"><figcaption class="caption-body">Al Hill</figcaption></div>&bull; MARK HEASLIP has returned from New Haven Nighthawks to the New York Rangers and will probably finish the season with them. He was replaced in the New Haven lineup by Greg Hickey, younger brother of the Rangers' Pat&hellip; Nice to see Allan Stanley back in the NHL as a defensive coach with the Buffalo Sabres. Always a class guy during his 21 seasons in the NHL, Stanley starred for four Stanley Cup winners under Punch Imlach at Toronto. He also played with Chicago, Boston, New York Rangers and Philadelphia&hellip; Boston's Peter McNab was the second most accurate shooter in the NHL during Bruins' first 40 games. He scored 26 goals on 105 shots for a 24.8 scoring percentage&hellip; Don Edwards, Buffalo's rookie goalie, has been a great surprise to the Sabres. Right now he's earned the No.1 position&hellip; Vancouver's Jack McIlhargey has been nicknamed Wolfman&hellip; NHL official scorers are relying more on the replays to decide who actually scored and assisted&hellip; Let's hope the sorry Cleveland Barons situation ends. Hockey fans are fed up hearing about the troublesome situation&hellip;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-04850/4209096-1-eng-US/f0004-042.jpg" title="f0004-04" width="326" height="541"><figcaption class="caption-body">Don Edwards</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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Ken McKenzie's PASSING THE PUCK

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0004-05" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-05711/4209148-1-eng-US/f0004-052.jpg"></div><h2>Hawks' Biggest Blunder Was Signing Bobby Orr</h2>The Chicago Black Hawks are a declining team in the National Hockey League. If the Black Hawks were in any other division, they would not even make the playoffs.Why are the Black Hawks declining? Because the front office is not using their heads.Chicago's biggest blunder this season was the signing of Bobby Orr. The Hawks signed Orr for $3 million. This kind of money would go a long way to paying a healthy player. Bobby Orr is damaged goods.What the Black Hawks should have done with the $3 million is put it into their farm system. If the Black Hawks put the money into developing players, the fans would see a better brand of hockey.Bobby Orr now is retiring for the rest of the season and maybe for life. If he is smart, he will quit while he can still walk. If he doesn't return to the club, the Hawks will be stuck with nothing.The only way the Black Hawks will improve is when the front office faces the facts.PETER COOK, Beverly, Mass.<h2>An Open Letter To Mel Swig</h2>1 have little sympathy for your cause in Cleveland. It was a crusade in futility. Bay Area hockey fans now have only memories thanks to your lack of patience.Without hockey, there is a void that can't be filled by anything else. I think the fans of the Seals were special.They never had a true winner, yet night after night, they came out and their numbers were growing. True, you might not have made money for a while here, but your losses might be less and the Bay Area would still have a hockey team.The myths of an eastern location and a thirst for hockey elsewhere can now be discarded&mdash;they are truly false.The Seals were appreciated by the Bay Area, a fact I think you now believe, but will never admit.Again. I have no sympathy for you. only for the team and the hockey fans of the Bay Area. Mr. Swig, you should have given us a better chance.Your gamble of moving east to make money didn't pay off and now, you're getting what you deserve.ALAN CURTIS, Foster City, Calif.<h2>High School Book Fits Hockey Matters</h2>When I came across an old high school yearbook recently, I was reminded of the commonly-titled column. &ldquo;We wonder why&hellip;?&rdquo; Perhaps we could apply that to some situations in professional hockey.We wonder why&hellip;&mdash;Red and blue are the only colors National Hockey League teams choose for uniforms, when there is only one black and one green color scheme among 18 teams?&mdash;NHL owners agree to set down rules to curb violence, then instruct officials to &ldquo;ease off a bit&rdquo; in their application?&mdash;Pro hockey players don't catch on that a wrist shot could be at the net (or in it) by the time they wind up for a slap shot, letting both defensemen and goalies get set for the blast?&mdash;Pro players still insist on high salaries when franchises are folding, or in danger of doing so. because of a lack of profits?&mdash;Television cameramen embarass viewers by giving close-ups of violators after they have been called for a penalty. Anyone can &ldquo;lip read&rdquo; their vulgar expressions.G. GOODHAND, Fenelon Falls, Ont.<h2>A Single Division Only Solution</h2>1 have heard a lot about the unfairness of the current four divisions and the Sweathog Smythe Division in the National Hockey League.If the NHL board of governors were to get together to reorganize or realign the divisions, it would only be a matter of time before once again, their would be a weak division.I feel I have a solution that would always be fair. There would be only one division with the winner receiving the Prince of Wales Trophy and the runnerup receiving the Clarence Campbell Conference Trophy.Only eight teams would make the playoffs. True, some fans would not get to see the playoffs, but if they were not in the top eight they would hardly deserve it.JAMES HOLMES, Allentown, Pa.<h2>Rockies, Capitals Are Good Clubs</h2>I think it's time for people to start realizing how good Colorado and Washington are coming along.As of Feb 6, Colorado had won 15 (tying the team record), had 39 points (three more than last year and two less than their record), had 155 goals (35 short of their record with 27 games remaining), and showing improvement in attendance.Washington is improving even better with 16 wins (five more than their previous record), had 41 points (nine more than their previous high), have reduced the club's goals-against tremendously and is chasing the teams in their division for a playoff spot.BILL WESTERMAN, Muskegon, Mich.<h2>A Sudden Change In Hockey Conditions</h2>I have been a New York Ranger fan and season ticket holder for about 10 years. I've seen many a great game at Madison Square Garden during the days prior to the World Hockey Association and also before high salaries and I enjoyed every minute of it.However, being a serviceman. I have been stationed in Athens, Ga., about 60 miles from the Atlanta Flames and San Diego Calif., the home of the Mariners.Having left the New York area and its extensive coverage of hockey, I was perplexed at the lack of news and newspaper coverage teams like the Flames and the Mariners receive.Having been used to crowds of 17,500 every game, I was thrust into games where 8,000 was a good night. Unbelievable, but true.No matter how hard I tried,,! could not adjust to seeing the likes of Joe Noris and Bob Dobek after having seen Ed Giacomin, the Canadiens, Bobby Orr, Bobby Hull and many others. I also used to attend games in Montreal, where I witnessed the great difference.I'm saddened by the fact that most people here aren't interested in the fastest team sport in the world, but I also understand that to support a team that has had its talent diluted from expansion would also be sad.I feel bad for the people who haven't seen hockey at its best, when hockey was pride and winning&mdash;not just money. Good hockey in places like Montreal. Boston and New York.LIEUT. WALTER KOWAL JR., San Diego, Calif. &#9632;

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FAN FORUM

Following are the latest player movements in hockey:<h2>NATIONAL LEAGUE</h2>BUFFALO &mdash; Al Smith, goaler, placed on voluntary retired list at own request, Robert Sauve, goaler, recalled from Rhode Island of AHL as replacement.CLEVELAND &mdash; Phil Roberto, and Frank Spring, forward, and Craig Patrick, defenseman, became free agents. Patrick jumped to Edmonton of WHA. Denis Meloche, Lyle Bradley, Charlie Simmer, Gary Holt and Tom Price, forwards, left Barons' Salt Lake farm club in CHL declaring themselves free agents.COLORADO &mdash; Bryan Lefley, defenseman, sent to Oklahoma City of CHL to play himself into condition. Ron Andruff, forward, placed on disabled list for three weeks with shoulder separation. Simon Nolet, forward, returned to active roster from injury list.DETROIT &mdash; Rick Lapointe, defenseman, and Mike Korney, forward, traded to Philadelphia in return for Terry Murray, defenseman, and Steve Coates, Dave Kelly and Bob Ritchie, all forwards with Springfield of AHL. Buster Harvey and Brian McCutcheon, forwards, sent to Kansas City of CHL. Bobby Sheehan, forward, recalled from Rhode Island. Ed Giacomin, goaler, Terry Harper, defenseman, and Danny Grant, forward, all on injury list. Terry Richardson, goaler, recalled from Kalamazoo of IHL as goaling replacement.N.Y. ISLANDERS-Neil Nicholson, defenseman, recalled from Fort Worth of CHL. Rich Hansen, forward, returned to Fort Worth.N.Y. RANGERS &mdash; John Davidson, goaler, sent to New Haven of AHL to play himself into condition and returned to NHL club. Doug Jarrett, defenseman, removed from suspended list and returned to New Haven. Jarrett later recalled from New Haven aloing with Larry Sacharuk, defenseman, Greg Holst and Mark Heaslip, forwards. John Bednarski, defenseman, returned to New Haven. Don Murcoch, forward, placed on disabled list for 10 days with torn tendon in ankle.PHILADELPHIA - Al Hill, forward, recalled from Springfield of AHL. Drew Callander, forward, sent to Springfield as replacement.ST. LOUIS &mdash; Doug Grant, goaler, sent to Kansas City of CHL.TORONTO &mdash; Mike Pelyk, defenseman, recalled from Dallas of CHL. Pierre Hamel, goaler, recalled from Oklahoma City as standby and later returned.VANCOUVER &mdash; Derek Sanderson, forward, purchased outright from St. Louis. Sanderson recalled from Kansas City of CHL by Blues for purpose of trading him. Mike Will, forward, recalled from Fort Wayne of IHL and reassigned to Tulsa of CHL.WASHINGTON - Bill Mikkelson, defenseman, recalled from Rhode Island of AHL. Bob Paradise, defenseman, recalled from Springfield of AHL. Jean Lemieux, defenseman, sent to Springfield as replacement.<h2>WORLD HOCKEY ASSN.</h2>EDMONTON &mdash; Danny Arndt, forward, sent to Rhode Island of AHL. &#9632;

Hockey Players On The Move

<div class="byline">BY PAT THOMPSON</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0005-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-01953/4209203-1-eng-US/f0005-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">GARY SMITH&hellip; Looking For Security</figcaption></div>TWIN CITIES&mdash;The advertisement could go this way:POSITION WANTED: Experienced NHL goaltender wants new team. Career goals-against 3.19. One Vezina, 26 shutouts. Leadership ability. Interested In three-year contract, preferably with contending team.Gary Smith, just turned 33, does not expect to be back with the Minnesota North Stars after the current season.&ldquo;Come June 1, I will be a free agent and I plan to exercise that option if any teams are interested,&rdquo; Smith declared after he posted his first shutout of the season, 3-0 vs. Chicago Feb. 6. &ldquo;I like playing in Minnesota and I like this hockey team&hellip;but my major concern right now is the security of my family. I'm 33 now and the next contract I sign will probably be my last.&rdquo;The six-foot-four goalie said he and his agent had been trying to sign a contract with the North Stars since shortly after he was traded to the team last summer by Vancouver. (The Canucks received Cesare Maniago in the goalie-for-goalie swap).&ldquo;I was all set to sign in December,&rdquo; said Smith, &ldquo;but the North Stars wanted to wait until the All Star break. Now I'm glad I didn't sign&hellip;I've proven I can still play capably and help some teams out if any are interested.&rdquo;The North Stars say now they are willing to sign the veteran. &ldquo;I spent four and a half hours with Smith's agent in Vancouver talking contract,&rdquo; said general manager Jack Gordon. &ldquo;I think it's Smith that wants to quit and not us.&rdquo;Gordon said he received the indication that Smith wants to play for a team on the West Coast.Should Smith exercise his free agent's right and sign with somebody else in the NHL, that team and the North Stars would be given compensation on a ruling by an impartial third party, per the NHL agreement with the players.Smith did not make his desires known publicly until after he played a series of strong games, which followed an eight-game benching in December on the heels of allowing seven goals midway through an 11-4 loss to the Rangers.&ldquo;It took some time for me to regain my confidence and become accepted by my new teammates,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I'm sure Cesare went through the same thing in Vancouver.&rdquo;Smith maintained that when he was still with the Canucks, Vancouver GM Phil Maloney gave him permission to see if any teams were interested in his services.&ldquo;When we did find teams interested in making a trade,&rdquo; said Smith, &ldquo;Maloney did not make the deal because he was afraid he might look bad. So he sent me to the North Stars. I wasn't very optimistic after the trade. The first thing I did was look at the standings and the roster and I saw the North Stars had only 47 points last year and some guys I'd never heard of.&rdquo;Smith, however, admitted his stay in Minnesota has worked out better than he first thought it would.&ldquo;This team has three young centers in Glen Sharpley, Roland Eriksson and Timmy Young who are going to be great players one of these days,&rdquo; the goalie declared. &ldquo;You build from the middle. It would be nice to be with this team in a couple of years when these kids mature and maybe things can still be worked out. But my family is my biggest concern right now.&rdquo;Smith would delight in the North Stars squeezing into the playoffs ahead of Vancouver, but to do so he will have to continue playing as he did in Chicago when he stopped 38 Black Hawk shots.However, the next game out the North Stars gave up 47 shots to the improving Colorado Rockies and lost a slugging match, 8-6, with Smith in the nets. That loss dropped the Stars five points behind the Rockies in the battle for the third and final playoff spot in the Smythe Division.STAR DUST: The Stars not only gave up ground to Colorado, but they lost defenseman Tom Reid for an indefinite period with a fractured right cheek when he dove to block a shot with his face&hellip;Reid joined defenseman Fred Barrett (tom groin muscle) on the injured list&hellip;Coach Ted Harris, who prefers a six-man defensive system, said the team would rotate five until either, or both, returned from the injured ranks.Bill Fairbairn, wearing a corset to protect his injured back, scored goals in each of his first three games back from a seven-game lay off&hellip; The Stars blew a 4-0 lead to Vancouver and tied, 5-5, and kis sed away leads of 3-1 and 5-3 in losing to Colorado in important divisional games.The Stars have announced plans for their first Old Timers' game March 5 against U.S. Sen. Wendell Anderson's All Stars&hellip; First two old timers to accept invitations were former Minnesota captains Moose Vasko and Bob Woytowich&hellip;Minnesota's plus-minus figures are completely in the red except for Steve Jensen, who is even&hellip;Tim Young, the team's top scorer with 68 points, was a minus 29 after 53 games. &#9632;

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North Stars Shopping For Goalie As Smith Plans To Exercise Option

<div class="byline">BY TONY GALLAGHER</div>VANCOUVER&mdash;The Vancouver Canucks have become so carried away with the intrigue and conflicting testimony on the Jack McIlhargey case, they have forgotten about playing hockey.The fact that the rugged McIlhargey, recently acquired from the Philadelphia Flyers, has become the acknowledged team leader of the club seems to have distracted the Canucks from going about the business of digging themselves out of the Smythe Division basement.It all started with the Canucks playing quite well, having gotten points in five of their last six games before going into a Sunday night game against the equally hapless Detroit Red Wings. McIlhargey is the accepted club leader in just the two short weeks he has been with the club and his constant rah-rah attitude and patting of behinds at the appropriate moment seemed to be having a positive effect on the Canucks. But then came bloody Sunday.With the game tied 2-2 late in the third period and the Canucks trying to hang on for that important point on the road, according to the Canucks, the incident went something like this:Jim Wiley was jawing with a Detroit player after the play had stopped and J.P. LeBlanc came over and also began to jaw a little with those already gathered. McIlhargey, as is his custom, apparently came charging over ready to do combat, having thrown his gloves down ready to interchange thrusts and blows, as Shakespeare might have said.According to Wiley, LeBlanc brought his stick down and McIlhargey &ldquo;grabbed it and reversed it.&rdquo; hitting the former Michigan Stag over the head and cutting him for 28 stitches.McIlhargey then proceeded to have a fight with the enraged LeBlanc. and came out on top by most accounts&mdash;something he generally does.Referee Ron Wicks gives McIlhargey an intent to injure penalty and the Canucks have to play the last three minutes of the game a man short. From there. Jim Nahrgang scores the winner on Canucks goalie Curt Ridley and the Canucks lose all their momentum. In their next game, they go out and embarrass themselves 6-0 in Montreal and come home from what was a relatively easy road trip with one out of a possible six points and the status of McIlhargey in the hands of NHL president Clarence Campbell, whose idea of melodrama comes right out of the script of Perry Mason.He calls all the players who were on the ice at the time into his Montreal office and hears five hours of testimony.How anybody could sit through five hours of such a ludicrous topic is beyond anybody's wildest dreams, but the players even some radio and newspaper people from Vancouver, were asked to describe how they saw the incident.The game was not on television so there was no videotape of the performance and as there was only a coaching film being taken, the fellow doing the filming stopped shooting when the play stopped and the folly began.During all this, the Red Wings are screaming for a 10-game suspension similar to the one given to Bryan Watson for doing untold deeds to Chicago's Keith Magnuson when Watson was with the Wings. Just why the Wings want to see McIlhargey out and have the Canucks possibly finish with a worse record than themselves, and thereby get a better draft pick, is not quite understood, but then nothing about the whole incident is well understood by anybody.It is now Wednesday and the Canucks play in Montreal without their fearless hero, who is under an indefinite suspension until the courtroom theatrics can wind to their inevitable conclusion.The Canucks are in their third city by the time that they learn McIlhargey has indeed been given a 10-game suspension by the president and that he won't be back until the Canucks play his old teammates in Philadelphia next month, the kind of situation that Dave Schultz remembers well.This is all very well if you happen to be a fan of due process, but if you are trying to get the iob-done that Orland Kurtenbach has in front of him. it can be most frustrating.After the Montreal game, the Canucks slogged home and generally, after flying from east to west coming off the road, the club simply has a light skate or goes home The frustrated Kurtenbach called a full equipment workout and skated the players hard Fairly stern measures in these permissive times, but one must wonder, as the Colorado Rockies pull seven points ahead of Vancouver in the race for the last playoff spot, whether it is too little, too late.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-011133/4209234-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg" title="f0006-01" width="630" height="846"><figcaption class="caption-body">JACK MclLHARGEY &hellip; A Team Leader</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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McIlhargey Case Takes Over Canucks

<div class="byline">BY FRANK ORR</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0007-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-011011/4209265-1-eng-US/f0007-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">IAN TURNBULL&hellip; Nears Club Goal Mark</figcaption></div>TORONTO-In the past year, the Toronto Maple Leafs have had a monopoly of &ldquo;big nights&rdquo; in the National Hockey League, record-shattering individual efforts.Latest to grab a section of the record book for a one-game effort is defenseman Ian Turnbull, who shattered an ancient standard by scoring five goals in the Leafs' 9-1 conquest of the Detroit Red Wings at Maple Leaf Gardens.Last season, center-captain Darryl Sittier had two large evenings&mdash;a six-goal, four-assist, ten-point night against the Boston Bruins and a five-goal playoff game against the Philadelphia Flyers.The previous mark for defensemen of four scores in a game was shared by Harry Cameron of Toronto Arenas twice (1917 and 1920), Montreal Canadiens' Newsy Lalonde twice (1919 and 1920), Canadiens' Sprague Cleghorn (1922), Hap Day of the Leafs and Johnny McKinnon of Pittsburgh Pirates in the same 1929 game.Turnbull, who established a one-season goal record for Leaf defensemen when he scored 20 times last season, had two goals in the second period and completed his record night with three goals in the third period.Three of Turnbull's goals were the result of his excellent shot and skating speed. One came on a soft sliding shot which deflected into the net off a Red Wing skate and his fifth score came on a shot by teammate Stan Weir which struck Turn bull as he was sliding in front of the Detroit net and bounced in. &ldquo;It's was one of those nights when everything goes in.&rdquo; said Turnbull. &ldquo;It was like a good day at the racetrack. I wish that the track had been going this afternoon. I probably would cleaned up.&ldquo;I didn't do anything differently than I had been doing. We just stuck to the style of play we've used lately. It calls for our wingers to pick up their wingers at their blueline rather than going in deep to forecheck.&ldquo;That means our wingers are more checkers than puck-carriers so it means our defensemen have to be more mobile and it gives us a chance to carry the puck.&rdquo;Sittier, who watched the game from the sidelines because of a rib injury, claimed Turnbull's big night brought back memories of his memorable evening against Boston.&ldquo;Even the way Ian's fourth goal went in reminded me of a couple of mine,&rdquo; Sittier said. &ldquo;You have to be a little lucky, too, to have a night like that.&ldquo;There's no explanation for why you suddenly have a game like that. It happens when it happens.&rdquo;Turnbull's spree raised his total to 16 goals for the season, well within reach of his club record.Leaf owner Harold Ballard, who presented a silver tea service to Sittier to commemorate his big night, plans a similar award for Turnbull.NOTES: With centers Sittier and George Ferguson, who has a bruised hip, out of the lineup, Leafs summoned young Bruce Boudreau from their Dallas farm team in the Central League. Boudreau, second top scorer in the CHL, played on two Memorial Cup champion teams with Toronto Marlboros&hellip;With Sittier sidelined, defenseman Borje Salming took over the team scoring lead. &#9632;

f0007-01

Turnbull Compares Record To Good Day At The Races

<div class="byline">-BY BILL LIBBY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-011124/4209303-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg" title="f0008-01" width="459" height="517"></div><h2>A Free Spirit&hellip;</h2>STEVE SHUTT IS A SHOOTER. He can shoot either a wrist shot or a slap shot with stunning speed and awesome accuracy. He has a hair-trigger release and his shot is always on net. He is an outstanding skater and has a knack for getting free, but he is especially potent from right in front of the net when he can deflect or tip shots past the goaltender or rifle a rebound into the cords.He says his pal, Guy Lafleur, likes to kid him about his goals. He says, &ldquo;Flower, think of all the plays when you carried the puck the length of the ice and then screwed up the play in front of the net. If I wasn't there to put the puck in, you wouldn't have half the assists and points you have.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-021013/4209296-1-eng-US/f0008-022.jpg" title="f0008-02" width="909" height="1317"><figcaption class="caption-body">Steve Shutt is a very confident young man and he has a realistic approach to hockey. He says some people can score goals and others can't. Shutt can score. (Photo by Bruce Bennett)</figcaption></div>Shutt smiles and adds, &ldquo;A lot of the things a player can do to put the puck into the net from in front of the net look easy, but you have to have anticipation and accuracy and make your moves fast. It's tougher than it seems and takes practice. Some people can score goals and some can't. Steve Shutt can.&rdquo;It sounds egotistical until you see the twinkle in his eye. He laughs and says, &ldquo;Hey, Lafleur ain't a bad player. Maybe the best, you know. I'm lucky I get to play with him. I really liked playing with Pete Mahovlich, too, until coach started shifting our centers around. I like playing with Jacques Lemaire, too. He helps me, too. I need all the help I can get. I'm just a run-of-the-mill 40-goal scorer.&rdquo;Long-haired, but clean-shaven, the smallish Shutt is individualistic. He is a free spirit, with a light touch, but life was a little heavy and confining for him for a while. Born in Toronto in July of 1952, he scored 63 and 70 goals his last two seasons as an amateur on a line with Billy Harris and Dave Gardner that rivalled the best ever in junior play. However, his sort of luck was, the year he scored his 70. Rick Martin beat him out for the scoring title with 71.&ldquo;I hit a post in the last minute of the last game,&rdquo; sighs Steve.MARTIN AND LAFLEUR, who scored 233 goals his last two seasons as an amateur, went into pro ranks a season ahead of Shutt. Martin made it big right off, but Lafleur was regarded as a disappointment when he scored less than 30 goals each of his first three seasons. &ldquo;I didn't even score 20 my first two seasons so you can imagine what kind of a disappointment I was,&rdquo; Shutt recalls.&ldquo;It's tough to break into the Montreal lineup. Sam Pollock, the manager, said right off he would give us a hard time because he believes the hard road is the best way to the top. Maybe it is, but it's the worst way to live. You get discouraged. Guy and I took turns consoling each other.&rdquo;They became the best of buddies who have dinner at each other's homes in Montreal and share rooms on the road. When Scotty Bowman put them on the wings with Mahovlich as a line in November of 1974 they found themselves. Lafleur finished with 53 goals, Shutt 30 that season. Lafleur finished with 56, Shutt 45 last season.This season, though Scotty sometimes has subbed Lemaire between them, both figure to finish with 50. Shutt could beat out his buddy.Steve was scoring at a goal-a-game pace for a long part of this season. Still overshadowed by the flashier Lafleur, he nevertheless has emerged into the spotlight, too. No matter who their center is, they are the best line in the business.&ldquo;IT IS FUN NOW,&rdquo; Shutt says. &ldquo;This is the best team in hockey and I no longer would like to leave it. Capturing the Stanley Cup last season was a great thrill and one I would like to repeat. I like to laugh as well as to win, but it's a lot easier to laugh when you're a winner.&rdquo;Not accepted at first in Montreal, the Torontonian may have helped his cause when he married a Montreal girl, Ninon. &ldquo;She's French. Her maiden name is Malinoski,&rdquo; he giggles. The start of February she presented him with their first child, a son, Jason.They have a home in the suburb of St. Lambert. They've furnished it partly with antiques purchased on expeditions back into the bush country, searching the sticks for bargains. Steve spends a lot of time refinishing furniture. &ldquo;It's great to go to an old farm, find a piece of junk, and fix it up into something beautiful,&rdquo; he says.He also has refurbished a 1956 Bently. &ldquo;I used to have a Mustang. Lots of people drive Mustangs. What's that?&rdquo; he asks. &ldquo;How many people drive Bentleys? Now that's something.&rdquo;He fitted it out with a quadruphonic music system, but stopped short of installing a telephone so he could make obscene phone calls while driving. &ldquo;Even I can go too far,&rdquo; this fun-loving fellow decided.At this point, there is no telling how far he can go in his game. He is more than just a scorer. He skates his wing, backchecks as well as forechecks, and performs with a flair that fits the flashy Canadiens. &ldquo;I finally have fit in, and life is fine now,&rdquo; he observes. &#9632;

f0008-01

Hockey Ad Lib

<div class="byline">BY DONALD BERNS</div>ST LOUIS&mdash;The St. Louis Blues have gone through their second annual financial crisis. As is the case with other professional sports teams, those money problems just don't seem to have solutions.When the Blues first mentioned their fiscal problems last season, the hockey world was shocked. The Blues had led the National Hockey League in attendance five straight seasons, and others wondered how a team with that drawing power could be in need of money.The Blues' management explained at the time that the St. Louis Arena was a drain on the franchise's money. The management unsuccessfully sought tax relief and even threatened to move to another city but eventually declared the financial problems would be solved and the Blues would remain in St. Louis. Some maintenance and clerical employees were eliminated, and some executives took pay cuts.Apparently the financial problems have not been solved. This season the team's management again mentioned the burden of the Arena although avoided any mention of leaving town or pursuing the unpopular course of seeking tax relief. However, the Blues indicated they would like to sell the Arena and rent it for games from the new owner.The team dramatically fired a laundry list of top executives, including senior vice president Lynn Patrick, the hockey patriarch who was the first employee of the franchise in 1966. more than a year before the Blues took the ice. Patrick was just a few days away from his 65th birthday when he was fired. The dismissals also included publicity director Myron Holtzman, assistant Arena manager John Sher, ticket sales director Gordon Ziegler, assistant trainer Al Mathieu and others.The upheaval occurred at a time the Blues' board chairman, Sidney Salomon Jr., 66 was in the hospital with his second heart attack in a month. Others associated with the team said the elder Salomon's heart problems undoubtedly were connected to his consternation over the team's problems.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-03859/4209334-1-eng-US/f0008-032.jpg" title="f0008-03" width="631" height="992"><figcaption class="caption-body">FLOYD THOMSON &hellip;Shuffled To Minors</figcaption></div>Sid Salomon HI. president of the Blues, has been operating the Blues' farm team in Kansas City this season while trying to safeguard his own health. He was spending some time with his father in Boca Raton, Fla.With the board chairman and president of the team away from the scene the Blues' top management consisted of a triumvirate of general manager-coach Emile Francis, general counsel Jim Cullen and vice president of finance Bill Combs.Some potential buyers of the Arena have publicly or privately come forward, but so far all of them have slipped back into the shadows. The Arena carries a $5.4 million mortgage. The original price in 1966 was $4 million, but the Salomons have refinanced over the years while spending some $8 million in making improvements to the 48-year-old Arena.While the team's executives were wrestling with the financial problems, Francis was creating another upheaval on the team by calling up the entire Kansas City line of Bernie Federko, Brian Sutter and Rick Bourbonnais plus goalie Yves Belanger and sending to the farm four veterans, Floyd Thomson, Gilles Marotte, Joe Zanussi and Doug Palazzari. Zanussi and Palazzari had tasted the minor leagues earlier this season, but Thompson hadn't been there in five years, and Marotte never had been in the minors in a 12-year professional career.The Blues had a four-game losing streak that included two defeats at the hands of the Washington Capitals, 6-3 and 5-2, plus losses to Philadelphia. 2-0, and the New York Rangers, 5-2. A quick home-and-home series with Boston resulted in a 3-3 tie and 5-4 loss before the Blues won three straight games at home, 6-4 over Buffalo with Federko's first hat trick, 6-3 over Pittsburgh in Belanger's first game in goal and 3-1 over Atlanta. &#9632;

f0008-03

Blues Wrestling With Thought Of Selling Stadium

<div class="byline">BY BILL FLEISCHMAN</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0009-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-011084/4209365-1-eng-US/f0009-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">GOING, GOING, GONE&hellip;: Philadelphia Flyer play-by-play broadcaster Gene Hart holds up a pair of hockey gloves belonging to Flyer star Bob Kelly, right, as he auctions them to highest bidder during recent Flyers' Wives carnival in aid of the cancer fund. Crowd of 8,000 paid $6 per head to get into the Spectrum and helped raise. (Photo by Bernie Moser)</figcaption></div>PHILADELPHIA&mdash;The Flyers will do almost anything for a laugh, including having one of their teammates &ldquo;arrested.&rdquo;With those Toronto trials awaiting the Flyers' Four in June, arrest isn't a popular word around the team's dressing room. Nevertheless, everyone did get a chuckle when Hoss Lonsberry was hauled off to the Cherry Hill. N.J., police station.For a while Lonsberry must have wondered if his recent slump would ever end. First, he was inadvertently poked in the right eye by Bob Plager's stick and missed five games. Then, just on the eve of his return to the lineup. Lonsberry heard the dreaded &ldquo;knock on the door.&rdquo;The &ldquo;arrest&rdquo; turned out to be a prank&mdash;a trick designed as part of Lonsberry's surprise 30th birthday party.As the tale was related later by amused teammates, friends remembered that Lonsberry was involved in a minor traffic accident several years ago.With the cooperation of Ray Zane, a New Jersey state senator, police captain San DeSimone of Gloucester County (N.J.) and John Long, a Cherry Hill detective, a contempt of court citation was drawn up and at six o'clock the night of the party. Long and the police arrived at Lonsberry's home.While Lonsberry sputtered &ldquo;This all must be a mistake,&rdquo; his wife, Wahnita, carried the joke along by asking the police, &ldquo;Aren't you going to put handcuffs on him?&rdquo; Lonsberry's reaction to Wahnita's suggestion isn't printable in a family newspaper.When the posse arrived at the Cherry Hill police station, Lonsberry was left to squirm alone for an hour in an interrogation room. After about three hours at the station, Lonsberry was released in the custody of his friend DeSimone and the two returned to Lonsberry's home.As they opened the door, Flyers and their wives shouted &ldquo;surprise.&rdquo; Lonsberry gave Wahnita a not-tonight-of-all-nights glare. Not until DeSimone started laughing did the veteran winger realize he was the victim of an elaborate scheme.Lonsberry must have had a good time because two nights later, in his first game since the eye injury, he scored his 16th goal in the 9-2 rout of Washington.Several other Flyers were scoring at sizzling levels. Rick MacLeish tied Bobby Clark for the club scoring lead by collecting 16 points (seven goals, nine assists) in six games. MacLeish was gliding along near his 50-goal pace from the 1972-73 season.The most eye-opening scoring spree was Bob Kelly's. Yes, the Bob Kelly whose main function has been instant mayhem on the ice. Through the same six unbeaten games, Kelly compiled 5-7&mdash;12 figures. His 14th goal, against Washington, equalled his season NHL high.With Lonsberry and Paul Holmgren both injured, Kelly was benefiting from more ice time. But indications from coach Fred Shero were Kelly still must settle for part-time duty.&ldquo;He (Kelly) couldn't keep up that pace for 80 games,&rdquo; Shero said. &ldquo;No man could do it. If everybody played like Kelly, we'd win every game by 50 goals.&rdquo;Another player who reached a mile-stone was Tom Bladon. The 24-year-old veteran matched the team record for defensemen he shares with Larry Good-enough by scoring his 42nd point.FLYERS FOLLOWERS: Bobby Taylor, the former goalie who now serves as a major-league-caliber analyst on the Spectrum cablecasts, enjoyed Lonsberry's &ldquo;arrest&rdquo; as much as anyone. &ldquo;Because Roscoe has been trying for years to have me arrested,&rdquo; said the smiling Taylor&hellip; Flyers were missing two of their heavy hitters: Holmgren is sidelined for several weeks with a separated shoulder while Harvey Bennett was out for about a week with a bruised divide&hellip;Rookie Drew Callander, the Flyers' No. 2 draft choice, scored his first NHL goal on his first shift. &#9632;

f0009-01

Flyers' Lonsberry Greets 30th Birthday In 'Clink'

<div class="byline">BY RON WEBER</div>WASHINGTON-Biff. Bam. Pow. Socko.What's this all about&mdash;reruns of Batman? A Gordie Smith hip check, or the Flyers in action?For the purposes of this story, either of the last two can be considered a correct answer.The Washington Capitals would like it known that the Flyers are back. Not that Philadelphia would ever admit they were away. But in the final meeting of the season the Caps were sockoed by Philadelphia 9-2.The Flyers display in the Caps end was awesome. To say they kept coming in waves would be misleading, since there's usually a lull between waves. Whatever, coach Tom McVie's two worst poundings have been administered by the Philly bullies.Last April 1, the Capitals were picked clean 11-2. So a cynic&mdash;or a cockeyed optimist&mdash;could point out the Capitals weren't so bad this time. And, you know, that's right. It's the Flyers that were so good.Any chance the Capitals had of getting that first upset win over Fred Shero probably was dissapated the night before. In a game that tightened the stomachs of Caps backers even worse than any onesided defeat, the locals squandered a 4-1 lead to struggling Chicago and &ldquo;settled&rdquo; for a tie.McVie was anything but settled after that one. accusing four or five players of working just hard enough to get by. Guessing their indentities can be an aimless exercise, but one can come up with four or five he wasn't talking about&mdash;including defenseman Gordie Smith.Which brings us back to the other &ldquo;pow".Now, the 27-year-old Smith's conduct almost all the time is as average as his name. While not wanting to appear un-cooperative to the press and public, he nevertheless discourages publicity. Gordie likens himself to your average Joe, carrying a lunch pail, keeping his nose clean and giving a honest week's work for an honest week's pay.Still, those that know him well recognize some special qualities. Qualities that cross him off any non-hustlers list of hockey players. Qualities that cause McVie to finger Gordie as acting captain when Yvon Labre was out for a month with an injury.And when Labre came back, Smitty stopped sitting toward the front of the team bus (the better to make a head count) and melted into the crowd again.But there is one time Gordie Smith stands out in the crowd. Ask Terry O'Reilly In an early February game the aggressive Bruin right winger was skating near the Washington blueline unaware he was about to view Boston Garden upside-down. Then wham. Or was it pow.Gordie's hip check completely cart-wheeled the improper Bostonian. Clean&mdash;but oh so hard&mdash;was the contact eyed carefully by the ref, Ron Hoggarth. Embarassed, O'Reilly got up. ran Smith's defensive partner. Gordie Lane, then elbowed Blair Stewart, providing Washington with a power play.The Caps scored with the extra man and so lost only 5-2. But maybe next time Gordie's hip will lead to an important goal.Not that Smith or anybody else gets many chances. The check has become, if not a lost art, certainly a rare one, partly because it must be used with discretion. Miss your man, and somebody's got to pick him up, as you've taken yourself out of the play. A missed hip-check is not the goalie's best friend.Says Gordie, &ldquo;If they expect it, they go wide. But in this league teams see you less and you can sometimes surprise them. It's worked better for me this year because our team is better.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-02893/4209427-1-eng-US/f0010-022.jpg" title="f0010-02" width="629" height="1095"><figcaption class="caption-body">GORDIE SMITH &hellip; Solid Hip Checker</figcaption></div>One reason for the improvement is Smith himself. An original Capital, one of three left, Gordon got in 63 contests in the first Caps year. Season two, the figure dropped to 25&mdash;and that on a late call-up.&ldquo;I never had a shot,&rdquo; recalls Smith, &ldquo;I played in one exhibition game. This past fall, everybody got a fair trial, playing a lot and with different guys. It was a wide open camp with everybody was in shape and ready to go.&rdquo;Before long McVie paired the two Gordies. &ldquo;When Lane and I have played, I think we've gotten it together.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0010-02

Caps' Defenseman Smith Not Just An Average Joe

<div class="byline">BY LARRY BORTSTEIN</div>DENVER-This is Dave Hudson's first year out of the basement, and he is thriving in the rarefied air provided by the Rockies&mdash;both the mountains and the National Hockey League club of the same name which is a legitimate playoff contender.Before this season, Dave had divided his four previous NHL campaigns between the New York Islanders and Kansas Citv Scouts., Though he gained the respect of his coaches for his determined approach to the game, Hudson frankly admits that showing up for what were almost certain defeats&mdash;the Islanders and Scouts won a total of just 58 games during Dave's four seasons up to now&mdash;played havoc with a man's enthusiasm.&ldquo;You expect to lose when you're an expansion team,&rdquo; Hudson points out. &ldquo;But that doesn't mean you really get used to it. It got really bad last year in Kansas City, when the financial situation fell apart and the players just really gave up.&ldquo;But the way we've been going here this season, in playoff contention and everything, well, it makes all the difference in the world,&rdquo; the 27-year-old centerman continues.The Rockies were one of the hottest teams in the league following the All Star game break, winning-five and tying one of their next seven outings, including an 8-6 come-from-behind victory over the Minnesota North Stars in a &ldquo;four-point game&rdquo; in Bloomington.It was Colorado's 17th victory of the season, and left them five points ahead of Minnesota in the race for the third and final playoff spot in the Smythe Division.Hudson of late has been centering a line between Barry Dean and Simon No-let, though Chuck Arnason moved into Nolet's spot when the Rocky captain sustained a leg injury against the Rangers here in early February.&ldquo;It's the first time since the first year with the Islanders I've had more or less regular linemates,&rdquo; Dave recalls. &ldquo;I worked on a line with Billy Harris in Long Island that first year, which was when I played a lot. After that I didn't play much the second year with the Islanders.&ldquo;Our line is more of a defensive-oriented Une than offensive,&rdquo; Hudson goes on. &ldquo;I had to learn the defensive style in the NHL after playing for Bobby Kromm in Dallas when I was in the Black Hawks' system. He liked the more wide-open style, and I scored my share of goals.'&rdquo; Hudson knocked home 29 pucks for Chicago's Central League entry in Dallas during the 1971-72 season.In the NHL he had 12 goals for the Islanders as a rookie in 1973, and with Kansas City his first season there. 1975, he recorded nine goals and 32 assists for a personal one-year point high. Since Dave already had 12 goals at this writing, he should go well beyond his individual highwater goal mark by the time the current season runs its course.Hudson makes his off-season home in the unlikely setting of Mount Pleasant, Texas, 100 miles east of Dallas. &ldquo;My wife Tina comes from there,&rdquo; he points out. &ldquo;We met when I was playing for Dallas and we've made our home there. I play golf every day during the summer&mdash;left-handed&mdash;and that king of off-season suits me fine.&rdquo;A native of St. Thomas, Ontario, who played three years of college hockey at the University of North Dakota, where he was co-captain as a senior in 1970, Dave says his neighbors in Mount Pleasant regard him as something of a minor celebrity, but no more.&ldquo;The people there don't really get much information about hockey,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;The local papers, the Titus County Times, might run the NHL scores in small type and run a small wire service story about the results, but that's about it. The only other athlete who's been in the major leagues recently who's from Mount Pleasant is Ernie McAnally, a righthanded pitcher who was with the Montreal Expos for a while back in the early '70s. He's back in Mount Pleasant now, and everybody knows him.&rdquo;People in these parts are getting to know Dave very well. &ldquo;This has got to be the best season he's ever had,&rdquo; says Colorado coach Johnny Wilson. &ldquo;He's one of those guys who doesn't need to be hounded about what he's doing wrong. He really works at his game.&rdquo;Hudson spent a week early in the season with the Rockies' American League club in Rhode Island. &ldquo;It was a real disappointment to be sent down,&rdquo; he remembers, &ldquo;since I had gotten off to a great start. I had something like six goals when some of the other guys still were looking for their first. But Johnny told me that they were short a few players in Providence and that I'd be down only a week. I was down just that week, and I never did get to Providence. The team was on a road trip and I was on the bus all week going to Hershey, Springfield and Nova Scotia.&rdquo;But he's been back here for three months, and like the rest of the Rockies, keeps moving up in the world.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-011063/4209458-1-eng-US/f0011-012.jpg" title="f0011-01" width="624" height="1212"><figcaption class="caption-body">DAVE HUDSON &hellip; Doesn't Like Losing</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0011-01

Hudson Gets Renewed Enthusiasm

<div class="byline">BY TOM OSENTON</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-011085/4209489-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg" title="f0012-01" width="438" height="606"></div><h2>Mini One-On-One</h2>Mini one-on-one action continues in the AHAUS' Southeastern district with goalie Pat O'Reilly representing the Bowie Hockey Club of Bowie. Maryland Nine-year-old O'Reilly tended goal against Brett Holland in their shootout at the Capital Center.The Chevy Chase hockey club sent shooters Patrick Kenary, Doug Robson, Kevin Charles and Hank Warner against Virginia rivals Richard Goolsby, Michael Dreger, Michael Hettinger and Dave Hettinger in the nets for the Fair-fax hockey club.Chevy Chase goalies Mark Furey, Scott Harris, Jeff Gray and Hill Carter all kicked out shots against Fairfax shooters Greg Meler, Jim Martin, Walt Gerring and Neil Powers. Great fun was had by all.Greater Baltimore goalies Chris Hoopes, Dale Jerns, Kenny Cox and Ron Riegger were put to the test when they faced Capitol Boys hockey club shooters Bret Holland, Bill Babington, John Weigand and Bill Brennan.Capitol Boys goalies Russ Hugo, Don Rose, Mark DeBruyn and Mark Quigley rose to the occasion when they squared-off against Greater Baltimore aces Ronny Martz, Timmy Doyle, Ross Buetner and Chuck Lacey.The competition has been stiff this year and will continue through Sunday, April 3 when the Washington Capitals complete their regular season against the Montreal Canadiens in Washington. Shootouts are held between the first and second periods of all Caps games. Four division champs will be crowned on April 3. We'll hear more from the Washington Capitals minor hockey organization's Mini one-on-one competition as it progresses in future weeks. Look for it.<h2>Double A Races</h2>From the oldest and largest hockey league in the state of Illinois comes word of recent changes in the league standings. Bantam teams in the AA division leading their respective loops include St.Jude, Evanston and Arlington while Winnetka, Park Ridge and Niles are behind in second place in each of those divisions.In the Pee Wee division, Elmhurst, Deerfield and Niles lead their leagues with Park Ridge closing in fast on Deerfield for the top spot.Midget division leaders are St.Jude, ParkRidge and Niles out in front with very slight leads over Elmhurst, Northbrook and Schaumberg respectively.With the season fast approaching playoffs, we will be keeping a close eye on the races in this particular league. The Nationals are less than two months away as the locals gear up for the regionals.In the A standings, Pee Wee division leaders include St. Jude, Northbrook and Arlington while Wilmette trails St.Jude in the American division by only one point. That race is shaping up as a real down to the wire' affair.&ldquo;A&rdquo; Bantams have Elmhurst, Park Ridge and Arlington leading their divisions. Arlington has extended their first-place lead over second-place Schaumberg and has begun to pull away. The Lake Forest Foresters trail Park Ridge at this point in the standings but may make a surge for first during the last month of play.The Northern Illinois hockey league will be winding up their schedule over the next month and we will watch for more results in the upcoming weeks from this district.<h2>One-Two Punch</h2>In the Mid-Atlantic Hockey League division, the New Jersey Golden Blades hold an eight-point advantage in the standings over the New Jersey Rockets. The Philadelphia Firebirds of the same league have produced a prolific scorer in Slugocki. That Firebird is the league's top scorer with 13 goals in as many games. Levine from the league-leading Blades is currently tied with Slugocki for the league scoring title. Each have 16 points a piece. The Blades and Rockets face off in an important Mid-Atlantic league match this week.Roc-Ice Meteors have a terrific one-two scoring punch in Erbe and Gildard. Both have tallied 12 points this year and lead their team in scoring. The Meteors currently are holding onto fourth place in their division.The Blades, top five scorers have compiled 44 goals this year collectively in just 13 games. Clarke and Martin have eight each while Leppala, Amadeo and Garrigan each have six goals. Top goal-getter Levine leads all Blades with 10 goals.Mid-Atlantic junior division Hershey leers have pulled away from the pack with an undefeated 15-0 record. The Philadelphia Firebirds, led by scorer Joplin with 25 points, are currently tied with the S-O-R Saints for second place. S-O-R Saint Horan is second in the league in scoring with 24 goals and 16 assists for 40 points. League leader Malloy of the leers has pumped home 31 goals this year and 57 points.We would like to hear from every corner of the country. Please let us know what your league is doing and what's new. Contact: Tom Osenton c/o AHAUS. 10 Lake Circle, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80906. Hope to hear from you.Above all. have fun. &#9632;

f0012-01

The U.S. AHA SCENE

<div class="byline">BY RICH PASSAN</div>CLEVELAND -All Gary Edwards wanted was a chance to play hockey. He never got that chance with the Los Angeles Kings.And he did what any athlete who doesn't get that chance does. He asked to be traded.Traded he was&hellip; to the Cleveland Barons. From a contending team to a team going nowhere. But that didn't seem to matter.The articulate goaltender from Toronto got his chance in Cleveland and has made the most of it so far, racking up two shutouts in his first four starts.The smallish netminder couldn't figure out why he wasn't playing for Kings' coach Bob Pulford. True, Rogie Vachon is one of the best in the business. But to the point of playing almost every game?Pully evidently thought so and Edwards sat and silently fumed. He some-how managed to find his way between the pipes for eight games this season, after missing the first few weeks with a broken hand.The best he could do was a pair of ties. &ldquo;I wasn't getting the games where I had much of a chance of winning,&rdquo; Edwards explained. &ldquo;I guess they didn't want me to play. They had reasons, but I never found out what they were.&rdquo;The mustachioed cage cop, who has been placed in a rotation with Gilles Meloche for the time being by Cleveland coach Jack Evans, has found a home here.''It's not as unbearable,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;At least I'm allowed to contribute to the team. That's why I wanted to come here. I wanted to go somewhere and be a part of a team where what I did mattered.&rdquo;Edwards' first appearance for the Cleveland icers came a day after he reported following the trade, which Saw Gary Simmons and Jim Moxey go to LA for Edwards and Whitey Widing.It came in Buffalo against the high-flying Sabres, a team that is difficult to beat anywhere, especially at Memorial Auditorium. Edwards made it look easy with a shutout.His next start he'd just as soon froget. It came in Chicago a week later and he was stung for seven goals in the first two periods.He didn't want to use it as an excuse, but Edwards was given a few days off to go back to Los Angeles to straighten out some personal matters and missed some practices.But he more than made up for his Chicago pasting by posting his second shutout against the Pittsburgh Penguins, but didn't win. Dune Wilson of the Pens also kept the Barons off the scoreboard in the National Hockey League's second scoreless game of the season.Then came the game Edwards had been waiting for. His former thammates came into the Richfield Coliseum and Simmons minded the nets for the Kings.For two periods, it appeared as though Edwards would hang up his third white-wash. But Butch Goring spoiled that as the Barons posted a 6-3 victory.Edwards declined to get ecstatic after the game. &ldquo;I just like to win&hellip; anytime,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I've started a new thing here.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-02922/4209520-1-eng-US/f0012-022.jpg" title="f0012-02" width="635" height="674"><figcaption class="caption-body">GARY EDWARDS &hellip; Just Wanted Chance</figcaption></div>As far as Edwards is concerned, the book on the Kings is closed. &ldquo;It's past,&rdquo; he declared. &ldquo;I'm glad to get out of there. I played the best I could and sometimes it wasn't rewarded.&rdquo;Edwards likes playing for his new team. &ldquo;Here, the talent is about the same (as it is in LA), but I think they probably try harder as a whole,&rdquo; he said.It's just too bad the Barons are located in the Adams Division, a division that contains three of the top teams in the NHL. The Kings, meanwhile, will have to play quite badly in order to not finish in the Stanley Cup playoffs.That makes no never mind to Edwards. He's playing again and is appreciated for his efforts.That's all he ever wanted. &#9632;

f0012-02

Edwards Proves Bright Spot With Goaling For Barons

<div class="byline">BY BOB VERDI</div>CHICAGO&mdash;They said J.P. Bordeleau could put on a fur coat at Halloween and masquerade as a pipe cleaner.They said you could pour tomato juice in J.P. Bordeleau, stand him upright, and get the temperature.They said he could stand in a shower and never get wet, that he could fall on the ice and never get up, that he could raid the Sara Lee factory and never gain weight.They said all of the above and they were wrong. The thin man who supposedly has no stamina has become a heavyweight for the Black Hawks this season, his best season ever. By February, he had as many goals as he ever had pocketed in one year for Chicago, 15.And to think that Bordeleau. who finally has found himself here, almost found himself elsewhere.&ldquo;I had just about had it at the beginning of this season,&rdquo; the monsieur was saying the other day. &ldquo;I hadn't been playing that much during training camp, and 1 figured it's time for me to prove something. I'm 27, and I should be in my prime.&ldquo;I wanted to get out of here. I didn't say anything to management but my representative (Harvey Wineberg) talked to (general manager) Tommy Ivan to see if there was any way we could make a deal.&ldquo;I had even thought of going to be with my brother Chris in the World Hockey Association. He plays with Quebec and the Nordiques have a guy whom Chicago has the rights to. Real Cloutier. I thought maybe something could be worked out that way.&ldquo;But Tommy told Harvey that I was too good a hockey player for them to get rid of me, and that he thought things would work out. It was real nice of him, and it helped a lot.&rdquo;And Bordeleau, a perennial super sub, has helped the Black Hawks, who need all the help they can get. Profiting from more ice than ever, the lean right winger is finally convincing people that those exceptional numbers he compiled in the minor leagues add up.To wit: he has a definite nose for the net, he is a splendid one-on-one free-lancer, and while that frame of his may not be imposing, it is surprisingly resilient after being buffeted about the boardsIf only some of the more sinewy Hawks would be as aggressive&hellip;&ldquo;The label I got was that I didn't have endurance,&rdquo; said Bordeleau. &ldquo;Well, I do get tired, and I do have to rest accordingly, but I don't think it's true that I can't take regular shifts.&ldquo;I am taking them now and the more I do, the stronger I get and the more confident I feel. When Billy Reay was here, he used to take me in and out of the lineup every once in a while, though from the start of this year, I've been playing more.&ldquo;I don't want to put Billy down, because he doesn't deserve that. But I think now that Bill White is coaching, we might be a little more relaxed.&ldquo;With Billy you were afraid to make a mistake. Sometimes it seemed that he'd bench you for doing something wrong, but you weren't sure what it was or what was the right way.&ldquo;I think a guy like Alain Daigle will do better now. He's a young player who is in the situation I was once in. The more ice he gets, the better he'll be.&rdquo;&ldquo;I haven't played regularly for the Hawks until the last couple years. When I first came here, it bothered me. I was unhappy about it and I thought about leaving.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-011040/4209551-1-eng-US/f0013-012.jpg" title="f0013-01" width="621" height="1147"><figcaption class="caption-body">J.P. BORDELEAU &hellip; Nose For The Net</figcaption></div>&ldquo;But finally, I realized that that was no way to live. You can't go around all the time worrying about not playing. It's too hard on you. You just have to accept your role, like it or not&ldquo;There are a lot of good players, players on this team, who used to be part time players. Lou Angotti and Eric Nesterenko were two of them. I just resigned myself to doing the same type of thing.&rdquo;But no more. J.P. Bordeleau is now a regular guy.HAWK TALK: Keith Magnuson, who severed his Achilles' tendon in a freak locker room accident Jan. 15, says he'll be back on skates March 15. Doctors don't say anything ..Pit Martin is Chicago's acting captain with Magnuson out&hellip;General manager Ivan, not feeling well, ducked to Florida for a brief rest during February. &#9632;

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Hawks' Bordeleau Enjoys Best Year

<div class="byline">BY BILL HEUFELDER</div>PITTSBURGH&mdash;After apparently weathering the storm caused by injuries, the Pittsburgh Penguins slipped noticeably from a brand of hockey that had been carrying them toward a record worthy of home-ice advantage in the post-season playoffs.The injuries were reaching all levels of the club. Owner Al Savill, preparing to leave Indianapolis and fly to St. Louis where the Penguins were scheduled to face the Blues the next day. broke a leg and sustained a dislocated ankle slipping on the ice.In a way, Savill was spared. The Penguins bowed for the second straight game, deluged by 51 shots on goal The situation had been the same two nights earlier in Denver where the Penguins opened an important four-game road swing.The Rockies, after falling behind by two goals in the early going, rallied to win, 5-2. pumping 49 shots at Denis Herron. In the first two periods alone. Herron gave a dazzling performance, stopping 32 of 33 shots.&ldquo;The forwards aren't working,&rdquo; coach Ken Schinkel said after the St. Louis barrage had given the enemy a total of 100 shots in two games. &ldquo;When that happens, the defense is going to have a heck of a time.&rdquo;Unfortunately, the defense already was weakened by injuries, leaving Pittsburgh to rely on four men. including youngsters Russ Anderson and Mario Faubert, to shoulder the burden.Anderson was paired with Ron Stackhouse, who helped measurably to take up the slack caused by Dave Burrows' damaged knee, and Don Awrey, combining with Faubert. often was superb around his own net.But the Penguins buckled under Claude Larose's three-goal hat trick in the third period against St. Louis, as they lost their second game in a row for the first time in more than a month.The trouble deepened on two fronts. In the first period. Syl Apps suffered a pulled hamstring when pinned against the board by the Blues' Bob Plager, leaving Pittsburgh without its leading scorer when the club invaded Vancouver.Predictably, the Penguins continued to look anemic on offense and outmanned Dune Wilson, unable to hold the fort forever, backstopped them with his customary efficiency, although they dropped a 3-2 decision that stretched their losing streak to three.Herron and Wilson have proved they're merely human. Wilson, with three shutouts in five starts recently, led the goaltending pair who lifted the Penguins to within two points of Atlanta for the home-ice playoff advantage.Then the slump hit. leaving Schinkel to remark. &ldquo;Were just not skating like we used to. We're getting away from our system. I wish I knew what the problem was.&rdquo;PENGUIN NOTES: Recovering from knee surgery. Lowell MacDonald may return next month&hellip;Greg Malone and Jean Pronovost, displaying the most zip among the forwards, were paired together when Apps was forced out of the lineup&hellip; Pierre Larouche rejoined club after three-game absence due to injuries and bronchitis&hellip;Bob Kelly saw limited action for awhile because of heavy cold that affected his breathing.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-011022/4209620-1-eng-US/f0015-012.jpg" title="f0015-01" width="631" height="1031"><figcaption class="caption-body">SYL APPS &hellip; Scoring Power Missed</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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Injuries Reach All Levels For Pens

<div class="byline">BY HARRY KLAFF</div>LONG ISLAND&mdash;When the New York Islanders opened for business back in 1972, there were all kinds of major decisions that had to be made. But one decision that seemed to be made all by itself was the choice of team captain. There was just no question that the job should go to Eddie West-fall&mdash;the club's only true elder statesman.Westfall, now 36. has held the post with distinction ever since the first day the Islanders ever laced up skates. Even if it weren't for the large, blue 'C' stitched to the white jersey, it was evident from the start that the former Bruin was the Isles' leader, serving as the mature, calming force over his young teammates.But for quite some time, Westfall had thought privately about turning over the position to a younger man, not that he ever felt he could no longer help the club on the ice. And so on Feb. 3 it became official when it was announced that Eddie had turned the reins over to Clark Gillies.&ldquo;It was a great honor to have served as captain of our team,&rdquo; said Westfall that evening &ldquo;Being captain doesn't mean a lot to some guys around the league, but it always meant something special to me.&ldquo;It took us a long time to make it here; there were those long tough days back in '72 and '73. But all in all, it was satisfying. Very, very satisfying.&rdquo;Eddie Westfall is the type of man who belies in only one type of effort, that being the 100% variety. If you can't put out everything that you possibly can, then you should get out. And Westfall always gave 100% whether he was playing right wing, serving as an Easter Seals chairman. or being captain.But Westfall found that he couldn't devote the time that he felt he should to the captaincy. He still commutes by plane from his home in New Hampshire, and consequently is not on hand when team problems pop out. Rather than do half a job&mdash;which would have produced a complaint from absolutely no one&mdash;he decided to resign.In a display of democracy that would have made the ancient Athenians proud, the Islanders sat down and voted for a new leader. It was a light-hearted affair, although each man knew the importance of the decision.&ldquo;Can we vote for ourselves?&rdquo; asked one player. &ldquo;That was ruled out for obvious resons,&rdquo; said Jean Potvin later. &ldquo;Who needs 20 different captains?&rdquo;After the votes were tallied, it was the name of Clark Gillies that emerged on top, with Bryan Trottier second and Denis Potvin third. The victor humbly accepted and at age 22, Gillies became the Islanders' second captain.&ldquo;It's a great honor, there's no question about that. I'm very happy that I was selected by my teammates,&rdquo; said Gillies. &ldquo;We're a young team, and I'm afraid I don't know all that much about being the captain. I guess Eddie will teach me what I have to know.&ldquo;I think our team is a little bit different than most,&rdquo; he continued. &ldquo;We all know what we have to do to win. It's tough to try to get just one guy up for a game; we all have to do it together. And when things go wrong, we all have to sit down and try to figure them out.&rdquo;As it turned out, Gilles and his mates had plenty to figure out in the first days of his reign, as the hot-and-cold Islanders slowly fell behind Philadelphia in their quest for top spot in the Patrick Division. For a period of a couple of weeks, the Isles suffered from an acute case of being magnificent one night, and absolutely awful the next.One bright spot, though, was the play of young Richie Hansen, who was brought up for a week's look-see, and then returned to Fort Worth. Hansen is a 21-year-old center who hails from Northport, L.I. He was born in the Bronx, learned to skate at the Riverdale Rink, moved to the Island, and finally journeyed to Canada to finish his junior career.He played well in his four-game stint, and certainly looked like he belonged. On Feb. 3, the night that Gillies became captain, Richie netted his first NHL goal against the Rangers&mdash;the team that he had loved in Section 329 at old Madison Square Garden.Hansen represents the Islanders' future, along with some guys who are already here; fellows like Trottier, Price, Bourne&mdash;and Gillies.And Eddie Westfall repeated his reasons to every reporter who asked. &ldquo;It's just time the job went to a younger man.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-01871/4209658-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg" title="f0016-01" width="628" height="1368"><figcaption class="caption-body">CLARK GILLIES &hellip;Won The Voting</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-02729/4209651-1-eng-US/f0016-022.jpg" title="f0016-02" width="627" height="1361"><figcaption class="caption-body">EDDIE WESTFALL &hellip; Captaincy Was Special</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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16 THIS ISSUE

Westfall Turns Captaincy Over To Younger Gillies

<div class="byline">BY VARTAN KUPELIAN</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0017-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-01763/4209689-1-eng-US/f0017-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">HOCKEY MILESTONES: Nick Libett, left, and Walt McKechnie of the Red Wings hold up pucks indicating their 200th assist in NHL play. Libett, who has played his entire 10-year career with Detroit, became the 11th Red Wings In club history to hit the 200-assist mark. McKechnie is Wings' leading scorer.</figcaption></div>DETROIT-The &ldquo;interim&rdquo; tag doesn't bother coach Larry Wilson of the Detroit Red Wings.Wilson is doing his job with gusto, and showing that he knows what this coaching business is all about. And next year? Let the chips fall.&ldquo;I can get a job someplace,&rdquo; Wilson said. &ldquo;I'm not worried about that.&ldquo;My concern is to get this team turned around, show some improvement the last part of the season.&rdquo;Wilson, of course, will probably be dislodged by the Wings' mystery coach next season. But right now he's acting as if he's going to be back as coach.&ldquo;There's a shortage of talent here, sure,&rdquo; Wilson said after the Wings squandered a 3-0 lead and lost to the New York Rangers at Olympia.&ldquo;But I'm not frustrated because the players are working hard for me. I knew when I got here some of these guys weren't in shape, packing too much beef. Some of them have dropped 10-12 pounds.&ldquo;I've talked with Alex (Delvecchio) about getting some players, you're always trying to improve yourself. But it's not easy. I've talked to Keith Allen (Philadelphia Flyer GM). There are some guys in the Flyer farm system who are better than the guys here.&ldquo;But whenever you try to trade for a player, everybody wants your best players or your top draft choices. You can't trade the draft choices. That's how you build a club. I've seen it done too often to believe otherwise.&ldquo;There are some guys here who aren't my kind of players and if I have my way they won't be back next year. But I'm not going to say who because I've got a lot of games left this year.&rdquo;Well, friends, guess no more. It was obvious right from the start who those players are that don't fit the Wilson mold. Bobby Sheehan and Buster Harvey were dispatched to the minors. Greg Joly watched the games from the press box. Others on the list probably include Bill Lochead, Danny Grant, Fred Williams and Michel Bergeron is a marginal.The Red Wings signed University of Minnesota defenseman Reed Larson, their No. 2 amateur choice in 1976, to a two-year pro contract.Larson made his debut in his hometown against the Minnesota North Stars and the next night, in Detroit, was in the lineup against the Canadiens.MOTOR CITY SHORTS: Wilson named sparkplug Dennis Polonich captain of the Red Wings, stripping the title from slump-ridden Danny Grant. &ldquo;Polo leads by example,&rdquo; Wilson said. &ldquo;He'll embarass some of these other guys into working harder.&rdquo; &#9632;

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Wilson Coaching Lowly Red Wings With Some Gusto

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0018-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-01780/4209720-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg"></div> &#9632;

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NHL SCORING AND PENALTY STATISTICS

MONTREAL &ndash;Highlights in the National Hockey League last week included five points for a player in his first NHL game; the first penalty-free game of the season; and the most goals in an NHL game in 31 years.Forward Al Hill of Philadelphia Flyers scored two goals on his first two shots in the League and added three assists Feb. 14 during Flyers' 6-4 win against St. Louis Blues. Hill's first goal was at the 36-second mark of the game, the second-fastest goal ever scored by a rookie. Gus Bodnar of Toronto Maple Leafs set the record when he scored at 15 seconds, Oct. 30, 1943. during Leafs' 5-2 win over New York Rangers.Hill, a 21-year-old native of Nanaimo. B.C., bettered by one the most points gained by a player in his first NHL game. Alex Smart had three goals and one assist, Jan. 14.1943, for Montreal during Canadiens' 5-1 victory against Chicago.At Los Angeles the Kings defeated Boston Bruins 2-0 with Rogie Vachon collecting his fifth shutout. The main feature of that game, however, was that referee Wally Harris did not call one penalty. The last time there was a penalty-free game was March 20, 1976, at Kansas City between the Scouts and California Seals. New York Rangers and Canucks also had a game without a penalty, March 13, 1976. The game at Los Angeles was only the fifth in the last 11 years in which no penalties were called. It was also the first time Los Angeles has been involved in such a game and the first time since Jan. 30. 1966, that Boston played in a game in which no penalties were called. At that time. Canadiens and Bruins were the teams.For the seventh time since Chicago entered the NHL in 1926, the Hawks and Toronto Maple Leafs were involved in a game in which Leafs scored at least 10 goals. Leafs, playing their seventh game in nine nights, thumped the Hawks 10-8. The 18 goals were the most in an NHL game since March 17, 1946, when Toronto defeated the Red Wings 11-7 at Detroit. It was only the eighth time a game produced at least 18 goals. The all-time record for goals in a game by both I teams is 21&mdash;Toronto 7 at Canadiens 14, Jan. 10, 1920.This was the second time Leafs scored at least 10 goals at Chicago. The other time was Oct. 29. 1944, when they whipped the Hawks 11-5. The other five games were all played at Toronto The Hawks have never scored 10 goals against Leafs. It was the 41st time Toronto was involved in a game in which a team scored at least 10 goals Leafs won 28 of those and lost 13. The Hawks were in their 33rd game in which a team scored 10 or more goals and Chicago won eight and lost 25. including the seven to Toronto.This is the first time in one season since 1924-25 that visiting teams three times have reached at least 10 goals. New York Rangers defeated the North Stars 10-4, Oct. 12. at Minnesota and then 11-4, Dec. 4. &#9632;

Scorers Shoot Up NHL Games

<div class="byline">BY NORM MacLEAN</div>NEW YORK&mdash;Cancel those summer plans&mdash;cancel that trip to Vienna&mdash;the Comeback Kids are on the trail of the Stanley Cup playoffs once more. Don Murdoch, who is supposed to do his thing, but wasn't, Dave Farrish and Mike McEwen, both rookie defensemen, and Dan Newman, truly a new man, were the heroes as the New York Rangers bounced back into playoff contention.Murdoch, suffering in a second half slump, scrambled for his 32nd goal of the season, and enabled the men of John Bowie Ferguson to overcome an early three-goal deficit and defeat Detroit 5-4, Feb. 10.&ldquo;It's 32 and counting,&rdquo; said the man called Murder. &ldquo;No more looking back. I was pressing and depressed, but the guys expect this from me. and I finally came through.&rdquo;Against Toronto, three nights later, the Rangers ripped through for six goals in the second period and won a laugher 8-3. cutting the Atlanta Flames' margin to four points.&ldquo;Everyone on the team is confident we can make the playoffs,&rdquo; said McEwen. &ldquo;A week ago our chances didn't look that good, but now things look much better.&rdquo;Part of the reason is the job Mike and Farrish have done since the injury to Dave Maloney (severed flexor tendon in wrist), sidelined four to six weeks. McEwen scored his 11th goal&mdash;the most for a Ranger rookie since Jewish defenseman Hy Buller rammed home 12. a quarter of a century ago.&ldquo;I like playing with Dave,&rdquo; said Mike, the master of the blast from the point&mdash;and not bad either, at pin-point passes to men in the slot. &ldquo;Playing with another rookie seems to lift me more than playing with a veteran. We seem to lift each other. Dave's a hitter, so he leaves a lot of loose pucks for me to pick up. I'm a skater and that fits in.&rdquo;McEwen was one of the rookies who had a bad January, making mistakes and costing goals, byt he feels this is over.&ldquo;I don't think I was concentrating hard enough mentally then,&rdquo; said Mike. &ldquo;And the team has finally meshed. In the past week we have been giving 100 percent mentally as well as physically. It was nice to finally run up the score on someone.&rdquo;Newman, playing left wing with Phil Esposito and Kenny Hodge, proved beyond doubt that he belonged in the NHL.&ldquo;He did a great job checking Lanny McDonald and drilled a beautiful goal.&rdquo; enthused Ferguson. &ldquo;He also picked up an assist and was barging into the corners in top form.&rdquo;Newman, up from New Haven on an on again, off again basis, may eventually prove to be the left wing answer that Esposito has been looking for. Pat Hickey, Bill Goldsworthy, Nick Fotiu and even Murdoch have all played the port side for varying periods with less than howling success.Rookie goalie Doug Soetaert won the Toronto game, after Gilles Gratton had come off the bench to gain the win in the Detroit comeback. Goaling is still the Rangers big question mark, with the return of John Davidson being the real key to the New Yorkers' playoff chances. J.D. accepted a conditioning jaunt to New Haven of the AHL and did well stopping 42 shots in Nova Scotia as the Voyageurs beat the Nighthawks 3-2.&ldquo;He will play two games down there and then come back,&rdquo; said Fergy. &ldquo;I may use him right away.&rdquo;Davidson could be the key, although expecting miracles from the six foot three inch 205-pounder isn't fiar&mdash;or realistic. After all, he hasn't played since Dec. 12 and underwent knee surgery at that time.Ferguson has made his moves and if he goes with Davidson, no one can fault him. John even benched Murdoch a few shifts in the Toronto game, noting, &ldquo;I have to keep him thinking about defense&mdash;and that's the way to do it.&rdquo;For now the Rangers are thinking about Atlanta and pointing to the weekend of March 12 and 13 when the teams clash in a double header, home and home.Whether the Rangers make it or not, will depend upon the goals against, but Ferguson's comeback game has proved one thing for sure&mdash;they don't know how to quit, especially the kids.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-01746/4209782-1-eng-US/f0019-012.jpg" title="f0019-01" width="638" height="1358"><figcaption class="caption-body">MIKE McEWEN &hellip; Hot Scoring Rookie</figcaption></div><h2>NHL Leaders</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-02600/4209775-1-eng-US/f0019-022.jpg" title="f0019-02" width="655" height="1210"></div> &#9632;

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Ranger Rookies Keeping NHL Playoff Hopes Alive

<div class="byline">BY GARY MCCARTHY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-01581/4209827-1-eng-US/f0020-012.jpg" title="f0020-01" width="623" height="1060"><figcaption class="caption-body">BOB GAINEY &hellip;Standout Checker</figcaption></div>MONTREAL-Bob Gainey doesn't score two goals in a game very often. In fact, Gainey doesn't score one goal in a game with much frequency. Therefore, it's not hard for the young left winger of the Montreal Canadiens to come up with the answer promptly when he's asked when he has ever scored two goals in a game.Such a situation arose Feb. 12 when the six-foot-one, 185-pound native of Peterborough scored two goals to help the Canadiens crush the Boston Bruins 8-3 at the Forum.&ldquo;Yeah, I've had two goals in a game before,&rdquo; said the left winger. &ldquo;I had two against Philadelphia way back early in the season. Before that, I guess I had those two goals against Sweden in the Canada Cup series.&rdquo;The lack of goals is in no way a knock against Gainey. You might say he is one young man who is not paid to score goals. His job is to check the right winger on the opposition's top-scoring line and kill penalties. And, he's excellent at both.&ldquo;Gainey has done a great job killing penalties all season for us,&rdquo; said coach Scotty Bowman the day after the Canadiens had dumped the Bruins for the first time in four meetings this season.The Canadiens have one of the top penalty-killing percentages in the National Hockey League this season and the credit has to go to people like Gainey. Doug Jarvis, Serge Savard and Jacques Lemaire.Whenever the Canadiens are tagged with a penalty, Bowman usually sends out Gainey and Jarvis for the first minute of the minor infraction and then Lemaire, and most often Savard, come out to clean up.One of Gainey's two goals against the Bruins came while he was killing a penalty to defenseman Rick Chartraw. He noke-checked the nuck from Brad Park at the Boston blueline and then skated a couple of strides before beating Gerry Cheevers with a hard, 30-foot slapshot to the short side.&ldquo;I was just playing the puck on that one,&rdquo; Gainey said. &ldquo;It turned out to be the right move.&rdquo;His second goal of the night was the result of a scramble in front of Cheevers. The puck came loose to Gainey, who was about 30 feet in front of the net and he drove a wrist shot home.That gave Gainey 10 for the season&mdash;five short of last year's entire output and seven behind his NHL high of 17, which he scored during the 1974-75 season with the Habs.While Gainey has to fight like the devil for his goals, left winger Steve Shutt finds himself sitting on top of the world because of his prolific scoring this year.Shutt has reached the 45-goal mark for the season, matching his entire output for last season This year's 45-goai achievement is tops in the NHL.Shutt has been potting goals from all directions this year. He scored once against Cheevers and had another the following afternoon in a 5-3 victory over the Detroit Red Wings at the Olympia.His goal against the Red Wings was scored on a 45-foot slapshot and Detroit goaltender Ed Giacomin wasn't screened on the play. Giacomin caught the puck and simply dropped it right into the net.&ldquo;When they're supposed to go in, they go in,&rdquo; said Shutt.Said teammate Rejean Houle: &ldquo;He's got a lot of confidence and he's very sharp. But. when you're having the kind of year Steve is, everything has to be going for you.&ldquo;A lot of it is timing,&rdquo; Houle continued. &ldquo;Look at Pete Mahovlich. He's working hard and he's getting his chances. but he's just a little off.&rdquo;HABS NOTES: Defenseman Larry Robinson had a bout with tendonitis but it wasn't considered serious and wasn't expected to keep him out of the lineup. He did miss a few shifts in the victory over the Red Wings&hellip;The 5-3 win over Detroit was Scotty Bowman's 400th National Hockey League triumph as a coach&hellip;Rejean Houle is skating but is still sidelined with his shoulder separation. He could be back in action within the next couple of weeks&hellip;Bowman says he would like to see the Canadiens pick up 35 of a possible 44 points over the remaining 22 games in the regular schedule. That would give the Canadiens a winning percentage of somewhere around .800. &ldquo;When you figure pennants (in baseball) can be won with .500 or .600 ball, and usually are, you see how big .800 becomes.&rdquo;<h2>Looking At NHL Goalers</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-02413/4209820-1-eng-US/f0020-022.jpg" title="f0020-02" width="673" height="2595"></div><h2>Team Penalties</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-03329/4209813-1-eng-US/f0020-032.jpg" title="f0020-03" width="649" height="914"></div> &#9632;

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Habs Defensive Specialist Gainey Comes Out Tops In Penalty Killing

Defenseman Ian Turnbull of the Toronto Maple Leafs is rapidly becoming one of the offensive blueline giants of the National Hockey League.Fresh from his record-setting single-game performance of two weeks ago when he became the first NHL defenseman in league history to score five goals in one game, Turnbull hasn't slowed down one bit since. In fact, he is rapidly becoming a threat to the Leafs' forwards for the honor of leading the club in scoring points. Turnbull turned in the most productive week among all NHL players this past week as he racked up nine points on three goals and six assists to lift his season total to 65 points, just four behind team leader Lanny McDonald.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-04223/4209858-1-eng-US/f0020-042.jpg" title="f0020-04" width="575" height="606"><figcaption class="caption-body">IAN TURNBULL &hellip;Toronto Leafs</figcaption></div>Turnbull's three-goal weekend burst also enabled him to tie his own Leaf record for most goals by a defenseman in one season - which is 20. &#9632;

f0020-04

NHL'S… Player of the Week

<div class="byline">BY DICK JOHNSTON</div>BUFFALO- -Mother Nature and Old Man Injury pestered the Buffalo Sabres in quick succession but by dint of some hard work, the Sabres managed to end a sour streak (one win in eight games) and move closer to the Boston Bruins, leaders of the National Hockey League's Adams Division.When the big blizzard of 1977 turned Buffalo into Snowtown, USA, the Sabres were just about shut off from practice sessions and two of their home games were postponed.Once the weather improved and the snow-clogged roads were cleared, coach Floyd Smith started his charges on a speeded-up practice schedule.A couple of days, Smitty ran double practice sessions. He had a full-scale, full- -equipment workout the day of a road game.And he had a new assistant, Allan Stanley, officially the defensive coordinator. to help him run the workouts.The results were successive wins over the New York Rangers and the Boston Bruins. The victory over the Bruins cut Boston's lead over Buffalo to two points.Those two wins cost the Sabres dearly. They lost Rick Martin through a shoulder injury and Gerry Desjardins because of an eye injury.As Danny Gare already was sidelined again by recurring back problems, the Sabres were playing without three of their top performers.Gil Perreault ended a long drought by scoring his first goal in 11 games to start the Sabres on their way to a 2-1 victory over the Rangers on the night they skated through a tough noon workout in Madison Square Garden.The Sabres also surprised the fans by skating through sprints in the pre-game warmup. &ldquo;We have been getting off to a slow start in our games lately,&rdquo; explained Jim Schoenfeld, the team captain, &ldquo;so we decided to work up a good sweat in the warmup and see if we could get off to a fast start in the game.&rdquo;The Rangers scored first but Perreault quickly equalized and Andre Savard, who had scored only once in his last 10 games, scored the winner in the final minute of the second period.The win was Desjardins' 30th of the season, which broke his own club mark of 29, set last season.The following night, however. Desi was hit in the eye and was knocked out of action for an indeterminate period. Martin already was out. having suffered a slight shoulder separation late in the game against the Rangers.Desjardins was hit by former Sabre Pete McNab's deflection of a hard shot off the stick of Gary Doak early in the final period of the Boston game, with the Sabres leading, 4-2.Al Smith, who had played in only six games, came in to relieve Desi and gave up one goal, a shot from the point by Brad Park with five seconds to play.Rene Robert suffered a nose injury in the game and Bill Hajt was hit by a pinched nerve in his leg and had to leave the in the stands during games and can spot team is doing or is not doing. And he sits game. Both, however, were back to practice the next day&mdash;when Smitty again held a double session.The coach welcomed Stanley as a big help in getting the Sabres back on the winning track.&ldquo;It makes it easier to run a practice.&rdquo; Smitty pointed out. &ldquo;There always is somebody watching everyone. You can work at both ends of the rink and keep everybody busy all the time.&ldquo;With Allan on the job. I have somebody to talk with, over what the things that I don't get to see when I'm running things behind the bench.&ldquo;It's the worst seat in the house, the place the coach has behind the bench.&rdquo;Stanley, who never has coached before, said he is enjoying his new job. He went right into private business after finishing a 21-year career in the NHL with the Philadelphia Flyers in 1969. He has been running a hockey school in the summer.&ldquo;Coaching is teaching.&rdquo; said the former All Star defenseman. &ldquo;something 1 have been doing in the hockey school.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-01430/4209889-1-eng-US/f0021-012.jpg" title="f0021-01" width="623" height="738"><figcaption class="caption-body">ANDRE SAVARD &hellip; Scores Key Goal</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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Sabres Lose Three Frontline Stars

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0022-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-01467/4209934-1-eng-US/f0022-012.jpg"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-01457/4209927-1-eng-US/f0024-012.jpg" title="f0024-01" width="2047" height="3156"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-01132/4209920-1-eng-US/f0042-012.jpg" title="f0042-01" width="666" height="3706"></div> &#9632;

f0022-01

National League Summaries

<div class="byline">BY JACK MCCARTHY</div>BOSTON-This the lively time of year when the days dwindle down to a precious few and the tempers start to get short and the rumors start to fly.The Bruins are having their annual speculation period, with a story out of Toronto heading Don Cherry to Chicago; followed closely by two losses to Buffalo and Montreal (a bad one), followed by an explosion by GM Harry Sinden.Regarding the Chicago report, Cherry was confronted with it at practice by a TV reporter, and while he didn't say it was so, he didn't exactly flat-out deny it, either. He did, however, quickly point out that any such talks by himself and Chicago would be tampering, and where have we heard that song before.One result of all this was for Sinden to reveal that Cherry, ending a three-year contract this season, has not been signed for next season&mdash;nor. for that matter has he (Sinden).Said Harry, &ldquo;We have reached an agreement in principle, but we have some details to work out. If you ask me if there's something on paper, the answer is no.&rdquo;Sinden also told D. Leo Monahan, veteran Boston Herald American hockey writer, &ldquo;Look, Don Cherry and I are friends, good friends, but we've had our disagreements. This is more true this season than in the past.&ldquo;I haven't fully agreed with all the moves he has made, especially on the selection of goalkeepers. But I have never interfered in the coaching of this hockey club. Never.&ldquo;I have faith in Don Cherry as a coach. He has the final decisions along the bench. I go along with them, even when I'm not in complete agreement He's the coach and that's the way it should be.&ldquo;We have discussed a new contract on many occasions and we are in agreement in many phases of it, but there still a few things unresolved&hellip;&ldquo;It has been our policy of not offering long-term contracts to anybody&mdash;players, anybody. I think we have established that in recent times.&ldquo;Look, I don't even have a contract for next season. My contract is up this year. That's as a good an example as any.&rdquo;Back to the Chicago report. Cherry said, &ldquo;I'm under contract to the Bruins. It wouldn't be very honorable for me totalk to another, club. Besides, it would constitute tampering.. Look, I bought a home in this area and just got over the hassle of moving. My wife likes it here and isn't interested in moving&hellip;&rdquo; So?The Bruins then proceeded to lose to the Buffalo Sabres and then got whacked, 8-3, by Canadiens in the Forum, slicing their lead over the Sabres to one point.They played so poorly, after beating Canadiens three times earlier, that Sinden got off an angry explosion after the game, in which he said the club was not properly prepared. Later, after a home victory over the Cleveland Barons, he said, &ldquo;Our team looked as if it was prepared for this game with Cleveland. That was the point I was making in Montreal. We were just not prepared for important games against the Sabres and Canadiens.&ldquo;I wasn't pointing at Don Cherry or any individual. This is something that involves all of us&mdash;the players, the coach, and myself, too. We have to share the blame. And we have to keep playing better if we hope to hold first place in our division&hellip;&rdquo;BOSTON BEANS: Brad Park played badly against Canadiens, giving rise to earlier speculation that all is not right with the knee on which he had an operation last year . But, he says it is not so&hellip;Wayne Cashman. out with a broken thumb, returned to uniform for the Feb. 3 game against the Barons, much earlier than had been expected&hellip;Gerry Cheevers has syndicated his fine horse. Royal Ski. for $1 million&hellip;There are eight in the syndicate. with Cheevers collecting 50 percent of the winnings&hellip;Ski is readying for the Triple Crown events in the U.S.. The Preakness, the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes. ..The players were kidding Cherry after the report that he was going to Chicago, saying, &ldquo;Maybe he's the compensation.&rdquo; (For Bobby Orr, of course).<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-02364/4209965-1-eng-US/f0024-022.jpg" title="f0024-02" width="633" height="917"><figcaption class="caption-body">DON CHERRY &hellip;No Flat-Out Denial</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0024-02

Rumors Fly Around Boston Regarding Cherry's Future

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0025-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-01393/4209996-1-eng-US/f0025-012.jpg"></div> &#9632;

f0025-01

JOHN ARNOLD'SHOCKEY CROSSWORD

<div class="byline">BY MARY KAY OAVIS</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0025-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-02286/4210027-1-eng-US/f0025-022.jpg"></div><h2>Convention Plans Set</h2>FROM THE LAND of the sky-blue waters comes word from Patrick Brown, Jan Ryan, and their Convention Committee that plans are now finalized for the seventh annual NHL Booster Clubs Convention August 12-13-14, in Bloomington, Minnesota&hellip; Our hosts will be the Minnesota Stargazers and we'll stay at the Marriott Inn, adjacent to the Met Sports Center, where our teams stay&hellip; Close to 500 hockey nuts from 16 NHL team booster clubs are expecter&hellip; Route your deposit through your own club's liaison, and do it NOW&hellip; A special feature will be a cruise up the mighty Mississipi to Fort Snelling on a 19th Century sternwheeler&hellip; Many of our member clubs make trips to Minnesota in the dead of winter to see their teams &ldquo;do their thing"&mdash; come August, it's our turn to &ldquo;do our thing&rdquo; at the NHL Booster Clubs Convention in Minnesota!!Busily meeting Hollywood celebs are members of the Los Angeles Kings Court who man their booth at the Forum&hellip; Bo Swenson strummed his gee-tar for them while ex-King Whitey Widing looked on&hellip; Susan St. James proved a real hockey fan and a real person as she chatted with members and posed for pictures&hellip; Any gnashing of teeth over hockey scores should be reported to new Kings Courter Lawrence Handley &mdash; he's a dentist&hellip; Plans are afoot for members to join Rocky Blueliners at a &ldquo;halfway point&rdquo; &mdash; Las Vegas.BLACK HAWK STANDBYS are shaking those drawls picked up in Atlanta and practicing singing 0 Canada en fran&ccedil;ais&hellip; the Montreal trip is March 11-12&hellip; Trip cochairman Joe Serpico managed to break his ankle playing hockey five weeks earlier&hellip; Pam Bright of the Standby Juniors has heard from several Hockey News readers in Scandinavia who want to join&hellip; Ray Finato will handle the Juniors' sleigh ride March 12&hellip; Standby Chris Cholewa joined the &ldquo;Blueliners East&rdquo; and the Minnesota Stargazers at their New Year's Eve Party&hellip; the Standbys welcomed the &ldquo;Blueliners West&rdquo; after the February 12 game at a party in Larry and Joann Coffey's basement rec room but it should be back is shape after a few months.Happiest gal in St. Louis was Detroit For 'em fan Club member Meg Brannon when she was introduced to Michel Bergeron&hellip; Jack Majors won't settle for second-best&mdash;he rented a chauffeur-driven Rolls to take wife Lee to dinner on her birthday, accompanying the lucky pair were Betty andBarry Walker&hellip; Although she moved to Phoenix, Dorothy Wood still tunes in Monday Night NHL Hockey to satisfy her &ldquo;sweet tooth&rdquo; for the sport&hellip; Carol Ryszyka will rush back from Germany in April, just in time for the playoffs&hellip; Prez Dave Szalony was interviewed between periods by Sid Abel (eat yer heart out, Dennis Davidson).CB'ers from the Washington Capitals Fan Club who cruise through Colorado try to pick up Denis Dupere, whose &ldquo;handle&rdquo; is The Duper&hellip; Latest issue of the club's newsletter includes racy stories about Jan Verrey, Buzzy Vogel, Gloria Jacobs, Tony White and Blair Stewart that on second thought I'd better let you read for yourselves&hellip;Nancy Mason is trying to think of alternate descriptions of the puck for WTOP's Ron Weber to use in place of Little Black Biscuit, but I'm not entirely sure that Little Black Buffalo Chip is in good taste&hellip;and that was the best of the bunch&hellip; Marge Speer is secretary for the Washington club and yes, she types&hellip; It was due in part to the extreme mental effort of Sharon Byrus, Steve Miller, Bonnie Shantz and Suzanne Sinn that the team finally brought home a victory on the club's third annual trip to Pittsburgh.Cupid has attacked the Ranger Fan Club as board members Debbie Wilkinson and Mark Friedman got engaged. Rodrigue Gabriel Gilbert will have his own &ldquo;Night&rdquo; on March 9th, and fan clubbers are selling three-inch buttons at $1 with proceeds to go to the Rod Gilbert Foundation&hellip;Newest artist on the club's newsletter staff is Sharon Eberson&hellip;Nick Fotiu and Dave Maloney guested at the club's December meeting, where Nick raffled off Dave&hellip;The club's official Agent 007 is Arthur Steigart, a UPS tracer, who is the hero who located the Rangers' new jerseys in time for their home debut.<h2>Bruins' Club Alive</h2>NOW IT CAN BE TOLD&hellip;There's a Boston Bruins Fan Club ! Brand-new, the club was organized by Bill Woodruff of North Providence. Rhode Island.. Bill publishes a stat-packed newsletter whose covers are drawn by artistic members such as Jay Ramsdell&hellip;Photos and cassettes of Bruins games are offered to members&hellip;Ron Prescavage and Jeannette Pesum keep statistical diaries on all Bruins games&hellip; Jeannette hails from Buzzards Bay, Maine. . This columnist, who roots for&mdash;shall we just say another team entirely&mdash;was made an honorary BBFC member and dassen't show her face in Chicago Stadium (Appreciate it though. Bill, good buddy).Still in contention for the Mediocre Cup are the &ldquo;Manitoba Mooses", male-types from the Pittsburgh Penguins Booster Club, led by Jay and Wayne Vislocky, Ron &ldquo;Overrated&rdquo; Valerino, Mark Poliziani and Vladimir Mirchikofsky (Vladimir Mirchikofsky???)&hellip; John O'Rourke and Gerry Barth had a bal helping two Atlanta fans push Baz Bastien's car out of a drift&hellip;Do we trust Gwen Robbins enough to go on her Mystery Trip March 5th? Rumor has it members will motor to Buffalo to help shover&hellip; It'll be Shoo-be-doo at a Fifties Bobbysock Hop soon&hellip;Judy Gula is the club's hostess to visiting fan clubs&hellip;Vern Boyer is liaison with the Stargazers for the August convention.Folks in the Buffalo Sabres Booster Club are probably not speaking either to me or to The Hockey News' headline writer after we were so cute last month about their snow (we take it there was sufficient white stuff to hold the sleigh-ride as scheduled??)&hellip;The booster club's treasury donated $500 to the Buffalo Evening News' Crippled Children's Camp&hellip; New PR Gal for the Junior section of that club is Linda Russo&hellip; Linda along with Betty Felton and Patty Wojcik are contributors to the senior club's fine newsletter. SABRE POINTS&hellip; Although Belinda Horn hails from LA, she roots enthusiastically for her Sabres.At the ATLANTA FLAMES FAN CLUBs annual Christmas Party. Curt Bennett, on behalf of the Flames and the Fan Club, was presented with a copy of the covered ENTRE AMIS / BETWEEN FRIENDS: .presentation was made by Canadian. Consul General Harry Horne&hellip;club member Kathy Hill took charge of the door prize drawing while Linda Manery drew the lucky names&hellip;meanwhile, scary Santa Gorilla (better known as Steve Wexler) spent the evening scaring the gals, particularly Nicole Myre&hellip;Georgia Governor George Busbee was signed on as a club member by gutsy Kelly Brown, who just walked on up and asked if he'd like to join.ROCKY BLUELINERS member Delores Garm already lives in Chicago and didn't have far to go on the trip there February 12-13&hellip; Marlilyn Gleason, Sue Meacham, Marsha Sorg and Tom Bannister will take your reservation for any club dinner meeting&hellip;Ron Andruff, Paul Gardner, and Mike Kitchen guested at the December meeting and Ron was Rocky of the Month for December, with Michel Plasse taking November honors&hellip;A trip to Las Vegas is in the works&hellip; Helping publish the monthly scandal sheet are Gary Rose, Chief Folder and Licker, plus Doris Wrysinski, Merle Satterlee, Carol Hawthorne and Eileen Zieche.<h2>Blueliners On Ice</h2>Taking to the ice recently were the ST. LOUIS BLUELINERS at a skating party choreographed by Gary Venturella and committee&hellip;Members gathered at the Billikens' game against Ohio State and that was Faye Ross in the Montreal jersey&hellip;on March 4 it was buffet, silent flicks, ragtime piano, melodrama and vaudeville on a showboat excursion&hellip;Sandy Gorin and fellow workers ran the Annual Auction (which benefits amateur hockey) with Russell Smith as auctioneer&mdash;one prize was dinner for two in the wives' room Kathy Willis was all smiles after interviewing my old pal Gilles Marotte, lucky her.Out in Vancouver, the VANCOUVER CANUCKS BOOSTER CLUB hosted five &ldquo;hockey nuts&rdquo; from the PHILADELPHIA FLYERS FAN CLUB, including Dot Michael, who bought one of their raffle tickets and is now the proud possessor of a Canucks jacket&hellip;January 29 marked the All-Star Dance, held in honor of the All-Star Game which was held in Vancouver this year&hellip;There are 131 people out in the Bay Area keeping hockey alive-the CALIFORNIA SEALS BOOSTER CLUB . Fifty stalwarts, including George Black, Cathy White, Lorraine Paulus, Bob Cuillerier, Dora Montes, and Pat Kriletich flew to Vancouver for a Barons (nee Seals) game and were seen trying to bottle the rain and take it home&hellip; Wonder whether Lloyd Gilmour noticed that &ldquo;SEALS BOOSTER CLUB&rdquo; sticker they stuck on the glass door of his NHL Restaurant&hellip; Club pres-celebrity Ty Toki was interviewed between periods by Larry Hirseh, the Barons' broadcaster, while Mary Toki made a bull's-eye on a Scotsman's kilt with a club sticker (TY had better keep an eye on her and forget the Emmy) !&ldquo;Lonely Seal&rdquo; Howard Cochran, honorary member of many of our clubs, made the rounds of eight NHL cities in January, staying with the George Easts in Detroit, Elaine Urik and her family in Chicago, etc. Howie hopes to get back East this spring for a few more games plus a Square Dancing Festival, and of course up to Minnesota in August !Anyone having NHL team Fan Club notes on happenings should send to: Editor, &ldquo;The Wigwam", 1530 East Northwest Highway, Arlington Heights, Illinois 60004 &#9632;

f0025-02

NHL BOOSTER CLUB NEWS

<div class="byline">BY GREG NOBLE</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0026-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-01407/4210065-1-eng-US/f0026-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">MARK NAPIER&hellip;Birmingham's Bright Spot</figcaption></div>CINCINNATI&mdash;Stingers goaltender Jacques Caron was thinking about the chance Winnipeg's Mats Lindh had to shoot the puck into an open net. Caron was out of the goal, and Lindh was five feet away with the puck. There was no way Lindh could miss.But he did. His shot hit the goalpost and bounced away.&ldquo;I told our guys, the Good Lord stops them in an empty net, and I stop them in front of the net.&rdquo; smiled Caron. &ldquo;It's a good partnership.&rdquo;So also is the partnership between the 37-year-old veteran and his young teammates. For three games after they acquired Caron, the Stingers were unbeatable.While Rick Dudley scored a bucketful of goals and the defense played brilliantly. Caron posted two straight shutouts, 4-0 over Winnipeg and 9-0 over Indianapolis.Caron had been playing without pay for Syracuse in the North American League when the Stingers obtained him. &ldquo;I was thinking this might be my last year,&rdquo; said the 17-year pro veteran. &ldquo;I was under contract to Minnesota and when they folded, I figured there was no hope of getting back into the major leagues.&rdquo;The Stingers set after him figuring he would make a capable backup for Norm LaPointe. But coach Terry Slater put him right into the lineup and he won his first three starts.Caron, a smart player who is looking forward to coaching when he retires, has been giving pointers to some of the young players on the club and they seem eager to learn from him.&ldquo;They tell me, Talk to us.' I would not tell a player, 'Do this,' if he did not want my help, but I enjoy helping other players.&rdquo; said Caron.&ldquo;He's more helpful than most goalies. He's been around and he has an outgoing personality, so he can get his message across,&rdquo; said defenseman John Hughes. &ldquo;With a young defense, I think that really helps.&rdquo;&ldquo;This is a good club to play for,&rdquo; Caron said. &ldquo;These guys have the power to score a lot of goals. I know if I get a certain amount of saves, the other guys will come through.&rdquo;Against Indianapolis, Richie Leduc scored three goals and Dudley scored twice. Dudley scored two more goals against Winnipeg. Dennis Abgrall knocked in the first goal against the Jets and Jamie Hislop scored the important second goal early in the third period.Hughes, Barry Legge, Ron Plumb and Pierre Roy were outstanding on defense.INDIANAPOLIS: The Racers fell into a slump but considering the rash of injuries and a tough schedule, coach Jacques Demers was not displeased with his club.&ldquo;At one time we had eight regulars out. We played seven games in nine nights and we won two, lost three and tied two. With all those regulars out,&rdquo; Demers thought, &ldquo;we could easily have lost all seven. You've got to give credit to our guys. We're hurt more than anybody but we've still been keeping our own.&rdquo;The Racers suffered lopsided losses to Cincinnati 9-0 and Quebec 5-1. but defeated New England 5-1 with the help of fine goaltending from rookie Randy Burchell.Demers praised Darryl Maggs as one of the top two defensemen in the league. &ldquo;He's the leading scorer among defensemen in the league but it's what he's doing for us on defense that's so great. The guy has been sensational,&rdquo; said Demers, &ldquo;I don't think he gets the recognition he deserves. I think he and Poul Popiel are the best in the league right now.&rdquo;Among top players like Hugh Harris, Michel Dion. Bryon Baltimore and Ken Block who were out with injuries, only Dion was ready to return to the lineup. The young goaltender missed 11 games while recovering from blood poisoning.BIRMINGHAM: Overtime is like the kiss of death for the Bulls. Struggling for a playoff spot, coach Pat Kelly's club lost ground by losing two more overtime games.In doing so, they tied a league record for defeats in overtime. The Bulls had a 0-8-1 mark in extra-period games. Following a six-game winning streak that lifted them close to fourth place, the Bulls lost three in a row and dropped further back.The team's goal production was down significantly from last season. As one example, Vaclav Nedomansky, a 56-goal scorer last year, just had 23 goals after 57 games this year. Of course, one reason for the team's drop in scoring was the loss of Frank Mahovlich. Captain Mark Napier continued to be the bright light in the Birmingham picture with a team leading 39 goals and 64 points.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-02320/4210058-1-eng-US/f0026-022.jpg" title="f0026-02" width="625" height="882"><figcaption class="caption-body">JACQUES CARON &hellip;Gets Message Across</figcaption></div>The Bulls were looking forward to two home games against New England March 9-11, hoping if they could beat the Whalers twice they could catch them for fourth place. &#9632;

f0026-01

Newcomer Caron Hot For Stingers; Racers Lose, But Demers Hopeful

The Cincinnati Stingers came up hot again this past week in the WHA and so did a handful of their players. Notably Rich Leduc, who stole player of the week honors with a solid 10-point performance.Leduc fired a mid-week hat trick to spark the Stingers as they won four of their five starts. The veteran center scored four times and set up six other goals as he pushed his overall league record to 84 points on 38 goals and 46 assists.It was the first hat trick of the season for Leduc but his third of his career as he continued to be the Stingers' individual point leader. Leduc also stands seventh in the overall WHA as he, Blaine Stoughton, Rick Dudley, Claude Larose and Dennis Sobchuk turned in a productive week for Cincinnati.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-03276/4210096-1-eng-US/f0026-032.jpg" title="f0026-03" width="570" height="642"><figcaption class="caption-body">RICH LEDUC &hellip;Cincinnati Stingers</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0026-03

WHA'S… Player of the Week

<div class="byline">BY DOUG MCCONNELL</div>PHOENIX&mdash;Howie Young returned to the World Hockey Association with the Phoenix Roadrunners 10 pounds lighter than when he left it in 1975.&ldquo;Maybe almost starving had something to do with it,&rdquo; Young, now 190, said.Besides being lighter, he is fitter.&ldquo;Forty going on 18,&rdquo; he jokes, but it was no joke getting that way.Howie has worked out nights for several months at the Phoenix YMCA on a weights program.The program was drawn up for him by Pat Neve, a Phoenix therapist whose aliases include Mr. USA (1975) and the best developed short man in North America (1976).Young, who used to tire visibly at the tail end of each shift, was amazed at his own endurance in his four-game trial at Oklahoma City and in his first game with the Roadrunners.&ldquo;I've never felt so good at the outset,&rdquo; the former bad boy of hockey said. &ldquo;I played the whole game (his first) in Oklahoma City and thought I'd tighten up and be sore, but I felt just great.&rdquo;Young showed he still owns that marvelous speed and an ability to pull the fans up out of their seats.Coach Al Rollins was appreciative of some front line hitting. &ldquo;Howie skated well and bumped a few guys,&rdquo; Rollins said after Young's first game back.The timing isn't all there, yet.&ldquo;I should have had a goal,&rdquo; admitted Young. &ldquo;It was right there, but I couldn't find the handle on it.&rdquo;&ldquo;The Cowboy&rdquo; has worked at odd jobs since parting with the Winnipeg Jets almost two years ago. but it was his love for auto racing which drove him to punish his body once more into playing condition at age 39.&ldquo;I've been trying to build a race car but the money guys backed out on me.&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It was gnawing my guts out, looking at that car and not having the money to finish it.&rdquo;Robert Harrell, and Wayne Vowell, two familiar names in auto racing in the Southwest, have been helping Young in his endeavour to put a sprint car on the track. As have many, described by Howie as &ldquo;just little guys,&rdquo; they've helped him out when &ldquo;the economy was kind of low&rdquo; with &ldquo;a little work here and there and helping me keep my truck running.&rdquo;Young, who has won the battle with the bottle for 12 years, never had good rapport with former Roadrunner coach Sandy Hucul. He was traded to Winnipeg half way through the 1974-75 season but not too late to be voted most popular player, an award he won several times in Phoenix.&ldquo;They asked me if I'd go back for the same money,&rdquo; recalls Young. &ldquo;I said no and told them what I wanted. The next I heard from them was a letter telling me I had been released.&ldquo;I didn't want to play there, anyway. Forty below. I want to be here. I sat out a whole season to be here.&rdquo;That was the 1971-72 season when he was claimed in the reverse draft by San Diego, after playing most of a season on loan in Phoenix from Vancouver of the National League.He refused to play and San Diego sold his rights the following summer to Phoenix.&ldquo;When I skated out onto the ice Saturday night,&rdquo; said Howie, &ldquo;that was all in the past.&rdquo;His popularity wasn't and the fans let him know, roaring their approval of his return.Meanwhile the fortunes of the Roadrunners are sailing with the San Diego Mariners and so far the voyage has been bumpy enough to make them seasick.The Roadrunners beat the Mariners in their first meeting of the season, but San Diego won the next five in succession, three of them on Phoenix ice.With Minnesota's demise, the Mariners are filling three dates with Phoenix and Houston the other. It means that of their 26 remaining games, the Roadrunners face the Mariners seven more times.The Runners' last loss to the Mariners saw Andre Lacroix score a hat trick and assist on another goal, leaving Phoenix in a three-way tie with Calgary and Edmonton for the final playoff spot in the World Hockey Association's Western Division.It also gave them an even split on a four-game home stand.They had won for only the second time in eight overtime games, with two ties, when Frank Hughes found the mark at 8:41 of the extra period against the Birmingham Bulls. The loss was the seventh in eight overtime games, with one tie, for the Bulls and was their second straight loss after seven straight wins.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-01386/4210127-1-eng-US/f0027-012.jpg" title="f0027-01" width="565" height="560"><figcaption class="caption-body">HOWIE YOUNG &hellip;Gets Rousing Welcome</figcaption></div>In an attempt to add some aggressiveness to his forward lines and overcome the loss of Andre Hinse to knee surgery, coach Al Rollins purchased the contract of Jan Popiel from the Houston Aeros. No details were announced.Popiel was the Central League goal scoring leader for Oklahoma City with 15 in 17 games before being sidelined Thanksgiving Day with a broken jaw.The 29-year-old left wing, younger brother of Houston All Star defenseman Poul Popiel, returned after a six week absence with a faceguard and helmet and fired eight more goals in 12 games before joining the Roadrunners.In another attempt to get some size at his forward positions, coach Rollins moved Duane Bray and Jerry Rollins up to wing positions. &#9632;

f0027-01

Young's Passion For Racing Car Gets Him Back With Roadrunners

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0028-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-01372/4210165-1-eng-US/f0028-012.jpg"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-02273/4210158-1-eng-US/f0028-022.jpg" title="f0028-02" width="2683" height="3391"></div> &#9632;

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WHA SCORING AND PENALTY STATISTICS

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-03210/4210196-1-eng-US/f0028-032.jpg" title="f0028-03" width="622" height="1258"><figcaption class="caption-body">DAVE KEON &hellip; Another Milestone</figcaption></div>HARTFORD-The New England Whalers continued their uphill battle to overtake the Indianapolis Racers and Cincinnati Stingers but they were showing considerable success doing it and they were getting a helping hand from veteran center Dave Keon, who last week became hockey's newest 1,000 point scorer.While Keon was racking up his milestone 1,000th professional scoring point, the Whalers slammed the door on the Calgary Cowboys 5-0 to push their present pace to four wins in their last six starts as they inched up on the Racers and Stingers in the close Eastern Division race.Keon picked up his 999th, 1,000th and 1,001st points in the game as he set up three of the Whaler goals. The smooth-skating. 36-year-old center also scored his 400th pro career goal early in the year with the defunct Minnesota Fighting Saints before being traded to the Whalers.Keon, playing with former Minnesota linemates John McKenzie and Mike Antonovich again with the Whalers, is the club's point scoring leader and a great in-spiration the team's young players.While Keon was reaching his milestone, the Whalers beat Phoenix 4-2 and Calgary before losing a squeeker to Birmingham 3-2. But Harry Neale's skaters can't afford to let up not the way the Birmingham Bulls are travelling behind them. The Bulls won twice and tied a third for a five-point week to keep the Whalers in their sights.The leading Quebec Nordiques, forced on the road by the city's gigantic carnival and an international pee wee hockey tournament, found the pickings lean as they dropped decisions in Houston and Cincinnati before winning 4-2 in San Diego.The Nordiques still lead their division by seven points despite the onrushing Cincinnati Stingers, who have come on to grab second place away from Indianapolis.Real Cloutier widened his WHA individual scoring lead over injured Anders Hedberg of Winnipeg as he picked up four scoring points last week. Cloutier has 96 points to 92 for Hedberg, who is out of action for a few weeks with a leg injury. Cloutier collected his 47th goal of the season and now trails Hedberg by only four in the goal-scoring race. &#9632;

f0028-03

Keon Gets 1,000th Scoring Point

HOUSTON-The Houston Aeros have arranged the necessary financing to complete the 1976-77 World Hockey Association season.The Western Division-leading Aeros reached an agreement with the players over their unpaid salaries and the announcement assured Houston fans that the Aeros would complete the current season.Club vice-president Harrison Vickers said no details of the agreement would be made public. Vickers added that the players unanimously approved the arrangements.All Aero players, with the exception of Gordie Howe and his two sons, Mark and Marty, were not paid their regular salary on time. Vickers said he was gratified that the players co-operated to keep the Aeros in business.The Aeros had asked the players to take salary cuts or deferments.&ldquo;We met a few times when we learn-ned about some type of deferment or cut to help the team,&rdquo; said veteran defenseman Larry Hale. &ldquo;Our top priority was to keep the team together. We've discussed this thing and the general attitude was optimistic.&ldquo;No matter what, we wanted to keep the team together and win the championship. I don't think there is going to be any noticeable effect on this team. We didn't want players scattering this way and that. We want to win the championship and the fact that we've got a good chance has really helped the players.&ldquo;The thing I was interested in, and I know a lot of others were too, was to keep as many jobs open as possible. If it means taking a pay cut, then we felt it should be done.&rdquo;Defered salaries or pay cuts were &ldquo;one of the things we were looking at,&rdquo; said Vickers.&ldquo;With our new business planning we will remain as solid a franchise as we have always been.&ldquo;This was not a desperation move. We're looking ahead for ways to cut overall cotst.&rdquo;&ldquo;We are discussing everything from the number of clubs we own on up to the amount of playoff bonuses that we pay.&rdquo; added Vickers. &ldquo;Obviously, the players are a significant part of the cost of our doing business.&rdquo;The Aeros' average salary is $75,000 compared to the WHA average of $85,000 and the National Hockey League's $96.000.&ldquo;We feel that if the situation is handled now, we can ensure the operation here for the next 10 years.&rdquo;&ldquo;Let's face it,&rdquo; said Hale. &ldquo;Players' salaries are part of the problem. You look around our league and if the average attendance is 8,000 and the average salary is $85,000, it doesn't make sense.&rdquo;The Aeros are currently averaging some 8,038 fans, markedly down from last season's average of 9,553, and their bra-eak-even figure is 11,000.&ldquo;We feel the whole thing right now is to get through the season,&rdquo; said general manager and coach Bill Dineen. &ldquo;We're down to a short period of time now.<h2>HOW THEY STAND</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-01326/4210227-1-eng-US/f0029-012.jpg" title="f0029-01" width="641" height="1278"></div> &#9632;

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Houston Team Unanimous In Accenting Salary Plan

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0030-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-01366/4210272-1-eng-US/f0030-012.jpg"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-0359/4210265-1-eng-US/f0042-032.jpg" title="f0042-03" width="674" height="340"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-0443/4210258-1-eng-US/f0042-042.jpg" title="f0042-04" width="680" height="2765"></div> &#9632;

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World Hockey Association Summaries

<div class="byline">BY DOUG MCCONNELL</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-01339/4210310-1-eng-US/f0031-012.jpg" title="f0031-01" width="621" height="780"><figcaption class="caption-body">KEN LOCKETT &hellip;Gets Over .500</figcaption></div>SAN DIEGO&mdash;What will the San Diego Mariners do if they ever get healthy.&rdquo;&ldquo;We'll take a run at first place,&rdquo; said Ron Ingram, leaving listeners scratching their heads.The Mariners held on to edge the Edmonton Oilers 6-5 and continued their mastery over the Phoenix Roadrunners with a 5-3 victory to gain a split on a four-game road trip.It brought them home to a three-game home stand just two points behind World Hockey Association Western Division leading Houston. The Mariners' 13-18-0 road record is second only to Quebec.Norm Ferguson scored his 29th and 30th goals of the season as the-Mariners jumped out in front 6-2 at Edmonton.Andre Lacroix picking up the pace in the last half of the season, ran his scoring streak to seven games but did it with a flourish.The little ice magician scored a hat trick and assisted on another by left wing Rick Sentes in a 5-3 victory over Phoenix.If the Mariners can continue their mastery of the Roadrunners, it could be a big factor in the race for the division leadership. It was their fifth straight victory over Phoenix since the Roadrunners won the first meeting this season back in November.Joe Noris had the cast removed from his broken wrist and returned to the lineup against Phoenix after an eight- -game absence to score two assists.Defenseman Randy Legge was back after a 12-game rest with a severe Charley horse.The injury list picked up two recent names, right wing Wayne Rivers with a back injury and recently returned (from Minnesota) center Ray Adduono with strained knee ligaments.The list already had Gary Veneruzzo (shoulder separation), John French (reseparation of a shoulder) and defenseman Brent Hughes (back injury).Superb netminding by Ernie Wakely and Ken Lockett have helped keep the Mariner ship afloat.Lockett, reducing his goals against average to 3.75 and getting over .500 in the won-lost column, picked up win number 13 against 12 losses and a tie at Edmonton, frustrating the Oilers with 42 saves.&ldquo;They got great goaltending,&rdquo; obser-bed Phoneix coach Al Rollins after the Mariners' victory at Phoenix, &ldquo;We should have scored eight times in the first two periods.&rdquo;Wakely's 3.05 goals against average is fifth in the WHA and he has won 18, lost 10 and tied one.<h2>Looking At WHA Goalers</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-02258/4210303-1-eng-US/f0031-022.jpg" title="f0031-02" width="663" height="2006"></div> &#9632;

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Goalies Keeping Mariners Afloat

<div class="byline">BY GEORGE BILYCH</div>CALGARY&mdash;Don Tannahill will never challenge Anders Hedberg as a goal scorer. But he does have a penchant for scoring goals that people remember.He remembers them himself, if for no other reason than the fact they haven't been too plentiful this season. After 51 games the Calgary Cowboys' utility forward whose specialty is killing penalties has triggered only eight pucks past opposing goaltenders.That hasn't been the full extent of his goal scoring, however. In a game against the Phoenix Roadrunners in January he parked a 150-foot shot into hiw own net after goaltender Smokey McLeod had raced to his own bench when the 'Runners had been called for a delayed penalty.&ldquo;I remember when it went in I felt like a guy who bails out of his own plane and forgets his parachute.&rdquo; said the personable 27-year-old.Tannahill has atoned for that bit of ill fortune, not the least of which came against the Edmonton Oilers Feb. 11. His eighth goal was one of his specialties, a shorthanded effort, that proved to be the winner in a 3-1 victory over the Oilers that momentarily carried the Cowboys into a fourth-place deadlock with Edmonton.Coming in one of Calgary's most crucial games of the season, it was a beautifully orchestrated effort. Taking advantage of the pressing Edmonton power play, he accepted a John Arbour pass at center ice, outlegged Norm Ullman at the Oilers' blueline and then beat Ken Broderick cleanly with a high 15-footer.It was his fourth shorthanded goal of the season one short of the number he fired all of last year.All have been memorable. He got two in one game in San Diego, the tying and winning goals, personally engineering one of only four victories the Cowboys have registered on the road this season. He scored another against Quebec, a spectacular effort that wound up with him draped across the end boards in a state of semi-consciousness.But Tannahill, who normally is never at a loss for words, passes these heroics off casually.&ldquo;Scoring shorthanded goals is a lot of luck,&rdquo; he put it rather bluntly.EDMONTON: The Oilers won only one of three starts during the week. 5-2 over Calgary, but it was enough to keep them in a familiar setting, in fourth place ahead of both Calgary and Phoenix.That part of the picture hasn't changed much in the past couple of months as neither one of the three has been able to mount any sort of a drive. Nobody has been able to put more than two wins back to back.The Oilers suffered a serious blow when they lost Barry Wilkins for the season through knee surgery. Wilkins had been the acknowledged leader of the defense but newcomer Ron Busniuk (from New England) has fitted in very E well with his enthusiastic style of play.Since the acquisition of Busniuk and Brett Callighen, also from the Whalers, the Oilers appear to have become much more physical. In a weekend series with the Cowboys, the Oilers were involved in seven fights, Busniuk being a central figure in three of these. Callighen figured in another.The Oilers figure to have center Claude St. Sauveur back in harness in early March. Originally The Saint was slated for surgery to remove a bone spur on his shoulder but the medics managed to break it off without having Claude go under the knife.WINNIPEG: With captain Lars-Erik Sjoberg and alternates Ted Green and Anders Hedberg sidelined through injuries, the Winnipeg Jets found a temporary solution to their problems as they headed out on a four-game road trip. They sewed the 'C' on Ulf Nilsson's jersey.Nilsson responded the first time out with a hat trick performance in a surprising 7-2 victory over the Nordiques in Quebec City. They lost their next two in New England and Cincinnati before Nilsson took over personnally again, registering another 'hat' as the Jets closed off their trip with a 7-5 conquest of the Racers in Indianapolis.&ldquo;We were hoping for a split and we managed to get it,&rdquo; said Bobby Kromm obviously pleased. &ldquo;Now if some of our injuries will come around, we can still make a serious run at the leaders.&rdquo;Hedberg suffered strained knee ligaments in the victory over Calgary that saw him score his 49th . 50th and 51st goals. He picked up the injury in the second period but then returned in the third to get the all-important goals. Indications were he'd be out for a couple of weeks.The news Kromm had been waiting for appeared to be on the way Both Sjoberg and Dan Labraaten, who suffered a separated shoulder Jan. 25 against Houston, have received the green light from the Jets' medical staff and were expected to make their re-entry against Calgary Feb. 15. Sjoberg, an All Star rearguard last season, has been on the shelf since Nov. 30. &#9632;

Vet Tannahill Makes Amends For Misfortune

SPRINGFIELD&mdash;It would appear that with about five and half weeks of the 1976-77 season remaining Nova Scotia, New Haven, Rochester and Hershey will be the teams making the cut for the Calder Cup playoffs, but who will be playing against whom may very well remain a question right up until the last week of the regular season in March.The defending champion Vees helped themselves to an eight-point bulge this past week by taking two big wins from the Nighthawks in Halifax. The Vees have been the team to beat all season but have had some stiff competition for the number one spot from both the Hawks and the Rochester Americans.The Bears, who up until Christmas-time were lounging around down in the cellar, have really put things together and are now battling with the Amerks for third place.First place is not entirely out of the question for any of these four teams. The playoffs are not entirely out of the question for Rhode Island or Springfield, but at this stage of the season it would appear that the Reds and Indians will be playing the role of spoilers.The Vees went into last week with a slim four-point edge over the Hawks, who seem to have mastered the art of beating the Calder Cup champs especially in New Haven. But, the Vees proved themselves under pressure by taking 6-1 and 3-2 wins away from the Hawks in two four-point games. Meanwhile the Amerks and Bears have been trading third place back and forth for the past two weeks with the Amerks and Bears have been trading third place back and forth for the past two weeks with the Amerks currently resting one point ahead of the Bears.This year's playoff plan, adopted by the league and players' association, calls for the first-place team to meet the fourth- -place team and the second and third-place teams to meet in the other semi-final round. It's a safe bet that nobody wants to play the Vees in the opening round so the competition should remain at a high level right to March 31.NOVA SCOTIA: Fierre Mondou and Rod Schutt have developed a mild race between themselves for the team lead in scoring. Both players are among the top scorers in the league, solid candidates for All Star berths and for Schutt a solid candidate for rookie honors.NEW HAVEN: The Hawks, despite losing two to the Vees last week, were bolstered by the addition of Ranger goalie John Davidson, the return of defenseman Doug Jarrett and the promise of the speedy return of defenseman John Bednarski from New York. The Hawks have accomplished a lot over the past month, playing for the most part shorthanded, and there is no telling what they will do when they have a full roster to work with.RHODE ISLAND: The Reds' hopes for a playoff spot were brightened last week with the addition of several new players. Rookie coach Ross Brooks was able to dress Bobby Sheehan back from Detroit, Dave Hynes back from the Whalers and newcomers Billy MacMillan up from the Islanders. Danny Arndt from Edmonton and Sean Shanahan and Guy Delparte from Colorado.At the present time, most observers feel that the Reds have the best team in the league, at least on paper, and when they all have had time to play together for a few games the Reds could very well make a late charge at fourth place.ROCHESTER: A lot of people thought that Doug Gibson couldn't get along with-out Gordie Clark and vica-versa. Well Gibson is still on top in the scoring and Clark is out with an injury and has been for the past three weeks.Rick Adduono, Ron Garwasiuk and Jim Jones have filled the gap left by Clark's departure from the lineup. Adduono is hotter than a pistol in scoring as he has picked up one or more points in 21 of his last 24 games. Garwasiuk and Jones have also been hot.Garwasiuk has managed to pick up a point in 19 of his last 21 games and has become a serious contender for the scoring title along with Gibson. Jones, who has been for the most part left standing behind Gibson and Clark, has come on strong and has hiked his scoring total to 44 points in recent weeks.SPRINGFIELD: The Indians are still plagued with injuries and call ups. They got high-scoring Bob Ritchie back just in time for Ritchie to help them to a 5-3 win over Rhode Island last week, but Drew Callendar remained in Philadelphia.Peter Scamurra is still in Washington and Norm Barnes was returned to Philadelphia in the NAHL, leaving the Indians with only two experienced backliners in Mike McMahon and Bob Paradise. Paradise is still recovering from an injury.Mark Suzor, a Philly draft choice, seems to be getting adapted to the pros, but is still having his problems. Up front the Indians are also having their troubles as Peter Laframboise suffered a jammed thumb in the Rhode Island game and although he is still dressing he is not at his best. John Paddock and Terry Byuck are still on the injured list.HERSHEY: Everyone in Hershey is keeping their fingers crossed that goalie Don Edwards and Derek Smith will be back from Buffalo before too long.The Sabres sent an emergency call for the two Hershey stars late last week and the loss of these two players for an extended time would hurt the Bears in their efforts to move up.<h2>Where AHL Teams Play</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-01311/4210372-1-eng-US/f0033-012.jpg" title="f0033-01" width="632" height="886"></div><h2>AHL Leaders</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-02232/4210365-1-eng-US/f0033-022.jpg" title="f0033-02" width="639" height="726"></div> &#9632;

f0033-01

Vees Pull Away Beating Nighthawks Twice

<div class="byline">BY TOM BURKE</div>POTSDAM&mdash;Maybe it was fitting that Clarkson College's hockey team was preparing for its first trip by airplane during February's initial week. The Golden Knights have been flying along atop the ECAC Division One race all season, with the only close contender being the University of New Hampshire.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-01341/4210431-1-eng-US/f0034-012.jpg" title="f0034-01" width="623" height="804"><figcaption class="caption-body">DAVE TAYLOR &hellip; On Record Course</figcaption></div>&ldquo;It's still a heck of a Valentine's Day present, this road trip,&rdquo; grinned Clarkson coach Jerry York.&ldquo;We've got five games away from home in a row. Four of them are against teams in the top eight, and the other one. at Colgate, is at a place where we haven't won in four years.&rdquo;The Knights were originally scheduled to play at Boston College on Friday, Feb. 11 and at Providence the following evening. But an opportunity to appear on the ECAC game of the week telecast at Providence caused the BC-Clarkson game at McHugh Forum to be moved to Thursday evening. With the shift, the Techers' usual method of bus transportation. an eight-hour trek from Potsdam. N.Y., to Beantown, was ruled out.Following the Colgate game in Hamilton. Clarkson faced another Boston area trip to second-place New Hampshire and fourth-place Boston University. The swings will be Tech's first exposure in Boston and a true test of their mettle. Before tangling with York's former mentor Len Ceglarski's team at BC. Clarkson sported a 19-4 overall record and a 13-2 division one, good for first place. The only losses came on the road, at RP1 and at Cornell.Members of the Boston press corps would also be getting a glimpse of the four players York is touting for All-American honors. He cites forwards Dave Taylor and Sid Tanchak. defenseman Bill Blackwood, and goalie Brian Shields as the men whove propelled Clarkson from the middle of the pack to Number One.Taylor, a senior from Levack. Ont., is the right wing on Clarkson's first line centered by Tanchak and with Jay Wescott on the left. His 73 points in 20 games leads all ECAC scorers, and according to York he could break the ECAC single season record of 93 points set by Army's Dave Merhar in 1968-69. He has long since broken the Clarkson career scoring mark of 157 points, owned for the past two decades by Eddie Rowe.&ldquo;Some of the high-scoring players around today don't work very hard for their points,&rdquo; said York emphatically. &ldquo;Not Dave. He plays two ways and doesn't go off for floater passes.&rdquo;Tanchak, with 52 points in 20 games, is a sophomore who only scored 22 points through his rookie year when Clarkson surprised everyone and finished fourth in the Eastern race at 16-9-1. He and some of the other young Clarkson players are what every coach dreams of&mdash;unexpected overachievers who blossom after a year or so of seasoning.Goalie Brian Shields led the East's netminders into February with a 3.30 average. According to the coach, he's playing just as well as he did as a junior when he made All-American.Blackwood, a junior rearguard from Copper Cliff, ranked between Taylor and Tanchak in the ECAC scoring race through 20 games, giving Clarkson the top three spots. With 53 points, he's already become the first Golden Knight defenseman to score 100 points in his career.&ldquo;Bill is a real quarterback out there. You could compare him to Ron Wilson or Vic Stanfield,&rdquo; enthused York.To consider Clarkson a four-man team is to misinterpret things, however. AH lettermen but reserve goalie George Galbraith have returned to the squad this season, giving York's team the most depth and experience of any team in the East. Sophomores Kevin Zappia and Wescott, both recruited from high schools in sparsely populated northern New York, typify Clarkson's depth and underline the slow but noticeable revamping of the Golden Knights' program under York. 1967 Boston College graduate now in his fifth year behind the dasher.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-04126/4210424-1-eng-US/f0034-042.jpg" title="f0034-04" width="624" height="762"><figcaption class="caption-body">MICHEL LEBEAU &hellip; Two-Goal Game</figcaption></div>Elsewhere in the East, Boston University and Harvard won the first round of the Beanpot tournament before 13,674 in Boston Garden. The Terriers tallied six goals in the third period to break open a close game against Northeastern and won 10-5. Rick Meagher picked up his second hat trick in as many games. The Huskies fell behind early but were game and battled back to 5-4 at 2:14 of the third before BU ran and hid.In the other opening game, Harvard dethroned defending champ Boston College 4-2, atoning for an earlier set-back. The Crimson pressured goalie Paul Skidmore constantly, throwing 34 shots his way to 19 for BC.The Eagles led twice, 1-0 and 2-1, but Bryan Cook's slapper from the slot tied the game at 6:35 of the third frame and led to George Hughes game winner from the right side of the cage with 29 seconds remaining in regulation time.Harvard's euphoria didn't last long. Cornell invaded Watson Rink two nights later and rode Jim Vaughan's hat trick to a 7-4 decision.<h2>HOW THEY STAND</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-02273/4210417-1-eng-US/f0034-022.jpg" title="f0034-02" width="661" height="1902"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-01320/4210410-1-eng-US/f0035-012.jpg" title="f0035-01" width="693" height="4288"></div><h2>Where College Teams Play</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-03201/4210403-1-eng-US/f0034-032.jpg" title="f0034-03" width="1316" height="1060"></div> &#9632;

f0034-01

Clarkson Proving Class Of ECAC; BU, Harvard Win Beanpot Openers

<div class="byline">BY JIM CAUCHON</div>MONTREAL&mdash;The Quebec Universities' Athletic Association hockey season winds up league play this week and no one connected with the circuit can say it wasn't the best year in recent memory, competition wise.The classic confrontation, to cap off a season of tighter-than-normal games, comes up next weekend when two of Canada's top-ranked powers. Concordia and UQTR, square off for QUAA supremacy &mdash; once and for all.In the corner to my left, you've got Paul Arsenault's Concordia University Stingers. The defending Quebec champions, after breezing easily to the '75-76 crown, playing sparkling hockey most of the year, as a 16-2-1 log indicates. But there's something different about this year's edition. They lack the killer instinct.You can prove this by checking out their mark against UQTR. The Stingers have a 2-1-1 record against the Patriotes with each game being close except for the one they lost.Early in the season, Concordia ventured to Trois-Rivieres and left with an 11-8 win. Granted goaltender Mike Griffin didn't get the nod, and Concordia ran into defensive difficulties as they have often under pressure this season.The last three meetings are more indicative. Concordia held on for a 4-4 tie on home ice after being up by three goals. Two months later, on Feb. 4, the Stingers again staved off a furious Pats' charge, after leading by a 5-1 count, to cling to a 6-4 victory.The truth finally caught up with the Stingers when they were outclassed to the tune of 9-4 in Trois-Rivieres before a packed house last week.The Patriotes, armed with the size they didn't have last season to complement their always outstanding skating, have the Stingers' number, or so it appears.So to counter this somewhat, the Stingers put a lot of emphasis on capturing final home ice advantage by bearing down and toppling Laval and McGill to close out their regular season. The Patriotes could do not better than 34 points, with a 16-2-2 mark. Therefore, after these giants eliminate their lesser rivals in the opening two-game total point semi-finals, in all likelihood they will meet Feb. 24 at Concordia to start their two-of-three final. Hopefully, these two college giants, UQTR No. 4 in Canada and Concordia No. 5, will decide it all in the type of series everyone's expecting.ONTARIO: The OUAA also finishes up its campaign this week but the playoff picture is still as jammed after last week's action. Two of the four quarter-final pairings are certain. Laurentian Voyageurs, fresh from inspired play of late, including an 8-4, 7-5 sweep of Queen's to complement a 4-2 win over Toronto, will visit Varsity Arena to battle the Varsity Blues, a club having problems defensively as a 10-8 home-ice loss to Queen's would indicate. Forwards Tim Heale (12-14-26) and Charles Hamilton are expected to give Jack Porter's Voyageurs a real shot at it.In the other pairing Ryerson visits York Ice Palace to face the country's second-rated Yeomen. No one's giving Ryerson an honest shake in this one. with the Yeomen's awesome offensive power showing up with four of East's top five scorers wearing York white and red. Ron Hawkshaw. team captain on his way to All-Canadian honors, spearheads the offense which has scored 6.7 goals a game this year.MARITIMES: The clock is also ticking down on another classic confrontation come the playoffs. St. Francis Xavier X-Men (16-2-2) and the St. Mary's Huskies enter the final week as the headliners expected to vie for the championship.The X-Men's record-seting line of Mike Melanson (21-27-48), Bob Stephson (20-23-43) and Greg Keating (19-19-38) finished an impressive year one. two, three in the league scoring race. Their firepower, backed by the solid netminding of Fred Cuvelier, a 2.46 GAA, should be more than any AUAA opponent can handle. However, there's probably one team that can give the X-Men trouble and that's the always top-rated Huskies.Bob Boucher's club finished fast with the finest second-half mark in the Maritimes (9-1-0); that loss to the X-Men 6-2 on Jan. 19 which was quickly amended two weeks later when the Huskies, again provided with top notch goaltending by the league's finest. Steve Davies at 2.37 GAA, bombed St. F.X. 5-1.Universite de Moncton. SMU's semifinal opponent, and Prince Edward Island, matched with the X, may have a large say in the final proceedings. U de M tripped up both SMU and St. F.X. during the first half of the year although they've slumped somewhat since then. UPEI. always respectable at 12-7-1, will be banking on the accuracy of top scorer Vai Mitchell (12-24-36) to carry out the upset role.CANADA WEST: Darrell Semenuk informs that the country's best. University of Alberta Golden Bears, are continuing to roll up win after impressive win.Yearbook coverboy Jim Ofrim added seven points in a pair of easy 7-2 wins over Calgary to remain on top of the CWUAA with (12-24-36). Ofrim's 24 assists also is tops in the league with teammate Kevin Primeau's hat trick leaving him with 15 goals, high in the league&hellip; British Columbia T-Birds swept a pair from Saskatchewan to officially grasp second place and the final playoff spot However the unenviable task of whipping the Golden Bears in the final, after being a loser six straight times to the Albertans, looks quite distant. Alberta gets in whether BC topples them or not because of that crazy national final host rule.GREAT PLAINS: Manitoba bit the dust twice during the week thereby leaving them a serious question mark whether they're valid or not for the national crown. Both Regina and Winnipeg. the latter owner of a 10-4 shellacking of the Bisons, posted the dynamic upsets. The losses probably can be attributed to a letdown after last week's champagne-filled G-PAC title celebrations. The Bisons will be ready for the playoffs, though, in some two weeks time. No doubt about that.<h2>HOW THEY STAND</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-02257/4210462-1-eng-US/f0035-022.jpg" title="f0035-02" width="658" height="2380"></div> &#9632;

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Stingers, Patriotes Near Showdown; Ontario Gearing For Tough Playoffs

MADISON-The Wisconsin Badgers extended their winning streak to 10 games and held on to their seven-point margin over Notre-Dame in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association.With a series sweep over Michigan Tech, the Badgers' 10-game winning streak is a new school record for most consecutive wins in WCHA play. The old record was eight in a row set by the NCAA championship team in 1973.The Badgers got three goals in each of the first two periods to hold a 6-2 edge over Tech going into the final stanza. Two early third-period goals gave the Badgers a 8-2 margin before Tech closed it to 8-4. Badger goal getters were Steve Alley (2), Craig Norwich, Mark Johnson, Les Grauer, Dave Lundeen, Mike Meeker and John Taft. Mike Dibble was in the nets and recorded his 10th victory of the season.Bob Suter's first goal of the year gave Wisconsin a one-goal margin until the second period of Saturday's game, then each scored three goals and the Badgers garnered a 4-3 win. Michigan Tech tied the game twice before goals by Alley and Meeker gave Wisconsin a 4-2 edge. Mich. Tech scored the last goal of the game at the 19:40 mark on the period. Julian Baretta continued his outstanding goaltending and captured his 13th win and maintained his GA average at 2.89.Mark Johnson's goal in the Friday game was his 20th in the WCHA and ties a school record for goals in the league set by Norm Cherrey in 1972-73.In other WCHA action. Notre Dame swept North Dakota 6-5 and 10-5, Michigan took Denver twice. 6-2 and 8-3, Minnesota Gophers kept their hopes alive with a pair of wins over Minnesota-Duluth, 6-4 and 7-3 and in two non-conference games, Colorado College Tigers won twice over the Air Force 7-3 and 5-4. &#9632;

Leading Wisconsin Continues To Roll Over WCHA Rivals

<div class="byline">BY RALPH BRIDGLAND</div>TORONTO-Cary Farelli of Toronto Marlboros officially tied the Ontario Hockey Association Major Junior &ldquo;A&rdquo; career points mark with a goal in Sault Ste. Marie on Feb. 12.Farelli is tied at 444 points with Peter Lee, formerly of Ottawa '67s.However, as far as Farelli is concerned he broke Lee's record a week earlier at Maple Leaf Gardens with two assists in a 7-2 win over Oshawa Generals.The discrepancy?The league record book credited Farelli with 118 points in the 1974-75 season. It should have read 121.If Farelli only had Lee to worry about, there wouldn't really be any need to complain. But the Toronto winger also has to contend with St. Catharines Fincups' captain Dale McCourt, who has 443 career points, one behind Lee and Farelli.Had Farelli not suffered a severe knee injury Nov. 5 in Kingston, the question as to who is the league's all-time leading scorer might have a very easy answer. However, the injury kept Farelli out of action until Jan. 30 and he will have to wear a brace on the knee for the rest of the season.Lee still holds the career goals record with 212 while Farelli has 185 and McCourt 180. McCourt holds the assists record with 263.LONDON: Knights came up with three wins and a tie to retain 12-point bulge over St. Catharines atop Emms Division&hellip; Big game was at home to Fincups and 5,272 spectators saw clubs battle to 2-2 tie&hellip;Jim MacRae and Steve Stockman scored for the Knights, who were outshot 27-19 in the game&hellip;Dino Ciccarelli scored three times to lead Knights to 5-3 win in Sault Ste. Marie&hellip;MacRae had two goals as London scored six unanswered third-period goals to beat the Flyers 8-5 in Niagara Falls.ST. CATHARINES: Third-period goals by Ric Seiling and Al Secord enabled the Fincups to salvage 2-2 tie in London&hellip; McCourt scored twice in Fincups' 5-3 victory in Sault Ste. Marie&hellip;Club completed northern swing with 5-1 win in Sudbury as Mike Boyd. Dennis Houle. Steve Hazlett, Geoff Shaw and Secord scored a goal apiece.TORONTO: Marlboros nine points in front of fourth-place Kitchener after dropping both ends of northern swing&hellip; Farelli. John Kibyuk and Lynn Jorgenson scored in 5-3 loss to Sault Ste. Marie&hellip;Scott McGeown scored twice as Marlies completed trip with 6-4 loss in Sudbury.KITCHENER: Rangers experienced up-and-down week&hellip;The Rangers outshot Windsor 53-34 but Dwight Foster was only player to score for Kitchener in 3-1 loss to Spitfires&hellip;Barry Duench scored twice to lead Rangers to 5-3 win over Ottawa&hellip; Duench scored three times in Oshawa as Generals held Rangers to 5-5 tie&hellip;Rangers lead fifth-place Windsor by eight points.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-02186/4210562-1-eng-US/f0037-022.jpg" title="f0037-02" width="608" height="666"><figcaption class="caption-body">CARY FARELLI &hellip;Record Recognized</figcaption></div>WINDSOR: Spitfires have suspended All Star defenseman Behn Wilson for the rest of the season and want to trade him. Coach Wayne Maxner suspended him for 'indifferent play.&rdquo; The 18-year-old rearguard was acquired earlier in the season from Ottawa. &ldquo;I'll be better off without him,&rdquo; Maxner said&hellip;Spitfires moved to within eight points of fourth-place Kitchener with two wins and a tie in their three games&hellip;Bob Parent blocked 53 shots as Windsor beat the Rangers 3-1 in Kitchener. George Kotsopoulos, Brad Smith and Bo Schryer scored for the Spitfires&hellip;Gerry Leroux scored two goals and added three assists to lead Windsor to important 6-3 win over Niagara Falls.NIAGARA FALLS: Flyers lost three straight and fell 15 points behind Spitfires&hellip; Mike Dwyer scored two shorthanded goals in 6-3 loss to Spitfires in Windsor&hellip;Bill Stewart. Don Padley and Clay Watts scored for Flyers in 6-3 loss in London and the following night Steve Cupolo had two goals in 8-5 loss to Knights in Niagara Falls.SUDBURY: Wolves moved into Leyden Division lead, two points ahead of both Peterborough and Ottawa&hellip;The Wolves have one game in hand on the Petes and two on the '67s&hellip; The secondlargest crowd of the season in Sudbury, 4,049, saw the Wolves lose 5-1 to St. Catharines&hellip;John Baby got the lone Sudbury goal.PETERBOROUGH: Two wins and a tie moved the Petes into a second-place tie with Ottawa&hellip; Brian Drumm and Greg Theberge scored in 2-1 win in Oshawa&hellip;Ron Mason, Bob Schnurr, Gar McMonagle, Steve Peters. Keith Acton and Keith Crowder scored in 6-6 tie in Windsor.OTTAWA: '67s went into tailspin which saw them lose four games straight and are now just two points in front of Kingston, which has four games in hand&hellip; Warren Holmes scored lone Ottawa goal in 10-1 loss at home to Kingston&hellip;At the end of the week the '67s lost another game to the Canadians, 4-2 in Kingston&hellip;Dave MacQueen and Doug Wilson scored for Ottawa.KINGSTON: Canadians moved to within four points of first place with three consecutive wins&hellip;Tony McKegney scored three times and Ken Linseman and Mike Simurda twice each as the Canadians dumped the '67s 10-1 in Ottawa.SAULT STE. MARIE: Greyhounds won one of three games, all on homeice&hellip;Gord Lorimer, Paul Mancini, Blaine Thurston, Dave Watson and Tony Cuomo scored a goal apiece in 5-3 win over Toronto.OSHAWA: Generals are now just playing for next season's jobs&hellip;Kevin Street. Glenn Knight. Joe Campagnola, Jim Jackson and Bob Dolman scored as the Generals picked up their 11th point of the season, a 5-5 tie with Kitchener.<h2>HOW THEY STAND</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-01262/4210555-1-eng-US/f0037-012.jpg" title="f0037-01" width="655" height="1733"></div> &#9632;

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All-Time Leading Scorer In Doubt; Knights Retain Bulge Over Fincups

MILWAUKEE &ndash;Milwaukee Admirals general manager Bill Chimo announced that former Chicago Black Hawk Gene Ubriaco has signed to coach the club for the balance of the season. Ubriaco replaces third-year coach Andre Caron, who will remain with the club as director of player personnel.The 40-year-old Ubriaco, with two years of coaching experience with the Chicago Warriors, was behind the bench in Green Bay as the Admirals snapped a seven-game losing streak with a 5-4 overtime triumph.Despite the Admirals' victory, two road wins by the Waterloo Black Hawks have left Milwaukee, last year's playoff champions, one point behind Waterloo in the battle for the fourth and final playoff berth.In the overall race for the league's top spot, the Grand Rapids Blades have opened a six-point lead over the Green Bay Bobcats on the strength of a pair of thrilling 5-4 victories at Sioux City.At Traverse City, player-coach Dean Prentice inserted rookie goaltender Glen Cappellani in a bid to keep their playoff hopes alive. Cappellani, recently called up from the Chapleau, Ontario Huskies of the International Junior League, turned aside 38 Waterloo drives in a 9-2 win for the Bays. It was the first home-ice victory for Traverse City in their last six games, and with only 11 games remaining in the regular season, the Bays currently trail by eight points.Several players from the recently folded Southern Hockey League were signed just before the league's Feb. 1 roster deadline. Goalie Brian Cousineau, defenseman Gary Wood and Rick Loe joined Grand Rapids, while forward Ron Inch went to Traverse City. Forward Rick Cabalka signed with Waterloo, while John Blaylock and Craig Crawford turned up in Milwaukee and Jan Kascak. Jean Bourdon and Mike Ballanger joined Sioux City.Veteran center Gary Ford of Grand Rapids has finally overtaken Sioux City's Steve Colp in the individual scoring derby as the three-time International Hockey League scoring champion collected nine points in the Blades three wins last week to move one point ahead of Colp. &#9632;

Around The USHL

<div class="byline">BY BUD GALLMEIER</div>COLUMBUS&mdash;Should the Columbus Owls survive the free-for-all which is the South Division of the International Hockey League, the championship plank will be a personal triumph for Owl general manager Moe Bartoli.Bartoli, who gave the coaching reins to young Ron Ullyot this season in order to concentrate more on the general manager's chores, provided his rookie coach with two potential superstars. And as the IHL championship season skates towards a conclusion. Tom Cassidy and John Flesch have been just that for the Owls.Cassidy is the Owls leading scorer with 73 points through the first 55 games. His total has been compiled on 30 goals (also the club high) and 43 assists. He ranks fourth in the league point parade.Flesch is skating just a stride or two behind his linemate. The left winger has pumped in 27 goals and has 28 assists for 55 points. His point total undoubtedly would be higher but he was used early in the season to shore up the Owl blueline troops.The appearance of Cassidy and Flesch in the Owl lineup is strictly a Bartoli coup. Ullyot is reaping the dividends in his rookie voyage as the two have been the main difference between the Owls of last season&mdash;a tailend production&mdash;and th&eacute; title contender they are proving this time out.Flesch came to the Owls when Bartoli put him on the Owls' free agent pro list, knowing that his contract with the Minnesota North Stars of the National Hockey League had expired, Bartoli made his first move last fall at the Bellgrove Arena in Sudbury, Ont. (hometown for both Flesch and Bartoli). Bartoli informed Flesch he had put him on the Owl list and inquired as to whether or not John would be interested in coming to Columbus. Flesch said he would&mdash;and came.TOLEDO: The Goaldiggers are threatening to pull away from the pack in the tight South Division. The trigger which could spring Toledo free is Dave Johnson, whose hot streak has placed him just one goal away from the Toledo club record of 50. Johnson also is leading the IHL in red lights.A streak of seven goals in three games&mdash;all against North Division leader Kalamazoo&mdash;has put Johnson on the gateway to a new record&mdash;and the Diggers on top of the South. Two of the games with Kalamazoo resulted in Toledo victories. The Diggers beat the K-Wings in Toledo, 4-2, with Johnson getting the hat trick.DAYTON: The Gems, who have been providing some punch to the Washington Caps of late, got something in return. And it could help the Gems in the late drive in defense of their IHL championship.Roger Crozier, a 15-year veteran of the National Hockey League, including All Star status in the nets for both Buffalo and Detroit, has been sent to Dayton to help the young Gem goalies&mdash;Jim Bedard and Dale Rideout. Crozier recently was signed by the Caps as a backup goalie, scout and instructor.KALAMAZOO: The K-Wings' most significant victory of the season may also prove the most costly. A smashing, 7-4 triumph over Port Huron gave the front-skating Wings their 27th victory of the season&mdash;a total it took all of last season to produce. The victory was triggered by Mike Wanchuk's first hat trick of the season.Now for the bad news. Veteran Al Genovy injured his right knee and hasn't played since. A possiblity the knee will require surgery exists. Genovy has scored 27 goals and has picked up 33 assists so far this season.SAGINAW: The Gears completed their first clean sweep on a weekend to move into a strong challenging position for the North Division. Successive victories over Flint (in Flint), Flint again (at home) and over Port Huron vaulted the Gears from third to second. The Generals fell by scores of 9-5 and 7-3 while the Flags were more stubborn, yielding by a 3-2 margin. Marc Comeau featured the offensive with two straight two-goal games.FLINT: The ending of the Generals' unbeaten string at home started a nosedive that has dropped the Generals from second to third in the North. Saginaw's 9-5 triumph was the Generals' first loss at home since Nov. 19. Saginaw followed with a 7-3 triumph in Saginaw the next night and the Generals had to come from three goals down to keep the streak from reaching three. Clyde Simon scored four goals as the Generals wiped out a 3-0 Muskegon lead to salvage a 6-6 tie.MUSKEGON: It's been a struggling year for the Muskegon Mohawks this season. Most of the season Muskegon has been fighting to stay out of the cellar. But general manager Moose Lallo, who recently added the coaching duties to his responsibilities (he replaced Brian McLay) is just biding his time.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-02247/4210631-1-eng-US/f0038-022.jpg" title="f0038-02" width="621" height="847"><figcaption class="caption-body">JOHN FLESCH &hellip; Top Owls' Scorer</figcaption></div>PORT HURON: The Flags snapped a four-game losing streak with a pair of home-ice victories. The first was a 4-2 win over Muskegon, the team the Flags must beat to escape the North Division cellar. This was followed by a 2-0 whitewash of North leader Kalamazoo.But almost more important than the victories was the return to the lineup of center Jim Gustafson.<h2>IHL Team Scoring</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-01312/4210624-1-eng-US/f0038-012.jpg" title="f0038-01" width="1354" height="2893"></div><h2>Where IHL Teams Play</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-03186/4210617-1-eng-US/f0038-032.jpg" title="f0038-03" width="627" height="1006"></div> &#9632;

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Flesch, Cassidy Carry Owls' Hopes; Crozier Helos Dayton Goaltenders

<div class="byline">BY BRUCE PENTON</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-01291/4210662-1-eng-US/f0039-012.jpg" title="f0039-01" width="641" height="786"><figcaption class="caption-body">ROCKY SAGANIUK &hellip;Broncs' Big Surprise</figcaption></div>LETHBRIDGE&mdash;The totally unexpected happened to coach Mike Sauter of Lethbridge Broncos shortly after the two-week Christmas break from the Western Canada Hockey League schedule.The Broncos, for a span of one month, were the WCHL's worst team, going 14' games without a win and taking dead aim at last place in the Central Division instead of the summit, where Sauter had figured his team would wind up this year.&ldquo;It started a little earlier,&rdquo; Sauter said, &ldquo;but there was one game we just collapsed and didn't recover for a long time. It was in Medicine Hat. We were leading 3-0 midway through the game and just literally collapsed.&rdquo;The final score was 11-5 for the archrival Tigers and the defeat implanted some scars which didn't heal until a 3-0 Lethbridge win over the same Tigers snapped the 14-game winless streak.&ldquo;The frustrating thing,&rdquo; Sauter said, &ldquo;is that I couldn't put my finger on the problem. One night, five guys wouldn't do it. The next night, it'd be three or four different players. Then, our goalie would go to sleep.&rdquo;Finally, the losing streak got to the point where Sauter quelled a mini-rebellion within the team by calling off practices for the week leading up to the 3-0 triumph over Medicine Hat.&ldquo;We did nothing but hold meetings.&rdquo; said Sauter, the second-year coach who took over from popular Earl Ingarfield midway through the 1975-76 campaign.&ldquo;It seemed to work.&rdquo;Earlier, Sauter had high hopes for his team.&ldquo;We were in first place at Christmas.&rdquo; Sauter explained, &ldquo;but I honestly figured our first half would be poorer than the second half.&ldquo;We had a young team, and I thought the kids (notably 16-year-old Doug Morrison and 17-year-old Mike Schneider) would need the first half of the season to get adjusted.&ldquo;Another thing was Steve Tambellini. He gained 24 pounds over the summer, and it took him six weeks to adjust to the extra weight. He just recently began playing back in his old form.&rdquo;Rookie Rocky Saganiuk, 19. who failed in trials last year with Winnipeg Monarchs and Kamloops Chiefs, has been the Broncos' biggest surprise this year. In fact, his play is probably the No. 1 surprise of the entire league.Saganiuk, five-foot-eight, and 185 pounds, leads the Broncos in scoring with 45 goals and 84 points. Tambellini, the WCHL's rookie of the year last year at the age of 17, is second to Saganiuk, a worker who never quits.&ldquo;The biggest problem Rocky had in past years was being accepted by the other players,&rdquo; Sauter said. &ldquo;He was a showboat, and he wouldn't pass the puck. But he's overcome that due to maturity, I think. He has gained the respect of everyone on the team.&rdquo;CALGARY: The Centennials were on a treadmill in their run at third place in the Central Division, playing well but getting only one tie in two games in Portland. That was 6-6, a game in which they trailed 5-1 at one point. Three days later, Calgary lost 6-5 to the Winter Hawks, despite two goals from team leader Doug Lecuyer.MEDICINE HAT: The Tigers rang up their seventh and eighth wins over Lethbridge in 11 games as Tom Bast scored twice in a 4-2 victory, and rookie Merlin Malinowski had two in a 5-1 triumph, but the Broncos turned the tables later in the week, winning 3-0. Regardless, Tiger held a comfortable lead atop the Central standings.PORTLAND: Winter Hawks, with 12 of their last 19 games at home, won three of four to get back into the playoff fight after a three-week lapse. The biggest victory was a 5-1 decision in Kamloops, as Paul Mulvey hit the 30-mark with two goals. As well, Portland bumped Calgary 6-5 and tied the Cents 6-6, but a 6-2 loss in Victoria put a damper on the week.NEW WESTMINSTER: The Bruins were busy on the road, playing five games in seven nights, but they weren't too tired to hand Brandon a 7-3 shellacking in the first battle of the league giants since late October. Stan Smyl, one of seven single-goal scorers in that game, notched his 25th of the year. Elsewhere Bruins split in Flin Flon, blowing a 2-0 lead in the opener and falling 6-4 before posting a 4-1 win in the second game. In Saskatchewan, New West got two goals from rookie Randy Betty in a 6-4 win over Regina and four players scored in a 4-4 tie with Saskatoon, a game in which Bruins trailed 4-0 in the second period.VICTORIA: Winger Gregg Anderson returned to early-season form, getting three goals and an assist as Cougars dumped 4-2,an important win considering the tight race for the final playoff berth between Victoria, Kamloops and Portland in the Western Division. Anderson's two goals and three-point performances by Geordie Robertson and Curt Fraser were instrumental in a 6-2 Cougar win over Portland, and Cougars fell 7-4 in Kamloops despite Curt Fraser's two goals.KAMLOOPS: Over-age Allan Young was in on six of Chiefs' 10 goals scored last week, five of them assists, but Kamloops dropped two of three divisional matchups. The one that especially hurt was a 5-1 loss at home to the Winter Hawks. Rookie Errol Rausse had two goals in a 7-4 home-ice win over Victoria.REGINA: Rookie Dirk Graham had three goals, giving him a team-leading 24, but the Pats, with just four wins in 52 games, continued to lose.. 6-4 to New Westminster, 4-1 to Winnipeg and, in a road game, 8-5 to Saskatoon. The Pats could easily tie a couple of futility records this year, needing 15 losses in 20 games to equal the 55 defeats of the 1972-73 Vancouver Nats and requiring six victories in 20 games to tie the record for fewest wins, 10, by the same Nats.SASKATOON: Blades got a win (8-5 over Regina) and a tie (4-4 with New Westminster) under their belts before heading out on a nine-game Western swing that spans two weeks. Defenseman Bryan Baron spiced the win over the Pats with two goals and in the tie with the Bruins, it was two-goal efforts by Darryl Erickson and Wes George providing all the offense. Blades' fans are heralding the acquisition of defenseman Keith Johnson from Winnipeg (for future considerations) as the steal of the year.FLIN FLON: The Bombers did themselves proud by splitting with powerful New Westminster, getting a couple of unassisted third-period goals from rookie Mel Biluk in a 6-4 triumph. Bombers lost 4-1 in the second game, as big Ray Markham tallied the only goal. Mickey Keating's team plays Brandon twice before leaving on an extended road trip which has them playing 18 of their final 23 games away from Whitney Forum.BRANDON: Center Bill Derlago, the Wheat Kings' 18-year-old superstar, started zeroing in on the record for most goals in one season. 90, held by former Wheat King center Ron Chipperfield. Derlago had nine goals in three Brandon games, giving him 70, with 17 games to go. His present pace has him scoring 92 goals. Individualism aside, the Kings lost their most important outing of the year, 7-3 to New Westminster, as 4,750 fans looked on at the Keystone Center.WINNIPEG: Monarchs' owner Gerry Brisson, who has received overtures from Billings. Mont., to play the team's playoff games in that American city, watched in dismay as his team dropped back-to-back 9-3 games to Brandon. Elsewhere, Guy Lash scored his 30th goal as the Monarchs trumped the home-town Regina Pats 4-1. Jim Malazdrewicz got his 25th goal of the year against Brandon, while defenseman Kevin McCarthy moved to within five assists of the All Star WCHL career assist mark, held by former Brandonite Dale McMullin. &#9632;

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Broncos Snap Long Slump; Bruins Impress On Road

<div class="byline">BY MIKE LYNCH</div>SPOKANE&mdash;In a strange quirk of scheduling in the Western International League's sixth month of competition, three teams saw scant action while Spokane played at a killing pace.The third-place Flyers, hampered by injury and defection, played three games on the road and four games in five days. This finished off a stretch of seven games in nine days.Over the same period, roughly, Cranbrdok played twice as did second-place Kimberley. &ldquo;Busy&rdquo; Nelson had three games after a good stretch of idleness and Trail had just one game.League officials offered the statement that Spokane was obliged to play the strange stretch because of the club's desire for a majority of Saturday night home games&mdash;the best for attendance in the league's largest arena.At any rate, Spokane lost three of four during the week and four of the last seven, barely retaining third place by a couple of points over Trail. The Smoke Eaters, lone win, over Cranbrook. moved them out of the cellar.The races are tight at both ends of the league. Cranbrook has a three-point bulge on Kimberley which is four points ahead of Spokane. The top four finishers in the league will play in the British Columbia playoffs for the Savage Cup.Cranbrook split its two games, winning widely from Spokane and losing in Trail. Kimberley also split, whipping Spokane while losing in Nelson. After losing to Kimberley. Nelson and Cranbrook on the road, Spokane clipped Nelson at home.While Nelson won two of three, the schedule helped Trail, with its win at home, move past the Maple Leafs in the standings. However, the Smokies trail in the loss column by a game and Nelson has two games in hand.Murray Flegel, Kimberley playing coach, &ldquo;resigned&rdquo; for a couple of games but rejoined the club. Defenseman Don Dirk, who palyed in spots at forward, left the Spokane team just as it entered the tough stretch. Spokane also lost high-scoring Don Borgeson to a shoulder injury for two weeks. Nelson lost winger Ivan Robertson to a bout with flu recently.With the end of the 58-game league schedule in sight, Cranbrook had a 25-28-1 record, Kimberley 23-28-1, Spokane 22-26. Trail 20-24-2 and Nelson 20-23-1. &#9632;

The WIHL Scene

<div class="byline">BY CHARLIE JAWORSKI</div>SYRACUSE-Whether or not the Syracuse Blazers win their third North American Hockey League regular-season championship doesn't really matter at this stage.What does matter is that the Dan Belisle-coached Blazers are going to end up mighty dam close, and that is a lot more than what had been expected from many of those claiming to be in-the-know as far as hockey strength goes in the NAHL.A lot of people said the Blazers' perch atop the league wouldn't last. They pointed to the team on paper. But Syracuse has been there ever since Dec 17.Despite losing John C. Stewart to the WHA when he was fighting Duster Rod Bloomfield for the league lead in scoring and then losing unhappy goalie Jacques Caron also to the WHA, the Blazers continue to lead the league by seven points on Feb. 9.Only a critical series of wins by their arch-rivals from Binghamton, which is 75 miles south of the Salt City, prevented a virtual runaway with the NAHL regular-season title.The two teams clashed four times in 11 days, and the second-place Dusters won one of the two in Syracuse and both in their own Broome County Arena narrowing the gap to seven points with three games in hand.Still, the Dusters, with a wicked road schedule ahead, must do the catching.Much of the Blazer success can be attributed to the years two rookies are having, right wing Tom Milani and converted center Bernie Johnston who both have broken Hank Taylor's record for most points in a season by a rookie, 93. Yet to fall is Taylor's mark for most goals in a season by a rookie, 50.Milani, out of the University of Minnesota-Duluth, had a mid-February total of 43 goals and 53 assists for 96 points, while Johnston had 37 goals and 54 assists. In Johnston's case, not bad for a 20-year-old who was ignored in the pro draft after playing three seasons with the Toronto Marlboros.As a matter of fact, Belisle reportedly had to be talked into keeping the youngster during training camp He virtually hustled his way onto the team. &ldquo;He wouldn't let me cut him,&rdquo; said Belisle admiring the youngster's desire.They are certainly not the only Blazer success stories.Jim Cowell never scored more than 28 goals and now has 43-and-counting&mdash;including a four-goal game against Mohawk Valley. He mans the left side of center Terry West who has already eclisped his best pro season, and right wing Pat Russell is likely to do the same after a slow start.&ldquo;Some guys have bad games and other guys just pick 'em up,&rdquo; said West of the Blazers formula for success. &ldquo;We're not an old team by any means. The guys aren't just lying down. We go to win in every building.&rdquo;As far as the rap that the Blazers weren't much of a team on paper, West says:&ldquo;What's on paper and what's on the ice are two different things&rdquo;BINGHAMTON: Defenseman Larry Mavety, a first team All Star last season, was put on the suspended list for failing to return after joining the Indianapolis Racers on a loan basis. Goaltender Ken Holland is vying with both Johnston and Milani for rookie of the year honors.ERIE: Sold right wing Jim Troy to the Dusters to help make room for the acquisition of left wing Jack Surbey, right wing Dan Grierson and defenseman George Pesut, Grierson was with Baltimore and leading the SHL before it folded with 26 goals and 42 assists. Consequently, the Blades ran off a four-game unbeaten string including a 7-2 win over Mohawk Valley.JOHNSTOWN: After their longest winning streak of the season, a mere three games, the last-place Jets lost six in a row, getting drubbed three straight times, 6-1, 7-2 by Maine and 8-4 at Syracuse.PHILADELPHIA: The Firebirds ripped the Dusters. 6-2. before 6,286 fans in the Civic Center The win was a welcome back for the Firebirds who hadn't played before the hometown fans for 20 daysMAINE: Goalie Ed Humphreys stopped 24 shots in the win in Philadelphia, his first start since being sent down by Quebec which called up Mario Vien.MOHAWK VALLEY: It's no joyride for new coach Ian Anderson who has watched the Comets lose seven of eight since taking over. As a matter of fact, Erie leapfrogged MV which now resides in sixth place.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-02101/4210731-1-eng-US/f0040-022.jpg" title="f0040-02" width="616" height="607"><figcaption class="caption-body">BERNIE JOHNSTON &hellip; Outstanding Season</figcaption></div><h2>NAHL Team Scoring</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-01168/4210724-1-eng-US/f0040-012.jpg" title="f0040-01" width="1323" height="2366"></div><h2>Where NAHL Teams Play</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-0362/4210717-1-eng-US/f0040-032.jpg" title="f0040-03" width="651" height="1131"></div> &#9632;

f0040-02

Blazers Still Overcome Obstacles; New Faces Help Erie Get Rolling

<div class="byline">BY GARY MCCARTHY</div>LAVAL&mdash;Remember all of the accolades that were tossed in Guy Lafleur's direction when he starred for the Quebec Remparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League?Lafleur was a remarkable scorer and player in junior hockey and he has carried over those talents with the same performance for the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey LeagueDuring his years in Quebec City, Lafleur scored 314 goals, setting an all- - time Quebec junior record. He had 130 in his final year and everyone said it would be several years before anyone came close to the mark.Well, don't look now, because just five short years later, Michel Bossy of the Laval Nationals is knocking on the door. And. at his current rate. Bossy should have no trouble passing Lafleur's mark of 314 goals in his junior career.Bossy scored twice in a 7-5 win over the Sorel Black Hawks last week, giving him a total of 60 goals for the season and leaving him 20 goals short of Lafleur's alltime mark. Bossy also has 16 games remaining to pick up those 20 goals.&ldquo;If I make it, great. If I don't, well, I tried,&rdquo; Bossy said after scoring his two goals, which also gave him his 500th and 501st points in junior hockey.&ldquo;I thought I might get the 500th point last Sunday night against Montreal, but 1 couldn't do anything in that game.&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It felt a lot better to get it here at home.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-01134/4210769-1-eng-US/f0041-012.jpg" title="f0041-01" width="629" height="688"><figcaption class="caption-body">MICHEL BOSSY &hellip; Needs 20 More</figcaption></div>A crowd of 2,764 jammed the tiny Laval Sports Center and gave Bossy a standing ovation when he clicked for his first goal of the night, which gave him his 500th point.&ldquo;I was roaming around center ice when I picked up a loose puck,&rdquo; Bossy said. &ldquo;1 turned toward the Sorel net and then was no one between me and their goalie.&ldquo;I skated in, made him go down and beat him with a wrist shot.&rdquo;CORNWALL: The Royals, who started out undefeated in their first 10 games of the season but then slipped back, have returned to first place in the LeBel Division standings with 70 points, one more than Sherbrooke. One thing that is against the Royals is that they have played three more games than the Beavers. The Royals have been getting outstanding netminding from Tim Bernhardt and backup Barry Borrett.SHERBROOKE: Another goaltender. Richard Sevigny of the Beavers, has played outstanding hockey, although the Beavers have appeared to be shaky in the last couple of weeks. Sevigny, selected as one of the outstanding players for the month of January, will carry the defensive load for the Beavers the remainder of the season. Ray Carter appears to be back in the good graces of coach Ghislain Delage. Carter was blasted by the coach for being only interested in personal achievements following a loss to Laval. The two met the following day and their differences were patched up. Carter leads the Sherbrooke goal scorers with 61.MONTREAL: The Juniors are skating on thin ice and are faced with dropping into fourth place in the division standings. They were beaten 7-5 by Trois-Rivieres last week and find themselves locked in a tie with Laval for third spot. The Juniors do own two games in hand on Laval, but in Montreal's case it's no insurance. Richard Suwek and Mark Hardy scored two goals each in the 7-5 loss.HULL: The Olympics fell three points behind Laval by dropping a 5-2 decision to the Quebec Remparts last week. Daniel Metivier and Jean-Marc Grandmaitre scored for the Olympics. Metivier has become a leader on the club. He just returned to action after missing seven games because of hand injury.QUEBEC: The Remparts continue to hold onto first place in the Frank Dilio Division by the slimmest of margins&mdash;one point ahead of Chicoutimi. Jean Savard continues his brilliant play. He scored his 69th and 70th goals of the season in a 5-2 win over Hull. Right winger Michel Frechette, who jumped the club in December, has decided to join the Laval Nationals, joining his brother Charles.CHICOUTIMI: Sylvain Locas is staying as close as possible to Jean Savard in the scoring race. Locas has 53 goals and 84 assists for 137 points&mdash;five fewer than Savard. Locas scored once in a 7-6 win over Sherbrooke last week. Louis Sleigher had three goals for the Sagueneens.TROIS-RIVIERES: Coach Michel Bergeron was handed a three-game suspension after being declared partially responsible for a general brawl that broke out just three seconds after the start of a game against Chicoutimi two weeks ago. Chicoutimi coach Yvan Gingras was also given a three-game suspension. Two players, Francois Cloutier and Richard David of the Draveurs, were given two-game suspensions by the league's disciplinary committee. Guy Dupuis scored two goals in a 7-5 win over Montreal. The team's leading point-getter. Richard Dalpe, had one.SOREL: Owner Rodrigue Lemoyne has made another change at the helm of his team. He fired coach Michel Belisle and placed himself back behind the Sorel bench. There were also some rumors going around again last week that Lemoyne planned to move the team to another city next season. However, Lemoyne says this is not true at all. Lemoyne coached the Hawks to a 9-4 win over Shawinigan last week and it was the first win for Sorel since Jan. 27, also against Shawinigan.<h2>HOW THEY STAND</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-0280/4210762-1-eng-US/f0041-022.jpg" title="f0041-02" width="629" height="1369"></div> &#9632;

f0041-01

Bossy Near Lafleur's Goal Record; Belisle Gets Bounce As Sorel Coach

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-01135/4210838-1-eng-US/f0043-012.jpg" title="f0043-01" width="945" height="575"></div>Passing to a teammate across the ice is one of the most difficult moves in hockey.Many players slap the puck across the ice, more interested in getting rid of it than thinking how his teammate is going to be able to pick it up. Try wrist passing &mdash; that quick flick of the wrist &mdash; which allows you to control the puck, direct it exactly where you want it to go.The slap pass is less accurate and no one knows whether it with be bouncing, spinning on its edge or flat on the ice when your teammate receives it.The flick pass will get there just as fast as the slap and is many times more accurate.Remember, as soon as you draw your stick away from the puck to slap-pass it, the opponent you're trying to avoid will know it and be making a counter-move. Don't telegraph your moves.<h2>Looking At The Races</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-0297/4210831-1-eng-US/f0043-022.jpg" title="f0043-02" width="1341" height="2761"></div> &#9632;

f0043-01

Passing

<div class="byline">- By Bill Hilts</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-0377/4210869-1-eng-US/f0043-032.jpg" title="f0043-03" width="373" height="459"></div><h2>N.Y.-Penn League</h2>ROB HAMELINE of the second-place Syracuse Stars, the New York-Penn League-leading scorer, has left the team and accepted a full-scholarship to Lowell (Mass.) College&hellip; The blizzard of '77 has raised havoc with the league schedule and the Empire Cup playoffs set to begin first week in March may be moved to a later date so the many postponed games can be made up&hellip;Niagara Falls Mangs Sharks got back into action following nearly two weeks delay because of blizzard, bombed Amherst Knights 9-1 in game played at Amherst. Mike Richardson led way with two goals and one assist. Sharks captain Sam Crogan had a goal and three assists. Joe Barrick a goal and two assists and defenseman Dennis Gruarin four assists. Greg Jantzi was only Knight to beat netminder Bill Vogt who turned in a super game, stopping 46 Amherst blasts, 24 of them fired in the opening period. ..Mark De Santis of Stars is top goalie with 3.29 GA average. Owen Mclntee of Rochester Monarchs is next with 3.57 GA average. Other Syracuse goalie Gary Colburn has 3.70 GA average&hellip;Four Monarchs follow Hameline in scoring race led by Dave Trevor with 51 points, Clint Campbell and Pete Dawes-50 points and Rick Kozlowski-43 points. Lou Martin of Southtown Cougars has 42 points and Tim Igo of Buffalo Blades 41 points.<h2>U.S.A. League</h2>Steve Cooperman of Framingham Jr. Pics continues to lead USA Jr. Hockey Assn. scoring race with 25 goals and 30 assists for 55 points. Ed Malone of Mass-Conn Twins is close with 53 points (20-33), followed by teammate Ron Duchesne with 51 points (20-31), John McAvoy of Jr. Pics-47, Jim McCarthy of Twins-38 and Dick Landry of Western Mass. Pioneers-38&hellip;Landry also leads league in penalty minutes at 109&hellip;Twins have comfortable lead with 45 points on a 22-3-1 record. Pioneers are distant second with 34 points, Jr. Pics-30 points, Berlin (NH) Maroons-24 paints, Beverly Flyers-23 points and Central Mass Prospectors-6 points.<h2>Saskatchewan League</h2>Kevin Waugh says the annual All Star game of the Saskatchewan Jr. League was won by South 7-5 over the North. The Southern Division scored three goals in final period. League scoring leader Doug Smail notched a pair of goals for winners. Game was played in Estevan before some 1,300 fans&hellip; Big news in scoring race is Kevin Zahara of Swift Current who has moved into second place. In just eight games Zahara has scored 23 goals and his record now is 50-33-83. Smail of Moose Jaw still leads league with 48-47-95 Dave Lockhead, goalie for Weyburn. also had a fine week blanking Estevan 5-0 and then Melville 1-0 in overtime&hellip;Sheldon Leffler of Moose Jaw recorded his first shutout of the year over Estevan 9-0&hellip;The individual stars picked in the All Star game were: Leffler of Moose Jaw as goalie. He also won the honor last year. Top forward was Dennis Dohie of Weyburn. Lionel Danielson of Melville was again voted top defenseman, an honor he won last year&hellip;Swift Current Broncos have won 10 in row. Coach Stan Dunn is pleased because three of those wins were against the leaders of the Northern Division, Prince Albert Raiders&hellip;Battleford Barons also beat Prince Albert 7-4 and it marked the first victory for the Barons over P.A. in over 24 games&hellip;Dwaine Flockhart led attack scoring three goals for Barons.<h2>New England League</h2>A split-second meant the difference between a five-point lead and a three-point lead for coach Jeff Kravitz' defending New England Jr. League champion Springfield Olympics in the torrid three-way battle for second place. Rich Ohlund pumped in three goals, while Mike O'Melia netted a pair and Dick Hammell notched his 20th as the Braves dumped the Pics in the first meeting. Jim Stewart kicked out 39 shots in South Shore nets after spotting Springfield a 3-0, lead in the opening 2:15 of game. Tom Gentile tallied twice for Pics&hellip;The Pics were enjoying a comfortable 5-1 lead when with less than two minutes remaining Braves almost pulled out a tie. Frank Silva ignited a rally at 18:05 and 30 seconds later Peter Hutchinson lit the lamp. Charlie Ryan then punched home a goal at 19:17 to draw the Braves within one, but Silva lost the tying goal when the green light flashed just before the puck trickled across the goal line. The defeat ended a seven-game unbeaten streak for Braves. Gentile scored two more goals for Springfield and Wayne Cristina netted his 20th of season&hellip;Fitchburg Wallopers maintained their 11-point hold on first place by dumping Tyngsboro 8-5, stretching their road unbeaten string through an NEJHL record nine games. Fran Boucher led Wallopers with two goals and Jimmy Donovan had two goals for Huskies&hellip;Great Bay Vikings snapped an NEJHL record winless streak at home at 19 games by nipping Tri-Valley Squires 3-2 and in the process broke an overall 17 game winless streak. Goals by defenseman Jon Clark and Don Gebo early in third period brought the Vikes from behind. Scott Kreider, who leads NEJHL in average saves per game with 41.4, stopped 28 shots for Great Bay.<h2>N.Y. Metro League</h2>Coaches Paul Gillis (west) and Norman Ryder (east) announced their rosters for the NY Metropolitan Leagues 11th All Star game. West: Goaltenders-Gary Weicker White Plains Plainsmen and John McCarthy, Jersey Rockies. Defensemen-Tom Matthews and Jim Whalen NY Westsiders Matt Lambert, Paul Denning and Tom Preville, Jersey Rockets; Vin Thomas, Bergen/Rockland Rangers. Forwards-Ryan Boyd, Frank Kehoe and Gene Senk, NY Westsiders; Dan May and Steve Taylor. Jersey Rockets; Mike Snow, White Plains; Brian Riley, Matt Gillis, Pete Gillis, Gary L'Heureux, Bob Kennedy and Ron Kariofiles, Bergen Rockland Rangers&hellip;East: Goaltenders-Frank DeMayo. Suffolk Royals and Pat Glennon, NY Arpericans. Defensemen-Tom Dowd, Jim Pavese and Glen Ahrens, Suffolk Royals, Mike Rossidis, New Hyde Park Arrows Rich Kenna, NY Amerks and Tom Engel, Oyster Bay Gulls. Forwards-Andy Yaciuk, Joe DeSilva, Jeff Bloom and Scott Abbenda. NY Americans; Enn Kunnapas, Arrows Rich DeStasio, Mike Labianca, Vic Silvestri, Lee Rudnitsky, Tom Ray and Dave Drew, Suffolk; Peter Herd, Oyster Bay.<h2>Midwest League</h2>Mike Boniarczyk made 50 saves to lead an inspired Hennepin Nordique squad to a 6-1 win over Austin in the Midwest Jr. League. The club contained the Maverick's power play on 13 occasions, while John Alexander and Bruce Bailey put in two goals apiece, including a shorthanded effort by Bailey&hellip; St. Paul Vulcans have lost only one of their past seven MJHL outings. They hold three games in hand with Bloomington. Two veterans who are helping cause are Tony Jelacie and Tom Rhody, both averaging better than a point a game&hellip; Austin Mavericks dropped two of last five contests. They have big power play and best goals for (better than five per game) and goals-against (3.7 per game) ratio in league. Which may be enough to propel Austin to another National Title this year. With goalie Tom Hasenzahl out for season, Scott Kolquist and Cliff White have taken hold in nets&hellip; Bloomington Jr. Stars classy winger Dave Wilkens, a Chicagoan, continues to pace MJHL scoring with more than two points a game. &#9632;

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March 4, 1977

Bill Fleischman's HOCKEY WORLD

Goldup Returns In Time To Help Los Angeles

Crippled Hawks Show Determination In Winning

Minor League Scoreboard