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 25, 1977

The Hockey News March 25, 1977

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0026-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-01397/4173091-1-eng-US/f0026-012.jpg"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-02206/4173084-1-eng-US/f0039-022.jpg" title="f0039-02" width="698" height="1909"></div> &#9632;

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IN THIS ISSUE

World Hockey Association Summaries

<div class="byline">BY BILL ADLER</div>DALLAS-As the medical profession would say. the vital signs are good for the Central Hockey League Penalty minutes are down H.7 minutes less per game this season over last year) and the attendance figures are moving upward Good signs in both directions.The attendance figures in Dallas. Ft. Worth and Tulsa have shown sizeable increases over the previous year. Certainly a healthy omen for the future In Salt Lake City, the Golden Eagles are maintaining the same level as 1975-76 when they achieved their finest financial season in their eight-year history These figures are very encouraging this year considering the serious problems that have plagued the Cleveland franchise for several weeks and one that took a heavy toll in Salt Lake City.In Kansas City the Blues have made a very rapid turnaround since the appearnace of the Soviet Union in early January. The game played on the day of a heavy snowstorm attracted a crowd of over 7,000 fans and paved the way for the rekindling of hockey interest in the city. All the hard work of Sid Salomon 111 and his staff in Kansas City this season has not gone to waste.Perhaps the one sour note of anotherwise successful year has been the decline in Oklahoma City The Blazers, struck early by on-ice difficulties. never quite recovered from ibis rough start and have seen a sharp decline in attendance However, Murray Davison and his financial partners feel confident that with a stronger team next season, the attendance will return to a level closer to the 1975-76 season when the Blazers had their best year ever at the gate.Indications of the improved quality of the play in the CHL begin with the ra-ther sharp decline in penalty minutes this season Through the first 176 games there have been 5.735 minutes assessed compared with 6,339 last year. The prime area of change has been in the number of major penalties with only 219 majors this year compared with 285 through the same number of games last year As for game misconduct penalties, the totals are almost id&eacute;ntica I with 65 assessed last year and 64 this season.DALLAS: The Hawks continue to close the gap on first-place Kansas City and even if they don't catch the Blues the Hawks will be tough in the playoffs, especially with the strong goaltending tandem of Mike Veisor and Gord McRae. McRae currently ranks as the top CHL goalie with a 2 66 GAA while Veisor is fourth at 3.05.Veisor registered his second shutout of the season and his second in three weeks with a 5-0 win over Oklahoma City March 3 Brute Boudreau, the lop goal-scorer in the league with 37, tallied twice while the vastly improved Greg Vaydik added two goals.The Hawks have been bolstered further by the return to the lineup of injured defenseman Ian McKegney and rookie right-winger Alain Belanger. Toronto returned Mike Pelyk and Bob Warner but decided to keep rookie defenseman Randy Carlyle in Toronto.Boudreau with his 37 goals and 34 assists has registered 71 points and suddenly emerged as a serious challenger to Steve West who currently leads all scorers with 83 points.TULSA: The new faces are beginning to make their presence felt as Andy Spruce. Gerry O'Flaherty and Jim Wiley work their way back into top shape With these three high-scoring veterans on target the Oilers can look forward to a most successful playoff venture after slipping to third place behind the Dallas Black Hawks.The Oilers exploded for their best offensive show of the season, defeating Kansas Oily 8-5 before 4.600-plus hometown fans March 5. Wiley tallied the first two goals of the game within 2:35 of the initial period. Frank DeMarco also added a pair of goals while Spruce, Rick Bowness. Dan Gloor and Cam Botting added the other tallies.FORT WORTH: With the stretch drive under way and his Texans locked in a tough struggle for a playoff berth coach John Choyce has called upon Bill Hughes to carry the bulk of the goaltending chores The 29-year-old veteran has started the last eight games for the Texans, winning five and tieing another to move the team within one point of fourth-place Salt Lake City.One of those victories was a 2-0 shutout in Salt Lake City on Feb. 28 A second-period goal by rookie Mike Kaszycki and a third-period tally by Dave Salvian provided Hughes with his offensive margin as he registered his second shutout of the season. The whitewash marked the second time this season that a Fort Worth goalie had blanked the Golden Eagles in the Salt Palace. Don Cutts had stopped Salt Lake by the identical 2-6 score earlier in the season.OKLAHOMA CITY: Guy Delparte was number 48 but goaltender Jim Park was number 49. These are not' uniform numbers but the total number of players having worn the Blazer blue and white during the 1976-77 season Perhaps the Blazers would have need for a team meeting before each game so that all the players could introduce themselves to each other.Both of the newest additions sparked the Blazers to victories in their first appearances Park, who joined the Blazers from Indianapolis (WHA) earlier in the day. came within 35 seconds of doing what no other Blazer goalie (there have been seven, all told) had done this year-register a shutout. However. Park had to settle for a 3-1 victory over Tulsa when Oiler Frank DeMarco slipped the puck past him at the 19:25 mark of the final period Brian Lefley, Grant Erickson and Mike Sleep had scored earlier in the game for the Blazers.SALT LAKE CITY: Problems continue to plague coach Marv Edwards and the Golden Eagles. The lattest dilemma centered around the suspension of veteran Lyle Bradley for failure to show at a team practice.During Bradley s absence the Golden Eagles dropped a pair of road games in Dallas and Fort Worth Upon his reinstatement to the lineup Bradley responded with a goal and an assist to lead Salt Lake to a 5-3 come-from-behind win in Oklahoma City March 5. Twice in this contest the Golden Eagles trailed by two goals. Team captain Gary Holt snapped a 17-game goal-scoring drought with a pair of goals in this game.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-01336/4173350-1-eng-US/f0032-012.jpg" title="f0032-01" width="615" height="858"><figcaption class="caption-body">BILL HUGHES&hellip; Carries Load</figcaption></div>KANSAS CITY: Coach Barclay Plager watched patiently as more players moved around, both in to and out of Kansas City St. Louis promoted goalie Doug Grant, defenseman Jamie Masters and forward Floyd Thomson while returning goaltender Yves Belanger and defenseman Bob Hess.In Detroit, the Red Wings recalled high-scoring forwards Michel Bergeron and Mike Bloom before sending a healthy Buster Harvey to Kansas City.Plager's frustration reached the pin-nancle following his team's 7-6 loss in Oklahoma City March 1 After the game the angry coach charged referee Gregg Madill, shouting wildly at him. tor which he was assessed a 10-nunute misconduct a game misconduct and a gross miscon duct penalty For his actions Plager was fined M25 by CHL president Bud PoileDespite the numerous changes coach Plager and the Blues will go into the playoffs in strong shape primarily be-cause of their solid goaltending Goalie:Yves Belanger and second-year professional Ed Staniowski provide the team with two solid goaltenders<h2>CHL Leaders</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-02258/4173343-1-eng-US/f0032-022.jpg" title="f0032-02" width="691" height="973"></div><h2>Where CHL Teams Play</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-03178/4173336-1-eng-US/f0032-032.jpg" title="f0032-03" width="574" height="554"></div> &#9632;

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CHL Attendance Figures Encouraging; Dallas Could Be Tough Playoff Team

<div class="byline">&#x2013;BY BILL LIBBY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-021003/4172198-1-eng-US/f0008-022.jpg" title="f0008-02" width="445" height="509"></div><h2>Irrepressible Pierre&hellip;</h2>SLIM AND SLICK, he shifted speeds as he darted between and around defenders, driving down the ice. cradling the puck on his stick skillfully. Deking the last defenseman off balance, he glided in on the goalie. drew him out, and drove the disc into the net The red light illuminated the sparkle in his eyes, a broad smile broke over his handsome, boyish face and he turned to be embraced by teammates, some of whom turned from him with a noticeable lack of enthusiasm.Pierre Larouche of Pittsburgh is a baby&ndash;faced killer who can do daring deeds on ice comparable to the best offensive performers in this sport&mdash;Guy Lafleur of Montreal, Gil Perreault of Buffalo, and Marcel Dionne of Los Angeles. Indeed, he is comparable to the Dionne of Detroit days&mdash;a boy genius bothered by being expected to bear burdens beyond him. given to fits of temperment. proud, playful, and pugnacious. outspoken and controversial. But if he matures as well as the dynamic Dionne has, Pierre could be incomparable. He appears, anyway, irrepressible.You can count on the fingers of one hand the players of today who can carry the puck the length of the ip* fhrnngh rwak and ppf nff an accurate shot on net from in close. Many try. but most fail, fumbling the play away as traffic tightens around the goal. Some say he tries too often and might try to pass more often, but Pierre says. You go for everything you can get.&rdquo; Anyway, he's always had more assists than goals He passes as superbly as he shoots.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-011114/4172191-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg" title="f0008-01" width="881" height="908"><figcaption class="caption-body">High scoring Ptsrre Laroucha admits t&rdquo; had to loam there wee more to hockey than just putting the puck in the net. Now he eaye he's maturing and credits teammate Mike Corrigen with helping to put him straight. (Photo By Rich Piling)</figcaption></div>When he came up, he confessed to me. My game is the puck on my stick. If not with the puck. I cannot play.&rdquo; That, his bosses believed, was the trouble. He played only offense, and he bragged about that so much his teammates turned on him when he reached out to them.After scoring an astonishing 94 goals and totalling 251 points his last season as an amateur with Sorel of the Quebec League, this French&ndash;Canadian kid from Taschereau and Amos. Quebec publicly warned Montreal not io draft him because he wouldn't want to sit on the bench or slave in a lower league He wanted to play regularly as a rookie, which he did at the age of 18 with Pittsburgh, scoring 31 goals his first season, followed by 53 last season.But Marc Boileau, his first pro coach, commented. He never checked, never forechecked, never back&ndash;checked. never stayed with a man in his life. He didn't have to as an amateur. He always had the puck. But as a pro he has to contribute to his team at both ends of the ice.&rdquo; Some went so far as to say he didn't even know there was a net at the defensive end because he'd never been there to see it. Cocky, the kid laughed and said. &ldquo;Oh I've seen it. but there is not much there for me.&rdquo; I had to laugh.AN APPEALING LAD, who can charm the frosting off a cupcake, he celebrated his celebrity, touring the town's nightspots, cracking wise with the wise&ndash;guys, laughing with lovely ladies spending his fat Pittsburgh pact. He was the only hockey hero in Steel Town and when a local station sponsored a Date with Pierre&rdquo; contest, 1.500 females of assorted ages responded When you are young and in love, life is lovely.&rdquo; he observed And what I am in love with is life.&rdquo;Then this season turned out to be the winter of his discontent He got off to a bad beginning, was ben ched at times, brooded, started to turn up late for practices, showed no signs of an improved defense, rebelled at reprimands, turned on his teammates when they taunted him Ken Schinkel. now coaching, growled. &ldquo;He needs discipline,&rdquo; and ordered him demoted to the minorsHowever, his five&ndash;season. $500.000 contract gave him the right to refuse another assignment, and he balked. So he was suspended for a couple of games Angrily, he asked to be traded to a team of his choice. Whatever I do here. I'm wrong. My teammates have turned against me 1 hate hockey now and want to go where I can be happy. &ldquo;Half&ndash;heartedly, the team tried to trade him, but. afraid of surrendering such talent, asked so much al) deals died. Trying a different tack, some saw that he had to be encouraged rather than discouraged He responded and rejoined the team in many ways, beginning to be not only the player he can be. but a better one Despite missing a dozen games, he'll finish with fair totals.HE CREDITS MIKE CORRIGAN, a veteran ob tained from the Kings this season, with being his biggest benefactor He says, &ldquo;Mike made me see that I was acting childish, wasting my ability, and blaming my troubles on everyone but myself. He kept talking to me, telling me 1 had to respect my coach and teammates if they were going to respect me, showing me that it isas important to stop goals asscore them, and if we do not win. what 1 do is wasted.&rdquo;Corrigan says, T couldn't stand to see such ability abused. I was new to the team and 1 thought he might listen to me.&rdquo;He did, and aging fast at 21. he says, &ldquo;1 can see now 1 can be as happy here as anywhere. I've just got to grow up and give not part of me. but all of me to my game as well as my life.&rdquo; His life is happy now His girlfriend, Cindy Audia, has settled him down some. &ldquo;She really helps hold my temper, he smiles. They have a handsome, suburban house He is cooling it on the hot spots.This never was a bad kid. He comes from a family of ten children, supported by a railroad engineer, and they had hard times at first Falling into a fortune went to his bead He still lavishes expensive presents on friends and their children. A bartender took him home Christmas Eve and Pierre had Such a riotous time tossing a football around with the fellow's teen&ndash;age son on a quiet residential street in the wee hours that the cops came. He will sign autographs endlessly He genuinely likes people Maybe he wants too much for people to like him &#9632;

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Hockey Ad Lib

<div class="byline">BY GEORG&#xCB; BILYCH</div>EDMONTON&mdash;Glen Sather spent part of last summer knocking on doors, looking for the hockey job that best suited him He probably never dreamt the season would wind up _ with him coaching the Edmonton OilersIt all started for Sather some 15 years _ ago when he was a junior with the Edmonton Oil Kings He eventually drifted back to Edmonton last autumn, figuring it would be as good a spot as any to wind up his playing careerSince then, things have happened quickly for him first he was named captain, then an assistant to coach Bep Guidolin Last week Bep decided to become a fulltime general manager, leaving the coaching box to SatherGuidobn said his dual role was too much for one man to handle.'Tm going to be a full-time general manager from here on in. spending my time on improving the hockey club both on and off the ice.&rdquo; said Guidolin in announcing the move It was my decision.I didn't do it because of pressure from the owners, the media or anyone else, I told the owners of my decision and they are backing me 100% &ldquo;Sather plans to be a playing coach and there was evidence in his very first start that his many duties would not hinder his own performance. The opening Edmonton goal in Sather's first coaching start (a 5-4 win over Winnipeg) was scored by a gent named Glen Sather.&ldquo;So I scored a goal and we won a hockey game That doesn't make me a genius.&rdquo; cautioned Sather in a joyous Oilers dressing room.Regardless, the move to elevate Sather came only a few days after the Oilers had been dislodged from fourth place in the Western Division by the Calgary Cow-boys. Since then the Oilers have won two in succession (they whipped Birmingham 5-2) and there's a feeling in Oilertown that the season may not yet all be lost, With Sather in a playing role, there's added responsibility on the players. Sather maps the strategy but each line is responsible on its own for coming off and on the ice.Those who have been watching the Oilers in their two winning starts under Sather will tell you there is more enthusiasm and alertness being shown by the players Sather is employing the same people but they appear to be working much harder.Following the two victories the Oilers were to go on the road for nine of their next 10 games But it may not be all that bad. especially considering that Calgary, the team they have to catch, was also looking at a 10-game road trip.CALGARY: The Cowboys put together a four-game winning streak and in so doing not only claimed fourth place from the Edmonton Oilers but succeeded in building a three-point cushion while holding a couple of games in hand.Their most explosive effort came against the Winnipeg lets whom they bom bed for six goals in the opening two periods before settling for a 6-1 victory. They also stopped Indianapolis. Birmingham and San Diego during the streak.Two players&mdash;Lynn Powis and Smokey McLeod, have stood out during the Calgary resurgence.Powis missed 17 games with a broken thumb but has figured in the scoring in all five games since his return. He has scored six goals in his last three starts, two against Winnipeg and three against Birmingham. Despite the lengthy layoff he's moved back into second place in the Cowboys scoring derby, his 46 points (22 goals) being only one fewer than rookie Warren Miller.McLeod, too. has been immense, his goals-against average in the Cowboys last five starts being a sprightly 1.80&ldquo;Goaltending can be the key to a playoff race and when he's hot I don't know of anyone I'd rather have than Smokey. ' said Joe Crozier. He's the kind of a goaltender who can carry you through the rough spots.&rdquo;Crozier had contended the Cowboys would need seven wins during their 10-game home stand if they were going to remain in playoff contention. Things looked bleak after they lost three of their first five but they're now in position to hit Crozier s target if they can beat San Diego again'A lot of people have been suggesting that IQ-game road trip could be a killer, &ldquo;added Crozier We II wait and see about that This club has come alive in the past couple of weeks. If we can carry a five-game win streak into that trip. I'll take our chancesWINNIPEG: The Jets suffered through a horrendous week losing road games in Calgary. Edmonton and Phoenix. They won their lone start at home but had to go into overtime before An-ders Hedberg fired the winner against QuebecAt that, they picked up some ground on the San Diego Manners, extending their second place lead to three points The Mariners have been finding points even tougher to come by. registering only a tie against Phoenix in nine starts.While they lost 4-1 to Phoenix, the Jets undoubtedly are glad to have seen the last of the Roadrunners for this season They lost all four games in Phoenix and managed only a split in Winnipeg against the Western Division's cellar dwellers.With Ulf Nilsson. Bobby Hull and Thommie Bergman out of the lineup until at least mid-March. the Jets (ace the prospect of conceding the Western Division pennant to the Houston Aeros With 16 games remaining, they found themsel ves 14 points back of the Aeros<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-02284/4173129-1-eng-US/f0027-022.jpg" title="f0027-02" width="605" height="1127"><figcaption class="caption-body">DON McLEOD &hellip; Coming On Strong</figcaption></div>We might not catch the Aeros but we 11 certainly have a say in who finishes in fourth place.&rdquo; challenged coach Bobby Kromm after seeing his Jets bombed by the Cowboys. Whereupon Winnipeg promptly went out and lost to the two other contenders&mdash;Edmonton and Phoenix.All-everything just a year ago. this has not been an easy season for Kromm and the Jets.<h2>Looking At WHA Goalers</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-01376/4173122-1-eng-US/f0027-012.jpg" title="f0027-01" width="643" height="1309"></div> &#9632;

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Edmonton Responds Under New Coach Sather

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0002-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-011034/4171877-1-eng-US/f0002-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Rookie Willi Plett of Atlanta scuttled the Rangers' playoff hopes all by himself on the weekend end ended up winning player of the week honors for his performance. See page 18</figcaption></div><h2>LAFLEUR AFTER RECORD</h2>MONTREAL&mdash;Guy Lafleur of the Montreal Canadiens continues his fantastic season. The brilliant right winger, who recently shot his third 50&ndash;goal year, has pulled into a commanding 14&ndash;point lead over Marcel Dionne of L.A. in the individual NHL scoring and could set a record if he keeps going at his current pace.Lafleur bas now collected a point in 19 straight NHL games and is hot on the trail of the record originally established by Bronco Horvath back in 1959&ndash;60 when he ran his streak to 22 games with Boston Bruins. Bobby Hull came close in 1971&ndash;72 when he had 35 points in 21 games. Lafleur is also certain to tie the Montreal record of winning the NHL scoring title two years in succession set by Dickie Moore in 1957&ndash;58 and 1958&ndash;59. Lafleur won it last season for the first time.<h2>FERGUSON SHELLS OUT</h2>NEW YORK&mdash;Bad John Ferguson is $500 lighter in the pocketbook today as the result of a line imposed on the Rangers' general manager&ndash;coach by NHL president Clarence Campbell.Ferguson was fined for accidentally flipping a water bottle on the ice at Madison Square Garden and inadvertently striking linesman Swede Knox. Knox wasn't hurt as much as referee Bob Myers, who heard Fergy call him rabbit ears.' Myers threw the Ranger coach out of the game and filed his report with the NHL. Campbell followed up with the $500 fine for abusive language and threatening gestures to the game officials.<h2>TORONTO COLLEGE CHAMPS</h2>EDMONTON&mdash;So much for the Canadian college hockey ratings. Toronto Varsity Blues, ranked ninth in the country this season, won the Canadian intercollegiate hockey championship for the second straight year and they did it by knocking off the team that was ranked No. 1 &mdash; University of Alberta Golden Bears.The Blues defeated Alberta 4&ndash;1 in the sudden death Canadian final alter disposing of UBC Thunderbirds 11&ndash;10 in a two&ndash;game, total&ndash;goals semi&ndash;final series. Alberta made it to the final by disposing of St. Mary's University Huskies of Halifax 12&ndash;5 in their two&ndash;game semi&ndash;final series. It marked the second straight year Toronto won without being top ranked. Last season they lost the Ontario college final to Guelph but qualified for the Canadian championships through an intricate college playoff plan and ended up winning it all.<h2>WHA PLAYER WINS SUIT</h2>* INDIANAPOLIS&mdash;As if they don't have enough financial problems, the Indianapolis Racers of the WHA have been relieved of $121.250 by a court ruling in favor of former pro player Connie Forey of Montreal.Forey was awarded the sum by an Indianapolis jury following a trial for breach of contract brought against the Racers. The award was assessed against the Indianapolis Racers Hockey Club Ltd., ($57,0001 and ITS Incorporated ($63.750). Forey charged the club with failing to fulfill the terms of a two&ndash;year contract calling for $65,000. Forey once belonged to the Pittsburgh Penguins before jumping to the WHA. &#9632;

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DEADLINE STOPPERS

NEW YORK&mdash;The National Hockey League and World Hockey Association appear to be no closer to a merger today than they were yesterday.The two rival leagues are in the talking stages, but nothing concrete has come of inter&ndash;league meetings being held in New York in the last two weeksAhn Eagleson. executive director of the NHL Players' Association, does nt think a merger is near. Said Eagleson. '1 don't think there'!] be a merger by next season because there's too much to be settled. Even if the Players' Association was properly compensated. I don't know which WHA teams could come into any merger.'' said Eagleson. who doesn't think any more than three or four WHA cities could qualify for any consolidation of the NHL and WHA. For that matter he doesn't think all NHL teams could be included either The NHL Players' Association and the NHL have a five&ndash;year written agreement banning any merger of the NHL and WHA.Eagleson, who has been made an exofficio member of the NHL's fact&ndash;finding committee on merger talks, has been sitting down to meetings with the Players' Association executive committee. Members of the group include Ed Snider of Philadelphia, John Ziegler, chairman of the board, Al Savill of Pittsburgh. players Bobby Clarke. Phil Esposito. Lou Nanne and Brad Park, Eagleson and Bill Wirtz of Chicago. Ziegler is the chairmanThe committee has been screening an assortment of subjects including expansion or merger talks, the Cleveland situation, the 1977 amateur draft, and the role the NHL will play in the Vienna World Cup championships beginning April 21. But it would appear the talk; with the WHA have taken preferenceNHL president Clarence Campbell said his league has bowed to pressure from the public press and WHA to set up a factfinding committee to explore the possibilities of consolidating teams from the two leagues Campbell has stressed that he wants to separate fact from fiction.'Let there be no misunderstanding This is not an authorization of discussion of merger, said Campbell. &ldquo;It is only an investigation of the validity of the possibilities for future consideration.&rdquo; he addedCampbell said that once the committee reports back, the NHL will decide whether it's worth pursuing or not. And he said if it isn't, that will be the end of it.Ziegler, the Detroiter who is chairman of the NHL's board of governors, has received the blessing of the courts in his committee s exploratory endeavorsCampbell said Ziegler had approached Judge A. Leon Higginbotham of Philadelphia for his opinion on immunity for the NHL against anti&ndash;trust laws in its contact with the WHA.Judge Higginbotham had allowed only limited contacts between the two leagues when he delivered the decision in their 1974 out&ndash;of&ndash;court settlement The WHA had sued the NHL. alleging that the senior league had a virtual monopoly in violation of the anti&ndash;trust lawsThere are no agreements between the NHL and the WHA that allow for anything, Campbell said 'Certain relations were established between the two leagues by way of conferences of a very limited character.&rdquo; These look place and produced nothing except a series of exhibition games And there is no interest on our side in the continuance of that, relationship&rdquo;&rdquo; Generally speaking, the word merger is one which creates some very serious implications under United States' antitrust laws.&rdquo; Campbell said Agreement to merge any competitive enterprises in itself is a violation of those laws.In order for the fact&ndash;finders to conduct their investigation, the NHL sought to make sure that a member club opposed to merger would not sue the leagueThe NHL president said he hopes the committee will have its report for the annual June meetings in Montreal.Campbell said the NHL has a goodly number of problems facing them before they can think of taking in another league, which also has many problems He hinted that the NHL is proceeding on the assumption that it will have 18 teams next season. Which teams will be included in the 18 is another story and could conceivably embrace the stronger WHA franchise if the NHL's fact&ndash;finding committee comes back with some concrete resolutions<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-02937/4171915-1-eng-US/f0002-022.jpg" title="f0002-02" width="597" height="909"><figcaption class="caption-body">CLARENCE CAMPBELL &hellip; Sets Record Straight</figcaption></div><h2>WHERE YOU FIND IT ALL</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-03697/4171908-1-eng-US/f0002-032.jpg" title="f0002-03" width="628" height="2794"></div> &#9632;

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NHL Committee Exploring Future Insists Campbell

<div class="byline">BY CHARLIE HALPIN</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-011041/4171960-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg" title="f0003-01" width="614" height="924"><figcaption class="caption-body">SCOTTY BOWMAN &hellip;Superb Record</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-02895/4171953-1-eng-US/f0003-022.jpg" title="f0003-02" width="614" height="919"><figcaption class="caption-body">BILL TORREY &hellip;Built Islanders</figcaption></div>MONTREAL&mdash;When Jean Beliveau retired from the Canadiens, the man they heralded as his successor was Guy Lafleurl has taken a few years to make the adjustment for Lafleur but after a somewhat disappointing start, he now appears ready to step into the big shoes of the former Canadiens' scoring great, team captain and inspirational ice leaderLafleur has unquestionably been the outstanding player of the 1976&ndash;77 National Hockey League season He is the current league scoring leader with 120 points and has just achieved his third consecutive 50&ndash;goal performance For this reason, the editors of THE HOCKEY NEWS were unanimous in selecting him as their player of the year for the current season in the 28th annual pollThe dynamic Montreal right winger, who is only 26 and playing his sixth year with the Canadiens, has withstood the challenges of Marcel Dionne of Los Angeles and his own teammale. Sieve Shutl, to maintain his scoring mastery over the NHL this season Lafleur won the Ross Trophy last year as scoring champ and he's on his way towards doing it again this season. He also stands to capture the Hart Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player and has an outside chance at the Byng Trophy as well.The present season still has a few weeks remaining but there's no question that the high&ndash;scoring Lafleur has been the leading perlormer for the Canadiens, which is the primary reason he was chosen by THE HOCKEY NEWS as its player of the year, succeeding Philadelphia's Bobby ClarkeWhile Lafleur was chosen the league s No. 1 player, his coach and most avid supporter. Scotty Bowman, was selected as the coach of the year for the second time in the history of THE HOCKEY NEWS' awards Bill Torrey, the general manager of the New York Islanders and the man generally credited with building the islanders into an NHL contender today, has been chosen as the NHL's out&ndash;standing executive of the year For Torrey it is a first&ndash;time award and a credit to his ingenuity in putting (he Islanders together in five short years.While Lafleur has been a major figure on the ice for the Canadiens these past two seasons. Bowman has been imposing off of it directing the day&ndash;to&ndash;day operations of the Stanley Cup champions. He reached a personal coaching milestone this season when he guided his team to victory in his 400th NHL game a feat which made him the fifth winningest coach in league history Only Dick Irvin, foe Blake. Billy Reay and Jack Adams have won more games than Bowman.The 43&ndash;year&ndash;old coach of the Canadiens has the distinction of coaching two winners in the same year last season when he guided the Habs to the Stanley Cup in the spring and followed up by directing Team Canada to a thrilling Canada Cup series victory<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-03606/4171946-1-eng-US/f0003-032.jpg" title="f0003-03" width="1296" height="1231"><figcaption class="caption-body">GUY LAFLEUR..&ndash;Dominated NHL Scene</figcaption></div>Bowman, who coached the expansion St. Louis Blues to the cup finals three times during the first years of expansion, returned to Montreal in 1971 and has coached Montreal to playoff victories in 1973 and 1976.His excellence in handling the power&ndash;packed Montreal Canadiens made him a natural choice to coach the Team Canada team along with Al MacNeil. Bobby Kromm and Don Cherry He demands much of his players and has introduced a tough, discipline type of hockey that makes the Canadiens the best two&ndash;way team in the game today Bowman s teams stress defense as well offense and the Canadiens are always in the thick of the Vezina Trophy race every year Last season the Montreal won it with Ken Dryden and Bunny Larocque and the two will likely repeat this season because ofBowman s insistence that the Canadiens play as hard at keeping the puck oui of their net as they do at putting it in The choice of Torrey as the NHL's leading executive of the year is bound to prove popular with the hockey set. He has worked, with the help of coach Al Arbour. in molding the New York Islanders into a highly&ndash;entertaining and contending teamOne of the remarkable things about Torrey is that he's only 42 years of age and already he is wise in player manipulating The indomitable Mr. Bowtie' of the NHL. Torrey took over the Islanders in 1972 and they have become a winner in the shortest time possible for perhaps the most discriminating tans around the NHL New Yorkers like a winner and Torrey has been able to give them oneAlter missing the playoffs his first two years in New York. Torrey recouped and the Islanders went on Io reach the Stanley Cup semi&ndash;finals two years in succession even though they weren't successful.Torrey won I rest until the islanders make it to the Stanley Cup finals and bring back the NHL's playoff championship. That day may not be that far away. &#9632;

f0003-01

LAFLEUR PLAYER OF YEAR; BOWMAN LEADING COACH, TORREY BEST EXECUTIVE

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-011092/4172012-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg" title="f0004-01" width="478" height="513"></div>JOHN ZIEGLER, chairman of the NHL board of governors, was offered the NHL presidency the other day in New York. He refused. John was asked to reconsider but is unlikely to accept He's been around the hockey scene a long time as lawyer and vice president of the Detroit Red Wings The NHL governors appear determined to name a new president, by the time of V the annual June meetings The * NHL is reported eyeing certain WHA cities as potential franchise sites, with Edmonton being the most talked about&hellip;Many feel the WHA will be down to eight teams by next &ldquo;season&hellip; It looks certain that on San Diego, Calgary and Phoenix will drop out at the end of this term ..Can you name the NHL figures who've taken their nicknames from animals: The Tiger, The Roadrunner. The Eel. The Cat. The Silver Fox and The Snake? Answers below&hellip;Bobby Clarke's goal against Detroit recently was a classic Attacking against Terry Harper on a one&ndash;on&ndash;one. Clarke slid the puck between Harper's legs. As he tried to elude the defenseman. Harper bumped Clarke, knocking him to the ice. From a sitting position, Clarke scored on Jim Rutherford&hellip;Islanders' Bob Bourne has a new look of late. He's discarded his helmet and has been moved from center to left wing The double switch immediately netted him a couple of goals.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-021047/4172005-1-eng-US/f0004-022.jpg" title="f0004-02" width="318" height="507"><figcaption class="caption-body">John Ziegler</figcaption></div>LOS ANGELES KINGS' BOOSTER CLUB is one of the finest in the NHL. Operating without much cooperation from the Kings, the keen, active members of the Booster Club staged a most successful Skate With The Kings afternoon recently. Ed Fitzgerald, a first&ndash;rate photographer, took some outstanding photos of the event, B and these appear in the March issue of HOCKEY PICTORIALWORLD Bob Sirois of the Washington Capitals has to be the tough&ndash;luck guy of the year the Montreal&ndash;born winger injured a knee in the final exhib&iacute;tion game last fall and missed Bob Sirois the first eight games of the season. A broken thumb cost him 11. strained shoulder ligaments another 11 and he returned for J just one game before he was sidelined by a bad back&hellip;Fans in Atlanta have been booing John Gould so much this season that he's seriously thinking of wearing cotton&ndash;batting in his ears Rod Gilbert, honored by Madison Square Garden fans the other night, is the holder of 22 Ranger records Ray Miron, who has done such a fine job as general manager of the Colorado Rockies this season, was rewarded with another boost up the ladder when he was also named vice&ndash;president of the club. Johnny Wilson of the Rockies and Tom McVie of Washington have both done stellar jobs in coaching their respective teams this season&hellip; At tend a nee is picking up at the Colorado home games after a very slow start Attendance in general is down over a quartermillion paid customers in the National Hockey League so far this season Syracuse Blazers of the North American Hockey League boast three 50&ndash;goal scorers and they all play on different lines. They are Jim Cowell. Bernie Johnston and Tom Milam Syracuse won the NAHL championship again this season for the third lime in the last four years&hellip;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-03942/4171998-1-eng-US/f0004-032.jpg" title="f0004-03" width="328" height="503"><figcaption class="caption-body">Bob Sirois</figcaption></div>CHECKS TOTALLING $2.9 million. $600.000 more than projected, from the Canada Cup tourney were presented the other day Hockey Canada and, the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association received $1 45 million while the NHL and WHA pension funds received a similar amount Hockey BBF Animal answers: Dave Williams. Yvan Cournoyer. Camille Henry. Emile Francis.Lester Patrick. Jacques Plante Canada's coach in the World Championships in Austria next month will be someone active m the NHL or sgK WHA today Derek Holmes. | general manager of the team. will make the announcement early in April The Soviet team has already started workouts for the tourney. Don Edwards. Buffalo's rookie netmindcr. is the toast of hockey circles these days. Gary Davidson, founder of the World Hockey Association, is now living in Haiti&hellip;Chicago Black Hawks have had more than their share of injuries this season. Many of their key players are sidelined at the monent&hellip;No team in the NHL's 60 seasons ever had more than one rookie score 20 or more goals before Minnesota North Stars Glen Sharpley and Roland Eriksson turned the trick on the same night earlier this year Now. Steve Jensen has become the third member of the North Stars to perform the feat..<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-04840/4171991-1-eng-US/f0004-042.jpg" title="f0004-04" width="313" height="534"><figcaption class="caption-body">Don Edwards</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0004-01

PASSING THE PUCK

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0004-05" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-05701/4172043-1-eng-US/f0004-052.jpg"></div><h2>There Is Opportunity With Cup Champions</h2>I noticed once again the annual rejection of tile Montreal Canadiens by the upcoming junior draftees, so J checked as tar back as the 1971 junior draft to see how many were on the current rosierIn 1971. the Canadiens selected Guy LaIleur. Murray Wilson and Larry Robinson. The next year, they chose Steve Shutt. Michel Larocque and Bill Nyrop Bob Gainey was chosen by the Canadiens in 1973. Doug Risebrougli. Mario I'retnblay and Rick Chart raw were selected in 1974 and in 1975. they picked Doug Jarvis.'hat gives the Canadiens a total of 11 draft selections from the last six years now with the NHL club.You can check any other team in the league for the same period and you will not find one that has more junior draftees in (he lineup I'hat would seem to indicate tha&iuml; there is plenty of opportunity witli Montreal.If I were a team manager I would be leery of drafting players who had professed so little self&ndash;confidence.L. N. ORR.Toronto. Ont<h2>Monday Night Games Fill Big Void</h2>The NHL should be congratulated on its Monday night series of televised games This programming has tilled a void left vacant loo long by the commercial networksHowever, with all the fine play&ndash;by&ndash;play announcers throughout the league, why must we have to settle for Marv Albert? His commentary is an insult to the hockey audience.Not only can he not pronounce the names of French players Guy Lafloor for instance i. but he seems more interested m maintaining his Bogartimitation voice than in conveying information about the gameDAVID KUJAWA.Bel Air. Md<h2>An Open Letter To NHL Officials</h2>Well. Sam Bollock has done it again' When is the NHL going to stop his wheeling and dealing tactics'.' 1 have followed the game of hockey for some 15 years nowFrom one average Ian to other average Ians around the titles of the NHL. let s get behind our rights to light for equal latent in every NHL cityCleveland. Atlanta. St. Louis. Phltsburgti arc having a very hard lime to stay afloat 1'hey can't sell their product because of poor managing by the top brass of each club.Would the Oakland franchise still be on the west coast if Guy Lafleur had remained as the num bet one choice by the Seals' organization?Either we fans gel a break in the money game also or we will turn against the so&ndash;called pros by not going to tingamosIt's up to the National Hockey LeagueERK COLBY, Enosburg Falls, Vl.<h2>Some Players Hurting Hockey</h2>lam writing this letter Ix&ndash;tween the secund and third periods of the I'oronlo&ndash;I'blladclphla Monday night game of the week.There cannot be more than live people in the world who enjoy hockey more than I do. but there is something I hate about it the moronsA fight in a game is okay willi me Like most hockey Ians. 1 feel it is a part of the game, but nul the stufl 1 saw tonight and other nights.Why don't the leagues lake players like Mitbury. Gassoil. Holmgren. Rollins. Connor. Nistico. Mcllhargcy. I'olonk&ndash;h and Williams and send them to an arena so they can beat the heck out of each other because most hockey Ians like myself don't care for any of them They ruin the gameGARY E. GOLD, Lauderhill, Ha.<h2>Rockies Have A Couple Of Stars</h2>The Colorado Rockies have two players on the team tha&iuml; I think deserve inure attention I believe they are starsThe Inst one is Will Paiement As of Feb 2#. he had 32 goals which gave him a good chance of making 40 1 le also had 34 assists lor a total of W pou is.kisl season, he had only 43 total pointsThat is a great improvementI'his season, he has also scored eight power play goals, live short&ndash;handed goals and two game&ndash;winning goals Bill Barbet Mel Bridgman Reg Leat h. Rene Robert. Rick Martin. Eric Vail. Syl Apps. Jean Pronovost and a few others are some of the more highly&ndash;touted players who don t have the same statistics to brag aboutAnother star is Paul Gardner, a rookie who is the second highest&ndash;scoring Rockie In only 43 games, he has 24 goals along with 23 assists for 47 points Thai's tour more points than games.Not even With Plett. Don Murdoch. Glen Sharpley or Roland Eriksson can boast statistics like that.BILL WESTERMAN.Muskegon, Mich<h2>Need More Games From West Coast</h2>A lot of people I know complain about the lack of games on television or radio from the west coast, particularly from Vancouver.On Hockey Night in Canada in our area, there are two games on Channel 9&mdash;one from Vancouver and one from Toronto.Monday night hockey should put more Vancouver games on televisionDOUG GILBERT, Tecumseh, Ont.<h2>NHL Should Drop Bad Franchises</h2>At least the World Hockey Association will transfer or terminate franchises in mid&ndash;season or at the end of a season if they are in financial troubleThe National Hockey League isn't the same. The NHL has decided to pour even more money into the Cleveland Barons franchiseAs far as I'm concerned, the NHL (pride or no pride) should terminate an ailing franchiseBOB ROGERS.Burnaby. B.C. &#9632;

f0004-05

FAN FORUM

<div class="byline">BY FRANK ORR</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0005-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-01944/4172074-1-eng-US/f0005-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">MIKE PALMATEER&hellip; Rookie Award Candidate (Photo by Rich Pilling)</figcaption></div>TORONTO&mdash;The Toronto Maple Leafs had high hopes back there in September that the 1976&ndash;77 National Hockey League season would be the year of their big breakthrough into the front ranks.Not that they expected to challenge Montreal Canadiens for the overall pennant but they looked ahead to 76&ndash;77 as the second plateau in the rebuilding program they launched last season. The Leafs had lopped off five players who had passed their 30th birthdays and injected a flock of kids into the line&ndash;up.The Leafs finished in seventh place overall last spring and gave some credence to their reconstruction by eliminating the Pittsburgh Penguins in the preliminary playoff round and extending the Philadelphia Flyers to seven games in a bloody quarter final.The Leafs established a team goal&ndash;scoring record in '75&ndash;76 with 294 and coach Red Kelly's view was that a reduction in goals&ndash;against was the club s way up the ladderBut as the Leafs headed into the concluding month of the season, guess what? They found themselves in precisely the same position the team held a year ago. Following 64 games in both seasons, the Leafs owned 67 points and while they had scored a dozen more goals this term, they d also yielded five more.'This has been an erratic season for us, a bad start, then a good stretch, some strong play on the road but ordinary at home, then a series of games when we gave up far too many goals. ' Kelly saidThere have been some positive signs because some of our young players have improved. But overall, I d have to call it disappointing because our progress hasn't been more consistent&rdquo; Injuries have had a role in it because we've hardly been able to go with a set line&ndash;up all season. 'The encouraging parts of the Leal season have been the arrival of goalie Mike Palmateer. the maturing of Ian Turnbull into a top&ndash;rank deienseman and the good work by young forwards Don Ashby and Jack Valiquette.Although he had some problems recently. Palmateer must be considered as a candidate for rookie&ndash;of&ndash;the&ndash;year honors He had a 3.06 average and a 20&ndash;13&ndash;3 won&ndash;lost&ndash;tied record in his first 36 NHL appearances.Turnbull had the highest plus figure among Leafs. 55 through 64 games, and he led all NHL defensemen with 20 goals and 67 points His defensive play was much improved despite his strong offensive figures.Ashby is the team's most improved player over the season, changing from a hesitant youngster who seemed to lack confidence into a hard&ndash;driving center. Ashby had 18 goals in 60 games and now is making good use of his abundant speedThe Leafs claimed Valiquette in the underage junior draft in 1973 and it's easy to forget that he's only 20, although a three&ndash;season pro.Valiquette s skating is awkward but he'll likely finish the season with 20 goals and 60 points, respectable figures for a kid who spends much time on the penalty&ndash;killing unit A high scorer in junior hockey. Valiquette has switched his emphasis to defensive hockey and he's moved from center to left wing this season &#9632;

f0005-01

Leafs' Kids Come Through But Year A Disappointment

<div class="byline">BY NORM MacLEAN</div>NEW YORK&mdash;Dave Maloney is the epitome of (he Rangers' youth movement. He may be the handsomest of John Ferguson's young men He may be the best defenseman on a dub which includes Carol Vadnais. He certainly cares about winning as much or more than anyone on the teamAt 20. the red&ndash;cheeked rookie is the key man of the Rangers blue&ndash;line corps&rdquo; He was our best hockey player before he was hurt.'' said Ferguson. He has a capacity to lift himself to the occasion When the season started he wasn't even a regular, really, but he made a place for himself &ldquo;Maloney was always the apple of the Rangers' eye. He was drafted by Emile Francis, then the general manager, when be was only 17, after a career with the OHA Kitchener Rangers In his early games with New York, last season, there was an attempt made to have Dave play the part of policeman, at least to a degree. This came apart when the kid was chewed alive by Atlanta's Curt Bennett in a memorable Garden encounter Maloney doesn't talk about this incident which sent him to the hospital, but Ferguson never forgot it&mdash;and hired Nick Fotiu to give the Flangers character and muscle, as a direct result.Maloney is always ready to play, something veterans like Rod Gilbert recognizeDave wants to win very badly.&rdquo; notes Rod You can sense it in everything he does Making the playoffs is the biggest thing in the world to him. And it rubs off on the veterans, don't think it doesn't,&rdquo;Phil Esposito, the target of boo birds early in the season, frequently would chide reporters with the comment. Why don I you people talk to Maloney'' He played well and he gets the job done. I don't think enough people appreciate him.&rdquo;All season Maloney has paired with Vadnais. usually staying hack while Carol rushed the puck. He listened to assistant couch Jean&ndash;Guy Talbot, the former Montreal defenseman and eventually stalled to derive maximum mileage out of his six&ndash;lood&ndash;one inch tHSpound triune His two goals and nine assists reflect the defensive role he adopted&rdquo; In a year or two Maloney has the capabilities to be an All Star, said Talbot. 'He has taken charge this year when he saw the opportunity to play full time. He makes less mistakes than our other young men.&rdquo;When the Rangers hit a dry spell, losing to Boston and Montreal on March 3 and 5. Ferguson declared some of these guys don't want it bad enough &ldquo;Maloney, playing in the Boston game for the first lime since his severed flexor tendon caused him to miss nine games, said. &ldquo;A lot of our young guys are really up. but I don't want to get into anything about the veterans.&rdquo;This may not be fail but if shows what Dave was (Junking He wants to win as bad as did Ferguson in his ha Icy on days with the Canadiens, when the occasional dispute in the dressing room was interrupted by fisticuffs, if someone thought someone else was not pulling his weight. Maloney simply lets his feeling show and it has robbed off on most of the Rangers this year.'He was our first choice, in the 1974 draft, ahead of Ron Greschner.&rdquo; remembers Francis. 'We had watched his progress in Kitchener, and wanted him very badly. The kid has it.&rdquo;That may be about the only thing that Ferguson and Francis agree upon, but it speaks volumes for Maloney.Not enough has been written about the gutsy performance of J.D., goalie John Davidson since his return to starting duty on Feb. 17, after knee surgery in December.With a knee which shows an ugly scar, Davidson dives, kicks and clutches the puck despite occasional pain and swelling. Most people would have been finished for the season Now it seems Davidson might be He's back on the sidelines and the Rangers summoned free agent Dave Tataryn from New Haven to fill in.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-011123/4172105-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg" title="f0006-01" width="607" height="1299"><figcaption class="caption-body">DAVE MALONEY &hellip;Comes to Play</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0006-01

Rangers Rate Maloney Too Defensive Prospect

Following are the latest player lovements in hockey:NATIONAL LEAGUEBOSTON&ndash;Bobby Scbmautz, forward. placed on disabled list with injuryBUFFALO&ndash;Derek Smith, forward. returned to Hershey of AHL CHICAGO &mdash; Mike Veisor, goaler. tian Hinton and Randy Holt.CHICAGO &mdash; Mike Veisor, goaler. Dan Hinton and Randy Holt, defensemen.. Michel Archambault, Greg Vaydik and Jeff McDill, irwards recalled from Dallas of CHL as replacements for Gilles Villeinure. id Michel Dumas, goalers. Phil rtussell and Dale Talion, defensemen. Dennis Hull. Jim Harrison and J.P Hordeleau. forwards, all on disabled list with injuries.COLORADO Tracy Pratt, etenseman. traded to Toronto tn ex hange for Leafs' third&ndash;round rnateur draft choice in 1977 Bill IcKenzie. goaler. assigned to Kansasity of CHL Sean Shanahan, forward, ent to Dallas of CHL.DETROIT &mdash; Michel Bergeron, irward. recalled from Kansas City&ndash;t CHL Jim Nahrgaog, defenseman, nd Mike Bloom, forward, sent to nansas City.MINNESOTA &mdash; Dennis O'Brien, elenseman. returned to active roster mm injury listMONTREAL &mdash; Vvan Cournoyer, irward placed on disabled list for st of season aller undergoing back urgent.PHILADELPHIA&ndash;Bernie I arenl. goaler, placed on disabled list for 10 days with knee strain Joe 'tarson, defenseman, on disabled list for two weeks with wrenched neck, iter&oacute;me Mrzaek, goaler, recalled from pringfield of AHL and reassigned to Hershey of AHLPITTSBRUGH eddie Gilbert, i irward. returned to Hershey of AHL Greg Malone, forward, placed on disabled list with injuryN.Y. RANGERS &mdash; Dave Tataryn. pooler recalled from New Haven of AHL.ST. LOUIS &mdash; Ed Slaniowski, coaler. and Bob Hess, defenseman ecalled from Kansas City of CHLTOKONTO&ndash;Paul Evans and truce Boudreau, torwards. recalled rom Dallas of CHLWASHINGTON&ndash;Blair Slewarr. orward. sent to Springfield of AHL to day hinself into condition after elurning from broken leg Bill 'likkelson. defensemen. returned to Hershey of AHLWORLD HOCKEY ASSN Blair Stewarr, forward, sent to Springfield of AHL to play hinself into condition after returning from broken leg. Bill Mikkelson. defensemen. returned to Hershey of AHL.CALGARY &mdash; Danny Lawson, orward and Mike Ford, lefenseman. traded to Winnipeg in xcbange for Hexi Riihiranta. lelenseman. and Veli&ndash;Pekka Kelola, 'orward. and future considerations. Kick Jodzio and Andre Deschamps, torwards. recalled from Erie of JAHL Bruce Greig and Jim Boyd 'onwards, released.CINCINNATI Paul Hoganson. goaler, traded to IndianapolisWINNIPEG&ndash;Fran Huck, orward. signed as free agent on 'eturn from SwitzerlandHOUSTON&ndash;Ron Hansis defenseman, recalled from Oklahoma City of CHL and later returned &#9632;

Hockey Players On The Move

<div class="byline">BY VARTAN KUPELIAN</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0007-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-011002/4172160-1-eng-US/f0007-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">BOB RITCHIE&hellip; Hot Scorer Out Indefinitely (Photo by Bruce Bennett)</figcaption></div>DETROIT&mdash;It's a good thing the National Hockey League regular season is nearing completion and the Detroit Red Wings don't have to worry about the playoffsBecause even if they did, there's doubt as to whether they could put enough players on the ice. The injury situation was that bad.For instance, the Wings called up a player from the minor leagues as an emergency replacement&mdash;and he showed up with an injured foot.Michel Bergeron, summoned from Kansas City, had taken a shot on the foot the night before the Wings played the New York Islanders (and lost, 4&ndash;2) at Olympia. Bergeron got to the building, put ice on the injury&mdash;and it was so bad that he was forced to sit out the gameSo. newcomer Steve Coates was pressed into service He was anxious to get back, and since the Wings were shorthanded, he made an effort to play over a groin injury He played until midway into the second period, then aggravated the injury and made a hasty departureThis is what the injured list looked like at one pointEddie Giacomin&mdash;strained right knee; Eddie was pressed into service in Boston&mdash;and pressed is the right word because he wasn't ready to play&mdash;and promptly reinjured the knee Out indefinitelyDanny Grant&mdash;knee.out indefinitely.Dan Maloney&mdash;recovering from a shoulder injury; started skating: return not set.Reed Larson&mdash;cheekbone; first, it was feared he had suffered a fracture in a fight with Los Angeles' Dave Hutchison Off skates for 10 daysDave Kelly&mdash;pulled groinSteve Coates&mdash;pulled groin; played with the injury in first game after coming over in a trade with the Flyers, then sat out until he was reinjured in his first attempt to get back into action.Bob Ritchie&mdash;bruised right temple, sprained thumb suffered in Boston game. Out indefinitely. He was the hottest Red Wing scorer, getting three goals in three games before the injury.Michel Bergeron&mdash;foot injury.Terry Richardson&mdash;the backup goalie, No. 1 man at Kalamazoo of the international Hockey League who had been filling in capably for during Giacomin s absence, was also injured.And a number of other players have been playing hurt, most notably veteran defenseman Terry Harper.Larson, the rookie defenseman out of the University of Minnesota, was impressive in his first few games with the Wings. He has much to learn but the talent appears to be there. Another young defenseman, Al Cameron, was playing his best hockey of the year late in the season.But all in all. not too many things were going right for coach Larry Wilson's team. The Wings were 0&ndash;for&ndash;27 on the power play in one stretch and it cost them plenty, expecially in a couple of close losses&mdash;4&ndash;3 to Los Angeles and 4&ndash;2 to the Islanders.They know what to do and they do it in practice but when the games start, they forget everything and start running around. ' Wilson moaned after another lossMOTOR CITY SHORTS: Dennis Hextall scored a point in eight straight games and scored in consecutive games when his attempted passouts from behind the net hit the rival goalie's skate and bounced into the net ..Nick Libett needed just one goal to move into seventh spot on the Wings' all&ndash;time goal scoring list al 177, tying with Mickey Redmond&hellip; Bob Ritchie scored a point in five straight points. &#9632;

f0007-01

Wings On Limp With Playoffs Again Out Of Reach

<div class="byline">BY PICK JOHNSTON</div>BUFFALO&mdash;It was a day of ups and downs for Gerry Desjardins, as his 12&ndash;year professional hockey career has been.Desi' received the Buffalo Sabres' most valuable player award&mdash;the Wayne Larkin Memorial Trophy&mdash;at the Sabres Booster Club's annual banquetBut, as he received congratulations after the presentation, the veteran goaltender had to keep thinking of the bad news he received that morning.And keep saying to well&ndash;wishers. &ldquo;No, I don't know when I II be back. Can't tell yet.&rdquo;Desjardins, who was hit in the right eye by shot in a game against Boston Oct id, had been examined by physicans that morning and told that he might not be able to return to hockey the rest of this season.I have another examination coming up. when I go back to Boston (Massachusetts Eye Ear Infirmary) tn about a week. ' Desi said. &ldquo;I'll know then more about when I can return to hockey.&rdquo; I don't have my full vision back yet. About 60 percent. I figure The eye looks okay, but there were parts inside that got damaged, according to the doctors.&rdquo; 1 do expect to regain full vision eventually, but I don t know whenIt was a deflection of a shot by former Sabre Pete McNab, from point&ndash;blank range, that hit Desjardins.&ldquo;The pain was terrific.&rdquo; the goaltender disclosed. &ldquo;Doctors told me the eye took a terrific jolt. The puck hit the mask and the mask did the damage to the eye. But if I hadn't been wearing the mask I would nt have an eyeball now&rdquo;The MVP winner annually is chosen for the Booster Club by a vote of Sabre players Andre Savard received the Frank Eddolts Memorial Trophy as the club s most popular player, as determined by balloting of Booster Club membersReceiving the Eddolls award was most gratifying to Savard. He came to the Sabres last summer in a trade for McNab. When McNab got off to such a sensational start with the Bruins and Savard had a difficult time putting the puck into the net for the Sabres. Andre began to worry that fans would think &ldquo;Buffalo made a bad trade.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-03850/4172229-1-eng-US/f0008-032.jpg" title="f0008-03" width="569" height="908"><figcaption class="caption-body">GERRY DESJARDINS &hellip; Out For Seaton</figcaption></div>By the time the banquet rolled around, however. Savard had hit his highest goal total in his four NHL seasons. 25. and was doing a fine all&ndash;around job of checking, digging in the comers, killing penalties and working on the power play.With Desjardins out, possibly for the remainder of the season, the Buffalo goaltending was left in the hands of two 21&ndash;year&ndash;old rookies, Don Edwards and Bob Sauve, both of whom had been called up from the American League.Edwards was doing almost all the goaltending. after Desjardins got hurt, and was doing a sensational job He was the winning goaltender in nine of his first 11 games, in which he posted a goals&ndash;against average of 2.44He won his first three, then lost a tough one in Philadelphia (where Buffalo always loses), came back with three straight wins, including one at home over winning two straight.The second loss was to Los Angelesand the Sabres beat the Kings four days later. 7-2.The young blond goaltender had one bad week-end, when he gave up nine goals in two and two-third games. The Toronto Maple Leafs scored five on him on Saturday but lost the game, 6-5.The next night, the Kings got four in the first two periods and coach Floyd Smith relieved Edwards with Sauve for the final period. Sauve gave up one goal in a 5-1 loss.Edwards came right back with wins over Chicago and Los Angeles &#9632;

f0008-03

Eye Injury Keeps Future In Doubt For Desjardins

<div class="byline">BY TONY GALLAGHER</div>' VANCOUVER&mdash;Although there is no correlation between the performances of Cesare Maniago and Ron Sedlbauer. both are under considerable scrutiny in Vancouver It's like a special remake of the pride and the passion.It's the praising of Maniago and the persecution of Sedlbauer. the former having the fans extremely pleased and the latter causing them equal entertainment but more on the negative side. Only former Lion vs. Christian Roman fans could really enjoy what happens to Sedlbauer every lime he shows his face on the ice suface of the Pacific ColiseumTake the positive case first. Maniago. acquired in an off&ndash;season deal with the Minnesota North Stars for Gary Smith, is having a tremendous year, and in the last eight Vancouver games he has been superb. So good in fact that coach Orland Kurtenbach has been reluctant to pull him out for a rest in favor of Curt Ridley, who up until recently was seeing a little more work than the 38&ndash;y&ccedil;ar&ndash;old ManiagoKurt told me to tell bim when I'm getting tired.&rdquo; said Maniago about his work load. &ldquo;But so far I'm feeling as though I'm in the best shape of my life. I feel as though 1 could play for another fifty seasons&rdquo;There have been some nights behind the Vancouver defense when Maniago must have felt he'd played all 50 seasons in one night Many times he thought he had turned up at the Alamo instead of the Coliseum.The usually grinning native of Trail. B C. has had a great year with the Canucks. lowering his goals against average to around 3 40 recently, and that isn'ttoo bad for a club that is threatening to miss the playoffs in the league s weakest division.Of late. Maniago has had the Canucks very successful on their latest six&ndash;game road trip, as his work has kept the Canucks at .500 on this trip with wins in Chicago and Atlanta and a tie in Los Angeles But as usual with Maniago. he refuses to take any of the credit himself, passing off the plaudits to his teammates, who have only just recently begun to earn some of the lavish praise he hands out.&ldquo;I m confident again, playing in front of them.&rdquo; he said after a 2&ndash;1 win over Atlanta &ldquo;Not loo long ago I was accustomed to seeing all kinds of two&ndash;on&ndash;one and Three&ndash;on&ndash;one breaks bearing down on me But it very rarely happens now The forwards are getting back to help out and the defensemen have really tightened up It s bolstered my confidence, believe me.&rdquo;There was no report on whether Maniago considers those words his teammates Christmas presents (or next year, but they should be as he s seeing somewhere between 30&ndash;45 shots per game and you can get old pretty fast with a job like thatMeanwhile the case of Sedlbauer is something else againHere is a player who has all the talent in the world's and he often shows flashes of it. with his solo rushes, crunching body checks and a natural ability to take special care of an offensive minded opposition forwardBut recently, he has run afoul of the Vancouver fans for allegedly not giving it his best all the timeThe big left winger seems to have severe concentration lapses when one wonders whether he is in a game both body and mind And the fans have been letting him know, at least his body knows, that they're not too pleased&rdquo; I know it's pretty tough to play hockey under those conditions whereby they boo you every time you come near the puck.&rdquo; said Kurtenbach. So I've decided to try and avoid it to some degree He sa young hockey player with potential and I don't want this to affect his outlook on the game so I'm going to try to help him over this period.&rdquo;Those were Kurtenbach's words before the club left for the road, but in Atlanta at a workout before the win over the Flames. Kurtenbach blew his top al Sed I bauer and sent him from the ice 15 minutes before the practice ended apparently for not putting out.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-011075/4172260-1-eng-US/f0009-012.jpg" title="f0009-01" width="623" height="742"><figcaption class="caption-body">RON SEDLBAUER &hellip; Tough Times</figcaption></div>&ldquo;There is a good chance that he will not play much. ' said Kurtenbach of Sedlbauer. who proceeded to play all but two shifts, kill penalties and score a goal the next night in a losing cause against the Philadelphia Flyers.The Canucks management has no idea what can be done with 210-pounder, who seems almost at a loss to explain his own behavior when asked.But it seems the one man who really might resent the fact that Sedlbauer is still playing regularly is Andy Spruce, the left winger long on try and a little shy on talent who was recently shipped out to Tulsa. Regardless of his feelings, the Vancouver brain trust obviously feel that Sedlbauer s potential, which he often shows, may be a valuable asset as they push for a playoff spot. &#9632;

f0009-01

Vancouver Fans Down On Sedlbauer

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0010-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-011101/4172329-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg"></div>Pure Bush LeagueTHE GAME WAS ONE OF THE FINEST of this or any other National HockeyLeague season, a tight, taut, hard-hitting and grinding contest between the Philadelphia Flyers and Buffalo Sabres at Buffalo. The Sabres won it, 2-0, but the fans went away not thinking about the excellent example of major league hockey they'd witnessed.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-02889/4172322-1-eng-US/f0010-022.jpg" title="f0010-02" width="558" height="1023"><figcaption class="caption-body">Rangers' Rod Gilbert looks on as referee measures width of goalkeeper's stick. It was ruled Illegal. (Photo by Bruco Bennett)</figcaption></div>Instead, most were talking about the Flyers' two requests to have the sticks of Sabre players measured. The first beef against the curve in the lumber of Sabres' Rene Robert resulted in a minor penalty. The second, a measurement of the stick of Sabres' impressive rookie goalie Don Edwards, was unsuccessful.Now, there probably are a few in the world who would regard it as sheer genius on the part of Flyer coach Fred Shero to request the measurements, a brilliant psychological play to (a) earn an opponent's penalty; (b) upset the opposition; (c) give his own players time to regroup.Now, no one can blame Shero for trying to grab every little edge for his team. But mostly the sight of the officials carrying hockey sticks to the penalty bench to measure them is a joke, a bush league deal which has absolutely nothing to do with the game of hockey.All it did was interfere with the flow of an excellent game. This season, the NHL has far too few games of that calibre to having anything disrupt them, especially something as minutely nit-picking as requesting the measurement of the curve in a stick, which has about as much to do with the outcome of a game as spitting on the ice.What the NHL should do is find a way to get rid of the silly sight of the referee standing in front of the penalty box with his measuring stick, trying to decide if a stick blade has too much of a hook in<h2>A Good Rule?</h2>WHEN QUESTIONED ABOUT the stick-measuring nonsense during the All Star meetings in Vancouver, NHL president Clarence Campbell was quite indignant in his claim that there was nothing wrong with it.&ldquo;It's a good rule and a legitimate penalty for playing with illegal equipment,&rdquo; Campbell said. &ldquo;We see nothing wrong with it.&ldquo;The rules committee decided to limit the curve in the blade and how else could such a rule be enforced? It's up to the teams to make certain that their players don't use illegal gear.&ldquo;If a team asks for a measurement of a stick and the stick is legal, the team requesting it is fined $200. That reduces frivolous protests.Perhaps, but that doesn't take away the &ldquo;bush&rdquo; aspect of it, the idea that here is a multi-million dollar business staffed by people who want to quibble about an extra half-inch curve in the blade of a hockey stick.<h2>Why Any Rule On Curves?</h2>ACTUALLY IT SEEMS a little silly to have any rule which governs the curve in a stick blade. Of course, the width of goal pads, the size of goal sticks etc. must be governed. But if a player is dumb enough to use a stick with the blade curved in a complete circle, then that's his problem, not the league's.By hooking the blade in a stick, a few players figured their shots, which wouldn't break a wet tissue, suddenly would become feared weapons, just like Bobby Hull. Sure, a curved blade occasionally caused a puck to dip or curve a little. But, it also eliminated most players' backhand shots completely and made the delivery and acceptance of passes very difficult.A coach should cheer if every player on the opposition team has a big hook in his stick blade. It likely will mean that the team's passing isn't very accurate and their shots will be on the mark only if the shooters have the time to tee up their shots and hit them with the exact spot on their stick blade. &#9632;

f0010-01

FRANK ORR SAYS

<div class="byline">BY HARRY KLAFF</div>LONG ISLAND&mdash;Islander fans may one day forget the date, but they'll never forget what happened on April 11, 1975. That was the day I that the Islanders won their first Stanley S Cup round ever when they beat the RanIgers after 11 seconds of sudden death overtime at Madison Square Garden.And the hero that night? None other, of course, than J.P. Parise, the left&ndash;winger I who was picked up from Minnesota in mid&ndash;season.&ldquo;Jeep&rdquo; became an instant celebrity after that, as the Nassau Coliseum rocked j with chants of &ldquo;J.P., J.P.&rdquo; every time he hit the ice. Parise became the people's choice; more popular than Chico Resch, more popular than Denis Potvin, more popular than anyone.But Parise isn't the flamboyant type, and last season's record of 22 goals and 35: assists was something to be taken in stride. Even his four goals and six assists in the playoffs were accepted with out; much fanfare. The flashing &ldquo;J.P.&rdquo; which: is part of the Coliseum scoreboard's computer program was hardly touched last; season as the chants settled down into appreciative applause.However this season the fans are beginning to notice once again. On a team that has had its problems putting the biscuit in the basket on occasion, J.P. is one of the few forwards who will see his scoring total increase rather than decline. With his 21st goal of the campaign against Atlanta on Feb. 26th, Jeep had more than a month to close in on his personal high of 27 in one season, which he accomplished with Minnesota in 1972&ndash;73.And it was that goal against the Flames which put the big score&ndash;board back in action again for him, after he stole the puck at center ice and swooped in alone on Daniel Bouchard, who had already seen seven pucks go past him.Parise deked, Bouchard fell for it, and quickly the disc was lodged in the twine, as the flashing &ldquo;J.P.&rdquo; was pressed back into service to match the chorus from the gallery. And that wasn't just another goal for Jean&ndash;Paul. It was the 2OOth of his NHL career.&ldquo;Two hundred goals? That's not bad. eh?&rdquo; smiled Parise afterward. &ldquo;Gee. it doesn't seem that I've been around that long, does it? I may be 35. but I'm a young one.&rdquo;&ldquo;J.P. has been playing strong, consistent hockey for us all year,&rdquo; commented coach Al Arbour. &ldquo;He's been the one that's been getting the big goal when we need it the most. And he's still one of the best defensive players in the league.&rdquo;Arbour has shaken up his lines frequently this season, but it has mattered little to Parise. He opened the year on his old unit with Jude Drouin and Eddie Westfall, but has gone much of the way with Bob Bourne and/or Bob Nystrom as his mates. He was glad, though, when Arbour reunited the old combination for the stretch run at the beginning of March.&ldquo;It's good to play with guys that you've been with before,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We know each other's moves, and I think we play well together.&rdquo; It had to be of some concern to Arbour and other Islander officials that despite Parise's fine offensive play this season, linemate Drouin has suffered through a season&ndash;long slump.&ldquo;He'll be all right,&rdquo; predicted J.P. recently. &ldquo;Jude has had a lot of personal problems, but he's still an excellent playmaker. one of the best in the whole league. I think he'll settle down and help us. expecially in the playoffs.&rdquo;Parise can't wait for the playoffs to start, either. And for good reason; he's been perhaps the Isles' most consistent performer in post&ndash;season play the last two yearsOverlooked in Parise s armor is his fine defensive and checking ability Not only is his line expected to pump in the big goal, he and his mates are usually afforded the task of keeping the opposition s hottest line in check That translates to tough, two&ndash;way hockey.J.P. may not break his own overtime record, but certainly look for a new trick or two up his sleeve come April The playoffs command clutch performances, which could be the best part of J.P.'s game That's when the Chants of &ldquo;J.P. ' start to become music to his ears.ISLAND SOUNDS: The Islanders closed out their regular season schedule with Montreal at 6&ndash;4 after dropping a 5&ndash;4 decision to the Habs on March 2 The Isles fell behind 5&ndash;2 in the third but rallied back and almost tapped the equalizer Dave and Brenda Lewis became the proud parents of their first child Ryan Patrick, born Feb 27th. Isles will take part in a foul&ndash;shooting contest during N.Y Nets&ndash;76'ers game on March 20<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-03647/4172291-1-eng-US/f0010-032.jpg" title="f0010-03" width="698" height="768"><figcaption class="caption-body">JEAN PAUL PARISE&hellip; Happy After 200th NHL Goal (Photo by Bruce Bennett)</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0010-03

Two Years After Big Goal Parise Still Coliseum Hero

<div class="byline">BY BILL HEUFELDER</div>PITTSBURGH&mdash;The way Dave Burrows plays defense&mdash;insisting on manhandling the opposition&mdash;he can expect something to give occasionallyDuring a game against Atlanta in mid&ndash;January. Burrows' right knee gave a little and the ramifications o&iacute; the injury may not be known until the end of the Pittsburgh season.A Penguin workhorse since he arrived from the Chicago farm system six years ago. Burrows prefers to ride rushing for&ndash;wards into the boards with authority Against the Flames, he suffered strained ligaments bulldozing rugged rookie Willi Plett.A more extensive examination uncovered a partially torn cartilage A case history of that damage can't be traced, but according to the doctor the 28&ndash;year&ndash;old veteran need be concerned only with the ligament strain which kept him out of id gamesBurrows eased back into the lineup, seeing part&ndash;time duty before resuming his heavy&ndash;duty role, but twice in a period of three games, he felt a twinge of pain in the kneeWhen that happens, the knee might be sore the next day,&rdquo; Burrows said, but it's nothing serious.&rdquo;A team that's already placed an uncommonly heavy load on its defense, which includes two rookies and recently acquired Tom Price who was scrapped by the Cleveland Barons in an economy move, the Penguins cannot afford to have Burrows drop out if they expect to make any appreciable headway in the playoffsPerhaps a bank teller could rightfully expect a swift recovery from strained ligaments. but what's a guy to do when he thrives on throwing body checks and stretching out in Iront of enemy shotsAsked about his willingness to block shots since coming back. Burrows said &ldquo;I'm trying not to let it bother me You kind of baby the knee when you first come back because you don t have confidence in it.&ldquo;It takes awhile to get that confidence back.&rdquo;Confidence became an issue for the Penguins as a team when they allowed Los Angeles to trample them. 5-0. at the Civic Arena and move to within two points of second placeThe Penguins, riding the runnerup spot behind Montreal since Dec 22. were victimized by a succession of injuries and a withering attitude They lost twice on the road to lowly division rivals Washington and Detroit, then came home to take three of four points in a pair of weekend games before the roof caved in against the onrushing KingsDespite the injuries, the Penguins have displayed sufficient success to give Burrows his most optimistic outlook ever for the playoffs&ldquo;We could go an awfully long way. mainly because of the goaltending. 1 he saidBut the Penguins must get their health back and toughen their discipline on the ice to get the required consistency that the post&ndash;season Stanley Cup chase demands.That means having Dave Burrows with more than one good leg to stand on<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-011053/4172360-1-eng-US/f0011-012.jpg" title="f0011-01" width="624" height="677"><figcaption class="caption-body">DAVE BURROWS &hellip; Having Knee Problem*</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0011-01

Burrows Playing Hurt For Penguins

<div class="byline">BY BILL LIBBY</div>LOS ANGELES&mdash;Heading into the homestretch of the current campaign the Kings had some momentum as the result of one of the most memorable weeks of their 10 seasons. As February turned into March, the Kings played five games in six nights on the road and won the first four of these (or their longest winning streak of the season before they bowed in the fifth. The club weathered the rough road through the wintry north remarkably weltAs a result they thwarted a playoff push by the second&ndash;season Washington team and thrust themselves back into a battle with Pittsburgh for second place in their division. Since their record is comparable to several other clubs, and home ice in the playoffs hinges on having a better record than your foe. the Kings gained ground in this regard, too.The team record for consecutive road wins is eight, but this was stretched over three trips two seasons back. They did win five in a row on one trip at that time. January of 975. and that is the only time they have won as many as the four they just won and they had nine nights that time, providing them reasonable restThe fact is. the Kings had won four in a row only eight times, home or away, in their history, and more than that only three times&mdash;five straight twice in 1975 and eight once back in 1972.They have been a hot and cold club all season. They were warming up entering the torturous trek and stretched an unde feated streak to seven before being beaten They won in Detroit. 4&ndash;3. and But falo, 5&ndash;1, look a night off. then won in Washington. 3&ndash;2. and Pittsburgh, 5-0. before they ran out of steam and were crushed in their third game in as many nights, back in Buffalo. 7&ndash;2.Coach Bob Pulford commented. &ldquo;We were playing our system and playing as well as we have all season It was a crucial series for us and were pleased by our performance Hopefully, we gained confidence that will carry over into the playoffs. We got a lot of help from a lot of players 'Most of the stars shone as usual, but the lesser lights illuminated the tripSeldom&ndash;used goaler Gary Simmons split the two games in Buffalo and was brilliant in the first one Defensemen such as Bob Murdoch. Neil Komadoski. Larry Brown, and Dave Hutchison, who have been overshadowed by young Gary Sargent this season, played well.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-02874/4172391-1-eng-US/f0011-022.jpg" title="f0011-02" width="613" height="996"><figcaption class="caption-body">VIC VENASKY</figcaption></div>More than hall of the forwards have created offensive imbalance on the team by their failure to score, but several came through on this jauntBob Berry, who has been making good passes, scored in Detroit Vic Vanasky. who streaked to 10 points in nine games, scored in Buffalo and Washington Don Kozak scored twice and Dave Schultz. Gene Carr, and defenseman Murdoch once each in Pittsburgh Rookie pro Steve Clippingdale scored his first big league goal in his ninth NHL game back in Buffalo.The stars still shone. The remarkable Rogie Vachon recorded a career&ndash;high and team&ndash;record seventh shutout, his sixth in 16 games during which he has allowed only 26 goals, and won three games on the trip without a loss. He is five games over 500 on a team which is two games underDynamic Marcel Dionne had a hat trick on the first trip to Buffalo He surpassed his own team marks when he went to 56 assists and 95 points in Pittsburgh and 41 goals back in Buffalo He has 21 goals and 20 assists in his last 24 games Remarkably consistent, he has not since the first two games of the season gone two straight games without a pointButch Goring got the tying goal in the comeback effort in Detroit and sophomore defenseman Sargent, who had gone 20 games without a goal, got the first and winning goals of the game, giving him 10 for the season Tom Williams whistled in two in the loughie in Washington Streaky Mike Murphy s latest streak without a goal went to 13 games, but he and Goring led penalty&ndash;killers who killed off 21 in a row before Buffalo put in a power&ndash;play effort &#9632;

f0011-02

Kings Hot On Road Gaining Momentum For Stretch Run

MONTREAL&mdash;Most hockey fans at one time or another have longed l of the opportunity to pick an All Star learn Well THE HOCKEY NEWS is going to give you the cluince to pick not one but I wo leant*<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-011075/4172436-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg" title="f0012-01" width="631" height="766"><figcaption class="caption-body">KEN DRYDEN &hellip;Montreal Canadiens</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-02912/4172429-1-eng-US/f0012-022.jpg" title="f0012-02" width="619" height="749"><figcaption class="caption-body">WAYNE RUTLEDGE &hellip;Houston Aeros</figcaption></div>This week marks the closing of our annual fans' AU Star team selections and as we outlined last week, we are requesting that you pick both National Hockey League and World Hockey Association All Star teamsHowever, this is your last chance to do We are closing the balloting with this issue. so if you want to become a hockey expert, you'd better hurry and start selecting your teams.This being our 30th consecutive year of selecting All Star teams, the editors of THE HOCKEY NEWS are yielding to the wishes of our readers to pick both NHL and WHA teams It poses a real challenge (or the staunch hockey fanSelections will follow the same procedure as last season when readers picked two goalers. four defensemen, two centers. two right wings and two left wings from the NHL The only difference is we are allowing you to pick the same number of players from the WHA as wellIn addition to the first and second All Star teams, the editors are also requesting that readers select a most valuable player and the outstanding rookie of the year from both the NHL and WHAPicking All Star teams is something most avid hockey fans relish but get very few opportunities to do THE HOCKEY NEWS gives its readers this chance to exercise their right to select a first and second All Star team Don't miss out on this test of your hockey knowledgeIt's fun and might require a Utile more concentration on your part to come up with the best teams With nearly 350 elig&iacute; ble players from each league to choose from, you can expect to have your work cut out for youMerely clip the ballot shown on this page and then fill in your selections It's both simple and exciting.All Star ballots have now appeared in two issues of THE HOCKEY NEWS and final results of the NHL selections will be published in the issue of April 8. The final 'WHA selections will appear one week later in the April 15 issue.Remember if one of your favorites should fail to gain a berth on the fans' All Star teams by the margin of just J few points, it could be because you didn't take the time to send in your ballot So right now, while it's still fresh in your mind, fill out the ballot and mail it right away to All Star Editor. THE HOCKEY NEWS, 1434 St. Catherine St. West, Montreal. Canada. H3G IR7.If you need any player help in making your selections, kindly consult the leading player lists of both the NHL and WHA shown in column one and 4wo of this pageSo hurry, hockey Ians This is your last chance to pick your favorite All Star teams<h2>Leading Players To Help You Select Your All Stars</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-03671/4172422-1-eng-US/f0012-032.jpg" title="f0012-03" width="1345" height="1787"></div> &#9632;

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Hockey News Closes NHL, WHA All Star Balloting

<div class="byline">BY BILL FLEISCHMAN</div>PHILADELPHIA&mdash;&rdquo; I'm not doing anything different. 1 don't have any new quotes This is a recording 'Bob Kelly's lament has been heard frequently the second half of the NHL season. The Flyers former part&ndash;time Secretary of Siege is finding it difficult to explain a season that includes:Surpassing his previous NHL high of 14 goals with six weeks remaining in the scheduleTopping his career high of 32 points At one interlude. Kelly had a higher season point total than Reg Leach Although it seems like a decade ago. just last season Leach was a 61&ndash;goal scorer and Conn Smythe Trophy winner for a record 19&ndash;goal playoff.While others were shivering through the Winter of 77, Kelly was sizzling through a torrid scoring season During one February&ndash;early March 15&ndash;game stretch, streak, the &ldquo;Hound&rdquo; compiled 8&ndash;13&ndash;21 scoring figuresThose expecting a confession of practicing hours alter workouts wenl away disappointed&rdquo; I'm doing the same things.8211;' Kelly says to the interminable line of interrogatorsPress Kelly a bit further, however, and he'll admit he is handling the puck more confidently During his occasional shifts in the past, the former high&ndash;school fullback handled the puck as if it were a communicable disease Between bouncing off the boards and opponents. Kelly rarely controlled the puck more than a few seconds&rdquo; Well, 1 am holding onto the puck more, said one of the most popular Flyers When announcement of his 500th NHL appearance was flashed onto the Spectrum message board, Kelly received a lengthy standing ovation. If he scores his 20th goal at the Spectrum, Clarence Campbell will hear the ovation in MontrealMaybe I'm getting smarter&mdash;I guess I should be after seven years in the league.'' the People s Choice continued Before. 1 was afraid I'd lose the puck if I held it.&rdquo;Curiously, while teammates and assistant coach Mike Nykoluk hail Kelly's new contributions to the Flyers' cause. Fred Shero almost scoffs at the &ldquo;new&rdquo; Hound &ldquo;Some guys reach a certain level and don't improve anymore.&rdquo; the Flyers' chief instructor said With Kelly evidently content to remain in his part&ndash;time role, maybe Shero's comments are aimed at discouraging any Kelly demands for a regular duty. Anyway, Shero will admit.He's not making as many positional mistakes as he did &ldquo;Then. Shero adds, &ldquo;But 1 don't think that at this stage of his career a guy is going to improve his touch.&rdquo;For all his claims of not having &ldquo;new quotes. ' Kelly has always been worth talking with. He's honest, and often colorful. Example&rdquo; The more I handle the puck, the more relaxed I am It's like someone who's never shot a rifle he'll never hit the bulls&ndash;eyc But the more he practices, the better he gets&rdquo;Well said. Hound And. well done on the iceA typical Kelly performance occurred in the Flyers' 5&ndash;2 victory&ndash;over improved Minnesota. He opened the scoring by accepting a Bobby Clarke pass on his forehand, then biting a backhand shot over goalie Pete LoPresLi. After scoring his second goal of the game. Kelly tipped an airborne puck to himself, turned and fed Don Saleski for a foalAll in a night's work, eh, Hound?I'm not doing anything different This is a recording.&rdquo;FLVERS FOLLOWERS: With Bentie Parent nursing an aching left knee (slightly sprained ligament), Wayne Stephenson was expected to get the extended service he deserves. Stephenson, playing as well as he did last season when he appeared in 66 games, was unbeaten (9&ndash;6&ndash;11&hellip;When Rick MacLeish hit the 40&ndash;goal mark, he was two games behind his 50&ndash;goa! pace of 1972&ndash;73.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-011033/4172467-1-eng-US/f0013-012.jpg" title="f0013-01" width="619" height="749"><figcaption class="caption-body">BOB KELLY &hellip; Nothing's Changed</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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Flyers' Kelly Enjoying Best Year Ever

<div class="byline">BY JACK MCCARTHY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0014-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-011056/4172505-1-eng-US/f0014-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">DALLAS SMITH&hellip; Felt He Wasn't Doing Job (Photo by Steve Babineau)</figcaption></div>BOSTON&mdash;The old order changeth. and the story is not new&mdash;a veteran goes and not much is made about it. really And that is too bad. for the veteran in this case is Dallas Smilh. who bas left the Bruins, apparently to relire, at least for this seasonDallas, who played 17 years for the Boston organization, and played well, is 35. He had been getting less and less ice time, and has been hurt off and on. also. Smith does not say much, although the word was that he was unhappy about his situationAccording to Harry Sinden. who had some trouble signing Smith before this season. Smith told him and coach Don Cherry that his decision to quit hockey for the rest of the season, &ldquo;was because he felt he was unable to perform up to his standard of play and for personal reasons 'Oddly enough, it'seasy to look up Smith's career statistics tn the Bruins' press guide because he has a floating page ' one that was inserted late and was not attached to the regular book because of his late signing.Dallas is a wheat farmer in Crandall. Manitoba, and for many years worked the farm hnnscll in the summers Al six leet and 181 pounds, he was not the biggest man in the NHL. but he was one of the strongest No one fooled much with Dallas, and once he got a grip on a man, it was all over.Ironically, he left strictly in character For many years the line on Smith was that he said. Hello ' on the opening day of training camp, and &ldquo;Goodbye&rdquo; when the last game was over Dallas met with Sinden and Cherry for an hour and a half, and Sinden reported. &ldquo;All we learned was that he had decided not to finish the seasonThis is very odd. if for no other reason than Dallas would presumably be passing up sure playoff money, and perhaps a great deal of it.At any rate, this agent always found him to be a nice guy. and a pretty good hockey player He piayed with a bad back last season and played well in the Stanley Cup playoffsHe had been with Boston longer than any player except Chief Bucyk He first played with Boston in 1959&ndash;60. and stayed Irinp enouph tn herome nart of two Stan ley Cup teams. Happy days. DallasMeanwhile, life goes on The Bruins called up Doug Galward from Rochester, and the team continued to be without the services of Bucyk (bad luck) and Bobby Schmautz. who injured a knee and could be out for the last two weeks of the regular seasonDespite this, Boston ran off a string of four straight games and were unbeaten in six, one of them a 3&ndash;1 victory over the division leader. Buffalo, to pull within three pointe of the Sabres on March 5If the Bruins cannot overtake the Sabres and finish second, it would appear that they would meet the Black Hawks, whom they hammered in Boston Garden 6&ndash;2 The Bruins&ndash;Hawks playoff encounter would be a best&ndash;of&ndash;three affair. Boston has outscored the Hawks this season. 22&ndash;12. in winning four games from themBOSTON BEANS: At this writing it is not known who will get Mark Howe&mdash;Detroit or Boston or it either will gel both Howe brothers. Marty and Mark Brums president Paul Mooney and Sinden flew to Houston to confer with Mrs. Colleen Howe and the family attorney<h2>NHL Leaders</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-03643/4172498-1-eng-US/f0014-032.jpg" title="f0014-03" width="329" height="501"></div> &#9632;

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Unhappy In Boston Situation, Dallas Smith Calls It Quits

<div class="byline">BY DONALD BERNS</div>ST. LOUIS&mdash;Jamie Masters, maneuvering on a power play against the New York Islanders, gave up more than 1.000 games in National Hockev League experience to Eddie Westfall.The Blues had a 4&ndash;3 manpower advantage. but Westfall was driving the Blues crazy, and less than 20 seconds of the power play remainedFinally, the 21&ndash;year&ndash;old Masters eluded the 36&ndash;year&ndash;old Westfall with a pass to Bruce Affleck, whose shot was deflected into the net by Rick Bourbonnais for the winning goal in a 2&ndash;1 victory for the St. Louis Blues Masters had his first point in his budding NHL careerMasters, a defenseman. was the Blues' second&ndash;round choice in the junior draft two years ago He managed to get into seven games with the team last season but spent most of the year with the Blues' farm club, then in Providence. This year he had been at Kansas City until called to the Blues with a month remaining in the season'I didn't have a good camp last fall. ' Masters said ' At the beginning of the year in Kansas City 1 wasn't playing too well but then I started playing with more confidence. They told me to keep working hard and I'd be called up''Masters found in St. Louis a tough lineup to crack. Coach Emile Francis has been using two combinations of defensemen. old pro Rod Seiling with warhorse Bob Gass off. and smoothie Bruce Affleck with the dean of the team. Bob Plager. playing much better in the second half of the season than in the first half, when he was demoted to Kansas City for a couple ' of weeks&rdquo; I think the coach wants to break me in ' slow, &ldquo;said Masters with a straight face, I've been playing on the power play and I like it. 1 have to adjust myself around the team.&rdquo;With Masters as the fifth defenseman Francis sent Bob Hess back to Kansas City. Francis also called back left wing I Floyd Thomson and once again swapped' goalies, with Doug Grant joining the parent team and a disappointed Yves Belanger going back to Kansas City. Belanger played just three St Louis games and [won two of them He gave up one goal to' Atlanta and three goals to Pittsburgh in the victories and he allowed three goals 1 in one period against the PhiladelphiaFlyers before being replaced by Eddie Johnston, who gave up three more goals in a 6&ndash;4 loss.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-02871/4172536-1-eng-US/f0014-022.jpg" title="f0014-02" width="609" height="811"><figcaption class="caption-body">JAMIE MASTERS &hellip; First NHL Point</figcaption></div>The Blues lost a wacky game to the Cleveland Barons. 5&ndash;2. then tied the Colorado Rockies, 2&ndash;2, before the 2&ndash;1 win over the IslandersFrancis continued to use four lines but shifted the personnel a couple times after Thomson s return The only line that remained untouched by change was the Kid Line of rookies Bernie Federko, BrianSutter and Rick Bourbonnais That unit had 11 goals and 14 assists in 12 gamesIn Thomson's first game back with the team Francis reunited the Digger Line of Larry Patey, Thomson and Claude Larose. Red Berenson lost his wings. Ted Irvine and Jerry Butler, to Garry Unger s line. Berenson played with Chuck Lefley and Bob MacMillan, skating an off wing. Pierre Plante was the 13th forward out.In the victory over the Islanders Thomson did not dress, so MacMillan went back to left wing on a line with Patey and Larose, and Plante played the right side on Berenson's line.MacMillan, who has been the Blues' leading scorer virtually all season, was caught by Unger with less than a month to go. At that point MacMillan had not scored a goal in 12 games or a point in six games.The Blues stretched their lead to seven points over the Chicago Black Hawks in the Smythe Division, so the first&ndash;place finish seems more certain every day. Unless there is an upset in the first round of the Stanley Cutp playoffs the Blues will play the Montreal Canadiens in the quarterfinals The Blues bave n't been past round one of the playoffs the last out years, and getting to a second Stanley Cup team this season could be very difficult. &#9632;

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Blues' Constant Shuffling Lands Masters Back On Top

<div class="byline">BY GARY MCCARTHY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0015-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-011014/4172574-1-eng-US/f0015-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">BIG STICK: Guy Lafleur of theCanadians, who became the NHL'" second 50&ndash;goal scorer last week, receives congratulations from Graham Watson, sales representative of H Illerich Bradsby, who manufacture Louisville Slugger hockey sticks. It was third straight year La&ndash;fleur scored 50 goals.</figcaption></div>MONTREAL&mdash;All good things must come to an end. That cliche applies to the Montreal Canadiens after they failed in their bid to set a National Hockey League record for the longest undefeated streak.Once again, the bid fell two games short&mdash;just as it had during the 1974&ndash;75 season when they came up two games short of the record of 23 games without a loss established by the Boston Bruins during the 1940&ndash;41 season and equalled by the Philadelphia Flyers during the 1975&ndash;76 campaign.The Canadiens got as far as 21 games without a loss during the 1974&ndash;75 season and they went on another tear this season. but the streak was again stopped at 21&mdash;this time by the Buffalo Sabres and their rookie sensational goaltender Don Edwards.Edwards, who has been outstanding since being called up by the Sabres from the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League, came close to shutting out the Canadiens on March 6.The only salvation the Canadiens gol from the game was the fact that Guy Lafleur. the NHL's leading point&ndash;getter this season, notched his 50th goal of the season in the game, which the Canadiens lost 4&ndash;1.Laileur wasn't too happy after scoring his 50th goal&mdash;the third season in a row that he has scored 50 or more goals&mdash;because of the booing he received from the Buffalo fans.&rdquo; They don t know how to live,' Lafleur muttered after the game However, it is more than likely the Buffalo fans were booing the fact that Lafleur had thwarted Edwards' bid for a shutout more than they were in acknowledging his 50th goal.Lafleur scored on a 40&ndash;foot slapshot that deflected off Sabres captain defenseman Jim Schoenfeld with less than four minutes remaining in the gameBut. this one was all over for the Habs in the first period as Ken Dryden allowed four goals in the opening 20 minutes of play. It put the Canadiens in an extremely unfamiliar position&mdash;having to play catch&ndash;up hockey.It was only the eighth loss of the season for the Canadiens, who are well on their way to capturing the over&ndash;all NHL championship and assure the team of home&ndash;ice advantage in each round o&iacute; the Stanley Cup playoffs.Five of the eight losses suffered by the Habs this season have come against the Sabres and the Boston Bruins. The Sabres defeated the Canadiens 3&ndash;1 at Buffalo's Memorial Auditorium back on Oct. 10. giving the Habs their first loss of the season. The Bruins won three of four games between the (wo teams this campaign with one game still remaining at Boston Gardens.One record the Canadiens have within their grasp is the longest undefeated streak on home ice. They equalled the record of 27 established by the 1970&ndash;71 Bruins by thumping the New York Rangers 7&ndash;2 the night before they lost to the Sabres in Buffalo.They had a chance to break that mark with the Colorado Rockies the next visitors at the ForumIn the game against the Rangers, the line of Lafleur. center Jacques Lemaire and left winger Steve Shutt was outstanding Lemaire had two goals to give him 31 on the season, Shutt raised his leagueleading total to 53 and Lafleur got No. 49.Had the trio been playing together from the start of the 1976&ndash;77 season, it is quite likely that they would have establis&rdquo; hed a record for most goals by a line in a ' single season That record is held by the Philadelphia trio of Bobby Clarke, Reg Leach and Bill Barber when they combined for 141 goals last season.However, Lemaire only began playing with Lafleur and Shutt on a regular basis just before the Christmas holidays. Prior to that. Pete Mahovlich centered Lafleur and ShuttIn the game against the Rangers. Lafleur got iiis 49th goal 14 seconds into the second period. His teammates tried desparately to set him up the rest of the game but be couldn't beat John Davidson.HABS NOTES: Lafleur looked as though he had a pretty good lock on the NHL individual scoring He held a 10&ndash;point lead over Marcel Dionne of Los An&ndash;geles with less than a month to play in the regular season Lafleur won the championship last season.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-02801/4172567-1-eng-US/f0015-022.jpg" title="f0015-02" width="607" height="865"><figcaption class="caption-body">JACQUES LEMAIRE &hellip; Spark For Big Line</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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Lafleur Booed After Scoring No. 50 Of Season

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0016-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-01861/4172605-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg"></div> &#9632;

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NHL SCORING AND PENALTY STATISTICS

<div class="byline">BY NEIL MILBERT</div>CHICAGO&mdash;Signs of the hard times in the Windy City:The Black Hawks, who once turned away people, are running season&ndash;ticket commercials on their radio broadcasts.The Hawks haven't telecast a single game this season President Bill Wirtz is turning deaf ears to interview requests by reporters who want to discuss the team's plightInterim coach Bill White, who used to talk about overtaking St. Louis, now worries aloud about holding off Minnesota for second place in the weak Smythe Division.Rumor has it that Boston s Don Cherry will succeed White nest season.Rumor has it that Cleveland's Jack Evans will succeed White next season.Rumor has it that Los Angeles' Bob Pulford will succeed White next season.The opposition is rifling an average of 36 shots&ndash;on&ndash;goal per game at Tony Esposito.Dennis Hull, at this writing, has gone his last 20 games without scoring a goal Cliff Koroll, John Marks, and Dale Talion also are far behind their 1975&ndash;76 statistical paces.Pit Martin is skating in spite of a mysterious nerve disorder that is sapping his arm&ndash;strength&mdash;an ailment that sounds very similar to the one that has apparently terminated White's playing careerYou don't have to be a weatherman to know that an ill wind has been blowing across Chicago ice this seasonAll too often in situations such as this, radio broadcasters will turn their backs on reality and assure listeners of nothing but blue skies from now on.To his everlasting credit, Lou Angotti&mdash;the long&ndash;time Black Hawk favorite and one&ndash;time St. Louis Blues' coach&mdash;is calling it the way he sees it in his rookie season as a WMAQ announcerLou is the color commentator on the broadcasts&mdash;which, incidentally, are subsidized by the Black Hawks He teams with the talented play&ndash;by&ndash;play announcer Jim West on home games and. when the team is on the road, conducts a between periods question&ndash;and&ndash;answer session from the WMAQ studios.Typical question from a fan on the phone&rdquo; Lou, it looks like the Hawks will be playing the Boston Bruins in the Stanley Cup playoffs and if the Hawks beat them tonight, they have a good chance of beating them in the playoffs&mdash;don't you think?&rdquo;Angotti's answer:&rdquo; No, I can't see the Hawks beating the Bruins The Hawks seem to have lost incentive. They just don't seem to have any pride any more. 1 think they have a fair amount of talent. But maybe I'm wrong&mdash;maybe they just don't have it.&rdquo;Another question: &ldquo;f read somewhere the Hawks are expecting Bobby Orr to come back&mdash;bow Jong do you think it will be?&rdquo;Angotti: &ldquo;I don't think Orr is coming back this season.&rdquo;According to Angotti, &ldquo;one of the Hawks' biggest problems is their defensemen.&rdquo;&rdquo; They don't move the puck out of their own end with authority,&rdquo; he explains.&rdquo; Some of the defensemen like to carry the puck too much. As a result, the Hawks don't come out of their end as a unit.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-01753/4172636-1-eng-US/f0017-012.jpg" title="f0017-01" width="624" height="1538"><figcaption class="caption-body">PIT MARTIN &hellip; Arm Ailment Mystery</figcaption></div>&rdquo; The forwards find themselves waiting and they're sitting ducks for checks. II you don t give them the puck, how can they make any moves?&rdquo;&rdquo; A lot of people think a good defense makes a good offense But I think if you have a good, methodical offense it's going to strengthen your defense enormously.&rdquo;Angotti isn't taking the easy way. He could probably go on collecting checks for several seasons by being an apologist. But he has decided to be a bona&ndash;fide analyst&mdash;even though it may not be conducive to his long&ndash;term employment &#9632;

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Critics, Rumors, North Stars Making Life Tough For Hawks

<div class="byline">BY RICH PASSAN</div>CLEVELAND&mdash;It would have been very easy into the Cleveland Barons to tuck theii tails between their legs and go off in several corners and pout about the whole thing.After all, they bad been living on 1 year&ndash;to&ndash;year basis for almost a de cade. Security was just another won in the dictionary to them. It is a wort with no meaning.And this year*was the culmination They had enough and decided to something about it.They eventually forced a settlemeni of sorts when it became apparent the team was about to go under from the financial shorts.And now that normalcy has returned to the Cleveland hockey scene the Barons have responded with som of their best hockey of the season.Entering an eight&ndash;game trip arounc the National Hockey League in late February, the Cleveland icers hac logged just five victories in 27 game&ndash;on foreign ponds.Hardly the kind of record coacl Jack Evans had expected from his men after they had won 11 games or the road last season.The journey started off with a 5&ndash;2 lacing at Montreal after the Cana diens had jumped out to a 5&ndash;1 first period edge It continued in St. Louu and Toronto, two cities where visiting teams experience some degree of difficulty in winning.But the Barons were just beginning to get their act together and had a national television audience as witnessesPlaying the Blues in St Louis in the Monday Night Game of the Week, the Barons completely embarrassed the home team before the nation, 5&ndash;2. 1 wasn't even close.Even announcers Marv Albert an Dan Kelly were stunned. The Barons after all, were supposed to be playing out the string. They were supposed be at the nadir in the morale depart ment.They weren't supposed to play this well. Yet, here they were knocking off the top team in the Smythe Divi sion with ridiculous easeTwo nights later, it was the Mapk Leafs' turn in Toronto. The Baron: had been soundly thrashed by Re Kelly's boys four straight times this season That streak never reaches five.When it was all over, the Baron: owned a 4&ndash;1 victory over the befuddied Leafs and led some to wonder where these two teams would be ii the standings had the Barons cruncbed Toronto earlier in the campaignAs it was. Cleveland left Toronto t points in back of the third&ndash;place Leaf: in the rugged Adams Division.Next slop was Atlanta, where the big and rough Flames were having their problems. When the Baronsleftthe beautiful Georgia city, the Flame were still having their problemsA 2&ndash;1 Cleveland triumph before 13 000 unbelieving fans in the Omn proved this Cleveland (earn wa overflowing with that intangible thin called character.Instead of staying on the floor am taking the count for the season, the got up and began punching back. Am the surprised opponents never knev what hit them until the Barons left town &#9632;

Barons Thrive On Hard Times

<div class="byline">BY ALAN TRUEX</div>ATLANTA&mdash;If it were not for a transfusion of $750.-000 by Atlanta businessmen, the Atlanta Flames would not exist todayPrivately, Flames principal owner Tom Cousins has assured businessmen that the National Hockey League team could not survive the current season without the large&ndash;block ticket pledges of the businessmen.Publicly. Cousins says, &ldquo;I can't say we could not have finished the season. But we may very well not have.&rdquo;After Georgia Gov George Busbee met with three different groups of Atlanta entrepreneurs. Cousins reported Monday that the goal of $750,000 'is very nearly completed &ldquo;The $750,000. of which 99 percent has been collected, has come to the Flames in the form of ticket purchases and pledges The tickets have been distributed by corporations, and the result is the Flames have been regularly drawing near&ndash;capacity crowdsEven while the team was losing nine out of 11 games, attendance remained on a U.500 level for a seven&ndash;game stretch in January&ndash;February.This is a dramatic improvement over the crowds of 8.880 and 9.200 the Flames were drawing in early NovemberReferring to the recent attendance drive. Cousins admitted. 'Part of that is due to the help of businesses and the ticket drive.&rdquo;Actually. 70 percent of the 5.000 in&ndash;crease is due to what Cousins terms &ldquo;the governor's ticket drive those businesses are participating in.&rdquo;Cliff Fletcher, general manager and president of the Flames, estimates 3.500 of the 5.000 are compliments of the winter ticket pushThe other 1.500 who have been added to Flames games are individual citizens buying tickets. Yet Fletcher does not consider this an indicator that hockey is showing a surprising popularity increase He points out that every season, attendance improves about 1.500 in the second half, without the severe competition from football.What it amounts to, then, is that the Atlanta Flames are being propped up by the state's politicians and businessmen Busbee and Atlanta Mayor Maynard Jackson both met with corporate representatives three times. Cousins confirmed, to encourage them to support the local hockey team.The question now is, will this support hold? The Flames are secure for the remainder of this season But when the $750,000 runs out. they are back where they startedCousins has said previously the team must draw at least 13.000 per game to break even financially and to remain in Atlanta.The Flames' season&ndash;ticket base, once What we have in do for trick season is gel a very impressive seasiin&ndash;tickcl under wayFletcher can only hope that many of the fans seeing hockey games for the first time for free will later return as paying customers.&rdquo; A lot of new people are coming to the games.&rdquo; Fletcher realizes.Whether they are impressed by the Flames is another questionEver since departing on a seven&ndash;game road excursion in February, the Flames have been a generally lifeless hockey clubThe Flames, who once led the New York Hangers by 10 points, found themselves only two or three points ahead in early March.Offensively. Atlanta was suffering from shockingly ordinary play by center Tom Lysiak, who had two goals in a 20 game stretch and only five points in a 13&ndash;game stretch Hampered by bruised legs. Lysiak has not been skating with the same fervor he showed in DecemberThe failure of John Gould to provide scoring consistency to the right side has combined with an off year by left wing Curt Bennett, cutting into the team s offense.Defensively, the Flames declined because of a poor season by goalie Dan Bouchard and the loss of defen semenBarry Gibbs and Dave Shand to mononucleosis Gibbs and Shand, whom Fletcher called &ldquo;two of our best defensemen, are back playing now. but lliey mav mil be at full strengh unlit next (allSo the Flames are left with a possible playoff race on their hands and the appearance of backing into the playoffs as they did last year Said Fletcher, grimacing: It looks like we re trying to make a race out of it.&rdquo;FLAME NOTES: Tim Ecclestone missed a game with a charley horse injury, and center Lysiak filled in with a few shifts at left wing Rookies Guy Chouinard and Bobby Simpson have been among the few Flames playing well lately The Omni ice has been judged by many players, including (he Flames' Ken Houston and Vancouver's Garry Monahan, as the the worst in the league<h2>Looking At NHL Goalers</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-01770/4172698-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg" title="f0018-01" width="640" height="2398"></div><h2>Team Penalties</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-02621/4172691-1-eng-US/f0018-022.jpg" title="f0018-02" width="635" height="810"></div> &#9632;

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Atlanta Crowds Up But Flames Flat On Ice

With the NHL season {Finding down, it is important for a rookie to make an impression with the Calder Trophy selectors watching in the wings. Atlanta's With Hell is showing the awards' pickers that he means business.Plett, the incredible Atlanta right winger with the scoring flare, has become the No. 1 threat for NHL rookie honors in recent weeks since Hangers' Don Murdoch removed himself from the race with an ankle injury. Plett hasn't slopped putting the puck in the net since Murdoch went out of the lineup for the rest of the season. He has scored 30 goals in only 54 games for the Flames.Plett gave NHL fans and the Hangers a sample of his scoring progress this past week as he picked up six points, four goals and two assists. The four goals came in the weekend series against Rangers that all but eliminated the New Yorkers from the playoffs. Plett scored the winning goal in both games as Atlanta swept the Rangers. He had a hat trick in the second game.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-03461/4172729-1-eng-US/f0018-032.jpg" title="f0018-03" width="570" height="806"><figcaption class="caption-body">WILLI PLETT &hellip; Atlanta Flames</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0018-03

NHL's… Player of the Week

<div class="byline">&#x2013;BY RON WEBER</div>WASHINGTON&mdash;In (he early March win over the Black Hawks, there was a different look of (he Washington Capitals, but only if you looked closelyA couple of unfamiliar numbers could have been spotted during the warmup One o&iacute; (hem. number three, was worn by Bill Mikkelson. the same young man who donned number four for 59 games in the Caps first year in the leagueMikkelson was called up from Hershey to fill in for Gordie Smith, missing that game due to the death of his father in Perth. Ontario Personable Bill was on the ice For the Capitals first goal&mdash;and served the game s initial penalty It was the first time since last year the Caps had utilized number three since Greg Joly was farmed out (and subsequently traded)The other jersey, numtfer 31 had gotten even dustier Goalie Michel Belhumeur used it for 35 games in 1974&ndash;75 then discarded it early Iasi season just before the Capitals discarded him Rookie backups Jim Bedard and Dale Rideout did put it on this past fall without participating in an actual gameAnd for this night at least, old 31 stayed down at the end of the bench again, while Ron Low steered aside enough pucks for (he Caps to prevail over Chicago 7&ndash;4 But this time, it was not a wide&ndash;eyed rookie in that &ldquo;second&ndash;string&rdquo; jersey.&ndash;but a wizened old head with 515 NHL games to his credit.Roger Crozier burst onio the National League scene in a big way&ndash;In his first full season. 12 years ago. he was rookie of&ndash;the&ndash;year first team All Star goalie, as he compiled a 2.42 goals&ndash;against average for the Detroit Red WingsThe next season his average went up a little (2.78) but so did his league&ndash;leading shutout total (to seven) and he won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the outstanding player in the Stanley Cup playoffs.Crozier played 70 and 64 games those two seasons He would never play that many again, partly because the NHL went to the two&ndash;goaltender system, but also because of recurring pancreatic at&ndash;tacks More that once Roger shed the mask and mitt in mid&ndash;season, trowing to the balky pancreasThe last time was 14 months ago when, after 11.000 minutes and 74 wins in a Ruf talo uniform Crozier said a lasting good&ndash;bye to the Sabres. He was all set to spend the winters in Florida and the summers with his hockey school in Barrie. OntarioBut Max McNab had other ideas Apprehensive over the lack of goalie depth behind Low and Bernie Wolfe, particularly after the latter's early season illnes. the Caps GM tracked down Crozier and in mid&ndash;January. signed him to a contract (after first securing his rights from Buffalo).Says the 34&ndash;year&ndash;old Crozier. 'Tin not here to push one of them (Low or Wolfe) out of a job If one o&iacute; them goes into a slump or gets hurt. I'm available 1 would say I'm in pretty good shape, but it was slow for a while. I'd work out with the team for a few days, then they would go on the road and I'd be stranded without shooters and without ice time.&rdquo;While the Capitals went oh the road trip that was February. Roger went back to a bus league For 10 days he travelled with the IHL Dayton Gems counseling rookies Bedard and Rideout.Crozier noticed &ldquo;improvement in their play which was satisfying to me They were witling to listen and learn Bedard, a Hopper like me. was getting beat high because he was going down a split&ndash;second loo soon. Rideout, a stand&ndash;up goaltender, was an altogether different thing. He's more apt to get beat lower Crozier is pleased that NHL teams are leaning more aod more to assistant or special coaches and would like to stay in hockey in this capacity&mdash;after he's through playingCould he play now' &ldquo;I didn't find my reflexes were that bad after a year layoff I found it's the stamina part that's the toughest&rdquo; he states.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-01738/4172760-1-eng-US/f0019-012.jpg" title="f0019-01" width="597" height="1149"><figcaption class="caption-body">ROGER CROZIER &hellip; Stays In Hockey</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0019-01

Crozier 'Counseling' Caps' Goalers

<div class="byline">BY LARRY BORTSTEIN</div>DENVER&ndash;Ron Delorme had thought his hockey career was behind him at age 21 until the Rockies brought him back to the Mile High City at the end o&iacute; January As a Cree Indian he. naturally, already has been tagged with the nickname 'The Chief' by his teammates The label fits If the Rockies do manage to capture a playoff spot. Delorme. deSpite his late arrival on the Colorado scene, will be one of the chief reasonsAlmost from the moment the young right winger joined a line centered by Nellie Pyatt with another Colorado newcomer Danny Gruen al left wing. Ron has been paying divdends He scored five goals in his first dozen games with the Rockies, two of them game&ndash;winners and all of them crucial.&ldquo;His scoring has been something we didn't expect.' says Johnny Wilson of Hon But we knew he'd help us down the stretch with his hitting This is a kid who's very aggressive and just loves to go out and knock people around He's not dirty by any means, but he loves the physical side of hockey.&rdquo;This is Delorme s second try as a pro player in Denver. He joined the ill&ndash;fated Denver Spurs of the World Hockey Association last season as their third draft choice out of the Western Canadian junior ranksRon played in 22 games for the Spurs, who abruptly left Denver only a couple months into the season and set up shop in Ottawa, only it fold altogether shortly thereafter Delorme, who also spent time in 1975&ndash;76 with the Spurs' Central League farm club in Tucson, says he wasn't surprised that the WHA club here died We kept hearing in Tucson how bad things were going in Denver.&rdquo; he recalls, &ldquo;so when the club folded it was kind of expected&rdquo;Ron really wanted to play pro hockey in Denver, though I know it had to be a better hockey town than it looked. ' he says And when the Kansas City Scouts were converted into Colorado's first NHL entry last summer, he got the chance. As luck would have it. he also had been drafted out of juniors by the Scouts in the fourth round at the previous summer s NHL meetingsRon failed to make the big club, and went to Tulsa in the CHL. and then on it Baltimore in the Southern League The Clippers, along with the rest of that shambled league, called it quits in January&mdash;three weeks after Delorme bad written finis to his season and. he thought, his career on ice.&ldquo;That was a bad situation.&rdquo; he says of his SHL sojourn &ldquo;Besides the money not being good, my family was back home in Saskatchewan, and my wife Carla had to take care of our three&ndash;year&ndash;old son. Blair, who was sick with hepatitis, and she had to do everything by herself. 1 didn t see anything good coming out of staying in Baltimore, so I went home to Cochin." The resort town in northern Saskatchewan has a population of about 200 most ot| the year, but attracts hundreds more who come for fishing and boating and other recreations during the summer.&ldquo;I thought I&rsquo;d finish up my high school education. &ldquo;Ron says, and find some kind of job But then the Rockies got in touch with me and asked me to comt down for another try 1 dressed but didn&rsquo;t play for a couple of games, then. I dressed and did play, and in the third game I played I scored the game-winner against Pittsburgh.&rdquo;Delorme feels his faith in his Indian heritage has helped him make his dramatic late-season impact on the Rockies. He&rsquo;s the son of Tony and Gertrude Delorme of Cochin, the former a half-breed or Metis. &ldquo;and the latter a full-bred Cree Treaty Indian.&ldquo;My father&rsquo;s name is French.&rdquo; says Ron. but up in northern Saskatchewan there are lots of Indians, half-breeds and Treaty Indians. They play a lot of sports, but they&rsquo;re so shy about going out and trying to prove themselves think that&rsquo;s the reason there haven&rsquo;t been more Indians in professional sports.Among those currently in the NHL who have Indian blood are. Delorme points out, Reggie Leach of Philadelphia. Bobby Simpson. Atlanta: Gary Sargent. Los Angeles; Stan Jonathan. Boston; and. of course. Boston&rsquo;s Chief. Johnny Bucyk The Rockies had another Indian on the roster at the start of this season in Henry Boucha. but he was forced into rc tirement because of recurring visual problems.I speak the Cree language. Delorme says, &rsquo; and really observe their customs and beliefs My wile is a full Treaty Indian. and our son is betng brought up to live the Indian way of life. 1 carry a lucky symtxrt with me at all times-tt&rsquo;s a secret as to what it is-but 1 think it helps me. &ldquo;Speaking about the Indian way of life with Ron is something of a history lesson tn itself, and he speaks of the Indians with lose and respect-and even with a touch of humor. Since he&rsquo;s joined the Rcx-kies hr has grown a wide mustache Just to prove an Indiannuld grow any facial hair But I like my mustache and I plan to keep it for a while&rdquo;Ron feels the same way about his employment by the Rockies&rsquo; organization want to thank Ray Miron and Johnny Wilson for giving me another chance to play this game he says I don&rsquo;t wanna let them down It&rsquo;s so great to be in this league that I&rsquo;d do almost anything to keep this yob I don&rsquo;t want to lose it. &#9632;

Rookies Have Own 'Chief In Cree Rookie Delorme

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0020-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-01572/4172822-1-eng-US/f0020-012.jpg"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-01362/4172815-1-eng-US/f0028-012.jpg" title="f0028-01" width="2744" height="4327"></div> &#9632;

f0020-01

National League Summaries

<div class="byline">BY PAT THOMPSON</div>TWIN CITIES-Should the Minnesota North Stars make the Stanley Cup playoffs this spring for the first time in four years, a quiet member of the team's defensive corps would be receiving a major part of the credit.A good description of six foot-two. 185-pound Nick Beverley would be classy, but certainly not flashy The North Stars, on more than one occasion since a November (rade brought him to Minnesota, have credited the 29-year-old Beverley with steadying the team's defenseCoach Ted Harris is much more appreciative of Beverley's steady play in the North Star zone than the two goals and 14 assists he contributed in the first 47 games he played for Minnesota since the Rangers dispatched him and right winger Bill Fairbairn to get Bill Goldsworthy last Nov. 11.'Nick Beverley &ldquo;said Hams,&rdquo; is not spectacular, but he is a very steady hockey player Very cool under fire and doesn't give up the puck Nick knows where he's going&mdash;doesn't run around&rdquo; Fred Barrett, before suffering a torn groin muscle, was paired opposite Beverley and also had a few glowing words.&ldquo;Nick is a very objective, conscientious player. &ldquo;Barrett said&rdquo; He never has a critical word. Everything about him is position. I've known him for seven years since we first worked a hockey camp to-gether and he's always been the same.&ldquo;He was probably the best instructor at the camp, although he wasn't even a National League regular back then But he cared about what he was doing &ldquo;When Barrett went down with his injury. the North Stars summoned Jerry Engele from New Haven and this youngster looked far more impressive than in an early season trial in 1975-76. Beverly, a right defenseman. is a big reason&ldquo;Nick has been a great help to me&rdquo; complimented Engele T think he's a big reason why I feel I'm playing with so much more confidenceBeverley, before the trade that sent Minnesota's all-time goat scorer to Broadway, had played in only nine of New York s first 16 games without scoring a point Naturally, be welcomed (he move to Minnesota<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-01421/4172853-1-eng-US/f0021-012.jpg" title="f0021-01" width="622" height="1289"><figcaption class="caption-body">NICK BEVERLEY &hellip; Mott Dependable</figcaption></div>Moving in the middle of season can be a pain. &ldquo;explained Beverley But Jot settled down here and happy now to be out "I New York Ranger coach John Ferguson never told me why I wasn't playing 1 suppose they wanted to go with youth, although I'm not exactly an old man al 29 I just do my job. mind my own business and prefer (o keep my mouth shutThere does seem to be a difference in Minnesota for the native of Toronto and off-season resident of Haliburton after NHL stops at Boston. Pittsburgh and New York, as Barrett explained&ldquo;Sometimes people don't even realize when you are playing well, said Barrett I think that s been Nick's case He never really has been appreciated the way be is with our team &ldquo;The North Stars had a lot to appreciate as the season wore down into the final days and their number of healthy defensemen began to dwindle, yet the team held onto playoff hopesFirst. Barrett went down with his muscle tear. Tom Reid fractured his cheek bone And Dennis O'Brien was knocked out of action with a pulled hamstring muscleBeverley was there every other line change out. playing the steady hockey without much fanfare The North Stars definitely appreciate it.STAR DUST: The Stars could have the highest scoring rookie in the-league this season in Swedish import. Roland Eriksson. who scored 21 goals and 33 assists in his first 64 games. Another prize rookie. Glen Sharpley. had 21 goals (five game-winners) and 25 assists in that span to merit consideration for rookie-of-the-year honors alongside the Swede Steve Jensen, another of the seven rookies with the Stars, had 15 goals and 18 assists after a very slow Ernie Hicke. who went the final 18 games last season and his first 20 this campaign, has matched his career high of 23 goals.. Tim Young, who led the NHL in assists after 63 games, will set the Minnesota season scoring record With 16 games to play, he was only two points off the team record with 24 goals and 56 assists. Goalie Pete LoPresti won games of 2-1 vs Boston and 3-0 vs Vancouver before falling to Philly. 5-2. Ernie Hicke became a father (or the second time&mdash;wife Barbara gave birth to a daughter. Tiffany, the morning the Stars lost to Philly Hicke spent the night before in the delivery room. &#9632;

f0021-01

Beverley Wins Praise From North Stars' Coach

<div class="byline">BY DOUG MCCONNELL</div>SAN DIEGO&mdash;No wonder the San Diego Mariners were blown out by the Indianapolis Racers' four-goal second period in a 7-4 set-back at IndianapolisI was stunned,&rdquo; admitted Andre Lacroix after reading newspaper accounts that Mariner owner Ray Kroc doesn't like hockey and will get rid of his team after his first season.&rdquo; We all thought we had a real owner at last. ' added Lacroix. He invited us to a party at his house and told us how much he liked the game &ldquo;Kroc. 74. founder of the McDonald fast food chain, had announced earlier in the week at Yuma. Ariz., site of the training camp of his National League baseball team, the San Diego Padres, that he sees no alternative to the sale of the club which is managed by his son-in-law. Ballard Smith'Ballard tells me we can expect to lose $1.4 million on the Mariners this year and that troubles me because I'm not very interested in hockey.&rdquo; said Kroc. &ldquo;If I were faced with that situation in baseball it wouldn't matter because baseball is my gameKroc said Smith is optimistic the Mariners can survive if there is a merger with the National Hockey League but Kroc doesn't share the view.&ldquo;At $7.50 per ticket. I don't think the value is there.&rdquo; said Kroc T don t blame people for slaying away when we ask them to pay $15 per couple&ldquo;This (NHL and WHA getting together) will be a consolidation not a merger I don't see more than four or live WHA teams being included. '&ldquo;I don't think the National Hockey League will have San Diego because our building (the 13.029-seat Sports Arena) is too small. I could be wrong, but 1 don t think they'll take any team which has less than 18.000 seats. 'Five of the present WHA buildings seat less than the Sports Arena and only two, Birmingham and Indianapolis, seat over 16.000 &mdash; none seat over 17.000Kroc also said affiliation with the NHL would be difficult because Bob Breit bard, who owned the defunct San Diego Gulls, holds the NHL territorial rights to San Diego.A reporter asked Kroc why he made the statement with one-quarter of the season left to play Kroc replied he wants to give prospective buyers a chance Io buy the team and leave it in the cityWhen Kroc was asked why be invested in a sport he doesn't enjoy, he responded:&ldquo;Lots of people own theatres but they don t go to the movies.&rdquo;Phoenix Roadrunners goaltender Gary Kurt earned himself a place of distinction in hockey's record books.Kurt was the goaltender who surrendered Gordie Howe's 900th career goal was on the way to an 8-3 Houston Aeros victory over the Phoenix Roadrunners Il was Houston's third win over Phoenix in five nightsEven when the Aeros put two pucks in their own net in the middle game, in Phoenix, to give the Roadrunners a 3-1 lead, it didn't help the Western Division's last-place team.John Gray, traded by the Roadrunners to Houston in mid-December. confided to Houston goaltender Wayne Rutledge at the end of the first period.&ldquo;If you can slop Mark and I. you've got it made.&rdquo; he said Gray had kicked one rebound into the Houston net and Mark Howe had deflected a shot past RutledgeDel Hall had his lip cut and several teeth loosened by Marty Howe's stick late in the first period and even though the Runners turned the resulting two-man advantage&mdash;Rutledge had been called for delaying the game earlier&mdash;into a power play goal. Phoenix coach Al Rollins called it &ldquo;the turning point in the game.&rdquo;&ldquo;Our guys saw a hide blood and were intimidated the rest of the way. They wouldn't go into the comer after the puck.&rdquo;&ldquo;It takes 18 of our players to win against any club.&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;and we've just got too many who won't play against Houston or any physical club for that matter.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-01457/4172884-1-eng-US/f0022-012.jpg" title="f0022-01" width="507" height="527"><figcaption class="caption-body">GARY KURT &hellip; Dubious Honor</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0022-01

Kroc Sees NHL, WHA Consolidating After He Unloads San Diego Team

Dennis Sobchuk rates highly in the Cincinnati Stingers' organization. He is the kind of player who can break open a hockey game and he has a rare touch for scoring goals.Both are important ingredients for the making of a super star and the Stingers feel they have a superior hockey player in Sobchuk. This past week he showed some of his scoring brilliance as he racked up nine scoring points, collecting five goals and four assists in Cincinnati's four games.Sobchuk has scored 39 times and assisted on another 46 for 85 points and he has been one of the big reasons the Stingers are settling into a second-place finish in the Eastern Division. Sobchuk has performed in all 68 Cincinnati games and ranks in the top 10 WHA scorers. He has already surpassed his 1976 totals in goals, assists and points.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-02359/4172915-1-eng-US/f0022-022.jpg" title="f0022-02" width="615" height="655"><figcaption class="caption-body">DENNIS SOBCHUK &hellip; Cincinnati Stingers</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0022-02

WHA'S… Player of the Week

<div class="byline">BY GREG NOBLE</div>BIRMINGHAM&mdash;When a widely-circulated sports magazine recently published an article featuring the Birmingham Bulls, some of the citizens here were perturbed The article some said, gave the impression that all Alabamans were red-neck, beer guzzling country boys who didn't know a puck about hockey.Mark Napier, though, liked the article. He had had that image of the South before he came to Birmingham with the rest of the Toronto Toros last tall.&ldquo;1 thought before I got here that the police would be these six-foot-four pot-bellied guys who liked to drink a lot of beer. ' said the 20-year-old hockey star &ldquo;1 didn't know if 1 would be accepted with long hair and ail. but I found it to be different.&ldquo;The people aren't red-neck like 1 thought, ' he said &ldquo;They're straight peo-ple here.&rdquo;The cultural shock is out of the way now Napier has taken a liking to the Magic City, as the people have taken a strong liking to him In Birmingham, perhaps like nowhere else, people appreciate great athletes. And there is no question that Napier is one.Coach Pat Kelly, who was Bobby Hull's teammate in junior A hoi key in the 5tts. compares Napier favorably with Hull.&ldquo;Napes is certainly in the same class with Hull at that age,&rdquo; says Kelly &ldquo;Bobby is a different hockey player than Napes. Hull is probably stronger He could bull you over with his booming slapshot Napes can beat you in many different ways Napes dekes and goes by you He is so quick that he can get goals by stuffing them right in front of the goalie.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-01433/4172953-1-eng-US/f0023-012.jpg" title="f0023-01" width="588" height="872"><figcaption class="caption-body">MARK NAPIER &hellip; Wins Praise</figcaption></div>As rookie of the year last season. Napier scored 43 goals and had 50 assists He surely will surpass 50 goals this season. And as his offensive production has increased, he also has become a better defensive player&ldquo;I wasn't brought up to play defense,&rdquo; he admits That is one of the major things I am learning to do I'd like to improve every year.&rdquo; If he does, there's no telling how good he could becomeAs a team, the Bulls have made giant strides since the start of the season In February, they were the hottest team in the Eastern Division, but as the season wound down they faced a Jong, uphill battle to make the playoffs.CINCINNATI: Coach Terry Slater took another look at his goaltending situation after a 7-3 loss to Houston and acknowledged that he might have to change his plansSlater had used Jacques Caron almost exclusively during February and he planned to rely on the 37-year-o)d veteran to play most of the games down the stretch. But after losing to Houston. Caron said he would need more rest The night before, be had given a spectacular effort to shut out Indianapolis 6-0 But playing 16 hours later against the Aeros. Caron was obviously tired.&ldquo;It was a good test Now I know maybe I can't go with him every game.&rdquo; said Slater The coach had seemed reluctant to use the club's other goaltender. Norm Lapointe. since he faltered late in a game against Winnipeg Slater insisted he had mil lust confidence in Lapointe. but said the 20-year-old goalie had not looked good in practice.Buoyed by six days of rest, the Stingers struck down the Racers to strengthen their bold on second place in the Eastern Division Dennis Sobchuk scored his 32nd and 33rd goals, surpassing his previous season high total. He scored 32 goals in each of the last two seasons.Left winger Claude Larose is a deserving candidate for the Paul Deneau Trophy as the league's most gentlemanly player In 64 games, Larose, a steady performer all season, had 25 goals and 39 assists for 64 points and just eight penalty minutes.INDIANAPOLIS: The Racers, riddled by injuries, got some good news am some bad news. The good news was Hugh Harris, the club's injured leader, may be able to rejoin the team for the playoffs Harris has been sidelined since January when he suffered tom knee ligamentsThe bad news was Dick Proceviat, the Racers all-purpose player, also suffered a knee injury and he would be lost for the year. &ldquo;It's a real tough break Dick's certainly one of our most valuable players.' said coach Jacques Demers. &ldquo;We've just had a terrible year injury-wise Hopefully, we can make the playoffs am Harris and some other people will healthy by then 'Happily for the Racers, defenseman Bryon Baltimore was back in the lineup after a six-week hiatus. And the club shored up its goaltending by acquiring Paul Hoganson from Cincinnati<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-02328/4172946-1-eng-US/f0023-022.jpg" title="f0023-02" width="1263" height="1232"><figcaption class="caption-body">CLAUDE LAROSE&hellip; Deserves Player Award</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0023-01

Bulls' Coach Kelly Says Napier In Hull's Class

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0024-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-01447/4172991-1-eng-US/f0024-012.jpg"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-02355/4172984-1-eng-US/f0024-022.jpg" title="f0024-02" width="2585" height="3345"></div> &#9632;

f0024-01

WHA SCORING AND PENALTY STATISTICS

HARTFORD&mdash;New England Whalers and Calgary Cowboys for a time loomed dangerously close to dropping from playoff contention. Now the Whalers have solidified their once tenuous hold on the fourth Eastern Division post-season spot, and they are even challenging for the friendly climes of second and third place The Cowboys too have managed to build somewhat of a margin over (heir contentious rivals for the last Western Division berth, those being Oilers and RoadrunnersThe Whalers surge is the result of a five game winning streak, all the more impressive in that it includes victories over the four teams with the best records in the WHA. Winnipeg. San Diego. Houston and Quebec have fallen successively to the revitalized former Avco Champions Until Whalers laced Quebec. 6-2, on Sunday. March 6. the first four wins in the parade of victories were all by one-goal marginsMeanwhile, the Quebec Nordiques don't appear to be in any danger of giving up the Eastern Division lead The Nords enjoyed a commanding 11-point lead over Cincinnati with 12 games left on the schedule.The Nordiques ace scorer. Real Cloutier, also continued to push ahead in the individual scoring race Cloutier had 116 points for a 12-point lead and Was nearing the 60 goal mark with 55.Calgary's recent play has been nearly as impressive: five wins in six games Cowboy's only loss during (hat time was to none other than New England Whalers. Credit for Calgary s turnaround goes in part to the return of center Lynn Powis. who had been sidelined for 17 games Powis scored six goals in three games during the week, including the winner in a 4-2 win over Birmingham, a game in which Lynn scored (lis first major league hat (rickWhile Edmonton and Phoenix were falling a step behind Calgary in their battle for (he playoffs, there was plenty of news in both cities that was both interesting and good In Edmonton Bep Guidolin stepped down as coach after the Oilers compiled an indifferent record over 63' games Retaining his role as general manager. Bep handed the bench duties to his captain. Glen Sather The immediate results were encouraging, with Oliers winning both of their first two games under Slats &ldquo;, now major league HOCKEY'S only playing-coach. Oilers were spurred by (he WHAs leading scorer of the week. Bill Flett, who had seven points in three gamesIn Phoenix, little Robbie Ftorek continued to make history Last season Ftorek became the first U.S born hockey player ever to score 100 points in a single season. He has now duplicated that feat in 1976-77.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-03248/4173022-1-eng-US/f0024-032.jpg" title="f0024-03" width="542" height="559"><figcaption class="caption-body">REAL CLOUTIER &hellip; Nearing 60 Goals</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0024-03

Whalers Rebound, Quebec Rolls On

<div class="byline">BY DOUG MCCONNELL</div>HOUSTON&mdash;Gordie Howe didn't keep the fans in suspense long in scoring his 900th career goal and his wife. Colleen, says the Howe family won't keep them in suspense much longer about its futureGordie. 48. playing with a painfully bruised foot, scored with his oldest son, Marty. 22. assisting at 1:31 of the first period in Houston's Summit against the Phoenix Roadrunners Houston won 8-3 to increase its home-ice victory streak to 15. one short of the WHA record the Aeres set last season.Howe stayed around to assist on two more goals and left at the end of the first period to be fitted with a cast and crutches.&ldquo;I was glad to get it tonight.&rdquo; said Howe, the highest scorer in major league history. 'Marty (Howe) hit me perfectly and the shot just went in. The foot gets sore early, but it feels better after that one.Howe scored his first major league goal as an 18-year-old with the Detroit Red Wings and there is a chance he will return to Detroit where he was known as 'Mr. Hockey.&rdquo;Mrs. Howe said a few days later in Hartford. Conn. where the Aeros were beaten 3-2 on Mike Rogers' shot with just 1 25 left, that a decision would be made soon on where the Howes will be playing next seasonGordie said he does not intend to play next season, but added. &ldquo;I've changed my mind before.&rdquo;Mrs. Howe emphasized the Howes will not be back in Houston next season, but her sons would like to stay together.'That's their wish.&rdquo; she said We have many options to consider Dollars are not the major part of it They are looking for a total package It will be difficult to leave Houston, but we have made a decision to leaveThe problem is not with Bill Dineen (Aeros' coach and general manager. but with the owners. Our hearts are with our family and friends in Detroit.The Howes' youngest son. Murray. 16. is going to school and playing junior hockey in Detroit, and Colleen pointed out there are more industrial opportunities for her husband in Detroit.The Red Wings recently acquired Marty's NHL rights from the Montreal Canadiens and the Boston Bruins hold the rights to Mark. 21.The Wings and Bruins reached a mutual consent agreement permitting both teams to negotiate with the hockey-playing Howe family when their World Hockey Association contracts expire.The Bruins also hold the NHL rights to goaltender Wayne Rutledge and right wing Don Larway<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-01384/4173053-1-eng-US/f0025-012.jpg" title="f0025-01" width="594" height="732"><figcaption class="caption-body">DON LARWAY &hellip; Belongs To Bruins</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0025-01

Howes Adamant Houston Days Over

SPRINGFIELD&mdash;The Clear Day Rosters (all rosters in the National. American and Central Leagues were frozen as of 12 noon March 8) are in and the teams are all geared up for the stretch run.For Nova Scotia. New Haven. Rochester and Hershey the remaining games over the next three and a halt weeks will all be important ones.For Rhode Island and Springfield the remainder of the schedule will be fun as they seek to be the spoilers.Some observers feel that the current standings will also be the final standings and that Nova Scotia and Hershey, last year's finalists in the Calder Cup playoffs, will meet in the first round while New Haven and Rochester will do likewise.The Voyageurs, seeking to become the first team to win back-to-back Calder Cup titles since Rochester did it in 1964-65 and again in 1965-66, moved out in front of the Nighthawks by six big points at this writing with three games in hand going into the third to last lull week of the regular schedule The Nighthawks had moved to within two points the previous week.Meanwhile, the Americans were closing in fast on the Nighthawks, moving to within live points of the New Haven entry Hershey, clearly ahead of Rhode Island by an insurmountable 23 points, was resting eight points off the pace set by the AmericansTherefore. While most observers may have hit the nail on (he head, nothing is certain at this point and the race for the final playoff positions are far from over tor these four teams.SPRINGFIELD: The Indians held an informal press conference March 8 to assure Springfield fans that the Indians despite their position in the standings, would be back next season and that they were taking steps to assure their loyal fans of a more competitive team in 1978. The Tribe presented coach Gary Dineen and their tans with two straight wins, knocking off Rochester in overtime in a Saturday contest and then skating to a convincing 8 4 win over Rhode Island the following afternoon in the first professional hockey game to be played in Portland. Maine.The two wins moved the Indians to within four points of Rhode Island in their efforts to escape from the AHL cellar The Indians also announced the signing of amateur Tommy Smith to a 25-game tryout. Smith played tor Dineen on his National Junior championship team He is a native of Springfield.Andre Peloffy continues his scoring pace, slaying among the top 10 scorers despite the Indians' over all poor record Pelotfy's 34 goals and 41 assists for 75 points left him tied tor tilth place.NEW HAVEN: The Nighthawks management was the first to announce plans for the 1977-78 season in a press conference in New Haven the Hawks management assured their loyal fans that they would be back next year.Meanwhile the Hawks will be concentrating on catching the Voyageurs, something they have been trying to do all season long.The Hawks have set all kinds of club records and arc closing in on a few all time AHL records, especially in scoring, but coach Parker MacDonald would probably trade them all for a first-place finish.Winning the regular season championship has a double meaning this season First, the players would get more playoff money and. second, it will afford them the home-ice advantage in their opening round series of seven games against the fourthplace team.As it now stands, the Hawks will meet the Americans in the first round. The home-ice advantage here wilt go to the team finishing second. The Hawks currently hold an 8-6-0 advantage with the Americans.The Hawks have now upped their power-play goals to a record 98,Byers is the leading power play scorer with 14RHODE ISLAND: The moving of their regular game against Springfield to Portland. Marne, on March 6 proved to be a profitable one tor the Reds' pocket-book but a costly one in the standings as they dropped an 8 4 decision to the Indians.The new Cumberland County Civil-Center was the scene (or the afternoon till and the turnout was very encouraging. More then 4.600 showed up to see the Reds and Indians battle And battle they did as the game produced a total of 55 minutes in penalties.It was a wide-open game and the tans showed their appreciation as they stayed until the I mal buzzer despite the lopsided score League president Jack Butterfield and vice-president Gord Anziano were on hand for the game Butterfield seemed very pleased with the turnoutROCHESTER: Spurred on by the return of Gordie Clark and the usually solid play of Rick Adduono and Doug Gibson not to mention Jim Jones and in fact the entire team the Americans are making a dash tor second place and the ho me-ice advantage in the playoffsGibson remained tied for the leadership in scoring while Adduono continues to be the hottest Amerk as he increased his point total to 71 and ninth among all the scorersThe Americans are anxiously awaiting the return of scrappy winger Ron Garwasiuk He has been on the injured list for the past three weeks.The Americans also joined the parade of teams to confirm their position in the AHL for next season The Amerks have come up with a very attractive idea for next season as they plan to lower their ticket prices That's really good news these days when everything else seems to be going up.Jim Pettie has earned himself the number one spot in goal now that Dave Reece will be linishing the season with the Reds. Pettie has played a key role in the Amerks success this season.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-03159/4173174-1-eng-US/f0029-032.jpg" title="f0029-03" width="629" height="716"><figcaption class="caption-body">DOUG GIBSON &hellip; Shares Scoring Lead</figcaption></div>It looks like Duane Hupp isn't going to be satisfied with directing his club from behind the bench through the stretch run and into the playoffs When Boston recalled Doug Halward. Rupp immediately put himself on the roster and will be suiting up tor all the Amerk remaining games.Veteran detenseman Harry Shaw will finish out the season in the Central League with the Dallas team.HERSHEY: Don Edwards is proving to be another super graduate of the AHI and that is just great for the Buffalo Sabres, but the Bears are now faced will their own crisis in goaltendersLast week the Bears picked up the seivices of Jerome Mrazek from Springfield via Philadelphia to help spell Gordie Lax ton. who has had to shoulder the load all by himself since Edwards was recalled by the Sabres.Mrazek is a far better goaltender than his record would indicate and he should prove to be a big help as the Bears prepare for the playoffs.<h2>AHL Leaders</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-01316/4173167-1-eng-US/f0029-012.jpg" title="f0029-01" width="646" height="892"></div><h2>Where AHL Teams Play</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-02249/4173160-1-eng-US/f0029-022.jpg" title="f0029-02" width="585" height="588"></div> &#9632;

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AHL Clubs Geared For Stretch Run; Three Teams Assured Of Returning

<div class="byline">BY TOM BURKE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-01356/4173219-1-eng-US/f0030-012.jpg" title="f0030-01" width="616" height="801"><figcaption class="caption-body">DAVE JACK&hellip; Spark For RPI</figcaption></div>BOSTON&mdash;It took until the last week of the 1976-77 season for Calrkson College to sew up its first regular season ECAC Division One title since 1966. But the Golden Knights, who'd long ago been conceded first or second spot, didn't win it easily. They edged season-long rival New Hampshire in Potsdam 7-6 on March 1. then held off a gritty St. Lawrence effort to win 6-5 in overtime on March 4Clarkson will host eighth-seeded Providence. a team which made the top eight by defeating Northeastern 11-2 and then upsetting Boston University 6 4 in Boston. Clarkson wound up with an overall record of 25-6 and a league mark of 19-4. The Friars, up and down all season long, ended with a 14-11 league record.UNH ended up 21-6 in the East, dropping a 6-4 decision at Colgate after losing al Clarkson.Cornell edged over BU to third spot, aided by the Terriers' loss to Providence and a 7 1 whipping of Pennsylvania al Ithaca The Red will host sixth seeded RPI in the quarterfinals on March 8. Cor nell ended with a 1661 league total against RPI's 14-10 standard The Engineers finished the regular season with a 17-11 I mark, giving fifth-year coach Jim Salfi the most wins he's had in a season al Troy.Boston University got to tangle with ancient rival Boston College on Common-wealth Avenue. BU ended up 16-7-1 in league play while BC, edging Princeton at Baker Rink 3-1 on the final evening of the campaign, checked in at 13-9-1Just missing was Harvard at 12-10, since Ivy League rival Brown played one less game and got a 12-9 mark, good for seventh place and a trip to New Hampshire, the second seed for the second consecutive year Brown trounced Yale 10-1 and Dartmouth 6-2 during the final week, while Harvard lost 3-2 at home to Dartmouth. a defeat which made the Crimson's final night win of 5-3 at Yale academic.Harvard hadn't missed the playoffs since 1966. the same year that Clarkson was seeded number one Either Brown. Providence, or BC would have had to lose on the final day to give Harvard a berth, and none of them obliged Dartmouth narrowly missed at 11-12-1. but they made a gallant run at the playoffs anyway. winning their last five in a row before dropping the season finale at Brown Vermont looked good going into February but lost its last five Division One games and ended at 10-13.The big story, though, in addition to Clarkson's king-of the-mountain win over UNH. was the rush put on by RPI when the chips were down The inconsistent Engineers won their last six games, and were the only league team to have three games to play in the final week. They won all. starting with a 5-4 triumph over Boston College in Troy, then a 5-3 decision over Vermont, also on home ice A 7-5 victory at Colgate on the final Saturday brought them to a 14-10 mark and a .538 percentage, just points short of BC's 587 and fifth place&ldquo;I thought if we'd win two of our last three games, we'd have to make the playoff.' smiled Salfi RPI started out slowly but many factors such as the jelling of a young defense, second semester eligibility of transferred goalie Ian Harri son, and the development of young skaters like freshmen John Emerson. Steve Stoyanovich, and Peter DeCenzo up front aided RPl's surge.In the 5-4 win against BC, it was Emerson's second goal of the game with 1:33 remaining that Lifted RPI to the win Stoyanovich. returning from an appendectomy only eight days earlier, collected two assists. Against the disappointing Catamounts. frosh defenseman Mark Grothe broke a 3-3 tie, assisted by Stoyano vich, for the game winner, at 9:12 of the third frame. Stoyanovich added the clincher at 12:37, and Harrison stopped 41 shots to Peter Reynolds' 43 saves Finally at Colgate, Pierre Auger and Dave Jack tallied in the last 1:02 to break yet another tie and continue RPl's fine stretch drive.Providence had lost a pair of tilts to the Engineers the previous week and were 12-11 going into the final week of action. A total of 58 Friar shots whizzed al Jim Metz in a revenge win for PC as they whomped Northeastern 11-2, relegating the Huskies to 13th place. But a playoff spot wasn't assured until the 6-4 come from behind win a BU The Terriers had taken a 4-3 lead at 7:21 of the third period, but Randy Wilson s power play conversion. PC's third, knotted the score once again to set the stage for Ron Wilson, Dave Dornseif and Tom Bauer's unanswered scores.The first-place shootout al Postsdam was decided 7-5 in Clarkson's favor by Marty's McNally's score with 4:17 to go Dave Taylor had two goals and an assist against &Uacute;NH, and followed that performance with a two-goal, three-assist show in the 6-5 OT win at St. Lawrence to run his season total to 97, besting Dave Me-rhar's single season total of 92 set in 1969. The Larries gave it a gallant try' in their dismal season's swan song, coming from a 5-1 deficit to send the game to the extra session Rick Wilson had 54 saves in the Latrie net and Dan Walker scored three times.Sophomore Joe Mullen's power play goal put Boston College ahead to stay in their 3-1 win at Princeton, a game which featured a 48-save show by Princeton's Mike O'Leary The personal tear of Bob McIntosh continued apace with a pair of goals in Brown's 6-2 win over Dartmouth The Greenies had set Harvard's season back to the eventual early conclusion on that 3-2 win at Watson Rink earlier. Only eight seconds remained on the clock when the rubber trickled over the goal line from a log jam in front Dan Leigh received credit for the goal.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-04142/4173212-1-eng-US/f0030-042.jpg" title="f0030-04" width="1282" height="1189"><figcaption class="caption-body">RECORD BREAKER: Clarkson coach Jerry York congratulates Me All-American candidate Dave Taylor after Knights' ace scored twice against St, Lawrence and earned three assists to raise his season to* tai to a record 97 points, well above the 1909 mark of 93 Mt by Army's Dave Herhar. Taylor has broken or tied every existing career record at Clarkson.</figcaption></div><h2>HOW THEY STAND</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-02283/4173205-1-eng-US/f0030-022.jpg" title="f0030-02" width="660" height="2318"></div> &#9632;

f0030-01

Clarkson Nudges UNH To Grab Top; Cornell Takes Third Spot Over BU

<div class="byline">BY JIM CAUCHON</div>HALIFAX-It happened again to Pau) Arsenault and his snake-bitten Concordia Stingers Another brilliant season washed out by the perils of overtime.Yes. folks: Concordia, which was riding the crest of a big wave of confidence after easily finishing off the UQTH Patriotes in the Quebec play-downs. ran into the St Mary's Huskies overtime touch last week at Dalhousie University during the Eastern Canadian collegiate finals.The Huskies turned aside the aspirations the Stingers had for another national championship berth by edging Concordia 3-2 in overtime in the third and deciding game of their thrill-packed series.Mike Ready beat Stinger goaltender Mike Griffin just eight seconds into the first overtime to again put Concordia on the March sidelines and to elevate his club into the finals this week in Edmonton&ldquo;We played our hearts out.' Arsenault sighed. 1 guess 1 can be a little disappointed. losing in overtime two years in a row.&rdquo;I guess so U of Toronto, still in the CIAU title hunt after bouncing Manitoba, tripped up Concordia by that familiar 3-2 score with John Precious scoring in OT.It was a good series Both of us deserved to win. &ldquo;claimed Arsenault The Stingers battled back twice in the Sunday finale.Randy Mohns, who scored in overtime to even the series Saturday, scored on a long drive to tie the score l-l in the second period Thai shot caromed off the facemask of outstanding SMU goaltender Steve Davies. The goal countered the first period score by Frank Donnelly.Dan Mclvor put the Huskies ahead with a power play marker early in the final period before center Kim Elliott managed to tie the game with 25 seconds remaining and goaltender Griffin on the bench-in favor of a sixth attacker.The UQAA champs actually had a two-man advantage for the final minute because an alert Stinger notified the officals that the Huskies' John Terrin was playing with an illegal stick After a measurement, and the decision Terrin was to bepenalized, the Stingers pressed until Elliott scored off a wild scramble in the slot.Davies had a tremendous series, only allowing six goals off the barrage of shots he faced over the weekend On Friday, in the course of St. Mary's series-opening 5-1 win thanks to Mac Davis two goals the stellar netminder blocked off 37 of the Stingers' 38 shots allowing only Glen Tomalty s close-in drive to beat him.Mohns scored in overtime Saturday to provide Concordia with a 3-2 win That game has been (he only one SMU has lost in three overtime matches this playoff season. Two weeks ago the Huskies found the range to whip St. Francis Xavier 8-5 in the extra period.The aforementioned Toronto Varsity Blues continued their playoff excellence by disposing of the University of Manitoba Bisons in Winnipeg 7-4 to capture their two-of-three regional playoff in a two-game sweep.That clutch performance by Tom Watt s club advances them into the National playoffs Their first round opponent will be the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds. Canada West's runner-ups The T-Birds were drubbed by the nation's Number One club the University of Alberta Golden Bears. 8-3 in the deciding game of their best-of-three Western final.Backed by the solid netminding of Ken MacKenzie (2.89 GAA in OUAA play) and Mark Logan (3.89). the Blues promise to make a real run at the title. Fortunately, they don t have to meet the powerful Golden Bears in Edmonton in a two-game. total-goal semi-final St. Mary's has that distinction.UBC. armed with top scorer Tom Blaney, would just as soon battle Toronto Mentally, they know Toronto usually has problems away from Varsity Arena. But then again, so do the Thunderbirds in Edmonton where they could only do minimal damage to the strong Golden Bears of Clare Drake this season.<h2>Final Rankings In NCAA Poll</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-01329/4173250-1-eng-US/f0031-012.jpg" title="f0031-01" width="654" height="1005"></div> &#9632;

f0031-01

Concordia Stung Again By St. Mary's; Toronto Continues March Towards Title

MADISON&mdash;The Wisconsin Badgers, the No. 1 team in the windup to the Western Collegiate Hockey Association race, encountered Colorado College in the first round of the four-set WCHA playoffs.While the Badgers and Tigers were matched up. Minnesota faced Notre Dame. Michigan Tech and Michigan were paired and North Dakota opposed DenverNo matter what the outcome of the playoffs. Wisconsin finished top ranked in the West and the odds-on favorite to take it all and represent the WCHA in the NCAA playdowns al Detroit later this month.Wisconsin ended the regular season with three road points against Notre Dame at South Bend The Badgers beat the Irish 8-3 on Friday then skated to a 3-3 tie on Saturday The Badgers ended the league season with a 26-5-1 mark&mdash;that's the most wins ever by a WCHA team Overall the team has a 29-7-1 record. The 29 wins lie a school record tor most wins in a single season.The Badgers start the post-season play as they play host to Colorado College in the first round of the WCHA playoffs which began at the Dane County Coliseum The playoffs are a two-game total-goals series.In the Friday game Wisconsin and Notre Dame skated to a 3-2 first period Wisconsin got goals from Les Grauer and two from Mark Johnson. Johnson s goals were power-play goals on the only two shifts he skated In the second period two goals by Steve Alley and one by Dave Lundeen jumped the Badger margin to 6-3. John Taft and Tim Phippen finished the scoring and Wisconsin won 8-3.The first period on Saturday ended 11. Tom Ulseth got the Badger goal, then Lundeen scored in the second stanza to give Wisconsin a 2-1 margin Mike Eaves pushed the lead to 3-2 but then ND tied it and sent the game into overtime.Colorado College ended the year in eighth place in the WCHA with a record of 11-20-1: they tied with Michigan State, but because of the goal differentia), took the playoff spot In four games played against Colorado this season Wisconsin won al) four, the two in Madison by scores of 6-5 and 54. At CC the Badgers downed them 6-3 and 4-1. &#9632;

Wisconsin Finishes As No. 1 In WCHA

<div class="byline">BY DON ETLING</div>ST, LOUIS&mdash;The shootout that's been three years in the making will finally take place.Bowling Green State Falcons (26-9-0) and eighth-ranked St. Louis University Billikens (26-10-1), the perennial heavy-weights of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association, made it to the finals of the CCHA playoffs. And as if a conference crown were not enough, the stakes have been raised by the fact the winner will automatically qualify for a playoff with a Western Collegiate team for a shot at the NCAA championships in Detroit.Upsets in the past two playoffs&mdash;to Lake Superior State in 1975 and Western Michigan last season&mdash;prevented the Falcons from tangling with St. Louis in the finals, won both years by the Billikens.This season coach Ron Mason will travel to St. Louis with his talented senior goaltending tandem, Mike Luit (2.68 goals against) and A) Sarachman (2.99). and his team playing perhaps its best hockey of the season.But the key to Mason's championship aspirations may be in the hands of his Ice House Gang's only other senior. Jack LaineIn the playoffs against Ohio State&mdash;won by Bowling Green 5-2 and 4-1&mdash;Laine scored in each contest and added an assist The week prior, the talented blond right winger scored five goals in a two-game series with the same Buckeyes. Since the loss to injury of center Mike Hartmann&mdash;the Falcons' scoring leader through the first 16 games&mdash;Laine has been inserted in the Falcons' power play and has responded with nine of his 19 goalsLaine, normally known more for his checking than scoring ability, was so ef-fective in the Ohio State playoff series coach Mason termed him the dominating factor.&rdquo;At the western end of the league St. Louis U&mdash;which has relied on its defense most of the year&mdash;turned on the offense to down Western Michigan 11-4 in the Sunday afternoon playoff after defeating the Broncos 3-2 Friday nightSenior co-captain Dan Tsubouchi broke out of a scoring slump for a hat trick in the Sunday contest against the Broncos to up his season goals total to 14.The Billikens, who have not played well against CCHA competition the last month, turned in what coach Bill Selman believed was his club's &ldquo;finest period&rdquo; Sunday when they jumped to a 4-0 first-period lead.That's as good a period as we've had in a month,&rdquo; Selman said. &ldquo;We saw the Billikens as I think they're capable.&rdquo;The Billikens have handed the Falcons four of their nine losses this season. B.G.'s Mason feels this might provide his team with a psychological edge in seeking revenge. &ldquo;If it were a regular season game it would be.&rdquo; SLU's Selman counters &ldquo;But the fact that it's a tournament game and the road to the NCAA is so clear, I don't think it will matter.&rdquo;Where will the two-game, total-goals playoff be won? &ldquo;On the blueline&mdash;there's not a freshman out there for us,&rdquo; says Selman Mason s fate lies in the nets.In four victories over Bowling Green. St. Louis U. has scored 20 goals&mdash;an average of more than two above the Falcons' stingy 2.84 goals against team average.And Selman knows the BG goalies would like nothing more than to untrack the Bilikins 11-game unbeaten streak, particularly in the playoffs. &ldquo;We just can't give up the goals ourselves because we know they'll be hard to come by.&rdquo;Falcon all-American candidate Mike Luit will bave particular incentive to shine, playing in the Arena of the St. Louis Blues, the NHL team that owns his draft rights.&ldquo;If Mike (Luit) doesn't make All-American it will be a shame.&rdquo; Selman believes.Meanwhile the Billiken coach must come up with his own goaltending answer. The loss of senior Lindsay Middle-brook in January for academic reasons has left the Bills inexperienced in nets. Selman says he plans to &ldquo;play by ear&rdquo; the decision on whether to rely on Middle-brook's backup&mdash;junior Brian O Connel (3.41)&mdash;or go with freshman Carl Bloombert (3.56) against the Falcons.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-02250/4173305-1-eng-US/f0031-022.jpg" title="f0031-02" width="600" height="603"><figcaption class="caption-body">DAN TSUBOUCHI &hellip; Fired Hat Trick</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0031-02

Bowling Green-St. Louis Final To Determine CCHA Champion

GRAND RAPIDS&mdash;An ineligible player cost the Grand Rapids Blades a chance to clinch the United States Hockey League regular season championshipAfter completing 22 weeks of the current 1976-77 23 week schedule, playoffs berths and positions will not be decided until the final weekendGrand Rapids apparently thought the three points they had collected in two home games this past weekend had clinched the Northern Division title until USHL commissioner Morley Howe learned that Blades had dressed a suspended player in their 14-9 win over Traverse City BaysHowe ruled that Traverse City has been officially awarded the win. plus the player in question, Marty Desmarais has been tagged with a two-game suspension and Blades fined an undisclosed sumIn other league action. Milwaukee Admirals continued their torrid pace by scoring four late third period goals to edge Traverse City 8 6 and move within two points of the Southern Division leading Sioux City Musketeers Admirals center Jean Trottier produced the most outstanding scoring feat of the season with a three goal hat-trick, plus assisting on all five other Milwaukee markers.Al Green Bay. the Bobcats got fine goaltending from All Star Dave Legree plus a four goal effort by Bob Purpur to stall Waterloo 10-1 The previous night goalie Legree turned aside 33 drives in Bobcats 6-1 win over Bays. The Toronto native now leads all goaltenders with a 358 average. &#9632;

Around The USHL

<div class="byline">BY RALPH BRIDGLAND</div>LONDON&mdash;The 1976-77 Ontario Hockey Association Major Junior A &ldquo;season has provided London Knights with several firsts.However, the one first which most concerns coach Bill Long and his Knights, top spot in the Emms Division, is by no means assured.The Knights lead St. Catharines Fincups by three points and the Fin-cups have two games in hand heading into the final week of the regular schedule The Knights have three games remaining, including a game in St Catharines, while the Fincups have five games left.London s final northern swing, to Sault Ste Marie and Sudbury, proved to be a record-breaking one.Third-period goals by Dino Ciccarelli and Steve Stockman gave the Knights a 5-3 win over the Greyhounds in Sault Ste MarieThe victory tied the league record for most wins in a season. 40 set by Toronto Marlboros in 1974-75 Ciccarelli s final period goal was his second of the game and Dean Hopkins and Dan Eastman scored the other London goals.Two nights later, the Knights set a new league mark by defeating the Wolves 4-2 in Sudbury.Rick Doyle scored twice for the Knights, who built up a 3-0 first period lead and then hung on for the victory Stockman and Jim Hamilton scored the other London goals.The win gave the Knights 100 points, the first time a London Major Junior &ldquo;A team has reached that plateauST CATHARINES; The Fincups helped the Knights out a bit by losing 4-1 in Peterborough, their first loss in 15 games, but they still kept well within reach of London by winning three other games&hellip;Steve Hazlett got the only St Catharines goal against the Petes&hellip;Dale McCourt and Mike Keating scored two goals apiece in 6-4 home ice victory over TorontoTORONTO: The remainder of the positions in the Emms Division have all been determined and the Marlboros will occupy third place when the regular season concludes Marlies collected three out of a possible eight points as they bide time until the playoffs begin. John Kibyuk scored twice for Toronto in 6-4 loss in St. Catharines Kevin Kennery and Gary Dillon scored two goals each in 5-3 win in WindsorKITCHENER; Th? Rangers clinched fourth place in the Emms grouping with a 6-2 home-ice win over Toronto League scoring leader Dwight Foster scored twice to lead the Rangers That turned out to be the only win for the Rangers as they lost three other games Don Maloney and Doug Sulliman scored twice each in 8-5 loss in WindsorWINDSOR: The Spitfires clinched a berth in the playoffs in only their second year in the league with an 8-5 victory at home over Kitchener Gerry Leroux and Brian Ellacott scored two goals each to lead the Spits&hellip;Leroux. Brad Smith and Charlie Skjodt scored in 5-3 home-ice loss to Toronto.. Leroux. Bo Schryer and Ron Friest scored in 9-3 loss in Sudbury The game against the Wolves took three and a half hours to play after a fight broke out between three spectators. Windsor trainer Wally Tatomir and a number of Spitfires It took Sudbury police and Sudbury Arena staff 20 minutes to break up the fight Windsor coach Wayne Maxner said the outbreak was the result of a night of harassment and abuse The first period took 83 minutes to play with a total of 117 inmutes in penalties and three players were ejected Only four minor penalties were called in the Imai two periods Joey Gallant and Richie Dunn of the Spits were ejected from the game The Spit tires bounced back to edge Sault Ste. Marie 4-3 with Brad Smith scoring twiceNIAGARA FALLS: Flyers had to be content to play the roll of spoilers as they are mired in last place and they did once, defeating Peterborough 7-6 Clay Watts scored twice to lead the way&hellip;Steve Cupolo. Bob Phillips. Ian Bedford and Guy hosier scored for Flyers in 7-4 loss in Kingston Cupolo. Kevin Osmars. Mike Dwyer and Watts scored in 6-4 home-ice loss to Sudbury Bill Stewart got lone Flyers' goal in 3-1 home-ice setback to Kingston.OTTAWA: 67s tied for first place in Leyden Division in which four teams still have chance of winning division crown. Ottawa won three straight and stretched the 67s unbeaten streak to eight games Ottawa beat Oshawa twice 4-3 and 7-5. both in the nation's capital. Bob Smith scored four goals ill the two games while Warren Holmes was close behind with three Smith and Tim Higgins scored two goals apiece as 67s defeated Kitchener 7-2 in Ottawa '67s are tied with Sudbury atop division but have a game in hand on the WolvesSUDBURY; Wolves won two of three games to fall back into a tie with Ottawa Ron Duguay Wes Jarvis. Randy Pierce, Bob Lekun. Hec Marini and John Baby scored in 6-4 win in Niagara Falls Jarvis scored four times to lead Wolves to 9-3 win over Windsor in Sudbury. Defenseman Baby received a two-game suspension for being third man into a fight m the game He was six goals short of tying Bobby Orr's Major Junior &ldquo;A&rdquo; record of 37 goals by a defenseman when he played for Oshawa Generals Jarvis and Pierce scored in 4-2 home-ice loss to LondonKINGSTON; Canadians trail leaders by four points and still have outside chance of taking lop berth Club picked up seven of possible 10 points to remain in title hunt Mike Crombeen scored twice to lead Canadians to 3-1 win in Niagara Falls. Tony McKegney scored his 50th and 51st goals in 8-4 home-ice loss to St. Catharines before Kingston s largest crowd of the season. 3,705 McKegney and Crombeen scored twice each in 4-3 win in Peterborough Ken Linseman scored two goals as Canadians posted 7-4 home-ice win over Niagara Falls. McKegney scored three times in 6-6 tie with Toronto in Brantford.PETERBOROUGH The Petes trail the division leaders by five points and. like Kingston, have an outside chance at first place Petes went to extremes in 48 hour period, losing at home to Kingston and in Niagara Falk and then returning home to defeat St. Catharines. Ron Mason. Steve Peters. Brian Drumm and Gary McMonagle scored in 4-1 win over the Fincups. Keith Acton. Mason and Peters scored in 4-3 loss to Canadians.SAULT STE. MARIE: Greyhounds. biding time until the playoffs, lost two straight ..Craig Hartsburg, with his 30th of the season. Pau) Mancini and Al Luciw scored for the Greyhounds in 5-3 home-ice loss to London&hellip;Mancini, Brian Anderson and Brian Gualazzi scored in 4-3 loss to Windsor in Sault Ste Marie The Greyhounds' point total of 41 would leave them out of the playoffs if they were in the rival Emms Division.OSHAWA: Better late than never is the way to describe Generals' play of late. Culb played twice in Ottawa and lost both but ny close scores Stelio Zupancich. Vic Bailey. Joe Campagnola Chuck Durocher and Jim Jackson scored in 7-5 loss to '67s while Campagnola with two and Battey scored in 4-3 loss in Ottawa The Generals won their fifth game of the season by defeating Kitchener 6-1 in Oshawa Diego Odino led the way with three goals. Jim Carter scored lone Oshawa goal in 6-1 home-ice loss to St Catharines The star of the late going for the Generals has been 17-year-old goaltender Mike Nash, called up from Ajax of the southern Ontario Tier Two Junior &ldquo;A&rdquo;<h2>HOW THEY STAND</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-01303/4173381-1-eng-US/f0033-012.jpg" title="f0033-01" width="710" height="1432"></div> &#9632;

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Knights Shatter Victory Record

<div class="byline">BY BUD GALLMEIER</div>SAGINAW&mdash;The Saginaw Gears have solidified their hold on second place in the North Division and now have their sights set on first&mdash;currently occupied by the upstart Kalamazoo K-Wings.The Gears completed a perfect three-for-three weekend by slapping defending league and playoff champion Dayton. 5-2. before 4.572 delighted fans in the Civic Center. The three-game weekend was launched by an important road triumph&mdash;4-2 at Port Huron The middle portion was the most satisfying. The Gears whipped third-place Flint. 6-4. to open up a three-point spread on the third-place Generals.&ldquo;The third period was worth four points, said Gears coach Don Perry as he reflected on the vita) conquest of the Generals The Gears had been playing catch-up most of the first two periods and managed a 3-3 tie as the final period got under way.The turning point was Marcel Comeau s 18th goal of the season with 11 55 remaining. When we went ahead, we got momentum. ' said Dave Westner. one of the heroes of the victory with a pair of The Gears have now gone five games without a loss. And the hot streak is reflecting favorably al the box office The last two home games drew a total of 9.700 fans The Gear average now is 3.970.One of the sparkplugs in the Saginaw streak is center Paul Evans, currently third in IHL scoring. Nicknamed &ldquo;The Crow". Evans could become the first Saginaw player in history to break the 100-point mark. He already has set two club records, most goals (381 and most points (B8&gt; by a center in one season.KALAMAZOO: The K-Wings picked the right time to register their first victory of the season at Flint Anchored by a winless streak earlier which bad stretched through 11 games and losers 12 straight times on the road, the K-Wings exploded for a 7-4 win at Flint 11 came as Saginaw was making a strong challenge for the lead.&ldquo;We've got to become more aggressive again.&rdquo; said Kalamazoo manager-coach Bob Lemieux in the wake of the Flint destruction We've got to start hitting and playing the body, and take penalties if we have to&rdquo;That's how the K-Wings played it in They drew 27 penalties, including a game misconduct to Fred Berry, for a total of 96 minutes The victory kept Saginaw three points to the rear in second place.FLINT: The Generals hope to regroup after dropping important battles to their chief rivals for king of the mountain in the North, including one at home The home loss was to first-place Kalamazoo, 7-4 The two teams collide again next in KalamazooThe Generals tuned up for the important rematch with Kalamazoo by blitzing Muskegon. 10-2, in one of the club s finest offensive showings of the season Top gunner was Doug Towler. converted just two weeks ago to right wing from defense He scored four goals Clyde Simon had threeMUSKEGON: There's a new challenger in the North Division&mdash;Muskegon's Mohawks For most of the season a mem-ber of the division s Little Two&rdquo; with Port Huron. Muskegon has pulled away from the Flags in the battle for fifth place and has moved to within reach of higher gameSince Moose Lallo took over the coaching chores from Bryan McLay, the Mohawks have been moving. Over the last eight games. Muskegon has won five. lost just two and tied one. The spurt has pulled Muskegon to within five points of third place Flint And first place isn't completly out of sight either&mdash;just ID points on the horizonPORT HURON The Flags have but one immediate goal. To pass Fort Wayne and make the playoffs. The Komets are fourth in the South Division but are tied with the Flags in total points&mdash;56 each Should the Flags finish with more points than the fourth-place finisher in the South, they would complete the eight-team playoff lineup.A disappointing loss at home to Saginaw. 4-2. robbed the Flags of a chance to move agead of the Komels. While Saginaw was dumping the Flags. Muskegon was beating Fort Wayne. 5-1 The Flags slavaged a tie with Kalamazoo at home and then lost to the K-Wings in Kalamazoo. 6-3. Manager-coach Bobby McCammon is protesting that Kalamazoo de-layed the start of the game so Don Cutis could be used in goal Cutts' plane from Fort Worth didn't arrive until 6 30 and he wasn't ready to play at 7 15.TOLEDO: Ted Garvin believes his team is &ldquo;starting to peak for the playoffs at just the right time ' The Diggers hold a four-point lead over second-place Dayton and following the completion of the week's schedule which included three of four games on the road, the schedule down the stretch is most favorable Of Toledo's final 13 games, eight will be at home where the Diggers have skated at a 15-2-2 pace over the last 19 games.DAYTON: The Dayton Gems are having more troubles off the ice than on Since the firing of general manager Ken Wilson, coach Larry Mickey has had to wear two hats and the pressure of trying to nail down a playoff berth and meet the demand of the general manager's post are almost overwhelming.Latest personnel problem for Mickey was the decision by defenseman Gerry Egers, on loan from Columbus, to return to Columbus. Also Lefty McFadden, tabbed as Wilson s replacement, is still recovering in the hospital from a stomach ail ment And apparently he isn't too interested in returning as general manager again.COLUMBUS: Foreign ice continues to be where the Owls play the best. Following a loss in Fort Wayne, the Owls rebounded with a 4-2 win at Columbus which kept Ron Uliyot's skaters right in the thick of the South Division trophy hunt. Ullyot had some personnel problems too when John Flesch left the team at Fort Wayne.FORT WAYNE: The Komets' playoff hopes took a big dip when young Bobby McNeice was injured in the game at Co lumbus. McNeice. who scored 18 goals (or the Komets as a rookie last season while playing left wing, has been the Komets' best offensive defenseman this sea son. He has been most valuable on the power play and has pumped in 11 goals.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-02266/4173450-1-eng-US/f0034-022.jpg" title="f0034-02" width="605" height="563"><figcaption class="caption-body">PAUL EVANS &hellip; Leads Gears' Surge</figcaption></div><h2>IHL Leaders</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-01331/4173443-1-eng-US/f0034-012.jpg" title="f0034-01" width="644" height="796"></div><h2>Where IHL Teams Play</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-03195/4173436-1-eng-US/f0034-032.jpg" title="f0034-03" width="612" height="802"></div> &#9632;

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Saginaw Chasing K-Wings For Lead; Garvin's Diggers Peak At Right Time

<div class="byline">BY BRUCE PENTON</div>KAMLOOPS&mdash;Remarkably, Kamloops Chiefs have held up well in this, the most turmoil-filled season in their brief Western Canada Hockey League historyThe financial straits of the club have become legendary around Western Canada Stories are told now about how close the Chiefs came to packing it up just after Christmas, and a dispersal draft of the players held to keep the good ones employedThe struggle has not been without its bitter moments, but now, with the WCHL schedule three weeks from conclusion, it is finally safe to say the franchise will see the dusk of the year's endAfter that, it's anyone's guessCoach Harvey Roy who began the season as general-manager and for a time held the dual title of GM and coach after Ivan Prediger was let go as bench boss in late January, has an apt. one-word description for the Chiefs' 1976-77 seasonHorrible.' he says, and you know he means every syllable of it&ldquo;Not many clubs could go through what we've had to put up with, he saysThe attitude of the kids has been tremendousThe troubles began when people quit coming to watch the Chiefs home games. Oh. there was an average of 1.750 coming out, but that wasn't nearly enough to pay the billsThen, Roy said, the team's &ldquo;cash flow ground to a halt when owner Ernie Rempel s business ventures look a downward turn &ldquo;U s a good thing this club's got a good banker' Hoy saysThe coach still gels paid, though. &ldquo;The cheques come, &ldquo;he says.&rdquo; They come late sometimes, but they come&rdquo;In spite of the problems the team has faced off the ice, the on-ice product has been entertaining and fairly successfulPresently, Kamloops is locked in a torrid struggle for second, third and fourth positions in the Western Division with Victoria Cougars and Portland Winter Hawks New Westminster Bruins lead the four-team division by the length of a Reggie Leach slapshot. Kamloops leads Portland by une point, and Victoria by three.&ldquo;There are nine 17-year-olds on this club,&rdquo; coach Roy says, and sometimes their lack of maturity makes it rough on the club. We can skate with anyone in the league, but there's a lack of consistency sometimes and it's mostly due to poor concentrationPORTLAND: The Winter Hawks won three straight, al) impressive triumphs and moved into third place in the West, ahead of Victoria. Paul Mulvey had back-to-back hat tricks, giving him 40 goals for the season, as the Hawks blasted Elin Elon 9-1 and 10-4. Dave Hatheway also had a hat trick against the Bombers, moving over the 20-goal plateau Randy Ireland's second shutout of the year, a 23-stop performance, backed Portland s 3-0 win over Victoria, as Tony Currie sniped twice. Currie leads the team with 55 goalsNEW WESTMINSTER: Mark Lof-thouse fired four goals, giving him 48 for the year after a slow start, as the Bruins beat Flin Elon 7-2 Three nights later. Lofthouse connected for his 49th as New West scored three unanswered goals in the third period for a 6-3 win in Medicine Hat John Paul Kelly. Bruins' top rookie goal getter, went over the 30 mark with two in the win over the Tigers.VICTORIA: With Patty Ginnell's sale of the Cougars rumored to be going through prospective new owners are Ray Haramboure and Lome Williams, owners of Richmond Sockeyes of the Pacific Junior A League). Victoria dropped into the Western Division basement despite a 2-1 week Geordie Robertson s two goals were the difference in a 5-3 win over the Bombers, and he had three goals in a 16-4 victory over Elin Flon But the Cougars were blanked 3-0 in PortlandMEDICINE HAT: Alter coaching the Tigers to a six-goal third period and a 10-6 win over visiting Kamloops. Jack Shupe handed the coaching reins to former Medicine Hat defenseman Jim McCrimmon Shupe stayed on as general-manager. Tom Best led the way in Shupe's last game with three goals, while Brian Hill had a five-point game Dave Ross, who missed almost two months with a knee injury, went over the 25-goal mark with a pair McCrimmon's coaching debut was spoiled as New West skated in and look a 6-3 victory in Medicine Hat Al 23. McCrimmon is the WCHL s youngest coachCALGARY: Wes Phillips became the new coach of the Centennials, replacing Fred Hilts, who learned of his dismissal by owner Dick Koetges the morning after news broadcasts carried the story' The players had a mini-revolt, meeting with WCHL president Ed Chynoweth about the firme Assistant captain Craie Ropol-nisky later said We came to the decision that regardless of who's coaching us. we've got to stick together and play the best we can &ldquo;Phillips guided the team top 4-3 win over Lethbridge in his debut as Doug Robb scored his 20th goal and Kevin Willison got the winner, but the Cents were hammered 10-3 by Brandon in their next start, despite Gary' Rissling's two goals.LETHBRIDGE: Broncos' coach Mike Sauter was slapped with a 12-game suspension and required to post a $1.000 performance bond after allegedly striking Calgary's Grant Morin during a brawl between the two teams in Lethbridge Broncos proceeded to lose three of four, beating only Saskatoon 3-2. Rookie Rocky Saganiuk scored four goals in the week, and his total of 54 is a new Bronco one-season record.REGINA: The Pats won their sixth game of the year, holding Saskatoon to 18 shots and getting two goals from rookie Erik Graham in a 5-3 triumph Graham now has 30 goals for the team leadSASKATOON: Blades fell back to 500 with a 1-2 week, losing to Regina tor the second time this season. 5-3. and splitting a home-and-home series with Lethbridge Bruce Hamilton broke out of a slump with his 30th goal as Blades beat the Broncos 6-2, but Brian McGregor's two goals went for naught as Broncos scored a home-ice 3-2 win over SaskatoonBRANDON: Rugged Dave Semenko was the hottest scorer in the league with 10 goals in four games. The six-foot-three 200-pounder had only 14 goals in 60 games before breaking out. His four-goal game was the spark in Brandon s 10-3 win over Calgary. Over-age Danny Bonar increased his goal total to 67 with a hat trick against Calgary and two goals against Kamloops in a 5-3 Wheat King win. Center Bill Derlago with a 35-point lead in the scoring race, now has 85 goals, just five short of the league record for one season The 18-year-old sophomore has scored points in his last 18 games and has notched goals in 15 of his last 16 startsFLIN FLON: Bombers were outscored 41-14 in five losses in B.C and Oregon as their hopes for a playoff spot faded quickly. Dwayne Endicott and Ray Markham carried the scoring load Endicott had two goals and three assists during the week, While rookie Markham, a big 18-year-old had five goals and one assist.WINNIPEG: Defenseman Kevin McCarthy became the WCHL s all-time assist king, setting up his 25ist goal in a Monarch loss. 8-3 to Kamloops The former record of 250 was held by Brandon s Dale McMullin Earlier. Tim Steeles 31-save performance backstopped the Monarchs to a 2-0 win over the Chiefs, as rookie Jim Maiazdrewicz got the winner in the third period. &#9632;

Chiefs' Coach Lauds Player Attitude

<div class="byline">BY MIKE LYNCH</div>TRAJL-As the British Columbia playoffs approached the last-place Trail Smoke Eaters provided one of the ironies of the Western International League seasonAs February faded the Smokies dropped five straight games and seemed less and less likely to make the four-team playoff fieldHowever, the club seemed certain to carry off individual honors once the 56-game league schedule ends. Assuming the Smokies don't makes late charge they won't be around for March and April playoff action.While the Smokies are at the bottom of the WIHL standings, they have a couple of individuals at the top of the scoring statistics in Brian Debiasio and Kevin Knibbs. members of the club stop forward line along with Dan McCarthyDebiasio seems certain of winning the league scoring tille while Knibbs is a strong candidate to succeed Debiasio as the league s rookie of the year In addition, it would be a good bel that Debiasio would win the league s Howard Anderson Award as most valuable playerThrough 51 league games Debiasio had scored 5) goals, unofficially Meanwhile, Knibbs was in tight competition with Jim Miller of Cranbrook for second place in the point raceMore of a playmaker Knibbs could not challenge the sharpshooting Mil 1er in the goal-scoring race The Cranbrook star, who holds the league's goal-scoring high mark of this decade, got his 48th and 49th in a loss at Spokane Nelsons Mike Laughton and Cranbrook s Brian Dickie also could challenge for secondWhile Trad was losing the five straight to lose contact in the rave for third and fourth. Nelson won five of six and three straight by one goal to move past Spokane and into third Playing a lighter schedule. Spokane won three of four but lost an important home game 6-5 to Nelson &#9632;

The WIHL Scene

<div class="byline">BY CHARLIE JAWORSKI</div>BINGHAMTON&mdash;Celebrations were in order at two North American Hockey League points of Interstate 81 on March 6.Up in Syracuse, the Blazers clinched their third league championship in four years with a 5-2 win over Maine.But 75 miles south, in Binghamton, Duster Dave Staffen finally got the goal that everyone was waiting for to break the pro hockey record of 78 goals in one season.At 7:33 of the first period of what turned into a 7-6 loss to the Erie Blades. Staffen shoved in a feed from Pierre Laganiere for the history-making 79th goal this season. The sellout of 4,855 in the Broome County Arena gave No. 23 a standing ovation, and in the second period, he again rewarded them with No. 80.The second-place Dusters were to play six more games, and 90 goals is not out of the realm of possibility when you consider Staffen scored 16 times in a six-game span from Feb. 20-27 to assure breaking the record.The old mark of 78 was co-held. by Alain Caron set last season with the now defunct Beauce Jaros, and Chuck Stuart of the old Philadelphia Ramblers of 1962-63 EHL vintage.How did Staffen do it?&ldquo;He has an innate ability (to score) you can't really put a barometer on.&rdquo; said Duster coach Larry Kish of Staffen's scoring touch.Staffen has been simply incredible around the net. constantly getting the opportunities first of all, and then cashing in on them as though he had magnets tucked inside each post Playing with league-leading scorer Rod Bloomfield hasn't hurt, either, and their right wing Laganiere has also topped the 100-point plateau.Al five-foot-11, 180 pounds, Staffen is extremely strong and difficult to move from in front of the net Then, too, he's a tough customer, and has earned his respect throughout the league.&ldquo;I would never bave thought I could have scored this many goals,&rdquo; said Staffen. &ldquo;Bloomer and I fit together well. He's unselfish. My game is to try to find the holes, and I can put it in the net. Our games just seem to fit together really well&rdquo;After a lacklustre junior career in which Staffen played with four teams and admitted, I wasn't that dedicated.&rdquo; he attended the training camp of the Minnesota North Stars for the 1974-75 season. He said he was a late cut there, and launched his pro career with Lansing of the IHL But that club folded, and Staffen finished in Fort Wayne and had a goal total of 37.&ldquo;Nick called me,&rdquo; Staffen said of a conversation with Erie coach Nick Polano, &ldquo;and the one good thing he did was switch me from center to left wing.&rdquo;He scored 33 goals for Erie before being traded late in the 1975-76 season to Syracuse for Craig Reichmuth. He finished the season with eight more goals for a total of 41, and during the off season was again traded to Maine for Denis Andersen. Staffen lasted only one day as a Nordique before being traded to the Dusters for John Danby and the rights to Jerry Zrymiak.Finally, Staffen has found a home.&ldquo;I think I've got the right attitude now to play hockey.&rdquo; says Staffen whose home is St Mary's. Ont But he has taken to Binghamton, a place he noticed as a member of the opposition.&ldquo;I figured if I was going to play in this league. I might as well play in the best city.&rdquo;What's most incredible about Staffen's goal record is his consistency, only twice going three straight games without a goal. He's had 10 hat tricks, and included in those are two four-goal games and one league record-tying five-goal game.While the congratulatory remarks keep piling up faster than Staffen can score goals, perhaps one of the most meaningful came from Polano, against whom Staffen set the record:&ldquo;He's much more of a complete player now,&rdquo; said Polano.BINGHAMTON: Everything was not completely rosy in Dusterville. Goalie Paul Hoganson was lost, his rights traded by Cincinnati to Indianapolis for future considerations, and the Dusters came up with Steve Rexe who was playing senior hockey in Ontario. The 30-year-old Rexe played with Springfield from 1973-75. Injuries also hurt, defensemen Rick Pagnutti out with a severe Charley horse, forward Neil Clairmont out for the rest of the regular season with a bad knee and center Joe Hardy sidelined by a bad groin Defenseman Paul Stewart was fined $500 and suspended for eight games for what the game report called &ldquo;molesting an official,&rdquo; at Erie on Feb 26.SYRACUSE: The reward for winning first place is $10.000 from the NAHL and a bye in the first round of the playoffs for the Blazers. Bernie Johnston and Tom Milani each scored in the title-clinching win over Maine, Johnston's 51st and Milani's 50th. Hank Taylor held the old record for most goals by a rookie with 50 for Johnstown last season. The Blazers withstood pressure from the Dusters and won 11 of 12 games en route to clinching. The win over the Nordiques was their six-the in a tow. Syracuse led the Dusters by six goals to take honors as the league's most prolific scoring team, and trail Erie by nine goals as the least scored upon team.ERIE: Finally the Blades reached the .500 mark for the first time since Dec. 22, with their third straight win, beating the Dusters in Binghamton, 7-6, on Jack Surbey's goal in sudden death overtime. But that's not all that has Erie coach Nick Polano so happy, as his club scored 21 goals in the three wins, and that's not too shabby for the league's lowest-scoring team According to a spokesman for Millcreek Township Police, Rick Jodzio dropped aggravated assault charges against Dusters Paul Stewart and Gary Jaquith for a post-game fighting incident which occurred in the Erie County Fieldhouse.PHILADELPHIA: The Firebirds ended their longest losing streak since the beginning of the 1975-76 season, five games, wnen Don Hay scored the winning goal in Johnstown with just 1:46 left in the game to break a 3-3 tie. In two o&iacute; those losses. Philadelphia was uncharacteristically trounced. 9-3 at Binghamton and 8-2 at Erie.MAINE: Trailing Binghamton. 3-1. the Nordiques exploded for four goals in the third period for a 5-3 win It was a vital victory, not only keeping hopes alive that the Nordiques will finish second, but solidifying their chances of beating out Philadelphia for third place with only two weeks left in the regular seasonMOHAWK VALLEY: Jell Carlson who quit and was put on the suspended list, is back with the team. The Comets lost full-of-pep forward Andy Whitby who dislocated a knee Alter a 12-3 shellacking by the Dusters. Mohawk has won three of live including two wins over Philadelphia<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-03167/4173543-1-eng-US/f0036-032.jpg" title="f0036-03" width="600" height="1045"><figcaption class="caption-body">DAVE STAFFEN&hellip; Fantastic Feat</figcaption></div>JOHNSTOWN. Winning two of their last five might not mean too much to some teams, but it does to the last-place Jets. Any team coached by Jim Cardiff won't quit, despite winning only 20 of 67 games so far.<h2>NAHL Leaders</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-01292/4173536-1-eng-US/f0036-012.jpg" title="f0036-01" width="649" height="652"></div><h2>Where NAHL Teams Play</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-02225/4173529-1-eng-US/f0036-022.jpg" title="f0036-02" width="607" height="247"></div> &#9632;

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Dusters' Steffen Sets New Pro Mark; Syracuse Clinches Third NAHL Title

<div class="byline">BY GARY MCCARTHY</div>MONTREAL-The long, 72-game schedule that made up the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League this season heads into its final week of action with all but two playoff spots decided, but no clear-cut winner in the over-all standingsSherbrooke, Cornwall, Chicoutimi, Quebec, Trois Rivieres and Laval have all earned playoff berths Montreal. Hull and Shawimgan are in a fight to decide the final two teams who will enter the post-season competition, with Montreal and Hull holding the trump cards.Shawinigan would have to win all of its remaining six games and both Montreal and Hull would have to collapse completely in their remaining six games in order for the Dynamos to earn one of the two open spots. Montreal would get the other, spot, on that basis, because they currently lead Hull by two points.In the league's over-ail standings, five; points separate the top five clubs. Chicoutimi has 86 points, followed by Quebec with 85. Trois-Rivieres with 82 and Sherbrooke and Cornwall with 81 each I It is more than likely that the race for, the over-all championship will go right down to the wire The races for the division titles probably won't be settled until the end of the schedule.CHICOUTIMI; The Sagueneens lead the Frank Dibo Division standings with 86 points and that total is also good enough to give them the over-all lead in the league The club squeezed out two close victories last week to remain a point ahead of Quebec in both the division and general standings The Sagueneens shaded Sherbrooke 6-5 on home ice and then nipped Montreal 7-6, again on home ice, two nights later. Sylvain Locas has fallen well behind Jean Savard in the i individual scoring race However, Locas has 58 goals and a league-leading 93 assists. Despite this, he is going to have to watch out for Richard Dalpe of Trois-Rivieres, who is close on his heals.QUEBEC: The Remparts, who were the class of the league during the days of Guy Lafleur, are aiming for their fourth title since the 1969-70 season The Remparts don't have Lafleur any longer, but they do have the likes of Jean Savard and Eddy Godin Savard has 168 points to lead the individual scoring race, including a league-leading 80 goals. Godin has really come on in the second half of the schedule and now has 58 goals and 75 assists for 133 points The Remparts had a 1-1-1 week last week. They started out losing 4-2 to Trois Rivieres, tied Sher brooke 4-4 and then plastered Hull 0-3 at the Coliseum. Despite the success of the Remparts this season, there are rumors circulating tha&iuml; owners plan to sell the team at the end of the seasonTROIS-RIVIERES: The Draveurs aren't exactly out of the running for the league title this season, but they are running out of real estate. They have only four games remaining in the regular season and trail Chicoutimi by four points. The Draveurs have to make sure they get home-ice advantage in the playoffs. They could face the Cornwall Royals, who gave the Draveurs a tough time during the reguiar schedule On home ice this season. Trois-Rivieres won 25, lost only seven and tied four. They scored 250 goals in their own rink and gave up 139. Richard Dalpe is still the club's individual point j leader with 58 goals and 89 assists for 147 points, four fewer than Sylvain Locas. Yves Richer is second on the team with 130 points One thing that could hurt the Draveurs in the playoffs is the fact that Benoit Gosselin, a 62-goal scorer this season, has torn ligaments in his thumb and is playing with a cast on it.SHAWINIGAN: The Dynamos are just playing out the string. They haven't been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs yet because they only trail Hull by seven points and have six games remaining. However, they didn't do much to improve their position last week by losing 5-1 in Cornwall and 2-1 the next night in LavalSOREL: It's a case of wait until next year for the Black Hawks and their controversial owner. Rodrigue Lemoyne It's still not certain whether the team will be back in Sore) next season. In their only start last week, the Black Hawks outlasted Laval 8-5 but it's far too late to do anything about it.SHERBROOKE: Last season, the Beavers captured the QMJHL championship on Feb. 29. This year, with just a few games remaining on the regular schedule, there still is no championship winner. However, the Beavers are still in a good spot to make a run for the top honorsThey still have sever, games remaining&mdash;more than any other team in the league&mdash;and trail Chicoutimi by five pointe over-all The Beavers are deadlocked with Cornwall for top spot in the Robert LeBel Division, each with 81 points The Beavers had a loss and a tie last week. They battled the Remparts to a 4-4 deadlock in Quebec City after losing 6-5 in Chicoutimi. Captain Jere Gillis has 52 goals and 74 assists to lead the team in scoring.CORNWALL: The Royals had one start last week and they were successful as they won 5-1 on home ice That allowed them to stay even with Sherbrooke in the division standings What is against the Royals is that they have played two more games than SherbrookeLAVAL: The Nationals have clinched a playoff berth and immediately put playoff tickets on sale. Mario Taddio. one of the team's owners, was so happy the club earned a playoff spot, that he took the entire team out for supper the other night That came just a couple of nights after the team had defeated Shawinigan 2-1.MONTREAL: The Juniors are Still struggling to clinch a playoff spot They tied Hull 5-5 and then dropped a 7-6 decision to Chicoutimi. The Juniors have a good chance to clinch a berth because they play three of their remaining five games on home iceHULL: The Olympics have not been handling pressure well lately They have just come off a six-game road trip that did nothing to enhance their playoff hopes After tying Montreal 5-5, they were walloped 7-1 in Trois-Rivieres and bombed 10-3 in Quebec City Their big hope is that home ice will prove to be a plus as they play four of their remaining six games on the regular schedule at home.<h2>HOW THEY STAND</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-01254/4173574-1-eng-US/f0037-012.jpg" title="f0037-01" width="678" height="1905"></div> &#9632;

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Title Race Heading For Wire Finish

<div class="byline">BY TOM OSENTON</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0038-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-02238/4173605-1-eng-US/f0038-022.jpg"></div><h2>Girls' Hockey Flourishes</h2>Girls' hockey is really starting to move and the league to watch very well may be the Natick (Massachusetts) program, one of the top leagues in the New England area.Assabet Valley tops the seven-team league with 23 points in 18 league games but hot on their heels with 21 points is a powerful Stoneham team, known for their up-and-coming hockey talent.The remainder of the league rounds out like this: Quincy (19pts). Natick (18 i pts.), Malden (12pts), Beverly (10 pts.) and Salem (5 pts).In the scoring department&hellip;.Malden ace Patty Jones is on top with 25 goals and 32 points Natick s Kathy Bryant has produced 30 points on 16 goals and 14 assists and is right in the running for the league scoring title. In third place is Patty Fitzpatrick of Assabet Valley with 15 goals and 20 total points.Assabet Valley goaltender Jane Ford holds a slight edge when it comes to stopping her opponents. She has recorded five shutouts this year and Denise s Carroll of Natick has turned in fourConcord's (Massachusetts) Valley Sports Arena will be the mecca of U.S, Girls' Ice hockey come April I when 24 teams will battle in the three-division invitational.The dates are April 1-2-3 and will take in girls 13 and under, 14 through 17 and 8 18 and over classifications.Don't miss this exciting competition as teams from all over the United States will complete for the title Last year's Teen Division champs. Assabet Valley, will host or hostess the tourney this year for that division.Thanks to Sylvia Wasylyk for her help and enthusiasm in girls' hockey.<h2>Sterling Hawks Glitter</h2>Sterling Heights, Michigan&hellip;The Sterling Hawks were sparked by &ldquo;red-lighters&rdquo; from Mike Para. Mark Schulz, Randy Barkley and Larry Zyla in a 4-2: triumph against a tough Grosse Pointe Blues club.Islander Tim Bercel rifled home the winning goal in a tight 2-1 win over the Fraser Flyers. Chad York got the Islanders on the board first while defenseman Tim Lambrechts donned the pads and allowed only one Fraser goal that was scored by Craig Kozlowski.The Islanders turned in another important performance in a 3-0 win over the Warren Warriors. Goalie Doug Thompson chipped in with his seventh shutout of the season. Three Islanders managed to find the twine as Mike Clayton. Tim Clark and Dave Mouland each provided markers in the decision.In the Pee Wee division, the mayor &ldquo;A&rdquo; Blades squeeked by Oak Park, 3-2, in a game that saw Blade's Mike Huellmante score two goals and Scott Lucas the third.In other Blade action, the Fraser Little Caesars were blanked 3-0 by a sparkling performance by goalie Chris Anderson. Blade Mike Finn had a pair of assists in the victory.The Avon Bruins skated to a 5-3 triumph against the Patriots as John Lomaba and Robbie Barnes each fired home a pair of goals. Bruin Randy Littleson recorded the fifth Bruin goal, while on the other side of the ledger Patriots Goy Cole, Dave Dellinger and Mike Riddle each found the range.In Bantam &ldquo;A&rdquo; action&hellip; goalie Matt Bojnowski kicked out all Fraser Flags attempts as his Aeros blanked the Flags. 1-0. Creating the offensive difference was Jerry Roberts as be managed to put one by the Flags netminder.St. Clair Shore's Randy McIntyre powered home two goals to help the Shores' Private Eyes tie the Fraser Nationals, 4-4, in Midget &ldquo;A&rdquo; travel play.The number one team in the Adray Community, Southfield, fell in defeat to the Private Eyes. 2-1 as Jeff Yanssens clicked on the tame-winner from Jim Richards and Bob Watson.The Bob's Landscaping Shamies fought to a 2-2 tie with the Mars Collision Green Hornets as Mark Brannigan and Dave Moore tallied for the Green.Hornets. Dick Wenson found the range for the Shamies to knot the score. Fraser Bantam Craig Kozlowski picked off a pair of goals and teammate Scott Ckcbini added another as the Flyers tied the Ramblers 3-3 Bill Revenaugh connected for the lone goal of the game as the Flyers downed the Warren Robots, 1-0.Five Little Caesar players displayed their scoring knacks as Darryl Staskowski, Kevin Blissett, Kevin Ward, Tom Kolioupoulos and Steve Hatala all managed markers in a 5-3 decision over Lakeland<h2>Jersey Scoring Tight</h2>Tight scoring races continue in the seven classifications of the New Jersey Youth Hockey League Squirt &ldquo;A&rdquo; leader Dave Williams of Garden State is on top with Ironbound's R. Chirico. Both have tallied 11 goals and have assisted on four others.Pascack's Jamie Simon has a bit of breathing room in the Squirt &ldquo;B scoring race. Steve Ruggerio has 11 goals and three assists for 14 points while Simon has 10 goals and nine assists.Jerry Deleo of Ramapo in the Pee Wee &ldquo;A&rdquo; League is pulling away from the rest of the bunch. Deleo has pumped in 24 goals and has added 24 assists this season for 44 points. Second in the race is Keith Knightly with 23 points.E. Horne of Pascack leads the Pee Wee B's with 24 points and teammate K. Sullivan has 19 points on 11 goals and eight assists.Nell Chircbila has paced Garden State this season in the Bantam &ldquo;A&rdquo; division along with teammates Mike Ashton and Rob O'Keefe. Chircbila leads the loop with 57 points and Ashton leads the league in goals with 31. The trio has accounted for 71 of their team's 101 goals this year. &#9632;

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The AHAUS SCENE

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0038-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-01302/4173643-1-eng-US/f0038-012.jpg"></div><h2>HOW THEY STAND</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-03180/4173636-1-eng-US/f0038-032.jpg" title="f0038-03" width="687" height="1531"></div> &#9632;

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Minor League Scoreboard

<div class="byline">- By BUI Hilts</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-01281/4173674-1-eng-US/f0039-012.jpg" title="f0039-01" width="362" height="454"></div><h2>Junior All Americans</h2>Norm MacLean tells us that six outstanding young hockey players have been selected to the All-American Junior Team and were honored at the Annual NHL Lester Patrick Banquet held in New York City. The Midwest Jr. &ldquo;A&rdquo; League had three members on the squad&mdash;goalie Frank Serratore of the St Paul Vulcans, right winger Dave Wilkens of the Bloomington Jr. Stars and center Mike Stoltzner of the Austin Mavericks&hellip; At defense is Jeff Brownschidle of the Amherst Knights in the New York-Penn Jr. &ldquo;B&rdquo; League and Craig Boutilier of the Fitchburg Wallopers in the New England Jr. &ldquo;A&rdquo; League. The left winger selected was Dave Gandini of the Detroit Jr. Wings in the Great Lakes &ldquo;A&rdquo; League<h2>Saskatchewan League</h2>According to Kevin Waugh, so far the Northern Division is the closest in the Saskatchewan Jr. League. Swift Current Broncos are only one point back and the two teams meet Sunday for what could be first place Moose Jaw Canucks and Weyburn are also battling it out for first place in the Southern Division. But Weyburn has one game in hand. The scoring remains close with Doug Smail of Moose Jaw still leading with 106 points Two Swift Current players&mdash;Kevin Zahara and Wayne Merkle&mdash;have 102 and 100 points respectively The big story this week was Terry Graff of Melville Graff scored five goals in one game as Melville beat Weyburn 8-7 Weyburn has the best goaltending in the league, with the team of Dave Lochhead and Tom Muc posting four shutouts this year<h2>New England League</h2>Tom Colbert scored two goals and assisted on two others, and Dick Hammell netted two goals as South Shore Braves deadlocked Fitchburg Wallopers. Mickey Rego tallied his 100th career goal for Wallopers while his team was shorthanded, and Mark Levasseur also scored his fourth shorthanded goal to tie Tyngsboro's Dale Metzler for the league lead in that department in the New England Jr. LeagueFitchburg's Don Leger made 31 saves while running his personal unbeaten streak through 14 games (11-0-3) to tie the NEJHL record held by Tyngsboro's Jim Browder&hellip;South Shore held off a three-goal Tyngsboro rally in the final eight minutes as Dick Hammell's second goal of the game into a empty net sealed the win Rich Ohlund and Frank Silva also notched two goals apiece for the Braves Chip Bettencourt tallied twice for the Huskies Fitchburg opened up a nine-point lead over second-place Springfield by ripping the Great Bay Vikings 11-1. Tom O'Neil recorded two goals and passed out three assists, while Mickey Rego, the NFJHL's leading scorer (40-49-89). got his 39th and 40th goals of the season and Craig Baker also scored twice Tyngsboro turned back the stubborn Tri-Valley Squires 3-1 with Billy Helton's goal, an unassisted score, proving to be the game-winner Scott Callan was outstanding in net for Tri-Valley, kicking our 46 shots Springfield then dumped Squires 11-2 as Nigel Barton fired in three goals and Steve Palazzi chipped in with a pair Buddy Saniella had a goal and assist for the Squires.<h2>Midwest League</h2>In late February, Austin Mavericks led the Midwest Jr. League with 46 points, followed by the Bloomington Jr. Stars with 42 points. St Paul Vulcans-39 points and Hennepin Nordiques-li joints Dave Wilkins of the Stars leads scorers with 63 points, followed by two other teammates Jim Penningroth and Terry Houck with 56 and 54 paints. Tom Rhody of Vulcans with 51 points, Mike Stoluner of vlavericks-50, Tony Jelacie of Vukans-48 points, Ross Dahl of Mavs-42 points Frank Serratore of Vulcans leads goalies with 3.42 GAA Next is Scott Kolquist-4 69 GAA. Bob Sween of Stars-4 85 GAA, Rick Benepe of Vulcans-4.92 GAA. Chuck Heath of Stars-5 47 GAA and Mike Boniarczyk of Nordiques-5.49 GAA.<h2>Great Lakes League</h2>Although Detroit Junior Wings had three power play goals, outshot Fraser 48-35, and got a three-goal effort from Chris Guertin, they still came out on the short end of the final score where it really counts, 7-4. Paul Bond, Jim Doplis, and George Mimikos each had a pair of goals to lead the victory. Besides the three goals by Guertin, Dave Gandini had the other Detroit tally. Rich Hutchinson had the hattrick. the last one going into an empty Fraser net, as Detroit beat the Highlanders 5-3 Keith Zoldak had the other Detroit goals and now leads the league in the scoring department with 32 goals and 57 assists for 89 points and a three-point lead over his closest competitor. Paul Gottwald of the Paddock Pools Saints George Mimikos had his 26th goal of the campaign and Frank Mairona and Brian Eugenio scored the other two goals. The most goals scored in a game in the Junior &ldquo;A&rdquo; circuit is shared by three players. Doug Houser and Greg Coyle of Cleveland as well as Dave Ross of the Saints have tallied six goals in a game Dave Ross of the Pad dock Pools Saints leads the league in the game-winners with a total of 8 Dave Gandini leads with seven hat-tricks<h2>U.S.A. League</h2>Mass-Conn won their last four games in a row in the U S.A Jr. League. The Twins have also won their last four straight in their series with Framingham-and five in succession against Central Mass Crafty centerman Dan Ferioli has scored at least one point in each of his last 20 consecutive games, during which time he has collected 44 total points on 19 goals and 25 assists. In addition, he has recorded at least one goal in each of his last six games (total of nine). In addition, rugged left-winger Tom Decosmo of Twins has a nine-game point streak accounting for rune goals and 10 assists during that span. The Twins' top three scorers are Ed Malone with 23 goals and 41 assists for 64 points, Bill Ferguson with 49 points, and Ron Duchesne with 61 points.<h2>Pacific League</h2>Richmond continues to lead the Pacific Jr. A&rdquo; League with 78 points Far behind is Surrey with 57 points and Vancouver with 54 points Don Fraser of Surrey is running away with the scoring title, with 44 goals and 64 assists for 108 points. Next is Mark Sctinarr of Coquitlan with 88 points, followed by Don Davis of Richmond-78, Daryl Goodwin of Richmond-74. Kerry Gradson of Surrey-73, Terry Dennis of Vancouver-71 Dev Anderson of Vancouver-71 and Bob Manning of Vancouver-69 points&hellip; Richmond goalies lead the puck-stoppers, Ron Paterson and Tom Frame have a fine 2.72 and 3.15 GAA respectively. Next is Andy Mendel of Vancouver-3.89 GAA and a pair of Surrey goalies, Ken Gildemeesler and Ken Featherby with 4.35 and 4.36 GAA respectively.<h2>N.Y.-Penn League</h2>Rochester Monarchs won Gannett cup as regular-season champs in the NY-Penn Jr. League with 56 points Niagara Falls Mangs Sharks came in second with 42 points Syracuse Stars next with 39 points and the final playoff spot was secured by the Binghamton Barons on the final day of the season when they edged out the Amherst Knights 37 points to 36 points Southtown Cougars also finished close with 34 points In opening round of Empire Cup playoff series. Sharks edged Stars in close game 7-5 Stars led most of the way with Andy Zechman firing a hat trick. Roger Hicks and Chuck Bulow shot singles. For the winning Sharks, Mike Richardson led with two goals and one assist Single tallies were notched by Dennis Gruarin, Bill Pippard, George Bartha, Mike Andrejcak and Jon Universal. Syracuse goalie Gary Colburn played a fine game in the nets, with his team being outshot 46 to 21.<h2>Mid-Atlantic League</h2>Hershey leers still lead Mid-Atlanlic Jr. League with 32 points and they are closely pursued by Philadelphia Fire-birds with 31 points. S-O-R Saints have 26 points and N.J Golden Blades 14 points. Tom Malloy of leers leads league in scoring with 38 goals and 28 assists for 66 points. Hill O'Connor of the Samts-53 points. Duncan Wine of Icers-47 points, Dan O'Connel of the Saints-45 points. Horace Jopling of Firebirds-42 points Tom Horan of Saints-40 points Ken Dulabohn of Icers-38 points. Mike Volpe of the Firebirds-34 points, Bill Barchow of the Saints-29 points and Ralph Bore of the Blades-29 points &#9632;

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JUNIOR JOTTINGS

KAMLOOPS&mdash;Hockey tournaments. They flourish throughout Canada every year&mdash;in major centers and small communities. They fit different age groups and different styles.One tournament that has proven to be a top attraction in the country is the Kamloops International Bantam ice hockey tournament.On several occasions, it has drawn rave compliments from the coaches, players, parents and team followers because of its first-class organization.The Kamloops event does seem to have a combination of age, environment and hockey quality which fit together into a special pattern, with a genuine understanding of what it's all about the kids themselves.The bantam age players, 13-14 years, are a delight to tournament supporters. &ldquo;Young enough to have a lot of fun and old enough to play darn good hockey,&rdquo; is how one fan describes them.And the players are truly the 'stars of the show, the fond result of more than 16.000 working hours and a 560. 000 budget which produced the 1976 competition.Like any tournament, preparations cannot roll along without a hitch or two&mdash;or more. But the varioys committees over the years have proven themselves to be functional, efficient and successful at overcoming most obstacles.Adhering to the numerous FAHA, IIHF and BCAHA regulations, including their revisions, can cause difficulties. Conflict with provisional playoffs, methods of choosing representative teams, lengthy discussions with minor hockey associations and communication delays are some of the problems with which tournament officials have to copeAnd they have coped with them, aided by local support. &ldquo;Community spirit has made this event grow, &ldquo;said 1976 KIB1HT chairman Les Dueck. &ldquo;The support has been tremendous, from billetting teams to sponsoring trophies.&rdquo;The $5,000 worth of tournament trophies and mmedals is supported by national and local firms. Previously, committee members had to canvass and convince potential sponsors to participate. Now, businesses are asking to sponsor teams' individual memento-trophies.&rdquo; and their own models are proudly displayed.Billetting is done by hundreds of Kamloops families, transportation is provided through a combination of special buses and volunteer drivers. Feeding the hungry players is accomplished at a school cafeteria by food-training instructor, Alf Malkin, who must be one of the most popular tournament officials.&ldquo;We sure enjoyed the meals.&rdquo; is often included in letters from participants. Malkin and his student crew calmly dish out more than 9.000 nutritious, man-sized meals at every tournament.Many organizations and service clubs assist in selling tickets, programs and souvenirs, manning arena security and working at various other chores which a tournament this size entails. Two of four arenas in Kamloops are used for this prestigious eventIt has, after all, grown in eight years from an eight-team localized affair to the level of a 24-team, three-event international tournament that has brought Holland. Finland. Boston. Alaska and other American teams into competition with Canadian teams from the East, the Prairies, the North and the West.There have been serious overseas inquiries from Japan, Sweden, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and Germany.The goal of Kamloops supporters is ultimately a world championship tourney, with provincial and international champions meeting at this B.C interior center.A couple of fellows named Eldon Dever and CM. &ldquo;Bud&rdquo; Fraser had this kind of dream when they put an annual bantam tournament together in 1969, then decided to expand into International areas. It's been an uphill climb at times, but the dream is still going strong.Sponsorship by the bottlers of Coca-Cola has helped with advertising and travelling expenses, and assistance which is increasing as the bottlers in several countries and provinces are pledging to support and organize fund-raising activities for the teams.The reason for only one international team in the 76 tourney is explained by tournament registrar Brian Gree, as a result of world-wide emphasis on the Olympics.&ldquo;It costs about $25.000 for European teams to come over, and this year most countries were putting their money behind their Olympic entries.&rdquo;However, the lone international entry gave fans more than their money's worth Local press reports labelled Seattle &ldquo;Sno-Kings&rdquo; the &ldquo;Cinderella of the tournament,&rdquo; as the unheralded team tackled the &ldquo;Toughies&rdquo; of the draw and made it into the &ldquo;A&rdquo; final.It was an effort that included a semi-final victory over defending champions Sarnia Navy-Vets, a game which one sports writer called &ldquo;possibly the most exciting game in tournament history&rdquo; The final game, however, saw Peterborough Petes clip the Seattle club by a 6-5 score.This made it the third consecutive year for Ontario teams to walk away with the championship, since Toronto Nats won the 1974 title. Other winners this year weve Prince George, B.C., claiming the B event over Saanich, who had earlier clinched the B C. provincial crown Edmonion picked up the &ldquo;C&rdquo; title from a local Kelowna learnLocal supporters enjoy recalling the highlights of each tournament and they proudly display pins and other souvenirs of the many visiting teams.The players all seem to agree on one thing &ldquo;Well never forget the Kamloops tournament Thanks.&rdquo;To KIBIHT organizers, that makes it all worthwhile. &#9632;

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March 25, 1977

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