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.

December 16, 1977

The Hockey News December 16, 1977

<h2>WESTERN INTERNATIONAL</h2>(Standings On Nov. 21)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-1043/4037719-1-eng-US/f0039-102.jpg" title="f0039-10" width="568" height="165"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Tue. Nov. 15Spokane 4 at Kimberley 7Nelson 5 at Trail 6Thu. Nov. 17Nelson 0 at Spokane 6Fri. Nov. 18Spokane 6 at Nelson 5Trail 6 at Kimberley 5Sat. Nov. 19Kimberley 6 at Spokane 3Trail 5 at Cranbrook 8<h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-1138/4037712-1-eng-US/f0039-112.jpg" title="f0039-11" width="561" height="293"></div><h2>ONTARIO SENIOR LEAGUE</h2>(Standings On Fri. Dec. 2)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-1235/4037705-1-eng-US/f0039-122.jpg" title="f0039-12" width="574" height="218"></div><h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-1331/4037698-1-eng-US/f0039-132.jpg" title="f0039-13" width="563" height="607"></div> &#9632;

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IN THIS ISSUE

Looking At The Races

<div class="byline">BY TOM HENSHAW</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0007-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-01971/4035325-1-eng-US/f0007-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">BOBBY SCHMAUTZ&hellip;Ready To Play When Bruins Call</figcaption></div>BOSTON&mdash;Bobby Schmautz skated a regular shift for the Boston Bruins, played point on the power play, scored the winning goal and assisted on another.Then he dressed and quietly checked into Mass General Hospital for minor surgery to see why his injured left knee is not responding to treatment.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll tell you,&rdquo; said coach Don Cherry, &ldquo;if I ever met a guy in my life with courage, he is the epitome of it.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s been playing the whole season with two braces on his knees. He knew he had to go into the hospital but he put it off for the past three games because he knew we needed him.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been in hockey for 23 years and I&rsquo;ve never seen anything to compare with it. Sometimes if you watch him he can hardly get up on the bench. Sometimes he has tears in his eyes&hellip;&ldquo;I know I&rsquo;m getting melodramatic but he did the same thing last year before the playoffs. His knees were just as bad. He comes to me and he says, &lsquo;I&rsquo;m all right.&rsquo; I knew he was lying. He ended up with 11 goals. This guy is unbelievable.&rdquo;Schmautz himself didn&rsquo;t think he was all that unbelievable.&ldquo;Tears in my eyes?&rdquo; he cracked, arching an eyebrow. &ldquo;Wow! Maybe that&rsquo;s just because I miss so many chances.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s really nothing much. It doesn&rsquo;t bother me unless I happen to turn the wrong way or I fall down wrong or I go into the boards. It just numbs the leg for a while but it&rsquo;s really not too much of a problem. They like to look at it periodically.&rdquo;Schmautz&rsquo;s problem with his left knee dates back to the Stanley Cup series with Philadelphia in the spring of 1976 when he missed a breakaway chance and crashed into the boards.&ldquo;I guess that weakened it,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;The next night Bobby Clark and I ran into each other and it tore everything. It&rsquo;s been acting up ever since.&rdquo;Schmautz had surgery on the left knee in May of 1976 to repair torn ligaments and pins were inserted to help the healing process.&ldquo;Last summer I went into the hospital to have one of the pins removed,&rdquo; said Schmautz, &ldquo;and it just got infected. I spent a couple of weeks in the hospital to fight the infection and there still seems to be something wrong with it.&ldquo;Like I say, it&rsquo;s really no big deal.&rdquo;Bruins&rsquo; general manager Harry Sinden explained it a little more graphically.&ldquo;He went in the hospital last summer for two days to have that pin taken out and he wound up there for three weeks as sick as he&rsquo;s ever been with a staph infection,&rdquo; said Sinden.&ldquo;Now there is a pocket of pus there that has to be drained like a boil and he must be treated with an antibiotic. It will take a few days before he&rsquo;s back to normal.&rdquo;Schmautz scored three goals and assisted on three others in the three games that Cherry insists he could have missed in order to have his knee straightened out.They were three of the most important games of the early season for the Bruins for they were part of an 11-game unbeaten streak and a six-game winning string during which they overtook Buffalo for first place in the Adams Division.Starting with Toronto Nov. 19, and ending with St. Louis Nov. 27, the Bruins allowed only four goals in six games, recording consecutive shutouts over Chicago, Buffalo and Washington.Goalies Gilles Gilbert and Ron Grahame rang up 223 minutes and 45 seconds of scoreless hockey before rookie Eddie Johnstone of the Rangers finally beat Grahame.It was the third longest shutout sequence in the Bruins&rsquo; 53-year history, exceeded only by Frankie Brimsek&rsquo;s 231:54 in 1938, and Cecil (Tiny) Thompson&rsquo;s 224:47 two years earlier.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s forechecking that&rsquo;s doing it,&rdquo; said Cherry. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll tell you it must be awfully tough on a defenseman playing against our team.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re almost arriving at the puck at the same time as they&rsquo;re picking it up, which is perfect. We just don&rsquo;t give the defensemen time to breathe.&rdquo;Cherry was particularly proud of his club&rsquo;s defensive prowess in the third period. During the six game winning streak, opponents had only 24 shots on Gilbert and Grahame in the third period, an average of four for each 20 minutes.BRUINS BITS: Bruins had their first sellout of the season when 14,602 paid to watch a Saturday afternoon game with the Rangers&hellip;The sellout figure was 14,597 last season but during the summer someone found a forgotten storeroom that could be torn out and replaced by five new seats. &#9632;

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‘Gutsy’ Schmautz Epitome Of B’s Selfless Approach

<div class="byline">BY WAYNE WARRINER</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0025-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-01351/4036602-1-eng-US/f0025-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">MIKE ROGERS&hellip; Fast Start Put Him In Top Scorers</figcaption></div>HARTFORD&mdash;The combination of a patched up lineup and five games in seven nights finally caught up with the New England Whalers, and the bubble has burst. After 13 straight victories, the Whalers were stopped by the Nordiques before a standing room only crowd of 11,697 at the Colisee in Quebec City.Two nights earlier the Whalers had extended the streak with an overtime win in Edmonton, 5-4. But the victory proved costly as their top scoring line got pretty well banged up. Mark Howe was sidelined indefinitely with a rib injury and his father, Gordie, got rapped on the left hand severly limiting his ability to handle the stick. The elder Howe&rsquo;s assault on the 1,000-goal mark was slowed as he missed two games and his shooting ability was considerably hampered in the next two outings.In addition, right winger Tom Webster was slowed by a slight neck injury received in the same game. In the previous game (Winnipeg) Bill Butters and Mike Antonovich had suffered injuries and they were out for several games, as well.The Whalers, however, showed some resiliency by bouncing back in the last few minutes against the Nordiques. Trailing 5-2 with only two minutes to play in the game Larry Pleau and Greg Carroll netted goals enabling coach Neale to pull Louie Levasseur for a last ditch effort to tie. Although the stretegy failed, it prompted Neale to comment: &ldquo;I like the way we battle back and not say, the hell with it.&rsquo; I haven&rsquo;t seen our guys quit yet.&rdquo;The very next night, back at the Civic Center the Whalers came from behind in the third period to go ahead of Indianapolis. But the pesky Racers got a last minute goal for a tie that was unresolved in overtime. Home losses to Quebec and Edmonton prolonged the new winless streak and had the Whalers looking forward to a three-day break before winging to Houston.The normal letdown after a long winning streak, plus the string of injuries might have discouraged coach Neale. But he commented, &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve been forced to play too few players too often, and it&rsquo;s taken its toll&mdash;but I look at the standings and we&rsquo;re still where we want to be.&rdquo; (Seven point lead over second place Winnipeg).During the winning streak Neale expressed concern over the fact that the Whalers had more penalty minutes than the opposition. The opposing team had more power play opportunities than did New England in 12 straight games during the winning streak. When asked about it, Chief of Officials Bob Frampton theorized that since the Whalers were winning and they were doing well killing penalties, the players were skating with more abandon and were taking more chances.Some of the local wags offered the opinion that the WHA&rsquo;s efforts to achieve parity in the league may have prompted the ref&rsquo;s to call it tighter against the Whalers&mdash;perhaps to keep them within reach.With left wingers Mark Howe and Mike Antonovich sidelined for several games coach Neale moved Al Hangsleben up to work on the left side&mdash;and he filled in admirably. But with defenseman Bill Butters out. Hank continued to work occasional shifts at his preferred position, back on the blueline, too.Greg Carroll, seeing only spot duty until the team&rsquo;s rash of injuries, managed to build a five-game scoring streak. Meanwhile Mike Rogers is off to one of his finest starts ever as he was among the top 10 WHA scorers with 24 points after 20 games.Left winger George Lyle was the be beneficiary on several of Rogers&rsquo; assists. Big George continued to show more aggressiveness as he got into altercations with Quebec&rsquo;s Curt Brackenbury and Edmonton&rsquo;s Dave Semenko on successive evenings.The Semenko affair was part of a flareup that resulted in 129 minutes in penalties, including two gross misconducts. But the WHA&rsquo;s stringent penalties for leaving the bench kept a bad situation from getting worse. When referee Ron Ego did not enforce the league&rsquo;s rule to have all players back well away from the scene of an altercation it prompted a somewhat out-of-control situation among the 10 skaters on the ice. The ensuing fracas resulted in suspensions to the Whalers&rsquo; Jack Carlson and the Oilers&rsquo; Semenko. as well as several misconducts.Gordie Howe&rsquo;s quest for goal No. 1,000 has cost the major television networks a lot of time and video tape. Although he had picked up several assists, and he was second in team scoring. Gordie had been unable to come up with the big one in six games following goal number 999. His next chance was in Houston where possibly a bit of irony would be added to the dramatic moment.QUEBEC: The Nordiques are on the move. Marc Tardif was setting a torrid pace in leading the WHA scoring parade and general manager Maurice Filion has come up with a roster-strengthening trade.Tardif led all WHA scorers after the first quarter of the season (20 games). He had 20 goals and 20 assists. Teammates Serge Bernier and Real Cloutier were in close pursuit with only the powerhouse Winnipeg line of Ulf Nilsson, Bobby Hull and Anders Hedberg separating them from Tardif in the quest for scoring supremacy.The production of Tardif and Cloutier is even more laudable when you stop to consider they are operating without their clever centerman Christian Bordeleau, lost for the season. Norm Dube and Andre Boudrias have each tried to fill the skates of Bordeleau but they&rsquo;ve only been moderately successful. So all the more credit must be heaped upon the two wingers. Meanwhile, Serge Bernier was enjoying a 14-game scoring streakWhile in Hartford for a game with the Whalers, GM Filion took advantage of Edmonton&rsquo;s early arrival to work out a deal with the Oilers. The Nordiques gave up goalie Don McLeod (who was disenchanted with Quebec City and wanted to be traded) and left wing Pierre Guite.Coming to the Nordiques were goalie Ken Broderick, defenseman Dave Inkpen, right wing Warren Miller, and left wing Rick Morris. Considering the injury decimated roster&mdash;the loss of Christian Bordeleau, defenseman Jim Dorey, and defenseman Wally Weir (all for the season), and Francois Lacombe&rsquo;s lengthy hiatus&mdash;Filion&rsquo;s patience seems to have payed off.In addition Filion made an agreement with Birmingham to allow defenseman Chris Evans to have a 10-game tryout with the Nordiques. He had been sent down to Hampton (AHL) after beginning the season with the Bulls.Broderick&rsquo;s presence will allow the Nordiques to send rookie Jim Corsi down to the American Hockey League to gain much needed experience. Richard Brodeur boosted his stock considerably and took a giant step toward bringing his goals-against average down when he faced 45 shots at New England, and allowed only two goals. The outstanding performance prompted Whalers coach Harry Neale to comment &ldquo;Brodeur looked like the Brodeur of old!&rdquo;Coach Marc Boileau expected Francois Lacombe to have his cast taken off on Nov. 29. He looked forward to Lacombe&rsquo;s return &ldquo;around Christmas.&rdquo;After the second win over New England Boileau commented. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re only nine points back now&mdash;that&rsquo;s nothing!&rdquo; &#9632;

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Injuries, Fatigue Snap Whalers’ Win String

<div class="byline">BY DONALD BERNS</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0019-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-01704/4036092-1-eng-US/f0019-012.jpg"></div>ST. LOUIS&mdash;Eddie Johnston, played only one-half of a game in the St. Louis Blues&rsquo; first 13 games of the season, but his seat on the sidelines definitely was not a rocking chair.On his 41st birthday. E.J. was making his seventh appearance of the season and had played in six of the Blues&rsquo; last seven games.&ldquo;I can come in at any time.&rdquo; said Johnston, who had been in the nets for three of the Blues&rsquo; four victories.The Blues started the season with Ed Staniowski and Yves Belanger alternating in goal. But Belanger was bombed by the Philadelphia Flyers one night and soon was on his way to the Blues&rsquo; farm team at Salt Lake City.Staniowski is the Blues&rsquo; No. 1 goalie of the present and future. The question from month to month is how much help he needs from old pro Johnston.&ldquo;Eddie is much improved over last year,&rdquo; said Johnston of his partner. 20 years younger. &ldquo;The team&rsquo;s plan is to establish him in the nets and let me play when necessary. I&rsquo;m capable of playing 40 to 50 games a season, if necessary, or I can play just 25 or so.&rdquo;Johnston probably would be playing less if the Blues were winning more. If the Blues had not had their worst season start in their 11 years of existence, perhaps Belanger and Staniowski would have continued alternating.But when a team is losing, there frequently is the suspicion that more experience in goal would be helpful. So St. Louis coach Leo Boivin turned to E.J., who has played a hot game after coming off a cold bench.Boivin said. &ldquo;Eddie has the experience and the knowledge. I went with the two kids at the beginning of the season, and let the kids eliminate themselves. That&rsquo;s why Belanger is at Salt Lake City.&rdquo;Boivin, who was Johnston&rsquo;s teammate for four seasons with the Boston Bruins in the early 1960s, never has worried about Johnston&rsquo;s ability to Play.&ldquo;He not only can come in for any game,&rdquo; Boivin said, &ldquo;but he can come in at any time during a game. I know what E.J. can do.&rdquo;Boivin gave Johnston only one full game in the exhibition season, and Johnston shut out Birmingham. In Johnston&rsquo;s first full game of the regular season the Blues beat Vancouver, 8-6, then Johnston played back-to-back games against Colorado and stopped 53 of 55 shots in beating the Rockies, 2-1 and 3-1.Staniowski was brought back into the picture after another game and began alternating with Johnston, who hopes to extend his career to the full length of his usefulness.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-02572/4036085-1-eng-US/f0019-022.jpg" title="f0019-02" width="520" height="921"><figcaption class="caption-body">Goaler Eddie Johnston started the season on the bench for the St. Louis Blues, but the club had to call on the 41-year-old veteran for his experience and the old pro came through with a hot hand. (Photo by Steve Babineau)</figcaption></div>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m on the last year of my contract and I haven&rsquo;t said anything to anyone about negotiating for next season,&rdquo; Johnston said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll just play and see how I do. If I can contribute. I&rsquo;ll keep on playing. If I can&rsquo;t do the job. I guess I&rsquo;ll get out.&rdquo; &#9632;

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E.J. Always Ready When Blues Call For Goaling Job

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-01999/4034963-1-eng-US/f0002-012.jpg" title="f0002-01" width="577" height="697"><figcaption class="caption-body">PHIL ESPOSITO 607 NHL Career Goals</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-02905/4034956-1-eng-US/f0002-022.jpg" title="f0002-02" width="562" height="437"></div><h2>THE NHL&hellip;</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-03678/4034949-1-eng-US/f0002-032.jpg" title="f0002-03" width="588" height="708"></div><h2>THE WHA&hellip;</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-04468/4034942-1-eng-US/f0002-042.jpg" title="f0002-04" width="579" height="319"></div><h2>OTHER LEAGUES&hellip;</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-05339/4034935-1-eng-US/f0002-052.jpg" title="f0002-05" width="592" height="281"></div><h2>COLUMNISTS&hellip;</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-06242/4034928-1-eng-US/f0002-062.jpg" title="f0002-06" width="581" height="161"></div><h2>OTHER FEATURES</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-07151/4034921-1-eng-US/f0002-072.jpg" title="f0002-07" width="582" height="166"></div> &#9632;

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WHERE YOU’LL FIND IT ALL INSIDE

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0002-09" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-0951/4035025-1-eng-US/f0002-092.jpg"></div><h2>Racers Interested In Hodge, Goldsworthy</h2>INDIANAPOLIS&mdash;The Indianapolis Racers of the WHA are hot after Ranger veterans Ken Hodge and Bill Goldsworthy and if they can iron out contract problems with the two NHL players, they could be in Indianapolis uniforms in quick time.Botb players were demoted to the minor leagues in a purge of veteran players by the Rangers last week. The two were assigned to New Haven Nighthawks of the AHL with the likelihood neither would be called back only under extenuating circumstances. Hodge played in several games with the AHL Hawks but Goldsworthy became injured. Unofficial word was GM John Ferguson of the Rangers had negotiated a package deal by which the pair would go to Indianapolis and in return the Racers would pay half their remaining salaries and the Rangers the rest.<h2>Player Agent Sorkin Gets Prison Term</h2>NEW YORK&mdash;Player agent Richard Sorkin, who bilked professional athletes out of thousands of dollars, has been sentenced to up to three years in prison after being given 120 days to organize his affairs before submitting to jail authorities.Sorkin pleaded guilty to seven counts of grand larceny. The charges covered theft of more than $360,000 from five members of the New York Islanders and two basketball players with the New Jersey Nets. Sorkin testified he had lost the players&rsquo; money in bad stock investments but added he squandered some of it on gambling as well.The Islander players who lost money they entrusted to Sorkin as their agent included Bob Nystrom, $125,000, Jude Drouin $56,000, Garry Howatt $55,000, Bob Bourne $25,000 and Lorne Henning $6,000. Sorkin, a former sports writer, became an agent in 1972.<h2>Red Wings Bring Dennis Hull Back</h2>DETROIT&mdash;An elated Dennis Hull has come back to the NHL as a member of the Detroit Red Wings. The 18-year veteran of the Chicago Black Hawks agreed to terms with the Wings after the Hawks traded his league right to Detroit for future considerations.Hull, who was caught up in the Hawks&rsquo; swing to youth this season, had negotiated with the Wings for several weeks before the deal was closed. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m glad to be wanted,&rdquo; Hull said reflecting on the fate of his many NHL contemporaries&mdash;Ken Hodge, Rod Gilbert, Bill Goldsworthy, Gilles Villemure, to mention a few. Hull, who just turned 33, settled the final four years of his contract with the Chicago management and retired. &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t want to sit on the bench and I didn&rsquo;t want to take money for doing nothing,&rdquo; the NHL veteran said.<h2>WHA Cracks Down With $17,300 In Fines</h2>HARTFORD&mdash;The WHA has come down hard on violence within its league handing out a total of $17,500 in fines as well as suspensions to combatants who participated in three separate bench-clearing brawls.In the first instance, the WHA levied $10,700 in fines and suspended three players for a donnybrook involving Birmingham and Winnipeg. Birmingham players were socked for $7,250 while Winnipeg was hit for $3,450. Gilles Bilodeau of the Bulls was fined $1,100 and suspended for three games for leaving the penalty box, becoming involved in several fights and delaying the game. Teammate Frank Beaton was fined $900 and given a two-game suspension for molesting an official. Birmingham coach Glen Sonmor was fined $1,000 and Winnipeg coach Larry Hillman $500 for failing to control their players.Earlier, the WHA hit the New England Whalers and Edmonton Oilers for $2,600 and suspended Oiler rookie Dave Semenko for three games and fined him $1,350 for gross misconduct, making an obscene gesture and roughing up an official. Whaler George Lyle received a two-game suspension as well.<h2>Goalers Help Flyers To Best NHL Record</h2>PHILADELPHIA&mdash;Philadelphia Flyers, led by the goaltending of Wayne Stephenson and Bernie Parent, find themselves with the best record in the NHL. The Flyers have won 16 games, tied three and lost just four&mdash;least in the league&mdash;for a winning percentage of .761 and the goaltenders can be given much of the credit.Stephenson leads the NHL&rsquo;s goaltenders with a sparkling 1.62 goals-against-average and shares the lead in shutouts with Parent. Both have recorded three apiece for a total of six which is two short of their combined total of eight in 80 games last season. &#9632;

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DEADLINE STOPPERS

<div class="byline">BY HARRY KLAFF</div>LONG ISLAND&mdash;Jude Drouin will never forget Jan. 7,1975. That was the day that he was traded by the Minnesota North Stars to the New York Islanders.He&rsquo;ll never forget Nov. 19, 1977 either. That was the night that he returned to the Islanders after spending four games in exile&mdash;up in the press box.When the Isles first obtained Drouin from the Stars, he was looked at as the playmaking center they sorely needed. And he came through in splendid fashion and paid immediate dividends. With he and another former North Star, J.P. Parise in the lineup, the Islanders made the playoffs that year for the first time.Jude had 14 goals in 40 games for New York in 74-75, and backed it up with 62 and 53 point performances the following two years. Last year he posted 24 goals, the second highest total of his career despite going through a prolonged dry spell in mid-season.But while he was performing professionally on the ice. there were many off-the-ice factors that were eating him up inside. Jude is an extremely sensitive individual, and like most people cannot always keep personal problems from affecting his work.Last year it was revealed that Drouin was among the Islanders that had lost a sizable amount of money to agent Dick Sorkin, who has since been indicted on various counts of grand larceny. It was no coincidence that the story broke at about the time of his slump.Although he&rsquo;ll probably never see the money again. Drouin was looking to a fresh start this vear. But things started slowly for the 29-year-old product of the Montreal Canadiens organization. Although he opened the season centering for two proven scorers&mdash;Parise and Billy Harris&mdash;Jude could manage only one goal and no assists in his first eight games.Drouin&rsquo;s problems only went from bad to worse. He was dropped at first to fourth line duty, and then sat out a couple of games. He was put back into the lineup by coach Al Arbour, only to be benched again starting with Nov. l2th&rsquo;s game against Philadelphia.At the same time, Jude had a scuffle with a group of teenagers outside his Huntington, L.I. home. And it would not be until Nov. 19 that he would see ice time again.The Islanders hosted the Vancouver Canucks at the Coliseum that night, and the crowd immediately took to his side when he appeared for the pre-game warmup. The applause continued when his name was announced in the starting lineup, and built its crescendo to the point of a standing ovation when he beat Curt Ridley with a beautiful shot in the first period.Now playing with Parise and Bobby Nystrom, Jude also added an assist later on as the Isles romped. 9-2.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s great to be back,&rdquo; he said afterward as he dried himself off. &ldquo;I get paid to play, not to sit up in the press box. I&rsquo;ve been working hard in practise, but you know that practise isn&rsquo;t the same as being in a game.&rdquo;Some players might have protested their fate. Some might have demanded to be traded. But not Drouin; he&rsquo;s just not the type. Had he been there, Jude might have found something nice to say about the destruction of Pompeii.&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t want to complain,&rdquo; he said. You try to hold everything inside, and after a while, it starts to hurt. I didn&rsquo;t want to let it out. I was very confused but Al (Arbour) and Bill (Torrey) knew what I was going through&ldquo;I ll tell you one thing. I never want to go through something like this again. That&rsquo;s for sure.&rdquo;It was very nice to see Jude come through the way he did.&rdquo; commented the coach &ldquo;I told him the other day that he would be in the lineup tonight. That cheered him up a bit, and he played very well tonight. His attitude has been absolutely super.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-0881/4034994-1-eng-US/f0002-082.jpg" title="f0002-08" width="571" height="1095"><figcaption class="caption-body">JUDE DROUIN &hellip;Glad It&rsquo;s Over (Photo by Steve Babineau)</figcaption></div>The hardest thing for any team member is to sit around while your colleagues play. Lorne Henning, who has been a spare center and penalty killer for three years now, has said.&ldquo;you feel that you&rsquo;re an important member of the club, but you stand around watching the others, and then you don&rsquo;t feel like you&rsquo;re one of them anymore.&rdquo;That&rsquo;s just the feeling that Drouin experienced. &ldquo;Now I&rsquo;m part of the team,&rdquo; he smiled, his voice rising with excitement. You couldn&rsquo;t help but feel that he never wants to be apart from it again. &#9632;

f0002-08

Return From Isles’ Press Box Exile Eases Burden On Drouin’s Shoulders

MONTREAL&mdash;When Pierre Larouche and Peter Mahovlich swapped uniforms Nov. 29 it meant that Pierre was coming to the first-place Canadiens and Peter would be skating for the fourth-place Penguins. And it showed in the first meeting of the clubs that same night when Larouche assisted on three goals in Montreal&rsquo;s 9-1 cakewalk, while Mahovlich was on the ice for four Montreal scores and none by the Penguins. Round one for Pierre.However, the following night, Peter got a chance to show his stuff for his new Pittsburgh fans as the Penguins hosted the Detroit Red Wings. Mahovlich doubled his season&rsquo;s output by scoring three goals, including the winner as he snapped a 4-4 tie at 13:45 of the final period. Round 1A for Peter. &#9632;

Both Sides Benefit Early

<div class="byline">BY MIKE DENNIS</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0003-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-011006/4035063-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Pete Mahovlich, above, in his ninth year with Montreal and 22-year-old Pierre Larouche, right, received their wishes to be traded when the Canadiens and the Penguins swapped the centermen on Nov. 29. Pittsburgh also obtained minor leaguer Peter Lee, while the Canadiens were given future considerations. (Photos By Bruce Bennett)</figcaption></div>MONTREAL&mdash;Grey Cup Week in Canada is the focal point of the football season in the Canadian Football League, a celebration which combines the biggest football game of the year with a week of dinners, dances, partying, etc&hellip;sort of an amalgamation of the Super Bowl and Mardi Gras rolled into one.The Combination of the city of Montreal hosting Canada&rsquo;s Grand National Extravaganza and the fact that the team representing Montreal, the Alouettes won the Grey Cup by a totally unforseen lopsided 41-6 score, were enough to interrupt the city&rsquo;s late November thoughts which are usually attuned to the hockey Canadiens and Christmas shopping&mdash;in that order.So you&rsquo;re Sam Pollock, general manager of the Canadiens and what are you going to do to get the people thinking about hockey, again? Simple, says Sam, you just spring a major trade on the hockey world, arrange for the players to trade sweaters on the morning of the game and everybody&rsquo;s happy.Thus we have Pierre Larouche of the Montreal Canadiens. That&rsquo;s right, Pierre Larouche, who scored 53 goals as a 20-year-old sophomore and future considerations to the Canadiens for 31-year-old Pete Mahovlich and minor leaguer Peter Lee, who both played that night for the Pittsburgh Penguins.Larouche and Mahovlich were unhappy with their previous surroundings. Mahovlich because he found he couldn&rsquo;t score from the bench and Larouche because he wasn&rsquo;t having much success in adapting to Penguins&rsquo; coach Johnny Wilson&rsquo;s defensive strategies.It was the first major trade for the Canadiens in almost exactly three years, since Nov. 28. 1974 when they swapped Chuck Lefley for defenseman Don Awrey. Pollock who makes trades like the Arabs give away oil, in other words he&rsquo;s a pretty shrewd investor, mentioned, &ldquo;You have to give away something to get something. We don&rsquo;t like to lose Mahovlich and Lee, but we re getting a potential superstar in Larouche.&rdquo;That Larouche would be warmly accepted by the Montreal Forum crowd was never in doubt, but that he would fit in so neatly with new linemates Rejean Houle and Pierre Mondou, who was shifted to right wing, may only hint of the future success of &ldquo;French Connection Two.&rdquo;Coach Scotty Bowman sent Larouche out on an early Canadiens&rsquo; powerplay and within seconds the puck was in the net. Larry Robinson to Larouche to an unguarded Yvan Lambert at the edge of the crease. It was a non-contest which finally ended at 9-1 in favor of the Habs. the new French line saved their best choreography for the final period. By this time it was 6-1 and the game was wide, wide open.In the opening minute of the final stanza there&rsquo;s Larouche passing back between his legs to Mondou, who played for the same junior team (Sorel Black Hawks) but on a different line. Mondou cuts towards the center and lays a perfect pass on the stick of Larouche who&rsquo;s going down the right side. Larouche feeds Houle and it&rsquo;s in the net. The crowd explodes.Later in the period, the same three combine in similar fashion for the Canadiens&rsquo; eighth goal and Mondou completes the scoring for the night with the three new linemates each chalking up three points for the evening.Said Bowman following the match: &ldquo;The addition of Larouche should give Houle a big lift. He&rsquo;s much better offensively on left wing and with the way Mondou and Larouche can carry the puck it could be an excellent line.&rdquo;Admitting that the Larouche deal had been some time in the making Bowman related: &ldquo;We&rsquo;re always on the lookout for good hockey players. What I like is the fact that he&rsquo;s a righthanded shot and we had only two guys out of 21, (Guy) Lafleur and (Mario) Tremblay who shoot right. It&rsquo;s kind of like a lefthander in baseball&hellip;the defensemen don&rsquo;t get a look at that many great righthand shots and it seems like the righthanders have a more troublesome shift.&ldquo;Another great thing is the youth and balance we now have at the center spot. (Jacques) Lemaire is a great two-way player, (Doug) Jarvis is a defensive center, (Doug) Risebrough is the aggressive, hustling type, and now we have a great offensive center in Larouche.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-02863/4035056-1-eng-US/f0003-022.jpg" title="f0003-02" width="1103" height="1907"></div>For his part, Larouche was still shaking his head in amazement that he was playing with the Canadiens. Said the talented youngster: &ldquo;I was born in Taschereau, Que., and I had two dreams in hockey&mdash;to play for the Canadiens and to win the Stanley Cup&mdash;now I&rsquo;ve got the first part.&ldquo;Things are much different here. To be playing for the power in hockey, with all of the superstars that have been a part of this team is the biggest thrill of my life. I had to tell my linemates to stop trying to set me up for a goal: to just play their game. Rejean and Pierre work so hard and that makes it easy to play.&ldquo;Scotty didn&rsquo;t say anything special to me, just to go out there and play my game. I&rsquo;m just startled to be in Montreal and I was very nervous at the start of the game.&ldquo;I would like to say,&rdquo; Larouche added, &ldquo;that I&rsquo;m proud to have played for the Penguins. I got my start in pro hockey in Pittsburgh and I met a lot of good friends, including my fiancee, and I&rsquo;ll be proud to go back there.FORUM REBOUNDS: Larouche and the Canadiens will visit Pittsburgh on Dec. 17&hellip; Besides leading the NHL in points, the Canadiens also lead the league in Pierre&rsquo;s with Larouche, Mondou, defenseman Bouchard and assistant trainer Pierre (Boom Boom) Meilleur&hellip;Lafleur has 17 of his 19 goals in the Forum this year. In Canadiens last nine starts, they&rsquo;ve given up just 11 goals while scoring 38 and have eight wins. &#9632;

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Larouche Acquisition Bolsters Habs’ Offense

<div class="byline">Ken McKenzie&#x2019;s</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-011057/4035146-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg" title="f0004-01" width="486" height="488"></div>&bull; FIRST INDICATIONS of the trade between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Montreal Canadiens which saw Pierre Larouche and future considerations coming to Montreal in exchange for Peter Mahovlich and minorleaguer Peter Lee is that the swap will help both clubs&hellip; Larouche gives the Canadiens a young center whose specialty is offense (53 goals two years ago), while the Penguins, receive some much-needed leadership from the veteran Mahovlich and the potential of Lee who has served with the Nova Scotia Voyageurs&hellip;While the trade did not come as a surprise to Mahovlich, who had asked general manager Sam Pollock for a transfer, it did startle Larouche who said he expected to remain in Pittsburgh until his contract had been completed&hellip;As far as the situation with Lee is concerned, the Canadiens&rsquo; organization said that they didn&rsquo;t want to lose such a promising player but because of the team&rsquo;s depth at the right wing position and the fact that Voyageurs&rsquo; GM Al MacNeil had given his &ldquo;stamp of approval&rdquo; to Nova Scotia right winger Pat Hughes as a player who would eventually crack the Canadiens&rsquo; roster, they felt they could let Lee go&hellip;New York Islanders&rsquo; Garry Howatt hasn&rsquo;t scored a goal for his team this year, but he&rsquo;s probably the last guy the team would ever trade. The little sparkplug did a job when he tangled with Chicago captain Keith Magnuson and more than held his own, while giving away about four inches in height and about 20 pounds&hellip;Lou Nolan, who does such a standout job as public address announcer at Philadelphia&rsquo;s Spectrum is telling one and all about the night he sang the National Anthem prior to a Flyers&rsquo; game. He did such a fine job he may be asked for a repeat performance.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-021012/4035139-1-eng-US/f0004-022.jpg" title="f0004-02" width="274" height="454"><figcaption class="caption-body">Al MacNeil</figcaption></div>&bull; AMONG THE PLAYERS most often overlooked in the race for the Calder Trophy as the National Hockey League&rsquo;s Rookie of the Year is Buffalo Sabres&rsquo; starting goaltender Don Edwards&hellip;Edwards appeared in 25 games for the Sabres during the 1976-77 season and is still eligible for the award much the same as Ken Dryden of the Canadiens was, when he captured the Conn Smythe Trophy as the Best Playoff Performer after playing in just six regular season games in the 1970-71 season. The next year Dryden came back to win the Calder Trophy&hellip;Edwards, by the way, was the first NHL goalie to win 12 games this year&hellip; Guy Lafleur continues to lead the Montreal segment of the Molson Cup competition with 40 points after 18 games, but the big battle is for second place. Jacques Lemaire and Bob Gainey were tied for the runner-up position with 20 points after each being selected one of the three starts on four occasions. Larry Robinson is fourth with 15 points followed by five players tied at 10 points apiece, includin captain Yvan Cournoyer who recently picked up two first star selections&hellip; In Vancouver, rookie Jere Gillis had the overall lead with 25 points followed closely by veterans Mike Walton and Cesare Maniago, each with 20 points and Curt Ridley with 15&hellip;The Red Wing For&rsquo;em Club of Detroit has renamed the &ldquo;Unsung Hero Trophy&rdquo; to the &ldquo;George W. VanderVreken Memorial Award.&rdquo; The late George VanderVreken was a member of the For&rsquo;em Club for 23 years.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-03907/4035132-1-eng-US/f0004-032.jpg" title="f0004-03" width="294" height="442"><figcaption class="caption-body">Don Edwards</figcaption></div>&bull; COLORADO ROCKIES have a problem with a shortage of players in their farm system. Excluding the four goalies in their system which includes Doug Favell and Michel Plasse with the big club, the Rockies only have 25 players they can call on this year&hellip; Disabling injuries to a couple of key men could hurt them badly as already Dave Hudson is out for a month with a shoulder separation&hellip; Hard-working Billy Harris of the Islanders has been seeing some shifts at center lately in addition to his right wing chores. Al Arbour may be considering shifting him permanently to create some more offensive fire power&hellip;The only people not sure that the Penguins were robbed in the Syl Apps deal are Pittsburgh fans. Local fans were disgruntled with Apps since he never brought a winner no matter how many points he scored and thought he was on his way down as his skating ability dropped off considerably in the last year&hellip;Apps blamed a groin pull and says it still bothers him, but some wonder why it takes one year to heal a groin injury&hellip; Seattle Breakers&rsquo; Howie Stalwich puts out the most comprehensive weekly newsletter and statistics in the Western Canada Hockey League&hellip;Boston Bruins&rsquo; trainer Frosty Forristall blindsided ex-Bruin Dave Forbes with a cream pie in the face when the latter was being interviewed on live TV between periods at Boston Garden. The two have had a running pie battle for a few years. Forbes has &ldquo;scored&rdquo; with four pies in Frosty&rsquo;s face, once aboard an airliner&hellip;The same night, Forbes&rsquo; new coach Caps&rsquo; Tom McVie left the arena without his usual post-game interview after Washington suffered a 6-0 loss&hellip;Seems the lengthy Caps winless streak is getting to the usually quotable and easily approachable leader.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-04805/4035125-1-eng-US/f0004-042.jpg" title="f0004-04" width="300" height="453"><figcaption class="caption-body">Syl Apps</figcaption></div>&bull; MORE THAN 100 friends, including the Flyers&rsquo; team and board chairman Ed Snider saluted Philadelphia&rsquo;s Joe Watson at a surprise dinner honoring the Flyers&rsquo; original defenseman for his 11 years of service to the club&hellip;Joe, his wife Marianne and son Ryan received a family color portrait and Watson, a Detroit Tigers&rsquo; baseball fan, received a Tigers&rsquo; hat courtesy of Red Wings&rsquo; publicists Budd Lynch and Al Coates&hellip;No one can say that Reg Kerr&rsquo;s shot can&rsquo;t break a pane of glass. While with the Phoenix Roadrunners of the Central League, Kerr, who was recently traded to the Chicago Black Hawks organization by Cleveland, took part in a puck shooting contest at a Phoenix shopping mall and his shot hit a crack in the pavement and deflected throagh a department store&rsquo;s plate glass window&hellip;Colorado Rockies&rsquo; winger Ron Delorme deserves a lot of credit for his contributions to the team&rsquo;s early successes this season. He&rsquo;s been taking opposition players into the boards with clean, hard checks throughout the season&hellip;Islanders&rsquo; Chico Resch is the latest to try the European-style &ldquo;birdcage&rdquo; mask. Resch feels he allowed a big goal to the Philadelphia Flyers in Nov. when he dropped a hot shot in the crease and didn&rsquo;t see it until Bill Barber poked in the rebound&hellip;Steve Tambellini, thought to be a good bet to go early in the June amateur draft after completing a three-year career with the Lethbridge Broncos is the son of former Canadian International hockey star Addie Tambellini.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-05666/4035118-1-eng-US/f0004-052.jpg" title="f0004-05" width="292" height="444"><figcaption class="caption-body">Ed Snider</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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PASSING THE PUCK

<div class="byline">BY VARTAN KUPELIAN</div>DETROIT&mdash;The Reed Larsons and Dale McCourts and Greg Jolys are enjoying excellent seasons and, as a result, their exploits have overshadowed the contributions made by the Red Wings&rsquo; veterans, guys like Nick Libett, Dennis Hextall, Terry Harper, Dan Maloney and the others.Long before the season started. Red Wing officials entrusted the club&rsquo;s future to the kids. At the same time, no one overlooked the importance of a solid performance by the veterans to keep the Wings afloat until the youngsters gained the necessary experience and confidence.That&rsquo;s precisely what has happened.One of those veterans who is playing exceptionally well is Libett, 31. the left winger now in his 11th season with the Red Wings&mdash;that&rsquo;s twice as many as anybody else on the club.Libett heard the trade stories all summer, as he has in the past. Nobody expected him to be back in Detroit when another National Hockey League season started but when October rolled around he was again patrolling the left side for the Red Wings.The Wings had chances to trade him and turned down at least one very inviting offer, which means that at least two clubs were very interested in having him.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s nice to know you&rsquo;re wanted,&rdquo; Libett said.Libett, last year&rsquo;s Red Wings representative in the NHL All Star game, is off to a strong start. Typically, that doesn&rsquo;t mean he&rsquo;s scoring a lot of goals or getting a lot of assists. It means he&rsquo;s going up and down his wing, forechecking and backchecking, working the corners, killing penalties and getting his occasional goal.Frank Orr, the respected hockey writer from Toronto and a columnist for THE HOCKEY NEWS, had an interesting column in this publication recently about &ldquo;grinders&rdquo;. Libett is a &ldquo;grinder&rdquo; of the highest order.Like all the other Red Wings, Libett is enjoying himself this season. For a change, things are going well. After a recent victory&mdash;it was a lopsided one where the Wings dominated the action completely&mdash;he said:&ldquo;It feels good to win. I&rsquo;ve been on the other side of games like this. The team is playing well, things are going great and everybody is optimistic.&rdquo;Libett has always been one of the most forthright players around. When things are brutal, he&rsquo;ll say they&rsquo;re brutal.&ldquo;I just hope we don&rsquo;t lose four or five in a row. It could knock us down.&rdquo; he said.&ldquo;I definitely think we can make the playoffs the way things are going. What the heck, we&rsquo;ve played almost a quarter of the season.&ldquo;You have to give Montreal first place in our division (Norris). I don&rsquo;t know whether we would finish second ahead of Los Angeles or make it as a wild card team, but either way we can make it.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s been a while since I felt we could make it to the playoffs.You have to give Bobby (Kromm) credit. He&rsquo;s done a helluva job. I was pessimistic when he came. I didn&rsquo;t know how much any coach could do to turn things around here but he&rsquo;s done it He&rsquo;s got everybody playing for him.&rdquo;Libett&rsquo;s linemate, Hextail, also is playing very well. They give the Red Wings an outstanding penalty-killing duo and two-thirds of an efficient &ldquo;grinding&rdquo; line. Libett and Hextall do a bulk of the shorthanded work with a pair of rookies, McCourt and Paul Woods, filling in as the second unit for penalty killing duties. While McCourt and Woods rely mostly on their young legs and exuberance to kill them off, Libett and Hextall use savvy and experience.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-06396/4035177-1-eng-US/f0004-062.jpg" title="f0004-06" width="565" height="791"><figcaption class="caption-body">NICK LIBETT&hellip;Forthright Player</figcaption></div>The Hockey NewsOFFICIAL NATIONAL HOCKEY WEEKLY FOUNDED 1947VOLUME 31 NUMBER 11 DECEMBER 16,1977Kenneth W. McKenzie&nbsp;President and PublisherTom Murray&nbsp;Assistant PublisherCharlie Halpin&nbsp;Editorial DirectorPat Beale&nbsp;Advertising CoordinatorAdvertising Representatives:Toronto:Gary McDougall111 Richmond St., West, Suite 508, Toronto, Ont. M5H 2G4 (416) 492-9191MontreatPat Beale1434 St. Catherine Street West, Suite 217 Montreal, Can. &bull; H3G 1R7 (514) 866-4841New York:Tom Murray150 East 58th Street New York, N.Y. 10022 &bull; (212) 593-2100Chicago:Hooper & Jones Associates 3322 W. Peterson Avenue Chicago, III. 60659 &bull; (312) 478-5544Published weekly except monthly June through September by W. C. C. Publishing Ltd., 1434 St. Catherine Street West, Montreal. Canada H3G 1R7 &bull; (514) 866-4841. U.S : c/o W.C.C. Publishing Corp 150 E. 58th Street. New York, N.Y. 10022. (212) 593-2100.YEARLY SUBSCRIPTION RATES: $11.95 in canada, $12.9$ in the U.S.A, end $17.25 in Foreign Countries. Second class postage paid at New York. N.Y. 10001 and at additional mailing Offices. SEND ADDRESS CHANGES TO 1434 ST. CATHERINE STREET WEST, SUITE 217, MONTREAL, CANADA H3G 1R7. Second Class mail Registration No. 1327. All inquiries pertaining to subscriptions should be eddressed to Subscription Dept., The Hockey News, 1434 St. Catherine St. W., Montreal, Canada H3G 1R7. Printed In Canada. &#9632;

f0004-06

Wings’ Vet Libett Views Playoff Spot With New Optimism

Following are the latest player movements in hockey:<h2>NATIONAL LEAGUE</h2>ATLANTA&mdash;Tim Ecclestone, LW, and Red Laurence, C, assigned to Tulsa of CHL.BOSTON&mdash;Matti Hagman, C, sold to Quebec of WHA in straight cash deal. Sean Shanahan, LW, recalled from Rochester of AHL.CHICAGO&mdash;Dennis Hull, LW, traded to Detroit for future considerations. Reg Kerr, RW, assigned to Dallas of CHL.CLEVELAND&mdash;Darcy Regier, D, returned to Phoenix of CHL. Larry Hendrick, G, assigned to Phoenix.COLORADO&mdash;Tom Edur, D, traded to Pittsburgh in exchange for Dennis Owchar, D. Dennis O&rsquo;Brien, D, claimed from Minnesota on waivers. Michel Plasse, G, placed on disabled list indefinitely with broken finger. Bill Oleschuk, G, recalled from Phoenix of CHL. Lou Nistico, LW, and Mark Lomenda, RW, assigned to Phoenix.MONTREAL&mdash;Pete Mahovlich, C, and Peter Lee, RW, traded to Pittsburgh in exchange for Pierre Larouche, C. Brian Engblom, D, assigned to Nova Scotia of AHL.N.Y. RANGERS&mdash;Greg Polis, LW, placed on disabled list.N.Y. ISLANDERS&mdash;Neil Nicholson. D, recalled from Fort Worth of CHL. Kevin McCloskey, D, recalled from Fort Wayne of IHL and assignedto Fort Worth as a replacement.PHILADELPHIA&mdash;Paul Holmgren, RW, returned from injury list.PITTSBURGH&mdash;Tom Cassidy, C, and Jacques Cossette, RW, assigned to Binghamton of AHL.ST. LOUIS&mdash;Doug Palazzari, C, recalled from Salt Lake of CHL.TORONTO&mdash;Mike Pelyk, D, recalled from Tulsa of CHL. John Anderson, LW, recalled from Dallas of CHL.VANCOUVER&mdash;Steve Hazlett, RW, recalled from Tulsa of CHL and reassigned to Fort Wayne of IHL.WASHINGTON&mdash;Bernie Wolfe, G, and Gord Lane, D, assigned to Hershey of AHL. Jim Bedard, G, recalled from Hershey to replace Wolfe.<h2>WORLD HOCKEY ASSN.</h2>CINCINNATI&mdash;Willie Trognitz, LW, released after 10-day trial. Jeff Allan, D, released after 10-game trial. Jacques Locas, C, suspended indefinitely by the Stingers for sub-par performance Bill Gilligan, C, recalled from Hampton of AHL.WINNIPEG&mdash;Markus Mattson, G, assigned to Tulsa of CHL for two-week period. Dave Kryskow, C, signed to WHA contract after 10-game trial.INDIANAPOLIS&mdash;Lynn Powis, C, released as free agent. Peter Driscoll, LW, purchased outright from Quebec.<h2>AMERICAN LEAGUE</h2>ROCHESTER&mdash;Peter Sturgeon and Brian MacGregor, forwards, recalled from Dayton of IHL. &#9632;

Hockey Players On The Move

<div class="byline">BY BILL FLEISCHMAN</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0005-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-01916/4035232-1-eng-US/f0005-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">RICK MacLEISH&hellip;Bugged By Low Goal-Scoring Total</figcaption></div>PHILADELPHIA&mdash;Strugglers or stragglers?Rick MacLeish and Gary Dornhoefer fit into both categories.While the Flyers were involved in a sardine-can race with the Islanders for the Patrick Division lead, long-time linemates MacLeish and Dornhoefer were lagging behind their normal scoring paces.With one fourth of the NHL season in the record books, MacLeish had only two goals compared to 12 a year ago. Dornhoefer had failed to score a goal, last season he had five to this point.Their sub-par production hadn&rsquo;t reached the crisis stage because the Flyers were winning. However, both players were concerned.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s eating me up&mdash;my head is more screwed up than anything else,&rdquo; said Dornhoefer. &ldquo;With all the emotion and pressures in this game, the last thing you want is to be thinking bad.&rdquo;Dornhoefer, 34, and playing on a one-year contract, had more time to think about his troubles when he was handed a two-game suspension by NHL executive vice president Brian O&rsquo;Neill. Dornhoefer, who called O&rsquo;Neill&rsquo;s ruling &ldquo;a fair decision,&rdquo; was disciplined for bumping linesman Ron Finn following a fight with the Islanders&rsquo; Garry Howatt.Although he&rsquo;s not known as one of hockey&rsquo;s big worriers, MacLeish was beginning to wonder what was necessary to find the groove that has carried him to 50 and 49-goal seasons and a reputation as one of the league&rsquo;s most dangerous scoring threats.Two examples of MacLeish&rsquo;s frustration occurred during the Flyers&rsquo; 7-2 victory over Cleveland. MacLeish had two breakaways during a Cleveland power play, but failed to beat goaltender Gary Edwards.&ldquo;Both times I shot the puck where I wanted it, but one time he stopped me and the other time I hit the post,&rdquo; MacLeish said. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s not much you can do when that happens. Everybody keeps saying the goals will start coming for me, but I&rsquo;d like it to be soon&mdash;this is starting to bug me.&rdquo;For the second consecutive season, the 27-year-old former Peterborough star is bouncing back from a serious injury.Shortly after the Flyers were embarrassed in four straight by Boston in last spring&rsquo;s Stanley Cup semi-finals, MacLeish suffered a neck injury in an auto accident. He wore a neck brace for eight weeks, but was ready when training camp opened.During his distinguished career in Philadelphia MacLeish has established himself as a &ldquo;money&rdquo; player. The Flyers rely on him to score big goals in big games. The five-foot-11,185-pound center was the playoffs&mdash;leading scorer when the Flyers won their two Stanley Cups.That the Flyers were 0-3-2 against top NHL clubs was partially attributable to MacLeish&rsquo;s slumber. He did contribute three assists in the masterpiece third period that led to a 4-4 tie with the Islanders. But in the other four games he had just one assist.In the last couple seasons the Flyers have found that to be successful against the NHL&rsquo;s quality opponents. MacLeish must strike. Centers like Toronto&rsquo;s Darryl Sittler are often able to neutralize Bobby Clarke, making it mandatory for MacLeish to produce.Over the years MacLeish has produced magnificently: it was his goal that decided the 1-0 Stanley Cup finale over Boston in 1974&hellip;in the third game of last seasons quarter-final MacLeish tied the game with 38 seconds remaining, then scored the winner in overtime against Toronto.The Flyers are waiting again for the avalanche.FLYERS FACES: Bob Dailey&rsquo;s 10 goals after 19 games led all NHL defenseman. Dailey was also the highest &ldquo;plus&rdquo; player (an official 20) on the club&hellip;Reg Leach has already surpassed his 14-assist total of last season&hellip;Don Saleski was leading the club in powerplay goals with fours&hellip; Orest Kindrachuk wants it known that he is satisfied in Philadelphia. THE HOCKEY NEWS recently indicated in a story, and headline that: The clever playmaker was disgruntled. &#9632;

f0005-01

Veteran Flyers’ Pair Struggling, But Team Winning Just The Same

<div class="byline">&#x2014; BY BOB VERDI</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-011088/4035263-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg" title="f0006-01" width="333" height="463"></div><h2>Bob&rsquo;s Christmas Wishes</h2>THERE COMES A TIME every year when you get what you&rsquo;ve got coming. Merry Christmas&hellip;Don Cherry&mdash;A copy of &ldquo;The Grapes of Wrath&rdquo;.Gordie Howe&mdash;His 2,000th goal on the same day that he collects his first social security check.Stan Gilbertson&mdash;A salute to true grit.The Checkerdome&mdash;A better name.Sam Pollock&mdash;Future considerations.Bobby Clarke&mdash;A lot of little Clarkes just like him.Colorado Pet Rocks&mdash;People.Clarence Campbell&mdash;Whatever he wants; he&rsquo;s earned it.Harold Ballard&mdash;A pinup of Ed Snider and a dozen darts.Ed Snider&mdash;A pinup of Harold Ballard and a dozen darts.Bobby Kromm&mdash;A raise.Japan&mdash;As revenge for the attack on Pearl Harbor, another visit by the Washington Capitals.Gary Dornhoefer&mdash;A ticket for everytime he parks in the crease.Red Fisher&mdash;A general manager&rsquo;s job.Roger Neilson&mdash;Some sleep.Bobby Hull&mdash;One more game in Chicago.Madison Square Garden&mdash;A press box.Gary Davidson&mdash;No more bright ideas, wherever you are.Bunny Larocque&mdash;Some credit for being a good goalie, too.Danny Gallivan&mdash;A game every night so more people can hear hockey&rsquo;s finest announcer.SWEDEN&mdash;DRAFT RIGHTS to all hockey players born in Winnipeg.Billy Reay&mdash;A house with no doors on it.World Hockey Association&mdash;Another bilingual city to go along with Quebec and Birmingham.Cleveland Barons&mdash;Help.Alan Eagleson&mdash;A year away from hockey so everyone can appreciate what a mess the sport would be without him.Guy Lafleur&mdash;No injuries for 20 seasons to hockey&rsquo;s most exciting player.Ted Lindsay&mdash;More seats in his building; the job he&rsquo;s doing, he&rsquo;ll need them.Punch Imlach&mdash;One more Cup.Phil Esposito&mdash;A winner.Scotty Bowman&mdash;A newspaper strike in Montreal after each game the Canadiens lose.Keith Magnuson&mdash;New bones.Ken McKenzie&mdash;Another million.Claude Ruel&mdash;The job as general manager of the Montreal Expos.NHL Linesmen&mdash;Orders to drop the puck quickly; you don&rsquo;t get paid for waving people out of the circle.NHL Officials everywhere&mdash;A little respect.Conn Smythe Family&mdash;A better division.Bobby Orr&mdash;One more season of good health.Hockey fans everywhere&mdash;One more season of seeing Bobby Orr in good health.DEREK SANDERSON&mdash;A sense or purpose.Darryl Sittier&mdash;Some kind of an award; he&rsquo;s too good a player not to have won something.Bob Nystrom&mdash;His money back.Gerry Cheevers&mdash;Son of Royal Ski.Tony Esposito&mdash;A toast to the game&rsquo;s most durable goalie&mdash;but, please, no shots.Female hockey writers&mdash;The ability to keep heads up while working.Ken Dryden&mdash;A challenge.Tommy McVie&mdash;Capital assets.Howard Baldwin&mdash;Rose colored glasses.NHL Equalization Draft&mdash;More bodies who are created equal.Denis Potvin&mdash;A season really worth writing about.Ron Wicks&mdash;Earmuffs.Bobby Sheehan&mdash;A ginger ale, easy on the ale.The Vancouver Canucks&mdash;Their own plane.You&mdash;Turn the page. &#9632;

f0006-01

HOCKEY TALKS

<div class="byline">BY DICK JOHNSTON</div>BUFFALO&mdash;Everything was going great for the Buffalo Sabres: too well, probably. It just couldn&rsquo;t go on.The Sabres, under their new coach Marcel Pronovost. defeated the Stanley Cup champions Montreal Canadiens on their first visit to the Forum, shut them out, in fact. They beat the Bruins, champions of their division, on their first visit to Boston Garden. They beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, expected to battle the Bruins and themselves for the Adams Division title, on their first visit to Maple Leaf Gardens.They even beat the Philadelphia Flyers in the Spectrum for the first time in their eight National Hockey League seasons.And everybody was healthy, so healthy that Ron Schock, captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins the last three years and a man who almost never missed a game, was watching from the press box. The Sabres obtained Schock from the Penguins before the season started but they had so many forwards Schock couldn&rsquo;t break into the lineup.Then the roof fell in.The Maple Leafs came to Buffalo&rsquo;s Memorial Auditorium and beat the Sabres, 2-1.The Bruins came in and blanked Pronovost&rsquo;s worthies, 2-0. They returned to the Montreal Forum and lost to the Canadiens. 4-1. Three big games in eight days and the high-scoring Sabres not only lost all three but scored a total of only two goals.What&rsquo;s more, they lost their captain and most fiery competitor, Danny Gare. Danny was the second leading scorer, behind only Gil Perreault, when he was injured.It happened in the second period of theBoston game, when Gare engaged in some spirited fisticuffs with the Bruins Bob Miller. Danny&rsquo;s back was hurt. He came back to play after serving his major penalty but early in the next period, the second, he left the ice and went to a hospital.As Gare missed much of the 1976-77 season because of back trouble, the big worry was that the new injury might be a recurrence of the old one. He spent a few days in the hospital, undergoing tests and treatment and it was decided that the injury was a muscle pull and not related to last year&rsquo;s miseries.Still Gare missed games and his absence hurt.The line of Don Luce, Craig Ramsay and Gare had been on a scoring streak. It stopped in the Boston game but did pick up. even without Gare, when Luce scored the Sabres&rsquo; only goal against Montreal.Ramsay, however, was hurt in that game and missed the entire third period as well as much of the second. He had a bruised side, which was feared might be a rib injury, but the Rammer was OK&rsquo;d to play the next game.That was good news, for Ramsay, one of the finest two-way wingers in the NHL, is the team&rsquo;s iron man. Including the Montreal game he had played 341 straight regular-season games for the Sabres.Rene Robert, right winger on the French Connection, also was hurt in that Montreal game. He suffered a bruised left knee when he fell during the second period and he missed the entire third period. The injury didn&mdash;t figure to be serious, however.All in all, it looked as though Pronovost&rsquo;s honeymoon was over The longtime NHL defenseman refused to panic, though. All he said was, &ldquo;We&rsquo;ll have to re-evaluate and regroup and go back to fundamentals.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-02834/4035294-1-eng-US/f0006-022.jpg" title="f0006-02" width="557" height="976"><figcaption class="caption-body">DANNYGARE &hellip;Injures Back</figcaption></div>Stumbling by the Sabres served to tighten up the battle for first place in the Adams Division. It looks as though it will be a three-way fight, among the Bruins, Sabres and Maple Leafs, all the way.ICE CHIPS: In a 16-game streak, including the Toronto, Boston and Montreal defeats, the Luce-Ramsay-Gare line scored 26 goals and had a total of 56 points.The French Connection&mdash;Gil Perreault. Rick Martin and Robert&mdash;had 24 goals and 50 points in an 11-game stretch, before the Boston and Montreal losses, where the line was blanked. &#9632;

f0006-02

Pronovost’s Honeymoon Over As Sabres’ Offense Falters

<div class="byline">-BY BILL LIBBY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-011079/4035363-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg" title="f0008-01" width="414" height="462"></div><h2>Finding His Way&hellip;</h2>RON STACKHOUSE is another of those offensive defensemen who has had a hard time settling down to a style of play which works well in the major leagues, but he has become one of the superior players on the tour and he is not just another player, being an interesting individual with wide interests in life beyond his sport.An excellent skater for his size, a big guy with a big shot, Stackhouse scored 28 goals his last two seasons as an amateur and 26 two recent seasons as a pro, but slipped to seven last season as he worked defensively to improve his all-around play.California&rsquo;s second-round draft choice the summer of 1969, Ron prepped at Providence and Seattle his first season as a pro, moved up to the majors with the Seals in 1970, was traded to Detroit in 1971, and on to Pittsburgh in 1974. He has had 10 coaches in his eight seasons as a pro.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-02970/4035356-1-eng-US/f0008-022.jpg" title="f0008-02" width="806" height="1204"><figcaption class="caption-body">A more controlled approach to his game has helped the Renguins&rsquo; Ron Stackhouse to develop his defensive skills while not losing sight of what he does best&mdash;play offensive hockey. (Photo by Bruce Bennett)</figcaption></div>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been exposed to a lot of different types of coaching and it hasn&rsquo;t always been clear to me what they wanted from me,&rdquo; the six-foot-three, 210-pound defenseman points out. &ldquo;Like a lot of large players, I don&rsquo;t use my size as much as I might. A lot of people don&rsquo;t like it that I don&rsquo;t like to tear people limb from limb, but it&rsquo;s not in my nature.&ldquo;When Wren Blair became boss a few years ago he tried to turn us into a defensive team overnight, but we had offensive players. Now new coach Johnny Wilson is stressing defense, but we have some different players and are better suited to it. It&rsquo;s not my natural game, but with experience I can concentrate on defense while still playing offense when the opportunity presents itself. I&rsquo;ve learned to play positional hockey and not get trapped out of position too often.&rdquo;Stackhouse used to wallop the puck in practice with all his super power. He liked to hear the sound of the hard disc crashing against the plexiglass. But his high shots terrorized teammates who were afraid of being hit in the head. And he learned a controlled, low shot was superior in that it was harder for goalers to handle, produced rebounds, and could easily be deflected into the net.IN MARCH OF 1975 he tied NHL records with four assists in one period and six in one game. The following season he set team records for a defenseman with 60 assists and 73 points. A superb point-man, he entered this season with 58 assists on power-play goals in his four years with the Penguins. Early this season he was scoring goals and assisting on goals at the type of pace that suggests he was back on the beam as an attacker, as well as an improved defender. He is a fearless shot-blocker and now hits hard at times.&ldquo;At 28, I should be approaching my peak as a player, but it won&rsquo;t mean much if I can&rsquo;t contribute to a winner,&rdquo; Ron notes. &ldquo;No matter how good you do personally, it is simply no fun to play for a loser. I&rsquo;ve played for a lot of losers early in my career, but this team can be a big winner. I&rsquo;m paid well to play, in any event, but I&rsquo;m the sort of person who wants to enjoy life.&rdquo;Born in Haliburton, Ontario, a small town of about 1,000 residents, and a former resident of Guilford, a village of about 100, Ron is not a big city type. He and his wife, the former Helen McKee, now live in a house in suburban Upper Sinclair, a half-hour&rsquo;s drive from Civic Arena in Pittsburgh. He says, &ldquo;I love puttering around the place. I&rsquo;m not too handy, but I&rsquo;m a jack of necessity. I study stuff on houses so some day, hopefully, I&rsquo;ll build my own home.&rdquo;RON, WHO HAS a lot of dark curly hair and a mustache aging his youthful face, loves to read. &ldquo;Anything from magazines like the National Geographic to books on everything. I like to let my mind roam and get away from my game,&rdquo; hz says. He also says he gets lost in music: &ldquo;Any kind but classical. Especially country pop. It relaxes me.&rdquo; He concludes, &ldquo;I want to keep in touch with the other world, with the life others lead.&rdquo;His wife has her own quarter horse, a gelding and a jumper, she rides for fun and sometimes takes them to small shows. She is a licensed dentist who works at times in her father&rsquo;s office in Toronto and used to work full time at the University of Pittsburgh. He says, &ldquo;We have no children, but we have each other. She was working days, I was working nights, we were passing each other coming and going, and didn&rsquo;t like not being together.&rdquo;I&ldquo;She&rsquo;d practice her profession, but since she can do so later while I have a limited time in this sport she&rsquo;s sacrificing her needs for mine for now. I look forward to the future, but I don&rsquo;t know what it will be. I&rsquo;ve been moved around so much in hockey I have no feeling of security. I would like to settle down,&rdquo; he sighs, a bright, sensitive fellow in a job for gypsies. &#9632;

f0008-01

Hockey Ad Lib

<div class="byline">BY ALAN TRUEX</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0008-03" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-03820/4035394-1-eng-US/f0008-032.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">BILL CLEMENT&hellip; Calls For Desire, Spirit (Photo by Bruce Bennett)</figcaption></div>ATLANTA&mdash;Lack of confidence, lack of effort, lack of intensity, lack of leadership. The Atlanta Flames have size and talent, but they appear to be short of intangibles.Through the first two months of the NHL season, the Flames have been a disappointing team, with their record hovering around .500, as it has for four years.Most nights, they have not offered much entertainment, and home crowds have been as low as 8,100. The Flames&rsquo; victories have come against the league&rsquo;s mediocrity. The league&rsquo;s top teams, such as the Islanders, Bruins, Maple Leafs. Flyers and Sabres, all scored runaway victories over the Flames during a three-week stretch of November.Against good clubs, the Flames have played with little authority. Some of their biggest players&mdash;Willi Plett, Curt Bennett and Eric Vail&mdash;have been hammered and picked on without offering retaliation.Bill Clement, one of the few Flames scoring goals(the other two are his linemates John Gould and Harold Phillipoff), had a reason: for the Flames&rsquo; unspectacular season:&ldquo;no intensity.&rdquo;After a typical Flame loss, 4-0 in Philadelphia, Clement said. &ldquo;By intensity I mean desire, urge to win. competitive spirit. If we don&rsquo;t have someone taking over, if we keep going like this, we re just going to be a 500 club.&rdquo;The Flames have been crying out for leadership. They were hoping it would come from their captain, the carefree-spirited Tom Lysiak. But Lysiak has not taken a forceful role. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not playing well enough to do it,&rdquo; he said at a time when he had scored just 11 points in 18 games.Lysiak and the rest of the Downtown Connectors line (Vail and Plett) carried the Flames&rsquo; offensive burden last year, scoring 95 goals. But at press time Plett had gone 17 games without scoring, and Vail had a 14-game goalless streak, as did Curt Bennett, formerly an All Star left wing.Coach Fred Creighton, hoping to perk up his forwards, has been changing line combinations faster than Superman changes clothes. But nothing has helped much, and Creighton&rsquo;s leadership also has come under question.Creighton, the players say somewhat privately, is no spirit lifter. He has much tactical ability, they concede, but not much tact. When panic sets in, he&rsquo;s more of a screamer than a soother. He would rather shake things up than calm them down.In recent games, the Omni fans have been in the mood for a shakeup. &ldquo;Shape &lsquo;M Up or Ship &lsquo;M Out,&rdquo; one huge banner urged. And indeed, one Flame was sent out, rookie defenseman Miles Zaharko. who was trying hard but making too many mistakes. Zaharko was farmed out to Nova Scotia.Meanwhile, Flames general manager Cliff Fletcher was indicating he might be sending a veteran away, and that trade could be in the making.The Flames have become one of the most baffling clubs in hockey, a big team that often doesn&rsquo;t hit. a team that can play brilliantly one game and listlessly the next.&ldquo;They&rsquo;ve had a lot of kids come in with big fat salaries.&rdquo; says former Flame. Pat Quinn, &ldquo;and they only play when they want to because they have a five-year contract.&rdquo;Creighton, to be sure, was placed in an impossible position. When players are not putting out effort, he feels the need to jump on them. But when they are lacking confidence, the players expect the coach to pump them up.But with the team so deficient in both confidence and effort, Creighton has no clear direction to take.FLAME NOTES: Red Laurence, Flames&rsquo; second second-round draft choice last June, is recovering from a broken leg and will soon begin playing for the Tulsa Oilers. The five-foot-nine, 180-pound center was leading the Ontario Hockey Association in scoring before his injury last December&hellip;Left wing Bobby Simpson scored three goals and five points in six games after being recalled from Tulsa. &#9632;

f0008-03

Missing Intensity Seen Major Reason Flames Floundering

<div class="byline">BY NORM MacLEAN</div>NEW YORK&mdash;Maybe John Bowie Ferguson, the New York Rangers general manager is right in the case of Rod Gilbert versus the Madison Square Garden management. When Fergy &ldquo;retired&rdquo; Gilbert, at age 36, on Thanksgiving Day, he claimed, &ldquo;We don&rsquo;t want to hold back Eddie Johnstone any longer. He was the second leading scorer in the AHL, and we feel he is ready for the NHL.&rdquo;Eddie who?&ldquo;Eddie Johnstone, that&rsquo;s who,&rdquo; said coach Jean Guy Talbot after the Rangers had been beaten by Boston Nov. 27 at the Boston Garden. All the five-foot-nine inch, 175-pound right wing from Brandon, Manitoba, did was score both New York goals, and almost singlehandedly beat the Bruins.&ldquo;Yeah, I was in the right spot at the right time, I guess, a couple of times,&rdquo; said Johnstone. &ldquo;On the first goal the puck hit me and fell at my feet. I knocked it towards (Ron) Grahame in the Boston goal. The second was a perfect pass from Walter Tkaczuk. I was all alone, and I know enough to deke the guy before I shot. When I had him out, it was simple.&ldquo;Even though my goals broke the Bruins&rsquo; shutout streak (223:45 minutes) we lost the game&mdash;and that&rsquo;s what counts,&rdquo; continued the 23-year-old rookie.Talbot used Johnstone to help Tkaczuk with penalty killing chores in that game, and continued this implementation against Buffalo Nov. 28 (another good effort, but another 3-2 loss) and also against the St. Louis Blues Nov. 30. New York won that one, 4-0.&ldquo;He knows how to check and go in the comers pretty good,&rdquo; says Talbot. &ldquo;I am not afraid to use him when we are a man short. With Greg Polis hurt with an injured knee, Johnstone will work with Tkaczuk at times. Sometimes I may use (Phil) Esposito as a penalty killer, also.Johnstone got on the ice with Espositio during a penalty situation in the Blues game&mdash;but one when the Rangers had the man advantage. The result was Esposito&rsquo;s 605th career goal, a tip in of a 40 footer by Johnstone from the right side.It gave the Rangers&rsquo; captain second place ahead of Bobby Hull in the all time NHL scoring parade. And it made both Johnstone and Espo very happy.&ldquo;I fired high up and Esposito tipped it chest high past Staniowski,&rdquo; said Johnstone. &ldquo;Imagine me assisting on Espo&rsquo;s big goal.&rdquo;After Esposito had reached his milestone, he rubbed salt in Hull&rsquo;s wound by scoring twice more for his 28th career hat trick. Since Hull had previously led the NHL career list with 28 hats, Espo had twice infringed on his old Black Hawk pal.&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t even know about that,&rdquo; admitted Esposito, later. &ldquo;Hull will never talk to me now.&rdquo;Esposito&rsquo;s career total is now 607. Number 606 was a beautiful two way play with Pat Hickey. Again the Rangers were on a power play. Ron Greschner, back on defense, passed ahead to Hickey, who cut over the blueline. Pat stopped, backhanded a neat pass to Espo in front and Phil backhanded the puck past Ed Staniowski the Blues&rsquo; goaler.In the second period number 607 was the result of a give and go basketball type play with Steve Vickers, which saw Espo pulling the trigger from the faceoff circle to the left of Staniowski.Ironically, Esposito had been slightly demoted by Talbot on the occasion of his big game. He was pulled off the first line where he had been centering for Don Murdoch and Hickey, and asked to work with Vickers and Johnstone.&ldquo;Phil was holding the puck too long,&rdquo; revealed Talbot. &ldquo;I put Ron Duguay with Hickey and Donnie. Those type of wingers should be fed the puck.&rdquo;Thus, Johnstone took over right wing on captain Phil&rsquo;s line just in time to help Esposito become the second highest goal scorer in NHL history.Last season Johnstone scored 40 goals and assisted on 58 more for New Haven in the AHL.BLUE CHIPS: Rangers still top NHL with 28 power play goals. Wayne Thomas recorded his second shutout against the Blues Nov. 30 with 32 saves.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-011042/4035425-1-eng-US/f0009-012.jpg" title="f0009-01" width="572" height="698"><figcaption class="caption-body">PHIL ESPOSITO &hellip;Passed Hull&rsquo;s Mark</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0009-01

Rookie Helped Espo Reach Milestone; Johnstone ‘Pushed’ Gilbert Off Rangers

Here&rsquo;s a brekdown of Phil Esposito&rsquo;s goal scoring against NHL teams:<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-02890/4035463-1-eng-US/f0009-022.jpg" title="f0009-02" width="544" height="540"></div><h2>CAREER TOTALS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-03640/4035456-1-eng-US/f0009-032.jpg" title="f0009-03" width="526" height="140"></div> &#9632;

f0009-02

How Esposito Reached Mark

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0010-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-011066/4035494-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg"></div>DO YOU HAVE ANOPINION ON HOCKEY?Write to:FAN FORUM, The Hockey News, 1434 St. Catherine St., W., Montreal, Canada H3G 1R7<h2>Wanted: Praise For Pens&rsquo; Carr</h2>1 guess it pays to be a preferred columnist with THE HOCKEY NEWS and also do the write-ups on the Los Angeles Kings.Bill Libby has extolled the virtues of Syl Apps for two weeks and said in the column of Dec. 2 that Apps had had four assists and one goal, when he actually has had two assists and one goal in three weeks after the trade.Gene Carr for the Pittsburgh Penguins has had nine points since the switch for a total of 12 points on the season, bettering Apps by two points through Nov. 21.I agree that Apps can be a beautiful playmaker but he hasn&rsquo;t done it in the last two years in Pittsburgh. Carr has been great and exciting to watch. Wish we had someone to write about that.MAXINE PATTON, Pittsburgh, Pa.<h2>A Suggestion To Make Leafs Contenders</h2>I have been a faithful Toronto Maple Leafs fan for many years. I feel they have a very fine young team and their only problem seems to be winning the key games to move them up in the standings. Maybe when some of their younger players gain experience they will become true&rdquo; Cup contenders.One suggestion: Why don&rsquo;t they draft or have more French Canadian players on their team. Buffalo Sabres, and New York Islanders have had great success with the likes of Perreault, Martin, Robert, and the sensational rookie Mike Bossy. These players are all great skaters, playmakers and explosive scorers, something Toronto could use.nFRANK PROCTOR t. Thomas, Ont.<h2>Congratulates Kings On Their Steal</h2>I would like to congratulate the Los Angeles Kings on the steal they made recently. I am talking about the recent trade between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Kings, in which Dave Schultz and Gene Carr were sent to Pittsburgh in return for Syl Apps and Hartland Monahan.Carr and Monahan are both good, young, hockey players with bright futures, however, Dave Schultz can in no way be compared with Syl Apps. Schultz is definitely not the fighter he used to be, and his skating has much to be desired. On the other hand, Syl Apps is a brilliant scorer and playmaker.I suspect one reason the Penguins got Schultz was to attract more fans to the games, billing Schultz as the type of player who will go out on the ice and destroy all of the opposing players. This tactic may work for a while, but when it comes to the time when the Penguins need a few goals down the stretch, Syl Apps will be scoring them, only it will be in Los Angeles.1 also have something to say concerning a letter written by Gary Gold in the Nov. 25 issue of &ldquo;HOCKEY NEWS&rdquo; in which he complained about the tactics of the Philadelphia Flyers. I certainly do not go along with the use of such tactics as spearing, head butting, etc&hellip; but I do enjoy good, hard hitting hockey. So, Mr. Gold, if you don&rsquo;t enjoy good, hard hitting and fast action, I suggest you get interested in another sport.JIM NEIMER, Lancaster, Penn.<h2>Fan Wants More Televised Hockey</h2>I am writing concerning the deterioration in the amount of hockey games currently televised. It was but a couple of years ago that we could watch a different game three times a week on different networks, two Canadian and one American. Now there is only one major national network carrying weekly hockey games and one other network which does not have very many stations.I thoroughly enjoy watching hockey games on television. I plead with the organizers of the NHL, major television executives, and mostly with the mainstays of the game, the fans, to bring hockey back to our television screens once again.MIKE STOFFEL, Edwards, N.Y.<h2>Sullivan Deserves More Recognition, Ice</h2>I find it extremely baffling as to the way one of the most colorful players in the big leagues. Peter Sullivan of the Winnipeg Jets, is being played.Granted the Swedes and Hull are very exciting to watch, but in Sullivan we have a Canadian player who can do everything as well as, if not better than the majority of Swedes in pro hockey and his ice time is limited to a few short shifts a period.Sullivan showed great explosiveness and many fans would stand and actually applaud him as he headed up ice with the puck. I might also add his skating is as fast as any player I&rsquo;ve seen in several years.I believe that Sullivan was the most valuable player last year when the Jets played the Russians. It&rsquo;s unfortunate he isn&rsquo;t playing elsewhere at a time when both leagues are crying for players to help sell tickets.It must be very frustrating for him to know he can play as well as the rest of the Jets and yet be forced to limited ice time.I didn&rsquo;t intend this letter to be a knock against the talent of the Swedes, but rather to give a boost to a Canadian on the Jets other than Bobby Hull.G. HAROLD LOCK, Willowdale, Ont.<h2>Credit Due For IHL&rsquo;s Stand</h2>I think much credit should be given to the International Hockey League for its stand on the Willie Trognitz incident.It is this type of tough management that will curb the violence in the game. The career of Archie Henderson could easily have been ended and it is best to eliminate any chance for a recurrence.If other leagues, both major and minor, would step forward to enforce the rules the game would rise above its poor and quite damaging reputation.KEN MURRELL, Brooklyn, N.Y.<h2>Tip Of The Hat To Kromm, Lindsay</h2>As a Red Wing fan all my life, I would like to tip my hat to Bobby Kromm and Ted Lindsay for the fantastic job they are doing in Detroit.These two men have finally established a club that is giving the fans something to be proud about. In past years the Wings&mdash;management was making trades just for the sake of making changee. Lindsay is making worthwhile changes and it&rsquo;s paying off.In acquiring Ron Low the Wings now have superb goaltending with Jim Rutherford and Ed Giacomin to go along with Low. The defense is better than it has been in a number of years with Reed Larson. Greg Joly, and Al Cameron developing into true big leaguers. The forward lines are now well balanced with the addition of Paul Woods, Andre St. Laurent and draft choices Dale McCourt and Rob Plumb.Due to these new additions, the Kings and Penguins better watch out because when playoff time rolls around the Wings will be up there in the fight for second place behind the powerful Montreal Canadiens.Thanks again to Kromm and Lindsay for the great job they are doing.STEPHEN COOPER, Saint John, N.B.<h2>Montreal Canadiens Showing Their Class</h2>The Montreal Canadiens are by far the class of the league. This class begins in the front office and goes right down to the ice.The Canadiens, this season, are heavily favored to take their third straight Stanley Cup, and with good reason. In goal, the tandem of Dryden, and Laroc-que have won two straight Vezina&rsquo;s, and should win their third this year. On defense, Robinson, Savard and Lapointe are called by many as the three best defenseman in the world. Up front there are such standouts as, Lafleur, Shutt, Gainey, Lemaire and so many more. The Canadiens farm team Nova Scotia, would be able to compete with several NHL teams.Montreal also shows that strong defense, and great skating is the key to succeed in the NHL. They also proved that a high penalty total is not the key to winning hockey.While the rest of the NHL is stocking up on muscle men, the Canadiens are picking up strong skaters, and good two-way players.In closing, what other team could trade a journeyman for a first round draft choice, namely Guy Lafleur.STEVE GINGRAS, Richmond, Ont.<h2>LETTER OF THE WEEK</h2><h3>Hockey Is The Best Sport</h3>I am nine years old and read THE HOCKEY NEWS.My dad tells me not to join hockey because I&rsquo;ve already joined soccer and hockey is too rough.My mother told me if I can get enough money I can join hockey next year.I&rsquo;ve read that soccer is the most exciting sport in the world, but I think hockey is.FARHAN LALJI, Burnaby, B.C. &#9632;

f0010-01

FAN FORUM

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0010-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-02865/4035549-1-eng-US/f0010-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">The Chicago Black Hawks made Jean Savard Their No. 2 amateur draft pick for 1977 and they did it with a purpose&mdash;they hope some of Savard&rsquo;s junior scoring proficiency will rub off on the NHL team. The Hawks sure could use it. Savard, the 5&rsquo;11&rdquo;, 170-pounder, rapped in 84 goals for the Quebec Remparts in the Quebec Major Hockey League last season and added 96 assists for a whopping 180 points, the most achieved last year by a major junior player in Canada. Savard&rsquo;s 84 goals made him the No. 2 sniper as well behind Brandon&rsquo;s prolific Bill Derlago, who shot 96. Savard has shown he can put the puck in the net and the Hawks have big plans for him in their rebuilding program, which began this season under new coach Bob Pulford. His early maturity with the Hawks enabled Chicago to leave veteran center Pit Martin unprotected in the NHL equalization draft and to ultimately trade him off to Vancouver. Savard took over Martin&rsquo;s regular center spot. (Photo by Steve Babineau)</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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Black Hawks Could Use Savard’s Scoring Touch

1. Montreal Canadiens have been in 24 Stanley Cup finals since 1927 and have been beaten by only two teams. Which two?Boston, Chicago &#8411; Detroit, Chicago &#8411; Detroit, Toronto &#8411;2. Two current players have never missed a game since coming into the NHL more than five years ago. One is Billy Harris of the Islanders. Who is the other?Marcel Dionne &#8411; Don Lever &#8411; Bill Clement &#8411;3. Who holds the NHL record for most assists by a rookie?Gil Perreault &#8411; Jude Drouin &#8411; Bryan Trottier &#8411;4. Only one team (since 1926) has ever had the leading scorer in the playoffs for three years in a row. Which team was it and who were the leaders?Philadelphia &#8411; Boston &#8411; Montreal &#8411;5. Who holds the New York Rangers&rsquo; club record for most goals In a season and how many did he score?Jean Ratelie &#8411; Rod Gilbert &#8411; Vic Hadfield &#8411;6. Who holds the record for coaching the most Stanley Cup winners?Punch Imlach &#8411; Dick Irvin &#8411; Toe Blake &#8411;7. Which team has the shortest rink in the NHL? What length is It?Boston &#8411; Buffalo &#8411; Chicago &#8411;8. Match these WHA players with their tearfis.Byron Baltimore HoustonRon Hansis WinnipegRobert Guindon Indianapolis9. After the first fifth of the 1977-78 season, one WHA player has more assists than the leading scorers on seven other clubs had points. Who is he?Marc Tardif &#8411; Ulf Nilsson &#8411; Kent Nilsson &#8411;10. This goalie assisted on the winning goal in a recent overtime game involving the Winnipeg Jets. Who was he?Jim Corsi &#8411; Al Smith &#8411; Jim Park &#8411;<h2>Quick Quiz Answers</h2>1. Detroit, Toronto. 2. Don Lever. 3. Bryan Trottier. 4. Philadelphia, Rick MacLeish 1974, &lsquo;75, Reg Leach 1976. 5. Vic Hadfield, 50. 6. Toe Blake, eight. 7. Chicago, 186 ft. 8. Bryon Baltimore-Indianapolis; Ron Hansis-Houston Robert Guindon-Winnipeg. 9. Ulf Nilsson. 10. Jim Corsi. &#9632;

Fans’ Quick Hockey Quiz

<div class="byline">BY TONY GALLAGHER</div>VANCOUVER&mdash;It would probably be stretching it a little, but you could say that Sheldon Kannegiesser was delivered from evil. Then again, anyone who gets out of Springfield has got to feel a little relieved.At the age of 30, it appeared that the Los Angeles Kings had given up on the 10-year veteran of pro hockey. Or at least the Kings had better defenseman than the left-handed native of North Bay, Ont.But the Vancouver Canucks really need help on defense. In fact, they can&rsquo;t afford to overlook any warm body. And Kannegiesser, according to general manager Jake Milford, is just what the doctor ordered.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a defensive defenseman. and that is the type of player we need,&rdquo; said Milford when he announced the one-for-one deal that sent Larry Carriere to the Kings. &ldquo;When I was in Los Angeles he was always at the top of the list in plusminus, and he can skate. We need a guy who can get the puck out of our end, a guy who is going to stay back and not get caught up the ice.&rdquo;Milford went on to say that he didn&rsquo;t think that Kannegiesser was the complete answer to what has been ailing the Canucks, but it is a start.Kannegiesser had two goals and eight assists in 14 games with Springfield in the American League, but he obviously wasn&rsquo;t brought in for his offensive abilities. Carriere, who had been playing in Tulsa when the trade was made, wasn&rsquo;t able to settle down enough with the puck in his own end and Milford and coach Orland Kurtenbach simply couldn&rsquo;t wait for him.Never was the need of some stability on defense pointed out so well than the Canucks most recent weekend in New York.First the New York Islanders made their game with the Canucks look like a remake of the Alamo, with the Islanders playing the part of the Mexicans. The Canucks kind of got the feeling they were in a little trouble when they were down 6-1 at the end of the first period. By the time the final 9-2 tally was in, Kurtenbach had pulled a famous disappearing act (Vancouver coaches are fond of vanishing, especially in New York) not having anything to say.He didn&rsquo;t have much more to say the following night when, after the de rigeur team meeting, the Canucks about-faced and held the Rangers to 18 shots on goal and took a 3-0 victory.&ldquo;We just decided we were going to try again, harder this time,&rdquo; said Mike Walton, the team&rsquo;s leading scorer. Then, as he often does, Walton began kidding saying. &ldquo;Didn&rsquo;t you know, they flew in 20 new players from Vancouver last night.&rdquo;The yo-yo like performance of the club just about has Kurtenbach ready to fly over the nest himself. He would love to find out what causes the turnarounds.&ldquo;They just came out and played the way I&rsquo;ve been trying to get them to play all year,&rdquo; said Kurtenbach. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s nothing new that we were trying and there was nothing wrong with the system we&rsquo;ve been teaching. It&rsquo;s a good system, it&rsquo;s just that we have had so many individual breakdowns when we have been trying to bring the puck out of our zone.&rdquo;Another point of concern to Kurtenbach has been the goaltending of Curt Ridley, who had the misfortune of being behind the Canucks for six of the goals in the 9-2 game and for all eight in the 8-6 loss to St. Louis recently.&ldquo;I have to admit I&rsquo;m a little concerned about Curt&rsquo;s play,&rdquo; said Kurtenbach. &ldquo;But there was a time earlier in the year when I was concerned about Cesare&rsquo;s play. So we&rsquo;ll just have to stick with the guy that is going well and wait for the other man to come around.&rdquo;Ridley began the season in superb form, playing in six of the team&rsquo;s first seven games and going undefeated in the first four. Since then, his performance has dropped off marginally, but behind the Canucks, it is difficult to judge the performance of any goalkeeper.Meanwhile, Gerry O&rsquo;Flaherty, who has been riding the bench for much of the season, has found new life on a line with Garry Monahan and Hilliard Graves, taking a regular shift and proving most effective on what must be termed the team&rsquo;s checking line.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-011020/4035580-1-eng-US/f0011-012.jpg" title="f0011-01" width="573" height="695"><figcaption class="caption-body">SHELDON KANNEGIESSER &hellip;Secured in Trade</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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Kannegiesser Aid To Canucks’Woes

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-02856/4035611-1-eng-US/f0011-022.jpg" title="f0011-02" width="581" height="799"></div> &#9632;

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NHL Leaders

<div class="byline">Bill Fleischman&#x2019;s</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-011040/4035642-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg" title="f0012-01" width="287" height="455"></div><h2>The Ups And Downs</h2>THEIR TEAMS are at opposite ends of the NHL&rsquo;s ladder.Bryan Trottier&rsquo;s New York Islanders are Stanley Cup contenders. As one of hockey&rsquo;s most respected teams, the Islanders regularly fill Nassau Coliseum and play before large crowds on the road.Alan MacAdam&rsquo;s Cleveland Barons have little hope of climbing out of the Adams Division basement. The Barons have some talented players such as MacAdam, Dennis Maruk, Bob Murdoch, Rick Hampton and Gilles Meloche, but when they show up at most NHL arenas the reaction is &ldquo;Who are these guys?&rdquo; The Barons have been virtually ignored around their Richfield, Ohio, outpost and don&rsquo;t exactly spin the turnstiles at double time on the road.While the Islanders&rsquo; franchise is in solid shape&mdash;on the ice at least&mdash;the Barons wonder how long their owners can continue staring at red ink. George Gund and Peter Larsen angrily deny doomsday predictions from people like Alan Eagleson and insist they are committed to making the Barons match the success of basketball&rsquo;s Cleveland Cavaliers. But so far the good people of the Cleveland-Akron area haven&rsquo;t indicated they care whether the Barons survive or follow the WHA Crusaders into oblivion.<h2>Needs Little Encouragement</h2>TROTTIER, ONLY 21, needs little encouragement to prepare for games. He has been leading the league in scoring and has been one of the consistent players on a team that occasionally has too many uninvolved players to satisfy coach Al Arbour. Talking about facing Philadelphia in their bitter rivalry, Trottier revealed the enthusiasm he brings to the game.&ldquo;The atmosphere is there as soon as you step on the ice,&rdquo; said the 1976 Calder Trophy winner. &ldquo;We don&rsquo;t give them an inch of the ice and they don&rsquo;t give us an inch.&rdquo;Cleveland could also be accused of inconsistency, after upsetting Montreal, 2-1 at home, then crumbling, 7-2 under a Flyers&rsquo; scoring avalanche at the Spectrum. However, the Barons are still too young to expect a peak level for several games. Watch the Barons awhile and one conclusion is obvious: they desperately need some experienced forwards. Building with young is fine, but until they develop poise veterans are needed to provide steady leadership.More experience up front should result in more victories, and more victories should attract more customers.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know why the people don&rsquo;t come out,&rdquo; said MacAdam, a 32-goal scorer two years ago. &ldquo;We had 12,000 for Montreal so maybe they&rsquo;ll come back. Maybe they haven&rsquo;t come out because we&rsquo;ve been losing, and when you lose the press seems negative.&rdquo;<h2>Empty Seats Depressing</h2>MacADAM, A FOURTH-ROUND choice of Philadelphia in the 1972 draft bonanza that also included Bill Barber, Tom Bladon and Jimmy Watson, admits playing before vacant seats in the 18,500-seat Richfield Coliseum is depressing.&ldquo;Not having big crowds doesn&rsquo;t help any,&rdquo; the Prince Edward Island native said. &ldquo;In California (Oakland) we had the same problem, but it didn&rsquo;t seem quite as bad because the rink was smaller. We can&rsquo;t use it as an excuse, although when the building is three-quarters full you tend to play better.&rdquo;In some ways the Barons&rsquo; near collapse last season united the players defenseman Bob Stewart worked tirelessly to keep the players together.&ldquo;It (staying optimistic) gets tough sometimes.&rdquo; MacAdam said. &ldquo;But the good point is everybody gets along pretty well. If there were a lot of griping it would make it tough.&rdquo;The Islanders have had more than their usual share of gripes this season, making people wonder if their happy family is cracking a bit under management&rsquo;s &ldquo;it&rsquo;s time to win something&rdquo; theme. Trottier brushes aside such suspicions, saying the complaints are mainly &ldquo;frustration from guys who are sitting out and want to play.&rdquo;Funny how no one will remember the griping if the Islanders win the Patrick Division pennant. And they may do just that if Trottier&rsquo;s line continues piling up points. Rookie Mike Bossy was leading the league&rsquo;s goal scorers and captain Clark Gillies was among the NHL&rsquo;s top point producers.The Islanders&rsquo; problem has been their other lines haven&rsquo;t been scoring as expected. Some problem, Alan MacAdam was thinking. The Barons couldn&rsquo;t even get one line moving. &#9632;

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HOCKEY WORLD

<div class="byline">BY DAN DONOVAN</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0012-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-02879/4035673-1-eng-US/f0012-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">DENNIS HERRON&hellip;No Goaling Workies</figcaption></div>PITTSBURGH&mdash;Just when it appeared the Penguin problem at goaltender would become a serious one, the skinniest saviour around came to the rescue. Denis Herron, the wiry goaltender with the quick reflexes, suddenly got sharp, quickly washing away any goaltending worries.Herron faced 132 shots in three consecutive starts, but gave up only nine goals. In one period in Los Angeles, he turned away a team record 22 shots, and then came home the next game and stopped 20 New York Islanders shots in the second period of a 5-2 victory.&ldquo;Just another game,&rdquo; Herron smiled after the Islanders win. &ldquo;Just another 40-shot game. I thought our defense played well. They didn&rsquo;t give up any breakaways. I always tell them, just don&rsquo;t give up too many breakaways, and I can handle the other stuff.&rdquo;If Herron does have a fault, it is his failure to handle breakaways with the ease he handles the shots you would think are more difficult&mdash;screens, tips, and blasts from the slot. Herron has added good positioning to the natural reflexes he brought into the NHL and is extremely difficult to beat except by a good shot.He used to have a weight problem. Used to, because coaches and general managers used to try and fatten him up. Now they have given up, letting him play at 152 pounds stretched over his long, five-foot-11 frame.&ldquo;Weight doesn&rsquo;t mean that much to a goaltender.&rdquo; Herron said. &ldquo;A big guy like Ken Dryden, well, he would have to worry about weight because he should weigh 200 pounds. But Don Edwards in Buffalo weighs 150, Glen Resch (Islanders) weighs 155. I don&rsquo;t worry about it any more.&rdquo;The Kansas City Scouts tried to fatten Herron up with a steady diet of milkshakes, and he would drink five or six a day. But he developed kidney stones and had to have a mid-season operation. And what were the doctors&rsquo; orders? Cut down on the milk and ice cream. Since then, Herron has learned to ignore the numbers on the scale.Early in the season, Herron was inconsistent, seemingly off-balance, especially on long shots. He blamed a lack of concentration, something that may have been cured by the Buffalo Sabres.Coach Johnny Wilson&rsquo;s forechecking system had considerably cut down the Penguins&rsquo; shots against, and Herron hadn&rsquo;t had a 40-shot game until he went into Buffalo.The Sabres rifled 44 shots on goals, but Herron preserved a 3-3 tie. Coach Wilson then gave goaltender Dune Wilson three straight starts in which he gave up 15 goals, and then reverted to Herron.The Penguins were unable to do much on the road at all, coming up with only one win, a 3-2 victory in Cleveland, in their first 11 road games. If they are to get back into the fierce Norris Division battle for second place, they must improve that road record as December is filled with trips out of town.Coach Wilson has continued to shift lines around, moving Blair Chapman back to right wing, with Greg Malone as his center. Gene Carr was moved from left wing to center with Rick Kehoe on right wing and Dave Schultz at left wing.The Penguins were cheered by the return of left wing Lowell MacDonald, who has apparently shaken off back and knee problems. MacDonald picked up a goal and an assist in his first three games, besides playing a smart game defensively.MacDonald&rsquo;s return was imnortant, as the Penguins lost two other forwards to injuries. Wayne Bianchin had trouble with his back, which now has suffered two traumatic injuries, and Mike Corrigan strained his knee during a swing to the West Coast.The injury came when Corrigan was the team&rsquo;s hottest scorer with six goals in seven games.PENGUIN NOTES: Poor ratings, disgruntlement with announcer Bob Prince plague Penguin telecasts&hellip;Center Greg Malone, the team leader both offensively and defensively so far, is one of the few plus players on the team with a plus five&hellip;Best Penguin defenseman in early going is veteran Ron Stackhouse, as he was clearing out the front of the net and moving the puck well. &#9632;

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Wiry Herron Filling Gaps In Pens’ Netminding Job

NEW YORK&mdash;Both the National Hockey League and World Hockey Association have cleared the decks for their confrontation with top European club teams in the next two months.The NHL announced dates for a 13-game visit of the Spartak team from the Soviet Union and two top Czechoslovakian teams&mdash;Pardubice and Kladno. At the same time, the WHA received the green light to proceed with a series of international games against teams from Czechoslovakia, Sweden, the Soviet Union, Finland and Japan.The NHL announced its series will open Dec. 26 with Pardubice facing Philadelphia at the Spectrum while Kladno opposes the Rangers in Madison Square Garden.Other dates include:Dec. 28&mdash;Pardubice at Minnesota North Stars; Spartak at VancouverCanucks.Dec. 31&mdash;Kladno at Chicago Black Hawks.Jan. 2&mdash;Pardubice at Toronto Maple Leafs; Kladno at Detroit Red Wings.Jan. 3&mdash;Spartak at Colorado Rockies.Jan. 4&mdash;Pardubice at New York Islanders; Kladno at Cleveland Barons.Jan. 5&mdash;Spartak at St. Louis Blues.Jan. 6&mdash;Spartak at Montreal Canadiens.Jan. 8&mdash;Spartak at Atlanta Flames.The Soviets were originally scheduled to send two teams over to oppose the NHL but scheduling difficulties cancelled the plans. When the NHL announced the Soviets would not be coming, contacts were resumed on both sides of the hockey world and the Soviets agreed to send the Spartak team.Kladno, Pardubice and Spartak will be allowed to add players to their teams for the series but no indication has been given on how many players will be added.NHL president John Ziegler, who has been instrumental in arranging the series, said the Soviets will send one game official to work the series. The Czechs will also send over officials but they will not work in games involving the visiting Czech teams.Meanwhile, a delegation from the Swedish Hockey Association will visit Canada to discuss plans for a possible exhibition game in Sweden between an NHL All Star team and a Swedish squad.Officials said the Swedish team would be made up of Swedish players in the NHL and WHA. The Swedes had been invited to Canada by Alan Eagleson, executive director of the NHL Players Association.The WHA has overcome numerous problems to be able to arrange its series against the European teams. Threats and disagreements between the WHA and amateur hockey bodies in Canada and the United States, almost washed out the series.Howard Baldwin, president of the WHA, said that as the result of consultations that have taken place in recent weeks, the relationship between the WHA and amateur hockey has improved.The WHA has had to revamp its schedule of games involving WHA teams and the Europeans. Baldwin said new dates include games originally withheld from Canadian cities because of the lack of approval from the CAHA.The reluctance of the amateur groups was the result of the Birmingham Bulls of the WHA signing underage junior Ken Linseman to a pro contract in conflict with an agreement between the pros and the CAHA.The WHA is now working towards finalizing dates for the international competition, many dates which are already set. The league said it will announce a final schedule for all visiting teams in the next two weeks. &#9632;

NHL To Face Czechs, Soviets 13 Times

<div class="byline">BY BOB VERDI</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-01999/4035728-1-eng-US/f0013-012.jpg" title="f0013-01" width="565" height="1349"><figcaption class="caption-body">JIM HARRISON&hellip;Aggressive, Confident</figcaption></div>CHICAGO&mdash;Jim Harrison could have gone shopping for another team, could have made more money, could have played his options.But he elected to be a Chicago Black Hawk. Who would have thunk it?&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want to leave here,&rdquo; the sinewy center man was saying. &ldquo;Something good is building with our team. You can feel it. If we keep improving the way we have been. I don&rsquo;t see why we couldn&rsquo;t go right to the Stanley Cup finals.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s early, I know, but you can feel the difference. Last year was brutal. Life is too short to go through aggravations like we went through. We were the laughing stock of hockey. We&rsquo;d go into places like Los Angeles and Buffalo and just get blown out. It was embarrassing.&ldquo;This year, nobody will be pushing us around anymore. I don&rsquo;t think you&rsquo;ll see any player on the Black Hawks getting knocked around without somebody else coming in to help him out. That wouldn&rsquo;t have happened last season. This year, everybody is together. Completely.&rdquo;Harrison is quick to point out that he doesn&rsquo;t ascribe current Hawk health to clenched fists, even though Chicago finished the first month of the season as penalty minute leaders in the National Hockey League.&ldquo;We have more guys who can fight, but that&rsquo;s not why we re winning,&rdquo; he explained. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re just more aggressive, we have our confidence, and we know what we re supposed to do. I think we could have had a little more coaching last year.&ldquo;We had guys trying, but we had no game plan. No system of forechecking or getting out of our own end. You could have six guys working, but they&rsquo;d be working in different directions. There was no system, no teamwork, no leadership. We were all alone.&ldquo;That lack of togetherness spread to off the ice too. You know how it is when you&rsquo;re losing. You go off by yourself or in little groups and start looking for excuses. We&rsquo;re all guilty of it.&ldquo;But now Bob Pulford has come in and changed a lot of things around in a short time. He has a style he wants us to play, and that&rsquo;s it. You play it. I think that&rsquo;s why players like Dennis Hull and Pit Martin aren&rsquo;t here anymore. They just didn&rsquo;t fit his style.&rdquo;Harrison, a voracious bumper who posseses a little bit of mean in him, befits the Pulford mold. He hits. He blocks shots. He forechecks. He is fearless.&ldquo;I like to play defense, and this really is the first time in the last five years that I&rsquo;ve been with a team that places an emphasis on that,&rdquo; Harrison said. &ldquo;I was in the World Hockey Association for four years, and that was so wide-open that there was no checking.&ldquo;There then were last season, when everything fell apart. But this season, we&rsquo;re concentrating on checking. We want to keep the goals against down. We&rsquo;ll win a lot of 2-1 games, I think. And I don&rsquo;t think there will be many nights when we get blown out.&ldquo;But that can be another misconception like the business of being physical. I like to play defense, and I&rsquo;m center on a line that&rsquo;s been our checking line so far. But I still hope to score 30 goals.&ldquo;I think the fans can appreciate defensive hockey, that it doesn&rsquo;t have to be dull. Naturally they like scoring, but they like hard work, too, and a good, tight-checking game can be as exciting as a 6-5 game. We&rsquo;ve proven that9&rdquo;HAWK TALK: Hawks, carrying &ldquo;too many players&rdquo; according to coach Pulford, dealt defenseman Randy Holt to the Cleveland Barons in exchange for Reg Kerr, a center-left wing who was playing with Phoenix of the Central League. &#9632;

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Harrison Opts To Stay With Hawks

<div class="byline">BY BILL LIBBY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0014-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-011021/4035766-1-eng-US/f0014-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">SYL APPS&hellip; Appears To Be Center Dionne Needs</figcaption></div>LOS ANGELES&mdash;Seven weeks into the 26-week season, within one game of one-fourth of their schedule, the Kings appeared to be an improved team with high potential even if it was not reflected in their record of 9-6-4. respectable but not what it might have been.As a measuring stick against which the new administration of manager George Maguire and coach Ron Stewart can be judged, the numbers were deceptive. The Kings have outskated and outshot most opponents, but failed to finish off plays. They have beaten good teams and failed to beat bad teams everyone else was beating.They have been inconsistent, but impressive.They have had stretches of only one loss in five games and only one in seven, but also winless streaks of four and five games. On a road kip, they won in Montreal and New York, but were bombed in St. Louis. They completely dominated Minnesota and Cleveland at home, but fell into 2-2 and 1-1 ties on late goals.They outshot Minnesota, 32-18, Cleveland, 48-20, Chicago, 28-22, and Pittsburgh, 48-18. They outshot Cleveland, 19-2, and Chicago, 18-5, in first period, and Pittsburgh, 23-5, in a second period. On a home stand, the Kings all but blew their visitors out of the Forum, but until they clouted Chicago, 8-3, and Pittsburgh, 5-3, were having trouble putting the puck in the net.The major reason would seem to be that they have so many new combinations in action. In the pre-season, I wrote that it looked like the club would not have many new faces. Manager Maguire was upset with this. He knew better. At this point in the season, there are seven new faces among 21 on the roster.This one-third turnover from the finish of last season is the result of some dynamite deals, which have strengthened the talent on the team tremendously. The club already had a nucleus of stars around which a contender could be built, and it has been busy building.On the Kings it is never clear how large a part owner Jack Kent Cooke plays in trades, but even as an absentee owner operating by telephone from Las Vegas it is certain he always plays a major role. It does appear that Maguire has Cooke&rsquo;s confidence more than the departed Jake Milford had and is functioning with a freer hand.The Kings gave up little to land veteran forwards Syl Apps, Hartland Monahan. Ernie Hicke, and Pete Stemkowski. and defenseman Randy Manery. The players provide the depth, balance, and power the club lacked before A rookie, forward Dave Taylor, has made it so far. Another, rookie, defenseman Rob Palmer, almost made it. Both look like they&rsquo;ll be important to this team in time.Apps appears to be the strong center Marcel Dionne needed, but they had not gotten their act together when Marcel was sidelined with a slightly separated shoulder Thanksgiving Eve. He is not expected back until mid-December and this has to hurt, but his team should be able to overcome his absence. Butch Goring picked up the slack with a hat trick the next night. Hicke&rsquo;s all-around play has not impressed his superiors, but he can score and gets another chance moving up to fill in for Dionne.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-02845/4035759-1-eng-US/f0014-022.jpg" title="f0014-02" width="1181" height="1189"><figcaption class="caption-body">DAVE TAYLOR&hellip; Rookie Forward Stuck With Club (Photos by Steve Babineau)</figcaption></div>Stemkowski, Monahan, and Manery have been steady. After I selected Mike Murphy as the Kings&rsquo; star in a loss to Montreal. Maguire said he thought Stemkowski had been the best player on the ice. Centering a checking line. Stemmer has been brilliant. Playing as well as he ever did in his youth, the big guy merits more work.Stewart has been going with a four-line system. He does different things than departed coach Bob Pulford did. They teach similar defensive systems, but Stewart relies on his defensemen to move the puck more. He has opened up the offense more and as the players get used to one another it should pay off.The Kings are well off last season&rsquo;s pace offensively, but far ahead defensively. A few loyalists admit they miss Pulford, who was a player&rsquo;s coach, but most say they really respect Stewart. It hasn&rsquo;t taken long for this to become his team. The new leaders have combined to put together a team of super promise.KINGS THINGS: The Kings have Bob Berry, Steve Clippingdale, Lome Stamler, Russ Walker, Jim Moxey, Terry Bucyk, Charlie Simmer. Pete Lafram-boise, Rob Palmer, Jim Witherspoon, Steve Short, Bart Crashley, Larry Carriere, and Mario Lessard at Springfield of the AHL and Dave Miglia at Muskegon of the IHL. Frank St. Marseille, Don Moores and Andre Leduc were released and Dave Schultz, Gene Carr, Ab DeMarco, Paul Evans and Shelly Kannegeisser traded, the latter recently for six-season NHL veteran Carriere. Three-year NHL vet Laframboise was signed as a free agent.Defensemen Dave Hutchison and Bob Murdoch missed 10 and four games &hellip;All Star Rogie Vachon missed six games and now All Star Dionne may miss 10 or 12. He had played 263 straight games since March of 1974 before being thrown by Doug Wilson, who was not penalized.Replaced as publicist here. Mike &ldquo;Hopalong&rdquo; Hope and wife Sharon packed up the old covered wagon and set out for Houston, where he is now vice president in charge of marketing, with duties in public relations, advertising, and group sales for Arena Operating Company, which runs the WHA Aeros. NBA Rockets, and home summit&hellip; returned to his old job as publicist for the Kings. John Wolf is doing an excellent job. &#9632;

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Kings Show Promise, But Inconsistency Hurts

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-01827/4035923-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg" title="f0016-01" width="347" height="779"></div><h2>ATLANTA</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-02697/4035916-1-eng-US/f0016-022.jpg" title="f0016-02" width="711" height="560"></div><h2>BOSTON</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-03557/4035909-1-eng-US/f0016-032.jpg" title="f0016-03" width="708" height="637"></div><h2>BUFFALO</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-04437/4035902-1-eng-US/f0016-042.jpg" title="f0016-04" width="707" height="585"></div><h2>CHICAGO</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-05331/4035895-1-eng-US/f0016-052.jpg" title="f0016-05" width="704" height="559"></div><h2>CLEVELAND</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-06269/4035888-1-eng-US/f0016-062.jpg" title="f0016-06" width="706" height="614"></div><h2>COLORADO</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-07243/4035881-1-eng-US/f0016-072.jpg" title="f0016-07" width="709" height="638"></div><h2>DETROIT</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-08223/4035874-1-eng-US/f0016-082.jpg" title="f0016-08" width="706" height="664"></div><h2>LOS ANGELES</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-09200/4035867-1-eng-US/f0016-092.jpg" title="f0016-09" width="708" height="588"></div><h2>MINNESOTA</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-10178/4035860-1-eng-US/f0016-102.jpg" title="f0016-10" width="703" height="588"></div><h2>MONTREAL</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-11164/4035853-1-eng-US/f0016-112.jpg" title="f0016-11" width="705" height="610"></div><h2>ISLANDERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-12147/4035846-1-eng-US/f0016-122.jpg" title="f0016-12" width="704" height="664"></div><h2>RANGERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-13133/4035839-1-eng-US/f0016-132.jpg" title="f0016-13" width="704" height="666"></div><h2>PHILADELPHIA</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-14126/4035832-1-eng-US/f0016-142.jpg" title="f0016-14" width="708" height="586"></div><h2>PITTSBURGH</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-15116/4035825-1-eng-US/f0016-152.jpg" title="f0016-15" width="711" height="560"></div><h2>ST. LOUIS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-16112/4035818-1-eng-US/f0016-162.jpg" title="f0016-16" width="706" height="614"></div><h2>TORONTO</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-17104/4035811-1-eng-US/f0016-172.jpg" title="f0016-17" width="707" height="616"></div><h2>VANCOUVER</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-1897/4035804-1-eng-US/f0016-182.jpg" title="f0016-18" width="708" height="538"></div><h2>WASHINGTON</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-1990/4035797-1-eng-US/f0016-192.jpg" title="f0016-19" width="711" height="664"></div> &#9632;

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NHL SCORING AND PENALTY STATISTICS

<div class="byline">BY PAT THOMPSON</div>BLOOMINGTON&mdash;That&rsquo;s Beaulieu, not Beliveau.Andre &ldquo;The Cat&rdquo; Beaulieu is now coaching the Minnesota North Stars in the National Hockey League, a move up from assistant under Ted Harris.General manager Jack Gordon announced on Thanksgiving morning before the team took a morning practise that Harris had been relieved of coaching duties and had been offered a job within the organization.Gordon&rsquo;s decision came after the North Stars played their third straight loss, 9-2, to the New York Islanders.Just who is this &ldquo;Cat?&rdquo; It&rsquo;s Beaulieu, not Beliveau.Andre Beaulieu, 35-year-old native of Shawinigan. Que., joined the Stars as an assistant at the start of the 1975-76 season when Harris became the sixth Minnesota coach.The Stars, in their official announcement, pointed out the fact that Beaulieu is the first NHL coach to hold a masters degree. He achieved a bachelors degree in mathematics from St. Mary&rsquo;s in Winona, Minn., where he set a national collegiate scoring record of 136 goals and 234 points in 63 games.Beaulieu finished up his post-graduate work in education at the College of St. Thomas in St. Paul and began his coaching career at a Twin Cities high school. In six years as a prep coach and two more as a junior coach in Bloomington. Beaulieu&rsquo;s teams won 213 games, lost 71 and tied eight.He has also coached on an international level with junior teams and as an assistant to the U.S. team in the 1976 world tournament in Prague. A textbook which he has authored will come off the presses sometime this winter or next spring.But can Beaulieu coach in the NHL?&ldquo;We feel he knows the personnel better than anyone else,&rdquo; said GM Gordon. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a very bright man with a great grasp of the theory of the game and has been a success at every level at which he has coached.&ldquo;The question that a lot of people are asking is if Andre can coach without any pro experience. I don&rsquo;t think that will be a hindrance. He&rsquo;s had coaching experience in high school, in juniors and on an international level.&rdquo;Beaulieu was, at first, stunned by the Thanksgiving turn of events.&ldquo;It was a heck of a shock,&rdquo; said Beaulieu. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve always admired Ted and I&rsquo;ve learned a lot from him the last two years.&rdquo;Minnesota&rsquo;s new coach made no startling predictions on turning the club around from a bumpy start. &ldquo;I just want everybody thinking on the same channel,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;If something isn&rsquo;t understood during practise, I&rsquo;m going to stop the play and let the players know how it&rsquo;s supposed to be. I hope to keep this type of communication going. &ldquo;Harris had a 48-104-27 record in the two-plus seasons as North Star coach, his brightest moment during that time was when Minnesota recovered from an equally bad start a year ago and squeezed into second place in the Smythe Division with a strong finish.&ldquo;We reached a point where we felt a change was in the best interests of the hockey club,&rdquo; said Gordon. &ldquo;It was not an easy decision. My association with Ted has been long and rewarding. He&rsquo;s a person who is dedicated to hockey and who has worked very hard at every phase of it.&rdquo;The players did not seem as shocked about the move as Beaulieu&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not Ted&rsquo;s fault,&rdquo; said leading scorer Tim Young. &ldquo;Sure, he made mistakes, but remember he was only in his third year as coach. We made the mistakes, too, and we&rsquo;re the ones to blame. We sensed something might happen soon and a lot of the guys were talking about the possibility.&rdquo;Goalie Pete LoPresti added, &ldquo;This is like a player being traded. It&rsquo;s something you never get used to in this game. Here one day and gone the next. It&rsquo;s a matter of getting the best out of the 20 guys you have on the team and making sure they pull together.&rdquo;The Stars are hoping they&rsquo;ll pull together under Beaulieu. Not Beliveau.STAR DUST: Harris&rsquo; firing came after the Stars had lost three straight games by a combined total of 20-6&hellip;Also, Minnesota went through a six-game losing streak to open the season&hellip;Injuries continue to hurt the team&hellip;Dean Talafous missed three games with a bruised knee&hellip;Lou Nanne is out indefinitely with an elbow infection&hellip; Harvey Bennett (wrist), Roland Eriksson (hand), Brad Maxwell (finger) and Jerry Engele (knee) returned from the disabled ranks&hellip;Only five players had played in every game a fourth of the way through the season (Young, Glen Sharpley, Kent Andersson, Steve Jensen and Nick Beverley).<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-01718/4035954-1-eng-US/f0017-012.jpg" title="f0017-01" width="579" height="988"><figcaption class="caption-body">ANDRE BEAULIEU&hellip;Knows Personnel</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0017-01

Beaulieu Takes North Stars’ Reins

<div class="byline">BY FRANK ORR</div>LOUISVILLE SLUGGER HOCKEY STICKSMade in Canada by HILLERICH & BRADSBY, LTD Arnold Street, Wallaceburg, Ontario Sold in U.S. and CanadaLOUISVILLE SLUGGER HOCKEY STICKSMade in Canada by HILLERICH & BRADSBY, LTD Arnold Street, Wallaceburg, Ontario Sold in U.S. and CanadaTORONTO&mdash;The Washington Capitals brought the worst record in the National Hockey League to Toronto&rsquo;s Maple Leaf Gardens in late November to play the Toronto Maple Leafs.A dud game, right? No demand for tickets? Scalpers around the Gardens holding one-cent sales?To purists, perhaps a visit of the Capitals hardly qualifies as big stuff. But to Toronto hockey fans, that doesn&rsquo;t really matter. Tickets for the Caps-Leafs&rsquo; game were, as the scalpers say, &ldquo;tough &ldquo;.Granted, there were quite a few empty seats because some of those who buy their tickets by the season decided to do something else that evening. But the standing room was jammed and the Gardens&rsquo; box office reported a heavy demand for tickets.It&rsquo;s not exactly a new scene at Maple Leaf Gardens but this season, the ticket situation is more hectic than ever, even when the opposition is from the lower reaches of the standings.Of course, the excellent start made by the Leafs to the 1977-78 schedule is a big factor. In a town hungry for a winner, the Leafs have injected hope into the Hogtown sports enthusiasts. After all, the football Argonauts remain a joke and the baseball Blue Jays, even though they attracted great crowds, are a long distance away from 500, let alone being a winner.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a funny thing but we quite often have a larger demand for tickets when the visiting club is one of the lower-rated ones than when one of the top teams is in town.&rdquo; said a Gardens&rsquo; official.&ldquo;It seems that when a big team is coming to play the Leafs, the fans figure they don&rsquo;t have a chance to get a seat. So when Washington or Colorado or Cleveland is coming, they make the big try for tickets.&rdquo;The upswing in Leafs interest, which lagged in the early 1970s, really rolled in the violent 1976 playoff series between the Toronto club and Philadelphia Flyers. Leafs&rsquo; failure to follow with a big improvement in &lsquo;76-77 caused a slight lag but again a strong showing, albeit a losing one to Philly in the &lsquo;77 playoffs, lifted it again.This season, the Leafs&rsquo; hiring of Roger Neilson to replace Red Kelly as coach was a shot in the interest arm. Then the independent Channel 11 in Hamilton took over the telecasts of Leafs&rsquo; Wednesday night games from CFTO, the CTV outlet in Toronto. For the first time, Leafs Wednesday road games are available to the southern Ontario audience, and ratings to date have been high.When the Leafs traded Inge Hammarstrom, a very popular player in Toronto, to the St. Louis Blues, team owner Harold Ballard received more than 500 letters protesting the move.&ldquo;The people obviously care a lot about the Maple Leafs and what they&rsquo;re doing.&rdquo; Ballard said. &ldquo;At least the amount of mail we receive in this office indicates they do.&rdquo;The Gardens&rsquo; publicity department claims this is the best start a Leafs team has made in 27 seasons, building an 11-4-3 won-lost-tied record in its first 18 matches. That supplies some validity to the large Leafian aim of turning the NHL&rsquo;s big five&mdash;Montreal Canadiens. Philadelphia Flyers, New York Islanders. Buffalo Sabres and Boston Bruins&mdash;into a big six plus a battle with Sabres and Bruins for the Adams Division pennant.The Leafs, however, must improve their record against the teams which finished above them in the standings last season. In nine games against clubs below them, they have seven wins and two ties but against the superior clubs the Leafs have three wins (two over Philadelphia, one over the Sabres), four losses (to Los Angeles Kings, Bruins, Sabres and Canadiens) plus a tie with Canadiens.NOTES: In taking a pair of one-goal wins over the Sabres and Blues. Leafs nursed the slender margin a considerable distance. They had three shots on goal in the third period of each match, hardly the world&rsquo;s most exciting variety of hockey. Although he&rsquo;s pleased with the team&rsquo;s defensive work, Neilson wants them to play a little bit of hockey on the other team&rsquo;s turf while protecting a lead&hellip; &ldquo;Our ability to press in the other team&rsquo;s zone is an area which needs some work,&rdquo; Neilson said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s encouraging that we can play strongly enough defensively to carry a lead but we want to be able to add to one, too.&rdquo;&hellip;An injured knee removed center Don Ashby from the Leaf lineup for a week.Neilson&rsquo;s naming of Mike Palmateer as his No. 1 goalie and supplying the youngster with a heavy workload was paying off. Palmateer worked 15 of the club&rsquo;s first 17 matches and has a 2.60 goals-against average. Palmateer performed in the style of a technically sound, stand-up NHL goalie. In the past, a tendency to flop has hurt him&hellip;The Leafs&rsquo; success in protecting a lead deserted them against Washington Capitals when they built a 4-0 lead, then watched the lead evaporate as Caps came back for a 4-4 tie. The Leafs sent defenseman-winger Bob Neely to the Philadelphia Firebirds of the American League for a two-week stint.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-01735/4035985-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg" title="f0018-01" width="570" height="560"><figcaption class="caption-body">BOB NEELY &hellip;Sent To Minors</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0018-01

Leafs’ Tickets Difficult To Come By

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-02589/4036023-1-eng-US/f0018-022.jpg" title="f0018-02" width="572" height="962"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-03442/4036016-1-eng-US/f0018-032.jpg" title="f0018-03" width="569" height="932"></div> &#9632;

f0018-02

Looking At NHL Goalers

A change in scenery was just what the doctor ordered and the patient, Pete Mahovlich of the Pittsburgh Penguins, seems fully recovered and in the best form he&rsquo;s been in for years.Mahovlich had an on-the-ice view of his old mates, Montreal, blasting his new mates, the Penguins, in a 9-1 mismatch, but things took an immediate turn for the better once big Pete got to Pittsburgh. He scored five goals in three games, including the winning goal, his third of the game, in a 6-4 victory over the Detroit Red Wings in his first Pittsburgh start.Mahovlich raised his goal total to eight on the season with single tallies against Buffalo in a 4-4 tie and versus the Capitals as the Penguins doubled the score, 4-2.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-04317/4036054-1-eng-US/f0018-042.jpg" title="f0018-04" width="530" height="827"><figcaption class="caption-body">PETE MAHOVLICH &hellip;Pittsburgh Penguins</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0018-04

NHL’S… Player of the Week

<div class="byline">BY LARRY BORTSTEIN</div>DENVER&mdash;The Colorado Rockies are getting so much production out of their number one line that a nickname is being sought for them.By whatever name, though, there&rsquo;s no getting around the fact that the trio of Wilf Paiement, Paul Gardner, and Gary Croteau is the key combination for the Mile High City sextet.Each has his own particular asset. Paiement is a powerful skater with a wicked wrist shot. In a 7-2 victory against Cleveland on Nov. 19, he recorded the first five-point night of his career, including his third career hat trick.Gardner is an opportunistic goalmaker, a la Phil Esposito, who hovers near the goal mouth and whacks home every loose puck and rebound in sight. He scored 15 goals in the first 15 games of the 1977-78 campaign.Croteau, at 31-years-old, is nine years older than Paiement and 10 years Gardner&rsquo;s senior, doesn&rsquo;t compile the heady scoring totals of his youthful linemates, but is a relentless back-checker and steady positional player.&ldquo;The three guys work together very well,&rdquo; says Pat Kelly, the Rockies&rsquo; bench boss. &ldquo;It would take a real crisis to break the three of them up.&rdquo;A potential crisis might be the club&rsquo;s over-reliance on this one line. With Gardner scoring 15 goals, Paiement 12, and Croteau five, the number one Colorado line registered 32 of the club&rsquo;s first 61 goals of the season.&ldquo;That makes the number two line, the Ron Andruff line, a very important line.&rdquo; says Kelly. &ldquo;We need steady production out of that line so that all the scoring pressure doesn&rsquo;t fall on Gardner&rsquo;s line.&rdquo; This was the situation that prevailed much of last year.With Gardner is a three-way tie for fourth place in NHL scoring (25 points) and Paiement in seventh place (24 points) going into the third week of November, the Rockies were the only club besides the Islanders to have more than one skater among the league&rsquo;s top seven.Paiement and Gardner both shrug off any idea that there is a rivalry building between them for goals and points.&ldquo;We both want to win games and get into the playoffs,&rdquo; says Gardner, the baby-faced 21-year-old centerman who got off to an early lead in the league power play derby with eight goals.&ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s good for both of us to try to score as many goals as we can,&rdquo; says Paiement, the 22-year-old captain. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s what we&rsquo;re supposed to do. and I think the more we get, the more it&rsquo;ll help the club win games.&rdquo;There certainly didn&rsquo;t seem to be any budding rivalry the night Paiement got his three goals and two assists in the 7-2 rout of Cleveland.It was a true hat trick for Wilf, who scored three straight goals, including one at 15:59 of the second period, and two within 24 seconds midway through the third session, at 10:23 and 10:47. Gilles Meloche was the victim of all seven Rockies&rsquo; scores for the evening. The third Paiement goal was the 100th of Wilf&rsquo;s 205-game NHL career.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-01388/4036123-1-eng-US/f0021-012.jpg" title="f0021-01" width="572" height="905"><figcaption class="caption-body">WILF PAIEMENT&hellip;True Hat Trick</figcaption></div>At 13:59 of the third stanza, Gardner tipped in a score from point-blank range, and there was some confusion that the goal belonged to Paiement, which would have made him a four-goal scorer for the first time. Paul argued for some moments that credit for the goal did indeed belong to Wilf, but Gardner got the nod on his second goal of the night and 15th of the season.Paiement andGardner differ in their views on announcing ambitions for the season. Wilf says he hopes to score 50 goals this year after a 41-goal effort last season for sixth high in the NHL. &ldquo;So, that&rsquo;s my goal,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;I think I can do it. I know I&rsquo;m gonna work hard for it. Since we have more guys to do some hitting this year, I&rsquo;m doing less and I think that&rsquo;s gonna keep me stronger.&rdquo;Gardner, whose-fast start in the regular season has made up for his sluggish training camp when he was admittedly overwiehgt. says he prefers not to announce any goals.&ldquo;I was skating with Darryl Sittler this past summer in Toronto, and we got to talking about different things,&rdquo; Paul says. &ldquo;I asked him if he ever set his sights on any particular goal total or anything. He said no, that it tended to put too much pressure on you when you did that. I think he&rsquo;s right. I prefer to look ahead and do the best I can. I scored 30 goals last season, and if I get that many again, that&rsquo;ll be fine.&rdquo;ICE PEBBLES: With 16 games, one-fifth of the schedule completed, the Rockies were 6-7-3, including a 5-3-2 mark on home ice&hellip;Dave Hudson, the club&rsquo;s best checking centerman. suffered a shoulder separation and was expected to be sidelined for a month&hellip;This opened up a spot on the Hudson line for Nelson Pyatt, a 23-goal scorer for Colorado last year who had seen little action this season. An experiment to convert him to left wing failed. &#9632;

f0021-01

Rockies’Super Line Blends Numerous Assets

<h2>DECEMBER</h2>Mon. 5 Atlanta at MontrealTue. 6 Minnesota at N.Y. IslandersVancouver at WashingtonPittsburgh at ColoradoChicago at DetroitLos Angeles at St. LouisWed. 7 Philadelphia at N.Y. RangersN.Y. Islanders at ChicagoVancouver at AtlantaWashington at ClevelandMinnesota at TorontoThu. 8 N.Y. Rangers at PhiladelphiaSt. Louis at MontrealLos Angeles at PittsburghDetroit at BostonCleveland at BuffaloFri. 9 Toronto at ColoradoSat. 10 Detroit at N.Y. IslandersChicago at PhiladelphiaWashington at AtlantaVancouver at MontrealPittsburgh at BostonToronto at Los AngelesBuffalo at MinnesotaColorado at St. LouisSun. 11 Boston at N.Y. RangersCleveland at PhiladelphiaAtlanta at PittsburghSt. Louis at WashingtonVancouver at BuffaloMinnesota at ChicagoMon. 12 Montreal at ClevelandTue. 13 Chicago at N.Y. IslandersWashington at VancouverBuffalo at ColoradoWed. 14 N.Y. Rangers at ChicagoN.Y. Islanders at TorontoMontreal at MinnesotaPittsburgh at St. LouisThu. 15 N.Y. Rangers at DetroitBoston at PhiladelphiaCleveland at AtlantaBuffalo at Los AngelesFri. 16 Toronto at MinnesotaSat. 17 N.Y. Rangers at ClevelandBoston at N.Y. IslandersPhiladelphia at AtlantaMontreal at PittsburghWashington at Los AngelesDetroit at St. LouisBuffalo at VancouverChicago at TorontoMinnesota at ColoradoSun. 18 Detroit at N.Y. RangersMontreal at PhiladelphiaAtlanta at Chicago &#9632;

Where NHL Teams Play

(Standings on Mon. Dec. 5)<h2>NORRIS DIVISION</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-2435/4036447-1-eng-US/f0022-242.jpg" title="f0022-24" width="576" height="164"></div><h2>ADAMS DIVISION</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-2522/4036440-1-eng-US/f0022-252.jpg" title="f0022-25" width="578" height="135"></div><h2>PATRICK DIVISION</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-2615/4036433-1-eng-US/f0022-262.jpg" title="f0022-26" width="570" height="136"></div><h2>SMYTHE DIVISION</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-279/4036426-1-eng-US/f0022-272.jpg" title="f0022-27" width="576" height="154"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Tue. Nov. 29Philadelphia 3 at Vancouver 0Atlanta 3 at Minnesota 4Pittsburgh 1 at Montreal 9Washington 2 at Los Angeles 4Cleveland 2 at Toronto 3Wed. Nov. 30N.Y. Rangers 4 at St. Louis 0N.Y. Islanders 3 at Colorado 3Detroit 4 at Pittsburgh 6Buffalo 3 at Chicago 2Toronto 3 at Cleveland 5Thu. Dec. 1Philadelphia 4 at Los Angeles 2Montreal 1 at Buffalo 3Minnesota 2 at Boston 4Fri. Dec. 2Atlanta 2 at Vancouver 3Cleveland 3 at Washington 2Sat. Dec. 3N.Y. Rangers 4 at Minnesota 0N.Y. Islanders at St. Louis 2Philadelphia 6 at Colorado 3Atlanta 1 at Los Angeles 4Chicago 2 at Montreal 3Buffalo 4 at Pittsburgh 4Detroit 2 at Toronto 4Boston 4 at Cleveland 4Sun. Dec. 4Minnesota 4 at N.Y. Rangers 4Pittsburgh 4 at Washington 2Detroit 1 at Buffalo 6Vancouver 6 at Chicago 2Toronto 1 at Boston 3 &#9632;

f0022-24

The NHL Scoreboard

ATLANTA: Phillipoff 7, Lalonde 6, Lysiak 6,7, Ribble 4, Comeau 2.BOSTON: Park 4,5, Miller 2,3, Ratelle 8,9, Marcotte 7, Smith 4, McNab 8,9,10.BUFFALO: Perreault 15,16,17, Gare 12,13, Seiling 4, McAdam 3, R. Martin 9,10,11,12,13, Robert 9, Schoenfeld 1, Savard 3, Luce 11.CHICAGO: Harrison 2, Kelly 3, Bordeleau 1. Koroli 4. Russell 3, Mikita 2.CLEVELAND: Fidler 6,7,8,9,10, Gardner 7.8, MacAdam 2, Hampton 3,4,5, Maruk 14, Manery 6, Christie 1.COLORADO: Arnason 3, Andruff 9, Gardner 18,19, Beck 6, Dupere 1.DETROIT: St. Laurent 5, Larson 6,7, McCourt 6,7, Harper 1, Maloney 4.LOS ANGELES: Stemkowski 5,6,7, Kozak 4, Hicke 6, Goring 13, Williams 4,5, Apps 5.6.MINNESOTA: Eriksson 5, Andersson 4, Brasar 5, Pirus 4, Maxwell 5,6,7, Beverley 4, Talafous 7, Jensen 5.MONTREAL: Shutt 11.12, Cournoyer 8. Lambert 3, Risebrougb 4, Lafleur 19, Gainey 4, Houle 5,6, Mondou 4,5, Lemaire 5.6.ISLANDERS: Trottier 17,18, Nystrom 7. Parise 8, Gillies 10, Drouin 3, Bourne 6, D. Potvin 3, Bergeron 4.RANGERS: Esposito 9,10,11, Hickey 13, Vadnais 3, Johnstone 3,4,5, Tkaczuk 9, Greschner 7, DeBlois 7,8.PHILADELPHIA: Barber 12,13,14, MacLeish 3. Saleski 12,13, Dailey 11,12, Leach 10,11, Bladon 3, McCarthy 1, Holmgren 1.PITTSBURGH: Chapman 8, McDonough 3,4, Mahovlich 4,5,6,7,8, Malone 10,11,12, Kehoe 4, Pronovost 8, Lee 1.ST. LOUIS: Thomson 1, Palazzari 1.TORONTO: Williams 6, Ellis 6,7, McDonald 8, Salming 6, Thompson 7, Butler 2, McKenny 2, Ferguson 2, Sittier 11, Walker 2.VANCOUVER: Blight 7, Walton 14,15,16, Oddleifson 4, Sedlbauer 10,11, Graves 5, Ververgaert 4.WASHINGTON: Forbes 4, Smith 2, Sirois 10, Gibson 1, Patrick 1, Godin 1. &#9632;

NHL’s Scorers …This Week

<h2>Tue. Nov. 29</h2>PHILADELPHIA 3, VANCOUVER 0<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-01425/4036371-1-eng-US/f0022-012.jpg" title="f0022-01" width="581" height="461"></div>ATLANTA 3, MINNESOTA 4<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-02329/4036364-1-eng-US/f0022-022.jpg" title="f0022-02" width="582" height="455"></div>PITTSBURGH 1, MONTREAL 9<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-03270/4036357-1-eng-US/f0022-032.jpg" title="f0022-03" width="581" height="610"></div>WASHINGTON 2, LOS ANGELES 4<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-04207/4036350-1-eng-US/f0022-042.jpg" title="f0022-04" width="579" height="465"></div>CLEVELAND 2, TORONTO 3<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-05170/4036343-1-eng-US/f0022-052.jpg" title="f0022-05" width="577" height="188"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-06135/4036336-1-eng-US/f0022-062.jpg" title="f0022-06" width="588" height="305"></div><h2>Wed. Nov. 30</h2>RANGERS 4, ST. LOUIS 0<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-07121/4036329-1-eng-US/f0022-072.jpg" title="f0022-07" width="585" height="511"></div>ISLANDERS 3, COLORADO 3<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-08110/4036322-1-eng-US/f0022-082.jpg" title="f0022-08" width="591" height="509"></div>DETROIT 4, PITTSBURGH 6<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-09102/4036315-1-eng-US/f0022-092.jpg" title="f0022-09" width="580" height="689"></div>BUFFALO 3, CHICAGO 2<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-1091/4036308-1-eng-US/f0022-102.jpg" title="f0022-10" width="588" height="223"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-1186/4036301-1-eng-US/f0022-112.jpg" title="f0022-11" width="578" height="313"></div>TORONTO 3, CLEVELAND 5<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-1281/4036294-1-eng-US/f0022-122.jpg" title="f0022-12" width="587" height="614"></div><h2>Thu. Dec. 1</h2>PHILADELPHIA 4, LOS ANGELES 2<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-1374/4036287-1-eng-US/f0022-132.jpg" title="f0022-13" width="596" height="613"></div>MONTREAL 1, BUFFALO 3<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-1466/4036280-1-eng-US/f0022-142.jpg" title="f0022-14" width="589" height="431"></div>MINNESOTA 2, BOSTON 4<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-1564/4036273-1-eng-US/f0022-152.jpg" title="f0022-15" width="591" height="557"></div><h2>Fri. Dec. 2</h2>ATLANTA 2, VANCOUVER 3<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-1656/4036266-1-eng-US/f0022-162.jpg" title="f0022-16" width="585" height="425"></div>CLEVELAND 3, WASHINGSON 2<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-1751/4036259-1-eng-US/f0022-172.jpg" title="f0022-17" width="579" height="190"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-1850/4036252-1-eng-US/f0022-182.jpg" title="f0022-18" width="588" height="327"></div><h2>Sat. Dec. 3</h2>RANGERS 4, MINNESOTA 0<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-1950/4036245-1-eng-US/f0022-192.jpg" title="f0022-19" width="583" height="534"></div>ISLANDERS 7, ST. LOUIS 2<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-2049/4036238-1-eng-US/f0022-202.jpg" title="f0022-20" width="582" height="588"></div>PHILADELPHIA 6, COLORADO 3<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-2148/4036231-1-eng-US/f0022-212.jpg" title="f0022-21" width="582" height="664"></div>ATLANTA 1, LOS ANGELES 4<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-2242/4036224-1-eng-US/f0022-222.jpg" title="f0022-22" width="579" height="558"></div>CHICAGO 2, MONTREAL 3<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-2342/4036217-1-eng-US/f0022-232.jpg" title="f0022-23" width="581" height="483"></div>BUFFALO 4, PITTSBURGH 4<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-01253/4036210-1-eng-US/f0039-012.jpg" title="f0039-01" width="579" height="530"></div>DETROIT 2, TORONTO 4<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-02185/4036203-1-eng-US/f0039-022.jpg" title="f0039-02" width="582" height="530"></div>BOSTON 4, CLEVELAND 4<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-03141/4036196-1-eng-US/f0039-032.jpg" title="f0039-03" width="573" height="241"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-04117/4036189-1-eng-US/f0039-042.jpg" title="f0039-04" width="577" height="347"></div><h2>Sun. Dec. 4</h2>MINNESOTA 4. RANGERS 4<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-0591/4036182-1-eng-US/f0039-052.jpg" title="f0039-05" width="575" height="582"></div>PITTSBURGH 4, WASHINGTON 2<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-0674/4036175-1-eng-US/f0039-062.jpg" title="f0039-06" width="576" height="505"></div>DETROIT 1, BUFFALO 6<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-0763/4036168-1-eng-US/f0039-072.jpg" title="f0039-07" width="578" height="533"></div>VANCOUVER 6, CHICAGO 2<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-0856/4036161-1-eng-US/f0039-082.jpg" title="f0039-08" width="578" height="657"></div>TORONTO 1, BOSTON 3<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-0948/4036154-1-eng-US/f0039-092.jpg" title="f0039-09" width="575" height="471"></div> &#9632;

f0022-01

NATIONAL LEAGUE SUMMARIES

<div class="byline">BY RUSS WHITE</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0023-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-01399/4036502-1-eng-US/f0023-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">LARRY BOLONCHUK&hellip;Raises McVie&rsquo;s Hopes</figcaption></div>WASHINGTON&mdash;General manager Max McNab went through a pack of cigarettes each game and paced in press boxes while coach Tom McVie suffered from behind the bench.November was a cruel month for the Washington Capitals, 0-10-5, a month which extended their winless streak to 17 games.Even though the team came back from a 4-0 deficit at Maple Leaf Gardens to tie Toronto, 4-4, it was the 16th game the Caps played without a victory. The NHL record of 25 games was getting closer and it was just two years ago the Caps set that 25-game winless record.McVie doggedly refused to be discouraged.&ldquo;There are people in the world who are worse off than the Capitals and me,&rdquo; he said one night.Admitting the situation was grim, McVie would always find something to encourage him and no player won McVie&rsquo;s admiration more than defenseman Larry Bolonchuk, who was called up from the Hampton Gulls of the American Hockey League.No one need paint a picture of life for Bolonchuk, who at 25 knows that it is useless to feel sorry for yourself no matter how cruel events may be.While professional hockey teams have showered many young men with huge bonus money and multi-year contracts, Bolonchuk has shuffled about in the low minors the past five years.One of the players chosen by the Capitals in the expansion draft, Bolonchuk failed to stay with the team in a couple of previous trails.This time his luck changed and despite the club&rsquo;s ill luck, Bolonchuk was a plus four after four games with the Caps.Bolonchuk tripled his NHL scoring total (one) by assisting on two goals in a 5-2 loss at Buffalo.In the clubhouse after that game he seemed embarrassed to be interviewed. Nervously he tried to get a blade into his razor.&ldquo;The guys are having a hard time,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I knew that things weren&rsquo;t going too good when they called for me. It&rsquo;s no easy thing trying to play hockey when you&rsquo;re under pressure. I know. I&rsquo;ve had to fight it for awhile now.&rdquo;Bolonchuk is determined not to allow the pressure to build this time. As long as he can stay with the Caps, he is going to give it all he has and hope that something comes out of it.He&rsquo;s not looking for any favors and McVie, who was Bolonchuk&rsquo;s coach at Dayton in the International League, appreciates the fact Bolonchuk has always done everything that he was asked without even a trace of a whimper.And, McVie, said Bolonchuk became the best defenseman he had at Dayton.&ldquo;Today, he is one of the reasons I refuse to get discouraged,&rdquo; McVie said. &ldquo;If I had 19 guys like Bolonchuk, 19 hungry kids who wanted to play hockey so bad that they&rsquo;d play it for nothing, maybe things would be different.&ldquo;You know it was a big break for him just to get to play at Hampton in the American League this year,&rdquo; McVie said. &ldquo;I remember when he came in to talk to us while we were at Hershey (in training camp) and he begged that we would give him a chance to move up to the American League rather than to have him go back again to the International League.&ldquo;He even told Max McNab that he would give back any extra money that he might earn just to have that chance. When the people at Hershey didn&rsquo;t want Bolonchuk, Max went to Hampton and convinced them that the guy could help them.&ldquo;That,&rdquo; McVie said, &ldquo;pretty well proves to me that Bolonchuk is from the old breed of hockey player. I&rsquo;m pulling for him, I&rsquo;ll tell you that. I&rsquo;m really pulling for him.&rdquo;It obviously frustrated McVie to see someone like Bolonchuk, who has had no easy time, going out and working for a couple of hard-earned points when the club&rsquo;s other, more prosperous players accomplished very little.McVie took action in a game against Atlanta by benching first draft pick Robert Picard, after he was responsible for a couple of early goals. &ldquo;Maybe Robert just needs to sit and watch,&rdquo; said McVie. &ldquo;He made mistakes any 20-year-old makes. Bobby Orr made them, too.&ldquo;Sam Pollock was able to send Larry Robinson off to Nova Scotia for a year,&rdquo; McVie said, &ldquo;we can&rsquo;t afford to do that with Robert We need him here.&rdquo;The Caps, also needed unsung Larry Bolonchuk as they tried desperately to get into the swing of NHL play. &#9632;

f0023-01

Caps’ Winless Skein Grows, Club Month Without Victory

<div class="byline">BY GREG NOBLE</div>LOUISVILLE SLUGGERHOCKEY STICKSLOUISVILLE SLUGGERHOCKEY STICKSCINCINNATI&mdash;Stingers&rsquo; coach Jacques Demers did not believe justice was served by the World Hockey Association&rsquo;s judgement on the Thanksgiving night violence in Birmingham.WHA executive director Larry Gordon ordered Demers and team captain Rick Dudley each suspended for one game and fined $1,000 for their part in the fracas.Although Bulls&rsquo; players allegedly instigated the violence, neither coach Glen Sonmor nor any of his players was punished. Gordon only fined the club a total of $2,000 for not providing adequate police protection for players and officials and for not providing film of the game to the league.Gordon also reportedly fined referee Peter Moffat for his handling of the game, although the league did not make that announcement.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m very disappointed,&rdquo; said Demers. &ldquo;I respect Larry Gordon as a man and I respect his decision. He wanted to see films of the game, but they weren&rsquo;t available, so he had to go by what the referee told him.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think I deserve it, though. I could take the fine But my team&rsquo;s going well. We&rsquo;ve wop three in a row. The suspension&rsquo;s come at a wrong time,&rdquo; he said &ldquo;I was only trying to defend my players in the only way I could.&rdquo;Demers was punished for throwing sticks on the ice and charging after Moffat when he became enraged that the Bulls were attacking his players with punches and swinging sticks.&ldquo;Actually Birmingham was not even punished for what it did.&rdquo; Demers pointed out. &ldquo;Every incident was started by the Bulls. We were penalized badly on the ice, and we&rsquo;re still being penalized for it.&rdquo;Dudley was punished for leaving the bench and making threatening gestures at Moffat.&ldquo;Duds was in a position where there was nothing else he could do,&rdquo; said Demers. &ldquo;I told him to go out on the ice. All the fights were over. Moffat said he went out before the players were in the penalty box, but they were in the penalty box.&ldquo;Moffat said Duds made a motion to spear him, but Gordon asked Moffat how close Duds was to him and Moffat said, &lsquo;eight feet.&rsquo; Duds told Moffat, &lsquo;If I wanted to spear you, I would have.&rdquo;Gordon&rsquo;s action against the Stingers and Bulls was just part of the league&rsquo;s crackdown on violence. Gordon also handed out fines totalling $10,700 and six games in suspensions to the Bulls and Winnipeg Jets for a bench-clearing brawl, and $2,600 in fines and five games in suspensions to the New England Whalers and Edmonton Oilers.Demers. Dudley and Moffat appeared at a hearing in Hartford Dec. 1 with Gordon and Bob Frampton, chief of officials.Moffat effectively encouraged the Bulls in their violence by not calling penalties for instigating fights, but Demers said Moffat took no responsibility for what happened.&ldquo;I said Peter lost control of the game. He said he didn&rsquo;t. At no time did he take any blame for what happened,&rdquo; Demers said.Gordon said he suspected that the Bulls instigated the violence after reading The Cincinnati Post&rsquo;s account of the game and hearing testimony from Demers and Dudley.But Gordon said he could not act on his suspicions. &ldquo;The problem was we didn&rsquo;t have any game film,&rdquo; he said.Gordon said Sonmor told him the Bulls didn&rsquo;t film the game, although the league requires the home team to do so. However. Stingers publicity director John Hewig said he sat at the game next to a man filming it. &ldquo;You figure two plus two is four, and my suspicion is they destroyed it so they could get off easier,&rdquo; Hewig said.Gordon explained that Dudley and Demers each automatically drew a $500 fine according to league rules when Dudley left the bench.&ldquo;I added $500 and the suspension to Demers for seriously delaying the game and conduct unbecoming a coach,&rdquo; Gordon said.&ldquo;After the referee told Dudley he was out of the game, Dudley lost his cool&mdash;those are his words&mdash;and made several threatening gestures toward him. That&rsquo;s the reason for Dudley&rsquo;s (punishment),&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;The reason he got a one-game suspension while other players recently got three games was because there was no physical contact with the referee.&rdquo;Gordon said the league has instructed referees they had better start enforcing penalties for instigating fights, or else, and that the fines and suspensions to the five teams should be a warning that the league will not tolerate that kind of violence in the future.&ldquo;Hopefully Sonmor and all the coaches have gotten the message. We&rsquo;re not going to permit any physical threats to our officiating staff, and we&rsquo;re not going to tolerate anything that results in undue delay of the game,&rdquo; he said.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know what more the WHA can do. We&rsquo;ve acted very quickly. In the past we haven&rsquo;t come down hard enough,&rdquo; Gordon said. &ldquo;If coaches don&rsquo;t get the message, I guarantee more severe penalties. There could be suspensions up to the rest of the year or longer.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-01413/4036540-1-eng-US/f0024-012.jpg" title="f0024-01" width="574" height="888"><figcaption class="caption-body">RICK DUDLEY &hellip;Left Bench</figcaption></div>Gordon&rsquo;s forcefulness is a good sign that maybe the WHA can effectively police itself. That is the Stingers&rsquo; only consolation.<h2>WHA Leaders</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-02323/4036533-1-eng-US/f0024-022.jpg" title="f0024-02" width="580" height="909"></div> &#9632;

f0024-01

WHA’s Justice Disappoints Demers; Claims Bulls Instigated Violence

Quebec Nordiques&rsquo; Marc Tardif is making a shambles of the World Hockey Association&rsquo;s goalscoring race, but his teammates aren&rsquo;t giving him too much support and the club has failed to pick up much ground against New England which has been floundering of late.Tardif scored five goals last week, including a hat trick, but the Nordiques lost two out of three one-goal decisions. They were edged 3-2 by Cincinnati in a home game as Tardif scored once, were downed 5-4 in Indianapolis by the Racers as Tardif accounted for three Quebec goals, and then nipped Winnipeg in Quebec, 6-5, as Tardif again found the range.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-03230/4036571-1-eng-US/f0024-032.jpg" title="f0024-03" width="472" height="587"><figcaption class="caption-body">MARC TARDIF&hellip;Quebec Nordiques</figcaption></div>His five-goal week raised his goals total to 26, while no one else in the league has reached 20. &#9632;

f0024-03

WHA’S… Player of the Week

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0026-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-01363/4036745-1-eng-US/f0026-012.jpg"></div><h2>BIRMINGHAM BULLS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-02289/4036738-1-eng-US/f0026-022.jpg" title="f0026-02" width="159" height="168"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-03247/4036731-1-eng-US/f0026-032.jpg" title="f0026-03" width="723" height="629"></div><h2>CINCINNATI STINGERS</h2><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-04192/4036724-1-eng-US/f0026-042.jpg" title="f0026-04" width="137" height="162"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-05156/4036717-1-eng-US/f0026-052.jpg" title="f0026-05" width="722" height="576"></div><h2>INDIANAPOLIS RACERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-06125/4036710-1-eng-US/f0026-062.jpg" title="f0026-06" width="199" height="152"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-07113/4036703-1-eng-US/f0026-072.jpg" title="f0026-07" width="706" height="618"></div><h2>NEW ENGLAND WHALERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-08103/4036696-1-eng-US/f0026-082.jpg" title="f0026-08" width="211" height="214"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-0997/4036689-1-eng-US/f0026-092.jpg" title="f0026-09" width="713" height="594"></div><h2>EDMONTON OILERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-1092/4036682-1-eng-US/f0026-102.jpg" title="f0026-10" width="202" height="188"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-1188/4036675-1-eng-US/f0026-112.jpg" title="f0026-11" width="721" height="603"></div><h2>HOUSTON AEROS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-1280/4036668-1-eng-US/f0026-122.jpg" title="f0026-12" width="267" height="121"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-1379/4036661-1-eng-US/f0026-132.jpg" title="f0026-13" width="733" height="598"></div><h2>QUEBEC NORDIQUES</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-1471/4036654-1-eng-US/f0026-142.jpg" title="f0026-14" width="187" height="187"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-1565/4036647-1-eng-US/f0026-152.jpg" title="f0026-15" width="712" height="697"></div><h2>WINNIPEG JETS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-1657/4036640-1-eng-US/f0026-162.jpg" title="f0026-16" width="216" height="204"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-1753/4036633-1-eng-US/f0026-172.jpg" title="f0026-17" width="704" height="568"></div> &#9632;

f0026-01

WHA SCORING AND PENALTY STATISTICS

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0027-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-01344/4036776-1-eng-US/f0027-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">KENT NILSSON&hellip; Jets&rsquo; Hot Rookie Cools Off (Photo by Steve Babineau)</figcaption></div>EDMONTON&mdash;Very quietly, hardly noticed at all in the wake of the New England Whalers&rsquo; record-setting winning streak, the Edmonton Oilers are making their presence felt in the top half of the World Hockey Association standings. Thanks to a 3-2 road victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Dec. 4, the Oilers are just two points out of third place in the standings behind the Jets, and hold a game in hand, while they are only four points off the level of the second-place Quebec Nordiques, also with a game in hand.The Oilers split a home-and-home series with Birmingham last week, winning in Edmonton, 4-2, before dropping the rematch two nights later in the southern metropolis, 7-5. Then followed the victory against the Jets which raised the Oilers&rsquo; record to 11-11-1.Backed by some excellent goaltending by Dave Dryden, the key to the Oilers&rsquo; surge has been the overall scoring balance on the club. Dryden, of course has been a big factor contributing eight victories in his 14 starting assignments. His 2.87 goals-against average is also second best in the WHA to New England&rsquo;s Al Smith.Handling the scoring for the Oilers are former NHL-player Juha Widing who finally got untracked with three goals on the week to bring his production to four, as well as Ron Chipperfield, who added his 10th and 11th markers of the season. Norm Ferguson who notched numbers eight and nine, and Blair MacDonald, who potted his sixth and seventh. Newcomer Pierre Guite, obtained from the Quebec Nordiques along with goaltender Don &ldquo;Smokey&rdquo; McLeod, scored his first goal with Edmonton, his fifth of the season.HOUSTON: While the Oilers were making their move towards tightening up the top half of the standings, the Aeros were right behind making progress of their own.They split their week down the middle with a win, a loss and a tie, with the victory coming on the road Dec. 4 against the Cincinnati Stingers.The week began with a 3-3 tie against New England, before a 4-2 loss to the Indianapolis Racers two nights later at home. The three-point week brought the Aeros&rsquo; record to 9-10-1 for 19 points, but they have played three less games than fourth-place Edmonton, who have 23 points.Veteran Ernie Wakely has given the club a lift with a 3-2-1 record in goal, but even more impressive has been his 2.27 goals-against average in the six starts plus a shutout, the only one produced by the Aeros&rsquo; this season.Centerman Andre Lacroix has cracked the Top 10 in scoring with 28 points as he fired two goals in the three games, his 10th and 11th of the campaign. Morris Lukowich also notched a pair on the week, also his 10th and 11th of the year, as did Cam Connor, who scored his seventh and eighth goals.WINNIPEG: The Jets slipped from second place due to a rigorous schedule which saw them on the road for losses on Friday and Saturday (4-1 to New England and 6-5 to Quebec) and then return home Sunday to meet the Edmonton Oilers and lose yet another heartbreaker, 3-2.Goal production is down for the tired Jets as only one player, Willy Lindstrom managed to score more than one goal on the week. Lindstrom netted two, his fourth and fifth of the season, while singles went to Barry Long (his third) Dave Kryskow (his fifth), Anders Hedberg (18th), Bobby Hull (17th), Dan Labraaten (12th) and Robert Guindon (his third). After a fast start, rookie Kent Nilsson has tailed off and seems to be stuck at the nine-goal mark.The Jets goaltending, which ranks second in the league can&rsquo;t be faulted, but Finnish backstop Markus Mattson was sent to Tulsa of the Central League for extra playing time while Joe Daley and Gary Bromley will share the load. Mattson actually had the best average among the three with a 2.99 goals-against record. &#9632;

f0027-01

Oilers Make Big Strides In Bid To Overtake Jets

<h2>Tue. Nov. 29</h2>CINCINNATI 3, QUEBEC 2<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-01329/4036898-1-eng-US/f0028-012.jpg" title="f0028-01" width="580" height="512"></div><h2>Wed. Nov. 30</h2>INDIANAPOLIS 0, CINCINNATI 3<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-02237/4036891-1-eng-US/f0028-022.jpg" title="f0028-02" width="580" height="397"></div>BIRMINGHAM 2, EDMONTON 4<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-03179/4036884-1-eng-US/f0028-032.jpg" title="f0028-03" width="583" height="587"></div>NEW ENGLAND 3, HOUSTON 3<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-04140/4036877-1-eng-US/f0028-042.jpg" title="f0028-04" width="581" height="667"></div><h2>Thu. Dec. 1</h2>QUEBEC 4, INDIANAPOLIS 5<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-05121/4036870-1-eng-US/f0028-052.jpg" title="f0028-05" width="578" height="596"></div><h2>Fri. Dec. 2</h2>BIRMINGHAM 7, EDMONTON 5<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-06104/4036863-1-eng-US/f0028-062.jpg" title="f0028-06" width="578" height="771"></div>INDIANAPOLIS 4, HOUSTON 2FIRST PERIODIndianapolis. 1&mdash;Devine (Fortier, Patenaude) 13:14.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-0794/4036856-1-eng-US/f0028-072.jpg" title="f0028-07" width="576" height="536"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-0886/4036849-1-eng-US/f0028-082.jpg" title="f0028-08" width="556" height="542"><figcaption class="caption-body">CAM CONNOR</figcaption></div>WINNIPEG 1, NEW ENGLAND 4<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-0980/4036842-1-eng-US/f0028-092.jpg" title="f0028-09" width="575" height="481"></div><h2>Sat. Dec. 3</h2>CINCINNATI 5, NEW ENGLAND 2<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-1077/4036835-1-eng-US/f0028-102.jpg" title="f0028-10" width="581" height="534"></div>WINNIPEG 5, QUEBEC 6<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-1169/4036828-1-eng-US/f0028-112.jpg" title="f0028-11" width="584" height="637"></div><h2>Sun. Dec. 4</h2>INDIANAPOLIS 0, BIRMINGHAM 3<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-1265/4036821-1-eng-US/f0028-122.jpg" title="f0028-12" width="577" height="533"></div>HOUSTON 3, CINCINNATI 2<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-1359/4036814-1-eng-US/f0028-132.jpg" title="f0028-13" width="578" height="564"></div>EDMONTON 3, WINNIPEG 2<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-1452/4036807-1-eng-US/f0028-142.jpg" title="f0028-14" width="575" height="508"></div> &#9632;

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WORLD HOCKEY ASSN. SUMMARIES

<h2>DECEMBER</h2>Tue. 6 New England at IndianapolisHouston at QuebecWed. 7 Houston at WinnipegNew England at BirminghamCincinnati at EdmontonFri. 9 New England at BirminghamHouston at EdmontonCincinnati at IndianapolisSat. 10 Indianapolis at QuebecSun. 11 Houston at EdmontonIndianapolis at WinnipegCzechoslovakia at QuebecTue. 13 Birmingham at HoustonCzechoslovakia at WinnipegWed. 14 Indianapolis at CincinnatiSoviet Stars at New EnglandCzechoslovakia at EdmontonThu. 15 Cincinnati at BirminghamHouston at IndianapolisFri. 16 Birmingham at New EnglandSoviet Stars vs WinnipegCzechoslovakia at HoustonSat. 17 Winnipeg at New EnglandSoviet Stars at CincinnatiSun. 18 Edmonton at BirminghamNew England at WinnipegCzechoslovakia at IndianapolisTue. 20 Edmonton at HoustonSoviet Stars at IndianapolisCzechoslovakia at CincinnatiWed. 21 Winnipeg at HoustonCzechoslovakia at BirminghamThu. 22 Cincinnati at IndianapolisSoviet Stars vs EdmontonFri. 23 Winnipeg at CincinnatiIndianapolis at New EnglandSoviet Stars at BirminghamCzechoslovakia at HoustonMon. 26 Quebec at WinnipegSoviet Stars at BirminghamTue. 27 Quebec at EdmontonCzechoslovakia at New EnglancWed. 28 Indianapolis at CincinnatiSoviet Stars at HoustonThu. 29 Houston at IndianapolisBirmingham at Cincinnati &#9632;

Where WHA Teams Play

(Standings On Tue. Dec. 6)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-1551/4036953-1-eng-US/f0028-152.jpg" title="f0028-15" width="571" height="243"></div><h2>GAMES COMPLETED</h2>Tue. Nov. 29Cincinnati 3 at Quebec 2Wed. Nov. 30Indianapolis 0 at Cincinnati 3Birmingham 2 at Edmonton 4New England 3 at Houston 3Thu. Dec. 1Quebec 4 at Indianapolis 5Fri. Dec. 2Birmingham 7 at Edmonton 5Indianapolis 4 at Houston 2Winnipeg 1 at New England 4Sat. Dec. 3Cincinnati 5 at New England 2Winnipeg 5 at Quebec 6Sun. Dec. 4Indianapolis 0 at Birmingham 3Houston 3 at Cincinnati 2Edmonton 3 at Winnipeg 2 &#9632;

f0028-15

The WHA Scoreboard

BIRMINGHAM &mdash; Hughes 4, Cassolato 6, 7, 8 Napier 10, 11, Henderson 7, 8, 9, Gorman 4, Marrin 6, Durbano 2.CINCINNATI &mdash; Sobchuk 5, Larose 3, 4, Ftorek 17, Legge 3, Hall 4, Stoughton 4, Marsh 1, Gilligan 1, Leduc 17, Dudley 5, Stapleton 2.EDMONTON &mdash; Ferguson 8, 9, Guite 5. MacDonald 6, 7, Chipperfield 10, 11, Hamilton 4, Widing 2, 3, 4, Callighen 6, Deadmarsh 1.HOUSTON &mdash; Larway 5, Lukowich 10, 11, Connor 7, 8, Lacroix 10,11, Preston 7.INDIANAPOLIS &mdash; Block 1, Devine 5, 6. Maggs 3, Parizeau 1, St. Sauveur 14,15, Patenaude 12, Spring 2.NEW ENGLAND &mdash; Carroll 4, Rogers 9. Pleau 7, 8, McKenzie 9, Hangsleben 4, Mayer 5, Antonovich 11, Roberts 3.QUEBEC &mdash; Brackenbury 4, Tardif 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, Driscoll 3, Miller 3, Cloutier 13,14, J. Bernier 8.WINNIPEG &mdash; Long 3, Hedberg 18, Lindstrom 4, 5, Kryskow 5. Hull 17, Guinson 3, Labraaten 12. &#9632;

WHA’s Scorers…This Week

<div class="byline">BY RICH PASSAN</div>CLEVELAND&mdash;It happens as often as a man landing on the moon, a lunar eclipse and a Cleveland Indians&rsquo; pennant.And it happened on the evening of Nov. 23 before a club-record crowd of 12,859 at the Richfield Coliseum.The Cleveland Barons, one of the have-nots of the National Hockey League against the Montreal Canadiens. the most dominant team in the sport of hockey. David versus Goliath.The Canadiens entered the game with a 17-game unbeaten streak over the Barons on the road. That dates back to Nov. 17. 1970 when the club was skating in northern California.The Habs also took a 15-game unbeaten streak over-all over the Barons into the contest. Add to this the fact the Barons had taken a six-game winless streak into the game against Montreal&rsquo;s five-game winning streak and you don&rsquo;t doubt the outcome.So what if the Canadiens were missing Jacques Lemaire, Murray Wilson, Doug Risebrough and Bill Nyrop out with injuries. The Montrealers have incredible depth. They didn&rsquo;t miss this quartet as much as the Barons missed injured center icemen Ralph Klassen and Wayne Merrick.So what happens in the ensuing 60 minutes? A 2-1 Cleveland victory, that&rsquo;s what.Incredible, you say? You bet. The record crowd rubbed its eyes in disbelief when it was all over. Then a thundering standing ovation for their heroes, absolutely euphoric with the thrill of victory.It was a sight not seen very often in Cleveland hockey history, especially in recent years.Most of the onlookers came to see the mighty Canadiens. A possible upset never occurred to them, although they were rewarded for it.The Barons&rsquo; management, in a unique gimmick, offered each fan who attended the game a free ticket to a future Cleveland game should the Barons somehow win. For certain, the team made a lot of new friends on this night.The Barons&rsquo; formula was simple. All they had to do was check the Habs. which is easier said than done in most cases. Yet, that was the key to victory. That and an outstanding job of goaltending by Gary Edwards.The Barons did very little wrong in this one. The mistakes were kept at a minimum and most were in the neutral or offensive zones.Perhaps it would have been a different game had Steve Shutt not banked his short shot off the pipe just a minute into the game. But the goaltender&rsquo;s best friend did the trick.Bob Murdoch scored the game&rsquo;s first goal for the Barons five minutes into the contest. Dennis Maruk, who set up Murdoch, beat Ken Dryden on a breakaway late in the second period.The Montreal explosion most of the people had come to see had not materialized. Edwards stopped three breaks in the first five minutes of the second period, one each on Doug Jarvis. Brian Engblom and Guy Lafleur.Then midway through the final period, the Canadiens halved the score with Pierre Mondou beating Edwards from in close during a scramble. The fans, instead of resignedly sitting back, rose up to cheer the Barons.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-01287/4037008-1-eng-US/f0029-012.jpg" title="f0029-01" width="568" height="675"><figcaption class="caption-body">DAVE GARDNER&hellip;Controlled Faceoffs</figcaption></div>The Habs applied the pressure, but the beleaguered Cleveland defenders got their second wind. It came down to the., last minute with Dryden on the bench in favor of a sixth attacker.On two vital face-offs in the final 30 seconds. Dave Gardner of the Barons beat Jarvis, considered one of the best in the National Hockey League.At the final buzzer the Barons leaped off the bench and hugged Edwards amid the cacophony of the fans. The celebration continued as bottles of champagne were broken out in the dressing room.It was a night the players or fans won&rsquo;t soon forget. The night David did it to Goliath again.BARONS&rsquo; BITS: General manager Harry Howell finally swung a trade, sending rookie left winger Reg Kerr to the Chicago Black Hawks for defenseman Randy Holt. The burly rearguard wasted little time in making his presence felt. He and Mel Bridgman of the Philadelphia Flyers triggered a bench-clearing rawl at the end of the first period of their Nov. 25 game in Philly. Howell wants Holt to be the Barons&rsquo; policeman, a role the defender has played in the past&hellip;The knee operation on veteran right winger Gary Sabourin has been termed successful. He will miss the entire season. Bob Stewart became the third Baron in less than a month to suffer partially torn knee ligaments. It was the same knee that underwent surgery 17 months ago&hellip;Maruk continues his hot scoring pace with 13 goals in the first 19 games&hellip;The Barons&rsquo; average attendance climbed to 6.700 in eight dates after the Montreal game. The owners would be satisfied with an average of between 8.000 and 9.000. &#9632;

f0029-01

Barons Thrill Fans, Stun Canadiens

<div class="byline">BY JIM LEAHY</div>LOUISVILLE SLUGGERHOCKEY STICKSMade in Canada by HILLERICH & BRADSBY, LTDArnold Street, Wallaceburg, Ontario Sold in U.S. and CanadaLOUISVILLE SLUGGERHOCKEY STICKSMade in Canada by HILLERICH & BRADSBY, LTDArnold Street, Wallaceburg, Ontario Sold in U.S. and CanadaHERSHEY&mdash;The injury-riddled Hershey Bears came to life and won four games in last week&rsquo;s American Hockey League action. After edging the Philadelphia Firebirds 2-1 on home ice Wednesday, the Bears skated to a 6-4 win over the &lsquo;Birds two nights later in Philly. On Saturday, the Maine Mariners visited the Hershey park Arena and lost 4-3 to the home club. Sunday night the Bears ended their gruelling four games in five nights schedule with a thrilling 7-6 overtime win in Binghamton.As a result of the four wins, Hershey is breathing down the neck of third place Philadelphia and not too far behind the second place New Haven Nighthawks.ROCHESTER: Despite a rash of minor injuries which have sidelined five forwards at one time or another, the Rochester Americans split three games last week and still hold onto first place in the Southern Division. Coach Duane Rupp called up forwards Pete Sturgeon and Brian MacGregor from his Dayton farm club, but the shorthanded Amerks could still dress only 16 players.The Amerks lost 6-2 in Philly and beat the Mariners 5-1 at the War Memorial. In between the win and loss, the Amerks skated to a 2-2 overtime tie with Nova Scotia on Friday night in Rochester.NEW HAVEN: The Nighthawks are on fire. As a result of two wins and two ties last week, the Hawks have now lost only one of their last 12 contests and are firmly entrenched in second place. Center Tom Colley, one of the best players in the AHL, continues to lead the league in scoring.The parent N.Y. Rangers have returned rookie defenseman Mario Marois and sent veteran winger Bill Goldsworthy to the Nighthawks. In addition, Ken Hodge has been sent to New Haven but hardworking wingers Eddie Johnstone and Danny Newman are now in New York. The Rangers obviously realize that they have plenty of talent in New Haven and are not about to win the Stanley Cup with some of their veterans. Ranger veteran Rod Giltfert was the latest to get the ax, at 36, he apparently just can&rsquo;t play the brand of defensive hockey that the Rangers are looking for. It&rsquo;s interesting to note that their farm team in New Haven has the best defensive record in the American Hockey League.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-01324/4037046-1-eng-US/f0030-012.jpg" title="f0030-01" width="581" height="747"><figcaption class="caption-body">BOB COLLYARD&hellip;Caused Celebration</figcaption></div>PHILADELPHIA: The Firebirds survived last week&rsquo;s schedule which had them in action for five games in five nights. The Birds limped back to Philly with a 1-3-1 record including a gutsy 4-4 tie in New Haven. Playing their fifth game of the week Sunday night in New Haven, the Firebirds overcame a 4-2 third period deficit to hold the red-hot Nighthawks to a tie. A crowd of 3,689 in New Haven saw one of the best performances by a visiting team on Coliseum ice this year. With just 44 seconds left and their goaltender pulled in favor of an extra skater, Bob Collyard scored to send the exhausted Firebirds into a wild celebration.Coach Dan Belisle said that he was &ldquo;encouraged to see the team come back the way it did Sunday night. Twice we were down by two goals. It was probably our best game of the week.&rdquo;Gary Coalter and Buster Harvey have been out with minor injuries and netminder Reggie Lemelin is glad that he wears a face mask. A blazing shot by New Haven&rsquo;s Ray Clearwater caught Lemelin in the left eye opening of his mask. The eye area puffed up but he was saved from a serious injury.The new AHL club is averaging 2,849 after 10 home games which is disappointing. The management in Philadelphia has come up with an exciting club that is well-coached and has a winning attitude. At least the Firebirds will be noticed on the road, their bright green uniforms are the wildest seen in the AHL in years.HAMPTON: With two wins last week to boast about, the Gulls may have started to get their act together. The beat Maine and Philadelphia at home to move within five points of the Hershey Bears.Paul O&rsquo;Neill leads the club in scoring with 17 points in 13 games. Rugged defenseman Floyd Lahache was recalled to the WHA Cincinnati Stingers and played in two games before being returned to Hampton.The new AHL club continues to be an attraction on the road. On a recent road trip they drew 4,855 in Binghamton, 4,922 in Springfield and 4,234 in Rochester.SPRINGFIELD: A capacity crowd of 5,525 at the Big E Coliseum saw the first place Indians battle Nova Scotia to a thrilling 4-4 tie last week. It was the first SRO crowd at the Big E in more than five years and is a tribute to the people in the Springfield organization who have built the Indians into a contending team.In player movement news, the parent Los Angeles Kings have traded Springfield defenseman Sheldon Kannegeiser to the Vancouver Canucks for Larry Carriere. It&rsquo;s not clear at this time if Carriere will report to Los Angeles or be sent to Springfield.NOVA SCOTIA: The Voyageurs continue to have trouble winning. They played two more road games last week, at this rate they may be playing at home for the last two months of the year. Both contests resulted in ties. On Friday night it was a 2-2 contest in Rochester and the next night they skated to a 4-4 tie with the Indians. Rod Schutt continues to lead the club in scoring and rookie goaltender Bob Holland has a fine 2.50 GAA in six appearances.MAINE: After dropping four games last week the Manners held a slim one-point lead over the last place Binghamton Dusters. Rochester, Hershey, Binghamton and Hampton each took turns beating the Mariners last week. Paul Evans and Al Hill led the club in scoring, the expansionist Mariners can&rsquo;t seem to put the puck in the net.The Mariners have announced that the touring Russian Dynamos will play the AHL team at the Civic Center on Thursday, Dec. 29. Forward Aleksander Maltsev and defenseman Valery Vasilev, both of whom skated for the Russian Central Army against the NHL last year, will skate with the Dynamos against the Mariners. &ldquo;They&rsquo;ll be a real challenge for us,&rdquo; said Mariners&rsquo; coach Bob McCammon. I think our fans will enjoy seeing the contrasting styles.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-02256/4037039-1-eng-US/f0030-022.jpg" title="f0030-02" width="572" height="734"><figcaption class="caption-body">AL HILL&hellip;Mariner Leader</figcaption></div>BINGHAMTON: Duster fans had something to cheer about as their club defeated the Mariners in Portland. Unfortunately. the Hershey Bears spoiled the party with a 7-6 win in Binghamton a few nights later.The Dusters continue to make player changes in an attempt to come up with a winning combination. They have taken the lead in at least one department. The club is first in penalty minutes and defenseman Glen Irwin leads the AHL in majors with eight. They also lead the AHL in attendance with the automatic SRO crowd of 4,855 at every home game. &#9632;

f0030-01

Bears Overcome Injuries For Best Week Yet

<h2>DECEMBER</h2>Tue. 6 Philadelphia at BinghamtonWed. 7 Philadelphia at HamptonNova Scotia at HershevSpringfield at MaineFri.9 Nova Scotia at New HavenHampton at PhiladelphiaBinghamton at RochesterMaine at SpringfieldSat. 10 Rochester at HamptonNew Haven at HersheyNova Scotia at MaineBinghamton at SpringfieldSun. 11 Springfield at BinghamtonNova Scotia at PhiladelphiaNew Haven at RochesterWed. 14 Binghamton at HamptonNew Haven at MaineRochester at Nova ScotiaHershey at PhiladelphiaFri. 16 Hampton at MaineHershey at New HavenBinghamton at RochesterPhiladelphia at SpringfieldSat. 17 New Haven at HamptonPhiladelphia at HersheyBinghamton at MaineNova Scotia at SpringfieldSun. 18 Maine at BinghamtonHampton at New HavenSpringfield at PhiladelphiaNova Scotia at Rochester &#9632;

Where AHL Teams Play

<h2>AMERICAN LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Tue. Dec. 6)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-01300/4037171-1-eng-US/f0031-012.jpg" title="f0031-01" width="569" height="368"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Wed. Nov. 30Philadelphia 3 at Hampton 1Springfield 3 at Hershey 8New Haven 2 at Maine 4Binghamton 4 at Nova Scotia 7Fri. Dec. 2Hampton 3 at New Haven 1Binghamton 2 at Philadelphia 6Maine 3 at Rochester 1Sat. Dec. 3Binghamton 1 at Hampton 4Rochester 2 at Hershey 4Nova Scotia 6 at Maine 3New Haven 4 at Springfield 6Sun. Dec. 4Springfield 4 at Binghamton 3Hampton 0 at Maine 5New Haven 0 at Nova Scotia 6Philadelphia 4 at Rochester 4<h3>GOALERS&rsquo; RECORDS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-02229/4037164-1-eng-US/f0031-022.jpg" title="f0031-02" width="567" height="797"></div><h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-03179/4037157-1-eng-US/f0031-032.jpg" title="f0031-03" width="567" height="664"></div><h2>CENTRAL LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Wed. Dec. 7)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-04140/4037150-1-eng-US/f0031-042.jpg" title="f0031-04" width="569" height="188"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Tue. Nov. 29Tulsa 4 at Phoenix 2Thu. Dec. 1Tulsa 2 at Phoenix 0Fri. Dec. 2Kansas City 3 at Dallas 2Phoenix 4 at Salt Lake 6Sat. Dec. 3Dallas 6 at Fort Worth 3Tulsa 2 at Kanaaa City 5Phoenix 0 at Salt Lake 6Sun. Dec. 4Salt Lake 2 at Dallaa 5<h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-05125/4037143-1-eng-US/f0031-052.jpg" title="f0031-05" width="572" height="452"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-0698/4037136-1-eng-US/f0031-062.jpg" title="f0031-06" width="567" height="85"></div><h3>GOALING RECORDS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-0785/4037129-1-eng-US/f0031-072.jpg" title="f0031-07" width="568" height="400"></div><h2>INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Tue. Dec. 6)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-0876/4037122-1-eng-US/f0031-082.jpg" title="f0031-08" width="570" height="395"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Wed. Nov. 30Toledo 1 at Fort Wayne 2Saginaw 4 at Dayton 4Thu. Dec. 1Kalamazoo at MilwaukeeFri. Dec. 2Fort Wayne 7 at Muskegon 2Dayton 4 at Flint 6Port Huron 3 at Saginaw 4Toledo 4 at Kalamazoo 3Sat. Dec. 3Saginaw at Fort WayneToledo at MuskegonKalamazoo at Lort HuronMilwaukee at DaytonSun. Dec. 4Fort Wayne at FlintDayton at SaginawMuskegon at Port HuronMilwaukee at Toledo<h3>GOALING RECORDS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-0962/4037115-1-eng-US/f0031-092.jpg" title="f0031-09" width="569" height="922"></div><h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-1050/4037108-1-eng-US/f0031-102.jpg" title="f0031-10" width="569" height="168"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-1142/4037101-1-eng-US/f0031-112.jpg" title="f0031-11" width="573" height="279"></div> &#9632;

f0031-01

Looking At The Minor League Scoreboard

<h2>NHLTEAMS</h2>1&mdash;Montreal2&mdash;Chicago3&mdash;Boston4&mdash;Rangers5&mdash;Detroit6&mdash;Toronto7&mdash;Philadelphia8&mdash;Los Angeles9&mdash;St.Louis10&mdash;Minnesota11&mdash;Pittsburgh12&mdash;Islanders13&mdash;Vancouver14&mdash;Buffalo15&mdash;Atlanta16&mdash;Cleveland17&mdash;Colorado18&mdash;Washington<h2>WHATEAMS</h2>19&mdash;New England20&mdash;Quebec21&mdash;Winnipeg22&mdash;Houston23&mdash;Indianapolis24&mdash;Edmonton25&mdash;Cincinnati26&mdash;Birmingham<h2>INTER-LEAGUE</h2>27&mdash;Boston (NHL) & St. Louis (NHL)28&mdash;Montreal (NHL) & Atlanta (NHL)29&mdash;Pittsburgh (NHL) & Houston (WHA)30&mdash;Washington (NHL) & Buffalo (NHL)31&mdash;Independent32&mdash;New England, Birmingham, Cincinnati and Quebec (all WHA).33&mdash;Los Angeles (NHL) & New England (WHA)34&mdash;Colorado (NHL) & Cleveland (NHL)35&mdash;Chicago (NHL) & Toronto (NHL)36&mdash;Vancouver (NHL) & Atlanta (NHL)37&mdash;Islanders (NHL) & Minnesota (NHL)40&mdash;Detroit (NHL) & Atlanta (NHL)41&mdash;St.Louis (NHL) & Washington (NHL)42&mdash;Chicago (NHL) & Colorado (NHL)43&mdash;Vancouver (NHL) & Minnesota (NHL)44&mdash;Buffalo (NHL) & Philadelphia (NHL)45&mdash;islanders (NHL) & Atlanta (NHL)46&mdash;Rangers (NHL) & Cleveland (NHL) &#9632;

Who They’re Affiliated With…

<h2>DECEMBER</h2>Wed. 7 Ft. Worth at PhoenixSalt Lake at TulsaFri. 9 Tulsa at DallasSalt Lake at Kansas CityFt. Worth at PhoenixSat. 10 Ft. Worth at DallasPhoenix at Salt LakeKansas City at TulsaSun. 11 Dallas at Kansas CityTulsa at PhoenixTue. 13 Phoenix at Kansas CityTulsa at Salt LakeWed. 14 Phoenix at DallasThu. 15 Ft. Worth at Kansas CityFri. 16 Kansas City at Ft. WorthDallas at Salt LakePhoenix at TulsaSat. 17 Salt Lake at Ft. WorthTulsa at Kansas CityDallas at PhoenixSun. 18 Kansas City at DallasSalt Lake at TulsaTue. 20 Salt Lake at PhoenixThu. 22 Dallas at Ft. WorthSalt Lake at PhoenixKansas City at TulsaFri. 23 Ft. Worth at DallasTulsa at Kansas CityTue. 27 Tulsa at DallasWed. 28 Tulsa at Ft. WorthKansas City at Phoenix &#9632;

Where CHL Teams Play

<div class="byline">BY DOUG McCONNELL</div>LOUISVILLE SLUGGERHOCKEY STICKSMade in Canada by HILLERICH & BRADSBY, LTDArnold Street, Wallaceburg, Ontario Sold in U.S. and CanadaLOUISVILLE SLUGGERHOCKEY STICKSMade in Canada by HILLERICH & BRADSBY, LTDArnold Street, Wallaceburg, Ontario Sold in U.S. and CanadaDALLAS&mdash;Gerry McNamara has been the Central Hockey League&rsquo;s leading critic of officials this season but this time the Dallas Black Hawks&rsquo; rookie coach had one word too many.Referee Johnny McCutcheon called a gross misconduct on McNamara and CHL president Bud Poile followed with a $300 fine. McNamara assaulted McCutcheon&rsquo;s ear drums as the teams and officials were cutting across the ice to the exits at the end of the second period of an 8-5 loss at Fort Worth.That seemed mild in comparison to the Kansas City Red Wings&rsquo; exit after an 8-6 loss at Dallas two nights later.Police reinforcements were needed to quell fighting that broke out between Kansas City players and Dallas fans.At least two persons were injured.A Dallas mwn was knocked unconscious and later hospitalized with an injured shoulder. A Dallas policeman required stitches to close a skate cut on his leg.Friends of the hospitalized fan said he planned to file charges. No arrests were made.Witnesses told police a Kansas City defenseman struck the man with his hockey stick.&ldquo;They threw beer on us and kept taunting and pushing us,&rdquo; said Wings&rsquo; forward Don Martineau. &ldquo;I was just protecting myself. They were asking for it. There weren&rsquo;t any cops around to protect us.&rdquo;Before the brawling, Reg Kerr scored two goals and an assist in his first game in a Dallas uniform and John Anderson added a pair of goals for Dallas. Earlier in the week, the Cleveland Barons had recalled their third round draft choice, Kerr, from Phoenix and traded him to the Chicago Black Hawks.All Star defenseman Mike O&rsquo;Connell, back in the lineup after a two-week bout with pneumonia, contributed three assists.Kirk Bowman&rsquo;s second goal of the game, in the second period, broke a 2-2 tie and the Hawks held on for a 3-2 victory over Salt Lake in Dallas.Rookie defenseman Ron Wilson remains the Hawks&rsquo; scoring leader with 11 goals and 13 assists for 24 points, fourth in the league. Bruce Boudreau has 12 goals, tied for the CHL lead with Tulsa&rsquo;s Stan Weir, and eight assists.Alain &ldquo;Bam Bam&rdquo; Belanger hit the 100 mark in penalty minutes, well ahead of the CHL&rsquo;s next most penalized performer, Kansas City defenseman Larry Giroux.FORT WORTH: Richie Hansen&rsquo;s scoring streak was stopped at 12 games and the Fort Worth Texans were beaten 2-1 by the Kansas City Red Wings on a pair of third period goals.Hansen, however, still leads the Central Hockey League scoring race, the Texans maintain a healthy hold on first place and are still the most potent third period team in the league.During his streak, Hansen scored nine goals and 17 assists for 26 points. His 31 points are five more than Tulsa&rsquo;s Claire Alexander, second in the points race.Defenseman Bob Lorimer&rsquo;s third period goal broke a tie game and gave the Texans a 4-3 victory over Tulsa with Yvon Vautour scoring twice for the Texans.Jim Roberts scored his second hat trick of the season and second against Dallas in an 8-5 victory which saw Garth MacGuigan and Hansen add a pair of goals.The Texans lost All Star defenseman Neil Nicholson, called up by the New York Islanders and the rumored object of a trade. Kevin McCloskey arrived from Fort Wayne of the International League as a replacement.TULSA: Defenseman Mike Pelyk has a special interest in protecting rookie goaltender Glen Hanlon.With veteran Michel Belhumeur sidelined with a painful toe bruise, Pelyk was named the designated backup goaltender.Hanlon responded with his first shutout in pro hockey, the Tulsa Ice Oilers turning back the Kansas City Red Wings 3-0. Hanlon earned the whitewash job with 33 saves and was backed by two goals from Ralph Stewart, the second into an empty net.Otherwise, the Oilers lost 4-3 at Fort Worth on defenseman Bob Lorimer&rsquo;s third period goal and 5-1 at Kansas City.Belhumeur, in nine games, has a 2,85 goals-against average, third in the league. Hanlon has a 3.09 mark.The Oilers have been fortified by the addition of veteran forward Tim Ecclestone, and rookie center Red Laurence by Atlanta and second year defensan Bob Manno from VancouverEcclestone scored nine goals and 18 assists for Atlanta last season and had seen little action this season. Laurence, 20, scored 43 goals and 45 assists for Kitchener in junior last season before breaking his leg.Manno, Vancouver&rsquo;s first round draft choice last season, played his rookie season at Tulsa and started this year with Vancouver.KANSAS CITY: The Kansas City Red Wings, playing the first quarter of the season with four defensemen, finally received some help on the blueline in the assignment by the parent Detroit Red Wings of Jean Hamel.Hamel&rsquo;s assignment, however, came with the news that veteran forward Brian McCutcheon was lost for the season after surgery for torn ligaments in his right knee. He had similar surgery last season on his left knee.McCutcheon was injured when he hit the ice after a hip check by Swedish defenseman Bjorn Johansson in Phoenix.The Red Wings were victims of a 33-save, 3-6 shutout at Tulsa by rookie Glen Hanlon to start a four-game weekend. They bounced back for a 5-1 win over Tulsa at home and a 2-1 triumph over Fort Worth.J.P. Leblanc scored a pair of goals, one while shorthanded and one on the power play, at Kansas City and fired another pair at Dallas but despite the brace of goals and two more plus two assists by Roland Cloutier, the Wings were outscored 8-6 by Dallas, their fourth game in four nights in four different cities.Not only was the schedule demanding, but the Wings had to fight their way to the dressing room in a brawl at Dallas which saw police reinforcements called and at least two people injured.PHOENIX: Reg Kerr was recalled from the Phoenix Roadrunners by the Cleveland Barons, traded to the Chicago Black Hawks and assigned to the Dallas Black Hawks.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-01302/4037226-1-eng-US/f0032-012.jpg" title="f0032-01" width="574" height="882"><figcaption class="caption-body">JIM ROBERTS&hellip;Another Hat Trick</figcaption></div>In his first game with Dallas, the rookie forward contributed two goals and an assist in an 8-6 victory over Kansas City.In the meantime, the Roadrunners added veteran center Billy Inglis, on loan from the Buffalo Sabres, and wingers Mark Lomenda and Lou Nistico.Lomenda and Nistico bring to four the number of Roadrunners on trials. The others are rookie defensemen Owen Lloyd and Tom Anderson.Inglis, 34. proved instantly to be a valuable addition, attested to by rookie left wing Mike Dwyer.Dwyer scored a hat trick to double his season&rsquo;s goal production and scored a fourth goal early in the next game. He also drew an assist on a goal by Inglis in a 6-5 victory over Salt Lake. Dan Chicoine. who was playing his first game since returning from a callup by Cleveland, collected four assists from Inglis left wing.Phoenix had seen a 5-0 early lead turned into near defeat by the Golden Eagles and the following night saw a 3-0 lead converted to a 5-4 setback.Terry McDonald, who has split his season at defense and left wing, scored a pair of goals in the setback by Salt Lake to regain the team scoring lead from Dwyer. McDonald, first player-of-the-month award winner, has eight goals and seven assists, Dwyer seven goals and seven assists.The games with Salt Lake drew 3,451 and 3.687 on Friday and Saturday nights, the first time the Runners had attracted under 4,000. There were two reasons, the first being they were opposite a regionally televised Arizona State-University of Arizona football game on Friday and the second is their 4-12-3 record.SALT LAKE CITY: &ldquo;We were going through a little of what they&rsquo;ve been,&rdquo; said Salt Lake Golden Eagles&rsquo; playercoach Barcley Plager.&ldquo;They&rdquo; were the Phoenix Roadrunners, who had held on for a narrow 6-5 victory after taking a 5-0 early lead.&ldquo;They took (Brian) Ogilvie and (Floyd) Thomson up to St. Louis and we got a couple of new guys (Rick Bourbonnais. John Smrke and Bob Hess). They took a while to get used to each other.&rdquo;The Eagles got used to each other, didn&rsquo;t get as far behind, 3-0, and made a successful comeback to down Phoenix 5-4 in their second meeting in two nights.Hess and Smrke had a goal and three assists and Bourbonnais a goal and two assists in the two games.The big difference, however, was the littlest player in the Central Hockey League. Doug Palazzari.The Eagles&rsquo; center who claims to be three-quarters of an inch taller than his listed five-foot-five, missed the first of the two-game series with a hand injury from a collision with the boards two nights earlier in a 3-2 loss at DallasBack in the lineup for the second game, he was able to grip his stick well enough to score two goals, including the game winner.Garv Holt also fired a pair. &#9632;

f0032-01

Dallas Fans, Coach Draw League’s Ire; Texans Keep Lead With Late-Game Power

<div class="byline">BY TOM BURKE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-01270/4037281-1-eng-US/f0033-012.jpg" title="f0033-01" width="563" height="1005"><figcaption class="caption-body">TERRY SLATER&hellip;New Colgate Coach</figcaption></div>BOSTON&mdash;In last week&rsquo;s issue, we took a look at the chances for repeat playoff performances by last year&rsquo;s ECAC Division One final eight: Clarkson, UNH, Cornell, Boston University, Boston College, RPI. Brown, and Providence. Early polls and scuttlebutt pick BU and Clarkson to top the 17-team league, with Cornell receiving considerable support as well. The rest of last year&rsquo;s playoff teams are rated good chances to repeat, although such is rarely the case. Harvard is a pretty good bet to make the cut, in the opinion of most coaches, but don&rsquo;t be too surprised if more than one of last year&rsquo;s also rans squeezes in. Here are the analyses:HARVARD: Uncharacteristically, the Johns weren&rsquo;t able to score much last year although they did develop a cohesive defense to compensate. Most of that crew is back in sophomores Bobby Fowkes and Jack Hughes, junior Jim Trainor, and seniors Bob Leckie, Jim Liston, and Kevin O&rsquo;Donoughue. They&rsquo;ll have to protect new goalie since Brian Pelovek is gone. Soph John Hynes will fit in nicely there, however, as the real problem seems to be up front. George Hughes (2022-42) and Gene Purdy (13-20-33) are solid, but more scoring must come from the likes of Murray Dea. John Cochrane, and Bryan Cook, as well as several talented freshmen. On paper, the Crimson are just average, but nobody feels that a Bill Cleary team will be spectators twice in a row come playoff time.DARTMOUTH: Another of the many Eastern teams which need goalie help, the Green will look to freshmen Jim Jankowski and Bob Gaudet. Six regular skaters graduated in addition to two goalies, so Dartmouth will have a young squad with only two seniors. Of the 13 returning lettermen, Paul Sawyer was the best scorer at 18-19-37, so George Crowe must get increased offensive output from 1976-77&rsquo;s rookies such as Mark Miles (8-18-26), Ross Brownridge, (10-1222) and Dennis Murphy (5-10-15). Defensively, Doug Bradley must lead while Bob Grant and Dennis Hughes, both letter-winners, bring the youngsters along.VERMONT: A team that ran out of gas consistently last year, UVM also looks to rookie goalies Sylvain Turcotte, Andy Ashforth, and Tony Frost for answers now that Tommy McNamara and Pete Reynolds are gone. Defense has enough experience with seniors Bill McAlduff and Chuck Ross, (bad knee), plus juniors Greg Wilkie and Chuck Stahlin. The pizzazz on defense comes from flashy skaters Lou Cote (soph) and fresh Serge LeBlanc. Up front, the kiddies of that Division One splash three years ago are seniors and they&rsquo;ll both have to lead the way and get help from down below: Randy Koch (19-21-40), Andy Halford (1519-34) and now-healthy Bill Reber (6-1218). If maturation and more goals come from the likes of Ed Hill, Dave Otness. Jim Duffy, and Jim Murphy, Vermont might vault back up into the picture.COLGATE: Terry Slater is the new Colgate coach, inheriting a good class of recruits, both in quality and quantity, from Jim Higgins who moved on to rebuild Princeton. The Red Raiders will score, but will yield a bushel of goals too. since junior Ken Decock is the only defenseman with experience. Soph goalie Drew Schaefer will see as many pucks as he did last year while senior center Dave MacKenzie (19-30-49), and wings Jon Rheault (&ldquo;Row&rdquo;) (22-21-43) and Barry Kibsey (19-21-40) will try to keep up the pace at the other end of the rink. Colgate won more games last year (12) than in any season for seven years previous, but making the playoffs seems out of the question. However, when Schaefer is &ldquo;on&rdquo;, and the forwards are clicking, Colgate can beat anybody, and will.NORTHEASTERN: Another team that hasn&rsquo;t been consistent enough in recent years, NU will have perhaps more collective experience than any team in the league with 17 lettermen including 10 sophomores back. The goaltending is as stable as any team in the league with Jim Bowman and Jim McElroy both available. Mike Holmes, a defenseman from California, led all NU scorers with 43 points, and he has savvy mates in Scott Gruhl. John Guion, Mike Sandford and Jim Walsh. As with several other teams, NU must hope for increased production from the forwards who chalked up last season to learning. The Huntington Hounds in this category are Dale Ferdinandi, Wayne Turner, Mark Derby, and Mike McMillen. A perennial crossfingered &ldquo;if&rdquo;, Northeastern has as good a chance as anyone to grab a playoff spot as long as enough of the questions are answered.PENNSYLVANIA: Ordinarily, you&rsquo;d think an overall record of 9-17 a year ago could have been due to youthful mistakes. But second year coach Bob Finke lost 12 seniors to graduation and is virtualy starting from scratch around fine forward Tom Whitehead (17-15-32). the leading scorer in 1976-77, now a junior. Sophs Tom Cullity (11-9-20) and Dave Taylor (6-12-18) showed promise and have to help show the way, though their scoring totals were not overwhelming. The only seniors on the squad are defensemen Marc Odette and John Grayken, plus center Mickey Ball who sat out last year with an injury. Freshman Bob Sutton looms the leading goaltending candidate. This is a &ldquo;building year&rdquo; if there ever was one, in Philly.YALE: Another team with a second year coach in Tim Taylor and a lot of freshman, Yale seems at least a year away but will pull a few upsets. Keith Allain, a sophomore, is more than capable (5.50 goals against) and he helped cut 49 goals off Yale&rsquo;s debit side last year. The only serious loss is Mike Thomas (1911-30), but just four seniors are around to lead the Elis; the best of these is Dave Harrington (12-10-22). Gordy Ullman is the most experienced defenseman. A total of 13 freshmen dot the roster, so Yale is definitely too young to contend, but look for Paul Castraberti, Dan Brugman, Ed Kilry. Mats Carlsson and a few others to catch at least a few foes unawares. Yale plays every opponent in the division, and each of their 26 games is a league contest so Taylor has no tuneup games in which to assess his personnel.ST. LAWRENCE. It&rsquo;s easy to write off the Larries. 8-20 last season and next to last in the league. But the memory of a half dozen or so years ago comes back, with Leon Abbot coming to RPI and taking several painful lumps during his inaugural season, then molding a playoff team the second year. This is Abbott&rsquo;s second year in Canton, oand he doesn&rsquo;t appear to have much scoring beyond juniors Doug Crawford (21-32-53) and Dan Walker (26-26-52), and soph Dean Popeil (13-21-34). If just a few people like rookies Steve Nelson and George Goulakos develop quickly while Dan Weir (7-20-27), Dick Popeil (6-13-19) and Pete MacKenzie (13-8-21) can collectively improve, the Larries will be tough since the defense will be much stingier.PRINCETON: After a 3-21-1 season. Jimmy Higgins can probably expect some improvement, especially since 17 letterwinners are back. However, if the returnees are to contribute they&rsquo;ve got to score some more since leading scorers Trevor Kilburn and Frank Techar only garnered 22 points a piece last year. Worse luck, Kilburn broke a collarbone in pre-season and won&rsquo;t be around until January. Two others who scored goals in double figures were Craig Tresham and John Van Siclen. so Higgins must build around them. Fred Cherne. a junior, will be the goalie and try to improve on his 5.67 average. &#9632;

f0033-01

Also-Rans Could Provide Surprises In ECAC Division I Playoff Battles

<h2>CCHA CONFERENCE</h2><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Vermont 2, Bowling Green 1Bowling Green 10, Vermont 7St. Louis 12, Air Force 0St. Louis 8, Air Force 2Windsor 4, Western Michigan 3Weetern Michigan 9, Wisconsin-Superior 3Western Michigan 11, Wisconsin-Superior 3Pennsylvania 4, Ohio State 2Ohio State 7, Pennsylvania 2<h2>ECAC CONFERENCE</h2><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Boston College 7, Pennsylvania 6Boston College 10, St. Anselm&rsquo;s 1Boston University 13, Merrimack 5Brown 8, Princeton 3St. Louis 5, Clarkson 3St. Louis 6, Clarkson 5Clarkson 10, Providence 6Clarkson 8, Dartmouth 5Merrimack 4, Colgate 5Cornell 10, York 3Cornell 4, York 2Darthmouth 14, Colgate 8Harvard 6, Vermont 3New Hampshire 11, Air Force 7New Hampshire 7, Air Force 6Pennsylvania 4, Merrimack 2Princeton 2, Merrimack 2Bowling Green 5, Providence 4Providence 10, RPI 3RP110, Waterloo 6St Lawrence 6, Queen&rsquo;s 6St. Lawrence 7, Buffalo 4St. Lawrence 4, Yale 3St. Lawrence 5, Providence 4Yale 4, Pennsylvania 3Yale 4, Princeton 1<h2>CANADIAN COLLEGES</h2><h3>ONTARIO CONFERENCE</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-02204/4037319-1-eng-US/f0033-022.jpg" title="f0033-02" width="556" height="523"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Ottawa 2, Queen&rsquo;s 1McMaster 8, Ryerson 2Waterloo 2, Guelph 6RMC 2, Brock 13Trent 2, McMaster 7Queen&rsquo;s 5, Waterloo 3Ottawa 3, York 5Queen&rsquo;s 5, York 1Guelph 3, Windsor 3Ottawa 4, Western 9Toronto 11, Laurontian 5Toronto 13, Laurontian 3Guelph 3, Windsor 4<h2>QUEBEC CONFERENCE</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-03153/4037312-1-eng-US/f0033-032.jpg" title="f0033-03" width="567" height="160"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Concordia 7, McGill 5 &#9632;

f0033-02

College Races

<div class="byline">BY BUD GALLMEIER</div>LOUISVILLE SLUGGERHOCKEY STICKSMade in Canada by HILLERICH & BRADSBY, LTDArnold Street, Wallaceburg, Ontario Sold in U.S. and CanadaLOUISVILLE SLUGGERHOCKEY STICKSMade in Canada by HILLERICH & BRADSBY, LTDArnold Street, Wallaceburg, Ontario Sold in U.S. and CanadaKALAMAZOO&mdash;Bob Lemieux&rsquo; coaching career with the Kalamazoo K-Wings is over. Pete Slater&rsquo;s has just begun. And the faithful Wing fans hope the recent change in job descriptions will reap dividends on the ice.Lemieux, who brought hockey to the Michigan city and has served as both coach and general manager during the team&rsquo;s four years in the International Hockey League, has been moved upstairs. He will remain as general manager but has been given additional duties of chief administrative officer of Wings Stadium and as a vice-president on the stadium&rsquo;s board of governors.The announcement in the change of personnel was made by Ray T. Parfet, chairman of the board. Lemieux was pleased with the new arrangement.&ldquo;I am very happy that the board of directors considered me as an administrator of the hockey club and Wings Stadium. I was continuously finding it more difficult as coach and general manager. The increasing demands placed upon my time by front office responsibilities was diminishing my personal contact with the team. The importance of availability to your players cannot be underestimated. Coaching is a full time profession requiring your undivided attention.&rdquo; Lemieux said.Slater has been serving as Lemieux&rsquo;s assistant and will find his duties not entirely new. Slater came to the K-Wings when the old Des Moines Capitols folded.As a coach. Lemieux went out a winner. His final performance behind the bench was against North Division leader Port Huron and the Wings snapped a four-game losing streak with a 2-1 victory. Mike Wanchuk&rsquo;s 150th goal was the winner.PORT HURON: Len Fontaine made his first Port Huron appearance since being traded to the Toledo Goaldiggers a memorable one. The little center scored the tying goal in a 2-2 tie.A center of controversy because of a newspaper story in which he was quoted as &ldquo;The only thing I ever got out of Port Huron was 25 gallons of gas,&rdquo; Fontaine wasn&rsquo;t greeted with open arms. In fact, there were negative posters on display.FLINT: The Generals continued to make a strong run at front-skating Port Huron. A pair of victories during the week gave Flint four wins in the last five games. They whipped Kalamazoo, 5-3, and took a high-scoring game from Muskegon, 8-5, at home while dropping a 6-2 verdict at Dayton.SAGINAW: The Gears are finding it easier to win on the road than at home. Following an impressive. 5-2 win at Toledo, the defending IHL champions returned home to host a couple of South Division rivals and managed just one point for their efforts.Fort Wayne, called by manager-coach Don Perry as &ldquo;The best team I&rsquo;ve seen yet.&rdquo; came from behind four times to skate off with a 5-5 tie.Milwaukee&rsquo;s young Admirals followed the Komets into the Civic Arena and got two points, squeezing out a 6-5 victory.MUSKEGON: The Mohawks are still struggling but may have found some needed punch in Mike Wong, loaned to Muskegon by Kalamazoo. Wong scored one of the goals in a 5-1 win over Dayton which snapped a long losing streak It was the only victory in four outings for the week, however. The Mohawks dropped a 3-2 game at Dayton, suffered a 3-1 reverse to Milwaukee at home and then found some offense but still came out on the short end at Flint, 8-5.FORT WAYNE: Komet coach Gregg Pilling is beginning to wonder what it takes to build a lead. The Komets have gone 10 games without a loss but a six-day layoff saw them lose their three-point lead over Toledo and they entered a critical road date with the Diggers all even for the South Division lead.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-01297/4037350-1-eng-US/f0034-012.jpg" title="f0034-01" width="575" height="740"><figcaption class="caption-body">PETE SLATER&hellip;New Kalamazoo Coach</figcaption></div>&ldquo;A layoff is both good and bad. This early in the season I think it&rsquo;s bad. That was evident in our game at Saginaw (which the Komets&rsquo; tied on Terry McDougall&rsquo;s late goal) Our timing was off. We fell behind early. We finally started to put things together later in the game but we just weren&rsquo;t as sharp as we had been.&rdquo; Pilling said.TOLEDO: Save for a disappointing showing against Saginaw at home, the Diggers had a pretty good week. They won two and tied one while losing to the Gears, 5-2. The tie came on the road at Port Huron, 2-2. Kalamazoo and Dayton fell on Digger ice, 3-2, and 4-1, respectively. The five-point week put the Diggers in a tie for first in the South with Fort Wayne.MILWAUKEE: The Admirals enjoyed their best road trip of the season by scoring victories at Muskegon. 3-1, and at Saginaw, 6-5. And the Admirals have been successful at the box office at home as well.Through the first eight games. Milwaukee was averaging 3.737 per game. This was an increase of 2,227 over what Milwaukee drew last season in the United States League.DAYTON: Stu Younger made &ldquo;Guaranteed Win Night&rdquo; a success for the Owls. He pumped in a pair of goals to let the Owls squeeze out a 3-2 victory.The victory was one of two the Owls posted at home during the week. The other home ice verdict was a 6-2 romp over Flint, marking the first time the Owls had scored more than four goals in a game this season. &#9632;

f0034-01

Wings’ Lemieux Steps Up - Slater New Coach

<h2>DECEMBER</h2>Tue. 5 Saginaw at MilwaukeeWed. 7 Saginaw at MilwaukeeMuskegon at Ft. WayneFri 9 Muskegon at FlintSaginaw at KalamazooPt. Huron at ToledoFt. Wayne at MilwaukeeSat. 10 Toledo at Ft. WayneFlint at MuskegonDayton at Pt. HuronKalamazoo at SaginawSun. 11 Saginaw at FlintFt. Wayne at KalamazooDayton at ToledoMuskegon at MilwaukeeWed. 14 Flint at DaytonPt. Huron at MilwaukeeThu. 15 Pt. Huron at MilwaukeeFri. 16 Dayton at MuskegonToledo at SaginawFt. Wayne at FlintSat. 17 Muskegon at Ft. WayneFlint at Pt. HuronKalamazoo at DaytonMilwaukee at SaginawSun. 18 Ft. Wayne at DaytonMilwaukee at FlintPt. Huron at KalamazooMuskegon at ToledoTue. 20 Ft. Wayne at MilwaukeeWed 21 Kalamazoo at ToledoSaginaw at Dayton &#9632;

Where IHL Teams Play

<h2>ONTARIO MAJOR LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Sun. Dec. 4)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-02235/4037485-1-eng-US/f0035-022.jpg" title="f0035-02" width="577" height="416"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Sun. Nov. 27Peterborough 5 at Windsor 5Sault Ste. Marie 8 at Kingston 5Sudbury 5 at Niagara Falls 9Tue. Nov. 29Kingston 1 at Hamilton 5Kitchener 3 at London 6Sault Ste. Marie 4 at Sudbury 3Wed. Nov. 30Oshawa 5 at Toronto 5Thu. Dec. 1Kingston 1 at Peterborough 5Sault Ste. Marie 3 at Windsor 7Fri. Dec. 2Hamilton 5 at Kitchener 2Sudbury 6 at Ottawa 7Sault Ste. Marie 4 at London 5Windsor 5 at Kingston 1Peterborough 1 at Toronto 1<h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-03171/4037478-1-eng-US/f0035-032.jpg" title="f0035-03" width="576" height="294"></div><h2>QUEBEC MAJOR LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Mon. Dec. 5)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-04139/4037471-1-eng-US/f0035-042.jpg" title="f0035-04" width="576" height="373"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Tue. Nov. 29Sherbrooke 5 at Cornwall 4Hull 1 at Trols Rivieres 12Wed. Nov. 30Montreal 5 at Laval 10Quebec 6 at Shawinigan 4Thu. Dec. 1Quebec 4 at Cornwall 4Fri. Dec. 2Verdun 8 at Chicoutimi 2Laval 6 at Qeubec 3Cornwall 5 at Shawinigan 3Hull 2 at Sherbrooke 11Montreal 2 at Trols Rivieres 2Sun. Dec. 4Quebec 4 at Chicoutimi 4Shawinigan 2 at Cornwall 4Hull 5 at Montreal 5Laval 1 at Sherbrooke 12Trols Rivieres 2 at Verdun 3<h3>LEADING SCORES</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-05107/4037464-1-eng-US/f0035-052.jpg" title="f0035-05" width="577" height="263"></div><h2>WESTERN CANADA LEAGUE</h2>(Standing On Tue. Nov. 29)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-0688/4037457-1-eng-US/f0035-062.jpg" title="f0035-06" width="574" height="539"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Tue. Nov. 22Calgary 7 at Brandon 9Portland 3 at Seattle 3Flin Flon 5 at Saskatoon 9Wed. Nov. 23Calgary 7 it Lethbridge 5Regina at Now Westminster, pp.Thu. Nov. 24Regina 4 at Portland 10Flin Flon 4 at Brandon 4Fri. Nov. 25Regina 3 at Naw Weatmlnater 5Lethbridge 10 at Calgary 3Flin Flon 4 at Saskatoon 3Victoria 1 at Seattle 4Sat. Nov. 26Regina 4 at Seattle 5New Westminster 2 at Victoria 5Lethbridge 7 at Medicine Hat 7Sun. Nov. 27Regina 4 at Portland 0Victoria 2 at New Westminster 8Medicine Hat 6 at Lethbridge 6Flln Flon 5 at Brandon 7Billings 7 at Calgary 9<h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-0779/4037450-1-eng-US/f0035-072.jpg" title="f0035-07" width="571" height="695"></div><h2>CONTINENTAL SENIOR</h2>(Standings On Tue. Nov. 22)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-0861/4037443-1-eng-US/f0035-082.jpg" title="f0035-08" width="569" height="219"></div><h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-0958/4037436-1-eng-US/f0035-092.jpg" title="f0035-09" width="569" height="263"></div> &#9632;

f0035-02

The Amateur Scoreboard

<div class="byline">BY BRUCE PENTON</div>LOUISVILLE SLUGGERHOCKEY STICKSMade in Canada by HILLERICH & BRADSBY, LTDArnold Street, Wallaceburg, Ontario Sold in U.S. and CanadaLOUISVILLE SLUGGERHOCKEY STICKSMade in Canada by HILLERICH & BRADSBY, LTDArnold Street, Wallaceburg, Ontario Sold in U.S. and CanadaCALGARY&mdash;I&rsquo;s getting to the point now that when Ed Chynoweth talks, the Western Canada Hockey League listens.In fact, it has gone even further: when the WCHL president gets up to speak, chances are Canadian hockey in general lends an ear.In fact, the Saskatoon native is becoming so well known in Canadian hockey cricles, some people are even learning how to properly pronounce his name (Shi-now-eth).Chynoweth has been WCHL president since Dec. 1, 1972, replacing New Westminster lawyer Tom Fisher, who governed the league under the title of executive secretary.Not only has the WCHL prospered under Chynoweth&rsquo;s guidance, but the man&rsquo;s individual efforts for the betterment of the game across the country have been chronicled.The rule saying players must proceed to their players&rsquo; benches when a fight breaks out was initiated by the WCHL in Chynoweth&rsquo;s regime. This rule is now wilely-used across Canada and was even used as an experiment by the National Hockey League during the 1977 exhibition season.The WCHL&rsquo;s latest rule variation gives a player penalized for high-sticking an automatic 10-minute misconduct. If it works well, it. too, will probably spread across Canada like wildfire.And Chynoweth was one of the main movers behind the recent development money agreement signed between the NHL and the Canadian Major Junior Hockey League.The man who managed a hotel in Saskatoon about six years ago and got his hockey experience working with the executive of the WCHL Blades has come a long way.This season has been especially gratifying to Chynoweth. for reasons he cannot fully comprehendFor one thing, he says, the number of serious &ldquo;incidents&rdquo; is down considerably over last year. &ldquo;I touch wood every morning when I wake up.&rdquo; he says.One area of satisfaction he can understand is that of attendance.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve had pretty healthy increases in six of our cities,&rdquo; Chynoweth said from his Calgary office. &ldquo;But that&rsquo;s partly because of the great divisional races we&rsquo;ve got going, and partly due to some franchise shifts.&rdquo;The races are something else: In the East, Flin Flon, Brandon and Regina are seven points apart; in the Central, the four teams are separated by 10 points, with Billings on top and Medicine Hat trailing; and in the West, eight points are all that are between last-place Seattle and leading Portland.Calgary and Seattle, two of the three WCHL teams in new homes this season, are showing healthy gate increases, while Regina. Brandon, Portland and Flin Flon are also well ahead of last season. &ldquo;Regina, Calgary and Flin Flon are almost double.&rdquo; Chynoweth bubbled.But while most major problems have been licked, officiating still ranks as Chynoweth&rsquo;s chief bugaboo. Officials today take more abuse than ever&hellip;and why?&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve gone to younger people, getting some fresh blood in there. But are we asking too much? Is there not enough supervision? Are they not able to cope?&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t have the answers. But that&rsquo;s one area where I&rsquo;m trying to find a solution. I&rsquo;m not knocking our guys, but the abuse they take, from fans and coaches, is getting ridiculous. I don&rsquo;t mind the fans making noises, because they pay their money, but I get very upset when our own people knock our product.&rdquo;The direction Chynoweth is heading, it might not be long before there is no cause for any criticism at all concerning the WCHL.VICTORIA: The Cougars clung to third place in the West with a .500 week. They beat Medicine Hat in Victoria 4-1, as Curt Fraser had a goal and an assist, and lost by an identical score in Seattle later in the week. Fraser got the Cougars on the scoreboard late in the second period in that game. Victoria announced a change in their game-time starts for weekday games. 7:30 instead of 8 p.m.NEW WESTMINSTER: The Bruins had a perfect week, winning twice and moving closer to the top in the West. John Ogrodnick and Doug Derkson had two goals each to power New West to an 8-3 win over Medicine Hat and then Stanley Smyl&rsquo;s three goals helped produce a 5-3 Bruins win over visiting Regina. Thanks to a snowstorm which forced postponement of an earlier game with the Pats, the Bruins must play four games in four nights, travel one day and then play the first of an eight-game-in-10-nights&rsquo; eastern swing.SEATTLE: George Buat scored three of the Breakers&rsquo; seven goals during the week as the Washington club moved over the .500 barrier with a 4-1 win over Victoria. It followed a 3-3 tie at home against Portland, in which Buat scored twice. Ryan Walter and rookie Greg Dunn assisted on two goals each in the triumph over Victoria, which moved the Breakers to within two points of the Cougars, with the luxury of seven games in hand.PORTLAND: Portland&rsquo;s potenl offense shifted into high gear against Regina in a 10-4 win, but the bulk of the production came from a surprising source&mdash;defenseman Larry Playfair, whc tallied three goals. Doug Lecuyer and Wayne Babych had four points each ir the game. Earlier, Lecuyer scored twice to salvage a 3-3 Hawks&rsquo; tie in Seattle. Rookie goalie Bart Hunter boasted the league&rsquo;s best average, 2.58.BILLINGS: It was a quiet week for Montana&rsquo;s Bighorns, who played just one game after getting a quick start on their rivals earlier in the season. Their lone action was a 3-0 loss to Lethbridge, nothing to write home about&rsquo;, but they didn&rsquo;t have to. because the blank job occurred before 1,777 people in the Yellowhead Metra. Needless to say. the six days Billings had off before their next game were put to good use by coach Dave King.CALGARY: While Billings idled, the Wranglers tangled. Back in Alberta one day after a poor Eastern sojourn, the Wranglers beat the Broncos in Lethbridge 7-5, as Eugene O&rsquo;Sullivan snapped a slump with four points, but had to fight their way out of the building at the game&rsquo;s end. The fracas resulted in $250 fines and two-game suspensions to both coaches, Calgary&rsquo;s Gerry Brisson and Lethbridge&rsquo;s Howie Yanosik. Two nights later, at home, the Broncos smothered Calgary 10-3. On their eastern trip, the Wranglers had a tie in Brandon to go with three losses&mdash;including 8-1 and 9-4 defeats in Flin Flon. Their other loss was 9-7 in Brandon.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-01286/4037405-1-eng-US/f0035-012.jpg" title="f0035-01" width="574" height="849"><figcaption class="caption-body">STAN SMYL&hellip;Three-Goal Night</figcaption></div>LETHBRIDGE: A brilliant defensive display, 3-0 road victory over Billings, started the Broncos&rsquo; week, and a sparkling offensive outbreak. 10-3 road win over Calgary, ended it. In between was a humiliating 7-5 loss (Broncos trailed 6-1 after two periods) at home against a tired Calgary team. The game wound up in a brawl and coach Howie Yanosik was fined and suspended for &ldquo;not controlling his players.&rdquo; Chynoweth said Gord Garbutt&rsquo;s third shutout of the year (he has 75 percent of the WCHL&rsquo;s shutouts) was a 49-stop effort in Billings. Steve Tambellini&rsquo;s three goals led the way in the 10-3 win over the Wranglers.MEDICINE HAT: The Tigers didn&rsquo;t get a sniff to wind up their western trip, losing 4-1 in Victoria and 8-3 in New Westminster on successive nights. The result dropped Vic Stasiuk&rsquo;s crew into the Central Division cellar.SASKATOON: The positive signs of a resurgence continued in Saskatoon, as the Blades upped their three-game goal total to 28 with a 9-5 shellacking of Flin Flon, as the line of Darryl Erickson. Dan Bent and Rick Merkel picked up 14 points. Erickson&rsquo;s six points and Marke&rsquo;s five led the way. But it came to a halt later in the week, when the Bombers returned and got revenge with a 4-3 winFLIN FLON: The Bombers moved three points ahead of the pack in the East with a 3-1-1 week, spiced by a pair of easy wins at home over Calgary. 8-1 and 9-4 as Glenn Hicks frolicked with five goals. Later, Kelly Davis&rsquo; goal at 19:59 of the third period gave Bombers a 4-4 tie in Brandon, sandwiched between a Flin Flon split tn Saskatoon. The Bomber tie vs. the Wheat Kings was aided by a super checking performance of center Mario Botlik. who held scoring star Bill Derlago to one shot on goal. In Saskatoon, Steve Blue&rsquo;s two third-period goals gave Bombers a 4-3 win. Flin Flon had five of the WCHL&rsquo;s top 19 scorers&mdash;Jordy Douglas. Hicks. Mel Biluk. Ray Markham and Blue.REGINA: Kevin Krook had four assists, but the Pats lost at home for the second straight game. 6-5 to Brandon. Then, it was off to the snowy west coast for eight games in nine nights. But when their opener at New West was postponed due to a blizzard, the Pats were faced with the task of playing eight road games in as many nights. Their opener was not suspicious&mdash;a 10-4 defeat in Portland&mdash;and they followed it up with a 5-3 defeat in New West, rallying from a 30 deficit to tie it at 3-3 before falling back once more.BRANDON: Rookie Frank Lang more than doubled, his seasonal points output by getting two goals and three assists in a 9-7 Brandon win over Calgary. Earlier, Derlago&rsquo;s four goals helped Brandon beat Regina 6-5. And at home. Ray Allison and Brad McCrimmon scored twice each in a 4-4 tie with Flin Flon. &#9632;

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Chynoweth Improving Hockey Scene; Bruins Gain Ground In Western Race

<h2>EXHIBITIONS</h2>Sat., Dec. 17Canada vs Finland at Chicoutimi, 8 p.m.Sun., Dec. 18Canada vs. Czechoslovakia at Quebec, 8 p.m.West Germany vs U.S. at Cornwall, 8 p.m.Sweden vs. Concordia U.Mon., Dec.19 Canada vs. Sweden at Hull, 8 p.m.Tue., Dec. 20Canada vs. Soviet Union at Montreal, 8 p.m.Czechoslovakia vs. Remparts at Quebec, 8 p.m.United States vs. Royals at Cornwall, 8 p.m.West Germany vs. Hull Olympiques at Hull, 8 p.mFinland vs. Sagueneens at Chicoutimi, 8 p.m.<h2>TOURNAMENT</h2>Thu., Dec.22 Soviet Union vs. Switzerland at Cornwall, 8 p.m.Finland vs. Sweden at Chicoutimi, 8 p.m.Canada vs. United States at Montreal 8 p.m.Czechoslovakia vs. W. Germany at Quebec, 8 p.m.Fri., Dec. 23Soviet Union vs. Sweden at Quebec, 8 p.m.Finland vs. Switzerland at Chicoutimi, 8 p.m.Canada vs. West Germany at Cornwall, 8 p.m.Czechoslovakia vs. United States at Hull, 8 p.m.Sun., Dec. 25Canada vs. Czechoslovakia at Montreal, 2 p.m.West Germany vs. United States at Hull, 2 p.m.Mon., Dec. 26Soviet Union vs. Finland at Montreal, 2 p.m.Sweden vs. Switzerland at Cornwall, 8 p.m.<h2>TOURNAMENT PLAYOFFS</h2>Wed., Dec. 28Winner, Gold Div. vs. Second place Blue Div. at Montreal, 8 p.m.Third place Gold Div. vs. Fourth place Blue Div. at Chicoutimi, 8 p.m.Winner Blue Div. vs. second place Gold Div. at Quebec, 8 p.m.Third place Blue Div. vs. Fourth place Gold Div. at Cornwall, 8 p.m.Fri., Dec. 30Third place Gold Div. vs. Fourth place Gold Div. at Cornwall, 8 p.m.Third place Blue Div. vs. Fourth place Blue Div. at Hull, 8 p.m.Sat., Dec. 31Winner Gold Div. vs. Second place Gold Div. at Quebec, 2 p.m.Winner Blue Div. vs. Second place Blue Div. at Montreal, 2 p.m.Third place Gold Div. vs. Third place Blue Div. at Hull, 2 p.m.Fourth place Gold Div. vs Fourth place Blue Div. at Cornwall, 8 p.m.Sun., Jan. 1Winner Gold Div. va. Winner Blue Div. at at Montreal, 2 p.m.Second place Gold Div. va. Second place Blue Div at Quebec, 3 p.m.Tue., Jan. 3Top two teams in A Division in sudden-death final at Montreal, 8 p.m. &#9632;

Dates Set For World Junior Play

<h2>DECEMBER</h2>Tue. 6 Oshawa at HamiltonToronto at LondonThu. 8 Oshawa at SudburyKitchener at WindsorOttawa at PeterboroughFri. 9 Oshawa at Sault Ste. MariePeterborough at KingstonNiagara Falls at KitchenerHamilton at OttawaWindsor at LondonSudbury at TorontoSat. 10 Kingston at Niagara FallsSun. 11 Niagara Falis at SudburyWindsor at KitchenerPeterborough at OshawaKingston at TorontoLondon at OttawaMon 12 Niagara Falls at Sault Ste. MarieTue 13 London at HamiltonPeterborough at TorontoThu. 15 Sault Ste. Marie at PeterboroughSudbury at WindsorKitchener at OshawaFri. 16 Peterborough at KitchenerSault Ste. Marie at OttawaWindsor at TorontoSudbury at LondonHamilton at Niagara FallsOshawa at KingstonSun 18 Hamilton at OshawaNiagara Falls at LondonKitchener at TorontoPeterborough at WindsorOttawa at KingstonSudbury at Sault Ste. Marie &#9632;

Where OHA Teams Play

<div class="byline">BY TOM MURRAY</div>LOUISVILLE SLUGGERHOCKEY STICKSMade in Canada by HILLERICH & BRADSBY, LTDArnold Street, Wallaceburg, Ontario Sold in U.S. and CanadaLOUISVILLE SLUGGERHOCKEY STICKSMade in Canada by HILLERICH & BRADSBY, LTDArnold Street, Wallaceburg, Ontario Sold in U.S. and CanadaNEW YORK&mdash;In the Dec. 2, 1977 issue of THE HOCKEY NEWS, an article ran in this space describing the controversy which has erupted as a result of the signing of under age centerman Ken Linseman by the World Hockey Association&rsquo;s Birmingham Bulls.Linseman, a standout player with the Kingston Canadians last season, was signed at age 18 by Birmingham owner John Basset to play for the Bulls this year. But WHA president Howard Baldwin&mdash;adhering to a WHA bylaw which states that a player can&rsquo;t be signed until he goes through the draft, and can&rsquo;t go through the draft until he turns 20&mdash;prevented Linseman from playing.At this point, New York-based attorneys Arthur C. Kaminsky and Howard Schwartz went to court on Linseman&rsquo;s behalf and, charging restraint of trade based on age, won their case.While Linseman&mdash;now one of the top players on the Bulls&mdash;along with Kaminsky and Schwartz were understandably happy with the verdict, the Dec. 2 article made it perfectly clear that Walter (Punch) Scherer, the general manager of the Kingston Canadians, and Clarence (Tubby) Schmalz, the commissioner of the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League, were not at all pleased with either the verdict or, more particularly, with Kaminsky.Some of the points made in the article were as follows:&bull; That &ldquo;Kaminsky was quoted as saying Scherer and the Canadians gave Linseman permission to turn professional.&rdquo;&bull; That Scherer&rsquo;s reaction to Kaminsky&rsquo;s alleged quote was: &ldquo;That statement is a damn lie. At no time did we grant such permission.&rdquo;&bull; That &ldquo;according to Schmalz,&rdquo; Kaminsky and a Norman Caplan of Montreal &ldquo;proposed a scheme whereby they would guarantee development fees for players they represented on junior clubs.&rdquo;&bull; That &ldquo;the WHA and the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association have an unwritten understanding that players will not be signed to pro contracts until they turn 20.&rdquo;&bull; That, according to Schmalz. &ldquo;Kaminsky induced Linseman to breach the junior players contract.&rdquo;After reading the Dec. 2 article, Kaminsky immediately called THE HOCKEY NEWS and informed us that he was never contacted by the author of the article for any comment on the quotes attributed to or concerning him, and he went on to relate his side of the story&mdash;which he felt should have been included in the article in the first place.&ldquo;First of all,&rdquo; Kaminsky said, alluding to that part of the article which alleged that he said Scherer and the Canadians gave Linseman permission to turn professional, &ldquo;I never said Kingston gave permission for Linseman to turn pro.&ldquo;There was an exchange of telegrams between me and Kingston in which Kingston agreed to let Linseman go if he paid them $40,000. But that agreement was never consumated because neither Kingston nor the CAHA would agree not to sanction the WHA for allowing Linseman to play. A failure to sanction would have meant the CAHA cancelling the planned series upcoming between the WHA and teams from Russia. Czechoslovakia, Sweden and Finland.&rdquo;Kaminsky then took issue with the &ldquo;unwritten understanding&rdquo; segment of the article, saying, &ldquo;there is no agreement whatsoever between the WHA and CAHA not to sign underage juniors. They&rsquo;ve signed plenty over the years,&rdquo; he concluded, naming Mark Napier, John Tonelli, Gordie Roberts and Mark and Marty Howe as several players who were signed by WHA teams before reaching their 20th birthdays.As to an allegation that in the article Kaminsky appears to have very few friends among executives in junior hockey, he retorted: &ldquo;I have lots of friends and lots of clients on various junior clubs. The people who are critical of me are in a minority.&rdquo;In responding to the point in the article which Schmalz said Kaminsky induced Linseman to break the junior players contract, Kaminsky has this to say: &ldquo;That&rsquo;s a most inaccurate statement. First of all, there was no contract, and even if there was, I didn&rsquo;t make Linseman the offer, John Bassett did.&ldquo;Most junior players sign contracts with their clubs. Linseman did sign one with Kingston, but it was invalid because he was only 17 and his father never endorsed it&mdash;which is a requirement.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s also a part in the contract in which you must show that you&rsquo;ve gotten independent advice from an attorney before signing it. That part of Linseman&rsquo;s contract was signed by Kingston&rsquo;s own lawyer, Peter Radley.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s interesting to me to note,&rdquo; Kaminsky continued, &ldquo;that Scherer had nothing to say about this all summer when the case was on trial. The only time he said anything was after I publically criticized Alan Eagleson.&rdquo;(Note: In a column which ran in the Nov. 15, 1977 issue of the Toronto Star, Kaminsky demanded that Eagleson, the executive director of the National Hockey League&rsquo;s Player Association, forfeit either his role as a representative of individual players or his directorship of the player&rsquo;s union. &ldquo;Eagleson,&rdquo; Kaminsky said, &ldquo;should stick with his Association duties and give up representing individual players&hellip;For Eagleson, trying to do so many conflicting things puts him in a very tough situation &ldquo;)&ldquo;I sense an unusually close relationship,&rdquo; Kaminsky said, &ldquo;between Scherer and Eagleson. as evidenced by Scherer&rsquo;s sudden attack on me following my criticism of Eagleson, and his position as general manager of the National Junior Team entering the upcoming Eagleson-run World Junior Tournament in Montreal.&rdquo;On another point in the Dec. 2 article, which stated that Kaminsky and Caplan were guaranteeing development fees to the clubs for the players they represented. Kaminsky said: Caplan and I guarantee every club that we deal with that they&rsquo;ll receive the development fees due them after one of their players signs with a WHA or NHL team. This guarantee will be written into each player&rsquo;s contract and we&rsquo;ll do it because it&rsquo;s a lot more ethical than the standard procedure of several years ago, whereby reps made under-the-table payments to clubs in return for getting the rights to players.&ldquo;Everything is out front and above board,&rdquo; Kaminsky said, &ldquo;and for this promise we expect nothing in return. For giving this promise all we&rsquo;ve been given in return is a commitment that the players will be given a chance to talk to my company so they can make a decision as to who they want to represent them.&ldquo;The unfortunate thing about this whole situation.&rdquo; Kaminsky added, &ldquo;is that Ken Linseman is one helluva hockey player. He&rsquo;s fully qualified to be playing in the WHA; he&rsquo;s the leading scorer of the Bulls already, and he&rsquo;s been the number one or two star in half of the games in which he&rsquo;s played.&ldquo;Last year he was making $75 a week. Now he&rsquo;s making $100,000 a year. Many junior coaches and general managers have told me that if one of their players had received a spectacular offer like Linseman&rsquo;s, they would, certainly be happy to see the player make the move. Unlike Scherer, most junior coaches and general managers put the welfare of their players ahead of their own self interests. &#9632;

Kaminsky Rebuts Scherer And Schmalz Accusations Over Signing Of Linseman

<div class="byline">BY MIKE GAMBLE</div>TORONTO&mdash;Sixteen of the 32 hopefuls who will attend the Team Canada junior tryout camp later this month, are from the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League.The remaining 16 players were chosen equally from Quebec and the West. However, when one considers the larger population base which Ontario has to draw from, the apparent discrepancy appears more realistic.Wayne Gretzky, the rookie center sensation who continues to lead the league&rsquo;s scoring parade, heads the list of OMJHL players selected by Team Canada&rsquo;s general manager Walter &ldquo;Punch&rdquo; Scherer and the three coaches&mdash;Ernie McLean, Gus Bodnar, and Orval Tessier.The Team Canada hierarchy, which announced it was unanimous in its&rsquo; selections, also took two of Gretzky&rsquo;s Soo Greyhound teammates, defenseman Craig Hartsburg and winger Dan Lucas.Three of the four goaltenders invited to Team Canada&rsquo;s tryout camp are from Ontario including Al Jensen of the Hamilton Fincups whose goals-against average of 2.66 is the best in the league. Pat Riggin of London Knights (3.47) and Jim Lockhurst of Kingston Canadians (4.43) were also invited.The 32 players will all report to Montreal between Dec. 14 and 16. After four exhibition games, the squad will be reduced to 18 skaters and three goaltenders.In addition to Hartsburg, other OMJHL rearguards picked are Willie Huber, Hamilton; Joel Quenneville, Windsor; John Wilson. Kingston; Brad Marsh and Rob Ramage both from London Knights.Bob Smith, captain of the Ottawa 67s who is second in league scoring behind Gretzky is the only other center chosen from Ontario. On left wing, Scherer and the coaches picked Tony McKegney, Kingston; and Don Maloney, Kitchener; in addition to Lucas. The rightwingers from the OMJHL are Mike Gartner from Niagara Falls and Tim Higgins from Ottawa.Windsor Spitfires maintain a two point margin atop the Emms Division. Wayne Maxner&rsquo;s crew took three of four points with a 6-2 triumph over their nearest pursuer&rsquo;s Hamilton Fincups and a 5-5 homeice tie with Peterborough Petes. The 140 goals by the Spitfires is the most in the 12-team league.The Fincups, which have been moving up after a slow start, took a bit of a nosedive managing only three of eight points. Fincups&rsquo; sole victory was a 5-1 win over the injury riddled Kingston Canadians. Hamilton managed a 5-5 tie at home against Niagara Falls before losing to the Flyers 5-2 and Windsor.London Knights maintained a solid grip on third spot in the division 10 points ahead of the fourth place Flyers. Knights could not take advantage of two home ice appearances, losing 3-1 to Peterborough before doubling Kitchener Rangers 6-3.The Flyers who were solidly entrenched in the division basement through the first six weeks of the schedule were undefeated last week winning two and tying a third game. After playing Fincups to a 5-5 tie, the Flyers&rsquo; whipped Hamilton 5-2 at home and had no difficulty disposing Sudbury Wolves 9-5.In contrast to the Flyers, Kitchener Rangers continue to head in the opposite division. After a quick start during which Rangers&rsquo; had an excellent goals against record. Kitchener now has plummeted to fifth place and their 128 goals against is exceeded in the division only by Toronto. Rangers gathered two of a possible six points doubling Oshawa 8-4 and losing 4-2 to Peterborough and 6-3 to London.Marlies, which played 16 of its first 19 games on the road had a slightly improved week with a win over Sudbury and a 55 tie against Sudbury. Kingston earmarked the Marlies 10-4.Although none of the Toronto players was invited to try out for Team Canada, the coach of the U.S. team is interested in Marlies&rsquo; netminder Stuart Birenbaum, a native of St. Louis, Mo.Unfortunately for Birenbaum, he&rsquo;s currently out of the Toronto lineup with a pulled shoulder joint. Team U.S.A, coach Len Lilyholm paid one visit to Toronto and will return this week in the hopes of seeing Birenbaum in action.The Amateur Hockey Association of the United States (AHAUS) so far has announced 10 players for its tryout camp in Detroit, Mich., but none of them is a goaltender.Although they&rsquo;ve played fewer games than any other team in the Leyden Division, Ottawa 67s continue to lead the parade with 15 wins and five losses. Brian Kilrea&rsquo;s gang took three of a possible four points on their northern swing. The 67s tied Sudbury 6-6 before whipping the Soo 6-2.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-01229/4037588-1-eng-US/f0037-012.jpg" title="f0037-01" width="570" height="694"><figcaption class="caption-body">BRAD MARSH&hellip;Named For Defense</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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OHA Clubs Contribute 16 Players To Team Canada’s World Cup Team

<div class="byline">BY DANNY YOUNG</div>LOUISVILLE SLUGGERHOCKEY STICKSMade in Canada by HILLERICH & BRADSBY, LTDArnold Street, Wallaceburg, Ontario Sold in U.S. and CanadaLOUISVILLE SLUGGERHOCKEY STICKSMade in Canada by HILLERICH & BRADSBY, LTDArnold Street, Wallaceburg, Ontario Sold in U.S. and CanadaLAVAL&mdash;The selections for Junior Team Canada&rsquo;s camp were released last week. A big surprise from the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League was the choice of Laval&rsquo;s Patrick Daley.Daley was not invited to the first camp held in August, but attracted the Team Canada people with his sparkling play this season.The news was a surprise to Daley. &ldquo;A week before the coach (Jacques St. Jean) mentioned something that I had a chance but don&rsquo;t get your hopes too high. When I heard about it, I was delighted.&rdquo;The Laval winger may be the league&rsquo;s most improved player. He has already matched his last year&rsquo;s point total of 59, and the season is not even half over.&ldquo;I think I have more confidence in myself,&rdquo; explained Daley. &ldquo;Last year, I was playing with Mike Bossy. All we did was give him the puck. This year we have to look for ourselves.&rdquo;Daley was slightly underweight last year, but he spent two hours a day during the summer working out and he put on a solid 15 pounds.General manager Jean Rougeau feels Daley has all the qualifications that make up a good hockey player. &ldquo;He has height, weight, and strength. His ability combined with his aggressiveness and will to win make him an asset to any team.&rdquo;Pat teams up with Glen Currie and Richard Pepin to form a devastating line. The three top Laval scorers don&rsquo;t feel at home unless they&rsquo;re buzzing around the opposition&rsquo;s goal.Glen Currie is a master at his center ice position. In his last year in the juniors, Currie has been an important ingredient in Daley&rsquo;s success.Rougeau would have liked to have seen Currie selected for Team Canada as well. &ldquo;Pat Daley can thank Glen Currie for 60 percent of his success. He keeps preparing plays and is always very precise with his passes.&rdquo;Daley, who is only 18, has one problem he&rsquo;s working on. &ldquo;The coach says I have trouble controlling the puck. I don&rsquo;t know what it is; it takes work I guess.&rdquo;Rogeau attributes this small deficiency to over anxiousness.Pat is an aggressive hockey player and doesn&rsquo;t back away from anyone. He has accumulated 79 minutes in penalties, most of which were from altercations.SHERBROOKE: In an effort to improve their defensive situation, the Beavers sent four players to Chicoutimi for goalie Yvan Charbonneau, defenseman Pierre Tremblay, and right winger Ghyslain Gaudreau. Sherbrooke came up with a big upset by stunning Cornwall, 5-4. Sylvain Locas led the way with a three-goal night. They lost two intra-division matches losing to Quebec 8-3 and falling to Chicoutimi 10-7.LAVAL: After tying Hull 2-2, Laval clobbered Montreal 10-5. Bruce Montgomery, who scored the tying goal in the deadlock, scored twice along with Glen Currie&rsquo;s two goals to support the victory. Pat Daley, Normand Lahaie and Glen Currie all scored twice to give the Nationals an 11-0 rout over Shawinigan.TROIS RIVIERES: After being upset by Hull 4-3 in a penalty filled game, the Draveurs crushed the same Hull team, 12-1. Denis Pomerleau had six points in that contest and scored three goals in a 14-0 destruction of Shawinigan. Normand Lefebvre had a goal and set up five others in that match.CORNWALL: The Royals may have had their worst week to date. They dropped a 6-4 decision to Quebec and were outlasted by Sherbrooke 5-4 despite Bob Crawford&rsquo;s hat trick. Team Canada selection Dan Geoffrion scored four goals in a 12-4 win over Shawinigan. Goalie Tim Bernhardt, defenseman Graeme Nicholson and winger Rick Paterson were the other players chosen from Cornwall to play for Team Canada.MONTREAL: The Juniors had a week they&rsquo;d like to forget. They lost to Shawinigan 9-6 and got destroyed by Laval 10-5. Their only win was over Verdun by 4-2. Michel Binette was sharp in the nets making his debut at the Montreal Forum. Injuries are hurting the team. John Phillips is out with sore ribs and Richard Suwek has a partially separated shoulder. Kevin Reeves is the only remaining forward from their number one line.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-01270/4037619-1-eng-US/f0038-012.jpg" title="f0038-01" width="563" height="747"><figcaption class="caption-body">PAT DALEY&hellip;More Confident</figcaption></div>CHICOUTIMI: The Sagueneens picked up defensemen Alain Collard and Joe Martin, winger Yvan Boudreau and goalie Jean-Marie D&rsquo;Aoust in a seven player deal with Sherbrooke. In action this week, they topped Sherbrooke 10-7 and fell to Cornwall 6-2.QUEBEC: Remparts displayed a brilliant effort in defeating Sherbrooke 8-3. Eight different players scored to produce the fine offensive output. Michel Goulet&rsquo;s hat trick combined with Denis Halle&rsquo;s four assists gave Quebec a 6-4 win over Shawinigan. Their only setback was to Cornwall by a 6-4 count.VERDUN: The Hawks dropped a 4-2 match to Montreal. Jean Francois Boutin put in both goals. In a hard fought battle, Verdun tied Hull 7-7. Buffalo Sabres&rsquo; GM Punch Imlach is said to be interested in Hawk winger Daniel St. Laurent. Dan still has another year in the QMJHL.HULL: The Olympics picked up three of a possible six points this week. They defeated Trois Rivieres 4-3 at home but lost to them on the road 12-1. They also hosted Laval and tied them 2-2.SHAWINIGAN: The Dynamos delighted the home town fans by topping Montreal 9-6. They also looked good in a game against Quebec 6-4. &#9632;

f0038-01

Laval’s Daley Named To Team Canada; Nationals’ Feel Currie Was Overlooked

<h2>DECEMBER</h2>Mon. 5 Sherbrooke at LavalTue. 6 Shawinigan at HullChicoutimi at Trois-Rivi&egrave;resWed. 7 Sherbrooke at VerdunThu. 8 Shawinigan at ChicoutimiMontreal at CornwallFri. 9 Trois-Rivi&egrave;res at MontrealChicoutimi at QuebecVerdun at ShawiniganCornwall at SherbrookeSun. 11 Chicoutimi at CornwallMontreal at HullVerdun at LavalShawinigan at QuebecSherbrooke at Trois-Rivi&egrave;resMon. 12 Hull at LavalChicoutimi at ShawiniganMontreal at SherbrookeTue. 13 Shawinigan at Trois-Rivi&egrave;resWed. 14 Laval at MontrealVerdun at QuebecThu. 15 Trois-Rivi&egrave;res at CornwallFri. 16 Laval at ChicoutimiSherbrooke at MontrealHull at ShawiniganQuebec at VerdunSun. 18 Montreal at ChicoutimiQuebec at HullLaval at ShawiniganTrois-Rivi&egrave;res at SherbrookeCornwall at Verdun &#9632;

Where QMHL Teams Play

<div class="byline">BY MIKE LYNCH</div>CRANBROOK&mdash;The three-way race for the Western International League lead continues with Cranbrook. Spokane and Kimberley struggling for dominance.With eight games in a recent 10-day stretch, Spokane had an opportunity to take charge, but the Flyers managed just .500 hockey over that span With a chance to maintain sole possession. Spokane lost the eighth game, 6-3 at home to KimberleyNow Cranbrook holds a slight advantage. The Royals have a game in hand on Spokane a hefty five on Kimberley. Meanwhile. Trail and Nelson continue to struggle for fourth. Trail had a good streak recently, winning three of four with all the victories by one goal.Kimberley has a forward line to rival the city&rsquo;s Nitro Lines of years past. Wingers Len Hicks and Glen Walton and center Ken Ireland dominate league scoring figures. Ireland missed the recent victory in Spokane with an ankle injury, but he is expected to return shortly.Kel Erickson. the Trail goaltender. separated a shoulder in a recent game at Spokane and will be sidelined some time. Henry Durkin, a Trail native who had played the last two seasons in Spokane, has rejoined the Smokies in his stead.Center Ron Huston, who has scored in all of Spokane&rsquo;s first 18 games, continues to lead the league&rsquo;s scoring even though his goal-scoring pace is below that anticipated by his fans. &#9632;

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December 16, 1977

Looking At The Races

‘Gutsy’ Schmautz Epitome Of B’s Selfless Approach

Injuries, Fatigue Snap Whalers’ Win String

E.J. Always Ready When Blues Call For Goaling Job