The Hockey News has been providing the most comprehensive coverage of the world of hockey since 1947. In each issue, you'll find news, features and opinions about the NHL and leagues across North America and the world.

January 20, 1978

The Hockey News January 20, 1978

<div class="byline">BY ALAN TRUEX</div><p>ATLANTA&mdash;</p><p class="dropcap"><span>E</span>ric Vail was not yet ready to proclaim the end of a season-long slump. However, evidence mounted that he was returning to the form that made him a Calder Trophy winner three years ago and an All Star left winger last year.</p><p>In the first 26 games this season, Vail had three goals and nine points for the Atlanta Flames. But in the next six games, he matched his goal and point production for the first 26.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not consciously thinking I&rsquo;m doing things different now than I was,&rdquo; Vail said. But he added, &ldquo;I feel things are starting to come around.&rdquo;</p><p>At his best, Vail can be one of the most dominating players in the NHL. He is six-foot-two and 210 pounds, and although he never has played physically, he can forecheck with authority and hold his ground in the slot against anyone.</p><p>He has above-average skating speed and one of hockey&rsquo;s hardest slap shots and hardest wrist shots. And as Flames&rsquo; general manager Cliff Fletcher has noted, &ldquo;He makes a lot of plays off the left wing. He can pass the puck very well.&rdquo;</p><p>For much of the season his shot has lacked power and accuracy, but lately Vail seems to have regained his touch.</p><p>His most convincing display of power occurred in Vancouver recently when a 15-foot shot struck goalie Curt Ridley in the throat and momentarily stopped his breathing.</p><p>Ridley was rushed to the hospital. Although the injury turned out to be not serious, it had the Canucks quite worried during the several minutes he lay sprawled on the ice.</p><p>Vail said the shot &ldquo;went off a defenseman&rsquo;s stick. I wouldn&rsquo;t shoot it that high.&rdquo;</p><p>When Cesare Maniago replaced Ridley in goal, Vail lashed another strong shot, a face off-circle slapper into a low comer of the net. That goal brought the Flames a 2-2 tie and ended a three-game losing streak.</p><p>The three-game streak began when the Flames traded Phil Myre, Curt Bennett and Barry Gibbs to St. Louis for Bob MacMillan, Dick Redmond and Yves Belanger. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve lost three games since they got here,&rdquo; coach Fred Creighton said, &ldquo;but that&rsquo;s no reflection on them.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-02268/4119438-1-eng-US/f0021-022.jpg" title="f0021-02" width="514" height="595"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>ERIC VAIL&hellip;Coming Aroung</b></figcaption></div><p>The Flames then tied Vancouver and exploded for a 6-2 victory over Colorado, with both games on the road. And in both games MacMillan and Redmond turned in good performances.</p><p>Creighton had MacMillan playing right wing on a line with Vail and Tom Lysiak. Until then, the Flames had been strictly a one-line hockey team (Bill Clement-John Gould-Harold Phillipoff). But the Lysiak-MacMillan-Vail combination worked instantly, and not at all to the surprise of Creighton.</p><p>&ldquo;They should be a good line,&rdquo; the coach said. &ldquo;After all, they&rsquo;re probably three of our best five players.&rdquo;</p><p>The first third of the season was a period of self-doubt for Vail, who scored 33 goals and 71 points last year. &ldquo;Maybe I wasn&rsquo;t mentally prepared to go all out each shift.&rdquo; he said, trying to account for his poor start.</p><p>&ldquo;I was frustrated because of my plus-minus and all. I was on for a lot of goals-against. Late in a game if it was a close game I&rsquo;d get the jitters.</p><p>&ldquo;I feel a little bit of relief about my individual play lately,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;but we gotta get going as a team. We&rsquo;ve got a much better club than our record.&rdquo;</p><p><b>FLAMES&rsquo; NOTES:</b> Bobby Simpson was expected to miss two weeks with a shoulder separation. He has been one of the Flames&rsquo; best offensive players&mdash;with six goals in 15 games, following his promotion from Tulsa&hellip;Dan Bouchard continued his excellent goaltending and had started nine straight games at press time.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0021-02

THE NHL

Relief In Sight For Flames’ Vail After Slow Start

<div class="byline">BY DONALD BERNS</div><p>ST. LOUIS&mdash;</p><p>Larry Patey was happy after the St. Louis Blues made a seven-player trade last month&mdash;happy he wasn&rsquo;t part of it.</p><p>When a team has a terrible record, players start to worry about being tapped on the shoulder and told to go into the general manager&rsquo;s office. The Blues qualify for that insecure feeling because they have a terrible record.</p><p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think I was secure,&rdquo; Patey said. &ldquo;We were all ready. Trades are made when they get the right combination of players. If you fit into the combination, you&rsquo;re gone.&rdquo;</p><p>St. Louis general manager Emile Francis and Atlanta general manager Cliff Fletcher found the right combination for a trade. The Blues gave Bob MacMillan, Dick Redmond, Yves Belanger and their 1979 second-round draft choice to get Phil Myre, Barry Gibbs and Curt Bennett.</p><p>Francis never told his struggling team the trade was the last of the season, but the deal served to relieve some of the pressure on those who stayed behind in St. Louis.</p><p>Patey, a hard digging forward, has value in the NHL trading market but wants to stay in St. Louis. He&rsquo;s happy he avoided the last shipment out of town.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;d like to be in St. Louis when things get better,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Teams have ups and downs, and I&rsquo;m willing to wait. We&rsquo;re down now, so the only place to go is up.&rdquo;</p><p>And Patey wants to do his part in the rebirth of the Blues.</p><p>&ldquo;Anything can give a team a lift&mdash;a big hit or a goal,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;If we can get going, St. Louis is a good place to be. We have to start winning.&rdquo;</p><p>After a 4-4 tie with Toronto, the Blues lost to Chicago, 6-2, to the Islanders, 6-3, to Minnesota, 1-0, and to Atlanta, 5-4, before an inspiring 3-2 win over Philadelphia to finish the 1977 portion of the schedule with a record of 8-24-4.</p><p>&ldquo;It seems part of our problem has been that one guy has a breakdown and everybody has a breakdown.&rdquo; Patey said. &ldquo;We have to finish off plays; but everybody gets excited.&rdquo;</p><p>Patey is a textbook stickhandler who has developed his disciplined style of play and become a valuable playmaker. And Patey now has the respect of the St. Louis fans, although he was late in earning it through no fault of his.</p><p>Patey arrived in St. Louis in November 1975 in one of the most unpopular trades in the team&rsquo;s history. Flashy, speedy Wayne Merrick was shipped to California in return for Patey and a third-round draft choice. Patey was suffering from an ankle injury when he arrived, and the St. Louis fans, making quick comparisons, thought they had been robbed.</p><p>But ankles heal, memories fade, and team loyalties persist. Patey has been with the Blues longer than most of his current teammates, and the fans appreciate his efforts. Last season he was the Blues&rsquo; third-leading scorer behind Garry Unger and Bob MacMillan.</p><p>At the time of the big trade this season MacMillan was the team&rsquo;s leading scorer, and Redmond the third-leading scorer. Unger and Inge Hammarstrom were tied for the team scoring lead with Patey third at the time of the Philadelphia game. Patey assisted on the winning goal by Jim Roberts against the Flyers, and the other two St. Louis goals were by Brian Ogilvie and Bennett, who tallied on a spectacular unassisted play by scooping up a loose puck in center ice and charging hard for a shot from the slot past Bernie Parent. The Flyers lost their first game to a team in the Smythe Division in nearly two years.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-06408/4118369-1-eng-US/f0004-062.jpg" title="f0004-06" width="549" height="758"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>LARRY PATEY&hellip;Likes St. Louis</b></figcaption></div><p>Myre has been playing every game in the St. Louis nets since he was acquired from the Flames. That schedule pleases him very much after years of alternating with Danny Bouchard for Atlanta.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0004-06

Blues’ Patey Glad He Wasn’t Included In Trade Dealings

<div class="byline">BY GREG NOBLE</div><p>BIRMINGHAM&mdash;</p><p>For most people, the new year began on Jan. 1. But the Birmingham Bulls might want to measure their new year from Nov. 14.</p><p>The Bulls have been a last-place team in the World Hockey Association for almost as long as anybody can remember. But in the last six weeks of 1977 they emerged as the hardest-hitting team in the league and a winning team that seems bent on making the playoffs.</p><p>With their rough-and-tumble style, coach Glen Sonmor&rsquo;s Bulls put together an impressive 12-6-1 mark after Nov. 14&mdash;including a five-game winning streak in late December&mdash;and jumped out of the cellar into sixth place.</p><p>The Bulls didn&rsquo;t just turn into a winning team on Nov. 14 like a pumpkin turned into Cinderella&rsquo;s coach. It wasn&rsquo;t magic, and it was more than mere coincidence.</p><p>It was the trade. On Nov. 14 the Bulls sent Vaclav Nedomansky and Tim Sheehy, two big goal scorers, to the Detroit Red Wings for Steve Durbano and Steve Hanson, two big hitters. On the same day they called up two more big hitters, Frank Beaton and Bob Stephenson, from the minors. Not long afterward, they added more muscle in Serge Beaudoin, Rod Langway and Phil Roberto.</p><p>Suddenly, the Bulls had the toughest team in the league. And the new players seemed to light a spark in the rest of the team. Since then, the Bulls have been on a rampage, like somebody was waving a red cape in their faces.</p><p>&ldquo;These new guys gave us pride and enthusiasm,&rdquo; Peter Marrin noted. &ldquo;The change in this team since the trade has been like night and day.&rdquo;</p><p>The change was manifest everywhere&mdash;on defense, in goal and on offense.</p><p>Hands down, the Bulls made the biggest improvement on defense. Whereas they gave up more goals than any other team but Phoenix last year, the Bulls were just behind New England and Winnipeg in goals against this season.</p><p>Beaudoin and Brent Hughes, especially, were making a big difference at the blueline. Beaudoin, who was minus 11 at Cincinnati before the Bulls claimed him on waivers, was plus-14 at Birmingham. Sonmor praised Beaudoin as the hardest worker on the team.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-02268/4119793-1-eng-US/f0025-022.jpg" title="f0025-02" width="546" height="884"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>HUGH HARRIS&hellip;Versatile Forward</b></figcaption></div><p>&ldquo;The best defensive pair in the league right now is Serge and Brent Hughes,&rdquo; Sonmor said. &ldquo;Of course, all our players are working hard, but if I had to pick one player who was really working hard and playing to the limit of his ability it would be Serge. He&rsquo;s given us quite a lift.&rdquo;</p><p>Since the Bulls were the most penalized team in the league, you could not overlook the excellent job they were doing killing penalties. For the season the Bulls were allowing just one goal every six power plays, and after Marrin and Paul Henderson became the regular penalty killing forwards in midNovember, they gave up only two power play goals in 19 gaoes.</p><p>While the Bulls were getting the usual outstanding goaltending from John Garrett, Wayne Wood was also doing an excellent job. Wood made seven starts in that 19-game stretch and had a 5-1-1 record and a 1.85 GAA. Wood&rsquo;s hot hand became especially valuable to the Bulls when Garrett was struck in the head by a shot and had to be hospitalized. Wood&rsquo;s overall GAA was 3.32 while Garrett&rsquo;s was 3.39.</p><p>The Bulls were not among the highest scoring teams in the league, but they were getting balanced scoring. Ken Linseman (12 goals, 14 assists), Mark Napier (15,11) and Marrin (10,16) led the club with 26 points each after 31 games. And Henderson had 25 (12,13).</p><p>During the five-game winning streak, John C. Stewart scored the winning goal in a 3-2 victory over Edmonton, Linseman had two goals in a 5-0 win over the Czechs (Garrett&rsquo;s second shutout of the season) and Stephenson, Henderson and Dave Gorman each had two assists in a 6-1 victory over the Soviets. Frank Mahovlich also had a goal and two assists against Edmonton.</p><p>After New England broke the streak, the Bulls bounced back by thrashing Cincinnati 7-1. Napier had a hat trick and Linseman, the 19-year-old rookie, had four assists in what he called his best night as a pro.</p><p>The Bulls had only to figure out a way to beat the Whalers. Of the Bulls&rsquo; six losses in 19 games, three were to New England.</p><p>The Bulls&rsquo; hard-hitting&rsquo; style was beginning to take its toll in injuries. Beaton was out with a sprained ankle and Dale Hoganson was sidelined with a pulled groin. Some others on the team were playing hurt.</p><p>Hanson served a four-game suspension after he climbed into the Edmonton penalty box after Pierre Guite and hit linesman Joey Dame when Dame tried to break up their fight.</p><p><b>CINCINNATI:</b> The Stingers seemed to get the better part of a four-player deal with Indianapolis, trading right winger Blaine Stoughton and defenseman Gilles Marotte for defenseman Bryon Baltimore and left winger Hugh Harris.</p><p>Coach Jacques Demers was very happy to get two more of his former stars. Demers, who wanted more strength in his lineup, pointed out that both Baltimore (six-foot-two, 200), and Harris (six-foot, 190) are strong and performed well in his style of play.</p><p>&ldquo;Baltimore is a big, solid defenseman. Our weakness on defense is that we&rsquo;re not that big, but Baltimore will hit people. He&rsquo;s not offensive-minded, but defensively he&rsquo;s very strong,&rdquo; said Demers. &ldquo;Harris can play every forward position and kill penalties and play on the power play. He can score a lot of goals. He&rsquo;s the rah-rah type&mdash;a great team guy&rdquo;</p><p>One day after the trade, the Stingers rallied from a 3-1 deficit in the third period to beat the Racers in overtime, 54. Jamie Hislop scored the winning goal after Barry Melrose got the tying goal with 50 seconds left in the third period.</p><p><b>INDIANAPOLIS:</b> The Racers&rsquo; winless streak reached 10 games after their 5-4 overtime loss to Cincinnati. &ldquo;What can I say?&rdquo; coach Ron Ingram said in despair. &ldquo;We played a helluva game, but they score a goal with 50 seconds to go and we lose in overtime. That&rsquo;s the way things are going for us.&rdquo;</p><p>Asked why he made the deal with Cincinnati, Ingram said. &ldquo;I needed to make some changes because we&rsquo;re losing. I thought Stoughton could help us because he can score goals, and Marotte has a lot of National League experience and good defensive ability.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-03187/4119786-1-eng-US/f0025-032.jpg" title="f0025-03" width="554" height="780"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>SERGE BEAUDOIN&hellip;Hardest Worker</b></figcaption></div><p>The Racers were hurt with Claude St. Sauveur, their top goal scorer, on the sidelines. He was cut in the calf by a skate and missed five games. Goalie Gary Inness&rsquo; play was one of the few bright spots for the Racers.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0025-02

THE WHA

Bulls’ ‘Hitters’ Promote Drastic Turnabout

<h2><b>Where IHL Teams Play</b></h2><p><b>JANUARY</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-01316/4120657-1-eng-US/f0034-012.jpg" title="f0034-01" width="562" height="758"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0034-01

OTHER LEAGUES

INTERNATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE

Cover-01

IN THIS ISSUE

The Hockey News

<div class="byline">BY MIKE DENNIS</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0002-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-011019/4118175-1-eng-US/f0002-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>GUY LAFLEUR&hellip;Showed Soviets How To Do It</b></figcaption></div><p>MONTREAL&mdash;</p><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>hey said they were looking more towards a Jan. 9 meeting with the Philadelphia Flyers, but there was never any doubt that this team was going to go full out to win on Friday, Jan. 6 when the Soviet Union&rsquo;s Spartak club came to town.</p><p>The &ldquo;they&rdquo;, of course, is the Montreal Canadiens, and while the atmosphere surrounding their &ldquo;Super Series &rsquo;78&rdquo; showdown with a seventh-place Soviet squad didn&rsquo;t pack the punch of the New Year&rsquo;s Eve 3-3 tie on the last day of 1975 when the highly-touted Soviet Red Army supplied the opposition, there were still plenty of butterflies in the stomachs of the National Hockey League&rsquo;s best team.</p><p>A 16-1 domination in shots by the Canadiens in a scoreless first period set the tone for the night as the Habs overwhelmed their game but inferior opponents and finally emerged with a 5-2 triumph. The win salvaged a tie in the series which netted over $2 million, as Spartak earned a 2-1 decision over the Atlanta Flames on Jan. 8 to split the 13-game international set involving Czechoslovakian teams Kladno and Pardubice, as well as Spartak, against NHL teams. The final count was 6-6-1 in games.</p><p>The reactions following the game were as varied as the players who make up the Canadiens. Bill Nyrop, in his second full year, thought the Soviets were good, very good and that they didn&rsquo;t stop coming.</p><p>Pierre Bouchard admitted: &ldquo;I think our team was overanxious. I was much more nervous than I thought I&rsquo;d be.&rdquo;</p><p>Larry Robinson, who assisted on three Montreal goals had this to say: &ldquo;The Europeans set up very well and I&rsquo;d say the hardest thing to defend against is their pass to a man coming in late on the play. You each have a man covered and then suddenly somebody makes a cut and gets free and you don&rsquo;t know whether to go to him or stick with your man.</p><p>&ldquo;They play pretty much the same style, though,&rdquo; Larry continued, &ldquo;and in their own end they&rsquo;re a very ordinary club. They let us do pretty much what we wanted.&rdquo;</p><p>A young man with a tape recorder strolled up to Ken Dryden who guarded the nets for the first half of the game (Canadiens led 1-0 when Michel Bunny Larocque took over) and announced in a radio-type voice: Well, Ken, you finally shut out the Soviets after years of trying.&rsquo; To which Dryden replied Well, if you want to call playing against them once every three years, years of trying, then I guess you&rsquo;re right.&rsquo;</p><p>As far as Dryden was concerned he thought that the Soviets were forced to play the Canadiens&rsquo; style. &ldquo;It may have looked like the Soviets threw the puck away a lot more against us, but I believe it&rsquo;s because we have much better checkers than Vancouver and St. Louis and we made them make those mistakes&rdquo;</p><p>Steve Shutt figured that the Spartak team would finish about in the middle of the NHL standings. &ldquo;I&rsquo;d have to say that the top six teams in our league could beat them consistently with little trouble at all,&rdquo; Shutt analyzed. &ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t play a particularly good first period but we were all over them. They don&rsquo;t forecheck, they don&rsquo;t hit you, rather they just grab onto you or your stick whenever you get close. They&rsquo;ve really developed their holding and interference. Boy when they&rsquo;ve got a hold of you, you just can&rsquo;t get away, You&rsquo;re better off to fall down and hope for the penalty.&rdquo;</p><p>Asked if frustration might have bothered the Canadiens after holding such a wide edge in play on the ice but not on the scoreboard as the game started to teach the mid-point, Shutt remarked &ldquo;No, not at all. We were playing the right way. It was just a matter of time and we knew we were going to breakthrough.&rdquo;</p><p>It was Guy Lafleur (who else?) from the edge of the crease at 9:19 of the second period knocking home a backhander and just after Larocque relieved Dryden, Bob Gainey tallied on a breakway with a driving shot high on the sort side before crashing into the post and spinning end over end towards the boards. Fortunately, he wasn&rsquo;t hurt.</p><p>In the third period. Jacques Lemaire counted with a short shot, Yvon Lambert picked the far corner on a neat backhander and Lafleur again at 12:37 made it 5-0 as he walked in unmolested on the Soviets&rsquo; goaltender Alexander Pashkov, Aleksandr Barinev and Valeri Efstifeev notched late Soviet goals to complete the scoring.</p><p>In the dressing room, Shutt pointed to a blackboard which said: Practice tomorrow, 12 noon, and it was time for the Canadiens to go back to thinking about Philadelphia again.</p><p>It was in Philadelphia&rsquo;s Spectrum that the Canadiens launched their winning streak which has stretched to eight games prior to the Jan. 9 match. Montreal was rebounding from road losses to Minnesota and Pittsburgh and stopped the Flyers cold, 2-0.</p><p>What&rsquo;s more it put Canadiens in the overall points lead in the standings, which after winning the divisional title is the number one goal of the Habs.</p><p>Through 38 games the Canadiens had compiled a 27-7-4 mark for 58 points, just two less than one year ago when they were 27-5-6. At the beginning of the season, coach Scotty Bowman said. &ldquo;We could probably have even a better team this year and play better but not have as few losses as last year when just about everything went right for us.&rdquo;</p><h2><b>WHERE YOU&rsquo;LL FIND IT ALL INSIDE</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-02923/4118168-1-eng-US/f0002-022.jpg" title="f0002-02" width="550" height="716"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>DENNIS HEXTALL Riding Detroit Bench</b></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0002-01

Canadiens Save NHL From Defeat With Win As Europeans Gain Split

<h2><b>Soviet Nationals Show Might</b></h2><p>QUEBEC CITY&mdash;</p><p>The Soviet Nationals continued to show their domination of teams from the WHA as they launched their six-game segment of the International Series &rsquo;78 with three victories in their first four games.</p><p>The Nationals, who trimmed the Winnipeg Jets in three games during their tour of Japan and won another from the Nordiques in the Izvestia Tournament in Moscow, began their six-game tour by trouncing the Edmonton Oilers 7-2 as Soviet goaler Vladislav Tretiak sparkled in goal and Vladimir Petrov scored a hat trick. The Nationals were slightly sidetracked in their second outing as the Winnipeg Jets, sparked by Bobby Hull&rsquo;s three goals and two more by Ulf Nilsson, defeated the Soviets 5-3 but after that it was all downhill for the WHA.</p><p>The Soviets defeated Quebec again 6-3 and dumped Cincinnati Stingers 9-2 giving them seven wins in eight starts against WHA clubs this season. Boris Mikhailov and Valeri Kharlamov were two of the Soviets&rsquo; scoring stars in the two games.</p><h2><b>Red Wings Grab &lsquo;Free&rsquo; Collegians</b></h2><p>DETROIT&mdash;</p><p>When small Union College &lsquo;disbanded&rsquo; its hockey team the Detroit Red Wings were right there to pick up the pieces.</p><p>The Wings, who had drafted four members of the Union College squad, took the youngsters in tow and started them off on their professional careers by assigning them to minor league teams for immediate development.</p><p>It all came about when Ned Harkness, the former Detroit coach and GM, resigned as Union College coach over interference from the school&rsquo;s administrators. His assistant coach and half the members of the team walked out along with Harkness.</p><p>The Red Wings assigned Union&rsquo;s Bernie Kaminski and Dean Willers and Ed Hill, who actually played for University of Vermont, but also was owned by the Red Wings, to Kalamazoo of the IHL. Detroit also shipped Jack Rankin and Kip Churchill to Kansas City of the CHL.</p><h2><b>Soviet Juniors Win World Cup</b></h2><p>MONTREAL&mdash;</p><p>Most of the hollering in the recently completed Junior World Cup of Hockey was done off the ice after the Soviet Union emerged with the championship for the second straight year by defeating Sweden in an All-European final that tended to become a big bore for the 3,966 fans who turned up at the Montreal Forum for the climactic game.</p><p>Alan Eagleson, tournament coordinator, denied that the 1978 event was a financial flop despite the fact Hockey Canada has to write off between $50,000 and $75,000 as the result of poor attendance in the Quebec province centers where all the games were contested.</p><p>Eagleson said Canada won a lot of hockey friends on the International scene despite the fact crowds were as low as 281 and the series produced much dissatifaction among Quebec Major Hockey League people, who felt their league was snubbed in the team player selections.</p><p>Team Canada, which had shown enough strength in the pretournament action and the preliminary round to rate being installed as title favorites, did not win and the result took much of the lustre off the finale. Only one Canadian, center Wayne Gretzky, was chosen to the tournament All Star team. The rest were picked from european teams.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

DEADLINE STOPPERS

<div class="byline">BY LARRY BORTSTEIN</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0003-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-02882/4118279-1-eng-US/f0003-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>MIKE BOSSY&hellip;Leading Rookie Scorer</b></figcaption></div><p>DENVER&mdash;</p><p class="dropcap"><span>O</span>ne thing the Colorado Rockies are sensitive about is their relatively remote geographical location in North America, and their distance from the major media centers. Denver, the so-called &ldquo;Queen City of the Rockies.&rdquo; does seem in general to suffer from a lack of attention, and people here are a little upset that their town is often shrugged off by folks in such locales as New York and Los Angeles.</p><p>Though it&rsquo;s still early, there may in the next few weeks be a furor over the merits of the various top rookie players in the National Hockey League. Granted, there are some wondrously talented young men new to the big league this year. But in Denver the talk centers around the Rockies&rsquo; awesome 20-year-old defenseman, Barry Beck, and folks connected with the Rockies fear this prodigy will be left out in the cold come Calder Trophy time.</p><p>Of course, there are several other prime candidates who have played 25 games in the NHL with practically every club touting their rookie as the best in the league. Atlanta has Harold Phillipoff, Boston claims Bob Miller and in Buffalo, Sabres are calling attention to goalie Don Edwards who qualifies as a rookie. In Chicago there&rsquo;s talk about Doug Wilson and Ted Bulley, while Cleveland backers insist Kris Manery tops the charts. Detroit lays claim to No. 1 pick Dale McCourt and defenseman Reed Larson, while Dave Taylor continues to impress for Los Angeles. The North Stars are high on Brad Maxwell and likes the looks of Per-Olav Brasar from Sweden. There&rsquo;s Pierre Mondou with the Canadiens, Lucien DeBlois with the Rangers and Philadelphia&rsquo;s Kevin McCarthy to consider. Toronto touts the efforts of defenseman Trevor Johansen, while Vancouver knows it has a winner in Jere Gillis and the Caps feel Robert Picard will soon be a leader.</p><p>&ldquo;All you hear is Bossy, Bossy, Bossy,&rdquo; says Wilf Paiement of the New York Islanders&rsquo; fledgling right winger who has put his name on the big league hockey map amidst a flurry of goals. &ldquo;Bossy is playing on a line with Bryan Trottier and Clark Gillies,&rdquo; Paiement goes on. &ldquo;Put him on a line with anybody else and see what he does.&rdquo;</p><p>Paiement says of the Rockies&rsquo; rookie find, Beck, &ldquo;He&rsquo;s really something, and he&rsquo;s getting better and better. There shouldn&rsquo;t be any question that he&rsquo;s the best rookie in the league, and if he doesn&rsquo;t get the Calder, politics or something has to be involved.&rdquo;</p><p>Paul Gardner was second in scoring among NHL rookies last season, and finished sixth in the Calder Trophy balloting. The Rockies didn&rsquo;t mount a campaign to call attention to Paul, preferring to let his statistics and actions on ice speak for him. While the Rockies aren&rsquo;t going all-out to pitch for Beck, they are nonetheless delighting in the attention he has been creating for himself around the league.</p><p>&ldquo;He plays like a veteran and you know he&rsquo;s good,&rdquo; said Toronto coach Roger Neilson recently. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s gonna be one of the top defensemen in the league in the next few years.&rdquo;</p><p>Beck had his first fight in the NHL against Philadelphia tough guy Paul Holmgren, and thrashed the Flyer soundly. &ldquo;People around the league heard about that in a big hurry,&rdquo; grinned Rocky vice president-general manager Ray Miron. &ldquo;You can bet they all know about that fight.&rdquo;</p><p>Beck, the second choice overall in last summer&rsquo;s amateur draft, was already enjoying a superlative first season in the NHL, his six-foot-three, 216-pound frame serving as a major threat and deterrent to opponents who started having second thoughts about trying to make plays in his area.</p><p>Then, suddenly, Beck turned into a scoring fooL He scored only 16 goals all of last season with the Memorial Cup champion New Westminster Bruins, and was not considered a premier offensive threat.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-03595/4118272-1-eng-US/f0003-032.jpg" title="f0003-03" width="1120" height="1774"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>BARRY BECK&hellip;Top NHL Defenseman In Goals</b> <span class="photo-credit">(Photo by Steve Babineau)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-04356/4118265-1-eng-US/f0003-042.jpg" title="f0003-04" width="507" height="689"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Dale McCourt</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-05201/4118258-1-eng-US/f0003-052.jpg" title="f0003-05" width="518" height="693"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Jere Gillis</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-06134/4118251-1-eng-US/f0003-062.jpg" title="f0003-06" width="514" height="689"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Don Edwards</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-0786/4118244-1-eng-US/f0003-072.jpg" title="f0003-07" width="521" height="687"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Harold Phillipoff</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-0858/4118237-1-eng-US/f0003-082.jpg" title="f0003-08" width="507" height="689"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Brad Maxwell</b></figcaption></div><h2><b>NHL&rsquo;s Top 10 Rookies</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-011026/4118230-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg" title="f0003-01" width="545" height="426"></div><p>But starting with a Saturday night game, Dec. 3 against Philadelphia, Barry scored at least one goal in six consecutive games, and capped that streak by scoring the hat trick during a 5-1 victory over Minnesota two weeks later. With the three goals against the North Stars, Barry tied Philadelphia&rsquo;s Bob Dailey as the goalscoring leader among NHL defensemen with 14 apiece.</p><p>There are no available records for goal-scoring streaks by defensemen, but Beck&rsquo;s skein of six games certainly has to rank high among scoring feats by blueliners.</p><p>&ldquo;Early in the season I was keeping my shots low,&rdquo; Beck says. &ldquo;Then I started getting them higher, and I think that&rsquo;s been one of the big reasons I&rsquo;ve started scoring goals. Most of my shots have been from the left point, and I think I&rsquo;ve got a pretty good shot. But my main responsibility is to play tough defense, take my man out of the play, and stay back. All through juniors I stayed back and let the other defenseman carry the puck. Here I&rsquo;m moving the puck more, but Boxy (John Van Boxmeer) handles the puck better than I do, so he usually gets to do that when we&rsquo;re both on the ice.&rdquo;</p><p>Beck says his hat trick &ldquo;was the first I&rsquo;ve scored in years. I never got any in juniors, and I guess it might have been in bantams when I last scored one. But I&rsquo;m not gonna worry about getting goals or assists. That&rsquo;s not my main job.&rdquo;</p><p>Still, Beck, as he admits, has a hard shot. One of his blasts from the left point hit Jim Schoenfeld and broke the foot of the Buffalo rearguard.</p><p>Barry might have had another goal on his stat sheet if a last-second shot he took at Toronto&rsquo;s Mike Palmateer had been allowed. The Rockies were scrambling to erase a 32 deficit in the closing stages and Beck poked the puck toward the Leaf cage, and seemingly over the line. But it was ruled no good and a rebound try by Paul Gardner went in simultaneously with the flashing of the green light to end the game.</p><p>Beck isn&rsquo;t compiling a lot of penalties, though some expected him to. Two years ago he spent more than 330 minutes in the penalty box with New Westminster. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s not why I&rsquo;m out there,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;I can help the team more if I&rsquo;m in the game.&rdquo;</p><p>Modesty apparently keeps the youngster, who acts, speaks, and looks older than his 20 years, from pointing out that only the most foolhardy opponents dare incur his wrath.</p><p>Clean, solid hits are Beck&rsquo;s forte. &ldquo;When he hits &lsquo;em, they stay hit,&rdquo; Paiement points out. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s what we need. He&rsquo;s no goon. We don&rsquo;t want him to do that. He&rsquo;ll hit someone if he gets the chance. He&rsquo;s a mean hockey player and strong like a bull. Nobody fools around with Becko.&rdquo;</p><p>Dennis O&rsquo;Brien, recently acquired from Minnesota, says Beck &ldquo;looks like he&rsquo;s been in the league seven or eight years. He has a great head for the game.&rdquo;</p><p>The Rockies are hoping that the Beck name will pop into the electorate&rsquo;s heads when Calder Trophy time comes around.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0003-02

Rockies’ Lack Of Media Exposure Could Deter Beck’s Calder Chances

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-011077/4118338-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg" title="f0004-01" width="479" height="481"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Ken McKenzie&rsquo;s</b></figcaption></div><p>&#9679; <b>THIS IS</b> All Star month with the World Hockey Association annual All Star contest taking place at Quebec City on January 17 and the 31st annual NHL All Star game being played at Buffalo. Both of these games should prove popular with hockey fans&hellip;Super Series 78 was not nearly as thrilling or popular with puck fans as expected. In fact it was a big disappointment to most ardent hockey followers. The feeling right now is that there are to many international tournaments. It&rsquo;s becoming confusing to the paying public and losing much of its early appeal. This fact was borne out by the poor attendance in most United States cities. The games drew much better when played in Canadian cities&hellip;Los Angeles hockey buff Laura Davis notes fast-moving Hartland Monahan has the distinction of being featured, complete with pictures, in three different press guides this season&mdash;those of the Washington, Pittsburgh and L.A. teams&hellip;Sentiment is still strong among Philadelphia fans to bring back Dave Schultz. When the Spectrum message board flashed news that Schultz has scored two goals and one assist for Pittsburgh in a 4-3 loss to Montreal, the crowd roared. Quipped Keith Allen, the good-natured Flyer&rsquo;s general manager, Tell that message board operator he&rsquo;s through&rdquo;&hellip;Gus Mortson, former NHL defense stalwart, advises from his Timmins, Ont. home that he&rsquo;d like to get back into hockey as a coach or manager. Mortson coached in the OHA Senior league after his playing days ended in 1960&hellip;In their effort to go along with young players, Detroit Red Wings recently signed five members of the defunct Union College team and one from the University of Vermont to play with Detroit&rsquo;s farm clubs at Kansas City and Kalamazoo.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-021032/4118331-1-eng-US/f0004-022.jpg" title="f0004-02" width="286" height="436"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Hartland Monahan</b></figcaption></div><p>&#9679; <b>THE YOUNGEST</b> chief executive in professional hockey is 31-year-old Ed Anderson of the Maine Mariners who was recently appointed president of the Philadelphia Flyers&rsquo; American Hockey League team. Anderson was serving as club business manager and replaced Gil Stein who became general council of the National Hockey League&hellip;Said Stein of his successor: &ldquo;Ed Anderson&rsquo;s dedication to Maine and the Mariners is largely responsible for the success of the first six months of the club&rsquo;s operation&hellip;Continuing with the Flyers organization, when the parent Philly club lost a 3-2 decision to the St. Louis Blues on Dec. 31, it marked the team&rsquo;s first loss to a Smythe Division club in 45 games&hellip;Last Smythe team to defeat the Flyers was the Chicago Black Hawks in Jan. of 1976&hellip;Speaking of broken streaks, Islanders goalie Billy Smith had a personal 12-game unbeaten string snapped in Montreal Dec. 23 when he lost 7-5, his first setback since Nov. 6 when Bosto Bruins defeated him&hellip;Former basketball great Bob Cousy had a comment which might apply to all team sports, &ldquo;Even owners with big egos are getting tired of losing money just to be able to go to a cocktail party to tell everyone what some player said coming out of the shower in the lock room&rdquo;&hellip;When icy road conditions held up the team bus returning to Cranbrook, B.C., several of the teams&rsquo; players donned their skates and began travelling by foot power the final 15 miles to town. Actually they only had to skate about halfway because the RCMP picked them up.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-03927/4118324-1-eng-US/f0004-032.jpg" title="f0004-03" width="302" height="454"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Billy Smith</b></figcaption></div><p>&#9679; <b>AN AMERICAN</b> is rare in Canadian junior hockey. A kid from sunny southern California is even more rare, but Steve Blue from Los Angeles is making it big in Flin Flon in the Western Canada League. The 18-year-old right winger took time out to play for Team USA in the World Junior Championships&hellip;Current coach Mickey Keating had this to say about Blue: &ldquo;He had two teeth knocked out in one game and never missed a shift. Years ago you couldn&rsquo;t find a player of his ability in the United States&rdquo;&hellip;Allan Malamud, the sports editor who made the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner hockey conscious, doubles as an actor and can be seen often in NBC TV movies. Hockey broadcaster Dan Avey plays Clems McCarthy in the TV movie, the Schmeling-Louis story&hellip;Swedish import Stefan Persson has been sidelined by a couple of injuries but no one doubts his ability to play in the NHL. The New York Islander rookie is an excellent playmaker and has picked up three points in a game twice this season&hellip;The complexion of the Colorado Rockies&rsquo; season figures to be determined during the long road stretches of January and February. Colorado has 18 away games scheduled during that period, compared to 11 at home, and there is one spell of 14 road games out of 21 contests overall&hellip;John Muckler, who coached the Minnesota North Stars in 1968, has been hired by the St. Louis Blues to scout eastern colleges, the American Hockey League and the NHL&hellip;Ken Hodge appears to be at the end of the trail. He&rsquo;s scored only two goals in his first 15 games with New Haven.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-04825/4118317-1-eng-US/f0004-042.jpg" title="f0004-04" width="293" height="489"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Doug Palazzari</b></figcaption></div><p>&#9679; <b>IT&rsquo;S BEEN</b> three years since pro hockey left Omaha but amateur hockey on the youth level is flourishing. Six age groups have 44 teams with close to 550 youngsters taking part according to Bruce Harman, president of the Omaha Metropolitan Amateur Hockey Association, which operates the youth program in conjunction with the City Parks and Recreation Dept, and Ad-Sar-Ben Coliseum. Omaha was one of the most successful cities in minor pro hockey for years&hellip;Hockey officials (referees and linesmen) start and also retire at an earlier age than officials in other sports&hellip;Floyd Smith, former Buffalo coach now scouting for the Sabres, says the Adams Division, which is made up of Boston, Buffalo, Toronto and Cleveland is the toughest of the four NHL divisions&hellip;Husting Doug Palazzari of the Salt Lake Golden Eagles is one of the best pro players outside the NHL. The five foot-five inch pepperpot from Eveleth, Minnesota never stops trying and is a standout two-way performer&hellip;Ben Hatskin, World Hockey Association chairman, says the WHA may have a franchise in Tokyo or some other Japanese city within a couple of years&hellip;NHL players are said to take a total of 4,200 stitches a season&hellip;Brad Maxwell, talented rookie defenseman with the Minnesota North Stars, will probably set a record for most goals in a season by a North Star defenseman. Mike McMahon set the previous record in 1967-68 by scoring 14 goals for the North Stars&hellip;Philadelphia Flyers have held the opposition to 20 or less shots eight times&hellip;Flyers have taken 40 or more shots in seven games&hellip;Dan Maloney, captain of the Detroit Red Wings and the club&rsquo;s leader, says the increased attendance at Red Wing home games adds two goals a game to the Wings. He believes the Wings will be a part of the Stanley Cup playoff picture come April.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-05686/4118310-1-eng-US/f0004-052.jpg" title="f0004-05" width="291" height="459"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Dan Maloney</b></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0004-01

COLUMNISTS

PASSING THE PUCK

<p>Following are the latest player movements in hockey:</p><h2><b>NATIONAL LEAGUE</b></h2><p>ATLANTA&mdash;<b>Tim Ecclestone</b>, LW, assigned to Tulsa of CHL.</p><p>BOSTON&mdash;<b>Al Sims</b>, D, recalled from Rochester of AHL. <b>Gregg Sheppard</b>, C, returned to lineup from injury list.</p><p>BUFFALO&mdash;<b>Jim Schoenfeld</b>, D, returned to lineup from injury list.</p><p>CLEVELAND&mdash;<b>Wayne Merrick</b>, C, returned to lineup from injury list. <b>Larry Hendrick</b>, G, assigned to Binghamton of AHL.</p><p>COLOLARO&mdash;<b>Joe Contini</b>, C, recalled from Flint of IHL.</p><p>DETROIT&mdash;<b>Larry Giroux</b>, D, and <b>Tim Sheehy</b>, RW. assigned to Kansas City of CHL. <b>John Hilworth</b>, D, recalled from Kansas City. Reed Larson, D, returned to lineup from injury list. Following breakup of Union College team, Red Wings assigned five of their college drafts picks to minor league clubs. <b>Bernie Kaminski</b>, <b>Ed Hill</b> and <b>Dean Willers</b> were sent to Kalamazoo of IHL. Kip Churchill and Jack Rankin were sent to Kansas City of CHL.</p><p>LOS ANGELES&mdash;<b>Neil Komadoski</b>, D, and <b>Charlie Simmer</b>, RW, assigned to Springfield of AHL. <b>Rob Palmer</b>, D, and <b>Steve Short</b>, D, recalled from Springfield.</p><p>MINNESOTA&mdash;<b>Jamie Gallimore</b>, D, recalled from Fort Wayne of IHL and reassigned to Fort Worth of CHL.</p><p>MONTREAL&mdash;<b>Barry Borrett</b>, G, recalled from Nova Scotia of AHL to serve as backup goaler following injury to <b>Michel Larocque</b>, Larocque suffered groin injury.</p><p>N.Y. ISLANDERS&mdash;<b>Michel Bergeron</b>, RW, assigned to Fort Worth of CHL.</p><p>N.Y. RANGERS&mdash;<b>Gilles Gratton</b>, G, removed from suspended list and placed on waivers to become a free agent.</p><p>PHILADELPHIA&mdash;<b>Frank Bathe</b>, D, returned to Maine of AHL.</p><p>PITTSBURGH&mdash;<b>Mario Faubert</b>, D. returned to lineup from injury list.</p><p>VANCOUVER&mdash;<b>Mike Walton</b>, C, placed on disabled list for three weeks with respiratory problems.</p><p>WASHINGTON&mdash;<b>Gary Smith</b>, G, assigned to Hershey of AHL for 14 days. <b>Bob Girard</b>, LW, returned to lineup from injury list.</p><h2><b>WORLD HOCKEY ASSN.</b></h2><p>CINCINNATI&mdash;<b>Michel Dion</b>, G, signed to new contract extending through 1979-80. <b>Paul Stewart</b>, LW, signed to WHA contract after 10-game tryout. <b>Floyd Lahache</b>, D, recalled from Hampton of AHL to replace Pat Stapleton, D, who is out 10 days with an injury.</p><p>HOUSTON&mdash;<b>Andre Lacroix</b>, C, placed on disabled list with sprained ankle.</p><p>QUEBEC&mdash;<b>Francois Lacombe</b>, D, placed on disabled list for rest of season with knee injury.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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/f0005-01934/4118448-1-eng-US/f0005-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>PAUL HOLMGREN&hellip;Came Back From Serious Injury</b></figcaption></div><p>PHILADELPHIA&mdash;</p><p>An era is ending in Philadelphia and NHL goaltenders are on their knees giving thanks.</p><p>When Gary Dornhoefer was practicing his specialty&mdash;tormenting goaltenders&mdash;the masked men were often forced to their knees. Dornhoefer would park himself as close as legally possible to the goalies, attempting to distract them while a teammate shot the puck.</p><p>Percentages, especially in important games, seemed to be with Dornhoefer. While the goaltender and a defenseman or two shoved and battered the veteran right winger, the Flyers would score at least one goal.</p><p>Now Dornhoefer, soon-to-be-35, is in the final year of his distinguished NHL career and Paul Holmgren has been proclaimed a worthy successor. Holmgren is younger (22) and bigger (six-foot-three, 215) than Dornhoefer.</p><p>Whereas many opponents&mdash;notably Boston&mdash;have quickly developed a dislike for the Paul Bunyan-sized St. Paul, Minn., native, the Flyers see him as a potential 30-goal scorer who can also serve as enforcer. The Flyers have also seen Holmgren recover from delicate eye surgery, with the after-effects nearly causing death.</p><p>When opponents like Boston&rsquo;s Wayne Cashman taunt Holmgren, the Flyers are furious because most people would be content to lead a normal life after what Holmgren endured That he was determined to return to a bright hockey career is proof that he is a special young man.</p><p>Maybe Holmgren did occasionally take advantage of the face shield he wore while his sight healed. But how many people would be willing to play such a risky sport soon after eye surgery?</p><p>Spectrum fans have been impatient with the former football lineman for the frequent minor penalties he has accumulated. However, Flyers&rsquo; management likes the aggressiveness he has displayed. They believe that as Holmgren matures he will reduce the number of his needless penalties.</p><p>You might expect a strong young man like Holmgren to be supremely selfconfident. Instead, the player the Flyers have nicknamed &ldquo;Bam Bam&rdquo; after the Flintstones&rsquo; cartoon character, talks about self-doubt.</p><p>&ldquo;Dorny is a tough act to follow, especially for someone who never thought he&rsquo;d make it (as a major-leaguer),&rdquo; said the right winger-center who was discovered in the Midwest Junior League. &ldquo;Some people said I&rsquo;d never make it. The North Stars said stuff like that in the papers.</p><p>&ldquo;I guess things like that made me try harder, but it made me wonder if I could make it.&rdquo;</p><p>After a year at the University of Minnesota Holmgren was drafted by the Flyers in the fifth round in 1975. Seeing a quicker route to major-league status, Holmgren signed with the WHA&rsquo;s born-again Minnesota Fighting Saints.</p><p>When the Saints failed again, the Flyers quickly signed the rugged forward. After a few AHL games, Holmgren was promoted for an outing against the New York Rangers that Fred Shero still remembers.</p><p>&ldquo;I said to myself there&rsquo;s the Stanley Cup,&rdquo; the Flyers&rsquo; coach recalled. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s how good he looked. But the eye injury slowed him down a little.&rdquo;</p><p>The eye injury was a shattered cornea suffered in an AHL brawl, that reduced vision in his right eye to 20/2400. Surgery complications almost reduced Holmgren to a departed statistic, but a few weeks after his terrifyingly close call Holmgren was skating at a playoffs&rsquo; practice with the Flyers.</p><p>Maybe that was the day the Flyers knew they had a valuable player. When GM Keith Allen was told Holmgren was working out, minus a helmet and face shield, Allen&rsquo;s face turned the color of fresh snow. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s doing what?&rdquo; Allen exclaimed, rushing down the Spectrum runway toward the ice.</p><p>&ldquo;Paul wouldn&rsquo;t believe he was through at 20,&rdquo; said Holmgren&rsquo;s wife, Pam. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s such a strong person. The doctors said he might never play hockey again. He said &lsquo;Yes I will&rsquo;.&rdquo;</p><p>Holmgren is playing again, sometimes in Dornhoefer&rsquo;s spot on Rick MacLeish&rsquo;s Une, sometimes on Bobby Clarke&rsquo;s line.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not the kind who can go out and start a fight for no reason,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;But if someone is bothering me or my teammates I&rsquo;ll step in. When the adrenalin gets going you do things you don&rsquo;t normally think you can. I don&rsquo;t like to be known as a goon, but I don&rsquo;t think there&rsquo;s anything wrong with being an enforcer.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0005-01

Flyers’ Claim Holmgren Heir-Apparent To Dornhoefer’s Crease-Crashing Job

<div class="byline">&#x2014;BY BOB VERDI</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-011108/4118479-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg" title="f0006-01" width="330" height="472"></div><h2><b>Bob&rsquo;s Mailbag Report</b></h2><p><b>LETTERS, LETTERS</b>, we get lots and lots of no love letters. Envelope please.</p><p>Dear Mr. Verdi,</p><p>I found especially repulsive and insensitive your Christmas column, and the crack about the Chicago Cougars Fan Club. Your ongoing vendetta with Howard Baldwin is an insult to the hockey fans, many of whom you treat like illiterates.</p><p>Being a Chicagoan, I did support the Black Hawks when I was a schoolgirl, and there wasn&rsquo;t anything else. I saw one game, but the arrogance that the Wirtz organization displayed toward everyone was evident everywhere.</p><p>Then the Chicago Cougars came along. Here, my money was appreciated. I felt important. They were better than the Black Hawks, and more exciting.</p><p>As for your attitude, I can&rsquo;t see who or what you&rsquo;re trying to hurt by being so critical and so sarcastic of the WHA. For all that&rsquo;s wrong with hockey, the things you write about and the way you present them won&rsquo;t help anything. Let us be spared your negative commentary.</p><p>I suppose you get some pats-on-the-back from your anti-merger friends in Toronto and Boston, but don&rsquo;t forget about the people who love hockey, but whose teams may not be in the NHL. And don&rsquo;t forget the casualties of the hockey wars. Like me.</p><p>Dolores Garm<br>Chicago</p><p><b>Dear Dolores: Happy new year to you, too&hellip;We have no vendettas, no anti-merger feeling, and no desire to wreck the WHA. In fact, best hot dogs we ever had were at Cougar games.</b></p><h2><b>Too Many Touring Teams</b></h2><p><b>STOP! BEFORE</b> it&rsquo;s too late. Once upon a time, international hockey was a beautiful thing to behold. But now there are too many teams touring, too many visits, too many games to keep track of. Soviet hockey is better than ours. Why drive home the point so many times?</p><p>Morris Belden,<br>Philadelphia</p><p><b>We agree that there are too many games. By the time you figure out which Czech team is visiting which NHL city, they&rsquo;ve left the country. As for the difference between North American hockey and their hockey, let us not forget that they are sending top players over here. Were we to go to one of the leagues in the Soviet Union, we undoubtedly would find a down-and-out club that is every bit as forlorn as any cellar-dwelling clubs here. Now whether we would find a Conn Smytheski Division is another question.</b></p><p>I just read your column on the new plus-minus statistics and I&rsquo;m more confused than before I read it. Please translate into English.</p><p>Barry Feldman,<br>Great Neck, N.Y.</p><p><b>I just re-read it, too, and I agree. Why not forget the whole thing, OK?</b></p><h2><b>Cheap Shot At Females</b></h2><p><b>YOUR REFERENCE</b> to female reporters &ldquo;keeping their heads up&rdquo; in your Christmas column was a cheap shot. These people have a job to do, just like you do, and nobody ever throws you out of a locker room.</p><p>Laurie Sullivan,<br>Toronto, Ont.</p><p>Wanna bet?</p><p>My compliments on a fine Christmas gift column. All except the reference to the Washington Capitals going to Japan as revenge for Pearl Harbor. That was a low blow. The Caps got off to a miserable start this season, I admit, but you watch where they finish.</p><p>Mark Bowes,<br>Arlington, Va.</p><p><b>Toyko?</b></p><p>Why don&rsquo;t you write a column about how dull hockey is? I used to have Boston Bruins season tickets, and even when they lost&mdash;which wasn&rsquo;t often&mdash;they didn&rsquo;t put you to sleep. Now all it is is check, check, check, and the Bruins win 2-1 while holding the other team to 11 shots, six of them from the blue line. The people won&rsquo;t stand for it.</p><p>M.I. O&rsquo;Connell,<br>Worcester, Mass.</p><p><b>In many rinks, the fans aren&rsquo;t even sitting for it.</b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0006-01

HOCKEY TALK

<div class="byline">BY FRANK ORR</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0006-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-02851/4118510-1-eng-US/f0006-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>STAN WEIR&hellip;Injuries Prevented Return To Toronto</b> <span class="photo-credit">(Photo by Steve Babineau)</span></figcaption></div><p>TORONTO&mdash;</p><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>he Toronto Maple Leafs&rsquo; first slump of the 1977-78 National Hockey League season came at the worst possible time for a club which is trying to overhaul Boston Bruins and Buffalo Sabres in the Adams Division.</p><p>The Leafs went into their mini-sag&mdash;a win and a tie in five games, their first two-game losing streak of the season&mdash;at a time when they were making up &ldquo;games-in-hand&rdquo; on the Sabres and Bruins. Which proves games-in-hand are fine providing the owner doesn&rsquo;t drop them on his toes.</p><p>The Toronto club ended its slide impressively, blanking the Barons, 5-0, at Cleveland after their two-game losing skein, a 5-4 loss to Pittsburgh Penguins and a 4-0 whitewash by Chicago Black Hawks.</p><p>Not that the Leafs dropped out of the picture in the Adams Division because they held the Bruins and Sabres firmly in their sights. It&rsquo;s just that they failed to take advantage of the schedule quirks.</p><p>Following the loss to Chicago, Leafs&rsquo; owner Harold Ballard said that the Leafs planned to make a big pitch for Garry Unger, the iron-man center of the St. Louis Blues. A Leaf problem this season has been the lack of center depth behind team captain Darryl Sittler. When Sittler is checked closely&mdash;as he was by Stan Mikita in the loss to the Hawks&mdash;or has an off night, the Leaf attack flounders.</p><p>Of course, Unger would help to solve that problem but the Leaf chances of landing him&mdash;despite the wishful thinking of the team owner are very slim. In fact, Blues&rsquo; president Emile Francis didn&rsquo;t exactly welcome Ballard&rsquo;s trade talk. Francis planned to protest to the league about Ballard&rsquo;s statements.</p><p>Before the Leafs opened their training camp, Ballard, in a fit of largesse, claimed he was going to help out other clubs, notably the Colorado Rockies, by dispatching the Leafs&rsquo; excess centers to them.</p><p>The Leafs did go to camp with six centers in contention for employment&mdash;sittler, Stan Weir, George Ferguson, Jack Valiquette, Don Ashby and Bruce Boudreau.</p><p>Weir, a five-year NHL veteran, was dispatched to the minors to open the season, and Ashby took the same route in midDecember. Boudreau started at Dallas in the Central League but was recalled when Ashby was demoted.</p><p>Sittler, of course, has excelled this season as one of the NHL&rsquo;s premier players. The workload he accepts is awesome. However, Ferguson and Valiquette have floundered, depriving the team of a pivot who can take the heat off sittler.</p><p>Boudreau played strongly in his dozen games, producing 10 points. But he&rsquo;s an offensive pivot and, at five-foot-eight and 170-pounds, lacks the stamina and size to give the Leafs what they need&mdash;a muscular, two-way center.</p><p>Leaf coach Roger Neilson called up Boudreau to take a look at what he could do in the NHL. Neilson likes Boudreau&rsquo;s pep and scoring ability.</p><p>The Leafs also want to recall Weir for a look. He&rsquo;s played strongly with the Tulsa Oilers in the CHL, where he&rsquo;s been the second-leading scorer much of the season despite having to play with a cumbersome cast to protect a broken wrist.</p><p>The plan was to summon Weir when the cast came off but that was disrupted when Weir sustained a severely broken nose and a badly cut face.</p><p>The Leafs are combing the trade market for aid. However, the club is in an unusual position. They are playing extremely well with the roster they have and few opponents with surplus talent want to deal with them because a couple of additions would transform the Leafs into a serious contender.</p><p><b>LEAFS NOTES:</b> The Leafs returned rookie winger John Anderson, their top pick in the 1977 amateur draft, to Dallas following a 10-game stint in the NHL&hellip;&rdquo;Anderson showed that he&rsquo;s going to be a good one in the future,&rdquo; Neilson said. &ldquo;But right now he needs to play a great deal and he&rsquo;ll have that chance in Dallas&rdquo;.. Don Ashby&rsquo;s good work at Dallas could earn him another try at an NHL job with the Leafs&hellip;The Toronto club continued to play impressively on the road, building a 12-5-1 won-lost-tied mark in their first 18 matches on foreign turf&hellip;A player Leafs would like to trade is winger-defenseman Bob Neely. He cleared NHL waivers and has been assigned to the Philadelphia Firebirds of the American League.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0006-02

Leafs Waste Games-ln-Hand As Mini-Slump Slows Chase

<div class="byline">&#x2014;BY BILL LIBBY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-011099/4118548-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg" title="f0008-01" width="408" height="465"></div><h2><b><i>The Family Man&hellip;</i></b></h2><p class="dropcap"><b><span>R</span>ENA AND RHODA</b>, The Wurtele twins, were champion skiers in Canada in the 1950s. They were the great racers in the country at that time, intensely competitive as they traded titles between them far in front of the rest. Only injuries and the war, which cancelled two Olympiads at that time, robbed them of a good chance to get gold medals. Also champion golfers and swimmers, they were rare&mdash;co-athletes of the year in Canada in the late 1940s.</p><p>While Rhoda remained in Montreal after she married, Rena moved to the Portland, Oregon, area after she married a man from the Pacific Northwest, Gene Gillis. They had four children before they split up and divorced. Rena returned with the children to Montreal where she now lives within a mile of Rhoda and operates ski schools with her in the Laurentian mountains. They remain competitive on occasion, although Rena suffered a severe injury and had delicate surgery on her back, from which she has battled back.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-02989/4118541-1-eng-US/f0008-022.jpg" title="f0008-02" width="811" height="1367"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Canucks&rsquo; rookie Jere Gillis is a talented young man who comes from a talented family background. He likes to do daring things, but most admires those athletes who can play in control.</b></figcaption></div><p>One of Rena&rsquo;s sons, Jere, says, &ldquo;Ever since we returned to Montreal, Mom has lived in the same small apartment in the Mount Royal sector in which we four kids were raised. We were raised by her on her own. We never had much, but somehow we got by. She always worked hard and took care of us. We always had love among us. She taught us to ski, but she let us be whatever we wanted to be.&rdquo;</p><p>Jere Gillis, made the major leagues at 20-years-of-age this season as a promising rookie winger with the Vancouver Canucks. He was born in Bend, Oregon, and was a junior skiing champion before he turned to hockey. &ldquo;I was skiing at two, about the time I was starting to walk, but I was skating at two, also, and hockey hooked me at 12 or so,&rdquo; he says. He is Hollywood handsome. His brother and sisters all are really attractive.</p><p><b>JERE LIVES WITH</b> his sister Patricia in a condominium apartment in Vancouver. He helps, but she does a lot of the cooking and cleaning. He helps, but she works in a restaurant to pay her way. She is an outstanding skier on the hot-dog circuit, but there is not much money on this slender tour. Jere has done some of this acrobatic skiing, too. Rhoda&rsquo;s son, John, Jere&rsquo;s cousin, is a world champion. Jere&rsquo;s brother, Chris, and his sister, Margie, share an apartment in New York. They are professional dancers. Chris tours with the Paul Taylor Troupe, while Margie offers solo performances on the dance circuit.</p><p>Jere was three when his parents split up. He saw his father for the first time in 15 years recently when the Vancouver team played in Denver. &ldquo;The others had travelled around and called dad and went to see him when they got to his town, but this was the first time I&rsquo;d had the chance. I called him and went to his office and we went out to eat together. It was an emotional moment for both of us, but it went well. We went back there a second time and I saw him again and that went well. We go back once more and I&rsquo;m looking forward to that visit, too,&rdquo; he says.</p><p>He is shy about it, but his face shines when he talks of it. I asked him if he&rsquo;d asked his dad why he didn&rsquo;t see his son all those years. He looked down and shrugged a little and said, &ldquo;No. I didn&rsquo;t have time. I guess I didn&rsquo;t want to. I&rsquo;m sure he had his reasons. I&rsquo;m sure there were bad feelings between he and my mom or they wouldn&rsquo;t have broken up, but they don&rsquo;t talk down one another. I&rsquo;d always wondered what he was like and I was happy to see he&rsquo;s a lot like me. I know now I act a lot like him. My mom and aunt always said I did and now I know it&rsquo;s true I do. I felt we were father and son, for sure.</p><p>&ldquo;<b>DAD WAS A SKIER</b>, too. In fact he was on the U.S. National team, but injuries ruined his chances for the Olympics. He lives in Dillon, Colorado, now and coaches kids. He still skis. I do, too, but because of my hockey I haven&rsquo;t skiied more than five times in five years. But I love it. I love going straight downhill as fast as I can with that cold wind blowing in my face. I love ski-jumping. I&rsquo;d like to learn to sky-dive. I like doing dangerous things. I don&rsquo;t know why. I love going fast. I drive an Alfa-Romeo I&rsquo;d love to drive in sports car races. I&rsquo;ve had it up to 120. I&rsquo;d love to race motorcycles. There&rsquo;s a lot of thrilling things in life I&rsquo;d like to do but right now hockey comes first.&rdquo;</p><p>He just turned 21 in January. He is a husky kid, six-foot and 190 pounds, and daring and full of the devil and full of life. He may have gotten his guts from his mother and her twin who at 12 went off an Olympic ski jump, hand in hand. He says, &ldquo;I was born in Bend, Oregon, and I suppose if I&rsquo;d have stayed there I&rsquo;d have been a skiier. But when we moved to Montreal I moved into hockey. It&rsquo;s funny but I like to ski so hard I&rsquo;m almost out of controls I like to take cars and motorcycles to their limits and a little beyond to see if I can keep control, but in hockey I always admired Jean Beliveau and have copied players like him who play in control and try to play like they play.&rdquo; He is a fluid skater and disciplined performer who scored 55 goals for the Sherbrooke Beavers in the Memorial Cup finalists last season. He was a top pick in the pro draft by the Canucks, who feel he is special. He is.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0008-01

Hockey Ad Lib

<div class="byline">BY TONY GALLAGHER</div><p>VANCOUVER&mdash;</p><p class="dropcap"><span>L</span>ast season, Ron Sedlbauer had a miserable year, what with the fans screaming in his ear. It wasn&rsquo;t until the full impact of the plus-minus figures for the club had settled in that he was given a break in Vancouver.</p><p>This year, Sedlbauer, although not as consistent as the Canucks hope he some day might be, is better yet. He&rsquo;s doing more things well. He is the club&rsquo;s third leading goal-scorer and maintains his high standard of ability as a defensive hockey player.</p><p>As his linemate Hilliard Graves says about him: &ldquo;You never know what he&rsquo;s going to do on a given night. Some nights he looks like Bobby Hull out there, doesn&rsquo;t he?&rdquo;</p><p>Graves is right. Some nights, nothing is beyond his competence. Like the night against Washington recently when he scored two brilliant goals in a 3-1 victory at the Pacific Coliseum and several times had chances for his hat trick. Every shift he was all over the ice.</p><p>On his second goal, he picked up the puck at his own blueline, flew down the left wing, cut into the middle and split the defense, while at the same time beating Washington goalie Jim Bedard and taking a flying swan dive. He can be a marvel to watch.</p><p>But one cannot be overly lavish in praise of the 195-pounder nicknamed Sudsy. He does have some mental lapses occasionally. Something that really troubled him in his early years in the NHL.</p><p>And one could say that he isn&rsquo;t hitting as much as the Canucks would like as they depend rather heavily on his ability to pressure opposition defensemen with the body while forechecking.</p><p>But the best thing about that problem is that Sedlbauer is aware of it, and it has been something he has had to sacrifice in order to pick-up his skating speed.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m about five or six pounds lighter this year and it has helped me improve my skating,&rdquo; says Sedlbauer, who has generated an enormous number of scoring chances by breaking in behind the defense with his speed. &ldquo;But the loss of weight has also made it more painful to go into the comers and hit because it hurts me more now that I don&rsquo;t have that extra weight. And I think I&rsquo;ve lost a little stamina as well with the loss of weight.&rdquo;</p><p>Last year Sedlbauer was the leading plus-minus player on the club at plus-12, even though it was often his job to shade the best right winger on the opposition. This year he is doing the same, but he has developed a new habit that has really helped Canucks whenever Sedlbauer can remember to use his new weapon.</p><p>He has taken to standing in or nearby the crease, particularly in power play situations in much the same fashion as Gary Dornhoefer used to and sometimes still does for Philadelphia Flyers.</p><p>It has often rewarded Sedlbauer with &ldquo;garbage&rdquo; goals, but it has been untold help to the others working the power play, as the defense must collapse to guard the man bothering the goaltender.</p><p>Further Sedlabuer has invented his own personal rating system for each game.</p><p>&ldquo;If I play what I consider a bad game, I give myself a one. I&rsquo;ve had about five or six of those so far this season. My regular game at even or maybe even a plus and I give myself a two. I haven&rsquo;t given myself any three&rsquo;s yet this year. That would have to be a game like I played a couple of seasons ago in Montreal when I got a couple of goals and we beat the Canadiens 64.&rdquo;</p><p>Indeed Sedlbauer may not have given himself any three&rsquo;s yet, but coach Orland Kurtenbach is still quite pleased with his progress.</p><p>&ldquo;His two&rsquo;s are good enough for me,&rdquo; said Kurtenbach.</p><p>If he ever started to convert some of the breakaway chances he gets, his scoring figures could jump up into the 30s easily.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been having trouble with my sticks lately. I&rsquo;ve been using all kinds of them, but the puck seems to be rolling off the end before I can shoot, especially when I&rsquo;m in the slot trying to take a pass&rdquo;</p><p>The best thing about Sedlbauer now is that he&rsquo;s still learning. If he ever learns it all, take cover.</p><p>Meanwhile Canucks are slugging it out with Chicago Black Hawks for first place in the Division, and when Colorado starts making up some of their games in hand, they will probably join the two.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-03838/4118579-1-eng-US/f0008-032.jpg" title="f0008-03" width="553" height="1188"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>RON SEDLBAUER&hellip;Has Rating System</b></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0008-03

Brilliant Flashes By Eager Sedlbauer Stir Canucks’ Hopes

<div class="byline">BY TOM HENSHAW</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0009-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-011061/4118610-1-eng-US/f0009-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>PETER McNAB&hellip;Credits Bruins&rsquo; Great Wingers</b></figcaption></div><p>BOSTON&mdash;</p><p>The day of the Esposito-Hodge-Cashman line is, of course, long gone in Boston.</p><p>And so may be the day of the line, any line.</p><p>Bruins coach Don Cherry simply doesn&rsquo;t believe in lines, the kind that comes with a capital L proceeded by some colorful word like Dynamite or Kraut or Uke.</p><p>Boston lines rarely stand still long enough to be named. They are such fleeting things that centers often don&rsquo;t know their wings well enough to call them by their first names. There are times when the call for a line change on the Bruins bench is simply, &ldquo;You, you and you.&rdquo;</p><p>A line composed of Jean Ratelle, Terry O&rsquo;Reilly and Rick Middleton recently went hog wild with the puck in a game with Detroit, scoring four goals and collecting seven assists.</p><p>&ldquo;I know one line I&rsquo;m going to leave together&mdash;O&rsquo;Reilly, Middleton and Ratelle,&rdquo; vowed Cherry.</p><p>The vow lasted precisely 13 days, a millennium in the life span of a Boston line, or through the first shift of a game against Colorado.</p><p>That was the game in which Peter McNab started at center with Bobby Schmautz and Stan Jonathan.</p><p>He next appeared on the ice with O&rsquo;Reilly and Jonathan, feeding O&rsquo;Reilly for the goal that put the Bruins ahead, 3-2.</p><p>When McNab scored the winning goal in a 6-3 Boston victory, he was on with O&rsquo;Reilly and Wayne Cashman.</p><p>&ldquo;How did I wind up with them?&rdquo; said McNab. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s just the same ole thing that Don always does.</p><p>&ldquo;Whenever he thinks we&rsquo;re not going as well as he likes he just throws different guys out with different people. He seems to have magic with line combinations. He puts them together and somehow they just seem to work.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s the wingers more than anything. On this team we have such good wingers.&rdquo;</p><p>The Colorado game, incidentally, brought together Rherry&rsquo;s most unusual line made up of three left wings, with John Bucyk taking faceoffs for Cashman and Don Marcotte.</p><p>Cherry&rsquo;s cavalier attitude toward lines, with a capital L, is helpful in reinforcing his coaching thesis that it is the system that&rsquo;s important, not the personnel. He&rsquo;s the Henry Ford of hockey, operating an assembly line with interchangeable parts.</p><p>&ldquo;Anyone we bring up from Rochester will fit in,&rdquo; said Cherry the other day. &ldquo;The only thing you need is discipline and a system. The guys we bring in are told what to do. They&rsquo;re shown the system on videotape. Then they do it. If they don&rsquo;t, they go back down.&rdquo;</p><p>And the system?</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s very simple,&rdquo; said Cherry. &ldquo;Grab the wings. Grab the points. One man comes back. And don&rsquo;t go back in the corners.&rdquo;</p><p>One facet of the Cherry system is well known to all teams in the NHL. But not many can do anything about it. Almost invariably the Bruins break out of their end along the boards. The centerman doesn&rsquo;t get the puck until it&rsquo;s out of the zone.</p><p>&ldquo;All the teams do it against us,&rdquo; said Cherry after Toronto Maple Leafs had made a valiant effort to cut the Bruins off at the boards.</p><p>&ldquo;They know we&rsquo;re coming out the side and we still get it out. They go over to the side and they pay. They pay the price. The thing is when you come out the side you can&rsquo;t be hurt. Come out the middle and you can be hurt.</p><p>&ldquo;We seldom come out the middle and they know it. If they want to challenge us. we&rsquo;ll outmuscle them along the boards.&rdquo;</p><p>All of which explains why a Sean Shanahan (six-foot-three, 210-pounds) is brought up from Rochester and a high scoring Gordie Clark is not. And why John Wensink has a value to the Bruins that even the Marquis of Queensbury wouldn&rsquo;t understand.</p><p>It&rsquo;s the system, that&rsquo;s all.</p><p><b>BRUINS BITS:</b> General manager Harry Sinden feels that the NHL brass is out to get Wensink, the Bruins&rsquo; bad boy&hellip;&rdquo;There&rsquo;s a conspiracy to run Wensink out of this league and it&rsquo;s not going to work,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;If this is a vendetta against Wensink we&rsquo;re ready for it. He can&rsquo;t even turn his head without getting thrown out of the game&rdquo;&hellip;Wensink recently drew 19 minutes in penalties (two minors, a major and a misconduct) for a fight with Flyers&rsquo; Moose Dupont&hellip;Dupont got five&hellip;Bruins had their second full house of the season (14,602) in the Dec. 23 game with Philadelphia.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0009-01

Famous Boston Unes Passe With Cherry’s Magic Combos

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0010-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-011086/4118641-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg"></div><p><b>Write to:</b></p><p><b>FAN FORUM,</b><br><b>The Hockey News,</b><br><b>1434 St. Catherine St., W.,</b><br><b>Montreal, Canada H3G 1R7</b></p><h2><b>Fan Disappointed Caps Aren&rsquo;t On TV</b></h2><p>I&rsquo;ve decided to write to express my displeasure of some disappointing news which concerns the televising of NHL games in the Metropolitan Washington, DC. area.</p><p>After looking over the Dec. 11 issue of THE HOCKEY NEWS, I was very pleased to see that there would be additional coverage of hockey games over the NHL Network.</p><p>Well would you believe that this past week I called the local station which carries the Caps games and found out much to my dismay that there would not be any local coverage in the area. It&rsquo;s too bad the people in this area don&rsquo;t appreciate a great sport. In my four years in Washington I&rsquo;ve seen the game of hockey become more popular, but I believe the stumbling block is in the form of the Caps themselves.</p><p>When people have to put up with loss after loss, it becomes very hard for a diehard fan such as myself to remain interested, never mind gaining the interest of new fans. All I ask is that the Caps make a few good trades and start winning, then maybe we can get the fan support needed to bring the greatest sport back to television.</p><p><b>TED FONTAINE,</b><br><b>Fairfax, Va.</b></p><h2><b>Big Peter To Benefit Penguins</b></h2><p>I would like to comment on the trade which sent Peter Mahovlich and Peter Lee to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for Pierre Larouche. For the last two years, Peter Mahovlich has been lost in the shuffle of, the &ldquo;great&rdquo; coach of the Canadiens&rsquo; Scotty Bowman&rsquo;s four-line system.</p><p>Anyone who watched big Peter&rsquo;s career should know that he thrives on work. (This includes more than the two or three shots per period for the Canadiens over the past two years). In 1974-75 and 75-76, when Pete scored 117 and 105 points respectively the Canadiens were implementing a three-line system.</p><p>May I also mention that Pete was on the 1972 and 1976 Team Canada teams where he relresented his country very admirably. (Shorthanded goal against the Russians).</p><p>Scotty Bowman seems to have ignored these past performances and has wasted a lot of talent over the past two years. So in the trade which involved the three Peter&rsquo;s (Editor&rsquo;s not&mdash;four-counting Montreal accepting Peter Marsh&rsquo;s NHL rights)&mdash;I think the Big one will prove to be beneficial for the Penguins.</p><p><b>GREG HUGHES,</b><br><b>Edmonton, Alta.</b></p><h2><b>Term Super Star Often Misused</b></h2><p>Quite often writers say such and such is a super star and someone else has lost his stardom. People are throwing that word around so much that it does not have the meaning it once had.</p><p>For example, Pierre Larouche was once heralded a super star when he had a 50-goal year. Now many people have said he has lost it all. Well, I say he never was a super star. Perhaps he was a star of that year, but he never was an actual super star.</p><p>To become a super star you must prove yourself over the over that you are worthy of the title. I just wish that writers would be more careful when they use that word.</p><p>Another quality a super star must posses is the ability to respond to a change. Phil Esposito was called washed up when he was traded to the New York Rangers. But he was only changing his style. He came from a team of veterans to a team full of young, inexperienced players. As it shows this year he was successful in the transition.</p><p>Bobby Orr is a super star because time and time again he came back after a serious injury. Players like Ken Hodge and others who could not make the change are not worthy of such a title. A player is not a true super star without working for his title.</p><p><b>CHARLES SCOTT,</b><br><b>Bathurst, N.B.</b></p><h2><b>Hockey Missed In Charlotte, N.C.</b></h2><p>I read in the Dec. 23 edition of THE HOCKEY NEWS Fan Forum about a wrter in Rhode Island exclaiming his sorrow towards the loss of professional ice hockey in his area, and now I am writing for a similar reason.</p><p>In 1957, the old Baltimore Clippers were playing in the AHL (American Hockey League), and suddenly their wooden coliseum burned to the ground. At that time the team moved to Charlotte. From that time, until the 70&rsquo;s, the team provided the Queen City with a mediocre brand of hockey.</p><p>Then after a few &ldquo;learning&rdquo; years as coach, Fred Creighton, now with the Atlanta Flames, began his winning ways by capturing two consecutive Eastern Hockey League championships in 1970-71 and 1971-72. Afterwards, the team was regarded as the best minor league team, both on the ice, and off.</p><p>Through these successful seasons, the Charlotte Checkers averaged over 8,500 fans per game. Also, there were a couple of times during a playoff season, that the 11,000 seat coliseum was overflowed, and thousands would be turned away.</p><p>Then, in 1973, coach Fred Creighton went up in the ranks, and an inexperienced man took over. Also, as time passed, the EHL broke up into two leagues, and Charlotte joined the second rate Southern Hockey League. The calibur of play was pathetic, and the league never got on its feet.</p><p>Finally, last year the SHL was laid to rest. The teams voted to kill the league toend everybody&rsquo;s misery, hoping that the following season, they would be picked up by another league.</p><p>However, because of Charlotte&rsquo;s geographical position, we found ourselves so far away from all other minor leagues that, for the first time in 20 years, there is no ice hockey here.</p><p>Like Providence, kids&rsquo; hockey is beg here. I played myself for three seasons. Also, at one time, professional hockey was as big as basketball in Charlotte, In fact, three coaches have moved into the National Hockey League, (Roger Crozier, Fred Creighton and Pat Kelly), along with the countless amount of players.</p><p>The great game of ice hockey is truly missed in Charlotte.</p><p><b>JERRY McQUAY,</b><br><b>Charlotte, N.C.</b></p><h2><b>Parent Ending Rumors About Losing His Touch</b></h2><p>I recently saw the Philadelphia Flyers&rsquo; Bernie Parent slam the door on the Cleveland Barons for his fourth shutout of the season, lowering his goals-against average to 2.20, elevating his overall record to 13-1-3.</p><p>Since the puck was dropped opening night, &ldquo;the man with the golden glove,&rdquo; has been as consistently steady as a neuro-surgeon, quick as a mongoose, and able repeatedly to come up with the proverbial big saves. No other goaler in either league can match these credentials.</p><p>Conclusion: Once and for all, let&rsquo;s lay to rest the hershey that Parent has &ldquo;lost his touch,&rdquo; that his best years are behind him. Such slurs are not only unnecessary dribble, but they are unfair to the man himself.</p><p>He is truly an artist, in the net, a master of the trade, a legend of whom the bumper sticker boasts: &lsquo;Only the Lord saves more than Bernie Parent.&rsquo;</p><p><b>LEE SCHAPPELL,</b><br><b>Reading, Pa.</b></p><h2><b>Don&rsquo;t Overlook Sabres For Stanley Cup</b></h2><p>I&rsquo;ve had enough of this talk about the Montreal Canadiens and how great they are. Being a Sabres&rsquo; fan, I feel the Sabres can knock the Canadiens off.</p><p>Remember the 1974-75 semi-finals when Buffalo beat Montreal four games to two? That series proved something to the Sabres. Ever since then, the Montreal club has had the darndest time against Buffalo.</p><p>This season the Stanley Cup will probably not be in the hands of the Montreal Canadiens.</p><p><b>JOHN FERADI,</b><br><b>Hussar, Alta.</b></p><h2><b>LETTER OF THE WEEK</b></h2><h2><b>Divisional Allignments Need To Be Changed</b></h2><p>I think one of the reasons that many teams in the NHL are having financial problems is because of the fans&rsquo; lack of interest. This lack of interest is due to the outlandish divisonal setups and the names of these divisons, and conferences.</p><p>I bring up the names because who cares about an All Star game between two teams called Wales and Campbell? The setup of the divisions cost teams money, too. For instance Montreal and Los Angeles are inthe same division and each team must make X number oftriptea of trips to each other&rsquo;s are a per year.</p><p>Would &lsquo;t it be easier to put these teams in a divison more geographically as well as economically reasonable. I propose the following conferences and divisions which would be more economical and set up better rivalries.</p><p>Eastern Conference: Atlantic Div.: Islanders, Rangers, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Washington. East Div: Boston, Buffalo, Montreal, Toronto. Western Conference: Midwest Div.: Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Minnesota, St. Louis. West Div.: Atlanta, Colorado, Los Angeles and Vancouver.</p><p><b>JOHN WOZNIAK,</b><br><b>Toledo, Ohio</b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0010-01

OTHER FEATURES

FAN FORUM

<h2><b>A Few Good Words</b></h2><p class="dropcap"><b><span>M</span>AYBE IT&rsquo;S TIME TO SAY</b> a few good words about the game of hockey, the men in it and those around it. Lately, most of the words about the game have been bad, knocks against just about everything.</p><p>So here are a few good words:</p><p>For the officiating staff in the National Hockey League, a first rate crew of highly competent men. Owners holler at and about them, general managers curse them, coaches berate them and fans jeer them but if every knocker did his job as well as the referees and linesmen do their&rsquo;s, the world would work much better. A badly officiated game in the NHL is a rarity and the current crop of referees excel at allowing the players to decide the issue while holding matters well under control.</p><p>For the Soviet Union junior team which won the world championship in Montreal, a superbly disciplined and conditioned gang of youngsters who play the game with dash and flair.</p><p>For Wayne Gretzky, the scoring machine of Sault Ste. Marie Greyhound juniors. Watching him develop all that ability and instinct over the next few years will be a highlight of the game.</p><p>For the Philadelphia Flyers for always staging a first-claass show, notably the inviting of Roger Doucet from Montreal to sing the anthems at the Flyer-Pardubice of Czechoslovakia game.</p><p>For Roger Doucet for singing any time, any where.</p><p>For Harold Ballard, who hasn&rsquo;t had many good words said about him recently, for staging the Bob Hope Show at Maple Leaf Gardens. Ballard donated the building and paid half the travel costs for a group of entertainers (Air Canada looked after the other half). The place was sold out and the proceeds go to the Charlie Conacher cancer research fund, one of the best charity projects in which any sport is involved.</p><p>For Guy Lafleur because he plays hockey so we can watch him.</p><p>For Eddie Johnston and Johnny Bucyk, who strike a blow for all guys over 40 by doing their jobs with professionalism.</p><h2><b>And A Few More&hellip;</b></h2><p><b>A FEW MORE</b> good words:</p><p>For Gordie Howe, that bloody old marvel. You want him to hit a new milestone every week because of his gentle, self-depracating humor about it all. A recent Howe line: &ldquo;These days I&rsquo;m poetry in slow motion.&rdquo;</p><p>For Ron Andrews, the NHL&rsquo;s chief statistician for finally producing the statistics which no one in the world can understand&mdash;the NHL&rsquo;s plus-minus figures. Instead of the straight difference between goals for and against the team when the player is on the ice in equal manpower situations, the NHL tabulates them on some sort of percentage arrangement in relationship to the team&rsquo;s figures. It hides the fact that there are players in the NHL who aren&rsquo;t very good.</p><p>For the NHL for its wisdom in selecting Dan Kelly as the broadcaster for its television network games of games. He&rsquo;s literate, knowledgeable and does his homework.</p><h2><b>And Even More&hellip;</b></h2><p><b>FOR THE BOSTON</b> Bruins who show what can be accomplished with a modicum of talent if it&rsquo;s combined with discipline on the ice, desire and aggressiveness.</p><p>To Bobby Orr, for making the transition from player to executive with Chicago Black Hawks and adding some warmth to a cold organization.</p><p>For Ted Lindsay and his good promotion job in getting the hockey fans of Detroit back into the Olympia.</p><p>For Tommy McVie, coach of the Washington Capitals, for not losing his sense of humor during an extended losing streak.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

There’s Something Good To Be Said About Hockey

<div class="byline">BY HARRY KLAFF</div><p>LONG ISLAND&mdash;</p><p>Everyone remembers playing musical chairs as a kid. You remember, that&rsquo;s where you have x number of kids and x-minus-one chairs. When the music stops it&rsquo;s every man for himself, and he who is left standing is out of luck.</p><p>The N.Y. Islanders have been playing their own version of the old game all season, but very few people have been finding it amusing. Especially the players; they downright despise it.</p><p>The problem&mdash;Washington&rsquo;s Tom McVie would love such a problem&mdash;is that the Islanders have 23 willing-and-able NHL calibre performers ready on any given night, exclusive of injuries. It&rsquo;s just that the Rule Book clearly states that a team may dress only 17, plus two goaltenders.</p><p>It doesn&rsquo;t take a mathematics degree from M.I.T. to figure out that when coach Al Arbour goes about the business of filling out his lineup card prior to a game, there are going to be four more players than lines on the card. That&rsquo;s when the music stops, and four guys are told they can enjoy the action from the press box.</p><p>This is a &ldquo;problem&rdquo; that is old hat to Montreal and other upper echelon teams, but is new to the Islanders. In spite of their fine record over the past four years, the Isles generally had to do it with every hand chipping in an equal amount. They didn&rsquo;t have the luxury of owning more than enough good players.</p><p>They were lucky over this period, too, as any injury would have knocked them back a couple of strides. But at practically no point did anyone every have to miss more than a few games at a time.</p><p>This year has been different, and the Isles have been suffering from all kinds of assorted ailments. But if anything, this helps solve the problem of who isn&rsquo;t going to dress. Yet even with two or three players on the sick list, someone healthy isn&rsquo;t going to play.</p><p>Although both Arbour and general manager Bill Torrey cringe when they hear the word, &ldquo;benching.&rdquo; there is very little felt for interpretation by the player who finds his number is up. And very few Islanders have enjoyed the luxury of not only staying healthy all season, but sticking in the lineup as well.</p><p>Rookie center Mike Kaszycki and Pat Price were the first to ride the bench when the season started, but they were eventually sent to Rochester to get themselves into shape. When they came back a couple of weeks later, though, Arbour really had to battle to put the square pegs in the round holes.</p><p>Jude Drouin&mdash;suffering from problems both on and off the ice&mdash;sat it out for a spell. Then Michel Bergeron, acquired from Detroit earlier in the season, was lifted for a couple of weeks, part of which was due to a sprained back. Jean Potvin-playing well all year&mdash;spent a couple in the press box, as did Garry Howatt, even after his injured hand was declared fit by the team physician. Veteran Bert Marshall has also missed his share.</p><p>There have even been a few surprises, and what&rsquo;s more, a player&rsquo;s recent play is not always a consideration. Dave Lewis&mdash;the club&rsquo;s best &lsquo;defensive defenseman&rdquo; didn&rsquo;t play a game against Montreal because Arbour wanted his blueliners to use a rushing style that night, and Kaszycki wasn&rsquo;t dressed for a game in Vancouver despite a hot hand over the preceding couple of weeks.</p><p>At first, the&rsquo; players resented being chosen as the odd man out, but as the burden has been placed more universally, the complaints have been fewer.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s still hard, because nobody wants to sit. But we all realize that we have a lot of talent on this team, and someone isn&rsquo;t going to play on any given date,&rdquo; said Lorne Henning, who was openly upset earlier in the season when he didn&rsquo;t dress.</p><p>&ldquo;It was hard for me to accept it when it happened, but I&rsquo;ve gotten over it,&rdquo; he continued. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s very hard, but it&rsquo;s something that you have to try not to take personally.&rdquo;</p><p>Usually the night off turns out to be a shot of tonic. After sitting it out, a player often finds himself extremely motivated the next time he gets a chance on the ice.</p><p>When Drouin finally got a chance to play following his rather lengthy stint, he responded with a goal and an assist in his first game back. Bergeron rewarded Arbour with goals in three consecutive games shortly after he returned.</p><p>Deep down, the Islanders realize that it is their abundance of talent that has kept them close to Philadelphia in the Patrick Division race. And everyone wants to win the Stanley Cup&mdash;even if you have to watch it from the press box.</p><p><b>ISLAND SOUNDS</b>: Arbour has been double shifting Bryan Trottier, who is more and more taking on the tag of a superstar. In addition to playing with Clark Gillies and Mike Bossy, he&rsquo;s also seen action with J.P. Parise and Billy Harris. He picked up two goals and an assist on the latter line in a recent game against Vancouver&hellip;Jean and Lorraine Potvin became parents of their first child, daughter Kim Marie, on Dec. 22.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-011039/4118696-1-eng-US/f0011-012.jpg" title="f0011-01" width="543" height="980"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>LORNE HENNING&hellip;Realized Situation</b></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0011-01

Islanders Playing Musical Chairs Thanks To Club’s Rich Talent Pool

<div class="byline">BY RUSS WHITE</div><p>WASHINGTON&mdash;</p><p>Jim Bedard is running up an expensive telephone bill for the calls he makes to his father, Roger Bedard in Niagara Falls, Ontario.</p><p>Bedard calls home after each big game he has in goal for the Washington Capitals and the kid has had a lot of big ones recently.</p><p>The best was undoubtedly a 2-1 game at Los Angeles, where Bedard made 38 saves against the Kings to give the Capitals their first win in L.A. in four years.</p><p>Because of Bedard, the Capitals seem to have turned a corner on what was a total disaster in year four. The team called Bedard in the throes of a 20-game winless streak. Since he has been up, the Caps have managed to win three of five.</p><p>In his first six major league starts, Bedard, 21, made 172 saves on 189 shots, a remarkable 91.0 shot stop percentage. He sported a 2.83 goals-against average in his first 360 minutes.</p><p>&ldquo;We think we know quite a bit about young Bedard,&rdquo; said general manager Max McNab. &ldquo;The only thing we don&rsquo;t know is how he would come back from a bad game&mdash;he just hasn&rsquo;t had one yet.&rdquo;</p><p>The Capitals made a surprising move to bring in Bedard, who was at their farm team in Hershey, Pa. To make room for Bedard, the Caps sent popular Bernie Wolfe off to Hershey.</p><p>On Monday, Dec. 19, Wolfe was back in Washington, however, rejoining the NHL team. In three games at Hershey, Wolfe allowed only four goals and came home to Capital Center after a shutout victory over New Haven.</p><p>Now, the Capitals have three goalers&mdash;Bedard. Wolfe and Gary Smith.</p><p>There were indications that McNab would move either Wolfe or Smith in the next two weeks. The Buffalo Sabres and New York Rangers were two teams interested in Wolfe.</p><p>Bedard had the No. 1 job and that was all that really mattered as the Caps tried to maintain a .500 level for the remainder of the season.</p><p>A sixth round draft choice in the amateur draft two years ago, Bedard played his first year out of juniors with the Dayton Gems of the International League. He had a 3.74 average in 47 games.</p><p>With help from goalie coach Roger Crozier. Bedard came on strong in training camp for the Caps this year and almost made the club then and there. (He allowed only one goal in pre-season competition).</p><p>It was decided that Bedard should go to Hershey for 1977-78 but his play there earned him the chance to come to Washington.</p><p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;ll get even better if he keeps listening to what Roger Crozier has to say,&rdquo; said coach Tom McVie. &ldquo;There isn&rsquo;t anyone who knows more about the profession than Roger Crozier and the kids who pay attention can&rsquo;t help but profit from it.&rdquo;</p><p>The Caps have even another hot goalie prospect&mdash;Rollie Boutin&mdash;at their Port Huron farm in the International League. Boutin has a 2.49 goals-against average, the best in the league.</p><p>With Bedard and Boutin, only 21, in the system, the Caps could easily be willing to peddle Wolfe if a deal was right.</p><p>With the goaltending sharp, the Caps now looked for more scoring and last year&rsquo;s top scorer Guy Charron apparently is on target again. Charron had both goals in the 2-1 triumph at Los Angeles and that gave him five goals and four assists in seven games. Charron and Bob Sirois had 12 goals apiece to lead the Caps.</p><p>The Caps did have some more bad luck when they lost defenseman Jack Lynch in a game at Vancouver. Lynch required surgery on his leg and could be out for the rest of the season. Gord Lane, who had been on option to Hershey, quickly rejoined the team.</p><p>&ldquo;We appreciate Lane&rsquo;s physical play and we need it badly,&rdquo; McNab said. &ldquo;The reason we had him at Hershey for awhile was to polish his offensive game, particularly work at the point.&rdquo;</p><p>Prior to their win at Los Angeles, the Caps had a three-day mini-camp at Squaw Valley, Calif, and McVie left the valley of sun pleased that &ldquo;the team had come together.&rdquo;</p><p>McVie kept the Squaw Valley trip a secret until the Caps had played in Vancouver, Dec. 13. At six the next morning, it was on to Squaw Valley.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-02898/4118734-1-eng-US/f0012-022.jpg" title="f0012-02" width="543" height="677"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>JIM BEDARD&hellip;High Phone Bill</b></figcaption></div><h2><b>Team Penalties</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-011060/4118727-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg" title="f0012-01" width="600" height="657"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0012-02

Bedard Helps Capitals Turn Corner

<div class="byline">BY NORM MacLEAN</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0013-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-011019/4118765-1-eng-US/f0013-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>DAVE MALONEY&hellip;Suffered Concussion Against Capitals</b></figcaption></div><p>NEW YORK&mdash;</p><p>When the New York Rangers played the Buffalo Sabres to a <i>2-2</i> tie on New Year&rsquo;s eve at Madison Square Garden, both Dave Maloney and Ron Greschner were out with minor injuries and Dave Farrish had finally been sent to New Haven.</p><p>Coach Jean Guy Talbot&rsquo;s defense pairings that evening looked like something out of the Boston Bruins past, as Dallas Smith worked with young Mike McEwen and Carol Vad-nais partnered Don Awrey, Of course, Smith, Vadnais and Awrey all played for the Bruins last Stanley Cup team, the squad which vanquished the Rangers four games to two in the 1971-72 Stanley Cup finals.</p><p>Farrish wore out his welcome in a disastrous 4-3 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Dec. 28. Twice Dave got tangled up in front of the net, while Flyer forwards skated from behind the goal and hooked the puck past goalie Wayne Thomas.</p><p>On the first score, Bob Kelly beat Thomas while Paul Holmgren had Farrish tied up. Smith was attempting to fend off two Philadelphia players at the same time.</p><p>The second disaster saw Thomas make a glove save on a shot by Barry Dean. The puck went behind the goal, and Orest Kindrachuk picked it up and walked unimpeded out into the slot wherein he hooked the puck into the net. Smith valiantly tried to handle three Flyers at the same time.</p><p>Dallas, unhappy, but calm, in his second game as a Ranger, said, &ldquo;No matter what happened I always seemed to wind up with two men in front of the net.&rdquo;</p><p>In the final three minutes of the game. Smith wound up in the corner where he was pinned by Bill Barber. Bobby Clarke skated a loose puck in front of the net, and while Reggie Leach occupied Phil Esposito, Clarke popped home the game winner.</p><p>Talbot defended Smith after the game, and eventually GM John Ferguson sent Farrish to New Haven. Even when&lsquo;Maloney and Greschner were rendered hors de combat in the Washington tie (3-3) of Dec. 30, Farrish was left in the AHL, and Larry Sacharuk brought up as the extra defenseman.</p><p>Smith had played pretty well in his first game against Cleveland on Dec. 23, but pairing the veteran with Farrish was questioned before the game with Philadelphia even started. Smith, 36, hadn&rsquo;t regained his skating legs, since signing with the Rangers in late December.</p><p>In the Washington game Mike Marson nailed Maloney with a vicious check in the first 11 seconds of the contest. Maloney suffered a concussion. Greschner suffered a bruised left hip later in the game.</p><p>Maloney returned against the Minnesota North Stars on Jan. 4, as did Greschner. But even the 4-3 win over the North Stars wasn&rsquo;t without its problems, as the Rangers almost blew a 4-1 lead.</p><p>After the Flyers denouement, Donnie Murdoch let the Ranger defensemen have it, saying, &ldquo;I wish I could score goals by walking out from behind the net. When I try it, I get blasted.&rdquo;</p><p>Talbot, going with the hot hand, has now played Thomas in four straight games, eliding the comment from John Davidson, &ldquo;I would be mad, if I weren&rsquo;t playing and Wayne wasn&rsquo;t doing so well, but I hope he wins 40 in a row and I get a nice playoff check&rdquo;</p><p>Thomas stopped 34 of 37 North Star shots, and claimed, &ldquo;the more I play, the more confident I get. It&rsquo;s when you don&rsquo;t play that you start to question things and worry and wonder.&rdquo;</p><p>The Rangers are worrying and wondering about how their extended eight game road swing through the badlands of the NHL will come out. With the exception a home game on Jan. 9. against Pittsburgh, they play on the road from Jan. 4 through Jan. 22, the mid-year All Star break.</p><p>&ldquo;That trip can determine whether we make the playoffs or not,&rdquo; said one Ranger. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a monster.&rdquo;</p><p><b>BLUE CHIPS</b>: The Rangers holed up in Colorado Springs for a three day quickie rest between the game at Minnesota on Jan. 4 and the Denver contest Jan. 7&hellip;Walter Tkaczuk continues his drive for comeback of the year honors with two goals-againt Minnesota giving Tkaczuk 17 goals and a chance at 30, a mark which always eluded him, even when he was scoring big with Bill Fairbairn and Davey Balon&hellip;Despite announced attendances of 17,500 most Ranger games at MSG are not sold out. In recent weeks certain games were advertised in the newspapers, something that hadn&rsquo;t been done in years&hellip;The appointment of Sonny Werblin as head of the Garden is putting even more pressure on the Rangers&mdash;who must make the playoffs or else.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0013-01

Unsettled Blueline Scene Causing Rangers’ Problems

<div class="byline">BY BILL LIBBY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0014-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-011041/4118803-1-eng-US/f0014-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>SYL APPS&hellip;Whatever He Tried Seemed To Work</b></figcaption></div><p>LOS ANGELES&mdash;</p><p>Like hitters in batting slumps, the Kings&rsquo; shooters have been in a scoring slump. They have been outskating and outshooting most opponents, but not outscoring many of them. Seldom have I seen so many breakaways come to nothing, so many open-net shots created but not cashed in.</p><p>Shots on goal by themselves often are misleading, but when you get twice as many shots as the other team, or thereabouts, and twice as many good shots, you should get twice as many goals. The Kings have been beaten in some of these games, tied in others, barely pulled out victories in still others.</p><p>&ldquo;I would worry more if we weren&rsquo;t getting the opportunities, but we&rsquo;re just not taking advantage of them. We&rsquo;re playing well, but we&rsquo;re not shooting well. We have the scorers and we should start scoring,&rdquo; commented coach Ron Stewart.</p><p>The Kings do have good scorers, if not great shooters. Marcel Dionne is a 50-goal scorer, while Butch Goring, Tom Williams, Mike Murphy, Syl Apps, and Hartland Monahan all are in the 25-35-goal class. Of course. Dionne missed three weeks before returning in mid-December and Williams has been out three weeks since early December with injuries. Apps and Monahan are newcomers. What with injuries, new players, and shuffled lines, the offensive coordination has been faulty.</p><p>However, the Kings have been getting the shots. They&rsquo;ve had games this year in which they outshot opponents. 48-20. 3624. and 32-18 and settled for ties of 1-1,22. and 2-2. They outshot one team. 29-19, and lost. 1-3. Recently, they outshot Buffalo. 38-30. and lost. 3-7, and Washington 39-15, and lost, 1-2.</p><p>That was the situation in the 11th week of the 26-week season, shortly before Christmas, when the Kings snapped the slump with a 45-26 advantage in shots over Minnesota which netted an 8-1 romp. Star of the show was Syl Apps, who scored four goals and totalled six points to tie team records.</p><p>The six-foot, 195-pound Apps, skating strongly and playing powerfully, especially when he planted himself in front of the net. scored first when he passed up a shot, unselfishly passed to Marcel Dionne, received a return pass to the side of the net, and banked in a shot off a defender. That was in the second period.</p><p>In the third period, he scored on a power play from in front, tipping in a shot by Butch Goring. Four minutes later, he took a pass from Mike Murphy on a two-on-one break and drilled a drive from 20 feet out for the third hat trick of his nine-season NHL career. Finally, after being foiled by a great save on a powerful shot, he made it four for the first time when he whipped one in from in close.</p><p>His four tied earlier efforts by Serge Bernier, Goring and Murphy in the club&rsquo;s history. Syl easily could have had five or even six, which would have matched the league mark. All four of his goals came in the last half of the game, all against Paul Harrison, three in 15 minutes of the final period. He had only eight good chances, but his shots were finding the net and you could see how a player could sneak up on six in such a night.</p><p>&ldquo;Some nights I don&rsquo;t get a shot or can&rsquo;t get one past the goaler,&rdquo; he sighed later. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a funny game and this was one of those nights when whatever I tried seemed to work.&rdquo;</p><p>He also assisted on the first goal in the first period when he won a faceoff, feeding Ernie Hicke, who passed to Dionne for a successful shot, and on another later in the period when he helped Hicke on a shot Ernie hammered in off the goaler&rsquo;s shoulder. Syl&rsquo;s six points tied the team mark set by Goring almost five years back.</p><p>Since coming from Pittsburgh with no goals and nine assists on Nov. 9 in a lopsided deal made by manager George Maguire, Apps has scored 13 goals and totalled 22 points in 21 games and now leads the team with 30 points. Playing now with the opportunistic Hicke and dynamic Dionne, the 30-year-old Apps, a polished performer who had 99 points one season, is giving the Kings a lot of added clout.</p><p><b>KINGS THINGS</b>: One rout of Minnesota is no guarantee the club is over its slump, of course. The Kings got five goals in 7:28 of the first period in clouting Chicago 8-3 Nov. 24, and four goals in 4:02, six in the second period in romping in St. Louis, 6-1 Dec. 7&hellip;Goring, who three times has had only one penalty in full seasons, got his first in the Minnesota game. He passed Bob Berry&rsquo;s team record 539 games played with his 540th, 33rd of the season on Dec. 28.</p><p>A week ago we sent in on Friday a story that Gary Sargent and Bob Murdoch were having trouble as a defense team, were being held back by orders not to attack, and weren&rsquo;t scoring. The next night, Sargent got his first goal. The next game, Murdoch got his and played his best game of the season. The following game, Sargent played his best game of the season. The next game, they were split up and paired with others. In that same story, we wrote that goaler Rogie Vachon was stale from 18 straight starts, while Gary Simmons was wasting away.</p><p>The next night Simmons played, and played well, despite a 2-1 defeat. The next game Vachon almost got a shutout and the game after that he did. Maybe we were inspirational or maybe we were irrational. We&rsquo;ll let Ron Stewart decide.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-02862/4118796-1-eng-US/f0014-022.jpg" title="f0014-02" width="557" height="741"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>BUTCH GORING&hellip;Sets Games Mark</b></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0014-01

Apps’ Record Tieing Performance Eases Kings’ Goalscoring Drought

<div class="byline">BY DAN DONOVAN</div><p>PITTSBURGH&mdash;</p><p class="dropcap"><span>I</span>f there is a defenseman with more true grit than the Penguins&rsquo; Dave Burrows, he&rsquo;s probably got electric circuits running through his body instead of veins.</p><p>After one game. Burrows looked like a Cyclops who lost a battle with a giant, yet he sat with his injured foot in a bucket of water telling reporters how important a 5-3 win over the Montreal Canadiens was.</p><p>&ldquo;I feel embarrassed.&rdquo; said Penguin defenseman Colin Campbell, ordered by a doctor to miss the game with a cast on his broken thumb. &ldquo;Here I am sitting out and he played with one eye and one leg.&rdquo;</p><p>In the first period. Burrows dumped Canadiens&rsquo; Pierre Mondou so hard that his feet came up head high. A skate blade cut Burrows above the cheekbone, about an inch from his eye.</p><p>Most players would have been out for the weekend, let alone the game, but Burrows, knowing the Penguins would be down to four defensemen in his absence, came back for the second period after receiving 12 stitches.</p><p>The side of his face puffed up, and the eyelid blackened, closing almost shut so that Burrows had only a slit to see through. Yet he logged considerable ice time, playing not only every other shift but every crucial situation, and he played an exceptional game.</p><p>Burrows, one of the best shot-blockers in hockey, has always been stoic about injuries. He once broke a foot badly enough that they always had to hold the team bus until he straggled on, but he played until the bone knitted six weeks later.</p><p>And injuries always seem to interrupt what little glory he has seen. His first serious injury, a shoulder separation, came during his first All Star game. He had to decline an invitation to play on Team Canada in last summer&rsquo;s World Hockey Championships to rest strained knee ligaments, his first serious leg injury</p><p>Burrows, one of the hockey&rsquo;s least flashy players, has built up a strong reputation around the National Hockey League as a premier defensive defenseman. Hearing of the Penguins&rsquo; financial problems last year, several teams tried to purchase Burrows last season but were flatly refused.</p><p>With the Penguins&rsquo; confidence fluctuating all season long, the example of Burrows, playing on one leg, and seeing out of one eye, had to make some teammates just a little more courageous.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

Penguins’ ‘Mr. Durable’, Burrows Keeps On Going

<div class="byline">BY PAT THOMPSON</div><p>BLOOMINGTON&mdash;</p><p>They fired the coach. Maybe they should fire more of the team.</p><p>The North Stars are playing no better, probably as bad or worse, under Andre Beaulieu than they were before Ted Harris was demoted to scouting status.&rsquo;</p><p>This is not intended as a slur against either individual. Harris was fired on grounds he could not motivate a team of mostly young players who had looked so promising at the start of the season.</p><p>Beaulieu has tried a number of measures to get the Stars untracked. Perhaps the Stars cannot be motivated at all.</p><p>&ldquo;I can&rsquo;t skate for them.&rdquo; Beaulieu said forlornly after one of the team&rsquo;s frequent collapses which saw the Los Angeles Kings steamroll to an 8-1 victory. That game featured four goals by Syl Apps of the Kings, but former North Star Ernie Hicke. who led Minnesota in goals last season, also was gleeful about the goal he scored.</p><p>&ldquo;Maybe it went to their heads when we went to the playoffs last spring,&rdquo; said Hicke. who was not offered a new contract.</p><p>If that is the case, the Stars should see a headshrinker. Quickly. They went into their annual December freeze with one exception, a 3-2 victory over Montreal.</p><p>But that was about it. With four games left in the old year. Minnesota had won only one game and tied one game with nine big losses. Last year, the team did not win in December until the 28th.</p><p>&ldquo;The only solution is hard work,&rdquo; said Beaulieu. &ldquo;The players have to realize that the only way to win is that everyone has to work hard like we did against Montreal. Some guys on this team don&rsquo;t realize that and it bothers me. You can&rsquo;t turn it on and off, play one good game and coast for three.&rdquo;</p><p>Beaulieu wanted it known he was not placing the blame for the team&rsquo;s 145 goals-against, worst in the NHL for Minnesota&rsquo;s first 32 games, on goalie Pete LoPresti and his defense.</p><p>&ldquo;The forwards are not checking like they can,&rdquo; said Beaulieu. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re making mistakes in our own zone and that is costing us goals.&rdquo;</p><p>Beaulieu juggled up his forward lines, but that didn&rsquo;t seem to work either. The most notable change was moving Glen Sharpley, the team&rsquo;s leading scorer, to right wing from center and Swedish rookie Ollie Brasar from left wing to center.</p><p>The biggest disappointments have been at center. Tim Young, fifth leading scorer in the NHL last season, was fourth on the Minnesota team this year. Roland Eriksson, who led all NHL rookies in scoring a year ago, has been struggling most of the season, a lot of that due to a wrist injury early in the schedule.</p><p>Defensively, the Stars miss the leadership of team captain Nick Beverley, whose back problems will keep him out a total of a month. The team is also missing the big man who can crunch people away from the front of the net.</p><p>Trade possibilities to shake up the Stars have not materialized. GM Jack Gordon has said that most teams tell him they are willing to trade marginal players for Minnesota&rsquo;s top players.</p><p>For now, Minnesota fans have to endure the period of motivation.</p><p><b>STAR DUST:</b> LoPresti&rsquo;s 28 games in the first 32 ranked second in time logged to Buffalo&rsquo;s Don Edwards&hellip;Ken Andersson returned from missing three games with a jammed thumb&hellip;Rookie Brad Maxwell needs only five goals the rest of the season to break the record for goals by a Minnesota defenseman (14 by Mike McMahon in 1967-68(&hellip;Sharpley scored six points in a two-game span to take the team&rsquo;s scoring lead.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-011001/4118834-1-eng-US/f0015-012.jpg" title="f0015-01" width="561" height="705"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>ANDRE BEAULIEU&hellip;Juggling Lines</b></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

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Hard Work Solution Says Beaulieu

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-01846/4119148-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg" title="f0016-01" width="363" height="775"></div><h2><b>ATLANTA</b></h2><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-02715/4119141-1-eng-US/f0016-022.jpg" title="f0016-02" width="145" height="130"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-03571/4119134-1-eng-US/f0016-032.jpg" title="f0016-03" width="720" height="577"></div><h2><b>BOSTON</b></h2><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-04447/4119127-1-eng-US/f0016-042.jpg" title="f0016-04" width="125" height="128"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-05341/4119120-1-eng-US/f0016-052.jpg" title="f0016-05" width="716" height="651"></div><h2><b>BUFFALO</b></h2><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-06278/4119113-1-eng-US/f0016-062.jpg" title="f0016-06" width="118" height="119"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-07252/4119106-1-eng-US/f0016-072.jpg" title="f0016-07" width="711" height="620"></div><h2><b>CHICAGO</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-08232/4119099-1-eng-US/f0016-082.jpg" title="f0016-08" width="163" height="154"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-09209/4119092-1-eng-US/f0016-092.jpg" title="f0016-09" width="714" height="595"></div><h2><b>CLEVELAND</b></h2><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-10187/4119085-1-eng-US/f0016-102.jpg" title="f0016-10" width="139" height="143"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-11173/4119078-1-eng-US/f0016-112.jpg" title="f0016-11" width="709" height="619"></div><h2><b>COLORADO</b></h2><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-12156/4119071-1-eng-US/f0016-122.jpg" title="f0016-12" width="125" height="124"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-13142/4119064-1-eng-US/f0016-132.jpg" title="f0016-13" width="721" height="647"></div><h2><b>DETROIT</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-14135/4119057-1-eng-US/f0016-142.jpg" title="f0016-14" width="156" height="90"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-15125/4119050-1-eng-US/f0016-152.jpg" title="f0016-15" width="713" height="625"></div><h2><b>LOS ANGELES</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-16121/4119043-1-eng-US/f0016-162.jpg" title="f0016-16" width="194" height="124"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-17113/4119036-1-eng-US/f0016-172.jpg" title="f0016-17" width="715" height="648"></div><h2><b>MINNESOTA</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-18106/4119029-1-eng-US/f0016-182.jpg" title="f0016-18" width="154" height="135"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-1999/4119022-1-eng-US/f0016-192.jpg" title="f0016-19" width="714" height="592"></div><h2><b>MONTREAL</b></h2><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-2080/4119015-1-eng-US/f0016-202.jpg" title="f0016-20" width="143" height="114"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-2174/4119008-1-eng-US/f0016-212.jpg" title="f0016-21" width="717" height="647"></div><h2><b>ISLANDERS</b></h2><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-2272/4119001-1-eng-US/f0016-222.jpg" title="f0016-22" width="138" height="131"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-2369/4118994-1-eng-US/f0016-232.jpg" title="f0016-23" width="711" height="594"></div><h2><b>RANGERS</b></h2><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-2467/4118987-1-eng-US/f0016-242.jpg" title="f0016-24" width="141" height="137"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-2562/4118980-1-eng-US/f0016-252.jpg" title="f0016-25" width="711" height="597"></div><h2><b>PHILADELPHIA</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-2659/4118973-1-eng-US/f0016-262.jpg" title="f0016-26" width="161" height="111"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-2750/4118966-1-eng-US/f0016-272.jpg" title="f0016-27" width="706" height="616"></div><h2><b>PITTSBURGH</b></h2><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-2848/4118959-1-eng-US/f0016-282.jpg" title="f0016-28" width="146" height="140"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-2941/4118952-1-eng-US/f0016-292.jpg" title="f0016-29" width="714" height="650"></div><h2><b>ST. LOUIS</b></h2><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-3041/4118945-1-eng-US/f0016-302.jpg" title="f0016-30" width="108" height="96"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-3141/4118938-1-eng-US/f0016-312.jpg" title="f0016-31" width="714" height="593"></div><h2><b>TORONTO</b></h2><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-3236/4118931-1-eng-US/f0016-322.jpg" title="f0016-32" width="127" height="131"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-3336/4118924-1-eng-US/f0016-332.jpg" title="f0016-33" width="708" height="572"></div><h2><b>VANCOUVER</b></h2><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-3432/4118917-1-eng-US/f0016-342.jpg" title="f0016-34" width="117" height="84"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-3518/4118910-1-eng-US/f0016-352.jpg" title="f0016-35" width="707" height="627"></div><h2><b>WASHINGTON</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-3617/4118903-1-eng-US/f0016-362.jpg" title="f0016-36" width="177" height="98"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-3717/4118896-1-eng-US/f0016-372.jpg" title="f0016-37" width="705" height="725"></div><h2><b>NHL Leaders</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-01738/4118889-1-eng-US/f0017-012.jpg" title="f0017-01" width="591" height="840"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

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NHL SCORING AND PENALTY STATISTICS

<div class="byline">BY RICH PASSAN</div><p>CLEVELAND&mdash;</p><p>There is nothing worse for an athlete than fooling himself into thinking he&rsquo;s better than he really is.</p><p>Pragmatism has not found a home in the world of athletics, save a few cases.</p><p>One of them resides in Hudson. Ohio, a small town midway between Cleveland and Akron and answers to the name of Kris Manery.</p><p>Now Manery skates on the right wing for the Cleveland Barons and in a comparatively nondescript manner. Certainly he is not Mike Bossy, or Barry Beck, the two leading contenders for rookie-of-the-year honors in the National Hockey League.</p><p>And nobody knows that better than Manery, a young man with his head screwed on as straight as can be. Most of his career has been spent learning and making the best of what he&rsquo;s got.</p><p>Abundantly talented he is not. Full of desire he is. The 23-year-old from Leamington, Ont., and the University of Michigan is also a proponent of hard work.</p><p>&ldquo;When you&rsquo;re working against the best in the world, you have to stay a step ahead of them,&rdquo; reasoned Manery, younger brother of Los Angeles Kings&rsquo; defenseman Randy.</p><p>Kris is not your typical NHL skater. He skates as much with his head as he does with his legs. He is a thinking man&rsquo;s hockey player. He&rsquo;s also a pretty good thinker off the ice.</p><p>Manery is one of those rare birds in professional hockey with a collegiate degree. The six-foot-one. 180-pounder made a name for himself in the classrooms at the U of M, considered the best school academically in the Big 10 Conference.</p><p>En route to his Bachelor of Science degree in Zoology, he maintained a B average. He carried that quality over to the ice for the Wolverines for four years.</p><p>In four seasons with the Wolves, he scored 111 goals. The old California Golden Seals, now the Barons, put him on their negotiation list after his freshman campaign in 1974.</p><p>Manery resisted the temptation of turning pro for a very good reason. &ldquo;I never really developed until my final two years,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I knew I wasn&rsquo;t that good yet. I wanted to get my degree first.&rdquo;</p><p>Then came the chance he had been waiting for. Kris came to the Barons&rsquo; training camp at Kent State University last September an unknown quality.</p><p>All he was hoping for was a chance to show what he could do. After that, he was looking for his first pro contract. Making the club never entered his mind.</p><p>Manery impressed from almost the beginning of camp. He showed a knack for being in the right place at the right time. He seemed to be where the puck was a great deal of the time.</p><p>The puck started going in for him. Every day his chances improved. They improved even more when veteran right winger Gary Sabourin had problems coming back from a knee operation.</p><p>Kris made the club, but there was still some uncertainty. Could he do it in the regular season as well?</p><p>The answer is a resounding yes. In his first 33 games, the thin blond had 12 goals and is a virtual certainty to hit at least 25 before the 1977-78 season is history.</p><p>As you can see, he won&rsquo;t seriously challenge the Bossys or Becks for the top rookie honor. But he might be able to give the Barons something they sorely need and that is consistent scoring.</p><p>A few more hockey players like Kris Manery and the Barons may finally make an upward move in the standings.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

Barons’ ‘Scholar’ Manery Puts Practicality To Work

<p>MONTREAL&mdash;</p><p>The Buffalo Sabres are the National Hockey League&rsquo;s hottest commodity as the teams head down to the halfway mark in the 1977-78 schedule.</p><p>You don&rsquo;t trifle with the sizzling Sabres these days. They&rsquo;ve embarked on an undefeated streak that stretches through their last 10 games and it has given them the momentum to challenge the Boston Bruins once more for the Adams Division lead.</p><p>The Bruins were doing all right themselves&mdash;eight games without a loss&mdash;until they encountered the Sabres and were bushwacked 5-3.</p><p>Now the two teams are neck and neck as they battle for top spot with only a point separating them just before the midway 40-game mark in the schedule.</p><p>The Sabres have been getting a lot of offense from a lot of people in recent games. This past week it was team captain Danny Gare who provided the leadership with his 17th, 18th and 19th goals of the year. Gilbert Perreault is still the team leader on the season with 46 points and his 25 goals are also a team high.</p><p>While the Sabres are basking in the limelight of an unbeaten streak another hot club is making new overtures at the rest of the NHL.</p><p>Washington Capitals, a team that many observers felt would show great improvement this season, seem to have recovered from a disastrous start and their record of late compares with their fine finish last season.</p><p>After going 20 games without a win earlier this season, Washington started a current streak that has seem them lose only four of their last 14 games, including a club record five-game undefeated streak that ended after a 3-1 loss to Chicago Black Hawks Sunday.</p><p>This compares to last season when Capitals lost only 10 of their final 31 games to set 12 club records, including most wins, ties and points in a season.</p><p>During its past 14 games, Capitals have allowed 40 goals against for a 2.86 average and much of the credit can be directed towards rookie goaltender Jim Bedard. The 21-year old native of Niagara Falls, Ont., has played in nine of those games and has the club&rsquo;s only shutout of the season&mdash;a 4-0 win against Los Angeles Kings.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-02626/4119203-1-eng-US/f0017-022.jpg" title="f0017-02" width="512" height="880"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>GILBERT PERREAULT&hellip;Sabres&rsquo; Leader</b></figcaption></div><p>Bedard. Capitals&rsquo; sixth pick and 91st over-all in the 1976 Amateur Draft, played his first NHL game Dec. 2 and has a goals-against average of 3.09 in 11 games. During his last nine games, he has lost only three.</p><p>Another factor in Washington&rsquo;s recent success is the play of veteran center Guy Charron. The native of Verdun, Que., who set four individual club records last season when he scored 36 goals and 82 points, has scored 10 goals and eight assists in his last 14 games to increase his total to 17 goals and 16 assists in 39 games over-all this season.</p><p>Meanwhile, Darry Sittler of Toronto Maple Leafs moved into second place in the individual scoring race. The Leaf captain increased his point total to 57 with six points in three games.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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Gare, Perreault Put Hot Sabres Near Top With Unbeaten Streak

<p>1. One U.S. based NHL team won games in only one U.S. city in the 1977 portion of the 1977-78 schedule. Which team was it?</p><p>St. Louis &#9633; Minnesota &#9633; Detroit &#9633;</p><p>2. Match these players with their World Hockey Association teams?</p><p>Claude Larose Darryl Maggs Bob Fitchner</p><p>Quebec Cincinnati Indianapolis</p><p>3. This NHL rookie led the National Collegiate Athletic Association in 197677 with 108 points, more than three per game?</p><p>Bob Miller &#9633; Kris Manery &#9633; Dave Taylor &#9633;</p><p>4. Which was the last team to be shutout in the NHL&rsquo;s 1977-78 schedule?</p><p>Washington &#9633; Chicago &#9633; Colorado &#9633;</p><p>5. Which goaltender had the most wins through the first half of the 1977-78 schedule?</p><p>Don Edwards &#9633; Mike Palmateer &#9633; Ken Dryden &#9633;</p><p>6. Which WHA team has only allowed one shorthanded goal through the 1977 portion of the 1977-78 schedule.</p><p>New England &#9633; Edmonton &#9633; Winnipeg &#9633;</p><p>7. Who is the Colorado Rockies career leader in goals scored?</p><p>Gary Croteau &#9633; Guy Charron &#9633; Wilf Paiement &#9633;</p><p>8. What is the most wins ever recorded in one season by the Pittsburgh Penguins? They occurred in the 1974-75 campaign.</p><p>35 &#9633; 37 &#9633; 40 &#9633;</p><p>9. Among active NHL players, who has the most four-goal games?</p><p>Rick Martin &#9633; Phil Esposito &#9633; Johnny Bueyk &#9633;</p><p>10. After Terry Sawchuk with 103, who is the all-time NHL shutout leader?</p><p>George Hainsworth &#9633; Frankie Brimsek &#9633; Glenn Hall &#9633;</p><h2><b>Quick Quiz Answers</b></h2><p><b>1. Minnesota. 2. Larose-Cincinnati, Maggs-Indianapolis, FitchnerQuebec. 3. Taylor. 4. Colorado. 5. Edwards. 6. New England. 7. Paiement. 8. 37. 9. Esposito. 10. Hainsworth.</b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

Fans’ Quick Hockey Quiz

<div class="byline">BY DICK JOHNSTON</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0018-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-01755/4119338-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>RENE ROBERT&hellip;Making Things Easy For Perreault</b> <span class="photo-credit">(Photo by Robert Shaver)</span></figcaption></div><p>BUFFALO&mdash;</p><p>When training camp began last September, the Buffalo Sabres had six defensemen with National Hockey League experience.</p><p>With the new year starting, two 20-year-old rookies were playing defense for the Sabres. Bill Stewart, who a year ago was playing for the hapless Niagara Falls Flyers, and Richie Dunn, who was with the Windsor Spitfires, both in the Ontario Hockey Association, were rotating with three veterans, Bill Hajt, Jerry Korab and Lee Fogolin.</p><p>Jim Schoenfeld, Jocelyn Guevremont and Ken Breitenbach were hobbling around on injured limbs.</p><p>Breitenbach suffered a broken leg in a pre-season exhibition game and wasn&rsquo;t expected back until well into January. Schoenfeld and Guevremont were hurt during a western trip in December.</p><p>Schony came up with a broken bone in his right foot when hit by a shot in a game against the Colorado Rockies. Stewart was called up but didn&rsquo;t see any action in the next game, against the Los Angeles Kings.</p><p>He saw plenty, however, in the final game of the trip, against the Vancouver Canucks. Guevremont&rsquo;s left knee was hurt in the first period and the rookie played a full shift.</p><p>Stewart was the Sabres&rsquo; third choice in the 1977 amateur draft. He started the season with Hershey in the American League and had been called up twice by the Sabres before the western trip, as a backup defenseman, but he never got on the ice.</p><p>When it was disclosed that Guevremont suffered strained knee ligaments. Dunn was called up from Hershey. He is a United States native, born and brought up in Boston, and went to training camp as a free agent.</p><p>Both Dunn and Stewart played in the first game after the western trip, against the Red Wings in Detroit. The Sabres won the game. 5-3, and coach Marcel Pronovost declared afterwards he was quite pleased with his rookie backliners. &ldquo;They played a disciplined game,&rdquo; said the one-time star defenseman for the Red Wings. &ldquo;They took care of our own end.&rdquo;</p><p>Stewart also took care of one of Detroit&rsquo;s more rugged enforcers, Dan Maloney, and the fight between the two probably had a lot to do with the outcome of the game.</p><p>The Sabres were leading by only 3-2 after the Red Wings had tied twice when Maloney started roughing Stewart following an icing call in the second period. They dropped the gloves and the rookie gave better than he received, knocking off Maloney&rsquo;s helmet in the process.</p><p>Maloney recieved a minor penalty for roughing, in addition to a major for fighting. Stewart got merely a major.</p><p>Thirteen seconds after the penalty to Maloney began, Gil Perreault scored on Buffalo&rsquo;s power play. Don Luce scored for Buffalo 51 seconds after Perreault&rsquo;s goal and the game was secured.</p><p>Perreault, in the midst of a scoring streak, scored twice in the Detroit game. He scored twice within a minute 44 seconds. He got his first goal just before the fight between Maloney and Stewart.</p><p>The following game, a 3-3 tie with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Perreault got another goal. That gave him 24 for the club&rsquo;s first 33 games and 23 in his last 24 games. His 24 goals came on 74 shots for a 32.4 shooting average. Only seven of the 24 goals were scored at home.</p><p>Gil was his usual noncommital self when quizzed about his spree. &ldquo;Rene&rsquo;s making the good plays and it happens I&rsquo;m there to put the puck into the net,&rdquo; said the super center.</p><p>Rene is his right winger, Rene Robert, and Rene was picking up quite a few points, himself. He had four goals and 14 assists in 13 games.</p><p>His goal on a rink-length rush with only 1:21 remaining gained the tie for the Sabres with the Penguins. That goal came just 20 seconds after Ric Seiling scored for Buffalo after Denis Herron had played an outstanding game in goal for the Penguins.</p><p>The left winger on that line, Gary McAdam, had five goals and five assists in seven games.</p><p>Stewart gained the approval of the home fans in his first home game, against Pittsburgh, when he decked Dave Schultz with a strong body check, then knocked over Brian Spencer shortly thereafter when Spinner went after him.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0018-01

Youngsters Force-Fed Into Sabres’ Defense

<h2><b>NHL-European Summaries</b></h2><h2><b>Tue. Jan. 3</b></h2><h2><b>SPARTAK 8, COLORADO 3</b></h2><h3><b>FIRST PERIOD</b></h3><p>Spartak. 1&mdash;Bodunov (Glukhov, Krylov) 9:09, <b>2&mdash;</b> Yakushev (Shadrin, Klimov) 19:17.</p><p>Penalties: Owchar 5:58, Tervokhin 10:00,16:34.</p><h3><b>SECOND PERIOD</b></h3><p>Spartak. 3&mdash;Bodunov (Rasko, Glukhov) 2:45. Colorado. 4&mdash;Gardner (Kitchen, Van Boxmeer) 5:03. 5&mdash;Suzor (Spruce) 7:10. Spartak, 8&mdash;Kulikov (Yakushev, Liapkin) 13:18, 7&mdash;Barinev (Trunov, Efstifeev) 16:47.</p><p>Penalties: O&rsquo;Brien, Efstifeev 3:48, Trunov. Owchar 9.04. Paiement. Pashkov (served by Klimov) 11:55. Dupere 17:54.</p><h3><b>THIRD PERIOD</b></h3><p>Spartak. 8&mdash;Teryokhin (Yakushev) 0:49, 9&mdash;Kulikov 10:15 10&mdash;Bodunov (Glukhov, Yakushev) 13:03, Colorado. 11&mdash;Suzor (Spruce) 19:51.</p><p>Penalties: Pierce 4:49, Arnason 8:46, Owchar 11:26. Turin. Paiement (minors, majors) 12:07, Trunov 18:49.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-01723/4119307-1-eng-US/f0019-012.jpg" title="f0019-01" width="584" height="111"></div><p>Attendance: 6,427.</p><h2><b>Wed. Jan. 4</b></h2><h2><b>KLADNO 3, CLEVELAND 4</b></h2><h3><b>FIRST PERIOD</b></h3><p>Kladno. 1&mdash;Pouzar (Dvorak. P. Stastny) 5:10, Cleveland. 2&mdash;Merrick (Klassen, Regier) 9:08.</p><p>Penalties: Pospisil 6:37. Gardner 6:47, Neliba 19:12.</p><h3><b>SECOND PERIOD</b></h3><p>Cleveland. 3&mdash;Christie (MacAdam, McKechnie) 1:35.4&mdash;Smith 13:19.</p><p>Penalties: Klassen 3:06. Pospisil. Maruk, 10:59, Pouzar 16:24. Crombeen 17:24.</p><h3><b>THIRD PERIOD</b></h3><p>Kladno. 5&mdash;Sykora (Vejvoda) 3:46. 8&mdash;Mueller 13:02. Cleveland. 7&mdash;Manery (Fidler, Maruk) 15:09.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-02585/4119300-1-eng-US/f0019-022.jpg" title="f0019-02" width="582" height="113"></div><p>Attendance: 7.117.</p><h2><b>PARDUBICE 3, ISLANDERS 8</b></h2><h3><b>FIRST PERIOD</b></h3><p>Islanders. 1&mdash;Parise (Drouin, Harris) 3:17. 2&mdash;Gillies (Trottier, Bossy) 9:39, Pardubice, 3&mdash;Slavik (Sekera, Levinsky) 9:49, Islanders, 4&mdash;Trottier (D. Potvin, Persson) 18:02.</p><p>Penalties Kaikl 4:08. Gillies 5:54, Pardubice (bench! 7:21. Trottier 12:40, Nestak 16:56.</p><h3><b>SECOND PERIOD</b></h3><p>Pardubice. 5&mdash;Slavik (Vajicek, Beranek) 6:34, Islanders 6&mdash;Henning (Parise, Westfall) 9:34, 7&mdash;Kaszycki (Bourne) 9:58. 8&mdash;Drouin (Harris, Howatt) 12:22. 9&mdash;Gillies (Trottier) 15:01, 10&mdash;Bossy (Trottier, Gillies) 15:50.</p><p>Penalties: Slavik, Price 6:38.</p><h3><b>THIRD PERIOD</b></h3><p>Pardubice. 11&mdash;Martinec (Zajicek) 6:13.</p><p>Penalties: Gillies 1:15. Persson 5:28, Zajicek 9:36.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-03446/4119293-1-eng-US/f0019-032.jpg" title="f0019-03" width="583" height="113"></div><p>Attendance: 9,437.</p><h2><b>Thu. Jan. 5</b></h2><h2><b>SPARTAK 2, ST. LOUIS 1</b></h2><h3><b>FIRST PERIOD</b></h3><p>Spartak. 1&mdash;Bodunov (Glukhov, Turin) 2:27.</p><p>Penalty: Gibbs 5:59.</p><h3><b>SECOND PERIOD</b></h3><p>Spartak. 2&mdash;Bodunov (Markov) 11:25, St. Louis 3&mdash;Unger (Fairbairn) 19:23.</p><p>Penalties: Hess 7:28, Teryokhin (Spa) 15:03.</p><h3><b>THIRD PERIOD</b></h3><p>No scoring.</p><p>Penalty: Affleck 9:44.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-04375/4119286-1-eng-US/f0019-042.jpg" title="f0019-04" width="589" height="112"></div><p>Attendance: 10.885.</p><h2><b>Fri. Jan. 6</b></h2><h2><b>SPARTAK 2, MONTREAL 5</b></h2><h3><b>FIRST PERIOD</b></h3><p>No scoring.</p><p>Penalties: Shadrin 4:18, Shutt 5:45, Kulikov 13:27. Turin 15:38.</p><h3><b>SECOND PERIOD</b></h3><p>Montreal. 1&mdash;Lafleur (Larouche, Robinson) 9:19. 2&mdash;Gainey (Houle, Savard) 10:57.</p><p>Penalties: Bouchard 5:31, Spartak (bench served by Efstifeev) 7:58.</p><h3><b>THIRD PERIOD</b></h3><p>Montreal. 3&mdash;Lemaire (Lafleur, Shutt) 7:31, 4&mdash;Lambert (Houle, Robinson) 9:49. 5&mdash;Lafleur (Lemaire, Robinson) 12:37, Spartak 8&mdash;Barinev (Trunov) 13:21, 7&mdash;Efstifeev (Barinev, Trunov) 16:08.</p><p>Penalties: None.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-05310/4119279-1-eng-US/f0019-052.jpg" title="f0019-05" width="584" height="114"></div><p>Attendance: 17,042.</p><h2><b>Sun. Jan. 8</b></h2><h2><b>SPARTAK 2, ATLANTA 1</b></h2><h3><b>FIRST PERIOD</b></h3><p>Spartak. 1&mdash;Teryokhin (Shadrin) 16:25.</p><p>Penalties: Markov 3:09. Zaharko 16:48.</p><h3><b>SECOND PERIOD</b></h3><p>Atlanta. 2&mdash;Vail (Chouinard) 17:15.</p><p>Penalties: Clement 0:57. Kea 8:13, Shadrin 8:35, Ribble 11:21. Zaharko 14:33. Lubkin 16:52.</p><h3><b>THIRD PERIOD</b></h3><p>Spartak. 3&mdash;Rasko (Shadrin, Teryokhin) 5:02.</p><p>Penalties: Kea 4:19. Retnyev 6:19, Lysiak 12:07, Redmond. Lubkin 16:15.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-06239/4119272-1-eng-US/f0019-062.jpg" title="f0019-06" width="582" height="105"></div><p>Atendance: 5.837.</p><h2><b>FINAL STANDINGS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-07209/4119265-1-eng-US/f0019-072.jpg" title="f0019-07" width="589" height="147"></div><h2><b>GAMES COMPLETED</b></h2><p><b>Mon. Dec. 26</b></p><p>Pardubice 1, Philadelphia 6</p><p>Kladno 4, Rangers 4</p><p><b>Wed. Dec. 28</b></p><p>Pardubice 4, Minnesota 2</p><p>Spartak 0, Vancouver 2</p><p><b>Sat. Dec. 31</b></p><p>Kladno 5, Chicago 4</p><p><b>Mon. Jan. 2</b></p><p>Kladno 8, Toronto 5</p><p>Pardubice 4, Detroit 5</p><p><b>Tue. Jan. 3</b></p><p>Sparktak 8, Colorado 3</p><p><b>Wed. Jan. 4</b></p><p>Pardubice 3, N.Y. Islanders 8</p><p>Kladno 3, Cleveland 4</p><p><b>Thu. Jan. 5</b></p><p>Spartak 2, St. Louis 1</p><p><b>Fri. Jan. 6</b></p><p>Spartak 2, Montreal 5</p><p><b>Sun. Jan. 8</b></p><p>Spartak 2, Atlanta 1</p><h2><b>NHL&rsquo;S&hellip;<i>Player of the Week</i></b></h2><p>Cleveland Barons may be last in the Adams Division of the National Hockey League but it certainly hasn&rsquo;t been because of their little centerman, Dennis Maruk.</p><p>Maruk, whose 23 goals for the season represent nearly onefourth of the entire team total had four goals last week as the Barons lost a heart-breaker to Philadelphia, 5-4, toppled the Kladno team of Czechoslovakia 43, pasted Vancouver 6-1 and dropped a 5-3 decision to the New York Islanders.</p><p>He also assisted on the winning goal against Kladno as the Barons became the only NHL team to defeat the Czech squad who tied the Rangers and defeated Minnesota and Toronto.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-02606/4119258-1-eng-US/f0018-022.jpg" title="f0018-02" width="541" height="761"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>DENNIS MARUK&hellip;Cleveland Barons</b></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0019-01

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE

<div class="byline">BY BOB VERDI</div><p>CHICAGO&mdash;</p><p class="dropcap"><span>I</span>t is a delicate line, the line between liking to win and hating to lose, and Ted Bulley is waiting for the Black Hawks to declare themselves.</p><p>He anxiously came here from nowhere, which is not so much a comment on Flint, Michigan, as it is on the direction in which he would now like to head. Somewhere.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-09167/4119376-1-eng-US/f0019-092.jpg" title="f0019-09" width="545" height="785"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>TED BULLEY&hellip;Up For Every Game</b></figcaption></div><p>&ldquo;But everybody&rsquo;s dead now., we need something to light a fire under us,&rdquo; the industrious left winger said after Chicago lost yet another home game it might have won by 3-2 to the second-place Vancouver Canucks New Year&rsquo;s day.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not saying our attitude is bad. I&rsquo;m just saying it could be better. When I first came here at the beginning of the season, I was impressed by the way everybody was putting out. I thought to myself that if it&rsquo;s this good now, what&rsquo;s it going to be like when we really start going?</p><p>&ldquo;But we&rsquo;ve dipped backwards, and everybody has to bear down harder than we have been. No way we should have lost to Vancouver like we did. We could have put them away. We would have been-seven points up, and they&rsquo;re starting a long road trip.</p><p>&ldquo;But you could see it in the locker room before the game. No life, too quiet. It&rsquo;s almost like it&rsquo;s just a job to us. We have to start bearing down more. I know</p><p>I&rsquo;m up for every game. I don&rsquo;t play well every game, but not because my heart isn&rsquo;t in it.</p><p>&ldquo;I know I always wanted to play in the National Hockey League, and I worked hard to get here. But just because you&rsquo;re here, doesn&rsquo;t mean you stop working. You have to work harder.</p><p>&ldquo;Maybe when you get in the NHL and sign a contract, and you&rsquo;re here a little while, you become a little secure. I&rsquo;ve seen a little of that around the league, and it surprises me. It won&rsquo;t happen to me. I feel like even though you&rsquo;ve made it to the top, the NHL, you can still go higher, if you know what I mean.</p><p>&ldquo;When we fall behind by a goal, it seems like sometimes we give up rather than thinking, &lsquo;well, let&rsquo;s tie them and get another goal and maybe we can beat them.&rsquo; The other night, we fell behind and tied Vancouver 2-2. But then we seemed satisfied with that and wound up losing. I think we can get that feeling back we had earlier in the season. I don&rsquo;t know what happened.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-08192/4119369-1-eng-US/f0019-082.jpg" title="f0019-08" width="556" height="525"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>CLARK GILLIES</b></figcaption></div><p>Bulley&rsquo;s proclamation isn&rsquo;t so much a boot in the gluteus maximus of his squad as it is a call to arms. He is not alone in suspecting that the Hawks, on any given night, would rather punch the clock than an opponent.</p><p>&ldquo;It takes a while until a team is willing to adjust and sacrifice to play the kind of disciplined game we want every night,&rdquo; remarked GM-coach Bob Pulford, who wins the purple heart for patience. &ldquo;You must work hard, all the time.&rdquo;</p><p>To that end, Pulford can depend on Bulley, who has done more than was expected of him from day one and that includes making the team. He did score 46 goals last year, but they were for Flint of the International League, which is not Chicago or even Dallas.</p><p>&ldquo;I learned a lot in Flint, it was good for me,&rdquo; said Bulley, currently the Hawks&rsquo; second leading scorer (nine goals, 14 assists). &ldquo;I was called up here briefly a year ago when Dennis Hull and Darcy Rota were hurt, and it was difficult. I wasn&rsquo;t ready, but at least I got an idea of what I would have to do to stay.</p><p>&ldquo;This summer, when Pully got the job. my attorney sent him a letter and asked for a chance. I tried to come to training camp ready, and I made the club, but I didn&rsquo;t know for how long. Pully didn&rsquo;t tell me to get an apartment for a while. All that time I was living in the hotel downtown. That can be tough. No privacy. Even from your wife.</p><p>&ldquo;A lot&rsquo;s changed for me now that I&rsquo;m here, but I&rsquo;m not going to let it affect me. I made $7,000 a year in Flint&mdash;that&rsquo;s not even the minimum wage, is it? Much more this season, but I still prefer wearing jeans, even though I went out and bought a suit recently, and I still have a 1974 car that I&rsquo;m keeping.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0019-09

Rookie Bulley Won’t Stop Working; Hawks Hope Others Follow Example

<div class="byline">BY VARTAN KUPELIAN</div><p>DETROIT&mdash;</p><p class="dropcap"><span>A</span>nyone who has followed the Red Wings closely these last few years knows that the last place Detroit can expect to pick up a point is Buffalo.</p><p>When the Wings skated onto the Buffalo ice on Dec. 29, to face the Sabres, they hadn&rsquo;t so much as earned a point there in five years&mdash;that&rsquo;s right, five years.</p><p>So what happens?</p><p>Nick Libett&rsquo;s goal with three seconds left gave Detroit a 3-3 tie, the Wings rallying from a 3-1 deficit with a pair of third period goals. If you can believe it, the face-off was deep in the Detroit end, to the right of goalie Ron Low, with eight seconds left. Buffalo&rsquo;s Andre Savard got off a quick shot from the circle Low made the save; the rebound came out to Al Cameron who then whistled a pass off the boards at center ice to Libett who, true to the practiced play, took off for Buffalo territory the instant the puck was dropped.</p><p>Libett boomed a slap shot from inside the blueline to beat goalie Don Edwards.</p><p>&ldquo;I figured I had time to score,&rdquo; Libett said. &ldquo;I just came down and got to where I felt I could shoot, and I let it go. I was thinking, &lsquo;shoot, shoot&rsquo; all the way.</p><p>&ldquo;I just tried to keep the puck along the ice and put it on the net. I didn&rsquo;t want to waste a good effort like that. Either the goalie makes a good save or I score.&rdquo;</p><p>He scored.</p><p>As you might expect, coach Bobby Kromm was very pleased with the tie.</p><p>&ldquo;We never quit,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We contained Gil Perreault and that was the big things. Perreault can kill you. That was a big point for us.&rdquo;</p><p>Kromm used the fleet Paul Woods to shadow Perreault. He had used the strategy the week at home against Buffalo without success. Perreault shook loose enough times to score twice as the Sabres posted an easy victory.</p><p>The Wings usually get bombed in Buffalo, with the Sabres often enjoying one of their 40-to-50 shot nights against them. That wasn&rsquo;t the case this time as Detroit skated stride-for-stride with the talented Sabres.</p><p>It was Dennis Polonich&rsquo;s goal at the 27-second mark of the third period which cut the Detroit deficit to 3-2. Andre St. Laurent, playing outstanding hockey for the Wings, had the first goal.</p><p>The goal and outcome were especially satisfying to Libett and Danny Grant, who was playing his first game in 16. Grant played well, even though out of position on right wing.</p><p>Those two veterans, along with center Dennis Hextail and goalie Jimmy Rutherford, have been used part-time and they&rsquo;re having a little trouble understanding that.</p><p>Libett and Hextail were outstanding early in the season when the Wings got off to such a good start and deserved a great deal of credit for that quick getaway. Rutherford was the No. 1 goalie coming out of training camp but, under the three-goalie system, played once a week as did the other goalies, Low and Eddie Giacomin.</p><p>The players said, mater-of-factly, that they thought they could, and should be, playing more often. Off their early performances, it was hard to argue with them.</p><p>The Wings had an easy time at home against the Colorado Rockies posting a 52 victory with Vaclav Nedomansky scoring twice. The victory was Detroit&rsquo;s first ever over Colorado. The Rockies swept all four games from Detroit last season.</p><p>Lindsay, who continues to scour hockey leagues everywhere for talent, was back home to watch. His travels, he said aren&rsquo;t over.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-01406/4119407-1-eng-US/f0021-012.jpg" title="f0021-01" width="560" height="1156"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>DENNIS HEXTALL&hellip;Puzzled By Benching</b></figcaption></div><p><b>MOTOR CITY SHORTS:</b> St. Laurent exceeded his goal total of last season with the Islanders when he got his 11th against Buffalo; Detroit officials would love to find a couple more like him.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0021-01

Wings’ Veterans Itching For Duty

f0022-05

NATIONAL LEAGUE SUMMARIES

<h2><b>WHA&rsquo;S&hellip;<i>Player of the Week</i></b></h2><p class="dropcap"><span>W</span>innipeg Jets continue to chase the New England Whalers for the WHA lead and Ulf Nilsson as a member of the Top 10 in scoring, is one of the players responsible for keeping them there.</p><p>Not only did Nilsson contribute three goals and two assists to the Jets&rsquo; offense in 4-1 and 4-2 victories over Edmonton and Indianapolis, but he also scored a pair against the Soviet Nationals which helped Winnipeg defeat the Soviets 5-3.</p><p>In fact, the Soviets&rsquo; loss to the Jets was their only one in the first four games against WHA competition. For the season, Nilsson has reached the 50-point mark for the Jets.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-03244/4119717-1-eng-US/f0024-032.jpg" title="f0024-03" width="518" height="721"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>ULF NILSSON&hellip;Winnipeg Jets</b></figcaption></div><h2><b>Looking At WHA Goalers</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-01369/4119710-1-eng-US/f0025-012.jpg" title="f0025-01" width="1125" height="1138"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0024-03

WORLD HOCKEY ASSOCIATION

<div class="byline">BY JOHN McCLAIN</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0024-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-01432/4119755-1-eng-US/f0024-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>ANDRE LACROIX&hellip;Tops Aeros&rsquo; In Points, Leadership</b> <span class="photo-credit">(Photo by Stove Babineau)</span></figcaption></div><p>EDMONTON&mdash;</p><p class="dropcap"><span>R</span>on Chipperfield undressed slowly, drops of sweat trickling off his chin. The Edmonton Oilers&rsquo; center had just completed a brisk workout, and he wore a look of contentment.</p><p>&ldquo;The difference for me this year as compared to last year is that I&rsquo;ve got a lot more confidence,&rdquo; said Chipperfield, the Oilers&rsquo; leading scorer and a major reason the team has surpassed expectations through the first part of the World Hockey Association season. &ldquo;This year I&rsquo;m getting more ice time. I&rsquo;m killing penalties and I&rsquo;m playing the power play. I know if I make a mistake, I&rsquo;ll still be playing and having time to make up for it.&rdquo;</p><p>Glen Sather is Chipperfield&rsquo;s kind of coach.</p><p>&ldquo;Glen believes you have to have some fun to play this game,&rdquo; Chipperfield said with a satisfied smile. &ldquo;It can&rsquo;t be all work. I think the more fun you have, the happier you are and the better you&rsquo;re going to play. I&rsquo;m happy, believe me.&rdquo;</p><p>Edmonton is a different situation for Chipperfield who toiled under the regime of Joe Crozier at Calgary last season. While Crozier ran a tight ship with strick discipline, Sather allows the Oilers some freedom.</p><p>&ldquo;The only rule I have,&rdquo; Sather says, &ldquo;is if you do something to hurt the team, like staying out and drinking the night before a game, then you&rsquo;re in trouble.&rdquo;</p><p>Chipperfield likes the new atmosphere. At 23, he is off to his best start. He scored 34 points in the Oilers&rsquo; first 29 games, including 13 goals. After a season with the Vancouver Blazers and two with the Calgary Cowboys, Chipperfield has emerged to earn the respect of teammates, fans and opponents.</p><p>&ldquo;Chipperfield&rsquo;s a fine two-way player,&rdquo; Houston Aeros&rsquo; coach Bill Dineen said after a recent game against the Oilers. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s given them added scoring punch.</p><p>He&rsquo;s done an exceptional job.&rdquo;</p><p>Easy-going and soft-spoken, Chipperfield accepts the compliments but quickly points to his teammates.</p><p>&ldquo;I know last year Edmonton kept bringing new players in all season, but this year we&rsquo;ve got basically the same players that went to training camp, except for a couple of good deals,&rdquo; Chipperfield said. &ldquo;We re settled and we know we&rsquo;re going to get ice time. Confidence can make so much difference. Without it, everything seems so unsettled.&rdquo;</p><p>Unsettled could have described Chipperfield last summer.</p><p>&ldquo;In Calgary, we knew if there was a merger with the NHL we wouldn&rsquo;t be part of it,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Then when Calgary folded, Quebec got my rights. Then I developed an arthritic condition in August. Then Edmonton got my rights. I didn&rsquo;t know where I was going to play until four or five days before training camp.&rdquo;</p><p>Several teams were interested in Chipperfield, despite the fact he dropped from 42 goals and 83 points in 1975-76 to 27 goals and 54 points last season. No one is prouder of Chipperfield than the Edmonton fans, who have backed the Oilers through turmoil and frustration.</p><p>&ldquo;It didn&rsquo;t really matter to me where I played at the time, but now that I&rsquo;m in Edmonton, I don&rsquo;t see how things could have worked out better,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I never thought about jumping to the NHL (Philadelphia owns his draft rights) because I wanted to fulfill my WHA contract.&rdquo;</p><p>Although the Oilers have bounced around the middle of the WHA standings, they have played well, both at home and on the road. The fans can sense the playoffs for the second consecutive year. There has even been talk of a championship, but although Sather has done wonders with the team, first place may be too much to ask.</p><p>&ldquo;We don&rsquo;t have the goal scoring that Winnipeg. Quebec and New England have,&rdquo; Chipperfield said. &ldquo;When we got Dennis Sobchuk and Del Hall from Cincinnati (Hall was traded for Butch Deadmarsh while Sobchuk was acquired for cash, draft choices and the rights to University of Michigan center Dave Debol), they gave us the potential for more goals.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-02341/4119748-1-eng-US/f0024-022.jpg" title="f0024-02" width="525" height="580"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>RON CHIPPERFIELD&hellip;Getting Ice Time</b></figcaption></div><p>&ldquo;We have to rely on checking and kind of wait for the breaks, especially against Winnipeg, Quebec and New England. We seem to gradually be opening up to a little more of an offensive game, but we seem to realize what we&rsquo;re capable of doing and we don&rsquo;t try to do something we can&rsquo;t.</p><p>&ldquo;You can look around this dressing room and find any number of guys that have played important parts for us. That&rsquo;s the way Glen wants it, and that&rsquo;s the way it should be.&rdquo;</p><p>And that&rsquo;s the way it has been for the Edmonton Oilers, whose progress has been simply amazing.</p><p><b>WINNIPEG</b>: After a horrendous slump, the Jets put together a winning streak, with the unheralded players providing surprising performances. Left wing Dave Kryskow, who played for Calgary last season, was ready to play senior hockey in Winnipeg until the Jets offered him a tryout for $100 a game. Kryskow earned a contract and has been a pleasant surprise. After sitting on the bench early in the season, he had 10 goals in 32 games. Lynn Powis and Ken Baird also were signed and they have provided depth. &ldquo;Kryskow, Powis and Baird have given us bench strength,&rdquo; coach Larry Hillman says. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s something I didn&rsquo;t have early in the season, and since we didn&rsquo;t have any depth up front, we were getting stung in the third period. I can&rsquo;t say enough about how these guys have come in, have given 110 percent, and they have pushed the other guys, too.&rdquo;.</p><p><b>HOUSTON:</b> Coach Bill Dineen stopped reports that Winnipeg was offering wingers Willy Lindstrom or Dan Labraaten for the Aeros&rsquo; Cam Connor. &ldquo;No way I&rsquo;m going to trade Connor; he means too much to this team,&rdquo; Dineen said. &ldquo;What he means doesn&rsquo;t always show up in the statistics. &ldquo;Connor, a native of Winnipeg, is the Aeros&rsquo; toughest player and also a valuable goal scorer&hellip;Second-year winger Morris Lukowich scored 19 goals in the first 29 games and gave partial credit to a daily training routine. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m on a program of skipping rope 10 minutes a day,&rdquo; Lukowich says. &ldquo;I want to be in great shape and I want to have my legs going good. That way, if I start to get in a slump, conditioning can help me shake it.&rdquo;&hellip;Before missing a few games with a slight shoulder separation, right wing Don Larway had scored 23 points in a startling comeback from last season when he scored only 24 points&hellip;Two of the most valuable Aeros have been center Andre Lacroix and goaltender Ernie Wakely, both of whom played for the defunct San Diego Mariners last season. Lacroix has been among the league&rsquo;s leading scorers and he has provided leadership. Wakely, after going 0-5 with Cincinnati early in the season, has given the Aeros superb play in the nets. Wakely went to Houston for &ldquo;future considerations.&rdquo; He has been a valuable replacement for Ron Grahame, who jumped to the Boston Bruins.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0024-01

Chipperfield Thriving In Edmonton, Boosts Sather, Team’s Atmosphere

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0026-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-01382/4119936-1-eng-US/f0026-012.jpg"></div><h2><b>BIRMINGHAM BULLS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-02305/4119929-1-eng-US/f0026-022.jpg" title="f0026-02" width="154" height="168"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-03262/4119922-1-eng-US/f0026-032.jpg" title="f0026-03" width="726" height="660"></div><h2><b>CINCINNATI STINGERS</b></h2><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-04207/4119915-1-eng-US/f0026-042.jpg" title="f0026-04" width="131" height="154"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-05170/4119908-1-eng-US/f0026-052.jpg" title="f0026-05" width="725" height="628"></div><h2><b>EDMONTON OILERS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-06137/4119901-1-eng-US/f0026-062.jpg" title="f0026-06" width="186" height="185"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-07125/4119894-1-eng-US/f0026-072.jpg" title="f0026-07" width="718" height="645"></div><h2><b>HOUSTON AEROS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-08113/4119887-1-eng-US/f0026-082.jpg" title="f0026-08" width="253" height="110"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-09107/4119880-1-eng-US/f0026-092.jpg" title="f0026-09" width="716" height="605"></div><h2><b>INDIANAPOLIS RACERS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-10102/4119873-1-eng-US/f0026-102.jpg" title="f0026-10" width="202" height="157"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-1198/4119866-1-eng-US/f0026-112.jpg" title="f0026-11" width="719" height="677"></div><h2><b>NEW ENGLAND WHALERS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-1290/4119859-1-eng-US/f0026-122.jpg" title="f0026-12" width="210" height="218"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-1388/4119852-1-eng-US/f0026-132.jpg" title="f0026-13" width="715" height="672"></div><h2><b>QUEBEC NORDIQUES</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-1480/4119845-1-eng-US/f0026-142.jpg" title="f0026-14" width="182" height="187"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-1572/4119838-1-eng-US/f0026-152.jpg" title="f0026-15" width="714" height="722"></div><h2><b>WINNIPEG JETS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-1664/4119831-1-eng-US/f0026-162.jpg" title="f0026-16" width="195" height="204"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-1760/4119824-1-eng-US/f0026-172.jpg" title="f0026-17" width="720" height="623"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0026-01

WHA SCORING AND PENALTY STATISTICS

<p>HARTFORD&mdash;</p><p class="dropcap"><span>G</span>oaltender Al Smith and defenseman Rick Ley, two of the most consistent performers for the New England Whalers this season, have been named to the World Hockey Association first All Star Team, the league has announced.</p><p>Smith, who returned to the Whalers after two seasons with the National Hockey League&rsquo;s Buffalo Sabres, will be making his fourth WHA All Star Game appearance. He is currently the league&rsquo;s top-ranked goaltender with a 20-3-3 record and a 2.55 goals against average.</p><p>For Ley, his selection to the All Star squad marks the sixth time in the WHA&rsquo;s six-year history that he has been named to the team. Captain of the Whalers, Ley has two goals and 23 assists for 25 points while playing in all of New England&rsquo;s games.</p><p>Completing the first team are defenseman Al Hamilton of Edmonton and the Winnipeg trio of Ulf Nilsson at center, Anders Hedberg at right wing and Bobby Hull at left wing. Hedberg was the only unanimous choice, while Hull just missed being named on all but one ballot.</p><p>All Star starters, as well as second team selections, were picked in a poll of 24 WHA media representatives. Each selector voted for three players at each position, with the votes tabulated on a 5-3-1 point basis.</p><p>The All Star Game, slated for Quebec City on Tuesday, Jan. 17, will pit the WHA All Stars against the defending Avco World Trophy champion Quebec Nordiques in pro hockey&rsquo;s traditional All Star format which has not been used for 11 years since the National Hockey League discontinued it. In the five years of WHA All Star games, either a East-West or Canadian-American format was used.</p><p>A trio of Whalers were also named to the second team. So honored are defenseman Gordie Roberts, left wing Mike Antonovich and right wing Tom Webster. It will be the first All Star appearance for Antonovich, the second for Roberts and the fifth for Webster.</p><p>Webster, however, has been out with a back injury for the last 14 games and it is doubtful whether or not he&rsquo;ll be able to play. If he cannot, coach Bill Dineen of the Houston Aeros will choose a replacement along with eight other players to fill out the 20-man roster.</p><p>Other second team selections were goaltender John Garrett of Birmingham, defenseman Lars Erik Sjoberg of Winnipeg and center Andre Lacroix of Houston. Lacroix is the WHA&rsquo;s all-time All Star scoring leader with three goals and five assists in his four previous games.</p><p>New England, presently leading the WHA with a 25-11-3 record and a six-point edge over second place Winnipeg, placed five men on the first two teams. Winnipeg has four, Edmonton one. Birmingham, one and Houston one.</p><p>Antonovich is presently the Whalers&rsquo; third leading scorer with 30 points on 17 goals and 13 assists. Roberts, at 20-years of age the youngest player selected, has six goals and 20 assists for 26 points and Webster had 15-5-20 totals before he was injured.</p><p>The Hull-Hedberg-Nilsson combination currently rank 2-4-7. respectively in WHA scoring. Hull has 57 points on 25 goals and 32 assists and is six points behind league-leader Marc Tardif of Quebec. Hedberg has 30-2656 totals and Nilsson 12-33-45 statistics.</p><p>Hamilton is the top-scoring defenseman in the WHA.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

Jets, Whalers Dominate All Star Game Picks

<div class="byline">BY WAYNE WARRINER</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0027-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-01361/4119991-1-eng-US/f0027-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>GORDIE HOWE&hellip;Still Proving Critics Wrong</b></figcaption></div><p>HARTFORD&mdash;</p><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>aking advantage of two games they had in hand the New England Whalers stretched their World Hockey Association lead to six points over runnerup Winnipeg. The Whalers continued their domination of the Birmingham Bulls, defeating them twice in Hartford. The Bulls had come to town riding a five-game win streak but turned out to be no match for the Whalers. The Whalers swept, 8-1 and 6-2.</p><p>In six contests between the two teams Birmingham has failed to pick up even a tie. Whalers coach Harry Neale commented, &ldquo;Our goal all along was to get a team where the environment can&rsquo;t be dictated to us. We now have good balance in talent, speed, and aggressiveness.&rdquo; In regard to Birmingham&rsquo;s tendency to try to out-physical&rsquo; a team, Neale says, &ldquo;When a team comes in and makes it rough, our team plays better.&rdquo;</p><p>Actually in the two most recent games there were only two altercations that required major penalties (one in each game). Gilles Bilodeau of the Bulls engaged Jack Carlson in a brief encounter late in the first game. At the time the Whalers had a 7-1 lead, so Bilodeau&rsquo;s effort seemed to be aimed toward setting the tone for the game two nights later.</p><p>In that second game Bilodeau wasted little time, jumping Bill Butters only three minutes into the first period. But the strategy backfired as Butters smartly left his gloves on and was assessed only a double minor, while Bilodeau picked up a minor for instigating and a major for fighting.</p><p>Gordie Howe&rsquo;s new combination (George Lyle on the left and son Mark on the right) clicked nicely in the second Birmingham game, connecting for three goals&mdash;two of them by the old master himself. The skeptics who think Gordie is only around to lend moral support would have had their eyes opened on Gordie&rsquo;s second goal of the night. Wheeling from behind the net he was tripped but, while falling, flipped the puck over goalie Wayne Wood.</p><p>In Cincinnati two nights later Gordie again lit the lamp twice, the second one winning the game in overtime. It was Gordie&rsquo;s 13th of the campaign and gave him a total of 40 points in the 33 games he&rsquo;s played.</p><p>The new Lyle-Howe-Howe line may be a long-lasting combination. Not only have they looked good so far but Mark Howe has become quite comfortable on his off-wing. The man who started the season on Gordie&rsquo;s right wing, Tom Webster, seems to have regressed in his efforts to overcome a back problem. Although he had been skating Webbie has now gone back to the whirlpool and has shelved his skates again.</p><p>Coach Harry Neale jokingly has said, &ldquo;it looks like it may be March 17 before Webster gets back.&rdquo; Now it begins to look like that may be a real possibility. So far. however, the slack has been taken up quite adequately. As director of hockey operations Jack Kelley says, &ldquo;It looks like Mark (Howe) has taken care of our problem on right wing.&rdquo;</p><p><b>QUEBEC:</b> The Nordiques hardly had time to lick their wounds after returning from the Izvestia Tournament in Moscow before they were lambasted by the Winnipeg Jets, 9-4. The next night they flew to Edmonton and were soundly trounced by the improving Oilers.</p><p>In Edmonton, the Oilers unleashed a barrage of shots at Nordiques&rsquo; goaltender Ken Uroderick in the first period and scored four goals in a span of three minutes and 17 seconds. Broderick was the victim of poor defensive support, but he let in five goals out of 22 shots sent his way. Before the first period was over backup Jim Corsi was called in, and he faced 36 shots the rest of the way yielding another four goals. Final score, 9-3. The Nordiques had to start looking over their shoulders at the fast charging Edmonton team only two points behind them in the WHA standings at that point.</p><p>The Nords were still waiting for defenseman Francois Lacombe to return from the injured list. In addition they played the two games without the services of tough right winger, Curt Brackenbury and newly acquired defenseman Dave Inkpen.</p><p>It would be difficult to believe that a team could be harder hit by injuries than have the Nordiques this season. Out for the year are centerman Chris Bordeleau. defenseman Jim Dorey, and defenseman Wally Weir. All Star defenseman Lacombe had played a total of four games before he was injured. Goaltender Richard Brodeau was just beginning to sparkle in the nets when he was layed up for six to eight weeks.</p><p>Yet with Lacombe&rsquo;s return and perhaps some steady goaltending the Nordiques should still be in the race for WHA supremacy.</p><p>Although held scoreless in Winnipeg, Marc Tardif notched a goal in the Edmonton debacle to salvage some joy for Quebec City fans. The goal was Tardif&rsquo;s 30th of the year and it tied Bobby Hull&rsquo;s record (1974-75) of scoring 30 goals in 29 games. Tardif continued to lead the WHA in scoring, while teammate Real Cloutier moved up by scoring his 20th goal in Edmonton. Cloutier had 53 points in the Nordiques first 29 games.</p><p>The Nordiques made their first appearance in the friendly confines of the Colissee since the Izvestia Tournament, when they faced the Soviet All Stars on Jan. 3, and played to a 3-3 tie. Tardif had two more goals in that game which counted in the standings.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0027-01

Whalers Extend WHA Lead With Domination Of Bulls

f0028-05

WORLD HOCKEY ASSN. SUMMARIES

<h2><b>Where AHL Teams Play</b></h2><p><b>JANUARY</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-01304/4120207-1-eng-US/f0029-012.jpg" title="f0029-01" width="537" height="947"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0029-01

AMERICAN HOCKEY LEAGUE

<div class="byline">BY JIM LEAHY</div><p>HALIFAX&mdash;</p><p class="dropcap"><span>W</span>ith the American Hockey League season nearly half over, most observers expected to see the Voyageurs comfortably on top of the Northern Division standings. Such is not the case. The Vees are in the middle of a slump which has caused them to go winless in their last six contests. As a result, Nova Scotia is three points out of first place at this writing. However, the Springfield Indians have four games in hand and the Maine Mariners three.</p><p>Only Rod Schutt is among the league&rsquo;s top scorers and the club does not have players like Gilles Lupien to protect their small wingers. But with about 20 games to play at the new Halifax Metro Center before their home and road schedule evens out, the Vees are in a position to charge ahead late in the season.</p><p>Last week the Vees played one home game in the Halifax Forum, losing 2-1 to the improving Hershey Bears.</p><p><b>SPRINGFIELD</b>: The Indians are back on the right trail, losing only one of their last five to move into a tie with Maine for first place in the Northern Division. The Tribe was in action twice last week. They bombed the Rochester Americans 7-2 at the Big E, but lost 8-3 in Portland two nights later.</p><p>During the month of December the Indians were hot, notching seven victories and two ties as they moved back into first place. Andre Peloffy and Dave Hynes are battling for the club scoring lead with &ldquo;Pelo&rdquo; on top with 37 points in 27 games and Hynes with 35 points in 30 games.</p><p><b>MAINE</b>: For an expansion team, the Mariners have managed to assemble a winning hockey club for their fans in the Portland area. Attendance is among the league leaders, with an average of 4,283 per game including at least two SRO crowds. The club has responded to this fan support with a winning streak which now has the Mariners tied for the top spot. In addition, the club has won eight of their last nine. Since Thanksgiving, the Mariners have moved from only one point in front of the last place Dusters to the top spot in the division. With a record of 10-3-2 and 60 goals in the last 12 games, the Mariners have finally started to click.</p><p>Paul Evans, Drew Callender and Wayne Schaab are running 1-2-3 in the Mariners&rsquo; scoring race and the club boasts six players who have scored 20 or more goals.</p><p>Maine was at home twice last week in an abbreviated schedule. The Mariners lost 6-2 to the Philadelphia Firebirds however, they bounced back to defeat Springfield 8-3.</p><p><b>BINGHAMTON</b>: Duster fans had something to chzer about as the home team came up with two wins and no losses in last week&rsquo;s action. The Dusters overcame a 3-1 deficit, including one goal they scored into their own net, to beat New Haven 8-3. A rare Monday night contest resulted in a big 7-2 win for Binghamton over the Firebirds.</p><p><b>PHILADELPHIA</b>: One win and two losses dropped the Firebirds to within striking distance of the Rochester Americans in the battle for first place in the Southern Division. A 6-2 win at Maine was offset by losses to New Haven and Binghamton as the Firebirds hit the road.</p><p>The dynamic duo of Bob Collyard and Gordie Brooks continues to lead the AHL in scoring. Each player has 44 points in 35 games. Brooks leads the league in goals scored with 21 and Coilyard in assists with 28.</p><p>The Firebirds play just one more game this week, in Nova Scotia, before getting 11 consecutive days off. The Birds will hope to recover from the flu bug which has hit several members of the team including coach Dan Belisle who flew home from Portland with a temperature of 104 degrees.</p><p>Two things about the Firebirds are interesting to note. They have outscored their opponents by a wide margin in the third period and the club has great spirit.</p><p>Coach Dan Belisle was very successful in the old North American Hockey League and his AHL Firebirds will be tough from here on in.</p><p><b>ROCHESTER</b>: A modest winning streak has seen the Amerks win four of their last five and move within one point of the first place Philadelphia Firebirds. With three games in hand on Philly, it&rsquo;s possible that the Amerks could soon be back in first place, a position they enjoyed earlier in the season.</p><p>Rochester was in action twice during the Christmas Holiday week. A 7-2 loss in Springfield was balanced by a 7-3 win over Hershey at the War Memorial. The previous week, the Amerks won all three to make coach Duane Rupp happy.</p><p>Rupp had broken up the top scoring line of Ron Garwasiuk and Rick Adduono and the move worked. First place is our goal, and we&rsquo;ve got to keep battling&rdquo; said Rupp of his red hot Amerks. The new trio of Bill Bennett, Rick Adduono and Gordie Clark has clicked for Rupp. The threesome piled up 13 points, with Adduono scoring three goals, Bennett picking up his first goal of the year and Clark adding five assists.</p><p>Defenseman Bjorn Johansson continues to be a standout. &ldquo;Bjorn fit well into our system&hellip;and he really moves the puck well,&rdquo; Rupp said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s not the type that&rsquo;s always trying to get in on top of their goaltender, but (recently) in Nova Scotia he stole a clearing pass in the Nova Scotia zone and scored one of the nicest goals I&rsquo;ve seen in a long time.&rdquo;</p><p><b>NEW HAVEN</b>: The Nighthawks managed to come up even last week with a loss and a victory to remain in a three way tie with Hershey and Hampton for third place. The &lsquo;Hawks beat Philly 4-2 at home but were blown out 8-3 in Binghamton a few nights earlier. Only Jerry Byers has played consistently, scoring seven points in his last seven games.</p><p>Former Swedish star netminder Hardy Astrom has started three AHL contests for the Nighthawjs and has posted a fine 2.33 GAA. Number one goaltender Doug Soetaert is up with the Rangers and Lindsay Middlebrook has not been effective.</p><p><b>HERSHEY</b>: The Bears have played the fewest number of games (28), have a winning record, but still can&rsquo;t make any progress catching Rochester or Philadelphia. Three road games resulted in a win and two losses in last week&rsquo;s action. Following a 5-2 defeat in Hampton, the Bears went on to Rochester and dropped a 7-3 contest. A narrow 2-1 victory in Nova Scotia kept the club even with New Haven and the Hampton Gulls in the fight for third place.</p><p><b>HAMPTON</b>: Only one game was on the schedule for the Gulls and they won it, 52 over Hershey. Coach John Brophy&rsquo;s team is only one game below .500 at this writing which is amazing considering all the roster changes that his Gulls have experienced.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-02241/4120238-1-eng-US/f0029-022.jpg" title="f0029-02" width="557" height="760"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>HARDY AASTROM</b></figcaption></div><p>Paul O&rsquo;Neill leads the team in scoring with 41 points in 30 games, good enough for third best in the league. If O&rsquo;Neill can help turn around Hampton&rsquo;s terrible road record of 1-9, the Gulls may elevate themselves in the AHL standings.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0029-02

League Awaiting Voyageurs’ Flurry; Mariners Attracting Fans, Respect

<h2><b><i>CHL&rsquo;s Revised Schedule</i></b></h2><h3><b>JANUARY</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-01342/4120290-1-eng-US/f0030-012.jpg" title="f0030-01" width="542" height="682"></div><h3><b>FEBRUARY</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-02271/4120283-1-eng-US/f0030-022.jpg" title="f0030-02" width="549" height="881"></div><h3><b>MARCH</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-03203/4120276-1-eng-US/f0030-032.jpg" title="f0030-03" width="548" height="937"></div><h3><b>APRIL</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-04139/4120269-1-eng-US/f0030-042.jpg" title="f0030-04" width="529" height="175"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0030-01

CENTRAL HOCKEY LEAGUE

<div class="byline">BY TOM LOBAUGH</div><p>TULSA&mdash;</p><p class="dropcap"><span>W</span>hat are the odds against two teams playing overtime games on successive nights, one in each rink? And what are the odds against one team winning both those games?</p><p>That&rsquo;s what the Tulsa Oilers did in a pair of games against the Kansas City Red Wings. Defenseman Bob Manno scored on a blast from the blueline after 3:46 of overtime action for a 4-3 victory in Tulsa&rsquo;s Assembly Center. Then the next night right wing Rob Tudor tapped in a short shot after 8:05 of the extra period, providing a 5-4 victory in Kansas City&rsquo;s Kemper Arena.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-0593/4120328-1-eng-US/f0030-052.jpg" title="f0030-05" width="562" height="722"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>ROB TUDOR&hellip;Clutch Scorer</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-0669/4120321-1-eng-US/f0030-062.jpg" title="f0030-06" width="562" height="713"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>JIM McKENNY&hellip;Six-Goal Surge</b></figcaption></div><p>As a result, the Oilers climbed from third place to second, and were closing in on first-place Fort Worth, with the Texans only five points in front.</p><p>The Oilers had been plagued by a long string of disappointments in overtime play, principally in the playoffs (the CHL didn&rsquo;t adopt overtime play for regularseason games until this year).</p><p>Tulsa hadn&rsquo;t won an overtime game since April 6, 1969. The losing skein stretched to 10 games when the Oilers dropped a 6-5 decision in Kansas City. Oct. 30. They changed their luck by playing to a 4-4 overtime tie in Dallas, Dec. 9. But that meant 11 straight overtime games without victory until they grabbed two in a row just before Christmas! Those overtime playoff losses included the last two games of Kansas City&rsquo;s sweep of last spring&rsquo;s Adams Cup playoff finals, and both those losses were in Tulsa.</p><p>The format of the two overtime victories was quite different. At home the Oilers had to come back from a two-goal deficit. In Kansas City they mounted a three-goal advantage, and blew it!</p><p>In Tulsa, Wings&rsquo; Kevin Schamehorn and Fern LeBlanc scored in the opening minutes. Stan Weir scored for Tulsa late in the first period, but Bob Ritchie made it 3-1 for KC in the second.</p><p>Brian Hill launched the Oiler come back early in the third, and Weir tied the game on a power play with 7:47 left in regulation time. The Tulsans had to kill a penalty in the closing minutes of the third period, before Manno won the game in overtime.</p><p>It was a different script in Kansas City the next night. Brad Gassoff&rsquo;s early Tulsa goal was matched by Ritchie, but Jeff Bandura made it 2-1 for the Oilers before the first period ended. Rob Flockhart and Weir (on a power play) raised the count to 4-1 late in the second.</p><p>Rick Vasko scored for Kansas City as the second period ended, and J.P. LeBlanc got the Wings&rsquo; third straight power goal at 2:11 of the third period. With 1:11 remaining, goalie Terry Richardson was lifted, and Mike Bloom got the tying goal at the one-minute mark.</p><p>Even though KC dominated the extra period, allowing the Oilers only two shots, the second shot was all Tulsa needed. Weir stole the puck in the KC end to set up Tudor in front of the net.</p><p>Weir had three goals and two assists in the two games, running his point total to 42, but still trailed league-leader Richie Hansen of Fort Worth by seven. Tudor&rsquo;s fourth winning goal of the season tied him with Kansas City&rsquo;s Don Martineau and J.P. LeBlanc for the league lead in that category.</p><p>The Oilers lost left wing Brad Gassoff on an emergency callup to Vancouver Canucks, replacing the injured Pit Martin. &ldquo;Gasser&rdquo; had scored in 10 straight games, counting five goals and 13 assists in that span.</p><p>Goalie Mike Belhumeur. who had missed 15 games with torn ankle ligaments, was back in uniform and almost ready for starting duty.</p><p><b>DALLAS</b>: Three straight victories, including one on the road, propelled Gerry McNamara&rsquo;s Black Hawks into a third-place tie with Kansas City, only two points out of second. Two of those triumphs were over the archrival Fort Worth Texans, pulling the clubs even in the turnpike series, 5-5.</p><p>Defenseman Jim McKenny, recently arrived from the Toronto Maple Leafs, was the big gun in the three victories, collecting six goals and two assists with a hat trick against Kansas City. Four of Jim&rsquo;s tallies came on power plays. Rocky Saganiuk and Don Ashby each had seven points for the week, and Paul Evans six.</p><p>To start the week the Hawks overpowered Kansas City, 7-5, in Dallas, scoring four unanswered goals (three by McKenny) in the second period.</p><p>Greg Vaydik and Evans had put Dallas in front, but Fern LeBlanc and Roland Cloutier tied it up. However, Ron Wilson&rsquo;s power play goal made it 3-2 for the Hawks before the first period ended. McKenny&rsquo;s trio, and another by Evans, made it 7-2 after two. KC&rsquo;s third-period rally included a goal from Fern LeBlanc and two by Al McDonough, the last an empty-netter with 53 seconds left, as the Wings pulled their goalies on a power play.</p><p>Fort Worth broke in front at home and next night, but Dallas got two goals by McKenny and one by Saganiuk in the middle period for a 3-3 tie. Saganiuk had the winning goal in the third period and Dan Hinton scored into the empty net with 31 seconds to play, clinching the 5-3 triumph.</p><p>At home the next night the Hawks again had to fight from behind. Evans scored in the first, and then a three-goal second period (Kirk Bowman, Evans again, and McKenny) made it 4-2. Ashby raised it to 5-2 in the third.</p><p><b>KANSAS CITY</b>: Three straight losses, the last two in overtime had Red Wing coach Larry Wilson climbing the walls. His Wings had scored 12 goals in those three nights, but had given up 16!</p><p>The overtime setbacks against Tulsa, dropping the Wings from second place into a third-place tie with Dallas, were the eighth and ninth extra-length games for Kansas City this season. The Wings had a 3-5-1 record in overtime play.</p><p>With Phoenix dropping out of the CHL. Kansas City was left with a 12-day layoff before an exhibition game against the touring Russian Dynamos in Kemper Arena.</p><p>Injuries and callups left the Wings with only four defensemen, including converted center Fred Williams, and Wilson was forced to go with three blue-liners part of the time. Captain Larry Giroux was summoned to Detroit, and J.P. LeBlanc inherited the &ldquo;C&rdquo;.</p><p>Rick Vasko came down from Detroit, but didn&rsquo;t arrive until after the game had started in Dallas. He played the second and third periods.</p><p>The Wings were getting great scoring from their &ldquo;French Collection&rdquo; of Roland Cloutier and the two LeBlancs (no relation). Fern LeBlanc and Al McDonough scored two goals each in the 7-5 loss at Dallas, with Cloutier getting the other tally.</p><p><b>FORT WORTH</b>: Richie Hansen&rsquo;s scoring was about the only bright spot in the Texans&rsquo; picture. He had two goals and two assists in a pair of games, boosting his league-leading total to 49 points. His 34 assists also led the. league in that category.</p><p>Rookie right wing Yvon Vautour was sidelined with a broken hand, and ace defenseman Neil Nicholson with a deep bone bruise on a hand. Forwards Bill Hogaboam and Dave Salvian came back from pneumonia and a bruised knee, respectively.</p><p>Two losses to turnpike rival Dallas, 5-3 at home and 5-2 in Dallas, ran the Texans&rsquo; losing streak to three, and they had dropped five of their last seven starts. Their first-place margin, which stood at 13 points Thanksgiving week, had dwindled to five points by Christmas.</p><p><b>SALT LAKE</b>: With the loss of Phoenix from the schedule, the Golden Eagles had a 10-day layoff, and were hoping to have veteran Lyle Bradley back in the lineup by that time. He was hospitalized with a broken blood vessel in his right thigh.</p><p>While the Eagles were hoping to extend a three-game winning streak on their return to action, they were piling up games in hand. They were in last place. 10 points out of first, and five out of third. But before the Eagles returned to play, they would have five games in hand on Dallas and Fort Worth, seven on Tulsa and Kansas City.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0030-05

Oilers Snap 8-Year Overtime Jinx; Texans See Point Margin Dwindle

<h2><b>AMERICAN LEAGUE</b></h2><p><b>(Standings On Tue. Jan. 10)</b></p><h3><b>NORTHERN DIVISION</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-01316/4120436-1-eng-US/f0031-012.jpg" title="f0031-01" width="594" height="135"></div><h3><b>SOUTHERN DIVISION</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-02239/4120429-1-eng-US/f0031-022.jpg" title="f0031-02" width="590" height="164"></div><h2><b>GAMES COMPLETED</b></h2><p><b>Tue. Jan. 3</b></p><p>Nova Scotia 4 at Hampton 3</p><p><b>Wed. Jan. 4</b></p><p>Nova Scotia 0 at Hershey 2</p><p>Binghamton 3 at New Haven 4</p><p><b>Thu. Jan. 5</b></p><p>Nova Scotia 4 at Binghamton 2</p><p>Maine 3 at Hampton 0</p><p><b>Fri. Jan. 6</b></p><p>Springfield 2 at New Haven 5</p><p>Maine 1 at Rochester 7</p><p><b>Sat. Jan. 7</b></p><p>New Haven 3 at Hampton 0</p><p>Rochester 4 at Hershey 4</p><p>Nova Scotia 5 at Maine 2</p><p>Binghamton 2 at Springfield 8</p><p><b>Sun. Jan. 8</b></p><p>Springfield 3 at Rochester 4</p><h2><b>LEADING SCORERS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-03186/4120422-1-eng-US/f0031-032.jpg" title="f0031-03" width="595" height="573"></div><h2><b>GOALING RECORDS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-04146/4120415-1-eng-US/f0031-042.jpg" title="f0031-04" width="592" height="910"></div><p><b>Shutouts, Mig, Lemelin and Pettie, 2 each.</b></p><p><b>MaKenzie, Wolfe, St. Crois and Holland, 1 each</b></p><h2><b>CENTRAL LEAGUE</b></h2><p><b>(Standings on Wed. Jan. 4)</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-05129/4120408-1-eng-US/f0031-052.jpg" title="f0031-05" width="593" height="219"></div><h2><b>LEADING SCORERS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-06102/4120401-1-eng-US/f0031-062.jpg" title="f0031-06" width="590" height="329"></div><h2><b>GOALING RECORDS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-0789/4120394-1-eng-US/f0031-072.jpg" title="f0031-07" width="587" height="299"></div><h2><b>INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE</b></h2><p><b>(Standings On Tue. Jan. 10)</b></p><h3><b>NORTHERN DIVISION</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-0880/4120387-1-eng-US/f0031-082.jpg" title="f0031-08" width="597" height="165"></div><h3><b>SOUTHERN DIVISION</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-0966/4120380-1-eng-US/f0031-092.jpg" title="f0031-09" width="605" height="136"></div><h2><b>GAMES COMPLETED</b></h2><p><b>Tue. Jan. 3</b></p><p>saginaw 5 at Kalamazoo 3</p><p><b>Wed. Jan. 4</b></p><p>Flint 3 at Toledo 7</p><p>Muskegon 5 at Milwaukee 1</p><p>Fort Wayne 4 at Grand Rapids 3</p><p><b>Fri. Jan. 6</b></p><p>Port Huron 1 at Muskegon 4</p><p>Milwaukee 3 at Flint 5</p><p>Fort Wayne 2 at Kalamazoo 7</p><p>Saginaw 5 at Toledo 2</p><p><b>Sat. Jan. 7</b></p><p>Milwaukee 2 at Muskegon 5</p><p>Grand Rapids 3 at Port Huron 4</p><p>Toledo 4 at Saginaw 6</p><p>Flint 3 at Kalamazoo 5</p><p><b>Sun. Jan. 8</b></p><p>Kalamazoo 1 at Port Huron 5</p><p>Grand Rapids 3 at Flint 10</p><p>Fort Wayne 4 at Saginaw 3</p><p>Muskegon 5 at Toledo 5</p><h2><b>LEADING SCORERS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-1054/4120373-1-eng-US/f0031-102.jpg" title="f0031-10" width="600" height="434"></div><h2><b>PACIFIC HOCKEY LEAGUE</b></h2><p><b>(Standings on Wed. Jan. 4)</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-1145/4120366-1-eng-US/f0031-112.jpg" title="f0031-11" width="599" height="161"></div><h2><b>GAMES COMPLETED</b></h2><p><b>Sun. Dec. 25</b></p><p>San Francisco 5 at San Diogo 7</p><p><b>Mon. Dec. 26</b></p><p>San Diego 2 at San Francisco 1</p><p><b>Tue. Dec. 27</b></p><p>Phoenox 1 at San Francisco 4</p><p><b>Fri. Dec. 30</b></p><p>San Francisco 4 at Long Beach 5</p><p><b>Wed. Jan. 4</b></p><p><b>Long Beach 3 at San Francisco 5</b></p><h2><b>GAMES TO COME</b></h2><p><b>Fri. Jan. 6</b></p><p>San Diogo at San Francisco</p><p><b>Sat. Jan. 7</b></p><p>Long Beach at San Diogo</p><p>Phoenix at San Francisco</p><p><b>Tue. Jan. 10</b></p><p>Phoenix at Long Beach</p><p><b>Thu. Jan. 12</b></p><p>Long Beach at San Diogo</p><p>San Francisco at Phoenix</p><p><b>Sat. Jan. 14</b></p><p>Phoenix 1 at San Francisco 4</p><p><b>Sun. Jan. 15</b></p><p>San Diego at Long Beach</p><p><b>Wed. Jan. 18</b></p><p>San Diogo at Phoenix</p><p><b>Fri. Jan. 20</b></p><p><b>San Francisco at San Diogo</b></p><p>Phoenix at Long Beach</p><p><b>Sat. Jan. 21</b></p><p>Long Beach at Phoenix</p><h2><b>LEADING SCORERS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-1226/4120359-1-eng-US/f0031-122.jpg" title="f0031-12" width="596" height="306"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0031-01

Looking At The Minor League Scoreboard

<h2><b>NHL TEAMS</b></h2><p>1&mdash;Montreal</p><p>2&mdash;Chicago</p><p>3&mdash;Boston</p><p>4&mdash;Rangers</p><p>5&mdash;Detroit</p><p>6&mdash;Toronto</p><p>7&mdash;Philadelphia</p><p>8&mdash;Los Angeles</p><p>9&mdash;St Louis</p><p>10&mdash;Minnesota</p><p>11&mdash;Pittsburgh</p><p>12&mdash;Islanders</p><p>13&mdash;Vancouver</p><p>14&mdash;Buffalo</p><p>15&mdash;Atlanta</p><p>18&mdash;Cleveland</p><p>17&mdash;Colorado</p><p>18&mdash;Washington</p><h2><b>WHA TEAMS</b></h2><p>19&mdash;New England</p><p>20&mdash;Quebec</p><p>21&mdash;Winnipeg</p><p>22&mdash;Houston</p><p>23&mdash;Indianapolis</p><p>24&mdash;Edmonton</p><p>25&mdash;Cincinnati</p><p>26&mdash;Birmingham</p><h2><b>INTER-LEAGUE</b></h2><p>27&mdash;Boston (NHL) & St. Louis (NHL)</p><p>28&mdash;Montreal (NHL) & Atlanta (NHL)</p><p>29&mdash;Pittsburgh (NHL) & Houston (WHA)</p><p>30&mdash;Washington (NHL) & Buffalo (NHL)</p><p>31&mdash;Independent</p><p>32&mdash;New England. Birmingham, Cincinnati and Quebec (all WHA).</p><p>33&mdash;Los Angeles (NHL) & New England (WHA)</p><p>35&mdash;Chicago (NHL) & Toronto (NHL)</p><p>36&mdash;Vancouver (NHL) & Atlanta (NHL)</p><p>37&mdash;Islanders (NHL) & Minnesota (NHL)</p><p>40&mdash;Detroit (NHL) & Atlanta (NHL)</p><p>41&mdash;St.Louis (NHL) & Washington (NHL)</p><p>42&mdash;Chicago (NHL) & Colorado (NHL)</p><p>43&mdash;Vancouver (NHL) & Minnesota (NHL)</p><p>44&mdash;Buffalo (NHL) & Philadelphia (NHL)</p><p>45&mdash;Islanders (NHL) & Atlanta (NHL)</p><p>46&mdash;Rangers (NHL) & Cleveland (NHL)<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

Who They’re Affiliated With…

<div class="byline">BY TOM BURKE</div><p>PROVIDENCE&mdash;</p><p>The setting was familiar, but Bill Selman was acting differently.</p><p>Selman, the effusive coach of St. Louis University&rsquo;s hockey team, has lived a missionary&rsquo;s existence for most of his seven seasons as Billikens mentor. Wherever competition was available, from Denver to Boston, Selman would bring his Bills and seek out believers in the cause of big time college hockey outside the Western Collegiate Hockey Association and the Central Collegiate Hockey Association.</p><p>But at this year&rsquo;s Old Colony Invitational Tournament, hosted by Brown University at Meehan Auditorium, Selman was thinking as much about the tuneup value of playing three games in three nights against Eastern College Athletic Association Division One competition as he was about finding converts to CCHA hockey.</p><p>&ldquo;This is the kind of competition that&rsquo;ll get us ready for the NCAA&rsquo;s.&rdquo; he explained. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got to get used to pressure, and you get it in a tournament like this.&rdquo;</p><p>Following the holiday season. St. Louis and the other five members of the fast improving CCHA will concentrate solely on conference games. Now that the CCHA champion is allowed to play the WCHA runnerup in a one game duel for the second Western berth in the NCAA championship Tournament, the Billikens. Bowling Green, and the others in the league need not worry about making it to the top through the opinion polls.</p><p>Actually, the NCAA Tournament Committee could conceivably select Air Force, the only major independent hockey outfit, if their record were good enough. But since St. Louis handled the Falcons 12-0 and 8-2, such a possibility this year is remote at best.</p><p>&ldquo;This has been a very frustrating year for us,&rdquo; said Selman, whose team is a deep and talented one expected to take the CCHA pennant.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-04105/4120557-1-eng-US/f0032-042.jpg" title="f0032-04" width="560" height="702"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>BRIAN O&rsquo;CONNELL&hellip;Sparkled In Goal</b></figcaption></div><p>&ldquo;With the exception of the Air Force series we&rsquo;ve just been playing well enough to win most of our games. We&rsquo;re a veteran team that&rsquo;s just over.500.&rdquo;</p><p>The Brown Tournament was a perfect example of the Bills&rsquo; playing just enough. Though they won the three night, round robin event with a trio of victories, each win came by just one goal. The first night it was 5-4 over the East&rsquo;s eighth place team, Northeastern. Next came last place Colgate, and the Bills got by them 2-1 with the winning goal coming in the last two minutes of play.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-0565/4120550-1-eng-US/f0032-052.jpg" title="f0032-05" width="557" height="695"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>DOUG BUTLER&hellip;Named Tourney MVP</b></figcaption></div><p>For the title, the Bills scored twice in the first period against fourth place Brown, and goalie Brian O&rsquo;Connell made the pair of scores stand up for another 2-1 squeaker. Junior defenseman Doug Butler was named MVP of the tournament. His unassisted tally at 7:49 of the third frame proved the winning goal against Northeastern in the opener.</p><p>While Brown lost the championship of its event, they still vaulted to fourth in the East since the wins of 7-1 over Colgate and 3-1 over Northeastern were both league games.</p><p>&ldquo;They were very important wins for us,&rdquo; said coach Dick Toomey. &ldquo;That makes us 6-2 and if we&rsquo;d been 5-3 going into January we would have been right back with another half dozen or so teams. This gives us a little edge.&rdquo;</p><p>Northeastern whipped Colgate in the final night&rsquo;s early game to even its record at 3-3 in league play. The Red Raiders dropped to 0-6 in the division.</p><p>Even though St. Louis won the Brown event and had another chance coming up the following week against Harvard. Denver, and Colorado College in the World Arena Tournament, don&rsquo;t look for further concessions on NCAA Tournament placement to be requested by the CCHA. at least this season Both Lake Superior and Western Michigan were invited to the Great Lakes Tournament, and Bowling Green went to Cornell&rsquo;s Holiday Tourney; still, the six-team CCHA probably won&rsquo;t complain about getting closer to the NCAA&rsquo;s than a game with the WCHA runnerup, even if CCHA teams win all the tournaments in which they play.</p><p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think we&rsquo;ll ask for more, at least now,&rdquo; said Selman. &ldquo;We are just six teams, after all, where the WCHA is 10 and the ECAC is 17. Maybe we could request that our winner get home ice against the WCHA runnerup in the playoff rather than a neutral site. But something like an automatic berth? No, I don&rsquo;t think so.&rdquo;</p><p>Other than the Brown Tournament, the week before Christmas was very quiet. Just Boston College and Harvard carried the ECAC banner, skating out to the Midwest. The Eagles had an easy time with Gustavus Adolphus, winning 7-0, then waited a night for Harvard to nip Notre Dame 4-3, with John Corcoran&rsquo;s tally at 13:07 of the third period providing the margin of victory.</p><p>BC then dumped the Irish 8-4 behind a four-goal game by junior Joe Mullen. Both games were held in Bloomington, Minnesota, and provided a good start for ECAC teams against WCHA competition over the holidays. A handful of other East teams planned to go West after Christmas.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0032-04

St. Louis Sets Sights On NCAA’s After Billikens Win Brown Tourney

<h2><b>HOW THEY STAND</b></h2><h2><b>WCHA CONFERENCE</b></h2><p><b>(Standings on Sun. Dec. 18)</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-01321/4120519-1-eng-US/f0032-012.jpg" title="f0032-01" width="602" height="304"></div><h2><b>GAMES COMPLETED</b></h2><p>Harvard 4, Notre Dame 3</p><p>Boston College 8, Notre Dame 4</p><p>Minnesota 2, Brown University 0</p><p>Minnesota 6, Providence 4</p><p>Duluth 4, Brown University 1</p><p>Providence 9, Duluth 5</p><p>North Dakota 8, Northern Michigan 4</p><p>Northern Michigan 5, North Dakota 4</p><p>Michigan 4, Lake Superior State 3 (ot)</p><p>Michigan Tech 6, Western Michigan 2</p><p>Michigan Tech 8, Michigan 3</p><p>Harvard 6, Colorado College 4</p><p>Denver 6, St. Louis 4</p><p>Colorado College 7, St. Louis 4</p><p>Denver 3, Harvard 2 (ot)</p><p>Wisconsin 5, St. Lawrence 2</p><p>Wisconsin 3, St. Lawrence 2</p><p>Boston U. 7, Michigan State 5</p><p>Boston U. 6, Michigan State 3</p><h2><b>CCHA CONFERENCE</b></h2><p><b>(Standings On Mon. Dec. 19)</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-02245/4120512-1-eng-US/f0032-022.jpg" title="f0032-02" width="581" height="237"></div><h2><b>College Races</b></h2><h2><b>ECAC CONFERENCE</b></h2><p><b>(Standings on Mon. Jan. 2)</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-03171/4120505-1-eng-US/f0032-032.jpg" title="f0032-03" width="597" height="489"></div><h2><b>GAMES COMPLETED</b></h2><p>Boston College 8, Notre-Dame 4</p><p>Providence 4, St. Louis 2</p><p>Boston University 8, Air Force 7</p><p>Boston College 6, Air Force 1</p><p>Minnesota 2, Brown 0</p><p>Boston University 7, Michigan State 5</p><p>Minnesota-Duluth 4, Brown 1</p><p>Providence 9, Minnesota-Duluth 4</p><p>Minnesota 6, Providence 4</p><p>Wisconsin 5, St. Lawrence 3</p><p>Wisconsin 3, St. Lawrence 2</p><p>New Hampshire 7, Pennsylvania 5</p><p>Boston University 6, Michigan State 3</p><p>Boston College 7, Gustavus Adolphus 0</p><p>Harvard 4, Notre-Dame 3</p><h2><b>RPI TOURNAMENT</b></h2><p>RPI 6. St. Mary&rsquo;s 4</p><p>Ohio State 10, St. Mary&rsquo;s 7</p><p>Ohio State 5, McGill 2</p><p>RPI 8, McGill 0</p><p>St. Mary&rsquo;s 8, McGill 3</p><p>RPI 5, Ohio State 5 (Ohio State won championship)</p><h2><b>WORLD ARENA TOURNAMENT</b></h2><p>Harvard 6, Colorado College 4</p><p>Denver 6, St. Louis 4</p><p>Colorado College 7, St. Louis 4</p><p>Denver 3, Harvard 2 ot (Denver won championship)</p><h2><b>SYRACUSE TOURNAMENT</b></h2><p>Clarkson 8, Vermont 5</p><p>Colgate 5. Yale 3</p><p>Yale 4, Vermont 3 ot</p><p>Clarkson 7, Colgate 2 (Clarkson won championship)</p><h2><b>CORNELL TOURNAMENT</b></h2><p>Bowling Green 5, Dartmouth 2</p><p>Cornell 10, Toronto 5</p><p>Dartmouth 7, Toronto 3</p><p>Cornell 5, Bowling Green 3 (Cornell won championship)</p><h2><b>COD FISH BOWL TOURNAMENT</b></h2><p>Salem State 4, Lowell 3</p><p>Boston State 8, St. Anselm&rsquo;s 5</p><p>St. Anselm&rsquo;s 8, Lowell 7</p><p>Salem State 8, Boston State 2 (Salem State won championship)</p><h2><b>BROWN TOURNAMENT</b></h2><p>St. Louis 5, Northeastern 4</p><p>Brown 7, Colgate 1</p><p>St. Louis 2, Colgate 1</p><p>Brown 3, Northeastern 1</p><p>Northeastern 10, Colgate 4</p><p>St. Louis 2, Brown 1 (St. Louis won championship)</p><h2><b>MID-CENTRAL CONFERENCE</b></h2><p><b>(Standings on Mon. Dec. 19)</b></p><h3><b>CONFERENCE PLAY</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-01288/4120498-1-eng-US/f0033-012.jpg" title="f0033-01" width="596" height="191"></div><h3><b>OVERALL GAMES</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-02217/4120491-1-eng-US/f0033-022.jpg" title="f0033-02" width="589" height="190"></div><h2><b>GAMES COMPLETED</b></h2><p>Miami 8 Eastern Michigan 1</p><p>Miami 4 Eastern Michigan 3</p><p>Hillsdale 5 Cincinnati 2</p><p>Michigan-Dearborn 6 Cincinnati 5</p><p>Hillsdale 7 Michigan-Dearborn 6</p><p>Eastern Michigan 6 Michigan-Dearborn 2</p><p>Hillsdale 5 Eastern Michigan 1</p><h2><b>NON CONFERENCE</b></h2><p>Hillsdale 14 St. Xavier 6</p><p>Hillsdale 5 St. Savier 5</p><p>Elmyria 7 Miami 1</p><p>Elmyria 5 Miami 4<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0032-01

COLLEGE HOCKEY

<div class="byline">BY TOM BURKE</div><p>SYRACUSE&mdash;</p><p>There was plenty of tournament activity to whet the college hockey palates over the holidays.</p><p>In action involving Division One schools, Clarkson and Cornell emerged winners in upstate New York while RPI and Harvard were barely nosed out.</p><p>Clarkson solidified its third place hold and moved to an 8-2 league record, mowing down Vermont 8-5 and Colgate 7-2 in the Syracuse Invitational. The Golden Knights scored in bunches during the third period of each game to ensure the title, grabbing two goals in the last seven minutes against Vermont and five goals in the last 10 minutes against Colgate. Marty McNally was named tourney MVP and collected six points. Colgate goalie Drew Schafer had 31 saves against Yale in his team&rsquo;s 5-3 opening round victory, and had 38 in the first two periods of the final before the roof fell in.</p><p>Colgate&rsquo;s win was their first divisional triumph of the season, a come from behind affair, keyed by Ken Moodie&rsquo;s two goals. Yale tipped Vermont 4-3 in overtime in the consolation match, with Danny Brugman&rsquo;s tally the winner.</p><p>Harvard just has no luck against Denver. After beating Colorado College 6-4 in the opener of the World Arena Tournament at the Broad-moor, the Johns lost a thriller to WCHA kingpin Denver when Mark Falcone tallied with just 54 seconds left in the overtime period to lift the Pioneers to a 3-2 decision. Defenseman Jack Hughes of Harvard was named MVP of the tourney.</p><p>Cornell made its first Invitational Tournament on home ice a success by whipping Toronto 10-5 and edging powerful CCHA representative Bowling Green 5-3. BG had dumped Dartmouth 5-2 in its first round game.</p><p>RPI and Ohio State tied 5-5 in the last game of RPI&rsquo;s 27th Annual Invitational at Troy. But the Buckeyes took the title since they had scored more goals in the event.</p><p>In the East&rsquo;s Division Two, the Union Tournament was cancelled following the walkout of 22 players after Ned Harkness&rsquo; resignation as coach. In the Codfish Bowl, Salem State took the honors, whaling Boston State 8-2 behind a hat trick by Dan Kreiner. Salem had nipped Lowell 4-3 and Boston defeated St. Anselm&rsquo;s 8-5 to earn berths in the tourney finals.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-03163/4120595-1-eng-US/f0033-032.jpg" title="f0033-03" width="512" height="790"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>JACK HUGHES&hellip;Tournament MVP</b></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-04129/4120588-1-eng-US/f0033-042.jpg" title="f0033-04" width="1107" height="1424"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Clarkson defenseman Marty McNally, right, shown with teammate Murray Wright, is making a habit of winning tournament MVP awards. McNally, who was the North Country&rsquo;s best tourney player over Thanksgiving, came away with the same honor in the Syracuse Invitational. Wright was chosen all-tourney defenseman in the North Country event.</b></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0033-03

Clarkson, Cornell Show Class In Winning Tournaments

<div class="byline">BY VIRG FOSS</div><p>GRAND FORKS&mdash;</p><p>If holiday season play is any indication, look for Denver, Michigan Tech and Minnesota to make some noises as the Western Collegiate Hockey Association goes into its stretch drive.</p><p>Michigan Tech, always a WCHA power, has won five straight games and capped it off by beating WCHA pre-season favorite Michigan 8-3 for the Great Lakes Invitational title.</p><p>The Huskies climbed back into contention in the WCHA by winning three straight in the league, topping Notre Dame (once) and Michigan (twice).</p><p>Coach John Maclnnes&rsquo; Huskies then ripped Western Michigan 6-2 and Michigan to repeat as Great Lakes Invitational champs.</p><p>Denver shows no signs of slacking off from its great league start. The Pioneers, coached by first-year mentor Marshall Johnston, took the World Arena Tournament at the Broad-moor in Colorado Springs after Christmas.</p><p>Denver downed St. Louis 6-4 in the opening game, then overcame stubborn Harvard 3-2 in overtime for the championship. Denver continues to be ranked as the top college hockey team in the United States.</p><p>Minnesota enjoyed success without the benefit of tournament play. Coach Herb Brooks&rsquo; Gophers polished off Ohio State 10-4 and 3-0, then downed Brown 2-0 and Providence 6-4.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-05104/4120626-1-eng-US/f0033-052.jpg" title="f0033-05" width="530" height="694"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>JOHN MacINNES&hellip;Has Huskies Rolling</b></figcaption></div><p>Goalie Steve Janaszak was a major factor in Minnesota&rsquo;s four-game non-league winning streak. He posted back-to-back shutouts (over Ohio State and Brown) before seeing his scoreless string snapped by Providence.</p><p>Coach Gus Hendrickson gave freshman goalie Bill Perkl a starting chance and Perkl had a rough night of it. He gave up all nine goals, including five by Providence&rsquo;s Colin Ahern, while making just 23 saves.</p><p>Scoring punch has been the reason for Duluth&rsquo;s turnaround. &ldquo;Were earlier in the season we found enough shots but not enough goals in the net, now we have found the net and have racked up a lot of goals. It&rsquo;s about time,&rdquo; Hendrickson said.</p><p>Hendrickson also had praise for senior goalie Rick Heinz, who was in the nets while Duluth built its five-game winning streak. &ldquo;No one in the league has been playing better than Heinz,&rdquo; Henrickson said. &ldquo;He has just been super.&rdquo;</p><p>North Dakota, which lost six key seniors by graduation, has had little to cheer about.</p><p>But one big cheer should go to prize freshman wing Doug Smail, from Moose Jaw, Sask., who has been sensational for the Sioux.</p><p>Smail racked up 30 points in North Dakota&rsquo;s first 18 games and has a shot at the school record for most points in a season, 65, set by Reg Morelli almost 20 years ago.</p><p>The jet-fast Smail has seven goals in his last six games, along with four assists. He already tied one school record with six assists early in the year in an 8-4 win over Michigan State.</p><p>League play resumed Jan. 6-8 with Michigan Tech visiting Colorado College, Denver at North Dakota, Michigan at Wisconsin, Notre Dame at Minnesota and Duluth at Michigan State.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0033-05

Michigan Tech Looms Tough Winning Great Lakes Tourney

<div class="byline">BY BUD GALLMEIER</div><p>FORT WAYNE&mdash;</p><p>As the International Hockey League season approaches the halfway point strong contenders for division titles are emerging. The South Division is shaping up as a two-team battle between the Fort Wayne Komets and Toledo Goaldiggers.</p><p>In the North, three teams have staked claims. Defending champion Saginaw apparently has put things together and is now threatening to break away from the field. Still close are Flint and Port Huron.</p><p>As the league played a rather sparse schedule over Christmas. Fort Wayne was skating two points up on Toledo in the South. However, the Diggers were even in the win column one game up in the loss column and have three games in hand on the Komets.</p><p>The Komets&rsquo; lead over third-place Grand Rapids and Milwaukee was nine points.</p><p>Saginaw, which struggled early, has now won seven in a row to take over the front-row seat in the North Divison. But the Gears enjoyed the holiday with a slim two-point margin over Flint and just four away from third-place Port Huron.</p><p>Muskegon and Kalamazoo were locked together at the bottom of the ladder&mdash;17 points out of first place. The two are also six points in arrears to Grand Rapids and Milwaukee of the South which puts both in a precarious position in regards to post-season playoff competition. Both can make it only if they manage more points than the bottom-place finisher in the south. The top eight teams will enter the post-season party regardless of division affiliation.</p><p>Here&rsquo;s a look at the most recent week that was in the IHL:</p><p><b>SAGINAW</b>: The Gears continued to explode offensively both at home and on the road as they set a new team record with seven straight victories. The seventh win was the most pleasant&mdash;a 7-3 thumping of North rival Flint. Flint had taken the Gears in three of the four previous meetings.</p><p>The impressive triumph capped a perfect three-for-three outing. The sequence started with an 8-3 romp at Kalamazoo and then came a 7-0 shutout over Muskegon. Lorne Molleken was in the nets and it was the youngster&rsquo;s first shutout in two years and his first as a pro.</p><p>Molleken, who was picked up from Fort Wayne on waivers, had a pretty sound reason for the Gears&rsquo; winning surge.</p><p>&ldquo;It started on our trip to Milwaukee. There aren&rsquo;t many long road trips in this league and usually the guys will go their separate ways. But we were together for five days on the trip to Milwaukee and we got to know each other real well. I know I was pretty much of a stranger to everybody before that trip,&rdquo; Molleken said.</p><p><b>FLINT:</b> Save for the thumping at Saginaw, the Generals had a pretty good week. They broke a six-game losing streak on Toledo ice by salvaging a 4-4 tie with the Goaldiggers. It was a far cry from the generals&rsquo; showing on the previous Toledo visit this season&mdash;a game which saw the Diggers humiliate Flint, 14-3.</p><p>The Generals also displayed considerable muscle when Toledo tried to intimidate them. This was, probably, the most encouraging factor to coach Doug Carpenter.</p><p>Following the 7-3 loss at Saginaw, the Generals closed the week with a 5-2 win over Kalamazoo at home in a game which saw Carpenter ejected for becoming involved in a stick fight with the Wings&rsquo; Alvin White. Both awaited disciplinary action from commissioner Bill Beagan.</p><p>Earlier, the Generals were met with some shocking and bad news. Complaining of short wind and running a temperature, defenseman Gary Platt underwent testing and it was discovered he has contracted a serious blood disease. Gary has returned to his home in Montreal where he is undergoing further testing and treatment. Whether or not he&rsquo;ll return to Flint lineup is not known. Carpenter was obviously shaken by the incident.</p><p>With Platt&rsquo;s loss, the newcomers have joined the Flint lineup, both defensemen. One is Terry McDonald who also skates left-wing and comes to Flint via Phoenix which just folded from the CHL. Also, Ron Heaslip joined the Generals after playing three years of collegiate hockey at Michigan State where he didn&rsquo;t like it because, with NCAA rules, everytime he fought&mdash;he was suspended.</p><p>The top five Generals scorers all rank in the IHL&rsquo;s 15 leading scorers. Jim Johnston leads the league in points, assists, and is tied with Saginaws&rsquo; Warren Holmes for the goal leadership. Rookie Joe Contini has 37 points and is a strong candidate for freshman of the year honors.</p><p><b>PORT HURON:</b> The Flags lost ground on front-skating Saginaw&mdash;but through no fault of their own. A break in the schedule called the Flags to duty just once and they responded with a 4-2 win over Milwaukee at home.</p><p><b>KALAMAZOO:</b> The Wings&rsquo; modest three-game winning streak came to an end at Toledo where the K-Wings dropped a 2-1 heartbreaker. The Wings rebounded with a 3-2 win over Grand Rapids, managed a 4-4 tie at Muskegon and then lost a 5-2 decision at Flint.</p><p>The game at Muskegon featured ejection notices for both Len Ircandia and goalie Richard Sevigny. The two became involved in a hot dispute, with referee Todd Larson following Muskegon&rsquo;s third goal which tied the game at 3-3. It appeared Dan Poulin was tripped while bringing the puck out from behind the Kalamazoo net. No penalty was called and Muskegon&rsquo;s Hector Marini picked up the loose puck and beat Sevigny.</p><p>Ircandia threw just about everything that wasn&rsquo;t nailed down, including his stick which caught teammate Jeff McDill in the back of the head. McDill had to leave the game. Sevigny put a headlock on linesman Dave Fisher.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-02255/4120688-1-eng-US/f0034-022.jpg" title="f0034-02" width="560" height="637"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>JIM JOHNSTON&hellip;Scoring leader</b></figcaption></div><p><b>MUSKEGON</b>: The Mohawks continued to stumble. They lost a 7-0 decision at Saginaw and then could do no better than play a 4-4 tie with Kalamazoo. The K-Wings, who had been in the North Division cellar since the start of the season, have now pulled even with Moose Lallo&rsquo;s club.</p><p><b>FORT WAYNE</b>: A four-day layoff following an impressive, 4-0 victory at Milwaukee, didn&rsquo;t do the Komets much good. The same Milwaukee club invaded the Memorial Coliseum Christmas Night and whipped the Komets, 6-4. A three-goal third-period rally made the game close but Milwaukee was in control most of the game, especially during a four-goal second period</p><p><b>TOLEDO</b>: The Diggers picked up a little ground on first-place Fort Wayne with a 2-1 victory over Kalamazoo and a 4-4 tie with Flint. Both games were at home.</p><p><b>GRAND RAPIDS</b>: The Owls haven&rsquo;t found their new home very hospitable. Since moving to the Michigan City from Dayton, the Owls are winless. In Grand Rapids they have one tie and a pair of losses.</p><p><b>MILWAUKEE</b>: The Admirals finally snapped out of a prolonged scoring famine in Fort Wayne, ending a four-game winless streak against the Komets with a 6-4 victory.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0034-02

Gears Stretch Win Streak To Seven As Divisional Contenders Scramble

<p>SAN FRANCISCO&mdash;</p><p>If nothing else, through two weeks of play in the new Pacific Hockey League the San Francisco Shamrocks have been the busiest club&mdash;going to the post five times, three of them in the Cow Palace.</p><p>The Shamrocks, under playing coach Wayne Rivers, pulled into a first place tie with San Diego Jan. 4 with a 5-3 win over Teddy McCaskill&rsquo;s Long Beach Sharks.</p><p>It wasn&rsquo;t exactly a tidy contest, producing 79 minutes in penalties which included six fighting majors and three misconducts.</p><p>San Francisco got goals from Norm Cournoyer, Bill Humphrey, Bob Sunderland, Mike Bascom and Steve Cardwell, the latter started by goaltender Paul Hoganson, who picked up the first goaltending assist in the new league.</p><p>Greg Waymer, Dale Smedsmo and Bob O&rsquo;Reilly scored for the Sharks.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

Frisco Shamrocks Busy In Sharing PHL Lead

<p>TORONTO&mdash;</p><p class="dropcap"><span>W</span>hen the Wrigley midget tournament competitors skate out on the Verdun Auditorium ice Jan. 23-29 for the 1978 event, it will mark another history making event that dates back to 1973.</p><p>Here briefly is the history of the Wirgley tournament.</p><p>How did the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company Ltd., a manufacturer of quality brands of chewing gum, become involved in sponsoring a National Midget Hockey Tournament? This, during the 1973-74 hockey season, was probably the most often asked question, and answers to it and many other interesting questions will be answered in this article.</p><p>Knowing more about the Wrigley National Midget Hockey Tournament or &ldquo;The Wrigley,&rdquo; as it has become known should, prove of special interest of Canadians everywhere, because in Canada, hockey is almost a religion. Statistics show that the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association, which governs organized amateur hockey in Canada has 657,000 boys registered at the minor level from the ages of eight to 17.</p><p>The active participation of these boys in hockey from September through to April requires the attention and guidance of thousands of volunteer workers to carry out the vast program engineered by the CAHA and its 12 branches, and in turn, is mainly supported by parents, sisters, brothers, family, friends and relatives.</p><p>The Wrigley Company recognized what sports in general and hockey in particular contributes to the development of the young of Canada and in July of 1973, the idea of holding a National Midget Tournament was conceived and in conjunction with the CAHA arrangements were made to sponsor the bringing together of 12 of the best midget hockey teams in Canada.</p><p>A feature of the tournament was an arrangement with the CAHA that the winners of &ldquo;The Wrigley&rdquo; would travel to the Soviet Union to play a six-game exhibition series with a team of 16-year-olds in Moscow, Leningrad and Riga.</p><p>This was of special interest as the Soviet Ice Hockey Federation had authorized a minor team of 16-year-olds to travel overseas for a six-game series in Canada for the first time, thus adding an International flavour to the national scope of the tournament.</p><p>The tournament would provide an opportunity for developing players to advance their hockey careers as many scouts would be in attendance at the tournament. It also offered the opportunity for further educational assistance through scholarships to universities, depending on the individual boy&rsquo;s ability.</p><p>The concept of a tournament that would bring boys together at an age when they are most capable of grasping the realities of a country four thousand miles across was very appealing. From British Columbia and the Yukon, the Prairies, the urban centres of Ontario and Quebec, and the rugged fishing villages of the Atlantic provinces, young teenagers would gain an insight into their fellow Canadians that they might never realize but for this one opportunity.</p><p>The excursion to the U.S.S.R. for the winning team would offer an almost unhead-of experience within a culture so different from our own, that it could very well constitute the high point in the life of any one of the boys.</p><p>The tournament was held the week of Jan. 21-27 which coincided with &ldquo;Minor Hockey Week in Canada&rdquo;&mdash;a week that is traditionally designated by the CAHA to recognize and focus attention on minor hockey and its supporters throughout Canada.</p><p>The City of Oshawa. a community of 100,000 with one of the finest minor hockey organizations in Ontario, was selected as the inaugural site and plans were made to make &ldquo;The Wrigley&rdquo; the showcase of midget hockey in Canada.</p><p>The Verdun Leafs were the champions and gold medalists. Kingston Realtors won the silver medals and Hull Kiwanis received the bronze medals.</p><p>At the final banquet, the Verdun Leafs were presented with complete white and red uniforms for their trip to the U.S.S.R. and also red and white nylon championship windbreakers.</p><p>As a momento of having participated in &ldquo;The Wrigley,&rdquo; each player was presented with a participation certificate so that in the years to come, he could look back on fond memories of association with his counterparts from all over Canada.</p><p>In The Soviet Union, the team visited museums, the ballet, the Moscow circus and the Kremlin, and. participated in many tours to other places of interest in addition to playing six games; they won one and lost five.</p><p>The first and sixth games in Moscow were televised over the Soviet TV network to an estimated audience of one hundred million viewers. The deportment of the Wrigley champions who represented Canada along with the official CAHA party, so impressed the Soviet people that they invited the 19741975 Wrigley tournament winner back.</p><p>The &rsquo;74-75 tournament was held in Oshawa, Jan. 20-26. The final game was televised nationally, and the Wrigley champions, the Barrie Co-op midgets once again visited the Soviet Union in March. The Barrie Co-ops were, once again, good ambassadors for Canada and Canadian hockey, both on and off the ice. They won one game, lost two and tied two. A tribute to the Barrie team is the fact that they moved up from AA competition to AAA to qualify for &ldquo;The Wrigley&rdquo; tournament, and after winning the Ontario Minor Hockey Association playdowns, they won the Ontario Hockey Association playdowns.</p><p>In 1976 &ldquo;The Wrigley&rdquo; moved to Calgary. Alberta. The final game saw the Calgary Spurs, the host club, defeat Toronto Nationals, the representative from the Ontario Hockey Association, for the gold medals. This game was televised over the CTV network from coast to coast. The Calgary Spurs visited Czecholavakia where they won four games, lost three and tied one in an eight-game exhibition tour.</p><p>&ldquo;The Wrigley&rdquo; &rsquo;77 was held in Moncton, New Brunswick where the final game saw the Don Mills Flyers, representing the Ontario Hockey Association, defeat the Lac St. Louis Lions, representing the Quebec Ice Hockey Federation. This game was again televised live over the CTV network from coast to coast.</p><p>An all-time high attendance record for &ldquo;The Wrigley&rdquo; was set in Moncton when total paid attendance for the week amounted to approximately 55,000. An additional feature of the 1977 tournament was that in addition to the other equipment that was issued to the participants, they were supplied with colour-coordinated gloves.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

Staging Of Wrigley Tournament Fills Need For Canadian Youth

<h2><b>Amateur Scoreboard</b></h2><h2><b>ONTARIO MAJOR LEAGUE</b></h2><p><b>(Standings on Sat. Jan. 7)</b></p><h3><b>EMMS DIVISION</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-01277/4120837-1-eng-US/f0036-012.jpg" title="f0036-01" width="595" height="192"></div><h3><b>LEYDEN DIVISION</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-02212/4120830-1-eng-US/f0036-022.jpg" title="f0036-02" width="588" height="190"></div><h2><b>GAMES COMPLETED</b></h2><p><b>Tue. Jan. 3</b></p><p>Hamilton 13 at Windsor 4</p><p>Ottawa 5 at Kitchener 4</p><p>Sault Ste. Marie 5 at Niagara Falla 2</p><p><b>Thu. Jan. 5</b></p><p>Oshawa 7 at Sault Ste-Marie 4</p><p>Hamilton 2 at Peterborough 4</p><p>London 6 at Windsor 3</p><p><b>Fri. Jan. 7</b></p><p>Oshawa 8 at Sudbury 1</p><p>Kingston 5 at Niagara Falls 2</p><p>Ottawa 9 at Sault Ste-Marie 5</p><p>Kitchener 6 at Windsor 1</p><p>Peterborough 5 at London 2</p><p>Toronto 4 at Hamilton 0</p><h2><b>LEADING SCORERS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-03157/4120823-1-eng-US/f0036-032.jpg" title="f0036-03" width="586" height="302"></div><h2><b>LEADING GOALERS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-0499/4120816-1-eng-US/f0036-042.jpg" title="f0036-04" width="586" height="166"></div><h2><b>WESTERN CANADA LEAGUE</b></h2><p><b>(Standings On Tue. Jan. 3)</b></p><h3><b>WEST DIVISION</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-0565/4120809-1-eng-US/f0036-052.jpg" title="f0036-05" width="585" height="144"></div><h3><b>CENTRAL DIVISION</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-0648/4120802-1-eng-US/f0036-062.jpg" title="f0036-06" width="583" height="136"></div><h3><b>EAST DIVISION</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-0744/4120795-1-eng-US/f0036-072.jpg" title="f0036-07" width="586" height="138"></div><h2><b>GAMES COMPLETED</b></h2><p><b>Mon. Dec. 26</b></p><p>Saskatoon 2 atBrandon 8</p><p><b>Wed. Dec. 28</b></p><p>Brandon 4 at Regina 4</p><p><b>Thu. Dec. 29</b></p><p>Billings 5 at Medicine Hat 5</p><p>Victoria 7 at Seattle 5</p><p><b>Fri. Dec. 30</b></p><p>Saskatoon 4 at Regina 5</p><p>Billings 8 at Lethbridge 4</p><p><b>Sun. Jan. 1</b></p><p>Billings 4 at Calgary 8</p><p>Seattle 6 at Victoria 6</p><p>Medicine Hat 2 at Lethbridge 6</p><p><b>Mon. Jan. 2</b></p><p>Portland 1 at New Westminster 2</p><p>Regina 2 at Brandon 2</p><p>Lethbridge 2 at Medicine Hat 6</p><h2><b>LEADING SCORERS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-0839/4120788-1-eng-US/f0036-082.jpg" title="f0036-08" width="596" height="539"></div><h2><b>QUEBEC MAJOR LEAGUE</b></h2><p><b>(Standings on Mon. Jan. 9)</b></p><h3><b>LEBEL DIVISION</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-0933/4120781-1-eng-US/f0036-092.jpg" title="f0036-09" width="589" height="165"></div><h3><b>DILIO DIVISION</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-1030/4120774-1-eng-US/f0036-102.jpg" title="f0036-10" width="590" height="165"></div><h2><b>GAMES COMPLETED</b></h2><p><b>Thu. Jan. 5</b></p><p>Hull 7 at Chicoutimi 5</p><p>Cornwall 8 at Montreal 2</p><p><b>Fri. Jan. 6</b></p><p>Hull 3 at Quebec 5</p><p>Trois-Rivieres 11 at Shawinigan 4</p><p>Laval at Sherbrooke (ppd.)</p><p><b>Sun. Jan. 8</b></p><p>Laval 7 at Cornwall 7</p><p>Sherbrooke 10 at Hull 3</p><p>Shawinigan 2 at Montreal 13</p><p>Quebec 4 at Trois-Rivieres 10</p><p>Chicoutimi 3 at Verdun 3</p><h2><b>LEADING SCORERS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-1127/4120767-1-eng-US/f0036-112.jpg" title="f0036-11" width="592" height="298"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0036-01

ONTARIO MAJOR HOCKEY LEAGUE

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-1320/4120899-1-eng-US/f0036-132.jpg" title="f0036-13" width="796" height="757"></div><h2><b>Forechecking</b></h2><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>he most Important thing for you to remember in forechecking is to make the puck carrier commit himself &mdash; swerve to avoid you or pass &mdash; break the pattern and momentum of the attack.</p><p>Don&rsquo;t try to poke the puck away from him &mdash; you could miss and he&rsquo;ll be away, with you off balance and out of it. Keep abreast and worrying him &mdash; stick to him like a leech so you destroy his concentration.</p><p>If a puck carrier goes behind his net, don&rsquo;t chase him. Wait about 10 feet in front and when he comes out, force him to skate along the boards so he can&rsquo;t use the centre of the ice to set up passing combinations.</p><p>If the puck carrier behind the net passes to a mate in a corner, you must go after the new man &mdash; keep him bottled up there for a possible stoppage of play and a faceoff in their zone.</p><p>Remember, the good forecheckers constantly worry puck carriers &mdash; force them to make mistakes.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0036-13

Hockey for Minors

<div class="byline">BY MIKE GAMBLE</div><p>KINGSTON&mdash;</p><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>he absence of up to 16 of the best players in the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League for almost three weeks had a minimal effect on league standings.</p><p>While the Wayne Gretzkys, Bob Smiths, Mike Gartners, Rob Ramages, and Tony McKegneys were trying unsuccessfully to win the World Cup for Team Canada, their club teams were holding their own in the 12-team league.</p><p>The only teams that changes positions were Kingston Canadians who dislodged the Oshawa Generals in third place in the Leyden Division. Without McKegney their team captain, general manager Walter (Punch) Scherer, trainer and team physician, who were all with Team Canada, the Canadians won five in a row and tied a sixth. In addition, coach Jim Morrison was forced to insert a number of rookies in his lineup to offset injuries to key players.</p><p>Just before leaving to join Team Canada, Scherer acquired defenseman Don Hawkes from Oshawa Generals and overage center Gary McMonagle from Peterborough Petes. Both players were acquired for future considerations.</p><p>The Canadians took three of four points on a northern swing. They edged the Wolves 4-3 in Sudbury before tying the Greyhounds 5-5 in Sault Ste. Marie.</p><p>As the trading deadline approached, the Greyhounds also made a couple of deals. Coach Muzz MacPherson sent defenseman Dave Mancuso to Windsor Spitfires in exchange for Tom McLeod. That trade paid off immediately for the last-place Greyhounds as McLeod, playing left-wing on a line with Dan Lucas and Gretzky, scored two goals including the winner in a 5-2 win against Niagara Falls.</p><p>MacPherson then acquired over-age netminder Greg Millan. The ex-Petes goalie had been playing semi-professional, hockey in the United States.</p><p>It was almost one year ago that MacPherson thought his goaltending problems were solved when he sent right winger Tim Coulis to the then St. Catharines Fincups in exchange for Mark Locken. But the Greyhounds 210 goals-against is the worst in the league.</p><p>Meanwhile, the Marlboros&rsquo; appear to have benefitted from the recent turmoil in Union College, New York. When coach Ned Harkness abruptly resigned as the school&rsquo;s hockey coach, half-a-dozen players decided to drop out of the college. One of them was 19-year-old Doug Feasby who was taken by the Marlies. To make room for their new center, Toronto sent Mark Teeple to its farm team in Markham.</p><p>But the deal that sent shock waves through the league was the one made late in 1977 when Hamilton Fincups attempted to send first round draft choice Doug Shedden to Kitchener Rangers. To evade the league rules which state that a first round selection cannot be traded in his initial year, the Fincups announced they were &ldquo;loaning&rdquo; Shedden to the Rangers.</p><p>It required a conference call of all the league governors last week to resolve matters and they voted to nullify the arrangement between the two teams. Shedden was returned to Hamilton.</p><p>On the ice, the Fincups rang up the most goals in one game so far this season as they pummelled Windsor 13-4. Rob Mierkalus scored three goals to pace Hamilton. Dan Poliziani, Al Second, Scott Vanderburgh had two each. Paul Marshall, Willie Huber, Greg Terrion and Gaston Gingras added singles.</p><p>The Spitfires did all their scoring on power play goals from Jim Mellon, Wes Jarvis, George Notsopoulos and Gerry Leroux. The win moved the Fincups to within five points of Windsor and, in addition. Hamilton has three games in hand.</p><p>Windsor also suffered an 8-4 home-ice loss to the Ottawa 67s in a battle of the league-leading teams in each division. A third Windsor game against Niagara Falls was postponed until next month.</p><p>London split a pair of games, defeating Ottawa by 8-4 and losing to Peterborough 7-4. Center Jim MacRae paced the Knights with five points in the win against Ottawa. No team was hit harder by Team Canada obligations than Bill Long&rsquo;s crew. He lost defensemen Brad Marsh, Ramage and goaltender Pat Riggin.</p><p>Ramage, along with Ryan Walter of Seattle Breakers, were voted the two most valuable members of Team Canada and each received color television sets.</p><p>Niagara Falls remained in a firm grip on fourth spot although they managed only a pair of ties in three outings. The Flyers tied Peterborough 7-7 in a home-ice shoot-out before tying up the Wolves 2-2 in Sudbury.</p><p>Kitchener Rangers continue to show improvement after a disastrous start. The Rangers whipped Toronto 6-2 at home and lost a 5-4 squeaker to the 67s. The Rangers had a 3-2 lead after two periods in Ottawa, but couldn&rsquo;t hang on. Don Maloney led the Rangers with two goals while Doug Sulliman and Brian Schnurr added singles.</p><p>Marlies remain one point behind Kitchener for the final play-off spot. The Marlies started the new year on the right foot tripping up the 67s 5-3 on a big day by center Rob Garner who had three goals and one assist.</p><p>George Armstrong, whose slogan is &ldquo;we&rsquo;ll be great in &rsquo;78&rdquo;, thinks his young team may finally be ready to make a move. With Garner, a notorious slow starter, in full flight, the defense steadied by the acquisition of Brian Crichton and improved goaltending, the easy-going Armstrong may be right.</p><p>Terry Wright, who looked like the odd-man out of the Marlies&rsquo; nets early in the season, appears to have replaced Stuart Birenbaum as the number one net-minder. Wright got the chance to play regularly after Birenbaum suffered a shoulder injury. Wright has been steady, reflected by his 4.41 goals-against mark. He has now played more games than Birenbaum, who has a goals-against mark of 5.40.</p><p>In the Leyden Division, the 67s&rsquo; defeat by Toronto was its ninth of the season&mdash;fewest in the league. Ottawa offset that loss with wins over Windsor and Kitchener to maintain a two-point lead over second-place Peterborough. However, the 67s have four games in hand.</p><p>Gary Green&rsquo;s Petes had another large week with home ice wins against Oshawa and London and the tie with Niagara Falls.</p><p>Freshman coach Bill White had good news and bad news with his Oshawa Generals. First the good news. Joe Campagnola, who was the team&rsquo;s leading scorer last year, returned to the lineup recently and showed he&rsquo;d lost none of his scoring touch. But Campagnola&rsquo;s return was offset by the loss of first round pick Tom McCarthy who is out with a broken thumb. McCarthy attempted to play with the fractured digit but team doctors finally suggested he put it in a cast.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-1223/4120868-1-eng-US/f0036-122.jpg" title="f0036-12" width="552" height="739"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>JIM MORRISON&hellip;Master Juggler</b></figcaption></div><p>The Wolves failed to gain much ground as they remain seven points back of the Generals. The Wolves&rsquo; sole point was a 22 tie against Niagara Falls on goals by Brad Smith and Dan McCarthy. Before that, they lost 4-3 to Kingston.</p><p>The Greyhounds remained one point behind the Wolves taking three points out of four. The Hounds halted the Canadians&rsquo; win streak at five with a 5-5 tie before knocking off the Flyers 5-2. Besides McLeod&rsquo;s two-goal debut, Lucas added a pair and Art Rutland scored the final marker.</p><p>Gretzky, who continues to lead all OMJHL scorers, also led all world junior scorers with eight goals and nine assists. Gretzky, the youngest player in the tournament, was the only Canadian picked to the tournament&rsquo;s All Star team.</p><p>The day after he and teammate Craig Hartsburg left Montreal for the Sault a story appeared in one Montreal paper quoting Gretzky as saying that he intended to play only one more season of major junior hockey.</p><p>Contacted later, Gretzky said he had been &ldquo;terribly misquoted&rdquo; by the newspaper. However, when asked whether he intended to play four years of junior hockey Gretzky replied: &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0036-12

Improvising Canadians Keep Rolling

<h2><b>Where WCHL Teams Play</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-01241/4120930-1-eng-US/f0037-012.jpg" title="f0037-01" width="587" height="957"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0037-01

WESTERN CANADA HOCKEY LEAGUE

<div class="byline">BY BRUCE PENTON</div><p>SASKATOON&mdash;</p><p>It didn&rsquo;t take long for the bottom to fall out of Jackie McLeod&rsquo;s plans for a successful 1977-78 Western Canada Hockey League season.</p><p>The Blades boasted plenty of firepower returning to the club this season, and with at least three returning defensemen, the only major problem, McLeod thought, might be in goal.</p><p>He was wrong.</p><p>The firepower has so far fizzled, the experience on defense has either been traded or retired, and the only things keeping the Blades even half-respectable has been the play of a couple of rookie forwards and, at times, flashy goaltending.</p><p>Injuries, too, have played a major role in the Blades&rsquo; last-place showing, but McLeod doesn&rsquo;t use the hurts as an out. He faces the issue and says bluntly: &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not getting the mileage out of some players I thought would have great years.</p><p>&ldquo;But I&rsquo;m not going to worry about it too much,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;If I did, I&rsquo;d be laying in a pine box.&rdquo;</p><p>A last-place situation is a funny situation (funny, as in strange) for McLeod. The Blades have never finished out of the playoffs and although a Saskatoon team has never won the WCHL title, the Blades have reached the league final in three of the past five seasons.</p><p>This year was expected to be a good, not great, but a good season. Instead, it has turned into a disaster. After 34 games&mdash;two away from the half-season mark&mdash;the Blades sit fourth and last in the Eastern Division, 13 points behind third-place Regina Pats and 22 out of the division lead.</p><p>&ldquo;We got off to a bad start&mdash;(goalie Geoff) Brand was hurt and missed the first 11 games. Then we ran into a few minor injuries&hellip;one thing led to another and we just slumped off the bat. And now, we&rsquo;re having a hard time getting out of it,&rdquo; McLeod said.</p><p>McLeod then went down his roster, mentioning injuries in some cases, lack of production in others.</p><p>&ldquo;Billy MacNaught, our leading scorer last year, breaks his jaw and he&rsquo;s got only 12 or 13 goals. Darryl Erickson, 35 goals last year, 11 or something this year. Robbie McFarlane, great rookie year, gets a fluke injury. Gets hit with a high stick and gets a cataract.</p><p>&ldquo;Wes George (a three-year vet) had trouble in the early going, but he&rsquo;s starting to play better now, and Ken Federko (73 points as a rookie) hasn&rsquo;t been producing.</p><p>A major part of the Blades&rsquo; production, however, has come from rookies Lindsay Carson, 17, and Wayne Merkel, 19. The two currently stand first and third in team scoring, in the neighbourhood of 50 points. Sophomore Brent Ashton, 17, a youngster with superstardom written all over him, is second with 48 including a team-leading 30 goals.</p><p>&ldquo;Ashton and Carson are going to be great players in this league,&rdquo; said McLeod. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re both young and enthusiastic.&rdquo;</p><p>The Blades&rsquo; defense started with holdovers Mel Hewitt and Blaine Fennell and rookies Kevin Tendler, Doug Archibald and Jim McTaggart. But, since the season began, Fennell quit. Hewitt was traded to Calgary and Tendler was struck down with torn knee ligaments. Veteran Bryan Baron returned as an overage three weeks into the season and his presence has helped, but the depth just isn&rsquo;t there.</p><p>&ldquo;Everybody gets injuries, so I&rsquo;m not complaining about them.&rdquo; said McLeod, &ldquo;but in other years, we&rsquo;ve had people to replace them. This year, we don&rsquo;t have the depth.</p><p>&ldquo;And you know, when things are going bad, they go bad. We&rsquo;ll have games when we get hot goaltending but lose 3-2. Then the next night, we&rsquo;ll score six or seven, but our goalies won&rsquo;t stop a thing and we&rsquo;ll lose 9-7.&rdquo;</p><p>And although he didn&rsquo;t mention it, the Blades have suffered other losses which don&rsquo;t really count, but McLeod must be thinking about them.</p><p>One, center Dell Chapman, a Blades&rsquo; member for three years, is playing his overage season with Billings Bighorns and sitting firmly within the league&rsquo;s top 10 scorers.</p><p>And two, Dave King, Blades&rsquo; assistant coach last season who was heir apparent to McLeod, expected to retire after last year, took on the job as coach in Billings, and currently has his Bighorns well in front of the Central Divison pack.</p><p>They don&rsquo;t count, but it&rsquo;s a little salt in the wounds of the veteran Blade coach, who has had more than his share of &lsquo;hurts&rsquo; this season.</p><p><b>REGINA</b>: The Pats solidified their hold on third place in the East, tying Brandon 4-4 on Doug Wickenheiser&rsquo;s second goal of the game with less than two minutes left, and beating the Blades 5-4, led by the two-point performances of Clark Bacala and newcomer James Pearson, formerly with Seattle, Portland and Lethbridge organizations.</p><p><b>BRANDON</b>: Rookie Ron Matsella joined the Wheat Kings for two games, picked up two goals and three assists in a 4-4 tie with Regina and an 8-2 win over the Blades, then packed up and went home to Yorkton, Sask., claiming he was tired of hockey. Brian Propp took over the league scoring lead with 86 points, six better than injured teammate Bill Derlago and Lethbridge&rsquo;s Steve Tambellini who missed a few games due to Team Canada commitments. Propp also extended his point-scoring streak to 27 consecutive games, six off the league&rsquo;s one-season record. Rookie Frank Lang&rsquo;s two goals helped in the tie at Regina.</p><p><b>BILLINGS</b>: The Bighorns stretched their lead over second-place Lethbridge in the Central Division to four points, tying Medicine Hat 5-5 and beating the Broncos in a first-place showdown, 8-4, right in the Lethbridge Sportsplex. Doug Robb scored a pair of goals in the two games, giving him 20, while unheralded Don Nachbaur had the biggest WCHL game of his career, two goals and two assists to pace the win over the Broncos. Sophomore Harvie Pocza also had four points in that game. Against the Hat, defenseman Kevin Willison was the leader, getting a goal and adding two assists.</p><p><b>MEDICINE HAT</b>: Coach Vic Stasiuk could stand a couple more Merlin Malinowskis to get his team rolling towards a playoff berth. Malinowski had one goal and one assist in a 5-5 tie with Billings, but it stretched the Tigers slump to just one win in 10 games. Rookie Peter Steblyk, who scored in his first WCHL game earlier in the season, added his second against Billings. The Tigers&rsquo; power play efficiency of 10.8 percent is by far the weakest in the league.</p><p><b>LETHBRIDGE</b>: Rookie Earl Ingarfield, Jr. son of former Bronco coach and NHLer Earl Ingarfield, had his biggest WCHL game in an 8-4 home-ice loss to Billings. Playing in lieu of Bronco captain Tambellini the 18-year-old Ingarfield figured in all four goals, scoring two himself. Sophomore Dean Solheim scored the other two. Had the Broncos beaten Billings, the teams would have been deadlocked for the Central lead. As it turned out, Billings left town leading by four.</p><p><b>VICTORIA</b>: The Cougars erupted for five third-period goals to upset hometown Seattle Breakers 7-5, as rookie Sid Giroux tallied twice. The win pulled Victoria into a third-place tie with Seattle, six points back of leading Portland in the close Western Division race.</p><p>SEATTLE: The Breakers appeared ready to increase their lead over Victoria to four points in the race for the Western Division&rsquo;s final playoff berth, taking a 3-2 lead over the Cougars two periods. And they were at home, too. But Victoria let the air out, scoring five in the third for a 7-5 win. George Buat, who has made general manager Les Calder look like a genius after being acquired from Portland last summer, moved into 17th place in the league scoring race with a goal and an assist in that game.</p><p>Flin Flon, Calgary, New Westminster and Portland were all idle during the Christmas week.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-02176/4120968-1-eng-US/f0037-022.jpg" title="f0037-02" width="561" height="592"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>LINDSAY CARSON&hellip;Star Of Future</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-03129/4120961-1-eng-US/f0037-032.jpg" title="f0037-03" width="557" height="576"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>EARL INGARFIELD JR.&hellip;Gives Broncos Lift</b></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0037-02

Blades’ Slow Start Letdown For McLeod; Brandon’s Propp Surges Into Point Lead

<h2><b>Where QMHL Team Play</b></h2><p><b>JANUARY</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-01287/4120999-1-eng-US/f0038-012.jpg" title="f0038-01" width="598" height="819"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0038-01

QUEBEC MAJOR HOCKEY LEAGUE

<div class="byline">BY DANNY YOUNG</div><p>MONTREAL&mdash;</p><p>Mike Bossy and Jere Gillis, two alumni of the Quebec Major Junior League, are having sensational seasons as rookies in the NHL.</p><p>The two freshmen, whose success story reads something like Barry Manilow&rsquo;s &ldquo;Look&rsquo;s Like We Made It,&rdquo; are looking back at their years in the QMJHL with much gratification now that they have made their mark in professional hockey.</p><p>Gillis has scored 16 goals with the Vancouver Canucks following a spectacular junior career which culminated with a league championship last spring. He was very satisfied with his years as a left winger for the Sherbrooke Beavers.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-02225/4121037-1-eng-US/f0038-022.jpg" title="f0038-02" width="575" height="590"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>GRAEME COLSON&hellip;Renewed Determination</b></figcaption></div><p>&ldquo;I played four years in the league with a good coach, Ghislain Delage,&rdquo; Gillis said. &ldquo;He was hard at times but its paid off now. I&rsquo;m glad I spent my last year in the juniors rather than being selected in an underage draft.&rdquo;</p><p>Gillis is thankful for the help he got from Sherbrooke teammates like Ricky Vaive, Ron Carter, and Mark Green. &ldquo;Those guys helped me. It&rsquo;s a team game. You&rsquo;ve got to have the whole team going for one guy to do well. I&rsquo;m sure they&rsquo;re getting help from other guys on the team for Vaive to have 50 goals and Carter and Green to be right up in the top five.&rdquo;</p><p>Bossy, who has scored an amazing 25 goals as a New York Islander, was equally pleased with his development in the QMJHL. The native of Laval, Que., is extremely proud of the fine showing by Quebec rookies in the NHL.</p><p>&ldquo;You read of all high scorers coming out of the Quebec league and I think it&rsquo;s proving itself right this year. Lucien Deblois (New York Rangers) has 15 goals, Gillis has 16, and I&rsquo;ve got 25. I think that we&rsquo;re leading the first round draft choices by quite a bit. No matter who says what about our league, the guys are still scoring when they come to the NHL. Why knock it in the junior when the guys are proving themselves in the NHL.&rdquo;</p><p>Gillis and Bossy both agree that the league&rsquo;s primary drawback is its failure to suppress violence.</p><p>&ldquo;There is a stress put on being aggressive and it comes out really chippy,&rdquo; explained Gillis. &ldquo;There are a lot of cheap shots being taken at guys and a lot of fighting for no reason.&rdquo;</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s everywhere in hockey,&rdquo; commented Bossy. &ldquo;From bantam to midget, it just gets worse until the high point in junior A. They should teach the fundamentals of hockey instead of running around with their sticks in the air.</p><p>The two Quebecers managed to survive the QMJHL&rsquo;s grueling wear and tear on a young athlete and have adjusted incredibly well to the even more intense professional game.</p><p>For stars like Guy Lafleur and Lanny McDonald, the adaptation from the juniors to the pros took a couple of years. In contrast, Gillis and Bossy seemed to belong right from the beginning.</p><p>&ldquo;The main difference is that you have to think a lot quicker,&rdquo; Gillis said. &ldquo;You don&rsquo;t have time to take a second and think. You have to go right ahead and do it. Otherwise, the guys will have a step on you and you&rsquo;ll be out of the play.&rdquo;</p><p>Bossy feels that former Laval teammate Pat Daley exemplifies the kind of player that will make it in the pros. &ldquo;He skates up and down, he&rsquo;s strong, he&rsquo;s tall, he has a good shot, and he&rsquo;s really fast. That&rsquo;s what it takes in the NHL.&rdquo;</p><p>Mike and Jere have accomplished the ultimate goal of every junior player across Canada. Success has made their memories of the Quebec league much brighter.</p><p>As Gillis explains, &ldquo;I sacrificed a lot and put up with a lot of things I disagreed with. I&rsquo;ll remember it all now that I&rsquo;ve made it.&rdquo;</p><p><b>CORNWALL</b>: The Royals opened part two of the &rsquo;77-78 season with an 8-2 win over Montreal. The first period ended with a slim 2-1 edge but Cornwall exploded for five unanswered goals to insure the victory.</p><p>&ldquo;The guys played extremely well in all phases of the game,&rdquo; said a delighted coach Tessier. &ldquo;Graeme Nicolson and Dan Geoffrion have returned with more determination than ever after being cut from Team Canada.&rdquo;</p><p>&ldquo;I ve come back to play, not to sulk,&rdquo; the eager Nicolson stated.</p><p>The line of McGregor, Paterson, and Crawford were back to form with pin point passing and perpetual skating. Defensemen Jerry Ingram and Dave Ezard combined with Nicholson to stop the Montreal attack backed up by All Star goaltending from Tim Bernhart.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-03167/4121030-1-eng-US/f0038-032.jpg" title="f0038-03" width="556" height="738"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>DANIEL METIVIER&hellip;Passes 100-Mark</b></figcaption></div><p>Tessier expects Cornwall to be even stronger through the second half. Unable to be with the team for a good part of the first half due to Team Canada commitments, the Royals coach plans to stay with the club and help out more.</p><p><b>HULL</b>: In a see-saw battle with Chicoutimi, the Olympics came out with a 7-5 win. Daniel Metivier returned from the Christmas break with two goals and two assists pushing his point total over the 100 mark. Linemate Claude Larochelle scored the winning goal at 13:26 of the third period.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0038-02

Former Quebec Loop Stars Spectacular In NHL

<h2><b>ONTARIO SENIOR LEAGUE</b></h2><p><b>(Standings on Sat. Jan. 7)</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-01268/4121138-1-eng-US/f0039-012.jpg" title="f0039-01" width="601" height="217"></div><h2><b>LEADING SCORERS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-02198/4121131-1-eng-US/f0039-022.jpg" title="f0039-02" width="603" height="749"></div><h2><b>WESTERN INTERNATIONAL</b></h2><p><b>(Standings on Tue. Dec. 27)</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-03151/4121124-1-eng-US/f0039-032.jpg" title="f0039-03" width="598" height="168"></div><h2><b>CONTINENTAL SENIOR</b></h2><p><b>(Standings on Fri. Dec. 23)</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-04126/4121117-1-eng-US/f0039-042.jpg" title="f0039-04" width="595" height="221"></div><h2><b>LEADING SCORERS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-0598/4121110-1-eng-US/f0039-052.jpg" title="f0039-05" width="601" height="539"></div><h2><b>MANITOBA-ASSINIBOINE LEAGUE</b></h2><p><b>(Standings on Fri. Dec. 30)</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-0681/4121103-1-eng-US/f0039-062.jpg" title="f0039-06" width="599" height="219"></div><h2><b>N.Y.-METRO LEAGUE</b></h2><p><b>(Standings On Mon. Jan. 2)</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-0769/4121096-1-eng-US/f0039-072.jpg" title="f0039-07" width="594" height="220"></div><h2><b>LEADING SCORERS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-0862/4121089-1-eng-US/f0039-082.jpg" title="f0039-08" width="596" height="299"></div><h2><b>U.S.&mdash;MIDWEST LEAGUE</b></h2><h3><b>U.S. CONFERENCE</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-0953/4121082-1-eng-US/f0039-092.jpg" title="f0039-09" width="588" height="114"></div><h3><b>MIDWEST CONFERENCE</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-1048/4121075-1-eng-US/f0039-102.jpg" title="f0039-10" width="593" height="108"></div><h2><b>LEADING SCORERS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-1142/4121068-1-eng-US/f0039-112.jpg" title="f0039-11" width="592" height="353"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0039-01

Looking At The Races

<div class="byline">BY MIKE LYNCH</div><p>SPOKANE&mdash;</p><p class="dropcap"><span>A</span>lthough the holiday schedule was light for most Western International League clubs, the Spokane Flyers managed to increase their relatively new advantage in first place.</p><p>The Flyers, playing five straight on the road during the Christmas-New Year&rsquo;s stretch, won two of the first three for a six-point lead over Cranbook, the leader almost from the season&rsquo;s start until mid December.</p><p>Of the four games played last week the Flyers were involved in three of them and they continued to keep the other teams occupied with a New York&rsquo;s Day game in Nelson and another important visit to Cranbrook early in 1978.</p><p>Cranbrook won 12 straight games at home before losing a close one to Kimberley. Then the Flyers came in for a 9-6 romp in a free-scoring game. Thus, Cranbrook lost two of three on home ice in a short span of time.</p><p>The Royals had an adventure on their way home from a December meeting with Spokane. When the bus driver pulled up 15 miles from home, wary of further travel on the icy highway, half a dozen players donned skates and made it several miles further before getting taxied home by the RCMP.</p><p>Trail and Cranbrook had a wild one recently in the Smoke Eaters&rsquo; rink. Trail&rsquo;s Ernie Gare got a match penalty for spearing, coach Norm Dennis was fined for failure to control his team, Doug Buhr was, too, for attempting to reach a Cranbrook player sitting in the stands and Bob Whitlock was suspended for &ldquo;abuse of an official.&rdquo; All Cranbrook got was a 9-2 win.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

The WIHL Scene

<div class="byline">&#x2014;By Bill Hilts</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-1239/4121193-1-eng-US/f0039-122.jpg" title="f0039-12" width="349" height="409"></div><h2><b>Great Lakes League</b></h2><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>he Detroit Jr. Wings overcame an early 2-0 Paddock Pools lead in Great Lakes Jr. League &ldquo;A&rdquo; Div., action and then withstood a late Saints rally to emerge with a 5-4 victory. Kurt Urch paced the Wings with two points including the game winning goal and league&rsquo;s leading scorer Chris Guertin added two assists&hellip;Randy Ollila, Mike Johnson, and Mike Dill were big guns as Fraser trampled Wayne Chiefs 9-4. Ollila notched a goal and five assists, Johnson a goal and four assists, and Dill had a three goal hat trick to go with a single assist. Win Dahm and newly acquired A.J. Baker paced Wayne with a goal and an assist.. Cleveland Jr. Barons entertained Wayne Chiefs for a weekend series and swept Chiefs 3-2 and 9-3. Andy Getz, Bill McCreary, and Pete Fissinger all scored in Cleveland&rsquo;s 3-2 win. Ken Carol and A.J. Baker scored for Wayne&hellip;Roger Holliday scored with 3:23 left in the game as Wayne Chiefs shaded Detroit Jr. Wings 5-4. Holliday paced Wayne with two goals and two assists while four different players scored for Detroit&hellip;Dino Szajner and Steve Murphy both netted two goals as Paddock Pools Saints dumped Detroit Jr. Wings 7-3. Craig Lakian added three assists for the Saints who scored three third period goals to put the game on ice. Steve Yoxheimer scored twice for the Jr. Wings&hellip;Paddock Pools Saints continued their third period heroics by scoring four times in third stanza in beating the Fraser Highlanders 5-3. Steve Murphy and Jeff Logan both potted two goals for the Saints while Frank Maiorana, Julian Van Biesbrouck and Jeff Bond scored for Fraser&hellip;Fraser&rsquo;s Jeff Johnston scored with only 25 seconds left in the game to give Great Lakes Jr. Hockey League All Stars a 3-3 tie with United States National Jr. Team in an All Star game played at Allen Park Civic Arena. Yoxheimer of the Detroit Jr. Wings and Ed Pelyak of the Highlanders, also scored for the All Stars who overcame three one goal deficits to earn the tie. Paddock Pools Saints Jack McKinch, lone representative from the Great Lakes League, scored twice to lead the Nationals and Bret Bjerkin of Michigan Tech University scored the other USA goal. Larry Suarex of Jr. Wings, Brad Mitseff of Highlanders, and Dave Tardich of Saints each played a period, each surrendering a goal for the All Stars with Mitseff being particularly sharp. Curt Bloomberg of the University of St. Louis played the entire game for the Nationals.</p><h2><b>N.Y. Metro League</b></h2><p>The New York Shamrocks, who were giving up goals by the netfull early in the season, have suddenly come alive&mdash;becoming very much apart of the playoff picture as N.Y. Metropolitan Hockey League arrives at midseason&hellip;The Shamrocks, now 7-10-2, are Met League&rsquo;s answer to Monday Night Football, with a 4-1-1 record over the last six Monday nights. Bob Ciota&rsquo;s crew got goals from seven different players to dump Jersey Rockets 7-2 on recent Monday. Rockets, still second in race behind Suffolk, dealt Shamrocks their only Monday night defeat, 10-3&hellip;Shamrocks have now put together a three-game winning streak, having defeated New York Westsiders and New Hyde Park&hellip;One of the big reasons for the Shamrock rally is John DaSilva. With Vick Sylvestri still suffering from tonsillitis, DaSilva took over the MJHA scoring lead, as of Dec. 12. John currently has 11 goals and 33 assists for 44 points, six ahead of Sylvestri in second place. And the Shamrorks&rsquo; Joe Termine is third with 37 points&hellip;Suffolk&rsquo;s Frank DeMayo now 11-1-1 with 2.51 goals-against average&hellip;Mike LaBianca registered two shorthanded goals in the first game back with Suffolk. That ties him for the league lead in that category with teammate Sylvestri&hellip;Royals lead the league with 30 power play goals. Oyster Bay second with 22.</p><h2><b>New England League</b></h2><p>In New England Jr. League action Tri Valley ended a seven game losing streal and a 12 game winless streak when they beat Tyngsboro 8-2. Jim Flynn, with a six point weekend for Tri Valley, had two goals, one assist in the Tyngsboro win Steve Forsyth of Tri Valley one goal, three assists, Scott Press two goals and Ed Hickey had 35 saves to notch his first win in goal&hellip;South Shore won twice, getting five first period goals enroute to a 10-3 win over Tri Valley and six different goal scorers in win at Cape Cod. Overall, Tom Barrett of South Shore had three goals and three assists in two wins. Caps Cod goalie Terry Milan had 52 saves in a 2-2 tie at Tyngsboro to highlight Cape Cod&rsquo;s weekend. His brother Paul had three more goals. Jim Griffin had six points on the weekend for Berlin and Bob Brelsford made 55 saves in the Berlin win over Springfield. First win in goal for Brelsford. Tom Gentile had three goals, two assists, Jeff Wojcik one goal three assists, Jack Morganstern one goal three assists, all for Springfield as they bounced back at home to whip Berlin. Fitchburg won their fifth in a row, holding down first place. Mickey Rego (1-4-5) Phil Bourque (2-3-5) and Paul Dickie (3-2-5) paced the win at Berlin. Jim Griffiths had a hat trick as well for Fitchburg, who defeated Fitchburg State College 9-5 in an exhibition game.</p><h2><b>N.Y.-Penn League</b></h2><p>New York Penn Major Jr. Hockey League race continues to be a tight battle as the season reaches the half-way mark. Rochester Monarchs hold a slim one point margin over second place Binghamton Barons while Niagara Falls is only three points behind Binghamton. Syracuse is in fourth place with 20 points while Buffalo Jr. Sabres are close behind with 19&hellip;BINGHAMTON: Barons are nearly invincible at home where they sport an impressive 9-1-0 record&hellip;Despite injuries that have racked the squad, the Barons have least number of losses of any team (six)&hellip;The club boasts the top two scorers in the league. Paul Iskyan (11-3445), and Joe Modafferi (19-26-45) and top goaltender. Ron Petronella, who has a sparkling 3.44 goals-against&hellip;BUFFALO: After a slow start Jr. Sabres have come on strong, trailing fourth place Syracuse Stars by only one point. Trio of John Elphick, Lou Martin and Dale Guynn form the basis of the Buffalo offense Jr. Sabres are undefeated in their last three games with two wins and a tie&hellip;NIAGARA FALLS: Goaltender Ken Denman has been the mainstay of Sharks defense with a fine 3.54 GAA. Joe Barrick leads the team in goals with 21 with Bill Alexander leading scorer (16-22-38)&hellip;Goaltender Denman has been an offensive threat too as he has one assist&hellip;For number of games played. Niagara Falls has given up the least number of goals of any team (84), approximately 3.8 per game&hellip;ROCHESTER: Despite leading the league by a slim one point margin, Monarchs have been a puzzle at home with a 2-5-1 record in last eight games on Rochester ice. On the road, however, they have captured their last three9&hellip;Kevin Fitzpatrick in a three way tie with the duo from Binghamton for league scoring lead (23-22-45) 23 goals top with Mark Anderson from Barons. Fitzpatrick leading penalty man in NYPMHL with 132 minutes. Teammates Ron Weathers, Rick Kozlowski and Mark Burgholzer are also in the top 10&hellip;Goaltender Bo Hewey sports a steady 3.77 GAA as each team has at least one netminder with goals-against of under 4.00&hellip;SYRACUSE: Good, consistent road play moved Stars record to an even 9-9-2 as Syracuse took back-to-back victories in Niagara Falls and Rochester&hellip;Syracuse has lost two in a row at home&hellip;Goaltending duo of Gary Colburn and Carl Miedaener looking much sharper&hellip;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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January 20, 1978

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INTERNATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE