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

December 29, 1978

The Hockey News December 29, 1978

<div class="byline">BY FRANK ORR</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-02605/4240517-1-eng-US/f0019-022.jpg" title="f0019-02" width="493" height="578"><figcaption class="caption-body">LANNY MCDONALD&hellip;&rsquo;Team Effort&rsquo;</figcaption></div>LEAFS TORONTO&mdash;Back in October when the 1978-79 National Hockey League schedule opened, the Toronto Maple Leafs were full of bright hopes.In &lsquo;77-78, the club has upgraded its performance considerably under rookie coach Roger Neilson and then pulled the major playoff upset by ousting New York Islanders in a quarter-final series.During the off-season, the Leafs figured they had improved their personnel with the acquisition of back-up goalie Paul Harrison, defensemen Dave Burrows and Dave Hutchison, forwards Garry Monahan, Walt McKechnie and Lome Stamler.Well, 30 games into the season the Leafs have been one of the NHL&rsquo;s biggest disappointments. Instead of challenging Boston Bruins for the Adams Division pennant and crashing into the very front ranks in the overall standings, the Leafs were staggering along at a .500 pace, 13 wins, 13 losses, four ties and they&rsquo;d scored one more goal than they&rsquo;d surrendered.The Leafs had been playing well when they hit a five-games-in-eight-days stretch&mdash;and lost them all. The club was outscored, 26-12, in losses to Philadelphia Flyers, Boston Bruins, Pittsburgh Penguins, New York Islanders and Buffalo Sabres.The Leafs&rsquo; big concern wasn&rsquo;t a close chase of the Bruins, who had disappeared over the hill in front of them, but staying up on the Sabres, who were in a rejuvenation under new coach Bill Inglis, for second place in the Adams sector.Any success the Leafs have had under Neilson has been based on disciplined defensive hockey but in their losing streak, they forgot all about that approach.&ldquo;For some reason which I can&rsquo;t explain, we&rsquo;ve lost much of our discipline,&rdquo; Neilson said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re not a fancy team but in that losing streak, we tried to play that way. Instead of trying to make the easy little play, we&rsquo;ve been trying to make the big one. We&rsquo;ve been looking for the long breakaway pass, instead of working the puck out of our zone with short passing.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve been taking unnecessary penalties, especially at critical times in games and our penalty-killing hasn&rsquo;t been the best. We simple have to get back to sound basic hockey to get on the track again.&rdquo;&ldquo;We do things like a real team, no matter what,&rdquo; said Leaf winger Lanny McDonald. &ldquo;When we sag, we all sag at the same time. In a couple of games, if it hadn&rsquo;t been for Mike Palmateer and Borje Salming, who did everything any player could do, it would have been worse.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think it&rsquo;s a lack of effort because the club has been trying very hard, maybe too hard, which has meant we&rsquo;ve been playing tight. But we all just have to dig down a little deeper to get out of this thing. We&rsquo;re just too good a hockey club to be playing this way.&rdquo;Although all hands were capable of dressing for the games, a couple of Leaf wingers were having physical problems. Ron Ellis, who missed 15 games with a knee injury, was working with a heavy brace which bothered his skating and Dan Maloney was forced to wear a heavy protective mask to protect a broken cheek bone.During the past few seasons when the Leafs went into a slump it was standard practice for owner Harold Ballard to jump all over his team with both feel. But maybe because it&rsquo;s close to Christmas Ballard gave everyone a vote of confidence.Ballard claimed that his team was trying hard and deserved pity more than criticism, that coach Neilson was by far the best man for the job and he wasn&rsquo;t interested in hiring Buffalo&rsquo;s recently fired general manager Punch Imlach. &#9632;

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IN THIS ISSUE

Leafs’ Undisciplined Play Caused Lengthy Dry Spell

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-04167/4241231-1-eng-US/f0028-042.jpg" title="f0028-04" width="592" height="702"></div> &#9632;

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Looking At WHA Goalers

Following are the latest player movements in hockey:<h2>NATIONAL LEAGUE</h2>ATLANTA&mdash;Ed Kea, D. assigned to Tulsa of CHL to play himself into condition after returning from injury list.BOSTON&mdash;Jim Pettie, G. and Bill Bennett, LW, recalled from Rochester of AHL, Bobby Schmautz, RW, placed on disabled list with broken nose and eye injury. Gilles Gilbert, G, placed on disabled list with bruised elbow. Al Secord, LW, placed on disabled list with pulled rib muscle.BUFFALO&mdash;Don Edwards, G. returned to lineup from injury list. Randy Ireland, G, returned to Hershey of AHL.CHICAGO&mdash;Tim Higgins, RW, and Doug Lecuyer, LW, recalled from New Brunswick of AHL.COLORADO&mdash;Andy Spruce, LW, returned to lineup from injury list. Clayton Pachal, LW, placed on disabled list with knee injury.DETROIT&mdash;Dave Hanson, LW, sold outright to Birmingham of WHA. Mai Davis, LW, returned to Kansas City of CHL. Fern LeBlanc, C, recalled from Kansas City.MINNESOTA&mdash;Mike Fidler, LW, assigned to Oklahoma City of CHL.MONTREAL&mdash;Doug Risebrough, C, and Pierre Larouche, C, returned to lineup from injury list.N.Y. RANGERS&mdash;Greg Polis, LW, recalled from New Haven of AHL.N.Y. ISLANDERS&mdash;Paul Joswiak, G. assigned to Fort Worth of CHL to replace Goran Hogosta who went to Moscow with Team NHL.PHILADELPHIA&mdash;Yves Preston, LW, and Peter Peelers, G, recalled from Maine of AHL. Preston replacement for Paul Holmgren, who received six-game suspension from NHL.ST. LOUIS&mdash;Rick Shinske, RW, and Brian Ogilvie, C, recalled from Salt Lake of CHL. Harvey Bennett, LW, and Rick Bowness, RW, sent to Salt Lake as replacements.TORONTO&mdash;Joel Quenneville, D, recalled from New Brunswick of AHL.VANCOUVER&mdash;Stan Smyl, RW, recalled from Dallas of CHL.WASHINGTON&mdash;Jim Bedard, G. recalled from Hershey of AHL. Rollie Boutin, G, returned to Hershey. Doug Patey, RW, recalled from Hershey. Robert Picard, Yvon Labre and Rick Green, all defensemen, returned to lineup from injury list.<h2>WORLD HOCKEY ASSN.</h2>BIRMINGHAM&mdash;Gaston Gingras, D, placed on disabled list with neck injury.CINCINNATI&mdash;Byron Shutt, LW, assigned to Springfield of AHL. Gerry Meehan, C. placed on disabled list with shoulder injury.NEW ENGLAND&mdash;Jim Warner, RW, recalled from Binghamton of AHL as replacement for George Lyle, RW, who was placed or disabled list with stomach muscle pull.WINNIPEG&mdash;Joe Daley, G, returned to lineup from injury list. Steve West, C, sent to Rochester of AHL on loan. Dale Yakiwchuk, C, recalled from Philadelphia.<h2>AMERICAN LEAGUE</h2>ROCHESTER&mdash;Mark Suzor, D, assigned to Saginaw of 1HL.<h2>CENTRAL LEAGUE</h2>KANSAS CITY&mdash;Kip Churchill, D, returned to Kalamazoo of IHL. Alan Stoneman, D, returned to Toledo of IHL.<h2>NORTH EASTERN LEAGUE</h2>CHERRY HILL&mdash;Carl Reid, D, released outright. Lome Rombough, LW, signed as free agent.NEW HAMPSHIRE&mdash;Andre Prefontaine and Paul Sylvester, forwards, signed as free agents.UTICA&mdash;Ken Yackei, D, and Bob Beatty, RW, signed as free agents. &#9632;

Hockey Players On The Move

John Wensink, noted enforcer, is in the midst of an amazing transformation into John Wensink, goal scorer, which might even stun his coach, Boston&rsquo;s Don Cherry.Wensink, who scored 16 goals in 80 games last year, reached the 20-goal mark after just JI games this year following a six goal week which included his first NHL hat trick.His three goals came in a 7-3 decision over St. Louis, and Wensink continued his scoring feats, with a pair of goals in his next game a 5-2 win over Washington. He and teammate Peter McNab, Boston&rsquo;s goalscoring leader the last two years, each scored their 20th goals in a 4-1 victory over the New York Rangers.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-03470/4240455-1-eng-US/f0018-032.jpg" title="f0018-03" width="497" height="786"><figcaption class="caption-body">JOHN WENSINK&hellip;Boston Bruins</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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NHL’S… Player of the Week

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THE HOCKEY NEWS THE INTERNATIONAL HOCKEY WEEKLY MAGAZINE VOL. 32 NO. 13 DECEMBER 29, 1978 64522 75¢

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0002-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-02952/4239345-1-eng-US/f0002-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">NHL president John Ziegler hopes to have expansion plans completed by mid-January.</figcaption></div>TORONTO&mdash;Just when everyone thought the National Hockey League had given up on the idea of another expansion, president John Ziegler came along to suggest that the league&rsquo;s expansion committee is going full steam ahead with its plan for absorbing five World Hockey Association teams.Ziegler said he even expects the committee to have the plans ready by mid-January.The NHL chief executive told an informal press meeting recently that the expansion committee&rsquo;s job now concerns talking with each of the NHL teams to try and reach a consensus on how the actual expansion program should be carried out.While Ziegler spoke optimistically about it, at least three and even up to six NHL teams were still cool to accommodating the rival WHA teams. Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs were leading the opposition to the acceptance of the five WHA teams&mdash;New England, Quebec, Winnipeg, Edmonton and Cincinnati&mdash;into the NHL. Los Angeles was another against expansion.There has been opposition as well to the NHL&rsquo;s proposal to bring a new team into the New Jersey Meadowlands. The Philadelphia Flyers are one team now favoring a Meadowlands entry.Ziegler said a new expansion proposal would need only three-quarters approval of the NHL teams. However, he said it was too early to say how any vote would go because they were still awaiting a plan from the expansion committee.One reason why Ziegler was more optimistic about the current expansion talks was the fact the five WHA teams seeking franchises now have the adequate financial backing to ensure protection against any litigation arising from previous WHA operations. Ziegler said this was one reason why all former expansion talks ended up with disastrous results.Still Ziegler faces several problems before the NHL agrees to admit any new teams. Otte concerns indemnification for New York and Philadelphia teams in the event a Meadowlands&rsquo; franchise is approved and to Boston Bruins before the New England Whalers can be accepted into the NHL.There is also the matter of WHA teams returning players to NHL clubs from which they defected over the years.While Ziegler was awaiting plans for NHL expansion, another facet of the pro game is apparently in jeopardy. The Canada Cup series, in which the NHL supplies its best players to face the top European hockey powers, is on shaky ground and it&rsquo;s all because of an internal squabble between Hockey Canada and the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association.The principals involved in the hassle are R. Alan Eagleson, executive director of Hockey Canada, and the CAHA&rsquo;s, president Gordon Renwick.Eagleson said the 1979 Canada Cup tournament, to be held in Canadian cities next September, had only a 20 per cent chance of being staged and that future events of this nature were also in jeopardy unless the CAHA hands control of international professional hockey exchanges over to Hockey Canada.Eagleson says he cannot do the job justice as international tournament co-ordinator as long as the CHA continues to meddle in the affairs of his organization. Eagleson said he would recommend that the series be delayed uniitl98O.The CAHA, through Renwick, agreed to give up its seat on the International Ice Hockey Federation to Hockey Canada this past June. The agreement was to have been made formal last October but the CAHA backed off and refused, saying its full board of governors had not authorized it.Eagleson had proceeded to arrange Canada&rsquo;s participation in world championship tournaments in 1979, 1981 and 1982 and in exchange would have the Canada Cup super series in Canada for 1979 and 1982. He says it was all done with the backing of the CAHA and Renwick.Eagleson says that the loss of revenue would run into the millions if the CAHA insists on trying to go it alone. He said the NHL players would not support the Canadian body and it would end in disaster. &#9632;

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NHL Still Thinking Expansion; Canada Cup Future In Jeopardy

MONTREAL&mdash;The National Hockey League has dealt with another series of stick swinging events and abuse of officials by handing out suspensions and fines, the most spectacular being Paul Holmgren&rsquo;s six-game ban for knocking an opponent over the head.NHL executive vice-president Brian O&rsquo;Neill suspended Holmgren for a six-game period and fined him $200 for bringing his hockey stick down on Carol Vadnais of the Rangers with a two-handed motion.&ldquo;Players do not have a license to use their stick against an opponent,&rdquo; said O&rsquo;Neill. &ldquo;Provocation does not create such a license. If a player swings his stick to attempt to injure, he will lose the privilege of playing.&rdquo;Holmgren maintained he was speared by Vadnais. The Philadelphia winger struck Vadnais with his slick, causing the Ranger defenseman to tail to the ice. He said he was lucky he had been wearing a helmet or else he would have been seriously injured.In two other suspensions, O&rsquo;Neill set down Washington forward Tom Rowe for two games for a shoving match with an official. Rowe received a game and gross misconduct penalties&mdash;and fines of $1,000 each&mdash;for pushing linesman Bob Luther in a game at Los Angeles Dec. 4.Dave &lsquo;Tiger&rsquo; Williams of Toronto was handed a three-game suspension for swinging his stick after he was assessed a minor and major penalty for an altercation with Pittsburgh goaler Denis Herron Dec. 6 in Pittsburgh. When Wicks sent Williams off, he swung his stick after being pushed by Herron.The suspensions followed a 15-game sentence handed Wilf Paiement of the Colorado Rockies for two-handing Dennis Polonich of Detroit with his slick. Polonich was injured suffering a broken nose and a cut face. Paiement has completed his suspension and has returned to I he Rockies&rsquo; lineup. &#9632;

Holmgren Suspension Tops NHL Crackdown

<h2>THE NHL&hellip;</h2>Atlanta&hellip;&hellip;19Boston&hellip;&hellip;5Buffalo&hellip;&hellip;12Chicago&hellip;&hellip;15Colorado&hellip;&hellip;9Detroit&hellip;&hellip;7Los Angeles&hellip;&hellip;13Minnesota&hellip;&hellip;20Montreal&hellip;&hellip;11N.Y. Islanders&hellip;&hellip;18N.Y. Rangers&hellip;&hellip;17Philadelphia&hellip;&hellip;6Pittsburgh&hellip;&hellip;15St. Louis&hellip;&hellip;10Toronto&hellip;&hellip;19Vancouver&hellip;&hellip;8Washington&hellip;&hellip;4<h2>THE WHA&hellip;</h2>Birmingham&hellip;&hellip;25Cincinnati&hellip;&hellip;27Edmonton&hellip;&hellip;24Indianapolis&hellip;&hellip;27New England&hellip;&hellip;25Quebec&hellip;&hellip;25Winnipeg&hellip;&hellip;28<h2>OTHER LEAGUES&hellip;</h2>Colleges&hellip;&hellip;29American&hellip;&hellip;32Central&hellip;&hellip;33International&hellip;&hellip;34North Eastern&hellip;&hellip;35Ontario Major&hellip;&hellip;36Pacific&hellip;&hellip;37WHL&hellip;&hellip;38Quebec Major&hellip;&hellip;39<h2>COLUMNISTS&hellip;</h2>Ken McKenzie&hellip;&hellip;4Bob Verdi&hellip;&hellip;2Bill Libby&hellip;&hellip;8Frank Orr&hellip;&hellip;12<h2>FEATURES&hellip;</h2>Player Movements&hellip;&hellip;5Fan Forum&hellip;&hellip;10Hockey People&hellip;&hellip;14NHL Scoreboard&hellip;&hellip;22WHA Scoreboard&hellip;&hellip;26Minor Scoreboard&hellip;&hellip;35Amateur Scoreboard&hellip;&hellip;39 &#9632;

Where To Find It…

<div class="byline">BY DICK DENNY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-011053/4239314-1-eng-US/f0002-012.jpg" title="f0002-01" width="532" height="686"><figcaption class="caption-body">NELSON SKALBANIA&hellip;Time To Get Out</figcaption></div>INDIANAPOLIS&mdash;The party&rsquo;s over for the Indianapolis Racers. Nelson Skalbania called it a day at midnight Dec. 15, which was supposed to be pay day for the club but wasn&rsquo;t.However, the Vancouver millionaire, whose 16-month reign as majority owner of the World Hockey Association franchise was filled with little more than acrimony between himself, the city of Indianapolis and his limited partners, was not present for the death sentence.That was read by his representative, Gordon Robson, at 7:05 p.m. in the lobby of the Columbia Club, where he and the limited partners, who owned 49 percent of the team, had negotiated six hours in an 11th hour move to save the four and one-half year-old club from financial strangulation.After Robson had read a short statement in which he said, &ldquo;We regret that effective at midnight today, the Indianapolis Racers of the World Hockey Association will cease operations,&rdquo; one of the limited partners said in an aside, &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know why Skalbania didn&rsquo;t come himself.&rdquo;Instead, Skalbania sent a long and acerbic telex message to officials of Market Square Associates, the entity which controls Market Square Arena, where the Racers played; to his limited partners; to his coach and general manager, Pat Stapleton; to his assistant general manager. Rod Zaine, and to selected members of the media.The message was sent on Dec. 13. Stapleton was instructed to hold the message for later release, but word of it leaked out.&ldquo;It seems as if the body has left the aeroplane without a parachute,&rdquo; Skalbania began the message, which went on to list conditions he said had to be met if he was to continue operating the team, &ldquo;and it is only a matter of time when it will hit ground.&rdquo;&ldquo;The incentive to keep writing cheques to cover the cost of playing hockey in Indianapolis seems ludicrous. The almost total lack of support from those in the city who would benefit from the continuance of hockey in Indianapolis leads me to believe I am nothing but a damned fool.&rdquo;Skalbania said he had no quarrel with the &ldquo;hard core of about 4,000 loyal hockey fans in Indianapolis, whose enthusiasm has not faltered even though things have looked pretty dim at limes.&rdquo;He also said it would take $800,000 to complete the rest of the season and added he already had personally written checks on the Racers&rsquo; behalf totalling $1 million, plus some $200,000 in personal expenses.Skalbania also stated, &ldquo;The WHA has already advanced the Racers $100,000 of the $1,000,000 (for indemnification if Indianapolis was not a part of a merger). But the limited partners selfishly refuse to accept this money and instead wish to kick the quivering corpse.&rdquo;The limited partners acquiesced in this area and put out a press release which stated, &ldquo;At the request of Mr. Skalbania, the limited partners in Hockey World Limited have executed an agreement which they understand will permit a $100,000 advance to the Racers, this advance from a $1 million indemnification compensation agreement which would be forthcoming to the Racers in the event of a merger between the NHL and WHA, assuming the Racers are not part of the merger.&ldquo;The limited partners hope this action will assist Mr. Skalbania in meeting his obligation to continue the Racers as a viable franchise.&rdquo;Robson relayed the limited partners&rsquo; message to Skalbania by phone, but the majority owner said &ldquo;shut it down.&rdquo;&ldquo;They (the limited partners) wouldn&rsquo;t budge an inch,&rdquo; said Robson after the team&rsquo;s final press conference. &ldquo;They wouldn&rsquo;t come up with one&mdash;cent.&rdquo; Robson then referred all questions to Tom Jones of Franklin, Ind., an attorney representing Skalbania in the negotiations.&ldquo;The club probably will file bankruptcy and turn it over to a Federal court referee,&rdquo; said Jones. &ldquo;There are some assets.&rdquo;David Givens, representative of Indiana National Bank as a limited partner, and Stapleton challenged Skalbania&rsquo;s stand on several points.&ldquo;Nelson had screamed at us about being obstructionists,&rdquo; said Givens, &ldquo;but the general partner was calling the shots. We released the $100,000 from the WHA and put out a quick release on il, but Nelson said shut it down.&ldquo;We negotiated for six hours and a valiant attempt was made to resolve the issue. But it was simply a question of who was going to come up with the funds for the team to go forward.&ldquo;Obviously, Nelson didn&rsquo;t feel he was going to and it was not our obligation. Both sides said the other wouldn&rsquo;t move an inch. Nelson wouldn&rsquo;t bend despite his obligation io take it forward. I was greatly disappointed for the loyal fans and the players.&rdquo;Stapleton, who did not attend the press conference ending a team he helped lead to an Eastern Division championship in 1976 and a stunning four-game sweep over Cincinnati in the first round of the 1977 playoffs, said Skalbania &ldquo;knew what he was signing.&rdquo;&ldquo;In the last week the public was made to believe through the media the limited partners were responsible for not carrying on,&rdquo; said Stapleton, who smiled when asked about his future, replying, &ldquo;I guess like everyone else I&rsquo;m unemployed.&rdquo; &#9632;

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Indy Cuts WHA Back To 6Teams By Folding

<div class="byline">BY BOB NEUMEIER</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0003-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-011060/4239438-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg"></div>HARTFORD&mdash;They sit on the bus side-by-side, bookends to their beloved crossword puzzles. Sitting on the window with pen and puzzle in hand is the father, the notoriously bad speller, but a kind of master of ceremonies (an Art Fleming, in their Let&rsquo;s Solve This Crossword Puzzle Game). Yes, the father asks the questions.On the aisle, sits the kibbitzing son. The puzzle belongs to the father; he is there merely to suggest, to try and fill the empty spaces.How ironic.Because when the time comes to earn their living playing hockey, their roles are then reversed. The game now belongs to the son, while the father assumes the supporting role.The father, 50-year-old Gordie Howe, would not have it any other way.The son, 23-year-old Mark Howe, is still much too young to know it any other way. He was just born to play hockey.Ah, breeding.Think about the rolling blue grass thoroughbred breeding farms of Kentucky, the Spendthrift&rsquo;s and Claiborne&rsquo;s, with their pure white fences coralling the high-priced sons and daughters of Secretariat, Bold Bidder, Demascus, and Dr. Fager. Imagine these magnificent yearlings, their blood, for example, a mixture of the speed of a Bold Ruler and the courage of a Susan&rsquo;s Girl. In time, they will be shipped to the sales rings of Keeneland and Saratoga, where millionaires from all over the world will pay up to $700,000 just for a chance to see these horses run under their racing silk.Mark Howe is a hockey, high-priced thoroughbredHow else can you explain his unbridled passion for the sport? Where did he receive that sixth hockey sense? The speed? The shot? The anticipation?Ah, breeding.Mark remembers.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-02914/4239431-1-eng-US/f0003-022.jpg" title="f0003-02" width="553" height="1278"></div>&ldquo;I reached my fifth birthday, when I first played in organized hockey in the mite division in Detroit,&rdquo; Mark Howe said. &ldquo;But I was on skates a few years before that, probably at two or three.&rdquo;His father also remembers.&ldquo;Even at that young age, I could tell he really enjoyed skating,&rdquo; said Gordie.&ldquo;We used to take him down to the Detroit Olympia or on the frozen rink in the yard and he never wanted to come off the ice. And what amazed me was how quickly his skating developed.&rdquo;As the years rolled on and Papa became the toast of professional hockey with the Red Wings, Mark Howe continued to skate. And skate. And skate some more.&ldquo;I just loved to play hockey,&rdquo; Mark said, &ldquo;and I knew very early in my life that professional hockey was my sole ambition.&rdquo;So, Mark Howe played in the Detroit amateur hockey programs. But like the child prodigy who jumped from grade two to grade four, then from grade five to grade seven, Mark Howe always played at the accelerated level.Pee wees (ages 11-12 by rule) from seven to nine years old. Bantams at age ten. Midgets at 13. Junior B at 14. The Olympics in Sapporo, Japan, at age 16. Mark was a hockey wunderkind, to be sure.His brother also remembers.&ldquo;When we went to school, Mark would race home to organize a game on our outdoor rink,&rdquo; recalled Marty, &ldquo;and if it was too warm, he would get a street hockey game going. It didn&rsquo;t matter to Mark whether three kids played or 13. He just played and played and played. And if nobody was around, he would spend hours shooting pucks or tennis balls at the garage, hours on end. Over and over again.&rdquo;As Jenny Fields, the heroine of &ldquo;The World According to Garp,&rdquo; so aptly observed about this youthful behavior, &ldquo;Hathaway snared the hard, bouncy ball in the looping basket on the end of his lacrosse stick and flicked it back against the wall, over and over and over again. She could have put a stop to this, but she had a son of her own, after all, and she recognized the need in boys to devote themselves, mindlessly, to a repetitious physical act. It seemed to relax them, she had noticed&mdash;whether they were five like Garp, or seventeen, like Hathaway.&rdquo;Marty and Mark&rsquo;s mother, Colleen, also recognized this need, no matter how many windows Mark shattered. Like Garp and Hathaway, Mark practiced his shot at five, at seventeen, and Gordie will tell you that you might catch him firing away in his own backyard, even though he is now a family man (wife, Ginger; son, Travis), himself.He moved to Toronto for junior hockey with brother Marty at age 17 to become the most valuable player in the 1972-73 Memorial Cup with the Marlies of Toronto.&ldquo;He was so dominating in that series,&rdquo; recalled Gordie, &ldquo;that the pro scouts all raced over to me with the same response. This kid can&rsquo;t miss. And the fact that I was soon able to play with my sons, both Mark and Marty, in Houston was the greatest thing that ever happened to me. The first time I stepped on the ice with the boys was the most exciting moment of my life in hockey.&rdquo;It is difficult to believe that this is Mark Howe&rsquo;s sixth season in the World Hockey Association. At age 23, no less. To list his statistical accomplishments would be meaningless. Just ask the people in professional hockey. They will tell you that 23-year-old Mark Howe is one of the ten best players in the world.And the players?&ldquo;Mark Howe is the, best hockey player I&rsquo;ve ever played with,&rdquo; claims his present center, Andre Lacroix. &ldquo;And I&rsquo;ve played with guys like Bobby Hull, Danny Grant, Dennis Hull&hellip;some great offensive players. Mark&rsquo;s wrist shot is harder than anybody&rsquo;s slap shot. He skates like the wind and plays incredible defense. Just ask the goalies.&rdquo;&ldquo;Mark Howe? The hardest shot I&rsquo;ve ever faced,&rdquo; said John Garrett. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s so dangerous not only because of the velocity, but because he can shoot it so quickly and so accurately. Ask any of the goalies.&ldquo;He seems to lean on that wrist shot and roll his wrists to generate that power,&rdquo; analyzed Al Smith. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s just unbelievable the way he can shoot that thing.&rdquo;But shooting is just part of the Mark Howe game.&ldquo;A great passer, always soft, always right on your stick,&rdquo; chimed Dave Keon (leave it to Keon to pick up on a subtley like passing).&ldquo;I would pay to see a race between Bobby Orr before he had his knee problems and Mark Howe,&rdquo; said John McKenzie.And coaches?&ldquo;He&rsquo;s about the best I&rsquo;ve ever had,&rdquo; thought Bill Dineen.&ldquo;Mark Howe is the most talented player I&rsquo;ve every coached,&rdquo; added Harry Neale.Perhaps, the sire himself, Gordie Howe, sums up his son&rsquo;s talents the best, &ldquo;The only bad part about playing on a line with Mark is that I can&rsquo;t watch him.&rdquo;Ah, breeding.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-03618/4239424-1-eng-US/f0003-032.jpg" title="f0003-03" width="1145" height="1894"><figcaption class="caption-body">Photos by Steve BabineauMarty Howe, upper left, says brother Mark, above, was always organizing some kind of hockey game no matter how many played. Father Gordie, lower left, plays a supporting role in son Mark&rsquo;s career.</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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Mark Howe’s Top Breeding Produced Sure Super Star

HARTFORD&mdash;It may seem like a strange thing to say, but Mark Howe could have a profound effect on whether any merger between the NHL and WHA succeeds or fails.The Boston Bruins drool when his very name is mentioned. Many hockey people believe they have and will try to block a merger or consolidation of the Iwo leagues if they cannot put Mark into their black-and gold uniform.The Bruins hold his NHL rights.&mdash;NEUMEIER &#9632;

Will Bruins Block Merger If They Can’t Get Mark?

<div class="byline">Ken McKenzie&#x2019;s</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-011111/4239521-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg" title="f0004-01" width="486" height="482"></div>&bull; IRVING GRUNDMAN, executive vice-president and managing director of the Montreal Canadiens, advises that he and no one else is calling the shots for the Canadiens. &ldquo;Rightly or wrongly, and I&rsquo;m sure I&rsquo;ll pull some boners, I have the final decision on everything that happens to the hockey club,&rdquo; Grundman told us the other day. &ldquo;When I make mistakes I expect to take the flak, but let&rsquo;s have no misunderstanding about who is calling the shots.&rdquo;&hellip;Pat Kelly, a class guy all the way, showed his style the wav he left the Colorado Rockies. Fired as coach of the Rockies, Pat went out of his way to cooperate with the media as well as with players and everyone else right to the end. He will scout for Colorado near his home in Charlotte, N.C. with his primary assignment to watch the Birmingham Bulls of the WHA and the Atlanta Flames&hellip;Len Berry, younger brother of Doug Berry, who was a Rockies&rsquo; 1977 third-round draft choice and who signed with Edmonton Oilers, is a great prospect for the University of Denver&hellip;Sam Pollock, former vice-president and general manager of the Canadiens, has seen but three Canadiens&rsquo; games this season&hellip;Boston Bruins have three Americans on their roster and all come from the Boston area. They are Bob Miller, Mike Milbury and Tom Songin. This is what the National Hockey Teague has been aiming at for years. The best thing that could ever happen to the United States-based NHL clubs is to have players on the team who hail from that particular area&hellip;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-021066/4239514-1-eng-US/f0004-022.jpg" title="f0004-02" width="291" height="497"><figcaption class="caption-body">Irving Grundman</figcaption></div>&bull; ALDO GUIDOLIN, new coach of the Colorado Rockies, is a refreshing interview after a game, be it a win or a loss for his club. Guidolin&rsquo;s interview sessions often wind up with the media laughing at the coach&rsquo;s comments and the coach asking certain members of the media their opinions of the game, or a certain play&hellip;Jean Beliveau is back in Montreal from San Diego where he did a special sports broadcast with Tom Seaver. The former Montreal great makes an outstanding impression everywhere he goes&hellip;Marcel Pronovost, deposed coach of the Buffalo Sabres, was not demoralized by the recent turn of events. Pronovost had the following to say to Jacques Beauchamp of the Philadelphia Journal: &ldquo;I hit the bottom in my life. I got up and what&rsquo;s happening today is not a disaster. I will not blast anyone for what&rsquo;s happened to me. I don&rsquo;t know what I&rsquo;ll do. I will simply leave it in the hands of God.&rdquo;&hellip;Punch Imlach, fired as general manager of the Sabres at the same time as Pronovost will probably retire from hockey. He&rsquo;s 60 years of age and has had two serious heart attacks&hellip;The Los Angeles Blades had to plunk down a heavy rental to the Sports Arena before they played their first game there in the Pacific Hockey League. The PHL is off to a fine start and optimism runs high. Phoenix Roadrunners, hottest team in the league at present, are looking forward to their exhibition game against the Cincinnati Stingers of the WHA on January 30. The game will be played in Phoenix.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-03961/4239507-1-eng-US/f0004-032.jpg" title="f0004-03" width="290" height="511"><figcaption class="caption-body">Aldo Guidolin</figcaption></div>&bull; BILL BARBER is delighted to be back playing on a line with Bobby Clarke and Reggie Leach for the Flyers, &ldquo;Playing on a line with a Clarke guarantees you so many points,&rdquo; credits Barber. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s the greatest center in the game. Anyone playing on his wing should score points&rdquo;&hellip; &ldquo;Barber is a complete hockey player,&rdquo; states his coach Bob McCammon. &ldquo;He might not get the headlines too often, but I&rsquo;ll tell you one thing: he makes a coach&rsquo;s job a lot easier. He does so much for the team&rdquo;&hellip;Barber, along with his Philadelphia Flyer teammates, are keying up for the exhibition game against Soviet Wings on January 2 at The Spectrum. &ldquo;You&rsquo;re always psyched for a game of such importance,&rdquo; Barber mentioned. &ldquo;The eyes of the hockey world are upon you. You&rsquo;ve got to play your best&rdquo;&hellip;The Flyers are touting the offensive play of big Bob Dailey, their towering defenseman, who has been on the ice for 18 of the team&rsquo;s 22 goals in a recent four-game stretch. Dailey was involved in 11 of the 12 goals Philly scored in two consecutive outings. Flyer publicist Joe Kadlec claims Dailey is playing the best hockey of his career&hellip;Terry Harper, who was waived through the NHL by the Detroit Red Wings in order to allow him to go to Kansas City of the CHL as a defensive coach, has put the skates back on and is filling a dual role with the minor league farm club.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-04859/4239500-1-eng-US/f0004-042.jpg" title="f0004-04" width="288" height="500"><figcaption class="caption-body">Bob Dailey</figcaption></div>&bull; THE CARIBOO Hockey League, a strong intermediate &lsquo;A&rsquo; loop in British Columbia, is one of the oldest continuously operating amateur hockey circuits. The league was formed in the 1920s and its current president, John Panagrot, is mayor of Quesnel, B.C. after coming to the town to play as a goaltender 10 years ago&hellip;One of the Cariboo teams, Prince I George Mohawks, have invited the Japanese national team for an exhibition game and will fly to Japan in February for a six-game series&hellip;A couple of players who often tangled in the American Hockey League and were known more for their fighting than anything else have proven they can play hockey, too. Boston&rsquo;s John Wensink recently notched his first NHL hat trick and is tied for the club lead in goal-scoring while Gilles Lupien of Montreal is working on a lengthy streak of not having been on the ice for any opposition goals against. Lupien&rsquo;s gone more than 12 games without a goal being scored&hellip;A nice scene occurred outside the Boston Bruins&rsquo; dressing room at the Spectrum in Philadelphia where Jim and Joe Watson&rsquo;s father was walking by. He was stopped by Boston coach Don Cherry who said: &lsquo;Say hello to Joe for me, Mr. Watson; you&rsquo;ve got two great sons&rsquo;. Many coaches whose team had just lost 9-2 wouldn&rsquo;t even appear for a meet-the-press session, let alone think of an injured player from another team&hellip; Tom Songin, newest Bruin, scored his first NHL goal against Toronto earlier this month. He stands six-foot-three and weighs 200 pounds. He is a nephew of the late Butch Songin, prominent Boston athlete who once quarterbacked the Hamilton Tiger-Cats to the Grey Cup. Tom is a right winger is and the Bruins expect big things from him.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-05720/4239493-1-eng-US/f0004-052.jpg" title="f0004-05" width="278" height="500"><figcaption class="caption-body">John Panagrot</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0004-01

PASSING THE PUCK

OFFICIAL NATIONAL HOCKEY WEEKLY FOUNDED 1947VOLUME32, NUMBER 13 DECEMBER 29, 1978Kenneth W. McKenziePresident and Publisher.Charlie HalpinEditorial DirectorTom MurrayAssistant PublisherPeter EmersonVice-President SalesSuite 600,55 University Ave., Toronto, Ont. M5J 2H7, Telephone: (416) 361-0116Advertising Representatives:MontrealMary McCutcheon1434 St. Catherine Street West, Suite 217Montreal, Can. &bull; H3G 1B7 (514) 866-4841New York:Tom Murray850 Third Ave.New York, N.Y. 10022 &bull; (212)593-2100Chicago:Hooper, Jones & Associates3322 W. Peterson AvenueChicago, III. 60659 &bull; (312)478-5544Published weekly except monthly June through September by W. C.C. Publishing Ltd., 1434 St. Catherine Street West, Montreal, Canada H3G 1R7 &bull; (514) 8664841 U.S. C/O W.C.C. Publishing Corp., 850 Third Ave. New-York, N.Y. 10022, (212) 5932100.YEARLY SUBSCRIPTION RATES: $11.95 in Canada, $12.95 in the U.S.A. and $17.25 in Foreign Countries. Second class postage paid at New York, N.Y. 10001 and at additional mailing offices. SEND ADDRESS CHANGES TO 1434 ST. CATHERINE STREET WEST, SUITE 217, MONTREAL, CANADA H3G 1R7. Second Class mail Registration No. 1327. All inquiries pertaining to subscriptions should be addressed to Subscription Dept., The Hockey News, 1434 St. Catherine St. W., Montreal, Canada H3G 1R7, Printed in Canada. &#9632;

MAST HEAD

THE HOCKEY NEWS

<div class="byline">BY RUSS WHITE</div>WASHINGTON&mdash;It took a &ldquo;home game&rdquo; for Mark Lofthouse, a game thousands of miles away from Capital Centre, for the young right wing to really put his game together.Playing at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver, where he had capped a fine junior career with the New Westminster Bruins in Memorial Cup competition, Lofthouse scored his first major league hat trick.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-06428/4239559-1-eng-US/f0004-062.jpg" title="f0004-06" width="551" height="656"><figcaption class="caption-body">MARK LOFTHOUSE&hellip;1st Hat Trick</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-07277/4239552-1-eng-US/f0004-072.jpg" title="f0004-07" width="545" height="650"><figcaption class="caption-body">DENNIS MARUK&hellip;Leading Scorer</figcaption></div>Lofthouse&rsquo;s three goals also gave the Washington Caps their first victory in Canada in five years as they sacked the Vancouver Canucks, 7-5.The Caps entered the game with an 029-2 mark in gamies played North of the U.S. border. The Caps were 0-8 in Vancouver, 0-13 in Montreal, and 0-8-2 at Toronto.Even though Lofthouse received a nasty wound on his right hand when teammate Guy Charron&rsquo;s skate cut into it during a line change, Lofthouse drew solid mending from a physician he had known as a junior and returned to the game.He scored a pair of goals in the second period and added a third in the final 20 minutes. On each occasion, Lofthouse was assisted by another British Columbia junior standout, rookie Ryan Walter.&ldquo;I am very happy for Mark Lofthouse,&rdquo; Caps&rsquo; coach Danny Belisle said after the game. &ldquo;The kid has been struggling, having a bad game, then a good one, then a mediocre game. He couldn&rsquo;t get the big game and he wasn&rsquo;t consistent.&ldquo;Tonight,&rdquo; Belisle added, &ldquo;Mark showed me what he wanted to do and I think everyone knows, just what he can do now.&rdquo;The three goals pushed Lofthouse&rsquo;s total to nine this year, his second year in the NHL. He managed only two goals in 18 games for the Caps last year and shuffled about in the minor leagues.Belisle has Lofthouse playing on what has been called the Western Line along with Walter at center and Paul Mulvey, a left wing up from Portland of the Western Hockey League.The hat trick game was the first this year by a Capital and the feat was almost duplicated the next game when Tom Rowe had a couple of early goals against the Rockies at Capital Centre. Rowe upped his total to 13 but couldn&rsquo;t get No. 3 against Michel Plasse.The Caps have managed to win five of their last seven games on the road this year. The victory at Vancouver pushed them to a 5-9-2 road record, only two wins off their best road victory total ever. The home record was a disappointing 2-9-2, however,Earlier in the year when the Caps couldn&rsquo;t win at home, Belisle facetiously suggested the team play some of its home games at the Baltimore Civic Center.There was further movement in the goaltending ranks for the Caps as Rollie Boutin was returned to the Hershey Bears and Jim Bedard was brought back to the major league club.Bedard, 22, played three games with Hershey and one of them was a 1-0 loss in overtime.Bernie Wolfe went three straight games in goal for the first time in a year and was the winner in a 4-1 decision at Colorado and the 7-5 game at Vancouver. Wolfe took the 4-2 loss to the Rockies at Capital Centre in a game that the Caps were up, 3-1.The Caps continue to get some solid efforts from center Dennis Maruk, whose two assists against Colorado at home, moved him into the team&rsquo;s scoring lead with 24 points, a point ahead of Bob Sirois and Guy Charron.Maruk had only five goals but no one has been as close and been denied as many times than the ex-Minnesota-Cleveland vet. Maruk has hit at least a dozen posts this year.The Caps had a scare when Maruk injured his elbow, Rick Green had his eye scratched and Robert Picard had his shoulder damaged at Denver but all three were ready to play in the next two games.Right wing Rowe had an appointment with Brian O&rsquo;Neill in NHL&rsquo;S headquarters in Montreal to determine I what punishment there would be for a Rowe&rsquo;s behaviour in recent game at I Los Angeles. Rowe received a game and gross misconduct during a frustrating 10-2 loss by the Caps. He was then handed a two-game suspension by the league. &#9632;

f0004-06

Caps Seek ‘Home’ Located On Road

<div class="byline">BY TOM HENSHAW</div>BOSTON&mdash;The firing of general manager Punch Imlach and coach Marcel Pronovost at Buffalo and the interim hiring of scout Bill Inglis to coach the Sabres has had its repercussions in Boston.Some Bruins folks, fans and players alike, have been getting increasingly nervous over the fact that coach Don Cherry&rsquo;s contract expires at the end of the current season and there have, as yet, been no talks toward a new one.And recently Cherry named Buffalo as one of four cities in which he&rsquo;d like to coach if he weren&rsquo;t directing the Bruins.Lately, the outspoken Boston coach has taken in fending off formal questioning about his contract and his future with the Bruins. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll be talking to Harry Sinden about it pretty soon now,&rdquo; he&rsquo;ll say.But, in one-on-one situations with various hockey writers. Cherry&rsquo;s inner feelings about the situation may be bubbling to the surface.At practice the other day, he was noted wearing a baseball cap with &ldquo;SF&rdquo; (for San Francisco) on il instead of the black Bruins&rsquo; cap with the gold braid, which has been mislaid.&ldquo;Maybe I should have worn a Buffalo cap,&rdquo; he cracked.&ldquo;One day,&rdquo; he told another writer, &ldquo;I was driving with my wife and I was ranting and raving and she said to me, &lsquo;You can coach anywhere, if the Bruins sign you, fine. If they don&rsquo;t, fine. We&rsquo;ve moved before.&rsquo; That&rsquo;s the way I&rsquo;m going to look at it from now on.&rdquo;Cherry spent 16 years in hockey&rsquo;s bush leagues, many of them with Eddie Shore&rsquo;s less than generous Springfield Indians where he developed a high regard for dimes and nickels as well as dollar bills.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-01962/4239645-1-eng-US/f0005-012.jpg" title="f0005-01" width="559" height="487"><figcaption class="caption-body">HARRY SINDEN&hellip;No Problems</figcaption></div>He likes to tell how he made $4,500 year for nine years in a row and (her was cut to $4,200 in the 10th year.&ldquo;The only thing I learned from Eddie Shore,&rdquo; he says, &ldquo;was the value of mmoney.&rdquo;Cherry, who was named coach of the year a couple years ago and has piloted the Bruins to the Stanley Cup finals for the past two seasons, gets a reporter $60,000 a year to coach the Bruins, figure which is, at best, an educated guess.He has pointedly remarked that Harry Neale, the rookie coach a Vancouver, is said to get $75,000, &ldquo;and that&rsquo;s more than I&rsquo;m getting.&rdquo; Fret Shero, who is to coaches what Bobby Orr was to players (financially, that is), gets a reputed $250,000 a year for coaching and general managing the Rangers.Cherry recently was asked during a television interview where he would be coaching next year.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I hope to be coaching here in Boston. But you never know where you&rsquo;re going to be. When I got here five years ago I heard the general manager say, &lsquo;Coaches are hired to be fired.&rsquo; That was in introduction.&ldquo;I think I&rsquo;ll be here in Boston, I hope I am. I love all my players and I love Boston.&rdquo;Asked where he would like to coach if he weren&rsquo;t in Boston, Cherry named Philadelphia, Washington, Buffalo and Montreal, although not necessarily in that order of preference.On the surface anyway, general manager Harry Sinden appears to be unconcerned about what everyone else considers a problem with Cherry&rsquo;s contract.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want to discuss this until I&rsquo;ve talked it over with Don,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Once we sit down over a cup of coffee, I&rsquo;m sure it won&rsquo;t take five minutes to settle the matter.&rdquo;&ldquo;Harry and I have good rapport,&rdquo; adds Cherry, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m sure we&rsquo;ll thrash il out okay.&rdquo;But no one else is that sure.WHAT&rsquo;S BRUIN: Shaky Walton left the Bruins for the World Hockey Association five years ago. The other day Mike Walton returned to the fold.&ldquo;He&rsquo;ll not be called Shaky on this club,&rdquo; ruled Cherry. &ldquo;He&rsquo;ll be Mike, not Shaky. Mike has always tried to live up to that nickname but, don&rsquo;t forget, he hasn&rsquo;t had the Cherry touch yet. I knew him before he was Shaky.&rdquo;Actually, Walton was always Shaky, inheriting the nickname from his father, Bob, who was also a hockey player.Walton, now 33, contributed two assists in his first game as a recycled Bruin against Philadelphia. He played minus the helmet that he has worn in recent years with Vancouver and St. Louis.Anne Mitchell of suburban Wakefield, a Bruins season ticket holder for years, has started a petition aimed at making the Bruins retire Bobby Orr&rsquo;s No. 4 jersey. She collected 1,000 signatures from fans during the Dec. 1 game with Philly and hopes for 9,000 more.Meanwhile, the Massachusetts State Legislature is entertaining a resolve also asking the Bruins to hang up No. 4 for good.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-02750/4239638-1-eng-US/f0005-022.jpg" title="f0005-02" width="542" height="660"><figcaption class="caption-body">MIKE WALTON</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0005-01

Boston Uneasy About Coach’s Pact; Concern Not Shared By Cherry, GM

<div class="byline">&#x2014;BY BOB VERDI</div>Columnist Bob Verdi deals on many subjects this week but he touches on two that are close to his heart: Punch Imlach&rsquo;s firing by the Sabres and Bobby Hull&rsquo;s &lsquo;return&rsquo; to the Chicago Black Hawks.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-011142/4239683-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg" title="f0006-01" width="320" height="437"></div><h2>Bobby Hull Returning?</h2>NEWS: PUNCH IMLACH gets fired as general manager of the Buffalo Sabres.Views: There&rsquo;s a word for what the Sabres did to Imlach, but let&rsquo;s keep it clean. Punch is tough, old school, crusty, autocratic and maybe he should have banned a few of his players from the team plane rather than a writer. But the Buffalo Sabres have the third best winning percentage of any NHL franchise&mdash;only Montreal and Philadelphia are better. And The Aud would have been Fort Knox even if the Knox brothers hadn&rsquo;t owned the Sabres, because the Sabres always fill the building.Punch paid the price for being very good, very quickly, for getting the Sabres to the brink but never over the hump, and for sitting a bit tight with a team that needed shock treatment, though another GM said the other day, &ldquo;Punch didn&rsquo;t make a deal because he wasn&rsquo;t trying.&rdquo; He was one of the sport&rsquo;s premier general managers-Sam Pollock being the other&mdash;and if I&rsquo;m starting an expansion team, and Punch is available, he&rsquo;s my man.News: Black Hawks plan old-timers game in Chicago Stadium featuring Bobby Hull.Views: Team president Bill Wirtz has good intentions here. He figures an invitation to Hull would fill the building, and all the proceeds are ticketed to a local charity. Problem is, if Hull came to Chicago, that&rsquo;s exactly what would happen. He&rsquo;d fill the building. He&rsquo;d fill two buildings, three buildings. And then he&rsquo;d leave the next day and people would remember how great it was, and how great it isn&rsquo;t now. Bill Wirtz, a nice idea, but don&rsquo;t you have enough aggravation?<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-02876/4239676-1-eng-US/f0006-022.jpg" title="f0006-02" width="520" height="825"><figcaption class="caption-body">Hockey fans would fill the Chicago Stadium the day Bobby Hull returns wearing his onc&isin; famous Black Hawk jersey even for an old timers game.</figcaption></div><h2>Penguins Are Drawing</h2>NEWS: PITTSBURGH PENGUINS start drawing crowds of 12,000 and 13,000 and 14,000.Views: Walked into the Civic Arena one night recently and General Manager Baz Bastien said he was bleeping tired of reading here and everywhere else that the Penguins are going, going, gone. His owners, he said, had enough money to buy the whole league and no franchise is going to fold up when it&rsquo;s pulling in people like the Penguins are. We hope it continues. We hope he&rsquo;s right.News: Washington Caps lose 10-2 in Los Angeles to extend their record to 5-17-4.Views: Somewhere, Tom McVie is not only crying, but also laughing.News: CBS network agrees to pick up a portion of one game in the NHL Challenge Cup Series versus the Soviet Union.Views: It&rsquo;s better than nothing, but it&rsquo;s not what the NHL had in mind when this exhibition tournament was invented. The idea was that such a monumental international event, staged entirely on United States soil (ice), in the media center of the universe (New York), would reawaken the folks from the Almighty Tube that hockey still lives. Maybe, just maybe, this is the first step but the words of TV mogul Beano Cook remain carved in stone: &ldquo;Hockey fans in America are like Goldwater supporters. They&rsquo;re loud, but there just aren&rsquo;t very many of them.&rdquo;<h2>Fergy Knows Something</h2>NEWS: NHL MEETS in Florida to discuss merger with WHA.Views: As Al Eagleson said, &ldquo;That&rsquo;s not news.&rdquo;News: John Ferguson hired as general manager of the Winnipeg Jets.Views: Isn&rsquo;t it ironic that Fergy winds up with the team he helped disassemble when he negotiated the Swedish extraction as then&mdash;GM of the New York Rangers? Fergy did a lot of other good things with the Rangers, but his Broadway career had an unjustly unhappy ending. But Fergy will take charge in Winnipeg, and it&rsquo;s not likely he&rsquo;d have gone there without knowing something about the NHL&rsquo;s plan for the Jets.News: Vancouver Canucks take over first place in the mighty Smythe Division, where progress is measured in turtle steps.Views: You learn lots of things by watching this team. Firstly, Harry Neale is a good coach. Secondly, the Canucks&rsquo; new uniforms prove that clothes don&rsquo;t make the man. &#9632;

f0006-01

Imlach Paid The Price For Being Mr. Nice Guy

<div class="byline">BY BILL FLEISCHMAN</div>PHILADELPHIA&mdash;Welcome to the National Hockey League&rsquo;s latest feud.Like many disagreements, this one began with a misunderstanding. Don Cherry reacted to a Bob McCammon comment that was only partially relayed to the Boston Bruins&rsquo; dressing room. The Flyers&rsquo; first-year coach had complimented the Bruins&rsquo; on their hard work after a 5-3 Boston victory, but the only part Cherry first heard was &ldquo;the Bruins don&rsquo;t intimidate teams anymore.&rdquo;&ldquo;He&rsquo;d know,&rdquo; a fuming Cherry shot back. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s been in the league a long time. I really don&rsquo;t pay attention to coaches of teams who are in the last spot.&rdquo;Later, when McCammon&rsquo;s complete comment was read to Cherry by Jan Greenberg of the Philadelphia Daily News, Cherry apologized.Unfortunately, by the time Cherry admitted he had over-reacted, other Philadelphia newspapers were headlining a rumor that Cherry was headed to the Flyers. While Ed Snider and Keith Allen were vehemently denying that Cherry would coach the Flyers next season, McCammon was shrugging off the speculation. One day he even answered the telephone in Joe Kadlec&rsquo;s office. Asked if he was now serving as assistant to the Flyers&rsquo; press relations director, McCammon smiled and said, &ldquo;I have to learn to do something since Cherry&rsquo;s coming.&rdquo;Two days later McCammon wasn&rsquo;t laughing. The Flyers had been embarrassed by the born-again Rangers in Fred Shero&rsquo;s first official return to the Spectrum. The combination of losing to the Rangers, plus a last-place position (despite one of the league&rsquo;s more respectable records), and the Cherry rumors triggered an angry outburst from McCammon.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-03581/4239714-1-eng-US/f0006-032.jpg" title="f0006-03" width="544" height="1410"><figcaption class="caption-body">REG LEACH&hellip;Newly Revived</figcaption></div>&ldquo;Cherry&rsquo;s a good coach, but he&rsquo;s never won anything,&rdquo; said McCammon. &ldquo;I went back in the record book and saw he never won a championship anywhere. I sympathize with his problems, but when there&rsquo;s a story saying Don Cherry has already been hired here, it has to bother you.&ldquo;If he wants to get out of hockey, maybe he can go to Avis. He&rsquo;d by a natural&mdash;he&rsquo;s been second all along.&rdquo; McCammon&rsquo;s response appeared in the Philadelphia newspapers the day the Flyers were hosting the injury-shredded Bruins in a game the Flyers won with remarkable ease, 9-2. Give McCammon credit for taking his understandable shots before the two rivals played. Then give Cherry the stage afterward. Before an assembled press audience in a Spectrum corridor. Cherry said:&ldquo;Why is he (McCammon) saying all these things now? I admitted I had opened my big mouth over a quote that was taken out of context. I think what he did is bad cricket.&rdquo;Turning his attention to the rumors I that he is headed everywhere except Moscow Dynamo, Cherry said, &ldquo;I have not been approached by Buffalo or Philadelphia or Minnesota. It&rsquo;s gotten to the point where I have to phone writers and reassure coaches I&rsquo;m not coming to their teams. The only other thing I can do is slash my wrists and write it in blood.&rdquo;Easy, Don, NHL teams want their coaches to bleed for them, but not to the extreme you suggested. In McCammon&rsquo;s case, he&rsquo;s been bleeding inside with a team that defies analysis. Example:After losing, 5-2, to the Rangers at the Spectrum, the Flyers crushed the Bruins, 9-2, then swarmed into New York and won their first shutout ever, 40, at Madison Square Garden.Trying to succeed Shero isn&rsquo;t the easiest assignment, but the Flyers&rsquo; early inconsistencies couldn&rsquo;t all be blamed on McCammon. One suspects that even under Shero, the Flyers&rsquo; record would be similar to what it is under the man who led a first-year Maine club to the Calder Cup last season. Blending new talent with the apparently successful revival of older players such a Reg Leach is a task that would have baffled Shero, too.The only grumbling about McCammon from players has been from those sitting out, which is a traditional complaint on any team. The handling of Kevin McCarthy is perhaps the biggest knock on the rookie coach. The talented second-year defenseman has suddenly become the odd-man out among Philadelphia&rsquo;s rearguard.McCammon must accept responsibility for the Flyers&rsquo; frequent lapses into disorganization in their zone, but surely a new coach deserves at least half a season to stamp his mark on a team.Anyway, McCammon had the last written word in his debate with Cherry. Borrowing some of Cherry&rsquo;s show-business flair, McCammon skipped the normal post-game session with the press and wrote on his office blackboard: &ldquo;Press: It&rsquo;s Cherry&rsquo;s night. (Signed) The Rookie Coach.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0006-03

Flyers’ McCammon Engaging Cherry In War Of Words

<div class="byline">BY VARTAN KUPELIAN</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0007-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-011019/4239745-1-eng-US/f0007-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">DALE McCOURT&hellip;Doing Too Much Thinking</figcaption></div>DETROIT&mdash;Dale McCourt scored 10 goals and added 16 assists through the Detroit Red Wings&rsquo; first 26 games, a point-a-game clip. That rate of production would translate into an 80-point season and an improvement over his rookie National Hockey League campaign. Not bad for a 21-year-old center who is still maturing as a player, a process which is likely to take at least a few more years.Consider also that McCourt, who was leading the team in scoring, wasn&rsquo;t even playing well in that span, at least not as well as the fans, his teammates and club officials expected. Complicating McCourt&rsquo;s slow start. (?) was the fact that the Wings were having some serious problems.Then it happened.&ldquo;Watch Dale this week,&rdquo; a veteran Red Wing said. &ldquo;He was really going in practice the other day. Watch him.&rdquo;In the next two games, McCourt produced a goal in a 2-2 tie against Montreal and a goal and two assists in a 6-5 loss in Boston as he showed signs of busting loose with his new linemates. Coach Bobby Kromm continued to juggle his lines and McCourt found himself centering a unit with Errol Thompson (a hattrick against Boston) on the left side and Reed Larson moving up from defense to play the right wing.Like everybody else on the team, McCourt was asked THE question: What&rsquo;s wrong with the Red Wings&mdash;and Dale McCourt?&ldquo;In my case, I could use the Los Angeles thing as an excuse, I guess,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;But, you know, I don&rsquo;t think about it that much. I can&rsquo;t say it is affecting my play. I don&rsquo;t know what it is.&ldquo;You make a move that has always worked before&hellip;and it doesn&rsquo;t work. What do you do? You start thinking it all out.&ldquo;When you get down on yourself, you start playing mind games. Probably all the players do more thinking at home than at the rink. If only there was one thing that was a problem&mdash;but when you&rsquo;re losing everybody thinks of something.&ldquo;I was thinking the other day that, at the start, some of the guys&mdash;myself included&mdash;expected Rogie (Vachon) always to be making the big save. It was just an excuse. There are a million different things to make excuses about.&ldquo;It went from goaltending, to not hustling, to not hitting and now, not putting the puck in the net.&ldquo;I get mad at myself,&rdquo; he continued. &ldquo;Everybody has a job to do. I haven&rsquo;t been scoring and that&rsquo;s part of my job.&ldquo;The whole team wants to win. They think the Detroit fans deserve it. I feel that way. But what do you do&mdash;do you press too hard? You hope the lime will come again and everything will fall into place.Another player who has snapped out of an early slump is Andre St. Laurent, the club&rsquo;s second leading point-getter last season behind McCourt.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know what the problem has been,&rdquo; St. Laurent said.&ldquo;Everybody&rsquo;s having a hard time. A lot of the guys aren&rsquo;t playing with confidence. Here we are going to play Los Angeles, and we have to tell ourselves we can beat them, Heck, there&rsquo;s no doubt about that. Last year, the only team we were saying that about was Montreal, not teams like Los Angeles and St. Louis.&rdquo; Reed Larson sparked a 4-2 victory over Los Angeles with a superior effort and Kromm called him, &ldquo;an enormous talent&hellip;but still raw.&rdquo;&ldquo;I feel I&rsquo;m playing well,&rdquo; Larson said.&ldquo;&hellip;Everybody was kind of upset for a while. We just told ourselves to forget everything, and go out and play. We&rsquo;ll be all right.&rdquo; &#9632;

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McCourt, Wings Pressing Trying To Get Untracked

<div class="byline">BY TONY GALLAGHER</div>VANCOUVER&mdash;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-011133/4239776-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg" title="f0008-01" width="550" height="668"><figcaption class="caption-body">RON SEDLBAUER&hellip;Overdue Recognition</figcaption></div>Recognition can be elusive in the hockey business. You can be doing your job well for years as a forward, but unless the goals come, nobody hears your name unless you market the I defensive forward handle the way Bob Gainey has done.But Ron Sedlbauer has long been the best or second best defensive forward on the Vancouver Canucks if you believe plus-minus figures. He&rsquo;s never been used much to kill penalties, a feather in a defensive forward&rsquo;s cap, but he did it quite successfully for a while last season.Two years ago he was the top plus-minus player on the club and last season, he was the second highest forward behind Garry Monahan in that regard. So far this season he is the best Canuck in that stat and also leads the team in take-outs a figure kept by club assistant coach Dave Dunn.But none of those numbers mean much now. The goals are coming in numbers, and the man who has always been under the gun for his wandering consciousness on the ice is getting a few raves in this town. He had 17 goals in Canucks&rsquo; first 26 games, something for which he has always had potential but has never achieved and the fans, and coaches always let him know about it.He was on his way to a fine season last year until he pulled an abductor muscle in his thigh and missed about six weeks and never really recovered. This year, he&rsquo;ll score more goals than he ever dreamed he could if he stays in one piece, the amazing statistic about him being that he&rsquo;s never had a 20-goal season.Canucks&rsquo; coach Harry Neale, who had him in junior when they were both in Hamilton, is most enthusiastic about his play. When a guy gets that many goals and leads your club in takeouts, you&rsquo;ve got to be complimentary.&ldquo;I think there are only about two or three nights this year when Ron has not played up to his respectable standards,&rdquo; said Neale. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s done a lot of things well for us.&rdquo;Sedlbauer himself is at somewhat of a loss to detail the reasons why the goals have suddenly-flowed, except to say that he seems more prepared this season.&ldquo;I finally realized that you have to come to the rink ready to play every night,&rdquo; said the six-foot-three, 195-pound native of Burlington, Ont. &ldquo;Some nights you don&rsquo;t always feel like it but if you go out there, sometimes goals come from plays on which you think you&rsquo;ll never score. Right now things are really going well and the club is improving.&rdquo;The powerful left winger was always more adept at saying things most players found difficult. He was always at his best verbally describing his problems, like the time he said &lsquo;sometimes I don&rsquo;t blame the fans for booing me.&rsquo;They don&rsquo;t boo him anymore. And it&rsquo;s not just because he&rsquo;s got all those goals. It&rsquo;s because he is finally hitting the stardom those fans felt was within his reach.Whether Neale deserves any credit for finding the &lsquo;on&rsquo; switch in Sedlbauer is hard to assess. He disclaims his input, but of all the coaches Sedlbauer has had, Neale is getting the most production.Sedlbauer likes the increased ice-time he&rsquo;s been getting as a result of his fine play.&ldquo;The extra time helps now that we&rsquo;re going with the three lines and I&rsquo;m on the power play,&rdquo; says Sedlbauer. &ldquo;That much ice means you&rsquo;re going to get more chances.&rdquo;The work of his linemates Chris Oddleifson and Hilliard Graves has not hurl his cause any either, the trio combining to be the team&rsquo;s most effective unit since the rookie line of Stan Smyl, Thomas Gradin and Curt Fraser was derailed by a series of injuries.Canucks meanwhile continue to get tremendous goaltending from 2I-year-old rookie Glen Hanlon, who appears to be following in the footsteps of Buffalo&rsquo;s Don Edwards in his ability to carry the whole load despite his age.The former Brandon junior, drafted 40th overall in the amateur draft two years ago, has given up only five goals in his last four games as the Canucks stretched their unbeaten streak to four games, including a most impressive 3-0 victory over Atlanta Flames. The shutout was Hanlon&rsquo;s second of the season, no mean feat behind a club that has not been able Io cure their defensive lapses yet. Hanlon will surely gain some support for rookie of the year honors should be continue to perform the way he has so far in every game he&rsquo;s played. He&rsquo;s made it impossible for Neale to remove him in favor of Gary Bromley or the newly acquired Dune Wilson, who was assigned to Dallas to get some playing time. &#9632;

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Sedlbauer Reaching His Potential

<div class="byline">-BY BILL LIBBY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-021022/4239814-1-eng-US/f0008-022.jpg" title="f0008-02" width="329" height="454"></div>HOLLERING &ldquo;HAPPY NEW YEAR,&rdquo; we hope for the best, for there are years when any new year has to be better than the one just past, but who knows what a new year will bring?A year ago at this time, Rogatien Rosaire Vachon, who had been the best goaltender in hockey for several seasons, was starting to struggle.He was playing out the option year of his contract with the Los Angeles Kings and he was asked again and again what he was going to do.He couldn&rsquo;t concentrate. His defense couldn&rsquo;t help him much. The team had its troubles and he had his. He had an ordinary year.This summer, Rogie signed a five-year contract with the Detroit Red Wings worth, all things considered, $400,000 a year to him. That was more than double what he had been earning.Who could blame him? He&rsquo;ll be close to 40 when the contract runs out. That kind of money means security to him. You&rsquo;d go to Timbucktoo for that kind of money.He&rsquo;d become a star as a young player with the Montreal Canadiens, then been shoved into the shadows and discarded. In southern California, the Kings gave him the chance to take the spotlight again and he shone brightly.He became a hero here, the first true star the team had and the stands were full of fans wearing Vachon number 30 jersies and chanting, &ldquo;Ro-gie, Ro-gie, Ro-gie&rdquo;, whenever he made one of his spectacular saves.He made the Kings a tough team to beat and attendance soared. He lived like a king in his handsome home near the ocean, soaking up the sun, walking the beach, swimming the surf, playing tennis, playing the ponies at the race track.THE HARSH WINTERS of his early life in Quebec were remembered only when he went with his team on trips to play in northeast towns, leaving behind his wife and children to live the good life in the Los Angeles area.&ldquo;I eat good, I sleep good, I live good. I play good and I don&rsquo;t worry,&rdquo; he used to grin. He always had a grin spread beneath that bushy mustache of his. His model-lovely wife, Nicole, said, &ldquo;I worry that he doesn&rsquo;t worry.&rdquo;This season he returned as a Red Wing to play the Kings in Los Angeles twice in two weeks. Only he didn&rsquo;t play. Nor did he play when the two teams played in Detroit. He wanted to play and privately admitted disappointment that he wasn&rsquo;t permitted to play.Bobby Kromm said he just wanted to play Jim Rutherford, the other goaler, but you could see he didn&rsquo;t want to say he didn&rsquo;t want to play Rogie because Rogie has been playing so poorly the coach didn&rsquo;t dare risk the psychological consequences of a rout.He is missed here. Attendance has failed far off without him. But he is not appreciated there.He was so bad in the first game in the old Olympia he was booed by the fans and he has been bad so often and booed so much that Bobby has started to play him mainly on the road. There have been games when he was beaten by every other shot.Rogie isn&rsquo;t grinning these days and he is worried. It shows. He says, &ldquo;I guess I&rsquo;m trying too hard. I&rsquo;m thinking too much. I can&rsquo;t seem to concentrate. I&rsquo;m just not making the saves I used to make. The puck slips past me.&rdquo;He never was a positional goaler rather relying on his quick reflexes and agility to stop shots. Since he had an ordinary year last year and turned 33 this year, is it possible he has slowed down?&ldquo;I hope not,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;Physically, I feel fine. I don&rsquo;t think I&rsquo;ve lost my speed. I&rsquo;ve lost some confidence, but that happens when goalers get in slumps. If they&rsquo;re good enough, they usually get it back.&rdquo;HAS THE MONEY, then, put too much pressure on him? Loyalty doesn&rsquo;t enter into it because teams sell and trade players freely and drop them when they are done, without sentiment, but, perhaps, he should have stayed put.&ldquo;Maybe,&rdquo; he admitted, &ldquo;but the Kings wouldn&rsquo;t pay me what some other teams would and I just couldn&rsquo;t turn down the deal I made. I didn&rsquo;t want to leave, but it was best for my family.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think of the money when I&rsquo;m on the ice, but I do think I&rsquo;d like to earn my money. The average fan doesn&rsquo;t make much money and I can&rsquo;t blame them for booing me when I&rsquo;m not earning the kind of money I&rsquo;m making.&rdquo;However, it hurts him. It shows.Kromm says, &ldquo;We have to keep playing him. Not just becuase we have so much money invested in him, but because he&rsquo;s been the kind of goaltender who could make us a contender and we have to see if he can come back to being the player we thought we were getting.&rdquo;He has been the best, star of Montreal&rsquo;s Stanley Cup champions and his country&rsquo;s Canada Cup champions, an All Star and a Vezina Trophy winner and it has to hurt to be bad and be booed. No amount of money makes up for that. Maybe you can&rsquo;t feel sorry for him, but lean.He is a great little guy with a fantastic family&mdash;wife Nicole, son Nicholas, adopted daughter Jade from Viet Nam, adopted daughter Joy from Korea. Rogie and Nicole went through hell to get those girls from their suffering countries because they, wanted to share their good fortune.This Christmas the Vachons expected to entertain friends from Los Angeles in their suburban home in Detroit. Nicole was doing the shopping for presents for their family and friends because Rogie was busy. I asked him what he had gotten her. He smiled and said, &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know yet.&rdquo;Rogie thinks they can be happy in Michigan if he can somehow start to play again the way he once played. They have a 14-room house and their kids are fascinated by snow. &ldquo;Nickie came in the other day, yelling that there was even snow on the lawn,&rdquo; Rogie laughed.It was nice to see him smile and laugh.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-03867/4239807-1-eng-US/f0008-032.jpg" title="f0008-03" width="1069" height="1178"><figcaption class="caption-body">ROGIE VACHON&hellip;Disappoints Wings, Self</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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Vachon Wondering Whether New Year Will Be Brighter

<div class="byline">BY FRED PIETILA</div>DENVER&mdash;No one is happy with the way things are going for the Colorado Rockies, either on the ice or in the stands. But president Armand Pohan, the stepson of Arthur E. Imperatore, hasn&rsquo;t given up on the Mile High City as a major league hockey town.The Rockies, who are overcoming injuries and the worst part of their schedule, were 4-15-5 after 24 games, 10 of which had been played at McNichols Sports Arena.At a comparable stage last season, the Rockies were 6-11-6.Attendance the first 10 home games reflected, in part, the on-ice performance with a drop of about 400 per game from last season. This season the Rockies averaged 6,368 for the first 10 games, compared to 6,742 for the same time period last year and 5,556 in their first year.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t like to see crowds of 6,000. But I&rsquo;m not dismayed and I&rsquo;m not about to give up on it at this point and time,&rdquo; the 34-year-old Pohan said.It&rsquo;s a well known fact that Pohan, Imperatore and A-P-A Sports Inc., the new owners of the Rockies, would like to have the franchise in the Meadowlands in New Jersey. But again Pohan insisted that if and when the time comes, that A-P-A&rsquo;s franchise in New Jersey would be an expansion franchise and the Rockies would remain in Denver under local ownership.&ldquo;If we were in first place in our division and were playing .500 hockey and we were drawing the same crowds, then you&rsquo;d have to say there&rsquo;s a real problem,&rdquo; Pohan explained. &ldquo;But at this point and time, there are correctable problems.&rdquo;Because of the inability of the franchise to establish ownership security the past three years, the off-season has been virtually wasted with people in Colorado wondering if there would be an NHL team around the next season.&ldquo;My feeling is this, to pass final judgement on hockey in Denver at this moment would be inappropriate because first of all, you look around the league and most teams with low attendances have bad records, like us. The second thing, aside from this, is that this club has been here three years, we&rsquo;re in our third year, and it really has never had a chance to take advantage of spring and summer in terms of selling season tickets, program advertising and putting together a good radio package.&ldquo;These are the things that neither Jack Vickers (previous owner) nor us were able to do because of the situation. Our attendance, in large measure, is a reflection of that,&rdquo; Pohan said.Pohan believes that &ldquo;If we pick up the balance of the season (competitively) and get into an aggressive spring and summer season ticket drive&rdquo; that the situation should be improved considerably by next fall. There won&rsquo;t be any question of whether or not the Rockies will be here next season.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s really at this point and time next year, that you&rsquo;ll be able to judge better (about Denver&rsquo;s ability to support an NHL team),&rdquo; Pohan concluded.ROCKY RAMBLINGS: Fired head coach Pat Kelly has been retained by the club to do some scouting, basically in Birmingham and Atlanta&hellip;Kelly owns a home in Charlotte, N.C&hellip;. New coach Aldo Guidolin is stressing more skating without the puck in practice in an effort to get the Rockies in better shape&hellip;The players seem much looser under the exuberant Guidolin than they did under Kelly&hellip;Don Awrey and Nick Beverley, the two veteran defensemen acquired after Joe Watson suffered his broken leg, have both been impressive, Awrey in particular&hellip;Paul Gardner&rsquo;s disputed goal which lied the Detroit Red Wings 2-2 in the final 1:16 on Nov. 29 shouldn&rsquo;t have come as a surprise. Last season before his back injury, Gardner four times tied games in the final minute of play&hellip;Clayton Pachal, who has been utilized at every position but goalie since his acquisition from Boston, drew 51 penalty minutes in three games against Detroit and never finished one of them, twice drawing game misconducts and once drawing a gross misconduct for pulling Reed Larson&rsquo;s hair in a fight.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-011093/4239845-1-eng-US/f0009-012.jpg" title="f0009-01" width="557" height="1317"><figcaption class="caption-body">ARMAND POHAN&hellip;Not Giving Up</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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Aggressive Ticket Campaign Needed To Solidify Rockies’ Future In Denver

Here is the home attendance for the first 10 games of all of pro hockey&rsquo;s 24 major league teams:<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-02907/4239876-1-eng-US/f0009-022.jpg" title="f0009-02" width="523" height="911"></div> &#9632;

f0009-02

Pro Hockey Attendance

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0010-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-011120/4239907-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg"></div>DO YOU HAVE AN OPINION ON HOCKEY?Write to:FAN FORUM,The Hockey News,1434 St. Catherine St., W.,<h2>Rangers Aren&rsquo;t Receiving Support</h2>I am a New York Islander fan, bur my wife and I attended the New York Rangers-Washington game at Madison Square Garden recently.Any failure of the Rangers to obtain a significant improvement and success should be attributed to their fans this season. Instead of the Rangers&rsquo; record being 12-4-4 at the time, it sounded as if it were 4-12-4.I have attended many Islander games and no matter who the opposition was, there was electricity in the air as soon as the Isles hit the ice. When the Rangers hit the ice that evening, it felt as though New York had another power failure.It&rsquo;s true that there were some screaming, down to earth Ranger fans, but they&rsquo;re going to have to cheer a lot louder to drown out the screaming and yelling of the hecklers and spoilsports who seemed to surround my seat.Ranger fans&mdash;you leave a lot to be desired. The loudest cheer of the night wasn&rsquo;t for the nine goals the Blueshirts scored but for Nick Fotiu when he skated onto the ice.THOMAS VENEZIE,Brookhaven, N.Y.<h2>Tired Of Criticism For Hockey Excellence</h2>As a long-time Montreal Canadiens fan, I would like to respond to some criticisms of the hockey club in the Dec. 1 issue of THE HOCKEY NEWS.First, Alan Eagleson is quoted as saying that the Canadiens are greedy because they have four players sitting in the press box for every game. That may be so, but it is not because the Canadiens are greedy, but simply because they are a class organization, dedicated to winning; they realize that the key to any great team in professional sport is an abundance of depth. And, if you want to talk about greedy, look at some of the players around the league that the Canadiens have dealt away in the recent past, in exchange for relatively little: Tony Esposito, John Van Boxmeer, Rogie Vachon, Terry Harper, Paul Woods, Glen Resch, Peter Lee, Peter Mohovlich, and others. (Would Mr. Eagleson like the Canadiens to send Guy Lafleur to the North Stars in exchange for a few old goalie skates?)Secondly, I am tired of hearing in the Fan Forum about the Canadiens&rsquo; easy schedule. If the Canadiens played the strong teams in the league more, they would just beat them more. The Canadiens are so good, that they have trouble getting motivated for the poorer teams, and it is against such clubs that they lose most of their games.Additionally, it doesn&rsquo;t really matter what division the Habs are in, because, at the end of the season, after the first round bye for the divisional winners, for all intents and purposes, the teams are put into one division, and paired on that basis. (Why don&rsquo;t all these seekers of fairness in the NHL complain about the Black Hawks getting a free bye every year in the playoffs?)As Bob Verdi said last spring, the Canadiens only deserve credit. (I don&rsquo;t know why he didn&rsquo;t mention that to Eagleson in his interview). They have worked hard to get to where they are, and they have gone through their tough times as well, such as when Rocket Richard and Jean Beliveau retired. They should not be penalized, or criticized for being such an outstanding example of the sport of hockey in North America.HOWARD MANDEL,Miami Beach, Fla.<h2>Maple Leafs Not Boring Team</h2>In response to the letter which appeared in the Dec. 8 issue of THE HOCKEY NEWS, I am in total disagreement with Brian Wile. I have been a Toronto Maple Leaf fan for a long time and have watched every game for the last two years.How can he say (hat coach Roger Neilson has made the team boring and unexciting when Neilson has brought the Leafs to being a strong aggressive team with the air of Dave Burrows and Dave Hutchison and has brought them into the semi-finals of the playoffs against the Montreal Canadiens last year.As for Red Kelly, he was nothing but a superstitious person with his pyramid power.WAYNE SMITH,Welland, Ont.<h2>AHL Teams Play Good Hockey Too</h2>I&rsquo;m an avid reader of THE HOCKEY NEWS and enjoy it very much. Although I am a Flyers fan, I&rsquo;m not often able to get tickets, so I often go to Philadelphia Firebird and Hershey Bear games.To my surprise there are often a lot of empty seats. The AHL is good hockey and many current NHL players came up from there. By attending AHL games you can see the young players and judge whether they&rsquo;ll be good enough to make it in the NHL.One good example is Don Edwards. He was an exceptional goaltender for Hershey three and four years ago. Now he is playing in the NHL, and playing very well.JEFF FISCHL,Whitehall, PA.<h2>Murdoch Deserved What NHL Gave Him</h2>I&rsquo;m writing to say that (Don) Murdoch deserves what he got. If Murdoch got away with what he did and the NHL didn&rsquo;t punish him, what&rsquo;s to stop him and others from getting other players involved.John Ziegler, in my opinion, did the right thing. It shows those hotshots like Murdoch that they can&rsquo;t run around doing what they want and expect to get away with it.TIM HART,London, Ont.<h2>Too Many Players Sitting In Pressboxes</h2>I agree with the article in the Dec. 1 issue of THE HOCKEY NEWS about the strong teams helping the weaker teams. I&rsquo;m a big fan of the Colorado Rockies and I&rsquo;m sick of having teams with players in the press box that could start with other teams.MR. Ziegler was correct when he said &ldquo;who would it hurt if the Canadiens sent one or two players to the Rockies.&rdquo;Hockey&rsquo;s attendance has been declining for the past couple of seasons. The reason is that teams like Montreal, Boston, Philadelphia, New York Islanders and Toronto have too many good players sitting in the press box or playing in the minors, while teams like Colorado, Washington, St. Louis, Pittsburgh and Los Angeles need help.If the NHL wants to survive, the &ldquo;good&rdquo; teams had better help the &ldquo;bad&rdquo; teams for the sake of the league.RUSS MORRIS,Floral Park, N.Y.<h2>Size Of City Doesn&rsquo;t Really Matter</h2>I am writing about the uproar going on around the National Hockey League over acceptance of the WHA&rsquo;s best franchises. Some people still feel that the NHL shouldn&rsquo;t bother with the WHA.Well teams like Quebec, Winnipeg, Edmonton and New England aren&rsquo;t going to die, especially with the Jets and Whalers moving into enlargened buildings next year. New England is owned by huge corporations, have a fine team on the ice, superior fans, and will have a beautiful 15,000 seat building next year. What more could the NHL ask for?The team &ldquo;major league&rdquo; in hockey shouldn&rsquo;t mean a huge population and vest skyline. What it should mean is I filling your arena for your hockey team. This is what Hartford and three other WHA teams can give the NHL.RICK AVERY,Bristol, Co. &#9632;

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FAN FORUM

<h2>Richer Teams Will Become Dominant</h2>Lately I have been reading about hockey&rsquo;s sad financial status and feel the situation is growing much worse due to the Dale McCourt decision. If a bidding war develops, the richer teams, such as the New York Rangers, will dominate. The imbalance of strength in the NHL will put franchises such as Colorado, Pittsburgh and Washington out of business.What appears even more strange is that there are only three NHL teams located in Canada, where hockey is the national sport. Cities such as Winnipeg, Quebec and Edmonton, with smaller populations than their American counterparts, appreciate the sport and would support their teams much better.Solutions are difficult. To fold, relocate or merge franchises would mean legal disaster. Also the free agent situation that has ravaged baseball must not be allowed to happen to hockey. The weaker teams in the NHL should be granted more draft choices or perhaps be allowed to sign under-age players to pro contracts.Finally, all cities should have a minimum season ticket quota. If the fans are not willing to buy tickets, they do not deserve a pro franchise.M. J. GOLDSMITH,New York, N.Y. &#9632;

LETTER OF THE WEEK

<div class="byline">BY DONALD BERNS</div>ST. LOUIS&mdash;Back on Oct. 7 in an exhibition game, St. Louis coach Barclay Plager put his prize rookie, Wayne Babych, on a line with the Blues&rsquo; two hustling third-year pros, Bernie Federko and Brian Sutter.&ldquo;We seemed to click right away,&rdquo; Federko said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;d like to think our line is the classic combination of abilities.&rdquo;In that exhbition game against the Chicago Black Hawks, Federko scored two goals and two assists, Babych a goal and three assists, and Sutter a goal and an assist in a 7-3 win. The night&rsquo;s work for the Kid Line was 10 points of the Blues&rsquo; 19.And now with the season approaching the halfway mark, the line still is accounting for nearly half of the Blues&rsquo;s point production. The line is averaging about 3.5 points a game.&ldquo;They play like they have been playing in the league 10 years,&rdquo; Plager said.Obviously, the line&rsquo;s productivity has been noted by other teams in the NHL.&ldquo;They started keying on us about the second game of the season,&rdquo; Federko said. &ldquo;Of course, at home Bare gets a chance to put us against whomever he wishes.&rdquo;Federko is the playmaker on the line and has twice as many assists as goals; Sutter and Babych split the corner duties with Sutter being the more belligerent. Sutter leads the line and for awhile led the league in goals. Babych has the big, impressive shot that probably will come to be known as one of the top weapons in the league.&ldquo;My job is to pass the puck; that&rsquo;s why they put me at center,&rdquo; Federko said. &ldquo;Brian can score goals; we know that now, and everytime I come down the ice I look for him because he&rsquo;s always in the right position. And if you get the puck to Wayne, he knows what to do with it.&rdquo;Plager says Federko is the linemate who &ldquo;makes it happen,&rdquo; and Sutter and Babych happily agree.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s time people start realizing Bernie is one of the best centers in the league,&rdquo; Sutter said. &ldquo;He doesn&rsquo;t get as much attention as some others.&rdquo;Sutter is somewhat bemused by his own scoring punch this season.&ldquo;Up until this year I&rsquo;m the guy who was working hard so my winger didn&rsquo;t get away from me,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s more pressure on me and more attention on our line this season. It makes us work a little harder.&rdquo;Babych, the Blues&rsquo; top draft choice this year, had his previous experience with the NHL by means of television.&ldquo;I watched some games and figured I could play in this league,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t play a scrambling style as do many guys in juniors. I play a disciplined style, a major-league style.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-02898/4239962-1-eng-US/f0010-022.jpg" title="f0010-02" width="511" height="719"><figcaption class="caption-body">BERNIE FEDERKO&hellip;Nifty Playmaker</figcaption></div>Babych is delighted with his linemates and says he is not surprised by the line&rsquo;s success.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re working hard and creating our opportunities,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;When they put a checking line on us, it&rsquo;s a credit to us. It makes us go a little harder. It&rsquo;s not an easy game.&rdquo;Babych, a right wing, did not score a point in four exhbition games until he skated with Federko and Sutter, then scored four points in his first game on the line.Federko thinks Sutter&rsquo;s scoring this season has made the line spectacular.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s learning when to shoot the way Garry Unger knows when to shoot,&rdquo; Federko said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s learning when to shoot high, when to shoot low, and when to hesitate.&rdquo;Federko, who is rebounding from a disappointing season last year, is realistic about the ups and down of hockey.&ldquo;Some days we don&rsquo;t do that much,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;so we work harder in practice. If we do something in practice, we know we&rsquo;ll do it in a game.&rdquo;&ldquo;That&rsquo;s the key&mdash;helping each other,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;If you worry about the other guy playing with you, you&rsquo;ll do well yourself. Every little thing you know about the other guy on the ice will help your own play. &#9632;

f0010-02

Blues’ Federko Usung Hero Who Sparks Kid Line

<div class="byline">BY MIKE DENNIS</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0011-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-011072/4239993-1-eng-US/f0011-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Photo by Ian MacAlpineMARK NAPIER&hellip; Watching Lafleur Helps Newcomer</figcaption></div>MONTREAL&mdash;You&rsquo;ve heard about the Montreal Canadiens&rsquo; relatively dismal start to this season. (4-4-1). About the continuing series of problems being hurled at the club. And about some of the performances by stars like Guy Lafleur, Larry Robinson and Ken Dryden which have returned to the Canadiens to their customary position at the top of the National Hockey League standings.But what about the newcomers&mdash;the World Hockey Association threesome and that product of the Nova Scotia farm club, Canadiens&rsquo; infamous developmental team.Who are these players and what are they doing in Montreal uniforms?Here&rsquo;s a rundown:&bull; No. 31&mdash;Mark Napier&mdash;five-fool-10, 185, will be 22 Jan. 28, 1979. Scored 136 goals and 118 assists in three WHA seasons with the Toronto Toros (2) and Birmingham Bulls, including 60 goals in 1976-77 season.Output with Canadiens: Appeared in 17 of first 30 games, scoring four goals and four assists. Scored on first shift at Montreal Forum in second game of the season. His other three goals have been scored in road games. Canadiens like his &ldquo;nose for the net.&rdquo; Napier is a natural goalscorer, deadly from the blueline in. Has had more of an opportunity to play with injuries to three Montreal centers, causing Habs to play Lafleur and Rejean Houle at center, freeing right wing duty for Napier.&ldquo;You can learn so much just by watching these guys,&rdquo; says Napier. &ldquo;I can sit and watch Guy (Lafleur) for a half hour at practice and notice all the things he does so well.&rdquo;&bull; No. 17&mdash;Rod Langway&mdash;six-foot-three, 210 pounds. Youngest player on the club he won&rsquo;t turn 22 until May 3, 1979. Played one year with Napier at Birmingham after starring for University of New Hampshire where he set several scoring records for a defenseman.Output with Canadiens: It was expected that Langway would have the hardest time of the newcomers trying to find a spot in the Montreal defense corps, but it has turned out that he has played the most, 22 of first 30 games, scoring one goal and one assist with 15 penalty minutes. He played extremely well all through training camp and in the early season before experiencing a rough night in Atlanta. Coach Scotty Bowman took Langway out of the lineup for a few games, a ploy Langway admitted gave him a chance to see things in a proper perspective. He&rsquo;s made his share of rookie mistakes, but it&rsquo;s likely that there isn&rsquo;t a tougher position to crack than on Montreal&rsquo;s league-leading defense. Canadiens like Langway&rsquo;s poise and desire.&bull; No. 20&mdash;Cam Connor&mdash;six-foot-two, 200 pounds, age 24. Connor played four seasons in the WHA, two each with Phoenix and Houston and still remains the all-time WHA penalty minute leader with 904. Scored 35 goals and 32 assists in 1976-77 season.Output with Canadiens: Five games, no points, two penalty minutes, and one fight in practice with Pat Hughes, the newcomer from Nova Scotia. Langway was also involved in that one as the &ldquo;third-man-in&rdquo; separating the combatants.Connor unfortunately was plagued by a pulled groin muscle during training camp&mdash;one of the more unwanted injuries to befall a hockey player&mdash;and an absolute disaster for a player trying to make the super-skating Canadiens.Connor is quietly paying his dues around the club. He&rsquo;s there when needed, he works hard in practices and his demeanor has been at all limes professional.He says, &ldquo;In the WHA I had the benefit of professional experience, but now I&rsquo;m getting an education in fundamentals of hockey and the Canadiens&rsquo; system. Playing with this club is going to make me a much better player.&rdquo;&bull; No. 30&mdash;Pat Hughes&mdash;six-foot-one, 180 pounds, age 23. Scored 40 goals and 28 assists with Nova Scotia last year, following rookie season of 29 goals, 39 assists. He was a sixth-round draft choice of Canadiens in 1975 after playing for University of Michigan.Output with Canadiens: three goals, four assists in 11 games. Two years ago. coach Bowman called Hughes the most impressive newcoming in training camp. But there wasn&rsquo;t room so he spent most of last season with Novy, checking in with the Canadiens when the club was hit by the flu and injuries (three games in all). He was again impressive in this year&rsquo;s training camp and at that time said, &ldquo;&hellip;I think it was two years well spent in Halifax. I learned a lot and I don&rsquo;t regret it at all&hellip;But I think that now, it&rsquo;s time to make the jump to the NHL.&rdquo;Perhaps the best all-around player among the newcomers in that he can do a number of things well, Hughes is trying to make the most of his opportunities to keep a place in the lineup, opportunities which have come more readily with the recent injuries.Hughes combines skating ability with a deft scoring touch and a penchant for the physical approach to the game. &ldquo;I feel better now because the more you play the more confident you get,&rdquo; Hughes explained, &ldquo;but I&rsquo;m not playing up to the level that I should be all the time.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s tough not to know whether you&rsquo;re going to play or not,&rdquo; he added, a statement which is undoubtedly endorsed right through the ranks of the Canadiens&rsquo; newcomers waiting for their chance. &#9632;

f0011-01

Habs’ Newcomers Forced To Play Waiting Game

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0011-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-02882/4240024-1-eng-US/f0011-022.jpg"></div>Here is a comparison of the figures obtained by the NHL&rsquo;s 25 leading scorers this year as compared to a year ago through 30 league games: &#9632;

f0011-02

How Top Scorers Rank

<div class="byline">FRANK ORR&#x2019;S</div><h2>The Big Sock For Punch</h2>TO READ AND LISTEN to the comments of far too many people who should know better, Seymour and Northrup Knox, the owners of the National Hockey League&rsquo;s Buffalo Sabres, are the village idiots of the Niagara Frontier, a pair of featherheads.The reason for the outburst of anti-Knox knocks was their firing of George (Punch) Imlach as general manager of the Sabres. They also sacked coach Marcel Pronovost.The Brothers Knox had no replacements waiting in the wings for either man. Sabre scout Billy Inglis was named interim coach, an appointment which could last for the remainder of the season. No GM was named but John Anderson, the Sabres&rsquo; chief scout and a 20year associate of Imlach&rsquo;s with the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Sabres, will handle those duties.Imlach has been a high profile operator in the NHL since he took over the Maple Leaf command in 1957. He was fired dramatically minutes after the Leafs were eliminated from the 1969 playoffs by the late Stafford Smythe, the Leaf president at the time.Imlach signed on to construct the expansion Sabres and he did superb job. The club made the playoffs in its third season arid, in its fifth campaign, made it to the Stanley Cup final.Thus, no one can knock Imlach&rsquo;s work as a general manager. But he isn&rsquo;t an easy man to live with and, on a December Monday, after the Sabres had lost a pair of matches to the Montreal Canadiens, the men who own the Sabres decided they could do without him.Because the Knox brothers have kept their profiles as low as Imlach&rsquo;s is high, the announcement of Punch&rsquo;s ouster was extemely short&mdash;the usual stuff about &ldquo;the good of the team.&rdquo;Instantaneously, an assortment of hockey and media people who have no idea what happened that day&mdash;or any day, for that matter&mdash;in the Sabre front office, hopped on the old &ldquo;knock the Knox&rdquo; bandwagon. The Knoxes undoubtedly had a good reason for booting out Imlach but that&rsquo;s some dirty laundry which never will be aired.<h2>Imlach Stays Silent</h2>IMLACH, OF COURSE, could spill his version of it all some day but Punch, who played the press when things were going well the way Arthur Feidler conducted the Boston Pops, went into hiding and refused to comment on his firing. But then Punch always volunteered great copy when he was on an upper, zilch when things were bad.On the other hand, Pronovost handled his dismissal with quiet class. He wouldn&rsquo;t grind any axes; didn&rsquo;t display any spleen.There have been a number of theories from the insiders. One is that Seymour Knox told Imlach that Pronovost should be canned because of the club&rsquo;s slow start this season. Imlach, who always demanded complete autonomy in running the team, told Knox that if Pronovost went, so did Imlach to which Seymour said: &ldquo;So long, George.&rdquo;<h2>Season-long Interims</h2>THERE WAS MUCH speculation about successors for Imlach and Pronovost and one newspaper had Joe Crozier, a former Sabre coach, hired to coach the team for the duration of the &lsquo;78-79 season, then he&rsquo;d move to GM at the end of the schedule. Crozier talked with the Knox boys in Florida, then returned to his Calgary home.When the Sabres were undefeated (a win) and (two ties) in their first three games under Inglis, it appeared that the Sabres would wait to hire permanent replacements, probably until the end of the season until they had the chance to see the complete list of available men.There was much speculation about Imlach&rsquo;s future. He&rsquo;s 60 now and financially secure. He has had health problems, starting with the heart attack in 1972 which forced him to give up the coaching part of his portfolio. However, hockey has been such a big part of Punch&rsquo;s life that it&rsquo;s unlikely he&rsquo;ll drop out of the game. &#9632;

HOCKEY VIEW POINT

<div class="byline">BY DICK JOHNSTON</div>BUFFALO&mdash;Punch Imlach fired? It can&rsquo;t be. The old guy is an institution.That was the reaction among hockey people when word was flashed from Buffalo that Imlach had been fired as general manager of the Buffalo Sabres. Not only that, but coach Marcel Pronovost got the axe, too,The players had been reported by the media as protesting Imlach&rsquo;s interference in the team room but they all appeared stunned when the news broke.As rookie Tony McKegney put it, &ldquo;Both men have done a lot for hockey, that&rsquo;s the sad thing about it.&rdquo;Scoring star Rick Martin, who had played all his professional hockey under Imlach, said, &ldquo;I am stunned by it, really I just can&rsquo;t believe it. Whether it&rsquo;s right or not, only time will tell.&rdquo;Trouble had been festering within the Buffalo club ever since the Sabres got off to their second-worst start in the club&rsquo;s history.There were reports in newspapers and on the air of player unrest. Veteran players were benched.It came to a head the week-end before Imlach was sacked.The Sabres went to Montreal for a Saturday game and were trounced, 8-1. The next night the Canadiens came to Buffalo and won, 4-1, after the Sabres had taken a 1-0 lead.Fans were jeering and booing and chanting, &ldquo;Good-bye Imlach, and good-bye, Pronovost&rdquo; by the end of the game. Those who were left in the building, that is. The exodus began early in the third period.The next morning the stunning news was announced.The Sabres at the time were in third place in the Adams Division and for the first time in several years were not among the top six clubs in the National Hockey League overall standings.Imlach, 60, had been general manager of the Sabres from the time they entered the league in 1970. He also coached the team for one and one-half seasons until he suffered a heart attack.Before taking over at Buffalo, Imlach was coach and general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs for 11 years, directing them to the playoffs 10 times, the finals six times and the Stanley Cup four times.Under Punch&rsquo;s stewardship, the Sabres became the first expansion team to make the playoffs in the tough Eastern Division, in their third year of operation, and in 1975, when they were five years old, they made it to the Stanley Cup finals.They won the Prince of Wales Conference and the Adams Division championships that year and were tied with Montreal and Philadelphia for the most points of all league teams.This had the fans thinking &ldquo;Stanley Cup&rdquo; and they were in for disappointment. The Sabres finished second in the Adams Division since then and each of the three years were knocked out of the playoffs in the quarter-finals.Imlach promised trades last spring but never made any. This had both fans and players upset. Then Imlach barred a writer from the team bus and chartered plane after a critical story. This caused an international uproar in newspapers and the airwaves.Pronovost, 48, signed as coach of the Sabres in the summer of 1977, succeeding Floyd Smith, who had been fired. Pronovost, a Hall of Fame performer during 20 NHL years with Detroit and Toronto, changed the Sabres&rsquo; style of play somewhat, giving them a system that put more emphasis in defense and covering for one mother.Pronovost&rsquo;s club had injuries to key flayers&mdash;defenseman Jim Schoenfeld, winger Rick Marlin, goaltender Don Edwards, in particular&mdash;and performed far below expectations.Most Buffalo hockey followers teemed to think Pronovost should have been given more of a chance to prove himself. It was his first NHL coaching job.When the coach and GM were fired, speculation began immediately upon who would succeed them. Seymour H. Knox III, club president and director of the board, said he hopes to have a new coach by the next game and would appoint a general manager later.Leading candidate appeared to be Joe Crozier, who had coached the Sabres after Imlach gave il up because of health reasons, and who had then gone to the World Hockey Association as coach and GM of the Vancouver and Calgary teams.The Sabres apparently were dickering with Crozier but things apparently didn&rsquo;t work out because the night before the next game, against Los Angeles, Billy Inglis was named interim coach.Inglis, one of the original Sabres (the only other one left in the organization is Gil Perreault), played in the minor leagues since suffering a broken knee the first year Buffalo was in the NHL.He retired as a player after training camp this year and was named a scout. He often helped Pronovost on the ice during practices.John Andersen, who had worked with Imlach for 20 years, in Toronto and Buffalo, was upped from director of scouting to director of player personnel and apparently would take the place of a general manager for the time being.The Sabres got only a tie, 3-3, with the Los Angeles Kings in their first start under Inglis, but they came from behind twice and their enthusiastic brand of play had the fans cheering instead of jeering.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-011093/4240079-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg" title="f0012-01" width="558" height="996"><figcaption class="caption-body">BILLY INGLIS&hellip;Interim Coach</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0012-01

Sabre Players Remain Stunned Over Firings

<div class="byline">BY BILL LIBBY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-011048/4240110-1-eng-US/f0013-012.jpg" title="f0013-01" width="553" height="809"><figcaption class="caption-body">BRIAN GLENNIE&hellip;Misses His Kids</figcaption></div>LOSANGELES&mdash;It always is tough to be traded. It was especially tough for a fellow like Brian Glennie, who had lived and played in Toronto almost his entire life, when he was sent to Los Angeles this summer.However, what made it truly tough to take was the fact that he and his wife Barbara have been separated several years and he is far from his daughter, Rebecca, six, and son, Adam, four. &ldquo;I miss them. I&rsquo;m going to miss seeing them grow up,&rdquo; he sighs.He figured to miss them most at Christmas-time unless they got out here for a visit. The Kings agreed to fly them out a few times and he did have them with him before Thanksgiving, taking them to Disneyland, Universal Studios, and such attractions.Sadly, the Kings made only two trips to the Toronto area this season, the first not until the middle of February. &ldquo;I just have to make the most of the time I can get with them,&rdquo; he says.All too frequently it is forgotten that players are people with personal problems just like other people. They are expected to set these aside and produce in their profession, but it isn&rsquo;t always easy.Glennie came to the Kings with Kurt Walker and Scott Garland in a deal developed by manager George Maguire as compensation when free-agent Dave Hutchison signed with the Leafs. The other two have gone to the minors, so that leaves Glennie to make the trade productive. So far he has not produced.Maguire says, &ldquo;We wanted him because we hoped he&rsquo;d give us a hitter on defense, but he&rsquo;s been hurt and he hasn&rsquo;t been able to help.&rdquo;Glennie&rsquo;s career has been bothered by injuries. He has missed close to 200 games with a series of severe injuries.He has had his nose broken seven times. The worst was when he blocked a shot in the 1976 playoffs and it took seven hours on the operating table to repair his shattered face. His jaw was wired shut eight weeks.He has had surgery on both shoulders and the pain has been so bad he has resorted to acupuncture.He pulled a groin muscle in last season&rsquo;s playoffs, then pulled it again this pre-season, and the pain was so bad for awhile he couldn&rsquo;t even get out of bed without working his way into position.A couple of years ago, Glennie was voted the best body checker in hockey. He hits clean and only twice has had as many as 100 minutes in penalties, but he does hit. He has not hit here because his injury has restricted his movements.He tried to play at first, then sat out several weeks, and returned to action late in November. Groin injuries are among the worst because they sometimes linger for years and restrict your mobility. The six-foot-one, 210-pounder isn&rsquo;t too mobile to begin with,&ldquo;I&rsquo;m a plodder,&rdquo; he admits. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t look good out there. I&rsquo;m not a good skater and I don&rsquo;t get around too well. I have to hit to be effective and I&rsquo;ve paid a price for my style of play. I try to pick my spots to hit because I tend to take runs at people and get caught out of position.&ldquo;However, I feel I can play and help the team if I can overcome this injury. Injuries have hurt me my entire career. There were times when they said I looked like the best Leaf on defense, but I never really established myself.&rdquo;He is 32 now and time is running out on him. He was born and reared in Toronto. His dad died before Brian turned pro, leaving the mother with two sons. The younger one, Keith is in real estate. Brian has a college degree in psychology.He says, &ldquo;The loss of dad left a lot on my mom, but she&rsquo;s a super lady. She made it as a legal secretary. I&rsquo;d never have made the majors without all (hose mornings she got up early to get me to a rink.&rdquo;As captain and MVP of the Memorial Cup champion Toronto Marlboros in 1967 and a member of Canada&rsquo;s Olympic team in 1968, he was considered a good defense prospect when he went pro. He split one season at Tulsa and Rochester before moving up to the Leafs.Now in his milestone tenth season in the majors, he finds himself in a strange city. far from his family, and he still is struggling to prove he can be a top player. He is hurting right now, but he is a game guy.KINGS THINGS: After tying the team record for the third time, Marcel Dionne got goals in his sixth and seventh straight games to set a new mark before the Kings were shut out in Minnesota. They had lost only two of their last 12 starts&hellip;Ron Grahame had a 2.17 goals-against average over seven starts&hellip;Mike Murphy was side-lined by a back injury&hellip;Ex-King Wayne Rutledge is being paid by the game to play for Orilla in the Western International League. &#9632;

f0013-01

Restless Glennie Still Waiting To Begin Role As Kings’ Hitter

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0014-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-011074/4240162-1-eng-US/f0014-012.jpg"></div><h2>WHA Makes The Big Payoff</h2>Peter Pocklington, left, owner of the Edmonton Oilers, and his general manager, Larry Gordon, right, hand over a cheque to Ed Chynoweth, executive director of the Canadian Major Junior Hockey Leagues, as the WHA&rsquo;s settlement of non-payment of development money to Canada&rsquo;s major junior hockey operators. The CAHA demanded the WHA shell out $40,000 each for nine underage juniors the league signed to pro contracts. No amount was disclosed when the final settlement was arranged.<h2>Honoring A Whaler</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-02885/4240155-1-eng-US/f0014-022.jpg" title="f0014-02" width="1141" height="1518"></div>Defenseman. and team captain Rick Ley of the New England Whalers was recently honored at a luncheon in Hartford for his year-long involvement in The United Way campaign held throughout the Greater Hartford area. Ley has been a member of the Whalers since day one.<h2>Old Friends Meet</h2>Former Ranger Vic Hadfield, left, returned to Madison Square Garden recently and renewed acquaintances with several of his old teammates. Among them was Walt Tkaczuk, who played with Hadfield for many years. Hadfield is currently a scout with the Rangers since retiring from the NHL last season after 16 years as a player.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-03655/4240148-1-eng-US/f0014-032.jpg" title="f0014-03" width="1159" height="1203"><figcaption class="caption-body">Photo by Bruce Bennett</figcaption></div><h2>Everybody&rsquo;s Coach Of The Year</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-04459/4240141-1-eng-US/f0014-042.jpg" title="f0014-04" width="1739" height="1259"><figcaption class="caption-body">Photos by Steve Babineau</figcaption></div>Most NHL coaches are undemonstrative, but not Boston&rsquo;s colorful Don Cherry. To the league media he is a bonanza and to most of them he&rsquo;s their nomination as the coach of the year&mdash;every year. Cherry, who likes to resort to showman tactics behind the Boston bench, faces a big decision at the end of the current campaign. He is on the last year of a reported $60,000 contract&mdash;some NHL coaches are making over $200,000&mdash;and it will be interesting to see what the Bruins do about a new pact for the outspoken bench boss. &#9632;

f0014-01

HOCKEY PEOPLE

<div class="byline">BY BOB VERDI</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-011030/4240193-1-eng-US/f0015-012.jpg" title="f0015-01" width="553" height="934"><figcaption class="caption-body">JIM HARRISON&hellip;Injured Or Not?</figcaption></div>CHICAGO&mdash;And you thought it was easy to send a player to the minor leagues?So did the Black Hawks until a week or so ago when they tried to demote center Jim Harrison to their New Brunswick club of the American Hockey League.Harrison, a physical type who must bump to succeed, has been bothered by back problems since he joined the Hawks from the World Hockey Association. he played in 50 games his first season, scoring 18 games but last year he played in only 26 games and scored twice.This season, in 21 games, he had four goals, five assists and only 22 penalty minutes. Not bad numbers but not great, so general manager-coach Bob Pulford, after much cogitation, decided to give Harrison the ship ahoy.At which point Al Eagleson, famed Toronto attorney for Harrison and Pulford, cried foul.&ldquo;Jim Harrison is an injured hockey player, and I have advised him not to report to Moncton,&rdquo; quoth The Eagle.&ldquo;Jim Harrison, as far as I&rsquo;m concerned, is a healthy hockey player, and if he isn&rsquo;t, he&rsquo;ll have to prove that in Moncton,&rdquo; countered Pulford.&ldquo;Jim Harrison is not moving,&rdquo; replied The Eagle.&ldquo;Jim Harrison is therefore suspended,&rdquo; answered Pulford.And so the Harrison vs. Black Hawks case stood in suspended animation, with an accent on suspended.&ldquo;Pulford told me that they tried to trade me,&rdquo; Harrison said. &ldquo;They couldn&rsquo;t, so then they put me on waivers and everybody passed on me. Then he said I&rsquo;m going to the minor leagues for good.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve got three years left on my contract, but I know that I&rsquo;m not their type of player. In the games I played for them, I thought I played well. I&rsquo;m good enough to be a regular center for this club.&rdquo;But he wasn&rsquo;t, and Eagleson hinted that part of the reason for Harrison&rsquo;s lack of production was that pain in the back.&ldquo;The man&rsquo;s had three operations for a disc problem, the last being in February. Seven out of ten normal people who have back operations still have back problems after surgery, and Jim isn&rsquo;t a normal person. He&rsquo;s a hockey player.&ldquo;The Black Hawks had Harrison traded to the New York Rangers for Phil Esposito in November. But the Rangers wanted to look at Harrison&rsquo;s back x-rays first. When they did, they said no deal. You don&rsquo;t think that will help our case?&rdquo;HAWK TALK: At the Black Hawk Standbys 35th annual fan club dinner Dec. 4 Ivan Boldirev was honored as the team&rsquo;s leading scorer last year and Tony Esposito was cited as most valuable player. Cliff Koroll also received an award for &ldquo;a decade of dedication.&rdquo;&hellip;Lou Angotti, replaced this autumn as color man on WCFL radio broadcasts of home games, has been reinstalled to work with Andy MacWilliams, play-by-play man. Angotti will continue to handle color on 20 Hawks TV road games. &#9632;

f0015-01

Harrison, Hawks Headed For Hassle

<div class="byline">BY CHUCK MOODY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-02808/4240224-1-eng-US/f0015-022.jpg" title="f0015-02" width="546" height="699"><figcaption class="caption-body">GREG MILLEN&hellip;Waited Patiently</figcaption></div>PITTSBURGH&mdash;Pittsburgh Penguin rookie goaltender Greg Millen definitely believes in taking advantage of a second chance.Millen was selected by the Penguins in the sixth round of the 1977 Amateur draft from the Peterborough Petes of the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League. His coach for two of his seasons with Peterborough was current Toronto Maple Leaf coach Roger Neilson.But, when Millen reported to training camp last season, he found three goaltenders already under contract to the Pittsburgh organization.&ldquo;Denis Herron, Dune Wilson and Gordie Laxton were already under contract to Pittsburgh,&rdquo; Millen rememberd. &ldquo;So, a week to the day after taining camp opened last season, I was sent to the Dayton camp in the International Hockey League. But, when Pittsburgh sent Gord Laxton there, I immediately had to look for another job.&ldquo;I was picked up on waivers by Kalamazoo of the IHL, but I had sustained a pulled back muscle in camp, and that hindered me quite a bit. I played in three games for Kalamazoo, and was eventually released.&rdquo;For the second time within a short period of time, Millen found himself looking for another job.&ldquo;I wasn&rsquo;t that discouraged,&rdquo; Millen said. &ldquo;The Pittsburgh management told me to try to find a place to play, and they would give me another shot at training camp next year. They couldn&rsquo;t help place me, however. That would have been illegal, because I wasn&rsquo;t under contract to them.&rdquo;Millen took some time off to rest his injured back, and eventually hooked on with the Sault Saint Marie Greyhounds of the OMJHL as an overage junior.&ldquo;Each team was allowed one overage player on their roster,&rdquo; Millen said. &ldquo;But, that player is allowed to play only one year.&rdquo;He played in 24 games for Sault Saint Marie, with a 4.28 goals-against-average and one shutout. He spent the offseason in his hometown of Toronto, and looked forward to training camp in September.&ldquo;There was a little story in a Toronto newspaper that Dune Wilson wasn&rsquo;t going to be in the Penguins training camp. The story was so small, a lot of people missed it. But, I didn&rsquo;t. It was big news to me.&ldquo;I knew the second goaltending job was open, and I said to myself &lsquo;That&rsquo;s my job. Somebody&rsquo;s got to take it away from me&rsquo;&rdquo;Millen took advantage of his second chance to make the Penguins. He beat out Laxton and Greg Redquest for the backup goaltending position to Herron, with some impressive work in exhibition games.&ldquo;I am thankful to the Pittsburgh management for the second opportunity they gave me. They gave me the chance to show my stuff, and I want to help any way I can.&rdquo;One of the reasons there was a second goaltending position open on the Penguins this season was because of Dune Wilson&rsquo;s lackadaisical attitude toward practice. His attitude upset coach Johnny Wilson, and the Penguin players as well.Millen was asked if he minded helping his teammates work on different things during practice.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s no problem,&rdquo;-Millen said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s my job. I will help them in practice work on their shots, or keep the boys alive during the game by cheering from the bench when I&rsquo;m not playing.&rdquo;For the first nine games of the season, Millen did a lot of cheering because Herron played every game. Greg&rsquo;s first National Hockey League start came in Washington against the Capitals.&ldquo;I was a little disappointed with my performance that first game,&rdquo; Millen related.Millen allowed three first period goals against the Capitals which he admitted were of the &ldquo;soft&rdquo; variety. &ldquo;It wasn&rsquo;t because I was nervous,&rdquo; said Millen. &ldquo;It was more like I had to get my feet wet.&rdquo;Greg settled down after the first period, and even though Pittsburgh lost 6-4, Millen allowed only two more goals. The final Washington goal was scored into an empty net, with Millen on the bench, pulled in favor of a sixth attacker.Millen once again took advantage of a second chance, recording his first NHL victory in his second start, 6-3 at home against the Colorado Rockies. He blanked Colorado the first two periods, and was beaten three times, when the Rockies fired 16 shots at him in the final period.&ldquo;After those first two periods I guess I started thinking shutout,&rdquo; Millen admitted. &ldquo;It would have been nice if my first NHL win would have been a shutout.&rdquo;Coach Wilson was impressed by the five-foot-nine, 160-pound, 21-year-old Millen&rsquo;s confident play. &ldquo;The kid handles himself well,&rdquo; said Wilson. &ldquo;I wouldn&rsquo;t hesitate to use Greg any time.&rdquo;Herron was also impressed with Millen. &ldquo;It takes pressure off me,&rdquo; Herron said. &ldquo;I know that if I am not playing well they will bring in Millen and that he can do the job. That is important over a long season. Especially when you get into a three games in four nights type of situation.&rdquo;&ldquo;It may sound like a cliche,&rdquo; Millen said. &ldquo;But, playing in the National Hockey League is like a dream come true. Now that I&rsquo;ve got my feet wet, I have a lot of confidence in my playing ability. My main concern is to help this club win hockey games, any way I can.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0015-02

Second Chance Spells Success By Pens’ Millen

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0016-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-01879/4240269-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-02736/4240262-1-eng-US/f0016-022.jpg" title="f0016-02" width="723" height="3630"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-03588/4240255-1-eng-US/f0016-032.jpg" title="f0016-03" width="2158" height="3051"></div> &#9632;

f0016-01

NHL POINT SCORING AND PENALTY STATISTICS

<div class="byline">BY TOM MURRAY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-01771/4240300-1-eng-US/f0017-012.jpg" title="f0017-01" width="541" height="537"><figcaption class="caption-body">WALT TKACZUK&hellip;Agrees With Espo</figcaption></div>NEW YORK&mdash;The Rangers&rsquo; mysterious slump, which started right after the team&rsquo;s impressive 5-3 victory in Atlanta on November 29 and has been gaining momentum ever since, continued this past week, as N.Y. barely squeezed by Los Angeles, 8-7, and then dropped back-to-back 4-1 decisions to the Boston Bruins.How, you may well ask, can a slump be mysterious?well, take a look at the Rangers&rsquo; record since that win in Atlanta: a loss in Toronto. O.K.; they are tough to beat at home. A loss against the Bruins in New York on the following night. Still OK; the Rangers played an extremely good game, but John Wensink&rsquo;s goal broke the tie with less than five minutes remaining. A win at home against the (yawn) St. Louis Blues. Routine. A terrific 5-2 victory against the Flyers in Philly, alter being down 2-0. Very impressive. But then, The Slump reared its ugly head again: up 3-0 in Detroit several days after that Flyer win, the Rangers lose 5-4. The following night they are shut out at home, 4-0, by the same Flyers they had defeated on the road only four days before. A few days later they edge the Kings in a horrendous game, and then lose those two games to the Bruins by identical scores.The pattern, if it can be discerned from all of this madness, seems to be that the Rangers can be cotinted on to have a letdown after they play particularly well on the road. But how they can play so well on the road one night and perform so poorly in front of their own fans only a day or so later remains a mystery.Perhaps Phil Esposito came the closest to answering that question when he told reporters after that first loss to the Bruins that many of the Rangers, himself included, were becoming much too complacent and playing as a bunch of individuals and not as a team.&ldquo;This team has never really won before,&rdquo; Espo said, &ldquo;and with the good start that we had this season we&rsquo;ve been riding the crest of the wave. But then we beat Atlanta and we beat Philly and all of a sudden everyone seems to be saying, &lsquo;Hey, we&rsquo;re good.&rsquo; Maybe I thought that too, and lately maybe too many of us have been thinking that all we have to do to win is put on our uniforms and show up at the rink.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m as much to blame as all these guys are?&rsquo; Espo continued, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m the oldest, and I should speak up when I see things going on that shouldn&rsquo;t be. I&rsquo;ve kept my mouth shut up until now, but I&rsquo;m not any more. I want to go out as a winner too badly to shut up. There is nothing like winning the Stanley Cup, and I know this team can win it in a few years. But we all have to realize that we gotta work hard as a team to win anything. And we&rsquo;re not doing that now.&rdquo;When asked to comment on Esposito&rsquo;s analysis of the Rangers dilemma, coach Fred Shero said, &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t listen to that kind of stuff,&rdquo; but a random survey of Espo&rsquo;s Ranger teammates revealed that all of them, to a man, agreed that compaccncy was a large part of the problem, if not all of it.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s pretty well put as far as I&rsquo;m concerned,&rdquo; said Walter Tkaczuk, &ldquo;We gotta get back to basics and work as a team.&rdquo;&ldquo;I have to agree with him,&rdquo; said Dave Maloney of Espo&rsquo;s words. &ldquo;And there&rsquo;s no excuse for it. To be a good team, you have to win consistently. And a good team doesn&rsquo;t do what we&rsquo;ve been doing&mdash;winning one big game and then losing two. That&rsquo;s what we did last year.&ldquo;I dunno,&rdquo; Maloney said wistfully. &ldquo;Maybe we need to get away from each other. Maybe we need a day off for each guy to do his own thing, get a clear head, and come back and start from scratch. Let&rsquo;s see how that works. What the hell, we&rsquo;ve tried everything else.&rdquo;BLUE CHIPS: The Rangers&rsquo; defensive record&mdash;their pride and joy through the first two months of the season&mdash;is deteriorating rapidly: the team has allowed 51 goals in its last 13 games (5-7-1), after holding their opponents to 40 in their first 17 games. Translated, that means that in each game they play the Rangers are now allowing 1.5 more goals than they were before. They&rsquo;ve also allowed three or more goals in 12 of those 13 games after limiting their opponents to under three in 11 of their first 17 games. &#9632;

f0017-01

Complacency Causes Ranger Mystery Slump

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-02650/4240331-1-eng-US/f0017-022.jpg" title="f0017-02" width="514" height="689"><figcaption class="caption-body">GUY LAFLEUR&hellip;Leads Votegetters</figcaption></div>NEW YORK&mdash;Three members of the surprising New York Rangers held an early lead in the balloting for the six starting berths on the National Hockey League All Star team, which will be matched against the Soviet National team in an historic, three-game series Feb. 8, 10, and 11 in Madison Square Garden.Left wing Pat Hickey, center Ulf Nilsson and defenseman Ron. Greschner of the Rangers top the voting for their respective positions in the NHL-Wilkinson fan balloting for the NHL Challenge Cup scries. Other leaders in the preliminary returns, which do not yet include ballots for all NHL cities, are goaltender Bernie Parent of the Philadelphia Flyers, right wing Guy Lafleur of the Montreal Canadiens and teammate Larry Robinson, second among the defensemen in the balloting.Lafleur emerged as the leading votegetter in the early returns with 10,445 ballots cast in his favor. Others in the top 10 for most votes included Hickey 9,791, Anders Hedberg, also of the Rangers, 8,132, Greschner 7,215, Robinson 7,092, Nilsson 6,198, Philadelphia Flyers&rsquo; captain Bobby Clarke 6.130, Bill Barber, another Flyer, 5,992, Parent 5,326 and Washington defenseman Robert Picard, who polled 5,213 early votes.The fan balloting, which began in mid-October and will end on Jan. 14, will determine the starting players at the three forward and two defensive positions. The top votegetters among the goaltenders will be guaranteed a position on the squad, however the coach of the NHL All Stars will have the option of starting any one of the team&rsquo;s goalies.Bill Torrey of the New York Islanders, has been named general manager, and Harry Sinden of Boston, and Cliff Fletcher, of Atlanta, assistant general managers of the NHL team.One of Torrey&rsquo;s jobs will be to convince Scotty Bowman of the Canadiens to become coach of Team NHL for the Challenge Cup scries with the Soviets. Bowman has been named by the NHL as the head coach and he will be assisted by Al Arbour of the New York Islanders. A second assistant will be announced be Bowman, as soon as he gives his official approval to the league for naming him the top coaching hand.With just over 100,000 votes tabulated, the results of the balloting are as follows with total votes indicated for each player:CENTERS: 1. Ulf Nilsson, N.Y. Rangers, 6,198. 2. Bobby Clarke, Philadelphia, 6,130. 3. Dennis Maruk, Washington, 2,448. 4. Ivan Boldirev, Chicago, 2,392. 5. Darryl Sittier, Toronto, 1,745.LEFT WINGS: 1. Pat Hickey, N.Y. Rangers, 9,791. 2. Bill Barber, Philadelphia, 5,992. 3. Steve Shutt, Montreal, 4,442. 4. Clarke Gillies, N.Y. Islanders, 3,637. 5. Richard Martin, Buffalo, 2,055.RIGHT WINGS: 1. Guy Lafleur, Montreal, 10,445. 2. Anders Hedberg, N.Y. Rangers, 8,132. 3. Bob Sirois, Washington, 3,427. 4. Mike Bossy, N.Y. Islanders, 2,557. 5. Terry OReilly, Boston, 1,737.DEFENSEMEN: 1. Ron Greschner, N.Y. Rangers, 7,215. 2. Larry Robinson, Montreal, 7,092. 3. Robert Picard, Washington, 5,213. 4. Denis Potvin, N.Y. Islanders, 5,207. 5. Brad Park, Boston, 5,141. 6. Borjc Saluting, Toronto, 4,542. 7. Guy Lapointe. Montreal, 4,171. 8. Jim Watson, Philadelphia, 4,050. 9. Bob Dailey, Philadelphia, 3,422. 10. Phil Russell, Chicago, 3,279.GOALERS: 1. Bernie Parent, Philadelphia, 5,326. 2. Tony Esposito, Chicago, 5,184. 3 Ken Dryden, Montreal, 4,971. 4. Gilles Meloche, Minnesota, 2,624. 5. Mike Palmateer, Toronto, 2,454. &#9632;

f0017-02

Bowman Named Coach, Rangers’ Trio Leading In NHL All Star Returns

LOUISVILLEHOCKEY STICKS Made in Canada by HILLERICH & BRADSBY, LTD Arnold Street. Wallaceburg, Ontario Sold in U.S. and CanadaLOUISVILLEHOCKEY STICKS Made in Canada by HILLERICH & BRADSBY, LTD Arnold Street. Wallaceburg, Ontario Sold in U.S. and Canada<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-01789/4240362-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg" title="f0018-01" width="595" height="2002"></div> &#9632;

f0018-01

Looking At NHL Goalers

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-04329/4240393-1-eng-US/f0018-042.jpg" title="f0018-04" width="585" height="637"></div> &#9632;

f0018-04

Team Penalties

<div class="byline">BY NORM MacLEAN</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-02635/4240424-1-eng-US/f0018-022.jpg" title="f0018-02" width="552" height="695"><figcaption class="caption-body">LORNE HENNING&hellip;Happy As Regular</figcaption></div>LONG ISLAND&mdash;Mike Bossy&rsquo;s bid to score a goal in his ninth straight game was halted, but it didn&rsquo;t seem to bother either Bossy or New York Islanders coach Al Arbour.&ldquo;This is a team effort,&rdquo; said Arbour. &ldquo;Mike had his chances, but we are committed to four lines&mdash;and we are going to use them on a regular basis.&rdquo;The Isles&rsquo; four regular combinations are Bryan Trottier, with Clark Gillies and Mike Bossy, listing the center first, followed by the left wing and then he right wing. Mike Kaszycki works with Bob Bourne and Bill Harris; Wayne Merrick centers for John Tonelli and Bob Nystrom and Lome Henning has Garry Howatt and Ed Westfall.&ldquo;We like to juggle them at times&mdash;we aim for interchangeability,&rdquo; revealed general manager Bill Torrey. &ldquo;Early in the year we moved the Trottier line around&mdash;the other guys saw this&mdash;and they can&rsquo;t say anything.&rdquo;The use of four lines on a steady basis means a regular job for Henning, a player previously limited almost exclusively to penalty killing.&ldquo;Henning has done well. He has taken advantage of his additional ice time,&rdquo; noted Torrey. &ldquo;He is a smart player who knows what to do.&rdquo;Henning might have been a regular long ago, except he is more than a bit slow of skate. His smarts show when in is realized he made his living killing penalties&mdash;a chore requiring two skaters to guard three.The five-foot-10 Estevan, Saskatchewan native has six goals already, half of his total of the 1978-79 season. He popped a key score with just two minutes and 31 seconds remaining against the Los Angeles Kings which ingited the Islanders and helped them gain a 5-5 tie. They had gone into the third period trailing 5-3. Gerry Hart&rsquo;s .60 footer with one minute and three seconds left was the equalizer.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m happy playing on a regular basis,&rdquo; said Henning. &ldquo;And I think that Garry and Ed and I make things happen. I learned an awful lol about penalty killing from Westfall.&rdquo;At times, Arbour has used Bourne with Henning on the penalty killing detail. Billy Harris also works into this chore, as Torrey and Arbour overlook no detail in a master plan aimed at being ready for any emergency.&ldquo;We don&rsquo;t want to get caught short if someone gets hurt,&rdquo; said Bill. &ldquo;This way we have someone who has done the job ready to step in in case of an injury-&rdquo;The speedy Bourne scored New York&rsquo;s first shorthanded goal of the season in a 4-1 win over Detroit, taking a Henning pass and breaking free. In 1977-78, Bob might have been the quietest 30 goal scorer in NHL history. This season he has already subbed at center when Bryan Trottier was hurt&mdash;and taken his regular shift.Hard working Harry O., otherwise known as Billy Harris, potted the gamewinner against the Red Wings, giving him four game winning goals in his nine scores.&ldquo;The Islanders success comes from the overall contribution of everyone. Harris has the same number of game winners as Trottier,&rdquo; noted Torrey.Bossy, although disappointed, said, &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll just have to start another streak. I knew I was close to the NHL record of scoring in 10 straight games. I had some good chances, and three shots, but I think I made the wrong move on a close in chance late in the game.&rdquo;Mike is leading the Islanders with nine power play goals, and has scored a point in his last 13 games, tying the team record he set last year. Any concern of Bossy suffering a sophomore slump have long since been dissipated.Another oft maligned Islander who has come up big in the first 28 games is Howatt, the scrappy left winger. Garry already has seven goals, the same total he recorded all of last season.&ldquo;The only thing we have to guard against is complacency,&rdquo; noted Arbour, after the Detroit win. &ldquo;We were complacent early in the game, then came on in the third period, the same pattern we followed against the Kings. We need an overall effort throughout the game&mdash;but I&rsquo;ll tell you one thing&mdash;when I put Howatt out there he makes sure things stir&mdash;he never is complacent.&rdquo;Bossy, who figures to once more surpass 50 goals, agreed, saying &ldquo;We showed maturity in coming back in the third period to tie the Kings, but we start slowly in most games, get better in the second period and then really fly in the third. We need to move on it earlier.&rdquo;ISLAND SOUNDS: Howatt played his 400th NHL game against Detroit. In the same game Denis Potvin notched his 300th NHL assist:..Islanders are only team unbeaten at home this year, and are 10-0-4. In regular season play extending back into 1977-78 they are 27-18 at home, 3-1 in the playoffs. Only the Boston Bruins have more goals than the Isles&hellip;Coach Al Arbour has smoothly juggled his goalies so that Chico Resch now has 10 wins, Billy Smith eight, with both men around the 3.00 goals against average. &#9632;

f0018-02

Isles’ Four Lines O’K. By Henning

<div class="byline">BY AL SMITH</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-01752/4240486-1-eng-US/f0019-012.jpg" title="f0019-01" width="559" height="755"><figcaption class="caption-body">RED LAURENCE&hellip;Getting Chance</figcaption></div>ATLANTA&mdash;As one doctor put it, &ldquo;You&rsquo;ll have to work like hell before you are ready to run and walk again, never mind skating and playing hockey.&rdquo;So, Red Laurence went to work. And he may have worked himself into a regular job with the Atlanta Flames.The talented center will long remember Dec. 12, 1976. It was on that night Laurence was tripped from behind while on a breakaway and wound up in a battle with a goalpost and a metal pipe won. Laurence ended up with a broken shin and out of hockey for almost a year.The accident came while Laurence was playing for the Kitchener Rangers of the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League where he was enjoying a spectacular scoring year with 43 goals and 88 points in only 35 games.&ldquo;I thought it might be the end,&rdquo; Laurence said. And then the doctor told me I might never play hockey again.&rdquo;Then of course there was the National Hockey League amateur draft and Laurence knew his stock had gone down. From a sure-fire first round choice, Laurence was thinking, &ldquo;maybe the 10th round.&rdquo;But Atlanta general manager Cliff Fletcher took a chance. The Flames drafted the then recuperating Laurence in the second round.&ldquo;I never thought I&rsquo;d go that high,&rdquo; Laurence said. &ldquo;And I was glad it was Atlanta. I thought that way I&rsquo;d get a chance to play sooner. Get drafted by Montreal and it&rsquo;s a one way ticket to Novy (Nova Scotia of the American Hockey League.)&rdquo;While summer is a time of relaxation for most hockey players, the summer of &lsquo;77 was one of work for Laurence. He worked on his shrunken, weak leg through the summer and far into the fall, until December when he was ready to try hockey again.The Flames sent him to Tulsa of the Central Hockey League, but it wasn&rsquo;t long and Laurence was on the shelf again. In his 10th game in the CHL, Laurence injured his knee and headed for some more time in the stands.Laurence returned to play the end of the season with Tulsa and even though he never got back to his full physical capabilities he managed 15 goals and 26 points in 39 games.The Galt, Ont., native still had a steel rod in his leg that went from his kneecap to the top of his foot and it wasn&rsquo;t until May of &lsquo;78 that Laurence had the rod removed. Again, it was a summer of work for the five-foot-nine, 173-pounder.He reported to the Flames training camp in the best physical condition since his fateful night in Kitchener&mdash;and he made his mark.The 21-year-old centerman was one of the leading scorers for the Flames in the exhibition season, but he was also a victim of the numbers game.With the acquisition of Jean Pronovost and Gene Carr, the forwardladen Flames sent Laurence to &ldquo;the pits&rdquo; as Laurence refers to Nova Scotia. In the AHL, Laurence again showed that Fletcher&rsquo;s gamble may pay dividends. He was one of the leading scorers for Nova Scotia. But it wasn&rsquo;t until Harold Phillipoff was injured that Laurence got his chance in the NHL.He responded with two goals in his first two games.&ldquo;I just want a chance to be on a regular shift,&rdquo; Laurence said. &ldquo;And if I&rsquo;m going to have a chance to stay, I&rsquo;ve got to put the puck in the net. That&rsquo;s what they drafted me for.&rdquo;Now, in 100 percent condition physically for the first time in two and one-half years, Laurence is showing some of the talent that made him one of the top scorers in the OMJHL and the reason Cliff Fletcher was ready to gamble on a 20-year-old kid with a broken leg who hadn&rsquo;t played hockey for almost a year.NOTES: Veteran defenseman Ed Kea back in action after breaking his foot in fifth game of the season. Kea spent a week in Tulsa getting back in shape&hellip;After one of best starts ever in NHL (10-0-2) Flames went into tailspin with 6-11-0 record in next 17 games. &#9632;

f0019-01

Laurence’s Effort Repaying Patience Shown By Atlanta

<div class="byline">BY PAT THOMPSON</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-01589/4240548-1-eng-US/f0020-012.jpg" title="f0020-01" width="546" height="1576"><figcaption class="caption-body">Al MacADAM&hellip;Fleetest Star</figcaption></div>BLOOMINGTON&mdash;With coach Glen Sonmor stressing a team concept, the Minnesota North Stars seemed to snap out of their November state of shock.The North Stars broke an eight-game losing streak by reeling off three quick victories opening December.Team play was very much in evidence.But wasn&rsquo;t it a coincidence that right winger Al MacAdam was playing exceptionally well on a line with No. 1 draft choice Bobby Smith, who seems to have come out of his early season scoring slump, and No. 2 pick Steve Payne. In their first three victories of the December revival, MacAdam scored a goal in each game.It wasn&rsquo;t surprising to hear MacAdam&rsquo;s name brought up frequently in separate conversations with Sonmor and Dick Vraa, the figure skating instructor the Minnesota North Stars hired this season.Both men left the impression that a key figure in a Minnesota comeback this season could well be the right winger from Prince Edward Island.&ldquo;One of the positive things that happened to us during our eight-game losing streak is that Al MacAdam returned from his injury,&rdquo; said Sonmor. &ldquo;MacAdam epitomizes the concept we are trying to establish in making this team a winner. He is a very solid two-way hockey player. He plays the same at home as he does on the road. No one works any harder. He stands up for himself and for his teammates. He sets an excellent example.&rdquo;Vraa found out quickly that MacAdam was the fastest North Star skater after electronically timed tests earlier this season. He&rsquo;s found out a few other things about him.&ldquo;If a decathlon were held among the players, Al would be my favorite,&rdquo; said Vraa. &ldquo;We found that he was in the best shape of anybody at the start of training camp. He finished first in the cross-country run. I know how he can skate&mdash;he&rsquo;d make an excellent speedskater. I&rsquo;d love to see him swim. He excells for one reason&hellip;because he wants to.&rdquo;Sonmor and Vraa might also have mentioned that the 26-year-old MacAdam holds a BA degree in history. He is also considered the best fighter on the team, although that is not his game. MacAdam fights only when pushed, but seldom does anyone ever ask for seconds.MacAdam suffered ligament damage in his right hand during a fight in the third game of the season and underwent surgery. He missed 11 games and before making his return his goal total read zero.Ten games later, he had six goals.&ldquo;I had a very bad start last season with Cleveland,&rdquo; said MacAdam. &ldquo;On Jan. 1, after 40 games, I had only four goals, I feel much better now&mdash;1 have the confidence I can still score.&rdquo;The six-foot, 180-pound forward, a left shot who plays his off wing, finished last season with 16 goals and 32 assists. He should surpass that figure this season if he continues to play like he did in early December with the two North Star rookies on his line. &ldquo;Al is the ideal guy for them,&rdquo; said Sonmor.&ldquo;I like it,&rdquo; MacAdam says about playing with two rookies. &ldquo;They are very enthusiastic and they handle the pressure very well. They don&rsquo;t place themselves in the position where they begin to feel the tension that too much is expected of them. We work well together. Even during the losing streak, I fell our line was playing well. If we had been able to get some goals in certain situations, we might have carried the team.&ldquo;Most of the team was struggling&mdash;that happens a lot of times when the other team scores the first goal. I think our line can get the importnat goals to keep the team going.&rdquo;STAR DUST: MacAdam was stopped on a penalty shot by LA goalie Ron Grahame, making him the eighth of 10 North Stars to be stymied on such opportunities&hellip;The three-game winning streak early in the month marked the first time in exactly four years the Stars won that many in a row&hellip;The4-0 Shutout by goalie Gilles Meloche was the first by the North Stars this season and the first in 56 Minnesota games since Paul Harrison, now of the Leafs, shut out Washington last January&hellip;Meloche was not supposed to start that game, but goalie Gary Edwards, who had beaten Atlanta in back-to-back games, came up with an ankle injury&hellip;Also in the injury department, defensemen Fred Barrett and Jim McKenny remained disabled, winger Kent Andersson missed time with muscle spasms in his back and winger Ron Zanussi was bothered by a sore wrist&hellip;Defenseman Bryan Maxwell was sent to Oklahoma City in the CHL and returned sooner than expected, but only to have an emergency appendectomy performed by team doctors&hellip;Team captain J. P. Parise came up with the best light-hearted one liner of the season after posing for an underwear ad. vertisement. &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t do it for the money,&rdquo; deadpanned J.P. &ldquo;I did it for the exposure.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0020-01

MacAdam Setting Example For Stars’ Team Concept

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0020-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-02417/4240579-1-eng-US/f0020-022.jpg"></div>The Buffalo Sabres like their defensemen to be big. The bigger the better, seems to be club policy. Of the 11 who went to training camp, all stood over six feet. Six of them tipped the scales at over 200 pounds. So It was only natural that the Sabres should draft Larry Playfair as their No. 1 choice in the summer of 1978. Playfair only stands 6&rsquo;4&rdquo; and weighs 201. He also stepped out of the Western Canada League from Portland with 402 penalty minutes in 71 games. The rugged rookie won&rsquo;t forget his NHL debut this season for a long time. On his first shift on the ice, he ran smack into Boston&rsquo;s John Wensink and landed in the hospital with a concussion. Wensink is six foot and 200 pounds. &#9632;

f0020-02

Playfair Fitted Big Player Mold

MONTREAL&mdash;The NHL&rsquo;s sizzling three-way fight for first place honors overall continues to be a dogfight from week to week with Montreal, Boston and the New York Islanders squarely in the battle.The Bruins bounced into the NHL&rsquo;s No. 1 team position after the Dec. 16-17 weekend with 48 points, two more than the Canadiens and three up on the Islanders. However, the Bruins also played more games.The Bruins are also the NHL&rsquo;s No. 1 offensive team with 140 goals after 32 games. The Islanders are second with 133 goals followed by the Atlanta Flames with 132.Meanwhile, the top two choices in the NHL&rsquo;s 1971 amateur draft are waging a battle for top honors in the individual scoring race while three players, including last season&rsquo;s runner-up, are in close pursuit.Guy Lafleur of Montreal Canadiens, the first choice in the 1971 draft, leads the race with 50 points while Marcel Dionne of Los Angeles Kings, the second pick in the same draft, is two points behind and has played two fewer games. Bob MacMillan of Atlanta Flames is third with 46 points while teammate Guy Chouinard is next with 45 and lurking in fifth place with 42 points is Bryan Trottier of. New York Islanders, who finished second to Lafleur last season.Lafleur and Dionne waged a strong battle for the points title in 1976-77 and there are similarities at this point in the season. Lafleur has 50 points in 31 games this season which is one fewer than 76-77 while Dionne has 48 points which is four more than he had after 29 games that season. One reason is that Dionne has 22 goals compared to 14 after the same number of games in 76-77. Lafleur eventually won the title on the strength of an NHL record 28 consecutive-game point-scoring streak.Even though Lafleur has won three consecutive scoring titles, it is interesting to note that there is little difference in the career records of the two players. Lafleur has played 554 regular-season games compared to Dionne&rsquo;s 568&mdash;has scored 325 goals to Dionne-s 290&mdash;and has totalled 737 points compared to Dionne&rsquo;s 709.Lafleur has been held pointless only five times this season and once in his last 22 games, scoring l9 goals and 2l assists for 40 points in the 22 games. In his last 11 games, he has at least one point in each game and has 11 goals and 11 assists for 22 points, Trottier has a similar streak of 11 games during which he has nine goals and 21 points. In 26 games this season, Trottier has been held pointless only four times, fewest of any of the league&rsquo;s leaders.The longest consecutive points streak is by Mike Bossy of Islanders whose streak stopped after 13 games. During the 13 games, the sophomore right winger scored 15 goals and seven assists and also had an eight-game goal-scoring streak which is also longest in the NHL this season.Chouinard has had two 10-game points streaks this season while MacMillan had an 11-game string from he beginning of the season. Both players have been hot lately as Chouinard scored five goals and one assist in three games last week while MacMillan had one goal and seven assists in the same number of games. Chouinard has been held pointless seven times in his 32 games this season while MacMillan has missed eight times.Chouinard is the only player among the top 25 pointmen in the NHL not to be penalized this season and has 20 minutes in 194 career games. &#9632;

Bruins’ Offense, Record Makes Them No. 1

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0022-05" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-05190/4240714-1-eng-US/f0022-052.jpg"></div> &#9632;

f0022-05

Where NHL Teams Play

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-06152/4240745-1-eng-US/f0022-062.jpg" title="f0022-06" width="600" height="1666"></div> &#9632;

f0022-06

The NHL Scoreboard

ATLANTA: Lysiak 14,15, Chouinard 17,18,19,20,21, Plett 10, Clement 6,7, Pronovost 8,9,10,11, Gould 6, Vail 14, MacMillan 14.BOSTON: Bennett 1, Park 2, McNab 18,19,20, Redmond 2, Wensink 15,16,17,18,19,20, Ratelle 10, Songin 2, Miller 10, Sims 7, Midleton 14,15, Walton 8, Marcotte 12.BUFFALO: Perreault 9,10,11, R. Martin 9, McAdam 2,3, Ramsay 11, McKegney 5,6,7, Smith 4,5,6, Luce 9,10,11, Richard 2, Gare 9,10, T. Martin 2.CHICAGO: Mulvey 4,5, Mikita 3,4, Russell 5, Wilson 1, Lecuyer 1, Boldirev 13.COLORADO: Paiement 6,7,8, Gardner 12,13, Beck 5,6,7, Pierce 5,6, Valiquette 10,11.DETROIT: Larson 9, Nedomansky 13, Polonich 2,3, Bolduc 3,4, Hilworth 1, Libett 6.LOS ANGELES: Goring 19,20,21, Taylor 15, Grant 10, Goldup 8,9, Murdoch 3, Dionne 22, Jensen 5,6, Murphy 6,7, M. Wilson 4.MINNESOTA: Zanussi 8, Sargent 7,8, Maxwell 1,2, Andersson 6,7, Payne 2, G. Smith 3, Youghans 5.MONTREAL: Shutt 9,10, Lafleur 19,20,21,22, Lambert 10,11,12, Houle 9, Hughes 3, Tremblay 10, Risebrough 3, Lapointe 8.ISLANDERS: Howatt 7, Bossy 23, Gillies 9, Henning 6, Hart 2, Bourne 11, Harris 9, Lewis 1, Persson 5, Trottier 17,18, Potvin 12,13, Nystrom 6.RANGERS: Plante 2, Esposito 13,14, Vickers 8,9, DeBlois 6, Greschner 10,11, Nilsson 11, Hickey 14.PHILADELPHIA: Bridgman 7,8, Leach 13,14,15, Preston 1, Dunlop 10, Barber 16.PITTSBURGH: Ferguson 6,7,8, Kindrachuk 8, Malone 10,11, Bianchin 5, Anderson 1, Mahovlich 6,7, Kehoe 6, Chapman 4, Schutt 9.ST. LOUIS: Unger 13, Smrke 4, Federko 13.TORONTO: Jones 4, Maloney 7,8, Boutette 8, Johansen 1, McKechnie 10,11,12, McDonald 15, Ellis 5,6, Salming 6,7, Anderson 4, Butler 5.VANCOUVER: Gradin 10,11, Snespts 1, Graves 9, Sedlbauer 19,20,21,22, Lever 9, Martin 8, Fraser 10, Smyl 3.WASHINGTON: Rowe 12,13, Bergeron 4,5,6, Sirois 13,14,15, Patey 1, Maruk 6,7, Girard 4, &#9632;

NHL’s Scorers …This Week

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-01476/4240683-1-eng-US/f0022-012.jpg" title="f0022-01" width="628" height="1807"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-02372/4240676-1-eng-US/f0022-022.jpg" title="f0022-02" width="1198" height="2034"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-03301/4240669-1-eng-US/f0022-032.jpg" title="f0022-03" width="594" height="3320"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-04229/4240662-1-eng-US/f0022-042.jpg" title="f0022-04" width="586" height="1359"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-01449/4240655-1-eng-US/f0023-012.jpg" title="f0023-01" width="623" height="3601"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-02340/4240648-1-eng-US/f0023-022.jpg" title="f0023-02" width="577" height="1734"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-03250/4240641-1-eng-US/f0023-032.jpg" title="f0023-03" width="1780" height="637"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-02297/4240634-1-eng-US/f0027-022.jpg" title="f0027-02" width="595" height="1331"></div> &#9632;

f0022-01

NATIONAL LEAGUE SUMMARIES

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-04193/4240800-1-eng-US/f0023-042.jpg" title="f0023-04" width="191" height="160"></div><h2>ATLANTA</h2>GOALDan Bouchard*Rejean LemelinDEFENSEGreg Fox*Brad MarshRichard MulhernPat RibbleRod SeilingDave ShandCENTERSGuy Chouinard*Red LaurenceTom Lysiak CR. WINGSJohn GouldKen HoustonBobby LalondeBob MacMillanJean PronovostWilli PlettL. WINGSBill ClementEric Vail<h2>BOSTON</h2>GOALGerry Cheevers*Jim PeltieDEFENSEMike MilburyDennis O&rsquo;BrienBrad ParteDick RedmondAl SimsRick SmithCENTERSPeter McNabBob MillerJean RatelleMike WaltonR. WINGSRick MiddletonTerry O&rsquo;Reilly*Tom SonginL. WINGS*Bill BennettWayne Cashman CDon MarcotteJohn WensinkBUFFALOGOALDon Edwards*Bob SauveDEFENSERichard DunnLee FogolinJocelyn GuevremontBill HajtJerry Korab*Larry PlayfairJim Schoenfeld*Bill StewartCENTERSDon LuceGilles PerreaultAndrt SavardDerek SmithR. WINGSDanny Gare CJacques RichardReni RobertRic SeilingL. WINGSRichard MartinTerry MartinGary McAdam*Tony McKegneyCraig RamsayCHICAGOGOALTony EspositoMikeVeisorDEFENSEDave LoganKeigh Magnuson CBob MurrayPhil RussellDoug WilsonCENTERSIvan BoldirevAlain DaigleJim HarrisonStan MikitaR. WINGSJ.P. Bordeleau*Tim HigginsCliff KorollGrant MulveyL. WINGSTed BulleyBob Kelly*Reg Kerr*Doug LecuyerJohn MarksDarcy Rota<h2>COLORADO</h2>GOALBill OleschukMichel PlasseDEFENSEDon AwreyBarry BeckNick BeverleyMike ChristieMike KitchenDennis OwcharJohn VanBoxmeerCENTERSRey ComeauPaul GardnerDoug Hicks*Merlin MalinowskiJack ValiquetteR. WINGSRon DelormeWilf PaiementRandy PierceL. WINGSJoe ContiniGary CroteauRalph KlassenAndy Spruce<h2>DETROIT</h2>GOALJim RutherfordRogie VachonDEFENSEThommie BergmanJean HamelJohn Hilworth*Willie HuberReed LarsonPerry Miller*John TaftCENTERS*Dan BolducFem LeBlancDale McCourtAndre St LaurentR. WINGSDan LabraatenVacfec NedomanskyDennis PolonichL. WINGSNick LibettBill LocheadErrol ThompsonPaul Woods<h2>LOS ANGELES</h2>GOALRon Grahame*Mario LessardGary SimmonsDEFENSEDarryl EdestrandRick HamptonRandy ManeryBob MurdochRob PalmerCENTERSSyl AppsMarcel DionneButch GoringVic VenaskyR. WINGSMark HeaslipGlenn GoldupMike Murphy CL. WINGSDanny GrantSteve JensenDave TaylorBert WilsonMurray Wilson<h2>MINNESOTA</h2>GOALGary EdwardsGilles MelocheDEFENSEFred Barrett*Bill ButtersBrad MaxwellJim McKennyJean PotvinGary SargentGreg SmithCENTERSBill HogaboamGlen Sharpley*Bob SmithTim YoungR. WINGSKent-Erik AnderssonAl MacAdamTom YoughansRon ZanussiL. WINGSPer-Olov BrasarJean-Paul Parise C*Steve Payne*Mike Polich<h2>MONTREAL</h2>GOALKen DrydenMichel LarocqueDEFENSERick ChartrawBrian EngbomGuy LapointeRod LangwayGilles LupienLarry RobinsonSerge SavardCENTERSR6jean HouleDoug JarvisPierre LarouchePierre MondouDoug RisebroughR. WINGS*Pat HughesGuy LafleurMark NapierMario TremblayL. WINGSCam ConnorBob GaineyYvon LambertSteve Shutt<h2>ISLANDERS</h2>GOALChico ReschBilly SmithDEFENSEGerry HartDave Lewis*Bob LorimerBert MarshallStefan PerssonDenis PotvinPat PriceCENTERSLome HenningMike KaszyckiWayne MerrickBryan TrottierR. WINGSMike BossyBilly HarrisBob NystromEd WestfallL. WINGSBob BourneClarke Gillies CGarry HowattJohn Tonelli<h2>RANGERS</h2>GOALJohn DavidsonDoug SoetaertWayne ThomasDEFENSEDave FarrishRon GreschnerMike KomeyDave Maloney CMario MaroisMike McEwenCarol VadnaisCENTERSRon DuguayPhil EspositoUlf NilssonWalter TkaczukR. WINGSLucien DeBloisAnders HedbergEddie JohnstonePierre PlanteDean TalafousL. WINGSNick FotiuPat HickeyGreg PolisSteve Vickers<h2>PHILADELPHIA</h2>GOALBernie Parent*Peter PeetersWayne StephensonDEFENSEBob DaileyAndre DupontRick LaPointeKevin McCarthyJim Watson*Behn WilsonCENTERSMel BridgmanBobby Clarke CBlake Dunlop*Paul EvansR. WINGSPaul HolmgrenReggie LeachDon SaleskiL. WINGSBill BarberBarry Dean*Dave HoydaBob KellyRick MacLeish*Yves Preston<h2>PITTSBURGH</h2>GOALDenis Herron*Greg MillenDEFENSERuss AndertonTom BladonColin CampbellBob ParadiseRon StackhouseDale TallonCENTERSPete MahovlichGreg MaloneR. WINGSBlair ChapmanJacques CossetteGeorge FergusonRick KehoePeter LeeL. WINGSWayne BianchinOrest Kindrachuk CRoss LonsberryDave schuitz<h2>ST.LOUIS</h2>GOALPhil MyreEd StaniowskiDEFENSEBruce AffleckJack BrownschidleBarry Gibbs CLarry GirouxBob HessBob StewartCENTERSBernie FederkoBrian OgilvieDoug PalazzariLarry PateyGarry Unger CR. WINGS*Wayne BabychBob MurdochRick ShinskeJohn SmrkeL. WINGSCurt BennettInge HammarstromBrian Suttler<h2>TORONTO</h2>GOALPaul HarrisonMike PalmateerDEFENSEDave BurrowsDave HutchisonTrevor Johansen*Joel QuennevilleBorje SalmingIan TurnbullCENTERSBruce BoudreauJimmy Jones*Garry MonahanDarryl Sittler CWalt McKechnieR. WINGS*John AndersonJerry ButlerRon EllisLanny McDonaldL. WINGSPat BoutetteDan MaloneyLome StamlerDave Williams<h2>VANCOUVER</h2>GOALGary Bromley*Glen HanlonDEFENSEJohn GrisdaleRandy HoltDennis Kearns*Lars LindgrenJack MclllargeyHarold SnepstsCENTERSRoland Eriksson*Thomas GradinPit MartinChris OddleifsonR. WINGSRick BlightHilliard Graves*Stan SmylDennis VervergaertL. WINGS*Curt FraserJere GillisDon Lever CRon Sedlbauer<h2>WASHINGTON</h2>GOAL*Jim BedardBernie WolfeDEFENSERick GreenYvon LabreGord LaneRobert PicardPete ScamurraGord Smith*Leif SvenssonBryan WatsonCENTERSGuy Charron CDennis Maruk*Ryan WalterR. WINGSMichel Bergeron*Mark LofthouseDoug PateyBill RileyTom RoweL. WINGS*Greg Carroll*Rolf EdbergBob Girard*Paul MulveyBob Sirois<h2>INJURED PLAYERS</h2>ATLANTAHarold PhillipoffBOSTONGilles GilbertBobby Schmautz*Al SecordGary DoakStan JonathanCOLORADO*Mike Gillis*Dave WatsonJoe WatsonClayton PachalDETROITGreg Joly*Brent PetersonLOS ANGELESBrian GlennieTom WilliamsMONTREALYvan Coumoyer CJacques LemairePITTSBURGHRandy CarlyleGregg SheppardST. LOUISSteve DurbanoVANCOUVER*Bill DeriagoWASHINGTON*Tim Coulis &#9632;

f0023-04

NHL Team Rosters C - Captain * Rookie

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-02371/4240838-1-eng-US/f0024-022.jpg" title="f0024-02" width="558" height="826"><figcaption class="caption-body">WAYNE GRETZKY&hellip;First Hat Trick</figcaption></div>EDMONTON&mdash;Wayne Gretzky and his Edmonton Oilers teammates struggled through one of the lowest stretches of the season last week until Gretzky, almost singlehanded, pulled them out of it.The 17-year-old superstar marched off the bench in the second period to score three goals&mdash;the first three-goal performance of his professional career&mdash;as Edmonton bumped Cincinnati Stingers 5-2 to end a five-game losing streak.He fired his first goal after the Oilers had fallen behind 2-1, then produced the third and fourth tallies of the game for Edmonton before veteran Bill Flett wrapped up the decision with an empty-net goal in the final minute.The Oilers&rsquo; performance, reminiscent of their play in the six-game winning streak at home two weeks previously that sent crowds at the 15,248-seat Edmonton Coliseum soaring to beyond 13,000, vindicated the patience of coach Glen Sather.Sather singled out a few players&mdash;primarily defensemen Al Hamilton and Claire Alexander&mdash;for criticism during the losing streak, but basically he stood by his season-long contention that &ldquo;hockey is a team game and we win and lose as a team.&rdquo;It took a meeting in flood-threatened Cincinnati the afternoon before the game to pull the Oilers together again. Sather took much of the responsibility for the sag.&ldquo;What I learned was that even veterans, guys who have been around six or eight or 10 years, need to be brought back to earth sometimes.&ldquo;Even the best players develop bad habits. Sometimes they stop doing the sly positional things that make the game easy. When that happens, a team goes into a slump.&rdquo;An ankle injury to ambitious winger Brett Callighen, veteran defenseman Jim Neilson&rsquo;s injured thumb and a minor arm injury suffered by Dennis Sobchuk in the last three games of the road trip did not add to Sather&rsquo;s joy. For one thing, he was forced again to juggle the lines that were just becoming settled after early-season injuries; for another, Neilson was perhaps Edmonton&rsquo;s steadiest defender while Sobchuk was nearing full recovery from the shoulder separation that disabled him last season and Callighen game in and game out was Edmonton&rsquo;s most consistent forward.&ldquo;Neilson isn&rsquo;t flashy,&rdquo; said Sather, a teammate of the veteran defenseman when both were members of New York Rangers of the National Hockey League. &ldquo;He just doesn&rsquo;t do anything wrong.&ldquo;We brought him in to help settle down our young defensemen and forwards and that&rsquo;s what he does.&rdquo;Neilson, fortunately, was not expected to be out long. He stepped on a puck during practice on the day of a game and fell on his thumb. He dressed for the Cincinnati game but saw little action.Sobchuk, whose shot is as hard as almost any in pro hockey, fired three goals in a disturbing 6-4 loss to the inept Indianapolis Racers. The ever-optimistic Sather, who also is Edmonton&rsquo;s director of hockey operations, was upset by the defeat but found solace in Sobchuk&rsquo;s play.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got some things straightened out,&rdquo; said Sather. &ldquo;Since then, Dennis has been sensational.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s been working hard, all right, but I think there were some mental problems&mdash;maybe a lack of confidence&mdash;resulting from his injury last season. He didn&rsquo;t play much for an entire year and, even when he came back, he wasn&rsquo;t really ready to play.&ldquo;Any guy deserves to be commended for caring enough about the team and the game to try to play when he&rsquo;s hurt, but it wasn&rsquo;t fair to Dennis because we didn&rsquo;t see him at his best. When he&rsquo;s flying, Sobchuk can carry a team What&rsquo;s even more encouraging is that he&rsquo;ll keep getting better.&rdquo;Callighen, at 25, is one year older than Sobchuk. He is one of the few players in professional hockey who never played junior hockey and, every day, his value to the Oilers is enhanced. After sitting out for two games, and with a big international game scheduled at home Dec. 15, Callighen lamented being out of the lineup.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll find out when the team gets home how long I&rsquo;ll be out. It&rsquo;s doubtful I can play against the Soviet Union team but you never know.&ldquo;A guy gets enthusiastic about playing the Russians.&rdquo;If enthusiasm is the answer, Callighen won&rsquo;t miss another game for several seasons.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-01465/4240831-1-eng-US/f0024-012.jpg" title="f0024-01" width="562" height="830"><figcaption class="caption-body">DENNIS SOBCHUK&hellip;Sparks Oilers</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0024-02

‘Super Kid Gretzky Puts Punch Into Edmonton’s Sagging Offense

LOUISVILLEHOCKEY STICKS Made in Canada by HILLERICH & BRADSBY, LTD Arnold Street, Wallaceburg, Ontario Sold in U.S. and CanadaLOUISVILLEHOCKEY STICKS Made in Canada by HILLERICH & BRADSBY, LTD Arnold Street, Wallaceburg, Ontario Sold in U.S. and CanadaAndre Lacroix turned in his most productive week of the 1978-79 WHA schedule scoring four, times to keep the New England Whalers in the forefront of the league race.Playing on a line with the incomparable Gordie Howe and his brilliant son, Mark, Lacroix came up big last week as a scorer, something he usually leaves to the Howes while he does the playmaking.But last week belonged to Lacroix and he responded with a hat trick as the Whalers trounced Indianapolis 7-4 and produced his 18th goal qf the year in a 4-4 tie with Quebec Nordiques.Lacroix ranks as one of the WHA&rsquo;s all-time great point getters and it appears he is going to enhance his record as a member of the Whalers. He ranks in the top five WHA scorers with only young Mark Howe outscoring him in goals 20-18.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-03255/4240869-1-eng-US/f0024-032.jpg" title="f0024-03" width="504" height="570"><figcaption class="caption-body">ANDRE LACROIX&hellip;N.E. Whalers</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0024-03

WHA’s… Player of the Week

<div class="byline">BY WAYNE WARRINER</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-01401/4240907-1-eng-US/f0025-012.jpg" title="f0025-01" width="564" height="752"><figcaption class="caption-body">MIKE ANTONOVICH&hellip;On Hot Streak</figcaption></div>HARTFORD&mdash;The New England Whalers finished up a road trip by whitewashing the Oilers in Edmonton (7-0) before earning a 2-2 tie in Cincinnati. Back at the Springfield Civic Center the Whalers were confronted with an Edmonton team that came in seeking revenge for the pasting the Whalers had given them a few days earlier.It was a physical game although few penalties were called. The Whalers were forced to come from behind twice before winning, 5-3. Late in the third period it was Mike Antonovich who put a nifty move on Claire Alexander and fired a bullet past goalie Dave Dryden, to knot the count at three. A couple of minutes later Ricky Ley sent Andre Lacroix in on a breakaway for the go-ahead goal.Antonovich added an empty netter. After going 10 games without a goal, Anton&mdash;much to his relief&mdash;had popped six in three games to get back on track.The Whalers were playing well and all seemed set for a game against the visiting Soviet All Star team&mdash;a game that would count in the standings. Apparently realizing there was no love lost between the Whalers and the Soviets, coach Bill Dineen tried to emphasize the importance of playing a good sound hockey game against them. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve tried to convince our guys that we can&rsquo;t intimidate them,&rdquo; said Dineen before the game.Dineen&rsquo;s advice went unheeded however, as the Whalers proceded to rough up the visitors. With some slick skating and passing the Soviets got off to a quick start, scoring twice in the first five minutes.A minute or two later Gordie Howe and John McKenzie had a few moments to reminisce over their experiences in the Team Canada series against the Soviets in 1974 as the two old pros sat side by side in the penalty box. Gordie had leveled the wandering Soviet netminder with an elbow while McKenzie earned his ticket to the sin-bin by unceremoniously working over a red-clad visitor in the corner.Although the Soviets were unable to capitalize on power play opportunities, the Whalers over-aggressiveness cost them on several occasions. Pressing for the tying goal with the score 5-4, the Whalers were unsuccessful and the Soviets iced the game with two quick insurance goals within three minutes of the buzzer. Final score, Soviet All Stars 7, Whalers 4.With George Lyle still hanpered by a stomach muscle pull the Whalers called up rookie right wing Jim Warner. Veteran Tom Webster is having second thoughts about his premature retirement and has embarked on a program to get him back with the Whalers by mid-January.BIRMINGHAM: The old theory that home cooking is good for what ails you seems to have been proven true by the Birmingham Bulls. Coming off six straight losses the Bulls launched a winning streak for themselves as they settled into their home at the Civic Center. Successive victories over Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Edmonton, and Cincy again got the Bulls back into the thick of the Avco Trophy race.A move by coach John Brophy may have helped to get things going again, as he reunited the GAS line. Dave Gorman, Steve Alley, and John C. Stewart began to move up the Birmingham scoring ladder as each contributed in the scoring department.Against Indianapolis it was Gorman who netted the winning goal. A few nights later he got the go-ahead goal as the Bulls beat the Stingers, 4-2. Then it was John C. Stewart&rsquo;s turn as the centerman picked up a hat trick in an important 6-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers. The third member of the trio, Steve Alley, got his eighth goal of the season as the GAS line was on the ice for five of Birmingham&rsquo;s six goals that night.The switch to GAS was just in time as the Bulls&rsquo; red hot rookie, Louis Sleigher cooled off a bit. Rookie netminder Pat Riggin was between the pipes for the successive victories as Brophy stuck to the theory of staying with the winning goalie.Gaston Gingras, injured in the team&rsquo;s last road game, missed the four home encounters and his absence was termed indefinite by Bulls brass. Gingras had a sore neck as a result of the injury suffered in Indianapolis. Peter Marrin sat out a couple of games due to a groin injury.QUEBEC: The Nordiques were beginning to show championship calibre as they moved up through the congested ranks of the World Hockey Association hierarchy. Although spotting Edmonton a first period lead the Nords came back to whip the Oilers 6-3 at Le Colisee, for their fourth victory in a row.A few nights later they picked up number five as they beat the Cincinnati Stingers in a struggle for first place in the WHA. Again they came from behind as they outpointed the Stingers, 4-3.Goalie Jim Corsi allowed only one goal&mdash;and that was on a Cincy power play&mdash;even though the Stingers fired 20 shots at him in the first period. The Nordiques were outplayed in the first period of both contests but held on until, in each case, they rolled out the heavy artillery in the third period to win the contest.Twenty-two year old super star Real Cloutier continued to pile up goals, notching his 27th in game number 26, then two more the following game. Coach Jacques Demers has been varying his combinations but usually puts Cloutier with center Serge Bernier. Another line that has had considerable success is made up of Mark Tardif, Richie Leduc, and rookie right winger Danny Geoffrion. Combinations of the two lines makes a devastating power play group.Cloutier also leads the league in shots on goal. After 26 games he had taken 40 shots more than his nearest rival. Corsi, who started the season in Binghamton, is the WHA&rsquo;s leading goalie in the GAA department.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-02293/4240900-1-eng-US/f0025-022.jpg" title="f0025-02" width="1160" height="1184"><figcaption class="caption-body">Nordiques&rsquo; Real Cloutier continues to pile up tthe goals as he moved towards becoming the WHA&rsquo;s first 30-goal scorer.</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0025-01

Whalers Ignored Dineen In Losing To Soviets

HARTFORD&mdash;The arrival of the touring Swedish team to play in World Hockey Association cities is certain to provoke a scorer&rsquo;s nightmare.Can you imagine the New England Whalers with three Mark Howes and four Dave Keons or the Cincinnati Stingers with three Rick Dudleys and four Robbie Ftoreks on the ice for the same game.The roster released by the WHA for the Swedes indicates they have four players named Andersson&mdash;two of which have the same first name, Kent&mdash;four named Eriksson&mdash;again two of them have the same first name, Jan&mdash;two named Lindstrom, one named Lundstrom, a named Gunnar Leidborg, who wears No. 25 when he plays goal and No. 21 when he plays defense.And to complicate the situation even more the manager of the team is Lindstrom. The coach&rsquo;s name is Nilsson. And when they play Winnipeg, the Jets have a Lindstrom and a Nilsson.The last time we looked, the official league scorers were running for the hills before the Swedes arrived. &#9632;

Touring Swedes Prove Nightmare For Scorers

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-01416/4240983-1-eng-US/f0026-012.jpg" title="f0026-01" width="592" height="1819"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-02326/4240976-1-eng-US/f0026-022.jpg" title="f0026-02" width="1176" height="867"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-03280/4240969-1-eng-US/f0026-032.jpg" title="f0026-03" width="621" height="2543"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-04218/4240962-1-eng-US/f0026-042.jpg" title="f0026-04" width="582" height="366"></div> &#9632;

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WORLD HOCKEY ASSN. SUMMARIES

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0026-05" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-05181/4241014-1-eng-US/f0026-052.jpg"></div> &#9632;

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Where WHA Teams Play

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-06148/4241045-1-eng-US/f0026-062.jpg" title="f0026-06" width="240" height="447"></div> &#9632;

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The WHA Scoreboard

BIRMINGHAM: Stephenson 7, Hughes 1, Alley 6, 7.CINCINNATI: Thomas 11, Hislop 14, 15, Ftorek 14, Marsh 16, Norwich 3, Gilligan 5.EDMONTON: Gretzky 13, 14, 15, Micheletti 4, Flett 7, MacDonald 12, Chipperfield 2, Bailey 3, Sobchuk 13, Berry 6.INDIANAPOLIS: Nugent 2, Parizeau 4, Hughes 3, Moretto 3.NEW ENGLAND: Lacroix 15, 16, 17, 18, G. Howe 11, 12, 13, Rogers 12, Antonovich 13, Mark Howe 20, Miller 11, Keon 7, McKenzie 10.QUEBEC: Cloutier 30, 31, 32, Tardif 20, 21, Bernier 15, 16, 17, Weir 1, Lacombe 2, Leduc 11.WINNIPEG: Lukowich 20, 21, 22, Nilsson 11, Sullivan 19.20, Lesuk 7, 8, Preston 10. &#9632;

WHA’s Scorers …This Week

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0026-07" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-07136/4241100-1-eng-US/f0026-072.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">MIKE GARTNER&hellip;Cincinnati Stingers&rsquo; Rookie</figcaption></div>As a junior hockey player, Mike Gartner always had one noticeable talent&mdash;he knew where the net was and he could put the puck in the goal.Now that he is a budding pro with the Cincinnati Stingers, Gartner hasn&rsquo;t lost any of his junior scoring touch. In fact he has been one of the offensive surprises of the WHA team with 13 goals in his first 28 games as a professional.The 18-year-old Gartner, who stands six feet tall and weighs 180, was rated one of the top junior players in Canada and considered by many as the number one player for the 1979 NHL draft before deciding to cast his lot with the WHA. In his last 90 games as a junior with Niagara Falls Flyers of the OHA, Gartner scored 59 times.The Stingers are high on Gartner&rsquo;s scoring potential but his coach, Floyd Smith, looks at him in a different light. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a great skater who is strong in the corners,&rdquo; said Smith in tribute to his brilliant young right winger.The NHL hasn&rsquo;t given up on Gartner as a draft prospect either. They are constantly charting his progress in WHA games and have been scouting him since lie joined Cincinnati last September as one of nine underage juniors who went to the WHA. &#9632;

f0026-07

Stingers’ Gartner Has Eye For Net

<div class="byline">BY DICK DENNY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-01394/4241131-1-eng-US/f0027-012.jpg" title="f0027-01" width="559" height="850"><figcaption class="caption-body">GERRY MEEHAN&hellip;He&rsquo;ll Help Stingers</figcaption></div>CINCINNATI&mdash;Floyd Smith&rsquo;s confidence in the Cincinnati Stingers wasn&rsquo;t diminishing even though his club experienced its first extended losing streak of the season.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve been playing pretty well, despite the fact we&rsquo;ve lost four in a row,&rdquo; said the Cincinnati coach after the Stingers had lost a 2-0 lead and an eventual 5-2 decision to the Edmonton Oilers that began a stretch in which Cincinnati was to play 10 or 14 games in Riverfront Coliseum.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve played better in some of the games we&rsquo;ve lost than we played in some games we won earlier.&ldquo;The only reason we haven&rsquo;t been winning is because we haven&rsquo;t been putting the puck in the net. But we&rsquo;re healthy, we&rsquo;re in good spirits and we have enough talent to play.&rdquo;After tieing the New England Whalers in the Coliseum, 2-2, the Stingers proceeded to lose 4-2 at Birmingham, 4-3 at Quebec and 1-0 back at Birmingham.Cincinnati then returned home to begin a favorable schedule situation. At least it looked favorable when the Stingers took a 2-0 lead on Edmonton off goals by Reg Thomas (his 11th of the season) and Jamie Hislop(his 14th).The Oilers, who were on a five-game losing streak, tied the game on goals by Wayne Gretzky and Joe Micheletti.In the third period, the Oilers scored three goals, two by Gretzky as the 17-year-old rookie center registered his first pro hat trick.&ldquo;Gretzky didn&rsquo;t look that impressive, but he got the puck in the net and we didn&rsquo;t,&rdquo; said Smith. &ldquo;He stuffed in a couple and scored one from the corner.&ldquo;After we went up, 2-0, we kinda ran out of steam. We had been on a tremendous road trip, jumping all around, and it finally took its toll.&ldquo;It was our first game back home and we put up a good effort, but we just weren&rsquo;t prepared for that game. Edmonton ourhustled us.&ldquo;When you&rsquo;ve got a long home stand and you lose the first one, then maybe that&rsquo;ll smarten you up for the rest of the games.&rdquo;The Stingers scored only nine goals in those four losses. Asked what a team must do to break out of a scoring slump, Smith said, &ldquo;When things don&rsquo;t go well, you just work that much harder to make the opportunities. We have to work harder than other teams because of our youth.&rdquo;Cincinnati&rsquo;s line of Thomas, Hislop and Robbie Ftorek was working hard. They had accounted for 108 points through the loss to Edmonton that ended the club&rsquo;s eight-game unbeaten string on home ice.Thomas had 30 points on 11 goals and 19 assists, Hislop 27 points on 14 goals and 13 assists and Ftorek 51 points on 13 goals and 38 assists.Ftorek&rsquo;s assist on Hislop&rsquo;s goal against the Oilers enabled the veteran center to account for at least one point for every game the Stingers had played to date&mdash;30&mdash;except three.Ironically, all three of those games were shutouts: 2-0 to Quebec and 1-0 to Birmingham, and in a 4-0 triumph for Cincinnati over Indianapolis.Smith said he was still trying to bolster the Stingers&rsquo; lineup. He called up Kelly Davis from Springfield and sent Byron Shutt to the AHL team.The Stingers also purchased veteran center Gerry Meehan, 32, from the Washington Capitals of the NHL. On his first shift in the WHA against the Oilers he suffered a bruised shoulder and was expected to miss a few games.&ldquo;Gerry&rsquo;s a veteran and he&rsquo;ll give me a little stability down the stretch in the middle and take some of the pressure off Ftorek,&rdquo; said Smith.&ldquo;Gerry will score goals, he can play on the power play, he can kill penalties and he&rsquo;ll probably wind up on a line with a kid like Mike Gartner and give him a steadying influence.&ldquo;He didn&rsquo;t report at first. Leaving Washington and the NHL was kind of a blow. He look his family home to Buffalo for a couple of extra days. There never was any doubt in my mind he&rsquo;d report.&rdquo; &#9632;

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Coach Smith Encouraged By Cincinnati’s ice Play

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-01381/4241169-1-eng-US/f0028-012.jpg" title="f0028-01" width="750" height="861"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-02281/4241162-1-eng-US/f0028-022.jpg" title="f0028-02" width="2189" height="1708"></div> &#9632;

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WHA’S POINT SCORING AND PENALTY STATISTICS

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-03217/4241200-1-eng-US/f0028-032.jpg" title="f0028-03" width="525" height="816"><figcaption class="caption-body">BARRY LONG&hellip;Can Play Anywhere</figcaption></div>WINNIPEG&mdash;They call him the &lsquo;Marathon Man&rsquo; and seldom has a nickname fit so well.Barry Long would play 45-50 minutes a game if asked to and if injury problems beset Winnipeg Jets, Long is often the first man coach Larry Hillman looks to.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s no place that I couldn&rsquo;t put him,&rdquo; says Hillman of his hard-working defenseman. &ldquo;He plays the power play, kills penalties, and the way he blocks shots I wouldn&rsquo;t be afraid to play him in goal&mdash;if I needed a goalie.&rdquo;Long was a World Hockey Association All Star in 1975, a rejected unwanted Edmonton Oiler in 1976 and a reborn professional with Winnipeg in 1977.Gone, seeming forever, is the tremendously hard slapshot that accounted for 20 goals in 1974-75 and made him one of the WHA&rsquo;s best power play point men.Also missing, at least in the minds of some fans, is the aggressiveness that should come, apparently naturally, from a man who stands six-foot-two and weighs 210 pounds. But never lacking in the hustle, the unselfish determination and the awkwardness that has become his trademark. Edmonton coach Glen Sather says Long looks like he&rsquo;s going to fall down with his skating style, &ldquo;but he always seems to make the right play.&rdquo;&ldquo;Actually he&rsquo;s well co-ordinated for a man his size,&rdquo; says Hillman. &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t forget he&rsquo;s taller and heavier than most. Sure he darts and flops here and there but that&rsquo;s his style.&rdquo;That st vie was never more effective than in last spring&rsquo;s playoffs when Long darted and flopped so often it at times appeared he was the only Jet behind their own blueline. But never was a defenseman so effective and dominant. He blocked an average of six shots per game in the playoffs&mdash;the average defenseman blocks two to four&mdash;he cleaned up in front of his net, and, most important, he led by his actions.He was a leader and the Jets followed his example&hellip;all the way to the Avco Cup. So effective was he in the playoffs, Long emerged with a plus 11 rating, the best of any defenseman. And that&rsquo;s typical of Barry Long&hellip;not spectacular, just effective.Meanwhile, after their 9-4 win against Indianapolis, Winnipeg returned home for two games with the Quebec Nordiques and the Soviet All Stars. In both games the Jets fell behind in the early going and were forced to play catch-up hockey. Against Quebec the Jets found themselves down 2-0 after the first frame but came battling back in the second period to hold a brief 3-2 lead. Rich Preston, Lyle Moffat and Bobby Guindon scored within a span of 2:03 to give Winnipeg a one goal edge. Goals by Tardif and Leduc sent the Nordiques back into the lead but Peter Sullivan scored his 18th goal of the year midway through the third period to lift the Jets into a 4-4 tie.Against the Soviet All Stars, Winnipeg was richly deserving of at least a tie but again a slow start stymied their efforts. Despite the fact that they outshot the Soviets 18-5 in the first period, Winnipeg headed into the dressing room on the tail end of a 4-2 score. In the second period Peter Sullivan scored his fifth goal in as many games and his 19th of the season to bring the Jets within one goal. However, the close checking third period provided few scoring opportunities and the Jets failed to get the equalizer.Off the ice John Ferguson made his first move since taking control of the club three weeks ago. He sent centerman Steve West to the Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League while at the same time recalled rookie Dale Yakiwchuk from Philadelphia. Ferguson also announced the hiring of Les Binkley and Mike Doran as Eastern Canadian scouts. &#9632;

f0028-03

Jets’ Long Thrives On Ice Time

The name of the league which advertised for inquiries about franchise affiliations on page 38 of the Dec. 22, 1978 issue of THE HOCKEY NEWS, has been changed to:INTERCONTINENTAL MAJOR HOCKEY LEAGUE.The IMHL is not connected with any organization bearing a name similar to the one which appeared in their Dec. 22 advertisement. &#9632;

LEAGUE CHANGES NAME

<div class="byline">BY VIRG FOSS</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-01334/4241286-1-eng-US/f0029-012.jpg" title="f0029-01" width="554" height="900"><figcaption class="caption-body">ROB MCCLANAHAN&hellip;75-Fqot Slapshot</figcaption></div>GRAND FORKS&mdash;There&rsquo;s a new leader, but an old name, in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association.Minnesota, the pre-season pick of the coaches to win the championship, moved to the front at the Christmas break by coming away with a split of a weekend series with North Dakota.With surprising Notre Dame idle, the eyes of the nation were on Grand Forks, where Minnesota and North Dakota battled to unseal the Fighting Irish before capacity-plus crowds both nights.North Dakota won the opener 4-1, before 5,750 fans, 120 over capacity. Kevin Maxwell&rsquo;s two goals and unbelievable goaltending by freshman Bob Iwabuchi gave North Dakota its sixth straight win to temporarily move the Sioux into a tie with Minnesota for second.The Sioux, the best defensive team in the WCHA, nearly blanked Minnesota, the league&rsquo;s highest-scoring team. Steve Christoff&rsquo;s rebound of a Mike Ramsey shot with just 1:27 remaining ruined Iwabuchi&rsquo;s bid for his second league shutout.It hardly dimmed the performance of Iwabuchi. He stopped clean breakaways by Neal Broten, Wayne Terwilliger and Rob McClanahan as his pads, gloves and stick were everywhere.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a helluva goalie, the best I&rsquo;ve seen this year,&rdquo; said Minnesota coach Herb Brooks. &ldquo;We ran into a hot goaltender. He was far and away the difference in the game.&rdquo;Iwabuchi wasn&rsquo;t a factor the second night, as a North Dakota record crow of 6,000 came away disappointed when the Gophers broke a 3-3 deadlock in the third period to win 6-3.The victory boosted Minnesota into first place, one point ahead of Notre Dame and two ahead of North Dakota.Iwabuchi had an off night, after suffering a slight hamstring pull in the first game. He wasn&rsquo;t himself and it showed.He made his first mistake just three minutes into the game. Iwabuchi gloved Neal Broten&rsquo;s drive cleanly. But when he quickly brought his glove across his body to cover up, the puck flicked out of his glove and into the net.Maxwell gave North Dakota a 1-1 standoff after one period when he deflected in Howard Walker&rsquo;s blast from the point.But Minnesota went ahead 3-1 in the second on goals by Eric Strobel and Ramsey, both on power plays just over a minute apart.North Dakota tied it at 3-3 on scores by Doug Small and Marc Chorney, but Tim Harrer pushed the Gophers ahead early in the third period.That&rsquo;s when Iwabuchi made his second mistake. He never saw Rob McClanahan&rsquo;s 75-foot slapshot, remaining fixed in his stance while the puck found the net behind him.That broke the backs of the Sioux. Ramsey later added an open net goal with 34 seconds left to wrap it up.The split hardly disappointed North Dakota coach Gino Gasparini. &ldquo;If they&rsquo;re No. 1, where does that leave us?&rdquo; he asked. Minnesota is ranked No. 1 in the National Polls as well as leading the WCHA.What it did was leave North Dakota in third place, at least until 1979. No league games are on tap until the new year.The only other league activity found Colorado College moving past Michigan Slate and into a tie for eighth with an easy sweep of the Spartans in Colorado Springs.Larry Soitvedt was the hero of the night in Colorado College&rsquo;s 9-2 romp the first night. Soitvedt had the hat trick in the first period, then added two more goals in the third period for a five-goal night, the best performance by anyone in the WCHA this season. Bruce Aikens added two goals for the Tigers.The second night, Colorado College&rsquo;s offense buried Michigan State again in a 10-4 victory.Aikens bettered his two-goal performance in the first game with a hat trick and two assists in the second game.The rest of the league was idle, except for Denver, which took part in the Pacific Rim tournament in Calgary.Coach Marshall Johnston&rsquo;s Pioneers got three wins in five games. Denver beat the Japanese All-Stars twice, by 9-8 and 3-2 scores. Denver also beat Calgary 4-2, but lost twice to Alberta, 63 and 2-0. &#9632;

f0029-01

Minnesota Pushes Irish Off Top With Split Against Tough Sioux

<div class="byline">BY JIM SCHNEIDER</div>KALAMAZOO&mdash;Notre Dame goaltender Greg Rosenthal made 15 saves in the third period to protect the lead as the nationally-ranked Fighting Irish defeated Western Michigan 4-3 in front of 3,322 mid-week fans in WMU&rsquo;s Lawson Arena.ND captain Steve Schneider opened the scoring after 16 seconds of action when his long shot eluded freshman netminder Jim Doyle, a walk-on from Chicago and the Irish never trailed in the game.The host Broncos of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association tied the score twice at 1-1 and again at 2-2, but Rosenthal was the difference in the game.Mark Schores opened the game in goal for Notre Dame, but Rosenthal replaced him midway in the second period to give both goalies some work as regular Dave Laurion did not make the trip. Schores left the game after making 12 saves with the score tied 2-2.Matt Dubois put ND ahead in the second period and Kevin Nagurski scored the eventual winning goal at 12:42 of the third period.The Broncos gained the ties quickly in the first period as Ralph Murphy scored at 1:28 for the first tie, and after Dick Olson scored for the Irish at 14:17 Mike Brown tied the score 40 seconds later.The final WMU goal was scored by defenseman Ben Pederson at 16:02 during the third period in which WMU held a 16-4 shooting edge.Rosenthal was named first star despite playing in just half the game. ND defenseman Jeff Brownschidle was second star and WMU&rsquo;s Murphy, who scored his fourth goal in three games, was the third star.In CCHA weekend action first place Bowling Green swept St. Louis by scores of 8-5 and 7-1. Lake Superior took two from Ferris State, 5-1 and 8-2 while Northern Michigan and Ohio State were splitting a series. NMU won the opener 4-3 while OSU took the second game 7-6 in overtime.Captain Paul Titanic, Bruce Newton and Steve Dawe each scored two goals in the opener as Bowling Green topped St. Louis 8-5.Titanic and Brian MacLellan scored in the first period and SLU scored on a goal by Don MacNeil to trail 2-1.BG&rsquo;s Mike Cotter and SLU&rsquo;s John Murray exchanged early second period goals, but Newton and Dawe made the score 5-2 after two stanzas.Dawe and Newton pushed the score to 7-2 before the Billikens scored two of the last three goals with Chuck Durocherand Mark Dobson scoring.BG&rsquo;s top line of Mark Wells centering for John Markell and George McPhee exploded in the second game as Wells scored four goals and added two assists for the first six-point game in the CCHA this season. McPhee had five assists while Markell added a goal and four assists.St. Louis led 1-0 when Durocher scored after 16 seconds of play assisted by Chris Valentine and Doug Buller. The assist extended Valentine&rsquo;s streak to a point in each of the first 12 SLU games.MacLellan and Bill Newton made the score 3-1 and Wells completed his three-goal hat trick with goals 30 seconds apart in the second period. Wells and Markell had the only goals of the third period.Wally Charko won both games in goal and moved his own record to 12-21 playing in all but two of the games played by the fourth ranked Falcons.Lake Superior freshman John Wilson earned CCHA player-of-the-week honors for his work in the sweep by the Lakers over Ferris State. LSSC kept pace with Bowling Green by sweeping the Bulldogs.J. Wilson earned nine points on the weekend with four points (two goals and two assists) in the 5-1 win and four points (two and two) in the 8-2 game.Lake Superior won the opener with a strong first period that included two goals by Wilson and goals by Jeff Jensen and Steve Sherman all in the last 10 minutes of the period.The Ohio State-Northern Michigan series was a tight one as OSU&rsquo;s Mark Freeman and NMU&rsquo;s Bill Joyce traded first period goals in the opener.Tom Scanlon put the Bucks on top 21, but Jeff Pyle and Brian Verigan put the host Wildcats ahead 3-2. Rod McNair&rsquo;s short handed goal tied the game at l6:44 of the second period.NMU&rsquo;s Don Waddell scored the only goal of the third period from Pyle and Steve Fisher at 7:44.The second contest was tied four different times, but OSU freshman Jim Mroszak played the key role scoring the final tying goal at 19:57 of the third period assisted by Paul Tilley and Larry Marson, and then breaking the tie for the win at 1:06 of the overtime period front Marson and Brian Jenks. &#9632;

Goaler Hobbles WMU; Falcons, Lakers Sweep

<h2>ECAC Conference</h2>Tue. Jan. 2New Hampshire at Boston CollegeWed. Jan.3Princeton at ColgateThu Jan. 4Harvard at NortheasternSat Jan. 6Brown at HarvardNortheastern at VermontDartmouth at St. LawrenceBoston University at CornellRPI at PrincetonMon. Jan. 8New Hampshire at PrincetonTue. Jan. 9Vermont at DartmouthHarvard at Boston CollegeWed. Jan. 10Brown at ProvidenceCornell at ColgateBoston University at NortheasternFri.Jan.12St. Lawrence at New HampshireYale at VermontSat. Jan. 13Clarkson at New HampshireCornell at Boston CollegeBoston University at ColgateRPI at NortheasternYale at DartmouthSt. Lawrence at HarvardSun. Jan. 14Clarkson at Providence<h2>WCHA CONFERENCE</h2>Dec. 22Notre Dame at Boston CollegeDec. 22-23Princeton at MinnesotaDec. 23Notre Dame at HarvardDec. 27Harvard at MinnesotaDec. 28Yale at MinnesotaHarvard at Minnesota-DuluthDec. 28-29University of Manitoba at North DakotaDec. 29Yale at Minnesota-DuluthJan. 5-6Michigan State at WisconsinNorth Dakota at Notre DameColorado College at Michigan TechDenver at Minnesota-DuluthMinnesota at Michigan<h2>CCHA Conference</h2>Dec. 21-22Ohio State at Western MichiganDec. 22-23Brown at St. LouisDec. 28-29Providence at St. LouisDec. 28-30Bowling Green at Old Colony TourneyDec. 29-30Ohio State at Great Lakes invitationalWestern Michigan at Cornell Tourney &#9632;

Where The Colleges Play…

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-03167/4241365-1-eng-US/f0029-032.jpg" title="f0029-03" width="577" height="588"></div> &#9632;

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The Top 10 U.S. Colleges

<div class="byline">BY TOM BURKE</div>DURHAM&mdash;When Ralph Cox&rsquo; wrist shot from the right wing boards clanged into the empty Boston College net, no one heaved a bigger sigh of relief than Cox&rsquo; coach. New Hampshire mentor Charlie Holt.The tally, first of the game by the sharpshooting senior wing from Braintree, Mass., iced a frantic struggle which had seen UNH lake a 6-1 lead into the second intermission and scramble for a 7-5 win. It was also the final ECAC Division One contest until the end of the Chrismas holidays, punctuating an early season that was as dizzy and unpredictable as any campaign in recent memory. And no team experienced higher highs and lower lows than the University of New Hampshire during the first month of competition.Coming into the season with a potent offense and a questionable defense, the Wildcats split a pair of games at Bowling Green, 6-9 and 6-5. Taking two weeks off for further practice, they dropped their home opener to RPI 12-8 after yielding seven goals in the third period. Then came a five goal performance by Cox and a 6-3 win over Cornell at home followed by an 8-4 humiliation at Harvard, a game which was more lopsided than the score indicated.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m going home to the farm and have some oyster stew,&rdquo; grinned Holt after the win over Boston College. &ldquo;And I&rsquo;m trying to think of some place to go after the season that&rsquo;s far away. This is just an unbelievable year for us.&rdquo;Charlie went on to recap the four league games his charges had played to date.&ldquo;Against RPI we gave up five manshort goals. Then against Cornell, I felt that their style of play complemented us perfectly even though they outshot us. We still had the edge in play.&ldquo;Harvard beat us in all three zones, all night long. Offensive zone, defensive zone, neutral zone, everywhere. Then against BC tonight we were fortunate to I get that super start on them. I could see I we were losing it by the en of the second period but we had that 6-1 lead so I didn&rsquo;t feel too bad.&rdquo;After a power play tally by Bruce i Crowder to open the scoring midway through the first period, UNH exploded for markers by Bob Francis, Bob Gould, and Frank Roy within a span of 1:12 to lake a 4-0 first period bulge. Gould and Dana Barbin added two more in the second period while BC&rsquo;s Joe Mullen got the Eagles on the board. The third period saw BC close the margin to 6-5 with four goals in a 2:22 stretch, but they were unable to tie it up. Cox stole the puck from a defenseman at the blueline and clinched it in the last minute.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a shame, I suppose, that the I game didn&rsquo;t end in a tie because we won i the first half and then weren&rsquo;t even a factor in the second half,&rdquo; commented Charlie, now in his tenth year at the UNH helm. &ldquo;But this kind of game is what makes college hockey so interesting, I guess.&rdquo;Holt went with four lines against the Eagles and was rewarded with six different players and each line scoring goals. Only Bob Gould, right wing on a line with Bruce Crowder and Terry Flanagan, had two tallies. Crowder notched one goal, as did Bob Francis, the center for Paul Surdatn and Steve Slone. The other scorers were Frank Roy, left winger for Frank Barth and Cox, and Dana Barbin, the fourth line pivot between Jeff Beaney and John Normand.Sophomore Greg Moffett played in the UNH goal and turned aside 36 BC shots, including 17 in the third period. Greg took over for senior Ken Lorance after the RPI debacle and is currently the number one goalie.&ldquo;But I plan to start Kenny in one of our games at Wisconsin,&rdquo; assured the coach. &ldquo;Even if we had Gerry Cheevers playing for us against RPI, we still would have lost, we were so disorganized.&rdquo;At defense, UNH dresses six players, but only four see action other than on power plays and penalty killing situations. Bruce Rinloul, a soph who saw ten minutes of action last season before being injured, is paired with freshman Ed Olsen while junior Sean Coady skates aside freshman Ron Reeve.Thus it appears that UNH will have its nights when everything goes right, such as the first thirty minutes against BC. The Wildcats will also have games when everything falls apart, like the latest game&rsquo;s final thirty minutes. But rebuilding year or not, UNH has become a playoff regular and should be in the final eight come March.Elsewhere in the league, the competition slowed to a handful of games, as most schools were idled by exams. Harvard couldn&rsquo;t sustain its pace set against UNH, dropping a 7-4 decision at Vermont two nights later. George Hughes led the Harvard attack with four goals in the 8-4 victory over UNH. But in Burlington the Crimson couldn&rsquo;t hold a 2-0 first period lead and withered before the swift skating Catamounts who were paced by two goals apiece by Chris Zimerman and Gary Prior.Consistency wasn&rsquo;t for UVM either, as they were blasted 9-3 in their own back yard by RPI. Mike McPhee, RPI&rsquo;s stellar freshman, netted a hat trick and Larry Landon scored a pair at Gutterson. Then it was RPI&rsquo;s turn to bow in a slugfest, losing to Dartmouth 8-6 in Troy. Ross Brownridge had four goals for the Big Green, including the game winner at 12:15 of the third period.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-01374/4241396-1-eng-US/f0030-012.jpg" title="f0030-01" width="550" height="861"><figcaption class="caption-body">CHARLIE HOLT&hellip;Unbelievable Year</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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Shootouts Common For Wildcats; Inconsistency Visiting ECAC Clubs

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Looking At The College Scoreboard

<div class="byline">BY RICHARD JABLONSKI</div>CALGARY&mdash;The Alberta Golden Bears, having already concluded their first semester of play, continued to be the recipients of good news this week, as they remained atop the Canadian Intercollegiate Athletic Union university hockey top ten.The defending intercollegiate national champions have run up an impressive 7-1 record against Canada West opposition, their only loss coming at the hands of George Kingston&rsquo;s Calgary Dinosaurs late in November.Speaking of the Dinosaurs, Calgary currently holds down the sixth spot in the ClAU&rsquo;s weekly poll of university hockey experts. Others in the top ten include runner up Toronto, third ranked Saint Mary&rsquo;s, the number four Concordia Stingers, and the current Great Plains Conference leaders, the Manitoba Bisons. Regina, Guelph, Acadia and McMaster round out the hockey elite.Those people who feel that the most recent ranking is merely a perpetuation of the ranking of previous years should look again. For instance, it has been several years since Guelph last hact anything to brag about. This year, the Gryphons sit at the head of the Ontario Association Western Division with a 40-2 log.Number nine Acadia is a new face as well. The Axemen, a solid eighth place team in last year&rsquo;s Atlantic Association race, have taken to duplicating the success of their basketball counterparts. With a 6-1-1 record, it looks as though the hockey Axemen may be the number one challenger to Saint Mary&rsquo;s in the AUAA scheme of things.And how about those McMaster Marauders? All too often one is tempted to laugh off the feats of the Marauders in the traditionally weak Central Division of the OUAA. This time around, however, with the likes of divisional scoring leaders Jack McMaster, Tom Jaczenko, and Garry MacDonald firing pucks past startled goaltenders at a remarkable rate, the 60-0 Marauders appear to be no joke.ONTARIO ASSOCIATION: The Ontario teams wrapped up their preholiday competition with an abbreviated five game schedule for the week. The big winners proved to be the Western Mustangs, whose 11-4 and 9-2 pastings of Brock and Waterloo moved the team into a tie with first place Guelph in the Western Division.The big scorers for the Mustangs in the final weekend of the first semester were John Plouffe and Derek Schmuck. Each netted three goals in the two games, while teammates Scott Morrison, Kevin Shotbolt and John Walker registered two goal performances. Plouffe, who now trails his Western confrere Bill Smith in the divisional scoring race, leads the West with seven goals.The Guelph Gryphons were able to maintain a hold of first place in the division with a wild 6-5 victory over Wilfrid Laurier. The Gryphons were led in the fight-filled contest by Mike McParland, who netted Guelph&rsquo;s first three goals.Guelph actually leads the Western Division race, but only by the slightest of margins, the often crucial game in hand.Each week if seems as though there is something new to report in the continuing saga of the tie-prone Toronto Blues. This time around proves to be no exception, as the Blues were once again lied, this time 5-5 by the Laurentian Voyageurs. Following a 5-2 loss the previous night at the hands of Toronto, the Vees earned the tie with a third period rally.Fred Taylor, Tim Storcini, Steve DeMarco, Cam Campbell and Scott Rintoul did the scoring for Laurentian, while Cary Farelli&rsquo;s two goals led the Blues.Former Toronto Marlie Farelli is tied with teammate Dan D&rsquo;Alvise in the scoring stats with 16 points on six goals and 10 assists. D&rsquo;Alvise&rsquo;s line reads 7-916.GREAT PLAINS CONFERENCE: The Manitoba Bisons are rapidly developing into the team to beat in the GPAC race. With two convincing wins in Winnipeg7his past weekend, the boys front Fort Garry continue to rack up impressive scoring and defensive stats.The Bisons&rsquo; 8-3 and 9-1 routs of the young Winnipeg Wesnten give the team a 9-1 record, backed up by 60 goals for and only 21 allowed. This translates into a microscopic GAA of only 2.1 for Manitoba netniinders Gilles Beauchemin and Mike Stevens.Offensively, the Bisons are led by the threesome of Willy Warner, Tim Laing and Glen Rawdon. Rawdon&rsquo;s 12 points (4-8) pace the scorers, while Warner with six goals and Laing with five fill the net. The feeling around the CPAC is that Warner has the ability and the intangibles of an all-Canada performer.QUEBEC ASSOCIATION: Only two games were played in the QUAA this past week, but hockey nonetheless made local news on several occasions.On the ice, the Concordia Stingers rolled merrily along their undefeated way with a 7-4 victory over the Laval Rouge et Or in Quebec City. Center Kim Elliott, as he so often does, paced the Stingers with a pair of goals, while other Stinger scores came off the sticks of Wayne Singleton, Chris Brinster, Steve Gibson, Bert DiFazio and Ted Dash.Pierre Daigneault, Guy Ruelland, Yves Terusse and George Robitaille responded for Laval.Elsewhere, the Bishop&rsquo;s Gaiters took another step toward respectability with a 5-2 win over Trois Rivieres. No rap on the Gaiters, who appear to be improving steadily now, but it&rsquo;s strange how neither McGill nor Trots Rivieres has managed to come up with a winning effort since the major brawl between the two teams several weeks ago&hellip;The QUAA made newyoff the ice as well, when it was revealed that only one player from the league, Bernard Chamberland of Chicoutimi, will participate in the upcoming preOlympic competition during the holiday season.Chamberland was named to the so-called White team, including Canadian university and senior players only, to be coached by Alberta&rsquo;s Claire Drake. Tom Watt of Toronto will coach the Red team, comprised of Canadian performers from American colleges and universities.Charles Thiffault of Laval will assist Watt with the handling of the Red team.A number of journalists look the opportunity to blast the QUAA as a &ldquo;bush league&rdquo;, given the ammunition of the team selections. However, it should be noted that a number of QUAA players, most notably defenseman Ken Knowles of Bishop&rsquo;s, center John Swan of McGill, and Concordia center Kim Elliott, are capable of performing on an international level.NOTES AND QUOTES: Leading scorers from each conference in Canada are, from east to west, Tony Guomo of Saint Francis Xavier, Cary Farelli and Dan D&rsquo;Alvise of Toronto, Glen Rawdon of Manitoba and Mark Piller of Regina, and Chris Helland of Alberta.Al MacSorley may be the most respected intercollegiate goaltender in Canada. Bob Philip, assistant coach of the Concordia Stingers, recently remarked: &ldquo;And Laurier can be tough on any night, especially with that goaltender of theirs.&rdquo; And Philip knows his goalies too, having coached Bernie Wolfe of the Washington Caps and Jim Corsi of the Quebec Nordiques.The Acadia Axemen, the new face in the CIAU top ten, are led by center Andre Tessier, a former Quebec Major Junior Hockey Leaguer with the Cornwall Royals. Jack Hynes, last year&rsquo;s AUAA coach of the year, is in the running for that honor again. Hynes has taken a Prince Edward Island team for which many forecast doom and nursed three wins in eight games. Ians of former McGill Rednten left wing Jeff Taylor will be happy to hear that the transferred Taylor, now playing GPAC hockey for the Brandon Bobcats, leads his new team in scoring with three goals and six assists in seven games. &#9632;

Bears No.1, But New Faces Crack ClAU Poll

LOUISVILLEHOCKEY STICKSMade in Canada by HILLERICH & BRADSBY. LTD Arnold Street, Wallaceburg. Ontario Sold in U.S. and CanadaLOUISVILLEHOCKEY STICKSMade in Canada by HILLERICH & BRADSBY. LTD Arnold Street, Wallaceburg. Ontario Sold in U.S. and Canada<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-02273/4241482-1-eng-US/f0032-022.jpg" title="f0032-02" width="594" height="632"></div> &#9632;

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Where AHL Teams Play

<div class="byline">BY JIM LEAHY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-01353/4241513-1-eng-US/f0032-012.jpg" title="f0032-01" width="555" height="910"><figcaption class="caption-body">RON ANDRUFF&hellip;Two HatTricks</figcaption></div>HALIFAX&mdash;Not since the Nova Scotia Voyageurs arrived in Halifax seven years ago as a member of the American Hockey League, has so much enthusiasm been generated for the club. Recently radio station CFDR joined forces with the Vees to promote a very special night at the new Metro Center. And a record crowd of 8,619 turned out to see the Vees nip arch rival New Brunswick 2-1 in overtime.It was a promotion initiated and conducted by president-general manager C. Arnie Patterson of CFDR Radio, The &ldquo;Voice of the Vees.&rdquo; Patterson is by his own definition &ldquo;an incurable hockey nut&rdquo; who through years of adversity has stoutly maintained, &ldquo;We&rsquo;re going to get this franchise turned around-one way or another.&rdquo;A man of positive action, Patterson began turning things around by purchasing a block of 3,600 tickets which his staff members quickly sold at reduced prices. This was followed by a demand that brought more than 5,000 patrons into the Metro Center at regular fares. The crowd of 8,619 eclipsed by 200 the mark set last year when the new building was dedicated.As a means to induce more fans into the building, Patterson and CFDR gave away a new car, sewing machine, watches and perfume. While the winners went home happy for obvious reasons, so did the other fans who responded wildly to the exciting AHL action.&ldquo;While I was proud of the job our people at CFDR did to make the night a success,&rdquo; said Patterson, &ldquo;I was just as proud of the Vees and the Hawks for the tremendous performance they put on. With that crowd, it was important to get a well played game. The players knew that too, and they really put on a show.&rdquo;Three nights earlier, the same two teams drew 6,636 to the Moncton Coliseum for a game also won by the Vees. In their first three meetings this season, the Hawks and Vees have drawn over 19,000 fans, and with 13 games remaining between the two rivals, the teams could set an all-time AHL attendance record for a two-man series.After the great success with CFDR Night, vice president Mike Kelly and aide Ian Thompson immediately announced a number of future promotions they expect will bring the attendance average up to an acceptable level. Kelly and his staff have visited all schools in the area and offered groups reduced ticket prices plus an NHL calendar for attending Voyageur games. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve had an immediate and positive response,&rdquo; said Kelly. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re developing a lot of new and young fans.&rdquo;It&rsquo;s all in keeping with statements made during an early November news conference by Montreal executive vice president Irving Grundman who pledged, &ldquo;We&rsquo;re determined to make this franchise viable because we&rsquo;re convinced of its importance to Nova Scotia and to us.&rdquo;At this writing, the Vees are two points behind first place Maine in the fierce battle for the Northern Division lead. During the week they beat Rochester 5-3 in Halifax but lost 8-4 in Maine and 3-2 to the Hawks, also at the Metro Center.BINGHAMTON: The Dusters, after a five day layoff, battled the Northern Division leading Maine Mariners to a 22 overtime tie at the Broome County Arena. Trailing 2-0 after one period, Jim Hamilton and Rob Garner each scored on Mariner goaltender Rick St. Croix to even the score after two periods. The two clubs then battled through the third period as well as a sudden death overtime, in a fast-paced, close checking game.Greg Tebbutt and Normand Dube have rejoined the Dusters after spending some time with their parent teams. Tebbutt was with Birmingham and Dube with the Quebec Nordiques.The Dusters have a 4-3-1 record over the last three weeks and are about to take over second place in the Southern Division from Hershey. During the week they were 1-0-1. The 2-2 tie with Maine was followed by a Pig 4-3 win at Hershey which lifted the Dusters to within one point of the second place Bears.HERSHEY: With a 5-5-1 record during the last 11 contests, the Bears are not about to overtake the first place New Haven Nighthawks soon. The team has been hit by recalls to parent NHL clubs which have hindered their drive to the top of the division. Recently, the team suffered through seven player transactions in one week. Goaltenders Rollie Boutin and Jim Weaver were lost, defenseman Larry Playfair and Gordie Smith went and center Doug Gibson was injured. The Bears did get defenseman Jack Lynch and goaltender Jim Bedard from the Capitals as partial compensation.Veteran center Fred Stanfield has scored in 12 consecutive games (eight goals and 16 assists) and is closing in on the Hershey record which is held by Bob McManama. He set the present mark of 17 during the 1973-74 season.During the week, Hershey failed to win. They lost 6-4 to the Springfield Indians and 4-3 to the Dusters on home ice. A 4-4 overtime tie in Philadelphia was the only bright spot in an otherwise dismal week for Hershey fans.SPRINGFIELD: The Indians are showing signs of putting it all together after struggling through the first six weeks of the season. Coach Ted Harris is obviously pleased.After the Tribe beat Philadelphia 7-2 at the Big Coliseum, Harris said: &ldquo;We&rsquo;re improving, but we&rsquo;re not yet out of the woods.In their last four games, the Indians whipped the New Brunswick Hawks 41, Hershey 6-4, the Firebirds 7-2 and lost to New Haven 4-3. Even more important, each of their efforts have been solid performances.Captain Andre Peloffy, the club&rsquo;s perennial scoring leader, has been especially hot and has now moved into the sixth spot in the AHL scoring derby. He has 13 goals and 14 assists as well as an eight game scoring streak.NEW HAVEN: The Nighthawks are doing plenty of hitting this year. In fact if they keep at the present pace they will set a new team penalty mark. Dean Turner, Ray Markham and Dan Clark pace the club in penalties.Despite a poor 4-5-1 record during the last three weeks, the Nighthawks are still on top of the Southern Division. They lead Hershey by five points and the third place Dusters by six. During the week New Haven lost two of three. A 4-3 win over Springfield at home was followed by losses to Maine and Philadelphia.Some 4,764 fans turned out at New Haven&rsquo;s Veterans Memorial Coliseum to witness the last visit of the year to New Haven by the Indians. Due to a strange quirk in the schedule, Springfield has played its prescribed number of games in New Haven even though theseason is less than one third over.The Indians took a 1-0 lead on a power play goal by Gordie Clark but New Haven&rsquo;s Greg Hickey fired home a backhander less than one minute later to knot the contest at 1-1, before Charlie Simmer scored for Springfield to send the Tribe into the dressing room with a 2-1 lead.Hickey scored again, this time on a power play effort at the 1:24 mark of the second period and the two clubs were tied at 2-2. Another Nighthawk power play clicked and Jeff McDilfs goal gave New Haven a 3-2 lead after two periods.Captain Tom Colley poked home a loose puck at 7:18 of the third period to widen the Nighthawk lead and his fifth goal of the year proved to be the eventual game winner.In the 6-3 loss at home to Philadelphia, a great Nighthawk record came to an end. After playing in 362 consecutive AHL games, Tom Colley did not dress for the contest after suffering an injury the previous night in Portland. Colley told a local reporter: &ldquo;I just can&rsquo;t help the club&hellip;so I&rsquo;m not dressing. I can&rsquo;t do anything. It even hurts when I laugh.&rdquo;PHILADELPHIA: Bep Guidolin&rsquo;s Firebirds have started to make their move in the Southern Division race despite the fact that injuries and callups have crippled his squad. During the last three weeks the Firebirds posted a respectable 5-4-1 record and are tied with Rochester and only four points in back of the third place Dusters.Right winger Ron Andruff scored three goals and added an assist enabling the Firebirds to gain a 4-4 tie with Hershey. Andruff&rsquo;s third goal at the 18:25 mark of the third period forced the game into sudden death overtime. However, neither team could score.Down in New Haven to complete the weekend, Ron Andruff scored another hat trick to pace the 6-3 victory. Bob Collyard scored twice and Gordie Brooks added another as the Firebirds improved their road record to 4-7. Andruff was later chosen to play for Team Canada in Moscow&rsquo;s IzvestiaROCHESTER: The week was another disappointment for Amerk fans&mdash;no wins. It started in New Brunswick where the team was drubbed 8-4 by the Hawks. Three nights later it was on to Nova Scotia where the Vees pinned a 5-3 loss on the Amerks. Back in Moncton the next night. New Brunswick skated to an easy 6-3 victory over the demoralized Amerks. After being blasted three straight times on the Canadian swing, Rochester returned home to manage a 4-4 overtime tie with the Maine Mariners.NEW BRUNSWICK: The Hawks made a few player moves recently. Veteran center Don Ashby retired and defenseman Mike O&rsquo;Connell was recalled by the parent Chicago Black Hawks. Center Ron Wilson was added to the roster after he was sent down byThe Hawks had a great week, winning all three games to improve their record to 13-6-3, good enough for third place in the tight Northern Division race. They beat Rochester 8-4 and 6-3 at home and edged Nova Scotia 3-2 down in Halifax.MAINE: The scoreboard in the Cumberland County Civic Center proclaims: MAINE IS CALDER CUP COUNTRY whenever the champion Mariners skate out onto the ice. With a seven game unbeaten streak and averaging nearly 5,000 fans a game in the Civic Center, the Mariners are well on their way to keeping the Calder Cup in Portland although Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and New Haven fans have other ideas.The Mariners won two and tied two during the week. They beat Nova Scotia 8-4 and New Haven 8-6 at the Civic Center and tied twice on the road. &#9632;

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Voyageur Promotion Sets Fan Mark; Binghamton Continues Climb To Top

LOUISVILLEHOCKEY STICKSMade in Canada by HILLERICH & BRADSBY. LTD Arnold Street, Wallaceburg. Ontario Sold in U.S. and CanadaLOUISVILLEHOCKEY STICKSMade in Canada by HILLERICH & BRADSBY. LTD Arnold Street, Wallaceburg. Ontario Sold in U.S. and Canada<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-03178/4241544-1-eng-US/f0033-032.jpg" title="f0033-03" width="565" height="501"></div> &#9632;

Search for your favorite player or team

December 29, 1978

Leafs’ Undisciplined Play Caused Lengthy Dry Spell

Looking At WHA Goalers

Hockey Players On The Move

NHL’S… Player of the Week