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

January 19, 1979

The Hockey News January 19, 1979

<div class="byline">BY TONY GALLAGHER</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0019-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-01755/4253758-1-eng-US/f0019-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">DON LEVER&hellip;Cited Too Many Breakdowns (Photo by Bruce Bennett)</figcaption></div>VANCOUVER&mdash;Ah, the joys of playing in the Smythe Division.Everytime Christmas and New Year comes around, the Canucks thank their stars they are playing in the National Hockey League&rsquo;s weakest division.Where else can you be in first place by one point, go on a seven game losing streak, and still be within one point of first place. You guessed it, the slug division. The reason Canucks did not fall behind bv much was that the Chicago Black Hawks had actually taken over first place by going winless in seven straight games, as they could only manage two ties.You&rsquo;ll have to pardon Canucks coach Harry Neale if he doesn&rsquo;t quite enjoy the humor, his team struggling the way they&rsquo;ve been. But a team meeting generated a 2-0 win over the Los Angeles Kings after the team came back to the Pacific Coliseum from a six-game tour of the east.The victory, the third shutout of the season for rookie goalie Glen Hanlon, was particularly important in light of the upcoming schedule, which has Vancouver out on the road another six games.&ldquo;The win was an important one,&rdquo; said Neale afterwards. &ldquo;If we didn&rsquo;t win this one or the one after Christmas against Buffalo, it meant going out on the road and a chance to make it 15 straight losses. At least this can give us some confidence and gives us a chance mentally, even if we&rsquo;re dragging a little physically.&rdquo;Team meetings are a dime a dozen for most hockey clubs, the only notable aspect to this one was that it lasted nearly two hours, with oratory coming from just about everyone on the roster.&ldquo;We came to the conclusion that it was basically a lack of concentration,&rdquo; said Canucks&rsquo; captain Don Lever. &ldquo;We were getting far too many individual breakdowns which were hurting the whole team.&rdquo;Neale said thau seven losses was enough, and that he figures it was time to find out what was going through people&rsquo;s minds.&ldquo;I think just about everyone on the team had an opinion. If anyone didn&rsquo;t after seven like that there must have been something wrong. There was even some criticism of the coaching and we made some adjustments. We basically tried to go back to the things we were doing successfully at the beginning of the year with our system. It was with regards to what our wingers were doing in our end, and I&rsquo;m not so big that if they can justify their way of handling that then we&rsquo;re not afraid of trying it.&rdquo;The Canucks did play one of their best defensive games of the year against the Kings, but with the schedule looking the way it does, Hanlon&rsquo;s goals against average is in for another balloon act unless they tighten up. During the seven game losing streak, Canucks gave up 43 goals, and there are not too many clubs that can win when they give up over six goafs per game.Meanwhile during this unfortunate turn of events, general manager Jake Milford has been feasting on the Maalox pills and dialing long distance frequently, trying to make a trade.Finally he did. And he made two trades in fact. First Milford sent winger Dennis Ververgaert to Philadelphia (where he had been rumored to be going for two years) in exchange for sophomore rearguard Kevin McCarthy and center-right winger Drew Callander, who was playing for Maine of the American League.Less than 48 hours later, Canucks&rsquo; tough-guy Randy Holt was shipped south to the Los Angeles Kings in return for winger Don Kozak, who was playing in the American League with Springfield.Meanwhile, despite the problems the team has been having, the fortunes of left winger Ron Sedlbauer continue to soar, his goal scoring pace having reached 23 for the season, the tops for left wingers. Further, largely as a result of Sedlbauer&rsquo;s work, the Vancouver power play went on a long streak of nine games with at least one power play goal scored. Earlier in the year, the Vancouver power play was among the worst in the league, and even the recent hot spell hasn&rsquo;t dragged their mark anywhere near the leaders.Though Hanlon has been getting most of the work in goal for Canucks, Neale was still carrying Dune Wilson and Gary Bromley before deciding to sent the latter to Dallas. &#9632;

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IN THIS ISSUE

Long Canucks’ Meeting Helps Clip Losing Streak

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WHA EYES EUROPE IF MERGER FAILS

EDMONTON&mdash;World Hockey Association leaders are discussing plans for next season in the event that a merger with the National Hockey League is not accomplished, plans which call for a union with several European teams for a truly international hockey league.While WHA officials have indicated that an association with the National Hockey League is their number one priority, some feel that competing in a league with the Europeans would be an attractive proposition&mdash;and some European federations are said to be warming to the idea as well.&ldquo;We could have franchises in Switzerland, Finland, Sweden, and West Germany,&rdquo; said Edmonton Oiler general manager Larry Gordon, &ldquo;and it&rsquo;s not beyond the realm of possibility to have them in Czecholovakia and the Soviet Union, too. Particularly Czechoslovakia.&rdquo;Depending upon the number of North American franchises, which would not be expected to drop below four, and the response in Europe, the number of teams in the league would range from eight to 10.Since NHL president John Zeigler has gone on record as saying that there will probably be no merger if agreements over jurisdiction of the players, entrance fees and indemnification payments for WHA teams moving into NHL teams&rsquo; territorial rights, cannot be worked out within the next three months, the WHA would still have time to allign European franchises for the 1979-80 season.And even if the International Ice Hockey Federation, which has been conducting a heated battle with NHL Players&rsquo; Association president Alan Eagleson and his Canadian Amateur Hockey Association counterparts, doesn&rsquo;t give its sanction for the league, there is still the possibility that the European can be convinced that such a league would be greatly beneficial monetarily.The chances of this happening, of getting approval from all interested parties, ice hockey federations, and governing bodies may not seem that strong, but it is an alternative that cannot be overlooked by the WHA&mdash;or the NHL. &#9632;

WHA Eyes Europeans If Merger Collapses

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/f0032-02275/4254616-1-eng-US/f0032-022.jpg" title="f0032-02" width="599" height="575"></div> &#9632;

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Where AHL Teams Play

<div class="byline">BY TOM MURRAY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0002-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-011056/4252696-1-eng-US/f0002-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">DON MURDOCH&hellip;Had Suspension Commuted</figcaption></div>NEW YORK&mdash;The New York Rangers and Don Murdoch received a belated Christmas gift from National Hockey League president John Ziegler on Wednesday afternoon. Jan. 3, when Ziegler&mdash;after meeting in the NHL&rsquo;s New York office with Murdoch and Ranger coach Fred Shero&mdash;announced that the 22-year-old right wing would be eligible to play in the last 40 games of the current season.Last July 24, Ziegler announced that Murdoch would be suspended for all NHL exhibition, regular season, and playoff games for the 1978-79 season as a result of being arrested for possession of 4.8 grams of cocaine in Toronto&rsquo;s International Airport on August 12, 1977.But in his statement announcing Murdoch&rsquo;s suspension, Ziegler stipulated that the suspension could be commuted to the exhibition season and the first 40 regular season games if the league received from the Rangers &ldquo;a written request not earlier than their 30th regular season game and not later than their 35th regular season game requesting that such suspension be so commuted.&rdquo;Ziegler also stated that in order to be eligible for a review of his case, Murdoch should &ldquo;not act or conduct himself between this date and the time of reinstatement in such a manner so as to bring dishonor to or prejudice to or against the welfare of the National Hockey League.&rdquo;<h2>Ranger Did His Part</h2>The Rangers kept their part of Ziegler&rsquo;s bargain when team president Bill Jennings sent in the written request to Ziegler in late December. And Ziegler must have been convinced that Murdoch had kept his part of the bargain, too, otherwise he wouldn&rsquo;t have released the following statement:&ldquo;&hellip;It is my judgement that the suspension of Mr. Murdoch should be, and, therefore, is hereby commuted to 40 games&hellip;It is hoped that Mr. Murdoch will now be able to put this difficulty behind him and be able to resume his career and attain that high level of success for which he showed so much promise.&rdquo;&ldquo;When I walked into that meeting,&rdquo; Murdoch told reporters after it was all over, &ldquo;my hands were dripping with sweat. I was afraid to shake hands. But then Mr. Ziegler smiled. That&rsquo;s when I thought that maybe things were gonna work out alright.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve always lived by the rule that you learn by your mistakes,&rdquo; Murdoch continued. &ldquo;1 don&rsquo;t believe that a person should be condemned for his whole life for making one mistake. My mistake was that I didn&rsquo;t think of myself as being as big as I really was in my rookie year with the Rangers. I started off really well, got a lot of publicity, and before I knew it I was on the cover of papers and magazines, getting recognised, and getting invited to nightclubs. I was in the limelight, and my life was going so fast that I didn&rsquo;t even realize where I was headed. Once the season ended, and all the guys went back to Canada for the summer, I stuck around instead, fell in with the wrong bunch of people, and got into trouble.&ldquo;But I want to put all of that behind me now,&rdquo; Murdoch went on. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve done my penance, and now all I care about is helping this team bring a Stanley Cup to New York.&rdquo;An admirable goal to shoot for, and one which took a giant step towards being realized when the Rangers announced three days after Murdoch&rsquo;s meeting with Ziegler that they had signed the right winter to a multi-year contract.The signing put to rest the rumors about haggling over the agreement between Murdoch&rsquo;s agent Frank Milne and Rangers&rsquo; assistant general manager Mickey Keating, the men handling the negotiations.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s just a matter of getting it all down on paper,&rdquo; Keating had said just prior to the signing. &ldquo;Negotiations have been amiable and we just want to get it out of the way.&rdquo;Now that it is out of the way, Murdoch can go back to concentrating on his role with the Rangers.<h2>Tkaczuk Gets 200th</h2>BLUE CHIPS: January 3 wasn&rsquo;t a bad day at all for the Rangers. Not only did they get Don Murdoch back, but that night they demolished the Montreal Canadiens, 6-2 at Madison Square Garden&hellip;Fred Shero took eight stitches over the right eye in the third period of that game after an errant puck deflected into the bench area. Phil Esposito filled in for Shero while assistant coach Mike Nykoluk made his way to the bench from the press box. Espo&rsquo;s 20-second coaching debut was spoiled when the Canadiens&rsquo; Pierre Larouche scored a goal to make the score 6-2&hellip;When Murdoch was being interviewed by reporters after the game, Esposito sang to him from the shower: &ldquo;I&rsquo;m back in the linelight again.&rdquo;&hellip;Since their seven-game winning streak ended on Nov. 5 the Rangers&rsquo; longest winning and losing streak has been two games&hellip;Pat Hickey leads the Rangers in scoring the game&rsquo;s first goal (9) and in go-ahead goals (8)&hellip;Walt Tkaczuk finally scored that elusive 200th goal&hellip;Ron Greschner has scored at least one point in 12 straight games and is closing in on the longest consecutive game scoring streak in Ranger history&mdash;14 games, by Rod Gilbert. &#9632;

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Rangers Respond Signing Murdoch To New Contract

<h2>THE NHL&hellip;</h2>Atlanta &hellip;&hellip; 12Boston &hellip;&hellip; 8Buffalo &hellip;&hellip; 15Chicago. &hellip;&hellip; 11Colorado &hellip;&hellip; 4Detroit &hellip;&hellip; 3Los Angeles &hellip;&hellip; 21Minnesota &hellip;&hellip; 6Montreal &hellip;&hellip; 5N.Y. Islanders &hellip;&hellip; 7N.Y. Rangers &hellip;&hellip; 2Philadelphia &hellip;&hellip; 9Pittsburgh &hellip;&hellip; 10St. Louis &hellip;&hellip; 20Toronto &hellip;&hellip; 17Vancouver &hellip;&hellip; 19Washington &hellip;&hellip; 18<h2>THE WHA&hellip;</h2>Birmingham &hellip;&hellip; 28Cincinnati &hellip;&hellip; 27Edmonton &hellip;&hellip; 24New England &hellip;&hellip; 28Quebec &hellip;&hellip; 28Winnipeg &hellip;&hellip; 25<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; 36WHL&hellip; &hellip;37Quebec Major &hellip;&hellip; 38<h2>COLUMNISTS&hellip;</h2>Ken McKenzie &hellip;&hellip; 4Bob Verdi &hellip;&hellip; 2Bill Libby &hellip;&hellip; 8Bill Fleischman &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…

LONDON&mdash;The Ontario Hockey League won the Labatt International hockey tournament by defeating the Quebec League All Stars 3-2 in the championship game.The win avenged two previous losses in the tournament at the hands of the Quebecers. Ontario&rsquo;s victory was the climax of a week of tournament activity which included teams from, the Western Hockey League, a Soviet team, Moscow Riga, and the Canadian Olympic team.Gary Green coached the OHA selects, which received goals from. Tom McCarthy, Greg Theberge and Steve Marengere to topple Quebec. Raymond Bourque and Normand Aubin scored for Quebec. &#9632;

Ontario Captures Junior Cup Play

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NHL’s Top 25 Scorers

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How Top Drafts Fared

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0003-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-011063/4252813-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">GUYLAFLEUR&hellip;He&rsquo;s Made It Big</figcaption></div>DETROIT&mdash;Being chosen number one in a professional sports draft can bring instant fame, wealth and prestige, but the honor also carries with it the added attention and pressure of the designation of numero uno and the fact that if number two also tried harder, that number one has to work just a little bit more to stay ahead of the game.Some number one&rsquo;s never make the grade, like UCLA quarterback Gary Beban who won the Heisman Trophy as the top U.S. collegian, but couldn&rsquo;t cut it when it came time to play for pay.One number one who did make it is Detroit Red Wings&rsquo; center Dale McCourt who headed up the list of the National Hockey League&rsquo;s 1977 amateur draft list after a 60-goal, 79-assist campaign in his final year with the Hamilton Fincups (not Brantford Alexanders) of the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-03620/4252806-1-eng-US/f0003-032.jpg" title="f0003-03" width="506" height="510"><figcaption class="caption-body">GILLES PERREAULT&hellip;Expansion Super Star</figcaption></div>In fact, McCourt, who recorded three hat tricks among his 33 goals and 39 assists in his first year with the Red Wings, played so well that he was awarded to the Los Angeles Kings as compensation for Detroit signing goaltender Rogie Vachon.McCourt, as all hockey fans know, decided he&rsquo;d rather stay in Detroit and challenged the decision which order him to Los Angeles, winning a temporary injunction to remain with the Red Wings. He claims that the added pressure of the court case hasn&rsquo;t bothered him because he thinks about it as little as possible, but McCourt certainly isn&rsquo;t a stranger to pressure after responding to the challenge of fulfilling his number one status and helping to provide a lift for his franchise.Naturally, there are advantages and disadvantages to being a number one selection. Since most teams have become reluctant to part with their top pick the chances are that the first player chosen will be going to the team with the poorest record the year before. In fact, since 1970 when the current drafting procedure of the NHL was established and counting the 1978 amateur draft, only two of the nine first selections have gone to teams other than those which finished last the year before. The exceptions were 1975 when Philadelphia obtained Mel Bridgman by sending Bill Clement to the Washington Capitals who had first pick, and in 1971 when the Montreal Canadiens took Guy Lafleur using the top choice of the Oakland Seals who received Ernie Hicke and a new city to play in to be named later.So joining a last-place team has the built-in advantage of usually providing the top draft choice with ample playing time. On the other hand, if the team doesn&rsquo;t begin to do well immediately it only adds to the weight already placed upon the rookie&rsquo;s shoulders.Detroit general manager Ted Lindsay and coach Bobby Kromm went to great lengths to try to ease the burden on McCourt. They insisted he wasn&rsquo;t the saviour, a la Bobby Orr, who was going to singlehandedly lift the Wings from the depths of the NHL basement.They brought McCourt along gradually so that by mid-season he was beginning to feel really comfortable&mdash;and the club was winning McCourt lifted the spirits of the entire team when they began to realize just how talented he was, and that the entire team was making amazing progress at becoming a competitive team which could not be overlooked.McCourt was the cornerstone, the player the Wings decided would be the nucleus for the style of team they wanted. He became, in fact, the NHL&rsquo;s top number one draft choice since Denis Potvin of the Islanders in 1973, a year which may have been the best ever in turning out a number of high quality players in the early rounds of the draft who have become the stars of the present.Here&rsquo;s a year by year comparison of the top three draft choices going back to 1970:No. 1 drafts&mdash; 1977-Dale McCourt; 1976-Rick Green, Washington defenseman. Injuries have hampered him, but Caps say he&rsquo;s beginning to show star qualities; 1975-Mel Bridgman, Philadelphia, center, enjoying best season in his fourth NHL campaign. Hasn&rsquo;t scored the way Flyers hoped he would. 1974-Greg Joly, defenseman. Drafted by Washington, traded to Detroit. Had good season for Wings last year, but he&rsquo;s yet to play in 1978-79 due to injuries. 1973-Denis Potvin, has won Norris Trophy as best NHL defenseman two of last three seasons; cornerstone of Islanders; 1972-Bill Harris, Islanders, right wing, has never missed an NHL game, he&rsquo;s been unspectacular but dependable two-way performer; 1971-Lafleur-three scoring titles in a row, hockey&rsquo;s top performer; 1970-Perreault, Buffalo, center, first expansion team super star, he&rsquo;s tailed off in recent years.No. 2 drafts&mdash; 1977-Barry Beck, Colorado, defenseman. Set NHL record with 22 goals as rookie rearguard. Rockies, leader. 1976-Blair, Chapman, Pittsburgh, right wing, not having much of a year after 24-goal campaign year ago. 1975-Barry Dean, left wing. Drafted by Kansas City, played in WHA, resurfaced with Rockies and was traded to Philadelphia. Flyers are said to like him. 1974-Wilf Paiement, Colorado, right wing. Rockies&rsquo; leading scorer he&rsquo;s averaged nearly 30 goals in four NHL years. 1973-Tom Lysiak, Atlanta, center, enjoying finest NHL season, he&rsquo;s always been the heart of the Flames. 1972-Jacques Richard, center. Drafted by Flames, traded to Buffalo, he&rsquo;s been in the minors most of the past two and one-half seasons. A big disappointment. 1971-Marcel Dionne, right wing, drafted by Detroit, traded to Los Angeles he and Lafleur are definitely the best 1-2 combo ever drafted. 1970-Dale Tallon, defense. Wasn&rsquo;t the answer in Vancouver and was tried at forward and defense in Chicago. Now he&rsquo;s with Pittsburgh and doing o.k.No. 3 drafts&mdash; 1977-Robert Picard, Washington, defenseman. Voted Caps&rsquo; best defenseman last year, he&rsquo;s turning out about as well as club hoped. 1976-Glen Sharpley, Minnesota, center. 47 goals in first two seasons with a poor club, he&rsquo;s off in his goalscoring a bit this year 1975-Ralph Klassen, California, center. Traded from Cleveland to Rockies he possesses great speed but hasn&rsquo;t been much of a scorer. 1974-Rick Hampton, Los Angeles, defenseman. The rover. Kings sav he&rsquo;ll stay on defense but he&rsquo;s played just about everywhere during stints with California and Cleveland, without much success. 1973-Dennis Ververgaert, right wing, Philadelphia. Drafted by Vancouver he sparkled early with 37 goals in his third season, but only 48 in his next two. Traded the end of December to the Flyers. 1972-Don Lever, left wing, Vancouver. He&rsquo;s Canucks&rsquo; captain for the second time and has scored more than 150 goals in six and one-half seasons. 1971-Josh Guevremont, defenseman. He followed Tallon as the Canucks&rsquo; first pick but was ultimately traded to Buffalo where he&rsquo;s having trouble finding playing time. 1970-Reg Leach, right wing. Couldn&rsquo;t break into Boston&rsquo;s loaded early &lsquo;70s lineup, he went to California and then blossomed in Philadelphia when reunited with former junior mate Bobby Clarke.Other prominent players who were chosen later than the top three in their rounds and who have come into prominence include: 1977-Mike Bossy, Islanders (15 overall); 1976-Bernie Federko, St. Louis (7), Peter Lee, Pittsburgh (12 by Montreal); 1975-Pierre Mondou, Montreal (15); 1974-Bryah Trottier, Islanders (22), Guy Chouinard, Atlanta (28), Danny Gare, Buffalo (29); 1973-Bob Gainey, Montreal (8), Bob Dailey, Philadelphia (9 by Vancouver), lan Turnbull, Toronto (15); 1972-Michel Larocque, Montreal (6), Bill Barber, Philadelphia (7), Phil Russell, Chicago (13); 1972-Terry O&rsquo;Reilly, Boston (14), Larry Robinson, Montreal (19); 1970-Darryl Sittler, Toronto (8).<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-04369/4252799-1-eng-US/f0003-042.jpg" title="f0003-04" width="504" height="521"><figcaption class="caption-body">DALE McCOURT&hellip; Wings&rsquo; Man Of The Future</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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McCourt Handling The Pressure Facing Top Draft Picks In NHL

<div class="byline">Ken McKenzie&#x2019;s</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-011114/4252934-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg" title="f0004-01" width="433" height="466"></div>&bull; EDMONTON &mdash; THE WHA OILERS play in the finest arena in all of pro hockey and that includes the National Hockey League&hellip; The Edmonton fans have to be the greatest as well. Over 35,000 attended the three-game series between the crowds increased with each game. Slightly more than 8,000 attended the opener on HL World Hockey Association, a little more than 11,000 were on hand for the second game, also won by the WHA and by the same score, and no less than 15,590 witnessed the third and final game of the series, also won by the WHA All-Stars, 4-3&hellip; It was an outstanding series and the WHA All Stars never played better. The darling of the crowds throughout the series was Wayne Gretzky, the sensational 17-year-old center, in his first season with the Oilers who pivoted a line with Gordie Howe on one wing and Mark Howe on the other. This was a line that was made up by the media and it was by far the best to show for the All Stars&hellip; Gretzky, incidentally, had a childhood dream of playing with the Detroit Red Wings. The Wings sure wish the dream had come true&hellip; There&rsquo;s no doubt but that Edmonton would be a successful franchise in the National Hockey League or any league for that matter. It is probably one of the best hockey properties around today. Aiding it greatly in that respect has to be the strong front office assembled by owner Peter Pocklington. There&rsquo;s Larry Gordon, vice-president and general manager and Glen Sather, vice-president of hockey operations and coach, and the dynamic duo of Doug Wenschlag and John Short, the directors of marketing and public relations respectively.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-021069/4252927-1-eng-US/f0004-022.jpg" title="f0004-02" width="307" height="496"><figcaption class="caption-body">Peter Pocklington</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-03964/4252920-1-eng-US/f0004-032.jpg" title="f0004-03" width="287" height="422"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jack Kelley</figcaption></div>&bull; AFTER 17 WHA games this season the Oilers averaged 10,600 fans per game and did $1.6 million at the box office&hellip; &ldquo;That Wayne Gretzky is the best thing to happen to hockey in 10 years,&rdquo; enthused Jacques Demers of the Quebec Nordiques who assisted Larry Hillman as coach of the All Stars&hellip; Edmonton boasts some of the finest hockey writers and sports announcers to be found around today. They are knowledgeable young men who grew up with the game and for the most part know what they are talking about&hellip; it&rsquo;s always refreshing to chat with Bryan Hall, the youthful-looking 25-year veteran sports announcer of CJCA&hellip; CFRN broadcasts all home and away games of the Oilers, and they have a standout three-man team in Rod Phillips, who handles the play-by-play, Al Me Cann, executive producer of the broadcasts who also does the color commentary and Cecil &ldquo;Tiger&rdquo; Goldstick, who assists in the color and hosts the &ldquo;Overtime&rdquo; post-game show. &ldquo;Tiger&rdquo; is one of the best known sports personalities in Western Canada and has a long association with football and hockey in the Edmonton area. He&rsquo;s a great salesman for the game&hellip; Jack Kelley, director of hockey operations for the New England Whalers, was an interested spectator at the games. Jack, longtime coach at Boston University, says the U.S. college game has improved tremendously in recent years.CHARLIE McCarthy, a 22-year-old student who majors in Russian, was the official interpreter for the Moscow Dynamo-during their Canadian and U.S. tour. The regular interpreter was felled by the flu at the last minute and Charlie was pressed into action. He is a native of Longmeadow, Mass., near Springfield, and did such an outstanding job that the Soviets were raving about him and gave him a special gift. Charlie had the time of his life. &hellip;Included in New York Islanders&rsquo; center Bryan Trottier&rsquo;s recent eight point (five goals, three assists) night was an NHL record six points in the second period. Several other players, most recently Toronto&rsquo;s Darryl Sittler, shared the old record of five points in a period&hellip; Trottier, by the way, will appear in the preliminary round of the Men&rsquo;s Superstar competition on ABC-TV, Sunday, Jan. 28 at 1 p.m&hellip;. Philadelphia Flyers held their second annual hockey clinic with an emphasis on goaltending at the Stadium Hilton Hotel and the Spectrum on the Jan. 11-12 weekend. The clinic, in conjunction with Hockey Central and AHAUS (Amateur Hockey Association of the United States) featured ex-NHL goaltender Cesare Maniago, Dave Peterson, AHAUS goaltender advisor and Marcel Pelletier, a former pro goaltender who is director of player personnel for the Flyers&hellip; Gordie Howe is still letting opponents know he&rsquo;s around. More often than not in the New England Whalers&rsquo; recent games against European visitors, Howe&rsquo;s elbows have been the &ldquo;official greeters&rdquo; for the host team, earning Gordie a quick trip to the penalty box.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-04862/4252913-1-eng-US/f0004-042.jpg" title="f0004-04" width="261" height="386"><figcaption class="caption-body">Cesare Maniago</figcaption></div>PHILADELPHIA FEVER, a team in the new major indoor soccer league, will be owned in part by Flyers&rsquo; captain Bobby Clarke. His participation with the Fever gives the league two of Philadelphia&rsquo;s top athletes as the Phillies&rsquo; new super star Pete Rose is part owner of the Cincinnati Kids entry&hellip;Philadelphia Flyers&rsquo; coach Bob McCammon was smiling and shaking his head (not to mention his hands) after a narrow Flyers&rsquo; victory: Said McCammon, &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve seen coaches have breakdowns during games like that. They just carry the coaches out.&rdquo;&hellip;Hamilton College of Clinton, N.Y. has just unveiled its new $5 million Athletic Center which includes the renovated Sage Hockey rink&hellip;Boston Bruins, who along with New York Rangers placed three players in the NHL&rsquo;s quarterly plus-minus Top 20, led the league with an overall plus 36, followed by Atlanta at plus 33, New York Islanders at plus 27 and the Rangers at plus 26&hellip;Only three players were on the ice for all of their team&rsquo;s power play goals in the first quarter of the season, rookie Wayne Babych of St. Louis, and defensemen Denis Potvin of the Islanders and Gary Sargent of the Minnesota North Stars&hellip;When Guy Lafleur scored in his 20th consecutive game recently, it was only the fifth time the feat has been accomplished in NHL history. Lafleur, who holds the record of scoring in 28 straight games, has done it twice while Bobby Clarke and Bronco Horvath each scored in 22 consecutive games.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-05723/4252906-1-eng-US/f0004-052.jpg" title="f0004-05" width="257" height="451"><figcaption class="caption-body">Gary Sargent</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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PASSING THE PUCK

OFFICIAL NATIONALHOCKEY WEEKLY FOUNDED 1979VOLUME 32, NUMBER 16 JANUARY 19, 1979Kenneth W. McKenziePresident and Publisher.Charlie HalpinEditorial DirectorTom MurrayAssistant PublisherPeter EmersonVice-President SalesSuite 600, 55 University Ave.,Toronto, Ont M5J2H7Telephone: (416) 361-0116Advertising Representatives:MontrealMary McCutcheon1434 St. Catherine Street West, Suite 217Montreal, Can. &bull; H3G 1R7 (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 (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. IB7 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;

The Hockey News

<div class="byline">BY FRED PIETILA</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-06430/4252965-1-eng-US/f0004-062.jpg" title="f0004-06" width="550" height="697"><figcaption class="caption-body">MICHEL PLASSE&hellip;Accepted Blame</figcaption></div>DENVER&mdash;Michel Plasse sat in a hotel restaurant in New Carrollton, Md., a couple of hours before the Colorado Rockies played the Washington Capitals in nearby Landover.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got to get our goal-scorers going,&rdquo; Plasse said. He was coming off a 34-save effort in a 3-0 loss to Minnesota. Obviously no team is going to win with no goals.Plasse turned out to be somewhat of a prophet. Several hours later the Rockies were celebrating a rare win. Plasse was superb again with 36 stops and the Rockies&rsquo; bit goal-scorers contributed goals.Wilf Paiement, Paul Gardner and Barry &ldquo;Bubba&rdquo; Beck the Rockies&rsquo; three leading goal-scorers last year, scored goals to pull the team into a 3-3 tie and Randy Pierce won it on a breakaway.It was Paiement scoring twice and Gardner, Beck and Pierce once each four nights later as the Rockies won again over Chicago. Plasse, who has been extremely tough in the nets since being recalled from Philadelphia of the American League, was right.The Plasse Story, 1978-79 version, is one in itself. The 30-year-old, who suffered through a miserable season last year, reported to training camp overweight (12 pounds) and in a bad frame of mind.After failing a stress test and spending much Of the early part of training camp trying to get into shape, Plasse was assigned to Philadelphia of the AHL. He wasn&rsquo;t happy, but knew it was his fault and accepted the demotion.&ldquo;They sent me down and I knew they were not happy with my attitude. They said I was complaining and bitching too much and that I wasn&rsquo;t in shape. They just wanted to show me that they were the boss and that I worked for them,&rdquo; Plasse said.&ldquo;I decided I was just going to shut up and say &lsquo;yes sir&rsquo; and not say nothing and do what they tell me to do. I was 174 when I went down and now I&rsquo;m 162. I worked hard to get my body into shape,&rdquo; Plasse said.In the Rockies&rsquo; first season, Plasse was voted the most popular player. But last year was a disaster for the nervous goalie.&ldquo;It was terrible. The first thing was that I broke my finger and came back and played a few games and threw out my knee and then I lost my dad. When you start a year like that it&rsquo;s tough.&rdquo;Plasse had only three wins during the 1977-78 season. He recorded two within five days after a 0-9-1 start this season.Since he&rsquo;s been back from Philadelphia, &ldquo;things have been going pretty well. I&rsquo;ve been working harder. The guys have been playing better since Aldo (Guidolin) took over. Now we&rsquo;ve got a good system, too.&rdquo; The Rockies cut their goals-against record in the first dozen games using Guidoliu&rsquo;s defensive system.Guidolin, The Rockies&rsquo; director of player personnel during training camp when Plasse was writing his ticket to the minors, was surprised at the goalie&rsquo;s condition but not surprised at the way he&rsquo;s come around.&ldquo;Yeah, it was because I don&rsquo;t think he really thought he was going to be that bad,&rdquo; Guidolin said. &ldquo;But no, I wasn&rsquo;t concerned about that (demotion). I knew if he was sent down, he&rsquo;d work hard. He wouldn&rsquo;t dog it.&rdquo;&ldquo;He&rsquo;s changed his attitude,&rdquo; Rocky right winger Ron Delorme, a close friend of Plasse, said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s shown us before he could play. Now he&rsquo;s playing like that again.&rdquo; It&rsquo;s the change of attitude.&rdquo;&ldquo;His attitude is completely different,&rdquo; said Wilf Paiement, who was quickly regaining his goal-scoring touch after sitting out 14 games of his 15-game suspension. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s working hard. It&rsquo;s like anybody else. Like he was saying, he&rsquo;s got to have a lot of ice time to play well. But the main thing is his attitude compared to what it was.&rdquo;ROCKY RAMBLINGS: Paiement scored seven goals and five assists in his first 11 games back after the suspension&hellip;Jack Valiquette, Paiement&rsquo;s center, was also on a hot streak with five goals and six assists in eight games&hellip;Another player who was suddenly playing back to last year&rsquo;s form was Beck, the huge defenseman. Besides playing strong defense. Beck scored four goals in five games&mdash;a streak which did great things for his confidence. &#9632;

f0004-06

Rockies’ Plasse Changed Attitude For Fresh Start

Following are the latest player movements in hockey:<h2>NATIONAL LEAGUE</h2>ATLANTA &mdash; Rejean Lemelin, G, recalled from Philadelphia of AHL. Harold Phillipoff, LW, returned to lineup from injury list.BOSTON &mdash; Brad Park, D, placed on disabled list after suffering recurring knee injury that will sideline him for three to four weeks. Dennis O&rsquo;Brien, D, recalled from Rochester of AHL as replacement.CHICAGO &mdash; Keith Magnuson, D, placed on disabled list for possibly rest of season after undergoing knee surgery. Mike O&rsquo;Connell, D, Jean Savard, C, and Doug Lecuyer, LW, recalled from New Brunswick of AHL.COLORADO &mdash; Joe Contini, LW, assigned to Philadelphia of AHL.MINNESOTA &mdash; Bryan Maxwell, D, Don Jackson, D, and Mike Eaves, RW, recalled from Oklahoma City of CHL. Jackson and Eaves returned to Oklahoma City. Brad Maxwell, D, placed on disabled list with shoulder separation. Fred Barrettt, D, placed on disabled list indefinitely with calcium deposits in his thigh.MONTREAL &mdash; Doug Risebrough, C, placed on disabled list with shoulder separation. Pierre Mondou, C, placed on disabled list with strained knee ligaments. Larry Robinson, D, placed on disabled list with broken nose. Steve Shutt, LW, returned to lineup from injury list. Dave Lumley, C, recalled from Nova Scotia of AHL.PHILADELPHIA &mdash; Al Hill, LW, and Tom Gorence, RW, recalled from Maine of AHL. Yves Preston, LW, returned to Maine.ST. LOUIS &mdash; Neil Komadoski, D, recalled from Salt-Lake of CHL. Steve Durbano, D, assigned to Salt Lake. Wayne Babych, RW, placed on disabled list for six weeks after fracturing his ankle.TORONTO &mdash; Trevor Johansen, D, assigned to New Brunswick of AHL.WASHINGTON &mdash; Gary Rissling, RW, recalled from Hershey of AHL. Jim Bedard, G, returned to Hershey. &#9632;

Hockey Players On The Move

<div class="byline">BY MIKE DENNIS</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0005-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-01965/4253044-1-eng-US/f0005-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">LARRY ROBINSON&hellip;Feels Habs Not Controlling Play</figcaption></div>MONTREAL&mdash;&ldquo;You going out somewhere?&rdquo; asked a Canadiens&rsquo; defenseman. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m going&hellip;by myself.&rdquo; answered a Montreal forward.The above was a dressing room exchange following the Montreal Canadiens&rsquo; second loss in 17 games, but also their second loss in as many nights.It wasn&rsquo;t so much that the Canadiens had closed December like lions, stretching an unbeaten string to 15 games, and then promptly opened 1979 like pussycats losing in New York to the Jekyll and Hyde Rangers and at home 24 hours later to the then sub .500 Los Angeles Kings who had been soundly whipped the evening before by the mighty Washington Caps.It was the way they were losing.Coach Scotty Bowman inadvertently had his objectives misfire when he indicated at the close of 1978 that he&rsquo;d like to see the Canadiens finish the first half of the 80-game schedule with less than 100 goals against. With three games to play to reach the midway mark, the Habs had surrendered 90 goals and were coming off a 6-1 victory over the Boston Bruins.Two games later, Canadiens had seen the puck go into their nets 11 times and were saddled with their third back-to-back loss situation of the season. Albeit their first since the end of October, a month in which they had two double-dips.Against the Rangers, Montreal played a strong first period, outshooting the Blueshirts 11-8, but went to the dressing room trailing 2-0. Prior to the game, several of the Canadiens had indicated that they didn&rsquo;t want to get involved in a goal-scoring duel with the hot and cold Rangers who had been involved in several high-scoring contests of late. But the chance to trade goals never came.After Guy Lafleur halved the Rangers&rsquo; lead in the second period, the Rangers popped in three unanswered goals in the middle frame and built a 6-1 lead less than a minute into the third period as the Canadiens stood helplessly by. Pierre Larouche tallied Montreal&rsquo;s only other score to make the final 6-2.The next night at home, Canadiens turned things around. That is, they choose to play their worst hockey in the opening 20 minutes and then spent the entire evening trying to catch up to the kings.The defense backed in on goaler Bunny Larocque for the first Los Angeles goal by Dave Taylor and then failed to clear the puck allowing Brian Glennie to slap a low shot past Larocque for a 2-0 King lead at 9:57.By now the natives were restless. A Serge Savard goal cut into the deficit, but before the period had ended Taylor had zipped in another goal after a fine passing play from Butch Goring and Glenn Goldup and former Canadien Murray Wilson had used his long reach to catch up to a pass and slap one past Larocque for a three-goal lead.Canadiens finally got untracked in period two following a tussle in the Kings&rsquo; zone which saw Yvon Lambert, Doug Risebrough and Mario Tremblay all tangle with Kings&rsquo; defenseman Doug Halward on the same sequence. Eventually Halward and Tremblay were whistled to the penalty box with majors for fighting.Larouche cut the gap to 4-2 on a power play goal 55 seconds after Glennie was sent off for hooking and then Tremblay helped set up Lambert, along with a fine piece of work by Guy Lapointe, to make it 4-3 in the final minute of the second period.When Risebrough tied the score at the 2:27 mark of the third period most everyone anticipated the bursting of the L.A. floodgates, but it never materialized. Instead after a period of nearly constant pressure by the Habs, the Kings capitalized on a breakaway by Steve Jensen to win the game with exactly one minute left on the Forum clock.Risebrough offered this explanation: &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve lost confidence in our defense. Our game is defense, but we&rsquo;ve had a lot of goals against us and we&rsquo;ve gotten away from our game. We know we can score a lot of goals, but they usually come when we&rsquo;re up 4-1 or 5-2.&ldquo;You can&rsquo;t expect to fall behind like that and then go out and score enough to win,&rdquo; he offered. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve proven that on the last two nights. We&rsquo;re not taking the man.&rdquo;Meanwhile the defensemen had a few thoughts as well.&ldquo;Disorganized. Nobody&rsquo;s playing their position; everyone&rsquo;s running all over the place, but don&rsquo;t ask me why,&rdquo; said Larry Robinson.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve gotten away from controlling the play,&rdquo; Robinson reported. &ldquo;Tonight we came on strong in the second and third periods; we forechecked, we threw it into their end when we had to, but you can&rsquo;t get by just playing 40 minutes of hockey.&rdquo;Was it the same the night before against the Rangers? a reported asked.&ldquo;Not the first period,&rdquo; said Robinson. &ldquo;1 thought we took the play to them, but the puck was bouncing all around a couple of times and they put it in the net. Then we didn&rsquo;t play well in the last two periods.&rdquo;What say you, Serge Savard?&ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t play disciplined hockey. We gave them too much room to move around and we didn&rsquo;t close down the middle by getting a forward back in to help out.&ldquo;Sometimes you work hard but you don&rsquo;t get any results,&rdquo; Savard assessed. &ldquo;It takes awhile before you find out what you&rsquo;re doing wrong.&rdquo;FORUM REBOUNDS: Canadiens continued their injury problems when Pierre Mondou damaged ligaments in his knee and Robinson broke his nose in the Kings&rsquo; game&hellip;Lafleur ran his consecutive games with points streak to 20 in the first Jan. weekend game&hellip;Jacques Lemaire is expected back in the lineup in two more weeks after his shoulder separation. &#9632;

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Canadiens Abandon Defensive Game Allowing Opponents Room To Score

<div class="byline">&#x2026; BY BOB VERDI</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-011145/4253082-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg" title="f0006-01" width="305" height="459"></div>When the Boston Bruins traded Phil Esposito to the Rangers in November of 1975, the NHL scoring great felt it was the end of his world. Now three years later, he likes the idea as he relates how he enjoys being a New Yorker in this interview with columnist Bob Verdi.<h2>Time Cures All</h2>LOTS OF TOMORROWS have passed since Phil Esposito fielded the shock of his life on the first ring, and yet it seems like only yesterday.&ldquo;Three years ago, I&rsquo;m in bed sleeping at Vancouver,&rdquo; the big guy recalled. &ldquo;At 7:30 in the morning, there&rsquo;s a phone call and it&rsquo;s our coach, Don Cherry. He says he has to see me right away.&ldquo;I tell him it&rsquo;s 7:30 in the morning and he tells me it&rsquo;s important. Then I think a minute and tell him, &lsquo;Jeez, don&rsquo;t tell me I&rsquo;ve been traded, Grapes.&rsquo; And Grapes tells me, &lsquo;Phil, You&rsquo;ve been traded.&rsquo;&ldquo;Then I tell him, &lsquo;If you tell me I&rsquo;ve been traded to New York, I&rsquo;m just gonna scream.&rsquo; He tells me I&rsquo;ve been traded to New York. And I screamed.&rdquo;Phil Esposito, it seems has been screaming and kicking ever since about the shocking news that the greatest goal scorer in Boston Bruin history had been dispatched to Fun City. It wasn&rsquo;t his kind of town and the New York Rangers weren&rsquo;t his kind of team, and take that.But No. 77 doesn&rsquo;t look quite so sad anymore for the quaintest of reasons. He&rsquo;s not so sad anymore. The old shibboleth lives. Time cures all wounds.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not that I&rsquo;ve become resigned to staying in New York&hellip;it&rsquo;s that I&rsquo;ve gotten to like New York, love New York,&rdquo; said Esposito.&ldquo;Donna (wife) and I live right in the city; we go out and eat almost every night, and it&rsquo;s great. If you&rsquo;d have ever told me that I&rsquo;d live in the middle of New York City and like it, I&rsquo;d have said you were crazy.&ldquo;I guess there was a time when I wouldn&rsquo;t have minded being traded from New York. Never asked for it, but wouldn&rsquo;t have minded it. In fact, I guess I was traded in November to Chicago for (Jim) Harrison, except that the doctors in New York said his back was no good.&ldquo;But now, I think I&rsquo;d be happy to finish my career with the Rangers. Because that&rsquo;s the best part of what&rsquo;s happened here in New York. We aren&rsquo;t that far away from winning it all. Maybe a couple years, that&rsquo;s all. This franchise has turned completely around.&rdquo;<h2>Beer For The Boys</h2>FOR THAT, ESPOSITO credits Sonny Werblin, the new boss of the Madison Square Garden games dept., and Fred Shero, the new general manager-coach of the Rangers who, like goalie John Davidson said, is like E.F. Hutton. When he talks, everybody listens.&ldquo;They want a winner bad, and they treat all their players first class, like men,&rdquo; said Esposito. &ldquo;It may sound like nickel-dime stuff to you, but they let you fly home on Christmas Day, then fly from New York to Atlanta for the next road game rather than fly back to New York just to go with the rest of the team.&ldquo;After a game, there&rsquo;s a case of beer in the room if you&rsquo;re thirsty. This is 1979. You can&rsquo;t tell a hockey player not to have a beer. Besides, Shero believes that if you give a guy a couple beers right after a game when he really wants them, then he probably won&rsquo;t go out an hour later and have eight when he really doesn&rsquo;t want them.<h2>Werblin Plays Santa</h2>&ldquo;AT CHRISTMAS, WERBLIN took $200 for each player that might have been used for a gift and sent it to charity in the player&rsquo;s name. Great gesture.&ldquo;And nobody said boo because we&rsquo;ve been treated super all year, and generouslv. Last year, there would have been complaints, Werblin is unbelievable. And Shero is a good coach, a really good coach.&ldquo;Plus he has free reign. They told him to take over the hockey club and do whatever he has to do to make it a winner. He has, and he will. If John Ferguson had that kind of freedom&hellip;well, he deserves more credit than he got.&rdquo;One thing Shero has not done is give Esposito the large quantities of ice time he craves. Phil is on the wrong side of 35, after all, and admits that a big of the timing is gone. The split second that was once his, is now the goalie&rsquo;s.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not the legs that go,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s the reflexes. That little bit of reaction time. But I feel good and I&rsquo;d like to be around for one more Cup. Be nice, eh.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-02878/4253075-1-eng-US/f0006-022.jpg" title="f0006-02" width="796" height="1419"><figcaption class="caption-body">Life in the Big Apple is starting to agree with veteran sharpshooter Phil Esposito, who admits his early apprehensions about moving to New York with the Rangers are now totally unfounded. Espo likes his new environment and hopes to end his career playing for the Rangers.</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0006-01

Espo’s Love For NewYork Soothes Early Trade Fears

<div class="byline">BY PAT THOMPSON</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-03582/4253113-1-eng-US/f0006-032.jpg" title="f0006-03" width="544" height="720"><figcaption class="caption-body">GILLES MELOCHE&hellip;Streak Stopper</figcaption></div>BLOOMINGTON&mdash;Glen Sonmor wanted to be certain that Gilles Meloche was fully recovered from a knee injury before he sent him back out to play goal for the Minnesota North Stars.The North Stars, closing November, had lost eight straight games and the Minnesota coach called on Gary Edwards to stop the streak with back-to-back victories against the Atlanta Flames.Two more games, Sonmor thought, and Meloche would be about ready to test his tender right knee.But Edwards suffered an ankle injury making a save in the second encounter against the Flames, and Meloche was pressed into duty sooner than Sonmor wanted.Meloche proceeded to post back-to-back shutouts and was still starting as the Stars roared into the new year with their best December in history.Going into the final game of the holiday month in Colorado, Meloche had started 11 straight games with a 7-31 record in that span and a goals-against average of 2.54 for those 11 games. For the season, Meloche had carved an 1110-1 record with a GAA of 2.84. Not since the days of Gump Worsley and Cesare Maniago had the North Stars had such goaltending, and it was showing in the team&rsquo;s charge back into contention as a viable wildcard playoff hopeful from the rugged Adams Division.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know when 1&rsquo;11 give Meloche the night off,&rdquo; Sonmor was saying. &ldquo;As long as he&rsquo;s winning, I&rsquo;m not going to second-guess myself.&rdquo;The 28-year-old Meloche deserved to be recognized as the catalyst of Minnesota&rsquo;s resurgence. Take the game the Stars played against Washington in late December.Minnesota was clutching to a 2-1 lead with the Caps buzzing and swarming around Meloche in the second period. They finished with 18 shots for the period, but Washington was a beaten team.&ldquo;I couldn&rsquo;t believe we came out of the period leading 4-1,&rdquo; said Sonmor.Meloche was showing no fatigue whatsoever from his consecutive games streak.&ldquo;When the team is playing as well as it is,&rdquo; said Meloche, &ldquo;you get the feeling you can play all 80 games. You&rsquo;re never tired when you win.&rdquo;Meloche has always played a lot of games in his eight-year career as a regular, but seldom with such success. The Montreal native&rsquo;s best season was his rookie year in the NHL with a 3.32 average and four shutouts with the old California Golden Seals.Last season with Cleveland, before the merger, he played 54 of the 80 games with a 3.77 average.Al MacAdam, a standout performer with the Stars this season, played with Meloche in California and Cleveland.&ldquo;Gilles is better than ever,&rdquo; said MacAdam. &ldquo;His record is better because he has better players in front of him. Before, he&rsquo;d make saves standing on his head and lose 1-0. We&rsquo;re winning a lot of those games now.&rdquo;Sonmor would gladly stand on his head if Meloche and Edwards continue to give the Stars solid goaltending the second half of the season.STAR DUST: The team&rsquo;s best tront line had No. 1 draft choice Bobby Smith, rookie Steve Payne and MacAdam&hellip;Smith started very slowly, but has emerged as the game-breaker the team hoped he would become. One NHL scout watched Smith score twice against Washington and observed, &ldquo;Those first weeks of the season are the worst you&rsquo;ll ever see Smith play in the next 10 years,&rdquo; said the scout&hellip;Left winger Mike Fidler ended his walkout and agreed to report to the team&rsquo;s Oklahoma City farm, but went with a request to be traded&hellip;Defenseman Brad Maxwell, playing his best hockey since the Stars made him a No. 1 choice in 1977, was lost for a week with a slight shoulder separation&hellip;Don Jackson was called up to fill in&hellip;Bryan Maxwell and Jim McKenny, both recovering from ailments, resumed play against the touring Soviet Wings&hellip;Fred Barrett&rsquo;s calcium deposit problem in his left thigh kept him sidelined indefinitely&hellip;Glen Sharpley is back at center after an experimental try at right wing&hellip;Sharps scored two empty net goals in a five-game stretch during Minnesota&rsquo;s December rise&hellip;Tim Young continued his steady play at center and Gary Sargent and Greg Smith continued sparkling on defense. &#9632;

f0006-03

Meloche Inspiring With North Stars Showing New Life

<div class="byline">BY NORM MacLEAN</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0007-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-011022/4253144-1-eng-US/f0007-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">GARRY HOWATT&hellip;Neutralizes Intimidators</figcaption></div>LONG ISLAND&mdash;Enough of all this talk about Mike Bossy, Bryan Trottier and Clark Gillies&mdash;and those other magicians up front who seemingly fill the opposition&rsquo;s goal night after night. What about the New York Islanders defense and goaltending?For the record, at press time, the Islanders have allowed only 100 goals, one less than Montreal&mdash;and the fewest in the NHL.&ldquo;We wanted to finish the first half with 40 games and 100 goals against,&rdquo; revealed Scotty Bowman, the Canadiens coach. &ldquo;But we lost two in a row and gave up 11 goals and that did it.&rdquo;Bobby Nystrom, the Islanders hard working right wing who has shot in so much bad luck this year, observed, &ldquo;Whatever happens we can&rsquo;t forget about defense. It&rsquo;s the thing we always seem to go back to.&rdquo;Bryan Trottier, in a dog fight with Guy Lafleur of Montreal for the scoring title, still marvels, &ldquo;You have to give credit to our defensemen. They get the puck out of their own end so well, they make it easy for us. They seldom lose the puck in our end forcing us to skate 200 feet one way to get it back and then 200 feet the other to go on attack. You get tired that way.&rdquo;Coach Al Arbour alternates goalies Billy Smith, 28, and Chico Resch, 31, in the nets. When the Islanders&rsquo; plane was unable to land in Chicago Dec. 31, and the game was postponed. Smith had been the intended choice. On Jan. 2, Resch played, marking the first time in a long time that either had played two games in a row.&ldquo;We want to be the best defensive team in the NHL,&rdquo; said Resch. &ldquo;And we want to finish first overall in the standings. We are first in goal scoring, first in percentage and tied for first in points. And we root against Montreal and Boston even when they play teams in the Patrick Division.&rdquo;The Islanders enter the second half with only five losses in their first 37 games, a 15 game unbeaten streak and a 10 game unbeaten skein&mdash;and more depth than they are given credit for having.&ldquo;They are a threat to finish with the most points,&rdquo; admitted Bowman. &ldquo;They have 19 straight at home and have good personnel. When someone gets hurt, they have the bodies to replace him.&rdquo;The defense, centering on Denis Potvin, and Dave Lewis on one pair with Gerry Hart and Stefan Persson on the other, has Bob Lorimer, Pat Price and Bert Marshall in backup roles. &ldquo;Moose&rdquo; Marshall has done well in his role as assistant coach.When Trottier missed four games with a bruised shoulder, Richie Hansen stepped in and got six points playing between Bossy and Gillies.The Islanders have the BTG Line, they have Denis Potvin and they have depth and they have that great defense&mdash;all ingredients for a title.&ldquo;You don&rsquo;t win the Stanley Cup in January,&rdquo; warned Bill Torrey, the Islander GM. &ldquo;To this point we should be considered the best team, or one of the best teams. The difference this year is that we have more players who can contribute to the kind of effort needed to produce a record like ours.&rdquo;When the Islanders defense stumbled, or the forwards didn&rsquo;t come back enough, the goaltending of Smith and Resch held up. Only early on, when in uncharacteristic fashion they were bombed 10-7 in Toronto and 8-5 in Atlanta, did things break down.&ldquo;Consistency on defense is vital,&rdquo; says Arbour. &ldquo;Both in goal, from the defensemen, and with the forwards coming back.&rdquo;One of the lesser talked about Islander forwards, left wing Garry Howatt, the toy tiger, is also part of that defense. And, with nine goals he has already surpassed his total of seven he managed all of J977-78. The 26-year-old with the combative nature is hated throughout the NHL, but loved by Nassau Coliseum fans and his mates.At five-foot-nine and 170 he never backs up&mdash;he serves as the Islanders&rsquo; neutralizer whom Arbour sends out to combat opposition intimidators.&ldquo;I just hit everyone is sight,&rdquo; grins Garry. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s part of my job.&rdquo;And a big part of the Islanders goals against record.ISLAND SOUNDS: Mike Bossy&rsquo;s totals after 37 games are awe inspiring. Thirty three goals, 86 in a season and half in the NHL&hellip;Islander color man, Ed Giacomin thinks that if the Islanders can avoid injuries they have good shot at the Cup. He reasons, &ldquo;They have youth, but that youth is matured now, balance, depth and just enough veterans. The ingredients for a title are there, barring unforseen happenings&rdquo;&hellip;At the half way mark the NHL has just three legitimate Cup contenders, Montreal, Boston and the Islanders. &#9632;

f0007-01

Islanders Stingy Defense Key To Success

<div class="byline">&#x2014;BY BILL LIBBY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-011136/4253182-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg" title="f0008-01" width="325" height="457"></div><h2>Comeback Kid&hellip;</h2>WAYNE BIANCHIN has not exactly come along a straight, smooth road in his hockey career. Even as an amateur he was bounced around like an old rubber ball. In one season, the 1971-72 season, he played for three teams&mdash;Calgary, Victoria, and Flin-Flon&mdash;in the Western Canada League. As a professional, it was more of the same. In the 1974-75 season, he played for Johnstown in the North American League, Syracuse and Hershey in the American League, and Pittsburgh in the National League.More critically, Bianchin has had to step to the side of this rough road with serious injuries. His career almost came to a premature conclusion in the summer of 1974 when, at the age of 20, he suffered a broken neck while body-surfing in Hawaii. He spent two years overcoming this, then suffered a cracked back in training camp last season and had to have surgery to repair a ruptured disc. He came back to camp this season and suffered an infected elbow.At 25, he is not the player he was expected to be, but Bianchin feels he&rsquo;s lucky to be playing at all. &ldquo;There were a couple of times I thought I was through, but I never wanted to give up on the game,&rdquo; he says.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-021025/4253175-1-eng-US/f0008-022.jpg" title="f0008-02" width="811" height="903"><figcaption class="caption-body">Wayne Bianchin often wonders if he was meant to play hockey with the number of injuries he has sustained in and out of the sport. But he&rsquo;s a fearless type who thrives on doing whatever he enjoys most. (Photo by Robert Shaver)</figcaption></div>&ldquo;The broken neck came two weeks after I finished my first pro season. I went to Hawaii to vacation and went to the beach to body surf. A big wave picked me up and dropped me hard right on my head, on the bottom in the shallow water. Those big waves can really toss you around and like to tear you apart when they get you in their grip, but this one just dumped me down at a bad angle.&ldquo;I HAD SURGERY and bones in my neck were fused together to strengthen it. After I got the go-ahead I got back in shape and went back to hockey but as it turned out it took me a long time to recover. I had headaches that were almost unbearable and I had to take heavy medication just to tolerate them. For two years the slightest bit of tension or fatigue and I&rsquo;d get the worst sort of headache.&ldquo;I played a couple of seasons without much success, mostly in the minors. When I went to camp in the fall of 1976 I&rsquo;d about made up my mind to give up if I got any more headaches. There&rsquo;s only so much pain a person can take and I figured I had to get away from the game because it created tension and tired me out. But the headaches disappeared, I made the team, and I had a good season.&ldquo;Then I hurt my back, had to have an operation, and missed the first 20 games last season. This was during the pre-season when I just took a heavy check and hit wrong. I was beginning to get discouraged, but when I got back, I got going, and had a pretty good season after all. This season I missed two weeks with my elbow infection. I&rsquo;m starting to wonder if I&rsquo;m meant to survive. I haven&rsquo;t really gotten going this season. Maybe I&rsquo;ve had too many injuries and I&rsquo;ve lost something. But I still think I can play this game.&rdquo;WAYNE IS A FIVE-FOOT-IO, 180-pounder. He is a left-winger with one of the most accurate shots in hockey. He scored 60 goals in 68 games in his final season as an amateur at Flin Flon and was drafted in the second round of the summer of 1973 by Pittsburgh, the 23rd player picked. He scored only 12 goals in 69 games in his rookie campaign, but tallied 24 at Hershey in his third season as a pro, 28 with Pittsburgh in his fourth season, and 20 with the Penguins despite missing 20 games last season.The Penguins have brought in a lot of new players the last two seasons and Wayne is considered a fringe player now, but he hopes he can overcome a slow start to reestablish himself as a regular in the big leagues. He says, &ldquo;The time I spent at Hershey and other towns in the minors my second and third pro seasons while I was trying to come back from my broken neck convinced me the majors was the only place to play. I think I&rsquo;m a major leaguer.&rdquo;His coach, Johnny Wilson, says, &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a gutsy little guy and he plays defense as well as offense, which helps. We&rsquo;d all like to see him make it big.&rdquo;Wayne was born in September of 1953 in the island town of Nanaimo near Vancouver in British Columbia. His father was an iron worker, a tough type of work which did not attract the son. His mother is a lab assistant. He has a sister who is a loan officer in a bank. Wayne married Mary Tyson in September of 1977, they have a house in the suburb of Pittsburgh and are building a summer cottage in Canada.An enthusiastic boxer from his days in a boys club back home, he remains a fearless sort of fellow, who has taken up sailing, scuba-diving, and water-skiiing since his surfing accident. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t surf any more,&rdquo; he admits, laughing. &ldquo;And I stopped skiiing when I got into competition and found myself trying too hard and taking too many chances. But you can&rsquo;t live life without taking some chances,&rdquo; he concludes. &#9632;

f0008-01

Hockey Ad Lib

<div class="byline">BY TOM HENSHAW</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-03869/4253213-1-eng-US/f0008-032.jpg" title="f0008-03" width="537" height="902"><figcaption class="caption-body">AL SIMS&hellip;Stuck It Out</figcaption></div>BOSTON&mdash;Nearly four years after the defense pairing of Al Sims and Bobby Orr was broken up for good, Sims seems to be finally emerging from the shadow of No. 4.Since he was called up from Rochester in mid-October to meet an emergency on the Boston blueline, Sims has played his way into a regular spot on defense for the Bruins.&ldquo;Right now I&rsquo;m going to say he&rsquo;s as good as any defenseman in the league,&rdquo; said coach Don Cherry, who has a habit of saying such things a few days before sending the man down.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s here "because he has the heart to want to be here. There&rsquo;s only one man in this game who has had more disappointments. That&rsquo;s me. I stuck it out and I&rsquo;m coaching. Simmer stuck it out and he&rsquo;s playing in the big leagues.&rdquo;And Cherry meant it this time for when the time came that seven defensemen were a luxury instead of a necessity, it was Dennis O&rsquo;Brien, not Sims, who went into limbo in Rochester.Sims, now 25, was the Bruins&rsquo; third round draft choice (47th overall) from Cornwall in the 1973 draft. He surprised everyone by making the big club as Orr&rsquo;s partner on defense. Orr&rsquo;s caddy, some called him.For two years the NHL was a piece of cake to Al Sims. Then Orr&rsquo;s knees gave way and he was out for long periods of time. Sims was on his own. He couldn&rsquo;t do it. He went down to Rochester, then back up to Boston, up and down like a yo-yo.&ldquo;It was difficult playing with someone besides Bobby,&rdquo; Sims conceded the other day.&ldquo;For one thing, you couldn&rsquo;t just pass it over to the other defenseman and expect him to take it down the ice for you all the time. He couldn&rsquo;t take three guys with him and then pass it over to me and I&rsquo;d have open ice.&ldquo;With Bobby, it was automatic. I&rsquo;d stand up, he&rsquo;d go back and get the puck, and we&rsquo;d be out of our end. It was practically nothing for me to handle the puck. I hardly ever handled it. Now I was responsible for moving the puck out of our end.&ldquo;At first it was difficult because I had to start handling the puck. I was making mistakes. That&rsquo;s were Rochester did me a lot of good.&rdquo;Playing with Orr hurt Sims&rsquo; offensive game, too.&ldquo;I was under strict instructions to stay back when I played with Bobby,&rdquo; said Sims. &ldquo;He and Carol Vadnais were the only defensemen who had the green light to go across the other team&rsquo;s blueline.&ldquo;My defensive game was pretty solid. That&rsquo;s all 4 played for two or three years. When I did get sent to Rochester all of a sudden I found out that there is an offensive side to defense, too.&ldquo;Duane Rupp helped me with my shot in Rochester. I think I&rsquo;ve developed a pretty good slap shot. He had a lot of confidence in me. I was out on the ice in situations where he needed goals. I learned a lot about passing the puck. It&rsquo;s worked out well with me.&rdquo;Armed with his new offensive punch, Sims had eight goals for the Bruins before Christmas. He had nine assists, too. His shot was on net, leaving rebounds and giving teammates an opportunity to lip the puck.&ldquo;Confidence is a great thing,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;You have to have it to play in the NHL. I think I&rsquo;m regaining it now. I&rsquo;m confident I can play in this league. That&rsquo;s the difference. I&rsquo;m not worried about making mistakes anymore.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not a question of whether I&rsquo;ll be sent to Rochester or benched when I make a mistake. Il&rsquo;s just, &lsquo;You&rsquo;re going to be out there because we know you can do the job.&rsquo; It makes it a lot easier. You&rsquo;re relaxed. You&rsquo;re shooting berter. You&rsquo;re making better plays. Confidence is a great thing.&rdquo;&ldquo;You can tell he&rsquo;s getting confidence,&rdquo; said coach Cherry. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s hitting people. He&rsquo;s playing recklessly but not foolishly. It used to be when he wasn&rsquo;t sure of himself he&rsquo;d try to finesse it around the blueline. He&rsquo;s not afraid to make a mistake now. That&rsquo;s what confidence does for you.&rdquo;The new found confidence has enabled Sims to give up the idea of &ldquo;the Halfway House.&rdquo; That&rsquo;s the home he said he was thinking of buying in Albany, N.Y., halfway between what used to be his two jobs in Boston and Rochester.WHAT&rsquo;S BRUIN: Peter McNab scored the 100th goal of his career as a member of the Bruins in an appropriate place, the Aud in Buffalo. He came to the Bruins in the summer of &lsquo;76 after the Sabres had given up on him. &#9632;

f0008-03

Sims’ Maturation Earned Spot With Bruins’ Defense

<div class="byline">BY BILL FLEISCHMAN</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0009-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-011095/4253244-1-eng-US/f0009-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">KEVIN McCarthy&hellip; Paid Price Of Others&rsquo; Mistakes</figcaption></div>PHILADELPHIA&mdash;The Flyers&rsquo; three-year quest is over&mdash;Dennis Ververgaert is finally wearing a Philadelphia uniform.It was no secret the Flyers were seriously seeking the sturdy, potentially high-scoring right winger. However, earlier this season, GM Keith Allen accused Philadelphia&rsquo;s hockey writers of dreaming up the latest deal that would bring Ververgaert to Philadelphia. Alien&rsquo;s accusation was the low point of a traditionally respectful relationship with a press corps which appreciates Allen&rsquo;s honesty and cooperativeness.In retrospect, Allen was trying to ease the pressure on players like Rick LaPointe who were continually mentioned as Vancouver-bound for Ververgaert. Right position, wrong player. Instead of LaPointe, the Flyers shipped defenseman Kevin McCarthy and right winger Drew Callander to the Canucks.Everyone associated with the Flyers regretted seeing McCarthy leave. The Flyers&rsquo; first-round draft choice from a year ago has a Bobby Clarke-sized heart and is a superb offensive player. McCarthy&rsquo;s biggest problems with the Flyers this season were (1) Behn Wilson stepping in as one of the club&rsquo;s top four defensemen and (2) lack of size. At five-foot-11 and 190-pounds, McCarthy frequently had trouble budging the opposition&rsquo;s redwood-sized forwards.Tip to Harry Neale: try McCarthy at right wing or center. His playmaking and checking might help the Canucks more at a forward spot than at defense.Canucks&rsquo; GM Jake Milford was interested in another Flyers&rsquo; right winger, but settled for Callander. The Flyers&rsquo; second-round draft pick in 1976, Callander scored 40 goals last season for the AHL-champion Maine Mariners, but failed to dislodge a veteran early this season. But Callander, a six-foot-one, 185-pounder, can honestly say he wasn&rsquo;t given an extended look in Philadelphia. If he plays regularly in Vancouver, he&rsquo;ll likely help the Canucks.But, back to Ververgaert. Why is the third player chosen in the lucrative 1973 amateur draft so appealing? One glance at the Flyers&rsquo; offensive figures reveals the reason Keith Allen pursued the six-foot, 190-pounder whose 37 goals three years ago are one short of the Vancouver club record.Beyond the Bill Barber-Bobby Clarke-Reggie Leach line, only Rick MacLeish has been scoring a sufficient number of goals. Referring to McCarthy, Allen said:&ldquo;I really appreciated his attitude, but Ververgaert is a guy who should get 30-35 goals for us. He&rsquo;s got a hard shot, and is tough. It&rsquo;s a matter of priorities&mdash;we desperately needed a (right) winger.&rdquo;&ldquo;Maybe Kevin has to pay the price for some of the players who have not played well,&rdquo; said coach Bob McCammon, who stunned McCarthy with the trade news minutes before the Flyers boarded a flight to St. Louis. (Ververgaert made his Flyers&rsquo; debut in St. Louis, where the Flyers blundered their way to an embarrassing 6-3 loss.Predictably, Ververgaert was delighted to tear up his textbook-sized Canucks&rsquo;s travel itinerary, file away memories of the Seattle airport where the Canucks changed flights for most United States games, and head to a team with a winning tradition.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m very excited, I know I&rsquo;m going to a very good team,&rdquo; Ververgaert said before the loss to St. Louis. (Later &ldquo;Vervey&rdquo; had to be saying &ldquo;What&rsquo;s going on? Even the Canucks beat these guys.&rdquo;)&ldquo;I&rsquo;d sort of given up the idea of Philadelphia. I thought after it (trade) fell through last time, it would be somewhere else.&rdquo;In Philadelphia, Ververgaert joins Bob Dailey, his former Vancouver teammate and fellow first-round draft choice. Since he was swapped to the Flyers, Dailey has been recommending Ververgaert to anyone who would listen.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a very good hockey player and a really good guy,&rdquo; Dailey said. &ldquo;I hate to see anybody traded, but he&rsquo;s really going to help us.&rdquo;Dailey is glad he&rsquo;ll be around to see Ververgaert&rsquo;s contributions. Thanks to quick thinking by Behn Wilson and Flyers&rsquo; physical therapist Matt DiPaolo, Dailey was prevented from swallowing his tongue following a check by Detroit&rsquo;s Perry Miller, The crash to the Detroit Olympia ice did leave Dailey with a mild concussion. It also left him home to be with wife Carolyn when she gave birth to the couple&rsquo;s first son, Drew, a few days later. &#9632;

f0009-01

Flyers Grab Ververgaert To Lift Right Wing

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0010-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-011123/4253275-1-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., Montreal, Canada H3G 1R7<h2>Change Rivalries With Conference Play</h2>I would like to inquire about why Montreal and Minnesota remain in their respective divisions. The Canadiens have literally (sic) clinched their divisional title already, while Minnesota does not really have a chance to finish anywhere but last for years to come. If these teams were to switch places, there would be two divisions with strong teams and two with mediocre teams.If this were accomplished, two &ldquo;new&rdquo; conferences could be formed by combining the Adams and Patrick Divisions (Conference A) and the Norris and Smythe Divisions (Conference B). The teams from the two conferences would see little or no competition with the other conference until playoff time and stronger inter-divisional rivalries would form.Finally, a review board could be organized to reassign teams that greatly improve or decline in ability. A balance of strength creates strong attendance.M.J. GOLDSMITH, New York, N.Y.<h2>Give Others Time Like Montreal</h2>In the Dec. 15th issue of THE HOCKEY NEWS, there is a letter in Fan Forum saying to make Canadiens work for the top. I totally disagree because take a look at the other teams in their division&mdash;Los Angeles, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Washington&mdash;all of them are young.Give the rest of the teams a few more years and they will be like Montreal.BILLY DAOUSSIS, Montreal, Que.<h2>Buffalo Should Not Trade Perreault To Habs</h2>In response to a letter by Peter Stoy in the Dec. 22 issue, Mr. Stoy remarked that (Gil) Perreault should be traded to Montreal and that this would be better for hockey.In order for a team to be big at the box office, it must have a public attraction. For example, when Boston had Bobby Orr attendance was tops, but after he went to Chicago an average of 5,000 people per game decided to stay home. What would happen in Buffalo if they lost Perreault?Peter Stoy has a lot of guts in writing his opinion in lieu of so many fans saying that the Canadiens should spread out their talent around the league.RICK HOOGENDOORN, Vancouver, B.C.<h2>Still Holds Hope Wings Will Be Strong</h2>I&rsquo;ve been a Detroit Red Wing fan for years and I&rsquo;ve seen some of the worst hockey 1&rsquo;11 ever want to see, but Ted Lindsay and Bobby Kromm turned the team around last year and made them accepted through the league.This year&rsquo;s a different story, though. The Wings are locked in fourth place in the Norris Division, in a tie with the lowly Washington Caps. Recently Terry Harper was sent to the Kansas City farm team and Dennis Hextall is stilting out waiting to be traded.I never considered Hextall a very good defenseman, but Hextall was a great asset to the team and I would consider him the best faceoff man in the game. Now the Wings are hurting badly in the faceoff department and until they start winning more than they lose, it&rsquo;s going to be a long season.I would like to mention that the real reason Hextall is on the trading block is because he and Kromm have never seen eye to eye on anything and during a game this year Hextrail mouthed off to Kromm in front of all the players.Whatever happens I&rsquo;m still very confident of a second place finish and a good showing in the playoffs.JACK NIDA, Southfield, Mich.<h2>NHL Set-Up &gt;Worst He&rsquo;s Seen</h2>The NHL has the worst divisional setup I&rsquo;ve ever seen. So I&rsquo;m writing to THE HOCKEY NEWS to suggest better divisions. If you check the standings you&rsquo;ll see how close the division races are.Smythe: Vancouver, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Detroit; Patrick: Montreal, Boston, Islanders, Flames; Adams: Washington, Minnesota, St. Louis, Colorado; Norris: Toronto, Rangers, Philadelphia, Buffalo, Los Angeles.GEORGE GEORGEOPOULOS, Vancouver, B.C.<h2>Bruins Should Learn From Past Mistakes</h2>After coming home from the Bruins 4-1 masterpiece win over the Rangers at Madison Square Garden, I kept asking myself, &ldquo;Is this the man the Bruins are in no hurry to re-sign as coach?&rdquo;Don Cherry has got to be hockey&rsquo;s best coach and as a Bruin fan I feel he should remain the best coach&mdash;in Boston.One would think that the Bruins would have more heart after their recent disgraceful dealings with Bobby Orr, Phil Esposito and Gregg Sheppard to name a few.Mr. Mooney, there is a saying &ldquo;he who doesn&rsquo;t learn from the past is condemned to repeat it,&rdquo; so please learn from the past. It&rsquo;s been hard enough on Bruins&rsquo; fans to lose Orr and Espo, please don&rsquo;t make us gulp reading the paper with the headline &ldquo;Cherry Bolts Bruins For More Bucks.&rdquo;WARREN ROSENBERG, New York, N.Y.<h2>What&rsquo;s Wrong With Maple Leafs?</h2>After 33 games, the Leafs had only 34 points, a miserable .515 percentage, but I think, with a few changes, the Leafs could become the contender they should be.I suggest to employ a fourth line regularly (possibly Boudreau centering for Anderson and Boutette). Monahan or Stamler could replace Boutette on the checking line with Jones and Butler. The biggest change I would make is to trade Williams and Hutchison for a classy left winger (for Sittler and McDonald) and another defensive defenseman. They could throw in a second round draft choice and pick up someone like John Tonelli or Gerry Hart of the Islanders.GM Jim Gregory and coach Roger Neilson seem to ignore the penalty minutes Williams and Hutchison have compiled (291 in 33 games) saying they don&rsquo;t mind when it&rsquo;s a good penalty. The rough and tumble style Toronto adopted last year isn&rsquo;t paying off and now is the time to change tactics.KEN WALTON, Chatham, Ont.<h2>Use Set Lines For NHL All Star Team</h2>During February 1979, the All Star series will be played between NHL and Soviet hockey players. One of the major problems involved in selecting a team is that a collection of All Stars play as single individuals rather than as a cohesive team.The Team Canada coach might reduce this problem by choosing established club lines. With this in mind, I would like to see the following lineup chosen.Left Wingers: Clark Gillies, Steve Shutt, Bob Gainey, and Pat Hickey. Centers: Bryan Trottier, Guy Chouinard, Darryl Sittier and Ulf Nilsson. Right Wingers: Mike Bossy, Guy Lafleur, Lanny McDonald, and Anders Hedberg. Defensemen: Larry Robinson, Guy Lapointe, Dennis Potvin, Borje Salming, and Brad Park. Goalies: Don Edwards and John Davidson.This team combines a balanced offense and defense with the virtues of speed, finess, and muscle.S. WONG, Vancouver, B.C. &#9632;

f0010-01

FAN FORUM

<h2>Why Not Adopt Universal System?</h2>The arguments about league alignments seem Io be endless. Why not just adopt the system which is universal, except in North America, and align the 23 NHL and WHA teams into three divisions, with promotion and relegation al each year&rsquo;s end?On current merit this would give the following: 1st Division: Canadiens, Bruins, Islanders, Rangers, Flames, Maple Leafs, Flyers and Black Hawks. 2nd Division: Kings, Sabres, Canucks, Red Wings, Nordiques, Whalers, Oilers, Stingers. 3rd Division: Penguins, North Stars, Blues, Capitals, Rockies, Jets, Bulls.Each team would meet those in their division 12 times for an 84 match schedule; the more frequent meetings would revive the old fierce inter-club competitiveness which is now lacking, and eliminate unbalanced schedules.As for the Stanlev Cup, here again take a leaf from the rest of the world, and have this open to all clubs, the above 23 plus the nine leaders of the minors. The 32 names drawn from a hat, one-match sudden-death draws until the semis and finals which would be as now on a best-of-seven basis.We&rsquo;re supposed to be conservative to the core here in England, but I guess we&rsquo;re dyed-in-the-wool progressives compared with the myopic bosses of the NHL.PETER POZZOL1, Enfield Lock, England &#9632;

LETTER OF THE WEEK

<div class="byline">BY CHUCK MOODY</div>PITTSBURGH&mdash;Left wing Wayne Bianchin of the Pittsburgh Penguins was one of the most popular players wearing a Penguin uniform his first season in the National Hockey League. He was Pittsburgh&rsquo;s second round selection in the 1973 amateur draft from the Flin Flon Bombers of the Western Canadian Hockey League. After missing the first six games of the NHL season with a hairline fracture of the ankle, and playing himself back into shape in four games in the minors, Bianchin made the jump directly to the big league.Waytne won the Pittsburgh fans over, especially the younger female ones, with his hustle and desire Chants of &ldquo;We want Wayne,&rdquo; could be heard in the Civic Arena whenever they thought Bianchin wasn&rsquo;t getting enough ice time.Bianchin scored 12 goals and added 13 assists during the 1973-74 season, and his NHL future looked very bright. But, his promising career almost came to a tragic end, when Bianchin suffered a broken neck in an off-season body surfing accident in Hawaii. He displaced two vertebrae in the mishap, and it has been a continuous struggle in the NHL ever since for Wayne Bianchin.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t get tired of talking about the neck injury,&rdquo; said Bianchin. &ldquo;I can sit here and say it&rsquo;s pretty much one-hundred percent healed. I don&rsquo;t say it&rsquo;s fully healed, but it&rsquo;s about as good as anybody could ever ask for.&rdquo;The season following the surfing accident, Bianchin miraculously recovered enough to play 25 hockey games. Those 25 games were spread over four teams, however, with only two being played for Pittsburgh. The other 23 games were played in the minor leagues.During the next hockey season, 1975-76, Bianchin seemed well on the road to recovery, when he scored 24 goals and assisted on 22 others in 54 games in the American Hockey League. He also managed to play 14 games for the Penguins that season.Bianchin made it back to the NHL all the way the next year, when he scored 28 goals and missed playing only one game the entire season for Pittsburgh. He received the club&rsquo;s unsung hero award, and was the Penguins&rsquo; candidate for the Masterton Trophy, for dedication and perseverance to hockey.Injuries, have continued to follow Bianchin throughout his hockey career. A pre-season back operation for a ruptured disc kept him out of action for the first part of last season, but he still managed to score 20 goals in 61 games. An infected elbow slowed him down at the start of this year&rsquo;s training camp.Bianchin was asked if he thought team management considered him injury prone.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think so,&rdquo; Bianchin said. &ldquo;Let&rsquo;s just say I&rsquo;m not really sure they&rsquo;re confident that I have another 10 years playing time up the road.&rdquo;Bianchin, who has one more option year left on his contract, has had to sit out one game this season because of the Penguins&rsquo; abundance of players.&ldquo;I guess I might have benefited from sitting out that game,&rdquo; Bianchin said. &ldquo;But, obviously you want to play every game that you&rsquo;re able to.&rdquo;Bianchin sat out a game in Minnesota, but came back the next game to score two goals and add an assist against Los Angeles.&ldquo;By sitting out in Minnesota, I may have been a little bit hungrier,&rdquo; said Bianchin after his two goal game. &ldquo;I knew I had to produce. Right now, it&rsquo;s a numbers game, and I&rsquo;m one of the alternating players.&ldquo;It would be different if we were losing, but because we are winning, sitting out doesn&rsquo;t bother me that much. Just as long as we keep winning, I can&rsquo;t complain, as long as I&rsquo;m sitting out only one game every five or whatever it&rsquo;s going to be.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think management wants to send anybody down to the minors because everybody&rsquo;s sort of happy here. We&rsquo;re winning and they don&rsquo;t want to rock the boat.&rdquo;Penguin coach Johnny Wilson has been playing four lines lately, and Bianchin sees that as the key to Pittsburgh&rsquo;s recent good fortune.&ldquo;I think going to four lines has been the key to our success,&rdquo; said Bianchin. &ldquo;With four fresh lines, we can wear down most teams in this league. All four of the lines are good checkers, too. If you could say we have a system, it would have to be tight checking. Coach Wilson has really stressed that.&ldquo;With all the depth we have around here, this season, I just want to stay healthy, and be a part of it,&rdquo; Bianchin said. &#9632;

Bianchin’s Career Constant Struggle To Defeat Injuries

<div class="byline">BY BOB VERDI</div>CHICAGO&mdash;&ldquo;The Black Hawks are like any other team. They want to trade you a rowboat for a battleship. The trouble is that they sure do have a lot of rowboats.&rdquo;That was a National Hockey League general manager talking about Chicago&rsquo;s enigmatic boys of winter, about Bob Pulford, about the whole scene over at West Madison Street, which is not good.Empty seats, Empty nets, Empty looks. The Black Hawks are struggling, the Black Hawks are stagnant, the Black Hawks are a first place team which doesn&rsquo;t belong there in the first place.And what&rsquo;s most discouraging for the faithful is this: that the immediate outlook for new faces, new life, new spirit through the most conventional means&mdash;a trade&mdash;is unlikely for the reason the man said a few paragraphs ago. The Black Hawks simply haven&rsquo;t got that many salable commodities.On the top three request list of opposing clubs, almost without exception, are defenseman Phil Russell, defenseman Doug Wilson, center Ivan Boldirev. All talented, all healthy, all under 30.A few other teams have nibbled at John Marks and Bob Murray, and Grant Mulvey is worth the occasional telephone call. But, for the most part, the remaining players&mdash;&rdquo;rowboats&rdquo; is a somewhat insulting term&mdash;are like a new car when you drive it out of the showroom. It&rsquo;s worth more to you than anybody else. Or, as Branch Rickey used to say about his Dodgers, &ldquo;most teams will find that players are seldom valued as highly in any other field as they are at their own field.&rdquo;That&rsquo;s not to say goalie Tony Esposito isn&rsquo;t the best in his field or that Keith Magnuson doesn&rsquo;t lead the world in heart or that Stan Jikita isn&rsquo;t an institution.But as attorney Alan Eagleson mentioned the other day, &ldquo;If you&rsquo;re "the Buffalo Sabres with 22-year-old Don Edwards signed for five years at $100,000 and there&rsquo;s 35-year-old Tony Esposito unsigned and asking for $300,000-plus, what do you do? You stay with Edwards, even if Esposito&rsquo;s better.&rdquo;That is the dilemma of Pulford, general manager. The only three players everybody else wants are players he wants, too. To build with. If you trade a Russell or a Wilson, you pluck your defense of youth. If you trade a Boldirev, you deprive the NHL&rsquo;s third-to-last offense of its best goal-scorer.&ldquo;And who do you replace them with?&rdquo; Pulford reasoned. &ldquo;I have some players on this team I don&rsquo;t want to trade, but none that I wouldn&rsquo;t if the right deal came. It hasn&rsquo;t come yet. I admit that. We haven&rsquo;t gotten lucky yet. But I will not make a change just for the sake of making a change.&rdquo;Pulford can attempt to fortify the periphery areas. For instance, he&rsquo;s talking now to the Minnesota North Stars about Mike Fidler, a left wing with goal scoring potential. But the North Stars want a body plus Hawk rights to a World Hockey Association player, Terry Ruskowski.Pulford probably will not make the deal. He has made for in one and one-half years, perhaps too few. One, Dick Redmond to St. Louis for Pierre Plante, was no bargain. Plante is gone, and Redmond since was exchanged in Atlanta for Jean Pronovost, a 40-goal scorer. Ouch.Other transactions&mdash;Pit Martin, Dennis Hull&mdash;have brought future draft choices. But with the team wallowing as it is, the future is now for the Hawks, and for Pulford, too. His contract is on its last year.Certainly, his problems are largely inherited. For several seasons before his arrival, the Hawks treated trades and the draft with a laissez faire attitude. They survived, though, with assets on hand.But the assets are dwindling. Last year, in a revival that earned Pulford coaching kudos, the Hawks added 20 points to their total. But four, five, six teams have since bypassed the Hawks in quality, and effort.And herein rests the problem for Pulford, the coach. The Hawks, at best probably a .500 team, are not even playing .500. They aren&rsquo;t performing to their capabilities but coach Pulford is telling general manager Pulford to be patient.&ldquo;1 really believe that this club has the talent to finish with 90 points,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I definitely think they can produce if they play hard. We need time.&rdquo;Pulford has the patience of Job. He must hope that it does not cost him his job. &#9632;

Trades Not Answer For Stagnant Black Hawks

<div class="byline">Bill Fleischman&#x2019;s</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-011096/4253378-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg" title="f0012-01" width="328" height="464"></div><h2>New Year&rsquo;s Resolutions</h2>SOME NEW YEAR&rsquo;S resolutions, revolutions and solutions&hellip;Resolved, that:&mdash;Don Cherry will become general manager-coach of the Buffalo Sabres, where he will continue winning and entertaining.&mdash;The Montreal Canadiens will beat the New York Islanders for a fourth consecutive Stanley Cup. But, next season, the Canadiens will not win the Cup.&mdash;The NHL and WHA will finally complete their merger, or whatever the lawyers prefer to call it. Personnel help will be provided the St. Louis Blues and Colorado Rockies, creating one relatively strong league. Speaking of personnel, it is hoped the WHA&rsquo;s statisticians will be hired and they&rsquo;ll bring along the copying machine that makes their weekly stats a pleasure to read.&mdash;Pat Quinn will get an NHL head coaching job, Terry Crisp should get one, and Bob McCammon will return as Flyers&rsquo; coach.&mdash;Harold Ballard will continue having a rollicking good time in his old age. Unfortunately, he&rsquo;ll also continue showing little compassion for others&rsquo; feelings.<h2>NHL May Realize Errors</h2>&mdash;THE NHL ALL STARS and Soviets will play great hockey during their three-game series next month, but the event will be generally ignored by the U.S. media. Then maybe, finally, NHL officials will look at declining attendance and apathy among major media representatives and admit, &ldquo;We must do doing something wrong.&rdquo;&mdash;One thing the NHL is doing wrong is a lenient justice system, on the ice and at league headquarters. If referees would crack down on holding, interference and excessive verbal abuse from players early in games, hockey could be played as it was designed&mdash;as a first-class sporting and entertainment value.&mdash;People who don&rsquo;t cover hockey regularly snicker at the punishment handed out for stick-swinging. &ldquo;You get 10 games for hitting a guy on the head with a stick,&rdquo; said one cynic. &ldquo;If you kill him, it&rsquo;s 15 games.&rdquo; Too many respectable and influential sports i writers and electronic media people just don&rsquo;t take hockey seriously,&mdash;Speaking of electronic media, all writers should resolve not to conduct any more interviews for those lazy tape-recorder toters who merely shove their microphones up a coach&rsquo;s nostrils and never ask a question. This gripe may not seem important to those not in the business, but remember: many of those taped radio interviews you hear are brought to you courtesy of your favorite hockey writer.<h2>Writers Should Pick Stars</h2>&mdash;WHEN THE NHL is wondering about its mistakes, the latest All Star balloting should be worth at least one lively executive session. Not only was the early voting preposterous in several cases, the totals were humiliating corppared to the NBA poll. Involving the fans is a nice idea, but they just aren&rsquo;t objective. I saw two ballots i that listed Joe Watson as a write-in candidate at defense. Watson&rsquo;s career was ended by a broken leg early in November. When the players or coaches decide All Star teams, politics enter the voting, The Professional Hockey Writers Association has an excellent record in selecting the NHL&rsquo;s major All Star teams and award winners. It&rsquo;s suggested the PHWA also handle the assignment for i the next Soviet series.&mdash;Finally, Fred Shero will turn over the New York Rangers&rsquo; coaching duties to Mike Nykoluk and then disappear into the Catskill Mountains where he&rsquo;ll only accept calls from Sonny Werblin once a month. Shero will also persuade the NHL to transfer the Rangers to the Smythe Division next season where they will win the pennant by 40 points. &#9632;

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HOCKEY WORLD

ATLANTA&mdash;The Atlanta Flames, battling to remain in the thick of the National Hockey League&rsquo;s toughest division, the Patrick, enjoyed a rare weekend off after an equally rare occurrence of late, an undefeated week.Not since the opening weeks of the season when the Flames stunned the NHL by reeling off 12 games (10-0-2) without a defeat, have the Atlantans been able to put a winning week together.Even so, the Flames, who opened with a road victory in Toronto and then had to rally for a home ice tie with Pittsburgh, remained in last place in their division, two points behind Philadelphia and the New York Rangers, with the Rangers holding two games in hand.After Hal Phillipoff staked the Flames to a 1-0 lead in Toronto, Willi Plett continued his fine play of late with a pair of goals which gave Atlanta command of the contest. For Plett, they were his 13th and 14th goals of the season as he appears close to regaining the form which earned him rookie of the year honors in 1976-77. Last year Plett was among the numerous Flames shooters who took nearly all season to get untracked and the native of Paraguay, South America finished with a disappointing 22 goals.Jean Pronovost also kept his consistent scoring pace for the Flames after returning to the lineup from a preseason injury. Prony notched his 15th goal in a little over 30 games, to put the Flames into a 4-0 lead before Dan Bouchard lost his shutout in the final period.In the Omni against the Penguins, the Flames were the ones who fell behind early and trailed 3-0 in the middle frame before Red Laurence cut into the lead with his fourth goal of the season.Dave Shand brought the Flames within one goal early in the final 20 minutes and then Eric Vail notched his 18th of the season to earn the tie.Though the Flames will be home for their next five matches, they won&rsquo;t be expecting to have an easy time of it. Buffalo leads the visitors into the Omni followed by all three division rivals, Islanders, Rangers and Flyers in that order. Chicago, leaders of the Smythe Division, complete the home stand.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-02933/4253409-1-eng-US/f0012-022.jpg" title="f0012-02" width="545" height="1315"><figcaption class="caption-body">WILLI PLETT&hellip;Nets Winner</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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Atlanta Enjoying Respite After Rare Unbeaten Week

<div class="byline">BY NORM MacLEAN</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-03712/4253478-1-eng-US/f0013-032.jpg" title="f0013-03" width="805" height="2163"><figcaption class="caption-body">ALEKSANDR MALTSEV &hellip;Out With Broken Wrist</figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-04627/4253485-1-eng-US/f0013-042.jpg" title="f0013-04" width="130" height="135"></div>NEW YORK&mdash;The Soviet Union National team is practicing on a rink much smaller than the usual rink used by the Central Red Army.&ldquo;In order to familarize our players with the conditions we will face in New York in February we have arranged the side boards six feet smaller in width than usual,&rdquo; said National team coach Viktor Tikhonov.The Soviet Nationals meet the NHL All Stars in the NHL Challenge Cup series on February 8, 10 and 11 at New York&rsquo;s Madison Square Garden. The size of the Garden rink is 200 &times; 85, which is standard in the NHL, except for facilities built more than two decades ago before the present size had been set.Most European rinks are 12 feet wider and 10 feet longer than the NHL standard. The Russians have cut that 12 feet in half, and after a gradual familarization with that size, will cut it back still further so that the Soviet team will be better able to accept the &ldquo;smallness&rdquo; of the Garden rink.&ldquo;The small rinks in North America are the biggest problem we face in playing against the NHL,&rdquo; says Tikhonov. &ldquo;It makes sense for us to try and get our players used to the different size and to gear our passing to the reduced area. In the past, NHL teams have jammed up our offense because of the smallness of the rinks&mdash;and by putting checks on our wings.&rdquo;The Soviet Union, and most European teams play a five man game based on skating and passing.&ldquo;There are quite a few NHL defensemen who couldn&rsquo;t make it in Europe because they can&rsquo;t motor fast enough,&rdquo; observed Eddie Johnstone, the New York Rangers right wing. Johnstone played with the NHL&rsquo;s representative in the Izvestia Tournament just concluded in Moscow.&ldquo;As far as pure speed is concerned, Helmut Balderis is the fastest player I have seen,&rdquo; said Johnstone. &ldquo;I think they have developed plays for him. He seems to skate a pattern like a wide receiver in football without looking back for the puck. The center shoots the puck to him and he turns at a certain spot and looks back for it, just like football. They circle and try to windup and come out almost as a five man group back in their own end all the time, especially on power plays.&rdquo;In another development, the Soviets may be without the services of the versatile Aleksandr Maltsev, who plays both center and wing&mdash;and usually has great success working with Balderis and Sergei Kapustin. Maltsev is out with a broken wrist&mdash;and even if it is healed in time for the Challenge Cup games, his loss of practice time may mitigate against his playing in the New York games. In addition, youthful Boris Alexandrov has been banished for excessive drinking, forcing multiple line changes.The Soviet Wings, the third place team in the Soviet first division, have defeated Minnesota 8-5 and been tied by the Philadelphia Flyers 4-4. Bobby Clarke of the Flyers scored two goals in the final three minutes to manage the tie.The Flyers captain was impressed with the Wings, saying, &ldquo;they are better than the Army team we beat here in 1976 (4-1). They skate just as well, but they are prepared to take the bumps, hit back and play the game more our style.The Wings had listed goalie Alexander Sidelnikov, defenseman Yuri Turin and forwards Juri Lebedev, Vladimir Kovin and Vladimir Rasko as candidates for the Nationals. Sidelnikov, a trial horse type veteran, did not play in the first two Wings games, being replaced by highly touted Vladimir Myshkin.On defense, Victor Khatulev has been outstanding and might force some consideration from the Nationals. Up front. Lebedev and Kovin are still in the running, but Sergei Starikov and Alexander Skvortsov have played well and will get looked at. Skvortsov has four goals in the Wings first two games, playing center on a line with Kovin and Mikhail Varnakov.&ldquo;Myshkin is rated as the number two goalie in Russia behind Tretiak, enthused Wings&rsquo; coach Igor Tuzik. &ldquo;And Skvortsov has been flying, combining very well.&rdquo;Marcel Pelletier, the Flyers&rsquo; director of player personnel and a former NHL goalie cautioned, &ldquo;Before we consider Myshkin as another Tretiak, let&rsquo;s see how he handles pressure situations at the end of a game. He gave up two goals in the last three minutes to us&mdash;and should have been able to smother the puck on the first goal. He has the &lsquo;reflexes, but I&rsquo;m not sure he is the man to challenge Tretiak.&rdquo;Clarke also assessed the Soviet as &ldquo;still having something to learn in handling gang attacks and six man situations in the final minute. But, they learn fast and they&rsquo;ll figure it out, just as they have learned almost everything else incredibly fast.&rdquo;</div><div style="clear: both;"></div>This is the second of a series dealing with the Soviet Nationals and the NHL Stars for their three-game showdown in the super Challenge Cup series Feb. 8, 10 and 11 in New York&rsquo;s Madison Square Garden. &#9632;

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Soviets Practicing On Smaller Rink For Test With NHL

NEW YORK&mdash;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-011051/4253447-1-eng-US/f0013-012.jpg" title="f0013-01" width="560" height="737"><figcaption class="caption-body">PAT HICKEY&hellip;Top Vote-getter</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-02840/4253440-1-eng-US/f0013-022.jpg" title="f0013-02" width="551" height="731"><figcaption class="caption-body">ANDERS HEDBERG&hellip;Passed Lafleur</figcaption></div>Amid charges being hurled about ballot box stuffing, members of the New York Rangers continued to dominate the All Star voting for the Challenge Cup series between the National Hockey League and the Soviet National team.In fact, the Rangers were virtually running away with four of the five positions being voted on by the fans in the NHL-Wilkinson Sword balloting being conducted in all 17 NHL cities The Chicago Black Hawks weren&rsquo;t far behind as hockey people pointed fingers at the two cities claiming fans have been pressured into voting for their hockey favorites while other NHL cities appeared to be complacent about it all and were not casting votes for their players.Four Rangers&mdash;left wing Pat Hickey, defenseman Ron Greschner, center Ulf Nilsson and right wing Anders Hedberg&mdash;had jumped into the voting lead after four weeks of balloting.Hickey, who has been the leading vote-getter since it all began, had polled 53,332, more than double Steve Shutt&rsquo;s total. Hedberg had moved ahead of Montreal&rsquo;s Guy Lafleur with 42,013 votes as compared to 39,029 for Lafleur. At center, Nilsson was over 10,000 voles ahead of Chicago&rsquo;s Ivan Boldirev and on defense, Greschner had regained the lead in the balloting from Denis Potvin of the Islanders with 41,696 votes. Even Chicago&rsquo;s Phil Russel moved past Potvin.In goal, Tony Esposito of the Black Hawks was No. 1 with 40,279 votes, double that of Ken Dryden of Montreal.With the closing date approaching, it seemed ironic that players like Shutt, Dryden, Potvin, Bryan Trottier, Mike Bossy, Clark Gillies, Bobby Clarke, Marcel Dionne, Brad Park and Guy Lapointe were hopelessly out of the running and would have to be added to the NHL All Star team by coach Scotty Bowman to even appear in the three-game series against the Soviets.Under the voting system, each NHL team received 200,000 ballots. Hundreds of thousands of other ballots are also available at retail stores throughout the United States and Canada. The balloting; which will end Jan. 14, will determine the starting players at forward and on defense. The top votegetter among the goaltenders will be guaranteed a position on the squad, however, All Star coach Bowman has the option of starting anyone of the team&rsquo;s goalies. The All Star Challenge Cup series between the NHL and the Soviet National team will be played Feb. 8, 10 and 11 at Madison Square Garden in New York.Here is the results of the first four weeks of balloting:LEFT WING: 1. Pat Hickey (N.Y. Rangers) 53,332; 2. Steve Shutt (Montreal 19,641; 3. Clark Gillies (N.Y. Islanders) 17,623; 4. Bill Barber (Philadelphia) 14,227; 5. Richard Martin (Buffalo) 12,086.RIGHT WING: 1. Anders Hedberg (N.Y. Rangers) 42,013; 2. Guy Lafleur (Montreal) 39,029; 3. Mike Bossy (N.Y. Islanders) 15,829; Lanny McDonald (Toronto) 13,907; 5. Terry O&rsquo;Reilly (Boston) 9,997.CENTER: 1. Ulf Nilsson (N.Y. Rangers) 33,825; 2. Ivan Boldirev (Chicago) 23,518; 3. Bobby Clarke (Philadelphia) 14,362; 4. Bryan Trottier (N.Y. Islanders) 12,557; 5. Darryl Sittier (Toronto) 11,926.DEFENSE: I. Ron Greschner (N.Y. Rangers) 41,696; 2. Phil Russel (Chicago) 38,826; 3. Larry Robinson (Montreal) 33,978; 4. Denis Potvin (N.Y. Islanders) 33,153; 5. Borje Salming (Toronto) 28.979; 6. Brad Park (Boston) 23,701; 7. Guy Lapointe (Montreal) 15,892; 8. Robert Picard (Washington) 14,710; 9. Barry Beck (Colorado) 13,304; 10. Ian Turnbull (Toronto) 11,387.GOALERS: 1. Tony Esposito (Chicago) 40,279; 2. Ken Dryden (Montreal) 19,611; 3. Chico Resch (N.Y. Islanders) 16,365; 4. Mike Palmateer (Toronto) 15,263; 5. Dan Bouchard (Atlanta) 14,641. &#9632;

f0013-01

Rangers Continue Vote Domination In All Star Poll

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0014-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-011077/4253537-1-eng-US/f0014-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">(Photo by Gordon Chibroski)</figcaption></div><h2>Filling His Hat</h2>Left winger Yves Preston is back with the Maine Mariners of the AHL after a brief stint In the NHL with the parent Philadelphia Flyers. In six games with the Flyers, filling in for the suspended Paul Holmgren, Preston scored three times. Before he went up to the big apple, Preston had just celebrated his first hat trick with Maine Mariners and the club&rsquo;s first of the year when he got the call to head to Philly.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-03657/4253530-1-eng-US/f0014-032.jpg" title="f0014-03" width="1715" height="1358"><figcaption class="caption-body">(Photo by Mark Murray)</figcaption></div><h2>Meeting Of Ice Greats</h2>Two of hockey&rsquo;s most distinguished performers, past and present, had a chance to meet recently before a Whalers game in Springfield. That&rsquo;s the incomparable Gordie Howe, left, with one of hockey&rsquo;s all-time great defensemen of another era, Eddie Shore. Shore at one time owned the Springfield rink which the Whalers are using as their temporary home while a new roof is being installed on their collapsed Hartford Center rink.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-02888/4253523-1-eng-US/f0014-022.jpg" title="f0014-02" width="1168" height="2095"></div><h2>What Goes Up&hellip;</h2>The Atlanta Flames decided to do their recent ticket sale campaign up right with a giant-sized balloon, which was blown up inside the Omni and floated to the top of the arena in a rare piece of promotion. The Flames have been drawing well since the balloon went up.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-04461/4253516-1-eng-US/f0014-042.jpg" title="f0014-04" width="1144" height="743"><figcaption class="caption-body">(Photo by Ian MacAlpine)</figcaption></div><h2>King For A Day</h2>Steve Jensen of the Los Angeles Kings is interviewed by L.A. color man Pete Weber at rinkside after Jensen came up with the game-winning goal on a breakaway in the final minute of a recent Montreal game to upset the Canadiens 54. Jensen, it seems, likes playing against the Canadiens. In an earlier game, he scored twice. &#9632;

f0014-01

HOCKEY PEOPLE

<div class="byline">BY DICK JOHNSTON</div>BUFFALO&mdash;The Buffalo Sabres turned in quite an impressive performance in their first dozen games under new coach Billy Inglis&mdash;won-7 lost-2 tied-3.What makes it more impressive is the fact that during that stretch the Sabres played minus several key players because of injury or illness.Such scorers as Rick Martin, Rene Robert and Danny Gare missed games. So did forwards Ric Seiling and Andre Savard; defensemen Jerry Korab, Jos Guevremont and Bill Hajt, and goaltender Don Edwards.Edwards, who suffered a sprained left ankle against Boston Thanksgiving night, played only three full games, plus parts of two others, in the first dozen matches of the Inglis regime.Bob Sauve finally got the chance he had been awaiting for more than three years and came through handsomely. He posted a 4-1-3 record in goal. Sauve, it might be recalled, was the Sabres&rsquo; first draft choice in 1975, when Edwards was the club&rsquo;s sixth-round pick.Sauve always seemed to be at the wrong place when the time came during his first three years and then he was hurt before the first pre-season exhibition game this year.What might turn out to be the injury hurting the Sabres the most, since defenseman Jim Schoenfeld was knocked out of action in the season&rsquo;s third game, came when Danny Gare&rsquo;s back began acting up again.Gare&rsquo;s back began to bother him in the late stages of the 1975-76 campaign. In the quarter-finals of the playoffs that season he strained it.In August, after giving the back a rest, then working out to strengthen himself, Danny reported to Team Canada&rsquo;s training camp. The back began acting up. He got to play only part of one game in the Canada Cup series.He had to start conditioning all over when he reported to the Sabres&rsquo; camp. His back still was bothering him as he played through the exhibition schedule, scoring only one goal, and the early season.He then was told by team physicians to take some time off and rest. Gare played in only 35 games during the 1976-77 season and his goal production fell off from 50 to 11.Last season, the feisty right winger appeared to be almost as good as new. He returned to his old line with Don Luce and Craig Ramsay and that line was the highest-scoring forward combination on the club. Danny scored 39 goals and had 38 assists for 77 points.This season, however, the back began acting up again. Gare had stretching exercises he did every morning after getting out of bed and again before going onto the ice.Although nearly every member of the club appeared rejuvenated, after a lackluster early season, when Inglis took over as coach, Gare still was having trouble.He sat out a game in Colorado and the club announced the team captain would be sidelined indefinitely.The day&rsquo;s rest helped a great deal, however, and Danny was back in the lineup the next night in Vancouver. He scored two goals, including the tying one in the third period, as the Sabres tied the Canucks, 3-3.Danny almost suffered a worse injury in the game, though. Early in the third period, Gare was hit by ere Gillis&rsquo; stick about an inch from his left eye.Danny lay on the ice after the incident and teammates wondered if he had been hit in the eye.&ldquo;I was scared,&rdquo; Danny said, afterward. &ldquo;I saw my whole career go in front of me and it made me think, &lsquo;Hey, just what is going on here?&rsquo; I stayed down on the ice because I couldn&rsquo;t see anything.&rdquo;&ldquo;There was so much water in the eye everything was just a blur. It turned out to be only a two-stitch cut but it had me thinking for a while.&rdquo;After the game Danny also had to think about his back. The club announced that he would be playing on a game-to-game basis and, if necessary, he would undergo further examination.Previous exams had disclosed nothing but a tightening of the muscles. But the tightening apparently occurred every time Gare crouched over to skate.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-011032/4253582-1-eng-US/f0015-012.jpg" title="f0015-01" width="552" height="893"><figcaption class="caption-body">DANNY GARE&hellip;Recurring Pains</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-02810/4253575-1-eng-US/f0015-022.jpg" title="f0015-02" width="1141" height="1364"><figcaption class="caption-body">DON EDWARDS&hellip; Coming Back To Lineup Slowly</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-03628/4253568-1-eng-US/f0015-032.jpg" title="f0015-03" width="1151" height="1379"><figcaption class="caption-body">JIM SCHOENFELD&hellip; His Absence Cost Sabres Early</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0015-01

Sabres Rejuvenated Under Inglis Despite Injuries To Key Players

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0016-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-01882/4253627-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">DOUG RISEBROUGH&hellip;NHL&rsquo;s Top Plus Player</figcaption></div>MONTREAL&mdash;Center Doug Risebrough of the Montreal Canadiens led all players in plus-minus statistics after the first quarter of the National Hockey League&rsquo;s 1978-79 regularseason schedule.Risebrough, playing his fifth season with the defending Stanley Cup champions, posted a plus-minus figure of 24.7, slightly better than Colorado Rockies&rsquo; Gary Croteau who was second with 24.0.The plus-minus figure is determined by establishing the percentage of his team&rsquo;s goals, for and against, for which a player is on the ice with both teams even. If he is on the ice for a higher percentage of goals by his team, he has a plus; if for a higher percentage against his team, he has a minus.Risebrough, who played 15 of Montreal&rsquo;s first 20 games, was on the ice for 16 even-strength goals by Montreal for an offensive percentage of 37.2 and had a defensive percentage of 12.5 to post his league-leading mark of 24.7.Croteau, who scored 13 goals in his first 19 games, had an excellent offensive percentage of 42.4 and an 18.4 defensive mark and was one of the three Rockies among the NHL&rsquo;s top 10 in plus-minus. Defenseman John Van Boxmeer ranked eighth with 16.8 while Croteau&rsquo;s linemate, Paul Gardner, was 10th with 15.5.Boston Bruins and New York Rangers also placed three players each among the top 20. Bruins were led by defenseman Dennis O&rsquo;Brien who was third with 22,4 while Rick Middleton was tied for 15th with 13.3 and second-year center Bob Miller was 19th with 13.1.Rangers&rsquo; high-scoring line of Pat Hickey (seventh&mdash;17.0) Anders Hedberg and Ulf Nilsson (both tied for 15th place with 13.3) led Rangers to an over-all plus figures of 26 which was fourth-best in the league behind Boston&mdash;36&mdash;Atlanta Flames&mdash;33&mdash;and New York Islanders&mdash;27.There were four defensemen among the top 20 and three in the top eight including O&rsquo;Brien and Van Boxmeer. Atlanta&rsquo;s Pat Ribble placed sixth with 17.6 while Detroit&rsquo;s Terry Harper, since departed to Kansas City of the Central Hockey League, was 13th with 13.9.<h2>CODE OF ABBREVIATIONS</h2>TGF &mdash; Total goals scored by his team while player on ice.PGF &mdash; Total power play goals scored by his team while player or ice.OFFENSE PERCENT &mdash; Percentage of his team&rsquo;s evenstrength goals for which the player was on ice.TGA &mdash; Total goals by opposition while player on Ice.PGA &mdash; total power play goals by opposition while player on ice.DEFENSE PERCENT &mdash; Percentage of opposition even strength goals for which the player was on Ice.PERCENT DIFF &mdash; The difference between the offensive percentage and defensive percentage.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-02738/4253620-1-eng-US/f0016-022.jpg" title="f0016-02" width="2901" height="2325"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-03504/4253613-1-eng-US/f0017-032.jpg" title="f0017-03" width="1469" height="2272"></div> &#9632;

f0016-01

Habs’ Risebrough Leads NHL’s Plus-Minus Race

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-01774/4253665-1-eng-US/f0017-012.jpg" title="f0017-01" width="537" height="1134"><figcaption class="caption-body">ROGER NEILSON</figcaption></div>TORONTO&mdash;The rumbling could be heard all the way from Maple Leaf Gardens to Moncton, New Brunswick. And that was before the Leafs scrambled back to a 3-3 tie with the Chicago Black Hawks before dropping a 5-3 decision at home, giving them just four victories in their last 16 starts.Picked to challenge for a place in the top six of the National Hockey League, the Leafs aren&rsquo;t even playing .500 hockey and though trade rumors aren&rsquo;t getting too much attention, there&rsquo;s a movement afoot to introduce some of the organization&rsquo;s minor league players from Moncton of the American league in an effort to get the Leafs rolling.Following a 4-1 home loss to the Flames in which Dave (Tiger) Williams managed the only Leaf goal in the third period, coach Roger Neilson and assistant general manager John McLellan flew to Moncton to check out some new blood which might be intraduced into the sagging Toronto team.When Neilson returned for the Saturday night home contest against the Black FJawks he brought along Ron Wilson, who is being converted to a center in Moncton, while Leaf players Trevor Johansen and Bruce Boudreau received one-way flights to Moncton.Other players in Moncton scheduled for a trial with the big club included Bob Neely, who spent four and a half seasons with the Leafs before being traded to Colorado and then back into the Leafs&rsquo; organization and Rocky Saganiuk who filled in for a couple of games earlier in the year.Neilson, however, insisted that there wouldn&rsquo;t be any more changes until at least after the Canucks&rsquo; game two nights later. That might only mean a longer stay of execution for a couple of Leafs.As expected with Darryl Sittier out of the lineup, the team&rsquo;s offense has been severely restricted. Particularly affected was Sittier&rsquo;s right winger Lanny McDonald,. who did not get half of the setups he usually receives when Sittier&rsquo;s in the lineup.Against the Hawks, the Leafs grabbed a 14) first period lead on a goal by defenseman Dave Burrows and then saw Chicago respond with three unanswered goals. Finally Walt McKechnie cashed in on a power play opportunity and when Pat Boutette knotted the score midway through the third period, it appeared the Leafs held the momentum.After some furious end-to-end action, Chicago&rsquo;s Ted Bulley notched his third goal of fhe game and the issue was closed with an empty net goal by Hawks&rsquo; Stan Mikita.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-02653/4253658-1-eng-US/f0017-022.jpg" title="f0017-02" width="499" height="473"><figcaption class="caption-body">BOB NEELY&hellip;Coming Back?</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0017-01

Leafs Consider Moncton Recruits

<div class="byline">BY RUSS WHITE</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0018-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-01792/4253696-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">ROBERT PICARD&hellip;Sets Two Points-A-Game Pace (Photo by Bruce Bennett)</figcaption></div>WASHINGTON&mdash;When Robert Picard announced recently that the Capitals had arrived, that all the players on the club &ldquo;want to play and want to stay,&rdquo; he meant himself, too.At no time since he joined the team has Picard played as well as he is playing right now for Washington.He became the Caps&rsquo; first defenseman to score four points in a single game by drilling in his eighth goal and assisting on three others in an 8-3 home victory over the Los Angeles Kings.This victory avenged a 10-2 wipeout by the Kings a month ago in Los Angeles, and Picard predicted that from here on the Caps are going to be an over .500 hockey team. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re playing like a team now,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Everyone works together. We don&rsquo;t have any floaters. The guys want to win.&rdquo;Picard&rsquo;s big game against L.A. gave him 14 points&mdash;five goals and nine assists in seven games and may land him a spot on the NHL All Star team with will play the Soviets next month.The Caps had to chase Picard all over Quebec and actually sign him twice after drafting him two years ago. Just when they had him the first time, the Caps were notified that Picard had jumped to the Quebec Nordiques of the World Hockey Association.Picard was quoted in the French dailies as saying: &ldquo;I&rsquo;d rather sell pizza in Quebec than play hockey in Washington.&rdquo;After a squabble, and a chase by Caps&rsquo; general manager Max McNab, Picard reported again to the Caps. He even played a pre-season game at Quebec, where fans threw a few pizzas on the ice.Picard&rsquo;s first season in Washington didn&rsquo;t turn the Caps around&mdash;not the way Picard started&mdash;but he finished strong and was named the Caps&rsquo; best defenseman.Picard again started slowly this year as did all the Caps. There was much disorder after the team Fired coach Tom McVie and brought in Danny Belisle two days before the regular season opened.Some say Picard had a hand in McVie&rsquo;s dumping. That Picard did not like McVie&rsquo;s methods, that he complained, and that he wasn&rsquo;t the only one to complain.Picard, for what it was worth, didn&rsquo;t come out with a bang for Belisle, who was night and day different from, McVie, much looser with the team.Then, it all started to happen in the last two or three weeks. &ldquo;Picard came on and is playing the way he knew he could,&rdquo; Belisle said.With Gary Inness in goal the Caps tied three and won one in his first five games. Belisle said that the confidence in the new goalie would spur the team to greater heights. Picard and Rick Green would anchor the defense and rookie Ryan Walter would come on once over the injury bug.The Caps were at last improved on home ice, winning two and tying one in three consecutive starts to make the Capital Center mark 4-10-3. On the road the Caps are 5-12-4, better than six other NHL teams.Down 5-3 with three and one-half minutes to play at Toronto a week ago, Dennis Maruk and Rick Green scored goals to pull out a 5-5 tie. Belisle pulled Inness with 1:40 to go, setting up Green&rsquo;s goal with 36 seconds to play. &ldquo;1 suppose there were plenty of people second guessing me,&rdquo; Belisle said.Contrary to that, fan.s in Washington were beginning to approve of Belisle. More important, the Caps were rallying behind their new coach. And in a piece of horseplay, the players sliced one ol Belisle&rsquo;s handsome neckties when he fell asleep on a flight from Toronto tc Washington.It was the kindest cut of all, nerhaps. &#9632;

f0018-01

Picard, Caps Making ‘Arrival’ At Same Time

Ron Delorme isn&rsquo;t exactly a household word, even in Denver where he plays for the Colorado Rockies, but his team owes a large part of its success last week&mdash;two wins in four ties&mdash;to the efforts of the six-foot-three, 185-pound Cochin, Sask, native.Delorme who performs for the Rockies&rsquo; checking line had 16 goals in a season and a third with the Rockies and only five goals this year as the week started. But he doubled his output and his five-goal week was responsible for much of the Rockies&rsquo; attack.Delorme picked up a goal and an assist in a 5-3 loss to Los Angeles, scored both the tying and winning goals in a 4-2 conquest of St. Louis and then produced single tallies in a 5-3 loss to Boston and a 4-1 win over St. Louis.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-02637/4253727-1-eng-US/f0018-022.jpg" title="f0018-02" width="513" height="675"><figcaption class="caption-body">RON DELORNE..Colorado Rockies</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0018-02

NHL’S… Player of the Week

<div class="byline">BY DONALD BERNS</div>ST. LOUIS&mdash;Barclay Plager has been losing patience with the losing ways of his St. Louis Blues. And the coach&rsquo;s attitude is justifiable.&ldquo;I can&rsquo;t believe the mistakes we&rsquo;re making,&rdquo; Plager said. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s no excuse for us to keep losing the way we have been. We should win twice as many games in the second half of the season as we did in the first half.&rdquo;The Blues had only eight wins in their first 39 games, so Plager&rsquo;s goal is not monumental. But the coach realizes the team&rsquo;s improvement has been very slow.&ldquo;Either I don&rsquo;t speak good English, or they&rsquo;re incapable of doing what they&rsquo;re told to do,&rdquo; Plager said. &ldquo;If they were doctors, they&rsquo;d have their licenses taken away.&rdquo;Plager has insisted all season that the older players on the team have been guilty of most of the mistakes, while the younger players have performed ably. The brightest of the Blues this season has been the high-scoring line of youngsters Bernie Federko, Brian Sutter and Wayne Babych, a candidate for the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year.&ldquo;The Kid Line has done its job game in and game out,&rdquo; Plager said. &ldquo;But the time is up for some guys. We can&rsquo;t keep making the same mistakes game after game. If we have to go with young guys and test them the rest of the season, that&rsquo;s what we&rsquo;ll do. This is a building season, and next season is a building season and probably the season after that, but I expect to see some improvement.&rdquo;Plager has run a shuttle between the parent club and the farm club at Salt Lake City. The farmhands apparently next in line for being called up are Tony Currie, Dick Lamby, Mike Crombeen and Neil Labatte.&ldquo;The veterans have so much other outside stuff,&rdquo; Plager said, &ldquo;they don&rsquo;t concentrate on hockey.&rdquo;The Blues generally have been scoring enough this season, and veterans such as Garry Unger and Curt Bennett have played effectively on forward lines. Recently Plager has used the Kid Line plus Unger as center for Inge Hammarstrom and Brian Ogilvie and Larry Patey as center for Bennett and his brother, Harvey. A fourth line has been Rick Shinske, John Smrke and Bob Murdoch.But the Blues continued to have the league&rsquo;s highest number of goals allowed. In front of either Phil Myre or Ed Staniowski in goal are the defensive pairs of Bob Stewart with Larry Giroux and Jack Brownschidle with Barry Gibbs. Bruce Affleck or Bob Hess also has been playing.Gibbs, the team&rsquo;s captain, said, &ldquo;We&rsquo;re just making the wrong mistakes at the wrong times, and it&rsquo;s depressing. It seems like the harder we work the more mistakes we make. I guess that doesn&rsquo;t say much for us.&rdquo;The Blues had a 10-game winless streak earlier this season and broke out of it with much jubilation with a 5-3 win over the Colorado Rockies. But the long winless streak was not a fluke of their season record.After the Colorado game the Blues lost to Los Angeles, 4-2, to Buffalo, 6-2, to Toronto, 3-1, to Boston, 5-2, and to Washington, 4-3, before the next win over the Capitals, 3-1. Then former St. Louis player Bob MacMillan had a goal and two assists in a 4-1 win by Atlanta over the Blues before Phil Myre earned the Blues&rsquo; only shutout of the season in a 4-0 victory over Detroit.The Blues lost to Vancouver, 6-3, and to Philadelphia, 3-0, on the shutout goaltending of Wayne Stephenson before the sixth win of the season in a 52 decision over Washington. Then the losing continued to the Rangers, 7-4, to the Islanders, 7-1, to Tony Esposito and the Black Hawks, 4-2, to the Canadiens, 6-0, with Ken Dryden for the shutout, and to the Penguins, 3-0, with Greg Millen for theshutout.Then there was a 2-2 tie with the Islanders, a 4-1 loss to the Flyers against goalie Peter Peelers in his NHL debut, a 7-4 win over the Flames, a 5-1 loss to the Islanders, a 6-1 loss to Toronto and a 64 loss to the North Stars.As Curt Bennett said, &ldquo;It&rsquo;s like fighting for an army that loses all the wars.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-02419/4253789-1-eng-US/f0020-022.jpg" title="f0020-02" width="511" height="485"><figcaption class="caption-body">BARCLAY PLAGERxpects Improvement</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0020-02

Plager Angered By Blues’ Failings

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-01591/4253820-1-eng-US/f0020-012.jpg" title="f0020-01" width="588" height="1913"></div> &#9632;

f0020-01

Looking At NHL Goalers

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0020-03" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-03333/4253851-1-eng-US/f0020-032.jpg"></div> &#9632;

f0020-03

Where NHL Teams Play

<div class="byline">BY BILL LIBBY</div>LOS ANGELES&mdash;After talking to owner Jack Kent Cooke on the telephone, the Lakers&rsquo; executive-broadcaster Chick Hearn asked me how many players away the Kings were from becoming a contender. Later, I asked the Kings&rsquo; general manager George Maguire the same question.Maguire said, &ldquo;We&rsquo;re one strong defenseman away. We have three good defensemen and three good lines now, but we need a defenseman who ca-&rsquo; knock people away from our goalmouth. I&rsquo;d like a good left-winger for the Marcel Dionne line, but the one strong defenseman is the big one.&rdquo;I told Chick and George I thought the Kings needed at least two strong defensemen&mdash;one on each of two regular units&mdash;as well as a strong leftwinger to go with Dionne. And even then I wasn&rsquo;t sure the team still wouldn&rsquo;t be a line away.It depends on the quality of the players, of course. One great one, a Larry Robinson, for example, would make a big difference. Give the Kings three or four great ones off the Canadiens and you definitely do have a cup contender. But three or four good players are needed if this side is to be a consistent winner.As this is written at year&rsquo;s end the Kings, after losing only five of the previous 19 games, have slipped into a slump which has left them winless in their last seven games and losers in their last three. This comes at a time when they have started the sternest stretch of scheduling they will face all season&mdash;11 out of 13 games, including the last eight in a row, on the road.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-02285/4253889-1-eng-US/f0021-022.jpg" title="f0021-02" width="549" height="630"><figcaption class="caption-body">BRIAN GLENNIE&hellip;Kings&rsquo; Hope</figcaption></div>By the time this reaches the reader in mid-January, the results of this rugged grind will be known. The fear now is that it will be something like last year, when the Kings collapsed over a similar rough road.It is forgotten now, but after 26 games the Kings were even better off last year&mdash;13-8-5&mdash;than they were this year&mdash;13-10-3. Last year they faced 10 or 13 on the road, won only three of the 13, and had to fight from behind the rest of the season.The Kings never slipped more than three games below .500 last season and are two below right now. They finished three below last season, and had hoped to finish quite a bit better this season, but the danger signs are really evident right now.It is easy to overestimate a team&rsquo;s talent if you look at the best years playes have had&mdash;Danny Grant&rsquo;s 50 goals and Syl Apps&rsquo; 99 points, for example.But the reality is that they have not gone good in recent years and Apps has only two goals and 19 points in 33 games this season, while Grant, who has 10 goals, has only scored in two of the last 18 games.Like Apps and Grant, Steve Jensen and Murray Wilson were given up by other clubs and have not played back to their old form for their new club. Others the Kings got from other teams didn&rsquo;t even make the team.Grant, Jensen, and Wilson ail have been tried on Dionne&rsquo;s left side. Apps&rsquo; third line has just eight goals.In their recent slide, the surprising development has been a lack of scoring. The Kings had averaged better than four goals a game and had 30 goals in their last six games, before they produced only seven goals in their last five games.In the long run, however, these Kings figure to get a lot of goals. However, they may give up more than they get. The goaltending of Mario Lessard and Ron Grahame has been all right, but the defensemen don&rsquo;t knock anyone away from the crease.Another player from another club, Brian Glennie, who came when Dave Hutchison, as well as Gary Sargent, both sorely missed, left, has been the high hope here, but he has been injured and ineffective. Maguire tried to package four or five of his fringe players for an effective defenseman, but no one wanted them. Now he hopes the court will award him Dale McCourt, who could be traded for a good one.In the meantime, the talent is being tested by a tough schedule that could prove pivotal in the season.KINGS THINGS: Grahame&rsquo;s wife Charlotte presented him with their second son, 10 pound, two-ounce Jason Christopher, on Dec. 18&hellip;The Booster Club&rsquo;s annual &ldquo;Skate with the Kings&rdquo; will be Jan. 21 and the banquet March 18.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-01439/4253882-1-eng-US/f0021-012.jpg" title="f0021-01" width="1754" height="1043"><figcaption class="caption-body">Kings are desparately in need of some hitting defensemen who can clear the opposition&rsquo;s shooters out of the crease area. Their defense corps was depleted a bit more when veteran Bob Murdoch, left, was knocked out of the lineup indefinitely with a separated shoulder. Kings are still considering trading for a hitter such as ex-mate Dave Hutchison, right.</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0021-02

Rough Road Schedule Tests Kings

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-06153/4253979-1-eng-US/f0022-062.jpg" title="f0022-06" width="583" height="1603"></div> &#9632;

f0022-06

The NHL Scoreboard

ATLANTA: Phiilipoff 4, Plett 13,14, Pronovost IS, Laurence 4, Shand 2, Vail 18.BOSTON: Walton 10,11, Schmautz 8,9, Marcotte 14,15, McNab 22,23,24, Miller 11.12, Ratelie 13, Middleton 17,18. Wensink 24. Cashman 13.BUFFALO: Perreault 13, Smith 12. Gare 15, Luce 13, Savard 8, Schoenfeld 2, Ramsay 13.CHICAGO: Boldirev 16.17. Kerr 6.7. Murray 9. Bulky 9,10,11,12, Daigle 4. Russell 6. Mikita 7,8. Bordeleau 11, Koroll 8. Marks 14.COLORADO: Croteau 16,17. Delorme 6.7.8.9.10. Gardner 16,17, Paiement 11,12, Van Boxmeer 4. Spruce 3. Pierce 8.DETROIT: Bolduc 6, Libett 7, Thompson 14, Si. Lauren! 7.LOS ANGELES: Apps 3. M. Wilson 5,6,7, Dionne 27,28.29,30. B. Wilson 5. Williams 4,5, Taylor 17,18,19,20. Glennie 2, Jensen II.MINNESOTA: MacAdam 10.11, B. Smith 11. Zanussi 10, PayneS.MONTREAL: Lafleur 26,27,28, Larouche 3.4, Savard 3, Lambert 15, Risebrough 5.ISLANDERS: Bossy 31,32.33, Bourne 13.14,15, Lewis 2, Tonelli 11,12, Merrick 8, Howatt 10, Gillies 14,15, Trottier 28. Potvin 16,17.RANGERS: Maloney 3.4. McEwen 11. Fotiu 2, Duguay 11. Nilsson 14,15,16,17, Hedberg 16. Esposito 21, Tkaczuk 6.PHILADELPHIA: Ververgaert 10, Leach 18.19. Clarke 11, Bridgman ll.Gorence 1,2.PITTSBURGH: Bladon 3, Kindrachuk 11. Lee 20,21, Schutt 11,12,13, Kehoe9, Sheppard 6.ST. LOUIS: Babych 18,19,20,21, Federko 14, Unger 17.TORONTO: Williams 13. Burrows 2, McKechnie 14, Boutette 11.VANCOUVER: Smyl 4, Sedlbauer 25,26, Lever 11,12,13, Gradin 13, Snepsls 3, Martin 10.WASHINGTON: Green 5. Picard 8.9. Charron 11,12. Rowe 15,16, Scamurra 3, Sirois 18, Maruk 10. Stewart 1,2, Walter 10,11, Riley 2. &#9632;

NHL’s Scorers …This Week

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-01479/4253948-1-eng-US/f0022-012.jpg" title="f0022-01" width="587" height="1809"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-02374/4253941-1-eng-US/f0022-022.jpg" title="f0022-02" width="605" height="3343"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-03303/4253934-1-eng-US/f0022-032.jpg" title="f0022-03" width="1198" height="2263"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-04231/4253927-1-eng-US/f0022-042.jpg" title="f0022-04" width="581" height="359"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-02342/4253920-1-eng-US/f0023-022.jpg" title="f0023-02" width="2390" height="1726"></div> &#9632;

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NATIONAL LEAGUE SUMMARIES

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0024-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-02374/4254034-1-eng-US/f0024-022.jpg"></div>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 &#9632;

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WHA-Soviet Summaries

Young Wayne Gretzky is rapidly becoming one of the big fan favorites around the WHA. The 17-year-old whiz kid turned in an outstanding performance in the Soviet-WHA three-game series scoring three times.Gretzky, who is now the property, of the Edmonton Oilers, combined with Gordie and Mark Howe to give the WHA AH Stars a highly-productive line that helped win the first two games of the series.Gretzky, who was the pivot for the line, ended up with five points in the three series games to lead all scorers. He had eight shots on the Russian net and scored on three of his drives. He also had a power play goal as he and Mark Howe combined to score five of the eight goals in games one and two for the WHA selects.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-03257/4254096-1-eng-US/f0024-032.jpg" title="f0024-03" width="507" height="671"><figcaption class="caption-body">WAYNE GRETZKY&hellip;WHA All Stars</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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WHA’S… Player of the Week

EDMONTON&mdash;The oldest and youngest professional hockey players in the world banded together to give the Soviet Union&rsquo;s Moscow Dynamo team a few lessons in the art of hockey playing as the World Hockey Association All Stars combined their efforts to pull off a three-game sweep of their super series with the touring Soviet Union team.Winning by scores of 4-2, 4-2 and 4-3, the WHA selects thrilled more than 35,000 fans for the three games in the Edmonton Coliseum as they dominated the Dynamo team from start to finish.Teen-age stars like Wayne Gretzky, Rob Ramage and Mike Gartner joined with veterans like 50-year-old Gordie Howe, Rick Ley and dynamic Mark Howe to capture all three games from the Soviets.Gretzky, the 17-year-old whiz kid of the Edmonton Oilers, played on a line with the elder Howe and young Mark, and the threesome was simply scintillating in the first two games confusing the young Soviet defenders with their split-second passing plays. Gretzky said it was the biggest thrill of his young hockey life to play on the same line with Gordie Howe. Mark Howe contributed goals in each of the first two games as well and the line was spectacular in the series.Morris Lukowich, the Winnipeg Jets&rsquo; left winger, scored the lead-off goal in games two and three. Gartner, Mark Howe and Gretzky also scored in game two and Lukowich, Ramage, Peter Sullivan and Serge Bernier connected in game three with Bernier netting the winner before a sellout crowd of 15,590.The rival teams played clean, fast hockey in all three games and did much to erase some unfortunate aspects of pre-series discussions.Before the long-awaited season even started, WHA officials revealed they were planning to withhold part of the money the league had agreed to pay the Soviets. The reason was that the Soviet Ice Hockey Federation refused to live up to the letter and spirit of an agreement to provide a team that featured top Soviet stars.The tenacious play of the Soviets helped salvage the series, following a news conference at which Victor Gostiev, head of the Soviet group, told reporters from the United States and Canada that the Dynamo team had been under-rated.Speaking through an interpreter, Gostiev said the Dynamo players and officials treated an exhibition swing through the WHA simply as preparation for the widely-publicized three-game series.&ldquo;There are more good players in the Soviet Union than many of you are aware,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We will show you that and I am sure the crowds will be happy.&rdquo;Only 8,000 fans&mdash;little more than half of capacity in Edmonton&rsquo;s Coliseum &mdash; turned out for the opening game, when Gretzky scored twice and Mark Howe once while Gordie collected two assists. The final goal was fired by Sullivan of the Jets.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-01468/4254065-1-eng-US/f0024-012.jpg" title="f0024-01" width="489" height="622"><figcaption class="caption-body">PETER SULLIVAN&hellip;Counted Twice</figcaption></div>The turning point came late in the third period when WHA goaltender Dave Dryden of Edmonton made a brilliant point-blank stop moments after it was announced by public-address announcer Stan Ravndahl that in the event of a tie the game would continue through as many 20-minute sudden death overtime periods as necessary to reach a decision.&ldquo;Cripes,&rdquo; said Dryden. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s no way I wanted to play any longer. With the tension and everything, I was really tired. So was everybody else.&rdquo;Many players had difficulty reaching Edmonton for the game. Peter Marsh and Rob Ftorek of Cincinnati flew a circuitous route from Cincinnati through San Francisco to avoid midwinter storms, while teammates Rick Dudley and Gartner were forced to drive several hundred miles through grim conditions to make airplane connections.The last All Star to arrive was Mark Howe, who detoured to Houston from Hartford to be with his family for a few days following the death of his fatherin-law. He was met at a downtown Edmonton airport by Oilers&rsquo; marketing assistant Mark Hall and made it to the Coliseum less than two hours before the start of the official ceremony, in which Gostiev and Edmonton owner Peter Pocklington participated.At one point, Edmonton broadcasters were speculating that up to seven All Stars would not be in uniform, but the only absentees when the puck was dropped were Real Cloutier and Marc Tardif of Quebec Nordiques. Tardif arrived in Edmonton with little difficulty but awakened on the morning of the opening game with a painful elbow and was sent home for examination after preliminary tests by an Edmonton doctor; Cloutier discovered back spasms before his scheduled departure from Quebec City.On the night before the second game, more than 400 fans participated in the annual All Star banquet. A highlight was an impromptu speech by Gostiev, who was scheduled to speak for three minutes but went on for about 15 before surrendering the microphone. Publicity from the successful function helped swell the crowd to more than 11,200 for the second game following a slow early sale.If anything, the second game was even more entertaining than the first, Gretzky&rsquo;s goal was the clincher, following first-period tallies by Gartner, Lukowich, and Mark Howe, who was set up neatly by his father.In a surprise move, the WHA announced it had devised a five-team playoff format. The fourth and fifth teams were scheduled for a best-of-three elimination series before the clubs squared off in a pair of best-of-seven series that would pit the top team against the survivor of the preliminary and the second-place finishers against the third-place team.Larry Gordon, vice president and general manager of the Oilers, said Edmonton was violently opposed to the decision, which passed by a narrow vote. He said the Oilers would attempt to have the decision reversed before the end of the season. &#9632;

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Gretzky, Howes Spark WHA Sweep Of Soviets

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0025-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-01404/4254127-1-eng-US/f0025-012.jpg"></div>HARTFORD&mdash;Mark Howe, the New England Whalers&rsquo; brilliant young left wing and son of hockey legend Gordie Howe, has a chance to rewrite the team record book this year as the club heads into the 1979 portion of its World Hockey Association schedule.At the All Star break, Mark had played in 32 of the Whalers&rsquo; 34 games and led the team in almost every offensive catagory. His 59 points on 22 goals and 36 assists tied him for second in the league scoring race with Cincinnati&rsquo;s Robbie Ftorek, just two points behind the leader, Quebec&rsquo;c Real Cloutier.Records almost certain to fall under Mark&rsquo;s onslaught are the following team standards:&bull; Most points in one season, 103, set in 1972-73 by retired right wing Tom Webster.&bull; Most assists in one season, 62, set in 1977-78 by father Gordie Howe.&bull; Most shorthanded goals in one season, six, set in 1975-76 by retired center Tom Earl. Mark already has five.&bull; Most goals in one season by a left wing, 39, set in 1976-77 by WHA Rookie-of-the-Year George Lyle.&bull; Most assists in one season by a left wing, 61, set in 1977-78 by Mark Howe.&bull; Most points in one season by a left wing, 91, set in 1977-78, also by Mark Howe.The 23-year-old Howe has already tied the club mark of 21 consecutive scoring games set in 1975-76 by Webster and has a good shot at tying or breaking the team record for most goals in one season (53), also set by Webster in the Whalers&rsquo; Avco World Trophy championship season of 1972-73.Among Mark&rsquo;s accomplishments this year have been two hat tricks, both against Indianapolis and two shorthanded goals in one game, also against the Racers on Nov. 4 in Indy. He also leads the team in power play goals with six.This is Howe&rsquo;s sixth season in the WHA and second with the Whalers. His best campaign was last year when he had 91 points on 30 goals and 61 assists to rank second on the team (behind Gordie) and 10th in the league.The league scoring title is definitely within his reach this year and the way Mark is playing, you can&rsquo;t count him out. &#9632;

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Mark Howe On His Way To Rewriting Club Book

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-02296/4254158-1-eng-US/f0025-022.jpg" title="f0025-02" width="541" height="579"><figcaption class="caption-body">MORRIS LUKOWICH&hellip;With All Stars</figcaption></div>WINNIPEG&mdash;The All Star break is traditionally the time to reflect on what has been and what needs to be done. Some teams and players are happy the first 30 or so games are behind them and wait apprehensively for the remainder of the season to unford. Others wait with anticipation knowing they can determine their own fate.The latter is a description of the Winnipeg Jets.While four of their players (Morris Lukowich, Peter Sullivan, Barry Long and Markus Mattsson) and two members of the front office (coach Larry Hillman and general manager, John Ferguson) were invited to take part in the All Star festivities, the remaining members of the Jets stayed at home intent on keeping their edge that has them slowly gaining ground on the WHA leaders.Winnipeg has reason to be optimistic as they approach the second half of the season. The Jets are 4-2-2 in their last eight outings and with three games in hand, they remain only nine points back of the leaders. With a total of 136 goals, the Jets have the second highest goal production in the league. They have allowed 119 goals against and that is third best in the WHA. Winnipeg would dearly love to see these statistics reflected in the league standings.Assistant coach, Billy Sutherland, believes his team is ready to do just that&mdash;&rdquo;The six-day layoff (for the All Star Series) is disruptive. There&rsquo;s no doubt about that,&rdquo; said the former Jets&rsquo; left-winger. &ldquo;Nevertheless, our guys have looked lead good in practice even though it&rsquo;s a big difficult when you haven&rsquo;t got your regular lines our there.&rdquo;The Jets were hoping to enter the All Star break tied for fourth place with Edmonton. However, a controversial goal by the Czechoslovakian All Stars put an end to that wish.With the Jets leading 3-2 and with approximately 18 seconds left in the game, the Czechs broke out on their own end. They set up in the Jets&rsquo; zone and with no time left on the clock, Czech right-winger, Milos Novak, converted a Karel Holy pass the beat goaltender, Joe Daley.Despite the fact the red light did not go on and after a five minute discussion with his two linesmen, Czech referee, Vladimir Subat awarded the goal.The overtime session failed to resolve the issue and the Jets had to settle for a 3-3 tie.Assistant coach, Sutherland, does not think the controversy will spill over and affect the Jets in their next game. &ldquo;That game is history.&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Out guys are only looking ahead. They know that dwelling on the past is not going to help them.&rdquo;Obviously, Sutherland believes in the &ldquo;help yourself&rdquo; theory and the Jets will have an opportunity to do just that. When the All Star break concludes, the Jets will open with two home games against Quebec and Edmonton. Two wins could conceivably vault the Jets past the Oilers and the Cincinnati Stingers and leave Winnipeg only five points out of first place. If the Jets continue to play like they have before the All Star break, it&rsquo;s not only conceivable&mdash;but a distinct possibility. &#9632;

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Jets Anticipate Great 2nd Half

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-01419/4254196-1-eng-US/f0026-012.jpg" title="f0026-01" width="608" height="2173"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-04220/4254189-1-eng-US/f0026-042.jpg" title="f0026-04" width="537" height="527"><figcaption class="caption-body">RON CHIPPERFIELD</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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WORLD HOCKEY ASSN. SUMMARIES

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Where WHA Teams Play

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The WHA Scoreboard

&hellip;This WeekBIRMINGHAM&mdash;Valve 11,12, Goulet 9,10,11, Handarson 10, Stawart 6, Ramage 4, Dillon 5, Hanson 1.CINCINNATI&mdash;Ftorek 16, Shutt 3, Marsh 21, Dudley 15, Mslrosat.NEW ENGLAND&mdash;Mark Howe 23,24, Lyle 4, Miller 12, Keon 10.QUEBEC&mdash;Morrison 1, Bemler 20.WINNIPEG&mdash;Ruskowski 7, Lukowich 28, Sullivan 22. &#9632;

WHA’s Scorers

<div class="byline">BY DICK DENNY</div>CINCINNATI&mdash;The transition from collegiate competition to the major leagues has not been a totally free skating one for Stinger rookie Dave Debol, but the former All American center from the University of Michigan is winning the battle, says Cincinnati coach Floyd Smith.&ldquo;David is one of the most beautiful skaters you&rsquo;ll ever see,&rdquo; contends Smith.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a very intelligent player and a beautiful puck handler. But the college game is more wide open and David didn&rsquo;t have to concentrate that much on defense.&ldquo;Right now he&rsquo;s learning the phase you have to learn to win, and that&rsquo;s checking.&ldquo;If you don&rsquo;t check a guy like Dave Keon, you&rsquo;re going to lose the battle, because he (Debol) knows Keon&rsquo;s going to check him. If David&rsquo;s equal in checking, his offensive abilities will make him outstanding.&ldquo;David is protecting the slot more than he was earlier in the season, and he&rsquo;s anticipating better. He&rsquo;s ready to move out on offense more quickly and also back to defense when he has to.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not something that happens overnight for a young player, but he&rsquo;s progressing pretty well.&rdquo;As his first full pro season reached the All Star break, the 22-year-old native of St. Clair Shores, Mich., talked about life in the World Hockey Association and Cincinnati, where he played nine games late in the 1977-78 season.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m pretty satisfied with the way I&rsquo;m playing,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;1 think I should be putting the puck in the net a little more, but I&rsquo;m getting my chances, and if you&rsquo;re doing that, things should start turning around.&rdquo;In 36 games, Debol had nine goals and 21 assists for 30 points. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m kinda right on line with the goals I set for myself this season,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Maybe I&rsquo;m a little under them, but whether you get a goal or an assist, it&rsquo;s still a point.&rdquo;The Stingers won their Final game of 1978, beating New England, 2-1, at Riverfront Coliseum. Debot got Cincinnati&rsquo;s First goal (rookie right wing Mike Gartner had the winning goal) and nearly had a second goal on a breakaway. Il was the kind of play that has been frustrating the 43-goal scorer for the Michigan Wolverines in the 1976-77 season all year.&ldquo;If David had scored on half his breakaways, he&rsquo;d have 30 goals,&rdquo; said Smith. &ldquo;He slips through there pretty good. But he&rsquo;s a natural goal scorer and he should wind up with perhaps 25 goals.&rdquo;Debol recalled the New England contest, saying, &ldquo;The goalies are a little tougher here than in college. I scored one goal against the Whalers, then had a breakaway and the whole upper corner of the net, but Al Smith got a piece of it.&rdquo;&ldquo;In college I never had to play that much defense,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;During my last year at Michigan I was working on that.The five-foot-11, 175-pound Debot knows he won&rsquo;t overpower people around the net, because he plays more of a finesse game like Keon (David had only two minutes in penalties through the All Star break).But he has become cognizant of the need to learn to check in the slot, even if it&rsquo;s not the booming kind some big centermen hand out.&ldquo;I figure I&rsquo;m not big and tough, but it&rsquo;s something I have to work on.&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been turning away and following the puck, but I&rsquo;ve got to ght in the way of the man with the puck and give him a little bumpY&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been thinking a lot about this part of my game. I&rsquo;m trying to anticipate where the puck&rsquo;s going and I&rsquo;m thinking out there more. It&rsquo;s the little things here and there that will help me improve my game.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-01397/4254313-1-eng-US/f0027-012.jpg" title="f0027-01" width="508" height="704"><figcaption class="caption-body">DAVE DEBOL&hellip;Works On Checking</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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Stingers’ Debol Learning Defense

EDMONTON&mdash;Edmonton Oilers arrived at the All Star break in the World Hockey Association all wrapped up in a dogfight for a playoff spot.Coach Glen Sather&rsquo;s team was the only WHA entry to lose to the rouring Moscow Dynamo who moved on to an exciting three-game series with the WHA All Stars. Then the Oilers dropped a 4-1 verdict that defenseman Al Hamilton described as &ldquo;stinky&rdquo; and center Ron Chipperfield termed &ldquo;a horrible display by us.&rdquo;Despite the loss, the Oilers moved one point ahead of Winnipeg Jets and continued to close the gap on Cincinnati Stingers, who had played several more games.While the Oilers&rsquo; headquarters, the 15,246-seat Edmonton Coliseum, was occupied by the All Star series, the Oilers filled in their time with an exhibition game with the White squad of the 1980 Canadian Olympic team.The game, at Calgary, was not an artistic success. Despite two goals each by Dave Semenko and Dennis Sobchuk and one by Cowboy Flett, the Oilers got shaky goaltending from Ed Mio and lost 7-5.&ldquo;They&rsquo;re pretty good,&rdquo; Sather said of the Olympians. &ldquo;They skate well and they work hard and Clare Drake (of University of Alberta) is a good coach.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a hard sort of game for a pro team to play. You can&rsquo;t really do yourself any good, because if you win the fans say you&rsquo;re supposed to and if you lose, the fans say it&rsquo;s because all pros are over-rated.&ldquo;But in this case, it&rsquo;s good. It&rsquo;s a nationalistic thing, I guess.&ldquo;We all want the Olympic team to do well in Lake Placid in 1980 and we want the United Way to do well.&rdquo;The commitment to play the national team followed a pledge by Oilers&rsquo; owner Peter Pocklington to have his team play a game for charity. He made the commitment when John Goldberg, national chairman of the United Way campaign, participated in Edmonton&rsquo;s first-game faceoff. &#9632;

Oilers Setting Sights On Winning Playoff Spot

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WHA Leaders

<div class="byline">BY WAYNE WARRINER</div>HARTFORD&mdash;Coach Bill Dineen&rsquo;s system of staying with a goaltender until he loses has set up a strong competitive situation between Al Smith and John Garrett. The two netminders get along very well but when one relinquishes the spot between the pipes the other has been moving in for lengthy durations.Garrett forced Smitty to sit for an extended period, but when the 33-year-old veteran got his chance he hung in there for six games while the Whalers won five and tied one. Actually Garrett got the nod in the middle of that stretch when Dineen decided to let him work the exhibition against the Moscow Dynamo.Heading into the All Star game break the Whalers had a stretch of four games in five nights, beginning with the exhibition against the Moscow team. Resting elder statesmen Gordie Howe and John McKenzie, the Whalers brought up young Jim Warner and Andre Peloffy from the Springfield Indians.For the Dynamo it was the first game of a tour that would ultimately lead to a three-game set with the WHA All Stars. Although the Soviets outshot the Whalers in the first period it was apparent almost from the beginning, that they would be no match for New England-not to mention the league&rsquo;s AH Star squad. (Subsequently the WHA pressured the Soviet Ice Federation to beef up their team prior to the All Star series in Edmonton).The next night the Czechoslovakian All Stars provided the opposition in a game that would count in the overall league standings. Although the team seemed much more adept than the Soviets of the night before, the Czechs fell to defeat at the hand of the Whalers, 10-4.Two nights later, the Birmingham Bulls matched the Whalers in a closechecking game. A Gordie Howe goal this 14th of the season) gave the Whalers an early edge, but it wasn&rsquo;t until Mike Rogers rifled one home in the final period, that the game opened up. The Whalers went on to win the contest 5-0 as Smith posted his first shutout of the season.The following night, in Cincinnati, the Whalers longest unbeaten string of the campaign came to an end at seven (6-0-1). The Stingers outlasted New England 2-1. During the streak Andy Lacroix went on a goal-scoring binge with 11 goals in seven games (11-4-15).QUEBEC: After picking up only one point from a two-game series with New England, the Nordiques won five of their next six. Two of their wins were exhibition triumphs (7-3 over Sweden, and 5-4 over Moscow Dynamo), but the other three victories were enough to lock the Quebec City team in a first place tie with New England at the All Star break.Goalie Richard Brodeur re-emerged as a factor for coach Jacuqes Demers after spending the better part of a month watching teammate Jim Corsi zoom to the top of the WHA&rsquo;s goaltending stats. The Nordiques&rsquo; netminding tandem is among the youngest in the league.At 24 years of age, Corsi beat veteran Louis Levasseur out of the Nordiques&rsquo; back-up job early in the season. Before long he had worked his way past Brodeur to claim the team&rsquo;s No. 1 position.Veteran defenseman J. C. Tremblay gave credit to Corsi for the team&rsquo;s big turnaround in the &lsquo;goals against&rsquo; department. &ldquo;The guys have confidence in him and he helps out by handling the puck well,&rdquo; said Tremblay. &ldquo;He knows what to do with the puck and that can help a team a lot.&rdquo;Heading for the All Star break, Brodeur&mdash;only 26 years old&mdash;came up with a nice effort in beating Birmingham, 5-1. The next night Corsi was victimized by Cincinnati, 6-2. Coach Demers split duties for the Moscow exhibition, but put Brodeur between the pipes the following night against the Czechoslovakian All Stars&mdash;a game that counted in the WHA standings. Brodeur responded by shutting out the Czechs while his mates rained 52 shots to come away with a 4-0 win.Tremblay, who&rsquo;ll turn 40 this month, says&mdash;&rdquo;This is my last year. I figure I&rsquo;m still the best defenseman on the team but they cut me $40,000 this year, i&rsquo;ll play in Switzerland next year. It&rsquo;s not firmed up yet, but I figure 1&rsquo;11 be able to go for a few more years.&rdquo; Coach Demers says of Tremblay&mdash;&rdquo;He&rsquo;s as important as anyone out there. He&rsquo;s a very valuable defenseman.&rdquo;BIRMINGHAM: Birmingham finished up the year 1978 with some valiant efforts, but managed only two wins in a five-game stint. Down 4-1 in New England, the Bulls gallantly scrambled back into the game only to fall a goal shy at the buzzer. Whalers&rsquo; coach Bill Dineen credited the Bulls 19-year-old goaltender, Pat Riggin, with a fine effort. And New England defenseman, Brad Seiwood said, &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve got a lot of respect for those kids&mdash;they came back)&rdquo;The Bulls then entered a stretch where the schedule demanded four games in Five nights. The first was at home and resulted in a 4-2 win over Cincinnati. After a day off, the Bulls flew to Cincy and outlasted the Stingers 6-5. Then it was back to New England where a Gordie Howe power play goal put them behind after the five-minute mark. But the Bulls played the Whalers even in a close-checking contest until a third period tally by the Whalers forced the Bulls to open up the game.The next night they were in Quebec &mdash; their third city in three nights. Again the Bulls played well. The score was tied, 22, with little over three minutes to play, when the league&rsquo;s leading scorer&mdash;Real Cloutier&mdash;notched his second goal of the night, his 35th of the season.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-03219/4254399-1-eng-US/f0028-032.jpg" title="f0028-03" width="477" height="604"><figcaption class="caption-body">J.C. TREMBLAY&hellip;Headed To Europe?</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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Whalers’ Goalers Tough To Displace

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-01383/4254437-1-eng-US/f0028-012.jpg" title="f0028-01" width="242" height="240"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-02283/4254430-1-eng-US/f0028-022.jpg" title="f0028-02" width="2207" height="1656"></div> &#9632;

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WHA’S POINT SCORING AND PENALTY STATISTICS

<div class="byline">BY VIRG FOSS</div>NOTRE DAME&mdash;It was billed as the top college series in the country.What it turned out to be was North Dakota&rsquo;s first road sweep 9-4 and 6-4 in four years and first road sweep ever for the Sioux over Notre Dame.North Dakota exploded for five third period goals to win 9-4 in the opener as defenseman Bill Himmelright led the way with two power play goals. That more than offset a hat trick by freshman star Dave Poulin, all on deflections.The second night, North Dakota broke a 3-3 deadlock in the third period with goals by Phil Sykes, Mike Burggraf and Paul Chadwick in a 6-4 victory. Chadwick&rsquo;s goal, into an empty net, sealed the verdict with 53 seconds left. North Dakota&rsquo;s line of center Kevin Maxwell with wings Mark Taylor and Gary Eades continued to be the big producer. They scored three goals in the second game to run their season output for the three to 46 goals.MINNESOTA AT MICHIGAN: Tough defense combined with explosive scoring boosted the Gophers to a 10-1 and 3-0 sweep over the Wolverines in Ann Arbor. In the first game: the Gophers blitzed Michigan with eight goals in the second period. Rob McClanahan&rsquo;s hat trick led the way. The second night, Don Micheletti scored twice and Steve Janaszak posted the league&rsquo;s second shutout, ruining the debut of Michigan goalie Steve Mason, a walk-on who had 38 saves.MICHIGAN STATE AT WISCONSIN: Hapless Michigan State continued to fall on hard times. Mark Johnson led the Badgers to a tough 6-4 win in the opener but it was all Wisconsin in the 13-3 wrapup.Johnson ran his college goal output to 108 in two and one-half years with the hat trick. Wisconsin set records for most goals in a game, most goals in a period (7) and most assists (22) in a game. It was Michigan State&rsquo;s 13th league loss in 16 games. The sweep pushed Wisconsin into a three-way tie for third.COLORADO COLLEGE AT MICHIGAN TECH: Dave Feamster&rsquo;s power play goal gave Colorado College a 6-4 win in the opener, but it was all Michigan Tech in a 10-3 win the next night. Freshman Glenn Merkosky had four goals and three assists. Teammate Gord Salt had the hat trick and Rick Boehm had a goal and five assists.DENVER AT DULUTH: Dave Johnson&rsquo;s two goals lifted Duluth to a 6-1 win in the opener. In Duluth&rsquo;s 7-1 victory the second night, Bill Oleksuk had the hat trick, Dan Lempe had two goals and Mark Pavelich four assists as Duluth ran its winning streak to seven games and moved into a tie for third with Wisconsin and Notre Dame.WCHA NOTES: Michigan Tech&rsquo;s Bret Bjerken suffered a serious eye injury in the Great Lakes Invitation. First reports were that he possibly would lose up to 80 percent vision in his eye. Latest reports indicate he may be able to return to hockey again&hellip;North Dakota has lost junior defenseman Travis Dunn for the year with a complete shoulder separation&hellip;Minnesota defenseman Glenn LeTourneau has dropped out of school.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-02262/4254468-1-eng-US/f0029-022.jpg" title="f0029-02" width="540" height="767"><figcaption class="caption-body">DON MICHELETTI&hellip;Two-Goal Blast</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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Sioux Hands Irish Double Loss; Minnesota Rolls Over Michigan

Mon. 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 ProvidenceTue. Jan. 16Boston University at New HampshireBoston College at DartmouthColgate at St. LawrenceRPI at YaleWed. Jan. 17Clarkson at CornellFri. Jan. 19Northeastern at St. LawrenceNew Hampshire at ColgateSat. Jan. 20Providence at VermontCornell at YaleNortheastern at ClarksonBoston College at Boston UniversityNew Hampshire at RPI<h2>WCHA CONFERENCE</h2>Jan. 12-13Notre Dame at Michigan StateWisconsin at Michigan TechNorth Dakota at DenverColorado College at MichiganMinnesota-Duluth at MinnesotaJan. 19-20Michigan Tech at Notre DameMinnesota at WisconsinMinnesota-Duluth at Colorado CollegeMichigan at North DakotaJan. 20-21Denver at Michigan State<h2>CCHA Conference</h2>Jan. 8Bowling Groan at Ohio StateJan. 12Bowling Green at Western MichiganOhio State at St. LouisJan. 12-13Northern Michigan at Ferris StateJan. 13Western Michigan at Bowling GreenJan. 14Ohio State at St. Louis &#9632;

ECAC Conference

<div class="byline">BY TOM BURKE</div>CANTON&mdash;At first blush, St. Lawrence University&rsquo;s triumph in the RPI Invitational Tournament is no cause for bells and whistles. The erstwhile Larries squeezed by the field of competitors &mdash; RPI, Princeton, Air Force&mdash;with a 2-0-1 record, mostly on the strength of acrobatic goaltending. Such streaks happen occassionally, but don&rsquo;t continue long enough to make a team a consistent threat.Yet a check of the records reveals that it has been well over 10 years since St. Lawrence, once a fixture in the upper echelons of Eastern hockey, has won a tournament of any sort. Their last appearance in the Boston Garden playoffs was in 1967, and they&rsquo;ve made the ECAC&rsquo;s top eight just four times since then. The RPI Tourney win may just be the light at the end of the tunnel, although the Saints are off to a slow start which will handicap them in the race for playoff berths come March.Leon Abbott, the Saints&rsquo; coach, definitely thinks his program has turned the corner. Now in his third year, Abbott has recruited 16 of the 25 varsity players currently on the roster. While the offense is shaky, the defense is talented albeit youthful, according to the man who quickly rebuilt a faltering RPI program in the early &lsquo;70&rsquo;s. And he contends that if a better pair of goaltenders than freshman Gary Laskoski and junior Rick Wilson is around &ldquo;I&rsquo;d like to see them.&rdquo;Of course, St. Lawrence has yet to play the likes of Brown, Boston College and Providence, to name a few teams with two proven varsity backstops. However, Laskoski and Wilson combined for 120 saves at Troy and Laskoski, a newcomer from Ottawa, copped the MVP trophy.The Saints need good goaltending because their defense is almost young enough to wear double runners. Five freshmen&mdash;Bob Vanecek, Pete Quilty, Randy Sexton, Mitch Ross, and Jon Clark&mdash;are playing regularly along with Brian Crawley, a soph who hasn&rsquo;t seen much more action than a rookie. Greg Francis, whose career is still injury-plagued after his eligibility problems have been cleared up, is also aboard but bothered by a bad shoulder.&ldquo;Our defense is a lot more talented than it was a year ago, and it&rsquo;s gotten to the point that the kids have tremendous confidence in our goalies and don&rsquo;t mind giving up the shots on net as long as they&rsquo;re not from the critical areas,&rdquo; said Abbott.&ldquo;Another very positive thing is our penalty killing. In the RPI Tournament we killed off 24 penalties in the three games and didn&rsquo;t allow one power play goal.&rdquo;There is no special penalty killing unit from the St. Lawrence forward contingent. Two skaters on whichever line is due for a turn are sent out to kill time. The Saints best goal scorers have been Doug Crawford, Dean Popeil, and Dan Walenty to date; however, more production from these leaders and better balance over the stretch run will be needed if St. Lawrence is to harbor any hopes for the playdowns this year.Pointing up the parity of the league, consider this improved St. Lawrence team&rsquo;s most recent loss to vastly underrated Dartmouth, 5-4 in Canton. The Greenies hoisted their record to 6-2 and nudged into third spot via Dennis Murphy&rsquo;s second goal of the game coming with 1:53 to play. Dartmouth broke out to a 4-1 lead and managed 45 shots on Wilson and Laskoski, then held on in the face of a valiant Larrie comeback bid.Dartmouth thus edged into third place, but the big news of the standings for last week concerned those teams above them. Vermont stuck its head out in front of the ECAC race with a 6-2 triumph over Northeastern in Burlington which upped its league mark to 6-1. This came the same night Boston University was whipped 5-1 by Cornell in Ithaca for the Terriers&rsquo; first ECAC loss of the young season, giving BU a 51 ECAC record.Vermont didn&rsquo;t have it easy with Fernie Flaman&rsquo;s Huskies, as Syl Turcott had to stop 51 shots to 13 for Eddie Arrington. Cornell, on the other hand, was outshot just 31-30 by BU but had control of the game from the outset. Senior defenseman Robbie Gemmell had two goals as the Big Red skated to a 4-0 lead. The killer was actually scored by Brock Tredway, unassisted at 2:43 of the third period to make it 4-0 just after a BU power play expired.The win broke a string of nine straight BU victories dating back to March 1 of 1972 and moved Cornell into seventh place with a 3-2 league slate. BU&rsquo;s overall record became 8-2, worlds better than Vermont&rsquo;s overall 67 mark. But six of those UVM losses came outside the division, so they don&rsquo;t count; still, has there ever been a team in the lead of a major college hockey conference with a losing record at this point in the season?New Hampshire, Brown, and Colgate all improved their position in the league. UNH defeated Bostori College 5-3 in Boston on the strength of a four goal second period, then moved on to take the Yale Invitational with a 5-4 overtime win over Providence and a 6-5 squeaker over host Yale. Bob Gould&rsquo;s third power play goal of the game won the PC tilt at 0:42 of the extra period. Yale topped Clarkson in a wild 10-9 overtime slugfest the first night but saw their rally fall short against UNH. In the consolation, Clarkson cruised to a 7-2 win over the Friars, a team that&rsquo;s still rated to make the top four even though they dropped below .500 in the defeat.Brown zapped Harvard in the first televised game of the week, taking a 1-0 lead after one period and squelching any Harvard comeback with a goal less than a minute after Harvard scored its first and second. The Johns had lost to Northeastern 5-3 earlier in the week, thanks to a two goal effort by Larry Parks, fancy goaltending by Arrington, and solid penalty killing. Princeton slipped further back with a 6-2 loss at Colgate, but rallied with four second period goals to tie RPI. Still winless in the league, the Tigers will be spoilers in the weeks ahead.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-01377/4254523-1-eng-US/f0030-012.jpg" title="f0030-01" width="547" height="884"><figcaption class="caption-body">BOBBY GOULD&hellip;Three PP Goals</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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St Lawrence Wins RPI Tourney; Vermont On Top After BU Stopped

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-02297/4254554-1-eng-US/f0030-022.jpg" title="f0030-02" width="618" height="2708"></div> &#9632;

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Colleges Scoreboard

<div class="byline">BY JIM SCHNEIDER</div>PROVIDENCE&mdash;The nationally-ranked Bowling Green State University hockey team spent the Christmas break collecting the championship in the Old Colony Tournament hosted by Brown University.BG led the Central Collegiate Hockey Association to a successful tournament season as Ohio State finished second in the Great Lakes Invitational in Detroit and Western Michigan finished second in the Cornell Holiday Tournament.Bowling Green used a tight defense led by All American defenseman Ken Morrow and sophomore goaltender Wally Charko and an explosive offense led by freshmen forwards Brian MacLellan and George McPhee.The Falcons won the three-game, round robin tournament beating Vermont 3-0, McGill 12-7 and host Brown 6-1. Charko, who was voted MVP in the tournament, allowed just three goals while running his season record to 17-2-1. Sophomore Doug Bivins allowed the last five goals in the McGill eame as Charko was rested for the Brown start.In the tournament opener Bowling Green defeated Vermont for the third straight time this season as Charko made 17 saves while MacLellan, Yves Pelland and Tim Alexander scored the goals. CCHA Player-of-the-Week MacLelland, who finished the tournament with eight points, and Pelland were the only two Falcons to get a point in each game.BG scored early and often against McGill with MacLellan scoring two goals and adding four assists for six points while McPhee netted four goals, both setting single game tournament records.In the Brown game McPhee and Steve Dawe each scored two goals while Bruce Newton and defenseman Pete Sikoraki scored the others.All tournament selections included MacLellan, McPhee, Charko and Morrow. In fact, Charko edged Morrow by one vote in the MVP selection.Ohio State&rsquo;s Paul Tilley played a key role as the Buckeyes knocked off Michigan 5-4 in the first round of the Great Lakes Invitational in Detroit&rsquo;s Olympia. OSU lost to Michigan Tech 7-4 in the finals.Tilley scored three goals against Michigan including two shorthanded goals. Tilley tied the tournament records for goals (five) and points (seven).With Michigan leading 1-0 in the first period on a goal by Dennis May, the Bucks scored twice in 10 seconds as Mark Freeman scored at 13:39 and Tilley at 13:49.With the score tied 2-2 after two periods OSU had the only goals of the final period with Jim Werboski and Tilley scoring. Tilley netted the winning goal at 14:16 of the third period after taking a pass from Larry Marson.Tilley paced Ohio State in the championship game scoring two goals and adding an assist in front of a record crowd of 15,214. Tom Scanlon and Marson scored the other goals.Mike Blake made 41 saves in the win over Michigan while Steve Jones had 35 saves in the loss. OSU outshot Michigan Tech 16-9 in the third period, but tourney MVP John Rockwell held off the rally in the Tech goal.Western Michigan advanced to the finals of the Cornell tournament with a 6-5 overtime decision over Merrimack with Mike Brown scoring the winning goal at 1:11 of the overtime assisted by Dan Stothers and Pat McMahon.The Broncos had taken a 5-1 lead in the game, but Merrimack used nine minutes of power play in the third period to get back into the game.All tournament selection Bernie Saunders scored two goals in the opener while Kip Acton, Dave Bertelsen and Ross Fitzpatrick each scored once.In the championship game Cornell led 2-0 after one period and 3-0 before brown scored at 2:55 of the second period. Fitzpatrick and Bob Scurfield scored the other WMU goals.Joe Pagliacci had 31 saves including 14 in the third period in WMU&rsquo;s win over Merrimack while Frank Serratore had 24 in the Cornell game.In the lone weekend series involving a CCHA team, St. Louis was swept by Providence 9-5 and 7-4 in the Checkerdome.In the opener in front of 6,575 fans on &ldquo;Straight A Night&rdquo; the Billikens and Friars were tied 3-3 after one period with Doug Butler, Brad Thoresen and Dan Pupillo scoring for the hosts.Providence scored seven straight goals to take a 9-3 lead before Mark Major and Chuck Durocher finished up the scoring.Steve O&rsquo;Neill collected two goals for Providence and was named the first star of the game while the second and third stars were Colin Ahearn and Scot Kleinendorst, also two-goal scorers in the opener.In the second contest Butler gave SLU a 1-0 lead at 4:47 of the first period, but Paul Stasiuk tied the game after one period.Chris Valentine and Durocher had second period goals, hefore Valentine&rsquo;s second goal of the game at 1:19 of the third period gave the Bills a 4-3 lead, but Providence scored the last four goals of the game with O&rsquo;Neill scoring the winner at 5:40. Tom Bauer and O&rsquo;Neill scored twice in the game for the visiting Friars.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-01345/4254585-1-eng-US/f0031-012.jpg" title="f0031-01" width="472" height="815"><figcaption class="caption-body">WALLY CHARKO&hellip;Tournament MVP</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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Bowling Green Wins ‘Old Colony Ohio State, WMU Hot In Tourneys

<div class="byline">BY JIM LEAHY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-01356/4254647-1-eng-US/f0032-012.jpg" title="f0032-01" width="521" height="714"><figcaption class="caption-body">GARY BURNS&hellip;Overtime Winner</figcaption></div>PORTLAND&mdash;Maine Mariners gave the American Hockey League a clean sweep over the touring Soviet club team Traktor by taking a 6-3 decision before 6,934 fans the Cumberland County Civic Center. The victory followed a 6-5 overtime triumph by the Rochester Americans over the Soviets, while a third game, scheduled in Hershey, was cancelled when Traktor was unable to reach the contest because of snow.Six different goalscorers got into the act for the Mariners as Terry Murray, Tom Gorence, Drew Callander, Wayne Schaab, John Paddock and Al Hill, all found the range before the second largest crowd in Mariner history. The Mariners later lost the services of several players as Callander was traded to Vancouver Canucks, while Gorence and Hill were recalled by the parent Philadelphia Flyers, Yves Preston, though, did return to Portland from the Flyers.In Rochester, the Amerks twice overcame three-goal deficits before Gary Burns scored after 2:39 of overtime to clinch the comeback.After training 4-1 and 5-2, Steve West scored late in the second period and Steve Langdon and Brian McGregor added third period tallies to send the game into overtime. Gary Carr made 33 saves for the win.Meanwhile in league action:SPRINGFIELD:Since Pete Stemkowski took over the coaching reins, the Tribe has responded with two super wins in three games on the road. After losing to the Nova. Scotia Voyageurs 5-4 on a disputed goal in overtime at Halifax, the Indians beat the New Brunswick Hawks twice in Moncton. The wins gave Springfield the best road record in the AHL, with a 710-1 mark.&ldquo;These guys have been digging in hard in our recent games and the team spirit has been excellent,&rdquo; said Stemkowski, who has done all his coaching from behind the bench rather than becoming a player-coach.The 3-1 win over New Brunswick was the 1,000th in Springfield&rsquo;s AHL history and the Indians are about to start on their second thousand wins.Rookie goaltender Lome Molieken won the Tribe&rsquo;s last two games with spectacular performances in the nets. &ldquo;He gave up only three goals in two games and made big saves against one of the tougher clubs in the league,&rdquo; said the Tribe leader. &ldquo;If we can get the same kind of effort from the guys from here on,&rdquo; Stemkowski added, &ldquo;we&rsquo;ll be right in the thick of the race.&rdquo;After the Indians whipped the New Brunswick Hawks twice, they returned home to edge New Haven 4-3 before 3,128 at the Big E Coliseum.NEW HAVEN: The Nighthawks have been in a mild slump, splitting their last six games, but still are on top in the Southern Division race. At this writing, they lead second place Binghamton by five points and the third place Hershey Bears by seven.Injuries to Dale Lewis (strained shoulder) and Dave Hrechkosy (injured hand) caused the Hawks to call up wingers Benoit Gosselin and Mike Backman from the International Hockey League. Both were with the club earlier in the season. The club did get some good news. Rookie defenseman Tim Bothwell, probably the team&rsquo;s best defenseman, returned from the injury list and will be a welcome addition to the Nighthawk backliners who have been taking their lumps of late.New Haven started the week by losing 4-0 at Rochester. Two nights later they rebounded, to beat Nova Scotia 5-4 at home. Back on the road, it was a 4-3 defeat in Springfield, followed by a 4-3 win in overtime at Rochester. The weary Nighthawks returned home after four games in five nights, three of them on the road.Ray McKay scored a short handed goal for the Springfield Indians which proved to be the game winner. Derek Haas scored twice and Pierre Roy once for the Tribe in the 4-3 win. Nighthawk goals came from Dean Turner who scored twice and Bobby Sheehan. In Rochester, a dramatic goal in sudden death by rookie blueliner Andre Dore gave New Haven a 4-3 win of their own.With five of the next seven games on the road, the AHL schedule will have a lot to do with determining whether or not the first place Nighthawks are for real.NOVA SCOTIA: The Vees have lost five of their last six and have fallen into third place in the tight Northern Division race. After once leading the AHL Nova Scotia is in danger of falling into the cellar since improving Springfield has suddenly caught fire. Losing top scorers Dave Lumley and Norm Dupont to the Izvestia Hockey Tournament didn&rsquo;t help the Voyageurs at all.Nova Scotia was in action four times during the week and lost all four. They dropped a 3-2 decision at Hershey, lost 5-4 in New Haven, were edged 5-3 in Maine and dropped a 7-5 game in Halifax to Binghamton.HERSHEY: A 2-1 record during the week gave the Bears a 2-3 mark over the last two weeks, good enough to keep the club near the .500 point and close to second place in the Southern Division race. Hershey, Rochester and Binghamton have been trading places in the standings just about every day during the past few weeks. At this point, the Bears trail Binghamton by two points and have a one point advantage over fourth place Rochester.The Bears edged Nova Scotia 3-2 at Hershey but lost 8-6 to New Brunswick at the Hersheypark Arena. A big 8-6 win at Rochester kept the Amerks trailing the hot-and-cold Bears.NEW BRUNSWICK: The new AHL entry has settled into the second spot in the Northern Division race, trailing the front-running Maine Mariners by three points. The Hawks won twice and lost twice during the week and have a 4-4 mark during the last eight games.Springfield posted a 3-2 win in Moncton and followed that up with a 31 win at Moncton two nights later. The Hawks faced the Philadelphia Firebirds on the road and skated to a 6-5 win in overtime after the Firebirds had blown a 4-0 lead in the first period. New Brunswick ended the road trip with, another high-scoring contest, this time an 8-6 victory over Hershey in Chocolatetown.MAINE: The Mariners are in first place in the Northern Division, have won more games than any other team in the league and have two men who lead the AHL in scoring and goaltending. The skeptics who thought that Maine would have a tough time repeating their incredible season of a year ago, may now be having second thoughts about this club.Bernie Johnston leads the AHL in scoring with 42 points and young goaltender, Pete Peeters leads netminders with a fine2.85 GAA.Maine won two and lost one to complete the first 32 games with an 1810-4 record, the best mark in the AHL.PHILADELPHIA: The struggling Firebirds lost center-right winger Ron Andruff and center Dale Yakiwchuk to, their parent clubs and immediately went into a mild tailspin. Andruff was leading the club in scoring with 16 goals and 12 assists for 28 points. Yakiwchuk had only eight points, but was among the club&rsquo;s penalty box leaders with 66 minutes in the penalty box early in the season.The Firebirds were in action twice and dropped both contests. The home ice advantage did not help in either case.They lost 6-5 in overtime to New Brunswick and 7-5 to the Rochester Americans. Both defeats dropped the club into last place in the Southern Division, three points in back or Rochester.ROCHESTER: Pat Kelly inherited a team that has been plagued with injuries and callups that resulted in a poor start for the normally powerful Amerks. Mike Walton, who was with the club for only a few games. Bill Bennett, the club&rsquo;s leading scorer, and goaltender Jim Pettie, were dispatched to the parent Boston Bruins. Dwight Foster was also lost for a few weeks while he competed in the Izvestia Tournament. Defenseman Brad Knelson and left winger Rick Dorman were called up from the 1HL Grand Rapids team as replacements.Rochester has won four of its last six and could get going in the Southern Division race once its injuries heal. The club split four games last week to rest in fourth place, however, they are only three points out of second.BINGHAMTON: The Dusters are 32-1 in their last six games and have managed to sneak into second place in the Southern Division. They won two of three during the week. A 4-2 loss in Maine was followed by victories over Maine and the Voyageurs. &#9632;

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Mariners, Amerks Topple Soviets; Stemmer’s Indians Tough On Road

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/f0033-02241/4254678-1-eng-US/f0033-022.jpg" title="f0033-02" width="518" height="574"></div> &#9632;

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Where CHL Teams Play

<div class="byline">BY TOM LOBAUGH</div>TULSA&mdash;Three out of four games went overtime, and the Tulsa Oilers won two of them. Coach Johnny Choyce was understandably proud, as the team bussed back from a 4-3 triumph in Oklahoma City Christmas night.&ldquo;They&rsquo;re all playing extremely well,&rdquo; Choyce observed. &ldquo;And there&rsquo;s a real team spirit on the club now. Used to be, you could sit on the bus and hear a pin drop. Now, they&rsquo;re more together as a team. They even sing on the bus, and, to me, that&rsquo;s great.&rdquo;The late December Oilers certainly didn&rsquo;t look like the same club that played nine games without a victory and won only one of 13 starts in November and early December.&ldquo;Our defense is standing up at the blue line, instead of backing in, becuase now they have more confidence.&rdquo; Choyce said. &ldquo;And when we&rsquo;re down, our guys keep coming back. That shows what they&rsquo;re made of;&rdquo;In all three overtime games on the road, the Oilers had to fight back from an early deficit, but eventually took the lead in the third period, only to see a late enemy goal force that extra period. Rick Hodgson gave the Oilers a 3-2 victory in Dallas after 8:06 of overtime. In Fort Worth, it was Steve Tambellini of the Texans who scored the winner after 3:17 of overtime. Monday in Oklahome City Dave Gardner won it for Tulsa after 9:34 of overtime.The one home game in this span wasn&rsquo;t as pleasant for the Tulsans. Oklahoma City&rsquo;s Jim Warden shut out the Oilers until Gerry O&rsquo;Flaherty scored with just 3:10 left on the clock.Bill McKenzie was in the Oiler nets for both those overtime contests, and for the home loss against Oklahoma City. Rookie Tim Bernhardt got the overtime triumph Christmas night in OC.O&rsquo;Flaherty&rsquo;s three points for the week gave him 31, tying for sixth place in the CHL.scoring.Brian Hill, the club&rsquo;s top goal-getter with 16, suffered a knee injury in Fort Worth, and missed the next two games. Defenseman Jean Bernier injured a thumb in OC Christmas night, and sat out the third period and the overtime session.The holiday triumph moved the Oilers into a fifth-place tie with Dallas, but the Hawks had two games in hand.DALLAS: With the flug bug taking its toll, the Black Hawks lost both starts the week before Christmas, a 3-2 overtime game at home against Tulsa, and an 8-2 &ldquo;nightmare&rdquo; in Fort Worth.Bob Manno&rsquo;s early goal and Rob Tudor&rsquo;s late tying tally went for naught as the rallying Oilers ended the Hawks&rsquo; five-game unbeaten string. Rob Flockhart and Brad Smith got the Dallas goals in the loss at Fort Worth. Curt Ridley was in the nets for both reversals, as the parent Vancouver Canucks recalled goalie Dune Wilson. Steve Clippingdale was too ill to play Saturday, and several other Dallas skaters were ailing, but played.Tudor climbed to a third-place tie in the league scoring, with 33 points, and Flockhart shared sixth place with 31. Brad Gassoff added 24 penalty-minutes for a league-leading total of 135.FORT WORTH: Veteran Ralph Stewart, subbing for ailing coach Billy MacMillan, had a perfect coaching record, as the Texans gave him an overtime 5-4 home win over Tulsa. MacMillan returned to duty after a two-week absence and was rewarded with an 8-2 home romp over Dallas.That was the Texans&rsquo; fifth straight win at home over their turnpike rivals, and gave Fort Worth a 6-3 lead in the 20-game series. &ldquo;We had to get revenge,&rdquo; said Billy, referring to the Texans&rsquo; 7-3 loss in ballas while he was ill.Garth MacGuigan had the hat trick, a goal in each period, of the runaway victory. Hector Marini and Dave Salvian helped make it 3-1 in the first period. Yvon Vautour and Ed Pizunski joined Garth in making it 6-2 after two stanzas. MacGuigan clinched his hat trick just 29 seconds into the final period, and Vautour added his second tally.Pizunski and Marini got the Texans in front early against Tulsa. Pizunski scored again in the second period, but it took Neil Hawryliw&rsquo;s goal with 6:42 left in regulation time to tie it up. Steve Tambellini won it after 3:17 of overtime.Those victories vaulted Fort Worth into fourth place, three points ahead of Dallas and Tulsa, who were tied for fifth.SALT LAKE: Back-to-back losses on the road slimmed the Golden Eagles&rsquo; first-place margin to four points over Kansas City and Oklahoma City. The Birds lost in Oklahoma City, 4-1, when the Stars exploded for three goals in a span of 3:09 in the final period. The next night it was an overtime loss in Kansas City, 5-4. It was. the Eagles&rsquo; third straight setback after their eightgame unbeaten streak ended in Tulsa the previous week.Although each goalie suffered another loss, Doug Grant continued to lead the league on a 2.15 average yield, and Terry Richardson was seebnd-best at 2.83.Richardson was the loser in Oke City, after Thomson had tied the game in the second period. Grant was bombed in Kansas City.Kansas City had eight power play chances, two of them with two-man advantages, while Sall Lake had but two opportunities.OKLAHOMA CITY: Left wing Mike Fidler broke the Stars&rsquo; club record for a short tenure, when he left the arena after playing just one period against Dallas, Dec. 13. The 23-year-old forward flew home to Minneapolis, but the parent Minnesota North Stars persuaded him to fly back to Oklahoma City and report to duty.His second stint with the Stars didn&rsquo;t last much longer. Early in the second period at Tulsa, Dec. 23, Mike crashed into a goalpost, and suffered a shoulder injury.Coach Ted Hampson was desperately searching for players. Mike Eaves returned to duty, but Jamie Gallimore had to have his injured right leg placed in a cast, when it was discovered calcium deposits had formed in his severe Charley horse. Gallimore&rsquo;s two-week layoff was expected to stretch to seven weeks. Alex Pirus was sidelined with a hand injury, and Chuck Arnason missed a game with a shoulder bruise. Goalie Pete LoPresti and right wing Dan Chicoine were called up to Minnesota, where Chicoine immediately sustained an ankle injury.The Stars ran up three straight wins, before Tulsa broke the skein with a 4-3 overtime decision. They beat Fort Worth (3-1) and Salt Lake (4-1) in the Myriad, before taking another 4-1 decision in Tulsa&rsquo;s Assembly Center.Mike Eaves had one assist for the week, running his league-leading point total to 42, six ahead of his closest rival.KANSAS CITY: Victory in their only game the week before Christmas kept Larry Wilson&rsquo;s Red Wings tied for second place, but six back of leagueleading Salt Lake.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-01322/4254709-1-eng-US/f0033-012.jpg" title="f0033-01" width="538" height="751"><figcaption class="caption-body">GARTH MacGUIGAN&hellip;Fired Hat Trick</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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Oilers Turning It Around With New Drive On Ice

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-02284/4254740-1-eng-US/f0034-022.jpg" title="f0034-02" width="568" height="585"></div> &#9632;

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Where IHL Teams Play

<div class="byline">BY BUD GALLMEIER</div>PORT HURON&mdash;Young Ron Ullyot doesn&rsquo;t have the impatience of youth. And the Port Huron Flags are the better for it now.Two weeks ago the &ldquo;Flags were struggling through a seven-game winless streak. But Ullyot didn&rsquo;t panic. He had confidence his young team would skate themselves out of trouble. They did and are now flying high.&ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t have the unity before. We were inexperienced and it has taken the guys awhile to get to know each other,&rdquo; Ullyot said following the Flags&rsquo; 3-2 thriller over Flint to run their undefeated string to seven.Ullyot cited the improved defensive play as a key in the recent surge. &ldquo;The improved defensive play by our forwards has been a big key for us. They aren&rsquo;t getting trapped in the other team&rsquo;s zone. They&rsquo;re getting away from the junior-type hockey.&rdquo;Despite the unbeaten string, the Flags are no better than tied for first in the North Division of the International Hockey League with the Saginaw Gears. Each team has 30 points.Larrv Gould scored a pair of goals and Denis Houle got the winner for the Flags in the victory over Flint. It was a light&mdash;but productive week. In the only other start, the Flags won at Muskegon, 5-3, which saved new commissioner Frank Gallagher his first problem. Had the Flags lost, Ullyot planned to protest.&ldquo;They dressed 16 players. And that was illegal. Ford (Gary) was on a two-game suspension,&rdquo; Ullyot said.SAGINAW: A 4-2 victory at Flint capped a near-perfect week for the Gears who picked up six of a possible eight points with a pair of victories and two ties. The one tie was a 4-4 affair at Milwaukee. The other a 6-6 deadlock at home with South Division leader Fort Wayne.Manager-coach Don Perry would have liked two points from Fort Wayne but was pretty happy with the tie. The Komets fired away 51 times at Gear goalie Doug Keans.Right winger Dave Westner had a good week. He picked up the hat trick in the tie with Fort Wayne and added a pair in the 3-2 win over Milwaukee at home.KALAMAZOO: The K-Wings recovered from a 7-1 blitzing at the hands of South Division power Grand Rapids to sweep a weekend series and move ahead of Flint into third place in the North. The springboard was a 7-2 whipping of the Owls in a rematch in Kalamazoo. Veteran winger Mike Wanchuk&rsquo;s 200th goal was a bonus for the crowd of 3,553 fans who sat in on the victory.The K-Wings exploded for three goals each in the second and third period to record their second triumph of the season over the Owls who have lost just five times in 26 games thus far.FLINT: It wasn&rsquo;t a very good week for the Generals. You might say it was a complete loss. In addition to dropping three straight games, including one at home, the Generals dropped out of third place&mdash;and lost the services of manager-coach Marc Boileau for an indefinite period.Boileau was injured during an altercation in a senior game, suffering cracked ribs and a collapsed lung. Boileau missed losses of 8-4 at Toledo, 3-2 at Port Huron, and watched the 4-2 defeat to Saginaw at home from the press box.MUSKEGON: Gerry Moore, who has drunk champagne from the Turner Cup, is finally wilting under the continued misfiring of the Mohawks. Following the Hawks 11-4 loss at Kalamazoo, Moore said: I think I&rsquo;ve had it. No sense in coaching, is there? Normally we play physical defense and keep the score at 1-1, 2-1 before getting blown out in the last 10 minutes. Tonight we got blitzed right off the bat.&rdquo;The night before the Hawks battled Fort Wayne even for almost 45 minutes before falling tea late surge, 7-2. The week started with a 5-3 loss at home to Port Huron leaving the Hawks with a 323-2 record.FORT WAYNE: Moose Lallo would be wise to take heed of the advice offered years ago by the legendary Satchel Paige. &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t look back,&rdquo; Satch warned,, &ldquo;because somebody may be gaining on you.&rdquo; Whether Moose has looked back or not is a moot question. But somebody is gaining on him&mdash;his Komet hockey club that is. The Grand Rapids Owls have refused to crack under the Komets&rsquo; sizzling pace and have been matching the Komets stride-for-stride, win-for-win.An even split&mdash;I-l-I&mdash;for the week left the Komets just two points up on the Owls. And the Owls have two games in hand.The victory was a 7-2 walk over Muskegon. The Komets came from a 63 deficit to grab a tie in Saginaw and then lost for the second time at Grand Rapids, 7-3.GRAND RAPIDS: The Owls rebounded from a 7-1 lacing at Kalamazoo to win two straight, capped by the 7-3 triumph over Fort Wayne.The Owls converted on four of five power plays against the Komets who could score on just two of nine.TOLEDO: The Diggers combined a potent offense with a defensive gem to skate 2-1-0 for the week. In whipping Flint and Milwaukee, the Diggers pumped in 14 goals. Flint fell, 8-4, and Milwaukee was blanked, 6-0, by goalie Jim Baxter, who played with a pulled groin.MILWAUKEE: There was good news and bad news for the Admiral fans during the week. First, the bad news. The Admirals managed just three points in four starts, being held to a 4-4 tie at home by Saginaw and losing at Saginaw, 3-2, and Toledo, 6-0, before rebounding at home over the Diggers, 75.The good news is that veteran winger Paul Tantardini, who retired after playing one game following his trade to Milwaukee has ended that retirement.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-01352/4254771-1-eng-US/f0034-012.jpg" title="f0034-01" width="558" height="615"><figcaption class="caption-body">Dave Westner&hellip;Five-Goal Week</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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Young Flags Respond For Ullyot; Kalamazoo Steps Up In South Race

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0035-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-01330/4254809-1-eng-US/f0035-012.jpg"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-02265/4254802-1-eng-US/f0035-022.jpg" title="f0035-02" width="441" height="188"></div> &#9632;

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Looking At The Minor League Scoreboard

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-03195/4254840-1-eng-US/f0035-032.jpg" title="f0035-03" width="520" height="1036"></div> &#9632;

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Who They’re Affiliated With…

<div class="byline">BY PATRICK LYON</div>CHERRY HILL&mdash;Interest continues to grow in the first year North Eastern Hockey League as it was disclosed at a recent league meeting that five cities expressed an interest to the Board of Governors of joining the fledgling circuit.Inquiries came from the New York towns of Buffalo, Glenns Falls, Staten Island and Binghamton and also from Montreal, Canada. According to secretary-treasurer and Erie Blades&rsquo; owner Doctor John Caruso, all prospective cities have been given applications for franchises and have been invited to visit league games in their area. The Board of Governors member also noted that the applicaton fee for an NEHL franchise has been increased to $25,000 and the performance bond each new team must pay to $35,000. The performanse bond money is placed in a special account and used only if one of the teams in the league suffers money problems and is not capable of meeting its financial obligations.After leading the NEHL by as much as six points, Cherry Hill Aces fell on hard times and became a .500 hockey club going just 5-5 in their last 10 games. The Erie Blades made the most of their opportunity and their long winning streak enabled them to gain a tie for first place with the Aces when this issue went to press.Following a break for the Christmas holidays, Aces coach Murray &ldquo;Muzz&rdquo; MacPherson went back to work trying to establish his Aces as the team to beat for the NEHL&rsquo;s John Mitchell Trophy. MacPherson blames the Aces&rsquo; sluggishness on a lack of concentration and aggressiveness, the latter of which had become the trademark of the Cherry Hill club.In recent weeks the Aces have suffered through some incidents and injuries which have hurt the club on the ice. The Aces lost leading scorer Grant Eakin to the Pacific League and just recently were notified that Brian Gustafson will be lost for six weeks with a broken collarbone he suffered against the Blades. The loss of Gustafson was hard for the Aces to swallow since he had 15 goals and 20 assists prior to his injury and picked up 172 minutes in penalties to far outdistance anyone in the league. To make matters worse, Mark Green announced he was going to retire from hockey to join in the family business. In 25 games. Green had 21 points on eight goals and 13 assists. Despite all the adversities, MacPherson is prepping his team for a New Year&rsquo;s surge.Helping to solidify the Aces&rsquo; defense was Roger Lemelin, who saw action with the Colorado Rockies of the NHL and most recently with the Philadelphia Firebirds of the American Hockey League. Jim Misener assumed the club scoring lead from Larry Billows with 24 goals and 24 assists for 48 points, while Jim Bales emerged as the Aces top goalie with a 9-6 record that includes two shutouts and a 3.51 goals against average.ERIE: After winning nine straight games, the longest winning streak this season in the NEHL, the Blades were finally beaten by the Wings 7-5 on the road. Despite the loss, the Blades remained the hottest team winning nine ten and 10 of 12 games, including three of four road contests. In their last 17 games, Erie owns a record of 13-3-1 good for 27 of a possible 34 points.Nick Polano guided his team to three wins during the week including 8-5 and 7-1 victories over Johnstown and a 7-6 comeback triumph over the Aces before 3,100 fans at home. At one point in the contest, the Aces held a 6-2 advantage before a furious rally and a game winning goal by Paul Sheard ended the most exciting game in Blades history. The following night the Blades continued to set new attendance marks as they defeated Johnstown 7-1 in front of a crowd of 3,600.Daniel Poulin continued his phenomonal play as he increased his consecutive goal streak to six games. He has now 13 goals in six games to his credit including a masterful four-goal performance against the Wings. Poulin has totaled 22 goals, which is a team and league high for defensemen, and 13 assists for 35 points including six power play tallies and two hat tricks.JOHNSTOWN: The Wings fell victim to the Blades, 8-5 at home and 71 on the road, before snapping the Blades&rsquo; nine game win skein with a 7-5 win at the War Memorial Auditorium.Johnstown, losers of 22 of 31 games this season, appeared to be in more trouble when Erie skated to a quick 3-1 lead, but Jim O&rsquo;Neil&rsquo;s two second period goals sparked the Wings. The young line of Mike Haedrich-Dave Lundeen and Bruce Lind is beginning to come into its own. After a.slow start, the trio has amassed 48 goals in the first 31 games. Haedrich leads the group with 22 goals and 42 total points, Lundeen getting 16 goals and right wing Lind 10.UTICA: The Mohawks split a pair of home contests, losing to the Aces 7-3, before Hank Nowak and Bob Ferguson had hat tricks in an 11-2 romp over Cape Cod. Ahead by a 5-2 count in the third period, the Mohawks showed their offensive prowess by cashing in four goals in a span of just one minute and 48 seconds.Hank Nowak continues to surpass everyone in the NEHL in the scoring race as he has accumulated 56 points on 23 goals and 33 assists. Included in that total are three game winners, two hat tricks and four power play strikes. Closest to Nowak in the scoring race is teammate Terry West, who totals nine goals and 41 assists as the league&rsquo;s best playmaking center.CAPE COD: The Freedoms got a big lift and were hoping to build momentum when they beat the Aces 4-2 in Cherry Hill, but they turned around and suffered another road loss, this time at the hands of the Mohawks 11-2. Cape Cod has been a home team as they are among the league&rsquo;s best on home ice with a 9-5 record, but has its troubles on the road, showing just four wins in 13 highway games.Since leaving Manchester, New Hampshire, owner Sandy Reiss has negotiated a radio agreement with WOCB in the Cape. Ted Sobel will still be handling the play-by-play, while Jon Wetterlow will join Sobel to provide color on the broadcast. Wetterlow announced games previously for the Cape Cod Cubs.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-04157/4254871-1-eng-US/f0035-042.jpg" title="f0035-04" width="551" height="668"><figcaption class="caption-body">DANIEL POULIN&hellip;Four-Goal Game</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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Five Cities Interested In Joining NEHL

<div class="byline">BY MARTY KNACK</div>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 CanadaSAULT STE. MARIE&mdash;Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds had to do some unexpected rebuilding during the summer, so their first-half record in the Ontario Major Junior League has been impressive over-all.When they went into the priority salection draft in June, the Greyhounds didn&rsquo;t expect to have to replace center Wayne Gretzky and defenseman Craig Hartsburg. But when Gretzky signed as an under-age player with the defunct Indianapolis Racers and Hartsburg did the same with Birmingham Bulls of the World Hockey Association, the Soo was left having to fill two gaping holes.Gretzky, now with Edmonton Oilers in the WHA, finished second in the OMJHL scoring race last season as a 16-year-old rookie, behind only Bobby Smith of Ottawa 67s who was the first player picked in the National Hockey League amateur draft in June, by Minnesota North Stars. And Hartsburg had been one of the finest offensive defensemen in the league since first joining the Greyhounds as a 16-year-old in 1975-76.To compound the Greyhounds&rsquo; problems, they had to open their &lsquo;home&rsquo; schedule in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich, because repairs were being made to their normal home building, the Sault Memorial Gardens.Because of the setbacks, general manager Angie Bumbacco and coach Paul Theriault have to be commended for the job they&rsquo;ve done, keeping the Greyhounds in fifth place in the Leyden Division.Sault Ste. Marie finished the 1978 portion of the schedule with a 17-21-0 record and was only one point behind Kingston Canadians. The &lsquo;Hounds were also within striking distance of the third-place Sudbury Wolves, their rivals in the north and, although they weren&rsquo;t a comfortable fifth, they were four points ahead of the 67s.&ldquo;Our rookies are playing very well, especially John Goodwin, but the veterans were disappointing at the start, except for Brian Gualazzi,&rdquo; says Bumbacco.Goodwin had 24 goals in his first 38 games and was among the top 20 scorers in the league and Gualazzi was averaging just over a goal a game, with 39 in 38 games, as a late bloomer. Gualazzi hadn&rsquo;t shown much as a rookie 17-year-old or a sophomore 18-year-old but is the second leading goal scorer in the league in his graduating year.&ldquo;The first season he was average, the second season he was average, but this season he&rsquo;s coming into his own,&rdquo; says Bumbacco, talking about Gualazzi, a six-foot, 190-pound center and sometimes winger. As for Rutland, an 18-year-old also in his third season in the league, Bumbacco says &ldquo;he&rsquo;s starting to play very well lately.&rdquo;In the week prior to the Christmas holiday break, Rutland was the hottest scorer in the league with nine goals in four games, including four in one game, as he raised his total for the season to 33.The loss of Gretzky, Hartsburg and Gretzky&rsquo;s high-scoring linemates from last season, left winger Paul Mancini and right winger Dan Lucas, notwithstanding, Bumbacco feels the Greyhounds should have been slightly better in the first half. But he realizes that playing in Soo, Mich, was a major handicap.&ldquo;Our first half wasn&rsquo;t as good as we&rsquo;d like to have seen it,&rdquo; says the amicable GM, &ldquo;but playing in Soo, Mich, and practicing here hurt us a lot.&ldquo;We played 15 games over there. We had figured five, maybe six on that side, but construction delays set us back.The Greyhounds had the fifth best record in the league on the road, an adequate 9-12-0, in the first half. Their 8-9-0 at home left something to be desired, however, and they were ahead of just the Emms Division&rsquo;s last-place team, the Brantford Alexanders, with their home record.&ldquo;We were only averaging 800 or 900 in Soo, Mich.,&rdquo; says Bumbacco. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve been doing well on the road but we couldn&rsquo;t seem to get started at home. We&rsquo;re looking for a good home record now, though.&rdquo;Besides Goodwin, Bill Terry has been a pleasant surprise for Greyhounds as a rookie find. Terry had 19 goals in 1978 and rookie defenseman Paul Coffey and Brent Jarrett were next, with-13 and 12, respectively.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m very optimistic,&rdquo; says Bumbacco, looking at the second half of the season. &ldquo;Our kids have played well from the start and if we finish fourth I&rsquo;d be very, very pleased.&rdquo;Bumbacco made a trade with Niagara Falls Flyers just prior to the break, obtaining rugged 6-3, 210-pound left winger Bob Phillips and Steve Gatzos, and he expects Phillips to make a big contribution in the second half, in spite of the fact he was goalless when he arrived in the Soo.&ldquo;Phillips gives us that toughness,&rdquo; says Bumbacco, &ldquo;plus he&rsquo;s good in the dressing room and on the bench. He&rsquo;s got a great attitude.Bumbacco and Theriault were anxious to get started in the second half of the season and had their players return early, giving them a short Christmas break because they wanted to be prepared to open 1979 on a high note.&ldquo;We had everybody report on the 27th because our first three games were at home,&rdquo; says Bumbacco, &ldquo;and we wanted to get the jump. Paul put them through the paces to get them ready, too.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-01312/4254902-1-eng-US/f0036-012.jpg" title="f0036-01" width="503" height="672"><figcaption class="caption-body">CRAIG HARTSBURG&hellip;Unexpected Departure</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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January 19, 1979

Long Canucks’ Meeting Helps Clip Losing Streak

WHA EYES EUROPE IF MERGER FAILS

WHA Eyes Europeans If Merger Collapses

Where AHL Teams Play