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.

February 9, 1979

The Hockey News February 9, 1979

<p><b>Special To The Hockey News</b></p><p>PHOENIX&mdash;</p><p>Bob Liddington scored one goal in overtime and a second into an open net last week to play a key role in Phoenix&rsquo; back-to-back home ice wins over Spokane, the Pacific Hockey League leaders.</p><p>The open-net goal clinched a 4-2 win for the Roadrunners. The goal in the second game of the series, coming just 63 seconds into overtime, gave Phoenix a 3-2 win and a crucial two-game sweep of the Flyers.</p><p>Spokane captured two games in Tucson for a 2-2 split in Arizona to retain a six-point lead in the PHL race. Phoenix is second and San Diego third with six games in hand on Spokane and five on Phoenix.</p><p>The 30-year-old Liddington is in his third tour with. Phoenix in as many leagues.</p><p>He first appeared with the Roadrunners of the Western Hockey League in &lsquo;71-72 and scored 22 goals and 19 assists in 71 games. He returned with the World Hockey Association Roadrunners in &lsquo;76-77 (coming in a controversial trade from Houston for the popular Cam Connor) and scored 20 goals and 24 assists in 80 games.</p><p>The five-foot-11, 175-pound winger played a total of 346 WHA games with 96 goals and 82 assists. His best season was &lsquo;73-74 when he scored 26 goals and 21 assists with the Chicago Cougars. He also played 11 National Hockey League games with Toronto after the Maple Leafs drafted the Calgary, Alberta, native out of the junior ranks.</p><p>Liddington played with Long Beach of the PHL last year. The industrious winger is presently Phoenix&rsquo; fourthleading scorer with 16 goals and 11 assists in 31 games.</p><p>Meanwhile, PHL commissioner Ken Broderick suspended operations of the league&rsquo;s Los Angeles and San Francisco franchises for the remainder of the 1978-79 season.</p><p>&ldquo;This is a purely economic decision,&rdquo; said Broderick, 26,&rsquo; who became commissioner of the PHL as of Jan. 1 (succeeding James Browitt).</p><p>&ldquo;We have studied the situation the last several weeks and it&rsquo;s our (the PHL trustees) decision to stay with our four strongest markets (San Diego, Phoenix, Spokane and Tucson) based on this year&rsquo;s performance.</p><p>&ldquo;This is not to say we are turning our backs on the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles County markets. I am convinced we could have a successful franchise back in the Bay Area in the near future.&rdquo;</p><p>San Francisco had a 4-18-1 record after winning the PHL title in the league&rsquo;s inaugural season. Los Angeles was 7-14-1.</p><p>&ldquo;While this consolidation appears on the surface as a step backwards, it will greatly enhance the day-to-day operations of the PHL through the end of this season,&rdquo; said Broderick.</p><p>San Diego is averaging 5,077 paid. Phoenix is also averaging above 5,000 while Spokane is averaging 4,300.</p><p>Meanwhile, potential owners in several cities have expressed interest in PHL teams beginning with the &lsquo;79-80 season.</p><p>&ldquo;There has been strong interest shown in the Pacific Northwest for at least one team (Seattle and Portland have both been mentioned as possibilities)&rdquo;&rsquo; said Broderick. &ldquo;And we have prospective owners interested in other cities as well.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

IN THIS ISSUE

Liddington’s Goals Help Phoenix Gain On Spokane

<p><b>Special To The Hockey News</b></p><p>MONTREAL&mdash;</p><p>Boston Bruin right winger Rick Middleton, enjoying the finest offensive season of his career, was the National Hockey League&rsquo;s leader in plus-minus statistics in the first half of the current season.</p><p>However, one of the most interesting facts contained in the mid-season statistical report of players&rsquo; on-ice statistics, was that New York Islander defenseman Denis Potvin was on the ice for each of Islanders&rsquo; 43 power-play goals.</p><p>That means that since the start of the 1976-77 season, Potvin has been on the ice for all but one of Islanders&rsquo; 170 power-play goals. In fact, since he joined the Islanders as the League&rsquo;s number one amateur draft choice in 1973, he was on the ice for 331 of 342 power-play goals New York scored in games in which Potvin played.</p><p>The only time Potvin was not on the ice for a New York power-play goal since March 25, 1976, was in a game at Long Island in which Islanders defeated Pittsburgh Penguins 6-3, March 4, 1978. Islanders scored two powerplay goals and Potvin had been replaced on the first one by Pat Price, who assisted on Clark Gillies&rsquo; goal in the first period.</p><p>Potvin&rsquo;s blueline partner, Stefan Persson, was on the ice for 41 of New York&rsquo;s 43 power-play goals in the first half of this season while Bernie Federko of St. Louis Blues and Guy Chouinard of Atlanta Flames were on the ice for all but one of their teams&rsquo; power-play goals.</p><p>Middleton, whose first half 50 points are only 10 fewer than his career-high last season, was on the ice for 40.1 percent of Bruins&rsquo; even-strength goals. He was on the ice for only 19.8 percent of the even-strength goals against Boston, giving him the leading figure of 20.3. In second place was Pittsburgh defenseman Ron Stackhouse with 16.0. Another Bruin, defenseman Al Sims, was third with 15.6.</p><p>There were seven defensemen among the top 16 including Stackhouse and Sims. Toronto Maple Leafs had Dave Hutchison (tied for fifth place) and Borge Salming (12th).</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-02670/4355255-1-eng-US/f0017-022.jpg" title="f0017-02" width="574" height="954"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>RICK MIDDLETON&hellip;Leads The Charts</b></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

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Middleton Best Plus Performer

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-01405/4356261-1-eng-US/f0028-012.jpg" title="f0028-01" width="250" height="252"></div><h2><b>BIRMINGHAM BULLS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-02299/4356254-1-eng-US/f0028-022.jpg" title="f0028-02" width="189" height="200"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-03230/4356247-1-eng-US/f0028-032.jpg" title="f0028-03" width="714" height="656"></div><h2><b>CINCINNATI STINGERS</b></h2><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-04172/4356240-1-eng-US/f0028-042.jpg" title="f0028-04" width="135" height="143"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-05149/4356233-1-eng-US/f0028-052.jpg" title="f0028-05" width="714" height="577"></div><h2><b>EDMONTON OILERS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-06131/4356226-1-eng-US/f0028-062.jpg" title="f0028-06" width="201" height="185"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-07121/4356219-1-eng-US/f0028-072.jpg" title="f0028-07" width="725" height="649"></div><h2><b>NEW ENGLAND WHALERS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-08111/4356212-1-eng-US/f0028-082.jpg" title="f0028-08" width="188" height="185"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-09105/4356205-1-eng-US/f0028-092.jpg" title="f0028-09" width="723" height="591"></div><h2><b>QUEBEC NORDIQUES</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-10102/4356198-1-eng-US/f0028-102.jpg" title="f0028-10" width="190" height="187"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-1194/4356191-1-eng-US/f0028-112.jpg" title="f0028-11" width="715" height="636"></div><h2><b>WINNIPEG JETS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-1290/4356184-1-eng-US/f0028-122.jpg" title="f0028-12" width="179" height="177"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-1382/4356177-1-eng-US/f0028-132.jpg" title="f0028-13" width="711" height="593"></div><h2><b>WHA Leaders</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-1472/4356170-1-eng-US/f0028-142.jpg" title="f0028-14" width="608" height="922"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

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WHA’S POINT SCORING AND PENALTY STATISTICS

<div class="byline">BY RUSS WHITE</div><p>WASHINGTON&mdash;</p><p class="dropcap"><span>F</span>rom mezzanine level of the Detroit Olympia, Capitals&rsquo; general manager Max McNab not only saw but actually felt the impact of rookie forward Ryan Walter&rsquo;s aggressive hockey.</p><p>McNab joyously counted 10 solid hits applied by Walter, &ldquo;which is his norm night after night,&rdquo; McNab said.</p><p>Instead of this being a lost season for Walter, who had knee surgery the week the Capitals&rsquo; training camp opened, it has become in McNab&rsquo;s opinion, &ldquo;a phenomenal year for the kid.&rdquo;</p><p>McNab is convinced the Caps have come up with a genuine star in Walter&mdash;possibly this season&rsquo;s rookie of the year in the National Hockey League.</p><p>Wayne Babych of the St. Louis Blues was easily the best of the rookies during the first half of the season, scoring 21 goals and registering 42 points in 42 games. Babych, however, suffered a broken ankle and has been sidelined for six weeks.</p><p>If you are looking for the rookie who is coming on the strongest today it is Ryan Walter of the Capitals.</p><p>Walter has made a remarkable recovery from his knee surgery, and even though he banged up the same left knee and also suffered a painful rib injury in a game against the Boston Bruins, is now making up for lost time.</p><p>In recent weeks no one has been able to put down the kid as he scores again and again. After his first 37 games, Walter had 19 goals and 16 assists and threatens to go over a point a game average as the Caps play the second half of their schedule.</p><p>A pair of two-goal games and a new Caps&rsquo; record for scoring goals in five consecutive games, made Walter the best rookie performer in Washington&rsquo;s history and made the Caps a January winner (7-4-0).</p><p>Just as remarkable is the fact that Walter hasn&rsquo;t been a minus player in any of his team&rsquo;s last 16 games, netting a plus 11 during that span.</p><p>Destined to play center ice and probably serve as team captain, Walter has more than willingly accepted a left wing job this season. He plays with center Guy Charron with Blair Stewart on the right.</p><p>&ldquo;Ryan and Stewie are excellent muckers and Guy is going to score more goals having them with him,&rdquo; McNab said. Ryan is playing excellent hockey and we&rsquo;ve never seen Stewie go like he has.&rdquo;</p><p>In the 14 games they&rsquo;ve been together, the Walter-Charron-Stewart line has accumulated 42 scoring points (18-24-42) and is a composite plus 28, Walter (11-5-16, plus 11), Charron (5-12-17, plus 10), Stewart (5-7-12, plus 7).</p><p>McNab has never doubted that Walter would be a success. &ldquo;We knew a lot about the young man before we signed him,&rdquo; McNab said. &ldquo;We knew what kind of person he was. We knew he was team-oriented, level-headed and tremendously eager to succeed.&rdquo;</p><p>Walter credits second-year defenseman Robert Picard with helping his development. Picard is playing his best hockey and it is obvious the two talented players rub one another quite nicely.</p><p>Not only do Picard and Walter share a bachelor townhouse in Upper Marlboro, Md. only a short drive from Capital Center, they also share the intense desire to excel in the NHL.</p><p>&ldquo;Some kids just want to play in the NHL, and to survive,&rdquo; McNab said. &ldquo;These two guys (Picard and Walter) want to be the best.&rdquo;</p><p>&ldquo;Pic,&rdquo; said Walter, &ldquo;is like me when it comes to hockey. We both eat, drink and sleep the game. It&rsquo;s our job for eight months and sometimes when it&rsquo;s going particularly good like it is now, we wish it could be longer.&rdquo;</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve really not found anyone quite like Ryan Walter as long as I&rsquo;ve been playing,&rdquo; said Caps&rsquo; goalie Gary Inness. &ldquo;He is destined to be a leader with this team for some time.&rdquo;</p><p>&ldquo;It is obvious he has great leadership qualities,&rdquo; said Bill Torrey, New York Islanders&rsquo; GM after watching Walter in action against his team at Nassau Coliseum.</p><p>One Walter admirer said that the kid looks to be only 14, is 20 and plays as if he were 25.</p><p><b>CAP NOTES:</b> Inness was 7-4-3 in goal since coming to Washington after Indianapolis folded in WHA play&hellip;Caps biggest improvement was at home where they were 6-1-1 recently&hellip;Newly acquired Greg Polis scored two goals vs. Penguins on Jan. 20, and added a spectacular full length dash in 5-1 win over the Rangers before 13,435 on Jan. 24.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-011121/4354789-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg" title="f0012-01" width="526" height="1192"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>RYAN WALTER&hellip;Caps&rsquo; Best Rookie Ever</b></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

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THE NHL

Capitals’ Walter Follows Destiny As Starry Leader

Cover-01

The Hockey News

<p>EDMONTON&mdash;</p><p>&ldquo;Old&rdquo; number 99 is going to be around a long time.</p><p>Edmonton Oilers&rsquo; rookie star Wayne Gretzky celebrated his 18th birthday by signing a whopping 21-year contract, worth approximately $4 to $5 million, with the World Hockey Association team, before 12,000 fans in the Edmonton Coliseum.</p><p>The signing &mdash; which took place at center ice at the Oiler-Cincinnati Stingers contest &mdash; links Gretzky with the team through the 1999 season, and gives him the longest contract ever in hockey.</p><p>Edmonton president Peter Pocklington and Gretzky&rsquo;s agent Gus Badali agreed that the contract was worth between $4 million and $5 million &mdash; &ldquo;bare minimum&rdquo; &mdash; and that although there was no escape clause for either party from the contract, that Gretzky would be able to renegotiate the pact after 10 years.</p><p>&ldquo;On the tenth year we will sit down and renegotiate because of all the factors such as inflation,&rdquo; Pocklington said.</p><p>Gretzky, who has scored 24 goals and 24 assists thus far, began the season with Indianapolis Racers before being sold to Edmonton along with goaltender Eddie Mio and forward Peter Driscoll for $850,000. About his signing Gretzky said: &ldquo;There&rsquo;s more pressure on me now, because with this contract, I know I&rsquo;m going to have to go out and earn it.&rdquo;</p><p>Gretzky&rsquo;s contract was the second largest one signed recently &mdash; falling a bit short of the $5.4 million deal granted to Boston Red Sox slugger Jim Rice. Rice&rsquo;s contract is for seven years.</p><h2><b>Former IHL Owner Jerry DeLise Dies</b></h2><p>NEW YORK&mdash;</p><p>Jerry DeLise, former owner and founder of the Muskegon Mohawks of the IHL, was found dead Jan. 24 in his Manhattan apartment at the age of 57.</p><p>DeLise, who had been on the minor hockey scene for better than 25 years, operated the Muskegon franchise successfully in the IHL along with his wife. He left Muskegon to get involved in the WHA&rsquo;s New York franchise, which later folded. He later became a consultant to Sam Pollock of the Montreal Canadiens. After suffering a cerebral stroke, DeLise retired from the active hockey scene and resided in New York City.</p><p>A more detailed report on his passing will be carried in next week&rsquo;s edition of THE HOCKEY NEWS.</p><h2><b>NHL&rsquo;s Hard Liners Still Oppose Merger</b></h2><p>TORONTO&mdash;</p><p>The NHL has scheduled a merger or association meeting with the WHA during the Challenge Cup All Star week in New York and one of the items on the agenda will be a possible fusion of the two loop&rsquo;s best teams possibly by 1979-80.</p><p>But don&rsquo;t bet it will happen. The NHL merger dissidents&mdash;Boston, Toronto, Los Angeles and Vancouver&mdash;are still against any association or merger and it could put a damper on the whole thing.</p><p>Several NHL cities are down in attendance and NHL teams see no reason to bring in WHA teams that may not improve the situation.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

Oilers, Gretzky Ink 21-Yr. Contract

<div class="byline">BY CHARLIE HALPIN</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0002-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-011080/4354096-1-eng-US/f0002-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Canadiens&rsquo; Scotty Bowman declined to make a prediction on the super series mainly because he&rsquo;s involved as the Team NHL coach.</b></figcaption></div><p>MONTREAL&mdash;</p><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>he NHL 2 to 1. That&rsquo;s the consensus of a survey conducted by THE HOCKEY NEWS among the coaches of the 17 National Hockey League teams on the outcome of the forthcoming NHL-Soviet Challenge Cup series.</p><p>Admittedly, NHL coaches are inclined to be partial as Boston&rsquo;s Don Cherry so aptly put it. &ldquo;The NHL will win, of course. They pay my salary.&rdquo;</p><p>&ldquo;But truth of the matter is most of the men behind the benches of the NHL teams are pretty unanimous in their assessment of the NHL All Stars: that&rsquo;s a heck of a lot of hockey talent on one ice surface and they should overpower the Soviets.</p><p>In the poll breakdown, three coaches&mdash;Barclay Plager of St. Louis, Detroit&rsquo;s Bobby Kromm and John Wilson of Pittsburgh&mdash;were more positive. They all predicted a three-game sweep for the NHL when they skate out against the Soviet National team at Madison Square Garden in New York Feb. 8, 10 and 11.</p><p>Another 9 were of the conclusion that the NHL will have the fight of their lives in the three-game series but should come through and win two of the three games. As Vancouver&rsquo;s Harry Neale said, &ldquo;it will be a desperate struggle.&rdquo;</p><p>Five NHL coaches declined to make any forecast on the outcome of the series. Scotty Bowman of the Canadiens said he was too involved in the series as coach of Team NHL to hazard a prediction. Fred Shero of the Rangers persisted in his long-time philosophy of never predicting the winner of a hockey game.</p><p>Two others, Glen Sonmor of Minnesota decided the series was &ldquo;too close to call&rdquo; in his words and begged off making a prediction. Atlanta&rsquo;s Fred Creighton was something else.</p><p>When approached by a HOCKEY NEWS reporter for his prediction on the series, Creighton chose not to cooperate after a frustrating night when the Montreal Canadiens ran his Flames into the Forum ice 6-0. Maybe it wasn&rsquo;t the appropriate time to press Creighton. Here&rsquo;s how the interview went anyway:</p><p>Reporter: Would you care to tell THE HOCKEY NEWS who is going to win the Challenge Cup, by how many games and why?</p><p>Creighton: I haven&rsquo;t thought much about it at all. I&rsquo;ve been devoting all my time to the Flames. I&rsquo;ve really thought very little about the series.</p><p>Reporter: Well, could you give us your opinion, off the top of your head?</p><p>Creighton: Why don&rsquo;t you ask Cliff Fletcher (Atlanta GM) about it. He&rsquo;s on the selection committee.</p><p>Reporter: We&rsquo;d rather have your opinion.</p><p>Creighton: I&rsquo;ve got all I can do with this team. You saw the way we played tonight. Let&rsquo;s be realistic.</p><p>Creighton walked away. End of interview.</p><p>It seems inconceivable that Creighton couldn&rsquo;t spare a moment to indulge in the coaches&rsquo; poll when 15 others saw fit to participate. It is a sad day when a man can&rsquo;t help the people who go out of their way to extol him when he&rsquo;s up and sympathize with him when he&rsquo;s down.</p><p><b>BOB BERRY</b> (Los Angeles): Couldn&rsquo;t be pinned down for a prediction. &ldquo;I have little interest in the series,&rdquo; he said.</p><p>Here&rsquo;s how the other NHL coaches view the Challenge Cup series:</p><p><b>BARCLAY PLAGER</b> (St. Louis): &ldquo;The NHL will win three games to none. They&rsquo;ll win because of their superior players.&rdquo;</p><p><b>BOBBY KROMM</b> (Detroit): &ldquo;The NHL will win three straight. It will be a terrific series because of the clash between the different philosophies&mdash;the free system and their system. Our guys seem to have more fun playing, more enthusiasm for the game. Their players are very intense and very mechanical. I think in the end, that&rsquo;s the reason our players will win.&rdquo;</p><p><b>JOHN WILSON</b> (Pittsburgh): &ldquo;The NHL will win three straight. I think that we&rsquo;ve caught on to their (Russians) style of play. The first few years it was a little tough but now the NHL as a whole can play the best the Russians have. The reason I say this is becuase I coached Team Canada in 1977 and I have a feeling of how they play the game. Besides the NHL has become a lot stronger the past few years in terms of parity. The NHL teams are better balanced now and have more good players to throw at the Russians.&rdquo;</p><p><b>BOB PULFORD</b> (Chicago): &ldquo;The NHL will win the series two games to one because I think we have the discipline to take the body and not the stupid penalties.&rdquo;</p><p><b>ALDO GUIDOLIN</b> (Colorado): The NHL will win 2-1. We are a better team with better depth. We are also playing at home at a time when we should be at our peak.</p><p><b>AL ARBOUR</b> (Islanders): &ldquo;I think it will be a tough series. The only thing I can see standing in the way of the NHL is the lack of practice time the players will have with each other. But that won&rsquo;t be enough to stop the NHL from winning at least two of the three games.&rdquo;</p><p><b>BILLY INGLIS</b> (Buffalo): The NHL All Stars should win two of the three games. They have a slight edge in ability, but playing the games in the U.S., especially New York, will give than an added impetus.&rdquo;</p><p><b>HARRY NEALE</b> (Vancouver): &ldquo;The NHL will win the series (2-1) but it will be a desperate struggle. The players must apply themselves. The guys have to stay out of the penalty box because there is just no reasonable way you can intimidate them (the Soviets). NHL players must be disciplined and NOT retaliate. The biggest enemy of the NHL players is the penalty box&mdash;not the Russians.&rdquo;</p><p><b>BOB McCAMMON</b> (Philadelphia): &ldquo;The NHL should win 2 to 1. It&rsquo;s going to be very close. The Soviets are going to be ready, they&rsquo;ve been peaking for this matchup. Physically, this may be the best time for the NHL to play, but I&rsquo;m not so sure about emotionally. I think Scotty Bowman is the best coach in hockey and we should be able to assemble a good team, even though injuries will keep some good players out.&rdquo;</p><p><b>SCOTTY BOWMAN</b> (Montreal): &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t even know who we&rsquo;re playing against. I&rsquo;m too involved in the series and I can&rsquo;t say. I refuse to make a prediction. But we have the potential, based on past series, to do very well. That&rsquo;s all I can say.&rdquo;</p><p><b>DON CHERRY</b> (Boston): &ldquo;The NHL will win two out of three. Why? Because I&rsquo;m in the NHL and they pay my salary. However, realistically, the NHL will have a heck of a team out there. It is too bad they won&rsquo;t have Potvin (Denis Potvin) and Park (Brad Park). I don&rsquo;t particilarly like that. But I think they have too much talent on that team not to win. They&rsquo;ll win two of three games&mdash;at least I hope they will.&rdquo;</p><p><b>DANNY BELISLE</b> (Washington): &ldquo;The teams will split the first two, and then, in the rubber game, the good guys will win&hellip;the NHL team. It&rsquo;s going to be a demanding series, because the Russians will be very well prepared. Our guys know what they&rsquo;re up against, but even still, the series is going to be tougher than they imagine. The Russians are that good.&rdquo;</p><p><b>GLEN SONMOR</b> (Minnesota): &ldquo;This series is too close to call. I wouldn&rsquo;t bet anything I could afford to lose on this one. On one side you have the Soviets, who are stacking their ideology. They are so intent and they prepare so well for this. But on the other side, they will be facing our pride. We may not have the vehicles that they do, but we have individuals with great talent who can make the great plays.&rdquo;</p><p><b>ROGER NEILSON</b> (Toronto): &ldquo;It&rsquo;s going to be 2-1 for somebody&hellip;but I&rsquo;m going to have to go with the NHL. The more we play them, the more chance we have of becoming familiar with their style. It is going to be very close.&rdquo;</p><h2><b>Shero Not A Gambling Man</b></h2><p><b>Fred Shero, a staunch advocate of the Soviet hockey system, declined a prediction. Said Shero, &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know who the players are. I don&rsquo;t go to the horses and I don&rsquo;t gamble. How the hell am I supposed to know.&rdquo;</b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0002-01

Survey Shows NHL Should Win 2 Of 3 On Depth, Home Ice

<p>1972</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-03631/4354224-1-eng-US/f0003-032.jpg" title="f0003-03" width="583" height="87"></div><h2><b>GAMES COMPLETED</b></h2><p>At Montreal</p><p>Soviets 7, Team Canada 3</p><p>At Toronto</p><p>Team Canada 4, Soviets 1</p><p>At Winnipeg</p><p>Team Canada 4, Soviets 4</p><p>At Vancouver Soviets 5, Team Canada 3</p><p>At Moscow Soviets 5, Team Canada 4</p><p>At Moscow Team Canada 3, Soviets 2</p><p>At Moscow Team Canada 4, Soviets 3</p><p>At Moscow</p><p>Team Canada 6, Soviets 5</p><p>1975-76</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-04375/4354217-1-eng-US/f0003-042.jpg" title="f0003-04" width="574" height="81"></div><h2><b>GAMES COMPLETED</b></h2><p>At New York</p><p>Soviet Army 7, Rangers 3</p><p>At Pittsburgh</p><p>Soviet Wings 7, Pittsburgh 4</p><p>At Montreal</p><p>Montreal 3, Soviet Army 3</p><p>At Buffalo</p><p>Buffalo 12, Soviet Wings 6</p><p>At Chicago</p><p>Soviet Wings 4, Chicago 2</p><p>At Boston</p><p>Soviet Army 5, Boston 2</p><p>At Long Island</p><p>Soviet Wings 2, Islanders 1</p><p>At Philadelphia</p><p>Philadelphia 4, Soviet Army 1</p><p>1976</p><h2><b>CANADA CUP STANDINGS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-05214/4354210-1-eng-US/f0003-052.jpg" title="f0003-05" width="577" height="186"></div><h2><b>FINALS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-06140/4354203-1-eng-US/f0003-062.jpg" title="f0003-06" width="578" height="109"></div><h2><b>GAMES COMPLETED</b></h2><p>At Ottawa</p><p>Team Canada 11, Finland 2</p><p>At Montreal</p><p>Team Canada 4, United States 2</p><p>At Toronto</p><p>Team Canada 4, Sweden 0</p><p>At Montreal</p><p>Czechoslovakia 1, Team Canada 0</p><p>At Toronto</p><p>Team Canada 3, Soviets 1</p><p>At Toronto</p><p>Team Canada 6, Czechoslovakia 0</p><p>At Montreal</p><p>Team Canada 5, Czechoslovakia 4</p><p>1978-79</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-0790/4354196-1-eng-US/f0003-072.jpg" title="f0003-07" width="577" height="81"></div><h2><b>GAMES COMPLETED</b></h2><p>At Minnesota</p><p>Soviet Wings 8, Minnesota 5</p><p>At Philadelphia</p><p>Philadelphia 4, Soviet Wings 4</p><p>At Detroit</p><p>Detroit 6, Soviet Wings 5</p><p>At Boston</p><p>Soviet Wings 4, Boston 1<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0003-03

How NHL, Russians Met Over The Years

<div class="byline">BY MIKE DENNIS</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0003-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-02929/4354165-1-eng-US/f0003-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Paul Henderson became an instant international hockey hero in 1972 when he scored the dramatic winning goal in the final game of the Moscow series that restored Canada&rsquo;s tarnished hockey image around the world.</b></figcaption></div><p>MONTREAL&mdash;</p><p class="dropcap"><span>I</span>t began on the first Saturday in September of 1972 when an unknown band of Soviet skaters blazed into the eyes of a nation with an unforgettable performance on the Montreal Forum ice. It continues today, nearly six and a half years later, an ever-heightening quest in search of an answer to the question: Which country has the best hockey team in the world?</p><p>Since the first dramatic confrontation between the professionals of the National Hockey League and the best players of the Soviet Union in 1972, there has always been a qualifier to solving the issue as to which team possessed the greater strength. In 1972, when the NHL won four games, lost three and tied one against the Soviets&rsquo; best, it was said the NHL players were playing at a time of the year when they were in the worst possible shape.</p><p>When the Soviet Union dispatched an All Star team to play the World Hockey Association in 1974, losing only one game in eight (three others were ties), North American experts called the WHA contingent inferior compared to the cream of the NHL.</p><p>In December of 1975 and January 1976 two touring Soviet teams, Army and Wings, captured five wins against two losses and one tie. But it was said that they couldn&rsquo;t beat the top NHL teams since they lost to Philadelphia (then defending Stanley Cup champions), Buffalo, and were lucky to tie Montreal.</p><p>The Soviets were not above complaining, either, especially in the Canada Cup tournament of September 1976 when they did not reach the finals, finishing third behind Canada and Czechoslovakia.</p><p>&ldquo;We did not send our best team,&rdquo; was the Soviet stock answer. &lsquo;We were only testing our younger players and preparing them for the World Championships, the most important tournament of all.&rdquo;</p><p>Now there can be no excuses in the forthcoming Challenge Cup series Feb. 8, 10 and 11 in Madison Square Garden. Both the NHL and the Soviet Union are employing their best players. Both teams are in top physical shape. The Soviets, with a lighter schedule of games within their country, assembled their squad for a series of workouts long before departing for New York. The NHL, on the other hand, has games scheduled up until Feb. 4 with the first series game to be played on Feb. 8. But Team NHL has the home ice advantage.</p><p>The series has increased in intensity dramatically from the days of late summer of 1972 when the two combatants first clashed. Today it has reached the proportion of a three-game showdown, contested in Madison Square Garden for maximum exposure to the U.S. hockey audience. Challenge Cup &lsquo;79 is supposed to be the ultimate, the deciding match-up to resolve the ice hockey supremacy issue once and for all.</p><p>Or will it be like 1972, merely the first in a series of hard-fought tussles, without a clear-cut answer?</p><p>On that fateful Saturday evening in September 1972, there were 18,818 spectators watching in the Forum and millions more across Canada crowded around television sets.</p><p>It seemed a bit early in the year to be starting hockey, even in Montreal, but oh well, the Soviets might prove to be interesting and certainly different.</p><p>Thirty seconds after the opening faceoff a scramble occured in front of the Soviet net and Team Canada scored. No one knew for sure until the announcement was made that it was Phil Esposito&rsquo;s goal.</p><p>Just over six minutes later Paul Henderson whipped a shot past the lanky Soviet goaltender Vladimir Tretiak and it&rsquo;s 2-0 Canada. Many of the uninitiated viewers were wondering what the big deal was about these European hockey players wearing those funny helmets. Eight straight for the NHL!</p><p>The moments following that two-goal Team Canada lead may have been the last comfortable breaths taken by a North American audience while a Soviet team was on the same ice surface as their heroes. What followed, of course, was a remarkable show of strength, of offensive intensity, which brought new meaning to every exchange between the two rivals.</p><p>Two Soviet goals tied the game in the opening period and a dazzling speedster named Valeri Kharlamov scored twice in the second period to put the Soviets in command. Though Bobby Clarke pulled Canada within a goal early in the third period, the Soviets grew stronger and pulled away to a stunning 7-3 triumph.</p><p>That the Soviets were for real was ascertained following Canada&rsquo;s 4-1 victory in Toronto two nights later. In that contest Esposito opened the scoring in the middle frame, followed by an Yvan Cournoyer goal in the third stanza, one by the Soviets and then a closing pair by Team Canada brothers Frank and Peter Mahovlich.</p><p>In Game Three in Winnipeg, however, after Esposito and Henderson staked Canada to a 4-2 lead in the second period, the Soviets fought back for a 4-4 tie. And they took advantage of power play opportunities in Vancouver to head back home with 2-1-1 record in the series after scoring a 5-3 triumph.</p><p>The final four games in Moscow bordered on the unreal.</p><p>Canada held leads of 3-0 and 4-1, the latter established in the third period by Henderson&rsquo;s second goal of the game. But the Soviets reeled off four goals in a span of 5:41 in the final frame for a 5-4 victory and a 3-1-1 lead in the series.</p><p>At the time, the prospects of Canada winning the final three games in Moscow to salvage the series, were rather bleak. From today&rsquo;s prospective, with six and a half years of hindsight, few people would think that the NHL today could beat the Soviets three straight in Moscow and just prior to the Challenge Cup, there are very few experts willing to bet that this year&rsquo;s NHL stars will be able to win three straight at home against the Soviets. Somehow, Team Canada &lsquo;72 defied the overwhelming odds.</p><p>Three goals in the space of 1:23 in Game Six, the last one coming from Henderson, led Team Canada to a 3-2 triumph to get them started.</p><p>A pair of goals by Esposito in the first period and a third period marker by Rod Gilbert put Team Canada in position for another winning goal by Henderson, which broke a 3-3 tie at 17:54 of the final frame of Game Seven. Henderson became an instant world wide hockey hero.</p><p>What followed was the classic series finale where Esposito scored his second goal of the game tc reduce a Soviet lead to 5-4 early in the third period, Yvan Cournoyer tied the score and Henderson scored his third consecutive gamewinner on his own rebound with just 34 seconds remaining.</p><p>After the WHA posted a 1-4-3 record, in the 1974 series, which could easily have been 4-3-1 in favor of Canada, the NHL braced itself for Super Series &lsquo;76, an eight-game tour in late December, 1975 and early 1976 of two Soviet club teams, Central Army and Wings.</p><p>Army, which proved to be the stronger of the two Soviet squads, opened the tour on Dec. 28 handing the New York Rangers a convincing 7-3 defeat. The next night, the Wings played in Pittsburgh and were nearly as effective, winning 7-4.</p><p>For the series, Army, which also played Montreal, Boston and Philadelphia, wound up 2-1-1. The Wings who doubled Chicago 4-2 and the up-and-coming New York Islanders2-1, finished at 3-1, the only blemish being a 12-6 defeat by the Buffalo Sabres.</p><p>The series produced two classic games, though, both involving the Soviet Army. The first was in Montreal, New Year&rsquo;s Eve 1975, when the Canadiens outshot Army 38-13 but saw a 3-1 lead melt into a 3-3 tie. Canadiens&rsquo; Serge Savard uttered after the game, &ldquo;God was Russian tonight. They had three chances and scored on all of them.&rdquo;</p><p>Philadelphia Flyers hosted the Central Army team Jan. 11 in the tour&rsquo;s concluding contest. With the game scoreless 16 minutes into the first period (although the Flyers were dominating play) Philly defenseman Ed Van Impe levelled Kharlamov with a bone-jarring check. The Soviets reacted by taking their team off the ice, claiming a deliberate attempt to injure their star, but were talked back into finishing the game, and were assessed a two minute penalty for delaying the game. Reg Leach gave the Flyers a 1-0 lead 30 seconds into the penalty and they went onto a 4-1 victory, salvaging some pride for the NHL.</p><p>Flyers&rsquo; captain Clarke pithily summarized the game: &ldquo;This doesn&rsquo;t prove that Canadian hockey is better than theirs. It just proved that Flyers are better than their best. The next time they&rsquo;ll have adjusted.&rdquo;</p><p>The next time was later that same year for the Canada Cup tournament involving All Star teams from Canada, the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, Sweden, Finland and the United States.</p><p>As usual, the match between Team Canada, featuring Bobby Orr in his first international series, and the Soviets, carried with it the buildup of emotions and drama from previous confrontations. Also at stake was a berth in the finals as Team Canada, upset 1-0 by Czechoslovakia after three wins, needed at least a tie to keep the Soviets (2-1-1, after a 5-3 loss to the Czechs and a 3-3 tie with Sweden) from reaching the best of three finals against the world champion Czechoslovakians, who had copped the crown at Katowice, Poland.</p><p>The Soviets, who remember were using an &ldquo;experimental&rdquo; team as a prelude to the 1977 World Championships in Prague, were arriving for the game in top form after demolishing a feisty U.S. squad 5-0 in their latest match.</p><p>At 7:78 of the first period, Canada went ahead on a power play goal by Gilbert Perreault, assisted by Denis Potvin and Guy Lafleur. (Remarkably, going back to the 1972 series, it was the first power play goal by a NHL-sponsored All Star team in nine games against the Soviets, while the Soviets scored nine man-advantage goals over that same period). Little more than two minutes later Vladimir Vikulov, who is one of 11 players from the &lsquo;76 team who was selected for the Challenge Cup series roster, evened the score. Before the period ended, though, Bobby Hull restored the one-goal Team Canada lead.</p><p>And Bill Barber got them the insurance marker they needed so badly, with a late second stanza tally and Team Canada went on to outshoot the Soviets 43-28 for the game which remained at 3-1.</p><p>Somewhat anticlimactically, although the 1-0 defeat certainly stirred their competitive juices, Team Canada rolled to a two-game Sweep of the finals, blasting the Czechs 6-0 and then winning in overtime on Darryl Sittler&rsquo;s goal after losing a 2-0 first period lead and falling behind 4-3 with just four minutes remaining.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-04226/4354158-1-eng-US/f0020-042.jpg" title="f0020-04" width="566" height="684"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>DARRYL SITTLER&hellip;Winner In Overtime</b></figcaption></div><h2><b>SPECIAL! NHL-SOVIET FLASHBACK!</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-011088/4354151-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg" title="f0003-01" width="2883" height="808"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Invariably whenever Team Canada and the Soviets have clashed, crack Russian goaler Vladislav Tretiak, right, was there to thwart the big NHL shooters. Tretiak will be on hand for the 1979 cup series.</b></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0003-02

FLASHBACK

NHL Savored World Supremacy In Confrontations With Soviets

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-011139/4354283-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg" title="f0004-01" width="490" height="494"></div><p>&#9679; <b>PUBLICITY PRIOR</b> to the NHL All Stars-Soviet Nationals Challenge Cup series in New York has been very poor. Releases out of both the NHL New York and Montreal offices has been practically non-existent&hellip;There&rsquo;s talk that the NHL will hold their annual June meeting in New York this year instead of in Montreal where it is usually held. There have been years in the past when the June meeting was held in New York&hellip; Chicago Black Hawks are being booed by their fans for their lack of a power play. It&rsquo;s been absolutely terrible of late and the Hawks&rsquo; management is quite concerned&hellip;New York Islanders have been the NHL team of the season. What a combination Bill Torrey as general manager and Al Arbour as coach make for the Isles! Torrey and Arbour are both rejects from other NHL clubs. It was a sunny day when these two worthies hooked up with the Islanders&hellip;Trust Nate Greenberg, Boston Bruins&rsquo; publicist, to look on the bright side of everything, even the Bruins&rsquo; longest losing streak of the season. After the Bruins lost three in a row recently, Greenberg&rsquo;s press note to the media reported that they had won five and lost three of their last eight games&hellip;Cam Connor, who sees very little action with Montreal Canadiens, is expected to be traded along with another player to Chicago for defenseman Phil Russell, the player Canadiens let slip away from them in 1972.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-021092/4354276-1-eng-US/f0004-022.jpg" title="f0004-02" width="262" height="411"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Al Arbour</b></figcaption></div><p>&#9679; <b>RON KOHUCK,</b> a 30-year-old elementary school teacher in Windsor, Ont. has the world&rsquo;s largest collection of pucks. Over the years he has collected over 1,000 hockey pucks, each one being carefully positioned on the wall of his basement rec room. Pucks from all of the professional leagues and from countries like the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, Sweden, Finland and other foreign lands cover Ron&rsquo;s wall. &ldquo;European pucks are the most difficult to come by, but I guess I must have about 120 of them,&rdquo; he informs. Sometimes, Ron&rsquo;s puck collecting can go to extremes. &ldquo;As a goalie in an amateur league I stop lots of pucks,&rdquo; he explains. &ldquo;One day I made a save, took a quick glance at the puck and saw that it was one I didn&rsquo;t have in my collection. So I kept it. They held up the game until another puck could be found.&rdquo;&hellip;Pierre Larouche (Pittsburgh) and Dan Newman (Rangers) are the only members of the Canadiens who have played with another NHL team. Property of other NHL teams without ever playing for them were Ken Dryden (Boston), Yvon Lambert (Detroit) and Doug Jarvis (Toronto)&hellip;The Philadelphia Chapter of Hockey Writers Association will hold its third annual Class Guy luncheon, honoring a Flyers&rsquo; player on March 12. Gary Dornhoefer and Joe Watson are the previous winners. Definitely scheduled for another appearance are the writers&rsquo; Not Ready for Anytime Players, who annually stage a skit satirizing the Flyers&hellip; Walt Marlow, a top hockey administrator and public relations man, would be a &ldquo;find&rdquo; for any major pro team. Marlow played a&rsquo;key role from day one in the founding of both the World Hockey Association and the Pacific Hockey League.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-03986/4354269-1-eng-US/f0004-032.jpg" title="f0004-03" width="298" height="479"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Walt Marlow</b></figcaption></div><p>&#9679; <b>DAVE DRYDEN</b> has been playing great goal this season for the WHA Edmonton Oilers. One of hockey&rsquo;s &ldquo;intellectuals,&rdquo; Dave has finally shaken off the label of &ldquo;Ken&rsquo;s older brother.&rdquo; One of his fondest memories is the night in Montreal when he opposed his brother. Ken was in the nets for Canadiens while Dave was in goal for the Buffalo Sabres. It marked the first and only time in NHL history that two brothers tended goal for rival teams in an NHL game&hellip;When Minnesota North Stars&rsquo; Tim Young scored five goals against the New York Rangers recently, he became the 19th NHL player to perform such a feat. Joe Malone had three five-goal games and Babe Dye two. Malone is the only player in history to score seven goals in a game, which he did in 1920 for the Quebec Bulldogs against the Toronto St. Patricks. Malone also had one six-goal game as did Newsy Lalonde, Corbett Denneny, Cy Denneny, Syd Howe, Red Berenson and Darryl Sittler&hellip;Robbie Ftorek played his 320th consecutive WHA game the other night against Winnipeg Jets. The Cincinnati center is enjoying another one of his great seasons&hellip;Maurice Ober-son, chairman of the board of Karhu-Pinso Canada Ltd., makers of the largest selling line of cross country skis in Canada has recently taken over the manufacture and distribution of the Titan hockey stick line. The Titan stick is one of the most popular and fastest-growing hockey sticks currently being used in Canada and the United States.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-04884/4354262-1-eng-US/f0004-042.jpg" title="f0004-04" width="284" height="423"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Dave Dryden</b></figcaption></div><p>&#9679; <b>OUT OF THE</b> 340 players in the National Hockey League, no less than 271 are Canadians. There are 39 Americans and 30 from Europe&hellip;Washington Caps are the talk of the NHL right now. The team is playing winning hockey and attracting tremendous crowds. This might still turn out to be the outstanding hockey franchise that so many predicted&hellip;Atlanta Flames who earlier this season had the youngest defense corps in the league with an average age of 23.16, no longer own that distinction. The acquisition of the 34-year-old Rod Seiling and the trade that sent Rick Mulhern to the L.A. Kings for 32-year-old Bob Murdoch has raised the Flames&rsquo; defensemen&rsquo;s average age to 27.85&hellip;Attendance hasn&rsquo;t been booming at Flames&rsquo; games of late. Only a little over 9,000 watched the Philadelphia Flyers-Flames game recently, which was the smallest crowd to witness a Flames-Flyers game at The Omni&hellip;Wilf Paiement is playing his best hockey since he joined the Colorado Rockies three years ago. He&rsquo;s working harder than ever and is playing more unselfishly than ever before&hellip;Colorado&rsquo;s Jack Valiquette scored seven of his first 20 goals this season against Minnesota&hellip;The Rockies&rsquo; No. 1 draft choice Mike Gillis played his first NHL game on Jan. 19 in a 5-3 win over Minnesota. He picked up an assist (his first NHL point) the following night in a 3-3 tie against Minnesota&hellip;Babe Brown has written a wonderful book on The History of the Oshawa Generals. Complete with some standout pictures of the Generals&rsquo; teams over the years with interesting commentary, it is must reading for followers of junior hockey in Canada.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-05745/4354255-1-eng-US/f0004-052.jpg" title="f0004-05" width="302" height="496"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Wilf Paiement</b></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0004-01

COLUMNISTS

PASSING THE PUCK

<div class="byline">BY VARTAN KUPELIAN</div><p>DETROIT&mdash;</p><p>The losses continued to mount for the Detroit Red Wings, with only an occasional bright spot.</p><p>And most of the bright spots were ties, which should tell you something.</p><p>The Wings, trailing 5-2, erupted for three goals in the final 2:39, two of them by Nick Libett, to tie the tough New York Islanders, 5-5, at the Olympia. The next night, there was a come-from-behind 3-3 tie against the Flyers in Philadelphia, and once again Libett produced a pair of third period goals.</p><p>The following week, there was a rare victory&mdash;over Pittsburgh, 4-1&mdash;and, naturally, another discouraging loss, this one to Washington, 5-1.</p><p>As a result, the Wings continued to occupy the Norris Division cellar. The victory over Pittsburgh snapped an 11-game winless streak dating back to Dec. 20.</p><p>Most of the Wings were having their troubles, but Libett, the dean of the Red Wings now in his 12th season, wasn&rsquo;t one of them. Libett, the old reliable, played as steadily as always.</p><p>&ldquo;I told him right there on the ice, &lsquo;Nick, you deserve a medal,&rdquo;&rsquo; Dale McCourt said after the tie against the Islanders. Libett scored twice in a 22-second span, beginning at 17:21, and Paul Woods produced the tying goal at 18:54.</p><p>&ldquo;You know, all those years playing here and always playing the same&mdash;well,&rdquo; McCourt said, in a genuine show of respect. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s something. And the fans, they never get on him, do they? They know.&rdquo;</p><p>Libett&rsquo;s first goal, into a wide-open net, was set up by McCourt and Reed Larson. The second, at 17:43, beat Chico Resch low on the glove side&mdash;&rdquo;my corner,&rdquo; Libett called it.</p><p>&ldquo;The goals can come anytime in the game,&rdquo; Libett said. &ldquo;The Islanders, you can say, &lsquo;What happened to them.&rsquo; It&rsquo;s been asked many times of us this season, what happened in the last two minutes? Those guys are the best team in hockey right now. They play the system very well and yet we get three goals in two minutes.</p><p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know how you explain it. You don&rsquo;t do anything differently than in the regular course of a game. All of a sudden, bang, bang, bang&mdash;three goals.&rdquo;</p><p>Added Woods: &ldquo;I&rsquo;d like somebody to tell me what happens in the last two minutes. I&rsquo;ve been out there a lot of those times it happened to us.&rdquo;</p><p>In their long winless streak, the Wings fell victim to Marcel Dionne&rsquo;s four-goal barrage in a 7-3 loss to Los Angeles.</p><p>&ldquo;No question about it, it was a game we had to win,&rdquo; coach Bobby Kromm said. &ldquo;I was satisfied with the way a half dozen or eight played, but I&rsquo;ve said before we need all 19 players going at the same time for us to win.</p><p>&ldquo;It shouldn&rsquo;t be necessary to point out to them the importance of the game. There&rsquo;s no excuse for what happened.&rdquo;</p><p><b>MOTOR CITY SHORTS:</b> Dennis Hextall cleared waivers on Jan. 14 and was eager to make connections with another NHL team. There&rsquo;s no doubt he can help any number of NHL teams, even if Detroit management didn&rsquo;t think he could help the Wings. Hextall would like to settle on his contract (one and one-half years remaining) with GM Ted Lindsay and find a job elsewhere.</p><p>&ldquo;I think if something had been done five weeks ago, some teams would have taken me,&rdquo; Hextall said. &ldquo;Now they don&rsquo;t want me.</p><p>&ldquo;Ted said I could talk to the other teams and, he said, if they are concerned about tampering, just to contact him. He said my age (35) and my contract was what turned the other teams off.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-06440/4354314-1-eng-US/f0004-062.jpg" title="f0004-06" width="570" height="642"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>NICK LIBETT&hellip;Important Goals</b></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0004-06

Libett Shines As Bright Spots Few For Wings

<p>Following are the latest player movements in hockey:</p><h2><b>NATIONAL LEAGUE</b></h2><p>ATLANTA&mdash;<b>Bill Clement, LW,</b> placed on disabled list indefinitely with injured knee. <b>Gord Wappel, D,</b> and <b>Joe Augustine,</b> D, recalled from Tulsa of CHL and reassigned to Muskegon of IHL. <b>Gerry O&rsquo;Flaherty,</b> LW, recalled from Tulsa of CHL and reassigned to Nova Scotia of AHL.</p><p>BOSTON&mdash;<b>Tom Songin, RW,</b> recalled from Rochester of AHL. <b>Graeme Nicolson,</b> D, recalled from Rochester and later returned. <b>Rick Smith,</b> D. returned to lineup from injury list.</p><p>BUFFALO&mdash;<b>Ken Breitenbach,</b> D, assigned to Hershey of AHL to play himself into condition.</p><p>CHICAGO&mdash;<b>Mike Walton,</b> C, signed as free agent and assigned to New Brunswick of AHL.</p><p>COLORADO&mdash;<b>Michel Lachance,</b> D, assigned to Tulsa of CHL.</p><p>DETROIT&mdash;<b>Errol Thompson,</b> LW, placed on disabled list with broken jaw.</p><p>LOS ANGELES&mdash;<b>Dave Gardner,</b> C, recalled from Tulsa of CHL and reassigned to Dallas of CHL.</p><p>MINNESOTA&mdash;<b>Pete LoPresti, G,</b> and <b>Jimmy Roberts,</b> RW, returned to Oklahoma City of CHL. <b>Don Jackson,</b> D, recalled from Oklahoma City and later returned. <b>Mike Dibble,</b> G, recalled from Oklahoma City for reassignment. <b>Fred Barrett,</b> D, returned to lineup from injury list. <b>Greg Smith,</b> D, signed to new multi-year contract.</p><p>MONTREAL&mdash;<b>Steve Shutt,</b> LW, returned to lineup from injury list.</p><p>N.Y. RANGERS&mdash;<b>Tim Bothwell,</b> D, returned to New Haven of AHL.</p><p>ST. LOUIS&mdash;<b>Steve Durbano,</b> D, recalled from Salt Lake of CHL.</p><p>TORONTO&mdash;<b>Trevor Johansen,</b> D, returned to New Brunswick of AHL.</p><p>VANCOUVER&mdash;<b>Dune Wilson,</b> G, returned to Dallas of CHL.</p><p>WASHINGTON&mdash;<b>Jack Lynch,</b> D, recalled from Hershey of AHL. <b>Michel Bergeron,</b> RW, released outright.</p><h2><b>WORLD HOCKEY ASSN.</b></h2><p>CINCINNATI&mdash;<b>Dave Dornseif,</b> D, recalled from Erie of NEHL.</p><p>EDMONTON&mdash;<b>Cal Sandbeck,</b> D, recalled from Dallas of CHL. <b>John Hughes,</b> D, placed on disabled list with broken jaw. <b>Larry Hendrick,</b> G, recalled from Dallas of CHL and reassigned to Flint of IHL. <b>Eddie Mio,</b> G, assigned to Dallas. Oilers announced report erroneous that they traded NHL rights to <b>Steve Carlson,</b> C, to Los Angeles in return for rights to Steve Short, D, who is with Springfield of AHL.</p><p>WINNIPEG&mdash;<b>Ted Green.</b> D, placed on voluntary retired list.</p><h2><b>AMERICAN LEAGUE</b></h2><p>BINGHAMTON&mdash;<b>Tom O&rsquo;Toole,</b> G, signed to pro tryout from defunct San Francisco team of PHL. <b>Roger Kosar,</b> G. on pro trial, released.</p><p>ROCHESTER&mdash;<b>Stu Younger,</b> LW, returned to Grand Rapids of IHL.</p><p>NEW BRUNSWICK&mdash;<b>Mark Murphy,</b> LW, sent to Flint of IHL on loan.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

FEATURES

Hockey Players On The Move

<div class="byline">BY NORM MacLEAN</div><p>long ISLAND&mdash;</p><p>Eddie Westfall, 38-years-young, scored his third goal of the season as the New York Islanders defeated the Boston Bruins at the Boston Garden, 4-2. Westfall&rsquo;s goal put New York ahead 2-1 and broke the back of a furious Boston rally.</p><p>What made the Islanders&rsquo; win most impressive, along with their previous two victories over the Chicago Black Hawks, was their injury list. Defenseman Denis Potvin missed all three games with a shoulder injury suffered against the Rangers, left wing John Tonelli missed two of the ins with a bad knee and defenseman Stefan Persson came up with an ankle problem which caused him to miss the key game with Boston.</p><p>&ldquo;Our goal since training camp has been to finish first in the NHL overall,&rdquo; said Westfall. &ldquo;Things are going well. We miss the guys who are out, but we demonstrate our depth when Bob Lorimer and Mike Hordy can step in and take up the slack.&rdquo;</p><p>&ldquo;We dug down deep and did what we had to do,&rdquo; said coach Al Arbour. &ldquo;In some respects it was our most impressive win of the year.&rdquo;</p><p>The win put New York six points up on Boston, one of their two main rivals for first place overall. Montreal is the other.</p><p>Mike Bossy, who scored the winning goal, when he took a rebound off Bruin goalie Gerry Cheevers, pads, and flicked the puck behind Cheesy, said, &ldquo;We have them by six points instead of being just two up. It gives them something to think about especially since we come back to Boston for a third game this year.&rdquo;</p><p>Don Cherry, the never quiet Bruin coach, summed up the game, saying, &ldquo;We outshot them 30-17. It was almost like we were on a 50 minute power play. But (goalie) Chico Resch held them in. He should have gotten all three stars for his work.&rdquo;</p><p>Resch, who suffered his second loss of the season at the hands of the Rangers earlier, noted, &ldquo;We held up under pressure. They outshot us, but we didn&rsquo;t give them much more than the original shot. The guys cleared the puck in front very well. We did what we had to do.&rdquo;</p><p>Potvin&rsquo;s shoulder injury will cost him at least two weeks of play.</p><p>&ldquo;I am going to get some rest whether I like it or not,&rdquo; said Denis. &ldquo;Maybe it will help in the stretch and the playoffs to have a little bit more left.&rdquo;</p><p>Potvin&rsquo;s injury freed Pat Price from the press box&mdash;and when Persson banged up his ankle, it gave Hordy his chance to play in the NHL.</p><p>&ldquo;He did very well, being dropped into a situation where he had to take a regular turn against Boston,&rdquo; said GM Bill Torrey. &ldquo;He moved the puck well, and didn&rsquo;t make any mistakes.&rdquo;</p><p>&ldquo;Getting this opportunity means a lot to me,&rdquo; said the blon, 22-year-old defenseman who was called up from Fort Worth. &ldquo;It means they have confidence in me, and it opens up my future. The guys in the NHL are smarter, and move the puck quicker than in the CHL.&rdquo;</p><p>With Tonelli out, Arbour was forced to mix his second, third and fourth lines, keeping only the trio of Bryan Trottier, Clark Gillies and Bossy together.</p><p>Wayne Merrick worked with Garry Howatt and Bob Nystrom, Mike Kaszyoki had Billy Harris and either Westfall or Bob Bourne. Lorne Henning centered for Bourne and Westfall with Trottier occasionally skating a shift on left wing.</p><p>Bourne filled in on the point, in addition to helping with the penalty killing chores.</p><p>&ldquo;Bournie got the puck in our end and they, had to watch him because of his speed,&rdquo; said Westfall, recalling his. goal. &ldquo;I trailed the play and with a two on one break had a good opportunity.&rdquo;</p><p>Westfall, who played on two Bruin Stanley Cup teams, then scored the goal which broke open the key game&mdash;and served notice that the Islanders could win when the going was tough.</p><p><b>ISLAND SOUNDS:</b> Garry Howatt scored his 12th goal of the season against Boston, an empty net effort, after hitting a post and missing a breakaway earlier&hellip;Last year Howatt totalled seven goals&hellip;Mike Bossy continued to lead the NHL in power play goals&hellip;Al Arbour has alternated goalies Chico Resch and Billy Smith so smoothly that Resch was 16-2-8, Smith 16-4-1&hellip;Boston won previous meeting between the teams, 4-1, in Boston on November 1&hellip;N.Y. remains undefeated at home (19-0-4) and has logged 13-6-5 away.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

Islanders Continue Playing Well Despite Loss Of Star Performers

<p>NEW YORK&mdash;</p><p>We have a winner!</p><p>Mr. Robert J. Doyle, of Claresholm, Alberta is the winner of the &ldquo;Early Bird&rdquo; segment of the Fans and Players Hockey News Sweepstakes. His name was picked from the more than 20,000 applications that flooded the New York office of THE HOCKEY NEWS between July and Dec. 31, 1978.</p><p>Mr. Doyle, a 64-year-old recreational therapist at the Claresholm Care Center, and his wife will be the expense-free guests of THE HOCKEY NEWS at the Plaza Hotel in New York over the weekend of Feb. 9, 10 and 11, and will attend the last two games of the Challenge Cup series between the NHL All Stars and Soviet National team.</p><p>&ldquo;Neither my wife, nor I have ever been to an NHL game; we&rsquo;ve only watched them on television,&rdquo; Mr. Doyle said, &ldquo;and going to New York is something we only dreamed about. We are delighted and very, very excited.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

Alberta Man First Winner Of Hockey Sweepstakes

<div class="byline">&#x2014;BY BOB VERDI</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-011170/4354448-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg" title="f0006-01" width="332" height="459"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>A</span>fter sitting out his tortuous 40-game suspension, Don Murdoch has returned to the Rangers with a new outlook on his future in the NHL. He recently told columnist Bob Verdi that all he wants to do now is show everyone he can play hockey.</b></p><p><b>DON MURDOCH HAS DISCOVERED</b> that life indeed begins after 40. After 40 games, that is.</p><p>He&rsquo;s back now, and maybe the best part of his return is that he wants to take shots at goalies, not John Ziegler.</p><p>&ldquo;Bitter, no, not at all,&rdquo; said the New York Rankers&rsquo; baby-faced right winger after paying his dues. &ldquo;It was a long time, 40 games. And everybody keeps bringing it up to me how another player could get only 10 games for swinging a stick at another guy&rsquo;s head while I get 40 for doing something that could hurt only myself.</p><p>&ldquo;I thought about it, too, thought about it a lot. But maybe the man did this to me to set an example, to show other players and other sports that he was gonna be tough. So I can&rsquo;t be bitter. He did it for the good of the game. And now, all I can say is that it&rsquo;s over. I&rsquo;m not mad at anybody, and I want to play hockey. That&rsquo;s all.&rdquo;</p><p>Murdoch, 22 and supremely talented, will be doing that for a long time. One game into his comeback at Colorado, he was nervous and coughing up the puck. Two games into his comeback at Atlanta, he wasn&rsquo;t quite so nervous, so he shot the puck. Hat trick. Three games into his comeback, he skated onto Madison Square Garden ice for the first time in a long time and New York fans, who have paid their dues, stood up and gave the kid one heck of a hand.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-02897/4354441-1-eng-US/f0006-022.jpg" title="f0006-02" width="812" height="1336"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Don Murdoch talks frankly about his past. He admits he is lucky to be back playing in the NHL. The Rangers&rsquo; winger said he knew he stood to be banned for life from hockey, which would have a far bigger tragedy for him than his drug conviction.</b></figcaption></div><p>&ldquo;This,&rdquo; noticed Murdoch, &ldquo;is the only place to play.&rdquo;</p><h2><b>Murdoch A Swinger</b></h2><p><b>MURDOCH, A CELEBRITY,</b> can play with the best of them. Likes the big city, likes the discos, likes to socialize, likes to be friendly to just about everybody.</p><p>That may or may not explain how he could get himself into such a mess, being pinched in August, 1977, at the Toronto airport with 4.5 grams of cocaine, street value $1,400. It was rolled up in a sock, and he says there&rsquo;s a story behind the story, but Nixon said the same thing, and besides, does it really matter?</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s all in the past now,&rdquo; said Murdoch. &ldquo;Maybe part of my problem is that I don&rsquo;t know how to say no, that I don&rsquo;t think about where I&rsquo;m going or who I&rsquo;m hanging around with. You know, when I first came to New York, I was 19 years old. From Cranbrook, B.C., and I&rsquo;m going to New York.</p><p>&ldquo;You can say to yourself that it&rsquo;s going to be a lot different, but you have no idea how different it is until you actually get there. And when I did get there, I felt like I had to go out every night and do something or else I&rsquo;d be missing something.</p><p>&ldquo;Now, I&rsquo;ve got to be careful. I don&rsquo;t think they expect me to just go to play the games, then go straight home. They don&rsquo;t want me to hide. But I&rsquo;ve grown up a little. I&rsquo;ve had to, and now I can handle it.&rdquo;</p><p>Some of his teammates have their doubts. They figure that in a best-of-three match between Murdoch and Temptation, Temptation will win by a knockout.</p><h2><b>Can Handle Criticism</b></h2><p>&ldquo;<b>I&rsquo;LL BE HEARING</b> the jabs from them, I guess, but they&rsquo;ve been great to me,&rdquo; sais Murdoch. &ldquo;The night in Atlanta when I got the three goals, they all came off the bench and congratulated me. In practice, I&rsquo;ll miss a shot and they&rsquo;ll all tell me that I&rsquo;ve lost it, that! don&rsquo;t have it anymore.</p><p>&ldquo;Other players and other fans will be calling me an addict or a pothead, too, but I&rsquo;m prepared for it. All I want to do now is play hockey and still be able to enjoy myself, because I like this city.&rdquo;</p><p>Ironically, when Murdoch first appeared in New York, the Rangers were a sequestered lot which commuted from Long Island to the Big Apple for games. Now, Sonny Werblin wants his players! to mix in Manhattan and leave Long Island to sharks, F. Scott Fitzgerald and The Islanders.</p><p>Murdoch explains away as bad journalism a story he co-authored for a Canadian weekly&mdash;a self-serving piece in which he inferred that lots of players on lots of teams in lots of sports are smoking more than the conventional butts. He explains away what happened to him as bad judgement, or bad timing, or bad luck, or all of the above.</p><p>But he&rsquo;s still got the world on a string, and the next time he sees John Ziegler, Murdoch should not only thank the prez for what he did, but what he didn&rsquo;t do.</p><p>&ldquo;Heil,&rdquo; Murdoch realized. &ldquo;He could have banned me for life. Right?&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0006-01

HOCKEY TALK

<div class="byline">BY BILL FLEISCHMAN</div><p>PHILADELPHIA&mdash;</p><p>&ldquo;Playing in goal for Philadelphia against Montreal&mdash;Wayne Stephenson.&rdquo;</p><p>Wayne Stephenson? Isn&rsquo;t he the guy who was relegated to press-box observation duty as the Flyers conducted another NHL tryout for a younger goalie?</p><p>Isn&rsquo;t Stephenson the guy who has argued with Keith Allen, telling the Flyers&rsquo; GM he hasn&rsquo;t appreciated his treatment in Philadelphia and would like to be traded?</p><p>Yes, it&rsquo;s that Wayne Stephenson. The man who for years has been the NHL&rsquo;s relief king is making another comeback. With Bernie Parent playing as inconsistently as the Flyers and Pete Peeters judged not ready for prime time, the Flyers once again turned to Stephenson.</p><p>Making his first start in more than one month, Stephenson won in Landover, Md.,5-2, as the Flyers were outshot, 43-22, by Washington. Later that week, in a splendid duel with Glenn Resch, Stephenson held the New York Islanders&rsquo; scoring machine to a 1-1 tie.</p><p>After Parent and the Flyers were blanked, 5-0, in Atlanta, coach Bob McCammon hinted that he&rsquo;d stop alternating goalies. Stephenson was in the nets as the Flyers tied Buffalo, 4-4, at the Spectrum on Mel Bridgman&rsquo;s goal with 16 seconds remaining.</p><p>Two nights later, Stephenson took Parent&rsquo;s usual turn in Montreal. &ldquo;Fort Wayne&rdquo; opened on a shaky note, allowing two first-period goals. But then he stopped breakaways by Guy Lafleur and Larry Robinson and Philadelphia&rsquo;s Last-Minute-Gang rallied again to tie the Canadiens, 5-5, on Bob Dailey&rsquo;s goal with just 38 seconds to play.</p><p>Stephenson&rsquo;s latest appearances follow his career pattern. Filling in for a recuperating Parent during the 1975-76 season, Stephenson compiled an outstanding 2.58 goals-against average and 40-10-13 record. However, skeptics pointed out that he had only one shutout with a superior defensive team.</p><p>In what proved to be a mistake in judgment by then-coach Fred Shero, Parent played in the chaotic quarterfinals against Toronto. When Parent lost the semi-final opener to Boston, Shero finally called on Stephenson and he carried them into the finals, where Montreal swept the Flyers.</p><p>The next season Shero again went with Parent, but when he faltered early in the quarter-finals against Toronto, it was Stephenson to the rescue once more. Stephenson won four in a row against the Maple Leafs, but the Bruins batted 4-for-4 in the semi-finals against him and his detractors (including many Parent fans) muttered, &ldquo;See, he had another chance, but couldn&rsquo;t do the job.&rdquo;</p><p>There is no doubt Stephenson, 34, can do the job as an NHL goaltender. However, his opinion (and his agent&rsquo;s) on his ability differs strongly with general managers around the league. Contending teams all have quality goaltenders. Most rebuilding teams prefer trying their younger goalies. Which leaves the restless Stephenson stuck in Philadelphia.</p><p>Many athletes Stephenson&rsquo;s age would be content to play whenever called upon as they collect their $100,000-a-year salaries. To his credit, Stephenson isn&rsquo;t the take-the-money-and-run type.</p><p>&ldquo;I went in and told Keith my feelings and now I feel better,&rdquo; Stephenson said. &ldquo;He knows I want to play. I&rsquo;d like to play in Philadelphia, but if I can&rsquo;t I&rsquo;ll go somewhere else. As long as I&rsquo;m playing I&rsquo;m happy.&rdquo;</p><p>It is Stephenson&rsquo;s professional attitude that enables him to help the rebuilding Flyers maintain some respectability against teams like the Islanders and Montreal.</p><p>&ldquo;My feelings are purely selfdefense,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;When I go out to play I only know how to play one way&mdash;to win. 1&rsquo;11 give it my best no matter who I play for. There&rsquo;s a lot of pride involved in putting on these uniforms. A lot of guys would like to be putting on one of these.&rdquo;</p><p>The Flyers would like a Pete Peeters or Rick St. Croix to put on a Philadelphia uniform soon. But until they do, good ole&rsquo; Wayne will be available and able.</p><p><b>FLYERS FACTS:</b> Bob McCammon was growing impatient, waiting for Rick MacLeish to start producing up to his level. MacLeish&rsquo;s new linemate, Dennis Ververgaert, was also struggling&hellip;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-03587/4354479-1-eng-US/f0006-032.jpg" title="f0006-03" width="574" height="1266"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>WAYNE STEPHENSON&hellip;Rescues Flyers</b></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0006-03

Flyer Netminder Making A Habit Of Fireman Role

<div class="byline">BY MIKE DENNIS</div><p>MONTREAL&mdash;</p><p class="dropcap"><span>R</span>eggie Houle accepted belated congratulations for scoring his 100th National Hockey League goal two evenings before in the Montreal Canadiens&rsquo; 6-3 conquest of the St. Louis Blues, with a slightly surprised look.</p><p>&ldquo;Is that right?&rdquo; Houle mentioned in the moments following a 6-0 shutout of the Atlanta Flames in Montreal. &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t know it was my hundredth. Thank You.&rdquo;</p><p>Houle, 29, is a very valuable player to have around even when he&rsquo;s not scoring goals, but the slender native of Rouyn, Que. has been a steadily improving player ever since the Canadiens made him the first player chosen in the 1969 amateur draft, immediately ahead of his good and great friend Marc Tardif, who happens to have scored a few for the World Hockey Association Quebec Nordiques.</p><p>The five-foot-11, 170-pound Houle was known for his skating and defensive abilities in three full seasons with the Canadiens before departing for the WHA with the Nordiques where he played the power play and performed on the club&rsquo;s top line and turned in goal totals of 27, 40 and 51 during three campaigns in the provincial capital.</p><p>But when the security he switched leagues for became less stable than Houle thought it should be he came back to the Canadiens to start the 1976-77 season.</p><p>Since that time he has fashioned totals of 22-30-52 and 30-28-58 and has become recognized as a two-way player who can do a number of things well.</p><p>Not the least of these is his ability to play all three forward positions&mdash;adapting to whatever role is needed&mdash;a situation which has occurred quite often in one of the Canadiens&rsquo; worst years for injuries, especially in the forward ranks.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m just getting used to my wingers now,&rdquo; says centerman Houle of Yvon Lambert and Mario Tremblay It&rsquo;s a big change for me. I&rsquo;ve been switched back and forth from wing to wing a lot this year and it takes a while for your head to figure where I should be going.</p><p>&ldquo;Playing center means working closely with our defense, coming back to start the plays, and I wasn&rsquo;t going all out offensively at first, because we want to make sure that we don&rsquo;t let the other team score,&rdquo; Houle says.</p><p>He continued: &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t get as many chances to shoot playing center, but I know that the goals are going to come.&rdquo;</p><p>Houle produced four in three games recently, including two goals in the St. Louis game to reach the century mark in the NHL and 14 for the season. He scored seven goals in the first quarter of the season, which was three more than he had at that time a year ago, but ran into a 12-game dry spell, although his assist total has been climbing and he&rsquo;ll probably surpass last year&rsquo;s total of 28 later this month.</p><p>Each year as a professional, Houle has increased his goals and points total, (counting the WHA years as a separate entity) although he&rsquo;ll have to have a bit of a surge to top the &ldquo;magic&rdquo; 30 goals of last year, a mark that was a personal ambition of his for quite some time.</p><p>&ldquo;It was about this time last year that I was really playing well with (Pierre) Mondou and (Yvan) Cournoyer,&rdquo; Reggie recalled, &ldquo;so let&rsquo;s hope the same thing happens again.&rdquo;</p><p>A glance at the stats revealed, indeed, that Houle went on his greatest NHL scoring binge ever starting just before mid-season last year when he reeled off 17 goals over a 23-game stretch.</p><p>Rejean Houle can skate, he can check and he can score, and that my friends, is the name of that tune.</p><p><b>FORUM REBOUNDS:</b> The flu bug, which raised havoc with Montreal skaters last year has made another visit. Guy Lapointe was the first to contact it, and following the Flame game, Larry Robinson also was hit by the virus&hellip; Bob Gainey was paired on defense &ldquo;with Serge Savard, an experiment which coach Scotty Bowman has been waiting to try for quite some time. Gainey played so well in his first couple of games that Savard was prompted to say that Gainey&rsquo;s presence might add a couple of more years to Savard&rsquo;s career. &ldquo;He just gets the puck and goes,&rdquo; quipped Senator Savard&hellip;Mark Napier and Pat Hughes have been playing regularly of late and have been impressive, upping their goal totals to eight and seven, respectively.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-011041/4354510-1-eng-US/f0007-012.jpg" title="f0007-01" width="538" height="1032"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>REGGIE HOULE&hellip;Mr. Versatile</b></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0007-01

Handy Houle Benefitting Canadiens

<p>MONTREAL&mdash;</p><p class="dropcap"><span>F</span>ormer National Hockey League president Clarence Campbell left a Montreal hospital a few days after being admitted for treatment of an asthma attach that was first reported by some news services as a heart attack.</p><p>Mr. Campbell, who is 73, suffered the asthma attack while working in his NHL Montreal office and was quickly rushed to hospital by ambulance where he was placed under observation for several days before being released. A hospital spokesman said all cardiac tests on Mr. Campbell proved negative.</p><p>Brian O&rsquo;Neill, the NHL&rsquo;s executive vicpresident, said he visited Mr. Campbell in hospital and added that he was feeling fine after experiencing some breathing difficulties.</p><p>The former league president is to be the guest of honor at the NHL&rsquo;s Challenge Cup All Star dinner at New York&rsquo;s Waldorf Astoria Hotel Friday, Feb. 9 and he said he was feeling fine and would attend the dinner.</p><p>The NHL plans to honor Mr. Campbell, who served as president from 1946 through 1977 before being succeeded by John Ziegler.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-02800/4354541-1-eng-US/f0007-022.jpg" title="f0007-02" width="570" height="829"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>CLARENCE CAMPBELL</b></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0007-02

Ex-NHL President Campbell To Attend All Star Dinner

<div class="byline">&#x2014;BY BILL LIBBY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-011161/4354579-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg" title="f0008-01" width="415" height="463"></div><h2><b><i>The Big Guy&hellip;</i></b></h2><p class="dropcap"><b><span>B</span>OB DAILEY SAYS</b> he learned a lot in jail. Because Bob&rsquo;s dad was a prison guard, Bob grew up around a prison. He spent two summers working behind bars in penitentiary service. Because he is almost six-foot-six and weighs 225 pounds or more, depending on his eating habits at the time, he was intimidating, rather than intimidated.</p><p>&ldquo;There&rsquo;s danger because a lot of these guys are bad guys, but a lot are good guys, too. I learned your average prisoner is an average person who went wrong somewhere along the way. I learned a lot about people working with prisoners,&rdquo; he says.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-021045/4354572-1-eng-US/f0008-022.jpg" title="f0008-02" width="812" height="1376"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Because Bob Dailey is one of the biggest players in the NHL, fans often expect him to clobber the opposition. But the easy-going Flyers&rsquo; rearguard feels he is developing late because of his size, and is still learning when to apply his body at the right times.</b></figcaption></div><p>&ldquo;I learned not to break the law because being locked up makes for an unnatural life, makes you bitter, and exposes you to bad influences. Even being a guard is a bit of an unnatural life but I guess my dad got used to it. I doubt that I could. I like the free life too much.&rdquo;</p><p>Bob is not totally free. He is married and he and his wife, Carol, have a two-year-old daughter, Courtney, and a home in the Delaware Valley suburbs, near where he plays hockey for the Flyers at the Spectrum in Philadelphia.</p><p>But the big guy is given to fancy clothes and fancy night spots, good food and wine and good music, so long as it&rsquo;s rock. He has owned a restaurant and disco in Vancouver. He also goes in for golf and tennis. He plays hard days, as well as nights, in season and out.</p><p>&ldquo;I just enjoy life,&rdquo; he says.</p><p>At 25, he is blooming late as one of the best defensemen in the game. He has looked like he should be that for some time now.</p><p><b>BORN IN KINGSTON,</b> Ontario, in May of 1953, he became captain and a second All Star with the Toronto Marlboros as an amateur. Vancouver made him a first-round draft choice in the professional draft in 1973.</p><p>He showed potential with the Canucks, but was being booed by the fans when he was traded to the Flyers for Jack Mcllhargey and Larry Goodenough in his fourth season. He flashed fine form for the Flyers and had a super playoff at season&rsquo;s end.</p><p>Boston&rsquo;s Don Cherry said, &ldquo;The Flyers should be arrested for grand larceny.&rdquo; Vancouver&rsquo;s Phil Maloney shrugged and said, &ldquo;He wasn&rsquo;t doing it for us and we had to have help.&rdquo; Philadelphia&rsquo;s Keith Allen, who dealt with Maloney, said, &ldquo;Dailey was only 19 when he broke in and didn&rsquo;t get time to develop.&rdquo;</p><p>Dailey says, &ldquo;Because I&rsquo;m big, too much was expected from me too soon. Just because I&rsquo;m big. I&rsquo;m not going to be a goon. Big guys take longer to get coordinated. I didn&rsquo;t play as well there as I have here because losing doesn&rsquo;t give you the lift winning does and because I&rsquo;m maturing and learning. I learned more in three months with the Flyers than in three years with the Canucks.&rdquo;</p><p>Fred Shero and his assistant coaches worked hard with the big guy. Shero said, &ldquo;He had to be smoother, get tougher, gain confidence.&rdquo; Barry Ashbee said, &ldquo;He&rsquo;ll be another Larry Robinson.&rdquo; Pat Quinn, who replaced Ashbee as an assistant, after Ashbee died, said, &ldquo;Anyone as big as Bob who can do what he can do is a freak who comes along once in 20 years.&rdquo;</p><p><b>HOWEVER, IT HAS</b> taken time for Bob to really begin to realize his promise. Possessor of one of the most powerful shots from the point in hockey, he did drive in 21 goals last season, a club record for a defenseman, and skated well enough to kill penalties as a forward. But he made a lot of mistakes the last two seasons.</p><p>The biggest guys in this sport seldom are the hardest hitters, yet it is inevitably expected of them and they usually are deemed disappointments. The fans in Philadelphia voiced displeasure with him in the past, and they are known for their strong voices, but he has begun to hit more, and make mistakes less, and they are beginning to cheer him at times.</p><p>Bob McCammon, who replaced Shero as coach after Fred jumped the club, says, &ldquo;He is showing signs of becoming the player he can be. He can be as good as he wants to be.&rdquo; Dailey says, &ldquo;I want to be the best, but it takes time. I want to be more than a fighter and I fight only when I have to. I&rsquo;m learning to gamble less on offense and to take the body more on defense.&rdquo;</p><p>The big guy was nicknamed &ldquo;Moose&rdquo; in Vancouver, but when he showed up in Philadelphia there already was a &ldquo;Moose,&rdquo; Andre Dupont. When Dailey arrived looking large and mean, menacing in his mustache, his overcoat typically draped over his shoulders like the cape worn by that character from Transylvania, Dupont tabbed him &ldquo;Count.&rdquo; The Count is out for blood these days. His wife, a nurse, can take care of his victims. His mom, a bookkeeper, can keep count.</p><p>But he doesn&rsquo;t want to be the kind of bad guy who has to be watched by his father.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0008-01

Hockey Ad Lib

<div class="byline">BY TOM MURRAY</div><p>NEW YORK&mdash;</p><p>At the end of this crazy, roller-coaster season, it may be remembered as &ldquo;The Week That Was&rdquo; for the Rangers&mdash;January 22, 1979. Three games scheduled, all on the road. In Washington on Wednesday, January 24; in Buffalo on the following night, and at the Nassau Coliseum to face the Islanders on Saturday the 27th. For those Ranger followers who put a lot of credence in past history, their predictions were that the Rangers would be awfully lucky to finish the week earning two points out of a possible six. Those two points, of course, would come against the good old reliable Washington Capitals, 14-267 at game time, and always obliging when it comes to providing an opponent with a win. But two points in Buffalo? Nah. No way! The Rangers hadn&rsquo;t won a game at the &ldquo;Aud&rdquo; since November 22, 1973, when Larry Popein (who?) was the coach. More than five years!</p><p>And, of course, there was no way they were going to get two points against the Islanders. The last time the Rangers had ventured out to the Coliseum, they had been thoroughly thrashed, 9-4. And besides, the Islanders were unbeaten at home, in 23 games this season, and in 28 counting the tail end of last season. Two points out there? Hah! Ridiculous, right?</p><p>Wrong. Dead wrong. And by this time in the season, anyone who persists in making predictions about this Ranger team should have shattered his crystal ball long ago. More on that incredible Islander game later. First, here&rsquo;s what happened in the other two games:</p><p><b>Washington:</b> This is the game that the Rangers were supposed to win, but instead they played their worst game of the season and got trounced, 5-1. &ldquo;It was unbelievable,&rdquo; Pat Hickey told reporters afterwards. &ldquo;It was like they were the Montreal Canadiens.&rdquo;</p><p>Too bad they weren&rsquo;t. The Rangers are 2-0 against the Canadiens this year, but against the Capitals on this night, the New Yorkers looked more like the Little Sisters of the Poor than the fourth-best team in the NHL.</p><p>The Rangers were never really in the game, and you could tell they were really out of it when Greg Polis&mdash;a Ranger until two weeks ago, when he was picked up on waivers by the Capitals&mdash;got some revenge on his old teammates when he skated the length of the ice, past the entire (immobile) Ranger team, and neatly tucked the puck behind goalie John Davidson. That play pretty much summed up the way the whole game went, and the loss meant that the Rangers had won only one of their last five games. On to Buffalo.</p><p><b>Buffalo;</b> Not only had the Rangers not beaten the Sabres on the road in over five years, but, as the game progressed, they found themselves down by two goals on two different occasions. They rallied spectacularly, though, zapping the Sabres with two goals within 21 seconds (by Dave Maloney and Ron Duguay, respectively) midway through the third period to tie and then beat Buffalo, 5-4.</p><p><b>Islanders:</b> Ahhhhhhh. How sweet it was. Led by Anders Hedberg&rsquo;s two goals, Ulf Nilsson&rsquo;s goal and four assists, and Billy Smith&rsquo;s laughable, Academy Award-winning performance in goal for the Islanders, the Rangers destroyed their Patrick Division rivals, 7-2.&rsquo;</p><p>On this night, Smith deserved as much credit for the Ranger win as the Rangers themselves, for every time the Islanders looked like they might turn the tide and change the momentum of the game&hellip;good old reliable Smitty let his temper put a damper on things by drawing a dumb penalty. All told, the bellicose Smith was called for three minor penalties, and his embarrassing antics&mdash;on one occasion he whipped off his gloves and mask and challenged Pat Hickey to a fight&mdash;had even the partisan fans and his teammates shrugging their shoulders and confusedly shaking their heads.</p><p>Smith was also pretty effective with his mouth, which he focused for most of the night on Don Murdoch. &ldquo;The referee (Bob Myers) came over and told me that what I had called Murdoch could have gotten me ejected,&rdquo; Smith said after the game. &ldquo;I won&rsquo;t tell you what I said, but maybe you can guess.&rdquo; You&rsquo;re absolutely right, Billy. We sure can.</p><p>&ldquo;Everyone gets what&rsquo;s coming to them,&rdquo; said Hickey, whose only retaliation to Smith&rsquo;s challenge was a goal in the third period, &ldquo;and tonight Smith got his. Seven goals.&rdquo;</p><p>The Rangers got theirs, too: They ended two streaks&mdash;in Buffalo and Long Island&mdash;and emerged from what was supposed to be a Lost Week with four points out of a possible six.</p><p>Not bad, but just think: If only they had played Montreal instead of Washington&hellip;their week would have been perfect.</p><p>BLUE CHIPS: Now that John Davidson is definitely the No. 1 goalie (he&rsquo;s played in every minute of every game since Jan. 17), No. 3 man Doug Soetaert has voluntarily opted to go to the Rangers&rsquo; New Haven farm team for two weeks to get some playing time. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not complaining about John being No. 1 or about the way Freddie is doing things up here,&rdquo; said Soetaert, who will miss the upcoming West Coast trip and return to New York in mid-February, &ldquo;but what happens if J.D. gets hurt? I want to be ready, and I think I&rsquo;ll be a lot better off playing in New Haven than sitting on my tail in New York. I feel really sharp now, too, and I want to play.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-03880/4354610-1-eng-US/f0008-032.jpg" title="f0008-03" width="560" height="1804"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>PAT HICKEY&hellip;Gained Revenge</b></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0008-03

Rangers Surprise Winning Contests Club Should Lose

<div class="byline">BY TOM HENSHAW</div><p>BOSTON&mdash;</p><p>The big news around Boston is that the Bruins finally made some news.</p><p>They lost three games in a row.</p><p>This is the way to make it big on the sports pages in Boston where the writers and the fans both thrive on adversity.</p><p>The coach of the football team has been trying to quit since the middle of December. But nobody will listen. Lead editorials have been written on the subject.</p><p>The baseball team lost the pennant by the margin of one game playoff four months ago and that misfortune is still being hashed and rehashed to the point of masochism.</p><p>The basketball team was traded to Buffalo, or was it San Diego, and vice versa and reams of copy is turned out to explain that strange team that rents the Garden Wednesday and Friday nights.</p><p>Meanwhile, the Bruins were paying the price of success.</p><p>Their big moments of controversy revolved around John Wensink (was he ruffian or hockey player?) and Gilles Gilbert (was Don Cherry treating his right?). Pretty pale stuff for the sports pages.</p><p>Then came consecutive losses to Pittsburgh, Los Angeles and St. Louis.</p><p>&ldquo;The team hasn&rsquo;t won a game since Jan. 11,&rdquo; noted the Globe with alarm. This was on Jan. 18. The Washington Caps and Colorado Rockies should be so lucky.</p><p>If Cherry was that concerned he didn&rsquo;t show it.</p><p>&ldquo;Well,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;we went to Jan. 14 before we lost two in a row. Even the Montreal Canadiens have lost two in a row a few times. We still have a big lead (19 points) in our Division.</p><p>&ldquo;We were rolling right along until we lost Ricky Smith and Brad Park. That has had an effect on us. But the main thing is you just don&rsquo;t go through an entire season at the fever pitch we were going through.&rdquo;</p><p>When the losing streak ended with a 4-0 conquest of the St. Louis Blues on Jan. 18&mdash;Gerry Cheevers 22nd NHL shutout&mdash;various reasons were assigned to the dry spell.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll tell you what happens,&rdquo; said Cherry. &ldquo;Things roll along so good; you win all those games in a row; the first thing you do is you start forgetting fundamentals.</p><p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s exactly what happened. We forgot what got us there in the first place. We thought we were a wide-open club like Canadiens and the Islanders. We&rsquo;re not.</p><p>&ldquo;We said we were going to play tight tonight and we did. How many shots they get? Thirteen? That&rsquo;s the way we should be playing. It was too bad St. Louis happened to run into us tonight.&rdquo;</p><p>&ldquo;We got sort of loosey-goosey for the three games,&rdquo; said Bobby Schmautz. &ldquo;We knew we had to tighten it up. We&rsquo;re not going to finesse another team. We&rsquo;ve got to play our system, maybe with a few changes.</p><p>&ldquo;Everybody knows we&rsquo;re coming around the boards and they&rsquo;re waiting for us. They&rsquo;re sending a winger and a defenseman in on the puck side with their centerman chasing the guy around the opposite side. We&rsquo;re going to have to change things a little, but not much.&rdquo;</p><p>Peter McNab blamed the mid-season slump on the Jan. 9 exhibition game with the Wings of the Soviet, a 4-1 loss for Boston. Most of the Bruins resented the interruption of the NHL schedule. The team drew a bit of local flack for retaliating NHL-style to the Soviet subtleties.</p><p>&ldquo;I really don&rsquo;t like to think the cause of the slump was the game we played against the Russians but it looks that way,&rdquo; said McNab.</p><p>&ldquo;It wasn&rsquo;t so much losing to them. There was an editorial in the Globe a day or two later and it really knocked us for getting rough with them.</p><p>&ldquo;The worst part of it was the editorial was unsigned. I wear my name on the back of my uniform for everybody to see. We do our job in the open.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;d like to have a chance to talk to the man who wrote the editorial. Maybe some of the things were true. Maybe some were false. But I&rsquo;d like to discuss it with him.</p><p>&ldquo;We kind of felt that we let the fans down by losing the game. Then the editorial really rubbed it in. It was quite depressing for us.&rdquo;</p><p>The losing string also came at the wrong time for Cherry, who was just getting down to meaningful negotiations with general manager Harry Sinden on a new contract. The old one expires June 15.</p><p>&ldquo;The first offer is on the table,&rdquo; said Sinden. &ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s a fair offer based on the information I&rsquo;ve been able to gather from around the league.</p><p>&ldquo;Whether Don feels it&rsquo;s a fair offer is another matter. I told him to think about it for a while, talk to his wife about it, and then get back to me.</p><p>&ldquo;I have a limited figure I can work with and I&rsquo;m not about to give away the store to keep him here.&rdquo;</p><p>Cherry and Sinden are reportedly $20,000 apart in their salary proposals.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-011118/4354641-1-eng-US/f0009-012.jpg" title="f0009-01" width="570" height="1216"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>BOBBY SCHMAUTZ&hellip;Change A Little</b></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0009-01

Bruins Grab Headlines In Boston By Running Into Three-Game Spin

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0010-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-011148/4354672-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg"></div><p><b>Write to:</b></p><p><b>FAN FORUM,</b></p><p><b>The Hockey News, 1434 St. Catherine St., W., Montreal, Canada H3G 1R7</b></p><h2><b>We&rsquo;re Praised By Regina Sportscaster</b></h2><p>I thought I&rsquo;d type a letter complimenting you and your staff on your excellent hockey magazine, &ldquo;THE HOCKEY NEWS.&rdquo;</p><p>As covering and following hockey is a job as well as a favorite hobby, I can truthfully say that after looking at other hockey magazines that &ldquo;THE HOCKEY NEWS&rdquo; is by far the most superior, informative, up to date and entertaining.</p><p>From a hockey fan and broadcaster in Regina thank you and keep up the good work.</p><p><b>DON HEWITT,</b><br><b>CKCK Sportcaster</b><br><b>Regina, Sask.</b></p><h2><b>Suggest Award For Durable Goalers</b></h2><p>I have been reading your paper for the last two years and have never heard of a trophy in memory of the great Terry Sawchuk.</p><p>How about a new trophy called the &ldquo;Ironman Award&rdquo; for the goaltender who plays in the most games and shows the greatest quality of play.</p><p><b>HOWARD TEITEL,</b><br><b>Middle Village, N.Y.</b></p><h2><b>Indy Fans Didn&rsquo;t Get Chance</b></h2><p>I live in Indianapolis and am very upset because Nelson Skalbania took hockey out of our town. The fans in Indianapolis were upset also by the selling of Eddie Mio, Wayne Gretzky and Peter Driscoll.</p><p>I think Indianapolis is a good hockey town, but Skalbania wouldn&rsquo;t let the fans prove it.</p><p><b>GINA CONSTANTINO,</b><br><b>Indianapolis, Ind.</b></p><h2><b>Liked Article About Young Habs</b></h2><p>I love the article written by Mike Dennis in the Dec. 29 edition of THE HOCKEY NEWS centered around the newcomers to the Montreal Canadiens, Mark Napier, Pat Hughes, Cam Connor and Rod Langway.</p><p>I feel there is nothing more exciting about a team than their up and coming players. The Montreal foursome could very well be stars of the future and could become the nucleus of the Cana-dien teams of the l980&rsquo;s. They will make a lot of noise later on.</p><p><b>ROBERT YOUNG,</b><br><b>Vancouver, B.C.</b></p><h2><b>Magnuson Symbolizes Heart, Determination</b></h2><p>I go to school in Champaign, and I came in for my Christmas break just in time to go to the Chicago Stadium and see an exciting Hawk-Flyer game. The next game the Blackhawks played was a few days later against St. Louis. In that game, the most dedicated player in any league was severely injured. There is a possiblity that he may never return as a hockey player. He is Keith Magnuson.</p><p>I can not think of another sports figure that better symbolizes the determination and desire that Keith possesses. He is an inspiration for many young hockey players. I&rsquo;ve talked to Keith many times after Hawk games and I even talked to him in the hospital following his injury, and he has always had time for me just as he has time for the many charities he promotes. What Keith lacks in talent, he makes up for in effort. As Bob Verdi once said, if Keith Magnuson was part of the body, he&rsquo;d be a heart. It&rsquo;s time hockey fans realize what a great man the Chicago captain is.</p><p>Also, thank you HOCKEY NEWS for bringing the best in hockey information down to me in Champaign. Your newspaper keeps me in touch with the always exciting hockey world.</p><p><b>DANIEL FRICK,</b><br><b>Westchester, III.</b></p><h2><b>List Statistics For Retiring Players</b></h2><p>I enjoyed reading the Dec.1 and Nov. 24 issues of THE HOCKEY NEWS which showed the lifetime statistics of Bobby Orr and Bobby Hull.</p><p>I would like to see the lifetime records for everyone who retires from the NHL, not just the super stars.</p><p><b>RALPH MURPHY,</b><br><b>Halifax, N.S.</b></p><h2><b>IHL&rsquo;s Beagan Tough Act To Follow</b></h2><p>The IHL has probably suffered its biggest loss in its history with the loss of its commissioner, Bill Beagan. Mr. Beagan was instrumental in having both teams return to their benches when fisticuffs occured. A bench minor penalty was called if they didn&rsquo;t.</p><p>His newest innovation to the IHL is that Olympic players may participate in the league without penalty. This allows valuable experience to be gained by prospective U.S. Olympic players. His modern train of thought and firm handling of violators of hockey rules has led to the most improved and respected minor farm league associated with hockey.</p><p>He will be missed and I truly hope that his new endeavor will be as successful as his association with the international Hockey League. The Board of Governors now has the difficult task of finding someone to replace Mr. Beagan without allowing the IHL to regress.</p><p><b>ROBERT G. BRANYAN II,</b><br><b>Jenison, Mich.</b></p><h2><b>Overtime Works In Other Sports</b></h2><p>How long will it take before the National Hockey League bosses realize that overtime is a beneficial plus to the sport, especially when attendances aren&rsquo;t booming like they should be?</p><p>I can see their point when they say a team like Colorado or St. Louis wins a moral victory by tying a team like the Islanders or Montreal. But every league in every sport, not just the NHL, has its weak teams and overtime does seem to work nonetheless.</p><p>Baseball has extra innings; football has overtime; in soccer there is overtime and the controversial shoot-out; in basketball there can be more than one OT period; and in the World Hockey Association, the American Hockey League, and other hockey leagues there is overtime.</p><p>Another argument might be that the players would become too tired. How is it that minor league teams (future NHLers) and the WHA can play three games in three nights, with overtime always possible, and perform well?</p><p><b>MICHAEL JARVIS,</b><br><b>Wallingford, Conn.</b></p><h2><b>LETTER OF THE WEEK</b></h2><h2><b>Future Greats Playing With Brandon</b></h2><p><b>I am writing to express my opinion about a pair of 19-year-old juniors who I believe will reach professional stardom soon. I am talking about Brian Propp and Raymond Allison who play for Brandon in the Western Hockey League.</b></p><p><b>They have been running 1-2 in the scoring race all season and are on record-setting paces. Brian&rsquo;s forte is that he plays all phases of the game so well and is a fine skater. Ray is a hustler and a pretty aggressive winger.</b></p><p><b>I have seen several highly touted juniors fizzle when they reached the professional ranks, but I doubt this will happen to these talented youngsters.</b></p><p><b>GARY PAVICH,</b><br><b>Flint, Mich.</b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0010-01

FAN FORUM

<div class="byline">BY CHARLIE HALPIN</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0010-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-02918/4354703-1-eng-US/f0010-022.jpg"></div><p>MONTREAL&mdash;</p><p class="dropcap"><span>A</span>ttendance at National Hockey League games continued to be a point of contention with the league running a reported 66,408 behind at the box office.</p><p>According to figures compiled by THE HOCKEY NEWS for the first 20 home games of each of the 17 NHL teams, the league attracted 4,306,101 fans for the first half of the 1978-79 schedule. At this juncture last year, the NHL had drawn crowds totaling 4,372,509.</p><p>While the crowd figures are unofficial because NHL club owners have an aversion about revealing attendances at their hockey games, the minus figure of 66,408 cannot be interpreted as a disaster. Most NHL clubs are actually maintaining their status quo at the turnstiles with the possible exception of Colorado, Los Angeles and Washington, who are the three major contributors to the NHL fan deficit.</p><p>With Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Detroit and Montreal playing before more fans than last season at this time and Buffalo, Toronto and Philadelphia enjoying constant sellout crowds, the NHL was basically in good shape at the box office.</p><p>Even though teams like Minnesota, the Islanders, Rangers, Pittsburgh, St. Louis and Vancouver, all reported slight attendance drops, the figures were really only marginal. The Penguins, for example, were only 2,726 fans behind their 1977-78 figure for their first 20 home starts in the Civic Arena, a situation they are certain to rectify in the second half of this year&rsquo;s schedule. The same can be said for the Rangers, Islanders and Vancouver.</p><p>The NHL&rsquo;s three trouble spots all reported a hefty deficit although in the case of the Washington Caps, the situation may turn itself around with the red-hot Caps playing winning hockey and attracting larger crowds. In their last two home games in Washington, there were more than 14,000 fans at Landover&rsquo;s Capital Center for both games.</p><p>Still the Caps showed a drop of 53,568 fans for the first half of the season at home while Los Angeles was down 54,871 and Colorado ballooned to 31,784 after having a plus 808 for the first 10 games played in Denver. The Rockies have dropped off noticeably in recent home starts and have been lucky to draw 5,000 fans to their NHL games.</p><p>Despite the fact they are showing a deficit of 7,179, the Rangers continue to be the NHL&rsquo;s box office heavyweights with 342,821 fans turning up for their first 20 Garden dates. Philadelphia ranks second with 341,540, Montreal third with 330,866, Toronto fourth with 329,522 and Buffalo fifth with 328,660.</p><h2><b>Attendance figures compiled by The Hockey News:</b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></h2>

f0010-02

NHL’s Attendance Still Below 1978 But Outlook Bright

<div class="byline">BY PAT THOMPSON</div><p>BLOOMINGTON&mdash;</p><p>A once-in-a-career thrill.</p><p>What better way to describe the night that 23-year-old Timmy Young turned in against the New York Rangers in Madison Square Garden Jan. 15.</p><p><b>Five shots on net. Five shots in net!</b></p><p>&ldquo;Incredible,&rdquo; Young announced afterward. &ldquo;I hadn&rsquo;t even scored a hat trick in my three previous seasons. Funny, too, I felt terrible before the game. I was just exhausted&hellip;until I got my second goal.&rdquo;</p><p>The five-goal night broke a North Star record originally set by Bill Goldsworthy and then shared with Harvey Bennett. The six points Young scored tied the team record set by Murray Oliver, now the team&rsquo;s assistant coach.</p><p>So what did the slender center want to talk about&mdash;the performance which fell one goal short of the all-time record of six goals in a game? No, defense!</p><p>Defense? That&rsquo;s right, defense. &ldquo;I haven&rsquo;t scored as much this year but I think I&rsquo;m playing better all-around,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m playing more of a team game. Before now, I&rsquo;ve played more as an individual. Glen Sonmor&rsquo;s coaching has helped me that way.&rdquo;</p><p>Even so, Sonmor was looking for more scoring punch from the Stars before Young led them to an 8-1 romp over the Rangers. In fives?</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve kept hearing that Young could score,&rdquo; said Sonmor. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll have to admit I might have started to wonder. Usually, though, the guys who have proved they can score, will get their share.&rdquo;</p><p>Young has proven he can score in his three previous seasons. He set a Minnesota season scoring record in 1976-77 with 29 goals and 66 assists, finishing in the top 10 list of NHL scorers.</p><p>He was, however, slumping with 10 goals and 21 assists the first half of the season. In one swoop of six points, he tied rookie standout Bobby Smith for the team scoring lead and achieved something he had been striving for all season. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not a minus player now,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;That means a lot to me, because when I did have the big scoring year I was something like minus 39.&rdquo;</p><p>Still, Young does lead the Stars in game-winning goals with four, one more than Smith. He also has one gametying goal.</p><p>Young was a show-stealer in the 8-1 victory which gave the North Stars two straight victories after a spell of six straight games without one. But it was important, too, for goalie Gilles Meloche, who had given up six goals in his previous start.</p><p>And Jimmy Roberts, just recalled from Oklahoma City to fill in, won at least a temporary stay when he scored the game&rsquo;s first goal and played left wing on Guess Who&rsquo;s line. Correct, Young was his center.</p><p>The euphoria for the Stars of beating the Rangers lasted just more than 24 hours. The next night, Pittsburgh handed them a 5-0 thrashing to bring Young and the Stars back to ground.</p><p>&ldquo;It just goes to show what I&rsquo;ve been trying to tell the team,&rdquo; said Sonmor. &ldquo;The teams that win consistently go out and work hard&mdash;not just every game, but every shift.&rdquo;</p><p><b>STAR DUST:</b> Winger Kent Andersson suffered a broken left forearm when he was checked into the boards against Chicago Jan. 13 and will be lost for a total of six to eight weeks&hellip;When Ron Zanussi, the right winger on Young&rsquo;s big night, came down with the flu, Mike Fidler was summoned from Oklahoma City. Fidler wants to be traded, but GM Lou Nanne has not been satisfied with any proposed offers&hellip;Sonmor, after playing Meloche for 14 straight games, has taken to alternating Meloche and Gary Edwards in goal&hellip;Bobby Smith was named one of the games&rsquo;s three stars in seven games in a 10-game span.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

Young Felt Lousy Before Receiving Thrill Of Career

<div class="byline">BY CHUCK MOODY</div><p>PITTSBURGH&mdash;</p><p>&ldquo;It looks like Toronto might have done me a favor by trading me,&rdquo; said Pittsburgh Penguin defenseman Randy Carlyle.</p><p>Carlyle was traded to Pittsburgh last summer from the Maple Leafs with George Ferguson. In exchange, Pittsburgh surrendered one of the top defensive defensemen in the National Hockey League, Dave Burrows. Burrows had been the mainstay of the Penguins&rsquo; defense for seven years.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m happy here in Pittsburgh,&rdquo; Carlyle said. &ldquo;They&rsquo;ve given me a chance to play. I&rsquo;m playing a lot of hockey.&rdquo;</p><p>Carlyle sprained an ankle prior to training camp and missed the entire preseason and the first regular season game.</p><p>&ldquo;I had a little bit of bad luck at the beginning of the year,&rdquo; Carlyle remembered. &ldquo;I came to camp with the ankle injury, and then I injured my other ankle just before Christmas. It kept me out of nine games. Aside from the injuries, things have been going great for me.</p><p>&ldquo;Pittsburgh has given me a chance to play hockey. I can play my own game. It wasn&rsquo;t that I wasn&rsquo;t playing in Toronto. I was only getting 15 minutes of ice time a game. In Pittsburgh I&rsquo;ll get 25 or close to 30 minutes. I&rsquo;m the type of player that needs to play. The only time that I&rsquo;ve played well in the National League is when I&rsquo;ve played lots.&rdquo;</p><p>Carlyle was the Maple Leafs&rsquo; first draft selection and the 30th player chosen over-all in 1976 from Sudbury of the Ontario Hockey Association. The 22-year-old bachelor was also born in Sudbury.</p><p>&ldquo;My first year in Toronto, I screwed up playing lots,&rdquo; Carlyle said. &ldquo;I lost all my confidence. Each of my two years with the Leafs, they sent me down to the minors for about a month and a half.</p><p>&ldquo;Last year when I came back, I had a golf cart accident when the team took us to Florida. I missed the last two weeks of the regular season and the first playoff round against Los Angeles. I never got back in until Borje Salming got hurt. The management seemed to be pretty happy with my play then.&rdquo;</p><p>After having a good playoff, Carlyle figured he was prominent in Toronto&rsquo;s future plans.</p><p>&ldquo;I was very surprised to be traded,&rdquo; Carlyle said. &ldquo;They had more or less given me the idea they were going to stick with youth. They just did what they thought was right. They thought they had to get an experienced defenseman, and that made me expendable.</p><p>&ldquo;I was very disappointed in being traded. That was my first reaction. I wanted to know if they felt I let them down. I wanted to know if it was my play that did it. They explained it to me that they felt they had to go for an experienced defenseman over me. So, you have to accept it. That&rsquo;s fact. That&rsquo;s the game.&rdquo;</p><p>Through Carlyle&rsquo;s first 35 games in a Penguin uniform, he scored seven goals and added 12 assists. Among his seven goals were three game winners and one goal which tied a game.</p><p>&ldquo;Playing on the power play here has opened things up for me offensively,&rdquo; said Carlyle. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m more offensive minded here. In Toronto they told me to look after my own end. A defenseman can be a great part of the offense for the Leafs. You can do it all night, but just don&rsquo;t get caught up ice once.</p><p>&ldquo;Roger Neilson&rsquo;s philosophy was a defenseman should never get caught. Maybe I didn&rsquo;t fit his mold of defensive defenseman. I tried to do it. I tried to play very defensive for him.&rdquo;</p><p>Carlyle&rsquo;s ice time in Pittsburgh has increased as the season progressed. It is not uncommon to see Randy on the ice late in the game when the outcome is still in doubt.</p><p>&ldquo;I was the fifth defenseman in Toronto,&rdquo; Carlyle said. &ldquo;I played behind two of whom I think are the best defensemen in the league in Borje Salming and lan Turnbull. They play their best when they play a lot. Consequently, I didn&rsquo;t play as much there as I have in Pittsburgh.</p><p>&ldquo;The Pittsburgh management believes in me. The fans seem to have taken to me, too. I hope I can come through for them. Things have turned out pretty well for me. I haven&rsquo;t one complaint at all.&rdquo;</p><p><b>PENGUIN TRACKS:</b> Rookie goaltender Greg Millen recorded his second shutout of the season against Minnesota. The victory over the North Stars tied a record for most wins by a Penguin team in a row at four. The streak was snapped in Detroit the next night&hellip;Rod Schutt (11) and Peter Lee (9) both had their consecutive game point streaks stopped in Buffalo.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-011094/4354734-1-eng-US/f0011-012.jpg" title="f0011-01" width="566" height="1234"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>RANDY CARLYLE&hellip;Needs To Play</b></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0011-01

Carlyle Enjoys Penguin Workload

<div class="byline">BY DONALD BERNS</div><p>ST. LOUIS&mdash;</p><p>Wayne Babych is enduring the worst part of his rookie season. He is out of action with a broken ankle.</p><p>&ldquo;This comes at a bad time for me,&rdquo; Babych said. &ldquo;The season was going so well; I just hate to be out for any length of time.&rdquo;</p><p>Babych, the St. Louis Blues, top draft choice for this season, has been spectacular. About 20 minutes before he was injured he broke the Blues&rsquo; record for most goals by a rookie with his 21st goal of the season. Mike Murphy had 20 in 1972.</p><p>The goal also tied Murphy&rsquo;s record of 42 points by a St. Louis rookie. Babych needs nine more assists to equal the record of 30 assists by a St. Louis rookie. That record was set by Bob Hess in 1975.</p><p>At the time of Babych&rsquo;s injury the Kid Line of Bernie Federko, Brian Sutter and Babych had 55 goals and 73 assists for 128 points in 42 games. Those numbers are a line average of a point a game a man.</p><p>But Babych&rsquo;s season had a serious interruption when he fell into the boards and twisted his left ankle in the third period of a 4-1 loss to the Colorado Rockies with Babych having scored the only St. Louis goal.</p><p>The ankle was thought to be sprained. It was wrapped tightly, and Bobych hobbled on aluminum crutches to Jewish Hospital, where x-rays showed a fracture.</p><p>Babych rapidly was becoming a logical choice for the Calder Trophy as the National Hockey League&rsquo;s rookie of the year, and the injury is a setback in pursuit of that award. If Babych can resume his fine play and high scoring after his ankle heals, he still can be a Calder winner. If his preiod of recuperation leaves him in poor skating condition, he may find other rookies will pass him during the final one-third of the season.</p><p>Babych, the third player chosen in the 1978 amateur draft, was the fourth of the top five draft picks to suffer an injury this season. Ryan Walter of Washington, Bill Derlago of Vancouver and Mike Gillis of Colorado all suffered knee injuries.</p><p>The injury to Babych is the most devastating to the Blues this season. The Blues have been lucky with injuries. The only other injury that has required long recuperation has been Steve Durbano&rsquo;s broken hand. Durbano broke it by hitting a punching bag in the Blues&rsquo; dressing room.</p><p>As the Blues&rsquo; losing record becomes more desperate, the injury to Babych becomes more significant. The Blues are struggline for their victories, and each one is a special occasion. They have only nine this season.</p><p>The ninth was an impressive 5-2 win over the Boston Bruins shortly after coach Barclay Plager moved some players between Salt Lake City and St. Louis. Hell, Bruce Affleck and Brian Ogilvie went to the farm club, and Tony Currie, Mike Crombeen and Neil Labatte joined the parent team.</p><p>Garry Unger, playing on a line with Currie and Harvey Bennett, scored two goals to lead the Blues in the win over the Bruins, who lost their third straight game for the first time this season. The loss also was the first of the season for goalie Jim Pettie.</p><p>Unger, who scored his 21st and 22nd goals, said, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m excited we won the game but we can&rsquo;t do it for just one game. I&rsquo;ll be more excited if we do this for the next 20.&rdquo;</p><p>But Plager said, &ldquo;All wins are nice when you have only nine of them. The veterans helped settle the team down, and I think we&rsquo;ve learned by our&rdquo; mistakes.&rdquo;</p><p>Perhaps the person who enjoyed the big victory the most was goalie Phil Myre, who stopped 26 of 28 Boston shots and had stout defensive support, including aggressive forechecking, in front of him.</p><p>&ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t let the Bruins play well,&rdquo; Myre said. &ldquo;They didn&rsquo;t have a two-on-one break all night.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-02954/4354820-1-eng-US/f0012-022.jpg" title="f0012-02" width="560" height="602"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>WAYNE BABYCH&hellip;Broke Club Mark</b></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0012-02

Babych’s Loss Devastated Blues’ Potent Formation

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0014-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-011102/4354872-1-eng-US/f0014-012.jpg"></div><h2><b><i>Blowing Your Horn</i></b></h2><p class="dropcap"><b><span>C</span>laude Scott is an Edmonton trumpeter who walked into the Coliseum about this time last season and played spontaneously to the great enthusiasm of Oiler hockey fans. Scott has continued his performances this season at WHA games and he recently played during an international contest before 12,000 Edmonton fans.</b></p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-02907/4354865-1-eng-US/f0014-022.jpg" title="f0014-02" width="1182" height="1458"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(Photo by Paul Wieland)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b><i>A Gift For The Boss</i></b></h2><p><b>Buffalo Sabres&rsquo; chairman of the board and president Seymour H. Knox III, shows off his 48th birthday present&mdash;a Sabres&rsquo; jersey with an &lsquo;0&rsquo; for owner on it as well as No. 48. Sabres made the gift presentation to Knox during a recent team skating party. Goaler Bob Sauve and his wife, Johanne, were on hand to congratulate the team&rsquo;s owner.</b></p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-03669/4354858-1-eng-US/f0014-032.jpg" title="f0014-03" width="1198" height="1354"></div><h2><b><i>Right At Home</i></b></h2><p><b>TV show host, Monty Hall, left, takes over the microphone with Los Angeles Kings&rsquo; color man Pete Weber, during a visit to a Kings&rsquo; game. Hall, a native-born Canadian, was the star host for many years of the daytime television show, Let&rsquo;s Make A Deal. Celebrities like Hall are among show people who turn up for NHL games regularly at the L.A. Forum.</b></p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-04471/4354851-1-eng-US/f0014-042.jpg" title="f0014-04" width="1812" height="1402"></div><h2><b><i>The Shape Of Things</i></b></h2><p><b>When the Holiday On Ice skating show played an engagement at the Los Angeles Forum, some of the girls on the chorus line coaxed two members of the hockey Kings, Bob Murdoch, left, and team captain Mike Murphy, to come out on the ice and join in their routine. The ice lovelies include Leigh Ann St. Peter of St. Paul, Minn., Zoe Lodge of Town of Mount Royal, Que., Julie Herzog of Portland, Ore., and Doreen Worsley of Vancouver, B.C. Murdoch has since been traded by the Kings to Atlanta.</b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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HOCKEY PEOPLE

<div class="byline">BY BOB VERDI</div><p>CHICAGO&mdash;</p><p>What does it say for a team when a 38-year-old man, on most nights, can be its most valuable player, the man most likely to make a point?</p><p>It doesn&rsquo;t say much, even to Stan Mikita, who is that man.</p><p>&ldquo;Something like that for sure.doesn&rsquo;t make the future of the Black Hawks look too good,&rdquo; said the veteran center. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s something wrong here, something wrong with the chemistry of this team. I wish I knew what it was. But it seems we have too many guys moping around, too many guys with their heads buried between their legs.</p><p>&ldquo;I guess a lot of teams have the same problems, and it might be the money we&rsquo;re making. Too many players just seem to be doing enough to get by and just doing enough to stay in the league rather than trying to do well.</p><p>&ldquo;As a result, you have what we have&mdash;10 guys doing the work for 18. I said to myself a couple years ago that I wanted to keep playing here until I could see the daylight again for this team, until we turned the corner. It sure doesn&rsquo;t seem like we&rsquo;re doing that now.</p><p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t feel like I&rsquo;m ready to be turned out to pasture yet, mentally or physically, I&rsquo;m not scoring goals like I used to or I should, but I don&rsquo;t feel I&rsquo;m embarrassing myself, either. Whether I want to go through another year like this, I don&rsquo;t know. I&rsquo;d have to sit down and have a long talk with myself. It&rsquo;s not the fun it used to be.&rdquo;</p><p>During a recent Toronto-Chicago game, ex-Hawk Gerry Pinder, doing color for the HN1C telecast, quoted Mikita as saying the team was riddled with dissension and that the club&rsquo;s younger players weren&rsquo;t developing as they should.</p><p>&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t say that,&rdquo; amended Mikita. &ldquo;What I said is that younger players aren&rsquo;t as willing to take constructive criticism anymore or instruction. When I was an assistant coach here two years ago, I went to help one of our guys during practice and he told me to buzz off.</p><p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want to come down on all our younger players, because guys like Bob Murray and Phil Russell are going great. But look at our &lsquo;Over The Hill Gang,&rsquo; the guys over 30&mdash;Tony Esposito, Cliff Koroll, John Marks. They&rsquo;re carrying their weight.</p><p>&ldquo;I wonder if these guys realize what it was like in the old days when this building had 20,000 in it instead of 8,000 like it has now? If they realize the noise these people made? I wonder if they know the feeling of skating out in front of a crowd like that and saying to yourself &lsquo;There&rsquo;s no way I&rsquo;m going to disappoint all those fans.&rsquo;</p><p>&ldquo;Can I blame the people for not coming out to see us? Would I pay to see us? I don&rsquo;t know. I suppose I&rsquo;d buy season tickets just to watch hockey, but we have to work harder that we are. We have to be more consistent.</p><p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know, maybe the talent just isn&rsquo;t there. But the greatest talent of all is the talent to work, and in certain games when we put our minds to is, we can beat anybody. We&rsquo;ve proven that. It&rsquo;s a funny team, though. We do the other way, too.</p><p>In our first half of the season, we played at least 12 games where we absolutely stunk the joint out. At least 12. I figure in the course of 80 games, you should do that no more than four or five times, no matter who you are.</p><p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t care if a guy falls flat on his face, as long as he&rsquo;s trying. But like I said, there&rsquo;s something missing. One of our guys came off the ice at practice the other day and said he had to get the hell out of the building, that it was starting to bug him.</p><p>&ldquo;One trip before Christmas, we&rsquo;re in a bus going to the hotel and three of us started singing Christmas carols. Only three of us. The rest of us just sat there without even smiling. Little things like that. You have to have a few laughs, too, in this business. It&rsquo;s supposed to be fun, right?</p><p>&ldquo;I realize there&rsquo;s pressure on all of us to win, and that starts right at the top. You can see what the boss (general manager-coach Bob Pulford) is trying to do, and what direction he&rsquo;s going in. But there&rsquo;s pressure on him, too, and it&rsquo;s not his fault, but it&rsquo;s easier to fire one guy than 18 guys.</p><p>&ldquo;Look at what happened to Billy Reay. They gassed him two years ago and we&rsquo;ve really been great since he left, haven&rsquo;t we? We&rsquo;re at least 15 games below .500 since he was fired, so that obviously wasn&rsquo;t the answer. I don&rsquo;t know what is, though. All I know is that I&rsquo;m not very happy with our hockey club.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-011054/4354903-1-eng-US/f0015-012.jpg" title="f0015-01" width="548" height="802"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>STAN MIKITA&hellip;Not Fun Anymore</b></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0015-01

Black Hawks Going Nowhere Fast

<div class="byline">BY FRED PIETILA</div><p>DENVER&mdash;</p><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>he booing from the fans at McNichols Sports Arena was getting to Mike Christie early in the National Hockey League season. And he knew it was partially justified. He wasn&rsquo;t playing hockey the way he could.</p><p>But recently the booing has stopped as the 29-year-old defenseman in his fifth NHL season is playing some of the best hockey of his life.</p><p>Christie, who heard both boos and cheers here before while playing for the University of Denver, credits the Rockies&rsquo; coaching change from Pat Kelly to Aldo Guidolin and regained confidence for his improved play.</p><p>&ldquo;I think confidence and probably just playing one side rather than switching back and forth, from left to right, like I was doing under Kelly, are the reasons I&rsquo;ve been playing better,&rdquo; Christie said.</p><p>&ldquo;I told Kelly I can&rsquo;t seem to be able to play one side one shift and the other side next. I told him, &lsquo;You can play me on one side, but never both,&rdquo;&rsquo; Christie said. The communication was onesided. Christie was switched back and forth and failed to get his game together.</p><p>Just before Kelly was fired on Thanksgiving night, Christie suffered an ankle injury which kept him out of action for 12 days. At first he didn&rsquo;t like the idea of being injured during a coaching change, but it has worked out to his benefit.</p><p>When Aldo took over, the first thing he did was phone me as soon as the team got back into town. He said, &ldquo;I know you can play in this league. Take your time getting well. You&rsquo;ll be playing here. You&rsquo;ll be playing regular,&rdquo; Christie said, who was hurting at the time with a sprained ankle.</p><p>&ldquo;I was playing not too badly on the road, but at home I was terrible. We had a game against the Islanders and another against Detroit at home that I could have played, but he said, &lsquo;I&rsquo;d rather start you on the road.&rsquo;&rsquo;&rdquo; Christie returned to action in a road game at Chicago.</p><p>&ldquo;I have never looked back. I played not too badly that night and I think I&rsquo;ve been playing well since then. I got my confidence back and also playing strictly one side (left) has helped. I&rsquo;ve had a good stretch of 20 games, probably the best of my career.&rdquo;</p><p>At the start of the season, &ldquo;It seemed like I was the fifth guy on defense. It wasn&rsquo;t me that was in the top four and I&rsquo;d wind up playing with four or five different guys a game.</p><p>&ldquo;But the thing is Aldo knew I could play. I guess it just came down to the fact that I couldn&rsquo;t play for Kelly after a period of time,&rdquo; he said.</p><p>And when he was playing, a mistake seemingly would turn into an enemy goal. And the boos poured from the stands.</p><p>&ldquo;I heard it and it bothered me,&rdquo; Christie admitted. &ldquo;I took it home with me and my wife (Molly) said she&rsquo;d never seen me so frustrated and depressed. I was working hard, at least I thought I was, and doing what I thought was right and it seemed like every time I turned around, the puck would be in the net.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;d have to say the period of time I was hurt helped me a lot. I was able to watch a few games, collect my thoughts and then when Aldo came in and expressed confidence in me, that just helped more.</p><p>&ldquo;The effort our team was putting our for Kelly at the Start of the season, those first seven or eight home games, was a disgrace compared to the effort the team is putting out now. I think the players seemed to sense that Kelly didn&rsquo;t have a lot of confidence in himself or what he was doing. That&rsquo;s why the change was made. The players really respect Aldo because he&rsquo;s fair with everybody,&rdquo; Christie said.</p><p>&ldquo;There was no bounce, no energy. The game was very little fun for us. If there&rsquo;s no fun, it just makes it that much tougher.&rdquo;</p><p>The Rockies have had bounce and energy lately, but were &ldquo;The Team That Stopped Skating&rdquo; in a.5-3 come-from-ahead loss to the New York Rangers that really upset the Colorado partisans.</p><p>The Rockies scored three goals in 4:03 in the first period, but gave up four goals within 4:43 in a second-period breakdown and were never a factor after that.</p><p>Guidolin talked of the breakdown. &ldquo;Very easy. It&rsquo;s very easy when you stop skating. We just stopped working, stopped checking and stopped hitting. It happens to the best.</p><p>&ldquo;In the second period, we didn&rsquo;t check our hats, we should&rsquo;ve checked our hats, it might have helped. We stopped and looked. We were taking too many pictures out there,&rdquo; Guidolin said.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-02819/4354934-1-eng-US/f0015-022.jpg" title="f0015-02" width="548" height="704"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>MIKE CHRISTIE&hellip;Prefers One Side</b></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0015-02

Rockies’ Christie Boosted By Guidolin’s Confidence

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-01905/4355224-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg" title="f0016-01" width="343" height="448"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>RON STACKHOUSE&hellip;He&rsquo;s No. 2</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-02750/4355217-1-eng-US/f0016-022.jpg" title="f0016-02" width="344" height="451"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>AL SIMS&hellip;Ranks 3rd</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-03600/4355210-1-eng-US/f0016-032.jpg" title="f0016-03" width="348" height="453"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>DAVE TAYLOR&hellip;4th On List</b></figcaption></div><h2><b>ATLANTA FLAMES</b></h2><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-04467/4355203-1-eng-US/f0016-042.jpg" title="f0016-04" width="145" height="130"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-05359/4355196-1-eng-US/f0016-052.jpg" title="f0016-05" width="711" height="605"></div><h2><b>BOSTON BRUINS</b></h2><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-06295/4355189-1-eng-US/f0016-062.jpg" title="f0016-06" width="125" height="128"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-07269/4355182-1-eng-US/f0016-072.jpg" title="f0016-07" width="722" height="574"></div><h2><b>BUFFALO SABRES</b></h2><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-08249/4355175-1-eng-US/f0016-082.jpg" title="f0016-08" width="118" height="119"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-09225/4355168-1-eng-US/f0016-092.jpg" title="f0016-09" width="708" height="605"></div><h2><b>CHICAGO HAWKS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-10203/4355161-1-eng-US/f0016-102.jpg" title="f0016-10" width="163" height="154"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-11189/4355154-1-eng-US/f0016-112.jpg" title="f0016-11" width="710" height="598"></div><h2><b>COLORADO ROCKIES</b></h2><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-12172/4355147-1-eng-US/f0016-122.jpg" title="f0016-12" width="125" height="124"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-13158/4355140-1-eng-US/f0016-132.jpg" title="f0016-13" width="706" height="622"></div><h2><b>DETROIT RED WINGS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-14150/4355133-1-eng-US/f0016-142.jpg" title="f0016-14" width="156" height="90"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-15140/4355126-1-eng-US/f0016-152.jpg" title="f0016-15" width="708" height="677"></div><h2><b>LOS ANGELES KINGS</b></h2><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-16136/4355119-1-eng-US/f0016-162.jpg" title="f0016-16" width="141" height="146"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-17128/4355112-1-eng-US/f0016-172.jpg" title="f0016-17" width="708" height="602"></div><h2><b>MINNESOTA STARS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-18121/4355105-1-eng-US/f0016-182.jpg" title="f0016-18" width="154" height="135"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-19112/4355098-1-eng-US/f0016-192.jpg" title="f0016-19" width="714" height="690"></div><h2><b>MONTREAL CANADIENS</b></h2><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-2092/4355091-1-eng-US/f0016-202.jpg" title="f0016-20" width="143" height="114"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-2186/4355084-1-eng-US/f0016-212.jpg" title="f0016-21" width="711" height="659"></div><h2><b>NEW YORK ISLANDERS</b></h2><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-2284/4355077-1-eng-US/f0016-222.jpg" title="f0016-22" width="138" height="131"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-2381/4355070-1-eng-US/f0016-232.jpg" title="f0016-23" width="719" height="604"></div><h2><b>NEW YORK RANGERS</b></h2><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-2479/4355063-1-eng-US/f0016-242.jpg" title="f0016-24" width="141" height="137"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-2574/4355056-1-eng-US/f0016-252.jpg" title="f0016-25" width="715" height="627"></div><h2><b>PHILADELPHIA FLYERS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-2671/4355049-1-eng-US/f0016-262.jpg" title="f0016-26" width="161" height="111"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-2762/4355042-1-eng-US/f0016-272.jpg" title="f0016-27" width="713" height="736"></div><h2><b>PITTSBURGH PENGUINS</b></h2><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-2860/4355035-1-eng-US/f0016-282.jpg" title="f0016-28" width="146" height="140"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-2953/4355028-1-eng-US/f0016-292.jpg" title="f0016-29" width="711" height="644"></div><h2><b>ST. LOUIS BLUES</b></h2><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-3053/4355021-1-eng-US/f0016-302.jpg" title="f0016-30" width="108" height="96"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-3153/4355014-1-eng-US/f0016-312.jpg" title="f0016-31" width="714" height="706"></div><h2><b>TORONTO LEAFS</b></h2><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-3247/4355007-1-eng-US/f0016-322.jpg" title="f0016-32" width="127" height="131"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-3347/4355000-1-eng-US/f0016-332.jpg" title="f0016-33" width="722" height="602"></div><h2><b>VANCOUVER CANUCKS</b></h2><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-3443/4354993-1-eng-US/f0016-342.jpg" title="f0016-34" width="137" height="134"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-3529/4354986-1-eng-US/f0016-352.jpg" title="f0016-35" width="714" height="683"></div><h2><b>WASHINGTON CAPS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-3624/4354979-1-eng-US/f0016-362.jpg" title="f0016-36" width="177" height="98"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-3724/4354972-1-eng-US/f0016-372.jpg" title="f0016-37" width="710" height="685"></div><h2><b>NHL&rsquo;s Top Plus Players</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-01797/4354965-1-eng-US/f0017-012.jpg" title="f0017-01" width="584" height="639"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0016-01

NHL’s PLUS-MINUS STATISTICS

<h2><b>Looking At NHL Goalers</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-01815/4355293-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg" title="f0018-01" width="595" height="1920"></div><h2><b>NHL&rsquo;S&hellip; <i>Player of the Week</i></b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-03479/4355286-1-eng-US/f0018-032.jpg" title="f0018-03" width="518" height="700"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>GUY LAFLEUR&hellip;Montreal Canadiens</b></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><span>A</span> four-goal week, including two game-winning scores enabled Guy Lafleur to edge into the lead in the race for the Art Ross Trophy and the NHL scoring championship, an honor Lafleur has captured three consecutive years.</p><p>Lafleur notched his seventh and eighth winning goals of the season in a 6-0 victory over Atlanta and a 3-1 decision against Boston. He also had a goal and two assists in the Atlanta game and a goal and one assist earlier against St. Louis.</p><p>His four goals brought his total to 36 for the season and he now has 80 points in 49 games. Lafleur has also made some gains in the career goals totals and is just 10 goals behind Andy Bathgate for 20th place on the all-time list, having already passed six players this season.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0018-01

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE

<div class="byline">BY FRANK ORR</div><p>TORONTO&mdash;</p><p class="dropcap"><span>M</span>ike Palmateer, the Toronto Maple Leafs&rsquo; goalie and a young man who&rsquo;s not afraid to blow his own horn, has claimed that he&rsquo;s among the best goaltenders in the National Hockey League on the ice.</p><p>But in another area &mdash; salary&mdash;Palmateer feels that he rates in approximately 20th place among NHL goalies&mdash;and he isn&rsquo;t especially happy about it.</p><p>Palmateer earns an estimated $60,000 per season and he&rsquo;s attempting to negotiate a new contract. Or perhaps it would be better to say his lawyer, R. Alan Eagleson, is attempting to work out a new long-term deal for the little goalie.</p><p>Eagleson and the Leafs did have some discussions earlier in the season but things broke down. Now Palmateer is hinting that he might play out his option next season and wear a color other than blue and white.</p><p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;ll try again after the season,&rdquo; Palmateer said. &ldquo;Actually, I really play for peanuts and I&rsquo;m just looking for something half decent.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;d rate myself around 20th among the goalies in this league in pay. There wouldn&rsquo;t be a first-string goaltender making less than me and a lot of second-stringers make more.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not bitter or angry but this is a business. Actually I don&rsquo;t even like to think about it. I&rsquo;d hate to play any place else but Toronto. No team looks out for its players off the ice better than the Leafs.&rdquo;</p><p>Through the Leafs&rsquo; ordinary &lsquo;78-79 season when they&rsquo;ve hovered around the .500 mark, Palmateer has been one of the bright spots. He&rsquo;s had an excellent season despite a goals against average above 3.00. In several games, he&rsquo;s almost singlehandedly held the team in the match long after they deserved to be blown out.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s been a funny season for me and the team,&rdquo; Palmateer said. &ldquo;In the three best games I feel I&rsquo;ve played, I gave up five goals. I&rsquo;ll tell you something: anyone who writes off this team is making a big mistake. Hitting a slump is. nothing new in sports and we&rsquo;re going to make some noise before the season is over.&rdquo;</p><p>In one of his best displays of the season, a 2-2 tie against Minnesota North Stars, Palmateer threw the goaltending textbook out the window. It was more a great display of gymnastics than a classic show of stand-up, mind-the-store netminding technique.</p><p>&ldquo;Well, I&rsquo;m not your standard goalie,&rdquo; Palmateer said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m at my best when I&rsquo;m gambling, taking chances. My defensemen know my style and I know when to attack and when not to. On breakaways, if they shoot, they might beat me once in 20 attempts and on quite a few of the other 19, they won&rsquo;t get a shot. But people will say that I should have stayed in the net on the one that beat me.</p><p>&ldquo;The last while, I&rsquo;ve come to foresee what a guy will do in a certain situation, anticipate him and think what possibilities he has to score. It&rsquo;s in that split-second that you have to make the big decision.&rdquo;</p><p>But the contract problems are always there and Palmateer, of course, has considered the possibilities. Playing out his option and moving to another team is one; moving to Europe, where he has travelled extensively, is another, albeit a remote possibility.</p><p>&ldquo;But I have given it a bit of thought,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s tough to say when the whole thing will be worked out. It is a bit of a burden.&rdquo;</p><p>Palmateer has been plagued by a sore ankle this season, which he twisted iri a goalmouth pile-up. He&rsquo;s looking forward to some rest for it during the weeklong All Star break.</p><p>&ldquo;I won&rsquo;t be playing in that series, even though I&rsquo;d like to face the Soviets,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;They&rsquo;ll go for the experienced guys in that series. But my day will come for those things.&rdquo;</p><p><b>LEAF NOTES:</b> The Leafs&rsquo; two-week, seven-game road trip, the longest in the team&rsquo;s history, started out like a horror show. The players assembled at the Toronto airport to start it at 11 a.m. on a Sunday, hoping that snowbound Chicago airport would open so they could fly there for a game against the Hawks that night. When that match was cancelled, the Leafs loitered at the airport until 8 p.m. at night when they caught a flight to Los Angeles, then transferred to a flight back to Denver for a match against the Colorado Rockies&hellip;Leaf captain Darryl Sittler made a swift comeback from a knee injury and was expected to play in the concluding three games of the jaunt.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-02650/4355324-1-eng-US/f0018-022.jpg" title="f0018-02" width="574" height="698"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>MIKE PALMATEER&hellip;Playing For &lsquo;Peanuts&rsquo;</b></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0018-02

Palmateer Seeking Salary Boost

<div class="byline">BY AL SMITH</div><p>ATLANTA&mdash;</p><p class="dropcap"><span>R</span>emember the defensive-minded hockey franchise south of the Mason-Dixon line? The one that gained National Hockey League respectability in its first year of existence with its sometimes dull, but effective style of play?</p><p>The one that improved its record year-by-year with the same type play and little by little phased out aging veterans with young amateur draft choices?</p><p>Well, it&rsquo;s been replaced. Oh, they still call them the Flames and they still operate out of the city of Atlanta with the same general manager the team has had since Day One, but things just aren&rsquo;t the same.</p><p>Instead of the dull, sometimes boring style of game played in the past, the Flames have become one of the most exciting teams in the league. When they take to the ice they make-things happen&mdash;problem is, these things aren&rsquo;t all good.</p><p>Granted they are scoring at a teamrecord setting pace, but they are also giving up goals at an even more rapid rate.</p><p>Through 48 games the Flames had scored 191 goals, the same number they scored in their first full season of 1972-73, and far ahead of last season&rsquo;s team record setting pace of 274.</p><p>But they had also given up 166 goals which would average out to 276 for the season outdistancing the team record of 265 given up in the &lsquo;76-77 season.</p><p>The goals-against bothered GM Cliff Fletcher so much that he made some moves to try to improve the NHL&rsquo;s youngest defense.</p><p>First of all, he picked up veteran defenseman Rod Seiling, a 34-year-old journeyman with 14 years in the NHL.</p><p>But Seiling did little to help the Flames in the goals-against category and Fletcher made a move that was totally unlike any the usually conservative, but shrewd GM has made.</p><p>He traded 23-year-old defenseman Rick Mulhern to the Los Angeles Kings for veteran defenseman Bob Murdoch, giving up almost nine years in the bargain.</p><p>Fletcher justified the trade by saying, &ldquo;I realize Rick Mulhern may be around the National Hockey League six, seven or more years after Bob Murdoch is gone, but we need help behind the blueline&mdash;right now.&rdquo;</p><p>In Mulhern, the Flames traded a first round draft choice who never reached his potential with the Flames. Touted as an offensive-minded defenseman, Mulhern&rsquo;s best season came in his rookie season when he scored 12 goals and 32 assists for 44 points. But the following season&mdash;&rsquo;77-78&mdash;his totals fell to nine goals and 32 points.</p><p>On top of this, Mulhern had difficulty fitting coach Fred Creighton&rsquo;s style of play. Creighton is a believer of the head-manning the puck style for defensemen while Mulhern had moved the puck himself throughout his amateur years and into his early years in the NHL. On top of this, Creighton likes the aggressive, stand-them-up-at-the-blueline type defenseman and Mulhern didn&rsquo;t fit the bill.</p><p>The decision to trade Mulhern was a tough one for Fletcher, due to the fact Mulhern was the Flames&rsquo; No. 1 draft pick in the 1975 amateur draft and the eighth player selected overall.</p><p>But Fletcher said, &ldquo;It was becoming more and more obvious that Rick wasn&rsquo;t going to play good hockey for Fred. I didn&rsquo;t like giving up that much difference in age, but if we are going to compete this season, we need help right now.&rdquo;</p><p>In fact, after a loss to the Boston Bruins on Jan. 22, the Flames were 2519-4, which meant they had played Tour games under .500 after getting off to one of the best starts ever in the NHL.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-01779/4355355-1-eng-US/f0019-012.jpg" title="f0019-01" width="542" height="780"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>BOB MURDOCH&hellip;Immediate Help</b></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0019-01

Flames Attempt To Tighten Defense

<div class="byline">BY TONY GALLAGHER</div><p>VANCOUVER&mdash;</p><p class="dropcap"><span>I</span>f the management of the Vancouver Canucks felt it would help their lot, they would complain even more about their ludicrous travel schedule. However, in full realization that their comments are redundant, they usually restrain themselves.</p><p>However, the most recent road trip did get the ire of coach Harry Neale. And for once, it would be nice to have the Montreal Canadiens &lsquo;take the trips the Canucks do and see how long that would last before someone put a stop to it.</p><p>Take the Sunday of Jan. 14 for example. Having played in St. Louis the night before, the Canucks&rsquo;didn&rsquo;t have time to get to church. They arose at 7 a.m. to catch a plane to Washington, where they played an afternoon game. They arrived at the airport less than two hours before the game and went in to play the Caps, who had been idle since Friday night. Immediately following a hard-fought 5-3 loss to the Caps, a game which Canucks played with only four defensemen in the lineup, they had to get a plane from Washington and cross the continent to Seattle, arriving at 8:08 Pacific Coast time. Naturally, there was no late flights to Vancouver which 27 people could be transferred onto, so they had to get on a bus and travel three and one-half more hours to get back so they could have a full day to prepare for the Montreal Canadiens, whom they hosted the following Tuesday.</p><p>What wrangles Neale more than just the 17 hours between games was the fact that it followed on the heels of two previous six-game road trips.</p><p>&ldquo;We have one six game trip, and they bring us back for two home games over Christmas, said Neale. &ldquo;Then we go out for six more, and come back for one game at home. Then we do back out and play in St. Louis and Washington in 17 hours, when there were four Eastern clubs that weren&rsquo;t doing anything that day. You begin to realize that there is noboby in the league that gives a damn about Vancouver and its travel problems.&rdquo;</p><p>Before going on the two game trip, Neale managed a few remarks in a congenial sense, but when he came back he was in no mood for humor.</p><p>&ldquo;Any travel agent who planned this trip for anyone would be fired,&rdquo; said the Vancouver coach. &ldquo;I know what we should do. We should send the bill to the guy who drew up the schedule.&rdquo;</p><p>&ldquo;There is no way they should tolerate this,&rdquo; said Lever after the team returned home to prepare for Montreal.</p><p>Compounding the Canucks problem is the fact that their defensemen keep getting injured. Jack Mcllhargey, Kevin McCarthy and Lars Lindgren are injured, and Harold Snepsts is playing with about four different minor injuries nagging at his body.</p><p>This has forced the recall of Larry Goodenough and Bob Manno from the Dallas Black Hawks, and also John Grisdale, who started with the club until he broke his thumb on the second six-game trip.</p><p>He recovered in time to come back to the squad, though his presence leaves just five defenders.</p><p>The club had considered bringing up Swedish defenseman Lars Zettesrom from Dallas, but apparently his performance has been spotty, and they wish to leave him in the minors for a little while longer.</p><p>And while Canucks have been pleased with Lindgren and their rookie center Thomas Gradin, Roland Eriksson, the center-they acquired from Minnesota North Stars as a free agent during the off-season, has been released.</p><p>Eriksson, who is an extremely good puck carrier and has a lot of offensive skills, was obviously allergic to body contact and this fact seemed to turn off Neale and his assistant Dave Dunn.</p><p>Eriksson had just three goals in 40-plus games with Canucks, but quickly signed a new contract with the Winnipeg Jets of the World Hockey Association.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-02625/4355386-1-eng-US/f0019-022.jpg" title="f0019-02" width="496" height="716"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>JACK MclLHARGEY&hellip;Injured Defender</b></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0019-02

Road Itinerary Drawing Anger Of Canuck Boss

<div class="byline">BY NORM MacLEAN</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0020-03" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-03336/4355445-1-eng-US/f0020-032.jpg"></div><p>NEW YORK&mdash;</p><p>If the NHL All Stars follow the concept of playing set lines against the Soviet Union Nationals on Feb. 8, 10 and 11 at Madison Square Garden, they won&rsquo;t be gaining an edge on the Soviets.</p><p>A quick survey of the Soviets preliminary roster showed that the Central Red Army (CSKA) placed 11 men on the 28-man squad.</p><p>They included goalie Vladislav Tretiak, defensemen Vjatcheslav Fetisov, Vladimir Lutchenko, Valeri Vasiliev and Genandi Tsygankov. Forwards Vladimir Petrov, Boris Mikhailov&rsquo; and Valeri Kharlamov make up one line with Viktor Zhluktov, Sergei Kapustin and Helmut Balderis forming a second, a second.</p><p>Despite all the awards won in the past by the line of Petrov, Kharlamov and Mikhailov, the top line on the Soviet Nationals undoubtedly is the Zhluktov&mdash;Kapustin&mdash;Balderis combo.</p><p>Balderis comes from the same Dynamo of Riga team which spawned National team coach Viktor Tikhonov. He was a figure skater, with so much skating ability that the Dynamo of Riga converted him to hockey.</p><p>&ldquo;Balderis can do things on his skates which seem impossible,&rdquo; warns Jan Starsi the co-coach of the Czech Nationals. &ldquo;He is very tough to knock down. In the world championship at Prague last spring, he took a pass from Zhluktov at the blueline, and instead of trying to go around our defensemen, (Jiri Bubla and Milan Kajkl) he tried to split them-going right between them. Both of our players hit him at once, but he stayed on his skates, somehow, picked up the puck and poked it past our goalie, Jiri Holocek. That goal seemed to symbolize the Soviet determination. It had a lot to do with their winning the world championship right in Prague.&rdquo;</p><p>Kapustin is a one in a million shot for high hockey honors. He is a graduate of the famous Soviet Golden Puck tournament, from which he was picked at age 13. Despite over 200,000 participates in the annual Golden Puck competitions, most Soviet national team players are selected at age eight and placed with athletic clubs in order to learn the skills of, and become masters of their sport.</p><p>But Kapustin was picked up off the Russian equivalent of the sandlots or icelots. At 15, he played for the Soviet Wings in the Soviet First Division league&mdash;an astounding feat.</p><p>Don Raleigh played for the New York Rangers at age 16 and Bep Guidolin competed for the Boston Bruins at the same age&mdash;but both were unusual war time situations In which the better players were in the armed services.</p><p>Last year (1977-78), Kapustin was transferred from the Wings to their biggest rivals, the Central Red Army team so that he might play on a steady basis with his National team linemates, Balderis and Zhluktov. He has been a regular on the Soviet Nationals since 1974.</p><p>&ldquo;Some people feel that we won in Vienna in 1977 because Kapustin was hurt with a bad shoulder that tournament,&rdquo; revealed Starsi. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t agree, but I know that he adds great corner strength and skating to their team.&rdquo;</p><p>Since Balderis was moved from Dynamo Riga to the Central Red Army and Kapustin fromt he Wings to the same club, it seems that control of the best players by a top team is similar in the Soviet as in North America.</p><p>Sam Pollock, through intelligent use of trades and drafts, did a masterful job of supplying the Montreal Canadiens with much of the top flight talent available here. In a like manner, George Steinbrenner&rsquo;s money has purchased for the New York Yankees the &ldquo;best team money can buy.&rdquo;</p><p>In the Soviet Union, the Red Army commandeers top players for the political advantage that a super successful National team means to the country as a whole.</p><p>Getting back to the make-up of the Soviets&rsquo; squad, Moscow Dynamo had nine players, the most important being the forward line centered by Aleksandr Golikov with Aleksandr Maltsev on right wing and Pjoir Priordin on the left. As reported previously Maltsev&rsquo;s availability is questionable because of a broken wrist.</p><p>With the two Central Red Army lines and the Moscow Dynamo trio, coach Viktor Tikhonov can match anything that NHL coach Scotty Bowman might decide to put on the ice in the way of set NHL lines.</p><p>&ldquo;Watching Bryan Trottier, Clark Gillies and Mike Bossy of the New York Islanders play against Petrov, Mikhailov and Kharlamov would be a treat,&rdquo; said Bowman. &ldquo;Or one of the Montreal lines with Guy Lafleur on the right wing, Steve Shutt on the left and whoever we used at center.&rdquo;</p><p>The Soviet Wings (Krylja Sovietov) had six players, including goalie Vladimir Myshkin, presently rated as number two behind Tretiak. They also listed the veteran Juri Lebedev, and the new find on defense, Victor Khatulev.</p><p>Golaie Aleksandr Pashkov comes from Chimik, and the fourth net-minder, Victor Doroshenko, plays for Leningrad.</p><p>Just as Maltsev&rsquo;s wrist was upsetting Tikhonov&rsquo;s plans, the planning of Bill Torrey, the NHL general manager and his assistants Harry Sinden of Boston and Cliff Fletcher of Atlanta, was being executed with injuries in mind.</p><p>&ldquo;Do we go with Darryl Sittler of Toronto when he might be only sixty percent because he is just off the injury list?&rdquo; asked Torrey. &ldquo;We had our top 32 players picked a long time ago. They included Jacques Lemaire, Montreal&rsquo;s center who was hurt for a long period of time. But the physical condition of some of our players affected the final selections.&rdquo;</p><h2><i>Selected Team For The USSR</i></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-01612/4355438-1-eng-US/f0020-012.jpg" title="f0020-01" width="461" height="416"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-02432/4355431-1-eng-US/f0020-022.jpg" title="f0020-02" width="610" height="1283"></div><h2><b>Selected Team For The NHL</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-0697/4355424-1-eng-US/f0021-062.jpg" title="f0021-06" width="459" height="419"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-0781/4355417-1-eng-US/f0021-072.jpg" title="f0021-07" width="601" height="1416"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0020-03

Team NHL Could Lose Edge By Attempting To Match Lines With Soviets In Cup series

<div class="byline">BY NORM MacLEAN</div><p>BOSTON&mdash;</p><p>Harry Sinden, the coach of Team Canada 1972, picks the NHL All Stars to win all three games in the upcoming Challenge Cup Series.</p><p>&ldquo;The NHL will win all three games,&rdquo; said Boston Bruins&rsquo; general manager Sinden. &ldquo;They will be very close, but the NHL will prevail.&rdquo;</p><p>Sinden recalled that in 1972, at the first summit meeting, four games were played in Canada and four in Moscow.</p><p>&ldquo;We won the final three games, all on winning goals by Paul Henderson, who played on a line with Bobby Clarke and Ronnie Ellis,&rdquo; remembered Sinden.</p><p>The first four games were played in Canada and resulted in a 2-1-1 advantage for the Soviet. Team Canada won three of four in Moscow, after blowing a three goal lead in the first game in the Soviet capital.</p><p>After that game, with everyone fighting back tears of disappointment, Phil Esposito said, &ldquo;Now we know who the better team is. We are, we just have to hold on longer, skate harder and win this thing.&rdquo;</p><p>&ldquo;We weren&rsquo;t in shape in September for the first games,&rdquo; says Esposito. &ldquo;It took us about two weeks to get in shape&mdash;and even then the Russians had more left in the final period that we did. But, we beat them and that&rsquo;s what counts.&rdquo;</p><p>The Soviets easily trounced a World Hockey Association Team Canada in 1974, then failed to send their better players to the 1976 Canada Cup, when Team Canada defeated Czechoslovakia in the final. But many of those younger players who played for the Soviet Union in the 1976 Canada Cup, have grown into full time regulars now.</p><p>&ldquo;This will be the best against the best,&rdquo; says NHL president John Ziegler. &ldquo;Which is as it should be.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-01458/4355476-1-eng-US/f0021-012.jpg" title="f0021-01" width="836" height="1256"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>HARRY SINDEN &hellip; NHL Will Prevail</b></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0021-01

Sinden Predicts NHL Will Sweep The Series

<p><b>NEW YORK&mdash;</b></p><p><b>For those who expected the three games of the Challenge Cup series to be night affairs, the schedule calls for game two to be played Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. in Madison Square Garden.</b></p><p><b>Here is the itinerary for the week-long All Star activities:</b></p><p><b>Mon. Feb. 5 &mdash; Both teams practice at Madison Square Garden.</b></p><p><b>Tue. Feb. 6 &mdash; Both teams will again work out at the Garden then attend Challenge Cup luncheon at Waldorf Astoria Hotel at 1 p.m. Luncheon will be highlighted by presentation of Lester Patrick Trophy award to Bobby Orr.</b></p><p><b>Wed. Feb. 7 &mdash; Both teams practice at Garden.</b></p><p><b>Thu. Feb. 8 &mdash; Game one at Garden, starting at 8 p.m. NHL Board of Governors will also meet during day at Waldorf.</b></p><p><b>Fri. Feb. 9 &mdash; Garden ice unavailable. Both teams will practice elsewhere. Sites will be selected and announced later. Challenge Cup dinner in evening at Waldorf starting at 7.30 p.m. with Clarence Campbell as guest of honor. NHL owners-Players&rsquo; Association will meet during day at Waldorf.</b></p><p><b>Sat. Feb. 10 &mdash; Game two at Garden, starting at 2 p.m.</b></p><p><b>Sun. Feb. 11 &mdash; Game three at Garden, starting at 8 p.m.</b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

Second Series Game An Afternoon Affair

<div class="byline">BY TOM MURRAY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-02288/4355528-1-eng-US/f0021-022.jpg" title="f0021-02" width="565" height="628"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>BOBBY CLARKE</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-03174/4355521-1-eng-US/f0021-032.jpg" title="f0021-03" width="562" height="648"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>BRYAN TROTTIER</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-04133/4355514-1-eng-US/f0021-042.jpg" title="f0021-04" width="574" height="644"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>GUY LAFLEUR</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-05114/4355507-1-eng-US/f0021-052.jpg" title="f0021-05" width="556" height="644"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>MIKE BOSSY</b></figcaption></div><p>NEW YORK&mdash;</p><p>After many weeks of suspense and speculation, the National Hockey League finally let the cat out of the bag and announced the players who had been picked for the NHL All Star team, which will face the Soviet National team in a three-game Challenge Cup series in New York&rsquo;s Madison Square Garden on Feb. 8, 10 and 11.</p><p>In a press conference held at the Nassau Coliseum prior to the game between the Islanders and the Rangers, NHL All Star general manager Bill Torrey, after conferring with assistant general managers Harry Sinden (Boston) and Cliff Fletcher (Atlanta), and coach Scotty Bowman (Montreal), named a 32-man squad which will be pared down to the regulation-sized 25-man team by the time the first practice is held on Garden ice in New York on Monday, Feb. 5.</p><p>Conspicuously absent from the final roster were the Boston Bruins&rsquo; Brad Park and the Montreal Canadiens&rsquo; Jacques Lemaire, both of whom were deemed &ldquo;not physically able&rdquo; to be ready for the series.</p><p>When asked why he had announced seven more players than the team could legally accommodate, Torrey&rsquo;s explanation was logical enough.</p><p>&ldquo;Some players,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;like Toronto&rsquo;s Darryl Sittler and our (the Islanders&rsquo;) Denis Potvin are either injured or coming off injuries. We&rsquo;re just not sure if they&rsquo;re going to be healthy enough to play, and this was the best way that we could all be prepared in the event that they can&rsquo;t play.&rdquo;</p><p>Torrey noted that only 20 players (18 skaters, two goalies) will actually be able to dress for each game, and that he&rsquo;d like to pick those players from a 25-man pool consisting of 15 forwards, seven defensemen, and three goalies. He also stated that there would be no on-ice tryouts to determine who would make the team or be cut from it.</p><p>&ldquo;If all 32 of these men are healthy by this time next week,&rdquo; Torrey said, &ldquo;Then seven are going to have to be cut. That&rsquo;s all there is to it.&rdquo;</p><p>It&rsquo;s not likely, however, that Torrey and his assistants will be faced with that unpleasant task. As it is right now, Darryl Sittler&rsquo;s weak, post-surgical knee is preventing him from playing and skating up to his full potential; Montreal&rsquo;s Steve Shutt is playing with a brace to protect his recently broken wrist; and the Islanders&rsquo; Potvin&rsquo;s separated shoulder makes him doubtful, at this time, anyway, to be a strong candidate for the squad.</p><p>&ldquo;I know Denis well ehough,&rdquo; Torrey said, &ldquo;and if he&rsquo;s anywhere near healthy, he&rsquo;ll want to play. But that decision is not going to be made by me. If our team doctors (the Rangers&rsquo; William A. Liebier and the Islanders&rsquo; Jeffrey Minkoff) say OK, he&rsquo;ll play.&rdquo;</p><p>Although no one questioned Torrey on the overall quality and strength of the team, he was asked about several players who had not been included. Why, someone wanted to know, were Rick Middleton and Don Marcotte, both of Boston, picked over the Rangers&rsquo; Pat Hickey? And why, someone else asked, was the Rangers&rsquo; Phil Esposito, a seasoned veteran of international play, not picked over Buffalo&rsquo;s Gilbert Perreault, who hasn&rsquo;t had nearly as good a year as Espo?</p><p>&ldquo;Our choices,&rdquo; Torrey retorted, &ldquo;Were not based on statistics. We were looking for balance and took into consideration the limited time we&rsquo;d have in putting the team together (only three days), as well as the players&rsquo; compatability with each other.</p><p>&ldquo;There&rsquo;s nothing any of these 32 guys can do in the next four or five days to play their way on or off the team,&rdquo; he continued. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re just going to have to sit down and make some hard decisions during the next week.&rdquo;</p><p>True enough, but the fact remains that many of the 32 players who have been picked normally play with each other and lack only a wing or a center. For that reason, Torrey would probably want to preserve as many of those natural combinations&mdash;Barber and Clarke, Sittler and MacDonald, Hedberg and Nilsson, Middleton and O&rsquo;Reilly, etc.&mdash;as possible.</p><p>This logic, coupled with Torrey&rsquo;s belief that the key to the series is going to be experience&mdash;&ldquo;The Russians have all the knowledge, preparation, and scouting time,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re just flying blind.&rdquo;&mdash;compels THE HOCKEY NEWS to make the following position-by-position breakdown of how the final 25-man squad should shape up. Remember, only 18 skaters and two goalies can dress for each game.</p><p><b>LEFT WING:</b> Shutt (if he&rsquo;s healthy), Gainey, and Gillies are all shoo-ins. Because he&rsquo;s almost as good a two-way player as Gainey, Marcotte has to be right up there, too. Unless Shutt cannot play, either Barber or Middleton is going to be cut from the team. That&rsquo;s going to be a real toughie. Both players led their teams in scoring at the season&rsquo;s midway point, but we give the edge to Middleton, only because Sinden is on the committee and Middleton has been the hotter of the two players.</p><p><b>CENTER:</b> Clarke, Trottier, and Sittler (if he&rsquo;s healthy) are all shoo-ins. Dionne and Nilsson will make it too, regardless of Sittler&rsquo;s status. The only way Perreault will get on is if Sittler&rsquo;s knee forces him off.</p><p>Now that we&rsquo;re on the subject of Perreault being picked over Esposito, how&rsquo;s this for some food for thought: Torrey and his assistants, knowing full well that Sittler&rsquo;s ability to play was questionable, picked Perreault over Esposito because they knew that if Sittler could play, it would be much easier to dismiss the reticent Perreault that the outspoken Esposito, a former hero in these Russian-NHL encounters. Think about it.</p><p><b>RIGHT WING:</b> Ooooooo Boy. A real toughie here. None of these guys are injured, but one of them is going to have to make other plans for this week. Lafleur and Bossy are in, of course, and so is O&rsquo;Reilly, because of his indefatigable physical style. As for the other two open spots, we&rsquo;re going way out on a limb and picking Hedberg and MacMillan over MacDonald, who&rsquo;s been stone cold of late. The decision will be a lot easier to make if Sittler can&rsquo;t play. If he can&rsquo;t neither will MacDonald.</p><p><b>DEFENSE:</b> Robinson, Potvin (if he&rsquo;s healthy), Savard, Lapointe, and Salming are all in. According to Torrey&rsquo;s scheme, that will leave two spots, which will be filled by Turnbull and Beck. If Potvin can&rsquo;t play, look for Schoenfeld to fill his spot. Sargent and Picard will be the odd men out.</p><p><b>GOAL:</b> One has to go, and it will be Chico. Esposito and Dryden have been through all of this before, and they performed brilliantly. Cheevers, although he hasn&rsquo;t been that great lately, has a way of rising to the occasion in pressure situations. He&rsquo;ll be a strong third goalie for the Series, but Dryden and Espo will bear the brunt of the work.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0021-02

Torrey Figures NHL Experience Key To Win Super Series From Soviets

f0022-08

NATIONAL LEAGUE SUMMARIES

<div class="byline">BY BILL LIBBY</div><p>LOS ANGELES&mdash;</p><p>The Kings successfully completed their roughest road trip of the season&mdash;eight games in 12 nights&mdash;and continued to reorganize their defense as they prepared for their second toughest trip of the campaign&mdash;eight out of nine on the road in late January and early February. The swift-skating, explosive club has been held to the .500 level by a defense corps that has been inconsistent, lacks hard hitters, and has been hit hard by injuries.</p><p>The Kings started the season with Randy Manery, Rick Hampton, Brian Glennie, Rob Palmer, Darryl Edestrand, Bob Murdoch, and Doug Halward on defense. Glennie missed the early part of the season with a groin injury and now may miss the rest of the season with a back injury.</p><p>Randy Holt, hopefully the &ldquo;intimidator&rdquo; the team wants on the back line, was obtained from Vancouver the end of December. Halward had been sent to the minors, but was recalled the beginning of January. Then Murdoch was traded to Atlanta for Richard Mulhern in mid-January.</p><p>After one and one-half seasons with Montreal, Murdoch played five and one-half seasons with L.A. At one time he was the best defenseman the team had, but he slipped from that peak the past two seasons. He is an articulate, agreeable gentleman and will be missed as an individual.</p><p>Manager George Maguire negotiated the trade with the approval of coach Bob Berry, but Berry, who played with Murdoch five seasons, admitted dealing a friend to another team is a difficult thing to do, no matter how much it may have to be done.</p><p>After a season at Tulsa, Mulhern was in his third season with the Flames. The six-foot-one, 190-pound left-hander from Edmonton has size and shooting ability, but obviously disappointed hi$ old team with his defensive play.</p><p>Drafted in the first round, the seventh player chosen in 1975, he was a highly-regarded prospect and did lead NHL rookies with 32 assists and 44 points his first big league season. He had 12 goals, nine more last year, only three this year.</p><p>The Kings hope he will use his size as well as his speed here. They can&rsquo;t lose. Murdoch did not figure in their future plans and they gain years as Mulhern will be only 24 in March, while Murdoch already is 32.</p><p>Depending on where Glennie and Edestrand, each 32, fit in, the Kings have a youthful defense corps now with Manery, 29; Holt, 26; Halward, 23; Mulhern, 23; Hampton, 22, and Palmer, 22. One may have to be removed from the roster at this time, however. Only in 1976, when Bob Pulford&rsquo;s team won six out of seven on the annual January tour have the Kings had a better road trip than Bob Berry&rsquo;s crew did with four wins in eight games to start the new year, especially considering the run of injuries that should have hurt them horribly, the trip deserves to be chronicled.</p><p>After opening with a depressing 8-3 loss in Washington, which left them with four ties and six defeats in their last 10 road outings, the Kings bounced back to win in Montreal, 5-4, on Steve Jensen&rsquo;s last-minute goal. Dave Taylor&rsquo;s two goals helped them to a 4-1 lead, but they blew it, but refused to fold. It was only their fourth win in Montreal in 12 seasons.</p><p>They had not beaten their rival for second place in their division all season, but rookie Mario Lessard, now the team&rsquo;s No. 1 net-minder, making his sixth straight start, made 43 saves on 46 shots as the Kings won a big one in Pittsburgh, 4-3. A snow storm made it a nine-hour trip to Philadelphia, the Kings arrived just before game-time, and sagged wearily into a slump.</p><p>Blanked 3-0 by Bernie Parent in Philadelphia, despite 42 saves out of 45 by Ron Grahame; embarrassed 7-1 by Billy Smith and the Islanders in New York, blanked 3-0 by Tony Esposito and Pulford&rsquo;s Black Hawks in Chicago, the Kings seemed on the edge of disaster, but showed remarkable resiliency.</p><p>Ex-Red Wing Marcel Dionne scored four goals and ex-King Rogie Vachon surrendered seven as the Kings gained an emotional 7-3 rout of their bitter rivals in Detroit. The next night Taylor had his second two-goal game of the trip and Ron Grahame won his first game in six weeks in his return to Boston, 6-4. This was the first win for the Kings over Boston in seven games over almost two years since February of 1977.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-01490/4355852-1-eng-US/f0024-012.jpg" title="f0024-01" width="566" height="828"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>RICHARD MULHERN &hellip; Size, Speed, Youth</b></figcaption></div><p>Of the trip&rsquo;s 26 goals, Taylor scored seven, Dionne six, and a rallying Tommy Williams five. Bothered by a bad back, Butch Goring was blanked, and has been blanked in 11 straight games and 16 out of 17. After 22 road games, Dionne has 14 goals, Taylor 13 and Goring 10. Now, another tough trip, only nine road games remain&mdash;in two trips&mdash;five in a row in early March, four in a row later.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0024-01

Kings On Road Again With Revamped Defense

<div class="byline">BY DICK JOHNSTON</div><p>BUFFALO&mdash;</p><p class="dropcap"><span>A</span>fter an impressive streak&mdash;seven straight games without defeat&mdash;after Billy Inglis took over from Marcel Pronovost as coach, the Buffalo Sabres ran into trouble.</p><p>The Sabres won only four of their next 13 games.</p><p>Inglis shook up his forward lines, began using four lines, and one that emerged&mdash;it might have been considered his fourth line&mdash;turned out to be a pretty good one, at least for a while.</p><p>It was composed of three players who had bounced around quite a bit in the Buffalo organization&mdash;Derek Smith, Terry Martin and Jacques Richard.</p><p>In the Sabres&rsquo; first three games that these three were together, they did quite well. When you figure that two of the games were losses, to Montreal and Pittsburgh, and the other a tie, against Philadelphia, they did very well.</p><p>Three goals for and none against. Smith scored Buffalo&rsquo;s fourth goal in a 4-4 tie with Philadelphia and he and Martin got the last two as the Sabres made a belated effort to catch Pittsburgh but fell a goal short in a 5-4 loss.</p><p>Smith&rsquo;s goals gave him 14 in 35 games, not exactly setting the world on fire, but he was only one behind the team leaders, Gil Perreault, Danny Gare and Craig Ramsay. And Smitty missed nine games because of a groin injury.</p><p>Smith spent his first three pro seasons with Hershey of the American League. Last season he was with the Sabres but watched more than half the games from the pressbox.</p><p>He and Martin played regularly in the playoffs, however, and did well. Martin had missed almost the entire season recovering from a severe thigh injury.</p><p>In training camp he and Smith were together on one line, with Gary McAdam. But shortly after the season began, that line was broken up. Martin moved around from line to line, from right wing to left wing to the bench.</p><p>Smith didn&rsquo;t do much until after he returned from his injury, when he centered for Gil Perreault, who was moved to right wing, and rookie Tony McKegney. That line went great through the initial streak after Inglis took over but then, as the team went bad, so did that line.</p><p>Perreault was returned to center and Smith was moved around.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-02387/4355883-1-eng-US/f0024-022.jpg" title="f0024-02" width="563" height="730"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>JACQUES RICHARD &hellip; Got In Shape</b></figcaption></div><p>Richard, the first player picked by Atlanta and the second overall, in the 1972 draft&mdash;Atlanta&rsquo;s first&mdash;came to the Sabres in a trade for defenseman Larry Carriere and a draft choice.</p><p>He was a disappointment and after 21 games in his second season with Buffalo, 1976-77, he was sent down to Hershey. He played there in 1977-78 but during the summer of &lsquo;78 he worked hard to get into top shape for a try at sticking in the National Hockey League.</p><p>He did but he was in and out of the lineup until he teamed up with Smith and T. Martin.</p><p><b>ICE CHIPS:</b> Another result of Inglis&rsquo; shakeup was the reunion of the French Connection. Inglis put Perreault, Rick Martin and Rene Robert back together in the second period of the loss in Montreal. They did well as the Sabres came back to tie in that period after falling behind, 2-0, in the first. Although the Canadiens scored three goals in the third (one into an empty net), Inglis felt the Connection played well enough together to keep them that way.</p><p>In the tie with Philadelphia, Martin and Perreault each scored and they were on for the power play when Jim Schoenfeld got Buffalo&rsquo;s third goal.</p><p>The big year for the French Connection was 1974-75 when the trio totaled 131 regular-season goals. The Sabres went to the Stanley Cup finals that year but never have made it past the quarterfinals since then.</p><p>With Danny Gare sidelined by a sprained ankle, Inglis put the big defenseman, Schoenfeld, at forward on the power play, with Perreault and Rick Martin. Schony&rsquo;s size gave the Sabres a man who could stand his ground in front of the net and drive for the goal. In six games, Schony had four goals and three assists. The most goals the big redhead ever scored in his seven previous seasons with the Sabres was seven, in 1976-77.</p><p>Goalie Don Edwards put on a spectacular show as the Sabres got off to a slow start in the Philadelphia game. Buffalo was outshot, 10-5, in the first period but escaped with a 1-1 tie because of Donnie&rsquo;s work.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0024-02

Inglis Shuffles Forwards To Sharpen Sabres’ Look

<h2><b>WHA&rsquo;S &hellip; <i>Player of the Week</i></b></h2><p class="dropcap"><span>M</span>orris Lukowich of the Winnipeg Jets is making a strong bid to win the WHA&rsquo;s goal scoring title away from Quebec Real Cloutier and if he keeps up his present pace, he might make it.</p><p>Lukowich scored three times in the Jets&rsquo; three games last week giving him 35 for the season and putting within five of Cloutier.</p><p>The Jets came out of the week&rsquo;s WHA action with a win and a tie in three starts and Lukowich continued to pump in the big goals for the Winnipegers as they strive to reach for first place.</p><p>Lukowich enjoyed a five-point performance, one of the best in the league last week as he raised his totals to 55, good for seventh place in the overall league points race.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-02316/4355914-1-eng-US/f0025-022.jpg" title="f0025-02" width="517" height="606"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>MORRIS LUKOWICH &hellip; Winnipeg Jets</b></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0025-02

THE WHA

WORLD HOCKEY ASSOCIATION

<p>QUEBEC CITY&mdash;</p><p>Although they haven&rsquo;t yet approached the Federal Government, Quebec&rsquo;s provincial legislature has approved plans for the refurbishing of the Quebec Colisee at a total cost not to exceed $15 million, and expect the Feds will help to provide one-third of the cost.</p><p>Upon the National Hockey League&rsquo;s insistence that a 15,000 capacity seat building is needed if Quebec is to be considered a potential franchise in the league, plans call to expand the present 10,004 seating capacity to a suitable level.</p><p>At a Quebec City news conference premier Rene Levesque indicated that if the NHL was willing to accept the Nordiques, and if the Federal Government would chip in with $5 million and the Nordiques were willing to sign a longterm lease, that the province would also chip in with $5 million. The other one-third cost of the project would be subsidized by the Quebec Urban Community.</p><p>Edmonton and Cincinnati, two of the other World Hockey Association teams seeking admission to the NHL, have arenas which seat more than 15,000 fans, while the Winnipeg Jets, who are also prominent in expansion talks, have indicated that they will also increase their seating capacity.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

Government Will Help Nordiques Reach NHL

<div class="byline">BY WAYNE WARRINER</div><p>HARTFORD&mdash;</p><p class="dropcap"><span>B</span>ack in late December the New England Whalers eagerly looked ahead at a schedule that gave them a preponderance of home games for almost an entire month. It looked like an ideal opportunity to pull away in the standings.</p><p>Actually things began in fine fashion&mdash;four wins in a row (at home) preceded a tight (2-1) loss in Cincinnati. After the All Star intervention, the Whalers continued their home stand. A win over the Stingers got things going, but then another schedule-enforced layoff of six days followed. Consecutive losses to Edmonton and Winnipeg in front of the home folks raised a few eyebrows.</p><p>A short hop to Quebec was next on the schedule but due to a snowstorm, the charter flight had last minute difficulties and the game had to be postponed. The next night the Nordiques visited Springfield and proceeded to further dampen the spirits of New Englanders by handing the Whalers their third straight loss (4-2)&mdash;all on home ice.</p><p>Down 2-0 going into the third period, New England had scored only two goals in the previous eight periods. Coach Bill Dineen decided to stir things up a little by moving defenseman Alan Hangsleben up to left wing with Mike Rogers and by putting newcomer Blain Stoughton on the right side. The move paid off as the trio combined for a pair of goals. Another loss, but a ray of hope.</p><p>When Cincy came in two nights later it was a foregone conclusion that Rogers&rsquo; new linemates would stay with him, at least until the slump was broken. Although he&rsquo;s willing to play anywhere, Hangsleben prefers duty at the blueline. The hard-working defenseman turned winger got the Whalers off and running with the first goal of the night. After the 3-1 victory, coach Dineen credited Hank with &ldquo;making things happen by hitting a few people in the offensive end.&rdquo;</p><p>It was an important victory. Dineen commented, &ldquo;I feel a lot better about going on the road. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve been around too long. We were getting a little stagnant&hellip;&rdquo;</p><p><b>QUEBEC:</b> The Nordiques had the novel experience of having consecutive games at Le Colisee postponed because of snow. With the abundance of snow that Quebec City puts up with that shouldn&rsquo;t be hard to understand, but that wasn&rsquo;t the problem this time.</p><p>In the first instance, Edmonton was prepared to play at Le Colisee but the Nordiques were snowbound in Cincinnati. Three nights later the Nordiques were waiting for New England, but the Whalers&rsquo; charter flight was snowed in. That was a disappointment for an advance sell-out that was looking forward to the battle for first place.</p><p>When the Nordiques finally got back on the ice, it was in Springfield, Mass., where they continued their winning ways and left New England four points behind with a 4-2 victory over the Whalers. Coach Jacques Demers, pleased with his team&rsquo;s third straight road win, said, &ldquo;In the last four games on the road we&rsquo;ve only given up nine goals. We have to be playing sound, solid, disciplined hockey&mdash;and that&rsquo;s a credit to the players.&rdquo;</p><p>Demers lavished praise on the game&rsquo;s number one star, 24-year-old Garry Lariviere, &ldquo;Lariviere is the greatest defenseman in the WHA so far this year. There&rsquo;s nobody better than him right now.&rdquo;</p><p>The Nordiques&rsquo; coach went on to explain the reason for his team&rsquo;s recent success. &ldquo;We put in a system, we want to play defensive hockey, and if we don&rsquo;t play defensive hockey we&rsquo;re going to get beat. Anytime you keep your goals against below 3.0, like we&rsquo;ve done the last 30 or 31 games, you&rsquo;re going to be all right.&rdquo;</p><p>Back at Le Colisee for their next encounter, the GAA dropped some more as goalie Jim Corsi and his teammates held Winnipeg to just one goal. Corsi had thirty-one saves. But the coach&rsquo;s philosophy may have gone out the window, at least temporarily because the Nords ripped the twine for seven goals before the Jets got on the board. Final score&mdash;10-1.</p><p>In his second game since returning from an elbow injury Marc Tardif netted his 300th regular-season goal as he moved in on Bobby Hull&rsquo;s WHA record of 303 regular-season goals.</p><p>When the Nordiques and the Jets flew to Winnipeg for a return match, the Jets had something to prove to themselves and to their fans. The 10-1 shellacking was their third straight loss. So they took it out on the Nords by raining 39 shots on Richard Brodeur to notch a 3-1 win.</p><p>Danny Geoffrion is picking up his pace offensively. The rookie netted a pair of important goals against New England, and followed with another against the Jets. Paulin Bordeleau has earned the praise of coach Deipers for adapting well at left wing with Serge Bernier and Real Cloutier. Rookie Richard David is still sidelined by a problem with his right knee.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-01426/4355945-1-eng-US/f0025-012.jpg" title="f0025-01" width="570" height="640"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>ALAN HANGSLEBEN &hellip; Plays Up Front</b></figcaption></div><p><b>BIRMINGHAM:</b> The Bulls extended their losing streak to five games (seven losses in eight outings) before finally tipping over the Oilers in the Edmonton Coliseum.</p><p>The goals against average suffered badly in a pair of road losses to the Stingers and the Oilers. In Cincy, the Stingers pummeled rookie goalie Pat Riggin with 44 shots while the Bulls managed only half as many at the other end. But that doesn&rsquo;t give a true picture of the game. Birmingham strung together goals by Steve Alley, Bob Stephenson, and Rick Vaive to grab the lead early in the second period. The Stingers outshot the Bulls 20 to 6 in the final stanza, however, to grab an 8-5 win.</p><p>A couple of nights later, the Bulls were drubbed by Edmonton, 11-3. This time Ernie Wakely was the victim as the Oilers triggered 41 shots in his direction. Again the third period was disastrous as Edmonton iced the contest with five goals.</p><p>The Bulls stayed in town, however, and two nights later grabbed two points back by beating the Oilers, 4-3. Four power play goals did the trick for the Bulls as Alley, Vaive, Tony Cassolato, and Wayne Dillon found the mark.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0025-01

Whalers Respond To Player Moves; Nordiques Winning Despite Weather

<h2><b>Tue. Jan. 23 NEW ENGLAND 1, EDMONTON 5</b></h2><h3><b>FIRST PERIOD</b></h3><p>No scoring.</p><p>Penalties: Langevin 1:11, Driscoll 11:11, G. Howe 12:08, Roberts 15:00, Langevin 18:23.</p><h3><b>SECOND PERIOD</b></h3><p>Edmonton, 1&mdash;Flett (Gretzky, Alexander) 3:16, 2&mdash;MacDonald (Callighen, Chipperfield) 15:02, 3&mdash;Chipperfield (Flett) 16:05.</p><p>Penalties: Ley 3:09, Shmyr 3:30, MacDonald 19:09.</p><h3><b>THIRD PERIOD</b></h3><p>Edmonton, 4&mdash;Gretzky (Shmyr, Langevin) 4:04, 5&mdash;Weir (Carlson, Callighen) 12:11, New England, 6&mdash;Ley (Lacroix, Seiwood) 13:45.</p><p>Penalties: Antonovich 3:40, Driscoll 6:38, McKenzie 7:17.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-02343/4356070-1-eng-US/f0026-022.jpg" title="f0026-02" width="582" height="118"></div><p>Attendance: 9,647.</p><h2><b>Wed. Jan. 24 WINNIPEG 5, CINCINNATI 5</b></h2><h3><b>FIRST PERIOD</b></h3><p>Winnipeg, 1&mdash;Moffat (Campbell, Preston) 9:24, Cincinnati, 2&mdash;Ftorek (Norwich, Marsh) 15:31.</p><p>Penalties: Gartner 2:22, Ruskowski 8:08, Clackson (doubl, minor) 14:48, Baltimore 17:55, Amodeo 19:06.</p><h3><b>SECOND PERIOD</b></h3><p>Cincinnati, 3&mdash;Marsh (Norwich) 0:27, Winnipeg, 4&mdash;Nilsson (Long, Ruskowski) 11:38, 5&mdash;Lukowich (Nilsson) 14:19, 6&mdash;Preston (Ruskowski, Lukowich) 17:45.</p><p>Penalties: Melrose 3:15, Luksa 5:40, Dudley (major) 15:38.</p><h3><b>THIRD PERIOD</b></h3><p>Winnipeg, 7&mdash;Preston (Sullivan, Nilsson) 13:59, Cincinnati, 8&mdash;Hislop (Norwich, Legge) 16:27, 9&mdash;Hislop (Ftorek, Thomas) 16:37, 10&mdash;Gilligan (Norwich, Gartner) 19:44.</p><p>Penalties: Campbell 6:37, Luksa 12:19.</p><h3><b>OVERTIME PERIOD</b></h3><p>No scoring.</p><p>Penalties: Dudley (misconduct) 1:38. Moffat 4:09.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-03294/4356063-1-eng-US/f0026-032.jpg" title="f0026-03" width="576" height="118"></div><p>Attendance: 4,771.</p><h2><b>QUEBEC 7, BIRMINGHAM 5</b></h2><h3><b>FIRST PERIOD</b></h3><p>Quebec. 1&mdash;Tremblay (Brackenbury) 0:44, Birmingham, 2&mdash;Vaive (Goulet, Dillon) 2:16, Quebec, 3&mdash;Bernier (Tardif, Tremblay) 4:04, 4&mdash;Cote (Leduc) 7:00, 5&mdash;Tardif (Geoffrion, Lacombe) 17:35.</p><p>Penalties: Dillon 2:23, Cote 4:35. Weir 14:41.</p><h3><b>SECOND PERIOD</b></h3><p>Quebec, 6&mdash;Geoffrion (Leduc) 3:24, Birmingham. 7&mdash;Adduono (Turkiewicz) 12:36.</p><p>Penalties: Tardif 0:52, Birmingham bench 15:50.</p><h3><b>THIRD PERIOD</b></h3><p>Quebec, 8&mdash;Bernier (Lacombe, Cloutier) 2:35, Birmingham, 9&mdash;Gingras (Ramage, Adduono) 4:34, 10&mdash;Dillon (Tebbutt, Vaive) 14:31, Quebec, 11&mdash;Cloutier 16:44, Birmingham, 12&mdash;Goulet (Dillon) 19:31.</p><p>Penalties: Sleigher, Weir (majors) 5:23, Vaive. Baxter (minor and majors) 6:02.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-04231/4356056-1-eng-US/f0026-042.jpg" title="f0026-04" width="579" height="136"></div><p>Attendance: 5,136.</p><h2><b>Fri. Jan. 26 NEW ENGLAND 4, BIRMINGHAM 5</b></h2><h3><b>FIRST PERIOD</b></h3><p>Birmingham, 1&mdash;Ramage (Vaive) 0:24, 2&mdash;Vaive (Dillon, Turkiewicz) 3:12, New England, 3&mdash;Lacroix (Mar, Howe) 16:25.</p><p>Penalties: McKenzie (misconduct) 9:46, G. Howe, Stewart 14:12, Tebbutt 16:06.</p><h3><b>SECOND PERIOD</b></h3><p>Birmingham, 4&mdash;Henderson (Stewart, Alley) 6:09, New England, 5&mdash;Mark Howe (Keon) 12:05, Birmingham, 6&mdash;Dillon (Turkiewicz, Riggin) 18:17.</p><p>Penalties: Roberts 3:59, Alley, Miller (majors) 9:02, Hanson 11:10.</p><h3><b>THIRD PERIOD</b></h3><p>Birmingham, 7&mdash;Goulet (Dillon, Vaive) 1:19, New England, 8&mdash;G. Howe (Carlson) 3:58, 9&mdash;Antonovich (Mark Howe, Ley) 17:55.</p><p>Penalties: Turkiewicz, Carlson 4:59, Stephenson 6:51, New England bench 8:30, Tebbutt 10:25.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-05192/4356049-1-eng-US/f0026-052.jpg" title="f0026-05" width="602" height="120"></div><p>Attendance: 7,127.</p><h2><b>CINCINNATI 5, EDMONTON 2</b></h2><h3><b>FIRST PERIOD</b></h3><p>Cincinnati, 1&mdash;Ftorek (Hislop) 2:34, 2&mdash;Thomas (Hislop, Gilligan) 7:18. Edmonton, 3&mdash;MacDonald (Hamilton, Callighen) 13:16, Cincinnati, 4&mdash;Ftorek (Hislop) 15:23.</p><p>Penalties: Langevin 5:25, Luksa 10:11.</p><h3><b>SECOND PERIOD</b></h3><p>Edmonton, 5&mdash;Langevin (Shmyr, Gretzky) 10:26.</p><p>Penalties: Ftorek 9:36.</p><h3><b>THIRD PERIOD</b></h3><p>Cincinnati, 6&mdash;Dudley (Messier, Gartner) 11:32, 7&mdash;Ftorek 19:56.</p><p>Penalties: Shmyr (major), Hunter, Melrose (minorsan, majors) 1:17, Luksa5:01.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-06159/4356042-1-eng-US/f0026-062.jpg" title="f0026-06" width="579" height="105"></div><p>Attendance: 12,321.</p><h2><b>Sat. Jan. 27 WINNIPEG 4, QUEBEC 2</b></h2><h3><b>FIRST PERIOD</b></h3><p>Winnipeg, 1&mdash;Lukowich (Nilsson, Ruskowski) 6:05, 2&mdash;Campbell (Sullivan, Lukowich) 19:25.</p><p>Penalties: Lesuk 14:27, Cote 17:24.</p><h3><b>SECOND PERIOD</b></h3><p>Quebec. 3&mdash;Leduc (Bernier, Tremblay) 6:04, 4&mdash;Bordeleau (Baxter, Fitchner) 19:57.</p><p>Penalties: Amodeo 5:30, Clackson 11:51, Long 15:32, Tardif 16:27, Lukowich 17:31, Geoffrion 17:33.</p><h3><b>THIRD PERIOD</b></h3><p>Winnipeg, 5&mdash;Moffat (Guindon) 15:46, 6&mdash;Amodeo (Ruskowski) 19:32.</p><p>Penalties: Clackson, Baxter 5:49, Lacombe 16:21.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-07142/4356035-1-eng-US/f0026-072.jpg" title="f0026-07" width="585" height="113"></div><p>Attendance: 10,078.</p><h2><b>Sun. Jan. 28 CINCINNATI 0, EDMONTON 3</b></h2><h3><b>FIRST PERIOD</b></h3><p>No scoring.</p><p>Penalties: Legge, Hunter (minors and majors) 6:57, S. Carlson 9:31, Melrose 11:35, Alexander 13:03, Shmyr 18:33.</p><h3><b>SECOND PERIOD</b></h3><p>Edmonton, 1&mdash;Weir (Callighen, Sobchuk) 16:42.</p><p>Penalties: Gartner 5:47, Hamilton 10:48, Messier 15:43.</p><h3><b>THIRD PERIOD</b></h3><p>Edmonton, 2&mdash;Gretzky (Sobchuk, Alexander) 17:03, 3&mdash;Chipperfield (S, Carlson) 19:25.</p><p>Penalties: Melrose, Weir 0:43, Luksa 11:42, Hunter 14:54, Norwich, Marsh 15:56, Legge 19:52.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-08130/4356028-1-eng-US/f0026-082.jpg" title="f0026-08" width="585" height="113"></div><p>Attendance: 10,284.</p><h2><b>WINNIPEG 6, NEW ENGLAND 8</b></h2><h3><b>FIRST PERIOD</b></h3><p>Winnipeg, 1&mdash;Sullivan (Long, Campbell) 4:32, New England, 2&mdash;Miller (Lacroix, Ley) 16:11.</p><p>Penalties: McKenzie 18:18.</p><h3><b>SECOND PERIOD</b></h3><p>Winnipeg, 3&mdash;Nilsson 0:43, New England, 4&mdash;Lyle (Roberts, McKenzie) 3:30, 5&mdash;Lacroix (Mar, Howe) 5:58, 6&mdash;Miller (Hangsleben, Mark Howe) 6:47, Winnipeg, 7&mdash;Lukowich (Nilsson, Ruskowski) 15:28, 8&mdash;Ruskowski (Nilsson, Eriksson) 15:43. New England, 9&mdash;Antonovich (Plumb) 17:40, 10&mdash;McKenzie (Keon, Ley) 18:38, 11&mdash;Mark Howe (Lacroix) 19:45.</p><p>Penalties: Campbell 5:15, Mark Howe 15:23. Roberts 18:13.</p><h3><b>THIRD PERIOD</b></h3><p>Winnipeg, 12&mdash;Preston (Ruskowski, Nilsson) 5:07, 13&mdash;Sullivan (Terbenche) 9:04, New England, 14&mdash;Stoughton (Rogers, Antonovich) 18:36.</p><p>Penalties: Roberts 3:26.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-09122/4356021-1-eng-US/f0026-092.jpg" title="f0026-09" width="581" height="115"></div><p>Attendance: 7,724.</p><h2><b>Where WHA Teams Play</b></h2><h3><b>JANUARY</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-10116/4356014-1-eng-US/f0026-102.jpg" title="f0026-10" width="572" height="85"></div><h3><b>FEBRUARY</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-11112/4356007-1-eng-US/f0026-112.jpg" title="f0026-11" width="602" height="983"></div><h2><b>The WHA Scoreboard</b></h2><p><b>(Standing on Tue. Jan. 30)</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-01439/4356000-1-eng-US/f0026-012.jpg" title="f0026-01" width="579" height="196"></div><h2><b>GAMES COMPLETED</b></h2><p><b>Tue. Jan. 23</b></p><p>New England 1 at Edmonton 5</p><p>Quebec 7 at Birmingham 5</p><p><b>Wed. Jan. 24</b></p><p>Winnipeg 5 at Cincinnati 5</p><p><b>Fri. Jan. 26</b></p><p>Cincinnati 5 at Edmonton 2</p><p>New England 4 at Birmingham 5</p><p><b>Sat. Jan. 27</b></p><p>Winnipeg 4 at Quebec 2</p><p><b>Sun. Jan. 28</b></p><p>Cincinnati 0 at Edmonton 3</p><p>Winnipeg 6 at New England 8<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0026-02

WORLD HOCKEY ASSN. SUMMARIES

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0027-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-01420/4356108-1-eng-US/f0027-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>ROBBIE FTOREK &hellip; Brought Stingers Back</b></figcaption></div><p><b>Special To The Hockey News</b></p><p>CINCINNATI&mdash;</p><p>Cincinnati Stingers&rsquo; center iceman Robbie Ftorek has been leading the league in scoring for most of the season, but statistics are not that important to him.</p><p>&ldquo;I would much rather be in first place,&rdquo; said Ftorek. &ldquo;Right now, our team&rsquo;s playing well and our lines are playing well because you can&rsquo;t win games if you don&rsquo;t score goals. So as long as we&rsquo;re going well, we&rsquo;ll let the points take care of themselves.&rdquo;</p><p>Ftorek has been one of the main reasons the Stingers have emerged from their month-long slump. After being held pointless in two games against Quebec, the 152-pound center scored seven goals and added six assists as the Stingers won three out of four games, beating Birmingham, 4-2 and 8-5, and Winnipeg, 7-2, and tying Winnipeg, 5-5.</p><p>The tie game saw Ftorek notch a goal plus an assist to raise his scoring total to 74 points, while Craig Norwich also had a great game, handing out four assists.</p><p>It was in the first Winnipeg game that Ftorek scored four goals, the first time he has netted that many in his professional careef. Yet Ftorek was not overly concerned with his personal accomplishment in that game.</p><p>&ldquo;The wingers are more concerned,&rdquo; he explained. &ldquo;Reggie (Thomas) asked me if I wanted that puck (the fourth goal). When things are going well, and if I have a choice of passing or shooting, I&rsquo;ll pass it to them. They&rsquo;re looking for me when I&rsquo;m hot and vice versa.</p><p>&ldquo;Most of the time, I find making a good pass more rewarding. Making the play is my job. If I can deke a defenseman or a goaltender, that to me is very rewarding.&rdquo;</p><p>At five-foot-eight and one-half and 152 pounds, Ftorek is the smallest man in the World Hockey Association, yet he is also one of the most durable.</p><p>He has now played in 323 consecutive games, currently the longest consecutive game streak in the league. In fact, only four players in WHA history ever played in more consecutive games&mdash;Rosaire Paiement, 439; Andre Lacroix, 429; and Danny Lawson and Gavin Kirk, 392.</p><p>What is more remarkable is that Ftorek was struck in the mouth in the 1978 All Star game and received 69 stitches, yet he played. He talked about playing injured.</p><p>&ldquo;My game is to play hockey,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;and I go out and play to the best of my ability. If you have injuries you play unless the doctor or coach says you can&rsquo;t.</p><p>&ldquo;Once you get into the game, you forget about that. I haven&rsquo;t had any major injuries.&rdquo;</p><p>Ftorek is generally regarded as one of the top centers in the league, noted for his crisp, accurate passing, his ability to hit the open man and his drop pass.</p><p>&ldquo;A drop pass is something you can do with anybody,&rdquo; he explained. &ldquo;You can work on it very easily. Jamie (Hislop) likes to take the bounce off the boards. Reggie is the same way. You have to adjust to what they want and like.&rdquo;</p><p>Through 46 games, Ftorek had netted 23 goals and added 51 assists for 74 points, tops in the league, and his assist total has already surpassed that of last season, when he had 50.</p><p>He scored 59 goals last year, a WHA record for a center, but this year he has not been taking that many shots on goal and he explained why.</p><p>&ldquo;There&rsquo;s a number of reasons I&rsquo;m shooting less,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve been having an awful problem with our sticks because they&rsquo;ve been breaking. And Reggie and Jamie have been shooting well, and you go with a hot stick.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-02312/4356101-1-eng-US/f0027-022.jpg" title="f0027-02" width="584" height="948"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>CRAIG NORWICH &hellip; Set Up 4 Goals</b></figcaption></div><p>Ftorek is the complete team player, a man who unselfishly passes off when he could just as easily have shot on goal himself. He talked about his attitude toward hockey.</p><p>&ldquo;Whatever I attain in hockey, it&rsquo;s not obtained by myself, because it&rsquo;s a team sport. The objective is to win and I do everything in my power to win. It&rsquo;s the accumulative thing&mdash;winning.&rdquo; It doesn&rsquo;t mean anything when you don&rsquo;t win.&rdquo;</p><p>As hockey fans know, that is the way Robbie Ftorek plays the game.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0027-01

Stingers’ FtorekSays He’d Gladly Swap Scoring Lead For First Place

<p><b>Special To The Hockey News</b></p><p>WINNIPEG&mdash;</p><p>The room was jammed with virtually every local media member present. John Ferguson read the telegrams:</p><p>&ldquo;I have yet to see an athlete that I believe could have overcome the obstacle that you have to such an overwhelming degree. I don&rsquo;t think that any athlete in any sport, could have accomplished what you have. To a man who I remember as a great asset to my career, we wish you a very successful future.&rdquo; It was signed by no less a player than Bobby Orr and wife Peggy.</p><p>&ldquo;Since coming to North America,&rdquo; read the second one, &ldquo;we have benefited from your example on the ice and in the dressing room. More importantly, we have and will continue to benefit from your friendship. Best of luck in the future.&rdquo; It was signed simply, &ldquo;Your friends, Anders and Ulf.&rdquo;</p><p>The tributes poured in. From Phil Esposito and from Gordie Howe, from his teammates and from the media, from New England and from Chicago, from everywhere and everybody, Teddy Green was hailed.</p><p>Sure, you&rsquo;ve heard it all before, about the stick swinging incident and his recovery. About how he came back two years later and was with the Bruins for a Stanley Cup win.</p><p>No, you didn&rsquo;t have to be a real hockey critic to know that he wasn&rsquo;t the same man after the injury. Green readily admitted that at his press conference announcing his retirement.</p><p>What you did have to be was close to the man to know how much he was suffering. His aching knees, the headaches and the paralysis which struck his left hand from time to time, were ailments that Green learned to live with. You never heard Green say a word about it though, and he went about his business of playing the game with an intensity only he could muster.</p><p>At his press conference, he related the story of Murray Balfour. Balfour, a player from the golden era of the game, would go out every shift and work as if every outing was a matter of life and death. He would skate to the bench and cough up blood for the next five minutes only to return to the ice for his regular shift. At the end of the year, Balfour died of cancer.</p><p>Green said he liked to think that he patterned his career after Balfour and those are soft words for a guy they used to call &ldquo;Terrible Teddy.&rdquo;</p><p>The standing ovation they gave Green at the press conference was not done out of sympathy. It was because he played the game like a lion and under conditions that would have prevented any other mortal from even putting on skates again.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-1570/4356139-1-eng-US/f0028-152.jpg" title="f0028-15" width="550" height="436"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>TED GREEN</b></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0028-15

Jets Pay Honor To Retiring Green

<h2><i>College Scoreboard</i></h2><h2><b>WCHA CONFERENCE</b></h2><p><b>(Standings on Fri. Feb. 2)</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-01356/4356348-1-eng-US/f0029-012.jpg" title="f0029-01" width="590" height="309"></div><h2><b>GAMES COMPLETED</b></h2><p><b>Jan. 23</b></p><p>Colorado College 11, Denver 5</p><p><b>Jan. 26-27</b></p><p>Michigan 6, Notre Dame 4</p><p>Notre Dame 10, Michigan 7</p><p>Michigan Tech 7, North Dakota 3</p><p>North Dakota 5, Michigan Tech 4</p><p>Minn-Duluth 5, Wisconsin 5</p><p>Minn-Duluth 10, Wisconsin 6</p><p>Denver 5, Minnesota 4</p><p>Denver 4, Minnesota 2</p><h2><b>LEADING SCORERS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-02271/4356341-1-eng-US/f0029-022.jpg" title="f0029-02" width="586" height="786"></div><h2><b>CCHA CONFERENCE</b></h2><p><b>(Standings on Fri. Feb. 1)</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-03174/4356334-1-eng-US/f0029-032.jpg" title="f0029-03" width="592" height="199"></div><h2><b>GAMES COMPLETED</b></h2><p><b>Jan. 26-27</b></p><p>Bowling Green 4, St. Louis 2</p><p>St. Louis 4, Bowling Green 3</p><p>Ferris State 9, Lake Superior 6</p><p>Lake Superior 8, Ferris State 4</p><p>Ohio State 3, Northern Michigan 1</p><p>Northern Michigan 8, Ohio State 3</p><p>Western Michigan 4, Miami (0) 2</p><p>Western Michigan 6, Miami (0) 2</p><h2><b>LEADING SCORERS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-04119/4356327-1-eng-US/f0029-042.jpg" title="f0029-04" width="589" height="464"></div><h2><b>ECACCONFENCE DIVISION I</b></h2><p><b>(Standings on Mon. Jan. 29)</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-05103/4356320-1-eng-US/f0029-052.jpg" title="f0029-05" width="583" height="461"></div><h2><b>GAMES COMPLETED</b></h2><p><b>Tue. Jan. 23</b></p><p>Clarkson 11, St. Lawrence 5</p><p><b>Wed. Jan. 24</b></p><p>Boston Univ. 5, RPI 3</p><p>New Hampshire 5, Dartmouth 5</p><p>Boston College 8, Yale 5</p><p><b>Thu. Jan. 25</b></p><p>Providence 7, Boston College 1</p><p><b>Sat. Jan. 27</b></p><p>Cornell 6, RPI 3</p><p>Boston Univ. 5, St. Lawrence 3</p><p>Yale 7, Dartmouth 6</p><p>Northeastern 6, Brown 5</p><p>New Hampshire 10, Vermont 4</p><p><b>Sun. Jan. 28</b></p><p>Providence 4, Princeton 4</p><p>Boston College 9, St. Lawrence 3</p><p><b>NON-CONFERENCE GAMES</b></p><p>Vermont 3, Middlebury 2</p><p>Colgate 4, Hamilton 2</p><p>Clarkson 11, Ottawa 2</p><h2><b>ECAC CONFERENCE Division II</b></h2><h3><b>EAST SECTION</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-0681/4356313-1-eng-US/f0029-062.jpg" title="f0029-06" width="588" height="464"></div><h3><b>WEST SECTION</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-0764/4356306-1-eng-US/f0029-072.jpg" title="f0029-07" width="585" height="437"></div><h2><b>LEADING SCORERS DIVISION I</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-0856/4356299-1-eng-US/f0029-082.jpg" title="f0029-08" width="581" height="174"></div><h2><b>The Top 10 U.S. Colleges</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-0951/4356292-1-eng-US/f0029-092.jpg" title="f0029-09" width="598" height="528"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0029-01

OTHER LEAGUES

COLLEGE HOCKEY NEWS

<div class="byline">BY VIRG FOSS</div><p>HOUGHTON&mdash;</p><p>It&rsquo;s Hertz vs. Avis now in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association.</p><p>The University of North Dakota, No. 1 in the WCHA, entertains No. 2 Minnesota-Duluth in the key series in college hockey the weekend of Feb. 2-3.</p><p>Unlike Avis, the No. 2 firm in car rentals, Duluth doesn&rsquo;t have to try harder&mdash;the Buldogs already are.</p><p>Duluth replaced pre-season favorite Minnesota in second place in WCHA standings by running its record to a remarkable 11-0-2 in the last 13 games. Nine of the wins and both ties came in league play.</p><p>In fact, the Bulldogs of Gus Hendrickson missed by a day of being able to boast of being undefeated for two months&mdash;December and January.</p><p>Duluth hasn&rsquo;t lost since dropping a 64 decision to Colorado College Dec. 1 in Duluth. Since then, the Bulldogs have been the hottest thing in college hockey.</p><p>Now it&rsquo;s make-or-break time for Duluth. The Bulldogs face North Dakota in Grand Forks, seeking to duplicate a 5-4 and 4-2 sweep over the Sioux earlier in Duluth. Over 6,000 fans will jam the Winter Sports Center in Grand Forks each night to watch this series and the battle for league leadership.</p><p>North Dakota has some bitter memories of the last meeting with Duluth. The Sioux led Duluth 4-0 with less than eight minutes left in the game. Duluth rallied, the Sioux caved in, and Duluth won it in overtime.</p><p>If Duluth can continue its hot streak through this series, it may be tough for anyone to catch the Bulldogs. They play six of their last eight games at home.</p><p>Around the WCHA:</p><p><b>WISCONSIN AT DULUTH:</b> It was billed as a series between two outstanding skating teams and strong defensive teams. The skating was exceptional, but the defense was not.</p><p>Theran Welsh&rsquo;s goal with four seconds left in regulation play gave Wisconsin a 5-5 tie the first night, which neither team could break in the 10-minute sudden death session.</p><p>But it was all Duluth the next night. Glenn Kulyk had the hat trick, Dan Lempe added two and Stan Palmer crushed Wisconsin with a shorthanded tally as Duluth blew open a 6-5 game after two periods with the third period explosion in a 10-6 victory.</p><p><b>MINNESOTA AT DENVER:</b> &ldquo;Rocky Mountain High&rdquo; is definitely not a song about the University of Minnesota hockey team following their journey to Denver for a two-game set with the Pioneers.</p><p>It was Denver that had a song in its heart and the Gophers with heavy hearts after a shocking weekend series. Denver rallied both nights to overhaul Minnesota 5-4 and 4-2 and put a serious crimp in Minnesota&rsquo;s dreams of a WCHA championship.</p><p>Goals by Mike Greeder, Tim Harrer and Steve Christoff gave Minnesota a two-goal cushion in the second period the first night. But Denver&rsquo;s freshmen turned the game around. Andy Hill scored twice and Glenn Anderson got the winner with 4:55 left as the Pioneers snapped a four-game losing streak.</p><p>The scene was the same the next night. Minnesota, nursing a 2-1 lead into the third period, saw Frank Xavier, Alex Belcourt and Hill score unanswered goals for the Pioneers as Denver got its first series sweep since mid-November.</p><p>Minnesota had the edge in attack as Gopher goalie Steve Janaszak made just 19 saves to 31 for Denver&rsquo;s Stu Biren-baum. But Denver had the marksmen.</p><p>Minnesota coach Herb Brooks isn&rsquo;t throwing in the towel. &ldquo;We could still win eight of the last 10,&rdquo; he said.</p><p>But with North Dakota and Duluth rolling, it&rsquo;s a question now whether eight of 10 would be good enough for Minnesota, which is 1-4-1 in its last six games as Minnesota&rsquo;s lead evaporated.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

Duluth Bulldogs Surprise Of WCHA Race

<h2><b>ECAC Conference</b></h2><p><b>Tue. Jan. 30</b></p><p>St. Lawrence at Vermont</p><p>Dartmouth at Northeastern</p><p><b>Wed. Jan. 31</b></p><p>Princeton at Cornell</p><p>Brown at Boston University</p><p>Colgate at RPI</p><p>Harvard at Providence</p><p><b>Thu. Feb. 1</b></p><p>Dartmouth at Boston College</p><p>Yale at Northeastern</p><p><b>Fri. Feb. 2</b></p><p>New Hampshire at Clarkson</p><p>Vermont at Boston University</p><p><b>Sat. Feb. 3</b></p><p>Harvard at Princeton</p><p>CoIgateat Northeastern</p><p>New Hampshire at St. Lawrence</p><p>Providence at Brown</p><p>Vermont at Yale</p><p>Cornell at Dartmouth</p><p><b>Wed. Feb. 7</b></p><p>Clarkson at Colgate</p><p>Yale at Princeton</p><p>Cornell at Harvard</p><p><b>Thu. Feb. 8</b></p><p>Northeastern at New Hampshire</p><p><b>Fri. Feb. 9</b></p><p>Boston University at Providence</p><p>RPI at St. Lawrence</p><p><b>Sat. Feb. 10</b></p><p>Brown at Princeton</p><p>Northeastern at Colgate</p><p>Dartmouth at Cornell</p><p>RPI at Clarkson</p><p>Yale at Haravrd</p><h2><b>WCHA CONFERENCE</b></h2><p><b>Jan. 31</b></p><p>Bowling Green at Notre Dame</p><p><b>Feb. 23</b></p><p>Colorado College at Notre Dame</p><p>Michigan at Michigan Tech</p><p>Denver at Wisconsin</p><p>Minnesota-Duluth at North Dakota</p><p>Michigan State at Minnesota</p><p><b>Feb. 6</b></p><p>Air Force at Colorado College</p><p><b>Feb. 9-10</b></p><p>Michigan Tech at Michigan State</p><p>Notre Dame at Minnesota Duluth</p><p>North Dakota at Wisconsin</p><p>Michigan at Denver</p><p><b>Feb. 10-11</b></p><p>Colorado College at Minnesota</p><h2><b>CCHA Conference</b></h2><p><b>Jan. 30</b></p><p>Lake Superior at Northern Michigan</p><p>Western Michigan at Ferris State</p><p>Bowling Green at Notre Dame</p><p><b>Feb. 2-3</b></p><p>Ferris State at Bowling Green</p><p>Ohio State at Lake Superior</p><p>St. Louis at Western Michigan<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

Where The Colleges Play…

<div class="byline">BY JIM SCHNEIDER</div><p>MARQUETTE&mdash;</p><p class="dropcap"><span>S</span>t. Louis University used an overtime goal by Dan Pupillo and a three-goal night by Rob Zamejc to defeat Northern Michigan 5-4 and gain a split in a key Central Collegiate Hockey Association series.</p><p>Rick Comley&rsquo;s NMU Wildcats took the series opener in Lakeview Arena by a 6-2 margin, but the Billikens remained tied with NMU in the important loss column with the split.</p><p>In the series opener NMU received balanced scoring as six different players dented the scoreboard. The first period was tied with NMU&rsquo;s Terry Houck and SLU tri-captain George Kryzer exchanging goals.</p><p>NMU moved the lead to 4-1 in the second period of goals by Dave Ikkala, Tom Laidlaw and Tim Sherry and went on to win 6-2 behind the 32-save goaltending of Steve Weeks.</p><p>The big news in the opener was the defensive play of Wildcat freshman Steve Bozek as he shadowed St. Louis freshman Chris Valentine and kept him off the scoresheet for the first time all season. Valentine has a 21-game scoring streak entering the game.</p><p>Valentine started a new streak quickly in the second game collecting four assists to take the overall scoring lead away fromthe idle George McPhee of Bowling Green. Valentine leads McPhee 57-56 despite playing in just 23 games compared to McPhee&rsquo;s 28.</p><p>Doug Harris and Mike Mielke gave NMU a 2-0 lead in the second game before it was five minutes old, but Zamejc scored twice to send the game in the first intermission tied at 2-2. Zame-jc&rsquo;s linemates Valentine and Chuck Durocher assisted on both goals.</p><p>Durocher gave the Billikens a 3-2 lead at 56 seconds of the second period from Zemejc and Valentine, but NMU&rsquo;s Laidlaw tied the game at 7:09 on the power play from Harris and Jeff Pyle.</p><p>Freshman Steve Cloutier gave the Wildcats a 4-3 lead with an unassisted tally at 15:27, but when SLU coach Bill Selman pulled netminder Jerry Burt with 38 seconds left on the clock the gamble worked as Zamejc netted his third goal at 19:51 from Valentine and tri-captain Doug Butler.</p><p>Pupillo ended the game at 6:32 of the overtime period with his unassisted goal that disappointed most of the 2,771 fans on hand.</p><p>Burt had 37 saves in the game including 16 in the second period while Weeks suffered the loss despite six saves in the overtime session.</p><p>In other weekend action Ohio State remained in second place taking 4-2 and 6-4 wins from Ferris State while Lake Superior and Western Michigan split a series in Sauk St. Marie.</p><p>In the OSU-Ferris State opener the visiting Buckeyes jumped to a 3-0 lead in the second period and held on for the win as Steve Jones made 23 saves.</p><p>Defenseman Bob Zannella opened the scoring with a power play tally at 12:05 of the first period assisted by Rod McNair and Paul Tilley.</p><p>In the second period Mark Freeman scored at 4:45 and the eventual winning tally was scored by defenseman Tim Mackness at 8:27, his first career tally, Larry Marson and Tom Scanlon assisted Mackness.</p><p>Ron Shiner put Ferris State on the board at 14:42 of the second period and Jim Baker pulled the Bulldogs to within one goal at 18:06 of the third period, but OSU collected a power play goal into an empty net at 19:45 with Freeman netting the goal assisted by Rick Barker.</p><p>Doug Nowels had a busy night in the 4-2 loss making 37 saves, but was not the same in the second game as he allowed goals to Ed Lisogar (1:50 and Mike Conrad (2:46) on the first two OSU shots of the game and was removed in favor of Ted Ykema. Ykema made 31 saves allowing the final four Buck goals of the game.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-02310/4356458-1-eng-US/f0030-022.jpg" title="f0030-02" width="559" height="667"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>ROB ZAMEJC &hellip; Scores Hat Trick</b></figcaption></div><p>Rocki Smith scored the first Ferris State goal of the game, but Jack Lampron&rsquo;s goal at 6:32 of the period gave OSU a 3-1 lead.</p><p>Baker and Steve Banonis tied up the game 3-3 for the Bulldogs, but OSU&rsquo;s Steve Amoruso scored a shorthanded goal assisted by Zannella and Barker to give the lead back to Ohio State heading into the third period.</p><p>Ed Turner&rsquo;s power play goal at 1:13 of the third period tied the game again, but Marson and Lampron scored goals at 5:07 and 5:58 to decide the issue. Marson had a point in each game and now has scored in 13 straight, 17 of 18 and 22 of the last 24 games.</p><p>CCHA player-of-the-week Mike Brown of Western Michigan kept the Bronco playoff hopes alive leading WMU to a split at Lake Superior. WMU took the opener 7-6 in overtime before LSSC took the second game 7-3.</p><p>The host Lakers had designs on staying close to second place Ohio State at the start of the weekend and the Lakers jumped to a 5-2 lead in the second period with Jeff Jensen leading the way with a pair of goals, but Terry Olson scored for the Broncos at 19:06 of the second period to set the stage for a wild third period.</p><p>Brown collected goals at 6:58 and 10:43 to tie the game 5-5, before Steve Farrell gave the host Lakers a 6-5 edge at 13:05. Veteran Kipp Acton tied the game for WMU with four minutes remaining to send the game into overtime.</p><p>Brown collected his hat trick with the game winner on the first shot of overtime at the 32 second mark assisted by T. Olson and Kelly Mitchell.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0030-02

St. Louis Saved By Overtime Goal

<div class="byline">BY TOM BURKE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-01399/4356403-1-eng-US/f0030-012.jpg" title="f0030-01" width="558" height="734"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>ED KILROY &hellip; Overtime Marker</b></figcaption></div><p>NEW HAVEN&mdash;</p><p>It&rsquo;s our overall maturity as a team. We&rsquo;re responding well in the tight games as well as in the shootouts.&rdquo;</p><p>The speaker was Tim Taylor, hockey coach at Yale University. He&rsquo;d been asked to compare his current club, just a shade above the .500 mark and in playoff contention, with last year&rsquo;s unit which missed the final eight but pulled many upsets along the way.</p><p>The 1978-79 Elis are a sophomore-dominated outfit. Taylor brought in a large class of recruits for his second season at the helm, and now the youngsters are exhibiting the battle savvy that only comes with game experience in ECAC Division One.</p><p>After absorbing an 8-5 defeat at Boston College, the Yalies went home to take on league leader Dartmouth at In galls Rink. True to Taylor&rsquo;s prediction, they showed remarkable resilience against the Greenies, coming from behind three times to tie the game up in the final period, and eventually won 7-6 in overtime. Eddie Kilroy converted a 12-foot shot at 4:18 of the extra period for the victory, although Yale did have a chance to win in regulation. That was thwarted as Chris Sosnowski tallied shorthanded for Dartmouth with two seconds left to force the extra session. But Yale remained poised against their more experienced rivals and took the win.</p><p>Goalie Keith Allain was called on to make 42 stops to 31 for Dartmouth&rsquo;s Bob Gaudet. Dartmouth was playing without scoring leader Ross Brownridge, injured earlier in the week. Sophomore Marsh Hamilton had two goals for Yale, but the best line was the sophomore trio of Kilroy, Jim Murphy, and Gavin Thurston. The leading scorer is freshman Dan Poliziani, who centers junior Gary Lawrence and Hamilton. The other unit has last year&rsquo;s flashy freshman Paul Castraberti on the left side for soph Dan Brugman and junior Wally Row.</p><p>&ldquo;A couple of the things that really please me are our power play and the work of our four sophomore defensemen. This year is the first one that I can remember Yale having a higher power play percentage than their opponents. I guess you can credit that to maturity also.</p><p>&ldquo;We don&rsquo;t have any superstars, although nine or ten of the guys are in double figures for scoring. Actually, we&rsquo;re not all that deep in the key positions. There are only six varsity defensemen in school, so if we have a few key injuries we&rsquo;re in trouble.&rdquo;</p><p>So Yale has a legitimate shot this season, even though most predicted them to be another year away from a playoff berth. Only two of those now skating will graduate in June, so come fall Taylor will again be able to work with a group of players who know one another and Taylor&rsquo;s system. If he can bring in five or six quality recruits to give some roster depth, next year should be even better.</p><p>As for Dartmouth, this year&rsquo;s pleasant surprise, they dropped out of first place via the Yale loss and a 5-5 overtime tie with red hot New Hampshire. UNH held the lead going into the final two minutes, but Steve Higgins scored his second goal of the period with 1:14 to go to knot the count. No one could beat Gaudet or Greg Moffett in the extra period.</p><p>UNH didn&rsquo;t stop there. Journeying back to Durham, they teed off on a fading Vermont squad 10-4 in a penalty-filled contest. All America wing Ralph Cox had just one goal but moved to within four points of the all-time UNH mark of 209 points held by Jamie Hislop. Cox&rsquo;s 105 goals as of the end of January give him an outside shot at the all time New England career record or 118 set in the 1940&rsquo;s by Dartmouth&rsquo;s Bill Riley.</p><p>Vermont dropped to seventh and a 75 mark, having been shut out at Cornell 3-0 earlier in the week. Brian Hayward stopped 29 Catamount shots, then backstopped his mates to a 6-3 decision over RPI in Troy. Cornell thus moved into a fourth place tie with Brown, which returned from exam break to lose 6-5 in overtime at surging Northeastern. Dave Wilkins and Chris Nilan were the Husky heroes, scoring two goals apiece. Wilkins tallied with 0:54 left to send the game into overtime, and Nilan tucked a rebound past All American Mike Laycock for the win at 6:24. Brown received a scare when Laycock stopped a shot with his noggin and left the game briefly, but he returned none the worse for wear in a few minutes.</p><p>Boston University moved into first place again but felt a similar fear when senior goalie Jim Craig was crashed to the ice in a 5-3 win over RPI. Craig banged his head and remained still for five minutes or so, then got up and insisted he was able to finish the game. Afterwards, it turned out that Craig wasn&rsquo;t 100 percent. He was still woozy, so BU&rsquo;s medical staff shipped him off to the hospital for a few days. Freshman Jeff Weisman stepped in for a 5-3 win over St. Lawrence. Weisman&rsquo;s Larrie counterpart, Gary Laskoski, singlehandedly kept BU at bay with 52 saves, and the Terriers didn&rsquo;t put it away until late in the third frame.</p><p>St. Lawrence had lost at home, 11-5 to onrushing Clarkson, earlier in the week and thereby was all but mathematically eliminated from playoff competition. Another loss or two will put Boston College, Harvard, and Princeton into that category for this season as well. BC played one of its better games of the year in defeating Yale, but fell 7-1 to Providence the following night. The Friars haven&rsquo;t played up to their capabilities or expectations this season, but the win, keyed by Tom Bauer&rsquo;s two goals, moved them to 6-7 and into the thick of the playoff fight. Reminded that his team was one of the best in college hockey last February, going to the ECAC finals after a slow start, Lou Lamoriello just shrugged.</p><p>&ldquo;Maybe that&rsquo;s what&rsquo;s wrong. Maybe we remember last year and think we can do it any time now. No, we haven&rsquo;t been playing our game; I don&rsquo;t mind if somebody outshoots us, because we stress zone coverage, but this year we&rsquo;ve been outshooting people in a lot of games. But the kinds of shots the other team is getting have been better.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0030-01

Yale Exhibiting Savvy, Maturity In Close Playoff Berth Scramble

<div class="byline">BY RICHARD JABLONSKI</div><p>MONCTON&mdash;</p><p>What a difference a semester can make.</p><p>Quite often it happens that the teams which thrived during the first semester of Canadian university play burn out during the second, while those which struggled in November and December find new life in January.</p><p>One reason for this is the addition or deletion of quality performers during the Christmas holidays. A case in point is that of the Moncton Blue Eagles and their new-found scoring star Francois Besette.</p><p>Besette racked up 11 points (on six goals and five assists) to lead the Eagles to a win and a tie in only his second week of Atlantic Association play.</p><p>The three point weekend, courtesy of Besette&rsquo;s heroics, served to momentarily sustain the flickering playoff aspirations of the Moncton squad in the highly competitive Maritime race.</p><p>The success of the Blue Eagles came at the expense of the Mount Allison Mounties 6-4 in overtime, and the New Brunswick Red Raiders, who battled Moncton to a 7-7 tie.</p><p>Besette fired a hat trick in each game, including the two overtime markers against Mount Allison, to establish himself as one of several promising newcomers on the CIAU scene.</p><p>Another one of the January wonders can be found on the campus of Guelph University, where forward Mike Pidgeon has apparently given the sagging fortunes of Bud Folusewych&rsquo;s Guelph Gryphons a needed shot in the arm.</p><p>The Gryphons, who had fallen out of the Canadian college top ten rankings following a disappointing month of January, first shot down the Ontario Association&rsquo;s western division leaders, Western 6-3, and then dumped central division leading McMaster 6-2 several days later.</p><p>All Pidgeon did in the two games was accumulate three goals and three assists, not bad for a university rookie playing against a pair of top ten teams.</p><p>With the addition of Pidgeon, the continued high-scoring of Mike McParland and Hugh Mitchell, and the return of an injury-decimated defense corps, Guelph may now be ready to move up in the national rankings and take a run at the divisional and overall OUAA titles.</p><p><b>ATLANTIC ASSOCIATION:</b> Aside from the outstanding performance of Besette, things went pretty much according to form in the Maritimes.</p><p>The St. Mary&rsquo;s Huskies took three out of four points, including a 6-4 victory over runnerup Dalhousie and a 3-3 tie with the St. Francis Xavier X-Men. In the latter game, the Huskies appeared to have things under control until a Bob Johnston goal in the 16th minute of the third period lifted the slumping X-Men to a draw.</p><p>Dalhousie, which sported a pair of 32 exhibition victories over the Huskies, could manage only 19 shots on goal in dropping a second regular season decision to SMU. This comes in marked contrast to the Tigers&rsquo; performance of earlier in the week, when the team stunned third place Acadia 8-1. Earl Theriault and Paul MacLean each netted a pair of goals in the winning cause.</p><p>Following the 8-1 loss, the Acadia squad regrouped to edge Saint FX 4-3. Former Quebec Major Junior Leaguer Andre Tessier scored the winner for the Axemen at 13:33 of the third period.</p><p>The loss dropped St. FX into the fifth spot in a tight playoff race behind the surging UPEI Panthers. The Panthers, behind the one goal three assist performance of David Cameron, downed Mount Allison 5-3.</p><p><b>ONTARIO ASSOCIATION:</b> It is not too often that a team from the central division, supposedly the weak sister of the league, upsets a team from the highly-competitive western division of the association, but then, McMaster Marauders are no weak sister team.</p><p>The Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks were the latest recipients of this bit of information, as the Marauders edged the Hawks 4-3 in interlocking play. Garry MacDonald fired a hat trick for McMaster.</p><p>Fresh from, their 6-3 loss to Guelph, Western Mustangs came back to tie cellar dweller Waterloo 3-3.</p><p>Eastern Division play served to further separate front-runners Toronto and Laurentian from the rest of the pack. Toronto had little trouble in dispatching Queen&rsquo;s 6-1, while Laurentian dumped York 6-3 before deadlocking the Yeomen 5-5.</p><p>The nod for easiest schedule of the week went to Windsor. The Lancers faced hapless Brock and Ryerson, with their combined 0-18-2 record and predictably enough, produced a pair of victories, 8-4 over Brock and 7-3 over Ryerson.</p><p><b>GREAT PLAINS:</b> The GPAC has steadily evolved into a two team race, and a tight one at that, between Manitoba Bisons and Regina Cougars. For the second time this season, the teams met in a weekend series, the result being, like the first time, a split.</p><p>The host Cougars took the first game 5-4, only to fall the following afternoon by a 6-4 count.</p><h2><b>Canada&rsquo;s Top 10 Colleges</b></h2><p>1. Alberta</p><p>2. Toronto</p><p>3. St. Mary&rsquo;s</p><p>4. Calgary</p><p>5. Manitoba</p><p>6. Regina</p><p>7. Dalhousie</p><p>8. Guelph</p><p>9. Concordia</p><p>10. Western</p><h2><b>HOW THEY STAND</b></h2><h2><b>ONTARIO ASSOCIATION</b></h2><p><b>(Standings on Mon. Jan. 22)</b></p><h3><b>EASTERN DIVISION</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-01365/4356531-1-eng-US/f0031-012.jpg" title="f0031-01" width="590" height="166"></div><h3><b>CENTRAL DIVISION</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-02273/4356524-1-eng-US/f0031-022.jpg" title="f0031-02" width="582" height="143"></div><h3><b>WESTERN DIVISION</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-03203/4356517-1-eng-US/f0031-032.jpg" title="f0031-03" width="588" height="135"></div><h2><b>QUEBEC CONFERENCE</b></h2><p><b>(Standings on Fri. Jan. 26)</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-04155/4356510-1-eng-US/f0031-042.jpg" title="f0031-04" width="587" height="195"></div><h2><b>ATLANTIC ASSOCIATION</b></h2><p><b>(Standings on Mon. Jan. 22)</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-05134/4356503-1-eng-US/f0031-052.jpg" title="f0031-05" width="593" height="248"></div><h2><b>CANADA WEST ASSOCIATION</b></h2><p><b>(Standings on Mon. Jan. 22)</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-06107/4356496-1-eng-US/f0031-062.jpg" title="f0031-06" width="581" height="138"></div><h2><b>GREAT PLAINS CONFERENCE</b></h2><p><b>(Standings on Mon. Jan. 22)</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-0793/4356489-1-eng-US/f0031-072.jpg" title="f0031-07" width="584" height="169"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0031-01

Eagles Fly With Second Half Find

<h2><b>Where AHL TeamsPlay</b></h2><h3><b>JANUARY</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-02288/4356569-1-eng-US/f0032-022.jpg" title="f0032-02" width="540" height="96"></div><h3><b>FEBRUARY</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-03191/4356562-1-eng-US/f0032-032.jpg" title="f0032-03" width="581" height="651"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0032-02

AMERICAN HOCKEY LEAGUE

<div class="byline">BY JIM LEAHY</div><p>SPRINGFIELD&mdash;</p><p class="dropcap"><span>C</span>oach Pete Stemkowski suited up for the first time since taking over the Indians when the Tribe met the Binghamton Dusters recently. Stemkowski&rsquo;s move to the ice was necessitated by the rash of injuries on the squad and the sudden recall of winger Charlie Simmer by the parent Los Angeles Kings.</p><p>The Kings have also been hard-hit with injuries, with Bert Wilson and Murray Wilson the latest players to be idled. For several games, both the Indians and Kings have been playing two or three men under the player limit.</p><p>Simmer was scheduled to join the Kings in Detroit and play in Boston before being returned to the AHL club.</p><p>Stemkowski, a long-time NHL star, started this season with Los Angeles, but was sent to the Indians where he appeared in 24 games, scoring three goals and 12 assists. When Ted Harris was removed as coach of the tribe, Stemkowski was elevated to his position.</p><p>He had hoped to remain behind the bench this season, fulfilling a longstanding desire of his to get into coaching. He is, however, in excellent condition and should be able to help his club immediately. This move will make Stemkowski the only playing coach in the AHL and one of the very few in professional hockey in recent years.</p><p>Hopefully, the rash of injuries to the Indians will clear up in a few days and the coach will be able to return to his full-time duties.</p><p><b>NEW HAVEN:</b> Several New Haven Nighthawks got their chance of a lifetime to be in the movies. Bobby Hull, Rod Gilbert, N.Y. Giant punter Dave Jennings and N.Y. Met infielder Bobby Valentine were in town to film a beer commercial at New Haven&rsquo;s Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Firebird goaltender Doug Favell was in the nets as Hull skated in past some Nighthawk players during the filming sequence. The next night, each of the celebrities participated in a charity &ldquo;Shoot the Puck&rdquo; contest during the Nighthawk-Rochester game. When superstar Bobby Hull missed the elusive target badly, the fans gave him the well-known New Haven reception. He was booed.</p><p>The Nighthawks lost 5-4 in Binghamton after blowing a 4-2 lead to the Dusters. Back in New Haven two nights later, they blasted the Rochester Americans 5-2. A game scheduled in Philadelphia was cancelled due to poor weather.</p><p>A season-high crowd of 5,566 turned out in New Haven to see the Nighthawks and Rochester Americans. The excellent turnout moved Nighthawk attendance more than 12 percent ahead of last season, with the last four crowds more than 31 percent better than the 1977-78 campaign.</p><p>Bobby Sheehan scored twice in the second period, once on a centering pass from Claude Larose to give New Haven a 4-1 lead.</p><p><b>PHILADELPHIA:</b> The Philadelphia Firebirds completed a frustrating week with a split of the two games played. A contest in Philly with the New Haven Nighthawks was cancelled by AHL President Jack Butterfield when the Nighthawks could not get to the game due to icy conditions in New England. The month long, nine game road trip was capped with a 2-0 win in Rochester as the Firebirds earned their eighth road victory of the season. Doug Favell stonewalled the Amerks as he stopped 22 shots on goal while Gordie Brooks and Steve Coates scored for the Firebirds. Back on home ice at the Civic Center, Maine hung a 3-0 loss on the &lsquo;Birds as Mariner goaltender Robbie Moore was outstanding in the nets for Maine.</p><p><b>MAINE:</b> Mariner center Bernie Johnston remains as the AHL&rsquo;s top scorer. In 36 games, the native of Toronto has recorded 15 goals and 37 assists for 52 points. With that total he holds a four point lead over New Haven&rsquo;s Bud Stefanski and Hershey&rsquo;s Fred Stanfield.</p><p>The Mariners continue to lead the AHL in the race for the Hap Holmes trophy, emblematic of the best goaltending in the league. Maine&rsquo;s 126 goals allowed is 11 fewer than New Brunswick and Springfield. Nova Scotia has won the award for the last six seasons.</p><p>Maine sneaked into the Northern Division lead during the week by winning two of the three games they played. They now lead New Brunswick by a single point and have one game in hand on the Hawks. Springfield came into the Civic Center and were handed a 4-1 defeat by the Mariners and Robbie Moore&rsquo;s 3-0 whitewash at Philadelphia gave the Mariners their second victory of the week. The Springfield Indians spoiled the party by handing the Mariners a 3-2 loss in overtime at Springfield.</p><p><b>HERSHEY:</b> Coach Chuck Hamilton continues to be plagued by the injury jinx. In a 4-2 loss to Rochester on home ice recently, Bear defenseman Bob Bilodeau fired a shot which caught left winger Nelson Burton flush on the jaw and the burly Hershey winger is now out of the lineup indefinitely after undergoing surgery for a fractured jaw. Less than a week later, a shot by Hershey defenseman Larry Playfair hit winger Mike Breen on the jaw. Fortunately, Breen was not seriously injured.</p><p>During the week, the Bears lost two of three. They split two games in New Brunswick, losing 6-4 and winning 5-4. Nova Scotia blasted the Bears 7-1 in Halifax.</p><p>The hot line for Hershey continues to be center Claude Noel, left winger Eddie Godin and right winger Alex Tidey. In the last 10 games the trio has scored 20 goals and has had 23 assists.</p><p><b>NOVA SCOTIA:</b> The parent Montreal Canadiens made several moves recently which affected the Voyageur roster. Left winger Dan Newman and right winger Dave Lumley were both called up to Montreal to fill in for injured Canadiens. Rookie goaltender Bruce Horsch was returned to Flint of the International Hockey League and netminder Rick Sevigny was recalled from Springfield for Voyageur goaltender Maurice Barrette.</p><p>Sevigny played in 21 games for Springfield and posted a 3.52 GAA, while winning six of 14 games for the Tribe. Barrette had a 4.39 GAA with Nova Scotia and had an 8-10-1 record while with the Vees. Both Barrette and Bob Holland shared the Hap Holmes Trophy last season as they led all AHL netminders.</p><p>The Vees won two contests, as well as earning a 4-4 tie with the touring Soviet, Wings. They demolished Hershey 7-1 and Holland threw a 4-0 shutout at arch-rival New Brunswick in games played at the Metro Center.</p><p><b>BINGHAMTON:</b> The Dusters hold down second place in the Southern Division, but not by much. Hershey and Rochester are close behind and any of the three teams could trade places at any time. During the week, the club won two of three to bring their record to 1721-3 after 41 games. They still trail New Haven by some 12 points.</p><p>Goaltender Louis Levasseur had a great game, despite giving up four goals, and the Dusters beat New Haven 5-4 at the Broome County Arena. Two nights later Springfield came into Binghamton and they too were on the short end of a Duster victory, this time by a 4-3 margin. Rochester ended the modest winning streak by posting a 4-3 win over the Dusters at Rochester&rsquo;s War Memorial.</p><p>Immediately after Levasseur&rsquo;s strong performance against New Haven, he was recalled by Quebec of the WHA. Birmingham took defenseman Greg Tebutt, so the Dusters signed goaltender Roger Kosar to an amateur tryout contract.</p><p><b>NEW BRUNSWICK:</b> Doug Lecuyer, who led the Hawks in scoring with 47 points and was a candidate for rookie-of-the-year honors, was injured and will be out for the year. His loss will be a tough blow for New Brunswick, a club that is battling Maine for the Northern Division lead.</p><p>The Hawks lost two of three during the week to fall from the top spot in the divisional race. They beat Hershey 6-4 in Moncton, but lost 5-4 to the Bears two nights later in the same rink. In Halifax, the improving Voyageurs skated to a 4-0 win over the Hawks.</p><p><b>ROCHESTER:</b> Losing three of four didn&rsquo;t help the Amerks in their drive to the top of the Southern Division, especially since two of the defeats were on home ice to divisional rivals. The woeful week started with a 2-0 loss at home to Philadelphia. New Haven skated to a 5-2 win over the Amerks in a road game for Rochester, but the club bounced back to defeat Binghamton 4-3 at home. A crucial game for Rochester with New Haven, also on home ice, ended up in a 6-4 win for the Nighthawks. Before a crowd of 4,012 the Amerks goals came from Graham Nicholson, who scored twice, Bill Bennett, and Barry Smith. The loss dropped Rochester into fourth place in the Southern Division.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-01377/4356600-1-eng-US/f0032-012.jpg" title="f0032-01" width="548" height="776"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>DOUG FAVELL &hellip; Lifted Firebirds</b></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0032-01

Tribe Injuries Force Stemmer Back; Mariners Knock Hawks Off Top Perch

<h2><b>Where CHL Teams Play</b></h2><h3><b>January</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-02254/4356638-1-eng-US/f0033-022.jpg" title="f0033-02" width="543" height="314"></div><h3><b>FEBRUARY</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-03183/4356631-1-eng-US/f0033-032.jpg" title="f0033-03" width="547" height="224"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0033-02

CENTRAL HOCKY LEAGUE

<p><b>Special To The Hockey New</b></p><p>SALT LAKE&mdash;</p><p>For the first time in the history of the Central Hockey League, the fans have selected their favorite players. In balloting conducted around all the Central Hockey League cities the fans selected two mid-season All Star teams. The league-leading Salt Lake City Golden Eagles had three members chosen on the first two units. Defenseman Len Frig and left-winger Floyd Thomson were selected for the first unit while goaltender Terry Richardson was selected as the second team goaltender.</p><p>Kansas City Wings also supplied a pair of players to the first team&mdash;goaler Ron Low and right wing Mal Davis. Defenseman Mike Hordy of Fort Worth and center Mike Eaves of Oklahoma City completed the first team.</p><p>Besides Richardson, the second team was formed by defensemen Jeff Bandura of Dallas and Darcy Regier of Fort Worth, center Jim Wiley of Tulsa, left wing Steve Hazlett of Dallas and Oklahoma City right winger Kelly Greenbank.</p><p>The balloting for all of the above positions was conducted through a poll of the fans in the Central Hockey League cities and reflects the fans selections of the possible Central Hockey League All Star candidates.</p><p>Meanwhile, Fort Worth climbed into second place with two wins and one tie last week. The Texans opened their current seven-game road trip with a success in Dallas, defeating the Hawks 3-1. Rookie Steve Letzgus&rsquo; first professional goal midway in the second period provided the margin of victory for goalie Goran Hogosta who raised his record to an impressive 8-2-1 since returning from the Izvestia Tournament. In their final two home appearances the Texans used five power-play goals, three by Garth MacGuigan to skate past Tulsa 7-3 after holding the league-leading Golden Eagles to a 4-4 tie in Fort Worth.</p><p>Following a 1-1-1 mark on their most recent road swing, the Golden Eagles will look to the comforts of home in their next six games. The Eagles, with the best road record in the CHL (10-8-5) used first-period goals by Rick Bourbonnais, Steve Durbano and Len Frig to defeat Oklahoma City 4-1. The victory was the 16th of the season for goaltender Terry Richardson, who has now compiled a 9-1-2 record in his last twelve starts. One night earlier the Golden Eagles had dropped a tough 3-2 overtime decision in Dallas as Black Hawk forward Steve Clippingdale snapped the tie after Brian Ogilvie had forced the overtime session for the Eagles with a late third period tally. In their opening contest of the week in Fort Worth, the Eagles rallied for two goals in the final ten minutes-of the game to salvage a 4-4 tie. Defensemen Dick Lamby and Bob Hess scored late in the game to earn the single point for the Eagles.</p><p>Center Bill Hogaboam of the Oklahoma City Stars became the third CHL player to score four goals in a game this season. Hogaboam performed his skills in the Stars 7-3 win in Kansas City on Jan. 18. The next evening the same two teams met in Oklahoma City with center Angie Moretto connecting on three goals to enable the Stars rally from a 3-0 first period deficit to take a 6-4 decision over the slumping Red Wings who have now lost six of their last seven games.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-01344/4356669-1-eng-US/f0033-012.jpg" title="f0033-01" width="556" height="688"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>LEN FRIG &hellip; 1st Team Star</b></figcaption></div><p>With rookie center Mike Eaves struggling through a scoring slump that has seen the outstanding young center register only two goals and give assists in his last 14 games, the CHL scoring race has become a wide-open affair.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0033-01

Fans Name Three Eagles In All Star Voting

<h2><b>Where IHL Teams Play</b></h2><h3><b>January</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-02306/4356731-1-eng-US/f0034-022.jpg" title="f0034-02" width="520" height="34"></div><h3><b>FEBRUARY</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-03221/4356724-1-eng-US/f0034-032.jpg" title="f0034-03" width="555" height="628"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0034-02

INTERNATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE

<div class="byline">BY BUD GALLMEIER</div><p>PORT HURON&mdash;</p><p>For Port Huron fans, it was a year ago. Or so it must have seemed.</p><p>The Flags, who were the most penalized club in the International Hockey League last season, have been rather timid thus far this season. But that all came to an end with a recent visit by the Flint Generals.</p><p>A king-sized brawl erupted in the second period and left in its wake a record-setting roll call of penalies. Twenty-four penalties (158 minutes) were dished out as a result of the brawl. Five players from each team were tossed out as a result of the activity.</p><p>In addition, Flint lost two players earlier and Port Huron one. The game total in the penalty column listed a grand total of 291 minutes. Port Huron was assessed a record 139 minutes for 29 penalties, the latter figure also a record. The previous record for penalties was 28, established by the old Columbus Checkers on Oct. 25, 1967.</p><p>Flint, which eventually lost the war&mdash;if not the battle, 6-4, lost Mike Rusin, Terry Smith, Brian Ellacott, Dan McCarthy and Wes George as a result of the second-period hassle. Earlier, Dave Mancusco and Paul Evans were bounced with game misconducts.</p><p>Port Huron players who left after the brawl were Kevin Willison, Jay Johnston, Brian Schnitzler, Lou Franceschetti and Jean Boutin. The Flags had lost Serge Menard earlier on a game misconduct.</p><p>The only skaters Flint coach Marc Boileau had for the game&rsquo;s final 25 minutes (play was suspended with 5:17 left in the second period and the time added to the final period) were Mike Clarke, Jean Gagnon, Jim Johnston, Mike Melanson, Pierre Giroux and Brent Gogol. Port Huron coach Ron Ullyot had two extra skaters.</p><p>Referee John McCutcheon came under sharp criticism from Port Huron coach Ron Ullyot. &ldquo;The officials are inconsistent and that gets the players and coaches upset. Then some of these officials (an apparent reference to McCutcheon) are so pompous that you can&rsquo;t even talk to them. There must be steps to solve this problem and the answer is not to get new officials. It&rsquo;s better training,&rdquo; said Ullyot.</p><p>Ullyot and general manager Morris Snider were upset with McCutcheon&rsquo;s work last season and apparently their displeasure has carried over to this season.,</p><p>Fred Blackburn, the IHL&rsquo;s supervisor of officials, was in attendance at the game and he and Boileau exchanged some heated words.</p><p>The game had a lingering effect also. Both Flint and Port Huron dropped subsequent games&mdash;the Flags to Fort Wayne, 6-3, and the Generals to Toledo, 3-1. Both at home.</p><p>For the week, Port Huron was 1-2-0, the lone victory being the one over Flint. The week opened with a 5-4 loss at Flint. Flint finished the week 1-2-0. The victory over Port Huron stretched a modest winning streak to three. The loss at Port Huron followed, then a defeat by Toledo.</p><p>Port Huron remained in second place in the North Division, two points behind front-skating Saginaw. Flint is in fourth place, four behind third-place Kalamazoo. Elsewhere:</p><p><b>SAGINAW:</b> Officiating was a major topic here also. Gears&rsquo; manager-coach Don Perry felt a double minor called against his club was directly responsible for Fort Wayne escaping with a 3-3 tie. It marked the second straight time the Komets had battled back to tie the Gears.</p><p>The Komets were trailing, 3-2, when the Gears were whistled for a double minor and Fort Wayne just a single. The Komets got the tying goal from Kevin McCloskey on the ensuing power play.</p><p>The Gears also saw an apparent victory melt into a 5-5 tie in a road game at Milwaukee. The Gears had a 5-3 lead six minutes into the final period but the Admirals got a pair of goals from M.F. Schurman to tie the game.</p><p><b>KALAMAZOO:</b> The K-Wings continue as one of the hottest clubs in the league. A two-game road trip, including a stop at Grand Rapids, resulted in three points. The one point came in a 4-4 tie at Grand Rapids with Mike Wanchuk getting the equalizer with 6:20 left in the game.</p><p>The trip started with a 5-3 win at Milwaukee. The K-Wings fell behind, 20, in the first period but a three-goal second period turned the game around.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-01375/4356762-1-eng-US/f0034-012.jpg" title="f0034-01" width="558" height="620"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>RANDY BETTY &hellip; Shoots Hat Trick</b></figcaption></div><p><b>MUSKEGON:</b> The Mohawks enjoyed their best week of the season, skating in two games without a loss. They snapped a long winless streak (22 games) by upsetting Fort Wayne, 5-3, and followed with a 5-5 tie against Toledo. The Toledo game had added significance as the Mohawks fought back from a two-goal deficit.</p><p>Randy Betty featured the win over Fort Wayne with the three-goal hat trick.</p><p><b>GRAND RAPIDS:</b> General manager Keith Sprunk made as much news as the Owls did during the week. Maybe more.</p><p>Sprunk apparently was set to take the general manager&rsquo;s job of the reactivated Dayton franchise&mdash;which will resume operations next season. And when Sprunk was announced as the new Dayton GM, he was promptly relieved of his duties with the Owls by owner Al Savill.</p><p>Subsequently, a problem developed with the Dayton people (reportedly over salary) and Sprunk resigned before he could go to work. He got his job back with the Owls.</p><p>On the ice, the Owls went through three games without a loss. The highlight of the action was a 10-1 blitz over Toledo. A pair of 4-4 ties (with Fort Wayne and Kalamazoo) were sandwiched around the Toledo performance.</p><p><b>FORT WAYNE:</b> The Komets completed a rugged four-game road trip with a 6-3 triumph in Port Huron, the club&rsquo;s second in three visits. Only sore spot for coach Moose Lallo was a 5-3 loss at Muskegon. But Lallo had to be pretty pleased. The Komets picked up four points in the four games&mdash;gaining a 4-4 tie at Grand Rapids and a 3-3 deadlock at Saginaw in addition to the Port Huron victory.</p><p>The road performance was fruitful in that the Komets cut two points off the Grand Rapids lead. The Komets now trail by four points.</p><p>Lallo also made a decision on his backup goalie, deciding to stick with Don Cutts. Norm Lapointe was sent on loan to Toledo in return for defenseman Peter Brown. Veteran Robbie Irons is the other Komet netminder.</p><p><b>TOLEDO:</b> Ted Garvin and the Toledo Goaldiggers may be ready to make their move. Anchored in third place&mdash;a distant 22 points behind second-place Fort Wayne, the Diggers snapped an eight-game winless streak with a 3-1 win at Flint.</p><p>Before the win at Flint, the Diggers lost a 10-1 decision at Grand Rapids and played to a 5-5 tie at Muskegon.</p><p><b>MILWAUKEE:</b> The Admirals are still having trouble putting three good periods together. Lack of consistency resulted in a disappointing two-game home stand. The Admirals couldn&rsquo;t hold a two-goal lead against Kalamazoo and dropped a 5-3 decision.</p><p>In a subsequent game with Saginaw, a lapse early in the final period permitted the Gears to score two quick goals and the Admirals had to rally to salvage a 55 tie.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0034-01

Flags-Generals’ Ice Brawl Costly; K-Wings ContinueAsIHL Hot Club

<h2><b>AMERICAN LEAGUE</b></h2><p><b>(Standings on Tue. Jan. 30)</b></p><h3><b>NORTHERN DIVISION</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-01353/4356870-1-eng-US/f0035-012.jpg" title="f0035-01" width="595" height="139"></div><h3><b>SOUTHERN DIVISION</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-02286/4356863-1-eng-US/f0035-022.jpg" title="f0035-02" width="587" height="156"></div><h2><b>GAMES COMPLETED</b></h2><p><b>Mon. Jan. 22</b></p><p>Philadelphia 4 at Binghamton 7</p><p><b>Tue. Jan. 23</b></p><p>Nova Scotia 3 at New Brunswick 7</p><p><b>Wed. Jan. 24</b></p><p>Binghamton 3 at Hershey 4</p><p>Springfield 1 at Maine 4</p><p>Nova Scotia 1 at Rochester 6</p><p><b>Fri. Jan. 26</b></p><p>Hershey 5 at Binghamton 5</p><p>Nova Scotia 2 at New Haven 3</p><p>Philadelphia 2 at Rochester 6</p><p>New Brunswick 5 at Springfield 4</p><p><b>Sat. Jan. 27</b></p><p>Rochester 3 at Hershey 3</p><p>New Haven 4 at Maine 4</p><p>New Brunswick 6 at Philadelphia 2</p><p>Binghamton 3 at Springfield 4</p><p><b>Sun. Jan. 28</b></p><p>New Brunswick 1 at New Haven 6</p><p>Binghamton 3 at Nova Scotia 2</p><p>Maine 6 at Philadelphia 1</p><p>Hershey 1 at Rochester 4</p><h2><b>LEADING SCORERS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-03215/4356856-1-eng-US/f0035-032.jpg" title="f0035-03" width="609" height="985"></div><h2><b>CENTRAL LEAGUE</b></h2><p><b>(Standings on Wed. Jan. 31)</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-04172/4356849-1-eng-US/f0035-042.jpg" title="f0035-04" width="588" height="190"></div><h2><b>GAMES COMPLETED</b></h2><p><b>Mon. Jan. 22</b></p><p>Kansas City 1 at Salt Lake 2</p><p><b>Wed. Jan. 24</b></p><p>Kansas City 0 at Salt Lake 4</p><p><b>Thu. Jan. 25</b></p><p>Dallas at Kansas City (ppd. weather)</p><p><b>Fri. Jan. 26</b></p><p>Fort Worth 5 at Dallas 3</p><p>Kansas City 8 at Okla. City 5</p><p>Tulsa 1 at Salt Lake 1</p><p><b>Sat. Jan. 27</b></p><p>Fort Worth 2 at Kansas City 4</p><p>Dallas 6 at Okla. City 5</p><p>Tuisa 1 at Salt Lake 7</p><h2><b>LEADING SCORERS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-05133/4356842-1-eng-US/f0035-052.jpg" title="f0035-05" width="583" height="302"></div><h2><b>INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE</b></h2><p><b>(Standings on Wed. Jan. 31)</b></p><h3><b>NORTH DIVISION</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-06114/4356835-1-eng-US/f0035-062.jpg" title="f0035-06" width="591" height="139"></div><h3><b>SOUTH DIVISION</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-07105/4356828-1-eng-US/f0035-072.jpg" title="f0035-07" width="589" height="114"></div><h2><b>GAMES COMPLETED</b></h2><p><b>Mon. Jan. 22</b></p><p>Grand Rapids 3 at Milwaukee 3</p><p><b>Wed. Jan. 24</b></p><p>Port Huron 1 at Fort Wayne 3</p><p>Kalamazoo 2 at Toledo 3</p><p>Flint 2 at Grand Rapids 7</p><p><b>Fri. Jan. 26</b></p><p>Saginaw 7 at Muskegon 4</p><p>Fort Wayne 2 at Flint 6</p><p>Toledo 3 at Grand Rapids 6</p><p><b>Sat. Jan. 27</b></p><p>Milwaukee 4 at Fort Wayne 7</p><p>Flint 6 at Muskegon 6</p><p>Grand Rapids 5 at Saginaw 1</p><p>Port Huron 4 at Toledo 3</p><p><b>Sun. Jan. 28</b></p><p>Muskegon 0 at Flint 7</p><p>Kalamazoo 4 at Saginaw 2</p><p>Fort Wayne 4 at Toledo 5</p><p>Port Huron 2 at Grand Rapids 5</p><h2><b>LEADING SCORERS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-0886/4356821-1-eng-US/f0035-082.jpg" title="f0035-08" width="586" height="432"></div><h2><b>PACIFIC LEAGUE</b></h2><p><b>(Standings on Tue. Jan. 25)</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-0982/4356814-1-eng-US/f0035-092.jpg" title="f0035-09" width="589" height="218"></div><h2><b>GAMES COMPLETED</b></h2><p><b>Wed. Jan. 17</b></p><p>Spokane 8 at Tucson 2</p><p><b>Thu. Jan. 18</b></p><p>Spokane 2 at Phoenix 4</p><p><b>Fri. Jan. 19</b></p><p>Spokane 2 at Phoenix 3</p><p><b>Sun. Jan. 21</b></p><p>Spokane 6 at Tucson 3</p><h2><b>LEADING SCORERS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-1072/4356807-1-eng-US/f0035-102.jpg" title="f0035-10" width="583" height="405"></div><h2><b>N.Y. METRO LEAGUE</b></h2><p><b>(Standings on Sat. Jan. 20)</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-1167/4356800-1-eng-US/f0035-112.jpg" title="f0035-11" width="596" height="138"></div><h2><b>LEADING SCORERS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-1257/4356793-1-eng-US/f0035-122.jpg" title="f0035-12" width="611" height="697"></div><h2><b>Who They&rsquo;re Affiliated With&hellip;</b></h2><h3><b>NHL TEAMS</b></h3><p><b>1 &mdash;</b> Montreal</p><p><b>2 &mdash;</b> Chicago</p><p><b>3 &mdash;</b> Boston</p><p><b>4 &mdash;</b> Rangers</p><p><b>5 &mdash;</b> Detroit</p><p><b>6 &mdash;</b> Toronto</p><p><b>7 &mdash;</b> Philadelphia</p><p><b>8 &mdash;</b> Los Angeles</p><p><b>9 &mdash;</b> St. Louis</p><p><b>10 &mdash;</b> Minnesota</p><p><b>11 &mdash;</b> Pittsburgh</p><p><b>12 &mdash;</b> Islanders</p><p><b>13 &mdash;</b> Vancouver</p><p><b>14 &mdash;</b> Buffalo</p><p><b>15 &mdash;</b> Atlanta</p><p><b>16 &mdash;</b> Washington</p><p><b>17 &mdash;</b> Colorado</p><h3><b>WHA TEAMS</b></h3><p><b>18 &mdash;</b> New England</p><p><b>19 &mdash;</b> Quebec</p><p><b>20 &mdash;</b> Winnipeg</p><p><b>21 &mdash;</b> Indianapolis</p><p><b>22 &mdash;</b> Edmonton</p><p><b>23 &mdash;</b> Cincinnati</p><p><b>24 &mdash;</b> Birmingham</p><h3><b>OTHER AFFILIATIONS</b></h3><p><b>25 &mdash;</b> Quebec (WHA), Cincinnati (WHA, Birmingham (WHA) & Pittsburgh (NHL)</p><p><b>26 &mdash;</b> Buffalo (NHL) & Washington (NHL)</p><p><b>27 &mdash;</b> Toronto (NHL) & Chicago (NHL)</p><p><b>28 &mdash;</b> Montreal (NHL) & Atlanta (NHL)</p><p><b>29 &mdash;</b> New England (WHA), Edmonton (WHA), Winnipeg (WHA) & Los Angeles (NHL)</p><p><b>31 &mdash;</b> Atlanta (NHL), Rangers (NHL) & Minnesota (NHL)</p><p><b>32 &mdash;</b> Vancouver (NHL) & Los Angeles (NHL)</p><p><b>34 &mdash;</b> St. Louis (NHL) & Washington (NHL)</p><p><b>35 &mdash;</b> Los Angeles (NHL) & Toronto (NHL)</p><p><b>36 &mdash;</b> Minnesota (NHL) & Chicago(NHL)</p><p><b>37 &mdash;</b> Colorado (NHL) & Atlanta (NHL)</p><p><b>38 &mdash;</b> Vancouver (NHL) & Islanders (NHL)</p><p><b>39 &mdash;</b> Pittsburgh (NHL) & Boston (NHL)</p><p><b>40 &mdash;</b> Philadelphia (NHL) & Buffalo (NHL)</p><p><b>41 &mdash;</b> Minnesota (NHL)&lsquo;A St. Louis (NHL)</p><p><b>42 &mdash;</b> Independent operation</p><p><b>43 &mdash;</b> Philadelphia (NHL) & St. Louis (NHL)<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0035-01

Looking At The Minor League Scoreboard

<div class="byline">BY MARTY KNACK</div><p>KITCHENER&mdash;</p><p>Kitchener Rangers have turned the corner in 1979.</p><p>Rangers won five games and tied another in their first seven games in 1979 and climbed into third place in the Emms Division of the Ontario Major Junior League.</p><p>General manager Mike Penny emphasizes that the Ranger rise comes as a result of solid team play, but there&rsquo;s no denying the performances of Paul Reinhart, Doug Sulliman, Jody Gage and Dave Jennings.</p><p>Reinhart has played defense, left wing and center and has blossomed into an outstanding player as an 18-year-old, fulfilling the promise that was forecast for him when he was involved in a controversial trade as a minor midget two years ago.</p><p>Sulliman is slightly off his 50-goal pace of a year ago, but the gifted Maritimer is second on the team in scoring; right winger Gage is the team&rsquo;s third representative on the division All Star team &mdash; joining Reinhart and Sulliman&mdash;and Jennings has done a fine job in goal since being acquired in a trade with Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds.</p><p>&ldquo;I think that the guys have come around and just started playing well,&rdquo; says Penny, explaining the climb past Windsor Spitfires and Toronto Marlboros into third.</p><p>&ldquo;We had a few injuries at the start and now the rookies&mdash;guys like Russ Adam, Jim McGeachie, Barclay Haddad and Rob Motz&mdash;are coming on. It&rsquo;s a combination of a whole bunch of things going right at the same time.&rdquo;</p><p>Kitchener lost 8-3 to Peterborough Petes in Peterborough for its lone loss in the first seven games of &lsquo;79, then turned around and beat the Spitfires 6-4 at home when Reinhart scored his 27th and 28th goals of the season and also contributed two assists.</p><p>&ldquo;Reinhart, Sulliman, Gage and Kerry Williston have played consistently well,&rdquo; says Penny.</p><p>Reinhart had 28 goals and 81 points after 43 games and was IIth in the league scoring race, left winger Sulliman had 26 goals and 67 points and was tied for I8th and Gage was tied with Reinhart for the team lead with 28 goals.</p><p><b>NIAGARA FALLS:</b> The Flyers rebounded from a humiliating 7-3 loss to Brantford Alexanders, the last-place team in the division, with their 19th win against only three losses and a tie at home, beating Marlboros 5-2 the night after their four-game winning streak was halted.</p><p><b>LONDON:</b> Knights put together a five-game winning streak before losing 7-3 to the Wolves in Sudbury and advanced to within four points of the Flyers. The Knights improved their record at home to 19-4-1, second in the league to the Flyers&rsquo; record, with a 6-2 win over Kingston Canadians and started their northern swing with a 5-3 decision over the Greyhounds.</p><p><b>TORONTO:</b> Pat Graham scored his eighth goal of the season and defenseman Scott McGeown had his seventh in the loss to the Flyers as the Marlies&rsquo; road record dipped to 4-19-1. Toronto was outshot 52-28 to fall into fourth place.</p><p><b>WINDSOR:</b> Mark Plantery, a defenseman recently acquired from Brantford, had a goal and two assists to lead Spitfires to a 7-1 win over Kingston, but Windsor lost a chance to move into fourth place with the loss in Kitchener.</p><p><b>BRANTFORD:</b> The Alexanders won two straight games to advance to within eight points of Windsor with 22 games remaining on their regular schedules.</p><p>Center Bo Schryer, obtained from Windsor in the Plantery deal, scored his 12th and 13th goals in 27 games and Brantford broke a 3-3 tie with four third-period goals against Niagara.</p><p><b>PETERBOROUGH:</b> Right winger Keith Crowder and left winger Tim Trimper led the way as the Petes won two straight games and improved their Leyden Division lead to nine points over Oshawa Generals. Crowder had four goals and six assists in two nights as Peterborough beat Kitchener, and then edged Ottawa 5-4. Crowder, who started the season with Birmingham Bulls of the World Hockey Association, had a goal and five assists against the Rangers and his 14th, 15th and 16th goals in 26 games, plus an assist, against Ottawa. Trimper shot his 40th and 41st goals of the season and had two assists in the win over Kitchener and was credited with three assists as Petes improved their road record to a league leading 14-8-2.</p><p><b>OSHAWA:</b> After humiliating the Greyhounds 13-2 in the Soo, Oshawa lost a crucial game 6-5 to the Wolves in Sudbury. Enzo Augimeri had his first major junior hat trick and Bob Crawford also scored three times against the Greyhounds.</p><p><b>SUDBURY:</b> The win over London pulled Sudbury to within one point of Oshawa. Captain and right winger Mike Foligno starred as the Wolves won three times in six nights, with a 5-2 win over the Soo starting their streak before they played Oshawa and London. Foligno had seven goals in the three games, to reach 41 for the season.</p><p><b>OTTAWA:</b> Jim Fox continued his prolific scoring, padding his totals to 11 goals and 15 assists in eight games with six goals and an assist, but the 67s lost three games in as many nights, to the Petes, Alexanders and then 7-3 to Kingston.</p><p><b>KINGSTON:</b> The Canadians won only their second game in 14 starts but vacated last place in the Leyden Division and advanced to within a point of the 67s.</p><p><b>SAULT STE. MARIE:</b> All the Greyhounds could boast about was having Brian Gualazzi become the first 50-goal scorer in the league this season.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-01333/4356901-1-eng-US/f0036-012.jpg" title="f0036-01" width="548" height="692"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>TIM TRIMPER&hellip;Hits 40-Goal Mark</b></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0036-01

Turnabout Gives Kitchener Big Lift

<div class="byline">BY PATRICK LYON</div><p>UTICA&mdash;</p><p>Chuck Catto is out and Larry Mickey is in as coach of the Utica Mohawks.</p><p>Catto was let go from his post after guiding Utica to victories over the North Eastern Hockey League&rsquo;s top clubs, beating Erie 8-6 and Hampton (Aces) 11-2. Sandwiched in between was a narrow 5-4 setback to the Cape Cod Freedoms.</p><p>Mohawk co-owners Bob Payne and Steve Carling would go no farther than to say that their agreement with Catto was terminated after repeated violations of his contract. Under Catto&rsquo;s guidance, the Mohawks were in third place in the league&rsquo;s five team circuit with a record of 19-19 and were three points behind second place Hampton.</p><p>Mickey, assuming both the coach&rsquo;s and general manager&rsquo;s duties, is a National Hockey League veteran who just this year had been the coach of the Buffalo Junior Sabres of the New York-Pennsylvania league.</p><p>The 35-year old Lacombe, Alberta native started his career with the old Buffalo Bisons of the American Hockey League in the 1964-65 season before making his jump to the NHL. During his career in the NHL, Mickey saw action with Chicago, New York Rangers, Toronto, Montreal, Philadelphia and Los Angeles before finishing his career with the Buffalo Sabres in 1974-75.</p><p>&ldquo;I really want to coach and I feel this is a good opportunity for me,&rdquo; said Mickey. &ldquo;I have my own ways and own ideas on how to make this club better. I&rsquo;ll just need a couple of games to determine what weaknesses we have and try to improve from there. This club may have enough talent on the squad right now, so that I wouldn&rsquo;t have to bring in any new players.&rdquo;</p><p>The Mohawks, tabbed by some as the strongest team in the league during the pre-season, have been hurt by inconsistency, but Mickey also has his own way of counteracting that. &ldquo;After talking with the players, I was told that the team didn&rsquo;t have any kind of system here, no matter what the game situation was, so I plan on giving this team a decent system they know will work.&rdquo;</p><p>Besides his stint with the Junior Sabres, Mickey has also coached the Dayton Gems of the International League during the 1976-77 season.</p><p>Ken Yackel and Terry West were exceptional in the Mohawks humbling of the Aces, each player scoring a hat trick. West, the league&rsquo;s top assist man, also garnered three assists in the game, Yackel passing off for two more scores.</p><p><b>ERIE:</b> Despite a losing streak that hit three games on the road, the Blades continued their hold on first place. Erie lost more than 8-6 and 6-3 road losses at Utica and Cape Cod, they also lost both of their goaltenders, David Johns succumbing to a pulled back muscle and bruised foot that put him on crutches, while back-up Tim Cuppage sustained a concussion when hit in the facial area with a hard slap shot.</p><p>Luckily they had brought unsigned Montreal Canadiens&rsquo; draft choice Carey Walker into camp on a look-see basis when their two regulars became injured. The 21-year-old Walker impressed coach Nick Polano as he was thrust into a starter&rsquo;s role when they returned home from the road trip to host the Wings at home. Erie made it 12 straight victories on their home ice with a 2-1 victory with Walker playing an important role by making several key saves.</p><p>Walker spent his junior career with the New Westminster Bruins of the Western League, the Memorial Cup winners the past two seasons. Walker started the season with the IHL&rsquo;s Milwaukee Admirals, but ran into a crowded goaltending situation there.</p><p><b>CAPE COD:</b> The Freedoms stopped both Erie, 6-3, and Utica, 5-4, to run their winning streak to four games, longest for the Cape Codders this season. Player-coach John Cunniff went on a tear during the streak scoring six goals and seven assists to challenge for the scoring title. Other players figuring prominently in the Freedoms&rsquo; sudden surge were Paul Barrett with five goals in the four games and Paul Sylvester and Glen &ldquo;Red&rdquo; Tomalty with four goals each.</p><p>Cap Raeder looked very stable in the nets winning three games to run his record to 14-10 and his goals against average to 4.11. Backup netminder Mark Evans picked up the other victory.</p><p>Latest additions to the Freedoms roster are right wing Bill Humphreys formerly with the defunct San Francisco Shamrocks of the PHL and forward Jim Smith, who was in the Cincinnati Stingers camp early in the season.</p><p><b>HAMPTON:</b> Despite losing both of their games in the past week, the Aces managed to keep their grip on second place by three points over onrushing Utica. Coach Muzz MacPherson was concerned about the fact that during the past three games the Aces have yielded 25 goals, while scoring just nine of their own. After dominating Johnstown early in the season, the tables have turned on the Aces as the Wings topped them again 7-5, Hampton&rsquo;s third consecutive loss to Johnstown. The Aces then suffered a crushing 11-2 setback to the Mohawks on the road.</p><p>Four new faces are in MacPherson&rsquo;s lineup including center Mark Ciernia, formerly of the Wings; Norm Martelle, who sat out most of this season after previously playing with the old Hampton teams; right wing Johnny North, an acquisition from the junior leagues in Canada and Gary McMonagle.</p><p>The Aces got some bad news when Dave Leonardo was hurt and could possibly be lost for the remainder of the season. The team is anxiously awaiting the return of Brian Gustafson, who before his injury was the league&rsquo;s top penalty man.</p><p><b>JOHNSTOWN:</b> The Wings have been playing their best hockey of the season trying to make up a 10 point deficit in the standings in an attempt to make the playoffs. Dick Roberge&rsquo;s charges had won four of their last six games including another home triumph over the Hampton Aces 7-5. Johnstown continued to come out on the short end of things with the Blades, however, as they suffered a hard fought 2-1 defeat in Erie, the fourth time this season Johnstown has lost to their rival by one goal.</p><p>Jerry Price, a free agent goalie, who has played in Muskegeon of the IHL, played superbly in his Wings&rsquo; debut vs. the Blades stopping 22 shots. Price could be the shot in the arm the team needs to make the playoffs. Keith Allen, general manager of the Philadelphia Flyers asked Wings&rsquo; owner and president John Mitchell to take a look at Price and Mitchell was very pleased after seeing his newest acquisition in action.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-01291/4356946-1-eng-US/f0037-012.jpg" title="f0037-01" width="568" height="756"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>CAP RAEDER</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-02200/4356939-1-eng-US/f0037-022.jpg" title="f0037-02" width="566" height="758"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>LARRY MICKEY</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-03143/4356932-1-eng-US/f0037-032.jpg" title="f0037-03" width="588" height="736"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>CAREY WALKER&hellip;Jumped Into Breach</b></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0037-01

Utica Hands Mickey Dual Role

<div class="byline">BY NORM COWLEY</div><p>VANCOUVER&mdash;</p><p>With five of 12 franchises reportedly in financial difficulty, it&rsquo;s no wonder league president Ed Chynoweth chose to speak on what he did.</p><p>At a news conference following the Western Hockey League&rsquo;s semi-annual meeting, Chynoweth said that franchise holders must do a better job of marketing their major junior hockey product in the future to insure financial survival.</p><p>He said that &ldquo;owners and general managers should be thinking about what they can do for the league, not just themselves.</p><p>&ldquo;I hope we&rsquo;re good enough operators&mdash;and smart enough&mdash;to be concerned about the future and not just the present,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;No firm decisions were made, but I think everyone left here with a little better idea of the problems all of hockey faces today.</p><p>&ldquo;We are in the entertainment business and the sooner everyone realizes it, the better. We&rsquo;ve got to do a better job of marketing our own product.&rdquo;</p><p>League directors touched on a variety of subjects at the two-day meeting including protected players lists, increasing the age limit, divisional play, travel and various other areas of concern to franchise holders. But no major changes were made.</p><p>Chynoweth announced that last year&rsquo;s playoff format will again be adhered to&mdash;meaning three teams from each division qualify for round-robin play to eliminate one team per division, then a best-of-seven series is held to determine the division champion, followed by a round-robin among the three divisional winners to determine the league finalists for a best-of-seven final series.</p><p><b>SEATTLE:</b> The Breakers became the third club this year to undergo a coaching change when Les Calder stepped down following the club&rsquo;s 24th loss in 41 games, 6-2 to New Westminster. Stepping into the breach is 43-year-old Don Ward, a former pro defenseman whose 17-year-old son Joe plays on the team. Ward will be assisted by John MacDonald, also 43.</p><p><b>NEW WESTMINSTER:</b> Defenseman Bosis Fistric scored two goals and recent additions Rob Clavette, obtained from Victoria for Randy Irving, and Mickey Willgress combined for one goal and two assists to lead the Bruins past Seattle 6-2.</p><p><b>VICTORIA:</b> Like the rest of the West Coast teams who stayed at home, the Cougars were relatively inactive except for their 2-1 victory over New West. Mike Shields scored the winner on a backhand at 14:05 of the final period to give the Cougars their sixth win in nine meetings with the Bruins.</p><p><b>PORTLAND:</b> Even going on the road couldn&rsquo;t slow down the high-flying Winter Hawks. A 4-3 loss in Calgary ended a six-game unbeaten streak, but the Hawks rebounded the following night behind Mike Toal&rsquo;s and Al Szott&rsquo;s three-goal efforts to bounce Edmonton 7-3 in a game between the &ldquo;Old&rdquo; and the &ldquo;New&rdquo; Oil Kings. Portland then became the first team to beat Brandon on home ice when&rsquo;Jim Dobson fired two third-period goals in a 3-2 victory.</p><p><b>MEDICINE HAT:</b> The highlight of the week for the Tigers was a 4-3 loss to Calgary when Rod Van Slyke scored his 25th goal of the year. In their other two games, both at Billings, the Tigers were shelled 9-1 and 13-3 by the Central Division-leading Bighorns.</p><p><b>CALGARY:</b> Rocky Greenwood lost his seven-game goal-scoring streak in a 5-5 tie at Regina but the Wranglers maintained their hot pace of late by increasing their undefeated string to five games. Goaltender Warren Skorodenski was outstanding in the 4-3 upset of Portland. Bill McLean (against Portland), Jim Crossan (with 39 seconds remaining against Regina) and Blair Peebles (with 2:04 left to play in the 4-3 win over Medicine Hat) scored late game-winning or tying goals for the Wranglers, who won their other game in a shootout 9-7 at Saskatoon.</p><p><b>LETHBRIDGE:</b> The Broncos moved into fourth place over-all in the league standings by winning 15 or 17 games, but it meant little to Brandon as the Wheat Kings romped to a 9-2 victory at home. However, there was some consolation for the Broncos&mdash;they lost 11-2 the last time they were in Brandon.</p><p><b>BILLINGS:</b> While stretching their undefeated streak to eight games with a 9-1, 13-3 sweep of Medicine Hat, the Bighorns continued to display over-all balance as four players have scored at least 60 points and seven have at least 20 goals. Don Nachbaur, with five goals and one assist, John Eger, with three goals and four assists, and Dan Earley, with one goal and seven assists, were the most productive individuals.</p><p><b>REGINA:</b> Brian Varga collected five goals and two assists in three games, but the Pats managed only one point out of a possible six, the 5-5 tie with Calgary. It was the same old story against Saskatoon, when the Pats suffered a 11-4 shellacking, while Portland opened a 63 lead after the first period in its 9-4 win over Regina.</p><p><b>EDMONTON:</b> Like the Pats, the Oil Kings are having their problems with Saskatoon. The Blades rallied for three third-period goals to edge the Oil Kings 5-4 and improve their record against Edmonton to 7-2-3. Newcomers Franco Disciglio and Butch Barkwell scored their first goals as Oil Kings, who had dropped a 7-3 decision to Portland before their largest crowd of the season&mdash;2,200&mdash;the previous night.</p><p><b>SASKATOON:</b> Coach Jack McLeod took to the stands in Edmonton in an attempt to discover what was ailing his defensive corps after losing a 9-7 shootout to Calgary. But while the Blades played well defensively in the 5-4 win over the Oil Kings, they fell apart once again in Brandon where the Wheat Kings recorded a 8-3 victory.</p><p><b>BRANDON:</b> Wheat Kings, who&rsquo;ve only lost two games all year, had their 36-game home-ice unbeaten skein over two seasons ended two games shy of the league record when Portland walked away with a 3-2 victory. Brad Kempthorne recorded his first-ever four-goal game in the 9-2 rout of Lethbridge while the smallest Brandon crowd of the year, 1,681, took in the easy 8-3 trouncing of Saskatoon.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-01347/4356977-1-eng-US/f0038-012.jpg" title="f0038-01" width="564" height="664"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>BRAD KEMPTTHORNE&hellip;Four-Goal Game</b></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0038-01

Chynoweth Warns Clubs — Worry About Future

<h2><b>The Amateur Scoreboard</b></h2><h2><b>WESTERN HOCKEY LEAGUE</b></h2><p><b>(Standings on Thu. Jan. 18)</b></p><h3><b>WESTERN DIVISION</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-01326/4357106-1-eng-US/f0039-012.jpg" title="f0039-01" width="580" height="138"></div><h3><b>CENTRAL DIVISION</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-02236/4357099-1-eng-US/f0039-022.jpg" title="f0039-02" width="578" height="139"></div><h3><b>EASTERN DIVISION</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-03172/4357092-1-eng-US/f0039-032.jpg" title="f0039-03" width="582" height="138"></div><h2><b>GAMES COMPLETED</b></h2><p><b>Tue. Jan. 16</b></p><p>Portland 9 at Regina 4</p><p>Calgary 4 at Medicine Hat 3</p><p><b>Wed. Jan. 17</b></p><p>Saskatoon 3 at Brandon 8</p><h2><b>LEADING SCORERS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-04145/4357085-1-eng-US/f0039-042.jpg" title="f0039-04" width="580" height="464"></div><h2><b>QUEBEC MAJOR LEAGUE</b></h2><p><b>(Standings on Mon. Jan. 29)</b></p><h3><b>Dillio Division</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-05113/4357078-1-eng-US/f0039-052.jpg" title="f0039-05" width="577" height="167"></div><h3><b>Lebel Division</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-0694/4357071-1-eng-US/f0039-062.jpg" title="f0039-06" width="581" height="166"></div><h2><b>GAMES COMPLETED</b></h2><p><b>Wed. Jan. 24</b></p><p>Montreal at Quebec 2</p><p>Trois Rivieres 5 at Sherbrooke 2</p><p><b>Thu. Jan. 25</b></p><p>Chicoutimi 1 at Cornwall 5</p><p>Shawinigan 2 at Verdun 5</p><p><b>Fri. Jan. 26</b></p><p>Chicoutimi 2 at Montreal 4</p><p>Trois Rivieres 6 at Quebec 4</p><p>Cornwall 6 at Shawinigan 7</p><p>Verdun 1 at Sherbrooke 4</p><p><b>Sun. Jan. 28</b></p><p>Verdun 5 at Chicoutimi 9</p><p>Quebec 2 at Cornwall 4</p><p>Shawinigan 3 at Montreal 1</p><p>Laval 7 at Sherbrooke 8</p><p>Hull 2 at Trois Rivieres 11</p><h2><b>LEADING SCORERS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-0780/4357064-1-eng-US/f0039-072.jpg" title="f0039-07" width="584" height="300"></div><h2><b>ONTARIO MAJOR LEAGUE</b></h2><p><b>(Standings on Tue. Jan. 30)</b></p><h3><b>LEYDEN DIVISION</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-0871/4357057-1-eng-US/f0039-082.jpg" title="f0039-08" width="578" height="192"></div><h3><b>EMMS DIVISION</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-0960/4357050-1-eng-US/f0039-092.jpg" title="f0039-09" width="580" height="194"></div><h2><b>GAMES COMPLETED</b></h2><p><b>Thu. Jan. 24</b></p><p>Niagara Falls 5 at Peterborough 4</p><p>Toronto 3 at Windsor 6</p><p>Kitchener 5 at Oshawa 5</p><p><b>Fri. Jan. 25</b></p><p>Brantford 4 at Kitchener 7</p><p>Windsor 7 at Ottawa 6</p><p>Oshawa 3 at Kingston 4</p><p>Niagara Falls 2 at London 4</p><p>Sault Ste. Marie 6 at Sudbury 10</p><p><b>Sat. Jan. 26</b></p><p>Toronto 6 at Sault Ste. Marie 5</p><p>Ottawa 3 at Kitchener 5</p><p>Windsor 2 at Peterborough 11</p><p><b>Sun. Jan. 27</b></p><p>Toronto 2 at Sudbury 7</p><p>Windsor 5 at Oshawa 4</p><p>Kitchener 4 at Brantford 5</p><p>Ottawa 7 at London 3</p><p>Peterborough 5 at Niagara Falls 4</p><h2><b>LEADING SCORERS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-1054/4357043-1-eng-US/f0039-102.jpg" title="f0039-10" width="584" height="301"></div><h2><b>CANADIAN INTL. LEAGUE</b></h2><p><b>(Standings on Mon. Jan. 22)</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-1148/4357036-1-eng-US/f0039-112.jpg" title="f0039-11" width="580" height="191"></div><h2><b>LEADING SCORERS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-1245/4357029-1-eng-US/f0039-122.jpg" title="f0039-12" width="585" height="605"></div><h2><b>GREAT LAKES JUNIOR</b></h2><p><b>(Standings On Mon. Jan. 8)</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-1339/4357022-1-eng-US/f0039-132.jpg" title="f0039-13" width="582" height="193"></div><h2><b>LEADING SCORERS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-1435/4357015-1-eng-US/f0039-142.jpg" title="f0039-14" width="584" height="352"></div><h2><b>CONTINENTAL LEAGUE</b></h2><p><b>(Standings on Thu. Jan. 18)</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-1531/4357008-1-eng-US/f0039-152.jpg" title="f0039-15" width="580" height="242"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

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QUEBEC MAJOR HOCKEY LEAGUE

<div class="byline">BY DANNY YOUNG</div><p>SHAWINIGAN&mdash;</p><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>he Shawinigan franchise in the Quebec Major Junior League added new meaning to the word hapless during the 1977-78 campaign as they posted three wins in 72 starts.</p><p>This season, however, has been a different story. Rebuilding from scratch, coach Ron Racette has brought respectability to the club now known as the Cataractes. But now Racette and his charges are being faced by a new problem. Entering the second half of the season with their eyes on a playoff spot, the Cats have been hit hard by injuries and suspensions.</p><p>&ldquo;We haven&rsquo;t played all year with a full squad and it&rsquo;s really hurt us,&rdquo; said a concerned Racette. &ldquo;One of our better scorers, Pierre Dumouchel, is out for the remainder of the season with a broken leg.&rdquo;</p><p>Dumouchel was one of three players to suffer broken bones during practices. As a further example of their bad luck, defenseman Christian Thellen was sidelined with a charley horse in his first game as a Cataracte.</p><p>Coping with these deletions from the lineup has been difficult, but the Cats performed quite well under the circumstances. Sylvain St. Pierre and Marc Genest scored twice as they came back from a 5-0 second period deficit to tie Quebec at seven.</p><p>However, over the course of the last few weeks, the Cats have been stung by last minute goals.</p><p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve played some tremendous hockey games that we lost by giving up a goal in the last two minutes,&rdquo; says Racette. &ldquo;It was very tough on us.</p><p>&ldquo;We don&rsquo;t have any natural goal scorers,&rdquo; adds the Shawinigan coach. &ldquo;I think if we had one 50 goal scorer, we&rsquo;d have won at least five more games.&rdquo;</p><p>The Cats&rsquo; leading sniper is Marc Audisio with 27 goals, but their top point-getter is Alain Labelle.</p><p>Labelle has done well, but he needs defensive work,&rdquo; says Racette. &ldquo;But he can skate and shoot and he has the size.&rdquo;</p><p>Though the Cats are 11 points behind the nearest playoff spot, they have no intention of giving up.</p><p>&ldquo;The guys never stop trying,&rdquo; says Racette. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re still hoping for the playoffs.&rdquo;</p><p><b>QUEBEC:</b> The Remparts snuck up on fourth place (overall) Montreal with a 6-5 victory over Trois-Rivieres, but lost to the Montrealers 5-3. Against Shawinigan, seven different scorers contributed to a 7-7 tie. In their 6-3 loss to Cornwall, Quebec could only score twice on 23 second period shots on goal. The Remparts now trail Montreal by five points.</p><p><b>CHICOUTIMI:</b> Two big wins boosted the Sags to sixth place in the overall standings, ahead of Cornwall and Laval. Francois Gravel scored two goals as they defeated Cornwall 7-4. Then Guy Carbonneau contributed two goals in a 5-3 upset victory over Montreal. Carbonneau, the captain and leader of the Sags had 36 goals and 47 assists after 47 games.</p><p><b>SHERBROOKE:</b> With three games in nine days against Trois-Rivieres, the Beavers had their hands full, and when they lost all three, it proved very disappointing for the team that has their eyes set on second place in the overall standings. Jean Chouinard scored both Beaver goals in a 5-2 loss, and they also dropped the third encounter by the identical score. The Beavers trail second place Verdun by five points.</p><p><b>CORNWALL:</b> The Royals rebounded from a 7-4 loss to Chicoutimi for two decisive wins with the aid of captain Bob Crawford. Crawford, who had a hat trick in the Chicoutimi game, scored two goals in both the 6-3 win over Quebec and a 10-2 wipeout of Hull. Brian Fontaine added a hat trick in the Quebec game and two more against Hull. As for Crawford, he has 10 goals and 13 assists in his last 10 games.</p><p><b>TROIS-RIVIERES:</b> Though yet another unbeaten string was ended in a 6-5 loss to Quebec, the Draveurs showed no signs of folding in their two wins over Sherbrooke, both by 5-2 counts. Yves Therrien scored two against Quebec, Jean Gaston Douville had two in the first Sherbrooke encounter, and Pierre Lacroix had five points in the second. With 30 goals and 39 assists, Lacroix should become the first QM-JHL defenseman to reach the 100 point plateau.</p><p><b>VERDUN:</b> Normand Aubin had a goal and an assist in the Hawks&rsquo; 4-2 win against Hull. With 53 goals and 46 assists, Aubin is now third in the league scoring race. Verdun now enjoys a nine point lead over Montreal in the Lebel division and a five point lead over Sherbrooke (for second place) in the overall standings.</p><p><b>HULL:</b> Captain Michel Masse quit the Olympics because he felt Marcel Pronovost was not giving him enough ice time, and Hull now has only two 19-year-old players. 17-year-old defenseman Alain Vigneault has taken over as interim captain. The Olympics were impressive in their 4-2 loss to Verdun. They outshot their foes and Verdun scored its last tally into an open net.</p><p><b>MONTREAL:</b> The only thing consistent about the Juniors this season is their inconsistency. Against Chicoutimi, Denis Cyr notched a pair but they lost 53. In Quebec, the Juniors reversed that score on Rene Marchand&rsquo;s two goals. There is no way that a team with the talent Montreal has should have 18 losses at this point in the season.</p><p><b>LAVAL:</b> Louis Filion scored twice and Guido Famulare added a goal and two assists as the Nationals downed Shawinigan 7-3. Trailing Cornwall by one point and Chicoutimi by two coach Richard Jamieson knows that Laval must cut down on their 6.2 goals against average if they intend to beat out their two rivals for sixth place.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-1629/4357137-1-eng-US/f0039-162.jpg" title="f0039-16" width="577" height="663"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>MARC AUDISIO&hellip;Top Goal-Getter</b></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

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Cats Crippled In Rebuilding Job

<p>MONTREAL&mdash;</p><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>he steady goaltending of veteran Gary Inness and the scoring explaints of some young stairs have led Washington Capitals to eight wins and 17 points after 13 National Hockey League games during the month of January.</p><p>After games of Sunday, Jan. 18, only New York&rsquo;s Rangers and Islanders won eight games in the month and Islanders were the only team with more points as they had 18.</p><p>Capitals, who have won six games and tied one in their last eight games, have been almost unbeatable at home since Dec. 17. In that time they have played 10 home games and have lost once while winning seven times, including a club-record five straight wins from Jan. 12 through Jan. 27.</p><p>Inness, who was signed as a free agent from Indianapolis of the World Hockey Association, Dec. 19, has a record of eight wins, four losses and four ties since joining the Capitals. During that time, he has a goals-against average of 3.00 which is ninth best in the NHL. The best average by a Washington goaltender was set last season by Jim Bedard who finished with a 3.66 figure. Inness, a 29-year-old native of Toronto, Ont., saw previous NHL action with Philadelphia and Pittsburgh and had a career goals-against average of 3.28 in the NHL prior to this season.</p><p>Offensively, Washington&rsquo;s leading scorer is Dennis Maruk who has 51 points which is 18th in the league. Maruk, a 23-year-old center who was acquired from Minnesota North Stars, Oct. 18, has totalled 20 points in his last 14 games, including eight goals. He now has 110 career goals in 284 NHL games.</p><p>Sophomore defenseman Robert Picard, the third choice over-all in the 1977 Amateur Draft, has already surpassed his point total of his rookie season. His 40 points are three more than he had last season and ties him for fourth place among NHL defensemen. Denis Potvin of Islanders, Ron Greschner of Rangers and Ian Turnbull of Toronto Maple Leafs are the only rearguards with more points than Picard and Stefan Persson of Islanders. Picard also has 13 goals which is tied for third with Mike McEwen of Rangers. Potvin leads with 20 and Greschner has 16. In his last 19 games, Picard has been outstanding.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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February 9, 1979

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