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.

April 27, 1979

The Hockey News April 27, 1979

<div class="byline">BY BILL FLEISCHMAN</div><p>PHILADELPHIA&mdash;</p><p class="dropcap"><span>O</span>nly three years ago he ranked sixth in All Star voting among NHL defensemen. Jimmy Watson&rsquo;s name was mentioned right after the Parks and Potvins and Salmings.</p><p>Now, just three years later, few Professional Hockey Writers Association members will list Watson on their ballots among the league&rsquo;s top six (or 16) defensemen. Is Watson, at the tottering age of 26, washed up?</p><p>Hardly. Two serious injuries combined with the presence in Philadelphia of veteran Bob Dailey and rookie Behn Wilson have made Watson easy to overlook. However, ask around the league and Watson is still admired and respected as one of hockey&rsquo;s best two-way rearguards.</p><p>Although he is an outstanding skater and puck carrier, scoring hasn&rsquo;t been one of Watson&rsquo;s big contributions. Curiously, as the Flyers sped down the stretch toward a second-place Patrick Division finish, Watson suddenly began imitating Denis Potvin.</p><p>The streak began with two goals (one, shorthanded) in a 7-4 victory over Washington. In the next game, another shorthanded Watson goal helped trigger a four-goal comeback in a 4-4 tie with the Rangers. Watson extended his lamp-lighting act to three consecutive games with a goal in a shutout of eventual&mdash;playoff opponent Vancouver, then rested for two games before striking against Chico Resch.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-01962/3869972-1-eng-US/f0013-012.jpg" title="f0013-01" width="520" height="1052"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>JIM WATSON&hellip;Not Washed Up</b></figcaption></div><p>The goal against Resch was scored under extraordinary conditions. Resch and Wayne Stephenson were staging one of the Spectrum&rsquo;s greatest duels&mdash;a 0-0 classic that swirled into the third period before Watson scored his career-high ninth goal at 6:49. The Islanders finally won, 3-1, but later Resch admitted, &ldquo;When Jimmy Watson scored, that shook me a little. But he made a good shot&mdash;stickside, low, just like you teach the little kids to shoot.&rdquo;</p><p>Little kids who are taught how to play defense like Watson will be on the right path to playing good hockey as big kids. He is steady, smart, willing to take the body or arrive first along the boards to retrieve the puck. Watson has also developed into one of the Flyers&rsquo; leaders, a role which suits him perfectly because it&rsquo;s unlikely there is a devious bone in his semi-battered body.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not afraid to admit that it hasn&rsquo;t been that good (a season),&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve had my ups and downs. I&rsquo;ve had better years, but the team&rsquo;s winning so it doesn&rsquo;t matter much.&rdquo;</p><p>In the Flyers&rsquo; final plus-minus ratings, as compiled by the Daily News&rsquo; Jay Greenberg, Watson was only plus eight. That figure is a significan drop from the 1975-76 season when he led NHL defensemen.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-02802/3869965-1-eng-US/f0013-022.jpg" title="f0013-02" width="512" height="1048"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>BOB DAILEY&hellip;Highest Plus-Minus</b></figcaption></div><p>One reason for Watson&rsquo;s statistical decline was the Flyers&rsquo; early season inconsistency. Another reason was a lengthy blueline association with Wilson, the rookie whose talents remind people of Montreal&rsquo;s Larry Robinson. However, rookie mistakes often led to goals against the Flyers while Wilson and Watson were on the ice.</p><p>Wilson finished at plus 11, while Dailey led Flyers&rsquo; defensemen at plus 23. Also ahead of Wilson and Watson were Rick LaPointe and Moose Dupont, tied at plus 20.</p><p>Watson has never worried about statistics. As he said, if the Flyers are winning he&rsquo;s happy, When older brother Joe was a teammate, the two competed for the Smithers Cup, a creation of broadcaster Gene Hart which went to the goal-scoring champion from beautiful Smithers, B.C. Six goals was usually enough to parade the Cup down Main St. in Smithers.</p><p>It was Joe who indoctrinated Jimmy in the Flyers&rsquo; tradition of the team ranking as top priority. During the Flyers&rsquo; first-half troubles, players like Jimmy who bleed orange helped keep the ship from sinking.</p><p>In his six full Flyers&rsquo; seasons Jimmy has bled more than his share. A fractured cheekbone suffered in the &rsquo;76 Canada Cup was followed by a career-threatening eye injury. This season, a cheap shot by a Wings of Soviet player sent Jimmy crashing head-first into the Spectrum boards.</p><p>But through all the aches and pains, Watson remains one of the Flyers&rsquo; most valuable players.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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IN THIS ISSUE

Watson Still Highly-Valued Flyer Rearguard

<h2>FLINT</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-02203/3871915-1-eng-US/f0034-022.jpg" title="f0034-02" width="599" height="464"></div><h2>FORT WAYNE</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-03155/3871908-1-eng-US/f0034-032.jpg" title="f0034-03" width="594" height="493"></div><h2>GRAND RAPIDS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-04101/3871901-1-eng-US/f0034-042.jpg" title="f0034-04" width="595" height="471"></div><h2>KALAMAZOO</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-0564/3871894-1-eng-US/f0034-052.jpg" title="f0034-05" width="603" height="470"></div><h2>MILWAUKEE</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-0641/3871887-1-eng-US/f0034-062.jpg" title="f0034-06" width="599" height="473"></div><h2>MUSKEGON</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-0735/3871880-1-eng-US/f0034-072.jpg" title="f0034-07" width="593" height="470"></div><h2>PORT HURON</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-0830/3871873-1-eng-US/f0034-082.jpg" title="f0034-08" width="599" height="464"></div><h2>SAGINAW</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-0920/3871866-1-eng-US/f0034-092.jpg" title="f0034-09" width="597" height="465"></div><h2>TOLEDO</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-1018/3871859-1-eng-US/f0034-102.jpg" title="f0034-10" width="596" height="491"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

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IHL’s Final Scoring Records

<h2><b>SERIES &lsquo;A&rsquo; Tue. Apr. 10 VANCOUVER 3, PHILADELPHIA 2</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-01679/3870350-1-eng-US/f0017-012.jpg" title="f0017-01" width="629" height="621"></div><h2><b>Thu. Apr. 12PHILADELPHIA 6, VANCOUVER 4</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-02586/3870343-1-eng-US/f0017-022.jpg" title="f0017-02" width="611" height="726"></div><h2><b>Sat. Apr. 14 VANCOUVER 2, PHILADELPHIA 7</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-03472/3870336-1-eng-US/f0017-032.jpg" title="f0017-03" width="599" height="815"></div><h2><b>SERIES &lsquo;B&rsquo;Tue. Apr. 10 LOS ANGELES 1, RANGERS 7</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-04362/3870329-1-eng-US/f0017-042.jpg" title="f0017-04" width="629" height="770"></div><h2><b>Thu. Apr. 12 RANGERS 2, LOS ANGELES 1</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-05284/3870322-1-eng-US/f0017-052.jpg" title="f0017-05" width="623" height="644"></div><h2><b>SERIES &lsquo;C&rsquo; Tue. Apr. 10 TORONTO 2, ATLANTA 1</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-06236/3870315-1-eng-US/f0017-062.jpg" title="f0017-06" width="620" height="827"></div><h2><b>Thu. Apr. 12 ATLANTA 4, TORONTO 7</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-07205/3870308-1-eng-US/f0017-072.jpg" title="f0017-07" width="631" height="798"></div><h2><b>SERIES &lsquo;D&rsquo; Tue. Apr. 10 PITTSBURGH 4, BUFFALO 3</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-08172/3870301-1-eng-US/f0017-082.jpg" title="f0017-08" width="615" height="599"></div><h2><b>Thu. Apr. 12 BUFFALO 3, PITTSBURGH 1</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-09154/3870294-1-eng-US/f0017-092.jpg" title="f0017-09" width="623" height="575"></div><h2><b>Sat. Apr. 14 PITTSBURGH 4, BUFFALO 3</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-10142/3870287-1-eng-US/f0017-102.jpg" title="f0017-10" width="617" height="764"></div><h2><b>SERIES &lsquo;E&rsquo; Mon. Apr. 16 CHICAGO 2, ISLANDERS 6</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-11124/3870280-1-eng-US/f0017-112.jpg" title="f0017-11" width="612" height="706"></div><h2><b>SERIES &lsquo;F&rsquo; Mon. Apr. 16 TORONTO 2, MONTREAL 5</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-12113/3870273-1-eng-US/f0017-122.jpg" title="f0017-12" width="626" height="813"></div><h2><b>SERIES &lsquo;G&rsquo; Mon. Apr. 16 PITTSBURGH 2, BOSTON 6</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-1394/3870266-1-eng-US/f0017-132.jpg" title="f0017-13" width="617" height="786"></div><h2><b>SERIES &lsquo;H&rsquo; Mon. Apr. 16 RANGERS 2, PHILADELPHIA 3</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-1482/3870259-1-eng-US/f0017-142.jpg" title="f0017-14" width="616" height="760"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

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STANLEY CUP SUMMARIES

<h2><b>Series &lsquo;E&rsquo;</b></h2><p><b>CHICAGO vs ISLANDERS</b></p><p><b>Mon. Apr. 16 at New York</b></p><p><b>Wed. Apr. 18 at New York</b></p><p><b>Fri. Apr. 20 at Chicago</b></p><p><b>Sun. Apr. 22 at Chicago</b></p><p><b>Tue. Apr. 24 at New York</b></p><p><b>Thu. Apr. 26 at Chicago</b></p><p><b>Sat. Apr. 28 at New York</b></p><h2><b>Series &lsquo;F&rsquo;</b></h2><p><b>TORONTO vs MONTREAL</b></p><p><b>Mon. Apr. 16 at Montreal</b></p><p><b>Wed. Apr. 18 at Montreal</b></p><p><b>Sat. Apr. 21 at Toronto</b></p><p><b>Sun. Apr. 22 at Toronto</b></p><p><b>Tue. Apr. 24 at Montreal</b></p><p><b>Thu. Apr. 26 at Toronto</b></p><p><b>Sat. Apr. 28 at Montreal</b></p><h2><b>Series &lsquo;G&rsquo;</b></h2><p><b>PITTSBURGH vs BOSTON</b></p><p><b>Mon. Apr. 16 at Boston</b></p><p><b>Wed. Apr. 18 at Boston</b></p><p><b>Sat. Apr. 21 at Pittsburgh</b></p><p><b>Sun. Apr. 22 at Pittsburgh</b></p><p><b>Tue. Apr. 24 at Boston</b></p><p><b>Thu. Apr. 26 at Pittsburgh</b></p><p><b>Sat. Apr. 28 at Boston</b></p><h2><b>Series &lsquo;H&rsquo;</b></h2><p><b>RANGERS vs PHILADELPHIA</b></p><p><b>Mon. Apr. 16 at Philadelphia</b></p><p><b>Wed. Apr. 18 at Philadelphia</b></p><p><b>Fri. Apr. 20 at New York</b></p><p><b>Sun. Apr. 22 at New York</b></p><p><b>Tue. Apr. 24 at Philadelphia</b></p><p><b>Thu. Apr. 26 at New York</b></p><p><b>Sat. Apr. 28 at Philadelphia</b></p><p><b>(All best-of-seven quarter-finals series)</b></p><p><b>(*-Games may be scheduled Sun. April 29)</b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

Stanley CUP Playoffs

<div class="image-hero"><img title="Cover-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/cover-01653/3872209-1-eng-US/cover-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(Photo by Steve Babineau)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>&mdash;Page 16</b></p><p><b><u>WORLD CUP PLAY</u>&nbsp;<i>TEAM CANADA, SOVIETS GAIN TITLE ROUND</i></b></p><p><b>&mdash;Page 2</b></p><p><b>CANADIENS HAVE PLAYOFF POWER</b></p><p><b>&mdash;Page 5</b></p><p><b>ESPO TURNED ON AT PLAYOFF TIME</b></p><p><b>&mdash;Page 6</b></p><p><b><u>WHA CHAMPS</u>&nbsp;<i>HOT OILERS NAIL DOWN FIRST PLACE</i></b></p><p><b>&mdash;Page 24</b></p><p><b>JETS TO PICK FIRST IN EXPANSION DRAFT</b></p><p><b>&mdash;Page 25</b></p><p><b>THREE U.S. COLLEGES TOP ALL-AMERICANS</b></p><p><b>&mdash;Page 29</b></p><p><b>Quebec Nordique scoring whiz Real Cloutier was voted WHA player of the year.</b></p><p><b><u>FANS PICK WHA ALL STARS</u></b></p><p><b><i>CLOUTIER, GRETZKY DOMINATE AWARDS</i></b></p><p><b>&mdash;Page 3</b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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NHL CUP FAVORITES GET JUMP

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0002-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-01960/3869156-1-eng-US/f0002-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>WILF PAIEMENT&hellip;Shoots Hat Trick</b></figcaption></div><p>MOSCOW&mdash;</p><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>he decks were cleared for the start of the serious action in the 1979 World Cup championship tournament and as predicted, the reigning four world hockey powers were the ones to advance into the title round.</p><p>The Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, Sweden and Canada produced the best won-lost records through the preliminary round and will be grouped for, the championship, a concession that has already been made to the powerful Soviets. But there could be a three-way dogfight between the other three countries for the silver and bronze and don&rsquo;t count Team Canada out of the picture.</p><p>In the windup day of the eight-team preliminary round, Canada had to get a late third-period goal from Colorado Rockies&rsquo; defenseman Trevor Johansen to nip Finland 5-4 for their second win in three starts. But the Canadians weren&rsquo;t alone in their moment of struggle. The Czechoslovakian Nationals had to fight every inch of the way to gain a 2-2 tie with an inspired United States team in what amounted to the first major upset of the tournament.</p><p>The Soviets still appeared to be the class of the Moscow event and after victories over Poland, West Germany and Sweden, they looked like the team to beat. The Soviets pummeled the Swedes 9-3 to raise their scoring output to 19 goals in three games, tops for the tourney.</p><p>After three games, the Soviets led with a 3-0 record, the Czechs were 2-0-1, and Sweden and Canada were deadlocked with 2-1 marks. In the consolation group, Pool B, the Americans were on top without winning a game. They had two ties while the other three countries, West Germany, Finland and Poland, were even with a point each and all without a win so far in the event.</p><p>Canada&rsquo;s path to the championship round was almost blocked by a determined, close-checking bunch of Finns. They fought back from a 4-2 Canada lead and deadlocked the game before Team Canada came on with less than four minutes remaining to win it on Johansen&rsquo;s tie breaker that assured the NHL stocked team of a berth in the select title round.</p><p>Wayne Babych, Marcel Dionne, Brad Marsh and Guy Charron had scored for Canada. Dionne, who had travelled 29 air hours to reach the Moscow tournament, was voted the best Canadian player in the game against the Finns. Goaler Jim Rutherford, of Detroit, who took over from Ed Staniowski of the St. Louis Blues, withered two long-shot goals by Juhanni Tamminen and Tim Nummelin, to keep the Canadians in the game.</p><p>After losing their warmup start against Sweden 6-4, Team Canada picked up the pace in their first tournament outing with the United States and won the game on the strength of a three-goal performance by Wilf Paiement of Colorado, the man who became such a stormy figure during the 1977 tournament at Vienna. Paiement was full value for his hat trick against the Americans and appeared to have adopted a more serious outlook about international hockey.</p><p>Paiement&rsquo;s three goals came off goaler Jim Warden of the U.S. Dennis Maruk, Brad Maxwell and Ryan&rdquo; Walter were the other goalgetters in the game. Phil Verchota and Rob McClanahan, a pair of Minnesota University stars, accounted for all the U.S. scoring. Verchota scored twice.</p><p>The Czechs, who are striving to regain world hockey supremacy from the Soviets, put together a well-rounded offensive display to topple Team Canada on day two of the tournament. Ivan Hlinka, Vitislav Durish, Bohuslav Ebermann and Jiri Bubla triggered the Czech goals against Canada while Steve Payne of the Minnesota North Stars replied for the losers.</p><p>Team Canada coach Marshall Johnston felt his squad could only get better as the tournament went on. He had hoped the team would have gotten its momentum going earlier against the Czechs but admitted he was pleased since the Team Canada players had only been together a short time. On the other hand, Czech coach Karel Gut wasn&rsquo;t too pleased with some of his players and warned that the Czechs would have to be much sharper if they hoped to dethrone the Soviets.</p><p>The 2-2 tie against the United States only emphasized Gut&rsquo;s feeling that his team would have to improve for the second leg of the tournament or forget about the championship.</p><p>The Soviets, heavily favored to win the tournament from the start, were given a scare before subduing the West Germans 3-2 during the second day&rsquo;s action. A howling crowd of 15,000 whistled derisives at the Soviets when the game was over after the underdog West Germans fought so gamely to nearly upset the Soviets. Vladimir Petrov, Victor Shlutvov and Valeri Kharlamov were the Soviet goalgetters. Vladimir Vacato and Hans Zach sniped for West Germany.</p><h2><b>Coming Next Week</b></h2><p><b>Hockey News Selects NHL Awards Winners</b></p><p><b>Next week in THE HOCKEY NEWS we will reveal our individual awards for the NHL&rsquo;s 1978-7S season. The men who have done the job this year above all others. Don&rsquo;t Miss it!</b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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Canada, Swedes, Czechs, Soviets Reach Title Round In World Cup

<h2><b>THE NHL&hellip;</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-02873/3869215-1-eng-US/f0002-022.jpg" title="f0002-02" width="606" height="676"></div><h2><b>THE WHA&hellip;</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-03651/3869208-1-eng-US/f0002-032.jpg" title="f0002-03" width="604" height="258"></div><h2><b>OTHER LEAGUES&hellip;</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-04446/3869201-1-eng-US/f0002-042.jpg" title="f0002-04" width="616" height="326"></div><h2><b>COLUMNISTS&hellip;</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-05319/3869194-1-eng-US/f0002-052.jpg" title="f0002-05" width="608" height="176"></div><h2><b>FEATURES&hellip;</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-06223/3869187-1-eng-US/f0002-062.jpg" title="f0002-06" width="604" height="326"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

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Where To Find It…

<h2><b>PRELIMINARY ROUND</b></h2><h3><b>Pool A</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-07136/3869274-1-eng-US/f0002-072.jpg" title="f0002-07" width="611" height="146"></div><h3><b>Pool B</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-0870/3869267-1-eng-US/f0002-082.jpg" title="f0002-08" width="608" height="143"></div><h3><b>GAMES COMPLETED</b></h3><p><b>Sat. April 14</b></p><p><b>Czechoslovakia 5, Finland 0</b></p><p><b>Canada 6, United States 3</b></p><p><b>Sweden 7, West Germany 3</b></p><p><b>Soviets 7, Poland 0</b></p><p><b>Sun. April 15</b></p><p><b>United States 1. Finland 1</b></p><p><b>Soviets 3, West Germany 2</b></p><p><b>Sweden 6, Poland 5</b></p><p><b>Czechoslovakia 4, Canada 1</b></p><p><b>Tue. April 17</b></p><p><b>Canada 5, Finland 4</b></p><p><b>West Germany 3, Poland 3</b></p><p><b>Czechoslovakia 2, United States 2</b></p><p><b>Soviets 9, Sweden 3</b></p><h3><b>GAMES TO COME</b></h3><p><b>Wed. Apr. 18</b></p><p><b>Team 4A vs. Team 3B, 4 p.m. 8 a.m.</b></p><p><b>Team 3A vs. Team 4B, 7:30 p.m. 11:30 a.m.</b></p><p><b>Thu. Apr. 19</b></p><p><b>Team 2A vs. Team 1B, 4 p.m. 8 a.m.</b></p><p><b>Team 1A vs, Team 2B, 7:30 p.m. 11:30 a.m.</b></p><p><b>Fri. Apr. 20</b></p><p><b>Team 4A vs. Team 4B, 4 p.m. 8 a.m.</b></p><p><b>Team 3A vs. Team 3B, 7:30 p.m. 11:30 a.m.</b></p><p><b>Sat. Apr. 21</b></p><p><b>Team 2A vs. Team 2B, 4 p.m. 8 a.m.</b></p><p><b>Team 1A vs. Team 1B, 7:30 p.m. 11:30 a.m.</b></p><p><b>Sun. Apr. 22</b></p><p><b>Team 3B vs. Team 4B, 4 p.m. 8 a.m.</b></p><p><b>Team 3A vs. Team 4A, 7:30 p.m. 11:30 a.m.</b></p><p><b>Mon. Apr. 23</b></p><p><b>Team 1B vs. Team 2B, 4 p.m. 8 a.m.</b></p><p><b>Team 1A vs. Team 2A, 7:30p.m. 11:30 a.m.</b></p><p><b>Tue. Apr. 24</b></p><p><b>Team 4A vs. Team 3B, 4 p.m. 8 a.m.</b></p><p><b>Team 3A vs. Team 4B, 7:30p.m. 11:30 a.m.</b></p><p><b>Wed. Apr. 25</b></p><p><b>Team 2A vs. Team 1B, 4 p.m. 8 a.m.</b></p><p><b>Team 1A vs. Team 2B, 7:30 p.m. 11:30 a.m.</b></p><p><b>Thu. Apr. 26</b></p><p><b>Team 4A vs. Team 4B 4 p.m. 8 a.m.</b></p><p><b>Team 1A vs. Team 2B, 7:30 p.m. 11:30 a.m.</b></p><p><b>Fri. Apr. 27</b></p><p><b>Team 2A vs. Team 2B, 2 p.m. 6 a.m.</b></p><p><b>Team 1A vs. Team 1B, 5:30 p.m. 9:30 a.m.</b></p><h2><b>Sat. Apr. 14 CANADA 6, USA 3</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-0942/3869260-1-eng-US/f0002-092.jpg" title="f0002-09" width="601" height="473"></div><h2><b>Sun. Apr. 15 CZECHS 4, CANADA 1</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-1028/3869253-1-eng-US/f0002-102.jpg" title="f0002-10" width="609" height="459"></div><h2><b>SOVIETS 3, GERMANY 2</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-1121/3869246-1-eng-US/f0002-112.jpg" title="f0002-11" width="598" height="436"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0002-07

World Hockey Picture

<div class="byline">BY CHARLIE HALPIN</div><p>MONTREAL&mdash;</p><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>wo of the more impressionable young stars in the soon to disband World Hockey &bull;Association, Real Cloutier of the Quebec Nordiques and Edmonton whiz kid Wayne Gretzky emerged as the people&rsquo;s choice in the seventh annual WHA All Star teams and individual awards announced this week by THE HOCKEY NEWS.</p><p>Cloutier, the goal-scoring phenom the Nordiques will build their first NHL team around next season, and Gretzky, the Oiler&rsquo;s million dollar center, dominated the fans&rsquo; teams in the yearly poll conducted by THE HOCKEY NEWS.</p><p>Cloutier was selected as the player of the year and was a near unanimous choice for the right wing first team All Star berth.</p><p>Gretzky won the WHA&rsquo;s rookie of the year award in a cakewalk and was chosen second team All Star center behind Cincinnati&rsquo;s dynamic little Robbie Ftorek.</p><p>The Nordiques were easily the choice of the voting readers in the All Star balloting as they placed two players on the first team and three on the second. New England Whalers put two men on the first team while Edmonton had a player on each of the two teams.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-01966/3869354-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg" title="f0003-01" width="520" height="904"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>WAYNE GRETZKY&hellip;Rookie Of The Year</b></figcaption></div><p>Selected on the first team were Dave Dryden of Edmonton in goal, Gord Roberts of New England and Quebec&rsquo;s J.C. Tremblay on defense, Ftorek at center, Cloutier on right wing and Mark Howe, also of the Whalers, on the right side.</p><p>The Nordiques placed three men&mdash;goaler Richard Brodeur, defenseman Paul Baxter and left wing Marc Tardif&mdash;on the second All Star team. Defenseman Craig Norwich of Cincinnati, right wing Kent Nilsson of Winnipeg and Gretzky rounded out the second team.</p><p>Cloutier, the 22-year-old Quebec phenom who has scored 283 goals in 368 games since jumping to the WHA from major junior hockey, has become the league&rsquo;s WHA&rsquo;s most spectacular scorer in recent years. He was also drafted by the Chicago Black Hawks, who have long coveted the Nordique ace, but with Quebec joining the NHL next season in the newest expansion program, Cloutier will remain the property of Quebec denying the Hawks a chance to eventually get him into a Chicago uniform.</p><p>Cloutier headed into the final week of WHA action with 75 goals and would have easily made it to 80 had he not been hit by injuries. With his second WHA scoring championship in three years all but assured, Cloutier continues to be the dominant figure in the league. Still his selection as league MVP came only after an exceedingly close vote with Cincinnati&rsquo;s Ftorek. Ironically, both Cloutier and Ftorek are expected to be teammates next season with Quebec in the NHL and along with standout left wing Tardif, could provide the Nordiques with one of the most exciting lines in all of hockey.</p><p>With the exception of Tardif, this year&rsquo;s WHA first team All Stars were entirely new from last season. Cloutier and Ftorek were on the second team last season but everyone else was making their first appearance on the WHA All Stars.</p><h2><b>THE FANS&rsquo; PICKS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-02831/3869347-1-eng-US/f0003-022.jpg" title="f0003-02" width="1122" height="2039"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>REAL CLOUTIER&hellip;MVP And All Star Right Winger</b></figcaption></div><p>In a breakdown of the Individual All Star voting, Ftorek, Cloutier, Mark Howe and Dryden were almost unanimous picks for the first team. Roberts and Tremblay led the defensive voting with players like Baxter, Norwich and Birmingham&rsquo;s Craig Hartsburg hot in pursuit.</p><p>The rookie voting was extremely one sided with Gretzky a landslide winner over the rest of the field, Cloutier and Ftorek were locked in a close battle for the player of the year award with Dryden and Mark Howe also figuring in the voting.</p><h2>How Fans Picked Them</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-03557/3869340-1-eng-US/f0003-032.jpg" title="f0003-03" width="1152" height="670"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-04333/3869333-1-eng-US/f0003-042.jpg" title="f0003-04" width="518" height="692"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>DAVE DRYDEN&hellip;Top Goaler</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-05188/3869326-1-eng-US/f0003-052.jpg" title="f0003-05" width="518" height="692"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>GORD ROBERTS&hellip;First Defense</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-06126/3869319-1-eng-US/f0003-062.jpg" title="f0003-06" width="524" height="652"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>J.C. TREMBLAY&hellip;First Defense</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-0783/3869312-1-eng-US/f0003-072.jpg" title="f0003-07" width="526" height="706"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>ROBBIE FTOREK&hellip;Best Center</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-0855/3869305-1-eng-US/f0003-082.jpg" title="f0003-08" width="514" height="696"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>MARK HOWE&hellip;Left Wing Pick</b></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0003-01

Cloutier, Gretzky Big Winners Of All Stars, Awards In WHA

<div class="byline">Ken McKenzie&#x2019;s</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-011017/3869413-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg" title="f0004-01" width="497" height="506"></div><p>&bull; <b>FORT WAYNE&mdash;KEN ULLYOT</b> has been general manager longer than anyone associated with a professional or major amateur team. The former Saskatoon Quaker star has been GM of the Fort Wayne Komets for 21 consecutive seasons. At one time he also served as a coach of the club and in more recent years he&rsquo;s been one of the major owners of the team as well as general manager and governor. The Komets are the oldest active member of the flourishing International Hockey League and long recognized as one of the most successful franchises outside of the major leagues. Most hockey people will tell you that Hershey of the American League and Fort Wayne of the IHL are two of the best minor league franchises around right now&hellip;Ullyot is a recent winner of THE HOCKEY NEWS Minor League Executive of the Year Award and has led his club to the IHL championship on three different occasions&hellip; The Allen County Memorial Coliseum, home of the Komets, seats over 8,000 and is the largest arena in the IHL&hellip;Hockey fans throughout most of North America are familiar with the Komets as radio station WOWO in Fort Wayne, 1190 on your dial, is a 50,000-watt station that carries all home and away games of the team. Bob Chase, one of the better play-by-play announcers around, broadcasts the. games as he&rsquo;s done for years. Bob is also the public relations director of the Komets&hellip; Colin Lister, another one of the owners, has been with Ullyot for most of those 21 years and serves as secretary treasurer of the club.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-02973/3869406-1-eng-US/f0004-022.jpg" title="f0004-02" width="300" height="507"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Ken Ullyot</b></figcaption></div><p>&bull; <b>MONTREAL,</b> New York Islanders, Boston are all favored to win their respective NHL playoff series. The toughest one to pick is the Rangers-Philadelphia set-to. Strong goalkeeping is expected to play the major role in these playoff games&hellip;Alex Wood, first coach of the Fort Wayne Komets and later with Toledo died recently in Fort Wayne of cancer. Originally from Ottawa, Alex played a pioneering role in the growth of the IHL&hellip;Garry Unger isn&rsquo;t sure what his future is now that he&rsquo;s a free agent&hellip;Veteran Soviet center Alexander Yakushev is back playing for the Soviet national team&hellip;Peter Pocklington, owner of the Edmonton Oilers, is reported to have been the heavy in the NHL finally accepting the four WHA teams. Pocklington is a business leader in Canada and a first-rate citizen. He should prove a valuable addition to the NHL Board of Governors&hellip; Moose Lallo, one of the most colorful players and coaches to perform in the IHL, is manager-coach of the Komets this season and is doing his usual outstanding job&hellip;Toledo Goaldiggers, coached and managed by the irrepressible Ted Garvin, were the Komets opponents the night we saw them play. Toledo is Fort Wayne&rsquo;s most rabid rival and busloads of fans usually follow the teams to the other&rsquo;s city&hellip;Vi Ullyot, Ken&rsquo;s wife, has never missed a Komets home game throughout the 21 years he&rsquo;s been here.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-03869/3869399-1-eng-US/f0004-032.jpg" title="f0004-03" width="301" height="507"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Garry Unger</b></figcaption></div><p>&bull; <b>DOUG SMITH,</b> veteran sports announcer and producer, died in Montreal at the age of 62. Smith broadcast the Montreal Canadiens during the late 1940s and early 50s and there was no one better at the time. He was also the &ldquo;voice&rdquo; of the Montreal Alouettes during their glory days of the 1950s. He was a pro in every way and his sports announcing feats will long be remembered&hellip;Bob Dailey won the fifth annual Barry Ashbee Memorial Trophy as the Flyers&rsquo; best defenseman. The panel of Philadelphia sports writers and broadcasters saluted Dailey for his consistency and courage. Dailey played most of the season with a bruised shoulder and an arthritic wrist that made gripping the stick difficult&hellip;Jake Milford, general manager of the Vancouver Canucks, is one of the most popular executives in hockey and he is expected to be named president of the Canucks shortly&hellip;Baz Bastien, Pittsburgh Penguins&rsquo; general manager, is receiving accolades for the number of brilliant trades he has pulled off on behalf of the Pens this season&hellip;When Chicago&rsquo;s WSNS-TV (Channel 44) televises this year&rsquo;s Stanley Cup playoffs, there will be no three and one-half hour tape delays on Sunday nights to accommodate the usual parade of faith healers and fundamentalist preachers. This year the games will be aired live. Last year many hockey fans were infuriated when several key games were pushed back because of the commerical-religion programs&hellip;Muskegon Mohawks will present the Jerry P. DeLise Memorial Trophy to the Mohawks&rsquo; Rookie of the Year. The new award is in memory of the former owner of the Mohawks.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-04767/3869392-1-eng-US/f0004-042.jpg" title="f0004-04" width="299" height="520"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Baz Bastien</b></figcaption></div><p>&bull; <b>COACH GLEN SONMOR</b> of the Minnesota North Stars started an all-Minnesota lineup in one of the final games of the regular NHL season. Glen had Pete LoPresti of Eveleth in goal; Bill Butters, White Bear Lake, and Gary Sargent, Bemidji, on defense; Mike Polich of Hibbing at center with Jack Carlson of Virginia on left wing and Tom Younghans of St. Paul on right wing. No other state could match this and it speaks volumes for the calibre of the young players being developed in the United States today&hellip; Philadelphia Flyers were happy that Blake Dunlop, Minnesota&rsquo;s first 1973 draft choice scored his 20th goal in the Flyers&rsquo; regular season finale and proved that he belonged in the NHL. &ldquo;Twenty goals is something 1 wanted to get,&rdquo; said Dunlop. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s been a struggle all year to get back in the NHL, and it feels good to reach a goal I&rsquo;d set for myself.&rsquo;&rsquo;&hellip;There were three rookie NHL coaches who gave outstanding accounts of themselves this season. We&rsquo;re referring to Pat Quinn of the Philadelphia Flyers, Danny Belisle of the Washington Capitals and Billy Inglis of the Buffalo Sabres&hellip;Randy Mitton, NHL linesman, was working his first Stanley Cup playoff game, the night Atlanta and Toronto staged a 20-minute donnybrook&hellip;Matt Pavelich, the other linesman in the contest, was working his 209th Stanley Cup playoff game.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-05629/3869385-1-eng-US/f0004-052.jpg" title="f0004-05" width="294" height="506"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Blake Dunlop</b></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0004-01

PASSING THE PUCK

<div class="byline">BY FRANK ORR</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0004-06" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-06383/3869444-1-eng-US/f0004-062.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>DAVE BURROWS&hellip;Eager For Second Chance</b> <span class="photo-credit">(Photo by Robert Shaver)</span></figcaption></div><p>TORONTO&mdash;</p><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>he Toronto Maple Leafs feel that the Stanley Cup playoffs will be the time when the value of defenseman Dave Burrows to their cause becomes very evident.</p><p>Burrows was obtained from Pittsburgh Penguins last summer in exchange for center George Ferguson and defenseman Randy Carlyle, one of the several deals often criticized by the assortment of Leaf knockers in Toronto.</p><p>While Ferguson (20 goals) and Carlyle have flourished for the Penguins, a club that finished ahead of the Leafs in the overall standings, Burrows had his effectiveness dimished by a knee injury. But as the playoffs approached and Burrows was sound again, the Leafs saw him as a large asset.</p><p>&ldquo;In the playoffs, you&rsquo;ll see just how valuable his experience and defensive skill can be to a team,&rdquo; said Leaf coach Roger Neilson. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s played well down the stretch for us but he&rsquo;s a conscientious athlete who&rsquo;s never really happy with his work.</p><p>Burrows, too, was happy that the playoffs had arrived, a second chance for the Leaf to salvage something good from an ordinary season.</p><p>&ldquo;For us, a team which has had an up-and-down sort of season with quite a few happenings which have been out of the ordinary, the playoffs really do represent a &lsquo;new&rsquo; season, the chance to accomplish something good,&rdquo; Burrows said.</p><p>&ldquo;And there have been some good signs that things are coming together at just the right time.&rdquo;</p><p>Encouraging for the Leafs, who have been one of the NHL&rsquo;s best defensive teams all season, was the four-game outburst in which their spluttery attack produced 21 goals in wins over Washington, Minnesota and Buffalo and a tie with Boston.</p><p>&ldquo;I had a good training camp and felt I&rsquo;d started the season strongly&mdash;then 1 hurt my knee,&rdquo; Burrows said.</p><p>The stretched knee ligaments happened in the sixth game of the season and forced Burrows to miss 15 contests. As two other Leafs, Ron Ellis and Darryl Sittler, have discovered, time is required for a full recovery from knee problems.</p><p>&ldquo;There&rsquo;s nothing about my knee that&rsquo;s bothering me now,&rdquo; Burrows said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s back to where it&rsquo;s always been but I&rsquo;m not back to playing where I should be. I&rsquo;d started the season well, then was hurt and I&rsquo;ve had trouble getting my timing and confidence back to a high level.</p><p>&ldquo;I felt I&rsquo;ve had stretches of games that weren&rsquo;t so good. I want to be much more consistent than that.&rdquo;</p><p>Burrows sees the Leafs&rsquo; good defensive record&mdash;fourth best in the league&mdash;as an indicator that they can make some playoff noise.</p><p>&ldquo;Playoff games tend to be low-scoring and we can be a really good defensive team,&rdquo; Burrows added. &ldquo;It was a good sign when we started to score a few goals because it makes it much easier to work then. Often this season, we&rsquo;ve been a goal up or a goal down and had to scramble to keep the lead or to get back on even terms.</p><p>&ldquo;When we do get a lead, especially of a couple of goals, then we can relax and stay in command of the situation.&rdquo;</p><p>Last season, there were seven NHL teams that had goals against averages of less than 3.00 per game. This season, there are only two&mdash;Montreal Canadiens and New York Islanders.</p><p>&ldquo;I think a big reason why there are more goals being scored this season is that a large number of young players coming into the league have big shots,&rdquo; Burrows said.</p><p>&ldquo;Just about every young player now can shoot it well, accurately with a quick release. Rocky Saganiuk (the young winger recalled from the minors by the Leafs in early March) is a good example. There&rsquo;s a kid with a really excellent shot&mdash;not a big, booming slapshot but an accurate snap-shot which he unloads quickly.&rdquo;</p><p><b>LEAF NOTES:</b> Mike Palmateer played in 15 consecutive games in the Leaf net while Paul Harrison was recovering from a pulled hamstring muscle&hellip;The Leafs employed Dan Maloney and Walt McKechnie as a penalty-killing duo with good results. They&rsquo;ll back up the Jimmy Jones-Jerry Butler tandem in the playoffs&hellip;For the first time in several seasons, the Leafs were healthy heading into-the playoffs&hellip;When the Leaf power-play sagged, Ron Wilson was recalled from New Brunswick Hawks of the American League to work the point on the ganging attacking in the playoffs&hellip;The Leafs were two players over the maximum of 19 allowed to dress for games.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0004-06

Burrows’ Skills Key Leafs’ Asset

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-01886/3869513-1-eng-US/f0005-012.jpg" title="f0005-01" width="521" height="1150"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>STAN MIKITA</b></figcaption></div><h2><b>ACTIVE LEADERS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-02721/3869506-1-eng-US/f0005-022.jpg" title="f0005-02" width="546" height="334"></div><h2><b>ALL-TIME LEADERS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-03513/3869499-1-eng-US/f0005-032.jpg" title="f0005-03" width="540" height="1728"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0005-01

Mikita Top NHL Active Point Scorer In Playoffs

<div class="byline">BY MIKE DENNIS</div><p>MONTREAL&mdash;</p><p>Well excuuuuuuuuuse me!</p><p>You&rsquo;ll have to forgive the Montreal Canadiens if they steal a line from comedian Steve Martin in &ldquo;defense&rdquo; of committing the unpardonable&mdash;that is, finishing second to the New York Islanders in the National Hockey League standings.</p><p>Because now that they&rsquo;ve disposed of the preliminary round of the Stanley Cup playoffs and the teams which earned a week&rsquo;s vacation for finishing first in their division are back in action, it&rsquo;s simply a matter of seeing which team can win 12 games, a second season, a new ball game, etc., etc.</p><p>It&rsquo;s also a time when the Montreal Canadiens are at their best, and&mdash;New York Islanders notwithstanding&mdash;are favored to become the first team to win four consecutive Stanley Cups since Toe Blake led a crew of Canadiens to five straight titles from 1956 to 1960.</p><p>Canadiens entered the quarter-finals with a 36-6 record over the last three years en route to their 19th, 20th and 21st Stanley Cups. If you want to look for a pattern you might notice that in 1976 when the Canadiens wrested the Cup from Philadelphia, that Montreal lost only one playoff game. In 1977, they lost two, both to the New York Islanders in the semi-finals. Last year, Montreal lost three times&mdash;once to Detroit, in Montreal, in the quarterfinals and two games in Boston in the finals.</p><p>That leads one to suspect that four might be the number on the 1979 Stanley Cup horizon, a not unlikely proposition, but the hard part has to be getting all four losses to occur in the same series.</p><p>The team which has the best record against Montreal in the playoffs, winning seven series out of 12, is Detroit, which unfortunately for those people who love-to see the champs lose, didn&rsquo;t qualify for the playoffs.</p><p>New York Rangers are the only other team to hold a winning edge over the Habs in post-season play, with a 6-5 series record, including victories in their last two meetings, 1974 and 1972, when the Rangers won quarter-final series, four games to two. The Rangers also held a 3-1 advantage over the Canadiens in their regular season series this year for what it is worth.</p><p>Buffalo Sabres were also victorious in their last playoff meeting with Montreal, evening their all-time playoff series record at 1-1, but alas, they, too, were eliminated before the quarterfinals.</p><p>Toronto Maple Leafs, playoff opponents of Montreal for the second year in a row, have split their playoff series through the years with Canadiens, six to each side. The Leafs&rsquo; last series win was a four games to two decision in the 1967 finals, the Leafs&rsquo; last Stanley Cup.</p><p>Boston, a likely semi-final opponent IF everything goes according to form and Chicago, have had little success in playoff action against the Habs, each competing on 17 occasions and meeting with success on two and five of those series, respectively. Both the Islanders and the Flyers have been unsuccessful in two playoff attempts against the Canadiens, and the Pittsburgh Penguins, lucky souls, haven&rsquo;t had the chance to play the Habs in &ldquo;the second season.&rdquo;</p><p>What does it all mean?</p><p>If you&rsquo;re looking for a key to the Canadiens&rsquo; playoff success through the past three years, it&rsquo;s been getting the jump on their opponent. On only one occasion (last year as they dropped the second game of the quarter-finals to the Red Wings) have the Canadiens failed to sweep the opening two games. In the past three years, Canadiens&rsquo; have held the home-ice advantage for every series, and it will be the same this year until the final round if the Islanders reach the finals as well.</p><p>Even that doesn&rsquo;t scare the Canadiens THAT much because, as coach Scotty Bowman has pointed out, they have won the final game their last three years, on the road (in Philadelphia, then Boston twice).</p><p>Against the Leafs to open this year&rsquo;s quarter-finals, the Canadiens started slowly. They had a goal disallowed in the first period and left the frame trailing 1-0 when Lanny McDonald wristed one by Ken Dryden. They blew a couple of open nets when Jacques Lemaire and Guy Lafleur fired over the top of the net. And early in the second period, they fell behind 2-0 when they were caught on a 3-on-l break and Dan Maloney found the target.</p><p>But the Canadiens prevailed on a deflection by Steve Shutt which trickled through Mike Palmateer&rsquo;s legs and into the net and on a power play goal by Guy Lafleur which knotted the score at 13:05 of the second period. The Habs missed several more opportunities to untie it in the second period, but left it to veteran Jacques Lemaire to supply the momentum in the third period with a pair of strikingly similar goals from the slot, set up in turn by Shutt and Lafleur. Yvon Lambert closed out the scoring with a power play goal as Canadiens won 5-2.</p><p>&ldquo;We were tight in the first period,&rdquo; Lemaire admitted, &ldquo;and they were coming off a good series and played well.</p><p>&ldquo;We had to shake off the cobwebs,&rdquo; said Larry Robinson, who assisted on three of the goals. &ldquo;You might say it was a case of playoff jitters&hellip;the first game is always like that, I&rsquo;ve been in the league six or seven years and I still feel nervous the first game.&rdquo;</p><p>Scotty Bowman provided insight into the Canadiens&rsquo; power play game plan which supplied two goals. &ldquo;Have our players moving, move the puck around the try to be patient. We know Palmateer moves out a great deal, so we tried to work the puck around.&rdquo;</p><p>&ldquo;They&rsquo;re going to take a lot of penalties,&rdquo; Lambert commented, &ldquo;and we have to take advantage of our opportunities. We&rsquo;ve been off a week and they had something going from their first series, so we know it&rsquo;s going to be a tough fight.&rdquo;</p><p>Especially for any team unable to get the jump on the Canadiens.</p><p><b>FORUM REBOUNDS:</b> Jacques Lemaire is third among active playoff goal-scorers with 52, one behind Phil Esposito and seven in back of Stan Mikita&hellip;Guy Lafleur opened the quarter-finals with a four-point game giving him 101 points in his eight playoff years.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-04339/3869551-1-eng-US/f0005-042.jpg" title="f0005-04" width="560" height="796"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>JACQUES LEMAIRE&hellip;Clutch Goals</b></figcaption></div><h2><b>Stanley Cup Picture</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-05218/3869544-1-eng-US/f0005-052.jpg" title="f0005-05" width="1154" height="808"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0005-04

Speedy Getaways In Every Series Key To Montreal’s Playoff Power

<div class="byline">&#x2014;BY BOB VERDI</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-011049/3869582-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg" title="f0006-01" width="354" height="480"></div><h2><b>Hockey News, Views</b></h2><p class="dropcap"><b><span>N</span>EWS: BOBBY CLARKE</b> hints National Hockey League Players&rsquo; Association is restless over the proposed merger with the World Hockey Association.</p><p><b>Views:</b> More restless than we think perhaps. &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; the Philadelphia Flyers&rsquo; Captain Courageous was saying the other day, &ldquo;we could block it if we wanted to.&rdquo; Wouldn&rsquo;t that be something if, after all the blood, sweat and lawsuits, the NHLPA and Alan Eagleson stonewall it? The players, of course, are losing bargaining power, not to mention 40 jobs right off the bat. All they want in return is, gulp, half the $24 million which the WHA is paying for an entry fee, and some future considerations.</p><p>&ldquo;We don&rsquo;t want to get into a situation where the owners can now say, &lsquo;sign for this pay cut or go to the minors,&rsquo;&rdquo; explained Tony Esposito, goalie for the Black Hawks and a free agent-to-be. The pendulum can swing a little the other way, but the players don&rsquo;t think it&rsquo;s fair for the owners to hold all the marbles.</p><p>&ldquo;There is a free agent clause we operate under, but you aren&rsquo;t really a free agent at all. There&rsquo;s only free agency with compensation. It&rsquo;s not like baseball, where you can become a free agent and the team that loses you can&rsquo;t restrict where you go by asking for the moon. Now, if we could get a free agent situation like baseball, that&rsquo;s different.&rdquo;</p><p>One is tempted to surmise here that Eagleson is more smoke than fire except that he is an eminently powerful man, he can be stubborn and, last but not least, owners usually emerge from meetings with him nursing a rare ailment. Water on the knees. Don&rsquo;t mess with Al.</p><h2><b>Spotlight On Smythe</b></h2><p><b>NEWS: GARY DAVIDSON</b> says the NHL-WHA merger is a good thing for hockey.</p><p><b>Views:</b> Gary Davidson, you recall, is the man who started the WHA back in 1972. He started lots of other leagues, too, and reporters have had a difficult time finding him. You&rsquo;ll never guess where he was finally located. At a bank in California. Why is this man laughing?</p><p><b>News:</b> Vancouver Canucks&rsquo; coach Harry Neale blasts media for blasting futility of the Smythe Division.</p><p><b>Views:</b> But then Neale sees the light. &ldquo;You&rsquo;re right,&rdquo; he allowed. &ldquo;If it hadn&rsquo;t been for our record against teams in this division, we wouldn&rsquo;t be in the NHL playoffs. We&rsquo;d be in the American League playoffs.&rdquo;</p><p><b>News:</b> Black Hawks finish first in Smythe Division by amassing 73 points.</p><p><b>Views:</b> As we were saying, Harry, only two teams in modern NHL history have captured a division crown with that few points&mdash;the Philadelphia Flyers in 1967-68, and the St. Louis Blues in 1976-77.</p><h2><b>Unger Leaving Blues</b></h2><p><b>NEWS: GARRY UNGER</b> says he&rsquo;s probably played his last game with the St. Louis Blues.</p><p><b>Views:</b> Unger, the iron man, will play out his option and end up with the Detroit Red Wings or Toronto Maple Leafs or Edmonton Oilers or a team to be named later. Unger has been accused of lots of things, including a terminal case of selfishness, although when it comes time for world competition in behalf of his country, Unger will stand on his head to win.</p><p>Whatever, it seems somewhat incongruous that as many of the Blues&rsquo; ills are ascribed to him. The team lost 50 games this year, may do it again next year, and may do it again the year after. The franchise has been a joke ever since Sid Solomon III started phoning in the starting lineup from the 18th tee at Pebble Beach while his designated coach-of-the-month wrote the names down, contritely. Is it Unger&rsquo;s fault that the opposing coaches in this year&rsquo;s Stanley Cup finals likely will be Scotty Bowman vs. Al Arbour? Both left the Blahs and went major league.</p><p><b>News:</b> Mike Bossy, who scored 53 goals last year, finishes this season with 69) <b>Views:</b> Mike Bossy was the 15th player selected in the 1977 amateur draft. The New York Islanders grabbed him after 12 other teams didn&rsquo;t. These coincidences seem to happen often to the New York Islanders, who just happened to carve the best record in hockey this season? Maybe it&rsquo;s not luck, after all. Maybe the New York Islanders are doing their homework better, eh?<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0006-01

HOCKEY TALK

<div class="byline">BY TOM MURRAY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-02807/3869627-1-eng-US/f0006-022.jpg" title="f0006-02" width="900" height="1201"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-03565/3869620-1-eng-US/f0006-032.jpg" title="f0006-03" width="898" height="1192"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Phil Esposito, left, was nearly traded earlier in the year but remained with the Rangers, having his best year as a member of the Broadway Blueshirts. It was Espi&rsquo;s overtime goal which put the Rangers into the quarter-finals. Don Murdoch, right, hopes the Rangers learned a lesson when they blew a two-goal lead by not going full out for 60 minutes against the Philadelphia Flyers.</b></figcaption></div><p>NEW YORK&mdash;</p><p>Phil Esposito to the Chicago Black Hawks for Jim Harrison.</p><p>It seems almost hilarious now, doesn&rsquo;t it? But not too long ago, that was the word that was circulating around the corridors of Madison Square Garden. Rangers&rsquo; coach and general manager Fred Shero, you see, was on what was known as a &ldquo;youth kick&rdquo; and Espo, at age 36, didn&rsquo;t exactly fit into Freddie&rsquo;s plans.</p><p>As it turned out, the trade was never completed. One story had the deal all wrapped up until Ranger doctors took one look at Harrison&rsquo;s aching back, declared him unfit for action and alerted Shero, who called the whole thing off.</p><p>The rest of this story, as the saying goes, is history. Esposito went on to appear in all 80 of the Rangers regular season games, passed his 37th birthday in the process, ended the regular season as the Rangers&rsquo; leading goal scorer and second-leading point scorer (42-3678), and was voted as the most valuable player by his teammates and the most popular player by the fans.</p><p>Harrison? Oh, yeah, he appeared in 21 games for the Hawks, scoring a whopping four goals and five assists for nine big points.</p><p>What more can you say about Phil Esposito, you ask?</p><p>As it turns out, a lot more a helluva lot more. For Espo did not stop performing his magic when the end of the regular season came. If anything, the old guy was just getting into the groove, just getting revved up for his favorite time of the year&mdash;the Stanley Cup playoffs. If the New York Yankees&rsquo; Reggie Jackson is regarded as &ldquo;Mr. October,&rdquo; superb in those pressure games of the late season and World Series, then let it be said here that Phil Esposito is &ldquo;Mr. April,&rdquo; the King of the playoffs, the man who can be counted upon to score the big goal when the chips are down.</p><p>Take the Rangers&rsquo; best-of-three preliminary round series against the Los Angeles Kings. The first game was a total joke, a 7-1 Ranger romp which made everyone forget how horrid this team was during the last three weeks of the regular season. The Rangers were all over the Kings, backchecking and forechecking indefatigably and forcing Kings&rsquo; goalie Mario Lessard to make incredible saves on the shots that did not elude him for goals. Dave Maloney potted two goals that night, and five different Rangers scored the others.</p><p>Phil Esposito was not among them. In fact, he didn&rsquo;t even earn an assist in the free-for-all.</p><p>But two nights later, when the series switched back to Los Angeles for the all-important, pressure-filled second game, Espo, playing with a bruised foot and a severely pulled right groin muscle, was immense.</p><p>The Kings opened the scoring midway through the first period when Syl Apps (another one of those uncountable ex-Rangers) slipped a rebound under John Davidson. From that point on, the game was a classic, one of the very best in Ranger history. The goaltending, especially by Lessard, was spectacular; the checking fierce but clean; the skating, well, &ldquo;fast and furious,&rdquo; as the cliche goes. The action switched from one end of the ice to the other as the two teams exchanged well-placed shots on goalies who simply refused to allow the puck past them.</p><p>It went like that until early in the third period, with Lessard brilliantly thwarting every Ranger rush. Then, just 1:11 into the third period, Espo, the Grand Old Man of the playoffs, finally broke the ice when he took a feed from&mdash;who else?&mdash;Don Maloney and jammed his own rebound past the sprawling Lessard.</p><p>For the remaining 18 minutes of regular time, neither team was able to score and the game went into sudden death overtime. An L.A. goal would mean a depressing ride back to New York for the deciding third game. A Ranger goal would mean the end of the series and the first time a Ranger team would qualify for the quarter-final round in five long years.</p><p>Once again, it was Esposito who seized the day&mdash;or shall we say night: it was 2:15 a.m. in New York&mdash;when he took yet another pass from Don Maloney and fired the puck right between Lessard&rsquo;s legs at the 6:11 mark of OT. Presto. The Rangers had a sweep of the series, a berth in the quarters, and a two-day wait until they found out who their next opponent would be.</p><p>The phantom opponant turned out to be none other than the Philadelphia Flyers, the Rangers&rsquo; old nemesis, who were embroiled in a surprisingly rough preliminary series with the Vancouver Canucks. After vanquishing Vancouver, 7-2, in the deciding third game, the Flyers opened the best-of-seven quarter-final against the Rangers just two nights later.</p><p>The newspaper stories which emanated from both Philly and New York prior to the opening game predicted that the confrontation would be a war. However, to the surprise of everyone, the first game was incredibly mild. Maybe that explained why the Rangers&mdash;after taking a 2-0 lead on goals by Don Maloney and, you guessed it, Espo&mdash;suddenly seemed to panic when Bob Kelly cut their lead to 2-1. From that point on the New Yorkers, for some unexplicable reason, chose to go on the defensive totally, attempting to sit on their slim lead as they cast nervous glances at the clock and backed further and further into goalie Davidson, setting up a shaky shell around him.</p><p>They should have known better than to try and pull that routine on the Flyers, who had come back from three (twice) and four-goal (once) deficits during the regular season. It was painfully apparent that it would be only a matter of time before the Flyers would break through. And sure enough, disaster struck with just under five minutes remaining in regulation, when Bill Barber tied things up for the Flyers. And a short time later the Rangers&mdash;who managed only a paltry two shots on goal in that third period&mdash;were involved in their second consecutive sudden death overtime game in less than a week.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-0661/3869613-1-eng-US/f0030-062.jpg" title="f0030-06" width="573" height="764"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>KEN LINSEMAN</b></figcaption></div><p>This time, however, the results weren&rsquo;t nearly as satisfactory.</p><p>The fresh layer of ice barely had time to freeze before the Flyers&rsquo; Ken Linseman, looking like a water bug darting through a maze of cigar store Indians, skated around what seemed like the entire Ranger team and blasted a shot past John Davidson. It took the Flyers only 44 seconds of overtime to wrap up that first game and assure themselves of at least a split on home ice.</p><p>&ldquo;I hope we learned a lesson out there tonight.&rdquo; Don Murdoch said after it was over. &ldquo;And that is that we have to take it to them for 60 minutes. We can&rsquo;t forget that.&rdquo;</p><p>Only time will tell just how good the Rangers&rsquo; memories really are.</p><p><b>BLUE CHIPS:</b> Ulf Nilsson&rsquo;s cast is off and he may be able to skate by the end of this week&hellip;Dean Talafour is still in traction for the pinched nerve in his neck.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0006-02

Esposito April’s King; Rangers Reach Final 8

<div class="byline">BY BOB VERDI</div><p>CHICAGO&mdash;</p><p class="dropcap"><span>B</span>obby Hull might not be here next season, and neither might Terry Ruskowski. But you can count on Rich Preston being in Black Hawks&rsquo; spangles. They made sure of that even before the merger or amalgamation or expansion or consolidation or whatever you want to call it.</p><p>&ldquo;The most complete player on our hockey team,&rdquo; huffed Winnipeg Jets&rsquo; general manager John Ferguson, confessing that he could do nothing about Preston&rsquo;s early-season signature that will allow the 26-year-old right wing to transfer teams legally.</p><p>He was owned by no other National Hockey League team. His Jets&rsquo; contract expired at season&rsquo;s end. The Black Hawks went after him and got him.</p><p>&ldquo;Preston played four years at Denver University, four years with Houston of the WHA, and this year has played very well for us,&rdquo; said Ferguson, who does hold NHL rights to two other Hawk properties: Hull, the 40-year-old retired super star who just might unretire and Ruskowski, a hard-working center man whom Chicago would like very, very much.</p><p>Ferguson knows that. He also suspects that Hull and the Hawks would like to reunite, so Fergy is free to wheel, deal, cajole and otherwise accept collect calls in negotiating with the Black Hawks, who need help, help, and more help.</p><p>How much help?</p><p>Well, the 1978-79 regular season was no bargain.</p><p>Attendance was down, even though management attempted to wallpaper crowds by adding a thousand here and there to beef up figures.</p><p>You can&rsquo;t do that to the won-lost record, of course. And the report card was weak considering that the Hawks played more games against teams with terrible records (i.e. the Smythe Division lodge brothers) than any team in hockey.</p><p>The Hawks won but 29 of 80 games for 73 points. That&rsquo;s three fewer wins and 10 fewer points than last season.</p><p>The Hawks surrendered 277 goals, which is as an astounding 57 more than last season.</p><p>The Hawks scored 244 goals, which is 14 more than last year, but good for only the 15th best attack (?) in the league behind Colorado and Vancouver.</p><p>The Hawks&rsquo; power play batted 16 percent and appeared to be dipped in ether. Moreover, the team that was supposed to be tight and disciplined and defensive in thought was blown out of no fewer than 15 games. Not beaten, remember. Blown out, embarrassed, dominated.</p><p>The Hawks were outshot in three of every four games and, as usual, goalie Tony Esposito had to do handstands to save a few wins, a few ties, a few humiliations. He had an eminently decent season.</p><p>So did Ted Bulley, who scored 27 goals and led the club in clutch scores with eight winners and three tyers.</p><p>Bob Murray finished with 19 goals, only three shy of Dick Redmond&rsquo;s record of 22 for a Chicago defenseman.</p><p>Grant Mulvey notched a career high 19 goals, Reg Kerr emerged as a popular and aggressive pivot, and John Marks just kept on truckin&rsquo;.</p><p>Keith Magnuson got hurt again, and so did Stan Mikita, and Tim Higgins and Doug Wilson. Jim Harrison was sent down, and so was Bob Kelly. Kelly came back to play, Harrison came back to see more doctors.</p><p>The Big Trade did not pay immediate dividends. Tommy Lysiak did not score a goal since coming from Atlanta March 13, though he did accumulate a few assists&mdash;five against the Minnesota North Stars on April 4, just one shy of Pat Stapleton&rsquo;s team record, two shy of Detroit Red Wing Billy Taylor&rsquo;s NHL record.</p><p>But in all, there were too many bad efforts and semi-efforts mixed with just enough good efforts to make one wonder why it couldn&rsquo;t happen more often.</p><p>Next, the Stanley Cup playoffs. After a week off, the Hawks would try to break an ongoing league mark of 12 straight post-season losses since 1975.</p><p>Or would they try?</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-01936/3869658-1-eng-US/f0007-012.jpg" title="f0007-01" width="566" height="794"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>RICH PRESTON&hellip;Headed To Hawks</b></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0007-01

Hawks Lure Preston From Winnipeg After Disgruntling ’78-79 Season

<h2><b>ISLANDERS-CHICAGO</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-02776/3869710-1-eng-US/f0007-022.jpg" title="f0007-02" width="557" height="94"></div><h3><b>GAMES COMPLETED</b></h3><p><b>Chicago 2 at Islanders 4</b></p><p><b>Islanders 2 at Chicago 1</b></p><p><b>Islanders 4 at Chicago 5</b></p><p><b>Chicago 1 at Islanders 7</b></p><p><b>Islanders 1 at Chicago 6</b></p><h2><b>TORONTO-MONTREAL</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-03551/3869703-1-eng-US/f0007-032.jpg" title="f0007-03" width="554" height="86"></div><h3><b>GAMES COMPLETED</b></h3><p><b>Montreal 4 at Toronto 4</b></p><p><b>Toronto 2 at Montreal 3</b></p><p><b>Montreal 6 at Toronto 3</b></p><p><b>Toronto 1 at Montreal 2</b></p><h2><b>PITTSBURGH-BOSTON</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-04389/3869696-1-eng-US/f0007-042.jpg" title="f0007-04" width="556" height="89"></div><h3><b>GAMES COMPLETED</b></h3><p><b>Pittsburgh 2 at Boston 8</b></p><p><b>Boston 4 at Pittsburgh 4</b></p><p><b>Boston 3 at Pittsburgh 5</b></p><p><b>Pittsburgh 3 at Boston 1</b></p><h2><b>RANGERS-PHILADELPHIA</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-05273/3869689-1-eng-US/f0007-052.jpg" title="f0007-05" width="565" height="91"></div><h3><b>GAMES COMPLETED</b></h3><p><b>Philadelphia 3 at Rangers 3</b></p><p><b>Rangers 5 at Philadelphia 2</b></p><p><b>Philadelphia 4 at Rangers 0</b></p><p><b>Rangers 5 at Philadelphia 6</b></p><p><b>Philadelphia 5 at Rangers 5</b></p><p><b>Rangers 4, at Philadelphia 2</b></p><p><b>Philadelphia 4 at Rangers 4</b></p><p><b>Rangers 3 at Philadelphia 7</b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0007-02

How Playoff Teams Compare

<div class="byline">&#x2014;BY BILL LIBBY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-011039/3869748-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg" title="f0008-01" width="416" height="464"></div><h2><b><i>A Literate Lad&hellip;</i></b></h2><p class="dropcap"><b><span>B</span>EHN WILSON IS NOT</b> your everyday young hockey player. The developing giant of the Philadelphia Flyer defense may not look it, but he is, among other things, a Shakespearean scholar. He is a large, aggressive, hard-hitting rookie of 21 years of age, but he comes from a large and literate family and he is interested in all of the interesting things the world has to offer.</p><p>Behn is a good-looking lad with a wide face which dimples deeply with a wide smile beneath his mass of curly hair. His eyes sparkle when he speaks. He speaks with enthusiasm of education. His parents, John and Jean, are educated people. Hrs father is a high school principal who taught math and science back in Kingston, Ontario.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-02934/3869741-1-eng-US/f0008-022.jpg" title="f0008-02" width="814" height="952"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Behn Wilson is a large-sized youngster with the Philadelphia Flyers whose talent is matched by an insatiable quest for knowledge and all things which interest him. He&rsquo;s willing to work and learn and benefit from the experience of others.</b></figcaption></div><p>&ldquo;There are four children in our family and our parents encouraged us to get into athletics, but stressed education to us,&rdquo; Behn says, &ldquo;My dad played school hockey and football. When we were growing up he&rsquo;d go out there and mix with us. He still does. But he hit the books, too, got his degree, made something of himself. My older brother, John, played junior hockey and was drafted by Toronto, but he decided instead to go to medical school at the University of Toronto.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m in hockey now and so is my younger brother, Bart, who&rsquo;s with the Toronto Marlboros, but we&rsquo;re not neglecting our education. My younger sister, Laura, who&rsquo;s only 14, is an excellent student. Not much of a hockey player,&rdquo; he laughs, &ldquo;but an excellent student. I&rsquo;ve taken University of Toronto courses in speech and drama for years and I&rsquo;m not far from a teacher&rsquo;s degree. I&rsquo;ve studied classical literature and contemporary prose and poetry, acted in Shakespearean plays, even performed a few operettas.</p><p>&ldquo;Some day I suppose I&rsquo;ll teach, but I&rsquo;m not sure what I&rsquo;ll do with my life. I&rsquo;m open to all sorts of possibilities. I run across all sorts of things that interest me. My parents encouraged me to pursue anything that interested me. 1 studied the guitar for five years. I had no real ability for it, but it interested me. The hockey life is good for me because it takes me to so many different cities and enables me to meet so many different people and opens me up to so many different experiences that it is an education in itself.&rdquo;</p><p><b>FROM KINGSTON) WINDSOR&rsquo;</b> and Ottawa in amateur ranks, and a brief stop at Kalamazoo, Michigan, in the International League, it has brought Behn to Philadelphia, not exactly renowned as a tourists&rsquo; paradise, but perfect for a youngster interested in history. &ldquo;It has a City Hall that must be 100 years old,&rdquo; he says. Told it is more than 200 years old, he grows rapturous about the architecture. &ldquo;People don&rsquo;t realize what went into the gargoyles and other art work that decorates the building and it&rsquo;s well kept, too,&rdquo; he enthuses.</p><p>A bachelor, he drags dates to museums of art and sciences, as well as the theater and discos. He&rsquo;s seen shows like &ldquo;Side by Side by Sondheim&rdquo; and &ldquo;The Wiz&rdquo; in the last year and discusses them with animation. The whole world is just opening up to this kid from Kingston and it is a joy to see his joy. He has a downtown apartment in the center of the city and he has found this historic town fascinating.</p><p>But he has not neglected his hockey. He is one of the great rookies to break into the league this season, but it has not been an entirely great season for him. For awhile at mid-season he was carried away with his ability on offense and neglected his ability on defense. The coach, Bob McCammon, was critical of him, and blamed him for some of the team&rsquo;s troubles. The team was troubled and so were the fans. Some began to boo him. He withdrew into a shell. He was blamed a bit when McCammon was fired.</p><p>The burden was a bit much to ask a young rookie to bear and it was really unfair. The new coach, Pat Quinn, straightened the team out and straightened Behn out and brought him out of his shell and got him back on the right track. Behn is still doing some dynamic things offensively, but is making sure the team is covered defensively first. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m taking less chances when they don&rsquo;t need to be taken. Pat has helped a lot by showing me just how I should do things. I&rsquo;m feeling a lot better about things,&rdquo; the youngster says.</p><p><b>HE WAS THE SIXTH</b> player picked in the draft in the summer of 1975 with the choice the Flyers got from the Penguins in the deal that sent Tom Bladon, Orest Kindrachuk, and Don Saleski away. It was the highest choice the Flyers have had since 1975, and as such means a lot to them. He could develop into one of the great stars of the game as he has enormous natural talent and great size. He is six-foot-three and weighs 210 pounds. His kid brother, who is just coming along, is, at 17, six-foot-two, and 205. Older brother John, 21, is six-foot-two and 210. Papa John is six-foot-three and 240. A fair-sized family)</p><p>Those who booed Behn do not know how hard he is willing to work to make himself the best player he can become. He and his brothers have worked on their own because they could not find power skating teachers willing to put anywhere near the time into their workouts as they were. &ldquo;All summer long we work out five, six hours a day and we&rsquo;ve been doing it five, six years now,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;We work on our weaknesses. We work hard. We don&rsquo;t fool around. That still leaves a lot of other hours in the day for the other things in my life. If I don&rsquo;t fool around I can fit everything in. Some day, something else will be more important. Right now, hockey comes first,&rdquo; he concludes.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0008-01

Hockey Ad Lib

<p>ATLANTA&mdash;</p><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>here&rsquo;s one thing you can say about the Atlanta Flames who ran their alltime post-season record to 1-12 with a pair of defeats by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the preliminary round of the 1979 Stanley Cup playoffs. Their loss was a team effort.</p><p>The Flames parlayed poor defense, shaky goaltending and a lack of scoring into two more losses after finishing with their best regular season record ever. Going back to the 1974 season when they first qualified for the playoffs, the Flames have managed only one playoff victory&mdash;against Los Angeles in 1977&mdash;and seem to be getting worse, instead of better each time they try to reverse their post-season trend.</p><p>To be perfectly fair, the Flames didn&rsquo;t play that badly in their 2-1 loss at home to open the preliminary round against Toronto. They ran into a red-hot goaltender in the form of the Leafs&rsquo; Mike Palmateer and that&rsquo;s what best-out-of-three series are all about.</p><p>The Flames had an excellent chance to open the scoring in that first game when Palmateer was far removed from the nets and Dave Shand had the puck about 30 feet in front of the net. But Shand&rsquo;s drive was partially deflected by a Toronto forward and sailed wide of the net.</p><p>It was on an Atlanta power play that the Leafs opened the scoring as Walt McKechnie was sent into the clear by Darryl Sittler and flipped a shot past Flames&rsquo; goaler Dan Bouchard. McKechnie called it &ldquo;my best shot in 12 years of hockey&rdquo; but to the Flames it looked just like any of those others which have sealed their playoff fate along the way.</p><p>Two minutes and 48 seconds later, there was McKechnie again, left unguarded in front of Bouchard as the puck was relayed from behind the Flames&rsquo; net. His shot on the far side proved to be the game-winner as the Flames only managed a single goal by Jean Pronovost late in the second period, a couple of minutes before the brawl which occurred at 19:01 which sent nine players out of the game and both teams to the locker room to cool off. A scoreless third period followed.</p><p>In Toronto for Game Two, Bouchard, who had little chance on the two goals in Atlanta, looked horrible as he let Darryl Sittler drill one through his legs from a sharp angle.</p><p>Thereupon, the Flames&rsquo; defense, hardly noticed in the first game since most of the action occurred in the Toronto zone, suddenly disappeared for a few seconds&mdash;23 in all&mdash;but the problem was that the puck was in the Atlanta zone&mdash;and shortly after that, in the Atlanta net.</p><p>Sittler followed his first goal with a tip-in of a Lanny McDonald pass after 12 seconds had elapsed and it was 2-0 Toronto. Another center-ice faceoff, the puck was sent into the Flames&rsquo; end and a pass to Ron Ellis later it was 3-0 Leafs. Three goals in 23 seconds.</p><p>After Pronovost once again got the Flames on the board late in the first period, the Flames hoped to mount their comeback in the second period. Those plans went up in smoke, when Bouchard&mdash;in an attempt to clear the puck out of the Atlanta zone&mdash;fired it into Leaf winger Pat Boutette&rsquo;s skates, instead. Boutette kicked the puck onto his stick and beat both Bouchard and a scrambling Flame defenseman with a shot into an uncovered net.</p><p>For the record the Flames also received goals from Guy Chouinard, which made it 5-2 Toronto and then from Bobby Lalonde and Willi Plett in the third period after Toronto held a 7-2 lead. But that was it.</p><p>It was disappointment once again for Flames&rsquo; supporters.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-03787/3869779-1-eng-US/f0008-032.jpg" title="f0008-03" width="568" height="1829"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>WILLI PLETT&hellip;Not Enough</b></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0008-03

Flames Extended Post-Season Hex In Two-Game Flop

<div class="byline">BY TOM HENSHAW</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0009-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-011004/3869810-1-eng-US/f0009-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>GERRY CHEEVERS&hellip;Feels Ready For Playoffs</b></figcaption></div><p>BOSTON&mdash;</p><p>&ldquo;You guys may not believe this,&rdquo; said Gerry Cheevers, &ldquo;but 1 feel ready for the playoffs. 1 really do.&rdquo;</p><p>A lot of the guys did indeed find it difficult to believe since they had just seen the 38-year-old Boston Bruins&rsquo; goalie get himself shelled for seven goals in two periods by the Buffalo Sabres before being lifted for Jim Pettie en route to a 9-3 loss.</p><p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;ll go as far in the playoffs as Cheesie can take us,&rdquo; said Wayne Cashman. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s back. We&rsquo;ll be all right.&rdquo;</p><p>But that was just after Cheevers had stiffed the Washington Caps, 41, and turned in a magnificent performance in a 3-3 tie with Montreal Canadiens on consecutive nights and four days before the swinging Sabres came to town.</p><p>It&rsquo;s been that way since midseason for the stumbling Bruins.</p><p>Everyone knows, as does Cashman, that the Bruins will go as far in the playoffs as Cheevers can carry them. It was that way last year. It was that way the year before. Each time he carried them to the Stanley Cup finals.</p><p>But this year, as the playoffs opened, there was an uneasy feeling that Cheevers could not be depended upon to carry the team any longer.</p><p>For the first half of the season, he was virtually unbeatable. In fact he did not lose his first game until Canadiens beat him on Dec. 30 in Montreal. His record at the time was 12-1-4. His average hovered below 3.00.</p><p>Since the All Star break, however, his record slipped to 9-4-4, which is not bad for most goalies but not for one who is expected to carry his team through the playoffs. His average dropped to slightly over 3.50. There were the 4-1 wins over the Washingtons, to be wure, but there were also those losses of 9-3 to Buffalo and 7-2 to the Islanders.</p><p>There have been efforts&mdash;efforts, hell, almost a campaign&mdash;to blame Cheevers&rsquo; less than lustrous performance on the shellacking he received from the Soviets in the 6-0 finale of the early February &ldquo;Series of the Century.&rdquo;</p><p>Cheevers was embarrassed as the Soviets blew four goals by him on seven shots in the third period. &ldquo;I was terrible, horrible,&rdquo; he said. And all this on national television, wide screen from Halifax to Victoria.</p><p>&ldquo;When those goals were going by him,&rdquo; said Don Cherry, &ldquo;1 thought to myself, &lsquo;I hope he can shake this.&rsquo; But he wasn&rsquo;t the same for a long time. I warned him not to go to that series.&rdquo;</p><p>Others who have watched the nonchalant, wise-cracking Cheevers for years find if difficult to believe that six goals in an exhibition game that he didn&rsquo;t really want to play in the first place could cause such lasting damage to the Cheevers psyche.</p><p>They blame the knees, more specifically the right knee, the one that was operated on last Aug. 19. He was back in action Nov. 9, possibly too soon.</p><p>&ldquo;The only thing that worries me is his physical condition,&rdquo; said defenseman Mike Milbury as the Bruins prepared for a week&rsquo;s rest before joining the playoffs in the quarter-finals, as befits a division champion.</p><p>&ldquo;His knees have never really been good all year long. 1 don&rsquo;t know if anybody&rsquo;s really noticed it. He&rsquo;s not the kind of guy who&rsquo;s willing to talk about it but he&rsquo;s had some pretty serious work done on those knees.</p><p>&ldquo;At the beginning of the year he never gave the knee much time to recover. I&rsquo;ve had some questions about the knee all year long. And I&rsquo;m sure he has. too.&rdquo;</p><p>Backing up Cheevers in the playoffs is an unhappy Gilles Gilbert, who is playing his sixth and possibly last season with the Bruins. He&rsquo;s played through a five-year contract, plus option year, and becomes a free agent in June.</p><p>Gilbert played in the Bruins&rsquo; last game of the season, the first time he had played in a month, and won first star for his performance. He has spent the better part of three seasons in Cherry&rsquo;s doghouse.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll be ready for the playoffs,&rdquo; said Gilbert. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t care what Cherry does. I don&rsquo;t care if he plays Cheesie every playoff game. I played well but if the coach doesn&rsquo;t have confidence in you it hurts.</p><p>&ldquo;This has been a terrible three years. I don&rsquo;t want to go through another three years like this. I&rsquo;m not saying I&rsquo;m leaving. 1 love this town. I don&rsquo;t want to leave. This will be a long summer for me. 1 have a big decision to make.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0009-01

Cheevers’ Ailing Knees Bruins’ Playoff Concern

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0010-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-011026/3869841-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg"></div><p><b>Write to:</b></p><p><b>FAN FORUM,</b></p><p><b>The Hockey News,</b></p><p><b>1434 St. Catherine St., W., Montreal, Canada H3G 1R7</b></p><h2><b>Isles To Show Bruins Who&rsquo;s Boss</b></h2><p>I would like to comment on the article written by Tom Henshaw regarding the building Bruins-Islander &ldquo;feud.&rdquo; I don&rsquo;t care for Boston coach Don Cherry&rsquo;s comments on the Bruins always intimidating the Islanders.</p><p>Cherry knows his team does not have half the talent the Islanders do and that his team will have to resort to goon tactics in the playoffs. I think the Islanders will show them who&rsquo;s boss this year and in the next couple of years.</p><p>Boston&rsquo;s defense is poor for a Stanley Cup finalist. They are up in years and have nobody to replace them. I believe it&rsquo;s downhill for Cherry and his Bruins.</p><p><b>GARY PAVICH,</b><br><b>Flint,</b></p><h2><b>Mi. Lafleur Best For Hart Trophy</b></h2><p>On the evening news it was released that Bryan Trottier had been named MVP by THE HOCKEY NEWS. On the surface, that honor looks deserved, however, let&rsquo;s examine things more closely.</p><p>Trots has eight game winners and leads teammates Bossy (126 points), Potvin (101) and Gillies (91). Marcel Dionne had six-game winning goals and led teammates Taylor (91) and Goring (87). Guy Lafleur had 11 game winning goals and 52 points more than his nearest teammate Steve Shutt (129-77)</p><p>Neither Trottier nor Dionne plays in the pressure cooker that Lafleur has in Montreal. Lafleur has to score. The Montreal fans and media demand it. Recently Lafleur had his first slump in seven seasons, seven assists and no goals in nine games. His team won only two games during Lafleur&rsquo;s slump for their worst slump in five years.</p><p>With respect to Trottier and Dionne, how can anyone argue with these facts. Guy Lafleur is the most talented and valuable player since Bobby Orr. Without him, the Habs would have been a very average team this season.</p><p><b>JASON MIGNEAULT,</b><br><b>Swift Current, Sask.</b></p><h2><b>Sittler Overlooked Among Hart Contenders</b></h2><p>I just read a letter in your paper by Ronald Brown concerning the NHL&rsquo;s annual Hart Trophy winner. 1 agree that the Canadiens can still be competitive without Guy Lafleur and Bob MacMillan has provided the spark the Flames needed as Rick Middleton did for the Bruins, but one person was overlooked&mdash;Darryl Sittler.</p><p>He plays a key role in the success of the Leafs and as he goes, the Leafs go. It was simply amazing he didn&rsquo;t sweep the voting last season. His chances were lessened this year due to injury but he has come on of late and helped the Leafs secure a playoff spot.</p><p>Even if he falls short of the award this year, Darryl Sittler will always by MVP in my books.</p><p><b>JEFF NORTON,</b><br><b>Starbuck, Man.</b></p><h2><b>AHL Should Expand To 16 Teams</b></h2><p>With the NHL-WHA merger, it is time for the American Hockey League to return to its halcyon days by regaining through expansion some cities that were once standout franchise locations, while adding some new ones with potential.</p><p>Former members Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Baltimore and Syracuse should be joined with Rochester, Binghamton, and Philadelphia, constituting a strong Western Division.</p><p>In the East, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick (Moncton), Maine (Portland), New Haven, Springfield should be Combined with already planned Adirondack, a reactivated Rhode Island (Providence), and a new Ottawa franchise.</p><p>Many long-standing AHL fans can still remember the Calder Cup scrambles provided by the Cleveland Barons and Indianapolis Capitals, and the cross-state Cincinnati Mohawks-Swoards vs. Barons matchups. The Baltimore Clippers and Hershey Bears contests never lacked excitement enhanced by the close geographic provimity of these communities.</p><p>The addition of Syracuse establishes a natural western New York rivalry with Rochester and nearby Binghamton. Ottawa provides a third Canadian City to complement the Voyageurs and Hawks, and adds the prestige of a national capital showcase.</p><p>Here is a 16-team league that can&rsquo;t miss, with population, class arenas, and plenty of top flight media to spread the AHL gospel of puck power in the best Jim Hendy tradition.</p><p><b>RICHARD D. BRIGHT,</b><br><b>Ellicott City, Md.</b></p><p><b>LETTER OF THE WEEK</b></p><h2><b>New Schedule Will Lessen Rivalries</b></h2><p>I was in favor of all expansion proposals until I read that the league will have a balanced schedule next season. Expansion is in the best interests of the sport, but what is the point of having each team play every other team four times?</p><p>I am an avid Toronto Maple Leaf fan, but I tend to lose interest when Colorado or Washington come into town. The best games are the Boston or Buffalo games, when another Adams Division team comes in and the game really means something. The Toronto-Buffalo rivalry, for example, is not something that should be lessened by having these teams meet only four times.</p><p>The same goes for other divisional rivalries, such as Boston-Buffalo or Rangers-Islanders&mdash;games that draw special interest to the teams and fans involved. Why should Toronto play four games vs. St. Louis and four games vs. Minnesota when they don&rsquo;t compete against the Blues in anything but overall points, yet they may be involved in a battle for a playoff spot in their division with the North Stars? I hope this issue gets some more consideration before the schedule is drawn up and the fans cheated out of the more important games.</p><p><b>SCOTT CARBECK,</b><br><b>Bloomington, Ind.</b></p><h2><b>Where&rsquo;s Recognition For Flyers&rsquo; Bridgman?</b></h2><p>I am really disgusted that nobody is-recognizing Mel Bridgman&mdash;he&rsquo;s a very good hockey player. I&rsquo;ve never seen anything in THE HOCKEY NEWS and I hope I will see something in the future.</p><p>Bridgman has given the Flyers a big lift in the second half of the year with 24 goals.</p><p><b>BILLY HEENAN,</b><br><b>Glen Cove, N.Y.</b></p><p><b>Editor&rsquo;s Note: You must have missed our March 9 issue where Bridgman was tabbed as the &lsquo;Club&rsquo;s Future Leader.</b></p><h2><b>WHA Stars Will Get Coverage</b></h2><p>I would like to thank Kelly Villiers for his letter in the March 30 issue of THE HOCKEY NEWS for bringing attention to one of the most talented and exciting players to entertain hockey fans these past few years. I would like to reply that Robbie Ftorek is not underrated, but overlooked; not by the staunch WHA fan, but by the average NHL fan who only knows the game through television. Since these &ldquo;fans&rdquo; also believe that Bobby Hull retired after the 1971-72 season, I would not let this type of viewpoint bother me.</p><p>As unfortunate as the merger may be, seeing as how we will no longer enjoy the competitive hockey we have come to enjoy in WHA cities, it will be nice that players such as Ftorek, Marsh, Cloutier, and Lacroix will be receiving the coverage they deserve.</p><p><b>WAYNE KYTAYCHUK,</b><br><b>Winnipeg, Man.</b></p><h2><b>&lsquo;Ticky&rsquo; Taylor King Worth Watching</b></h2><p>Los Angeles Kings&rsquo; right winger David &ldquo;Timex&rdquo; Taylor&mdash;he takes a licking and keep on ticking. Enough said!</p><p><b>RICK LEWIS,</b><br><b>West L.A., Calif.</b></p><h2><b>Kings&rsquo; Trio Neglected, Forgotten</b></h2><p>I must compliment Billy Libby for his excellent article in the March 30 issue of THE HOCKEY NEWS on the L.A. Kings&rsquo; threesome of Marcel Dionne, Dave Taylor and Mario Lessard.</p><p>Dionne has been among the top five in total points all year, yet all I&rsquo;ve heard about is the battle between Bryan Trottier and Guy Lafleur for top scoring honors. Well take notice hockey fans because Dionne scored seven more goals and one more point than Lafleur and 12 more goals than the proclaimed best center in hockey, Trottier.</p><p>Ask yourself who plays with Lafleur; who plays with Trottier? On defense? Now who plays with Dionne and Taylor? On defense?</p><p>Scotty Bowman benched him during the Challenge Cup and THE HOCKEY NEWS forgot him on the All Star ballot. No wonder Dionne, etc. are forgotten.</p><p><b>CARL BRADSHAW,</b><br><b>Commerce, Ca.</b></p><h2><b>WHA Teams Should Enter Intact</b></h2><p>The WHA is really getting ripped off.</p><p>Harold Ballard says: &ldquo;(The) WHA has only eight or nine players good enough to play in our league,&rdquo; but then what does he know?</p><p>But if that were the attitude of the other owners, why is the NHL scored to let the WHA teams enter intact, and then all the NHL teams could have their draft just between current NHL teams, and the WHA teams could pick the best from Cincinnati and Birmingham.</p><p>I think the NHL is scared that the four WHA teams are better than half of the current NHL teams and that they draw better crowds.</p><p><b>DAVID ASHBY,</b><br><b>Bengough, Sask.</b></p><h2><b>Media Coverage Lacking For Isles</b></h2><p>I am writing to display my personal disapproval of the national media concerning the New York Islanders.</p><p>This team, with the help of players like Denis Potvin, Bryan Trottier, and Mike Bossy, have gradually improved during their years of existence. Falling short in many important playoff rounds might hurt other teams, but not the Islanders. After last season&rsquo;s tough playoff loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Islanders have bounced back to battle the mighty Montreal Canadiens. The only people who seem to notice this fact are the loyal rooters at the Nassau Coliseum.</p><p>In the New York area, the local papers give extremely more press coverage to the New York Rangers, who were battling for last place of the Patrick Division.</p><p>Let&rsquo;s stop kidding ourselves, and give credit where it is due. Hopefully, the next time the New York Islanders are in the headlines will be before Captain Clark Gillies is skating the ice with the Stanley Cup.</p><p><b>STUART LEVINE,</b><br><b>Wantagh, N.Y.</b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0010-01

FAN FORUM

<div class="byline">BY BILL LIBBY</div><p>LOS ANGELES&mdash;</p><p>If this was not a better season than it was for the Los Angeles Kings it probably was because it was not better on the road. The Kings won only 14 games, lost 21, and tied five to take just 33 out of a possible 80 points on the road in their first season under coach Bob Berry.</p><p>Last season under Ron Stewart the Kings did not have quite as good a season but did a little better on the road, going 13-18-9 for 35 points. The season before their last season under Bob Pulford, they did a little better yet, going 14-18-8 for 36 points.</p><p>In 12 seasons, the Kings have finished better than .500 on the road only once. That was in the 1974-75 season, the middle year of Pulford&rsquo;s reign, when they went 20-10-10 to accumulate 50 points on foreign ice. With this, they soared to a 42-17-21 season, the only outstanding season they have had.</p><p>Of course, the Kings have done much worse. In their early years, when they were losing most of their games, they seldom won on the road. In their third season, they won only two games, tied six, and lost 30 on the road. The last three seasons they have won 13 or 14 games on the road each season, but that is just not enough if they are going to become contenders for higher laurels.</p><p>The sad thing is the Kings were capable of better things this season. They proved this by beating top teams on the road. They won both games they played in Boston and beat Montreal in Montreal. They also tied twice in Montreal and lost only once there to wind up with a split on the season series there. They also tied in Long Island, and, though they also lost there, that was only by one goal. They won three out of five in Pittsburgh.</p><p>But the Kings were incredibly inconsistent and, after winning their first game in Washington, lost three straight to the lowly Caps on their ice. They lost the two games each they played in New York, Philadelphia, Atlanta and Toronto. They failed to win in Buffalo. They managed only splits in two game series in Chicago, Minnesota, St. Louis, and Vancouver.</p><p>Long trips did not hurt the team as much as they have at times in the past. The Kings got out of their traditional start-of-the-year tour with a 4-4 split on an eight-game trip. They had eight out of nine games on the road the end of January, the beginning of February and won three and tied one of the eight. They won two out of five on a trip early in March. And one out of four on their last trip near season&rsquo;s end.</p><p>The one they won was the thriller of the season. They scored three goals in the last three minutes to come from two goals behind to whip the Wings in Detroit, 5-4. Butch Goring, Charlie Simmer and Mike Murphy got the goals that turned the game around, the last with just 15 seconds to go. The game was televised back to L.A.</p><p>Along with some of the telecasts from Montreal and Boston, these provided the fans back home some rare thrills from the road this season.</p><p>It takes toughness to win consistently on the road and the Kings have not been tough enough. However, good players show their class by playing as well on the road as they do at home and it is interesting that the Kings&rsquo; three leading goal-scorers this season were also their three leaders on the road.</p><p>Marcel Dionne scored 23 goals on the road, Dave-Taylor 21, and Butch Goring 17. This represents a fair share of their season totals, too.</p><p>One player who did better on the road than at home was Steve Jensen. Steve tallied 14 times on the road. When his road days were done, he had only seven more at home for a total of 21.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-01983/3869872-1-eng-US/f0011-012.jpg" title="f0011-01" width="570" height="678"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>BUTCH GORING&hellip;17 Road Goals</b></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0011-01

Kings’ Road Record Unimpressive

<div class="byline">Bill Fleischman&#x2019;s</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-011000/3869903-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg" title="f0012-01" width="350" height="479"></div><h2><b>One Strong League</b></h2><p class="dropcap"><b><span>F</span>EW PEOPLE ARE</b> as enthusiastic as Harry Neale over the long-awaited (by most of us) NHL &ldquo;expansion&rdquo; into the hockey havens of Edmonton, Quebec City, Winnipeg and New England.</p><p>Neale isn&rsquo;t excited because he was very big in the WHA and Hartford-Springfield area as Whalers&rsquo; coach. For those with long hockey-trivia memories, Neale also coached the legendary Minnesota Fighting Saints. Neale, who is completing his first season with the Vancouver Canucks after all those years off-Broadway, is eagerly anticipating an expanded NHL because he thinks the handful of outstanding WHA players will be a major step toward bringing back the NHL&rsquo;s quality.</p><p>&ldquo;The dozen or 15 top players in the WHA will add to the attraction of going to an NHL game,&rdquo; Neale said. &ldquo;The four teams coming in will be a hodge-podge at first. They&rsquo;ll find it difficult to draft by position, and there are weaknesses we all know about. But I think the four will be better than the expansion teams the NHL has had.&rdquo;</p><p>Admittedly, slight improvement over NHL expansion teams isn&rsquo;t much to look forward to&mdash;as my good friend, Montreal Gazette columnist Tim Burke, will quickly remind us. Reruns of the first-year Islanders, or the original Washington Capitals and Colorado Rockies, are not what the troubled NHL needs now.</p><p>But Neale and others are willing to accept a year or two of average Winnipeg Jets for one strong league in a few years. The guess here is that fans will leave the Montreal Forum, Nassau Coliseum and Spectrum next season more delighted with the talents of Mark Howe, Real Cloutier, Robbie Ftorek and Wayne Gretzky than dismayed over the mediocrity of the Jets or Quebec Nordiques.</p><h2><b>Weakness On Defense</b></h2><p><b>&ldquo;PROBABLY THE BIGGEST</b> weakness WHA teams have, compared to the NHL, is their defense corps,&rdquo; said Neale. &ldquo;No team has three or four like Montreal or the Islanders. But this (expansion) had to be done. Teams like Philadelphia, Montreal and the Islanders are apt to lose two players in the draft who have been playing and doing the job for them. These players will help the WHA teams tremendously.</p><p>&ldquo;And they are going to be great franchises coming in (to the NHL). When the rink is finished in Hartford that will be an excellent franchise. Edmonton&rsquo;s rink is a lot like ours in Vancouver, only a little bigger. And Quebec City is like Montreal; you don&rsquo;t have to get excited about going in there to play. The atmosphere there gets you excited.&rdquo;</p><p>Leading into his support of what should be the last NHL expansion until all current franchises are polished, Neale said, &ldquo;Another benefit of this will be &lsquo;Hockey Night in Canada&rsquo; will finally be Hockey Night in all of Canada, not Hockey Night in parts of Canada.&rdquo;</p><p>Which brings Neale, and anyone associated with the Canucks, to one of their favorite subjects: the NHL schedule.</p><h2><b>Easing Travel Burden</b></h2><p>&ldquo;The National League had better start making some decisions to benefit the sport,&rdquo; said Neale. &ldquo;You don&rsquo;t have to be a mental giant to realize the quality of hockey isn&rsquo;t what it used to be. You have to travel a year with this team before you know what we mean about our schedule. After the season I&rsquo;m going to sit down with the people who make up the schedule. We don&rsquo;t want special favors, but we do think the team that has to travel the most should get some consideration.</p><p>Having Edmonton as a neighbor will easy the Canucks&rsquo; burden as the cities are only an hour apart as Air Canada flies. Smiling, Neale added, &ldquo;Another advantage is, with more western teams in the league, the Eastern teams won&rsquo;t be able to treat their trips out West like vacations. I&rsquo;ve only been in the league a year, but I have the feeling the Eastern teams figure they&rsquo;re coming out West to warm L.A. and Vancouver. And some of them spend time in places like Squaw Valley between games. Now, they&rsquo;ll have to go to the Arctic regions for games in Edmonton and Winnipeg.&rdquo;</p><p>An energy-draining schedule hasn&rsquo;t been the only problem playing in Vancouver. The Canucks had the NHL&rsquo;s highest goal-scoring left winger this season in Ron Sedlbauer (40), but few people realized it.</p><p>&ldquo;Lack of exposure is something we have to live with,&rdquo; Neale said, shrugging. By next season, however, the news should spread at least as far as Edmonton, Winnipeg and maybe Minnesota. And that, like the latest expansion, is a start.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0012-01

HOCKEY WORLD

<div class="byline">BY NORM MacLEAN</div><p>LONG ISLAND&mdash;</p><p>The last night of the regular National Hockey League season will go down in the history of New York hockey as the night the Islanders took over both the city and the NHL. The Long Island franchise, just seven years old, captured the imagination of all Gotham fans by blowing the Rangers out with a three-goal third period, for a 5-2 win, which gave them the overall NHL point title over the Montreal Canadiens.</p><p>At the end of two periods, the score was tied, 2-2. An erroneous report reached the Islander room that last place Detroit was ahead of Montreal, 20, with three minutes remaining. A Detroit win and an Islander win would give the Isles a one point edge in the point race. Eventually Detroit won, 1-0, on a goal by Dale McCourt, but the report of a two-goal Red Wing advantage lifted the Long Island team.</p><p>&ldquo;We went bananas,&rdquo; recalled defenseman Dave Lewis. &ldquo;We were going to do anything necessary to win the game. Suddenly, it was up to us&mdash;after blowing first place&mdash;we had another chance. I feel by winning four tough games in the final week (Atlanta, two against Philadelphia and the Ranger game) that we earned the championship. We proved our point.&rdquo;</p><p>The excited Islanders stormed out and scored just 16 seconds into the final period, on a power play goal by Mike Bossy, who circled the net and stuffed the puck.</p><p>&ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t know then that the Montreal-Detroit game was over, but I knew I was going to score a goal in the third period. 1 know I had 67 going in, but I felt I still had one more left in me,&rdquo; said Bossy.</p><p>Bossy had two, finishing the season with 69, after getting four goals against Philadelphia in a 9-2 win the day before the regular season ended. In reality, Mike had five goals against the Flyers, but a quick whistle by referee Wally Harris deprived him on one score.</p><p>Flyer goaltender Robbie Moore gloved the puck, but dropped it, and Bossy rebounded it home. Harris, behind the net, was out of position, and blew the whistle when he lost sight of the puck.</p><p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s just one of those things,&rdquo; graciously observed Bossy. &ldquo;Winning the championship is the biggest thing that ever happened in my life. I&rsquo;ve never been on a winning team before. In junior, with Laval, I was on a bad loser&mdash;but this is special&mdash;something I will always remember.&rdquo;</p><p>Denis Potvin, the Islanders&rsquo; All Star defenseman, realized his dream of 100 points, on the last night of the season, when he assisted on Wayne Merrick&rsquo;s first period goal and Bossy&rsquo;s game winner, finishing with 101 for the season. He is only the second NHL defenseman ever to reach the century mark, the other being Bobby Orr.</p><p>Slowly, Potvin, now playing his sixth season, is matching or surpassing Orr. He still has to play on two Cup winning teams, and perhaps he will never win the scoring title, but in many ways, durable Denis may eventually rate as better than Orr. The test of time will prove the dispute, either way.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-02844/3869934-1-eng-US/f0012-022.jpg" title="f0012-02" width="568" height="1149"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>JOHN TONELLI&hellip;On Big Line</b></figcaption></div><p>&ldquo;The championship was the big thrill, not the 100 points,&rdquo; insisted Denis. &ldquo;No comparison, at all. Two years ago in Atlanta, when I was playing with my brother (Jean), I had a chance for 100 points (Denis needed two points). And we had a chance to break the mark for brothers (held by Dennis and Bobby Hull) with one point. We got the whammy, a shutout. We were so close, but&hellip;&rdquo;</p><p>Potvin missed seven games, but still reached the 30-goal plateau again, as did four other Islanders. Scoring champ Bryan Trottier had 47 goals, Mike Bossy 69, Clark Gillies 35, Bob Bourne 30 and Potvin 31.</p><p>Bobby Nystrom dropped from the 30 goal class, to 19, but his last two were big goals, the winner in the 3-2 Thursday win over Philadelphia and a go-ahead goal in the final (Ranger) game which gave the Isles a 2-1 lead at that point.</p><p>Trottier, the newly crowned NHL scoring champion, was double shifted on the final night by coach All Arbour. He worked with John Tonelli and Mike Bossy on one line, and with Clark Gillies and Billy Harris on another. After Guy Lafleur&rsquo;s six point effort in the Canadiens second last game, Trots was worried that Lafleur would do it again, and overtake him.</p><p>&ldquo;I had butterflies in my stomach,&rdquo; said Bryan. &ldquo;1 really wanted that scoring title. &ldquo;It was my childhood dream back home (in Val Marie, Saskatchewan) to win the NHL scoring title. I was worried that it would upset my concentration about the regular game.</p><p>&ldquo;This is unbelieveable, not only did 1 come out on top, but the team did, too,&rdquo; continued the soft-spoken Trottier. Everything worked out so perfectly. 1 would have been happy if Lafleur had won the title, and Montreal lost, but this is perfect.&rdquo;</p><p>It has been 37 years since a New York team won the regular season NHL title. The Rangers did it in 1941-42, only to lose in the playoffs. And it has been 37 years since a New York player captured the scoring title. Bryan Hextall, whose son Dennis now plays with Washington, won the 1941-42 scoring title with 56 points in the 48-game schedule.</p><p>&ldquo;Everything started right here in the Garden, remembered Lorne Henning. &ldquo;This is where we beat the Rangers in overtime in the preliminary round in 1974-75. Now we have to win the Stanley Cup.&rdquo;</p><p>Henning was recalling J.P. Parise&rsquo;s goal at 11 seconds of overtime in the third and deciding game with the Rangers. After reaching the semi-finals for three straight seasons, the Isles stumbled last spring, and were eliminated in seven games in the quarter-finals by Toronto.</p><p>&ldquo;We were outworked and outhustled,&rdquo; said Potvin. &ldquo;We can&rsquo;t let something like that happen again.&rdquo;</p><p>If the Isles do win the Stanley Cup they will have gone a long way towards getting New York fans to adopt the suburban team.</p><p>General manager Bill Torrey, whose patient building resulted in the coronation after just seven seasons, was asked if he thought his team was the best in the NHL.</p><p>&ldquo;I bought all the newspapers I could find the day after the regular season ended with us on top,&rdquo; said Bill. &ldquo;And everyone of them said we were the champs&rdquo;.</p><p><b>ISLAND SOUNDS:</b> Coach Al Arbour thought the goaltending by Chico Resch and Billy Smith was superb in the final week;&mdash;and was the difference. Chico was sensational in the Ranger game when the Garden team outshot the Islanders 25-15, with a decisive 19-7 edge in the first two periods&hellip;Trottier went out of his way to mention the help he got from linemates Mike Bossy, John Tonelli and Clark Gillies, as well as coach Arbour. Tonelli and Gillies have alternated at left wing during the last month on Trots&rsquo; line.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0012-02

Isles Want Stanley Cup To Prove They Are Best

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0014-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-01982/3870017-1-eng-US/f0014-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>Gallery Gods Help The Heart Fund</b></p><p><b>Members of the Boston Bruins&rsquo; Gallery Gods club, one of the NHL&rsquo;s most staunch fan club organizations, held their annual dinner-dance recently and raised over $1,000 for the Heart Fund. Shown at the gathering from the left is Lee Rizzo, George Colella, the mayor of Revere, Mass., Bruin star John Wensink and Roger Naples, president of the club who turned a check over to John Bucyk of the Bruins from the night&rsquo;s proceeds.</b></p><p><b>He&rsquo;s My Hero</b></p><p><b>Little John Ferrandi received the thrill of his life when he showed up for the Gallery Gods&rsquo; Heart Fund dinner and got to meet Bruins&rsquo; winger Stan Jonathan, no doubt one of his hockey favorites. Many of the Bruins turned up for the dinner with their wives along with coach Don Cherry. Bruin rookie Al Secord even brought his mother to the affair.</b></p></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-02819/3870010-1-eng-US/f0014-022.jpg" title="f0014-02" width="1190" height="1385"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>A Bird&rsquo;s Eye View</b></p><p><b>NHL &lsquo;bad man&rsquo; Dave Schultz of the Buffalo Sabres is renowned for spending time in the penalty box so it was only natural that the photographer caught him leaning out of the sin bin during the NHL playoffs. Schultz, who has mellowed somewhat in recent years, only earned 243 penalty minutes this season, a far cry from his one-time NHL record total of 472.</b></p> <span class="photo-credit">(Photo by Bruce Bennett)</span></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-03619/3870003-1-eng-US/f0014-032.jpg" title="f0014-03" width="1815" height="1453"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>Meeting Of The Brass</b></p><p><b>Colorado general manager Ray Miron, right, is shown talking with Rockies&rsquo; president Armand Pohan, center, and the club&rsquo;s publicist, Kevin O&rsquo;Brien, as three discuss future of NHL club at recent hockey meetings. Miron has just signed a new three-year contract to direct the team&rsquo;s operations after Pohan declared Rockies will stay in Denver despite a disastrous season at the box office.</b></p> <span class="photo-credit">(Photo by Bruce Bennett)</span></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0014-01

HOCKEY PEOPLE

<div class="byline">BY CHUCK MOODY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0015-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-01946/3870048-1-eng-US/f0015-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>RUSS ANDERSON&hellip;Physical Defenseman Decked</b></figcaption></div><p>PITTSBURGH&mdash;</p><p class="dropcap"><span>I</span>f the Pittsburgh Penguins fail to do well in this year&rsquo;s Stanley Cup playoffs, they will have a valid, if somewhat over-used excuse&mdash;injuries.</p><p>The Penguins entered the first round of the playoffs with four regulars missing from their lineup: center Pete Mahovlich; left wing Wayne Bianchin; and defensemen Dale Tallon and Russ Anderson.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve talked all season about the importance of having balance,&rdquo; said coach Johnny Wilson. &ldquo;But I don&rsquo;t care how much balance you have, you can&rsquo;t start losing players right and left like we&rsquo;ve been doing without it hurting you.&rdquo;</p><p>Bianchin has been out of the Penguin lineup the longest. Last season he had a back operation for a ruptured disc. The back problem struck Wayne down once again. He had suffered a broken neck a few seasons ago while body surfing and his current back problems may be related to the neck injury.</p><p>Tallon suffered a broken leg in a game in Vancouver. The 28-year-old backliner who was obtained earlier in the season from the Chicago Black Hawks, crashed into a goal post against the Canucks. He may require future surgery on the leg.</p><p>Mahovlich was Pittsburgh&rsquo;s leading scorer when he separated a shoulder in a game against the Philadelphia Flyers. Pete went down when he was boarded by the Flyers&rsquo; Ken Linseman. Mahovlich&rsquo;s shoulder was rammed into the boards at the Penguins&rsquo; bench, and was separated when it caught between the boards and the gate to the bench.</p><p>Anderson was added to the list of casualties when he was struck in the face by a Serge Savard slapshot agains the Montreal Canadiens and suffered a fractured cheekbone.</p><p>&ldquo;The loss of Anderson takes away both our overall size and our physical strength,&rdquo; said Wilson. Anderson is six-foot-three and weighs 210.</p><p>The injuries to Anderson and Tallon leaves Pittsburgh with only five defensemen for the playoffs&mdash;Tom Bladon, Ron Stackhouse, Colin Campbell, Bob Paradise and Randy Carlyle.</p><p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;d be in trouble if we lost another defenseman,&rdquo; said Wilson. &ldquo;We have been rotating them as much as we can and are trying to put Stacky, Carlyle and Bladon in on crucial situations, like power plays and being short-handed.&rdquo;</p><p>In addition to the four regulars who were out for at least the first round of the playoffs, the Penguins had several other players who usffered various injuries.</p><p>Left wing Rod Schutt had a bruised ankle, right wing Blair Chapman took stitches in his hand and had a bruised elbow, and right wing Peter Lee had a shoulder injury and couldn&rsquo;t fire a slapshot.</p><p>At the end of the regular season the Penguins recalled several players from their minor league system.</p><p>Center Kim Davis and defenseman Lex Hudson were brought up from Grand Rapids of the International Hockey League. Davis scored the winning goal in his first game against St. Louis.</p><p>The Penguins also recalled left wing Jim Hamilton and right wing Mike Meeker for a few games from Binghamton of the American League.</p><p>Wilson was really beginning to wonder whether a curse had been placed on the Penguins when one of the players called up from the minors, Meeker, suffered a rib injury and was forced to miss a few games.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0015-01

Penguins Enter Playoffs Hampered With Injuries

<p><b>PRELIMINARY ROUND</b></p><h2><b>SERIES &lsquo;A&rsquo;</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-04422/3870228-1-eng-US/f0016-042.jpg" title="f0016-04" width="607" height="124"></div><h3><b>GAMES COMPLETED</b></h3><p><b>Tue. Apr. 10</b></p><p><b>Vancouver 3 at Philadelphia 2</b></p><p><b>Thu. Apr. 12</b></p><p><b>Philadelphia 6 at Vancouver 4</b></p><p><b>Sat. Apr. 14</b></p><p><b>Vancouver 2 at Philadelphia 7</b></p><h2><b>SERIES&rsquo;B&rsquo;</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-05318/3870221-1-eng-US/f0016-052.jpg" title="f0016-05" width="597" height="116"></div><h3><b>GAMES COMPLETED</b></h3><p><b>Tue. Apr. 10</b></p><p><b>Los Angeles 1 at Rangers 7</b></p><p><b>Thu. Apr. 12</b></p><p><b>Rangers 2 at Los Angeles 1</b></p><h2><b>SERIES &lsquo;C&rsquo;</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-06257/3870214-1-eng-US/f0016-062.jpg" title="f0016-06" width="598" height="113"></div><h3><b>GAMES COMPLETED</b></h3><p><b>Tue. Apr. 10</b></p><p><b>Toronto 2 at Atlanta 1</b></p><p><b>Thu. Apr. 12</b></p><p><b>Atlanta 4 at Toronto 7</b></p><h2><b>SERIES &lsquo;D&rsquo;</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-07231/3870207-1-eng-US/f0016-072.jpg" title="f0016-07" width="597" height="112"></div><h3><b>GAMES COMPLETED</b></h3><p><b>Tue. Apr. 10</b></p><p><b>Pittsburgh 4 at Buffalo 3</b></p><p><b>Thu. Apr. 12</b></p><p><b>Buffalo 3 at Pittsburgh 1</b></p><p><b>Sat. Apr. 14</b></p><p><b>Pittsburgh 4 at Buffalo 3</b></p><p><b>QUARTER-FINAL ROUND</b></p><h2><b>SERIES &lsquo;E&rsquo;</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-08211/3870200-1-eng-US/f0016-082.jpg" title="f0016-08" width="608" height="112"></div><h3><b>GAMES COMPLETED</b></h3><p><b>Mon. Apr. 16</b></p><p><b>Chicago 2 at Islanders 6</b></p><h2><b>SERIES &lsquo;F&rsquo;</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-09189/3870193-1-eng-US/f0016-092.jpg" title="f0016-09" width="602" height="109"></div><h3><b>GAMES COMPLETED</b></h3><p><b>Mon. Apr. 16</b></p><p><b>Toronto 2 at Montreal 5</b></p><h2><b>SERIES &lsquo;G&rsquo;</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-10167/3870186-1-eng-US/f0016-102.jpg" title="f0016-10" width="596" height="116"></div><h3><b>GAMES COMPLETED</b></h3><p><b>Mon. Apr. 16</b></p><p><b>Pittsburgh 2 at Boston 6</b></p><h2><b>SERIES &lsquo;H&rsquo;</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-11153/3870179-1-eng-US/f0016-112.jpg" title="f0016-11" width="614" height="110"></div><h3><b>GAMES COMPLETED</b></h3><p><b>Mon. Apr. 16</b></p><p><b>Rangers 2 at Philadelphia 3</b></p><h3><b>PLAYOFF SCORING LEADERS</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-12136/3870172-1-eng-US/f0016-122.jpg" title="f0016-12" width="600" height="1516"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0016-04

Stanley Cup Scoreboard

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0016-03" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-03539/3870079-1-eng-US/f0016-032.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Mike Bossy of the Islanders, left, and Bryan Trottier, provided the offensive spark for the team&rsquo;s first playoff win against Chicago. Bossy scored three times, Trottier once in 6-2 romp.</b></figcaption></div><p>MONTREAL&mdash;</p><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>he first-place New York Islanders and defending champion Montreal Canadiens, the clubs favored to reach the finals of the Stanley Cup in May, opened their respective quarter-final series with victories powered by their high-scoring lines.</p><p>Islanders who edged Montreal by one point in becoming the second post-1967 team to finish first during the regular season, received a hat trick from NHL goal-scoring king Mike Bossy and a goal and an assist from scoring champion Bryan Trottier en route to a 6-2 decision over the Chicago Black Hawks in the first game of their quarter-final series played on Long Island.</p><p>Montreal, meanwhile, opened their defense of the last three tanley Cup titles with a come-from-behind 5-2 triumph against the Toronto Maple Leafs, paced by a nine-point effort by the trio of Jacques Lemaire, Steve Shutt and Guy Lafleur. In the other quarter-final series openers, Boston easily handled Pittsburgh 6-2 and the Philadelphia Flyers defeated the New York Rangers, 3-2 in overtime.</p><p>Bossy broke a 1-1 tie at 18:41 of the first period and scored his second on a power play at 14:25 of the middle period to provide the Islanders with a 4-2 lead. In the third stanza, Bossy assisted on the Islanders&rsquo; fifth goal by Denis Potvin and completed his first playoff hat trick in the third period to close out the scoring.</p><p>Wayne Merrick gave the Islanders their first lead just 2:29 into the contest before Reg Kerr evened the game just three seconds after Bob Murray had finished serving a penalty.</p><p>Trottier opened the second period scoring at 2:27, while Murray followed with the other Hawk goal a little more than four minutes later, reducing the Chicago deficit to one.</p><p>The Canadiens fell behind 2-0 early in the second period before Shutt ignited them with a backhander which slipped between the legs of Toronto goaltender Mike Palmateer and deflected into the net. Guy Lafleur and Larry Robinson assisted on the goal, their first of three assists.</p><p>Two Jacques Lemaire goals broke a 2-2 deadlock in the third period and Yvon Lambert closed out the scoring with a power play score after a perfect set-up by Robinson.</p><p>Boston blitzed the Penguins with three tallies in each of the first two periods and coasted to a 6-2 victory before only 12,001 fans at Boston Garden. Although the Penguins took the season&rsquo;s series between the two clubs, two wins and a tie to one loss, and had broken an 11-year jinx by beating the Bruins in Boston for the first time since 1968, in their final meeting it was all Boston in the first quarter-final match as the Bruins outshot the Penguins 27-12 over two periods and led 3-0 after one on goals by Peter McNab, Don Marcotte and Mike Milbury.</p><p>Marcotte added his second goal to open the second period and after a goal by Orest Kindrachuk, Bobby Schmautz scored on a Boston power play and Dick Redmond nabbed a shorthanded goal to complete the Bruin scoring. Ex-Bruin Gregg Sheppard notched the final Penguin marker in the third period.</p><p>Philadelphia trailed the Rangers from the 4:32 mark of the opening period when Don Maloney opened the scoring until less than five minutes left in the game when Bill Barber brought them into a 2-2 tie and sent the game into overtime.</p><p>Ken Linseman, who spent most of the season with Philadelphia&rsquo;s Maine farm club before finishing the regular season with a flourish with the Flyers scored the winner on the first shot of the overtime at 44 seconds. Linseman also drew an assist on the tying goal.</p><p>Earlier, Phil Esposito had given the Rangers a 2-0 lead at 9:10 of the initial frame before Bob Kelly halved the lead late in the first period.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0016-03

Favorites Impress In Quarter-Final Start

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-01787/3870117-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg" title="f0016-01" width="504" height="668"></div><p>MONTREAL&mdash;</p><p class="dropcap"><span>A</span> series where the home team didn&rsquo;t win a game; the continuation of winning and losing playoff patterns; a scare by the playoff&rsquo;s weakest link; and an offense gone cold and a goaltender discovered. All of this and more went into the unraveling of the National Hockey League&rsquo;s preliminary round as Pittsburgh, Toronto, Philadelphia and the Rangers advanced into the quarterfinals while Buffalo, Atlanta, Vancouver and Los Angeles packed up their skates early.</p><p>Two of the series could be classed as upsets, Pittsburgh winning two games in Buffalo, the second in overtime, to win the right to play Boston in the second round, while the Toronto Maple Leafs extended the Atlanta Flames&rsquo; playoff record to a woeful 1-12 with a two-game sweep. Philadelphia survived a first-game home-ice setback (3-2) against the Canucks by winning in Vancouver 6-4 with a pair of goals in the final minute and then blowing the Canucks out in Game Three by a score of 7-2. The Rangers made it look relatively easy by cooling the Kings&rsquo; offense with some standout goaltending by John Davidson and blasting the Kings&rsquo; defense in the first game, 7-1, and then turning to veteran Phil Esposito who produced the tying goal and then won it in overtime in a 2-1 victory in Los Angeles.</p><p>Briefly, a look at the four series:</p><p><b>Pittsburgh vs. Buffalo:</b> Penguins erased a 2-1 deficit in the third period on goals by Blair Chapman, Gary McAdam and Orest Kindrachuk and went on to a 4-3 win in Buffalo. In Game Two, Sabre goaler Bob Sauve was nearly unbeatable, leading Buffalo to a 3-l decision in Pittsburgh&rsquo;s Igloo, but the Sabres couldn&rsquo;t wrap it up on home ice.</p><p>George Ferguson tied it for the Penguins in the third period and goaler Denis Herron withstood an 18-shot barrage to send the game into overtime and Ferguson again came through with the winning goal after just 47 seconds.</p><p><b>Toronto vs. Atlanta:</b> In the most physical series, the Leafs continued their pattern of having never lost in a preliminary round, while the Atlanta Flames proved once again that they can do little right come playoff time.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-02675/3870110-1-eng-US/f0016-022.jpg" title="f0016-02" width="570" height="641"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>GEORGE FERGUSON&hellip;Overtime Winner</b></figcaption></div><p>In a well-played first game, marred by the brawl late in the second period (see box page 17), the Leafs did everything right in winning 2-l. Goaler Mike Palmateer challenged the Flames&rsquo; shooters and won. Walt McKechnie scored both the Leafs&rsquo; goals in the second period, the first a shorthanded goal on a breakaway.</p><p>The end came for the Flames in a 23-second span just five minutes into Game Two. Darryl Sittler scored through Dan Bouchard&rsquo;s legs, came back with another goal 12 seconds later and Ron Ellis scored a third goal (to set a playoff record) just 11 seconds after that. Pat Boutette added two goals for the Leafs, the first a gift from Bouchard who was attempting to clear the puck and put it right into Boutette&rsquo;s skates. Toronto 7, Atlanta 4.</p><p><b>Vancouver vs. Philadelphia:</b> The Flyers rebounded from their opening game loss to win two &ldquo;sudden-death&rdquo; games with five-foot-five Robbie Moore in goal. Bobby Clarke won a faceoff in the Canuck zone with less than a minute to play and Reg Leach drilled in a goal at 19:04 to lead a 6-4 victory. Bill Barber scored into an empty net to ice the verdiet.</p><p>In the deciding game, the Flyers led 21 after one and 5-1 after two en route to a 7-2 triumph. Bobby Clarke and Al Hill had the Flyers up by two after just 7:20 and Leach matched Thomas Gradin&rsquo;s Vancouver goal which came late in the first period after just 34 seconds of the second stanza. Tom Gorence added his third playoff goal and Blake Dunlop supplied his first for the four-goal bulge after two periods.</p><p>Los Angeles vs. Rangers: The Kings closed the regular season with several awesome offensive displays by the line of Marcel Dionne, Dave Taylor and Charlie Simmer. The Rangers were hoping that goaltender John Davidson would be ready after recovering from a late-season injury.</p><p>So what happens? Davidson allows only two goals in over 66 minutes and the Kings&rsquo; big line is held to one goal (by Simmer) in the series. Meanwhile captain Dave Maloney sparked the Rangers to a 7-1 win in the first game with a pair of goals and Esposito converted a Don Maloney feed after 6:16 of overtime to end the series in Los Angeles.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0016-01

Overtime Proves Playoff Decider In NHL’s Prelims

<p>ATLANTA&mdash;</p><p class="dropcap"><span>A</span> total of six playoff penalty records was set as a result of a brawl at 19:09 of the second period in the opening game of the preliminary series between the Atlanta Flames and the Toronto Maple Leafs in The Omni.</p><p>Nine players, Ken Houston, Darcy Rota, Willi Plett, Brad Marsh and Dave Shand of Atlanta, and Ian Turnbull, Darryl Sittler, Dave Hutchison and Dave Williams of Toronto, were thrown out of the game with 155 penalty minutes directly attributable to the fighting outbreak in the final minute of the period.</p><p>Two of the records were game marks, while four others were new period records. The records, with former marks in parentheses are as follows:</p><p>&bull; most penalty minutes, two teams, one game&mdash;219 (185)</p><p>&bull; most penalty minutes, one team, one game&mdash;Atlanta 115 (107)</p><p>&bull; most penalties, two teams, one period&mdash;35 (24)</p><p>&bull; most penalties, one team, one period&mdash;Atlanta 19 (17)</p><p>&bull; most penalty minutes, two teams, one period&mdash;181 (132)</p><p>&bull; most penalty minutes, one team, one period&mdash;Altana 99 (73) (Toronto also surpassed former mark with 82)<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

Leafs, Flames Set Six NHL Penalty Records

<div class="byline">BY DICK JOHNSTON</div><p>LOUISVILLE HOCKEY STICKS Made in Canada by HILLERICH & BRADSBY, LTD Arnold Street. Wallaceburg, Ontario Sold in U.S. and Canada</p><p>LOUISVILLE HOCKEY STICKS Made in Canada by HILLERICH & BRADSBY, LTD Arnold Street. Wallaceburg, Ontario Sold in U.S. and Canada</p><p>BUFFALO&mdash;</p><p>It looked as though the Buffalo Sabres would have two sharp goaltenders for the Stanley Cup playoffs. This pleased coach Billy Inglis no end but it had to please another individual even more.</p><p>Bob Sauve.</p><p>Sauve, who has had all sorts of misfortunes since being picked first by the Sabres in the 1975 draft, is happy finally to be a key member of the club.</p><p>And a key member he is. Going into the final weekend of the regular season, Sauve had started in eight of Buffalo&rsquo;s last 12 road games and had lost only two of his last eight games on the road. In both of those losses, to the New York Islanders and Philadelphia Flyers, he had performed spectacularly in the nets but had not received enough scoring to win. In the Islanders game, Chico Resch was even better; he shut out the Sabres.</p><p>After goaling for the Sabres in a 9-3 win over the Bruins in Boston, a win that put Buffalo only one point from being assured of home ice in the opening round of the playoffs, Sauve said, &ldquo;It&rsquo;s good to play one like this. Those tight games are good for your character but I like one like this once in a while.&rdquo;</p><p>Once in a while is about as often as Sauve has played in an easy win. His last two previous victories had been one-pointers, one in Los Angeles, when the Sabres had to hang on to win, and one in Denver, when they rallied in the third period.</p><p>Sauve has had little but hard luck until this season, which started discouragingly, too.</p><p>His first two pro seasons, he had veteran goaltenders ahead of him. Then, when Gerry Desjardins suffered an eye injury Feb. 10, 1977, Don Edwards was called up from the minors ahead of Sauve because Don happened to be going very well at the time.</p><p>Edwards did so well as Desjardins&rsquo; replacement that he played nearly every game the rest of the 1976-77 season and through most of 1977-78. Sauve had to be content in a backup role to the goalie who was the Sabres&rsquo; sixth draft choice the same year Sauve was picked first.</p><p>Last summer, Sauve signed a new contract and was promised a thorough opportunity to become No. 1 goaltender or, at least, divide the netminding job with Edwards.</p><p>So what happened?</p><p>In training camp, before the first preseason game, Sauve suffered a broken finger on his right hand. He missed the entire exhibition schedule, the time when he expected to prove himself.</p><p>It wasn&rsquo;t until the eighth game of the season that Sauve broke into the lineup. He then went 12 more games without playing, until Edwards suffered a sprained ankle.</p><p>Sauve then took over and played in 12 straight games, including the two losses to Montreal which preceded the firing of general manager Punch Imlach and coach Marcel Pronovost, and the start of the unbeaten streak of seven after Inglis took over as coach.</p><p>Then Edwards returned and played most of the home games but Sauve was playing frequently and Inglis told Bob he wanted him ready to perform in the playoffs.</p><p>Edwards, who, like the club, had an inauspicious start after being named to the National Hockey League All Star second team last season, came on strong as the campaign progressed and when All Star voting time arrived again, he deserved strong consideration.</p><p>The slender blond with the drooping mustache went through an unbeaten streak of 11 games (9-0-2) before being defeated by Toronto in the Sabres&rsquo; next to last home game of the season. He was 13-3-2 in 18 games and, despite being sidelined by injury, was fifth among NHL goaltenders in minutes played.</p><p>His 2.86 goals-against average was among the league leaders and so were his 28 goaltending victories. It would be difficult to name a netminder who has meant more to his team than Edwards.</p><p><b>ICE CHIPS:</b> Two victories over the Boston Bruins, the team that beat them out for the Adams Division title, by a cumulative score of 18-5 in the last two weeks of the season, fattened scoring totals of erstwhile Sabre scoring stars who had not done very well this season. Rick Martin got five goals and two assists, Gil Perreault a goal and six assists, Danny Gare three goals and three assists, but practically every forward got in on the scoring.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-01696/3870412-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg" title="f0018-01" width="574" height="690"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>DON EDWARDS&hellip;Impressive Stats</b></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-02557/3870405-1-eng-US/f0018-022.jpg" title="f0018-02" width="1192" height="1170"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>BOB SAUVE&hellip;Bad Luck Turning Around</b></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0018-01

Sauve Produces With Steady Work, Assures Sabres’ Goaltending Depth

<p class="dropcap"><b><span>P</span>hiladelphia Flyers&rsquo; Bill Barber is often overlooked in the wake of all of the publicity that Bobby Clarke&mdash;deservedly&mdash;gets, but it was Barber who was the Flyers&rsquo; leading scorer this year, and Barber who has played a big role in getting the Flyers into the playoff quarter-finals.</b></p><p><b>Barber has scored in each of the first four Flyers&rsquo; playoff contests, netting three goals and four assists in the first week of the playoffs to lead all scorers with seven points.</b></p><p><b>He had an assist in the Flyers&rsquo; 3-2 loss to Vancouver to open the playoffs and then followed with a goal and an assist and a goal and two assists as the Flyers prevailed two games to one. In the quarter-final opener. Barbertied the game for the Flyers with 4:58 remaining and Philadelphia went on to win 3-2 in overtime.</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-03417/3870443-1-eng-US/f0018-032.jpg" title="f0018-03" width="526" height="642"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>BILL BARBER&hellip;Philadelphia Flyers</b></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0018-03

NHL’s… Player of the Week

<h2><b>GOALS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-02547/3870509-1-eng-US/f0019-022.jpg" title="f0019-02" width="553" height="361"></div><h2><b>ASSISTS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-03429/3870502-1-eng-US/f0019-032.jpg" title="f0019-03" width="543" height="392"></div><h2><b>POWER PLAY GOALS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-04367/3870495-1-eng-US/f0019-042.jpg" title="f0019-04" width="537" height="496"></div><h2><b>SHORTHANDED GOALS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-05303/3870488-1-eng-US/f0019-052.jpg" title="f0019-05" width="545" height="333"></div><h2><b>GAME WINNING GOALS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-06234/3870481-1-eng-US/f0019-062.jpg" title="f0019-06" width="551" height="394"></div><h2><b>GAME TYING GOALS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-07205/3870474-1-eng-US/f0019-072.jpg" title="f0019-07" width="545" height="291"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0019-02

Bossy Top PP Scorer

<div class="byline">BY PAT THOMPSON</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0019-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-01667/3870540-1-eng-US/f0019-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>BOBBY SMITH&hellip;A Big Offensive Plus</b> <span class="photo-credit">(Photo by Robert Shever)</span></figcaption></div><p>BLOOMINGTON&mdash;</p><p>The Minnesota North Stars completed their first season under new ownership with mixed successes.</p><p>The most overriding failure was not making the playoffs, the fifth time in the last six seasons that a Minnesota team did not go after a cut of the Stanley Cup loot.</p><p>But the Stars did make inroads in a number of areas which left the organization, from George and Gordon Gund down to the players themselves, feeling optimistic about the future. Even Minnesota&rsquo;s fans did not turn on the team after its collapse from contention the final month of the season.</p><p>That was evident when a crowd of 10,042 turned out for the final home game to give the Stars a roaring sendoff into the off-season during a 4-3 victory over Chicago. In past non-playoff years, there might have been 6,000 to 7,000 for the final home game and the bon voyage was less than cordial.</p><p>This has to rank as this team&rsquo;s greatest accomplishment&mdash;winning back it support. If there was doubt that Minnesota would support pro hockey, it has been eliminated.</p><p>For its final five Saturday bookings, the Stars drew more than 15,000 for each game. At season&rsquo;s end, the team attracted a total of 428,892 for an average gate of 10,722, an increase of 2,000 fans a game and the first time since 1972-73 that many fans came to see the Stars play.</p><p>The Stars, last in the Adams Division as pre-season polls projected them, improved from being the worst team in NHL with 45 points in 1977-78 to 68 points, the team&rsquo;s best finish since 197273.</p><p>As the season wound down, however, there was the feeling the Stars had the talent to finish better than they did. A major reason was inability to win on the road&mdash;a longtime Minnesota malady.</p><p>Minnesota was better than .500 at home, 19-15-6. But, could manage to take only 24 points, (9-25-6) out of opposing rinks.</p><p>It did not help the team&rsquo;s playoff chances at all to close the season with eight of its last 10 games on the road.</p><p>Bobby Smith, THE HOCKEY NEWS&rsquo; rookie of the year, and Jack Carlson, another newcomer, used the same word in describing best how the Stars might improve themselves.</p><p>Intensity.</p><p>&ldquo;There are two areas we can make great improvement in,&rdquo; said Smith. &ldquo;One, there seemed to be a lack of intensity against teams we had to beat and should have beaten. The team needs to play as hard against the lower teams as it does against teams like Montreal and the Islanders. The other is that the team must overcome the fact that it has been losing for too long.&rdquo;</p><p>Intensity.</p><p>Carlson said much the same thing with this addendum: &ldquo;There is no reason why the team can&rsquo;t play with the same intensity on the road as it does at home.&rdquo;</p><p>Heading into the off-season the Stars feel optimistic that this intensity can be found in time for the 1979-80 season.</p><p><b>STAR DUST:</b> In playing out the schedule, the Stars called up five players from their Oklahoma City farm team; center Mike Eaves, who was CHL rookie of the year with 26 goals and CHL rookie record 61 assists; wingers Jim Roberts and Alex Pirus, and defensemen John Baby and Don Jackson.</p><p>North Stars who joined the Canadian team for the world tournament included defensemen Greg Smith and Brad Maxwell and the team&rsquo;s top line of Bobby Smith, Steve Payne and Al MacAdam&hellip;Mike Fidler was the only U.S. born player who accepted an invitation on Team USA which is being coached by Herb Brooks of NCAA champion University of Minnesota&hellip;Swedes Kent Andersson and Ole Brasar have been regulars on the Swedish team but they, too, are passing up the Moscow tournament.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0019-01

North Stars Regain Fan Support, Must Figure Way To Win On Road

<div class="byline">BY RUSS WHITE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-01513/3870571-1-eng-US/f0020-012.jpg" title="f0020-01" width="571" height="884"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>BERNIE WOLFE&hellip;Headed Elsewhere</b></figcaption></div><p>WASHINGTON&mdash;</p><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>he ice has melted at Capital Centre and Year Five is history for the Washington Capitals. General manager Max McNab is plotting next year, determining what holes to fill and what positions and players to claim in the upcoming amateur draft.</p><p>The National Hockey League-World Hockey Association expansion allows the Caps an opportunity to pick up at least two front-line players for 1979-80.</p><p>Washington will have the No. 4 choice in this year&rsquo;s draft and can either go for one of the outstanding players from junior hockey or select one of the underage players from the Birmingham Bulls or Cincinnati Stingers of the WHA.</p><p>In addition, the Caps are expected to reclaim defenseman Paul MacKimmon, who though drafted by the Caps in the second round of last year&rsquo;s draft, chose to play for Winnipeg of the WHA.</p><p>Several of this year&rsquo;s Caps may wind up on one of the four new teams&mdash;Winnipeg, Edmonton, Quebec, or New England. McNab has already selected the 15 skaters and two goaltenders he can protect in the expansion draft. &ldquo;We will not be hurt,&rdquo; he said.</p><p>Goalie Bernie Wolfe, it appears, has played his last game for the Caps. He is not protected&rdquo;for the expansion draft. Gary Inness and Jim Bedard are protected and young Rollie Boutin is exempt.</p><p>The Caps will also protect veteran center Dennis Hextail, a late-seaSon pickup from the Detroit Red Wings.</p><p>It is possible that Blair Stewart and Bob Girard will be among those Caps not protected and available for the new teams. McNab has eight or nine defensemen, admitting the team is heavy there, but indicates that he might make a deal for one of them&mdash;possibly Yvon Labre or Jack Lynch, both of whom ex-Caps&rsquo; coach Tom McVie would gladly take in Winnipeg.</p><p>&ldquo;The new teams will want defensemen, that&rsquo;s for sure,&rdquo; McNab said.</p><p>Little Dennis Maruk ended up as the Caps&rsquo; highest single season scoring leader with a fine 90-point season, his career high. Maruk led a contingent of Caps&rsquo; players to the World Championship in Moscow. He&rsquo;s on Team Canada with Guy Charron, Rick Green, and Robett Picard. Bob Sirois, a 29-goal scorer, would have been on the team, too, but had knee surgery.</p><p>Craig Patrick of the Caps is on the U.S.A, team, while Caps&rsquo; Rolf Edberg and Leif Svensson are on Sweden&rsquo;s national team.</p><p>Caps&rsquo; owner Abe Pollin was not happy that his team finished out of the playoffs for a fifth straight year but was smiling after a seasonclosing 5-2 victory over playoff-bound Pittsburgh. &ldquo;This is a good way to end, with a victory,&rdquo; Pollin said. &ldquo;I believe that we are on the track, that our fans will have a team that they can be proud of next year.&rdquo;</p><p>Pollin said he was &ldquo;not disappointed&rdquo; with the job done by coach Danny Belisle and indicated that Belisle would be back for the second year of his contract. &ldquo;He has a contract,&rdquo; Pollin said, &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t expect any change.&rdquo;</p><p>Belisle was under heat by some season ticket holders, one group bugging him in the final days of the year with a huge &ldquo;Good-bye Danny&rdquo; banner.</p><p>By winning three of their four last games, the Caps ended up 24-41-15 for 63 points, their best point year ever, one better than McVie&rsquo;s 1976-77 Caps. The 24 wins tied the 1976-77 total.</p><p>Belisle told Cap fans that he guaranteed a playoff appearance next year.</p><p>McNab promptly dispatched Belisle on a scouting tour, the first stop in Birmingham, Ala., to watch the underage players on the Bulls&rsquo; roster.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0020-01

Wolfe Missing From Capital Protected List

<div class="byline">BY DONALD BERNS</div><p>ST. LOUIS&mdash;</p><p>Red Berenson still is trying to make the transition from player to assistant coach.</p><p>There have been nights this past season when Berenson wanted to leap out of the stands and race for the loose puck after an errant pass or missed opportunity on the ice.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s been a frustrating year,&rdquo; Berenson said. &ldquo;The first year away from playing is tough, and I guess every young coach wants to get back on the ice to help. But being around the team is better than not being associated with hockey at all.&rdquo;</p><p>However, Berenson also is beginning to like the view from the management side of a hockey team.</p><p>&ldquo;Management is a lot more interesting than I thought it would be,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;When I was a player, I had my own ideas about management, and 1 don&rsquo;t think they were totally wrong. But I&rsquo;ve had to change some of my ideas. I think each player ought to spend one year on the management side of a hockey team to see what it&rsquo;s all about.&rdquo;</p><p>As assistant to coach Barclay Plager of the St. Louis Blues, Berenson has conducted many of the Blues&rsquo; practices and worked closely with Plager in assessing the team&rsquo;s players and problems. During games Berenson watches carefully from his seat, then goes to the Blues&rsquo; dressing room between periods to make suggestions and help analyze the play of the Blues and the opponents.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve paid particular attention to our centers,&rdquo; the former center said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m very pleased with Bernie Federko and Mike Zuke. They&rsquo;ve developed so well this year.&rdquo;</p><p>Berenson no longer fits with the team as one of the fellows.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not as close to the players, but I can&rsquo;t be if I&rsquo;m going to make an impact as part of management,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;My spare time is not spent with the players. I don&rsquo;t go out to lunch with them anymore or have them over to the house for dinner. I&rsquo;ve cut off all social contact with them.&rdquo;</p><p>But Berenson realizes the change in lifestyle is part of the course he has set for himself.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m just getting my feet wet this year,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Making a contribution as an assistant coach is sometimes hard to put your finger on. I wish the team had done better this year.&rdquo;</p><p>Berenson, of course, can remember the Blues&rsquo; glory years when he was the team&rsquo;s leading scorer and one of the stars of NHL expansion. The Blues traded Berenson to Detroit in 1971 and he was happy when the team reacquired him four years later.</p><p>In his second stint with the Blues, Berenson once again was one of the team&rsquo;s hardest workers. In his last season as a player Berenson was embarrassed by the team&rsquo;s poor play. He tried to lift the team but found his legs no longer had the spring and strength they had 10 years earlier.</p><p>Still, Berenson was skating a regular shift at the end of the season and would have enjoyed playing one more year, this past season. But he made it clear he did not want to leave the Blues a second time. St. Louis general manager Emile Francis offered Berenson the assistant coaching job.</p><p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want to be an assistant coach the rest of my life,&rdquo; Berenson said, &ldquo;but I don&rsquo;t necessarily want to be a head coach with some team next year. I&rsquo;d like to make my home in St. Louis for a while.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-02373/3870602-1-eng-US/f0020-022.jpg" title="f0020-02" width="570" height="602"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>MIKE ZUKE&hellip;Pleasing Development</b></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0020-02

Berenson Learns Management Role

<div class="byline">BY VARTAN KUPELIAN</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0021-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-01354/3870633-1-eng-US/f0021-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>REED LARSON&hellip;Could Play Out Option</b></figcaption></div><p>DETROIT&mdash;</p><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>ed Lindsay, Detroit Red Wings&rsquo; general manager had several comments about the following subjects&mdash;Bobby Kromm, &lsquo;European hockey&rsquo;, Rogie Vachon, expansion and free agents:</p><p>&ldquo;Bobby Kromm will he here as long as I am,&rdquo; Lindsay said in a post-season evaluation of his hockey club.</p><p>&ldquo;Bobby&rsquo;s a winner, a competitor.</p><p>&ldquo;People say, &lsquo;What&rsquo;s this European style of hockey you&rsquo;re using.&rsquo; I tell them, &lsquo;The problem with you people is that you&rsquo;re not old enough to remember when the NHL had six teams.&rsquo; That&rsquo;s not European hockey, that&rsquo;s hockey the way it used to be played. The Russians reminded us in the Challenge Cup how it was played.&rdquo;</p><p>Once he cleared waivers, Vachon, the free agent goalie, finished the season on the end of the bench. But that&rsquo;s not to be misinterpreted, Lindsay said.</p><p>&ldquo;I haven&rsquo;t given up on him,&rdquo; Lindsay said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s too classy a guy. He&rsquo;s been a credit to the game. I feel so badly, not for our sake but for his sake.</p><p>&ldquo;I will persevere with him and I will do everything possible to help him during the summer.</p><p>&ldquo;We had goaltending problems early in the year but it wasn&rsquo;t just Rogie. Jimmy Rutherford wasn&rsquo;t playing well then, either.&rdquo;</p><p>The Wings expect to sign another young goalie soon, a free agent. Lindsay said that would give the Wings three outstanding young goaltenders to back up Rutherford, Vachon and Ron Low. Strengthening the goaltending throughout the organization is one of Lindsay&rsquo;s foremost projects.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s very important to have that outstanding goaltending and we&rsquo;re moving in that direction,&rdquo; Lindsay said. &ldquo;There was a time when the Red Wings were superior in that area and we want to get back to that.&rdquo;</p><p>Lindsay long was an outspoken critic of the World Hockey Association and a merger. But his viewpoint has changed significantly in recent months and he hailed the expansion as the first step toward improving the calibre of professional hockey in North America.</p><p>&ldquo;Now they&rsquo;ve got nowhere else to go,&rdquo; Lindsay said of the players.</p><p>&ldquo;When you draft a player, you know that he&rsquo;s yours. All players will be on two-way contracts.</p><p>&ldquo;If a player has talent, he had no problems. A lot of guys are stealing their money today. The difference between $20,000 and $60,000, that&rsquo;s a helluva lot of incentive for a player in the minors to work hard and play well and get to the NHL. It&rsquo;s not a threat, just a fact.&rdquo;</p><p>There was considerable talk in Detroit in the final weeks of the season on the status of free-agent to be Reed Larson. The talented young defenseman is on the option year of his contract with the Red Wings and unless he signs again with Detroit, he will become a free agent on June 1. A native of Minneapolis, there has been speculation that he would join the North Stars.</p><p>Minnesota GM Lou Nanne ruled out the possibility he would sign Larson as a free agent, saying the only way the defenseman would end up in a North Star uniform is if he were traded. Nanne&rsquo;s concern is that if he were to sign Larson, he&rsquo;d risk losing one of his outstanding young players. Lindsay has heard the rumors.</p><p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s what I told Lou Nanne,&rdquo; Lindsay said. &ldquo;If what I hear is true, he&rsquo;d better be ready to lose Bobby Smith. That&rsquo;s who I&rsquo;d take. That&rsquo;s fair and equal.&rdquo;</p><p>Another who will be a free agent, without any string attached, is Vaclav Nedomansky, the Wings&rsquo; leading scorer this season.</p><p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;re in the process of talking about a contract,&rdquo; Lindsay said.</p><p>&ldquo;Alan Eagleson and 1 have had correspondence. He hasn&rsquo;t had a chance to talk to Ned yet. It&rsquo;s no problem. I think Ned wants to be here. He&rsquo;s very happy under Kromm and that&rsquo;s very important.</p><p>&ldquo;If Ned would apply himself all the time, he&rsquo;d probably still be the best player in the world, even at his age (35).&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0021-01

Wings’ Lindsay Offers Post-Season Evaluation

<div class="byline">BY FRED PIETILA</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-01386/3870671-1-eng-US/f0022-012.jpg" title="f0022-01" width="569" height="454"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>MUNSON CAMPBELL&hellip;Mutual Disagreement</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-02295/3870664-1-eng-US/f0022-022.jpg" title="f0022-02" width="563" height="452"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>ALDO GUIDOLIN&hellip;Assumes Old Job</b></figcaption></div><p>DENVER&mdash;</p><p class="dropcap"><span>C</span>olorado Rockies&rsquo; president Armand Pohan wasted little time making his intentions known following the end of the worst National Hockey League season in Denver.</p><p>Pohan announced at a news conference three days after the Rockies&rsquo; 1553-12 season finally ended, a series of personnel changes, including the resigning of general manager Ray Miron to a three-year contract.</p><p>Pohan also announced that interim coach Aldo Guidolin would resume his duties as director of player personnel, that assistant coach Mike Smith had been relieved of his duties, and he confirmed the resignations of vice-president and alternate governor Munson Campbell and radio broadcaster Joe Starkey. Both Campbell and Starkey had been with the club since its inception.</p><p>Miron had been the target of media and fan criticism for some of his player moves during the season, but Pohan has confidence in his ability to build a hockey club.</p><p>&ldquo;I am most satisfied, despite our record, with the job Ray has done,&rdquo; Pohan said. &ldquo;He has been loyal. He has been hard-working. 1 find his judgment to be sound. I find his approach to be businesslike. And I think that he is going to make a valuable contribution&mdash;as he has already.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s easy for people to make Ray the scapegoat. This is not a business in which there is much science and there are many experts,&rdquo; Pohan said.</p><p>Pohan referred to an article he had seen in a Washington, D.C. paper last fall, saying &ldquo;what a genius Ray Miron was and what an idiot Max McNab (the Washington GM) was on the basis of comparative records at the end of last year. But you can&rsquo;t go by records from year to year. You&rsquo;ve got to look at what you&rsquo;ve got and who you&rsquo;ve got in terms of talented players.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m firmly convinced, and that&rsquo;s a conviction that&rsquo;s been reinforced by people around the league with no ax to grind, that we have the makings here of a better hockey team than many of the teams that finished ahead of us this year,&rdquo; Pohan continued. &ldquo;And if we do have those makings, it&rsquo;s a tribute to Ray and to our scouting system.&rdquo;</p><p>Guidolin, a former head scout for Atlanta, will join Bob Davidson, a former head scout for Toronto, Rudy Filion and Frank Mario in the scouting department. Guidolin has been with the Rockies since their inception.</p><p>&ldquo;Aldo Guidolin agreed to take over-the coaching responsibilities after 21 games of the season at a point and time where again there aren&rsquo;t that many people available. Aldo knew the players and he agreed to it&mdash;on the condition that he would be given an opportunity to go back to the position of director of player personnel. And that&rsquo;s what Aldo is.&rdquo; Pohan said.</p><p>Smith joined the Rockies in August after serving with the New York Rangers&rsquo; organization.</p><p>Campbell announced his resignation a day earlier &ldquo;in light of mutual disagreement over the course of the franchise.&rdquo;</p><p>Campbell called the franchise a &ldquo;disaster&rdquo; and had advised that a housecleaning of the hockey department (Miron) was necessary. His advice went unheeded.</p><p>Pohan reiterated his intention of keeping the Rockies in Denver next season, announced a lowering of season ticket prices and discussed the team&rsquo;s first actual attempt at a vigorous season ticket drive which has been non-existent the past three years because of the instability of the situation.</p><p>&ldquo;I have great hopes that we can raise that season ticket base and double it from the 3,500 that it was this year. Nothing was done the summer of &rsquo;7677. Nothing was done the summer of 7778,&rdquo; Pohan said. And then last summer thr transfer of ownership wasn&rsquo;t approved until early August, thus killing another potential off-season drive.</p><p><b>ROCKY RAMBLINGS:</b> Wilf Paiement had three assists in the season finale against Buffalo to win the team&rsquo;s scoring championship for the third straight season&hellip;Paiement finished with 24 goals and 35 assists for 60 points in 65 games&hellip;Jack Valiquette, who ended the season with a 24-game goal-scoring slump, was second with 57 points&hellip;Merlin &ldquo;The Magician&rsquo;&rsquo; Malinouski, the Rockies&rsquo; No. 2 draft choice, finished strongly with nine points in his last four games&hellip;Right winger Ron &ldquo;The Chief&rdquo; Celorme, sparked by his first NHL hat trick in a 9-5 win over St. Louis, finished as a 20-goal scorer and doubled his production over the previous season&hellip;Defenseman Barry Beck, who was a major disappointment after a sparkling rookie season, scored with 16 seconds remaining to help the Rockies to a 5-5 tie in the finale in Buffalo&hellip;Beck had just 14 goals, eight fewer than that 22-goal rookie season and is still troubled by an ailing right knee.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0022-01

Rockies Renew Miron’s Contract; Munson Quits Front Office Role

<div class="byline">BY TONY GALLAGHER</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0023-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-01362/3870702-1-eng-US/f0023-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>RON SEDLBAUER&hellip;Increased His Bargaining Power</b> <span class="photo-credit">(Photo by Robert Shaver)</span></figcaption></div><p>VANCOUVER&mdash;</p><p>Vancouver Canucks got their wish after all it appears, that is, as far as their state of affairs entering the playoffs.</p><p>Harry Neale, their articulate coach had been saying for the past three months that he was hoping to make the playoffs, but only if the team was playing fairly well.</p><p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t see much point of getting into the playoffs by backing in,&rdquo; said Neale back when the St. Louis Blues were only four points behind his Smythe Division squad.</p><p>But since that time, Canucks have gone on what amounts to a rampage for them. In their final 11 regular season games, they won six, tied three and lost two, while giving up only 20 goals in the process.</p><p>That is precisely the way Neale wanted them to go into the playoffs, checking closely and with something resembling momentum behind them. True they met the Philadelphia Flyers in the first round, but in a sense Neale figured the Flyers are a team more like his than the New York Rangers, so he wasn&rsquo;t unhappy.</p><p>&ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s just recently that the Flyers have begun playing like the Flyers everybody is used to looking at, and there is absolutely no doubt that we are the underdogs. They are about 30 points better than us, but if there is ever a time to put your money on an underdog, the three-game playoffs is the time to do it.&rdquo;</p><p>The biggest factor in what might be described as a surge by the Canucks is the fact that they have been keeping down the number of shots on goal by opponents. They haven&rsquo;t been scoring many goals themselves, but they haven&rsquo;t done that all season anyway.</p><p>&ldquo;Every year there is some team in the National League that surprises in the first round of the playoffs by beating somebody they aren&rsquo;t supposed to,&rdquo; says Neale. &ldquo;This year, maybe it will be us. I was hoping we would come into the playoffs with a little confidence, and now we know we will be confident. Also, hopefully we will be going into the games as healthy as we have been all year.&rdquo;</p><p>By healthy, Neale still means the team will be without what amounts to the youthful part of the nucleus of the team, that is Glen Hanlon, Bill Derlago and Kevin McCarthy, all through for the season.</p><p>But there is an excellent chance Lars Lindgren will be ready to go in the playoffs having recovered from his separated shoulder and center Chris Oddleifson is pretty well fully back from his charley-horse. The latest in the saga of injuries which saw Vancouver lose nearly 250 man-games this year was a possible fractured nose suffered by another center, Pit Martin, during the team&rsquo;s last road trip of the season. Martin, however, was ready for post-season Play.</p><p>As the regular schedule closed for the Canucks, the only remaining tension emanated from the statistical side as Ron Sedlbauer sought to become the first Canuck ever to score 40 goals in the NHL. The big left winger had already broken the club record of 38 goals held jointly by Don Lever and Bobby Schmautz and on the final day of the season reached the magic 40-figure.</p><p>Sedlbauer, who is playing out his option, thus upped his bargaining power in the off season both with general manager Jake Milford and any other team in the league interested in acquiring his services.</p><p>Having been the leading scoring left winger most of the season, Sedlbauer certainly would attract some attention in the free agent market, naturally depending on whether compensation is necessary or not. He said earlier in the year that he intends to sign nothing until June 1, preferring to look through his agent, Alan Eagleson, at what the other teams have to offer. He has not had a particularly good record defensively this year, though in the past two seasons as a Canuck he was probably their best overall performer as far as plus-minus records were concerned.</p><p>Milford may not find the 190-pound winger, from Burlington, Ont., that difficult to deal with, but he is certainly in for a hefty raise over his reported $90,000 per season deal at present.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0023-01

Canucks Finish Strong, Gain Plavoff Momentum

<p>LOUISVILLE HOCKEY STICKS Made in Canada by HILLERICH & BRADSBY. LTD Arnold Street. Wallaceburg. Ontario Sold in U.S. and Canada</p><p>LOUISVILLE HOCKEY STICKS Made in Canada by HILLERICH & BRADSBY. LTD Arnold Street. Wallaceburg. Ontario Sold in U.S. and Canada</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-01374/3870747-1-eng-US/f0024-012.jpg" title="f0024-01" width="562" height="1014"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>RON CHIPPERFIELD&hellip;Big Scoring Year</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-02294/3870740-1-eng-US/f0024-022.jpg" title="f0024-02" width="565" height="1006"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>DAVE LANGEVIN&hellip;Surprise Star</b></figcaption></div><p>EDMONTON&mdash;</p><p>It didn&rsquo;t happen the way the players and coach Glen Sather wanted it, but the Oilers&rsquo; first-ever World Hockey Association championship was sweet, anyway.</p><p>&ldquo;Get your heads up,&rdquo; winger Brett Callighen shouted in the dressing room moments after the Oilers had clinched first place despite a 6-4 loss to Winnipeg Jets. &ldquo;We got the job done.&rdquo;</p><p>Indeed, they did. With four regularseason games remaining (three for second-place Quebec), the Oilers won the championship when New England Whalers whipped the Nordiques 5-2 at Quebec City. The combined results left Edmonton seven points ahead of the Nordiques, who had a maximum of six points available to them.</p><p>&ldquo;I hate to lose,&rdquo; said Edmonton coach Glen Sather, praised as the key man in the championship, &ldquo;but I&rsquo;m proud of these guys.</p><p>&ldquo;They&rsquo;ve done everything they had to do, all season long. Sometimes they made things tough for themselves, but they never quit&mdash;not once.&rdquo;</p><p>In common with every other professional hockey team, the Oilers survived injuries to key personnel such as Ron Chipperfield, Joe Micheletti, Stan Weir and Callighen. The overcame the early-season failures of second-string goaltender Ed Walsh and the slow start of veteran Al Hamilton.</p><p>Without doubt, Dave Dryden was the key to the team&rsquo;s success especially early in the season. At 37, carrying a reputation as a solid netminder&rsquo;s netminder who&rsquo;s at his best with lots of rest, Dryden changed his entire image.</p><p>He played more minutes and faced more shots than any goaltender in the WHA before the championship was settled. Going down the stretch, Sather recognized signs of weariness in the great old veteran, but he couldn&rsquo;t force himself to pull Dryden out in favor of young Ed Mio or rookie Hannu Kamppuri.</p><p>&ldquo;Dave brought us here,&rdquo; said Sather. &ldquo;If he isn&rsquo;t the All Star in this league, there&rsquo;s no justice.&rdquo;</p><p>The Oilers are full of standouts. For the first time in the seven-year history of the franchise, several players could expect votes in a team most-valuable category.</p><p>Wayne Gretzky, for example, set team records for points and thrills. He also was closing in on single-season goal and assist records. Former Oilers&rsquo; Rusty Patenaude and Norm Ullman both said they wouldn&rsquo;t mind having the young super star erase them from the top of the Oilers&rsquo; lists.</p><p>Dryden, center Chipperfield, right winger Blair MacDonald and defenseman Dave Langevin also drew support in a casual poll of media personnel.</p><p>Chipperfield missed more than 25 games due to injury but added class on and off the ice. His scoring ratio of 65 points in 50 games would have lifted him into the top 10 in WHA scoring. He also helped wingers Bill Flett, Dave Semenko and Peter Driscoll, who spent part of the season in slumps of varying severity.</p><p>MacDonald has been Edmonton&rsquo;s Mr. Everything since he returned to the club from Indianapolis before the start of last season. He scored more than 30 goals for the third season in a row, had a shot at 70 points and did an outstanding job of penalty-killing and harnessing the top shooters on rival teams.</p><p>Langevin&rsquo;s emergence as a star was a big surprise. He had an indifferent 1977-78 season and went to training camp in Europe a triffle overweight. However, he was in top form by the start of the season and was easily the Oilers&rsquo; most consistent defender.</p><p>&ldquo;All it took was for &ldquo;Bammer&rdquo; to learn his scoring totals aren&rsquo;t important,&rdquo; Sather said on many occasions. &ldquo;He earns his respect by playing tough in our end.</p><p>&ldquo;When he&rsquo;s as physical as he&rsquo;s capable of, he&rsquo;s outstanding.&rdquo;</p><p>The Oilers also benefited by the presence of veterans Ace Bailey, Bill Goldsworthy and Jim Neilson although they didn&rsquo;t play much down the stretch. Goldsworthy was a big asset before he injured his shoulder while Bailey added life on the ice and in the dressing room before suffering a severe leg bruise that helped end his season.</p><p>Neilson, handicapped by his often-recurring bad back, was a spectator through most of the last several weeks but his experience helped settle down the defensemen.</p><h2>WHA Leaders</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-03207/3870733-1-eng-US/f0024-032.jpg" title="f0024-03" width="612" height="814"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0024-01

Edmonton Backs Into Championship But Sather’s Club Earned Rewards

<p class="dropcap"><b><span>E</span>dmonton&rsquo;s youngest millionaire, 18-year-old Wayne Gretzky of the Oilers, capped another of his brilliant rookie seasons with a seven-goal outburst, which included two hat tricks, to move into third place in the WHA scoring race.</b></p><p><b>Gretzky, rookie of the year in the Ontario Major Junior League a year ago, scored three goals in a losing cause as the Oilers opened the week with a 64 setback against Winnipeg, had a goal in a 6-4 win over Birmingham, and three of the Oilers&rsquo; four goals in a 4-1 triumph against New England.</b></p><p><b>The explosive week upped Gretzky&rsquo;s goal total to 45, making him the second highest goalscorer among rookies behind Anders Hedberg, who knocked in 53 goals in his first year with Winnipeg.</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-04158/3870778-1-eng-US/f0024-042.jpg" title="f0024-04" width="512" height="702"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>WAYNE GRETZKY&hellip;Edmonton Oilers</b></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0024-04

WHA’S…Player of the Week

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0025-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-01317/3870809-1-eng-US/f0025-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>When the WHA playoffs open this week, two seasoned veterans who will be on the firing line are Whalers&rsquo; John McKenzie and Edmonton defense ace Paul Shmyr. Oilers ended up as WHA&rsquo;s No. 1 team.</b></figcaption></div><p>WINNIPEG&mdash;</p><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>he Winnipeg Jets will get first pick in the National Hockey League&rsquo;s expansion draft of all players not protected by their respective NHL clubs.</p><p>This was revealed by Jets&rsquo; vice-president and general manager John Ferguson, who disclosed the order of selection for the NHL amateur, expansion and free agent drafts.</p><p>Ferguson said that in the expansion draft, the Jets have first pick of all players not protected by their NHL clubs. The Jets will be followed by the Edmonton Oilers, New England Whalers and Quebec Nordiques. Once the first round is complete, the teams will then draft in reverse order (i.e. Quebec will have 5th pick, New England 6th, Edmonton 7th and Winnipeg 8th and 9th. The draft will continue in this manner until all teams presently in the NHL have had 4 players drafted from their rosters.</p><p>The WHA free agent draft will see the Jets picking fourth, preceded by New England who will pick first, Edmonton who will pick second and Quebec who will pick third. Again, the teams will make their selections in reverse order in the remaining rounds (i.e. Winnipeg will pick 5th, Quebec 6th, Edmonton 7th, New England 8th and 9th).</p><p>The four WHA teams have been alloted the 18th, 19th, 20th and 21st picks in the NHL amateur draft in which all 21 NHL teams will participate. New England gets the 18th pick, Winnipeg the 19th Quebec the 20th and Edmonton will pick 21st.</p><p>The NHL teams will select in reverse order of the finish of the 1978-79 league race according to points, with the team with the fewest points, Colorado Rockies, picking first, and the one with the most, the New York Islanders, selecting 17th.</p><p>The order of draft for the amateur draft will be Colorado first, St. Louis second, Detroit third, Washington fourth, Vancouver fifth, Minnesota sixth, Chicago seventh, Boston eighth (they acquired a previous first round pick for goaler Ron Grahame from Los Angeles), Toronto ninth, Pittsburgh 10th, Buffalo 11th, Atlanta 12th, Rangers 13th, Philadelphia 14th, Boston 15th, Montreal 16th, Islanders 17th, New England 18th, Winnipeg 19th, Quebec 20th and Edmonton 21st.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0025-01

Jets Get First Pick In NHL Expansion Draft

<h2><b>SERIES &lsquo;A&rsquo;</b></h2><p><b>CINCINNATI vs N. ENGLAND</b></p><p><b>(Best-of-three series)</b></p><p><b>Sat. Apr. 21 at New England</b></p><p><b>Sun. Apr. 22 at Cincinnati</b></p><p><b>Tue. Apr. 24 at New England</b></p><h2><b>SERIES &lsquo;B&rsquo;</b></h2><p><b>EDMONTON vs &lsquo;A&rsquo; WINNER</b></p><p><b>(Best-of-seven series)</b></p><h2><b>SERIES &lsquo;C&rsquo;</b></h2><p><b>WINNIPEG vs QUEBEC</b></p><p><b>(Best-of-seven series)</b></p><p><b>Sat. Apr. 21 at Quebec</b></p><p><b>Tue. Apr. 24 at Quebec</b></p><p><b>Fri. Apr. 27 at Winnipeg</b></p><p><b>Sun. Apr. 29 at Winnipeg</b></p><p><b>Tue. May 1 at Quebec</b></p><p><b>Tue. May 3 at Winnipeg</b></p><p><b>Wed. May 5 at Quebec</b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

WHA Playoff Dates

<h2><b>AMATEUR DRAFT</b></h2><p>1. <b>Colorado</b></p><p>2. <b>St. Louis</b></p><p>3. <b>Detroit</b></p><p>4. <b>Washington</b></p><p>5. <b>Vancouver</b></p><p>6. <b>Minnesota</b></p><p>7. <b>Chicago</b></p><p>8. <b>Boston*</b></p><p>9. <b>Toronto</b></p><p>10. <b>Pittsburgh</b></p><p>11. <b>Buffalo</b></p><p>12. <b>Atlanta</b></p><p>13. <b>Rangers</b></p><p>14. <b>Philadelphia</b></p><p>15. <b>Boston</b></p><p>16. <b>Montreal</b></p><p>17. <b>Islanders</b></p><p>18. <b>New England</b></p><p>19. <b>Winnipeg</b></p><p>20. <b>Quebec</b></p><p>21. <b>Edmonton</b></p><p><b>(*-secured from Los Angeles)</b></p><h2><b>EXPANSION DRAFT</b></h2><p>1. <b>Winnipeg</b></p><p>2. <b>Edmonton</b></p><p>3. <b>New England</b></p><p>4. <b>Quebec</b></p><p>5. <b>Quebec</b></p><p>6. <b>New England</b></p><p>7. <b>Edmonton</b></p><p>8. <b>Winnipeg</b></p><p>9. <b>Winnipeg</b></p><p>10. <b>Edmonton</b></p><p>11. <b>New England</b></p><p>12. <b>Quebec</b></p><h2><b>FREE AGENT DRAFT</b></h2><p>1. <b>New England</b></p><p>2. <b>Edmonton</b></p><p>3. <b>Quebec</b></p><p>4. <b>Winnipeg</b></p><p>5. <b>Winnipeg</b></p><p>6. <b>Quebec</b></p><p>7. <b>Edmonton</b></p><p>8. <b>New England</b></p><p>9. <b>New England</b></p><p>10. <b>Edmonton</b></p><p>11. <b>Quebec</b></p><p>12. <b>Winnipeg</b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

How Teams Will Draft

<h2>Tue. Apr. 10 WINNIPEG 6, EDMONTON 4</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-01325/3870958-1-eng-US/f0026-012.jpg" title="f0026-01" width="604" height="735"></div><h2>NEW ENGLAND 5, QUEBEC 2</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-02267/3870951-1-eng-US/f0026-022.jpg" title="f0026-02" width="610" height="659"></div><h2>Wed. Apr. 11 CINCINNATI 6, QUEBEC 2</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-03227/3870944-1-eng-US/f0026-032.jpg" title="f0026-03" width="599" height="680"></div><h2>BIRMINGHAM 1, WINNIPEG 2</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-04174/3870937-1-eng-US/f0026-042.jpg" title="f0026-04" width="602" height="507"></div><h2>Thu. Apr. 12 CINCINNATI 0, NEW ENGLAND 4</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-05139/3870930-1-eng-US/f0026-052.jpg" title="f0026-05" width="614" height="605"></div><h2>Fri. Apr. 13 EDMONTON 6, BIRMINGHAM 4</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-06109/3870923-1-eng-US/f0026-062.jpg" title="f0026-06" width="614" height="754"></div><h2>Sat. Apr. 14 EDMONTON 6, BIRMINGHAM 7</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-0798/3870916-1-eng-US/f0026-072.jpg" title="f0026-07" width="626" height="766"></div><h2>CINCINNATI 4, NEW ENGLAND 0</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-0888/3870909-1-eng-US/f0026-082.jpg" title="f0026-08" width="626" height="603"></div><h2>Sun. Apr. 15 CINCINNATI 2, QUEBEC 4</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-0982/3870902-1-eng-US/f0026-092.jpg" title="f0026-09" width="608" height="650"></div><h2>BIRMINGHAM 4, WINNIPEG 5</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-1078/3870895-1-eng-US/f0026-102.jpg" title="f0026-10" width="608" height="734"></div><h2>EDMONTON 4, NEW ENGLAND 1</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-1174/3870888-1-eng-US/f0026-112.jpg" title="f0026-11" width="661" height="646"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0026-01

WORLD HOCKEY ASSN. SUMMARIES

<p class="dropcap"><b><span>B</span>IRMINGHAM: Alley 16, 17, Hartsburg 8,9, Hanson 6, Ramage 11,12, Stephenson 21,22,23, Cassolato 11,12,13, Sleigher 26, Gingras 13, Goulet 28.</b></p><p><b>CINCINNATI: Marsh 41,42,43, Stewart 1,2, Ftorek 39, Shutt 10, Legge 3, Baltimore 5, Thomas 32, Forbes 6, Hislop 30.</b></p><p><b>EDMONTON: Callaighen 26,27,28,29, Gretzky 39,40,41,42,43,44,45, Carlson 17, 18, Flett 28, Weir 29, Driscoll 19, Goldsworthy 4, Chipperfield 30, Shmyr 8, MacDonald 34.</b></p><p><b>NEW ENGLAND: Miller 26, Warner 6, G. Howe 18, Mark Howe 41,42, Pleau 6, Roberts 10,11, Lyle 17, McKenzie 19.</b></p><p><b>QUEBEC: Fitchner 10, Leduc 32,33,34, Lacombe 3. Bernier 36, Cote 13, Tardif 41.</b></p><p><b>WINNIPEG: Preston 26,27,28, Sullivan 42,43,44,45, Lukowich 64,65, Lindstrom 26, Ruskowski 19,20, Eriksson 5.</b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

WHA’s Scorers…This Week

f0026-13

Looking At WHA Goalers

<p><b>(Standings on Tue. April 17)</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-1267/3871044-1-eng-US/f0026-122.jpg" title="f0026-12" width="612" height="196"></div><h2><b>GAMES COMPLETED</b></h2><p><b>Tue. Apr. 10</b></p><p>Winnipeg 6 at Edmonton 4</p><p>New England 5 at Quebec 2</p><p><b>Wed. Apr. 11</b></p><p>Cincinnati 6 at Quebec 2</p><p>Birmingham 1 at Winnipeg 2</p><p><b>Thu. Apr. 12</b></p><p>Cincinnati 0 at New England 4</p><p><b>Fri. Apr. 13</b></p><p>Edmonton 6 at Birmingham 4</p><p><b>Sat. Apr. 14</b></p><p>Edmonton 6 at Birmingham 7</p><p>Cincinnati 4 at New England 0</p><p><b>Sun. Apr. 15</b></p><p>Cincinnati 2 at Quebec 4</p><p>Birmingham 4 at Winnipeg 5</p><p>Edmonton 4 at New England 1</p><h2><b>GAMES TO COME</b></h2><p><b>Tue. Apr. 17</b></p><p>New England at Quebec</p><p><b>Wed. Apr. 18</b></p><p>Winnipeg at Edmonton</p><p>(End of schedule)<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0026-12

The WHA Scoreboard

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0027-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-01305/3871075-1-eng-US/f0027-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>JAMIE HISLOP&hellip;First Pro Hat Trick</b></figcaption></div><p>CINCINNATI&mdash;</p><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>he Cincinnati Stingers, boistered by an enthusiastic crowd, ended four years of World Hockey Association regular season action at Riverfront Coliseum in the same manner as they began&mdash;with a victory.</p><p>&ldquo;I think all the guys were really ready for the game,&rdquo; said Jamie Hislop, whose hat trick let Cincinnati to a 6-2 win April 7 over the Quebec Nordiques. &ldquo;We were ready. In the second period, when the fans gave us a standing ovation&mdash;the applause and stuff&mdash;that really got the blood going.&rdquo;</p><p>The official WHA game sheet shows that Cincinnati beat Quebec, 6-2, the Stingers outshot the Nordiques, 4121 and four different Stingers scored goals in a game attended by 8,516 persons.</p><p>However, those are mere statistics which do not&mdash;and cannot&mdash;measure the emotion which enveloped Riverfront Coliseum on the final Saturday night, when signs saying &ldquo;Good Luck, Stingers&rdquo; in French hung from the south end of the Coliseum and when a standing ovation at the beginning of the second period accelerated the adrenalin which had already been flowing.</p><p>The outpouring of emotion&mdash;especially at the start of the second period, when the crowd gave the Stingers a standing ovation for five minutes&mdash;impressed every player, especially Robbie Ftorek, the team&rsquo;s All Star center.</p><p>&ldquo;it showed the fans appreciated the efforts we were putting out for the season,&rdquo; said Ftorek, &ldquo;and it showed they wanted us to produce a little bit better to win the last game at home. I think it had some effect on us.&rdquo;</p><p>Cincinnati Stingers&rsquo; coach Floyd Smith had vowed several days before the game that the team would win its last regular season WHA contest and the fans were not to be denied.</p><p>The Stingers jumped in front, 1-0, when Jamie Hislop got his 27th goal on a deflection shot at 5:16 of the first period, a lead which was short-lived. Alain Cote drilled home his 12th goal of the year at 14:10 of the first 20 minutes and the score was even at one all but that was the last time the Nordiques even got close.</p><p>Stingers right winger Peter Marsh, having his finest season as a professional, took a nice pass from Hislop in the slot and sent a wrist shot that beat Richard Brodeur at 4:44 of the second period, making it 2-1.</p><p>At the 8:34 mark, rookie Byron Shutt scored his minth goal of the year for a 3-1 lead but Paulin Bordeleau&rsquo;s 17th goal at 15:52 reduced it to 3-2 at the end of the second period.</p><p>Cincinnati quickly put the game away in the third period. Michel Parizeau, himself a former Nordique, got his seventh goal of the year at 2:00 of the final period and 1:01 later, Hislop netted his second goal of the game and 28th of the year for a 5-2 bulge.</p><p>The outcome of the game was no longer a matter for speculation and the only question that remained was whether Hislop would get a hat trick.</p><p>Coach Smith had changed his lines extensively for the game and put Hislop, who usually is on the line centered by Robbie Ftorek with Reggie Thomas on left wing, with Bill Gilligan at center and Shutt on the left wing.</p><p>Certainly, no one could fault Smith for that move since Hislop already had two goals but fans were hungering for a third. At 18:04 of the final period, Quebec&rsquo;s Paul Baxter got a slashing penalty, giving the Stingers one final power play opportunity.</p><p>It was at that point that Smith reunited the line of Thomas-Ftorek-Hislop, one of the highest scoring lines in the league, and a Hollywood screenwriter couldn&rsquo;t have written a better ending to the Stingers&rsquo; four years in the Coliseum.</p><p>With only two seconds left, Thomas fired the puck to Marsh, who in turn passed to Hislop and the rugged right winger hit the cords for his first hat trick as a professional.</p><p>The entire Stinger bench emptied to congratulate Hislop and the fans once more accorded the team a standing ovation. Hislop recalled his emotions on getting three goals and what happened before the Stingers&rsquo; final goal.</p><p>&ldquo;I was ecstatic,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;no doubt about it. Floyd left us out there. Robbie and Reggie came over to me, this is before I got it, and they said, &lsquo;make sure you just stand in front of the net and we&rsquo;re going to try to get the puck to you.&rsquo; And that&rsquo;s what happened, that&rsquo;s what they did.&rdquo;</p><p>Ftorek was especially pleased that Hislop got the hat trick.</p><p>&ldquo;I thought that was a great thrill,&rdquo; said the diminutive center. &ldquo;1 was really charged up and pumped up for that shift and I was really hopeful that Jamie could get it and he did. 1 was really excited about it.&rdquo;</p><p>There had been plenty of excitement and drama for every hockey fan on that particular night and before Hislop got his hat trick, there was even an unexpected series of events.</p><p>Someone drenched Nordiques&rsquo; coach Jacques Demers with beer late in the third period and moments later, a live chicken was thrown on the ice, stopping play for several minutes.</p><p>Shutt gently picked the chicken up and took it off the ice. No one knows that became of it, although some thought it might have become dinner or chicken salad the next day.</p><p>The game was replete with history&mdash;the Stingers final WHA regular season home game, Hislop&rsquo;s first hat trick as a professional and a fowl on the ice&mdash;and several players reflected on their careers in Cincinnati.</p><p>Peter Marsh, a Stinger for three years, said &ldquo;the fans were in it (the game). That was a good feeling. 1 spent three years here and they were three good years but it&rsquo;s got to end some time. My sister was down from Montreal, 1 got my 40th goal. It really felt good.&rdquo;</p><p>Defenseman Barry Melrose, himself a three-year veteran of the Stingers, said &ldquo;it was sort of sad. It was our last game. I&rsquo;ve been here three years. I liked it here, I wanted to stay here. It was just another passing in a phase of your life.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve enjoyed Cincinnati. I would&rsquo;ve liked to stay here but the way things worked out, I&rsquo;ll be somewhere else next year.&rdquo;</p><p>Yes, regular season World Hockey Association play ended April 7, 1979 as it has begun October, 23, 1975, at Riverfront Coliseum&mdash;with the elation of victory&mdash;leaving thousands of hockey fans with pleasant memories.</p><p><b>BEE-LINE:</b> The Cincinnati Stingers compiled a home record of 97-59-6 in four years, the best year being 197677, when they were 29-10-1&hellip;A total of 1,205,066 saw the Stingers in 162 regular season home games, an average of 7,439&hellip;Marsh became the sixth player in Stinger history to get 40 goals in a season when he scored against Quebec on April 7&hellip;Mike Liut set a Stinger record for most wins in a season by a goalie, 22, getting the record in a 3-2 decision over Birmingham on March 30&hellip;Robbie Ftorek ended WHA play with the fifth longest consecutive game streak in league history, 356 games.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0027-01

Dramatic Stinger Closing Like the Day It All Began

<div class="byline">BY WAYNE WARRINER</div><p>HARTFORD&mdash;</p><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>he New England Whalers hit the road for a four-game trip with high hopes. First of all, it was good just to get away from the home rink where they had managed to win only one of their last nine games. It has become a psychological thing for most of the players.</p><p>Secondly, newly appointed coach Don Blackburn was looking forward to getting his troops out of town where they could &lsquo;concentrate on the basics&rsquo; and regain some confidence. Although the Whalers had lost their first game under Blackie (5-3 to Edmonton in Springfield), the new coach had been heartened by the truly strong effort by all hands.</p><p>The first road encounter was very encouraging, too. The Whalers showed more of the same and dumped the Winnipeg Jets in the important battle over third place in the WHA standings. But two nights later when the road show moved to Edmonton, it was an entirely different story. Inexplicably the Whalers again drifted into the lethargy that had plagued them for the past two months.</p><p>Oilers&rsquo; super rookie Wayne Gretzky had a field day as the Whalers were completely outclassed by Edmonton, 73. There could be no excuses&mdash;it was just another poor effort on the part of the New Englanders.</p><p>Moving back to Winnipeg for a rematch, the Whalers wasted no time getting on the board. Within a minute John McKenzie had tipped in a Dave Keon pass. George Lyle followed quickly with another. It looked like the bell of inconsistency was about to toll on the plus side again, but suddenly the tone changed.</p><p>The Jets countered with three quick goals for a 3-2 lead after only 10 minutes of play. After giving up another goal (Kent Nilsson&rsquo;s 100th point of the campaign), the Whalers surged back with a pair to tie the score at the end of two periods. It all proved to no avail, however, as the Jets got a pair in the final stanza to dump the Whalers back into fourth place.</p><p>Mark Howe reached a career milestone in Winnipeg when he collected two assists to put him over the 100-point mark. It was the first time any Whaler had reached the century mark since 1972-73 when Tom Webster had 103 and Terry Caffery, 100. The all star winger turned defenseman was recently named the Whalers&rsquo; MVP by the Booster Club.</p><p>With Alan Hangsleben and Rick Ley hobbled with leg injuries, the Whalers signed Springfield Indians&rsquo; defenseman Pierre Roy for the remainder of the regular season. Roy was expected to beef up the muscle department too. He set an AHL record of 460 minutes in penalties this year.</p><p><b>QUEBEC:</b> With the Nordiques pretty much assured of finishing in second place in the WHA race, Quebecers were intent on watching their 22-year-old super star, Real Cloutier, make his assault on the Bobby Hull record of 77 goals in 78 games, set in the 1974-75 season. The young right winger had notched his 75th goal of the campaign in a 5-3 loss to Birmingham (the Nords&rsquo; 74th game of the season), so the record seemed well within reach.</p><p>The next night, back in Le Colisee in Quebec, the Nordiques&rsquo; lineup had been decimated by injuries and the first place Edmonton Oilers were in town to do battle. Missing from the Quebec lineup were Richie Leduc, Serge Bernier, Dale Hoganson, Danny Geoffrion, J.C. Tremblay, and rookie Richard David (reportedly injured again after trying to get back in shape in Binghamton following early season knee surgery).</p><p>Cloutier was nursing a bad back and before the night was over he, too, was forced to the sidelines. Although he managed an assist during the early part of the game, Cloutier failed to score. Forced to miss at least one more game, his chances for a record breaking effort were dimmed considerably.</p><p>The game itself turned out to be a gutsy effort for Jacques Demers&rsquo; crew. After spotting the Oilers a 2-0 lead at the end of the first period, the Nords came storming back to get three goals in the final stanza and post a victory, 4-2.</p><p>Captain Marc Tardif took up the slack in the scoring department with a pair&mdash;his 39th and 40th of the season. Normand Dube, recently returned from Binghamton, aided with three assists. The Nordiques finished that contest with only 11 skaters. General manager Maurice Filion quickly grabbed Kevin Devine from the Pacific Hockey League and was attempting to add Joe Noris as well, in order to fill the gap until the wounded returned.</p><p><b>BIRMINGHAM:</b> The folks in Birmingham didn&rsquo;t have many more chances to see their Bulls before the WHA (and the Birmingham franchise) folded tents and slipped out of the hockey picture. They turned out in good numbers (9,000 plus) on a recent weekday evening, however, and were rewarded with a big Bull&rsquo;s win over the Quebec Nordiques.</p><p>It was a real see-saw battle but the young Birmingham team persevered over Tardif, Cloutier, and company, for the 5-3 victory. In light of the race for the final spot in the upcoming WHA playoffs, it was indeed an important win.</p><p>A few nights later the Bulls were in Winnipeg and ended up surprising the Jets, 2-1. That win was particularly satisfying because it put them two points up on Cincinnati in the point standings with only five games to go.</p><p>But in Edmonton two nights later it appeared the Oilers would run away with the game as the Bulls found themselves behind early in the second period, 3-0. Then the spunky kids went to work. Rookies Michel Goulet (goal number 27) and Rick Adduono (numbers 19 and 20) tied it up for the Bulls. After the Oilers countered with a pair, Bob Stephenson notched his 20th of the season to put Birmingham right back in it&mdash;but the valiant effort fell short.</p><p>Bulls&rsquo; coach John Brophy was getting a lot of mention for coach of the year honors from all around the league. Everyone marvelled at the job he had done with the mixture of underagers, youngsters, and veterans on the Birmingham squad.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-01290/3871106-1-eng-US/f0028-012.jpg" title="f0028-01" width="570" height="658"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>MARC TARDIF&hellip;Hits 40-Goal Mark</b></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0028-01

Home Ice Jinx Haunting Whalers

f0028-02

WHA’S PLUS-MINUS STATISTICS

<p>HARTFORD&mdash;</p><p>Morris Lukowich of the Winnipeg Jets continued to be the World Hockey Association&rsquo;s top plus player.</p><p>The 22-year-old left winger, who is pushing for a near 70-goal season, turned in the best plus performance of any WHA player through the first 76 games of the season. Lukowich was a plus 12 and led Cincinnati&rsquo;s Robbie Ftorek, who ranked second with a plus 11.</p><p>Lukowich, who scored 65 goals as the WHA season headed to the finish line, logs a lot of ice time. He had also played in every Winnipeg game this season and is unquestionably the best two-way player in the Winnipeg lineup. He had 271 shots at the net, also a team high, and scored 15 power play goals.</p><p>Other leading plus players included Bill Flett of Edmonton, Marc Tardif of Quebec and Cincinnati&rsquo;s Jamie Hislop, all with plus nine percentages. Rob Ramage of Birmingham and Chuck Luksa, also of Cincinnati, were the leading plus defensemen in the league. Each had sevens.</p><p>Strangely three of the WHA&rsquo;s top scorers were showing minus figures over the season. For example, Peter Marsh of Cincinnati was a minus 11, Wayne Gretzky of Edmonton a minus four and Andre Lacroix of New England was a minus two. WHA scoring leader Real Cloutier was a plus six and Winnipeg&rsquo;s Kent Nilsson, a plus one.</p><p>In the individual team statistics, Edmonton Oilers were easily the best in the plus-minus ratings. The Oilers boasted a team aggregate of plus 57. Quebec was a plus 21 and New England a plus 11, but the other three WHA teams were all operating with minus figures.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-03156/3871168-1-eng-US/f0028-032.jpg" title="f0028-03" width="516" height="548"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>MORRIS LUKOWICH</b></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0028-03

Jets’ Lukowich Top Plus Player

<h2><b>The Best In The East&hellip;</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-01250/3871269-1-eng-US/f0029-012.jpg" title="f0029-01" width="462" height="615"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>JIM CRAIG&hellip;Boston Univ.</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-02203/3871262-1-eng-US/f0029-022.jpg" title="f0029-02" width="464" height="617"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>JACK O&rsquo;CALLAHAN&hellip;Boston Univ.</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-03135/3871255-1-eng-US/f0029-032.jpg" title="f0029-03" width="461" height="618"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>LOU COTE&hellip;Vermont</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-04102/3871248-1-eng-US/f0029-042.jpg" title="f0029-04" width="455" height="615"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>JOE MULLEN&hellip;Boston College</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-0593/3871241-1-eng-US/f0029-052.jpg" title="f0029-05" width="459" height="623"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>RALPH COX&hellip;N. Hampshire</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-0672/3871234-1-eng-US/f0029-062.jpg" title="f0029-06" width="455" height="623"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>LANCE NETHERY&hellip;Cornell</b></figcaption></div><h2>The Best In The West&hellip;</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-0945/3871227-1-eng-US/f0029-092.jpg" title="f0029-09" width="540" height="691"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>BILL BAKER&hellip;Minnesota</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-1039/3871220-1-eng-US/f0029-102.jpg" title="f0029-10" width="541" height="683"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>CURT GILES&hellip;Minn-Duluth</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-1134/3871213-1-eng-US/f0029-112.jpg" title="f0029-11" width="540" height="688"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>MARK JOHNSON&hellip;Wisconsin</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-1230/3871206-1-eng-US/f0029-122.jpg" title="f0029-12" width="544" height="689"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>MARK PAVELICH&hellip;Minn-Duluth</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-1324/3871199-1-eng-US/f0029-132.jpg" title="f0029-13" width="543" height="688"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>KEVIN MAXWELL&hellip;No. Dakota</b></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0029-01

COVERING THE ECAC. WCHA. CCHA AND CIAU HOCKEY CONFERENCES

<div class="byline">BY CHARLIE HALPIN</div><p>MONTREAL&mdash;</p><p class="dropcap"><span>B</span>oston University, Minnesota-Duluth and North Dakota are three leading U.S. hockey powers that had a lot in common this season&mdash;none of them managed to win the American college championship but all three ended up with the top collection of outstanding players.</p><p>In the first ever All-American selections published by THE HOCKEY NEWS, the three schools placed two players each on the Eastern and Western teams.</p><p>In the East, BU goaler Jim Craig and defenseman Jack O&rsquo;Callahan got the nod on the six-man team. Others picked were Vermont&rsquo;s Lou Cote, the amazing young junior rearguard from Montreal, and forwards Joe Mullen of Boston College, Lance Nethery of Cornell and New Hampshire&rsquo;s Ralph Cox, who was chosen the ECAC&rsquo;s outstanding player of the year this season in a poll conducted among the coaches.</p><p>The Western All Americans included Bob Iwabuchi of North Dakota, the sensational rookie netminder who almost helped the Sioux win the NCAA&rsquo;s at Detroit, Bill Baker of Minnesota and Minnesota-Duiuth&rsquo;s Curt Giles on defense, and forwards Mark Johnson of Wisconsin, named the WCHA&rsquo;s player of the year last week, Kevin Maxwell of North Dakota another freshman star who surprised and won the rookie award, and Mark Pavelich of Minnesota-Duluth.</p><p>The Eastern All Americans have four repeaters from last season&rsquo;s official team. Cox, Nethery, Mullen and O&rsquo;Callahan were named in 1978. Craig, a 1977 draft choice by the Atlanta Flames, and Cote are the newcomers to the team.</p><p>Four of the Eastern All Americans have already been drafted by NHL teams. Craig was chosen by Atlanta, O&rsquo;Callahan was picked by Chicago Black Hawks, Nethery belongs to the Rangers and Cox, who also won the ECAC scoring championships this season with 57 points, was drafted by Boston Bruins.</p><p>Three players who were not selected by THE HOCKEY NEWS but came in for honorable mention in the East were goaler Greg Moffett of New Hampshire, a sophomore who won the MVP award as the best player in the ECAC playoffs this season, defenseman Jim Korn of Providence and center Bob Gould, the captain of the UNH Wildcats. Korn is the property of the Detroit Red Wings while Gould was drafted by Atlanta.</p><p>In the West, both Wisconsin&rsquo;s Johnson and UMD&rsquo;s Giles are repeating All Americans. The two were among the best performers in the WCHA this season and like many of their Eastern counterparts, are destined for the pro ranks in time. Johnson, who was drafted by Pittsburgh Penguins, is in no rush to get to the NHL. The high-scoring Wisconsin center has his sights set first on playing for the United States in the 1980 Olympics at Lake Placid, N.Y. Giles, who was plucked by Minnesota North Stars in 1977, is rated the best defenseman in the WCHA. Baker, whose NHL rights are owned by the Montreal Canadiens, was only a step behind Giles.</p><p>Johnson, who set all kinds of Wisconsin scoring records, counted 41 times in 40 games for the Badgers this year and became the university&rsquo;s all-time point-scoring leader. Pro hockey scouts have hung a can&rsquo;t miss tag on the flashy Wisconsin player.</p><p>The surprise pick among the All Americans was Maxwell, the rookie from Chilliwack, B.C., who stole the WCHA&rsquo;s freshman award, Maxwell finished in a fourway tie for fourth place in the final scoring race with 59 points, which included 26 goals, a mark surpassed only by Johnson, Gordon Salt of Michigan Tech., and Steve Pavelich, who led the WCHA scoring race coming down the stretch, finished with 63 points and was brilliant for UMD.</p><p>Like the East, the West produced several players who came close that deserved honorable mention by THE HOCKEY NEWS. Foremost was a defenseman Ken Morrow of Bowling Green, a talented two-way player who was drafted by the New York Islanders. Minnesota North Stars are so anxious to get Morrow, who was chosen the CCHA player of the year, that GM Lou Nanne of the Stars is willing to offer several goodies in return to land Morrow.</p><p>Dave Delich of Colorado College, who won the 1979 WCHA schoring championship with 70&rsquo;points, is another who just missed the selector&rsquo;s eye. To this list you could add Colorado&rsquo;s Dave Feamster, Rob McClanahan, Don Micheletti and Steve Christoff of Minnesota, all outstanding individuals this past season.</p><h2>EASTERN TEAM&hellip;</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-0757/3871307-1-eng-US/f0029-072.jpg" title="f0029-07" width="592" height="756"></div><h2>WESTERN TEAM&hellip;</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-0850/3871300-1-eng-US/f0029-082.jpg" title="f0029-08" width="590" height="754"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0029-07

BU, North Dakota, UMD Dominate Teams

<h2>ECAC&hellip;</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-01286/3871366-1-eng-US/f0030-012.jpg" title="f0030-01" width="548" height="824"></div><h3>FINAL GOALING RECORDS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-02226/3871359-1-eng-US/f0030-022.jpg" title="f0030-02" width="552" height="494"></div><h2>WCHA&hellip;</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-03172/3871352-1-eng-US/f0030-032.jpg" title="f0030-03" width="568" height="1303"></div><h2>CCHA&hellip;</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-04121/3871345-1-eng-US/f0030-042.jpg" title="f0030-04" width="509" height="478"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>CHRIS VALENTINE&hellip;CCHA Champion</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-0583/3871338-1-eng-US/f0030-052.jpg" title="f0030-05" width="558" height="727"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0030-01

Top U.S. College Scorers

<h2>BINGHAMTON</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-0748/3871453-1-eng-US/f0030-072.jpg" title="f0030-07" width="590" height="569"></div><h2>HERSHEY</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-0841/3871446-1-eng-US/f0030-082.jpg" title="f0030-08" width="592" height="542"></div><h2>MAINE</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-0933/3871439-1-eng-US/f0030-092.jpg" title="f0030-09" width="599" height="542"></div><h2>NEW BRUNSWICK</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-1026/3871432-1-eng-US/f0030-102.jpg" title="f0030-10" width="592" height="578"></div><h2>NEW HAVEN</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-1122/3871425-1-eng-US/f0030-112.jpg" title="f0030-11" width="596" height="586"></div><h2>NOVA SCOTIA</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-1221/3871418-1-eng-US/f0030-122.jpg" title="f0030-12" width="598" height="527"></div><h2>PHILADELPHIA</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-1319/3871411-1-eng-US/f0030-132.jpg" title="f0030-13" width="592" height="581"></div><h2>ROCHESTER</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-1417/3871404-1-eng-US/f0030-142.jpg" title="f0030-14" width="591" height="627"></div><h2>SPRINGFIELD</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-1517/3871397-1-eng-US/f0030-152.jpg" title="f0030-15" width="587" height="551"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0030-07

Final AHL Scoring

<div class="byline">BY JIM LEAHY</div><p>LOUISVILLE HOCKEY STICKS Made in Canada by HILLERICH & BRADSBY. LTD Arnold Street. Wallaceburg. Ontario Sold in U.S and Canada</p><p>LOUISVILLE HOCKEY STICKS Made in Canada by HILLERICH & BRADSBY. LTD Arnold Street. Wallaceburg. Ontario Sold in U.S and Canada</p><p>PORTLAND&mdash;</p><p>The Maine Mariners steamed into the-second round of the American Hockey League&rsquo;s Calder Cup playoffs with a bye but the defending AHL champs look very much like the team to beat once again as the 1979 post-season round got under way.</p><p>The Mariners, coached by Bob McCammon, captured the AHL&rsquo;s overall points title in a dramatic stretch battle with New Haven and in the process broke the Nighthawks&rsquo; record of 333 goals in an 80-game season. The Mariners scored 350 as compared to 346 for New Haven this year, indicating the two AHL power teams are evenly matched and are likely to appear in the showdown for the cup at the conclusion of the playoffs. The Mariners finished with 103 points and the Hawks with 101.</p><p>As the 1978-79 season wound down to its conclusion, the playoff picture was complete with Maine winning the Northern Division and an automatic bye into the second round of the division playoffs. New Brunswick Hawks ended second and Nova Scotia Voyageurs third setting up a best-of-five quarterfinal series between the two teams with the winner opposing Maine.</p><p>In the Southern race, New Haven won first place by a 23-point margin in a runaway with Hershey Bears second and Binghamton Dusters third. New Haven won the bye into the division finals and will meet the winner of the Hershey-Binghamton series.</p><p>The AHL final will match the division winners against one another in a best-of-seven series for the Calder Cup.</p><p>Three teams, Springfield in the North, and Rochester and Philadelphia in the south, didn&rsquo;t make the playoffs.</p><p>In the individual scoring race, Maine&rsquo;s Bernie Johnston won the title with 95 scoring points, four more than teammate Wayne Schaab. Johnston played 10 games less than Schaab. High goal-scoring honors went to Rocky Saganiuk of New Brunswick, who was recalled by Toronto Maple Leafs and finished the season in the NHL. Saganiuk scored 47 goals in 61 games. Gordie Brooks of Philadelphia was second to Saganiuk with 43 in 80 games. Schaab was third with 41 in 80 starts.</p><p>Pierre Hamel of New Brunswick finished with the lowest goals-against average, 2.45 but Maine&rsquo;s Pete Peeters and Robbie Moore combined to win the team goaling award allowing 252 goals in 80 games.</p><p>Pierre Roy of Springfield was the AHL&rsquo;s &lsquo;bad man with a record 416 minutes in the penalty box.</p><p>Attendance at Mariner games in Portland this year has been super with the club drawing 203,396 in 38 regular season contests plus the exhibition game with the Russians, for an average of 5,215 per game.</p><p>Four games were on Maine&rsquo;s schedule during the final week. The Mariners tied Springfield and Rochester, blasted Hershey 11-2 and closed with an 8-2 romp over Philly. The game with Hershey turned into a king-sized brawl with a season-record 240 penalty minutes being whistled. The Mariners were assessed 136 minutes while Hershey players served 104 penalty minutes during the onesided contest.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-01262/3871491-1-eng-US/f0031-012.jpg" title="f0031-01" width="572" height="822"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>BARRY SMITH&hellip;Wins Two Awards</b></figcaption></div><p><b>BINGHAMTON:</b> Coach Joe Hardy&rsquo;s Dusters made the playoffs after finishing out of the money last season.</p><p>As the resular season drew to an end, the Dusters went into a mild tailspin. They lost 6-5 to Hershey and 11-6 to Springfield on home ice and were beaten 5-2 in New Haven.</p><p>Binghamton&rsquo;s roster of players eligible for the playoffs has goaltenders Ken Holland and Larry Hendrick; defensemen Jim Marsh, Mario Faubert, Tom Price and Larry Bolonchuk; centers Joe Kowal, Mike Meeker, Rob Garner, Norm Dube and Kirn Davis. Wingers include Jim Hamilton, Richard Grenier, Brian Spencer, Mike Marson, Mark Miller, Richard David, Pierre Guite, Wes George, Fred Ahern, Paul Crowley and Dennis Abgrall.</p><p><b>NEW BRUNSWICK:</b> Center Rick Patterson&rsquo;s goal at 11:51 of the third period gave the Hawks a 5-5 tie with the Southern Division champion New Haven Nighthawks before 4,198 fans at the Moncton Coliseum. Rookie Daryl Stutter&rsquo;s hat trick had given New Brunswick a 4-3 lead after two periods but New Haven had taken the lead on the strength of goals by John Bednarski and Dave Hreckhosy. Neither team could score in the overtime period despite a power play advantage given to the Nighthawks when left wing Dan Hinton picked up a minor penalty just 32 seconds into the extra session.</p><p>The Hawks entertained Springfield two nights later at the Coliseum and skated to a 4-2 win over the demoralized Indians who had just blown a chance to make the Calder Cup playoffs by losing to Nova Scotia.</p><p><b>NEW HAVEN:</b> Rookie defenseman Tim Bothwell&rsquo;s hat trick, and two goals from defenseman Dan Clark helped lift the Nighthawks to an easy 9-3 win over the Philadelphia Firebirds. Owner Joel Schiavone had promoted the game as &ldquo;Guaranteed Win Night&rdquo; offering to give the fans free tickets to the next home game if the Nighthawks Jost or tied the Firebird contest.</p><p>Following the 5-5 tie in New Brunswick and the 9-3 win over the Firebirds, the Nighthawks skated to a 52 victory over Binghamton before 4,546 at the Coliseum. Two goals by Tom Colley and a super performance by Frank Beaton propelled the Nighthawks to their 45th win of the season. Following a final weekend series with Hershey, the Hawks won their 46th to lead the AHL in this department.</p><p><b>SPRINGFIELD:</b> Coach Pete Stemkowski called it &ldquo;the moment of truth for the club&rdquo; as the Indians prepared for a showdown with Nova Scotia at the Metro Center in Halifax. Springfield was about ready to overtake the Voyageurs in their battle for third place in the Northern Division. It didn&rsquo;t happen. Nova Scotia continued their hex over the Tribe at the Metro Center by skating to a 5-3 win. In six games at the new Voyageur rink, the Indians were still looking for their first victory this season.</p><p>The Indians still had a chance to catch the Vees but they dropped a 4-2 contest in New Brunswick and came back to Halifax where they lost another game to the Vees, this time by a 6-2 margin. The three losses in the Maritimes gave Nova Scotia undisputed possession of the last playoff spot. Springfield finished in the Northern Division cellar despite having a better record than two of the clubs that made the Southern Division playoffs.</p><p>As the season came to an end, Andre Peloffy, already the highest scorer among active AHL players, won his third straight team scoring title. His 28 goals and 48 assists gave him 76 points, four more than the Tribe&rsquo;s sensational rookie Dan Bonar.</p><p>Bonar, along with Mike Meeker of Binghamton, are the leading candidates for the AHL rookie-of-the-year honors.</p><p><b>ROCHESTER:</b> The Americans lost a 6-4 contest at the War Memorial to the Philadelphia Firebirds and were officially eliminated from entering postseason play. It was Rochester&rsquo;s second straight defeat at home. Two nights earlier, New Brunswick scored four goals in the third period to down the Amerks 6-3.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-02210/3871484-1-eng-US/f0031-022.jpg" title="f0031-02" width="580" height="806"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>BERNIE JOHNSTON&hellip;Top Mariner</b></figcaption></div><p>Despite the loss, the big winners that night were the kids who will compete in the International Special Olympics this August. With hockey great Bobby Orr on hand to participate in the Score-0 shootout, a crowd of 5,542, largest of the season, helped raise nearly $4,000 for the Special Olympics fund.</p><p>Individual player awards were given out before the game. Barry Smith was the most valuable and the most popular player. Daryl Drader got the seventh player award and the sportsmanship award. Graeme Nicholson was the leading rookie and Bill Bennett copped the high-scoring award.</p><p><b>NOVA SCOTIA:</b> Just as the playoffs were about to start, the Voyageurs caught fire. They beat New Haven, Springfield and Rochester twice each to clinch third place in the tough Northern Division.</p><p><b>PHILADELPHIA:</b> Mike Dwyer, who scored 47 points in 59 games as a Firebird, was called up by the Colorado Rockies. Even though coach Bep Guidolin&rsquo;s club was eliminated a long time ago from playoff contention, they had been playing inspired hockey.</p><p>After defeating Rochester 6-4 and knocking them out of the playoffs, the Firebirds skated to a 1-1 tie with Hershey before losing 9-3 in New Haven.</p><p><b>HERSHEY:</b> Because their Hersheypark Sports Arena is being used to house people who lived near the ill-fated Three Mile Island nuclear plant, the Bears had to play their game with Philadelphia as part of a doubleheader at the Capital Center in Maryland. The NHL Washington Caps skated in the nightcap.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0031-01

Maine-New HavenShowdown Looms For AHL Cup

<h2>DALLAS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-02200/3871595-1-eng-US/f0032-022.jpg" title="f0032-02" width="594" height="574"></div><h2>KANSAS CITY</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-03140/3871588-1-eng-US/f0032-032.jpg" title="f0032-03" width="596" height="580"></div><h2>SALT LAKE</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-0486/3871581-1-eng-US/f0032-042.jpg" title="f0032-04" width="604" height="548"></div><h2>FORT WORTH</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-0551/3871574-1-eng-US/f0032-052.jpg" title="f0032-05" width="594" height="522"></div><h2>OKLAHOMA CITY</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-0634/3871567-1-eng-US/f0032-062.jpg" title="f0032-06" width="596" height="576"></div><h2>TULSA</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-0723/3871560-1-eng-US/f0032-072.jpg" title="f0032-07" width="608" height="572"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0032-02

Final CHL Scoring

<div class="byline">BY TOM LOBAUGH</div><p>LOUISVILLE HOCKEY STICKS Made in Canada by HILLERICH & BRADSBY, LTD Arnold Street, Wallaceburg, Ontario Sold in U. S. and Canada</p><p>LOUISVILLE HOCKEY STICKS Made in Canada by HILLERICH & BRADSBY, LTD Arnold Street, Wallaceburg, Ontario Sold in U.S. and Canada</p><p>DALLAS&mdash;</p><p>The hottest club in the Central Hockey League for the last two months of the season showed no signs of cooling off as the playoffs got underway. John Muckier&rsquo;s Black Hawks handled Kansas City, 2-1 and 6-3, in a pair of home contests. &ldquo;Now we only have to win two of the next five,&rdquo; said the coach, as they prepared for the next two games in KC&rsquo;s Kemper Arena.</p><p>Muckier was guarded in his optimism, though. &ldquo;Kansas City has a good hockey team&rdquo; he insisted. &ldquo;These games were a lot tougher than we thought they&rsquo;d be. And I can&rsquo;t say I&rsquo;m pleased with the way we played. We didn&rsquo;t play our system well, but we played well enough to win.&rdquo;</p><p>The Hawks had a wild celebration even before the playoffs started. The hullabaloo began when the Turnpike Trophy was brought into the visitors&rsquo; dressing room at Fort Worth&rsquo;s Will Rogers Coliseum April 4. Fort Worth had built a 9-3 advantage in the 20-game series between the two archrivals, but the Hawks then won eight straight, including the last two games of the regular season, a stirring 6-5 comeback victory in Dallas and a 4-3 decision in Fort Worth.</p><p>Fort Worth had a 5-2 lead after two periods in the Tuesday night game in Dallas. Brad Smith and Drew Callender had scored for Dallas in the middle period. The third-period rally was started by Steve Hazlett and continued by Claire Alexander and Rob Flockhart, who tied the score at 11:33. Doug Berry scored the winning marker with 32 seconds left, set up by Lars Zet-terstrom&rsquo;s pass. Curt Ridley was in the Hawk nets.</p><p>Berry got the first and last goals in Fort Worth to close out the schedule, with Dave Gardner and Tom Roulston scoring in between, as Ed Walsh performed brilliantly in the cage.</p><p>The two-game sweep gave the Hawks a 19-3 record for the last seven weeks of the season, including a string of 11 straight wins. They ended the schedule with 14 straight victories in their own Fair Park Coliseum, and then added two more in the playoffs.</p><p>The series opener was a duel of magnificent goaltending between Ridley and KC&rsquo;s Ron Low. Flockhart scored early in the first period, but was matched by Rick Vasko in the second. Roulston put the Hawks ahead again halfway through the middle period, and the two goalies denied every other scoring opportunity.</p><p>In the second game, Kansas City broke to a two-goal lead (both by Jim Maladrewicz). Doug Hicks scored for Dallas in the first, and Ron Carter tied it in the second. Although Maladrewicz clinched his hat trick in the last period, the Hawks weren&rsquo;t to be denied, as Drew Callender scored twice, Hazlett connected on a long slapshot, and finally Zetterstrom rolled a 120-foot &ldquo;breaking putt&rdquo; into an empty net with 28 seconds to play. The last three Dallas goals came in a span of 2:41.</p><p>The Hawks finished second in the regular season, eight points behind Salt Lake, but broke even with the leagueleaders in the season series. They were 16 ahead of third-place Kansas City.</p><p>Hazlett and Jim Mayer tied for the club scoring leadership, with 76 points, sharing fourth place in the league scoring. Steve Clippingdale tied for eighth with 65. Hazlett was the top CHL goalgetter, with 44. Mayer had 14 power play goals to lead the league in that specialty.</p><p><b>SALT LAKE:</b> The Golden Eagles became the winningest team in CHL history by sweeping a two-game home set against Oklahoma City. Then they turned back the Fort Worth Texans twice in the playoff semi-finals, again in the Salt Palace.</p><p>Terry Richardson was superb in the nets, as usual, in the playoff-opening 41 victory. Ken Richardson (no relation) and Len Frig put the Eagles in charge in the first period, before Terry lost his shutout bid at 3:37 of the second. Bob Hess scored midway of the third, and Rick Bowness found an empty net with 37 seconds left.</p><p>Rick Shincke scored shorthanded late in the second period of the second game, and Gordie McTavish provided another lead in the third, but it took Frig&rsquo;s goal after 11:46 of overtime to nail down the victory. Early in the overtime session the Eagles had failed to cash in on a power play. The two playoff contests drew 11,900 fans to the Palace.</p><p>By sweeping the OC Stars in the last two games of the regular schedule, the Eagles posted their 47th victory, breaking the league mark of 46 by Kansas City in 1976-77. With 101 points in the standings, Salt Lake tied the CHL record, first set by Omaha in a 72-game campaign in 1970-71, and tied by KC in &rsquo;76-77 (a 76-game slate, like this seasons&rsquo;s).</p><p>Shinske had four assists in the two-game set and became the CHL scoring champion by a point, 88-87 over Oklahoma City&rsquo;s Mike Eaves.</p><p>Shinske topped the league in assists, on 66, while linemate Floyd Thomson had nine first-goals-of-game to lead the CHL in that department. Terry Richardson was the league&rsquo;s top netminder, with a 2.55 average, followed by teammate Doug Grant at 2.92.</p><p><b>FORT WORTH:</b> In spite of losing their last two games of the regular season, the Texans held onto fourth place and a playoff spot, as fifth-place Oklahoma City had the same luck.</p><p>The losses also meant the turnpike series, as the Texans bowed in Dallas, 65 and at home to the same foes, 4-3. The playoffs brought no better fortune, as coach Billy MacMillan&rsquo;s men fell twice in Salt Lake, 4-1 and 3-2, the latter in overtime.</p><p><b>KANSAS CITY:</b> Having already locked up a third-place finish, the Red Wings went on a four-game losing streak before closing out the regular schedule with an incredible 5-4 victory in Tulsa, with Jim Maladrewicz scoring the winning goal while the Wings were two men short on penalties The previous night Larry Wilson&rsquo;s Wings had bowed at home to the same Tulsa club, 4-3.</p><p>The playoffs began on a sour note, as the Wings dropped 2-1 and 6-3 decisions in Dallas before heading home to play the next two games.</p><p>Rick Vasko&rsquo;s second-period tally was all the Wings could muster against Dallas&rsquo; Curt Ridley in the playoff opener. The next night Maladrewicz got the hat trick, but that was all the KC scoring.</p><p><b>OKLAHOMA CITY:</b> Just as coach Ted Hampson had feared for several weeks, the Stars&rsquo; last three games of the schedule, against league-leading Salt Lake, shut them out of a playoff berth. Oklahoma City was a point ahead of Fort Worth in the fight for fourth place, going into those three games. But the Stars lost all three, the last two on the road, 5-3 and 6-5.</p><p>Goalie Pete LoPresti and right wing Ron Zanussi flew in from Minnesota for the, finale. Zanussi contributed two goals, with Alex Pirus, Kelly Greenbank and Les Auge getting the others. Mike Eaves selected as the CHL&rsquo;s rookie of the year had five assists in the last two games, but still would up a point behind Shinske in the scoring race.</p><p><b>TULSA:</b> Immediately after closing out the worst hockey season in Tulsa&rsquo;s history, Oiler owner Bobby Gilbert announced the Atlanta Flames would not be back as a parent club next season. So, for the moment, Gilbert had nearly 1,600 season tickets for 1979-80 sold, and no parent club to put a team into the Assembly Center. However, Bobby admitted he had been talking with the Los Angeles Kings and Winnipeg Jets, and expected to have something to announce &ldquo;in a few weeks.&rdquo;</p><p>The next day Flames&rsquo; general manager Cliff Fletcher revealed Atlanta will have a CHL club next season, either in Houston, which has long been under consideration, or Birmingham, which&rsquo; becomes available when the WorldHockey Association collapses after the recently-voted National Hockey League expansion.</p><p>The 1978-79 Oilers became the first CHL club in history to win more games on the road (11) than at home(10). They set a club record of 51 losses, and a league record by losing 12 straight</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-01266/3871529-1-eng-US/f0032-012.jpg" title="f0032-01" width="574" height="944"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>MIKE EAVES&hellip;Rookie of Year</b></figcaption></div><h2>CHL All Star Teams</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-0820/3871522-1-eng-US/f0032-082.jpg" title="f0032-08" width="1142" height="756"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0032-01

Dallas Carries Closing Momentum Into CHL’s Adams Cup Playdowns

<h2><b>AMERICAN HOCKEY LEAGUE</b></h2><p><b>PLAYOFF GAMES</b></p><h3><b>Quarter-Finals</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-01237/3871773-1-eng-US/f0033-012.jpg" title="f0033-01" width="619" height="118"></div><h3><b>GAMES COMPLETED</b></h3><p><b>Wed. Apr. 11</b></p><p>Nova Scotia 4 at New Brunswick 5</p><p><b>Thu. Apr. 12</b></p><p>New Brunswick 4 at Nova Scotia 5</p><p><b>Sat. Apr. 14</b></p><p>Nova Scotia 3 at New Brunswick 4</p><h3>GAMES TO COME</h3><p><b>Tue. Apr. 17</b></p><p>New Brunswick at Nova Scotia</p><p><b>Thu. Apr. 19</b></p><p>Nova Scotia at New Brunswick</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-02182/3871766-1-eng-US/f0033-022.jpg" title="f0033-02" width="605" height="115"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3><p><b>Wed. Apr. 11</b></p><p>Binghamton 3 at Hershey 4</p><p><b>Thu. Apr. 12</b></p><p>Hershey 0 at Binghamton 3</p><p><b>Sat. Apr. 14</b></p><p>Binghamton 6 at Hershey 2</p><h3>GAMES TO COME</h3><p><b>Tue. Apr. 17</b></p><p>Hershey at Binghamton</p><p><b>Wed. Apr. 18</b></p><p>Binghamton at Hershey</p><h2><b>(Final Standings)</b></h2><h3>NORTHERN DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-03137/3871759-1-eng-US/f0033-032.jpg" title="f0033-03" width="601" height="138"></div><h3>SOUTHERN DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-04110/3871752-1-eng-US/f0033-042.jpg" title="f0033-04" width="602" height="171"></div><h3>FINAL SCORING LEADERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-0586/3871745-1-eng-US/f0033-052.jpg" title="f0033-05" width="610" height="387"></div><h3>FINAL GOALING RECORDS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-0667/3871738-1-eng-US/f0033-062.jpg" title="f0033-06" width="597" height="1032"></div><h2>CENTRAL HOCKEY LEAGUE</h2><p><b>PLAYOFF GAMES</b></p><h3><b>Finals</b></h3><p><b>(Best-of-seven series)</b></p><p><b>Fri. Apr. 20</b></p><p>Dallas at Salt Lake</p><p><b>Mon. Apr. 23</b></p><p>Dallas at Salt Lake</p><p><b>Fri. Apr. 27</b></p><p>Salt Lake at Dallas</p><p><b>Sat. Apr. 28</b></p><p>Salt Lake at Dallas</p><p><b>Tue. May 1</b></p><p>Dallas at Salt Lake</p><p><b>Fri. May 4</b></p><p>Salt Lake at Dallas</p><p><b>Sat. May 5</b></p><p>Dallas at Salt Lake</p><h3>Semi-Finals</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-0758/3871731-1-eng-US/f0033-072.jpg" title="f0033-07" width="607" height="116"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3><p><b>Fri. Apr. 6</b></p><p>Kansas City 1 at Dallas 2</p><p><b>Sat. Apr. 7</b></p><p>Kansas City 3 at Dallas 6</p><p><b>Thu. Apr. 12</b></p><p>Dallas 5 at Kansas City 4</p><p><b>Sat. Apr. 14</b></p><p>Dallas 3 at Kansas City 0</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-0850/3871724-1-eng-US/f0033-082.jpg" title="f0033-08" width="622" height="112"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3><p><b>Fri. Apr. 6</b></p><p>Fort Worth 1 at Salt Lake 4</p><p><b>Sat. Apr. 7</b></p><p>Forth Worth 2 at Salt Lake 3</p><p><b>Wed. Apr. 11</b></p><p>Salt Lake 2 at Forth Worth 4</p><p><b>Fri. Apr. 13</b></p><p>Salt Lake 4 at Forth Worth 3</p><p><b>Sat. Apr. 14</b></p><p>Salt Lake 5 at Forth Worth 2</p><h2><b>(Final Standings)</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-0941/3871717-1-eng-US/f0033-092.jpg" title="f0033-09" width="616" height="197"></div><h3>FINAL SCORING LEADERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-1037/3871710-1-eng-US/f0033-102.jpg" title="f0033-10" width="616" height="302"></div><h3>FINAL GOALING RECORDS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-1136/3871703-1-eng-US/f0033-112.jpg" title="f0033-11" width="604" height="357"></div><h2>INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE</h2><p><b>PLAYOFF GAMES</b></p><h3>Quarter-Finals</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-1235/3871696-1-eng-US/f0033-122.jpg" title="f0033-12" width="618" height="114"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3><p><b>Fri. Apr. 13</b></p><p>Flint 3 at Port Huron 5</p><p><b>Sat. Apr. 14</b></p><p>Port Huron 3 at Flint 4</p><p><b>Sun. Apr. 15</b></p><p>Flint 0 at Port Huron 8</p><h3>GAMES TO COME</h3><p><b>Fri. Apr. 20</b></p><p>Port Huron at Flint</p><p><b>Sat. Apr. 21</b></p><p>Flint at Port Huron</p><p><b>Sun. Apr. 22</b></p><p>Port Huron at Flint</p><p><b>Wed. Apr. 25</b></p><p>Flint at Port Huron</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-1324/3871689-1-eng-US/f0033-132.jpg" title="f0033-13" width="620" height="116"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3><p><b>Wed. Apr. 11</b></p><p>Milwaukee 4 at Grand Rapids 2</p><p><b>Thu. Apr. 12</b></p><p>Grand Rapids 3 at Milwaukee 0</p><p>(Game thrown out on Milwaukee protest)</p><p><b>Sat. Apr. 14</b></p><p>Milwaukee 3 at Grand Rapids 6</p><h3>GAMES TO COME</h3><p><b>Wed. Apr. 18</b></p><p>Grand Rapids at Milwaukee</p><p><b>Fri. Apr. 20</b></p><p>Milwaukee at Grand Rapids</p><p><b>Sat. Apr. 21</b></p><p>Grand Rapids at Milwaukee</p><p><b>Tue. Apr. 24</b></p><p>Milwaukee at Grand Rapids</p><p><b>Wed. Apr. 25</b></p><p>Milwaukee at Grand Rapids</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-1421/3871682-1-eng-US/f0033-142.jpg" title="f0033-14" width="626" height="114"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3><p><b>Fri. Apr. 13</b></p><p>Saginaw 2 at Kamalazoo 4</p><p><b>Sat. Apr. 14</b></p><p>Kalamazoo 5 at Saginaw 3</p><h3>GAMES TO COME</h3><p><b>Tue. Apr. 17</b></p><p>Saginaw at Kalamazoo</p><p><b>Wed. Apr. 18</b></p><p>Kalamazoo at Saginaw</p><p><b>Fri. Apr. 20</b></p><p>Saginaw at Kalamazoo</p><p><b>Sat. Apr. 21</b></p><p>Kalamazoo at Saginaw</p><p><b>Sun. Apr. 22</b></p><p>Saginaw at Kalamazoo</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-1517/3871675-1-eng-US/f0033-152.jpg" title="f0033-15" width="608" height="116"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3><p><b>Wed. Apr. 11</b></p><p>Toledo 2 at Fort Wayne 4</p><p><b>Fri. Apr. 13</b></p><p>Fort Wayne 3 at Toledo 1</p><p><b>Sat. Apr. 14</b></p><p>Toledo 3 at Fort Wayne 4</p><h3>GAMES TO COME</h3><p><b>Tue. Apr. 17</b></p><p>Fort Wayne at Toledo</p><p><b>Wed. Apr. 18</b></p><p>Toledo at Fort Wayne</p><p><b>Fri. Apr. 20</b></p><p>Fort Wayne at Toledo</p><p><b>Sat. Apr. 21</b></p><p>Toledo at Fort Wayne</p><h2>(Final Standings)</h2><h3>NORTH DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-1612/3871668-1-eng-US/f0033-162.jpg" title="f0033-16" width="603" height="167"></div><h3>SOUTH DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-1712/3871661-1-eng-US/f0033-172.jpg" title="f0033-17" width="608" height="143"></div><h3>FINAL SCORING LEADERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-1810/3871654-1-eng-US/f0033-182.jpg" title="f0033-18" width="622" height="411"></div><h3>FINAL GOALING RECORDS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-198/3871647-1-eng-US/f0033-192.jpg" title="f0033-19" width="618" height="797"></div><h2>NORTH EASTERN LEAGUE</h2><p><b>PLAYOFF GAMES</b></p><h3><b>Finals</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-208/3871640-1-eng-US/f0033-202.jpg" title="f0033-20" width="620" height="115"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3><p><b>Tue. Apr. 10</b></p><p>Hampton 4 at Erie 5</p><p><b>Wed. Apr. 11</b></p><p>Hampton 6 at Erie 5</p><p><b>Fri. Apr. 13</b></p><p>Erie 3 at Hampton 4</p><p><b>Sat. Apr. 14</b></p><p>Erie 0 at Hampton 2</p><h3>GAMES TO COME</h3><p><b>Wed. Apr. 18</b></p><p>Hampton at Erie</p><p><b>Thu. Apr. 19</b></p><p>Erie at Hampton</p><p><b>Sat. Apr. 21</b></p><p>Hampton at Erie</p><p><b>PLAYOFF GAMES</b></p><h2>Semi-Finals</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-217/3871633-1-eng-US/f0033-212.jpg" title="f0033-21" width="612" height="111"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3><p><b>Wed. Mar. 28</b></p><p>Cape Cod 6 at Hampton 1</p><p><b>Thu. Mar. 29</b></p><p>Cape Cod 1 at Hampton 4</p><p><b>Sat. Mar. 31</b></p><p>Hampton 5 at Cape Cod 1</p><p><b>Sun. Apr. 1</b></p><p>Hampton 5 at Cape Cod 2</p><p><b>Tue. Apr. 3</b></p><p>Hampton 8 at Cape Cod 1</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-226/3871626-1-eng-US/f0033-222.jpg" title="f0033-22" width="624" height="116"></div><h3><b>GAMES COMPLETED</b></h3><p>Fri. Mar. 30</p><p>Utica 2 at Erie 7</p><p><b>Sat. Mar. 31</b></p><p>Utica 4 at Erie 1</p><p><b>Wed. Apr. 4</b></p><p>Erie 5 at Utica 2</p><p><b>Sat. Apr. 7</b></p><p>Erie 5 at Utica 4</p><p><b>Sun. Apr. 8</b></p><p>Utica 1 at Erie 8<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0033-01

Looking At The Minor League Scoreboard

<h2><b>NHL TEAMS</b></h2><p>1&mdash;Montreal</p><p>2&mdash;Chicago</p><p>3&mdash;Boston</p><p>4&mdash;Rangers</p><p>5&mdash;Detroit</p><p>6&mdash;Toronto</p><p>7&mdash;Philadelphia</p><p>8&mdash;Los Angeles</p><p>9&mdash;St. Louis</p><p>10&mdash;Minnesota</p><p>11&mdash;Pittsburgh</p><p>12&mdash;Islanders</p><p>13&mdash;Vancouver</p><p>14&mdash;Buffalo</p><p>15&mdash;Atlanta</p><p>16&mdash;Washingtor</p><p>17&mdash;Colorado</p><h2>WHA TEAMS</h2><p>18&mdash;New England</p><p>19&mdash;Quebec</p><p>20&mdash;Winnipeg</p><p>22&mdash;Edmonton</p><p>23&mdash;Cincinnati</p><p>24&mdash;Birmingham</p><h2>OTHER AFFILIATIONS</h2><p>25&mdash;Quebec (WHA), Cincinnati (WHA, Birmingham (WHA) & Pittsburgh (NHL)</p><p>26&mdash;Buffalo (NHL) & Washington (NHL)</p><p>27&mdash;Toronto (NHL) & Chicago(NHL)</p><p>28&mdash;Montreal (NHL) & Atlanta (NHL)</p><p>29&mdash;New England (WHA), Edmonton (WHA), Winnipeg (WHA) & Los Angeles (NHL)</p><p>31&mdash;Atlanta (NHL), Rangers (NHL) & Minnesota (NHL)</p><p>32&mdash;Vancouver(NHL), Los Angeles (NHL) & Edmonton (WHA).</p><p>34&mdash;St. Louis (NHL) & Washington (NHL)</p><p>35&mdash;Los Angeles-(NHL) & Toronto (NHL)</p><p>36&mdash;Minnesota (NHL) & Chicago (NHL)</p><p>37&mdash;Colorado (NHL) & Atlanta (NHL)</p><p>38&mdash;Vancouver (NHL) & Islanders (NHL)</p><p>39&mdash;Pittsburgh (NHL) & Boston (NHL)</p><p>40&mdash;Philadelphia (NHL) & Buffalo (NHL)</p><p>41&mdash;Minnesota (NHL) & St. Louis (NHL)</p><p>42&mdash;Independent operation</p><p>43&mdash;Philadelphia (NHL) & St. Louis (NHL)<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

Who They’re Affiliated With…

<div class="byline">BY BUD GALLMEIER</div><p>LOUISVILLE HOCKEY STICKS Made in Canada by HILLERICH & BRADSBY, LTD Arnold Street. Wallaceburg. Ontario Sold in U.S and Canada</p><p>LOUISVILLE HOCKEY STICKS Made in Canada by HILLERICH & BRADSBY, LTD Arnold Street. Wallaceburg. Ontario Sold in U.S and Canada</p><p>GRAND RAPIDS&mdash;</p><p>The Grand Rapids Owls completed one of the greatest flip-flops in International Hockey League history when they edged the Port Huron Flags, 4-3, to capture the regular season championship, winning the Huber Trophy. As well as the Ken Ullyot Trophy which goes to the champion of the South Division.</p><p>And the Owls didn&rsquo;t stop there. After cinching the league crown, Grand Rapids broke the IHL record of 104 points, set during the 1975-76 season by the Dayton Gems. A 5-2 win over Milwaukee gave the Owls a 49-20-8 record for a total of 106 points, and they later added three more points to that.</p><p>Two victories in their final three games would have given the Owls the record for most wins in a season, but they were only able to tie the mark of 50, held jointly by Fort Wayne and the old Minneapolis Millers. The 1959-60 Komets posted a 50-16-2 record. Minneapolis was 50-20-2 during the 1960-61 campaign. Owls&rsquo; finished at 50-20-9.</p><p>The unbelievable season followed the Owls&rsquo; year of almost complete futility last season when they missed the playoffs on the final day of the season. It was a year which saw the team start in Dayton and move to Grand Rapids. And there were more than a few times during the hectic Dayton period that the players weren&rsquo;t sure the team would survive.</p><p>The Owls&rsquo; success was not without adversity either. The team was stripped of key personnel as a result of an incident which threatened to derail the championship run. Lost for the season was captain Rick Dorman. Suspended for a total of 10 games were John Flesch and Dean Magee. But coach Moe Bartoli managed to keep the team together. If anything, the Owls became a closer team in the wake of the suspensions.</p><p>The Owls&rsquo; success can be attributed to Bartoli&rsquo;s handling of the club and the strong support he received from management&mdash;especially Al Savill. Savill and Bartoli have been a team since Savill put the Owls in Columbus.</p><p>&ldquo;The only agreement I&rsquo;ve ever had with Al is a handshake,&rdquo; Bartoli said recently. &ldquo;1 love the man.&rdquo;</p><p><b>FORT WAYNE:</b> Moose Lallo found himself with only veteran Robbie Irons for duty in the nets following the flareup of a previous injury to backup Andre LePage. LePage, obtained from Fort Worth in exchange for Don Cutts, pulled a hamstring in a game at Milwaukee and is apparently through for the season.</p><p>The Komets added Fort Wayne native Rick Wynn as backup but Lallo hopes to find a more experienced goalie for the playoffs. Still Lallo will have to go with Irons all the way. He can&rsquo;t use the backup unless Irons is injured.</p><p>The Komets snapped out of a four-game slump with a 2-1-2 week. They played Grand Rapids to a 3-3 tie, beat Muskegon 8-7 and Saginaw, 5-3, all at home while playing a 5-5 tie at Milwaukee and losing at Toledo, 6-1.</p><p>The Komets and Diggers are first-round playoff opponents.</p><p><b>TOLEDO:</b> The Diggers boosted their unbeaten string to seven with a 4-0-1 week. The tie was on the road at Milwaukee. Victories came over Flint (8-6), Kalamazoo (5-4) and Fort Wayne at home; Flint on the road, 6-4.</p><p><b>MILWAUKEE:</b> The Admirals didn&rsquo;t do much for their confidence when they dropped a 6-0 decision to Grand Rapids at home. Ties followed with Toledo (33) and Fort Wayne (5-5) at home before the Admirals invaded Grand Rapids where they will open the playoffs. They lost, 5-2.</p><p><b>PORT HURON:</b> The Flags headed into the final week of the season with a five-point lead over runner-up Kalamazoo in the North Division, and held on to win by three and capture first place. And Ron Ullyot&rsquo;s team continues to be the hottest offensive unit in the circuit.</p><p>In skating to a 2-1-0 week, the Flags drilled home 21 goals, boosting the season total to 377&mdash;highest in the league&rsquo;s history.</p><p><b>KALAMAZOO:</b> The Wings faced an insurmountable task in catching Port Huron for the North Division title. With just four games left, Port Huron had a five-point lead. The K-Wings had a rugged road to hoe in the final week and came up short despite a grand effort. They opened with an 8-3 road loss to Fort Wayne, swept a home and home series from Flint and knocked off Grand Rapids 9-6, but still finished three points behind Port Huron.</p><p>Highlight of the K-Wings&rsquo; week was a 5-0 shutout of Saginaw on the road. The Gears, defending North Division champions, are the first-round playoff opponents for the K-Wings. Al Jensen posted the shutout, his second of the season.</p><p>Offensively, little Tom Milani finished strongly to top the 100-point total, finishing with 106 points. Tom Ross boosted his team scoring lead to 116 second in the league.</p><p><b>SAGINAW:</b> The Gears&rsquo; troubles continued with three more losses and their lead over fourth-place Flint dwindled to a single point. The 5-0 loss at home to Kalamazoo was most humiliating. Also. Flint bombed the Gears at home, 7-4, while a third loss was suffered at Fort Wayne, 5-3.</p><p><b>FLINT:</b> Flint&rsquo;s final week of action had two games at home and two on the road. A 2-0-2 previous week pulled the Generals to withina point of Saginaw but Kalamazoo proved the spoiler downing the Generals 7-3 at home and 9-5 in Flint, forcing the Generals to meet Port Huron in the playoffs.</p><p><b>MUSKEGON:</b> It was a long season for the Mohawks but the way the team finished up, a longer season would have been welcomed. The Mohawks played two tight games, losing an 8-7 decision at Fort Wayne and picking up a point on the road in a 4-4 tie at Kalamazoo before ending a three-game road swing with a 10-2 loss at Port Huron.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-01258/3871828-1-eng-US/f0034-012.jpg" title="f0034-01" width="564" height="740"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>TERRY MCDOUGALL&hellip;Scoring Champ</b></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0034-01

Grand Rapids’ Turnabout Amazing Flags Wind Up On Top In North

<div class="byline">BY PATRICK LYON</div><p>ERIE&mdash;</p><p class="dropcap"><span>I</span>t&rsquo;s the Erie Blades against the Hampton Aces for the championship of the North Eastern Hockey League after the two teams&mdash;which finished 1-2 in the loop&mdash;closed out their semi-final opponents, Utica Mohawks, and Cape Cod Freedoms, four games to one.</p><p>The two finalists each survived early scares with the Mohawks evening the series with their first triumph in Erie in 12 tried, while Cape Cod blasted the Aces 6-1 in their series opener in Hampton, before the Aces pulled an abrupt about-face and rallied to sweep the next four games.</p><p>Holding the home ice advantage, the regular season champion Blades wasted no time in the opening game by scalping their foes 7-2 at the Erie County Fieldhouse. With the Mohawks doing a fine job of containing Erie&rsquo;s high-scoring &ldquo;Production Line,&rdquo; it was a chance for the Blades&rsquo; checking line to show their offensive skills.</p><p>Besides shutting off Utica&rsquo;s Bob Ferguson line which constantly gives Erie trouble, Ron Hansis, Val James and Paul Devlin each totaled a goal and three assists and James also chipped in a goal.</p><p>The Mohawks found reason to celebrate after they won Game Two, 4-1 in Erie. It was their first win on Erie ice in 12 tries during the season and Utica momentarily took away the home ice advantage from the Blades as the series shifted to the Clinton Arena.</p><p>Utica was victorious despite being &lsquo;both outshot and outhit by their counterparts. Goaltending was again the key to the Mohawks&rsquo; game as young Tom O&rsquo;Toole deflected 40 of 41 shots.</p><p>Polano challenged the Blades before Game Three of the series and his players answered his challenge with an aggressive 5-2 triumph. Erie got balanced scoring and very effective penalty killing as they rtegated five of six Utica power plays to take command of the series, 2I.</p><p>Later they added a 5-4 win in Utica and an 8-1 blowout in Erie to close out the Mohawks.</p><p><b>HAMPTON vs CAPE COD:</b> The Aces encountered a lay-off of seven days after their surprisingly easy semi-final playoff win over the Freedoms. After dropping the opener at the Hampton Coliseum 6-1, the Aces swept the next four games to gain the finals of the John Mitchell Cup.</p><p>Following a sweep on the Cape to run their series advantage to 3-1, the Aces just couldn&rsquo;t be stopped in returning home particularly since their coach. Muzz MacPherson, returned to the bench after a four-game suspension. MacPherson was originally suspended indefinitely by the NEHL Board of Governors, but a District Court judge in Norfolk, Virginia granted an injunction against the action allowing MacPherson to once again coach his team.</p><p>MacPherson received a standing ovation from the crowd in Hampton and his inspired club responded by wrapping up the series, 8-1. Jim Misener got the Aces going in the first period with a goal, player-coach John Cunniff responding with an unassisted tally that tied the game at 1-1. It was all Hampton the rest of the way as Misener, Kelly Dean, Pat Donnelly backed John Sheridan&rsquo;s two goals with scores of their own and the Aces pounded Cap Raeder with five goals in a matter of just eight minutes.</p><p>The line of Sheridan and Dean centered by Connelly were at their best and came on especially strong in a 5-1 decision in Game Three.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-01248/3871946-1-eng-US/f0035-012.jpg" title="f0035-01" width="580" height="624"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>KELLY DEAN&hellip;Held Hot Hand</b></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0035-01

Blades, Aces Clash In NEHL Final

<div class="byline">BY MARTY KNACK</div><p>LOUISVILLE HOCKEY STICKS Made in Canada by HILLERICH & BRADSBY. LTD Arnold Street. Wallaceburg, Ontario Sold in U.S. and Canada</p><p>LOUISVILLE HOCKEY STICKS Made in Canada by HILLERICH & BRADSBY. LTD Arnold Street. Wallaceburg, Ontario Sold in U.S. and Canada</p><p>LONDON&mdash;</p><p>London Knights won a series, then lost it, and one coach resigned, but the team refused to accept the resignation, in a zany period in the Ontario Major Junior League.</p><p>Knights scored two goals in the final 24 seconds to the Windsor Spitfires 3-3 and apparently win their eight-point Emms Division semi-final 8-6, but Spitfires protested the next day because referee Jim Lever gave Knights&rsquo; right winger Dean Hopkins a major instead of match penalty for spearing.</p><p>Hopkins set up Knights&rsquo; first two goals in a furious third-period rally, then scored the final goal with eight seconds left. Spitfires protest was upheld by the Ontario Hockey Association, which ordered the game replayed.</p><p>Mark Hamway scored with two minutes and 50 seconds and Spitfires won the seventh-game replay 3-2, forcing an eighth game in Windsor the following night which Spitfires also won 3-2. Blair Barnes scored his ninth playoff goal, a league high, in the eighth game as Spitfires took advantage of their reprieve to win the series 9-7.</p><p>Knights refused to sit still, however. After losing the seventh game, they decided to appeal the protest decision, but the OHA rejected the appeal and Spitfires advanced to start an eightpoint division final, pending further action by the league and possible court action by the Knights, who threatened to seek an injunction to stop the SpitfireFlyer series if the league didn&rsquo;t give its backing at a board of governors&rsquo; meeting.</p><p>In the other Emms semi-final, Kitchener Ranger coach Bob Ertel handed in his resignation just prior to the sixth game of a rugged series with the Flyers, Rangers edged Niagara 3-2 that night as goalie Dave Jennings made 48 saves and enabled Kitchener to force a seventh game, then the team announced it wouldn&rsquo;t accept Ertel&rsquo;s resignation before going out and losing the series with a 6-1 loss in Niagara Falls.</p><p>Bill White became the fourth coaching casualty in the league this season when he was fired by Oshawa Generals, whose great expectations ended in miserable failure when they were eliminated quickly by Sudbury Wolves in an eight-point Leyden Division semi-final. Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds fired Paul Theriault after they finished out of the playoffs in the Leyden Division and George Armstrong was the other coach who failed to last the season, quitting Toronto Marlboros after about six weeks of the 1978-79 schedule.</p><p>Kingston Canadians were one of the surprise teams in the playoffs, along with Kitchener and Windsor, extending their Leyden semi-final with Peterborough Petes to seven games before finally being eliminated 9-5. Petes were first in the division during the regular schedule and Canadians were fifth.</p><p>&ldquo;I was very pleased,&rdquo; said Canadians&rsquo; general manager-coach Jim Morrison. &ldquo;I thought we had good success. When you carry the defending champions to seven games, it augers well.</p><p>&ldquo;They finished 39 points ahead of us. We had to look at that and ask what are we doing here?</p><p>&ldquo;It certainly made our season. It created interest in hockey again. Kingston is a good hockey town and this series brought back the interest. It may have been waning because of the people we lost in the last few years.&rdquo;</p><p>Kingston players like Ken Linseman, Tony McKegney, Mike Gillis and Behn Wilson were drafted early by National Hockey League teams last June and Linseman already had a year of professional experience after joining Birmingham Bulls of the World Hockey Association as a so-called under-age player.</p><p>&ldquo;We came on strong and did well for a team with so many people hurting,&rdquo; said Morrison. &ldquo;Tim Kerr was one with broken ribs, Perry Anderson with a broken collarbone and Dave Clement with pulled ligaments.&rdquo;</p><p>Peterborough took a 6-4 series lead with a 4-2 win, but Canadians rebounded for a 5-5 tie to remain alive for another night. The Petes then decided the series with a 7-3 win.</p><p>Bernie Nichols, who played with Kingston&rsquo;s affiliated team in the tier two Provincial Junior League, was a pleasant surprise in the playoffs and Morrison is counting on him helping Canadians next season.</p><p>&ldquo;I could have brought Bernie up earlier in the season but he was having a good year in North York, so I decided to leave him there,&rdquo; said Morrison. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s very clever around the net.&rdquo;</p><p>Nichols had five goals in 11 games and joined the line of Paul Pooley, Brad Clements and John Thompson, as well as emergency replacement goalie Rick Wamsley and outstanding defensemen Jay Wells and Lowell Loveday as Canadians playoff stars.</p><p>Clements had a goal and two assists and Peter Dineen and Matt Murray chipped in with a goal and assist each in the 5-5 tie.</p><p><b>PETERBOROUGH:</b> Tim Trimper and Keith Crowder were the stars as the Petes opened their division final with the Wolves with a 6-5 win in Peterborough and 4-3 decision in Sudbury. Crowder had two goals and an assist in the 6-5 win and the same totals in the second game and linemate Trimper boosted his playoff totals to two goals and 18 points with three assists in the first game and one goal and three assists in the second game. Trimper also had a goal and four asssist in Petes&rsquo; seventhgame win over Kingston. Meanwhile, the Petes romped into the league&rsquo;s cup finals as they ousted Sudbury winning four of the five games in their semi-final series.</p><p><b>SUDBURY:</b> Rookie Mike Allison had two goals and an assist and Scott Gruhl also shot two goals as the Wolves rallied from a 5-1 deficit to create an interesting finish in the first game against the Petes. Bob Lekun continued his prolific playoff scoring with three goals and an assist as Sudbury surprised the Petes 5-2 in Peterborough in the third game. Dave MacQueen had the Wolves&rsquo; other goals in the third game as they cut Peterborough&rsquo;s series lead to 4-2.</p><p><b>WINDSOR:</b> George Kotsopoulos had two assists in Spitfires&rsquo; seventh-game tie, he and linemates Hamway and J.P. Leroux combined for six points in the replay of that game and goalie Roland Melanson continued his excellent playoff performances with 29 saves in the replayed game and 25 in the eighth game. Defenseman Mark Plantery had two assists in the eighth game and defenseman Jerry Ingram and Kotsopoulos were credited with two assists each in a 3-3 tie against the Flyers in the opening game of the division final. Melanson made 38 stops in the first game against Niagara, too.</p><p><b>LONDON:</b> Frank Nigro and Hopkins had the goals in the final 24 seconds as the Knights celebrated their series win before losing in the committee room. Goalie Barry Heard sparkled in the two 3-2 losses, making 34 saves in the replayed game and another 35 in the eighth game in front of a noisy sellout crowd of 4,800 in Windsor.</p><p><b>NIAGARA FALLS:</b> Goalie Nick Ricci had 37 stops in the wide-open opener against Windsor and defenseman Mark Renaud, who scored from center ice with a weird bouncing shot in the game, had four assists as the Flyers wrapped&mdash;their series with Kitchener. Brian Carroll and Jim Jackson chipped in with a goal and two assists each in the seventh-game win over the Rangers and Ricci had 34 saves in that game. A total of 312 penalty minutes were assessed in the fifth game of the series, which Niagara won 10-2 behind three-point efforts from Dominic Niele, Steve Ludzik and defenseman Paul Thomas.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-01225/3871977-1-eng-US/f0036-012.jpg" title="f0036-01" width="570" height="796"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>BLAIR BARNES&hellip;Nine Playoff Goals</b></figcaption></div><p><b>KITCHENER:</b> Paul Reinhart scored three goals in the last seven minutes and 21 seconds to lead the Rangers to a 5-3 win that tied the series 4-4 and defenseman Kerry Williston&rsquo;s goal at 7:37 of the third period carried the series to the limit in the game hours after&rsquo; Ertel&rsquo;s resignation was handed in.</p><h2>Memorial Cup Dates</h2><p><b>Sun. May 6</b></p><p>Ontario vs Quebec</p><p><b>Mon. May 7</b></p><p>Quebec vs WHL</p><p>(Games to be played on home ice of Quebec winner)</p><p><b>Tue. May 8</b></p><p>WHL vs Ontario</p><p><b>Wed. May 9</b></p><p>Quebec vs Ontario</p><p>(Games to be played in Sherbrooke)</p><p><b>Thu. May 10</b></p><p>WHL vs Quebec</p><p><b>Fri. May 11</b></p><p>Ontario vs WHL</p><p>(Games to be played at Verdun Auditorium)</p><p><b>Sun. May 13</b></p><p>Final at Montreal Forum<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0036-01

Spitfires Alive In Zany Playoffs; Peterborough Reaches OHA Finals

<div class="byline">BY NORM COWLEY</div><p>LOUISVILLE HOCKEY STICKS Made in Canada by HILLERICH & BRADSBY, LTD Arnold Strfeet. Wallaceburg, Ontario Sold in U. S. and Canada</p><p>LOUISVILLE HOCKEY STICKS Made in Canada by HILLERICH & BRADSBY, LTD Arnold Strfeet. Wallaceburg, Ontario Sold in U. S. and Canada</p><p>EDMONTON&mdash;</p><p>To no one&rsquo;s surprise, Brandon Wheat Kings boasted the best record at home and away this year in the Western Hockey League.</p><p>The Wheat Kings, runaway leader and records setter in the WHL&rsquo;s Eastern Division, won 26 games and lost only three, both of which will be entered into the league&rsquo;s record book, on the road. At home, Brandon was an incredible 322-2.</p><p>Portland Winter Hawks were runner-up in both categories, enjoying a 30-3-3 record at home and a 19-7-10 mark on the road.</p><p>In other team departments, Brandon had the best powerplay, scoring on 32.9 percent of its chances while Victoria Cougars, with an efficiency rating of 81.5, were the best penalty-killers. Lethbridge Broncos accumulated the most penalty minutes, 2,766, but fell 333 minutes short of the league record set by Brandon last year.</p><p>Individually, Brian Propp, besides winning the scoring championship for the. second straight year with 94 goals and 194 points, also led all players with 13 tie-breaking goals and 23 insurance markers among his 58 clutch goals. He had a league record 16 game-winning goals, 26 power play goals and 26 multiple-goal games, including 13 three-or-more goal games to tie another WHL record.</p><p>Seattle Breakers&rsquo; Errol Rausse tied a league record by scoring the first goal in 13 games, Gord Williams of Lethbridge led the penalty killers with six goals, Kelly Kisio of Calgary Wranglers led all rookies with 60 goals but fell short of the rookie points championship as Lethbridge&rsquo;s Duane Sutter finished four points ahead with 125. Brad McCrimmon of Brandon led defensemen with 98 points while Craig Levie of Edmonton Oil Kings scored the most goals, 29, by a rearguard.</p><p>Brandon&rsquo;s duo of Rick Knickle and Scott Olson finished 1-2 in the goaltending derby, while Andy Moog of Billings Bighorns posted three shutouts and shared a fourth. Calgary&rsquo;s Warren Skorodenski led all netminders by playing 66 games and 3,595 minutes, while stopping 2,008 shots. Bart Hunter of Portland won 34 games.</p><p>As the WHL playoffs progressed through the preliminary round, the first major upset was recorded when the Billings Bighorns, first-place finishers in the Central Division, were unceremoniously bounced from the post-season round by Lethbridge and Calgary. The Bighorns were 3-5 for the eight-game round robin and failed to qualify as Lethbridge went 5-3 and Calgary 4-4 to finish one-two. The Bighorns blew themselves out Of the playoffs by losing their last five playoff starts after going 3-0 to open the round. Gord Stafford scored three goals and Mike Kauwenhaven had five points in a 10-2 romp over Lethbridge while four players shared the scoring in a 4-1 victory over Calgary before the roof fell in. Lethbridge swept back-to-back games 53 and 8-4 and then Calgary overcame a 4-1 second-period deficit to record a 5-4 upset. Lindsay Carson led the scoring with 11 points. Stafford had seven goals.</p><p><b>BRANDON:</b> The Wheat Kings continued to have trouble with the Blades, dropping a 5-4 decision in the second overtime period at Saskatoon after jumping to a 3-0 lead in the first period. The loss evened their playoff record at 1-1, but the Wheaties promptly qualified for the Eastern Division final by sweeping its four-game series with Edmonton, winning 8-2 at Lloydminster (an Edmonton home game), and 4-3 and 5-3 at home. Ray Allison, with five goals and four assists, and Propp, with four goals and five assists, have once again been leading the Brandon attack.</p><p><b>SASKATOON:</b> Terry Paskaruk&rsquo;s goal late in the second overtime sessior enabled the Blades to edge Brandon 5-4 and extend their undefeated streak against the Wheat Kings to four games. Saskatoon outshot Brandon 71-49 in the game, with both goaltenders (Blades&rsquo; Murray Stephens and Wheaties&rsquo; Olson) enjoying excellent outings. But it was a different story against Edmonton. Saskatoon lost for the second time in the playoffs to the Oil Kings, this time 5-4 at Lloydminster, before eliminating Edmonton with a 5-3 victory at home. Brent Ashton and Ken Federko have each accumulated nine points on five goals and four assists.</p><p><b>EDMONTON:</b> Five games in as many days proved to be too much for the Oil Kings to handle, as Edmonton dropped its final three games in the round-robin series to finish with a 2-6 record. After losing 8-2 to Brandon, the Oil Kings completed their &ldquo;home&rdquo; schedule&mdash;played at Lloydminster because of unavailability of ice at Edmonton&mdash;with a 5-4 triumph over Saskatoon. Then came the three road games, and 4-3 and 5-3 losses at Brandon, and a 5-3 defeat at Saskatoon which eliminated the Oil Kings from further play. Levie led the offense with four goals and seven assists for 11 points while Ray Neufeld netted five goals.</p><p><b>LETHBRIDGE:</b> Paced by the outstanding 10-goal, 15-point performance of 18-year-old Doug Morrison, the Broncos surged to the lead in the Central Division&rsquo;s series with a 5-3 record. A 10-2 loss to Billings put Lethbridge back on the right track, as the Broncos immediately afterwards swept a pair of games from the Bighorns, 5-3 at home and 8-4 at Billings, before blanking Calgary 5-0 behind the goaltending of Lee Pickett.</p><p><b>CALGARY:</b> The Wranglers (4-4) sneaked into the second round of the playoffs, despite losing 4-1 to Billings and being shut out 5-0 by Lethbridge. Sandwiched between the two losses was a come-from-behind 5-4 victory over Billings. Kisio, who leads the team in scoring with five goals and nine points, fired two goals and two assists in the game to lead Calgary back from a 4-1 second-period deficit. A double win over Billings was the death blow for the Bighorns.</p><p><b>PORTLAND:</b> A 6-4 loss at Victoria was the only thing that spoiled the Winter Hawks&rsquo; playoff record in eight games. In other games, Portland trounced New Westminster 9-2 behind a four-goal performance by Max Kostovich, New Westminster again&mdash;this time 8-1&mdash;as Jim Dobson scored three times, Victoria 3-1, and New Westminster 4-3 in overtime. Mike Toal, the top scorer with four goals and 11 points, netted the winner in the last game after 7:34 of sudden-death play.</p><p><b>VICTORIA:</b> Gary Lupul, who leads the team with five goals and give assists, scored three goals in Cougars&rsquo; 6-4 victory over Portland before a home crowd of 4,125, but that was all Victoria fans could cheer about as the club&rsquo;s record dropped to 2-4. The Cougars, who lost twice to New West, 5-2 and 4-3, and were also defeated at home 3-1 by Portland, were far from dead. They won their final game 4-3 against New West and helped eliminate the big, bad Bruins from the playoffs.</p><p><b>NEW WESTMINSTER:</b> The Memorial Cup playoffs won&rsquo;t seem the same without the big, bad New West Bruins this year. The defending Canadian major junior champs are now history after being eliminated in the preliminary round with a 2-6 record that allowed them to finish third in the three-team round-robin series behind Portland and Victoria. The Bruins revived their hopes with a pair of wins over Victoria, a team that had their number during the regular season. After losing to Portland 9-2, the Bruins bounced back to whip Victoria 5-2 and 4-3 but after that it was all down hill. In their final five games, Portland won 4-3 and 5-3 and Victoria avenged their double loss with a 4-3 victory that helped put the Bruins on the sidelines.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-01198/3872008-1-eng-US/f0037-012.jpg" title="f0037-01" width="530" height="644"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>BRIAN PROPP&hellip;2nd Scoring Title</b></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0037-01

Brandon Continues Regular Season Domination

<div class="byline">BY DANNY YOUNG</div><p>LOUISVILLE HOCKEY STICKS Made in Canada by HILLERICH & BRADSBY, LTD Arnold Street. Wallaceburg. Ontario Sold in U.S. and Canada</p><p>LOUISVILLE HOCKEY STICKS Made in Canada by HILLERICH & BRADSBY, LTD Arnold Street. Wallaceburg. Ontario Sold in U.S. and Canada</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-01233/3872039-1-eng-US/f0038-012.jpg" title="f0038-01" width="576" height="615"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>JIMMY MANN&hellip;All-Around Player 4</b></figcaption></div><p>SHERBROOKE&mdash;</p><p>The dream of any hockey coach in any league is to have a team with four solid forward lines, six competent defensemen, and two capable goaltenders. For Sherbrooke Beavers&rsquo; mentor Ghislain Delage, this dream has become a reality.</p><p>With an abundance of talent on the 1978-79 squad, Delage chose to go with 18 regular skaters, and left the bench warming duties to the towel boys.</p><p>When asked what&rsquo;s so good about Sherbrooke, Trois-Rivieres coach Michel Bergeron replied: &ldquo;Four well-balanced lines.&rdquo; Put it this way. It&rsquo;s pretty hard to match lines with Sherbrooke when you&rsquo;ve only got three units yourself.</p><p>If you don&rsquo;t think this is much of a problem, just ask Chicoutimi coach Orval Tessier or Verdun coach Pete Bisson. The Beavers (every one of them) swept Chicoutimi four games to none in the quarter-finals, and have now taken three straight from Verdun in the semis.</p><p>&ldquo;Everybody on this team is very, very hungry,&rdquo; says Delage. &ldquo;They re doing a real good job.&rdquo;</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve never seen a team as ready and prepared as this team is,&rdquo; notes winger Jimmy Mann. &ldquo;We can play with four lines and six defensemen with success because everybody is working and doing their job.&rdquo;</p><p>Talking about doing a job, Mann has exploded for three hat tricks in the seven games. A top prospect in the upcoming amateur draft, Mann is finishing his junior career in style.</p><p>&ldquo;I know the scouts are watching, but I don&rsquo;t think about them during the game,&rdquo; says Mann. &ldquo;I just try to keep working, hitting, and getting all the chances I can. By being an all-around player, I feel I can help any team I play for.&rdquo;</p><p>Mann&rsquo;s philosophy actually reflects that of the entire Sherbrooke team. They work, they hit, and they get results. According to team captain Ken Johnston, their success came by &ldquo;putting hard work and talent together.&rdquo;</p><p>A veteran rearguard, Johnston believes that the Beavers have the best defensive corps in the league.</p><p>&ldquo;People say that Trois-Rivieres has the best four defensemen. Well, we&rsquo;ve got the best six. Using six allows each man to give 110 percent.</p><p>&ldquo;It also keeps the players fresh in the third period. If the game is close going into the final 20 minutes, chances are the Beavers will win.</p><p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s why we play close from the beginning,&rdquo; says Delage. &ldquo;We don&rsquo;t give them any opportunities, and just wait until we get ours.&rdquo;</p><p>The second game of the Verdun series was a perfect Sherbrooke game. They led 3-1 after the first period, 5-2 after the second, and finally won by a whopping 11-3. The only result that was in doubt in that game was the star of the game selection which is always a tough choice when you have 19 active candidates to choose from.</p><p><b>TROIS-RIVIERES:</b> The Draveurs fell behind 3-0 in their opening semifinal match with Montreal, but came back to take a 5-3 victory on two Benoit Laporte goals. After Montreal evened the series with a 4-3 decision, the league&rsquo;s leading scorer Jean Francois Sauve led the Draveurs to two victories for a three games to one advantage. In the first of these, Sauve registered give goals as the Draveurs crushed the Juniors 10-5.</p><p>Then Sauve scored a goal and an assist in a 3-1 win at the Montreal Forum. In eight playoff games, Sauve has contributed 13 goals and 12 assists.</p><p>Of course, coach Michel Bergeron will still tell you that defense is the key to his club&rsquo;s success. &ldquo;By playing well defensively&rdquo;, says Bergeron, &ldquo;we arw able to have control of the fame. Now that we&rsquo;ve won three games, we&rsquo;re very confident.</p><p><b>MONTREAL:</b> After blowing a 3-0 lead in the first game of the series, they managed to hold on to the same lead in game number two for a 4-3 win. Faced with 45 shots on goal, netminder Marco Baron played exceptionally well.</p><p>The Juniors, however, fell apart in the third game. They lost 10-5 and were actually down 10-2 midway through the third period. In game four, the Juniors could not cash in on several opportunities and lost 3-1. The Juniors drew 8,510 spectators to the first game between the two clubs at the Forum.</p><p><b>VERDUN:</b> The Hawks have given up 25 goals in their three losses to Sherbrooke so naturally defense is a major problem. Star defenseman Raymond Bourque, who was selected as the city of Verdun&rsquo;s best athlete of the year, has not been playing up to par.</p><p>In addition, the Hawks are playing without the services of defenseman Richard Laroque who is sitting out a 10-game suspension for a spearing incident in their quarter-final series with Cornwall.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0038-01

Beavers’ Balance Envy Of League

<h2>ONTARIO MAJOR LEAGUE</h2><p>PLAYOFF GAMES</p><h3>Semi-Finals</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-02182/3872147-1-eng-US/f0038-022.jpg" title="f0038-02" width="616" height="157"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3><p>Peterborough 6, Sudbury 5</p><p>Peterborough 5, Sudbury 3</p><p>Sudbury 5, Peterborough 2</p><p>Peterborough 6, Sudbury 3</p><p>Peterborough 6, Sudbury 2</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-03136/3872140-1-eng-US/f0038-032.jpg" title="f0038-03" width="605" height="185"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3><p>Niagara Falls 9, Windsor 2</p><p>Windsor 6, London 6</p><p>London 6, Windsor 3</p><p>Niagara Falls 3, London 2</p><p>Windsor 4, Niagara Falls 3</p><p>Windsor 5, London 4</p><h2>Quarter-Finals</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-0492/3872133-1-eng-US/f0038-042.jpg" title="f0038-04" width="615" height="543"></div><h2>WESTERN HOCKEY LEAGUE</h2><p>PLAYOFF GAMES</p><p><b>Quarter-Finals</b></p><h3>EASTERN DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-0565/3872126-1-eng-US/f0038-052.jpg" title="f0038-05" width="612" height="111"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3><p>Brandon 9, Saskatoon 1</p><p>Brandon 5. Saskatoon 2</p><p>Brandon 7, Saskatoon 5</p><p>Brandon 6, Saskatoon 4</p><h3>WESTERN DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-0651/3872119-1-eng-US/f0038-062.jpg" title="f0038-06" width="608" height="110"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3><p>Portland 2, Victoria 1</p><p>Portland 6, Victoria 3</p><p>Victoria 4, Portland 2</p><p>Portland 4, Victoria 3</p><p>Victoria 6, Portland 4</p><p>Victoria 7, Portland 2</p><h3>CENTRAL DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-0745/3872112-1-eng-US/f0038-072.jpg" title="f0038-07" width="608" height="117"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3><p>Lethbridge 9, Calgary 7</p><p>Lethbridge 7, Calgary 6</p><p>Calgary 6, Lethbridge 2</p><p>Calgary 4, Lethbridge 2</p><p>Lethbridge 8, Calgary 3</p><p>Calgary 7, Lethbridge 3</p><h2>Preliminary Round-Robin</h2><h3>EASTERN DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-0831/3872105-1-eng-US/f0038-082.jpg" title="f0038-08" width="612" height="194"></div><h3>CENTRAL DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-0926/3872098-1-eng-US/f0038-092.jpg" title="f0038-09" width="619" height="170"></div><h3>WESTERN DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-1023/3872091-1-eng-US/f0038-102.jpg" title="f0038-10" width="596" height="194"></div><h2>QUEBEC MAJOR LEAGUE</h2><p>PLAYOFF GAMES</p><h3>Finals</h3><p>(Best-of-seven series)</p><p><b>Fri. Apr. 20</b></p><p>Sherbrooke at Trois-Rivieres</p><p><b>Sun/Mon. Apr. 22-23</b></p><p>Trois-Rivieres at Sherbrooke</p><p><b>Wed. Apr. 25</b></p><p>Sherbrooke at Trois-Rivieres</p><p><b>Fri. Apr. 27</b></p><p>Trois-Rivieres at Sherbrooke</p><p><b>Sun. Apr. 29</b></p><p>Sherbrooke at Trois-Rivieres</p><p><b>Mon. Apr. 30</b></p><p>Trois-Rivieres at Sherbrooke</p><p><b>Wed. May 2</b></p><p>Sherbrooke at Trois-Rivieres</p><h3>Semi-Finals</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-1121/3872084-1-eng-US/f0038-112.jpg" title="f0038-11" width="608" height="116"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3><p>Sherbrooke 6, Verdun 4</p><p>Sherbrooke 11, Verdun 3</p><p>Sherbrooke 8, Verdun 5</p><p>Sherbrooke 9, Verdun 3</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-1219/3872077-1-eng-US/f0038-122.jpg" title="f0038-12" width="608" height="124"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3><p>Trois-Rivieres 5, Montreal 3</p><p>Montreal 4, Trois-Rivieres 3</p><p>Trois-Rivieres 10, Montreal 5</p><p>Trois-Rivieres 3, Montreal 1</p><p>Trois-Rivieres 7, Montreal 1</p><h3>Quarter-Finals</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-1314/3872070-1-eng-US/f0038-132.jpg" title="f0038-13" width="611" height="462"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0038-02

The Amateur Scoreboard

<div class="byline">&#x2014;By Bill Hilts</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-01214/3872178-1-eng-US/f0039-012.jpg" title="f0039-01" width="356" height="424"></div><h2><b>New England League</b></h2><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>he pressures of post-season play in the New England Jr. Hockey League didn&rsquo;t hamper regular season champ South Shore, which extended its unbeaten streak to 18 games by shelling fourth place Tyngsboro 9-3. Mike Marks, who scored last on Feb. 23, chipped in two goals as did Dyke Shaw for the Braves. South Shore led 5-0 after two, before Husky Gary Cee interrupted with a goal at 6:48 of final period&hellip;South Shore&rsquo;s Brian Bertoni netted back-to-back second period goals to power Braves to 6-1 triumph over host Tyngsboro, giving 2-0 lead in first round series&hellip;Fitchburg squandered its home advantage and a 3-1 early lead as underdog Springfield scored all four second period goals to down the host Wallopers 6-5, in first game of best-of-five series. Finding themselves trailing 5-3 after second period, Fitchburg charged back with goals by Scott Corwin and Keith Carter to even the count with almost 15 minutes left in the game. Springfield&rsquo;s Steve Palazzi ended the scoring by taking neat feed from Tim Kenney at 12:16 of the final period to give Pics the win&hellip;On the threshold to a two-game deficit, defending Wallace Cup-champion Fitchburg drove home three last goals to overcome host Springfield 6-5, and deadlock their series at one. League leading scorer Lee Blossom scored his first goal of the playoffs at 19:16 of the third period to ensure victory for Fitchburg. Blossom had hardly been handcuffed, though, assisting on the Wallopers&rsquo; other five goals in the game, including two by Mark Lavasseur.</p><h2><b>Metro N.Y. Association</b></h2><p>Oyster Bay, winning 17 of their last 19 games, are the Keegan Cup winners as 1978-79 regular season champs of the Metropolitan New York Junior Hockey Assn. They will also travel to Fitchburg, Massachusetts and the National AHAUS Tournament, regardless of what happens in the playoffs&hellip;The New York Jr. Rangers, who came in second place will be the only other team in the league playoffs for reasons of expediency&hellip;Jr. Rangers were led by high scoring Brian Mullen who lit the red light 47 times while totaling 92 points&hellip;Oyster Bay&rsquo;s Bill Nichols placed second with 90 points, while leading the league in assists with 61&hellip;Mullen&rsquo;s teammates Ryan Boyd and Bobby Amore placed third and fourth with 87 and 80 points respectively&hellip;Boyd led MJHL in goals with 51&hellip;Kevin Kiendle wrapped up regular season play with outstanding 1.94 GAA for Oyster Bay in over 1,300 minutes between the pipes&hellip;New Hyde Park&rsquo;s Bob Bussi established a 4.16 GAA in 1,754 minutes in goal.</p><h2><b>Great Lakes League</b></h2><p>With the final week of regular season now over, Great Lakes Jr. Hockey League &ldquo;A&rdquo; Division clubs are enjoying a short break with which to prepare for the post season playoffs. In final week action, league-leading scorer Steve Murphy recorded three goals and two assists to finish the 50-game schedule with 120 points. Murphy, of the league champ Paddock Pool Saints, led in three categories of final statistics: most goals-56, total points-120 and he recorded two five-goal games. The scoring ace notched five points last week in the Saints&rsquo; only game, an 8-2 win over Cleveland Jr. Barons&hellip;Detroit Jr. Wings, who tied Wayne for second place, closed out season with 11-2 win over Jr. Barons. Frank Loconsole, Steve Ross, and Todd Gardiner all had two goal games for the Wings, as Dan Forkin got both Baron markers&hellip;Wayne Chiefs finished schedule with back-to-back wins over Cleveland, 6-3, and 11-3. Chiefs&rsquo; Ray Dries scored five times and assisted on two others in the final game.</p><h2><b>St. Louis Metro League</b></h2><p>For the third time in their history, Brentwood Blazers have captured St. Louis Metro Jr. &ldquo;B&rdquo; championship. The orange-shirted icemen defeated Affton Americans by scores of 3-2 and 10-2 to win best-of-three games series, two to none&hellip;As a result of winning playoff championship, Blazers advance to AHAUS Junior &ldquo;B&rdquo; Nationals in Totowa, New Jersey. This will be Blazers&rsquo; second appearance in Nationals in three years. Brentwood skaters finished in fourth place in their last visit&hellip;Blazers open tourney against Chicago Jr. &ldquo;B&rdquo; Champs. The following day they will meet Great Lakes Jr. Hockey League champs. The final game before the semi-finals and finals is against Minnesota Jr. &ldquo;B&rdquo; Champions&hellip;In Blazers&rsquo; 102 win over Affton to clinch title, Tony Pupillo scored four goals, defenseman David Apted and winger Frank Runco each put in a pair.</p><h2><b>N.Y.-Penn League</b></h2><p>The New York-Pennsylvania Major Jr. League regular season has come to a close and four teams will begin the chase for the Empire Cup, symbolic of the playoff championship. Binghamton Barons, winners of regular season title (Frederick A. Rossi Memorial Trophy) with a league record 38 wins and 78 points, will meet fourth-place Buffalo Jr. Sabres in one best-of-seven semi-final series, while second-place Syracuse Stars and third-place Rochester Monarchs hook up in the other&hellip;Although they ran away with the first-place honors, Barons should not expect an easy time in playoffs. Syracuse and Buffalo both finished the season very strongly, and Rochester, defending Empire Cup champs for the past two years, has a 16-game playoff winning streak&hellip;In addition to their winning the Rossi Trophy, the Barons also came away with the individual awards. Steve Salvucci ran away with Bob Johnston Memorial Trophy as the leading scorer, smashing records along the way. His 143 points were 30 points better than anyone had ever before scored in the NYPMHL, while his 84 goals made a mockery of the old mark of 49. His linemate, Scott Press, finished second with 129 points, and, the third member of the trio, Peter Shaughnessy, also eclipsed the century mark and established a league record 75 assists. Binghamton goaltender Scott Card became the first winner of the Andrew G. Laing Award for the lowest goals against average, as he posted a 3.88 figure.</p><h2><b>American League</b></h2><p>The Assabet Valley Tomahawks, regular season champs for the American Junior Hockey League and the second place MassConn Twins are the two remaining teams in the 1978-79 playoff picture&hellip;MassConn reached the finals by eliminating fourth place Western Mass Pioneers in two straight games by scores of 13-1 and 7-6&hellip;Tomahawks had a rougher time as their series was expanded to the full three games. Assabet Valley was surprised at home by an inspired Framingham squad by 15-4 score. Tomahawks got things rolling in an 18-10 win and ended the series with a 9-0 whitewash of Pics&hellip;Assabet Valley&rsquo;s Ed Collazzo led league in assists (74) and total points (144), while teammate Bob McKenzie led all goal scorers with 80 and placed second in overall AJHL race with 137 points&hellip;MassConn&rsquo;s Bill Ferguson was third with 111 points and Tomahawk Harvey Welsh was fourth with 101 points&hellip;Top goalie with 10 or more games played is Mike Keegan of Assabet Valley with a 4.02 GAA, while teammate Scott Goldstein had the best record of 18-1-1, posting a 5.06 GAA.</p><h2><b>United States League</b></h2><p>Nine states and seven USHL teams will be represented when the United States Hockey League sends its All Star team to Leysin, Switzerland in April U.S. Junior All Stars will participate in the annual Beard Cup tourney, competing against teams from Czechoslovakia, Switzerland and West Germany. All players in the tournament are 20 years of age, or under&hellip;Team will be coached by Jack Barzee, coach of Waterloo Blackhawks and 1978 USHL coach of year. His club won USHL regular season title this year and will compete in championship round of Clark Cup playoffs before several of Hawks and Barzee depart for Switzerland&hellip;In goal for USHL squad will be St. Paul Vulcan Jim Finch of Osseo, Minn, and Austin Maverick Scott Stoltzner of Arlington Heights, Il-1&hellip;Defensive duties will be handled by Austin&rsquo;s Mike Farley, South Bend, Ind.; Bloomington Stars Jim Graven, Wayzata, Minn., Dave Cosgrove, St. Paul; Waterloo&rsquo;s Mike Meadows of Hibbing, Minn.; Anoka/Hennepin Nordique Tim Klis of Minneapolis and St. Paul Vulcan John Anderson, St. Paul.</p><p>Forwards include Kurt Dade of Wayne, N.J. and Brian Hartman of Sioux City, Iowa, both Sioux City Musketeers; John Dougherty of Green Bay Wis. and John Santori of Superior, Wis. of Green Bay Bobcats; Keith Ballstadt of Spring Lake Park, Minn., playing with Anoka/Hennepin; Brian Riley of West Point, N.Y. and Ron Milardo of Middleton, Conn., playing with Waterloo; Mike Dahlberg of Edina, Minn., playing with Bloomington; and Pete Greer of Marquette, Mich, and Kevin McCabe of Mt. Carmel, Ill., playing with Austin.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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April 27, 1979

Watson Still Highly-Valued Flyer Rearguard

IHL’s Final Scoring Records

STANLEY CUP SUMMARIES

Stanley CUP Playoffs