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

January 11, 1980

The Hockey News January 11, 1980

<h2>ECAC Conference</h2><h3>JANUARY</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-1337/4279778-1-eng-US/f0025-132.jpg" title="f0025-13" width="569" height="1153"></div><h2>WCHA Conference</h2><h3>JANUARY</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-1434/4279771-1-eng-US/f0025-142.jpg" title="f0025-14" width="596" height="1175"></div><h2>CCHA Conference</h2><h3>JANUARY</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-1529/4279764-1-eng-US/f0025-152.jpg" title="f0025-15" width="563" height="581"></div><h3>FEBRUARY</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-1624/4279757-1-eng-US/f0025-162.jpg" title="f0025-16" width="568" height="291"></div><h2>CIAU Conference</h2><h3>JANUARY</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-1719/4279750-1-eng-US/f0025-172.jpg" title="f0025-17" width="579" height="1274"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0025-13

IN THIS ISSUE

Games To Come

<div class="byline">BY DAVE SENICK</div><p><b>LOUISVILLE HOCKEY STICKS</b></p><p><b>LOUISVILLE HOCKEY STICKS</b></p><p>VICTORIA&mdash;A quick glance at the Western Hockey League standings reveal that, after 32 games, Victoria Cougars had only allowed 94 goals during that span.</p><p>Those facts are closely related. The 48 points is the highest total in the league and the 94 goals, which averages just under three per game, is one of the best defensive records, Victoria&rsquo;s defensive play has been a major factor in its success.</p><p>Cougars&rsquo; tight defensive style is reflected in the statistics of rookie goalie Grant Fuhr. He had a 2.29 goals-against average in his first 14 games played, the best in the league. Victoria&rsquo;s general manager-coach Jack Shupe started the season alternating Fuhr and Kevin Eastman but Fuhr eventually earned the starting position.</p><p>&ldquo;He has a lot of confidence,&rdquo; says Shupe of Fuhr who is just 17 years of age. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s like a 19-year-old, pressure doesn&rsquo;t bother him,&rdquo;</p><p>Fuhr has impressed Shupe but he points out there are other reasons for this club&rsquo;s impressive performance.</p><p>&ldquo;Overall balance is our strong point,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;We have good goaltending, a strong defense and four capable forward lines.&rdquo;</p><p>The defense includes Mark Robinson, a Buffalo Sabres&rsquo; underage draft selection and team captain. Robinson has established a reputation, in four years of WHL play, as one of the league&rsquo;s top defensemen. Tony Feltrini, six-one, 184, an 18-year-old sophomore who is rated as possible National Hockey League material and rookie Lenny Dawes are also integral parts of the defense.</p><p>An integral part of Victoria&rsquo;s offense is Barry Pederson. The 18-year-old center had 21 goals and 36 assists in his first 30 games. Greg Adams, a 19-year-old left winger, who has been signed by Philadelphia Flyers, had 30 goals and 19 assists in 29 games.</p><p>The statistics should probably be increasing at a quick rate.</p><p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think we&rsquo;ve hit a peak or anything like that,&rdquo; says Shupe. &ldquo;There still are things we have to work on and improve. One good thing about this club is that there hasn&rsquo;t been a problem motivating the players.&rdquo;</p><p>The fact that Portland Winter Hawks have been pushing Victoria has probably helped keep Cougars motivated. Although Victoria&rsquo;s 48 points is a league high, Winter Hawks trail Cougars by only four points.</p><p>Portland has been able to make up some ground during an extended eastern road trip by Victoria. Cougars have been 3-3 in the trip which included six games in as many days. Pederson scored four goals and Bob Smith added two goals to lead Victoria to a 7-4 win over Brandon but the team also lost 7-6 to Saskatoon and 3-2 to Regina. Smith had two goals against Saskatoon.</p><p><b>NEW WESTMINSTER:</b> With the folding of Great Falls Americans, Bruins have acquired the dubious distinction of owning the league&rsquo;s poorest record. The team is last in the Eastern Division with just three wins and a tie in 31 games. New Westminster continued its losing ways by dropping a 6-3 decision to Portland. Rick Amann had two goals.</p><p><b>PORTLAND:</b> Winter Hawks increased their winning streak to eight games which tied a club record set earlier this season. Rookie Ed Cooper scored three times in a 5-1 victory over Seattle. Gary Yaremchuk tallied twice in a 6-3 triumph over New Westminster and Tim Tookey had two goals to help Portland dump Seattle 8-1. Tookey&rsquo;s performance gave him 30 goals for the season.</p><p><b>SEATTLE:</b> Breakers suffered two defeats, extending their losing streak to four games. The club could manage just two goals in those games, losing 5-1 and 8-1 to Portland.</p><p><b>BILLINGS:</b> Bighorns&rsquo; losing streak swelled to six games after they were defeated 3-2 and 5-3 by Lethbridge. The club has dropped into fifth place in the East, with 33 points, but that still leaves them with only a five-point gap behind second-place Regina Pats.</p><p><b>BRANDON:</b> Wheat Kings were defeated 7-4 by Victoria. That left them in sixth place with 31 points. Mike Winther is the team&rsquo;s leading scorer with 26 goals and 22 assists in 38 games, divided between Medicine Hat and Brandon.</p><p><b>CALGARY:</b> qWhalers continued to strengthen their grip on first place in the East, defeating Great Falls 7-4. Ray Cote scored two goals in that game. Calgary leads the division with 23 wins and just six losses.</p><p><b>LETHBRIDGE:</b> Broncos earned two wins, both at the expense of Billings. Lethbridge edged Billings 3-2 and, in a return encounter, picked up a 5-3 victory. Defenseman Ralph Andreesen had three goals in the second win.</p><p><b>MEDICINE HAT:</b> Tigers were idle, remaining in sixth place with 30 points.</p><p><b>REGINA:</b> Pats increased their winning streak to four games with a 3-2 victory over Victoria. They weathered a comeback attempt by the Cougars, after taking a major and minor penalty in the final two minutes of the game. The victory increased their winning streak at home to nine games.</p><p><b>SASKATOON:</b> Blades edged Victoria 7-6 for their third consecutive win and eighth in nine games. The club has moved into third place in the East with 35 points. Terry Paskaruk and Glen Ganchar had two goals apiece in the win over Victoria.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-01388/4279878-1-eng-US/f0028-012.jpg" title="f0028-01" width="558" height="748"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>Mark Robinson, top, a four-year vet, anchors Victoria&rsquo;s defense corps, and two goals by Ray Cote, below, strengthened Calgary&rsquo;s first place hold.</i></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-02288/4279871-1-eng-US/f0028-022.jpg" title="f0028-02" width="568" height="748"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0028-01

Defense Puts Well-Balanced Cougars On Top

<div class="byline">KEN McKENZIE&#x2019;S</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-011120/4278533-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg" title="f0004-01" width="498" height="327"></div><p>&bull; <b>VANCOUVER AND EDMONTON</b> are both anxious to host the 1980 Canada Cup. Edmonton is celebrating its 75th anniversary in 1980 and Vancouver has already made a formal application to stage the Cup games&hellip;Scotty Bowman, who has been doing such a terrific job with Buffalo this season, says he still wishes Sam Pollock had explained to him why he wasn&rsquo;t qualified to become general manager of the Montreal Canadiens. Insiders say Bowman would have stayed in Montreal for $100,000 a year less than he&rsquo;s making in Buffalo if he had been given the ton job with the Canadiens. It may prove to be one of their most costly errors&hellip;Recently Brian O&rsquo;Neill, NHL executive vice-president, telexed some disciplinary action against the Los Angeles Kings. In the telex he misspelled the word precipitate. George Maguire, King general manager, telexed O&rsquo;Neill a reply which finished by stating: &ldquo;P.S. Learn to spell.&rdquo;&hellip;Herb Brooks, coach of the United States Olympic team, is dreading February 1 when he must cut his squad to the 20 players that will be competing in the Olympics at Lake Placid. One player he may be forced to cut is Ralph Cox, 22-year-old forward who is presently listed as the 13th forward and Brooks plans to stick with 12 forwards&hellip;Pierre Larouche, a big disappointment in his first two years with Canadiens, is starting to play the way they thought he could when they obtained him. He scored 113 goals in three seasons with Pittsburgh, notching 53 one year&hellip;Don Cherry says one of his biggest thrills in hockey was the standing ovation he received from the Boston fans when his Colorado Rockies downed the Bruins, 5-3&hellip;Monte Miron, son of Ray Miron, general manager of the Colorado Rockies, is doing an outstanding job coaching Seattle Breakers of the Western Hockey League. This is the first year in this first-rate junior league for the 27-year-old Miron who plans to make a career in the coaching profession.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-021075/4278526-1-eng-US/f0004-022.jpg" title="f0004-02" width="283" height="423"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>Pierre Larouche</i></figcaption></div><p>&bull; <b>PARKER MacDONALD</b> has been with the New Haven Nighthawks eight years and he&rsquo;s done a standout job coaching the team during that period. He&rsquo;s had one of the best coaching records in the American Hockey League. Besides doing a super chore of coaching he is also general manager of the team. It would appear by his record so far that he&rsquo;ll be in the National League one of these days&hellip;Toronto Maple Leafs are the most inconsistent team in the major league One nignt they look terrific and then in the next game they are just horrible, as witnessed by their 10-0 loss to Boston. In all fairness they look worse on more nights than they look good&hellip;A grand little campaigner left the game when Andre Lacroix retired the other day. Andre broke into the NHL with the Philadelphia Flyers in their first season in the NHL. After four seasons with the Flyers and one with Chicago he moved over to the WHA where he eventually became the all-time leading point producer when the league folded at the end of last season. He will stay with the team he retired from, the Hartford Whalers, and be employed in a front office job&hellip;There&rsquo;s talk that Toronto St. Mike&rsquo;s may return to the Ontario Major Junior League. Once one of the biggest names in Canadian junior hockey, a return by the St. Michael&rsquo;s College Majors would be a welcome one for junior hockey in Toronto&hellip;Brad Park made his debut as color man on a Hartford Whaler telecast the other evening&hellip;Marcel Dionne is having his greatest season ever and Johnny Wilson, coach of Pittsburgh, says he&rsquo;s the best player in hockey right now. The diminutive Los Angeles center has been a top scorer from the day he entered the NHL with Detroit in 1971. He&rsquo;s never scored less than 24 goals in a season and has had 59 and 53 goal seasons plus three in the 40-goal or more area.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-03970/4278519-1-eng-US/f0004-032.jpg" title="f0004-03" width="286" height="427"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>Andre Lacroix</i></figcaption></div><p>&bull; <b>THERE WERE</b> no fewer than 75 United States born and developed players performing in professional hockey leagues in North America at the end of 1979. Of this number 37 were playing in the National Hockey League. This is the highest number in history. As is usually the case, players from the states of Minnesota and Massachusetts topped the list. There were 36 players from Minnesota in pro ranks plus 17 from Massachusetts. Michigan produced nine, New York seven and Rhode Island four&hellip;Gary Carter, star catcher of the Montreal Expos, is spending the winter in Montreal and is a frequent visitor to Canadiens&rsquo; home games&hellip;Dave Hainsworth, a nephew of the immortal George Hainsworth, runs a sporting goods store near New Haven and plays occasionally in Oldtimers&rsquo; games&hellip;Bill Lochead has been the hottest scorer for New Haven Nighthawks this season. He&rsquo;s already scored four hat tricks. At the rate he&rsquo;s going he&rsquo;ll be tough to keep out of the NHL&hellip;Ray Allison, Brian Propp and Laurie Boschman, who starred on the same forward line last season for the Brandon Wheat Kings of the Western Canada Junior Hockey League, were all taken in the 1979 first round of the NHL Entry Draft. Last time that happened was in 1972 when the Toronto Marlboros&rsquo; line of Billy Harris (1st choice overall), Steve Shutt (4th choice overall) and Dave Gardner (8th choice overall) were selected. Boschman was chosen by Toronto (9th overall), Propp was selected by Philadelphia (14th overall) and Allison was drafted by Hartford (18th overall)&hellip;Edmonton Oilers have the poorest record of the four World Hockey Association teams admitted to the NHL this season. During the WHA regular season of 1978-79 the Oilers compiled the bestwon-lost record.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-04868/4278512-1-eng-US/f0004-042.jpg" title="f0004-04" width="296" height="425"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>Brian Propp</i></figcaption></div><p>&bull; <b>GORDON DRILLON,</b> the last member of the Toronto Maple Leafs to win the NHL scoring championship, is ailing at his home in Saint John, N.B. Drillon, 65, led the league in 1937-38. He also won the Lady Byng Trophy the same season as well as being named to the NHL First All Star team. He made the First All Star team in 1938-39 as well. A product of the Maritimes, Gordie was paid a bonus for signing with the Leafs of $1,000, all in $1 bills. He was one of the game&rsquo;s most natural goal scorers and was admitted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1975&hellip;Brian Engblom is the sole member of the Montreal Canadiens to come from Western Canada. Brian hails from Winnipeg&hellip;Bob Cole, the Pride of Newfoundland, Gerry Pinder from Saskatoon and Dick Irvin of Montreal, originally from Regina, a first-class broadcasting team for Hockey Night in Canada&hellip;Borje Salming&rsquo;s lawyers have opened contract talks with Toronto Maple Leafs. His lawyers are asking $400,000 a season&hellip;Mark Hardy, a defenseman with the Los Angeles Kings, is the only player in the NHL who was born in Switzerland&hellip;Bill Nyrop is playing hockey this season in Switzerland for Jacaues Lemaire&rsquo;s club at Sierre. Nyrop quit the Canadiens at the start of the 1978-79 season and it was thought he might line up with the North Stars this year&hellip;The Jacobs Bros., owners of the Boston Bruins, are reported to be trying to sell the club. Bobby Orr is also said to be part of a syndicate interested in acquiring the Bruins. It would be a big thing for hockey to have Orr associated with the club again.&hellip;Twelve players who hadn&rsquo;t celebrated their 20th birthday started this season in the National Hockey League. Two of these 12 have been among the top scorers all season long. They are Wayne Gretzky of Edmonton and Tom McCarthy of Minnesota. Three of these top underage juniors, Gretzky, Mark Messier of Edmonton and Michel Goulet of Quebec are graduates of the World Hockey Association.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-05729/4278505-1-eng-US/f0004-052.jpg" title="f0004-05" width="280" height="423"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>Mark Hardy</i></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0004-01

PASSING THE PUCK

<div class="byline">BY AL SMITH</div><p class="dropcap"><span>A</span>TLANTA&mdash;A couple of months ago, Atlanta Flames&rsquo; rookie defenseman Paul Reinhart had a difficult decision to make&hellip;turn pro or try and help the Canadian Olympic team win a medal.</p><p>From the start, the 19-year-old wanted to turn pro, but of course there was training camp to go through, with the thought in mind of impressing Flames&rsquo; general manager Cliff Fletcher and coach Al MacNeil enough to stay in Atlanta. And after a few games in the exhibition season it was evident the Flames&rsquo; first round draft choice from Kitchener, Ont., was ready.</p><p>&ldquo;If anyone had told me a couple of months ago that I&rsquo;d be playing as much as I have, I would have thought they were crazy,&rdquo; Reinhart said after a recent practice at the Flames&rsquo; training rink. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m somewhat disappointed I won&rsquo;t be helping the Canadian team win a medal, but I don&rsquo;t have any regrets in my decision.&rdquo;</p><p>Through 28 games with the Flames, Reinhart had four goals and 14 assists and was the third leading rookie scorer in the National Hockey League. He was taking a regular shift with defensive partner Phil Russell and was also getting some time on the Flames&rsquo; power play.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been very happy with my defensive game,&rdquo; Reinhart said. &ldquo;But not with my offensive game. I&rsquo;ve lost a lot around the net. I&rsquo;m still nervous when I get in deep, but I think that will come with experience.&rdquo;</p><p>MacNeil has used Reinhart on the power play mainly because the five-foot-eleven, 216-pounder has shown offensive skill and has set up some nice plays for his teammates while they have the man advantage.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve seen the other draft choices around the league and Paul doesn&rsquo;t have to take a back seat to any of them,&rdquo; Russell said. He&rsquo;s got great poise for a young kid and I feel more and more confident each time we go on the ice.</p><p>&ldquo;Maybe in the beginning it took a little away from my game, thinking of going on the ice with a rookie, but he hasn&rsquo;t played like a rookie. I feel very comfortable with him,&rdquo; Russell said.</p><p>&ldquo;You can&rsquo;t imagine how much Phil has helped me with my game,&rdquo; Reinhart said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s been like a big brother. There&rsquo;s not a time goes by, even a half-hour skate the day of a game, that he doesn&rsquo;t teach me some small thing to help me.&rdquo;</p><p>But while Reinhart has been happy with his playing time and the way his own pro career has progressed, he like many other teammates, is disappointed in the start the Flames&rsquo; are off to this season.</p><p>&ldquo;I can&rsquo;t pinpoint what the problem is,&rdquo; Reinhart said. &ldquo;If I could I guess I&rsquo;d be the coach We&rsquo;re just not jelling as a team, but it has nothing to do with our ability&mdash;we&rsquo;ve got plenty of that. We should be a good plus-minus team, but right now we&rsquo;re not. There&rsquo;s something lacking in our checking game.&rdquo;</p><p>To date the biggest surprise for Reinhart is the way the stars he heard of in the NHL, play a team game.</p><p>&ldquo;I thought there would be a lot more individual play,&rdquo; Reinhart said. &ldquo;You hear about the stars in the league and you expect to see them do individual things, but I&rsquo;ve been surprised to find how much of a team game they play. They star by playing as part of a team and not as individuals.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-02905/4278884-1-eng-US/f0010-022.jpg" title="f0010-02" width="560" height="974"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>Rookie Paul Reinhart has been satisfied by his defensive play aided by Phil Russell.</i></figcaption></div><p>&ldquo;And there are no bad hockey players up here. In junior you&rsquo;d have two or three guys on a team to watch. But up here you have to watch every shift that comes on ice. In junior everyone can&rsquo;t do his own job. So you find guys trying to do the job of two or three&mdash;not here.&rdquo; The physical part of the game in the NHL has been somewhat of a surprise to Reinhart and in the early going he had trouble with a Charlie horse in his thigh. Instead of getting out of the way of checks, he was trying to take them like he did in junior.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve got to learn to avoid them more,&rdquo; Reinhart said. &ldquo;You do get hit hard, but you get used to it. It gets easier to take as time goes on.&rdquo;</p><p>Along with the fact Reinhart has been getting all the playing time he wants, there are also teammates and the city to consider.</p><p>&ldquo;The guys here have been great,&rdquo; Reinhart said. &ldquo;And the city is beautiful. The more I play here the more I think I&rsquo;d like to spend my career here. There&rsquo;s not as much pressure either and you don&rsquo;t have to worry about everyone.</p><p>&ldquo;I sure would like to see a few more fans though, but I guess that&rsquo;s up to us and the way we Play.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0010-02

Reinhart Fitting Well As Flame

<div class="image-hero"><img title="Cover-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/cover-01698/4281088-1-eng-US/cover-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(Photo by Grais Abel)</span></figcaption></div><p><i>page 17</i></p><p><i>SOVIET RED ARMY SHOWING UP NHL</i></p><p><i>MICHIGAN TECH WINS GREAT LAKES</i><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

Cover-01

TURMOIL SHAKES LEAFS

<h2>The NHL&hellip;</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-02955/4278443-1-eng-US/f0002-022.jpg" title="f0002-02" width="504" height="834"></div><h2>The Minors&hellip;</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-03708/4278436-1-eng-US/f0002-032.jpg" title="f0002-03" width="512" height="346"></div><h2>Columnists&hellip;</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-04483/4278429-1-eng-US/f0002-042.jpg" title="f0002-04" width="510" height="200"></div><h2>Features&hellip;</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-05352/4278422-1-eng-US/f0002-052.jpg" title="f0002-05" width="518" height="274"></div><h2>What&rsquo;s Coming&hellip;</h2><p class="dropcap"><span>O</span>ne of the more reliable performers in the changing NHL these days is Jean Ratelle, the amazing center of the Boston Bruins who is like a good wine&mdash;he keeps getting better with time. Next week in THE HOCKEY NEWS contributing editor Frank Orr will focus on the 39-year-old Ratelle in a special page 3 feature as he discusses Ratelie&rsquo;s smooth and easy approach to hockey and how he has lasted so long in the big time.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0002-02

Where To Find It…

<p class="dropcap"><span>L</span>ONG ISLAND&mdash;The Soviet Red Army team continued its mastery of National Hockey League teams in the start of their tour of NHL cities by winning both games against New York teams&mdash;the Islanders and Rangers.</p><p>The Army squad, stocked with the cream of Russian hockey talent, whipped the Rangers 5-2 in Madison Square Garden and won 3-2 in Nassau County Coliseum against the Islanders.</p><p>The two wins set the strong Army squad, perennial Soviet hockey champions, on a high pedestal for its confrontation with the Montreal Canadians New Year&rsquo;s Eve in the Montreal Forum.</p><p>The other Soviet team on tour, the Moscow Dynamo, didn&rsquo;t fare as well losing 6-2 to the Vancouver Canucks in a game in which rookie Brad Smith stole the spotlight by scoring twice.</p><p>The Army team will play five of the nine games on their NHL tour and will face Buffalo Jan. 3, and wind up in Quebec Jan. 6 against the Nordiques. The Moscow Dynamo are slated to play Winnipeg Jan. 2, Edmonton Jan. 4 and close out the Soviet tour Jan. 8 in Washington against the steadily improving Capitals.</p><p>The Moscow Dynamo team couldn&rsquo;t muster the finishing power to beat the Vancouver Canucks and Smith&rsquo;s two goals and a solid goaling performance by goaler Curt Ridley took care of the Soviets&rsquo; aspirations in the Pacific Coliseum.</p><p>Coach Harry Neale was ecstatic at winning and gave his Canucks full marks for their effort. He said his players were not awed by the Soviets and kept up a constant skating game.</p><p>Meanwhile the Rangers appeared to have the formula for stopping the Soviets in their New York game. They forechecked and played aggressively in the first period.</p><p>Unfortunately for Rangers, they did it for only 20 minutes, taking a 1-0 lead in the first period against the powerhouse Army club.</p><p>Then both teams adjusted during the first intermission. Rangers adjusted down, the Soviets adjusted up and Red Army walked away with a 5-2 triumph to open their tour of five games against National Hockey League clubs.</p><p>&ldquo;The first period against a team we&rsquo;ve never played always is a time of adjustment for us,&rdquo; said Victor Tikhonov, the Army coach.</p><p>&ldquo;We did not play well in the first period because the Rangers&rsquo; style of play made it very difficult for us, especially in causing our defence trouble. In the second period, we moved the puck more quickly and that was better.&rdquo;</p><p>Rangers outplayed Red Army by a sizable margin in that first period, holding a 10-4 edge in shots on goal, but only Steve Vickers was able to beat Soviet goalie Vladislav Tretiak.</p><p>&ldquo;We played them almost perfectly in the first period, cutting down their breakout play from their zone with a good forechecking,&rdquo; said Ranger assistant coach Mike Nykoluk, who handled the team from the bench last night.</p><p>&ldquo;Our forwards were on the move all the time in that period. That&rsquo;s what you have to do to counteract their speed and movement.</p><p>&ldquo;In the second period for some strange reason, we started to stand around and watch them. Well, that&rsquo;s suicide against the Russians.&rdquo;</p><p>The Soviets poured in five second-period goals and didn&rsquo;t give Rangers a shot on goal in the first 10 minutes. All the trademarks of the Soviet style came front and centre&mdash;swift agile skating, pinpoint passing with the puck always going to a man on the move and optimistic sniping to polish off the creativity of the attack.</p><p>&ldquo;While we didn&rsquo;t move as well as we did in the first period, maybe the fact that they got into gear in the second made it appear that we slowed down,&rdquo; Nykoluk added.</p><p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s the best conditioned hockey team I&rsquo;ve ever seen. They&rsquo;re able to sustain a pace our clubs can&rsquo;t match. They establish a pace in their play and seldom vary it. We were able to take away a little of it in the first period but you can only do it for so long.&rdquo;</p><p>Tikhonov insists that the Soviets are using the NHL tour by Moscow Dynamo (four games) and Red Army as part of the selection process for the roster of the U.S.S.R. national side that will compete in the Olympic Games in Lake Placid, N.Y., in February. Tikhonov also coaches the U.S.S.R. nationals.</p><p>He claims that the army roster contains 11 candidates for the Olympic side. However, that estimate seems conservative. The number is closer to 15 nationals.</p><p>The Soviets threw a new wrinkle at Rangers for the opening faceoff by re-arranging their No. 1 forward line. A longtime nemesis as a winger, Valeri Kharlamov, moved to center, Vladimir Petrov shifted to leftwing, while wily old Boris Mikhailov, a Soviet antique at 35, stayed on right wing.</p><p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s a move we made for the Izvestia tournament a few weeks ago in Moscow,&rdquo; Tikhonov explained. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s no mystery. Sometimes, players need changes and challenges in their hockey.&rdquo;</p><p>That line produced only one goal, the fifth Army score, but it was a masterpiece. Petrov lost his stick near the Ranger net and simply kicked a perfect pass sideways with his skate to Khalamov for a scoring shot.</p><p>Mikhail Varnakov, an addition to the Army club from Soviet Wings along with his linemates Vladimir Kovin and Alexander Skvortsov, was the big Ranger nemesis, scoring twice in the second period to give Army the lead.</p><p>Alexander Lobanov and Nicolai Drozdetski had the other Army goals.</p><p>Ron Greschner scored Rangers&rsquo; second goal in the third period but, at that point, the Army side was in a maintenance situation with a comfortable lead.</p><p>Army was missing good winger Sergei Kapustin with a shoulder injury but his replacement wasn&rsquo;t too shabby&mdash;Sergei Makarov, one of the best young players the Soviets have produced in recent years. He worked on a line with big Victor Zhluktov at centre and Helmet Balderis. However, Balderis missed the third period beause of a cut on his leg.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-011062/4278391-1-eng-US/f0002-012.jpg" title="f0002-01" width="568" height="952"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b><i>Rookie Brad Smith showed the touring Moscow Dynamo team how it&rsquo;s done when he scored twice to lead Vancouver to a 62 win over the Soviets.</i></b></figcaption></div><p>When the series resumed on Long Island, the Islanders nearly pulled it off and might have done so but for some inconsistent refereeing by a Soviet official. The Islanders also had a tough battle on their hands they didn&rsquo;t expect&mdash;they were fighting the flu against the Red Army.</p><p>Islanders whipped the flu but didn&rsquo;t quite handle Red Army&mdash;and, in Islanders&rsquo; view, Soviet referee Yuri Karandin&mdash;when they dropped a 3-2 decision to the U.S.S.R. champs.</p><p>Islanders had eight players suffering from the bug.</p><p>But following carefully the game plan of coach Al Arbour, Islanders gave the Soviet club a tough battle and came close to rescuing the game in the third period.</p><p>However, referee Karandin, an official who wouldn&rsquo;t be considered of a high enough calibre to be on the National Hockey League staff, handed Islanders two minor penalties for fairly innocuous offences in the concluding four minutes to stifle their comeback.</p><p>&ldquo;It was just unfortunate that a referee of such poor ability had to ruin a very fine hockey game,&rdquo; Arbour said. &ldquo;He was out of position much of the time and the penalties he called were ridiculous at that stage of the game.&rdquo;</p><p>&ldquo;The whole thing appeared a little suspicious to me,&rdquo; said Islander goalie Billy Smith, who played brilliantly and turned the goal area into a minefield for the Soviet skaters.</p><p>&ldquo;I thought it was a little fishy that right after we scored our goals or when we appeared to be coming on to take control of the game, we got a penalty. The Red Army team doesn&rsquo;t need that sort of help because they have so much talent and skill. They move, pass and shoot beautifully.</p><p>&ldquo;But I thought, too, that we did ourselves proud in the game with some smart hockey.&rdquo;</p><p>Because of the weakened condition of his players, Arbour&rsquo;s plan was to try and conserve energy by not chasing the Soviets&rsquo; fancy passing and footwork, a large amount of motion intended to draw opponents out of position and create openings in the defense.</p><p>&ldquo;Our plan was to play conservatively for two periods and try to stay close to them, then put on a big press in the third,&rdquo; Arbour said.</p><p>&ldquo;There&rsquo;s no way our team could have tried to skate with them for 60 minutes because the Soviets are in such great condition and we were weakened by the bug.</p><p>&ldquo;Our guys executed our plan very, very well. The Red Army is a fine hockey team but they&rsquo;re not invincible, the penaltires really hurt us, coming when they did.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0002-01

Soviet Red Army Shows They’re Still Masters

<div class="byline">BY FRANK ORR</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0003-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-011069/4278474-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Goaler Mike Palmateer is among the six best netminders in the NHL and he he wants to be paid accordingly. He is seeking better than $200,000 next season or he won&rsquo;t play for the Leafs.</b> <span class="photo-credit">(Photo by Robert Shaver)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><span>B</span>ecause Mike Palmateer goes through life with a bemused look on his face as if he knew some tasty little secret that the remainder of the world hadn&rsquo;t figured out, no one could quite figure out if he were executing a clever little send-up.</p><p>Toronto Maple Leafs, the team for which Palmateer tends goal, had just been blasted, 10-0, by the Bruins in Boston Garden and Palmateer, always accessible, was holding court for a few writers.</p><p>&ldquo;I realize that it takes a truck-load of guts to say this but I played great,&rdquo; Palmateer said. &ldquo;I made some great stops and I never quit. I was hoping they&rsquo;d get more breakaways so I could stop &lsquo;em.</p><p>&ldquo;If anyone from a team interested in giving me a job was watching, they saw plenty, didn&rsquo;t they? Even though the score was ten-ip, they saw what I could do.&rdquo;</p><blockquote class="pullQuote">&ldquo;I made some great saves&hellip;I never quit,&rdquo; says little Leaf goaler despite bombing by Bruins.</blockquote><p>One of Palmateer&rsquo;s mates backed up his assertion that he&rsquo;d played well.</p><p>&ldquo;If Palmy hadn&rsquo;t been great, the Bruins would have scored 20 times,&rdquo; the Leaf said.</p><p>Palmateer will be 26 in a couple of weeks and most NHL guys concede that he&rsquo;s one of the best half dozen goalies in the NHL. In the second half of the &lsquo;78-79 season, more than a few of them rated him as the best goalie in the league.</p><p>Now, the fact that he holds such a high rating, is only 26 years of age and is just coming into the peak years in a goalie&rsquo;s career makes it difficult for some folks to understand that there&rsquo;s a very strong chance that Palmateer will be playing for a team other than Maple Leafs in the 1980-81 season.</p><p>Palmateer is having a contract dispute with Maple Leafs. It&rsquo;s not a quiet, hardnosed negotiation. It&rsquo;s a loud, highly-publicized affair in which Palmateer and his agent Alan Eagleson keep the old pot stirred up as much as possible.</p><p>Hardly a day passes when there isn&rsquo;t a story in one of the Toronto papers, a radio or television interview in which Palmateer makes another statement about the situation&mdash;&rsquo;&rsquo;sign me or trade me&rdquo;, &ldquo;plenty of teams will pay me what I&rsquo;m worth&rdquo; or &ldquo;I wish they&rsquo;d get it settled, one way or the other.&rdquo;</p><p>Palmateer is playing on the option year of his contract and will become a free agent June 1. He wants $200,000 per season on his new deal, preferably a five-season arrangement. He figures he&rsquo;s one of the best so he should be paid that way.</p><p>The Leafs aren&rsquo;t willing to pay him the $200,000 per because that figure would make him the highest paid member of the team. If they pay Palmateer that much, then what&rsquo;s the tab going to be when defenseman Borje Salming wants a new pact. Salming&rsquo;s option year is &lsquo;80-81.</p><p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think what I&rsquo;m asking is out of reason when you consider what the other top goalies earn,&rdquo; Palmateer said.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m certainly as good as anyone in the NHL at my position so I should earn the top buck.&rdquo;</p><p>Eagleson claims that the parties aren&rsquo;t all that far apart on money ($75,000 over three years, according to one report). The big hang-up according to The Eagle is the &ldquo;buyout&rdquo; clause in Palmateer&rsquo;s contract, a section Eagleson wants removed from the deal.</p><p>The buy-out clause allows the club to pay off a player at one-third of his remaining contract obligations after the player has cleared waivers through the league.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s automatic that the buy-out clause is removed from the contracts of most top players&mdash;and Mike is certainly in that category,&rdquo; Eagleson said.</p><p>&ldquo;I can&rsquo;t understand the Leafs&rsquo; reluctance to take it out.&rdquo;</p><p>The Leafs&rsquo; general manager Punch Imlach refuses to discuss any contract negotiations in public. What Imlach has been doing is trying to arrange a trade for Palmateer to another team.</p><p>But there&rsquo;s a couple of not-too-small roadblocks in the path of Palmateer&rsquo;s being traded. First, the Leafs want a large segment of a hockey team in exchange for him. Secondly, no team is going to trade for the little goalie unless they have him signed&mdash;or at least agreed&mdash;to a new contract.</p><blockquote class="pullQuote"><i>Of his contract hassle Palmateer says, &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a tough enough job without anything else going on around you.&rdquo;</i></blockquote><p>Although Palmateer won&rsquo;t admit it, the contract hassles have hurt his work this season. Against the Detroit Red Wings in the match following the Boston debacle, Palmateer was magnificent, acquiring a 2-1 victory for the Leafs that they didn&rsquo;t really deserve.</p><p>But overall, his play has lacked the consistent sparkle of last season, a term over which the Leafs could look back and point to ties and wins they wouldn&rsquo;t have earned without Palmateer&rsquo;s brilliance.</p><p>&ldquo;A goalie needs his full attention on the game to be good, not anything else,&rdquo; Palmateer said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a tough enough job without anything else going on around you.</p><p>&ldquo;When the game starts, I&rsquo;m able to shut everything else out of my mind and just play. It&rsquo;s when I get home in bed after a game that I start thinking about my contract problems and wondering what&rsquo;s going to happen.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;d just like to get the damned thing settled. I want to stay in Toronto, if possible, because it&rsquo;s my hometown and I enjoy playing for the Leafs.</p><p>&ldquo;But a player&rsquo;s career is only so long which means you have to get everything you can while it lasts. I don&rsquo;t think my demands are unreasonable.&rdquo;</p><p>Eagleson even offered to buy out Palmateer&rsquo;s contract with Leafs for $100,000.</p><p>&ldquo;If he were a free agent, we&rsquo;d have a $1 million deal for him very quickly,&rdquo; Eagleson said.</p><p>If Palmateer does test the free agent market, he&rsquo;ll likely discover that the &ldquo;free&rdquo; part of it really doesn&rsquo;t mean all that much.</p><p>Any club signing him must compensate the Leafs for his services. Such a deal could go to binding arbitration and the Leafs would ask for heavy compensation.</p><p>Few, if any clubs, would be willing to take the risk.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0003-01

Palmateer’s Play Backing Up His Ice Boasts

<p>OFFICIAL NATIONAL HOCKEY WEEKLY FOUNDED 1947</p><p><b>VOLUME 33, NUMBER 15 JANUARY 11, 1980</b></p><p>Editorial and Advertising Offices: 214 King Street West Suite 314 Toronto, Ontario. M5H 1K4</p><p><b>Charlie Halpin</b></p><p><i>Editorial Director</i></p><p><b>Tom Murray</b></p><p><i>Assistant Publisher</i></p><p><b>Mike Dennis</b></p><p><i>Assistant Editor</i></p><p><b>Cathy Munro</b></p><p><i>Copy Editor</i></p><p><b>Bob Hanley</b></p><p><i>Editorial Consultant</i></p><p><b>Stan Fischler, Frank Orr Bob Verdi Contributing Editors</b></p><h2><b>Business Staff</b></h2><p><b>Peter Emerson</b></p><p><i>Executive Vice President and General Manager</i></p><p><b>Joanne Hatch</b></p><p><i>Sales Service Manager</i></p><p><b>Kenneth W. McKenzie</b></p><p><i>President and Publisher</i></p><p><b><i>W. C. C. Publishing Ltd., Suite 217, 1434 St Catherine St W&bdquo; Montreal, Canada. H3G1K7</i></b></p><p><i>Donald R. Wall</i></p><p><i>Chairman</i></p><p><b>Tom Murray</b></p><p><i>Assistant Publisher</i></p><p><b>850 Third Avenue,</b></p><p>New York, N.Y. 10022</p><h2>Advertising Representatives:</h2><p><b>New York:</b> Tom Murray 850 Third Ave., New York, N.Y. 10022 &bull; (212) 593-2100</p><p><b>Chicago:</b> Hooper, Jones & Associates 3322 W. Peterson Avenue Chicago, III. 60659 &bull; (312) 478-5544</p><p><b>Boston:</b> Steve Ganak Steve Ganak Ad Reos Statler Office Buldlng Boston, Mass. 02116 &bull; (617) 542-6913</p><p><b>THE HOCKEY NEWS,</b> (ISSN 0018-3016), Is published weekly except monthly June through September by W.C.C. Publishing Ltd., 214 King St. W., Suite 314, Toronto, Ont. M5H 1K4. Phone: (416) 598-1753. In U.S. c/o W.C.C. Publishing Corp., 850 Third Ave., New York, N.Y. 10022. Phone (212) 593-2100.</p><p><b>YEARLY SUBSCRIPTION RATES:</b> $14.95 in the U.S.A., 13.95 In Canada, $19.25 In Foreign Countries. Send all subscription requests&rsquo; to The Hockey news, 850 Third Ave., New York, N.Y. 10022.</p><p>Please allow 4-6 weeks tor processing, SEND ADDRESS CHANGES (AND 3579 FORMS) to: The Hockey News, Martinsville Center, Martinsville, New Jersey 08836. Second class postage paid at New York, N.Y. 10001 and additional mailing offices. Second Class ZMall (Registration No. 1327).<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

The Hockey News

<div class="byline">BY WAYNE WARRINER</div><p class="dropcap"><span>H</span>ARTFORD&mdash;The Whalers&rsquo; strongest suit at the beginning of the 1979-80 campaign has turned into a worrisome problem just past the quarter pole. At the outset it was thought that the Hartford team had little to worry about from the blueline back. And that&rsquo;s the way things worked out&mdash;at first. Mark Howe, Rick Ley, Gordie Roberts and newcomer Al Sims were to anchor the defense with some help from Alan Hangsleben and Chuck Luksa. And depth looked pretty good down on the farm, too.</p><p>When the offense sputtered, however, Mark Howe was moved up to flank center Mike Rogers, with father Gordie skating on the right side. That left a somewhat weakened, but still effective, five-man rotation.</p><p>Then the injuries began to occur&mdash;nothing serious, but enough to throw the blue line crew into a band aid situation, at least. Ley was hobbled by a bruise on the instep. Although hampered, he continued to play until he suffered a small fracture in his left foot. Still game, Ley tried to play after a two-game layoff. The foot didn&rsquo;t hold up and he was sidelined for a longer period.</p><p>Hangsleben suffered a severely pulled groin which sidelined the usually durable hard worker. Sims was slowed by a wrenched back.</p><p>The defense was in need of help. So the call went out to the Whalers farm club in Springfield.</p><p>Unfortunately, the Indians&rsquo; blueline crew had fallen on hard times as well. Marty Howe had suffered a double fracture of the left wrist in a crash against the boards. Dave Inkpen was just getting back in shape after a difficult knee problem. Kevin Kemp (picked up in the expansion draft from Toronto) had been sidelined for a considerable period.</p><p>Prior to the injury parade, Ron Plumb had been called up to replace Chuck Luksa, who had disappointed the Whaler brass during an early season stint with the team.</p><p>The only regular who had escaped injury during the first quarter of the season was Roberts. Fortunately, young Gordie&rsquo;s stellar play during that period of time was instrumental in keeping the Whalers record respectable.</p><p>A small advantage of having the injury problems on the &lsquo;big club&rsquo; is the opportunity to see some of the younger talent in the organization. Twenty-year-old Mark Renaud stepped in for his first major league contest and acquitted himself very nicely. The youngster showed an ability to move the puck and also good lateral movement on defense.</p><p>The Whalers also took the opportunity to call up 19-year-old Stuart Smith from the Peterborought Petes. Smith, Hartford&rsquo;s second round choice in last summer&rsquo;s entry draft, was brought in for a five-game trial during a road swing throught the west. At the same time, the Whalers brought up young Rick Hodgson (expansion pick from Atlanta), from Springfield.</p><p>But it became evident during the trip, that the key injury was that of captain Ley. Ley&rsquo;s steadiness and experience on the blueline were sorely missed as the Whalers took it on the chin in successive losses to Edmonton, Vancouver, Los Angeles and Colorado.</p><p>The Whaler organization is intent on building a strong club for the future, and thus experience for the younger defensemen is an important factor. But at this point, there appears to be no way the Whalers can expect to be respectable without the experience that their captain provides.</p><p>Director of hockey operations Jack Kelley accompanied the team for the first three games of the trip. When asked what the major factor was in the Whalers dismal showing, Kelley merely wrote on a piece of paper&mdash;&rdquo;LEY&rdquo;!! That told the story!</p><p>Kelley, who also acts as general manager of the Springfield franchise, searched for defense help for some time before finally announcing the signing of journeyman blueliner, Larry Giroux.</p><p>The 28-year-old Giroux had seen little action this season, playing in only three games for the St. Louis Blues. He was assigned to Springfield. The Whalers hope that Giroux&rsquo;s good size (6&rsquo;1&rdquo;, 205) might eventually help the parent club in the moving-them-from-in-front department. If nothing else, his signing improves the organization&rsquo;s depth and experience at the blue line.</p><p><b>WHALER WAVES:</b> Nick Fotiu jammed his heel in a sliding crash against the boards and was on the shelf for a few games. Fotiu&rsquo;s absence made an obvious difference in the way the opposition treated the smaller Whaler forwards. Nick&rsquo;s mere presence in the lineup is acclaimed by his teammates as being a big asset to the team. Although big Nick has been getting considerable ice time, he had not yet been assessed a major penalty in the team&rsquo;s first 25 games!</p><p>Mike Antonovich has had a difficult time this season. The little left winger was sent to Springfield at the beginning of the season, ostensibly because he wasn&rsquo;t scoring. When he began to fill the net for the Indians he was recalled but he had barely taken his first shift with the parent club when he injured his ankle and had to sit out. Then, just after returning, he caught a deflected puck off the chin and suffered a broken jaw. After being wired up he was expected to be out of action for approximately three weeks more.</p><p>The Whalers recently named former WHA chief statistician Frank Polnaszek as the team&rsquo;s chief statistician. Anyone associated with the old World Hockey Association will willingly tell you that Polnaszek is one of the best stat men in all of North America.</p><p>In the plus-minus department, 22-year-old defenseman Roberts leads the Whalers with a plus 15. Gordie Howe was second with plus 10&hellip;The Dave Keon-Jordy Douglas-Blaine Stoughton line has been racking up points of late but Rogers leads the Whalers in scoring. Many doubted Rogers&rsquo; ability to play in the National Hockey League, but he has certainly proven that he belongs.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

Inexperience Taking Over Whaler Defense

<div class="byline">BY BOB VERDI</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-02755/4278643-1-eng-US/f0005-022.jpg" title="f0005-02" width="512" height="348"></div><h2>Few Glad Tidings</h2><p class="dropcap"><b><span>A</span>ND ALL ALONG</b> I thought that when you received mail around Christmas, the messages within were supposed to express glad tidings. Wrong again&hellip;</p><p>Dear Mr. Verdi,</p><p>I cannot for a minute understand why you criticize the National Hockey League for allowing fighting, then turn around and glorify a player like Keith Magnuson, who made it in the NHL because he could do one thing. Fight. Would you kindly explain your confusion?</p><p><b>Dick Shopey</b><br><b>Toronto, Ont.</b></p><p>Gladly. First of all, Magnuson had abilities beyond his gift (?) for fighting. He had desire, heart and better-than-average talent to play defense. He could not have lasted a decade on his fists, because he was a poor fighter (reread column, please.) Secondly, Magnuson fought because he was placed in a milieu which permitted fighting. When he was in college, fisticuffs were not allowed so he was an excellent player for Denver University without fighting. When he came to the NHL, he discovered that roller derby is not only permitted, but indeed encouraged. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. You can&rsquo;t criticize players in the NHL for fighting, but you can criticize for commissioning its players to fight.</p><p>Your column against fighting in the NHL was dumb. My friends and I go to hockey games for one reason&mdash;to see two guys go at it and beat each other up. If you don&rsquo;t like the sport the way it is and the way it has been for 50 years, then go cover chess.</p><p><b>Steve Porter</b><br><b>Boston Mass.</b></p><p>With fans like you, Mr. Porter, hockey can&rsquo;t miss. Can&rsquo;t miss going down the tubes, that is.</p><h2>Players Are Fantastic</h2><p><b>I JUST FINISHED</b> your column on Keith Magnuson. You mentioned in it that professional hockey players, as a group, were the best in pro sports. I used to live in Washington and was a long-suffering Caps&rsquo; fan. I had the marvelous opportunity to coach a mite team. One of &ldquo;my kids&rdquo; was Steve Watson, Bugsy&rsquo;s son. I got to know Bugsy during that year and found him to be an outstanding person. I have known people in other sports, and they all seem to think the fans owe them something. But not the hockey players. You are right, Bob. The hockey players are fantastic people.</p><p><b>Duane Johnson</b></p><p>What were you smoking when you picked the Philadelphia Flyers for fourth place last September?</p><p><b>Monica Woods</b><br><b>Ambler, Pa.</b></p><p>A nickel cigar, as I recall.</p><p>I don&rsquo;t see how you can support John Ziegler in his actions against Don Murdoch of the Rangers. I don&rsquo;t condone the use of cocaine, but Ziegler&rsquo;s action was cruel and arbitrary. He deprived us of a chance to watch a talented hockey player. What scares me is if it happened once, it could happen again. Are you still so sure that Murdoch&rsquo;s suspension was worth the pain, anger and disillusionment it caused?</p><p><b>Marie Knox</b><br><b>Stony Brook, N.Y.</b></p><p>The Murdoch affair is a year old, and he&rsquo;s the first to admit that he&rsquo;d like to forget the whole thing. Yet, Marie, you write letter after letter about the incident. This is not to doubt your interest or sincerity, but why not let the thing drop?</p><p><b>ARE YOU AND</b> Stan Fischler on speaking terms? Are you friends?</p><p><b>Mary Seibert</b><br><b>Chicago, Ill.</b></p><h2>Three Negative Thinkers</h2><p>Does Dolly Parton sleep on her back?</p><p>Between you, Frank Orr and Stan Fischler, you would think that the National Hockey League doesn&rsquo;t do anything right. Why not wake up one morning and look at all the good things about the NHL before you sit down to your typewriter?</p><p><b>William Roche</b><br><b>Atlanta, Ga.</b></p><p>You&rsquo;re right, Mr. Roche. We are all negative thinkers. By the way, I don&rsquo;t know the NHL had an office down south.</p><p>If you think fighting is making such a mess of hockey, then why do you bother writing about it?</p><p><b>John Tadel</b><br><b>Lake Forest, Ill.</b></p><p>Because I like getting letters from deep thinkers such as you. The thrust of the column that stirred your ire was that hockey is a good enough game to eliminate fighting, that it doesn&rsquo;t need brawls. I mean, would you take a ham sandwich to a banquet?<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0005-02

HOCKEY TALK

<div class="byline">BY BILL FLEISCHMAN</div><p class="dropcap"><span>P</span>HILADELPHIA&mdash;Somewhere out there on a California beach, Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West and other members of the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers are raising a glass of white wine in tribute to the Philadelphia Flyers.</p><p>Those Lakers won 33 in a row, the longest winning streak ever by a North American professional sports team. Even the former UCLA basketball players who won 88 straight, or the Oklahoma football players, whose teams took 47 in a row, must be shaking their heads in admiration for the Flyers.</p><p>&ldquo;We know what you went through, guys,&rdquo; Wilt should be saying.</p><p>When the great 1977-78 Montreal Canadiens set the NHL record of 28 games without a loss (23-0-5), few observers thought the record would be broken before Bobby Orr&rsquo;s son skates in the league. But here, just two seasons later, the Flyers burst out of the starting gate like Secretariat and nudged the Canadiens into No. 2 on the unbeaten-streak list.</p><p>Appropriately, the Canadiens&rsquo; record was broken in Boston, against one of the league&rsquo;s best teams and before one of hockey&rsquo;s most knowledgeable audiences. When the Bruins&rsquo; fans salute a visiting team, you know something significant has been achieved.</p><p>&ldquo;We had been watching this streak with more than the usual interest,&rdquo; said Peter McNab, the Bruins&rsquo; center. &ldquo;We knew they were doing it with hard work. They don&rsquo;t have a lot of superstars, but Pat Quinn has them playing very well.</p><p>&ldquo;People can talk about the system all they want, but nobody ever wants to admit what hard work can do. Do you know how hard it is to keep skating in that rotating system?&rdquo;</p><p>McNab was referring to Quinn&rsquo;s system that stresses continual movement on the ice. That the Flyers responded to Quinn&rsquo;s international-style system is a tribute to their willingness to adjust to whatever it takes to keep winning.</p><p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve proven we can adjust to any game any team wants to play,&rdquo; said veteran left winger Bill Barber. &ldquo;We can skate with any team. We can play a tight-checking game. We can fight. But, we&rsquo;re not satisfied because we think we have room for improvement.&rdquo;</p><p>Barber was right on all counts. As the streak climbed to 33 (23-010) there were too many ties and too many close games with teams from the NHL&rsquo;s lower echelon. This development was natural, of course: The Flyers could maintain their superior level only so long before some team pounced on them and ended the streak. A Hartford or Winnipeg realized history could be made by ending the Philadelphia streak.</p><p>Anyway, while it has lasted, few people have enjoyed it more than Phil Myre. Considered for a long time one of hockey&rsquo;s steadiest goaltenders, Myre still never felt part of anything important.</p><p>&ldquo;This is the greatest accomplishment that I&rsquo;ve been part of in my pro career,&rdquo; said Myre after beating Boston in the Flyers&rsquo; record-breaking 29th game without a loss. &ldquo;I was on a Stanley Cup winner in Montreal, but I didn&rsquo;t play much.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-01971/4278612-1-eng-US/f0005-012.jpg" title="f0005-01" width="566" height="828"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>Goaler Phil Myre calls the unbeaten streak the greatest accomplishment that he&rsquo;s ever been a part of.</i></figcaption></div><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been playing for more than 10 pro years and haven&rsquo;t been part of anything like this. It&rsquo;s a once-in-a-lifetime thing. When we were getting beat so much in St. Louis last year I didn&rsquo;t think I&rsquo;d ever be part of something like this.&rdquo;</p><p>Quinn, the Flyers&rsquo; coach, was delighted that Myre, his former Atlanta teammate, could help the Flyers set the record. Quinn was also pleased that the Flyers could now start focusing on just playing hockey.</p><p>The Stanley Cup is Quinn&rsquo;s goal for the Flyers. Referring to the record, Quinn said. &ldquo;This is platinum. The Stanley Cup is gold.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0005-01

Adjustability Fuels Flyers’ Streak

<div class="byline">BY DICK JOHNSTON</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0006-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-011151/4278674-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>Scotty Bowman declined a trip. into Montreal as the Sabres were defeated with Roger Neilson in charge.</i></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><span>B</span>UFFALO&mdash;The hockey fans of Buffalo sort of chuckled when Punch Imlach didn&rsquo;t return to Buffalo for his Toronto team&rsquo;s first game there since he left the Sabre team he built from expansion beginnings to a National Hockey League power.</p><p>They could, however, understand it. But when Scotty Bowman, general manager and coach of the Sabres, skipped his team&rsquo;s first visit to Montreal, where he had coached the Canadiens to five Stanley Cups, it was mystifying.</p><p>Neither of hockey&rsquo;s two more prominent figures would have enjoyed it, had they attended the games. Their teams lost.</p><p>Imlach&rsquo;s Maple Leafs were expected to lose when they invaded Buffalo&rsquo;s Memorial Auditorium last week. Even so, El Puncho was supposed to be on hand, according to word from his publicity department the day before.</p><p>But when the Sabres defeated the Leafs, 5-3, Imlach was not there to see it. Floyd Smith, coach of the Leafs and a former Buffalo coach, explained that Imlach, being superstitious, decided not to come because he passed up a preseason game in Buffalo and Toronto won.</p><p>Imlach&rsquo;s absence was even more understandable the next day when news of the blockbuster trade of the Leafs&rsquo; Lanny McDonald and Joel Quenneville to Denver for Wilf Paiement and Pat Hickey was announced.</p><p>But why didn&rsquo;t Bowman go to Montreal? He is coach of the Sabres, as well as general manager and has been directing the club from behind the bench since the beginning of the season.</p><p>He had left Montreal in triumph, while Imlach was fired a year ago December 4 by the Buffalo organization. Bowman&rsquo;s Sabres were leading the Adams Division, second in the entire league, and 11 points ahead of Montreal when they went to the Quebec city to play the Canadiens.</p><p>Bowman had said he might not coach every game this season, letting his associate coach, Roger Neilson, take over the bench some times. And he had mentioned to a Buffalo sports columnist about a month before that when the first game in Montreal came up, he would be on a scouting trip.</p><p>It was figured he was joking, though, and writers covering the Sabres continually asked Scotty if he would be going to Montreal.</p><p>He told them yes, even at the Sabre practice the day before the game.</p><p>Then, when the team reported at the airport for their chartered flight, Neilson made an announcement to the accompanying writers.</p><p>&ldquo;Scotty Bowman has gone on a scouting trip,&rdquo; Neilson stated. &ldquo;He won&rsquo;t be at the Montreal game or the next two, against Winnipeg and the Soviets. I feel he thinks it is in the best interests of the team.&rdquo;</p><p>Neilson, who is to take over as coach next season, when Bowman confines himself to the general manager&rsquo;s duties, ran the club from behind the bench for half of the preseason exhibition games. He handled the Sabres during the two preseason games against the Canadiens, both losses.</p><p>Roger never had coached a victory in Montreal Forum in the two years he was in charge of the Toronto club, either, so he was under quite a bit of pressure when he sent the Sabres on the ice last Saturday night. He had told them just that morning that Bowman would not be there.</p><p>The Sabres did not play well. Before five minutes were up, the Canadiens had a 2-0 lead. Buffalo closed to 3-2 at the end of the first period but the Canadiens scored in the first minute of the second and from then on had the game under control.</p><p>The Sabre players took the blame for the defeat on themselves, refusing to admit Bowman&rsquo;s absence had anything to do with it.</p><p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think it made a lot of difference not to have Scotty here,&rdquo; said Danny Gare, team captain, who scored one Buffalo goal. &ldquo;Montreal got on us right away. Get behind in a couple of goals in this building and it&rsquo;s tough to come back.&rdquo;</p><p>&ldquo;The game plan is the same,&rdquo; said defenseman Jerry Korab. &ldquo;It didn&rsquo;t really made a difference not to have Scotty here.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0006-01

Scotty’s Scouting Trip Causes Montreal Absense

<p>The International Hockey Weekly</p><p>Founded in 1947</p><p>Published by W.C.C. Publishing Ltd.</p><p>214 King St. West, Suite 314, Toronto, Ont. M5H 1K4</p><h2>Power Of The Agents</h2><p><b>SHOULD PLAYER AGENTS</b> run hockey clubs, effectively controlling team votes by representing a dozen players on the same team roster?</p><p>Should the NHL, by league legislation, limit an agent to no more than five representations on the one team?</p><p>Should the NHL be concerned about the trend of affairs&mdash;a dozen years ago players were pawns of owners but the pendulum has swung full arc in the opposite direction, so that players or agents, rather than coaches, managers or owners, would now seem to be in total control?</p><p>Should agents be permitted to negotiate for players through the media?</p><p>Should agents be permitted to influence a team vote, directing or coercing management on whether it should play a Soviet team, or any other team, which management has ruled against?</p><p>Should agents have the right to publicly abhor the trades of a hockey club?</p><p>Should a team captain, upon the decision to resign his captaincy, be permitted to confer several times on the matter with his agent, and never with his employers, before publicly announcing the decision?</p><p>Should the player agent, in the affairs of a hockey club, be a positive or a negative influence?</p><h2>Imlach vs Eagleson</h2><p><b>THE TOPIC OF</b> the agent role is front and center in Toronto, where Alan Eagleson represents a dozen Leafs among a client total of about 100 in the entire NHL. The total makes Eagleson No. 2 agent in the league behind Art Kaminsky and Norm Caplan of New York, with 175 clients.</p><p>But Eagleson continues to be the most powerful figure in hockey&mdash;executive director of the NHL Slayers&rsquo; union, principal impressario of international hockey, close friend and confidante of the NHL president, and private agent of many of the super-stars of professional hockey in North America.</p><p>Inevitably, this year, a confrontation shaped up between the power and purposes of two absolute personalities&mdash;Eagleson and Punch Imlach.</p><p>As general manager of Leafs, a wishy-washy and lowly-talented club through the Seventies, Imlach has been waving the new broom of his new office in an effort to turn around what has been a soggy product through the first half of the current schedule.</p><p>The brinksmanship of Eagleson touched off open warfare when his clients surprised Leaf management by decreeing they would agree to a charity game&mdash;only if management agreed to some future game with the Soviets.</p><p>This was the point at which Imlach decided to break up the Eagleson Athletic, Chowder and Marching Society, an organization which had formerly been known as The Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club.</p><p>Before two weeks were out, Pat Boutette was gone to Hartford and Lanny McDonald and Joel Quenneville were gone to Colorado. It didn&rsquo;t break up the Eagleson A.C., since some of the replacements were also Eagleson clients, but it was an Imlachian warning that there were no untouchables and that other senior residents would be incommoded and pitch-forked out if the team didn&rsquo;t start winning more often.</p><p>The most recent bombshell out of the Leaf dressing room was the surprise resignation of Darryl Sittler as Leaf captain. Sittler didn&rsquo;t consult management before making a public announcement. According to Eagleson, he said, however, consult several times with him (as Sittler&rsquo;s agent) before reaching the decision.</p><p>In any case, the war is on to determine who runs the Leafs&mdash;Imlach or Eagleson. The ground rules are different this time because Imlach seems to have taken over from owner Harold Ballard. Contrary to the public view, Ballard has played the role of Old Softie and had a record of spoiling players rotten.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

<div class="byline">BY PUNCH IMLACH</div><p class="dropcap"><i><span>T</span>oronto Maple Leafs goaltender Mike Palmateer is playing out the option portion of his contract and will be a free agent on June 1, 1980, unless he signs again with the Leafs.</i></p><p>During the summer there were meetings between Palmateer&rsquo;s agent, Alan Eagleson and Leafs&rsquo; general manager Punch Imlach, but a new contract was not negotiated. Since the regular season began, the two parties have not pursued the matter by a direct meeting.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-011142/4278729-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg" title="f0008-01" width="316" height="403"></div><p>Here is Punch Imlach&rsquo;s statement to the press about the situation:</p><p>Alan Eagleson has been making statements regularly to the media people about his difficulties in his negotiating a contract with the Maple Leafs for goalie Mike Palmateer. My door has been open every day to both parties but neither Palmateer nor his agent, Alan Eagleson, has been in my office to discuss this contract since the schedule started.</p><p>I would like media people particularly, to get this straight, that I will not negotiate Palmateer&rsquo;s contract through the media and if Eagleson continues to negotiate in that manner it seems to me that the media had better start getting their share of the negotiation fees because they seem to be doing all the work.</p><p>In one statement, Eagleson has said that Palmateer is looking for a guarantee that his contract cannot be bought out at any time before full term. Well, the Players&rsquo; Association, led by Eagleson, sat down and put into their agreement that precise buyout clause and it was accepted by Eagleson and every player in the association and all the owners of the NHL. It seems funny to me now that he is saying the clause is okay for the ordinary members of the Association&mdash;but for all players who retain him personally as an agent it is not a good deal and they should not sign.</p><p>In this one aspect Palmateer has no quarrel with me&mdash;he has a quarrel with the Players&rsquo; Association which agreed to the clause as part of the standard contract. If it should be changed it could be negotiated the next time the association contract comes up.</p><p>In this instance I am simply going along with a clause that was accepted by every member of the Association at the time of the last negotiation. When Eagleson challenges this clause he is saying that it isn&rsquo;t a good deal for his clients but it was a tremendous deal for every player in the NHL when the deal was signed.</p><p>Would you say this is a conflict of interest or would you not?<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0008-01

Imlach’s Door Remains Open

<div class="byline">BY BILL TORREY</div><p class="dropcap"><i><span>B</span>ill Torrey, the general manager of the New York Islanders, has some definite ideas what we should do and what we&rsquo;re doing wrong against the touring Soviets. Frank Orr, the hockey writer of The Toronto Star and contributing editor for THE HOCKEY NEWS, asked Torrey about the situation and here are some of Torrey&rsquo;s excerpts as seen in The Star:</i></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-021030/4278760-1-eng-US/f0008-022.jpg" title="f0008-02" width="287" height="434"></div><p>It&rsquo;s the same old story for the NHL teams on these games with the Soviets. We have to realize that if we can&rsquo;t play them on equal footing, then we shouldn&rsquo;t play them on a haphazard basis. What&rsquo;s the sense of embarrassing ourselves with these games?</p><p>We have as much hockey expertise as they do and our players can do all the things their&rsquo;s can, although perhaps the Soviets are better at some areas of the game than we are. But under the way our league is structured now, and the way the Soviet hockey program operates, I just don&rsquo;t know how we can make the international games workable.</p><p>Of course, we must play them; there&rsquo;s no doubt about that.&rdquo; But it&rsquo;s a big riddle to the NHL to find a time to schedule these games that doesn&rsquo;t place us under a big handicap.</p><p>The Soviets can build their program around a few big events a year and prepare their team to peak for those. Because we need an 80-game schedule to survive financially, we nave to work the international games into that.</p><p>Our club, for instance, is trying to climb the NHL standings, to get back to a position where we feel our club should be. We had a big game in Montreal Thursday, got home from there at 3 a.m. and had a one-hour workout Friday afternoon to prepare for a game against a team that&rsquo;s being pointing to this tour for six months.</p><p>Right now, there&rsquo;s no ideal time for us to play them. During our season, it&rsquo;s extremely difficult to work the games in; and when we play them in an event like the Canada Cup (in September), it&rsquo;s really our off-season and in one like the Challenge Cup, we lack the time to give our team cohesion.</p><p>I&rsquo;ve been watching the U.S. Olympic team quite a bit and there&rsquo;s a lesson in that operation for the NHL. That team has been in training since the first of August and they&rsquo;ll have played 58 games plus a heavy practice schedule, all aimed at the Olympics. They&rsquo;ve played a full series of games against the Central League teams that have counted in the CHL standings.</p><p>The team has good talent, it&rsquo;s well coached by Herb Brooks (University of Minnesota coach) and it likely will be more competitive with the Soviets in the Olympics than the five NHL clubs will be with Central Red Army on this tour.</p><p>It&rsquo;s the same with the Canadian Olympic team, a club that&rsquo;s had the same type of preparation as the U.S. club.</p><p>To improve the calibre of our hockey&mdash;and, believe me, it needs upgrading&mdash;there has to be some easing of those restrictions on preparation time,&rdquo; Torrey said.</p><p>Our teams should be working much longer on conditioning for the season. Sure, many players do a good job in that area on their own but we should be able to do it as teams. Now we have about five days of workouts before the first exhibition game and that&rsquo;s not enough.</p><p>This season, there has been an incredible number of injuries. We&rsquo;ve had only three players on our club play all 33 games and other clubs, like Canadiens, nave had lengthy injury lists.</p><p>Perhaps that injury problem can be combatted in part, anyway, by longer training and improved stamina. We also need more time for skill teaching, to try to improve the way our teams pass the puck, and maybe close the gap the Soviets have on us in those areas.</p><p>We have the talent. We have the hockey knowledge. But we must make some drastic changes in our approach or we&rsquo;re just going to fall farther behind the Soviets.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0008-02

NHL Falling Behind Soviets

<div class="byline">BY VARTAN KUPELIAN</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0009-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-011101/4278791-1-eng-US/f0009-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>Red Wings&rsquo; captain Dale McCourt is one of the bright stars who will be filling the Joe Louis Arena for years to come.</i> <span class="photo-credit">(Photo by Bruce Bennett)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><span>D</span>ETROIT&mdash;The new $28 million Joe Louis Sports Arena on the riverfront, home of the National Hockey League&rsquo;s Red Wings earned highly complimentary reviews in its debut last week.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s going to be a real show piece,&rdquo; said coach Al Arbour of the New York Islanders, the second team to face the Wings in the building. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s something to make the city proud. What impressed me was the sound. In a lot of arenas, there&rsquo;s no sound. You can hear a pin drop. In Vancouver, it&rsquo;s like 10 o&rsquo;clock mass. Not here. There is a lot of noise.&rdquo;</p><p>The Wings began the NHL season by playing their first 12 games in Olympia, their home for 52 years. They moved to the Louis arena for their game against St. Louis, a game Detroit lost 3-2. The Wings snapped a three-game losing streak, 4-2, over the Islanders to pull out of a 1-6-2 tailspin.</p><p>The size of the new rink is 200 by 85 feet, the same as Olympia. However, the Detroit players said the ice surface appears and plays larger than Olympia. The ice was first put down on Dec. 22 and the Red Wings practiced only once on it during the &ldquo;curing&rdquo; process. For the first game it was heavy and slow but for the second game against the Islanders, &ldquo;it was 50% better,&rdquo; said forward Dan Bolduc. Incidentally, Bolduc holds the distinction of scoring in the last Olympia game and the first in the new building.</p><p>&ldquo;It was different,&rdquo; said goaltender Rogie Vachon. &ldquo;The ice was very soft and the puck was bouncing a lot. The boards are faster than at Olympia but they will slow down in a year or two.&rdquo;</p><p>The boards at Olympia were wooden while the new dashers at the Louis arena are made of a synthetic substance.</p><p>&ldquo;I like it. It&rsquo;s full-sized instead of being cramped,&rdquo; said Red Berenson, coach of St. Louis. &ldquo;Everything worked. Usually in a pew arena the glass falls or the scoreboard doesn&rsquo;t work.&rdquo;</p><p>Jimmy Rutherford, the other goalie, said it is, &ldquo;a great place to watch a game from. It&rsquo;s nicer to play in. The lighting is much better.&rdquo;</p><p>The new building, which will seat 19,442 when the private boxes are completed, has no balcony. The seats begin at ice level and continue for 42 rows. The arena is ringed by 44 private boxes and an executive section of 204 seats at the west end. There are no obstructions and the sight lines are excellent,</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a nice rink&hellip;but a little bit different,&rdquo; Errol Thompson said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s going to be a beautiful building when they finish it and all the wrinkles are ironed out.&rdquo;</p><p>Coach Bobby Kromm was hopeful the move to the Louis arena would be the beginning of a &ldquo;new era&rdquo; for the Wings but he was disappointed by the opening loss. After the Islander game in which the Wings skated to a 4-0 first period lead, he said: &ldquo;It seemed more like a home game this time. The ice was more like Olympia&rsquo;s. Maybe this will get us going&mdash;it&rsquo;ll help our morale, the public and maybe the news media.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0009-01

Wings Have Favorable Comments On New Home

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0009-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-02910/4278822-1-eng-US/f0009-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(Photo by Brace Bennett)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>BENGT GUSTAFSSON&hellip;Washington Caps</b></h2><p class="dropcap"><i><span>W</span>ashington Capitals are hoping that Sweden&rsquo;s most valuable player last year, Bengt Gustafsson, will become one of their best players for many years to come. The Capitals finally acquired Gustafsson, who had signed to play with Edmonton while they were in the WHA, through an NHL ruling, sending the six-foot, 185-pound smoothie to Washington. He&rsquo;s been at or near the top of the Caps&rsquo; scorers all year and is an excellent skater and playmaker.</i><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0009-02

Meet The Rookies

<div class="byline">Fan Forum Compiled By CATHY MUNRO</div><p class="dropcap"><i><span>D</span>o you have an opinion on hockey? Here&rsquo;s your chance to get it off your chest. Write the Fan Forum, The Hockey News, 214 King St., West, Suite 314, Toronto, Ont. M5H 1K4. To facilitate processing, type-written letters are given preference.</i></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-011129/4278853-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg" title="f0010-01" width="565" height="325"></div><h2>Flyers&rsquo; Style Remains Same</h2><p>Comments in The Hockey News by various media spokesmen would have you believe the Philadelphia Flyers have changed their style this year and are no longer the &ldquo;Broad Street Bullies&rdquo;.</p><p>If the game of Dec. 16 vs. the New York Rangers is typical of their current style, they haven&rsquo;t changed a bit. In this writer&rsquo;s view they are still master of the cheap shot with their intimidating, bullying tactics. They get away with more interfering, high sticking, hooking, crosschecking than any other team in the NHL.</p><p>This letter is from a New York Rangers&rsquo; ticket holder of over 10 years.</p><p><b>Robert W. Sundermann</b><br><i>Ossining, NY</i></p><h2>Shooting For Bonus Points</h2><p>The North American Soccer League awards a point for each goal scored up to three. I would propose that in the NHL a point should be awarded for every three goals scored. Bonus points would not be an artificial pumping up of a team&rsquo;s standing, since the league standings are based on points already and not on the number of wins a team is credited. Award the teams that score and attract fans by playing good fundamental hockey rather than gooning it up for the bleacher bums around the league.</p><p>The system of extra points for goals could be tried first in the Eastern Hockey League where many future NHL&rsquo;ers are now playing and the NHL governors could then judge by a year or two of stats and attendance figures from the NHL if my plan is crazy or provide more money in the bank from filled arenas.</p><p>I also would award excellent defensive efforts by giving teams that shut out their opponent an extra two points. That would make Bob Pulford and Hawk fans happy that defensive-oriented teams would also have bonus points to shoot for.</p><p>Let&rsquo;s award teams like the Kings and Canadiens who play superb offensive hockey and avoid fighting. When you&rsquo;re trying for more goals you would have to forget about fighting or drop in the league standings. This change and the elimination of the defensive ed line would open up the action. Now if the NHL could realign the league so we had a Canadian division and three American divisions&hellip;but I have only the dreams of a bored NHL regular season fan.</p><p><b>Joseph Reilly</b><br><i>Joseph Reilly</i></p><h2>Overtime Lends Spice to Games</h2><p>NHL brass thinks regular season overtimes would make playoffs less exciting, fans are told. Fans buy tickets at ridiculous prices all season long because the sport is exciting. At playoff time they continue to buy tickets, so give the fans more hockey.</p><p>Right now, 16 teams will make the playoffs. Is the NHL brass thinking about the excitement of the playoffs? A playoff spot should be earned.</p><p>Goals-against-averages mean nothing in determining who are the best in goal. The beauty of the sport is not the concern of those who advocate speeding up the game (two 30 minute halves, removing the red line, etc.). They&rsquo;re simply not savoring the game. Goaltenders aren&rsquo;t allowed to take practice shots if they replace another goalie, and this is meant to speed up the game. But it&rsquo;s natural for an athlete to warm up, and for spectators to hope the athlete is fully ready.</p><p><b>Kevin McAuley</b><br><i>Brooklyn, NY</i></p><h2>Can&rsquo;t Build On Sand</h2><p>National Hockey League president John Ziegler, in the Dec. 14, 1979 issue, stated the possibilities of expansion into Hamilton, Calgary, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, San Diego, Seattle, Indianapolis and Miami-Fort Lauderdale.</p><p>He states that these were potential cities within the next decade but purely in the theoretical sense.</p><p>I agree with the suggestion of teams in Hamilton, Calgary and Seattle, but I seriously don&rsquo;t think that a team could survive in any of the other cities.</p><p>It is true that the Central Hockey League teams do well in Dallas and Fort Worth, but remember the Houston Aeros, Phoenix Roadrunners, Birmingham Bulls and the Atlanta Flames. It is for this reason that I feel expansion into Texas or Florida would be ridiculous and harmful to the league. The league would lose money in the south.</p><p>Indianapolis was unable to support the Racers. There is no reason that they should be able to support major league hockey in the future, either. The size of their population is a large factor in the inability to support a team there.</p><p>Hockey cannot survive in the south and in California. As soon as the big league brass admits this, the sooner the league can become a stronger foundation.</p><p><b>Bill Westerman</b><br><i>Muskegon, MI</i></p><h2>High Salaries Cause Dissent</h2><p>A recent editorial in The Hockey News complained that the high salaries paid by Sonny Werblin&rsquo;s Rangers do not help his brethren in the NHL lodge. Those same brethren were not thinking about helping Werblin or the Ranger fans when they adopted the balanced schedule that cut the number of games between the Rangers and the Islanders in half. Or when they allowed Don Murdoch to be suspended for half a season for something that had nothing to do with hockey. Why should they expect any more consideration from Werblin?</p><p>If the league was to put a ceiling on salaries for individual players or on a team&rsquo;s total salary budget, the Rangers would have to comply just like everyone else. Until such time, I hope Werblin will continue to do whatever he can to improve the Ranger team and to make hockey as attractive as possible to the Ranger fans.</p><p><b>Paul Henderson</b><br><i>Centereach, NY</i></p><h2>&ldquo;And Let There Be Light&hellip;&rdquo;</h2><p>The Stanley Cup format now being used is too cumbersome. I recommend an approach which would allow only eight teams into the Stanley Cup tournament The tournament field would include three division champions and five wild cards regardless of divisions. The five wild cards would be determined on a total points division win, and one point for all ties The pairing for the first round of play would be made on the basis of total points only. The team with the most points would play the team with the least. The second place team would play the seventh place team and so on.</p><p>The first round would be a best-of-three series, the second round, best-of-five, the championship, best-c Finally, the main seasonal ties should be adaressed. With increased ticket prices most fans do not look forward to a tie contest. A 10-minute overtime period should be added with the victory going to the first team that scores. If at the end of this overtime period the match is still tied, it remains a tie.</p><p>I believe these changes are needed to move hockey out of the dark ages and create a more marketable product. Now that merger is past history, the NHL can no longer use that excuse for not addressing other issues vital to the success of professional hockey.</p><p><b>Tom Fisher</b><br><i>Atlanta, GA</i></p><h2>Rangers High On Hidden Talents</h2><p>I have been a dedicated fan of the New York Rangers for eight years now and always will be in the future. People automatically think that since the Rangers were in the Stanley Cup playoffs this last season that they should have an outstanding record such as the Philadelphia Flyers. Maybe they should but they are still learning.</p><p>The Rangers are practically the youngest team in the NHL and have a lot more techniques to learn yet They have outstanding, aggressive and smart players who are eager to learn more about the game.</p><p>For instance, Eddie Johnstone. He is one of the hardest working players on the team and he&rsquo;s not afraid to throw his weight around into opponents who are usually twice his size. And yet, he is only five-foot-nine, 170 pounds. He deserves more credit than he receives and should be recognized more by the fans as well as by the press.</p><p>The Rangers have talent that is yet to be revealed and they&rsquo;re starting to perform it now. They should be recognized as the team of the future and not the past.</p><p><b>Tracy D&rsquo;Amato</b><br><i>Hashbrouck Heights, NJ</i></p><h2>Lack of Depth In Sportswriting</h2><p>Hockey is not a popular sport for many reasons. One would be because it does not get TV coverage on a big network in the U.S. However, I feel there are things more specific to blame and they are the sportswriters themselves.</p><p>In my opinion, sportswriters are guilty of using cliches in their reports of a game. They use terms such as &lsquo;the work ethic&rsquo;, &lsquo;motivation&rsquo;, &lsquo;desire&rsquo;, &lsquo;giving that old 100 per cent effort&rsquo;, etc. These are used by writers who refuse to analyze the game more technically. Players such as Bobby Clarke and Terry O&rsquo;Reilly should be ashamed to be thought of this way. Sure, they give their best, but then again, who does not? Just to show you how silly cliches are, Guy Lafleur is never called a &lsquo;hustling&rsquo; hockey player and look at all he has done.</p><p>I just want to close with this thought. If Nick Fotiu really &lsquo;sets his mind to it,&rsquo; (another cliche), then when this year is over he should score 100 goals, 100 assists and his team should end up 80-0-0 with a team goals against of 0.00.</p><p><b>Robert Goldman</b><br><i>Jackson Heights, NY</i><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0010-01

FAN FORUM

<div class="byline">BY CHUCK MOODY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0011-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-011079/4278915-1-eng-US/f0011-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>Steady, dependable Nick Libett is well on his way to another 20-plus goal season.</i> <span class="photo-credit">(Photo by Bruce Bennett)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><span>P</span>ITTSBURGH&mdash;At 34, Nick Libett is the &ldquo;old man&rdquo; of the Pittsburgh Penguins. However, while he doesn&rsquo;t plan to hang up his skates for a couple of more seasons, Libett is looking ahead and planning his future after his hockey playing days are over.</p><p>&ldquo;I realize I&rsquo;m not 23 any more and your future in hockey is on the downhill slide,&rdquo; Libett said. &ldquo;When you&rsquo;re 22 or 23 you can&rsquo;t foresee to the day when you&rsquo;re going to be 33 or 34. It&rsquo;s so far down the road you don&rsquo;t even think of it. But all of a sudden you are 33 or 34 and you better start thinking about it.&rdquo;</p><p>After spending his entire professional career in the Detroit organization, including 12 years with the Red Wings, Libett was dealt to the Penguins in the off-season for Peter Mahovlich.</p><p>&ldquo;I was quite happy in Detroit,&rdquo; the left wing said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s just that management (general manager Ted Lindsay) and I did not see eye-to-eye. I still live in Detroit and it&rsquo;s always going to be my home. I still have off-season business interests there that I&rsquo;m involved in, but for however long I play here it&rsquo;s great.</p><p>&ldquo;Pittsburgh&rsquo;s close to home and travelling is not bad. There&rsquo;s a great bunch of guys here, plus I played for (coach Wilson) Johnny and (general manager Bastien) Baz before.&rdquo;</p><p>While playing the 12 seasons in Detroit, the Stratford. Ontario, native made many friends and business contacts there that he hopes will serve him well when his playing days are over.</p><p>&ldquo;I had 12 good years in Detroit and my friends are there and there are good business opportunities,&rdquo; Libett said. &ldquo;I have this year and two more on my contract here in Pittsburgh. This was my option year and they gave me an extension which I&rsquo;m quite happy with.</p><blockquote class="pullQuote"><i>&ldquo;&hellip;it&rsquo;s important that you get out and away from the game and set some things up for the future.&rdquo;</i></blockquote><p>&ldquo;I sell automotive industrial paint in bulk quantities in the Detroit area. I&rsquo;ve worked for the company for five years now. I worked in the lab one full summer to learn the business and now I&rsquo;m going into the sales end of it.</p><p>&ldquo;I started preparing for my future when I scored 31 goals in 1971-72 when I was 26 years old. I had a feeling I&rsquo;d be in Detroit for a few years, and I feel very fortunate that I played 12 years in one area for the simple reason that you can get established.</p><p>&ldquo;If you don&rsquo;t have anything you can get into and you don&rsquo;t watch your money, you only have hockey. I think it&rsquo;s important that you get out and away from the game and set some things up for the future.&rdquo;</p><p>While Libett&rsquo;s off-season home and business interests are still in Detroit, he and his wife Jackie are expecting their third child, and have purchased a townhouse in Pittsburgh.</p><p>&ldquo;I just turned 34 and I&rsquo;m resighed to the fact that for what Johnny wants me to do, I&rsquo;m quite happy with the situation,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I go out and do my shift, kill the odd penalty and late in the game, in close games, I play. I realize I&rsquo;m no longer 23 or 24, and I don&rsquo;t expect to play 30 or 40 minutes a game.&rdquo;</p><p>Even though Libett has prepared well for his years after his hockey career is over, he feels he can contribute to the team for some time to come.</p><p>&ldquo;I think I&rsquo;m more of a defensive hockey player, but I think I&rsquo;m capable of scoring my 20 goals,&rdquo; said Libett, who averaged almost 20 goals during his season in Detroit.</p><p>&ldquo;There&rsquo;s a good bunch of hockey players here. There are no superstars and I think I fit in well. Just a bunch of workers and a very good team situation.:&rdquo;</p><p>Libett does fit in well with the Penguins&rsquo; team of workers. As well as he has prepared for his future when his playing days are over.</p><p><b>PENGUIN TRACKS:</b> Top draft choice Paul Marshall suffered a separated shoulder in a game against Chicago and was lost for six to eight weeks.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0011-01

Libett Penguins’ Worker Who’s Ready For Future

<div class="byline">BY NEIL MILBERT</div><p>CHICAGO&mdash;Christmas Eve for Ron Sedlbauer was the loneliest night of the year.</p><p>He&rsquo;d left on a jet plane from Toronto bound for Vancouver&mdash;which four days before had been his home but wasn&rsquo;t any more&mdash;when a wave of loneliness overtook him.</p><p>&ldquo;I sat and thought about all that had happened in such a short time and how different my life was going to be in Chicago than it had been in Vancouver,&rdquo; said Sedlbauer. &ldquo;I&rsquo;d just met my parents in the airport in Toronto to wish them a Merry Christmas and now I was on my way to Vancouver to pick up my things and say goodbye to the people I lived with.</p><p>&ldquo;I felt very sorry for myself.&rdquo;</p><p>The newest member of the Black Hawks was no longer on a sad sentimental journey when he returned to Chicago after a brief road-trip to St. Louis and Washington.</p><p>But the sensation of disorientation still was very much with him and understandably so.</p><p>On Dec. 21, Sedlbauer was in Washington with the Vancouver Canucks when Coach Harry Neale broke the news&mdash;the 25-year-old left wing had been traded to the Black Hawks for defenseman Dave Logan and left wing Harold Philli-poff.</p><p>He was told to depart immediately for Chicago, meet his new general manager, Bob Pulford, and leave for Winnipeg for the Hawks&rsquo; game that night.</p><p>That trip compounded Sedlbauer&rsquo;s feeling that life was playing games with him.</p><p>&ldquo;Because of fog in Winnipeg, we couldn&rsquo;t land,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We landed in Thunder Bay, waited until the fog had cleared, then flew to Winnipeg. I got to the arena in time to see the third period and catch a charter back to Chicago that same night.&rdquo;</p><p>The following day, Sedlbauer found a temporary home with his new teammates Tom Lysiak and Pat Ribble, who were sympathetic to his plight. (Lysiak and Ribble also went through the jolt of being traded for the first time when they were suddenly sent to the Hawks from Atlanta last March.)</p><p>On Dec. 23, Sedlbauer made his debut with the Hawks in the Stadium and &ldquo;was more nervous than the night I broke into the NHL.&rdquo; His statistics were no goals, no assists, and a third period hooking penalty while playing on a line with center Reg Kerr and right wing Doug Lecuyer.</p><p>But the Hawks scored their most resounding victory of the season, lambasting the New York Islanders 8-0 as Tony Esposito recorded his fifth shutout of the season and 72nd of his National Hockey League career and Grant Mulvey hit for the hat-trick.</p><p>The following morning, the day before Chirstmas, Sedlbauer was back on the road, embarking on the Chicago-Toronto-Vancouver trip. He said his Vancouver goodbyes on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, packed his bags, and was airborne again, arriving in St. Louis for the Dec. 26 game with stops en route in Seattle and Denver.</p><p>Sedlbauer was scoreless in the 3-3 tie in St. Louis and the 6-2 trouncing the Hawks took from the Capitals on Dec. 28</p><p>While his output doesn&rsquo;t compare with last season&rsquo;s production totals, Sedlbauer&rsquo;s 10 goals in 35 games nevertheless made him the second-best goal-getter on the Hawks going into the Boston contest Dec. 30.</p><p>Mulvey was leading the National League&rsquo;s meagerest scoring team with 18.</p><p>Last season Sedlbauer scored 40 goals&mdash;the highest total of a six-year NHL career that began in 1974-75. The only left wing in the NHL with more was Brian Sutter of the Blues with 41.</p><p>&ldquo;Many of the guys on the Canucks were kind of angry over the trade,&rdquo; said Sedlbauer. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re trying hard to take the Smythe championship and it&rsquo;s a perfect situation for me to come back and prove they made a bad deal by helping Chicago have a big year. But I have no hard feelings whatsoever toward Harry Neale. He&rsquo;s a good coach and a good guy,&rdquo;</p><p><b>HAWK TALK&mdash;</b>The gum that was on the New York Islanders&rsquo; shoes last spring became lodged in their throats on Dec. 23 during the course of their 8-0 humiliation by the Hawks. Coach Eddie Johnston flaunted a Chicago Tribune clipping and suggested it was partially responsible for the beating his Hawks had given the club that easily eliminated them from the Stanley Cup playoffs in April. Billy Torrey, general manager of the Islanders, had suggested that the Hawks had been too soft a quarterfinal foe after the Islanders were ousted by Rangers in the semis. In Torrey&rsquo;s words: &ldquo;Playing Chicago was like getting gum off your shoe.&rdquo; Said Johnston: &ldquo;After tonight I don&rsquo;t think we&rsquo;ll be reading any more quotes about gum on people&rsquo;s shoes.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-011102/4278946-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg" title="f0012-01" width="574" height="966"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>Tom Lysiak, who was unsettled. by a big trade last year, made room for newcomer Ron Sedlbauer.</i></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0012-01

Sedlbauer’s Trade Disorientating

<div class="byline">BILL LIBBY&#x2019;S</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-02937/4278984-1-eng-US/f0012-022.jpg" title="f0012-02" width="332" height="362"></div><h2>Mark His Own Man</h2><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span>O GET AN INSIGHT</b> into a player I&rsquo;m profiling I ask what his father does for a living. I didn&rsquo;t have to ask Mark Howe, the brilliant left-winger of the Hartford Whalers. Dad, a grey-haired guy by the name of Gordie, overshadows his son wherever the Whalers go.</p><p>The demise of the World Hockey Association and entry of Hartford into the National Hockey League brought Gordie back into cities he hadn&rsquo;t seen for almost 10 years and, playing his 32nd season in the majors at the age of 51, he gets all the attention when the team hits a town.</p><p>A quiet, tough young man of 24, Mark says, &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t care. I really don&rsquo;t. I don&rsquo;t mind being overshadowed. I don&rsquo;t want the spotlight. I don&rsquo;t like being interviewed by reporters or being asked for autographs by fans. I really don&rsquo;t think most players do. I like being left alone to play the game.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-03679/4278977-1-eng-US/f0012-032.jpg" title="f0012-03" width="299" height="486"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>Mark Howe</i></figcaption></div><p>In this, he is unlike his father, who is one of the warmest men sports has had, and incredibly cooperative with the press and public, especially considering the endless pressure put on him. However, Mark is his own man.</p><p>Mark does admit to being bothered a bit by always being referred to as Gordie&rsquo;s son and Marty&rsquo;s brother. After retiring from the NHL, Gordie was idle two years before he came out of retirement in 1973 for the opportunity to play with his sons in WHA.</p><p>Mark and Marty had led the Toronto Marlboros to the Memorial Cup in Canada and were signed by Houston as underage juniors. After four years in Houston, this is the third year for the team in New England. But Marty didn&rsquo;t make it this season and was sent to the minors, where he has broken his arm.</p><p>Gordie was mad as all get-out when the Whalers sent Marty down. He used to say all he wanted was to play with his sons. Now he says he always wanted to play with them in the NHL. Mark says, &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve had injuries and I think Marty would have been called back up if he hadn&rsquo;t been injured. It would have been nice to have been together, but things worked out for us up to now.</p><h2>Not Kids&mdash;Players</h2><p><b>&ldquo;THE THING</b> IS, Dad is a great man and all, but you want to be your own man. I&rsquo;m sure Marty feels as I do. We&rsquo;ll always be his sons, but you want to be considered on your own out on the ice. When we started out together, he always was rushing in to protect us when a fight started. We&rsquo;re at the point now where we don&rsquo;t want protection. We&rsquo;re not kids. We&rsquo;re players.&rdquo;</p><p>Mark is a superb player, one of the best, if not the best to come with the WHA into the NHL this season. Gordie said last year Mark was the best for his age he&rsquo;d ever seen. Mark is a swift skater with a hard, accurate wrist shot. He&rsquo;s averaged 35 goals in his six seasons as a pro, had 42 last season, and set team records with 65 assists and 107 points. A five-foot, 11-inch, 180-pounder, he is a hitter who plays defense as well as offense. He has played as a defenseman as well as a left-winger frequently in the past and started this season as a defenseman before being moved back up front to stimulate a lagging offense.</p><p>&ldquo;I really don&rsquo;t care which position I play,&rdquo; Mark says. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not hung up on being a big scorer and like playing defense as well as offense. I seem to be able to shift back and forth pretty well. Whatever the team wants me to do, I&rsquo;ll try to do.&rdquo;</p><h2>Limited By Injury</h2><p><b>SOME THOUGHT HE</b> would be a superstar by now. Of course, it hurts him to be always measured against Gordie. But if Mark is short of superstardom, it&rsquo;s more because of a back injury than anything else.</p><p>&ldquo;The back is really bad,&rdquo; he admits. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve got a couple of slipped discs and it&rsquo;s painful to play with it and it limits my mobility. When the roof fell in on our arena in Hartford, they had to move us into Springfield while they&rsquo;re rebuilding it. Those of us who live in the Hartford area have to drive three hours to and from games and it plays heck with my back. Long plane trips hurt. I don&rsquo;t get much sleep nights.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve tried stretching exercises and all, but I&rsquo;ve come to the conclusion it&rsquo;s not going to get better without taking a chance on surgery. Much as I hate the thought of it, I guess I&rsquo;ll have to have an operation after the season. It&rsquo;s getting tough to play with it as it is. It&rsquo;s no fun playing as it is.</p><p>&ldquo;Of course, hockey isn&rsquo;t all that much fun any more, anyway. Not like it was when I was a boy. It&rsquo;s a business, here. There&rsquo;s a lot of pressure put on you and you put a lot on yourself.&rdquo;</p><p>He says it&rsquo;s no big deal being in the NHL. He says, &ldquo;No matter what NHL people said, we in the WHA figured we were in the majors all along. There&rsquo;s a few better teams than we had in the WHA, but the hockey as a whole isn&rsquo;t that much better in the NHL. &ldquo;</p><p>Mark has been married 2&frac12; years to the former Ginger Lowery, whom he met in Houston. They have a son of years, Travis. Gordie and Colleen Howe live on the other side of Hartford, but are typical grandparents when they get together with Travis. If he acts up, Gordie gives him the butt end of the stick, of course.</p><p>Mark says, &ldquo;I was born in Detroit and grew up with the Red Wings. It was a thrill when some of us sons of players got to go to training camp with the team as a teen-ager. I guess we got used to being Gordie&rsquo;s son or Sid Abel&rsquo;s son or whatever. But, you grow up, you know. And then you want to be known as someone&rsquo;s father, not someone&rsquo;s son.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0012-02

HOCKEY AD LIB

<p class="dropcap"><span>M</span>ONTREAL&mdash;Problems continued for the defending Stanley Cup champion Canadiens both on and off the ice, but a light may have appeared at the end of the tunnel when the Habs put together one of their finest performances to down the Buffalo Sabres, minus general manager Scotty Bowman, 6-3 at the Forum.</p><p>Earlier in the week, there was another confrontation involving Gilles Lupien, the six-foot-six defenceman who wants more ice time. Lupien apparently was told at practice by coach Claude Ruel that he wouldn&rsquo;t be getting more playing time unless he changed his attitude. Their discussion turned into a shouting match and Ruel told Lupien that they would continue their dialogue in Ruel&rsquo;s office in the company of executive director Irving Grundman. Lupien, however, did not go to the meeting, choosing instead to leave the arena, leaving Ruel to ponder his disciplinary action.</p><p>It was handled quietly and Lupien was inserted back into the lineup by the weekend, earning a couple of penalties in the victory over the Sabres.</p><p>In between, though, there was another bad loss for the Canadiens, two nights after Christmas when the New York Islanders came to town. Although the Canadiens were all over the Islanders in the first period, outshooting them 15-5 and taking a 1-0 lead on a Guy Lafleur breakaway the Islanders came out of the period tied at 1-1 when Garry Howatt scored. In the second period Islanders&rsquo; Mike Bossy took over scoring, the first two of three goals and the Islanders built a 4-1 lead against Bunny Larocque and the Canadiens. Despite outshooting the visitors 46-24, the Canadiens were outscored 7-3.</p><p>Aganst Sabres, it was a different story&mdash;back once more to the Habs of last year. Pierre Mondou and Larry Robinson quickly scored in the first period and when the Sabres had twice crept within a goal, first Mondou and then Rejean Houle restored two-goal Montreal leads.</p><p>Steve Shutt and Bob Gainey finished out the Montreal scoring, the latter into an empty net.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

Habs In Form Despite Upheaval

<div class="byline">BY STAN FISCHLER</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-011057/4279039-1-eng-US/f0013-012.jpg" title="f0013-01" width="442" height="356"></div><h2>Prejudiced Referees?</h2><p class="dropcap"><b><span>A</span> SERIOUS ATTACK</b> against the integrity of NHL officiating has been levelled by the New York Rangers. Whether to take it seriously or not is your perogative.</p><p>The Broadway high command, led by Fred Shero, charges that Scotty Morrison&rsquo;s refereeing corps is prejudiced against Swedish hockey players in the NHL and Anders Hedberg and Ulf Nilsson in particular.</p><p>Specifically, Shero and his lieutenant junior grade, Mickey Keating, assert that referees have deliberately overlooked fouls committed against the Scandinavians simply because they are foreigners and not Canadians like the referees.</p><p>Shero&rsquo;s anti-refereeing propaganda was well-propagated through December on the fertile pages of the New York media. Consider the following headlines:</p><p>RANGERS SAY REFEREES DON&rsquo;T PROTECT SWEDES. (N.Y. Post). BEATON CALLED TO PROTECT SWEDES. (N.Y. Daily News). ARE THE SWEDES BEING BATTERED BY PREJUDICE IN NHL? (N.Y. Times).</p><p>If Shero and cronies are to be believed, teams such as the Islanders, Whalers and Flyers, among others, have fouled Hedberg and Nilsson with virtual impunity.</p><p>In various discussions with Manhattan newspersons, Shero has delivered variations on the following monologue: &ldquo;The Swedes have been going through a lot of bleep lately. Either the referees can&rsquo;t see it or they don&rsquo;t want to see it&hellip;Why the Swedes have to be murdered over in this country is beyond me&hellip;How much do they have to take&hellip;There was a lot that should have been called.&rdquo;</p><p>At least one journalist, Lawrie Mifflin of the Daily News, supports Shero. &ldquo;Some of the referees seem to consider Swedish hockey players in a different category from Canadians,&rsquo;&rsquo; writes Mifflin.</p><p>What I want to know is whether there is, in fact, any validity to the allegations. Not surprisingly, the NHL Know Everythings, such as vice president Brian O&rsquo;Neill, knew nothing of the Ranger allegations. A phone call to referee-in-chief Scotty Morrison produced a similar response.</p><p>I asked my pal, Frank Udvari, the NHL&rsquo;s supervisor of officials, about it and he said he&rsquo;d check it out. &ldquo;Have you stopped to think.,&rdquo; says Udvari, &ldquo;that it might be a (Shero) smokescreen.&rdquo;</p><p>Shero, who has enjoyed a nodding acquaintanceship with the truth, claims the Rangers once even sent film clips to the NHL in support of their charges. &ldquo;I have never seen any film,&rdquo; counters O&rsquo;Neill.</p><p>Morrison expresses his skepticism of Shero in another way: &ldquo;If the Rangers are suggesting that the officials deliberatey don&rsquo;t call infractions against the two Swedish players, I can&rsquo;t accept that. I&rsquo;ve observed some Rangers&rsquo; games and I&rsquo;m surprised Shero feels that way. If he&rsquo;s stating that Hedberg and Nilsson are being fouled and nothing is being called because they&rsquo;re Swedes, that&rsquo;s ridiculous.&rdquo;</p><p>Anders Kallur, the Islanders&rsquo; rookie forward, is. a Swede. He says he never thinks about prejudice on the part of NHL officials. &ldquo;Actually,&rdquo; adds Kallur, &ldquo;NHL referees are much better than we have over there. Most of the European referees are amateurs.&rdquo;</p><h2>Good Get Picked On</h2><p><b>TO GET A BETTER</b> perspective on the fooferaw, I phoned Vancouver Canucks&rsquo; coach Harry Neale because he has no less than three Swedes in his lineup including Lars Lindgren, PerOlaf Brasar and Thomas Gradin.</p><p>So, what better person to ask about anti-Swedish prejudice than Neale?</p><p>It is to laugh, suggests Harry, when he is told of Chameleon Shero&rsquo;s plaintive wails. &ldquo;Mister Shero has to realize that excellent players such as Hedberg and Nilsson command more attention than other players. Ask (Phil) Esposito. He&rsquo;s always whining about guys hanging on him. Who ever is a good player is going to get picked on.&rdquo;</p><p>But how do the Canucks&rsquo; Swedes feel about the treatment?</p><p>&ldquo;None of my Swedes are complaining,&rdquo; adds Neale, &ldquo;and I have no complaints.&rdquo;</p><p>The exquisite irony of all this is that the very assault and battery allegedly inflicted upon Shero&rsquo;s Swedes is exactly what the Chameleon&rsquo;s Philly Flyers perpetrated against the artistic Soviets in 1976. Conclusion: It all depends upon whose European is gored!</p><p><b>NOTES:</b> Richard (Kinky) Friedman, the country rock singer, asked Ranger chronicler Larry (Ratso) Sloman to tell Barry Beck he was Kinky&rsquo;s &ldquo;second favorite&rdquo; Jewish player; his first being Ron Greschner. &ldquo;But I&rsquo;m not Jewish,&rdquo; said Beck. To which Ratso replied: &ldquo;And neither is Greschner! &ldquo;&hellip;A couple of pals of Pat Hickey still can&rsquo;t figure why &ldquo;Hitch&rdquo; walked right past them, without even a &ldquo;hello&rdquo; after Hickey&rsquo;s first visit to Nassau Coliseum since becoming a Colorado Rocky&hellip;Worst goaltending duo in the NHL belongs to Colorado&rsquo;s Hardy Astrom and whomever the second-stringer happens to be this week,&hellip;Bob Bourne, one of the fastest, says Marcel Dionne is the speediest skater in the NHL. I&rsquo;ll take Ken Linseman&hellip;Consensus once was that Barry Beck was the best fighter around until Philly&rsquo;s Behn Wilson went one-on-one with him at Madison Square Garden. One press box observer noted that it was the first time Beck didn&rsquo;t win a decision on ice&hellip;If the NHL high command was smart it would circulate an opinion sampler throughout the 21 arenas and learn how the grass roots ticket holder feels about the game and what the fans want in the 1980s&hellip;The still unexploited story is how rookie goalie Steve Baker of the Rangers moved past John Davidson, Wayne Thomas and Doug Soetaert to become number one Blueshirt netminder&hellip;NHL made a big deal about hiring Bobby Orr as &ldquo;special assistant&rdquo; to prexy John Ziegler. One of Orr&rsquo;s jobs supposedly is helping youth hockey. With this in mind Skip Butler, manager of Manhattan&rsquo;s Sky Rink, phoned the NHL to have Orr appear before its youth hockey group. No less than three calls were made to Orr at the league&rsquo;s New York office. Messages were left for Bobby but, to this date, there has been no response from either Orr or the NHL. The league replies that Butler should have written but Skip says no one told him to do that.</p><h2>Albert Strikes Back</h2><p><b>U.S. BEST?&mdash;</b>Americans in the hockey media have long resented what they regard as an unwarranted air of superiority on the part of their Canadian colleagues when it comes to covering the ice game. This air of condescension holds for radio TV commentators as well as writers.</p><p>However, few Americans have backed their feelings with words the way NBC broadcaster Marv Albert has in his new paperback on sportscasting called Yesss! &ldquo;I go to Canada.&rdquo; says an indignant Albert, &ldquo;and listen to some of their announcers, and I can tell you they (Canadians) just wouldn&rsquo;t make it in the United States.</p><p>&ldquo;What difference is there between Montreal and Minnesota? Those people who report on hockey in this country are every bit as competent and understand the game every bit as well as do the Canadians. After all. a hip check is a hip check, no matter which side of the border you&rsquo;re on.&rdquo;</p><p>Take that, Dick Irvin!</p><p><b>CHERRY PICKIN&mdash;</b>I asked Don Cherry to name the best NHL coach and he told me it was Don Cherry. Then, I asked Grapes who was the second-best dresser&mdash;runner-up to Cherry&mdash;among coaches. &ldquo;There is none,&rdquo; he laughs. &ldquo;I have no rival when it comes to sartorial splendor.&rdquo;</p><p>Grapes says that if he wasn&rsquo;t coaching the Rockies the one club he&rsquo;d like to orchestrate is the Canadiens. &ldquo;What a challenge that would be,&rdquo; he adds.</p><p>Yes, Cherry would have loved to sign Bobby Schmautz when the Bruins and Schmautz parted company. &ldquo;But (Harry) Sinden didn&rsquo;t want to deal with me so Schmautz went to dmondon.&rdquo;</p><p>How does Grapes feel about being called the Billy Martin of hockey? &ldquo;Sorry,&rdquo; he concludes, &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t drink that much or she that hard! &ldquo;</p><p><b>FANTASTIC FANS:</b> Tune in here next week for a tough look at a problem the NHL would like to sweep under its rug: Fan obscenity and violence and now it is ruining the fun of hockey for other fans.</p><p><b>MEDIA NOTES:</b> Early McRae profiled Mike Palmateer in Canadian Weekend magazine. Among the dandy lines was Palmateer&rsquo;s review of his favorite food, popcorn. &ldquo;If I don&rsquo;t always eat the stuff it&rsquo;s just that the popcorn at Maple Leaf Gardens isn&rsquo;t that good. Too dry. Could be worse, though, so I usually eat it anyway.&rdquo;&hellip;NHL&rsquo;s Jack Driscoll, who has been doing the interviewing, says he still has more applicants to screen for the PR directorship of the NHL. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re not going to rush into making a choice,&rdquo; says Driscoll&hellip;When Jim Taylor jumped from the Vancouver Sun to the Province he left a column gap on the Sun sports that looks bad for the Sun&hellip;Detroit News hired an architect to inspect the Detroit Red Wings&rsquo; 20,000-seat Joe Louis Arena. J.L. Pauls reported: &ldquo;The exterior stairs at Joe Louis are the worst I&rsquo;ve ever seen for a public-assembly facility.&rdquo;&hellip;Toronto Globe and Mail&rsquo;s Jeff Goodman did a well-researched piece on the closing of Detroit&rsquo;s Olympia. Best comment was from ex-Red Wing coach Jim Skinner. &ldquo;People are crying for rinks like this (Olympia). I never worry about whether it&rsquo;s going to cave in.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0013-01

ON THE CONTRARY

<div class="byline">BY FRED PIETILA</div><p class="dropcap"><span>D</span>ENVER&mdash;Blue, Don Cherry&rsquo;s famed pit bull terrier, didn&rsquo;t like Dean Turner the first time she met him. That could be bad in the long run for the young Colorado Rockies&rsquo; defenseman.</p><p>And neither did former NHL player Ed Westfall like Turner the first time he saw him play in a bruising, hard-hitting performance against the New York Islanders. But Westfall&rsquo;s dislike for Turner proved beneficial for the 21-year-old Michigan native.</p><p>The night of the trade in which the Rockies sent Barry Beck to the New York Rangers for Lucien DeBlois, Pat Hickey, Mike McEwen, Dean Turner and a minor-leaguer to be named later (which eventually for all intents and purposes turned out to be Bobby Sheehan), Turner arrived late and was greeted by Cherry at the Stapleton International Airport.</p><p>Cherry welcomed Turner, loaded all his baggage into his car for him and housed and fed him for the night. It was memorable for both Cherry and Turner, but there lies a slight conflict of stories.</p><p>Turner couldn&rsquo;t believe the hospitality exhibited by Cherry, his wife Rose and son Timothy. &ldquo;His wife made me some sandwiches. I got to meet the celebrity, Blue. And the next morning they made me a beautiful omelette,&rdquo; recalled Turner, who remains totally impressed.</p><p>Cherry tells a slighty different story. &ldquo;I picked him up at the airport and took him over to our house where he could spend the night. So Rose made him about 50 sandwiches. He&rsquo;s like the bottom of the well as far as eating goes.</p><p>&ldquo;Anyway, Blue comes over and is waiting for him to offer her a crust or something, anything. But he doesn&rsquo;t. So Blue looks over at me as if to say, &lsquo;Who is this guy and who does he think he is? And does he know who I am&rsquo;?&rdquo;</p><p>Trust Turner, Blue. He knows who you are. And Colorado hockey fans are becoming aware of who Turner is.</p><p>Turner was particularly aggressive in a 7-4 win over the Islanders and it was a remark attributed to Westfall that apparently solidified his position with the Rockies.</p><p>&ldquo;I heard that Ed Westfall said that Turner is Cherry&rsquo;s type of hockey player&mdash;a backstabber, a blindsider and a goon, just like the Bruins. So after I heard that, I went in and told him (Turner) he&rsquo;d made the club,&rdquo; Cherry said.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-02844/4279070-1-eng-US/f0013-022.jpg" title="f0013-02" width="550" height="712"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>Desire allows Dean Turner to overcome what he lacks in natural ability.</i></figcaption></div><p>&ldquo;He stood up for himself good with (Bob) Bourne in that fight. And Ray Miron (general manager) came up to me after the game and said, &lsquo;I said to Armand Pohan (team president) there&rsquo;s no way we&rsquo;ll send Turner down now&rsquo;,&rdquo; Cherry explained.</p><p>Turner is six-two and weighs 215 pounds. He sometimes looks like a bull in a china closet on the ice. In two years of college hockey at the University of Michigan, he admits he tried to avoid handling the puck and concentrated on playing the man, instead. He plays the man reasonably well, but still doesn&rsquo;t handle the puck or skate with much finese. His desire, though, is overwhelming.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s just that he&rsquo;s got his heart and soul in the game,&rdquo; Cherry said. &ldquo;They don&rsquo;t call him &lsquo;The Hulk&rsquo; for nothing. He&rsquo;s one guy before games I don&rsquo;t have to get up. I have to get him down.&rdquo;</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not the greatest puck handler or skater,&rdquo; Turner laughed. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not your basic Guy Lafleur&mdash;no doubt about it. My job&rsquo;s to keep the puck out of the net.&rdquo;</p><p>&ldquo;You could tell from the first game the fans have liked him,&rdquo; Cherry said of the player who was close to being sent to Fort Worth a couple of times.</p><p>&ldquo;The fans know he&rsquo;s going to give every ounce he&rsquo;s got every time he&rsquo;s out there. People can identify with a guy who gives 100 percent all the time,&rdquo; Cherry said.</p><p>That&rsquo;s one thing about Turner. He gives 100 percent all the time&mdash;regardless of how he looks doing it. That effort rates him high with Cherry</p><p><b>ROCKY RAMBLINGS:</b> Turner&rsquo;s mother, Marilyn Turner and stepfather John Kelly, are involved in a Detroit TV talk show which is apparently quite popular. The show runs opposite Phil Donahue&hellip;Mike Gillis, the Rockies&rsquo; top 1978 draft choice (fifth overall) was back with the Rockies after a disappointing start of his second season. Gillis, a 190-pound left winger, who was sent to Fort Worth of the Central Hockey League at the beginning of the season was playing fairly consistently for the Texans and was recalled by the Rockies after a broken thumb sidelined defenseman Trevor Johansen&hellip;The Rockies&rsquo; attendance remains up with area enthusiasm growing but that one crowd of 2,003, which braved a blizzard to see the Rockies play the Capitals, knocks an average of about 500 per game off the per game total.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0013-02

Turner’s Heart Enough For Cherry

<div class="byline">BY PAT THOMPSON</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-011083/4279101-1-eng-US/f0014-012.jpg" title="f0014-01" width="562" height="1248"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>Gilles Meloche is really enthusiastic about playing for a winner for a change.</i> <span class="photo-credit">(Photo by Bruce Bennett)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><span>B</span>LOOMINGTON&mdash;&rdquo;He shoots&mdash;he scores.&rdquo; &ldquo;He shoots&mdash;he scores.&rdquo; &ldquo;He shoots&mdash;he scores!!!!&rdquo; Aw, not again. At least Minnesota goalies thought that was beginning to sound like a broken record.</p><p>No offense to Al Shaver, voice of the North Stars, but those were not the sounds Minnesota goalies Gilles Meloche and Gary Edwards found enchanting in studying playbacks of North Star video tapes.</p><p>They sounded great if the North Stars brought those exclamations over goals they were scoring, and the Stars have almost given Shaver a sore throat this season with 109 goals in the team&rsquo;s first 25 games.</p><p>At the same time, the broadcaster&rsquo;s voicebox was clocking overtime for the 86 scores by opponents.</p><p>Emphasize was, as in the past tense.</p><p>Meloche needed almost two months of the 1979-80 season to sharpen his game to his form of last year when his teammates voted him the most valuable Star.</p><p>Two straight one-goal games had a resurging effect on Meloche. In 15 appearances, Meloche reduced his goals-against average to 2.85 with a 9-3-2 record but he rode to victories many of those games on offensive splurges.</p><p>&ldquo;I never go into a game counting on big-goal outbursts,&rdquo; Meloche said. &ldquo;The most I&rsquo;ve ever won any game, before this season, was by two or three goals. If the goalies didn&rsquo;t play well, the team didn&rsquo;t win.&rdquo;</p><p>So Meloche, a regular the last eight NHL seasons, decided it was &lsquo;time to contribute. The turnaround started with a 6-1 victory over Edmonton. Meloche was not taxed in that performance.</p><p>But in a 4-1 victory over Atlanta the next start, the Flames showered him with 34 shots. There were four attempts that struck pipes and two other shots off-goal when the Flames had wide-open opportunities.</p><p>Coach Glen Sonmor wasted few words in pinpointing the reason for that victory. &ldquo;The man between the posts with the mask on,&rdquo; Sonmor said.</p><p>&ldquo;About time,&rdquo; Meloche said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve felt very good the last four or five games. It seems everything went my way in that game. I&rsquo;ve got my confidence back.&rdquo;</p><p>Meloche, even after a rocky start this year, has the best GA of his career. He feels the major reason is that he is playing on a winner for the first time of his career.</p><p>&ldquo;Just look at the improvement of our players from last year&mdash;Stevie Payne, Glen Sharpley and Bobby Smith before he got hurt got great starts,&rdquo; Meloche said. &ldquo;The addition of Paul Shmyr and Graig Hartsburg has made our defense that much better. If one of our lines isn&rsquo;t scoring, the other one is. More important, this team keeps the puck out of our end.&rdquo;</p><p>Sonmor said at the end of last season that one of the reasons for the team&rsquo;s late-season collapse was that he played Meloche too much, that Edwards didn&rsquo;t get enough games to be sharp enough when he was called to give Meloche a rest.</p><p>So Sonmor started the season with the intention of alternating his goalies. The team was winning, but it also was giving up a lot of goals. During the team&rsquo;s five-game winless streak in November, scout Gump Worsley was brought in for advice. And, Sonmor decided to alter his rotation scheme.</p><p>&ldquo;Gilles has been just outstanding,&rdquo; Sonmor said. &ldquo;Part of the reason is Gump&rsquo;s visit. His advice had to help. Another is that we made a decision to play one of our goalies more to see if that would help. Gilles has always played a majority of games for his teams. We felt, perhaps, he needed to find himself with more games, but we&rsquo;re not going to play him into exhaustion this season.&rdquo;</p><p>Shaver&rsquo;s voice will get little rest, though. The sweetest words Edwards or Meloche could bear are: &ldquo;He shoots&mdash;he&hellip;oooooh. What a save!&rdquo;</p><p><b>STAR DUST:</b> Defenseman Brad Maxwell twisted a knee when a linesman fell on him trying to break up a scuffle with Atlanta&rsquo;s Ken Houston. He was expected to miss four games. Maxwell went out just when Greg Smith was making his comeback from knee surgery&hellip;The Stars traded center-left wing Ole Brasar to Vancouver for a high 1981 draft choice. GM Lou Nanne said Brasar was more suited to play center, but that the club was very deep at that position. Brasar was the Stars&rsquo; MVP and top rookie two years ago&hellip;Graig Hartsburg and Sault Ste Marie sweetheart Peggy Hill have married&hellip;Minnesota&rsquo;s penalty killing unit, quarterbacked by Mike Polich and Tom Younghans, did not allow a power play goal for nine straight games.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0014-01

Busier Meloche Better For Stars

<p>ST. LOUIS&mdash;The St. Louis Blues are making progress in the 1979-80 hockey season. They are well ahead of their pace of a year ago.</p><p>The Blues, who are operating with new coach Red Berenson at the helm, have 12 wins, 18 losses and six ties in 36 starts. After 36 games last season the Blues had only won seven, lost 24 and tied five for 19 points. This year the Blues are rolling along with 30 points and have moved into a challenging position behind Chicago and Vancouver, the two pace setters of the Smythe Division.</p><p>Probably what is most important to Berenson and the Blues is the fact the team has managed to cut down its goals-against performance considerably, which has been a big factor in making the team a winner.</p><p>In 36 games last season, the Blues permitted 169 goals, which was the highest goals-against mark in the entire NHL. This season they have allowed a more respectable 127, a mark that stands below seven other NHL teams.</p><p>The Blues have been cutting a wide swath through their opposition this campaign and they certainly haven&rsquo;t picked their spots. They toppled Montreal and Atlanta and went into Detroit to spoil the Red Wings&rsquo; Joe Louis Arena opener by beating them 3-2 on a pair of third period goals.</p><p>The Blues concluded their seasonal series with Montreal by earning a split of the four games with the defending cup champs, a feat that many figured the young Blues were not capable of when the season began.</p><p>There are obviously better days ahead for the Blues when one figures the team has not been healthy this season for most of their games. In fact the team has only been at full strength in five of their first 31 games. During this span the Blues have lost 72 games due to player injuries or illness. It has been the worst injury-riddled start in the Blues&rsquo; history.</p><p>Berenson&rsquo;s entry into the coaching picture has been a source of encouragement to the younger Blues. They have been going all out for him on the ice since he replaced Barclay Plager as coach eight games ago. The Blues are 42-2 under Berenson and the club continues to maintain its scoring balance of last season, Berenson has attempted to cut the goals-against down while allowing the offense to take its course.</p><p>None of the Blues are among the high scorers in the NHL with Bernie Federko their best performer with 38 points, good for a six way tie for 14th place in the NHL points race.</p><p>The Federko-Brian Sutter-Blair Chapman line continued to scintillate for the Blues. The trio has been the team&rsquo;s mainstay on offense with Federko recording his 12th goal of the year to whip Detroit. Sutter and Chapman chipped in with their 11th goals in the win at Detroit giving the line all three St. Louis scores.</p><p>Goalers Mike Liut and Ed Staniowski have been pretty well alternating in the net for the Blues. Liut had been in 19 of the first 31 games and Staniowski 15. In wins and losses, Liut has been the more effective of the two and had a 7-9-3 mark against 2-8-2 for Staniowski.</p><p>In player moves, the Blues recalled Bryan Maxwell from Salt Lake of the CHL after he completed his two weeks conditioning period in the Central League following his recovery from an injury.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

Blues Ahead Of Last Year’s Pace

<div class="byline">BY TOM MURRAY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0015-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-011037/4279156-1-eng-US/f0015-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>Rangers&rsquo; Dave Maloney was assessed a game misconduct by referee Gregg Madill.</i> <span class="photo-credit">(Photo By Bruce Bennett)</span></figcaption></div><p>NEW YORK&mdash;</p><p><i>It was two nights before Christmas and all through the house</i></p><p><i>Not a fiery banner was hanging for the security guards to douse.</i></p><p><i>As the Bruins, 4-3 winners, skated off the ice</i></p><p><i>They exchanged some words with Ranger fans that certainly weren&rsquo;t too nice.</i></p><p><i>One thing led to another and before you could say &ldquo;My lands! &ldquo;Boston captain Terry O&rsquo;Reilly was pummelling someone in the stands. He was soon joined by his teammates (They wanted to be part of the fun, too!)</i></p><p><i>Including one Mike Milbury,</i></p><p><i>Who whacked some guy with a shoe.</i></p><p><i>The normally docile Peter McNab</i></p><p><i>Vaulted over several rows until he could grab</i></p><p><i>A rapidly fleeing and frightened man</i></p><p><i>Who supposedly sucker-punched Stan Jonathan.</i></p><p><i>More punches were thrown and hot words exchanged</i></p><p><i>Before the Bruins bid adieu and four Jans were arraigned.</i></p><p><i>Outside an angry mob was making a loud fuss</i></p><p><i>As they tried to tip over the Big, Bad Bruins&rsquo; bus.</i></p><p><i>The Bruins made their getaway, but this is all still up in the air Because the NHL has yet to decide how all involved parties will fare.</i></p><p>It started out innocently enough&mdash;as most brawls seem to. The Rangers, who had entered the third period leading the game, 3-1, watched that lead disappear as O&rsquo;Reilly, Bobby Lalonde and then Jonathan all scored to win the game for Boston. As the teams passed each other on the way to their respective exits and dressing rooms, Boston&rsquo;s Al Secord tripped the Rangers&rsquo; Ulf Nilsson with his stick.</p><p>It wasn&rsquo;t the first time Nilsson was tripped that evening and the Rangers, already frustrated by the defeat and referee Gregg Madill&rsquo;s horrendous officiating, weren&rsquo;t about to ignore Secords gratuitous gesture.</p><p>Led by goalie John Davidson, normally a very placid fellow, the Rangers skated into the throng of Bruins heading for their room. No gloves were dropped or punches thrown as JD&mdash;talking around John Wensink&mdash;berated Secord for his actions.</p><p>&ldquo;Secord suckered Ulfie for no reason,&rdquo; JD would say later. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s gutless&hellip;He&rsquo;s got no class and I wasn&rsquo;t gonna let him go without telling him that.&rdquo;</p><p>While JD was doing just that, Jonathan was skating along the sideboards when a fan reached over and punched him. And that&rsquo;s when all hell broke loose.</p><p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know where it came from,&rdquo; Jonathan said, &ldquo;but it felt like a helluva good jolt. I put my stick up as a reflex action and the guy grabbed it.&rdquo;</p><p>And that&rsquo;s when the Bruins, led by O&rsquo;Reilly, invaded the stands. O&rsquo;Reilly began punching the guy who held the stick and he was soon joined by a swarm of teammates.</p><p>&ldquo;We had to go up there,&rdquo; said Peter McNab. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not something to be proud of, but we couldn&rsquo;t leave Terry up there alone. The guy had a stick and he was swinging it.&rdquo;</p><p>Mike Milbury was swinging too. Not a stick, mind you, but a shoe he had twisted off the foot of someone McNab had wrestled to the ground.</p><p>It was a good 10 minutes before police and Madison Square Garden security were able to get the situation totally under control. The perpetrators (in New York, this word is pronounced &ldquo;perpuhtra-duhs&rdquo;) in the crowd were later identified as Imanuel Kaptain, his sons James and John, and a friend, Jack Guttenplan. All were served with summonses.</p><p>As both teams finally headed for their dressing rooms, Ranger captain Dave Maloney attempted to discuss a call referee Gregg Madill had made during the game with the official. When Maloney specifically questioned a call of Madill&rsquo;s in the second period, the official allegedly told Maloney to &ldquo;kiss my a--&rdquo; and when Maloney, at this point crying tears of frustration, slammed his stick on the ice, breaking it, Madill hit him with a game misconduct.</p><p>As if that wasn&rsquo;t bad enough, listen to what happened to coach Fred Shero one night later, on Christmas Eve. Lying home in bed, waiting for his wife to return from Midnight Mass, Shero was awakened by strange noises at his front door. Startled, he got out of bed and tried to make his way to the front door without turning on any lights.</p><p>He never made it. Freddie tripped over a pair of shoes and crashed heavily into a piece of furniture Result? Four cracked ribs. The strange noises at the door? His wife, home from Mass, had forgotten her keys and was trying to get his attention. So two nights later, when the Rangers hosted the touring Soviet Red Army team (they lost the game, 52), Freddie was home in bed, nursing his ribs.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0015-01

No Season To Be Jolly For Hard Luck Rangers

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0016-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-01888/4279208-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg"></div><p><b>LOUISVILLE HOCKEY STICKS</b></p><p><b>LOUISVILLE HOCKEY STICKS</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-01780/4279201-1-eng-US/f0017-012.jpg" title="f0017-01" width="552" height="810"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-02657/4279194-1-eng-US/f0017-022.jpg" title="f0017-02" width="545" height="2951"></div><h2>TEAM PENALTIES</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-03507/4279187-1-eng-US/f0017-032.jpg" title="f0017-03" width="503" height="525"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0016-01

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE

<div class="byline">BY MIKE DENNIS</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0017-04" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-04385/4279239-1-eng-US/f0017-042.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>When his best friend Lanny McDonald was traded, Darryl Sittler handed back his captain&rsquo;s &ldquo;C&rdquo; to the Leafs.</i></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>ORONTO&mdash;You&rsquo;ll certainly need a scorecard at Maple Leaf Gardens to tell who&rsquo;s who in the New Year as general manager Punch Imlach shook up more than a few people&rsquo;s Christmases with the biggest Toronto trade in a dozen years.</p><p>The roster changes began innocently enough a few weeks earlier when Reg Thomas, who had dressed for one Leaf game but did not play, was traded to Quebec for Terry Martin and Dave Farrish, both of whom went to the Leafs&rsquo; New Brunswick farm team.</p><p>Defenseman Darryl Maggs was signed to a contract and inserted into the lineup wearing number 24. Then Martin was recalled two nights before Christmas and scored a goal in his first game wearing number 25. Next came Carl Brewer, number 28 on your program, 41 years on the birth certificate and 21 in his heart. He suited up the night after Christmas for the first time.</p><p>When the Leafs traded left winger Pat Boutette to Hartford in exchange for minor league right winger Bob Stephenson there were some grumblings about non-trades and small potatoes, but before Stephenson had time to don Boutette&rsquo;s number 15 jersey, Imlach had pulled off the blockbuster: Lanny McDonald and defenseman Joel Quenneville to the Colorado Rockies in exchange for left winger Pat Hickey and right winger Wilf Paiement. Among other things the deal produced the following:</p><p>&bull; <i><b>Shock, disbelief, anger among the Leafs</b></i></p><p>&bull; <i><b>A big surprise for Leafs&rsquo; coach Floyd Smith</b></i></p><p>&bull; <i><b>Protestations by fans outside Maple Leaf Gardens for the Leafs&rsquo; game the following evening</b></i></p><p>&bull; <i><b>The refusal of Paiement to report since his wife was expecting a baby (which occurred that Saturday night)</b></i></p><p>&bull; <i><b>The resignation of Darryl Sittler as captain with Dave &ldquo;Tiger&rdquo; Williams named as acting captain</b></i></p><p>The trade was the long-awaited major move by Imlach to try and break the Leafs out of their terminal. 500 doldrums and from a purely statistical view, it appeared to be one which would give both teams what they were looking for.</p><p>The Leafs were getting Paiement, 24, who&rsquo;s popped in 153 NHL goals in five and a half seasons with Kansas City and Colorado. He recently ended a lengthy drought with a hat trick and had 10 goals, 16 assists in 34 games with the Rockies this year. Paiement, a heavy-hitter is a good skater and once popped in 41 goals for the Rockies.</p><p>Hickey will add scoring power to the Leafs&rsquo; left side. After two years in the World Hockey Association, Hickey spent a little more than four seasons with the Rangers, fashioning goal totals of 23, 40, and 34 in his last three complete years. Traded several weeks ago to Colorado in the Barry Beck swap, Hickey expressed pleasure at being dealt to Toronto, his home territory, and played Saturday, earning one assist.</p><p>For their part, the Rockies received Lanny McDonald, blazing shot, six and a half years of NHL experience with the Leafs and 219 goals over that time period. McDonald, 26, was one of the Leafs&rsquo; leaders and had 15 goals, 15 assists with Toronto before the trade.</p><p>Quenneville, 21, was like McDonald, a former Leaf number one draft choice (77). Usually paired with Borje Salming he&rsquo;s been a solid defensive defenseman and has been gaining confidence on offense as well. A solid future prospect.</p><p>That&rsquo;s the trade from a numerical vantage point, but in Toronto the deal was seen as an escalation of GM Imlach&rsquo;s attempts to have absolute authority over the Leafs, and in some quarters as open warfare against Sittler and attorney Alan Eagleson who represents about a dozen of the Leafs&rsquo; players.</p><p>In his resignation statement Sittler said: &ldquo;I have had little or no contact with Mr. Imlach, and it is clear to me that he and I have different ideas about player and management communication.</p><p>&ldquo;I am spending more and more time on player-management problems and I don&rsquo;t feel I am accomplishing enough for my teammates.</p><p>&ldquo;I am totally loyal to the Toronto Maple Leafs. I don&rsquo;t want to let my teammates down. But I have to be honest with myself. I will continue to fight for players&rsquo; rights, but not as captain of the team,&rdquo; he said.</p><p>Imlach seemed upset when Paiement did not immediately report to the club and was quoted as saying, &ldquo;I traded for the player not his wife,&rdquo; lending fuel to the rumor that Paiement would only be stopping off briefly in Toronto en route via another trade, possibly to Montreal where Mark Napier&rsquo;s name has been bandied about.</p><p>There seems little doubt that Punch is going to line up an aggregation on his own that will dictate the Leafs&rsquo; fortunes. The trade of McDonald, next to Sittler, probably the most popular player on the club, leaves open the possibility for big-name player transactions. But it also may rip open the spirit which has held the Leafs together and turn the franchise into a disaster.</p><p><b>LOOSE LEAFS:</b> Toronto downed Winnipeg 6-1 in the first game without McDonald and Quenneville. Stephenson had a beautiful goal, while Rocky Saganiuk had a pair for the second game in a row.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0017-04

Trades Produce Leaf Shock-Waves

<div class="byline">BY STEVE WINTER</div><p>LANDOVER&mdash;Washington Capitals&rsquo; Rick Green is finally gaining some respect.</p><p>With all due credit to comedian Rodney Dangerfield, Green must have felt that he deserved better treatment from Washington&rsquo;s understandably-frustrated fans during the first quarter of the 197980 NHL season.</p><p>Playing under the system of former coach Danny Belisle, Green was the subject on seemingly unending fan abuse. The hometown locals booed him on the ice; they booed him on the bench; they even booed him when his image appeared on the Capital Center telescreen, a 12-by-16-foot-square screen which hangs suspended at center ice.</p><p>&ldquo;It was getting so that I knew whose picture they were showing up there before I would even enter the arena,&rdquo; Green said.</p><p>Things, however, have changed for the 23-year-old fourth-year defenseman.</p><p>&ldquo;Rick Green&rsquo;s play has been exceptional,&rdquo; said Gary Green, who replaced Belisle as coach on November 14 and immediately restructured the club&rsquo;s style of play. &ldquo;He hasn&rsquo;t played a bad game for me. I heard things about how he&rsquo;s played before in the past, but I don&rsquo;t so much care to think about the past. I just look at how the players have played for me individually, and as far as Rick Green goes, I couldn&rsquo;t be happier with his play.&rdquo;</p><p>Rick Green, no relation to coach Gary, has been pleased as well, although he contends he&rsquo;s never satisfied with the way he&rsquo;s playing, personally.</p><blockquote class="pullQuote"><b>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s the best defenseman we&rsquo;ve got,&rdquo; said Hextall. &ldquo;He just doesn&rsquo;t make any mistakes&hellip;&rdquo;</b></blockquote><p>&ldquo;I always want to improve,&rdquo; he said.</p><p>Well, according to fan reaction at the Capital Centre, Rick Green&rsquo;s play has improved considerably.</p><p>&ldquo;Greener&rsquo;s playing real well lately,&rdquo; said fellow defenseman Robert Picard, the Capitals&rsquo; number one 1977 draft selection. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s starting to carry the puck a little bit more, and both of us are sort of playing like fourth forwards out there.&rdquo;</p><p>Green recently ignited the hometown fans in a game against the New York Rangers when he drilled a 55-foot shot into the net, beating goalie John Davidson for his first goal of the season, early in the third period. That goal ignited a five-goal Capitals&rsquo; comeback, which erased a 4-0 New York lead and gave the Caps a 5-4 victory, while breaking a five-game winless streak.</p><p>&ldquo;That goal got us going,&rdquo; said Green, admitting the score was &ldquo;a long time coming.&rdquo;</p><p>Rick Green was selected first, overall, in the 1976 amateur draft by the Capitals, after playing four impressive seasons with the London Knights of the OMJHA. A solid, positional defenseman with a low hard wrist shot, Green drew considerable ire from the hometown fans, who were apparently convinced that the native of Bellville, Ont. was not living up to his laurels as a number-one selection.</p><p>The management, nevertheless, has stood by Rick Green and apparently, their decision has paid off. In recent games Green has proven his worth to everybody, playing strong defensive hockey, rushing the puck well and clearing the slot with authority.</p><p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s the best defenseman we&rsquo;ve got on the ice,&rdquo; said Caps&rsquo; assistant coach, Bennis Hextail.</p><p>&ldquo;He just doesn&rsquo;t make any mistakes out there.&rdquo;</p><p>Indeed Green&rsquo;s mistakes have been minimal of late&mdash;an interesting note considering the amount of ice time he and Picard have logged in recent games.</p><p>&ldquo;With all the defensemen we&rsquo;ve had injured, Greener and I were playing something like 40 minutes out of 60, per game,&rdquo; said Picard. Coach Green, experimenting with a number of young defensemen in the wake of recent injuries, teamed up the duo of &lsquo;Greener and Pic&rsquo;, utilizing them every other shift, while shuffling the remaining players in various combinations.</p><p>Pierre Bouchard and Paul MacKinnon have since returned to the Caps&rsquo; lineup, and Green and Picard now find themselves back on separate units.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s better for the team this way,&rdquo; Picard said. &ldquo;Of course, we don&rsquo;t get as much ice time now.&rdquo;</p><p>Green and Picard have played an integral part of the club&rsquo;s recent resurgence toward respectability. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re not that far off from becoming a contender,&rdquo; Green said. &ldquo;Even in the losses we&rsquo;ve had, we were only one or two plays away from coming up with a win. The Rangers&rsquo; win was the biggest lift I think we could ever have, coming back from four goals. We&rsquo;ll carry this (momentum) straight on; now that we&rsquo;ve got a taste of what it&rsquo;s like to come back and come out winners.&rdquo;</p><p>For Rick Green and the players, it&rsquo;s a taste they won&rsquo;t soon forget. As for the fans, well, they too now appreciate Rick Green&mdash;in fact&mdash;they even cheer his appearance on the telescreen.</p><p>Apparently some players have to go out and earn respect, and Rick Green it seems has done just that.</p><p><b>CAPSHOTS:</b> The Capitals take their first look ever against international competition, when the Dynamo Moscow club visits the Capital Centre, Tuesday, Jan. 8. Dynamo currently rivals only the renowned Central Army club in the battle for hockey supremacy in the Soviet Union.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-01798/4279270-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg" title="f0018-01" width="556" height="842"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>Though not a flashy player, Rick Green has played a large role for the Capitals.</i> <span class="photo-credit">(Photo by Bruce Bennett)</span></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0018-01

Defenseman Green Earning Respect

<div class="byline">BY PAT DOYLE</div><p>WINNIPEG&mdash;Pierre Hamel is a study in patience and perseverance.</p><p>It would have been understandable if Hamel had shrugged his shoulders sometime during the last five hockey seasons and said &lsquo;what&rsquo;s the use?&rsquo;, because it was almost as if nobody knew he existed.</p><p>Certainly the Toronto Maple Leafs knew of Hamel&rsquo;s whereabouts because he kicked around in their system for five seasons, but they did a pretty good job of ignoring him in all that time.</p><p>Hamel was originally dispatched to Oklahoma City, then Dallas, then Moncton, and through it all he was called up to guard the Toronto goal for a grand total of four games in five years. Last season, Hamel played exactly one minute for the Maple Leafs.</p><p>Just when it appeared Hamel would rot in the Toronto chain, though, along came the 1979 National Hockey League expansion draft and John Ferguson.</p><p>Ferguson is the mastermind behind Winnipeg Jets&rsquo; operation, and he was advised by Ed Johnston that Hamel might be a wise choice if the Jets were looking for some goaltending insurance.</p><p>Some insurance.</p><p>Hamel has become Winnipeg&rsquo;s No. 1 goaler in 1979-80, so you can forget about that insurance business. Coach Tom McVie of the Jets calls Hamel &ldquo;the find of the year&rdquo;, and so far there hasn&rsquo;t been any argument to the contrary.</p><p>Hamel started the season as the No. 2 man on the goaltending ladder in Winnipeg, serving as backup to incumbent Gary Smith. By late November, however, Hamel was playing the majority of Jets&rsquo; games.</p><p>&ldquo;I knew my time would come,&rdquo; says Hamel. &ldquo;It was only normal to use the guy with the most experience at the start. But with all the travel today, I knew I&rsquo;d get my chance to play.&rdquo;</p><p>Jets, of course, can thank Johnston for tipping them off on Hamel just prior to the expansion draft last June.</p><p>Johnston knew all about Hamel&rsquo;s talents, having coached him for a season with New Brunswick Hawks of the American League, and he was convinced the 28-year-old native of Montreal could play in the National League.</p><p>&ldquo;I knew a couple of teams were interested in him,&rdquo; says Johnston, now coach of the Chicago Black Hawks. &ldquo;I wasn&rsquo;t surprised to see him drafted. He&rsquo;s a great competitor.&rdquo;</p><p>Hamel benefited greatly from his year of tutoring under Johnston, who blocked pucks for 16 seasons in the NHL.</p><p>&ldquo;He taught me a few tricks that I hadn&rsquo;t thought of before,&rdquo; Hamel offers. &ldquo;By now I think I have all the basics, but with his experience he gave me some tricks that improved my game.&rdquo;</p><p>Hamel speaks glowingly of Johnston, calling him &ldquo;one of the real gentlemen in hockey.&rdquo;</p><p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s one of the best guys I&rsquo;ve ever met in the game,&rdquo; Hamel added. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve never heard anybody say a bad word about him.&rdquo;</p><p>You&rsquo;ll never hear Ferguson or any of the Jets take Johnston&rsquo;s name in vain, that&rsquo;s definite, because if the Chicago coach hadn&rsquo;t put the bug in Fergy&rsquo;s ear back in June there&rsquo;d be a lot more pucks in the Winnipeg goal in January.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

Jets’ Insurance Paying Dividends

<h2><b>BRIAN PROPP&hellip;Philadelphia Flyers</b></h2><p>The Philadelphia Flyers drafted Brian Propp last summer because he struckas the kind of player who could fit in an under their new system.</p><p>Never were truer words said as the left winger has suddenly thrust himself into the head for the NHL&rsquo;s Calder Cup Trophy award. souring his 20th goal, tops for a rookie this season.</p><p>Propp had another fantastic weel for the rampaging Flyers as he scored four times raising his season total to 20 and making him the man to beat in the rookie race.</p><p>The Flyers have the No. 1 offense NHL as they continue to roll along on their un streak and shooters like Propp, with 20, Rick Maccush. with 20, and Reg Leadh, with 25, have been their big guns.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

Player Of The Week

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0019-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-01761/4279356-1-eng-US/f0019-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>Lanny McDonald of the Maple Leafs was traded this past week to Colorado Rockies and the turmoil it caused among Toronto fans and his teammates will be heard around the country for some time. McDonald personally denounced the Leafs&rsquo; management for their handling of the explosive</i> <span class="photo-credit">(Photo by Robert Shaver)</span></figcaption></div><h2>Flyers Tie Mark</h2><p class="dropcap"><span>P</span>HILADELPHIA&mdash;The Philadelphia Flyers have equalled the alltime professional record for unbeaten games after running up their 33rd straight game without a defeat&mdash;a 3-2 squeaker over Colorado Rockies.</p><p>The win over the Rockies enabled the Flyers to extend their streak of 23 victories and 10 ties to 33 in a row without a loss and to take their place in the pro sports spotlight.</p><p>A sellout crowd of 16,452 watched the Flyers beat the Rockies to equal the all pro mark set by the famed Los Angeles Lakers. The pro basketball Lakers were the only other team to ever reach the plateau before the Flyers came along. The Lakers set their mark in 1971-72.</p><h2>Hull Sidelined</h2><p>WINNIPEG&mdash;Bobby Hull of the Winnipeg Jets will remain on the sidelines indefinitely until a shoulder injury clears up. What his status will be after that remains a mystery and the Jets said they will wait before any decision is made on Hull&rsquo;s future with Winnipeg.</p><p>Hull will not attend any practices until his shoulder injury is completely healed GM John Ferguson told the media. Hull has been hampered by a torn muscle in his shoulder and has not been in the lineup for the last two games.</p><h2>Wings Draw Record</h2><p>DETROIT&mdash;A crowd of 19,742, the largest ever to see a game in Detroit were disappointed at the opening of the Red Wings&rsquo; Joe Louis Arena, Dec. 27 when the Red Wings lost to St. Louis Blues, 3-2.</p><p>Dennis Sobchuk and Dan Labraaten scored second period goals to give the Red Wings a 2-1 lead but the Blues came back with two unanswered tallies in the third period by Bernie Federko and Biair Chapman.</p><p>Detroit also lost the first game ever played at the Olympia, their home for 52 years, 2-1 on Nov. 22, 1927 to the Ottawa Senators.</p><h2>Lanny Raps Leafs</h2><p>COLORADO&mdash;Traded left winger Lanny McDonald said he felt sorry for the Toronto Maple Leaf teammates he left behind.</p><p>&ldquo;Don&rsquo;t feel sorry for me,&rdquo; McDonald said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m one of the fortunate ones, getting a second chance somewhere. Feel sorry for the guys staying behind on a disappointed, disorganized, disgruntled hockey team.</p><p>&ldquo;There&rsquo;ll be problems with that team as long as the rift continues between players and management.&rdquo;</p><p>&ldquo;The situation in Toronto boils down to Imlach against the world,&rdquo; said McDonald. &ldquo;He has a vendetta against everyone.&rdquo;</p><p>Referring to former Leaf captain Darryl Sittler, McDonald said &ldquo;he&rsquo;ll be next to go.</p><p>&ldquo;They&rsquo;re after him and they have been since Day One (of Imlach&rsquo;s second coming with Leafs last summer).&rdquo;</p><p>Asked if he had any problems with coach Floyd Smith, the player retorted &ldquo;It isn&rsquo;t coach Smith, it&rsquo;s coach Imlach. Smitty is just his &lsquo;yes man&rsquo;. That&rsquo;s all he is.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s really a shame, because I love those guys. It&rsquo;s a sad situation.&rdquo;</p><p>He called the Leafs &ldquo;a class bunch of guys. If they stick together they can make it. I&rsquo;m glad I stuck up for what I think is right.&rdquo;</p><h2>Robitaille Collects</h2><p>VANCOUVER&mdash;Former Canuck defenseman Mike Robitaille has been awarded $347,840 in damages against the Vancouver hockey club after a B.C. judge ruled that his career was ended in circumstances of humiliation and dishonor.</p><p>Robitaille, 31, suffered a back injury in a game in Vancouver in 1977 and has not played since. He claimed that the Canucks&rsquo; management pressured him back into the lineup, ignoring his complaints of a spinal injury.</p><p>According to the judge, Robitaille&rsquo;s mishap had aggravated an earlier injury and caused permanent spinal cord damage, and that the Canucks were guilty of stigmatizing him as &ldquo;a misfit and a quitter.&rdquo;</p><p>Robitaille was originally awarded $435,000, but the judge ruled that he was responsible for 20 per cent of his misfortune and lessened his damage suit by that percentage.</p><h2><b>Old Pros Retire</b></h2><p>EDMONTON&mdash;Retirements in the NHL have become common place this season because of the presence of so many players.</p><p>This past week goaler Dave Dryden of Edmonton followed his illustrious brother, Ken, into retirement. He quit the Oilers telling coach Glen Sather he didn&rsquo;t find it fun to play any longer. He was the second Oiler to retire in 10 days. Wild Bill Flett left the Oilers to take a scouting job.</p><p>Andre Lacroix, a long-time veteran, retired from pro hockey this past week as well to take a front office job with the Hartford Whalers. He had been a standout over the years in the WHA with Houston, New England and this season played only sparingly with Hartford when they joined the NHL.</p><h2>Hall To Charge</h2><p>TORONTO&mdash;Hockey&rsquo;s Hall of Fame, located at the Canadian National Exhibition grounds in Toronto, may be charging admission by the spring of 1980.</p><p>A recent Board of Governors meeting outlined a plan for a fee similar to that charged at other professional sports Halls of Fame, to begin in March.</p><p>An estimated 400,000 to 500,000 people visit the Hall of Fame throughout the year, with another 1.5 million viewing the displays during the two and a half week CNE. It is expected that the Hall will continue not to charge during the National Exhibition schedule.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-02610/4279349-1-eng-US/f0019-022.jpg" title="f0019-02" width="1810" height="1180"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>Sounding off against the team or coach seems to be the new vogue around the NHL. Defenseman Gilles Lupien, the six-foot-six giant of the Montreal Canadiens has come out and criticized coach Claude Ruel. Lupien, shown here pouring champagne for teammates at last spring&rsquo;s Stanley Cup victory, has asked Ruel to play him or trade him.</i> <span class="photo-credit">(Photo by Bruce Bennett)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>Lafleur Hits 1,000</b></h2><p>MONTREAL&mdash;Canadiens&rsquo; star right winger Guy Lafleur scored the 1,000th point of his brilliant nine-year National Hockey League career with a first-period goal and later added an assist, but it went for naught when the Canadiens dropped a 7-3 decision in Montreal to the New York Islanders.</p><p>Lafleur, 28, has scored 120 points in playoff games with the Canadiens and his goal and assist against the Islanders raised his regular-season total to 881 points in less than eight and one-half years.</p><p>Phil Esposito was the fastest 1,000 point scorer in regular-season play, obtaining the mark in 823 games, while Lafleur is rapidly closing in on a new record, reaching 881 points in just 640 games.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0019-01

SLAPSHOTS

<div class="byline">BY PAT CALABRIA</div><p class="dropcap"><span>L</span>ONG ISLAND&mdash;He has thick arms and wide shoulders and a heavy, dark beard that gives him the look of a lumberjack. And it&rsquo;s true that Clark Gillies can chop down just about anyone with a thunderous check. But now Gillies is struggling.</p><p>He has always been a player whose presence alone was enough to intimidate other teams. Added to his considerable offensive skills, it made Gillies a fearsome left wing, a first-team All Star for two straight seasons. This season has been a disappointment for him.</p><p>&ldquo;Even my stick feels heavy when I pick it up,&rdquo; Gillies said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve tried so many things. I tried taping my stick differently. I tried changing the knob on the handle. Everything.&rdquo;</p><p>Again Gillies has tried sprouting the beard that once made him among the most recognizable faces in the league. Gillies said that growing the beard he had shaved last season has nothing to do with one of the longest goal droughts of his career&mdash;13 games.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m just doing it to protect my face from the cold,&rdquo; he said.</p><p>But the superstition in him hopes his slump will be thawed as the Islanders continue to solve their problems slowly but measureably. Gillies wants very much to be part of the reconstruction.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-02423/4279425-1-eng-US/f0020-022.jpg" title="f0020-02" width="572" height="846"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b><i>Like many of the Islanders, the season has not been up to par for Clark Gillies, who has been fighting a scoring drought this year.</i></b></figcaption></div><p>So much so, in fact, that he and teammates Wayne Merrick and Bob Bourne have begun to see a Long Island doctor who specializes in positive-thinking methods. All three players say they have been helped by sessions with psychotherapist Michael Peltzman, who was recommended by club trainer Ron Waske.</p><p>Peltzman had worked with Gerry Hart when he played for the Islanders and Waske thought Gillies, Merrick and Bourne could be helped. &ldquo;Those three are a little nervous so I suggested it,&rdquo; Waske said.</p><p>The experiment had the blessing of coach Al Arbour, who has betrayed his conservatism before. It was Arbour who strongly backed his team&rsquo;s dabbling with transcendental meditation a few seasons ago.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s the principle of positive thinking,&rdquo; Gillies said. &ldquo;Dr. Peltzman can&rsquo;t make a mediocre player a great player, but he can help you learn to relax.&rdquo;</p><p>Relaxing is what Gillies needs. His intensity is well-known on the ice and off, although his consistency has been spotty at times the last two seasons. And he is nervous. Gillies, remember, is the player who nearly hyperventilated during the playoff series with the Rangers in 1975.</p><p>He also resigned the captaincy before the start of this season, saying the burdens of leadership had taken their toll. He also revealed that during last season&rsquo;s playoffs he had suffered severe headaches, which were diagnosed as stress symptoms.</p><p>This season has been confusing for many of the Islanders, but especially for Gillies. Separation from linemates Bryan Trottier and Mike Bossy did not really please him, although Arbour said it was nothing against Gillies&mdash;he just wanted to restore some offensive balance.</p><p>Arbour believes Gillies is pressing too much and Gillies has not found the adjustment to new linemates easy. Arbour currently is using him with right wing-turned-center Billy Harris and right wing Duane Sutter.</p><p>Several of the Islanders readily admit that Gillies is an inspiring player. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s got as much talent as anyone,&rdquo; Harris said. &ldquo;He can lift a team all by himself.&rdquo;</p><p>Indeed, Gillies has been a 30-goal scorer in each of the last three years, making his slump all the more obvious. Nassau Coliseum fans have booed him on occasion and that has just made Gillies&rsquo; struggle worse.</p><p>&ldquo;Clarkie isn&rsquo;t a real holler guy,&rdquo; Glenn Resch said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s more the kind of guy who leads by example. If people expect to see him shouting at us out there, well, that&rsquo;s just not him. But if they want to see someone setting a tone, that no one is going to stop us, he can be the guy. For us, he has to be the guy.&rdquo;</p><p>And Gillies wants very much to be that guy. General manager Bill Torrey has dashed rumors that Gillies was mentioned in a proposed deal with Toronto earlier this season. &ldquo;I have never considered trading a player like him, with that much talent,&rdquo; Torrey said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t like to use the word untouchable, but I think Clark can be the most dominating player in the league. I think we&rsquo;ve only scratched the surface with his talent. We just have to get Clark to realize that.&rdquo;</p><p>While some think perhaps the Islanders have expectations of Gillies that are unfairly high, Gillies admits he needs to get his game back in shape. &ldquo;You keep trying and trying and nothing works,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;But I think as long as I keep trying eventually it&rsquo;ll all come back.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0020-02

Gillies Trying Positive Thinking

<div class="byline">BY JIM MATHESON</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0020-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-01597/4279394-1-eng-US/f0020-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>Dave Dryden lost his love for playing, but now he&rsquo;ll be teaching youngsters like Ed Mio for the Oilers.</i> <span class="photo-credit">(Photo By Bruce Bennett)</span></figcaption></div><p>EDMONTON&mdash;It was ironic that the retirement announcement came poolside at the Marriott Hotel in Los Angeles.</p><p>Just a few months before, everything had been going swimmingly for 38-year-old goalie Dave Dryden. He was the World Hockey Association&rsquo;s Most Valuable Player, the main reason Edmonton Oilers won the regular-season title in &lsquo;78-79.</p><p>But sometime between the WHA and the NHL, Dryden lost the desire and the ability to stop slapshots. After 14 games and a 4.27 goal average, Dryden decided just before Christmas he&rsquo;d had enough.</p><p>&ldquo;For the first time in my career (203 NHL and 242 WHA games), I just wasn&rsquo;t enjoying it,&rdquo; said Dryden, who played his first National Hockey League game with New York Rangers in 1961-62. &ldquo;I wasn&rsquo;t enjoying the things I had to do to get ready for a game. I always said when I stopped enjoying the game or any part of it, I&rsquo;d get out.&rdquo;</p><p>Dryden&rsquo;s game-day routine consisted of an entire afternoon spent in total quiet concentration and at the very most, some &ldquo;inspirational, relaxing reading.&rdquo;</p><p>&ldquo;It was starting to bug me,&rdquo; said Dryden, who&rsquo;s always had an open mind to other things going on in the world, such as work with the handicapped. &ldquo;I knew that by trial and error the routine was right for me, but I also knew that I would have to keep up that routine, or adopt an even stricter one as time went on, and it seemed such a lost of wasted time.</p><p>&ldquo;The minute I told Glen (coach Sather) that I wanted to stop playing, I knew I&rsquo;d made the right decision.&rdquo;</p><p>Dryden, who has his papers as a schoolteacher, will turn to instructing some of the younger Oilers on the finer points of the game.</p><p>His three-year salary, at a reported $135,000 per, will be scaled down accordingly. As an assistant coach with teaching responsibilities, he will be paid considerably less than a No. 1 goalie. But Dryden doesn&rsquo;t seem to mind.</p><p>He&rsquo;s tickled to get into another facet of the game.</p><p>&ldquo;I found myself looking forward more and more to the teaching end of it and less and less to playing,&rdquo; said Dryden, who put out an instructional book for minor hockey players a few years back.</p><p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think a lot of teams have really done much in that area.&rdquo;</p><p>The job, which will make extensive use of videotape, will involve a great deal of one-on-one instruction&mdash;in Edmonton and on the farm in Houston. Sather will also be relieved of some of the responsibility for individual tutoring in workouts.</p><p>Already the goalie has taken rookie defenseman Kevin Lowe under his wing, as well as second-year forward Dave Hunter. Both have been struggling this season. Especially Hunter, who is having a terrible time scoring. At workouts recently, he had Hunter&rsquo;s stick tied to the post to demonstrate that there were certain times when &ldquo;a player can&rsquo;t possibly score from a certain angle.&rdquo;</p><p>&ldquo;Teaching seems to be the way hockey is going,&rdquo; said Sather. &ldquo;I know one thing for sure&mdash;we can&rsquo;t trade for superstars, so we&rsquo;re going to have to grow our own. I think Dave can really help us with the development of the young kids.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-02379/4279387-1-eng-US/f0024-022.jpg" title="f0024-02" width="1274" height="1380"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>Michigan Tech has historically been a tough team to beat when it comes time for tournaments.</i></figcaption></div><p>With Dryden gone, the goaltending duties are in the hands of two 25-year-olds&mdash;Eddie Mio and Jim Corsi. Mio, who was Dryden&rsquo;s seldom-used back-up last year in the WHA, has played the bulk of the games for the rookie NHL squad this season. At times he&rsquo;s been outstanding, but inconsistency and a bad Oiler defense has left his goal average in the mid fours.</p><p>Corsi, who played for Quebec Nordiques last season, spent the first half of this year in Houston. He has little experience in the bigs.</p><p>In the last few months, Sather has admitted he&rsquo;s tried to coax Peter LoPresti out of retirement. But the Minnesota native apparently wants no part of hockey. &ldquo;He said he doesn&rsquo;t want to play any more, so forget the possibility of giving him a shot,&rdquo; said Sather.</p><p>If Mio and Corsi don&rsquo;t get the job done, you can bet Oilers will be trading for a veteran netminder. There are several names available, most of whom play for New York Rangers. Keep in mind people like Doug Soetaert, John Davidson and Wayne Thomas.</p><p><b>ON THE BENCH:</b> Defenseman Al Hamilton, who&rsquo;s been out since early November with a separated shoulder, may return in a week of so&hellip;Sather has repeatedly turned down deals involving Hunter, who&rsquo;s a good checker, and 18-year-old forward Mark Merrier.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0020-01

Dryden’d Rather Instruct Young Oiler Goaltenders

<div class="byline">BY BILL LIBBY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0021-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-01445/4279456-1-eng-US/f0021-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>Charlie Simmer is a diamond in the rough who finally emerged from the shadows of the minor leagues.</i></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><span>L</span>OS ANGELES&mdash;Charlie Simmer scored goals in the last five games last season and the first six this season to surpass the modern National Hockey League record of 10 straight games with goals, shared by Andy Bathgate, Bobby Hull, and Mike Bossy.</p><p>But the NHL refused to recognize the record, as requested by the Kings, despite the fact other leagues recognize two-season streaks. Presumably, if Simmer had been a star on an important team, the league might have done so. There was no media demand for it.</p><p>However, Simmer made it academic by running up a new string of 13 games with goals from Nov. 24 through Dec. 27. He started the string with a breakaway goal against Billy Smith of the Islanders in Game 22, tied the record by rapping in a rebound on Mike Palmateer in Toronto in Game 31, and set a new record by poking in a rebound of his own shot while falling past Bob Sauve in Buffalo the next night in Game 32.</p><p>In these 13 games, Simmer scored 15 goals, eight on the road, and assisted on 10. He leads the NHL in game-winners with six and in the last four King wins has scored three of the winners.</p><p>Simmer&rsquo;s streak came to an end Dec. 29 in LA against Minnesota in a 4-3 Kings&rsquo; victory.</p><p>Simmer now can be considered a star. In his third season, Dave Taylor already deserved to be called a star. And in his ninth season, Marcel Dionne is a superstar. This Triple Crown Line, as the Kings call it, is the hot line in the league and has a chance to surpass the league record of 151 goals in one season set by the Islanders&rsquo; Brian Trottier, Mike Bossy, and Clark Gillies last season.</p><p>After 32 games this season, Simmer led the league with 30 goals, Dionne had 26 and Taylor had 20 for a total of 76. In 38 games as a unit last season, Dionne had 22 goals, Simmer 21, and Taylor 20 for a total of 63. Since 80 games is the equivalent of one season, they have 13 goals for their first &ldquo;season&rdquo; as a unit, but they are getting better.</p><p>After 32 games this season, Dionne led the league with 65 points, Simmer had 56 and Taylor 50.</p><p>Dionne is well ahead of the pace set by Phil Esposito when he set the NHL scoring record of 152 points in one season. This also is the record for centres. Dionne also is ahead of Bobby&rsquo; Orr&rsquo;s pace that produced an NHL record of 102 assists. Simmer is well ahead of the pace set by Johnny Bucyk of Boston when he set the NHL scoring record for left-wingers with 116. All were set in 1971.</p><p>Dionne is the best player in the league. The powerfully-built little center is the best skater and best playmaker in the league and one of the best shooters. Taylor and Simmer are rugged guys who dig hard in the comers, make good passes to Dionne and shoot extremely well off passes from Dionne.</p><p>Each is an extremely intelligent player and they are able to move the puck around among them at top speed without making mistakes, which is why they have been so difficult to defense although opposing teams are sending out their best checking lines to duel them on almost every shift.</p><blockquote class="pullQuote"><b>Each is an extremely intelligent player and they are able to move the puck&hellip;at top speed</b></blockquote><p>Taylor was only the 210th player drafted in 1975, but he quickly proved he could play with anyone. Simmer is the real surprise. A second-round draft choice in 1974, he divided three seasons with the Oakland-Cleveland club between the majors and minors and two with LA between the majors and minors.</p><p>This is his sixth season as a professional, but his first fall season as a major leaguer. He locked good to a lot of people who were surprised when he was sent down every season, but his bosses simply did not recognize his ability.</p><p>The first good chance he got was when he was called up on Jan. 13 last season and put on the first line with Dionne and Taylor and he has made the most of it. He always scored in the minors and he has scored 56 goals in his last 80 games in the majors.</p><p>He may have looked awkward, but the six-foot-three, 200-pound left-winger is a strong skater, quick shooter, and hard worker who at 25 is the hottest player in hockey. The Kings finally located the proverbial &ldquo;diamond in the rough&rdquo; and he is a shining example of persistence and determination.</p><p><b>KINGS THINGS:</b> The line scored at least one point in 56 straight games before it was blanked and now has a point in 66 of 68 games, and, amazingly, a goal in 64 of the 68&hellip;The two games Taylor missed recently with a pulled back muscle are the first any member of the line has missed. Punch Broadbent of Ottawa set the all-time NHL record with goals in 16 straight games in the 1921-22 season. Dionne had the previous King record with goals in eight straight games. Dionne recently scored the 350th goal and 500th assist of his spectacular career.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0021-01

Record-Breaking Simmer Hockey’s Hottest Player

<div class="byline">BY TONY GALLAGHER</div><p class="dropcap"><span>V</span>ANCOUVER&mdash;With the rain of injuries befalling the Vancouver Canucks, a number of new faces have emerged in their lineup. And the Canucks have not been suffering much because of them.</p><p>Take the case of Gary Lupul, the free-agent center who was recalled from Dallas of the Central League and has strolled right onto the roster with aplomb.</p><p>The 20-year-old native of Powell River scored a goal on his first shot on goal in his first NHL game in Detroit, and then he went into the Boston Garden and beat Gerry Cheevers for his second goal.</p><p>The dream went on as he bagged his third in three games at home in a 5-3 Vancouver win over</p><p>Hartford, and he has also added a pair of assists for five points in his first three games.</p><p>Having played with the Victoria Cougars in the Western Canada junior league last year, Lupul was a linemate of his present Vancouver left wing teammate Curt Fraser as a junior.</p><p>But coach Harry Neale did not reunite him with his old mate immediately, but rather had him on with captain Don Lever back at left wing and another rookie, Brad Smith. Lupul has been going well and says he just hopes he can keep contributing something.</p><p>&ldquo;I haven&rsquo;t really had time to think about what I&rsquo;ve been doing,&rdquo; said Lupul after his third goal. &ldquo;The games have been coming so fast that I haven&rsquo;t considered what&rsquo;s happening. I know I&rsquo;m not going to keep getting a goal a game. I wouldn&rsquo;t be here if I didn&rsquo;t think I could play in the National League, but it&rsquo;s all happened rather suddenly.&rdquo;</p><p>Lupul was not even drafted when he came out of junior, his size 5&rsquo;8 and 165 pounds being a major factor in that direction.</p><p>But as soon as the draft was over, the Canucks pounced on him as a free agent, though Lupul did also receive an offer from the Minnesota North Stars at the same time. But with the Stars loaded at center to the point where they could give Canucks&rsquo; Per-Olov Brasar for future considerations, Lupul likely made the right choice.</p><p>&ldquo;I saw they had Young, Sharpley, Smith at center all at or under 25-years-old, so I decided to sign with Vancouver and go to Dallas and see what happened,&rdquo; said Lupul. &ldquo;So far everything has worked out well.&rdquo;</p><p>Brasar, meanwhile, came to the Canucks as part of a recommendation from Neale&rsquo;s good friend Glen Sonmor.</p><p>Canucks had been interested in all the previous centers who have been dealt recently, including Blair Chapman and Mike Kaszycki, but general manager Jake Milford couldn&rsquo;t seem to get in on the deals.</p><p>But Milford went for the deal for Brasar, who was really caught in the numbers racket with the Stars, who are indeed strong down the middle.</p><p>The addition of the fine penalty killing Swede has given the Canucks three Swedes in their lineup when Lindgren returns from his shoulder injury. Center Thomas &lsquo; Gradin is the other.</p><p>Smith meanwhile has had a rather aggressive baptism in the National League as he had a fight in his first shift of his first two games. He was obviously growing lax in his third game however as he waited until his second shift in Detroit.</p><p>In Long Island against the Islanders he took on Bob Bourne, in Pittsburgh Paul Marshall and in Detroit it was a wrong number, as he hooked up with Dan Labraatan and drew five minutes in penalties to the Swede&rsquo;s two.</p><p>Smith, a native of Windsor, was anxious to please in Detroit as there were signs welcoming him home.</p><p>He had a good scoring chance in the game but Rogie Vachon made a good save. Smith appears to have some trouble with his skating, but if he keeps providing the aggressive play he has shown, Neale may just keep him around a little longer than even Smith expects.</p><p>Canucks played a couple of games without Rick Blight as well as the other host of injuries, as he has had a stiff neck from a previous injury when hit by Andre Dupont.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-01485/4279487-1-eng-US/f0022-012.jpg" title="f0022-01" width="564" height="892"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>Minnesota couldn&rsquo;t find room for him, but the Canucks were glad to acquire center Per Olov Brasar.</i></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0022-01

New Faces Able To Lift Depleted Canucks

<div class="byline">BY JIM MATHESON</div><p>EDMONTON&mdash;There are two things you should know about Edmonton Oiler rookie winger Dave Lumley.</p><p>(1) He&rsquo;s had enough heartache to last a lifetime.</p><p>(2) He&rsquo;s not related to Harry Lumley, the former NHL goalie.</p><p>First things first. The 25-year-old University of New Hampshire grad tragically has to worry more about fatal statistics than G&rsquo;s and A&rsquo;s in his hockey career.</p><p>His mother died of cancer just before his senior year at UNH, and his dad succumbed to a heart attack this summer, just before Lumley was getting ready to come here for a charity softball game.</p><p>&ldquo;My dad was so looking forward to seeing me play regularly in the NHL,&rdquo; said Lumley, who had a three-game stint with Montreal Canadiens last winter. &ldquo;He was a real fan. He used to think nothing of driving from (our home) Toronto to Halifax to see me play with the Voyageurs. But he wasn&rsquo;t there when I got to Maple Leaf Gardens in Nov. with the Oilers. It&rsquo;s a shame.&rdquo;</p><p>Mind you, Lumley is lucky to be around to talk of the heartaches. In college, he came dangerously close to death himself.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;d planned to drive home to Toronto for Christmas with some buddies (from Durham, N.H.), an hour outside Boston,&rdquo; said Lumley. &ldquo;But my mother said it was silly, since it was such a long drive and I had so little time off. She suggested I fly instead. So I did.</p><p>&ldquo;The car I would have been in ran out of gas. A truck smacked into them from behind. The guys had a can of gas in the back seat and the car burst into flames. Warren Brown (a good friend) died and two others were badly burned.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m very lucky to be here.&rdquo;</p><p>Lumley&rsquo;s hockey career has been one of survival, too.</p><p>He was the 17th round draft pick by Montreal after his freshman year at UNH in 1974. Incredibly, the 199th player chosen. You dont get much further down the list than that. At that time, you&rsquo;re usually cannon-fodder.</p><p>But Lumley obviously didn&rsquo;t know that. He went on to have a superb career at university, on one of the best college teams in the U.S. He played with Bob Miller (Boston Bruins), Jamie Hislop (Quebec), Rod Langway (Canadiens), Gordie Clark (Maine Mariners) and former New England Whaler goalie Cap Raeder among others in his four years there. The club went as far as the U.S. collegiate final in &lsquo;77, losing out to Wisconsin.</p><p>By the time he graduated, Canadiens were a little more interested in the feisty forward. They invited him to camp in the fall of &lsquo;77 and he ended up in Halifax with the Voyageurs, playing for current Atlanta coach Al MacNeil.</p><p>In his first season in the pros, he had 43 points in 58 games. Last winter he really blossomed with 90 points in 61 games&mdash;a super stat considering he also spent 160 minutes in the penalty box fighting the battles for the smallish Voyageurs. He played rightwing on a red hot line with current Montreal utility forward Norm Dupont and center Rick Meagher, who&rsquo;s been with Habs for a cup of coffee this season.</p><p>He didn&rsquo;t get much of a shot with Canadiens in &lsquo;78-79, just three games. But he did get on the ice more than some SOS replacements in Montreal. &ldquo;I remember against Washington I played on a regular line with (Boston Bruin farmhand) Dan Newman and Doug Jarvis.&rdquo;</p><p>Unfortunately, he was a victim of the numbers game over the summer. The Habs already had Guy Lafleur, Mark Napier, Mario Tremblay and Reggie Houle on the right side. Lumley didn&rsquo;t fit in, even if MacNeil had gone to bat for him during the &lsquo;78-79 season. Considered excess baggage, he was peddled along with Newman to the Oilers just before the expansion draft in June. Apparently for a second-round draft pick in &lsquo;80.</p><p>&ldquo;I knew I was going somewhere, but I had a feeling I might be going to Winnipeg instead,&rdquo; said Lumley, who would have joined eight ex Montreal organization players there. &ldquo;I&rsquo;d heard (Winnipeg GM) John Ferguson say he was interested in me one time when he was in Halifax.&rdquo;</p><p>Oiler coach Glen Sather beat the Jets to the punch, however. So far, he&rsquo;s not complaining. Lumley has seven goals and 21 points in the first 29 games on a line with center Stan Weir and Ron Chipperfield. He&rsquo;s also proved rambunctious, if not a little dirty, on home ice.</p><p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a tough kid who doesn&rsquo;t shy away from anything,&rdquo; said Sather, who&rsquo;s also favored ride-em-cowboy types. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s getting more confident with every game and he&rsquo;s started to score more, too.&rdquo;</p><p>One of his goals in late Nov. came against Chicago netminder Tony Esposito, who was trying to move into a tie with Harry Lumley for eighth-place overall in shutouts with 71.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;d like to be able to say I helped out a relative,&rdquo; said Lumley. &ldquo;But I&rsquo;m not related to Harry. I used to tell people it was my uncle, though. It had a nice ring to it.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

Handful Of Heartaches Can’t Deter Oiler Lumley

<div class="byline">BY BUDDY O&#x2019;CONNOR</div><p class="dropcap"><span>Q</span>UEBEC&mdash;The Nordiques&rsquo; admitted aim to climb into a playoff berth in their first year of National Hockey League action has taken a sharp turn upwards because of recent developments and solid performances that have brought some start line wins.</p><p>Nordiques&rsquo; top management won&rsquo;t come straight out and say it, but the general feeling one gets when talking around in the clubhouse these days is that the team is no longer just gunning for the cutoff spot of 16th place but rather somewhere between 10th and 12th position overall.</p><p>Recent developments have brought about the acquisition by the Nordiques of Reggie Thomas from the Toronto Maple Leafs in a deal that sent defenseman Dave Farrish and winger Terry Martin to the Ballard organization.</p><blockquote class="pullQuote"><b>The trio was one of the best lines in the World Hockey Association</b></blockquote><p>However, Thomas, 26 years old, the AHL&rsquo;s leading scorer at Rochester before he came to the Nordiques, hit quickly with the Quebeckers with a goal-a-game pace.</p><p>Coach Jacques Demers decided to team Thomas with center Robbie Ftorek and the ever-digging Jamie Hislop.</p><p>The Thomas-Ftorek-Hislop trio played together as Cincinnati&rsquo;s top line last year and was one of the best lines in the World Hockey Association. The line has clicked here in Quebec.</p><p>In Quebec&rsquo;s surprising 3-1 over the Sabres right in Buffalo, both Thomas and Hislop got tallies with Etorek picking up an assist. Thomas&rsquo; goal was his fourth in four games, while Ftorek was named the first star of the tilt.</p><p>With this line functioning well, Demers can bring Serge Bernier in to center a trio of the explosive Buddy Cloutier, well on his way to at least a 40-goal season, and the experienced and ever dangerous Marc Tardif. Thus, he will have two lines that can give the Quebeckers more firepower, which has been lacking during the season.</p><p>With two set trios, Demers has much more leeway in juggling around such men as Bob Fitchner, Richie Leduc, Michel Goulet, Pierre Plante, Roland Cloutier and Curt Brackenbury, in whichever capacity he needs them most, defensively or offensively.</p><p>Fitchner is back from the injured list now and here again Demers is getting more strength on the faceoffs.</p><p>But talk to Demers and he&rsquo;ll tell you that his defensemen have given him his best moments this season. And he points to Dale Hoganson as being the most consistent. Hoagie, always the honest workman but plagued by shoulder problems these past seasons, was almost the forgotten man before the season opened.</p><p>However, he&rsquo;s probably having his best season ever in pro hockey. He&rsquo;s being used extensively, playing on the power play and also when the Nordiques are shorthanded. With Gerry Hart, another veteran, he has given credibility to Quebec&rsquo;s defense, a young set getting their first blood with the NHL.</p><p>Demers calls Hoganson &ldquo;a quiet leader of men and a terrific guy as far as team spirit goes&rdquo;. And the Nordiques have good team spirit this season, a definite drawback for at least the past two years for the club.</p><p>As the season opened, Demers was alternating his goalies, Michel Dion and the Swedish lad, Goran Hogosta. However, Dion is being used much more often in recent games. Hogosta has been philosophical about the latest turn of events. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m ready to play anytime and I have no resentment over the coach&rsquo;s decision to go with Michel. He&rsquo;s giving us top goaltending. I want to see the club win, that&rsquo;s it,&rdquo; he says.</p><p>Demers is also happy about the goals against average of his club. &ldquo;Our defense can only be as good as the backchecking of our forwards. The latter are responding to my demands.&rdquo;</p><p><b>SKATE MARKS:</b> Coach Demers&rsquo; one-game benching of star Marc Tardif, for nonchalant play, drew extensive press coverage&hellip;Fan opinion was divided but the majority of people were behind the Demers move&hellip;General Manager Maurice Filion categorically denied that Tardif could be traded but the following game with Tardif back. Rangers scout Denis Dejordy just happened to be a spectator at the Coliseum&hellip;Following the four for one Barry Beck deal with Colorado, New York would have to go deep into their coffers if they want Tardif&hellip;His first game back, Tardif played brilliantly both ways and potted two goals&hellip;The Nordiques-Sabres attempt at a trade bringing Andre Savard to Quebec is definitely dead&hellip;Quebec would just have to give up too much in next year&rsquo;s draft choices.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-01456/4279542-1-eng-US/f0023-012.jpg" title="f0023-01" width="568" height="770"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>Winger Reg Thomas immediately responded for Quebec after rejoining his old mates.</i></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0023-01

Thomas Instant Hit As Nordique

<div class="byline">BY VIRG FOSS</div><p class="dropcap"><span>D</span>ETROIT&mdash;Thanks to a junior wing from Edina, Minn., Michigan Tech is the champion of the prestigious Great Lakes Invitational hockey tournament for the fourth straight year.</p><p>Mel Pearson&rsquo;s goal in the third overtime period gave Tech a pulsating 5-4 win over state rival Michigan in the championship game, the 8th time in the 15 years of the tournament the trophy has gone home with Michigan Tech.</p><p>Michigan had scored with one second left in regulation play to force the overtime. Pearson&rsquo;s goal finally decided it after over 20 minutes of sudden death hockey.</p><p>It was no bed of roses for Tech to reach the finals. The Huskies nudged fellow Western Collegiate Hockey Association member Wisconsin 1-0 in the opening round. Per-Ake Johansson&rsquo;s first period goal was the difference, with assists going to Pearson and Jim Bissett.</p><p>Wisconsin goalie Roy Schultz was brilliant, stopping 42 of the 43 shots Tech put at him. Tech goalie Rob Polmantuin had just 16 saves.</p><p>In the other first round game, Michigan advanced in the finals with a 7-4 win over Michigan State. Wisconsin then drilled Michigan State 10-4 the second night for consolation honors.</p><p>Michigan Tech also won Great Lakes Invitational titles in 1968, 1970, 1971, 1974, 1976, 1977 and 1978. The University of Toronto won it in 1965 with Michigan winning in 1966 and North Dakota in 1967.</p><p>Other titles were taken by New Hampshire in 1969. Harvard in 1972 and 1975, along with Michigan in 1979. But lately, its been all Tech in Motor City.</p><p>Meanwhile, the rest of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association has taken time off from the league race to fatten the record against outside competition.</p><p>And from the look of the scores&rsquo;, the WCHA can rightfully boast of being the best college hockey league in the United States once again.</p><p>Defending WCHA champion North Dakota led the charge with an impressive sweep over Central Collegiate Hockey Association leader Ohio State.</p><p>The series matched teams ranked No. 1 and No. 8 in the national polls. When it was over, No. 1 North Dakota convinced No. 8 Ohio State the Sioux deserved the spot on the top.</p><p>North Dakota hammered Ohio State 7-2 and 8-2 and did it in embarrassingly-easy style. For the two nights, Ohio State managed just one shot on goal in the first period.</p><p>North Dakota&rsquo;s Mel Dannelly didn&rsquo;t record a save the first game in the first period to tie a school record. He finished with just 21 for the game to 42 for Ohio State&rsquo;s fine goalie, Steve Jones.</p><p>Rick Myers led the Sioux with two goals and one assist in the opener while Mark Taylor, the WCHA&rsquo;s leading scorer, had a goal and three assists.</p><p>In the second game, won 5-2 by North Dakota, freshman Darren Jensen had just one first period save to 14 for Ohio State&rsquo;s Mike Blake. Jensen finished with just 15 to 26 for Blake. Doug Small had two goals for North Dakota, including a shorthanded goal.</p><p>For the weekend, North Dakota registered five power play goals and two shorthanded goals while allowing just one shorthanded goal.</p><p>The Sioux showed a wide edge in skating speed and more than matched physical Ohio State in the heavy hitting department.</p><p>Meanwhile, defending national champion Minnesota gave the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference something to think about, too. The Gophers won four straight from Brown and Boston University in Minneapolis to stretch their home ice winning streak to 10 this year.</p><p>Minnesota hammered Brown 6-2 and 16-2, then came back to beat Boston University 5-4 and 5-1, led by wing Tim Harrer, who now has scored goals in eight straight games. He has 16 points in his last 11 games.</p><p>A team from the Soviet Union, Gorki Torpedo, finally cooled off the Gophers. Torpedo torpedoed Minnesota 8-6 in a game played in Omaha, Neb., but not before the Gophers rallied to within a goal late in the game.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-01474/4279573-1-eng-US/f0024-012.jpg" title="f0024-01" width="556" height="854"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>Mel Pearson&rsquo;s goal in the third overtime period gave Michigan Tech the Great Lakes Invitational title.</i></figcaption></div><p>But Torpedo iced it with an open net goal in the last minute of play. Still, it was an impressive week for Minnesota, which is without regulars Steve Ulseth and Don Micheletti with injuries and had goalie Paul Butters and defenseman Dave Jensen overseas with the U.S. National Junior team.</p><p>The performances marked Minnesota as a team to watch in the second half of the WCNA chase.</p><p>Colorado College, perhaps the hottest team in college hockey with six straight wins, polished off Harvard 10-4 and earned a well-deserved rest until Jan. 4-5, when the Tigers check out some more ECAC competition in the Hartford Tournament.</p><p>What&rsquo;s the secret, Coach Jeff Sauer? &ldquo;We&rsquo;re getting scoring from many different players. Last year, two or three individuals carried us, but this year a different line or a different player emerges as the leader. Moreover, they&rsquo;re unselfish&mdash;they&rsquo;re really playing as a team. We&rsquo;re getting good goaltending from Tom Frame and our spirit is tremendous, and we&rsquo;re won four overtime games and lost none,&rdquo; he said.</p><p>Last year, CC won 11 WCHA games and barely squeaked into the playoffs after finishing 8th in the league. Now the Tigers, have 10 league wins, are in second place, and have the confidence to challenge anyone.</p><p>Duluth won two of three games on a trip East. The Bulldogs lost 43 to Providence, then came back to best Brown 7-3 and St. Lawrence 52.</p><p>The only WCHA team playing not to enjoy success was Notre Dame, a 5-2 loser to U.S. International.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0024-01

Tech Wins Great Lakes Invitational Thanks To Clutch Late-Game Scoring

<h2>ECAC CONFERENCE</h2><h3>East Division</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-01410/4279681-1-eng-US/f0025-012.jpg" title="f0025-01" width="551" height="184"></div><h3>West Division</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-02302/4279674-1-eng-US/f0025-022.jpg" title="f0025-02" width="545" height="155"></div><h3>Ivy Division</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-03208/4279667-1-eng-US/f0025-032.jpg" title="f0025-03" width="555" height="184"></div><h2>WCHA CONFERENCE</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-04148/4279660-1-eng-US/f0025-042.jpg" title="f0025-04" width="561" height="280"></div><h3>Leading Scorers</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-05126/4279653-1-eng-US/f0025-052.jpg" title="f0025-05" width="554" height="395"></div><h2>NON-CONFERENCE GAMES</h2><p>North Dakota 7, Ohio State 2</p><p>North Dakota 8, Ohio State 2</p><p>Colorado College 10, Harvard 4</p><p>Minnesota 8, Brown 2</p><p>Minnesota 16, Brown 2</p><p>Minnesota 5, Boston U. 4</p><p>Minnesota 5, Boston U. 1</p><p>Providence 4, Duluth 3</p><p>Duluth 7, Brown 5</p><p>USSR-Sorky Tornado 8, Minnesota 6</p><p>Duluth 5, St. Lawrence 2</p><p>U.S. International 5, North Dame 1</p><h2>NON-CONFERENCE GAMES</h2><p>Ohio State 6, Minn-Duluth 1</p><p>Ferris State 7, Guelph 4</p><p>Ferris State 6, Guelph 4</p><p>Princeton 3, Brown 2</p><p>Colgate 6, Maine 3 Colgate 5, Maine 5</p><h2>TOURNAMENT PLAY</h2><p><b>GREAT LAKES</b></p><p>Michigan Tech 1, Wisconsin 0</p><p>Michigan 7, Mich. State 4</p><p><b>CHAMPIONSHIP</b></p><p>Michigan Tech 5, Michigan 4</p><p><b>CONSOLATION</b></p><p><b>Wisconsin 10. Mich. State 4</b></p><h2>CCHA CONFERENCE</h2><p><b>(Standings on Tues. Dec. 18)</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-06103/4279646-1-eng-US/f0025-062.jpg" title="f0025-06" width="532" height="184"></div><h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-0796/4279639-1-eng-US/f0025-072.jpg" title="f0025-07" width="562" height="572"></div><h2>ONTARIO CONFERENCE</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-0886/4279632-1-eng-US/f0025-082.jpg" title="f0025-08" width="554" height="334"></div><h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-0977/4279625-1-eng-US/f0025-092.jpg" title="f0025-09" width="568" height="446"></div><h3>QUEBEC CONFERENCE</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-1060/4279618-1-eng-US/f0025-102.jpg" title="f0025-10" width="546" height="212"></div><h2>ATLANTIC CONFERENCE</h2><h3>Eastern Division</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-1152/4279611-1-eng-US/f0025-112.jpg" title="f0025-11" width="552" height="132"></div><h3>Western Division</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-1243/4279604-1-eng-US/f0025-122.jpg" title="f0025-12" width="557" height="179"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0025-01

How They Stand

f0025-18

College Tournaments

<div class="byline">BY JIM SCHNEIDER</div><p class="dropcap"><span>B</span>IG RAPIDS&mdash;Ferris State collected two more wins sweeping Guelph 7-4 and 6-4 to move its season record to 14-2 and set a record for wins at home in a season with 11.</p><p>In the only other Central Collegiate Hockey Association action before Christmas Ohio State played three games on the road against Western Collegiate Hockey Association opponents winning 6-1 at Minnesota-Duluth before dropping a weekend series to the top ranked Fighting Sioux of North Dakota 7-2 and 8-2.</p><p>Coach Rick Duffell&rsquo;s Ferris State Bulldogs now have a perfect 11-0 record at home and still have two full months to build on the record. Perry Zoldak and Steve Ross gave the Bulldogs a 2-1 lead after one period in the opener, but the Gryphons bounced back early in the second period to tie the game. Paul Cook and Brian Walters moved the Ferris State lead back to two goals with a pair of scores just 27 seconds apart at 6:09 and 6:36 of the second period.</p><p>The quick offense appeared again in the third period as CCHA player-of-the-week Rocki Smith scored at 4:04 and 16 seconds later P. Zoldak added his second goal of the game.</p><p>Smith collected a goal in each game while earning the player-of-the-week award. Doug Nowels made 21 saves to win his 11th game of the year.</p><p>In the second game Ted Ykema made 20 saves in the win and Smith&rsquo;s goal at 17:42 of the first period gave Ferris State a 1-1 tie. Paul Cook scored at 17 seconds of the second period and goals by Steve Banonis and Jim Baker made the score 4-3 after two periods.</p><p>Steve Blair netted his first career at 4:51 of the third period to snap a 4-4 tie and Baker added his second goal of the game for insurance at 14:58.</p><p>Ohio State started off the road trip to the west with an impressive win at Minnesota-Duluth. Tom Scanlon and Rod McNair scored first period goals sandwiching a Glenn Kulyk score for the UMD Bulldogs in a period that saw Steve Jones make 16 saves in the Buckeye net.</p><p>Mark Freeman had the only goal in the second period for a 3-1 lead, and OSU added three goals in the final frame as Larry Marson, Brian Jenks and Jim Penningroth had the goals.</p><p>Jones finished the game with 38 saves in front of a full house.</p><p>The trip to North Dakota was not as good for the Buckeyes as they were dominated by the North Dakota squad.</p><p>The first period was bad each night from the point of shots, but goalies Jones and Mike Blake played well for OSU. In the opener North Dakota held an 18-0 edge in shots, but only a 1-0 lead. In the second game the score was 1-0 again with Blake making 14 saves. The first period total for the series was 2-0 in goals and 33-1 in shots on goal for ND.</p><p>In the opener the score was 3-0 for North Dakota before Ohio State put a shot on goal. The first shot was a goal for Jim Mroszak as he beat ND&rsquo;s Mel Donnelly at 8:52 of the second period from Brent Morrow and Rick Barker.</p><p>Marson scored at 15:25 of the second period assisted by Steve Amoruso and Scanlon to cut the lead to 3-2, but Rick Myers scored a pair of power play goals for the hosts and helped put the game away. Jones finished the night with 42 saves, while Blake made 26 in the second loss.</p><p>The second game was 4-0 in the second period when Jenks scored the lone OSU power play of the series at 18:14 of the second period assisted by Amoruso.</p><p>Marson finished off the OSU scoring at 13:35 of the third period from McNair and Amoruso.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-01424/4279809-1-eng-US/f0026-012.jpg" title="f0026-01" width="574" height="866"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>Ohio State&rsquo;s Steve Jones made 80 saves in two games for the Buckeyes.</i></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0026-01

Ferris State Set Home Ice Mark

<div class="byline">BY MORRIS DALLA COSTA</div><p><b>LOUISVILLE HOCKEY STICKS</b></p><p><b>LOUISVILLE HOCKEY STICKS</b></p><p>TORONTO&mdash;It&rsquo;s been more than half a season in the 1979-80 Ontario Major Junior Hockey League and commissioner Dave Branch is still the commissioner&hellip;and enjoying it.</p><p>Branch, who was named commissioner just before the season started, came in at a tough time. He came in with junior hockey facing an underage draft of their players, as well as underage signings. He came in at a time when the OMJHL had to prove to the fans, players and professional hockey that it was a viable and important commodity. He came in at a time when the image of junior hockey had to be cleaned up. Four months isn&rsquo;t a long time to have to set all these problems straight, but the OMJHL took steps to try and straighten the problems out by restructuring their own house. Despite recurring headaches the league is still operating with many of its junior stars still around.</p><p>How do you like it so far Dave?</p><p>&ldquo;Actually it&rsquo;s been a lot of fun,&rdquo; says Branch. &ldquo;When I came here I had a lot of ideas I wanted to see implemented. They take time, but I am very pleased by the way things have gone and let me tell you, I feel junior hockey is going to continue to get better.&rdquo;</p><p>The big scare this season has been the underage draft and underage signings. Numerous players still playing in the OMJHL are owned by professional clubs. Branch tries to dispel the cloud these signings have had over the league and attempts to assure the league cities&rsquo; fans, it isn&rsquo;t particularly bad for junior hockey.</p><p>&ldquo;The draft has gotten all sorts of publicity. It&rsquo;s scared a lot of the people,&rdquo; explains Branch. &ldquo;What should be said is that the league only lost three players. Tom McCarthy went to Minnesota, Paul Reinhart to Atlanta and Paul Marshall to Pittsburgh. Other than that all the other players are in the league. I think it&rsquo;s an honor to have the players picked and then come back to play. That says a lot about the quality of players in this league.&rdquo;</p><p>Branch is also excited about the relationship the league has with the National Hockey League. According to Branch, communication has been good and will continue to improve. He believes the NHL will do its best to ensure the best for the OMJHL.</p><p>&ldquo;Let&rsquo;s face it, their major source of players is this league. There is no way they are going to slash their own throats by hurting their source of players. We are constantly talking to the pros to make sure everybody knows what is going on.&rdquo;</p><p>The NHL has used several junior players to fill spots in the regular rosters. Peterborough Petes&rsquo; Stuart Smith spent several games with the Hartford Whalers. This system is a throwback to the old sponsorship system when an NHL team would use the junior club as a farm system. Discussions have been held with the professional league about the possibility of sponsorship in future years with the OMJHL. Both sides are interested, but Branch warns it won&rsquo;t be the same agreement as was in operation up to the late 1960s.</p><p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve talked about a sort of sponsorship. If any agreement is reached it would be perhaps along the line of an entire league sponsorship. Nothing definite has been decided on and probably won&rsquo;t be for a little while,&rdquo; says Branch.</p><p>With the big scare and the draft over, Branch, the league team&rsquo;s owners, as well as chairman of the board of governors Sherry Bassin, can concentrate on making the league an entertainment package that will draw fans to the rink. Much of the incentive has to come from the team owners themselves, but a great deal depends on the league office.</p><p>Branch has espoused a number of ideas, which on paper have merit. Whether he&rsquo;ll be able to carry them out remains to be seen. Hopefully by the end of the year Branch will not only have enjoyed his year, but he will have implemented a solid, workable league that won&rsquo;t tremble whenever the NHL sneezes.</p><p>&ldquo;I really think the whole thing about us being in trouble with the NHL is blown out of proportion. I know several coaches who don&rsquo;t mind having their players in pro camp,&rdquo; continues Branch.</p><p>Ottawa &lsquo;67s coach Brian Kilrea has gone on record as saying the NHL could have all of his 19-year-olds, as long as they are returned to the fold.</p><p>Other coaches such as Peterborough Pete&rsquo;s Mike Keenan and Oshawa&rsquo;s Paul Theriault would prefer to have their players the entire training camp.</p><p>What has also become more evident is that with the draft moving to include 18-year-olds next season and several 19-year-olds signed as free agents (Peter Horachek and Bob Crawford from Oshawa Generals, Mark Wichrowski and Tim Kerr from Kingston) the-draft is going to be thin in the years to come.</p><p>The league will have to insure their farm system will continue to produce players so the calibre of hockey won&rsquo;t be hurt any more than it is now.</p><p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t really believe that the hockey is as bad as some people think it is. All you have to do is take a look at some of the players we have in this league and you realize we are putting out just as many good hockey players now as before. There just aren&rsquo;t as many good players per team,&rdquo; says Branch.</p><p>&ldquo;The league has had troubles before and they&rsquo;ve always survived. This isn&rsquo;t any different only now I feel we are in a stronger position than we were in before. A lot of the reason is because of the fact there is only one professional league. Things will continue to improve in our league,&rdquo; concludes Branch.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-01402/4279840-1-eng-US/f0027-012.jpg" title="f0027-01" width="570" height="712"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>Kingston&rsquo;s Mark Wichrowski is an underager who signed a pro contract and remains in the OMJHL.</i></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0027-01

Relationship With Pros Booming Says OMJHL’s Frosh Commissioner

<p class="dropcap"><span>C</span>ALGARY&mdash;Rumors suggesting the collapse of the Great Falls Americans&rsquo; franchise finally came true in mid-December with a dispersal draft held by the league, shifting 13 players to various Western Hockey League locations.</p><p>New Westminster Bruins, who now own the WHL&rsquo;s poorest record at 3-27-1, had the first two selections in the draft, picking Oren Koules and Brad Yachimec. New Westminster later took John Winter.</p><p>Medicine Hat Tigers selected third and picked Derek Davis, later-adding Tim Bailey. The fourth selection was Brad Owen, made by Brandon Wheat Kings. Seattle Breakers followed by taking goalie Jeff Lastiwka and Lethbridge was next in line, picking Derrick Volpelka. Billings claimed Tom McGillivary and Saskatoon chose Ryan Switzer.</p><p>Regina, Portland and Victoria passed, then Calgary took Dwain Guy to complete first-round selections.</p><p>Later, Seattle also took Kimmo Lahtinen and Calgary claimed Ray Karlson.</p><p>Players claimed who are eligible to play next season will be returned to Great Falls if the team is relocated.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

WHL disperses 13 Americans

<div class="byline">BY DANNY YOUNG</div><p><b>LOUISVILLE HOCKEY STICKS</b></p><p><b>LOUISVILLE HOCKEY STICKS</b></p><p>CHICOUTIMI&mdash;The 1979-80 Quebec Major Junior League season has not developed into the one horse race many thought it would be. In fact right now, the heavily favored Sherbrooke Beavers can&rsquo;t even look over their shoulder. The Chicoutimi Sagueneens have taken over the lead.</p><p>A 4-3 win for Chicoutimi over Shawinigan combined with Sherbrooke&rsquo;s 6-3 loss to Cornwall knocked the Beavers out of first place. After each team had played 38 games, the Sags led by a point with a 25-11-2 record.</p><p>Coach and general manager Orval Tessier has made the job of building a junior hockey team look easy. Tessier came to Chicoutimi last season after they had finished with a poor 16-45-11 record. Under Tessier, the Sags improved to 2636-10 and cut their goals against by 112.</p><p>Currently, the Sags need one more win to equal last year&rsquo;s output. In one and a half years, Tessier has built them into a contender for the league championship. And if Chicoutimi did win a championship, whether it be this season or after, it would be the third team that Tessier has led to the top. He has already guided Cornwall and Quebec teams to league titles.</p><p>Last year, Tessier told The Hockey News that his team did not have any superstars. This season, that is certainly not true. Captain Guy Carbonneau is the property of the Montreal Canadiens and his linemate Gilles Hamel was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres. And when he&rsquo;s eligible for the draft, 17-year-old defenseman Gilbert Delorme will most likely be the hottest draft prospect in the province.</p><p>&ldquo;Some of our players have developed into real good hockey players,&rdquo; says Tessier. &ldquo;We don&rsquo;t treat them as stars but they&rsquo;ve earned that reputation.&rdquo;</p><p>Indeed they have. Carbonneau leads the league with 43 goals and 54 assists, while Hamel has already nipped the 40 goal plateau. Delorme leads all defensemen in scoring, and has bruised more opposing wingers than anyone with his devastating body checks.</p><p>Since Hamel came to Chicoutimi from Trois-Rivieres, he and Carbonneau have been destroying opposition defenses. Both are superb skaters, and Hamel can shoot with the best. In one recent game against Montreal, Hamel scored twice by finding seemingly impossible openings.</p><p>&ldquo;I used to shoot only at the goalie,&rdquo; says Hamel. &ldquo;At training camp with Buffalo, I learned to go for the corners. They have me practicing this a lot.&rdquo;</p><p>Though always a strong scorer, Hamel had never been accused of being a team player. In Chicoutimi, however, his attitude has changed.</p><p>&ldquo;You play a team game with us,&rdquo; asserts Tessier, &ldquo;or we let you go. We needed someone to play with Carbonneau. Hamel has been strong and willing.&rdquo;</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s the first time I&rsquo;ve been on a winner,&rdquo; says Hamel &ldquo;and it&rsquo;s easy to see why. We have a great team effort.&rdquo;</p><p>The other winger on the Carbonneau line is rookie Luc Girard who has surprised everyone, not least himself, with his ability to skate with Hamel and Carbonneau.</p><p>&ldquo;I thought I&rsquo;d be watching the games from the stands,&rdquo; says Girard, &ldquo;but here I am playing on this line. It&rsquo;s great! &ldquo;</p><p>Girard is one of six draft picks playing regularly for Chicoutimi which is remarkable for a first place team. That says a lot for Tessier&rsquo;s scouting system.</p><p>Almost the entire Chicoutimi squad is made up of players brought to the team through the draft and trades by Tessier.</p><p>&ldquo;We got players to fit our type of play and organization,&rdquo; says Tessier, and that type of play means a lot of skating, scoring, and winning.</p><p>The Sags have the most productive offense in the league with 246 goals, an average of six and a half per game. They have also been the league&rsquo;s hottest team, winning 15 and tying two in their last 22 games. Meanwhile, Sherbrooke had been going through a difficult period in which they went 10-8-1.</p><p>So can Chicoutimi win a championship?</p><p>&ldquo;We may do it this year; we may do it next year,&rdquo; says Tessier. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ll need some breaks.&rdquo;</p><p>Chicoutimi will have a large percentage of players returning next season so they should be strong in &lsquo;80-81.</p><p>Orval Tessier has succeeded in building for the present and future, and that&rsquo;s what a good organization is all about.</p><p>In other league news, the Verdun Black Hawks have been transferred back to Sorel, as of Dec. 27, according to QMJHL president Marcel Robert.</p><p>Team officials said that with the Montreal Juniors and Laval Voisins in the Montreal area, that they did not believe three teams could be supported.</p><p>Verdun, fourth in the LeBel Division with a 13-22-4 record, moved from Sorel at the beginning of the 1977-78 season.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-01340/4279933-1-eng-US/f0029-012.jpg" title="f0029-01" width="556" height="986"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>Rookie Luc Girard has been holding his own on the Sags&rsquo; top unit.</i></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0029-01

Tessier Hastened Sags’ Remodeling

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0030-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-01382/4279971-1-eng-US/f0030-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>Parker MacDonald, coach and GM of the Nighthawks, has been in charge of the hockey operation in New Haven since day one and he has a sterling record to back him up.</i></figcaption></div><p><b>LOUISVILLE HOCKEY STICKS</b></p><p><b>LOUISVILLE HOCKEY STICKS</b></p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-02300/4279964-1-eng-US/f0030-022.jpg" title="f0030-02" width="1820" height="1208"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>The big day for New Haven hockey came when Joel Schiavone, left, took over ownership of the AHL club. Jack McColl, president of Sports Associates, top left, was at the microphone during the ownership changeover ceremonies and so was Sonny Werblin, right, president of Madison Square Garden and the man behind the parent New York Rangers.</i></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0030-01

It Started As A Dream In New Haven

<p class="dropcap"><span>N</span>EW HAVEN&mdash;Almost five years before they finally received admission to the American Hockey League two Connecticut businessmen began lobbying for the AHL franchise. Through the late 60s and into the early 70s Greg McCoy and Jack McColl sought the support of the NHL and their governors to include New Haven and its proposed new Coliseum in the AHL fraternity.</p><p>Neither the NHL nor the AHL at that time were interested, and it appeared that New Haven&rsquo;s entrance into the &ldquo;junior circuit&rdquo; was doomed. With the apparent successes of the EHL Blades and the deterioration of the old New Haven Arena, the franchise plan appeared to make good sense.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-03215/4280002-1-eng-US/f0030-032.jpg" title="f0030-03" width="580" height="852"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>Nighthawk hockey is just one of the many projects New Haven fans can expect at the Coliseum in the days ahead.</i></figcaption></div><p>AHL Hockey was booming and some major cities were still operating well like Cleveland, Buffalo and Boston, and the question that was asked was what did the league need with a &ldquo;New Haven&rdquo;. There was speculation that the franchise costs might be just a little too high for the pocketbooks of New Haven fans and prospective owners alike.</p><p>For McCoy and McColl and company it became a challenge and a matter of pride. Finally, their efforts paid off. Together with a group of local stockholders, later known as Sports Associates, and the sage wisdom of New Haven&rsquo;s MacGregor Kilpatrick, who has turned out to be one of the AHL&rsquo;s top governors, the franchise was granted to the group. The Minnesota North Stars became stockholders and became identified as the initial parent NHL team. Expansion both in the NHL and in the AHL finally arrived, and New Haven became an integral partner in those plans.</p><p>The beginning was somewhat rocky for the new group. Neither season tickets nor advance promotions were given enough time to work and provide instant financial dividends. What turned out to be one of the finer marketing efforts of the new &ldquo;Nighthawks&rdquo; was that initial season.</p><p>It all began with an exhibition game between the parent North Stars and the Nighthawks on Sept. 27, 1972 when the new Coliseum was inaugurated. Then director, Loris Smith (now executive director of the Meadowlands), even had his doubts that the facility would be ready. &ldquo;At ten in the morning on that day we didn&rsquo;t even have ice. The scoreboard was down on the surface and we couldn&rsquo;t get either the ice making equipment or the scoreboard to function, but we had faith and the staff to get the job done. The ice may not have been the greatest (we didn&rsquo;t even have time to paint it), but we opened,&rdquo; commented Smith.</p><p>The near 9,000 seat facility was a reality, and the place was filled. For hockey fans it was a memorable occasion and for Sports Associates it became a successful start.</p><p>While the success was limited to the Box Office that year, the &lsquo;Hawks won only 16 of the 76 AHL games, a love affair began with the players given to New Haven by the parent North Stars and N.Y. Islanders. Chico Resch, Gary Howatt and Bob Nystrom spent the year in Nighthawk uniforms as did Kevin Morrison (an old favorite with the EHL Blades) and the year was not a loss despite the last place 16-40-30 slate.</p><p>Parker MacDonald emerged as the man behind the scenes and on the ice that would become a key factor in the future success of the Hawks. As a matter of fact MacDonald has been with the club, or the parent organization (North Stars at the time), since the club&rsquo;s inception. With more team points, wins, playoff appearances, etc. than any of his counterparts in the AHL, Parker has become the dean of coaches in the American League. On two different occasions he has been selected coach of the year and in 1977 was administrator of the year by THE HOCKEY NEWS.</p><p>As the competition for the hockey entertainment dollar became more intense due to the emergence of the WHA with a team in Hart-ford and the ever increasing entertainment factor of cable TV, the dollars began to get thin for the public group, Sports Associates. Even though the 78-79 season promised to be the most lucrative and successful both on and off the ice with New Haven leading the Southern division, the club&rsquo;s future was not certain. In response to this uncertainty an enterprising businessman from the Elm City, named Joel Schiavone, offered to purchase the team and insure its future in New Haven.</p><p>March 3, 1979 marked the change of ownership from Sports Associates to Schiavone Sports and some 750 guests were on hand for a &ldquo;champagne reception&rdquo; held at center ice. The actual signing of documents during the reception was covered live by local television. All the parent N.Y. Ranger dignitaries were in attendance, and every AHL trophy provided the background as the new agreements were signed. Schiavone then unveiled the new team uniforms for 79-80 patterned after the Rangers&rsquo;. Sonny Werblin. William Jennings, Michael Burke, Fred Shero and Phil Esposito were among those on hand to welcome Schiavone into the hockey world.</p><p>Schiavone&rsquo;s New Haven projects include more than just the Nighthawks. His goals include the revitalization of New Haven through entertainment and service oriented business. Acquisitions include new restaurants, theatres, the Connecticut Limousine company and a charter bus company, which all figure prominently in this program. One of the corporate programs is dedicated to bringing the people from the surrounding areas into New Haven for quality dining and entertainment.</p><p>In this first full hockey year season tickets have escalated by 500. The working arrangement with the Rangers is among the finest in hockey. The Coliseum turnstiles have provided evidence of the impact of Schiavone on New Haven.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0030-03

Schiavone Plans Diverse Coliseum Future

<div class="byline">By TOM LOBAUGH</div><p><b>LOUISVILLE HOCKEY STICKS</b></p><p><b>LOUISVILLE HOCKEY STICKS</b></p><p>OKLAHOMA CITY&mdash;The Stars&rsquo; biggest news came in the front office where insurance executive John W. Hail took over as the new general partner and named Lefty McFadden as head of the club operation. McFadden was appointed president of John W. Hail Inc., which will run the hockey club. Steve Michael, who has been the publicity and promotions director for the Stars, was named vice-president.</p><p>Hail said that Ron Norick, the Stars&rsquo; general partner since Oklahoma City re-entered the CHL in the fall of 1978, will remain as general manager through the current season.</p><p>Hail came to Oklahoma City in 1972 as president of National Foundation Life Insurance Co. He per-suaded McFadden, who has a long background in sports as an athlete and administrator, to join him as assistant to the president of the insurance company a year ago.</p><p>McFadden, who founded the highly successful Dayton Gems in 1964 in the International League, wasn&rsquo;t prepared for his introduction to the Oklahoma City-Tulsa hockey rivalry, however.</p><p>&ldquo;We always had a good rivalry with Tulsa when I pitched baseball for Oklahoma City in the Texas League, back in the 1940s,&rdquo; McFadden commented in the press box at the Myriad. &ldquo;But it was nothing like this.&rdquo;</p><p>&ldquo;This&rdquo; was the seven fights, including a 10-man battle royal early in the second period, and 149-penalty-minutes which spiced Tulsa&rsquo;s 5-0 victory. The shutout went to the Oilers&rsquo; Finnish-born goalie Markus Mattsson.</p><p>McFadden, who was winding up his first full week at the helm, thought the Stars &ldquo;probably played their worst game of the season. But that Mattsson was something else. He belongs in the National League.&rdquo;</p><p>Stars&rsquo; coach Ted Hampson had to juggle his forward lines all through the last two periods, and was down to three defensemen most of the time, because of penalties and injuries.</p><p>Ted had only five defensemen in uniform, and that was quickly cut to four when Peter Shier pulled a groin in warmups. Jim Boo drew a major penalty and a misconduct in the battle royal at 6:28 of the second period, eliminating him for that period, then found he had injured his arm severely in fighting with Oiler Mike Amodeo. Boo was through for the night.</p><p>Curt Giles got a major and a minor in the first minute of play, and Bill Butters served minors in the first and second frames. Hampson never had less than two blueliners available, but young Doug Johnson was the only, defender who was available at all times.</p><p>The brawling game produced 149 minutes in penalties&mdash;92 against Tulsa, 57 against OC. But that didn&rsquo;t threaten the CHL penalty record of 203 minutes set by the Oilers and the OC Blazers in the State Fair arena on Mar. 20, 1968. That rough night Tulsa drew 110 penalty-minutes, OC 93.</p><p>The Stars&rsquo; week began and ended with lopsided decisions, but the beginning was eminently more satisfying than the whitewash ending. They had blitzed the Cincinnati Stingers, 10-1, in Cincy in the final game the Stingers&rsquo; played before withdrawing from the CHL.</p><p>The Stars came home to engage the Salt Lake City Golden Eagles in a pair of cliffhangers. Rob Flockhart had the hat trick, with a goal in each period, but Tony Currie&rsquo;s second goal of the night, after 3:59 of overtime, won it for Salt Lake, 5-4.</p><p>The next night it was Flockhart and Fred Ahern who put the Stars, in front in the opening period, and Louis Levasseur blanked the Eagles until 18:04 of the third, when Doug Palazzari spoiled the shutout.</p><p>But the next game saw Levasseur solved for three goals in the opening period, two more in the second. The Stars outshot the Oilers, 42-29, including an 11-2 advantage in the scoreless final period, but couldn&rsquo;t beat Mattsson.</p><p>Elsewhere it&rsquo;s a four-team battle between Indianapolis, Salt Lake, Birmingham and Tulsa for first.</p><p><b>INDIANAPOLIS:</b> The Checkers fell out of first place by dropping two games in Birmingham 5-2 and 2-1, but regained the top rung with a 3-1 home decision over Houston, while the Bulls were idle.</p><p>What had been a Birmingham-Indy duel for first place in the CHL&rsquo;s Eastern Division became a fight for first place in the newly-combined league when the two divisions were eliminated after Cincinnati&rsquo;s collapse. The Bulls pulled even in the season series, 33-1. The Checkers had a two-point margin in the battle for first place, and had two games in hand.</p><p>The Checkers scored first in each game at Birmingham, but couldn&rsquo;t answer the Bulls&rsquo; rallies. Alex McKendry&rsquo;s first-period goal was followed by Kevin Devine in the last period, but by then Birmingham had taken charge. Garth MacGuigan had the only Indy goal in the next game.</p><p>Centre Billy Carroll&rsquo;s bad knee continued to hamper him. He had played briefly in only two games since the Oct. 27 injury.</p><p><b>BIRMINGHAM:</b> By winning six and tying two of their last 10 games, John Brophy&rsquo;s Bulls served notice they weren&rsquo;t to be ignored in the fight for first-place. They broke even on the road with ties in Fort Worth (4-4) and Tulsa (3-3), then came home to whip the frontrunning Indianapolis Checkers twice, 5-2 and 2-1.</p><p>After spotting the Checkers the opening goal in each game, the Bulls rallied to victory. Dave Gorman tied the game in the first period, Gould and Mike Dwyer brought a second-period lead, and MacRae and Rick Adduono completed the rout in the third. The next night Adduono tied it in the opening stanza. Gould won it in the second.</p><p>Jimmy Bennett, out since Oct. 30 with a broken collarbone, was believed to be two weeks away from game competition, and Paul Terbenche was sidelined with a groin pull.</p><p><b>FORT WORTH:</b> &ldquo;When you&rsquo;re in last place, looking up, any win is a big one,&rdquo; observed Texans president Cliff Overcash. He was beaming after Fort Worth rallied from three goals down to beat the archrival Dallas Texans, 6-4, in Will Rogers Coliseum.</p><p>&ldquo;This is only the second time this season we&rsquo;ve put two victories back to back,&rdquo; Overcash said. The previous night the Texans had routed Houston, 5-1, at home, avenging a 5-4 loss in the Apollos&rsquo; rink earlier. in the week</p><p>Gary Dillon, rookie center from the Toronto Marlboros, was the Texans&rsquo; hottest scorer. He tallied the winning and insurance goals in a span of 20 seconds late in the third period against Dallas. Dave Watson, Rey Comeau, Bob Atwell and Michel LaChance had scored earlier in the Fort Worth rally.</p><p>Atwell, rookie center-right wing from the Peterborough Petes, had two goals (including the winner) and an assist in the victory over Houston, as the Texans mounted a 4-0 lead in the first two periods, before Bill Gleschuk lost his shutout bid in the third.</p><p>The Texans acquired defenseman Les Auge (who played last season for Oklahoma City) on loan from the U.S. Olympic team. Auge received a shot in the foot against Dallas. At first it was believed the foot was broken, but x-rays proved it was just a severe bruise, Nelson Pyatt was out until mid-January with a shoulder separation, but Don Ashby returned to duty after a shoulder problem.</p><p><b>DALLAS:</b> &ldquo;Our penalty-killing has improved greatly,&rdquo; said Black Hawk coach Johnny Choyce, pointing to one of the reasons his club racked up seven games without a loss. The string included a 4-4 home tie with Birmingham and a 5-4 victory in Tulsa, but came to an end in Fort Worth, where the Texans prevailed, 6-4.</p><p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;re not taking as many foolish penalties as we did earlier in the season,&rdquo; Choyce said. &ldquo;But when we do get a man in the penalty box, we&rsquo;re killing the shorthanded situations much better.&rdquo;</p><p>The Hawks had fought back from an early two-goal deficit to tie Birmingham, with Rob Tudor getting the tying goal early in the third period.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-01350/4280033-1-eng-US/f0031-012.jpg" title="f0031-01" width="558" height="864"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>Tulsa goaler Markus Mattsson stoned the Stars and impressed Lefty McFadden.</i></figcaption></div><p>Defenseman Bruce Affleck was returned by the Vancouver Canucks, and forward Chuck Arnason came back from playing in Russia with Team Canada. The sixthplace Hawks were only a point back of Houston, and were six ahead of Oklahoma City. The streak-ending loss left Dallas with a 3-2-2 advantage in the Turnpike Series with Fort Worth.</p><p><b>TULSA:</b> The Oilers will be playing more on the road than at home the rest of the season, after playing 16 of their first 22 games at home, and 19 of their first 30.</p><p>But they boosted their road record to the. 500 mark (5-5-1) with a 5-0 victory in a brawling game at Oklahoma City, after suffering a disappointing 5-4 loss to Dallas at home. Earlier in the week they had to rally three times at home to tie Birmingham, 3-3.</p><p>&ldquo;We have to strive for more consistency,&rdquo; said coach Mike Smith. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve played some good games, and then some bad ones, and we&rsquo;ve been giving the other guys too many scoring opportunities.&rdquo;</p><p>Oilers&rsquo; Mike Amodeo (game misconduct) and Gerry Rioux (gross misconduct) were ejected after Oklahoma City&rsquo;s battle royal early in the second period, involving everyone on the ice except the goaltenders.</p><p>Center-captain Bud Stefanski was proving the sparkplug of the Oiler attack, picking up points in all three games since his return from a six-game layoff with a knee injury. Stefanski and John Bethel scored power play goals 53 seconds apart in the second period of the futile rally against Dallas. Against Birmingham the Oilers got answering tallies from Pat Daley in the second period, Stefanski and John Bethel in the third, to gain a tie.</p><p><b>SALT LAKE:</b> Earlier in the season, coach Jack Evans had worried because his Golden Eagles weren&rsquo;t scoring on power plays. But when Floyd Currie tallied on a first-period assault in Houston, it ran the Birds&rsquo; power scoring streak to 11 straight games.</p><p>It took Currie&rsquo;s second goal of the night, with only 2:17 left in the third period, to give the Eagles a 4-4 tie that night. Earlier they had split a pair of close ones in Oklahoma City, winning 2-1 after losing in overtime (5-4). Currie had two goals in the victory, including the winning tally after 3:59 of overtime play. His first goal had come on a power play.</p><p>Doug Palazzari&rsquo;s power goal, with 1:56 on the clock, was Salt Lake&rsquo;s only score in the Friday rematch. Palazzari was padding his lead in the league scoring race. With 47 points in 30 games, he was six points ahead of his pace in 1977-78 when he won the Triple Crown (goals, assists and total points) for the first time in CHL history.</p><p><b>HOUSTON:</b> Although unbeaten in four games at their own Sam Houston Coliseum, the Apollos ran their unhappy road string to five straight setbacks when they took a 3-1 loss in Indianapolis. The trip was hastily arranged, as the Apollos had to replace the defunct Cincinnati Stingers on the schedule.</p><p>Earlier the Apollos had beaten Fort Worth at home, lost to the Texans two nights later in Fort Worth, then watched a 4-2 margin go down the drain at home, as Salt Lake rallied for a 4-4 tie. That left Houston in fifth place, four points out of the first division.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0031-01

Hail, McFadden To Operate Stars; Four Teams Battling For Top Spot

<div class="byline">BY JIM LEAHY</div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>S</span>PRINGFIELD&mdash;</b>High-scoring winger Byron Shutt joined the Indians recently after the Central Hockey League&rsquo;s Cincinnati Stingers folded. The 6&rsquo;1&rdquo; 195-pounder split last season between Springfield and the-then WHA team in Cincinnati. The Whalers recalled Jeff Brubaker and defenseman Rick Hodgson during the week and also announced that goaltender Ken Holland has been signed to a standard AHL contract after successfully passing his trial period.</p><p>The club had been red hot during recent weeks enjoying a seven game unbeaten streak and moving close to escaping the Northern Division cellar. They had six wins and a tie during the skein, which saw both center Jean Savard and defenseman Chuck Luksa score four goals and add seven assists to pace the scoring attack. Dave Debol has been playing well with seven goals and two assists during the streak. Steve Alley scored seven times too.</p><p>Goaltenders Terry Richardson and Ken Holland combined to allow only 2.57 goals per game, while Richardson went undefeated in six of them, posting a 5-0-1 mark.</p><p>Since all good things must eventually end, the Springfield unbeaten streak was stopped in Syracuse where the vastly improved Firebirds hung a 7-3 loss on the Tribe.</p><p><b>NOVA SCOTIA&mdash;</b>It had an all too-familiar ring to it. The Nova Scotia Voyageurs were in first place in the Northern Division, winning four straight games, all of them on the road, to move past slumping New Brunswick into the top spot. While the parent Montreal Canadiens were having trouble winning, the Vees could do no wrong. All of this despite the fact that Montreal took Voyageur defenseman Moe Robinson and earlier had taken leading scorer Keith Acton up to the NHL.</p><p>Nova Scotia was simply awesome during the week. They edged New Brunswick 3-2 in Moncton, shaded the Red Wings 5-4 in Glens Falls, squeaked by the Dusters 6-5 in Binghamton and edged Maine 43 in Portland. The four game road trip gives Nova Scotia an incredible 11 game home ice advantage over the rest of the AHL at this time since they have played 25 games on the road and only 14 at the Halifax Metro Center. Even though the Vees-have played several more games thus far than the Maine Mariners, the 11 game home ice cushion will be very difficult to overcome. Novy lost only four of the first 14 at the Metro Center and are traditionally one of the toughest teams on home ice.</p><p><b>HERSHEY&mdash;</b>After losing 6-4 at home to Binghamton and 4-2 in Rochester, the Bears got back on the right track with a 6-3 victory over Rochester at the Hersheypark Arena. The win moved Hershey to within five points of idle New Haven in the battle for first place honors in the Southern Division with three games at hand.</p><p>The hot line for the Bears has been the trio of center Glen Currie and wingers Gary Rissling and Lou Franceschetti. Rissling has been the fiesty player of the three, drawing a 10-minute misconduct in the 4-2 loss in Rochester and one in the contest against Binghamton. Rissling now has 167 penalty minutes and is making a run at the Hershey record he and Archie Henderson established last year.</p><p><b>ADIRONDACK&mdash;</b>Three wins in four games gave the Red Wings a five-point cushion over the last place Springfield Indians in the battle for the last playoff spot in the division. The Wings beat New Haven, Binghamton and New Brunswick during the week, losing only to red-hot Nova Scotia, 5-4, at the Civic Center. Adirondack plays 15 of their 25 games during January and February on home ice.</p><p>In a move to get more scoring punch, the club brought up right winger Jody Gage from Kalamazoo of the IHL. He had scored five goals in 10 games earlier in the AHL. In 11 IHL contests, Gage had 14 goals and eight assists. To make room for his recall, the Wings sent left winger Grant Morin to Kalamazoo.</p><p><b>ROCHESTER&mdash;</b>The Amerks won their first of the year against Hershey, a 4-2 victory before 2,946 at the War Memorial. However the Amerks were whitewashed 4-0 in New Haven and dropped a return match in Hershey by a 6-3 margin.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-02266/4280064-1-eng-US/f0031-022.jpg" title="f0031-02" width="568" height="710"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>Defenseman Chuck Luksa has held a hot hand of late for the Indians.</i></figcaption></div><p>Injuries continue to take their toll on the Amerks. Daryl Drader suffered a broken nose and several fractured facial bones in a collision with Kevin Kemp of Springfield. He will be out for as long as two months. Wayne Ramsey missed a few games with a knee injury as did Richard Suwek.</p><p>Despite a superlative performance by goaltender Ed Walsh, the Amerks lost 4-0 in New Haven. The club was decimated with injuries, and only able to dress 13 skaters in front of Walsh. The Rochester netminder stopped a virtual barrage of New Haven shots before the club tired.</p><p>The AHL rumor mill has Nighthawk goaltender Jim Pettie returning to Rochester soon. Pettie was recently married in Rochester, a city where he was a great favorite while with the Amerks. With Wayne Thomas and Doug Soetaert now in New Haven, Pettie will not play as much as he would like to and Rochester could use his talents.</p><p><b>MAINE&mdash;</b>The Mariners saw two great unbeaten streaks end during the week. They beat New Haven 5-2 at the New Haven Coliseum, ending the Nighthawks&rsquo; 14-game unbeaten streak on home ice. Unfortunately, the Mariners saw their own 14-game home ice unbeaten streak go down the drain when Nova Scotia skated to a big 4-3 win over the Mariners at the Civic Center. Prior to the loss to the Voyageurs, Maine had skated to a 4-4 tie at home against Nova Scotia and won 2-1 in Halifax. The defeat dropped the defending AHL champions eight points in back of front-running Nova Scotia. However, the Mariners have a whopping eight games in hand.</p><p>Wayne Schaab, Gordie Clark and Paul Evans lead the Mariner scoring parade and the goaltending has been very strong. Robbie Moore has a 3.20 GAA and Rick St. Croix, back from the Izvestia Tournament, is tops among active AHL netminders with a 2.19 average.</p><p><b>EW BRUNSWICK&mdash;</b>The slid ing Hawks lost their fourth in a row during the week, a 5-4 defeat in Adirondack at the hands of the Red Wings. Previously, they had dropped games to New Haven, Syracuse and Nova Scotia. The losing streak dropped New Brunswick into second place in the Northern Division, some five points in back of Nova Scotia and only three ahead of Maine.</p><p><b>BINGHAMTON&mdash;</b>In a light schedule during the holidays, coach Pat Kelly&rsquo;s Dusters were only in action twice during the week. They lost 6-5 at home against Nova Scotia and came back in Springfield the next night to pin a 5-4 loss on the Indians. With a record of 8-18-3 during the first 29 AHL contests, Binghamton had the worst record in the league and had a firm lock on the Southern Division basement.</p><p>Two quality players were recently added to the Dusters&rsquo; lineup. They obtained right winger Rick Bourbonnais from St. Louis and got left winger Dan Newman from the co-parent Boston Bruins. Veteran Ken Hodge had one goal and two assists in his first two games back in the AHL after being out last season with an elbow injury. At this time, Don Howse is the leading scorer for Binghamton with eight goals and 16 assists.</p><p><b>SYRACUSE&mdash;</b>After winning seven of their last eight home games, the vastly improved Firebirds have escaped the Southern Division cellar and are in a position to make a run at third place Rochester. The &lsquo;Birds defeated Springfield and New Brunswuck at the War Memorial during the week.</p><p>The team continues to get the players that will eventually make a difference. They picked up CHL-leading scorer Bernie Saunders from the defunct Cincinnati Stingers and John Smyrke from the same ex-CHL club. Defenseman Francois Lacombe and left winger Richard David came back from their brief stay with Quebec, but the club lost Dave Farrish and Terry Martin to New Brunswick and Toronto, respectively in Quebec&rsquo;s trade for Reg Thomas.</p><p><b>NEW HAVEN&mdash;</b>Nighthawks used two goals by Ray Markham and solo tallies by Bill Lochead and Doug Sulliman to rout the injury-riddled Rochester Americans 4-0. Doug Soetaert came up with his first shutout of the year.</p><p>New Haven completely dominated play in the contest, outshooting the Amerks 20-9 in the second period and hitting the pipe at least four times during that wild period. Earlier in the day, the parent NY Rangers sent netminder Wayne Thomas to the Nighthawks. The 32-year-old Thomas joins Soetaert and Jim Pettie in the Nighthawk goaltending derby, a situation he was in while with the Rangers. Thomas cleared NHL waivers before being assigned to the AHL and was made expendable when ex-Nighthawk goaltender Steve Baker started his incredible play in a Ranger uniform.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0031-02

Indians Mount Formidable Attack

<div class="byline">BY BUD GALLMEIER</div><p><b>LOUISVILLE HOCKEY STICKS</b></p><p><b>LOUISVILLE HOCKEY STICKS</b></p><p>FORT WAYNE&mdash;Shots don&rsquo;t bother Robbie Irons. He welcomes the challenge presented by wingers flying across the blueline. It&rsquo;s been a way of life for him almost his entire adult life.</p><p>And the five-foot-seven native of Toronto has faced more shots than any goalie now performing in the International Hockey League. Maybe more than any goalie in the league&rsquo;s long history&mdash;save one.</p><p>The 10-year veteran with the Fort Wayne Komets will enter his third decade in the International Hockey League with the dawn of 1980&mdash;the first Komet to attain such longevity. The only other IHL player to have a career span three decades was Glen Ramsay, whose 18-year career included a stop in Fort Wayne.</p><p>But the bulk of Ramsay&rsquo;s goaltending was done in Toledo. For years, he was the franchise. Ramsay started his career with the old Cincinnati Mohawks in 1950 and played until the 1970s.</p><p>Irons joined the Komets in 1967 and except for a two-year tenure when he performed primarily in the Central League, he&rsquo;s been the No. 1 Komet goalie ever since. He returned from his Central League duties, which also included time served on the bench for the St. Louis Blues, in 1970. During his career as a Komet, Irons has posted a 3.20 average for 431 games prior to the start of the current season. That&rsquo;s not bad for a league where winning teams average better than four goals per game.</p><p>Irons, who was 33 in November, knows the day will come when the reflexes slow down and the bounce in his legs will be missing. And when that day comes, he&rsquo;ll know it&rsquo;s time to quit.</p><p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want to keep playing if I can&rsquo;t play well,&rdquo; Irons said recently. &ldquo;That would bother me. I don&rsquo;t want to go out with fans remembering my bad games. As long as I can play well, I&rsquo;ll keep playing.&rdquo;</p><p>There was a time early this season when Irons felt that time had come. Through nine games he had a winning record, 4-2-3, but the goals against average was almost as tall as he was. And the natives were getting restless. And that&rsquo;s what bothers Robbie. &ldquo;I hate to play badly at home. And I wasn&rsquo;t playing all that well.&rdquo;</p><p>Coach Moose Lallo knew Robbie was struggling. And he knew pressure from the home fans&mdash;who quickly forget what you did yesterday&mdash;was getting to his veteran. So, Moose decided to keep the wolves away.</p><p>&ldquo;I knew Robbie would come through. I had confidence in him. He&rsquo;s been in slumps before. All goalies&mdash;all players&mdash;have slumps. What Robbie was losing was worse than the games, his confidence. So, I told him, &lsquo;I&rsquo;m gonna play you on the road for awhile. When you get your confidence back, then we&rsquo;ll return to the regular rotation.&rsquo;&rdquo;</p><p>Complicating Irons&rsquo; position was the sensational debut of Rookie Bob Janecyk, whom the Komets salvaged from the Chicago Blackhawk practice sessions by way of Flint. Janecyk started his first game on the road&mdash;and won big.</p><p>He followed the next night with another sparkling performance. Both games were against North Division leader Kalamazoo.</p><p>&ldquo;Robbie, who,&rdquo; the Fort Wayne faithful were chanting.</p><p>But Lallo wasn&rsquo;t concerned. And if Irons was, it didn&rsquo;t show. And it didn&rsquo;t take long for Irons to fight back.</p><p>He started four straight games on the road, winning two, tying one and losing one. And in all four games, he was the Irons of old. He returned to the Memorial Coliseum rink for the first time against Flint and was near-perfect, posting a 5-1 triumph.</p><p>Since Irons went on the road and Janecyk kept the home fires burning, the Komets have lost just twice and they&rsquo;ve opened up a 10-point lead over Toledo in the South Division race.</p><p>Robbie Irons will know when it&rsquo;s time to quit. But that time hasn&rsquo;t come yet.</p><p>While the Komets have skated to a comfortable lead, the battle beneath them is firing up. Toledo still is skating second but Dayton has mounted a strong challenge. The Gems, thanks to a five-game undefeated string, have moved to within four points of the Diggers. Dayton was in a position to move closer with a date in Toledo next on the agenda.</p><p>Milwaukee and Grand Rapids continue to struggle. The Admirals are still fourth but lead the Owls by just two points. Grand Rapids has gone nine games without a victory and Milwaukee is 1-2-1 since Phil Wittliff took over as coach.</p><p>The tight race is in the North where just five points separate first through fourth. Defending champion Kalamazoo is still setting the pace but Fort Huron is just a stride in arrears. The K-Wings have 38 points, Port Huron 37.</p><p>Saginaw, thanks to a seven game undefeated string, has jumped into contention also. The Gears are now third with 35 points. Flint is two back with 33.</p><p>And while Muskegon still brings up the rear, the Mohawks have shown recent signs of breaking out. A recent weekend netted four of a possible six points and improved Muskegon&rsquo;s record to 11-152. Boosting the Mohawk&rsquo;s potential has been the return of Bill Hamilton, who has shown no lasting effects from a shoulder injury.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-01362/4280095-1-eng-US/f0032-012.jpg" title="f0032-01" width="552" height="800"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>Veteran Robbie Irons seems to have found his confidence again.</i></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0032-01

Fort Wayne’s Iron-Man Goaltender In Great Shape For Third Decade

<div class="byline">BY PATRICK LYON</div><p><b>LOUISVILLE HOCKEY STICKS</b></p><p><b>LOUISVILLE HOCKEY STICKS</b></p><p>JOHNSTOWN&mdash;Putting a winning team on the ice is a major concern to Red Wings&rsquo; coach Marty Reid and general manager Al Blade, but for a while just putting a team on the ice was a major accomplishment. Injuries have been a big stumbling block for the first year coach. However, Reid has dodged the bullets and appears to have Johnstown back on the right track as the club had won three of four in their most recent games.</p><p>Still, Reid doesn&rsquo;t know the feeling of what it is really like to have a complete team as six of his regular players, including four defensemen, find themselves on the injury list. Harry Shaw, Lorry Gloeckner, Al Stoneman, and Don Hawkes are the starting backliners nursing injuries along with forwards Guy Bohmer and Randy Wilson.</p><p>Johnstown&rsquo;s offense has posed big problems for the rest of the EHL with the Red Wings second in the circuit and putting the puck in the net behind Richmond&rsquo;s league leading Rifles. Defense is another story and the main shortcoming of the club was Johnstown yielding most goals against per game, an average of over 5.00</p><p>General manager Blade went to work on the problem and came up with a few deals that have helped the club and boosted them into fifth place, just four points from fourth and seven points behind third place Baltimore.</p><p>When the Cincinnati Stingers of the Central Hockey League folded, Blade wasted no time in bringing goaltender Wayne Wood to Johnstown and the former World Hockey Association netminder responded with two wins in his first three starts.</p><p>Wood dropped his first game in the new league to the Rifles 4-2, but then posted back-to-back victories in topping Erie 3-2, and Hampton 5-4. Wood kicked out over 40 shots as Johnstown defeated Erie for the first time in five tries, while the road win in Hampton was only Johnstown&rsquo;s second of the season. Randy Betty sparked Johnstown with a pair of goals against the Aces.</p><p>Among the other new Red Wings are defensemen Bob Phillips from Niagara Falls and backliner Rick Carriere, who Blades acquired from Hampton for a left winger, Steve Salvucci. The Red Wings also sold Kip Churchill to the Aces.</p><p>Dave Mcqueen remains the Red Wings&rsquo; leading scorer with 42 points, Betty scoring 26, Pierre Tremblay and Ed Starkey the other 20 point men for Johnstown with 23 apiece.</p><p><b>ERIE:</b> The Blades ended their two game losing streak on home ice with a convincing 6-2 victory over Utica, but then proceeded to drop a pair of games on the road, losing 3-1 in Johnstown and 7-3 in Richmond.</p><p><b>UTICA:</b> The Mohawks&rsquo; four game unbeaten streak was snapped by the Blades and Larry Mickey&rsquo;s crew saw their third place standing slip away when they fell in Baltimore to the Clippers, 3-2.</p><p><b>HAMPTON:</b> Scoring woes continued to haunt Muzz MacPherson&rsquo;s Aces as their losing streak ran to five games, the club managing to just seven goals in the five straight losses.</p><p><b>RICHMOND:</b> The Rifles are well in command of the EHL as they increased their lead over second place Erie to 15 points. Richmond, which had a 17-game unbeaten skein before it was stopped by the Blades, now have gone without a loss in their last five games. Only Erie has managed to dent the strong Rifles in the club&rsquo;s last 23 outings.</p><p><b>BALTIMORE:</b> Gene Ubriaco&rsquo;s Clippers continue to improve and moved to within five points of second place, Erie with a strong showing recently. In fourth place behind Utica, Baltimore passed to Mohawk by nailing them a pair of one goal wins against Hampton, 21 and Utica 3-2.</p><p><b>RICHMOND&mdash;</b>No hockey team is unbeatable, but coach Andre Beaulieu&rsquo;s Richmond Rifles could be the closest thing to perfection one could find in the Eastern Hockey League.</p><p>Hand, picked by the New York Rangers as coach of the Rifles, Beaulieu came to training camp with concrete plans on how to make Richmond a winner and with the season almost at its half-way point the mentor has his club solidly in first place. Owners of a slick 17-3-4 record, the Rifles ran their unbeaten streak to 17 games before they were inflicted a 2-1 loss by the Erie Blades.</p><p>Beaulieu has reaped plenty of success from teaching his players the European style of hockey. There is no room on the Rifles for flashy individuals and anyone who came to Richmond with those thoughts quickly found themselves looking for employment elsewhere. &ldquo;The reason for our team&rsquo;s success is that everybody is working together to achieve one goal, related Rifles&rsquo; general manager Sandy Reiss. &ldquo;Andre&rsquo;s style of team play makes use of all 17 players on the roster and he&rsquo;s gotten 100 per cent from everyone on the club.&rdquo;</p><p>Also attributed to the club&rsquo;s prosperity is the conditioning program which all of the players follow very closely. Beaulieu is very adamant about his feelings on conditioning and the results can be plainly seen by the fact that many times during their streak, the Rifles rallied in the third period to post come-from-behind wins. &ldquo;The team is constantly working out to improve their upper body strength and we have an excellent off-ice program for the players to follow,&rdquo; said Reiss.</p><p>Having a good working agreement doesn&rsquo;t hurt the Rifles either and according to Reiss, the Rangers made several promises before the season and they have really come through.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

Keeping Defense On Ice Johnstown Problem

<p><b>(Standings On Mon., Dec. 31)</b></p><h2>NORRIS DIVISION</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-1621/4280398-1-eng-US/f0034-162.jpg" title="f0034-16" width="552" height="157"></div><h2>ADAMS DIVISION</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-1716/4280391-1-eng-US/f0034-172.jpg" title="f0034-17" width="555" height="130"></div><h2>PATRICK DIVISION</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-1815/4280384-1-eng-US/f0034-182.jpg" title="f0034-18" width="550" height="130"></div><h2>SMYTHE DIVISION</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-1914/4280377-1-eng-US/f0034-192.jpg" title="f0034-19" width="543" height="159"></div><h2>GAMES COMPLETED</h2><h3>Wed., Dec. 26</h3><p>Philadelphia 4 at Hartford 4</p><p>Boston 5 at Atlanta 3</p><p>Washington 8 at Toronto 2</p><p>Detroit 4 at Pittsburgh 6</p><p>Chicago 3 at St. Louis 3</p><p>Winnipeg 0 at Minnesota 6</p><p>Colorado 3 at Edmonton 4</p><h3>Thu., Dec. 27</h3><p>Islanders 7 at Montreal 3</p><p>St. Louis 3 at Detroit 2</p><p>Quebec 0 at Los Angeles 3</p><p>Minnesota 3 at Colorado 4</p><p>Toronto 3 at Buffalo 5</p><h3>Fri., Dec. 28</h3><p>Philadelphia 5 at Winnipeg 3</p><p>Pittsburgh 4 at Atlanta 2</p><p>Chicago 2 at Washington 6</p><p>Edmonton 5 at Vancouver 3</p><h3>Sat., Dec. 29</h3><p>Philadelphia 3 at Colorado 2</p><p>Atlanta 2 at Pittsburgh 3</p><p>Buffalo 3 at Montreal 6</p><p>Hartford 0 at St. Louis 3</p><p>Minnesota 3 at Los Angeles 4</p><p>Quebec 2 at Vancouver 6</p><p>Winnipeg 1 at Toronto 6</p><h3>Sun., Dec. 30</h3><p>Washington 2 at Rangers 5</p><p>Islanders 2 at Detroit 4</p><p>Boston 3 at Chicago 5</p><p>Quebec 2 at Edmonton 1</p><h2>NHL-SOVIET SERIES</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-2013/4280370-1-eng-US/f0034-202.jpg" title="f0034-20" width="545" height="72"></div><h2>GAMES COMPLETED</h2><h3>Wed. Dec. 26</h3><p>Moscow Dynamo 2 at Vancouver 6</p><h3>Thu. Dec. 27</h3><p>Red Army 5 at Rangers 2</p><h3>Sat. Dec. 29</h3><p>Red Army 3 at Islanders 2</p><p>GAMES TO COME</p><h3>Mon. Dec. 31</h3><p>Red Army at Canadiens</p><h3>Wed. Jan. 2</h3><p>Moscow Dynamo at Winnipeg</p><h3>Thu. Jan. 3</h3><p>Red Army at Buffalo</p><h3>Fri. Jan. 4</h3><p>Moscow Dynamo at Edmonton</p><h3>Sun. Jan. 6</h3><p>Red Army at Quebec</p><h3>Tue. Jan. 8</h3><p>Moscow Dynamo at Washington</p><h2>SCORING LEADERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-2112/4280363-1-eng-US/f0034-212.jpg" title="f0034-21" width="547" height="269"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

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NHL SCOREBOARD

<p><b>ATLANTA:</b> Chouinard 9, 10, Nilsson 16, Vail 15, Pronovost &raquo;, Unger 5, Houston 9.</p><p><b>BOSTON:</b> Secord 10, Jonathan 7, Milbury 4, O&rsquo;Reilly 11, Bourque 6, Ratelie 16, Middleton 14, McNab 18.</p><p><b>BUFFALO:</b> Dunn 2, Perreault 21, Gare 21, 22, 23, Korab 1, McKegney 9, Savard 1.</p><p><b>CHICAGO:</b> Mulvey 18, 10, Ruskowski 9, Wilson 5, Murray 4, 5, Lysiak 12, Sedlbauer 11, Kett 7, Preston 10.</p><p><b>COLORADO:</b> Hickey 9, Ramage 4, 5, Valiquette 13, Saleski 2, Robert 14, 15, McEwen 0, 10.</p><p><b>DETROIT:</b> Labraaten 12, 13, 14, Joly 3, Foligno 11, Sobchuk 4, Bolduc 4, 5, Thompson 17, Nedomansky 23.</p><p><b>EDMONTON:</b> Gretzky 18, 10, Lumley 8, 0, Weir 14, MacDonald 22, 23, Semenko 2, Schmautz 9, Hunter 4.</p><p><b>HARTFORD:</b> Carroll 4, M. Howe, 11, 12, Hill 1.</p><p><b>LOS ANGELES:</b> Taylor 23, Simmer 33, 34, Apps 3, Goldup 4, Palmer 3, Dionne 28.</p><p><b>MINNESOTA:</b> Payne 22, 23, 24, MacAdam 17, 18, Younghans 4, Eaves 5, Fidler 4, Young 13, Polich 7, Sharplev 17, Hartsburg 5.</p><p><b>MONTREAL:</b> Lafleur 28, Shutt 19, 20, Larouche 27, Mondou 12, 13, Robinson 5, Houle 14, Gainey 5.</p><p><b>ISLANDERS:</b> Bossy 18, 18, 20, Gillies 9, Kallur 8, 9, Nystrom 7, Howatt 4, Trottier 20.</p><p><b>RANGERS:</b> Beck 7, Larose 2, Johnstone 6, Hedberg 20, Vickers 16.</p><p><b>PHILADELPHIA:</b> Holmgren 11, Propp 17, 18, 19, 20, Bridgman 6, MacLeish 19, 20, Wilson 4, Leach 25, Kelly 6, Dailey 4.</p><p><b>PITTSBURGH:</b> Kehoe 14, 15, Lee 8, Faubert 2, 3, Libett 9, Sheppard 7, 8, Hughes 6, 7, Kindrachuk 12, McAdam 13, Ferguson 9.</p><p><b>QUEBEC:</b> Lacroix 5, Cloutier 24, Tardif 11, Brackenburv 3.</p><p><b>ST. LOUIS:</b> Patev 6, Dunlop 7, 8, Kea 1, Sutter 11 Federko 12, 13, Chapman 11, 12.</p><p><b>TORONTO:</b> McDonald 15, Salming 9, Saganiuk 7, 8, 9, 10, Ellis 10, McKechnie 6, Williams 17, Turnbull 4, Stephenson 1.</p><p><b>VANCOUVER:</b> Lever 16, McCarthy 5, 6, Gradln 12, 13, Fraser 6, Smvl 13, Brasar 3, 4.</p><p><b>WASHINGTON:</b> Charron 5, 6, 7, 8, Gartner 10, 11, Mulvey 6, 7, Edberg 9, Picard 3, 4, Kaszycki 4, 5, Gustafsson 8, Walker 10, Lehtonen 3.</p><p><b>WINNIPEG:</b> Drouin 6, Lukowlch 15, Marsh 11, Rilev 1.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

NHL’S SCORERS THIS WEEK

<h2>DECEMBER</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-2310/4280460-1-eng-US/f0034-232.jpg" title="f0034-23" width="498" height="78"></div><h2>JANUARY</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-2411/4280453-1-eng-US/f0034-242.jpg" title="f0034-24" width="549" height="2169"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

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WHERE NHL TEAMS PLAY

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The Point Race…

<h2>Wed. Dec. 26 Philadelphia 4, Hartford 4</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-01357/4280332-1-eng-US/f0034-012.jpg" title="f0034-01" width="551" height="605"></div><h2>BOSTON 5, ATLANTA 3</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-02290/4280325-1-eng-US/f0034-022.jpg" title="f0034-02" width="546" height="560"></div><h2>CHICAGO 3, ST. LOUIS 3</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-03209/4280318-1-eng-US/f0034-032.jpg" title="f0034-03" width="585" height="525"></div><h2>WINNIPEG 0, MINNESOTA 6</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-04130/4280311-1-eng-US/f0034-042.jpg" title="f0034-04" width="556" height="482"></div><h2>COLORADO 3, EDMONTON 4</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-0590/4280304-1-eng-US/f0034-052.jpg" title="f0034-05" width="546" height="557"></div><h2>WASHINGTON 8, TORONTO 2</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-0665/4280297-1-eng-US/f0034-062.jpg" title="f0034-06" width="550" height="645"></div><h2>DETROIT 4, PITTSBURGH 6</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-0757/4280290-1-eng-US/f0034-072.jpg" title="f0034-07" width="552" height="640"></div><h2>Thu. Dec. 27 ISLANDERS 7, MONTREAL 3</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-0850/4280283-1-eng-US/f0034-082.jpg" title="f0034-08" width="549" height="621"></div><h2>ST. LOUIS 3, DETROIT 2</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-0940/4280276-1-eng-US/f0034-092.jpg" title="f0034-09" width="536" height="576"></div><h2>QUEBEC 0, LOS ANGELES 3</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-1038/4280269-1-eng-US/f0034-102.jpg" title="f0034-10" width="558" height="437"></div><h2>MINNESOTA 3, COLORADO 4</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-1133/4280262-1-eng-US/f0034-112.jpg" title="f0034-11" width="547" height="603"></div><h2>TORONTO 3, BUFFALO 5</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-1231/4280255-1-eng-US/f0034-122.jpg" title="f0034-12" width="552" height="605"></div><h2>Fri Dec 28 PHILADELPHIA 5, WINNIPEG 3</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-1325/4280248-1-eng-US/f0034-132.jpg" title="f0034-13" width="553" height="612"></div><h2>PITTSBURGH 4, ATLANTA 2</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-1422/4280241-1-eng-US/f0034-142.jpg" title="f0034-14" width="558" height="539"></div><h2>CHICAGO 2, WASHINGTON 6</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-1521/4280234-1-eng-US/f0034-152.jpg" title="f0034-15" width="578" height="617"></div><h2>EDMONTON 5, VANCOUVER 3</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-02271/4280227-1-eng-US/f0035-022.jpg" title="f0035-02" width="565" height="681"></div><h2>Sat Dec 29 PHILADELPHIA 3, COLORADO 2</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-03201/4280220-1-eng-US/f0035-032.jpg" title="f0035-03" width="552" height="530"></div><h2>PITTSBURGH 3, ATLANTA 2</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-04160/4280213-1-eng-US/f0035-042.jpg" title="f0035-04" width="602" height="500"></div><h2>BUFFALO 3, MONTREAL 6</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-05123/4280206-1-eng-US/f0035-052.jpg" title="f0035-05" width="561" height="556"></div><h2>HARTFORD 0, ST. LOUIS 3</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-06104/4280199-1-eng-US/f0035-062.jpg" title="f0035-06" width="598" height="521"></div><h2>Minnesota 3, Los Angeles 4</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-0795/4280192-1-eng-US/f0035-072.jpg" title="f0035-07" width="561" height="517"></div><h2>Quebec 2, Vancouver 6</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-0877/4280185-1-eng-US/f0035-082.jpg" title="f0035-08" width="573" height="590"></div><h2>Winnipeg 1, Toronto 6</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-0973/4280178-1-eng-US/f0035-092.jpg" title="f0035-09" width="557" height="559"></div><h2>Sun., Dec. 30 Washington 2, Rangers 5</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-1063/4280171-1-eng-US/f0035-102.jpg" title="f0035-10" width="606" height="556"></div><h2>ISLANDERS 2, DETROIT 4</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-1158/4280164-1-eng-US/f0035-112.jpg" title="f0035-11" width="557" height="697"></div><h2>BOSTON 3, CHICAGO 5</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-1249/4280157-1-eng-US/f0035-122.jpg" title="f0035-12" width="561" height="621"></div><h2>QUEBEC 2, EDMONTON 1</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-1343/4280150-1-eng-US/f0035-132.jpg" title="f0035-13" width="555" height="512"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

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NATIONAL LEAGUE SUMMARIES

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NHL TEAM ROSTERS

<h2>Wed Dec 06 DYNAMO 2, VANCOUVER 6</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-1432/4280567-1-eng-US/f0035-142.jpg" title="f0035-14" width="563" height="578"></div><h2>Thu. Dec. 27 RED ARMY S, RANGERS 2</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-1528/4280560-1-eng-US/f0035-152.jpg" title="f0035-15" width="595" height="604"></div><h2>Fri Doc 28 RED ARMY 3, ISLANDERS 2</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-1626/4280553-1-eng-US/f0035-162.jpg" title="f0035-16" width="561" height="564"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

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NHL-Soviet Summaries

<h2>AMERICAN LEAGUE</h2><h3>JANUARY</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-314/4280797-1-eng-US/f0036-312.jpg" title="f0036-31" width="570" height="996"></div><h2>CENTRAL LEAGUE</h2><h3>JANUARY</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-323/4280790-1-eng-US/f0036-322.jpg" title="f0036-32" width="560" height="614"></div><h2>INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE</h2><h3>JANUARY</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-332/4280783-1-eng-US/f0036-332.jpg" title="f0036-33" width="566" height="934"></div><h2>EASTERN LEAGUE</h2><h3>JANUARY</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-342/4280776-1-eng-US/f0036-342.jpg" title="f0036-34" width="524" height="346"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

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PRO GAMES TO COME…

<h2>ONTARIO MAJOR LEAGUE (Standings on Tue. Jan. 1)</h2><h3>Emms Division</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-1816/4280912-1-eng-US/f0036-182.jpg" title="f0036-18" width="562" height="167"></div><h3>Leyden Division</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-1915/4280905-1-eng-US/f0036-192.jpg" title="f0036-19" width="543" height="147"></div><h2>GAMES COMPLETED</h2><h3>Thu. Dec. 27</h3><p>London 2 at Sudbury 4</p><h3>Fri. Dec. 28</h3><p>London 2 at Sault Ste. Marie 4</p><p>Oshawa 3 at Kingston 12</p><p>Niagara Falls 5 at Kitchener 4</p><h3>Sat. Dec. 29</h3><p>Brantford 4 at Sudbury 4</p><p>Kingston 9 at Toronto 5</p><h3>Sun. Dec. 30</h3><p>Brantford 7 at Sault Ste. Marie 9</p><p>Toronto 5 at Kitchener 2</p><p>Oshawa 3 at Niagara Falls 7</p><h2>LEADING SCORERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-2014/4280898-1-eng-US/f0036-202.jpg" title="f0036-20" width="548" height="351"></div><h2>QUEBEC MAJOR LEAGUE</h2><p><b>(Standings on Fri. Jan. 4)</b></p><h3>LEBEL DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-2113/4280891-1-eng-US/f0036-212.jpg" title="f0036-21" width="552" height="146"></div><h3>DILIO DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-2212/4280884-1-eng-US/f0036-222.jpg" title="f0036-22" width="542" height="125"></div><h2>GAMES COMPLETED</h2><h3>Fri. Dec. 28</h3><p>Cornwall 4 at Montreal S</p><p>Laval 3 at Quebec 5</p><p>Hull 3 at Shawinigan 4</p><p>Sorel 4 at Sherbrooke 7</p><h3>Sun. Dec. 30</h3><p>Sherbrooke 5 at Cornwall 4</p><p>Laval 2 at Hull 8</p><p>Shawinigan 7 at Quebec 8</p><p>Chicoutimi 3 at Trois-Rivieres 8</p><p>Montreal 5 at Sorel 4</p><h2>LEADING SCORERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-2311/4280877-1-eng-US/f0036-232.jpg" title="f0036-23" width="557" height="275"></div><h2>WESTERN LEAGUE</h2><p><b>(Standings on Tue. Jan. 1)</b></p><h3>WESTERN DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-2411/4280870-1-eng-US/f0036-242.jpg" title="f0036-24" width="546" height="129"></div><h3>EASTERN DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-258/4280863-1-eng-US/f0036-252.jpg" title="f0036-25" width="549" height="224"></div><h2>GAMES COMPLETED</h2><p>Wed. Dec. 24</p><p>Calgary 8 at Lethbridge 3</p><h3>Sat. Dec. 29</h3><p>Billings 2 at Medicine Hat 7</p><h3>Sun. Dec. 30</h3><p>Victoria 4 at New Westminster 1</p><p>Regina 4 at Lethbridge 2</p><p>Calgary 7 at Saskatoon 1</p><h2>WORLD JUNIOR</h2><p><b>Preliminary Round FINAL STANDINGS</b></p><h3>Blue Division</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-266/4280856-1-eng-US/f0036-262.jpg" title="f0036-26" width="548" height="119"></div><h3>Gold Division</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-276/4280849-1-eng-US/f0036-272.jpg" title="f0036-27" width="543" height="96"></div><h2>GAMES COMPLETED</h2><p>Canada 9, Switzerland 5</p><p>West Germany 5, United States 2</p><p>Soviet Union 2, Finland 1</p><p>Sweden 10, Czechoslovakia 4</p><h2>CENTRAL JUNIOR</h2><p><b>(Standings On Mon. Dec. 31)</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-286/4280842-1-eng-US/f0036-282.jpg" title="f0036-28" width="547" height="174"></div><h2>EASTERN LEAGUE</h2><p><b>(Standings on Wed., Jan. 2)</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-295/4280835-1-eng-US/f0036-292.jpg" title="f0036-29" width="563" height="256"></div><h2>GAMES COMPLETED</h2><p>Fri. Dec. 28</p><p>Johnstown 3 at Utica 4</p><p>Soviets 9 at Hampton 2 (Ex.)</p><h3>Sat. Dec. 29</h3><p>Baltimore 3 at Erie 0</p><h3>Sun. Dec. 30</h3><p>Richmond 2 at Hampton 1</p><p>Baltimore 1 at Johnstown 5</p><p>Erie 9 at Utica 5</p><h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-304/4280828-1-eng-US/f0036-302.jpg" title="f0036-30" width="560" height="272"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

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AMATEUR SCOREBOARD

<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;Washington</p><p>17&mdash;Colorado</p><p>18&mdash;Edmonton</p><p>19&mdash;Hartford</p><p>20&mdash;Quebec</p><p>21&mdash;Winnipeg</p><h2>OTHER AFFILIATIONS</h2><p>22&mdash;Chicago&mdash;T or onto</p><p>23&mdash;Boston&mdash;Los Angeles</p><p>24&mdash;Quebec&mdash;Pittsburgh</p><p>25&mdash;Edmonton&mdash;Winnipeg</p><p>26&mdash;Montreal&mdash;Chicago</p><p>27&mdash;Vancouver&mdash;Islanders</p><p>28&mdash;Boston&mdash;Pittsburgh</p><p>29&mdash;Atlanta&mdash;Colorado</p><p>30&mdash;Washington&mdash;St. Louis</p><p>31&mdash;Los Angeles&mdash;Hartford</p><p>32&mdash;Que&mdash;Islanders&mdash;Buff.</p><p>33&mdash;St. Louis&mdash;Philadelphia</p><p>34&mdash;Boston&mdash;Hartford<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

Who They’re Affiliated With…

<h2>AMERICAN LEAGUE</h2><p><b>(Standings On Mon. Dec. 31)</b></p><h3>Northern Division</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-01317/4280745-1-eng-US/f0036-012.jpg" title="f0036-01" width="559" height="148"></div><h3>Southern Division</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-02238/4280738-1-eng-US/f0036-022.jpg" title="f0036-02" width="524" height="125"></div><p><b>1-Nova Scotia. 4-New Haven. 5-Adirondack. 7-Maine. 14-Rochester. 16-Hershey. 19-Springfield. 22-New Brunswick. 23-Binghamton. 24-Syracuse</b></p><h2>GAMES COMPLETED</h2><h3>Wed. Dec. 26</h3><p>Springfield 6 at Adirondack 6</p><p>Syracuse 2 at Hershey 7</p><p>New Brunswick 6 at Nova Scotia 2</p><p>Binghamton 5 at Rochester 4</p><p>Moscow Selects 7 at Maine 2 (Ex.)</p><h3>Thu. Dec. 27</h3><p>Adirondack 3 at New Brunswick 2</p><h3>Fri. Dec. 28</h3><p>Rochester 5 at Binghamton 2</p><p>Adirondack 6 at Nova Scotia 7</p><p>Maine 3 at Springfield 4</p><p>New Haven 4 at Syracuse 2</p><h3>Sat. Dec. 29</h3><p>New Haven 6 at Hershey 5</p><p>Binghamton 2 at Maine 3</p><p>Rochester 3 at Springfield 5</p><p>Izechoslovakia 5 at Nova Scotia 5 (Ex.)</p><h3>Sun. Dec. 30</h3><p>Springfield 2 at New Brunswick 4</p><p>New Haven 7 at Rochester 5</p><p>Hershey 3 at Syracuse 4</p><h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-03174/4280731-1-eng-US/f0036-032.jpg" title="f0036-03" width="554" height="199"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-04105/4280724-1-eng-US/f0036-042.jpg" title="f0036-04" width="548" height="456"></div><h2>CENTRAL LEAGUE</h2><p><b>(Standings on Wed. Jan. 2)</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-0571/4280717-1-eng-US/f0036-052.jpg" title="f0036-05" width="529" height="217"></div><p><b>9-Salt Lake. 10-Oklahoma City. 12-Indianapolis. 13-Dallas. 15-Birmingham. 17-Fort Worth. 18-Houston. 19-Cincinnati. 21-Tulsa.</b></p><h2>GAMES COMPLETED</h2><h3>Wed. Dec. 24</h3><p>Tulsa 2 at Birmingham 3</p><p>Dallas 4 at Salt Lake 7</p><h3>Thu. Dec. 27</h3><p>Tulsa 5 at Birmingham 7</p><p>Oklahoma City 8 at Fort Worth 3</p><h3>Fri 28</h3><p>Oklamoha City 4 at Dallas 5</p><p>Indianapolis 2 at Fort Worth 2</p><p>Birmingham 1 at Salt Lake 7 Sat. Dec. 29</p><p>Fort Worth 4 at Dallas 1</p><p>Indianapolis 3 at Houston 1</p><p>Birmingham 3 at Salt Lake 1</p><p>Oklahoma City 2 at Tulsa 3</p><h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-0653/4280710-1-eng-US/f0036-062.jpg" title="f0036-06" width="542" height="125"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-0749/4280703-1-eng-US/f0036-072.jpg" title="f0036-07" width="544" height="142"></div><h2>INTERNATIONAL LEAUGE</h2><p><b>(Standings on Wed. Jan. 2)</b></p><h3>NORTHERN DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-0844/4280696-1-eng-US/f0036-082.jpg" title="f0036-08" width="567" height="148"></div><h3>SOUTH DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-0938/4280689-1-eng-US/f0036-092.jpg" title="f0036-09" width="528" height="148"></div><p><b>5-Kalamazoo. 7-Toledo. 20-Milwaukee. 25-Dayton. 26-Flint. 27-Fort Wayne. 28-Grand Rapids. 29-Muskegon. 30-Port Huron. 31-Saginaw.</b></p><h2>GAMES COMPLETED</h2><h3>Tue. Dec. 25</h3><p>Dayton 3 at Fort Wayne 5</p><h3>Thu. Dec. 27</h3><p>Fort Wayne 1 at Milwaukee 2</p><h3>Fri. Dec. 28</h3><p>Port Huron 3 at Flint 5</p><p>Saginaw 1 at Kalamazoo 5</p><p>Muskegon 2 at Toledo 4</p><p>Dayton 5 at Grand Rapids 9</p><h3>Sat. Dec. 29</h3><p>Grand Rapids 2 at Fort Wayne 9</p><p>Milwaukee 6 at Port Huron 11</p><p>Dayton 4 at Saginaw 5</p><p>Flint 2 at Kalamazoo 4</p><h3>Sun. Dec. 30</h3><p>Fort Wayne 2 at Dayton 2</p><p>Kalamazoo 3 at Flint 3</p><p>Port Huron 2 at Saginaw 2</p><p>Milwaukee 2 at Toledo 3</p><p>Muskegon 4 at Grand Rapids 10</p><h3>TEAM SCORING</h3><p><b>DAYTON</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-1035/4280682-1-eng-US/f0036-102.jpg" title="f0036-10" width="599" height="105"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-1132/4280675-1-eng-US/f0036-112.jpg" title="f0036-11" width="605" height="406"></div><h3>FLINT</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-1228/4280668-1-eng-US/f0036-122.jpg" title="f0036-12" width="606" height="450"></div><h3>FORT WAYNE</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-1325/4280661-1-eng-US/f0036-132.jpg" title="f0036-13" width="608" height="476"></div><h3>GRAND RAPIDS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-1421/4280654-1-eng-US/f0036-142.jpg" title="f0036-14" width="603" height="491"></div><h3>KALAMAZOO</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-1521/4280647-1-eng-US/f0036-152.jpg" title="f0036-15" width="605" height="435"></div><h3>MILWAUKEE</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-1619/4280640-1-eng-US/f0036-162.jpg" title="f0036-16" width="605" height="550"></div><h3>PORT HURON</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-1716/4280633-1-eng-US/f0036-172.jpg" title="f0036-17" width="599" height="332"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-01308/4280626-1-eng-US/f0039-012.jpg" title="f0039-01" width="590" height="136"></div><h3>SAGINAW</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-02226/4280619-1-eng-US/f0039-022.jpg" title="f0039-02" width="579" height="454"></div><h3>TOLEDO</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-03166/4280612-1-eng-US/f0039-032.jpg" title="f0039-03" width="576" height="426"></div><h3>GOALING RECORDS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-04139/4280605-1-eng-US/f0039-042.jpg" title="f0039-04" width="590" height="736"></div><h3>MUSKEGON</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-05109/4280598-1-eng-US/f0039-052.jpg" title="f0039-05" width="595" height="441"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0036-01

MINOR SCOREBOARD

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0038-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-01330/4281002-1-eng-US/f0038-012.jpg"></div><h2><b>Lady goalkeeper envied</b></h2><p class="dropcap"><i><span>L</span>inda Cohn, 20-year-old netminder for the Oswego State women&rsquo;s hockey team, is the envy of the three goalers on the Great Lakers&rsquo; men&rsquo;s team. Linda starts every game for her team while the men have to rotate between the pipes. The men goalers from the left are Mark Edwards, son of former NHL goalkeeper Marv Edwards, Mike Shevlin and Eddie Layton.</i></p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-02258/4280995-1-eng-US/f0038-022.jpg" title="f0038-02" width="1162" height="1732"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(Photo by Ian MacAlpine)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>That&rsquo;s my pop!</b></h2><p><i>Young Martin Lafleur doesn&rsquo;t have to go far to get any hockey tips as he gets out on the Forum ice with his illustrious father during Canadiens&rsquo; recent Christmas party. Martin is 4&frac12;and is really taking to skating.</i></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-03194/4280988-1-eng-US/f0038-032.jpg" title="f0038-03" width="710" height="1491"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(Photos by Ian MacAlpine)</span></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-04134/4280981-1-eng-US/f0038-042.jpg" title="f0038-04" width="691" height="1482"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-0599/4280974-1-eng-US/f0038-052.jpg" title="f0038-05" width="676" height="1477"></div><h2><b>Starting out the hard way</b></h2><p><i>Tiny Jason Shutt has a long way to go to catch up to his hockey-playing dad, left winger Steve Shutt of the Canadiens, but he manages on the ice with the help of a trusty old chair. Jason and all the players&rsquo; children and their families joined in the Christmas festivities at the Forum despite all the turmoil that has been swirling around the team.</i></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-0678/4280967-1-eng-US/f0038-062.jpg" title="f0038-06" width="863" height="1472"></div><h2><b>Fatherly Pride</b></h2><p><i>Winger Bob Gainey brought his young daughter Anna-Marie, who is two years old, out for a skate with him at the Canadiens&rsquo; Christmas bash.</i><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0038-01

HOCKEY PEOPLE

<p>Following are the latest player movements in hockey:</p><h2>NATIONAL LEAGUE</h2><p>CHICAGO&mdash;Bob Murray, D, returned to lineup from injury list.</p><p>COLORADO&mdash;Wilf Paiement, RW, and Pat Hickey, RW, traded to Toronto in exchange for Lanny MacDonald, RW, and Joel Quenneville, D.</p><p>DETROIT&mdash;Thommie Bergman, D, returned to lineup from injury list.</p><p>EDMONTON&mdash;Cam Connor, RW, returned to lineup from injury list.</p><p>HARTFORD&mdash;Bob Stephenson, RW, traded to Toronto in return for Pat Boutette, LW, Mike Antonovich, LW, placed on injury list for three weeks with broken jaw. Brian Hill, RW, recalled from Springfield of AHL. Nick Fotiu, LW, returned to lineup from injury list.</p><p>MINNESOTA&mdash;Brad Maxwell, D, placed on injury list for two weeks with twisted knee.</p><p>ISLANDERS&mdash;Bryan Trottier, C, returned to lineup from injury list.</p><p>PITTSBURGH&mdash;Greg Malone, C, placed on injury list for 10 days with infected instep. Dale Tallon, D, recalled from Syracuse of AHL.</p><p>QUEBEC&mdash;Ron Low, G, recalled from Syracuse of AHL. Serge Bernier, C, returned to lineup from injury list.</p><p>ST. LOUIS&mdash;Bobby Crawford, LW, returned to Salt Lake of CHL.</p><p>TORONTO&mdash;Carl Brewer, D, recalled from New Brunswick of AHL and signed to NHL contract. Mike Palmateer, D, placed on disabled list with ankle injury. Vince Tremblay, G, recalled from New Brunswick as a backup netminder. Terry Martin, LW, recalled from New Brunswick.</p><p>VANCOUVER&mdash;Gary Bromley, G, recalled from Dallas of CHL. Lars Lindgren, D, and Rick Vaive, RW, returned to lineup from injury list.</p><p>WASHINGTON&mdash;Pierre Bouchard, D, Pete Scamurra, D, and Guy Charron, C, returned to lineup from injury list.</p><p>WINNIPEG&mdash;Bobby Hull, LW, removed from active roster indefinitely until he recovers from shoulder injury. Doug Maclver, D, recalled from Tulsa of CHL.</p><h2>AMERICAN LEAGUE</h2><p>AMERICAN&mdash;Dave Forbes named player-coach succeeding Pat Kelly.</p><h2>INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE</h2><p>DAYTON&mdash;Len Dies, F, assigned by Los Angeles after Kings recalled him from Saginaw in IHL.</p><p>KALAMAZOO&mdash;Doug Derkson, F, recalled by Detroit. Glen Wylie, F, and Rob Plumb, F, assigned by Detroit.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

Player Movements

<div class="image-hero"><img title="C0004-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/c0004-01132/4281057-1-eng-US/c0004-012.jpg"></div><p>DETROIT&mdash;A total of 20 Detroit Red Wings greats will take to the ice for the last farewell to the Olympia Stadium on Thursday Feb. 21.</p><p>These top 20 former Red Wing players will be selected by a panel of about eight members of the media to participate in the last hockey game ever to be played at the Olympia, against the current Red Wings team. The panel is headed up by Wings&rsquo; broadcaster, Bruce Martyn.</p><p>All proceeds will go to the Detroit Red Wings Alumni Charitable Fund, a fund whose monies are allocated to organizations and individuals who are in financial need. In 22 years since its inception, the group has donated approximately $2 million to some 100 charitable organizations.</p><p>The concept of the game was introduced by Jimmy Peters, a former Red Wing who has been probably one of the most active members of the group since its inception and is being co-ordinated by Sid Abel, current president of the Red Wings Alumni and Alex Delvecchio, incoming president of the organization.</p><p>Tickets will be available to all season ticket holders to purchase their own seats only from Jan. 7 through Jan. 18. Tickets then become available to the general public on Jan. 19.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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January 11, 1980

Games To Come

Defense Puts Well-Balanced Cougars On Top

PASSING THE PUCK

Reinhart Fitting Well As Flame