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

February 8, 1980

The Hockey News February 8, 1980

<div class="byline">BY BOB VERDI</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-011233/5108587-1-eng-US/f0002-012.jpg" title="f0002-01" width="526" height="352"></div><h2>Self-Destructing NHL</h2>IT WAS THE morning of Jan. 5, and it should have been a glorious morning for the National Hockey League.The evening before, in New York&rsquo;s Madison Square Garden, the Philadelphia Flyers had played their 34th straight game without a defeat. Not only did the Flyers break the unbeaten streak for all of professional sports, but they extended an ongoing story that could have and should have kept the NHL&rsquo;s tattered name in lights.But no. The NHL, its own worst enemy, self-destructed once again. Another fan riot in Madison Square Garden had coupled with another player riot to tarnish the Flyers&rsquo; masterful feat. Thus, in the newspaper I picked up, the headline read, &ldquo;Violence In Hockey Continues As Flyers&rsquo; Streak Reaches 34.&rdquo;One might have dismissed the story (I&rsquo;m sure those masterminds in high NHL places did exactly that) except that it came only a week or so after a New York Post column by Jerry Izenberg warned, &ldquo;Message to NHL: Clean Up Act or Rot With the Garbage.&rdquo;And the impact of both banners might have been diminished had not a Sports Illustrated article by Ed Swift remarked, with painful truth, that the NHL is a &ldquo;league with a 1941 mentality.&rdquo; No sooner had that early January issue crossed the stands than a syndicated TV two-hour special on sports of the decade hit the airwaves. The program glorified everything from luge to backgammon, but when time came for hockey, rather than citing individual heroics, the show zeroed in on a couple of gorillas on skates beating each other&rsquo;s heads in.&ldquo;Violence,&rdquo; the announcer said, &ldquo;has proved to be a bit of a problem for hockey, and the sport entered the 1980s in an unsure state.&rdquo;The announcer, I might add, was George Plimpton, a hockey fan. But there are a lot of us hockey fans out here waiting for the NHL to do something, and, no doubt, a lot of us are going to be disappointed.<h2>Hours Of Congratulations</h2>IT&rsquo;S A WASTE of time to offer the NHL suggestions, because while other professional leagues suspend players for as much as looking at a referee cross-eyed, the reprehensibly prehistoric nabobs in hockey table all issues, or ignore them, or telephone sportswriters to chide them for writing about same.It would be nice if the NHL would at least tackle these problems behind closed doors, and perhaps they do. Perhaps when they make expensive bacchanals to Key Largo, Florida, in December, they really do accomplish something of substance. If they do, of course, they keep it a secret.I suspect what they really do down there is suck up the sun and pat one another and then tell each other how wonderful things are around the grand, old NHL. They probably spend hours, in fact, congratulating one and all on how, for instance, the Minnesota North Stars franchise is rebounding from the dead.What they should realize is that Minneapolis-St. Paul was a splendid hockey area long before the NHL ever got there, and in fact, the North Stars were all but pfft a couple years ago. What made it go was a dynamic young general manager such as Lou Nanne, one of only a handful of dynamic thinkers in the sport. Just an example, you understand.Another thinker, dynamic if not young, is Sonny Werblin, who runs the New York Rangers. After witnessing a vial of bullets crash to the ice on Jan. 5, after seeing customers taunt Flyers&rsquo; personnel in the upstairs, exposed press box, after sensing the same ugliness in the air that had provoked a Madison Square Garden disgrace Dec. 23, Werblin actually became concerned.&ldquo;I thought about terminating the game,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Something has to be done to stop this kind of thing.&rdquo;<h2>Stop Making Sense, Sonny</h2>BE CAREFUL, SONNY. Just because you have previous experience in a major league sport, and just because you confront a problem rather than look the other way, that doesn&rsquo;t entitle you to be a critic of the NHL&rsquo;s governors. In fact, if you don&rsquo;t cool it and stop making sensible statements, you may be banned from hockey.It would be convenient at this point to say that hockey is a minor league sport. Wrong. It is a major league sport. The only problem is that the NHL teams run the league.The league should run the teams. How any group of men can equate a waiting line for season tickets in Edmonton with good health for the sport &hellip; well, it&rsquo;s amazing, but true.The NHL is taking much heat for operating this season without a public relations director. I disagree. Why have a director for something you don&rsquo;t have anyway? Public retaliations maybe, but not public relations.Undoubtedly, Marcel Dionne of the Los Angeles Kings put it best when he said, &ldquo;The way the NHL promotes the game makes me sick.&rdquo;Many of us are sick along with you, Marcel. &#9632;

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IN THIS ISSUE

HOCKEY TALK

<h2>AMERICAN LEAGUE</h2><h3>JANUARY</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-2752/5111311-1-eng-US/f0036-272.jpg" title="f0036-27" width="511" height="131"></div><h3>FEBRUARY</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-2847/5111304-1-eng-US/f0036-282.jpg" title="f0036-28" width="576" height="725"></div><h3>JANUARY</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-2944/5111297-1-eng-US/f0036-292.jpg" title="f0036-29" width="543" height="152"></div><h3>FEBRUARY</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-3041/5111290-1-eng-US/f0036-302.jpg" title="f0036-30" width="544" height="627"></div><h2>INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE</h2><h3>JANUARY</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-3139/5111283-1-eng-US/f0036-312.jpg" title="f0036-31" width="527" height="60"></div><h3>FEBRUARY</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-3235/5111276-1-eng-US/f0036-322.jpg" title="f0036-32" width="563" height="887"></div><h3>FEBRUARY</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-3332/5111269-1-eng-US/f0036-332.jpg" title="f0036-33" width="520" height="469"></div> &#9632;

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PRO GAMES TO COME…

<h2>ECAC CONFERENCE</h2>(Standings on Mon. Jan. 28)<h3>EAST DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-01485/5110343-1-eng-US/f0029-012.jpg" title="f0029-01" width="552" height="179"></div><h3>WEST DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-02333/5110336-1-eng-US/f0029-022.jpg" title="f0029-02" width="555" height="151"></div><h3>IVY DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-03215/5110329-1-eng-US/f0029-032.jpg" title="f0029-03" width="552" height="180"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Providence 2, Vermont 1Boston College 4, Yale 2Dartmouth 7, New Hampshire 4Cornell 7, Clarkson 4 BostonCollege 4, Providence 1Clarkson 12, Boston Univ. 7Boston Univ. 4, St. Lawrence 3New Hampshire 9, Vermont 2Brown 3, Northeastern 1Cornell 6, Maine 2Dartmouth 6, Yale 4Boston College 8, RPI 4<h3>NON-LEAGUE GAMES</h3>Colgate 9, Hamilton 3Bowdown 5, Maine 3<h3>OTHER GAMES</h3>Babson 4, Connecticut 3Trinity 4, Fairfield 3Babson 2, Union 1Colby 4, Williams 1Tufts 11, Clark 6Plattsburgh St. 2, Elmira 2Colby 4, Union 2Bowdoin 12, Williams 2Oswego St. 4, Upsala 1Trinity 5, Nichols 2AIC 6, Connecticut 3<h2>WCHA CONFERENCE</h2>(Standings on Mon. Jan. 28)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-04149/5110322-1-eng-US/f0029-042.jpg" title="f0029-04" width="555" height="279"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>U.S. Olympic 4 Wisconsin 2Colorado College 9 North Dakota 8 lot)North Dakota 7 Colorado College 3Duluth 10 Denver 5Denver 7 Duluth 5Michigan 7 Minnesota 3Minnesota 4 Michigan 2Michigan State 5 Wisconsin 4Wisconsin 9 Michigan State 2Notre Dame 4 Michigan Tech 5Notre Dame 7 Michigan Tech 5<h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-05131/5110315-1-eng-US/f0029-052.jpg" title="f0029-05" width="551" height="523"></div><h2>ECAC CONFERENCE</h2>DIVISION II<h3>East Section</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-06107/5110308-1-eng-US/f0029-062.jpg" title="f0029-06" width="557" height="427"></div><h3>WEST SECTION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-0789/5110301-1-eng-US/f0029-072.jpg" title="f0029-07" width="554" height="428"></div><h3>DIVISION III</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-0879/5110294-1-eng-US/f0029-082.jpg" title="f0029-08" width="553" height="378"></div><h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3>DIVISION I<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-0974/5110287-1-eng-US/f0029-092.jpg" title="f0029-09" width="553" height="227"></div>DIVISION IIEast Section<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-1066/5110280-1-eng-US/f0029-102.jpg" title="f0029-10" width="551" height="176"></div>West Section<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-1161/5110273-1-eng-US/f0029-112.jpg" title="f0029-11" width="552" height="183"></div><h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-1256/5110266-1-eng-US/f0029-122.jpg" title="f0029-12" width="556" height="526"></div><h2>ONTARIO CONFERENCE</h2>(Standings on Wed. Jan. 30)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-1349/5110259-1-eng-US/f0029-132.jpg" title="f0029-13" width="556" height="333"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>McMaster 4, York 5Laurier 8, Ryerson 2Guelph 7, Brock 5Laurentian 5, Toronto 3Queen&rsquo;s S, Waterloo 2McMaster 7, Windsor 3Waterloo 4, McMaster 4Laurentian 5, York 4Queen&rsquo;s 4, Laurier 1Guelph 8, Windsor 0Brock 7, Ryerson 5<h3>OTHER GAMES</h3>Ottawa 9, McGill 3Trois-Rivieres 8, Bishop&rsquo;s 2Mt. Allison 3, St. F. Xavier 1Ottawa 6, Concordia 5Trois-Rivieres 5, Chicioutimi 0Acadia 10, Memorial 1UNB 13, PEI 9Moncton 8, St. F. Xavier 4Dalhousie 10, Mt. Allison 2Ottawa 5, Bishop&rsquo;s 2 AirForce 11, Winnipeg 2RMC 5, Army 2St. Mary&rsquo;s 10, Memorial 1PEI 5, St. Thomas 4Moncton 7, Dalhousie 3UBC 2, Alberta 1Alberta 5, UBC 4Saskatchewan 6, Calgary 5Brandon 3, Lakehead 2<h2>QUEBEC CONFERENCE</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-1445/5110252-1-eng-US/f0029-142.jpg" title="f0029-14" width="552" height="204"></div><h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-1541/5110245-1-eng-US/f0029-152.jpg" title="f0029-15" width="548" height="206"></div><h2>ATLANTIC CONFERENCE</h2><h3>EAST DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-1639/5110238-1-eng-US/f0029-162.jpg" title="f0029-16" width="549" height="132"></div><h3>WEST DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-1737/5110231-1-eng-US/f0029-172.jpg" title="f0029-17" width="549" height="158"></div><h2>CANADA WEST</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-1835/5110224-1-eng-US/f0029-182.jpg" title="f0029-18" width="548" height="125"></div><h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-1930/5110217-1-eng-US/f0029-192.jpg" title="f0029-19" width="550" height="178"></div><h3>GREAT PLAINS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-2026/5110210-1-eng-US/f0029-202.jpg" title="f0029-20" width="546" height="155"></div><h2>ECAC Conference</h2><h3>JANUARY</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-2126/5110203-1-eng-US/f0029-212.jpg" title="f0029-21" width="543" height="50"></div><h3>FEBRUARY</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-2222/5110196-1-eng-US/f0029-222.jpg" title="f0029-22" width="587" height="872"></div><h2>WCHA Conference</h2><h3>JANUARY</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-2321/5110189-1-eng-US/f0029-232.jpg" title="f0029-23" width="550" height="35"></div><h3>FEBRUARY</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-2420/5110182-1-eng-US/f0029-242.jpg" title="f0029-24" width="599" height="774"></div><h2>Leading U.S. College Teams</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-2518/5110175-1-eng-US/f0029-252.jpg" title="f0029-25" width="547" height="370"></div><h2>CCHA Conference</h2><h3>FEBRUARY</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-2616/5110168-1-eng-US/f0029-262.jpg" title="f0029-26" width="580" height="702"></div><h3>MARCH</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-2717/5110161-1-eng-US/f0029-272.jpg" title="f0029-27" width="565" height="82"></div><h2>Top Canadian College Teams</h2>1. Calgary Dinosaurs2. McMaster Marlins3. Alberta Golden Bears4. Moncton Aigle Blues5. Toronto Blues6. Dalhousie Tigers7. Manitoba Bisons8. Trois-Rivieres Patriotes9. Concordia Stingers10. Queen&rsquo;s Golden Gaels<h2>CIAU Conference</h2><h3>JANUARY</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-2814/5110154-1-eng-US/f0029-282.jpg" title="f0029-28" width="509" height="184"></div><h3>FEBRUARY</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-2914/5110147-1-eng-US/f0029-292.jpg" title="f0029-29" width="533" height="849"></div> &#9632;

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How They Stand

<div class="byline">BY TOM HENSHAW</div>BOSTON&mdash;It was an exciting hockey weekend around Boston, although most of the action came in the court room and the executive suite rather than out on the ice.The hassle centered around an eight-game suspension to Terry O&rsquo;Reilly and six-game sentences to Peter McNab and Mike Milbury for going into the stands after harassing fans following a game in New York Dec. 23.It began at noon Friday when NHL President John Ziegler finally arrived in Boston to hold a hearing into the affair.This was 33 days after the incident but only three days after four of the fans who were involved filed a $7-million suit against nine Boston players, the Bruins team, the New York Rangers, Madison Square Garden, the NHL and New York City.First, Ziegler addressed the whole club in the dressing room. He called it a grave matter. He mentioned Don Murdoch, the Ranger who was suspended for 40 games last year for possession of cocaine. The Bruins suspected then they were in deep trouble.The NHL president next met with seven other Bruins&mdash;Stan Jonathan, Brad McCrimmon, Al Secord, John Wensink, Craig MacTavish, Bob Miller and Gilles Gilbert. All but Gilbert are defendants in the $7 million suit.Then, one by one, Ziegler turned to O&rsquo;Reilly, McNab and Milbury, who were the central figures in a videotape clip from the Dec. 23 game that has been more widely shown in North America than &ldquo;Gone With The Wind&rdquo;.By 3:30 p.m. the hearing was over. Ziegler was on his way to Atlanta. A couple of hours later, the Bruins were winging to Pittsburgh for their Saturday night game. The media was promised a decision shortly after 8 p.m. from Ziegler&rsquo;s New York office. It came about 10 p.m.Ziegler acknowledged that the Bruins may have felt they had to go into the stands to protect themselves and their teammates but that &ldquo;is not justification or excuse for violation of the principle that no league or club employee, official or player is to engage in confrontations with spectators or to enter into spectator areas.&rdquo;&ldquo;From this point forward,&rdquo; he went on, &ldquo;each and every player and all club personnel are on notice that any such future involvement may result in the revocation of their privilege to be employed in the National Hockey League.&ldquo;We will not tolerate abuse of our players or officials or other personnel. Anyone who chooses to conduct himself in a disorderly fashion can expect that our clubs and the league will utilize all legal remedies to deter and remedy such abuse.&rdquo;Then, the sentences:O&rsquo;Reilly, an eight game suspension and a $500 fine. McNab and Milbury, six game suspensions and $500 fines. MacTavish, Wensink, Gilbert and Secord, $500 fines. All other Bruins on the ice at the time, $200 fines. Only Gerry Cheevers, who was in the dressing room, escaped with wallet intact.The Boston players learned of the decision in their Pittsburgh hotel from Kevin Dupont, the hockey writer for the Herald American, who in turn had learned of it from his office in Boston. The Bruins expected something but hardly this.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s unbelievable,&rdquo; said McNab. &ldquo;It seems too severe. I never hit anybody. I never even threw a punch. I just grabbed the guy who was hitting my teammate. He is treating us as if we started it. He&rsquo;s making the whole thing sound like we were wrong.&rdquo;And, he added bitterly: &ldquo;He (Ziegler) didn&rsquo;t have the courage to call me himself.&rdquo;&ldquo;The whole thing is a joke,&rdquo; said O&rsquo;Reilly, who was the first Bruin into the stands after a fan had reached over the glass and punched Jonathan. &ldquo;The whole thing&rsquo;s stupid. I question his competence.&rdquo;&ldquo;We do not accept his findings,&rdquo; declared Bruins President Paul Mooney in a statement. &ldquo;We are proud of our players and the way they conducted themselves under very, very difficult circumstances.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s curious to me that in reaching this decision Ziegler absolves both the Rangers and Madison Square Garden of all responsibility and somehow makes the Bruins players both the victims and scapegoats of an unprovoked attack.&rdquo;General Manager Harry Sinden, who doesn&rsquo;t care very much for Ziegler anyway, expressed the Bruins&rsquo; feelings more bluntly.&ldquo;I hope the governors of this league recognize this individual (Ziegler) for what he is: Someone who is trying to make something out of himself that he really isn&rsquo;t,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;He is out of his element in all aspects of the game.&ldquo;I never wanted him in the first place. He isn&rsquo;t qualified. He has no background in this game. I didn&rsquo;t want him yesterday. I don&rsquo;t want him tomorrow. I don&rsquo;t want to see him.&rdquo;At 2:30 a.m. Saturday, the Bruins notified the NHL office that they were exercising their right to appeal to the Board Of Governors. The appeal was granted for Wednesday. But&hellip;&ldquo;In the meantime,&rdquo; Ziegler wired, &ldquo;as has been the policy of this league, there is no stay of the decision during the pendancy of the appeal.&rdquo;&ldquo;I&rsquo;m amused,&rdquo; said Mooney, who really wasn&rsquo;t. &ldquo;We have been granted an appeal but it&rsquo;s too bad the execution will be carried out before we have an opportunity for that appeal.&rdquo;There was one more legal avenue open to the Bruins. Two hours before the team was scheduled to take the ice in Pittsburgh, they went before the U.S. District Court in Boston for a restraining order that would have delayed the suspensions.Heavyweights were getting involved in the case now. The attorney for the NHL was James St. Clair, who last made the front pages as legal representative of President Richard M. Nixon when Congress was considering his impeachment.The hearing lasted an hour. Judge Robert E. Keeton refused the restraining order, ruling that the Bruins had not exhausted their appeals through the NHL&rsquo;s administrative process. It was the end of the legal line for the Boston club.Out in Pittsburgh, Brad Park, who was just about ready to come back from knee surgery, suited up for the first time this season to fill in for Milbury. Wensink, nursing a sprained wrist, also dressed and Tom Songin was called up from Binghamton to replace McNab and O&rsquo;Reilly.Almost lost in the flow of weekend acrimony and legal niceties was the Bruins 6-4 victory over Pittsburgh, their eighth straight win, an emotion-charged game with O&rsquo;Reilly, McNab and Milbury cheering from the stands. For the Bruins, it was &ldquo;us against the world.&rdquo;But it remained for Ziegler to have the last word, at least for now.&ldquo;The Bruins apparently do not comprehend the seriousness of what they did,&rdquo; he said from a Florida retreat. &ldquo;Such acts will not be justified or excused under any circumstances. If we&rsquo;re going to control the games we can&rsquo;t have a policy that allows this kind of behavior.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-011269/5109090-1-eng-US/f0009-012.jpg" title="f0009-01" width="586" height="1373"><figcaption class="caption-body">Peter McNab was fined $500 and suspended for six games although he claims he never threw a punch.</figcaption></div><div class="sidebar">&ldquo;We are proud of our players and the way they conducted themselves under very, very difficult circumstances.&rdquo; &#9632;</div>

f0009-01

Bruins Appeal Ziegler’s Suspensions

After a dismal start to the hockey season, the New York Islanders are suddenly the hot team in the NHL and their big scoring guns are again starting to roar. The most productive in the Islander resurgence has been Mike Bossy and next week THE HOCKEY NEWS will feature the prolific Islander winger in a special page 3 story by correspondent Pat Calabria.In addition we will present our yearly hockey school supplement in which THE HOCKEY NEWS outlines ail the features, dates, locations and other highlights of some 45 hockey schools throughout Canada and the U.S. We will also have tips on how to find the school you want and what to look for when sending your boy to summer hockey school. Don&rsquo;t miss it! &#9632;

What’s Coming…

<div class="byline">BY TOM MURRAY</div>At five o&rsquo;clock in the afternoon on February 12, 1980, the United States Olympic hockey team will face off against the Swedish National Team in the first of four round-robin games they will play as they attempt to advance to the playoffs and a chance at a medal.For the past six months&mdash;ever since the National Sports Festival in Colorado Springs, Col. last August, when the team was assembled&mdash;head coach Herb Brooks has been preparing his 24-man team (to be reduced to 20 by the start of the Games) for those four preliminary contests and, hopefully, the ensuing playoffs.To date, the team has played 56 games and compiled an impressive 40-14-2 record. With just five games remaining on their grueling schedule, Brooks had every right to be proud of the way his team&mdash;with an average age of 21, the youngest in U.S. history and the youngest at this year&rsquo;s Games&mdash;has played.&ldquo;This is the best record a U.S. team has ever had going into the Olympics,&rdquo; said Brooks, who has taken a leave of absence from the University of Minnesota, where his teams have won three national championships since Brooks took over as head coach in 1972. &ldquo;I think this club has done things that are just unbelievable. When our training period is over, we will have played 48 out of our 61 games on the road! So far, we&rsquo;re 13-2-1 against the Central League, which the NHL considers as its best developmental league. With two games left against them, the worst we can end up is 13-4-1. We&rsquo;ve played eight college games and won all of them.&ldquo;These guys,&rdquo; Brooks went on, &ldquo;have played the toughest schedule of any Olympic team in U.S. history in terms of the number of the games and the quality of the games. We&rsquo;ve done a better job than I thought we could do when all of this started last August, and that&rsquo;s a tribute to the players. They&rsquo;ve responded like I haven&rsquo;t seen too many hockey teams respond; they&rsquo;ve come to play every night and they&rsquo;ve adhered to the work ethic better than any team I&rsquo;ve ever had. I&rsquo;m very, very pleased.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-011273/5108632-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg" title="f0003-01" width="570" height="1011"><figcaption class="caption-body">Goaler Jim Craig will shoulder the load for the U.S. team at Lake Placid and the Americans are high on his potential.</figcaption></div>While Brooks is justifiably happy about the way his men have played for him, don&rsquo;t confuse his enthusiasm with cockiness or overconfidence. The 43-year-old former Olympic and National team captain&mdash;he played on every U.S. Olympic or National team from 1961-1970&mdash;is regarded as one of amateur hockey&rsquo;s most brilliant innovators, but ask him to discuss his strategy or hockey philosophy and you&rsquo;re bound to get a modest answer like, &ldquo;Call so-and-so, he knows a lot about my system,&rdquo; or &ldquo;I really don&rsquo;t like tooting my own horn.&rdquo;Basically, the style of this Olympic team is based on three key elements; Speed, deception and puck control.&ldquo;What I&rsquo;ve tried to do,&rdquo; Brooks said, &ldquo;is to take a page from the European style of hockey and a page from the Canadian style and incorporate both of them.&rdquo;Translated, this means that Brooks&rsquo; number one rule is not to employ the &ldquo;dump and chase&rdquo; method, which is practiced by all of the NHL teams and practically every other team throughout the U.S. and Canada.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t like to punt on first down,&rdquo; Brooks explained, &ldquo;and that&rsquo;s exactly what you&rsquo;re doing if you use that dump and chase method and give up the puck at your opponent&rsquo;s blueline. I just don&rsquo;t want to automatically play defense. We&rsquo;re trying to do positive things with the puck, and that requires patience, timing and creativity.Traditionally, none of these three qualities have been prevalent in players who live and die by the dump and chase method. And most of the American boys who comprise Brooks&rsquo; squad have spent their young careers skating up and down their wing, dumping the puck into the offensive zone and chasing it into a corner, where they fight like hell for possession.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-021040/5108625-1-eng-US/f0003-022.jpg" title="f0003-02" width="1083" height="1410"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-03682/5108618-1-eng-US/f0003-032.jpg" title="f0003-03" width="741" height="1407"><figcaption class="caption-body">The U.S. team will be counting heavily on former All American Mark Johnson, left, of Wisconsin, and team captain Mike Eruzione, right, shown with team advisor Bill Cleary. Johnson is the top scorer on the American team with 78 points. Eruzione, who is a product of Boston University, has been plagued with injuries but he&rsquo;ll be ready for the Games. (Photos by Steve Babineau)</figcaption></div>Brooks&rsquo; system plays down this particular style and instead concentrates on intricate &ldquo;weave&rdquo; offenses, eye-boggling passing plays and flexible positioning on defense. In short, what Brooks is doing is telling his kids to play a close-checking Canadian style on defense as much as possible and revert to the razzle-dazzle European style on offense.&ldquo;I give them a lot of freedom when we have the puck. I tell them to do what they want, to be free. I think that&rsquo;s important, because we have some great athletes on our team and i&rsquo;m not ready to concede that the Europeans are better than we are.&rdquo;Still, Brooks is realistic enough to admit that the challenge facing his team at Lake Placid is formidable&mdash;if not impossible.&ldquo;I think we&rsquo;re in the toughest of the two divisions,&rdquo; Brooks said, &ldquo;but I feel that we&rsquo;re one of four teams&mdash;Canada, Finland and West Germany are the others&mdash;that have the capability of winning a medal. If we do win a medal, it&rsquo;ll have to be viewed as an upset because the competition is so tough.&ldquo;My gut feeling is that the Americans have made a lot of improvement over the last 20 years,&rdquo; Brooks continued. &ldquo;But the Europeans have made dramatic improvement in terms of training methods and technical and tactical abilities. For that reason, winning a bronze medal in 1980 would be like winning a gold in 1960. Some people say that this team is as good a team as we&rsquo;ve ever had, including that gold medal team of 1960. That was a great, great team, but you sure didn&rsquo;t see the Russians beating the NHL All Stars back then, did you? You do now, and that&mdash;combined with the incredible improvement by all of the competition, particularly the Europeans&mdash;is why I think winning even a bronze medal is really going to be tough.&rdquo;Brooks is brutally honest when asked what his team is going to have to do to get even a crack at a medal, any medal.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got the Swedes first and then the Czechs,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;and we&rsquo;ve got to upset one of those teams or it might be all over for us. It&rsquo;s as simple as that.&rdquo;&ldquo;If you look back in Olympic history,&rdquo; Brooks said, &ldquo;everytime the U.S. has been successful the goaltender has been the catalyst. In 1960 it was Jack McCarten and in 1972, when we won the silver medal, it was Lefty Curran. We feel that Jim Craig is the guy who can rise to the occasion for us and that we&rsquo;ll go as far as he takes us.&rdquo;Brooks definitely believes that his team is capable of pulling off such an upset, especially if goaltender Jim Craig continues to play as superbly as he has so far.While Craig is indeed going to be an integral part of the U.S. effort at Lake Placid, he&rsquo;s going to need a lot of help up front. Here&rsquo;s a quick rundown on some of the standout players to watch:&bull; Mark Johnson: At last count, Johnson, with 78 points, was the leading scorer of the team by 20 points. A two-time All-American at Wisconsin, where he played for his father, Bob, coach of the 1976 Olympic Team, Mark also played on the 1978 and 1979 U.S. National teams.&bull; Mike Ramsay: Having just turned 19 last December, Ramsay is the youngest player on the team. But he was old enough and good enough to make hockey history last August, when the Minnesota native became the first American hockey player to be selected in the first round of the NHL&rsquo;s Amateur Draft, when he was picked by the Buffalo Sabres. Ramsay played as a freshman on Herb Brooks&rsquo; NCAA All Tourney team.&bull; Neal Broten: Brooks calls Broten &ldquo;the best freshman to ever have played at Minnesota.&rdquo; And for good reason: In 40 games, Broten scored 21 goals and 50 assists, including the game-winning goal in the NCAA championship game against North Dakota. Is currently the fourth-leading scorer on the Olympic team, with 47 points.&bull; Rob McClanahan: Played three seasons under Brooks at Minnesota, where he scored 45 goals and 63 assists. Is a tremendous defensive player who has parlayed his hard work and determination into a position as the Olympic team&rsquo;s second-leading scorer.&bull; Steve Christoff: Another University of Minnesota product who scored 77 goals and 82 assists during a three-year career with the Gophers and who is currently battling McClanahan for honors as the Olympic team&rsquo;s second-leading scorer.There are others to watch, too. Jack O&rsquo;Callahan, Jack Hughes and Ralph Cox, from respectively, Boston University, Harvard and New Hampshire. And keep an eye on Mike Eruzione, also from B.U. He&rsquo;s the team captain, and while he has been plagued by injuries during the past several months, he&rsquo;ll be at Lake Placid, providing his teammates with leadership and inspiration. Anchoring the defense will be Les Auge and Bill Baker, and they&rsquo;ll be complemented by O&rsquo;Callahan, Ramsay, Hughes and Bob Suter. All of them are big enough, but only time will tell if they&rsquo;re mobile enough to cover their speedy European opponents as they scamper over the large Olympic ice surface.They&rsquo;ll find out soon enough; probably at a little after five o&rsquo;clock in the afternoon of February 12, 1980.&bull; More Olympic hockey and Games schedule on pages 6-7.<div class="sidebar">&ldquo;Winning a bronze medal in 1980 would be like winning a gold in 1960&rdquo;&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got to upset the Swedes or the Czechs or it might be all over for us&rdquo; &#9632;</div>

f0003-01

U.S. Medal Hopes Gloomy As Opponents Improve

There will be 12 teams competing for three medals&mdash;gold, silver and bronze&mdash;at the Olympic Games. The teams will be separated and seeded in two divisions, Red and Blue, and will initially play only intradivisional, round-robin games. In other words, teams in the Red Division will play only each other and teams in the Blue will play only each other. After round-robin play, the top three teams in both the Red and Blue will advance to the playoffs, which will determine the top three medal-winning teams.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-04391/5108663-1-eng-US/f0003-042.jpg" title="f0003-04" width="826" height="237"></div> &#9632;

f0003-04

1980 Olympic Lineup

<div class="byline">KEN MCKENZIE&#x2019;S</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-011301/5108722-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg" title="f0004-01" width="514" height="333"></div>&bull; IT&rsquo;S GREAT to see St. Louis Blues back on a winning wicket again. Credit for the transformation from a losing lacklustre team playing before poor crowds to a team with a lot of snap, pep and good old-fashioned intestinal fortitude is none other than Emile &ldquo;The Cat&rdquo; Francis, president and general manager of the Blues. It was Francis who saved hockey for St. Louis when he convinced the Ralston-Purina people that they should purchase the team and venerable St. Louis Arena from the Solomon interests. It wasn&rsquo;t easy. It took a lot of hard work on the part of Francis, but that didn&rsquo;t bother the feisty little guy from North Battleford, Sask. He&rsquo;s been a battler all his life. He drafted well, made clever trades and displayed an abundance of patience in molding the Blues into a respectable club once again. The Blues are 10th in the overall standings and the crowds are starting to get larger with each succeeding game. Another thing about Francis is that he is always selling the sport. The National Hockey League could use a few more types like Francis&hellip;Several NHL general managers are advocating overtime and let&rsquo;s hope the league sees fit to adopt this thrilling feature soon. Overtime was a fixture in the WHA last season where Edmonton, Winnipeg, Hartford and Quebec performed and it worked well. &ldquo;It was great,&rdquo; said Winnipeg general manager John Ferguson. &ldquo;It was good for the game and good for the fans. You could feel the excitement and tenseness&rdquo;&hellip;The 600,000th fan to watch the Maine Mariners play at the Portland Civic Center passed through the turnstiles on January 23 when the Mariners hosted the New Brunswick Hawks. The Mariners have led the American League in attendance ever since they joined the league in 1977&hellip;Ron Wilson, clever left winger of the Winnipeg Jets, is the second highest scoring rookie in the NHL. He&rsquo;s been up near the top all season.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-021215/5108715-1-eng-US/f0004-022.jpg" title="f0004-02" width="276" height="399"><figcaption class="caption-body">Emile Francis</figcaption></div>&bull; JOHN HEWIG, who was replaced as publicity director of the Hartford Whalers by Bob Casey, has moved on to a bigger and better job. John is now communications director of the Ladies Professional Golf Association located in New York. He tells me that Casey and Nate Greenberg of the Boston Bruins assisted him in gaining the position&hellip;Don Baizley, the Winnipeg lawyer, responsible for the New York Rangers getting Anders Hedberg and Ulf Nilsson from the Winnipeg Jets, is just back from the world&rsquo;s junior championship in Helsinki, Finland where he was busy recruiting clients&hellip;Boston&rsquo;s Fred Creighton has been very pleased with the play of rookie defenseman Brad McCrimmon, last year with the Brandon Wheat Kings&rsquo; juniors&hellip;Jack Perrin, former owner of the Winnipeg Warriors who won championships in the old Western Hockey League in the 1950s and 1960s, re cently purchased the Fort Garry Hotel in Winnipeg from the CNR. Jack is already attracting some NHL teams and he hopes to make the Fort Garry sports headquarters in Winnipeg before long&hellip;Bob Utecht, public address announcer at the home games of the Minnesota North Stars, always yells into the microcphone, &ldquo;Let&rsquo;s Play Hockey&rdquo; just before the referee drops the puck to start the game. This is the only arena where this procedure is followed. Bob also publishes a newspaper in the Minnesota area called &ldquo;Let&rsquo;s Play Hockey&rdquo;&hellip;Toronto&rsquo;s Borje Salming looks wan and weak as a result of his weight loss caused by a severe sinus attack&hellip;Marcel Dionne of Los Angeles has been held pointless in only three games this season. Dionne along with linemates Charlie Simmer and Dave Taylor occupy three of the four top spots among the NHL&rsquo;s leading scorers. Then they go down to No. 22 where L.A.&rsquo;s Butch Goring appears&hellip;Coach Bob Berry of the Kings made a sad trip home to Montreal recently to bury his mother who passed away suddenly.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-031038/5108708-1-eng-US/f0004-032.jpg" title="f0004-03" width="271" height="396"><figcaption class="caption-body">Bob Berry</figcaption></div>&bull; GLEN SONMOR, coach of the Minnesota North Stars, would like to see the penalty shot called more. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s one of the most exciting plays in hockey and the fans love it,&rdquo; he pointed out. Recently one was called against Minnesota and Gilles Meloche in goal stopped it. It was only the fourth called against the veteran goalie who has stopped all four&hellip;Personable Jean-Paul Parise, the pride of Smooth Rock Falls, Ont., is doing an outstanding job as assistant to Sonmor. Parise spent many good seasons with Minnesota and New York Islanders before moving into the executive end of the game this season&hellip;Lanny McDonald is fast becoming the &ldquo;people&rsquo;s choice&rdquo; in Colorado. The ex-Toronto forward is one of the classiest guys in the game&hellip;More National Hockey League general managers have complained to us about poor officiating this season. It&rsquo;s also been a bad year for referees and linemen being injured. The same general managers tell us there are very few good officials working in the minor pro leagues as well. Barry Beck had 32 points in his first 31 games with New York Rangers&hellip;Mike Nykoluk did a first-rate job coaching the Rangers while Fred Shero was sidelined with broken ribs&hellip;Station KSTP, Minneapolis-St. Paul, runs a Hot Stove League between periods of the North Stars&rsquo; games. It follows the same format that was used for years over radio in Canada at Montreal and Toronto games. Rod Trongard and Dan Steneking are the regular hosts with different guests appearing for each game. Stoneking is sports editor of the Minneapolis Star&hellip;Winnipeg&rsquo;s Lars-Erik Sjoberg is one of the premier defensemen in the league right now and should merit lots of All Star recognition. He is one of 20 Swedish-born and developed players in the NHL this season&hellip;Toronto Maple Leafs nave denied passage to reporters who were formerly allowed to travel with the team on its charter flights. Coach Floyd Smith told the media that Leafs&rsquo; majority owner Harold Ballard made the decision because stories contained references to players&rsquo; activities during the flights, a time Ballard considered private and not to be divulged to the public.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-04909/5108701-1-eng-US/f0004-042.jpg" title="f0004-04" width="276" height="357"><figcaption class="caption-body">Lars-Erik Sjoberg</figcaption></div>&bull; A NEW RECORD has come out which everyone in hockey is talking about. Phil Esposito, Ron Duguay, Dave Maloney, John Davidson and Pat Hickey combine on one side to bring music lovers &ldquo;Hockey Sock Rock&rdquo; while on the flip side Marcel Dionne, Charlie Simmer and Dave Taylor bring you &ldquo;Pardon My Misconduct&rdquo;. All proceeds from the sale record go to battle juvenile diabetes. All minor hockey associations across Canada are selling the record. The cost is $2.50 per record and that includes the cost of mailing. Interested Canadian parties should send to: Juvenile Diabetes, P.O. Box 4055, Station A, Toronto, Canada. Those in the United States should send for their records to Phil Esposito, Hockey Sock Rock, New York Rangers, Madison Square Garden, New York, N.Y. 1001. Don Cherry has done a great selling job in his name and the Rockies into the daily papers. Armand Pohan and Ray Miron couldn&rsquo;t have landed a better man for the job&hellip;Colgate University&rsquo;s ecstatic over their recent win over the national powerhouse Cornell University. It was Colgate&rsquo;s first victory over Cornell since 1964, snapping 25 straight losses to the Big Red. An outstanding defenseman for Colgate is Chris Renoud, younger brother of Mark Renaud of the Hartford Whalers. The Colgate coach is Terry Slater&hellip;John Short, who does such a splendid job as director of public relations for the Edmonton Oilers, holds down a similar post with the Edmonton Drillers soccer team&hellip;Average ticket price in the National Hockey League is $8.90. The National Football League is $9.75, National Basketball Association $6.25 and the average major league baseball ticket is $4.34&hellip;Ralph Backstrom, former NHL star, assists Norm Jones in broadcasting the games of the Colorado Rockies.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-05760/5108694-1-eng-US/f0004-052.jpg" title="f0004-05" width="272" height="400"><figcaption class="caption-body">Ron Duguay</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0004-01

PASSING THE PUCK

OFFICIAL NATIONAL HOCKEY WEEKLY FOUNDED 1947VOLUME 33, NUMBER 19 FEBRUARY 8,Editorial and Advertising Offices: 214 King Street WestSuite 314Toronto, Ontario. M5H 1K4Charlie Halpin&nbsp;Editorial DirectorTom Murray&nbsp;Assistant PublisherMike Dennis&nbsp;Assistant EditorCathy Munro&nbsp;Copy EditorBob Hanley&nbsp;Editorial ConsultantStan Fischler, Frank Orr Bob Verdi&nbsp;Contributing EditorsBusiness StaffPeter Emerson&nbsp;Executive Vice President and General ManagerJoanne Hatch&nbsp;Sales Service ManagerKenneth W. McKenzie&nbsp;President and PublisherW. C. C. Publishing Ltd.,Suite 217, 1434 St Catherine St W., Montreal, Canada. H3G 1R7Donald R. Wall&nbsp;ChairmanTom Murray&nbsp;Assistant Publisher850 Third Avenue,New York, N.Y. 10022Advertising Representatives:New York:Tom Murray 850 Third Ave., New York, N.Y. 10022 &bull; (212) 593-2100Chicago:Hooper, Jones & Associates 3322 W. Peterson Avenue Chicago, Ill. 60659 &bull; (312) 478-5544Boston:Steve GanakSteve Ganak Ad Reps Stafler Office Bulding Boston, Mass. 02116 &bull; (617) 542-6913THE HOCKEY NEWS; (ISSN 00183016), 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.YEARLY SUBSCRIPTION RATES: $15.95 in Canada, $15.95 in the U.S.A. and $19.95 in Foreign Countries. Second class postage paid at New York, N.Y., 10001 and at additional mailing Offices. SEND ADDRESS CHANGES TO 1434 ST. CATHERINE STREET WEST, SUITE 217, MONTREAL, CANADA H3G 1R7. Second Class mail Registration No. 1327. All inquiries pertaining to subscriptions should be addressed to Subscription Dept., The Hockey News, 214 King St. W., Suite 314, Toronto, Ont. M4H 1K4, Canada. &#9632;

The Hockey News

<div class="byline">BY FRED PIETILA</div>DENVER&mdash;Don Cherry figures the two most important things in pro hockey or any other sport for that matter are winning and attracting crowds.Cherry&rsquo;s Colorado Rockies have come up considerably short on winning the National Hockey League season, but their crowds were encouraging, regardless of what transpired the last 15 home games of the year.Despite going through the first 45 games with one of the worst records in the NHL, the Rockies&rsquo; home crowds were up by more than 3,400 per game. And the team was playing on a level which was about the same as last season&mdash;a level which would not qualify for the playoffs.Nevertheless, in a miserable winter sports season when Denver&rsquo;s other team, the NBA Nuggets, have suffered at the gate, the Rockies&rsquo; attendance was a positive sign despite the fact that the team will lose approximately $2 million this season.Most of the reasons for the improvement in the gate belongs to Cherry, whose boisterous acclamations during the off-season hyped ticket sales tremendously. But the volatile coach figures it&rsquo;s a lot more than just his presence. The Rockies, for the most part, are a much improved team, record withstanding, and a much more entertaining team.Last season when the Rockies averaged a little more than 6,100 per game, they twice drew crowds exceeding 9,000 and never reached five figures. January games with Minnesota and Vancouver drew 9,146 and 9,055, respectively. And everything else was much lower.This season through 23 home games, the Rockies had one sellout&mdash;franchise-record 16,452 for the record-breaking Philadelphia Flyers&mdash;and eight others over the 10,000 mark. You had to wonder what this maligned franchise would do if the Rockies were playing .500 hockey, or close to it.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s the name of the game,&rdquo; Cherry said. &ldquo;The first thing is winning and the second is getting people in the stands. I think the reason is the people see the guys right down to the end.&rdquo;&ldquo;People are excited about the team,&rdquo; Cherry said. &ldquo;What really hurt us is the bad start we got,&rdquo; Cherry said of the team&rsquo;s 1-7-2 record before the trade of Barry Beck to the New York Rangers.&ldquo;But still the people are coming out and that&rsquo;s one of the two main things. You can win a million games, but if the people aren&rsquo;t coming, you&rsquo;re done,&rdquo; the coach said.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s because the guys are trying. They don&rsquo;t always do their best, but they&rsquo;re trying,&rdquo; Cherry said. &#9632;

Cherry Realizes Part Of Denver Objectives

<div class="byline">BY BILL FLEISCHMAN</div>PHILADELPHIA&mdash;Pete Peeters, a goaltender only the Flyers wanted, is an All-Star. Not an American or International League All-Star, but an accredited NHL All-Star.When the Campbell Conference elite meet and greet each other Feb. 5 in Detroit, Peeters will be sitting next to Tony Esposito. Imagine their introductory conversation&hellip;Esposito: &ldquo;Hi, Pete, I&rsquo;m Tony Esposito. How ya&rsquo; doing&rsquo;?&rdquo;Peeters: &ldquo;Ggggosh, Mr. Esposito, it&rsquo;s an honor to meet you. Can I sharpen your skates? Clean your mask?&rdquo;Seriously, folks, Peeters is humble, but he&rsquo;s not THAT humble. Reporters seeking colorful quotes only pause long enough at Peeters&rsquo; locker for a &ldquo;the team played well in front of me&rdquo; comment, and then move on. The Bulletin&rsquo;s Ray Didinger Wrote that the Flyers&rsquo; rookie goalie is &ldquo;as drab as an undertaker&rsquo;s closet.&rdquo;Peeters isn&rsquo;t THAT drab either. He is just a solid citizen type who does his job with remarkable professional skill for a 22-year-old and then goes home. &ldquo;Just another routine day at the office,&rdquo; he probably says to wife Laurie as he stifles a yawn.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m just like anybody else,&rdquo; Peeters said after learning he has finished runnerup to Esposito in Campbell balloting for the All-Star Game. &ldquo;I just play 60 minutes of hockey every so often. I know people look at professional athletes as something special, but I don&rsquo;t see myself that way.&rdquo;Peeters, who was unbeaten (18-0-5) prior to a start in his hometown of Edmonton, has played his regular 60 minutes with enough poise and efficiency to keep Keith Allen smiling from morning until night. If Peeters is as good as he&rsquo;s looked, the Flyers have their goaltender of the future now.Peeters has had several outstanding games. He has anchored three victories over Buffalo, the Flyers&rsquo; closest pursuer for the NHL&rsquo;s overall point title, by scores of 3-1, 3-2, and 4-2. Other victims include the Rangers, Islanders, Los Angeles and Chicago.Alternating with veteran Phil Myre, Peeters has given Coach Pat Quinn a pleasant dilemma. While Myre&rsquo;s goals-against average has been in the 3.50 range (compared to Peeters&rsquo; league-leading 2.45), both have produced strong games. Myre beat the Canadiens in Montreal, was the last line of defense in Boston when the Flyers set the NHL record for most consecutive games without a loss, and played superbly twice at Madison Square Garden (1-1 tie, stopping 34 shots, and a 5-3 victory).Quinn&rsquo;s problem is: Can he keep alternating Peeters and Myre down the homestretch? Most successful teams in the Stanley Cup playoffs rely on one goaltender: Bernie Parent when the Flyers were champions, Ken Dryden for Montreal, John Davidson last spring for the Rangers.Quinn is enjoying the work of Peeters and Myre too much to take a one-goalie route into the playoffs.However, the consensus among Quinn&rsquo;s coaching advisors in the press is, perhaps by March 1, Peeters will start playing two out of three games. Then if Peeters continues to maintain his goaltending groove, he&rsquo;ll likely handle the Flyers&rsquo; starting assignments in the playoffs.Anyway, Peeters will be keeping company with the Espositos and Trottiers at the All-Star Game. Not bad for an eighth-round draft choice who wasn&rsquo;t even the Flyers first goalie selection in 1977. The club picked Yves Guille-mette from Shawinigan in the fourth round. Guillemette is now out of hockey, proving that even computers make mistakes.FLYERS FACTS: Captain Mel Bridgman suffered a broken right hand in a fight with Washington&rsquo;s Robert Picard and was to be sidelined two weeks.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-011174/5108801-1-eng-US/f0005-012.jpg" title="f0005-01" width="552" height="1045"><figcaption class="caption-body">Rookie Pete Peeters was named to the Campbell All Star team, but his real test may begin around March.</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0005-01

Flyer Goaler Doesn’t Feel Special

<div class="byline">FRANK ORR&#x2019;S</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-02863/5108832-1-eng-US/f0005-022.jpg" title="f0005-02" width="438" height="341"></div><h2>It&rsquo;s The Same Game</h2>AROUND THE NATIONAL HOCKEY League this season, there&rsquo;s been a great deal of chatter about the changes in the game, switches in the style of play teams are trying to use. The talk is that the style now emphasizes speed and motion and offense. Muscle and grinding is on its way out.Marcel Dionne plays the speed and motion game as well as anyone in the game but he doesn&rsquo;t agree wholeheartedly that hockey is changing in the NHL.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s still the same game, really,&rdquo; Dionne said. &ldquo;There have been some changes in the game in my time (nine seasons) in the NHL. and not all of them have been good ones, in my view.&rdquo;As one of the best skaters and puckhandlers in the league, Dionne has benefited from the slight shift towards a free flow style. He&rsquo;s been the NHL&rsquo;s leading scorer from the first game of the season, although he faces a heavy battle for that crown with Guy Lafleur of Montreal Canadiens.Dionne has pivoted the NHL&rsquo;s highest scoring forward line with wingers Charlie Simmer and Dave Taylor. That trio has carried the Kings on their backs because the club&rsquo;s back-up scoring hasn&rsquo;t been too strong and the club is weak defensively.&ldquo;Because of my size (five-foot-eight, 180 pounds), I&rsquo;ve always had to use my speed as the main part of my game,&rdquo; Dionne said. &ldquo;Maybe there are more good skaters in the NHL now but while teams seem more interested in offense, the style of hockey hasn&rsquo;t changed all that much. It always has been a game where skating was an important factor.&rdquo;When Dionne reflects back on a career that started in 1971, he looks at these influences on the way the game is played.&ldquo;These days, it seems that every team has one big forward line that carries the scoring load for them,&rdquo; he said.&ldquo;Outside of Philadelphia Flyers, who get goals from all over their roster, it&rsquo;s tough to think of a club with two strong scoring lines. I remember my early seasons in the NHL&mdash;and I&rsquo;m not trying to pass myself off as any wise old man&mdash;and it seemed the good clubs had more depth in top players.&rdquo;<h2>The Orr Influence</h2>DIONNE FEELS that the &ldquo;Bobby Orr influence&rdquo; on a whole generation of young players is being felt now in the way NHL defensemen perform. Orr was the only NHL backliner ever to win the league&rsquo;s scoring title and he changed the role of the defenseman in the game.&ldquo;Bobby was the game&rsquo;s biggest star and the greatest player so it was natural that he&rsquo;d influence how young players played the game,&rdquo; Dionne added.&ldquo;He was so great offensively that the kids all started to copy his style. Before long, there wasn&rsquo;t much emphasis on defensemen playing defense. Defensemen started to skate like forwards and if a defenseman didn&rsquo;t get quite a few points, then people didn&rsquo;t think he was very good.&ldquo;Now every defenseman wants to skate with the puck and shoot it a great deal. There&rsquo;s not much emphasis placed on defensive defensemen, is there?&rdquo;Dionne feels that the loss of many older defensemen hasn&rsquo;t helped the game.&ldquo;When I first came into the NHL&mdash;and it&rsquo;s not that long ago&mdash;there were many older defensemen in the league, guys well into their 30s, who were very smart at playing defense. There were players like Bobby Baun, Gary Bergman, Tim Horton and others who didn&rsquo;t get high point totals but were terrific players who moved the puck quickly, cleared the front of the net and handed out some tough but clean bodychecks.&ldquo;Outside of Serge Savard (Canadiens) and Dave Burrows (Leafs), how many of those wise older guys are there around? The teams these days want young guys who can skate fast, carry the puck and shoot it hard playing defense. I think the game lost something when that change came about.&rdquo;<h2>Goalies Have Changed</h2>DIONNE ALSO FEELS that the role of the goaltender has changed in the game too.&ldquo;A few years ago, teams could count on their goalies to win games for them,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Now it&rsquo;s a case of teams having to win games for the goalies. Outside of Tony Esposito in Chicago, what goalies get their clubs points on a very few goals?&ldquo;When I first came to the Kings (in &rsquo;75), we had Rogie Vachon in goal. Before a game, he&rsquo;d say &lsquo;get me a couple of goals and we won&rsquo;t lose.&rsquo; Sure enough, we&rsquo;d get him two or three goals and he&rsquo;d get us a win or a tie.&ldquo;Now there are more 6-5 shootouts than those good, exciting 2-1 and 3-2 close ones. Those games are better than so many 7-6 games where everyone just shoots, shoots, shoots at the net.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0005-02

HOCKEY VIEWPOINT

<div class="byline">BY FRANK ORR</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0006-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-011356/5108863-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">The Canadian Olympic team has been strong on defense and Brad Pirie, shown in action against touring Czech B team during expects a big effort from goaler Bob Dupuis and defenseman pre Olympic competition, when games open in Lake Placid. (Photo by Jim Lipa/Hockey Canada)</figcaption></div>The results of two years of planning, sacrifice and plain old hard work for the Canadian Olympic hockey team probably will hinge on one game&mdash;against Finland&mdash;in the Olympic Games hockey tournament in Lake Placid, N.Y.The Canadian team likely will need a victory over the Finns to advance to the four-team final round of the Olympic competition.&ldquo;Because of the divisional structure of the Olympic tournament, our key game of the entire season could be against Finland in the preliminary round,&rdquo; said Tom Watt, one of the three coaches on the Canadian team&rsquo;s staff with Clare Drake and Lorne Davis.&ldquo;We beat the Finns in September in a tournament in Czechoslovakia and tied them in the Izvestia tournament in Moscow in December,&rdquo; Watt added.The Olympic tournament consists of two groups of six teams, each of which plays a round-robin preliminary round and the two top teams in each sector advance to the final.Canada is grouped with the Soviet Union, Finland, Japan, Holland and Poland. Both Canada and Finland should beat the latter three teams and, unless there&rsquo;s an upset, lose to the USSR. Thus, the Finland-Canada match should decide second place in the group.The other division has Czechoslovakia, Sweden, Norway, the U.S., West Germany and Romania.Canada hasn&rsquo;t competed in the Olympic hockey event since the 1968 games when it ws represented by the old Canadian national team of Father David Bauer. That team was disbanded in 1970 but Father Bauer never dismantled his dream of building a team of young amateurs to compete successfully with the top international sides.With the financial backing of Hockey Canada and the Canadian government, the Olympic team idea was born under his guidance. The 28-player roster that has been based in Calgary this season is the result of several tryout camps during the 1978-79 season.In late July, the Olympic team players assembled in Calgary to start a long, heavy training program, aimed at those two weeks at Lake Placid&mdash;and the results have been very encouraging.The Canadian players came from several sources&mdash;Canadian college hockey, Canucks who were attending U.S. universities on hockey scholarships, plus three who played in other countries last season.A Calgary oil company donated &ldquo;The Rig&rdquo;&mdash;portable dormitories from a drilling site in Alaska&mdash;and those cabins were assembled on a site near the Stampede Corral arena in Calgary as a residence for the players.The players receive the &ldquo;game plan&rdquo; financial allowance from the Canadian government that&rsquo;s granted the Olympic athletes.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s been an absolutely great experience because we&rsquo;ve been all in it together and no one is getting more out of it than anyone else,&rdquo; said defenseman Randy Gregg, one of the team&rsquo;s mainstays.Gregg completed his medical studies at University of Alberta last spring and likely would have been interning this year if the Olympic project hadn&rsquo;t derailed him.&ldquo;I feel we&rsquo;ve made excellent progress as a hockey team,&rdquo; Gregg said. &ldquo;In this project, what we do as individuals isn&rsquo;t important. The team is the only thing that matters. People might scoff at that but that&rsquo;s how it is.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve been able to operate the way European teams do and that&rsquo;s a departure from pro hockey&rsquo;s approach. Our target is two weeks oi competition&mdash;the Games&mdash;and everything we&rsquo;ve done has been to bring us to a peak for that, the way the Soviets or Czechs point towards an important competition such as the Olympics or world championship.&rdquo;.The Canadian team competed in a tournament in Czechoslovakia in September, then played a half-dozen exhibition games against NHL clubs. Since then, they&rsquo;ve had a series of games against the U.S. Olympic team, winning four of six games, college and junior teams plus international matches against Moscow Dynamo and the Czech B team. The club was split into two parts to compete in the Izvestia tournament in Moscow, bolstered by pro players, and the pre-Olympic tournament in Lake Placid.While the Canadians have stressed the &ldquo;team&rdquo; approach, a few individuals bear watching at Lake Placid. The defense pair of Glen and Warren Anderson from University of Toronto has been strong all season.The team has stressed speed in its forwards rather than size. The result is a pack of small but extremely quick scooters. Such players as Kevin Primeau, Doug Buchanan, Ken Berry, Kevin Maxwell, Dave Hindmarch, Cary Farelli, Dan D&rsquo;Alvise and John Devaney will be prominent.The Olympic club has received outstanding goaltending from Bob Dupuis from the Barrie, Ont., seniors and Ron Paterson from University of British Columbia. Top junior goalie Paul Pageau from Shawinigan of the Quebec junior league could be added for the Olympics.When the club was divided into two squads and didn&rsquo;t fare well in either the Izvestia or Lake Placid tournaments, there was considerable criticism of the Olympic team concept.&ldquo;People in Canada just didn&rsquo;t seem to understand the situation,&rdquo; said coach Watt, who&rsquo;s on loan to the Olympics from University of of Toronto.&ldquo;We had commitments to both events for a variety of reasons, some of which weren&rsquo;t under our control. The two events, while the results weren&rsquo;t good, gave all bur players plenty of experience on big ice surfaces.&ldquo;Also, when the club was put back together for the games against Dynamo and the Czechs, it really helped our team spirit and feeling, and that&rsquo;s a big part of this effort. Our players realized just how much they all needed each other to succeed and we played really well right after that.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0006-01

Canada Sees Finns As Key To Medal Round

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0006-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-02979/5108894-1-eng-US/f0006-022.jpg"></div>(Playoffs will take place on 2/22 and 2/24. All games will be played in the Olympic Center. Event numbers are 216 through 220. Game times on 2/22: 1330, 1700 and 2030. Game Times on 2/24: 1100 and 1430.) &#9632;

f0006-02

Olympic Hockey Schedule

<div class="byline">BY HERMAN PEDERGNANA</div>Sweden&rsquo;s coach Tommy Sandlin added half a dozen new players to the roster of the Tre Kronor national team after his crew took second to last place at the Izvestia tournament in Moscow.Late additions to the team that was assembled in early February included two highly-rated junior defensemen, Thomas Jonsson of MoDo and Thomas Samuelsson of Faerjestad. Both were outstanding at the World Junior Championships at Helsinki a month ago.The forward lines were strengthened by former World tournament players Bengt Lundholm, Mats Ahlberg and Hakan Ericsson. Lundholm is considered to be one of the best skaters in Sweden, a very brainy player whose only deficiency is toughness.&ldquo;And that may well be the main characteristic of the whole Swedish team,&rdquo; assessed Lundholm&rsquo;s club coach Anders Parmqvist, who had a hand in developing such NHL greats as Anders Hedberg and Ulf Nilsson and who is a close observer of international and pro hockey.&ldquo;The team will be loaded with good skaters and deft passers,&rdquo; Parmqvist said, &ldquo;but will lack tough players.&rdquo;Coach Tommy Sandlin would also have liked to have the team together for a longer period of preparation. &ldquo;The Finns, for one.&rdquo; Sandlin said, &ldquo;are much better prepared for the Olympics than we.&rdquo;The Swedes also sorely miss the 30 or more players who are or were professionals and thus remain ineligible for the Olympics.Included in this group are a half dozen of their top goalies.Backstopping the team at the Olympics will be 20-year-old Pelle Lindbergh, a prospect on the Philadelphia Flyers&rsquo; list. &ldquo;He is about two years away from being a top pro goaltender,&rdquo; said former NHL great Jacques Plante, who scouted him recently at an international tournament. &ldquo;He has all the right moves, but he still has to learn a few things. He realizes this, though, and is willing.&rdquo;On defense, Ulf Weinstock and Mats Waltin, both in their late twenties, are highly-experienced and very effective at clearing the slot, but they are not as big and rough as the Russians.The Swedes are usually at their best when they play a fast skating and passing type of game dominated by quick feeds to their quick, roaming wingers. Bengt Lundholm, Lars Gunnar Lundberg, Leif Holgren and Hakan Ericsson are especially adept at executing neat plays.On the other hand, the Swedes have a history of never doing well at the Olympics, the most recent downfall coming in 1972, when they lost the silver medal to an aroused U.S. squad. &#9632;

Swedes Add New Faces To Lift Olympic Hopes

Although the rise of Czechoslovakian hockey to a place of prominence on the world scene parallels closely ascent of the Soviet Union in the sport, there&rsquo;s one rather large difference.The Czechs have played bridesmaid to the Soviets so often that they&rsquo;re the world&rsquo;s leading experts in catching the bouquet. They&rsquo;ve been No. 2 and tried harder. They&rsquo;ve had more near-misses than the girl in a knife-throwing act.In most world tournaments and Olympic competitions since the two nations moved into the global shinny foreground in the 1950s, the Czechs have beaten everyone except the Soviets. In many cases, their losses to the USSR have been by the slimmest possible margins and several were heart-breakers for the Czechs.Czechoslovakia did score a major triumph over the Soviets in the 1971 world tournament in Prague. That was one of the first major sports encounters between the CSSR and USSR after the Soviets rolled their tanks into Prague in 1968 and squelched any liberalization by the Czech government. It was a time of great emotion for the Czechs and after their win over the Soviets, Czech people were crying and cheering in the streets.In the 1976 Canada Cup tournament, the Czechs did finish in front of the Soviets but were second to Team Canada, the National Hockey League All Star team.The Canada-Czechoslovakia games in that tournament were memorable ones. The Czechs beat Canada, 1-0, in the preliminary round behind the goaltending of economy-sized Vladimir Dzurilla. Canada won the first game of the best-of-three final, 6-0, and then, in a memorable match, downed the Czechs, 5-4, in overtime on a goal by Darryl Sittler of Toronto Maple Leafs to win the tournament.&ldquo;The Czech team we&rsquo;ll see at the Olympics is a very strong one,&rdquo; said Tom Watt, one of the Canadian Olympic team coaches. &ldquo;They have a group of large-sized players who are superbly conditioned because the Czechs are among the leaders in the use of land and weight training for hockey.&ldquo;They&rsquo;ve made big changes in their defense in the past few years but their key forwards are the same players who made them such a good team in the Canada Cup. They have speed, size and experience up front on their Olympic team. They can score goals very well&mdash;and produce them in bunches.&rdquo;The cast of forwards is very familiar to international hockey watchers&mdash;Ivan Hlinka, Milan Novy, Bohuslav Eberman, Vladimir Martinec, Eduard Novak and the world&rsquo;s No. 1 brother act. the Stastny boys, Bohuslav, Marian and Peter. &#9632;

Czechs Aim To Discard Hockey Bridesmaid Role

<div class="byline">BY FRANK ORR</div>When two top club teams from the Soviet Union&mdash;Central Red Army and Moscow Dynamo&mdash;failed to play to the expected standard of excellence on a North American tour last month against National Hockey League teams, hopes were raised slightly that the USSR national club for the Olympic Games might not be the usual powerhouse.Almost all the players who will be on the Soviet squad in Lake Placid were on the Army and Dynamo rosters. Some turned in ordinary performances against the pros and Dynamo could manage only a tie in three games against the young Canadian Olympic squad.Even the big men in the Soviet hockey picture&mdash;Boris Maiorov, who heads the entire comrades&rsquo; puck program and Army team coach Victor Tikhonov&mdash;expressed some alarm at the ordinary work of some of their important players.&ldquo;Dynamo gave up far too many goals and the Army team&rsquo;s play lacked real quality much of the time,&rdquo; Maiorov said.Unlike his predecessors who refused to single out individuals for either praise or criticism, Tikhonov had a few blasts for some workers.&ldquo;Our defensemen did not show the strongest tactics against the professionals,&rdquo; Tikhonov said.Well, despite these minor complaints. no one should anticipate anything but a Soviet gold medal blitz at Lake Placid as the USSR seeks its fifth consecutive Olympic championship.Since the upstart U.S. team did its Cinderella act at Squaw Valley in 1960, the Soviets have dominated the Olympic hockey program and will be favored to repeat this.Following the Army-Dynamo tour, the USSR nationals went into a month of intensive preparation for the Olympics and their club for Lake Placid will emerge from that camp superbly conditioned and finely honed.Although the Soviet brass claims that there could be some surprises when their roster is listed for the Olympics, the cast likely will be a familiar one.Maiorov even hinted that the Soviet mainstays of the past decade&mdash;Valeri Kharlamov and Vladimir Petrov, who work on the great Army forward line with old Boris Mikhailov&mdash;might be missing at Lake Placid. No one is betting on it.Really, the Soviet national team is a superb club team. The Central Red Army, bolstered by the top players from the other Moscowbased teams, forms the nucleus of the Nationals.Close to a dozen Army players will be on the team for the Olympics&mdash;goalie Vladislav Tretiak, defensemen Viacheslav Fetisov, Vladimir Lutchenko, Sergei Babinov, Sergei Gimaye and Sergei Starikov, two excellent forward lines, Petrov, Mikhailov and Kharlamov, Victor Zhlutkov with Helmut Balderis and Sergei Makarov on the wings plus Sergei Kapustin.Dynamo contributes a strong &ldquo;five&rdquo;, defensemen Vasili Pervukhin and Zinetula Bilyeletdinov and the line of the Golikov brothers, Alexander and Vladimir, with Alexander Maltsev. Veteran defenseman Valeri Vasiliev and backup goal Alexander Myshkin will also be on the Olympic team.Under Tikonov&rsquo;s coaching, the Soviets continue to make alterations in their style of play. In Army&rsquo;s games against the NHL clubs, the Soviet defensemen were dumping the puck around the boards much more than usual. Their attackers fired the puck into their opponents&rsquo; zone often, too, then employed forechecking to get it back.But on the big ice surface at Lake Placid, the USSR team will be playing its normal game that stresses speed, quick passing and a free-flowing system.<h2>Finns Must Avoid Letdown</h2>There is not a team that the Finns have not beaten at one time or another, including the Soviets, Czechs and NHL pros. But they also have a history of going quickly from a high to a low.Whenever they applied their &lsquo;sisu&rsquo;&mdash;the Finnish word for fighting spirit-successfully to one of the Big Fours and had a medal in their grasp, they fell apart, often against a weaker team. The same happened to them at the Izvestia tournament last December as their bid for second place was stopped by Team Canada with a scoreless draw. This followed a 4-2 victory over Sweden and a 4-4 tie against Czechoslovakia.In the past two seasons, the Finns revamped their national team, replacing about half the players, including all the former pros. But the newcomers should provide a lot of excitement. Some of them like defensemen Hannu Haapalainen and Kari Elorante, were programmed for years to take over from older hands. They played for the Junior Nationals and were touring North America with the Selects made up of players with promise.One of the most exciting players had to be Markku Kiimalainen, who broke into the Finnish League with Kaerpaet in 1978 and was not only chosen as the outstanding rookie, but also turned out to be the top scorer. And that&rsquo;s something because the Finnish League is one of the toughest, as several pro teams will attest after close encounters in exhibition games.<h2>Japanese Prefer To Go All Out</h2>Wherever they play, the Japanese turn out to be the darlings of the public. Most of the Japanese players are too small for the sport, and the closest teams of any caliber worth mentioning are continents away.One in a game, however, the Japanese forget all about those handicaps and go all out, as the Canadian Olympic Team learned in Tokyo last month when they won an exhibition game by only 10.To get into the Olympics at all, Japan profited from the unwillingness of the higher-ranked East Germans and Swiss to make the trip to Lake Placid.Ranked number 14 on the international hockey scale, the Japanese boast of lining up the best center of the B-Pool minor powers. He is Hitoshi Wakabayashi, who learned the art of stickhandling in Canada and the U.S. At the last tournament, he was voted to the &lsquo;B&rsquo; All Star team.In the Japanese League, however, a true native son by the name of Yoshio Hoshino rates as the most valuable player, and a couple of years ago, when Soviet star Vladimir Starshinov was playing coach in Japan, Hoshino did much better than the Russian in the scoring department. That&rsquo;s how good he is.<h2>Norway Needs More Depth</h2>Norway ranks as the number 12 hockey nation right now, based on its fourth spot in last year&rsquo;s B pool tournament. One player was instrumental in getting the Scandinavians that far, and he will be ineligible for Lake Placid. Detroit farmhand Bjorn Skaare, who picked up his finishing touches as a centerman with the Ottawa 67&rsquo;s in the Ontario Major League, is the greatest hockey player Norway has developed in over a decade.His absence shifts the weight of responsibility on some time-tested, but by international standards, mediocre hockey players such as defensemen Thor Martinsen, Nils Nilsen, Per Erik Ingjer and Rene Molberg.Morton Sethereng, Morten Johansen and Roar Oevstedal form a strong forward line whose specialty is launching breakaways, and right-winger Tom Roymark is another key player on offense.Goaltender Tore Walberg is expected to handle heavy traffic as Norway will be outplayed by most of its opponents. Realistically, all the team can hope for is to become second-to-last in its division.<h2>Romania Cast As Spoilers</h2>The total of registered hockey players from the pee-wee to the senior level in Romania is less than one thousand. So it speaks for the selective development system that Romania ranks as the eleventh world hockey nation.Most of the good players are concentrated in just three clubs&mdash;Steau Bucharest, Dinamo Bucharest and Sportclub Miercurea Ciuc. From these three teams, the national squad is being formed. Once, in 1977, it even emerged in the A Pool but was quickly demoted again. Still, the Romanians handled themselves well in quite a few games.The team is backstopped by Valerian Netedu, a veteran of many international confrontations, or by Gheorghe Hutan. Mostly, they try to trap stronger opponents at the blueline-and send their wingers off on breakaways.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-011207/5108925-1-eng-US/f0007-012.jpg" title="f0007-01" width="590" height="1195"><figcaption class="caption-body">The Soviets will be powerful at Lake Placid whether they bring veteran Valeri Kharlmov along or not. He could be left at home according to the Soviet hockey people. (Photo by Ian MacAlpine)</figcaption></div><h2>Dutchmen Have Canadian Look</h2>The Dutch have a special curiosity value at the Lake Placid Olympics because their hockey team is the only one not conversing in its native tongue. It&rsquo;s not because the players cannot speak Dutch; they are simply more familiar with English, the language with which they grew up.Most of the roster, you see, made up from repatriates, sons of post-war immigrants to Canada or the U.S. who come from three major teams in Holland: The Tilburg Trappers, Groningen and Heerenven.Speaking English and playing go-go hockey in pure Canadian style, the Dutch produced one of the biggest upsets in international hockey last spring when they won the B pool of the World Championships at Galati, Romania. That victory gives them the right to face such countries as the Soviet Union Czechoslovakia, Canada and Sweden at next year&rsquo;s World tournament.Behind 3-0 in the decisive game for first place against East Germany last spring, the Dutch team rallied to win, 4-3, on a pair of goals by Jack de Heer and singles by Jan Janssens and Corkie de Grauuw. &ldquo;That is their top line, and it is as good as anyone&rsquo;s, including the Russian&rsquo;s,&rdquo; said former NHL defenseman Hal Laycoe, who once spent a season coaching in the Netherlands.Jack de Heer was included on the All Star team of the B Pool tournament, as was goalkeeper Gerry Gobel, who had a lot to do with the stunning win. Other defensive stalwarts include George Peternousek, an exiled Czech, and Rick van Gog.Leftwinger Leo Koopmans and centerman Larry van Wieren, both top scorers in the Dutch League, along with John van der Griendt, provide scoring punch.<h2>West Germans Solid On Defense</h2>With the absence of Sweden and Canada, West Germany surprised everyone by winning the bronze medal at the Innsbruck Olympics in 1976. &ldquo;This time, the job will be much tougher, and finishing among the top five would mean more than that third spot four years ago,&rdquo; coach Hans Rampf said. &ldquo;This time, Sweden and Canada are taking part, and the Finns and Americans should be much stronger.&rdquo;The West Germans rely on a strong defense. &ldquo;In fact, it could well be the best in all of Europe in a couple of years, and that includes the Russians, Czechs and Swedes,&rdquo; said Mike Daski, a former American Leaguer who has spent the last 23 years in Europe as a player and coach. And he takes personal credit for developing most of those defensemen. &ldquo;Except for Bob Murray,&rdquo; Daski said, &ldquo;I handled them all at one stage or another and taught them the basics of defense. And that includes Kiessling: I switched him from centerman to defenseman, and his old man was mad like hell.&rdquo;<h2>Poland Keeps Looking Back</h2>If you talk hockey with Polish people, the discussion turns quickly to the &lsquo;One Great Event&rsquo; in Polish hockey history. That took place in the spring of 1976 at the World Tournament at Katowice when Poland won the opener against the Soviet Union, 6-5.Yet this remains the only upset they ever accomplished, as they spent most years moving between the A and B Pool. They are not good enough to stay on top and are mostly too strong for the other have-nots.True to their history, the Poles moved up into the A Pool in 1978 but were relegated again last year, although they put up formidable resistence in a 5-5 tie against the U.S. Nationals. &ldquo;To be honest about it, we should have lost that game,&rdquo; U.S. coach Herb Brooks remarked. &#9632;

f0007-01

Soviets Still Team To Beat Despite Dismal Tour of NHL

The International Hockey Weekly Founded in 1947Published by W.C.C. Publishing Ltd.214 King St. West, Suite 314, Toronto, Ont. M5H 1K4<h2>Ziegler Hits Hard</h2>THE BUSINESS PHILOSOPHY that the customer is always right, is sometimes clearly wrong.The severity of fines and suspensions imposed on some of the Boston Bruins by NHL president John Ziegler, would seem to create a clear-cut victory for a cowardly hoodlum fringe which plagues all sport and threatens injury to players and officials.Lack of sympathy with the players&rsquo; rights to protect themselves from a criminally irresponsible element, in such zoos as Madison Square Garden, is opening the way to future assaults such as those which almost blinded an NHL official last year. In the harsh treatment of Bruins, Ziegler seems to have taken the side of the idiot fan fringe which causes riots at football games and throws bottles and fireworks at outfielders from the baseball bleachers.The proper course of action in the recent hockey case would have been to levy a heavy fine against the host club which allowed these sports muggers into its building.Instead, Ziegler has attacked the players with fines and suspensions that would seem to condone the fans&rsquo; contribution to the whole New York disorder. He has also strengthened their case in law, providing them with a stronger civil case by leaving the impression that the players, rather than the fans, did something wrong.Perhaps it&rsquo;s a matter for the NHLPA, and perhaps players should refuse to play in these rowdy environments where they can&rsquo;t be protected from dangerous and unlawful elements which interfere with games.In the New York case, as in so many others, the very hoodlums who taunt and attack players, are the first to run to the civil courts when they get a retaliatory punch in the nose. And in some cases, it&rsquo;s not a matter of players retaliating, but rather of acting in self-defense. Ziegler has said that players are not to engage in confrontations with fans. In New York, it was the players who were confronted&mdash;not the fans.There is a wide sympathy throughout the league for the reaction of the Bruins&rsquo; Harry Sinden. It isn&rsquo;t difficult to understand his outrage when you consider that these suspensions could affect the ultimate overall standing of Bruins in the league this year.The point that Ziegler seems to have missed&mdash;the Bruins went into New York to play hockey; the unruly fan element went to Madison Square Garden to cause troube.<h2>Lake Placid Warning</h2>WHEN THE SOVIETS first moved into Afghanistan, there to suppress and enslave another nation, the Central Red Army team was already into its North American exhibition tour.Crowd reaction was mild in Montreal, but emotions ran higher in Buffalo against this newest in the series of Soviet world conquests and expansions.With growing reaction against the Soviets, trade restrictions and planned boycott of the Moscow Olympics, it&rsquo;s not too early to wonder what will happen in Lake Placid.There could be fan reaction at many venues but hooting and howling against the Soviets may be more prominent in the hockey tournament. But whatever fan feelings might be, it will be the responsibility of all security forces in Lake Placid to make certain that none of the emotional fans get close to the Soviet players.Since they haven&rsquo;t been denied visas they are coming as guests and must receive adequate protection. That includes the ejection and arrest of any fans caught throwing things at the ice surface. &#9632;

<div class="byline">BY JOHN ZIEGLER</div>Quebec Nordiques&rsquo; president Marcel Aubut issued a release in January that all announcements at the Quebec Coliseum would be made in French and that the National Anthem would be sung in French only except when the visiting team is Canadian and the anthem is sung in their arena in both French and English. The Nordiques&rsquo; management said they felt justified in their decision because of the fact that at least 80 per cent of the spectators at the Coliseum were French and because only the English language is used in most of the National Hockey League buildings where the Nordiques are visitors.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-011292/5109028-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg" title="f0008-01" width="274" height="475"></div>NHL president John Ziegler ordered, according to the Nordiques, that the announcements continue to be made in French and English at least for the time being, and suggested that the Players&rsquo; Association should have been consulted on the matter.The Nordiques&rsquo; management &ldquo;in a spirit of cooperation&rdquo; has decided to submit the matter to the Board of Governors for discussion, while in the meantime all announcements at the Coliseum are being made in French only, except for goals and penalties which are also announced in English.Here are president Ziegler&rsquo;s views on the subject as told the THE HOCKEY NEWS:The situation is, as it was when I discussed it with Mr. Aubut. There&rsquo;s no problem at the moment and at some time their club will make a request to the league for the board to consider the feasibility of having French only during the conduct of the game. We&rsquo;ll deal with it then. It&rsquo;s not a big deal at this point.They (the Nordiques)) called me and said that this was what they would like to do and I pointed out the difficulties that it would encounter since there&rsquo;d been a 60year policy (of speaking English). That&rsquo;s been the policy of the league and they understood that and understood the procedures of how you go about changing policy, whether getting new policies or exceptions to them, and said that they would take that course.They make a request to go before the board. That doesn&rsquo;t mean that it gets changed but the board must consider it. It&rsquo;s very simple, it&rsquo;s not a big thing.It will be brought up. I haven&rsquo;t received a request yet, but I&rsquo;m sure that it will be forthcoming and we&rsquo;ll discuss it in the ordinary course.In a prepared statement issued by the NHL, Ziegler also said:The established policy of the NHL is that announcements during the course of the game, those that refer to goals, assists, penalties, time remaining in each period, and official time-outs must be given in the English language. The actual conduct of the game itself is the responsibility of the NHL but the National Anthem or any announcement with regards to the audience only may be made in any language desired by the club.The league maintains the right to all activities pertaining to the conduct of the game itself and should any club desire a change in this policy then they must present their proposal to the league.The league is also required to assure that adequate facilities and information is available to visiting newsmen and broadcasters. Their work would be severely hampered if announcements concerning the game were in French only. &#9632;

f0008-01

NHL To Air Nordique Problem

<div class="byline">BY LEE HUNSAKER</div>If in 1975 someone had told me that I might be coaching a women&rsquo;s hockey team by the next year, I&rsquo;d have thought them to be crazy. Back then I, and many others, considered the very idea of women playing hockey as absurd.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-021081/5109059-1-eng-US/f0008-022.jpg" title="f0008-02" width="329" height="513"></div>Yet, here I am in 1980, the assistant coach for the University of New Hampshire women&rsquo;s hockey team; a team head coach Russell McCurdy calls &ldquo;possibly the greatest women&rsquo;s team ever assembled.&rdquo;But the most gratifying fact to know is that I am not a fluke; a lonely proponent to the future of women&rsquo;s ice hockey. In fact, if one isn&rsquo;t careful, it&rsquo;s possible to get lost among all the participants and enthusiasts both on and off the ice.My own involvement began as a freshman at UNH in 1976. Being unsuccessful on attempts to make a Junior team in a nearby town and later the university&rsquo;s varsity squad, I took to coaching the women at UNH who were then only a club sport.There were two reasons why I chose to coach: first of all, I wanted to keep an active role within the sport and secondly, I had never coached before and looked at this chance as a challenging new role.I was brash back then, holding too many traditionally male attitudes about women in sport&mdash;they were weaker, slower and unexciting. I was loud, rambunctious and always a bit difficult to get along with. It wasn&rsquo;t the easiest position, being an 18-year-old from a small town in southern New Hampshire, trying to gain and keep the respect of 16 women, nearly all of whom were older than myself and, as I see it now, years ahead in maturity.Yet, somehow we managed through our personal differences, 6.30 a.m. practices three days a week and fielded a respectable squad. In the end, we prevailed with an 117-1 record, produced some surprises and had a lot of fun. Then, by the grace of Title IX (a federal law calling for equality in education and athletics) and UNH&rsquo;s Women&rsquo;s Athletic Director Gail Bigglestone, women&rsquo;s hockey became a varsity sport.A beautiful locker room facility was built, and a sizeable budget provided for equipment, late afternoon ice time, travel, etc. Being a student, I relinquished my job to McCurdy (formerly of Yale University), yet have assisted him and the women for close to three years. My position as an assistant was purely voluntary, but I never thought twice about it. By 1977 I was engrossed with the entire women&rsquo;s hockey movement.Since its first varsity season in 1977-78, UNH women&rsquo;s hockey has flourished, sporting a 39-0-1 collegiate record and 39-1-1 overall. Because of our record, we have become the top standard of women&rsquo;s collegiate hockey; we have set a precedent. And I have learned a great deal about the women&rsquo;s athletic scene.Though still in its infancy, there are 30 known varsity and club teams on the collegiate level in the east where it seems to flourish best. Carl Gray, AHAUS&rsquo;s former director of women&rsquo;s hockey reported the number of established youth teams in 1978 to be 150 (nation-wide).My transition from a skeptic to the proponent of women&rsquo;s hockey has humbled me mainly because I can now realize the large scope of this ever expanding sport. &#9632;

f0008-02

Women Gaining In Hockey

<div class="byline">BY NEIL MILBERT</div>CHICAGO&mdash;&ldquo;If the three games that Tom Lysiak has played against us are typical, he&rsquo;s having a tremendous season,&rdquo; said Philadelphia Coach Pat Quinn.Quinn&rsquo;s Flyers had just defeated the Black Hawks 4-1 before a rowdy crowd of 17,160 in Chicago Stadium and they left the Windy City with the best record in hockey.The next day Lysiak, whose scoring statistics are less than tremendous, departed also, bound for Atlanta to play against his former team, the Flames.Quinn and Lysiak are old friends. They skated together in Atlanta.But Quinn isn&rsquo;t prone to false praise and neither is Tony Esposito, the Black Hawks&rsquo; All-Star goalie of great renown.&ldquo;If Lysiak isn&rsquo;t a hockey player, then I&rsquo;ve never seen one,&rdquo; said Esposito. &ldquo;I see the way he&rsquo;s always playing for the team and not himself, the way he works both ends of the ice and gives it all he&rsquo;s got. At home or on the road, it doesn&rsquo;t make a bit of difference. He puts out.&rdquo;The fans in Atlanta gave Lysiak and Greg Fox a hearty welcome in their Jan. 25 homecoming. &ldquo;The Main Event&mdash;Tom Lysiak,&rdquo; proclaimed one of the many banners welcoming the former Flames. &ldquo;Nobody Does It Better,&rdquo; said another.However, the 26-year-old center hasn&rsquo;t been scoring as frequently in Chicago as during his years in Dixieland. Part of it has been adjustment and part of it has to do with Lysiak&rsquo;s linemates in Chicago.Just as Ivan Boldirev, Phil Russell, and Darcy Rota cringed at leaving Chicago last March 13, Lysiak abhored pulling up roots from Atlanta. Of the five players who went to the Hawks, (the others were Fox, Pat Ribble, Harold Phillipoff, and Miles Zaharko), Lysiak took it the hardest.Yet he never sulked, in spite of a late-season slump that saw him fail to score in his 14 games for Chicago.By the same token, he refuses to blame wings who lack his skills for crimping his scoring style this season.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not true,&rdquo; Lysiak objected when the subject was broached. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not doing a good enough job in setting up my wings and anticipating their moves. Some of the wings I played with in Atlanta weren&rsquo;t as good as the guys I&rsquo;ve played with here and they were considered stars.&rdquo;Coach Eddie Johnston has begged to differ by playing musical wings on the Lysiak line.After the Philadelphia loss Johnston decided to make a drastic move. He broke up by far his most productive line of center Terry Ruskowski, right wing Grant Mulvey, and left wing Rich Preston to shift Preston to Lysiak&rsquo;s right side.&ldquo;Lysiak&rsquo;s talent is going to waste because the guys I&rsquo;ve been putting on his line haven&rsquo;t been giving him any help,&rdquo; said Johnston.The shift may also bring out the best in Preston for he is returning to the position he skated last season in Winnipeg when he was chosen the Most Valuable Player of the World Hockey Association playoffs (won by the Jets).In the 4-4 Atlanta tie they seemed very compatible and collaborated for a shorthanded goal. Breaking up ice, Lysiak poked the puck past Atlanta&rsquo;s Kent Nilsson and left him lurching to create a 2-on-1 situation. Lysiak forced rookie defenseman Paul Reinhart to commit himself, then passed to Preston, who was angling in from the right and scored with the greatest of ease.It was the 23rd assist of the season for Lysiak and his 35th point. Contrast those 12-23-35 vital statistics with his 31-51-82 figures in 1975-76, best of his nearly six seasons in Atlanta.Often this winter out-of-town writers have asked Johnston if Lysiak is &ldquo;starting to adapt to Chicago and get his act together&rdquo; after watching what really is a typical performance.When told &ldquo;he has been playing this way all year,&rdquo; they invariably later pose another question:&ldquo;Can you imagine the kind of season he&rsquo;d be having if he was between Clark Gillies and Mike Bossy on the Islanders or Steve Shutt and Guy Lafleur with the Canadiens?&rdquo;Lysiak shook his head: &ldquo;One trade is enough, thank you.&rdquo;HAWK TALK: The Hawks pelted Dan Bouchard with 23 shots on goal in taking a 3-1 first period lead over Atlanta in the 4-4 tie. But in the third period, the skate was on the other foot as the Flames outshot the invaders 20-5&hellip;Ruskowski was critical of referee Bob Kilger for wiping out his apparent goal that would have put Chicago ahead 5-3 with 4:09 to go. &ldquo;He (the ref) said he couldn&rsquo;t see the puck after Ted Bulley&rsquo;s shot so he blew the whistle,&rdquo; said Ruskowski. &ldquo;In the process, he blew a goal for us.&rdquo;&hellip;Left wing Tim Trimper just up from New Brunswick scored the only goal in the Philadelphia loss but missed an empty net against Atlanta. &#9632;

Lysiak’s Talents Emerging Despite Meagre Production

<div class="byline">Fan Forum Compiled By CATHY MUNRO</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-021024/5109176-1-eng-US/f0010-022.jpg" title="f0010-02" width="572" height="331"></div>Do 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.<h2>More Credit For Detroit Goalers</h2>Speaking as a hockey fan in Detroit, I wish to take time to express my disgust with many of the other hockey fans here. Since I am a season ticket holder, I see the same situation occur game after game.It&rsquo;s no secret in the hockey world that the Detroit Red Wings have been struggling. Their defense has not been lacking almost all season and, at times, the offense has produced as it should, considering the talent it possesses. However, one problem the Red Wings do not have is goaltending. Both Rogie Vachon and Jimmy Rutherford have performed with excellence thus far. I realize Rutherford has been used sparingly, but nonetheless, his performances have proven why he is a goalie in the NHL.This brings me to my point. Rogie Vachon, no matter what his salary (which, by the way, is of no concern to anyone but him), has been the outstanding highlight of the Detroit Red Wings. Nothing irritates me more than to go to a game, see the Wings let in one or two quick goals, and then listen to the unknowledgeable hockey fans in Detroit jeer at Rogie when he makes his next save. This behavior is rude and uncalled for. Detroit fans should wise up and learn the nature of the game.Rosemary R. Wojtowicz&nbsp; Fraser, MI<h2>Too Many Shots Against Flyers</h2>Well, the Flyers&rsquo; streak is finally over. I&rsquo;m sure it must be a relief to many &ldquo;hockey&rdquo; fans. I&rsquo;ve been following the Flyers for about eight years and find this feat incredible&mdash;even more incredible than their two Stanley Cups.When you stop to think, since Shero left two years ago, the team has tried to turn itself around from being &ldquo;bullies&rdquo; to well rounded hockey players with speed, accurate passing, finesse, and powerful checking. As Bill Barber said, &ldquo;We can skate with any team. We can play a tight checking game. We can fight&hellip;&rdquo;And through all 35 games I keep reading: &ldquo;The Broad Street Bullies are still at it.&ldquo;&hellip;they haven&rsquo;t changed a bit.&rdquo; And these letters are supposed to be from &ldquo;knowledgeable&rdquo; fans!I have yet to read about how other teams have cheap-shotted and even tried to injure some of the Flyers. I doubt it was Philadelphia&rsquo;s fault that Ed Hospodar of the Rangers cross checked Flyers&rsquo; Ken Linseman to the ice and broke his nose, checked Tom Gorence high removing him from the line-up for the next few games, and finally picked a fight with a Flyer and one of the linesmen! And still it&rsquo;s Philadelphia who is the &ldquo;vicious aggressor&rdquo;.R. L. Grove&nbsp; Lyndell, PA<h2>Evict Garden&rsquo;s Real Culprits</h2>Enough! I am sick of being told that Madison Square Garden fans must &ldquo;police themselves&rdquo;. I am sick to death of hearing about Garden officials&rsquo; outrage at the situation which they have helped to create by their laxness. I am also sick to death of the fuss being made over obscenity. Jeez! You would think that the poor Islanders were more likely to die from being told that they eat s&mdash;than from the real s&mdash;being tossed to the ice.Oh yes, Mr. Werblin has taken measures to insure that no obscene banner ever finds its way into the Garden again. The action consisted of refusing to allow hanging of the Fan Club sign, and those cute poems that used to run along the Seventh Avenue balcony. Offensive, weren&rsquo;t they? And how, by the way, is that going to stop someone from hanging a banner during a game?The main point, however, is: Why hasn&rsquo;t Werblin given the business to the real goons&mdash;the garbage-throwers and those that support them? Why aren&rsquo;t his guards watching the stands? Why doesn&rsquo;t he stop the game until offenders&mdash;which could include the entire section protecting them&mdash;are removed? Ejection is the only way to get through to these people. As for the straight fans, we are too occupied watching a hockey game to train our eyes on known trouble areas, waiting to catch a goon in the act.Another question: Why haven&rsquo;t the players taken a stand? A lot of people would grumble, but the bottom line is that these guys are not paid to risk their lives over loose change. No player could be faulted for leaving a rink littered by &ldquo;fans&rdquo;. If all the players left, the Garden would have no choice but to clear out the idiots who are dumping on them, as well as those who allow it.G. Keith-Swenson&nbsp; New York, NY<h2>Force Refs To Comply</h2>It seems to me that we have heard everyone&rsquo;s disgust at the fighting that occurs far too often in professional hockey. The sportswriters, fans and players have all expressed their dismay. Has anyone ever thought of why the fighting has not been stopped? The referees will never enforce the rules necessary to stop it. They have shown in the past that they will not enforce rules they don&rsquo;t like. Delaying games for falling on the puck, penalty shots, and the constant jabbing of the puck carrier as he goes up the ice are just a few examples.What would basketball be like if an official didn&rsquo;t call double-dribble if he felt it was a bad rule? The key to any game on a competitive level is organization. The key to organization is control. This is what the NHL referees are not doing. They must be forced to control the game by enforcing the rules. If they do not, the players will take advantage. If the current group of referees will not enforce rules, bring in those who will.In my opinion, hockey is degenerating into an &ldquo;if you can&rsquo;t beat &rsquo;em, beat &rsquo;em up&rdquo; sport. What will it take before something is done? Will a player have to die during a fight? Let&rsquo;s hope not.Keith Dunlap&nbsp; Whittier, CA<h2>Dispense With Cut Throat Tactics</h2>I have been a fanatic hockey fan for approximately 10 years now, and my number &ldquo;1&rdquo; team has always been the Boston Bruins. Because I live in the New York area, and also own cable TV, I am able to view almost every New York Ranger game. Though I neither like nor dislike the Rangers, I, like many other people I know, think the Rangers have received an unfair shake from the referees. Players such as Ulf Nilsson and Anders Hedberg are constantly high sticked and slashed by opponents, with no penalties being called against the attacker.I think the abuse they take is a high price to pay, just because their playing skills happen to be superior to the majority of the players in the league. The referees would never let any other players in the NHL bear the punishment that the two Swedes do. The NHL should be proud to have these two players play in their league. I just hope that the referees and the NHL react to this grave situation before one of the players is injured seriously.Richard Bartholomew&nbsp; Nutley, NJ<h2>Loss Of Neilson Leafs&rsquo; Mistake</h2>It&rsquo;s difficult to believe the Toronto Maple Leaf hockey club has been around for over 50 years and is not a recent expansion entry. The silly predicament they are in this year was somewhat predictable but still comes as a bit of a surprise.The attitude of some of the players has been at best, very immature. Management has to share the blame too, and has made some really dumb mistakes. The primary example was not keeping Roger Neilson as coach. Granted, Neilson&rsquo;s totally defensive system was too mechanical and confining, requiring great discipline to execute throughout an 80 game season. But at least there was a game plan and at times, under Neilson&rsquo;s inspiration, the discipline paid off and an under-talented team pulled off some impressive wins.Roger Neilson was an innovator and a thinker, a man open to new ideas and methods of coaching. He was also able to motivate his players. Perhaps with some modifications, his system would have worked better. More forechecking and forcing the play in the other team&rsquo;s zone (like the Bruins) instead of over-concentrating on minor errors in the Leafs&rsquo; end might have helped.John McMullen&nbsp; Winnipeg, Manitoba<h2>Sitting Doesn&rsquo;t Break Records</h2>On Dec. 22, 1979, Garry Unger&rsquo;s NHL iron man streak was snapped at 914 consecutive games.Unger had played in every one of his team&rsquo;s games since 1968. Was the streak ended because he had a torn muscle in his shoulder? No. Although he was hurt, he could have played a shift or two. The game was really never in doubt. (The Flames won, 7-3).I&rsquo;m a St. Louis season ticket owner. With about 45 seconds left in the game&mdash;after St. Louis fans had been chanting &lsquo;Garry, Garry, Garry,&rsquo; since the five minute mark, trying to get him on the ice&mdash;even the Flames&rsquo; players were telling Unger to get on the ice. As he stood up and was ready to jump onto the ice, he suddenly sat down. Why? Because Atlanta coach Al MacNeil told him, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m running this bleeping show, SIT DOWN!!&rdquo;It took Unger Il years of compile that record. It took Al MacNeil just one night and one stupid statement to end it!What would have happened if Lou Gehrig, after his 914th consecutive game, had been told to &ldquo;sit down&rdquo; because he wasn&rsquo;t in top shape? I&rsquo;ll tell you&mdash;he wouldn&rsquo;t have set one of baseball&rsquo;s most untouchable records.George Pavlik&nbsp; O&rsquo;Fallon, Il. &#9632;

f0010-02

FAN FORUM

<div class="byline">BY STEVE WINTER</div>LANDOVER&mdash;After turning their season around with six wins in a recent 10-game stretch, the Capitals hit a snag in their current run for the National Hockey League playoffs.Following a 7-4 thumping of Vancouver, the Capitals embarked on a five-game winless streak, which prompted Caps&rsquo; coach Gary Green to comment on certain players&rsquo; &ldquo;lack of intensity.&rdquo;&ldquo;Our main problem has been that we&rsquo;ve had a lot of guys who haven&rsquo;t been paying the price,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I can&rsquo;t put up with that inconsistency, and I won&rsquo;t have it. We need players who are willing to sacrifice&mdash;play the game with intensity and take the body.&rdquo;Without naming names, Green said changes would soon be forthcoming, and following an embarrassing 5-2 loss at home to Edmonton&mdash;a team the Caps must beat to reach the playoffs&mdash;the first of those changes came quickly.The Capitals shipped their popular, high-scoring American-born forward, Tom Rowe, to Hartford (two hours from his Lynn, Massachusetts home) in exchange for the Whalers&rsquo; most popular player, a hard-nosed, swift skating defenseman, Alan Hangsleben.Hangsleben&mdash;also American born&mdash;is a Gary Green-type player. A former star at the University of North Dakota, and a five-year WHA veteran, Hangsleben has been described as one who gives 110 percent on the ice, and always plays with a high degree of intensity.And considering Green&rsquo;s pen chance for such qualities in a player, Hangsleben&rsquo;s acquisition may have been a foreshadowing of events to follow, as the coach indicated he will make whatever changes are necessary to give the club the consistency it so sorely lacks.Playing in his first game as a Capital, Hangsleben added a degree of stability to the defense corps, weakened by the absence of Rick Green, out nursing an injured right hand. In that game&mdash;a 4-4 tie at home against the Flyers&mdash;Hangsleben saw roughly 30 minutes of ice-time, played point on the power-play, challenged the Philadelphia shooters, and even scored his fourth goal of the season on a 50-foot slapshot. The following night, he scored again, tipping home a shot by Robert Picard, but the Capitals fell to Quebec, 3-2.&ldquo;We played an excellent game against Philadelphia,&rdquo; said Gary Green, overlooking the fact that Bobby Clarke scored with only four seconds remaining, frustrating the Capitals&rsquo; efforts to produce their first win ever over the Flyers.&ldquo;Against Hartford, however, we did nothing.&rdquo;But despite the team&rsquo;s rocky play of late, many of the players are still bubbling with optimism.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve been more-or-less on the track for the past two-three weeks,&rdquo; said right wing Mike Gartner, the club&rsquo;s leading scorer with 16 goals and 18 assists after 45 games. &ldquo;It seems we&rsquo;ve had a couple mental lapses, and we&rsquo;ve made a couple mistakes out on the ice.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s like we&rsquo;ve been playing for 20 minutes a game, instead of 60 minutes. If we correct that and play with a little more intensity, we&rsquo;re going to be O.K.&rdquo;The Capitals seemed to play with varying degrees of intensity during the two recent games with the Flyers, a 7-4 loss at the Spectrum and the tie at the Capital Centre, four days later.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-011332/5109145-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg" title="f0010-01" width="598" height="1046"><figcaption class="caption-body">Alan Hangsleben was an immediate hit with the Capitals scoring in his first two games.</figcaption></div>In Philadelphia, the Capitals jumped off to a 1-0 lead early in the game when Guy Charron stole the puck from Moose Dupont, and beat Flyer goalie Phil Myre on a breakaway. After former Capital John Paddock tied the game on a rebound, Gartner scored from close range to give the Capitals a 2-1 edge. But midway through the second period, the Flyer offense exploded with three goals inside of seven minutes to break the game open.In Landover, the Capital Centre rocked with eager anticipation of &lsquo;history in the making&rsquo; before Clarke burst the bubble when he rammed the rebound of a Brian Propp shot. After spotting Washington a two-goal lead, the Flyers countered three times in the middle period. Hangsleben and Mike Kaszycki, however, scored third period goals four minutes apart, and Washington&rsquo;s first sellout crowd of the season roared as the Capitals tried to put the game away. &#9632;

f0010-01

Green Keeps Caps’ Shakeup Promise

<div class="byline">BILL LIBBY&#x2019;S</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-021093/5109245-1-eng-US/f0012-022.jpg" title="f0012-02" width="347" height="373"></div><h2>Born to Breed</h2>IT&rsquo;S WINTER-TIME. Snow is in Buffalo. Ric Seiling is in Los Angeles. Bonny Seiling is in Acapulco. Ric says, &ldquo;The hockey life is tough on a wife. If I&rsquo;m unhappy, I make her unhappy. If I&rsquo;m gone, she&rsquo;s alone. If I&rsquo;m on a road trip, why shouldn&rsquo;t she take a trip? She&rsquo;s a lovely lady and a great wife so I sent her and her mother to Mexico. After all, here I am in sunny southern California.&rdquo;It was raining at the time.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-03735/5109238-1-eng-US/f0012-032.jpg" title="f0012-03" width="426" height="448"><figcaption class="caption-body">Ric Seiling</figcaption></div>Ric is 22 years old and he has been married less than three years to the former Bonny Herbolic, whom he met when he was playing junior hockey in Hamilton. They have no children, but he smiles and says they&rsquo;re working on it. They should, because he comes from a family that knows about good blood-lines.Ric&rsquo;s grandfather was a master breeder in Ontario. He started out with cattle, which were prized and exported to Europe at high prices. Then he bred dogs and produced world champion beagles. Then he turned to horses and bought the brood mare Barbot Hanover, who has sired championship harness stock which forms the basis for the present Seiling standardbred racing stables.He also had a poultry farm. After he sold it, Ric&rsquo;s father ran it for many years before going into racing. How big was it? Ric smiles and says, &ldquo;We had 20 barns. Each had three frames. Each of these had two pens. Each pen had 13,000 chicks. You figure it out.&rdquo; We did. That&rsquo;s about 150 million chicks. That&rsquo;s a breeding business. Bonny should do so well.Ric&rsquo;s father and mother, Donald and Gert, had four children. Two, Rod and Ric, became major league hockey players. Don was drafted by Pittsburgh and played in the minors before turning to training harness horses. Ken played junior, but decided it was work, went back to the university, became a teacher, and now is mayor of the small town of Elmira, Ontario, where the boys were born.<h2>Illustrious Brother</h2>THE OLDEST AND YOUNGEST of the brothers&mdash;there are 15 years between Rod and Ric&mdash;did not have a great influence on each other&rsquo;s careers. When Rod made the majors, Ric was only five years old. Nevertheless, when Ric made the majors three seasons back, he was nown as Rod&rsquo;s brother.After all, Rod played 15 years with the Rangers, Maple Leafs, Blues, Flames and Caps in the NHL. He was a defensive defenseman, and a good one. He is 35 now and coaching the junior club in Kitchener in his first year of retirement.Rod is a two-way forward on a two-way line on a two-way club and he likes it that way. He scored 48 goals in his two seasons of junior with Hamilton and 49 goals in his last season as a junior with St. Catharines, but he has scored just 20 goals or so each of his first two seasons as a big leaguer with Buffalo and he is headed toward a similar total in this his third season with the Sabres.But he is a good defensive checker and he plays with good defensive checkers Don Luce and Craig Ramsay to give Buffalo its best all-around line. Under the management of Scotty Bowman and the combined coaching of Bowman, Roger Neilson, and Jim Roberts, the Sabres have gone to a defensive system and it has turned the team around and made it a bigger winner than it has been for years.&ldquo;As long as we&rsquo;re winning, I&rsquo;m happy, so I&rsquo;m happier than I have been since I got to Buffalo,&rdquo; Ric says. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not ever going to get 50 goals in a season. I was big on offense as an amateur, but I&rsquo;m best on defense and it&rsquo;s paying off for me as a pro. I&rsquo;m not ever going to be a big star, but I hope to have a long career before I turn to harness racing.&rdquo;He&rsquo;s a two-way sportsman, too. Ask him which he prefers, hockey or harness racing, and he pauses a long time and smiles guiltily before admitting, &ldquo;Hockey comes first, but only for now. Hockey is buying my horses and providing for my future. If I get hurt in harness racing, I couldn&rsquo;t play hockey any more. But if I get hurt in hockey I can turn to harness racing, which I will, sooner or later, anyway.&rdquo;<h2>Works towards License</h2>HE HAS HAD HIS trainer&rsquo;s license eight years. He has been working towards his driver&rsquo;s license the last couple of years. He drives in non-betting preliminary races at the regular meetings to prove himself and qualify as a driver and he is close to completing this apprenticeship, but he does not drive during the hockey season.The family owns Seiling Stables and has a large spread with its own half-mile training-track in Ontario. Barbot Hanover has been so successful the famed Hanover Farm would dearly love to buy her back. The Sellings have raced three of her foals and two&mdash;Albert Star and General Star&mdash;became champions and now are ready to produce their own champions.Although he uses the family&rsquo;s facilities, Ric now has his own Ric Seiling Standard-bred Stables with a few brood mares and yearlings and he&rsquo;s building up fast. He and the family race their stock from Florida to Toronto. &ldquo;Without your own facilities it costs three to four hundred dollars a month to keep a race horse, but we can operate economically,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;I want a small, select stable to shoot for the million-dollar purses. I haven&rsquo;t made a million yet, but I&rsquo;m beginning to make money.&rdquo;He always has been skinny, but if you look close you can see a muscle or two now. At 178 pounds, the six-foot, one-inch youngster is into weight-lifting to improve his strength. The better to battle the big guys in the corners. Or to handle husky horses from the sulky.Some day winters will be spent away from the snows of Buffalo and on the sands at Florida. &#9632;

f0012-02

HOCKEY AD LIB

<div class="byline">BY GLENN COLE</div>MONTREAL&mdash;Out of uniform, many people mistake them for brothers.On a trip to Detroit not that long ago, a television reporter thought that she was interviewing Larry Robinson, but it turned out that it was Rod Langway who was answering all her questions.Both Robinson and Langway are similar in many respects. They both have that raw-boned country-boy look and both pack about 214 pounds on a six-foot, three-inch body framework.Both are easily approachable at most times and they always have a good word or two to say every day.They have only known each other for a year and a half and off the ice, they appear to get along well. On the ice, it appears that they have been playing together for years but it was only after the New Year that coach Claude Ruel matched them as a set of defensemen.&ldquo;Really, it&rsquo;s a piece of cake playing with Larry,&rdquo; said Langway, who was plus 2 since joining Robinson. &ldquo;He can do so many things.&ldquo;He controls the game. When you&rsquo;re on the ice and you get the puck, you give it to him or he can give it back to you if you are open. It&rsquo;s so easy.&ldquo;Defensively, I think it&rsquo;s tough for the forwards coming down on us because they know they are going to get hit. We both weigh about 210 pounds and we can both skate and move the puck.&rdquo;Coach Ruel is proud of the way Robinson has taken control of the leadership of a fuzzy-cheeked defense corp and is equally proud of the way Langway, one of his top pupils, has come through for him while Serge Savard and Guy Lapointe mend.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not surprised with the way they have played,&rdquo; said Ruel. &ldquo;They have all worked hard. Larry has done exactly what I have asked him to do defensively and the rest of them (Langway, Brian Engblom, Gilles Lupien and Gaston Gingras) have seen that and followed.&ldquo;A man like Rod is still learning. He has a big heart and is going to give you everything he can. He wants to learn. He wants to improve and that is so important.&rdquo;Robinson has been moved over to the right side from the left since being paired with Langway and while the adjustment might appear easy, there are some technical aspects which must be done.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-011305/5109207-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg" title="f0012-01" width="608" height="877"><figcaption class="caption-body">Larry Robinson has been overseeing the efforts of the young Canadiens&rsquo; defense corps with Savard and Lapointe out.</figcaption></div>&ldquo;When you have been used to turning one way for most of your career and always looking at the play on your backhand and over one shoulder, the change of sides almost makes it backward for you.&ldquo;But it&rsquo;s been a pretty easy adjustment playing with Rod. He&rsquo;s the type of player that you always know where he is going to be. I think it would take longer to play with a guy who liked to rush the puck more.&ldquo;Playing with Roddy was no adjustment at all. There are times that I will stay up on a man and I don&rsquo;t even have to look now. There are times when I&rsquo;ll get an angle on a man and he might get a better angle coming across. A guy who just likes to stay on his side and just worry about his side is not able to adjust.&rdquo;The Montreal defense played much better without Savard and Lapointe, which is interesting because of the reputation the other two have.But neither played even close to, All Star form in the first half of the season and there was no great, sigh of relief from many here when their return was imminent.And Robinson, who spent several nights running around covering up for the other two senior defensemen, said he did not feel any pressure being the designated leader of the blueline brigade.&ldquo;If there was to be any pressure, it would have to be felt by the other guys. If I was to take it on myself and say &lsquo;poor Larry. you are the only one left and you have to carry the whole load&rsquo;, but it is not that way at all.&ldquo;It hasn&rsquo;t surprised me that the guys have been playing the way they have. I knew they could play that way. It&rsquo;s just a question of whether they thought they could play that way.&rdquo;&ldquo;From my point of view, this is an opportunity and try not to make mistakes,&rdquo; said Langway, between a number of sit-ups and a bike riding session in the back part of the Canadiens&rsquo; dressing room. &#9632;

f0012-01

Robinson Rising To Lead Canadiens

<div class="byline">BY DICK JOHNSTON</div>BUFFALO&mdash;For some time it looked as though the Buffalo Sabres&rsquo; ironman would be forced to end his streak.But then, Craig Ramsay, as he has done so many times, summoned the forces of his not very big, but quite strong body and went out and played in his 530th straight National Hockey League regular-season game.Quite a game it was, too. The Sabres trounced the Stanley Cup champion Montreal Canadiens, 7-2 in the Forum before a sellout crowd of 18,096.With a severe groin bruise tightly taped, Ramsay played a regular shift through the first two periods, and helped kill penalties, until the Sabres had a 4-2 lead. And when it was all over, he had another bruise to add to his collection. He was whacked by a stick on his left forearm.Rammer, as he is known, is an unlikely-looking ironman. He is listed as 5 feet 10 inches and 176 pounds. He always is the last Sabre onto the ice before games. Off the ice he moves slowly, ambling through airports behind everyone else, last to get on the team bus.But no one playing in the NHL has a consecutive-game streak going as long as Ramsay&rsquo;s. Garry Unger of the Atlanta Flames, of course, holds the record and when Unger missed a game this season, he was far ahead of Ramsay.Ramsay&rsquo;s groin injury occurred in a tough loss for the Sabres, a defeat that might not have been had Rammer been able to play.He fell on a skate during the first period of a 4-3 loss to the Bruins in Boston last week. Terry O&rsquo;Reilly won the game for the Bruins with a goal three seconds before the final buzzer.In close games, Ramsay, one of the best defensive forwards in the league, always is on the ice for the last minutes or more. Had he been out there this time, maybe O&rsquo;Reilly wouldn&rsquo;t have scored the goal.That&rsquo;s academic, of course. It all added up to the Bruins closing to two points behind the Sabres, Adams Division leaders and second overall in the NHL standing.That made the Sabres&rsquo; next start, in Montreal, all the more important.Ramsay has played before when he appeared likely to be out of the lineup. He played despite a shoulder injury, an ankle injury, assorted bruises, chronic back trouble for more than a season, and an illness that had him in the hospital between games. He came out of the hospital to play, then returned.But a groin injury is different, for a hockey player. As trainer Frank Christie pointed out, &ldquo;When you skate, you are continually pulling on it, so it doesn&rsquo;t have a chance to heal.&rdquo;The Boston game was on Thursday. The Sabres went directly to Montreal after the game, by chartered plane. Friday morning they practiced in the Forum.Ramsay skated, briefly, in sweat clothes. He obviously was in pain.At Saturday&rsquo;s midday skate, he put on full equipment and skated. Better but, as Assistant Coach Jim Roberts said, after the skate, &ldquo;Doubtful, very doubtful.&rdquo;Assistant Coach Roger Neilson, in charge of the club in the absence of Coach Scotty Bowman, said he would dress 20 players for the program warmup and if Ramsay was OK, he would play. Otherwise Bobby Mongrain, called up from Rochester of the American Hockey League, would replace him.Ramsay said he was able to play. So he did. And he helped kill off a Buffalo penalty with the score tied, 2-2, early in the second period. The Sabres then took a two-goal lead on scores by John Van Boxmeer and Larry Playfair, after which the Sabres were given another penalty.Ramsay helped kill that one, too, and after that the Sabres were in command.The game marked the 100th NHL goaltending victory for Don Edwards, who was starting his 12th straight game in the Buffalo nets. It was his fifth try for No. 100. The Sabres tied three straight before losing to Boston.Bowman, who coached the Canadiens to five Stanley Cups in eight years as Montreal mentor, missed both Buffalo visits to the Forum this season. The first time he said he was going on a scouting trip. The second time it was general manager&rsquo;s business. Neilson was in charge for the sixth time in the last eight games. &#9632;

Buffalo Ironman Keeps String On

<div class="byline">BY STAN FISCHLER</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-011231/5109300-1-eng-US/f0013-012.jpg" title="f0013-01" width="461" height="361"></div><h2>A Combustible Mixture</h2>HOCKEY WRITERS have been punched out, chewed out, and kept out (of dressing rooms) ever since the first stickhandler realized that scribes make better writers than fighters.The classic kayo of journalist by coach occurred in the late 1940s when large Lew Walter of the now defunct Detroit Times pursued even-larger Charlie Conacher, coach of the Chicago Black Hawks, after a horrific Chihawk loss.While Walter&rsquo;s initiative was noble, his strategy was not. As Lew prepared to the reply to his 5-calibre question (&ldquo;What&rsquo;s wrong with your team?&rdquo;) Walter received a 60-calibre punch in the face.The conversion of Walter from vertical to horizontal in less than one second did not wear well with his less intrepid colleagues who bellowed in protest. The NHL&rsquo;s reply&mdash;as is standard when newsmen beef&mdash;was drowned by the joyful cackle of hockey players who were eminently pleased that still another writer learned &ldquo;right&rdquo; from &ldquo;wrong&rdquo;.And therein lies the equation&mdash;hockey players and (good) hockey writers mix like iodine and malted milk. If you don&rsquo;t believe it ask Pittsburgh Penguins&rsquo; captain Orest Kindrachuk; or Bob Whitley of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette.I did, and their replies prove that iodized malted milk is indigestable. Kindrachuk told me that, as captain, he felt obliged this season to tell off a Pittsburgh hockey writer because of the newsman&rsquo;s (as Kindrachuk viewed it) excess negativism.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re trying to make hockey a success in Pittsburgh,&rdquo; says Kindrachuk, &ldquo;and it really hurts when we only read negative stuff from one guy, especially when the club is winning.&rdquo;While Kindrachuk never named the man with the black-humored Smith-Corona, a Penguins&rsquo; official tells me it was Whitley.I thoroughly sympathized with the Pittsburgh captain, until Whitley launched his counterattack.&ldquo;If there is a feud,&rdquo; says Whitley, &ldquo;it is in the minds of the Penguins and not mine. Last year, for example, Montreal beat Pittsburgh, 12-0, and the Penguins were as dismal as the score indicated. Kindrachuk, however, was mad at our stories and said that we, the hometown reporters, shouldn&rsquo;t harp on things like that. And yet they lost 12-0! &ldquo;Whitley believes that part of the problem in Pittsburgh lies with the group of ex-Philadelphia Flyers (Kindrachuk, Tom Bladon, Ross Lonsberry) now wearing Penguins&rsquo; uniforms.&ldquo;In Philadelphia,&rdquo; says Whitley, &ldquo;they were pampered by the press. They got as much coverage as they could want and they expected the same adulation here. They didn&rsquo;t get it and now they have a chip on their shoulders.&ldquo;Another problem is that hockey players in general are very clannish. If I write that Bladon is having a terrible season&mdash;which he is&mdash;then suddenly 10 guys won&rsquo;t talk to me.&rdquo;<h2>The Silent Blessing</h2>AS WHITLEY NO DOUBT has learned the silent treatment can be a blessing. I, for one, will not talk to Phil Esposito of the Rangers ever since he welshed on a promise to me.We were on Boston&rsquo;s &ldquo;Sports Huddle&rdquo; radio show hosted by Eddie Andelman, Jim McCarthy and Mark Witkin (all witnesses) when Esposito&mdash;at Andelman&rsquo;s urging&mdash;promised to phone me in a week or so to arrange a one-on-one meeting (me and him) over dinner. Then, supposedly, the then Rangers&rsquo; captain could explain to me in detail why he had been bad-mouthing New York all over the NHL. Funny, but Phil sounded on the level at the time.Aldelman and I figured it would be a classy move on Esposito&rsquo;s part. I still do; except that Phil hasn&rsquo;t executed yet on his promise and now two years have gone by.Do I miss Phil&rsquo;s pearls of insight? Do gourmets miss cyanide?Colleagues of mine share these feelings about other hockey men.In Buffalo last winter, Punch Imlach, then Sabres&rsquo; GM, banned Warner Hessler of the Courier Express from travelling with the team. Punch figures that Hessler was writing X-rated stuff about his Sabres. The expulsion was his antidote.So far this year no hockey scribe has been flattened by a player the way Houston Post reporter Dale Robertson recently was manhandled by Oiler quarterback Dan Pastorini.Of course it could happen tomorrow as Walt MacPeek of the Newart Star-Leger will attest. Like Lew Walter of yesteryear, MacPeek asked one question too many of Doug Barkley when Doug coached the Red Wings.When the fur stopped flying MacPeek picked himself up and headed for the local precinct where he filed official charges against Barkley. Naively, MacPeek also protested to the NHL.In retrospect, Barkley is sorry it all happened. &ldquo;He (MacPeek) sued and they had a warrant out for my arrest in New York,&rdquo; Barkley recalled, &ldquo;but before we ever returned there for another game I had been fired as coach. I apologized to him and he reversed the charges and it was settled. Looking back, I am sorry that it happened but I guess that frustrations have to come out some way although that was not the way to do it. I never had that problem before and never had it since. But on that night things just came to a head.&rdquo;Since the level of hockey writing today is at an all-time qualitative peak&mdash;with aces such as Frank Orr, Claude Larochelle, Don Ramsay, Larry Brooks, Pat Calabria, Rejean Tremblay, to name a few, all over the place-we can expect more of our ilk to follow in the footsteps of Lew Walter.But hurt as they might, those player-delivered punches are often worth the sting because they tell the world what damn good journalists these people really are.NOTES: Quebec Nordiques&rsquo; coach Jacques Demers tells me that Montreal Canadiens biggest mistake was not the signing of Boomer Geoffrion as coach. &ldquo;The real blunder,&rdquo; says Demers, &ldquo;was their getting Danny Geoffrion.&rdquo; &hellip; A potential punch-out was averted in the Madison Square Garen press room the night Winnipeg Jets visited the Rangers. Jets&rsquo; GM John Ferguson, who has never forgiven Rod Gilbert for Rod&rsquo;s part in the Fergy-Ranger &ldquo;putsch&rdquo;, began walking into the room. When he spotted Gilbert, John&rsquo;s blood boiled and he executed a 180-degree turn, then walked out. &ldquo;Why cause more trouble?&rdquo; Fergy muttered to a pal&hellip;The Rangers may want to sign U.S. Olympic coach Herb Brooks but they&rsquo;re going to have to wait in line. &ldquo;A number of other teams have expressed interest in Brooks,&rdquo; says his rep Art Kaminsky, &ldquo;and Herb is not committed to the Rangers.&rdquo;&hellip;Flyers&rsquo; boss Ed Snider tells how tickled he is that Fred Shero emigrated to Manhattan. &ldquo;&hellip;it didn&rsquo;t bother me a bit when Shero was leaving. In fact, we were quite thankful that we could have the opportunity to change our organization considerably.&rdquo;&hellip;Snider&rsquo;s prize move was moving Pat Quinn behind the bench. &ldquo;Quinn,&rdquo; says Snider, &ldquo;is a young man and more in tune with the times today that Shero was and is.&rdquo;&hellip;Unquestionably, the best young goalies in the NHL are, in this order, (1) Michel Dion of Quebec, (2) Glen Hanlon of Vancouver, (3) Mike Liut of St. Louis and (4) Greg Millen of Pittsburgh &hellip; I thought Hanlon was tops until I had the pleasure of watching Dion make 28 tough saves out of 50 shots in a game against the Islanders&hellip;&ldquo;What makes Dion special,&rdquo; says Nordiques&rsquo; assistant coach Andre Boudrias, &ldquo;is that he doesn&rsquo;t guess. His great saves are planned.&rdquo;&hellip;Take off your hat to Cat Francis for rejuvenating the St. Louis Blues with a little help from new coach Red Berenson who still hasn&rsquo;t a flake of gray in his mane. &ldquo;Gimme time,&rdquo; Red tells me, &ldquo;the gray will come.&rdquo;&hellip;Gerry Hart, who once vowed never to leave Long Island, not only has become the balance wheel of Nordiques&rsquo; defense but has enrolled in a French language course in Quebec City&hellip;&ldquo;Since living in Quebec,&rdquo; says Hart, &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve gotten a completely new perspective about the French culture and I&rsquo;ve grown to understand the French-Canadians like never before.&rdquo; &hellip; If there&rsquo;s any French-English hostility on Nordiques, you can&rsquo;t prove it by the lineup. The captain is American-born Robbie Ftorek and the roster is filled with English-speaking worthies such as Wally Weir, (very underrated defenseman) Dale Hoganson and Jamie Hislop&hellip;&ldquo;If there&rsquo;s a French-English problem in the country,&rdquo; says coach Demers, &ldquo;it&rsquo;s in the political arena. Fortunately, we&rsquo;re in the sports arena and there&rsquo;s none here.&rdquo;<h2>Checking Sonny&rsquo;s Sense</h2>CUTTING SONNY DOWN TO SIZE: Next week, right here, we&rsquo;ll zero in on the Sonny Werblin myth and, with the help of some letters, demonstrate why Werblin makes more bucks than sense! Tune in.WRATH OF GRAPES: Colorado Rockies&rsquo; coach Don (Grapes) Cherry is suitably furious with Harry Neale of Vancouver. Cherry, who has more flashy suits than the Candiens have Stanley Cups, claims that Neale came to him for sartorial advice.&ldquo;I told Harry what I thought he should be wearing,&rdquo; says Cherry. &ldquo;Last time I saw him I was appalled by the suit he had on. Neale has let me down!&rdquo; &#9632;

f0013-01

ON THE CONTRARY

<div class="byline">BY ARNOLD IRISH</div>ST. LOUIS&mdash;One of the more delightful aspects of the St. Louis Blues&rsquo; metamorphosis from doormat to the National Hockey League&rsquo;s middle class has been the marked improvement in their penalty-killing.In 140 shorthanded situations, the Blues have killed 119 penalties for 85 per cent efficiency, second in the NHL only to the Boston Bruins, who have foiled 143 of their opposition&rsquo;s power plays for 88.3 per cent.As Butch Cassidy might ask the Sundance Kid, &ldquo;Who are those guys?&rdquo;For the most part, the Blues penalty-killers are made up of four combinations&mdash;forwards Mike Zuke and Ralph Klassen, forwards Larry Patey and Mike Crombeen, defensemen Ed Kea and Jack Brownschidle, and defensemen Joe Micheletti and Rick LaPointe.&ldquo;Of our six defensemen, only Brownschidle and Neil Komadoski (who killed penalties early in the season) remain from last year,&rdquo; Blues&rsquo; coach Red Berenson said.&ldquo;And of the four we use to kill penalties, Kea and LaPointe see the most action.&ldquo;We have a different goaltender, too, in Mike Liut. The goalie can have a lot to do with the success of killing penalties in the way he works with the defensemen. When the other team has the power play, there&rsquo;s always one man open, and sometime it&rsquo;s the goalie&rsquo;s job to cover that man.&ldquo;Probably the biggest reason for the team&rsquo;s penalty-killing improvement has been the addition of Ralph Klassen, a defensive specialist. Klassen&rsquo;s presence makes an obvious difference. He has a sixth sense where to position himself.&rdquo;Berenson pointed out that Zuke wasn&rsquo;t healthy until after Christmas a year ago.&ldquo;Our strategy is nothing unusual that we didn&rsquo;t have last year (when Bare Plager was head coach),&rdquo; Berenson said.&ldquo;Early success was important. Success and concentration led to real pride. Also, some who had been killing penalties didn&rsquo;t play a lot early. Patey, for instance, was on our fourth line. When called upon to kill penalties, he did it with extra enthusiasm.&ldquo;Zuke and Klassen played a big part in our early success. Zuke and Patey are both on regular shifts now, but they&rsquo;re still major forces in our penalty-killing.&rdquo;Berenson noted the psychological importance of the penalty being killed. &ldquo;If you take a good penalty, you&rsquo;re motivated to kill it for the benefit of the team. If you take cheap penalties, they&rsquo;re harder to kill. You don&rsquo;t find the same inspiration to kill a lazy penalty as a good one.&rdquo;St. Louis&rsquo; penalty-killers have kept a low profile, mainly because their efforts haven&rsquo;t paid off in goals.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-02906/5109331-1-eng-US/f0013-022.jpg" title="f0013-02" width="594" height="724"><figcaption class="caption-body">Relative unknowns such as Mike Zuke have been getting the job done erasing Blues&rsquo; penalties.</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0013-02

Killing Penalties Blues’ Specialty

<div class="byline">BY WAYNE WARRINER</div>HARTFORD&mdash;&ldquo;Between January 17, when we came home, and the end of February&mdash;that&rsquo;s our whole season now.&rdquo; So said coach Don Blackburn as the Whalers began to work on the second half of the season.It had been a tough month and a half for the Hartford team. After reaching the .500 mark the bottom fell out as the Whalers managed only one win in their next 15 games (1-12-2). But they still had hope. Almost to salesman, they felt they had the ability to finish in the middle of the pack.The return of famed teammate Gordie Howe to Detroit, back on January 12th, may have been the spark that ignited what Whaler fans hoped would be a strong stretch run. The throng of 20,000 people who had turned out to welcome Gordie back seemed to turn everybody on&mdash;not only Gordie, but all of his Whaler mates as well.When the final whistle blew, Hartford had racked up its first victory in 11 games. And, more importantly perhaps, the team was headed home for what looked like a ton of home games.In that stretch through the end of February, the Whalers would be playing 21 games, only five of which were on the road. They had earned such benevolence by struggling through the first half of the campaign with only 15 of the 40 games on home ice. Of course, the reason for the lopsided schedule was the fact that the Hartford-based team was forced to play in the smaller Springfield Civic Center until their new building was ready. Everything was geared to the supposed mid-January opening. That, of course, has been delayed again.Sub-standard building or not, however, the Whalers were happy to be back where they could enjoy some home cooking&mdash;despite the long drive to practices and games. It quickly showed, too, as they followed up their victory in Detroit with thumpings of Pittsburgh and Chicago.As coach Blackburn looked ahead he was optimistic. Pointing out that his team was not far out of playoff position despite the horrendous streak they had endured, Blackie quickly added that the Whalers had a number of games-in-hand on their nearest rivals&mdash;(and practically everyone else in the league, too). The picture was not all dark, not at all.Of the 16 home games the team had scheduled during that upcoming 21-game stretch, seven were against teams that the Whalers are battling for a playoff berth. And of the five road games, three were against such rivals. Twelve &lsquo;four-pointers&rsquo; so to speak. The opportunity was waiting to be seized.&ldquo;When you evaluate our position,&rdquo; said Blackie, &ldquo;we&rsquo;re not bad off&hellip;We&rsquo;ve got 16 out of 21 at home and we&rsquo;ve just got to make hay there.&rdquo;The turnaround in Detroit and ensuing home games didn&rsquo;t come without changes being made though. When Blackie moved Mark Howe back to defense and defenseman Al Hangsleben to a wing position, things began to click. &ldquo;Mark&rsquo;s playing like we hoped he would early in the year,&rdquo; said coach Blackburn. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s just been dominating the game.&rdquo;The movement of Hangsleben to the forward line improved an ingredient of the hockey club that had long been missing, strong corner work. Pat Boutette, recently over from Toronto, had begun to show the way and Blackie decided to use Hank in a similar role.And then, for Whaler fans, a bombshell. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve made a trade,&rdquo; said director of hockey operations Jack Kelley. &ldquo;Moving a very popular player is a very difficult one, but it&rsquo;s a move that in the long run will strengthen the Hartford Whalers and make them a better hockey team down the road.&rdquo; And so it was that Kelley announced the trading of Hangsleben to Washington for 23-year-old right winger, Tommy Rowe.&ldquo;As a forward, Rowe offered more solid a player,&rdquo; said Kelley. (The Whalers had previously decided that Hank was better suited to the wing.) &ldquo;Washington was looking for a defenseman. It was one for one&hellip;&rdquo;Hangsleben will long be remembered in Hartford for his endless patience with fans and media. And his former teammates have not ceased to praise Hank&rsquo;s 110 percent effort every night. But, in the name of progress, the Whalers now have a right winger in Tommy Rowe who they think can put the puck in the net with a little more regularity, while still providing some rugged work along the boards. &#9632;

Critical February Schedule Awaits Whalers

<div class="byline">BY PAT THOMPSON</div>BLOOMINGTON&mdash;Unless you&rsquo;re the Philadelphia Flyers, you can&rsquo;t get much better at home than the Minnesota North Stars.They lost only two games on their own ice the first half of 197980. On the road, they were so-so.That&rsquo;s coach Glen Sonmor&rsquo;s No. 1 priority for the last 40 games, and he thinks he knows how to remedy it.&ldquo;It used to be that teams never worried about how they would play the North Stars,&rdquo; Sonmor said. &ldquo;They could just go out and play without any particular strategy. Now, you know how teams are going to play us.&rdquo;In hockey terms, teams try to run the Stars, and sometimes it works.&ldquo;I know what&rsquo;s expected of me,&rdquo; Hanson said, &ldquo;but I don&rsquo;t believe I should be categorized as your typical pro hockey goon. I feel I can play well enough to contribute&hellip;I&rsquo;ll score the odd goal and I can play a good, steady wing. This team is too good to have a player who can&rsquo;t contribute. I&rsquo;m confident that I&rsquo;m not going to be an embarrassment.&rdquo;Hanson played 11 games with the Red Wings in the 1978-79 season and called it a &ldquo;very discouraging experience. I started the season as a regular and declined from there&hellip;first to the bench, then to the stands. I stopped going on road trips. Finally I wasn&rsquo;t even going to practice.&ldquo;They were trying to incorporate the European style of hockey. I didn&rsquo;t fit in even though they were being beaten&mdash;physically and on the scoreboard. I&rsquo;m a grinder, not the flashy type player the Wings must have been looking for.&rdquo;Eventually, Hanson packed, as he has often done in his pro hockey career. In 11 games with the Red Wings, he did not score a point and received 26 minutes in penalties. He finished the season on loan to Birmingham of the WHA, not sure if he ever would return to the National Hockey League.Hanson played for Sonmor briefly with the Minnesota Fighting Saints in 1976-77 and again with Birmingham in 1977-78, when he received 241 penalty minutes in 43 games.Last season, Hanson had 212 penalty minutes in 53 games at Birmingham, when Minnesota first-round draft choice Craig Hartsburt also played.Speaking of aggressive hockey, the Red Wings&rsquo; postage meter still stamps outgoing mail with a slogan, &ldquo;Aggressive Hockey is Back in Town.&rdquo;Hanson chuckled.&ldquo;You know they got the slogan from me,&rdquo; Hanson said. &ldquo;Three or four years ago after I was in the movie, &lsquo;Slapshot&rsquo;, a newspaper did a feature article on me. I was wearing a T-shirt with that slogan, and Wings&rsquo; GM Ted Lindsay told me that&rsquo;s where they got the idea.&rdquo;Unable to show his aggressive talents in Detroit, Hanson is ready to provide them for the North Stars.In 103 WHA games, Hanson collected 497 penalty minutes&mdash;almost an average of a fight a game. Now that&rsquo;s aggressive hockey. &#9632;

Stars Book Hanson For Travel Squad

<div class="byline">BY RICHARD FRIEDMAN</div>NEW YORK&mdash;Phil Esposito has been called many things in his long career. This week, call him King of The Road.As the New York Rangers hit the West Coast and worked their way back East, their veteran center scored game-winning goals in Los Angeles and Vancouver, and then scored the tying goal with just 24 seconds remaining in Denver Sunday night as the Rangers muscled their way to a 3-3 tie with the Colorado Rockies.The Rangers swung into the second week of their pre-All Star Break road trip, having yielded Madison Square Garden to the Ice Capades, Dorothy Hamill and two Soviet defectors, Oleg and Ludmila Protopopov.However, it was the Rangers&rsquo; journey to the West that could not have been better-timed. Depleted by injuries and playing inconsistently the weekend before the trip started (a 6-3 loss to the Bruins in Boston, and a 2-1 loss to the Black Hawks at the Garden), the Rangers left behind the legacy of the December 23 confrontation between the Bruins and Garden fans&mdash;a lawsuit brought against the Rangers, the Garden, the Bruins and the league by four fans involved, and, finally, NHL President John Ziegler&rsquo;s decision to. suspend and fine Bruins players for their roles in the melee.Meanwhile, the Rangers found a consistency on the road that had eluded them at home. First stop was the Forum in Los Angeles, and a dramatic 5-4 victory over the Kings as Phil Esposito scored the winning goal with just 28 seconds left in the game.&ldquo;This was a big one for us&hellip;maybe our biggest win of the year,&rdquo; said Esposito. But the Rangers did it the hard way, giving up four goals in a dreadful second period, taking silly penalties, and going into the third period trailing, 4-3.The week&rsquo;s hero was Ron Duguay, playing right wing in L.A on a line centered by newcomer Pat Conacher, with Claude Larose on the left side. Duguay scored a three-goal hat trick against the Kings&mdash;two of the goals were short-handed&mdash;and added two more the next night as the Rangers beat the Vancouver Canucks, 64. A choppy skater and a streak scorer, Duguay had scored just once in 21 games before the Kings game, and just nine goals in his first 41 games after notching 27 goals last season.&ldquo;He needed to score a couple,&rdquo; Rangers&rsquo; G.M.-Coach Fred Shero acknowledged, &ldquo;to get his confidence back.&rdquo; Injuries, illness, his scoring slumps had not made for a happy season. Nor has Duguay&rsquo;s preference for right wing over center: Shero and assistant coach Mike Nykoluk prefer him at center.&ldquo;The pressure is off,&rdquo; said a happy Duguay in Vancouver. &ldquo;Now I can relax and play my own game.&rdquo; Duguay and Conacher, meanwhile, were a winning combination. Conacher centered for Duguay and Doug Sulliman against Vancouver and came up with three assists, his first points, in his seventh NHL game. He had been brought up from New Haven on January 3rd when Ulf Nilsson was sidelined with a sprained neck.It was Esposito who scored what proved to be the winning goal in Vancouver. It came from the slot late in the third period on a power-play after precise passes from linemates Don Murdoch and Don Maloney.But it took stand-up goaltending by John Davidson to keep the Rangers in the game as they repeatedly handed the Canucks their defensive zone.The final period against the Rockies was a different story as the Rangers outplayed Colorado after exchanging goals with them in each of the first two periods.Colorado regained the lead on a goal by Randy Pierce at 11:13 of the third, but the Rangers pulled goalie Steve Baker with less than a minute to go.Moments later, The Rockies&rsquo; Lanny McDonald carried the puck into the Rangers&rsquo; zone, heading straight for the open net. But defenseman Dave Maloney draped himself around McDonald and forced the right wing into the corner, paving the way for Esposito&rsquo;s tying goal just seconds later.BLUE CHIPS: Esposito&rsquo;s goal in Vancouver gave him 20 for the season, the 16tn consecutive campaign in which he has scored 20 or more goals&hellip;Hedberg became the first Ranger this season to score 25 goals, early in the second period in Los Angeles; he was set up by Steve Vickers and Walter Tkaczuk&hellip;The Professional Hockey Writers Association voted Rangers&rsquo; defenseman Barry Beck to the Clarence Campbell Conference&rsquo;s All-Star team for next week&rsquo;s game in Detroit. Also named to the Campbell team was Rockies&rsquo; defenseman Mike McEwen, one of five players the Rangers sent to Colorado for Beck last November&hellip;Islanders&rsquo; coach Al Arbour will run the Campbell squad.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-011208/5109410-1-eng-US/f0015-012.jpg" title="f0015-01" width="583" height="763"><figcaption class="caption-body">Phil Esposito swung into high gear on the road with a pair of game-winners and a game-tying goal.</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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Ranger Road Act Gets Rave Reviews

<div class="byline">BY VARTAN KUPELIAN</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0016-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-011083/5109476-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Here is a panoramic view of the new 20,000-seat Joe Louis Arena where the NHL will stage its 32nd All Star game Feb. 5 in Detroit. NHL is hoping for an all-time crowd record. (Photo by Robert Wimmer)</figcaption></div>DETROIT&mdash;Marcel Dionne is coming to Detroit, and so is Al Arbour.The occasion is the 32nd National Hockey League All Star game here on Feb. 5, at the new Joe Louis Arena on the riverfront.Dionne, who began his pro career in the Red Wing organization as a number one draft choice in 1971, escaped the drudgery of Detroit hockey as a free agent, with a unanimous choice as the Prince of Wales conference&rsquo;s top center.Dionne, the league&rsquo;s leading scorer who is zeroing in on the record for most points in a season, garnered all of the possible 150 points in the ballotting of the Professional Hockey Writers Association.The dynamic playmaker-scorer isn&rsquo;t coming alone&mdash;he&rsquo;s bringing a couple of friends, his high scoring Los Angeles King linemates Charlie Simmer and Dave Taylor.It was of some concern earlier in the season to Dionne, that Simmer and Taylor wouldn&rsquo;t receive the recognition they deserve, but he need not have fretted. Simmer was a third highest point getter (with 144) after Dionne and Guy Lafleur (148) in the Wales Conference. Taylor was runner-up to Lafleur in the ballotting at right wing.Arbour, the NHL&rsquo;s coach of the year a season ago, returns as coach of the Campbell Conference, which has lost each of the four previous meetings against the Wales Conference since the current format was adopted in 1975. There was no All Star game in 1979. It was replaced by the Challenge Cup series between the NHL and the Soviet Union. The Soviets won, two games to one.Scotty Bowman of the Buffalo Sabres and formerly coach of the four time Stanley Cup champion Montreal Canadiens, again will be behind the Wales Conference bench. It&rsquo;s Bowman&rsquo;s seventh coaching assignment in the All Star game. His first three came while he was with St. Louis and the others while with Montreal.For Arbour, coach of the Islanders since the 1973-74 season, this is the first All Star game. His 12-year NHL playing career began in Detroit.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s something special to me,&rdquo; Arbour said of coaching the All Stars in Detroit. &ldquo;This is where I started my career. It&rsquo;s only too bad the game isn&rsquo;t in the old building (Olympia).&ldquo;But this (the Louis arena) certainly is going to be the showpiece of the league when it&rsquo;s finished, just as the All Star game is the showpiece for the league.&ldquo;I haven&rsquo;t thought that much about the players who have been picked yet,&rdquo; Arbour continued, &ldquo;but there&rsquo;s certainly a lot &middot; of pride involved in the game and the players give it the best they have.&ldquo;They&rsquo;re all fine players that you don&rsquo;t do that much in terms of strategy in just the couple of hours before the game that you have with them. They are smart enough to adjust and know what they have to do.&rdquo;Arbour played 36 games in the NHL with the Red Wings during the 1953-54 season and then came up for the playoffs during the 1955-56 season. It was that season that the All Star game was last played in Detroit.The Red Wings, the Stanley Cup champions, faced the league&rsquo;s stars in what was then a pre-season game. The Wings won, 3-1, behind a pair of goals by Dutch Reibel. The All Star game also was held in Detroit in 1950, 1952 and 1954.The record-setting Philadelphia Flyers, who gained national attention during their incredible unbeaten streak, had six players voted to the Campbell Conference&rsquo;s first and second teams. The Flyers placed two left wingers, Bill Barber and rookie Brian Propp, on the team, a pair of defensemen in Jim Watson and Norm Barnes, right winger Reggie Leach and goalie Peter Peeters.Joining them on the team were goalkeepers Tony Esposito of Chicago, defensemen Barry Beck of the New York Rangers and Mike McEwen of Colorado, center Wayne Gretzky and right winger Blair MacDonald of Edmonton and center Bryan Trottier of the New York Islanders.Under All Star rules, Arbour is allowed to fill with eight players he personally names. Those chosen for the Campbell team include defensemen Lars Lindgren of Vancouver and Robert Picard of Washington; centers Bernie Federko of St. Louis and Kent Nilsson of Atlanta; right wings Mike Bossy of the Islanders and Anders Hedberg of the Rangers; and left wings Bernie Lukowich of Winnipeg and Rick MacLeish of Philadelphia, giving the Flyers a total of seven on the 20-man squad.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ll give it our best shot,&rdquo; said Trottier. &ldquo;They&rsquo;ve got a lot of big guns for us to handle. You work hard out there, but if you don&rsquo;t win, you don&rsquo;t worry about it. It&rsquo;s a one shot deal.&rdquo;As for the Wales Conference selection, as voted by the PHWA, Los Angeles, Buffalo and Minnesota each had three players selected among the 12 named to the first two teams. The Kings, of course, are represented by Dionne, Simmer and Taylor, hockey&rsquo;s highest scoring line.Bowman will have at least three of his own players from Buffalo. They are first team goalie Don Edwards, defenseman Jim Schoenfeld, and Gilbert Perreault, who was second to Dionne in the voting, at center. Minnesota players selected were goalie Gilles Meloche, left wing Steve Payne and defenseman Gary Sargent, all to the second team.The first team has Dionne at center, Simmer at left wing and Montreal&rsquo;s Guy Lafleur at right wing, Edwards in goal, and defensemen Borje Salming of Toronto and Larry Robinson of Montreal.Bowman will probably have to name two players to substitute for Taylor and Simmer, who are both doubtful starters for the All Star game through injuries. The Buffalo coach picked his eight extras to strengthen his All Star team and they included defensemen Ron Stackhouse of Pittsburgh and Reed Larson of Detroit; centers Darryl Sittier of Toronto and Boston&rsquo;s Jean Ratelle&rsquo; right wings Real Cloutier of Quebec, Hartford&rsquo;s Gordie Howe and Buffalo&rsquo;s Danny Gare; the only left winger added was Bob Gainey of Montreal.The All Star game banquet will be held the night before at the Detroit Plaza Hotel answerd will have Mac Davis as the featured entertainer. Comedian Norm Crosbie will also appear.The All Star game itself will begin at 8 p.m. and will be preceded by a special one-period 20minute exhibition between members of the Canadian and Olympic teams. It will be a final meeting of the two hockey powers prior to the start of the Olympic Games at Lake Placid Feb. 12.A special event of the All Star extravaganza will be the honoring of the former great Production Line of the Detroit Red Wings, Sid Abel, Ted Lindsay and Gordie Howe. They will be the featured guests at the All Star dinner.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-02868/5109469-1-eng-US/f0016-022.jpg" title="f0016-02" width="491" height="1185"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-03674/5109462-1-eng-US/f0016-032.jpg" title="f0016-03" width="494" height="1186"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-04522/5109455-1-eng-US/f0016-042.jpg" title="f0016-04" width="487" height="1183"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-05409/5109448-1-eng-US/f0016-052.jpg" title="f0016-05" width="495" height="1176"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-06344/5109441-1-eng-US/f0016-062.jpg" title="f0016-06" width="493" height="1188"><figcaption class="caption-body">(Photos by Robert Shaver)</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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Dionne Returns As Top All Star Game Performer

<h2>CAMPBELL CONFERENCE</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-07317/5109514-1-eng-US/f0016-072.jpg" title="f0016-07" width="516" height="858"></div><h2>WALES CONFERENCE</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-08296/5109507-1-eng-US/f0016-082.jpg" title="f0016-08" width="597" height="954"></div> &#9632;

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How All Stars Will Square off

<div class="byline">BY RICHARD FRIEDMAN</div>The four fans involved in the December 23 fracas with the Boston Bruins at Madison Square Garden announced a $7-million lawsuit at a professionally-organized press conference at a midtown Manhattan hotel last week. The press conference was called, said the New Jersey based plaintiffs&mdash;John Kaptain, 30, James Kaptain, 25, their father Emanuel Kaptain, 54, and their friend Jack Guttenplan, 31&mdash;so that they could tell their side of that night&rsquo;s bizarre events.The confrontation started, said the Kaptains, when James Kaptain was struck in the face, &ldquo;without provocation,&rdquo; by the Bruins&rsquo; Stan Jonathan. Kaptain responded, he said, by defending himself.Other observers gave a markedly different version, as did NHL President John Ziegler, in his decision two days later to suspend the Bruins&rsquo; Terry O&rsquo;Reilly, Peter McNab, and Mike Milbury. What is known is that O&rsquo;Reilly vaulted into the stands at James Kaptain; that John Kaptain became involved in the fray, and that McNab and Milbury&mdash;followed by every Bruin except goalie Gerry Cheevers&mdash;soon were in the stands, with Milbury striking John Kaptain with his own shoe.Here is Ziegler&rsquo;s version of the beginning of the fight, as stated in his decision of Friday, January 25: &ldquo;While the players were grouped near the boards, a spectator leaned over the boards and assaulted Boston player Stan Jonathan by punching him in the face. Jonathan suffered a laceration of the face as a result of the blow. This assault was totally unprovoked and came without warning.&rdquo;Named as defendants in the Kaptain&rsquo;s suit were Bruins&rsquo; President Paul Mooney, Ziegler, NHL Security Director Frank Torpey, Garden President Sonny Werblin, various security officials, the New York City police, and the Bruins players involved in the fight.Ziegler, however, absolved the Rangers&mdash;and Garden security&mdash;from blame for the incident. And he closed his statement with a remark seemingly aimed at the Kaptains and their lawsuit:&ldquo;&hellip;we will not tolerate abuse of our players, or officials or other personnel. Anyone who chooses to conduct himself in a disorderly fashion can expect that our clubs and the league will utilize all legal remedies to deter and remedy such abuse.&rdquo;Such actions by fans, said Ziegler, must not be dealt with by the players themselves. Hence, fines and suspensions were meted out to O&rsquo;Reilly (a $500 fine and suspension without pay of eight games) and Milbury and McNab ($500 fines and six-game suspensions). Four Bruins&mdash;Craig MacTavish, John Wensink, Gilles Gilbert and Al Secord&mdash;were fined $500 each, while the balance of the team were hit with $200 fines. Only Cheevers&mdash;who was having a smoke in the locker-room when the fireworks started&mdash;escaped punishment.&ldquo;Although the players believe that their actions were necessary to repel and restrain attacks upon them,&rdquo; Ziegler added, &ldquo;and to defend fellow team-members, such belief, no matter how reasonably held, is not justification or excuse for violation of the principle that no League or club employee, official or player is to engage in confrontations with spectators, or to enter into spectator areas.&rdquo; &#9632;

Fans Launch $7 Million Suit Against Bruins

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-01954/5109583-1-eng-US/f0017-012.jpg" title="f0017-01" width="529" height="1414"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-02770/5109576-1-eng-US/f0017-022.jpg" title="f0017-02" width="531" height="975"></div><h2>TOP ROOKIE SCORERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-03593/5109569-1-eng-US/f0017-032.jpg" title="f0017-03" width="520" height="389"></div> &#9632;

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NHL Scoring Leaders

<div class="byline">BY PAT CALABRIA</div>LONG ISLAND&mdash;Anders Kallur, Bobby Nystrom, Bob Bourne and, finally Denis Potvin. One by one, the Islanders tumbled to the ice with one injury or another, leaving coach Al Arbour to roll his eyes in desperation and general manager Bill Torrey to slap his hand on his desk in disbelief.As the season wore on and the lineup was thinned by torn ligaments and shattered bones, the players remained shaken and frustrated. With every spill on the ice, they cringed.&ldquo;There was a time, whenever somebody fell or looked like he was hurt, everybody would hold their breath, Bob Lorimer said. &ldquo;I know I&rsquo;d think, &lsquo;Oh, no, not again.&rsquo; Everyone did.&rdquo;The players do not react like that anymore. With their season speeding toward respectability, the Islanders appear capable of withstanding even the most debilitating injury of all&mdash;to defenseman Denis Potvin. After more than two months, the team appears capable of coping with Potvin&rsquo;s absence.First, Potvin was late in joining the team because of a separated right shoulder suffered during training camp. Then when the ligaments in his right thumb were shredded in a game Nov. 30, Potvin was disabled again&mdash;and he will not rejoin the team until at least another month.Yet, there are those who believe that Potvin&rsquo;s injury has forced the Islander defensemen to play better, to assume more responsibility and to apply skills they never had to display before.&ldquo;Denny used to play 35 or 40 minutes a game,&rdquo; Dave Lewis said, &ldquo;Now I have to do that and so do other guys. We have to go out and play good every night, or we&rsquo;re going to lose. We have no choice.&rdquo;The Islanders did lose frequently earlier this season, allowing an average of nearly four goals a game while stumbling to a 6-11-4 record. The defense and goaltending did not produce a single shutout and during one stretch allowed at least five goals in five straight games&mdash;something it had never done before.The defense has blended together since, however, prodding the team to a 17-5-2 record the last 24 games, including two shutouts. In addition, the Islanders reeled off four straight wins for the first time this season and then extended the string with victories over Montreal, Detroit, Hartford and Washington.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve done better because all the defensemen are taking more responsibility, doing things they never did,&rdquo; Stefan Persson said. &ldquo;We all have to do a few of the things that Denis did, even if there&rsquo;s only one Denis, and that&rsquo;s made us play better.&rdquo;So Lorimer, after playing alongside Potvin for a year, has adjusted his game to include carrying the puck a little more. &ldquo;With Denis,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;I just used to pass off, back up and watch.&rdquo;Persson has had a larger role in the restructured power play, where Potvin&rsquo;s absence also has been conspicuous, and forwards such as Bourne and Kallur have been exposed to Potvin&rsquo;s position on the point. The effect has been to expand the versatility of some players.In addition, some expected adjusting from newer players has been completed, helping to minimize the damage from Potvin&rsquo;s absence. The defense has been rebuilt of the last two years with Persson, Lorimer, Dave Langevin, Gord Lane and Jean Potvin added while Gerry Hart, Bert Marshall and Pat Price have been subtracted.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s taken time,&rdquo; Torrey said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve made some changes the last few years and we expected a period of adjustment. Then there was Denis&rsquo; injury. It put pressure on certain players and, at first, those players buckled. But now they seem to be carrying on pretty well.&rdquo;They began to accomplish that after Arbour hammered home the message to the forwards to help the defensemen. Then he hammered home the message to the defencemen that they would have to move the puck more quickly&mdash;snapping passes instead of guiding them.To some players, the problems posed by Potvin&rsquo;s injury can be compared to the team&rsquo;s lop-sided offense, led by Bryan Trottier&rsquo;s line. &ldquo;We seem to be getting over that thing with Trots&rsquo; line, and the defense seems to be getting over the fact that Denis is going to be out for a while yet,&rdquo; Resch said. &ldquo;If we play hard enough, we can turn it into an advantage. If we keep going and then Denis gets back into the lineup, just think what could happen. It could be electric.&rdquo;More players seem to be concerned with playing good defense now, one reason while the Islanders are scoring fewer goals this season. But a lagging offense does not concern the team as long as the defense is intact.And now the defense appears to be intact. &ldquo;Finally,&rdquo; Lewis said.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-01984/5109614-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg" title="f0018-01" width="593" height="893"><figcaption class="caption-body">The absence of Denis Potvin put a load on the Islanders&rsquo; defense, especially Stefan Persson. (Photo by Steve Babineau)</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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Islanders Begin Successful Blend

<div class="byline">BY VARTAN KUPELIAN</div>DETROIT&mdash;Mike Foligno is chasing Brian Propp, and he&rsquo;s determined to catch him. The Detroit Red Wings&rsquo; first-round draft pick, Foligno is closing the gap on Propp in the rookie scoring race. Propp is the outstanding left winger of the Philadelphia Flyers.Foligno, a rugged right winger who is quickly becoming the Wings&rsquo; best all-around forward, has 15 goals and 21 assists for 36 points. He&rsquo;s been piling up the points with consistency but he hasn&rsquo;t had a real flurry yet.And he&rsquo;s capable of scoring in bunches, as he did in junior hockey. Propp, who got off to a flying start and at one point had what appeared to be an insurmountable edge, has 21 goals and 22 assists for 43 points. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m hoping to catch him and beat him, but for the benefit of the team,&rdquo; Foligno said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want to hurt the team doing it. But it would be satisfying to do it.&rdquo;In addition, rookie of the year honors could be at stake. Foligno and Propp are at the top of a strong group of candidates for the Calder Trophy.Whether Foligno does, indeed, catch Propp in the scoring race or any other, one thing is certain: Wing management wouldn&rsquo;t deal Foligno for any of the others even-up. They recognize he&rsquo;s got the makings of something special.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s going to be a great hockey player,&rdquo; Coach Bobby Kromm said, and included two other first-year pros, John Ogrodnick and Jim Korn, in the assessment.Ogrodnick, a left winger from New Westminster, was a fourth round pick while Korn, a product of Providence College, was drafted by the Red Wings several years ago but remained in school. They&rsquo;ve given the Wings size, enthusiasm and desire.Detroit&rsquo;s three-game winning streak was snapped by the New York Islanders, 5-3, at the Joe Louis Arena, where the Wings continue to have their problems. They&rsquo;ve played much better on the road this season than at home.&ldquo;The way we&rsquo;ve been playing, we should have beat the Islanders,&rdquo; Kromm said. &ldquo;But we gave the game away. We made four mistakes. (Reed) Larson made a bad play, then (Vaclav) Nedomansky made a blind pass (to Bob Nystrom in the slot), (Dan) Labraaten didn&rsquo;t pick up his man and Larson should have put his man in the fourth row of the end arena but didn&rsquo;t.&rdquo;.When Kromm referred to the Wings as a &ldquo;Jekyll and Hyde club&rdquo; he was talking about their inconsistency.MOTOR CITY SHORTS: After 45 games, the Wings had three players with 20 or more goals&mdash;Nedomansky, 26; Labraaten, 20; Errol Thompson, 20&hellip;Nedomansky has 10 of the Wings&rsquo; 40 power play goals and five of 17 winning goals, Thompson has three winning goals and eight on the power play&hellip;Dale McCourt had 12 points (4 goals, 8 assists) in six games&hellip;Rogie Vachon has started 13 straight games in goal as management has turned its back on Jimmy Rutherford, who has become another victim of the McCourt-Vachon episode&hellip;Foligno finally had his explosive against Quebec with three goals in a 7-6 Wings&rsquo; victory. &#9632;

Foligno Flying Towards Rookie Scoring Lead

<h2>RON DUGUAY&hellip; N.Y. Rangers</h2>In a week filled with four goal scorers around the NHL, Ron Duguay of the Rangers grabbed the spotlight with his five-goal performance and for the young New York winger it was the biggest goal blast of his big league career.Duguay, who scored a total of 27 goals last season and 20 the first year he was in the league as a rookie, appears to have found the scoring touch as the Rangers came through an unblemished week with two wins and a tie in three starts. The 22-year-old Ranger scored a hattrick against Los Angeles and added two more in a win at Vancouver. He now has 14 for the season.Duguay&rsquo;s five goals overshadowed a handful of four-goal snipers including Steve Shutt, who got four in one game, Pat Hickey, Greg Malone, Lanny McDonald, Mike Fologno and Richard Martin, who all hit four goals each. &#9632;

NHL Player Of The Week

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0019-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-01914/5109700-1-eng-US/f0019-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">The action in the NHL last week turned into a regular shootout with no less than 280 goals scored in the 37 regularly scheduled games the single game scoring highlight was turned in by Steve Shutt of Montreal Canadiens, who shot four into the net in a game at Hartford. It was the second time in Shutt&rsquo;s NHL career he had turned the trick.</figcaption></div><h2>NHL Grounds Holt</h2>NEW YORK&mdash;Defenseman Randy Holt, like Terry O&rsquo;Reilly and the Boston Bruins, felt the full wrath of NHL discipline this past week.Holt was suspended for 10 games by the Los Angeles Kings and fined $500 for his involvement in a stick-swinging incident.It was the second suspension of the season for the 27-year-old Holt, who was lost earlier for two games because of his part in a brawl in Philadelphia between the Kings and the Flyers.The latest incident occurred during a 4-2 loss to Atlanta Flames.As Atlanta&rsquo;s Bob MacMillan tried to control the puck in his own end, Holt tied him up. When they separated, MacMillan took a mild swipe at Holt, hitting him with his stick. Holt responded by raking the blade of his stick across MacMillan&rsquo;s face.MacMillan suffered a cut around the right eye and Holt was hit with a five-minute penalty for attempt to injure and a match penalty, which means an automatic review by NHL president John Ziegler, whose decision was announced by the Kings.In still another incident, Nick Fotiu was fined for his actions by the Hartford Whalers after being ordered to the bench in a game against Montreal.Angered at being pulled when Montreal&rsquo;s Guy Lafleur was ready for a shift in the second period, Fotiu argued with Whalers&rsquo; coach Don Blackburn, slammed his hockey stick down and left the bench for the dressing room.&ldquo;You don&rsquo;t show up the coach in a game,&rdquo; Blackburn said after the game. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m the coach of this team. I&rsquo;ll decide who plays and when.&rdquo;<h2>Ballard Vows Changes</h2>TORONTO&mdash;Even owner Harold Ballard couldn&rsquo;t stomach the Leafs&rsquo; inept showing against the Edmonton Oilers. They were routed 8-3 and Ballard vowed there would be quick changes in the team when it returns home from its current road trip.&ldquo;What can you say? It was terrible, disgusting. There are going to be changes&hellip;and this week. I&rsquo;m going to tell Punch (GM Punch Imlach) he has to make some trades,&rdquo; was all Ballard would say.Now it appears the experiment of bringing 41-year-old Carl Brewer is over and the Leafs could dangle Darryl Sittler in several would-be trades to strengthen the team. Several NHL teams want Sittler and right away.<h2>Art Ross Dead</h2>BOSTON&mdash;Arthur Stuart Ross, a one-time NHL administrator, has died in a Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., hospital. He was 62.Son of the late Art Ross, who was general manager of the Bruins and a hockey innovator, the younger Ross spent a number of years as assistant GM of the Bruins before retiring to a business in Florida.<h2>No Trade Clause Out</h2>TORONTO&mdash;The NHL will not recognize the no-trade provision in Darryl Sittler&rsquo;s contract.If the Leafs want to trade Sittler they must demand a $500,000 payment from the team purchasing Sittler&rsquo;s contract. The addendum to his contract is a deal he made with owner Harold Ballard and is not contained in the regular NHL players&rsquo; contract.NHL president John Ziegler said any addition to a player contract is not recognized by the league. Ziegler said he will insist that Sittler and his agent, Alan Eagleson, follow league procedure. Eagleson said he will take the NHL to court if necessary to enforce the no-trade clause.<h2>Lefaive New President</h2>TORONTO&mdash;Lou Lefaive is getting specific in his role as an administrative head.The director of Sport Canada has decided to resign that post to become the first president of Hockey Canada, instead. A director of Hockey Canada since its inception in 1968, Lefaive has been federal director of fitness and amateur sport for a similar period.<h2>Newell All Star Ref</h2>MONTREAL&mdash;NHL referee-in-chief, Scotty Morrison, announced that Dave Newell, John D&rsquo;Amico and Ray Scapinello have been selected to officiate in the NHL&rsquo;s 32nd All Star game, to be played in the Joe Louis Sports Arena in Detroit, Feb. 5.D&rsquo;Amico will be appearing in his fifth All-Star game while N well and linesman Scapinello will be making their first appearance Morrison also announced that reefree Bryan Lewis would be the standby official.Newell, a 33-year-old native of Sudbury, Ont., is in his 11th NH season and has worked in 47 Stanley Cup playoff games. He has been active in officiating since the age of 14.<h2>Dallas Eyes Flames</h2>DALLAS&mdash;There&rsquo;s an 18,000-season arena in Dallas due to open in April which likely will soon be housing professional basketball and the mayor of Dallas, Bob Folsom, wouldn&rsquo;t mind putting a National Hockey League club in their as well.According to the manager of the arena, Jack Beckman, they are actively seeking to relocate a NHL team in Dallas for next sea son and have held talks with Thomas Cousins, who owns the Atlanta Flames and is a friend of mayor Folsom.The Flames have suffered a attendance drop of slightly more than 12 per cent, averaging about 9,700 per game, which general manager Cliff Fletcher attributes to the reduced number of game: against divisional rivals.Fletcher admits he has been contacted by groups in Dallas am Houston about moving the team but says the club is not interested in moving.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-02683/5109693-1-eng-US/f0019-022.jpg" title="f0019-02" width="1841" height="1490"><figcaption class="caption-body">Terry O&rsquo;Reilly of Boston felt the full brunt of NHL discipline this past week when president John Ziegler suspended him for eight games for being the ringleader in the Bruins&rsquo; invasion of the stands in Madison Square Garden where they became embroiled with the fans. He was also fined $500. (Photo by Steve Babineau)</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0019-01

SLAPSHOTS

BOSTON&mdash;Don Marcotte still out indefinitely. Brad Park and Wayne Cashman back in lineup. It is Park&rsquo;s first appearance of the year.CHICAGO&mdash;Stan Mikita out indefinitely.COLORADO&mdash;Bill McKenzie and Bob Ramage on injury list. Gary Croteau and Trevor Johansen back in lineup.DETROIT&mdash;Jean Hamel and George Lyle still out of lineup.EDMONTON&mdash;Al Hamilton back from injury list for first time this season.LOS ANGELES&mdash;Rick Hampton on injury list. Charlie Simmer out with injury. Return on day-to-day basis. Dave Taylor out of lineup with shoulder injury, for six weeks.MONTREAL&mdash;Guy Lapointe and Serge Savard still out of lineup.ISLANDERS&mdash;Denis Potvin still out injured until midMarch.RANGERS&mdash;Ulf Nilsson out with injured neck, possibly for rest of season. Carol Vadnais still out of lineup.PHILADELPHIA&mdash;Mel Bridgman out two weeks with broken hand.PITTSBURGH&mdash;Paul Marshall still out indefinitely.QUEBEC&mdash;Serge Bernier out for season after knee surgery. Marc Tardif out until mid-March with knee problems.TORONTO&mdash;Mike Palmateer reinjured his ankle and is out indefinitely.VANCOUVER&mdash;Rick Blight and Bob Manno both still out of lineup. Hal Phillipoff out indefinitely.WASHINGTON&mdash;Yvon Labre and Dennis Maruk still out. Guy Charron on injury list for rest of season after knee surgery.WINNIPEG&mdash;Bobby Hull remains out of lineup with shoulder injury. Pierre Hamel back in lineup from injury list. &#9632;

INJURY REPORT

<div class="byline">BY MIKE DENNIS</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-01774/5109755-1-eng-US/f0020-012.jpg" title="f0020-01" width="560" height="656"><figcaption class="caption-body">reinsured ankle will put like Palmateer back on the helf and hurt Leafs&rsquo; hopes of getting untracked.</figcaption></div>TORONTO&mdash;The comeback of &ldquo;Kid Popcorn&rdquo; wasn&rsquo;t a lengthy one.After just nine minutes and 56 seconds of playing time at the Los Angeles Forum, Maple Leaf goaltender Mike Palmateer was forced out of the game when he injured his ankle in a goalmouth scramble. Paul Harrison stepped in to continue his ponderous workload of late and the Leafs went on to their eighth road defeat in their last nine games, 5-4.Palmateer, Leafs goaltending mainstay for the past three and a half seasons, is nearly as famous for his popcorn eating proficiencies as he is for his gambling, adventuresome style in the nets. He&rsquo;s been like a caged lion, waiting to get back to action after jamming his ankle on the opening goal against the Washington Capitals in a night-after-Christmas 8-2 defeat.Since that time, the Leafs, along with their thousand and one other controversies, have seen their record go from .500 at 15 wins, 15 losses and four ties to 15th in the National Hockey League at 19-23-4 prior to a weekend pair of road games.And while Harrison, with occasional relief from rookie Vincent Tremblay has been handling the bulk of the netminding duties the Leafs goals against average rose to over five goals per game for the dozen contests Palmeteer missed, although everyone concedes that Harrison has generally played well and has had little if any support for lengthy periods.As the Leafs were fashioning a 3-8 record which included three losses in Pittsburgh (6-4), Long Island (9-6) and Montreal (7-2) during the first half of the team&rsquo;s longest road trip of the season, Palmateer stayed off skates for a couple of weeks and then began practicing lightly with the team just before they left for Pittsburgh.Although &ldquo;Palmy&rdquo; admitted his ankle was still tender when he worked out with players such as Darryl Maggs, Ron Ellis and Terry Martin who were left in Toronto for the start of the trip, he indicated that he would like to test it during game conditions and that he expected to join the trip when they headed to Atlanta after a brief two-day, one-practice stopover in Toronto.He did, in fact, although he was Harrison&rsquo;s backup after he termed the ankle sore during the warmup for the Flames.Ironically, two of the other players added for the trip to Atlanta, Ellis and Martin, who replaced Bob Stephenson and Carl Brewer, figured prominently in the Atlanta game as Ellis opened the scoring for the Leafs with his 11th goal of the season and then after the Flames had eliminated a 2-0 Leaf lead, it was Martin who flashed down the left side to flip a Borje Salming rebound over the Flames&rsquo; Pat Riggin for the winning goal in Toronto&rsquo;s 4-2 decision.So hopes were high the following night because of the return of Palmateer to a starting role and the much tighter style the Leafs had managed in holding the Flames in check. The defensemen cleared the crease, the forwards backchecked and they scored when the opportunities arose. Alas, it only lasted one night.Palmateer looked as cocky as ever in turning away several L.A. scoring chances in the first half of the opening period but shortly after he left the scoreless game quickly turned in the Kings&rsquo; favor.Two goals in 65 seconds put them into the lead and after John Anderson notched his 13th of the season, the Kings added another pair for a 4-1 lead.The Leafs tried to make it a game&mdash;or rather the Kid Line of Anderson (who added two assists) on second period goals by linemates Laurie Boschman (his 10th) and Rocky Saganiuk (number 13 for him) kept things close.Close isn&rsquo;t good enough, though, and the Leafs, who stood ninth in the league December 1, looked to be up against it with several other teams looming right behind in the bid to finish in the top 16. &#9632;

f0020-01

Short-Lived Comeback Dims Leafs’ Prospects

<div class="byline">BY BUDDY O&#x2019;CONNOR</div>QUEBEC&mdash;Seven very promising youngsters, not one over 20 years age, are the nucleus of Quebec cordiques&rsquo; Gilles Leger&rsquo;s job this First year in the National Hockey league.Johnston has &ldquo;established&rdquo; himself in the AHL as a hitter and at this writing had picked up well over 100 minutes in the penalty box. But, he also had eight assists. A good hitter is just what the Nordiques need, especially after the loss of big centerman Serge Bernier for the season and leftwinger Marc Tardif.Because of injuries, five foot ten, 185-pound center Peter Marrin, with Birmingham, cannot be brought up to the Nordiques. Marrin has been suffering with a recurring groin injury that has kept him out of the lineup for most of the season.Demers stated that Marrin would have been with the Nordiques &ldquo;for a long time now, but for his injury. He&rsquo;s a hardworking centerman and would be of great help to close the Bernier gap here.&rdquo;The Nordiques can always have &ldquo;immediate help from our older, more experienced players in our system, such as the honest workman, Francois Lacombe,&rdquo; Demers continued.However, to be a top contender over the long run, Demers calls for youth.But will this youth, in the seven players he is watching closely this year be ready for the 1980-81 season? Demers hesitated and then mused, &ldquo;if not next season, definitely all of them will have their innings with us in the next two, three years.&rdquo;Talking about Richard David, who has been with the Nordiques at least twice only to return to the minors, Demers has not given up one bit on him. &ldquo;He may take one more year, maybe two, but he has the potential, if he decides to be what he really is, a very talented hockey player.&rdquo;SKATE MARKS: Boston goalie Gilles Gilbert took a terrific swing at his former coach Don Cherry, calling him the &ldquo;perfect egoist&rdquo;&hellip;In Quebec, his hometown, for a game against Nordiques, won by the Bruins 3-1 with Gilbert between the posts, the outspoken netminder told this writer, &ldquo;Cherry never, ever makes a move if It is not going to help him, and only him, nobody else. He&rsquo;s supposed to be a good strategist. He is not. Hell, he has never had the team practise a power play situation. His players are scared of him and that&rsquo;s why they pretend to be his friends&hellip;Gilbert had some other choice words about Cherry&hellip;His tirade came on the heels of Cherry&rsquo;s statement saying Gilbert picked the games he wanted to play and came up hurting when he did not want to play&hellip;One fact is certain. Gilbert was appearing in his 25th start this year in the game against Quebec. Under Cherry, he never goaled too many games per season&hellip;Buddy Cloutier was a very satisfied man after he scored a brace of goals in a Nordiques 3-2 win over Washington here &hellip; He had not tallied during five previous games, a rarity for him&hellip;Last season, when he hit for 75 goals, he also had a five game drought &hellip; &ldquo;I hope it turns out the same way,&rdquo; Cloutier remarked wryly&hellip;Jamie Hislop has been turned into a goalie&hellip;No, not with the Nordiques &hellip; He plays goal against 5-year-old Sam, Robbie Ftorek&rsquo;s youngster &hellip; To illustrate the Ftorek Sr.&rsquo;s love for hockey Robbie&rsquo;s mom went directly to hospital during a Bruins&rsquo; hockey game in Boston to bring Robbie into the world on Jan. 2, 1952&hellip;Defenseman Dale Hoganson is averaging close to 40 minutes of ice time per game these days and is happy about it&hellip;&ldquo;Every hockey player looks for the most ice lime he can get,&rdquo; the redhead stated&hellip;The strenuous, lengthy play every time out has not affected Hoagy&rsquo;s game in the least &hellip; In fact, he&rsquo;s having his best season ever in pro hockey&hellip;In the Nordiques&rsquo; 3-2 win over the Capitals, he picked up assists on the three tallies. &#9632;

Nordiques’ Nucleus Built On Youth

<div class="byline">BY AL SMITH</div>ATLANTA&mdash;Two days had past, yet Bob MacMillan&rsquo;s eye was still bloodshot and black and blue around the outside.In a game against the Los Angeles Kings, MacMillan had been hit alongside the head by Randy Holt, who deliberately tried to injure MacMillan with his stick.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t care what they do to him, MacMillan said. &ldquo;Right now, all I care about is that I&rsquo;ve still got my eyesight. I&rsquo;m only 27 and I want to play a few more years.&rdquo;Holt was given a five-minute major penalty by referee Alf Lejeune for attempting to injure and a match misconduct penalty which draws an automatic $200 fine and 10-game suspension following a hearing by the National Hockey League office.The incident occurred in the third period shortly after the Flames had taken a 4-1 lead. And it was obvious why Holt was on the ice. He ran everyone he could and on his second shift speared Ivan Boldirev.In 26 games this season, Holt hadn&rsquo;t scored a point, but had 67 minutes in penalties, not counting the 15 he received after maiming MacMillan.&ldquo;You knew when you saw him come in the game&mdash;it was only his third shift of the night&mdash;what he was coming for,&rdquo; MacMillan said. &ldquo;I accept the hardness of the sport, but this sort of stuff? It wasn&rsquo;t that serious this time, but what&rsquo;s this guy got to do? Has he got to put someone&rsquo;s eye out?&rdquo;&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not saying there&rsquo;s no place in this sport for Randy Holt, but that&rsquo;s if he does things with his fists and not his stick.&rdquo;MacMillan, the league&rsquo;s fifth leading scorer and Lady Byng Trophy winner last season, was amazed at the turn of events.He was skating down the middle somewhat behind the play and trying to catch up, while Holt was giving him the stick from behind to slow him down. After awhile, MacMillan turned and pushed Holt&rsquo;s stick aside with his own, then Holt turned, and like a baseball player, swung and hit MacMillan square on the side of the head.MacMillan went to the ice in a heap and lay there for a spell before he was able to get to his feet.Meanwhile, Holt just skated to the penalty box, and sat down before Lejeune told him he had been ejected from the game.Holt then left, but on his way shouted obscenities to a small boy, and gestured toward the crowd.&ldquo;I kept looking for blood,&rdquo; MacMillan said. I thought maybe I&rsquo;d have a 20-stitcher. When I found out I could see, I was the happiest guy in the league.&ldquo;But I was really lucky. I know how close I came to not having an eye.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t care if the guy plays tomorrow,&rdquo; MacMillan said the following day at practice. &ldquo;But it&rsquo;s the job of the people at the top to do something.&rdquo;The incident marred an otherwise good performance by the Flames who won 4-2, their third straight victory on the road. It put them in 12th place in the NHL standings after dipping to a tie for 16th place 10 days earlier.And MacMillan didn&rsquo;t need a whack on the side of his head to let him know he&rsquo;s having a bad year. The Prince Edward Island native had only six goals after 45 games, and had gone 15 straight without a goal when the Flames tied the Buffalo Sabres Jan. 22 at The Omni.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s been a real humbling experience,&rdquo; MacMillan said.HOT NOTES: After dropping to 16th, the Flames finally showed signs of coming out of a season-long slump with a 5-2-2 record. A large part of their success was due to the work of their special teams. Their power play improved to the point it was the third-best in the league, and their penalty killing unit had the seventh best percentage. Against the Sabres, Willi Plett broke a 12-game goal-less streak and MacMillan scored the next night against Toronto, although the Flames lost 4-2.<div class="sidebar">&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t care if the guy plays tomorrow&hellip;but it&rsquo;s the job of the people at the top to do something.&rdquo; &#9632;</div>

Flames’ MacMillan Questions Holt’s Ice Role

<div class="byline">BY PAT DOYLE</div>WINNIPEG&mdash;Barry Melrose comes across as the strong silent member of the Winnipeg Jets.Most of the time you don&rsquo;t notice Melrose because he keeps to himself. If you search him out in the Winnipeg dressing room following a National Hockey League game, you&rsquo;ll find him quietly peeling off his uniform. On road trips, Melrose is usually seen reading a book.Every now and then, though, Melrose lends his dry wit to a conversation and everybody seems to notice the big kid from Kelvington, Sask.Like the day the Jets were sitting in the Edmonton airport waiting for a connecting flight to Los Angeles. The week previous, Winnipeg had gone into New York City and beaten the Rangers, 6-4, with Melrose scoring the first jets&rsquo; goal, his second of the year, on a feeble backhand shot. Two days after that game, goaltender John Davidson of the Rangers was demoted to the minors.&ldquo;Hey Melly,&rdquo; one of the Jets said to Melrose, &ldquo;I see they&rsquo;ve sent Davidson down. I guess you ran him out of the league.&rdquo;&ldquo;He ain&rsquo;t the first one I&rsquo;ve done that to,&rdquo; Melrose quickly replied, mocking his own inability to produce more offense.Not long after that, the Jets were in Vancouver and Bobby Guindon was talking about Pat Daley, the rookie left winger then with Winnipeg&rsquo;s League farm in Tulsa.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a good hockey player,&rdquo; stressed Guindon. &ldquo;He hasn&rsquo;t really started scoring, yet, but he&rsquo;s getting the chances. They just won&rsquo;t go in.&rdquo;&ldquo;Ya,&rdquo; interjected Melrose, &ldquo;I know the feeling quite well.&rdquo;By now you&rsquo;ve likely got the idea that Melrose is no threat to catch Marcel Dionne and win the scoring championship. He scored a grand total of seven goals in his first 222 professional games, and that includes 178 games and five goals in the offensive-oriented World Hockey Association.The six-foot, 205 pound native of Kelvington broke into the pro game In the 1976-77 season with Springfield Indians of the American League, but it was only 23 games into the term when he was promoted to Cincinnati Stingers of the WHA. Melrose spent two and a half seasons with Cincy, and he was there when the WHA closed shop.Melrose found a home in Winnipeg this year when Jets&rsquo; general manager John Ferguson arranged a trade for his rights with Quebec Nordiques.And, while he and others may joke about his scoring prowess, or lack of same, nobody makes snide remarks about Melrose&rsquo;s physical play. In a year when the Jets have been something less than robust in their play, Melrose has stood out like a wart on a pretty lady&rsquo;s nose. The big defenseman thrives on body contact and if he&rsquo;s low key off the ice he comes on loud on the freeze.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-01575/5109834-1-eng-US/f0021-012.jpg" title="f0021-01" width="597" height="746"><figcaption class="caption-body">Barry Melrose doesn&rsquo;t do much scoring or talking, but he&rsquo;s one of the Jets&rsquo; leading hitters.</figcaption></div>Melrose is a farm boy from the Saskatchewan wheat belt, and if you wonder where Kelvington is, it&rsquo;s a small farming town about 120 miles down the road from Saskatoon. In the off-season, Melrose goes back to his father&rsquo;s farm to work the land, and he&rsquo;s bought some real estate of his own.&ldquo;Since I&rsquo;ve been playing hockey,&rdquo; he says, &ldquo;my feelings for the farm have grown stronger.&rdquo;Winnipeg fans&rsquo; fondness toward Melrose has grown stronger as this 1979-80 season moved along. &#9632;

f0021-01

Strong And Silent Method Of Melrose

<div class="byline">BY BILL LIBBY</div>LOS ANGELES&mdash;The Kings&rsquo; Triple Crown Line of center Marcel Dionne, right wing Dave Taylor, and left wing Charlie Simmer was put together Jan. 13th last season when the much-travelled Simmer was brought back from the minors.They played together as a unit through the last 38 games last season with Dionne getting 29 goals, Simmer 21, and Taylor 23. Through the first 42 games this season, Simmer and Dionne each had 36 goals, Taylor 30.Since 80 games is the equivalent of one full season, Dionne wound up with 65 goals, Simmer 57, Taylor 53, and the line 175 for its &ldquo;first full season&rdquo;. In an earlier story, we had miscounted and cheated the line of some games to go.The total is more than the NHL record of 151 established by the Islander line of Brian Trottier, Mike Bossy, and Clark Gillies last season. If they can maintain their present pace, the three Kings will set a new mark this season.Injuries could hurt. The two games Taylor missed in mid-December with a bruised shoulder were the first two any of the trio had missed. But then Simmer missed the last two in mid-January with strained knee ligaments. Thus, they each played in 78 of the first 80 games. Dionne played 80.Remarkably, the line landed at least one point in 79 of the 80 games and a goal in 76 of the 80. It had a streak of 56 straight game with points before it was snapped by Montreal Nov. 17th.This is incredible consistency.Earlier this season, Dionne set a team record with points in 18 straight games. Recently, he had a streak of 15. He picked up at least one point in 39 of the first 42 games this season and 70 of the 80 the line has played. He has 94 assists and 159 points for his 80 games with the line.And Simmer, of course, broke the modem NHL record by getting goals in 13 straight games between games 22 and 34, Nov. 24 to Dec. 27.The surprise package of the fine, Smiling Charlie had 57 goals, 60 assists, and 117 points in his first 80 games with Dionne and Taylor.Dionne remains the key. He was second-string center on the NHL AH Star team as voted by the writers last season, but he recently received the Lester B. Pearson Trophy as the best player in the league as voted by the players.He earned $500 from the NHL for leading it in scoring through the first half of this season with 33 goals, 50 assists, and 83 points. He is within reach of the NHL records for assists in one season set by Bobby Orr with 102 and points set by Phil Esposito with 152.Marvellous Marcel triggers the explosions set by this lethal line which works so well together at terrific speed. Except for a brief flurry when Marcel and Dave were trying to get the puck to Simmer so he could get the record, these three have passed the puck around unselfishly.Like the line, the team has so far survived injuries, but they are beginning to mount up toward last season&rsquo;s disastrous totals.Just past the midway mark of this season, Dean Hopkins had missed 12 straight games with a fractured tibia, Glenn Goldup eight games with a strained knee, and just-recalled Rick Hampton was out at least until March with a tom knee ligament. Doug Halward returned to action after missing five games with a sprained shoulder.Still, the team survived a two-week paid trip with a record of 3-22. The Kings have taken a long trip in January every year and this is the second-best record they&rsquo;ve had in their 13 years. Notable was a win in Minnesota, which had lost only one game at home all season and had won their last 13 at home.However, the Kings returned to try to extend a team-record-tying seven straight victories at home, but were beaten by Buffalo.Attendance was up an average of 1,200 over last season, but at the midway mark of the home schedule was still disappointing at 10,222. This is an exciting team which leads the league in scoring and should do better at the box office the second half.KINGS THINGS: Replaced by Gayle Strom, Debbie Gottas left as secretary to the Kings to become mother to Heather Leigh-Ann, born Jan. 4&hellip;She is not my Laurie Libby, but a 20-year-old in my area with the same name as my daughter needs money for a bone marrow transplant and I sympathetically encourage contributions to the Laurie Libby Fund, 8145 Santa Inez Way, Buena Park, Calif. 90620. &#9632;

Super ‘First Season’ Ends For Kings’ Explosive Line

<div class="byline">BY JIM MATHESON</div>EDMONTON&mdash;Whenever the Canadian Olympic hockey team is out of costume, it&rsquo;s easy to spot Glenn Anderson.He&rsquo;s the goofy-looking guy wearing the mouseketeer cap.But, it doesn&rsquo;t seem to bother Edmonton Oilers. They know damn well he&rsquo;s not mickey mouse on the nice.Anderson, 19, was Oilers&rsquo; fourth-round draft pick in last August&rsquo;s National Hockey League entry lottery. At the time, most people said Glenn Who? He was simply an underage rightwinger from U of Denver that nobody had ever heard of. Nobody went bananas over the fact that he led Denver in scoring last season, either.But, people are excited now. Oilers may have pulled off one of the biggest steals of the entire draft. &ldquo;Everytime teams call us, hockey throw Anderson&rsquo;s name into the conversation,&rdquo; said Oiler coach Glen Sather. &ldquo;They say things like&hellip;give us (Dave Hunter) and that kid on the Olympic team&hellip;and it&rsquo;s a deal. For somebody who&rsquo;s never played a pro game, Anderson is a pretty hot Item.&rdquo;Anderson, who played Tier Two Junior with Bellingham (Wash.) Blazers before going to U of Denver, had a chance of signing with Oilers after the draft. But his mind was made up. He wanted to play for Father David Bauer&rsquo;s Olympic squad.So, while other underage draftees like goalie Vincent Tremblay and Laurie Boschman (both Toronto) and Paul Reinhart (Atlanta) eventually signed with the NHL clubs that drafted them, Anderson stayed put with the Olympic team as it trained in Calgary.&ldquo;Eventually, I wouldn&rsquo;t mind playing for the Oilers,&rdquo; said the speedy, 177-pound forward, who&rsquo;s looked on as one of the two best Olympians, Randy Gregg, a huge defenseman from U of Alberta, is No. 1 on the NHL wanted list.&ldquo;But I have to keep my mind off it as much as possible right now,&rdquo; said Anderson. &ldquo;These Olympics Games are so important.&rdquo;Anderson, who was slowed during the pre-Olympic tournament in December with a pulled groin, has also overcome fluid on the knee and bad eyes to turn in some very impressive efforts in recent weeks.While he had to get his eyes checked because &ldquo;he was missing so many open nets earlier&rdquo;, he bounded back sharply against the Czech national B squad in three games in Calgary in early January. He was the outstanding Canadian in the last two wins, dipsy-doodling around four Czechs to score a key goal for Canada and adding two assists in a 5-4 later win.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s an excellent skater,&rdquo; said Cowboy Fleet, who&rsquo;s now an Oiler scout after three plus seasons with the club. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s slick&hellip;he knows what to do with the puck around the net.&rdquo;Oiler chief scout Barry Fraser seconds Fleet&rsquo;s appraisal. &ldquo;He was having trouble scoring earlier but that was only because he needed to go to an eye doctor. He needed glasses, plain and simple. His speed is his greatest asset&hellip;but he&rsquo;s pretty tough, too. He&rsquo;s a protype winger.&rdquo;Fraser thinks Anderson could step in right away and play pro Sather will probably find out in March, as soon as the Olympics are over in Lake Placid. &ldquo;I&rsquo;d like to take a look at him then, if possible,&rdquo; said Sather, who may be looking for Anderson to replace 34-year-old Bobby Schmautz when the season&rsquo;s over. Schmautz, acquired from Boston in December, had made it clear he&rsquo;s going to test the free agent market in June. He won&rsquo;t be signing any new contracts until then.Anderson, who lists his ambition as starting a chain of small restaurants and playing pro hockey, will probably listen to a hefty Oiler offer. Sather is on a youth kick, and he&rsquo;s not about to let a talented skater get away to the business world.&ldquo;From what I&rsquo;ve seen he&rsquo;s one helluva fourth-round draft choice,&rdquo; said Sather.ON THE BENCH&mdash;Gregg, captain of the Olympic squad, is being wooed by Oilers, Atlanta and New York Rangers. He&rsquo;s graduated in medicine and apparently is looking for an attractive place to intern as well as play defense&hellip;Sather is very high on an unheralded forward named Roy Sommer, who&rsquo;s on the farm team in Houston. &ldquo;We grabbed him off St. Louis&rsquo; list and he&rsquo;s done a super job,&rdquo; said Sather. Sommer once played with the junior Oil Kings, but he&rsquo;s an American from California.<div class="sidebar">Fraser thinks that Anderson could step into pro and play right away &#9632;</div>

Oilers Bubble Over Underage Find

<div class="byline">BY JIM LEAHY</div>LOUISVILLE HOCKEY STICKSLOUISVILLE HOCKEY STICKSNEW HAVEN&mdash;Mayor Biagio DiLeto of New Haven has expressed interest, in a published interview, in leasing the city&rsquo;s Veteran&rsquo;s Memorial Coliseum, home of the American League Nighthawks, calling the $23 million complex a &ldquo;white elephant&rdquo;. Nighthawk owner Joel Schiavone may be interested in leasing the facility from the city, and if details can be worked out with New Haven officials, Schiavone will have taken another major step in his attempts to make New Haven a showcase for sports and entertainment.Schiavone Sports, parent firm of the Nighthawks, would undoubtedly make some much-needed improvements in the Coliseum if they are able to lease it. The first thing the 9,000-seat Coliseum needs is a sign. Incredibly, nearly eight years after it was built, the Coliseum remains unidentified to first time visitors. Once you get into the building, the complex is first class and the Nighthawk facilities arc major league calibre. Schiavone has already upgraded the press facilities and built a VIP Lounge since buying the club last March.The Coliseum is a controversial building to say the least. Perched on top of the hockey arena sits four levels of parking. To get to those levels, motorists must drive up a funnel-like and winding path. Once there, they have a choice of taking elevators down to the street level or riding on one of the twin escalators, which has to be a real thrill for a first-time visitor. The escalators are nearly ten stories long and unprotected from the weather.Anybody driving by the building for the first time might describe it to be a giant, unfinished Erector set that has started to rust. It could be mistaken for a bridge. A few years ago, somebody had an idea and wanted to place a billboard on the highway next to the Coliseum. Officials vetoed that plan when it was feared that motorists would get into accidents trying to read the messages that were on the billboard.A Nighthawk official would not comment on the rumored lease of the Coliseum to Schiavone Sports. However, the feeling here is that Schiavone will do everything he can to work out an equitable deal with the city. If he ever does move his organization into the complex, New Haven hockey fans will be in one of the best buildings in all of minor league hockey.New Haven was in action only twice during the week. They motored up to Syracuse and dropped a 4-2 game to the Firebirds. A big contest in Portland against the powerful Mariners was won by New Haven 7-2 in a blowout.SPRINGFIELD: Three important wins during the week moved the red-hot Indians to within five points of third-place Maine. The Tribe won 3-2 at Binghamton and then came home to take a 4-2 victory over Maine and an exciting 43 game against Nova Scotia. Earlier, the parent Hartford Whalers called center Bernie Johnston up to the NHL. Johnston was third in the AHL scoring race at the time with 18 goals and 36 assists in 41 games.The big 4-3 win over Nova Scotia sent 3,000 fans home in a festive mood. It was a well-played contest that featured some outstanding goaltending by Springfield netminder Ken Holland. Both teams traded goals through the first two periods until Rick Hodgson connected at the 7:41 mark of the third frame to give Springfield a 3-2 lead. Jean Savard scored his second goal of the night 10 minutes later, which turned out to be the eventual game-winner.The victories over Maine and Nova Scotia at the Big E Coliseum, left the Tribe unbeaten in their last seven home games. Springfield boasted a 10-1-2 mark in their last 13 at the Coliseum.ROCHESTER: The Amerks had their brief three-game winning streak ended in Binghamton, but they climbed over Hershey into second place in the Southern Division in the process. After beating Adirondack 5-3 before 4,561 at the War Memorial, Rochester beat the Dusters 6-4 at home before losing 9-5 in Binghamton. The win over the Red Wings was highlighted by a penalty shot being awarded to Bill Stewart that was scored and then disallowed. After he beat Adirondack goaltender Al Jensen, referee Bob Henry measured Stewart&rsquo;s stick and found it to be illegal. The apparent goal was disallowed, but the Amerks won the game 5-3.SYRACUSE: A hat trick by Richard David lifted the Firebirds to a 4-2 win over New Haven before 2,478 at the War Memorial. Lou Sleigher added a solo tally and Gary Carr held the Nighthawks at bay to preserve the victory. Carr&rsquo;s win was his ninth of the year against 11 losses and two ties. The Adirondack Red Wings came into Syracuse a few nights, later and hung a stinging 4-1 defeat on the &lsquo;Birds. A return match in Glens Falls 24 hours later ended in a 7-4 win for the Wings. Syracuse finished the week in fourth place in the Southern Div.NOVA SCOTIA: Defeats al the hands of Maine (4-3) and Springfield (4-3) left the Vees in second place in the tough Northern Division. The Voyageurs almost came back to tie Springfield and were buzzing around the net when time ran out on them.ADIRONDACK: The Wings beat Syracuse twice, tied Hershey and lost to Rochester by a 5-3 margin. All of this left Adirondack still in the Northern Division cellar, four points in back of Springfield.The club made a flurry of changes during the week. Defenseman Tommie Bergman and center Dennis Sobchuk came in from Detroit. Left wingers Don Larway and Larry Elson were assigned to the Wings from Kalamazoo of the IHL. Center Doug Derkson went to the IHL and right winger John Ogrodnick was recalled by Detroit.NEW BRUNSWICK: Tim Trimper continues to lead the AHL in scoring and the Hawks lead the Northern Division by a narrow margin over Nova Scotia. New Brunswick was in action twice this week at home, both games against Hershey. They recorded a 3-0 victory over the Bears and then skated to a 4-4 overtime tic with them two days later.BINGHAMTON: The Dusters hoped to move up in the Southern Division standings during the week with two of their three games against divisional rivals. Unfortunately, they lost twice. Springfield started the dismal week with a 3-2 win at the Arena. A visit to Rochester ended in a 6-4 loss, but the return match in Binghamton resulted in a 9-5 win for the Dusters, leaving the club three points in back of fourth place Syracuse.MAINE: After losing two of three games played during the week, the Mariners found them-selves only five points ahead of fourth place Springfield. Help was on the way however, as the parent Philadelphia Flyers were about to assign two top-notch players to the Mariners. Maine started the week in great shape by edging Nova Scotia 4-3 at the Civic Center. A visit to Springfield resulted in a 4-2 loss and the Southern Division leading New Haven Nighthawks came into Portland and buried the Mariners 7-2.New Haven came into this titanic battle wanting to prove something to the Mariners after seeing Maine stop two recent Nighthawk winning streaks. The team came into Portland a day early and then proceeded to shock the Mariners in the 7-2 massacre before a nearcapacity crowd of 6,476 at the Civic Center.HERSHEY: After skating to a 5-5 overtime tie in Adirondack, the Bears visited New Brunswick where they split a two-game set with the Hawks. After losing 3-0, the Bears came back to earn a 4-4 tie and gain a valuable point. The club was bolstered with the addition of two players. Goaltender Gary Inness came down from the parent Washington Capitals and right winger Tim Coulis came off the injured list. The Bears lost right winger Bob Sirois to the Caps.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-01598/5109913-1-eng-US/f0023-012.jpg" title="f0023-01" width="587" height="734"><figcaption class="caption-body">Americans&rsquo; Bill Stewart scored on a penalty shot but his illegal stick wiped out the goal.</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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Nighthawks To Consider Leasing Home Arena

<div class="byline">BY TOM LOBAUGH</div>LOUISVILLE HOCKEY STICKSLOUISVILLE HOCKEY STICKSMuckier had asked to be relieved of his coaching duties last summer, since scouting would give him more time to spend with his family in Providence.In Choyce&rsquo;s final week the Hawks bowed to Salt Lake at home, 6-3, lost in overtime to the U.S. Olympic team, 4-3, and whipped Fort Worth to pull even in the Turnpike Series, 4-4-2. They were nearing the end of a six-game homestand, for which they had two victories and three defeats. Their overall record was 1623-6.Choyce, who had previous CHL coaching assignments at Kansas City, Albuquerque, Fort Worth and Tulsa, said, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not bitter: it&rsquo;s just one of those things that happens when you&rsquo;re coaching. I was a little shocked, because it happened so quickly. I think the club was turning things around, starting to come on, and they&rsquo;ll keep coming on.&rdquo; After a short &ldquo;vacation&rdquo;, Choyce will begin scouting for the Canucks.Hawk general manager Ed Terhune said, &ldquo;It&rsquo;s very unfortunate. We liked Choyce and his family, but we felt the time had come when we had to make a change, because the fans kept clamoring for him to go. When a team is winning, the players get the credit, but when they&rsquo;re losing, it&rsquo;s the coach&rsquo;s fault. The clamor from the fans got so bad, I didn&rsquo;t want to go into the arena.&rdquo;Choyce had appointed veteran Ernie Hicks as a full-time assistant coach a week earlier.Rob Tudor&rsquo;s 28th goal, a shorthanded one, gave Dallas a first-period lead against the Olympians, before George Hughes and Rob McClanahan put the Olympic team ahead in the second, and Jack O Callaghan made it 3-1 for the U.S. squad early in the third. Callander and Gerry Minor tied the game for the Hawks, but Steve Christoff won it for the Olympians with a power play goal after 8.17 of overtime. The game drew 7,113 fans.Dave Salvian got the first and last goals in the satisfying win over Fort Worth, with Callander and Brad Gassoff also scoring.INDIANAPOLIS: Splitting a pair of home games with Birmingham, a 7-5 win and 5-2 loss; left the Checkers in third place, a point behind the Bulls and Salt Lake, who shared the top rung. Indianapolis held the advantage, 5-4-1, in the fiercely-contested 13-game series with Birmingham.Left wing Alex McKendry, the big guy from Midland, Ont., had 11 shots on the net in the Thursday game against the Bulls, only one shy of the CHL record, and three of them went in! The six-foot-four, 200-pound fourth-year pro scored in each period, with other goals coming from Billy Carroll, Kevin Devine, Garth MacGuigan and Ed Pizunski, just returned from Fort Wayne in the International League.BIRMINGHAM&mdash;John Brophy&rsquo;s Bulls kept pace with Salt Lake by winning two of three on the road. After winning, 2-1, in Tulsa, they divided a pair in Indianapolis, losing a 7-5 Thursday game but winning 5-2 the next night. That gave the Bulls a 3-3 mark for a two-week, six-game road sting. They were looking forward to playing in their own Birmingham Jefferson County Coliseum, where they owned five straight victories.Jim MacRae scored both Birmingham goals on his return to Tulsa, where he was a rookie last season. Tim Bernhardt, another rookie on that Tulsa club, shut out the Oilers for more than 50 minutes.MacRae scored once in the first period, twice in the second, to lead the Bulls over Indy with John Gould and Paul Terbenche supplying the other goals.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-01640/5109944-1-eng-US/f0024-012.jpg" title="f0024-01" width="564" height="718"><figcaption class="caption-body">John Muckier has rejoined a team which is on the borderline as far as playoffs go.</figcaption></div>FORT WORTH: Kevin Morrison&rsquo;s goal after 4.18 of overtime gave the Texans a 4-3 upset over the U.S. Olympic team. Ron Ullyot&rsquo;s crew followed with an 8-5 win over the high-flying Salt Lake Eagles. Both victories came in Will Rogers Coliseum, but the Texans ran into trouble on the road. They were shut out, 3-0, by Louis Lavasseur in Oklahoma City, then fell in Dallas, 4-2.SALT LAKE: Winning two out of three on the road kept the Golden Eagles in a first-place tie with Birmingham, a point ahead of Indianapolis, and the Birds had three games in hand on the Bulls, two on the Checkers.Bobby Simpson and Bob Hess each scored twice in a 6-3 romp in Dallas, with Simpson&rsquo;s goals coming 21 seconds apart in the middle period. Joe Mullen and Doug Palazzari got the others. But Palazzari was checked into a goalpost and suffered a bruised calf, missing the rest of the week&rsquo;s action.Muller had two goals in a 8-5 loss to Fort Worth and gave the rookie right wing from Boston College six goals in the three-game week. &#9632;

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Muckler Reinstated To Guide Hawks As Dallas Tries Surprise Maneuver

OKLAHOMA CITY: Two week end victories weren&rsquo;t enough to lift the Stars out of the cellar, Put they pulled within a point of seventh-place Houston. Their challenge had been squelched earlier in the week, when the Apollos came into the Myriad and won a 5-4 overtime showdown. The Stars rebounded by licking Fort Worth, 3-0, behind Louis Levasseur&rsquo;s perfect goaltending, and winning a rematch with Houston, 5-3.The injury list was still swollen, with forward Robbie Laird (bruised ribs) and defensemen Jim Boo (arm injury), Peter Shier (pulled groin) and Don Jackson (lame shoulder) all sidelined.Defenseman Cal Sandbeck had become the Stars&rsquo; hottest scorer, with goals in all three games, including the winning tallies in both victories.Sandbeck gave Lavesseur all the margin he needed with a first-period goal against Fort Worth. John McCahill scored in the second period, and Joe Contini found the empty net with 52 seconds left. The game, 25-Cent Beer Night, drew 6,828 fans, the largest OC crowd of the season.As the week ended, Tony White and Dan Chicoine were summoned to Minnesota. The Stars were enjoying a seven-game homestand, with a 3-2 record so far.HOUSTON: Al Rollins&rsquo; Apollos were scoring goals in clusters, but giving them up in even larger bunches. After a 5-4 overtime win in Oklahoma City, they blew a three-goal lead and lost in Tulsa, 7-6, then bowed on a return to OC, 5-3. That gave Houston a 1-6 record for their long road grind. The Apollos were in seventh place, only one behind sixth-place Dallas, but only one in front of last-place Oklahoma City.Doug Patey and Mike Toal provided a quick 2-0 lead in the first game at OC, but it took third-period tallies from Ron Carter and Tom Roulston to tie it up. Peter Driscoll got the winning marker after 3:23 of overtime. &#9632;

Oilers Abandon Usual Tight Defense

<div class="byline">BY BUD GALLMEIER</div>LOUISVILLE HOCKEY STICKSLOUISVILLE HOCKEY STICKSMILWAUKEE&mdash;Moose Lallo knew what to expect. So did most IHL observers. Or at least they thought they knew what to expect. Lallo had an advantage. He also knew the remedy.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve seen that style before, Lemieux (Bob) used it when he was coaching at Kalamazoo,&rdquo; the Fort Wayne Komet coach said after his IHL All-Stars had surprised a lot of people&mdash;including a record crowd of 7,473 here&mdash;by skating the U.S. Olympic team to a 4-4 tie in the IHL&rsquo;s annual midseason showcase.And the IHL All Stars almost won. It took two third-period goals by the Olympians to salvage the tie. &ldquo;I think we just ran out of gas,&rdquo; Lallo said. &ldquo;After all, this was the fourth game in as many nights for our guys.&rdquo;What Lallo expected was the European style of hockey, employed effectively by the U.S. team during a 58-game season preparing for 1980 Winter Olympics. The Europeans feature speed, finesse and a revolving offense. The IHL lives by the traditional shoot-the-puck-in method.Lallo&rsquo;s strategy? Stop the Olympians at the blueline.&ldquo;We just lined up along the blueline. The U.S. team is smart. If they see a hole in your defense they&rsquo;ll just walk right through. I told my players after the second period that they (the Olympians) were just in second gear and that they had one more higher gear to go.&ldquo;The U.S. team was like a fighter feeling out the opponent and pacing himself. They were thinking offense all the way in the third period and I think we wanted the tie at the end,&rdquo; Lallo said.Said Olympic Coach Herb Brooks, &ldquo;The IHL team wouldn&rsquo;t skate with us so we eventually had to dump the puck in and chase it.&rdquo; Brooks also pointed out. &ldquo;They wouldn&rsquo;t let us penetrate. If we get into the lead we&rsquo;re home free but they got into the lead and we couldn&rsquo;t force them out of their style.&rdquo;Prior to the All-Star break:KALAMAZOO: The K-Wings ran their unbeaten streak to 15 before they had to visit Muskegon again. The K-Wings did manage to score&mdash;but not enough. They dropped a 5-1 decision for their first loss in 16 games. Ironically, the K-Wings have yet to win in Muskegon. On their last visit, they were blanked, 8-0. And in three games they&rsquo;ve scored just two goals.Still, the streak opened up a healthy lead in the North Division and gave the K-Wings the overall lead as well, six points up on South Division leader Fort Wayne.PORT HURON: The Flags went on a goal-scoring spree to sweep three straight. Two of the victories came over Saginaw and pushed the Flags into second place. Saginaw slipped to third.In three games, Port Huron scored a whopping 22 goals. Gary Murphy and Ken Federko had two each in a 7-4 win at Saginaw and Federko had the hat trick in an 8-1 romp over Flint at home.SAGINAW: Bright spot for the Gears was a shutout by goalie Doug Keans over Grand Rapids, 50. It was the first shutout for Saginaw since the 1977-78 season when Lorne Molleken and Pierre Chagnon combined for such an effort.But the Gears dropped two other games during the week to slip into third place behind Kalamazoo and Port Huron.FLINT: The Generals started the week with a two-game sweep over Muskegon. The 4-3 victory at Muskegon opened a critical road trip. It was downhill after that as the Generals misfired badly on offense in losing at Port Huron and at Fort Wayne. Flint scored just three goals in the two games, while giving up 12.MUSKEGON: Highlight of the Mohawk week as a 5-1 triumph over Kalamazoo, the Hawks&rsquo; third in as many tries against the IHL leaders at home. But three losses, one at home, spoiled the week for coach Gerry Moore who welcomed the return to Muskegon of rugged defenseman Tony Horvath in trade with Toledo. &#9632;

IHL’s Stars Force Olympians To Alter Style

<div class="byline">BY PATRICK LYON</div>LOUISVILLE HOCKEY STICKSLOUISVILLE HOCKEY STICKSERIE&mdash;Trading away three players from last year&rsquo;s championship club was a hard decision to make for Erie Blades&rsquo; coach and general manager Nick Polano, but his two new acquisitions didn&rsquo;t take long to prove their worth to the Blades.Five-player deals are unique to the sport of hockey, and the Blades and Baltimore Clippers surprised everyone when it was announced that Pierre Lagace, Paul Devlin and Paul Pacific were dealt to Baltimore for Dave Lundeen and Bruce Lind.Polano and Clippers&rsquo; coach and general manager Gene Ubriaco worked out the three-for-two transaction in a four-hour phone conversation that originally started out as a one for one deal. The Clippers were seeking Lagace for Lundeen, but Polano has been sold on the talents of Lind-Lundeen duo for some time and thus made a special effort to bring them both to Erie. &ldquo;Neither Lind nor Lundeen alone was the key to the deal as Far as I was concerned,&rdquo; said Polano. &ldquo;Rather it was getting them both to come to Erie.&rdquo;The Lind and Lundeen combination will be playing together on the same line as they have for one and one-half seasons. Last year as rookies, the pair were the top scorers for the Johnstown Wings before rinding up in Baltimore this year. &ldquo;I was very surprised we were able to acquire players of this caliber,&rdquo; related the Blade GM. &ldquo;While I hate to see our players go, I know this can&rsquo;t hurt us, it will only help strengthen our club.&rdquo;Polano figures that Lundeen will greatly aid the Blades on faceoffs and feels that with the former Clippers teamed with Ron Hansis and Paul Sheard in Killing penalties, it will give Erie one of the strongest penalty-killing foursomes in the EHL. Lundeen hit for 29 points and accumulated 98 penalty minutes in 32 games, while Lind had 10 goals and 17 assists in 34 outings.The Clippers will be the recipients of three players who possess championship experience as each of the ex-Blades played on the North Eastern Hockey League title team in 1978-79. Lagace has just five goals in 30 games including one four goal hat trick, Devlin checked in with 19 points in 31 games and Pacific closed out his Blade career with 19 points in 30 appearances.&ldquo;The players we gave up did help us last year, but this year was a different story. Paul Devlin had a great start, but then went 20 games without a goal and Lagace and Pacific weren&rsquo;t getting much ice time,&rdquo; revealed Polano. &ldquo;The trade should benefit all three players since they should get more ice time in Baltimore.Just when it appeared that the Richmond Rifles were running away with the regular season title things turned around quickly and the Blades are right back in the thick of things. In second place 15 points behind the Rifles, Erie took advantage of a long losing streak by Richmond and won two of three games to inch within five points of the top spot.Erie trumped the Aces 7-3 on the road, lost a heart breaking 8-7 decision in Johnstown after falling behind 7-0 and then kept their jinx over the Mohawks by besting the New Yorkers 6-2 after spotting them a 2-0 lead.With netminder Carey Walker nursing injuries and called up to Fort Worth, Norm LaPointe has filled in and won six of eight games with his goals against average of 4.25. Steve Stockman and Ron Hansis each tallied two goals vs. Utica, Hansis getting one of the shorthanded variety. Lind and Lundeen also had goals in their Erie debut.HAMPTON: New Aces&rsquo; coach Glenn Patrick was a winner in his debut behind the bench with Hampton copping a 3-2 win over Johnstown in front of the home fans. Patrick also found out what it&rsquo;s like on the other side of the fence with the Aces absorbing a 7-3 loss to the Blades.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s a lot more pressure on me now, than when I was assistant coach,&rdquo; said Patrick of his new post. &ldquo;The players really liked Muzz (former coach Muzz Macpherson), so I have quite a challenge ahead of me.&rdquo;Though Hampton is 10 points from fourth place and the final playoff position, Patrick is very confident the Aces can make up the difference and secure a playoff spot. The Aces have been playing a much improved brand of hockey recently thanks to the addition of Jim Misener and Fred Berry.JOHNSTOWN: The Red Wings continue to make up for lost time after their dismal start at the beginning of the season. Though Marty Read&rsquo;s club is continuing their battle against injuries, they have put themselves just five points shy of third place with seven wins in the last nine starts.Johnstown is succeeding in getting their goals against down and Read credits that to goalie Wayne Wood, who has a 7-3 record and 2.83 average since coming to Johnstown. The Red Wings lost a close 2 game in Hampton, but got back on the winning trail with a 4-2 triumph over Baltimore and a 8-7 close encounter with Erie.UTICA: Attendance is up for Mohawks home games as Utica continues to seek to wrest third place from the Clippers. Averaging 1,800 early in the season, the Mohawks now draw an average of 2,100 per contest.Utica posted one of their biggest wins in defeating Richmond 74 for the first time as Bob Ferguson keyed the upset with a hat trick, Brian Drumm chipping in two goals. The Mohawks were on the short end of 8-2 and 6-2 scores to the Clippers and Blades.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-01592/5110023-1-eng-US/f0026-012.jpg" title="f0026-01" width="602" height="717"><figcaption class="caption-body">Erie&rsquo;s Paul Sheard, above and Ron Hansis, will be aided in carrying out their penalty-killing chores with the Blades.</figcaption></div>RICHMOND: Andre Beaulieu has grown a bit concerned as his once unbeatable Rifles lost four straight road games and are being pressured by Erie for the first time in many weeks.Because of the unavailibility of ice in Richmond, the Rifles were forced to the highways for seven consecutive road contests and the long haul is taking its toll.BALTIMORE: Barry Alter was designated as team captain after Red Olson was recalled by Oklahoma City and has since remained with the CHI. outfit.The Clippers fell 4-2 to Johnstown, but bounced back impressively to conquer the Mohawks, 82. Dave Herbst sparked Baltimore with a hat trick. &#9632;

f0026-01

Blades Held Out To Nab Clipper Duo

<div class="byline">BY TOM BURKE</div>CANTON&mdash;A long time ago, the Pharoah of Egypt tumbled out of the wrong side of the bed and decreed that henceforth the Israelites, captive hordes who&rsquo;d built all his cities and pyramids, would not be supplied with straw from which to make bricks.A great hue and cry went up, and as you know, God sent a head coach named Moses to recruit a team of leaders who brought the Israelites to the Promised Land. Egypt never again made it to the Eastern Mediterranean divisional playoffs.While the recent decision handed down by the St. Lawrence University trustees wasn&rsquo;t as abrupt sounding as that of the Pharoah, it will certainly limit the supply of human bricks and mortar with which the next head hockey coach must try to rebuild the once-proud St. Lawrence hockey program.The trustees voted not to institute the athletic grant-in-aid system for hockey at the school. So, rather than recruit players on the basis of their athletic ability alone, St. Lawrence will remain on the so-called need basis despite overwhelming sentiment from student, faculty, and alumni groups to the contrary.Effectively, the move keeps St. Lawrence in direct recruiting competition with the six Ivy League schools plus Colgate and RPI. All these institutions go by need rather than grants, and most of them have a better academic reputation than St. Lawrence along with more scholarship money available for deserving students.The need formula, as an aside, isn&rsquo;t necessarily a handicap. Often, you&rsquo;d wonder if the need isn&rsquo;t that of the team in question for a high scoring forward or a talented goalie rather than that of a prospective player&rsquo;s family for tuition money. Besides, with tuitions what they are these days, who except the Rockefellers and the Mellons doesn&rsquo;t need at least some financial help?Anyway, St. Lawrence has to have an influx of quality players along with the new coach they&rsquo;re announcing a search for. Yes, current interim mentor Dale Henwood will be a candidate, but don&rsquo;t count on his getting the job. Henwood was assistant to Leon Abbott, who resigned in December. A favorite way of any organization to buy time is to go outside for a savior rather than hire from within. This seems to be what&rsquo;s happening at St. Lawrence.&ldquo;This will make it more difficult for us to rebuild,&rdquo; said athletic director Bob Sheldon, who sounded discouraged.&ldquo;Some of the recruits we&rsquo;ve been talking to have left. But the president seems to think that if we get the right coach in here, with the proper blend of personality and recruiting connections, he can make St. Lawrence into a winner.&rdquo;The president, Dr. Frank Piskor, noted in the official release that St. Lawrence would remain a Division One hockey team and Piskor emphasized that the school has a strong physical education major which theoretically would be attractive to hockey players. Actually, according to Sheldon, most of the players enroll in liberal arts.Another irony in the official statement is the quote from board chairman Alfred Viebranz, who said that board members were reluctant to single out hockey players for such scholarship grants when similar awards would not be available to other students. This fails to take into account that St. Lawrence is competing with Division One schools in hockey only, and those boys play hardball in recruiting. The other intercollegiate athletic programs at St. Lawrence are in fine shape, because they are classified as NCAA Division Three and have to go by financial need as do their opponents.One minor concession is that the new coach needn&rsquo;t be a physical education degree holder, as formerly was required. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re just looking for a good hockey man, period,&rdquo; said Sheldon. &ldquo;I know there are a lot of assistant coaches out there who would like a crack at a head job. I&rsquo;ll tell them exactly what they&rsquo;ll have to work with.&rdquo;So the guessing game begins. Would Colgate coach Terry Slater, a grad of SLU and favorite son, leave a better situation in Hamilton? Would Dr. Piskor and the trustees take a chance on Ned Harkness? Ned is a proven quantity whose brief tenure at Union was a typhoon of controversy with the president, trustees, admissions office, and athletic department all immersed in the boiling storm of accusations, counter charges, misunderstandings and allegations of broken promises and deceptions.According to Sheldon, many Cantonites have virtually appointed Slater even though he hasn&rsquo;t applied, and friends of Harkness have sent feelers to the North Country. Maybe Moses&mdash;or at least Charlton Heston&mdash;would be interested. Whatever, if grants-in-aid remain taboo, don&rsquo;t expect St. Lawrence to turn around in a hurry. The Boston Garden seems further away than ever.Elsewhere in the ECAC, Yale became the first team from which big things were predicted to teeter on the edge of playoff elimination. The Elis lost 4-2 to streaking Boston College and tied Dartmouth 6-6 at home, dropping their divisional record to 3-8-1 with ten games left. With a total of ten players in the all-important junior class, Yale should have a better record. But only leading scorer Danny Brugman has been consistent, although losing Paul Castraberti for 11 games didn&rsquo;t help either.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re not playing with the same intensity we showed last year,&rdquo; lamented Tim Taylor. &ldquo;We worked very hard and made the playoffs then, but I guess some of us didn&rsquo;t think we&rsquo;d have to work for it this season.&rdquo;Dartmouth stayed on top of the Ivy Division with a 7-4 win at New Hampshire plus the tie at Yale, but lost four year regular Don O&rsquo;Brien with a broken leg. Senior Ross Brownridge continues to impress for the Greenies. He has 14 goals and 17 assists in 17 games.Clarkson lost 7-4 at Cornell but whipped Boston University 12-7 in Potsdam while Vermont was losing its second in a row. The Knights thus regained top spot in the ECAC West. Kelly Morgan had a hat trick against BU, in a win which broke an eight game losing string by the Knights against the Terriers.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-01557/5110054-1-eng-US/f0027-012.jpg" title="f0027-01" width="574" height="768"><figcaption class="caption-body">St. Lawrence alumnus Terry Slater, Colgate head coach, is said to be the favorite to replace Leon Abbott.</figcaption></div>Providence&rsquo;s waiting game shut down Vermont&rsquo;s Craig Homola in a I decision for PC in a home tilt. But the stellar UVM junior had scored at least a point in 35 consecutive games dating back to Jan. 27, 1979 to eclipse the old standard set by Cornell&rsquo;s Brian Cornell a little over ten years ago. Vermont then absorbed a 9-2 pasting at New Hampshire while PC fell 4-1 at Boston College, led by a pair of scores by sophomore Bill O&rsquo;Dwyer. Freshman Andy Brickley netted a hat trick for UNH. &#9632;

f0027-01

Trustees’ Decision Weakens Dreams Of St. Lawrence Hockey Powerhouse

<div class="byline">BY VIRG FOSS</div>COLORADO SPRINGS&mdash;When the Western Collegiate Hockey Association University of North Dakota Sioux came to Colorado Springs, Colorado College hockey coach Jeff Sauer set one simple goal for his team&mdash;win one of the two weekend games.For Colorado College, the early-season surprise in college hockey in the nation, hadn&rsquo;t won a game in 1980, salvaging only a 4-4 tie with Michigan in six games.Colorado College satisfied Sauer and came up with a unique format for doing it to split the weekend series with North Dakota. The Tigers won the opener 9-8 in overtime before dropping the second game 7-3 to North Dakota.The formula? Simply two hat tricks, a penalty shot that tied the game and yet another overtime victory, giving the Tigers a 5-1-1 mark in extra sessions this season.The home ice didn&rsquo;t help. The victory in the opener boosted the Tigers to a 9-2 home record, the best in years at the ancient Broadmoor World Arena.In the win, CC set one WCHA record and tied another in yet another unique twist to the victory.North Dakota led 1-0 after one period on Mark Taylor&rsquo;s goal before the fireworks began.When Rick Zaparniuk pushed the Sioux into a 2-0 cushion in the second period, it looked like the Sioux, the best defensive team in the league, were on their way to victory.But Colorado College and North Dakota traded goals for a 3-1 Sioux lead before three straight penalties to the Sioux put them in trouble.Doug Lidster pulled CC to within 3-2 on a power play, then Ron Richart created a 3-3 tie when North Dakota&rsquo;s Howard Walker was somehow kept in the penalty box for seven seconds after his penalty should have expired.That really got the Tigers going. Lidster rapped in another power play goal at 15:21. Greg Whyte scored nine seconds later and followed that up with another goal eight seconds after that to give the Tigers three goals in 17 seconds.The three goals in 17 seconds broke the record of three goals in 20 seconds set by North Dakota in 1953. And Whyte&rsquo;s two goals in eight seconds tied the mark set by, Minnesota&rsquo;s Tom Sathre against Colorado College in 1970.That gave the Tigers a 6-3 lead heading into the last period. The game looked to be in the bag.But North Dakota came streaking back. Doug Smail made it 6-4 just 28 seconds into the last period, Glen White pulled the Sioux to within 6-5 on a power play, then Erwin Martens scored just 20 seconds later.When Zaparniuk got his second goal of the game to put the Sioux into the lead with eight minutes left, it looked like CC&rsquo;s 1980 tailspin would continue.But Whyte got his hat trick on a penalty shot when UND&rsquo;s Walker was called for tripping him on a breakaway. Whyte just beat Sioux goalie Bob Iwabuchi with a wrist shot that caught the inside of the post with seven minutes left.Aikens bagged his second goal of the game a minute later to put CC on top 8-7, only to see the Sioux tie it with 17 seconds left on a power play goal by Smail. That came after the Sioux pulled Iwabuchi for a 6-on-4 skating edge.In overtime, Smail just missed by inches on a 2-on-l break with Taylor, then Aikens got his hat trick, too, when he got in around the Sioux defense with 2:26 left in the 10-minute sudden death session. That brought an end to one of the wildest games in the WCHA in years.The next night, it was all North Dakota. Rick Zaparniuk and Cary Cades bagged two goals apiece and Taylor had a goal and four assists as the Sioux broke open a 3-3 game after one period with three unanswered goals in the second period. Rookie goalie Darren Jensen won his fifth game in five starts with 28 saves for the Sioux.It was one of four weekend series that resulted in splits and left North Dakota in firm command of the WCHA race. Michigan beat Minnesota 7-3 before losing 62; Michigan State surprised Wisconsin 5-4 before being bombed 92; Duluth hammered Denver 10-5 before falling 7-5 and Notre Dame got the only sweep by shocking Michigan Tech 8-5 and 7-5 on Tech&rsquo;s home ice.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-01564/5110085-1-eng-US/f0028-012.jpg" title="f0028-01" width="559" height="743"><figcaption class="caption-body">Rick Zaparniuk was effective for North Dakota in both games with a total of four goals in series split.</figcaption></div>Michigan pulled away from Minnesota with three straight third period goals to win the opener of two first division teams in Minneapolis. Bruno Bascotto led the way with the hat trick while Dan Lerg added two goals in the opener.The series got off to a roaring start with a pre-game brawl between Minnesota&rsquo;s Don Micheletti and Michigan&rsquo;s Dave Richter that put both players on the sidelines for the rest of the weekend.Minnesota got some revenge the next night as Tim Harrer led the Gophers with two goals. Harrer&rsquo;s goals in the second period put the Gophers in front to stay. They wrapped it up with three unanswered goals in the third period.The split left Michigan in second place behind North Dakota and put the Gophers into fourth, percentage points behind Notre Dame. &#9632;

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Sioux Reaps Revenge After Wild Overtime Loss

<div class="byline">BY MIKE MURRAY</div>CALGARY&mdash;The Dinosaurs have finally taken over sole possession of first place in undoubtedly the toughest conference, Canada West. Not since November 2 has Alberta relinquished its grasp on first place, but while the Dinosaurs were sweeping a weekend doubleheader at home from UBC, the Golden Bears ran into a hot goaltender by the name of Doug Senyk and fell to the University of Saskatchewan 4-2.In Calgary, the Dinosaurs&rsquo; Jerry Bancks led his team to the top spot by notching four goals in Friday&rsquo;s 6-4 victory and then netted a pair in Saturday&rsquo;s 9-1 trouncing of the Thunderbirds.&ldquo;We played quite well for the most part in both games, and it appears we have found the right combinations offensively,&rdquo; stated coach George Kingston. &ldquo;The fact that we were able to keep the high scoring Thunderbirds to half of their normal average has to be encouraging,&rdquo; he concluded.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-02396/5110116-1-eng-US/f0028-022.jpg" title="f0028-02" width="594" height="739"><figcaption class="caption-body">Calgary&rsquo;s Jerry Farwell sported a perfect 10-0 record through late January.</figcaption></div>Jerry Farwell ran his regular season record to 10 consecutive victories as he stopped 31 shots in the opener. Paul Murray collected a goal and three assists while playing alongside Bancks. Saturday&rsquo;s 9-1 victory was the most one-sided that the Dinosaurs have been in all year. Terry Kryczka faced only 21 shots as Calgary dominated play from the opening face off. Rick Williams duplicated Murray&rsquo;s feat with a goal and three assists.In Saskatoon, Doug Senyk turned from goat to hero in the space of 24 hours. Friday night Senyk got the starting call to face the Golden Bears. Unfortunately after only 10 minutes of play coach Dave King gave Senyk the hook after three easy goals. At the other end of the rink it was a different story, Ted Poplawski handled 43 Huskie shots and Joel Elliott&rsquo;s pair of goals paced Alberta to a 7-4 win.King played a hunch and started Senyk the following night. This time Senyk stood the Golden Bears on their ears as he redeemed himself with numerous spectacular stops. The Golden Bears shook their heads in disbelief that this was the same person as the night before. Rey Hudson, the CWUAA&rsquo;s leading goal-getter netted his 20th of the season while Stew Walker scored what proved to be the winner early in the third period as the Huskies held on to a 4-2 victory.The win by Calgary and the loss by Alberta also reversed the National Rankings. Alberta who had been ranked first all year long fell to third place while the Dinosaurs now are sitting aloft in the number one spot in Canada.OUAA: Ontario has now divided themselves into three unscheduled divisions, the three powers, the four strugglers, and the four weak sisters. Toronto coach Gord Davies predicted at the Christmas break that the teams would start to spread out once the New Year rolled in. And they certainly have.The powers, Toronto, Queens and McMaster are staging a titanic struggle for the top spot. The Varsity Blues and Marlins still have only lost one game apiece while having to each settle for three ties along the way. The Golden Gaels are sitting on top but they have suffered three losses and no ties. This past week &ldquo;The Powers&rdquo; all won their respective games as they had little trouble in downing their opponents. Toronto doubled Ryerson 6-3 and Windsor 8-4 as they continued to play without their All Stars, Doug Caines and Jim Snetstinger. Lance Grat-toni was the scoring hero with two goals and four assists. Queens kept a point ahead of the pack by winning both of their games. The Golden Gaels&rsquo; big guns of Paul Stothart and John McIntyre both had five point weeks. Coach Fred O&rsquo;Donnell&rsquo;s club trounced Ryerson 8-1 and then defeated the slumping Guelph Gryphons 6-4. At the same time Rick Mastroluisi was leading his Marlins to a 7-5 victory over Laurier with pair of goals.&ldquo;The Strugglers&rdquo;&mdash;Lauren-tian, Waterloo, Guelph and York are all presently trying to keep their heads above water. Waterloo picked up three of a possible four points this past week and are presently the best of the group. The Warriors fought back to tie Laurentian, 2-2 and then doubled Ryerson 4-2. The Laurentian Vees who were 7-2 at the X-mas break have fallen on hard times and presently have lost three of their last five games with one tie. Guelph, last year&rsquo;s Ontario champions are playing only .500 hockey and are in deep trouble.&ldquo;The Weak Sisters&rdquo;&mdash;Laurier, Brock, Windsor and Ryerson&mdash;haven&rsquo;t as many points between the four of them as do each of &ldquo;The Powers&rdquo; individually.AUAA: As the University of Moncton continues to lead the pack in the Western Division, the Eastern Division has started to tighten up into one of the best races in Canada. This is due to the reversal of form for the St. Mary&rsquo;s Huskies and the off-on play of both Dalhou-sie and St. Francis Xavier.St. Mary&rsquo;s ran their record in the new year to seven wins and one loss. &ldquo;Balance is the key,&rdquo; explained coach Bob Boucher, &ldquo;With 13 rookies, it took them the first half of the season to start to blend together as a unit.&rdquo; The Huskies rely on good defensive work from their forwards as well as their defense.&rdquo; We really don&rsquo;t like to get ourselves involved in too many wide-open shoot-out-type games,&rdquo; concluded Boucher. The key to St. Mary&rsquo;s success has been in keeping their goals against to under three. Mark Locken presently holds down the best goals against average in Canada at 2.68. The Huskies defeated St. Francis Xavier in Antigonish 4-1 as Locken made 36 saves and Darren Pickerem helped set up three of the four goals scored. Boucher&rsquo;s squad returned home for two games against UPEI and Acadia. The Huskies struggled to a slim 6-5 win over the Panthers as Brian Oseros-ki and Steve Axeford scored decisive third period goals.Over in the Western Division, Moncton won three more games and still hold a commanding seven point lead over Mt. Allison. The Aigles Bleus had little trouble in clobbering St. Thomas 16-4 as Roch Bois, Francois Robert and Jean Beliveau each had hat tricks. Moncton still remains undefeated at home. Then it was off to St. John&rsquo;s Newfoundland for a weekend doubleheader with Memorial. Jean Perron&rsquo;s club ran its record in the New Year to a perfect 5-0 as they defeated their hosts 10-3, and 6-5.QUAA: How the mighty have fallen. Only a week ago the Concordia Stingers were sitting on top of the world after winning the Micron Tournament but now have been jolted back into reality as they only picked up a single point in their weekend double-header in Chicoutimi.The Inuks, who were the wild card team in last year&rsquo;s National finals, have started to play as the pre-season experts had predicted after a horrendous start where they lost five of their first seven games. Then some courageous changes were made. First head coach Gilles Delisle stepped down and his long time assistant Carole Laberge took over. Laberge&rsquo;s first duty was to cut his leading point-getter of the past two years, Daniel Dufresne. Laberge felt that Dufresne was the cause of a lot of the team&rsquo;s internal problems and the Inuks unloaded three other long time veterans and brought in some young and hungry players. One who has shone is Serge Dubois, a rugged defenseman. &#9632;

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Dinosaurs’ Sweep Loosens Alberta’s Grasp On First

<div class="byline">BY JIM SCHNEIDER</div>COLUMBUS&mdash;Ohio State senior goalie Steve Jones made 64 saves and the Buckeyes played a solid defense to sweep defending Central Collegiate Hockey Association champion Bowling Green, 8-2 and 5-0.The sweep broke a second place tie in the standings giving OSU sole ownership of the second spot in the league with BG falling to third place.In other CCHA action Northern Michigan kept hold of first place with a 5-3, 8-2 sweep of Western Michigan and Ferris State blasted Lake Superior 10-3 and 11-0 to tie WMU for fourth place.In a mid-week contest Miami University stunned Bowling Green 3 right in the BGSU Ice Arena.Senior Tom Newton gave BG a 1-0 lead in the opener at Ohio State, but it was the only lead of the weekend for the Falcons as OSU scored four times and held a 4-2 lead after the first period.Goals by Larry Marson, Mark Freeman and Greg Kostenko pushed the Buckeye lead to 3-1 before BG&rsquo;s Yves Pelland scored a shorthanded goal assisted by Doug Olson at 18:27 of the first period. Jamie Crapper scored at 19:50 of the period for OSU.Following a scoreless second period the Buckeyes exploded for four goals in the final frame with Mike Conrad, Jim Mroszak, Mike Miljus and Ed Lisogar getting the goals.Senior defenseman Rod McNair had five assists in the opener and center Paul Tilley had four assists.Jones was named CCHA player-of-the-week for his goaltending effort for the Buckeyes as he earned his first career shutout at Ohio State.Conrad and Tom Scanlon had first period goals for OSU in the second game and the score remained 2-0 until Marson, Dan Mandich and Miljus added third period goals. Jones had 30 saves in the shutout and Wally Charko had 36 saves in the loss.League leader Northern Michigan collected its 12th and 13th consecutive wins with the sweep over Western Michigan.NMU grabbed a 3-1 lead in the first period with all four goals scored in a span of 1:23 as Terry Houck scored at 5:50 and Jeff Pyle pushed NMU&rsquo;s lead to 2-0 at 6:19. WMU&rsquo;s Kelly Mitchell scored at 6:53 and Steve Bozek added the third Wildcat goal at 7:13.Eric Ponath&rsquo;s shorthanded goal made the score 4-1 after two periods and the goal proved to be the winner. Pete Raps and Bob Scurfield scored third period goals for the Broncos to cut the margin to 43 before Craig Winter iced the game.Bozek and Dave Ikkaia opened the scoring in the second game for NMU, but Bob Bailey scored at 11:20 of the first period for a 2-1 NMU lead after one.Bozek, Bill Joyce and Jeff Tascoff scored in the second period and the &lsquo;Cats were flying.Tascoff celebrated his first career goal with his second goal at 00:53 of the third period and Pyle netted NMU&rsquo;s record tying 11th shorthanded goal of the year.Bailey added his second goal for WMU and Walt Kyle finished off the scoring for NMU.Steve Weeks recorded both wins in goal for NMU with 28 saves and 36 saves. Jim Doyle (39 saves) and Steve Abbott (45 saves) split the games for WMUFerris State sophomore Jim Baker paced the Bulldog sweep of Lake Superior as he collected nine points.Ferris State used a balanced attack scoring at least three goals in each of the six periods. Randy Strong, George Harrison, Steve Banonis and Baker scored first period goals in the opener and put the game away early. Bobby Ciotti had two goals for Lake Superior, but the score was 7-3 after two periods.In the second game Ferris State nailed down its 13th home win of the season with four goals in each of the first two periods as Ted Ykema collected his second shutout of the year.Rocki Smith scored two goals to lead the attack for Ferris State.A crowd of 2,876 set a new FSC Ice Arena record, beating the Michigan State crowd earlier this season by 50.Baker had six points in the second game to tie the team record for points in a game. Steve Cady&rsquo;s Miami Redskins used two goals late in the second period to grab a 3-1 lead to help beat Bowling Green.BG&rsquo;s Andy Crowther opened the scoring at 4:28 of the first period, but Miami&rsquo;s Warren Williams tied the game at 7:14 of the frame.Former St. Louis University forward Mike Norton pushed the Redskins ahead 2-1 at 15:21 of the second period, moments after a BG attempt on goal was disallowed. Vern Sketchley netted the key goal in the win at 19:35 of the second period.Richard Kurdy blasted Miami&rsquo;s fourth goal into the net behind BG&rsquo;s Michael David at 1:17 for a 41 lead.First star Dan Kodatsky got hot in goal making 12 saves in the third period as BG&rsquo;s rally that included goals by George McPhee and Tim Alexander fell short.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-01553/5110374-1-eng-US/f0030-012.jpg" title="f0030-01" width="586" height="876"><figcaption class="caption-body">Steve Jones was sensational in shutting down the Falcons to backstop a Buckeye sweep.</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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Buckeyes Annihilate Bowling Green To Assume Second Spot Behind WMU

PORTLAND&mdash;Rick St. Croix is the only regular AHL netminder with a goals against average of less than 2.00. Through nine appearances, he had a sensational 1.82 GAA and the AHL champions were leading the league in total defense. Backup netminder Robbie Moore is third best in the AHL with a 2.80 average.The Mariners were in action twice during a relatively inactive week. They defeated New Brunswick 5-2 at the Civic Center and won a return contest with the same Hawks, also in Portland, by a 6-3 margin. The twin victories over the Northern Division leaders pushed Maine to within three points of the Hawks.ADIRONDACK: The Red Wings are coming off a trip to the Maritimes which saw them lose two of three games played against New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. It is a moral victory sometimes to win just a single game up there since the Vees and New Brunswick Hawks are almost unbeatable on home ice. The Wings started off the trip in high gear. They upset New Brunswick 4-3. Two nights later the Hawks came to life and ripped Adirondack by a 7-2 score. Down in Nova Scotia, the Voyageurs didn&rsquo;t throw out the welcome mat, skating to a 4-2 win in Halifax at the Metro Center. All of this left the Wings in fourth place in the tight Northern Division race.NEW BRUNSWICK: The Hawks have suddenly gone stale. After. being the hottest team in the American Hockey League for a good part of early season play. New Brunswick has lost four of five. They started their slump in Maine losing 5-2 to the improving Mariners. Adirondack came into Moncton the next night and skated to a 4-3 victory over the Hawks. The return match was a 7-2 win for New Brunswick, but Maine tangled with the Hawks again in Portland and won easily by a 6-3 margin. A visit to Rochester ended a busy week for New Brunswick on a sour note as the Amerks skated to a 4-3 win.NOVA SCOTIA: This is a highly unusual Voyageur team. They are one of the highest scoring teams in the AHL and at the same time they lead the league in penalties by a wide margin. Forward Chris Nilan has been on a rampage, picking up 124 penalty minutes in 20 games. At that pace he will smash Pierre Roy&rsquo;s AHL record of 416 penalty minutes in one season.The Voyageurs won two of three to leapfrog into third place in the Northern Division. They started off beating Springfield 5-4 in overtime in a road game. A trip to Rochester resulted in a 4-1 victory for the Amerks. Nova Scotia got back to home cooking and responded with an important 4-2 win against the expansionist Adirondack Wings.SPRINGFIELD: This has to be the hard-luck team of the year. It&rsquo;s almost impossible to believe how many games this club has lost in the last minute. Two recent losses are evidence of the Tribe&rsquo;s hard luck. Nova Scotia&rsquo;s Bruce Baker scored with 44 seconds left in overtime to give the Vees a 5-4 win in Springfield. A few days later. New Haven&rsquo;s Bill Lochead scored with 45 seconds left in overtime to beat the Indians by the same score.A 5-4 loss in New Haven was the toughest of all. Springfield led 4-2 with less than five minutes to play and were well on their way to a much-needed victory behind the outstanding play of goaltender Terry Richardson. Suddenly New Haven&rsquo;s Doug Sulliman scored two quick goals, one of them with less than a minute to play, to knot the count at 4-4. With 4,506 New Haven fans roaring, Richardson got into a fight with Ray Markham after the Indians&rsquo; netminder had crosschecked the giant New Haven forward. That battle seemed to ignite the home team as Bill Lochead scored in overtime with less than a minute to play and another very tough loss for the Indians had to be swallowed by Tribe fans. &#9632;

St. Croix Keeps Mariners Sailing

<div class="byline">BY MORRIS DALLA COSTA</div>LOUISVILLE HOCKEY STICKSLOUISVILLE HOCKEY STICKSPETERBOROUGH&mdash;Big news, and it is big news around the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League, is that Peterborough Petes have lost two games. Not one but two games, and as a result Ottawa 67s and Kingston Canadiens have drawn closer to Leyden division leading Petes.Peterborough lost 5-1 to both the charging Toronto Marlies and the Ottawa club.In Peterborough, Marlies&rsquo; steady goaltender Bruce Dowie turned aside 37 shots for the win. The only player to beat him was Bill Gardner.In Ottawa it was too much skating for the Petes, who are now only five points up on &rsquo;67s.&rsquo;67s coupled their big win oyer Peterborough with a 9-6 trouncing of Kingston Canadians. The BIG line did the damage for Ottawa with Yvan Joly getting three goals, Sean Simpson and Jim Fox two each. Jay Fraser and John Linse man had the others.For Kingston it was former Kitchener Ranger Walt Poddubny who hit for a pair of goals with singles going to Neil Belland, Scott Howson, Dave Avery and Brad Clements.Kingston also had to settle for a 3 overtime tie with the Marlies, who are now only three points back of Emms division leading Windsor Spitfires. Toronto has two games in hand.Spitfires won a pair of games against London Knights by 7-4 and 3 scores. J. P. Leroux&rsquo;s goal at 4.12 of the overtime period won the game for Windsor. Jeff Mitchell, Blair Barnes and Ernie Godden also scored.Wayne Thompson had one and Dino Cicarelli with a pair scored for London.In the 7-4 contest Barnes and Steve Peters had two goals each for Spitfires with Brent Jarrett, Mitchell and Vic Morin adding singles. Jarrett also had four assists. Cicarelli had three goals for London and it looks like the winger is starting to find the net.Both London and Windsor were involved in high scoring games against Brantford Alexanders. Alexanders score a ton of goals, but they have trouble getting out from under the ton and a half they have scored against them.Alexanders dropped a 10-7 contest to Windsor. Spitfires Claude Julien had a pair of goals with eight other players scoring singles.Venci Seebek had two goals for Brantford with Mark Hunter, Mike Bullard. Dave Hannah, Scott Vanderburgh and Chris Kurysh getting singles.For one game, London coach Bill Long could breathe easier as his troops hammered Alexanders 12-6. Thompson and Jim Egerton had three goals each for the winners, while Dave Simpson and Joe Paterson had two each.Vanderburgh had three power play goals for Brantford with Greg Terrion getting two.Brantford also dropped a 6-4 game to Niagara Falls, with Vanderburgh, Mike Bullard, Art Rutland and Terrion getting singles. Brantford are the top scoring team in the league, but also the worst defensively.Flyers continue to play well at home and the win in Brantford should give them some confidence on the road.Steve Larmer, Pat Graham.Tom Gibson, Todd Kwiecien, Brian Rorabeck and Steve Ludzik scored for the Falls.Flyers split at home last week with a big 3-2 win over Oshawa Generals, thanks to third period goals by Jim Jackson and Steve Larmer and some excellent net-minding by Glen Ernst (41 shots).They lost to Kingston by a 3-1 count with Bernie Nicholls getting two goals and Dave Avery the other for the Canadians.Kitchener Rangers split a pair of games with the northern teams. They lost 5-0 to Sudbury, but then doubled Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds 4-2.Dave Hirst had two goals for Kitchener with Paul Pooley and Russ Adam getting the others.Doug Shedden and John Goodwin scored for Greyhounds.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-01506/5110429-1-eng-US/f0031-012.jpg" title="f0031-01" width="594" height="671"><figcaption class="caption-body">J. P. Leroux&rsquo;s overtime marker gave Windsor sweep over London Knights.</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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Petes Lose Ground With Rare Double Defeat

OTTAWA&mdash;The 67s placed four players on the Leyden division first All Star team as defenseman Doug Crossman and the entire forward line of Sean Simpson, Jim Fox and Yvan Joly made the number one squad. Joining the Ottawa contingent are goaltender Don Beaupre, from Sudbury Wolves and Larry Murphy, blueliner for Peterborough Petes.The Emms division first team All Star club had two Windsor Spitfires. Right winger Blair Barnes and left winger Paul Gagne will play with London Knights centerman Wayne Thompson.On the blueline are Kitchener Rangers Paul Coffey and hard-hitting Paul Thomas from Niagara Falls Flyers. In nets will be rookie Toronto sensation Bruce Dowie.Three All Star teams from each division were selected for the Feb. 12 contest in Kitchener.Coaching the Leyden division squad is Kingston Canadians&rsquo; coach Jim Morrison, while Spitfires&rsquo; coach and general manager Wayne Maxner will handle the Emms coaching duties.The players are selected to the division teams based on results of voting by the league&rsquo;s coaches. Coaches were allowed to vote only for players within their division and not for players on their own team. Points were accumulated on a five point for first, three for second and one for a third place basis.Fox, Joly and Coffey were three unanimous choices on the team. There will be 13 players making their second appearance in as many years. Two rookies, Dowie and defenseman Rick Wilson of the Kingston Canadians will play in their first game.Making the Leyden division second All Star team was Petes&rsquo; Rick Laferriere in net, Oshawa Generals&rsquo; Rick Lanz and Petes&rsquo; Dave Fenyves on the blueline, Generals&rsquo; Bob Crawford and Pete Horachek on the wings, with Petes&rsquo; Bill Gardner at center.The third team consisted of Generals&rsquo; Roland Melanson in net, with Randy Hillier of Sudbury Wolves and Wilson on the blueline. Up front it&rsquo;s Canadians&rsquo; Tim Kerr at center, Petes Mark Reeds and Wolves&rsquo; Norm Stefan on the wings.The Emms division second team has Brantford Alexanders&rsquo; Rick Pikul in net with Marlboros&rsquo; Moe Mantha and Knights&rsquo; Pat Crombeen on the blueline. Flyers&rsquo; Steve Ludzik will center Knights&rsquo; Dino Cicarelli and Marlies&rsquo; Glen Duncan up front.The third team will have Glen Ernst in net. He toils with Niagara Falls. On the blueline it&rsquo;s Marlies&rsquo; Scott McGeown and Alexanders&rsquo; Randy Ladoucer, who made the team despite being out for a big part of the first half of the season. The attacking unit will have Spitfires&rsquo; Brent Jarrett at center with Flyers Steve Larmer and Knights Joe Paterson on the wings.This will be the fourth OMJHL All Star game with previous games played in Sudbury, Windsor, Sault Ste. Marie. The Emms division trails 2-1.The OMJHL also named a 1980 Scholastic Team of the Year. A special consultants report on the OMJHL revealed the league has a high standard of scholastic achievement.Each junior club nominated a candidate to the team, based on the combination of hockey talent and scholastic achievement. The 12 players will be reviewed by a panel of three judges who will select a winner. The Scholastic Player of the year will receive the Bobby Smith Trophy and $2,000 in scholarships from the league.Nominees are from Brantford, Rick Pikul; Kingston, Scott How-son; Kitchener, Paul Pooley; London, Bob Goodish; Niagara Falls, Glen Ernst; Oshawa, Steve Konroyd; Ottawa, Kevin Konings; Peterborough, Dave Fenyves; Sault Ste. Marie, Greg Defelice; Sudbury, Mike Hickey; Toronto, Jim Peplinski and Windsor, Blair Barnes. &#9632;

Ottawa Sends Four Leyden All Stars

<div class="byline">BY GREGG DRINNAN</div>LOUISVILLE HOCKEY STICKSLOUISVILLE HOCKEY STICKS<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-01529/5110491-1-eng-US/f0032-012.jpg" title="f0032-01" width="585" height="743"><figcaption class="caption-body">Brad Owen, now with his third WHL team this season, adds punch to Wheaties</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-02388/5110484-1-eng-US/f0032-022.jpg" title="f0032-02" width="569" height="738"><figcaption class="caption-body">Rugged Boris Fistric, acquired from Bruins, keeps crease clear of opponents</figcaption></div>BRANDON&mdash;Brandon Wheat Kings added a little speed up the middle, a little speed to the left side and a big, hulking defenseman. And, suddenly the Western Hockey League&rsquo;s defending champions were one of the league&rsquo;s hottest properties.It wasn&rsquo;t that long ago that the bottom appeared to have fallen out on the Wheat Kings, runners-up in the Memorial Cup one season ago. They were in last place in the Eastern Division, three points out of sixth spot.But, along came centers Brad Owen and Ian Ramsey, left winger Darren Halasz and defenseman Boris Fistric, and the Wheat Kings promptly took off.Owen, a 19-year-old center was the first to arrive on the scene&mdash;via Lethbridge Broncos and Great Falls Americans. Brandon assistant coach Les Jackson, who handled the Americans before they folded, felt that Owen was the best player on the Great Falls roster. And, Owen&mdash;who was acquired in a dispersal draft of the Americans&mdash;has done nothing to disprove that theory, scoring five goals and adding four assists in his first seven games with Brandon.The Wheat Kings then picked up Ramsey from Bellingham, Wash., Blazers of the British Columbia Junior League, where he was fourth in the scoring derby. The 18-year-old was not on anyone&rsquo;s list when Jackson joined the Wheat Kings just before the New Year. Jackson had coached in the BCJHL last season and liked the young center, and Brandon went out and found him. He hasn&rsquo;t done a whole bunch of scoring for the Wheat Kings, with just two assists in five games, but his defensive play has been superb. In consecutive games, he was assigned the task of shadowing centers Tim Tookey and Barry Pederson, who happen to be running second and third in the scoring race. Ramsey held them to one assist apiece.Then, when 19-year-old left winger Darren Halasz found himself in the doghouse of Medicine Hat Tigers&rsquo; coach Pat Ginnell, the Wheat Kings picked him up for future considerations. He was immediately put on a line with center Mike Winther, another former Tiger, and right winger Don Gillen. The line picked up 26 points in its first three games, and Halasz had one goal and six assists.Neither Owen, Ramsay nor Halasz is all that big. Not one tops five-foot-nine or 175 pounds. So, all they gave Brandon was a lot of speed.Brandon, under head coach Dunc McCallum and general manager Jack Brockest, then sent four players to be named later to New Westminster Bruins for big (6-foot-4, 225 pounds) Boris Fistric a 19-year-old defenseman. Fistric, a third-round draft pick of the NHL&rsquo;s Detroit Red Wings last August, is fifth on the WHL&rsquo;s all-time list of bad guys, with 975 minutes. And, he was one of the Bruins who sat out until Dec. 1 because of a court-ordered suspension.&ldquo;Fistric will help us regain some respect,&rdquo; offered McCallum. &ldquo;Teams now are sending two or three guys to the front of our net because they know they won&rsquo;t get hurt. Hopefully, the acquisition of Fistric will put a stop to that. The other three&mdash;Owen, Ramsey and Halasz&mdash;give us some speed; speed that we really have been lacking.&rdquo;Each move paid off, at least so far, as Brandon won three games in a row for the first time since the early days of the schedule.Their first win came in Lethbridge, where they erased a 5-0 first-period lead and beat the Broncos 9-8 in overtime, with Halasz and Gillen setting up the winning goal, by Winther.Then, on home ice, the Wheat Kings scored six power-play goals to beat Portland 6-5 and end the Winter Hawks&rsquo; 15-game unbeaten streak. Portland took seven minor penalties, but Brandon scored on six of those.The Wheat Kings followed that up by beating Victoria Cougars, then the Western Division leaders, 4 in Brandon. Gillen had two goals, including the winner at 8:31 of sudden-death overtime. He scored the winner when he got his stick on a shot from the blueline by Fistric and deflected it into the net.CALGARY: The Wranglers scored three third-period goals in a span of three minutes and 34 seconds to bounce back and edge the visiting Saskatoon Blades 8-7. Kelly Kisio&rsquo;s 36th goal at 18:03 of the third period turned into the winner. The Wranglers, who had lost three of their last four games, bounced back to score a 4-2 win over Billings Bighorns in Calgary.REGINA: The Pats, after losing a pair to Portland Winter Hawks, dumped Victoria Cougars 4-3 in Regina. Center Doug Wickenheiser, the WHL&rsquo;s scoring leader, had a goal and three assists, while Mike Blaisdell picked up goals No. 39 and 40.MEDICINE HAT: The Tigers got three first-period goals from Stew Robertson, Brant Kiessig and Kevin Ginnell and brilliant goaltending from Kelly Hrudey to beat the Broncos 3-2 in Lethbridge. Then, Medicine Hat went into Calgary and beat the Wranglers 75 on the strength of two-goal efforts from Ken Solheim and Stuart Wenaas, who got his first goals.SASKATOON: The Blades lost their first eight games of 1980 and slipped into the Eastern Division cellar. They finally got their first point of the year by hanging on for a 7-7 overtime tie with Portland. &#9632;

f0032-01

Timely Additions Reverse Wheat King Tumble

SEATTLE: The Breakers all but ended the Bruins&rsquo; chances&raquo; of making the playoffs by skating out of New Westminster with a 3-2 overtime victory and then handing the Bruins a 6-3 setback in Seattle. John Neeld&rsquo;s 17th goal of the season just 44 seconds, into sudden death, gave Seattle the first-game win, as Breakers&rsquo; netminder Ken Hodge kicked out 44 shots. The next night, center Larry Roberts and Allan Graves each had a pair of goals as they won on the strength of three unanswered second-period goals. The Breakers lost defenseman Kimmo Lahtinen, whom they plucked off the Great Falls Americans&rsquo; roster, when he was drafted into the Finnish army.NEW WESTMINSTER: The Bruins finally won their fourth fame of the year&mdash;and second on home ice&mdash;by beating Seattle 6-4 as Bruce Howes scored twice. The win may have come too late, though, as the Bruins and Breakers were slated to play five games in a row, and Seattle won the first two. New Westminster, after its victory, trailed Seattle by 26 points.BILLINGS: Gord Stafford had two goals, his 34th and 35th, as the Bighorns dropped a 3-2 home-ice decision to Victoria Cougars. The Bighorns&rsquo; losing streak reached five when they dropped a pair to Lethbridge, lost 2-1 in Medicine Hat and 4-2 in Calgary. &#9632;

Portland Captain Has Clutch Touch

<div class="byline">BY DANNY YOUNG</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0033-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-01478/5110546-1-eng-US/f0033-012.jpg"></div>LOUISVILLE HOCKEY STICKSLOUISVILLE HOCKEY STICKSSHERBROOKE&mdash;What&rsquo;s gone wrong with the Sherbrooke Beavers?They started the current season by swamping the league with a 15-game unbeaten streak, and then further strengthened their lineup by acquiring four excellent hockey players, Norm Aubin, Brian Johnson, Bernard Gallant, and Richard Laroque.Since the streak, the Beavers have a modest 16-14-2 record and have fallen into second place. And although they are only four points behind league-leading Chicoutimi, the Beavers will not go anywhere until they demonstrate some kind of consistency.While this slip into mediocrity may be surprising, the explanation is not. There&rsquo;s just been too much pressure on the Sherbrooke players.&ldquo;We had a lot of pressure since the deals,&rdquo; says coach Ghislain Delage. &ldquo;The newspapers were saying &lsquo;The Beavers will finish in first by 20 points&rsquo; and &lsquo;Nobody&rsquo;s gonna touch them&rsquo;. My players read that and it went to their heads. They kept saying that we&rsquo;ll win when the time comes. Well, it&rsquo;s time to win now and we don&rsquo;t. We can&rsquo;t win more than three in a row.&rdquo;In recent weeks, the Beavers have become a one line team. Ironically, that productive unit consists of Aubin, Johnson and Gallant. Veteran Sherbrooke stars like Louis Begin and Serge Boisvert, who both had superb starts, are suffering through scoring slumps. Alan Haworth, a 50-goal scorer last season, has failed to regain his form since an injury he sustained at the Buffalo Sabres training camp.&ldquo;My players panicked,&rdquo; says Delage. &ldquo;They started asking themselves &lsquo;what&rsquo;s happening? What am I doing wrong? Why aren&rsquo;t I scoring like I did last year?&rsquo;Delage believes that a five or six game winning streak could really help the Beavers, but that is no longer an easy task in the QMJHL. There&rsquo;s not too many easy games in the league anymore, and Delage knows this as well as anyone.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ll bounce back,&rdquo; asserts Delage. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s exactly what we have to do and exactly what we expect.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0033-01

Beavers Search For Answer To Inconsistency

PLAYER EQUIPMENTRINK EQUIPMENTPERSONALSFAN CLUBSOPPORTUNITIES OFFERED, WANTED<h2>PERSONALS</h2>SALE: 1980 Topps baseball cards. Set of 726 cards only $16 PPD. Also football, hockey, basketball cards (1974 to 1978). Very few left. Singles 10 &cent; each. Write CARD ROOM, 218 Birmingham Ave., Pittsburgh, PA, 15210.ATTENTION: Fred and Mike; We've heard you want an enforcer to protect Swedes. Seems we had one. Wore number 22. Never lost a fight. But you left him unprotected, in order to keep J.G. Good move guys, thanks a lot. Sincerely yours, The Perturbed Patrons of M.S.G., Section 340.WANTED: Souvenirs and schedules of the following teams: Erie Blades, Johnstown Red Wings, Utica Mohawks, Hampton Aces and the Dayton Gems. Also I need information on Salt Lake Golden Eagles pennants and pucks of the 1970-71 season. Send information to: Mike Bassarab, 1192 Birchwood Drive, Temperance, Ml, 48182.<h2>PLAYER EQUIPMENT</h2>GOALIE SKATES: Lange, 8&frac12;, $80.00; Bauer, 5, $55.00; CCM, 3, $45.00 Write: Adolph Brink, 14 Beecher Road, Woodbridge, CT 06525.<h2>OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED, WANTED</h2>HOCKEY SCOUT AVAILABLE: Full Time/Part Time. Has good book on over 500 players in NHL, OHA, AHL, CHL, IHL, EHL, Write: George Janicek, General Delivery, Postal Station &ldquo;A&rdquo;, Windsor, Ont., Canada.STREET HOCKEY: 1980 Championships, Regional and national tournaments in New York, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts in the Spring. Age divisions: 7-9; 10-12; 13-15; 16-19; Seniors. For details, write: ASHI, P.O. Box 59, Leominster, Mass. 01453.WANTED: Major &ldquo;A&rdquo; Hockey Player (Western Hockey League) would like summer job instructing young fellows how to play hockey. Lot of experience working with kids. (Toronto area preferably) Call 654-6126 or 651-3617 Area Code (416).PLAYER WANTED: German National League goalie must have minimum five years professional experience, preferably NHL, WHA. Will consider CHL or AHL. Salary tax free. Social benefits, car, apartment, etc. Write: Herr Franz Wintergerst, 1302 Postfach, 8958 Fussen, Germany.SENIOR HOCKEY COACH: Wishes to join pro team and makes the following offer to all existing NHL coaches who may have read Scott Young's article 'A Coach's Fate is to Get the Chop&rdquo;. Well, if you are in danger of missing the playoffs, I will prove to you in only 14 days that I am very, very strong on motivation and arranging lines that produce excellent results quickly. If you are not satisfied with the amazing change for the better in Winning Hockey Games that will occur with my method of motivation, then fire me. My problem is, I can&rsquo;t get hired. Grapes, I have prayed for this chance for 10 years and hope you hire me to help you win The Stanley Cup. All hockey fans, please pray for me that I get my chance. Amen. (416) 755-8230 John Lynch, Winning Coach.NON-IMPORT PLAYERS FOR EUROPE: For the 1980-81 season. If you were born in Europe or if your father held European citizenship at the time of your birth (even if you were born elsewhere) you may qualify as a non-import player for the country in question. Good salaries and benefits if you have played for equivalent of junior B or better. An experience of a lifetime. All information will be kept in strictest confidence. Send details of birth records and hockey resume to:European Co-ordinator CAN AM Hockey Group P.O. Box 634 Guelph. Ontario N1H 6L4(519) 824-3515 &#9632;

The Hockey News CLASSIFIED

<h2>JANUARY</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-2063/5110975-1-eng-US/f0034-202.jpg" title="f0034-20" width="565" height="396"></div><h2>FEBRUARY</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-2153/5110968-1-eng-US/f0034-212.jpg" title="f0034-21" width="571" height="719"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-2248/5110961-1-eng-US/f0034-222.jpg" title="f0034-22" width="575" height="1214"></div> &#9632;

f0034-20

WHERE NHL TEAMS PLAY

(Standing on Mon. Jan. 28)<h2>NORRIS DIVISION</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-2440/5111034-1-eng-US/f0034-242.jpg" title="f0034-24" width="549" height="151"></div><h2>ADAMS DIVISION</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-2531/5111027-1-eng-US/f0034-252.jpg" title="f0034-25" width="556" height="132"></div><h2>PATRICK DIVISION</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-2625/5111020-1-eng-US/f0034-262.jpg" title="f0034-26" width="551" height="157"></div><h2>SMYTHE DIVISION</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-2720/5111013-1-eng-US/f0034-272.jpg" title="f0034-27" width="551" height="154"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Mon. Jan. 21Winnipeg 2 at Hartford 7Minnesota 0 at Boston 3Atlanta 3 at Buffalo 3Tue. Jan. 22Rangers 5 at Los Angeles 4Montreal 1 at Islanders 2Philadelphia 3 at St. Louis 1Toronto 4 at Atlanta 2Winnipeg 4 at Washington 5Colorado 5 at Vancouver 3Wed. Jan. 23Rangers 6 at Vancouver 4Islanders 5 at Detroit 3Philadelphia 4 at Chicago 1Pittsburgh 3 at Edmonton 4Minnesota 4 at Quebec 6Thur. Jan. 24Montreal 7 at Hartford 2Pittsburgh 1 at Colorado 4Toronto 4 at Los Angeles 5Buffalo 3 at Boston 4Fri. Jan. 25Philadelphia 5 at Winnipeg 4Chicago 4 at Atlanta 4Sat. Jan. 26Hartford 2 at Islanders 3Atlanta 4 at Detroit 3Quebec 1 at Washington 1Buffalo 7 at Montreal 2Boston 6 at Pittsburgh 4Los Angeles 4 at Minnesota 4Colorado 4 at St. Louis 4Toronto 3 at Edmonton 8Sun. Jan. 27Rangers 3 at Colorado 3Islanders 1 at Washington 7Philadelphia 5 at Edmonton 3Pittsburgh 5 at Boston 3Detroit 7 at Quebec 6Los Angeles 1 at Buffalo 9Toronto 5 at Vancouver 2Minnesota 0 at Chicago 3St. Louis 6 at Winnipeg 6<h2>The Point Race&hellip;</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-2345/5111006-1-eng-US/f0034-232.jpg" title="f0034-23" width="535" height="921"></div> &#9632;

f0034-24

NHL SCOREBOARD

ATLANTA: Plett 7, 8; Houston 13; Russell 6; Boldirev 15, 16; MacMillan 8; Chouinard 17; Henderson 3; Rota 9; Murdoch 4BOSTON: O&rsquo;Reilly 14, 15; Miller 9, 10; Foster 3, 4, 5; Bourque 8, 9; Middleton 19; Ratelle 19, 20; MacTavish 4; Redmond 9; Cashman 7, 8.BUFFALO. Martin 24, 25, 26, 27; Mongrain 1; Dudley 7; Seiling 12, 13, 14, 15; Perreault 27, 28, 29; Van Boxmeer 5, 6; Luce 9; Playfair 2; McKegney 12; Gould 9; Smith 18; Dunn 4, 5.CHICAGO: Trimper 1; Lysiak 13; Higgins 8; Murray 8, 9; Ruskowski 11; Preston 14; Daigle 5.COLORADO: Robert 19; McDonald 23, 24, 25, 26; Pierce 13, 14, 15; Gillis 2, 3; Valiquette 14, 15; DeBlois 16; Quenneville 3; Morrison 2.DETROIT: Nedomansky 26; Lab-raaten 20, 21; Mahovlich 11; Huber 8; McCourt 19; Foligno 16, 17, 18, 19; Thompson 21; Bolduc 6; Larson 11.EDMONTON: Lumley 13; Connor 3, 4; Chipperfield 10, 11; Callighen 13, 14; MacDonald 29, 30, 31; Gretzky 26, 27; Lowe 2; Weir 23, 24.HARTFORD: &Mu;. Howe 14, 15; Stoughton 26, 27; Johnston 1, 2; Carroll 6, 7; Rogers 18, 19; Giroux 1.LOS ANGELES: Murphy 15, 16, 17; Carlson 5, 6; St. Laurent 4; Wilson 3, 4; Goring 14, 15; Dionne 38; Jensen 15; Hopkins 5.MINNESOTA: Barrett 8; MacAdam 22; Chicoine 1; Young 17; Sharplev 19; Payne 26; Hartsburg 10; Sargent 12.MONTREAL: Chartraw 2; Robinson 7; Shutt 26, 27, 28, 29; Moundou 18, 19; Larouche 32, 33.ISLANDERS: Trottier 27; Bossy 30, 31, 32; Gillies 13; Merrick 8, 9; Nystrom 12; Bourne 6; Kallur 10.RANGERS: Duguay 10, 11, 12, 13, 14; Johnstone 10; Hedberg 25; Marois 8; Esposito 20, 21; Greschner 12; Beaton 1; Don Maloney 12.PHILADELPHIA: Leach 31, 32, 33; Hill 9, 10, 11; MacLeish 25, 26; Wilson 5, 6, Busniak 2; Barber 25, 26; Dailey 9; Linseman 12; Kelly 8; Gillen 1.PITTSBURGH: Malone 14, 15, 16, 17; McAdam 18; Talion 2; Lee 13; Kehoe 18; Lonsberry 9; Hamilton 2; Carlyle 4; Sheppard 10.QUEBEC: Lacroix 6, 7, 8; Cloutier 28; Goulet 12; Fitchner 8; Ftorek 13, 14, 15; Leduc 14; Hislop 7, 8; Bracken-bury 4.ST. LOUIS: Babych 11; Zuke 14; Maxwell 1; Sutter 17; Chapman 18, 19; Currle 8, 9; Lefley 5; Federko 19, 20.TORONTO: Ellis; Hickey 13, 14, 15, 16; Martin 2; Salming 11; Saganiuk 12, 13; Boschman 10, 11; Anderson 13, 14, 15; Williams 19.VANCOUVER: Smyl 17, 18, 19; Gradin 15, 16; Oddleifson 8; Derlago 11; Hughes 1; Callander 1.WASHINGTON: Svensson 4; Picard 5, 6; Gustafsson 11, 12, 13; Lofthouse 8; MacKinnon 1; Walter 12, 13; Gartner 17; Green 7; Mulvey 8.WINNIPEG: Cory 1; Markell 1, 2; Marsh 13; Sioberg S; Cameron 1, 2; Norwich 6, 7; Lukowlch 22, 23; Melrose 3; Lindstrom 17; Drouin 7; Mann 2. &#9632;

NHL’S SCORERS THIS WEEK

<h2>Mon. Jan. 21 WINNIPEG 2, HARTFORD 7</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-01543/5110930-1-eng-US/f0034-012.jpg" title="f0034-01" width="556" height="619"></div><h2>MINNESOTA 0, BOSTON 3</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-02425/5110923-1-eng-US/f0034-022.jpg" title="f0034-02" width="563" height="498"></div><h2>ATLANTA 3, BUFFALO 3</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-03325/5110916-1-eng-US/f0034-032.jpg" title="f0034-03" width="556" height="473"></div><h2>Tue. Jan. 22 RANGERS 5, LOS ANGELES 4</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-04230/5110909-1-eng-US/f0034-042.jpg" title="f0034-04" width="561" height="595"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-05180/5110902-1-eng-US/f0034-052.jpg" title="f0034-05" width="554" height="132"></div><h2>MONTREAL 1, ISLANDERS 2</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-06154/5110895-1-eng-US/f0034-062.jpg" title="f0034-06" width="553" height="493"></div><h2>PHILADELPHIA 3, ST. LOUIS 1</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-07142/5110888-1-eng-US/f0034-072.jpg" title="f0034-07" width="549" height="350"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-08133/5110881-1-eng-US/f0034-082.jpg" title="f0034-08" width="547" height="180"></div><h2>TORONTO 4, ATLANTA 2</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-09121/5110874-1-eng-US/f0034-092.jpg" title="f0034-09" width="558" height="496"></div><h2>WINNIPEG 4, WASHINGTON 5</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-10118/5110867-1-eng-US/f0034-102.jpg" title="f0034-10" width="555" height="666"></div><h2>COLORADO 5, VANCOUVER 3</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-11109/5110860-1-eng-US/f0034-112.jpg" title="f0034-11" width="555" height="593"></div><h2>Wed, January 23 RANGERS 6, VANCOUVER 4</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-12105/5110853-1-eng-US/f0034-122.jpg" title="f0034-12" width="546" height="128"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-1396/5110846-1-eng-US/f0034-132.jpg" title="f0034-13" width="555" height="551"></div><h2>ISLANDERS 5, DETROIT 3</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-1492/5110839-1-eng-US/f0034-142.jpg" title="f0034-14" width="562" height="621"></div><h2>PHILADELPHIA 4, CHICAGO 1</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-1588/5110832-1-eng-US/f0034-152.jpg" title="f0034-15" width="557" height="670"></div><h2>PITTSBURGH 3, EDMONTON 4</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-1687/5110825-1-eng-US/f0034-162.jpg" title="f0034-16" width="555" height="621"></div><h2>MINNESOTA 4, QUEBEC&nbsp;k</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-1780/5110818-1-eng-US/f0034-172.jpg" title="f0034-17" width="559" height="669"></div><h2>Thu. Jan. 24 MONTREAL 7, HARTFORD 2</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-1876/5110811-1-eng-US/f0034-182.jpg" title="f0034-18" width="557" height="543"></div><h2>PITTSBURGH 1, COLORADO 4</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-1972/5110804-1-eng-US/f0034-192.jpg" title="f0034-19" width="543" height="151"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-02409/5110797-1-eng-US/f0035-022.jpg" title="f0035-02" width="560" height="402"></div><h2>TORONTO 4, LOS ANGELES 5</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-03325/5110790-1-eng-US/f0035-032.jpg" title="f0035-03" width="563" height="696"></div><h2>BUFFALO 3, BOSTON 4</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-04270/5110783-1-eng-US/f0035-042.jpg" title="f0035-04" width="559" height="597"></div><h2>FRI. JAN.25 PHILADELPHIA 5, WINNIPEG 4</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-05222/5110776-1-eng-US/f0035-052.jpg" title="f0035-05" width="542" height="81"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-06202/5110769-1-eng-US/f0035-062.jpg" title="f0035-06" width="558" height="630"></div><h2>CHICAGO 4, ATLANTA 4</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-07190/5110762-1-eng-US/f0035-072.jpg" title="f0035-07" width="560" height="696"></div><h2>SAT. JAN. 26 HARTFORD 2, ISLANDERS 3</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-08169/5110755-1-eng-US/f0035-082.jpg" title="f0035-08" width="552" height="449"></div><h2>ATLANTA 4, DETROIT 3</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-09160/5110748-1-eng-US/f0035-092.jpg" title="f0035-09" width="387" height="61"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-10139/5110741-1-eng-US/f0035-102.jpg" title="f0035-10" width="550" height="489"></div><h2>QUEBEC 1, WASHINGTON 1</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-11127/5110734-1-eng-US/f0035-112.jpg" title="f0035-11" width="553" height="520"></div><h2>BUFFALO 7, MONTREAL 2</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-12111/5110727-1-eng-US/f0035-122.jpg" title="f0035-12" width="555" height="645"></div><h2>LOS ANGELES 4, MINNESOTA 4</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-1397/5110720-1-eng-US/f0035-132.jpg" title="f0035-13" width="549" height="253"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-1480/5110713-1-eng-US/f0035-142.jpg" title="f0035-14" width="558" height="418"></div><h2>BOSTON 6, PITTSBURGH 4</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-1570/5110706-1-eng-US/f0035-152.jpg" title="f0035-15" width="540" height="82"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-1664/5110699-1-eng-US/f0035-162.jpg" title="f0035-16" width="554" height="514"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-01426/5110692-1-eng-US/f0037-012.jpg" title="f0037-01" width="548" height="140"></div><h2>TORONTO 3, EDMONTON 8</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-02306/5110685-1-eng-US/f0037-022.jpg" title="f0037-02" width="564" height="750"></div><h2>COLORADO 4, ST. LOUIS 4</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-03234/5110678-1-eng-US/f0037-032.jpg" title="f0037-03" width="557" height="671"></div><h2>Sun. Jan. 27 RANGERS 3, COLORADO 3</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-04195/5110671-1-eng-US/f0037-042.jpg" title="f0037-04" width="555" height="626"></div><h2>ISLANDERS 1, WASHINGTON 7</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-05169/5110664-1-eng-US/f0037-052.jpg" title="f0037-05" width="539" height="82"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-06145/5110657-1-eng-US/f0037-062.jpg" title="f0037-06" width="556" height="574"></div><h2>PHILADELPHIA 5, EDMONTON 3</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-07123/5110650-1-eng-US/f0037-072.jpg" title="f0037-07" width="557" height="703"></div><h2>PITTSBURGH 5, BOSTON 3</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-08100/5110643-1-eng-US/f0037-082.jpg" title="f0037-08" width="557" height="598"></div><h2>DETROIT 7, QUEBEC 6</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-0987/5110636-1-eng-US/f0037-092.jpg" title="f0037-09" width="555" height="622"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-1080/5110629-1-eng-US/f0037-102.jpg" title="f0037-10" width="549" height="133"></div><h2>LOS ANGELES 1, BUFFALO 9</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-1165/5110622-1-eng-US/f0037-112.jpg" title="f0037-11" width="550" height="530"></div><h2>TORONTO 5, VANCOUVER 2</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-1256/5110615-1-eng-US/f0037-122.jpg" title="f0037-12" width="554" height="571"></div><h2>MINNESOTA 0, CHICAGO 3</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-1350/5110608-1-eng-US/f0037-132.jpg" title="f0037-13" width="551" height="474"></div><h2>St. LOUIS 6, WINNIPEG 6</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-1446/5110601-1-eng-US/f0037-142.jpg" title="f0037-14" width="554" height="670"></div> &#9632;

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NATIONAL LEAGUE SUMMARIES

<div class="byline">BY CHARLIE HALPIN</div>TORONTO&mdash;The National Hockey League continued to pick up the momentum in attendance as the 21 league teams hit the halfway mark in the schedule. In fact it was the brightest first half the NHL has experienced in nearly three years.There were several encouraging signs for the league with the most noteable being the turnstile resurgence of the Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins, two teams who have been slightly inconsistent on the ice.Both cities helped contribute to a 156,989 rise in NHL attendance at the 40-game plateau and the upsurge in Pittsburgh was welcomed around the Steel City where the hockey club has been waging a losing battle trying to keep pace with the football Steelers and the baseball Pirates&mdash;both world champions.The Penguins attracted 191,181 fans to their first 40 games of the season and while it represented a deficit of 13,249 over this time last season, it also showed the Penguins had drawn 22,389 more fans in their last 10 home games than they did in their first 10.Detroit, with the spanking new Joe Louis Arena as their home, drew 301,390 fans to their first 40 starts, a small increase of 3,136 over last season after 40, but again an improvement of 21,412 in their last 10 games over their first 10-game schedule, played mostly in the old Olympia.Overall the NHL was watched by 5,401,797 fans for the first 40 home games. What has been most enlightening for the league in the attendance figures is the fact six NHL cities showed sizeable increases in their game crowds for the second 10 games. Unofficial crowd figures are compiled by THE HOCKEY NEWS after every 10 home games of the 21 teams.Pittsburgh led the crowd upsurge with 22,339, Detroit was ahead by 21,412, Winnipeg 12,309, Colorado 10,123, Chicago 9,477 and Washington was up 7,501.The NHL crowd picture has been enhanced by the arrival of the four new cities in the league. all four of which have added greatly to the turnstile figures. Without them the NHL crowd figure would have been 4,463,119, which compared to 4,306,130 last season.The NHL&rsquo;s box office giants continued to show the way as league crowds became larger with the phasing out of the pro football season in the U.S. New York Rangers were still the NHL&rsquo;s top home ice draw with 348,023 fans flocking to their Madison Square Garden games. Philadelphia Flyers, enjoying a hockey renaissance this season, were second in attendance with 341,540 followed by Montreal, 333,205, Toronto 329,521, Buffalo 328,690, Edmonton 308,077, Detroit 301,390, the Islanders 293,125, Vancouver 286,941 and Winnipeg 261,837 as the top 10 in attendance.Despite the bright box office outlook, the NHL still had four cities running behind comparable 40 game figures of last season. Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Chicago and Boston all reported deficits over their 1978-79 figures and the situation appeared to be most alarming in Atlanta, where the Flames were 26,502 behind last year and attracted 12,314 fans less to their last 10 games than they did to their first 10. Flames rank 17th in attendance in the NHL amid recurring reports they could be headed for a new home in Dallas before too long.Admittedly the NHL has 21 teams now compared to 17 last year, but the overall attendance is the best the league has experienced since 1976-77 and with some of the league&rsquo;s weak sisters showing new life at the box office, the NHL may be on the road to better days. &#9632;

Detroit, Pittsburgh Winning At Box Office

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0035-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-01514/5111113-1-eng-US/f0035-012.jpg"></div> &#9632;

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How NHL’s 21 Teams Rate in Attendance

<h2>AMERICAN LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Tues. Jan. 29)<h3>NORTHERN DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-01488/5111214-1-eng-US/f0036-012.jpg" title="f0036-01" width="549" height="154"></div><h3>SOUTHERN DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-02369/5111207-1-eng-US/f0036-022.jpg" title="f0036-02" width="551" height="129"></div>1-Nova Scotia. 4-New Haven. 5-Adlrondack. 7-Maine. 14-Rochester. 16-Hershey. 19-Sprlngfleld. 22-New Brunswick. 23-Binghamton. 24-Svracuse.<h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Wed. Jan. 23Springfield 2 at Adirondack 5Syracuse 3 at Binghamton 4Nova Scotia 4 at Hershey 1New Bruswick 2 at Maine 1New Haven 4 at Rochester 4Fri. Jan. 25Nova Scotia 2 at Adirondack 1Hershey 3 at New Haven 4New Brunswick 4 at Springfield 5Binghamton 5 at Syracuse 4Sat. Jan. 26Rochester 1 at Binghamton 4New Haven 3 at Hershey 9Syracuse 3 at Maine 10Adirondack 4 at New Brunswick 1Nova Scotia 2 at Springfield 4Sun. Jan. 27Binghamton 4 at New Haven 7Adirondack 5 at Nova Scotia 3Hershey 5 at Rochester 3Maine 3 at Syracuse 3<h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-03294/5111200-1-eng-US/f0036-032.jpg" title="f0036-03" width="561" height="575"></div><h2>CENTRAL LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Tue. Jan. 29)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-04216/5111193-1-eng-US/f0036-042.jpg" title="f0036-04" width="552" height="229"></div>9-Salt Lake. 10-Oklahoma City. 12-lndlanapolls. 13-Dallas. 15-Birmlngham. 17-Fort Worth. 18-Houston. 21-Tulsa.<h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Mon. Jan. 21Indianapolis 2 at Salt Lake 5Tue. Jan. 22Tulsa 2 at Dallas 3Wed. Jan. 23Fort Worth 4 at Houston 4Indianapolis 2 at Salt Lake 5Thu. Jan. 24Tulsa 4 at Indianapolis 3Fri. Jan. 25Dallas 4 at Birmingham 7Fort Worth 5 at U.S.Olympic 3 Tulsa 1 at Oklahoma City 2Houston 4 at Salt Lake 5Sat. Jan. 24Dallas 3 at Birmingham 4Tulsa 0 at Indianapolis 2Fort Worth 0 at Oklahoma City 3Houston 1 at Salt Lake 3Sun. Jan. 27Oklahoma City 1 at Houston 5<h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-05172/5111186-1-eng-US/f0036-052.jpg" title="f0036-05" width="550" height="277"></div><h2>INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Wed. Jan. 30)<h3>NORTH DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-06150/5111179-1-eng-US/f0036-062.jpg" title="f0036-06" width="550" height="151"></div><h3>SOUTH DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-07142/5111172-1-eng-US/f0036-072.jpg" title="f0036-07" width="553" height="155"></div>5-Kalamazoo. 7-Toledo. 20-Mllwaukee. 25-Oavton 26-Fllnt. 27-Fort Wayne. 28-Grand Rapids. 29-Muskegon. 30-Port Huron. 31-Saginaw.<h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>IHL All Stars 4 vs. U.S. Olympic 4Wed. Jan. 23Dayton 3 at Fort Wayne 4Saginaw 7 at Toledo 2Fri. Jan. 25Dayton 3 at Muskegon 5Fort Wayne 3 at Saginaw 4Flint 4 at Toledo 4Kalamazoo 5 at Grand Rapids 3Sat. Jan. 24Port Huron 5 at Fort Wayne 7Milwaukee 5 at Muskegon 4Flint 4 at Dayton 3Toledo 4 at Saginaw 7Grand Rapids 0 at Kalamazoo 2Sun. Jan. 27Port Huron 4 at Dayton 3Muskegon 2 at Kalamazoo 5Flint 1 at Grand Rapids 10<h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-08137/5111165-1-eng-US/f0036-082.jpg" title="f0036-08" width="554" height="325"></div><h2>EASTERN LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Wed. Jan. 30)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-09131/5111158-1-eng-US/f0036-092.jpg" title="f0036-09" width="525" height="184"></div>4-Richmond. 5-Johnstown. 10-Baltlmore. 32-Erie. 33-Hampton. 34-Utica.<h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Wed. Jan. 23Erie 4 at Richmond 5Johnstown 5 at Baltimore 7Hampton 3 at Utica 5Thurs. Jan. 24Johnstown 0 at Richmond 3Fri. Jan. 25Utica 1 at Baltimore 3Hampton 1 at Erie 3Sat. Jan. 24Johnstown 1 at Baltimore 8Sun. Jan. 27Erie 10 at Johnstown 3Utica 5 at Richmond 4<h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-10128/5111151-1-eng-US/f0036-102.jpg" title="f0036-10" width="531" height="285"></div><h2>CONTINENTAL SENIOR</h2>(Standings on Thurs. Jan. 10)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-11124/5111144-1-eng-US/f0036-112.jpg" title="f0036-11" width="556" height="252"></div> &#9632;

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MINOR SCOREBOARD

1&mdash;Montreal2&mdash;Chicago3&mdash;Boston4&mdash;Rangers5&mdash;Detroit6&mdash;Toronto7&mdash;Philadelphia8&mdash;Los Angeles9&mdash;St. Louis10&mdash;Minnesota11&mdash;Pittsburgh12&mdash;Islanders13&mdash;Vancouver14&mdash;Buffalo15&mdash;Atlanta16&mdash;Washington17&mdash;Colorado18&mdash;Edmonton19&mdash;Hartford20&mdash;Quebec21&mdash;Winnipeg<h2>OTHER AFFILIATIONS</h2>22&mdash;Chicago&mdash;Toronto23&mdash;Boston&mdash;Los Angeles24&mdash;Quebec&mdash;Pittsburgh25&mdash;Edmonton&mdash;Winnipeg26&mdash;Montreal&mdash;Chicago27&mdash;Vancouver&mdash;Islanders28&mdash;Boston&mdash;Pittsburgh29&mdash;Atlanta&mdash;Colorado30&mdash;Washington&mdash;St. Louis31&mdash;Los Angeles&mdash;Hartford32&mdash;Que.&mdash;Islanders&mdash;Buffalo33&mdash;St. Louis&mdash;Philadelphia34&mdash;Boston&mdash;Hartford &#9632;

Who They’re Affiliated With…

<h2>ONTARIO MAJOR LEAGUE</h2>(Standing on Tue. Jan. 29)<h3>EMMS DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-12120/5111440-1-eng-US/f0036-122.jpg" title="f0036-12" width="548" height="178"></div><h3>LEYDEN DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-13117/5111433-1-eng-US/f0036-132.jpg" title="f0036-13" width="547" height="153"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Mon. Jan. 21Ottawa 9 at Sault Ste. Marie 3Tue. Jan. 22Ottawa 9 at Sudbury 6Niagara Falls 3 at Kingston 4Kitchener 8 at Brantford 9London 3 at Oshawa 5Thurs. Jan. 24Sault Ste. Marie 3 at Peterborough 4Oshawa 1 at Windsor 4Fri. Jan. 25Oshawa 7 at Kitchener 0Sudbury 7 at Ottawa 4Toronto 1 at London 4Sault Ste. Marie 2 at Kingston 5Windsor 3 at Niagara Falls 7Peterborough 5 at Brantford 11Sat. Jan. 26Sudbury 2 at Peterborough 4Sun. Jan. 27Toronto 2 at Oshawa 4Niagara Falls 11 at Kitchener 2Sault Ste. Marie 3 at Ottawa 10Sudbury 3 at Kingston 4London 4 at Brantford 4<h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-14111/5111426-1-eng-US/f0036-142.jpg" title="f0036-14" width="556" height="424"></div><h2>WESTERN LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Tues. Jan. 29)<h3>WESTERN DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-15110/5111419-1-eng-US/f0036-152.jpg" title="f0036-15" width="530" height="136"></div><h3>EASTERN DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-16107/5111412-1-eng-US/f0036-162.jpg" title="f0036-16" width="526" height="179"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Mon. Jan. 21Victoria 7 at New Westminster 1Tues. Jan. 22Seattle 2 at Billings 5Saskatoon 1 at Brandon 4Calgary 4 at Lethbridge 4Wed. Jan. 23Victoria 2 at Portland 5Regina 7 at Medicine Hat 4Seattle 4 at Billings 5Thurs. Jan. 24New Westminster 5 at Brandon 8Fri. Jan. 25New Westminster 4 at Saskatoon 8Lethbridge 3 at Regina 5Calgary 4 at Billings 10Sat. Jan. 24Portland 2 at Victoria 5Lethbridge 2 at Brandon 4Seattle 4 at Medicine Hat 4Sun. Jan. 27Seattle 0 at Lethbridge 7New Westminster 5 at Regina 9Calgary 3 at Billings 4<h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-17101/5111405-1-eng-US/f0036-172.jpg" title="f0036-17" width="560" height="501"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-1896/5111398-1-eng-US/f0036-182.jpg" title="f0036-18" width="552" height="325"></div><h2>QUEBEC MAJOR LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Mon. Jan. 28)<h3>LeBEL DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-1994/5111391-1-eng-US/f0036-192.jpg" title="f0036-19" width="551" height="153"></div><h3>DILIO DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-2089/5111384-1-eng-US/f0036-202.jpg" title="f0036-20" width="552" height="128"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Mon. Jan. 21Quebec 4 at Laval 4Tue. Jan. 22Montreal 5 at Trois-Rivieres 5Wed. Jan. 23Cornwall 7 at Laval 4Shawinigan 3 at Sherbrooke 7Thu. Jan. 24Hull 9 at Chicoutimi 2Montreal 5 at Quebec 1Fri. Jan. 25Hull 3 at Quebec 2Sherbrooke 0 at Shawinigan 3Trois-Rivieres 2 at Sorel 4Sun. Jan. 27Trois-Rivieres 4 at Chicoutimi 4Sorel 1 at Cornwall 3Hull 3 at Montreal 9Quebec 3 at Shawinigan 4Laval 2 at Sherbrooke 12<h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-2182/5111377-1-eng-US/f0036-212.jpg" title="f0036-21" width="551" height="275"></div><h2>CENTRAL JUNIOR</h2>(Standings on Mon. Jan. 28)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-2279/5111370-1-eng-US/f0036-222.jpg" title="f0036-22" width="550" height="177"></div><h2>GEORGIAN BAY LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Mon. Jan. 21)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-2373/5111363-1-eng-US/f0036-232.jpg" title="f0036-23" width="552" height="201"></div><h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-2466/5111356-1-eng-US/f0036-242.jpg" title="f0036-24" width="553" height="424"></div><h2>NATIONAL JUNIOR</h2>(Standings on Mon. Jan. 14)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-2562/5111349-1-eng-US/f0036-252.jpg" title="f0036-25" width="549" height="156"></div><h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-2659/5111342-1-eng-US/f0036-262.jpg" title="f0036-26" width="553" height="374"></div> &#9632;

f0036-12

AMATEUR SCOREBOARD

Following are the latest player movements in hockey:<h2>NATIONAL LEAGUE</h2>ATLANTA&mdash;Curt Bennett, LW, and Paul Henderson, LW, recalled from Birmingham of CHL.BUFFALO&mdash;Robert Mon-grain, C, recalled from Rochester of AHL.CHICAGO&mdash;Tim Trimper, LW, and Rick Paterson, C, recalled from New Brunswick of AHL.COLORADO&mdash;Kevin Morrison, D, Mike Gillis, LW, and Bill Oleschuk, G, recalled from Fort Worth of CHL. Michel Plasse, G, Mike Kitchen, LW, and Bobby Sheehan, C, sent to Fort Worth. Carey Walker, G, assigned to Fort Worth. John Flesch, LW, returned to Grand Rapids of IHL.DETROIT&mdash;Thommie Bergman, D, returned from injury list and assigned to Adirondack of AHL for conditioning.EDMONTON&mdash;Peter Driscoll, LW, recalled from Houston of CHL.HARTFORD&mdash;Ray Allison, RW, assigned to Springfield of AHL. Mike Antonovich, LW, returned from injury list and assigned to Springfield for conditioning.MINNESOTA&mdash;Dan Chi-coine, RW, and Tony White, LW, recalled from Oklahoma City of CHL. Pat Westrum, D, returned to Oklahoma City.PITTSBURGH&mdash;Jim Hamilton, RW, recalled from Syracuse of AHL.QUEBEC&mdash;Alain Cote, LW, and Peter Marrin, C, recalled from Syracuse. Marrin to undergo medical tests and possible reassignment.TORONTO&mdash;Vince Tremblay, G, assigned to New Brunswick of AHL and later recalled under emergency conditions.VANCOUVER&mdash;Gary Bromlev, G, Steve Hazlett, RW, and Drew Callander, RW, recalled from Dallas of CHL. Curt Ridley, G, and Brad Smith, RW, sent to Dallas.WINNIPEG&mdash;Markus Mattson, G, and John Bethel, LW, recalled from Tulsa of CHL. Lindsay Middlebrook, G, and Bill Riley, RW, assigned to Tulsa. Jim Bedard, G, signed as free agent and assigned to Tulsa on tryout.<h2>AMERICAN LEAGUE</h2>ADIRONDACK&mdash;Dennis Sobchuk, C, on injury list. Bob Murdoch, RW, signed to tryout. Don Larway, LW, recalled from Kalamazoo of IHL.BINGHAMTON&mdash;Lance Berault, D, returned to Utica of EHL. Mike Holmes, D, recalled from Grand Rapids of IHL. Yves Belanger, G, off injury list.MAINE&mdash;Robbie Moore, G, on injury list. Dave Settlemyre, G, signed to tryout as replacement. &#9632;

Player Movements

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0038-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-01499/5111516-1-eng-US/f0038-012.jpg"></div><h2>Time for the kids</h2>Peter Marsh, left, and Jude Drouin of the Winnipeg Jets took time off from their heavy hockey schedule to visit ailing youngsters in the Children&rsquo;s Hospital in Winnipeg as part of their public relations duties with the NHL team. Kids welcomed the pro stars with open arms.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-02394/5111509-1-eng-US/f0038-022.jpg" title="f0038-02" width="1203" height="1476"><figcaption class="caption-body">(Photo by Bruce Bennett)</figcaption></div><h2>Who&rsquo;s watching who?</h2>It might be difficult to figure out by this photo that these two fans are watching the Rangers play in Madison Square Garden but they are. That&rsquo;s TV starlet Cheryl Tiegs whispering to photographer Peter Beard during Garden game.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-03316/5111502-1-eng-US/f0038-032.jpg" title="f0038-03" width="1207" height="1646"><figcaption class="caption-body">(Photo by Craig Abel)</figcaption></div><h2>Still going strong</h2>Frank Selke, Sr., left, one of hockey&rsquo;s outstanding figures of the past 50 years, still delights in going to hockey games despite his retirement. Here he is shown with his son, Frank Jr., right, vice-president of Canadian Sports Network, during lunch at Toronto Maple Leafe Gardens&rsquo; Hot Stove Lounge. Joining Selkes in rear are Donald B. MacAskill, right, vice-president of administration, Molson&rsquo;s Ontario, and Nick Loizou, manager of the Hot Stove. Mr. Selke sees NHL games in Toronto and Montreal quite regularly.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-04243/5111495-1-eng-US/f0038-042.jpg" title="f0038-04" width="1779" height="1494"></div><h2>Publicist of the year</h2>Roy Mlakar, director of public relations for the New Haven Nighthawks of the AHL accepts the Ken McKenzie Award from the president of THE HOCKEY NEWS, right, for his feat in being selected as the publicity director in the AHL who made the greatest contribution in publicizing and promoting hockey in his city last year. That&rsquo;s Roy&rsquo;s wife, Nancy, looking on approvingly. &#9632;

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HOCKEY PEOPLE

<div class="byline">BY CHUCK MOODY</div>PITTSBURGH&mdash;The Pittsburgh Penguins have decided to join the other professional sports teams in the &ldquo;City of Champions&rdquo; and change their uniform colors to black-and-gold.&ldquo;The change to black-and-gold uniforms is certainly in our plans,&rdquo; said Penguin vice president and general counsel Paul Martha. &ldquo;Exactly when is yet to be determined. It will be this year.&ldquo;The philosophy is that black-and-gold has become Pittsburgh. And the Penguins are Pittsburgh. I think it&rsquo;s a simple equation and a decision that&rsquo;s easy to make. It&rsquo;s not easy to do. A lot of things have to be done especially to change in the middle of a season. We still have licensing problems to overcome.&rdquo;The Penguins, who have worn variations of two shades of blue and white uniforms for the 13 seasons they have been in the National Hockey League, are out to win the Stanley Cup. They would then join the National Football League champion Steelers and Major League baseball champion Pirates in the spotlight of Pittsburgh sports.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s difficult for this franchise at its current stage of development to be held to that level of performance,&rdquo; Martha admitted. &ldquo;On the other hand, I think it will hasten the building of a hockey champion in Pittsburgh.&ldquo;I think it permeates the entire attitude in Pittsburgh. The fan demand for excellence permeates into our locker room. Our players associate with Pirate players and Steeler players. I certainly hope the attitude is contagious.&rdquo;Martha, who played professional football for the Steelers, is in charge of the day-to-day operation of the Penguins. He reports to Penguin chairman Edward J. DeBartolo and president Vince Bartimo.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re happy with the team, but not completely satisfied,&rdquo; Martha said. &ldquo;We won&rsquo;t be satisfied until we win the Stanley Cup. That&rsquo;s certainly Mr. DeBartolo&rsquo;s goal. We could improve our club, but with the talent we have on our club now, we&rsquo;re happy with the way we&rsquo;re playing hockey.&rdquo;DeBartolo&rsquo;s corporation, which also owns the San Francisco 49ers of the NFL, is one of the largest builders of shopping mall complexes in the United States.&ldquo;We have to maintain a certain amount of economic sanity, but if the acquiring of players requires an infusion of capital, I&rsquo;m sure it is something Mr. DeBartolo would give serious consideration to,&rdquo; Martha stated. &ldquo;Mr. DeBartolo and Mr. Bartimo are very much involved in the day-to-day operation of the club. They know everything that goes on here. They join in making all major decisions.&rdquo;Martha credits Penguin general manager and HOCKEY NEWS Executive of the Year, Baz Bastien, with helping to restructure the club over the last two seasons.&ldquo;Certainly a lot of the credit to rebuilding the team goes to Baz Bastien,&rdquo; Martha said. &ldquo;We have been able to improve our team in just about every deal we&rsquo;ve made. I think in hockey, as just about any major sport, circumstances dictate change. In making changes, you don&rsquo;t necessarily improve the club. We decided to make changes and at the same time improve our club.&rdquo;How does Martha feel about the future of hockey in Pittsburgh?&ldquo;Hockey has a very strong future in Pittsburgh,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a multi-national sport that has been influenced by Canada the way baseball is influenced in Canada by the United States. That&rsquo;s changing, and the quicker it changes, the better it will be for hockey. More parity, competitive parity and economic parity, will develop in hockey.&rdquo;PENGUIN TRACKS: Captain and center Orest Kindrachuk suffered a hip pointer and ankle injury and was forced to miss several games&hellip;The club&rsquo;s second leading scorer at the time of his injury, Kindrachuk was also missed for his checking abilities and work along the boards&hellip;Defenseman Mario Faubert was injured when he crashed into a goalpost after scoring a goal, and also missed some games with the back problem&hellip;Right wing Rick Kehoe was whistled down for a penalty against the Toronto Maple Leafs, his first penalty in 43 games dating back to the last regular season game of last year.<div class="sidebar">&ldquo;We won&rsquo;t be satisfied until we win the Stanley Cup. That&rsquo;s Mr. DeBartolo&rsquo;s goal.&rdquo; &#9632;</div>

Penguins To Adopt ‘City Of Champions’ Colors

<div class="byline">BY TONY GALLAGHER</div>VANCOUVER&mdash;You can&rsquo;t say Vancouver Canucks haven&rsquo;t kept their sense of humor during their tailspin.When they finally gained a 2-2 tie at home against the Buffalo Sabres to break a six-game losing streak, coach Harry Neale remarked: &ldquo;Tonight we thought we&rsquo;d screw around getting 10 or 12 shots and see if we could get a point.&rdquo;He was right about the team messing around. In fact they did manage 15 shots and were outshot 35-15 on the evening, but fortunately it was an evening when Glen Hanlon was his heroic self.Neale&rsquo;s comments meant more in light of the fact Canucks had been firing a barrage at the other team&rsquo;s goals in the three previous games and had come up with nothing but air.In Washington they were hammered 7-4 by the Capitals despite outshooting their opponents 40-27. In Toronto the next night they ran into a hot Paul Harrison and got no points despite 48 shots.Then they returned home to face the Atlanta Flames and they had 49 shots. This time it was rookie Pat Riggin who stopped rookie winger Rick Vaive 12 times alone in making sure Canucks got nothing for their troubles.Finally, the tables were turned against the Sabres, who outplayed Canucks but couldn&rsquo;t get the puck past Hanlon.&ldquo;The way we&rsquo;ve been going we should take the point and get out of the building before they decide to play overtime,&rdquo; said Neale.It was poetic justice for Vancouver, who have not been playing all that badly but suffering loss upon loss, something which has dropped them out of sight in the Smythe Division standings. They led the division by as much as seven points earlier in the season, but injuries and the January schedule have really cooked their goose as far as moving to the front again is concerned.One might think that Hanlon was to blame for the losses, but such was simply not the case, although for once this season he did have back-to-back games in Toronto and against Atlanta at home when he wasn&rsquo;t as sharp as he would like.&ldquo;I heard someone call me lethargic the other day on the radio and I figure that&rsquo;s about the worst thing someone can call me so I wanted to bear down as much as possible and see if I couldn&rsquo;t get my concentration back,&rdquo; he said.Hanlon was the principle reason Canucks were leading the division into December, the problem being that the team is so dependent upon great goalkeeping to win.Their biggest problem has been scoring goals, their production to date about the same as it was last season when they scored only 217 goals, the second lowest total in the league.Meanwhile Canucks sent goalie Curt Ridley to Dallas of the Central League farm team and brought back Gary Bromley.Bromley has been splitting the chores in Dallas with rookie Ken Ellacott but now that he&rsquo;s coming back to Canucks, his work will likely be limited to practice while Vancouver has games fairly well spaced.Ridley apparently had not been working as hard as the coaches would have liked in practice, and he was found out to some degree when Hanlon was thrown out of a game in Washington with only 30 seconds gone for being the third man in. Ridley was thrown into the breach, and was blitzed for the seven goals. But to be fair to Ridley, he never got a chance to play as often as he needed to stay sharp and it would not be out of the question for Canucks to trade him out of the organization, because there is little doubt he can play and play well in the league.The tragedy from the Canucks&rsquo; point of view is that former general manager Phil Maloney gave up a first round draft choice to Atlanta for his services, and they could not hope to realize that back for him because he hasn&rsquo;t had the opportunity to play enough to warrant such a price.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-01469/5111571-1-eng-US/f0039-012.jpg" title="f0039-01" width="571" height="699"><figcaption class="caption-body">Gary Bromley has replaced Curt Ridley as Canucks&rsquo; backup to goaler Glen Hanlon.</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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Canuck Tailspin Not Without Humor

<div class="image-hero"><img title="C0004-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/c0004-01181/5111609-1-eng-US/c0004-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Phil Esposito and Bobby Orr collected a pile of trophies during their days with the Bruins and 1971 was one of their biggest years when Esposito set the record for goals and points and Orr established the mark for the most assists.</figcaption></div>TORONTO&mdash;Who&rsquo;s the better player&mdash;Guy Lafleur or Marcel Dionne?Depending upon when that question was asked it could have been either and it might have been an an easy choice. When the two 28-year-olds were in their first few years in the National Hockey League, it was all Dionne. Then Lafleur took over winning three straight scoring crowns and three Hart (M.V.P.) Trophies from 197576 through 1977-78.Last year Dionne finished second in scoring to New York Islanders&rsquo; Bryan Trottier with Lafleur a close third and this season the French-Canadian pair have zipped through the first half of the season at a record-shattering pace.It was Dionne who captured most of the attention as he maintained a better than two points per game average. By mid-January Dionne was leading the NHL in three major categories&mdash;points, goals and assists&mdash;as well as in hat tricks. Lafleur, very quietly, was keeping nearly the same pace, and he exploded recently with a five-goal, four assist week to chop eight points away from Dionne&rsquo;s seemingly insurmountable lead.What&rsquo;s more, both players are in line to do some rewriting of the record book, threatening seasonal marks for goals, assists and points held by Phil Esposito and Bobby Orr set during the early portion of the 70s.Dionne was rapidly approaching the 100 points mark with the second half of the season barely underway. Esposito holds the record for the most points, 152, set during the 1970-71 season when the Boston Bruins commanded the most po-tent offense in NHL history.Through 46 games, Dionne was still averaging just over 2.00 points per game, which would also be an NHL record. Bill Cowley of the 1943-44 Bruins had the highest average among players with more than 50 points in a season, 1.97, while Esposito averaged 1.95 during his record-setting points year. Lafleur, with 88 points in his first 48 games this season, checked in at 1.83 per game.In the assists department, Dionne was the leader at the midpoint with 50 putting just a little behind the average needed to break Orr&rsquo;s one-season mark of 102 assists set in the 1970-71 campaign. Lafleur was again second at the mid-point trailing Dionne by eight but he quickly closed that gap early in the second portion of the 1979-80 season.Esposito also holds the NHL record for goals&mdash;76&mdash;during 1970-71, of course and it&rsquo;s a record that figures to be very difficult to beat. Charlie Simmer of Los Angeles led the league through 40 games with 36 but was forced out of the lineup with an injured knee. Dionne, second with 33 through the first half, took over the lead and had 38 through 46 games as compared to Lafleur with 36 through 48. Esposito, though, averaged .97 goals per game that season although he stood only at 36 after the first half (39 games then) of the season.<h2>TEAM PENALTIES</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/c0004-02111/5111602-1-eng-US/c0004-022.jpg" title="C0004-02" width="550" height="717"></div> &#9632;

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February 8, 1980

HOCKEY TALK

PRO GAMES TO COME…

How They Stand

Bruins Appeal Ziegler’s Suspensions