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 15, 1980

The Hockey News February 15, 1980

<h2><b>AMERICAN LEAGUE</b></h2><h3><b>FEBRUARY</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-273/5048783-1-eng-US/f0044-272.jpg" title="f0044-27" width="582" height="1152"></div><h2><b>CENTRAL LEAGUE</b></h2><h3><b>FEBRUARY</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-283/5048776-1-eng-US/f0044-282.jpg" title="f0044-28" width="566" height="654"></div><h2><b>INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE</b></h2><h3><b>FEBRUARY</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-293/5048769-1-eng-US/f0044-292.jpg" title="f0044-29" width="572" height="856"></div><h2><b>EASTERN LEAGUE</b></h2><h3><b>FEBRUARY</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-303/5048762-1-eng-US/f0044-302.jpg" title="f0044-30" width="554" height="554"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0044-27

IN THIS ISSUE

PRO GAMES TO COME…

<div class="byline">KEN MCKENZIE&#x2019;S</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-011287/5046523-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg" title="f0004-01" width="516" height="333"></div><p>&bull; <b>IN A GAME</b> reminiscent of a Stanley Cup final the New York Islanders defeated Montreal Canadiens, 2-1. the other night, stoping Canadiens&rsquo; streak at six games. It was one of the finest NHL games we&rsquo;ve seen played for a long time. It was go-go right from the opening whistle to the final seconds. Chico Resch, playing before his parents who were visiting him from Saskatchewan, played brilliantly in goal for the Islanders. Stan Fischler had us as his guest between periods on the Islanders&rsquo; cable TV network. Stan does a fine job conducting the interviews between periods on the Islander telecasts&hellip;Tom &ldquo;The Bomb&rdquo; Barnwell has to rate as one of the most valuable cogs in the entire Islander operation. Tom, who probably knows as many NHL players, officials arid media people as anyone around the league, assists general manager Bill Torrey and coach Al Arbour as well as the training staff and public relations department. He is a credit to the Islanders&rsquo; organization and deserves every cent they pay him&hellip;Hartford Whalers are doing their utmost to unload Nick Fotiu, the Staten Island-born forward they picked up from the New York Rangers&hellip;Only one hat trick has been scored against the Flyers at the Philadelphia Spectrum in the last six years. That came last season on March 25 when Ivan Boldirev performed the feat for Atlanta&hellip;Armand Pohan, president of the Colorado Rockies, is a versatile and talented individual. Besides being an outstanding lawyer specializing in government, he is also an accomplished concert pianist&hellip;Bryan Trottier is the sole member of the New York Islanders selected by writers to play in this year&rsquo;s All Star game. Denis Potvin, Clark Gillies and Chico Resch, all named to play in either last year&rsquo;s Challenge Cup series or in June&rsquo;s final poll of All Stars were omitted this year&hellip;The Islanders were after their eighth straight win but Washington Caps unloaded their greatest assault ever, scoring six straight goals in the second period to whip the Isles, 7-1. It marked only the second time in 23 meetings that the Caps had defeated the Islanders.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-021201/5046516-1-eng-US/f0004-022.jpg" title="f0004-02" width="274" height="395"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>Bryan Trottier</i></figcaption></div><p>&bull; <b>LYNN PATRICK</b> and Torchy Peden, two of Canada&rsquo;s greatest all-around athletes, who were both born in Victoria, B.C. and grew up together in that city, died on the same date, Jan. 26. Patrick, son of the immortal Lester and a brother of Muzz, was a player, coach and general manager in the National Hockey League and a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame selection committee at the time of his death. Before breaking into the NHL with the New York Rangers as a left winger in 1934, Lynn was a star basketball and football player in Canada. Torchy Peden made his reputation as a six-day bicycle rider and was acknowledged the best of his day, which was in 1930s and 40s. Torchy and his brother Doug teamed up in six-day races but both excelled at baseball and basketball as well. Torchy sold bicycles and hockey equipment out of Chicago for many years&hellip;Canadiens have yet to beat Islanders this season in three starts&hellip;Toronto Maple Leafs are said to be in favor of retaining Alan Eagleson as executive director of the NHLPA, but there are other teams who are solidly for his removal. It would appear that &ldquo;The Eagle&rdquo; will step down within a couple of years&hellip;Guy Lafleur has scored 75 winning goals since he joined the NHL with Montreal in 1971. That&rsquo;s 45 fewer than Gordie Howe has scored&hellip;Hockey fans talking about the change around in the Buffalo Sabres this season. As Tom McVie, coach of the Winnipeg Jets said: &ldquo;They&rsquo;ve got the same people as last year but not the same players&rdquo;&hellip;Added Richard Martin: &ldquo;There&rsquo;s a new feeling this year. Lots of enthusiasm. Things are fun again, we&rsquo;re being treated as men.&rdquo; Some hockey pundits are predicting Buffalo to win the Stanley Cup in 1980.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-031026/5046509-1-eng-US/f0004-032.jpg" title="f0004-03" width="271" height="395"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>Richard Martin</i></figcaption></div><p>&bull; <b>OVER 500</b> players have represented Detroit in the National Hockey League since the late 1920s. The club was known as the Cougars and Falcons prior to Red Wings. A recent poll by the media named the top 21 players to represent Detroit in the NHL over those years. Here are the greatest: Terry Sawchuk, Harry Lumley, Glenn Hall and Roger Crozier in goal; and the others were Larry Aurie, Herbie Lewis, Reg Noble, Ebbie Goodfellow, Bill Quackenbush, Syd Howe, Bob Goldham, Red Kelly, Marcel Pronovost, Marty Pavelich, Ted Lindsay, Gordie Howe, Sid Abel, Bill Gadsby, Norm Ullman, Alex Delvecchio and Jack Stewart&hellip;Jack Adams was named manager-coach. With the team almost since Day One, Adams won Stanley Cups in the 1930s, 40s, and 50s&hellip;The players named (four, are now deceased) will return to Detroit to be honored for their contributions, along with the present Red Wings Alumni team, on February 21 for the last hockey game to be played in the Old Red Barn, as the Olympia will close its doors immediately afterwards&hellip;Ab DeMarco Jr., who played with New York Rangers, St. Louis Blues and Los Angeles Kings and a number of other pro teams, is playing this season in Switzerland. He&rsquo;s said to be very happy there and earning around $50,000 for the season&hellip;Real &ldquo;Buddy&rdquo; Cloutier ace scorer for the Quebec Nordiques, tells pals he&rsquo;ll be happy to score between 40 and 50 goals this year, his first in the NHL&hellip;He scored 75 with Quebec in the WHA last year&hellip;Greg Malone is known as &ldquo;The Grinder&rdquo; among his teammates on the Pittsburgh Penguins&hellip;Ron Hansis, star forward with Erie Blades of the Eastern League, was born in the United States but learned his hockey in Canada. He was a super star with Loyola High School and Concordia University in Montreal.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-04903/5046502-1-eng-US/f0004-042.jpg" title="f0004-04" width="239" height="380"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>Real Cloutier</i></figcaption></div><p>&bull; <b>HARTFORD WHALERS</b> are conducting a series of hockey clinics throughout the greater Hartford area. Andre Lacroix, former Whaler star and the World Hockey Association&rsquo;s all-time point producer, is serving as instructor. Lacroix said the clinics are designed to improve players&rsquo; skills, and the extent of the instruction will depend on the age group. The clinics will be held for all players from mites to bantams. Lacroix, holder of almost all of the WHA scoring records is offering his services free to area high school teams as well. &ldquo;The main thing is that it won&rsquo;t cost the hockey associations or the players any money,&rdquo; stated Andre&hellip;Mike McEwen leads all NHL defensemen in goals scored and is second in total points by a defenseman. The Rockies are extremely happy with the trade that brought McEwen to the club from the New York Rangers&hellip;The Rockies&rsquo; average home attendance this season is over 9,500 per game and is by far the best average in the history of the franchise&hellip;Lanny McDonald, another player the Rockies picked up in a trade, has become the fans&rsquo; favorite in Denver and he&rsquo;s been scoring regularly. In fact, McDonald has been held pointless in only one game&hellip;Glen Sonmor, Minnesota&rsquo;s very capable coach, calls Marcel Dionne of the Los Angeles Kings the best player in the world at this time. The stocky Dionne stands a good chance of establishing new NHL scoring records this season if he can maintain the sizzling pace he set during the first half. The record for most points is 152, set by Phil Esposito with Boston in 1970-71. The record for most goals is 76, also set by Esposito during that same season. The assists record is 102 and was set by Bobby Orr with Boston in 1970-71&hellip;Rumor has it that the University of Notre Dame is concerned about some of its hockey players failing to graduate and may be forced to reduce hockey to a club sport. It would be a shame if this happens&hellip;Rod Langway, Montreal defenseman, is improving with each game, especially so now that he&rsquo;s getting more ice time.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-05756/5046495-1-eng-US/f0004-052.jpg" title="f0004-05" width="235" height="387"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>Glen Sonmor</i></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0004-01

PASSING THE PUCK

<div class="byline">BY TOM BURKE</div><p class="dropcap"><span>B</span>OSTON&mdash;Providence, Vermont, and Dartmouth moved closer to clinching ECAC Division One postseason playoff berths as the first week of February arrived. RPI, Brown, and New Hampshire all posted wins to climb a few notches in pursuit of the leaders while Clarkson lost three straight to fall from first place in the ECAC West.</p><p>Dartmouth, with the newly assembled line of senior Ross Brownridge between Shawn Tee-vens and Dennis Murphy leading the way, knocked off front-running Boston College 6-5 in Hanover, then nipped Cornell 4-3 in Ithaca to solidify its hold on first place in the Ivy Division.</p><p>George Crowe had reshuffled his forwards after a 4-0 loss at BC two weeks earlier, and the Greenies responded with a 3-0-1 skein in which the Brownridge line scored 14 of their 28 goals. Brownridge, whose improvement has paralleled the rise of Dartmouth in the East, moved into third place in the all-time scoring standings in Hanover with his two points in the BC win. Ross passed Cliff Harrison, a 1951 graduate.</p><p>Brownridge also scored the winner at Cornell, an unassisted tally early in the third period. But top scoring honors in that game went to freshman John Donnelly. The rookie from Edina, Minnesota, who&rsquo;s played both up front and at the backline for Dartmouth, had an outstanding defensive game against BC and scored twice at Cornell. The Greenies had a slow start largely because three new defensemen had to get acclimated to Crowe&rsquo;s Chinese Fire Drill fore-checking patterns. They&rsquo;re used to it now, and Dartmouth&rsquo;s record shows it.</p><p>BC maintained its overall lead despite the loss as they returned home to knock off Colgate 6-3 the next evening. Mike O&rsquo;Neil had a pair of goals for the Eagles. The win was Len Ceglarski&rsquo;s 394th career triumph, moving him into a tie for fifth in that category with Ned Harkness. Jack Riley of Army became only the fourth coach in college history to pass the 400 win mark earlier this year; barring a collapse by BC, Ceglarski should join that company soon.</p><p>Providence refuses to let BC open any daylight in the ECAC East. The Friars outwaited Yale and Clarkson for wins of 4-3 and 52, respectively, then blasted St. Lawrence 6-0 to give Scott Fiske his first college shutout. Fiske is a junior from Norwood, Mass, who won the starting job away from Bill Nolin, the heir apparent to Bill Milner before the season began.</p><p>Steve O&rsquo;Neill had a pair of PC goals against Yale, and Frank Johnson scored twice against St. Lawrence while Fiske turned aside 20 shots. Though Providence is a young team, three of their sophomores on defense&mdash;Scot Kleinen-dorst, Jon Hogberg, and Jim Colucci&mdash;each had a full season of learning already. Plus, Lou Lamo-riello is getting good leadership from the junior class typified in O&rsquo;Neill, Steve Evangelista, Paul Stasiuk, and John Sullivan.</p><p>&ldquo;The key this year, I think, is that the freshmen had patience with themselves and learned the system. That didn&rsquo;t happen last year,&rdquo; said Lamoriello.</p><p>Vermont received bad news about All-America defenseman Lou Cote. His knee injury suffered against New Hampshire won&rsquo;t requiie surgery, but it will keep him on the shelf innefinitely, i.e. four weeks or so at least. Jim Cross moved soph Bill Kangas to the left point on the power play to replace Cote, third leading scorer with 4-28-32 at the time of his injury.</p><p>By the way, a correction. Last week we mentioned that ZUVM&rsquo;s Craig Homola had surpassed Brian Cornell with a point in 33 consecutive games. That&rsquo;s not correct. Craig just tied Brian&rsquo;s standard of 32 before failing to register a point at Providence. Congrats anyway to Craig, who Scored the winner in a 4-3 squeaker over Princeton.</p><p>The injury bug claimed two of RPI&rsquo;s best, senior co-captain Larry Landon (knee) and Steve Stoya-novich (deep cut on leg). Landon is gone for the season and Stoyano-vich for at least six weeks. But RPI blanked Brown 3-0 as Kevin Constantine, narrating the play by play to himself while guarding the goal, posted the shutout. Then the Engineers limited Princeton to 20 shots and posted a 6-2 decision with Michel Deschenes scoring twice. The two wins raised RPI into a tie with Clarkson for second place in the ECAC West.</p><p>Northeastern, with all its personnel losses and many close defeats, finally got the breaks its way with a 9-3 drubbing of Maine at Boston Arena. Senior Gerry Dwyer scored the hat trick and Wayne Turner and Sandy Beadle each had two goals in NU&rsquo;s first home ice win of the year, the 100th career victory for coach Fernie Llaman.</p><p>Northeastern faced Boston University while Boston College took on Harvard in the 28th annual classic, which was sold out for both games the week before the February 4th opener.</p><p>Colgate is in the running for a post season berth largely due to the fine play of sophomore goalie Guy LeMonde. He had 33 stops in a 4-2 win over Clarkson in Hamilton, a game which saw Dan Fridegn and Mark Morris each score twice. The Raiders, a longtime nemesis of Clarkson, then lost to BC to drop their record to 5-6-1 in the league, still within striking range of a lower rung playoff spot. Terry Slater wanted to be around the.500 mark at this point in the season, so the heavily road-oriented schedule would be behind him.</p><p>Clarkson threw 50 shots at Mark Holden in the Brown net but came away empty handed and 5-2 losers to Paul Schilling&rsquo;s crew, back in the running at 6-6-2. Holden had saved 39 in the 3-0 loss at RPI during the week, then had a relatively easy time with 23 saves in the 10-2 victory over St. Lawrence.</p><p>Kevin Lovitt had a hat trick from his defense position against the Larries while fellow backliner John Slonim scored twice. Schilling is hoping to reverse his team&rsquo;s February performance of a year ago, when the Bruins slumped right out of the top eight after a good start. They still need scoring help up front, but with Holden in the nets they can beat anybody on a given night.</p><p>Roy Kerling, averaging three points a game for Cornell, scored twice in the third period to lift the Red to a 5-3 triumph over Princeton at Ithaca. New Hampshire&rsquo;s Bob Francis tallied his second goal of the game at 3:06 of overtime to lift the Wildcats to an 8-7 win at Yale. The teams had traded four goals apiece in the wild third period that saw Yale&rsquo;s Dan Brugman tie the score with 22 seconds remaining in regulation time. Yale will have to play the spoiler role in this year&rsquo;s playoff chase as its record slipped to 3-10-1.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-01477/5047817-1-eng-US/f0036-012.jpg" title="f0036-01" width="584" height="824"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>Ross Brownridge has benefitted by a change of linemates and so have the Greenies.</i></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0036-01

Dartmouth’s Shuffle Strengthens Ivy Lead

<div class="byline">BY LOIS KALCHMAN</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0021-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-01561/5047414-1-eng-US/f0021-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>Under the watchful eye of coach Dave McKay, this youngster manoeuvres his way around a marker on the ice as part of his development training. Kids will flock to more than 45 summer hockey schools this year across Canada and the U.S. in search of more hockey knowledge while enjoying a summer vacation.</i> <span class="photo-credit">(Photo by Jerry Hobbs)</span></figcaption></div><p>Sending your son to hockey camp is a lot like buying a new automobile&mdash;there are a lot of things to look for.</p><p>When selecting a hockey schoo for your youngster there are many priorities to be considered.</p><p>You should inquire as to the amount of ice provided at the school as well as the extent of office activities and the facilities that will be made available to your child.</p><p>Here is a list all parents should consider:</p><p>&bull; Question the instructors thoroughly and make absolutely sure that they are not only qualified but have teaching ability as well.</p><p>&bull; Check the transportation to and from a day school.</p><p>&bull; It is important to know whether or not a lunch is supplied or whether the youngster must &lsquo;brown bag&rsquo; it.</p><p>&bull; It is equally important to look into the ratio of instructor to pupil, which may differ from municipal (sometimes cheaper) type of hockey school than private ones.</p><div class="sidebar"><p><b>Question instructors to make sure they are not only qualified but also have teaching ability.</b></p></div><p>&bull; If your son is attending a live-in camp, certainly the cost should be a factor.</p><p>&bull; Examine the total school curriculum including the part considered as off ice activities and the supervision that is provided.</p><p>&bull; If a live-in hockey school is the choice then ask if it is basically a (private) school campus and if so, who supplies the meals&hellip;is it the school or a special catering service.</p><p>&bull; There is another aspect often overlooked. How far is the rink from the sleeping quarters or campus? What type of transportation is provided for the youngsters to go to and from the arena?</p><p>&bull; Parents could consider whether or not the camp is a sport camp where hockey is the end all or is it an all around camping experience. Personal preference would play a part in your decision here.</p><p>&bull; The question of where equipment is kept should be clearly understood. In a day camp, is it carted home every day or left under lock and key?</p><p>Tom Watt, coach of the Canadian Olympic Team, thinks parents should question closely the office activities, their supervision and basically just how the time of day is used.</p><p>Watt questions the quality of what is taught and how it is taught and by whom.</p><p>Vern Buffey, former NHL referee, is involved in hockey in Toronto at the college level. Buffey adds a simple question parents often forget to ask themselves, &ldquo;Do I know my boy will not be wasting my money?&rdquo;</p><p>Buffey believes that in a good hockey school instructors do not necessarily check how fast a boy can skate but they do check his stance and how he executes his skating. &ldquo;The ball of his foot must line up with his knee and shoulder,&rdquo; says Buffey. &ldquo;His feet must be shoulder width apart because if he extends his knees outside his shoulders, he can&rsquo;t take off. He has no power or thrust. The hockey player&rsquo;s stance is not the one he uses standing for a photograph, but has his weight distributed with his stick on the ice and the shoulder should be over the knee and over the ball of the foot,&rdquo; adds Buffey.</p><p>A knowledgeable instructor in a hockey school should be able to recognize this, according to Buffey. The former NHL whistle-blower once played goal in his minor hockey days and knows the problems young goaltenders have to contend with. At a hockey school for goaltenders, some offer video taping so that a player can actually see his mistakes. He says it is easier to correct something wrong when a youngster can see the problem than if he cannot. Some youngsters, depending on their age, cannot grasp the images and certainly videotaping is a helpful aid. The philosophy of a teacher at a goaltenders school can sometimes make or break a player.</p><p>Some schools are knowledgeable enough to understand the makeup of a goaltender who is classified by some as being &ldquo;flakey Buffey to stand in net&rdquo;. Goalers are sometimes temperamental and some teachers react better with these youngsters than others.</p><p>They will analyze the natural stance the goaltender has and knowledgeably build upon it, minimizing the negative aspects of his stance and accentuating and building up his plus factors.</p><p>Quality teachers make a good hockey school. That&rsquo;s the general consensus of those who have made and still do make the system work!<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0021-01

Awareness Important When Picking A School

<div class="image-hero"><img title="Cover-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/cover-01805/5049074-1-eng-US/cover-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(Photo by Robert Sh)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>Page</b></p><p><b>ISLANDER ACE MIKE BOSSY MORE THAN A SCORER</b></p><p><b>GOVERNORS UPHOLI ZIEGLER DECISION</b></p><p><b>CLARKE NAMED MOST COURAGEOUS</b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

Cover-01

OILERS OPEN LATE DRIVE

<h2>The NHL&hellip;</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-021011/5046402-1-eng-US/f0002-022.jpg" title="f0002-02" width="504" height="958"></div><h2>The Minors&hellip;</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-03750/5046395-1-eng-US/f0002-032.jpg" title="f0002-03" width="502" height="382"></div><h2>Columnists&hellip;</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-04522/5046388-1-eng-US/f0002-042.jpg" title="f0002-04" width="524" height="242"></div><h2>Features&hellip;</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-05384/5046381-1-eng-US/f0002-052.jpg" title="f0002-05" width="500" height="332"></div><h2><b>What&rsquo;s coming&hellip;</b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></h2>

f0002-02

Where To Find It…

<div class="byline">FRANK ORR&#x2019;S</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-011228/5046433-1-eng-US/f0002-012.jpg" title="f0002-01" width="448" height="344"></div><h2><b>Finally, A Few Good Words</b></h2><p class="dropcap"><b><span>A</span>CCORDING TO A</b> recent letter to the editor of this journal, the men who scribble columns in these pages are a batch of sour-pusses who look only for the negative aspects of hockey. In the writer&rsquo;s view, Verdi, Fischler and Orr are the type of guys who would boo at funerals, couldn&rsquo;t stand Mary Poppins and become depressed when we run across a positive story.</p><p>Well, it&rsquo;s time to end that impression. If you want only bad news about hockey, don&rsquo;t read any more of this. If you can&rsquo;t stand sweetness and light or if your doctor has limited the amount of sugar in your diet, stop now! Here&rsquo;s a collection of a few good things in the game&mdash;or, at least, one guy&rsquo;s idea of some positives.</p><p>&bull; Seeing the name &ldquo;Park&rdquo; in an NHL scoring summary for the first time this season on a late January morning. That&rsquo;s Brad Park, the marvellous defenseman of Boston Bruins who has battled his way back to active duty after a series of knee problems and operations. Hockey, simply, can&rsquo;t afford to lose any more players of his calibre and character.</p><p>&bull; Watching Wayne Gretzky play hockey and having the chance to be around this remarkable young man. Gretzky is the amazing 19-year-old center of Edmonton Oilers, a gracious, witty kid who takes the game, but not himself, very seriously.</p><p>&bull; Having Carl Brewer, the 41-year-old defenseman who&rsquo;s been trying a comeback with Toronto Maple Leafs after six years out of big league hockey, on the scene again. He&rsquo;s a master of the put-on and send-up and, because he&rsquo;s totally bald, the target for a few hundred bad jokes. One example: What does the Incredible Hulk use for a roll-on deodorant? Answer: Cari Brewer!</p><p>&bull; The fact that the NHL board of governors backed president John Ziegler in his suspension of three Bruins after their battle with New York fans. This isn&rsquo;t offered as a comment on those suspensions, just the fact that the board backed the prez when Bruins appealed.</p><h2><b>Here&rsquo;s More Sweetness</b></h2><p><b>THE INCREDIBLE</b> sense of humor of Harold Ballard and Punch Imlach, the big honchos of Maple Leafs. Wasn&rsquo;t it a joke, Punch and Hal, when you said that Alan Eagleson was the big problem the Leafs had this season? Oh, you were serious! That makes it an even better gag.</p><p>&bull; Watching Claude Ruel conduct a practice session of Montreal Canadiens with his non-stop chatter and bottomless source of enthusiasm.</p><p>&bull; Reading the fact book produced by Toronto Maple Leafs because it contains some of the finest comedy writing in recent years.</p><p>&bull; Attending a game in Atlanta&rsquo;s Omi or The Forum in Los Angeles, the best spots for girl-watching in the NHL.</p><p>&bull; Having a chat with Toe Blake, the former great player and coach, now an executive, with Montreal Canadiens. He&rsquo;s one oldtimer who lives entirely in the present.</p><p>&bull; The hockey fans in Denver&rsquo;s McNichols Arena, where 7,000 spectators can make more noise than 16,000 in most arenas.</p><p>Mike Milbury&rsquo;s war with Eagleson on NHL Players&rsquo; Association matters. Right or wrong, Milbury&rsquo;s efforts have caused many players to look more closely at their association and it can only be stronger because of it. .</p><h2><b>And Still More Goodies</b></h2><p><b>THE SPLENDID NHL</b> rookie crop this season, the best in many years. The infusion of excellent youngsters like Brian Propp, Mike Foligno, Raymond Bourque, Craig Hartsburg, Paul Reinhart, Laurie Boschman, Rocky Saganiuk, Brad McCrimmon, Lindy Ruff, Tom McCarthy, Ron Wilson and Bengt Gustavsson has been a boost for the league&rsquo;s talent pool.</p><p>&bull; The rebirth of St. Louis Blues, both on the ice and at the box office, after the franchise came within a whisker of folding three years ago.</p><p>&bull; The Canadian and U.S. Olympic hockey teams. You want them to finish tied for the gold medal at Lake Placid because these two groups of young men have made sizeable sacrifices&mdash;low incomes and postponing college studies&mdash;to play for their countries.</p><p>&bull; The consistent intensity that Marcel Dionne and Guy Lafleur sustain in their playing of the game. Their race for the NHL point title will be a highlight of the stretch run.</p><p>&bull; The attitude of Philadelphia Flyers to their incredible record this season. They say they can&rsquo;t believe it and give you the impression that they really can&rsquo;t.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0002-01

HOCKEY VIEWPOINT

<div class="byline">BY PAT CALABRIA</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0003-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-011256/5046464-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>Mike Bossy&rsquo;s continued growth as an all-around hockey player has put him in a position who can be called upon in more late-game situations.</i></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>he wrists snap in an instant, launching the puck toward the net, propelling it with a crackle past the stunned goaltender and sending Mike Bossy into his tapdance: the stick raised high and punching the air and Bossy pumping his fist like a piston.</p><p>It&rsquo;s all in the wrists.</p><p>Or in the hands.</p><p>Bossy is as good a goal-scorer as exists because he is equipped for the title and also because he believes in himself. And even if he did not believe, there are 53 goals and 69 goals the last two seasons&gt; to convince him. But now he has changed.</p><p>The goals still come in clusters&mdash;like the 10-game streak he assembled last season or the 12 goals in 10 games he scored this season&mdash;but Bossy is rounding out his game more these days. The word is defense.</p><div class="sidebar"><p><b>&ldquo;I think I&rsquo;ve earned the chance to play in those times when I didn&rsquo;t play before.&rdquo;</b></p></div><p>It should first be mentioned that Bossy was not nearly the completely hapless defensive player others once thought him to be. Even in his rookie season, he made the effort to be a pest on the ice when he did not have the puck. Now he is a bigger pest.</p><p>&ldquo;Mike has been playing real well in our end when he doesn&rsquo;t have the puck,&rdquo; Islanders&rsquo; coach Al Arbour said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m pleased with the way he&rsquo;s been working in our end.&rdquo; Arbour paused. &ldquo;Sometimes he&rsquo;ll use too much fancy stuff back there and I have to remind him about it.&rdquo;</p><p>If there is any evidence that Bossy has become an adept twoway player, it was in the Island-ers&rsquo; 2-1 victory over Montreal last week. Bossy had few chances, but still was a force on the ice, swiping for the puck when he did not have it and not straying too far from his wing. And he has always taken a crisp check better than his lean body would indicate.</p><p>So Arbour is using Bossy more and more in critical defensive situations. &ldquo;I feel I&rsquo;ve matured enough to know when I should be doing certain things in our zone,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I also know what I shouldn&rsquo;t be doing. I think I&rsquo;ve earned the chance to play in those times when before I didn&rsquo;t play.&rdquo;</p><p>He remains, of course, one of the most dangerous right wings in the NHL. Putting Bossy&rsquo;s accomplishments in perspective, he scored the fastest 100 goals in league history, became the only rookie 50-goal scorer and last season scored 17 more goals than Guy Lafleur.</p><p>But it has become important to Bossy that he not be considered a lazy, lucky player surrounded by talented linemates Bryan Trottier and Clark Gillies. &ldquo;I never thought I was a bad defensive player like some people thought,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I tried to do the best I can. My job is to score goals, but I don&rsquo;t think I ignored the other part.&rdquo;</p><p>The problem may have been Bossy&rsquo;s reputation as a chronic complainer during his junior ca-reer in Laval. There were those who thought Bossy too often worried about a nagging pain in his right shoulder. Bossy worried with good reason.</p><p>During Bossy&rsquo;s first training camp with the Islanders, it was discovered that Bossy had a congenital shoulder injury&mdash;the source of Bossy&rsquo;s pain. &ldquo;People thought he was faking it while he was playing junior,&rdquo; general manager Bill Torrey said. &ldquo;We know he wasn&rsquo;t.&rdquo;</p><p>The problem was bad enough so that surgery was almost performed.&rsquo; It&rsquo;s a fact that Bossy nearly missed his rookie season, which he turned into a spectacular success. But the injury began to heal naturally and Bossy played.</p><p>He went on, of course, to form the Trio Grande line, remaining the constant companion of his center, Trottier, last season&rsquo;s Hart Trophy winner. Trottier has long been recognized as the best twoway center. Bossy noticed.</p><p>&ldquo;Al has been showing more faith in me when the puck is in our end,&rdquo; Bossy said. &ldquo;I work hard not to make mistakes then. I want to be on the ice.&rdquo;</p><p>In fact, Bossy wants to be on the ice all the time. He never seems to grow tired, weaving his patterns, bolting to the net, calling for the puck with his stick wagging over his head like the hand of an impatient schoolboy.</p><p>Putting his slump in last season&rsquo;s playoffs behind him, Bossy has helped the wounded Islanders to surge from 19th place in the point standings to seventh. And yet, Bossy hardly looks like a player to be guarded as carefully as a rare jewel.</p><p>He is not extraordinarily quick on his feet like Lafleur. He is not constructed like the trunk of an oak tree like Phil Esposito. He does not have the innate craftiness that Trottier has. What Bossy does have is instinct.</p><p>He is also around the net, anticipating a pass from a teammate that can be whacked into the net or stalking an outlet pass from an opponent that can be snatched and whipped past the goalie in a flash.</p><p>While his wrists and fingers are thick, Bossy is comparatively slender&mdash;6-0 and 185 pounds crowned by a tangle of curly brown hair. But he does not treat his body like Ming Dynasty porcelain, the way a pianist might guard his fingers.</p><p>&ldquo;Some guy asked me if I take care of my hands,&rdquo; Bossy said. &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t know what he was talking about. I mean, how do you take special care of your hands. I don&rsquo;t purposely beat them up or anything, that&rsquo;s all. He was surprised. He told me about this one quarterback who pet his dog with his left hand because he threw with his right. What could I say. If my dog likes me to put my hand in his mouth, I do it.&rdquo;</p><div class="sidebar"><p><b>He never seems to grow tired, weaving his patterns, bolting to the net, calling for the puck&hellip;</b></p></div><p>If there is any trick to Bossy&rsquo;s devilish shot, it is in its spontaneity. Most of the time. Bossy shoots with his eyes fixed in another direction. &ldquo;I try to get the shot away as fast as I can, that&rsquo;s all,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;d say 90 per cent of the time I shoot without looking. And I consider myself lucky on a lot of goals.&rdquo;</p><p>There was the time, for instance, that Bossy aimed for the low right corner and wound up scoring with a shot that went top left. &ldquo;I wasn&rsquo;t looking at the net and I started to shoot,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;The goalie wasn&rsquo;t set, so even though the puck didn&rsquo;t go anywhere near where I wanted it to go, I still had an advantage. And the puck went in.&rdquo;</p><p>They have gone in often enough to make every other team wonder how Bossy escaped their attention. He was not chosen until 14 players had been plucked, including seven other right wings. It was the 1978 amateur draft and Torrey was delighted.</p><p>But, the story goes, Bossy was not delighted with the Torrey&rsquo;s modest contract offer and nearly threatened to sign with the WHA.</p><p>&ldquo;Look,&rdquo; he told Torrey, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m going to score a lot of goals for you if you sign me.&rdquo;</p><p>&ldquo;Oh, yeah?&rdquo; Torrey said. &ldquo;How many?&rdquo;</p><p>&ldquo;Fifty,&rdquo; Bossy said.</p><p>He did just that, adding three more for good measure, while earning a base salary of $50,000. It was an average salary for a No. 1 draft, but it soon became apparent Bossy was worth much more.</p><p>With the option year of his contract scheduled for this season, Bossy was rewarded handsomely&mdash;a three-year contract for $185,-000, one of the largest ever given to a third-year player.</p><div class="sidebar"><p><b>If there is any trick to Bossy&rsquo;s devilish shot, it is in its spontaneity.</b></p></div><p>And Bossy has begun to earn it. After a slow start that costs him votes for the All Star game. Bossy moved alongside Reggie Leach for the goal-scoring lead among right wings. He may well score 50 goals<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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Islanders In Good Hands With Scorer Bossy

<p>OFFICIAL NATIONAL HOCKEY WEEKLY FOUNDED 1947</p><p><b>Editorial and Advertising Offices: 214 King Street West Suite 314</b></p><p><b>Toronto, Ontario. M5H 1K4</b></p><p><b>Charlie Halpin</b>&nbsp;<i>Editorial Director</i></p><p><b>Tom Murray</b>&nbsp;<i>Assistant Publisher</i></p><p><b>Mike Dennis</b>&nbsp;<i>Assistant Editor</i></p><p><b>Cathy Munro</b>&nbsp;<i>Copy Editor</i></p><p><b>Bob Hanley</b>&nbsp;<i>Editorial Consultant</i></p><p><b>Stan Fischler, Frank Orr Bob Verdi</b>&nbsp;<i>Contributing Editors</i></p><p><b>Business Staff</b></p><p><b>Peter Emerson</b>&nbsp;<i>Executive Vice President and General Manager</i></p><p><b>Joanne Hatch</b>&nbsp;<i>Sales Service Manager</i></p><p><b>Kenneth W. McKenzie</b>&nbsp;<i>President and Publisher W. C. C. Publishing Ltd.,</i></p><p><b><i>Suite 217, 1434 St. Catherine St W., Montreal, Canada. H3G 1R7</i></b></p><p><b>Donald R. Wall</b>&nbsp;<i>Chairman</i></p><p><b>Tom Murray</b>&nbsp;<i>Assistant Publisher</i></p><p><b>850 Third Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10022</b></p><p><b>Advertising Representatives:</b></p><p><b>New York:</b></p><p>Tom Murray 850 Third Ave,. New York, N.Y. 10022 &bull; (212) 593-2100</p><p><b>Chicago:</b></p><p>Hooper, Jones & Associates 3322 W. Peterson Avenue Chicago, III. 60659 &bull; (312) 478-5544</p><p><b>Boston:</b></p><p>Steve Ganak Steve Ganak Ad Reos Statler Office Bulding Boston, Mass. 02116 &bull; (617) 542-6913</p><p><b>THE HOCKEY NEWS,</b> (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/0 W.C.C. Publishing Corp., 850 Third Ave., New York, N.Y. 10022. Phone (212) 593-2100</p><p><b>YEARLY SUBSCRIPTION RATES:</b> $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.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

The Hockey News

<div class="byline">BY PAT THOMPSON</div><p class="dropcap"><span>t</span>hat has turned into one of the most proficient in the National Hockey League. He was asked to reply in one word how he felt after winning a spot on the team: &ldquo;Confident,&rdquo; he answered.</p><p>Eaves probably would have felt that way more quickly had he not broken an ankle in training camp. He was expected to make the roster for the season opener before the injury, and was not summoned from Oklahoma City until after Bobby Smith suffered his broken ankle in November.</p><p>When Smith returned to action, Eaves remained. Forwards Kris Manery and Ole Brasar were traded to Vancouver for future considerations.</p><p>&ldquo;Sure, I was nervous,&rdquo; Eaves said. &ldquo;No one can step in and play like Bobby Smith, but I don&rsquo;t attempt to become his replacement. I just tried to do the things I do best.&rdquo;</p><p>It did not take Eaves long to lose his &ldquo;tentativeness&rdquo;. In his first 25 games, he scored nine goals and 11 assists, playing mostly as the quarterback on the power play.</p><p>&ldquo;The University of Wisconsin had one of the best power plays around, and Mike was one of the big reasons,&rdquo; coach Glen Sonmor said. &ldquo;We picked his brain a bit on why it was so good and felt he was a good man to send out there.&rdquo;</p><p>&ldquo;Just call our power play the Mike Eaves-University of Wisconsin power play,&rdquo; added assistant coach Murray Oliver.</p><p>Eaves, 23, is in his second professional season after getting a career scoring record of 267 points at Wisconsin? He calls his biggest thrill in hockey is serving as captain of the Wisconsin team which went from last in its league to the national championship in 1977.</p><p>Eaves, a Denver native who grew up in Canada, was the 113th<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

Tentative Eaves Now Confident As North Star

<div class="byline">BY VARTAN KUPELIAN</div><p class="dropcap"><span>D</span>ETROIT&mdash;The Detroit Red Wings launched their longest home stand of the season&mdash;seven games from Feb. 3-15&mdash;with thoughts of making a big move upward in the Norris Division.</p><p>As the National Hockey League season rolled into February, the Red Wings were fourth in the Norris Division but only four points behind second place Los Angeles. And both the Kings and third-place Pittsburgh Penguins were slumping after occupying first place in the division during the early days of 1980.</p><p>The Wings began their move by playing some outstanding hockey on the road, going 5-2. The sixth victory was a 3-0 shutout in St. Louis with defenseman Willie Huber scoring his ninth and 10th goals of the season and Reed Larson adding his 12th.</p><p>It was after the victory in St. Louis on Feb. 2 that the Wings returned home to begin their long homestand.</p><p>Detroit&rsquo;s performance at home in the new Joe Louis Arena caused some concern, but the players were convinced that even that subpar record&mdash;4-6 through the first 10 games in the new arena&mdash;would soon be turned around.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m confident our home jinx is over,&rdquo; said rookie sensation Mike Foligno after his three-goal game in a 4-3 victory over the Penguins. Foligno scored the first three goals and then turned playmaker to set up rookie linemate John Ogrod-nick&rsquo;s winning goal.</p><p>Foligno, 21, the Wings&rsquo; first-round draft pick last summer, was the hottest scorer in the National Hockey League. He scored eight goals in a three-game span, including a pair of hat tricks in victories over Quebec (7-6 on the road) and Pittsburgh.</p><p>In between those performances, he added a pair of goals 12 seconds apart in a 6-4 loss in Toronto. Foligno&rsquo;s second goal came on a penalty shot against goalie Paul Harrison.</p><p>In a stretch of seven games, Foligno doubled his season output from 12 to 24 goals and moved past the Philadelphia Flyers&rsquo; Brian Propp in the rookie scoring race.</p><p>The key for the Wings is their performance at home, where the road has been bumpy, especially since the move to the new arena on Dec. 27.</p><p>In February, the Wings play nine of 12 games at home. In March, they&rsquo;re home for seven games (with eight away).</p><p>It may have come as a surprise to some, but Larson was a logical choice to represent the Wings in the All-Star game. He was the team&rsquo;s lone representative in the game played in Detroit.</p><p>It was Larson&rsquo;s second straight appearance in the game. He made his all-star debut as a rookie in Buffalo in 1978 when his 60-point season tied Barry Beck for the alltime record for a first-year defenseman.</p><p>Larson continues among the team leaders with 11 goals and 30 assists. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a good skater, moves the puck well and has quite a shot,&rdquo; said Scotty Bowman, coach of the Prince of Wales allstars who picked Larson. &ldquo;Reed&rsquo;s been in and out,&rdquo; said Coach Bobby Kromm. &ldquo;He didn&rsquo;t start out so well but I&rsquo;ve been more pleased with his play of late.&rdquo;</p><p><b>MOTOR CITY SHORTS&mdash;Vet</b>eran defenseman Thommie Bergman, out since Nov. 7 with a broken hand, returned to the lineup on Feb. 2 in St. Louis. He played six games in the AHL to get back into shape&hellip;George Lyle was sent to the same league to play himself into condition after recovering from a knee injury&hellip;</p><p>The Foligno-McCourt-Ogrodnick line produced 11 of 12 Red Wing goals, including eight straight, through a three-game stretch&hellip;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-011157/5046602-1-eng-US/f0005-012.jpg" title="f0005-01" width="552" height="998"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>After a slow start, Reed Lan son has displayed All Star form for the Red Wings</i></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0005-01

Wings Eye Upward Flight At Home

<div class="byline">BY BOB VERDI</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-02853/5046633-1-eng-US/f0005-022.jpg" title="f0005-02" width="535" height="356"></div><h2><b>Time For Retirement</b></h2><p><b>RETIRE. STAN MIKITA</b> has done just about everything there is to do in hockey, and now, shortly, he will have to do this. Retire.</p><p>He is injured, and it is well past midseason. He already has said he will not play past this season, which means April, perhaps May, when he&rsquo;ll turn 40. It&rsquo;s as though he were rushing to beat one last curfew, except that Stan Mikita knows midnight might be here already. He may have played his last game for the Black Hawks.</p><p>&ldquo;I cannot see myself just hanging on,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;Even if I&rsquo;m in good enough condition, I don&rsquo;t want to be just taking three shifts a game and taking up space. That&rsquo;s no way to go. I know things I used to do, I can&rsquo;t do anymore. You go to do something on the ice, and you just can&rsquo;t. That&rsquo;s understandable. That, even the people can understand.</p><p>&ldquo;What I don&rsquo;t want to do is go out there and make a fool of myself, embarrass myself. I also don&rsquo;t want to go out there and take one more hit that might affect my health for the rest of my life.</p><p>&ldquo;Have I said to myself that it might be all over? Yes. It will be hard. I&rsquo;ve played hockey for the last 30 years. It&rsquo;s no different than the guy at the steel mill being told he&rsquo;s not needed anymore. Already, now, I don&rsquo;t feel a part of things. You feel distant. Only somebody who has gone into the locker room for 20 years and sweated and busted his tail can know the feeling of not belonging there anymore. It&rsquo;s no fun feeling like the extra piece in a puzzle.&rdquo;</p><p>Besides all the patinas accrued through age and 1,549 National Hockey League games, the Uncheckable Czech has an irritable back. It is not uncommon for him to absorb 60 shots of a dextrose solution at one sitting to cure spasms that can be so debilitating, he can&rsquo;t get out of bed without rolling out. The pain has hounded Mikita for seven or eight years; now it is grounding him.</p><h2><b>Chance Of Success</b></h2><p><b>DOCTORS WHO HAVE</b> injected him before with success, say there is a chance of success again. Soon, the results will be in and so, maybe, a verdict. The thing of it is, there&rsquo;s Mikita&rsquo;s self-imposed deadline. Should he somehow be well again by, say, late February, he&rsquo;d be packing his bags anyway. The comeback would be over before it started.</p><p>&ldquo;If I hadn&rsquo;t decided that this year would be the last no matter what, then that would be different,&rdquo; said Mikita. &ldquo;As it is, only one person will make the final decision. Me. If I can&rsquo;t move well enough to help, if I can&rsquo;t contribute to the team, then there&rsquo;s no way I&rsquo;d even try. It&rsquo;ll be all over.&rdquo;</p><p>For several years, Mikita has mentally prepared himself for retirement. The manner in which the Black Hawks have stumbled during that period, has, in an awkward sort of way, made it easier.</p><p>&ldquo;Losing has taken all the fun out of it,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s hard to lose, hard to lose before 9,000 empty seats every night. Now, it&rsquo;s nice to see that the sport might be coming back a little. Not as well as it could. I took the family to Florida in December&mdash;imagine, taking the family to Florida right during hockey season. That&rsquo;s what I mean about not feeling part of it.</p><p>&ldquo;Anyway, we&rsquo;re watching the game with the Boston Bruins in Madison Square Garden when they fought the fans. The sport doesn&rsquo;t need that. You know, a few years back it was a big thing for (wife) Jill and I to take the kids down to the Stadium for a game whenever we could. But then we stopped. There are things I just didn&rsquo;t want them to see. They&rsquo;re like any other kids. During the ride home, they want to talk about the fight they just saw. It&rsquo;s as though, by not taking them, I said, &lsquo;That&rsquo;s the way daddy makes his living, but as a father, I&rsquo;m not proud of certain things about the game.&rsquo;</p><h2><b>No Reason For Sorrow</b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></h2>

f0005-02

HOCKEY TALK

<p>Following are the latest play-novements in hockey:</p><h2>NATIONAL LEAGUE</h2><h2><b>AMERICAN LEAGUE</b></h2><p>ADIRONDACK&mdash;Lorne Molleken, G, placed on injury list. Doug Keans, G, recalled from Saginaw of IHL. Wayne Wood, G, recalled from Johnstown of EHL.</p><p>BINGHAMTON&mdash;Keith Crowder, RW, assigned by Boston. Jim Stewart, G, and Lance Beriault, D, recalled from Utica of EHL. Mike Holmes, D, assigned to Grand Rapids of IHL.</p><p>HERSHEY&mdash;Cam McGregor, LW, signed to pro tryout. J. D. Mathers, D, added to roster.</p><p>MAINE&mdash;Sam St. Laurent, G, recalled from Toledo of IHL. Dave Gardner, C, signed to pro tryout. Robbie Moore, G, off injury list. Dave Settlemyre, G, removed from active roster.</p><p>NEW BRUNSWICK&mdash;Alain Belanger, RW, placed on injury list. Ron Wilson, D, off injury list.</p><p>SPRINGFIELD&mdash;Steve Alley, on injury list John Kiah, G, signed to tryout.</p><p>SYRACUSE&mdash;Bob Bill, G, signed to pro tryout, but later released.</p><h2><b>CENTRAL LEAGUE</b></h2><p>OKLAHOMA CITY&mdash;Ken Kuzyk, RW, recalled from Baltimore of EHL.</p><p>TULSA&mdash;Randy Mohns, C, and Benoit Gosselin, LW, recalled from Dayton of IHL and later returned.</p><h2><b>INTL. LEAGUE</b></h2><p>DAYTON&mdash;Dan Kreiner, F, added to roster.</p><p>MILWAUKEE&mdash;Gary McFadyen, F, traded to Dayton of IHL. Michel Bergeron, F, added to roster.</p><p>MUSKEGON&mdash;Neil Smith, and Lorne Anderson, forwards, added to roster.</p><p>PORT HURON&mdash;John Rockwell, G, traded to Saginaw of IHL on loan.</p><h2><b>EASTERN LEAGUE</b></h2><p>BALTIMORE&mdash;Clay Hebenton, G, placed on suspended list. Duke Johnson, F, released and later claimed by Johnstown of EHL.</p><p>ERIE&mdash;Mark Evans, F, added to roster.</p><p>JOHNSTON&mdash;Don Hawkes, D, placed on suspended list.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

Player Movements

<div class="byline">BY MIKE DENNIS</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-011339/5046664-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg" title="f0006-01" width="536" height="1218"></div><p>TORONTO&mdash;By now the solution is obvious.</p><p>Instead of tying up the telephone or tugging on the buttonholes of an assortment of National Hockey League general managers, all Punch Imlach, erstwhile GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs, has to do is give his team an edge. Just make sure they get the lead in each game, it&rsquo;s that simple.</p><p>Never mind the trade game, Punch, you&rsquo;ve got the horses. As long as they get the jump on the opposition, your team has been fashioning a win percentage that would make your club the envy of the league.</p><p>Through the first 50 games of the season the Leafs were four games under.500 at 21-25-4. Yet they were 17-5-2 when they opened the scoring; 4-20-2 when the other guy got the first goal. A come from behind team they are not.</p><p>The Leafs opened the year emphasizing a more wide open offensive system. They had a decent enough start, but then faltered badly and allowed 86 goals in the last 17 games leading up to the 50th of the season, an average of more than five per game. Still, given <i>a</i> lead, the Leafs usually win.</p><p>A case in point was their recent two-game win streak, achieved on the final game of a seven-game road swing in Vancouver, 5-2, and on their return home in a 6-4 decision against Detroit. Pat Hickey, the hottest Leaf in January, opened the scoring in both games (in fact he had the Leafs&rsquo; first goal in three successive games) and the Leafs had their first back-to-back victories since Dec. 12 and 15.</p><p>Hickey, acquired at the end of December along with Wilf Paiement from Colorado in the Lanny McDonald-Joel Quenneville deal, had been clipping along with four goals in five games when coach Floyd Smith paired him with Darryl Sittler as his center and Terry Martin on the left side. The Brantford, Ont. native immediately flourished with a pair of two goal games in the Leafs back to back wins, giving him eight goals in seven games and allowing him to match his output for the year as a Rockie, nine goals in just 14 games as a Leaf.</p><p>The line seems perfectly suited to give the Leafs the kind of speed and offensive proficiency needed to give them a positive start in a game and along with the Kid Line of John Anderson, Laurie Boschman and Rocky Saganiuk, which has been the club&rsquo;s most effective unit throughout the season, and the trio of Tiger Williams, center Walt McKechnie and right winger Wilf Paiement, scoring goals has not been a problem for the 1980 version of the Leafs.</p><p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got a lot of rebuilding to do,&rdquo; Hickey said following the Detroit game. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re all talking about helping Harry (goaltender Paul Harrison) a little bit and when you pay attention to your own end things start happening at the other end of the ice, too.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m definitely starting to feel more at home,&rdquo; Hickey continued. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a matter of adjusting and getting used to new linemates like Sit and Terry. Repitition in this game is very important.&rdquo;</p><p>Martin is another Leaf getting used to his surroundings. Obtained along with Dave Farish from Quebec in exchange for Reg Thomas, Martin scored a goal in his first game as a Leaf and then, after sitting on the sidelines for a few games, scored a game-winner in Atlanta in his first chance back in the lineup. He&rsquo;s remained a starter ever since.</p><p>&ldquo;Our line has really clicked,&rdquo; said Martin. &ldquo;Sittler has all the finesse, and Hitch and I just kind of bust for the holes.&rdquo;</p><p>Martin has always been classed a speedy forward, a hard hitter despite a five-foot-11, 175-pound frame and an excellent defensive player. Moving to Toronto has been a plus for him as well, since he hails from Barrie, Ont.</p><p>After three years with the Buffalo Sabres, Martin was taken by the Quebec Nordiques in last summer&rsquo;s expanion draft. &ldquo;1 was very disappointed to leave Buffalo&mdash;both the city and the team,&rdquo; he recalled. &ldquo;But I thought I would have an opportunity to play for the Nordiques.</p><p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think they (the management) knew what they wanted, though,&rdquo; said Martin. &ldquo;They were moving guys up and down all the time and I really didn&rsquo;t like Quebec City where 95 per cent of the people speak French and I don&rsquo;t. I was really happy to come here.</p><p>&ldquo;My game is a skating game,&rdquo; Ke explained. &ldquo;I have to be moving allthe time and I just hope to take advantage of my speed to put in a few goals and help our line and bur team.&rdquo;</p><p>As long as those goals open the scoring, the Leafs won&rsquo;t have to worry.</p><p><b>LOOSE LEAFS:</b> Borje Salming, the highest vote-getter among defensemen for the All Star game had to check into hospital for further treatment of his sinuses and had to forego the contest. Dave Burrows took his place.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0006-01

Leafs’ Best Bet: Score First Goal

<div class="byline">BY NEIL MILBERT</div><p class="dropcap"><span>C</span>HICAGO&mdash;The National Hockey League&rsquo;s Board of Governors has unanimously upheld the action taken by President John Ziegler against three Boston Bruins for their invasion of the stands following the Dec. 23 game with the Rangers in New York.</p><p>&ldquo;They didn&rsquo;t want to see this occurrence happen again, so they were using us to set a precedent,&rdquo; said Terry O&rsquo;Reilly following the special meeting of the board at Chicago&rsquo;s O&rsquo;Hare Hilton Hotel.</p><p>On Jan. 25 O&rsquo;Reilly was suspended for eight games without pay and fined $500 by Ziegler.</p><p>Peter McNab and Mike Milbury each were suspended without pay for six games and fined $500, while $500 fines were assessed to Craig MacTavish, John Wensink, Gilles Gilbert and Al Secord. All of the remaining Bruins in uniform&mdash;except goalie Gerry Cheevers, who stayed out of the stands&mdash;were fined $200.</p><p>The appeals were by O&rsquo;Reilly, McNab, Milbury, and the team.</p><p>&ldquo;In appealing, we said they were using the wrong case to set a precedent,&rdquo; continued O&rsquo;Reilly. &ldquo;I went into the stands to restrain a person acting in a bizarre manner. I but my gloves around that person to get a hockey stick away from him and prevent him from striking Stan Jonathan with it.</p><p>&ldquo;Then, I felt blows on the back of my head and my teammates went in to protect me. None was injuried. I believe none was injured as a result of our action and our restraint. Yet the suspensions and fines are black marks on our reputations. It&rsquo;s unfair and it&rsquo;s an injustice.&rdquo;</p><p>&ldquo;The big issue in this case is does a pro athlete have a right to defend himself or a teammate against a fan about to inflict severe bodily harm, said Joshua Berman, attorney for the Bruins and McNab. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s the issue this case raises.&rdquo;</p><p>&ldquo;Our policy is that spectators do not belong on the ice and players do not belong in the stands,&rdquo; said Ziegler. &ldquo;This has nothing to do with the ill-founded allegations that the game has grown more violent. This was a decision dealing not with violence on the ice but with the conduct of players that I found to be dishonorable to the game.</p><p>&ldquo;I have the power to deal with incidents that are prejudicial or dishonorable to the game and the authority to fine or suspend. Anyone who receives discipline from me has the right to appeal to the Board of Governors. The board then decides if I acted unreasonably and, if so, has the power to quash my decision.&rdquo;</p><p>Paul Mooney, president of the Bruins, disagreed with the decision but saw no recourse.</p><p>&ldquo;I think we&rsquo;ve exhausted our remedies,&rdquo; Mooney said. &ldquo;I think the players acted as reasonable human beings who are being assaulted. But we are a member of the NHL and must abide by the decision of the majority as ex-pressed by the governors.&rdquo;</p><p>Milbury, seeking to unseat Alan Eagleson as head of the NHL Players&rsquo; Association, said: &ldquo;There is room for considerable improvement in the appeal process.</p><p>&ldquo;A lot of ramifications are involved in this case. We will have to review these ramifications with the Players&rsquo; Association.</p><p>O&rsquo;Reilly said he feared the decision to uphold the suspensions and fines would be to the detriment of the players in defending themselves in civil suits launched by the fans.</p><p>Ziegler disagreed. &ldquo;This is not a criminal case,&rdquo; said the NHL president. &ldquo;If it were I would have waited before taking action.</p><p>&ldquo;This has nothing to do with administrative remedies under the constitution. As a citizen with respect to litigation you have every right to advance self-defense as a reason for your conduct.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

Board Of Governors Uphold Ziegler Decision

<p class="dropcap"><span>M</span>ONTREAL&mdash;It seems the four expansion clubs which joined the National Hockey League from the World Hockey Association have been taking turns getting hot. First it was Hartford, which played.500 hockey through the early portion of the season. Then the Quebec Nordiques started to fly and move out of the tough Adams Division cellar. Now it&rsquo;s Edmonton Oilers&rsquo; turn.</p><p>While it&rsquo;s true that the Oilers did some of their winning at the expense of the lowly Winnipeg Jets by taking their expansion partners to task 9-2 on Friday, they also bested the Los Angeles Kings 5-3 for a weekend sweep and a surge in the Smythe Division standings which has moved them past Vancouver and into third place.</p><p>The Oilers lead their division in goal-scoring and it&rsquo;s no secret that much of the offense has been provided by the sensational Wayne Gretzky, B. J. MacDonald, Brett Callighen trio. And now the Oilers are getting balanced scoring throughout the lineup thanks to the steady play of center Stan Weir and the sudden awakening of captain Ron Chipperfield.</p><p>Meanwhile, as the National Hockey League takes a break for its annual All-Star Game, Philadelphia Flyers are also taking a break before embarking on yet another record this season.</p><p>Flyers, who have already established records for the longest undefeated streak in the NHL and the longest undefeated streak by a North American professional sports team of 35 games, are now aiming at the NHL&rsquo;s longest home undefeated record.</p><p>Philadelphia, which has yet to lose a game at home this season in 26 starts, needs only two more wins or ties at home to equal Montreal Canadiens&rsquo; record of 28, set between December 18, 1977 and February 23, 1978. During that record-setting streak, Canadiens compiled 23 wins and five ties. So far, Philadelphia has 19 wins and seven ties at home this season.</p><p>Since having their record string stopped at 35 by Minnesota North Stars January 7, Flyers have taken off on another undefeated streak, winning eight and tying three of their last 11 games.</p><p>Flyers are not the only team which has been going well of late. St. Louis Blues are also fashioning an excellent record for themselves this season. In their last 14 games, Blues have won eight, tied three and lost only three. Since Red Berenson replaced Barclay Plager as the Blues&rsquo; coach December 8, Blues have an impressive record of 14 wins, five ties and only six defeats.</p><p>Philadelphia and St. Louis have something in common this season. Both clubs are being led to their successes by rookie goaltenders. For Flyers, Pete Peeters is leading the charge while St. Louis has Mike Liut pacing it.</p><p>Peeters has yet to lose this season, winning 20 games and tying five for Philadelphia. Peeters leads his fellow NHL goaltenders with an impressive 2.41 average.</p><p>Liut&rsquo;s 20 wins ties a St. Louis club record for most wins by a goaltender in a season.</p><h2><b>NHL Scoring Leaders</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-02849/5046750-1-eng-US/f0007-022.jpg" title="f0007-02" width="574" height="344"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-011192/5046743-1-eng-US/f0007-012.jpg" title="f0007-01" width="1204" height="924"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>B. J. MacDonald has teamed with Wayne Gretzky for an experssive Oiler offense.</i></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0007-02

Oilers Spurt In Standings

<p>The International Hockey Weekly Founded in 1947</p><p>Published by W.C.C. Publishing Ltd.</p><p>214 King St. West, Suite 314, Toronto, Ont. M5H 1K4</p><h2><b>The lop-sided verdict</b></h2><p>For all those fans who have been waiting for a second shoe to drop at NHL headquarters&mdash;forget it!</p><p>For all those fans who believe in crime prevention and attacking the root causes of violence&mdash;forget it!</p><p>However wearying the topic has become, the Madison Square Garden Caper, with its totally unbalanced disposition, simply refuses to go away. The league president has lowered the boom on Bruin players who protected themselves against unruly fans but has preferred to ignore the essential causes of the incident and the continuing danger of assaults upon players or officials in the New York rink and several others around the NHL circuit.</p><p>The NHL governors have endorsed John Ziegler&rsquo;s fines and suspensions for three of the Bruins who protected themselves against MSG mobsters. And specific governors have intimidated Paul Mooney into fining Harry Sinden for his tarty reaction to the Ziegler penalties. As things stood at the end of the week, Ziegler had emerged as Napoleon, and Mooney as some kind of milquetoast or marshmallow.</p><p>The view here is that the penalties against Bruins, including the suspensions, were too severe, and that the neglect to impose a fine on the host club for its lack of security amounted to a whitewash.</p><p>Ziegler lowered the boom too heavily in a case that had no real precedent. The governors, predictably, endorsed Ziegler&rsquo;s action publicly and it&rsquo;s a tragic condition that pro leagues automatically substantiate the actions of presidents, commissioners, officials&mdash;even when the rest of the world knows them to be in error.</p><p>The only dissenting public expression on Ziegler&rsquo;s action against Bruins has come from black sheep governor Harold Ballard who claims the league has effectively &ldquo;convicted&rdquo; Bruins in advance of a civil suit by fans, which they must face later.</p><p>But while Ziegler has been inordinately tough on Bruins, what has been done about tightening security around the league to prevent further dangerous assaults upon players and officials?</p><p>Has Ziegler taken time to check out some rinks&mdash;the number of liquor outlets, the amount of drugs being used, fights in the stands, fights in the streets outside, and inadequate protection for players in getting to and from their dressing rooms?</p><p>Has any warning been sent round the league in writing, ordering owners to tighten up security?</p><p>Has there been any league threat of action against host clubs tolerating conditions which could lead to a repetition of the MSG muggings?</p><p>Until something happens in these areas, then the actions of John Ziegler in the case have been completely lop-sided.</p><h2><b>Cheers for Guy</b></h2><p>Who better to flog the horses that aren&rsquo;t pulling their load than Guy Lafleur, super-talent, superworker and dedicated professional?</p><p>Because of the degree of hometown emotionalism and the established star factor, coaches and writers are always blasted when they charge that certain players are not putting out. But it is the fact that some performers, who expect their large pay checks regularly, are less than regular in the quality of their performances.</p><p>Lafleur has struck out at the inconsistent workers who think more of contracts and outside endorsements than they do about winning. Criticism of the laggards has special validity when it comes from a star who may lead the league in time dedication and constancy of intensity.</p><p>When Lafleur says the league has up-and-downers, then you better believe it.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

<h2><b>Mind In Motion On League Changes</b></h2><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>he expansion of the World Hockey League Association teams into the National Hockey League has fostered some problems in scheduling and divisional alignments.</p><p>One of the great assets of the NHL in recent years had been the fact that a team played more games against a team in its own division than against a team in another division. This leads to great rivalries which increase fan interest.</p><p>Unfortunately, due to the expansion-merger of the WHA, this year&rsquo;s and next year&rsquo;s schedules call for each team to face each other an equal number of times, a so-called balanced schedule. A balanced schedule lessens the intensity of all rivalries and does little to increase interest in the National Hockey League.</p><p>A problem magnified by the expansion-merger is the unequal divisional alignments. The discrepancy between the powerful teams of the Patrick Division and the weak teams of the Smythe Division is illogical. Additionally, there is no geographical consistency in either the Adams Division or the Norris Division. The addition of the WHA teams has done little to rectify these problems.</p><p>However, I have developed a re-alignment of divisions which would result in greater interest in the NHL. It combines more interdivisional play with a geographical alignment. This not only helps rivalries, but also saves in travel cost and time. Here is the alignment: National Hockey League Eastern: Boston, Hartford, Islanders, Rangers, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Washington. Canadian: Buffalo; Edmonton, Montreal, Quebec Toronto, Winnipeg, Vancouver. Western: Atlanta, Chicago, Colorado, Detroit, Los Angeles, Minnesota, St. Louis.</p><p>These new divisional alignments make a great deal of sense. The Eastern Division includes a number of old and new rivalries that will spark fan and media interest. The intensity within a division of six Canadian teams and one border team may be unsurpassed in any sport. The Western Division will be the first NHL division to make geographical sense since expansion.</p><p>The rivalries that will benefit due to the re-alignment include: Rangers-Islanders, Rangers-Philadelphia, Islanders-Philadelphia, Boston-Rangers. BostonHartford, Hartford-New York, Montreal-Toronto, Buffalo-Toronto, Montreal-Quebec, St. Louis-Minnesota, and a number of others. A schedule that includes more of these games can only help hockey.</p><p>The schedule would be as follows. A team would play six games against each divisional opponent and three games against each of the other NHL teams. This results in a total of 78 games. In intradivisional games there would be three home and three away contests. The odd number of inter divisional games would be arranged this way. In the first season of this arrangement a team would play two home and one away game against one division&rsquo;s teams and two away and one home game against the other division&rsquo;s teams. The next season&rsquo;s schedule would see this arrangement reversed. As an example, the Rangers would play Eastern Division opponents three times (two home, one away), and Western Division opponents three times (one home, two away). In the next season&rsquo;s schedule the Rangers would play Canadian teams once at home and twice away and Western teams twice at home and once away.</p><p>Making the playoffs would be more difficult than under this season&rsquo;s arrangement. There would be 12 teams to qualify for the playoffs. The three first place teams plus the best second place team would receive byes in the first round. The remaining eight teams would be the other second place teams, the third place teams and the next three best teams as determined by their record.</p><p>While this divisional alignment and schedule does not solve all problems immediately, it is fairer, more competitive and more exciting than the current setup. The establishment and promotion of rivalries is a key to hockey becoming a popular sport in North America, especially in the United States.</p><p><b>Max J. Neuberger</b>&nbsp;<br><i>West Sayville, N. Y.</i></p><h2><b>Lack Of Conditioning In Pampered NHL</b></h2><p>Please let hockey writers and coaches quit making excuses after we play poorly against the Soviets in international hockey. For once, I&rsquo;d like to hear a coach, general manager or player associated with hockey say that, yes, our methods and approach to hockey are inferior to the Soviets and Europeans.</p><p>In an interview after the Rangers lost to the Soviets, Mike Nykoluk stated, &ldquo;That&rsquo;s the best conditioned hockey team I&rsquo;ve ever seen. They&rsquo;re able to sustain a pace our clubs cannot match. They establish a pace in their play and seldom vary it.&rdquo;</p><p>After the Islanders lose, Al Arbour says, &ldquo;There&rsquo;s no way our team could skate with them for 60 minutes because the Soviets are in such great condition.&rdquo;</p><p>If NHL players are not in physical shape to do battle with the Soviets for 60 minutes of hockey, it is a desperate state of affairs for the NHL. The next question to be asked is: why aren&rsquo;t they in the same shape as the Soviets? They are paid to be physically fit and at no time should we ever embarrass ourselves again by using this as an excuse for not winning. If an NHL pro can&rsquo;t reach the heights of physical fitness and stamina, who can?</p><p>They have all the time in the world to devote to devloping and even mastering the hockey skills. Who has more time to work hard and then rest so they can reach the maximum fitness levels? If it isn&rsquo;t your pampered average $100,000 a year NHLer, then who is it?</p><p><b>Gregory Borden</b>&nbsp;<br><i>Glace Bay, N.S.</i></p><h2><b>Leafs&rsquo; Coaching Dismal This Season</b></h2><p>Along with the dismissal of Roger Neilson as coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs, management&rsquo;s second mistake was even worse&mdash;hiring Floyd Smith as coach. Smith may be a very fine fella but a coach he is not. Before the season ever started, it was evident there would be disciplinary problems with the team. Here was a man with a questionable coaching record telling the media that he planned to release the Leafs from the &lsquo;bonds&rsquo; of defensive hockey so they could concentrate on all-out offense.</p><p>No wonder the players were so overjoyed at the start of the season! Their style of play went totally from one extreme to the other but they forgot to take the discipline with them. Smith all but gave them a licence to play the game any way they felt like playing it.</p><p>Such a haphazard approach might work if a team had five Guy Lafleurs on it and was capable of scoring 10 goals per game. But even Guy Lafleur has to back check and somebody forgot to tell the Leaf forwards that this is still part of the game. Consequently, the defense is taking a bad rap. but who wouldn&rsquo;t have trouble stopping the three on twos and two on ones the defense has faced this year?</p><p>Smith didn&rsquo;t have a system when he coached Buffalo and he still hasn&rsquo;t got one. Pass the puck to the open man&mdash;play your wing. Even I could tell the players that much!</p><p>Wake up, Punch! This is 1980, not 1967. Now there are 21 teams in the league, not six. Available talent has been watered down and the fact is, there are many young players who still do not possess the necessary skills, experience and dedication conducive to winning hockey. Even Stanley Cup champions have to be drilled in the fundamentals of the game. A teacher like Roger Neilson would have been very handy to have around this year.</p><p><b>John McMullen</b>&nbsp;<br><i>Winnipeg, Man.</i><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

SOME OTHER VIEWS

<div class="byline">BY FRED PIETILA</div><p>Just try to count the ways</p><p>Robert, long one of Don Cherry&rsquo;s favorite hockey players, accepted the challenge, just as he did the two previous ones.</p><p>Robert came to Colorado with the reputation of being moody and temperamental, but he has quickly dispelled those notions. &ldquo;If he&rsquo;s happy, he&rsquo;s a great guy and he&rsquo;s happy now,&rdquo; said a one-time associate. &ldquo;But if he&rsquo;s not happy&hellip;&rdquo;</p><p>&ldquo;We sold the house in Buffalo and bought one here,&rdquo; Robert said of his move to Denver. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re (his family) getting used to it. It took time. But they&rsquo;re getting used to it.&rdquo;</p><p>Robert, too, has adjusted well in the shift from right wing to center. &ldquo;It was a big adjustment,&rdquo; he admitted. &ldquo;It was hard simply because it&rsquo;s been eight or nine years since I played center. Occasionally I did in Buffalo. He (Cherry) told me he wanted to play me at center. Right now I&rsquo;m enjoying it.&rdquo;</p><p>Another adjustment Robert and other Rockies&rsquo; forwards have to make is being able to play with any other forward the way Cherry constantly shuffles his lines.</p><div class="sidebar"><p><b>&ldquo;&hellip;he&rsquo;s the leader on the club and that&rsquo;s why I made him captain,&rdquo; Cherry said.</b></p></div><p>&ldquo;Well, this is a part of hockey,&rdquo; Robert said. &ldquo;Scotty Bowman used to do it with the Canadiens when they were winning. As a professional, you should be able to play or adjust to anybody on the hockey club. And when you&rsquo;re not winning, you have to make those changes in order to get something going. If you&rsquo;re good enough to dress, you should be good enough to play with anybody.&rdquo;</p><p>&ldquo;Here&rsquo;s something you&rsquo;ve got to remember about Robert,&rdquo; Cherry explained. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s an All Star right winger, a 40-goal scorer in the past and I asked him if it would bother him to play center. A lot of guys would have been aggravated by the suggestion, but he said, &lsquo;No, I&rsquo;ll play anywhere.&rsquo; You&rsquo;ve seen the results. There&rsquo;s no way we&rsquo;d be close without him.</p><p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s willing to play anywhere. Believe me when the season started, I would look at him and see how disappointed he looked at being here. And I&rsquo;d talk to him and tell him, &lsquo;You&rsquo;ve got to hang in here with me. Give me time and I&rsquo;ll get some players in here.&rsquo; And he said, &lsquo;I won&rsquo;t quit on you.&rsquo; But it had to be pretty depressing for him. He played hurt for us early in the season and now he&rsquo;s playing with a thumb he has to have treated and taped before every game.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s been a frustrating experience for him, I&rsquo;ll tell you. But he&rsquo;s the leader on the club and that&rsquo;s why I made him captain,&rdquo; Cherry said.</p><p>&ldquo;Well, I think there&rsquo;s a little more pressure on you,&rdquo; Robert said about his role. &ldquo;You&rsquo;ve got to represent the hockey club all the time. Be a spokesman for the hockey club. And it seems like you&rsquo;ve got to play harder every game to motivate the other guys.</p><p>Robert related how Cherry informed him of his decision. &ldquo;Well, he just told me &lsquo;Hammy&rsquo; (Christie) had resigned and said &lsquo;You&rsquo;re yapping all the time anyway, you might as well wear the C on your sweater.&rsquo;&rdquo;</p><p>Cherry said there were three reasons for naming Robert after Christie&rsquo;s resignation. &ldquo;For one thing, we were getting an awful lot of unsportsmanlike conduct and misconduct penalties. He&rsquo;s always got something to say to the ref. And if he is going to be saying things, he might as well be captain. And, two, he&rsquo;s a leader. I think the guys look up to him. He&rsquo;s been an AllStar right winger, a 40-goal scorer and besides (number three), I like him.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

Robert Adapts Well To Season Of Transition

<div class="byline">Fan Forum Compiled By CATHY MUNRO</div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>D</span>o you have an opinion on hockey? Here&rsquo;s your chance to get it off your chest. Write the Fan Forum, The Hockey News, 214 King St., West, Suite 314, Toronto, Ont. M5H 1K4. To facilitate processing, type-written letters are given preference.</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-011315/5046853-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg" title="f0010-01" width="590" height="342"></div><h2><b>Prayers Needed To End Deluge</b></h2><p>Even though Brazil is currently in the middle of the rainy season, I was still somewhat perplexed to discover that my Jan. 11 edition of Hockey News was sopping wet, creating an ink-smeared copy. This was particularly noticeable in the Fan Forum Section of the paper and upon reading Robert Sundermann&rsquo;s views regarding the &ldquo;Bullying Tactics&rdquo; of the Philadelphia Flyers, I learned why my copy resembled a used section of &ldquo;Bounty&rdquo;.</p><p>It seemed rather apropos that in this same hockey reporting week (A) Captain Dave Maloney broke down in tears questioning an official call; (B) Phil Esposito won the &ldquo;Whiner of the Year&rdquo; award from the NHL officials; (C) The Fog accuses the rest of the NHL of picking on the Swedes; (D) Marv Albert, in rebuttal, crying that Canadian hockey broadcasters could never cut it in the States.</p><p>If the Rangers don&rsquo;t win it all this year, Manhattan will fast become the second Atlantis.</p><p><b>Terry Olohan</b>&nbsp;<br><i>Brasilia, Brazil</i></p><h2><b>A Swinging Good Time.</b></h2><p>I am writing in reference to the Randy Holt-Bob MacMillan incident. When I heard that Holt had been suspended for only 10 games I almost fell out of my chair. Anyone who saw the incident will attest to the fact that Holt intentionally swung his stick and struck MacMillan in the face. Fortunately, Holt&rsquo;s stick missed MacMillan&rsquo;s eye, but it came within an inch of putting his eyesight out. I felt that Holt would be suspended for the rest of the season, but that was not the case.</p><p>How can the league justify suspending Don Murdoch half a season for a non-violent act and then let a player like Holt receive a hand slap for assaulting and almost blinding someone? According to John Ziegler, Brian O&rsquo;Neill is in charge of handing out suspensions. Well, I guess Mr. O&rsquo;Neill is waiting until a player is maimed, blinded or killed until action is taken to rid the league of men like Holt.</p><p><b>Joe Johnson</b>&nbsp;<br><i>Dunwoody, GA</i></p><h2><b>Around The Globe With Expansion</b></h2><p>I read with amusement, but not surprise, that John Ziegler would like to further expand the NHL. There seems to be a city missing in his plan&mdash;Kansas City. Ever since K.C. was lied to and ripped off by the NHL, it seems that they have been black-balled by the league. I lived in the K.C. area when the Scouts played there and witnessed the pathetic performance of that team. But since when was it the fault of the fans? Besides, we still drew over 5,000 fans per game even when the Scouts were going 023-4.</p><p>It is obvious to me that K.C. would have been a good hockey town had the NHL provided the incentive. It is true that minor league hockey failed there, but that was because the fans felt cheated and just refused to support it after having an NHL team.</p><p>As far as the cities that Ziegler mentioned for future expansion, the majority are a joke.</p><p>San Diego? They can&rsquo;t even draw that well in L.A., and Ziegler wants to put another team 150 miles away. Indianapolis? Didn&rsquo;t learn from the Cleveland experience, did you John? As far as Dallas-Ft. Worth and Houston go, NHL hockey doesn&rsquo;t have a prayer in the football crazy state of Texas.</p><p>Will the NHL use any logic? That remains to be seen, but I can see the future of the league. An international division with teams in places like Sydney, Peking and Bogota.</p><p><b>Mark T. White</b>&nbsp;<br><i>Salem OR</i></p><h2><b>Fiasco For West Coast</b></h2><p>I managed to pick up on cable TV a game between Boston and Minnesota, starting out here are 10:00 p.m. It concluded at about 12:30 a.m.</p><p>Overlooking the terrible time schedule (a Tuesday game started at 12:00 midnight), and after fifty years of following major league hockey, I was witness to the most shoddy refereeing of a game ever. Of course, I&rsquo;ve long felt the Flyers&rsquo; success with interference (checking or interfering with a player who does not have the puck), once considered a penalty, has changed the game. The league administration of the game has just gone to pot. It has promoted other teams to use the Flyer tactics.</p><p>Aside from playing a game in the Boston Garden, that absurd tennis court they call a rink, the &ldquo;new&rdquo; Boston Bullies flagrantly displayed the use of the cross-check, high stick, spearing, head hunting tactics. Oh, the commentator, an exFlyer, felt compelled to announce to the listeners several times that the North Stars should fight back&mdash;that they&rsquo;ll not be successful playing a clean game. The whole affair was an absolute disgrace to the sport&mdash;a travesty. It&rsquo;s no wonder the network can&rsquo;t generate a profitable listening audience to air its games at a rea-sonable hour and lure good sponsors.</p><p><b>Bud Vedder</b>&nbsp;<br><i>San Diego, CA</i></p><h2><b>Amateur Rules Need Changing</b></h2><p>I think it is time to straighten out the rules mess we find in amateur hockey in the U.S. Most young players are brought up using the wordy AHAUS rule book. When they reach high school they play by the National Federation of High School Athletic Association&rsquo;s rules. Next, as they move to college competition, it&rsquo;s the infamous NCAA and its book. Finally, players are governed by NHL or AHAUS, depending upon talent. Why is all this so?</p><p>I am a referee (AHAUS-Certified and BCAHA-Level II). The continuity found in the CAHA program, including their clinics and rule book which are clear and easily understood, could be a model for a better program in the U.S. Canadian players begin and end their hockey careers with one set of rules.</p><p>If you wish to see for yourself, get copies of AHAUS, NHL, CAHA, NFHSAA, and NCAA rules and compare. See if you agree.</p><p>My solution to the problem is for all hockey organizations and regulating bodies to adopt the AHAUS rules modified to tightly parallel those of the CAHA. No small task, but long overdue.</p><p><b>Eric P. Goozen</b>&nbsp;<br><i>Gakona, AK</i></p><h2><b>Blunder On Ziegler&rsquo;s Part?</b></h2><p>Once again John Ziegler has mishandled another situation which has arisen in the NHL. I&rsquo;m referring to the stiff suspensions handed out to the Bruins regarding the brawl at Madison Square Garden. For serious offenses like stickswinging incidents, Mr. Ziegler will give a one or two game suspension. When some players finally gave a couple of &ldquo;fans&rdquo; what they deserve, he has penalized the team to such an extent that it could ruin their chance for a divisional championship.</p><p>Everyone is making the Bruins out to be such bad guys. Has everybody forgotten that it was a fan who first punched Stan Jonathan then grabbed his stick and started swinging it at him? Mr. Ziegler handed out his suspensions (Terry O&rsquo;Reilly&mdash;8 games, Pete McNab and Mike Milbury&mdash;6 games) as if the Bruins just climbed over the glass and beat up some innocent fans.</p><p>Maybe the way to eliminate any more incidents like this would be to not give any penalty at all. Then fans who feel they must get involved in the game would realize that if they interfere with the action on the ice, they&rsquo;ll wind up with a well deserved beating.</p><p><b>Perry Cipriano</b>&nbsp;<br><i>Clark, NJ</i></p><h2><b>Loyalty Fades As Leafs Plummet</b></h2><p>I have been a die-hard Toronto Maple Leaf fan for many years, suffering through their slumps and exalting in their triumphs. These past few weeks when my two favourite Leafs, Lanny McDonald and Pat Boutette were tossed ungratefully out of the club, many people have been giving up in disgust over the Leafs&rsquo; management and the slumping team.</p><p>But besides the recent turmoil, people don&rsquo;t seem to realize that, under any circumstances, Toronto is the hardest place in the league for a home team to play. Many teams may have attendance problems, but the Leafs&rsquo; problem may be that they have too many fans! The pressure of playing in Maple Leaf Gardens is incredible. Everyday in thousands of newspapers across the country headliners blare &ldquo;LEAFS LOSE AGAIN&rdquo; or &ldquo;SLUMPING LEAFS FALL TO LOWLY CAPS.&rdquo; When the Leafs lose a game, or waste a power play chance, or even when Tiger Williams fails to get a penalty, the whole province is talking about it.</p><p>Where does this leave the Leafs? What they need more than anything else is a peaceful atmosphere where they can. concentrate on playing hockey and not worry about being national heroes. They are a super bunch of guys and an institution in their country. Let&rsquo;s help keep them that way because after all&mdash;they&rsquo;re only human&hellip;</p><p><b>Karen Young</b>&nbsp;<br><i>Santa Barbara, CA</i><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0010-01

FAN FORUM

<div class="byline">BY DICK JOHNSTON</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-011202/5046884-1-eng-US/f0011-012.jpg" title="f0011-01" width="592" height="1108"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>The man behind the bench isn&rsquo;t important to most of the Sabres, including defenseman Jerry Korak.</i></figcaption></div><p>BUFFALO&mdash;It appears the three-coach system employed by the Buffalo Sabres is into another phase.</p><p>At the start of the season, Scotty Bowman&mdash;who is general manager, coach and director of hockey&mdash;ran the club from behind the bench with Assistant Coach Jim Roberts at his side.</p><p>Associate Coach Roger Neilson usually was in the pressbox, communicating directly via wireless with Roberts.</p><p>Much of the time lately, Neilson has been the bench boss. Bowman either has been changing places with Roger&mdash;on the walkie talkie in the pressbox&mdash;or has been absent from the rink.</p><p>It looks as though Bowman expects to devote more time to his general manager&rsquo;s duties, at least for a time, and let Neilson handle most of the coaching.</p><p>When he took over the Sabres, after coaching five Stanley Cup teams in eight years in Montreal, Bowman said he would be both coach and general manager for a year, then Neilson would move up to the coaching job.</p><p>The recent change seems to be Scotty&rsquo;s method of working Roger into the job gradually and getting the club used to having the former Toronto coach in charge during games.</p><p>So far it is working.</p><div class="sidebar"><p><b>&ldquo;The important thing about a three-man coaching staff is that they be compatible&hellip;&rdquo;</b></p></div><p>Neilson ran the club from behind the bench for 11 of the next 16 games, plus an exhibition against the Central Red Army Team, from the time he took over when the Sabres first visited Montreal.</p><p>Buffalo lost that first Montreal game, when Bowman&rsquo;s absence was a surprise to most of the players and others connected with the club, but since then the Sabres have done quite well with Neilson as the bench mastermind.</p><p>After losing in Montreal, they beat Winnipeg, 6-2, then trounced the Soviet club, 6-1, under Neilson. Bowman came back for three games, then had Neilson take over for a western trip. Two wins, a tie and a loss.</p><p>After tying Edmonton at home with Neilson in charge, and Bowman in the pressbox, the Sabres next took the ice under Neilson back in the Montreal Forum. The outcome was one of Buffalo&rsquo;s most onesided victories ever in Montreal, 7-2. This was followed by a 9-1 win over Los Angeles and a 6-2 triumph over the New York Rangers with Neilson behind the bench. Then came a tough 3-2 setback on the New York Islanders ice.</p><p>The players, who earlier in the season mentioned how impressed they were by the way Bowman runs things on the bench during games, seem to have taken the transition to Neilson with no loss of momentum.</p><p>&ldquo;It doesn&rsquo;t much matter who is behind the bench,&rdquo; veteran defenseman Jerry Korab said, &ldquo;the game play is the same.&rdquo;</p><p>&ldquo;Scotty and I pretty much handle the team the same way,&rdquo; Neilson pointed out, &ldquo;and meet the situations that come up in the same way. We also think pretty much the same about the players.</p><p>&ldquo;Changing coaches back and forth would hurt, I think, if some players might think I felt differently about him than Scotty does and that he would get less ice time if I was in charge.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0011-01

Coaching Sabres Enters New Phase

<div class="byline">BY RICHARD FRIEDMAN</div><p class="dropcap"><span>N</span>EW YORK&mdash;Battered, hurting and tired, the New York Rangers staggered past the All-Star break comfortable in the assurance that they could win while wounded.</p><p>The Blueshirts are now steeling themselves for a stretch run that they begin virtually neck-and-neck with the Islanders for second place in the Patrick Division.</p><p>Phil Esposito remained the Man of the Hour as the Rangers closed a two-week road trip in Washington and Quebec City. At Landover, Esposito scored two goals in a 6-3 Rangers triumph. The second red light was the 700th of his career, securing his position as only the second NHLer to reach that milestone, Gordie Howe being the other.</p><p>&ldquo;Esposito is the glue of that team,&rdquo; said the Sabres&rsquo; Craig Ramsay after the Sabres defeated the Rangers, 6-2, in Buffalo on Thursday, January 31. &ldquo;If he wants to lead them, he&rsquo;s the one who can do it. He&rsquo;s able to do what he wants, apparently at will.&rdquo;</p><p>The Rangers marched into Washington two days later, still smarting from their last visit there, on December 15, when they led 4-0 going into the third period and lost the game, 5-4.</p><p>This time against the Capitals, they were not to be denied. After spotting Washington to a 1-0 lead at 4:26 of the first period, the Rangers came back to tie the score less than a minute later on a goal by Walter Tkaczuk.</p><p>Steve Vickers put the Rangers ahead with the first of his two goals midway through the period as the Rangers swamped Capitals goalie Wayne Stephenson with 21 shots.</p><p>Esposito scored his first late in the second period, which ended with the Rangers ahead, 5-1, but the Rangers&rsquo; offensive thrust came from the line of Vickers, Anders Hedberg, and Tkaczuk, who re placed Ulf Nilsson as Nilsson struggled with a persistent neck injury.</p><p>The Capital Centre crowd greet ed Esposito&rsquo;s milestone goal with an appreciative roar at 1:57 of the third period. The score then was 61, and the game was seemingly out of reach. But with the Memory of December 15 still fresh in the minds of both teams, the Capitals never let up, outshooting the Rangers 16-4 and pulling within three on Rolf Edberg&rsquo;s penalty-shot goal late in the period.</p><p>The loss to Buffalo in the last hours of January was costly. With defenseman Carol Vadnais already sidelined with a sprained back and ligament damage in his left knee, and unlikely to return until midFebruary, the Rangers lost big Barry Beck for as long as three weeks with a painfully hyperex tended left elbow in a collision with the Sabres&rsquo; Don Luce.</p><p>&ldquo;It wasn&rsquo;t exactly a check at all,&rdquo; Luce explained later. &ldquo;He was cutting back toward the blueline with the puck and I was close enough to get on him. As he spun around, and I spun around to follow, our legs got tangled and we both went down in a heap. &ldquo;Unfortunately for Barry, I was on top and he got his arm twisted beneath his body.&rdquo;</p><p>trolled, very defensive type of game.&rdquo;</p><p>Against the Nordiques in Quebec the night after their victory over the Capitals, the Rangers played anything but a defensive game. They simply ran out of gas.</p><p>Soetaert faced 40 shots while the Rangers took only 19 shots at Nordiques&rsquo; goalie Michel Dion. Quebec won 5-4, on former Ranger Pierre Plante&rsquo;s deflection of Garry Lariviere&rsquo;s shot from the. blueline at 11:28 of the third period.</p><p>Early in the period, the Rangers had come back from a two-goal deficit to tie the game 4-4. But they missed Beck&rsquo;s physical presence on defense, had trouble moving the puck out of their own Zone, and never did alleviate the pressure on Soetaert.</p><p>They finished the road trip with a respectable 3-2-1 record after a 2-0-1 mark the first week that included victories in Los Angeles and Vancouver and a tie in Denver.</p><p>The Rangers, who recently hired Ed Giacomin as a parttime goaltending coach, last week added former North Stars coach Andre Beaulieu as an assistant coach.</p><p>Beaulieu, 40, who had been coaching the Rangers&rsquo; Richmond Rifles Eastern League team, is known as a &ldquo;tough customer&rdquo; who blends tactics that approach dictatorial with his teaching ability. He left the Rifles with that team in first place.</p><p>Beaulieu will share the ice in practice with the more easy-going Mike Nykoluk, the Assistant Coach who has achieved a close rapport with the players and who is far more approachable than the somewhat mystical General Manager-Coach, Fred Shero.</p><p>To some obserbers, the hiring of Beaulieu appears to somewhat cloud Nykoluk&rsquo;s position; Nykoluk passed up the Maple Leafs&rsquo; headcoaching job last summer on the understanding that he will eventually become the Rangers&rsquo; coach when Shero decides to devote fulltime to the role of GM.</p><p>The Rangers thus join the Sabres (Scotty Bowman, Jim Roberts and Roger Neilson) and the Flyers (Pat Quinn, Bobby Clarke, Joe Watson and Bernie Parent) with their new, multiple-coach format.</p><p><b>BLUE CHIPS:</b> Hedberg, with a sore collar-bone, asked to be excused from the, All-Star game, in which Beck also had been scheduled to play. Their places were taken by Esposito and defenseman Ron Greschner&hellip;Also on the Rangers sick list is Dean Tala-fous, with the same neck ailment that sidelined him in last spring&rsquo;s playoffs, and Warren Miller (flu)&hellip;Defenseman Jocelyn Guevrement was brought up from New Haven to replace Beck&hellip;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

Rangers Prove They Can Win While Wounded

f0012-01

Ex-NHL Coach Lynn Patrick Dies Suddenly

<div class="byline">BY BILL FLEISCHMAN</div><p class="dropcap"><span>P</span>HILADELPHIA&mdash;Don&rsquo;t tell Bobby Clarke he&rsquo;s courageous because he has stitched together a distinguished NHL career despite being a diabetic.</p><p>&ldquo;I really don&rsquo;t feel that way (courageous),&rdquo; Clarke said. &ldquo;I am aware of the problems that can arise from having diabetes, but I never think about them. I have more important things to think about.&rdquo;</p><p>For years in Philadelphia, Clarke&rsquo;s diabetes was an off-limits subject. He wanted to talk hockey and be treated like his Philadelphia Flyers&rsquo; teammates.</p><p>Only in recent years, following three Hart Trophies and two Stanley Cups, has Clarke agreed to discuss diabetes, a disease he has had since his teens.</p><p>Last week, his diabetes was a subject he couldn&rsquo;t avoid mentioning. The Philadelphia Sportswriters Association, which annually presents one of the nation&rsquo;s most prestigious dinners of its kind, chose Clarke as its Most Courageous Athlete.</p><p>Previous award winners have included people who have fought back from serious injury or disease. To the dismay of scouts who said Clarke&rsquo;s condition would prevent him from surviving the gruelling NHL season, Clarke has never been sidelined long enough to have to fight his way back.</p><p>Each year when the Most Courageous Award is announced it is usually an emotional moment that produces a few thousand moist eyes in the audience. When Clarke&rsquo;s name was announced, it was also an emotional moment&mdash;but mainly because Philadelphia sports fans have such admiration for Clarke. He&rsquo;s the epitome of the honest athlete who earns every nickle Ed Snider pays him.</p><p>With some free-agent baseball players, whose career acomplishments are mediocre at best, making as much money as Clarke, there are many who believe Snider should double Clarke&rsquo;s salary.</p><p>Anyway, on the night of his award, Clarke talked at length about how he has kept his diabetes under control to permit himself to play hockey.</p><p>&ldquo;Some people seem to have a difficult time adjusting&mdash;diabetes,&rdquo; Clarke said. &ldquo;But when the doctor explains to you that you&rsquo;ve gotta do it (take daily insulin injections) or not live,&mdash;you do it.</p><p>&ldquo;As the years go on. it gets easier to control because you know yourself a lot better and you&rsquo;re entrenched in the routine, you know how to eat, that skipping a meal can be bad news. I&rsquo;m a little better off than most people, because I get so much exercise my diet can be more flexible. Still, you make the wrong move, you can wind up in a diabetic coma.&rdquo;</p><p>Maturing has also helped Clarke handle diabetes. Back in Flin Flon, when he first learned he was a diabetic, he was reluctant to share the problem with friends.</p><p>&ldquo;When you&rsquo;re 14, you don&rsquo;t want to be any different than the rest of the kids,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;My friends would go off camping in the bushes, and, with diabetes, that&rsquo;s pretty rough to do. So I used to find excuses not to go with them.&rdquo;</p><p>Clarke&rsquo;s hockey skill and leadership have never needed excuses. Although he&rsquo;s 30, with outstanding seasons behind him, he is still a driving force in the Flyers&rsquo; pursuit of another Stanley Cup.</p><p>That he wasn&rsquo;t chosen for the All-Star Game was a shock to almost everyone but Clarke. Some of Philadelphia&rsquo;s pennant-waving radio and television sportscasters were outraged at Professional Hockey Writers Association voters who picked Bryan Trottier and Wayne Gretzky ahead of Clarke. Which shows you how much the &ldquo;voices&rdquo; know. Trottier and Gretzky are having better seasons&mdash;statistically, at least&mdash;than Clarke.</p><p>When Islanders&rsquo; coach Al Arbour failed to add Clarke to the Campbell Conference team, there was more grumbling. Learning that Arbour chose Rick MacLeish instead of him, Clarke said, &ldquo;Ricky deserves to go. He&rsquo;s having a helluva season.&rdquo;</p><p>Maybe, but an All-Star Game without Bobby Clarke is like a Super Bowl without the Steelers. The younger generation has little regard for tradition, but Arbour is old enough to value the important things in life. In Philadelphia, and the NHL, Bobby Clarke is one of the important traditions.</p><p><b>FLYERS FACTS:</b> The Flyers Cup, symbolizing scholastic hockey supremacy in the Philadelphia area, will be presented for the first time in March. The area&rsquo;s top four high chool teams will compete for the cup. The tourney&rsquo;s MVP will receive the Bobby Clarke Award&mdash;a $1,000 scholarship.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

Courage Important ‘Flyer Tradition’

<div class="byline">BY JIM MATHESON</div><p class="dropcap"><span>E</span>DMONTON&mdash;By his own admission, Colin (call me Soupy, everybody else does) Campbell, has little talent. When God handed out stickhandling ability, a booming shot and physical size, he was thinking of Barry (Bubba) Beck. Not Colin Campbell.</p><p>But what Campbell lacks in ability, he makes up in the intangible that many defenseman will never have. Heart. Campbell has one the size of a house.</p><p>At five-foot-nine and 190 pounds, he&rsquo;ll stick his nose into anybody&rsquo;s business. He&rsquo;s not afraid to get his hands dirty. In Boston in midJanuary, he was the first person to come to Dave Hunter&rsquo;s aid when feisty Stan Jonathan rapped the Oiler winger from the rear. In Buffalo a few nights later, he wasted little time chugging to Wayne Gretzky&rsquo;s rescue when Jerry (King Kong) Korab started to muscle the slender 19-year-old center. He was giving away six inches and 28 pounds, but it didn&rsquo;t seem to batter a hoot.</p><p>Campbell is a coach&rsquo;s dream. A sucker. A clutch&rsquo;n grabber. A disturber. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s afraid of no one,&rdquo; said Oiler coach Glen Sather. &ldquo;He knows what his role is&hellip;and he does it. He runs people, he fights, he generally makes things trouble-some for other forwards.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s true, he doesn&rsquo;t have a wealth of natural ability&hellip;but you can&rsquo;t knock his desire,&rdquo; said Sather, who ironically got by in the NHL on the same thing.</p><p>Nobody will ever accuse Campbell of missing the streetcar named desire. That&rsquo;s one of the reasons, maybe the prime one, Oilers grabbed the 27-year-old blueliner from Pittsburgh Penguins in last summer&rsquo;s expansion draft. With the Pens, Campbell&rsquo;s lunch-bucket style was a hit with the fans&hellip;but not with the guys who ran the Club. He was odd man out as Pittsburgh elected to protect question marks like Dale Tallon and his bad leg, scrapper Kim Clarkson, and ex Oil King Tom Bladon instead.</p><p>&ldquo;We couldn&rsquo;t protect everybody,&rdquo; said Pens&rsquo; coach Johnny Wilson in defense of his club&rsquo;s action. &ldquo;I really liked him, but&hellip;&rdquo;</p><p>But, it didn&rsquo;t seem to matter that Campbell was one of Pittsburgh&rsquo;s most inspired players in the playoffs last spring. &ldquo;Being left unprotected was a gut-wrenching feeling,&rdquo; scowled Campbell. &ldquo;I fought and I hit against Boston and I figured the least they could do was protect me.</p><p>&ldquo;Heck, I tried to play the same against every team&hellip;whether it was Minnesota, who didn&rsquo;t take very many penalties, or the Bruins or Philadelphia.&rdquo;</p><p>What it came down to, besides numbers on the bench, was numbers in his contract. It was too steep for Pens, who aren&rsquo;t exactly wowing anybody at the box office. &ldquo;I guess maybe it was financial that they let me go,&rdquo; said Campbell. &ldquo;I had three years to go on a long contract (seven years that started at $60,000 per year) that I signed when I first went to Pittsburgh in 1974-75 after one season with the WHA Vancouver Blazers that called for most of the money in the last three years. Pittsburgh&rsquo;s financially stable now, but I still think they try to nickel and dime it.&rdquo;</p><p>He had a run in with the Blazers, too, about money. In &lsquo;73, after graduating from Peterborough Petes, Campbell elected to sign with the WHA instead of Penguins, who had made him their third-round draft choice. &ldquo;I agreed to go to Blazers, even though Pittsburgh counter-offered with the same money.&rdquo; said Campbell. &ldquo;I gave them (Blazers) my word. Little did I know that people break their word every day, not only in hockey but in business. Heck, I was just but of junior.&rdquo;</p><p>figured Campbell was trying a scam. &ldquo;There was no truth to it,&rdquo; said Soupy, emphatically. &ldquo;I later got things straightened out and changed agents.&rdquo;</p><p>But, he also changed leagues and teams the next season, moving to Pittsburgh. He was with Pens all but one year&hellip;until the Oilers picked him up.</p><p>Looking back, Sather thinks it was a helluva good deal&mdash;even if Campbell was on the trading block early in the season, on his way to Vancouver for winger Rick Blight before a breakdown in talks. He was making lots of mistakes, but he&rsquo;s cut down&hellip;and his enthusiasm is infectious on the blueline.</p><p>Unless Sather gets an offer he can&rsquo;t refuse, Campbell should be here for awhile. &ldquo;I was flattered that my name had come up in trade talks,&rdquo; said Campbell, not the least bit jittery about changing teams. &ldquo;I knew when things weren&rsquo;t going well that teams would be looking for a proven defenseman. Lee Fogolin and I were right in the middle of it. I was anything but surprised when my name kept popping up in the press.&rdquo;</p><p>His name is still popping up in the papers&hellip;but it&rsquo;s for hits. No mistakes. For fights, not giveaways.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

Campbell Spells Trouble For Foes

<div class="byline">BY STAN FISCHLER</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-011215/5047018-1-eng-US/f0013-012.jpg" title="f0013-01" width="465" height="366"></div><h2><b>Punishing The Innocent</b></h2><p class="dropcap"><b><span>N</span>OW THAT I&rsquo;VE</b> digested John Ziegler&rsquo;s execution of &ldquo;justice&rdquo; on behalf of the spectator-chasing Boston Bruins, I find myself suffering from reverse peristalsis.</p><p>Ziegler&rsquo;s decision has given me a colossal stomach ache, as did the episode which took place last Dec. 23 at Madison Square Garden.</p><p>The NHL president, apparently trying to create an overnight image of authority, has punished the innocent (Terry O&rsquo;Reilly, Peter McNab, Mike Milbury, et. al.) while allowing the guilty ones to escape without even a slap on the wrist.</p><p>Although he admits in his report that the Bruins were initially attacked by Garden fans, Ziegler has suspended and fined the players for retaliating as many normal human beings would have under the circumstances. Having had several days to examine the decision, I conclude that it is a superficial grandstand play by Ziegler, who had been under attack by newsmen who themselves failed&mdash;along with Ziegler&mdash;to finger the real culprits.</p><p>So, let us get right down to business and enlighten Ziegler and others who have found the Bruins such easy marks for their kangaroo courts. The folowing are those who escaped punishment:</p><p>(1) <b>New York Rangers&rsquo; goalie John Davidson:</b> There never would have been an incident in the first place had Davidson not skated over to the departing Bruins, obviously seeking a confrontation over an alleged earlier offense against teammate Ulf Nilsson. (It may never have dawned on Davidson that Nilsson may have delivered a previous cheap-shot to the Bruins&rsquo; Al Secord.) Davidson&rsquo;s uncalled-for interception of the Bruins set in motion the chain reaction of violence. Yet, Davidson is never mentioned in Ziegler&rsquo;s report.</p><p>(2) <b>Madison Square Garden fans:</b> Spectators, according to Ziegler&rsquo;s probe, initially attacked the Boston players. First, Stan Jonathan was punched in the face, a blow from which he suffered a laceration. &ldquo;This assault,&rdquo; says Ziegler, &ldquo;was totally unprovoked and came without warning.&rdquo; Then, a fan stole a Bruins&rsquo; stick and began swinging it at the players. Captain Terry O&rsquo;Reilly of Boston was struck by the stick. Yet, the NHL has taken no action against the offending spectators.</p><p>(3) <b>Madison Square Garden President David</b> Werblin: There&rsquo;s a myth, nurtured by a few New York writers, that Werblin has cleaned up the Garden. Forget it. Security is lax. Time and again fans are permitted to congregate near the sideboards where they harass visiting players and invite the brand of eruption that developed last Dec. 23. Yet, nowhere in Ziegler&rsquo;s seven-page report is there a condemnation of the Garden and its high command. (Even the Rangers&rsquo; own Barry Beck confesses that almost every game he gets the urge to punch a fan.)</p><p>As for the $7,000,000 law suit filed by four Garden fans against the Bruins, it is offensive to even dignify such a cheap publicity stunt by mentioning it here. Suffice to say that there are many ways to make a buck&mdash;if a lawyer is your navigator&mdash;but this creates a new category: &ldquo;Hit hockey player, win suit.&rdquo; (Or, as one NHLer tells me: &ldquo;It opens the door for a lot of crazy people.&rdquo;)</p><p>David Werblin is another story. Here is a man who has &ldquo;cleaned up&rdquo; the Garden, it is said, by removing outdoor benches so that bums won&rsquo;t occupy them. Apparently it hasn&rsquo;t dawned upon David that those very same bums may now be attending his hockey games.</p><p>Since David Werblin took control of the Garden the ambiance at Ranger games has dropped from &ldquo;PG&rdquo; to &ldquo;X&rdquo; rated. It is a happy event when a Garden patron finds himself <i>not</i> within hearing distance of obscenities or smelling distance of booze, not to mention other substances.</p><h2><b>Point Out The Culprits</b></h2><p><b>IN CHASTISING THE</b> Bruins, Ziegler naively suggests that, after being bopped in the head, all the Bruins had to do was point out the culprits to a handy Garden gendarme and justice would then be done. Nowhere does Ziegler suggest how to find such a security man. (The Bruins would have gotten better results had they dialed &ldquo;911&rdquo;, the police emergency number.)</p><p>It is patently absurd&mdash;not to mention unrealistic&mdash;for Ziegler to state, as he does in his white paper, that NHL players &ldquo;decline from any confrontation with fans regardless of provocation.&rdquo; Using that line of thinking, if some Neanderthal hits Jean Ratelle over the head with a pipe the Bruins must first find an usher and then lodge their complaint. Finding zinc oxide would be simpler.</p><p>Further, Ziegler notes that <i>AFTER</i> the initial blows were struck by Garden fans, &ldquo;security personnel were quickly on the scene&hellip;&rdquo; But Ziegler doesn&rsquo;t question why Werblin&rsquo;s palace guards weren&rsquo;t protecting the Bruins <i>BEFORE</i> fuses were blown. In industry that&rsquo;s known as preventive maintenance, something the Garden has yet to discover.</p><p>Whether Werblin cares to face it or not, the fact remains that he has done zilch to clean up the Rangers&rsquo; hockey scene. Worse (or better) still, intelligent Ranger fans are getting hip to his act.</p><p>Lynne Broza, who writes from Lindenwold, New Jersey, says she&rsquo;s a Ranger fan but abhors the Garden scene. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s about time MSG officials did something to clean the place up,&rdquo; writes Lynne. &ldquo;If Sonny Werblin bad any guts he would cancel or forfeit a game instead of threatening to do so. He would hire a security force that is more interested in its job than watching pretty girls go by!&rdquo;</p><p>Another Rangers&rsquo; rooter, E. R. Sciah of North Lindenhurst, New York, writes: &ldquo;It embarrasses me to see the fans act the way they do&hellip;It&rsquo;s Werblin&rsquo;s fault&hellip;No liquor should be sold and no beer. Just soda. If the people don&rsquo;t like it, too bad! &ldquo;</p><p>This, of course, does the Bruins no good at all. They are the unfortunate victims of an internal NHL political power-play and a system of justice that defies reality. How come, for example, Ziegler failed to stay the suspensions of O&rsquo;Reilly, McNab and Milbury at least <i>until his ruling was appealed?</i> What about due process?</p><p>Answer: The Bruins were convenient victims, for they have few precious allies within the NHL political structure. Boston&rsquo;s managing director Harry Sinden and Ziegler have been UN-friends since Ziegler&rsquo;s move to the top. Besides Ziegler there&rsquo;s one other power broker in the league, and that&rsquo;s players&rsquo; union boss Al Eagleson, who would love to see the Bruins burn since the Hub skaters have been actively trying to dump the Eagle. If Eagleson were a true representative of <i>all</i> players he would have been yelling and screaming on behalf of the Bruins both before and after the sentencing. But the Eagle did zip. Some union boss, eh!</p><p>Finally, there was no way Ziegler would censure Gulf &lsquo;n Western Werblin and his fair-haired Rangers. After all, the NHL high command quietly believes that what&rsquo;s good for the Rangers&mdash;in New York, the media capital&mdash;is good for the NHL. Right? Right.</p><p>This much is certain: Unless John Davidson, David Werblin and that cadre of cuckoos (posing as hockey fans) are made accountable for <i>THEIR</i> part in the events of Dec. 23, 1979, John Ziegler&rsquo;s &ldquo;justice&rdquo; isn&rsquo;t worth the white paper on which it is written.</p><h2><b>St. Marseille Off Base</b></h2><p><b>NOTES:</b> Whalers&rsquo; Coach Don Blackburn says Frank St. Marseille (asst, coach, L.A. Kings) was &lsquo;way off base in condemning Tom McVie for overcoaching the Winnipeg Jets. &ldquo;For one thing,&rdquo; says Blackburn, &ldquo;it&rsquo;s not right for one coach to criticize another. And for another thing St. Marseille isn&rsquo;t even a head coach!&rdquo;&hellip;Tom Rowe tells me he was &ldquo;shocked&rdquo; when the Washington Caps dealt him to Hartford. &ldquo;But the shock turned to happiness,&rdquo; says Rowe, &ldquo;when I started skating along-side Gordie Howe.&rdquo;&hellip;A rookie newsman recently approached Gordie, whereupon Howe (facetiously) demanded his credentials. With that, the kid produced the paper&rsquo;s sports section. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not interested in the sports page,&rdquo; quipped Howe, &ldquo;I want to see your crossword puzzle!&hellip;The grapevine hears that the NHL talked to some NFL (team) PR men about moving to the NHL&rsquo;s director of PR job. They reportedly turned it down because the dough was too low.</p><p><b>MEDIA NOTES:</b> Reaction to Ziegler&rsquo;s suspension of Bruins ran the gamut from high praise to criticism&hellip;Boston Globe editorialized that Ziegler&rsquo;s penalties were justified. But (N.Y.) Daily News rapped his lengthy delay and NHL violence&hellip;Yet in that same issue, The News ran a two-page spread on violence with a big promo on the back page. So, what else is new?&hellip;Ziegler told L.A. Times&rsquo; Bob Keisser that stick-swinging was unac-ceptable. A week earlier the Kings&rsquo; Randy Holt nearly removed Bob MacMillan&rsquo;s right eye with his stick&hellip;Not surprisingly, Montreal Gazette&rsquo;s Red Fisher wrote a magnificent eulogy for the recently departed Lynn Patrick. &ldquo;He was a fierce, unyielding competitor on and off the ice, yet was one of the gentlest, finest people the game has known.&rdquo; I can vouch for that&hellip;John Halligan, please note: Dana Mozley, who covered hockey over several decades for the Daily News, would like to organize a reunion of surviving scribes who covered the 1950 Rangers-Red Wings seven-game (double-overtime) semi-final. What better time than April 1980, the 30th anniversary?&hellip;Ziegler is stonewalling media types demanding curbs against violence. In a confrontation with L.A. scribes, Ziegler insisted that he would oppose a ban on fighting. To which the L.A. Times&rsquo; Terry Sheppard wrote: &ldquo;Hockey, Love It or Leave It seemed to be the attitude expressed by Ziegler.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0013-01

ON THE CONTRARY

<div class="byline">BY AL SMITH</div><p>ATLANTA&mdash;This has been a somewhat disturbing year for Atlanta Flames&rsquo; center Ivan Boldirev.</p><p>Traded from the Chicago Black Hawks near the end of the 1978-79 season, the 30-year-old had some pressure applied right from the start. He was compared to Tom Lysiak, a very popular player in Atlanta, from the beginning. And it hasn&rsquo;t helped that he hasn&rsquo;t had a good season his first year in an Atlanta uniform.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve had sort of a blah season,&rdquo; Boldirev said. &ldquo;And I haven&rsquo;t been happy with the way I&rsquo;ve played, and I guess they (Flames&rsquo; management) haven&rsquo;t been either.&rdquo;</p><p>From early in the season there has been talk that Boldirev would be returning to Chicago&mdash;that there was a trade underway.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve heard a lot of talk,&rdquo; Boldirev said. &ldquo;But I&rsquo;m still an Atlanta Flame, and right now all I&rsquo;m worried about is winning some games and putting some points on the board for this team.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not worried about the trade talks. If it happens, it happens. I&rsquo;ve had some of my better years with the Black Hawks, and I realize that I haven&rsquo;t played that well here, but there are a number of guys struggling on this team.&rdquo;</p><p>Boldirev is in his option year and it was thought that early in the season, Flames&rsquo; General Manager Cliff Fletcher and Boldirev&rsquo;s agent Jack Childers were far apart.</p><p>But Fletcher later maintained that he thought he could sign Boldirev and would be meeting with Childers soon.</p><p>Fletcher did say that he had been contacted by Chicago about a possible trade, but that his answer had been, &lsquo;No&rsquo;.</p><p>&ldquo;In fact,&rdquo; Fletcher said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll be meeting with Childers soon and I&rsquo;m sure something will be worked out.&rdquo;</p><p>Boldirev, defenseman Phil Russell and winger Darcy Rota were traded to the Flames last year for Lysiak, winger Harold Phillipoff, and defenseman Greg Fox, Pat Ribble and minor leaguer Miles Zaharko.</p><p>Lysiak and Fox are still with the Black Hawks, but Phillipoff has since been traded to Vancouver, while Ribble has gone to the Toronto Maple Leafs, and Zaharko is in the American Hockey League with New Brunswick.</p><p>When trade talks were first mentioned, it was thought the Black Hawks were offering Reg Kerr and a first round draft choice, but Kerr injured his wrist, thus the trade talks died. Later they resurfaced, this time John Marks was the player reportedly offered for the Black Hawks.</p><p>Boldirev is in his option year, thus if he doesn&rsquo;t sign with someone. he would become a free agent.</p><p>&ldquo;I thought I was in the ballpark,&rdquo; he said of his contract asking price. &ldquo;But Im not involved anymore. I&rsquo;ve left it up to my lawyer. All I want to do is play hockey and worry about the Atlanta Flames.&rdquo;</p><p>Through 48 games, the six-foot, 190-pounder had 16 goals and 23 assists. He had his best NHL season with the Black Hawks in 1977-78 when he scored 35 goals and 45 assists.</p><p><b>HOT NOTES:</b> The Flames after 50 games were in a tie for 11th in the overall standings, thanks mainly to their power play.</p><p>They had scored 38 power play goals in 138 attempts for a 27.5 percent, but even more amazing was the fact they had scored 17 power play goals in 40 attempts (42.5 percent) since the start of 1980.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

Boldirey Looking To Shake Blahs

<div class="byline">BY PAT DOYLE</div><p>WINNIPEG&mdash;The Suitcase can enpack his bags.</p><p>Gary Edward Smith, 33, has been demoted by the Winnipeg ets for probably the last time, nd it&rsquo;s quite likely that he&rsquo;ll close is career with Tulsa Oilers of the Central Hockey League.</p><p>Nicknamed Suitcase because of he many trips he made to and from the National Hockey League arly in his professional career, mith was the victim of a youth novement in Winnipeg.</p><p>goalies who should have been here all along.&rdquo;</p><p>Smith is being modest. At the beginning, of the season and through the first month and a half, Smith clearly was the premier goaler on the scene in Winnipeg. His outstanding play assured Jets of 3-2 victories over Boston Bruins and Minnesota North Stars, along with ties with St. Louis, 2-2, Washington, 1-1, and the New York Islanders, 4-4.</p><p>Without Smith around. Jets might have been out of the playoff hunt by Christmas.</p><p>Things went sour for Smith on Nov. 10 when Jets played Toronto Maple Leafs in Winnipeg. He was beaten for seven goals in two periods and he never recovered.</p><p>&ldquo;Ya,&rdquo; he says, &ldquo;I guess I was playing well at the start. But I had that bad game against Toronto and I never got it back.&rdquo;</p><p>Jets sent Smith to Tulsa shortly after that and brought up Lindsey Middlebrook, but the big goaler was back early in the New Year. He played one period against Philadelphia Flyers and gave up four goals, then was beaten 7-2 by Hart-ford Whalers. It was &lsquo;So long Smitty&rsquo;.</p><p>Although he&rsquo;s probably seen the last of Winnipeg as a player, chances are Smith will remain in the Jets&rsquo; organization, either as a goaltending coach or scout.</p><p>&ldquo;I owe it to Smitty to find something for him,&rdquo; says Winnipeg general manager John Ferguson. &ldquo;He bailed me out last year, so he&rsquo;ll stay with us.&rdquo;</p><p>Last season when Jets were a member of the World Hockey Association, Ferguson&rsquo;s goaltending situation went bad and he was searching for some experience to carry him to the final WHA championship.</p><p>&ldquo;Smitty had called me earlier,&rdquo; explains Ferguson. &ldquo;He was looking for work but 1 had nothing at the time, so I told him I&rsquo;d get back to him. Then, if you remember, we had a horrendous time in Hartford so I called Smitty.&rdquo;</p><p>Jets thus became the 13th professional team Smith has played with in 16 years.</p><p>Smith started out in the pro game in Rochester in the 1964-65 season, and he made stops in Tulsa and Victoria that year, too. From there, it was on to the Maple Leafs for three games, Oakland Seals, Chicago Black Hawks, Vancouver Canucks, Minnesota North Stars, Washington Capitals, back to the minors in Fort Worth and Hershey, to the WHA&rsquo;s Indianapolis Racers, then Winnipeg.</p><p>&ldquo;One thing about it,&rdquo; mused Smith, &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve seen a lot of the country.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-011267/5047073-1-eng-US/f0014-012.jpg" title="f0014-01" width="602" height="666"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>The much-travelled Gary Smith will probably remain in the Jets&rsquo; organization in some capacity.</i></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0014-01

Jets To Close Goaler Smith’s Case

<div class="byline">BILL FLEISCHMAN&#x2019;S</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-02998/5047104-1-eng-US/f0014-022.jpg" title="f0014-02" width="332" height="358"></div><h2><b>Stop The Nonsense</b></h2><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>HE JOKES BEGAN even before John Ziegler ruled on the Boston Bruins&rsquo; &ldquo;visit&rdquo; to Madison Square Garden&rsquo;s expensive seats. &ldquo;I hear they&rsquo;re going to have shoe concessions in all NHL arenas now,&rdquo; said one cynic, referring to Mike Milbury&rsquo;s Neolite massage of a Rangers&rsquo; fan with the gentleman&rsquo;s own shoe.</p><p>There was nothing funny, of course, about what the Bruins did. And what the Rangers&rsquo; fans did to trigger the latest smudge on the NHL&rsquo;s already-tattered image was also a disgrace.</p><p>As I&rsquo;ve said in this space before, people who like hockey and see more to it than fighting and high sticking and kin-dergarten-level name-calling cringe every time there is an invasion of the stands or a bench-clearing, time-wasting brawl. The game is skating and shooting and bodychecking, not punching somebody in the face.</p><p>Although John Ziegler won&rsquo;t say it publicly, I think he knows it&rsquo;s time to stop the nonsense and play hockey. The NHL president will soon hear such an opinion from the players. If hockey can&rsquo;t survive on its strong points, then it&rsquo;s time to melt the ice.</p><p>That&rsquo;s the message Ziegler was trying to deliver when he suspended Terry O&rsquo;Reilly for eight games and Peter McNab and Milbury for six games apiece. Predictably, the players and Bruins&rsquo; management were outraged.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s just unbelievable&hellip;it seems so severe,&rdquo; said McNab, the Bruins&rsquo; leading scorer. &ldquo;I never even his anybody. I just grabbed the guy. He was hitting my teammate.</p><h2><b>Players Wrong But&hellip;</b></h2><p><b>&ldquo;IT&rsquo;S A HELLUVA</b> black eye on our record. He (Ziegler) is treating us as if we started it. He&rsquo;s making the whole thing sound like we were wrong.&rdquo;</p><p>Peter, the players were wrong. Rushing to Stan Jonathan&rsquo;s defense was admirable, but the foolish fans weren&rsquo;t attacking Jonathan in the stands. The smart thing to do was to stay on the ice and point out the culprits to the police or security people.</p><p>I know, I know, the Madison Square Garden security force doesn&rsquo;t exactly surface in this ugly episode like U.S. Marines or Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Hockey is an emotional game and it produces knee-jerk reactions. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re hitting Stanley so let&rsquo;s go get &lsquo;em,&rdquo; was the Bruins&rsquo; immediate response.</p><p>But anyone who complains that Ziegler&rsquo;s punishment was too severe isn&rsquo;t thinking straight. If I were McNab, O&rsquo;Reilly or Milbury, I&rsquo;d be mad as hell about watching games from the press box while the Bruins try to win the Adams Division pennant. However, the NHL president had to crack down and issue a ruling that would warn other players to stay out of the stands. A three or five-game suspension would really have been a joke.</p><p>What bothers me about Ziegler&rsquo;s decision is, it took too long and the Rangers were exonerated.</p><p>That justice moves slowly is probably one of the first lessons Ziegler learned in law school. But, 32 days to reach a conclusion in this case? C&rsquo;mon. The facts and motives were clear. And it shouldn&rsquo;t have taken Ziegler a month to talk to the Bruins. He&rsquo;s a busy man, but he knew where the Bruins were and Boston is only a short flight from either NHL office, in Montreal or New York.</p><h2><b>Timing Wasn&rsquo;t Great</b></h2><p><b>THE ANNOUNCEMENT</b> of Ziegler&rsquo;s ruling wasn&rsquo;t great timing either, occurring just three days after some fans involved in the brawl filed a $7 million lawsuit against the league, the Bruinsand the Garden. The smart lawyer the fans have hired will surely interpret the suspensions and fines as a guilty verdict from Ziegler&rsquo;s gavel against the players.</p><p>That Rangers&rsquo; management wasn&rsquo;t fined or reprimanded is incredible. For years New York fans have led the league in crude behavior. When the film &ldquo;Animal House&rdquo; was released, people thought it was about the Rangers&rsquo; fans. When tourists visit New York and their children ask to see the Bronx Zoo, some parents automatically head for Madison Square Garden.</p><p>The Rangers at least had to be heavily fined for lack of security.</p><p>Another curious development in the case is the report that referee Greg Madill was fined $1,500 for his mis-han-dling of the Rangers-Bruins game that spread into the stands. Doesn&rsquo;t fining referees shake their confidence and critically affect their authority? Wouldn&rsquo;t a quiet two-week suspension be better for the referee and the league?</p><p>Ah, but this is the NHL. Maybe someday soon we can get back to writing about the games and the players.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0014-02

HOCKEY WORLD

<div class="byline">BY BILL LIBBY</div><p class="dropcap"><span>L</span>OS ANGELES&mdash;John Paul Kelly was in his second game in the majors and Gordie Howe was in his 2,365th game when the King rookie knocked the Whalers&rsquo; 33-season veteran over the boards and into the penalty box at the southern California Forum in midDecember.</p><p>Knowing Howe&rsquo;s reputation for retaliation, Kings&rsquo; coach Bob Berry yanked Kelly even as an embarrassed Gordie was coming back into sight and back over the boards to the cheers of the crowd. But is this the kind of hitting Berry hopes to get from the kid?</p><p>&ldquo;They say he slices up people who give it to him, eh?&rdquo; grinned Kelly later. &ldquo;Well, it was a clean check. I was just trying to make the team. If he&rsquo;s out there, I have to hit him. I&rsquo;m a hitter. It does sometimes get me in trouble.</p><p>Kelly was suspended until Dec. 1 as court-imposed punishment for an amateur hockey brawl at Portland last season. He says, &ldquo;It was a grudge match and it really got out of hand for awhile. But I wasn&rsquo;t using my stick the way some cop said I did in court and the whole thing was blown way out of proportion.&rdquo;</p><p>Possibly.</p><p>Of the Kings&rsquo; draft choices in the first four rounds last summer, defenseman Jay Wells and leftwinger Kelly were rated the best bets to toughen up the team. Wells who started the season with the Kings, went to the minors for more experience and returned recently. Both are hitters. The only other hitter on the team is veteran Randy Holt, but he has set a bad example a couple of times this season with excessive violence.</p><p>It is hard to tell which way Kelly will go. He is a six-foot, 215-pounder with a lot of natural strength. He had 207 minutes in penalties last season and when he talks about hockey he talks about his preference for tough play. He seems to like the rugged going. He has a fair record as a scorer. He had 25 goals last season as a junior.</p><p>He worked out with his old team in New Westminster while waiting for his suspension to expire. Some of the Kings seemed anxious for him to arrive. His hitting in pre-season play had impressed them. Manager George Maguire had a bit of trouble reaching agreement with the youngster&rsquo;s agent on a contract, but finally signed J.P.</p><p>He was given a shot in the majors immediately because the Kings were getting pushed around by some teams. He has played irregularly on various lines since and has shown promise, but has not established his ability. Coach Bob Berry says, &ldquo;He has ability and could help us, but he needs a lot of work.&rdquo; Manager Maguire says, &ldquo;He has a long way to go yet.&rdquo;</p><p>Kelly just turned 20 in November. The eldest of five boys and a girl in a farm family in the Ed monton area of Alberta, he is the only one in his family to take to hockey. He says, &ldquo;Hockey is the only thing I like as well as farming. I really like to play the game and I feel like I&rsquo;ll make it in the majors. I&rsquo;m not afraid. I&rsquo;m not afraid of anyone. I like a hard-hitting game.&rdquo;</p><p><b>KINGS THINGS:</b> Dean Hopkins, the big right wing, is the only King rookie who has stayed with the team all season. Recently his teammates initiated him into their ranks by cutting his long locks, which he now has crew-cut. Mark Hardy, the husky defenseman, remains in the minors at Springfield. None of the rookies has established himself in the majors so far.</p><p>Holt&rsquo;s wife Lynn delivered their third daughter, Amber, early in December&hellip;Ex-King Bob Murdoch arrived with Atlanta and the announcement his Doris delivered their fourth child and third daughter, Courtney, back in November&hellip;Among other ex-Kings, Gene Carr is in the area in construction work, Mike Corrigan is in Pittsburgh and seeking a coaching job, and Danny Grant represents a brewery and coaches a junior team in his home town of Fredericton. N.B.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

Kings Hope Kelly Will Bring Muscle

<div class="byline">BY STEVE WINTER</div><p>LANDOVER&mdash;The Washington Capitals are breaking every rule of logic ever written.</p><p>When a team loses its all-time leading scorer, one of its top defensemen, and then practically the entire team to a mysterioun stomach ailment, they aren&rsquo;t supposed to win hockey games.</p><p>Unbelievably though, the Capitals are winning hockey games.</p><p>After surviving an early-season rash of injuries which sidelined, at one point, nine front-line players, the Capitals put together a 6-3-1 mark in a 10-game stretch, before falling to 0-4-1 in their next five.</p><p>They broke out of that slump with <i>a</i> come-from-behind 5-4 win over Winnipeg in a game which they probably should never have played, and in retrospect, perhaps, wished they hadn&rsquo;t.</p><p>During a chartered return flight from Quebec following a 3-2 loss to the Nordiques, no fewer than 25 of the 40-person travelling squad which made the trip contracted the bizarre &ldquo;Quebec Plague&rdquo;, which afflicted nine of the players with nausea, stomach cramps and various other discomforts.</p><p>Two players&mdash;Rolf Edberg and Antero Lehtonen&mdash;never even made it to the arena.</p><p>Slowed by the mass sickness, the Capitals played a lethargic first period, but defenseman Robert Picard, himself affected considerably by the ailment, crashed heavily into Winnipeg players in all four corners of the ice and recorded his sixth two-goal game as a Capital, including the gamewinner in the closing moments.</p><p>&ldquo;By the start of the third period, most of us were feeling better,&rdquo; Picard said; &ldquo;Perhaps the number one star of the game should&rsquo;ve been &lsquo;Mr. Rolaids&rsquo;&mdash;Lord knows, we took enough of &lsquo;em.&rdquo;</p><p>After the game, however, the club had additional reason to feel ill. They learned that Guy Charron, the Capitals&rsquo; &lsquo;Iron Man&rsquo; over the past four years, tore ligaments in his right knee, and would definitely be lost for the season.</p><p>&ldquo;I was carrying the puck, and I stopped just inside the blue line,&rdquo; Charron told Robert Fachet, of the Washington Post. &ldquo;There was a confusion of players, and a guy comes across and hit me.</p><p>&ldquo;I felt a sharp pain, but I was able to finish the shift,&rdquo; Charron, in fact, finished the game, strapping on a knee brace between the first and second periods and assisting on two Washington goals.</p><p>Unfortunately, they were to be his last two points of the season.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s going to be tough on us without Guy,&rdquo; said Charron&rsquo;s linemate and close friend, Bob Sirois. &ldquo;Guy&rsquo;s a 30-goal scorer each year, and he&rsquo;s always there when we need a big goal.</p><p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;re going to miss him, but somebody else will take charge.&rdquo;</p><p>Three nights later, Charron was recuperating from surgery in a nearby hospital when the entire team threw everything they had and more against ex-teammate Ron Low, yet managed to come out with only a 1-1 tie against Quebec, despite outshooting their opposition 40-16.</p><p>Low was understandably fired-up in his first return to the Capital Centre since April 1977, yet he chided himself for the soft goal he allowed to Rick Green, midway through the second period. Low frustrated his former pals time-and-time again, including a remarkable kick save on Antero Lehtonen from close range with the game on the line, and fewer than 10 minutes remaining.</p><p>The followng night, the Capitals faced the New York Islanders, a team they had beaten only once in 22 meetings. Just prior to game time, they learned they would face the team that had won its last seven games in succession, without Robert Picard, sidelined by a bout with the flu.</p><p>It&rsquo;s been said before that the Capitals were &ldquo;in trouble&rdquo; when playing a game without either Picard or Rick Green.</p><p>&ldquo;But that was before we picked up Alan Hangsleben,&rdquo; said coach Gary Green.</p><p>Hangsleben was a virtual wall on defense, along with Green, Paul MacKinnon and Pierre Bouchard, as Washington rolled to one of its most impressive victories ever&mdash;a 7-1 record-setting thrashing of the Isles.</p><p>Mike Gartner and Bengt Gustafsson scored twice within the first 30 seconds of the middle period, to set the Capitals&rsquo; first NHL record in a positive vein, for fastest two goals from the start of a period.</p><p>But that was only the beginning. The Capitals pumped home five more unanswered goals, all but one in that awesome second period, when they got a club mark for goals in a period.</p><p>Gartner, Gustafsson and captain Ryan Walter were the scoring stars of the game, as the line accounted for six of the club&rsquo;s seven goals, five against the high-scoring trio of Mike Bossy, Bryan Trottier and Clark Gillies. Walter scored twice and added three assists, racking up his finest offensive night as a pro.</p><p><b>CAPSHOTS:</b> Defenseman Paul MacKinnon recorded his first NHL goal on a 55-foot slapshot against the Islanders. Coupled with two assists later in the game, MacKinnon&mdash;in that one night&mdash;doubled his point output for the entire season.</p><p>For the first time, Wayne Stephenson is a welcome sight around the Capital Centre, even in the nets. A subject of constant fan abuse early in the season, Stephenson played five times in a sevengame stretch since Jan. 15, reducing his GAA to 3.83.</p><p>Center Dennis Maruk, out since Oct. 27 with ligament damage, resumed skating recently and expects to rejoin the club in early March.</p><p>Upon his return to Washington, ex-Capitals&rsquo; coach Tom McVie, now the head-man at Winnipeg, amused Capital Centre fans when he &lsquo;accidentally&rsquo; entered the Capitals players&rsquo; bench prior to the game.</p><p>Well known for his sparkling witticisms, McVie took a potshot at the NHL general managers, claiming that when it came to making trades, they&rsquo;ll offer weaker teams in the league &ldquo;snow in the winter, or an anchor if you&rsquo;re drowning.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

Caps Break All The Rules Beating The Odds

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0016-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-011068/5047204-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg"></div><p><b>LOUISVILLE HOCKEY STICKS</b></p><p><b>LOUISVILLE HOCKEY STICKS</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-01939/5047197-1-eng-US/f0017-012.jpg" title="f0017-01" width="608" height="762"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-02760/5047190-1-eng-US/f0017-022.jpg" title="f0017-02" width="594" height="2463"></div><h2>TEAM PENALTIES</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-03586/5047183-1-eng-US/f0017-032.jpg" title="f0017-03" width="578" height="564"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0016-01

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE

<div class="byline">BY CHUCK MOODY</div><p>PITTSBURGH&mdash;For 19-year-old Paul Marshall, his first season in the National Hockey League has been interesting, to say the least.</p><p>Marshall was the Pittsburgh Penguins top selection in last summer&rsquo;s Entry Draft and the No. 31 player chosen overall as an underage junior from Brantford Alexanders.</p><p>&ldquo;I had good reason to believethat I would get picked,&rdquo; Marshall said. &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t know exactly when, but my agent and other people told me that I should be picked. It wasn&rsquo;t a question of whether it was high, or low or anything, just to be picked was good enough.&rdquo;</p><p>Marshall scored 42 goals and picked up 72 assists and was the leading scorer on a Brantford club that finished with the lowest amount of points in the Ontario Major Hockey League.</p><p>&ldquo;We had a lot of rookies on the team,&rdquo; Marshall said of his Brantford club. &ldquo;By the end of the last year we were really coming along because we were starting to mature and play together. We didn&rsquo;t know each other&rsquo;s good and bad points, but by the end of the year we played really well together.&rdquo;</p><p>Marshall could have played one more year of junior hockey and almost did. He failed to report to the Penguins at the start of training camp and ended up missing the entire exhibition season.</p><p>&ldquo;There was a contract disagreement,&rdquo; Marshall recalled. &ldquo;We were so far apart it was ridiculous, and I was deciding whether or not it was even too early to try this jump. But after talking to a lot of people, I realized the position the club was in, that they couldn&rsquo;t really go that much out on a limb. So I came and eventually we agreed to terms.</p><div class="sidebar"><p><b>&ldquo;They can read a person pretty well after a couple of practices and a couple of games&hellip;&rdquo;</b></p></div><p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think it mattered concerning my chances of making the team that I reported late. When you get up into this high caliber of sport, they pretty well can spot what they want and what they don&rsquo;t want. They can read a person pretty well after a couple of practices and a couple of games.&rdquo;</p><p>Marshall made the club and performed well. He scored five goals and added six assists in 18 games before being sidelined with a separated shoulder.</p><p>&ldquo;Doug Wilson gave me a check in a Chicago game,&rdquo; Marshall said. &ldquo;I saw him coming and it was a clean check, but I thought I could get away from it. It was just the way he hit me&mdash;the downforce on the shoulder.</p><p>&ldquo;It was the first time I ever had a major operation so I was really wary and a little bit scared about what was going to happen. A lot of other people on the team have had it and they said that their shoulders are now operating at 100 per cent. So if I do everything the doctors say, I should be 100 per cent, too.&rdquo;</p><p>Penguin coach Johnny Wilson thinks Marshall is a &ldquo;natural goal scorer&rdquo; and that he may one day develop into one of the top scoring left wings in the NHL.</p><p>&ldquo;All the way up through my junior days I felt I could put the puck in the net,&rdquo; Marshall said. &ldquo;But there are other points of the game that you&rsquo;ve got to work on, too, like defensive backchecking and covering your wing. That&rsquo;s the stuff that the guys on the team are helping me out with.&rdquo;</p><p>How was it for a 19-year-old when he played his first NHL games against people he had only read about in newspapers and seen on television?</p><p>&ldquo;The first time I played against people like Gordie Howe and Guy Lafleur it was a kick in the pants,&rdquo; Marshall said. &ldquo;I felt I could play with, them but to be actually out there against them is a thrill.</p><p>&ldquo;As far as being 19 years old and playing in the NHL, I don&rsquo;t think there&rsquo;s that much of an adjustment maturity wise. I&rsquo;ve always been ahead of my time playing with older guys and that sort of thing.</p><p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t really measure the number of minutes I&rsquo;ve played, it&rsquo;s just how the individual game is going. If you&rsquo;re producing then you should be out there. If you&rsquo;re not producing then somebody who is should be out there. I just want to develop. Every year I want to get better.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-04444/5047235-1-eng-US/f0017-042.jpg" title="f0017-04" width="582" height="1137"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0017-04

Pens’ Marshall Ahead Of His Time

<div class="byline">BY TOM HENSHAW</div><p>Then Middleton stepped in.</p><p>Then, after losses to the Penguins and Hartford, Middleton rallied the Bruins with two goals and two assists in a 4-2 win over the Islanders and another four-point game less than 48 hours later, a 72 decision over Quebec.</p><p>In all, Middleton, who was falling behind his fine 38-48-86 pace of last season, had five goals and nine assists in the first five games of the suspensions to run his season&rsquo;s total to 23-34-57 in 51 games.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s sorta my job to score goals,&rdquo; said Middleton, playing down the Moses role. &ldquo;The guys, I&rsquo;ve been giving the puck to have been putting it in and I&rsquo;ve been putting a couple in myself. I&rsquo;ve been getting the chances.</p><p>&ldquo;Playing with a guy like Ratty (Jean Ratelie) and Stan Jonathan gets in the corners and knocks guys around, it&rsquo;s hard not to get the chances.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;d say the last 10 or 15 games we&rsquo;ve been playing pretty well together. Stan&rsquo;s been getting in the corner banging guys around. Ratty&rsquo;s been dangling with the puck. And my chances have been paying off.&rdquo;</p><p>Middleton figures the 5-3 loss to Pittsburgh in Boston Garden and the embarrassing 8-2 defeat by Hartford in Springfield were the psychological result of losing three front line players by the suspension route.</p><p>&ldquo;Possibly subconsciously we&rsquo;ve been using the suspensions as a crutch,&rdquo; he said after the turn around against the Islanders. &ldquo;When you get down a couple of goals you say, &lsquo;Yeah, this wouldn&rsquo;t be happening if&hellip;&rsquo;</p><p>&ldquo;You try not to let it get you down but maybe you do subconsciously. Nobody ever gives up on this team. Last night in Springfield was just a poor effort by everybody, not giving up. We came back and won a big one tonight.&rdquo;</p><p>Middleton got off to a slow start this season. He didn&rsquo;t get his 10th goal until the 27th game. At the time, he also had 12 assists for 22 points, not very much for a six year NHL veteran who is expected to crack the 100-point circle any year now.</p><p>For Middleton, it was a matter of getting used to Coach Fred Creighton&rsquo;s much-discussed&mdash;and cussed&mdash;four-line system.</p><p>&ldquo;It threw our timing off for a while, not just for me but for everybody,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;You have to get used to going 100 per cent every shift and then sitting a little bit longer on the bench. You have to psych yourself up differently.&rdquo;</p><p>The Bruins had just gotten used to the four lines when injuries struck wingers Don Marcotte and Wayne Cashman and Creighton was forced to go back to three lines, which is what just about everyone wanted in the first place.</p><p><b>WHAT&rsquo;S BRUIN</b>&mdash;General Manager Harry Sinden also wound up with a $2,500 fine, not from Ziegler, but from Bruins President Paul Mooney for the things he said about Ziegler after the Boston players were fined and suspended.</p><p>Words and phrases like &ldquo;rat&rdquo; and &ldquo;czarist Russia&rdquo; were attributed to Sinden and managed to find their way into print. The Bruins GM came close to apologizing in an informal session with some of the Boston hockey writers.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m in trouble now,&rdquo; he said &ldquo;I reacted to that whole scene rather strong. It was the degradation of our team and three of its finest people as culprits in a situation where many were at fault. I reacted out of hate.&rdquo;</p><p>Sinden was also upset when the Pittsburgh Penguins changed their colors and adopted the distinctive black and gold of the Bruins. Then it was disclosed that the Penguins purchased the uniforms through a Boston shop owned by the Bruins.</p><p>&ldquo;When I buy a can of soup the president of Campbell&rsquo;s doesn&rsquo;t know about it,&rdquo; said Mooney. &ldquo;I hope we didn&rsquo;t give &lsquo;em too good a deal.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-01969/5047266-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg" title="f0018-01" width="564" height="774"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>Rick. Middleton got hot for the Bruins at the right time with suspensions of three players.</i></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0018-01

Middleton Latest Moses For Bruins

<div class="byline">BY NEIL MILBERT</div><p>&ldquo;I think he&rsquo;s here to stay,&rdquo; Jack Davison, the Hawks&rsquo; assistant general manager, agreed a few days later.</p><p>The statistics reinforce those suppositions. After a half dozen games in the big leagues, Trimper had two goals and a pair of assists and was helping to put some vim in one of the league&rsquo;s meekest offensive attacks.</p><p>&ldquo;Now that I&rsquo;m here I don&rsquo;t want to go back to New Brunswick,&rdquo; said Trimper. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t care how cold it gets in Chicago. I love it here. I honestly didn&rsquo;t think I&rsquo;d be called up in my first year as a pro.&rdquo;</p><p>Trimper was selected in the second round of the 1979 draft after tallying 62 goals and 46 assists to help Peterborough win the Memorial Cup, Canada&rsquo;s junior championship. He went to training camp with the Hawks, then was sent to their New Brunswick affiliate in the American League for seasoning.</p><p>Meanwhile, Green also was making his professional debut in the American League as coach of the Capitals&rsquo; farm team in Hershey.</p><p>&ldquo;Early this season we played Hershey and Gary and I went out to dinner and talked about old times in Peterborough,&rdquo; continued Trimper. &ldquo;Even then it seemed so much had happened in such a short time.</p><p>&ldquo;1 wasn&rsquo;t surprised to hear that he got the Washington job (after Danny Belisle was fired). Gary is a student of the game and a tremendous motivator. You wouldn&rsquo;t believe how he can get you up. You come off the ice after a bad game and you feel bad not so much for yourself but because you let him down.</p><p>&ldquo;Gary wasn&rsquo;t much older than us but in the three years I played for him in Peterborough there was never any doubt that he was the boss and knew exactly what he was doing. And that was his first coaching job.</p><p>&ldquo;He has the ability to pick the brains of people like Roger Neilson and Fred Shero and incorporate what he learns into his own philosophy. He has a system but the emphasis is on both offense and defense. He constantly stressed that I had to become a two-way player.&rdquo;</p><p>In the Ontario Hockey League&rsquo;s draft, Trimper was an eighth round choice, hardly a portent of his promise. &ldquo;I came as a defenseman,&rdquo; recalled Trimper. &ldquo;There weren&rsquo;t many openings so Gary made me a left wing.&rdquo;</p><p>It wasn&rsquo;t until last winter&mdash;his third junior season&mdash;that Trimper turned into a dynamic scorer. The knack of scoring goals has stayed with him as a professional. When Trimper was summoned to the NHL through a midnight phone call from Chicago General Manager Bob Pulford&mdash;&ldquo;Get to New York in time for the game tonight&rdquo;&mdash;he was leading the American League with vital statistics of 2632-58.</p><p>No, Chicago isn&rsquo;t Peterborough. There is a constant thought. The object of the game is still putting the puck in the net, a trick of the trade that Tim Trimper learned with a little help from his mentor, Gary Green.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

Hawks’ Gallup Reunites Trimper With Mentor

<h2><b>JORDY DOUGLAS&hellip;Hartford Whalers</b></h2><p class="dropcap"><b><span>I</span>t was another big week around the NHL for multi-goal scorers but there&rsquo;s little doubt the accolades belong to a rookie left winger by the name of Jordy Douglas.</b></p><p><b>The 22-year-old Winnipeg native turned in a four-goal game as the Hartford Whalers overpowered the New York Islanders 5-3. Douglas was a one-man show against the Isles as he scored the winning and clinching goals.</b></p><p><b>Rookies don&rsquo;t usually accomplish four-goal games. It has happened very rarely in modern NHL circles but Douglas certainly belongs after his brilliant display against the Islanders. Douglas also scored a fifth goal early in the week giving him 23 for the season. Not bad for a kid who scored only six times in 51 WHA games last year with New England.</b></p><p><b>Douglas was one of four five-goal scorers in the NHL this past week. Wayne Gretzky, Douglas&rsquo;s Hartford teammate, Mike Rogers was another, so was rookie Mike Foligno of Detroit, and veteran Al MacAdam of Minnesota.</b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

NHL Player Of The Week

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0019-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-01903/5047352-1-eng-US/f0019-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>Rookie Mike Foligno did it all this past week in the NHL. The Detroit Red Wing right winger scored two hat tricks, counted eight goals in three games and clicked on a penalty shot against the Leafs to become the leading rookie scorer in the league this season.</i> <span class="photo-credit">(Photo by Bruce Bennett)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>Owners Make Proposal</b></h2><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>ORONTO&mdash;National Hockey League owners have come up with a proposal which will give three-quarters of the league&rsquo;s players greater freedom as free agents, according to an NHL source.</p><p>Under their proposal players becoming free agents who are making less than $110,000 per season will be subject to a set compensation formula. In exchange for joining a new club, players making between $110,000 and $95,000 would cost their new club a first-round draft choice in the next draft; players making between $80,000 and $95,000 would cost a second-round choice; those between $65,000 and $80,000 would mean a third round draft choice. Players making less than $65,000 would require no compensation.</p><p>Compensation for those making over $110,000&mdash;the so-called super stars&mdash;would continue to operate as in the past with payment made in cash, players or draft choices or a combination of all three.</p><p>The owners are said to favor the new proposal because it preserves the status quo regarding the super stars and defines exactly what it will cost to sign a free agent.</p><h2><b>Sinden Fined $2,500</b></h2><p>BOSTON&mdash;Bruins&rsquo; general manager Harry Sinden has been fined by club president Paul A. Mooney for his criticism of National Hockey League boss John Ziegler.</p><p>Mooney hit Sinden with a $2,500 fine for comments made following the league&rsquo;s suspension of three Boston players as a result of the Dec. 23 fracas in New York&rsquo;s Madison Square Garden.</p><p>The Bruins&rsquo; president said that Sinden&rsquo;s remarks attacking Ziegler had done a disservice both to the Bruins, the NHL and its member clubs and that both he and Sinden agreed the comments were uncalled for.</p><p>At the same time, Mooney also pointed out that the fine was not to say that the club approved of Ziegler&rsquo;s decision.</p><h2><b>Overtime On Way</b></h2><p>KEY BISCAYNE&mdash;Overtime, on a regular-season basis, appears to be coming to the National Hockey League for the 1980-81 season.</p><p>At the general manager&rsquo;s meeting in Florida, Jan. 28 and 29, NHL clubs voted 15-5 with one abstention in favor of adopting overtime for next season. A simple majority of affirmative votes by the league&rsquo;s Board of Governors is expected to ratify the decision.</p><p>Pittsburg Pengiuns, Colorado Rockies, Boston Bruins, Montreal Canadiens and Quebec Nordiques, the latter who played in the World Hockey Association which had an overtime format, voted against the proposal.</p><p>Toronto Maple Leafs abstained.</p><h2><b>Milford To Retire</b></h2><p>KEY BISCAYNE&mdash;Vancouver general manager Jake Milford, 65, will retire from his post and hockey after the current season.</p><p>Milford, who joined the New York Rangers&rsquo; minor league operation in the late 50s, will wind up his third season as GM of the Canucks.</p><p>He served the Los Angeles Kings in a similar capacity for four years, but said that he is tired of the day to day grind, that it was getting tougher and it was time to get out.</p><h2><b>Canada Cup Moving?</b></h2><p>TORONTO&mdash;There is a strong possibility that the Canada Cup will be held in Sweden next year if the event does not take place in late September of 1980 in Canada.</p><p>Chief international hockey negotiator for Hockey Canada, Alan Eagleson, said that Sweden would be a good alternative as host country for the tournament if the Soviets and Czechoslovakians decided not to participate in Canada this fall.</p><p>With the proposed boycott of the Moscow Olympics by Canada, there exists the very strong possibility that the Soviets and most likely the Czechs would not come to Canada for the tourney.</p><p>Rather than holding the tournament, which began in 1976 as a six-nation event, with participants only from Canada, the U.S., Finland and Sweden, Eagleson feels that a Canada Cup tournament could be staged the following year (1981) in Sweden, a neutral country.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-02675/5047345-1-eng-US/f0019-022.jpg" title="f0019-02" width="1843" height="1689"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>Veteran Stan Mikita may have played his last game for the Chicago Black Hawks. The 21-year NHL veteran has been bothered by a nagging back problem this season which has limited his action to 17 games. Now Mikita says he isn&rsquo;t sure it&rsquo;s worth taking all that pain to play at age 40 and may soon announce his retirement.</i></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0019-01

SLAPSHOTS

<div class="byline">BY TONY GALLAGHER</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-01762/5047383-1-eng-US/f0020-012.jpg" title="f0020-01" width="573" height="1286"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>Rick Vaive is one of a bunch of Canucks who can&rsquo;t buy a goal on the second half thus far.</i> <span class="photo-credit">(Photo by Bruce Bennett)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><span>V</span>ANCOUVER&mdash;There was hardly a man in hockey who said anything but good things about the Vancouver Canucks during the first part of the season.</p><p>Every coach and every general manager was unanimous with the advance scouts in saying they liked Vancouver&rsquo;s attitude and their young personnel. But the question the same scouts, coaches and general managers must be asking themselves now, along with the fans at the Pacific Coliseum, is&mdash;where is that team?</p><p>The people are the same but they are different players is probably the way Winnipeg coach Tom McVie might describe it. Canucks have gone for the proverbial bleep the last seven weeks, and unless they pull out in a hurry, missing the playoffs, a feat almost impossible in the NHL today, is easily within their grasp.</p><p>The signs were there for coaches Harry Neale and Dave Dunn to see that things were not going as well as they might. Neale said the team began playing without intensity back at the beginning of December. First they were winning games over teams playing poorly without playing as well as they could. Then they began losing close games, by just not getting a well-timed goal. Then they began to be blown out in a few road games. Then they came home, and during the six-game streak they have been nothing short of embarrassed in front of their home fans.</p><div class="sidebar"><p><b>&ldquo;It is directly connected with the frustration and lack of confidence that hits a team&hellip;&rdquo;</b></p></div><p>The winless streak has reached 10 games and they have only won two of their last 18 games, a streak which has seen them take only five points from Dec. 15 to Jan. 28. They are nearing their alltime club streak for 13 games without a victory set in the 1972-73 season, days which Vancouver fans never thought they would see come to life again.</p><p>Neale thinks it is not through lack of effort that his players have gone so flat.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s the same slump that has hit every city but Philadelphia in the league so far,&rdquo; says Neale. &ldquo;It stays a lot longer in some cities than it does in others. But if you talk to the other coaches they&rsquo;ll tell you it is the same thing with the symptoms and results much the same. I don&rsquo;t think the players are not putting out, regardless of what it looks like. It&rsquo;s directly connected with the frustration and lack of confidence that hits a team under these circumstances.&rdquo;</p><p>Defenseman John Hughes, who has made several stops around hockey&rsquo;s map before reaching Vancouver here for his first year, says the team is now looking to regain or rebuild its identity.</p><p>&ldquo;People in this room are wondering just who are the Vancouver Canucks,&rdquo; said Hughes after a particular loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs. &ldquo;I guess what is happening is that we&rsquo;re all so deep in our own problems as individuals we can&rsquo;t see what is happening to the team.&rdquo;</p><p>There are a number of players who are in incredibly long scoring droughts, three on one particular line now being called the &lsquo;no bottom line&rsquo; in Vancouver. All three players appear perfectly capable of playing and playing well in the league, but their results of late have likely been driving them up the wall.</p><p>Neither Rick Vaive, Gary Lupul or Jere Gillis have scored since mid-December. But the one line that has gone well through thick and thin the club&rsquo;s top trio with Thomas Gradin, Stan Smyl and a left winger&mdash;either Gillis or of late Curt Fraser.</p><p>Smyl has had nine goals and 15 assists in his last 20 games as he&rsquo;s managed to keep his head above water statistically at least, and Gradin is only slightly behind that pace at eight goals and 15 assists in his last 15 games. Fraser has had two goals and six assists in the eight games he&rsquo;s played on the left side with the line, hardly the production of a Dionne, Simmer and Taylor combination, but pretty fair for a team that scores as few goals as Canucks.</p><p>Meanwhile defenseman Lars Lindgren has been chosen to represent Canucks in the All Star game. The burly Swede had a tremendous first half and injured his shoulder in the beginning of December. He has not regained his earlier form.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0020-01

Canucks Can’t Halt Losing Malady

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0022-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-01647/5047445-1-eng-US/f0022-012.jpg"></div><p>&bull; <b>LOCATIONS &bull; DATES &bull; PROGRAMS &bull; FACILITIES &bull; PRICES &bull; ACTIVITIES</b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0022-01

1980 SUMMER HOCKEY SCHOOLS DIRECTORY

<div class="byline">BY MIKE GASHER</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0024-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-01626/5047476-1-eng-US/f0024-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>Dryland training is part of a goaler&rsquo;s activities at hockey school. Here kids&rsquo; reflexes are tested by other kids using tennis balls.</i></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><span>I</span>T&rsquo;S TWO O&rsquo;CLOCK in the morning and Vic LeMire is kneeling on he ice at Vancouver&rsquo;s Britannia link, fiddling for a screwdriver in is tool kit. Spread out before him a computer-controlled gadget traight out of Star Trek.</p><p>signifying a goal. The computer printout indicates to one-thousandth of a second how late LeMire was in making the save, or, rather, breaking the beam of light.</p><p>The tunnel can take any one of 13 shots at speeds ranging from 20 to 140 miles an hour. LeMire is designing it for screened and deflected shots as well. He got the idea from a detective show, implementing the same principle as a burglar alarm.</p><p>&ldquo;I consider this step number one in instructing a goaltender,&rdquo; he explains. &ldquo;Step two is the puckshooting machine and step three is a game situation.&rdquo;</p><p>LeMire, who has tutored goalies aged seven to 48, says his gadgets offer more teaching potential than a player with a stick and a pail of pucks.</p><p>&ldquo;When I first started out, I&rsquo;d get shooters to try to get the puck where I wanted it. It was hard enough getting two shots the same, let along five. That&rsquo;s where the puck-shooting machine comes in.</p><p>&ldquo;The reflex tunnel serves many purposes. It enables me to stand with the goalie and instruct him without worrying about flying pucks. It allows me to instruct without worrying about injuring a kid. And it takes away the fear of getting hit by a puck, especially for the younger kids.</p><p>&ldquo;Once they learn to make a save properly, then they&rsquo;re ready to stop pucks.&rdquo;</p><p>He has coached goaltenders and he is also an instructor at the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association coaches&rsquo; certification clinics.</p><p>During the summer, when LeMire runs a six-week school, his wife Angie often has to contend with as many as 18 boarders from all over the country.</p><p>&ldquo;What we&rsquo;re trying to get across,&rdquo; says LeMire, &ldquo;is that goaltenders are not targets. Most hockey coaches mean well, but they don&rsquo;t know how to teach a goaltender.&rdquo;</p><p>&ldquo;Goaltending is a science. There&rsquo;s all kinds of different styles, there isn&rsquo;t one proper method. Each kid is an individual and he has his own style. What I try to do is correct the bad points.&rdquo;</p><p>It frustrates LeMire that even professional clubs don&rsquo;t pay enough attention to their goalkeepers.</p><p>&ldquo;A goalie can be the most important player on the ice. He&rsquo;s like a quarterback in football or a pitcher in baseball. He can be the king of the team or the laughing stock.&rdquo;</p><p>LeMire begins fiddling and adjusting again. He may not have been a Terry Sawchuk or Tony Esposito himself, but if he can help the next Ken Dryden along the way, he&rsquo;ll be satisfied.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0024-01

Goaltending Straight Out Of ‘Star Trek’

<div class="byline">BY LOIS KALCHMAN</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0026-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-01580/5047514-1-eng-US/f0026-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>Dryland training is an important and entertaining part of every hockey school and every good school should have one.</i></figcaption></div><p>What hockey school should I send my boy to?&rdquo; asks the parent. &ldquo;What should I be concerned about and what should I look for?&rdquo;</p><p>That choice can be very confusing, as there are now hockey schools, power skating schools, goaltender schools, dynamic skating power hockey and even referee schools currently in operation. Youngsters usually want to learn more about the game, the skills it requires, and, of course, how to play his position better or to learn how to play another position.</p><p>Once a parent has decided to send his boy or girl to hockey school, the next major decision is should it be a sleepover or day school? Cost will definely become a factor, but if a day school is the final decision check the hockey schools in your area to find out about, transportation availability; that might sway you to one school or another.</p><p>And for sleepover hockey schools, it is extremely important to explore in depth the type of counsellors, discipline and activities that occur after the player has left the rinks. Another consideration is the type of accommodations and the food.</p><p>Do not forget to carefully consider your child&rsquo;s age and listen carefully to what he says to determine whether or not he is actually ready for sleepover camp.</p><p>The curriculum should be outlined in detail on the brochure and, if not, speak openly and honestly with the director of the school. Find out where the emphasis of their program lies. Many have specialty programs built in where they zero in on defensive tactics, offensive plays, or have separate goaltending instructors.</p><p>Needless to say, the instructors at the school should be carefully scrutinized. The number of &ldquo;names&rdquo;, i.e. professional players, does not necessarily reflect the calibre of teaching at the school. A school who lists just one or two pros as drawing cards may be as good if not <i>better</i> than a school with a whole slate of impressive names. Just because a person can play wonderful hockey does not mean he is automatically a good teacher; in a hockey school, you want good teachers, not good names. Ask the director for a few names of previous campers so that you can get a feeling of how they enjoyed the camp and what they learned.</p><p>Another key to a camp is the amount of ice time, and the pupil-teacher ratio. Some schools offer more personalized instruction and have a small number of pupils for each instructor. Others, particularly municipally run hockey schools, tend to serve the masses more and have more pupils in each group.</p><p>Skating is the number one skill requirement to play and enjoy the game of hockey. Most schools have power skating of some sort as an integral part of their program, which includes stops and starts, crossovers, turning properly, how to keep your knees bent and how to maintain the proper skating stance. Be sure to ask if the instructors know how to recognize if a kid&rsquo;s skates don&rsquo;t fit properly or if the stance of a player is corrected so that he does skate in proper hockey position.</p><p>The difference in details of the skating program should play an important part in your decision as to where your boy should be going.</p><p>No camp spends its total time on the ice, so you should inquire about the activities away from the rink. Are they diversified or is the program totally committed to hockey? This is a factor the camper may have to decide for himself.</p><p>For example, some children don&rsquo;t like a total immersion into hockey but prefer some sort of outdoor activity, like soccer, baseball or swimming. It is your money, so make sure your child is where he wants to be.</p><p>The discipline offered can be just as important as the program itself. One undisciplined youngster can disrupt a class setup, and if the school stands for nonsense or has inept counsellors&mdash;be it day or sleepover camp&mdash;it can ruin your child&rsquo;s stay.</p><p>Here again, ask the director how they handle problem children: Do they stand for parental interference? Or does the player have to adapt to the school, rather than vice-versa?</p><p>These are the kinds of questions you&rsquo;ll be able to answer satisfactorily only by doing your own research and interviewing previous campers.</p><p>Sometimes a problem is created by the system. If a youngster with outstanding skills attends a camp, he may not be able to be slotted by age group and might find himself with much older youngsters. Most hockey schools do try to take the exceptional child into consideration, but parents may try to alter this so their youngster can &ldquo;be with a friend.&rdquo; If you and your child are faced with this kind of a situation, it depends on what you want from the school. If it is hockey school with the camaraderie of a good friend, then make sure the youngsters are just divided by age level only and request &ldquo;Billy and Johnny&rdquo; be together. But if your ultimate aim is to improve your child&rsquo;s play, then he must work at his own level of competence and be pushed a little beyond. Encourage your child to be honest with the instructors and speak up for himself if he feels there is &ldquo;something missing&rdquo;.</p><p>Sometimes, through oversight, a particular skill a player wants to learn is left out even though it may have been in the brochure. Personal experience has shown that if the child points this out, at a good hockey school they will listen because what is in a program, or out of it, determines whether the boy or girl returns.</p><p>Another point to clarify is where the hockey equipment is kept. Is there a place where it is aired overnight? Are the dressing rooms locked when the kids are on the ice, in the field, gym or pool?</p><p>If you can afford the luxury of sleepover camp on the lake, then check out their water safety program. There may be water sport instruction such as boating or waterskiing. Hiking may be part of an overall program as could arts and crafts. Unfortunately, this type of camp is expensive and becoming scarce, but it is ideal for the total hockey learning experience combined with the fun of a summer camp in the country.</p><p>Whatever your ambitions or that of your hockey player, select a camp in an area you wish and interview the director, keeping in mind some of the considerations mentioned before you commit to the hockey camp. Make sure you are satisfied with the total overall program, discipline, and supervision as well as curriculum.</p><p>As a precaution, check insurance and your liability for theft or equipment, what the school is responsible for and the responsibility of the parent.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-01544/5047507-1-eng-US/f0027-012.jpg" title="f0027-01" width="897" height="870"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0026-01

Parents Have Wide Choice Of Schools……But Selecting One Could Be Confusing

<p class="dropcap"><span>A</span>lthough there is a tendency on the part of parents to want to visit their sons at hockey schools, most camp directors are quick to discourage them.</p><p>The consensus is moms and dads should make an honest effort to leave their boys on their own during their stay at a hockey school. For some it is their first time away from home and being with new boys, gives a youngster a chance to see how the other half lives.</p><p>School directors advise that if a child screams or yells for his parents then it is a good idea for them to come and take him home. But if it is just a matter of the parents missing the child, then they should reconsider and stay away and only appear when they arrive to take him home after his school stint has expired.</p><p>Often counsellors are attempting to turn a boy around at a hockey school when parents arrive to distract him. As one instructor put it, if a parent arrives at the hockey camp in the middle of his week, they&rsquo;re not likely to leave without the boy.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

Don’t Visit Your Son At Hockey School

<div class="byline">BY LOIS KALCHMAN</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0028-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-01551/5047569-1-eng-US/f0028-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>All eyes are on the coach as these kids get a few tips on how to use their hockey sticks. Like all their other paraphernalia, sticks are important to young players.</i> <span class="photo-credit">(Photo by Jerry Hobbs)</span></figcaption></div><p>Now that you have decided what hockey school or camp your youngster will attend, the next question is what should you send the the player?</p><p>He will need all the usual equipment, plus a lock for his equipment bag. And don&rsquo;t forget to label game) everything he takes with.</p><div class="sidebar"><p><b>Varm Dressing Rooms Will Guarantee Safety Of Expensive Hockey Equipment.</b></p></div><p>and shin pads and elbow pads, thrown them in the dryer and nothing significant happened to them other than they were clean.</p><p>As for putting things like shin pads in the dryer, don&rsquo;t worry about it. Unless there is something wrong with the temperature control on your machine, the heat will not hurt the plastic in the shinguards.</p><p>A very important part of your child&rsquo;s equipment that may be overlooked are things like underwear, socks, undershirts, etc. The key here is to send only what you feel your youngster will need <i>after</i> you have discussed the equipment situation with the camp. If they do not have proper areas to dry things out, then consider that the underwear is worn next to the player&rsquo;s skin and that it should not be put on when soaked with sweat. Try and figure out how many different times per day he&rsquo;ll require a change of underwear and how long it will take for one set to dry.</p><p>Another thing to ask is if there is a pro shop with extra garter belts, tape, sticks, socks, straps, etc., and all the other things that you normally look after when your child is home.</p><p>If there is a pro shop, be sure to send extra money or make some provision with the camp. If there&rsquo;s no shop, send an extra garter belt, tape, skate laces, and anything else your son is likely to lose, misplace or break. Speaking of break, don&rsquo;t forget to pack some extra sticks, too.</p><p>What about skate sharpening? How is the cost looked after? Is there a compilation of bills that your camper runs up or, again, does he need extra money on hand?</p><p>When he is ready to go, think carefully about any type of medical problem your boy may have of which the camp should be aware. If the camp is a live-in, be sure to ask if there is a medical person on hand; if not, find out what provisions are made.</p><p>Questions! Questions! Questions! Although they seem unnecessary they have to be answered if you want to really be comfortable when you send your child to camp.</p><p>Hockey is a physical contact sport and although you can expect expert teaching and supervision all of the time, accidents do happen and it is very important to determine how well a camp is set up to cope with them.</p><p>Don&rsquo;t forget the safety measures that have been made requirements in all the CAHA (Canadian Amateur Hockey Association) and AHAUS (Amateur Hockey Association of the United States) rinks, including approved helmets and facemasks. Sometimes, older boys try to remove the facemasks so be sure to check with the camp director and see what specific equipment is required and how strictly wearing it is enforced.</p><p>Here we are again, back to the discipline in the camp. With all that costly equipment in the bags, parents must check the liability of the camp they choose for theft and whether they are covered for insurance if their youngster is injured. Unless this is spelled out in the brochure, be sure to ask. This is very important.</p><p>If your youngster is off to live-in camp, ask if there is any other sporting equipment required&mdash;like a baseball glove, soccer shoes, tennis racquet, etc.</p><p>Once you&rsquo;ve answered all these questions to your satisfaction, sit back and relax, because in spite of every precaution possible, one elbow pad, a skate or a shin pad may be left behind. Yet as long as your child comes home with a smile on his face and his bag of dirty, smelly equipment, the preparation, the questions and the worries will all be worth it!<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0028-01

Dry Equipment Vital Part Of Hockey School

<div class="byline">BY GLENN COLE</div><p>MONTREAL&mdash;Quietly, but efficiently, Brian Engblom is accomplishing a great deal for the Canadiens.</p><p>It has not been easy for the former University of Wisconsin star who turned 25 last month. There were a couple of times earlier this season when the Winnipeg native found himself sitting on the sidelines looking in for reasons no one really knows to this day.</p><p>But with the injuries to Serge Savard and Guy Lapointe, Engblom has found himself reunited with Gilles Lupien as his defense partner and, as is the case with the Rod Langway-Larry Robinson duo, the Engblom-Lupien combination is working well.</p><p>&ldquo;Everyone wants to play as much as he can,&rdquo; said Engblom. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re doing that now with the other guys out. To me there is more pressure when you are out there on spot duty.</p><p>&ldquo;The chances of things going wrong always seem to be higher when you&rsquo;re only playing five or six shifts a game. If the first two or three shifts are a little shaky, it makes it harder for the next ones out there.</p><p>&ldquo;If you do something well on the first shift, you can have a really good game. If something really goes wrong on the first shift, you might not get another one.&rdquo;</p><p>Engblom, who missed a few games with an ankle injury, is not considered a rock-&rsquo;em, sock-&rsquo;em type of defenseman. He is excellent in the shot-blocking department and is fair offensively, although he did not get his first goal of the season until Montreal&rsquo;s 51st game in Colorado.</p><p>Engblom, who has a good shot, was trying to connect with teammate Steve Shutt on a pass, but it slipped through Hardy Astrom&rsquo;s pads and the Canadiens went on to record a 3-2 triumph.</p><p>As noted previously, the Canadiens have been playing much better defensively since Claude Ruel took over the club. Aside from a sloppy 7-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres in the Canadiens&rsquo; last home appearance in January, Montreal&rsquo;s defense has been above reproach.</p><div class="sidebar"><p><b>&ldquo;It was a case of starting over right from the very first step,&rdquo; the defenseman said.</b></p></div><p>&ldquo;All of us have the basic knowledge of what we should do,&rdquo; said Engblom. &ldquo;We have been around long enough in the minors and here to know what they want us to do.</p><p>&ldquo;Those six losses in a row marked the lowest part of the season for us. It was a case of starting over right from the very first step. The defense has got to stay back and play defense. Nothing fancy.</p><p>&ldquo;We had to give everybody a specific job in a specific situation. Everybody had to do their jobs. It was as simple as that.</p><p>&ldquo;In that situation, I felt a lot better as to what my job would be on a three-on-two or whatever. Claude told us that on a three-on-two, there is supposed to be a forward back. If the winger is carrying the puck on the outside and we have a chance to take him, he wants us to. He doesn&rsquo;t want us backing in which we were doing a lot earlier in the season.</p><p>&ldquo;He told us not to worry about the middle. If something goes wrong there, that&rsquo;s the forwards&rsquo; fault. But if something happens on the outside, that&rsquo;s the defensenan&rsquo;s responsibility. &ldquo;Doing those basic things and stressing them has helped us.&rdquo;</p><p>The play of Engblom, Langway and Lupien left Ruel with some serious thinking to do as the return of Guy Lapointe and Serge Savard neared. The pressure was simple: both Lapointe and Savard are veteran defensemen, but it is also difficult to break up a winning combination without crushing confidence and drawing a lot of heat from the Montreal media who were keeping a close eye on the situation.</p><p>Ruel had one major problem as the team entered February. Utility forward Rejean Houle suffered a fractured jaw in the game against the Rockies in Denver and faced up to two months on the sidelines.</p><p>Houle was struck on the right side of the face by a clearing pass off Lupien&rsquo;s stick. He left the ice almost instantly and then quickly skated off the ice to the bench before heading to the hospital for x-rays.</p><p>Last season, Engblom broke his jaw when Paul Holmgren bopped him in the chops with a well-placed elbow in a pre-season game in late September. Engblom did not return to the lineup until Nov.1, but the injury to Houle is considered more serious.</p><p>With Houle out, Normand Dupont was dressed in his place and Mark Napier, whose ice time had been limited since Christmas, saw some additional duty.</p><p>But coach Ruel made it clear that, basically, he would be going with three lines and five defensemen, leaving Napier and Dupont as the &ldquo;extra&rdquo; forwards.</p><p>IN PASSING&mdash;The Canadiens agreed with team management&mdash;they are opposed to having overtime instituted in regular-season games next year&hellip;Michel Larocque is saying little to the Montreal media these days, but, then again, there isn&rsquo;t much to talk about&hellip;Steve Shutt suffered a Charley horse in the game against Colorado and was forced to miss half the contest&hellip;</p><p>Denis Herron was 11-2-1 heading into the All-Star break, losing only to Buffalo and Chicago.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-01540/5047600-1-eng-US/f0030-012.jpg" title="f0030-01" width="598" height="996"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>Knowing that you&rsquo;re going to play a regular shift means less pressure says Brian Engblom.</i></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0030-01

Steady Duty Suiting Habs’ Engblom

<div class="byline">BY ARNOLD IRISH</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-01492/5047631-1-eng-US/f0031-012.jpg" title="f0031-01" width="582" height="753"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>Larry Patey earned a regular shift with the Blues because of his penalty-killing proficiency.</i></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><span>S</span>T. LOUIS&mdash;The slogan was invented for bigger, more physical players, but smart, smooth-skating has &ldquo;put the check back in the Checkerdome&rdquo; for the St. Louis Blues this season.</p><p>Larry Patey not only has taken his regular turn all season when the Blues were shorthanded (the team has killed off 85.3 per cent of its penalties, second in the NHL only to Boston), but for the last 30 games or so has centered one of the Blues&rsquo; two checking lines for Mike Crombeen and rookie Perry Turnbull.</p><p>&ldquo;Whatever line represents a given team&rsquo;s scoring punch, that&rsquo;s who we&rsquo;re sent out to check,&rdquo; Patey said.</p><p>&ldquo;If the opponent is Los Angeles, we get Marcel Dionne, Dave Taylor and Charlie Simmer. If it&rsquo;s Boston, Terry O&rsquo;Reilly and Peter McNab.&rdquo;</p><p>Patey&rsquo;s checking line was at its best Jan. 29 in a 3-2 victory over Edmonton, utterly frustrating the Oilers&rsquo; feared line of Wayne &ldquo;The Great&rdquo; Gretzky, Blair MacDonald and Brett Callighen. That trio wa unable to manage a point. It was only the 10th time in 48 games that Gretzky had gone scoreless.</p><p>When this season started, Patey, a sixth-year performer, was limited to penalty-killing. His Blues teammates good-naturedly ribbed Patey, 26, that he was getting too old for regular duty.</p><p>&ldquo;When we had such good success penalty-killing, I think the natural reaction was &lsquo;Jeez, let&rsquo;s leave these kids in there,&rdquo; Patey said.</p><p>But so obvious were his other skills that Larry couldn&rsquo;t keep his light under a bushel. Blues coach Red Berenson has said that, far from regressing, Patey this season has played better and more inspired hockey than at any time in his career.</p><p>&ldquo;The past few years our penalty-killers have gone into the other team&rsquo;s end and set up in a box,&rdquo; Patey said, &ldquo;but this year we&rsquo;ve changed our strategy somewhat. Now we cause as much disturbance as possible and try to prevent the powerplay team from reaching the center line. Stop them from setting up in our end, which is critical.&rdquo;</p><p>Patey, who has a sixth sense that enables him to anticipate enemy moves, has scored three shorthanded goals and is tied for the NHL lead in that department with Reg Leach of Philadelphia.</p><p>&ldquo;We don&rsquo;t go out looking for shorthanded goals, but it&rsquo;s a bonus if you can get one,&rdquo; Patey said. &ldquo;Especially if you&rsquo;re behind.&rdquo;</p><p>Patey&rsquo;s checking line takes a similarly aggressive tack. &ldquo;You can&rsquo;t go out there and just expect to hang onto guys and not score yourself,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Most high-powered offensive lines aren&rsquo;t that good defensively. If you&rsquo;re on your toes, you might create your own scoring chances. And whenever the opportunity comes up, you must make it count.&rdquo;</p><p>Even on the checking line, Patey managed eight goals and eight assists in the Blues&rsquo; first 50 games.</p><p>That Patey ever reached the NHL in the first place came as a great surprise to many serious hockey observers. Although like most Canadian boys, Larry began skating at the age of four and honed his skills on the inevitable flooded backyard rink, he spent most of his boyhood playing 20 games a year (some of his peers were logging 60) of what he calls &ldquo;house league hockey&rdquo; for a team in Port Credit, near Toronto.</p><p>Patey wasn&rsquo;t exposed to serious competitive hockey until he was 17 and made the Dixie Beehives, a Junior B team for which he played two years. He was drafted by the Niagara Falls Flyers of major Junior A, but instead accepted a hockey scholarship to Boston University.</p><p>Because freshmen were ineligible for varsity play in those days, however, Patey caught on with the Braintree Hawks, a senior team.</p><p>&ldquo;While I was with them, Braintree beat the United States team, and a lot of scouts on hand to look at U.S. players saw me.&rdquo; Because he was virtually unknown, the scouts felt safe in 1973 drafting nearly everyone ahead of Patey. On the ninth round, California finally made him their seventh choice (130th overall), but Patey didn&rsquo;t want to jeopardize his college eligibility. &ldquo;I was thrilled to be drafted, even that late&mdash;I don&rsquo;t know of any player active in the NHL today who was picked lower&mdash;but my whole ambition was to finish school and then play pro, so rather than accept money I paid my own way to camp and didn&rsquo;t turn pro until I made the team.&rdquo;</p><p>He broke into pro hockey spectacularly, scoring 40 goals and 43 assists in 1973-74 for Salt Lake of the Western Hockey League and was quickly promoted to the parent Seals, for whom as an NHL rookie he accumulated 25 goals and 20 assists. Early the next season he was traded to the Blues for Wayne Merrick. Patey&rsquo;s most productive year for his present employers was 1976-77 when he had 21 goals and 29 assists.</p><p>Why did he score more as a rookie than in any subsequent season?</p><p>&ldquo;For one thing, I was on Oakland&rsquo;s power play and scored eight power play goals. For another, I got a lot of ice time. We were a young team. Our oldest player was 23. My second year with the club, newspapers described me as a &lsquo;veteran center&rsquo;.</p><p>Some professional athletes make no bones about their fear of flying and readily admit to membership in the &ldquo;White Knuckle Club&rdquo; on takeoffs and landings. Patey isn&rsquo;t numbered among them because flying is his hobby. He&rsquo;s had a private license since he was 16, has logged over 300 air hours and is into instrument flying.</p><p>He owns an antique plane, a 1946 J3 Piper Cub, and in his spare time he works with friends rebuilding the plane and overhauling the motor. On the team&rsquo;s charter flights, therefore, while some teammates squirm uneasily, Patey relaxes. &ldquo;Except,&rdquo; he&rsquo;said, &ldquo;when I read the newspapers&rdquo;.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0031-01

Patey ‘Checking In’ For St. Louis As Regular

<div class="byline">BY JIM LEAHY</div><p><b>LOUISVILLE HOCKEY STICKS</b></p><p><b>LOUISVILLE HOCKEY STICKS</b></p><p>HERSHEY&mdash;A nine-game winless streak was ended at the Hershey-park Arena when the Bears walloped the New Haven Nighthawks 9-3. A crowd of 5,721 in Hershey saw Glen Currie score a hat trick, and Jim Franceshetti add two goals to the Hershey attack that night. The Bears got solo tallies from Tony Cassolato, Harvey Pocza, Errol Rausse, and Bear coach Doug Gibson. Twenty-four hours earlier, the same two teams had squared off in New Haven with the Nighthawks winning 4-3 despite two goals by Hershey&rsquo;s Gary Rissling. In that contest, the Bears had taken a 3-2 lead after two periods and were holding their own against New Haven. The short-handed Hershey line-up eventually wilted in the third period and New Haven came on to win.</p><p>Late in the game, defenseman Mike Hayworth injured his knee after accidentally colliding with former teammate Larry Skinner. The Hershey rearguard was helped off the ice, but not before taking a wild swing at Skinner with his stick, earning him a match penalty and possible suspension by the AHL.</p><p>The Bears ended their tour of the Maritimes by holding Nova Scotia to a 2-2 overtime tie in Halifax and then again in Hershey two days later, and this time the Voyageurs won 4-1. That contest featured three altercations between AHL &lsquo;badmen&rsquo; Chris Nilan and Gary Rissling of the Bears. Rissling was returning to the Hershey line-up after missing 11 games with a knee injury and the crowd of 2,781 at the arena welcomed the fiery winger back to action.</p><p>Injuries and call-ups to the parent Washington Capitals still make it virtually impossible for coach Doug Gibson to concentrate on coaching. He was forced into duty in the game in New Haven and return match back home.</p><p><b>MAINE:</b> Crowds continue to flock to the Civic Center as the Mariners have attracted an average of more than 5,360 fans per game this season. At. their recent game against New Brunwick a crowd of 4,900 was on hand. Unfortunately, the home team lost 2-1 and as a result failed to gain ground in the tight northern division race.</p><p>Center Dave Gardner has joined the Mariners. The six-foot, 185-pound native of Toronto has 348 NHL games under his belt and should help Maine. He was Montreal&rsquo;s first selection in the 1972 draft and has played 89 games in the AHL to go with his stint in the NHL. Gardner played 66 games for Nova Scotia in &lsquo;72-&rsquo;73 and has seen action in Springfield and Bingham-ton.</p><p>Defensemen Terry Murray and Dennis Patterson are out with injuries. In addition, center Wayne Schaab is playing with a slight knee problem. Goaltender Robbie Moore was also off for awhile causing the Mariners to dress trainer Dave Settlemeyer.</p><p>The week ended on home ice at the Civic Center in Syracuse in reverse sweater night. That game turned out to be a 10-3 romp for the Mariners.</p><p><b>NOVA SCOTIA:</b> Locked in a frantic battle with New Brunswick for the northern division lead, every game the Voyageurs play seems to be important. The Vees left Halifax after skating to a 2-2 tie with Hershey for three straight games on the road. They tied Hershey 4-4, ditched the Adirondack Red Wings 2-1 and lost 4-2 in Springfield, leaving them two points behind New Brunswick.</p><p>The parent Montreal Canadiens sent some help during the week Defenseman/winger Dave Saatzer came in from Flint of the IHL and winger Bill Riley from Winnipeg. Gaston Gingras was recalled for awhile by the Canadiens.</p><p>The Vees have no less than four players among the top 10 AHL scoring leaders. Norm Dube, Keith Acton, Dan Metivier and Rick Meagher are having a field day on AHL netminders as the Vees battle New Brunswick for the top spot in the North.</p><p><b>SPRINGFIELD:</b> The Indians visited Glens Falls during the week and faced the Red Wings in an important contest. However, Springfield fans suffered a setback as the Wings skated to a big 5-2 victory. Springfield and Adirondack are battling for a probable playoff spot by finishing in fourthplace in their division. At one time, the Wings held a 14-point lead over Springfield, however, the Tribe now has a slim advantage over the Wings.</p><p>Coach Larry Kish has decided to rotate goaltenders Ken Holland and Terry Richardson and the duo has responded with steady netminding. At one point recently, they had given up only 12 goals in five games.</p><p>The week ended at home against Nova Scotia at the Big E Coliseum after the Tribe had defeated New Brunswick 5-4 a night earlier. Springfield raced to a 4-2 win over the Vovageurs.</p><p><b>SYRACUSE:</b> For several weeks the Firebirds have had sole possession of fourth-place in the Southern Division while the Binghamton Dusters floundered. The key home-and-home series with the Dusters took place during the week, however, the result was indecisive. The game in Binghamton was won 4-3 by the Dusters and the return match in Syracuse 6-5 by the Firebirds. Prior to the pair of contests, the two teams had not met since Nov. 30.*</p><p>More roster changes were in store for the Firebirds. Left winger Alain Cote, and center Peter Marrin were recalled by the co-parent Quebec Nordiques.</p><p><b>NEW BRUNSWICK:</b> The Hawks are red-hot! But they have to be to stay ahead of teams like Nova Scotia and defending champion Maine. After beating the Mariners 2-1 in Portland and extending their streak to a 7-1-2, the Hawks were defeated 5-4 in Springfield. Back at Moncton, the Adirondack Red Wings provided the opposition and the Hawks dropped a 4-1 decision.</p><p><b>ROCHESTER:</b> Veteran Ron Garwasiuk scored two goals but the New Haven Nighthawks came back from a 4-3 deficit to hold the Amerks to a 4-4 at the War Memorial Auditorium. Rochester went ahead on rookie Mark Toffolo&rsquo;s slapshot, but the Nighthawks erased the lead on Bill Lochead&rsquo;s 30th goal of the year. The.</p><p>A game in Binghamton ended the week&rsquo;s activities. In that contest Rochester won. Earlier, the club released goaltender Jim Bedard after a brief trial with the improving Amerks. Bedard had seen NHL action with Washington.</p><p><b>ADIRONDACK:</b> The fans keep pouring into the new Glens Falls Civic Center just like they do in Maine. The new AHL team is having a fantastic year at the box office, despite the fact that they presently reside in the Northern Division basement. Sellout crowds have now become common in Glens Falls. For people who wonder where this hockey mecca is, they should consult a map of the Albany/Lake George, N.Y. area. Glens Falls is about 40 miles north of Albany, a short distance to the south of the beautiful Lake George region. It&rsquo;s not too far from the site of the Lake Placid Olympics.</p><p>Back on the ice, the Wings beat Springfield 5-2 and lost to Nova Scotia in games played at the Civice Center. A quick trip to New Brunswick ended in a big 4-1 win over the Hawks.</p><p><b>BINGHAMTON:</b> After splitting a home-and-home series, with Syracuse, the Dusters lost a brawl-filled 7-4 contest to New Haven. Dan Newman scored twice and the club got solo tallies from Doug Butler and Dan Bonar but it was not enough to overcome the sevengoal attack.</p><p>Prior to the loss to New Haven, the improving Dusters had won three of their last four. Randv MacGregor, who assisted on two Duster goals in a recent game, has surpassed Richard Grenier as the greatest scorer in Duster history. In his third AHL season, MacGregor now has more than 144 points as a Duster while Grenier had 141 in two AHL campaigns.</p><p><b>NEW HAVEN:</b> Nighthawks set all kinds of records during the week. They tied 4-4 in Rochester and lost 9-3 in Hershey, but the big news was on home ice. New Haven-area fans set a new record for the largest weekend attendance this season when 11,542 saw the nighthawks edge Hershey and Binghamton. A crowd of 6,326 was on hand for the 4-3 win over the Bears and 5,216 saw an afternoon contest, won by New Haven by a 74 margin.</p><p>Goaltender Doug Soetaert ran his unbeaten string to 13-games, a Nighthawk record in the giant brawl against Binghamton that set a team penalty mark. Referee Mike Noeth called 196 penalty minutes in the contest, including 137 in a wild bench-clearing brawl.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-01514/5047662-1-eng-US/f0032-012.jpg" title="f0032-01" width="600" height="764"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>The Vees dominate the league&rsquo;s scoring leaders, including sophomore Keith Acton.</i></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0032-01

Bears Outburst Wallops Nighthawks

<div class="byline">BY TOM LOBAUGH</div><p><b>LOUISVILLE HOCKEY STICKS</b></p><p><b>LOUISVILLE HOCKEY STICKS</b></p><p>BIRMINGHAM&mdash;Back-to-back home victories over Dallas, 7-6 and 6-3, enabled John Brophy&rsquo;s Bulls to stay within two points of first-place Salt Lake, although the Eagles had two games in hand.</p><p>Playing nine of 10 games at home, as January turned into February, the Bulls were hoping they could regain undisputed possession of the top rung. &ldquo;If we&rsquo;re ever going to do it, we&rsquo;ve got to do it now,&rdquo; Brophy told his men.</p><p>The first game with Dallas was a wild one, as the Bulls saw an early 4-0 lead turn into 5-5 and 6-6 ties. Dale Lewis of Birmingham and Brad Smith of Dallas each posted hat tricks. Lewis had two goals in the opening period, following tallies by Bobby Gould and Rick Adduono, before Smith scored for the Hawks. Smith had two more in the second period, and Dirk Graham also scored for Dallas, while Gould got his second for the Bulls.</p><p>The Hawks&rsquo; Brad Gassoff tied it early in the third. Lewis completed his hat trick but Dave Salvian tied it again before Jim MacRae got the winning goal with 4:26 to play. Tim Bernhardt notched his fourth straight victory, his first at home in that span.</p><p>After spotting the Hawks an early goal (by Smith), the Bulls took charge in the rematch. It was their seventh straight win at home, the CHL&rsquo;s longest such streak this season. Dave Gorman, Serge Beaudoin and Larry Sacharuk counted in the first period, Beaudoin again in the second, and Earl Ingarfield and MacRae in the third. That game drew 7,888 fans.</p><p>Ingarfield at center, MacRae at left wing, and Gould at right wing had become the Bulls&rsquo; &ldquo;hot line&rdquo;, although center Adduono, left wing Lewis and right wing Mike Dwyer were still going strong. The Bulls welcomed back left wing Paul Henderson from the Atlanta Flames, and defenseman Paul Terbenche returned to duty, wearing a &ldquo;bird cage&rdquo; to protect the nose he broke in a practice session.</p><p>Left wing Harvey Bennett was sidelined with impaired vision, attributed to a reaction to his contact lens fluid.</p><p><b>OKLAHOMA CITY:</b> The &ldquo;second season&rdquo; was going great for Ted Hampson&rsquo;s Stars, as they racked up four straight victories, all at home. But the bubble burst on a trip to Houston that kept the Stars in the cellar. However, they were only a point behind seventhplace Dallas, and three back of Houston and Fort Worth, who shared fifth place.</p><p>The Stars ended two months of frustration against their turnpike rivals, beating Tulsa in a home game, 2-1, behind the brilliant goaltending of Jim Warden, who blanked the Oilers for 59:26. Joe Contini and Robbie Laird did the OC scoring. The Tulsans still led, 6-3, in the 17-game series, after posting four straight victories over an eight-week span.</p><p>The next night Louis Levasseur posted his second straight shutout, 3-0 against Fort Worth, the team he had blanked in his previous start, eight days earlier. In both whitewash jobs, Louis faced just 16 shots. Ted Olson scored in the first period, Dave Delich and Jon Fontas in the third.</p><p>Fontas had the Stars&rsquo; only tally in the visit to Houston. Olson missed that game after suffering a concussion.</p><p>The fans were flocking to the Myriad, peaking with a turnout of 5,882 for the Fort Worth game. The Stars had averaged 5,303 fans for their last seven home dates.</p><p>Defenseman Don Jackson was still sidelined with his shoulder injury, and Curt Giles was recalled by the Minnesota North Stars. Blueliner Wes Coulson was brought back from Baltimore in the Eastern League for the emergency. Winger Dave Hanson, who had picked up 174 penalty-minutes for Birmingham earlier in the season, was sent down by Minnesota, but recalled as the new week started.</p><p><b>TULSA:</b> Four games on the road were &ldquo;nail-biters&rdquo; for Oiler coach Mike Smith, as the Tulsans had opportunities to win them all, but came home with a 1-3 record for the trip. They lost an overtime 3-2 game in Dallas, took a 4-3 victory in Indianapolis, suffered a 2-1 setback in Oklahoma City, then returned to Indianapois and were shut out, 2-0, by Jim Park.</p><p>The fourth-place Oilers were seven points behind third-place Indianapolis, and only four in front of Fort Worth and Houston, who shared fifth.</p><p>Goalie Markus Mattsson and left wing John Bethel were recalled by the Winnipeg Jets, who returned veteran goalie Gary Smith and left wing Pat Daley. Goalie Smith&rsquo;s arrival was delayed, as he drove his family to Tulsa. With forwards Bob Guidon and Dave Hoyda on the injured list, center Randy Hohns and winger Benoit Gosselin were brought up from Dayton of the International League, but returned after a week.</p><p>In Dallas second-period goals by Jim Wiley and Bud Stefanski tied the score, but the Oilers suffered their first overtime loss, after three victories and four ties. Mattsson was in the Tulsa nets.</p><p>Goalie Lindsay Middlebrook was the hero in the victory at Indianapolis, as the Oilers rallied from a quick two-goal deficit. Mark Heaslip scored twice, with Larry Hopkins and Tim Dunlop getting the other goals.</p><p>But in Oklahoma City the Oilers came within 34 seconds of being shut out by Jim Warden. Mohns was the shutout-spoiler, as the Oilers pulled goalie Jim Bedard on a later power play. The next night the Tulsans couldn&rsquo;t dent Park&rsquo;s armor, and Indy squared the season series at 4-4. Middlebrook was the losing goalie, as the Checkers outshot the Oilers, 25-14.</p><p><b>INDIANAPOLIS:</b> After three straight losses (one at home), Bert Marshall&rsquo;s Checkers broke the slump behind Jim Park&rsquo;s goaltending, as he blanked Tulsa, 2-0, for a split of the two-game set.</p><p>Earlier the Checkers had suffered two losses in Salt Lake (7-5 and 5-2) and bowed at home to Tulsa (4-3). The setbacks in the Salt Palace ran Indy&rsquo;s road streak to five losses. Marshall was glad to get back to Market Square Arena for a six-game homestand.</p><p>Indianapolis had lost ground to the other first-division teams, falling. five points behind Salt Lake and three behind Birmingham, while staying seven ahead of Tulsa.</p><p>Six power play goals, three by each side, featured the 7-5 loss in Salt Lake. Kevin Devine had a shorthanded goal in the second period, as the Checkers rallied from a three-goal deficit to tie the game twice in the third. Ed Pizunski, Alex McKendry and Neil Hawryliw scored powerplay goals for Indy, and Garth MacGuigan tied the game for the last time before the Eagles pulled it out.</p><p>MacGuigan and Pizunski twice put the Checkers in front in the rematch, but the Eagles got four unanswered goals in the last two periods. Devine and Hector Marini provided an early lead that didn&rsquo;t stand up when Tulsa came to town, and MacGuigan&rsquo;s late goal wasn&rsquo;t enough. But Yvon Vauteur scored both goals to back up Park&rsquo;s first CHL shutout two nights later.</p><p>Defenseman Mike Hordy suffered a knee injury in the second Salt Lake game, and missed the Tulsa series.</p><p><b>FORT WORTH:</b> Halfway through a gruelling 10-game road swing, the Texans were 1-3-1 and tied for fifth in the jockeying for playoff positions. They tied at Houston, 4-4, scored their second win over the speady U.S. Olympians, 5-3 in the Bloomington Met Center, but were shut out in Oklahoma City by Louis Levasseur, 3-0. Ron Ullyot&rsquo;s club had a six-victory string still alive at Will Rogers Coliseum, if they could ever get back there.</p><p>Les Auge scored twice in the tie at Houston. Bob Sheehan, Marlin Malinowski and Auge tallied in the middle period to rally the Texans into a 3-1 lead. Auge&rsquo;s third period tally provided a 4-3 lead, but the Apollos came back to tie.</p><p>The Texans proved their earlier victory over the Olympians was no fluke by jumping to a quick 3-0 lead on goals by Sheehan, Don Ashby and Auge, himself a member of the Olympic squad on loan to Fort Worth. The Olympians got two goals from Mike Eruzions and a late one from Mark Pavelich, but Malinowski and Andy Spruce</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-01466/5047693-1-eng-US/f0033-012.jpg" title="f0033-01" width="558" height="906"></div><p>goals by Ernie Hicks and Gerry Minor had been answered.</p><p>Right wing Brad Smith, who returned to Dallas in time to play that game (setting up Salvian&rsquo;s winning goal) had a hat trick in the 7-6 loss at Birmingham, and the opening goal the next night. Dirk Graham, Brad Gassoff and Salvian joined Smith in the next game&rsquo;s scoring. Bill Hazlett, returning after battling pneumonia for nearly three weeks, scored the last two Hawk goals in the next day&rsquo;s loss.</p><p>Gassoff was hit in the leg, and was hospitalized for a few days with phlebitis. Doug LeCuyer returned to the Chicago Black Hawks when his leg injury failed to respond to treatment. Defenseman Greg Hubick was returned to Dallas.</p><p><b>SALT LAKE:</b> With a 3-1 week, Jack Evans&rsquo; Golden Eagles took over undisputed first place, only two points ahead of Birmingham, but with two games in hand. Starting a string of eight straight home games, the Birds whacked Indianapolis twice, 7-5 and 5-2, bowed to Houston in a 6-5 game but came back to avenge that loss 3-1.</p><p>Defenseman Len Frig had four assists in the first victory over the Checkers, one shy of a club record. Brian Ogilvie, Bobby Simpson and Doug Palazzari scored in the first period, and Joe Mullen made it 4-1 at the start of the second. Indy rallied to tie, and a Rick Bowness goal of the second. Indy rallied to tie, and a Rick Bowness goal was answered. Dick Lamby got the winning goal, and Ogilvie added an empty-netter.</p><p>Palazzari injured a knee in the first game against Houston, but not until after he had notched his 99th career goal for Salt Lake. He missed the rematch, as did Bobby Crawford. The Eagle lead didn&rsquo;t last long, as Houston tied the game in the first, then scored four more in the second before Ogilvie counted for the Birds. Floyd Thomson, Richie Hansen and Bowness scored in the third.</p><p>Frig drew a match penalty and Houston&rsquo;s Dean Magee a game misconduct for an altercation, and both sat out one-game suspensions the next day. Injuries to other players left the Birds with only 13 skaters, the Apollos 14, for &ldquo;the battle of the survivors&rdquo;, and an injury to Larry Brown quickly reduced Houston to 13 skaters. Neil Labatte, Bowness and Simpson provided the Salt Lake goals, as rookie goalie Rick Heinz ran his personal unbeaten record to five games.</p><p><b>HOUSTON:</b> Al Rollins&rsquo; Apollos gained ground by splitting in Salt lake (a 6-5 victory and a 3-1 loss), beating Oklahoma City (5-1) and tying Fort Worth (4-4) at home. They shared fifth place with Fort Worth, and were just four points behind fourth-place Tulsa.</p><p>Tom Roulston had to tie the Fort Worth game twice, with goals in the second and third periods, the list with 2&rsquo;19 remaining in regulation. Roy Sommer and Mike Toal had scored earlier.</p><p>Alex Tidey&rsquo;s hat trick spiced the win in Salt Lake. Wayne Bianchin. Dean Magee and Mark Miller got the other goals. In the rematch Ron Carter&rsquo;s 28th goal (on a power play) was all the Apollos could muster.</p><p>But the scoring drought ended with a vengeance against Oklahoma City. Ron Areshenkoff started it off, followed by Sommer, Miller, Blanchin and Tidey.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0033-01

Home Arena Like Red Flag For Birmingham

<div class="byline">BY BUD GALLMEIER</div><p><b>LOUISVILLE HOCKEY STICKS</b></p><p><b>LOUISVILLE HOCKEY STICKS</b></p><p>A year ago when they posted 50 victories and compiled a record-setting 109 points, the Owls came up one game short in the playoffs bowing to Kalamazoo in the seventh-game of the championship series.</p><p>There are some observers who believe the Owls peaked too soon last season. Their performance in the playoffs reflect as much. It took the Owls a unique eight games to eliminate Milwaukee in the first round&mdash;the extra game coming by degree from then-commissioner Bill Beagan. The Owls then were forced to play seven tough games before ousting Fort Wayne in the semi-finals then came the disappointing seventhgame loss in the finals to the K-Wings.</p><p>Nobody can say the Owls have peaked too soon this time out, instead, MacDonald and his crew appear to be just finding then-stride. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re climbing and by the time the playoffs get here, I think we&rsquo;ll be ready,&rdquo; MacDonald pointed out. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ll make the playoffs and have a good record doing it. The playoffs are a whole different thing. It&rsquo;s <i>a</i> brand new season,&rdquo; MacDonald added.</p><p>He&rsquo;s right as the Owls found that out a year ago.</p><p><b>FORT WAYNE:</b> While the Komets dominate the South Division, they are steadily losing ground to North Division leader Kalamazoo in the race for the overall lead which offers the Huber Trophy as prize and the homeice advantage throughout the playoffs.</p><p>The Komets were 2-1 for the week winning home games over Dayton and Port Huron while losing to Saginaw, their first loss of the season to the Gears.</p><p>Coach Moose Lallo was looking to improve his club but players with the talent to help were in short supply. The injury list, which has plagued the Komets most of the season has shrunk to one. Only left winger Greg Hickey is unfit for duty at the present time and he&rsquo;s expected back within a week.</p><p><b>TOLEDO:</b> The Goaldiggers continue to have two major problems&mdash;defense and offense or lack of same. The Diggers who were 0-2-1 for the week and 2-7-2 for January have scored less goals than any other team in the IHL. In addition, the diggers ranked eighth in goals against.</p><p>Complicating coach Gregg Pilling&rsquo;s problems is the fact that Len Fontaine, the club&rsquo;s leading scorer, has a broken wrist. Toledo is still second in the South, but only five points away from last place.</p><p><b>DAYTON:</b> It didn&rsquo;t take Dayton long to find out what the loss of Randy Mohns and Benoit Gosselin would mean for their chances in the trophy hunt. The two, who combined for 35 goals and 43 assists for the Gems, were called up to Tulsa by Winnipeg. Dayton hasn&rsquo;t won since. They lost four straight, the last two at home. Two of the losses were by one-goal&mdash;a margin which the Mohns-Gosselin tandem seemingly could have erased</p><p><b>MILWAUKEE:</b> The Admirals had a light week, but a successful one. In their only performance, they beat Muskegon on the road, 54 with Claude St. Sauveur getting the winning goal with less than two minutes to play.</p><p>The victory was the second straight on the road for Milwaukee which prompted coach Phil Wittliff to say: &ldquo;I&rsquo;m glad we&rsquo;ve finally won two in a row on the road. Maybe things are starting to turn around. We&rsquo;ve still got an uphill battle, but I feel confident we&rsquo;ll make the playoffs.&rdquo;</p><p><b>KALAMAZOO:</b> The K-Wings, who earlier established an IHL record with a 15-game undefeated string have started a new streak. The K-Wings were 3-0 for the week, following a two-game losing streak. Two of the victories were over Grand Rapids, their rival of the Turner Cup finals last season.</p><p>The IHL record for consecutive victories is 14, held jointly by Fort Wayne and the old Minneapolis Millers.</p><p><b>SAGINAW:</b> The Gears also are on a winning streak, but they can&rsquo;t seem to make up any ground on Kalamazoo. Saginaw was 3-0, including a 6-3 romp over Fort Wayne, the Gears&rsquo; first triumph, over the Komets this season. Saginaw finished the week with 60 points, nine behind Kalamazoo, however, the Gears were only one behind Fort Wayne in the overall points chase.</p><p><b>PORT HURON:</b> The Flags welcomed the return of goalie Paul Skidmore who injured his hand back on December 21. At the time of the injury, the Flags were coleaders of the North.</p><p>Prior to the injury, Skidmore had a 13-3-3 record and a 3.39 goals against average. Skidmore&rsquo;s return wasn&rsquo;t a happy event, however. He lost to Fort Wayne, 7-5. The Flags rebounded with a victory at Dayton and finished the week a solid third in the division six points in front of fourth-place Flint.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-01530/5047724-1-eng-US/f0034-012.jpg" title="f0034-01" width="612" height="890"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>Port Huron&rsquo;s Paul Skidmore came back after a month on the sidelines to raise Flags&rsquo; hopes.</i></figcaption></div><p><b>FLINT:</b> Generals enjoyed a pretty successful road trip picking up three of a possible six points. The lone loss of the 1-1-1 week was a shocker, however. The Generals were bombed at Grand Rapids, 101.</p><p><b>MUSKEGON:</b> The Mohawks were 1-2 for the week and in danger of dropping from the playoff picture. The lone victory was a 5-3 effort over Dayton at home. Muskegon lost at home to Milwaukee and on the road to Kalamazoo. They now have 38 points, same as Dayton in the South. The only club below is Milwaukee with 35.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0034-01

Bartoli Enjoys MacDonald’s Acting As Owls Build Late-Year Momentum

<div class="byline">BY VIRG FOSS</div><p>HOUGHTON&mdash;They&rsquo;re playing the numbers game in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association.</p><p>For John MacInnes of Michigan Tech, it&rsquo;s No. 500. For Lefty Smith of Notre Dame, it&rsquo;s No. 200, and for Ron Mason of Michigan State, it&rsquo;s No. 300.</p><p>Those three veteran coaches reached those milestones as the WCHA is down to the final four weekends of play prior to past-season playoffs. And for MacInnes, Smith and Mason, it&rsquo;ll be a season to remember.</p><p>The long-awaited No. 500 came to MacInnes when Michigan Tech beat WCHA leader North Dakota 64 before 4,200 fans at Houghton&rsquo;s annual Winter Carnival celebration. Two goals by freshman Mike Lauen helped Tech survive a Sioux comeback before Lauen wrapped it up on a breakaway.</p><p>That started the celebration in Houghton, where MacInnes is now just two victories away from the all-time winning record for a college coach. The record 501 by Snooks Kelly of Boston College, seems to be within easy reach of MacInnes, now in his 24th season of coaching at Tech.</p><p>But No. 500 wasn&rsquo;t so easy. North Dakota stalled the celebration when sophomore wing Gary Eades slammed in a goal with 1:08 left in regulation play to pull a tie out for the Sioux in a 3-3 standoff. Neither team could score in the 10-minute sudden death overtime.</p><p>But Tech jumped to a 4-1 first period lead in the second game and the Sioux fell just short in a valiant comeback effort. Rookie Darren Jensen, who replace Bob Iwabuchi in the North Dakota nets after one period, held the Sioux in the game with 31 saves in the last two periods.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a great feeling,&rdquo; said MacInnes, who got his first victory over Port Arthur in 1956. &ldquo;But for a time, it seemed more like a millstone than a milestone,&rdquo; he said.</p><p>Indeed it was. Notre Dame kept MacInnes from earning No. 500 the previous week by sweeping Tech in Houghton. And the 500th seemed miles away when Eades pulled out a tie for the Sioux.</p><p>When North Dakota rallied in the second game, MacInnes could almost see the 500th slipping away again. Was he nervous? &ldquo;No, but I was shaking all over,&rdquo; he said with a laugh.</p><p>The search for No. 500 has taken its toll on both MacInnes and his club. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s been too much of a buildup. It&rsquo;s been more of a nuisance than anything. It&rsquo;s been a pain in the butt, to be frank. The bad thing about it is that I&rsquo;ve gotten the publicity, not the players. I&rsquo;ve had at least 20 newspapers from Boston to Chicago calling me this last week,&rdquo; he said.</p><p>Outwardly, MacInnes wouldn&rsquo;t admit the 500th meant more to him than any other.</p><p>&ldquo;The good thing about it is that it helps us in the standings. Any win is a step toward a better season. That&rsquo;s what has concerned me, not the 500th win,&rdquo; he said.</p><p>Once he reached that goal, he still had Kelly&rsquo;s record to shoot for. It&rsquo;ll come&mdash;sometime. &ldquo;Sure. It&rsquo;ll come. Maybe next year, maybe three years from now,&rdquo; MacInnes said.</p><p>The 200th for Lefty Smith at Notre Dame, a 4-3 win over Wisconsin, had to be bittersweet.</p><p>It came on a day when a daughter gave birth to a son, making Lefty a proud grandfather again.</p><p>But it came at a time when Notre Dame has put a moratorium on a college athletic scholarship, except for those in football and basketball.</p><p>Notre Dame, caught in the squeeze of Title IX demanding equal athletic opportunities for women, may be especially hard hit by the demands of the law. Notre Dame, built as an all-male school, isn&rsquo;t equipped with all the necessary facilities for women expected by Title IX.</p><p>Until the school can decide what is to be done, it has cut off all new scholarships for sports like hockey.</p><p>It leaves Notre Dame&rsquo;s program in limbo and Smith&rsquo;s future too. &ldquo;We will be a member of the WCHA the rest of this season and all of next year,&rdquo; Smith said. Other than that, he has no assurance of Notre Dame&rsquo;s hockey future, either.</p><p>Smith says the Irish can be competitive next year without any new scholarships. The Irish lose just four seniors from a team that is now making a belated run for the WCHA title with a full roster of healthy players for the first time this year.</p><p>Notre Dame could elect to help form a new league with such schools as Michigan, Michigan State, Bowling Green and Ohio State, which would reduce travel costs considerably.</p><p>Or the school could elect to keep some of its athletic receipts in athletics, rather than turn over hundreds of thousands of dollars annually to the general fund to cut student costs, as it does now.</p><p>The leaders of Notre Dame will meet later this month to decide the future of such sports as hockey at the highly-respected school.</p><p>Until then, Smith must be wondering if the 200th was his last major celebration.</p><p>Michigan State&rsquo;s Mason earned his 300th college coaching victory a week earlier when Michigan State beat Wisconsin 5-4 in Madison.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-01501/5047755-1-eng-US/f0035-012.jpg" title="f0035-01" width="588" height="654"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>Notre Dame&rsquo;s Lefty Smith reached 200 triumphs as a coach but his hockey program is in trouble.</i></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0035-01

Coaches Gain Milestone Victories But Notre Dame’s Program In Limbo

<div class="byline">BY MIKE MURRAY</div><p class="dropcap"><span>H</span>AMILTON&mdash;The McMaster Marlins have reached the top of the ivory tower in the Canadian Intercollegiate Athletic Union as they were voted to the number one position in the top ten poll. Last year&rsquo;s coach of the year Bill Mahoney took his Marlins to the OUAA finals last year only to lose to Guelph. But this year the big and physical Mac squad have only lost one game in league play and are headed toward reversing last year&rsquo;s loss.</p><p>The Marlins have two of the league&rsquo;s top five scorers in their lineup. Both Rick Mastroluisi and Rick Rizzo have been leading their club offensively while two giants have once again been a tower of strength on the blueline. Norm Cal at six-foot-three and Rae Hanske at six-foot-four have been intimidating opposing forwards all season with their robust style. Mahoney has been alternating goalers Wayne Mills and Bruce Davie who have combined to give Mahoney his best-ever one-two punch.</p><p>The Marlins made it 10 in a row without a loss by knocking off York 6-5 and Windsor 7-3 before having to settle for a 4-4 tie with Waterloo. Once again Mastroluisi was a standout as he collected five goals and four assists in the three games played. Dave Wilson also had a hand in five goals and the little mite continues to be the sparkplug of this McMaster club.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-02398/5047786-1-eng-US/f0035-022.jpg" title="f0035-02" width="585" height="771"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>Rick Mastroluisi continued his hot-hand for the Marlins with nine points in three games.</i></figcaption></div><p>Elsewhere in Ontario Queen&rsquo;s kept pace with the front running Marlins as they defeated Waterloo and Laurier. The Golden Gaels have been the only team to defeat McMaster, and Queen&rsquo;s is looking forward to getting another crack at them. Paul Stothart&mdash;as he has been doing all year&mdash;paced his club with another five point week, while Teammate John McIntyre had a hand in six goals.</p><p>The Laurentian Vees handed Toronto their second loss of the year as they knotched three third-period goals to down the Blues 5-3. The Vees then moved to within two points of third place Toronto by downing York 5-4. With only a month remaining, the fight for the top four places is certainly far from over.</p><p><b>QUAA:</b> The Ottawa Gee Gees under their new head coach Norm Chouinard have put together a record of four wins and one loss since he took over the reins. The Gee Gees have now moved into second place and are presently only two points behind the front running Patriotes. McGill, Bishops and Concordia all fell to Ottawa recently. McGill provided little competition as the Gee Gees downed them 9-3. Brad Davis, Chris Jodin and Gary Graf all netted a pair of goals for the winners. Their next victims, the Bishop Gaitors, fell 5-2 as Bob Cloutier scored two goals, but the Gee Gees saved the best for the last.</p><p>After trailing Concordia by 5-2 after 40 minutes of play, the Gee Gees put together their best period of the year and scored four unanswered goals to win 6-5. The hero was Gord McLean as he scored the winning goal with only two seconds left in the game. Brad Davis again knotched a pair of goals for the winners.</p><p>Trois-Rivieres Patriotes continued to lead the QUAA and are looking awesome. The Patriotes blanked Chicoutimi 5-0 as Daniel Coutu blocked 26 Inuks&rsquo; shots. But he was aided by two goal performances by Pierre Tasse and Francois Bellerose. Norm Meunier&rsquo;s squad has still only lost one game in 15 outings and has climbed into fifth place in the top ten rankings.</p><p>Elsewhere in Quebec, McGill won their third game of the season as they downed Laval 5-3. Ken Covo had a pair of goals for the winners while singles went to Dave Mitchell, Gary Mann and Dave Moritsugu.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0035-02

McMaster’s Lengthy Streak Places Them No. 1 In Poll

<h2><b>ECAC CONFERENCE</b></h2><p><b>(Standings on Mon. Feb. 4)</b></p><h3><b>EAST DIVISION</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-01416/5047981-1-eng-US/f0037-012.jpg" title="f0037-01" width="557" height="185"></div><h3><b>WEST DIVISION</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-02298/5047974-1-eng-US/f0037-022.jpg" title="f0037-02" width="562" height="156"></div><h3><b>IVY DIVISION</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-03226/5047967-1-eng-US/f0037-032.jpg" title="f0037-03" width="571" height="179"></div><h2><b>GAMES COMPLETED</b></h2><p>Providence 4, Yale 3</p><p>RPI 3. Brown 0</p><p>Colgate 4, Clarkson 2</p><p>Cornell 5, Princeton 3</p><p>Vermont 3, St. Lawrence 2</p><p>Dartmouth 6, Boston College 5</p><p>Northeastern 9, Maine 3</p><p>Boston College 6, Colgate 3</p><p>Brown 10, St. Lawrence 2</p><p>Dartmouth 4, Cornell 3</p><p>Maine 5, Harvard 3</p><p>New Hampshire 8, Yale 7</p><p>RPI 4, Princeton 2</p><p>Brown 5, Clarkson 2</p><p>Providence 4, St. Lawrence 0</p><p>Boston Univ. 7, Merrimack 4</p><p>Elmira 5, Potsdam State 1</p><p>RIT 15, Lehigh 0 Oswego 4, Geneseo 5</p><h2><b>WCHA CONFERENCE</b></h2><p><b>(Standings on Fri. Feb. 8)</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-04188/5047960-1-eng-US/f0037-042.jpg" title="f0037-04" width="570" height="287"></div><h2><b>CONFERENCE GAMES</b></h2><p>North Dakota 3, Michigan Tech 3 (at tie)</p><p>Michigan Tech 4, North Dakota 4</p><p>Denver 4, Michigan 2</p><p>Denver 9, Michigan 5</p><p>Michigan State 7, Michigan State 1</p><p>Minnesota 7, Michigan State 1</p><p>Duluth 7, Colorado College 3</p><p>Colorado College 7, Duluth 2</p><p>Notre Dame 4, Wisconsin 3</p><h3><b>LEADING SCORERS</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-05163/5047953-1-eng-US/f0037-052.jpg" title="f0037-05" width="571" height="503"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-06139/5047946-1-eng-US/f0037-062.jpg" title="f0037-06" width="575" height="91"></div><h3><b>LEADING GOALIES</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-07118/5047939-1-eng-US/f0037-072.jpg" title="f0037-07" width="571" height="491"></div><h2><b>CCHA CONFERENCE</b></h2><p><b>(Standings on Fri., Feb. 8)</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-0896/5047932-1-eng-US/f0037-082.jpg" title="f0037-08" width="575" height="194"></div><h2><b>GAMES COMPLETED</b></h2><p>Ohio State 9, Lake Superior 1</p><p>Ohio State 7, Lake Superior 4</p><p>North. Michigan 4, Bowling Green 0</p><p>North. Michigan 4, Bowling Green 3</p><p>Ferris State 7, West. Michigan 4</p><p>Ferris State 8, West. Michigan 5</p><p>Ohio State 4, North. Michigan 3</p><p>North Michigan 5, Ohio State 3</p><p>Ferris State 4, Bowling Green 1</p><p>Bowling Green 4, Ferris State 4</p><p>Lake Superior 6, West. Michigan 1</p><p>West. Michigan 9, Lake Superior 5</p><h3><b>LEADING SCORERS</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-0983/5047925-1-eng-US/f0037-092.jpg" title="f0037-09" width="560" height="335"></div><h2><b>ONTARIO CONFERENCE</b></h2><p><b>(Standings on Tue. Feb. 4)</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-1076/5047918-1-eng-US/f0037-102.jpg" title="f0037-10" width="574" height="333"></div><h2><b>GAMES COMPLETED</b></h2><p>Toronto 7, Laurier 3</p><p>Guelph 5, Laurentian 3</p><p>Laurier 7; Brock 4</p><p>Western 9, Windsor 3</p><h3><b>OTHER GAMES</b></h3><p>Dalhousie 5, St. F. Xavier 2</p><p>McGill 10, Bishop&rsquo;s 5</p><p>Laval 7, Chicoutimi 7</p><p>Ottawa 4, Concordia 3</p><p>Alberta 4, Saskatchewan 3</p><p>T. Rivieres 9, McGill 1</p><p>Manitoba 9, Lakehead 4</p><p>Moncton 6, Acadia 5</p><p>St. F. Xavier 7, Dalhousie 3</p><p>T. Rivieres 9, McGill 1</p><p>Regina 4, Winnipeg 2</p><p>Manitoba 9, Lakehead 4</p><p>Alberta 4, Saskatchewan 3</p><p>UBC 6, Calgary 5</p><p>Concordia 2, Laval 2</p><h3><b>LEADING SCORERS</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-1161/5047911-1-eng-US/f0037-112.jpg" title="f0037-11" width="566" height="362"></div><h2><b>ATLANTIC CONFERENCE</b></h2><h3><b>EASTERN DIVISION</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-1253/5047904-1-eng-US/f0037-122.jpg" title="f0037-12" width="570" height="141"></div><h3><b>WESTERN DIVISION</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-1347/5047897-1-eng-US/f0037-132.jpg" title="f0037-13" width="583" height="184"></div><h2><b>LEADING SCORERS</b></h2><h3><b>Eastern Division</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-1444/5047890-1-eng-US/f0037-142.jpg" title="f0037-14" width="571" height="209"></div><h3><b>Western Division</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-1540/5047883-1-eng-US/f0037-152.jpg" title="f0037-15" width="561" height="187"></div><h2><b>QUEBEC CONFERENCE</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-1635/5047876-1-eng-US/f0037-162.jpg" title="f0037-16" width="566" height="209"></div><h3><b>LEADING SCORERS</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-1731/5047869-1-eng-US/f0037-172.jpg" title="f0037-17" width="566" height="157"></div><h2>GREAT PLAINS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-1830/5047862-1-eng-US/f0037-182.jpg" title="f0037-18" width="573" height="159"></div><h2><b>CANADA WEST</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-1926/5047855-1-eng-US/f0037-192.jpg" title="f0037-19" width="570" height="135"></div><h3><b>LEADING SCORERS</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-2026/5047848-1-eng-US/f0037-202.jpg" title="f0037-20" width="569" height="206"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

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How They Stand

<h2><b>ECAC Conference</b></h2><h3><b>FEBRUARY</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-2125/5048040-1-eng-US/f0037-212.jpg" title="f0037-21" width="596" height="1048"></div><h2><b>WCHA Conference</b></h2><h3><b>FEBRUARY</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-2224/5048033-1-eng-US/f0037-222.jpg" title="f0037-22" width="620" height="891"></div><h2><b>CCHA Conference</b></h2><h3><b>FEBRUARY</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-2421/5048026-1-eng-US/f0037-242.jpg" title="f0037-24" width="584" height="551"></div><h3><b>MARCH</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-2520/5048019-1-eng-US/f0037-252.jpg" title="f0037-25" width="584" height="86"></div><h2><b>CIAU Conference</b></h2><h3><b>FEBRUARY</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-2618/5048012-1-eng-US/f0037-262.jpg" title="f0037-26" width="581" height="1234"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

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Games To Come

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-2323/5048071-1-eng-US/f0037-232.jpg" title="f0037-23" width="566" height="371"></div><h2><b>Top Canadian College Teams</b></h2><p>1. McMaster Marlins</p><p>2. Alberta Golden Bears</p><p>3. Moncton Aigles Bleus</p><p>4. Calgary Dinosaurs</p><p>5. T-Rivieres Patriotes</p><p>6. Dalhousie Tigers</p><p>7. Toronto Blues</p><p>8. Manitoba Bisons</p><p>9. Queen&rsquo;s Golden Gaels</p><p>10. Concordia Stingers<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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Leading U.S. College Teams

<div class="byline">BY PATRICK LYON</div><p><b>LOUISVILLE HOCKEY STICKS</b></p><p><b>LOUISVILLE HOCKEY STICKS</b></p><p>UTICA&mdash;An all-out battle looms in the future as EHL clubs moved into the second half of the season with all six franchises still in the running for the four playoff positions.</p><p>While Richmond and Erie stand head and shoulders above the other four clubs in their current war for EHL supremacy, Baltimore, Utica, Johnstown and Hampton continue in their quest to claw their way upward in the standings.</p><p>The Rifles, who led the second place Blades by 15 points at one time, now feel the fire the Blades are breathing down their necks as Erie has fought back to where they are just three points from Richmond and first place.</p><p>Baltimore is nine points back of the Blades and a scant three ahead of the Mohawks as the two teams occupy third and fourth places. Johnstown and Hampton face an uphill fight to cop a playoff berth. The Red Wings find themselves four points behind Utica in fifth place and the Aces must rally back from a 12-point deficit in the standings from the basement. Making the job somewhat simpler is the fact that Johnstown has three games in hand over Utica, Hampton four games in hand.</p><p>The Mohawks were a bit road weary after they were forced to make two long bus trips sand-wiched around a home game in Utica. Coach Larry Mickey&rsquo;s charges bussed to Baltimore one night, returned home for a game the following night and then turned around and trekked to Hampton where they shook off the effects of the bus trips and proceeded to trump the Aces, 6-3. Ken Yackel paved the way with a pair of goals, Brian Drumm, Pete Mav-roudis, Cam McGregor and newcomer Joe Fernald chipping in one each.</p><p>Their return to Utica gave them ample time to rest up for a meeting with the Rifles which they lost in heartbreaking fashion, Richmond winning 4-3 in overtime.</p><p>With the biggest crowd of the year on hand (2,675), Utica hoped to upset the first-place club for the second time in little over a week, but they saw their chance slip away with the Rifles rallying for the triumph. Goals by Paul Conway, Ed Smith and McGregor had Utica on top 3.-2, however Richmond knotted the game on a Ron Twiss goal with only four seconds remaining and Frank Roy slipped a shot past netminder Tom O&rsquo;Toole to seal the decision.</p><p>It was a tough loss to swallow, but the most exciting game of the year in Utica. Utica rebounded from the defeat and took it out on Hampton by scoring a 5-3 home win as McGregor, Lee Keller and Drumm had one goal and an assist apiece, while defenseman Greg McPhee picked up two assists.</p><p>The Mohawks possess the sixth and seventh best scorers in the circuit in Bob Ferguson (43 points) and Ed Smith (42). Smith has been welcome news in scoring 16 points in his last ten outings and more good news comes in the fact that Utica is averaging 2,000 people per game, more than 200 over a year ago.</p><p>Fernald and Tom Machowski are the newest additions to the team with Fernald coming to Utica via Grand Rapids and the Boston Bruins. Machowski, a member of Johnstown last year and a former Milwaukee Admiral, called Mickey and offered his services and the defenseman was signed to a five-game tryout.</p><p><b>BALTIMORE:</b> The Clippers attracted their second largest crowd of the year (4,503) and the fans didn&rsquo;t go away disappointed with the Clippers defeating the Red Wings, 4-2. Fans turned out in droves for Youth Night and also to view the debut of the Clippers&rsquo; new cheerleaders, &ldquo;The Ship Mates&rdquo;, who will be a feature at every Baltimore home game the remainder of the season.</p><p>The win over Johnstown featured two goals by Tony Thomas, one shorthanded and one empty net, while Henry Taylor and Ron Friest claimed unassisted scores, Taylor&rsquo;s also shorthanded. Newcomer Paul Pacific passed off for two assists. The fleet Taylor has demonstrated his break away speed as the EHL leader in shorthanded goals with six.</p><p>Thomas, Taylor, Friest and Barry Alter fired home goals in a road game in Hampton, but it wasn&rsquo;t enough to top the Aces who won 5-4.</p><p>Paul Devlin, making his first appearance in a Clipper uniform since being acquired from Erie, scored a goal on his first shot with Baltimore, the Clippers again holding off the Wings, 7-5. Warren Young racked up a pair, Taylor and Brent Gogol other Clippers to dent the scoreboard.</p><p>Clipper management and WFBR radio in Baltimore have reached agreement on an arrangement which will see PR Director Tim Donelli giving a live minute to minute and one-half report on both home and away games seven times during the course of the contests. WFBR is the broadcaster of the Baltimore Orioles games.</p><p><b>HAMPTON:</b> New coach Glenn Patrick will have his work cut out for him as he tries to get the Aces a spot in the playoffs. The Aces were victimized twice in one week by the team they are trying to catch, the Utica Mohawks. Hampton lost a 6-3 game on home ice and then fell in Utica by a 5-3 count. Jim Misener, Kelly Dean and Steve Salvucci hit goals for the Aces.</p><p>Hampton also rallied to post a 5-4 victory over Baltimore as Dean tied the game at 4-4 with a third period goal and then proceeded to get the game winner with a lamplighter at 19:44 of the finale.</p><p><b>RICHMOND:</b> Even though their first place lead has dwindled dramatically, the Rifles refuse to push the panic button.</p><p>After a 2-5 road swing, the Rifles finally got off the highways, but found the going tough even at home in absorbing a 6-5 loss to the Blades in front of 3,700 people after possessing a 5-1 advantage over their nearest rival.</p><p>Richmond dropped a 6-3 road loss in Erie before snapping their five game losing skein with a 4-3 overtime triumph in Utica. Mike LaBianca has been one of the long bright spots in the Rifles attack with four goals in three games.</p><p>The Rifles will travel 150 miles down the highway to play a home game in Salem, Virginia against the Mohawks. Salem is one of the frontrunners for EHL expansion which will add two more clubs to the fold for the 1980-81 season.</p><p><b>JOHNSTOWN:</b> The Red Wings lost a golden opportunity to move up in the standings when they couldn&rsquo;t come up with a win in two games against Baltimore. Johnstown was looking forward to making up some much needed points. However, the Clippers had other ideas and claimed 4-2 and 7-5 triumphs in Baltimore. Because of injuries Johnstown was able to dress only 14 players.</p><p>Coach Marty Read did have something to smile about and that was the fact that his Red Wings posted their third consecutive win over the defending champion Blades. Johnstown spotted Erie a 3-0 lead, but then stormed back to win it 4-3 without the services of the EHL&rsquo;s top scorer Dave Mac-Queen.</p><p>Colin Ahern put on a dazzling display against the Blades with the first year pro out of Providence College getting a three goal hat trick in a span of seven minutes. Rob Clavette nailed the coffin on Erie with his game winner in the third period.</p><p>Ahern managed one goal against the Clippers, but Mac-Queen returned from a bout with the flu and was a one man wrecking crew in making up for lost time by ripping Baltimore&rsquo;s, defense with a four-goal hat trick, his second of the year.</p><p><b>ERIE:</b> The trade engineered by coach-general manager Nick Pola-no that brought Bruce Lind and Dave Lundeen to the Blades looks better and better all the time. In just four games, the talented duo nave provided Erie with 12 points as the Blades continue to zero in on the Rifles first place standing.</p><p>Erie sandwiched inpressive outings against Richmond around a 4-3 loss in Johnstown. With Steve Stockman registering a hat trick, Erie bested Richmond 6-3 on home ice and then raced to a 3-0 lead in Johnstown before succumbing to a Red Wing comeback.</p><p>Continuing their road trip, the Blades claimed their third straight decision of the Rifles by a 6-5 count by battling back from a lopsided 5-1 score in Richmond&rsquo;s favor. Bruce Lind showed the way with a pair of red lighters.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-01488/5048102-1-eng-US/f0038-012.jpg" title="f0038-01" width="590" height="886"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>Johnstown&rsquo;s Colin Ahem singlehandedly brought this team back from a three-goal deficit.</i></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0038-01

Mohawks Bring In Depth For Stretch Drive

<div class="byline">BY MORRIS DALLA COSTA</div><p><b>LOUISVILLE HOCKEY STICKS</b></p><p><b>LOUISVILLE HOCKEY STICKS</b></p><p>TORONTO&mdash;The Marlboros have been amongst peaks and valleys all year.</p><p>At their peak, they took a run at Windsor Spitfires for the Emms division lead. At one time they had tied Windsor, but at that moment they reached a valley and now they&rsquo;ve dropped back to third place in a tight race.</p><p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve been like that all year,&rdquo; said rookie coach Dave Chambers, following his club&rsquo;s 4-2 loss to Oshawa Generals. &ldquo;Some nights we have our offense working and other nights we have our defense going. We&rsquo;ve had a tough time getting them both together.&rdquo;</p><p>One thing has become obvious in both the Emms and Leyden division, any team has the ability to come out on to and Marlies have given notice they have just as much chance as the next guy.</p><p>&ldquo;Actually we are in a slump right now. We&rsquo;ve only scored three goals in two games. In junior hockey that isn&rsquo;t enough to win,&rdquo; continued Chambers.</p><p>Marlies had started to sag after a trip to the Maritime provinces for some exhibition games against tier II teams. Since they&rsquo;ve come back Marlies haven&rsquo;t been able to &ldquo;get it together&rdquo;.</p><p>Despite their current problems Marlies have to be pleased with the play of several key components. The first big component is goaltender Bruce Dowie. The 17-year-old fourth round pick from Oakville was selected as the first All Star team goalie for the Emms division. Since taking over as number one when Terry Wright was traded to Peterborough, he&rsquo;s played better every time out.</p><p>Up front it&rsquo;s the duo of Wayne Crawford and Dave Aquin, who&rsquo;ve carried the bulk of the offensive action the past few weeks.</p><p>Crawford has 32 goals and seems to always be around the puck. Aquin is a small, swift play-er who never stops skating. His only drawback is his size, but it doesn&rsquo;t seem to have hampered him much.</p><p>Behind the blueline is where Marlies have to hold up if they want to make a serious attempt at any type of championship. Jerome Dupont, Mike Kelly, Scott McGeown, Moe Mantha and Bart Wilson make up a veteran defensive brigade. They have the ability to carry the puck and to play a physical game. Unfortunately at times the entire Marlie squad forgets their size and don&rsquo;t use it to advantage.</p><p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s one area we are working on,&rdquo; says Chambers. &ldquo;We have good size and are more effective when we use the body. Like I said we don&rsquo;t score a lot of goals, so we have to play well defensively and play the body.&rdquo;</p><p>In London Knights&rsquo; 4-1 win over Marlies it took a goal from Todd Bidner late in the contest to halt Knight&rsquo;s Paul Minaker&rsquo;s shutout bid.</p><p>For London, the win snapped a four-game losing streak. They scored on four straight shots in the second period with Tony Collard getting a pair of goals, Bob Good-ish and Jim Egerton singles.</p><p>In Oshawa it was missed opportunities for Toronto. Jim Peplinski and Mantha scored for Toronto, but Dan Lane, Bob Crawford, John Campbell and Peter Wilson scored for Oshawa.</p><p>Oshawa went to Windsor and wound up in a typical Windsor home hockey game. Spitfires won the game 6-1 after 140 minutes in penalties were called during the game. Big crowds are turning out in Windsor and Spitfires are starting to heat up as they did early in the season.</p><p>Brent Jarrett and Ernie Godden had two goals each in the win for Windsor. The Windsor defense only allowed Oshawa 13 shots on net.</p><p>Oshawa didn&rsquo;t wait long to take out their frustrations. They went into Kitchener and jumped on the poor Rangers for a 7-0 win. Roland Melanson recorded the shutout, his second of the year against Kitchener.</p><p>But back to Windsor. Unfortunately they don&rsquo;t play all their games at home. They travelled to Niagara Falls and had their ears pinned back 7-3 by the Flyers.</p><p>Flyers scored five goals in the second period with Kevin McClelland setting a team record by scoring two goals in eight seconds.</p><p>Niagara Falls also played Kitchener and the result was predictible, an 11-2 victory over Rangers.</p><p>Kitchener did play a game in which they scored a lot of goals, only they still lost 9-8 to Brantford Alexanders.</p><p>Mike Bullard scored the winning goal with 21 seconds left in the gajne. It was his third of the contest. Scott Venderburgh also had a pair.</p><p>Mike Moher gunned a pair of goals for Kitchener with Paul Pooley, Lee MacKenzie, Grant Martin, Russ Adam, Paul Coffey and Joe McDonnell hitting for one each.</p><p>Brantford continued their onslaught against opposition goaltenders. Goal judges must wear out fingers when doing Brantford games.</p><p>Brantford needed only six goals to defeat London 6-4 and then unloaded on Peterborough Petes for an 11-5 win. It seems nobody escapes Alexanders&rsquo; bombers.</p><p>Bullard had another hat trick against Petes. He hit for his 50th goal in the contest. Arthur Rutland, Kevin LaVallee and Greg Terrion had two goals each.</p><p>They did manage a pair of wins though, a 6-2 victory over Sudbury Wolves and a 4-3 overtime win over Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds.</p><p>Tom Fergus had the winning goal for Peterborough. Carmen Cirella, Andre Hidi and Jim Wiemer gave Peterborough a 3-0 lead. The Soo came back with two goals by Steve Gatzos and one by Doug Shedden to force the overtime.</p><p>Greyhounds lost twice by big scores to a streaking Ottawa &lsquo;67s club. 10-3 and 9-3.</p><p>Sean Simpson and Mario Cerri had a pair of goals each in the 9-3 contest. Yvan Joly, Jim Fox, Chris Veno, Doug Smith and Jay Fraser had the other goals.</p><p>John Goodwin, Tony Butorac and Greg Defelice scored for Greyhounds.</p><p>Against Sudbury Wolves in a 9-6 win, it was the Simpson, Joly, Fox line combining for 15 points. Fox had three goals, with Simpson and Joly getting two each.</p><p>Mike Hickey and Dan Frawley had two goals each for Sudbury, who also lost to Kingston 4-3.</p><p>Kingston, Ottawa are making it hot for Peterborough in the Leyden division.</p><p>Kingston defeated the Soo 5-2 and then edged Niagara Falls 4-3 in overtime.</p><p>Against Niagara Falls, Neil Belland scored midway through the overtime period to give Canadiens the win. Bernie Nichols had a pair of goals for Kingston while Steve Ludzik had two for Flyers.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-01457/5048133-1-eng-US/f0039-012.jpg" title="f0039-01" width="582" height="810"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>Veteran defenseman Moe Mantha has to play a key role for the Marlboros to contend.</i></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0039-01

Marlies Consider Physical Style Necessary For Productive Efforts

<div class="byline">BY GREGG DRINNAN</div><p><b>LOUISVILLE HOCKEY STICKS</b></p><p><b>LOUISVILLE HOCKEY STICKS</b></p><p>So, in an attempt to kick his club back into high gear, Engele says, &ldquo;Form here on in, I play the guys who want to play. And, those are the young guys. Ron Loustel (a 17-year-old goaltender) will be playing a lot from here on in. Anymore, on this team, talent doesn&rsquo;t mean a damn thing unless they want to play.&rdquo;</p><p>While the veterans like goaltender Murray Stephens, defensemen Kevin Tendler and Ian Tennant and forwards Kevin MacNaught and Blake Stephen have disappointed Engele, he has got some good youngsters to send out there. Lorne Bokshowan, an 18-year-old forward, just may be the most improved player in the WHL, and Glen Ganchar, another 18-year-old forward, isn&rsquo;t far behind him.</p><p>But, with less than 30 games remaining, those young legs are going to have to get moving if the Blades are to make any post-season appearances, other than on the golf course.</p><p><b>CALGARY:</b> The Wranglers showed their offensive balance when they scored a 8-3 home-ice victory over Lethbridge Broncos. Ray Cote, Sheldon Currie and Glenn Merkosky each scored his 21st goal of the season for Calgary. The Wranglers also scored an 8-4 win over the Blades in Saskatoon. Don Keller had three goals and center Kelly Kisio scored twice and added three assists. During the week, the Wranglers also earned a 4-4 draw in Lethbridge. Goaltender Warren Skorodenski was the story, as he kicked out 47 shots, including 11 in overtime. Kisio, the league&rsquo;s hottest scorer, had two goals and an assist and moved into second place in the scoring race. His 94 points, including 44 goals, leaves him nine behind Regina&rsquo;s Doug Wickenheiser.</p><p><b>REGINA:</b> Goaltender Bart Hunter stopped 35 shots for his third shutout of the season as the Pats dropped the Blades 5-0 in Saskatoon. Center Wickenheiser, the league&rsquo;s leading goal and pointman, had a goal and two assists to hit the 100-point mark, with 48 goals and 52 assists. Later, Wickenheiser hit for goals No. 49 and 50 in an 8-5 loss in Lethbridge. Wickenheiser was held pointless the next time out, though, but the Pats still won, beating the Tigers 7-4 in medicine Hat to move to within nine points of Calgary in the Eastern Division race. Ron Flockhart, already signed with Philadelphia Flyers, had his 35th and 36th goals, while Hunter earned his 10th assist to set a WHL record for most points in one season by a netminder.</p><p><b>MEDICINE HAT:</b> The Tigers moved to within five points of second-place Regina, with a 5-3 win over Lethbridge in Medicine Hat. Oren Koules broke a 3-3 tie early in the third period and Steve Tsujiura later added an insurance goal. The Tigers lost 7-4 to the Pats at Medicine Hat and fell seven points behind Regina.</p><p><b>LETHBRIDGE:</b> The Broncos, who held a 3-1 lead, gave up two third-period power-play goals in losing 4-3 in Calgary. The penalties and the goals so incensed Lethbridge coach Mike Sauter that he pulled his club off the ice with 2:19 to play. The Broncos returned after a brief stay in the dressing room, but they were without Sauter who got the ol&rsquo; heave-ho. The Broncos finally broke a three-game losing streak with an impressive home-ice 8-5 win over Regina. Randy Ruff and Dave Barr had two goals each, while Doug Morrison added his 39th. Morrison scored his 40th during a 4-4 tie with Calgary.</p><p><b>BRANDON:</b> The Wheat Kings, enjoying a seven-game homestand, won the first five to run their winning streak to six and pulled into a fourth-place tie with Lethbridge. The third home-ice victory came over Seattle, by a 6-1 count. Darren Halasz led the way with two goals. They followed that up by dumping the struggling Saskatoon Blades 4-1 behind the 45-save performance of goaltender Scott Olson, a 20-year-old who has returned to the Wheat Kings after a stint in Winnipeg Jets&rsquo; chain. And, also back with Brandon was Dave Stewart, a 20-year-old center who spent the first few months of the season in the minor pro ranks as the property of Hartford Whalers. Stewart had two assists in the win over Saskatoon and also had two assists in an 8-5 win over new Westminster. Left winger Dave McDonald picked up three goals and two assists against the Bruins.</p><p><b>BILLINGS:</b> The Bighorns broke out of a prolonged slump by hammering Portland Winter Hawks 7-0 in Billings. It was the Bighorns first win after four consecutive losses and moved them out of the Eastern Division cellar. The Bighorns had lost 14 of their previous 16 games, nine of those by one goal. Andy Moog stopped 30 shots to earn his first shutout and Jeff Zilkie had three goals, giving him 25. The Bighorns followed that up by scoring a pair of wins&mdash;5-2 and 5-4&mdash;over Seattle Breakers in Billings. Marc LeClair sparked the winners in the first game with his 14th and 15th goals and Jeff Zilkie did most of the damage with three goals&mdash;giving him 29&mdash;in the second.</p><p><b>VICTORIA:</b> Kevin Eastman picked up his first shutout, kicking out 21 shots as the Cougars dropped New Westminster Bruins 6-0. Grant Rezansoff led the way offensively, with two goals. The Cougars moved three points ahead of Portland in the Western Division when they hammered New Westminster Bruins 7-1 before only 1,505 fans in Vancouver&rsquo;s Pacific Coliseum.</p><p><b>PORTLAND:</b> There were 10,217 fans in Portland when Victoria Cougars came calling, and the Winter Hawks didn&rsquo;t disappoint them. Scoring a 5-2 victory to give each person in attendance a tree Spaghetti dinner at a local restaurant. The deal was a free dinner to everyone, if the Winter Hawks won. And, the fans had Bart Yachimec and Darrel May to thank. Yachimec scored twice and goaltender May stopped 40 shots to grab his 20th victory.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-01205/5048164-1-eng-US/f0040-012.jpg" title="f0040-01" width="600" height="710"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>Coach Jerome Engele has had some disappointments this year, including forward Blake Stephen.</i></figcaption></div><p><b>SEATTLE:</b> The Breakers played five consecutive games with New Westminster Bruins and won four of them. They scored three second-period goals to break a 1-1 tie and went on to a 4-2 victory in the fourth game and then doubled the Bruins 8-4 in the fifth game of the series. Alan Graves and Tim Hunter each had three goals in the 8-4 win.</p><p><b>NEW WESTMINSTER:</b> The Bruins continued to have their problems, but did manage to score one win&mdash;a 7-4 exhibition triumph over Fort Garry Blues of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League. Anthony McMurchy had three goals for the Bruins.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0040-01

Lack Of Toughness Reason For Blades’ Slide

<div class="byline">BY DANNY YOUNG</div><p><b>LOUISVILLE HOCKEY STICKS</b></p><p><b>LOUISVILLE HOCKEY STICKS</b></p><p>HULL&mdash;&ldquo;They find themselves and then they lose themselves.&rdquo; That&rsquo;s coach Marcel Pronovost&rsquo;s way of explaining the inconsistency of the Hull Olympics this season. And in a season of ups and downs, they have spent more time on the bottom floor as demonstrated by their 17-28-7 record, eighth best in the ten-team Quebec league.</p><p>On a recent road trip, however, the Olympics were at their best. They edged a tough Quebec team 3-2, and also stunned first place Chicoutimi with a 9-2 blow-out. In that game, linemates Mike Brise-bois and Jean Poulin each broke the 40 goal barrier with two goals apiece.</p><p>Unfortunately for the Olympics, that road trip ended with a 9-3 loss in Montreal. That setback left the impression that nothing had changed.</p><p>&ldquo;When we move the puck, play the man, and skate, we do well,&rdquo; says Pronovost. &ldquo;When we don&rsquo;t, this (9-3 loss) is what happens.&rdquo;</p><p>According to veteran Brisebois, the Olympics difficulty in executing these fundamentals is the fault of the players and not the coach.</p><p>&ldquo;He (Pronovost) knows what he&rsquo;s talking about,&rdquo; says Brise-bois. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s been driving every-thing into our heads all season. At the beginning, we didn&rsquo;t know what was happening. Now, we&rsquo;re starting to roll.&rdquo;</p><p>With 20 games left on the regular season schedule, the Olympics must maintain their six-point lead over Sorel to secure the eighth and final playoff spot. If they want to move up in the standings, the Olympics must close an eight-point gap with Shawinigan and Sorel.</p><p>&ldquo;If we could put five or six good games together,&rdquo; says Pronovost, &ldquo;it would really help us.&rdquo;</p><p>&ldquo;When we want to go, we can go,&rdquo; says Brisebois. &ldquo;We should start moving. There&rsquo;s no reason why we shouldn&rsquo;t.&rdquo;</p><p><b>CORNWALL:</b> Though in fourth place in the overall standings, the Royals are just eight points behind in what has become a tight race for the league lead. The Royals won both their games over inferior competition, but not quite as easily as would be expected. They edged Laval 7-6 with Fred Arthur and Mark Crawford each scoring twice. Then they ran into some tough goaltending in a 3-1 win over Sorel.</p><p><b>MONTREAL:</b> The Juniors are doing incredibly well under the coaching of Jacques St. Jean. In Trois-Rivieres, the Juniors tied the Draveurs 5-5 with Denis Cyr scoring twice. Travelling to Quebec, Cyr scored two more and the Juniors won 5-1. Then returning home, they bombed Hull 9-3. In that game, Mike Krushelnyski had two goals and three assists, while Denis Savard added a pair.</p><p><b>QUEBEC:</b> A tie in three games produced one of Quebec&rsquo;s least productive weeks in recent memory. That tie was against Laval, 4-4 as Pierre Girard scored twice. Then the Remparts lost two home games, to Montreal 5-1 and Hull 32.</p><p><b>TROIS-RIVIERES:</b> The Draveurs&rsquo; hot hand, Michel Champigny, had a hat trick in a 5-5 tie with Montreal. Then after a disappointing 4-2 loss to Sorel (you can bet the players heard it from coach Bergeron), the Draveurs defeated Chicoutimi in Chicoutimi 6-4. The big win put them four points behind the league lead. Incredibly enough, the Draveurs have a chance to take their third consecutive league title.</p><p><b>SHAWINIGAN:</b> After losing to Sherbrooke 7-3, the Cataractes bounced back to shutout that same Sherbrooke team 3-0. Goaltender Paul Pageau, who is on the roster of the Canadian Olympic Team, earned the shutout.</p><p><b>CHICOUTIMI:</b> The Sagueneens allowed the top contenders of the league to gain ground by losing two games. The Sags were upset by Hull 9-2, and then lost to Trois-Rivieres 6-4 despite two Gilbert Delorme goals. The Sags are tied with Sherbrooke in points, though they do have a game in hand.</p><p><b>LAVAL:</b> Overage goalie Yves Deschene stopping 44 Quebec shots as the Voisins tied the Remparts 44. Louis Haman scored two of the Laval goals. Against Cornwall, Deschene stopped 43 of 50 shots as the Voisins lost 7-6. Dany Girard notched a pair. Against Sherbrooke, Descnene was hit with 22 shots in the first period and the Voisins were bombed out of the building 12-2.</p><p><b>SHERBROOKE:</b> The Beavers scored six unanswered goals to down Shawinigan 7-3. After being blanked by Shawinigan 3-0, the Beavers took it out on Laval with a 12-2 victory. Brian Johnson and Alan-Haworth each had hat tricks, while Louis Begin contributed six points.</p><p><b>SOREL:</b> A 4-2 win over Trois-Rivieres must have been very pleasing to Hawk supporters. Defenseman Dan Naud, the Hawks&rsquo; sensational rookie, had a goal and two assists to support the win. Against Cornwall, the Hawks contained their opponent&rsquo;s offense but lost 3-1.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-01168/5048195-1-eng-US/f0041-012.jpg" title="f0041-01" width="610" height="722"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>Jean Poulin has been one of the leaders for the inconsistent Olympics with 40 goals.</i></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0041-01

Olympics Searching For Consistency

<h2><b>FEBRUARY</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-1714/5048516-1-eng-US/f0042-172.jpg" title="f0042-17" width="580" height="1146"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-1813/5048509-1-eng-US/f0042-182.jpg" title="f0042-18" width="602" height="1201"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0042-17

WHERE NHL TEAMS PLAY

<p><b>(Standings on Wed. Feb. 6)</b></p><h2><b>NORRIS DIVISION</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-1910/5048568-1-eng-US/f0042-192.jpg" title="f0042-19" width="581" height="152"></div><h2><b>ADAMS DIVISION</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-2010/5048561-1-eng-US/f0042-202.jpg" title="f0042-20" width="577" height="131"></div><h2><b>PATRICK DIVISION</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-218/5048554-1-eng-US/f0042-212.jpg" title="f0042-21" width="575" height="127"></div><h2><b>SMYTHE DIVISION</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-227/5048547-1-eng-US/f0042-222.jpg" title="f0042-22" width="575" height="152"></div><h2><b>GAMES COMPLETED</b></h2><p><b>Mon. Jan. 28</b></p><p>Atlanta 1 at Hartford 6</p><p><b>Tue. Jan. 29</b></p><p>Minnesota 2 at Islanders 2</p><p>Montreal 4 at Vancouver 3</p><p>Winnipeg 7 at Los Angeles 3</p><p>Edmonton 2 at St. Louis 3</p><p><b>Wed. Jan. 30</b></p><p>Atlanta 4 at Quebec 1</p><p>Washington 2 at Chicago 5</p><p>Montreal 3 at Colorado 2</p><p>Boston 2 at Hartford 8</p><p>St. Louis 4 at Pittsburgh 3</p><p>Detroit 4 at Toronto 6</p><p>Edmonton 8 at Los Angeles 1</p><p><b>Thu. Jan. 31</b></p><p>Rangers 2 at Buffalo 6</p><p>Islanders 4 at Boston 2</p><p>Minnesota 2 at Philadelphia 4</p><p>Pittsburgh 3 at Detroit 4</p><p><b>Fri. Feb. 1</b></p><p>Washington 2 at Atlanta 4</p><p>Winnipeg 2 at Edmonton 9</p><p><b>Sat. Feb. 2</b></p><p>Rangers 6 at Washington 3</p><p>Buffalo 2 at Islanders 3</p><p>Philadelphia 4 at Pittsburgh 0</p><p>Hartford 3 at Atlanta 5</p><p>Montreal 5 at Los Angeles 4</p><p>Detroit 3 at St. Louis 0</p><p>Vancouver 5 at Minnesota 4</p><p>Chicago 5 at Toronto 4</p><p>Winnipeg 2 at Colorado 2</p><p>Quebec 2 at Boston 7</p><p><b>Sun. Feb. 3</b></p><p>Rangers 4 at Quebec 5</p><p>Islanders 3 at Hartford 5</p><p>Boston 3 at Philadelphia 3</p><p>St. Louis 4 at Detroit 2</p><p>Los Angeles 3 at Edmonton 5</p><p>Vancouver 0 at Buffalo 3</p><p>Toronto 2 at Chicago 4</p><p>Colorado 2 at Minnesota 6<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0042-19

NHL SCOREBOARD

<p>ATLANTA: Nilsson 24, 25, Reinhart 5, 6, Shand 2, Pronovost 12, 13, 14, Vail 17, 18, 19, Unger 14, 15, Rota 10</p><p>BOSTON: Ratelie 21, Park 1, 2, Foster 6, 7, 8, Middleton 20, 21, 22,23, Jona than 16, 17, 18, Cashman 9, Redmond 10,11.</p><p>BUFFALO: Perreault 30, Gare 20, 30, 31, 43, Ramsay 14, Martin 28, 29, Ruff 5, Savard 2, Smith 19.</p><p>CHICAGO: Mulvey 26, 27, 28, Higgina 9, Ruskowski 12, 13, Trimper 2, Lysiak 14, 15, 16, Murray 10, Preston 15, 16, O&rsquo;Connell 2.</p><p>COLORADO: DeBlois 17, 18, Delorme 15, 16, Quenneville 4, McDonald 27.</p><p>DETROIT: McCourt 20, Ogrodnick 2, 3, Foligno 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, Huber 9, 10, Larson 12, Thompson 22, Nedomansky 27.</p><p>EDMONTON: Messier 5, Siltanen 4, 5, Callighen 15, 16, 17, Weir 25, 26, 27, Gretzky 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, MacDonald 32, 33, Connor 5, Price 7, Schmautz 13, 14, Lumley 14, Hunter 6, Semenko 3, Chipperfield 12.</p><p>HARTFORD: Debol 7, Stoughton 28, 29, 30, 31, Rowe 11, 12, 13, Rogers 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, Douglas 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, Sims 6, Fotiu 6, 7, M. Howe 16.</p><p>LOS ANGELES: Goring 16, 17, Dionne 39, 40, Carlson 7, 8, Halward 11, Jensen 16, 17, 18, Goldup 5.</p><p>MINNESOTA: Zanussi 8, McCarthy 12, MacAdam 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, Younghans 7, Young 18, Shmyr 3, Maxwell 4, B. Smith 12, Payne 27, Sharplev 20.</p><p>MONTREAL: Robinson 8, Lafleur 37, 38, 39, Mondou 20, Englblom 1, Riseb-rough 6, Lambert 10, 11, Langway 1, Gainey 8, Jarvis 6.</p><p>ISLANDERS: Gillies 14, Tambellini 5, Bossy 33, 34, 35, Harris 13, Kallur 11, Trottier 28, 29, Lane 3.</p><p>RANGERS: Esposito 22, 23, 24, Greschner 13, 14, Tkaczuk 7, 8, Vickers 19, 20, Duguay 15, 16, Hedberg 26.</p><p>PHILADELPHIA: Clarke 8, Wilson 7, 8, Hill 12, Barber 27, Leach 34, 35, 36, Bridgman 9, Holmgren 14, MacLeish 27.</p><p>PITTSBURGH: Kehoe 19, Schutt 11, Stackhouse 3, Hughes 11, Libett 10, Malone 18.</p><p>QUEBEC: Cloutier 29, 30, 31, Leduc 15, Ftorek 16, 17, Tardif 15, Plante 3.</p><p>ST. LOUIS: Klassen 5, 6, 7, Dunlop 9, 10, Currie 10, 11, Zuke 14, Federko 21, Babych 12, Monahan 5.</p><p>TORONTO: Hickey 17, 18, Salming 12, 13, 14, Williams 20, Sittler 19, 20, Butler 6, Paiement 15, 16, Anderson 17.</p><p>VANCOUVER: Smyl 20, Lever 21, McCarthy 8, 9, Manery 4, Gradin 17, Snepsts 1, Gillis 11.</p><p>WASHINGTON: Kaszycki 8, Sirois 4, Picard 7, Currie 1, Coulis 1, Green 3, Edberg 12.</p><p>WINNIPEG: Drouin 8, Sullivan 20, 21, 22, Norwich 8, Campbell 2, Sioberg 6, 7, March 15, Lindstrom 18, Moffat 5.</p><h2><b>The Point Race&hellip;</b></h2><p><b>(Standings on Mon. Feb. 4)</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-235/5048599-1-eng-US/f0042-232.jpg" title="f0042-23" width="613" height="940"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0042-23

NHL’S SCORERS THIS WEEK

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-01172/5048478-1-eng-US/f0042-012.jpg" title="f0042-01" width="267" height="390"></div><h2><b>Mon. Jan. 28 ATLANTA 1, HARTFORD 6</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-02113/5048471-1-eng-US/f0042-022.jpg" title="f0042-02" width="583" height="580"></div><h2><b>Tues. Jan. 29 MINNESOTA 2, ISLANDERS 2</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-0383/5048464-1-eng-US/f0042-032.jpg" title="f0042-03" width="579" height="560"></div><h2><b>MONTREAL 4, VANCOUVER 3</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-0464/5048457-1-eng-US/f0042-042.jpg" title="f0042-04" width="575" height="704"></div><h2><b>WINNIPEG 7, LOS ANGELES 3</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-0554/5048450-1-eng-US/f0042-052.jpg" title="f0042-05" width="614" height="717"></div><h2><b>EDMONTON 2, ST. LOUIS 3</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-0647/5048443-1-eng-US/f0042-062.jpg" title="f0042-06" width="575" height="626"></div><h2><b>Wed. Jan. 30 ATLANTA 4, QUEBEC 1</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-0742/5048436-1-eng-US/f0042-072.jpg" title="f0042-07" width="564" height="548"></div><h2><b>WASHINGTON 2, CHICAGO 5</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-0835/5048429-1-eng-US/f0042-082.jpg" title="f0042-08" width="577" height="649"></div><h2><b>MONTREAL 3, COLORADO 2</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-0932/5048422-1-eng-US/f0042-092.jpg" title="f0042-09" width="574" height="524"></div><h2><b>BOSTON 2, HARTFORD 8</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-1027/5048415-1-eng-US/f0042-102.jpg" title="f0042-10" width="578" height="687"></div><h2><b>ST. LOUIS 4, PITTSBURGH 3</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-1125/5048408-1-eng-US/f0042-112.jpg" title="f0042-11" width="596" height="549"></div><h2><b>DETROIT 4, TORONTO 6</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-1221/5048401-1-eng-US/f0042-122.jpg" title="f0042-12" width="587" height="696"></div><h2><b>EDMONTON 8, LOS ANGELES 1</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-1317/5048394-1-eng-US/f0042-132.jpg" title="f0042-13" width="581" height="650"></div><h2><b>Thu. Jan. 31 RANGERS 2, BUFFALO 6</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-1415/5048387-1-eng-US/f0042-142.jpg" title="f0042-14" width="619" height="675"></div><h2><b>ISLANDERS 2, BOSTON 4</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-1515/5048380-1-eng-US/f0042-152.jpg" title="f0042-15" width="572" height="574"></div><h2><b>MINNESOTA 2, PHILADELPHIA 4</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-1615/5048373-1-eng-US/f0042-162.jpg" title="f0042-16" width="580" height="602"></div><h2><b>PITTSBURGH 3, DETROIT 4</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-01172/5048366-1-eng-US/f0043-012.jpg" title="f0043-01" width="561" height="571"></div><h2><b>Fri. Feb. 1 WASHINGTON 2, ATLANTA 4</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-02123/5048359-1-eng-US/f0043-022.jpg" title="f0043-02" width="554" height="594"></div><h2><b>WINNIPEG 2, EDMONTON 9</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-03101/5048352-1-eng-US/f0043-032.jpg" title="f0043-03" width="561" height="764"></div><h2><b>Sat. Feb. 2 RANGERS 6, WASHINGTON 3</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-0481/5048345-1-eng-US/f0043-042.jpg" title="f0043-04" width="558" height="669"></div><h2><b>BUFFALO 2, ISLANDERS 3</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-0571/5048338-1-eng-US/f0043-052.jpg" title="f0043-05" width="558" height="553"></div><h2><b>PHILADELPHIA 4, PITTSBURGH 0</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-0658/5048331-1-eng-US/f0043-062.jpg" title="f0043-06" width="572" height="521"></div><h2><b>HARTFORD 3, ATLANTA 5</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-0756/5048324-1-eng-US/f0043-072.jpg" title="f0043-07" width="569" height="577"></div><h2><b>MONTREAL 5, LOS ANGELES 4</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-0847/5048317-1-eng-US/f0043-082.jpg" title="f0043-08" width="572" height="671"></div><h2><b>DETROIT 3, ST. LOUIS 0</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-0944/5048310-1-eng-US/f0043-092.jpg" title="f0043-09" width="567" height="483"></div><h2><b>VANCOUVER 5, MINNESOTA 4</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-1038/5048303-1-eng-US/f0043-102.jpg" title="f0043-10" width="567" height="951"></div><h2><b>CHICAGO 5, TORONTO 4</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-1133/5048296-1-eng-US/f0043-112.jpg" title="f0043-11" width="575" height="743"></div><h2><b>WINNIPEG 2, COLORADO 2</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-1230/5048289-1-eng-US/f0043-122.jpg" title="f0043-12" width="615" height="517"></div><h2><b>QUEBEC 2, BOSTON 7</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-1327/5048282-1-eng-US/f0043-132.jpg" title="f0043-13" width="592" height="754"></div><h2><b>Sun. Feb. 3 RANGERS 4, QUEBEC 5</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-1427/5048275-1-eng-US/f0043-142.jpg" title="f0043-14" width="580" height="742"></div><h2><b>ISLANDERS 3, HARTFORD 5</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-01130/5048268-1-eng-US/f0045-012.jpg" title="f0045-01" width="587" height="615"></div><h2><b>BOSTON 3, PHILADELPHIA 3</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-0287/5048261-1-eng-US/f0045-022.jpg" title="f0045-02" width="593" height="632"></div><h2><b>ST. LOUIS 4, DETROIT 2</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-0361/5048254-1-eng-US/f0045-032.jpg" title="f0045-03" width="591" height="579"></div><h2><b>LOS ANGELES 3, EDMONTON 5</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-0444/5048247-1-eng-US/f0045-042.jpg" title="f0045-04" width="602" height="622"></div><h2><b>VANCOUVER 0, BUFFALO 3</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-0535/5048240-1-eng-US/f0045-052.jpg" title="f0045-05" width="581" height="505"></div><h2><b>TORONTO 2, CHICAGO 4</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-0629/5048233-1-eng-US/f0045-062.jpg" title="f0045-06" width="575" height="657"></div><h2><b>COLORADO 2, MINNESOTA 6</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-0727/5048226-1-eng-US/f0045-072.jpg" title="f0045-07" width="571" height="596"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0042-01

NATIONAL LEAGUE SUMMARIES

<h2><b>AMERICAN LEAGUE</b></h2><p><b>(Standings on Tues. Feb. 5)</b></p><h3><b>NORTHERN DIVISION</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-01151/5048707-1-eng-US/f0044-012.jpg" title="f0044-01" width="573" height="157"></div><h3><b>SOUTHERN DIVISION</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-02102/5048700-1-eng-US/f0044-022.jpg" title="f0044-02" width="582" height="237"></div><p><b>1-Nova Scotia. 4-New Haven. 5-Adiron-dack. 7-Maine. 14-Rochester. 16-Hershey. 19-Springfield. 22-New Brunswick. 23-Blnghamton. 24-Syracuse.</b></p><h2><b>GAMES COMPLETED</b></h2><p><b>Tues. Jan. 29</b></p><p>Binghamton 2 at Nova Scotia 5</p><p><b>Wed. Jan. 30</b></p><p>New Brunswick 4 at Hershey 3</p><p>Springfield 6 at Maine 5</p><p>New Haven 3 at Rochester 8</p><p>Adirondack 3 at Syracuse 5</p><p><b>Fri. Feb. 1</b></p><p>New Brunswick 2 at Adirondack 1</p><p>Rochester 0 at New Haven 6</p><p>Binghamton 1 at Nova Scotia 6</p><p>Maine 7 at Springfield 6</p><p>Hershey 2 at Syracuse 3</p><p><b>Sat. Feb. 2</b></p><p>Syracuse 5 at Hershey 4</p><p>Adirondack 2 at Maine 8</p><p>Binghamton 1 at New Brunswick 4</p><p>New Haven 5 at Springfield 4</p><p><b>Sun. Feb. 3</b></p><p>Hershey 4 at Binghamton 1</p><p>Adirondack 5 at New Haven 5</p><p>Springfield 1 at Nova Scotia 4</p><p>Syracuse 4 at Rochester 5</p><h3><b>LEADING SCORERS</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-0367/5048693-1-eng-US/f0044-032.jpg" title="f0044-03" width="581" height="552"></div><h2><b>CENTRAL LEAGUE</b></h2><p><b>(Standings on Mon. Feb. 4)</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-0452/5048686-1-eng-US/f0044-042.jpg" title="f0044-04" width="578" height="374"></div><p><b>9-Salt Lake. 10-Oklahoma City. 12-lndianapoils. 13-Dallas. 15-Blrmingham. 17-Fort Worth. 18-Houston. 21-Tulsa.</b></p><h2><b>GAMES COMPLETED</b></h2><p><b>Tue., Jan. 29</b></p><p>Fort Worth 4 at Birmingham2</p><p>Dallas 1 at Oklahoma City 3</p><p><b>Wed. Jan. 30</b></p><p>Houston 2 at Indianapolis 6</p><p><b>Thu. Jan. 31</b></p><p>Fort Worth 2 at Birmingham 6</p><p>Dallas 6 at U.S. Olympic 10</p><p><b>Fri. Feb. 1</b></p><p>Houston 2 at Indianapolis8</p><p>Dallas 2 at Salt Lake 5</p><p>Oklahoma City 3 at Tulsa 2</p><p><b>Sat. Feb. 2</b></p><p>Birmingham 4 at Houston 3</p><p>Fort Worth 6 at Indianapolis 2</p><p>Tulsa 3 at Oklahoma City 2</p><p>Dallas 2 at Salt Lake 4</p><p><b>Sun. Feb. 3</b></p><p>Oklahoma City 3 at Birmingham 0</p><p>Houston 6 at Dallas 3</p><p>Fort Worth 5 at Tulsa 4</p><h3><b>LEADING SCORERS</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-0543/5048679-1-eng-US/f0044-052.jpg" title="f0044-05" width="575" height="284"></div><h2><b>INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE</b></h2><p><b>(Standings on Wed. Feb. 6)</b></p><h3><b>NORTH DIVISION</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-0636/5048672-1-eng-US/f0044-062.jpg" title="f0044-06" width="579" height="122"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-0734/5048665-1-eng-US/f0044-072.jpg" title="f0044-07" width="590" height="70"></div><h3><b>SOUTH DIVISION</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-0826/5048658-1-eng-US/f0044-082.jpg" title="f0044-08" width="592" height="329"></div><p><b>5-Kalamazoo. 7-Toledo. 20-Mllwaukee. 2S-Davton. 26-Flint. 27-Fort Wayne. 28-Grand Rapids. 29-Muskegon. 30-Port Huron. 31-Saginaw.</b></p><h2><b>GAMES COMPLETED</b></h2><p><b>Wed. Jan. 30</b></p><p>Toledo 3 at Fort Wayne 4</p><p>Dayton 5 at Flint 9</p><p><b>Fri. Feb. 1</b></p><p>Toledo 5 at Muskegon 5</p><p>Grand Rapids 2 at Flint 3</p><p>Dayton 5 at Saginaw 3</p><p>Port Huron 0 at Kalamazoo 5</p><p><b>Sat. Feb. 2</b></p><p>Fort Wayne 2 at Muskegon 3</p><p>Toledo 1 at Port Huron 3</p><p>Grand Rapids 4 at Dayton 1</p><p>Milwaukee 6 at Saginaw 5</p><p>Flint 5 at Kalamazoo 3</p><p><b>Sun. Feb. 3</b></p><p>Milwaukee 7 at Port Huron 5</p><p>Muskegon 3 at Dayton 4</p><p>Fort Wayne 6 at Flint 6</p><p>Toledo 2 at Grand Rapids 5</p><h3><b>LEADING SCORERS</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-0924/5048651-1-eng-US/f0044-092.jpg" title="f0044-09" width="586" height="416"></div><h2><b>EASTERN LEAGUE</b></h2><p><b>(Standings on Wed. Feb. 6)</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-1023/5048644-1-eng-US/f0044-102.jpg" title="f0044-10" width="563" height="137"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-1117/5048637-1-eng-US/f0044-112.jpg" title="f0044-11" width="582" height="138"></div><p><b>4-Richmond. 5-Johnstown. 10-Baltimore. 32-Erie. 33-Hampton. 34-Utica.</b></p><h2><b>GAMES COMPLETED</b></h2><p><b>Wed. Jan. 30</b></p><p>Richmond 5 at Johnstown 2</p><p>Baltimore 2 at Utica 5</p><p>Erie 2 at Hampton 1</p><p><b>Thu. Jan. 31</b></p><p>Erie 4 at Baltimore 6</p><p><b>Fri. Feb. 1</b></p><p>Johnstown 6 at Hampton 2</p><p>Richmond 4 at Utica 3</p><p><b>Sat. Feb. 2</b></p><p>Baltimore 5 at Johnstown 2</p><p>Richmond 7 at Erie 4</p><p><b>Sun. Feb. 3</b></p><p>Hampton 2 at Baltimore 5</p><p>Richmond 4 at Johnstown 7</p><p>Erie 3 at Utica 3</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-1215/5048630-1-eng-US/f0044-122.jpg" title="f0044-12" width="575" height="292"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0044-01

MINOR SCOREBOARD

<p>1&mdash;Montreal</p><p>2&mdash;Chicago</p><p>3&mdash;Boston</p><p>4&mdash;Rangers</p><p>5&mdash;Detroit</p><p>6&mdash;Toronto</p><p>7&mdash;Philadelphia</p><p>8&mdash;Los Angeles</p><p>9&mdash;St. Louis</p><p>10&mdash;Minnesota</p><p>11&mdash;Pittsburgh</p><p>12&mdash;Islanders</p><p>13&mdash;Vancouver</p><p>14&mdash;Buffalo</p><p>15&mdash;Atlanta</p><p>16&mdash;Washington</p><p>17&mdash;Colorado</p><p>18&mdash;Edmonton</p><p>19&mdash;Hartford</p><p>20&mdash;Quebec</p><p>21&mdash;Winnipeg</p><h2>OTHER AFFILIATIONS</h2><p>22&mdash;Chicago&mdash;Toronto</p><p>23&mdash;Boston&mdash;Los Angeles</p><p>24&mdash;Quebec&mdash;Pittsburgh</p><p>25&mdash;Edmonton&mdash;Winnipeg</p><p>26&mdash;Montreal&mdash;Chicago</p><p>27&mdash;Vancouver&mdash;I slanders</p><p>28&mdash;Boston&mdash;Pittsburgh</p><p>29&mdash;Atlanta&mdash;Colorado</p><p>30&mdash;Washington&mdash;St. Louis</p><p>31&mdash;Los Angeles&mdash;Hartford</p><p>32&mdash;Que.&mdash;Islanders&mdash;Buff.</p><p>33&mdash;St. Louis&mdash;Philadelphia</p><p>34&mdash;Boston&mdash;Hartford<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

Who They’re Affiliated With…

<h2><b>ONTARIO MAJOR LEAGUE</b></h2><p><b>(Standings on Tues. Feb. 5)</b></p><h3><b>EMMS DIVISION</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-1313/5048905-1-eng-US/f0044-132.jpg" title="f0044-13" width="578" height="191"></div><h3><b>LEYDEN DIVISION</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-1412/5048898-1-eng-US/f0044-142.jpg" title="f0044-14" width="577" height="158"></div><h2><b>GAMES COMPLETED</b></h2><p><b>Tues. Jan. 29</b></p><p>Peterborough 5 at London 6</p><p>Kingston 4 at Toronto 4</p><p>Niagara Falls 2 at Oshawa 6</p><p><b>Thurs. Jan. 31</b></p><p>Kitchener 3 at Windsor 5</p><p>Oshawa 2 at Ottawa 6</p><p><b>Fri. Feb. 1</b></p><p>Sudbury 6 at Kitchener 4</p><p>Sault Ste. Marie 5 at London 5</p><p>Toronto 5 at Kingston 4</p><p>Peterborough 2 at Niagara Falls 1</p><p>Windsor 5 at Brantford 9</p><p><b>Sat. Feb. 2</b></p><p>Sudbury 0 at Oshawa 10</p><p><b>Sun. Feb. 3</b></p><p>Sault Ste. Marie 2 at Toronto 3</p><p>Peterborough 3 at Oshawa 5</p><p>Kingston 4 at Ottawa 6</p><p>Sudbury 7 at Windsor 9</p><p>Brantford 10 at Niagara Falls 8</p><p>London 2 at Kitchener 3</p><h3><b>LEADING SCORERS</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-1513/5048891-1-eng-US/f0044-152.jpg" title="f0044-15" width="582" height="425"></div><h2><b>WESTERN LEAGUE</b></h2><p><b>(Standings on Tue. Feb. 5)</b></p><h3><b>Western Division</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-1612/5048884-1-eng-US/f0044-162.jpg" title="f0044-16" width="590" height="128"></div><h3><b>Eastern Division</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-1712/5048877-1-eng-US/f0044-172.jpg" title="f0044-17" width="574" height="181"></div><h2><b>GAMES COMPLETED</b></h2><p><b>Tue. Jan. 29</b></p><p>New Westminster 2 at Medicine Hat 9</p><p>Regina 5 at Brandon 7</p><p>Seattle 1 at Calgary 9</p><p><b>Sat. Feb. 2</b></p><p>Brandon 4 al Medicine Hat 5</p><p>Portland 3 at Victoria 6</p><p><b>Sun. Feb. 3</b></p><p>Brandon 4 at Calgary 5</p><p>Portland 8 at New Westminster 5</p><p>Seattle 1 at Regina 4</p><p>Billings 5 at Lethbridge 2</p><h3><b>LEADING SCORERS</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-1811/5048870-1-eng-US/f0044-182.jpg" title="f0044-18" width="573" height="855"></div><h2><b>QUEBEC MAJOR LEAGUE</b></h2><p><b>(Standings on Mon. Feb. 4)</b></p><h3><b>LeBEL DIVISION</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-199/5048863-1-eng-US/f0044-192.jpg" title="f0044-19" width="572" height="153"></div><h3><b>DILIO DIVISION</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-207/5048856-1-eng-US/f0044-202.jpg" title="f0044-20" width="573" height="139"></div><h2><b>GAMES COMPLETED</b></h2><p><b>Mon. Jan. 28</b></p><p>Montreal 4 at Laval 3</p><p><b>Tue. Jan. 29</b></p><p>Sorel 2 at Quebec 8</p><p>Shawinigan 2 at Trois-Rivieres 5</p><p><b>Wed. Jan. 30</b></p><p>Chicoutimi 4 at Hull 2</p><p>Cornwall 4 at Montreal 8</p><p><b>Thu. Jan. 31</b></p><p>Chicoutimi 1 at Cornwall 9</p><p>Sherbrooke 3 at Sorel 2</p><p><b>Fri. Feb. 1</b></p><p>Laval 0 at Quebec 6</p><p>Montreal 12 at Shawinigan 2</p><p>Trois-Rivieres 4 at Sherbrooke 7</p><p><b>Sun. Feb. 3</b></p><p>Sherbrooke at Chicoutimi</p><p>Laval at Cornwall</p><p>Montreal at Hull Trois-Rivieres at Shawinigan</p><p>Quebec at Sorel</p><h3><b>LEADING SCORERS</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-216/5048849-1-eng-US/f0044-212.jpg" title="f0044-21" width="585" height="324"></div><h2><b>GEORGIAN BAY LEAGUE</b></h2><p><b>(Standings on Fri. Feb. 1)</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-226/5048842-1-eng-US/f0044-222.jpg" title="f0044-22" width="571" height="201"></div><h2><b>NEW ENGLAND JUNIOR</b></h2><p><b>(Standings on Fri. Feb. 1)</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-234/5048835-1-eng-US/f0044-232.jpg" title="f0044-23" width="584" height="169"></div><h3><b>LEADING SCORERS</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-243/5048828-1-eng-US/f0044-242.jpg" title="f0044-24" width="579" height="302"></div><h2><b>CONTINENTAL LEAGUE</b></h2><p><b>(Standings On Thur. Jan. 24)</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-253/5048821-1-eng-US/f0044-252.jpg" title="f0044-25" width="586" height="262"></div><h3><b>LEADING SCORERS</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-263/5048814-1-eng-US/f0044-262.jpg" title="f0044-26" width="566" height="562"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0044-13

AMATEUR SCOREBOARD

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0046-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-01128/5048957-1-eng-US/f0046-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(Photos by Jerry Hobbs)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>Now that&rsquo;s class!</b></h2><p class="dropcap"><i><span>B</span>obby Orr, left, hockey&rsquo;s newest roving ambassador, was at his very best as a guest speaker at the Ontario sports celebrity dinner in aid of the crippled children at Toronto&rsquo;s Harbour Castle convention center. Sitting with Orr is Franco Harris, the brilliant fullback of the world champion Pittsburgh Steelers, who was among the glittering head table guests.</i></p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-0293/5048950-1-eng-US/f0046-022.jpg" title="f0046-02" width="1209" height="1770"></div><h2><b>Timmy&rsquo;s night out</b></h2><p><i>Leafs&rsquo; owner Harold Ballard gives a helping hand to 13-year-old Robbie Coxhead of Belleville, Ont., this year&rsquo;s Eastern Seals Timmy for the 1980 campaign. The youngster was the featured guest and was loudly praised for his courage as 29th annual sports dinner raised $48,000 to help handicapped youngsters.</i></p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-0362/5048943-1-eng-US/f0046-032.jpg" title="f0046-03" width="1216" height="1470"></div><h2><b>The generation gap</b></h2><p><i>Former Maple Leafs&rsquo; owner Conn Smythe regales young Bobby Orr with one of his hockey tales of the past as the two appear to be trying to bridge the generation gap during the Ontario celebrities&rsquo; dinner. Smythe, who is 85, gave a spirited address. Orr, who is 31, was equally as impressive.</i></p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-0451/5048936-1-eng-US/f0046-042.jpg" title="f0046-04" width="1846" height="1474"></div><h2><b>Sharing the spotlight</b></h2><p><i>The Ontario celebrities&rsquo; dinner brought out a bevy of sports greats as more than 2,200 people jammed the Toronto dinner. Shown from the left are Pittsburgh Pirates&rsquo; star Willie Stargell, Leafs&rsquo; newcomer Pat Hickey, NHL presidential aide Bobby Orr and catcher Gary Carter of the Montreal Expos.</i><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0046-01

HOCKEY PEOPLE

<div class="byline">BY BUDDY O&#x2019;CONNOR</div><p class="dropcap"><span>Q</span>UEBEC&mdash;If there is a special &ldquo;key&rdquo; to the Quebec Nordiques&rsquo; success so far this season in the National Hockey League, his name is&hellip;netminder Michel Dion, who as been outstanding most of the time, but utterly brilliant when he has been up against the best teams and sharpshooters in the league.</p><p>And this stocky, five-foot-ten, 190 pounder, today could well be the starting catcher of the Montreal Expos of the National Baseball League if, in his own words, &ldquo;I were a long ball hitter and not a line drive type.&rdquo; He was picked in 1971 by the Expos, at 17 years old, as a free agent.</p><p>Dion played with the West Palm Beach Expos in the strong Florida State league for one season. His successor as a catcher was a fellow by the name of Gary Carter.</p><p>But hockey is Dion&rsquo;s game and he plays it to his very ultimate. Nordiques&rsquo; head coach Jacques Demers says, &ldquo;Michel has always had terrific determination, the will to win, and in practice, he&rsquo;s one of the hardest workers we have.&rdquo; And Demers knows Michel only too well, having had him at both Indianapolis and Cincinnati of the World Hockey Association for the better part of four years. &ldquo;If we lose, Michel is never the one we can blame. He has never let us down one time this season, anytime, anywhere.&rdquo;</p><p>Demers does not fool around in any given situation. He has already benched stars Marc Tardif and Buddy Cloutier this season for nonchalant play, and Dion, if his game play had fallen off, could well have been subject to a similar decision.</p><p>But Dion showed his mettle: he beat the Buffalo Sabres right in their own backyard 3-1, took a loss 3-1 against the Islanders (the final goal was into an empty net) after being bombarded with 50 shots. Sportswriters covering the game at Long Island, and even Islander officials, stated that they had never seen better goaltending since the New York club came into existence.</p><p>Dion and the Nordiques lost a shootathon 7-6 recently against Detroit Red Wings here at the Coliseum but the game was a replay of most WHA tilts. The defense was just not there on either side. Dion faced a 43-shot barrage.</p><p>The curly-haired Dion, who turned 26 on February 11, is a native of Montreal North, and came to the Nordiques this year after the Quebec club bought his contract from the WHA Cincinnati Stingers. He is on his last year of a three-year contract. He says he does not want to leave Quebec but will consider terms.</p><p>When the season opened, coach Demers was alternating Dion with Goran Hogosta, the Swedish goaltender with the Nordiques. Goalie Ron Low, who is also doing a terrific job now with the Nordiques, had been injured and thus was knocked out of the lineup. Low went to Syracuse Firebirds to get his game back together again. He is back now and Hogosta is at Syracuse.</p><p>Dion&rsquo;s stellar netminding put a stint into Demers&rsquo; alternating and Michel was given the nod game after game. Demers says he has never ticketed either of his goalies as No. 1 because Low is also doing fantastic work. Low held the Capitals to a 1-1 tie in Washington recently, stopping 39 of 40 shots with the Nordiques coming up with a sad total of 16.</p><p>Dion went to school in Montreal North but at the very young age of 15, was called up to the Montreal Junior Canadiens formerly in the OHA.</p><p>He dropped hockey for a year when he was signed by the Expos but decided to return, considering that he could pick up the slack.</p><p>Dion could never have been so right. He started with Mohawk Valley, headed to Indianapolis at the end of the season, played there the next season and then went on to Cincinnati for two years.</p><p>He states that the NHL is a two way league, both defense and offense. The WHA was one way only, all offense. &ldquo;Thus, the goalies get better protection in this league. There&rsquo;s a lot more hitting and a heck of a lot of interference that we did not have in the WHA. But if you are off one night in the NHL, you&rsquo;re a goner.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-01148/5048988-1-eng-US/f0047-012.jpg" title="f0047-01" width="538" height="686"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>Michel Dion has always had a great glove hand, whether playing baseball or hockey.</i></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0047-01

Determined Dion Key Nordique Figure

<div class="byline">BY WAYNE WARRINER</div><p class="dropcap"><span>H</span>ARTFORD&mdash;In their first year of National Hockey League competition, the Hartford Whalers suffered no delusions. Even though they were proud of their sevenyear existence in World Hockey Association, the Whalers knew they would not be Stanley Cup contenders right away. It was a Onefor growth and development.</p><p>Sure, there were veterans aboard to help stabilize a basically young squad. Dave Keon, Andy Lacroix, Gordie Howe, and Rick Ley were the steadying influence from the start. As time wore on, however, everyone knew the Whalers would try to blend in more youngsters. Now Lacroix has shelved his skates to work in the alers&rsquo;P. R. department. And it&rsquo;s beginning to look like &ldquo;the great one&rdquo; may be following suit soon. Gordie is getting little ice time&mdash;and then usually on the fourth line.</p><p>Just past the midway mark in the season, and after a lengthy losing skein, coach Don Blackburn put together a combination of 23-year-olds to form the Whalers&rsquo; third line. The odd thing was that thethree&mdash;Greg Carroll, Dave Bebol, and Bernie Johnston&mdash;are all listed as centermen.</p><p>Carroll and Debol had alternated as third and fourth line centers for a good part of the season, and Carroll had seen some service at left wing. Johnston, on the other hand, had spent the entire first half of the season &lsquo;down on the farm&rsquo; playing for the Springfield Indians (AHL).</p><p>Coach Larry Kish of the Indians had been quietly touting Johnston as a good prospect for the parent club, but Whaler management felt the youngster lacked the speed necessary to play in the NHL. Kish had said&mdash;&ldquo;BJ&rsquo;s a helluva team man. He&rsquo;s a bona fide winner, believe me! &ldquo;</p><p>In the meantime, Johnston had zoomed to the top of the American Hockey League scoring race. The Whalers knew it was no fluke because he had won the scoring championship in the AHL last season while playing for Maine, and he was also named the AHL&rsquo;s Most Valuable Player. But it wasn&rsquo;t until Bernie got up the gumption to ask when he was going to be called up, that the Whalers finally agreed to bring him up for a look.</p><p>&ldquo;We thought that if we did bring him up it would be to bring him in and let him play,&rdquo; said Blackburn. &ldquo;We wanted to give him a fair shot to prove he can play in the League.&rdquo;</p><p>And so it was that Bernie Johnston made his debut with the Whalers. Blackie put him at center between Carroll and Debol&mdash;the centermen line. The combination seemed to click.</p><p>Carroll is comfortable anywhere. He just wants to play. &ldquo;The way I look at it,&rdquo; he says, &ldquo;when Blackie opens the gate and says go I just go wherever. If he says go here, that&rsquo;s where I go. I don&rsquo;t mind it,&rdquo; says Greg.</p><p>As for Debol, right wing was a new experience for the former U. of Michigan speedster. A right hand shot, Dave&rsquo;s speed down the wing created a lot of opportunities. &ldquo;I like playing the right side,&rdquo; said Debol.</p><p>Johnston quickly earned the respect of his coach. Said Blackie: &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a pretty clever hockey player. He&rsquo;s smart enough to realize his range and he works well within that area. He knows when to move it and how to get in position. The one thing, if you watch him, he&rsquo;s an exellent forechecker. His stick&rsquo;s always in the play and he&rsquo;s around the puck.</p><p>About his forechecking abilities, Johnston gives present teammate Dave Keon a lot of credit. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m from Toronto and I saw one of the best plays for a long time.&rdquo; Bernie&rsquo;s dad had season tickets for Leafs&rsquo; games so he usually tagged along.</p><p>On the strength of his first few games with the Whalers it looks like Johnston could be around for a long time, but if he is sent back for further seasoning it wouldn&rsquo;t be wise to bet against his returning on a permanent basis soon. The kid is persistent. His hockey history shows it.</p><p>&ldquo;I always felt deep down that when I got here, I wanted to make the best of it and do something,&rdquo; Bernie remarked.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

Young Whaler Forwards ‘Center’ Of Attention

<div class="image-hero"><img title="C0004-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/c0004-01173/5049043-1-eng-US/c0004-012.jpg"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>M</span>ONTREAL&mdash;Ever since the 1971 NHL amateur draft, people have been paying a great deal of attention to the first and second selections overall that year.</p><p>The first selection was Guy Lafleur while the second was Marcel Dionne. Ever since, their careers have taken a similar course on the road to stardom.</p><p>Dionne, who was drafted by Detroit Red Wings in 1971, became an instant star while Lafleur, Montreal Canadiens&rsquo; number one pick in 1971, was a bit slower in developing.</p><p>Again this season Dionne and Laleur are locked in a struggle for the NHL scoring championship, an honor which has eluded Dionne.</p><p>In his first four seasons with Detroit, Dionne out-performed Lafleur in points, 366 to 294. However, since being traded to Los Angeles in 1975, Dionne has taken a back seat in scoring to Lafleur. Since 1975, Lafleur has compiled 522 points while Dionne has scored 425. Last season, Dionne edged Lafleur in scoring, 130 to 129.</p><p>An overall look at their careers shows Lafleur holds a 20-point lead on Dionne, 905-885. Broken down, Lafleur, who has played in 651 games, including this year, has scored 391 goals, 26 more than Dionne&rsquo;s 365. Dionne, who has played in 665 games, holds a six point lead in assists over Lafleur, 520-514.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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February 15, 1980

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