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

April 30, 1982

The Hockey News April 30, 1982

<h2>ONTARIO LEAGUE</h2><p><b>(Final Standings)</b></p><h3>LEYDEN DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-2712/4557483-1-eng-US/f0034-272.jpg" title="f0034-27" width="540" height="223"></div><h3>EMMS DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-286/4557476-1-eng-US/f0034-282.jpg" title="f0034-28" width="535" height="222"></div><h3>FINAL SCORING LEADERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-295/4557469-1-eng-US/f0034-292.jpg" title="f0034-29" width="538" height="303"></div><h2>PLAYOFFS</h2><h3>EMMS DIVISION FINALS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-303/4557462-1-eng-US/f0034-302.jpg" title="f0034-30" width="537" height="116"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3><p>Sun. April 4</p><p>S.S. Marie 2 at Kitchener 6</p><p>Tue. April 6</p><p>S.S. Marie 1 at Kitchener 6</p><p>Fri. April 9</p><p>Kitchener 4 at S.S. Marie 4</p><p>Sun. April 11</p><p>Kitchener 3 at S.S. Marie 5</p><p>Tue. April 13</p><p>S.S. Marie 1 at Kitchener 5</p><p>Fri. April 16</p><p>Kitchener 4 at S.S. Marie 3</p><h3>SEMIFINALS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-312/4557455-1-eng-US/f0034-312.jpg" title="f0034-31" width="538" height="115"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3><p>Sun. March 21</p><p>Brantford 5 at S.S. Marie 5</p><p>Tue. March 23</p><p>S.S. Marie 4 at Brantford 2</p><p>Frl. March 26</p><p>Brantford 1 at S.S. Marie 7</p><p>Sun. March 28</p><p>S.S. Marie 1 at Brantford 2</p><p>Mon. March 29</p><p>Brantford 3 at S.S. Marie 3</p><p>Wed. March 31</p><p>S.S. Marie 5 at Brantford 9</p><p>Fri. April 2</p><p>Brantford 2 at S.S. Marie 3</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-322/4557448-1-eng-US/f0034-322.jpg" title="f0034-32" width="539" height="116"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3><p>Tue. March 23</p><p>Windsor 1 at Kitchener 4</p><p>Thu. March 25</p><p>Kitchener 2 at Windsor 0</p><p>Fri. March 26</p><p>Windsor 3 at Kitchener 7</p><p>Sun. March 28</p><p>Kitchener 9 at Windsor 4</p><h3>LEYDEN DIVISION FINALS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-33/4557441-1-eng-US/f0034-332.jpg" title="f0034-33" width="541" height="118"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3><p>Fri. April 9</p><p>Oshawa 5 at Ottawa 6</p><p>Sun. April 11</p><p>Ottawa 3 at Oshawa 5</p><p>Tue. April 12</p><p>Oshawa 1 at Ottawa 6</p><p>Thu. April 14</p><p>Ottawa 4 at Oshawa 6</p><p>Fri. April 16</p><p>Oshawa 4 at Ottawa 9</p><p>Sun. April 18</p><p>Ottawa 2 at Oshawa 6</p><h3>GAMES TO COME</h3><p>Tue. April 20</p><p>Oshawa at Ottawa</p><p>Wed. April 21</p><p>Ottawa at Oshawa</p><h3>SEMIFINALS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-2534/4557434-1-eng-US/f0036-252.jpg" title="f0036-25" width="540" height="248"></div><h2>WESTERN LEAGUE PLAYOFFS</h2><h3>EASTERN DIVISION FINALS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-2632/4557427-1-eng-US/f0036-262.jpg" title="f0036-26" width="540" height="114"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3><p>Mon. April 12</p><p>Regina 6 at Lethbridge 3</p><p>Wed. April 14</p><p>Regina 1 at Lethbridge 2</p><p>Fri. April 16</p><p>Lethbridge 3 at Regina 1</p><p>Sat. April 17</p><p>Lethbridge 2 at Regina 4</p><p>Sun. April 18</p><p>Regina 3 at Lethbridge 5</p><h3>GAMES TO COME</h3><p>Tue. April 20</p><p>Lethbridge at Regina</p><p>Thu. April 22</p><p>Regina at Lethbridge</p><h3>SEMIFINALS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-2730/4557420-1-eng-US/f0036-272.jpg" title="f0036-27" width="533" height="117"></div><h3>QUARTERFINALS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-2829/4557413-1-eng-US/f0036-282.jpg" title="f0036-28" width="536" height="116"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-2927/4557406-1-eng-US/f0036-292.jpg" title="f0036-29" width="537" height="266"></div><h3>WESTERN DIVISION FINALS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-3026/4557399-1-eng-US/f0036-302.jpg" title="f0036-30" width="538" height="111"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3><p>Thu. April 8</p><p>Seattle 7 at Portland 5</p><p>Sat. April 10</p><p>Seattle 5 at Portland 7</p><p>Mon. April 12</p><p>Portland 7 at Seattle 6</p><p>Tue. April 13</p><p>Portland 2 at Seattle 8</p><p>Thu. April 15</p><p>Seattle 4 at Portland 6</p><p>Sun. April 18</p><p>Portland 4 at Seattle 3</p><h2>QUEBEC LEAGUE PLAYOFFS</h2><h3>SEMIFINALS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-3125/4557392-1-eng-US/f0036-312.jpg" title="f0036-31" width="539" height="114"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3><p>Mon. April 11</p><p>Sherbrooke 11 at Laval 2</p><p>Wed. April 13</p><p>Laval 2 at Sherbrooke 6</p><p>Sat. April 17</p><p>Sherbrooke 10 at Laval 4</p><p>Sun. April 18</p><p>Laval 3 at Sherbrooke 5</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-3222/4557385-1-eng-US/f0036-322.jpg" title="f0036-32" width="538" height="116"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3><p>Mon. April 11</p><p>T-Rlvieres 5 at Chicoutimi 4</p><p>Wed. April 13</p><p>T-Rlvieree 2 at Chicoutimi 5</p><p>Sat. April 17</p><p>Chicoutimi 5 at T-Rlvleres 4</p><p>Sun. April 18</p><p>Chicoutimi 4 at T-Rivlerea 6</p><h2>MEMORIAL CUP</h2><h3>KNOCKOUT COMPETITION</h3><p>Sat. May 8</p><p>Ontario vs Quebec</p><p>Sun. May 9</p><p>WHL vs Ontario</p><p>Mon. May 10</p><p>Quebec vs WHL</p><p>Tue. May 11</p><p>Quebec vs Ontario</p><p>Wed. May 12</p><p>Ontario vs WHL</p><p>Thu. May 13</p><p>WHL vs Quebec</p><p>Sat. May 15</p><p>Championship final at 1:30 PM</p><p>(All games in Hull, Que.)</p><h2>HARDY CUP</h2><h3>FINALS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-3320/4557378-1-eng-US/f0036-332.jpg" title="f0036-33" width="539" height="115"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3><p>Georgetown 4, Quesnel 2</p><p>Georgetown 3, Quesnel 2</p><p>Georgetown 4, Quesnel 1</p><h3>EASTERN CANADA FINALS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-3417/4557371-1-eng-US/f0036-342.jpg" title="f0036-34" width="542" height="113"></div><h3>WESTERN CANADA FINALS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-3512/4557364-1-eng-US/f0036-352.jpg" title="f0036-35" width="539" height="114"></div><h2>ALLAN CUP</h2><h3>FINALS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-3611/4557357-1-eng-US/f0036-362.jpg" title="f0036-36" width="541" height="114"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3><p>Cranbrook 7, Petrolia 2</p><p>Cranbrook 7, Petrolia 3</p><h3>EASTERN CANADA FINAL</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-378/4557350-1-eng-US/f0036-372.jpg" title="f0036-37" width="536" height="115"></div><h3>WESTERN CANADA FINAL</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-386/4557343-1-eng-US/f0036-382.jpg" title="f0036-38" width="542" height="117"></div><h2>CENTENNIAL CUP</h2><h3>EASTERN CANADA SEMIFINALS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-395/4557336-1-eng-US/f0036-392.jpg" title="f0036-39" width="543" height="224"></div><h3>WESTERN CANADA SEMIFINALS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-405/4557329-1-eng-US/f0036-402.jpg" title="f0036-40" width="542" height="226"></div><h2>AIR CANADA MIDGET</h2><p><b>(Final Standings)</b></p><h3>DIVISION 1</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-412/4557322-1-eng-US/f0036-412.jpg" title="f0036-41" width="545" height="199"></div><h3>DIVISION 2</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-422/4557315-1-eng-US/f0036-422.jpg" title="f0036-42" width="541" height="194"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3><p>Mon. April 12</p><p>Saskatchewan 6, Alberya 1</p><p>Thunder Bay 9, N. Brunswick 2</p><p>Manitoba 3, Ontario 3</p><p>Ottawa 6, PE 11</p><p>B.C. 7, Newfoundland 0</p><p>Quebec 10, Nova Scotia 0</p><p>Tue. April 13</p><p>Ottawa 3, Thunder Bay 0</p><p>Newfoundland 3, N. Brunswick 1</p><p>Quebec 3, Alberta 2</p><p>Saskatchewan 4, Ontario 1</p><p>Nova Scotia 4, Manitoba 2</p><p>B.C. 7, P.E.I. 5</p><p>Wed. April 14</p><p>B.C. 4, Ottawa 2</p><p>Thunder Bay 5, Newfoundland 2</p><p>Ontario 5, Alberta 5</p><p>Quebec 6, Manitoba 3</p><p>P.E.I. 9, N. Brunswick 2</p><p>Saskatchewan 6, Nova Scotia 5</p><p>Thu. April 15</p><p>Ottawa 8, Newfoundland 0</p><p>Nova Scotia 4, Ontario 3</p><p>Thunder Bay 7, P.E.I. 5</p><p>Manitoba 4. Alberta 3</p><p>Quebec 4, Saskatchewan 1</p><p>B.C. 6, N. Brunswick 2</p><p>Fri. April. 16</p><p>Ottawa 3, N. Brunswick 2</p><p>B.C. 7, Thunder Bay 2</p><p>Alberta 6, Nova Scotia 3</p><p>Newfoundland 3, P.E.I. 2</p><p>Saskatchewan 3, Manitoba 2</p><p>Ontario 3, Quebec 2</p><h2>PLAYOFF ROUND</h2><h3>QUARTERFINALS</h3><p>B.C. 7, Newfoundland 3</p><p>Nova Scotia 2, Saskatchewan 1</p><p>Quebec 7, Ontario 4</p><p>Ottawa 6, Thunder Bay 3</p><h3>SEMIFINALS</h3><p>B.C. 4, Nova Scotia 3</p><p>Quebec 4, Ottawa 3</p><h3>CONSOLATION</h3><p>Ottawa 5, Nova Scotia 5</p><p>(Teams share bronze medal)</p><h3>CHAMPIONSHIP</h3><p>B.C. 3, Quebec 1</p><p>(B.C. wins tournament)</p><h2>UNITED STATES LEAGUE</h2><h3>FINALS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-432/4557308-1-eng-US/f0036-432.jpg" title="f0036-43" width="537" height="115"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3><p>Sioux City 8, Des Moines 2</p><p>Sioux City 7, Des Moines 4</p><p>Des Moines 7, Sioux City 6</p><p>Des Moines 3, Sioux City 2</p><p>Sioux City 8, Des Moines 2</p><h3>FINAL PLAYOFF SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-442/4557301-1-eng-US/f0036-442.jpg" title="f0036-44" width="541" height="414"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

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IN THIS ISSUE

AMATEUR SCOREBOARD

<p class="dropcap"><i><span>T</span>he following report on the World Hockey Championships in Finland was filed by Jim Christie of the Toronto</i> Globe and Mail <i>and appears here with their permission.</i></p><p>HELSINKI&mdash;While the Soviet Union has not yet caught Canada in the gold-medal department, it has thoroughly dominated play in matches between the two countries at past World hockey championships.</p><p>The Soviets have won 17 times, losing five and tieing one other in competition between the two hockey powers.</p><p>The Canadians tied the Russians 4-4 at last year&rsquo;s championship in Sweden, but haven&rsquo;t beaten them at a world tournament since 1961, when the Trail Smoke Eaters from British Columbia took the gold with a 5-1 victory. Since then, the Soviet Union has outscored Canada 86-24.</p><p>The Russians have the best winning percentage in world tournaments&mdash;141-21-12 for. 844 per cent&mdash;and have outscored their opponents by more than 700 goals. That is most impressive when one considers that the tournament lasts only two weeks and that the Soviet Union has played in only 26 tournaments compared to Canada&rsquo;s 36. Canada has a respectable record of 118-45-11, for. 709 percent.</p><p>The only team that offers a regular challenge to the Russians is Czechoslovakia, whose gritty and emotional play against the Soviets has given them 10 wins and six ties in 38 meetings. This defies logic slightly, because the Czechoslovaks have a losing record against Canada.</p><p>Here is a recap of the new structure of the eight-team world championship tournament.</p><p>Each of the national tarns play in a round-robin competition, and the top four teams proceed to the medal round. There will be no consolation round for the last four teams in the standing.</p><p>The medal round will be another round robin. The points accumulated by a team in both the first and second stages of the tournament will determine the final standing and medal placings. If teams are tied in points, the deadlock will be broken according to the results of the games between the two teams. If a tie still exists, officials will look at the goal differential (goals for minus goals against) for the teams in their head to head meetings.</p><p>The complexities do not end there. If a tie still exists, officials will take a goals quotient (goals for divided by goals against) from the head-to-head games.</p><p>The star of the tournament could turn out to be a mathematician, rather than a hockey player.</p><p>In the 21 times Canada and Finland have met during world championship play, Canada has won 19 times, the Finns twice. Canada has outscored Finland 182-36. The last time Finland took a game from Canada was a 6-4 decision at Prague in 1978.</p><p>The Finns have little to be embarrassed about, as long as they avoid relegation to the B Division as the eighth-place team. Two teams have astounding records for ineptitude that will remain untouched. Denmark once competed in the A Division, playing three games and being outscored 80-4. The Italians, back in the top group for the first time since 1964, were similarly embarrassed in 1948, when they played four games and were blown out 97-5.</p><p>The world championship has been going on since 1924. Based on its dominance in the early years of the tournament, Canada still holds the lead in total medals, with 29&mdash;18 gold, six silver and five bronze in the 36 years during which Canada has competed.</p><p>The Soviet Union has been gaining ground rapidly since entering the A Division in 1954. It has a total of 26 medals&mdash;17 gold, six silver and three bronze.</p><p>Czechoslovakia has 26 medals&mdash;five gold, 10 silver and 11 bronze. Sweden is next with 24 medals&mdash;three gold, 11 silver and 10 bronze. Much farther back is the United States, with two gold, eight silver and three bronze for a total of 13.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

Soviets Dominated Canada In World Play

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The Hockey News Bookshelf

<div class="byline">BY DICK BEDDOES</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-02934/4556268-1-eng-US/f0014-022.jpg" title="f0014-02" width="316" height="328"></div><h2>Experts Never Wrong</h2><p><b>EVERYBODY PUTS</b> the knock on the Los Angeles Kings, and right away they muscle up like Stanley Cup champions.</p><p>Experts pick the Montreal Canadiens to subdue the Quebec Nordiques in the. Battle for French Canada, and it was <i>Nordiques sont la!</i> Nordiques were there.</p><p>Sports experts, of course, are seldom in doubt but often in error.</p><p>Fortunately, sports writing is not like any other branch of literature. A sports writer is never wrong: He is always saved by the upset.</p><p>The upset occurs when infallible authority is negated by the recalcitrance of things, such as hockey sticks and goalkeeping mistakes.</p><p>THE HOCKEY NEWS says the Los Angeles Kings, one of the very worst teams through the NHL schedule, can&rsquo;t possibly beat the Edmonton Oilers, one of the very best.</p><p>Of a startling sudden, the Kings bushwhack the Oilers. This is not error. That is the ol&rsquo; debbil upset. If you don&rsquo;t know this, you don&rsquo;t know sport.</p><p>Ah, but what upsets in these Stanley Cup playoffs. The liveliest night of the long season was April 13, a Tuesday.</p><p>In Edmonton, witnesses gasped with incredulity at the thought of how the news was being received across the continent.</p><p>&ldquo;Kings 7, Oilers 4. Kings win series in five games.&rdquo;</p><p>WHAT?</p><p>&ldquo;In Montreal&hellip;Nordiques 3, Canadiens 2. Nordiques win series in five games.&rdquo;</p><p>BLAST THIS HEARING AID!</p><p>It was wonderful and it was funny, for the discrepancy in team quality between Edmonton and Los Angeles was glaring through the season.</p><p>Where did the Kings finish behind Edmonton in the standings? About nine million light years, or something?</p><p>In the war for Gallic Canada, there wasn&rsquo;t an instant when anyone who paid attention through the season could possibly doubt the inevitability of a Montreal victory.</p><p>The Nordiques, after all, were quite ordinary when they strayed outside Quebec. Inside that tormented province, though, they rose with the indignant wrath of Quebec premier Rene Levesque defying an English queen. Sacre bleu!</p><h2>Beer Bottle Battle</h2><p><b>THERE WAS A CRASS</b> side to the Nordiques&rsquo; triumph. They are owned by the Carling-O&rsquo;Keefe brewers. The Candiens are owned by the rival Molson brewers.</p><p>Small wonder that the Quebec teams were, as it were, at lager-heads.</p><p>In Edmonton, the Oiler humiliation had predictable reactions. How great, many wondered, is Gretzky?</p><p>All he managed in the five-game series was five goals, the same as the immortal Daryl Evans of Los Angeles. Uh&mdash;Daryl Who?</p><p>Edmonton sports writers, gushing in their praise all winter, turned treacherous and called the Oilers chokers and quitters.</p><p>Edmonton&rsquo;s Gateway to the North became nothing but a bashed-in, beaten-down door.</p><p>They rolled up Edmonton&rsquo;s main drag, Jasper Avenue. The Northern Lights won&rsquo;t shine again. The North Saskatchewan River where it meanders through Edmonton, has become a polluted millrace of murk.</p><p>In Gretzky&rsquo;s hometown, in Ontario, they have boarded up Brantford.</p><p>All because, in this series, the Kings proved the Oilers to be the epitome of a playoff inadequacy. For Gretzky, they had a somewhat dearth of awe.</p><p>There was an ironic touch that the architect of the Edmonton defeat is himself an Edmonton boy. Hi, there, Don Perry.</p><h2>Fate And Don Perry</h2><p><b>FATE HAS A WAY</b> of picking unlikely material for leaders, and her stiff hands seem to have fashioned a good one out of this odd piece of wood. Perry is a burly sort, with a warp in his nose that looks as though it got hit with a fist in the movie, <i>Slapshot.</i></p><p>He has been in the big league only since Jan. 12, when he replaced Parker MacDonald behind the Kings&rsquo; bench. He took some heat from the press and public for encouraging a player to jump off the bench into a fight, a ploy which got him suspended.</p><p>To get in step. with his team, however, a coach must often be out of step with the press and public. Perry, in step with the Kings, turned them into silk purses after they&rsquo;d spent the winter as a hockey version of sows&rsquo; ears.</p><p>They kicked the Oilers around with rare, disciplined checking and the Oilers didn&rsquo;t like it much. Roughed up, the Oilers backed down like a paperhanger at lunch time.</p><p>And the Chinese year of the dog became the year of the underdog. Hurray.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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BEDCLOTHES

<div class="image-hero"><img title="Cover-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/cover-01745/4558004-1-eng-US/cover-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>BOSTON&rsquo;S PETER McNAB</b> <span class="photo-credit">(Photo By Bruce Bennett)</span></figcaption></div><p>$1.25 64522 THE INTERNATIONAL HOCKEY WEEKLY APRIL 30, 1982 Vol. 35, No. 30</p><p><b>NHL Playoff Setup Unpopular With First Round Losers</b></p><p><b>Eagleson, Kaminsky Feud Over Player Corporations</b></p><p><b>WORLD HOCKEY SCOREBOARD, STANDINGS & SUMMARIES</b></p><p><b>GINO GASPARINI TOP COLLEGE COACH</b></p><p><b>RON SCOTT COPS COLLEGE PLAYER AWARD</b></p><p><b>TEAMS SET FOR BANFF ADULT HOCKEY TOURNEY</b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

Cover-01

The Hockey News

<div class="byline">FRANK ORR&#x2019;S</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-011126/4555318-1-eng-US/f0002-012.jpg" title="f0002-01" width="319" height="372"></div><h2>The Mighty Have Fallen</h2><p class="dropcap"><b><span>G</span>UY LAFLEUR SAID</b> it after the Montreal Canadiens, the third best team in the National Hockey League during the past season, were shunted into playoff oblivion by the Quebec Nor-diques, a club that finished 27 points behind the Canadiens over the 80-game schedule.</p><p>&ldquo;Maybe the first round should at least be a best-of-seven series [it&rsquo;s a best-of-five now],&rdquo; Lafleur said, &ldquo;There doesn&rsquo;t-seem to be much reward for working hard all season. The teams that do should have some advantage over the teams that don&rsquo;t.&rdquo;</p><p>In several NHL cities where teams had big seasons then made a quick exit from the playoffs in this, the spring of the upset, folks are echoing Lafleur&rsquo;s sentiments. In Edmonton, Montreal, Minnesota and Winnipeg they&rsquo;re wondering if all the effort over 80 games was worth it.</p><p>In other cities though, the people think everything is just fine because their ordinary teams at last have done something exciting. Hockey fans of Quebec, Los Angeles, Chicago and St. Louis think the playoff system is just great.</p><p>In the first round, the divisional semifinals under the new realignment setup, five of the top eight teams in the overall standings lost in the opening round and a sixth, the New York Islanders, needed overtime in Game Five to survive. The three playoff teams with the lowest points totals advanced to the division finals.</p><p>Not one team among the four survivors in the Campbell Conference had a. 500 record during the season.</p><p>Thus, two of the NHL&rsquo;s glamor teams, the Canadiens and the Oilers, vanished quickly. Sure it&rsquo;s great for hockey fans in L.A., and Quebec and a shot in the arm for those clubs, but in the big picture, the attrition rate of top teams isn&rsquo;t going to do the NHL much good.</p><h2>Value To 80 Games</h2><p><b>WHAT THE NHL</b> has succeeded in doing is to make the 840-game season practically redundant, a long series of exhibition games to decide the matchups for the first playoff round. As the Canadiens and Oilers discovered, there&rsquo;s really little to be gained by working their buns off all season and providing superb entertainment.</p><p>Few will remember that. When the 1981-82 season of those clubs is assessed, what will be remembered? The excellent hockey those teams dished out over 80 games? No way! Their quick playoff exit will be the front and center feature.</p><p>The league also has removed the main object of a high finish&mdash;home ice advantage in the playoffs. The extra home game in the conference and Stanley Cup finals is decided by a flip of a coin, not point totals, because of the rather weird viewpoint that all divisions aren&rsquo;t equal and an unbalanced schedule is played, making point totals meaningless.</p><p>Strictly as a hypothetical situation, if I were Glen Sather, the man in charge of the Oilers, I would take a totally different approach to the 1982-83 season. The club has enough pure talent to be a high finisher under any circumstances so I&rsquo;d use the 80-game schedule simply to prepare for the playoffs.</p><p>Forget about the first 40 games. They make a useful training camp and a chance to look at the talent&mdash;no grinding down top players with a heavy workload, no demanding workouts, just a low-keyed aim of good conditioning and solid knowledge of systems. Then after the holidays, I would start some sort of preparation for the playoffs, a push down the stretch to hit the Cup tournament at some peak.</p><h2>Some Advantages</h2><p><b>THE NHL SHOULD</b> re-establish the importance of the regular season. Because 16 of 21 teams participate, playoff spots simply are too easy to get. If 12, or better yet, eight teams were admitted, the season would mean a great deal more. There could be no coasting, none of the old &ldquo;wait until after New Year&rsquo;s and we&rsquo;ll get going&rdquo; that permeates the league now. First place in the division should count for something, say a bye in the first playoff round. Or why not increase the league bonus money and give teams something to chase.</p><p>Of course, all sport requires the head-to-head confrontations that the playoffs provide, the excitement of a great playoff series and the chance for an upset.</p><p>But it also needs a system where those 840 games count for a sizeable amount and the awards for excellence over the long haul are much higher than they are now.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0002-01

HOCKEY VIEWPOINT

<div class="byline">BY GORDON EDES</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0003-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-011140/4555349-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>For one it wasn&rsquo;t Marcel Dionne against the rest of the world. When Dionne checked Wayne Gretzky and the Oilers, winning two games in Edmonton, it was a team effort all the way.</b> <span class="photo-credit">(Photo By Bob Mummery)</span></figcaption></div><p>LOS ANGELES&mdash;It was about time, Marcel Dionne said, that the Kings puncture their image. And what was that?</p><p>&ldquo;Beach bums, surfers and Hollywood stars&hellip;who don&rsquo;t care,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I guess we proved them wrong.&rdquo;</p><p>The time was right for Dionne to make such a proclamation: The Kings, who had finished 17th overall in the regular season, had just completed their totally unexpected conquest of the Edmonton Oilers, and were returning home to be greeted by sellout crowds for their series against the Vancouver Canucks.</p><p>For the first time in Dionne&rsquo;s memory, hockey in L.A. was taking precedence over Fernando, Kareem, the Big-Dodger-in-the-Sky, even beach volleyball.</p><p>But there was a time, and not long ago, when there was a question of how much Dionne cared. Or maybe it was that he cared too much.</p><p>In any event, when the Kings were losing with regularity and losing big, Dionne was going through a 22-game stretch from mid-November to mid-January in which he scored only five goals. It was obvious he was struggling, and there was a question of whether he was merely going through the motions.</p><p>Later, Dionne would say his play was a result of his being discouraged about the Kings&rsquo; lace of direction. Now, with Don Perry as coach, he says he is as excited as he has ever been as a King, and it shows.</p><p>Saddled with the rap of being a poor playoff player and the statistics that lent that rap credence (one goal in the previous four seasons) Dionne scored four goals against the Oilers and had two more in the first three games against the Canucks.</p><p>All he needed, Dionne said, was a little support. He&rsquo;s gotten plenty, from people like:</p><p>&bull; Daryl Evans, a ninth-round draft choice who was one of the last cuts at training camp, broke his hand in the minors, then resurfaced to lead the Kings with five goals in the playoffs, including the one in overtime that capped The Comeback (6-5 after losing 5-0 going into the third period);</p><p>&bull; Charlie Simmer, who may have tried to come back too soon after fracturing his right leg but has found that he can still score goals (four in the playoffs, two in the deciding game against the Oilers) on one good leg. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want to say you&rsquo;re slow, Charlie,&rdquo; said Brad Selwood, the Kings&rsquo; assistant coach, &ldquo;but there&rsquo;s a turtle spitting on your skate.&rdquo;</p><p>&bull; Mike Murphy, given up perhaps for good when he tore up his knee in training camp but who has come back to kill penalties with Dan Bonar, take a regular shift and add his considerable experience to a team lacking in same.</p><p>&bull; Rookies Doug Smith, Bernie Nicholls and Steve Bozek, whose capacity to put the puck in the net (Bozek scored the winner in Game Two in Vancouver) have forced teams to key less on Dionne.</p><p>&bull; The defensemen, admittedly bad for most of the season and still less than mobile, but sacrificing themselves physically and making faster opposing skaters pay with every check.</p><p>&bull; And perhaps, most important, goalie Mario Lessard, who like Dionne got discouraged and sulked while his goals-against average hovered near five goals a game, but in the playoffs provided what every winning team must have, the hot goalie.</p><p>&ldquo;I told the guys, &lsquo;Don&rsquo;t put the pressure on me,&rsquo; and they didn&rsquo;t,&rdquo; Dionne said. &ldquo;1 also said, &lsquo;Don&rsquo;t put the pressure on Lessard,&rsquo; and they haven&rsquo;t.&rdquo;</p><p>What they have done is rally around the person of coach Don Perry, who has resurrected a club that, like winter, usually dies at the first sign of spring.</p><p>&ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t really regroup until Perry came,&rdquo; said Murphy, who has been a King longer than anyone on the roster and was overcome with emotion after the Kings eliminated the Oilers.</p><p>&ldquo;He just brought so much, a tremendous amount of character, and he brought stability.</p><p>&ldquo;He said, &lsquo;This is what you have to do and this is how you do it,&rsquo; and he meant it. There was only one guy to answer to, and he was the guy.</p><p>&ldquo;Before, we didn&rsquo;t have that.&rdquo;</p><p>What the Kings had before Perry was authority divided between George Maguire, the general manager, and coach Bob Berry&mdash;something Murphy experienced first-hand last season when he sat out the playoffs on Maguire&rsquo;s orders&mdash;then a lack of authority when Berry quit and Parker MacDonald became coach.</p><p>MacDonald, in his defense, was hamstrung by injuries to players in the half-season he coached the team. But he also labored under the misimpression that the Kings, by virtue of being professionals, would work themselves into shape.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0003-01

Beaching Oilers Buries Kings’ Care-Free Image

<div class="byline">BY RICHARD FRIEDMAN</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-02961/4555380-1-eng-US/f0003-022.jpg" title="f0003-02" width="591" height="1035"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Steve Weeks faced the Islanders in Game Two but was able to stop the onslaught of goals.</b></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><span>N</span>EW YORK&mdash;Outmatched on paper but not in heart, the Rangers faced the Islanders in the third Battle for New York in four years, determined not to replicate last spring&rsquo;s four-game exit.</p><p>It was a match-up of a Team of Destiny and a Stanley Cup Champion&mdash;a dynasty-in-the-making. Staring down a fleet-footed team of playoff novices that had withstood every plague but famine and pestilence, one that could absorb a loss in these quarter-finals with well-deserved pride and a victory with thumping of breastbones.</p><p>The opening games of the series demonstrated just how unpredictable this confrontation could be. In Game One, the Rangers victimized an exhausted Islanders team enroute to a 5-4 victory at Naseau Coliseum. With the scored tied 3-3 after one period, Steve Weeks made his first playoff appearance of 1982 in the Rangers&rsquo; nets, replacing the battered Eddio Mio as Mio nursed a pulled back muscle, the legacy of a punishing series against the Fivers in which he was crunched to the ice by Paul Holmgrem in the final period of the final game.</p><p>The next night, the Islanders found themselves and the Rangers&rsquo; express was temporarily derailed. Duane Sutter, with two goals, and Denis Potvin, who had not had a point in six games, found the net again, the Islanders&rsquo; power play came alive and they also scored a shorthanded goal enroute to a 7-2 victory. They no longer seemed tired, pressing the Rangers right up to the final buzzer in order to generate that intangible called &ldquo;momentum.&rdquo;</p><p>&ldquo;I never bought that &lsquo;tiredness&rsquo;&rdquo; said Rangers defenseman Dave Malony. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not something we can count on and you can never underestimate that club; anyone in the league can tell you that. They&rsquo;ve done too much and that&rsquo;s a feeble excuse.&rdquo;</p><p>As for the Rangers, cause-and-effect were all too apparent. Effect, from coach Herb Brooks: &ldquo;We got our behinds kicked by a good hockey club.&rdquo; Cause, from Captain Barry Beck: &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got to be a little meaner. We&rsquo;re happy with the split but not with the way we&rsquo;re playing. We&rsquo;re going to have to be more aggressive; we&rsquo;re waiting around for the other guy. Maybe with our home ice and our fans behind us, we&rsquo;ll change things around.&rdquo;</p><p>Beck&rsquo;s tone, and that of his teammates was, wisely, more level-headed than the talk after Game Two of last year&rsquo;s semifinals series between these two teams, when the Rangers appeared to believe that the very sight of Madison Square Garden and its Islanders-eating crowd would send the defending champions back to Moose Jaw. Credit it to maturity&mdash;and to the fact that the Rangers had a better record on the road than they did at home this past season.</p><p>It was a subdued Garden crowd that watched the Rangers play into the Islanders&rsquo; hands for the first two periods of Game Three, an up-and-back routine with few shots that found the Rangers trailing, 2-1, going into the third period. Then Reijo Ruotsal-sinen scored with 19 seconds gone, and Mike Allison, after spending much of the season either injured or in Brooks&rsquo; doghouse, put the Rangers ahead, 3-2 at 3:18. But Bob Bourne tied the score at 8:26 with his second goal of the game, and Bryan Trottier&rsquo;s overtime goal at the three-minute mark of sudden death gave the Islanders a two-games-to-one lead.</p><p>Mio was back in the nets that night, and Weeks back on the bench. Second-guessers had wondered why Brooks refrained from inserting John Davidson in the nets in the blowout in Game Two at the Coliseum, but it was clear then that the goalies who had gotten them there were the goalies who were to play for the Rangers in this series. Mio played well in this losing effort, and Trottier&rsquo;s goal, from an impossible angle, was one of those &ldquo;bad&rsquo; goals that occur when a team flings everything and anything at its opponent&rsquo;s net in overtime. That is what the Islanders did as they took five shots to the Rangers&rsquo; none in sudden-death, and some thought that the shot had gone in off the body of Bourne, which would have given him the hattrick. Bourne remained mum on that question.</p><p>&ldquo;I felt it hit me,&rdquo; said Mio, &ldquo;and at first I thought it had bounced off the corner. Then I saw their hands raised. It was a bad goal, a lucky bounce, but in overtime all it takes is one shot.&rdquo;</p><p>At that moment, the fact that he had played so well was less important to Mio than the game&rsquo;s outcome. &ldquo;You don&rsquo;t like to lose,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;and this was a big game for us.&rdquo;</p><p>Asked whether he had recovered from his back problems, Mio replied: &ldquo;I feel OK. I&rsquo;m in a little bit of pain, but a lot of other guys on this club are playing with pain.&rdquo;</p><p>Asked if his charges could have used another day&rsquo;s rest prior to Game Four, Brooks said: &ldquo;I&rsquo;m confident their emotions will run high. We&rsquo;ll be ready. We don&rsquo;t need another day.&rdquo;</p><p>The expected repeat of fireworks with Islanders&rsquo; goalie Billy Smith did not materialize in Game Three; Robbie Ftorek had slashed Smith in the facemask late in Game Two after Smith had butt-ended him. There was no time for sidetrips into vendettas; what the Rangers needed was another victory, and what they had to do, as many a Ranger said after the overtime loss, was bounce back. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s do-or-die,&rdquo; said Nick Fotiu. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve gotta come back. We have to.&rdquo;</p><p>Fotiu played that night on a line with Cam Connor and Gary Burns, two recent imports from Springfield, and their assignment was the Islanders&rsquo; line of Butch Goring, Bob Nystrom and John Tonelli, clutch players who had produced the Islanders&rsquo; serieswinning goal against Pittsburgh.</p><p>&ldquo;It was a matter of neutralizing them,&rdquo; said Connor, &ldquo;and their physical abilities in the corners. Nystrom does all that pushing and shoving, and Tonelli is a mucker. If we scored any goals, it would have been a bonus.&rdquo;</p><p>This from the man who had scored the game-winner in Game Three in Philadelphia, the Rangers&rsquo; pivotal come-from-behind victory. But Connor and friends did hold Nystrom and Tonelli scoreless this night, with Fotiu and Nystrom near the kindling-point all night.</p><p>The Rangers played physically against a cool and calm Islander team. &ldquo;Sure, the crowd really got behind them when they got the two in the third period,&rdquo; said Islanders&rsquo; coach Al Arbour. &ldquo;But we just hung in there and silenced them. It&rsquo;s the survival of the fittest in the playoffs.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0003-02

Form Out The Window In Rangers-Isles Series

<div class="byline">BY NEIL MILBERT</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0004-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-011185/4555411-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Tony Esposito came on in relief of a dehydrated Murray Bannerman and stopped the Blues in Game One of the Norris finals.</b> <span class="photo-credit">(Photo By Miles Nadal)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><span>C</span>HICAGO&mdash;The players were speeding up ice, away from the Chicago net, and referee Bob Myers had eyes only for the Minnesota end of the pond.</p><p>Dino Ciccarelli, the North Stars&rsquo; 55-goal scorer, was scrambling to his feet a few yards in front of Murray Ban-nerman when suddenly the Black Hawk goaltender came out of the net, turned his hockey stick into an axe and, striking above the knees, chopped down Ciccarelli from behind.</p><p>That scene from Game One in the Met Center illustrates the way the people wearing the uniforms of Minnesota and Chicago played playoff hockey during their opening round series that was won by the Black Hawks, three games to one.</p><p>Yet Ciccarelli chose to praise Bannerman rather than vowing to bury him.</p><p>&ldquo;Bannerman is playing better than any of the goalies we faced this year [when Minnesota went to the Stanley Cup finals before losing to the Islanders],&rdquo; said Ciccarelli.</p><p>&ldquo;Billy Smith didn&rsquo;t make the saves that Bannerman did. As long as I&rsquo;ve been playing hockey, I&rsquo;ve never seen a goaltender do what he did in those first two games.&rdquo;</p><p>Ciccarelli, who set a rookie goalscoring record in the 1981 playoffs, had seven shots-on-goal in Games One and two in Game Two but had neither a goal nor an assist to show for his zealous efforts in the face of vicious checking and valiant goaltending.</p><p>&ldquo;With the chances I had, I should have had two goals and maybe three in those two games,&rdquo; he continued. &ldquo;And that&rsquo;s just me. Bannerman robbed a lot of other guys just as much.</p><p>&ldquo;Not only did he stand on his head, he was like a third defenseman out there. He put the puck right on the wingers&rsquo; sticks.&rdquo;</p><p>Ciccarelli took immediate umbrage the night Bannerman laid the lumber on his legs and players from both teams raced back to the Chicago end when he went toward the goaltender with clenched fists. Fortunately, there was no spontaneous combustion of emotions and a brawl was averted.</p><p>No chip lingers on Ciccarelli&rsquo;s shoulder. &ldquo;Just one of those things that happens in a hockey game,&rdquo; he shrugged, wearing his contusions and abrasions with almost nonchalant resignations. &ldquo;I was colliding with him a lot and he probably thought it was deliberate. But really 1 was getting pushed into the net by the Chicago players.&rdquo;</p><p>In that first game, Bannerman&rsquo;s baptism under playoff fire, he had 45 saves and the Hawks were 3-2 winners in a pressure-packed overtime struggle. In the second contest, a 5-3 Chicago victory, he stopped 33 shots.</p><p>The North Stars finally got Bannerman&rsquo;s number in Game Three when they exploded for a 2-1 victory with Ciccarelli&rsquo;s three-goal barrage leading the way.</p><p>But in Game Four, with 38-year-old Tony Esposito tending goal, the Hawks made partial restitution for their mis-erable regular season by eliminating Minnesota with a 5-2 victory.</p><p>Bannerman was back in goal when the Hawks opened their Norris Division championship series in St. Louis and again he was brilliant.</p><p>The Hawks were 5-4 winners on Doug Wilson&rsquo;s goal with 5:16 to play but Bannerman was only a spectator by then. The 24-year-old goalie-became dehydrated in the intense heat and had to leave the game with 10:50 to go and the Hawks ahead 4-3.</p><p>Esposito came off the bench and came through in the clutch.</p><p>Bannerman was still woozy the following night so Bob Pulford, the Hawks&rsquo; coach and general manager, stayed with Esposito.</p><p>But this time the Blues were victorious 3-1, evening the series.</p><p>&ldquo;There really was no difference between this game and last night&rsquo;s,&rdquo; said Tom Lysiak, who got the only Hawk goal and is the team&rsquo;s top playoff point-producer (4-4-8). &ldquo;They dominated us both games. They&rsquo;re skating and we&rsquo;re not.</p><p>&ldquo;They keep doing the same things over and over. We can&rsquo;t seem to break that constant pattern. If we could just get them frustrated coming out of their end.</p><p>&ldquo;What we have to have is a couple of men skating into their end with abandon and causing a commotion so they move the puck faster than they want. We&rsquo;ve got to hit hard and do it cleanly.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0004-01

Sharp Hawks’ Goaltending Carries Club In Playoffs

<p><b>THE INTERNATIONAL HOCKEY WEEKY Founded in 1947 by Kenneth W. McKenzie</b></p><p><b>DONALD R. WALL</b><br><i>Chairman and Publisher</i></p><p><b>TOM MURRAY</b><br><i>Editor in Chief</i></p><p>Advertising and Editorial Offices</p><p>214 King Street West - Suite 314</p><p>Toronto. Ontario Canada M5H 1K4</p><p>(4161598-1753</p><p>Executive Office</p><p>850 Third Ave.</p><p>New York. New York. 10022</p><p>(212) 593-2100</p><h2>EDITORIAL STAFF</h2><p>Charlie Halpin<br><i>Editorial Director</i></p><p>Mike Dennis,<br><i>Assistant Editor</i></p><p><i>Contributing Editors</i><br>Stan Fischler. Frank Orr</p><p><b>TOM WORSLEY</b><br><i>Business Manager</i></p><h2>ADVERTISING SALES OFFICES</h2><h3>Toronto:</h3><p>Randy Green</p><p>214 King Street West&mdash;Suite 314</p><p>Toronto, Ontario Canada M5H 1K4</p><p>(416) 598 1753</p><h3>Quebec City:</h3><p>Gaston Dube</p><p>Gaston Dube & Associates</p><p>75D St Ursule St</p><p>Quebec City. Que. G1R 4E7</p><p>(418)692 5130</p><h3>New York:</h3><p>Bob Bassinette Bob Bassinette Co.</p><p>8 Jackson Ave Syosset. NY 11791</p><p>(516) 921-0508</p><h3>Minneapolis-St. Paul:</h3><p>Chuck Grillo & Herb Brooks</p><p>12890 Dory Ave.,</p><p>Apple Valley, MN 55124</p><p>(612)423-2447</p><p><b>Esther Sumka</b></p><p><b>Advertising Service Manager (416) 598 1753</b></p><p><b>THE HOCKEY NEWS</b>. (ISSN 0018-3016). is published weekly except monthly June through September by W.C.C. Publishing Ltd, 214 King Street West&mdash;Suite 314. Toronto. Ontario M5H 1K4 (416) 598-1753. In U.S. c/o W.C.C. Publishing Corp, 850 Third Ave, New York, N.Y. 10022.</p><p><b>YEARLY SUBSCRIPTION RATES:</b> $1895 in the U.S.A. $1895 in Canada. $2495 in Foreign Countries. Send all Canadian and Foreign subscription orders to THE HOCKEY NEWS. P.O. Box 13035, Postal Station A. Toronto. Ont. M5W 1V7. U.S. subscription requests should be mailed to Box 904. Buffalo. N.Y. 14240. Please allow 4-6 weeks tor processing.</p><p><b>SEND ADDRESS CHANGES TO THE HOCKEY NEWS.</b> 2,14 King St. W. Suite 314, Toronto. Ont M5H 1K4 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. M5H 1K4. Canada.</p><p><b>IN THE UNITED STATES:</b> Second class postage paid at New York. N Y. and at additional mailing offices U.S. POSTMASTER send address changes to The Hockey News, 214 King St. W, Suite 314. Toronto. Ont M5H 1K4.</p><p><i>Member of the Audit Bureau of Circulations</i><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

<div class="byline">BY BOB DONNELLY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0004-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-021134/4555466-1-eng-US/f0004-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Wilf Paiement started the Nordiques rolling towards their monumental upset of the Canadiens with the opening goal of Game Five.</b> <span class="photo-credit">(Photo By Graig Abel)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><span>Q</span>UEBEC&mdash;When Dale Hunter scored after only 22 seconds of overtime in the fifth and final game of the semifinal series to eliminate the Montreal Canadiens from the Stanley Cup playoffs, the Nordiques did much more than just win a hockey game. They not only ousted a team expected to sweep the series in three straight games, but at the same time dominated in a rivalry that matches any in the National Hockey League.</p><p>The series was hard fought to the bitter end; the Nordiques were reduced to four defensemen for the final 20 minutes of play and were without team leader Peter Stastny, who was sidelined with a kidney injury. Goaltender Dan Bouchard stole the show, aggressive Dale Hunter picked up where he left off against the Philadelphia Flyers a year ago, and the Nordiques displayed remarkable poise throughout the series.</p><p>The Nordiques certainly thought things looked good after winning the third game 2-1 at home, but Montreal came right back the next night with a convincing 6-2 triumph. These events set up the fifth and final game at the Forum in Montreal and it was just as well the series was coming to an end because tempers were getting short. Wilf Paiement accused Bob Gainey of being one of the dirtiest players in the league, coach Michel Bergeron said he certainly wouldn&rsquo;t want a son like Jeff Brubaker in his family, and Montreal&rsquo;s Mario Tremblay replied that Paiement and Bergeron were full of you know what.</p><p>The pressure on both teams to win was simply immense. It was the breweries, Molson versus O&rsquo;Keefe, Guy Lafleur back at the Colisee, and television broadcasts on not one, but on two Quebec City television stations at the same time. Open line radio talk shows started three hours before game time and then continued with live interviews from the dressing rooms of both teams after each match.</p><p>The Nordiques took a 2-0 lead in the first period of the final game and this killed any chance of the reappearance of the brawls which dominated the fourth game. Paiement and Anton Stastny gave the Nordiques some breathing room before the Quebec checkers took over. Bouchard, of course, had something to say in the outcome, as he continually frustrated Montreal until the third period.</p><p>With less than 10 minutes left in regulation time, Tremblay and Robert Picard tied the game. The capacity crowd at the Forum was in ecstacy and the momentum had certainly switched over to the Canadiens. Playing with only four defensemen (Pierre Lacroix and Jean Hamel were injured in the second period) and led by Bouchard, the Nordiques held on to force the overtime and got a much needed rest.</p><p>Hunter at first would only praise Bouchard&rsquo;s leadership after the game, but when pressed further he clearly remembered the biggest goal of his hockey career:</p><p>&ldquo;I got away from a check by Bob Gainey and went in with Real Cloutier on a two-on-one break. Rod Langway was between us but I got the puck over to Real, but he was rushed and missed the net with his shot. He continued behind the net and picked up the puck, went around the net and got it out to me. Rick Wamsley was sliding across to stop my shot and 1 just pushed it into the net.&rdquo;</p><p>It took a few seconds before what had happened registered with the players on the ice and the shocked fans. The red light did not go on because Wamsley was hiding the puck; after a few seconds, a painful hesitation, referee Wally Harris credited the goal, and the Nordiques started jumping all over the ice. It all happened so fast thousands of people had not yet returned to their seats, and now suddenly it was all over.</p><p>&ldquo;The greatest finish to any game I have ever played in my career,&rdquo; said Bouchard.</p><p>&ldquo;My greatest thrill since I have been in the NHL. The whole series belonged to Dan Bouchard,&rdquo; said Paiement.</p><p>&ldquo;My happiest moment since I started playing hockey in North America,&rdquo; said a jubilant Anton Stastny.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s just great,&rdquo; said Bergeron. &ldquo;Dan Bouchard was simply fantastic in goal once again, and Dale Hunter certainly deserved to get the winner for us the way he worked so hard all through the series. We are perhaps still a little inconsistent, but this was a victory in the most difficult of conditions.&rdquo;</p><p>After Hunter stopped praising Bouchard, finished describing his goal for the tenth time, and after he had given due praise to his rivals, he started talking about the Boston Bruins and the next playoff series. The Nordiques arrived home at 2 A M. that night and were greeted by 2,000 fans at the Quebec airport. Quebec City has gone hockey crazy; the archrivals in Montreal had been defeated, but the next series was already about to begin.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0004-02

Nordiques Took Battle Of Quebec With Pride, Poise

<div class="byline">BY STAN FISCHLER</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-011040/4555497-1-eng-US/f0005-012.jpg" title="f0005-01" width="300" height="367"></div><h2>Awards And Spanks</h2><p class="dropcap"><b><span>A</span>T THE MOMENT</b> ballots are being counted for a number of official National Hockey League awards, voted upon by a lot of people better qualified to evaluate Komodo dragons.</p><p>Sometime in June the winners of these awards will get a lot of money, face a horde of people and, perhaps, wonder why the devil they were nominated in the first place.</p><p>What I&rsquo;m worried about are the people who will <i>not</i> win any prizes. I am disturbed that yet another year has gone by and Wally Weir remains the most underutilized useful player on the Quebec Nordiques and nobody knows it but me.</p><p>I empathize with Pat Hughes, the unsung coupler on the now-derailed Edmonton express. I fret for Fred Barrett, who puts more heart into his game than the entire Toronto Maple Leafs hockey club put together.</p><p>But I&rsquo;m also angry. Especially with Rob Ramage and his Colorado copout when the team needed him most. Not to mention Reggie Leach, who could have been good for 60 goals this year (instead of 26) if he had put his mind to it, which he didn&rsquo;t.</p><p>The following are a few chaps who should be getting awards and won&rsquo;t. Not to mention a few who should be getting spanked&mdash;and will. Right here.</p><p><b>MARCEL DIONNE:</b> A bad guy with the media, yes, but game in and game out, year in and out, the most productive man on the Kings&rsquo; treadmill to oblivion. Three huzzuahs for Dionne&rsquo;s consistency and his galvanic effort in smiting the Great Gretzky.</p><p><b>DENIS SAVARD:</b> It figured that after last year&rsquo;s Savard point bonanza every goon and his brother would be after the fleet little fellow from the windy city and he would go the way of Wayne Dillon. You will note that Savard this year was the top Black Hawk point producer by more than 30. Give the kid a hand&mdash;and a team.</p><p><b>BRIAN ENGBLOM:</b> Wouldn&rsquo;t it be nice if the NHL&rsquo;s heavy-thinkers emerged from their coccoons long enough to deify defensive defensemen? Sure it would and then this fine broth of a backliner with the best plus-minus in the NHL wouldn&rsquo;t have to explain why he scored fewer goals for Les Canadiens than he has fingers on one hand. Let&rsquo;s, create an Eddie Shore Trophy and give it to B.E.</p><p><b>GLENN RESCH:</b> Only a man under a guillotine would have less to look forward to than this classy fugitive from a hockey team. Chico&rsquo;s uncomplaining stint between the Rockies&rsquo; pipes puts him in a class with General George Custer. Fortunately, Resch has survived. If there&rsquo;s a better goalie, his name isn&rsquo;t Grant Fuhr. Let&rsquo;s give Glenn The Chico Resch prize. There&rsquo;s only one like him.</p><p><b>MARK PAVELICH:</b> Having proven that Rangers pygmies can skate, Pavelich has further indicated that they can score and&mdash;if suitably provoked&mdash;fight, and survive among the Gullivers of the league. This mini-Mercury rates a solid-gold bust of Tom Thumb or Borrah Minevitch.</p><p><b>JOHN TONELLI:</b> Once upon a time I compared this relentless one to Joe Klukay, a superbly defensive digger who played on a number of Maple Leafs&rsquo; Cup-winners in the 1940s. But now Tonelli, unlike Klukay, even scores. We&rsquo;ll give him a Roto-Rooter with a red-light attachment.</p><p><b>YVON LAMBERT:</b> Can you believe that this handsome old gaffer outscored a young steed like Tony McKegney? Lambert was ruled null and void by Les Canadiens yet he has managed to put a little glint in the dull Sabres. He rates a lifetime supply of GeritoL</p><p>And now for the other side of the hand&mdash;the back.</p><p><b>WHATEVER HAPPENED TO:</b> Terry Ruskowski, Mark Howe, Wayne Babych, Danny Gare, Bill Clement, Bill Hajt, Jim Schoenfeld, and Jacques Richard?</p><p>And, finally, a standing ovation for two blokes who had splendid seasons almost&mdash;Dick Beddoes and The Great Gretzky! (Or are they one and the same?)</p><h2>Power Brokers Feud</h2><p><i>Dear Alan: I realize that you and I have locked horns before, but I think your letter of January 8, 1982 is truly extraordinary for its blatant inaccuracies and generally irresponsible content.&mdash;Arthur Kaminsky writing to Alan Eagleson.</i></p><p><i>Dear Arthur: Thank you for your letter of January 26, 1982. It seems to me that you would be better advised to expend your efforts on other matters rather than waste my time with your self-serving correspondence.&mdash;Alan Eagleson writing to Arthur Kaminsky</i></p><p>Among the more venomous blood feuds of our time there are the Hatfields and the McCoys, Les Nordiques and Les Canadiens, Paul Mooney and John Ziegler and Kaminsky and Eagleson.</p><p>If Dracula were called in as consultant he no doubt would select Kaminsky and Eagleson as the one insoluble war that could not be settled with the aid of a United Nations task force.</p><p>Unfortunately, we cannot buy tickets to this delicious battle because it&rsquo;s between a couple of hockey attorneys who are in a league of their own&mdash;the Power Broker Circuit. And these two are the biggest power brokers of all. What a match-up.</p><p>In one corner we have R. Alan Eagleson. Shepherd of the NHL Players&rsquo; Association. A Canadian legend-in-his-own-time. (Just ask him.) A walking conflict-of-interest. (Ask Kaminsky.) Erstwhile friend of Bobby Orr. (Ask Orr.) Subject of a terrible book. (Ask him.) And player rep.</p><p>In the other corner we have Arthur C. Kaminsky. Alter-ego of the U.S. Olympic hockey team. (Ask the media). Representative of many, many, <i>many</i> important players. (Ask him.) Challenger of Eagleson&rsquo;s operation of the union. (Ask the players.) Not yet a book; maybe someday.</p><p>On one of their laid-back days these chaps would make Punch and Judy seem more like Romeo and Juliet. But, you may wonder, why do The Eagle and King Arthur fuss so?</p><p>There are more reasons than Wayne Gretzky has dollars. Eagleson is an ultra-chauvinistic Canadian who believes that his successor&mdash;if there ever is to be one&mdash;should be a pure-bred Canadian. An American? God forbid!</p><p>Kaminsky is very much an American who, curiously, does not believe in the divine right of Canadians and only Canadians running the hockey players&rsquo; union. King Arthur would take on the Eagle on the best day Eagleson ever had.</p><p>That&rsquo;s for starters. Then, we have the intriguing battle over clients. After corralling Orr in his stable about a million-and-a-half years ago The Eagle ruled the roost that hatched the golden eggs for a long time.</p><p>Enter King Arthur, a very savvy young man. His first prize catch was Ken Dryden. This was followed by an impressive string of American collegiate stars, followed by a coach named Herb Brooks. Then Arthur The K trained his Argus eyes on Eagleson&rsquo;s operation of the players&rsquo; union.</p><p>Eagleson figures he runs a good union. Kaminsky suggests that it&rsquo;s a third-rate operation more worthy of lawn bowlers and not nearly in a class with its baseball and football counterparts.</p><p>King Arthur wants The Eagle to fly away. Eagleson sees no reason to leave his union nest, although he&rsquo;s occupied it since the Ice Age. Kaminsky believes that every day Eagleson runs the union is one day too many.</p><p>Now for specifics. Man the battle-stations!</p><h2>The Eagle&rsquo;s Warning</h2><p><b>THE TWO ARE</b> currently arguing over the potential threat raised by player corporations. For an assortment of reasons some players have become &ldquo;corporations.&rdquo; Revenue officials in the United States and Canada seem to be interested in this aspect of their financial life.</p><p>There are those who believe the U.S. Internal Revenue Service may be getting nasty with stickhandler-corporations and there are others who think not.</p><p>On January 8 Eagleson dispatched a letter to Kaminsky to warn the players &ldquo;in accordance with some of the views that had been expressed by representatives of the Internal Revenue Service.&rdquo;</p><p>King Arthur did not appreciate the letter. His spicy reply symbolizes the bitterness that bubbles between the rivals.</p><p>In his January 26, 1982 reply to Eagleson, Kaminsky noted: &ldquo;&hellip;I firmly believe it [the letter] shows once and for all the absurb and deleterious conflict of interest in which you constantly entangle yourself as you seek to balance your Players&rsquo; Association responsibilities against your functions as representative of individual players.&rdquo;</p><p>Eagleson suggested that the Minnesota branch of the IRS would possibly investigate the corporate entities among the North Stars. This infuriated Kaminsky who noted:</p><p>&ldquo;It seems highly unlikely that the IRS has told you or anyone else that the Minnesota inquiry (and that&rsquo;s all it is now) is the first of similar steps across the country. I challenge you to prove otherwise because if you can&rsquo;t it is obvious your letter is intended to scare players and to create uncertainty among individuals who are not your clients&hellip;&rdquo;</p><p>How did Eagleson handle the poker hot letter from Kaminsky? Like so:</p><p>&ldquo;The record indicates that when many players, including Bobby Orr, were attacked for their corporations by Revenue Canada, that the information was passed along to every member of the Players&rsquo; Association, warning him of this position by the government. With respect to the Orr matter, Orr was successful in his position with the Canadian government and in fact received a tax rebate because of his several areas of income beyond his playing income.&rdquo;</p><p>That the blood feud between King Arthur and The Eagle is running deep red is obvious from Eagleson&rsquo;s next shot: &ldquo;I do get somewhat tired with your threats and inaccuracies, but I have learned to shrug them off. It seems that your time is spent in sending useless drivel to me in an attempt to make yourself look as if you are the protector of the hockey player. It seems the balance of your time is spent in dishonouring the ethics of the profession of law which precludes the solicitation of clients.&rdquo;</p><p>No stranger to the trenches, Eagleson fixes his bayonet and launches his final charge: &ldquo;It seems you are interested in an annual challenge and this will be another challenge you have lost. You should perhaps be more careful in your threats and challenges in the future.&rdquo;</p><p>So, now you have a first-hand view of how a pair of hockey&rsquo;s bitterest enemies handle each other via the mails.</p><p>Who will be the winner? If the Eagle survives as union boss he will remain the top power broker on ice. But if King Arthur can depose Eagleson and somehow replace him with an American, then the Eagle will have to acknowledge that he has finally laid an egg.</p><p>In the meantime, I can&rsquo;t wait for the next bit of correspondence between these sweethearts of the dotted line.</p><p><b>(NEXT WEEK: THE CLUB THAT PROVED YOU SHOULD NEVER GIVE UP IN THE STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS.)</b></p><p><b>NOTES:</b> You have to give points to Boston Garden public address announcer Weldon Haire. Prior to Bruins&rsquo; games, he delivers this request of the crowd: &ldquo;When cheering, consider your neighbors and please make your language fit for women and children.&rdquo; They ought to try that at Madison Square Garden&hellip;Bad ink to the contrary, Guy Lafleur remains the people&rsquo;s choice of sports fans in the Province of Quebec. A recent poll conducted by Radio Station CKAC and Montreal <i>La Presse</i> indicates that The Flower is, as they say in Quebec, <i>&ldquo;le choix du peuple&rdquo;&hellip;</i>Rangers raised a lot of bucks for charity at a fashion show thrown by the Blueshirts wives. By acclimation Carol Vadnais was picked the best-dressed Ranger. Who&rsquo;s the worst-dressed? Ron Greschner says it&rsquo;s Mark Pavelich&hellip;There&rsquo;s talk about ultimately placing an NHL team in the big building now being constructed in Tacoma. The domed structure would be NHL size but, as Seattle columnist John Owen notes, getting hockey fans from Seattle to visit Tacoma would be as hard as it was to persuade San Franciscans to watch hockey in Oakland. Which explains why there&rsquo;s no NHL team in the Bay Area&hellip;Ex-Blues&rsquo; prexy Sid Solomon III, now running the Pines Golf Club in Rockledge, Florida, denies my assertion that he was too emotionally involved with the team when he was in St. Louis. &ldquo;Being close to the players made it fun,&rdquo; says Sid III, &ldquo;and it made it human. A lot of people say it&rsquo;s wrong but I think sports has lost the camaraderie between the elements.&rdquo; Salomon speaks affectionately of his old pal and successor, Emile Francis. &ldquo;He was a godsend. He&rsquo;s a total stand-up guy; a quality person from every standpoint.&rdquo;&hellip;Hall of Famer Glenn Hall and future Hall of Famer Ken Dryden will be invited out of retirement next winter to play goal in the 1983 Masters of Hockey tourney.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0005-01

ON THE CONTRARY

<div class="byline">BY DICK CHUBEY</div><p>EDMONTON&mdash;Come to think of it, considering the twinge of grey in Don Perry&rsquo;s locks, perhaps he could pass for Paul Newman.</p><p>Perry after all, did play the lead role in this particular version of The <i>Sting.</i></p><p><i>Perry,</i> initially the reluctant Los Angeles Kings&rsquo; coach, dropped into his home town April 5 and laid the ground rules for The <i>Setup.</i> Ever so humbly he informed a small gathering of newspaper types that he didn&rsquo;t like the chances of his Kings at all during a best-of-five Stanley Cup playoff debate against Edmonton Oilers.</p><p>&ldquo;Unless there&rsquo;s an abrupt reversal, our chances are nothing more than slim. If we don&rsquo;t put out 100 percent, they&rsquo;re zero,&rdquo; said Perry, who didn&rsquo;t have to blow a great deal of smoke to be convincing, considering the circumstances. &ldquo;We can&rsquo;t play half-assed and be successful&hellip;we&rsquo;re not that good.&rdquo;</p><p>After all, the Oilers, riding the nine-game unbeaten streak to wind up the National Hockey League&rsquo;s regular season for a second-place over-all, totally ruled the roost in meetings with the Kings, posting a 5-1-2 seasonal log. Somewhere down there in 17th place, 48 points back, were the Kings&mdash;with five straight losses to serve as momentum going into the best-of-five preliminary-round series.</p><p>Well, as it turned out, Perry blew sufficient smoke to sneak a Panzer Division undetected down Jasper Ave. at High Noon.</p><p>Eight nights later, Perry congregated in front of a much larger assembly of notepads, Bics, taperecorders and, heavens to Betsy, even television cameras&mdash;a wry smile crossing his face as he confessed to planting The <i>Bait.</i></p><p>&ldquo;This is one of the best feelings I&rsquo;ve ever had,&rdquo; grinned Perry after the Kings totally dominated Oilers 7-4 in Game Five to cap the lid on a number of stunning first-round upsets. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m still in a state of shock, but I&rsquo;ll have to admit we downplayed the whole thing on purpose. I knew we had a chance when we came in here.&rdquo;</p><p>One of Perry&rsquo;s co-stars in the award-winning con was a gimpy-legged left-winger, who many felt had lost a step after badly fracturing a leg a year ago. Charlie Simmer may be slower, but he was quick enough on the trigger to stun the Oilers and their madly-cheering disciples with two goals in the first six minutes of play.</p><p>&ldquo;We had bad luck the first four rounds in the playoffs, but we knew we could beat them. We just tried to keep it quiet,&rdquo; said a smiling Simmer. &ldquo;While they were saying three straight, we were saying we were just happy to be here.&rdquo;</p><p>The <i>Hook</i> took. Right off the bat, too.</p><p>Here&rsquo;s a glimpse at how the Oilers bit the dust.</p><p><b>Game One:</b> The Kings came out with a chip on their shoulders&hellip;and by the time the first period was nine minutes old Oilers had a 4-1 lead, including two goals by defenseman Risto Siltanen. An errant clearing pass by Dave Semenko and a last-minute penalty to Wayne Gretzky, however, let the Kings off the hook as they pulled within one before the period ended. In the second period, led by two goals from unknown rookie Daryl Evans, L.A. grabbed an 8-6 lead. Oilers rallied to tie the game in the third period, but Simmer&rsquo;s goal with five minutes remaining put Kings ahead to stay in a 10-8 shootout. Whatever happened to defensive playoff hockey?</p><p><b>Game Two:</b> Edmonton&rsquo;s Pat Hughes scored on an early breakaway, but the Kings grabbed a 2-1 second-period lead on goals by rookies Bernie Nicholls and Evans. Oilers&rsquo; Jari Kurri took a drop pass from defenseman Charlie Huddy and whipped a 45-footer by standout L.A. goalie Mario Lessard with five minutes left in regulation to send the game into overtime. Gretzky&rsquo;s screened blast at 6:20 beat Lessard and sent the series to Los Angeles tied at one game apiece.</p><p><b>Game Three:</b> The Oilers scored two goals&mdash;Gretzky&rsquo;s first of two for the night and captain Lee Fogolin&rsquo;s first in 45 playoff games&mdash;during one shorthanded situation en route to building a 5-0 lead after two periods. Then the Kings started picking away, led by Jay Walls&rsquo; goal at 2:46 of the third period and Steve Bozek&rsquo;s power-play equalizer with five seconds remaining. Evans snapped a 30-foot shot by goalie Grant Fuhr off a faceoff at 2:35 of overtime and the Kings were in the dirver&rsquo;s seat with a 6-5 comeback that had to be seen to be believed.</p><p><b>Game Four:</b> Marcel Dionne gave the Kings an early power-play lead, sending 16,005 fans at the Forum into a frenzy. But the Oilers came back on Jari Kurri&rsquo;s breakaway goal and then took a 3-1 lead on markers 2:44 apart by Hughes and Glenn Anderson. Mike Murphy pulled the Kings within one midway through the third period, but the Oilers turned in a disciplined checking for a 3-2 victory.</p><p><b>Game Five:</b> Due to the fact the final two games were played back-to-back both teams flew to Edmonton on the same charter, arriving at 5:30 a.m. Kings forechecked the Oilers into the ice and the outcome was never in doubt as they assumed period leads of 3-2 and 6-2. &ldquo;Edmonton is a weird team to play against,&rdquo; said Perry following the 7-4 win. &ldquo;They don&rsquo;t play logical hockey. They&rsquo;ve always got three guys tight together and they&rsquo;ve always got another guy floating around. They don&rsquo;t seem to care if they get caught. It&rsquo;s fine, I guess. You get a lot of goals that way. But, if you pick up on it, you can turn it against them.&rdquo;</p><p>Which is how Perry ran The <i>Sting.</i><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

Kings’ Perry Set Up Edmonton For The Sting

<p class="dropcap"><i><span>T</span>he Boston Bruins and NewYork Islanders were in the driver&rsquo;s seat in their respective division finals of the Wales Conference as we went to press.</i></p><p><i>The Islanders led the Rangers 2-1 in the best-of-seven Patrick Division final series and the Bruins were one up on the Quebec Nordiques in their best-of-seven Adams Division final series after winning the first two on Boston ice while the Nordiques won at home.</i></p><p><i>The Islanders reached the division final by eliminating Pittsburgh in five games and Quebec disposed of Montreal in a five-game upset as well. The Rangers bounced Philadelphia in four games to gain a berth in the Patrick finals against the Islanders. Boston ousted Buffalo in four games to advance against Quebec.</i></p><p><i>Following are the capsule reports of the Wales Conference games:</i></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-011222/4555643-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg" title="f0006-01" width="592" height="201"></div><h2>ISLANDERS vs PITTSBURGH</h2><p><b>Game Five:</b> John Tonelli emerged as the early playoff hero for the Islanders after he scored the game-tieing goal with less than three minutes to play and then sank the overtime winner to spark New York to a dramatic come-from-behind 4-3 victory over the pesky Penguins in the fifth and deciding game of the best-of-five series. The Islanders advanced into the Patrick Division finals against the rival New York Rangers.</p><p>The Penguins, who had pushed the Islanders to the wall by winning twice at home after dropping the first two games of the series, went into the final game with equal poise and quickly seized a 3-1 lead. The Islanders fought back on late goals by Mike McEwen and Tonelli to deadlock the game at 3-3. Tonelli triggered the winner at 6:19 of the overtime on a pass from Bob Nystrom.</p><p>The star of the game undoubtedly was goalie Michel Dion of the Penguins, who singlehandedly kept Pittsburgh in contention as he handled 46 shots. He frustrated the Islanders for more than 50 minutes before they rallied to tie the score.</p><h3>Tue. April 13 PITTSBURGH 3, ISLANDERS 4</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-02918/4555636-1-eng-US/f0006-022.jpg" title="f0006-02" width="549" height="848"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-03600/4555629-1-eng-US/f0006-032.jpg" title="f0006-03" width="592" height="173"></div><h2>MONTREAL vs QUEBEC</h2><p><b>Game Five:</b> Dale Hunter, the scoring star of the third game of the series, was right back at it in the fifth and deciding game as he scored the winner in the overtime period.</p><p>Hunter connected only 22 seconds into the extra period to spark the Nordiques to an emotional 3-2 upset win over Montreal and eliminate the Canadiens from the playoffs. The victory allowed Quebec to advance to the Adams Division finals against the Boston Bruins.</p><p>Hot goaltending proved the difference for the Nordiques as veteran Dan Bouchard kept the Canadiens off the scoresheet for 50 minutes with some remarkable saves. The Habs finally caught fire with two late third period goals by Mario Tremblay and Robert Picard to force the game into the extra period. Bouchard was the key as the Canadiens outshot Quebec 35-19. Wilf Paiement and Anton Stastny had scored first-period goals for the Nordiques.</p><p>Hunter&rsquo;s game-winning goal came suddenly; many of the 17,611 fans were still working their way back to their seats after the intermission. It was a two-on-one break with Real Cloutier but Cloutier&rsquo;s shot missed the net. Hunter pounced on the puck and slammed it off goalie Rick Wamsley&rsquo;s pads. The puck barely made it over the goalline and referee Wally Harris belatedly signalled that it was indeed in the net for the winner.</p><h3>Tue. April 13 QUEBEC 3, MONTREAL 2</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-04395/4555622-1-eng-US/f0006-042.jpg" title="f0006-04" width="548" height="718"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-05321/4555615-1-eng-US/f0006-052.jpg" title="f0006-05" width="592" height="196"></div><h2>RANGERS vs ISLANDERS</h2><p><b>Game One:</b> The home ice bubble burst for the Islanders as the Rangers skated off with a 5-4 victory in the opening of their Patrick Division final. The defeat snapped the Islanders&rsquo; 26-game undefeated streak in the Nassau County Coliseum.</p><p>Defenseman Reijo Ruotsalainen was the scoring hero for the Rangers, firing the deciding goal past Islander goalie Billy Smith at 18:02 of the third period to break a 4-4 tie.</p><p>Ron Duguay, Cam Connor, Rob McClanahan and Robbie Ftorek scored the other goals for the Rangers, who went into the game as underdogs in the Battle of New York. Dave Langevin, Mike Bossy, Bob Nystrom and John Tonelli were the marksmen for the Islanders. Ranger goalie Steve Weeks, who relieved starter Eddie Mio after the first period when Mio injured his back, played an outstanding game in turning back 28 of the 29 shots the Islanders fired at him.</p><h3>Thu. April 15 RANGERS 5, ISLANDERS 4</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-06228/4555608-1-eng-US/f0006-062.jpg" title="f0006-06" width="532" height="217"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-07121/4555601-1-eng-US/f0006-072.jpg" title="f0006-07" width="541" height="776"></div><p><b>Game Two:</b> The Rangers came back to earth in the Battle of New York as they absorbed a 7-2 shellacking from the Islanders, two nights after upsetting the defending cup champs in the series opener.</p><p>Duane Sutter provided the scoring leadership for the Islanders as he scored twice in a game that produced only 46 shots on goal, 26 of them by the Islanders.</p><p>Capitalizing on defensive lapses by the Rangers, the Islanders jumped into a big 3-0 first-period lead on goals by Denis Potvin, his first scoring point of the 1982 playoffs, Billy Carroll and Sutter. Sutter added his second midway in the second period and Mike Bossy connected for his fourth playoff goal to put five on the board for the Islanders before the Rangers got untracked. Bryan Trottier and Mike McEwen added goals in the third period to complete the rout. Robbie Ftorek and Mikko Leinonen, both with their fifth of the playoffs, were the Rangers&rsquo; goalgetters.</p><h3>Fri. April 16 RANGERS 2, ISLANDERS 7</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-0865/4555594-1-eng-US/f0006-082.jpg" title="f0006-08" width="548" height="847"></div><p><b>Game Three:</b> Bryan Trottier&rsquo;s fourth playoff goal after three minutes of overtime was the difference as the Islanders defeated the Rangers 4-3 in Madison Square Garden to go ahead in their Patrick Division final series.</p><p>Trottier fired the winner past goalie Eddie Mio at the three-minute mark after taking a pass from Ken Morrow to give the Islanders the decision and a 2-1 lead over the Rangers in the series.</p><p>The Rangers appeared to be on their way to an upset win over the Islanders as they took advantage of the home ice for the first time in the series to go ahead 3-2 early in the third period. Goals by Robbie Ftorek, Reijo Ruotsalainen and Mike Allison enabled the Rangers to overcome a pair of goals by Mike Bossy and Bob Bourne of the Islanders. But the cup champs clicked for the game-tieing goal at 8:26 from the stick of Bourne, his second of the game, and the teams headed for overtime.</p><p>The Islanders outshot the Rangers 33-25 with Billy Smith getting the win over Mio in the battle of the goaltenders.</p><h3>Sun. April 18 ISLANDERS 4, RANGERS 3</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-1028/4555587-1-eng-US/f0006-102.jpg" title="f0006-10" width="549" height="769"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-1127/4555580-1-eng-US/f0006-112.jpg" title="f0006-11" width="586" height="195"></div><h2>QUEBEC vs BOSTON</h2><p><b>Game One:</b> The Bruins virtually snatched the decision away from the Nordiques in the start of their Adams Division final series as defenseman Raymond Bourque scored the gamewinning goal with 55 seconds to play.</p><p>The Bruins won the opener 4-3 on home ice despite another scintillating goalkeeping performance by Quebec&rsquo;s Dan Bouchard, who handled 38 shots compared to 24 by rookie Mike Moffat of the Bruins.</p><p>The Nordiques blew a 3-2 lead midway in the final period as first Steve Kasper connected for the tieing goal and then Bourque notched the winner</p><p>just as overtime seemed inevitable. Barry Pederson and Dave Barr were the other Boston scorers. Real Cloutier hit for two Quebec goals and Michel Goulet one.</p><h3>Thu. April 15 QUEBEC 3, BOSTON 4</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-1222/4555573-1-eng-US/f0006-122.jpg" title="f0006-12" width="543" height="687"></div><p><b>Game Two:</b> The Bruins blew the Nordiques off the Boston Garden ice with a convincing 8-4 romp over the Quebeckers to grab a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven division final.</p><p>Spearheaded by two-goal efforts from Barry Pederson and Bruce Crowder, plus the brilliant offensive play of veteran Rick Middleton, the Bruins skated circles around the Nordiques and outshot them 40-31 in the one-sided playoff.</p><p>After a 2-2 first period, the Bruins pulled away with three unanswered goals in the second period and two more in the final 20 minutes to seize a 7-2 lead before the Nordiques offense staged a brief flurry that netted them their final two goals.</p><p>Besides Pederson and Crowder, the Bruins also got goals from Steve Kasper, Middleton, Tom Fergus and Terry O&rsquo;Reilly. The goals were Pederson&rsquo;s fifth and sixth of the playoffs. Wilf Paiement, Mario Marois, Marian Stastny and Michel Goulet scored for Quebec.</p><h3>Fri. April 16 QUEBEC 4, BOSTON 8</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-02266/4555566-1-eng-US/f0039-022.jpg" title="f0039-02" width="541" height="843"></div><p><b>Game Three:</b> Wilf Paiement was the man of the hour for the Nordiques as he scored the game-winning goal in overtime to defeat the Boston Bruins 3-2 for their first win of the Adams Division final series.</p><p>Playing on home ice, the Nordiques were a vastly different team than the one that lost the first two games of the series in the Boston Garden. The result still left the Bruins in command with a 2-1 series lead.</p><p>Paiement&rsquo;s deciding goal came after 11:44 of the extra period as he took a cross-ice pass from Anton Stastny and outwitted Boston defenseman Ray Bourque on a 1-on-l situation before beating rookie goalie Mike Moffat with a low corner shot.</p><p>Goalie John Garrett was pressed into service in place of the ailing Dan Bouchard for the second straight game and came up with a solid performance.</p><h3>Sun. April 18 BOSTON 2, QUEBEC 3</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-03184/4555559-1-eng-US/f0039-032.jpg" title="f0039-03" width="543" height="787"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-0943/4555552-1-eng-US/f0006-092.jpg" title="f0006-09" width="1246" height="1507"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>John Garrett got an unexpected starting assignment when Dan Bouchard was taken ill and came through with a splendid effort for Quebec.</b></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0006-01

Pesky Nordiques Jolt Montreal Out Of Playoffs

f0007-10

NHL Playoff Picture

<p class="dropcap"><i><span>T</span>he hockey world was still rubbing its eyes in disbelief after the Los Angeles Kings eliminated the Edmonton Oilers in the biggest upset of the 1982 Stanley Cup playoffs.</i></p><p><i>The pesky Kings finished off the mighty Oilers in five games, winning the fifth and decisive contest by a convincing 7-4 score on Edmonton ice to advance to the Smythe Division finals against Vancouver.</i></p><p><i>As we went to press, the Canucks led the Kings 2-1 in their best-of-seven series for the right to move against the winner of the Norris Division. The Chicago Black Hawks led the St. Louis Blues.2-1 in their best-of-seven Norris final at presstime.</i></p><p><i>Following are the capsule reports on the Campbell Conference playoffs:</i></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-011087/4555758-1-eng-US/f0007-012.jpg" title="f0007-01" width="594" height="185"></div><h2>LOS ANGELES vs EDMONTON</h2><p><b>Game Four:</b> Second period goals by Pat Hughes and Glenn Anderson allowed the Oilers to extend their first-round series with the Kings to a fifth game as Edmonton edged Los Angeles 3-2 before a Forum sellout of 16,005.</p><p>The contest featured plenty of hardhitting hockey, but without the chippiness which marred Games Two and Three. The Kings opened the scoring on a power play goal by Marcel Dionne when he deflected in a shot from the point by Daryl Evans at 5:27 of the first period. Edmonton knotted the game at 10:18 of the period when Jari Kurri took a bouncing breakaway pass from Wayne Gretzky, broke in on Mario Lessard and beat him with a backhander.</p><p>The Oilers held the Kings off the scoresheet as they built their 3-1 lead in the middle period, but Mike Murphy had a shot go off his skate and slip underneath Grant Fuhr midway in the third period to make it a close contest. The Kings were unable, however, to get the equalizer.</p><h3>Mon. April 12 EDMONTON 3, L. ANGELES 2</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-02815/4555751-1-eng-US/f0007-022.jpg" title="f0007-02" width="541" height="684"></div><p><b>Game Five:</b> Charlie Simmer and Dan Bonar each scored two goals as the Kings shocked the Oilers 7-4 to capture the best-of-five series and eliminate the heavily-favored Oilers in the season&rsquo;s biggest upset.</p><p>Simmer scored his third goal of the playoffs at 3:22 of the first period and added another at 6:20 just as Edmon-ton&rsquo;s Pat Hughes finished a minor penalty. The Oilers twice closed to within a goal in the first period on scores by Wayne Gretzky and Paul Coffey, the latter on a power play after Daryl Evans made it 3-1 Kings on a giveaway by Jari Kurri, but that&rsquo;s as close as they came.</p><p>The Kings outscored the Oilers 3-0 in the second period on goals by Marcel Dionne, Bernie Nicholls and Bonar, who opened the third period with a goal to make it 7-2. Garry Unger and Dave Lumley replied for Edmonton but it wasn&rsquo;t enough.</p><p>Mario Lessard made 40 saves in goal for the Kings, who finished in fourth place in the division with 48 points less than Edmonton and the poorest record ever for a playoff team, 24-41-15, placing them 17th overall in the NHL. The Oilers were second.</p><h3>Tue. April 13 L. ANGELES 7, EDMONTON 4</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-03569/4555744-1-eng-US/f0007-032.jpg" title="f0007-03" width="544" height="847"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-05283/4555737-1-eng-US/f0007-052.jpg" title="f0007-05" width="583" height="196"></div><h2>LOS ANGELES vs VANCOUVER</h2><p><b>Game One:</b> The extra rest won by the Canucks after their three-game sweep of Calgary paid off when they came from behind to edge the Kings 3-2 on a goal by Gary Lupul to win the first game of the Smythe Division finals.</p><p>The Kings, playing their third game in four nights, took one-goal leads in the first and second periods on goals by Steve Bozek and Larry Murphy, but the Canucks sandwiched a pair of Ivan Hlinka goals around Murphy&rsquo;s to enter the third period tied at 2-2.</p><p>Canucks&rsquo; winger Ron Delorme separated Murphy from the puck along the boards early in the period and Lupul fired his second goal of the playoffs for the winner.</p><p>Vancouver threw 39 shots at Kings&rsquo; goalie Mario Lessard while the Kings fired 29 shots at Canucks&rsquo; Richard Brodeur.</p><h3>Thu. April 15. ANGELES 2, VANCOUVER 3</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-06212/4555730-1-eng-US/f0007-062.jpg" title="f0007-06" width="540" height="607"></div><p><b>Game Two:</b> The Kings continued to get excellent play from their young forwards as Steve Bozek scored after 4:33 of overtime to boost Los Angeles to a 3-2 victory and a split of the first two games in Vancouver.</p><p>While the Canucks unable to clear the puck off their zone, Rick Chartraw took a shot from the point which was deflected by Bozek for the game-winner.</p><p>Earlier Kings&rsquo; goals were scored by Marcel Dionne and Dave Taylor, while Darcy Rota and Stan Smyl accounted for the Vancouver goals.</p><h3>Fri. April 16 L. ANGELES 3, VANCOUVER 2</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-07160/4555723-1-eng-US/f0007-072.jpg" title="f0007-07" width="536" height="656"></div><p><b>Game Three:</b> Colin Campbell, who did not score a goal in 47 regular season games, got the first goal of the game and then the dramatic winner in overtime as the Canucks took a 2-1 edge in the series with a 4-3 victory in Los Angeles.</p><p>Campbell, who in fact had scored only once during the last two seasons, counted twice on long drives from the point. The game-winner was set up by Ivan Hlinka and Campbell ripped a 50-footer past the Kings&rsquo; Mario Lessard on the stick side.</p><p>After Campbell had the only goal of the first period, the Kings took the lead on goals by J.P. Kelly and Dave Taylor. Thomas Gradin brought the Canucks even with 45 seconds remaining in the second period with a slapshot from the top of the left faceoff circle.</p><h3>VANCOUVER 4, L. ANGELES 3</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-08129/4555716-1-eng-US/f0007-082.jpg" title="f0007-08" width="545" height="1015"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-0998/4555709-1-eng-US/f0007-092.jpg" title="f0007-09" width="586" height="188"></div><h2>CHICAGO vs ST. LOUIS</h2><p><b>Game One:</b> Doug Wilson&rsquo;s goal at 14:44 of the third period took away the Blues&rsquo; home ice advantage as the Black Hawks opened their second successive playoff series with a road victory, 5-4.</p><p>In a game of comebacks, Wilson&rsquo;s second goal of the playoffs settled the issue after the lead had changed hands twice in the period. St. Louis, on the strength of second period goals by Ralph Klassen, Wayne Babych and Mike Crombeen, entered the final period with a 3-2 lead.</p><p>The Black Hawks, however, scored after just 19 seconds of the period on a Denis Savard slapshot and took a 4-3 lead at 2:39 when Tom Lysiak collected his third playoff goal. Joe Mullen evened the score for St. Louis, finishing off a 2-on-l break against Tony Esposito who relieved Murray Bannerman, injured in a collision with Brian Sutter.</p><h3>Thu. April 15 CHICAGO 5, ST. LOUIS 4</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-04155/4555702-1-eng-US/f0039-042.jpg" title="f0039-04" width="540" height="765"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-05121/4555695-1-eng-US/f0039-052.jpg" title="f0039-05" width="527" height="110"></div><p><b>Game Two:</b> Mike Liut shutout the Black Hawks for the final 55:34 and Wayne Babych broke a 1-1 tie in the second period as the Blues went on to post a 3-1 triumph and even their Norris Division final at one game apiece.</p><p>Chicago&rsquo;s Tom Lysiak opened the scoring before the five minute mark of the first period with his fourth goal of the playoffs but Liut closed the door the rest of the way making 26 saves.</p><p>Bernie Federko pulled the Blues even with his second playoff goal at 9:10 of the first period on an unassisted effort. After Babych gave St. Louis their first lead in the series, Joe Mullen closed out the scoring with his fifth of the playoffs off an assist from Federko.</p><h3>Fri. April 16 CHICAGO 1, ST. LOUIS 3</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-06102/4555688-1-eng-US/f0039-062.jpg" title="f0039-06" width="533" height="569"></div><p><b>Game Three:</b> The Black Hawks exploded for three goals in a span of 1:40 in the first 3:01 of the game and then withstood a frantic St. Louis rally to hang on for a 6-5 win and a 2-1 lead in the series.</p><p>Bob Murray, Tom Lysiak and Tim Higgins stunned the Blues with rapidfire goals, the Blues yanked Mike Liut in favor of Glen Hanlon, and St. Louis was forced to play catch-up hockey the rest of the way. Wayne Babych got St. Louis on the board with his third goal of the playoffs but Rick Paterson and Denis Savard scored for Chicago before Joe Mullen found the range for the Blues again.</p><h3>Sun. April 18 ST. LOUIS 5, CHICAGO 6</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-0788/4555681-1-eng-US/f0039-072.jpg" title="f0039-07" width="545" height="871"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-04401/4555674-1-eng-US/f0007-042.jpg" title="f0007-04" width="593" height="1078"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Dan Bonar pitched in with two goals to help L A. finish the Oilers.</b></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0007-01

Oilers Surprised As Kings Pull Off Big Playoff Upset

<p>The International Hockey Weekly Founded in 1947</p><p><b>Published by W.C.C. Publishing Ltd.</b></p><p><b>214 King St. West, Suite 314, Toronto. Ont M5H 1K4</b></p><h2>Success: It&rsquo;s All Relative</h2><p><b>THE STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS WERE</b> not even halfway over as we went to press with this issue and yet, already, we are being deluged with articles and commentaries from all sides, lamenting the fact that the upsets that have prevailed in the playoffs so far have &ldquo;ruined&rdquo; the 1981-82 season for many of the National Hockey League&rsquo;s teams.</p><p>Nonsense. While there&rsquo;s no denying that the three teams who finished in first place in their respective divisions, only to lose in the first round of the playoffs&mdash;Minnesota, Edmonton and Montreal&mdash;had to be disappointed by their failure to succeed when they really had to, categorizing their seasons as disasters is not only inaccurate, but it ignores their achievements during the regular season.</p><p>Let&rsquo;s take the three &ldquo;losers&rdquo; first. For entirely different reasons, Edmonton, Minnesota and Montreal each thought that this season would be their year to win the Stanley Cup. The Oilers felt good about their chances after dominating the headlines and the league for most of the regular season, thanks to the magic of Wayne Gretzky and his supporting cast of the &ldquo;Kiddie Korps.&rdquo;</p><p>The North Stars felt that this might be their year, mainly because the Stanley Cup seemed to be the next step in a natural progression that started two years ago with a startling upset of Montreal in the first round and a berth in the semifinals and continued last year with a trip to the finals and a hard fought series with the New York Islanders. Victory in this year&rsquo;s finals, it seemed, was the next step.</p><p>And the Canadiens? Well, after winning the cup for four straight years (1976-79) and then being upset in the early rounds for two straight years (1980 by Minnesota, 1981 by Edmonton) the Habs were perhaps justified in thinking that this would be the year that they&rsquo;d not only get that early round monkey off their backs but also get back where they belonged each June&mdash;in a Stanley Cup parade on Ste. Catherine St.</p><p>As we all know, the best laid plans sometimes go awry, and all three of these teams were rudely disappointed by upstarts that were vastly inferior to them during the regular season but somehow managed to accomplish what seemed to be the impossible and win when they really had to. That&rsquo;s the bottom line, pure and simple. Not the fact that the less successful teams during the regular season were able to coast to the playoffs, unburdened by the pressures of finishing first, and thus better rested for the second season. Nor was it because the best-of-five format benefitted the underdog. Baloney! After the regular season had ended, Minnesota finished 22 points ahead of Chicago, Edmonton 48 points ahead of LA and Montreal 27 points ahead of Quebec. Margins like that suggest that, no matter how long or short a series, the teams with the better records <i>should</i> prevail. But they didn&rsquo;t, and that&rsquo;s what makes the playoffs as exciting as they are.</p><p>But enough talk of the disappointing favorites of 1981-82. How about a word on the Black Hawks, Kings and Nor-diques? And while we&rsquo;re at it, a little plug for St. Louis&rsquo; victory over this year&rsquo;s Cinderella team, the Winnipeg Jets, and Pittsburgh&rsquo;s <i>near</i> win over the Islanders.</p><p>While all of these teams may have caused some short term angst throughout the league because they were overturning all the glamor clubs in the early rounds, let&rsquo;s not lose sight of the long-term benefits: Thanks to their showing in this year&rsquo;s playoffs, all these teams will be stronger next year&mdash;both on the ice and at the box office. The disappointing regular seasons that they may have had have been long forgotten, thanks to their playoff performances. So no matter what happens to teams like Chicago, St. Louis, Vancouver and Los Angeles from this point on, their seasons have to be considered a success. So too for the Pittsburgh Penguins, who almost pulled off the playoff upset of the decade after a mediocre regular season, and the Winnipeg Jets, who suffered an early playoff exit after a sensational regular season.</p><p>Winning the ultimate prize, you see, is not always the <i>only</i> definition of success.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

<h2>Playoff Upsets Cause Criticism Of Format</h2><p class="dropcap"><i><span>W</span>hen the 1981-82 Stanley Cup playoffs opened with upsets in half of the eight first round series, a wave of protest flowed from the mouths of National Hockey League players and team officials, many of whom had seen their teams eliminated in the best-of-five initial series.</i></p><p><i>This is the first year of the NHL&rsquo;s playoff format which was designed to carry on the rivalries established during the regular season with an unbalanced schedule that has teams meeting divisional opponents either seven or eight times while playing just three times against all of the other teams in the league.</i></p><p><i>In the first round of the playoffs, four teams that finished the regular season with worse records than their opponents emerged as the winners after overcoming the home-ice advantage awarded to the teams with the better records. Quebec (.512 percentage) knocked out Montreal (.681), Los Angeles (.394) defeated Edmonton (.694), Chicago (.450) ousted Minnesota (.588) and St. Louis (.450) surprised Winnipeg (.500).</i></p><p><i>What&rsquo;s more, none of the four teams remaining in the Campbell Conference&mdash;Vancouver, Los Angeles, Chicago and St. Louis&mdash;had even a. 500 record and one of them will represent the conference in the Stanley Cup finals.</i></p><p><i>Below are comments from some of the participants in the playoffs made after the first series had been completed, which have been placed in three sections. The first, comments by Montreal players Guy Lafleur and Larry Robinson, appeared in an article by John laboni of The Toronto</i> Sun. <i>The second, opinions by several NHL general managers, also appeared in the</i> Sun <i>under Jim O&rsquo;Leary&rsquo;s byline. The third, thoughts expressed by Canadiens&rsquo; managing director Irving Grundman, was compiled by the staff of The Toronto</i> Globe and Mail. <i>All of the following appeared in the April 15 editions of those papers.</i></p><h2>Lafleur: Finishing First Should Mean Something</h2><p>Guy Lafleur: &ldquo;The standings don&rsquo;t mean a thing anymore since what&rsquo;s happened amounts to asking the fans to forget the regular season and just show up for the playoffs. I&rsquo;m really upset seeing teams like Los Angeles beat another team that had almost 50 more points.</p><blockquote class="pullQuote"><b>Larry Robinson: &ldquo;Is there no justice? You work your butt off all year to get first place, then play a team 20 or 30 points below you only to head off to summer while they&rsquo;re still going on&rdquo;</b></blockquote><p>&ldquo;In our case, the Nordiques had a chance to finish third at one time but they decided instead of burning out their players, they&rsquo;d finish fourth. We fought all year to finish first because in places like Montreal, Edmonton and Long Island you can&rsquo;t coast&mdash;the fans, the managements and the players of those teams couldn&rsquo;t accept playing hockey that way.</p><p>&ldquo;I wish the Islanders had lost just to show the league and everybody how ridiculous the system is. I&rsquo;d like to have seen the TV ratings for the final without the best teams in the league.</p><p>&ldquo;[The league should revert to a system of first round byes] so that finishing first would mean something and the best teams wouldn&rsquo;t face elimination in a short playoff series.&rdquo;</p><p>Larry Robinson: &ldquo;Is there no justice? You work your butt off all year to get first place, then play a team 20 or 30 points below you only to head off to summer while they&rsquo;re still going on.</p><p>&ldquo;Living in Quebec, I&rsquo;d probably pick 19 other teams I&rsquo;d rather lose to.&rdquo;</p><h2>Make All Series Seven Games, Say Some GMs</h2><p><i>Boston and Quebec, the teams which finished second and fourth in the regular season standings of the Adams Division and were winners in the division semifinals, have general managers, Harry Sinden and Maurice Filion, respectively, who have expressed support for the current playoff format. However, a number of other general managers are opposed. The following are views expressed on the subject by various GMs.</i></p><p>Harry Sinden: &ldquo;When. you lose, you squawk. I think this system is great for the league. I knew this outcry would come when Edmonton was knocked out. But it&rsquo;s just sour grapes for anyone to talk like that.&rdquo;</p><p>Lou Nanne, Minnesota, would like to see the opening round extended from a best-of-five to a best-of-seven series and pointed out that not only would a longer opening round give the stronger teams a better chance to advance, but would also provide additional revenue: Every team would be guaranteed two home gates.</p><p>Irving Grundman, Montreal: &ldquo;A three-out-of-five series is almost like sudden death. To be fair and square, every round should be four-of-seven. That way the best team will almost always come to the top.</p><p>&ldquo;Personally, I wasn&rsquo;t in favor of this format. Even if it means playing four games in five nights I think all series should be the best of seven.&rdquo;</p><blockquote class="pullQuote"><b>Irving Grundman, Montreal: &ldquo;A three-out-of-five series is almost like sudden death. To be fair and square, every round should be four-of-seven. That way the best team will almost always come to the top&rdquo;</b></blockquote><p>John Ferguson, Winnipeg, who is in favor of a best-of-seven opening round, but likes the current format for the most part: &ldquo;The idea behind it was to economize travel and to build up rivalries. Both of those objectives have been met and for that reason hockey will be better in the long run. Let&rsquo;s face it, it was great to see two Quebec teams battling and the same thing happens when the Rangers and the Islanders go at it.&rdquo;</p><h2>Grundman: NHL&rsquo;s Playoff System Needs Revision</h2><p>Irving Grundman, managing director of the Montreal Canadiens, recently said that the National Hockey League&rsquo;s playoff system needs to be revised.</p><p>Grundman said some club officials in the NHL are asking why should their teams go all out during the season when a good regular season record seems to count for so little during the playoffs.</p><p>Said Grundman: &ldquo;We&rsquo;re not among them. But some teams are asking &lsquo;Why should we beat our heads against a wall for 80 games. We get to the playoffs dead tired and then lose in the first round.&rsquo;</p><p>Grundman wants first-round matchups increased from a best-of-five to a best-of-seven series.</p><p>&ldquo;Three out of five is too short a series for the importance on them,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Four-out-of-seven would be much better. That way at least, you know where you&rsquo;re going.&rdquo;</p><p>In a longer series, Grundman said, there is a stronger chance of the best team winning.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

SOME OTHER VIEWS

<div class="byline">BY TOM BURKE</div><p class="dropcap"><span>R</span>on Scott had always wanted to play hockey for coach Ron Mason, ever since meeting him in a summer hockey school several years ago. A goaltender from Guelph, Ont., Scott was impressed with Mason&rsquo;s style and reputation during the coach&rsquo;s years at Bowling Green University. When it came time to think of a college career, Scott wrote Mason a letter of application.</p><p>The reply came back, courteous but firm. Bowling Green had bounced back nicely from its loss of Mike Liut with a couple of freshemen named Wally Clarke and Brian Stankiewicz. We&rsquo;re pretty well set, Ron, and you&rsquo;d better look elsewhere.</p><p>Scott dug out that rejection letter last spring and read it at the Michigan State hockey breakup banquet as Mason sat there red-faced. He really didn&rsquo;t need to feel embarrassed because one of his first moves, when stepping over to Michigan State from Bowling Green in 1979, was to contact Scott to recruit him for the Spartans&rsquo; rebuilding program.</p><p>Only too happy to oblige, Scott responded with a smashing freshman year, winning MVP honors for the Spartans last season and improving even further this season to win a slew of honors and earn the coveted designation of THE HOCKEY NEWS College Player of the Year.</p><p>Scott was everybody&rsquo;s All-American goalie in 1981-82, posting a 2.75 goals against average, the lowest ever in Central Collegiate Hockey Association play. He was the primary reason that State rose to second place and won the playoff title in its first CCHA campaign.</p><p>Other players who figured prominently in the ballotting were Bowling Green&rsquo;s Brian Hills and George McPhee; North Dakota&rsquo;s Phil Sykes and Craig Ludwig; Wisconsin&rsquo;s John Newberry; Denver&rsquo;s Ed Beers; Vermont&rsquo;s Kirk McCaskill; Harvard&rsquo;s Mark Fusco; New Hampshire&rsquo;s Andy Brickley; and Northeastern&rsquo;s Chuck Marshall. All of the above are forwards, except for Ludwig and Fusco.</p><p>Goalies mentioned in the voting included Wisconsin&rsquo;s duo of Marc Behrend and Terry Kleisinger; North Dakota&rsquo;s Jon Casey; Michigan&rsquo;s Jon Elliott; Boston College&rsquo;s Bob O&rsquo;Connor; and St. Lawrence&rsquo;s Gray Weicker. None of the netminders could match Scott&rsquo;s performance for the year, however.</p><p>&ldquo;It wasn&rsquo;t as tough as last year,&rdquo; commented Scott recently. &ldquo;I just had to make a couple of big saves a night, where last year it was 35 or 40 tough shots per game.&rdquo;</p><p>Mason agrees, although he says that Scott&rsquo;s play overshadowed the emergence of a fine young defensive crew, all of whom were lefthanded shooters. He also thinks that the team&rsquo;s offense picked up over the second half of the season, allowing the Spartans to rely less on their goalie.</p><p>Scott stands 5-8 and weighs 160 pounds, small for a goaltender. He compensates with an instinctive quality that Mason calls &ldquo;puck awareness,&rdquo; an unteachable skill that gives him a bead on pucks emerging from a crowded slot area, for instance, or lets him direct rebounds to his teammates.</p><p>Last season was Michigan State&rsquo;s final campaign in the WCHA. They finished tenth, with a 12-22-2 record, but Scott ranking goaltendr and Rookie of the year. The Spartans shaved more than two goals per game from their defensive average, and pared it more than another goal a game in 1981-82.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-011162/4555875-1-eng-US/f0009-012.jpg" title="f0009-01" width="495" height="712"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Ron Scott</b></figcaption></div><p>&ldquo;I think the teams work harder in the Central league,&rdquo; said Scott. &ldquo;They don&rsquo;t have quite the talent, quite the shooters, that the WCHA has, but in the second half of the year the offenses around the league picked up and the teams stopped being tentative out there. I think seven or eight Central League teams would be competitive in the WCHA, but of course Wisconsin and North Dakota were so good this year nobody would have stayed with them.&rdquo;</p><p>Whether they played in the Western or Central League, the Spartans were the only team Scott wanted to play for after he heard from Mason. His secondary school grades were very good and could have earned him a spot in any American college, but he came to East Lansing without even checking out the campus.</p><p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got some good recruits coming in and a lot of experience coming back next season, so we should have another good year,&rdquo; concluded Scott.</p><p>Mason and the rest of the CCHA agree.</p><h2>Hockey News Awards Winners</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-02919/4555868-1-eng-US/f0009-022.jpg" title="f0009-02" width="928" height="393"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0009-01

Michigan State’s Scott College Player Of Year

<div class="byline">BY VIRG FOSS</div><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>here have been coaches who have won more national championships than the University of North Dakota coach John (Gino) Gasparini, but few who have made the immediate splash on the college game that the 36-year-old Gasparini has.</p><p>In recognition of his accomplishments, Gasparini has been named the College Coach of the Year by THE HOCKEY NEWS. Gasparini edged Northeastern University coach Fern Flaman, among others, for the honor.</p><p>North Dakota has enjoyed immediate success on a national level ever since Gasparini, a Fort Frances, Ont., native, was named head coach of the Fighting Sioux on March 6, 1978.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-03642/4555906-1-eng-US/f0009-032.jpg" title="f0009-03" width="586" height="877"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Gino Gasparini coached North Dakota to their second NCAA title in three years.</b></figcaption></div><p>He&rsquo;s produced two NCAA championships, one second place finish and three Western Collegiate Hockey Association titles in his four years at North Dakota, including the NCAA and WCHA championships this year.</p><p>His Sioux won 35 of 47 games this season, the most wins in North Dakota history, and culminated a great season by beating Wisconsin 5-2 for the NCAA championship in Providence, R.I.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m honored, put it that way,&rdquo; was Gasparini&rsquo;s reply when informed of the award. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s an award deserving not only of my staff and anybody who works with our program, but the entire team as well.&rdquo;</p><p>It&rsquo;s the first time Gasparini has won the award, though he has twice been named the WCHA Coach of the Year. Gasparini shaded Flaman for Coach of the Year honors. Flaman took Northeastern to the NCAA tourney for the first time in the school&rsquo;s history. The Huskies finished third, losing 6-2 to North Dakota in the semifinals before coming back to drub New Hampshire 10-4 for the consolation title.</p><p>Gasparini was quick to share his honor with others. &ldquo;A coach is only as good as the people surrounding him. Obviously, I&rsquo;ve got some good people around me who did a great job,&rdquo; he said.</p><p>He&rsquo;s been a winner from the start. In 1978-79, his first Sioux team won the WCHA championships and finished second in the nationals in Detroit, losing 4-3 to Minnesota in the championship game. North Dakota finished with a 30-11-1 record in Gasparini&rsquo;s first season.</p><p>In 1979-80, North Dakota compiled a 31-8-1 record, repeated as WCHA champs and beat Northern Michigan 5-2 for the NCAA Division I title in Providence.</p><p>His 1980-81 club, robbed by the loss of key underclassmen to signings by the pros, finished fifth in the WCHA, didn&rsquo;t make it to the nationals, and closed with a 21-15-2 record.</p><p>He turned out another winner this year by coming back to win the WCHA championships once again and then guiding the Sioux to the national championship while building a 35-12 record. His overall record at North Dakota is a dazzling 117-46-4.</p><p>North Dakota&rsquo;s championship this season surprised some people, considering the youth of the team. UND often played 14 freshmen and sophomores on its 20-man roster.</p><p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know if I would call the title unexpected,&rdquo; Gasparini said. &ldquo;You always have aspirations of getting to the finals. I knew it would be an extremely young team. What was pleasing was how fast we improved over the last half of the season.&rdquo;</p><p>North Dakota did finish with a rush, winning 21 of its last 26 games and coming from 3&frac12; games behind WCHA leader Wisconsin in the final stages to wrestle the league championship away from the Badgers on the final weekend of the regular season.</p><p>&ldquo;Once we got going, I thought we were deserving of being in the nationals and of winning the championship,&rdquo; Gasparini said.</p><p>North Dakota overcame some critical injuries down the stretch, losing frosh stars David Tippett and Dave Donnelly late in the season and having other key players far below par physically for the NCAA tourney.</p><p>&ldquo;That [overcoming the injuries] was the pleasing thing. I think any coach would feel that way. When you have your backs to the wall and your players play above the injuries at the level we did, it&rsquo;s a tribute to them and certainly reflects the pride of the team,&rdquo; Gasparini said.</p><p>Not only is Gasparini an outstanding coach, but one of the best recruiters in the college game as well. He&rsquo;s produced such players as Dave Christian and Doug Smail (Winnipeg Jets), Marc Chorney (Pittsburgh), Kevin Maxwell (Colorado), Mark Taylor (College Player of the Year by THE HOCKEY NEWS in 1980) and Howard Walker (Washington). From this year&rsquo;s championship team, seniors Phil Sykes and Cary Eades have already signed pro contracts with Los Angeles and St. Louis respectively and sophomore Troy Murray was signed by the Chicago Black Hawks.</p><p>He&rsquo;s been able to recruit such players as those and freshmen defenseman James Patrick, the No. 1 draft pick by the New York Rangers last summer who won Rookie of the Year honors in the WCHA and made the all-tournament team in the NCAA finals. Patrick is expected to return to North Dakota for at least one more season.</p><p>Gasparini laid the groundwork for recruiting long before he was named head coach. He played for the Sioux from 1964-67 and joined North Dakota as an assistant coach in 1969, serving in that capacity until replacing Rube Bjorkman in 1978.</p><p>His style of play features big, strong defensemen and forwards who play a physical game as well. He teaches a defensive brand of hockey with an emphasis on taking the man out of the play. His clubs are always near the top in giving up the fewest goals per game in the WCHA.</p><p>Gasparini has two assistants who share the recruiting load with him. They are Don Boyd, a former goalie at Bowling Green, and Dean Blais, a former star wing at the University of Minnesota.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0009-03

Success Continues For Top Coach Gasparini

<div class="byline">BY TOM HENSHAW</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0010-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-011197/4555937-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Nowhere is the Bruins&rsquo; changing of the guard more evident than at center, where Barry Pederson leads a quartet of promising pivots who see regular duty.</b> <span class="photo-credit">(Photo By Bruce Bennett)</span></figcaption></div><p>BOSTON&mdash;There were 14,673 of them, the most that can be legally fitted into the old Boston Garden.</p><p>They cheered and sang and swayed and joyfully chanted that eight-letter dirty word when they thought referee Bruce Hood blew a call on the Quebec Nordiques.</p><p>The decibel count when Rick Middleton scored one of his patented goals, which can only be compared to spaghetti slipping off a fork, may have been heard as far away as Salem, N.H.</p><p>Long after the game, a 8-4 victory for the Boston Bruins, some of them remained in their seats, just staring at the empty ice. It took the better part of an hour to clear the building.</p><p>Seems like old times, doesn&rsquo;t it, Peter McNab and Wayne Cashman?</p><p>Well, yes, but not really.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s great to be playing as well as we are right now,&rdquo; said McNab. &ldquo;If we can just keep this going it will be fantastic. I&rsquo;m just savoring every moment.</p><p>&ldquo;Obviously, I&rsquo;m not going to be back next year. Just to be here in my last year and be a part of all this is a great feeling. It&rsquo;s just making every day, every moment really, really enjoyable.&rdquo;</p><p>McNab, who scored 36 goals and has two years plus an option left on his contract, was a part-time player for most of the season, as the Bruins went with young centermen.</p><p>In Barry Pederson, Steve Kaspar, Tom Fergus and Mike Krushelnyski, they have four centers 21 years old or younger. McNab will be 30 on May 8. The reason he is playing is a knee injury to Fergus, who returned during the Quebec series.</p><p>&ldquo;I was bitter about it when it happened,&rdquo; said McNab. &ldquo;Then I realized that&rsquo;s the way it is. That&rsquo;s hockey. Now that I&rsquo;ve accepted it, it&rsquo;s easier. Somehow it makes this all the more fun.</p><p>&ldquo;When the season is over there will be a lot of things to reflect on and to talk about with management and things like that.&rdquo;</p><p>Cashman, who will be 37 in June, is one of only two holdovers from the Bruins&rsquo; Stanley Cup winners in 1970 and 1972&mdash;Don Marcotte is the other&mdash;missed 16 games during the season with an assortment of nagging injuries.</p><blockquote class="pullQuote"><b>&ldquo;I want to be part of the team,&rdquo; said Wayne Cashman. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll just have to be patient&rdquo;</b></blockquote><p>In the playoffs, he has been relegated to the role of fourth line winger along with Stan Jonathan, another half-forgotten veteran, and rookie centermen Fergus and Dave Barr.</p><p>&ldquo;I definitely want to be on the bench,&rdquo; said Cashman. &ldquo;I want to be part of it. I played all year long with this hockey team. I&rsquo;m ready to play but the team is playing so well. I&rsquo;ll just have to be patient.</p><p>&ldquo;There&rsquo;s a tradition in Stanley Cup hockey that a player comes off the bench and wins a game or two along the way. It&rsquo;s happened to us. I just tell the young guys on the bench that we have to be ready.&rdquo;</p><p>Wayne Cashman, cheerleader, waiting for his chance.</p><p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve not only had a changeover in players,&rdquo; he added, &ldquo;but we&rsquo;ve had a changeover in fans. I see a lot of young faces here now. A lot of young girls come to look at a Barry Pederson or a Stevie Kasper or a Larry Melnyk. They&rsquo;re coming quite regularly now.&rdquo;</p><p>The old order is changing in Boston Garden, in the stands as well as on the ice.</p><p>Someone noted to Brad Park during the first series with Buffalo that the Bruins had 10 players on their 28-man playoff roster who had never played a single Stanley Cup playoff game before.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m glad you didn&rsquo;t tell me that before the game,&rdquo; grinned Park, who had played in 128 playoff games himself going into this year and gone to the finals three times with nothing to show for it but exciting memories.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not sure I&rsquo;ll play next year,&rdquo; the 33-year-old Park was saying in the midst of the Quebec series. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s like anything else. Eventually my time will come to pass and you have to walk away.&rdquo;</p><p>Surgery over the years has left Park with no cartilage in either knee. Bone rides on bone in the joint. Dressing before each game for Park is like preparing an Egyptian mummy for burial.</p><p>The Bruins hoped he would be able to play 60 games this season. He played in 75 games, not only taking a regular shift but playing the point on power plays and killing penalties. In one game against Buffalo in the playoffs, he was on the ice for about 35 minutes, what with all the power plays and penalties.</p><p>&ldquo;I doubt that I could be a fifth or sixth defenseman,&rdquo; Park was saying, &ldquo;not after playing an important role. I doubt I could sit there and watch and play spot duty.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0010-01

Bruins Undergo Rapid Changing Of The Guard

<p class="dropcap"><span>K</span>LAGENFURT&mdash;East Germany advanced to the Pool A competition in international hockey for 1983 by winning the world Pool B championship single-round-robin competition at Klagenfurt, Austria.</p><p>The German Democratic Republic (East Germany) finished with a 6-0-1 record to capture first place in the eight-country event. The Germans scored 48 goals in the seven games and only a tie kept them from a perfect record.</p><p>The big surprise of the tournament was the disappointing showing of the Dutch National Team from The Netherlands which finished in last place with a 2-5 record after being relegated to the Pool B competition. The Dutch were last in the 1981 Pool A championships in Stockholm, Sweden. The Dutch had been expected to be a formidable opponent in the Klagenfurt tournament but they never lived up to their promise and closed in last place.</p><p>The most improved team in Pool B were the Austrians, who displayed an aggressive and determined style of hockey largely due to the infusion of six Austro-Canadians (players with Austrian heritage). Included in the Canadian group were goalie Brian Stankiewicz of Toronto, who was the tournament&rsquo;s All Star netminder, <b>Rick Cunningham</b>, a former Toronto Toro of the old WHA, <b>Jegg Geiger, Eddy Lebler, Greg Holst</b> and <b>Kelly Greenbank</b>. In addition the Austrians had a following of nearly 5,000 for all of their games.</p><p>The promotion of the East German team to Pool A for 1983 coincides with the fact the World championships will be held next year in West Germany.</p><p>Both China and The Netherlands were relegated to Pool C for &rsquo;83. The Chinese, who were 2-4-1 in the tournament and finished seventh, were actually tied with Rumania and Switzerland. In the windup game the Rumanians and Swiss played to a 3-3 draw and China lodged a protest that neither team went all out and settled for a draw that enabled Rumania to end fifth and the Swiss sixth for the final two positions in the pool because of a better goal average. China protested the outcome of the game to the International Ice Hockey Federation, but were turned down by the IIHF.</p><p>Meanwhile in the Pool C championships in Jaca, Spain, Japan ended up the winner in the eight-country competition. The overpowering Japanese National Team finished with a perfect 7-0 record and scored 70 goals in seven games. One of their wins was a lopsided 25-0 rout of South Korea.</p><p>Yugoslavia earned second place behind the Japanese and as the result both countries were elevated to Pool B for 1983. The site of next year&rsquo;s tournament will be decided between South Korea and The Netherlands, which has built a new ice hockey center in Zoetermeer and will have it ready for the &rsquo;83 championships.</p><p>Even though the Dutch National Team was relegated to Pool C for next season, it didn&rsquo;t detract from the Feenstra Flyers&rsquo; feat in winning the league&rsquo;s national championship in 1981-82 for the sixth straight year.</p><p>The Flyers, led by Larry van Wieren, a Dutch-Canadian who has played more than 100 games for the national team, entered a four-team playoff with three other division winners and came through with an impressive 11-1 playoff record to take the championship again. Their only loss was a 3-2 defeat by Amsterdam. The Flyers scored a total of 100 goals in the dozen playoff games.</p><p>Van Wieren, who also coaches the Flyers, led all playoff scorers with 18 goals and 13 assists for 31 points in 12 games. He and <b>Robin Sadler</b>, the first draft choice of the Montreal Canadiens in 1975, were the sparkplugs for Feenstra throughout the playoffs.</p><h2>POOL B STANDINGS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-02944/4555982-1-eng-US/f0010-022.jpg" title="f0010-02" width="539" height="323"></div><h2>POOL C STANDINGS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-03653/4555975-1-eng-US/f0010-032.jpg" title="f0010-03" width="540" height="277"></div><h2>DUTCH PLAYOFF STANDINGS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-04478/4555968-1-eng-US/f0010-042.jpg" title="f0010-04" width="536" height="169"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0010-02

East Germany, Japan Win International Pool Titles

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0011-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-011135/4556013-1-eng-US/f0011-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Dale Hawerchuk of the Winnipeg Jets came up with two goals for Team Canada in his taste of World Hockey championship play. Canada walloped Finland 9-2 but were toppled 6-2 by the Czechs and had to settle for a 3-3 tie with Sweden.</b></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><span>H</span>ELSINKI&mdash;The powerful Soviet Union began the 1982 World Hockey Championship tournament in much the same way they have always approached this international hockey event&mdash;by dominating the opposition right from the drop of the first puck.</p><p>The Soviets managed to win their first three starts and they didn&rsquo;t appear to be too extended in doing it. An opening 9-2 romp over the Italian National Team set the wheels in motion for the favored Russians. They followed up with a 7-3 win over Sweden and came right back to knock off the Czechoslovakians 5-3. With a 3-0 record and 21 goals to their credit in the first three games, it seemed the Soviets weren&rsquo;t about to give up their domination of the world tournament, an event they have won 15 times in the last 18 years.</p><p>The Soviets won the 1981 tourney at Gothenburg, Sweden with a 7-0-2 record as they beat out both the Swedes and Czechs in the four-team medal round with Canada coming up empty handed by finishing last in the final four.</p><p>Things may not be any different this time around for Team Canada either despite claims that the NHL stocked roster is one of the strongest Canada has ever sent over to the world tournament.</p><p>After their first three games in the 1982 event, Canada had not been all that impressive even with the likes of Wayne Gretzky, Greg Millen, Bob Gainey, Mark Napier, Bob Smith, Craig Hartsburg, Gilles Meloche, Dale Hawerchuk and Dino Ciccarelli in their lineup.</p><p>The Canadiens came out of the starting gate with the throttle wide open as they buried Finland 9-2. Hawerchuk, making his first appearance ever in a world championship tournament not involving junior teams, made an auspicious start by scoring twice for Team Canada. Old pro Darryl Sittler also contributed two goals and it looked very much like Canada was ready for the challenge with a power-packed lineup.</p><p>But as so often happens in such tournaments, the Canadians came up flat against Czechoslovakia and couldn&rsquo;t muster enough offense to stop the Czechs. After Gretzky failed to score on a third-period breakaway that would have tied the score at 3-3, Canada instead fell back and the Czechs poured in three late third-period goals to win going away. Canada managed to test Czech goalie Jiri Kralik only 16 times in the game while the CSSR squad peppered Meloche with 39 shots.</p><p>Jiri Lala, a squat 22-year-old hot shot scorer in European hockey circles, showed the Canadians some of his prowess by scoring three times. Milan Novy, Jaroslav Pouzar and Jindrich Kokrment supplied the other goals with the help of some loose defensive play behind the Canadian blueline. Hartsburg and Napier scored for Canada, playing its second game in as many days after a long 17-hour flight from Canadian and U.S. cities to Helsinki. The jet lag seemed to take the zest out of Team Canada&rsquo;s skating and they rarely threatened the Czechs in the last period.</p><blockquote class="pullQuote"><b>For World Hockey Championships summaries, see page 34.</b></blockquote><p>The Canadians didn&rsquo;t make the same miscues in their next outing against Sweden and improved to the extent that they had the Swedes reeling 3-1 after the first 30 minutes of the game before letting them off the hook. Sweden scored once in the second period and again in the third to tie the game and put the Canadians well behind their timetable to take home a medal at the end of the competition. With only three points out of a possible six, Team Canada wasn&rsquo;t in too favorable a position at the midway mark in the tournament.</p><p>Two members of the Washington Caps, Mike Gartner and Ryan Walter, provided Team Canada with all its offense against the Swedes. Gartner scored twice and Walter once. Gartner fired the puck into the Swedish net as the clock ran out of time at the end of the contest. The Canadians protested that the puck went in before the green light went on but officials overruled them and the game went into the books as a tie.</p><p>Team Canada wasn&rsquo;t the only world power having its problems at the Helsinki tournament. Team USA went without a win in its first three games and the Czechs, who are known to rise to unusual heights when these type of world hockey confrontations are thrust at them, were off to a disappointing start with a 1-2 record in their first three games.</p><p>The biggest upset of the tournament was fashioned by the West German National Team as they knocked off Czechoslovakia 4-2 on opening day. It was a defeat the Czechs could ill afford with the tough part of their schedule still ahead of them. Antoher upset of sorts was Italy&rsquo;s 7-5 win over the United States. It is Italy&rsquo;s first year in the world competition and their defeat of the Americans put the US team in jeopardy of relegation when the final weekend rolls around.</p><p>Here&rsquo;s how the tournament went on a day-to-day basis:</p><p><b>Day one:</b> Canada walloped Finland 9-2, Sweden downed the US 4-2, the Germans upset Czechoslovakia 4-2 and the Soviets rode roughshod over Italy 9-2.</p><p><b>Day two:</b> The Czechs downed Canada 6-2, Italy beat the United States 7-5, Finland edged West Germany 4-3 and the Soviets disposed of Sweden 7-3.</p><p><b>Day three:</b> Canada ran into an unexpected roadblock with Sweden and had to settle for a 3-3 tie. Finland knocked over the USA 4-2, the Soviets repelled the Czechs 5-3 and West Germany took Italy 5-2.</p><p>The battle for the playoff positions in the medal round appeared to be a scramble behind the Soviets. The Russians would be there off their first three victories but after that it was a still a dogfight between West Germany, Finland, Sweden and Canada.</p><p>Team Canada was in the best position because of their so-called soft schedule in three of their remaining four games. If the Canadians were to defeat West Germany, Italy and US as they were expected to, then the windup game against the Soviet Union could be a significant one in their medal hopes.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0011-01

Soviets Off To Flying Start In Helsinki Tourney

<h2>TOURNAMENT STANDINGS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-02897/4556044-1-eng-US/f0011-022.jpg" title="f0011-02" width="537" height="249"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3><p><b>Thu. April 15</b></p><p><b>Canada 9, Finland 2</b></p><p><b>Sweden 4, USA 2</b></p><p><b>W. Germany 4, Czechoslovakia 2</b></p><p><b>Soviet Union 9, Italy 2</b></p><p><b>Fri. April 16</b></p><p><b>Czechoslovakia 6, Canada 2</b></p><p><b>Italy 7, USA 5</b></p><p><b>Finland 4, W. Germany 3</b></p><p><b>Soviet Union 7, Sweden 3</b></p><p><b>Sun. April 18</b></p><p><b>Canada 3, Sweden 3</b></p><p><b>Finland 4, USA 2</b></p><p><b>Soviet Union 5, Czechoslovakia 3</b></p><p><b>W. Germany 5, Italy 2</b></p><h3>GAMES TO COME</h3><p><b>Mon. April 19</b></p><p><b>Canada vs. W. Germany</b></p><p><b>Sweden vs Italy</b></p><p><b>USA vs Czechoslovakia</b></p><p><b>Soviet Union vs Finland</b></p><p><b>Wed. April 21</b></p><p><b>Soviet Union vs USA</b></p><p><b>Sweden vs. W. Germany</b></p><p><b>Finland vs Czechoslovakia</b></p><p><b>Canada vs Italy</b></p><p><b>Thu. April 22</b></p><p><b>Finland vs Italy</b></p><p><b>Sweden vs Czechoslovakia</b></p><p><b>W. Germany vs Soviet Union</b></p><p><b>USA vs Canada</b></p><p><b>Sat. April 24</b></p><p><b>Czechoslovakia vs Italy</b></p><p><b>Finland vs Sweden</b></p><p><b>W. Germany vs USA</b></p><p><b>Canada vs Soviet Union</b></p><h3>CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND</h3><p><b>Sun. April 25</b></p><p><b>Team 1 vs Team 4</b></p><p><b>Team 2 vs Team 3</b></p><p><b>Tue. April 27</b></p><p><b>Team 2 vs Team 4</b></p><p><b>Team 1 vs Team 3</b></p><p><b>Thu. April 29</b></p><p><b>Team 3 vs Team 4</b></p><p><b>Team 1 vs Team 2</b></p><p><b>(End of tournament)</b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0011-02

World Hockey Scoreboard

<div class="byline">BY JOHN GILBERT</div><p>BLOOMINGTON&mdash;It&rsquo;s mid-April, so the hockey season can&rsquo;t really be over for the Minnesota North Stars, right?</p><p>Right. Bobby Smith, Dino Cic-carelli, Gilles Meloche, Brad Maxwell, Craig Hartsburg and Curt Giles are all playing. So are Gordie Roberts and Mark Johnson. Even the injuries continue, as Neal Broten is &ldquo;sidelined&rdquo; with an ankle injury, and Steve Christoff prepared to undergo surgery.</p><p>Of course, the playing the North Stars are doing is not coming in pursuit of Lord Stanley&rsquo;s Cup. They are in Helsinki, playing for Canada or, in the case of Roberts and Johnson, for the U.S.</p><p>In the past two seasons, the North Stars have been steaming into the semifinals or finals of the Cup chase, and they had captured the imagination of the Twin Cities media everywhere.</p><p>This season, after their untimely demise at the hands of Chicago in preliminary action, the Minneapolis-St. Paul media is acting like hockey ended with the North Stars&rsquo; exit. Stanley Cup playoff games are pushed onto the back pages of newspapers, where only perfunctory wire-service capsules tell of games in New York or Quebec.</p><p>Television stations at least provide film clips and highlights of those games, so they&rsquo;ve done an admirable job of satiating the hockey appetites around Minnesota.</p><p>The radio station that carried the North Stars has repeated its sour grapes routine through several talk shows, where it is stated that the folly of such an expansive (I6-team) playoff is finally spelled out with upsets to Minneosta, Edmonton and Montreal.</p><p>Of course, it is not the folly of the playoff system that has been spelled out by this spring&rsquo;s results, but the validity. This is not a case for 16 teams making the playoffs. But if the top eight were automatic winners, and then the top four and then the top two&mdash;that would spell the folly of the system.</p><p>When teams ninth-through-16th win, then it shows merit for such a system.</p><p>Besides, nobody in Minnesota complained about the ridiculousness of a 16-team playoff when the North Stars came from that ninth-through-16th batch for their stirring playoff bids the past two years.</p><p>Groping to get a playoff &ldquo;fix&rdquo; is tougher than you might think in Minnesota. Only a few suburbs, like Bloomington and Fridley, get cable television (things unfold slowly out here on the prairies). So finding a friend or an open establishment in those areas willing to turn on the hockey game has become a challenge.</p><p>The North Stars, groping themselves to find something cheery to relate, released their team awards last week. Goalie Gilles Meloche was named most valuable player, Broten top rookie, Hartsburg was voted top defenseman, defenseman Roberts the most improved player on the team, and Bobby Smith the top scorer.</p><p>Broten also won the trophy as the player named the most on the postgame three-star awards, and he and Dino Ciccarelli tied in the Stargazers&rsquo; fan club voting as most popular.</p><p>Broten missed going to Helsinki because of his ankle injury.</p><p>Christoff, incidentally, needed surgery for a recurring shoulder problem that started in the playoffs last spring against Buffalo. His right shoulder healed, but was further injured at the start of this season. The shoulder dislocated several times and Christoff was in and out of the lineup, requiring a brace sometimes.</p><p>The injury also inhibited Christoff&rsquo;s usual reckless-abandon style of play, for obvious reasons, and he was rumored to be on the trading block more than once during the season. Still, he had the fifth-best goal-scoring mark of 26 on the club, but he only had 14 minutes in penalties, a clear indication that he wasn&rsquo;t playing his usual slam-bang style.</p><p>Team trainer Doc Rose said the surgery, scheduled for April 23, was only a routine tightening of the ligaments and that, after a six-eight week rest, Christoff should be as good as new.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

Stars Continue Playing—But Not In Minnesota

<div class="byline">BILL FLEISCHMAN&#x2019;S</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-011172/4556123-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg" title="f0012-01" width="314" height="363"></div><h2>The NHL Shakeup</h2><p class="dropcap"><b><span>A</span>NY TIME THERE&rsquo;S</b> a 10-8 game in the opening round of a Stanley Cup playoff, no one should be surprised at any bizarre subsequent events. Still, bidding farewell to Montreal, Edmonton and Minnesota after the first round was almost as wild a long shot as Paul Mooney saying a nice word about John Ziegler.</p><p>To think that the two-time champion Islanders almost made it a foursome leaves NHL planners from coast-to-coast slapping their foreheads in dismay and inching close to their skyscraper&rsquo;s windows. Three of four division champions losing in the first round was shocking enough. Had the Islanders not stormed back in the final minutes from a two-goal deficit in their series finale with Pittsburgh and then won in overtime, the sidewalks along the Avenue of the Americas in New York, where the NHL&rsquo;s offices occupy the 14th floor of a building, might be littered with bodies wearing NHL blazers.</p><p>Asked to describe the office mood the day after the first-round wipeout, an NHL spokesman replied, &ldquo;A little staggering. From a promotion, marketing and media standpoint it&rsquo;s not good. But scripts don&rsquo;t always come true.&rdquo;</p><p>John Ziegler wasn&rsquo;t available to be interviewed&mdash;or revived. The NHL president had left for Finland, site of the world championships, the day Montreal and Edmonton were rudely excused from the tournament. Ziegler would have to read about the massacre in the Helsinki <i>Herald.</i> Here&rsquo;s a man who obviously knows when to get out of the country.</p><p>Now the question is, can the NHL survive the embarrassment of this mess? With Chicago, St. Louis, Vancouver and Los Angeles remaining to pursue the Campbell Conference pennant, what we&rsquo;re looking forward to is an under. 500 team playing for the Stanley Cup. The league hasn&rsquo;t been faced with such a public relations challenge since the first year of expansion when St. Louis won the new recruits division with a 27-31-16 record and played Montreal for the Cup.</p><h2>Generating Hope</h2><p><b>FEW CRITICS COMPLAINED</b> about such a mismatch then because the league was trying to generate hope among its new teams. Had the old playoff format been continued, new teams such as St. Louis, Minnesota and Philadelphia would have been doomed to playoff failure for years. Failure would mean less interest in the expansion teams, and less interest would be translated into dwindling attendance.</p><p>Such an arrangement was acceptable for the 1968 finals. But this is 1982. To have a team with a losing regular season record in the finals is a howitzer hit to the current playoff format. This is progress?</p><p>When the league&rsquo;s heavy thinkers accepted realignment, they were aware that a few of the best teams wouldn&rsquo;t advance past the quarterfinals. However, the economy demanded that realignment be achieved geographically and, at present, the balance of power is in the Wales Conference. Montreal, Boston, Buffalo and Quebec are the pride of the Wales&rsquo; Adams Division while the Islanders, Rangers, Philadelphia and now Pittsburgh give the Patrick Division four strong clubs.</p><p>The league hopes the balance of power will either shift, or, at least, even out over the next few years. The problem with that wish is it isn&rsquo;t likely that Montreal, Boston, the Islanders, Rangers or Philadelphia will drift into the lodge of losers. And only Edmonton, Minnesota and Chicago are designated Campbell Conference hopefuls to climb into the powerhouse category.</p><p>Lou Nanne, for one, accepts the fates dictated under the present format, even though he called Minnesota&rsquo;s loss to Chicago &ldquo;the biggest disappointment of my athletic life.</p><p>&ldquo;What happened was definitely a factor in a short series,&rdquo; said the Minnesota general manager. &ldquo;But there&rsquo;s not much you can do about it. We were fortunate enough to move from two-of-three to three-of-five, or otherwise it could have been even worse.&rdquo;</p><h2>First Place Byes</h2><p><b>ONE WAY TO REWARD</b> a team for winning its division is to give first-place teams a bye. But, Nanne points out, &ldquo;Then you&rsquo;re giving away gates, and that&rsquo;s not very popular these days.&rdquo;</p><p>What gnaws at Nanne and Edmonton&rsquo;s Glen Sather and Montreal&rsquo;s Bob Berry is the belief that their clubs should have won their series. &ldquo;I know we were the better team,&rdquo; said Nanne. &ldquo;In the first game [a 3-2 Chicago victory in overtime] we should have had five goals, but [Murray] Bannerman was so lucky it was incredible. When you lose a series like that you get numb. You can&rsquo;t believe it. But, that&rsquo;s why we play the games. If you&rsquo;re gonna have a playoff system like that, you&rsquo;ve got to be prepared for that kind of stuff.&rdquo;</p><p>When favorites such as Minnesota, Montreal and Edmonton lose, there are immediate searches for scapegoats. In Minnesota&rsquo;s case, the target won&rsquo;t be Glen Sonmor. Shortly before the regular season ended, Nanne extended Sonmor&rsquo;s coaching contract for another season. Should the North Stars&rsquo; start next season be less than sensational, Sonmor might be gone. But at least he can enjoy the summer.</p><p>How much Sather will enjoy the summer isn&rsquo;t known. Nanne tried to reach the Oilers&rsquo; GM-coach by telephone the day after Edmonton&rsquo;s exit, but Sather wasn&rsquo;t home.</p><p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s yodeling in Banff,&rdquo; Nanne said, trying to inject some humor into the dreary mood that extended from Minnesota to Edmonton to Montreal&mdash;and New York.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0012-01

HOCKEY WORLD

<div class="byline">BY GLENN COLE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-011118/4556154-1-eng-US/f0013-012.jpg" title="f0013-01" width="593" height="1013"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Mario Tremblay was one of the Canadiens&rsquo; best players during the regular season.</b> <span class="photo-credit">(Photo By Ian MacAlpine)</span></figcaption></div><p>MONTREAL&mdash;There&rsquo;s the bounce of the puck theory.</p><p>There&rsquo;s the not everyone gave a full effort theory, which is probably more closer to the truth.</p><p>Whatever you choose to believe, the Montreal Canadiens have made an early exit from the Stanley Cup playoffs for the third consecutive season. For the second time in three campaigns, the elimination came right on their own ice.</p><p>Dale Hunter&rsquo;s goal 22 seconds into the first overtime period in the deciding fifth game gave the arch-rival Quebec Nordiques a 3-2 game and series victory.</p><p>Sudden. A harsh, bitter end.</p><p>&ldquo;Before we went out on the ice, I told the guys not to get caught three men deep in their end,&rsquo;&rsquo; said coach Bob Berry.</p><p>Berry had his top defensive line&mdash;Doug Jarvis, Mark Hunter and Bob Gainey&mdash;and the two best defensemen&mdash;Brian Engblom and Rod Langway. The latter was the only one back when Hunter and Real Cloutier broke down two on one after Michel Goulet kicked the puck away from Engblom and Jarvis at the Nordiques&rsquo; blueline.</p><p>Langway forced the play wide enough to have Cloutier miss his shot from the right wing, but the puck went behind the net and Hunter came out with a pass from the corner and banked a shot in off rookie goaltender Rick Wamsley&rsquo;s pads.</p><blockquote class="pullQuote"><b>Had everyone on the Canadiens given every bit of effort in every game, the Quebec series would have been over much earlier</b></blockquote><p>Bounce of the puck, right? No, quite wrong.</p><p>The Canadiens should never have been in a position where a bounce of the puck would decide their advancement to further rounds in the playoffs. Had everyone on the club given every bit of effort in every game, there would have been no overtime goal to worry about. The series would have been over much earlier.</p><p>&ldquo;I think the turning point was Game Two,&rdquo; said defenseman Robert Picard. &ldquo;Winning that gave them a lot of confidence.&rdquo;</p><p>In that game, the Canadiens had 10 power play opportunities compared with four for the Nordiques. The Canadiens scored just once with the man advantage, half of their power play goal total for the series. Montreal had three shorthanded goals in the five games, which should tell you something.</p><p>The Canadiens did not have the drive and determination as a group throughout the series. People such as Bob Gainey, Doug Jarvis, Larry Robinson and Engblom were solid through all five games, Langway was good in the first two and excellent in the last two, but was awful in game three along with everyone except the aforementioned four. Langway gave an effort, the performance in Game Three, was an off night.</p><p>Guy Lafleur and Mark Napier, supposedly the offensive leaders for Montreal, were abnormally quiet during the series. In the latter case, there seemed to be hesitancy to chase the puck in the corner. That&rsquo;s not a good habit to pick up in the playoffs, especially for a player such as Napier, who is to become a free agent and whose last performance will be remembered.</p><p>Lafleur, the one-time great, played well in Game Four, but that was about it. The intensity just didn&rsquo;t seem to be there as it has been in the past.</p><p>Pierre Mondou and Mario Tremblay were the best Montreal forwards during the season. They were willing to pay the price to get the puck. That consistency carried through the Quebec series, except for Game Three, but had Mondou and Tremblay not have given such an effort, the series loss could have been more embarrassing.</p><p>So, it&rsquo;s over early again. There&rsquo;s already talk of changes here and there, including perhaps the departure of 1980 first-round draft pick Doug Wickenheiser, who didn&rsquo;t play once during the playoffs. Wick was bitter&hellip;he should have been.</p><p>Tremblay will be in the option year of his contract in 1982-83 and has indicated he could go to a U.S.-based team because of the Canadian taxation laws.</p><p>Gaston Gingras is in the same position, but he didn&rsquo;t play a great deal in the last two games of the Quebec series, so don&rsquo;t be shocked if he&rsquo;s gone.</p><p>Rejean Houle struggled and Doug Risebrough had limited ice time, although both gave what they had, which is more than can be said for some of the higher-priced talent.</p><p>Managing director Irving Grund-man will also have to sit down with Langway, who signed a six-year contract last summer. The reason? The Canadian tax laws are stifling the All Star defenseman&rsquo;s earnings.</p><p>&ldquo;He was happy when I saw him walk out of here last summer,&rdquo; Grundman said. &ldquo;He better have some good arguments.&rdquo;</p><p>Langway won&rsquo;t say what his arguments are, but admits they are solid. How convinced Grundman will be is another story. Stay tuned.</p><p><b>IN PASSING</b>&mdash;Gainey and Napier joined Team Canada in Finland while Langway played for Team USA in the World hockey championships. Jeff Brubaker and Bill Kitchen, called up when injuries hit at the end of the year, returned to the Nova Scotia Voyageurs for the Calder Cup playoffs once the Canadiens were out.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0013-01

Theories Abound But Montreal Lacked Effort

<div class="byline">BY JAY GREENBERG</div><p class="dropcap"><span>P</span>HILADELPHIA&mdash;Culminating a search they never wished to undertake, combing through a list of candidates that never ran deeper than one, the Flyers united only two days after their elimination to announce that Bob McCammon will coach the team again next season.</p><p>&ldquo;I think,&rdquo; said owner Ed Snider, &ldquo;he did a phenomenal job.&rdquo; It looked as if it yielded the same results Pat Quinn might have, but that&rsquo;s water under the bridge; there&rsquo;s still a river to be damned up. Ostensibly, that&rsquo;s why McCammon was given an assistant general manager&rsquo;s title&mdash;to survey this season&rsquo;s damage and recommend alterations.</p><p>Allen probably would have reached many of the same conclusions without McCammon, but the Flyers&rsquo; general manager is going to be prodded for some changes now. The Hartford bonanza for Rick MacLeish was a good example of how Allen&rsquo;s patience in extracting good value for players who don&rsquo;t fit into the Flyers&rsquo; long-term plans can pay off. But, on the other hand, some of the dead weight the Flyers were carrying this year rolled back on them against the Rangers.</p><p>So some guys on the fringes will almost definitely be gone. The more important questions are at the core of the team, in players such as Ken Lin-seman and Behn Wilson. Part of the excuse for giving McCammon the dual titles was to measure these players&rsquo; character. Considering the way McCammon used the two in the playoffs, and also by some things he left unsaid, it looks as if Behn passed and the Rat flunked.</p><p>That doesn&rsquo;t necessarily mean Lin-seman will be gone, but he will almost definitely be shopped for help on right wing or on defense. &ldquo;We have always been strong at center,&rdquo; said McCammon, &ldquo;and I think playing guys like Tim Kerr and Darryl Sittler on the wing as much as we have has been counter-productive. It&rsquo;s nice to have that flexibility, but you want good players at their strongest positions.&rdquo;</p><p>Plan A of the revamping is likely tied into the June Entry Draft. The Flyers pick fourth, which the scouts say will yield them a potential star. But, to ensure help at defense or wing, they will approach Toronto, which picks third, about a trade.</p><p>They probably will offer Linseman and possbily a goalie in a package for Toronto&rsquo;s pick. If the Leafs turn them down, the Flyers will then at least dangle something in front of Toronto to guarantee that one of two blue-chip defensemen&mdash;Gary Nylund and Gord Kluzak&mdash;still will be available on the fourth pick.</p><p>Supposition that winger Brian Bellows and Nylund would go one-two may be false. Boston, picking first, will take one of them, but reports out of Minnesota, which owns the second pick, has the North Stars considering Kluzak. One source said Kluzak graded higher than Nylund in a personality interview that the North Stars use.</p><p>If the Leafs won&rsquo;t trade the pick, the Flyers hope Toronto&rsquo;s top priority, with Ken Yaremchuk still on board, will be at center, leaving Nylund for Philadelphia. And this would leave Linseman to be dangled for other key young talents around the NHL.</p><p>A partial shopping list would include Colorado defenseman Rob Ramage; Hartford&rsquo;s Mark Howe and Boston&rsquo;s Brad McCrimmon.</p><p>There will be considerable gravedancing around the league over the Flyers&rsquo; early demise, but the feeling here is that it&rsquo;s premature. They do have the depth to pull the trade or two that immediately can put them back into contention.</p><p>&ldquo;In my mind, we should have beaten the Rangers,&rdquo; said McCammon, &ldquo;but we&rsquo;re still three or four players from being a real contender. And I mean to win it all. But we have to make some hard, fast decisions. Some of the players that have been here a while, well, they haven&rsquo;t won with them.&rdquo;</p><p>Three or four holes are a lot to fill, but it&rsquo;s reasonable to assume that at least one player, via the draft, and a second, with a trade, already can be in place for training camp.</p><p>The toughest pending decision is in goal. The answer&mdash;either Pete Peeters or Pelle Lindbergh&mdash;still may be under the Flyers&rsquo; noses, but they still may shop around. Rick St. Croix, a steady hand and saleable commodity, still is the most likely to go, but McCammon&rsquo;s silence when asked to evaluate Peeters&rsquo; playoff performance was worth noting.</p><p>Pete recovered somewhat from a long season&rsquo;s slump and stopped the Rangers in Game One, but still, in his third full season, is fighting nerve problems.</p><p>&ldquo;The three-goaltender situation has hurt the hockey team,&rdquo; said McCammon. &ldquo;We have to make a decision. With Jacques Plante, Bernie Parent and Marcel Pelletier, we should be able to make the right decision.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not sure we want a No. 1 guy. Goaltending should be competitive. But with three, when one goes bad, the others have been sitting so long you wind up with nobody.&rdquo;</p><p>The defense, though much maligned might need only a Nylund or Kluzak to become a unit that can take the Flyers deep into the playoffs. &ldquo;I was encouraged with Behn,&rdquo; said McCammon. &ldquo;He played with enthusiasm.&rdquo;</p><p>So does Brad Marsh, who tailed off after an excellent Game One but nonetheless is the gamer every defense needs. Fred Arthur who had a respectable rookie year, will add some needed bulk in an off-season weight program and has a chance to develop defensive defensemen.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve had three meetings with Freddie Arthur,&rdquo; said McCammon. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s been talk about his desire to become a doctor, but his main desire is hockey.</p><p>&ldquo;After that, if anybody needs a fifth or sixth defenseman, they should come to us. No, seriously, we have good people [Bob Hoffmeyer and Frank Bathe] who maybe are limited talents, but a lot of the parts are already here.&rdquo;</p><p>Which leaves Jimmy Watson, who did not come back as far as hoped from his spinal-fusion surgery. Watson has completed his option season and will talk with Allen soon about a new contract. Bob Dailey will undergo a second operation next month to remove the surgical pin and screws in his ankle.</p><p>&ldquo;It would be great to get Dailey back,&rdquo; said McCammon, &ldquo;but, from a business standpoint, we have to plan like he won&rsquo;t be here.&rdquo;</p><p>Brian Propp fell strangely silent in the playoffs, but with Propp, Bill Barber, llkka Sinisalo, and Greg Adams likely to replace Al Hill as a fourth liner, the Flyers&rsquo; left wing looks as good as any in the league. Ray Allison had, by the playoffs, become one of the team&rsquo;s best all-around players, and joins Paul Holmgren on a right side that needs one more scoring threat.</p><p>T. J. Gorence and Hill are on the long pick-one list the Flyers have offered the Leafs as the Sittier future considerations. It&rsquo;s impossible to explain how Gorence, a solid player a year ago, almost completely forgot how to play this year, but if the Leafs don&rsquo;t take him, his speed is an asset worth reclaiming.</p><p>The Flyers have enough leaders. What they need are more followers who know how to win. They also, McCammon said, have to tone down their act and reach some kind of truce with the officials.</p><p>&ldquo;The Flyers&rsquo; philosophy toward the officials and the game has to change,&rdquo; McCammon said. &ldquo;We have to change our image. I don&rsquo;t mean, stop being aggressive, but we have to make a real effort to educate the players about how to handle themselves.</p><p>&ldquo;The best teams have more discipline. We&rsquo;re a little paranoid; we have to make an effort to understand the referees. Different guys call games differently, and our players have to be aware so we can keep our cool.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

Flyers Due To Trim ‘Dead Weight’

<div class="byline">BY TIM MORIARTY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0014-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-011153/4556237-1-eng-US/f0014-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>John Tonelli, a digger whom the Rangers fear, along with Bob Nystrom, has been shining in the playoffs, coming through with clutch performances.</b> <span class="photo-credit">(Photo by Bruce Bennett)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><span>L</span>ONG ISLAND&mdash;There are two flights of stairs leading from the Islanders&rsquo; dressing room to the nearest exit at Nassau Coliseum. John Tonelli mounted those stairs with some difficulty after playing three games in four nights last week. The peripatetic left winger had played key roles in all three playoff games and was anxious to get some rest.</p><p>&ldquo;I can&rsquo;t remember ever being this tired,&rdquo; he confided to a friend at the exit gate. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m exhausted.&rdquo;</p><p>No wonder. Tonelli saved the Islanders from extinction in the opening round of the playoffs with two dynamite goals against the Penguins in the deciding fifth game. He scored with 2:21 left in the third period to tie the score at 3-3, then delivered the winning goal at 6:19 of the overtime period.</p><p>Michel Dion, the Penguins&rsquo; goalie, admitted that Tonelli&rsquo;s overtime goal &ldquo;shattered my heart into a thousand pieces.&rdquo; Dion retrieved the puck and refused to surrender it. &ldquo;Nobody is going to get it, either,&rdquo; he said, displaying it to reporters. &ldquo;It isn&rsquo;t often in life that you experience such emotion.&rdquo;</p><p>Two nights later, Tonelli thunder struck again. The Rangers were leading the Islanders, 4-3, in the opener of their quarterfinal series when Tonelli scored with 4:16 left to play. The Coliseum fans went wild. They were anticipating another overtime period and perhaps another Tonelli game-winner. But the Rangers pulled it out when their Lilliputian defenseman, Reijo Ruotsalainen, beat Bill Smith with a screen shot with 1:58 remaining.</p><p>The Islanders, to their credit, offered no excuses for the loss, their first at the Coliseum in 3&frac12; months. They had gone 24-0-2 on their home ice since losing to Montreal on Dec. 29.</p><p>&ldquo;This performance was not characteristic of our hockey club,&rdquo; Bob Bourne said. &ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t move, we didn&rsquo;t skate together. One guy would go one way and the other guy would go the other way.&rdquo;</p><p>Some attributed the defeat to fatigue; the Islanders had only one day off after eliminating the Penguins while the Rangers had three days to recover from their opening series against the Flyers. &ldquo;Tiredness is never an excuse,&rdquo; Mike Bossy said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re disappointed, sure, but it&rsquo;s only one game.&rdquo;</p><p>The Islanders pulled even in the series the following night. Tonelli again was all over the Coliseum ice, forechecking the Rangers into submission. He also assisted on a third period goal by Bryan Trottier in the Islanders&rsquo; 7-2 victory.</p><p>&ldquo;Those were the real Islanders out there tonight,&rdquo; Dave Maloney of the Rangers said. &ldquo;They capitalized on all our mistakes.&rdquo;</p><p>Herb Brooks, the Rangers&rsquo; coach, was equally impressed. &ldquo;We got our behinds kicked,&rdquo; he said.</p><p>Brooks was also impressed with the way the Islanders opened the defense of their Stanley Cup championship by eliminating Pittsburgh. He was in the Coliseum press box when the Penquins went into the final six minutes of the fifth game with a 3-1 lead. Most observers had already counted out the Islanders, but not Brooks.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll bet you breakfast that the Islanders win,&rdquo; Brooks challenged this correspondent.</p><p>&ldquo;You got a bet,&rdquo; I said.</p><p>When Tonelli scored the winning goal, Brooks crowed. &ldquo;Make that steak and eggs,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;No Egg McMuffin.&rdquo;</p><p>Brooks and most of the Rangers have a high regard for Tonelli. &ldquo;With all due respect to those other gifted players on the Islanders, it&rsquo;s good to see Tonelli rewarded for his tenacity and hard work,&rdquo; Brooks said.</p><p>Don Maloney of the Rangers, who has been compared to Tonelli, admitted he feared Bob Nystrom the most. &ldquo;You can talk about Trottier and Bossy, but the guy who always hurts us is Bob Nystrom,&rdquo; Maloney said. &ldquo;He was awesome against us in that sweep last year.&rdquo;</p><p>&ldquo;Yeah,&rdquo; said Dave Maloney, &ldquo;Nystrom and Tonelli. They&rsquo;re like street fighters. They might not have the ability of some of those finesse guys, but they make up for it with true grit.&rdquo;</p><p><b>ON THE ISLE</b>&mdash;The Islanders were minus the services of Stefan Persson, who suffered a mild shoulder separation in game No. 5 against the Penguins. The defenseman predicted, &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll be ready for the next series.&rdquo; Gordie Lane, who had asked to be traded after sitting out many regular season games, was attracting cries of &ldquo;Gord-eee, Gord-eee&rdquo; with his robust play on the Islanders&rsquo; backline.</p><h2>Can/Am Banff Tournament</h2><p>Following are the teams that will compete in the CAN/AM-Hockey News adult hockey tournament May 2-7 at Banff, Alberta</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-03680/4556230-1-eng-US/f0014-032.jpg" title="f0014-03" width="532" height="496"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-04481/4556223-1-eng-US/f0014-042.jpg" title="f0014-04" width="536" height="307"></div><h3>30 ANDOVER</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-05337/4556216-1-eng-US/f0014-052.jpg" title="f0014-05" width="524" height="111"></div><h3>35 AND OVER</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-06269/4556209-1-eng-US/f0014-062.jpg" title="f0014-06" width="520" height="139"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0014-01

Islanders’ Tonelli Has Right To Be Exhausted

<div class="byline">BY JACQUES JUSTICE</div><p class="dropcap"><span>A</span>tlanta emerged as an extremely long-shot locale for the Rockies when an Atlanta attorney contacted beleagured owner <b>Peter Gilbert</b> to check out the latest price tag. It was a surprisingly low under-$6,000,000 figure that suddenly whet some appetites. When the Atlanta whisper connected with the NHL grapevine, <b>Pat Quinn&rsquo;s</b> name was immediately mentioned as a potential GM in the event that the rumor ripened to reality. Gilbert&rsquo;s stock with key NHL owners plummeted when he asked for a major concession, according to reliable sources, and then was asked to make one of his own and refused&hellip;The <b>Dan Bouchard-</b> to-Detroit-for-Bob Sauve blabber in Montreal infuriated Nor-diques&rsquo; coach <b>Michel Bergeron.</b> He figured it was planted to unnerve his goalie. Yet, in Buffalo it is murmured that <b>Scotty Bow</b>man hastily moved Sauve off the Sabres&rsquo; roster because he had become convinced that Sauve&rsquo;s fall of 1982 destination was Quebec City&hellip;<b>Donny Luce</b> had given up on his playing career when his agent persuaded him to try a stint with Salt Lake in the minors. <b>Emile Francis</b> obliged with a contract, remembering Luce as a prodigy when Francis ran the Rangers. Now it&rsquo;s hinted that if <b>Jack Evans</b> moves from Salt Lake City to coach the Blues, Luce will become coach of Salt Lake&rsquo;s sextet&hellip;<b>Ron Stackhouse</b> is preparing for exams to obtain a stockbroker&rsquo;s license&hellip;Maple Leafs have big long-range plans for ex-Leaf <b>Jimmy Jones,</b> who has handled their Toronto Marlboro juniors so well&hellip;It would surprise few Sabres-watchers if <b>Dale McCourt</b> were put on the block&hellip;The film <i>Chariots of Fire</i> has become the new inspirational gimmick being used by a couple of NHL clubs. The Oilers and North Stars tried it and both lost their openers&hellip;<b>Paul Mulvey</b> will be sought out after the season for a commentary on his episode with <b>Don Perry.</b></p><p><b>Gord Kluzak,</b> the Billings Bighorn defenseman, has attracted more and more admiration from NHL scouts. The early rap on Kluzak was a lack of aggressiveness&hellip;But a bout with enforcer <b>Jeff Crawford</b> altered Kluzak&rsquo;s rating. &ldquo;Gord held his own,&rdquo; says one scout, &ldquo;against one of the toughest kids in Junior hockey.&rdquo; Kluzak is said to have more hockey sense than the highly-rated <b>Gary Nylund,</b> the 6-4, 210-pound Portland Winter Hawk backliner&hellip;The birddogs who have seen the most of <b>Brian Bellows</b> say the Bruins would be nuts not to sign him. &ldquo;With <b>Wayne Cashman</b> fading,&rdquo; the Eagle Eye insists, &ldquo;Bellows would be the bright, new forward they need. Besides, he&rsquo;s the best junior there is. Period!&rdquo;&hellip;The betting among insiders is that it&rsquo;s even-money that Fred <b>Shero</b> will surface with an NHL team by mid-summer. Despite Shero&rsquo;s setbacks and low profile lately, a small but significant number of hockey people believe he could help a franchise or two&hellip;Those who have seen <b>Roger Sampson</b> operate as GM and V.P. with the Montreal Manic soccer club are dropping his name as a possibility for a job with an NHL club&hellip;<b>Alan Eagleson</b> is expected to present a hard-line plank in his negotiations with NHL owners over the new player-owner pact but it is expected to be superficial. Eagleson will be told privately that the lords of hockey will give little because there is little to give. The books will show that even clubs which have enjoyed surprisingly successful seasons&mdash;Winnipeg Jets for one&mdash;have lost money&hellip;A strike threat will not put fear in the hearts of owners&hellip;Some of them could lose <i>less</i> by not icing a team next season&hellip;<b>Dave Taylor&rsquo;s</b> fat, new pact with the Kings tells the L.A. crowd that <b>Jerry Buss</b> really enjoys his hockey toy, despite the mounting deficits.</p><p>Forces of both sides are keenly awaiting the face-to-face confrontation between <b>John Ziegler</b> and <b>Paul Mooney</b> at the June NHL meetings. Mooney&rsquo;s stinging suggestion that the NHL needs a new prexy did not wear well with his colleagues in the league high command&hellip;There&rsquo;s quite a flap in the realm of senior amateur hockey over the switch of an annual oldtimers game from its traditional California locale&hellip;Calgary&rsquo;s <b>Cliff Fletcher</b> is expected to lower the boom on <b>Al MacNeil&hellip;</b>A single full-house for an NHL playoff game can pull in more than $300,000&hellip;Helmeted referees may be coming up next in the NHL&hellip;One of the eleventh-hour proposals offered to keep the Rangers in Madison Square Garden was a deal in which owner Gulf and Western would forgo a move to New Jersey if Garden losses could be limited to less than $5 million for five years. In return New York City would have to guarantee that a new Garden would be erected adjacent to the convention center with funds coming from the same source that built the center. Thus, Gulf and Western would not pay for the new Garden and the Rangers could remain&hellip;When <b>Al Morganti</b> of The Philadelphia <i>Inquirer</i> phoned <b>Don Cherry</b> and inquired about his pet pit bull terrier, Blue, Cherry replied: &ldquo;She&rsquo;s right here, chewing on a biscuit, sitting on the sofa and watching As <i>The World Turns.&rdquo;</i></p><p>A source close to the NHL&rsquo;s New York office whispers that one of the league employees was involved in a major brawl at Madison Square Garden with an MSG cop. According to the tipster the uprising escalated when a female companion began jawing with the gendarme. The NHL aide rushed in, felt she was being abused and socked the cop. One rumor has it that charges will be filed by the league worker against the cop&hellip;Rumors swirling around Toronto say that the next book on Edmonton superstar Wayne <b>Gretzky</b> will be written by <b>Allen Abel,</b> the gifted columnist for the Toronto <i>Globe and Mail.</i><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

BLUELINES

<div class="byline">BY MIKE DENNIS</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0015-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-011102/4556323-1-eng-US/f0015-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Jim Benning received a great NHL education as an 18-year-old and looks to have the makings of a good pro.</b> <span class="photo-credit">(Photo By Craig Abel)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>ORONTO&mdash;As the losses mounted and the requests for trades elsewhere multiplied and the Maple Leafs struggled through the 1981-82 season searching for a toe-hold from which to launch a rebuilding project, the catch-phrase accompanying the team was always: Give us time to form a nucleus, to assemble a group which comes every night to play and when they get experience, we&rsquo;ll go somewhere.</p><p>With a 19th place finish in the standings, the only place the Leafs can go, really, is up and the club had indicated that it will look to the future with its personnel and stay firmly behind the young players who can make up the center of the team.</p><p>In the past, the Leafs have been burned badly by either giving up players before they reached their potential (Randy Carlyle, Blaine Stoughton, Paul Gardner) or held onto players too long, thereby losing value on the trade market (Ian Turnbull, Darryl Sittler).</p><p>Where does that leave the Leafs now? Here&rsquo;s a position by position look at the players who saw action for the Leafs during the past season.</p><p><b>GOAL</b>&mdash;Vince Tremblay, 22, 4.52 goals-against average, and Michel (Bunny) Larocque, 30, 4.69 goals-against average, figure to pretty well equally divide the action for the Leafs next year. Bob Parent saw a lot of minor league action and a bit of spot duty for the Leafs, but he&rsquo;d have to have a remarkable training camp to land a job with the big club. The Leafs like Tremblay&rsquo;s reflexes and skills and feel with healthier sinuses, he can be a big plus. Larocque, who captured the Molson Cup as the team&rsquo;s top three star recipient, did yeoman service while under a constant barrage of shots and pressure. So the Leafs view this tandem as starters for the next few years at least.</p><p><b>DEFENSE</b>&mdash;It starts with Borje Salming, which isn&rsquo;t a bad place to start after one of the slick Swede&rsquo;s best seasons ever. Some say the defense ends there as well but the Leafs have a slew of youngsters who now have a year of experience behind them and are expected to improve a great deal.</p><p>The most talked about three, of course are Jim Benning, Fred Boimistruck and Bob McGill. Benning, the fourth youngest player in the NHL this season, just needs to beef up physically. He took quite a pounding and was pretty well worn out by season&rsquo;s end. Although he didn&rsquo;t display an offensive proficiency to compare to his junior record, he showed enough to indicate that he&rsquo;ll mature into a solid, maybe great, NHL player. Boimis-truck was injured in late February and missed the remainder of the schedule but along the way demonstrated the best defensive skills of the three youngsters. McGill proved he can bang heads with the big boys. Next&rsquo; year, he&rsquo;ll have to show that the other parts of his game have come along enough to win him a spot on the club.</p><p>The Leafs will want to take a close look at defenseman Craig Muni as well. The 6-3, 200-pound Muni was injured in training camp or he would have had a chance to break into the NHL this season. He played junior hockey, a few games for the Leafs in which he looked good and a few for the Cincinnati farm club where he was fairly awesome, according to reports.</p><p>Jim Korn, Barry Melrose and John Gibson have size and could figure in the Leafs&rsquo; plans as well as Trevor Johansen who packs a lot of wallop on a small frame.</p><p><b>LEFT WING</b>&mdash;What the Leafs lack in size, they make up for in speed in this portion of their attack. John Anderson topped the 30-goal mark for the first time and combines well with Bill Derlago and Rick Vaive on the club&rsquo;s most potent line. Terry Martin had 25 goals, can check, likes to hit and always gives an honest effort. Stewart Gavin, who was also tried at center, missed most of last season due to a separated shoulder, but he&rsquo;s a speedster and a determined checker with lots of desire. Walt Poddubny can&rsquo;t match the others for speed, but he&rsquo;s rangy, has offensive talent and looks like a good acquisition. Waiting in the minor league wings are Paul Marshall and Bill McCreary plus juniors Normand Lefrancois and Phil Drouillard.</p><p><b>CENTER</b>&mdash;Bill Derlago is the top gun after a 34-50-84 season. No. 2 is Norm Aubin, who tailed off after a good start after being recalled from the minors. Aubin finished with 14 goals in 43 games and he&rsquo;s deadly in the offensive zone. However, he needs to be matched with the right linemates to be effective, at least with the Leafs.</p><p>The Leafs finished the season with Gavin and Poddubny playing some center, but they&rsquo;ll be taking a close look at junior Fred Perlini, who was impressive in brief stints with the club, as well as minor leaguers Gary Yaremchuk and Ernie Godden. Rich Costello is a possibility from Providence College, but the youngster who came to the Leafs in the Darryl Sittler trade will likely remain in school for at least another year. A better bet is that the Leafs will choose a center with their first draft pick.</p><p><b>RIGHT WING</b>&mdash;A little over a year ago Rick Vaive scored 30 goals for the first time. This year he became the Leafs&rsquo; captain and scored a team record 54 goals. Next year? Well, Vaive might not get 54 again, but then again, who&rsquo;s to say he won&rsquo;t? He&rsquo;s big, strong, fast, has a blistering shot and he wants to win. Probably the shooter with the next greatest potential is Miroslav Frycer, who replaced Wilf Paiement. He&rsquo;s got speed, great moves and could develop into quite a player for the Leafs. Billy Harris, who can also play the left side and center in a pinch, has size and the skills to be an effective two-way performer. He was not 100 percent due to a shoulder separation this time around, so the Leafs don&rsquo;t know yet what he can accomplish. Rocky Saganiuk looked like he didn&rsquo;t fit into the Leafs&rsquo; plans, but he gives the kind of effort that all winning teams need. He scored 16 times in very limited exposure. He&rsquo;ll have to be watched as will Frank Nigro, a 22-year-old who played for Cicny and has a great deal of talent.</p><p>A contender? No, but certainly not a 19th place team with the expected improvement from the youngsters. The Leafs do, in fact, have the makings of a nucleus of a pretty good team. Now they have to add to it in the Entry Draft and begin to build a cohesive group of guys all pulling towards the same goals.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0015-01

Leafs Unpolished Nucleus Could Grow Into Contender

<div class="byline">BY TONY GALLAGHER</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0016-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-01956/4556361-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Gary Lupul&rsquo;s main assignment was to play on a line checking the top Kings, but he scored a game-winner off a feed from Ron Delorme.</b></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-02785/4556354-1-eng-US/f0016-022.jpg" title="f0016-02" width="1249" height="1694"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Although defenseman Kevin McCarthy broke his ankle just prior to the playoffs, his blueline mates pulled together quite nicely.</b> <span class="photo-credit">(Photos By lan MacAlpine)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><span>V</span>ANCOUVER&mdash;The Canucks began most pleasantly, and in an awed way against the Los Angeles Kings in the first game of the Smythe Division finals.</p><p>The Canucks stayed out of the penalty box for the most part and scored two power play goals of their own to win the first game of the best-of-seven series, 3-2 on their home ice. Ivan Hlinka, the burly Czech international who has played some brilliant hockey in the second half of the season, bagged both goals with the man advantage as Vancouver twice recovered from one-goal deficits for the win.</p><p>Then, with the score tied 2-2 going into the third period, Vancouver got some outstanding work from scarcely used right winger Ron Delorme, who bounced Larry Murphy off the puck and fed little Gary Lupul for the winning goal five minutes into the period.</p><p>&ldquo;I thought if we could get ahead of them in the third period we would have them,&rdquo; said Vancouver coach Harry Neale, who watched the game from the pressbox because of a league suspension. &ldquo;They were playing their third game in four nights and it&rsquo;s a lot tougher to come back when you&rsquo;re tired.&rdquo;</p><p>Steve Bozek and Larry Murphy scored goals for the Kings, who had 29 shots on Richard Brodeur compared to 39 directed by the Canucks at Mario Lessard in the L.A. goal. The Kings are at a physical disadvantage over the Canucks in that they have played so many games. Game Two of the finals was their fourth game in five nights and it would be six games in eight nights by the fourth game of the series.</p><p>At that point, the Canucks were unbeaten in 13 games and had eight wins and a tie in the nine games that Roger Neilson had been coach.</p><p>The Canucks used Thomas Gradin against Marcel Dionne and wingers Dave Williams and Delorme against Dave Taylor and Charlie Simmer, respectively. The Canucks took only two penalties not offset by penalties to the Kings, which was a factor. The L.A. power play, which had accounted for nine goals in the playoffs, was only in operation twice, unsuccessfully.</p><p>Although the Canucks were sky-high prior to the start of the first round series with Calgary, after coming down the home stretch undefeated in their last nine games, the playoffs were to open on a sombre note when disaster struck the team.</p><p>At an optional practice defenseman Kevin McCarthy broke his ankle in a collision with Curt Fraser near one of the goals. It appeared to be a harmless enough collision, but McCarthy had to be carried from the ice.</p><p>The blow was particularly crippling because of the injuries already sustained on the Vancouver defense. Rick Lanz, Jiri Bubla, Anders Eldebrink were already out for the year with various ailments and in many of the games the Canucks were going with five defensemen rather than dressing two rookies, Neil Belland and Joe McDonnell.</p><p>It meant a tremendous workload fell onto the shoulders of Lars Lindgren, Harold Snepsts and Colin Campbell, as Vancouver&rsquo;s defensive alignment for the post-season play resembled that of the Toronto Maple Leafs, with three raw rookies. Andy Schliebener, who had been called up earlier in the year on an emergency basis when Campbell was on the limp, was recalled from Dallas where he went after finishing his junior season at Niagara Falls.</p><p>The Canucks had one plus: An undefeated coach on their side. Roger Neilson, who took over for the suspended Harry Neale, did not lose a game in the five regular season matches he coached and the three-game sweep of Calgary to begin the playoffs.</p><p>&ldquo;The suspension has been a lot easier to take with us winning like this,&rdquo; says Neale. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s tough up there but this good string has helped. It&rsquo;s given Roger a running start at the coaching job next season and my reaction now is I don&rsquo;t think I&rsquo;ll come back. Why would I want to go and mess things up?&rdquo;</p><p>The coaches have thrown together four lines which seem to serve a purpose. They have two lines which are referred to as checking lines and two which are scoring lines.</p><p>Gary Lupul has been centering Lars Molin and Dave Williams and Thomas Gradin has been between Per-Olov Brasar and Marc Crawford.</p><p>The scoring lines have Ivan Boldirev between Curt Fraser and Tony Currie and Ivan Hlinka centering Stan Smyl and Darcy Rota.</p><p>The configuration gives Neilson considerable leeway with his line matching, though the injury to McCarthy has put much pressure on the defense. Thus far, they&rsquo;ve handled the load well.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0016-01

Surprising Canucks Doing Everything Right

<div class="byline">BY GARY MUELLER</div><p><b>HSB Louisville Hockey</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-01862/4556430-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg" title="f0018-01" width="599" height="842"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Guy Lapointe received credit for a goal when Brian Sutter disclaimed credit for knocking it in.</b></figcaption></div><p>ST. LOUIS&mdash;Gerry Hart says there was a mistake in the final regularseason scoring statistics published a couple of weeks ago in THE HOCKEY NEWS.</p><p>Well, not really. But the St. Louis Blues&rsquo; defenseman appointed himself a one-man committee to inform the world that Blues&rsquo; left winger Brian Sutter is really a 45-goal scorer, not a 39-goal scorer as the official National Hockey League statistics showed.</p><p>&ldquo;That little guy gives away more goals,&rdquo; Hart said of Sutter. &ldquo;He finished the season with 39 goals, but I&rsquo;m sure he had at least five or six more that he wouldn&rsquo;t claim. He cost himself a couple of thousand dollars because he had a bonus for 40 goals.</p><p>&ldquo;But that&rsquo;s the kind of player he is. You ought to start a publicity campaign for him, because he&rsquo;s really at least a 45-goal scorer.&rdquo;</p><p>Hart&rsquo;s comments followed the opening game of the St. Louis-Winnipeg playoff series, in which the Blues&rsquo; Guy Lapointe was credited with the decisive goal with 1:58 remaining in regulation time in a 4-3 St. Louis victory.</p><p>The goal originally was announced as having been scored by Sutter, who was parked in front of Winnipeg goalie Ed Staniowski when Lapointe&rsquo;s shot from the point found its way into the net.</p><p>At the end of the game, Sutter skated over to the timekeeper and requested that Lapointe be credited with the score.</p><p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know, maybe it hit me,&rdquo; said Sutter. &ldquo;All I know is that Guy shot the puck and it went in. He made the play.&rdquo;</p><p>Earlier, there was no doubt about who scored the Blues&rsquo; third goal as Sutter took Bernie Federko&rsquo;s perfect pass from behind the net and beat Staniowski from the edge of the crease to tie the game, 3-3, only 14 seconds after Willy Lindstrom had given the Jets a 3-2 lead, with 4:57 left in the third period.</p><p>Typically, Sutter directed the praise elsewhere when his tying goal was being mentioned as the key goal of the game.</p><p>&ldquo;When they scored I was so mad,&rdquo; said Sutter. &ldquo;You just want to come right back and score and that&rsquo;s what we were able to do, because of Bernie [Federko] and Mugsy [Joey Mullen].</p><p>&ldquo;Bernie made a heckuva play from behind the net, and how about that Mugsy? He&rsquo;s just <i>a</i> little guy, but he&rsquo;s down on his knees in the corner and he still gets the puck to Bernie behind the net.&rdquo;</p><p>In Game Two, Sutter scored two more goals, but those were the only ones the Blues got as they fell victim to Winnipeg&rsquo;s Dale Hawerchukled power play and lost, 5-2.</p><p>Sutter continued his goal-scoring spree with two more goals in Games Three and Four, as the Blues finished off the Jets in St. Louis, 6-3 and 8-2.</p><p>But the streak finally ended when Sutter had to settle for just one assist in the Blues&rsquo; 5-4 loss to Chicago in the opening game of the Blues-Black Hawks Norris Division final series.</p><p>Much of the speculation prior to the start of the Norris Division championship series had centered on the aggressive style of play that was expected. But the first game resulted in only 38 minutes in penalties, with Sutter and Chicago&rsquo;s John Marks engaging in the game&rsquo;s only fight.</p><p>&ldquo;Everybody was saying it was going to be a bloodbath,&rdquo; said Sutter, &ldquo;but I really didn&rsquo;t expect that. Both these teams play a hard-hitting, up-and-down style. Sometimes there will be fights, but these two teams respect one another and there are great competitors on both sides.</p><p>&ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s going to be a long, tough series, but I think you&rsquo;ll see plenty of good hockey and not the bloodbath everyone was talking about.&rdquo;</p><p><b>BLUENOTES:</b> With the upsets of Edmonton, Minnesota and Winnipeg, the Campbell Conference representative in the Stanley Cup final is guaranteed to have a below-.500 record. Not since 1968, when the Blues represented the old expansion West Division, has a below-.500 team made it to the finals. The Blues&rsquo; openinggame victory in Winnipeg marked only the second time in the team&rsquo;s history that they had opened a playoff series with a victory on the road. The only other time had been April 4, 1968, when St. Louis beat the Flyers in Philadelphia, 1-0, in the very first playoff game ever played by the Blues. Since then, St. Louis had been 0-7 in opening games of series that started on the road.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-02676/4556423-1-eng-US/f0018-022.jpg" title="f0018-02" width="1240" height="1279"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Brian Sutter is said to have &ldquo;given away&rdquo; five or six goals to teammates this season, but he counted seven in the opening playoff round.</b></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0018-01

Blues’ Standout Sutter A Dedicated Team Man

<div class="byline">BY DICK JOHNSTON</div><p>BUFFALO&mdash;More players with &ldquo;competitiveness,&rdquo; that&rsquo;s what the Buffalo Sabres need, according to general manager Scotty Bowman.</p><p>They need more mobility among the defensemen, more grinders on the wing and strength at the center ice position.</p><p>That&rsquo;s what the Sabres&rsquo; GM said after his team was knocked out of the Stanley Cup playoffs in the first round by the Boston Bruins.</p><p>The fans of Buffalo, who were beginning to buy out Memorial Auditorium through the second half of the season, after failing to do so for the first time in years during the first half, were quite unhappy about the Sabres&rsquo; abrupt departure from the playoffs.</p><p>Bowman came in for a share of criticism and two television stations even conducted call-in programs on whether one of hockey&rsquo;s best-known figures should be retained.</p><p>The &ldquo;Bowman should stay&rdquo; votes won out, but not by a wide margin.</p><p>Not that it would make much difference, anyhow.</p><p>Seymour H. Knox Ill and his brother, Northrup, who run the Sabres, apparently have decided that Bowman will stay.</p><p>&ldquo;Scotty has two more years to go on his contract,&rdquo; Seymour Knox, club president and chairman of the board, said the week after the Sabres were eliminated. And that was all he would say until after a meeting with Bowman &ldquo;to evaluate the situation.&rdquo; That meeting was to be held this week.</p><p>Bowman, meanwhile, said he was not worried about his future with the club, that he would not coach next year and that Jim Roberts probably would. &ldquo;1 don&rsquo;t want to say anything definite about the coach until after I meet with the Knoxes,&rdquo; Bowman stated.</p><p>He went on to say that with the player the Sabres acquire in the first round of the 1982 draft, plus players in the organization, &ldquo;we&rsquo;ll have a hockey club before we&rsquo;re through.&rdquo;</p><p>The Sabres have sixth choice in the draft, obtained from Los Angeles in the trade for Jerry Korab. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s the lowest Buffalo drafted since they got Jim Schoenfeld in 1973,&rdquo; Bowman pointed out.</p><p>&ldquo;We think there are maybe 10 prime players available in the draft and I think we will get a player who can move right in and play and make a difference,&rdquo; he continued.</p><p>&ldquo;What we need is a defenseman who can be a general for our defense. Mobility of the defense has always been questionable in Buffalo. We need, more than anything else, defensemen who can move the puck out of our end in a hurry.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll be very disappointed if our sixth choice doesn&rsquo;t come in here and be a dominant figure,&rdquo; Bowman added.</p><p>Despite the Sabres&rsquo; disappointing finish to the 1981-82 season, Bowman said he doesn&rsquo;t figure on making a lot of trades.</p><p>&ldquo;I think we have enough guys to make a team,&rdquo; he noted. &ldquo;If we were to make trades, I don&rsquo;t think what we get back would improve us any.&rdquo;</p><p>There has been criticism in the press of Bowman&rsquo;s drafts through the three years he has been running the Sabres. He disagrees.</p><p>&ldquo;We have players in our organization who will come up and help us,&rdquo; he stated. &ldquo;I just have to make the right decisions. For instance, Sean McKenna and Mike Moller [1980 draftees who played junior hockey this season] will be good National Hockey Leaguers, I believe.</p><p>&ldquo;Randy Cunneyworth and Steve Patrick benefited, I&rsquo;m sure, from playing for Rochester [Buffalo&rsquo;s American Hockey League farm club]</p><p>&ldquo;We need mobile, defensemen and a strong center position. And we need more guys like Lindy Ruff and Mike Foligno on the wing. Too many of our forwards were getting knocked off the puck in the Boston series.</p><p>&ldquo;Too many guys didn&rsquo;t grind. We have to make sure every player has the ingredients we want on our team.&rdquo;</p><p>When it comes to the center position, Gil Perreault is the first player mentioned. The only remaining original Sabre is in the option year of his contract. After the last game he acted as though he wondered if the club would want him back.</p><p>&ldquo;I feel confident that Perreault will sign with us again,&rdquo; Bowman said.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

Bowman Seeking More Competitors

<div class="byline">BY ERIC DUHATSCHEK</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0019-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-01824/4556485-1-eng-US/f0019-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Last season the Flames advanced in the playoffs with hot goaltending from Pat Riggin, above, and Reggie Lemelin. This year, Vancouver&rsquo;s hot goaltending sent the Flames to the sidelines as too many people playered as sporadically as they did in the regular season.</b> <span class="photo-credit">(Photo By Bruce Bennet)</span></figcaption></div><p>CALGARY&mdash;It was, in the words of general manager Cliff Fletcher, &ldquo;the most frustrating, disappointing season the Flames have ever had.&rdquo;</p><p>It started with a mediocre exhibition record, it continued through a sometimes up, but mostly down regular season and it ended with three straight losses in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.</p><p>There was a certain justice to the final development. Almost since the start of the season, when the Edmonton Oilers were making a mockery of the Smythe Division race, the Flames&rsquo; players looked ahead and talked about the playoffs. The playoffs, it was thought, would redeem what was otherwise a less than extraordinary season.</p><p>More than anyone else, a diminutive goaltender named Richard Brodeur caused the demise of the Flames in the post-season. Brodeur was brilliant in the Vancouver Canucks&rsquo; sweep of the Flames, giving up just five goals in three games and constantly frustrating Calgary&rsquo;s shooters.</p><p>But it was more than just Brodeur that beat the Flames. In essence, the club frittered away the home-ice advantage in the final two weeks of the season, losing a game to Vancouver that would have clinched second place for the Flames and then losing again in the season finale against Colorado, a game that if nothing else would have put some pressure on the Canucks to keep their hot streak alive.</p><p>&ldquo;If we&rsquo;d all beared down a little earlier,&rdquo; said Lanny McDonald, &ldquo;we wouldn&rsquo;t have had to start the playoffs on the road. Maybe that would have made a difference.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a very frustrating situation where we feel we played well the last two games and couldn&rsquo;t beat a hot goaltender. Maybe the key to the series was the first game when we got three by him and made a lot of defensive mistakes ourselves. If you win the first one, you&rsquo;re in the driver&rsquo;s seat. Maybe they wouldn&rsquo;t have been up so high for the second one.&rdquo;</p><p>In many ways, this year Canucks resembled the Flames of 1981. That year, the Flames won their first playoff series ever (against Chicago), they did it in three straight games and they relied heavily on hot goaltending to do it.</p><p>This year, the Flames, once again the boys of early summer, were the first team eliminated from the playoffs.</p><p>All of which raised some important questions for next season.</p><p>Would coach Al MacNeil, with two years left on his contract, be behind the bench next year? Would Guy Chouinard and Willi Plett, the two names mentioned most often in trade rumors, be traded away? Would any of Bob Murdoch, Bill Clement, Dan Labraaten and Gary McAdam, all near, at or over 30 years of age, be invited back?</p><p>According to Fletcher, when the Flames&rsquo; hockey club reconvenes in five months, it will have a new attitude, new desire and a number of new faces.</p><p>At least four of last year&rsquo;s draft choices&mdash;forwards Mario Simioni and Bruce Eakin, defenseman Allan MacInnis and goaltender Mike Vernon&mdash;all have a &ldquo;good chance&rdquo; to make the Flames, said Fletcher. Simioni&rsquo;s chances are rated &ldquo;excellent.&rdquo;</p><p>Add two minor-league prospects, Dave Hindmarch and Bobby Francis, the Finnish recruit, Kari Jalonen, plus a high first-round choice in this summer&rsquo;s entry draft and you have the beginnings of real competition for the 19 places on the roster. Not like last year when the coaching staff had already made up its mind before camp who would play in Calgary and who would play in the minors.</p><p>&ldquo;There was a tremendous amount of loyalty on the part of management and the coaches to the players prior to the last training camp,&rdquo; Fletcher conceded. &ldquo;You had a team with 92 points, a team that went to the semifinals. Consequently, you say these players did this for us last year so we&rsquo;re going to give them a chance to do it again next year.</p><p>&ldquo;The attitude approaching next season will be different. The players, the coaches and management do not have to be constantly told that we didn&rsquo;t have as good a year this year as we should have had. They know it. They know we lost three straight in the playoffs.</p><p>&ldquo;They all have that to play on their minds the next four months. Therefore, the mental approach to training camp will be much more vigorous and intense than it was.&rdquo;</p><p>Another avenue that Fletcher intends to use to improve the team is the entry draft. Not since Paul Reinhart joined the Flames in the summer of 1979 has the team&rsquo;s first-round draft choice been able to step into the lineup and provide immediate help. By finishing 12th in the league, the Flames will draft ninth overall, high enough to get someone who can play right away, said Fletcher.</p><p>&ldquo;There are 10 and possibly 11 top players available,&rdquo; said Fletcher.</p><p>&ldquo;There&rsquo;s a much better chance we&rsquo;ll get somebody who can help us now this year than there was last year.&rdquo;</p><p>Heading into the draft, the Flames have all 10 of their own picks, plus two additional choices in the fourth round. They receive one from Boston in the Jim Craig trade and one from Detroit in the Eric Vail deal.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0019-01

Flames Frustrated, Disappointed And On Sidelines Again

<div class="byline">BY REYN DAVIS</div><p>WINNIPEG&mdash;No one felt like saying so, but the St. Louis deserved to be congratulated.</p><p>Using muscle and moxy, the Blues eliminated the Winnipeg Jets in four games in the best-of-five preliminary round in National Hockey League playoffs.</p><p>&ldquo;This was a disappointing end to a great season,&rdquo; sighed Tom Watt, the coach who guided the Jets from 21st place to 10th in the overall standings.</p><p>Both Watt and general manager John Ferguson paid a visit to the St. Louis dressing room to offer Emile Francis their congratulations. Ferguson has a disdain for such displays of fraternalism for his opponents. But he happens to have a deep respect for the little coach and general manager and president of the Blues.</p><p>It was a frustrating series for the Jets.</p><p>Their goaltenders, Eddie Staniowski and Doug Soetaert, so stingy during the season, were continuously upstaged by Mike Liut.</p><p>&ldquo;Just as I feared,&rdquo; said Watt. &ldquo;The Blues seem to perform only as well as he plays. And he was great.&rdquo;</p><p>The greybeards on the St. Louis defense were supposed to be slow and vulnerable to the speed and persistence of the Jets&rsquo; forwards.</p><p>Instead, the Jets were hit incessantly by the likes of Gerry Hart, Ed Kea and Guy Lapointe, all of whom are 34. Enjoying the flexibility of the rules at playoff time, they made the lighter, younger Jets run a gauntlet every time they crossed the St. Louis blueline.</p><p>&ldquo;They were aggressive,&rdquo; admitted Watt. &ldquo;More aggressive than we thought they could be.&rdquo;</p><p>Up front, Brian Sutter was a holy terror. His intensity bothered them; his seven goals killed them. Joey Mullen skated through any flak the Jets could raise. Bernie Federko won almost every faceoff. Perry Turnbull skated over them. Larry Patey and Mike Zuke rendered their power play impotent.</p><p>Willy (The Wisp) Lindstrom refused to accept any notions that the Blues were the better team.</p><p>&ldquo;We have more talent than them,&rdquo; said the Winnipeg right winger. &ldquo;We are better skaters. Almost everything seemed to go their way.&rdquo;</p><p>Lindstrom was hit harder and more often in the first game of the series than he was hit in the last three months of the regular schedule.</p><p>Simply put, the Blues stopped the Jets&rsquo; skating game. Reduced in speed, they were forced to grind and the Blues were better grinders.</p><p>Serge Savard could sense a disaster coming even before the playoffs began.</p><p>&ldquo;Things started to slip a little in our last four or five games,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;The Kid [Dale Hawerchuk] had the flu. He was struggling. Things weren&rsquo;t going well. I was a little scared.&rdquo;</p><p>Hawerchuk was a marked man. He was checked tenaciously. The Blues took his room away and forced him to make his plays prematurely.</p><p>Watt protested loudly when it was suggested that Francis had made a brilliant tactical move by matching Federko&rsquo;s line with Hawerchuk&rsquo;s.</p><p>Federko, Sutter and Mullen had combined for nine goals in the third and fourth games in St. Louis.</p><p>&ldquo;Tactics didn&rsquo;t win this series,&rdquo; growled Watt. &ldquo;Goaltending did.&rdquo;</p><p>Watt did concede that Federko&rsquo;s prowess in the faceoff circle added to the Jets&rsquo; miseries.</p><p>&ldquo;Our inexperience showed,&rdquo; said Watt. &ldquo;Federko was particularly hard to beat, I admit. When you start every play without the puck, it can be tough.&rdquo;</p><p>Morris Lukowich, a 43-goal scorer during the regular season, voiced bitter disappointment in his own play.</p><p>&ldquo;It didn&rsquo;t help that I didn&rsquo;t get a goal the whole series,&rdquo; said Lukowich. &ldquo;He [Liut] made some saves I couldn&rsquo;t believe.&rdquo;</p><p>Defenseman Dave Babych was less inclined to praise Liut.</p><p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s not the greatest goaltender in the world,&rdquo; said Babych. &ldquo;But he is the luckiest. He stopped shots he didn&rsquo;t even see.&rdquo;</p><p>So the season came down with a crashing thud. The promise shown in a six-month schedule shattered in five days of playoffs.</p><p>&ldquo;Don&rsquo;t be down on yourselves,&rdquo; said a consoling Ferguson. &ldquo;You&rsquo;ve made people aware who you are. This is a team that is going to have to be reckoned with. We were just a little ahead of our time this year.&rdquo;</p><p>The Jets are pulling their farm team out of Tulsa, Okla.</p><p>To facilitate the move, they have purchased a dormant American Hockey League franchise which they hope to locate in Sherbrooke, Que.</p><p>&ldquo;Instead of trying to buy an expansion franchise in the AHL, we have purchased an old one,&rdquo; said Ferguson.</p><p>The Jets bought the Cincinnati Swords franchise from the Buffalo Sabres.</p><p>Buffalo has since purchased the Rochester franchise.</p><p>The Swords went into limbo in 1974 at the height of the war between the World Hockey Association and the NHL.</p><p>Ferguson said the stability of the American League, the appeal of Sherbrooke (a city of 160,000) and the opportunity to deal in Canadian funds were the major reasons for the move.</p><p><b>BENCH BITS</b>&mdash;None of the Jets will require off-season surgery&hellip;The Jets have asked center Scott Arniel to add to his upper body strength&hellip;Five members of the team are taking the long walk up the aisle this summer&hellip;They are Tim Trimper, Morris Lukowich, Dave Babych, Thomas Steen and Moe Mantha&hellip;Bengt Lundholm is a possibility too&hellip;Mantha and Bryan Maxwell, a pair of defensemen, have asked to be traded&hellip;Hartley Goldman is succeeding Ken Fenson as the Jets&rsquo; director of publicity.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

When Skating Was Stopped Jets Couldn’t Grind

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0020-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-01655/4556540-1-eng-US/f0020-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(Photo by Bruce Bennett)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>R</span>ick Middleton</b> has always been known as a prolific goal scorer but in the 1982 Stanley Cup playoffs he has suddenly become a playmaker&mdash;and the transition is paying off for the Boston Bruins.</p><p>Middleton, who led the youthful Bruins in both goals, with 51, and points, with 92, this season appeared to picking up where he left off when the schedule closed. The veteran winger had come up with 13 scoring points in seven playoff games and was the offensive leader after Boston won five of its first six playoff starts.</p><p>Middleton won the nod from THE HOCKEY NEWS as NHL Player of the Week, scoring two goals and helping set up six others in the Adams Division final against Quebec. With Middleton directing them on the ice, the Bruins&rsquo; hot line of Middleton, Bruce Crowder and Barry Pederson counted 17 scoring points in the first three games with Quebec, including seven goals.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0020-01

Player Of The Week

<div class="byline">BY CHUCK MOODY</div><p class="dropcap"><span>P</span>ITTSBURGH&mdash;A gritty bunch of Penguins almost pulled off what surely would have been considered one of the greatest upsets in Stanley Cup playoff history if not in all of sport.</p><p>The much-maligned Penguins, who finished the regular NHL season in 12th place in the overall standings, took the two-time defending champion New York Islanders 6:19 into overtime before falling, 4-3. John Tonelli&rsquo;s second goal of the game in the Nassau Coliseum sent the Penguins back to Pittsburgh thinking of what might have been after they surrendered two goals in the final 5:25 of regulation.</p><p>Most observers never thought the Penguins would have made it to a fifth game after the Islanders romped to victories in the series&rsquo; first two games, 8-1 and 7-2. Among those who believed the Penguins wouldn&rsquo;t make it that far was club owner Edward DeBartolo, who said after the first two games he was so disgusted with this team&rsquo;s play he would not attend Game Three in Pittsburgh and would gladly refund ticket money for any fan who wanted to join him in the boycott.</p><blockquote class="pullQuote"><b>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m very proud,&rdquo; said Eddie Johnston. &ldquo;I was under a lot of pressure to change goalies when he allowed 15 goals, but Dion&rsquo;s my No. 1 and you win or you lose with your No. 1 in the net&rdquo;</b></blockquote><p>Only about 200 people took him up on his offer, however, and 14,310 wildly-enthusiastic fans did attend at the Civic Arena. They saw Rick Kehoe, who had only three goals in 36 playoff games, score a bad-angle goal through Islander goaltender Billy Smith&rsquo;s pads 4:14 into overtime to send the series to a fourth game in Pittsburgh.</p><p>The Penguins checked the Bryan Trottier line relentlessly in Game Four with the trio of Andre St. Laurent, Rod Schutt and rookie Kevin McClelland doing most of the work and scoring three goals as Pittsburgh won, 5-2.</p><p>Goaltender Michel Dion was outstanding in the Pittsburgh nets, stopping 24 of 25 shots in the first two periods of Game Five as the Penguins took a 3-1 lead on goals by McClelland, rookie Mike Bullard and Randy Carlyle. Mike McEwen&rsquo;s power play goal after a questionable hooking call by referee Bruce Hood against Carlyle, cut Pittsburgh&rsquo;s lead to 3-2. Tonelli tied the game, 3-3, with 2:21 left in regulation when the puck bounced off the boards hopped over Carlyle&rsquo;s stick, and bounced to Tonelli, who later scored the series winner 6:19 into sudden death.</p><p>Dion, who played well despite giving up 15 goals in the first two games of the series, turned aside 42 of New York&rsquo;s 46 shots in Game Five, in a spectacular display of netminding.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m very proud,&rdquo; said Penguin coach Eddie Johnston. &ldquo;Dion was great. I was under a lot of pressure to change goalies when he allowed 15 goals, but he&rsquo;s my No. 1 and you win or lose with your No. 1 in the net.&rdquo;</p><p>Dion, who began his career in the World Hockey Association, was playing in his first Stanley Cup series.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not very often you get to have emotional periods like that,&rdquo; said Dion.</p><p>&ldquo;There&rsquo;s no feeling like it does to your heart. It&rsquo;s like it shatters in about a thousand pieces. At the same time, it&rsquo;s kind of a mixed emotion. There&rsquo;s a tremendous joy knowing that you played so strong and so hard and just about gave the best team in the world the toughest and roughest series they&rsquo;ve been involved in the last three or four or five years.</p><p>&ldquo;Knowing that, deep down in their hearts, they know it could have been ours just as well. After a series like this, everybody knows now that all the players on this team can play hockey with anybody.&rdquo;</p><p>Johnston, whose team may have played too cautiously with a two-goal lead in the third period, changed strategy for overtime.</p><p>&ldquo;We figured in overtime we&rsquo;d come right after them and change our lines,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We weren&rsquo;t going to try to match anybody in overtime, and we felt we&rsquo;d score short and quick on them.</p><p>&ldquo;We played so well. With six minutes to go in the hockey game you&rsquo;ve got them 3-1. We had a judgement call on that penalty that we felt was kind of funny, then we got the bad bounce on the other one. We had a chance to knock the world champions off, and we were in the right position. When we had the opportunities in overtime, we just didn&rsquo;t put them in.&rdquo;</p><p>If a gritty bunch of Penguins had, it would have been one of the greatest upsets in Stanley Cup history.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-01491/4556571-1-eng-US/f0021-012.jpg" title="f0021-01" width="602" height="854"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Goalie Michel Dion was brilliant in the Penguins&rsquo; final three playoff matches.</b></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0021-01

Gritty Pens Reached Upset’s Brink

<div class="byline">BY VARTAN KUPELIAN</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0024-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-01531/4556602-1-eng-US/f0024-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Mike Blaisdell said it was tough on the players when the owner announced his plans to sell. It will be better when they only have to concentrate on winning.</b> <span class="photo-credit">(Photo by Bruce Bennett)</span></figcaption></div><p>DETROIT&mdash;It sounds like a political campaign slogan&mdash;&ldquo;A new beginning.&rdquo;</p><p>But that&rsquo;s how the Detroit Red Wings feel about next season. They view it as a much-needed fresh start, an opportunity to put the past where it belongs, in the past.</p><p>The Detroit Hockey Club is likely to have a new owner by the time the 1982-83 National Hockey League season arrives. Owner Bruce Norris, whose family has owned the organization for 50 years, has put the team on the trading block and a deal is expected during the offseason.</p><p>Undoubtedly, there will be wholesale changes&mdash;on the ice and in the front office&mdash;once control of the club changes hands.</p><p>The Wings ended the 1981-82 season with a 21-47-12 record and 20th overall in the league. Only Colorado was worse. They missed the playoffs again but that&rsquo;s hardly noteworthy&mdash;they always miss the playoffs.</p><p>Only once in the last decade has that not been the case.</p><p>So it&rsquo;s another summer of discontent for the players, except that they are looking for better things next season under new ownership, not necessarily because it was all Norris&rsquo; fault but because a change can&rsquo;t be anything but helpful. (Norris wasn&rsquo;t quite so benevolent toward the players. He said he was fed up with the modern athlete and blamed the players for most of the Wings&rsquo; woes).</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m kind of excited about it,&rdquo; said defenseman Reed Larson, the Wing captain. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want to see anyone lose his job but I see a refreshing outlook.&rdquo;</p><p>Mike Blaisdell, a second-year right wing who enjoyed a fine season after a disappointing rookie campaign, put it this way:</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s been tough on the guys the last three weeks, knowing the owner doesn&rsquo;t want you and things like that. I feel we&rsquo;ve just got to get our minds on hockey and not the owners or coaching changes. It will be better when we know we&rsquo;ve only got one job to do, to win hockey games.&rdquo;</p><p>Blaisdell ranked third in team scoring behind rookie Mark Osborne and Larson.</p><p>Meanwhile, Red Wing vicepresident Lincoln Cavalieri said it would take anywhere from two weeks to a month to evaluate the offers. There are four firm offers, three from local interests, and Cavalieri called the proposals &ldquo;imaginative and pleasing.&rdquo;</p><p>Norris&rsquo; original asking price was $13 million but the offers reportedly were in the $9 to $10 million range.</p><p>&ldquo;We have four bonafide offers,&rdquo; Cavalieri said.</p><p>Cavalieri, who earlier had said he might consider joining a group to purchase the club, said he is no longer interested.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve scratched myself,&rdquo; he said.</p><p>Louis Risi, a vice-president who will handle the negotiations for Norris, said no one currently associated with the club is a part of any group offering to purchase the Wings.</p><p>&ldquo;A completely new group would give a fresh approach to things and that would benefit the fans,&rdquo; Risi said.</p><p><b>WING WIRE</b>&mdash;Defenseman Willie Huber, who had been selected to play for Team Canada in the World Championships, didn&rsquo;t. X-rays taken after the season&rsquo;s final game showed Huber had a hairline fracture of the left cheek, an injury he suffered in a late-season game against Winnipeg&hellip;Winger Mark Osborne played in an exhibition game for Team Canada but was returned at the start of the tournament when players from Montreal and Edmonton arrived.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0024-01

Red Wings Awaiting Boost By New Ownership

<div class="byline">BY FRED PIETILA</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0024-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-02406/4556633-1-eng-US/f0024-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Mike Kitchen, who has spent his entire NHL career with Colorado, was named the team&rsquo;s top defenseman and unsung hero.</b></figcaption></div><p>DENVER&mdash;The souvenirs went at a brisk pace all night. So did the Colorado Rockies for that matter.</p><p>But up until April 3, the night the National Hockey League lights went out for probably the last time at McNichols Sports Arena, neither souvenirs nor the Rockies were doing anything at a brisk pace.</p><p>The Rockies, though, ended their sixth&mdash;and probably final season of NHL existence&mdash;with a flourish, contrary to how they had played much of the campaign in stumbling to an 18-49-13 record, again the worst in the league.</p><p>Two nights before the finale, the Rockies were victimized 11-0 in Calgary by a fast-moving Flames&rsquo; team in a game which pretty well epitomized the frustrating season. Don Lever was serving as designated captain for the game but ripped the &ldquo;C&rdquo; off his jersey after a first period in which the Flames zipped to a 6-0 lead with virtually no resistance.</p><p>Yet two nights later, the Rockies turned in one of their, sounder efforts&mdash;with the exception of several errant Joel Quenneville clearing passes, the latter of which led to Calgary&rsquo;s only goal, a 25-footer by Mel Bridgman.</p><p>A crowd of just under 10,000 was on hand for the Rockies&rsquo; swan song and the fans were as enthusiastic as they had been at any time during the team&rsquo;s sordid existence.</p><p>Moments after the game, a 3-1 Colorado victory, there was an air of uncertainty about how to act in the Rockies&rsquo; dressing room. No, not a great deal of emotion because of the possibility of it being the last hockey game in Denver, but just the same nauseous cloud which has hung around this franchise for these long years.</p><p>Players signed team pictures for teammates. If the franchise goes the way of the dinosaur, as it well might, about half the team won&rsquo;t see action in the NHL again.</p><p>Goalie Chico Resch, the team&rsquo;s courageous leader who withered in the late going after playing 61 games, signed a picture for John Wensink and cracked, &ldquo;John, you know you could be the subject of a trivia question down the road: Who scored the last goal for the Rockies?&rdquo;</p><p>Wensink had scored the insurance goal in the Rockies&rsquo; Au Revoir and ironically it was his fourth of the year against Calgary. He totaled only five for the season.</p><p>&ldquo;There&rsquo;ll be a lot of good memories,&rdquo; Resch said after being named the game&rsquo;s No. 1 star for his 29-save effort. &ldquo;In a losing season, that&rsquo;s the big thing&mdash;end it on a winning note. And everybody hung together right down to the end. The fans right up to the end were just great.&rdquo;</p><p>Brent Ashton set up the game-winning goal, scored by Aaron Broten, in the finale and was all over the ice in one of his stronger performances. &ldquo;It was a hard feeling tonight because you don&rsquo;t know what to expect of the future,&rdquo; Ashton said. &ldquo;You want to prove to yourself that you can do something.&rdquo;</p><p>Mike Kitchen, the only survivor of six Rocky hockey seasons, was one of the last to shower after the finale. He sat in front of his dressing stall and stared wide-eyed into space.</p><p>Prior to the game, Kitchen, who started the season in the minors, had been named the team&rsquo;s top defenseman and the team&rsquo;s unsung hero&mdash;both well deserved.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;ll probably hit me more tomorrow that we might never be back,&rdquo; Kitchen said. &ldquo;Tonight we were just going for two points.&rdquo;</p><p>The Rockies got their two points out of the finale, but little else. Now it&rsquo;s a time of anxious waiting before their fate is determined.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0024-02

Rockies End On A High; Future Is Uncertain

<div class="byline">BY BOB FACHET</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0025-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-01465/4556664-1-eng-US/f0025-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Lee Norwood was one of four Capitals to continue playing past the first week of April as he joined Team USA for the World Championships.</b> <span class="photo-credit">(Photo by Bruce Bennett)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><span>L</span>ANDOVER&mdash;To lend greater validity to the club&rsquo;s postseason awards, the Washington Capitals established a special seven-man selection panel representing press, radio, television, management, fans and sponsors. In the case of the Most Valuable Player, however, no ballot was really necessary.</p><p>The unanimous winner was center Dennis Maruk, who finished with 60 goals and 76 assists. Maruk became the seventh 60-goal scorer in National Hockey League history when he netted a pair in Toronto April 3 and his 136 points equalled the eighth highes total in NHL history.</p><p>There was another &lsquo;statistic on Maruk&rsquo;s mind, however. He became the highest scorer not to advance to the playoffs, taking that dubious honor away from Marcel Dionne, who had 121 with Detroit in 1975.</p><p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t even want to think about that,&rdquo; Maruk said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m pleased to get 60 and all those points, but I&rsquo;d give a lot back to get into the playoffs.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s really frustrating. Everybody else is packing their bags to travel to playoff games and we&rsquo;re just putting the gear away. Maybe it&rsquo;s me. It&rsquo;s been this way for seven years now.&rdquo;</p><p>While Washington was missing the playoffs for the eighth straight year, Maruk was coming up empty a seventh time, as a California Seal, Cleveland Baron and Washington Capital.</p><p>Maruk could have packed his bags and joined teammates Rick Green, Ryan Walter and Mike Gartner with Team Canada in Helsinki, but he played the last nine games of the season with a strained right knee and decided not to risk further injury.</p><p>&ldquo;The knee is better, but it&rsquo;s not 100 percent and I don&rsquo;t want to take a chance of serious injury,&rdquo; Maruk said. &ldquo;They have enough players they can choose from. I&rsquo;ve been over there quite a few times.&rdquo;</p><p>Besides the Canadian contingent, defenseman Lee Norwood will play for Team USA. Bobby Carpenter turned down a U.S. invitation because of college commitments at the University of Maryland and winger Bengt Gustafsson rejected a Swedish bid because of his rundown physical condition.</p><p>Carpenter was named the Capitals&rsquo; Rookie of the Year by a 6-1 vote over winger Bobby Gould. Carpenter scored 32 goals and added 35 assists in a most successful leap from American high school competition.</p><p>Gould, obtained from Calgary Nov. 24, was chosen as the team&rsquo;s unsung hero, earning four votes to two for defenseman Terry Murray and one for center Glen Currie. Gould collected 21 goals, 18 in 60 games for Washington, and was a tireless worker on the checking line with Currie and Gaetan Duchesne.</p><p>Green won the Ching Johnson Award for the third straight year as the best defenseman, but he got a battle from Murray, his backline partner, and prevailed by a narrow 4-3 vote.</p><p>In the only major award that was not turned over to the panel, Ryan Walter was selected as the most popular player. Walter, the 1981 MVP, enjoyed his best season with 38 goals and 49 assists, but was overshadowed by Maruk.</p><p>In another change, the awards were presented as the highlight of the Capitals Fan Club&rsquo;s postseason dinner-dance, rather than at the final game, as in the past.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0025-01

Maruk Would Pick Playoffs Over His Personal Records

<div class="byline">BY RANDY SMITH</div><p class="dropcap"><span>H</span>ARTFORD&mdash;Larry Pleau has been given a two-year extension on his contract and a higher salary, but doesn&rsquo;t know if he&rsquo;ll coach the Whalers next year.</p><p>He will decide in the next few weeks, he said, before June 9, the date of the National Hockey League draft.</p><p>&ldquo;Larry&rsquo;s done an outstanding job,&rdquo; said Howard Baldwin, the team&rsquo;s managing general partner who handpicked Pleau for general manager and coach last April even though Pleau had never handled either job. &ldquo;We still have a long way to go to make this a championship team, but Larry and his staff should be given the opportunity and the comfort to know they have time to do it.&rdquo;</p><p>Pleau originally signed a two-year contract, but his new pact will run for the next three seasons. Assistant GM Bob Crocker was also given a two-year extension.</p><p>&ldquo;We took a step forward this year,&rdquo; said Pleau, who guided the Whalers to a 21-41-18 record, the same record the team compiled the year before. &ldquo;We were competitive and we didn&rsquo;t fold. This team showed me quite a bit of character.&rdquo;</p><p>A step forward is just that, but Pleau is not kidding himself.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not making any predictions about next year,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It wouldn&rsquo;t surprise me if we made the playoffs and it wouldn&rsquo;t shock me if we didn&rsquo;t. We&rsquo;re still building. Next year could be just as tough.</p><p>&ldquo;My long-term goal is still the same&mdash;winning the Stanley Cup. Short term, we want to become a. 500 hockey club. If we can play. 500 hockey consistently, that will put us in the top 10.&rdquo;</p><p>Pleau said that he plans &ldquo;three or four moves&rdquo; during the offseason, but nothing drastic.</p><p>That means that Mark Howe, who had but eight goals, yet led the team in assists, is likely to remain in Hartford. Dave Keon and Paul Shmyr, most likely, will retire, but neither has said so. Jack Mcllhargey &ldquo;will be with the organization next season,&rdquo; according to Pleau, but in what capacity remains unclear. Pleau also said that Rick Ley&rsquo;s future role with the team, if any, hasn&rsquo;t been determined.</p><p>&ldquo;We made the team younger this season and next year we&rsquo;ll have to find out just how good our young players are,&rdquo; Pleau said.</p><p>Some names, how about some names?</p><p>&ldquo;We have to find out if Chris Kotso-poulos can play as steady as he did in the second half of the season,&rdquo; Pleau said. &ldquo;We have to find out if Blake Wesley can play consistently. We have to find out if Doug Sulliman is a 25 or 30-goaI scorer. We have to see how much leadership our young guys have.&rdquo;</p><p>Pleau, with his new contract, has been given enough time to learn many of the answers.</p><p><b>WHALER SCUTTLEBUTT</b>&mdash;Blaine Stoughton led the team in goals for the third straight year with 52. He finished as the team&rsquo;s point-leader with 92. In 267 games with the Whalers., Stoughton has scored 160 goals&hellip;Stoughton and Garry Howatt, the club&rsquo;s plus-minus leader, were named co-MVPs in a vote of the players&hellip;Howatt, who set a team record with 242 penalty minutes, also was tabbed as the Unsung Hero&hellip;Kotsopoulos was voted the Budweiser Cup, emblematic of the team&rsquo;s No. 1 defenseman&hellip;Pierre Larouche, who went 25-25-50 in 45 games with Hartford was named Favorite Whaler, both by the Booster Club and by a vote of the fans&hellip;Howe had 45 assists to lead the team, just two more than rookie Ron Francis, who finished with 68 points in 58 games. &ldquo;The only thing that can stop Ronnie Francis is a major injury,&rdquo; Stoughton said. &ldquo;I think the kid is great. He&rsquo;s really the first can&rsquo;t-miss we&rsquo;ve ever drafted.&rdquo;&hellip;The Whalers will pick 14th in the upcoming draft, while the Philadelphia Flyers, with whom the Whalers flip-flopped first-round picks, will make the fourth overall selection, just the choice on which the Whalers tabbed Francis a year ago&hellip;The Whalers allowed 32 fewer goals this year than last, but scored 28 less, finishing with 264, 20th in the league&hellip;After failing to win in 18 games against Adams Division rivals, the Whalers went 5-5-4 in their final 14 Adams Division games.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-01480/4556695-1-eng-US/f0026-012.jpg" title="f0026-01" width="601" height="1001"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>&ldquo;Next year,&rdquo; says Larry Pleau, &ldquo;we&rsquo;ll find out just how good our young players are.&rdquo;</b></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0026-01

Whalers Greet Pleau With Contract Extension

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-02365/4556726-1-eng-US/f0026-022.jpg" title="f0026-02" width="578" height="330"></div><h2>NHL President Bowed To Media Pressure</h2><p class="dropcap"><span>J</span>ohn Ziegler&rsquo;s reaction to, and sentencing of the Mulvey-Perry incident was no doubt an act of self-defense from the pressures of the media, but certainly hypocritical.</p><p>A coach sending one player to protect another is equal to the reaction of a player who decides to strike a referee&hellip;neither action is premeditated. Penalizing a player three games and a coach 15 days is not the answer, merely a reflexive action by a league under pressure, and temporary at best.</p><p>Does the NHL simply ignore the fact that a coach telling a player to fight has been going on since long before Mr. Ziegler was a toddler?</p><p>The fundamental problem obviously exists with the rules of the game and the NHL&rsquo;s true desire to eliminate brawls, (not fights, mind you), from the league. As long as the rules remain unchanged, &ldquo;incidents&rdquo; such as &lsquo;Holmgren&rsquo;, &lsquo;Mann&rsquo; and &lsquo;Mulvey&rsquo; affairs will continue.</p><p>Lessening the opportunity for a third-man in situation by sending players to neutral ice has helped in some pro leagues. The NHL can eliminate the majority of bench-clearers, but only through consistency in the rules and penalties.</p><p>The NHL board of governors must decide whether or not they truly wish to end brawling. And if they do, they&rsquo;d better make some drastic changes&hellip;Let&rsquo;s just hope they&rsquo;re consistent.</p><p><b>MEL EPSTEIN</b>,<br>Cherry Hill, NJ</p><h2>NHL Refs, Linsemen Should Be Recognized</h2><p>I would like to see the names of the referees and linesmen included in the game summaries in THE HOCKEY NEWS. There are three reasons for the suggestion. It would give us an indication of which referees are doing their job. We would soon learn if certain teams keep getting the younger referees a majority of the time. The final, and to me the most important, reason is to give the linesmen the overdue recognition that they deserve.</p><p>In addition, it would be a splendid idea to include profiles of on ice officials once or twice a month. They do an extremely important and difficult job and have earned the space in print many times over. A secondary reason is that I am sick of reading how great Gretzky is.</p><p><b>MICHAEL PELL</b>,<br>Los Angeles, CA</p><h2>Dallas Would Make Ideal NHL Franchise</h2><p>Reports abound in THE HOCKEY NEWS, that one NHL franchise or another may seek greener pastures in a new city.</p><p>When it is reported, every once in awhile, Dallas, Texas is mentioned as a possible site for the franchise move. Such a possibility is normally met by sentiments opposing such a move expressed by a number of columnists. Yet, I believe that the owners of NHL franchises should take a second look at the possibility of locating a team in this Texas city.</p><p>When I first arrived in Dallas five years ago, to say that the media did not cover hockey would have been a gross understatement. Hockey was clearly not even recognized as a legitimate sport. However, within the last year, there has been a media acceptance of hockey.</p><p>A few months back The Dallas <i>Morning News</i> expanded its sports coverage. For the first time they began to actually carry full box scores of hockey games. Not only that, but each box score is now introduced by a paragraph noting the highlights of the game. Prior to this innovation, all we got were the standings and perhaps the scores of the games played the night before.</p><p>Another innovation has been featured articles on hockey. Of particular note is the article that appeared on page 1 of the paper&rsquo;s sports section on Feb. 27, 1982. This article was a feature on Dallas Black Hawks&rsquo; coach Danny Belisle. The article ran 78 column inches and included two photos of Belisle, one in color.</p><p>It is this type of media acceptance which can make a sport succeed in any city. When the North American Soccer league was in its infancy, the New York <i>Daily News ran</i> featured articles on the players and on the sport. They particularly noted the basics of the game, explaining to the general public exactly what the rules were. We all know that soccer is quite accepted in New York and draws extensively in the Meadowlands.</p><p>The question still remains, &ldquo;Is there a market in Dallas for hockey?&rdquo; A look at some of the basic statistics will show that there is a sports market in Dallas and that this market can be tapped for major league hockey.</p><p>I wish to note that on Dec. 14,1980, at Reunion Arena, in beautiful downtown Dallas, an NASL indoor soccer game drew 3,126 individuals. At the exact same time in Fair Park Coliseum in one of the more depressed areas of Dallas, 3,226 individuals came out to watch a minor league hockey game. That same evening, 1,683 people were watching a Southern Methodist University basketball game on their campus. That afternoon 19,254 people had turned out to watch a high school football game in Texas Stadium.</p><p>Other statistics show that there is a diversified market for sports in Dallas. On April 19, 1981, 2,736 people attended the minor league hockey game at Fair Park while 10,181 people were at Texas Stadium watching the New York Cosmos play the Dallas Tornado. At the same time, 7,886 people journeyed to Southern Methodist University to watch the Dallas Diamonds Women&rsquo;s Basketball team. A total of 20,803 people at sporting events on a rainy night. You can also add to the statistics the fact that on that afternoon 23,744 people had seen the New York Yankees play the Texas Rangers in Arlington.</p><p>The fact is that there is a market to be tapped and that hockey has become accepted as a major sport in Texas by the media (even the Southern Methodist University Hockey Club gets coverage in the local papers on occasion) is a sufficient catalyst for the NHL owners to take a second look at Dallas.</p><p><b>EUGENE FLYNN</b><br>Dallas, TX</p><h2>Sittler Picked Flyers As His New NHL Team</h2><p>In reply to Stan Fischler&rsquo;s reference to Darryl Sittier&rsquo;s thinking ability in wanting to play for the Flyers, I can surely understand why Sittler would want to play for the best organization in hockey, the Flyers.</p><p>Methinks the real reason for Fischler&rsquo;s distress is that Sittler didn&rsquo;t choose Fischler&rsquo;s favorites, the Islanders. Of course, one look at that organization with all its impending contract disputes could turn a lot of players off, as well as the shabby way they have discarded some of their past heroes.&rsquo;</p><p>Sittler&rsquo;s addition to the Flyers&rsquo; roster certainly doesn&rsquo;t assure them of anything, but I believe it will make things a lot hotter for the opposition; the Islanders in particular.</p><p>Fischler could do us all a great service if he would at least camouflage his obvious preferences.</p><p><b>DAVID ROTHSTEIN</b><br>Levittown, PA</p><h2>Hockey Fights Good Release For Players</h2><p>This is one long time hockey fan who is sick and tired of hearing about all the fighting in hockey. I say if the players want to let off some steam, let them.</p><p>Hockey is a rough contact sport, not for &ldquo;sissy&rdquo; players or fans. As long as there is a high stick in a check, even accidently, there will be fights.</p><p>Fighting is good as a release valve, for a fast contact sport. It is a part of the sport, it always has been, for me it adds to the sport, <i>not</i> detracts from it. If two healthy young players want to release some of their adrenalin by fighting, I say OK, then sit out five minutes, which is enough of a penalty. Very seldom does an injury occur from fighting. It&rsquo;s the high sticking and other cheap shots that cause the injuries. Let&rsquo;s back increasing penalties for these, not the all-American clean hockey fist fight!</p><p><b>DAVID SCHMIDT</b>,<br>Los Angeles, CA</p><h2>Mooney Out Of Line Rapping NHL Franchise</h2><p>I was very angry at the comments made recently by Paul Mooney, owner of the Boston Bruins. Mooney sugges-ted that the NHL kick several franchises out of the league. Included on his list of teams to be ejected was the Washington Capitals.</p><p>It is obvious that the Caps and owner Abe Pollin do indeed have financial difficulties. However, it must be remembered that the Caps are finishing out of the playoffs for the eighth straight year. Still, the team has drawn over 11,000 fans per game over the past several years. Obviously, this represents core support that will grow significantly when the Caps finally become a contender (or at least achieve mediocrity). Indeed, an average of 16,000 or better is not improbable (the Capital Center fits over 18,000). The potential of the Washington market remains among the best in the league. If not for Pollin, then for some other owner.</p><p>I don&rsquo;t have the current attendance totals in front of me but I am willing to bet that the Bruins, with the fourth best record in hockey, are not averaging that much more than the lowly Caps. Furthermore, given the puny arena in which the Bruins play (Boston Garden, capacity 14,673), I would say that the financial potential of the Caps is much better. If any NHL franchises are to be jettisoned, perhaps Mooney&rsquo;s Bruins should be a prime candidate.</p><p>I also noted that Mooney included the Hartford Whalers on his hit list. Can it be that Mooney and the Bruins can&rsquo;t stand the competition in the New England market?</p><p><b>JOE DALY</b>,<br>Annandale, VA</p><p><i>(EDITOR&rsquo;S NOTE: The Bruins averaged 12,024 as compared to 11,407 for the Caps this season.)</i><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0026-02

FAN FORUM

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-03209/4556795-1-eng-US/f0027-032.jpg" title="f0027-03" width="597" height="1010"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Much-travelled Mike Kazszycki of Now Brunswick won the AHL scoring title with 118 points.</b> <span class="photo-credit">(Photo by Bruce Bennett)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><span>S</span>PRINGFIELD&mdash;Mike Kaszycki, who has been riding hockey&rsquo;s merrygo-round for the past five years (Fort Worth, Rochester, the Islanders, Washington, Toronto, Dallas and now New Brunswick) is the 1981-82 scoring champion of the American Hockey League with a near-record 118 points.</p><p>Kaszycki, who had 36 goals and a league-leading 82 assists, played the entire 80-game schedule for New Brunswick this season and missed tieing the AHL record for most points in one year by a margin of one. The all-time mark is 119 held by George (Red) Sullivan and set in 1953-54. Kaszycki is the first AHLer to reach the 118-point plateau since Carl Liscombe did it in 1947-48.</p><p>While Kaszycki missed the record, Binghamton rookie Bobby Sullivan managed to crack the record book in two categories. Sullivan laid claim to new marks for most goals scored by a rookie in one season and he also strung together a 28-game point-scoring streak that shattered the old record by four games. Sullivan scored 47 goals in 74 games for the Whalers.</p><p>Top goal scoring honors went to Fredericton&rsquo;s sharpshooting Richard David, who hit for 51 in 74 games. Gordie Clark of Maine was second to David with 50. They were the first two 50-goal scorers in the AHL since the 1973-74 season.</p><p>New Brunswick&rsquo;s goalkeeping tandem of Bob Janecyk and Warren Skorodenski limited opponents to 227 goals and captured the Harry (Hap) Holmes Trophy for the best netminding job of the season. Both finished with averages under two goals per game. Janecyk had a 2.85 average in 53 games while Skorodenski ended up with the best overall average in the league with 2.55 in 28 games. Janecyk also lead the AHL in wins with 32.</p><p>Dave Allison of Nova Scotia was the league&rsquo;s &lsquo;bad man&rsquo; with a leading 327 penalty minutes. Included in Allison&rsquo;s penalty box time was 15 misconducts.</p><p>Other AHL leaders included David with 25 power play goals, which was also a new league record; Dan Daoust of Nova Scotia and Adirondack&rsquo;s Dennis Polonich, each with five shorthanded goals; Dan Bolduc of Nova Scotia, most winning goals, nine; and Skorodenski and Gary Bromley of New Haven, each with three shutouts.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0027-03

Kaszycki AHL Scoring Champ Despite Missing Point Mark

<div class="byline">BY PATRICK LYON</div><p><b>HSB Louisville Hockey</b></p><p>GLENS FALLS&mdash;The race for the Calder Cup was just underway when this issue went to press as the eight quarterfinalists started their best of five series.</p><p>The AHL&rsquo;s &ldquo;second season&rdquo; began with some interesting matchups: Maine vs. Nova Scotia, New Brunswick taking on Adirondack, Binghamton testing Hershey and Rochester meeting New Haven.</p><p><b>ADIRONDACK VS. NEW BRUNSWICK</b>&mdash;The Red Wings faced the formidable task of trying to get past a New Brunswick squad that had the best record in the AHL while racking up a team record of 107 points.</p><p>Adirondach coach Doug McKay and his club fared quite well in the opening game at Moncton as they began defense of their Calder Cup title by shocking the Hawks 3-1 before a crowd of 4,255.</p><p>Goalie Larry Lozinski, who was one of the most worked goaltenders this year with appearances in 55 regular season games, stopped 29 shots by New Brunswick while yielding just a single power play goal by Dave Far-rish.</p><p>Mark Lofthouse, Neil Meadmore and Don Murdoch had goals for the Red Wings while Rich Shinske passed off for two assists.</p><p>Adirondack moved over to the Northern Division for the playofs after they finished one point behind fourth place Hershey in the South. Both the Red Wings and Hawks have made the playoffs in each year of their existence with the Hawks appearing in all four of their AHL seasons and the Red Wings making the playoff grade for three straight years. The Red Wings were hoping to avenge a quarterfinal playoff loss they suffered to New Brunswick in 1978-79.</p><p>Kaszycki was one of the few players to compete in every regular season game as he claimed the John B. Sollenberger Trophy with 36 goals and 82 assists. New Brunswick goaltenders Bob Janecyk and Warren Skorodenski also captured the Harry Holmes Trophy as they limited Hawks opponents to just 227 goals all season.</p><p>Lozinski closed out the regular season on a high note as he recorded his first shutout of the season while stopping all 28 shots in a 3-0 victory over Rochester.</p><p><b>NOVA SCOTIA VS. MAINE</b>&mdash;The Voyageurs stole the home ice advantage in Game One when they surprised the Mariners 7-6 in Portland.</p><p>The start of the series was delayed one day because of an early spring snowstorm, but that didn&rsquo;t hinder the Vees, who rallied from a 6-5 deficit in the third period to score their 61st playoff win in their history.</p><p>Wayne Thompson hit for two goals, including the game winner at 4:03 of the third period, while Gordie Clark and Mark Taylor both had two goals in a losing cause for the Mariners.</p><p>With former Maine coach Bob McCammon calling the shots for the Philadelphia Flyers, the quest for the AHL championship was put on the shoulders of interim coach Jerry Melnyk.</p><p>Melnyk prepped for Maine&rsquo;s playoff appearance by guiding the squad through the final five games of the regular season where he showed a record of 4-1.</p><p>Rejoining Maine prior to the start of the playoffs was ex-Mariner Bernie Johnston, a member of two Calder Cup championship clubs while playing in. Portland. The center-left wing had been playing in Switzerland before signing an amateur tryout and returned to Portland just in time to see Gordie Clark break his record for total points and Wayne Schaab his mark for assists.</p><p>Clark concluded the regular season with his best year ever while becoming the first Mariner to score 100 points (he finished with 101) and 50 goals. The AHL veteran earned his 50th goal of the season on a shorthanded penalty shot as he scored Maine&rsquo;s first and last goal of the campaign.</p><p>Joining Clark in claiming best individual seasons were Schaab, who ended with 96 points, and Paul Evans with 90 points. Mark Taylor also added 80 points.</p><p>The Mariners were concerned that the loss of Bob Froese (fractured neck) would hurt in the nets, but they were prepared to go with Sam St. Laurent and rookie Bill Provencher, a native of Lewiston, Maine. Last year&rsquo;s AHL MVP Pelle Lindbergh was also on the playoff roster though he was with the Flyers.</p><p>Both Maine and Nova Scotia have never missed the playoffs in their histories with the Mariners making the grade five straight years and the Voyageurs in 13 consecutive seasons.</p><p>The Vees closed their regular season with two wins over Fredericton, including a 9-2 romp on the road which featured four goals by Dan Daoust. Larry Landon also had a six-point&mdash;night with a goal and five assists. Dan Bolduc had two goals in a 4-1 home finale which marked his last regular season game after he had announced his retirement.</p><p><b>BINGHAMTON VS. HERSHEY</b>&mdash;A 43-shot attack propelled the Whalers to a 6-4 triumph over the Bears in their first playoff meeting in Binghamton.</p><p>Paul Messier keyed the win with two goals and two assists with Randy MacGregor also adding two goals. Don Gillen and Ray Neufeld had the other Whaler goals. Goalie Ken Holland posted his first win since his return from the injured list as he handled the Bears while still wearing a knee brace.</p><p>Making their 39th appearance in the playoffs, Hershey received goals from Larry Skinner, Ed Godin, Lou Fran-ceschetti and Wes Jarvis. Rollie Boutin kicked out 37 Whaler shots.</p><p>Binghamton held their awards day on the final home date of the season and Bob Sullivan helped steal the show. Sullivan earned a plaque from the club for his 28 game scoring streak during the season and also grabbed the Three Star Award by a single point. Sullivan shared the overall Most Valuable Player on the club with Holland.</p><p>Other winners were Stewart Smith (Seventh Player Award) and Norm Barnes (Fans Favorite Whaler). Binghamton also gave the Ryan family their Super Fan Award. The fans showed their appreciation to Randy MacGregor with a long standing ovation when he accepted a proclamation from the county executive. MacGregor has been associated with Binghamton hockey since the 1973-74 season when they were in the North American Hockey League.</p><p>Binghamton saw their 19-game home unbeaten streak (17-0-2) ended in the final week of the campaign, but Sullivan made them forget that when he established a new Whaler scoring record with 90 points. Sullivan earlier established a new AHL mark for most goals by a rookie with 47.</p><p>Wes Jarvis claimed a new consecutive scoring record of 20 games in Hershey&rsquo;s final contest of the regular season. Jarvis had 19 goals and 24 assists for 43 points while wiping out the record of 19 games shared by Tony McKegney and Tim Tookey.</p><p>Jarvis received the Most Valuable Player Award while veteran Jean Pronovost finished second, Ed Godin was given the Hershey booster club&rsquo;s &ldquo;unsung hero&rdquo; award while Jarvis also captured the Bruce Draper Memorial Trophy for leading the club in scoring with 92 points in 56 games.</p><p><b>ROCHESTER VS. NEW HAVEN</b>&mdash;The Americans are certainly glad to have rookie center Larry Floyd aboard for the playoffs.</p><p>Floyd, who had played in only three pro games since joining the Amerks from the Peterborough Petes in the Ontario Hockey League, had two game-winning goals to push Rochester to a two games to none lead over the Nighthawks.</p><p>In Game One the Americans earned a 4-3 come from behind victory with the 21-year-old first year pro credited with the game winner.</p><p>New Haven raced to a 3-1 advantage on two goals by Jim Mayer and a single lamplighter by Dean Jenkins before the Americans began their comeback. Steve Patrick pushed in Rochester&rsquo;s first goal and was followed by scores by Dave Gorman, Randy Cunneyworth and Floyd&rsquo;s third period decider.</p><p>Floyd ended a marathon contest in Game Two when he cruised in on a breakaway after getting <i>a pass</i> from Chuck Luksa and scored for an 8-7 victory with just 19 seconds left in the second overtime.</p><p>Chris Langevin paced the Amerks with two goals and two assists and goalie Tim Bernhardt made 58 saves in the game. New Haven outshot Rochester 27-12 in the two overtimes, but failed to come up with the victory.</p><h2>AHL NOTEBOOK:</h2><p><b>SPRINGFIELD</b>&mdash;Though the Indians failed to make the playoffs, they did close the season on a high note with wins over Maine and Binghamton in the final two games of the year.</p><p>Pat Conacher, Claude Larose and Bob Bedier all had two goals in a 7-3 win over Maine and the Indians also ambushed Binghamton 6-1.</p><p><b>FREDERICTON</b>&mdash;The Express closed out their first season in the AHL with a pair of losses to rival Nova Scotia 9-2 and 4-1. The 9-2 setback came before another sellout of 3,458 at the Aitken Center.</p><p>Though the club ended with AHL records for least wins and most losses, the Express was looking forward to much better times next season.</p><p>The team did have things to brag about, including their numerous sellouts and a 50-goal scorer in Richard David.</p><p><b>ERIE</b>&mdash;The future of hockey in Erie was also unknown when this issue went to press since the parent Pittsburgh Penguins were discussing plans on shifting the franchise. Baltimore appeared to be the frontrunning city.</p><p>The Blades ended the season with a 6-3 home loss to Hershey and a 7-6 overtime setback in Rochester with Erie ending the campaign with nine straight losses. Erie set a new AHL record by allowing 425 goals and also bettered the mark for losses with 51, least wins, 23, and least amount of points, 50.</p><p>The Blades played with a full complement of 19 players for only 21 games of the 80 game season.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-01462/4556764-1-eng-US/f0027-012.jpg" title="f0027-01" width="606" height="822"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Larry Floyd came from junior hockey to the Americans in time to score two game-winners.</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-02318/4556757-1-eng-US/f0027-022.jpg" title="f0027-02" width="607" height="775"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Nova Scotia veteran Dan Bolduc is in his last playoffs after announcing his retirement.</b></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0027-01

Adirondack Faced Formidable Playoff Task

<div class="byline">BY TOM LOBAUGH</div><p><b>HSB Louisville Hockey</b></p><p>INDIANAPOLIS&mdash;Brilliant rookie goaltender Kelly Hrudey was the key as the Checkers swept their quarterfinal playoff series against Tulsa. The 22-year-old from Edmonton, a graduate of the junior Medicine Hat Tigers, gave up only one even-strength goal in 205 minutes of playoff action.</p><p>Hrudey and his backup, Rob Holland, had already been named to receive the CHL&rsquo;s Terry Sawchuk Award as goalies for the team which allowed the fewest goals in the regular season. The Checkers yielded only 259 goals in 80 games, 30 less than the closest rival, Wichita. Hrudey had a 2.95 average for the regular season, while Holland was at 3.45.</p><p>Hrudey posted a shutout in the series opener at Indy&rsquo;s State Fair Coliseum, while his mates romped to a 7-0 decision. The second game, in the same rink, went into the second overtime period before Red Laurence won it after five minutes and eight seconds.</p><p>Switching to Tulsa&rsquo;s Assembly Center two nights later, the Checkers scored three goals in the first nine minutes and wrapped up the series with a 6-1 romp. Under the playoff format announced by the league, Tulsa was to have had home ice advantage, but the Oilers had to open on the road because their rink was occupied.</p><p>Defenseman Kelly Davis scored twice in the opener. Kevin Devine got what proved to be the winning goal at 4:54 of the first period, Glen Duncan scored a minute later, and Garth MacGuigan made it 3-0 late in the first. The Checkers got second-period tallies from Mats Hallin (on a power play), Mike Hordy and Davis, with Davis getting his second goal 13 seconds before the game ended.</p><p>Markus Mattsson was the victim in the Tulsa nets. Yves Dechene started the second game against Hrudey. After a scoreless first period, Duncan counted on a Checker power play, and Lome Stamler made it 2-0 midway in the second.</p><p>Tulsa tied it up with two power play goals. Ron Wilson scored just 46 seconds into the third period. Dechene was lifted on a power play for a two-man advantage with 35 seconds left in regulation, and Mark Plantery got the equalizer with 11 seconds on the clock. After 20 minutes of scoreless overtime, Laurence won it with a slapshot from just inside the blueline at 5:08 of the second extra period.</p><p>The series finale was decided early. Bruce Affleck scored at 5:03 of the first period, Steve Stoyanovich at 6:33, and Stamler at 8:51. Oiler Danny Geoffrion spoiled Hrudey&rsquo;s bid for another shutout at 17:13 of the first, but the Oilers were through with their scoring for the series. In the third period Checker Darcy Regier scored on a long slapshot and set up two goals by Frank Beaton.</p><p>The Oilers were hurt on defense by Winnipeg&rsquo;s recall of Moe Mantha and a back injury to Don Maclver. Maclver, who had missed 12 of the last 14 games, played in the series opener, but injured a shoulder and sat out the second game. Ross Cory suffered rib bruises in that game. Forwards Kris Manery and Rick Bowness had to take turns on defense. In the final game left wing John Bethel suffered a separated shoulder.</p><p>Hallin suffered a hip bruise in Game Two for Indy, and Bruce Andres rejoined the Checkers. He had finished the season with Muskegon in the International League.</p><p>Hrudey&rsquo;s stingy 0.88 playoff average led the playoff goalies.</p><p><b>WICHITA-NASHVILLE</b>&mdash;The Wind swept its opening series by beating the South Stars, 3-2 and 4-2 at home, plus 4-1 in Nashville. Wichita goalie Andy Moog, working all three games, had a 1.67 average yield.</p><p>Lance Nethery and Greg Hubick in the first period and Ray Cote in the second gave Wichita a 3-0 lead in the opening game. Dan Poulin and newcomer Kevin Hartzel narrowed the deficit for Nashville in the middle period, but the third was scoreless.</p><p>Brad Knelson had two Wichita goals in the second game. He and Peter Sullivan moved the Wind ahead in the first period, but were matched by newcomer Ron Hansis and Poulin for the South Stars. Rick Blight scored the winner for the Wind, with Knelson adding insurance. Peter Hayek of Nashville had the only goal of the first period in Game Three, but Sullivan and Todd Bidner put the Wind on top in the second, Cote and Ed Cooper scored in the third.</p><p>Nashville, which had aimed for 110,000 in attendance for its first CHL season, reported a final total of 111,053, or an average of 2,776 per game.</p><p><b>SALT LAKE-OKLAHOMA CITY</b>&mdash;After splitting two games in Salt Lake City, the series moved to Oklahoma City for the last three games, if needed, but the Golden Eagles moved ahead with a 5-3 decision. Salt Lake had won the opener, 8-2, but the Stars came back with a 5-4 nod in the second.</p><p>The only casualty of the first three games was OC trainer Al Bryant, who broke one finger and sprained another in Game Two at the Salt Palace. Al was closing the gate to his players&rsquo; bench when a pileup of players crashed into the gate.</p><p>Salt Lake&rsquo;s Alain Lemieux led all playoff scorers with seven points (five goals, two assists), while teammate Bobby Crawford had six points, tied with Kelly Kisio and Drew Callander of Dallas.</p><p>Lemieux had the hat trick in the opening rout, scoring twice in the second period and again in the third. Eagle Neil. Labatte had the only goal in the first, but Bert Wilson and Doug Palazzari joined Lemieux in making it 5-0 after the second. Mike Prestidge and Bobby Francis broke Paul Skidmore&rsquo;s shutout bid, scoring around Lemieux&rsquo;s third goal in the last period, but Crawford and John Markell added Eagle goals.</p><p>Lemieux had two more goals in Game Two. His first was answered by Carl Mokosak in the first period. Rick Vasko, Prestidge and Bruce Eakin scored for the Stars in the second, before Crawford narrowed the gap to 4-2. Tim Harrer got the last OC goal, but Lemieux and Crawford each scored again for Salt Lake, making it a nailbiter for the last seven minutes.</p><p>Bert Wilson scored for the Eagles just 21 seconds into Game Three, but Harrer matched that with a power play goal for OC. Labatte and Palazzari moved Salt Lake in front again, but Greg Meredith and Alex McKendry (on another power play) tied the score at 3-3 after one period. Crawford&rsquo;s power goal 36 seconds into the middle period proved to be the winner.</p><p>Skidmore was in the Eagle nets for every game. Hardy Astrom played the first game for OC, Paul Fricker the next two, with Astrom relieving for the last two minutes of the third period. (The warmup for Astrom, in effect, gave the Stars a time out to catch their breath.)</p><p>The parent Calgary Flames returned defenseman Pat Ribble to the Stars, who also brought in goalie Mike Vernon from the Calgary Wranglers, voted the Most Valuable Player in the Western League.</p><p>Salt Lake wound up the regular season with its third straight recordsetting attendance total. The Golden Eagles attracted a total of 278,454, an average of 6,961, compared to last season&rsquo;s 232,127 (an average of 5,803).</p><p><b>DALLAS-CINCINNATI</b>&mdash;The Black Hawks and Tigers broke the CHL single-game penalty record by totaling 291 minutes in a fight-plagued 8-3 Cincinnati home victory. That squared the series, as Dallas had won the opener in Riverfront Coliseum, 5-1. Back home in Dallas, the Hawks took the series lead with an overtime 3-2 decision.</p><p>Paul Marshall, in the first period, got the only Tiger tally off Ken Ella-cott in Game One. Kelly Kisio had two goals for Dallas, tying the game in the middle period, then joining Art Rutland, Kelly Elcombe and Rob Tudor in a four-goal explosion in the third. Ellacott worked all three games, as backup Dallas goalie Frank Caprice fractured a hip in practice. Hawk defender Neil Nicholson pulled a groin muscle, also in a workout.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-01454/4556826-1-eng-US/f0028-012.jpg" title="f0028-01" width="608" height="779"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Reggie Thomas was one of three Cincy players to score two goals in an 8-3 win.</b></figcaption></div><p>In the second game, Ron Sedlbauer, Bruce Boudreau and Reg Thomas each scored twice for Cincy, with Marshall and Frank Nigro also getting into the act. It was 1-1 after a period, with Jerry Butler scoring for Dallas on a penalty shot, after he was hauled down from behind on a breakaway. Five goals in the second period settled the issue, although Jim MacRae also had two Hawk goals in that stanza. Dallas drew 154 penalty-minutes in that game, Cincinnati 137.</p><p>Bob Parent was the Tiger goalie for the first two games. Curt Ridley got the call in Game Three. Dallas jumped ahead on power play goals in the first period by MacRae and Brian Johnson. Benoit Laporte and Ernie Godden tied it for Cincy in the second. Following a scoreless third period, Rory Cava won it for Dallas after 2:35 of overtime.</p><p>Cincinnati brought in junior defenseman Craig Muni from Kingston, and coach Doug Carpenter was giving the youngster a lot of ice time. Slava Duris remained on the Tigers&rsquo; injured list, but Brian McCafferty was back after missing 11 games.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0028-01

Indy, Wichita Sweep In First Round With Aid From Goalies Hrudey, Moog

<p>TORONTO&mdash;Stan Obodiac, public relations director of the Toronto Maple Leafs, hopes he is living proof that cancer can be beaten.</p><p>The likeable 60-year-old Obodiac returned to his desk at Maple Leaf Gardens after 33 days in the hospital, where doctors told him he had only six months to live.</p><p>Obodiac is so grateful that he has managed to &ldquo;conquer&rdquo; the dreaded disease that he&rsquo;d like to find 50 volunteers like himself who would be prepared to visit people afflicted with cancer.</p><p>&ldquo;My life was saved to accomplish something,&rdquo; said Obodiac. &ldquo;1 had just two quarts of blood left in me when they tested me. The normal man has six. My nails would break, my legs were wobbly, I was pale and always short of breath.&rdquo;</p><p>Obodiac thought he was suffering from an ulcer or anemia or just general fatigue from his seven-days-a-week work schedule. After two weeks of probing, Dr. Carl Dottel, chief of hemotology at Toronto&rsquo;s Wellesley Hospital, told the Leafs&rsquo; publicist that, &ldquo;we have the biopsy report. You have cancer of the colon.&rdquo;</p><p>Obodiac became one of 29,120 Ontario residents struck by cancer each year. He also became one in three urban Canadians who has cancer sometime in his life.</p><p>&ldquo;I felt no fear,&rdquo; said Obodiac. &ldquo;1 put myself in the hands of God and the surgeons. Hundreds of friends prayed for me. Even Cardinal Carter [Cardinal Emmett Carter of Toronto] prayed for me at the cathedral. All of them helped impart to me the energy of life.&rdquo;</p><p>Obodiac said he would like to start an organization that would be called Canadian Conquerors of Cancer. It would do work similar to the new Can Surmount group of the Canadian Cancer Society.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not being arrogant about that word &lsquo;conquered,&rsquo; said Obodiac. &ldquo;Cancer is present in us all. It only erupts because of some malfunction in the body.&rdquo;</p><p>Meanwhile, Obodiac has returned to Maple Leaf Gardens to resume his duties and take his place alongside the Leafs&rsquo; aging hierarchy of Harold Ballard, 77, and King Clancy, 78.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-02324/4556857-1-eng-US/f0028-022.jpg" title="f0028-02" width="589" height="861"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Toronto Leafs&rsquo; publicity director Stan Obodiac is back at his desk after a 33-day ordeal with cancer.</b></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0028-02

Maple Leafs’ Publicist Fights Back From Cancer

<div class="byline">BY BUD GALLMEIER</div><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>OLEDO&mdash;The Goaldiggers may not achieve the ultimate this season, winning the Turner Cup playoff championship. But the team has already achieved a mark of distinction which will glow brightly in the record book for years to come.</p><p>This is a team which literally rose from the dead to sit at the head of the class. A year ago the franchise was all but done. The team finished last in an eight-team circuit and there appeared there would be no tomorrow. The best future was that the franchise would be placed in escrow. But that loomed only as wishful thinking. Most observers felt the franchise was dead.</p><p>But Bill Beagan, who was most familiar with the Toledo hockey picture because of his previous service as IHL commissioner, had faith in the franchise and led a drive to keep it breathing. The drive was successful. In addition, Beagan and manager-coach Bill Inglis put together one of the best teams in the history of the league.</p><p>Toledo won a record number of 53 games, breaking the previous record of 52 established by the Kalamazoo K-Wings last season. The Diggers compiled a 53-25-4 record to outdistance runner-up Milwaukee by 20 points.</p><p>Featuring four players with 100 points or more, Toledo also set a league record by scoring 407 goals during the season. The previous standard was 393, set by Port Huron during the 1978-79 season. Rookie Scott Howson led the Diggers in scoring with 120 points. He was runner-up for league honors to Kalamazoo&rsquo;s Brent Jarrett, who finished with 124. Other Diggers to break the 100-point barrier were Bill Joyce (another rookie) with 112, Dirk Graham with 105 and Gordie MacFarlane with 102. Graham and MacFarlanes are holdovers from last season&rsquo;s last-place club.</p><p>The Diggers had perfect balance as they also featured the league&rsquo;s best defense. Goalies Lome Molleken and Dave Tardich combined for a 3.90 goals-against average to win the Norris Trophy.</p><p>This is the first time Toledo has won the league championship since the 1963-64 season. That year Toledo also won the Turner Cup.</p><p>The Diggers took on sixth-place Flint in the opening round and figured to be heavy favorites, especially with the first three games of the best-of-seven series being played in Toledo. The Generals, though, were led by crafty Ted Garvin who has brought teams to four Turner Cup Championships even though he&rsquo;s never had a team in first place at the end of the regular season. Garvin&rsquo;s first Turner Cup team came in Port Huron. And that team has a common bond with Garvin&rsquo;s Flint unit. Port Huron launched its playoff bid from sixth place also.</p><p>Defending Turner Cup champion Saginaw launched its playoff bid against runner-up Milwaukee. And the Gears figured to have momentum on their side.</p><p>Saginaw closed out its season with a 10-3 romp over the Admirals, in Saginaw. Milwaukee, though, had the home-ice advantage for the playoffs.</p><p>The Gears are just a skeleton of the team which won it all last year, upsetting league champion Kalamazoo in the finals. There are only six players on the current Gear roster who were part of the championship unit. They are manager-coach Marcel Comeau, Gordie Brooks, Don Waddell, Mike Hartman, Mike Brisebois and Claude Larochelle.</p><p>Milwaukee finished second to Toledo with a 41-34-7 record and also was second in goals scored with 385. Saginaw came in fifth with a 36-38-8 log.</p><p>Kalamazoo, the third-place finisher, was matched with fourth-placed Fort Wayne in the third first-round series. The K-Wings had a big edge on the Komets during the regular season, winning eight while losing just three and tying three. The Komets failed to win once in Wings Stadium.</p><p>However, in the last three meetings of the season the Komets won two and tied one. They hoped the pattern had reversed.</p><p>Kalamazoo posted a 41-36-5 record during the season while the Komets finished 35-41-6. Fort Wayne had one of the league&rsquo;s best records down the stretch: 9-4-1 over the last 14 games.</p><p>Sparking the late surge was veteran Barry Scully, who scored no less than 14 goals in the final eight games to win the goal-scoring title again with 60 goals. Scully had three hat tricks in the final spurt, including one in the season&rsquo;s finale.</p><p>Scully has now scored 60 or more goals in the last three seasons and has scored a total of 273 in five seasons for an average over 54 a year.</p><p>The Komets have also beefed up their defense with the recent play of 19-year-old goalie Dan Sanscartier. Sanscartier was pressed into service for the final four games when a lingering back injury put veteran Jim Park on the bench. Sanscartier posted three wins and a tie. One of the victories was a shutout.</p><p>Survivors of the first round were to play a home-and-home round robin with the two teams with the most points then playing a seven-game series for the championship.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-01396/4556895-1-eng-US/f0029-012.jpg" title="f0029-01" width="596" height="872"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Lome Molleken shared Toledo&rsquo;s league-leading goaltending duties with Dave Tardich.</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-02289/4556888-1-eng-US/f0029-022.jpg" title="f0029-02" width="601" height="857"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Player/coach Marcel Comeau led Saginaw&rsquo;s defense of the IHL&rsquo;s Turner Cup championship.</b></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0029-01

Regardless Of Playoffs, Toledo’s Year Superb

<div class="byline">BY MIKE BROPHY</div><p><b>Louisville Hockey</b></p><p>TORONTO&mdash;The Emms division dominated selections for the Ontario Hockey League&rsquo;s first All Star team but Moe Lemay of the Leyden division&rsquo;s Ottawa 67&rsquo;s was the only unanimous choice.</p><p>Lemay, who starred with Team Canada which won the World Junior Championship in January and also saw duty with the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League, was the only player in the league to receive first place votes from every coach.</p><p>Coaches voted for the All Stars with five points going for a first place vote; three points to a second place vote and one to a third place vote.</p><p>After a very successful season playing on one of the league&rsquo;s top lines with Jeff Vaive at center and either Fraser Wood or Don McLaren on the right side, Lemay is now helping his team try to gain a berth in the OHL finals against the winner of the Kitchener Rangers and Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds series.</p><p>The only other member of the Leyden division to join Lemay on the first team was his coach Brian Kilrea. The likeable Ottawa mentor received 59 points. Terry Crisp of the Soo was next with 21.</p><p>Some say that the OHL was the weakest is has been in years because many of its top players were playing as underage professionals in the NHL but you would never know it by looking at the three All Star teams.</p><p>Joining Lemay on the first team were defenseman Allan Maclnnis and right winger Brian Bellows of Kitchener; blueliner Ron Meighan of the Niagara Fails Flyers; center Dave Simpson of the London Knights and goalie Marc D&rsquo;Amour of Sault Ste. Marie.</p><p>D&rsquo;Amour, who rejoined the Soo as an overage goalie, posted the best goals-against average of regular goalies in the OHL at 3.27 and held the team together in midseason when four players were called up to NHL teams.</p><p>Simpson was the league&rsquo;s top point getter with 155, on 67 goals and 88 assists. Bellows didn&rsquo;t figure in the league&rsquo;s top 10 scorers but the 17-year-old superstar did manage 45 goals and 52 assists in 47 games. He is an excellent two-way player.</p><p>Meighan played seven games with the Minnesota North Stars while Maclnnis, an OHL sophomore, joined the Calgary Flames for two games. Both are hard shooters from the point. Meighan scored 27 goals and 41 assists for the Flyers while Maclnnis managed 25 goals and 50 assists for Kitchener.</p><p>Fans and media may center their attention on the offensive stars of hockey but when coaches were voting defensemen for the second team, two defensive defensemen stood out.</p><p>Peterborough Petes&rsquo; 18-year-old captain Michael Posavad and hardhitting Steve Smith from the Greyhounds were selected. Smith played eight games with the Philadelphia Flyers in midseason.</p><p>The forward line of center Jeff Vaive (Ottawa), left winger Jeff Larmer (Kitchener) and right wing Tony Tanti scored a total of 179 goals and 382 points.</p><p>Tanti, a key playoff performer for the Generals, led in goals with 62. Vaive, second to Simpson in league scoring, managed 56 goals and 95 assists while Larmer, a deadly accurate shooter, scored 51 goals and 44 assists in 49 games.</p><p>Ottawa goalie Jim Ralph was second team All Star and one of the big reasons why the 67&rsquo;s have provided so many surprises for so many people this season.</p><p>The best way to describe the third All Star team would be a team of pluggers. The goalie is Frank Caprice (London); on defense Norm Schmidt (Oshawa) and Gord Dineen (Soo); center Mitch Lamoureux (Oshawa); right wing Mario Simioni (Toronto) and left wing Greg Gilbert (Toronto). The coach is Paul McIntosh of London.</p><p>Meanwhile, the playoffs continued.</p><h2>Emms Division</h2><p>The mighty Kitchener Rangers finally surrendered a point. Three points in fact.</p><p>The Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds scored two empty net goals to come from behind and earn a 4-4 tie in game three of their eight-point Emms division final series with Kitchener and then surprised the Rangers with a 5-3 win in game four.</p><p>Kitchener, one of the most powerful teams in recent OHL memory, rebounded to score an impressive 5-1 win in game five to move ahead 7-3 in the series.</p><p>In game three, Jim Pavese scored at 18:15 with a blast from the point and then it was Wayne Groulx tying the contest for the Soo at 19:42. Both goals were scored with the Soo goalie on the bench in favor of an extra attacker.</p><p>Kevin Conway paced the Hounds in game four with three goals. Hugh Larkin and Groulx counted singles. Jeff Larmer, Grant Martin and Dave Nicholls replied for the Rangers.</p><p>In game five, the Hounds tried to tie the game with their goalie on the bench but this time the plan backfired. The Rangers counted two empty net markers on their way to victory.</p><p>Larmer collected one of the Rangers&rsquo; goals, giving him 13 in nine games. He has scored at least one goal in every Kitchener playoff match. Joel Levesque had the other empty net goal. Mike Eagles, Mario Michieli and Al Maclnnis also scored for the Rangers with Rick Tocchet netting the lone Hounds&rsquo; goal.</p><h2>Leyden Division</h2><p>It was a homer series in the early going.</p><p>The Ottawa 67&rsquo;s took a 4-2 point lead in the Leyden division eight-point final, scoring 6-5 and 6-1 home ice wins over the Oshawa Generals.</p><p>Sandwiched in between was a 5-3 win for Oshawa in their home Civic Centre.</p><p>Moe Lemay scored a pair of third period goals to lead the 67&rsquo;s to victory in game one. Tony Tanti, who has been a pillar of strength for the Generals throughout the playoffs, scored three times for Oshawa with defenseman Joe Cirella (averaging more than 50 minutes of icetime per game) scoring a goal and added two assists.</p><p>In game two, Tanti again paced Oshawa with two goals. Feisty Mitch Lamoureux, Jeff Steffen and All Star defenseman Norm Schmidt scored the other Oshawa goals. Jeff Vaive scored twice for the 67&rsquo;s and impressive rookie defenseman Brad Shaw had the other.</p><p>Don McLaren, kept silent the first two games, rose to the occasion in game three with two goals to lead the 67&rsquo;s. The markers gave McLaren seven in 11 games.</p><p>John Odam, Adam Creighton, Vaive and Larry Power scored the other Ottawa goals. Tony Tanti scored for Oshawa.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-01442/4556933-1-eng-US/f0030-012.jpg" title="f0030-01" width="604" height="1053"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Kitchener defenseman Allan Maclnnis was named to the OHL&rsquo;s first team All Stars.</b></figcaption></div><h2>OHL All Star Teams</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-02335/4556926-1-eng-US/f0030-022.jpg" title="f0030-02" width="1128" height="551"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0030-01

Emms Has Edge Among OHL All Stars; Ottawa, Oshawa Hang Tough At Home

<div class="byline">BY GREGG DRINNAN</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0031-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-01411/4556978-1-eng-US/f0031-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Perry Pelensky scored an empty net goal as Portland advanced to the Western final, but he wasn&rsquo;t pleased by his team&rsquo;s letdown.</b></figcaption></div><p><b>HSB Louisville Hockey</b></p><p>CALGARY&mdash;The way the Western Hockey League&rsquo;s playoffs started, one would have thought it was against the rules for a series to go the limit.</p><p>But, as the second round got underway, things promised to be a bit tighter.</p><p>In the Eastern Division&rsquo;s first round, all of which were best-of-seven affairs, the Lethbridge Broncos took Billings Bighorns in five games, the Calgary Wranglers did the same to the Saskatoon Blades and the Regina Pats swept the Brandon Wheat Kings in four.</p><p>And, in the Western Division, the Portland Winter Hawks did exactly the same thing to the defending-champion Victoria Cougars.</p><p>Lethbridge earned a bye into the Eastern final, while Regina and Calgary matched up in a best-of-five semifinal that started out awfully close. The two teams split 3-2 decisions in Regina, Then, when the series headed to Calgary, the Pats exploded for a 6-1 win.</p><p>In the opener, Brent Pascal&rsquo;s seventh goal of the playoffs at 16:09 of the third period gave the Pats the win before 4,673 fans. Regina held period leads of 1-0 and 2-1, getting goals from Dale Derkatch and Wally Schreiber. Leigh Verstraete and Dan Bourbonnais, the latter at 16:47 of the third, replied for the Wranglers.</p><p>&ldquo;It was a hard-earned victory and I&rsquo;m sure the whole series will be that way,&rdquo; said Regina coach Bill LaForge.</p><p>The next afternoon, Bourbonnais got two goals, including the winner at 17:24 of the final period, as the Wranglers evened things up. Darrell Anholt also scored for Calgary, while Dave Michayluk and Marc Centrone, at 19:25 of the third period, replied for the Pats in front of 5,243 fans.</p><p>&ldquo;We worked hard,&rdquo; offered Calgary coach Doug Sauter. &ldquo;Our guys were standing up at the blueline and not giving Regina room in front of the net.&rdquo;</p><p>In Calgary, in front of 6,366 fans, Schreiber opened the scoring just 49 seconds into the game and, by the time the second period was over, the Pats held a 5-0 lead.</p><p>&ldquo;That early goal made a big difference,&rdquo; stated LaForge.</p><p>At the same time, Sauter said: &ldquo;We had lots of chances but couldn&rsquo;t put the puck in the net. And goaltending, which had been big in the playoffs for us so far, was not for Regina.&rdquo;</p><p>Regina goaltender Chris Smith kicked out 35 shots, including 21 in the second period, while the Calgary pair of Mike Vernon and Mike Zanier combined on just 15 saves.</p><p>Earlier, Lethbridge wrapped up its series at home, with an 11-5 win over Billings. Mike Moller led the winners with three goals, while Doug Rigler had two goals and two assists. Marc Magnan and Ivan Krook also had two goals each.</p><p>And out West the Winter Hawks completed their sweep of the Oilers with a 5-3 win in Portland. It was the Winter Hawks&rsquo; first-ever series sweep.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m glad that one is over,&rdquo; said Portland&rsquo;s Perry Pelensky, who sealed the victory with an empty-net goal. &ldquo;We played well for about 10 or 15 minutes and then let Kamloops take the game to us. I think we were thinking ahead to the Seattle series a little more than we were concentrating on the game.&rdquo;</p><p>The Winter Hawks and Breakers opened their best-of-seven Western final in Portland and the home side skated to a 5-0 lead just 13 minutes into the first period.</p><p>But 7,371 fans were left shaking their heads in bewilderment when the Breakers of coach Jack Sangster stormed back with seven unanswered goals for a 7-5 victory.</p><p>Rod Geale had two of Portland&rsquo;s early goals, while Ken Yaremchuk scored once and set up two others.</p><p>Ken Ficocelli got Seattle on the board at 14:39 of the first period and Wayne Prestage and Terry Sargent scored second-period goals, cutting Portland&rsquo;s margin to 5-3.</p><p>Renzo Berra pulled the Breakers to within one just 58 seconds into the final period and Mitch Wilson tied it at 14:34. Al Kerr rifled home the winner on a 30-foot slapshot at 17:58 and Prestage wrapped it up with an empty-netter at 19:54.</p><p>&ldquo;That was a heck of a way to win a hockey game,&rdquo; laughed Sangster. &ldquo;We did it the hard way&mdash;the hardest way actually. But we showed a lot of character with the way we came back. We&rsquo;ve been underdogs all year and it hasn&rsquo;t bothered us. I think we proved that tonight.&rdquo;</p><p>Meanwhile, in off-ice developments, Medicine Hat Tigers&rsquo; owner George Maser announced that Pat Ginnell, who has been with the club since 1979, will not be returning.</p><p>Ginnell, the club&rsquo;s coach and general manager, missed the playoffs this season for the first time in his WHL coaching career.</p><p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s hockey today,&rdquo; said Ginnell. &ldquo;Contract&rsquo;s up&mdash;not being renewed.&rdquo;</p><p>Speculation has it that Jack Shupe, fired as Victoria&rsquo;s coach two games into the playoffs, will return to Medicine Hat, where he coached the Tigers to the 1973 WHL title.</p><p>And, the WHL announced its all star teams, with Vernon being the only unanimous selection.</p><p>Vernon, the league&rsquo;s top netminder with three shutouts and a 3.68 goals-against average, was also named the WHL&rsquo;s nominee for player of the year in the Canadian Major Junior Hockey League.</p><p>The first-team defense consists of Gary Nylund of Portland and Garth Butcher of Regina. Butcher, named to the first team for the second consecutive year, was the highest scoring defenseman, with 24 goals and 68 assists for 92 points. Nylund was sixth with seven goals and 59 assists for 66 points.</p><p>The first-team center&rsquo;s spot was a tie between Bruce Eakin of the Saskatoon Blades and Ken Yaremchuk of Portland, who finished third and fifth, respectively, in the scoring race.</p><p>Lethbridge&rsquo;s Mike Moller grabbed the right wing berth for the second straight year, while Todd Strueby of Saskatoon was the first-team left winger.</p><p>The second all star team was made up of goaltender Dave Ross of Seattle, Gord Kluzak of Billings Bighorns and Randy Moller of Lethbridge on defense, Saskatoon center Mark Hab-scheid, left winger Paul Cyr of Victoria and Michayluk at right wing.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-02295/4556971-1-eng-US/f0031-022.jpg" title="f0031-02" width="1234" height="1531"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Portland defenseman Gary Nylund was chosen for the WHL&rsquo;s first All Star team along with Garth Butcher, Regina&rsquo;s excellent blueliner.</b> <span class="photo-credit">(Photos By Bruce Bennett)</span></figcaption></div><h2>WHL All Star Teams</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-03223/4556964-1-eng-US/f0031-032.jpg" title="f0031-03" width="1113" height="609"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0031-01

Series Get Tighter As WHL Playoffs Progress

<div class="byline">BY RANDY SCHULTZ</div><p class="dropcap"><span>W</span>hen the New York Islanders captured their second consecutive Stanley Cup championship last spring, hockey experts around the National Hockey League began talking of another hockey dynasty being born.</p><p>The same kind of talk resulted when the Montreal Canadiens won four consecutive cups from 1976-1979.</p><p>But when the word dynasty is tossed around the NHL, there is one team, the Canadiens, that stand head and shoulders above all the others.</p><p>The &ldquo;Club de Hockey Canadien&rdquo; have always been a dominant force in pro hockey. Dominated by tradition, they are well known to millions of hockey fans throughout the world.</p><p>But one period of teams in particular, the Canadiens of 1955-1960, won four NHL championships and five consecutive Stanley Cups. No other organization in the NHL has ever dominated the sport the way Montreal did during that five-year span.</p><p>What ever happened to all the players on those teams during that era? To begin with, let&rsquo;s start at the top and work our way down.</p><p>Every great team has a good front office and the Canadiens were no exception. Frank Selke was the club&rsquo;s general manager. It was Selke who set up the Canadiens&rsquo; farm system that provided the parent team with the talent it needed to win five cups in a row.</p><p>Today, Selke, at 88, is retired and is a member of Hockey&rsquo;s Hall of Fame. Even though he is no longer actively involved with the team, Selke still attends most of Montreal&rsquo;s home games, seated in the same spot he had when directing the team&rsquo;s good fortunes.</p><p>Leading the Canadiens behind the bench was their coach, Hector &ldquo;Toe&rdquo; Blake. As a member of the famous &ldquo;Punch Line&rdquo; (Blake, Maurice Richard and Elmer Lach), Blake was a star player for Montreal during the &rsquo;30s and &rsquo;40s.</p><p>Following his retirement as a player, Blake stayed in the Montreal system, taking over as coach from the legendary Dick Irvin in 1955, and went on to become the best coach, winning-wise, in NHL history over the next 13 seasons.</p><p>Today, the man who ruled the team with an &ldquo;iron fist in a velvet glove&rdquo; is still actively involved with his beloved Canadiens, serving as its vice president of hockey. At 69 Blake still plays an active role with the team.</p><p>Another man who plays an active role with the team is former great Jean Beliveau. The former center, who scored over 500 goals in his career, is senior vice president of corporate affairs with the club. Beliveau remembered those dynasty years.</p><p>&ldquo;Probably the main reason the team was so strong was because of their farm system,&rdquo; recalled Beliveau. &ldquo;We had so many good players. And we were so well balanced both offensively and defensely. The offense was awesome. The forward lines were all shooters. That&rsquo;s why our goal scoring ability was so explosive.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-02309/4557040-1-eng-US/f0032-022.jpg" title="f0032-02" width="977" height="1201"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Dick Moore, Dollard St. Laurent and Bernie Geoffrion were mainstays of the Montreal Canadiens&rsquo; dynasty teams in the latter half of the 50s.</b></figcaption></div><p>Two of the bigger guns of the Canadiens&rsquo; offensive arsenal were Maurice &ldquo;The Rocket&rdquo; Richard and Bernie &ldquo;Boom-Boom&rdquo; Geoffrion, both of whom scored 50 goals in a season during their careers.</p><p>The Rocket, a legend in Montreal hockey folklore, is 60 and living in Montreal. A special ambasador for the Canadiens, Richard also writes a weekly hockey column for a local newspaper.</p><p>Geoffrion, on the other hand, is presently out of pro hockey. Following a short stint as the Canadiens&rsquo; coach, the Boomer departed for Atlanta, GA., and went to work for cable-TV king, Ted Turner.</p><p>Richard&rsquo;s younger brother, Henri, was a rookie when the team won the first of five consecutive cups. Now, at 45, Henri operates a tavern in Montreal. The Hall of Famer is also involved with the &ldquo;Pop Shoppe&rdquo; beverage company with another former NHL star, Eddie Shack.</p><p>Former rightwinger Floyd Curry is yet another former Montreal player who stayed in the Canadiens&rsquo; fold as director of advertising sales. He remembered the great Canadiens teams of the late &rsquo;50s.</p><p>&ldquo;Toe Blake was the best coach I ever worked for,&rdquo; commented Curry. &ldquo;He hated to lose. And he instilled that feeling into every player. Some of the players were really scared of him.</p><p>&ldquo;But the players had a lot of pride. Guys like Doug Harvey, Beliveau, the &lsquo;Rocket,&rsquo; Tom Johnson and Jacques Plante helped instill that pride into all of us. And those same guys were the ones that really held the team together during those five Stanley Cup championship years.&rdquo;</p><p>At 55, Bert Olmstead is a farmer in Saskatchewan. Center Jackie Leclair is 52 and living somewhere in New Jersey. His occupation is unknown. Hall of Famer leftwinger, Dickie Moore is 50 and is operating a construction equipment rental business in Montreal.</p><p>Center Ken Mosdell, 59, operates a service station in Montreal; leftwinger Donnie Marshall, 49, still lives in Montreal and works for <i>Hockey Night In Canada;</i> rightwinger Claude Provost, 48, lives in Montreal and operates a health club; center Phil Goyette, 48, works for a Custom Brokerage company in Montreal.</p><p>Leftwinger Marcel Bonin, 49, works for the school board of education in Joliette, Que.; center Ralph Back-strom, 44, is head hockey coach at Denver University; rightwinger Bill Hicke, 43, owns and operates a sporting goods store in Regina, Sask.</p><p>Leftwinger Ab McDonald, 45, lives and works in Winnipeg, Man.; center Connie Broden, 49, lives in Edmonton, Alta, and works for Molson Brewery as a brew master; the whereabouts of leftwinger Andre Pronovost, 45, are unknown.</p><p>When it came to defense Montreal had the best. Anchoring it was Hall of Famer Doug Harvey. Between 1955 and 1962 Harvey won the Norris Trophy, annually awarded to the NHL&rsquo;s best defenseman, seven times. Today at 57 Harvey assists his brother in operating a sporting goods store in Montreal.</p><p>During Harvey&rsquo;s domination of the Norris Trophy the only player to wrestle the award away from him for one season was teammate Tom Johnson.</p><p>Today, at 53, Johnson is the assistant general manager for the Boston Bruins as well as being a Hall of Famer. He recalled the Canadiens&rsquo; dynasty years.</p><p>&ldquo;One of the biggest reasons we were so strong is because we didn&rsquo;t make too many changes over that five-year period,&rdquo; said Johnson. &ldquo;It was unusual to add one or two new players a year as regulars. New faces would be added only if there were injuries.</p><p>&ldquo;Of course you always had to be on guard for those younger players because if you didn&rsquo;t do your job, one of them could replace you. And believe me, those Montreal farm teams were almost as strong as the parent team. It was a struggle to beat them when we played exhibitin games against them.&rdquo;</p><p>Johnson also spoke of the defense.</p><p>&ldquo;Our job was to get the puck out of our end and feed it to our forwards. This was mainly because we had such high scoring forwards. The only defenseman that was allowed to carry the puck ws Harvey. But he was very rarely caught out of position. And if he was there was somebody backing him up.&rdquo;</p><p>A third member of the defense, also in the Hall of Fame, was Emile &ldquo;Butch&rdquo; Bouchard. At 62, Bouchard is retired after operating a restaurant for many years in Montreal.</p><p>The other famed defenseman on those Canadiens teams were Bob Turner, 38 and now a stockbroker in Regina, Sask.; Jean-Guy Talbot, 49, works for O&rsquo;Keefe Breweries, Montreal; Dollard St. Laurent, 52, lives and works in Montreal as an insurance broker; Albert Langlois, 47, lives and works in Montreal as a stock broker; Ian Cushenan, 48, could not be located.</p><p>Montreal had one of the finest goalies to ever play the Philadelphia Flyers&rsquo; gogltenders during training camp and again at playoff time. He spends the rest of the time in retirement living in Switzerland.</p><p>Plante was backed up by two othe goalies. Gerry McNeil, 55, lives and works in Montreal as a sales manager for Adams Distilleries, Ltd. Charlie Hodge, 48, lives and works in Vancouver, B.C. as a real estate agent.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0032-02

On The 1955-60 Champion Canadiens’ Clubs

<div class="byline">BY HERB ZURKOWSKY</div><p><b>HSB Louisville Hockey</b></p><p>LAVAL&mdash;The clock struck midnight on Cinderella last week.</p><p>The Laval Voisins, losers of four of their final seven games in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League&rsquo;s double round-robin quarterfinal, dropped four consecutive semifinal games to the Sherbrooke Beavers. The scores were 7-2, 6-2, 10-4 and 5-3.</p><p>The Beavers advance to the league finals for the second time in three seasons. They&rsquo;ll meet the winner of the Trois-Riviere Draveur-Chicoutimi Sagueneen series, currently tied at two games apiece.</p><p>Both teams won their opening home games&mdash;Trois-Rivieres 5-4 in overtime; Chicoutimi 5-2&mdash;but then both teams surprisingly won on the road&mdash;Chicoutimi 5-4 and Trois-Rivieres 6-4.</p><p>The series obviously now becomes a best-of-three, but the Draveurs must still be considered as slight favorites due to the extra home game.</p><p>As for the Voisins, injuries could be blamed as the root behind their troubles.</p><p>Through the opening three games of the series, the Voisins missed as many as eight regulars, forcing the team to call up three inexperienced junior A players. In the final game, two more Laval players went down.</p><p>But Laval was also intimidated throughout the series by the bigger Beavers&mdash;despite what Voisins&rsquo; coach Roger Picard contends.</p><p>&ldquo;No, we weren&rsquo;t intimidated,&rsquo;&rsquo; Picard said emphatically. &ldquo;But maybe we need more players who can give us more of a lift.&rdquo;</p><p>In the final game alone&mdash;when 136 penalty minutes were assessed&mdash;the Beavers thumped and whacked Laval players at will. The Voisins clearly shyed away from skating after loose pucks.</p><p>Nonetheless, Picard had to be pleased himself and with the play of his team.</p><p>When he took over for owner Claude Fournel at the end of October, Laval was ninth in a nine-team league. They improved to seventh by season&rsquo;s end and produced the third-best record over the second half of the season. In addition, Laval placed first in quarterfinal play with a 10-4 record, winning its first seven consecutive games.</p><p>&ldquo;We have to be satisfied,&rdquo; Picard admitted. &ldquo;With the injuries we had&hellip;You always want to win. But the way we were playing [before the injuries] we could have gone to the Memorial Cup.&rdquo;</p><p>Here&rsquo;s a brief recap of the four games played in each series:</p><p>Sherbrooke 7 Laval 2&mdash;Sean McKenna led the Beavers with three goals. Daniel Campeau and Gerard Gallant each added a pair. Yves Courteau and Sylvain Beauchamp replied for the Voisins.</p><p>Sherbrooke 6 Laval 2&mdash;Alain Menard scored the hat trick on this night. McKenna continued his torrid pace with two goals, with Dave Kasper adding a single. Jean-Marc Lanthier and Claude Vilgrain scored for Laval. Michel Morissette was brilliant in Sherbrooke&rsquo;s net, blocking 42 of 44 shots.</p><p>Sherbrooke 10 Laval 4&mdash;We realize this is starting to sound monotonous, but McKenna led the Beavers with three goals. Gallant scored two, with singles from Kasper, Menard, Alain Gilbert, Campeau and Luc Bachand. Courteau had two for Labal, Lanthier and Daniel Roy completed the scoring.</p><p>Sherbrooke 5 Laval 3&mdash;The Beavers had a 5-0 lead 23 minutes into the game, coasting from that point on. McKenna had two, Gilbert, Picard and Bachand scored for the winners. Michel Crispin, Beauchamp and Lanthier scored for Laval. Morisette stopped Courteau on a penalty shot in the second period.</p><p>Trois-Rivieres 5 Chicoutimi 4 (overtime)&mdash;If the Sags lose this series, they&rsquo;ll undoubtedly harken back to this game when they blew a 4-1 third period lead. Trois-Rivieres&rsquo; Claude Drouin scored the only goal of the first period. Roberto Lavoie and Jean Bourgeois each scored two goals to give the Sags what seemed like an insurmountable lead by the 1:13 mark of the third. However Claude Verres, Patrick Emond and Normand Lefran-cois&mdash;with less than three minutes remaining&mdash;sent the game into overtime. Verret added his second goal of the game 12 minutes into sudden death.</p><p>Chicoutimi 5 Trois-Rivieres 2&mdash;Denis Dore led the winners with two goals. Lavoie, Luc Dufour and Paul Gagne added singles. Normand Nellis and Drouin replied, Draveurs&rsquo; goalie Michel Dufour was bombed with 50 shots.</p><p>Chicoutimi 5 Trois-Rivieres 4&mdash;Gagne and Dufour scored two goals apiece, with Bruno Gilbert notching the winner with 10 minutes remaining. Christian Tanguay with two, Lefran-cois and Remi Gagne replied.</p><p>Trois-Rivieres 6 Chicoutimi 4&mdash;Gagne had two for the Draveurs, including the winner halfway through the third period which broke open a 4-4 game. Drouin, Pierre Sevigny, Lefrancois and Tanguay added singles. Lavoie, Bourgeois, Gilbert and Michel Therrien scored for Chicoutimi.</p><p><b>AROUND THE LEAGUE</b>&mdash;Four team&rsquo;s&mdash;the Laval Voisins, Montreal Juniors, Trois-Rivieres Draveurs and Sherbrooke Beavers reported increases in attendance this season. Laval attracted 44,172 fans, up from 36,915 last season; Montreal had 46,998 pass through its turnstiles, compared to 36,501; Trois-Rivieres 43,570 compared to 43,233 and Sherbrooke increased its attendance to 70,626 from 68,516. Remaining teams, with this season&rsquo;s attendance listed first: Chicoutimi (66,936/102,306) Hull (84,349/88,082); Quebec (35,514/65,645); Shawinigan (60,854/71,428). Granby, new in the league, attraced 50,879 fans this season. Overall, the league showed a signifigant decrease&mdash;503,898 compared to 562, 174.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-01418/4557009-1-eng-US/f0032-012.jpg" title="f0032-01" width="609" height="876"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Sean McKenna led Sherbrooke&rsquo;s four-game sweep of Laval with a devastating total of 10 goals.</b></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0032-01

Magic Vanished As Laval Swept By Sherbrooke

<h2>All Time Top Playoff Point Leaders</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-01426/4557155-1-eng-US/f0034-012.jpg" title="f0034-01" width="551" height="1266"></div><h2>WALES CONFERENCE</h2><h3>PATRICK DIVISION FINALS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-02348/4557148-1-eng-US/f0034-022.jpg" title="f0034-02" width="539" height="114"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3><p>Thu. April 15</p><p>Rangers 5 at Islanders 4</p><p>Fri. April 16</p><p>Rangers 2 at Islanders 7</p><p>Sun. April 18</p><p>Islanders 4 at Rangers 3</p><h3>GAMES TO COME</h3><p>Mon. April 19</p><p>Islanders at Rangers</p><p>Wed. April 21</p><p>Rangers at Islanders</p><p>Fri. April 23</p><p>Islanders at Rangers</p><p>Sun. April 25</p><p>Rangers at Islanders</p><h3>SEMIFINALS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-03257/4557141-1-eng-US/f0034-032.jpg" title="f0034-03" width="541" height="120"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3><p>Wed. April 7</p><p>Pittsburgh 1 at Islanders 8</p><p>Thu. April 8</p><p>Pittsburgh 2 at Islanders 7</p><p>Sat. April 10</p><p>Islanders 1 at Pittsburgh 2</p><p>Sun. April 11</p><p>Islanders 2 at Pittsburgh 5</p><p>Tue. April 13</p><p>Pittsburgh 3 at Islanders 4</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-04171/4557134-1-eng-US/f0034-042.jpg" title="f0034-04" width="543" height="115"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3><p>Wed. April 7</p><p>Philadelphia 4 at Rangers 1</p><p>Thu. April 8</p><p>Philadelphia 3 at Rangers 7</p><p>Sat. April 10</p><p>Rangers 4 at Philadelphia 3</p><p>Sun. April 11</p><p>Rangers 7 at Philadelphia 5</p><h3>ADAMS DIVISION FINALS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-05128/4557127-1-eng-US/f0034-052.jpg" title="f0034-05" width="538" height="112"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3><p>Thu. April 15</p><p>Quebec 3 at Boston 4</p><p>Fri. April 16</p><p>Quebec 4 at Boston 8</p><p>Sun. April 18</p><p>Boston 2 at Quebec 3</p><h3>GAMES TO COME</h3><p>Mon. April 19</p><p>Boston at Quebec</p><p>Wed. April 21</p><p>Quebec at Boston</p><p>Fri. April 23</p><p>Boston at Quebec</p><p>Sun. April 25</p><p>Quebec at Boston</p><h3>SEMIFINALS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-06102/4557120-1-eng-US/f0034-062.jpg" title="f0034-06" width="540" height="115"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3><p>Wed. April 7</p><p>Quebec 1 at Montreal 5</p><p>Thu. April 8</p><p>Quebec 3 at Montreal 2</p><p>Sat. April 10</p><p>Montreal 1 at Quebec 2</p><p>Sun. April 11</p><p>Montreal 6 at Quebec 2</p><p>Tue. April 13</p><p>Quebec 3 at Montreal 2</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-0793/4557113-1-eng-US/f0034-072.jpg" title="f0034-07" width="537" height="117"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3><p>Wed. April 7</p><p>Buffalo 1 at Boston 3</p><p>Thu. April 8</p><p>Buffalo 3 at Boston 7</p><p>Sat. April 10</p><p>Boston 2 at Buffalo 5</p><p>Sun. April 11</p><p>Boston 5 at Buffalo 2</p><h2>CAMPBELL CONFERENCE</h2><h3>SMYTHE DIVISION FINALS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-0886/4557106-1-eng-US/f0034-082.jpg" title="f0034-08" width="541" height="116"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3><p>Thu. April 15</p><p>Los Angeles 2 at Vancouver 3</p><p>Fri. April 16</p><p>Los Angeles 3 at Vancouver 2</p><p>Sun. April 18</p><p>Vancouver 4 at Los Angeles 3</p><h3>GAMES TO COME</h3><p>Mon. April 19</p><p>Vancouver at Los Angeles</p><p>Wed. April 21</p><p>Los Angeles at Vancouver</p><p>Fri. April 23</p><p>Vancouver at Los Angeles</p><p>Sun. April 25</p><p>Los Angeles at Vancouver</p><h3>SEMIFINALS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-0976/4557099-1-eng-US/f0034-092.jpg" title="f0034-09" width="539" height="115"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3><p>Wed. April 7</p><p>Los Angeles 10 at Edmonton 8</p><p>Thu. April 8</p><p>Los Angeles 2 at Edmonton 3</p><p>Sat. April 10</p><p>Edmonton 5 at Los Angeles 6</p><p>Sun. April 11</p><p>Edmonton 3 at Los Angeles 2</p><p>Tue. April 13</p><p>Los Angeles 7 at Edmonton 4</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-1073/4557092-1-eng-US/f0034-102.jpg" title="f0034-10" width="537" height="117"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3><p>Wed. April 7</p><p>Calgary 3 at Vancouver 5</p><p>Thu. April 8</p><p>Calgary 1 at Vancouver 2</p><p>Sat. April 10</p><p>Vancouver 3 at Calgary 1</p><h3>NORRIS DIVISION FINALS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-1166/4557085-1-eng-US/f0034-112.jpg" title="f0034-11" width="536" height="112"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3><p>Thu. April 15</p><p>Chicago 5 at St. Louis 4</p><p>Fri. April 16</p><p>Chicago 1 at St. Louis 3</p><p>Sun. April 18</p><p>St. Louis 5 at Chicago 6</p><h3>GAMES TO COME</h3><p>Mon. April 19</p><p>St. Louis at Chicago</p><p>Wed. April 21</p><p>Chicago at St. Louis</p><p>Fri. April 23</p><p>St. Louis at Chicago</p><p>Sun. April 25</p><p>Chicago at SL Louis</p><h3>SEMIFINALS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-1264/4557078-1-eng-US/f0034-122.jpg" title="f0034-12" width="541" height="118"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3><p>Wed. April 7</p><p>St. Louis 4 at Winnipeg 3</p><p>Thu. April 8</p><p>St. Louis 2 at Winnipeg 5</p><p>Sat April 10</p><p>Winnipeg 3 at St. Louis 6</p><p>Sun. April 11</p><p>Winnipeg 2 at St. Louis 8</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-1355/4557071-1-eng-US/f0034-132.jpg" title="f0034-13" width="540" height="123"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3><p>Wed. April 7</p><p>Chicago 3 at Minnesota 2</p><p>Thu. April 8</p><p>Chicago 5 at Minnesota 3</p><p>Sat. April 10</p><p>Minnesota 7 at Chicago 1</p><p>Sun. April 11</p><p>Minnesota 2 at Chicago 4<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0034-01

STANLEY CUP SCOREBOARD

<h2>Thu. April 15 CANADA 9, FINLAND 2</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-1452/4557270-1-eng-US/f0034-142.jpg" title="f0034-14" width="540" height="689"></div><h2>SWEDEN 4, USA 2</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-1551/4557263-1-eng-US/f0034-152.jpg" title="f0034-15" width="544" height="690"></div><h2>WEST GERMANY 4, CZECHS 2</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-1651/4557256-1-eng-US/f0034-162.jpg" title="f0034-16" width="538" height="414"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-1745/4557249-1-eng-US/f0034-172.jpg" title="f0034-17" width="538" height="165"></div><h2>SOVIET UNION 9, ITALY 2</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-1842/4557242-1-eng-US/f0034-182.jpg" title="f0034-18" width="542" height="712"></div><h2>Fri. April 16 CZECHS 6, CANADA 2</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-1940/4557235-1-eng-US/f0034-192.jpg" title="f0034-19" width="544" height="656"></div><h2>Sun. April 18 CANADA 3, SWEDEN 3</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-2036/4557228-1-eng-US/f0034-202.jpg" title="f0034-20" width="531" height="191"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-2130/4557221-1-eng-US/f0034-212.jpg" title="f0034-21" width="541" height="495"></div><h2>FINLAND 4, USA 2</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-2226/4557214-1-eng-US/f0034-222.jpg" title="f0034-22" width="539" height="521"></div><h2>SOVIETS 5, CZECHS 3</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-2324/4557207-1-eng-US/f0034-232.jpg" title="f0034-23" width="540" height="657"></div><h2>W. GERMANY 5, ITALY 2</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-2422/4557200-1-eng-US/f0034-242.jpg" title="f0034-24" width="534" height="138"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-2516/4557193-1-eng-US/f0034-252.jpg" title="f0034-25" width="534" height="281"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-2614/4557186-1-eng-US/f0034-262.jpg" title="f0034-26" width="538" height="277"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0034-14

World Championships Game Summaries

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0035-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-01402/4557514-1-eng-US/f0035-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Joe Mullen&hellip;Scoring Leader</b> <span class="photo-credit">(Photo by Bruce Bennet)</span></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0035-01

NHL PLAYOFF SCORING

<h2>AMERICAN LEAGUE</h2><p><b>(Final Standings)</b></p><h3>NORTHERN DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-01384/4557706-1-eng-US/f0036-012.jpg" title="f0036-01" width="540" height="169"></div><h3>SOUTHERN DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-02288/4557699-1-eng-US/f0036-022.jpg" title="f0036-02" width="541" height="194"></div><h3>FINAL SCORING LEADERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-03217/4557692-1-eng-US/f0036-032.jpg" title="f0036-03" width="542" height="445"></div><h2>PLAYOFFS</h2><h3>SEMIFINALS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-04145/4557685-1-eng-US/f0036-042.jpg" title="f0036-04" width="537" height="115"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3><p>Fri. April 16</p><p>Rochester 3 at Binghamton 5</p><h3>GAMES TO COME</h3><p>Wed. April 21</p><p>Rochester at Binghamton</p><p>Fri. April 23</p><p>Binghamton at Rochester</p><p>Sun. April 25</p><p>Binghamton at Rochester</p><p>Mon. April 26</p><p>Rochester at Binghamton</p><p>Wed. April 28</p><p>Binghamton at Rochester</p><h3>N. SCOTIA vs N. BRUNS</h3><p>Mon. April 19</p><p>Nova Scotia at N. Brunswick</p><p>Thu. April 22</p><p>Nova Scotia at N. Brunswick</p><p>Sat. April 24</p><p>N. Brunswick at Nova Scotia</p><p>Mon. April 26</p><p>N. Brunswick at Nova Scotia</p><p>Wed. April 28</p><p>Nova Scotia at N. Brunswick</p><p>Sun. May 2</p><p>N. Brunswick at Nova Scotia</p><p>Mon. May 3</p><p>Nova Scotia at N. Brunswick</p><p>(Best-of-seven series)</p><h3>QUARTERFINALS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-05108/4557678-1-eng-US/f0036-052.jpg" title="f0036-05" width="535" height="111"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3><p>Wed. April 7</p><p>Adirondack 3 at N. Brunswick 1</p><p>Fri. April 8</p><p>Adirondack 3 at N. Brunswick 4</p><p>Sa. April 10</p><p>N. Brunswick 3 at Adirondack 6</p><p>Tue. April 13</p><p>N. Brunswick 8 at Adirondack 6</p><p>Thu. April 15</p><p>Adirondack 3 at N. Brunswick 6</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-0689/4557671-1-eng-US/f0036-062.jpg" title="f0036-06" width="536" height="112"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3><p>Wed. April 7</p><p>Nova Scotia at Maine (ppd. snow)</p><p>Thu. April 8</p><p>Nova Scotia 7 at Maine 6</p><p>Fri. April 9</p><p>Nova Scotia 3 at Maine 4</p><p>Mon. April 12</p><p>Maine 1 at Nova Scotia 3</p><p>Wed. April 14</p><p>Maine 3 at Nova Scotia 6</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-0785/4557664-1-eng-US/f0036-072.jpg" title="f0036-07" width="539" height="116"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3><p>Wed. April 7</p><p>Hershey 4 at Binghamton 6</p><p>Fri. April 9</p><p>Hershey 5 at Binghamton 1</p><p>Sat. April 10</p><p>Binghamton 6 at Hershey 5</p><p>Tue. April 13</p><p>Binghamton 4 at Hershey 7</p><p>Thu. April 15</p><p>Hershey 3 at Binghamton 9</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-0880/4557657-1-eng-US/f0036-082.jpg" title="f0036-08" width="539" height="111"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3><p>Wed. April 7</p><p>New Haven 3 at Rochester 4</p><p>Thu. April 8</p><p>New Haven 7 at Rochester 8</p><p>Sat. April 10</p><p>Rochester 2 at New Haven 3</p><p>Wed. April 14</p><p>Rochester 5 at New Haven 2</p><h2>CENTRAL LEAGUE</h2><p><b>(Final Standings)</b></p><h3>NORTH DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-0974/4557650-1-eng-US/f0036-092.jpg" title="f0036-09" width="538" height="140"></div><h3>SOUTH DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-1071/4557643-1-eng-US/f0036-102.jpg" title="f0036-10" width="539" height="170"></div><h3>FINAL SCORING LEADERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-1168/4557636-1-eng-US/f0036-112.jpg" title="f0036-11" width="541" height="308"></div><h2>PLAYOFFS</h2><h3>SEMIFINALS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-1264/4557629-1-eng-US/f0036-122.jpg" title="f0036-12" width="541" height="112"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3><p>Fri. April 16</p><p>Salt Lake 5 at Dallas 6</p><p>Sat. April 17</p><p>Salt Lake 3 at Dallas 7</p><h3>GAME TO COME</h3><p>Wed. April 21</p><p>Dallas at Salt Lake</p><p>Fri. April 23</p><p>Dallas at Salt Lake</p><p>Sat. April 24</p><p>Dallas at Salt Lake</p><p>Thu. April 29</p><p>Salt Lake at Dallas</p><p>Sat. May 1</p><p>Dallas at Salt Lake</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-1361/4557622-1-eng-US/f0036-132.jpg" title="f0036-13" width="541" height="114"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3><p>Sat. April 17</p><p>Indianapolis 3, Wichita 2</p><p>(Game played in Edmonton)</p><h3>GAMES TO COME</h3><p>Tue. April 20</p><p>Indianapolis at Wichita</p><p>Thu. April 22</p><p>Wichita at Indianapolis</p><p>Sat. April 24</p><p>Wichita at Indianapolis</p><p>Sun. April 25</p><p>Indianapolis at Wichita</p><p>Mon. April 26</p><p>Wichita at Indlanpolis</p><p>Sat. May 1</p><p>Indianapolis at Wichita</p><h3>QUARTERFINALS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-1456/4557615-1-eng-US/f0036-142.jpg" title="f0036-14" width="538" height="113"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3><p>Wed. April 7</p><p>Oklahoma city 2 at Salt Lake 6</p><p>Fri. April 9</p><p>Oklahoma City 5 at Salt Lake 4</p><p>Sun. April 11</p><p>Salt Lake 5 at Oklahoma City 3</p><p>Tue. April 13</p><p>Salt Lake 4 at Oklahoma City 3</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-1556/4557608-1-eng-US/f0036-152.jpg" title="f0036-15" width="535" height="115"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3><p>Thu. April 8</p><p>Dallas 5 at Cincinnati 1</p><p>Sat. April 10</p><p>Dallas 3 at Cincinnati 8</p><p>Sun. April 11</p><p>Cincinnati 2 at Dallas 3</p><p>Tue. April 13</p><p>Cincinnati 2 at Dallas 5</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-1654/4557601-1-eng-US/f0036-162.jpg" title="f0036-16" width="540" height="118"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3><p>Wed. April 7</p><p>Nashville 2 at Wichita 3</p><p>Fri. April 9</p><p>Nashville 2 at Wichita 4</p><p>Sat. April 10</p><p>Wichita 4 at Nashville 1</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-1749/4557594-1-eng-US/f0036-172.jpg" title="f0036-17" width="540" height="117"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3><p>Tue. April 6</p><p>Tulsa 0 at Indianapolis 7</p><p>Wed. April 7</p><p>Tulsa 2 at Indianapolis 3</p><p>Fri. April 9</p><p>Indianapolis 6 at Tulsa 1</p><h2>INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE</h2><p><b>(Final Standings)</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-1845/4557587-1-eng-US/f0036-182.jpg" title="f0036-18" width="545" height="254"></div><h3>FINAL SCORING LEADERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-1944/4557580-1-eng-US/f0036-192.jpg" title="f0036-19" width="546" height="499"></div><h2>PLAYOFFS</h2><h3>ROUND-ROBIN SEMIFINALS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-2043/4557573-1-eng-US/f0036-202.jpg" title="f0036-20" width="543" height="142"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3><p>Sun. April 18</p><p>Saginaw 6 at Toledo 5</p><h3>GAMES TO COME</h3><p>Tue. April 20</p><p>Toledo at Fort Wayne</p><p>Wed. April 21</p><p>Fort Wayne at Saginaw</p><p>Fri. April 23</p><p>Fori Wayne at Toledo</p><p>Sat. April 24</p><p>Saginaw at Fort Wayne</p><p>Sun. April 25</p><p>Toledo at Saginaw</p><h3>QUARTERFINALS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-2141/4557566-1-eng-US/f0036-212.jpg" title="f0036-21" width="541" height="117"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3><p>Fri. April 9</p><p>Fort Wayne 4 at Kalamazoo 1</p><p>Sat. April 10</p><p>Kalamazoo 3 at Fort Wayne 6</p><p>Tue. April 13</p><p>Fort Wayne 4 at Kalamazoo 3</p><p>Wed. April 14</p><p>Kalamazoo 6 at Fort Wayne 4</p><p>Sat. April 17</p><p>Fort Wayne 6 at Kalamazoo 5</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-2240/4557559-1-eng-US/f0036-222.jpg" title="f0036-22" width="540" height="113"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3><p>Wed. April 7</p><p>Flint 1 at Toledo 7</p><p>Fri. April 9</p><p>Toledo 7 at Flint 6</p><p>Sat. April 10</p><p>Flint 3 at Toledo 4</p><p>Wed. April 14</p><p>Toledo 4 at Flint 3</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-2339/4557552-1-eng-US/f0036-232.jpg" title="f0036-23" width="538" height="115"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3><p>Fri. April 9</p><p>Saginaw 6 at Milwaukee 1</p><p>Sat. April 10</p><p>Saginaw 6 at Milwaukee 3</p><p>Sun. April 11</p><p>Milwaukee 7 at Saginaw 3</p><p>Tue. April 13</p><p>Milwaukee 1 at Saginaw 4</p><p>Thu. April 15</p><p>Saginaw 6 at Milwaukee 5</p><h3>LEADING PLAYOFF SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-2438/4557545-1-eng-US/f0036-242.jpg" title="f0036-24" width="542" height="362"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0036-01

MINOR SCOREBOARD

<div class="byline">BY BILL HIGDON</div><p><b>HSB Louisville Hockey</b></p><p>WINSTON-SALEM&mdash;Do you believe in the old axiom there&rsquo;s no room for sentiment in the staid business end of professional hockey?</p><p>Joan Vestal certainly doesn&rsquo;t think that way.</p><p>Mrs. Vostal saw that the fans in Winston-Salem really appreciated their hockey team last season, even though it floundered in the cellar of the Atlantic Coast Hockey League.</p><p>So when the need arose, she opted for co-ownership along with Rick Dudley, a battle-scarred veteran of the National Hockey League whose battered knees gave out sooner than he intended, and who came to the sports-minded North Carolina community late in the season in the capacity of general manager.</p><p>&ldquo;We couldn&rsquo;t believe it&mdash;my husband, Jim, and I,&rdquo; said Mrs. Vestal, who had worked for the old Winston-Salem Polar Twins in the Southern Hockey League in the mid-seventies. &ldquo;As badly as we were losing, I could see people really wanted their hockey team.&rdquo;</p><p>So after owner Dave Gusky decided not to take further financial risks, Mrs. Vestal and Dudley formed the new ownership team.</p><p>&ldquo;It was my husband who talked me into it,&rdquo; Mrs. Vestal pointed out.</p><p>Jim and Joan are parents of five children. Jim is a retired Navy veteran, who married his Canadian sweetheart 30 years ago. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m still a citizen of Canada,&rdquo; she says with pride.</p><p>Their sons all entered the U.S. Military services. Two of the young Vestals served in the Navy and Air Force, respectively, while the third son is presently in the Navy.</p><p>After the SHL, folded, Mrs. Vestal worked for the city in the Winston-Salem Coliseum, and it was a natural for her to resume her hockey career with the birth of the Thunderbirds last summer.</p><p>Her new partner initiated a number of changes both in the lineup and front office operation.</p><p>&ldquo;The results have been very positive,&rdquo; said Mrs. Vestal.</p><p>The Thunderbirds, buried though they were in the standings, were nobody&rsquo;s patsy in the closing weeks of the first ACHL season. And their fans were supportive.</p><p>For the fourth time in the season (23 home games), the T-birds exceeded 3,000 in attendance for their February 12 game against the Mohawk Valley Stars, and rewarded their rooters with a 6-4 upset victory that lifted Dudley&rsquo;s battlers to a 6-5 edge in their season rivalry with the club destined to become ACHL champion.</p><p>The T-birds went down to a four-game-to-one defeat in their playoff series, losing to the Salem Raiders, regular season titlists and a club which dominated them throughout the campaign. Counting the post-season competition, Salem beat Winston-Salem 18 out of 21 times.</p><p>Dudley said he is optimistic for the 1982-83 season, and sales around Winston-Salem reflect that confidence in the Dudley-Vestal merger.</p><p>&ldquo;Would you believe we already have sold over 450 season tickets!&rdquo; Mrs. Vestal exclaimed. &ldquo;And our advertising sales are going very well, too,&rdquo; she added.</p><p>Steve Cerrone, the brother of Winston-Salem player Mike Cerrone, is working in marketing and public relations. &ldquo;Steve came for a visit to watch his brother play for us, and he liked it so much that he stayed on in the community,&rdquo; said Mrs. Vestal.</p><p>After the season, Tom Dillon, the big, raw-boned defenseman, also stayed around to assist in advance sales, but he recently returned to his home region.</p><p>Mrs. Vestal, who was born in Saskatoon, Sask., but grew up in Vancouver, lived in North Carolina for 16 years. She said other than a couple of weeks of vacation in July, the Thunderbirds will remain open for business as hockey interest heats up for next season.</p><p>&ldquo;Rick has done marvels in the short time he&rsquo;s been here,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re really looking forward to next spasnn.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

Winston-Salem Owners Knew Fans Were There

<h2>FINAL SCORING LEADERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-01337/4557859-1-eng-US/f0037-012.jpg" title="f0037-01" width="544" height="634"></div><h2>FINAL SCORING BY TEAMS ADIRONDACK</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-02234/4557852-1-eng-US/f0037-022.jpg" title="f0037-02" width="540" height="576"></div><h2>BINGHAMTON</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-03171/4557845-1-eng-US/f0037-032.jpg" title="f0037-03" width="539" height="626"></div><h2>ERIE</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-04138/4557838-1-eng-US/f0037-042.jpg" title="f0037-04" width="540" height="575"></div><h2>FREDERICTON</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-05117/4557831-1-eng-US/f0037-052.jpg" title="f0037-05" width="544" height="712"></div><h2>HERSHEY</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-0695/4557824-1-eng-US/f0037-062.jpg" title="f0037-06" width="535" height="600"></div><h2>MAINE</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-0777/4557817-1-eng-US/f0037-072.jpg" title="f0037-07" width="543" height="685"></div><h2>NEW BRUNSWICK</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-0868/4557810-1-eng-US/f0037-082.jpg" title="f0037-08" width="539" height="638"></div><h2>NEW HAVEN</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-0957/4557803-1-eng-US/f0037-092.jpg" title="f0037-09" width="536" height="548"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-1051/4557796-1-eng-US/f0037-102.jpg" title="f0037-10" width="537" height="88"></div><h2>NOVA SCOTIA</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-1139/4557789-1-eng-US/f0037-112.jpg" title="f0037-11" width="545" height="607"></div><h2>ROCHESTER</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-1233/4557782-1-eng-US/f0037-122.jpg" title="f0037-12" width="537" height="683"></div><h2>SPRINGFIELD</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-1330/4557775-1-eng-US/f0037-132.jpg" title="f0037-13" width="537" height="168"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-1428/4557768-1-eng-US/f0037-142.jpg" title="f0037-14" width="538" height="467"></div><h2>FINAL GOALTENDING RECORDS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-1527/4557761-1-eng-US/f0037-152.jpg" title="f0037-15" width="542" height="1425"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0037-01

FINAL AMERICAN LEAGUE SCORING STATISTICS

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0038-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-01394/4557918-1-eng-US/f0038-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(CP Photo)</span></figcaption></div><h2>That&rsquo;s My Boy!</h2><p class="dropcap"><span>R</span>ichard Hunter is a proud and happy father as he hugs his son, Dale, after the hard-nosed center of the Quebec Nordiques scored the series-winning goal in overtime to eliminate the Montreal Canadiens in the first round of the 1982 Stanley Cup playoffs. Dale&rsquo;s brother, Mark, plays for the Canadiens and his older brother, Dave, is a member of the Edmonton Oilers. Both were sent packing for the summer when their teams were upset in the preliminary round.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-02312/4557911-1-eng-US/f0038-022.jpg" title="f0038-02" width="1212" height="1615"></div><h2>Stepping Out</h2><p>Ron Duguay, left, and injured defenseman Ron Greschner took time off from the Stanley Cup playoffs to participate in the first annual New York Rangers&rsquo; fashion show in New York to help raise over $5,000 for the prevention of child abuse.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-03239/4557904-1-eng-US/f0038-032.jpg" title="f0038-03" width="1180" height="1512"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-04175/4557897-1-eng-US/f0038-042.jpg" title="f0038-04" width="1075" height="1513"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-05125/4557890-1-eng-US/f0038-052.jpg" title="f0038-05" width="681" height="1803"></div><h2>Rangers Keep Up With The Fashion</h2><p>Members of the Rangers showed that there is more to their lives than just playing hockey. The entire team, plus wives, girlfriends and children, gave their time to the first annual club fashion show to help New York&rsquo;s charity fund for abused kids. At left, that&rsquo;s left winger Don Maloney and his girlfriend, Toni Palazzo, displaying sportswear and furs. Above, 30-goal scorer Eddie Johnstone and his wife, Sue, model the latest in spring fashions. The show stopper had to be rookie Mark Pavelich, at right, who came dressed in double-breasted suit hat and ciaar. The players voted Pavelich the worst dressed model in the show.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0038-01

HOCKEY PEOPLE

<h2>Team Canada Set</h2><p class="dropcap"><span>H</span>ELSINKI&mdash;The early elimination of the Edmonton Oilers and the Montreal Canadiens from the NHL&rsquo;s Stanley Cup playoffs enabled Team Canada to complete its 23-man roster for the 1981 World Championships in Finland.</p><p>Team manager Max McNab announced that left winger Bob Gainey, right winger Mark Napier and defenseman Brian Engblom of Montreal and Edmonton defenseman Paul Lowe were the last four named to bring the team&rsquo;s player complement up to the allowed 23. Left winger Mark Osborne of Detroit, who was one of the originals picked for the team, was dropped to make room for Gainey.</p><p>The complete team included Greg Millen and Gilles Meloche in goal; Paul Reinhart, Curt Giles, Brad Maxwell, John Van Boxmeer, Craig Hartsburg, Rick Green, Lowe and Engblom on defense; Bobby Clarke, Darryl Sittier, Dale Hawerchuk, Wayne Gretzky and Bobby Smith were the centers; Dino Ciccarelli, Rick Vaive, Mike Gartner and Napier were on right wing; Brian Propp, Bill Barber, Ryan Walter and Gainey were the left wingers.</p><h2>Tulsa Leaving CHL?</h2><p>TULSA&mdash;The Tulsa Oilers, one of the oldest members of the Central Hockey League, may be playing in a new league next season.</p><p>John Ferguson, general manager of the Winnipeg Jets, who sponsor the Oilers as their CHL farm team, said the Jets are pulling their operation out of Tulsa with the likelihood they will relocate in Sherbrooke, Que., and become a member of the American Hockey League.</p><p>Ferguson said it is his opinion that the AHL is a more stable league to operate and develop the Jets&rsquo; young players.</p><h2>OHL Team To Move</h2><p>NIAGARA FALLS&mdash;The Niagara Falls Flyers of the Ontario Hockey League have made a pitch to move their franchise to North Bay for the 1982-83 season.</p><p>Owner Reg Quinn appeared before the North Bay city council to make a presentation requesting permission to transfer the Flyers to the Northern Ontario city.</p><p>Quinn discussed proposed lease arrangements for the use of North Bay&rsquo;s Memorial Gardens. He also requested that the city council give him a decision on the transfer by the end of April.</p><p>Quinn said low attendance in Niagara Falls for the past four years was the main reason for moving the team.</p><h2>Oilers Are Wimps</h2><p>EDMONTON&mdash;The Edmonton Oilers&rsquo; sudden demise in the first round of the 1982 Stanley Cup playoffs brought much criticism from the media. One such critic, Edmonton <i>Journal</i> columnist Terry Jones, referred to the Oilers as &ldquo;weak-kneed wimps.&rdquo;</p><p>Jones lowered the boom on the Oilers after their five-game series elimination at the hands of the Los Angeles Kings, a team that finished 28 points behind the Oilers during the regular season.</p><p>&ldquo;Panic and stupidity was the story line but quitting was the bottom line&rdquo; as the Oilers &ldquo;gassed&rdquo; game five of the opening round series with the Kings, wrote Jones in his daily sports column.</p><p>The 7-4 score of the windup game, Jones wrote, flattered the Oilers. &ldquo;From today until this date next year, no matter how many games they win or how many goals they score, the Amazing Oilers will be viewed as pea-brained wonders with very tight collars,&rdquo; said Jones.</p><p>&ldquo;From today until they&rsquo;ve won a playoff series again, they are weak-kneed wimps who thought they were God&rsquo;s gift to the National Hockey League but found out they were nothing but adolescent, front-running goodtime Charlies who couldn&rsquo;t handle any adversity,&rdquo; concluded Jones.</p><h2>Trottier Stopped</h2><p>LONG ISLAND&mdash;Bryan Trottier of the New York Islanders had his consecutive game playoff point scoring streak snapped at 27 after he drew a blank when the Pittsburgh Penguins edged the Islanders 2-1 in game three of the opening round playoffs.</p><p>Trottier stretched his record to 25 games after last year&rsquo;s successful Stanley Cup defense by the Islanders. He managed to record points in the first two games of the 1982 playoffs before Michel Dion of Pittsburgh stopped him in the third game of their best-of-five series.</p><h2>Text-Book Hockey</h2><p>NELSON&mdash;Many senior hockey leagues in Canada are affectionately known as &ldquo;lunch-box leagues,&rdquo; a reference to the fact that players usually require off-ice occupations. But in southeastern British Columbia there is a movement afoot which may precipitate the first ever &ldquo;text-book league.&rdquo;</p><p>The Ernie Gare Sr. Athletic Scholarship Society is now offering full scholarships to members of the Western International Hockey League&rsquo;s Nelson Maple Leafs.</p><p>In the past most senior teams relied heavily on former professionals to complement their rosters. But due to the ever-growing cost of importing older players and finding them jobs, teams are searching more for younger players, who are often interested in a post-hockey career.</p><p>Because of wide-spread unemployment in Canada, the scholarship program may be one way to ensure the survival of senior hockey.</p><p>&ldquo;In Nelson I think it&rsquo;s the only way,&rdquo; said Dr. Hugh Croxall, chairman of the Gare Scholarship Society, which was initiated last summer. &ldquo;You just can&rsquo;t walk into Nelson and get a job.</p><p>&ldquo;Education is a renewable resource and that&rsquo;s one of the few things we&rsquo;ve got in town. If it weren&rsquo;t for the program, we might&rsquo;ve had to fold the team up.&rdquo;</p><p>Scholarships can also be granted to three institutions, David Thompson University Center in Nelson and its parent school, Selkirk College in nearby Castlegar, and Selkirk College&rsquo;s vocational school, also in Nelson.</p><p>The Gare Society is attempting to raise $18,000 and sponsor six players next season.</p><p>The program is similar to one recently initiated by Hockey Canada, to encourage Canadian athletes to attend school at home rather than go to the United States.</p><p>Hockey Canada&rsquo;s national education assistance program, announced in January, is offering $2,500 scholarships to a maximum of 50 students who wish to play hockey while attending Canadian universities.</p><p>Gare Sr., who died last year, was father of Detroit Red Wing forward Danny Gare and played senior hockey in Nelson for 12 years. He stressed the importance of post-secondary schooling for even the most talented and promising of athletes.</p><p>Players interested in the Ernie Gare Sr. scholarship program can write Dr. Hugh Croxall, R.R.2, Nelson, B.C., V1L5P3.</p><h2>Cornell Gets Coach</h2><p>ITHACA&mdash;Lou Reycroft, 31-year-old assistant at Cornell University for the past four years, has been named the team&rsquo;s new head coach.</p><p>Reycroft succeeds Dick Bertrand at the helm of the Cornell team after Bertrand resigned from the Big Red to take a similar coaching position with Ferris State in Big Rapids, ML.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-01372/4557949-1-eng-US/f0039-012.jpg" title="f0039-01" width="598" height="949"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Islanders&rsquo; Bryan Trottier had his record 27-game point scoring streak stopped by the Penguins.</b></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

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SLAPSHOTS

<p class="dropcap"><span>M</span>ONTREAL&mdash;92-120-212! No hockey player has ever had such impressive vital statistics. They belong to Edmonton Oilers&rsquo; center Wayne Gretzky and they are not metric!</p><p>Broken down, they represent Gretzky&rsquo;s goals, assists and points totals during the National Hockey League&rsquo;s 1981-82 regular season of 80 games for each team and all are new NHL records.</p><p>On his way to rewriting the individual offensive section of the NHL Guide, Gretzky, a 21-year-old in his third season in the League, accomplished many things:</p><p>&bull; A margin of 65 points more than runner-up Mike Bossy of the New York Islanders. That is more than double the previous biggest margin, set last season by Gretzky when he won the scoring title and Art Ross Trophy with 164 points, 29 more than runner-up Marcel Dionne.</p><p>&bull; An average of 1.15 goals per game, the highest since 1924-25 when Babe Dye of the Toronto St. Pats and Aurel Joliat of the Montreal Canadiens averaged 1.31 and 1.21, respectively.</p><p>&bull; A record 1.5 assists per game average.</p><p>&bull; A record 2.65 points per game average. Gretzky, who averaged 2.05 last season, is the only player in history to have an average of two points a game during a season.</p><p>&bull; A record 10 games in which he scored at least three goals in each (three four-goal and one five-goal game).</p><p>&bull; A league-leading 12 gamewinning goals and a share of the lead with Michel Goulet of Quebec with six shorthand goals.</p><p>&bull; The fastest 500 points ever attained. Gretzky now has 513 points in 239 regular-season games, an average of 2.1 points per game. His total includes 198 goals.</p><p>To demonstrate how devastating Gretzky was to the opposition, his 92 goals are five more than the point-total Stan Mikita of Chicago had in 1967-68 when he won the scoring title.</p><p>Gretzky gained at least one point in all but eight of his games; and at least two points in 62 games. At Edmonton, he scored 59 goals, 64 assists and 123 points. On the road, he was 33-56-89.</p><p>For his accomplishments, Gretzky receives $2,000 in award money from the league&mdash;$1,000 as overall leader and $500 for each half in which he led. He had 108 points in the first half and 104 in the second.</p><p>Bossy receives $1,000, which includes $500 as runner-up and $250 for each half in which he was also runner-up to Gretzky. Bossy, in fact, had an excellent season of his own, his 147 points being the fourth-highest in history. His 64 goals&mdash;the third time he has scored at least that many&mdash;enabled him to become the fastest player to attain the 300-goal mark.</p><p>One record that eluded Gretzky this season was his bid to become the NHL&rsquo;s quickest 200-goal scorer, a mark held by Bossy, who did it in 240 games. Gretzky scored No. 198 in his 239th game and fell short after going without a goal in his final two games of the year. The best Gretzky can do now is score two goals in his first game of the 1982-83 season to tie Bossy for the record.</p><p>Gretzky scored at least one point in 72 of the 80 games he played, which undoubtedly is another NHL first.</p><p>While goal-scoring was at its highest in 38 years (6,741 goals in 840 games for an 8.03 average), the Montreal goaltenders became the first to win the Bill Jennings Trophy with an average of 2.79, slightly lower than their average last season when they were the final winners of the Vezina Trophy, which now is presented to the most outstanding netminder in the NHL. Denis Herron, who led individual goaltenders with a 2.64 average, and Rick Wamsley are the recipients of the Jennings Trophy. They receive $1,500 as overall winners plus $250 for each half in which they led.</p><p>The New York Islander duo of Bill Smith and Roland Melanson share $750 as runners-up overall. They had a combined average of 3.13.</p><p>While Gretzky dominated the entire season, there were several other highlights, some of which included:</p><p>&bull; A record 15-game winning streak by the New York Islanders.</p><p>&bull; A record 99 power-play goals by the Pittsburgh Penguins, eclipsing the former mark of 93 set last season by the Islanders. That total, incidentally, was equalled this season by Washington.</p><p>&bull; A record 13 players with at least 100 points. The old mark was 12 in 1980-81.</p><p>&bull; A record 139 three or more goal games, six more than the record last season.</p><p>&bull; A record 417 goals by the Edmonton Oilers. The former mark of 399 was set by the 1970-71 Boston Bruins.</p><p>&bull; A record 10 50-goal scorers, one more than in 1979-80.</p><p>&bull; The first time there was more than one 60-goal scorer. Joining Gretzky and Bossy was Dennis Maruk of Washington with 60.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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April 30, 1982

AMATEUR SCOREBOARD

Soviets Dominated Canada In World Play

The Hockey News Bookshelf

BEDCLOTHES