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 8, 1983

The Hockey News April 8, 1983

<div class="byline">BY RANDY SMITH</div>HARTFORD&mdash;For the last two years, the life and times of Howard Baldwin were so inescapably linked to the life and times of Larry Pleau that the very notion that one man could be promoted while the other would be fired was unthinkable.But that&rsquo;s exactly what could happen.With 10 games remaining, at a hastily-called press conference, Baldwin, the Hartford Whalers&rsquo; managing general partner, announced that the organization would be &ldquo;restructured along more conventional lines.&rdquo;Titles such as director of hockey operations, Pleau&rsquo;s current position, would be abolished in favor of president, etc, Baldwin said.&ldquo;Some of you are probably wondering where all this leaves Howard Baldwin,&rdquo; read Baldwin from a prepared text. &ldquo;My new position will be that of chairman of the Hartford Whalers and managing general partner.&rdquo;Baldwin wasn&rsquo;t finished.&ldquo;I will still be involved in the day-to-day operation of the company as 1 have been for the past 11 years, and I will represent the franchise as its governor.&rdquo;Baldwin, who admitted that he was &ldquo;weak in hockey,&rdquo; something he failed to disclose for the better part of 11 seasons, will direct his energies toward&rsquo; our cable investment, sky-box project and other business opportunities for the company.&rdquo;Baldwin will still control the hockey purse strings, but for the most part, will be out of the hockey operation.Now that we know Baldwin's future, what about Larry Pleau&rsquo;s?&ldquo;The new president will decide that,&rdquo; Baldwin said.And whom might this president be?Good question.The names of Emile Francis, Harry Neale and Don Cherry have been mentioned.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re going after the best, not one of the best, but the best,&rdquo; said Donald Conrad, executive vice-president of Aetna Life and Casualty, the team&rsquo;s single largest stockholder. "He will be a czar. He won&rsquo;t have anyone to answer to as far as making moves are concerned.&rdquo;Baldwin added that the new president would be a man of &ldquo;impeccable credentials.&rdquo;Meanwhile, Pleau and his staff, about a dozen men, stand in limbo.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m going to go on as if nothing happened,&rdquo; said Pleau, who has two years left on his contract. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve got scouting to do and we still need a coach. We&rsquo;re as prepared for this draft as for any in the past, probably better. Our first trick will be to get to the draft.&rdquo;The Whalers have their own No. 1 pick, one of the first three overall, as well as Philadelphia&rsquo;s.Pleau, who fired coach Larry Kish with 31 games left and stepped in behind the bench himself, only had to allow Kish to finish the season and then fire him, if survival was his prime concern.&ldquo;I knew that I was putting my neck on the line, but we needed a change,&rdquo; Pleau said. &ldquo;I couldn&rsquo;t let things just go on the way they were.&rdquo;According to Pleau, he confronted Baldwin at the juncture, and insisted that if he were to be fired, &ldquo;let&rsquo;s get it over with.&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t want to have to live through something I knew wasn&rsquo;t going to be pleasant and then get fired,&rdquo; Pleau said. &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t want Howard to fire me 20 games down the road.&rdquo;In the Whalers&rsquo; restructuring, this much is clear.With the title of chairman to go along with managing general partner and governor, Baldwin has found security. Pleau and his staff, meanwhile, are hanging in the wind.But as Pleau&rsquo;s departed predecessors&mdash;Jack Kelley, Bill Dineen and Don Blackbum among others&mdash;could attest, it wouldn&rsquo;t be the first time. &#9632;

IN THIS ISSUE

Hartford Making Hierarchy Moves

<h2>Dionne Sets Mark</h2>LOS ANGELES&mdash;Hardly a week passes lately that little Marcel Dionne of the Los Angeles Kings isn&rsquo;t putting his name into the National Hockey League record book.The 31-year-old Dionne was at it again last week when he became the first player to reach the 100-point plateau in seven straight seasons. Dionne&rsquo;s assist in a 9-3 loss to Edmonton March 26 was the vital point that enabled him to break the record previously shared by Bobby Orr, Phil ^Esposito and Guy Lafleur.Dionne recently joined Lafleur and Bossy as the only NHLers to score 50 goals in six straight years. A week prior to that, he became the sixth leading all-time point scorer when he connected for his 1,270th career point to move ahead of Jean Ratelle on the all-time NHL list.<h2>Tretiak Stays Put</h2>CHICAGO&mdash;Soviet goaltender Vladislav Tretiak has denied reports he&rsquo;s considering defecting to the National Hockey League.The brilliant Soviet goalkeeper, who is 30, said in a Moscow-datelined story in the Chicago Tribune, that he fully expects to be starting in goal for the Russians in the 1984 Olympic Games in Sarejevo, Yugoslavia. That would make Tretiak the only hockey player to play in four straight Winter Olympics.Tretiak, who has been the No. 1 net-minder in the Soviet Union since age 18, said in the same story that the Olympics would end his active hockey career where it began&mdash;at the Central Red Army Sports Club in Moscow. He is a major in the Soviet Army and plans to make the military a career after leaving hockey.&ldquo;This is where I belong,&rdquo; said Tretiak. &ldquo;Nothing else is possible. How could I play for someone else? This is home for me.&rdquo;Tretiak had been reported in North American stories that he would consider jumping to the NHL. In a post-game interview during the recent Soviet-NHL exhibition series, he said he would like to play for the Montreal Canadiens.The Soviet ace said that if he had a preference in the NHL, it would be Montreal. &ldquo;I like Montreal and I like the fans there. They know how to treat players. But that is different from saying I actually intend to go there to play.&rdquo;<h2>Kea Improving</h2>SALT LAKE CITY&mdash;There were encouraging reports coming out of the Holy Cross Hospital in Salt Lake City, where stricken defenseman Ed Kea was making good progress on his road to recovery from a serious head injury that necessitated brain surgery.Kea, who had been in a coma for two weeks after colliding with rookie George McPhee of the Tulsa Oilers during a Central Hockey League game, had improved so much that doctors were considering sending the 10-year NHL veteran with the St. Louis Blues home to convalesce in the next two weeks.Kea, who was not wearing a helmet at the time of his injury, was probably not aware of it, but his mishap caused considerable concern among his fellow NHLers. Two staunch non-helmet wearers in their long major-league careers, both Bill Barber of Philadelphia and Willi Plett of Minnesota, promptly put on helmets for the first time after learning of Kea&rsquo;s tragic injury.<h2>Stars Sign Craig</h2>BLOOMINGTON&mdash;Olympic Gold Medal hero Jim Craig is going to get another chance at the National Hockey League.The Minnesota North Stars announced they signed the former U.S. Olympic goaltending hero to a one-year contract. Craie. who is 25. has already flunked two NHL chances with Atlanta and Boston.Craig is currently backstopping the U.S. National team in the World B pool championships in Japan and is expected to join the North Stars on his return.&ldquo;The contract is for the balance of this season and next year,&rdquo; said Minnesota GM Lou Nanne. &ldquo;A lot of people have given up on Craig. But we obviously think he can still play.&rdquo;<h2>NHLers Suspended</h2>MONTREAL&mdash;Two National Hockey Leaugers have felt the wrath of the league for being involved in fights on the ice.Dino Ciccarelli of the Minnesota North Stars was set down for three games because of an automatic suspension for being the first player off the bench in a brawl during a recent gap against the Chicago Black Hawks.Dave (Tiger) Williams is facing a similar fate from the NHL followng a vicious crosscheck on defenseman Randy Holt of Washington during a recent NHL game at Landover, MD. Williams incurred a game misconduct penalty and a 10-minute match penalty for deliberately injuring Holt. The match penalty carries with it an automatic suspension pending a review by NHL vice-presient Brian O&rsquo;Neill.<h2>AHL Claims Record</h2>SPRINGFIELD&mdash;The American Hockey League has laid claim to a professional hockey record, previously held by the National Hockey League.Gary McAdam of the Rochester Americans, who just recently returned to the AHL after a brief call-up by the Buffalo Sabres, scored his 11th shorthanded goal of the season for Rochester. That beats the existing NHL mark of 10 produced by Marcel Dionne of the Los Angeles Kings in 1974-75.<h2>Who&rsquo;ll Be No. 1?</h2>NEW YORK&mdash;The big question facing the National Hockey League in its final week of the 1982-83 schedule, is which team will finish last or 21st in the final standingsThe dubious honor of being the bottom-placed team in the final NHL standings is of considerable importance to at least two of the top teams, the Minnesota North Stars and the New York Islanders.General managers of both teams, Lou Nanne of Minnesota, and the Islanders&rsquo; Bill Torrey, are keeping their eye glued to the final outcome because both stand to benefit from the result. At stake is the first pick in the June entry draft.The Islanders own the New Jersey Devils&rsquo; No. 1 choice as the result of a 1981 trade (then the team was in Colorado) that sent defenseman Bob Lorimer and center Dave Cameron to the Rockies for the team&rsquo;s No. 1 pick in 1983. The North Stars own Pittsburgh&rsquo;s first choice followng a deal earlier this season in which center Anders Hakansson and rookie defenseman Ron Meighan were shipped to the Penguins for center George Ferguson and a flip-flop of the two teams&rsquo; No. 1 draft selections this summer.The race to finish last is still a threeway battle between the Penguins, Devils and Hartford Whalers, who have managed to not only hold on to their own first draft pick but also have the Philadelphia Flyers&rsquo; first pick as well. New Jersey is in a better position than the Penguins in that they own St. Louis Blues&rsquo; first draft choice to complete the deal that sent defenseman Rob Ramage to the Blues.The Los Angeles Kings, who will probably finish among the five non-playoff also rans along with Pittsburgh, New Jersey, Hartford and Detroit, are the only other NHL team to give up their first round draft in 1983. They dealt it to the Buffalo Sabres two years ago in the disastrous trade that sent Richard Martin to the Kings. Martin retired after playing only four games with L.A. because of injuries.<h2>Jarvis New Iron Man</h2>WASHINGTON&mdash;The National Hockey League&rsquo;s newest iron man is veteran center Doug Jarvis of the Washington Caps.Jarvis qualified as the current leader for consecutive games played when center Craig Ramsay of Buffalo recently had his 776-game streak snapped by a knee injury. Jarvis dressed for his 630th straight game on March 16. Only Ramsay and Garry Unger, who holds the existing NHL record of 914 before he was stopped Dec. 21, 1979, have played in more consecutive games than Jarvis. The Caps&rsquo; center also passed Andy Heben-ton, who held the original mark of 630 from 1955 to 1964. &#9632;

SLAPSHOTS

Four Chicago sports franchises have formed a unique alliance to enhance their revenue picture and service their fans with a pay-TV package called SportsVision.Eddie Einhorn, co-owner of the White Sox, developed the formula involving the White Sox, Bulls (NBA), Black Hawks and Sting (outdoor and indoor soccer) which gives Chicago fans a chance to see almost all of the teams&rsquo; road games and many of the home games.Ironically, while the White Sox owner was the &ldquo;daddy&rdquo; of the SportsVision operation because of his vast experience in TV&mdash;he produced college basketball for CBS&mdash;it was hockey that got the operation rolling.SportsVision was scheduled to go on the air early in May, 1982, supposedly for the baseball season. But the Black Hawks got hot in the playoffs. beating Minnesota and St. Louis in the first two rounds.So, Bill Wirtz, president of the Black Hawks worked out an arrangement while SportsVision was setting up its final arrangements to start their operation.They used the channel (60) on which the scrambled picture would be sent to subscribers. But the playoffs were sent over Ch. 60 unscrambled. Because of the huge interest in the Black Hawks, several thousand fans signed up for SportsVision even before it was officially on the air.When the hockey season started again in October there were 56 games scheduled on SportsVision and hockey fans again made up the brunt of the sales.Because the team began playing well and the houses were sold out, Wirtz allowed SportsVision to televise even more games than were originally scheduled.&ldquo;Since no local station was willing to televise our hockey games, our fans were hungry for hockey on TV,&rdquo; Wirtz says. &ldquo;So, we are accomplishing two things with SportsVision. Most important, we are bringing our fans games they would never get from local stations. And second, we are getting a chance to add to our revenue to help pay the high costs of modem day sports. But this won&rsquo;t happen for at least two or three years because it takes a long time to set up an elaborate operation like SportsVision. Our start-up costs were tremendous. But it looks like we are on the right track.&rdquo; &#9632;

Windy City Teams Unite On TV Front

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World Championships

The publication of our next issue signals an end to the National Hockey League regular season. It&rsquo;s difficult to believe that it&rsquo;s almost over, but that only means hockey&rsquo;s exciting second season is almost upon us.In our next issue, we&rsquo;ll have our annual playoff preview, profiling all the first-round matches. We&rsquo;ll highlight the preliminary series between the defending Stanley Cup champion New York Islanders and the Washington Capitals, who are making their first-ever playoff performance.As well, we&rsquo;ll have all the final regular season statistics, including goaltenders&rsquo; averages, players&rsquo; scoring points and plus-minus. It&rsquo;s an issue you won&rsquo;t want to miss if you plan on following the path to the Stanley Cup. Don&rsquo;t miss it. &#9632;

Coming Next Issue

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-011151/4668361-1-eng-US/f0002-012.jpg" title="f0002-01" width="290" height="340"></div><h2>Wanna Buy A Note?</h2>THE BIG RAGE in sports journalism these days is the notebook. Just about every newspaper worth its ink carries one of those collections Of items on the hockey world. That&rsquo;s meant large exposure for informed sources, anonymous but gabby governors and general managers and people close to the scene in every National Hockey League city. High-ranking NHL officials occasionally are included, too.But as anyone who has been forced to produce a column of those little items joined together by three dots has learned very quickly, coming up with enough tidbits every week is a tough job. The big beneficiary is the telephone company because, every week, it&rsquo;s a scramble to fill the space.That&rsquo;s why it&rsquo;s a great pleasure to announce&mdash;and it&rsquo;s difficult to believe that no one has thought of such a super-easy way to get rich before this&mdash;the opening of the Orr Note Store.The fees for notes will vary with their clout and importance. I mean, you can&rsquo;t expect to get an exclusive such as&hellip;Dave Semenko eats quiche&hellip;for 19 cents. However, the prices are very reasonable and remember: The tab for each category of notes is for a whole paragraph of items and, as an opening special, when you sign up for the note service, you receive absolutely free a box of dots.Here&rsquo;s a sneak preview of the categories, the subject of the notes in each, the price and a sample of the notes your money buys.<h2>Stars, Scandal and Sex</h2>Category A: $19.95. Malicious gossip, big stars, scandal, sex, cheap shots.What top-10 NHL scorer won&rsquo;t allow his roommates to see the contents of his suitcase, especially the underwear compartment, on the road?&hellip;Wasn&rsquo;t that Jean-Guy Quelquechose of a Quebec-based NHL team seen coming out of a motel on Lakeshore Road in Toronto that advertises waterbeds, mirrored ceilings and heart-shaped sunken bathtubs at 4 a.m. on a game day last week?&hellip;Wouldn&rsquo;t the hockey world be shocked if it knew that the real reason for the trouble between a coach and his star player on a contending team isn&rsquo;t the player&rsquo;s lack of defensive effort as publicized but one of the arena usherettes?&hellip;The reason why a major NHL star is on the block has nothing to do with his salary demands but his hanging out with known underworld gambling figures.CATEGORY B: $12.95. Personal tidbits, petty jealousies, unfounded but readable garbage, general whining.The mates of Waldo Heany, the big gunner of the Winnipeg Jets, are laughing at him because he passed out cheap cigars when his wife Grizelda presented him with their first child, a son named Herman&hellip;One of the NHL&rsquo;s best scoring combos isn&rsquo;t producing as usual this season because one player discovered the other was making $2,500 more per season and he doesn&rsquo;t even like going into the comers&hellip;Willie Wonder, unemployed for six years after coaching four NHL teams in 10 seasons (.412 winning percentage), claims the league&rsquo;s owners have blackballed him because of his outspoken attitude&hellip;Former NHL coach Peter Punkin says the big increase in the number of high-sticking offenses in the league is caused by the wearing of helmets. &ldquo;When I played, no one wore a helmet and while we might have punched a few guys in the head, we never hit &rsquo;em with our sticks,&rdquo; Peter said.<h2>Gretzky In Europe</h2>CATEGORY C. $9.95. Real stuff on the board of governors, coaching and managerial changes, grumbling about Alan Eagleson as head of the players&rsquo; association.Edmonton Oiler president-GM Glen Sather insists that if team owner Peter Pocklington doesn&rsquo;t buy him his own jet plane and continues to make him fly commercial with the team, Sather will convince Wayne Gretzky to play in Europe&hellip;The NHL board of governors faces a serious split because one gov&rsquo;s faction wants to tie the can to president John Ziegler and hire either Bowie Kuhn or Pete Rozelle to replace him. &ldquo;Ziegler wasn&rsquo;t even smart enough to get us a good players&rsquo; strike so we could get all the publicity football and baseball got out of their labor problems,&rdquo; said one influential governor&hellip;Harry Neale, Scotty Bowman, Irving Grundman, Cliff Fletcher and Bill Torrey are GMs who will keep their jobs for another season&hellip;Several top player agents have told their clients not to vote for any Alan Eagleson proposals for the NHL Players&rsquo; Association.CATEGORY D: A-dime-a-dozen. Trade rumors, the latest on Soviet players moving to the NHL, Saskatoon rumbles and jokes, potential buyers for St. Louis Blues, potential sites for expansion franchises.Minnesota North Stars&rsquo; Lou Nanne claims he tried hard to swing a deal before the NHL trading deadline. &ldquo;I can&rsquo;t understand the other GMs in this league not wanting to trade their first-round draft picks for the swell packages of players who could help them that I was offering,&rdquo; Nanne said&hellip; Wild Bill Hunter insists that that an NHL franchise is very much alive for Saskatoon. &ldquo;Just wait until the NHL governors attend the picnic we&rsquo;re having this summer and they&rsquo;ll want Saskatoon in the league,&rdquo; Hunter said&hellip;The NHL has ruled out Smooth Rock Falls, Chicoutimi and Watkins Glen as possible sites for expansion teams&hellip;The USSR Ice Hockey Federation has hinted that Alexander Ragulin, Victor Sidelnikov and Anatoli Firsov are available for NHL teams.CATEGORY E. Absolutely free, with the purchase of any of the above. Notes on the media and the latest pronouncements of Harold Ballard. &#9632;

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FRANK ORR’S HOCKEY VIEWPOINT

<div class="byline">BY JAY GREENBERG</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0003-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-011168/4668392-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Bill Barber, above, is feuding with Flyer coach Bob McCammon, who is concerned about his veteran winger&rsquo;s scoring slump. McCammon believes Barber is still upset about having the captaincy taken away and given to Bobby Clarke, but Barber says he just&rsquo;s lacking confidence.</figcaption></div>PHILADELPHIA&mdash;Bill Barber suffered a broken jaw the way you&rsquo;d expect him to. He dove to prevent a Denis Cyr breakaway, risked a Jack The Ripper smile and settled for a mouthful of boot heel instead. The Flyers gained a tie with the Black Hawks. It was worth it.When they wired Barber up the next day, nobody had to ask him if he could play. He put on a helmet and a faceguard, had his wife, Jenny, plug in the blender, ordered a milkshake and got a goal and two assists as the Flyers shut out the Rangers.In the first five games. Barber&rsquo;s adrenaline pumped out four goals and five assists. Then the juice Barber sipped day after day through a straw became bitter, his breath, available only in gulps through spaces between his teeth, grew more and more shallow. Predictably, understandably, the points stopped coming.Earlier this season, Barber lost not only 14 games to knee ligament damage, but the Flyer captaincy in the interim. But he bounced back with five goals and four assists in the first three games after his return. This has been a season where Barber has found safety only in bed, but here he was, up and making hospital comers.He was Arnie the Pig, desiring nothing more than to wallow in his usual consistency. He was just happy to be a Flyer, appreciating his standard all-star selection; as always, one of the constants in the Flyers&rsquo; equation. A season that would have been stuffed in a lot of players&rsquo; trashcans, still held out promise.So now, 17 games after the wires have been removed, where is it? That&rsquo;s what coach Bob McCammon, noting Barber&rsquo;s two goals and eight assists during this stretch, wonders.&ldquo;Earlier in the year, guys who weren&rsquo;t working didn&rsquo;t play,&rdquo; said the Flyer coach. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m going back to that. We&rsquo;re petty well healthy now. I can do that. The guys who deserve to play will play.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know how much a factor the injuries have been on Barber. He&rsquo;s been doing the job on the point for power plays, but on the wing, he&rsquo;s not getting into position for shots.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s not playing well defensively, he&rsquo;s not jumping into the holes. It&rsquo;s not a matter that he can&rsquo;t do it. It&rsquo;s him deciding to do it.&rdquo;If this has turned out to be the worst of Barber&rsquo;s 11 seasons, then one out of 11 isn&rsquo;t bad. Neither, Barber points out, are his 57 points in 62 games. But this probably is the one year out of the last six or seven when the Flyers have their best chance to win a Stanley Cup. And a coach who thinks he has been patient waiting for the real Barber to stand up, sees the games dwindling to a precious six. And the coach questions aloud what the problem is.&ldquo;I think the injuries are the keys, but I also wonder if the captaincy thing hurt him,&rdquo; said McCammon.It was just when Barber returned from the knee injury that McCammon decided to replace him as captain with Bobby Clarke. Clarke had been stripped of any official leadership role when his assistant coaching job was swept under the rug in the Pat Quinn firing. McCammon made it clear at the time that Barber was a good captain, but Clarke was a once-in-a-lifetime leader and his value in that role was being squandered.Barber was hurt by the move, said so without elaboration, and despite the subsequest broken jaw, proceeded to run up 18 points in nine games. If he was inwardly pouting, this was one helluva cover-up. But now McCammon wonders about any lingering effects.&ldquo;It may have hurt him,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;more than he thinks it did. Maybe he was upset right away and as a result he just played harder. The old story is time heals everything. But he&rsquo;s had lots of time. We&rsquo;ve had several talks about it and he says it&rsquo;s not bothering him anymore.&ldquo;To see a guy of his caliber not going, it hurts us. You want to get him going. On the other hand, how long can you go rewarding mediocrity? That will kill us.&rdquo;So a player who had been above reproach in 10 splendid seasons for Fred Shero and Pat Quinn, suddenly is being castigated by the new coach. Based on his track record, the charge of &ldquo;Bill Barber not putting out&rdquo; is a shaky one. But the new coach, remember, is the old one who was fired by this same team four years ago as he patiently waited for several key veterans to begin playing up to expectations.Naturally, that doesn&rsquo;t make this any easier for Barber to take. No, he said the other day, the removal of his captaincy is not the problem; conditioning and timing is and he challenges anyone who&rsquo;s never played through a broken jaw to cast the first stone. And he said so, although not in so many words, directly to McCammon last week. He accused the coach of not showing him much respect and later added some elaboration for publication.&ldquo;The captaincy thing was a relief,&rdquo; he said later. &ldquo;I just questioned the timing, that&rsquo;s all. I wondered why it wasn&rsquo;t done during training camp.&ldquo;But Clarkie is our leader, no question. He should be the captain. I have no problem with that.&ldquo;The knee is fine. The brace they fit me with is very comfortable. What do I have, 57 points in 62 games? How far is that off my normal production? I feel like I&rsquo;m starting to come around, but I need to get my confidence back. And instead of a hand, now I&rsquo;m wondering if I&rsquo;ll get much of a chance to find it.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m a few pounds below what I normally am, but that&rsquo;s not a problem. I feel stronger all the time. You want to write that I&rsquo;m not playing well, you don&rsquo;t need my help.&rdquo;He has not been playing well. Not in the Barber sense of playing well. On the other hand, neither have several other key Flyers and their names have drawn only passing mention from McCammon. And that, as much as anything, is what makes Barber bum.&ldquo;The coach is always right,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;1 don&rsquo;t have a side of it. Everything was fine when I was out and we were winning. Now we&rsquo;re not winning and I&rsquo;m playing and I&rsquo;m the reason. You understand where I&rsquo;m coming from?&rdquo;McCammon, approaching it from the opposite direction, has tried Barber with just about every possible linemate. &ldquo;Yeah, a game here, a game there,&rdquo; Barbersaid. &ldquo;Is that enough? I&rsquo;ll do my best if I get an opportunity to play.&rdquo;He will. And it might be enough, other factors being equal, to take this team all the way. If his five points in the last six games are an indication Barber is coming on, then you wonder what has been accomplished by the coach&rsquo;s criticism.McCammon certainly will forgive with a happily-ever-after playoffs, but will Barber? In the meantime, you wouldn&rsquo;t invite both he and McCammon to the same party. Barber, with the tough, resilient body, has just been tested and discovered to have a thin skin. And he wonders if he&rsquo;ll even be invited to sit on the Flyer bench next season.Forget that. He&rsquo;s 31, which probably is too old to bring the good young player the Flyers would want in exchange. And he&rsquo;s too valuable to let go for less because of any internal political squabble.He&rsquo;s Bill Barber. And whatever reasons, both obvious and underlying, for this season, you still have to believe that when the chips, on his shoulder or otherwise, are down, he&rsquo;ll be at his best. &#9632;

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Billy Fumes As Philly Goes Cold

<div class="byline">BY JOHN GILBERT</div>BLOOMINGTON&mdash;If you like brawls, it was pretty good. If you don&rsquo;t, it was pretty bad.The unfortunate thing about the hour-long hassles between the Minnesota North Stars and Chicago Black Hawks in their March 21 game at the Met Center is that a capacity crowd will remember that brawl instead of the 60 minutes of top-shelf, pressure-cooker hockey that was played before and after the fights.The teams put on another of their games that have made theirs the most intensely fought&mdash;you should pardon the expression&mdash;rivalry in the National Hockey League this year. The pace was exceptional, with back-and-forth chances and great speed, despite the closeness of the checking.Minnesota led four times in the game and Chicago came back to tie three of them before the Stars got away with a 4-3 victory. Willi Plett, Gordie Roberts and Brian Bellows, who&rsquo;s been on a goal-scoring tear, scored power-play goals for Minnesota.It was 3-3 at 14:10 of the third period when several scuffles erupted, most notably Ron Friest and Steve Larmer. As order seemed about to be restored, Denis Savard skated past the Minnesota bench toward the Chicago bench, but engaged in a verbal hassle with Dino Ciccarelli. Savard then veered right to the Minnesota bench and the two, who share similar tempers but normally don&rsquo;t engage in the rough stuff, lost their cool. Ciccarelli jumped on to the ice, an act which cost him a three-game suspension, and both benches emptied.Referee Bryan Lewis and his crew went from fight to fight to restore order, which took most of a half-hour. It took longer before it was decided who would sit out for how long. Chicago got 14 penalties for 91 minutes, Minnesota 15 penalties for 82. A curious twist was that Friest and Dan Manich got extra penalties for Minnesota for leaving the penalty box, but Chicago got no such penalties because the Friest-Mandich adversaries hadn&rsquo;t gone directly to the penalty box, so could continue the brawl without added infractions.When it was finally settled, the teams played three aside, and Brad Maxwell rifled in a dramatic 60-foot blast for the winning goal at 14:58&mdash;48 seconds of game time and an hour of real time after the fight started.Maxwell, curiously, had been a noncombatant in the brawl, and said later he wanted to stay and play instead of getting tossed out. Plett also didn&rsquo;t really get involved. He held Al Secord for about 20 minutes, then let Secord go. Secord immediately blind-sided Mandich with a sucker-punch that closed his right eye.After holding on through a tense finish to win 4-3, the Stars talked about how their big, record-setting brawl in Boston two years ago welded the team together for a run into the Stanley Cup finals. That was true, but if this one united the team, it was hard to tell by the rest of the week.After the victory moved the Stars to within three points of the Norris-leading Hawks, Minnesota went into Toronto and the Maple Leafs found the Stars standing around in the defensive zone, buzzing them for a 6-3 verdict. A night later, the Stars lost 5-3 in Montreal. Then they went into Detroit, fell behind 4-1 in the first seven minutes, but rallied for an improbable 7-5 victory while being outshot 37-20. Giving up 18 goals in three games was not exactly the recipe for reaching first place. And, while a Minnesota-Chicago playoff series would be sensational the Stars must get there first.STARS NOTES&mdash;Stars&rsquo; GM Lou Nanne was spared the weekend collapse. He was in Grand Forks, ND doing color commentary on ESPN broadcasts of the National Collegiate Hockey Association hockey finals. While there, Nanne, who also did the broadcast of the state high school tournament two weeks earlier, could watch closely as Providence College&rsquo;s defenseman Randy Valischek and Minnesota seniors Scott Bjugstad and Dave Jensen finished their careers. Nanne, by earlier drafts, has the rights to/hose seniors, plus several others at the tournament. Nanne earlier signed 1980 U.S. Olympic goaltending star Jim Craig, who is competing with the U.S in the B Division tournament in Japan. &#9632;

Stars, Hawks Affair Turns Into Big Brawl

<div class="byline">BY TIM MORIARTY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-011213/4668447-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg" title="f0004-01" width="556" height="1014"><figcaption class="caption-body">New York Islander Denis Potvin said the team needs to reacquire its fear of failure.</figcaption></div>LONG ISLAND&mdash;As the Stanley Cup playoffs approached, the Islanders were peering through their own windows of vulnerability and wondering what lay ahead.The Flyers dethroned the Islanders as champions of the Patrick Division and at least a half-dozen teams were considered strong enough to end the Isles&rsquo; three-year reign as Cup champions.So the Islanders suddenly had become vulnerable. They knew it. The whole league knew it.The burning question now is what must the Isles do in the playoffs that they failed to do during the regular season if they hope to win their fourth straight Cup?Armed with that question, this reporter backed several Islander into a comer after a recent practice and came up with some interesting answers.Bob Bourne: &ldquo;We have to be more aggressive. I don&rsquo;t mean fighting, either. We have to be more aggressive in our pursuit of the puck. And we have to be smarter with the puck. We&rsquo;ve been so intent on working hard, because people said we weren&rsquo;t working, that we&rsquo;re not doing the right things when we get into the offensive zone. Myself, I have to get into the flow more. I&rsquo;ve been all over the ice. Our line has been all over the ice. We&rsquo;re not using the lanes properly.&rdquo;Denis Potvin: &ldquo;The one thing we had in recent years was fear&mdash;a fear of failure. That&rsquo;s what we need now. It&rsquo;s like walking down a dark alley at night: You hear better, you concentrate more, because you sense where you are and you&rsquo;re ready to react. This season, we haven&rsquo;t been scared of losing and sometimes we accepted it&hellip;I&rsquo;m going to have to score more goals in the playoffs. We lost some games this season when I had two or three good opportunities and I could have turned the game into a victory, but I didn&rsquo;t.&rdquo;Bryan Trottier: &ldquo;We have to concentrate more on our skating in the playoffs. We haven&rsquo;t been doing that. We&rsquo;ve been a half step behind and we wind up chasing. We&rsquo;re not a bunch of Wayne Gretzkys. We can&rsquo;t skate through a whole team. But we have to remember what helped us win those three Cups&mdash;skating and sticking to our system.&rdquo;Mike Bossy: &ldquo;We&rsquo;ll be facing some tough teams in the playoffs and in order to succeed we&rsquo;ll have to play disciplined hockey. We&rsquo;re going to need the best, the very best, from eveybody.&rdquo;&ldquo;We have to be hungry and we have to play hungry. That means we need a lot of drive and enthusiasm&hellip;&rdquo;Bobby Nystrom: &ldquo;We have to be hungry and we have to play hungry. That means we need a lot of drive and enthusiasm. That&rsquo;s the only thing we&rsquo;ve lacked this season. We weren&rsquo;t pumped up. Now we need it more that ever.&rdquo;John Tonelli: &ldquo;We need a lot more concentration. Then we have to do all the things that helped us win the first three Cups and do it better because the other teams are better. There&rsquo;s a lot of hungry teams out there.&rdquo;Wayne Merrick: &ldquo;We have to play better positional hockey, especially coming out of our end. We&rsquo;ve been rushing too much. We have to make sure we have possession and be patient and not wind up ahead of the play.&rdquo;Roland Melanson: &ldquo;It&rsquo;s going to take some hot goaltending to win another Cup. It&rsquo;s up to me and Smitty (Bill Smith) because it&rsquo;s going to take two goalies this time. If we wind up playing the Flyers, they take a lot of shots and can wear down one goalie. I&rsquo;m going to stay sharp and if I get a chance, I&rsquo;ll be ready.&rdquo;Al Arbour: &ldquo;Our big game is taking the body and forechecking, and our overall checking hasn&rsquo;t been up to par. We&rsquo;ll have to be patient and force errors and capitalize on them.&rdquo;ON THE ISLE&mdash;The Islanders end the final week of the regular season in a torrid battle with the Capitals for second place in the Patrick Divison&hellip;Bossy scored his 56th goal and set up the winning goal by Trottier in the Isles&rsquo; 3-2 victory over the Rangers&hellip;The Isles&rsquo; penalty killers had not allowed a powerplay goal in 19 consecutive home games, killing off 60 straight penalites over that period&hellip;Jiggs McDonald, the Isles&rsquo; TV annnouncer, missed three games with an intestinal inflammation. They were the first games he missed because of illness in 16 years of broadcasting. &#9632;

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Islanders Supply Answers To The Stanley Cup Quiz

<div class="byline">BY TOM HENSHAW</div>BOSTON&mdash;Take it from Barry Pederson, the most difficult thing about playing with willow-the-wisp Rick Middleton is resisting the temptation to become a spectator.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m probably his biggest fan,&rdquo; said Pederson. &ldquo;I&rsquo;d like to sit back and watch him, too, but I gotta do my own job. That&rsquo;s the toughest thing about playing with Ricky.&rdquo;One example is the goal Middleton scored that helped the Boston Bruins whip the Hartford Whalers 7-4 and moved the Bruins to within one point of clinching the best overall record in the NHL.&ldquo;Ricky was going around the net and I think there were two, maybe even three guys on him,&rdquo; said Pederson. &ldquo;He was going right and everybody else was going right, even the goalie. I just kind of hung back on the left side and the puck came right on my stick and all I had to do was shoot it in.&rdquo;The consecutive wins, a 7-6 decision over St. Louis and the Hartford conquering provided two near sellouts of Boston Garden fans a sample of what is coming to be known as the Rick and Barry Show.Against St. Louis, Middleton had a hat trick, with Pederson assisting on two of them. Middleton increased his goal total to 46 for the season, a remarkable fact when you consider he didn&rsquo;t score a goal in his first seven games and only 10 after 27 games, roughly one third of the season.Against Hartford, Pederson had a hat trick, with Middleton assisting on all of them. Pederson upped his goal total to 45 and his point total to 103, this despite having only nine goals and 24 points at the one-third mark.Even the St. Louis goalie, Mike Liut, had nice things to say about Middleton.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s really nifty,&rdquo; said Liut. &ldquo;He does a lot of things but he doesn&rsquo;t do the same thing twice. Some guys are predictable. They come down and shoot the same way every time. Middleton doesn&rsquo;t do that. He takes his time. He doesn&rsquo;t panic. All good scorers are like that.&rdquo;&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve never seen anyone like him,&rdquo; said Pederson, who has centered Middleton at right wing for two years. &ldquo;I can&rsquo;t speak for the older guys, but in my 10 years in hockey there&rsquo;s not one guy who can do the things he can do.&ldquo;Wayne Gretzky is by far the most dynamic offensive player in the league, but I don&rsquo;t think there&rsquo;s anybody better than Ricky when it comes to one-on-one or even one-on-two for that matter. It&rsquo;s got to be one of the most scary feelings in the world to be backing up and having him coming down on you. &rdquo;&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know what my problem was at the beginning of the year,&rdquo; said Middleton who, with four games remaining in the season, had a shot at 50 goals for the second successive year.&ldquo;I talked to Stan Fischler on the Island two nights ago and he said, &lsquo;We tell it like it is here and I said you probably wouldn&rsquo;t get to 25.&rsquo;I said the way I felt at the beginning of the year, I would have been happy with 25.&ldquo;Barry&rsquo;s been looking for me. He&rsquo;s got a shot at 50 also and when two players on the same line have a shot at hitting the 50 mark they&rsquo;re looking for each other. Tonight he found me a lot of times. We&rsquo;re clicking now and it&rsquo;s happening at the right time.&rdquo;Pederson said he went out on the ice in the next game against Hartford looking for Middleton, but this time it was Middleton who found him.&ldquo;I was trying to get Ricky closer to 50,&rdquo; said Pederson, &ldquo;but it was one of those things where a team comes in here and reads that Ricky is hot and they put a little more pressure on him so I&rsquo;ll get a few. And if I&rsquo;m hot, they&rsquo;ll check me and that leaves Ricky open.&ldquo;I never thought I&rsquo;d hit 100 points ever in my career, let alone earlier in the season when things weren&rsquo;t going too good. When I played minor hockey it was tough for me to visualize myself doing well in junior hockey and now it&rsquo;s tough for me to visualize myself as a junior doing well up here.&rdquo;WHAT&rsquo;S BRUIN&mdash;The Bruins, along with the Massachusetts High School Hockey Coaches Association, have created the John Carlton Memorial Trophy, in honor of their longtime New England scout who died recently. The trophy will be awarded annually to the student-athlete of the year in state high school hockey. The first winner, chosen by a panel of high school coaches, is Allen Bourbeau, a senior forward at Aston-Boxboro Regional High School, who broke Robbie Ftorek&rsquo;s 13-year-old career scoring record. Bourbeau is bound for Harvard next year. &ldquo;John Carlton was much more than just a pro scout,&rdquo; said Bruin GM Harry Sinden. &ldquo;He spent much of his life encouraging high school and college hockey players throughout New England. This is why we felt honoring a high school senior is a most fitting tribute.&rdquo; &#9632;

Nifty Puts On A ‘Scary’ Show

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0004-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-021151/4668509-1-eng-US/f0004-022.jpg"></div>THE INTERNATIONAL HOCKEY WEEKLYFounded In 1947 by Kenneth W. McKenzieTHE HOCKEY NEWS. (ISSN 0018-3016) is published weekly except monthly June through September by W.C.C. Publishing Ltd., 85 Scarsdale Road, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M3B 2R2. In U.S. c/o W.C.C: Publishing Corp., 850 Third Ave., New York, N.Y. 10022.YEARLY SU8SCIUPTKM RATES: $18 95 in the U.S.A $18 95 in Canada $24 95 in Foreign Countries Send all Canadian&rsquo;and Foreign subscription orders to THE HOCKEY NEWS. P.O. Box 13035. Postal Station &lsquo;A&rsquo;, Toronto. Ont M5W 1V7 US subscription requests should be mailed to Box 904. Buffalo. N.Y. 14240 Please allow 4-6 weeks for processingSEND ADDRESS CHANGES TO THE HOCKEY NEWS. 85 Scarsdale Road, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M3B 2R2. Second Class mail Registration No. 1327. All inquiries pertaining to subscriptions should be addressed to Subscription Dept., The Hockey News, 85 Scarsdale Road, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M3B 2R2.IN THE UNITED STATES: Second class postage paid at New York. NY and at additional mailing offices U.S. POSTMASTER send address change to: The Hockey News. P.O. Box 904, Buffalo. N.Y 14240<div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-031005/4668502-1-eng-US/f0004-032.jpg" title="f0004-03" width="61" height="57"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div>Member of the Audit Bureau of Circulations &#9632;

f0004-02

The Hockey News

<div class="byline">BY STAN FISCHLER</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-011070/4668540-1-eng-US/f0005-012.jpg" title="f0005-01" width="287" height="337"></div><h2>The NHL Tin Men</h2>I HAVE NO argument with the Hart Trophy &ldquo;to the player adjudged to be the most valuable to his team.&rdquo; Good thought on the part of Dr. David A. Hart. Nice trophy.What I want to know is what happened to Marvin M. Heartless? He also designed a trophy&mdash;&ldquo;to the player adjudged to be the least valuable to his team.&rdquo; Ergo: The Heartless Trophy.The great thing about The Heartless Trophy is that it won&rsquo;t be selected by Curly, Larry and Moe, and those other zanies from The Professional Hockey Writers Association who don&rsquo;t know a left wing from a Communist.Sorry PHWAs, The Heartless Trophy will be picked by me and only S.F. I list four simple qualifications: The winner (loser) must have a terribly obese contract, own a half-ton of clippings, think he&rsquo;s the greatest thing since Elvis Presley and contribute minus-the-radical-50 to his team.The winner (loser) will get no gift certificate, no television set; not even a limp handshake. Now for the candidates:BORJE (BOZO) SALMING: Bozo has been with the Toronto Maple Leafs since 1973. This frowning fugitive from Fjord-sville skates like the lead in an Ice Capades chorus line. He shoots the puck like a 16-inch gun on the battleship Missouri and stickhandles like The Great Gretzky. But with all his esthetic assets, Bozo is a loser; always was and always will be.You can smell out a loser like you can sniff rotted wood and this man is it.When Bozo got hurt during the heart of the 1978 playoff between the Leafs and Islanders, the Toronto skaters proved that their overpriced imported meatbail was eminently dispensible. With Salming deactivated, Toronto upset the favored Isles in seven games. It was the Leafs&rsquo; finest hour in a decade. Unfortunately for them, Bozo eventually returned. Then, the Leafs lost.If you believe Salming&rsquo;s innumerable press agents&mdash;carefully disguised as Toronto hockey writers&mdash;you could only assume that the Swedeheart of Maple Leaf Gardens has led them somewhere other than to oblivion. Not so. Bozo has paced the Leafs to the heart of the never-never land of nowheresville, unlike genuine NHL heroes. (Remember how Gretzky singlehandedly led an inept Oilers club a few years ago? Or how Denis Potvin led a weak Islanders club a few years before that.) Yet, Bozo keeps cashing his Canadian checks and delivering few in return.Just to be sure I am not being unfair to my least-favorite Swede, I checked him out at a couple of games this year. Then, I bled for Harold Ballard&rsquo;s bankbook. For this smorgasbord Harold is paying hundreds of thousands of dollars! Harold should protest to the Better Business Bureau as quickly as Salming runs to the bank.In a game against the New Jersey Devils, when the visiting Leafians needed all the stability and leadership they could get, what did Bozo do? Why, he made a sap of himself. He earned stupid penalties, indulged himself in mini-tantrums and looked like he was auditioning for Looney Tunes and Merry Melodies. Thanks to him, his club was wiped out by the Devils.How bad was Salming? Well, here&rsquo;s what our own Dick Beddoes observed that night: &ldquo;Salming is skating like he&rsquo;s nine months pregnant and about to burst.&rdquo;I knew the Leafs were in a slump so I waited a few more months to see how Salming would look after Dan Daoust had arrived and the Leafs were hot. They visited Nassau Coliseum on March 3rd, now looked in a climactic race for a playoff spot with Detroit and St. Louis. Did Salmilng orchestrate a grand victory march? Hello, no!He should have stayed home. He had all the inspiration of a wet kleenex. With a big assist from the indolent one, the Leafs lost 5-1. Vintage Salming. Bozo, for all you do not do, this Heartless is for you.I realize that in nominating Salming, I may incur the wrath of my French-Canadian freres who will accuse me of playing favorites. So, in the spirit of fairness I will add a Quebecois and an English-Canadian to the list. But no more. Sorry, no Slovaks, no Venezuelans (that&rsquo;s you, Rick Chartraw) and no Paraguayians either, whether Willi Plett likes it or not. Now for Quebec.UNREAL CLOUTIER: There are about 420 NHL players who would love to have the gifts of Unreal. Maybe he can&rsquo;t skate with Bozo, but he can thread a puck through a needle and do a lot of other fancy things with his stick.Unreal has two problems: First of all, he is allergic to every rink but Le Colisee, which right away means the odds are 20-1 against him. Second, he is allergic to his coach, Michel Bergeron. What those guys say about each other you would only want to read in The National Enquirer.Cloutier should rise above all that booshwah. He should remember that he&rsquo;s being paid for away games as well as home contests. He should read up on the Laws of Protocol and realize that the coach is commander-in-chief and you listen to him&mdash;not argue with him.Until Unreal shapes up, he is Quebec&rsquo;s candidate for Le Sans Coeur. (Runner-up is the most overpaid goalie in NHL history, Mario Lessard.)Finding an English-Canadian candidate for The Heartless is easy. Grant Fuhr, Dale McCourt and Wayne Babych rate Dishonorable Mention, but my choice is St. Louis&rsquo; answer to Bozo Salming, Mister Unrealized Potential, himself&hellip;<h2>The Second Coming</h2>ROBBER RAMAGE: Judging by all the cymbal-crashing in The Checkerdome last fall when Ramage arrived from the Rockies, you would have thought that Robber was the second coming of Doug Wilson, Rod Langway, Mark Howe and Ray Bourque.That was the same impression the Denver loyalists got when Ramage arrived as the top junior selection in 1979. But Ramage, also known here as Give (as in The-Puck-Away), despite all the hullabaloo from his supporters, has not delivered what you would call a return on the St. Louis dollar.Just to be certain about Robber, I dispatched a spy to Maple Leaf Gardens on March 9th. This was a big, BIG game for the Blues; a win would virtually assure them of a playoff berth. But St. Lou lost, 5-2.How bad was Robber? He was so bad even Bozo Salming went around him for a goal. He was so bad that my spy&mdash;a man who has been watching hockey for two decades, writing and editing for a top-of-the-line publication&mdash;filed this report: &ldquo;I couldn&rsquo;t believe how bad Ramage was. He was awful, the worst player on tfie ice.&rdquo; The Robber, clearly, is a wonderful contender.Trumpets, maestro! And now for the 1983 winner of The Heartless Trohy, Curly, Larry and Moe will you please slash open the envelopes: (Pregnant pause of anticipation.)Well, folks, it was a close race, but Bozo wins because, unlike his younger competitors, he has withstood the test of time. A loser in 1973, 1981, and alas, today. To you, Bozo, the first annual Heartless, and may David A. Hart forgive you.<h2>We Need A Feud</h2>WHAT WE NEED, A GOOD FEUD&mdash;One of the most depressing aspects of hockey in the 1980s has been the precipitous drop in the I.Q. (Insult Quotient) of general managers. Our contemporary, well-bred, college-educated young gentlemen such as David Poile and Bob Pulford simply cannot&mdash;or will not&mdash;fire he invective like their predecessors.Gone are the Conn Smythes and Tommy Gormans, who would slug it out in the press as hard as their players did on the ice.Smythe, who ran the Maple Leafs in the 1930s and 1940s, usually had a war on with at least two rival GMs simultaneously. &ldquo;Talk about total war, on and off the ice,&rdquo; Smythe wrote in his autobiography, &ldquo;my fracases with Art Ross were something like that.&rdquo;Once, Ross publically accused Smythe of having &ldquo;no class.&rdquo; Hearing that, Smythe showed up at Boston Garden&mdash;after first notifying the media&mdash;in a top hat and tails.Smythe also knew that Ross had undergone an operation for hemorrhoids. Prior to the game, he bought a bouquet of roses, well covered with thorns. He then placed a card on the roses with the message, in Latin, &ldquo;Insert these up your you-know-where.&rdquo;He then asked his defenseman King Clancy to deliver the roses to Ross at the start of the game. As it happened, the Bruins&rsquo; GM was sitting alongside blue-blooded Boston family. Smiling, Ross accepted the bouquet and then graciously handed the roses to the sophisticated lady companion. &ldquo;Trouble was,&rdquo; said Smythe, &ldquo;she could read Latin!&rdquo;Smythe, who had a sand and gravel business in Toronto, often clashed with Gorman when Tommy managed the Montreal Maroons. Once, the Leaf leader infuriated Gorman by charging that the Montreal management had deviously sprinkled sand in the Leafs dressing room before a game in order to blunt their skates.To that Gorman snapped: &ldquo;If there was any sand in the Maple Leafs&rsquo; dressing room, it must have been brought in by the guys working in Smythe&rsquo;s sand pits!&rdquo;Is there any chance of a latter-day Smythe-Ross feud? There is hope, and for that we can thank the Red Wings&rsquo; effervescent Jimmy Devellano and Billy MacMillan, his counterpart with the Devils.Granted that a MacMillan-Devellano bout is not in the Smythe-Ross category, but it does have potential. The fooferaw began when MacMillan decided to unload Dwight Foster and his $300,000 contract early this season.Devellano picked up Foster for one dollar (and the oversized contract), which was all right with MacMillan&mdash;as long as Jimmy D kept the matter private. After all, reasoned Billy Mac, a. pact of silence is a pact of silence.Next thing Billy Mac heard were stories drifting eastward about Jimmy D boasting to newsmen that he not only picked up Foster for one simolean, &ldquo;but it was a crumpled dollar bill at that.&rdquo;&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not the first general manager Devellano has broken his word to,&rdquo; MacMillan told Rich Chere of the Newark Star Ledger. &ldquo;You expect your negotiations to be kept private, but he commented about the Foster deal. That&rsquo;s a rookie mistake.&rdquo;Jimmy D didn&rsquo;t like that a bit and counterattacked with a harpoon of his own, setting the feud in high gear. Where the battle goes from here is a moot point, but this much I can tell you, somewhere up there, Smythe, Ross and Gorman are eagerly awaiting the next round. &#9632;

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ON THE CONTRARY

<div class="byline">BY BOB FACHET</div>LANDOVER&mdash;The Washington Capitals, determined to wrest second place in the Patrick Division from the New York Islanders, ran off a six-game unbeaten streak that included a home-and-home sweep of Boston and a road victory in Philadelphia.Outshot 40-23 in Boston Garden, the Capitals got a 39-save effort from goalie Pat Riggin and two goals from Bengt Gustafson to earn a 2-1 victory and a three-game season sweep over the Bruins.At the Spectrum, Washington preserved a 3-2 victory by limiting the Flyers to six shots in a goalless third period. That gave the Capitals the season series (four games to three) over the Flyers for the second year in a row.Returning home, the Capitals struggled for a 1-1 tie against Vancouver. In their next game against New Jersey, they rallied for four goals in less than six minutes to win 5-3. Bob Carpenter netted both the tying goal and the winner in that one.That left the Capitals three points ahead of the Islanders and each team had five games left, including a head-to-head clash at the Capital Center on March 30.Riggin, the No. 2 man most of the season, took over the top role from Al Jensen with a series of outstanding performances. After hitting bottom in a 9-7 loss to Los Angeles on Jan. 11, Riggin was rested for more than two weeks. Since returning to action, he is 9-2-3 with a 2.23 goals-against average.Coach Bryan Murray said Riggin would start the March 30 game against the Islanders and, if he won, would be in the nets for the Capitals&rsquo; first-ever playoff game against the same club April 6.Gustafsson, who collected three goals and six assists in the previous five games, missed the victory over New Jersey because of a strained back that had been troubling him for some time.Mike Gartner, who netted seven goals in the same five games, came up empty against the Devils, but other offensive heroes appeared to pull that one out.Both rookie Scott Stevens and Carpenter scored sensational goals in bringing the Capitals back from a 3-1 third-period deficit against Ron Low, the No. 1 goalie during Washington&rsquo;s first three sorrowful seasons.Stevens skated along the left-wing boards toward the slot and shot from a difficult angle, then followed it up to net the rebound when Low could not find the puck.That made it 3-2 and 53 seconds later. Carpenter converted Chris Valentine&rsquo;s centering pass to tie the game. When the Devils&rsquo; Jan Ludvig was penalized for hooking, Carpenter produced the winner to give the Capitals three goals in two minutes, thirty-six seconds.It was a memorable goal. Carpenter took Paul MacKinnon&rsquo;s pass in full stride at his own blueline, swept past defenseman Rob Palmer at the New Jersey blueline, faked Joel Quenneville and beat Low with a backhander. That gave Carpenter three two-goal games in March and a total of 29 for the season.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s so important to go up three points,&rdquo; Carpenter said. &ldquo;We plan on winning every game, but we need one to fall back on, just in case. We have to beat a team like New Jersey and we realized when we fell behind 3-1 that we had to get going.&rdquo;&ldquo;I think the pressure got to them when they were ahead,&rdquo; Murray said. &ldquo;They let up and made mistakes and we took advantage. It was the kind of thing that happened to us in the past.&rdquo;This season, by contrast to past fadeouts, the Capitals lost only one game&mdash;in November on Nov. 21&mdash;when they entered the third period with a lead. &#9632;

Capitals Have Edge In Battle With Isles

<div class="byline">BY DICK JOHNSTON</div>BUFFALO&mdash;There are those who oppose wearing helmets in the National Hockey League because they feel it leads to excessive use of the stick around an opposing player&rsquo;s head, the so-called &lsquo;stick work.&rsquo;This may be so, but the Buffalo Sabres&mdash;all of whom wear helmets&mdash;feel the safety factor of wearing a helmet outweighs any shortcomings&mdash;especially after two occurences within a week in Buffalo.The first happened when Calgary&rsquo;s Ed Beers tangled with Buffalo defenseman Bill Hajt during a game in Memorial Auditorium and fell backwards against the boards, hitting his head and twisting his neck at the same time.Beers went into convulsions on the ice, was carried off in a stretcher and taken to a Buffalo hospital. The Calgary winger, who was wearing a helmet, suffered a severe concussion but was released from the hospital the next day apparently OK.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m going to have a lot of nightmares over that one,&rdquo; said Hajt, who appeared to try and break Beers&rsquo; fall after the collision.Five days later, Buffalo&rsquo;s Brent Peterson suffered a concussion in a fall in Sabreland, the Sabres&rsquo; practice rink.&ldquo;If I didn&rsquo;t have the helmet on, I think I&rsquo;d be dead,&rdquo; Peterson said the day after being released from the hospital. &ldquo;Some of the guys said I hit the boards harder than Eddy Beers.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t remember a thing.&rdquo;Lindy Ruff, Peterson&rsquo;s teammate, said they were doing wind sprints and Peterson was a couple of steps from the end boards when his skate seemd to catch a rut.&ldquo;He flipped completely backwards and hit his head on the ice,&rdquo; Ruff said. &ldquo;He didn&rsquo;t seem to know what happened when they took him out.&rdquo;Peterson was awakened every two hours while being kept overnight in the hospital, but was released the next day. He sat out the game the next night against Hartford but was expected to be back in the lineup for the weekend meeting with Adams Division rival Quebec.Peterson has become an important player in the Buffalo scheme of things this season, after coming to the Sabres as throw-in with Dale McCourt and Mike Foligno in the seven-player swap with Detroit in the 1981-82 season.Don&rsquo;t say &lsquo;throw-in&rsquo; to Peterson, though.&ldquo;If I was nothing, I wouldn&rsquo;t be included in the trade, would I?&rdquo;No matter how he came to Buffalo, Peterson has done a lot for the Sabres.The big center scored one of Buffalo&rsquo;s goals in that Calgary game, won 5-3 by Buffalo, after the Sabres lost four straight on a western road trip.Peterson scored another when the Sabres defeated the Canadiens 6-4 in Montreal during the weekend home-and-home series between the teams battling it out for second place in the Adams Division.Peterson&rsquo;s goal, on a shot from the blueline that glanced off goalie Rick Wamsley&rsquo;s glove and into the net, tied the score at 2-2 after the Canadiens had all the better of it in the early going.Hannu Virta scored three goals, the first NHL hat trick for the 19-year-old rookie Finnish defenseman, to pace the Sabres in that win.The next night, a sellout crowd&mdash;Buffalo&rsquo;s fifth of the season&mdash;turned out in Memorial Auditorium, hoping for a repeat. But the Canadiens won 7-4 and things were the same as before the big weekend, except that the Canadiens were closer to clinching second place and home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs.The Sabres bounced back from the loss to Montreal with a mid-week 8-3 trouncing of Hartford. Andre Savard, who returned to the lineup after missing eight games because of a pulled groin muscle, replaced Peterson and assisted on two goals.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-011251/4668595-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg" title="f0006-01" width="547" height="811"><figcaption class="caption-body">Brent Peterson suffered a concussion after falling during a Buffalo Sabre practice.</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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Sabres Thankful For Their Helmets

<div class="byline">BY BOB DONNELLY</div>QUEBEC&mdash;The adage is that defense wins games, but when you have an offensive artillery with names such as Stastny, Goulet and Cloutier, you go the other route.The Nordiques have been a disaster on the road this season and they gave a recent display of that by losing four straight games in a western road swing that began in St. Louis, traversed to Los Angeles and Vancouver and finished up in Winnipeg.With the Nordiques opening the playoffs against Boston in Beantown, Quebec coach Michel Bergeron plans to go back to what has made his team successful in the last three years: offense.&ldquo;Our strength has been our offense all year and now we might as well concentrate on scoring goals for the rest of the regular-season games and see what happens,&rdquo; Bergeron said. &ldquo;We stressed defense on that road trip out west and besides not stopping the opposition from scoring, we stopped scoring ourselves. In our playoff series we will see the third-best offense in the league against the best defense this year. That should make it interesting.&rdquo;Veteran Marc Tardif has seen slumps of all types through his 15 years as a professional and his experience helps him to keep an open perspective on events. He realizes his team has had some problems lately, but on the other hand, the playoffs have not started and now is not the time to panic.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-02929/4668626-1-eng-US/f0006-022.jpg" title="f0006-02" width="554" height="1287"><figcaption class="caption-body">Quebec veteran Marc Tardif says now it&rsquo;s not time to press the panic button.</figcaption></div>&ldquo;Our fans were a little upset by that road trip, but we should not overreact to what happened,&rdquo; said Tardif. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t believe for one minute that we ever jump on the ice with the idea of losing a game. In two of those four games we gave up a bad goal in the last minute, which means we should have had two tie games. It was not all as bad as it seems.&ldquo;Right now we must put those road games behind us and concentrate on the rest of the regular season. We want to be in the right frame of mind for the start of the playoffs and winning some games will accomplish that.&ldquo;When the playoffs start, everything that happened in the regular season no longer counts all that much. We played well against Boston through most of the year. There are psychological factors which will come into play as well. There is no need to get all depressed now. Let&rsquo;s just wait and see what happens.&rdquo;The Stastny brothers have a new contract and it&rsquo;s possible Marian&rsquo;s injured shoulder might be healed come playoff time. However, the Nordiques still remain suspect on defense, with the uncertainty surrounding the knee injury to Normand Rochefort and Mario Marois being lost for the season with a fractured leg.If the Nordiques work together as a team and if Dan Bouchard returns to peak form, then the Nordiques might have a chance&mdash;albeit slim&mdash;of upsetting the Bruins in the playoffs.NORDIC NOTES&mdash;A Quebec radio station recently released a confidential salary list for the team, causing quite a stir around the city. Some of the interesting yearly stipends revealed were Wally Weir&rsquo;s ($45,000), Dan Bouchard&rsquo;s ($300,000), the Stastny brothers&rsquo; before the new deal was signed ($200,000 plus all kinds of extras) and Real Cloutier&rsquo;s ($150,000). &#9632;

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When Defense Goes Sour, Quebec Turns To Offense

<div class="byline">BY GLENN COLE</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0007-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-011114/4668657-1-eng-US/f0007-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">NHL rookie defenseman Bill Rcot is as surprised as anybody that he is playing with the Montreal Canadiens this season.</figcaption></div>MONTREAL&mdash;Not many people thought Bill Root would be playing with the Montreal Canadiens in the 1982-83 National Hockey League season&mdash;not even Bill Root.Even after The Trade had been made with the Washington Capitals just prior to the start of training camp. Root wasn&rsquo;t sure what to expect.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think the spots were exactly that open,&rdquo; Root said. &ldquo;I think people had been selected for spots and I think they had a general idea before they go into training camp on who is going to fill the positions.&ldquo;They had selected some players and I think that&rsquo;s the reason I went down (to Nova Scotia Voyageurs of the American Hockey League) so quickly.&rdquo;Root was dispatched to the Voyageurs quickly in training camp, but he did get a chance to play in Montreal&rsquo;s ninth preseason game against the Chicago Black Hawks in Moncton. No one bolted as much as an eyelash when he was returned to the Vees, nor when he played the majority of the first two months with the Canadiens&rsquo; AHL club. Bill Kitchen was given a better chance to stay with the Canadiens along with Ric Nattress.As the Canadiens prepare for the playoffs, Kitchen is in Nova Scotia, Nattress is the seventh man behind Larry Robinson, Craig Ludwig, Robert Picard, Rick Green, Gilbert Delorme and Bill Root.&ldquo;I was very shocked when I was recalled,&rdquo; Root said. &ldquo;I was on an American League contract which meant I couldn&rsquo;t play in any exhibition games at all. I thought Bill Kitchen was in for that spot exclusively.&rdquo;Root is a rarity in these days of high-powered NHL offense. He is a defensive defenseman, not willing to take too many dangerous offensive charges, a stay-at-home type of guy.He made his NHL debut Dec. 9 in Boston and was a plus-1 as the Canadiens suffered an 8-5 loss to the Boston Bruins. While his plus-minus figures are not overwhelming&mdash;Root is plus-7&mdash;he seldom gets himself or his team into trouble by handing the puck too much or staying out too long on a shift. Root was on for just three of 29 goals scored against the Canadiens as they lost to Philadelphia 6-4 and dropped a 6-4 decision to the Sabres, before beating Buffalo 7-4, Los Angeles 6-5, Minnesota 5-3 and St. Louis 6-5.&ldquo;I have been a defensive defensemen as a pro,&rdquo; said Root, who played for the Niagara Falls Flyers of the Ontario Hockey League. &ldquo;I think since I have been up in Montreal. I have been more defensive than I have to be. I think I have to come up with the play a little bit more. I think it is a necessity in this style of hockey. I just haven&rsquo;t got the confidence right now to move up that far, that quickly, without getting caught.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m just concentrating on one part of my game. Hopefully, I&rsquo;m making it steady enough that they can depend on me for other work.&rdquo;Root, signed as a free agent by Montreal on Oct. 4, 1979, feels the pressure of playing for the Canadiens, particularly because of the attention given the defense this season.&ldquo;I felt it especially that game we played against New Jersey (a 7-3 loss on Feb. 12),&rdquo; Root said. &ldquo;You look in the stands and you have all those Milestone winners. You feel so small compared to them. Basically, you have to keep yourself in tune with what you are trying to do, play a defensive style game in a game that is wide open.&ldquo;If I can concentrate on the things I can do and change what I can change and let other things take their course, it is going to help me.&rdquo;As Root and his teammates prepare for the best-of-five Adams Division first-round match against the Buffalo Sabres, he is looking forward to his first NHL playoff participation.&ldquo;I just can&rsquo;t comprehend how much pressure is going to be on,&rdquo; Root said. &ldquo;I was told before the games we played against Quebec that the pressure was incredible. I was surprised how much it was.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s just going to be a thrill for me being in the playoffs. Hopefully, we can go all the way. I know it&rsquo;s going to be a long road.&rdquo;IN PASSING&mdash;Guy Carbonneau tied an NHL rookie record by scoring his fifth shorthanded goal against the Minnesota North stars into an empty net in the Canadiens&rsquo; 5-3 victory. The mark was set by Dennis Maruk of the defunct California Golden Seals during the 1975-76 season-&hellip;Mark Hunter was due to make his return to the Montreal lineup after a 42-game absence in Pittsburgh on March 30. He was injured in a collision with his brother. Dale, in Quebec two days before Christmas and underwent knee sugery-&hellip; Robert Picard missed the 6-5 victory over St. Louis with a bruised bone in his left foot, the same foot he fractured when hit by a Guy Lafleur shot in practice Jan. 31&hellip; Ric Nattress showed his capabilities as a pugilist when he decked Perry Tum-bull of St, Louis in a second-period fight, after dumping Turnbull with a solid body check in the first period&hellip; Pierre Mondou and Craig Ludwig are both considered favorites to win the Fourth Star award won by Doug Jarvis last season. It is given to the player who contributes to the team but is not recognized often in the three-star selections. &#9632;

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Root Of Hab Rearguards Gearing Up For Playoffs

ALL THINGS CONSIDERED, this space is usually reserved for some relatively serious discussion of a hockey-related issue. Well, the National Hockey League regular season is just about over and, to be perfectly blunt, we don&rsquo;t feel like being serious and laying down another heavy in print. We&rsquo;ll save that effort for next week, when THE HOCKEY NEWS editorial staff put their brains together and their reputations on the line by predicting playoff winners. But, for now, we&rsquo;ll proceed with something a little different. How about the season in review, via HOCKEY NEWS&rsquo; headlines? Let&rsquo;s start with some that we&rsquo;d like to have back.Ramage To Solve Blues&rsquo; Defense Headaches&mdash;That&rsquo;s what the Blues thought when they gave up two first-round picks in the off-season for defenseman Rob Ramage, but a quick glance at the standings and statistics shows it just hasn&rsquo;t come about. Even if Ramage played as well as we all seem to think he&rsquo;s capable, he probably wouldn&rsquo;t be able to solve all the Blues&rsquo; problems&mdash;especially the financial ones.Rules Curb The Rat Attack As Linseman Cleans Up Act&mdash;Yeah, and hell is freezing over. The Rat, as much as Ken Linseman detests the nickname, is still The Rat. Just ask Los Angeles King rookie defenseman Dean Kennedy, who fought with Linseman under the stands.McNab Knows His Bruins&rsquo; Days Are Numbered&mdash;We never should have let Peter pull this one over on us, although if Steve Kasper hadn&rsquo;t been hurt, who knows where McNab would have been toiling right now. Anyway you look at it, the Bruins&rsquo; days might have been numbered if not for McNab, who could play for our team any day.Nords Show Improved Defense&mdash;Who&rsquo;s kidding who? The adage that &ldquo;the best defense is a good offense&rdquo; was meant for these guys. Keep shooting until the bullets run out and never mind defensive hockey.Pleau Has Time To Find Answers&mdash;We should know better than to run headlines like this, especially when a team such as the Hartford Whalers are involved. If there is anything that Larry Pleau doesn&rsquo;t appear to have now, it&rsquo;s time. The announcement regarding the restructuring of the Whalers seems to leave Larry Pleau in one position&mdash;waiting for the axe to fall.How about these ones, best described as more-than-meets-the-eye headlines.Islanders Sputtering Along On Two Cylinders&mdash;This one was written before Christmas, but probably could be used at just about any time this season. The defending Cup champions haven&rsquo;t been able to put it all together this season.Pleau Puts Himself On Firing Line&mdash;Written when Pleau took over coaching duties from the fired Larry Kish. In light of recent developments, no further explanation is required.Here are two of our it-goes-without-saying headlines:Devils Have A Long Way To Go and Penguins&rsquo; Poor Play Has E.J. FrustratedUnfortunately, not all of these headlines can be taken quite so lightly. Some are nothing less than tragic.Bastein Killed In Automobile Accident.The Blues&rsquo; Motto: Expect The Unexpected&mdash;A story that told of a rare moment in pro hockey. St. Louis defenseman Ed Kea, one of the league&rsquo;s pacifists, almost dropped his gloves to fight Minnesota North Star forward Tim Young. That was no tragedy, but two weeks later this headline was.Kea Battles For Life After Brain Surgery. Thankfully, Kea, who wasn&rsquo;t wearing a helmet during a CHL game in which he smashed his head against the boards and the ice, emerged from his coma and showed signs for a positive recovery.Leveille Is Playing With The English Touch&mdash;This story, detailing Boston Bruin forward Normand Leveille&rsquo;s battle to learn the English language and become a regular in the team&rsquo;s lineup was innocent enough when it ran. In the ensuing weeks, the headlines were of a more disturbing nature.Leveille Fights For Life After Brain Hemorrhage and Stardom Seemed Imminent For Comatose Leveille&mdash;Leveille&rsquo;s hockey career is over, and that is a tragedy, but the spirited young man is continuing the fight to lead a normal life.Space does not permit any more headline hunting, but if this headline trip through the regular season teaches us anything at all, it should be that, considering the last few examples provided, we shouldn&rsquo;t take all the others too seriously.It is, after all, just a game. Isn&rsquo;t it? &#9632;

Off The Wall

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-011212/4668712-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg" title="f0008-01" width="290" height="339"></div>It is customary at the end of any National Hockey League season to recount its hi-lites, but I&rsquo;ll leave that to those who contribute to the rest of these pages.Please read elsewhere about Gretzky and Peeters and McDonald; they&rsquo;ve been among the stars on the ice. But from where I sit, on a lonely stool not far from the red light of a TV camera, hockey seasons aren&rsquo;t necessarily remembered for the goals and the saves, the winning streaks and the slumps.Here, then, are some of the TV moments that, in my memory, will belong to the NHL season of 1983-83.ONE WAY TO BREAK TIES&mdash;CUT THEM: In the absence of overtime, Minnesota&rsquo;s Willi Plett made sure the NHL season would include one less tie than the results indicate. This particular tie was hanging from my collar and wrapped in Plett&rsquo;s innocence&mdash;and a towel&mdash;was a pair of scissors. After meandering through opening remarks relating to Willi&rsquo;s New Year&rsquo;s resolution that he would never again be interviewed by me. I found his hands at my neck and the scissors at work. I told him later I didn&rsquo;t know he could cut to his right.HOCKEY WITHOUT COMMERCIALS: The advent of pay-TV in Canada brought NHL telecasts designed to sell one thing and one thing only&mdash;hockey. The interruptions weren&rsquo;t missed.HOCKEY WITH COMMERCIALS: Still okay if you want to see the games free and I want to get paid.DON&rsquo;T JUMP TO CONCLUSIONS: Chicago&rsquo;s Denis Savard admitted to my colleague Brain McFarlane that he used to kiss his teammates after they scored a goal. But, said Denis, &ldquo;that didn&rsquo;t mean I was fag or anything. And I don&rsquo;t do it anymore.&rdquo; Ask a simple question.THE PHANTOM INTERVIEW: Howie Meeker was expecting Chicago&rsquo;s Curt Fraser to share a microphone, shortly after Fraser had been traded from Vancouver. Meeker recapped the first period, then turned to an empty chair and quickly realized that Fraser wasn&rsquo;t in it. Instead, Curt was being grilled along with his teammates by an unhappy Orval Tessier. Undaunted, Howie proceeded with the interview, asking the questions he prepared for Fraser and answering them as Curt might have done, or might not have done&mdash;we&rsquo;ll never know.A PLAYER&rsquo;S WORST LINE: &ldquo;We can win this game if we give 110 percent.&rdquo; Believe me, fellas, the coaches will settle for 100.AN ANNOUNCER&rsquo;S WORST LINE: &ldquo;This team has won its last five consecutive games in a row.&rdquo; You mean, without a loss?DISQUALIFIED FOR LOW BLOW: Dick Beddoes, face to face with Irving Grundman, awarded the Montreal managing director NHL Executive of the Year honors for his part strengthening two teams, Washington and Toronto.ANYTHING BUT HOCKEY: Harold Ballard&rsquo;s TV appearance in Winnipeg included talk of drugs, social diseases, beer and football, which was a handy&mdash;albeit unconventional&mdash;way of avoiding the subject at hand: the Leafs lost 7-3 to the Jets.KEEP THOSE AWARDS COMING: I asked Chicago rookie Steve Larmer if he was thinking about the Calder Trophy. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll never forget it,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It was a great thrill.&rdquo; Did he think he&rsquo;d won it already? No. he thought I meant the Calder Cup, which he and his New Brunswick Hawks won in the American League last season.THE SHOTS THAT BEAT ANY GOALIE: Chico Resch was asked to name Vladislav&rsquo;s Tretiak&rsquo;s weakness. His answer came swiftly: &ldquo;Vodka.&rdquo;THE GOOD INTERVIEWS: Doug Wilson, Mike Gartner, Doug Risebrough, Terry Ruskowski. Barry Beck, Bryan Trottier, Denis Potvin. Rob Ramage, Dan Daoust, Steve Payne, Bobby Clarke, Brian Bellows, Marcel Dionne, John Garrett.TAKE YOUR PICK: A beleagured Pittsburgh coach Eddie Johnston was asked to name his starting goalie for a game in Toronto. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll play Roberto Romano if his equipment arrives from Baltimore,&rdquo; he said.&rdquo; And what if it doesn&rsquo;t, Eddie? &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll play him anyway.&rdquo;NOW THAT&rsquo;S OPTIMISM: Detroit GM Jim Devellano outlined his long-range plans by saying: &ldquo;We feel we can be a contender for the Stanley Cup by 1990.&rdquo; They&rsquo;ll have an NHL team on the moon by then, won&rsquo;t they?BUT WHAT ABOUT FUTURE CONSIDERATIONS: Devellano said of trade talks with Minnesota&rsquo;s Lou Nanne: &ldquo;He takes out your eyes and tries to replace them with grapes.&rdquo;SORRY, SASKATOON: Don Cherry said he couldn&rsquo;t understand all the fuss being made about Saskatoon&rsquo;s out-of-they way location. In lending his support to the northward move of the St. Louis Blues, Cherry said: &ldquo;I had a lovely flight to Saskatoon&mdash;three hours. &rdquo; To which I asked, &ldquo;From where, Regina?&rdquo;BASED ON WHAT I&rsquo;VE SEEN: Mikhail Vasiliev of the touring Soviet all-stars was asked his impression of North America. He replied: &ldquo;You have nice airplanes and hotels.&rdquo;MY WORST FAUX PAS: Identifying the St. Louis Blues&rsquo; captain as one of six Sutter-playing hockey players. Or maybe it was agreeing to interview Willi Plett.At any rate, it seems to have been quite a season on TV screens, not unlike the previous 11 for me. I just wish I&rsquo;d kept this sort of diary from the very beginning. &#9632;

f0008-01

DAVE HODGE’S GUEST SHOT

Who is the best dressed coach in the National Hockey League?According to the Toronto Star, in its Mar. 27 edition, Edmonton Oiler coach Glen Sather wins in a walk. Here&rsquo;s how the Star came to its conclusion.It gathered a five-man panel to vote on the coaches&rsquo; haberdashery. Two of the five panelists were none other than Don (Grapes) Cherry and Dick (Bedclothes) Beddoes, two men who spend more on clothes in one year than the Gross National Product of some small countries. Rounding out the panel, with more traditional clothing values, the Star adds, are Hockey Night in Canada&rsquo;s Dave Hodge and Gary Domhoefer as well as Montreal Gazette sports editor Red Fisher.The consensus among the five was that it was difficult to come up with three best-dressed coaches. But they did, with Sather at the top of all five ballots. &ldquo;After Sather, almost everybody else is drab with a capital D,&rdquo; said Hodge, who then qualified his statement. &ldquo;But working with Beddoes and Cherry, I&rsquo;m not sure I know what well-dressed is any more.&rdquo;Montreal Canadiens&rsquo; Bob Berry and New York Rangers&rsquo; Herb Brooks were runners-up to Sather. Quebec Nordiques&rsquo; Michel Bergeron received honorable mentinnAt the other end of the scale, no fewer than 12 coaches got votes as the worst-dressed. But Toronto Maple Leaf coach Mike Nykoluk edged Boston Bruin coach Gerry Cheevers for that honor.What follows are some of the panel&rsquo;s comments regarding specific coaches. With the exception of Beddoes, panelists requested their comments go unattributed.Glen Sather&mdash;&ldquo;He wins by default,&rdquo; said Beddoes.Mike Nykoluk&mdash;&ldquo;If he wore brighter colors, he&rsquo;d look like Ronald McDonald. I guess the baggy look is in.&rdquo;Gerry Cheevers&mdash;&ldquo;He dresses as if he&rsquo;s on his way to the horse barns.&rdquo;Orval Tessier&mdash;&ldquo;He&rsquo;d be on the best-dressed list if he wore a brown robe because he&rsquo;d look just like Friar Tuck.&rdquo;Roger Neilson&mdash;&ldquo;His dog is a better dresser than he is&rdquo;&hellip;&ldquo;I think his dog must sleep on his stuff&rdquo;Don Perry&mdash;&ldquo;He&rsquo;s strictly Eastern League.&rdquo;Scotty Bowman&mdash;&ldquo;Scotty&rsquo;s shoes are never within 20 years of style.&rdquo;Larry Pleau&mdash;&ldquo;He looks like he got his clothes from a tent and awning company and the tent has collapsed,&rdquo; said Beddoes. &#9632;

SOME OTHER VIEWS

<div class="byline">BY ERIC DUHATSCHEK</div>CALGARY&mdash;It took nearly two seasons for the Calgary Flames to fill the gap on defense created when they traded away Brad Marsh. Typically for the Flames, specialists in hockey reclamation work, Marsh&rsquo;s successor was neither drafted nor considered much of a prospect&mdash;until the current season.The unlikely replacement is a 23-year-old free agent, a product of that powerhouse of U.S. college hockey, Ohio State.He is Jamie Macoun, a 6-foot-1, 199-pound defenseman, who is a rarity in today&rsquo;s National Hockey League because he makes contact in open ice and delivers jarring bodychecks in the corners.In short, he gives the Flames something that they didn&rsquo;t have before&mdash;an intimidating presence on the blueline.Macoun, who was out of shape when he reported and awkward in his first days of practice, played his way into the regular rotation less than a month after withdrawing from school.He plays with the poise of a more experienced player, but because he joined the team in February and therefore will not play 25 games, he will qualify as a rookie next season.It&rsquo;s all heady stuff, this rags-to-riches story, but Macoun has taken it in stride. He is confident, but quiet about his confidence. He knows he can play in the NHL.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s a difference between a good player and a player who knows his limits,&rdquo; said Macoun. &ldquo;I can be an adequate player right now because I know what I can do and what I can&rsquo;t do. I take my shift and I get off the ice. I don&rsquo;t want to get stuck on the ice for an extra 30 seconds because that could turn into an extra minute and I&rsquo;m not ready for that. It&rsquo;s one thing I&rsquo;m concerned about&mdash;overextending myself.&ldquo;In college, I didn&rsquo;t worry as much because the players are not as big and not as good. I had the reign of whatever I wanted to do. Here, I&rsquo;m the new kid on the block. I have to play within my limits.&rdquo;Macoun said his awakening to the pro game came in the first practices when he had the opportunity to go one-on-one with the club&rsquo;s finesse players such as Kent Nilsson.&ldquo;When they started throwing their best moves at me, I started to say: &lsquo;Oops, maybe I&rsquo;m not as good as I thought,&rsquo; &rdquo; Macoun said. &ldquo;I think I&rsquo;ve come a ways since then. I don&rsquo;t panic anymore. I don&rsquo;t look for the quick out all the time. I&rsquo;m more confident out there.&rdquo;Originally, Macoun intended to play for Canada&rsquo;s Olympic team in 1984. He played for the Olympic team as it trained for the cross-country tournament against the Soviet team, Sokol Kiev, and was Canada&rsquo;s outstanding defenseman.Then, the pro teams started dropping notes and buying dinners.He signed with the Flames because they guaranteed he would be with them for the remainder of the season. Now, they would not have it any other way.&ldquo;Al MacNeil (assistant GM) and Jack Ferreira (the team&rsquo;s U.S. scout) said he could play for us right away,&rdquo; said GM Cliff Fletcher. &ldquo;All I did was sign him to a contract.&rdquo;Part of the reason Macoun declined the Olympic team&rsquo;s offer was his history of knee trouble (bursitis in one knee, an operation on the other). He did not want to risk a career in the NHL by getting hurt again.For now, the Flames want him to improve his conditioning. When Macoun arrived, Johnson immediately put him on a weight program. Generally, the young defenseman spends an extra 10 or 15 minutes at practice every day with assistant coach Bob Murdoch, getting in shape and learning about the league.&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t do any of this stuff at Ohio State,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t have to. I must be in the worst shape of anyone on the team. I&rsquo;m going on a weight program for my upper body and my aerobic capacity in the summer. It still needs a lot of work.&rdquo;IN BRIEF&mdash;Eddy Beers, one member of Calgary&rsquo;s free-agent kiddie corps, had a scare in Buffalo last week when he went crashing into the boards head first after a collision with defenseman Bill Hajt. Beers went into convulsions on the ice and had to be rushed to hospital where doctors diagnosed his injury as a concussion. Later, Beers admitted his helmet and quick action by trainer Jim (Bearcat) Murray combined to save his life. Murray had to pry open Beers&rsquo; jaw, which was locked, and pull his tongue out of his throat with a pair of tongue forceps. &#9632;

Flames’ Free-Agent Macoun Plays It Tough

<div class="byline">BY VARTAN KUPELIAN</div>DETROIT&mdash;There&rsquo;s already been one Miracle on Ice. A second, so soon after the first, is unlikely.But that&rsquo;s what the Detroit Red Wings needed to make the National Hockey League playoffs.The Wings, after a storybook comeback victory in Toronto eight nights earlier. kept their flickering hopes alive, but finally saw a season go down the drain with a 7-1 loss to the New York Rangers at the Joe Louis Arena.That left Detroit five points behind Toronto with five games left in the 198283 campaign.&ldquo;If we make the playoffs now, it will be a miracle on ice,&rdquo; said defenseman Reed Larson.Of course, the Wings were not mathematically eliminated from contention, but&hellip;&ldquo;It pretty well puts the writing on the wall. We have to win all our games,&rdquo; said Danny Gare, who joined Larson to become the key Detroit players down the stretch.Although the Wings fell behind the Maple Leafs a few weeks ago. they gave themselves some hope with the dramatic come-from-behind triumph in Toronto.Detroit trailed 3-2 with less than three minutes left in the game.Gare, playing despite a threat on his life, tied it with a goal at 17:48 and won it with another with 30 seconds left in the game.The RCMP looked into the threat against Gare but the gritty Red Wing captain decided to play, anyway.&ldquo;What are you going to do?&rdquo; Gare asked. &ldquo;You have to go out and play the game. Sure, it bothered me because you never know about stuff like this.&rdquo;There were no incidents.Although it still left the Wings three points behind in the Nopis Division chase, the victory produced by Gare&rsquo;s heroics didn&rsquo;t have a long-term effect. Detroit went on the road&mdash;to Edmonton and Vancouver&mdash;and promptly lost its next two games.Then came the pivotal match-up against the Rangers at the JLA.Coach Nick Polano called it a "must win.&rdquo; As it obviously was, he came out of the setback miffed that his troops didn&rsquo;t measure up to the task.Detroit&rsquo;s only goal, by Dwight Foster, his 17th, came midway through the second period after the Rangers had skated to a 2-1 lead in the first.Veteran Gilles Gilbert, the Wings&rsquo; stretch goalie, was in the net again. He faced 29 shots.Polano gave his team the following day off&mdash;&ldquo;to get their thoughts together-&hellip;to find out why they didn&rsquo;t play with more character.&rdquo;They&rsquo;re certain to have the entire offseason, beginning at about 10 p.m. April 3&mdash;after the final game of the regular season&mdash;to think about that one.There are certain facts of hockey life, certain truths, that are not to be tampered with. Among them is: Do not get into a shoot-out with Wayne Gretzky&rsquo;s Edmonton Oilers. You can&rsquo;t win.The Wings tried anyway&mdash;and naturally lost. Mark Messier and Paul Coffey scored two goals each and Gretzky had a goal and four assists in a 9-7 Edmonton victory.Ivan Boldirev scored a pair of Detroit goals with rookie Murray Craven, Mark Osborne, Paul Woods, Mike Blaisdell and Mark Lofthouse also scoring for the Wings.Former Wing Mark Kirton, traded to Vancouver for Boldirev, opened the scoring in the Canucks&rsquo; 6-3 victory.&ldquo;We couldn&rsquo;t shut down their power play and that was the difference,&rdquo; Boldirev said. &ldquo;We knew Toronto had lost and the game was important for us, but we just didn&rsquo;t have it on the special teams.&rdquo;WING WIRE&mdash;Larson, with 68 points including 21 goals, topped his previous personal best of 67 points in 1978-79&hellip;Veterans Walt McKechnie, Jim Schoenfeld and Stan Weir had their icetime substantially reduced late in the season and another, Colin Campbell, used sparingly all season, continued to see little action. &#9632;

Only A ‘Miracle’ Can Save Wings

<div class="byline">BY GARY MUELLER</div>ST. LOUIS&mdash;When Jack Brownschidle passed the puck to his defense partner Rob Ramage at center ice. little did he realize what would happen.When Ramage turned and flipped a 90-foot shot toward the Quebec net, not only did the puck hop past goalie Dan Bouchard, but it also turned out to be the winning goal in the St. Louis Blues&rsquo; 5-3 victory over the Nordiques.In addition, the goal boosted Ramage&rsquo;s point total for the season to 44&mdash;tying Brownschidle&rsquo;s team record for most points in a season by a Blues&rsquo; defenseman.&ldquo;If I would have known he was going to do that, I wouldn&rsquo;t have passed the puck to him.&rdquo; said Brownschidle, laughing. &ldquo;Naw, that was OK with me, because I got an assist on the goal.&rdquo;The goal was the second such flip shot from center ice on which Ramage scored this season. On Dec. 18 against Hartford&rsquo;s Greg Millen, he scored on a similar shot.&ldquo;I flipped that one a lot higher and Millen thought I&rsquo;d shot it toward the corner and left the net,&rdquo; said Ramage. &ldquo;This time, Bouchard stayed in the net, but it just caught him by surprise. When I flipped it, it was fluttering with a lot of overspin and when it hit the ice, it just took off.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll take it, but it wasn&rsquo;t much of a way to tie the team record, especially since it was Jack&rsquo;s record and he was the one who fed the puck to me on the play.&rdquo;The Blues saw Ramage&rsquo;s fluke goal and the victory over the Nordiques as a sign that their star-crossed 1982-83 season finally was taking a turn for the better.Not only did the victory strengthen the Blues&rsquo; bid for a playoff spot, but it also marked another strong showing by goalie Mike Liut, who seemed to be benefitting from the rest he had been given. Back-up goalie Rick Heinz started three games within a two-week span after Liut had started 25 straight games.In addition, the Blues received a boost when it was revealed that a group of St. Louis investors entered a bid of $8 million for the purchase of the team, making it appear unlikely that the franchise would be shifted to Saskatoon. There remained a lot of unanswered questions before the team could definitely be assured of staying in St. Louis, but at least it allowed the players to direct their thoughts to making the playoffs and stop worrying about having to spend next winter in Saskatoon.As bad as things have gone for the Blues this season, the team seemed to be heading into the playoffs on an upswing. Liut is looking sharper perhaps than he had at any previous time this season and key players such as Brian Sutter, Bernie Federko and Jorgen Pettersson are all playing well down the stretch.Even bad games had their bright spots for the Blues&mdash;such as a 4-1 loss in Chicago when coach Barclay Plager removed Heinz after the goalie surrendered three goals in the first 10 minutes. The bright spot was that Liut came in and yielded only one more goal over the remainder of the game, turning aside 21 of 22 shots.However, that couldn&rsquo;t change the fact that the Blues&rsquo; losing streak at Chicago Stadium climbed to six games&mdash;including three games this season and three in the playoffs a year ago. Yet, Plager insisted he wouldn&rsquo;t mind seeing the Blues square off with the Hawks in the first round of the playoffs.A year ago, Chicago won only one of four games in Minnesota, but then knocked off the North Stars in Minnesota in the first two games of the openinground series. The Blues, meanwhile, never won a game in Winnipeg, but won there in the opening game of their playoff series with the Jets.With shots from center ice bouncing into the net, with Liut looking sharp and with local investors giving hope that the team might be able to stay in St. Louis, things were looking brighter for the Blues, who continue to feel that they could be this year&rsquo;s playoff darkhouse.BLUENOTES&mdash;Ramage broke Brownschidle&rsquo;s record for most points by a Blues&rsquo; defenseman with an assist on a goal by Blake Dunlop in a 3-3 tie with the Minnesota North Stars&mdash;the fifth straight tie between the Blues and North Stars this season. Ramage also holds the New Jersey Devils&rsquo; (nee Colorado Rockies) record for points by a defenseman, with 62 points in 1980-81, making him the only player to hold individual scoring records for the two different teams&mdash;a distinction he&rsquo;ll have to share with Philadelphia&rsquo;s Mark Howe, who appears certain to erase Behn Wilson&rsquo;s record for most points by a Flyer defenseman. Howe holds the Hartford Whalers&rsquo; record for most points in a season by a defenseman. &#9632;

Blues’ Fortunes Seem To Be Getting Better

<div class="byline">BY JOE FALLS</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-011228/4668839-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg" title="f0010-01" width="295" height="338"></div><h2>Thank You, Hex</h2>HI HEX.Hope you readers don&rsquo;t mind a personal salutation in this public column, but Bryan Hextali was a very important man in the life of a 12-year-old boy who grew up loving the game of hockey.It was an age of innocence&mdash;before TV. before expansion, before masks and helmets, even before the slap shot&mdash;a time when you could have a real hero and not be afraid to admit it.It was 1941-42 when Bryan Hextail, right winger of the New York Rangers, caught the eye of the 12-year-old boy as he looked down in wonder at the white ice and men in their multi-colored uniforms, from his perch in the side balcony of Madison Square Garden.Hex seemed special. He played on a line with Phil Watson at center and Lynn Patrick on the left side and he workd hard&mdash;harder than the others&mdash;because none of it seemed to come easy for him.The boy would yell down to him in pre-game practice, trying to get his attention, and when Hextali would look up, the boy would pitch him a couple of pennies. The player would pick them up from the ice, deposit them in his glove and wave up to the balcony with his stick, forming a friendship that would paint him a sign.But how do you paint a sign? What do you put it on? Paper would tear. Cardboard wouldn&rsquo;t fold up and the sign would have to be carried on the subway to Madison Square Garden.His mother suggested a window shade. She had an extra one from the back bedroom. It was old, but was still fairly clean. It was in good working order. The boy could paint sign, roll it up, carry it to the city and unroll it as he leaned over the edge of the side balcony. Who invented mothers anyway?<h2>Blood-Red Sign</h2>AFTER MUCH EFFORT and a shaky hand, the sign was finished. It was blood red on a white background: Bryan Hextail.The boy could not wait for Sunday night when the Rangers were playing at home again. He got there extra early&mdash;four o&rsquo;clock in the afternoon instead of five o&rsquo;clock. The gates opened at 6 p.m., the game began at 8:30. No sense taking any chances.He raced up the stairs and headed straight for Timmy Murphy&rsquo;s section. It was great sitting in Timmy Murphy&rsquo;s section. He was the biggest guy in the side balcony and nobody ever took any of his seats. While the rest of us raced up the stairs at breakneck speed, grabbing the railing to give us extra speed, Timmy Murphy would walk up slowly, nodding to the concession ladies along the way.The sign got hung and Hex saw it right away. He waved his stick and the boy threw him two pennies and the player leaned over and slipped them into his glove.Later, the boy stood outside of the dressing room on the 49th St. side of the Garden. He was waiting for his man. Hextall came out and the boy held up the window shade and asked him if he would sign it for him.The man did better. He said: &ldquo;No, not now. But you be here at 7 o&rsquo;clock next Sunday night and we&rsquo;ll do something special.&rdquo;<h2>The Window Shade</h2>AND, PRECISELY AT 7:00 o&rsquo;clock the following Sunday, the boy was standing in the same place when the player came out and told the guard at the door to go get the kid holding the window shade.The player led the way into the New York Rangers&rsquo; dressing room and barked out: Okay, you guys, everybody over here! Everybody sign this sign!&rdquo;He rolled the window shade out on the trainer&rsquo;s table. It kept rolling up on him and he kept reaching out trying to keep the comers down. Finally, the trainer thought to put some of his bottles on the comers and all of the players came by to sign the sign&hellip;Alex Shibicky, Neil and Mack Colville, Lynn and Muzz Patrick, goalie Sugar Jim Henry. The boy stood there, stunned, for he knew he would have the finest sign of all in Madison Square Garden.Now, it is a lifetime later&mdash;three or four years ago&mdash;and the Detroit Red Wings have picked up a player named Bryan Hextall, Jr. His father, living in Western Canada, could no longer see his son play. He had one leg, then the other, amputated, and he was confined to his home.So, the boy&mdash;now a man&mdash;went out and bought himself a can of red paint and a window shade and made another sign. He hung it up in front of the press box and when the player came out, he saw the sign and raised his stick and waved to the boy who was now a man.When the game was over, the sign painter went into the Red Wings&rsquo; dressing room and said to Bryan Hextall, Jr., &ldquo;I&rsquo;d like you to give this sign to your dad and thank him for being nice to a 12-year-old boy.&rdquo;Then the boy-turned-man signed the sign. &#9632;

f0010-01

HOCKEY CORNER

<div class="byline">BY TONY GALLAGHER</div>VANCOUVER&mdash;It has been a chop and channel year for Garth Butcher, Vancouver&rsquo;s first-round draft choice in 1981. But throughout all his inactivity, changes and occasional mistakes, he has established one clear picture: He&rsquo;s going to be a solid National Hockey League defenseman.In recent weeks, he&rsquo;s played extremely well with the Canucks, who have won seven straight at home and are beginning to experience the defensive play they enjoyed last season. Butcher, while not the main reason, has been a solid contributor down the stretch for the Canucks, supplying some muscle, which was suddenly in short supply with the trading of Curt Fraser to Chicago and injuries to Jim Nill and Harold Snepts.But now that Rick Lanz is back from a hyperextended knee, which he suffered in a recent game in Edmonton, Butcher, who was recalled from his junior team, the Kamloops Oilers, on emergency conditions, has been returned. The Canucks are loaded with good, young defenseman, a situation which has lasted all year and has been beneficial with the injuries the club has had.The Canucks now have a full complement of defenders and, unless they had classified him as a forward. Butcher had to return until somebody else gets hurt.&ldquo;I talked to the Kamloops coach and he says that he doesn&rsquo;t want me sitting up here,&rdquo; said Butcher, just before returning to junior. &ldquo;I know him really well and we sort of made a deal that if he wouldn&rsquo;t pressure the Canucks to get me back, I would get into town and try to help his team if we got knocked out of the playoffs early. But I&rsquo;m playing a lot better here than I was before I went back to junior.&ldquo;I just needed to be playing and I know how it is when you&rsquo;re with a club with so many good defenseman. But once I got back to junior, I realized that I have to be aggressive to be effective; that I have to get involved in the game. Ever since, I&rsquo;ve been pretty happy with my play.&rdquo;So have the Canucks.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s played really well for us and it&rsquo;s a shame to send him back,&rdquo; said Canucks&rsquo; coach Roger Neilson. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s really improved since coming back here and I like him. He&rsquo;s going to be alright.&rdquo;The situation is a problem here, though, because aside from Butcher, the Canucks have two other young defensemen&mdash;Neil Belland and Michel Petit&mdash;whose only chance of cracking the lineup is if some of the veterans are disposed. Petit was the Canucks&rsquo; first-round pick in 1982 and Belland, who was signed as a free agent, is considered a can&rsquo;t-miss player by many Canuck observers.To accommodate his young prospects, Canuck GM Harry Neale will have to move another defenseman, something he did when he dispatched Anders Eldebrink to Quebec for veteran goalie John Garrett. Certainly Garrett has been a fine addition to the club, but a proven goalscorer might have been the ticket earlier in the season and will be in demand once again next season.Neale admitted he was looking to move a defenseman before the trading deadline, but at the time, both Snepts and Lindgren were out and the roster was pretty much frozen.Meanwhile, the Canucks are beginning to get a semblance of a second line that is capable of scoring some goals. Patrik Sundstrom has worked very well with Tony Tanti, particulary when they have had Ron Delorme as their right winger. In the Canucks&rsquo; 7-3 win over Quebec on March 18, the trio scored three goals. That was a big boost to the Thomas Gradin, Darcy Rota and Stan Smyl combination, which accumulated 58 points in the line&rsquo;s last nine games. &#9632;

Canucks’ Happy To Own Butcher

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0011-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-011152/4668894-1-eng-US/f0011-012.jpg"></div> &#9632;

f0011-01

Bookshelf

<div class="byline">BY REYN DAVIS</div>WINNIPEG&mdash;The noise was unbearable. Doors were slamming, players were yelling and a few unfortunate rookies cried for help.On an otherwise quiet Sunday night in Washington, a few members of the Winnipeg Jets decided the time had come to initiate a couple of rookies, namely Brian Hayward and Murray Eaves.Suddenly, the laughing stopped. Bryan Maxwell came roaring down the hallway.&ldquo;Break it up,&rdquo; he ordered. &ldquo;Untie the guys. Stop this ruckus. Big Max is here.&rdquo;A deathly silence fell over the party.&ldquo;What is this?&rdquo; he demanded to know. &ldquo;A shaving? Since when do five or six guys decide they&rsquo;ll shave a rookie. We don&rsquo;t shave a rookie unless everyone is here. That&rsquo;s what&rsquo;s wrong with this team. Half a dozen guys always act on their own. A shaving&hellip;that&rsquo;s a team thing.&rdquo;Before you could say John Bowie Ferguson, the floor was quiet again. Calm was restored.Maxwell has never enjoyed the public support of management. In fact, he has always been available in trades.Last June, during the draft meetings in Montreal, two photos of Maxwell appeared on the bulletin board in the press room. On one were written the words &ldquo;For Trade&rdquo;; and the other, &ldquo;Or Rent.&rdquo;The swashbuckling defenseman knows what it&rsquo;s like to be traded. He&rsquo;s played on six teams in eight years of professional hockey. At different times during his two years in Winnipeg, he has expressed a wish to be traded.Certainly, he had cause to wonder about his future last spring. Although the Jets were shoved around by St. Louis, ultimately losing the best-of-five series in four games, he was never dressed.Today, the Jets are fighting for a playoff spot in the Smythe Division and his situation has changed dramatically. The team has won some key games and Maxwell has played a role.If you ask Dale Hawerchuk, the man who has made the biggest difference in the team is Maxwell.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s been one of our best players in the last month,&rdquo; said Hawerchuk. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a gamer. Guys don&rsquo;t like coming down his side because he&rsquo;s so aggressive. He is a big key to our team&rsquo;s ambitions.&rdquo;Maxwell appreciates such praise from a teammate, especially someone such as Hawerchuk, one of the bright young stars in the NHL today.&ldquo;I like to feel I&rsquo;m liked by everyone on the team,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Some may think I&rsquo;m a little weird at times. But I want to be known as someone who comes to play every night.&ldquo;Really, to hear such a remark is unusual for me. I&rsquo;ve never felt that much a part of the team in the past.&rdquo;Coach Tom Watt is using him more. He plays in critical situations and even takes a turn on the power play.His attributes are many. When he winds up, Maxwell can lead a devastating rush. He is the most adept on the team at springing breakaways with hard, accurate passes up the middle. His shot is a zinger. And he often plays with a certain belligerence that upsets opponents.Against the Maple Leafs recently, he broke up two 2-on-1 breaks, diving to deflect passes at the last second. But he has been known as a defenseman who tends to make one colossal mistake every game, such as falling down at the wrong time or putting a pass on the wrong stick in his zone.But if he has one outstanding attribute, it&rsquo;s his ability to shrug off a serious mistake by playing even stronger.&ldquo;I feel I can accept responsibility when I play,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I must admit it&rsquo;s easier to play a role lately because everyone is so united. Suddenly, everyone is involved.&rdquo;He singled out the newest Jet as having much to do with the new togetherness on the team.&ldquo;(Laurie) Boschman has the attitude of a player who knows how to be a winner,&rdquo; said Maxwell. &ldquo;He has a rougher style of play. You follow his example. I wouldn&rsquo;t say he&rsquo;s a rah-rah guy. But you know the feeling is there.&rdquo;Boschman may be the big difference. But Maxwell isn&rsquo;t far behind. &#9632;

Maxwell Plays Key Role In Recent Games

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-011201/4668949-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg" title="f0012-01" width="290" height="336"></div><h2>List Of Favorites</h2>SURE SIGNS OFspring&mdash;baseball season, the Masters golf championship, the U.S. Football League and Fleischman&rsquo;s Fearless Forecast.For those coming in late, FFF has been a bi-annual feature of THE HOCKEY NEWS for years. In the fall, I confidently predict the division races. In the spring, with those autumn errors long forgotten, I humbly submit my list of favorites to win the Stanley Cup. Occasionally wrong, but never in doubt&mdash;that&rsquo;s the FFF motto.The last few years, selecting a Stanley Cup winner has been easy. If you couldn&rsquo;t pick the Islanders to win the Cup, then you should have been selling shoes in Saskatoon. It&rsquo;s been the Islanders and &lsquo;others.&rsquo;This year, however, it&rsquo;s much tougher to resemble a genius. Anyone who predicts the 1983 champion deserves an autographed photo of Gary Rissling biting the souvenir Penguins&rsquo; tote bag in his award-winning Pittsburgh TV commercial.The Islanders, three-time Stanley Cup champions and the last dynasty in professional sports, are down but not out&mdash;not yet. Many experts are predicting an early exit for the Isles, based on their uninspired play this season and their first-round playoff opponent, Washington. That&rsquo;s right, the Washington Capitals are given an excellent chance of defeating the Islanders in the first round.In case you&rsquo;ve been down in the mines or someplace similar, the Capitals, failures in their first eight National Hockey League seasons, are serious challengers for the Wales Conference pennant. Playoff fever on the Potomac&mdash;believe it!More on the Capitals in a minute. Now, for our eagerly awaited choices&hellip;BOSTON: Picking the Bruins isn&rsquo;t done with the same confidence we felt in annointing the Islanders the last few years. But, you have to like the Bruins. With Pete Peeters, they&rsquo;ve had the best goaltending in the league. Their young players&mdash;Ray Bourque, Barry Pederson, Keith Crowder, Tom Fergus and Mike Krushelnyski&mdash;are having outstanding seasons. And their older guys&mdash;Rick Middleton. Brad Park, Peter McNab and Mike Milbury&mdash;are talented and experienced. Wayne Cashman still knows how to win and Gerry Cheevers is a plus behind the bench. If Boston and Philadelphia meet in the conference final, it should be worth the price of admission watching the tricks with which the Flyers&rsquo; coach Bob McCammon tries to upset Peeters, his goalie when they were with the Maine Mariners.<h2>Hunch About Hawks</h2>CHICACO: MY SPRING hunch. Orval Tessier has done a remarkable job convincing the Black Hawks that you win by playing disciplined (Edmonton, take note). The Hawks can score (at least one line can), they can check and their goaltending is top quality. Tom Lysiak and his revived spirit want to win a Cup. Negatives: The Hawks don&rsquo;t have enough scoring depth and this is Tessier&rsquo;s first skate through the Stanley Cup playoffs. He&rsquo;s 2 veteran coach, but you never know how someone will react the first time around.PHILADELPHIA: A few weeks ago, the Flyers would have been co-choices with Boston. However, down the homestretch, the Flyers played like a team stuck in neutral. You don&rsquo;t give up eight goals to the Rangers and nine to the Islanders in one week without worrying. The goaltending that was brilliant as recently as February has been questionable, to be kind. The Flyers picked a bad time for a slump, if that&rsquo;s all it is. However, any team with Bobby Clarke, Darryl Sittier and Mark Howe has to be a contender.EDMONTON: Is this the Oilers&rsquo; year? Probably not. The Oilers have the Great Gretzky and several other great scorers, but you can&rsquo;t count on winning playoff games 6-5. Andy Moog will have to be sensational in goal for the Oilers to win it all.NEW YORK ISLANDERS: Don&rsquo;t jump off the bandwagon yet. These guys have too much character to be dismissed without a battle. Any team with a Bossy, Trottier, Potvin and Tonelli, plus Melanson and Smith in goal, won&rsquo;t be a pushover. The Islanders&rsquo; problem is that they have fumbled trying to find the ignition switch all season and even they can&rsquo;t just turn it on in the playoffs.<h2>Hockey&rsquo;s Big East</h2>WASHINGTON: THREE TEAMS from the Patrick Division in the top six&hellip;this is the Big East of hockey. Keep an eye on these guys. They were undefeated in three games with Boston and won the series with Philadelphia four games to three. Brian Murray has the Capitals playing disciplined hockey, Rod Langway and Brian Engblom have done everything that was expected of them on defense and the goaltending is solid. Negative: Not enough balanced scoring, but when you can win the 2-1 and 3-2 games, you don&rsquo;t need a half-dozen 50-goal scorers.MINNESOTA: The North Stars have won more games than ever, but are still runner-up to Chicago in their division. The North Stars have better balance than last year, defense is good and goaltending has been first class. Either Don Beaupre or Gilles Meloche is capable of carrying a team far into the playoffs. Negative: Minnesota reached the finals two years ago. If it doesn&rsquo;t manage a similar accomplishment this season, self-doubt may begin creeping into their minds.MONTREAL: Some nights they skate like the Canadiens of old&hellip;other nights, they skate like old Canadians. Inconsistency has been enough to drive coach Bob Berry batty. Some nights, you don&rsquo;t even notice Ryan Walter and Doug Wickenheiser. Someday soon the defense, stripped by the trade of Langway and Engblom to Washington, may be good. But by then, Larry Robinson, the heart of the defense, will be retired and won&rsquo;t have to endure the shameful booing he has been subjected to this season. Guy Lafleur may also be retired by then. Lafleur may have just one good playoff left in him. &#9632;

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BILL FLEISCHMAN’S HOCKEY WORLD

<div class="byline">BY RICK SADOWSKI</div>LOS ANGELES&mdash;The Kings are feeling quite a bit of pressure at the moment. The tension and strain is enormous and very much in evidence.Battling for a playoff spot for virtually the last five months has taken its toll, physically and mentally, and now the Kings are quickly running out of time.Trailing fourth-place Winnipeg by three points in the Smythe Division standings with only seven games remaining, it looks like the Kings could miss out on Lord Stanley&rsquo;s post-season party for the first time in 10 years.&ldquo;If we were in first place or already had a playoff spot locked up, we&rsquo;d be more free out there,&rdquo; Terry Ruskowski said. &ldquo;We want to win so bad&hellip;there are not too many words to describe the situation we&rsquo;re in right now.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s very tough knowing you (have) to win to make the playoffs. I&rsquo;ve been in situations in the WHA (ironically, most recently with Winnipeg) where we were in first place coming down the stretch and we just had fun playing the game. The puck would just seem to go into the net for us.&ldquo;Now every shot, every faceoff, is so crucial. We have to be relaxed, but we want to win so bad.&rdquo;Certainly, if Don Perry&rsquo;s troops fail to make the playoffs, it won&rsquo;t be for lack of effort&mdash;or shots on goal.On March 20, in a 7-4 loss at home to the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Kings peppered goaltender Michel Dion with a season-high 52 shots. The one-time all-star was simply spectacular in a game in which the Kings might have scored in double figures.&ldquo;I can&rsquo;t believe it,&rdquo; a stunned Brad Seiwood, Perry&rsquo;s right-hand man, said after that performance. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m just guessing off the top of my head right now, but I can&rsquo;t remember anyone playing any better.&ldquo;Out of the 52 shots, I&rsquo;m just guessing, but 30 or 35 in my mind could have been in the net. He put on quite a display. It was highway robbery. Fifty-two shot-s&hellip;that&rsquo;s incredible. The man was unbelievable.&rdquo;Imagine how Larry Murphy was feeling afterwards? He had a season-high 10 shots at Dion, most of them quality chances, and cashed in only once, a power-play goal late in the second period that gave the Kings a 4-3 lead, their last of the night.Three nights later in Montreal, it was more of the same. This time, the Kings raked Canadien goaltender Rick Wamsley with 42 shots-19 in the opening period&mdash;only to come away with a 6-5 setback.Talk about frustration.&ldquo;This whole season has been very frustrating for me.&rdquo; Perry said, referring to injuries, inconsistency and all the rest that helps a coach grow old before his time.&ldquo;Hopefully, it&rsquo;s been a character builder, but I&rsquo;ve never experienced anything like this before.&rdquo;If his King teammates had played half as well as center Marcel Dionne has the second half of the season, they wouldn&rsquo;t be in such a precarious predicament.Dionne, who has never played better, was the reason the Kings were still in the playoff hunt at all. Since the all-star break, when he had only 17 goals, the 12-year veteran has been carrying this team almost single-handedly, collecting 37 goals and 25 assists in 33 games to climb into the top 10 in league scoring with 54 goals and 45 assists.Dionne was tying or breaking scoring records almost every night. He moved past Jean Ratelie into sixth place on the all-time list with 1,276 points, tied Mike Bossy and Guy Lafleur for career 50-goal seasons at six, then leaped ahead of Stan Mikita for sixth place on the all-time goal-scoring chart with 542&mdash;all within a span of a few days.He needed only one point in the remaining seven games to become the first player in history to record seven 100-point seasons in his career.The Triple Crown Line of Dionne, Dave Taylor and Charlie Simmer accounted for 57 goals and 76 assists since being reunited 28 games ago.&ldquo;The man is an inspiration,&rdquo; Murphy said. &ldquo;We try not to put pressure on him&mdash;or on his line&mdash;to score two or three goals a night, but he just seems to do it anyway.&rdquo;Alas, lately it hasn&rsquo;t been enough. &#9632;

Time Closing In On Perry’s Kings

<div class="byline">BY STAN FISCHLER AND THN STAFF</div>If rumors are to be believed, general managers will soon be bouncing faster than pinballs off flippers. The Emile Francis-to-Hartford move is regarded by many insiders as a fait accompli. If Francis vacates St. Louis and the Blues remain in Missouri, the opening at the Checkerdome, according to the buzz, would go to Scotty Bowman. Since Cliff Fletcher supposedly has wanted to return to a Stateside team, he would be hired in Buffalo, although a Toronto report suggests that Fletcher could wind up in Pittsburgh. The Montreal grapevine has Irv Grundman leaving The Forum. One report&mdash;considered to have little foundation&mdash;has Grundman moving to Calgary&hellip;Caps are interested in Minnesota U. forward Butsy Erickson, who is a free agent. The North Stars also have their eye on him&hellip;Caps&rsquo; owner Abe Pollin has erased the $150,000 rent normally charged at the Capital Center so that Holocaust survivors and their families can gather there April 11-14.Bobby Clarke admits that players often twit referees but he says zebra Ron Wicks overdid it in his counterattack recently. &ldquo;It seemed,&rdquo; says Clarke, &ldquo;that Wicks was yelling at us all night to a point where we couldn&rsquo;t concentrate on the game.&rdquo; The Flyer captain infuriated ref supervisor Frank Udvari, who overheard Clarke criticizing Wicks during a between-periods TV interview. A few nights later, Dave Newell was the target of Mike Milbury. The Bruin backliner was told that his club checks so well, they seem to have seven men on the ice all the time. &ldquo;So does the other club,&rdquo; snapped Milbury. &ldquo;They have Newell.&rdquo; After a moment of reflection, Milbury reconsidered. &ldquo;Actually, Newell is a lot like my favourite referee, Wally Harris. He usually lets us play the game&rdquo;&hellip; Emile Francis is furious over a piped story that the Blues&rsquo; budget was a top-heavy $8,900,00. &ldquo;Our budget for 24 players,&rdquo; Francis tells BLUELINES, &ldquo;comes to $2,837,000. There are teams whose budget for only 18 players comes to $2,600,000 and $2,900,000.&rdquo; Francis adds the Blues&rsquo; average salary is below the NHL median. &ldquo;Our&rsquo;s,&rdquo; adds The Cat, &ldquo;is $118,000. The others is $120,000. There are some (people) who will try to discredit us to protest their own ass&rdquo;.Harry Sinden says he doesn&rsquo;t agree with all the points made by Don (Grapes) Cherry in the latter&rsquo;s autobiography. &ldquo;Don tells the stories well,&rdquo; Sinden relates the BLUELINES, &ldquo;but he leaves some big gaps.&rdquo; Sinden says that those very gaps would be vital to his (Harry&rsquo;s) side of the story. &ldquo;But,&rdquo; Sinden adds, &ldquo;that&rsquo;s the benefit you get when you write your own book!&rdquo; On his last junket to Boston, Cherry visited his favorite Oriental restaurant and ordered 30 pounds of teriyaki from the take-out department to take back to Toronto. Grapes was asked how he planned to divide it among his family members, namely wife, Rose, and his dog Blue. &ldquo;Rose gets five pounds,&rdquo; says Cherry, &ldquo;and Blue the other 25!&rdquo;&hellip;Reed Larson has been mentioned as the Red Wing headed for Minnesota as part of the Ken Solheim-to-Detroit deal&hellip;North Star GM Lou Nanne replies with a smile&mdash;but no answer&mdash;when asked about Larson&hellip;The word in Minnesota is that if Nanne had first choice he would pick Providence high school ace Brian Lawton in the draft. That&rsquo;s contingent on the Penguins finishing last overall. Nanne, who has the Pens&rsquo; first pick, says Lawton could step right into the NHL in the Phil Housely-Bobby Carpenter tradition&hellip;Olympic goalie Jim Craig has two agents working for him, Art Kaminsky in Manhattan and Bob Woolf in Boston. Kaminsky arranged Craig&rsquo;s NHL return via Minnesota&hellip; According to insiders, the hitch in the local offer to keep the Blues in St. Louis is the $5,000,000 long-term note as part of the $8,000,000 bid. One source privy to the negotiations says the note does not have the financial clout to guarantee the deal.Relations between the media and the Rangers have worsened. After the writers&rsquo; annual Good Guy luncheon at which Rob McClanahan won the award, Hugh Delano of the New York Post noted that McClanahan had little competition. &ldquo;Many of his Ranger teammates refuse to speak with the press after games,&rdquo; said Delano. The always available Rangers are McClanahan, Barry Beck, Anders Hedberg, Nick Fotiu, Glen Hanlon, Ed Johnstone, Chris Kontos. Ron Duguay, Ed Mio and the Maloney brothers&hellip;Bobby Orr was chided by Walt MacPeek of the Newark Star-Ledger. &ldquo;If Orr had made himself as available in the 1970s as he has lately in promoting the Masters of Hockey tourney, hockey would be a more popular sport in America,&rdquo; said MacPeek&hellip;Derek Sanderson was telling his ex-teammate Steve Vickers that now he (Derek) wished he had all the $100 bills he burned when he was a Ranger. Sanderson has been telling his NHL cronies that all of them will be in his book once he gets into the writing. Now on the wagon, Sanderson limits his imbibing to soft drinks&hellip;Black Hawk boss Bill Wirtz asked Dennis Hull to start a Chihawk Alumni Association patterned after the Rangers&rsquo; successful model&hellip;Bob McCammon on Bobby Clarke&rsquo;s leadership qualities: &ldquo;If a player doesn&rsquo;t put out, then Clarke loses interest in him very fast. Let&rsquo;s say he&rsquo;s cool to non-workers&rdquo;&hellip;A story going the rounds has Harold Ballard discontinuing the Maple Leafs&rsquo; association with a charter airline because it didn&rsquo;t have cheddar cheese on a flight. So Ballard reportedly switched to commercial aircraft.Masters of Hockey drew a disappointing crowd of 10,000 at the Meadowlands. Phil Esposito is expected to bring the event to Chicago Stadium next season. However, a bid to return the Masters to Madison Square Gardens has been rejected. Esposito&rsquo;s criticism of Herb Brooks on TV has not gone unnoticed by the Ranger coach. Insiders say the two rarely exchange words. Howard Baldwin&rsquo;s comment about Esposito&rsquo;s try for the Whaler&rsquo;s presidency: &ldquo;Phil is a nice guy, but he threw his hat into a ring that didn&rsquo;t exist&rdquo; &#9632;

BLUELINES

<div class="byline">BY DICK CHUBEY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0013-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-011143/4669028-1-eng-US/f0013-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Edmonton Oiler defenseman Paul Coffey scored a controversial goal late in the game against the Vancouver Canucks.</figcaption></div>EDMONTON&mdash;Where was Roger Neilson&rsquo;s trusty white towel when he really needed it?Who could&mdash;or would want to&mdash;ever forget April 29. when the Vancouver Canucks&rsquo; coach unfurled a white towel as a mock surrender to referee Bob Myers during a Campbell Conference final playoff game in Chicago? The move by Neilson was a stroke of out-and-out genius&hellip;although the National Hockey League&rsquo;s head office was suitably unimpressed, fining both the coach and the Canucks.Well, Neilson&rsquo;s certainly had ample cause during a couple of visits to Edmonton to re-introduce &ldquo;Towel Power&rdquo; to the NHL.There was the night of Nov. 20, when the Canucks were nursing a 3-2 lead over the Edmonton Oilers as the clock wound down. When Vancouver&rsquo;s Thomas Gradin won a faceoff in his own zone from the Oilers&rsquo; Mark Messier with 12 seconds remaining, the Canucks appeared to be sure winner. Gradin dropped the puck back to fellow Swede Lars Lindersen, who in attempting to clear the puck, fired it into his own net, enabling the Oilers to salvage a 3-3 tie.&ldquo;If it wasn&rsquo;t so sad, it would be funny,&rdquo; frowned Neilson, not altogether certain whether to laugh or cry.On the night of March 16, lightning struck again&hellip;and on this occasion, the Canucks, scrambling for their very playoff lives, failed to even salvage a single point.The Oilers, lulled into a semi-coma by the strong-checking Canucks for 56 minutes, finally awoke to get a &ldquo;kick&rdquo; out of an otherwise dull evening at the Coliseum.Edmonton defenseman Paul Coffey redirected the puck into the Vancouver net off his right skate as 27 seconds remained to culminate a belated rally in which the Oilers squeezed out a 4-3 triumph.For the Canucks, locked in a tense four-team struggle for three Smythe Division playoff spots, the loss was a bitter pill to swallow. &ldquo;It was the most heartbreaking loss of the season. We needed at least a point,&rdquo; sighed Neilson as a scant two points separated the third-place Canucks from the Smythe Division basement.When initially approached by reporters following the game, Neilson wasn&rsquo;t about to issue a complaint concerning Coffey&rsquo;s 25th seasonal goal: &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think there was anything illegal about the goal. I thought he kicked it up to his stick. But the play should have never got to that point. (Oilers&rsquo; Wayne) Gretzky clearly hooked (Vancouver defenseman Doug) Halward.&rdquo;Informed by reporters from both Vancouver and Edmonton that television replays showed the puck was kicked into the net and never did touch Coffey&rsquo;s stick, a puzzled look crossed Neilson&rsquo;s face: &ldquo;You mean it didn&rsquo;t touch his stick? Everybody, I guess, saw it except (referee) Wally (Harris).&rdquo;Over and out. Roger.&ldquo;He tried to hit it with his stick, but he just couldn&rsquo;t reach it,&rdquo; explained Canucks&rsquo; goalie John Garrett, a standout with 38 saves.&ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s terrible not to ask a linesman,&rdquo; added Garrett, who also drew an assist on the first of three goals by Gradin. &ldquo;A referee should not be so dictatorial about a play like that, when it means so much. That was a big game for us. It would have been a big point for us. It&rsquo;s unfortunte they don&rsquo;t use a linesman in that situation. Or a video replay. The referees should get off their pedestals and ask a linesman.&rdquo;Over in the Oilers&rsquo; room,, not unexpectedly, a different tune was being whistled. &ldquo;Paul said he touched it with his stick before it went in,&rdquo; shrugged Gretzky, who drew an assist on the &ldquo;field-goal winner&rdquo; and with four minutes to go in the game, tapped home Coffey&rsquo;s rebound to pull the Oilers into a 3-3 tie.&ldquo;1 redirected it with my stick. I&rsquo;m positive. I felt it hit. I&rsquo;m sure,&rdquo; said Coffey, who was then reminded he was testifying under oath. And, besides, no one was to take the goal away from him now.&ldquo;Well, ah, put it this way,&rdquo; the 21-year-old confided. &ldquo;1 tried to set it up to my stick. My stick either hit the post or the puck, I don&rsquo;t know.&rdquo;Try the post.Actually, the controversial goal wasn&rsquo;t the only aspect of the game that had the Canucks up &lsquo;in arms.With the Oilers having assumed momentum on Gretzky&rsquo;s belated tying goal (his 64th), they surrendered it quickly when Ken Linseman, knocked into the penalty box with a clean check by Canucks&rsquo; Stan Smyl, reached out and hooked Vancouver&rsquo;s Darcy Rota on the face. After the Oilers weathered the ensuing Vancouver power play, along came the Coffey goal. The Canucks vehemently protested. But to no avail.Likewise was the scene at the conclusion when Vancouver&rsquo;s Gary Lupul rapped the puck into the net from a wild scramble. But the green light to signify the end of the game was already on. Again, the Canucks argued vehemently. Again to no avail.The entire situation begged for a white towel, wouldn&rsquo;t you agree? &#9632;

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Maybe Canucks Should Throw In Their Towels

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0014-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-011183/4669066-1-eng-US/f0014-012.jpg"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-011125/4669059-1-eng-US/f0015-012.jpg" title="f0015-01" width="655" height="3856"></div> &#9632;

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NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE SCORING

<div class="byline">BY RICHARD FRIEDMAN</div>NEW YORK&mdash;The goal was vintage Ron Greschner.Taking a pass at center ice from Kent-Erik Anderson, the Rangers&rsquo; defenseman had only Mike McEwen to beat as he crossed the Islanders&rsquo; blueline.Snaking the puck between McEwen&rsquo;s legs, Greschner recovered possession at the slot and his 10-foot forehand beat Islander goalie Billy Smith on his left side, cutting the Islanders&rsquo; lead to a 3-1 in a game that they would win 3-2.There was nothing intrinsically remarkable about the goal, except that as of mid-season, Greschner was an endangered species. Greschner is lucky to be walking, let alone playing the &lsquo;world&rsquo;s fastest sport.&rsquo;Stricken with a back injury a year ago October, he missed most of the 1981-82 season and did not play again until this past January. The game against the Islanders was only his seventh of the season and he returned to the lineup three days earlier for the Rangers&rsquo; 7-1 victory over the Detroit Red Wings after a 14-game layoff caused by the pain and stiffness with which he is still plagued.Last summer, Greschner was injected with an extract from a papaya plant that was to dissolve two damaged discs and alleviate the resulting pressure on the nerves and muscles. The recovery was agonizing; there were times he could barely walk&mdash;let alone tie his shoes&mdash;and he literally had to be lifted off the blanket at the beach.The recuperation was also slow. He is still recovering and knew at the outset that the pain would prevent him from playing back-to-back games. As late as Christmas, however, he was considering retirement.The encouragement of his finance, model Carol Alt, and a stretching and massage regimen administered by an osteopathic therapist have kept Greschner on his skates, thankfully for the Rangers.&ldquo;It felt good for a change to score a goal,&rdquo; Greschner said.Greschner recalled that last summer &ldquo;when I sneezed, I almost died from the pain.&rdquo; He absorbed a hard check from Bryan Trottier that night, though he admits he saw the check coming. Now, however, he refuses to back down from the heavy hitting.&ldquo;I try not to; that would affect my play,&rdquo; Greschner said. &ldquo;I go out and try to give it 100 per cent; I&rsquo;ve got to try a little harder than 100 per cent to make it work.&rdquo;&ldquo;This is the time to tee him up and let him go,&rdquo; said Ranger coach Herb Brooks. When asked what are Greschner&rsquo;s most prominent attributes, Brooks listed &ldquo;his presence, his poise, his thought-processes, his hands. As an outsider looking at the league, I always felt that, throughout his career, he was underrated.&rdquo;Greschner played both defense and forward against Detroit, giving the Rangers the size and strength up front they have lacked this season.When Greschner scored against the Islanders, Glen Hanlon was in goal for the Rangers. After the game, Hanlon, who played goal for Vancouver and St. Louis before being traded by the Blues to the Rangers in January, recalled facing Greschner.&ldquo;I can remember so vividly playing against the Rangers and Gresch doing that all the time to us,&rdquo; said Hanlon. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s so good to see&hellip;it&rsquo;s been such a long way back for him.&rdquo;Greschner, 28, played his first National Hockey League game in November, 1974, and has worn the Ranger uniform longer than any current Ranger.NOTES&mdash;The Rangers began the week with a 4-2 loss to the Devils at Meadowlands. It proved costly as Robbie Ftorek strained knee ligaments and will be out for the season&hellip;Rich Chartraw played right wing for the first time in two years and scored twice against Detroit&hellip; Mark Pavelich scored twice, Anders Hedberg, Mike Allison and Reijo Ruotsalainen scored as the Rangers rallied to beat Washington 5-4&hellip;&ldquo;To feel good about ourselves this last week of the season is important,&rdquo; said Brooks, who also was pleased with the Rangers&rsquo; effort against the Islanders, despite the loss&hellip;Before the Capitals&rsquo; game, assistant coach Walter Tkaczuk received the first Ranger Alumni Association Award in a ceremony that reunited the Rangers&rsquo; &ldquo;Bulldog Line.&rdquo; Tkaczuk was joined at center ice by Bill Fairbairn, who flew in with his wife from Brandon, Man., and Alumni Association director Steve Vickers, who is an insurance agent on Long Island. Tkaczuk, whose career ended with an eye injury in 1981, is the fourth-highest scorer in Ranger history with 227 goals and 451 assists in 945 games in 13 seasons: He was presented with a No. 18 jersey encased in plexiglass and was treated to a standing ovation. &#9632;

Greschner Plays Despite The Pain

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0015-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-02839/4669121-1-eng-US/f0015-022.jpg"></div> &#9632;

f0015-02

Top Scorers In The NHL

<div class="byline">BY WALT MacPEEK</div>EAST RUTHERFORD&mdash;What the Devil is going on here?&bull;March 6: The Devils embarrass the Rangers 6-4 in Madison Square Garden.&bull;March 12: The Devils shock the Canadiens 7-3 in Montreal.&bull;March 21: The Devils even their season series with the Rangers at three games apiece by earning a 4-2 triumph at home.&bull;March 25: The Devils prevent Philadelphia from clinching first place by upsetting the Flyers 6-5.The twice-transplanted New Jersey Devils showed they know how to start a season (3-1-3) and they were doing an excellent job of finishing one in March. Now, all they have to do next season is to improve on the middle 50 or 60 games.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re paying back our fans&mdash;the people in New Jersey have been great to us&mdash;by creating a good outlook for next year,&rdquo; Devils&rsquo; GM-Coach Billy Mac? Millan declared after his team surprised the Flyers for the second time this season.The Devils&rsquo; &lsquo;Kid Line&rsquo; of Aaron Broten, Paul Gagne and Jeff Larmer continued to score goals. Rookie Pat Ver-beek made an impressive National Hockey League debut, Chico Resch was strong in goal and defenseman Murray Brumwell added some much-needed offense from the blueline to highlight the surge.Verbeek, a third-round draft choice from the Sudbury Wolves of the Ontario Hockey Leauge in 1982, has given the Devils added spark and provided their new director of player personnel, Bert Marshall, instant credibility.When Verbeek performed well in training camp, MacMillan admitted that he was tempted to keep him but returned the 5-foot-9, 190-pound center-right winger to junior hockey for his second season.&ldquo;Our policy is to let the young players develop in junior hockey,&rdquo; MacMillan said, &ldquo;and when Sudbury didn&rsquo;t make the playoffs, we brought him up to get him started on learning our system. He looked so good in our practices for a week, it seemed unfair not to give him a chance. He had no other place to play. It&rsquo;s notour club policy to keep people off the ice who deserve to be on it, so&hellip;&rdquo;In his NHL debut at home against the Rangers before a sellout crowd of 19,023 at the Meadowlands Arena, Verbeek checked well, made some slick passes and splattered defenseman Dave Maloney into the glass with a bump that got the attention of the entire New York squad.&ldquo;I was nervous but I guess that&rsquo;s expected of your first game,&rdquo; Verbeek said. &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t know exactly what to expect, but Donnie (Lever) and Bobby (MacMillan) settled me down. It was important for me to play a few games here to gain a little experience. It&rsquo;ll help me to get a real crack at making the team next year.&rdquo;Two nights later in Washington, Verbeek notched his first NHL assist, feeding Lever, and then scored his first NHL goal, chopping in the rebound of a MacMillan shot to produce a 3-1 Devils&rsquo; lead early in the third period. Unfortunately for Verbeek and the Devils, Washington rallied for four unanswered goals to win.Against the Flyers, Verbeek assisted on a Brumwell goal while playing against one of his boyhood idols, Bobby Clarke.MacMillan says that Verbeek, an 18-year-old from Sarnia, Ont., will be given every opportunity to play wilth the Devils next season. Although he has yet to show a weakness in any phase of the game, his outstanding qualitites seem to be combativeness and spunk.&ldquo;I liked his aggressiveness, that&rsquo;s what stood out the most,&rdquo; said Bobby MacMillan. &ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t have any really aggressive centermen on this hockey team and, all of a sudden, we&rsquo;ve got one and it definitely adds a lot.&rdquo;Bobby&rsquo;s older brother. Bill, agrees. &ldquo;In addition to his scoring and the leadership his coach told us about,&rdquo; MacMillan said, &ldquo;we were very pleased when the coaches in the OHL voted him as the most aggressive player. He gives every indication of continuing that style here and that&rsquo;s what we want.&rdquo;Verbeek led a sadsack Sudbury team with 40 goals and 67 assists for 107 points in 61 games and was outstanding for the Canada&rsquo;s national junior team.HOT STUFF&mdash;Broten, Gagne and Larmer accounted for 42 points (15 goals, 27 assists) in a nine-game stretch and were exceptionally sharp against Philly&hellip;MacMillan sent John Wensink home for a few days &ldquo;to think over&rdquo; his critical remarks concerning the Devils and European players Tapio Levo and Jan Ludvig. Wensink was fined (less than $500), but returned and was wearing the head phones at the Devils&rsquo; bench on March 17. &ldquo;It always happens with veteran players when they get near the end of the line and their playing time diminishes,&rdquo; MacMillan said. &ldquo;They lash out; it&rsquo;s not good for the player or the team but, to some extent, it's understandable. &ldquo;Wire (Wensink) has fought for and protected our players all season, that&rsquo;s why he&rsquo;s still here. He has given everything he has to give.&rdquo; Wensink was scratched for the sixth straight game against Philadelphia. &#9632;

Devils Finishing As They Started

<div class="byline">BY CHUCK MOODY</div>H&B Louisville HockeyPITTSBURGH&mdash;Most observers feel the Penguins&rsquo; pocket was picked clean by Minnesota general manager Lou Nanne in a deal between the two clubs earlier this season.The trade saw forward George Ferguson move to the North Stars and forward Anders Hakansson and rookie defenseman Ron Meighan come to Pittsburgh. In addition, the Stars and Penguins swapped first-round choices in this June&rsquo;s entry draft.The second part of the deal is the rub as far as Penguin fans are concerned. If Pittsburgh finishes last in the overall NHL standings, as is likely the case, the North Stars will have first crack in the draft.Meighan was the Ontario Hockey League&rsquo;s most valuable defenseman last season. The 19-year-old Meighan was left in junior immediately after the trade, and he has played sparingly for the Penguins since he has been recalled.Hakansson, 26, has started to come on during the second half of the season for Pittsburgh after getting off to a slow start and also being used sparingly or not dressing at all.&ldquo;The difference since the beginning of the season and how I&rsquo;m playing now is something mental,&rdquo; Hakansson said. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re great guys here, and they really took care of me when I first came here. Unfortunately, we started to lose a lot of games toward the end of November and December, and everybody lost their confidence. So did I.&ldquo;In Minnesota, I played mostly on penalty killing, and when I came here I got a good chance to play. But I just couldn&rsquo;t put the puck in the net. For a month and a half, I wasn&rsquo;t playing too much. I had a couple of shifts a game. I was worried about a lot of things, and it didn&rsquo;t help my game.&rdquo;A native of Munkfors, Sweden, and the Penguins&rsquo; only European player, Hakansson broke out of his slump and scored five goals and six assists in a recent eight-game stretch. After 57 games, he had eight goals and 11 assists.&ldquo;Before I was skating good in practice but as soon as we played, I was kind of scared to do anything,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;As soon as I got the puck, I just passed if to someone else. It felt like I was standing still. Skating is my game. That&rsquo;s when I&rsquo;m successful&mdash;when I&rsquo;m skating well.&ldquo;I get down on myself very easy and scoring a couple of goals helped my confidence a lot. Now I feel like playing hockey.&rdquo;Coach Eddie Johnston has used Hakansson at both right and left wing. A left-handed shot, Hakansson said he played right wing in Minnesota and Sweden and feels comfortable there.&ldquo;The puck is finally going in for him.&rdquo; Johnston said about Hakansson. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s had a lot of good chances, but in the early part of the year it wasn&rsquo;t going in. Now the puck is getting tipped, and he&rsquo;s scored a couple on the short side.&ldquo;But the biggest thing different that he&rsquo;s doing is going to the net every time he gets the puck. That&rsquo;s creating a lot of opportunities to score goals.&rdquo;The6-foot-2,191-pound Hakansson is an accomplished sailplane pilot and a graduate of Stockholm&rsquo;s Royal Institute of Technology in metallurgy. He realizes he is part of a trade that has come under criticism because of the swap of first-round draft choices.&ldquo;I try not to think about that,&rdquo; Hakansson said. &ldquo;When I came here it was kind of tough because I knew that Nanne thought that we were going to be in last place in the league. And when I came here, I felt he was wrong about that because I felt good and the guys were playing well. But we started losing, and then you start thinking he made a good deal and I look bad.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want Pittsburgh to feel like they made a bad trade. I don&rsquo;t really think about that, though. I just try to work on my game and try to get back and play the way I know I can play.&rdquo;Hakansson is determined to do his part to show the Penguins&rsquo; pocket wasn&rsquo;t picked. &#9632;

Hakansson Aims To Erase Draft-Pick Rub

<div class="byline">BY DICK BEDDOES</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-01986/4669200-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg" title="f0016-01" width="291" height="342"></div><h2>Recollections Of Baz</h2>IT IS ODD how a traumatic date remains vivid, fresh as the day before yesterday.&ldquo;It was Sept. 19, 1949,&rdquo; Baz Bastein would say. &ldquo;Toronto Maple Leafs had their training camp in St. Catharines, Ont. Their minor leaguers weren&rsquo;t far away, in Welland. I was playing goal for the Pittsburgh Hornets and we&rsquo;re in an afternoon practice at Welland. A shot from the right point smashed me in the right eye.&rdquo;Bastein was two weeks past his 29th birthday, blackhaired and stocky. He had been the outstanding goaltender in the American Hockey League for three successive seasons.Don Clark, a former Springfield player trying out with the Hornets, drove a rising shot from the blueline. Bastein&rsquo;s vision was screened by four or five players moving in front of him. He didn&rsquo;t see the puck that struck him.Damage to the optical nerves was so severe that, several hours later in a Welland hospital, doctors removed Bastein&rsquo;s right eye.&ldquo;It was a hell of a blow to me emotionally,&rdquo; Bastein recalled, years after. &ldquo;I&rsquo;d come out of northern Ontario with sights set on the NHL, which was important to Canadian kids, more so than now. Lying in hospital, my whole life flashed in front of me.&rdquo;One month later, the Maple Leafs travelled to Pittsburgh for a Bastein benefit against the Hornets. The lead on the story in the Toronto Globe and Mail began:There was a lump in everyone&rsquo;s throat as Baz Bastein said goodbye to hockey as a player.&ldquo;I would like to thank the Toronto team for making this possible,&rdquo; Baz said when his turn came at the microphone.<h2>Sensing His Emotions</h2>THE WORDS CHOKED in his throat. The crowd, sensing his emotions, gave him a terrific ovation. Baz, his cheeks wet with tears, walked off the ice.&rdquo;The game, won 4-0 by the Leafs, produced a net gate of $4,512.07. Donations increased the benefit total of $5,212.07.This is one person&rsquo;s rememberance of Baz Bastein, who died two weeks ago after his car crashed into a motorcycle on a Pittsburgh expressway. Death was apparently due to head injuries and cardiac arrest.By some fortunate quirk of fate, the two people on the motorbike were scarcely scratched.Tests later determined that Bastein had been drinking, perhaps too much to have been driving alone. He was returning home from a sports function after refusing offers from his Pittsburgh associates to be driven home.Baz had latterly been general manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins and it is easy to comprehend why anyone connected with Penguins would turn to alcohol to take the sting from certain memories. If the Hartford Whalers aren&rsquo;t the worst team in the NHL this season, the Penguins are.The possibility exists, too, that the long-ago loss of Bastein&rsquo;s right eye contributed to his fate. There is a lack of depth perception when an eye is lost. With two eyes, Bastein may not have driven into a motorcycle late at night.Bastein was among many who lost part of their vision to hockey, whether by a high stick or errant puck.One of his colleagues, Glen Sonmor of the Minnesota North Stars, lost his right eye in 1955 after a puck slammed into it during a game in Pittsburgh. Sonmor, at the time, was a forward for the Cleveland Barons.<h2>High-Octane Beverages</h2>SONMOR&rsquo;S NAME POPS up coincidentally now because he too, has had a difficult winter, finally quitting as Minnesota coach because high-pressure hockey and high-octane beverages became a high-pressure nuisance. Guys who know him are delighted with his rehabilitation.There was a time in the NHL when players were permitted to play with one eye. The late Leo Reise of Brantford, Ont., once told me, &ldquo;The NHL president of the day, Frank Calder, was one of the few folks who knew I was blind.&rdquo;Reise turned professional with the Hamilton Tigers in 1920, then transferred to New York in 1924 when Hamilton became the Americans. He finished his defense career in 1930 with the New York Rangers.Reise said, &ldquo;When I was 21, the sight in my left eye just faded and faded. But I never had any trouble seeing, except for one thing. When I played for the Americans, I always had to play left defense because I couldn&rsquo;t see out of my right eye.&rdquo;A partial list of those whose NHL careers were ruined by eye injuries would include Tom Burlington, Herb Dickenson, Bill Dobbyn, Doug Barkley, Ian Young, Bert Conacher, Doug Robinson, Eddie Brown, George Parsons, Jo Jo Graboski, Claude Ruel, Snoozer Trasinski, Bastein and Sonmor.It is possible to play with one eye removed, of course. Tom Burlington was a memorable pro in the AHL 40 years ago, not burdened by the loss of an eye suffered in a childhood game with bows and arrows.The NHL, though, has an explicit by-law against players with visual defects. The bylaw states that any player with one eye, or 3/60ths of normal vision shall not be eligible to play for an NHL club.The by-law is understandable: the NHL doesn&rsquo;t want to be responsible for a player losing his other eye in a hazardous sport and being left blind.Such, anyway, were the thoughts inspired by Baz Bastein&rsquo;s death at 62, which is not that old, the closer you get to it. &#9632;

f0016-01

BEDCLOTHES

<div class="byline">BY NEIL MILBERT</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0017-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-01872/4669255-1-eng-US/f0017-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Chicago Black Hawk center Denis Savard is recognized as the most exciting player east of Edmonton. He&rsquo;s been an unqualified NHL superstar since the Hawks drafted him third overall from the Montreal Juniors in 1980.</figcaption></div>Who says the Dallas Cowboys are &ldquo;America&rsquo;s team&rdquo;? Now that the Black Hawks have become one of the dominant clubs in the National Hockey League, maybe it&rsquo;s time to start calling them &ldquo;North America&rsquo;s team.&rdquo;They&rsquo;re the only team in the NHL never to have a European player on their roster.They&rsquo;re owned by the Wirtz family, an institution in Chicago sports.General manager Bob Pulford was raised on a farm outside Toronto and the best years of his playing career were with the Maple Leafs, then the pride and joy of English-speaking Canada.Coach Orval Tessier is a bilingual French-Canadian, who spent the 1970s working behind the bench in the Quebec and Ontario Leagues.Assistant general manager Jack Davison directs the scouting staff, working from his home outside of Toronto.Assistant coach Cliff Koroll grew up out west in Saskatoon, then went to college at Denver University before joining the Hawks as a player.These are the producers and directors of &ldquo;North America&rsquo;s team.&rdquo; Now for the cast.Seven of the players come from the Ontario League, six from U.S. colleges, five from the Quebec League, and four from the Western League (plus three on the injured list).In the eyes of their peers in the locker room, the superstars are centers Denis Savard and Tom Lysiak and defenseman Doug Wilson.The hockey roots of these three typify the team&rsquo;s crosspollination process.Extolled as the most exciting player east of Edmonton, Savard came from the Montreal Juniors of the Quebec League, third choice overall in the 1980 draft. Last year, he broke Bobby Hull&rsquo;s team record of 119 points. Now, he&rsquo;s on the brink of breaking his own record.Lysiak, who neither has been an all-star in the NHL nor earned an individual award, mainly because he was playing for mediocre teams, skated for Medicine Hat of the Western League before being drafted second overall in 1973 by Atlanta. He stayed with the Flames until March, 1979, when Pulford&rsquo;s biggest trade brought him to Chicago.Wilson was the sixth selection overall in the 1977 draft after starring for Ottawa of the Ontario League for three seasons. Only * Bobby Orr scored more goals as a defenseman than the 39 Wilson delivered last year on his way to the Norris Trophy.&bull; In addition to Wilson, the Ontario League entourage is made up of Doug Crossman, another offense-oriented defenseman from h Ottawa, and forwards Al Secord, Steve Larmer, Bill Gardner, Tim Higgins, and Steve Ludzik.&bull; Goalie Tony Esposito, an alumnus of Michigan Tech, heads the college contingent. The list also includes forwards Rich Preston (Denver) and Troy Murray (North Dakota) and defensemen Greg Fox (Michigan), Dave Feamster (Colorado College), and Jack O&rsquo;Callahan (Boston University).&bull; Savard&rsquo;s colleagues from the Quebec League consist of his life-long friend, Denis Cyr; fellow forwards Peter Marsh, and Rick Paterson; and defenseman Bob Murray.&bull; Besides Lysiak, the Western Leaguers are forwards Darryl Sutter (the team captain) and Curt Fraser and goaltender Murray Bannerman.&bull; The Western brigade also includes three players on the disabled list, defenseman Keith Brown and forwards Grant Mulvey and Florent Robidoux.Tessier is delighted to have a hybrid hockey team. &ldquo;Each of the junior leagues plays a different style,&rdquo; he points out. &ldquo;Blend those styles and you get the best of everything.&ldquo;The Ontario style is closest to the style we play in the NHL. The Western League is physically the toughest, each of the teams seem to have one or two stars but there isn&rsquo;t a lot of depth. The Quebec League is the fastest of the three leagues by a wide margin but there&rsquo;s virtually no size.&ldquo;In U. S. college hockey, they play fewer games than they do in junior hockey but the competition is no less tough. There&rsquo;s less exposure to competition but more time to teach and work on the basics.&rdquo;Four of the Hawks are rookies&mdash;Larmer, Ludzik, Troy Murray, and O&rsquo;Callahan. And four others&mdash;Crossman, Feamster, Gardner, and Cyr&mdash;are second-year pros.Every coach would love to have a rookie like Larmer. For Tessier, it&rsquo;s more wonderful the second time around.Tessier and Larmer broke into professional hockey last winter with New Brunswick of the American League. New Brunswick won the championship and Larmer wound up with 38 goals and 44 assists.Now, Tessier&rsquo;s team leads the Norris Division and has the third-best record in the NHL. Larmer, meanwhile, is the top candidate for Rookie of the Year honors by virtue of his 37 goals and 42 assists and plus-minus rating of plus 37.&ldquo;The American League is not quite the same as the NHL,&rdquo; Tessier said. &ldquo;Not only has Larmer stepped up to the NHL, he has filled a big hole at right wing on Savard&rsquo;s line. It&rsquo;s quite conceivable that in the years to come, he can be a 50-goal scorer.&ldquo;Savard, Larmer, and Secord are unique in style but they give us as good a line as there is in hockey.&ldquo;All three can kill you in their own way. Savard has the finesse. Secord is an aggressive goal-scorer. Larmer is poised for a rookie, he&rsquo;s a good passer and shooter, and lately he&rsquo;s showing me more intensity around the net.&rdquo;While the Savard unit is the Hawks&rsquo; main scoring threat, Lysiak and his linemates, Sutter and Preston, have as their primary mission stopping the other team&rsquo;s top line.&ldquo;What makes Lysiak so outstanding is that he can do that and still contribute a lot to the offense with his playmaking,&rdquo; said Tessier. &ldquo;How many centers will hold down Wayne Gretzky defensively and outplay him offensively the way he (Tom) did in Edmonton in December?&rdquo;Since Brown was sidelined for the season with a separated shoulder in late January, Tessier hs been relying heavily on Wilson and his back-line partner Bob Murray. Offensively, Wilson&rsquo;s output has declined but no defenseman in the NHL does so much so well.Bannerman has cooled off a bit after a brilliant first half of the season but Esposito put together his first string of several outstanding games in March.Tessier plans to continue rotating goalies in the playoffs. Last year, the Hawks unexpectedly made it to the semi-finals. This year, the rabid hockey fans who pack Chicago Stadium to the rafters have visions of greater grandeur. &#9632;

f0017-01

Hawks Qualify As North America’s Team

<div class="byline">BY NEIL MILBERT</div>In the past three years, the expansion New York Islanders have won as many Stanley Cups as the Chicago Black Hawks have in their entire history.Yet tradition is also a precious commodity and, in this respect, the cup runneth over for connoisseurs of Chicago hockey.Let&rsquo;s start from the very beginning, the 1926-27 season when the Black Hawks were founded and began play in the &lsquo;American Di vision &rdquo; of what then was a 10-team National Hockey League.The team did fairly well under coach Pete Muldoon, compiling a record of 19-22-3 to finish third in the division and lead the league in scoring with 115 goals.But owner Fred McLaughlin quickly became disenchanted and fired Muldoon at the start of the Hawks&rsquo; second season.Muldoon&rsquo;s revenge was putting a curse on McLaughlin&rsquo;s team, vowing that Chicago would never win a National Hockey League championship.It wasn&rsquo;t until 1966-67, the last year that the NHL was a six-team league, that the hex finally was exorcised and the Hawks won a regular-season championship.However, they did win three Stanley Cups in the intervening years.&bull; In 1934, after finishing second in the American Division during the season, coach Tom Gorman&rsquo;s players captured their first Stanley Cup, defeating Detroit three games to one.The hero was goalie Charlie Gardiner. Two of the games went into double overtime with Gardiner shutting out the Red Wings in the final.Eight weeks later, Gardiner was dead of a brain hemorrhage.&bull; In 1938, the Hawks won only 14 of 48 games and made the playoffs by a scant two points but caught fire and won their second Stanley Cup.Again, the margin was three games to one. The Hawks won the first game 3-1 behind minor-league goalie Alfie Moore, a desperation substitute after Mike Karakas injured his toe.There was a controversial ending to Game Three. On the winning goal, scored by Doug Romnes with 4:05 to play, the Maple Leafs argued that the shot had hit the post. They were overruled by the referee, Clarence Campbell, who eventually became the president of the NHL.&bull; It wasn&rsquo;t until 1961 that Chicago imbibed from the Stanley Cup for the third and, to this point, last time. Glenn Hall was in goal, A feisty but cunning kid named Stan Mikita was playing at center. And on the left wing was another lad from St. Catharines, this one blessed with a stunning slapshot, Bobby Hull. &ldquo;He could pull people out of their seats, &rdquo; Mikita said. &ldquo;I know he did it to me when I was on the bench. I never had that ability.&rdquo;Third during the regular season, the Hawks ambushed Montreal in the opening round of the playoffs. Then, coach Rudy Pilous&rsquo; club conquered fourth-place Detroit, four games to two, to claim the championship.Hull and Mikita again were in the vanguard in 1966-67 when the Hawks finally broke the legendary 40-year spell known as the curse of Muldoon and took their first regualr season NHL title.They won in compelling fashion, finishing 17 points ahead of runner-up Montreal. Hull scored 52 goals but the scoring championship went to Mikita, who set a record with 62 assists and tied Hull&rsquo;s record of 97 points in a season.In the process, Mikita became the first Triple Crown winner in NHL history, annexing the scoring championship and most valuable player trophy as well as the Lady Byng Trophy for sportsmanship.But in the playoffs, the Hawks were eliminated by Toronto in six games in the semi-finals.Subsequently, they twice went to the Stanley Cup finals after winning the Western Division championship. In both of those years, they were defeated by Montreal, in a pulsating sevengame series in 1971 and in a six-game struggle in 1973.The 1970s were a decade that began with great promise for Chicago hockey fans but they became filled with disappointment and frustration.The biggest blow was the loss of Bobby Hull, perhaps the most popular player in the annals of Chicago sports. Prior to the 1972-73 season, Hull signed a 10-year contract for $2.75 million with the Winnipeg Jets of the upstart World Hockey Association.As the Hawks declined in the &rsquo;70s, attendance also dwindled. Not even the acquisition of Bobby Orr could bring the monstrous hockey crowds back to the midway.Then came the painstaking process of rebuilding that was climaxed by last season&rsquo;s sudden breakthrough in the playoffs.Now, people are once again hanging from the rafters of Chicago Stadium instead of banners imploring the Hawks to bring back Bobby Hull.Chicago hockey afficionados are living in the present and loving it.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-01890/4669286-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg" title="f0018-01" width="560" height="976"><figcaption class="caption-body">When Bobby Hull played for the Black Hawks, he was hockey&rsquo;s most exciting player.</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0018-01

Hawks Battle Against ‘Curse Of Muldoon’

<div class="byline">BY NEIL MILBERT</div>The remaking of the Black Hawks from a team on the skids back into one of the premier franchises in the National Hockey League began on July 6, 1977, when team president Bill Wirtz chose Bob Pulford as coach and general manager.According to Wirtz: &ldquo;He&rsquo;s the man responsible for the rebirth of hockey in Chicago that we&rsquo;ve witnessed.&rdquo;Patience, prudence, and potholes along the way have made Pulford&rsquo;s team what it is today.The talent pool perhaps is comparable to what it was in the late 1960s and early &rsquo;70s when Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita were at the height of their careers and young Tony Esposito was the game&rsquo;s most dominant goaltender.Night after night, roaring throngs congregate in Chicago Stadium. Once again, hockey tickets are the hottest item in the toddlin&rsquo; town that Billy Sunday couldn&rsquo;t cool down.But Pulford and Wirtz will admit it hasn&rsquo;t been easy.&ldquo;There were decent players here when I came,&rdquo; recalled Pulford. &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t take over a team that didn&rsquo;t have talent but the talent wasn&rsquo;t going to win a championship.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s why things were done. Some were not easy to do. Some were not met with a great deal of acceptance.&ldquo;But, when you first start out, you have to move a lot of people, bring in people, then go through a period of waiting. You have to wait for people to develop.&rdquo;Prior to becoming a coach, Pulford played for 16 seasons in the NHL. After spending 14 years in Toronto, he concluded his career in Los Angeles. Never an individual award recipient nor an AllStar selection, he nevertheless was regarded as one of the foremost centers of his time.Upon retiring as a player, he immediately was chosen coach of the Kings.During the next five years, Pully proved himself to be a highly capable coach. However, he came to the conclusion that he wasn&rsquo;t cut out to be a coach for the rest of his hockey career.When Wirtz decided to promote Tommy Ivan from general manager to vicepresident. he offered Pulford the dual responsibilities of GM and coach with the understanding that the latter job would be relinquished after two years.Pulford said yes. In his first season in Chicago, the Hawks amassed 83 points&mdash;a 20-point improvement over the previous year&mdash;and Pulford was selected Coach of the Year by THE HOCKEY NEWS.&ldquo;It was easy to do that,&rdquo; said Pulford. &ldquo;It was like going from 100 to 80 in golf. But it&rsquo;s difficult to improve after that.&rdquo;The difficulty was underscored the next year when the Hawks finished with 10 fewer points.As planned, Pulford retired from coaching to concentrate on his work as general manager in the summer of 1979. As expected, Eddie Johnston, who&rsquo;d been successful in his coaching debut with the New Brunswick farm team, was promoted to succeed him.And, as projected, the Hawks thrived under Johnston, whose method of handling players was relaxed in comparison to Pulford&rsquo;s supposedly austere style. They wound up seventh in the overall standings with 87 points and swept St. Louis in the first round of the playoffs before being eliminated by Buffalo.&ldquo;I think hockey in Chicago is going to come back by leaps and bounds in the next decade,&rdquo; predicted Wirtz in February of that season.But then the Hawks hit a gigantic pothole. Discussions with Johnston&rsquo;s agent, Bill Watters, over a new contract became a tug of war with neither side willing to budge. Negotiations broke off and on Friday, June 13, 1980, Keith Magnuson, the tenacious defenseman who&rsquo;d retired and became Johnston&rsquo;s assistant, was named his successor as coach.There was a backlash from the customers in Chicago Stadium when Magnuson was unable to emulate Johnston&rsquo;s success. In his first year, the Hawks got off to a fast start, slumped badly, equalled a team-record by winning eight straight, then fell off again, and made an immediate exit from the playoffs.Last season, the team became devastated by injuries in December and the situation deteriorated rapidly. With the team in the throes of a 10-game winless streak (0-9-1), Pulford reluctantly gave Magnuson a six-game vacation and reassumed command.Immediately, the Hawks responded. They scored a team record five goals in the first period of his first game and went on to trounce St. Louis 9-5. At the end of the six-game stint, the Hawks had four triumphs and two losses and seemed to have snapped out of their slump.But on Magnuson&rsquo;s first night back, the Hawks regressed and took a beating from St. Louis. When the course of the contest had become apparent after two periods, Magnuson told the players that he was through.The resignation was announced after the game and Pulford became the interim coach for the second time. &ldquo;In today&rsquo;s hockey, it is impossible to do both jobs, to be both coach and general manager,&rdquo; he said at the time.&ldquo;But now, there&rsquo;s no alternative.&rdquo;This time, however, the Hawks stayed in their daze and when the regular season ended they were wobbling along in fourth place.Then, came the playoffs. And, abruptly, the potential that Pulford and Wirtz had always believed was there manifested itself in action.The Hawks lowered the boom on Minnesota in the opening round, then socked it to St.Louis. It wasn&rsquo;t until the Stanley Cup semi-finals that Chicago finally was brought under control by the Vancouver Canucks.True to his word, Pulford went back to concentrating on his work as general manager. To succeed him as coach, he called upon 49-year-old Orval Tessier, who&rsquo;d won the American League championship on the farm in New Brunswick.Tessier&rsquo;s success story is documented in detail elsewhere in this issue as is the team chemistry.But Pulford was the catalyst.Only three players on the current roster&mdash;Esposito, defenseman Bob Murray, and injured right winger Grant Mulvey&mdash;remain from the squad that he assembled at his first Chicago training camp in 1977.Much of the renovation has been done through the draft. Fifteen Hawks (counting incumbents Bob Murray and Mulvey) were handpicked and homegrown.Of Pulford&rsquo;s trades, two can be considered major:<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-01846/4669317-1-eng-US/f0019-012.jpg" title="f0019-01" width="558" height="781"><figcaption class="caption-body">Black Hawk general manager Bob Pulford has been the catalyst in the team&rsquo;s exciting genesis.</figcaption></div>&bull; The March 13, 1979, deal with Atlanta in which Tom Lysiak, Greg Fox, and three others no longer with Chicago (Miles Zaharko, Pat Ribble, and Harold Phillipoff) were acquired in exchange for Phil Russell, Darcy Rota, and Ivan Boldirev.&bull; The straight player swap of Dec. 18, 1980, that turned Al Secord into the most prolific Chicago goal-scorer since Bobby Hull and made a Boston Bruin out of resourceful defenseman Mike O&rsquo;Connell.But making a deal with the Black Hawks isn&rsquo;t as simple as picking up the phone and calling Pulford.Six people discuss every important transaction, Bill Wirtz revealed. They are: Wirtz himself; Pulford; assistant GM Jack Davison; Ivan; Bill&rsquo;s brother, Michael Wirtz, who like Ivan is listed on the table of organization as the vicepresident; and the coach.&ldquo;It has always been that way,&rdquo; Bill explained. &ldquo;Sometimes we make a mistake, like trading away Phil Esposito, a lousy trade in retrospect.&rdquo;The power of Bill Wirtz goes far beyond his 16 years as president of the Black Hawks. Last summer, he was unanimously re-elected Chairman of the NHL&rsquo;s Board of Governors, an office he has held for nine years. He may be the most influential individual in the NHL.Wirtz holds the World Hockey Association responsible for the ills that visited the NHL in general and the Black Hawks in particular during the &rsquo;70s. He still has a hard spot in his heart for the Chicago Cougars (who went out of busines long before their league&rsquo;s survivors were taken into the NHL in the summer of 1979.)&ldquo;We&mdash;the Black Hawks and the sport of hockey&mdash;lost our mystique in Chicago when that club on the South Side came into existence,&rdquo; insisted Wirtz.Those were the hard times.Three years ago, when he foretold the evolution of the Hawks as a member of the NHL&rsquo;s higher echelon, Bill Wirtz also said;&ldquo;Hockey is the greatest game in the world.&ldquo;My dad (the Hawk&rsquo;s chairman of the board, Arthur Wirtz) and the late Jim Norris together had almost a century of experience with virtually every major sport and they said that it was the greatest. They couldn&rsquo;t have been wrong for that many years.&ldquo;In Chicago Stadium, anybody can fill the box seats. That&rsquo;s where you have corporate season-ticket holders and wealthy individuals. What I want to fill is the first balcony. It&rsquo;s going to happen again and it&rsquo;s going to be filled night after night. Cable TV will help me do it. You&rsquo;ll see.&rdquo;Indeed, it has come to pass and the best seems yet to come. &#9632;

f0019-01

Hawks Are Monsters Of Midway Once Again

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0020-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-01684/4669348-1-eng-US/f0020-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">A capacity crowd at Boston Garden welcomed exBruins Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito with a rousing standing ovation. Orr and Esposito were partici pating in the Lucky Strike Masters of Hockey exhibition match, one of three such games played this season.</figcaption></div>You would have to conduct a pretty extensive search to locate someone who doesn&rsquo;t find the goals of the Phil Esposito Foundation as admirable qualities.After all, helping retired pro hockey players make the adjustment to civilian life is something along the lines of a motherhood issue.But few people realize the time, effort and expense that are required to operate an institution such as the Phil Esposito Foundation. As a result, we have the Lucky Strike Masters of Hockey exhibition games, which are one big reason why the Foundation is alive and well and helping hockey players.On one hand, the Masters&rsquo; games are an integral part of the Foundation&rsquo;s financial picture. On the other hand, they are simply great entertainment for hockey fans across the continent.This past season, for instance, three Masters games were played&mdash;on Jan. 11 in Detroit&rsquo;s Joe Louis Arena; on Feb. 4 in the Boston Garden and on Mar. 24 at the Brendan Byrne Arena in the New Jersey Meadowlands. The premise of the matches is really rather quite simple.Retired NHL stars, from Bobby Orr to Eddie Shack, suit up and put on a show that certainly doesn&rsquo;t deserve the tag of &ldquo;oldtimer hockey. &rdquo; In Detroit, a collection of all-stars played against the Red Wing alumni while Boston Bruin alumni, including Esposito and Orr, played host to the travelling all-stars. In the Meadowlands, it was Canadian ex-pros against American ex-pros.Each and every one of the contests was well received. The final outcome of the games hardly mattered. What was important was that fans in NHL cities got a chance to see some of the greatest players who ever played the game under one roof. Toss in the fact that it&rsquo;s for a good cause and you have the ideal situation.Of the three games played this season, the Boston date was probably most the exciting. It was the homecoming for Esposito and Orr, the two stars who teamed up to bring Boston a run of Stanley Cups in the 1970s. A sold-out Boston Garden crowd responded with a rousing standing ovation and the players responded with an exciting game, giving the fans more than their monies worth.Orr, who was forced into premature retirement because of serious knee injuries, even managed one of his famous pivot moves, sending the Garden crowd into a frenzy. And, of course, Esposito, who owned NHL slots for as long as he was playing, was front and center, too.But, if not for Esposito&rsquo;s drive and initiative, as well as the corporate sponsors and consulting firms that help to make the Foundation go, none of the stars would have been there. After retiring, Esposito recognized the need for helping ex-pros. Now, his foundation offers help in three areas: 1. Career assessment. 2. Job training and 3. Jobsearch assistance.There is also an Alumni Crisis Program, a financial service for those ex-pros who are in dire need of monetary help.These are the worthwhile services the Esposito Foundation provides, services that are available largely because of the success and financial backing of the Lucky Strike Masters of Hockey series. &#9632;

f0020-01

Masters Of Hockey A Stroke Of Genius

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0020-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-02469/4669379-1-eng-US/f0020-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Photos by Robert Shaver</figcaption></div>The Vancouver Canucks have clinched a playoff spot in the competitive Smythe Division this season, thanks to a late-season surge, especially by the line of Thomas Gradin, Darcy Rota and team captain Stan Smyl.It would be easy to give THE HOCKEY NEWS&rsquo; NHL Player of the Week nod to any one of them, but we&rsquo;ll go with Smyl, the former New Westminster Bruin star who not only helps the Canucks with his offensive output, but also with the heavy hitting in the comers and along the boards.Smyl had an excellent week, scoring four goals and adding four assists. That brought his season&rsquo;s totals to 36 goals and 50 assists in 71 games. If the Canucks plan on getting back to the Stanley Cup final this year, they&rsquo;ll need more big efforts from Smyl and his linemates. &#9632;

f0020-02

Player Of The Week

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0021-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-01510/4669410-1-eng-US/f0021-012.jpg"></div> &#9632;

f0021-01

LUCKY STRIKES AGAIN

<div class="byline">BY NEIL MILBERT</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0022-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-01571/4669441-1-eng-US/f0022-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Photo by Bruce BennettUA veteran of 51,310 minutes of league play, Chicago goalie Tony Esposito figures he still has a couple of good years left.</figcaption></div>CHICAGO&mdash;Since the 1967-68 season, the Masterton Trophy has been presented annually to the National Hockey League player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey. The winter after the award&rsquo;s inception, a Montreal Canadien rookie goaltender, Anthony James Esposito, broke into the NHL.In the opinion of the members of the Chicago chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers Association, the qualities embodied in the Masterton Trophy have become epitomized by Tony Esposito&rsquo;s 15-year career.Therefore, he is the chapter&rsquo;s unanimous choice to be the Chicago candidate for the coveted award honoring the memory of the late Bill Masterton of the Minnesota North Stars.Esposito, who will turn 40 on April 23, is the oldest player in the NHL and leads active goaltenders with 74 career shutouts.He has spent 51,310 minutes on the ice. During those light years of labor by every man&rsquo;s standards, he has been assessed a microscopic 31 minutes in penalties. If that isn&rsquo;t peseverance and sportsmanship, what is?&ldquo;When I compete, I go all out,&rdquo; said Esposito. &ldquo;1 think it&rsquo;s something inside of you, not something you can develop. Either you have it or you don&rsquo;t.&ldquo;But I don&rsquo;t lose my temper or get unnerved. The only time I&rsquo;d ever retaliate against someone is if I thought he was out to get me, and then I would never do it with my stick. A player who uses his stick like that doesn&rsquo;t belong in hockey.&ldquo;The player who crowds the net and tries to screen me and get deflections and rebounds is just doing his job. If he gets bumped and bangs into me it&rsquo;s not because he&rsquo;s trying to hurt me, so why should I retaliate?&rdquo;Off the ice, Esposito has manifested his dedication by his exemplary service as president of the NHL Players&rsquo; Association, a man who has made the good of the game preeminent over personal gain.&ldquo;Let&rsquo;s put it this way&mdash;the collective bargaining agreement that we have today in no way favors Tony,&rdquo; said the Hawks&rsquo; players representative, defenseman Bob Murray. &ldquo;All along he fought against total free-agency yet he stood to make much more money if the collective bargaining agreement permitted it. He gave up a lot for the common good.&rdquo;Esposito came to Chicago from Montreal in the intra-league draft of June, 1969. That first year, he recorded 15 shutouts in 63 games and earned the Vezina and Calder Trophies. He also was a first-team all star, an honor that again was his in 1971-72 (when his goals-against average was an incredible 1.76) and in 1979-80 (when, at age 36, he led the league with six shutouts).The milestone of his career was his performance in the 1972 Canada Cup, in which Team Canada rallied from a 3-to-1 deficit in games to win the series from the Soviet Union on Soviet ice.&ldquo;Even today I can&rsquo;t describe the emotion and the extreme pressure,&rdquo; he recalled. &ldquo;Everything was on the line. But in the end, we were jelling as a unit. I think if we had continued to play for another month, we&rsquo;d have clearly been the dominant team.&rdquo;Esposito has taken part in two other major international competitions. He was chosen to be a member of the 1979 NHL All-Star team that met and lost to the Sovietes in the mid-season Challenge Cup, but coach Scotty Bowman didn&rsquo;t play him. In the summer of 1981, Esposito became an American citizen and was the U.S. goalie in the Canada Cup series.&lsquo;What the NHL has to do if we want to get our credibility back in a series with the Russians is get a team together and do nothing but train, train, train, for a month,&rdquo; insisted Esposito. &ldquo;And no politics! We can&rsquo;t keep having Lou Nanne wanting his guy and Harry Sinden wanting his guy. What we want are the best players, period.&ldquo;What we need is one coach, one manager, and one assistant. I think maybe we should get some new people with different ideas involved because the guys we&rsquo;ve used recently don&rsquo;t seem to have done a very good job.&rdquo;Skeptics envisioned a bitter Esposito when the new person behind the Chicago bench, Orval Tessier, came up with the idea of alternating Esposito with his former understudy, Murray Bannerman.Although Espostio has always believed that a strenuous work load brings out the best in him, he has made no waves because of the new arrangement.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re winning,&rdquo; he said. That&rsquo;s what it&rsquo;s all about. I&rsquo;m not paid to make decisions. I just do what I&rsquo;m told and try to do the best I can.&ldquo;I feel good. I don&rsquo;t think that I&rsquo;ve lost my edge. That&rsquo;s what I always worried about. The first couple of years when you&rsquo;re in the NHL, you don&rsquo;t have to worry about getting yourself up. Then, for some guys, the priorities change, and it shows in the way they play. They haven&rsquo;t lost it physically but they&rsquo;ve lost their desire. They&rsquo;ve lost it mentally.&ldquo;Of the guys I&rsquo;ve seen, Stan Mikita had the greatest desire, the burning fire. He wasn&rsquo;t the greatest practice player but in game situations you always could depend on him. He played hurt for a long time but he never let up.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been lucky that way. I can&rsquo;t remember ever being hurt so badly that I didn&rsquo;t think I could play if I was needed.&ldquo;Maybe I shouldn&rsquo;t have played in the 1980 All-Star game in Detroit but I thought it was the last chance I&rsquo;d have to play in it against my brother, Phil.&ldquo;I had smashed fingers from two nights before and there were 12 stitches in my hand. When I felt the stitches pulling, I took myself out. It wasn&rsquo;t a regular game and I didn&rsquo;t want to do more damage.&ldquo;The next day, (back-up goalie) Mike Veisor&rsquo;s dad died and I had to play that night in Quebec. We won&mdash;that&rsquo;s about all I remember.&rdquo;Recently, Tessier used Esposito on consecutive nights for the first time this season. He performed brilliantly, losing 4-2 in Toronto but winning 4-3 the next night in Pittsburgh.&ldquo;Tony was phenomenal,&rdquo; said Pittsburgh coach Eddie Johnston. &ldquo;He made about five incredible saves in the second period. If it hadn&rsquo;t been for him, we&rsquo;d have blown them out.&rdquo;Esposito entered the season&rsquo;s final segment with a record of 22-9-5, a goals-against average of 3.56, and a save percentage of .888. Only two goalies&mdash;Boston&rsquo;s Pete Peeters and Edmonton&rsquo;s Andy Moog&mdash;had more triumphs.Because Esposito is in the option year of his contract, reporters and broadcasters from other cities constantly ask: &ldquo;Is this his last year?&rdquo;Esposito thinks not&hellip; even if it&rsquo;s not in Chicago, where he is almost an institution.&ldquo;I&rsquo;d like a contract for another couple of years,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;You don&rsquo;t want to go through the negotiation thing year after year.&rdquo;&ldquo;This is a real good team. There have been only a few times in my life that I&rsquo;ve played with a team with this much talent. It would be tough to walk away.&ldquo;But if it&rsquo;s over in Chicago, it&rsquo;s over. I think I could still find a job and it wouldn&rsquo;t have to be a team like Hartford.&rdquo;Yes, Anthony James Esposito is in the autumn of his career. But it&rsquo;s starting to look like an endless Indian summer. &#9632;

f0022-01

Tony O Still Going Strong For The Hawks

<div class="byline">BY NEIL MILBERT</div>As a coach, Orval Tessier doesn&rsquo;t think he&rsquo;d have cared much for the kid with the overpowering shot who once set a professional hockey record by scoring 59 goals for the Kingston Frontenacs in the old Eastern Professional League.The kid&rsquo;s name was Orval Tessier.&ldquo;I was too lazy,&rdquo; reflected the first-year coach of the Black Hawks, who drives his players with the same intensity with which he once shot a puck.&ldquo;I had to be pushed and prodded&mdash;outside of maybe for awhile in Kingston.&ldquo;Now, when I think back, I wonder how much more I could have accomplished had I been driven.&ldquo;On the other hand, in my day, there were only six National Hockey League teams and, in my case, there were shortcomings. I didn&rsquo;t think I could play regularly in the NHL. But there weren&rsquo;t the financial rewards then that there are now.&ldquo;I see all of the opportunities there are today and I push, push, push. I don&rsquo;t think personalities have ever been involved. I may be a hard-nosed coach but deep down I want the best for my players.&rdquo;Unquestionably, he has a knack for bringing out the best in individual players and pooling their resources to produce winning teams.Last year&rsquo;s vigorous playoff performance that carried the Black Hawks to the Stanley Cup semi-finals obscured the fact that Chicago ranked 15th overall in the regular season standings.This year, with the 49-year-old Tessier cracking the whip, the Hawks have catapulted to third overall.It was similar last year when he made his professional coaching debut with New Brunswick of the American League after spending more than a decade in junior hockey.There was no reason to believe that the Moncton team&mdash;then co-sponsored by Chicago and Toronto&mdash;would even be a contender.Despite losing some of his top players during the course of the season in answer to SOS signals from Chicago, Tessier&rsquo;s team took the regular-season title handily, then captured the Calder Cup in the playoffs.In junior hockey, he won the Memorial Cup in his first season of coaching in Cornwall in 1972, and twice made it to the Memorial Cup finals (with Chicoutimi in 1979 and Kitchener in 1981).&ldquo;I enjoyed junior hockey and my wife and I had four children to raise, so I never expressed any interest in moving into professional hockey,&rdquo; continued Tessier. &ldquo;There were feelers but no firm offers. The closest thing to an offer came when I was at the Memorial Cup with Kitchener. Barry Fraser (Edmonton&rsquo;s director of player personnel) spoke to me about the possibility of coaching the Wichita farm team in the Central League.&ldquo;Nothing ever came of it. You might say there was a lack of interest on both sides.&rdquo;For Tessier, coaching junior hockey was an enjoyable occupation, but on one occasion it also turned out to be a terrifying experience.&ldquo;I was coaching Chicoutimi and we were coming home after a game in Quebec,&rdquo; he recalled. &ldquo;We were going through a big provincial park that&rsquo;s about 30 miles from Chicoutimi.&ldquo;It was about 3:30 in the morning, and drizzle had made the highway a sheet of ice.&ldquo;In the park, there&rsquo;s a hill called the Three Mile Hill. We were going down the Three Mile Hill when transport jack-knifed in front of us.&ldquo;I was in the front seat when we hit the transport. When I woke up, I was in the third seat.&ldquo;We went down a 100-foot embankment. The fuel in the transport caught on fire. It&rsquo;s a miracle that any of us came out of it alive. For awhile, I was sure we were all going to be found dead.&ldquo;We got out by popping the windows and pushing through. It was a half hour before a guy finally drove by and saw what happened. Then, we had to wait two hours for ambulances. We didn&rsquo;t get to the hospital until two-and-a-half hours after the accident.&ldquo;One player&rsquo;s ear was hanging by a thread. It took them a day to get the glass out of my face and ears and my pockets were filled with glass. There was $90,000 damage to the bus.&ldquo;But we all pulled through. Three weeks later, our team was playing hockey again.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-01554/4669496-1-eng-US/f0024-012.jpg" title="f0024-01" width="947" height="1119"><figcaption class="caption-body">Black Hawk coach Orval Tessier has won championships at every level he&rsquo;ss coached.</figcaption></div>What made Tessier ultimately decide to get off the bus and eventually walk away from coaching junior hockey?&ldquo;My kids were grown up and always in the back of my mind I thought about coaching in the NHL,&rdquo; he replied. &ldquo;I realized if I was going to do it, I&rsquo;d have to get into professional hockey before I was considered too old.&ldquo;I had played in the NHL a little with Boston and Montreal, but I had never really made it as a player. Now, I was running out of time as a coach.&ldquo;Then, in August (1981), I got the call asking me if I&rsquo;d be interested in coaching in Moncton.&ldquo;The one who convinced me was Punch Imlach. I&rsquo;d played for Punch for two years with the Quebec Aces and I had a tremendous opinion of him. As a coach, he had taken some of those Toronto teams that weren&rsquo;t that talented and won the Stanley Cup with them.&ldquo;Punch told me he always thought I could be a successful coach on a professional level. When Punch (then Toronto&rsquo;s GM) and Jack Davison (the Hawks&rsquo; assistant general manager) offered me the job in Moncton, it took me about 20 minutes to decide to accept.&rdquo;General manager Bob Pulford took over from Keith Magnuson as coach in February of last season and masterminded the team&rsquo;s unexpected surge to the Stanley Cup semi-finals. But Pulford insisted it was not going to be anything more than an interim arrangement.It came as no surprise when Tessier was chosen as the new coach.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not going to have any influence on the way he coaches,&rdquo; Pulford said adamantly the summer day when Tessier&rsquo;s promotion was formally announced. &ldquo;The man has won championships every place he has been and I haven&rsquo;t.&rdquo;&ldquo;A lot of what I do I pattern after Punch Imlach and my junior coach, Hap Emms, who was a great motivator,&rdquo; said Tessier. &ldquo;Hap was my coach with the Barrie Flyers when we won the Memorial Cup in 1953.&ldquo;But most of all, I think back to the way Punch handled us in Quebec. It never seemed like he was satisfied. I&rsquo;d get so angry at him that I&rsquo;d grit my teeth and say to myself: &lsquo;I&rsquo;ll show him!&rsquo; So I&rsquo;d go out there and score three goals and get a couple of assists. And there would be Punch at the end of the bench laughing to himself.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s what I want to do&mdash;by hook or crook get everything I can out of every man on this team.&rdquo;&ldquo;We hate him,&rdquo; captain Darryl Sutter told Terry Jones of the Edmonton Sun when the Hawks responded to their castigation in Calgary by whipping Wayne Gretzky & Co. the next night. &ldquo;No, I&rsquo;m wrong,&rdquo; Sutter added. &ldquo;Actually, it&rsquo;s a love-hate relationship.&rdquo;&ldquo;Some nights I know they&rsquo;d like to hang me,&rdquo; admitted Tessier. &ldquo;But the next night they can say: &lsquo;We won again!&rsquo;&ldquo;He wants to tap everything out of you,&rdquo; said right winger Steve Larmer, the leading rookie-of-the-year candidate, who also played under Tessier last year in New Brunswick. &ldquo;You don&rsquo;t think you can do something. Then you do it. And then he keeps after you until you do it again and again.&rdquo;At this time last winter, it was suggested to readers of the Chicago Tribune that &ldquo;the Black Hawks may have the Vince Lombardi of hockey down on the farm in New Brunswick.&rdquo;Since coming to Chicago, Tessier has done nothing to alter that impression. &#9632;

f0024-01

Orval Cajoles Best Out Of His Players

<div class="byline">BY BOBBY FRIEDLANDER</div>The growth of organized youth hockey in the Chicago area coincided with the success of the Chicago Black Hawks, beginning in the late fifties to a point now where Illinois is fourth in the United States in the total number of teams registered.Illinois has 751 teams, behind Minnesota with 1,917, Massachusetts with 1,600, and Michigan with 1,505 teams.In 1955, under the direction of former world class figure skater, Michael Kirby, the youth of Chicago finally had a place to go to learn the basics of skating. Though Kirby&rsquo;s expertise was in a different form of skating, he realized there was a need to instruct the young hockey player in skating techniques.Along came the spring of 1961 and the Black Hawks had just come home with the Stanley Cup and the hockey bug had really hit the Chicago area. Rainbow Arena was the only indoor ice-hockey surface in Chicago&mdash;other than the Stadium&mdash;and this was the location for the first Chicago youth hockey league.More than 80 boys, between the ages of nine and 17, turned up for the first clinic. Four teams were picked and the co-ordinator of the league was former Michigan State Spartan, Paul Hruby, who was one of the founding fathers in Illinois youth hockey.Around the same time, in the northern suburb of Wilmette, another league was formed. Chet Stewart, one of the founders of the league, saw one of his teams fighting for the Amateur Hockey Association of the United States juvenile championship as early as 1967. Though this team finished second, Chicago hockey teams made their initial mark on the national scene.In the same era, an enterprising individual, Bill Roche, formed the Minor Hawks organization, and it was his idea to find the best talent in the area and have them play for his teams. Without any support from a park district or city, the Minor Hawks traveled throughout the United States and Canada to play the best competition they could find. One of the first Chicago area players to leave the Minor Hawks for better competition was Ken Rzepecki, who played for the Hamilton Red Wings of the Ontario Hockey League. Another graduate of the Minor Hawks, Tom Machowski, later went on to play for the Wisconsin Badgers and was a member of the 1973 NCAA champs. Tom was also the first Chicago player to be drafted by a National Hockey League team. He was chosen by the Atlanta Flames as the 101st player in the 1973 entry draft. THe Minor Hawks are still going strong today with many of their graduates attending college on hockey scholarships.As the sixties came to an end, Illinois had 15 artificial rinks. Today, the Chicago area has 25 rinks and more than 15,000 youngsters participating in youth hockey. According to Bill Peluse, the central district registrar for AHAUS, Illinois youth hockey goes in &ldquo;cycles. Since AHAUS adopted the no-checking policy for mites and squirts, the hockey programs have taken some players away from the tackle football programs,&rdquo; said Peluse.In the suburb of Evanston alone, youth hockey has increased 150 per cent in two years and, according to Steve Glickman, coaching director, he attributes this to a few reasons: &ldquo;The publicity the Black Hawks and the hockey team at the University of Illinois-Chicago are getting have a lot to do with getting kids interested in playing hockey.&rdquo;It is hoped that someday the best of the Illinois crop will stay at home and play for the University of Illinois-Chicago, which is a new member of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association.Val Belmonte, UIC&rsquo;s current coach, wants to use the Illinois Amateur hockey system as a developing ground to help groom talent for his club. &ldquo;Minnesota players stay in the state to play for Minnesota-Duluth and the Minnesota Gophers. Boston-bred players stay in the state and play for Boston College and Boston University. We want to keep the finer Illinois players in the state so they can attend and play at our school,&rdquo; said Belmonte.&rdquo;There is one Chicago player every college coach in the country would like to have next year. He is Tony Granato, now playing for Northwoods Prep School in Lake Placid. Tony is from Downers Grove, a southwest Chicago suburb, and played all of his youth hockey with the Huskies&rsquo; organization. This past December, Tony, along with two other Illinois products, Andy Otto (Park Ridge and Clarkson College) and Rick Zombo (Des Plaines and North Dakota University) played for the United States national team in the world junior championships at Leningrad in the Soviet Union. Granato has already been drafted by the New York Rangers as the 120th pick in the 1982 draft. Zombo was selected by the Detroit Red Wings in the 1981 draft as the 149th overall selection. Granato has enrolled for next year at Wisconsin.Though the success of any hockey program is not based on how many players make the big time, the state of Illinois could possibly place five players on the 1984 United State Olympic squad. Besides the three already mentioned. Chris Chelios (Mt. Carmel High School and a draft pick by the Montreal Canadiens, 40th overall in the 1981 draft) of the Wisconsin Badgers and Ed Olczyk, currently playing for the Stratford Cullitons junior B team in southern Ontario, are possibilities. &#9632;

Chicago Youth Hockey Spiralling Upward

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0025-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-01482/4669551-1-eng-US/f0025-012.jpg"></div> &#9632;

f0025-01

USA CABLE NETWORK BRINGS YOU THE NHL

<div class="byline">BY GEORGE GROSS</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-01503/4669582-1-eng-US/f0026-012.jpg" title="f0026-01" width="290" height="339"></div><h2>Can&rsquo;t Take A Joke?</h2>HOCKEY OFFICIALS in Czechoslovakia don&rsquo;t seem to have much humor left.Certainly not if we judge by a recent decision of the Czechoslovak Ice Hockey Federation, which forced the Slovan Bratislava team to play all of its remaining home games in Nitra, a town 50 kilometres from the Slovak capital.And all for one shoehorn!Mind you, it was a shoehorn tossed by a Bratislava fan at the referee of the Slovan versus Kladno game. The fact that the projectile broke the poor whistle-tooter&rsquo;s nose didn&rsquo;t help matters. Neither did the behavior record of the town&rsquo;s fans.So, when the officials added it up, they instructed the management of the Stastny brothers&rsquo; former team to close the gates for the season and move to Nitra, a town which has half the capacity of the Brtatislava rink. In addition, Kladno was awarded the abandoned game by a 5-0 score.As if this weren&rsquo;t enough, Bratislava had more problems. First, head coach Vladimir Dzurilla, the portly former goalie of the Czechoslovak national team, became ill and was replaced by Julius Haas. The latter did a good job and had his team leading Vitkovice in Prague, 3-2, when he reached for a bottle he thought contained tea. Instead, he took a swig of liniment and had to spend the entire third period in the washroom. The team managed to hang on, win the game and complete the season halfway up the standings.Dukla Jihlava skated away with championship honors ahead of Vitkovice and Pardubice, while Vincent Luka of Kosice placed on top of the scoring list with 48 goals and 20 assists in 42 games. Hes brother, Jan Lukac, was second with l9goalsand 30 assists, while Jiri Lala, another member of the national team, was third with 34 goals and 13 points.<h2>Soviet Union</h2>EVEN IF THEY tanked all their remaining games, the Moscow Army team couldn&rsquo;t be deprived of a championship vodka and caviar party.The army men have 67 points in 36 games, nine more than runner-up Moscow Dynamos and 12 ahead of Moscow Spartak. Hopes that the Dynamos, coached by Alexander Maltsev, would make a race of it. diminished when they lost two games in a row, 1-0 to the Wings of the Soviets and 6-5 to the last-place Salavat team.Spartak had its problems, too, and the Soviet press placed some of the blame on the shoulder pads of Sergei Kapustin, star winger of the national team. Knowing Kapustin, his performance is bound to improve rapidly with the world championships in West Germany just around the comer.<h2>West Germany</h2>THE SCRIPT MUST have been written especially for Erich Kuhnhackl, ace center of West Germany&rsquo;s national team.Not only did he star in Landshutt&rsquo;s drive to the West German Federal League title by defeating Mannheim three games to one in the playoff finals, he also scored his 600th goal. Kuhnhackl is the all-time scoring leader in Germany, while teammate Alois Schloder is the runner-up and trails him by 118 goals.Kuhnhackl was offered a contract by the New York Rangers a few years ago, but decided at the time that he was making more money in West Germany.Elsewhere in West Germany, EV Fussen fired coach Gerhard Kiessling even though he had two years left on his contract&hellip;Czechoslovakian-born coach Karol Havasi informed the Cologne Sharks he was quitting because the players were refusing to follow orders. He resigned despite the fact he had signed a new one-year contract in January&hellip;Iserlohn downed Bad Tolz, 6-2, in a promotion-relegation game and saved its place in the Federal League for another season.<h2>Switzerland</h2>SWISS TEAMS ARE using the off-season to strenghthen, weaken or just plain change their lineups for the 1983-84 campaign. Davos, one of the best teams in Switzerland, lost the services of ace scorer Kelly Kisio, who was grabbed by the Detroit Red Wings and is not likely to return to Switzerland&hellip; Ambri-Piotta will enter the new championship race without the services of Dave Gardner and Rick Hampton, both former members of the Los Angeles Kings&hellip;Lugano hired coach John Slettvoll of Sweden to replace Real Vincent, while Langenthal opted for the services of Jaroslav Tuma of Czechoslovakia as coach&hellip; Arosa, the team of former Washington Capitals&rsquo; center Guy Charron, signed Swedish goalie Reimo Sundberg.<h2>Finland</h2>JOKERIT DOWNED IFK Helsinki, 4-3, in overtime to win the opening game of their playoff final. &#9632;

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THE INTERNATIONAL SCENE

<div class="byline">BY MIKE DENNIS</div>TORONTO&mdash;&ldquo;It will take consistency, discipline and good defensive hockey,&rdquo; said Maple Leaf defenseman Dave Farrish in answer to the oft-repeated question of what it would take to snap the Leafs out of another of their mini-slumps this season before they ruined their playoff chances.And what better player to ask than Farrish, an unsung but effective member of the blueline corps who ranks as the team&rsquo;s second-most experienced performer at the position (NHL experience), right behind Borje Salming.Farrish has added discipline, consistency and strong defensive work to a blueline unit that lacked those key ingredients to success.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve been playing two good-periods and then been having short lapses where we&rsquo;ve been making little mistakes,&rdquo; Farrish said, regarding the Leafs&rsquo; four-game winless streak which began when they blew a 3-2 lead in the final three minutes against Detroit and would up losing the contest. 4-3. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s hard to say what&rsquo;s been going wrong and hard to tell what effect it has on each player.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve been playing some of the top teams and every game that we have in the last two weeks of the season its going to be tough,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;All you can do is take a game-by-game approach. That&rsquo;s the attitude you have to take. When we&rsquo;ve been successful, it&rsquo;s started with a win and then we just seem to add to that as people&rsquo;s confidence continued to grow.Fortunately for the Leafs, the Red Wings, the chief rival for the fourth playoff spot in the Norris Division, were spinning their wheels at the time of the Leafs&rsquo; latest doldrums and had only gained the two points from their head-to-head meeting. That left Detroit three points behind with less than two weeks to play.Also, fortunately, the Leafs entertained the Minnesota North Stars at Maple Leaf Gardens in their bid to halt their skid, and the North Stars and the Leafs had divided their season&rsquo;s series. 3-3, to that point.Playing with consistency, discipline and a large measure of good defensive hockey, the Leafs outshot the Minnesotans 14-4 in the opening period en route to a 6-3 triumph which pushed them five points ahead of the Red Wings. Detroit had just five games to play.Farrish had one point on the night, his 26th of the season in 51 games after spending the first two months of the campaign in St. Catharines in the Leafs&rsquo; minor-league system. Of some significance is that the point came while Farrish was operating on the Leafs&rsquo; power play. He regularly plays the point on one of the two man-advantage units the Leafs employ.&ldquo;Playing in the minors can do a lot for you mentally,&rdquo; Farrish said. &ldquo;It might not always help you improve your skills but for me, the big thing I had was plenty of ice time.&rdquo;Shortly after his 25th birthday, Farrish reported to the Leafs&rsquo; 1981-82 training camp and although he had four years of NHL experience, found himself sent to the minors as the Leafs chose to play three teenaged defensemen.Farrish could have figured it was the end of the line for his hockey career but he went to Moncton (which wasn&rsquo;t even the Leafs&rsquo; top farm club. Cincinnati was at the time) and worked his butt off for another chance at the big time. For his efforts, he was voted the American League&rsquo;s Top Defenseman but it still didn&rsquo;t get him back to the NHL until Borje Salming was sidelined in December.&ldquo;Playing in the minors makes you a little more aware,&rdquo; Farrish said. &ldquo;You realize that the game is getting younger. And when you&rsquo;re 25-27 years old, you can&rsquo;t afford to make too many mistakes. The kids are making mistakes, too, but if two players are the same, naturally they&rsquo;re going to keep the one that is younger.&ldquo;You become a little more grateful when you return to the NHL," said Farri-sih. &ldquo;You&rsquo;re more appreciative of it (NHL life) when you come back.&rdquo;Should the Leafs maintain their playoff position, they can be appreciative of the fact that young veterans such as Farrish and Barry Melrose, another 26-year-old who began the season in St. Catharnes, had the drive and the dedication to climb back to the NHL.LOOSE LEAFS&mdash;Farrish bruised an ankle in the win over Minnesota but missed only game, a road loss in Philadelphia. The Leafs summoned veteran minor-leaguer Reid Bailey to fill in for that game&hellip;During the sloppy 7-4 decision in Philadelphia, they set two records for rookies. Walt Poddubny scored his 28th goal, beating Howie Meeker&rsquo;s rookie standard of 27, while Peter Ihna-cak scored his 63rd point, erasing Gus Bodnar&rsquo;s rookie team record. &#9632;

Farrish Bolsters Leafs’ Drive To Playoffs

<div class="byline">BY MIKE KANE</div>H&B Louisville HockeyGLENS FALLS&mdash;Claude Loiselle and Larry Trader arrived when the Adirondack Red Wings needed them most and, as advertised, they filled the bill.Since late February when Adirondack lost defenseman Randy Ladouceur and forward Tom Rowe on recall to the parent Detroit Red Wings, coach Bill Mahoney has been looking for reinforcements to help the Wings fight off the challenge of Moncton Alpines for the final playoff berth in the Northern Division.Mahoney received veteran center Derek Smith from Detroit and signed defenseman Ted Huesing after he completed his season in Sweden. Though both players helped, the Wings were still weak on forward and defense. Enter Loiselle and Trader.Both players are products of the 1981 draft. Both started the season in Detroit. Both were returned to their junior teams late in November. Both became available when their clubs were eliminated in the first round of the Ontario Hockey League playoffs.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m expecting we&rsquo;ll see the effect of Trader and Loiselle right away.&rdquo; Mahoney said. &ldquo;I think you can see that they handle the puck well and that they will have no trouble with the pace of our league. Both of them have played more games in the National League than they have in the American League.&rdquo;Twenty-four hours later, after Loiselle and Trader played key roles in the Wings&rsquo; 6-2 win over Fredericton, Mahoney handed out the praise again. Each player had picked up two assists in the win that allowed the Wings to pick up a point and move four points ahead of the Alpines in the race for the playoff berth. Moncton, which tied 2-2 at Maine the same night, has two games in hand.Six different players scored against Fredericton goalie Ken Ellacott in the critical victory. Ted Nolan, Derek Smith and Bill Hogaboam each had a goal and an assist.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got to give special credit to Derek and Hoagy (Hogaboam) and also the juniors,&rdquo; Mahoney said. &ldquo;I think that, without question, they gave us a lot. Claude gave us some excellent offense. We&rsquo;ve got maybe not a bad line in those three, (Dennis) Polonich, Bobby Crawford and Claude. Larry Trader, I thought. was just great in a couple of different things. Like one, he certainly can handle the puck in our own end well. He delivers it up to the forwards or up ice very well. The other thing is his shot from the point. I was particularly pleased to see that. He strokes that really well.&rdquo;Loiselle and Trader face a rather unique situation with Adirondack. Most junior players who are asked to join the minor-league affiliates of their NHL team are expected to play support roles. Adirondack needs a bit more.Loiselle and Trader are being thrust into important positions, though neither minds the challenge. In fact, they are approaching it as just another logical step in a topsy-turvy season that has involved a few changes in address. Trader, though, has made one more stop than Loiselle. He was a member of Canada&rsquo;s team in the World Junior Championships at Leningrad.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m kind of used to it,&rdquo; Loiselle said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been up and down with Detroit and juniors and find it a lot easier here (to fit into the team). Plus, in junior I had a lot of ice time, so I&rsquo;m in top shape and ready for this amount of ice time.&rdquo;Trader said he was concentrating on staying relaxed.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been to so many places this year that I&rsquo;ve experienced about four different types of hockey,&rdquo; Trader said. &ldquo;So really I didn&rsquo;t have anything to work on because I&rsquo;ve seen a lot of different things. I&rsquo;ve seen the hard skating game, the wide rinks of Europe and the pros. I came in here and tried not to be too uptight so that I wouldn&rsquo;t mess up. I tried to go out there and get a hit early and I was lucky and got a few points.&rdquo;MAINE&mdash; Behind the strong goaltending of Sam St. Laurent, the Mariners fashioned a 2-1-1 record during the week to stay even with Nova Scotia in the race for second place in the division.St. Laurent allowed single goals in road wins at Moncton and Fredericton before losing 5-4 in a key game at Halifax. In a return match with Moncton at Portland, St. Laurent played well in a 2-2 tie. Goals by Dave Michayluk and Doug Morrison brought the Mariners back from a 2-0 deficit. Michayluk notched his 16th power-play goal of the season and Morrison followed with his teamleading 56th goal of the season. Morrsion has played in just 56 games since joining the Mariners on loan from the Boston Bruins.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-01482/4669637-1-eng-US/f0027-012.jpg" title="f0027-01" width="569" height="914"><figcaption class="caption-body">Since joining the Moncton Alpines, Yvon Vautour has averaged a point a game.</figcaption></div>Eight Mariners are averaging at least a point per game and eight have at least 20 goals. Following Morrison are: Michayluk (29), Ross Firzpatrick (29), John Paddock (27), Andy Brickley (26), Gordie Williams (26), Len Hachbom (24) and Dan Held (20).FREDERICTON&mdash; Despite only one win in three games during the week, the Express clinched the Northern Division title and completed the move from the last-place position they occupied last year. Maine&rsquo;s loss at Nova Scotia locked up the crown for the Express.The Express continues to play shorthanded as injuries have forced the parent clubs to recall players. Richard David and Dennis Sobchuk were promoted by the Quebec Nordiques and Tony Currie, the team&rsquo;s leading scorer, was recalled by Vancouver.ADIRONDACK&mdash; A .500 week, capped by the win over the Express, kept the Wings in front of the fast-closing Alpines. The Wings rallied at Springfield to top the Indians 4-2, but dropped a 6-5 game to Baltimore at home and a 3-0 contest at Hershey. Dave Barr&rsquo;s shorthanded goal foiled the Wings&rsquo; comeback against the Skipjacks and Robbie Moore blanked Adirondack for its first shutout of the season,MONCTON&mdash; The Alpines continued their rush toward the playoffs with a 1-1-1 record. After losing 4-1 to Maine, the Alpines topped Nova Scotia 3-2 in overtime, then opened a four-game road trip at Maine with a 2-2 tie.Moncton continued its success (10-2-2 since Feb. 20) amid reports around the league that the players are in line for bonus money if they make the playoffs. Though coach Doug Messier and playerassistant coach Bill Riley have denied the plan exists, a number of sources maintain that each Moncton player will receive $100 for each win during the streak and an additional $25 for each game the team holds its opponent under two goals.According to the reports, the bonuses will be paid only if the Alpines make the playoffs.Riley continues to spark the team and has moved past Don Nachbaur to take the team&rsquo;s goal-scoring lead with 30. Yvon Vautour has averaged a point a game since joining the team and goalie Lindsay Middlebrook won his first four starts.NOVA SCOTIA&mdash; The Vees sandwiched wins over New Haven and Maine between a 3-2 overtime loss at Moncton. The victories kept the Vees within a point of the second-place Mariners.Greg Paslawski scored two goals and John Goodwin added the game-winner at 6:26 of the third period in the 5-4 win over Maine.Two players joined the team. Defenseman Ted Fauss of Clarkson College and Jocelyn Gauvreau from the Granby Bisons of the Quebec Major Junior League.SHERBROOKE&mdash; The Jets ended an eight-game losing streak with a 6-4 win at Rochester. They also dropped a 5-2 decision at St. Catharines and a 4-2 home loss to Springfield.Murray Eaves&rsquo; point-scoring streak was brought to an end after 26 games by Springfield&rsquo;s Bob Janecyk. Eaves narrowly missed the league record of at least a point per game in 28 straight, which Binghamton&rsquo;s Bob Sullivan set last season.Ironically, Eaves&rsquo; streak extended across five months. He scored in 20 straight games from Nov. 1 to Dec. 16, when he was recalled by the Winnipeg Jets. Eaves returned to Sherbrooke on March 9 and picked up where he left off by scoring in six straight games. &#9632;

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Adirondack Recruits Keep Moncton At Bay

<div class="byline">BY BARRY MEISEL</div>ROCHESTER&mdash; Everybody knew the Southern Division title was a foregone conclusion. It took veteran left winger Yvon Lambert to emphasize the importance of the Rochester Amerks&rsquo; divisionclinching victory in Binghamton.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s especially important for our young kids,&rdquo; Lambert said after the Amerks beat the Whalers, 4-1, and secured the sixth division title in Rochester&rsquo;s 26-year history. &ldquo;We haven&rsquo;t been playing that well at home. It&rsquo;s been bad preparation. Most of the guys are too sure of themselves. They think we&rsquo;re going to win every game easy. We played a hell of a hockey game tonight. I hope it will help us at home.&rdquo;Although the Amerks have held a comfortable lead atop the division for almost two months, the Amerks are fighting to finish first overall in the AHL to assure home-ice advantage through the Calder Cup playoffs. They are tied with Fredericton at 94 points apiece. The Amerks have five games remaining, the Express four.Winning in the Broome County Arena carried special meaning because the Amerks lost 11 straight games in Binghamton&mdash;including three in last spring&rsquo;s Calder Cup semi-finals&mdash;before winning all three this season. Ironically, the Amerks were the victims the night the Whalers clinched the &rdquo;81-82 title.&ldquo;Winning a championship is always great,&rdquo; said center Bob Mongrain. &ldquo;But we&rsquo;re going for that overall title.&rdquo;&ldquo;That&rsquo;s our main goal,&rdquo; agreed left winger Chris Langevin. The Amerks missed two chances to clinch the title before the win in Binghamton. They tied in St. Chatharines, 4-4, ayhen they needed two points to clinch. Three nights later, before 5,918 at the Rochester War Memorial, they blew a 2-0 lead and fell to lowly Sherbrooke, 6-4.But in Binghamton, Geordie Robertson, Gary McAdam, Kai Suikkanen and Jim Wiemer scored goals. Mongrain shadowed AHL point-leader Ross Yates and stopped his 17-game scoring streak, and Jacques Cloutier stopped 28 of 29 shots.&ldquo;It was a fine game for us,&rdquo; coach Mike Keenan said.The Amerks continued their problems at home the next night, though, when they lost another two-goal lead and were beaten by Baltimore, 6-4. McAdam scored his 11 th shorthanded goal of the season, eclipsing the professional record set by former Detroit Red Wing Marcel Dionne.Rochester has flirted with spurts all season. After losing six in a row early in the campaign, they turned completely around. A 14-1-1 stretch moved them into first, and from Dec. 27 on, they didn&rsquo;t budge.But Lambert was sounding a sobering warning because the Amerks have lost four of their last six at home. With Rochester battling Fredericton for the best record, the Amerks would be wise to make sure home-ice advantage means what it&rsquo;s supposed to mean.HERSHEY&mdash; The Bears (79 points in 74 games) surged six points ahead of New Haven and into second by winning two and tying one last week.Veteran center Larry Skinner scored his first two goals since joining Hershey after a season in Austria, and Tony Cassolato scored two goals to lead the Bears to a 4-3 victory over visiting St. Catharines.The following night, goalie Robbie Moore made his first start in two weeks since undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his knee. Moore returned in fine fashion by stopping 26 goals and blanking the Adirondack Red Wings, 3-0, at the Hersheypark Arena. Coach Gary Inness&rsquo; club completed its productive week on the road by tying New Haven, 4-4. Cassolato scored his 50th goal of the season in that one.NEW HAVEN&mdash; The Nighthawks (73 in 73) held a one-point lead over Nick Beverley&rsquo;s struggling club lost its third straight in the Canadian Maritimes, 8-4 to Nova Scotia, but snapped the losing streak with a 5-4 win at Springfield. Rick Blight scored twice for the Hawks.New Haven is 2-3-1 in its last six at home, and has won only one of its last eight on the road. Complicating matters is a nagging knee injury to Al Sims, the team&rsquo;s leading scorer.If the Hawks are to hold off Binghamton for third, they must fare well in the two games remaining with the Whalers. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m confident we can do it,&rdquo; said Beverley. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a matter of us getting going again.&rdquo;BINGHAMTON&mdash; Home-ice advantage proved to be anything but, as the Whalers (72 in 72) slipped to fourth. The Whalers are tied with St. Catharines, but have three games in hand.The Whalers played two games last week and lost both at home. St. Catharines earned a 5-4 victory and the Amerks scored their 4-1 clincher at the Broome County Arena.The Whalers, in the midst of a six-game homestand, have dropped three of four. They complete their season with eight games in 10 nights, something coach Rick Ley isn&rsquo;t too thrilled about.&ldquo;But it&rsquo;s just something we&rsquo;ll have to live with,&rdquo; he said. Ross Yates still holds a 116-114 lead over St. Catharines&rsquo; Bruce Boudreau in the AHL scoring race.ST. CATHARINES&mdash; The Saints (72 in 75) are in the unenviable position of waiting for New Haven and Binghamton to play its games. They kept themselves alive by winning three of four, including victories over division-rivals Binghamton and Baltimore.Norm Aubin scored a goal and two assists and Gary Yaremchuk scored the eventual game-winner midway through the third period to beat the Whalers. After losing 4-3 at Hershey. Mike Kaszycki scored three goals and an assist in a 5-2 victory over Sherbrooke.BALTIMORE&mdash; The Skipjacks (71 in 75) won two of three on the road. Stan Jonathan had a goal and two assists and Mike Gillis added two assists&mdash;his 99th and 100th points&mdash;in a 6-5 victory over Adirondack. Rod Schutt and Jim Hamilton notched two goals each in a 6-4 win at Rochester. The Saints then pushed the Jacks back to sixth by beating them, 4-2.SPRINGFIELD&mdash; The last-place Indians (64 in 74) dropped two of three. They lost to New Haven, 5-4, won at Sherbrooke, 4-2, and lost at Fredericton, 4-1.The Indians and goalie Bob Janecyk became the first team in 27 games to prevent Sherbrooke&rsquo;s Murray Eaves from scoring a point. Eaves&rsquo; 26-game scoring streak fell two short of the AHL record.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-01477/4669668-1-eng-US/f0028-012.jpg" title="f0028-01" width="561" height="673"><figcaption class="caption-body">Yvon Lambert says the Amerks can&rsquo;t afford to take it easy until the playoffs start.</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0028-01

Amerks’ Veteran Cautions Mates

<div class="byline">BY TOM LOBAUGH</div>H&B Louisville HockeyCOLORADO&mdash; It wasn&rsquo;t the textbook way to score a goal, but Gord Hampson figured he didn&rsquo;t have time to be fancy. Tulsa goaltender Steve Baker was out of his crease, Hampson was in front of the net and there the puck lay in front of him. The only trouble was Hampson had his back to the net.Without bothering to turn around, Hampson dragged the puck between his legs and scored. That was the start of a seven-goal rally that lifted the Flames back from a 3-0 deficit to a 7-3 victory over the Oilers at McNichols Sports Arena.The win, which snapped a four-game winless streak for the Flames, put Colorado into a second-place tie with Birmingham, with identical records (40-30-2) and two weeks to go in the regular schedule. Both teams trail league-leading Indianapolis by six points.Salt Lake was virtually locked into fourth place, 14 points off the pace. Both Tulsa (55 points) and Wichita (51 points) were eliminated from the Adams Cup action. The only question remaining was who would take second place and homeice advantage in the first round of the playoffs.The Flames started the week on a dismal note, losing 4-2 at home to Salt Lake and 6-5 to Tulsa, before rallying to win the rematch with the Oilers.Mike Dwyer and Tim Harrer gave Colorado a quick two-goal lead against Salt Lake, but the Eagles tied it in the first period, won it in the second, then added an empty-net goal with 24 seconds on the clock.Leads provided by Howard Walker and Gord Wappel in the first period and Bruce Eakin in the second, were erased by Tulsa in the 6-5 loss. After the Oilers took a 5-3 lead in the middle period, Hampson and Tim Hunter scored for the Flames in the third, but the Oilers won it when Ken Kuzyk completed his hat trick with 1:36 left in the game.Marc D&rsquo;Amour relieved Tim Bernhardt after the Oilers went ahead 4-3 at 10:05 of the second period.D&rsquo;Amour was in goal for the Tulsa rematch, yielding three goals in the opening period, before Hampson ignited the rally in the second. Newcomer Keith Knight, a center from Kingston of the Ontario Hockey League on a tryout, tailled in that period. Eakin scored a pair and Hunter added a single.Colorado defender Randy Turnbull stayed out of the penalty box for the second straight week (five games) and lost his league lead to Tulsa&rsquo;s Mike Seide, who garnered 300 minutes to Turnbull&rsquo;s 286.INDIANAPOLIS&mdash; The Checkers continued their successful homestand with 3-1 and 4-1 victories over Birmingham, running their unbeaten string to six games and boosting their undefeated streak at the Fair Grounds Coliseum to 10 straight.All the scoring came in the first period of the first game. Red Laurence and Steve Stoyanovich scored for Indy before Dave Richter got beat Rob Holland for the the lone Birmingham goal. Ron Handy, a left winger on trial from the Kingston juniors, scored his first pro goal before the period ended.The &lsquo;Stoyanovich and Laurence Show&rsquo; continued in the remtach as each tallied twice. Birmingham&rsquo;s Warrren Young opened the scoring early in the middle period, but Stoyanovich and Young put the Checkers in charge before that period ended. Laurence scored again with 1:30 left in the game and Stoyanovich added an empty-net goal with 46 seconds to play. Stoyanovich ran his point streak to 14 straight games. He had a four-point night, as he assisted on both Laurence goals.Laurence, with three goals and an assist for the week, clung to second place in league scoring with 84 points, but lost ground to league-leader Wes Jarvis of Birmingham, who had 103. Stoyanovich was sixth in the league, with 71. Holland lowered his goal-against average to 2.98, but trailed Rollie Boutin&rsquo;s 2.82 for Salt Lake.BIRMINGHAM&mdash; The South Stars won a pair at home against Wichita (4-3 and 5-2), dropped two in Indianapolis (3-1 and 4-1), but then came home to beat Salt Lake (6-3). That put them within one game of tying the league record for consecutive home victories. Omaha won 15 straight in the 1970-71 campaign.In the opening game, Craig Homola scored twice, including the winning goal in the third period. Warren Young and Milan Mokros counted in the first period and Homola in the second to rally the South Stars to a 3-1 lead. But the Wind tied it up before the second period was over.Steve Carlson had four goals in the second win over Wichita, scoring once in the first and second period and twice in the third. Wes Jarvis scored the opening goal.Dave Richter&rsquo;s first-period score was the only Birmingham goal to elude Rob Holland in the opening game in Indianapolis. Warren Young&rsquo;s second-period marker was the only goal surrendered by Kelly Hrudey the next night. Warren Skorodenski was in goal for the first three games, but Mike Sands, called up from the Sudbury juniours of the OHL, played in the second loss to Indy.Salt Lake tied the score in the first period after Homola staked the Stars to a 1-0 lead, but Birmingham took command in the second with goals from Carlson, Richter and right winger Glenn White, who is on a tryout via University of North Dakota. Jim Dobson and Jarvis scored in the third.With two goals and eight assists for the week. Jarvis had 103 points, leading runner-up Red Laurence of Indianapolis by 19. Young was third in the league with 83 and Homola in seventh with 71.Keith Hanson left the Stars for two weeks, joining Team USA for the B Pool world championships in Japan. Mario Lessard recovered from an injury and was set to return to the lineup.SALT LAKE&mdash; Road woes continued to pile up for the Golden Eagles. They started a five-game trip with come-from-behind 4-2 victory in Colorado, but then dropped three straight, 6-3 and 5-4 in Wichita and 6-3 in Birmingham.Bert Wilson and John Markell rallied the Eagles to a 2-2 tie in the first period at Denver, with Ralph Klassen winning it in the second and Rob Tudor adding an empty-net goal with 24 seconds left. Paul Skidmore was in goal.Rollie Boutin&rsquo;s seven-game winning streak in the nets ended in Wichita, when the Eagles blew a 2-0 lead forged by Blair Chapman and Curt Brackenbury in the first period. Wilson scored in the third, but the Wind scored four times to win 6-3.With Skidmore in the nets for the rematch, Markell scored a shorthanded goal in the first period and Tudor counted in the second, though Wichita replied both times. Chapman and Dan Wood tallied in the third, each tying the score, but Wichita won on Roy Sommer&rsquo;s goal.Cary Eades scored in the first period at Birmingham, Chapman in the second and Wilson in the third, but the South Stars handed Boutin his second loss in a Salt Lake uniform. (He had been 1-8-1 for Birmingham earlier this season.) Champman&rsquo;s goal was his 14th in 17 Eagle games.The victory in Denver left the Flames leading the 16-game series for the Rocky Mountain Trophy 7-4. Defenseman Ed Kea regained consciousness and remained in &ldquo;serious, but stable&rdquo; condition&rdquo; in Holy Cross Hospital, after suffering a head injury in a game March 7.WICHITA&mdash; The good news was a pair of Wind home victories against Salt Lake, 6-3 and 5-4. The bad news was a pair of losses in Birmingham, 4-3 and 5-2.The Wind hadn&rsquo;t lost in their last five starts at Kansas Coliseum. Brent Shaw contributed two goals, with others from James McTaggart, Larry Floyd, Roy Sommer and Mike Forbes in the first game against Salt Lake, as the Wind rallied from an two-goal deficit.Richie Hansen and Forbes each tied the score in the first two periods of the rematch, with Forbes scoring only 32 seconds after Rob Tudor had put the Eagles in front for the second time. Third-period goals by Glenn Merkosky and Lance Nethery, just returned from playing in Europe, provided leads that didn&rsquo;t last, but Sommer&rsquo;s goal won it with 6:28 on the clock. Shawn MacKenzie was the winning goalie, after Steve Janaszak won the first game.At Birmingham, Floyd put the Wind in front at the start and Jeff Crawford and Hansen tied the score in the second period, but the South Stars rallied to win. In the second game, McTaggart and Mike Lekun scored for Wichita, but Steve Carlson&rsquo;s four-goal performance won it for Birmingham. MacKenzie was in goal for the Wind in both games.The New Jersey Devils recalled left winger Gary Howatt. Floyd was fourth in the league scoring, with 79 points.TULSA&mdash; Goalie Steve Baker returned from the New York Rangers in time to win (6=5) and lose (7-3) in Colorado. Ken Kuzyk&rsquo;s hat trick featured the victory with other Oilers goals coming from Bob Scurfield, Mike Backman and Pat Conacher.Peter Wallin, George McPhee and Scurfield gave Tulsa a 3-0 lead in the first period the next night, but Colorado counted two goals in the second, then won it with five in the third.Defenseman Shawn Dineen returned from a charley-horse layoff, but left winger Steve Hakala missed both games with an ankle sprain. Center Jim Malone was lost for the rest of the season when he suffered a shoulder separation in the second game. Backman had 76 points, fifth among the CHL scorers.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-01412/4669699-1-eng-US/f0029-012.jpg" title="f0029-01" width="565" height="1049"></div> &#9632;

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Colorado, Birmingham Battle For Second

<div class="byline">BY BUD GALLMEIER</div>H&B Louisville HockeyMILWAUKEE&mdash; The Admirals are healthy again and it couldn&rsquo;t come at a better time. With key players such as John Flesch and Fred Berry missing almost a month, Milwaukee went into a tailspin and its once safe lead in the Western Division dwindled to a precious few points. Not only was Kalamazoo closing in, but Muskegon had a shot at the Ads, too.The danger has past&mdash;at least for the moment&mdash;and with time running out, Milwaukee appears certain of finishing on top of the West and earning a first-round bye in the post-season playoffs.With Flesch and Berry back in the lineup. Milwaukee put an end to a nine-game winless streak with a 5-4 overtime win in Fort Wayne. Flesch got the goal with just 23 seconds remaining in the overtime period.The turnaround started the night before in Toledo. Although the Admirals lost 3-2, GM-coach Phil Witliff was pleased with his team&rsquo;s performance and especially the play of little Doug Ellis in goal.Ellis, who got the call when veteran Rich Sirois came up with a back problem, was the key in that game as he kicked out more than 30 shots.The win in Fort Wayne kicked off a three-game winning streak for the Admirals as they followed that with home wins over Kalmazoo (9-3) and Saginaw (10-4).The Admirals have a 36-26-6 record and lead second-place Kalamazoo by 13 points. The schedule is also in Milwaukee&rsquo;s favor the rest of the way. Of Milwaukee&rsquo;s final 14 games, 10 are at home.KALAMAZOO&mdash; The K-Wings, who were challenging Milwaukee for first place a short time ago, are worrying about hanging on to second place. The Wings have sprung leaks in the defense and suffered three defeats during the week while winning just a pair. The results left Kalamazoo with a 28-37-5 record and 66 points. That&rsquo;s just four above third-place Muskegon.Two of the losses were on the road as the K-Wings surrendered 16 goals in a 7-1 loss at Toledo and a 9-3 defeat at Milwaukee. The other defeet was 5-3 to Fort Wayne at home. Sandwiched in between the losses were home wins over Saginaw (8-2) and Toledo (7-4).MUSKEGON&mdash;The Mohawks continue to play like title contenders and have opened up a six-point lead over Saginaw, their closest challenger for the final playoff position. Muskegon picked up three more points during the week and against the two teams&mdash;Peoria and Saginaw&mdash;the Mohawks are outskating for the playoffs. Muskegon whipped the Prancers 11-4 at home with Joe Ward scoring four goals and Jim Egerton pumping in three. The Mohawks then went on the road and got a 4-4 tie at Saginaw. The Mohawks are 25-37-11 and lead Saginaw by six points and Peoria by nine.PEORIA&mdash;The Prancers&rsquo; slim playoff hopes grew slimmer in the wake of a four-game losing streak during the week. Two of the losses came at home to the two top teams in the Eastern Division, Toledo and Fort Wayne. The Diggers opened the week with an 8-4 triumph and Fort Wayne ended things with a 5-3 verdict. In between, Peoria lost 11-4 at Muskegon and 8-3 at Flint. Peoria is 21-3910.TOLEDO&mdash;The Goaldiggers had their seven-game winning streak snapped as they lost 7-4 at Kalamazoo. They also had their lead over second-place Fort Wayne whittled to five points. The streak reached seven with victories over Peoria (8-4), Milwaukee (3-2) and Kalamazoo (7-1). Toledo is 45-19-6 for 97 points.FORT WAYNE&mdash;The Komets also had a 3-1-0 week, with the loss a 5-4 decision at home to Milwaukee in overtime. The victories came over Kalamazoo (5-3 at home); Flint (5-2, also at home); and at Peoria (5-3). The Komet record rose to 40-20-10 for 92 points.Center Ron Leef reached the 50-goal plateau with a pair of goals in the win at Peoria.FLINT&mdash;The Generals dropped a pair of road games but maintained a solid grip on third place in the Eastern Division. The losses were 5-4 at Saginaw and 5-2 in Fort Wayne. Saginaw scored four power-play goals in its victory, while the Komets exploded for three goals in the final period to win 6-2. In between, the Generals feasted on last-place Peoria with an 8-3 win. The Generals are 28-328 for 64 points.SAGINAW&mdash;The Gears stayed within striking distance of a playoff spot but are running out of games. Saginaw picked up three points with a win and tie while surrendering a pair of losses. The Gears beat Hint 5-4 and earned a 4-4 tie with Muskegon, the team the Gears hope to catch. They lost 8-2 at Kalamazoo and 10-4 at Milwaukee. Saginaw is now 2239-8 and has 56 points<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-01462/4669730-1-eng-US/f0030-012.jpg" title="f0030-01" width="557" height="888"><figcaption class="caption-body">John Flesch&rsquo;s goal in overtime snapped Milwaukee&rsquo;s winless streak at nine games.</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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Admirals Healthy Just In The Nick Of Time

<div class="byline">BY PATRICK LYON</div>ERIE&mdash;If the Atlantic Coast Hockey League should return for next season, it should consider changing its name to the Always Controversial Hockey League.The ACHL could rival any soap opera, especially when you consider the latest happenings during the playoffs.Already having started the playoffs two weeks early because of the termination of the Hampton Roads Gulls franchise, the latest turn of events first saw the Erie Golden Blades forfeit the semi-final round of the playoffs.Erie was charged with using a so-called ineligible player, but later developments had the two teams finally finish out the series.Here is the unbelievable story:The Blades were racked with injuries with six players sitting out with ailments along with Dave Herbst, who was serving a two-game suspension.With only 10 skaters and two goalies available for the fourth game of the series (13 players being the lowest legal limit), the Blades contacted commissioner Dave Schultz and asked his permission to use Ron Hansis in the lineup under emergency conditions. Hansis is a former Blade, who played on Erie&rsquo;s championship teams in the Eastern Hockey League and was recently cut by Muskegon of the IHLSchultz informed the Blades that it was legal to use Hansis under the emergency conditions because he did not come from the NHL, AHL or CHL, as stipulated in the by-laws.The Stars protested the move before Game Four of the series, saying that Hansis was ineligible because he did not perform in any regular season games with the Blades.Erie rallied for a 4-3 overtime victory in Game Four on a goal by Jim Cowell, squaring the series at two games apiece, but the incident wasn&rsquo;t dropped there.Angela Przbyzien, a president of the Stars, took what was termed a poll of the Board of Governors and it was reported that Carolina, Nashville and Virginia voted along with Mohawk Valley to overturn Schultz&rsquo;s ruling and awarded the victory to Mohawk Valley.Informed of the circumstances, the Blades requested a change of the Governors&rsquo; ruling and when that didn&rsquo;t come about, the team boarded their bus in Utica just 30 minutes before the start of Game Five and returned to Erie.The game started with only Stars&rsquo; captain Rich Suwek on the ice. After the opening faceoff, Suwek grabbed the puck, put it into the empty Erie net and Mohawk Valley had a 1-0 forfeit victory and supposedly won the series 4-1.A story came out the following day that the vote of the Board of Governors to overturn Schultz&rsquo;s ruling was purely fabricated with no vote ever taken. Erie&rsquo;s victory in Game Four was upheld, but the Blades were forced to forfeit Game Five because of their failure to apperar at the Utica Auditorium.In the meantime, the Stars were ordered to Erie for Game Six with a three games-to-two lead. Once they got on their bus, the team took a vote and it was decided by a 9-5 count not to go to Erie for Game Six.This time it was Erie captain Stan Gulutzan who was alone on the ice, took the opening faceoff and scored for a 1-0 forfeit win for Erie to tie the series at three games each and put the outcome on the seventh and final game.The Stars did make it to Erie for Game Seven, beat the Blades 4-1 and finished one of the strangest occurences in the history of hockey.The name-calling and fighting continued up to the final game with Przbyzien trying unsuccessfully to have the Blades&rsquo; franchise terminated (the move was soundly defeated) and Erie president Doctor John Caruso vowing never to return to the ACHL.Here is a capsule of the series:Game One: Stars 6, Blades 3&mdash;Mohawk Valley took the home-ice advantage away from the Blades in the first game in Erie. Goalie Randy Ireland made 30 saves for the Stars. Ben Pedersen netted two goals.Game Two: Blades 4, Stars 2&mdash;Four Erie players got on the scoreboard as they evened the series. Cam Botting, Stan Gulutzan, Scott McGeown and Dave Herbst scored for Erie. Norm Stefan got both goals for the Stars.Game Three: Stars 5, Blades 2&mdash;Ed Smith led the way with two power-play goals in a game that featured a benchclearing melee in the third period.Game Four: Blades 4, Stars 3 in overtime&mdash;In the best game of the series, the two clubs battled to the 10:56 mark of overtime before Jim Cowell beat Ireland to knot the series at two games each.Game Five: Stars 1, Blades 0&mdash;Mohawk Valley wins by forfeit.Game Six: Blades 1, Stars 0&mdash;Erie wins by forfeit.Game Seven: Stars 4, Blades 1&mdash;Mohawk Valley wins the series in Erie to meet Carolina in the finals. Jeff Pyle scores two goals, including the game winner.In the other semi-final series, the regular-season champion Carolina Thunderbirds had no trouble gaining a spot in the finals with a convincing four-games-to-zero success over the ailing Virginia Raiders.T-Bird coach Rick Dudley was pleased to have Yves Dechene back in goal after he was reassigned to Winston-Salem from Sherbrooke of the AHL. Dechene was 24-3-2 with a 2.31 goals against before signing an AHL contract and leaving the T-Birds.Dechene gave up just six goals in the four playoff games with Virginia and made 102 saves.Here is a capsule of the series:Game One: Carolina 8, Virginia 1&mdash; The T-Birds rolled to the first-game win with Kim Elliott getting a hat trick and Dechene looking sharp in his first game back.Game Two: Carolina 8, Virginia 2&mdash; This time it was Jerry Ingram who supplied the offense for Carolina with a hat trick. Goaltender Gilles Moffet of Virginia made 33 saves in each of the first two gamesGame Three Carolina 4, Virginia 3 (double overtime)&mdash;The series shifted to Salem and the Raiders gave the Thunderbirds all they could handle before falling in the marathon contest.Game Four: Caroline 8, Virginia 0&mdash; The series came to a close in Salem. Dechene posted his third CHL shutout in a 23-save performance. Assistant coach Ken Southwick directed the Thunderbirds while coach Rick Dudley watched from the stands as he was serving a one-game suspension. Dave Watson had two goals as all 14 Carolina players figured in the scoring.The ACHL also picked its all-star team for the 1982-83 campaign.Defenseman Rory Cava of the Thun derbirds was selected the most valuable player and headed the first team of defensemen. Other players included defenseman Marc Marchand of Mohawk Valley, center Jeff Pyle of Mohawk Valley, Carolina left winger Dave Watson and right winger Michel Lanouette. Erie goalie Carey Walker was the first-team goal tender.Goalie Gilles Moffet was picked for the second team that also included defenseman Randy Irving of Carolina and Kelly Barnett of Nashville, center Brian Carroll of Carolina, left winger Ron Carter of Nashville and right winger Alf Beasley of the Erie Golden Blades.Blade coach Jim Mikol was voted as the Coach of the Year by the other coaches in the circuit. &#9632;

ACHL: The ‘Controversial’ League

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-02303/4669785-1-eng-US/f0031-022.jpg" title="f0031-02" width="566" height="1070"></div> &#9632;

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College Scoreboard

<div class="byline">BY VIRG FOSS</div>GRAND FORKS&mdash;The most popular song for University of Wisconsin fans is the Budweiser beer commercial with words changed to read, &ldquo;When you say Wis-con-sin, you&rsquo;ve said it all.&rdquo;It was certainly true in the 36th annual National Collegiate Athletic Association Division One hockey championship when Wisconsin won its second national championship in the last three years by skating to a 6-2 victory over Harvard in the title game in Grand Forks.Sophomore forward Pat Flatley scored twice and set up a third goal as Wisconsin won its fourth national championship overall to go with earlier titles in 1973, 1977 and 1981.Senior goalie Marc Behrend was once again a key figure for the Badgers, as he won Most Valuable Player honors in the tourney. Behrend, who was the MVP in 1981 when Wisconsin beat Minnesota in the title game, won the honor again by blanking Providence College 2-0 in the semi-final game with 17 saves. He nursed a shutout in the third period in the title game, before giving up two goals while finishing with 24 saves.Wisconsin&rsquo;s victory continued the domination of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association in the national tournament. It was the 29th time a WCHA has won the championship in the 36 years of the tournament and the 10th time in the last 11 years a WCHA team has won the championship.While the WCHA again spawned the champion, the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Association put up a good fight.Harvard, which won the EC AC playoffs after finishing second to Providence in the regular-season standings, pulled the first upset of the tourney by beating WCHA regular-season champion Minnesota 5-3 in the second semi-final game. Sophomore forward Scott Fusco scored two goals and assisted on two others as the Crimson rallied for three unanswered third-period goals to down the Gophers.Fusco, Phil Falcone and Jim Turner scored the third-period goals for Harvard to back the outstanding goaltending of freshman Grant Blair, who finished with 29 saves.&ldquo;This has got to be one of the biggest wins in Harvard history, &rdquo; Harvard coach Bill Cleary said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a great feather for the Harvard boys and the Ivy League, too.&rdquo;Wisconsin had a tough time with Providence in the first semi-final game, but the goaltending of Behrend and the key goal by sophomore forward Paul Houck enabled the Badgers to come through.Houck scored on a power play 36 seconds into the second period to give Wisconsin a 1-0 lead, then John Johannson hit an empty-net goal with 47 seconds left to wrap it up for the Badgers. Behrend recorded his first solo shutout of the season by making 17 saves as Wisconsin&rsquo;s smothering defensive play kept Providence at bay.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s beyond belief that I only had to make 17 saves,&rdquo; Behrend said. &ldquo;If someone had said I&rsquo;d only make 17 saves tonight, I would have thought they were crazy.&rdquo;Providence came back to claim third place by beating Minnesota 4-3 as freshman goalie Chris Terreri made 52 saves in a brilliant performance, including a tournament record 24 saves in the third period.Providence raced to a 4-1 lead when Jim Rushin, Artie Yeomelakis and Steve Rooney scored in a three-minute span in the second period after Minnesota&rsquo;s Wally Chapman and Providence&rsquo;s Kurt Kleinendorst traded goals in the first period. Then Terreri took over in the third peiod when the Gophers came storming back with goals by Tony Kelltn and Jeff Larson in a period totally dominated by Minnesota.But Terreri hung tough and the Gophers finished winless in the Final Four, a major disappointment for a team that was ranked first in the nation much of the season.In the title game, it was Wisconsin all the way.Fatley scored goals in both the first and second periods to give Wisconsin a 2-0 cushion heading into the final period, then Paul Houston, Bruce Driver, Houston again and John Johannson scored for the Badgers, sandwiched around goals by Harvard&rsquo;s Scott Fusco and Shayne Kukulowicz. Behrend finished with 24 saves to 31 for Harvard&rsquo;s Blair.The national title was the first for Wisconsin coach Jeff Saluer, who coached at Colorado College for 12 years before moving to Wisconsin when the Calgary Flames snapped up former Badger coach Bob Johnson.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s no question about it,&rdquo; Sauer said after the game. &ldquo;This has to be my biggest coaching victory.&rdquo;Wisconsin won it by putting the defensive clamps on the fast-skating Harvard team, which had roamed with ease through Minnesota in the semi-finals.&ldquo;It is going to take months to figure out what has been done by this team,&rdquo; Sauer said. &ldquo;Maybe then I can come up with the words to describe my feelings.&rdquo;Cleary was gracious in defeat.&ldquo;We got beat by an outstanding team. They&rsquo;re the best team we&rsquo;ve played against this year and they deserved the national championship,&rdquo; he said.Wisconsin finished its season at 3310-4 and capped a tremendous rush in the latter stages of the season by winning the nationals.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-01428/4669816-1-eng-US/f0031-012.jpg" title="f0031-01" width="557" height="820"><figcaption class="caption-body">Wisconsin&rsquo;s Pat Flatley scored two goals and added an assist to pace the Badgers.</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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Chalk Up One More Championship For Wisconsin’s Mighty Machine

BLOOMINGTON&mdash;Mark Fusco, a senior defenseman from Harvard University, has been selected as the 1983 recipient of the Hobey Baker Memorial Award, emblematic of the outstanding college hockey player in the United States.The announcement was made on Mar. 25 and the presentation, made at the Decathalon Athletic Club in Bloomington, which sponsors the award, followed two days later.Fusco, the first Harvard player to be selected to the top 10 list for the award, holds the school career record for points by a defenseman (127), goals by a defenseman (42) and assists by a defenseman (85). Ranked eighth on the all-time scoring list, he was the second-eading scorer on the team this past season.Fusco helped Harvard earn the ECAC title and a berth in the NCAA finals in Grand Forks, ND. Fusco also won the Walter Brown Memorial Award this year, awarded to the best American-born college hockey player in New England.He is a three-time All-American, has made the first team All-Ivy three times and was the league&rsquo;s rookie of the year. He also made the All-East team for the fourth time and has played in the National Sports Festival the past two summers. &#9632;

Mark Fusco Wins Hobey Baker Award

<div class="byline">BY MIKE BROPHY</div>H&B Louisville HockeyPETERBOROUGH&mdash;The rivalry is unmatched in the Ontario Hockey League.Peterborough Petes versus the Oshawa Generals. The teams openly express hatred for each other. So do the fans. And if coaches and managers were ever blunt (which rarely happens, at least for the record), they would probably admit there is no sweeter feeling than beating each other.The Petes and Generals squared off in playoff series the past two seasons and will meet again this year.It promises to be a dandy.The last two times Peterborough and Oshawa tangled in the playoffs, the Generals were easy victors. Not only did they eliminate the Petes, they embarrassed them physically at the same time. A few Petes did their best to stand up to the big, bad Generals, but it was too few.Two years ago, the teams engaged in an ugly pre-game brawl in Oshawa in which Peterborough&rsquo;s Doug Evans, then a rookie, tangled with Oshawa&rsquo;s coach Bill Laforge in a hallway under the stands. That fight took place after Evans, his brother, goalie Mark, and a few Petes battled with Oshawa players during the warm-up.Police had to enter the scene to break up the brawl.Last season, when the teams again met in playoffs, there was another fight in the warm-up, but this time it was limited to two players&mdash;Ali Butorac of Oshawa and Wayne Fortune of Peterborough.Both teams appear to have changed philosophies this season and only time will tell if that will lead to more trouble or better hockey. Hopefully, it will mean better hockey and less trouble.Oshawa, the OHL&rsquo;s bad boys the two previous seasons, is less apt to get involved in fights that lead to player suspensions. They are so strong on the power play, they now turn the other cheek at times and let the opposition take the stupid penalties while piling up power-play goals. That&rsquo;s exactly what they did in beating Belleville in the first round.Peterborough is now an experienced, hungry team seeking revenge. They prefer to stick to hockey but when challenged, have not backed away from anyone this season.When the teams hooked up for their final regualar season meeting, they became involved in a little bench-clearing fight between periods that involved a few players. The others stood around watching. Peterborough trailed 3-2 at the time but came alive after the fight to score six unanswered goals.With top-rated juniors such as Joe Cirella, Norm Schmidt, Dave Gans and John MacLean of Oshawa and Steve Yzerman, Mike Posavad, Ken Strong and Scott McLellan of the Petes, most people anticipate a clean series.&ldquo;Teams in junior change players from year to year,&rdquo; said OHL commissioner David Branch. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s going to be a tough series, obviously because of the rivalry between the two teams. But as far as the league is concerned, they have done nothing this season to indicate that we should watch them any more closely than any other series.&rdquo;Oshawa, Cornwall Royals, Brantford Alexanders and North Bay Centennials survived the opening round of playoffs and now enter their respective division semi-finals.OSHAWA VS. BELLEVILLE&mdash;After losing 10-2 in the opener, the Bulls returned home to earn a 6-6 tie. It was to be their only point of the six-point series.Mark Hegarty scored me tying goal in the third period for Belleville but next game, Oshawa came right back to record another big home-ice victory, this time 10-3.John Hutchings, John MacLean and David Gans scored two goals each to pace the Generals. Dan Quinn, Craig Coxe and Craig Kitchener replied for Belleville.CORNWALL VS TORONTO&mdash;The Royals took this series 7-1 with the Marlboros&rsquo; only point coming from a 4-4 tie in Game Three.Toronto&rsquo;s downfall was its inability to contain Cornwall&rsquo;s high-scoring trio of Doug Gilmour, Ian Maclnnis and Steve Driscoll.That line combined to score 15 of Cornwall&rsquo;s 18 goals in the series.Gilmour scored two goals, including one shorthanded effort while Driscoll added a second shorthanded goal as Cornwall won Game Two 6-4. Mario Simioni scored twice for the Dukes.In Game Three, a 4-4 tie, Maclnnis scored three goals and Gilmour one for the Royals, while in Game Four, Maclnnis fired two, Gilmour one and Driscoll the other as Cornwall won 4-2.BRANTFORD VS. LONDON&mdash; Three straight. Nobody would have predicted it, but the Brantford Alexanders gassed London Knights in three games and will now challenge the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds.Mike Hoffman scored at 19:56 of the third period to lift the Alexanders to a 4-3 win in Game Two and then it was goalie Alan Bester, the series&rsquo; top player, blocking everything fired his way by London in recording a 4-0 shutout in Game Three. He made 19 saves.Todd Francis, Rick Goodfellow, Hoffman and Dave Gagner scored for Brantford.The Knights&rsquo; quick exit resulted in the firing of coach Paul McIntosh, which really wasn&rsquo;t a surprise concerning all the rumors that started before the regular season had even ended. Word from London is that veteran general manager Bill Long will step down and a new man, with dual responsibilities, will be hired.NORTH BAY VS. WINDSOR&mdash;The pesky Spitfires put up a good battle but still lost out in three straight games to the talented Centennials.Rick Morocco scored at 11:48 of the third period to lift North Bay to a 3-2 win in Game Two. Curtis Collin and Jeff Eatough scored the other goals for the winners while Claude Loiselle and Jack Woods replied for Windsor.In the final game, Loiselle took seven minutes in penalties, allowing the Cents to score three straight power-play goals on the way to a 6-4 victory. Bob Laforest paced North Bay with three goals while Collin, Rob DeGagne and Paul Gillis scored singles.In the other two quarter-final series, Cornwall is up against Ottawa while North Bay meets the Kitchener Rangers.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-01441/4669871-1-eng-US/f0032-012.jpg" title="f0032-01" width="560" height="878"><figcaption class="caption-body">Peterborough&rsquo;s Doug Evans once got into a fight under the stands with an Oshawa coach.</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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No Love Lost Between Petes And Generals

<h2>ONTARIO LEAGUE</h2>The Toronto Marlboros made a hasty exit from the first round of the Ontario Hockey League playoffs and one player who can claim personal responsibility for it is Ian Maclnnis of the Cornwall Royals.The 20-year-old Cornwall sniper, who scored 59 goals in 70 games during the regular season, was a virtual one-man wrecking crew in the series with the Marlies. Maclnnis scored eight goals and assisted on five others as the Royals eliminated Toronto in four games. Maclnnis, who was chosen as the final OHL Player of the Week for this season, personally accounted for 13 of the 18 goals Cornwall scored in the series with the Malboros.<h2>WESTERN LEAGUE</h2>They say good things come in small packages and nothing can better describe little Dale Derkatch of the Regina Pats.Derkatch, who stands only 5-f8t-5 and weighs but 140 pounds, is a prime example that small men can do the job efficiently in hockey. With the end of the Western Hockey League regular schedule, Derkatch emerged as the scoring champion with 179 points, the fifth highest total in league history. The Regina star, who is expected to be among the first 21 NHL draft picks this summer, scored a league-leading 84 goals. He also set a record with 20 winning-goal assists and finished the season with eight points in four games to win the last WHL Player of the Week honor for this season.<h2>QUEBEC LEAGUE</h2>Hilton Ruggles isn&rsquo;t one of the Quebec Hockey League&rsquo;s super scorers by any means, but he is an opportunist.The Longueuil Chevaliers won the first two games of their opening-round playoff series against Chicoutimi Sagueneens and it was none other than Ruggles who provided the scoring punch by counting two overtime-winning goals. The Chevaliers won 5-4 and 4-3 with Ruggles scoring three times in the two games, including his two overtime winners to get the nod as the QHL Player of the Week for the final selection of this season. As an overage 20-year-old, Ruggles hopes to move on to pro hockey next season. &#9632;

Players of the Week

<div class="byline">BY GREGG DRINNAN</div>H&B Louisville HockeyBRANDON&mdash;As the Western Hockey League&rsquo;s 1982-83 regular season wound down, there were more than a few team and individual highlights.In Saskatoon, for example, the Blades wrapped up their first Eastern Division pennant since 1975-76 and, in the process, they tied a WHL record.The pennant-clinching win was a 6-3 home-ice victory over the Calgary Wranglers that improved the Blades&rsquo; record to 50-17-1.Attendance that night was 3,625&mdash;seating capacity in Saskatoon Arena is 3,402&mdash;and that lifted the season&rsquo;s total, unofficially, to 100,302.Center Ross Lambert became the fifth member of the Blades to reach the 100-point plateau in that win, as he scored twice and added his 73rd assist of the season.That enabled the Blades to tie the WHL record for most 100-point men in one season. It&rsquo;s a mark that was tied early this winter by the Portland Winter Hawks and both clubs now share it with the 1979-80 and 1981-82 Regina Pats, the 1980-81 Winter Hawks and the 1971-72 Medicine Hat Tigers.Earlier, Perry Ganchar scored twice, giving him 300 career points, in a 10-6 loss in Brandon, while Todd Strueby became the fourth Blade to reach the 100-point plateau as he set up a goal in a 5-3 loss in Winnipeg.In Regina, the Pats beat Prince Albert 5-3 before 3,036 fans, lifting their attendance count&mdash;unofficially&mdash;to 100,959.The Pats then made it eight in a row, and 12 out of 13, as they dumped visiting Calgary 6-1 to clinch second place in the East. That game drew 5,078 fans, the largest crowd of the season in the 5,566-seat Agridome.In Brandon, third-year center Kelly Glowa became the 10th player in WHL history to crack the 400-point barrier. He had a goal and two assists as the Wheat Kings dumped the visiting Prince Albert Raiders 4-3 in overtime. That lifted his totals to 175 goals and 226 assists in 210 games.In Winnipeg, the Warriors played before their largest crowd of the season, 6,032, and skated to a 5-3 win over Saskatoon.In Kamloops, 16-year-old rookie defenseman Doug Bodger played 45 minutes straight after seven teammates were ejected following a brawl and he had a goal and two assists as the Junior Oilers downed Medicine Hat 5-3.In Portland, Randy Heath broke the Winter Hawks&rsquo; club record for most goals in a season. Playing before 9,308 fans, Heath scored three times in an 8-6 win over the Seattle Breakers, upping his total to 76, one more than Perry Turnbull, now with the NHL&rsquo;s St. Louis I Blues, scored in 1978-79.And center Ken Yaremchuk became the first player this season to set up 100 goals as he drew two assists in a 9-8 overtime with over the Islanders in Nanaimo.The Winter Hawks went on to wrap up their fifth Western Division title in six seasons with a 6-4 win over visiting Medicine Hat as rookie Grant Sasser scored three times, giving him 51 on the season.Portland goes up against Seattle in the opening round of post-season play. The Breakers wrapped up fourth place with an 8-7 win over the Islanders in Nanaimc behind rookie Ben Pemosky&rsquo;s two goals.In Victoria, center Mark Morrison scored two goals and set up five others in an 11-7 win over Portland to become the Cougars&rsquo; all-time leading point scorer That lifted his career total to 377 anc moved him past Barry Pederson, who now skates with the NHL&rsquo;s Boston Bruins.And Rich Chernomaz scored his sixth goal of the season in a 5-4 win over visiting Nanaimo to tie the club&rsquo;s one-season record that was set in 1974-75 by Mel Bridgman, now with the NHL&rsquo;s Calgary Flames.BRANDON&mdash;Veteran forward Bill Vince scored three goals and set up two others in a 10-6 win over visiting Saskatoon. Center Kelly Glowa added three goals, giving him 70 on the season, while Tom McMurchy drew four assists. Rookie center Bryan Wells scored at 5:32 of overtime to give the Wheat Kings a 4-3 win over visiting Prince Albert. McMurchy, playing in his 37th game, got his 40th goal in a 5-2 loss to visiting Winnipeg.CALGARY&mdash;Rob Hamill got goals No. 29 and 30, while Garth Hildebrand got his 28th and 29th in a 7-2 home-ice win over Lethbridge. Defenseman Mike Heidt, Calgary&rsquo;s leading scorer, set up three goals, runnning his point total to 91. Rookie Doug Moffat got goal No. 20 in a 6-3 setback in Saskatoon.LETHBRIDGE&mdash;Doug Kyle ran his point total to 100 as he set up a goal in a 7-2 loss in Calgary. The Broncos set a club record with 15 consecutive homeice wins when Ron Sutter&rsquo;s goal 17 seconds into overtime gave them a 4-3 win over Saskatoon.MEDICINE HAT&mdash;Mike Lay&rsquo;s second goal of the game, at 6:31 of overtime, gave the Tigers a 4-3 win in Kelowna. Mark Lamb scored twice in a 4-3 win in Seattle.REGINA&mdash;Dale Derkatch scored two goals, giving him 79, as the Pats downed visiting Prince Albert 5-3. Lyndon Byers helped out with his 30th goal. Rick Nasheim had two goals and two assists and Derkatch got his 80th goal in a 6-2 home-ice win over Lethbridge.SASKATOON&mdash;Roger Kortko got his 60th goal in a 4-3 overtime loss in Lethbridge.WINNIPEG&mdash;Center Darren Boyko had a goal and two assists, giving him 117 points, in a 6-4 home-ice win over Prince Albert. Randy Gilhen had two goals, giving him 53, and defenseman Rick Strachan set up three goals in a 5-3 win over visiting Saskatoon. Jeff Lawson and Gilhen had two goals each in a 5-2 win in Brandon that lifted the Warriors past Lethbridge and into fourth spot in the Eastern Division. One night later, defenseman Chris Saint-Cyr scored twice in a 5-2 win over visiting Brandon.KAMLOOPS&mdash;Dean Evason had three goals and three assists, while Jim Camazzola had two goals and four assists and Doug Saunders scored his 20th goal and set up five others in a 16-1 win over visiting Kelowna. Tony Vogel also had three goals, giving him 57, and Dean Evason had two goals and three assists in a 10-3 win in Kelowna. Greg Evtushevski picked up his 30th goal in that win.NANAIMO&mdash;Jim McGeough scored three times, giving him 70, in a 9-8 overtime loss to visiting Portland. Harry Mahood ran his point total to 101 with his 47th goal and two assists in an 8-7 homeice loss to Seattle.PORTLAND&mdash;The Winter Hawks, down 8-4 with 10 minutes left in the third period, erupted for five goals and won 9-8 in Nanaimo. Ken Yaremchuk got the winner at 5:26 of overtime, after Rick Kromm had tied it with two third-period goals. Cam Neely had a goal and four assists in an 11-7 loss in VictoriaSEATTLE&mdash;Fred Ledlin ran his point total to 100 with a goal and an assist in an 8-6 loss in Portland.VICTORIA&mdash;Brenn Leach got his first WHL goal in an 11-7 home-ice win over Portland. Russ Courtnail had four goals, giving him 33, and an assist, while brother Geoff had a goal and four assists to run his point total to 103 in a 10-2 win in Kelowna. Mark Morrison got his 50th goal, Leach got his second and Russ Courtnall set up three goals in a 5-4 win over visiting Namaimo, the Cougars&rsquo; sixth straight win and their 10th in 11 games.This is Gregg Drinnan&rsquo;s last WHL story for THE HOCKEY NEWS as he is leaving Brandon to take a new post at the Regina Leader Post. &#9632;

Blade Pennant Among League Highlights

<div class="byline">BY HERB ZURKOWSKY</div>MONTREAL&mdash;Although the favorites&mdash;the Laval Voisins, Shawinigan Cataractes, Verdun Juniors and expansion Longueuil Chevaliers&mdash;all jumped out of the starting gate to win the opening two games of their best-of-seven quarterfinals, the victories haven&rsquo;t come easily.The Chevaliers, for example, twice have been forced into overtime before edging the Chicoutimi Sagueneens 4-3 and 5-4. Coincidentally, both clinching goals&mdash;including one in double overtime&mdash;were scored by Hilton Ruggles.And the Cats have struggled with the St. Jean Beavers, the defending league champions, 3-1 and 6-5 in double overtime. In the latter game, Shawinigan overcame deficits of 3-0 and 5-1. In fact, they sent the game into overtime with only 13 seconds remaining in regulation time.While the Juniors have breezed past the Draveurs 10-5 and 6-3, who would have thought that rookie scoring sensation Pat Lafontaine would play a supportng role? Lafontaine, the American-born Quebec Major Junior Hockey League scoring champion with 104 goals and 130 assists for 234 points, has been held to no goals and five assists.Only the QMJHL regular-season champion Laval Voisins have done as expected, shutting out the Hull Olympics 11-0&mdash;Jeff Barratt, 20, only facing 23 shots&mdash;and drubbing them 9-2.Here is an individual breakdown of all eight games played:Laval 11, Hull O. The Voisins scored eight goals within 13 minutes in the final period for the victory. Team scoring leader Mario Lemieux, Claude Vilgrain, rookie defenseman Bobby Dollas and Francois Sills all scored two goals, with Lemieux adding six assists. Jean-Marc Lanthier had a goal and three assists.Laval 9, Hull 2: Michael Lacasse scored his first three goals of the series. Lemieux had two goals and an assist. Lanthier and Yves Courteau each added three assists. Dollas added a single, giving him three.Shawinigan 3, St. Jean 1: The Beavers stayed close all game. Rejean Vignola opened the scoring for the Cats, but Francois Olivier tied the game before the first period was over. Marc Brisebois scored late in the second and Doug McGrath midway through the third.Shawinigan 6, St. Jean 5 (double overtime)-. Steve Pepin scored two for the Beavers, but it wasn&rsquo;t enough as Shawinigan twice rallied from big disadvantages. McGrath sent the game into sudden-death with 13 seconds remaining. Sergio Momesso ended the late evening after four minutes of the second extra frame.Verdun 10, Trois-Rivieres 5: While Lafontaine didn&rsquo;t score, his linemates nonetheless had successful games. Gerard Gallant had three goals and three assists with captain Jean-Maurice Cool contributing two goals and four assists. Jacques Sylvestre added a pair. Stephene Lessard had two goals and two assists for the losers. Claude Verret also tallied twice.Verdun 6, Trois-Rivieres 3: Gallant opened the scoring with three unanswered goals and finished it midway through the third. He also added an assist. Cool had a goal and assist. Verret had two assists for the Draveurs.Longueuil 4, Chicoutimi 3 (double overtime): The Chevaliers led 3-1 after the second, but let the Sags back in the game on goals by Paul Gagne and Roberto Lavoie. But Ruggles, a former Voisin and Draveur, sent the Jean Beliveau Arena fans home happy when he scored six minutes into double overtime of the matinee.Longueuil 5, Chicoutimi 4 (overtime): The Sags jumped into a 2-0 lead on goals by Lavoie and Andre Villeneuve, but couldn&rsquo;t hold the margin. Ruggles paced the winners with two goals&mdash;the latter at 18:25 of overtime.AROUND THE LEAGUE&mdash;Among the team and league scoring records set by Lafontaine, who didn&rsquo;t turn 18 until February, were:&bull; A consecutive point-scoring streak of 43 games.&bull; Seventeeir game-winning goals.&bull; Most goals, assists and points by a rookie and a 17-year-old (since that was his age as of last Dec. 31).&bull; And most goals by a center. &#9632;

The Favorites Haven’t Had It Easy

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WHERE NHL TEAMS PLAY

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THE NHL SCOREBOARD

BOSTON&mdash;Cashman 4, Middleton 43, 44, 45,46, Fergus 27, 28 McNab 22, Krushelnyski 21,22, B. Crowder 20,21, Pederson 42,43,44, 45, Bourque 21, 22. Winning goals &mdash; Pederson 2, Middleton.BUFFALO&mdash;Hamel 19,20,21, Savard 15,16, Andreychuk 13, Davis 7, McKegney 34,35,36, Ruff 12, Housley 19, Ramsey 7, McCourt 19. Winning goals&mdash;Andreychuk.CALGARY&mdash;Jackson 6, Risebrough 21, Russell 13, McDonald 61, 62, 63, 64, Nilsson 41, 42, Reinhart 16, 17, Jalonen 11. Winning goals&mdash;Nilsson, Jalonen.CHICAGO&mdash;Preston 25, Ludzik 3, 4, 5, 6, Secord 52, 53, 54, B. Murray 7, Sutter 28, 29, Marsh 6, Fraser 11, Larmer 39, 40, 41, Crossman 13. Winning goals&mdash;Secord.DETROIT&mdash;Foster 17, McKechnie 14, Ogrodnick 37, Huber 13, 14, Kisio 3. Winning goals&mdash;none.EDMONTON&mdash;Semenko 10,11, Gretzky 66, 67, 68, Coffey 28, 29, Messier 46, 47, Linseman 32, Lumley 11, 12, Gregg 6, Lindstrom 23, 24, Hunter 13, Anderson 45. Winning goals&mdash;Gretzky 2.HARTFORD&mdash;Neufeld 23, 24, 25, Sullivan 17, 18, Johnson 29, 30, Francis 29, Kotsopolous 4,5, Adams 10, Stoughton 42, McDougal 7. Winning goals&mdash;Stoughton.LOS ANGELES&mdash;Simmer 26, 27, Taylor 17, 18, L. Murphy 14, Nicholls 27, 28, Dionne 54, M. Murphy 16, Smith TO, 11, Wells 3, Fox 25, Evans 16, Hardy 5. Winning goals&mdash;none.MINNESOTA&mdash;Plett 24, Roberts 3, Bellows 32, 33, 34, Maxwell 8, 9, 10, 11, McCarthy 28, Broten 29, 30, 31, Eaves 15, W. Young 1, T. Young 17. Winning goals&mdash;Maxwell 2.MONTREAL&mdash;Mondou 27, 28, Lafleur 24, 25, Picard 7, Napier 37, 38, 39. Tremblay 30, Gainey 11, 12, Naslund 26, Shutt 33, Carbonneau 17, 18, Nilan 6, Green 2. Winning goals&mdash;Gainey 2, Carbonneau.NEW JERSEY&mdash;Tambellini 23, 24, Brumwell 4, 5, Broten 13,14,15, Lever 23, Verbeek 1, Quenneville 5, Gagne 11, 12, Larmer 21, Marini 17. Winning goals&mdash;Broten, Gagne.NY ISLANDERS&mdash;Bossy 55,56,57, B. Sutter 17, 18, 19, Trottier 32, 33. Winning goals&mdash;Trottier, B. Sutter.NY RANGERS&mdash;Beck 11, 12, Hedberg 22, 23, 24, Kontos 8, Chartraw 4, 5, McClanahan 21,22, Greschner 2, Allison 9,10, Pavelich 34, 35, Ruotsalainen 14. Winning goals&mdash;Hedberg PavolichPHILADELPHIA&mdash;Barber 25,26, Sinisalo 20, Allison 21, Flockhart 26, 27, 28, 29, Evans 8, Sittier 41, Wilson 7,8, Holmgren 18, Howe 20, Taylor 8, Propp 36. Winning goals&mdash;Evans, Flockhart.PITTSBURGH&mdash;Gardner 26, Shedden 23, Carlyle 14, Bullard 22, Lee 12, Kehoe 28, Boutette 26, Hotham 2. Winning gols&mdash;none.QUEBEC&mdash;Paiement 23,24,25, Wesley 2,3, P. Stastny 45, 46, 47, David 2, Goulet 54, Cloutier 54, Hunter 17, Sleigher 11, 12. Winning goals&mdash;David.ST. LOUIS&mdash;Pettersson 32, 33, 34, Sutter 43, 44, Ramage 15, Anderson 4, 5, Turnbull 28, 29, Federko 22, 23, Crawford 5, Zuke 8, Lemieux 9. Winning goals&mdash;Pettersson.TORONTO&mdash;Gingras 8, 9, Frycer 22, Poddubny 27, 28, Martin 13, Anderson 29, Ihnacak 26, 27, 28, Derlago 13, Vaive 49, Korn 8. Winning goals&mdash;Gingras, Korn.VANCOUVER&mdash;Rota 39, 40, 41, 42, McCarthy 12, Sundstrom 22, MacDonald 2, Smyl 33, 34, 35, 36, Hlinka 39, Tanti 8, 9, Gradin 32, Lanz 8, Halward 19, Lupul 16, Belland 2. Winning goals&mdash;Rota, Lupul.WASHINGTON&mdash;Gartner 37, Novy 17, 18, Stevens 8, Carpenter 28, 29, 30, Gould 22, Currie 10, Maruk 31, Jarvis 8, Valentine 6, 7, Duchesne 17. Winning goals&mdash;Carpenter.WINNIPEG&mdash;DeBlois 23, 24, 25, 26, Wilson 2, Hawerchuk 39, 40, Steen 22, MacLean 30, Boschman 10,11, Arniel 12, Hopkins 3, Smail 13, Savard 4. Winning goals&mdash;DeBlois, Hopkins.Hat tricks&mdash;Middleton and Pederson, Boston, and DeBlois, Winnipeg, 1 each. &#9632;

NHL SCORERS THIS WEEK

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-01453/4670037-1-eng-US/f0034-012.jpg" title="f0034-01" width="633" height="2136"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-02367/4670030-1-eng-US/f0034-022.jpg" title="f0034-02" width="542" height="1500"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-03273/4670023-1-eng-US/f0034-032.jpg" title="f0034-03" width="565" height="2851"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-04186/4670016-1-eng-US/f0034-042.jpg" title="f0034-04" width="569" height="3420"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-01428/4670009-1-eng-US/f0035-012.jpg" title="f0035-01" width="561" height="3533"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-02338/4670002-1-eng-US/f0035-022.jpg" title="f0035-02" width="2313" height="707"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-06103/4669995-1-eng-US/f0036-062.jpg" title="f0036-06" width="2911" height="1000"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-01358/4669988-1-eng-US/f0037-012.jpg" title="f0037-01" width="573" height="3647"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-02250/4669981-1-eng-US/f0037-022.jpg" title="f0037-02" width="206" height="1332"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-03185/4669974-1-eng-US/f0037-032.jpg" title="f0037-03" width="1723" height="1282"></div> &#9632;

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NATIONAL LEAGUE SUMMARIES

BOSTONGoaltenders31 &mdash; BARON, Marco1 &mdash; PEETERS, PeteDefensemen7 &mdash; BOURQUE, Ray23 &mdash; HILLIER, Randy27 &mdash; HOWE, Marty6 &mdash; KLUZAK, Gord26 &mdash; MILBURY, Mike20 &mdash; O&rsquo; CONNELL, Mike22 &mdash; PARK, BradCenters28 &mdash; FERGUS, Tom11 &mdash; KASPER, Steve14 &mdash; MacTAVISH, Craig8 &mdash; McNAB, Peter10 &mdash; PEDERSON, BarryR. Wings17 &mdash; BARR, Dave18 &mdash; CROWDER, Keith16 &mdash; MIDDLETON, Rick24 &mdash; O&rsquo; REILLY, TerryL. Wings12 &mdash; CASHMAN, W. &mdash; Cpt.32 &mdash; CROWDER, Bruce29 &mdash; DUFOUR, Luc25 &mdash; KRUSHELNYSKI, M.21 &mdash; PALMER, BraBUFFALOGoaltenders33 &mdash; MYRE, Phil28 &mdash; SAUVE, BobDefensemen31 &mdash; FEN YVES, Dave24 &mdash; HAJT, Bill6 &mdash; HOUSLEY, Phil27 &mdash; PLAYFAIR, Larry5 &mdash; RAMSEY, Mike4 &mdash; VAN BOXMEER, John3 &mdash; VIRTA, HannuCenters29 &mdash; ANDREYCHUK, Dave7 &mdash; McCOURT, Dale8 &mdash; McKEGNEY, Tony11 &mdash; PERREAULT, Gil &mdash; Cpt.20 &mdash; PETERSON, Brent12 &mdash; SAVARD, AndreR. Wings25 &mdash; DAVIS, Mal17 &mdash; FOLIGNO, Mike26 &mdash; PATRICK, Steve16 &mdash; SEILING, RicL. Wings18 &mdash; CYR, Paul9 &mdash; HAMEL, Gilles10 &mdash; RAMSAY, Craig22 &mdash; RUFF, LindyCALGARYGoattenders1 &mdash; EDWARDS, Don31 &mdash; LEMELIN, RejeanDefensemen6 &mdash; DUNN, Richie20 &mdash; ELORANTA, Kari3 &mdash; KONROYD, Steve34 &mdash; MACOUN, Jamie23 &mdash; REINHART, Paul28 &mdash; RIBBLE, Pat5 &mdash; RUSSELL, Phil &mdash; Cpt.Centers7 &mdash; CHOUINARD, Guy21 &mdash; JALONEN, Kari14 &mdash; NILSSON, Kent24 &mdash; PEPLINSKI, Jim8 &mdash; RISEBROUGH, DougR. Wings11 &mdash; CHRISTOFF, Steve17 &mdash; HISLOP, Jamie16 &mdash; JACKSON, Jim9 &mdash; MCDONALD, Lanny32 &mdash; RIOUX, PierreL. Wings27 &mdash; BEERS, Ed26 &mdash; BRIDGMAN, Mel18 &mdash; HINDMARCH, Dave15 &mdash; LAVALLEE, Kevin25 &mdash; MEREDITH, GreggCHICAGOGoaltenders30 &mdash; BANNERMAN, M.35 &mdash; ESPOSITO, TonyDefensemen4 &mdash; BROWN, Keith23 &mdash; CROSSMAN, Doug3 &mdash; FEAMSTER, Dave2 &mdash; FOX, Greg6 &mdash; MURRAY, Bob5 &mdash; O&rsquo; CALLAHAN, Jack24 &mdash; WILSON, DougCenters29 &mdash; LUDZIK, Steve12 &mdash; LYSIAK, Tom19 &mdash; MURRAY, Troy26 &mdash; PATERSON, Rick18 &mdash; SAVARD, DenisR. Wings11 &mdash; CYR, Denis15 &mdash; HIGGINS, Tim28 &mdash; LARMER, Steve16 &mdash; PRESTON, RichL. Wings8 &mdash; FRASER, Curt14 &mdash; GARDNER, Bill17 &mdash; MARSH, Peter20 &mdash; SECORD, Al27 &mdash; SUTTER, Daryl &mdash; Cpt.DETROITGoaltenders1 &mdash; GILBERT, Gilles31 &mdash; MICALEF, Corado30 &mdash; STEFAN, GregDefensemen3 &mdash; BARRETT, John5 &mdash; CAMPBELL, Colin7 &mdash; HUBER, Willie19 &mdash; LADOUCEUR, Randy28 &mdash; LARSON, Reed5 &mdash; SMITH, GregCenters12 &mdash; BOLDIREV, Ivan22 &mdash; CRAVEN, Murray16 &mdash; KISIO, Kelly11 &mdash; McKechnie, wait14 &mdash; WEIR, StanR. Wings21 &mdash; BLAISDELL, Mike18 &mdash; GARE, Danny&mdash;Cpt.20 &mdash; FOSTER, Dwight27 &mdash; LEACH, Reg17 &mdash; LOFTHOUSE, Mark8 &mdash; ROWE, TomL. Wings25 &mdash; OGRODNICK, John23 &mdash; OSBORNE, Mark26 &mdash; SOLHEIM, Ken15 &mdash; WOODS, PaulEDMONTONGoaltenders1 &mdash; FUHR, Grant35 &mdash; MOOG, AndyDefensemen7 &mdash; COFFEY, Paul2 &mdash; FOGOLIN, Lee&mdash;Cpt.21 &mdash; GREGG, Randy22 &mdash; HUDDY, Charlie29 &mdash; JACKSON, Don6 &mdash; LARIVIERE, Gary4 &mdash; LOWE, KevinCenters99 &mdash; GRETZKY, Wayne23 &mdash; HABSCHEID, Marc13 &mdash; LINSEMAN, Ken26 &mdash; NACHBAUR, Don77 &mdash; UNGER, GarryR. Wings9 &mdash; ANDERSON, Glenn16 &mdash; HUGHES, Pat17 &mdash; KURRI, Jari20 &mdash; LUMLEY, Dave24 &mdash; ROULSTON, TomL. Wings12 &mdash; HUNTER, Dave19 &mdash; LINDSTROM, Willy11 &mdash; MESSIER, Mark10 &mdash; POUZAR, Jaroslav27 &mdash; SEMENKO, DaveHARTFORDGoaltenders30 &mdash; MILLEN, Greg31 &mdash; VEISOR, MikeDefensemen7 &mdash; ANDERSON, &mdash;Cpt.23 &mdash; HOSPODAR, Ed24 &mdash; KOTSOPOULOS, C.5 &mdash; LACROIX, Pierr25 &mdash; RENAUD, Mark8 &mdash; SILTANEN, Risto4 &mdash; VOLCAN, MickeyCenters10 &mdash; FRANCIS, Ron14 &mdash; GALARNEAU, M.12 &mdash; JOHNSON, Mark20 &mdash; MALINOWSKI, M.R. Wings27 &mdash; MILLER, Warren17 &mdash; NEUFELD, Ray21 &mdash; STOUGHTON, Blaine22 &mdash; SULLIMAN, DougL. Wings18 &mdash; ADAMS, Greg11 &mdash; LAWLESS, Paul32 &mdash; McDOUGAL, Mike26 &mdash; SULLIVAN, BobINJURED: Steve Kasper, Torry O&rsquo; Reilly (Bos), Dave Hindmarch, (Cal), Keith Brown, (Chi), Michel Galarneau, Pierre Larouche (Har).LOS ANGELESGoaltenders29 &mdash; LASKOSKI, Gary30 &mdash; MATTSSON, M.Defensemen20 &mdash; HARDY, Mark6 &mdash; KENNEDY, Dean4 &mdash; KORAB, Jerry25 &mdash; LEWIS, Dave &mdash; Cpt.5 &mdash; MURPHY, Larry24 &mdash; WELLS, JayL. Wings16 &mdash; DIONNE, Marcel22 &mdash; HOLMES, Warren9 &mdash; NICHOLLS, Bernie10 &mdash; RUSKOWSKI, Terry23 &mdash; SMITH, DougR. Wings14 &mdash; BARNES, Blair15 &mdash; EVANS, Daryl19 &mdash; FOX, Jim12 &mdash; HOPKINS, Dean7 &mdash; MURPHY, Mike18 &mdash; TAYLOR, DaveL. Wings26 &mdash; BOZEK, Steve17 &mdash; KELLY, John&mdash;Paul11 &mdash; SIMMER, CharlieMINNESOTAGoattenders33 &mdash; BEAUPRE, Don27 &mdash; MELOCHE, GillesDefencemen3 &mdash; BARRETT, Fred2 &mdash; GILES, Curt4 &mdash; HARTSBURG, C.&mdash;Cpt.32 &mdash; MANDICH, Dan5 &mdash; MAXWELL, Brad10 &mdash; ROBERTS, Gord22 &mdash; SARGENT, GaryL. Wings7 &mdash; BROTEN, Neal16 &mdash; JARVIS, Wes18 &mdash; EAVES, Mike15 &mdash; SMITH, Bobby17 &mdash; YOUNG, TimR. Wings23 &mdash; BELLOWS, Brian20 &mdash; CICCARELLI, Dino21 &mdash; FERGUSON, George25 &mdash; MacADAM, AlL. Wings14 &mdash; DOUGLAS, Jordy31 &mdash; FRIEST, Ron11 &mdash; McCarthy, Tom29 &mdash; MILLER, Warren26 &mdash; PAYNE, Steve24 &mdash; PLETT, WilliMONTREALGoattenders33 &mdash; SEVIGNY, Richard1 &mdash; WAMSLEY, RickDefensemen27 &mdash; DELORME, Gilbert5 &mdash; GREEN, Rick17 &mdash; LUDWIG, Craig3 &mdash; NATTRESS, Ric24 &mdash; PICARD, Robert19 &mdash; ROBINSON, Larry18 &mdash; ROOT, BillL. Wings12 &mdash; ACTON, Keith21 &mdash; CARBONNEAU, Guy6 &mdash; MONDOU, Pierre25 &mdash; WICKENHEISER, DougR. Wings20 &mdash; HUNTER, Mark10 &mdash; LAFLEUR, Guy31 &mdash; NAPIER, Mark26 &mdash; NASLUND, Mats30 &mdash; NILAN, Chris14 &mdash; TREMBLAY, MarioL. Wings23 &mdash; GAINEY, Bob &mdash; Cpt.15 &mdash; HOULE, Rejean22 &mdash; SHUTT, Steve11 &mdash; WALTER, RyanNEW JERSEYGoaltenders30 &mdash; LOW, Ron.1 &mdash; RESCH, ChicoDefense25 &mdash; BRUMWELL, Murray26 &mdash; KITCHEN, Mike8 &mdash; LEVO, Tapio4 &mdash; LORIMER, Bob22 &mdash; PALMER, Rob6 &mdash; QUENNEVILLE, Joel5 &mdash; VADNAIS, CarolL. Wings23 &mdash; ANTONOVICH, Mike24 &mdash; BROTEN, Aaron10 &mdash; CAMERON, Dave16 &mdash; MEAGHER, Rick14 &mdash; TAMBELLINI, SteveR. Wings7 &mdash; LARMER, Jeff29 &mdash; LUDVIG, Jan11 &mdash; MacMILLAN, Bob20 &mdash; MARINI, Hector12 &mdash; VERBEEK, PatL. Wings15 &mdash; ASHTON, Brent17 &mdash; GAGNE, Paul88 &mdash; HOWATT, Garry9 &mdash; LEVER, Don &mdash; Cpt.27 &mdash; WENSINK, JohnNY ISLANDERSGoaltenders1 &mdash; MELANSON, Rolland31 &mdash; SMITH, BillyDefensemen4 &mdash; BOUTILIER, Paul3 &mdash; JONSSON, Tomas24 &mdash; LANE, Gord26 &mdash; LANGEVIN, Dave2 &mdash; McEWEN, Mike6 &mdash; MORROW, Ken7 &mdash; PERSSON, Stefan5 &mdash; POTVIN, D. &mdash; Cpt.L. Wings25 &mdash; CARROLL, Bill91 &mdash; GORING, Butch11 &mdash; MERRICK, Wayne21 &mdash; SUTTER, Brent19 &mdash; TROTTIER, BryanR. Wings22 &mdash; BOSSY, Mike28 &mdash; KALLUR, Anders23 &mdash; NYSTROM, Bob12 &mdash; SUTTER, DuaneL. Wings14 &mdash; BOURNE, Bob17 &mdash; GILBERT, Greg9 &mdash; GILLIES, Clark20 &mdash; HALLIN, Mats27 &mdash; TONELLI, JohnNY RANGERSGoaltenders1 &mdash; HANLON, Glen41 &mdash; MIO, EddieDefensemen6 &mdash; BAKER, Bill5 &mdash; BECK, Barry&mdash;Cpt.11 &mdash; CHARTRAW, Rick4 &mdash; GRESCHNER, Ron3 &mdash; KLEINENDORST, S.2 &mdash; LAIDLAW, Tom26 &mdash; MALONEY, Dave29 &mdash; RUOTSALAINEN, R.L. Wings19 &mdash; ALLISON, Ray23 &mdash; KONTOS, Chris34 &mdash; NEDOMANSKY, V.40 &mdash; PAVELICH, Mark27 &mdash; ROGERS, MikeR. Wings24 &mdash; ANDERSSON, K.E.21 &mdash; BACKMAN, Mike10 &mdash; DUGUAY, Ron15 &mdash; HEDBERG, Anders17 &mdash; JOHNSTONE, EdL. Wings22 &mdash; FOTIU, Nick28 &mdash; LEINONEN, Mikko12 &mdash; MALONEY, Don9 &mdash; McClanahan, RobPHILADELPHIAGoaltenders35 &mdash; FROESE, Bob33 &mdash; LAROCQUE, Michel31 &mdash; LINDBERGH, PelleDefensemen5 &mdash; BATHE, Frank29 &mdash; COCHRANE, Glen9 &mdash; DVORAK, Miroslav24 &mdash; HOFFMEYER, Bob2 &mdash; HOWE, Mark8 &mdash; MARSH, Brad10 &mdash; McCRIMMON, Brad3 &mdash; WILSON, BehnL. Wings14 &mdash; ALLISON, Mike18 &mdash; CARSON, Lindsay16 &mdash; CLARKE, Bobby25 &mdash; EVANS, Paul11 &mdash; FLOCKHART, Ron27 &mdash; SITTLER, DarrylR. Wings22 &mdash; GORENCE, Tom17 &mdash; HOLMGREN, Paul12 &mdash; KERR, TimL. Wings7 &mdash; BARBER, Bill&mdash;Cpt.26 &mdash; PROPP, Brian23 &mdash; SINISALO, Ilka15 &mdash; TAYLOR, MarkINJURED: Steve Bozek (LA), Gary Sargent, Al MacAdam (Min), Mark Hunter, Rejean Houle (Mtl), Gord Lane (NYI), John Davidson, Robbie Ftorek (NYR), Frank Bathe, Brad Marsh (Pha).PITTSBURGHGoaltenders29 &mdash; DION, Michel1 &mdash; HERRON, DenisDefensemen4 &mdash; BAXTER, Paul8 &mdash; BOYD, Randy25 &mdash; CARLYLE, R. &mdash; Cpt.16 &mdash; CHORNEY, Marc33 &mdash; FELTRIN, Tony6 &mdash; HOTHAM, Greg5 &mdash; MEIGHAN, RonL. Wings22 &mdash; BULLARD, Mike20 &mdash; GARDNER, Paul32 &mdash; HANNAN, Dave34 &mdash; ST. LAURENT, AndreR. Wings26 &mdash; GATZOS, Steve11 &mdash; HAKANSSON, Anders10 &mdash; LEE, Peter17 &mdash; KEHOE, Rick14 &mdash; SHEDDEN, DougL. Wings15&mdash; BOUTETTE, Pat12 &mdash; MALONE, Greg23 &mdash; RISSLING, GaryQUEBECGoattenders35 &mdash; BOUCHARD, Dan30 &mdash; MALARCHUK, C.Defensemen28 &mdash; DUPONT, A.&mdash;Cpt.4 &mdash; HAMEL, Jean21 &mdash; MOLLER, Randy29 &mdash; PICHETTE, Dave7 &mdash; PRICE, Pat5 &mdash; ROCHEFORT, N.2 &mdash; WEIR, Wally25 &mdash; WESLEY, BlakeL. Wings14 &mdash; AUBRY, Pierre32 &mdash; HUNTER, Dale33 &mdash; SOBCHUK, Dennis26 &mdash; STASTNY, P. &mdash; Cpt.R. Wings9 &mdash; CLOUTIER, Real27 Wilf23 &mdash; RICHARD, Jacques12 &mdash; SLEIGHER, Louis18 &mdash; STASTNY, MarianL. Wings19 &mdash; COTE, Alain&mdash; DAVID, Richard16 &mdash; GOULET, Michel20 &mdash; STASTNY, Anton8 &mdash; TARDIF, MarcST. LOUISGoaltenders31 &mdash; HEINZ, Rick1 &mdash; LIUT, MikeDefensemen16 &mdash; BROWNSCHILDE, J.2 &mdash; DORE, Andre4 &mdash; LAPOINTE, Guy5 &mdash; RAMAGE, Rob32 &mdash; VIGNEAULT, Alain34 &mdash; WILSON, RikL. Wings24 &mdash; FEDERKO, Bernie23 &mdash; LEMIEUX, Alain6 &mdash; PATEY, Larry21 &mdash; ZUKE, MikeR. Wings10 &mdash; BABYCH, Wayne26 &mdash; CROMBEEN, Mike19 &mdash; DUNLOP, Blake15 &mdash; REEDS, MarkL. Wings12 &mdash; ANDERSON, Perry20 &mdash; CARLSON, Jack18 &mdash; CRAWFORD, Bob22 &mdash; PETTERSSON, Jorgen11 &mdash; SUTTER, Brian &mdash; Cpt.9 &mdash; TURNBULL, PerryTORONTOGoaltenders29 &mdash; PALMATEER, Mike1 &mdash;ST. CROIX, RickDefensemen3 &mdash;BENNING, Jim23 &mdash; DURIS, Slava28 &mdash; FARRISH, Dave11 &mdash; GINGRAS, Gaston20 &mdash; KORN, Jim26 &mdash; MELROSE, Barry21 &mdash; SALMING, BorjeL. Wings24 &mdash; DAOUST, Dan19 &mdash; DERLAGO, Bill18 &mdash; IHNACAK, Peter8 &mdash; PODDUBNY, Walt7 &mdash; TERRION, GregR. Wings14 &mdash; FRYCER, Miroslav15 &mdash; HARRIS, Billy17 &mdash; HIGGINS, Paul22 &mdash; VAIVE, Rick &mdash; Cpt.L. Wings10 &mdash; ANDERSON, John9 &mdash; GAVIN, Stewart25 &mdash; MARTIN, TerryVANCOUVERGoaltenders35 &mdash; BRODEUR, Richard31 &mdash; GARRETT, JohnDefensemen15 &mdash; BELLAND, Neil29 &mdash; BUBLA, Jiri2 &mdash; HALWARD, Doug4 &mdash; LANZ, Rick13 &mdash; LINDGREN, Lars25 &mdash; McCarthy, Kevin3 &mdash; PETIT, Michel27 &mdash; SNEPSTS, HaroldL. Wings23 &mdash; GRADIN, Thomas21 &mdash; HLINKA, Ivan16 &mdash; KIRTON, Mark17 &mdash; SUNDSTROM, P.R. Wings&mdash; CURRIE, Tony19 &mdash; DELORME, Ron14 &mdash; MacDONALD, BJ.26 &mdash; MOLIN, Lars8 &mdash; NILL, Jim12 &mdash; SMYL, Stan&mdash;Cpt.9 &mdash; TANTI, TonyL. Wings7 &mdash; LUPUL, Gary18 &mdash; ROTA, Darcy22 &mdash; WILLIAMS, DaveWASHINGTONGoaltenders1 &mdash; RIGGIN, Pat35 &mdash; JENSEN, AlDefensemen17 &mdash; BLOMQVIST, Timo9 &mdash; ENGBLOM, Brian4 &mdash; HOLT, Randy5 &mdash; LANGWAY, Rod&mdash;Cpt.&mdash; MACKINNON, Paul3 &mdash; STEVENS, Scott20 &mdash; THEBERGE, GregL. Wings10 &mdash; CARPENTER, Bobby12 &mdash; CURRIE, Glen15 &mdash; HAWORTH, Alan25 &mdash; JARVIS, Doug66 &mdash; NOVY, Milan28 &mdash; VALENTINE, ChrisR. Wings11 &mdash; GARTNER, Mike23 &mdash; GOULD, Bobby19 &mdash; HOUSTON, KenL. Wings29 &mdash; BULLEY, Ted14 &mdash; DUCHESNE, Gaetan16 &mdash; GUSTAFSSON, B.18 &mdash; LAUGHLIN, Craig21 &mdash; MARUK, DennisWINNIPEGGoaltenders1 &mdash; HAYWARD, Brian33 &mdash; SOETAERT, DougDefensemen4 &mdash; CAMPBELL, Wade44 &mdash; BABYCH, Dave2 &mdash; MANTHA, Moe3 &mdash; MAXWELL, Bryan18 &mdash; SAVARD, Serge27 &mdash; SPRING, Don7 &mdash; WATTERS, TimL. Wings16 &mdash; BOSCHMAN, Laurie13 &mdash; CHRISTIAN, D.&mdash;Cpt.10 &mdash; HAWERCHUK, Dale25 &mdash; STEEN, Thomas24 &mdash; WILSON, RonR. Wings23 &mdash; DEBLOIS, Lucien15 &mdash; MacLEAN, Paul8 &mdash; MANN, JimmyL. Wings11 &mdash; ARNIEL, Scott28 &mdash; DUPONT, Normand12 &mdash; LUKOWICH, Morris17 &mdash; HOPKINS, Larry22 &mdash; LUNDHOLM, Bengt19 &mdash; MULLEN, Brian9 &mdash; SMAIL, DougINJURED: Kevin McClelland (Pit), Marian Stastny, Mario Marois (Que), Tim Bothwell, Joey Mullen (StL), Slava Duris, Gary Nylund (Tor), Darren Veitch (Was), Morris Lukowich (Wpg). &#9632;

NHL TEAM ROSTERS

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0036-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-01409/4670192-1-eng-US/f0036-012.jpg"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-02305/4670185-1-eng-US/f0036-022.jpg" title="f0036-02" width="1125" height="1089"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-03233/4670178-1-eng-US/f0036-032.jpg" title="f0036-03" width="514" height="232"></div> &#9632;

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MINOR SCOREBOARD

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-04160/4670223-1-eng-US/f0036-042.jpg" title="f0036-04" width="496" height="657"></div> &#9632;

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Who They’re Affiliated With …

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0036-05" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-05123/4670261-1-eng-US/f0036-052.jpg"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-01418/4670254-1-eng-US/f0038-012.jpg" title="f0038-01" width="2946" height="1502"></div> &#9632;

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AMATEUR SCOREBOARD

<h2>NATIONAL LEAGUE</h2>BUFFALO&mdash;Brent Peterson, C, released from hospital after suffering concussion. Dave Andreychuk, C, and Lindy Ruff, LW, returned from injury list.CHICAGO&mdash;Grant Mulvey, RW, returned from season-long stay on inI jury list and assigned to Springfield of AHL.EDMONTON&mdash;Don Nachbaur, C, recalled from Moncton of AHL.LOS ANGELES&mdash;Blair Barnes, RW, recalled from New Haven of AHL.MINNESOTA&mdash;Ron Friest, LW, returned from injury list. Al MacAdam, RW, on injury list. Jim Craig, G, signed as free agent. Wes Jarvis, C, and Warren Young, LW, recalled from Birmingham of CHL.NEW JERSEY&mdash;Garry Howatt, LW, and Pat Verbeek, RW, both recalled from Wichita of CHL and Sudbury of OHL, respectively.NY RANGERS&mdash;1Robbie Ftorek, C, sidelined for rest of season with strained knee ligaments. Mike Backman, RW, recalled from Tulsa of CHL as replacement. Ron Greschner, D, and Eddie Mio, G, back from from injury list. Steve Baker, G, returned to Tulsa.QUEBEC&mdash;Richard David, LW, and Dennis Sobchuk, C, recalled from Fredericton of AHL.ST. LOUIS&mdash;Bill Stewart, D, returned to Salt Lake of CHL.TORONTO&mdash;Reid Bailey, D, recalled from St. Catharines of AHL. Dave Farrish, D, sidelined with ankle injury.VANCOUVER&mdash;Neil Belland, D, Moe Lemay, LW, and Marc Crawford, LW, sent back to Fredericton of AHL. Michel Petit, D, returned to St. Jean of QHL. Rick Lanz, D, sidelined with knee injury but later returned to lineup. Tony Currie, RW, recalled from Fredericton. Garth Butcher, D, returned to Kamloops of WHL. Ivan Hlinka, C, back from injury list.WASHINGTON&mdash;Paul MacKinnon, D, recalled from Hershey of AHL. Doug Hicks, D, returned to Hershey.<h2>AMERICAN LEAGUE</h2>ADIRONDACK&mdash;Brian McDavid, D, assigned to Kalamazoo of IHL.FREDERICTON&mdash;Gaston Therrien, D, assigned to Milwaukee of IHL. Christian Tanguay, RW, sent to Milwaukee but later recalled under emergency conditions.HERSHEY&mdash;Larry Skinner, C, signed as free agent after returning from Austria. Mike Siltala, RW, assigned by Washington from Kingston of OHL.MONCTON&mdash;Neil Nicholson, D, signed as free agent after returning from Europe.NEW HAVEN&mdash;Glenn Goldup, LW, announced retirement from hockey. Don Waddell, D, recalled from Saginaw of IHL.ST. CATHARINES Brian McCafferty, D, sent to Saginaw of IHL.SHERBROOKE&mdash;Yves Dechene, G, assigned to Carolina of ACHL. Paul Bedard, RW, and Mike Walker, C, signed to pro tryouts from Concordia University.<h2>CENTRAL LEAGUE</h2>BIRMINGHAM&mdash;Mike Sands, G, assigned by Minnesota from Sudbury of OHL.INDIANAPOLIS&mdash;Ron Handy, LW, assigned by NY Islanders from Kingston of OHL.TULSA&mdash;Keith Knight, C, assigned by Calgary from Kingston of OHL. Jim Malone, C, out for season with shoulder separation. &#9632;

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April 8, 1983

Hartford Making Hierarchy Moves

SLAPSHOTS

Windy City Teams Unite On TV Front

World Championships