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.

December 16, 1983

The Hockey News December 16, 1983

<h2>DECEMBER</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-06169/4837429-1-eng-US/f0035-062.jpg" title="f0035-06" width="501" height="442"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-07158/4837422-1-eng-US/f0035-072.jpg" title="f0035-07" width="507" height="495"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-08138/4837415-1-eng-US/f0035-082.jpg" title="f0035-08" width="497" height="497"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-09131/4837408-1-eng-US/f0035-092.jpg" title="f0035-09" width="507" height="497"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-10116/4837401-1-eng-US/f0035-102.jpg" title="f0035-10" width="502" height="493"></div> &#9632;

f0035-06

IN THIS ISSUE

NHL GAMES TO COME

<div class="byline">BY ROBERT MacLEOD</div>TORONTO&mdash;It&rsquo;s a recurring problem every year the Blues face in the Ontario Universities Athletic Association.After dominating opposition during the regular season, come playoff time the Blues find themselves ill-prepared for the tougher competition and suffer an embarrassing defeat.That was the scenario last year for the Blues, the top-rated university outfit in Canada all season before losing the best-of-three OUAA championship in two games to upstart Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks.First-year coach Mike Keenan is aware of the pratfall&mdash;but isn&rsquo;t sure how to avoid it.&ldquo;Playing in the OUAA, there&rsquo;s not much you can do about it,&rdquo; said Keenan, who directed the Rochester Americans to the Calder Cup American Hockey League championship last season. &ldquo;The competition isn&rsquo;t all that great. We&rsquo;ll just try to play as many exhibition games as possible and hope that&rsquo;s enough.&rdquo;The Blues are off to their patented fast start again in 1983-84. With a 5-2 triumph over York Yeomen on Nov. 22&mdash;to raise their conference-leading record to 9-0&mdash;the Blues remain the only undefeated university team in Canada.In the first national rankings released by the Canadian Interuniversity Athletic Union, the Blues are back in their familiar No. 1 spot.In their nine games, Toronto has scored 84 goals. Fifth-year forward Andre Hidi leads the league with 27 points (12 goals, 15 assists). Some of the Blues&rsquo; more lopsided wins include a 16-2 thumping of Royal Military College Redmen and a 10-2 squeaker over Ryerson Rams.During the Christmas break, Keenan entered the Blues in a couple of tournaments&mdash;at Yale University and Colgate University&mdash;to help hone his team&rsquo;s skills.&ldquo;I think our league schedule should be more competitive in the second half of the season,&rdquo; said Keenan, pointing to two meetings the Blues have against Laurier in the new year, along with return engagements against York and Queen&rsquo;s Golden Gaels.The Blues enjoy a four-point lead over the second-place Golden Hawks (6-1-2), who stayed within striking distance of Toronto with a 5-2 win over Waterloo Warriors and a 4-2 verdict over McMaster Marlins. Mac (5-3-2), York(6-5) and Queens (5-4-2) are all tied for third place.<h2>AUAA</h2>New Brunswick Red Raiders (7-2) secured their hold on first place in the Atlantic Universities Athletic Association with a 4-1 win over defending champion Moncton Blue Eagles.Tied in second, four points back of the Raiders, are PEI Panthers (5-3), St. Francis Xavier X-Men (5-6) and Moncton (5-3).The Blue Eagles, who also lost 6-5 in overtime to Dalhousie Tigers (3-3), have not won in their last three games.<h2>QUAA</h2>With 5-2 and 8-1 decisions over Trois-Rivieres Patriotes, Concordia Stingers improved their record to 7-2 and regained a share of first place in the Quebec Universities Athletic Association with McGill Redmen (6-2-2).After tying Ottawa Gee-Gees 5-5, the Redmen came back with a 7-5 win over Chicoutimi Inuk, holding down third spot at 4-6-2.<h2>GPAC</h2>Brandon Bobcats lost some ground in the Great Plains Athletic Conference when they split a doubleheader with Lakehead Norwesters&mdash;losing the first game 6-5 before earning a 10-0 decision in the second. Tim Lenardon scored five goals in the Bobcat victory, lifting him into first place among GPAC scorers with 25 points (11 goals, 14 assists).Brandon lead the league with an 8-2 record, three points up on Manitoba Bisons. The Bisons (6-3-1) swept two from Winnipeg Wesmen&mdash;6-2 and 10-0.<h2>CWUAA</h2>Defending national champion Saskatchewan Huskies and Alberta Golden Bears continue to war in the Canada West Universities Athletic Association.After dropping both games of a doubleheader to Saskatchewan in Edmonton on the weekend of Nov. 18-19, the Golden Bears responded in kind when the series resumed in Saskatoon the Tollowing week with 4-3 and 8-3 victories.The Golden Bear victories deadlock them with Saskatchewan in first place (each with 6-2 records), four points ahead of third-place British Columbia Thunderbirds (4-4). &#9632;

Blues’ Coach Trying To Avoid The Pratfalls

<div class="byline">BILL FLEISCHMAN&#x2019;S</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-011268/4835463-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg" title="f0010-01" width="307" height="356"></div><h2>Counsellor Quinn</h2>THE LAST PLACE you expect to find a former National Hockey League coach is (a) aboard the latest space shuttle (b) playing drums with the Rolling Stones (c) in a college classroom.If you chose all of the above, you wouldn&rsquo;t be wrong. Some former coaches (and players) are crazy enough to try &ldquo;a&rdquo; and &ldquo;b,&rdquo; but &ldquo;c&rdquo; is unlikely. Oh, you may find a coach or two who is qualified to teach or lecture (Intimidation 101), but how many former coaches do you know who are law students? Say hello again to Pat Quinn.When last seen on official NHL duty, Quinn was coaching the Philadelphia Flyers. Then, just eight games before the end of the 1981-82 season, the Flyers fired him. People around the NHL were shocked. Firing coaches in the homestretch, or anytime, was something Los Angeles or Detroit would do, but not the stable Philadelphia Flyers. A mere two seasons before, the Flyers set an NHL record with a remarkable 35-game unbeaten streak. Quinn was the coach of that Flyer team. He&rsquo;s too young (40) to be senile. What was he doing for the two years after the 35-game unbeaten streak, gulping dumb pills?&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve never had a decent answer from the organization on why the decision was made so rapidly,&rdquo; Quinn said between classes at Widener University&rsquo;s Delaware Law School. &ldquo;We were in first place in January, then suddenly we hit a stretch where we couldn&rsquo;t win. Then Bobby Clarke was out for seven weeks.&rdquo;Sighing between puffs on a redwood-sized pipe, Quinn said, &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve learned that when you work for a man and you&rsquo;re not winning, he doesn&rsquo;t need a reason for firing you.&rdquo;When Quinn speaks about the Flyers, there is more disappointment than bitterness in his firm voice.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll never get over the disappointment of it,&rdquo; he says, &ldquo;but I don&rsquo;t suppose anyone ever would.&rdquo;<h2>Still A Flyer Fan</h2>LIVING IN THE Philadelphia suburbs, Quinn is still able to attend Flyer games at the Spectrum. These visits are also handy because he is able to keep an eye on where his checks are still coming from. Fired in the second year of a five-year contract, Quinn is reportedly collecting $100,000 a year. This tidy sum gives him a bit more spending money than your average law student.But the money doesn&rsquo;t help him study. While he is accepted by the other students&mdash;he even plays in their touch football league&mdash;Quinn is just another student to the professors. He either does the work or else he checks out. Slamming a professor into the bleachers won&rsquo;t work here.Like the other students, Quinn, now in his second year of law school, attends classes during the day and then studies in the evenings&mdash;frequently until 1:30 a.m.&mdash;and on weekends. On this day in class Quinn was dressed in his coaching uniform&mdash;a handsome blue three-piece suit&mdash;as he joined professor Ron Baron in lecturing on liability in sports injuries. Baron is a Delaware Law School graduate who tried to organize the United States Football League players last year&mdash;in their rookie season. Give Baron an A for hustle.Quinn shared with the students his opinions on the Tom Lysiak case, he talked about the Wilf Paiement-Dennis Polonich case and, naturally, he discussed fighting in hockey. When he was an NHL defenseman, he survived by playing a physical game. As a young player, Quinn admitted he loved fighting.&ldquo;I always believed that fighting had a place in the game if it wasn&rsquo;t abused,&rdquo; Quinn said. &ldquo;We thought you settled things with your fists so you wouldn&rsquo;t use sticks as weapons. But the next generation of players is going to be more fundamentally sound, so maybe the answer is to get out of fighting.&rdquo;<h2>He&rsquo;s Gone Soft</h2>IMAGINE THE REACTION from Quinn&rsquo;s playing contemporaries when they hear this. &ldquo;Ah, the big guy&rsquo;s gone soft,&rdquo; they&rsquo;ll grumble. Not soft&mdash;smarter, like a good law student. If fighting is banned Quinn stresses that a strict set of rules will have to be implemented to prevent the suspected increased use of stick-swinging. Quinn believes a tribunal from within hockey would be necessary to administer justice and keep stick-related injuries out of the courts.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t have the answer,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;but we&rsquo;re going to have to come up with them. It should be kept out of the courts.&rdquo;It&rsquo;s clear that despite his pride-pounding experience with the Flyers, Quinn still has a genuine affection for hockey. This affection makes law school even more difficult because Quinn keeps on eye on the law books and the other eye on the sports pages where he follows the NHL. Last summer he was mentioned for the coaching vacancies in Minnesota and St. Louis. Now, his latest reported destination is New Jersey where he would move in as the Devil general manager. Bob Butera, the Devils&rsquo; president, was president of the Flyers when Quinn was their coach.Quinn admits hockey is still, pardon the expression, in his blood.&ldquo;I miss coaching a lot,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I liked the day-to-day work with the players. I felt 1 had the ability to teach. But I don&rsquo;t say 1 have to coach to join an organization.The &ldquo;right opportunity,&rdquo; as Quinn describes it, will have to be one he has some control over.&ldquo;What bothered me when 1 was coaching,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;was the fact that the coach&rsquo;s job itself was held by a lot of people in such low esteem. Too often you get defensive little people who think you&rsquo;re prying into their little comer. That&rsquo;s why some teams don&rsquo;t get to the top&mdash;too many guys are operating under the protect-your-own-butt syndrome. I don&rsquo;t want to tell a guy how to do his job, but I want to tell them where we &lsquo;re going and what we need.&rdquo;Pat Quinn wasn&rsquo;t the perfect coach with Philadelphia. He could be stubborn and he was reluctant to tell some of the talented young players to either play his way or find a seat in the press box. But the word in the Flyers&rsquo; locker room was if you couldn&rsquo;t play for Pat Quinn, you couldn&rsquo;t play for anybody. Quinn has learned from his first NHL coaching experience. He has learned about people and he is learning about law. The man has an impressive resume, wouldn&rsquo;t you say, your honor? &#9632;

f0010-01

HOCKEY WORLD

<div class="byline">BY LOU VAIRO</div>Our road-trip ending five-games-in-five days schedule gave the team a real opportunity to test its character and will, a challenge everyone involved rose to admirably.The first day we faced highly-rated Boston University in the beautiful Centrum at Worcester, MA. Over 8,000 fans came out to cheer both teams. We had a very strong second period and were able to beat BU 10-2 with an explosive scoring spree.We played our last eastern college game on our schedule the next night in Providence, RI, in front of an standing-room only crowd of 11,000 (the building seats 10,281). The Providence College hockey program is a very thorough one and they put on a nice production for our game against the Friars, which we won 7-1. Each player was introduced in a spotlight and Kurt Kleinendorst, Rich Costello, Paul Guay and assistant coach Bob O&rsquo;Connor, all former PC players, were presented with Providence Friar jerseys with their names on the back. The reception was very nice and made us feel good, especially for our Providence players. Both of the Friar goalies were severely tested in the game and played well.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-02827/4835814-1-eng-US/f0016-022.jpg" title="f0016-02" width="299" height="359"><figcaption class="caption-body">Lou Vairo&rsquo;s Coach&rsquo;s Corner</figcaption></div>Our last three contests were against Team Canada in Toronto, Montreal and Moncton. It was an honor for Team USA and our staff to play in two of the world&rsquo;s greatest arenas, Maple Leaf Gardens and the Montreal Forum. In Montreal, chills ran up my spine just by looking at all the Stanley Cup banners hanging from the rafters.Team USA chipped in a 3-1 win in Toronto. We got the breaks and checked well in the game. We proved that the label of being a poor-checking team, which we resent, is not correct. We have allowed seven goals in a game only once (against Detroit Red Wings), five goals just four times and four or less the rest of the time. While there is certainly room for improvement in this area, as is the case with most hockey teams, we feel we are a very decent checking team.Goalie Marc Behrend played well in this game and played spectacularly in the game in Moncton&mdash;a 2-1 USA win&mdash;never allowing a rebound.The team was saddened by the passing of assistant coach Doug Woog&rsquo;s 96-year-old grandmother. Doug left from Toronto to return home for the services.In Montreal the next night, we were beaten 5-4 as Canada converted its chances well. While in this great city a few members of our team visited the family Pat LaFontaine lived with last year, the Boyers of Verdun. They showed us a very warm reception. They are such nice people.Leaving Montreal for Moncton we experienced an aggravating delay at the airport&mdash;which is part of life on the road&mdash;so when we arrived in New Brunswick we went straight to the arena for our afternoon game.LaFontaine, David A. Jensen and Mark Kumpel sat out the final game and Scott Bjugstad had already gone home to rest his injured knee, so we had a lot of firepower out of the lineup. Then Paul Guay and Kurt Kleinendorst were both injured late in the first period of the game (Kleinendorst suffered a separated shoulder and will miss two to four weeks). We were badly outplayed in that period but Behrend&rsquo;s play allowed us to sneak out a 1-0 lead.In the locker room between periods 1 told the team that we could easily accept losing because we were tired and looking forward to going home, but it would be a test of their character to try to win despite everything. The team really responded, playing the best period of hockey we&rsquo;ve played in awhile.In the third period, Canada pressured us but Behrend continued with the kind of goaltending a team needs to be successful and we won the game.It was a nice ending (11-1 record) to a long, hard road trip. We are delighted with the progress the team is making and the spirit and character it is showing.John Harrington, Tom Hirsch and Bob Brooke returned to action on the trip and are regaining the form they showed before getting hurt.We are finding that injuries, provided they are not serious, can be a blessing in disguise because they offer a chance to rest in the course of a busy season.<h2>TEAM USA</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-03653/4835807-1-eng-US/f0016-032.jpg" title="f0016-03" width="536" height="672"></div><h2>GOALTENDING RECORDS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-04514/4835800-1-eng-US/f0016-042.jpg" title="f0016-04" width="528" height="295"></div> &#9632;

f0016-02

Everyone Responded Admirably To The Test

&ldquo;With the talent that we have, you can&rsquo;t expect much better results. Right now, we have too many young players and too many older ones who are going to have difficulty doing more than they have done up until now. Where are the seven or eight players who are 25 or 26, who should be entering the peak of their careers? If you are going to wait for me to improve my game and do something more than I am showing you every night, you are going to wait a long time.&rsquo;&rsquo;Montreal Canadien captain Bob Gainey, discussing his team&rsquo;s shortcomings this season. Story on Page 10. &#9632;

Quote Of The Week

<div class="byline">FRANK ORR&#x2019;S</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-011190/4834834-1-eng-US/f0002-012.jpg" title="f0002-01" width="309" height="363"></div><h2>A December Look</h2>A FEW FEATURES that caught one&rsquo;s fancy in a National Hockey League season moving all too swiftly towards the halfway mark.&bull; It wasn&rsquo;t a misprint at the bottom of the fine-print hockey summary that gave the attendance for a game between the Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit at 21,019. That was the real thing, just as an average of more than 17,700 for Wing games this season is the real thing.A team that has been at the. 500 mark this season has the folks in Detroit back on the hockey beam again, indicating that it&rsquo;s been a good hockey town forever. Makes you wonder how and why previous owner Bruce Norris allowed the team to sink so low.&bull; Wing general manager Jim Devellano wasn&rsquo;t venting any spleen but he wonders where all the wise guys who knocked his off-season deal with the New York Rangers are now. The Wings got goalie Ed Mio, forwards Ron Duguay and Ed Johnstone in exchange for forwards Mark Osborne and Mike Blaisdell and defenseman Willie Huber.&ldquo;Haven&rsquo;t heard anything lately from the guys who said we were robbed in that trade,&rdquo; Devellano said. &ldquo;The three guys we got have really helped our hockey club.&rdquo;&bull; Canadian citizens undoubtedly are sleeping much more soundly these nights knowing that our government watchdogs are tackling the real gut issues of the day, such as the dopey investigation of the NHL because Saskatoon didn&rsquo;t get the St. Louis Blues. What&rsquo;s next? An investigation of why good horse manure for my flower beds costs so much?&bull; Which comic has the routine that&rsquo;s become the most tired and worn out? Rodney Dangerfield and his &ldquo;I get no respect&rdquo; or Don Cherry and his &ldquo;Harry Sinden is a dumb guy&rdquo; gags. Besides, Grapes, it&rsquo;s been established rather convincingly that Harry is hardly the village idiot!<h2>Toe&rsquo;s Place Goes</h2>&bull; A RATHER SAD event in Montreal. The tavern owned by Hector (Toe) Blake, one of the great people ever involved in the game as a player, coach and fine guy, was urban renewed out of existence. A super place for suds and some solid groceries and if the city of Montreal knew what it was doing, the spot would have a historical site designation.&bull; The &ldquo;Sutter attitude?&rdquo; Hockey&rsquo;s greatest brother act is led by its senior member, Brian, the hard-boot of the St. Louis Blues. Brian might or might not have had a cracked pelvis but he played anyway.&bull; A good thing about the Blues staying alive in St. Louis? Susie Mathieu, the classy director of public relations for the team, stays in hockey, instead of defecting to football.&bull; The Game, Ken Dryden&rsquo;s brilliant book, is near the top of the Canadian non-fiction bestseller list and probably will be the top selling hockey book ever. Another &ldquo;don&rsquo;t miss&rdquo; work this fall is The Last Season, an exceptional novel by Roy MacGregor.&bull; Buffalo Sabres&rsquo; reconstruction program must be ahead of the schedule that even GM-coach Scotty Bowman had plotted for his team. The Sabres are a legitimate contender for first place in the Adams Division.<h2>A Middle Step</h2>&bull; SOMEHOW, THE NHL and the junior leagues need a compromise on the drafting of teenage players that would allow some of the kids to spend time in the minor pro leagues while still eligible for junior hockey.As it stands now, it&rsquo;s the NHL or junior and for the development of some lads, a month in the American or Central Leagues, not a return to junior, would be the best thing.&bull; Seems a waste, doesn&rsquo;t it, that the new Olympic Saddledome in Calgary has a European-sized ice surface that&rsquo;s chopped down to NHL size? It would be interesting to see the ice expanded for a half dozen or so NHL games. However, the bigger ice surface places a higher priority on skill and some teams undoubtedly would balk at the larger pond.&bull; Want a little nostalgia? When was the last time you saw an NHL player cut out of the comer, the way Red Berenson once did, and pick a high part of the net with a backhand shot or set up a goal with a nifty backhand pass, the way Jean Ratelle did it?&bull; Where in hell is the Sports Illustrated story that&rsquo;s supposed to blow the doors off Alan Eagleson? For the past 18 months, the yam has been mentioned in some quarters as being a blockbuster but it has yet to appear.&bull; Is there a tougher dude in the world than Tom McVie? Who else would take on the job of coaching New Jersey Devils after working with Washington Capitals and Win-nin Jets in the davs when they were the NHL doormats? &#9632;

f0002-01

HOCKEY VIEWPOINT

<div class="byline">BY JAY GREENBERG</div>PHILADELPHIA&mdash;Who really thought he still would be here at 34? He has a body that does not produce enough insulin to keep him alive, one that is undersized, really, for the demands he has put upon it for 15 seasons. A body that was sure to betray him long before he felt he had nothing left to give.How does Bobby Clarke go on? The cliche says it&rsquo;s because he&rsquo;s been willing to pay the price, but this is a guy who was shortchanged by nature. He has had to put in $1.10 for a buck those more blessed had to spend. From what we knew or thought we knew about diabetes, he surely would be bankrupt by age 30.Bobby Clarke is a remarkable athlete, one his sport might never see again. But he is 34, human, and not bottomless. The toll was obvious over the last 20 games and the playoffs last season. And recently we&rsquo;ve wondered whether we were seeing it again.And then the Flyers came to Edmonton for a game they thought was important. And Clarke reached down, as he has done so many times before, and his oversized heart pumped blood into every Flyer artery.It wasn&rsquo;t a win, despite Clarke&rsquo;s two goals. Paul Coffey put a 45-footer through a screen and over goalie Bob Froese&rsquo;s shoulder with only 49 seconds left to pull out a tie. But the Flyers stood strong in the Oiler tornado that regularly blows teams away. As they stretched their unbeaten string to four&mdash;all on the road&mdash;and showed signs of putting together a run for the Patrick Division lead, they had every reason to feel excellent about themselves.The Flyers, to a man, all played well. But fittingly, as dominant players of two eras passed in the cold Edmonton night, Clarke and Wayne Gretzky, who had a goal and an assist, were the difference.&ldquo;When they nail Bobby in his coffin, he&rsquo;ll still be kicking,&rdquo; Edmonton coach Glen Sather said. &ldquo;Actually, that whole line played well.&rdquo;It consisted of three dinosaurs&mdash;Clarke, Bill Barber and Rick MacLeish. Paul Holmgren had to step into Mac-Leish&rsquo;s place on the right side three nights later in Pittsburgh when it was discovered that MacLeish suffered a cracked foot bone in the Edmonton game. But it was Barber, who had just been reunited with Clarke for the Oilers, who appeared to respond the most to the change.&ldquo;They played together (with Mac Leish) at training camp and had a couple of big nights,&rdquo; Flyer coach Bob McCam-mon said. &ldquo;And to beat the Oilers, you&rsquo;re going to have to score some goals. Barber played much better than he has in awhile.Barber felt so, too. And he was not shy about confessing the reason.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve played with Bobby so much in my career that I don&rsquo;t have to think about where to go next,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I can just react and keep moving.&rdquo;Clarke had been getting his points, but until the Oiler game there had been only scattered nights when he was the vintage in-your-face No. 16. One can already see McCammon, who learned the hard way last April, trying to reduce Clarke&rsquo;s workload.He has been taken off the power play and is now usually in the third, not the first, set of penalty killers. In the 8-5 victory in Calgary the night before the Edmonton tie, the Dave Poulin and Ron Sutter lines were rolling, so Clarke spent most of the third period on the bench.&ldquo;Nights when he&rsquo;s jumping, you&rsquo;ve got to use him a lot,&rdquo; McCammon said. &ldquo;He wasn&rsquo;t getting much done in Cal-gary and I knew we&rsquo;d have a tough game here so 1 didn&rsquo;t use him much in the third period.&ldquo;The way Ronnie Sutter is coming along, 1 don&rsquo;t have to put as much demand on Bobby. This way I can be sure that in the big games he&rsquo;ll come up big.&rdquo;The coach also said that come March, Clarke will rest. Not for games, but for most of the practices. This has happened before and the only way to keep Clarke away from the rink may be to fine him for showing up. But for now, at least, Clarke says he&rsquo;ll go along with it. And if McCammon is smart, he&rsquo;ll hold his captain out of a game or three the last two weeks of the season, too.ICEBERGS&mdash;Rick MacLeish, who responded to a three-game benching with goals in the first two games after his reinstatement, will be out approximately three weeks. Mark Howe, who missed four games with a groin pull, is expected back this week&hellip;Bunny Larocque has been farmed out to Springfield to give him some work. Another team has shown some interest in Larocque and a trade may be near&hellip;Frank Bathe underwent surgery to remove a herniated disc in his back. The doctors think he could be ready to play again in nine weeks&hellip;Lindsay Carson, who has been out since Oct. 15 with a broken left arm, had the cast removed last week. Carson is still at least two weeks away from resuming real workouts&hellip;The Hyers spruced up their penalty killing with a 15-for-17 stretch on the four-game trip.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-011209/4834865-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg" title="f0003-01" width="588" height="836"><figcaption class="caption-body">Bobby Clarke is still a key player for the Flyers despite a reduced workload.</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0003-01

Clarke Still Shows You Gotta Have Heart

<div class="byline">BY TIM MORIARTY</div>LONG ISLAND&mdash;It was May in December. Only the weather had changed. Instead of flowers blooming in bright spring sunlight there was a light cover of snow on the ground when the Islanders and the Oilers met for the first time this season at the Northlands Coliseum. And after the Islanders beat the Oilers 4-2, nobody appeared surprised.&ldquo;What surprised me was that we were so uptight,&rdquo; said Oiler coach Glen Sather. &ldquo;The score might have flattered us.&rdquo;It was the Oilers&rsquo; first regular-season defeat on their home ice in 23 consecutive games dating back to last Feb. 3, when they bowed 7-4 to the Kings.The Islanders also halted Wayne Gretzky, who had six shots and no goals. Those were the same numbers he totalled last spring in the four games the Islanders needed to wipe out the Oilers in the Stanley Cup finals.&ldquo;We learned a lot in the playoffs against the Islanders,&rdquo; hockey&rsquo;s greatest goal-scorer said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re still learning from them. We made four mistakes in this game and they scored four times.&rdquo;Duane Sutter got the Islanders off to a flying start when he scored two goals 38 seconds apart in the first 86 seconds. Then the Islanders snoozed for awhile, allowing the Oilers to tie the score at two. But the Islanders went ahead to stay when Butch Goring set up a goal by John Tonelli late in the second period.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s always the same guys who beat us,&rdquo; Gretzky said. &ldquo;The Sutters and Tonelli and Goring. They grind it out.&rdquo;The Oilers&rsquo; goals were scored by defensemen Paul Coffey and Lee Fogolin. That didn&rsquo;t surprise Gretzky.&ldquo;The Islanders know how to pick up our forwards and take our cross-ice passes away from us,&rdquo; he said.Added Fogolin: &ldquo;Yeah, their forechecking was great. Hey, the Islanders are one of the great teams in history. One of these days we&rsquo;ll have to beat them.&rdquo;But when? The Islanders have now beaten the Oilers eight consecutive times, including the playoffs. Edmonton&rsquo;s last victory over the Islanders came almost two years ago&mdash;on Dec. 13, 1981, when Gretzky&rsquo;s last-minute goal carried the Oilers to a 4-3 win.Most of the Islanders accepted their latest victory over the Oilers calmly.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s only December,&rdquo; coach Al Arbour said. &ldquo;But I was pleased with the way we cut off certain things on the Oilers. We have been erratic lately, but we played very disciplined hockey against Edmonton.&rdquo;Only Duane Sutter did a little crowing. He was entitled.&ldquo;We showed them we&rsquo;re still the champs,&rdquo; said the right winger who had two game-winning goals against the Oilers last season.The game lost some of its lustre when Arbour stuck to his goalie rotation and started Roland Melanson. The Edmonton fans were thus denied a chance to boo Bill Smith, who watched the game from the radio booth. Melanson played well, totalling 35 saves to Grant Fuhr&rsquo;s 33.The Islanders opened a six-game road trip, their longest of the year, by settling for a 5-5 tie at St. Louis, then looked completely disorganized in dropping a 6-2 decision at Calgary.Three goals by Brent Sutter helped the Islanders gain a 4-1 lead over the Blues. But St. Louis fought back and pulled out the tie on Bernie Federko&rsquo;s third goal of the night with 1:19 left to play in the third period.&ldquo;That first period was one of our best this season,&rdquo; Arbour said. &ldquo;But I guess our guys figured the job was done, so they stood around and watched. We also did some stupid things and took some unwise penalties.&rdquo;The Islander coach displayed more anger after his team&rsquo;s loss to the Flames.&ldquo;We were lousy in all areas, from the goaltender (Smith) out,&rdquo; Arbour said. &ldquo;What bothers me is we&rsquo;re so passive. We don&rsquo;t initiate anything. Imagine a team like Calgary, which isn&rsquo;t too physical, outmuscling us in the first period. What do we do? Nothing.&rdquo;Some of the Islanders agreed with their coach.&ldquo;It was an absolute shambles out there,&rdquo; Denis Potvin said. &ldquo;We were the bowling pins and they were the ball.&rdquo;Said Bob Bourne: &ldquo;Our trouble is we&rsquo;re thinking negative thoughts. We&rsquo;re afraid of getting scored on. Here we are battling for first place and we&rsquo;re too dam negative.&rdquo;ON THE ISLE&mdash;Mike Bossy&rsquo;s 15-game point-scoring streak was snapped in Calgary. He also suffered a cut nose when Paul Baxter bounced him off the sideboards at the new Saddledome. Following this road trip, the Islanders play five consecutive home games, beginning with a rematch against the Oilers Dec. 13. &#9632;

Isles Continue To Overpower The Oilers

<div class="byline">BY JOHN GILBERT</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-021002/4834896-1-eng-US/f0003-022.jpg" title="f0003-02" width="564" height="789"><figcaption class="caption-body">Outstanding production from center Neal Broten has sparked the North Stars.</figcaption></div>MINNESOTA&mdash;The North Stars have returned to their rightful place among the National Hockey League&rsquo;s elite teams. And while it has nothing to do with the club&rsquo;s broadcast policies, credit must go to the MBC Network.The team&rsquo;s fight song should be three chime tones for M (as in Tom McCarthy), B (as in Neal Broten) and C (as in Dino Ciccarelli).The day the North Stars traded Bobby Smith, general manager Lou Nanne talked to coach Bill Mahoney before practice.Mahoney was in the process of juggling lines for the team which was off to a slow 3-6-1 start. Nanne, who is maintaining a coach-calls-the-shots distance from the club&rsquo;s tactical game, stressed one thing: He wanted Smith to play regular shifts because he had some other offers for the big center if the pending Montreal deal fell through.So in the process, Mahoney juggled things and wound up putting together a different line of Broten at center, McCarthy at left wing and Ciccarelli at right wing.When the Smith trade went through later that day, the Broten-McCarthy-Ciccarelli line stayed intact. And. impressive as Keith Acton and Mark Napier have been since they were obtained for Smith, the North Stars have primarily been clicking because of the MBC Network.The Stars lost the first game after the trade, but have risen from that 3-7-1 record by losing only three of their next 16 games, with that 11-3-2 ledger boosting them to an overall 14-10-3 mark.While that line has been clicking, the Stars have been living dangerously, coming from three-goal deficits to either win or tie in four of nine games. That string finally ran out when the Stars lost 6-4 to the Rangers in Madison Square Garden, snapping, a string of 5-0-1 in road games for the team that once was tough at home but a patsy on the road.McCarthy got two goals and Ciccarelli one&mdash;his 20th&mdash;in the comeback that fell short in New York. One day earlier, Ciccarelli and Broten potted two goals apiece with Brian Bellows also chipping in a pair, as the Stars stunned the Bruins 6-2 in Boston.For the season, the North Stars&rsquo; scoring race has become, predictably, a three-man charge. Ciccarelli has 20 goalsand 35 points, McCarthy 17goals and 35 points and Broten one point back with 13 goals and 34 points.Earlier in the week, in the process of overcoming a 4-1 Pittsburgh lead at Met Center, the Stars zoomed back for five goals in the third period to win 6-4. McCarthy had two goals and Ciccarelli one. But the sixth goal told the most about what&rsquo;s going on with the Stars these days.Broten broke up the left boards with a semi-breakaway at an open net. A defender scrambled back, but Broten had an odds-on chance to score. Instead, he took a glance and slid a perfect pass to the slot for Bellows who slammed it home.It was Broten&rsquo;s fourth assist of the night.The flip side of the great comeback story of course is that the Stars tend to get behind. It&rsquo;s something Mahoney is aware of.&ldquo;The facts are obvious,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We seem relaxed to be just watching play for awhile. As Curt Giles said, This club needs a challenge. We seem to need to create our own challenges.&ldquo;You can see it take place. When we&rsquo;re going good we win in the corners, we&rsquo;re better on faceoffs. But launching into that takes some doing. I&rsquo;m sure the fans love it and it must be good for concessions because nobody leaves even if we get behind.&rdquo;Goaltender Gilles Meloche just shook his head.&ldquo;We fall asleep,&rdquo; he laughed. &ldquo;Then when we wake up, the other team doesn&rsquo;t touch the puck.&rdquo;But if the Stars qualify as the Not Ready for the Start of Prime Time Players, they can thank their MBCNetwork for tuning them in. &#9632;

f0003-02

North Stars Tune In To ‘MBC Network’

<div class="byline">BY NEIL MILBERT</div>CHICAGO&mdash;When the Black Hawks left on their six-game road trip in late November, they were one-point behind first-place Minnesota in the Norris Division.When they hobbled home, they were looking at a seven-point deficit.While the Hawks were on a 1-4-1 downer, the North Stars made up for a miserable start by compiling a 4-1-1 record.The circumstances were similar at this stage of last season, except then it was the Hawks who sped ahead, forcing Minnesota to play a futile game of catch-up for the remainder of the season.The Hawks managed to get the monkey of their backs on the road. Led by the goaltending of Murray Bannerman, they shut out the New York Rangers 4-0 for their first victory on alien ice in 13 attempts.They had an 0-10-2 to show for their previous road games and had been winless (0-4-2) in their previous six games, one of which was at home.They won without Denis Savard, their most dynamic player, who was shelved because of the lower back injury he sustained the preceding night when the Hawks lost 3-2 to New Jersey, the second loss to the Devils this season.But what the Hawks lacked in excitement against the Rangers, they made up in determination. Bannerman stopped 33 shots and rebounds were few and far between. The forechecking was constant and the penalty killers erased four minor infractions.On offense, the Hawks were opportunists. Darryl Sutter scored his seventh goal and Rick Patterson bagged his third in the opening period. In the final period, Steve Larmer broke away to tally his 15th and Steve Ludzik got his first at the expense of Ranger goalie Steve Weeks.In addition to Savard, coach Orval Tessier was without the centers from his second and third lines. Tom Lysiak was serving the second game of his suspension and Troy Murray was back in Chicago, recoyering from the strained knee ligaments he received in Buffalo, the second stop on the trip.Tessier&rsquo;s revamped lines saw Ludzik spelling Savard between Larmer and Denis Cyr. Larmer and Ludzik had been junior hockey linemates with Niagara Falls of the Ontario League and with American League champion New Brunswick two years ago.The old combination clicked.&ldquo;Basically, playing with Stevie Ludzik was like riding a bike,&rdquo; said Larmer. &ldquo;He still plays the same way. It was kinda nice to be alongside him again.&rdquo;Defenseman Behn Wilson returned from the lineup after missing the first four games of the trip because of a suspension. Tessier thought his presence provided a substantial lift.&ldquo;Behn is very disciplined and a real good team man,&rdquo; Tessier said. &ldquo;He gave us that extra toughness. The other players know that if it gets tough out there, Behn will be there to do something.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve tried my damdest to impress upon the players that this slump we&rsquo;ve been in isn&rsquo;t the end of the world. When we get Denis Savard and Al Secord. Troy Murray and Curt Fraser back, we&rsquo;ll be as good as anybody in the league. If we can keep Bannerman hot in the meantime, it will be a big boost.&rdquo;&ldquo;This couldn&rsquo;t have come at a better time,&rdquo; Bannerman said of the sixth shutout of his National Hockey League career, which snapped a personal 0-9-1 string. &ldquo;Orval expects a lot of his whole team and when someone doesn&rsquo;t live up to expectations he lets everyone know. Unfortunately, a couple of games I messed up. Orval adds pressure but it&rsquo;s something you have to learn to live with. I try to let it go in one ear and let it out the other and just keep working as hard as I can.&rdquo;The Hawks reverted to their losing ways on the final game of the trip. Unable to hold an early two-goal lead, they lost 3-2 in Quebec.For the first two months of the season, the big difference between this year and last for the Hawks was their lack of defense. Ironically, except for the night that they were bombed 9-3 by New York Islanders, the Hawks played sound, defensive hockey on this six-game trip yet had only two points to show for it.Bannerman worked every game expect the Islander massacre and had a goals-against average of 2.60. Last year, he lead the division with a 3.10 GAA.&ldquo;If I had played this well last year, we&rsquo;d have won every game,&rdquo; Bannerman lamented. &#9632;

Hawks Finally Get Monkev Of Their Backs

THE INTERNATIONAL HOCKEY WEEKLYFounded in 1947 by Kenneth W. McKenziePUBLISHERDean HeineCONTROLLERTony DobranowskiEDITOR IN CHIEFBob McKenzieEDITORIAL DIRECTORCharlie HalpinASSISTANT EDITORPerry LefkoCONTRIBUTING EDITORSStan Fischler. Frank OrrADVERTISING SALES MANAGERRandy GreenADVERTISING SERVICES MANAGEREsther SumkaADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVESCanadian Consumer Product Sales:CCMC. Kim Locke. 43 Madison Ave.,Toronto. Ontario M5R 2S2 (416) 961-5141SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES MANAGERPaula HeardNEWSSTAND SERVICES MANAGEREsther SumkaCIRCULATION DEPARTMENTKathy NiklesRosanne TaninoACCOUNTING DEPARTMENTTom MoffatMary CarubiaSPECIAL PROJECTS MANAGERElaine WatkinsonADVERTISING AND EDITORIAL OFFICES85 Scarsdale Rd., Suite 100Toronto. Ontario. CanadaM3B 2R2(416) 445-5702EXECUTIVE OFFICE850 Third AvenueNew York. New York10022DISTRIBUTORDistributed nationally by Disticor101 Duncan Mill Rd., Suite L4Don Mills. Ont., M3B 143(416) 449-6430THE HOCKEY NEWS, (ISSN 0018-3016) is published weekly except monthly June through September by W.C.C. Publishing Ltd., 85 Scarsdale Road # 100. Toronto. Ontario. Canada M3B 2R2 (416) 445-5702. In U.S. c/o W.C.C Publishing Corp., 850 Third Ave., New York. N.Y. 10022.40 ISSUE SUBSC RIPTION RATES: $22.95 in the U.S.A. $22.95 in Canada. $39.95 in Foreign Countries. Send all Canadian and Foreign subscription orders to THE HOCKEY NEWS. P.O. Box 13055. Postal Station &lsquo;A&rsquo;. Toronto, Ont. M5W 1V7. U.S. subscription requests should be mailed to Box 904. Buffalo, N.Y. 14240. Please allow 4-6 weeks for processing.SEND ADDRESS CHANGES TO THE HOC KEY NEWS, 85 Scarsdale Road #100. 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. #100. Toronto. Ontario. Canada M3B 2R2.IN THE UNITED STATES: Second class postage paid at New York. N.Y. and at additional mailing offices. U.S. POSTMASTER send address change to: The Hockey News. P.O. Box 904. Buffalo. N.Y. 14240.Member of the Audit Bureau of Circulations &#9632;

The Hockey News

<div class="byline">BY PERRY LEFKO</div>TORONTO&mdash;Mama Maple Leaf looked at all the laundry bags and knew her boys were home.After playing nine of 13 games on the road in November, the Leafs have a chance to put their feet up on the furniture and relax as they&rsquo;ll reverse that with nine of 13 games at home in December.The Leafs beat the Wings 5-3 on Nov. 30 in Detroit and concluded a critical five-game stretch against Norris Division opponents with three wins and two losses but easily could have had four victories had they not squandered a three-goal lead against Minnesota at the Gardens on Nov. 26.The Leafs lost their offensive zip that night and fell into the same lapse when they played Vancouver at home on Dec. 3. The Leafs led 2-1 after the first period, but the Canucks bounced back with three goals in the second while the Leafs replied twice. A Rick Vaive hummer tied it for the Leafs in the third and the game went into overtime for the second consecutive game at the Gardens. The game remained deadlocked in a 5-5 tie and the Leafs are now 0-1-3 in overtime affairs.The Leafs, while they should have polished off the Canucks, had an excuse&mdash;they were lulled into a deep sleep by Vancouver&rsquo;s plodding play. It is the trademark of Roger Neilson&mdash;the former Leaf coach&mdash;who had an ally this night in the officiating.&ldquo;Our type of hockey is different because we want to play hockey,&rdquo; Leaf coach Mike Nykoluk fumed after the game. &ldquo;The guy who has the puck is the only guy who should be hit. It was terrible to see a game like that.&ldquo;Everybody should go to Vancouver with the same thing, just ice the thing every time you get the bloody puck in your own end. See how many fans turn out for their games.&rdquo;Nykoluk wasn&rsquo;t half as outraged with the Canucks as he was with the officiating.&ldquo;I&rsquo;d have to say they could have been called for 20 minors easily in that game for what was happening out there and that&rsquo;s ridiculous,&rdquo; Nykoluk said.Officiating withstanding, the Leafs realize they must overcome their passivity and deliver the knockout punch.&ldquo;We get ahead a goal or two and we just seem to relax and think it&rsquo;s going to be easy,&rdquo; said Bill Derlago, the Leafs&rsquo; center who&rsquo;s responded well to the conversion from center to left wing. &ldquo;We. don&rsquo;t really go at &lsquo;em like we do at the start of the game. Every game we&rsquo;ve had five or six minutes where we back off and sit back. Especially at home, we should go at them all the time.&rdquo;Nykoluk is aware of the importance of the homestand and that&rsquo;s why he&rsquo;ll try to get his players to put together a 60-minute effort.&ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s important for the team to get a little streak together because it&rsquo;s always easier on top when you have someone chasing you,&rdquo; Nykoluk said. &ldquo;A lot of things seem to go your way when you&rsquo;re on top. You win games you maybe don&rsquo;t deserve to win. When you&rsquo;re on the bottom catching up. it&rsquo;s pretty tough.&rdquo;Defenseman Jim Korn echoed his coach.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got to put something together while we&rsquo;re at home,&rdquo; Korn said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re going to be getting players back throughout the month. Hopefully, with no more injuries we&rsquo;ll have everybody back by the end of the month and we&rsquo;ll put some distance between us and the other teams. We&rsquo;ve got a real good opportunity to do that.&rdquo;Last year at this juncture, the Leafs had 25 points in 26 games. But they&rsquo;re 10 points ahead of that mark and with the majority of the coming games against teams who are not that strong, the Leafs could make further improvement.LEAFLETS&mdash;Magnetic goalposts designed by Dennis Meggs of Kitchener were used for the first time in the league instead of the conventional moorings and were well received by Leaf goalie Mike Palmateer and Canuck netminder Richard Brodeur. There were a few problems, however, as the net gave way three times but failed to budge when the Leafs&rsquo; Bill Derlago crashed into the net after getting crosschecked by Thomas Gradin. Derlago, who&rsquo;s developed a sense of humor to complement his scoring touch, said, &ldquo;That was one of those new nets that was supposed to pop off. It didn&rsquo;t budge too far. &ldquo;&hellip;Tiger Williams showed he has no love left for his former teammates when he punched a fallen Borje Salming, who claimed Williams speared him. Williams said Salming kicked him, which Salming did not deny&hellip;Terry Martin is expected to return to the lineup after suffering salmonella poisoning over a month ago and Dave Farrish should also be back in uniform after injuring his back in Detroit and missing the Canuck game. &#9632;

Home Is Where Maple Leafs Are

<h2>Next Week</h2>&bull; What&rsquo;s wrong with Dale Hawerchuk? It&rsquo;s a question many Winnipeg Jets&rsquo; fans have been asking this year and that&rsquo;s why we&rsquo;ll take an in-depth look at the enigmatic young man and his troubles this season.Our Dec. 23rd issue will also help you celebrate Christmas. It will be a special charity issue, taking an inside look at how the National Hockey League and its 21 teams go out of their way to help charitable organizations across the continent. We&rsquo;ll also give you a special opportunity to contribute to charity. For this issue, our motto is, &ldquo;Charity starts at home.&rdquo; Of course, we&rsquo;ll have all our regular features, stories, columns and statistics.<h2>Dec. 30</h2>&bull; We&rsquo;ve got the crystal ball warming up as we prepare to climb out on a limb and start sawing with predictions for 1984. It&rsquo;ll be our Fearless Forecast issue and we&rsquo;ll boldly predict who&rsquo;s hot and who&rsquo;s not for 1984. If you want to know what happens before it does, then this is an issue that you won&rsquo;t want to miss. &#9632;

COMING SOON IN THN

<h2>MOUNDS OF MILESTONES</h2>EDMONTON&mdash;Oiler forward Jari Kurri, with an assist on Charlie Huddy&rsquo;s goal in a 7-3 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Dec. 3, became the first NHL player to record assists in 15 consecutive games. Kurri isn&rsquo;t the only NHL player about to put his name in the NHL record book.As of Dec. 5, Montreal&rsquo;s Steve Shutt needed only three goals to hit the 400-goal plateau. Calgary&rsquo;s Lanny McDonald was one shy of the same mark while Montreal&rsquo;s Guy Lafleur needed another three goals to hit the 500-goal mark.And Wayne Gretzky, who looks as though he is going to pass everyone anyway, was just one goal away from the quickest 300 goals in NHL history.<h2>CAPS MAINTAIN TAX BREAK</h2>The Washington Capitals got good news when Prince George&rsquo;s County Council decided not to vote on a bill that would repeal the NHL team&rsquo;s six-year tax break. After hearing from NBA and NHL officials, including NHL president John Ziegler, the council voted 5-4 to indefinitely postpone action on the bill.The original tax break came into effect before last season when the Caps were in dire financial circumstances and were threatening to either fold or move to another location.<h2>BLAKE&rsquo;S BAR BITES DUST</h2>MONTREAL&mdash;A historic sporting landmark in Montreal, Toe Blake&rsquo;s Tavern, has been closed after 31 years of operation a few blocks away from the Montreal Forum. The tavern, which has been a favorite place for Montrealers to eat, drink and talk hockey, is being levelled so a shopping mall can be built.<h2>SOME FOOD FOR THOUGHT</h2>WINNIPEG&mdash;The Winnipeg Jets have enlisted the services of Dr. Wayne Hildahl, a dietician at the University of Winnipeg, in an effort to improve the on-ice performance of the players.Jets&rsquo; general manager John Ferguson said that he hoped a diet investigation could help the team, particularly slumping center Dale Hawerchuk.&ldquo;Dale is living with Jim Kyte and Scott Arniel,&rdquo; Ferguson said. &ldquo;Neither one of them is a gourmet cook. They are three typical young guys. Fast food is often what they eat.&rdquo;<h2>LITIGATION FOR LEMIEUX?</h2>MONTREAL&mdash;An interesting confrontation may be on the horizon in junior hockey and it will involve Quebec Major Junior Hockey League scoring sensation Mario Lemieux.Lemieux has already stated he won&rsquo;t play for Canada&rsquo;s world junior team when they depart for Sweden on Dec. 23. He cites several reasons, including what he describes as an unpleasant experience with last year&rsquo;s edition of the team and concerns over his role with this year&rsquo;s squad.But due to a QMJHL rule, which states that any player who is asked to play for the national team and refuses, cannot play for his league team for the duration of the world junior championships, Lemieux will be out of the lineup for a couple of weeks later this month and early in January.The rumbling is that the Laval Voisins and Lemieux, represented by agent Gus Badali. will challenge that rule in court. &#9632;

SLAPSHOTS

<div class="byline">BY RANDY SCHULTZ</div>He was known as the Roadrunner and rightfully so.At 5-foot-7, former Montreal Canadien star Yvan Coumoyer moved with lightning speed on the ice, darting in and out and around opponents.Now in retirement, Coumoyer still leads a fast-paced life. Today the former Canadiens&rsquo; captain is owner and operator of Brasserie No. 12, a restaurant in Lachine, Que.He also does promotional work for Molson&rsquo;s Brewery, attending golf tournaments and other functions.&ldquo;My business with the Brasserie is something I really like doing,&rdquo; said Cournoyer, who resides in Baie d&rsquo;Urfe, Que. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve gotten very involved and I even do some of the cooking. The job really satisfies me.&rdquo;For Coumoyer, his second career began too soon. After more than 15 seasons in the National Hockey League, he was forced into retirement early in the 1978-79 at the age of 35, suffering from a very painful and serious disc injury in his back.&ldquo;It came as quite a shock to me when it happened,&rdquo; recalled Cournoyer. &ldquo;1 thought it was nothing more than a pulled muscle at first. So I continued playing, despite the pain.&ldquo;But the pain continued and (after) another examination was taken, the disc problem was discovered.&rdquo;But it wasn&rsquo;t until the Canadiens&rsquo; star went through two serious disc operations that doctors told him to retire or face permanent damage to his back.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-04375/4835099-1-eng-US/f0005-042.jpg" title="f0005-04" width="592" height="817"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-05252/4835092-1-eng-US/f0005-052.jpg" title="f0005-05" width="587" height="820"><figcaption class="caption-body">Yvan Cournoyer, left, is thrilled to have followed in the footsteps of other great Montreal captains such as Henri Richard, right.</figcaption></div>&ldquo;I had very bad feelings when I retired from hockey,&rdquo; admitted Cournoyer. &ldquo;After all, hockey had been my whole life and then it was over, all too quickly.&rdquo;Coumoyer joined the Canadiens at the end of the 1964 season following a successful junior career.&ldquo;When I began playing for Montreal it was like a dream come true,&rdquo; commented Coumoyer. &ldquo;When I was a youngster I always dreamed of playing for the Canadiens.&ldquo;But, as everyone else has learned playing for Montreal, you&rsquo;ve got to be good all the time. If not, there always seems to be someone there to replace you. Each year we had to be number one. There was nothing else.&ldquo;There is a lot of pressure being a Canadien. But I enjoyed the pressure of playing in Montreal. 1 think it helped mold me as a person.&rdquo;The greatest thrill for Coumoyer came when he was unanimously voted captain of the Canadiens by his teammates.&ldquo;I never dreamed of being captain of the Canadiens,&rdquo; remarked the 1973 Conn Smythe Trophy winner. &ldquo;It was an honor to be following in the same footsteps as former captains like Maurice and Henri Richard and Jean Beliveau.&ldquo;I enjoyed representing the team. We were a very close-knit team. There was not French or English. When we lost we lost together. When we won. we won together.&rdquo;<h2>BEAVER TALES</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-011110/4835085-1-eng-US/f0005-012.jpg" title="f0005-01" width="634" height="536"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-02810/4835078-1-eng-US/f0005-022.jpg" title="f0005-02" width="633" height="539"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-03559/4835071-1-eng-US/f0005-032.jpg" title="f0005-03" width="505" height="539"></div> &#9632;

f0005-04

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

Here&rsquo;s what was happening 20 years ago this week:&bull; The National Hockey League levied $5,000 in fines against the Toronto Maple Leafs and Chicago Black Hawks, resulting from a fight-filled game on Dec. 7. League president Clarence Campbell termed the fisticuffs, &ldquo;the worst donnybrook that the league has experienced in many years.&rdquo; Both Leaf coach Punch Imlach and Hawk coach Billy Reay were slapped with $ 1,000 fines. Campbell also tapped every player who left the their respective team benches&mdash;-22 players in all&mdash;with $100 fines, a rise from the normal league penalty of $25.&bull; A book by Scott Young entitled, A Boy At The Leafs Camp, was released.Here&rsquo;s what was happening 15 years ago this week:&bull; The Russians continued to press for games against the National Hockey League, feeling &ldquo;world hockey can only benefit from such encounters.&rdquo;&bull; Sport magazine featured an article on New York Rangers&rsquo; rookie coach, Bemie Geoffirion. It was titled, &ldquo;More Ulcers for Boom Boom.&rdquo;&bull;Former American Hockey League president Jim Balmer, 76, died of a heart attack. &#9632;

THIS WEEK…20 Years Ago

<div class="byline">BY BOB DUFF</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0005-06" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-06140/4835178-1-eng-US/f0005-062.jpg"></div>that the following players have survived to have an NHL career despite their low rating in their draft year: &#9632;

f0005-06

Did You Know…

1. Who was the last Toronto Maple Leaf to win the scoring title?2. Prior to the Blues, St. Louis had another franchise in the NHL for one season, 1934-35. What was its nickname?3. In 1968-69. Boston&rsquo;s Phil Esposito became the first player to top 100 points, registering 126 points. Two other players also topped 100 points that season. Can you name them?4. Who was the linesman that Tom Lysiak recently tripped?5. Which expansion team was the first to beat an established club in the 1967-68 season?6. Who was the first captain of the Edmonton Oilers when they joined the NHL in 1979-80?7. Who was the California Seals&rsquo; first representative in the NHL All-Star game?8. Who is the only NHL player to score 50 goals in a season with two different teams?1. Gord Drillon in 1937-38.2. The St. Louis Eagles.3. Chicago&rsquo;s Bobby Hull and Detroit&rsquo;s Gordie Howe.4. Ron Foyt.5. Pittsburgh Penguins beat Chicago Black Hawks 3-2 on on Oct. 21, 1967.6. Ron Chipperfield.7. Autry Erickson.8. Pierre Larouche, 53 goals with Pittsburgh in 1975-76 and 50 goals with Montreal in 1979-80. &#9632;

TRIVIA

<div class="byline">BY STAN FISCHLER</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-011289/4835209-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg" title="f0006-01" width="307" height="358"></div><h2>Open Letter To Gretzky</h2>DEAR WAYNE: For once you couldn&rsquo;t keep your big mouth shut.Great. I love it.You set aside that Goody Two-Shoes image for a couple of minutes and plunged into the hot water. Yeah, I know it bums, but you feel so good when you get out, don&rsquo;t you?If I could, I&rsquo;d give you The Victoria Cross and The Purple Heart just for saying what you said about the New Jersey Devils.No, not the bit about the &ldquo;Mickey Mouse operation&rdquo; in East Rutherford. The thin minds in our media jumped on that one. It made a good headline and it made you look bad. So what? They&rsquo;re small potatoes, you know that.And they missed the point, which really peeves me off.They don&rsquo;t realize how much you care about the National Hockey League. They passed over the meat of your message and headed straight for the slop.When you blasted the Players&rsquo; Union and the compensation agreement which prevents clubs such as the Devils from building quickly, you said a mouthful, Wayne, baby. A mouthful.&ldquo;A guy like Jari Kurri can&rsquo;t go anywhere without compensation,&rdquo; says you, &ldquo;and it&rsquo;s nearly impossible for weak teams to compensate trying to trade for all-stars.&rdquo;Wayne, you talk as well as you pass.What 1 can&rsquo;t figure out is why the Devils acted as if you were against them when I know you are actually feeling sorry for those pitiful puckchasers.They must have overlooked the fact that you said: &ldquo;I hope for the league&rsquo;s sake that the Devils turn it around. You can&rsquo;t continue losing two million dollars a year and think it&rsquo;s funny.&rdquo;Even Herb Brooks couldn&rsquo;t get as sensitive as you and he lives right across the river from East Rutherford.But don&rsquo;t get me going on Herb Brooks. The reason I&rsquo;m writing is to help you. Some journalistic jackals are jeering that you, Mister Gretzky, are the guy who got Billy MacMillan fired as general manager-coach of the Devils.You call &lsquo;em Mickey Mouse and Billy Mac gets the hook a day later. Even people with 20-20 vision can see you holding the smoking gun, Wayne. Next thing you know everybody&rsquo;s branding you a creep. Tony McKegney says he thought you had more class. All of a sudden you&rsquo;re looking worse than Tiger Williams garroting Paul Baxter.But the damn thing, Wayne, is that you were right all along. Right as right can be.The Devils, no matter how you shake &lsquo;em, have been an affront to any customer&rsquo;s dollar bill. Why, they were so boring one night recently a Jersey reporter said that watching them was like looking at a table hockey game when the ball gets stuck in the comer.No, Kid, you didn&rsquo;t get Billy MacMillan fired. He was the guy who succeeded Don Cherry behind the bench. What an insult to any hockey fan&rsquo;s sensibilities that was. Can you imagine what fun it would have been in Jersey last year and this year&mdash;win or lose&mdash;with Cherry behind the bench? Unbelievable, that&rsquo;s what! Grapes would have buried even the babbling Herb Brooks.No, Billy Mac is no dummy. He knew his hockey, but he knew nothing about entertaining. He had players who could entertain but he buried them. He canned John Wensink, who could help his team right now, and forced him out of hockey. He wasted Hector Marini early this season.I have no quarrel with Billy Mac, the person. I followed his team closely last year and found him a decent enough guy, although others have called him a &ldquo;hangin&rsquo; judge&rdquo; and are less benevolent than I am.No, Wayne, I can understand the guilt you might be feeling. We don&rsquo;t like to punt a guy when he&rsquo;s down. Except Billy Mac is not really down. Don&rsquo;t ask me how he did it, but after last year&rsquo;s miserable season Billy Mac wangled a new two-year contract out of his owner John McMullen. Billy Mac will be collecting handsomely through 1985 for doing zip while other people will be walking bread lines.Right from the start, I knew what you were saying, Wayne. The NHL should get its act together and bring about parity. Right on! Only the problem isn&rsquo;t parity on ice; the dilemma is in the front office.The Devils are in a hell of a mess because of naive ownership. It was lousy in Kansas City and it was lousy in Denver. We&rsquo;re talking about superbrains such as Arthur Imperatore who dealt away Barry Beck against the advice of his scouts and the advice of Grapes Cherry. For what? Zippola.Next genius was a fellow named Gilbert. His touch of brilliance was having Billy Mac run the club. And now we have the John McMullen show. John Mc bet on Billy Mac and lost.In the middle of this critical season the Devils suddenly were minus GM, coach and head of the farm system.You and I who make our living out of hockey, have a right to be concerned when what should be a jewel of a franchise turns into a jellybean.Wayne, I know your bosses got all upset when your comments made print across the continent. They didn&rsquo;t like the Mickey Mouse bit and they forced you into that awkward apology. Too bad.You didn&rsquo;t have to apologize. You look good when you sink your teeth into an issue. Your comments about the Devils, when read thoroughly, make all the sense in the world.There is a problem in New Jersey and you identified it with precision. I&rsquo;m glad you opened your big mouth. The Devils, if they are serious about this business, should be glad too.Nobody can ever call Wayne Gretzky a Mickey Mouse.Your friendly critic, S.F.<h2>Halligan Hails</h2>IN HAILING THE recent move of the Rangers&rsquo; peerless p.r. man, John Halligan, from Madison Square Garden to the NHL high command, 1 overlooked some of JH&rsquo;s legendary lists. Here they are:JH&rsquo;s Eleven Most Famous Hockey Fans: 1. Tiny Tim; 2. Charles (Peanuts) Schultz; 3. Tony Bennett; 4. Attorney General John Mitchell; 5. Yogi Berra-Joe Garagiola (tie); 6. Andy Warhol; 7. Steve Allen; 8 John McEnroe; &rsquo;9. Billy Joel; 10. Peggy Cass; 11. Monty Hall.JH&rsquo;s Five Favorite Teams: 1. Macon Whoopies; 2. California Golden Seals (white skates edition only); 3. Ottawa Silver Seven; 4. Amarillo Wranglers; 5. Toronto Arenas.JH&rsquo;s Ten Favorite Hockey Movies: 1. The King of Hockey; 2. It&rsquo;S a Pleasure; 3. Love Story; 4. Slapshot; 5. Ice Castles; 6. Idol of The Crowd; 7. Hell&rsquo;s Kitchen; 8. Hockey Homicide; 9. Paperback Hero; 10. The Duke of West Point.And, finally The Halligan Team of Memorable Hockey Names: goalie, Frank (Ulcers) McCool; defense, Bart Crashley and Hank Blade; center. Sandy Snow; left wing, Ted Bulley; right wing, Murray Wing; coach, Art Chill. Finally: Ed (Sock) Hatoum and Greg (Indiana) Polis.For those who wonder why John Halligan smiles so much, he points out that he once was offered a delicious bit of philosophy by Joe Nichols, a wonderful man who covered hockey over three decades for The New York Times. To wit: &ldquo;Very little matters and nothing matters very much!&rdquo; Top that, if you can.<h2>The Tex Talks</h2>AS COACH OF the Hartford Whalers, the taciturn Jack (Tex) Evans is obliged to say a few words to his troops from time to time. But when Tex played defense in the NHL he said almost nothing.There was a season (1955-56) when Tex skated for the Rangers and roomed with a right winger named Andy Hebenton who talked even less than Evans. The Evans-Hebenton dialogue usually went like this after they had awakened in their hotel room:Hebenton: &ldquo;Tex, what say we go to a movie?&rdquo;Evans: &ldquo;Yup.&rdquo;End of conversation for the rest of the day.<h2>The Secret Report</h2>DON&rsquo;T ASK ME how I got it but the following is a confidential Vancouver Canuck scouting report on the Los Angeles Kings. Here&rsquo;s what the Vancouver spy wrote in his secret report to the superiors:Against the Marcel Dionne-Charlie Simmer-Dave Taylor line: &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t allow Dionne to carry; keep the puck ahead; scramble faceoffs; criss-cross often. &ldquo;Against the Brian MacLellan-Bemie Nicholls-Jim Fox line: &ldquo;Take the man for sure against Nicholls; hit Fox along the boards; scramble faceoffs. &ldquo;Against the defense: &ldquo;Drawpenalties against Russ Anderson; trouble with puck; Mark Hardy gambles at point; long pass, stickhandler; Brian Engblom goes down early to block shots; go wide on him; Jay Wells stays up at center to hit; slow; tries to protect outside; Marc Chomey gives puck away; pressure. &ldquo;Against the goalie; &ldquo;Mike Blake goes down early; rebounds.&rdquo;Defensively; &ldquo;Lock middle, cover Dionne and Nicholls; play man, especially Nicholls and Fox; get on their defense quickly; hurry them. &ldquo;Offensively; &ldquo;Skate wide, make defense turn; go to net (middle man), draw penalties. &ldquo;(What he didn&rsquo;t say: win the game!)<h2>The Gretzky Groupies</h2>A NEW WORLD&rsquo;S record was set at The Forum in Inglewood, CA, recently after the Oilers defeated the Kings. Only two&mdash;count &lsquo;em two&mdash;reporters approached Wayne Gretzky for an interview. That&rsquo;s the smallest Gretzky post-game media crowd since The Kid entered the NHL.For those who have not had the pleasure of a Gretzky media event, a scene at Chicago Stadium is more typical of the postgame uproar wherever The Kid plays. &#9632;

f0006-01

ON THE CONTRARY

<div class="byline">BY RON COBB</div>ST. LOUIS&mdash;After two months of the season, you can say one thing for sure about Jacques Demers: when he thinks his players deserve it, he&rsquo;ll give them a kick in the seat of the pants.But the Blues&rsquo; coach will give them a pat on the back, too, when they&rsquo;ve earned it. After a 3-0 loss to the Red Wings at Detroit, Demers held nothing back in his praise for goaltender Mike Liut.&ldquo;It was one of his best games, if not his best, of the season,&rdquo; Demers said.&ldquo;It was a class performance and my respect for him has grown after tonight.&rdquo;Liut gave up two goals (the third was an empty-net goal), but kept the Blues in the game by robbing the Red Wings from close range on a handful of occasions.Liut showed professionalism and character. Demers said, by rising to the occasion in the wake of repeated rumors that he would be traded.&ldquo;I think his pride was hurt,&rdquo; Demers said. &ldquo;I think he wants to stay in St. Louis.&rdquo;Liut said he agreed that he wanted to stay in St. Louis, but he disagreed with the suggestion that he, as a goaltender. can will himself a good performance.&ldquo;I just played the same way I&rsquo;ve always played or tried to play,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;You just can&rsquo;t play that way when you&rsquo;re a goalie. You can&rsquo;t say (raising his voice), &lsquo;I&rsquo;m going to be great tonight! I&rsquo;m going to kick everything out!&ldquo;A forward can say, &ldquo;OK, it&rsquo;s my turn. I&rsquo;m really going to go now.&rsquo; He can go for his minute and get off the ice. Then he has two or three minutes to think about it. then &lsquo;here we go again.&rsquo;&ldquo;But a goaltender is out there for 60 minutes. You get into a groove and you start playing well and make a few saves and the momentum builds.&rdquo;Liut takes a philosophical view of trades, too. He said he thought there was &ldquo;a very good possibility that I was gone&rdquo; late last month when Ron Caron, the Blues&rsquo; vice president and director of player personnel, made an all-out effort to swap some players. As it turned out, no deals were made.&ldquo;I still don&rsquo;t think it&rsquo;s the end of it,&rdquo; Liut said. &ldquo;I think they&rsquo;re going to make some trades this year, so I could just as easily be part of a trade two months or two weeks from now.&ldquo;Every time the team goes sour, they&rsquo;ll be looking to trade, and they&rsquo;ll be looking to trade me if they can, to a point. If they can improve the team by trading me for some people or draft choices or whatever, then they&rsquo;ll do it. And why shouldn&rsquo;t they?&ldquo;They might even trade Brian (Sutter) if they could get half a team somewhere or if the right deal came along. But I don&rsquo;t think they&rsquo;ll trade for the sake of making a trade.&rdquo;After all. how many players these days play their entire careers with one team?&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t look at it like, &lsquo;Well, I&rsquo;m a piece of dirt and they don&rsquo;t want me anymore,&rsquo;&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;The team changes or what they&rsquo;re looking for in a team changes and if you don&rsquo;t fit into their plans, that&rsquo;s the way it is.&ldquo;Sometimes a change is good for people, so I don&rsquo;t think I&rsquo;d be negative if it happens. I can&rsquo;t afford to be. You just have to be professional about it and do your job someplace else.&rdquo;Liut said that was all he was doing in Detroit&mdash;rolling with the punches and trying to perform like a professional.&ldquo;If I could stop 30 shots and give up two goals every night, I&rsquo;d take it and never ask for another shutout or one-goal game again,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I thought I played pretty well, but it had no bearing. We still lost. That&rsquo;s the nature of the game. &ldquo;BLUENOTES&mdash;The Blues called up John Markell from Montana of the Central League to shore up the right side while Mark Reeds was recovering from an eye injury&hellip;After starting only two of the Blues&rsquo; first 19 games, back-up goaltender Rick Heinz was in net for three of the team&rsquo;s next five and earned a victory and two ties&hellip;Center Larry Patey, sidelined all season because of back surgery, was scheduled to begin scrimmaging with the Blues early this month&hellip;Center Bernie Federko&rsquo;s hat trick Nov. 29 in a 5-5 tie with the New York Islanders was the seventh of his career. &#9632;

Liut Plays Every Game As If It’s The Same

<div class="byline">BY TOM HENSHAW</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-011152/4835264-1-eng-US/f0007-012.jpg" title="f0007-01" width="589" height="644"><figcaption class="caption-body">Dave Silk adored the Bruins when he was growing up in neighboring Marshfield.</figcaption></div>BOSTON&mdash;&rdquo;Sometimes I have to pinch myself,&rdquo; said Dave Silk. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s such a thrill just being here, just putting on the jersey and meeting these guys&hellip;&ldquo;All the year playing youth hockey around Boston, all those days of skating on the ponds and saying to yourself, &lsquo;Here comes Esposito,&rsquo; and &lsquo;Here comes Orr,&rsquo; that kind of thing.&rdquo;All of which means that Dave Silk, at the age of 25 and with a brief detour through the U.S. Olympic hockey team and the New York Ranger system, is back home in Boston.Not only that but he was playing with two-thirds of the Bruins&rsquo; top line, Rick Middleton and Barry Pederson, and playing well with two goals and five assists in eight games.Silk, who came to the Bruins from the Rangers on Oct. 5 in trade for Dave Barr, is a local boy all the way.He was bom in Scituate on the south shore of Boston, grew up in neighboring Marshfield, and played hockey at Thayer Academy in Braintree and Boston University.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve always won championships,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;When I was at Thayer we were Private School League champions. At BU, we won the Beanpot, the ECAC and NCAA. Then the gold medal.&rdquo;Silk, like several of his former teammates on the U.S. Olympic team that beat the Russians for the gold medal in the &lsquo;80 Games, has had a rough time en route to the pros.&ldquo;It certainly hasn&rsquo;t been an easy road,&rdquo; said Silk. &ldquo;But no one said it was going to be. I&rsquo;ve had some problems. 1 was up and down quite a bit and I still have been. But sometimes the things that are really worth while you have to work hard for.&rdquo;He joined the Rangers when the Olympics were over, played a couple of games, then went down to New Haven. He played mostly for the Rangers in 1980-81 and the whole season in 198182. Then he drifted off to playing mostly in the minors.&ldquo;I have no complaints about the way I was treated in New York,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Neither do I have any regrets about leaving the Rangers. The Rangers are a very classy organization and they were up front with me.&ldquo;I thought I could play their style, the European style or whatever you want to call it, pretty well. But after three years it just got to the point where it was best for hie to go somewhere else.&ldquo;The Rangers didn&rsquo;t have to send me to Boston but they knew how much the opportunity would mean to me. It&rsquo;s a new start.&rdquo;Silk was on the Ranger farm in Tulsa when the trade came and it was just a matter of shifting him to the Bruins&rsquo; farm at Hershey.&ldquo;It was the right move,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It wouldn&rsquo;t have been fair to the guys here for me to take someone&rsquo;s spot. It was up to me to go to Hershey and work hard and prove myself down there and wait for the chance.&ldquo;I played in the minors before. It&rsquo;s wasn&rsquo;t like I was just coming out of college or junior hockey. The first time is a shock. But after two or three times you get used to it. It&rsquo;s always a disappointment but you&rsquo;re able to handle it better. &ldquo;He was brought up to the big club when Steve Kasper began having recurring head injuries. It was like coming home and rejoining the family in more ways than one.&ldquo;I think it was always in the back of my mind that maybe I&rsquo;d play for the Bruins someday,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not hard to play well for this team. Everyone works so hard to help each other out. They work so hard for you, they give you the appearance of playing well.&ldquo;The nicest thing is that everyone goes out of their way to make you feel comfortable. They make you feel like you&rsquo;re really part of the team right away.&rdquo;Particularly Mike Milbury.&ldquo;Mike and I are second cousins on our mothers&rsquo; side,&rdquo; said Silk. &ldquo;But he&rsquo;s more like a big brother than a second cousin. He and Mike O&rsquo;Connell really helped me to settle in and meet some of the guys and get a little more comfortable.&rdquo;O&rsquo;Connell is like family, too. He&rsquo;s from Silk&rsquo;s home town.And to carry family back a couple of generations. Silk is the grandson of Hal Janvrin, who played baseball for the Boston Red Sox back in 1911-1917.In fact, he played on the 1916 Red Sox team that won the World Series, which, as any long-suffering Sox fan will tell you, is the next to last world title that they have won in more than 60 years. &#9632;

f0007-01

Silk Thrilled To Join Bruins’ Family

<div class="byline">BY DICK CHUBEY</div>EDMONTON&mdash;Two nights in November saw the Edmonton Oilers recreate and unveil their own version of the blitz.At least in one instance, the National Hockey League&rsquo;s overall leaders even amazed themselves. The other, well&hellip;During the compact span of 28 hours at Northlands Coliseum, the Oilers whitewashed a pretty decent outfit, the Buffalo Sabres, 7-0 and then obliterated the lowly New Jersey Devils 13-4&mdash;establishing a single-game team offensive record in the process.The Oilers were most impressed with the shutout&mdash;only their third in five National Hockey League seasons. And, it&rsquo;s the first one that can be stamped authentic. Genuine. The straight goods.Made in the NHL!Unlike the Oilers&rsquo; previous two zeros, there weren&rsquo;t any World Hockey Association ramifications to provide NHL purists with an excuse to attach an accompanying asterisk.The Oilers&rsquo; third career blank came in their 35th regular season game since Feb. 27, when Andy Moog blanked the Winnipeg Jets 3-0. Even by today&rsquo;s highly-offensive standards, that&rsquo;s a fair span between drinks&mdash;but a far-cry less than the 279 games elapsed between Nos. 1 and 2. The long-since departed Eddie Mio turned the trick for the inaugural zero, 3-0 back on Dec. 9, 1979 when Edmonton blanked the Hartford Whalers&mdash;a fellow refugee from the WHA.The Oilers have come up with a special trademark for such performances.&ldquo;Prior to the game we talked about this one being a credibility game,&rdquo; said defenseman Kevin Lowe. &ldquo;We could all be proud of that one. Buffalo&rsquo;s a strong two-way club. Andy made some big saves in the second period and the further it went, the more we started thinking shutout.&rdquo;Moog downplayed any WHA offshoots.&ldquo;Not by any means is this one more significant than the last one,&rdquo; said the 5-foot-9, 170-pound goalie. &ldquo;Every team in this league has at least a couple of good shooters&mdash;given a chance, they&rsquo;ll put it in. If there was anything special about this one, it&rsquo;s that it was a credibility game.&rdquo;There&rsquo;s that word again.There was another all-important factor Moog detected between turning aside 29 Buffalo volleys.&ldquo;As their wingers were coming out of the neutral zone, our wingers were riding them off&mdash;not hammering them as such, but riding them off very effectively,&rdquo; Moog said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s something we&rsquo;ve done in spurts in the past, but in this game I noticed it for 60 minutes. &ldquo;The Oilers, in particular captain Wayne Gretzky, who turned in his first eight-point performance in the NHL, were not nearly as impressed with the caliber of their opponents the following night. The Oilers bombarded exteammate Ron Low for eight goals during the opening 40 minutes, then pounced upon Jersey reliever Chico Resch for another five during the final 10 minutes of the third period.This prompted a straight-forward question put to Gretzky, concerning the beleaguered Devils&rsquo; goalies: Do you feel sorry for Low and Resch?&ldquo;It got to a point where it wasn&rsquo;t even funny,&rdquo; began Gretzky, whose output was split between three goals and five assists while linemate Jari Kurri contributed five goals. &ldquo;How long has it been for them? Three years? Five? Seven? Probably closer to nine. Well, it&rsquo;s about time they got their act together. They&rsquo;re ruining the whole league.&ldquo;They had better stop running a Mickey Mouse operation and put somebody on the ice,&rdquo; he continued in his blast at Jersey management. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not a question of their players not working. It&rsquo;s a question of talent.&rdquo;Gretzky said watching the Devils, who have floundered since joining the NHL as Kansas City Scouts in 1974 which was followed by a six-year stint in Denver, is virtually a waste of money.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve got four season tickets, which means I wasted $80 for people to watch this farce,&rdquo; Gretzky said. &ldquo;Think how much worse it could have been. We had four regulars out (injured Kenny Linseman, Dave Semenko, Charlie Huddy and suspended Mark Messier). What if they were here? Would it have been 20-4?&ldquo;We only play them three times, what do we care? But it&rsquo;s disappointing. I hope for the league&rsquo;s sake they turn it around. They could average 20,000 people (in the Meadowlands). Instead they draw 8,000.&ldquo;And, yes I feel damn sorry for Chico and Ronnie.&rdquo;Two nights later, the Oilers called upon an unlikely scoring hero to maintain a couple of lofty streaks. Dave Hunter scored two third-period goals five minutes apart, including one shorthanded, to lift Edmonton into a 7-6 win over the Jets, concluding a three-game homestand. The Oilers also stretched their home-ice regular-season unbeaten streak to 22 games (19-0-3, dating back to Feb. 3 vs. Los Angeles Kings) and hadn&rsquo;t lost in two seasons when carrying a lead into the third period (52-0-5). &#9632;

Oilers Unleash The Offensive

<div class="byline">BY VARTAN KUPELIAN</div>DETROIT&mdash;No longer are they asking,&ldquo;What&rsquo;s wrong with the Red Wings?&rdquo;This season, there&rsquo;s a new question: &ldquo;What&rsquo;s right with the Red Wings?&rdquo;&ldquo;Drive and determination,&rdquo; said coach Nick Polano. &ldquo;We have no superstars here. Our guys know that for our team to be successful, we have to play together. Everyone has a job to do and must do it.&ldquo;I like our team. We have a good bunch of guys to work with. There&rsquo;s good togetherness. Everyone is contributing.&ldquo;Even the guys who aren&rsquo;t playing a lot, like Barry Melrose, have contributed. There&rsquo;s a guy, Melrose, who gives this team heart. And when we&rsquo;ve had to call up guys&mdash;like Brad Smith and Joe Paterson&mdash;you saw what they did.&rdquo;The Wings put together a three-game winning streak to get to the. 500 mark at 10-10-2 after 22 games. It was the first time since the 1977-78 season&mdash;the club&rsquo;s last playoff year&mdash;that they&rsquo;ve been at the. 500 level that early in the season.The Wings got their 10th victory this season in their 22nd game. Last year, it came in their 46th game.The fans have noticed, too.A crowd of 21,0198, the largest ever to see a National Hockey League game, was on hand as the Wings flattened the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-2 at Joe Louis Arena. The previous NHL record crowd of 21,001, also at Joe Louis, attended the 1980 All-Star game.&ldquo;That was unreal,&rdquo; said rookie center Steve Yzerman. &ldquo;When we came out for the warmup and looked up, we know it was going to be big.&rdquo;The current Red Wings, unlike many a predecessor, seem to have a knack for getting the job done. The three-game streak&mdash;victories over St. Louis and twice against Pittsburgh in a home-and-home series&mdash;was a good example.The Wings talked about capitalizing on the week&rsquo;s opponents, especially the weak Penguins. In the past, that&rsquo;s all it would have been&mdash;talk. But nowadays the Wings put actions first. The road victory in Pittsburgh was their third of the season and there have been entire seasons when the Wings didn&rsquo;t manage many more than that.On the negative side, injuries were beginning to cripple the Wings.Joining Danny Gare and Ted Nolan on the sidelines were linemates Eddie Johnstone and Dwight Foster. Johnstone (fractured cheekbone) and Foster (leg) went out in successive games against Pittsburgh.Rookie forward Lane Lambert&rsquo;s emergence has eased the pain somewhat.Lambert, the No. 2 draft choice (25th overall), had four points in the three-game stretch, including his first two NHL goals.Five days after his 18th birthday, Lambert got his first prolonged action in the NHL against the Blues and responded with his first point.The young right winger had a goal in each game against Pittsburgh.&ldquo;He knows how to play the game,&rdquo; Polano said. &ldquo;Watch the way he plays defense&hellip;he&rsquo;s very strong in the comers and along the boards. And anybody who can score 59 goals in any league is a scorer.&rdquo;Lambert had that many last season in the Western Hockey League.&ldquo;At the beginning of the year. I was nervous every time out,&rdquo; Lambert said. &ldquo;I was worried about getting scored on and that took away from my game.&ldquo;Coach Polano told me to settle down and have some fun. I&rsquo;m enjoying it now. I like playing a lot. It gets you into the game.&rdquo;With the injuries to Gare and Johnstone, Lambert moved up to right wing on No. 2 line with center Kelly Kislo and Ivan Boldirev.Ed Mio posted his first shutout as a Red Wing in a 3-0 triumph over. St. Louis. Bob Manno scored the first two goals with John Ogrodnick adding the clincher into an empty net with 36 seconds left. &#9632;

Now They’re All Asking What’s Right With Wings?

The International Hockey Weekly Founded in 1947Published by W.C.C. Publishing Ltd.85 Scarsdale Road, #100, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M3B 2R2.<h2>The Numbers Game</h2>THIS IS THE issue in which we compile unofficial NHL attendance figures for the first quarter of the season (see Page 24). In other words, we try to give you a good idea of how many fans attended each of the 21 teams&rsquo; first 10 home games and whether that figure is up or, down from one year ago.We are happy to report that the overall league attendance for the first 210 games is up by slightly more than 75,000. This is good news, of course, but really not too surprising when you take into account that the Calgary Flames moved from the Corral, which only held about 7,000 fans, to the new Olympic Saddledome, which has a capacity of almost 17,000. That meant an additional 95,220 fans.Still, the sizeable increase in the number of fans watching NHL hockey so far this season is also due to the success being enjoyed by the Detroit Red Wings. The Wings, who have missed the playoffs 15 of the last 17 years, are finally starting to ice a competitive product.They put together a few modest win streaks and apparently gave their fans a decent show on nights when they lost, proving that Detroit is as fine a hockey city as you will find. After all, how many other NHL cities, not having witnessed playoff hockey for 15 of 17 seasons, would so quickly hit the box-office bonanza (an increase of 50,905 over last season&rsquo;s first quarter)?Other encouraging signs include significant increases in Chicago (9,966), Boston (14,039) and St. Louis (11,209). Chicago and Boston are enjoying increases thanks to outstanding performances last season and as for St. Louis, if we assume this increase is indeed paid attendance, then it&rsquo;s terrific news. The fact that St. Louis got off to a quick start very early helped matters considerably.Clubs such as Edmonton, New York Rangers, Montreal, Toronto, New York Islanders, Quebec, Winnipeg and Hartford stayed even or gained fans&mdash;the Islanders led this pack with a plus-4,449 figure. Nothing to worry about there, unless you count Winnipeg&rsquo;s hassles with its landlord.Not everything is rosy, however. Philadelphia is down 6,691 but that may have more to do with post-playoff hangovers and the Phillies&rsquo; World Series trip than anything else. Minnesota and Vancouver are down 10,773 and 11,209, respectively, but a horrible start by the Stars and no Stanley Cup hangover for Canuck fans explain those decreases. Buffalo&rsquo;s down more than 7,000 and we can only hope that&rsquo;s a result of the economy in western New York and not a barometer of interest in the entertaining Sabres.Now come the four disaster areas. New Jersey is down more than 12,000. Los Angeles is down more than 15,000. Pittsburgh is down more than 20,000 and Washington is down more than 32,000.These are the four areas that the NHL will have to keep an eye on in the months ahead. Still, there is no reason for panic. As bad as the attendance figures are, the overall picture may not be so bleak.It all goes back to the definition of a team in trouble. A team that loses big money each year is not necessarily a team in trouble. A team that loses big money each year and has an owner who cannot or will not sustain those losses, is a team in trouble.Which is why, for now anyway, we have to consider the Penguins&mdash;despite their horrendous average of slightly more than 7,000 per game&mdash;a healthy franchise. Pens&rsquo; owner Edward DeBartolo has reaffirmed his commitment to the team and the city and as long as he does that, Pittsburgh isn&rsquo;t in trouble.New Jersey is in much the same situation, it would seem. John McMullen knew when he purchased the Devils that there wouldn&rsquo;t be any overnight successes. We have to believe that he&rsquo;s just as committed as he was and the Devils are secure in New Jersey.As for Los Angeles and Washington, it&rsquo;s not nearly as clear cut. One hopes that the Caps&rsquo; poor start and the absence of the urgency of the Save the Caps&rsquo; movement will explain the drastic drop in attendance. But owner Abe Pollin has rumbled in the past that the team may have to be sold or moved, so do we feel the Caps are secure in Washington? Maybe yes, maybe no. The months ahead will determine that.In Los Angeles, however, Kings&rsquo; owner Dr. Jerry Buss has said this may well be his make-or-break year. If the team doesn&rsquo;t do well&mdash;on the ice or at the gate&mdash;he&rsquo;s mentioned the idea of selling it.And since, as this issue went to press, the Kings had chalked up their eighth consecutive loss and were averaging less than 10,000 for their first 10 home games, it&rsquo;s an area that has to watched closely.Still, even with these areas of concern, the NHL has no reason to sound the alarm yet. &#9632;

<div class="byline">BY BARRY MEISEL</div>The American Hockey League won&rsquo;t want to admit it, but the moguls who run the major league can learn a few things from their minorleague brethren.Did you know that Rule 67-A of the National Hockey League rulebook, which has become the most ballyhood tenet since Moses skated down Mt. Sinai with the Ten Commandments, was rejected by the American Hockey League in the summer of &lsquo;82?On Oct. 30, Tom Lysiak of the Chicago Black Hawks was slapped with an automatic 20-game suspension by referee Dave Newell for allegedly tripping linesman Ron Foyt. According to the NHL&rsquo;s rule 67-A, Newell had the authority to enact the automatic 20-game suspension for deliberate abuse of official. According to the rule&rsquo;s text, Lysiak had no right of appeal.You lawyers know what happened next.On Nov. 20 in Sherbrooke, Jet goalie Warren Skor-odenski, whose NHL rights are owned by the Black Hawks, checked referee Dave Lynch at the conclusion of Sherbrooke&rsquo;s 7-6 overtime loss to the New Haven Nighthawks. Skorodenski was enraged by a tripping penalty he received five seconds before the game was decided by a power-play goal.Five days later, AHL president Jack Butterfield suspended Skorodenski for 20 games. The Lysiak and Skorodenski penalties were the same, but the ways they reached were remarkebly different.Back in the summer of &lsquo;82, when the NHL&rsquo;s Blue Ribbon committee wrote Rule 67-A to curb the outbreak of violence against officials, the AHL board of governors met to discuss amalgamation of that new regulation into its rulebook.The board voted against it.&ldquo;They felt we didn&rsquo;t want it,&rdquo; recalled AHL vicepresident Gordie Anziano. &ldquo;They weren&rsquo;t so sure they wanted to pin the president down to a king of suspension. We didn&rsquo;t want to say to Jack, &ldquo;you have to do this or that.&rdquo;The AHL, with foresight the NHL lacked, reasoned that no two physical abuses are alike. So although it agreed to use the 20-game suspension as &ldquo;a guideline,&rdquo; Butterfield retained the freedom to investigate incidents on an individual basis.Butterfield slapped Skorodenski with his 20-game suspension, but only after requesting game films from Sherbrooke (which were not available), reading the ref&rsquo;s report, reading the report filed by referee&rsquo;s supervisor John Ashley and interviewing Skorodenski.&ldquo;I gave serious thought (to a longer suspension),&rdquo; the president said. &ldquo;But for a goalie, who will be out now to mid-January, 1 thought that was a pretty severe suspension.&rdquo;Although Skorodenski felt he was made an example of in light of Lysiak controversy, Black Hawk general manager Bob Pulford indicated an appeal of the Skorodenski suspension was unlikely.&ldquo;Apparently (Skorodenski&rsquo;s) actions were pretty severe,&rdquo; Pulford noted. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m getting to be an expert on this thing.&rdquo;Butterfield, who has been criticized in the past for being too lenient on abuse of officials and who says he hates being &ldquo;God, judge and jury,&rdquo; showed excellent judgment here in dealing with the growing problem of referee abuse.His league allowed him the freedom to pursue due process and he did so with the minimum of controversy. NHL, take note. &#9632;

AHL Handled Official Abuse Its Own Way

<h2>SUTTER TRADE HELPED PENS</h2>I must protest Stan Fischler&rsquo;s comment on the recent trade between the Penguins and the Flyers. While it may have been a good deal for Rich Sutter to be reunited with his brother, he never would have been worth a damn to the Pens. During his brief stay with Pittsburgh, Rich Sutter&rsquo;s attitude was that of a spoiled, whining child and this attitude was displayed extensively by his totally lacklustre performances on the ice. In my opinion, the Penguins are well rid of this infantile individual.Dispensing with a possibly disruptive player was made even more beneficial to the Penguins through their acquisition of three serviceable forwards, who, since their arrival here, have never failed to put out to the absolute peak of their respective abilities. The Penguins can find more use for such hardworking athletes, rather than a tear-stained juvenile who was originally signed primarily for his name value.Charles Sords Pittsburgh, PA<h2>FISCHLER DIDNT KNOW DIT</h2>It is appalling to read a column (Nov. 18) written by a distinguished hockey authority such as Stan Fischler that scans like a press release from the current Boston Brain management. It is rife with the same convoluted rationalizations. Of course they may not realize that rationalization is seldom rational.Let me inform Mr. Fischler of the real fact in the Dit Clapper-Guy Lapointe No. 5 matter. When Dit Clapper retired, the Boston Brain team honored him by retiring his number. A commitment was made by them that this number would not be worn by any Boston hockey player again. Whether the practice is appropriate or not is a completely superfluous issue. The real issue is that a commitment was made which has been violated by the current management. If these statements do not make logical sense to Mr. Fischler then I suggest that he is labelling the wrong parties as &ldquo;yahoos&rdquo;.By some divine interpretation Mr. Fischler suggests, &ldquo;If Dit Clapper were around today he certainly wouldn&rsquo;t have objected to Sinden&rsquo;s decision.&rdquo; Mr. Fischler is dead wrong! Having known Dit rather well&mdash;he was my fatherin-law&mdash;I know his reaction would be one of abhorance of this act whether it involved No. 5 or one of the other retired numbers. He would also be concerned about the public scorn for the current management of the team with which he was identified for all of his playing career. Clearly, Mr. Fischler did not know Dit well.To Mr. Lapointe, I would suggest that some class hockey players in the NHL have elected to wear double numbers out of respect for the game built for them by these former players.Finally, the sky may stop falling on Sinden in a week or two but his fallen reputation will remain with him for a long time.Art Armstrong Waterloo, Ont.<h2>MATTER OF TRADITION</h2>Mr. Fischler writes that &ldquo;low numbers in their own way always have been a part of hockey tradition.&rdquo; That tradition relates to the days when &ldquo;hockey teams travelled by train and lower berths were assigned to the players with low numbers.&rdquo; (Stan Fischler, Gordie Howe, 1967). Mr. Fischler also writes &ldquo;this number retirement business is downright stupid.&rdquo; Retiring a player&rsquo;s number was the highest tribute a club could bestow. Taking a number out of retirement without the consent of the player or his estate&rsquo;s representatives is at minimum disconcerting. Perhaps the question is not whether low numbers and their retirement are hockey traditions too old to set aside but whether the values inherent in those traditions suit modem needs.Heather Stone Toronto, Ont.<h2>AN ANTHEM PLUG</h2>I&rsquo;d like to make a suggestion to the owners of all American NHL teams. When two U.S. teams are playing, the Canadian anthem isn&rsquo;t played. Why not? Most players are Canadian and our two nations share a great game. It&rsquo;s the least we can do.William T. McCroden Euclid. OH &#9632;

FAN FORUM

<div class="byline">BY BOB FACHET</div>LANDOVER&mdash;A smattering of early returns left some doubt, but now that the first third of the season has been counted, it seems certain that Washington general manager David Poile made another sharp move when he acquired Dave Christian from Winnipeg for a first-round draft choice.Christian did not score a goal in the Capitals&rsquo; first nine games, of which the first seven were losses. However, his fortunes turned along with those of the team and at the 26-game mark he ranked second on the club in scoring with nine goals and 20 assists.The leader, hardly by coincidence, was Christian&rsquo;s linemate, Bengt Gustafs-son, who could thank Christian&rsquo;s superb passes for many of his 11 goals.Christian posted his first two-goal game and added a pair of assists in an 8-4 thrashing of the New Jersey Devils. It was Washington&rsquo;s highest score of the season and spoiled the second homecoming of Tom McVie, the former Capital coach who had been hired by the Devils nine days earlier.&ldquo;Things seemed to happen out there,&rdquo; Christian said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve been getting a couple of good chances a game and this time we took full advantage. But we can still play better, more consistent.&rdquo;Not only were Gustafsson and Christian setting a torrid point pace, but they were pulling Alan Haworth along with them. Haworth struggled early, as the left winger for Bob Carpenter and Craig Laughlin, then turned things around playing on the right side of Christian.In eight games following that switch, Haworth collected five goals and three assists. In the previous 18, he was four and four.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m sure Howie was put on our line to score some goals and he&rsquo;s doing it,&rdquo; Christian said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s getting some good scoring chances and hopefully he&rsquo;ll keep on getting them. He has a lot of speed and the three of us seem to complement each other pretty well.&rdquo;Christian felt he carried some responsibility for Washington&rsquo;s slow start, after he and Haworth had been the top two scorers during a highly successful exhibition campaign.&ldquo;The first seven games were bad, because the team was losing and by not scoring I figured I was one of the reasons, that I should be contributing more,&rdquo; Christian said. &ldquo;When we won the next two and I still wasn&rsquo;t scoring, it wasn&rsquo;t so bad.&ldquo;Mainly, I just tried not to think about it, just work extra hard to make a break. Now the whole team is more confident. We lost a lot of that during the losing stretch, but we&rsquo;re coming back now and playing much better hockey.&rdquo;The turnabout for Christian began during a nostalgia trip to Minnesota, his home state, and Winnipeg, where he captained the Jets. He scored a goal in each game as the Capitals won both. For good measure, the team&rsquo;s plane stopped in Grand Forks, where Christian was a college star at the University of North Dakota.McVie, Devil general manager Max McNab and goalie Ron Low were less fortunate on their return to Capital Center, where they endured so many unhappy nights in the past.Low, the goaltender in the Capitals&rsquo; debut in 1974, still holds the Washington record for games played in the nets (145). He not only gave up eight goals as a diving Devil with little help, he also stopped a Haworth below-the-belt shot that left him lying on the ice for several minutes. &#9632;

Christian Turnabout Begins On Trip Home

<div class="byline">BY BOB DONNELLY</div>QUEBEC CITY&mdash;Not only did Nordique coach Michel Bergeron win three straight games to end the month of November&mdash;including two important victories over Adams Division-rivals Boston and Buffalo&mdash;he was given an extension to his contrct which was due to expire at the end of the current season.Bergeron was starting to feel the pressure after a series of losses. He particularly did not like the media or fans establishing a link between the decisions he was making and his being in the final year of his contract. The Nordique upper brass obviously agreed and Bergeron was given an extension.&ldquo;Too many people were saying that what I was doing was influenced because it was the final year of my contract,&rdquo; says Bergeron. &ldquo;Others thought the fact that 1 looked so tired was because I worried about it. At least now when I look tired no one will say it is because of that reason. I wanted to make it clear that the decisions I was making or the problems we were having had nothing to do with my personal status.&rdquo;No one indicated how long the extension was for, least of all Bergeron.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t remember hearing from anyone about an extension for a coach that was only for a weeks or a few months,&rdquo; was all he would say. &ldquo;This vote of confidence from the management will also help the confidence of my assistant coaches, Charles Thiffault and Simon Nolet, because they have been feeling the pressure as well lately. It is important for a coach to feel appreciated by his boss and his organization. I have always felt that I had lots of support from the Quebec organization as a whole.&rdquo;Bergeron has been in control in Quebec since Oct. 22, 1980. His record overall is just above. 500, not all that bad considering what he has had to work with. Bergeron also guided his team to the Stanley Cup semi-finals two years ago. He wants to go even further this year.&ldquo;We are a much better team than in &lsquo;82-83,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;We are more consistent and most of our losses have been close games nonetheless.&rdquo;Those losses, despite all the hard work, were what was starting to get to Bergeron and Filion stepped in.&ldquo;He devoted all his energies to the Nordiques, doing everything possible to make Quebec a better team in the NHL,&rdquo; says Filion. &ldquo;I am satisfied with his work and this extension to his contract shows that the organization is behind him 100 per cent. The Nordiques have never missed the playoffs with Bergeron at the helm.&rdquo;Team captain Mario Marois and television analyst Pierre Bouchard, formerly of the Montreal Canadiens and Washington Caps, both said they agreed with Filion&rsquo;s decision. Bouchard has been following the team closely this year, both at home and on the road.&ldquo;Filion made the right decision,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;1 think he is an excellent coach. He talks to his players a lot. which is important. I expect he will be behind the bench in Quebec for quite awhile.&rdquo; &#9632;

Nords Extend Bergeron’s Pact

<div class="byline">BY GLENN COLE</div>MONTREAL&mdash;Bob Gainey uttered the words that no Montreal Canadien hockey fan really wanted to hear.&ldquo;With the talent that we have, you can&rsquo;t expect much better results,&rdquo; Gainey said. &ldquo;Right now, we have too many young players and too many older ones who are going to have difficulty doing more than they have done up until now.&ldquo;Where are the seven or eight players who are 25 or 26 who should be entering the peak of their careers?&rdquo;Gainey was frustrated. The Canadiens had just lost for the third straight time on home ice&mdash;this time to the Quebec Nordiques. The Montreal team captain doesn&rsquo;t let his feelings out that often, but when he does, he is usually dead on with his assessments.&ldquo;I think it is up to the people who manage and coach to decide if a player can do as much as he did before,&rdquo; Gainey went on. &ldquo;When you are talking about a 10- or 12- or 14-year career and players in their prime, then you are looking at years four through eight or nine, depending on the player.&rdquo;In Gainey&rsquo;s view, the nucleus of the team should be built around players between the ages of 24 to 29. Examining the Canadien roster, there are very few of that kind.&ldquo;If you are going to wait for me to improve my game now and do something more now than I am showing you every. night, you are going to wait a long time.&rdquo; added Gainey, whose 30th birthday is on Dec. 13. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s players that you haven&rsquo;t seen do as much as they can do. Their expectations are still a question mark.&rdquo;It is becoming increasingly evident that the mistakes of the previous management have done a good deal of harm to this once-powerful franchise.The infamous trade with the Washington Capitals was a serious blow because Rod Langway, the 25-year-old team captain of the Capitals who won the Norris Trophy last season, would be the leader of the Montreal defense today. While Langway almost worships Larry Robinson, the fact is that Robinson, 32, is in the twilight of his long and brilliant career. The nagging injuries are starting to accumulate and Robinson, who has always had the youthful enthusiasm, is even starting to sport some gray hairs among the curly blond.,Steve Shutt, who at 31 is not a finished hockey player, is not producing goals at the same rate which brought him 60 during the 1976-77 season. Four goals in 24 games is not Steve Shutt of the championship years here.Is Guy Lafleur producing at an all-star rate? One goal in a 12-game span is hardly going to put fear into the minds of NHL opposition. The addition of Bobby Smith, who was brought in to center Lafleur, has done wonders for Bobby Smith, but not the right winger.Smith is among those in the 24-29 age range who is enjoying a good season, but others such as Pierre Mondou, Ryan Walter and Mario Tremblay are struggling. Statistics don&rsquo;t always tell the whole story, but in the case of the Canadiens, they are an accurate assessment of the club performance.As for the youngsters, the Canadiens have some good ones in defensemen Craig Ludwig, Ric Nattress and Kent Carlson as well as forwards Nats Naslund, Guy Carbonneau, John Chabot and Doug Wickenheiser. In the case of the latter two, it&rsquo;s time they were given fulltime employment on the team. &#9632;

Gainey Lets Loose With Some Harsh Words

<div class="byline">BY ERIC DUHATSCHEK</div>CALGARY&mdash;It doesn&rsquo;t happen often in the hockey business, which is probably why Bob Johnson is enjoying it so much.Johnson has the right to one, great big &lsquo;I told you so&rsquo; on the matter of Mike Eaves, the former Minnesota North Star center acquired by the Flames in the summer.In Johnson&rsquo;s rookie season with the Flames, he talked constantly about Eaves, then a fourth-line center with the Stars. Johnson talked about his character. He talked about his skills. He talked about his scoring.In fact, Johnson talked so much about Eaves that, when general manager Cliff Fletcher finally inquired about Eaves&rsquo; availability, Minnesota GM Lou Nanne knew how Johnson felt and upped the ante. No matter. Johnson had to have him. Eventually, the Flames received Eaves and defenseman Keith Hanson for Steve Christoff and a second-round draft choice. So far, everything Johnson&rsquo;s said about Eaves has been supported with his play on the ice.Well, almost everything.Earlier, Johnson said of Eaves: &ldquo;They played him on the fourth line in Minnesota behind Bobby Smith, Neal Broten and Tim Young, but I&rsquo;ll tell you this: I&rsquo;d rather have Eaves than any of them&mdash;because I know what I&rsquo;ll get from him. &ldquo;Eaves has been good, but maybe not that good.&ldquo;In Minnesota, I guess I was a role player,&rdquo; said Eaves. &ldquo;They used me to kill penalties and maybe add a spark once in a while.&rdquo;In Calgary, things are dramatically different. Eaves centers the team&rsquo;s No. 1 line, with sophomore Eddy Beers and rookie Hakan Loob. He plays the power play&mdash;sometimes as the point man, sometimes as the comer man. He kills penalties. He plays 25 minutes a game.Johnson says the transformation of Beers, from uncertain rookie to the team&rsquo;s top forward, has a lot to do with his partnership with Eaves.&ldquo;Eaves makes him a better player because he has to skate faster and work hard to keep up,&rdquo; said Johnson.As for Eaves, he is typically modest about his accomplishments. Through 20 games, he was the team&rsquo;s third-leading scorer with six goals and 12 assists.&ldquo;Yes, I guess this is my best stretch as a pro,&rdquo; Eaves said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think I&rsquo;ve ever been this consistent before and my point production is up.&rdquo;Johnson became familiar with Eaves when he coached at Wisconsin and Eaves was captain of one of the Badgers&rsquo; campionship teams. He also had Eaves in the 1981 Canada Cup, where he was one of the U.S. team&rsquo;s leaders.&ldquo;Eaves is the kind of player who comes to the rink every night to play,&rdquo; said Johnson. &ldquo;He gets the most out of him-self. So what if he doesn&rsquo;t have the greatest talent in the world. He makes up for it with his work ethic.&rdquo;One of the things that&rsquo;s been going particularly well for Eaves this season is he&rsquo;s been relatively injury free. A slight tendon problem in his wrist is the only injury the injury-prone player has had.Compare that to three years ago when a series of concussions almost ended his career or two years ago when a back problem kept him out of the lineup for 50 games.Indeed, there&rsquo;s a certain irony in Eaves escaping the series of back injuries that have plagued the Hames this year.Both Kent Nilsson and Keith Hanson missed games earlier in the season with back spasms and now, Paul Reinhart, the team&rsquo;s premier defenseman, is out with the same problem.Reinhart suffered a freak injury in a game against the Winnipeg Jets. Killing a penalty, Reinhart mysteriously crumpled to the ice with no Jet player anywhere near him. Reinhart had to be carried off the ice on a stretcher and was put in the whirlpool for the remainder of the game.For the next six days, he was confined to his bed, unable to even move.As GM Cliff Hetcher lamented: &ldquo;It&rsquo;s so bad now they can&rsquo;t even treat him.&rdquo;Reinhart&rsquo;s condition is listed as &ldquo;out indefinitely.&rdquo; &#9632;

Eaves Stays Clear Of Flames’ Injury Ward

<div class="byline">BY RICK SADOWSKI</div>LOS ANGELES&mdash;They blew a one-goal lead in Calgary with 27 seconds remaining in the second period and wound up losing by three.They blew a one-goal lead against Edmonton with three seconds remaining, in the first period two nights later and wound up losing by four.These are the kind of lapses the Kings had been avoiding during a recent five-game unbeaten streak, the kind they had been guilty of during a current three-game losing streak.&ldquo;Inconsistency, that&rsquo;s been our main problem,&rdquo; Charlie Simmer said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re not playing the way we did during that winning streak. We&rsquo;ve been playing 40 minutes and we have to play for 60.&ldquo;You can&rsquo;t let down for even a moment against teams like Edmonton and Calgary. They have a lot of firepower and you have to play them tough for 60 minutes.&ldquo;You&rsquo;ve got to get ahead of these teams and keep them down because once you give them even the slightest opening&hellip;they&rsquo;re capable of scoring two or three goals very quickly.&rdquo;The Kings gave up goals in bunches during the skid, a total of 22 in losses to Vancouver (8-3), Calgary (7-4) and Edmonton (7-3).The setbacks all came against Smythe Division opponents&mdash;whom the Kings&rsquo; play in a 10-game stretch in late November and early December&mdash;was particularly frustrating.They set a goal of collecting 13 points, which translates into a 6-3-1 record, during this run and needed to finish 4-0-1 in the final five games to reach it.Losing in Calgary&mdash;the Kings have never won there, at the old Stampede Corral or the new Olympic Saddledome&mdash;hurt more than usual because they had a 4-2 lead with less than three minutes to go in the second period.The Flames tied the score before intermission, then added three more goals in the final 20 minutes to win going away.They came close again after returning home to face Edmonton, a club the Kings manhandled to the tune of 7-2 earlier in the year, but wound up on the short end of a 7-3 score.The Oilers scored a goal with three seconds left in the opening period to tie it 2-2, then took a 4-2 lead into the third. Marcel Dionne got the Kings within 4-3 just 30 seconds in, but the Oilers regained a two-goal advantage in a shor-thanded situation and turned a potential close encounter into a rout.&ldquo;We were in that game for awhile and then I think we just ran out of steam,&rdquo; Jim Fox said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want to make any excuses, but we had just played three games in four nights on the road. That didn&rsquo;t help.&rdquo;Don Perry was confident his ship was headed for calmer waters. The recent five-game unbeaten streak, he believed, was more in tune with the Kings&rsquo; capabilities than the current three-game skid.&ldquo;The team attitude is fine, there&rsquo;s no problem there,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Naturally, we&rsquo;re a little disappointed, but I feel good about things. This is the best team I&rsquo;ve had since I&rsquo;ve been here and I&rsquo;m sure we&rsquo;ll be all right.&rdquo;At the very least, the Kings were hoping to create some distance between themselves and fifth-place Winnipeg. Worrying about finishing second or third&mdash;the ultimate goal&mdash;is a lot different than worrying about qualifying for the playoffs. &#9632;

Kings Down But Definitely Not Depressed

<div class="byline">BY REYN DAVIS</div>WINNIPEG&mdash;By his own admission, Barry Long knows there are others infinitely more qualified than him who have never coached in the National Hockey League.But he has no apologies to make.&ldquo;What you see is what you get,&rdquo; he says with all the flippancy of a boxer. &ldquo;I have never aspired to be a coach in the NHL. But if it&rsquo;s my lot, then fine. I&rsquo;ll do what I can.&rdquo;Admittedly, he&rsquo;s an extension of Jet general manager John Ferguson. Nobody needs to remind him who is responsible for his rapid ascent to the back of the bench.Yet he&rsquo;s been given a length of rope that few of his predecessors have enjoyed. Reminded of his own inability to turn the team around in a six-game coaching sojourn, Ferguson has been content to give Long a mandate to be his own coach.And the early results have been remarkable.After his first four games, Long had two wins and a tie and the Jets had climbed out of the Smyth Division cellar to catch Los Angeles Kings with a game in hand.Certainly, the highlight of his reign so far has been a back-to-back sweep of the Kings in Los Angeles, where the Jets were winners by scores of identical scores of 6-5.What, if anything, distinguished Long&rsquo;s early secret of success?More than anything else, Long demonstrated an ability to make serious lineup adjustments during the course of the games.At one point, he benched Dale Hawer-chuk for an entire third period as the team scrambled to hold a two-goal lead. On another occasion, he parked Dave Babych.He quickly became disenchanted with Morris Lukowich. He took him off a top line.In all three cases, there had been a policy that more ice time was advisable. Tom Watt, under pressure from Ferguson, was using Hawerchuk every second shift. Babych was playing over 30 minutes a game. Lukowich was logging over 20 minutes.Under the system, Long acted courageously. He demonstrated his independence.&ldquo;I realized my mistake after the first game,&rdquo; said Long, recalling a lacklustre, 4-1 loss to Vancouver Canucks on home ice. &ldquo;I was trying to please the players. That&rsquo;s not the way to operate. They are supposed to perform for us. From now on, we&rsquo;ll make the decisions as we see fit.&rdquo;When Hawerchuk sat it was because Long wanted more defense than offense. He leaned heavily on Laurie Boschman and Thomas Steen as his centers in the crunch. And when Boschman, as he&rsquo;s prone to do, fell into penalty problems, Long turned to Ron Wilson to fill the breach. And he did, admirably.When Babych was put down, Long turned to big Wade Campbell. Clearly, Long was demonstrating his faith in &ldquo;Tree.&rdquo; He came off the bench and did a job.Long&rsquo;s decision to sit Lukowich was considerbly harsher.&ldquo;If certain people don&rsquo;t want to perform I&rsquo;ll find someone who will,&rdquo; said the coach.He turned to Scott Amiel who should never have been benched in the first place. Amiel replaced Lukowich on a line with Boschman and captain Lucien DeBlois. Together again, the line purred.Two nights later, Hawerchuk had one of his best games of the season. He and his linemates, Paul MacLean and Brian Mullen, were complementing each other once more. They struck for the Jets&rsquo; first three goals in the second game of the sweep.Babych came back with a vengeance. Barely has he been rested before, but the sabbatical did him some good.Meanwhile, Robert Picard and John Gibson were starting to assert themselves on defense with a bigger work load.And who should come out of the woodwork to be the hero in an overtime win but Tim Watters. As Amiel, Boschman and DeBlois reduced the Kings to a crawl during a furious shift, Watters pounced on the puck in the slot to put the game away.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re more relaxed.&rdquo; said Watters. &ldquo;We know exactly what we can do. We know we can win a lot more games playing this way.&rdquo; &#9632;

Jet Coach Gets Positive Results

<div class="byline">BY DICK BEDDOES</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-011241/4835590-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg" title="f0012-01" width="302" height="359"></div><h2>Brits Set The Precedent</h2>GOVERNORS OF THE National Hockey League, 21 bold and wilful men, convened as this deathless comment was composed to consider the case of Thomas Lysiak.You&rsquo;re aware of Thomas, eh?A Chicago center of some distinction who made a small amount of soiled history in late October by abusing a linesman and getting himself assessed a 20-game suspension.The linesman&rsquo;s name is Ron Foyt but his NHL associates call him, naturally, A.J. Foyt.The 20-game suspension is mandatory under an NHL rule that hardly anybody considered until referee Dave Newell imposed it.Lysiak won, in a series of court moves, the right to appeal the suspension to the governors. Most impartial observers believe the authority of the game officials will be emasculated if the governors do not sustain the 20-game whack.The governors are customarily not scholarly chaps and therefore might not know there is a precedent for supporting what is in the rulebook.<h2>Just Ask Kelly</h2>Y&rsquo;R OB&rsquo;T SERVANT was reminded of this by a distinguished lawyer from the Ontario town of Oshawa. The lawyer&rsquo;s name is Terrence Kelly.Mr. Kelly reports that a similar case occurred during the last soccer season in Britain.Stephen Foster is an English international who plays for a club team known as Brighton-Hove Albion. The team, in something of an upset, qualified to play in the English Cup final against mighty Manchester United.Foster, however, had accumulated too many of what are called &ldquo;demerit points.&rdquo; Game officials ruled that he be suspended from the big match.The Brighton-Hove management appealed the ruling to Britain&rsquo;s High Court, at a cost of $25,000. The court, with the wisdom the NHL might well imitate, declared: &ldquo;Mr. Foster and his Brighton-Hove employers have no right to appeal natural justice. The player and club know the rules to English soccer. When he broke the rules, he deserved the natural justice meted out to him by the game authorities. Case dismissed.&rdquo;Thus Mr. Foster was barred from the English Cup final, which his team lost. That should be the basis for the NHL&rsquo;s dealing with Lysiak. North American justice, after all, is based upon British common law.<h2>Devils Are Dregs</h2>NEW JERSEY DEVILS, without any argument, are a slum area in the NHL.Wayne Gretzky, therefore, displayed a penetrating insight into the obvious when he mentioned, a few weeks ago, that the Devils are brutal. This was after Gretzky and his Edmonton playmates blitzed New Jersey by the obscene margin of 13-4.Yet the New Jersey proprietor, John McMullen, complained about Gretzky&rsquo;s comment. The complaint was registered with R. Alan Eagleson, director of the NHL Players&rsquo; Association. Mr. Eagleson laughed.Gretzky later apologized for his remarks, which is charming, but the gesture was unnecessary. When you&rsquo;re right, kid, no apologies are required.The New Jersey owner tacitly admitted Gretzky was right by firing the nice, ineffectual Bill MacMillan as the Devils&rsquo; operating chief. MacMillan was supplanted by Tom McVie as coach and Max McNab as manager.These are worthy gentlemen, although it is true that they once combined in similar roles with the Washington Capitals. One year their Capitals established a NHL record for futility&mdash;67 losses in 80 games.It is difficult not to wish Max McNab well in his new portfolio and equally hard to foresee the wish coming true. The New Jersey franchise is a hockey Titanic which lacks even a few deck chairs to rearrange.Gretzky&rsquo;s comment on the abysmal Devils reflects a refreshing attitude he has assumed since becoming captain of the Oilers.It was reflected further in a recent game between the Oilers and the Philadelphia Flyers in Edmonton.<h2>Gretzky Was Burned</h2>GRETZKY BITCHED AT one juncture about the Flyers being offside. The televised replays I saw indicated that he was right.For his beefing, he was assessed a two-minute penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. It says here that he got a bad call.But it is reassuring to realize that the game&rsquo;s best-known mercenary can be candid and frank. Sweetness and bliss are such a bore in a hairy-legged sport. &#9632;

f0012-01

BEDCLOTHES

JUNE 17-22 &bull; JUNE 24-29 &bull; JULY 1-6 &bull; JULY 8-13 AGES 9-17&bull; Full training schedule featuring both on and off ice instruction in Munn Ice Arena and Demonstration Hall.&bull; Skating analysis of each player by use of video tape instruction.&bull; School directed by MSU Varsity Coach&mdash;Ron Mason&bull; Specialized goalie training included.&bull; Staff includes MSU assistant coaches: Shawn Walsh & Terry Christensen, Ted Sator, Assistant Coach, Philadelphia Flyers-NHL, 4 yrs MSU hockey school staff member; George Gwoz-decky, head coach, University of Wisconsin at River Falls, 3 yrs. MSU hockey school staff member; Jeff Jackson (goalie instructor), head coach, Fraser Flags, Great Lakes Jr. Hockey League, 4 yrs. MSU hockey school staff member; Tom Ross, former MSU All-American, European player, 7 yrs. MSU hockey school staff member; Barry Smith, head coach, Roegela Hockey Club, Sweden, 3 yrs. MSU hockey school staff member.&bull; Housing in a chaperoned university resident hall&bull; Tremendous food&mdash;the finest facilities&mdash;19 other sports school available.&bull; The oldest and largest sports school in the nation.&bull; Use of all recreation facilities on campus.For Information Call or Write:Michigan State University Summer Sports School 212 Jenison Fieldhouse &bull; East Lansing, Ml 48824-1025 517-355 5264 &#9632;

MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS SCHOOL SUMMER 1984 ‘

<div class="byline">BY STAN FISCHLER</div>The bombshell Bobby Orr book soon will be detonated. After much prodding from friends, Bobby O will formulate an outline for his guaranteed blockbuster opus which will be written later this winter with Joe Fitzgerald of the Boston Herald.&nbsp;Al Eagleson&rsquo;s foes will be tickled to hear that Orr&rsquo;s unhappy split with the Eagle will receive much attention in the tome. Orr, who has become enormously successful as a businessman, will also delve deeply into his split with the Bruins. Guaranteed: this one will be the hockey best-seller of the decade&hellip;The Devil question is not&rdquo; whether to deal Chico Resch but when and to whom. The Rangers, Kings and Canadiens are most likely possibilities. &ldquo;The Devils would have to get at least one top quality player,&rdquo; says Red Wing scout Neil Smith, &ldquo;and some draft choices.&rdquo; New Jersey general manager ax McNab won&rsquo;t commit himself on a Resch deal. &ldquo;Our goaltending,&rdquo; he tells BLUELINES, &ldquo;has been more than adequate. Wecan&rsquo;t afford to hurt ourselves defensively and Chico is still a great asset.&rdquo; How long will Chico Resch go on? &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know,&rdquo; Chico says. &ldquo;At my age (35) you have to keep working hard. Young kids can tum it on and off but for me it&rsquo;s a constant conditioning program.&rdquo; John Davidson, the flangers&rsquo; scout-broadcaster, insists his club won&rsquo;t deal for Resch because of top prospects in the minors. Another Devil possibility would be defenseman Bob Lorimer going to the Bruins. The Devils&rsquo; woeful start has cost them coverage. One recent weekend the New York Times staffed both Islander and Ranger games but the Devils only got a small wire story. The axing of Billy MacMillan removes one of the better NHL grudges: MacMillan vs. Red Wing GM Jim Devellano. One Devil insider claims MacMillan&rsquo;s downfall was his dependency and reliance on chief scout Bert Marshall and playing kid brother, Bobby, who was a bust since training camp.Look for the league to adopt a 10-minute overtime for the 1984-85 season. Marcel Aubut, the man who pushed for the five-minute overtime, is after a 10-minute extra period and should get it approved. Also, the league will probably approve a 10-minute overtime and a shootout for the 1985-86 season&hellip;A TV insider tips BLUELINES that the USA Network is cutting back on its hockey spending as part of a general sports retrenchment policy&hellip;One story behind the Bruins&rsquo; taking No. 5 (Hall of Famer Dit Clapper&rsquo;s retired number) away from Guy Lapointe was not because of pressure from the media and the Clapper family as much as from Lapointe himself. The veteran defenseman went to GM Harry Sinden and said: &ldquo;I want another number.&rdquo; With that Sinden accommodated him. Lapointe was fed up with the furor created by the save-Clapper&rsquo;s-number clique, but the anti-Sinden bloc disputes the point&hellip;Ken Dryden&rsquo;s book has done so well his publisher went from a fourth to a fifth printing one morning and moved it up to a sixth printing in the same afternoon&hellip;The King brass is furious with L.A. Times hockey writer Sam McManis because of what another scribe describes as &ldquo;constant negative writing.&rdquo; The Kings&rsquo; problem is that McManis is the only writer who covers the club&rsquo;s road games&hellip;Word out of Philadelphia has it that the Flyers had wanted to unload Behn Wilson to the Black Hawks exactly a year ago but the asking price then was Keith Brown, which was later reduced to Crossman. Either way the Flyers figure they got a steal&hellip;St. Louis owner Harry Ornest is pursuing his claim of compensation from the Oilers and Flames for what he argues was a reneging on exhibition games.On the night Blaine Stoughton trade rumors were buzzing, the Whaler rifle potted another big goal for Hartford, thereby increasing his value but complicating decision for boss Emile Francis. The Cat must like Ed Staniowski as a second goalie. The ex-Blue-Jet netminder has a $130,000 contract&hellip;After watching the Nordiques one evening a Norris Division scout writes: &ldquo;The Stastnys look like they couldn&rsquo;t care less.&rsquo;&rsquo;&hellip;Ron Duguay has been a pleasant surprise to the Red Wings but Ed Mio is the ex-Ranger the Detroiters are concerned about. Duguay has been a big plus for Red Wing morale. &ldquo;With Ron here,&rdquo; says teammate Colin Campbell, &ldquo;we actually have girls waiting to meet us when we leave the rink. That never happened before!&rdquo;&hellip;Most stable guy in the Jet organization is former player Bill Robinson, who has been with the club since 1972. The director of facilities and travel, Robbie has gone through nine coaches, from Nick Mickoski to Tom Watt. Others include Bobby Hull, Rudy Pilous, Larry Hillman. Tom McVie, Bill Sutherland and Mike Smith-&hellip;The Oiler runaway wins don&rsquo;t impress Fred Shero. The Fog predicts that Edmonton will get their comeuppance in the playoffs from stiffchecking teams&hellip;A non-New York base rumor has the Rangers ready to peddle veteran defenseman Dave Maloney who has been twitted more than a little by one New York reporter, not to mention the Whalers&rsquo; Ed Hospodar, a former Ranger. The centerpiece of mini-riot in Hartford, Hospodar mangled Maloney in a post-game interview: &ldquo;&hellip;the big brave guy that he (Maloney) is, he stood behind five guys and speared me. &ldquo;&hellip;A linesman who pleads anonymity blames his bosses for insisting on long delays and jockeying over faceoffs. &ldquo;The higher-ups are the ones who want the faceoffs to be perfect,&rdquo; the veteran whistle-blower tells BLUELINES&hellip;A number of writers have suggested that the Islanders might trade Billy Smith, but Smitty doesn&rsquo;t believe a word of it and his boss, Bill Torrey, agrees. &#9632;

BLUELINES

<div class="byline">BY DICK JOHNSTON</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0014-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-011222/4835669-1-eng-US/f0014-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Sabre rookie netminder Tom Barrasso refused to meet with the press after playing in Boston because he wanted to talk with his parents.</figcaption></div>BUFFALO&mdash;Most hockey followers in this city didn&rsquo;t expect him to play for the Sabres this season.But going into the third month of the schedule 18-year-old Tom Barrasso not only is playing in the National Hockey League, his goals-against average is among the best in the league.And when the Sabres defeated the Canadiens 5-2 on Nov. 29 in the Montreal Forum last week, Barrasso&rsquo;s won-lost-tied record was 9-8-2.Not bad for a youngster who was tending goal for Acton-Boxboro High School in Massachusetts a year ago.He has played like a rookie many times but he has come up with the big save many more times.In the Montreal game, Barrasso&rsquo;s save on a breakaway shot by Mats Naslund in the second period was, according to coach Scotty Bowman, the key play of the game.Barraso seemed a little shaky at the start. Chris Nilan put what looked like a routine shot through Barrasso&rsquo;s legs early in the first period. It was Montreal&rsquo;s first shot of the game.The Sabres went ahead with two goals early in the second period, but then Naslund sprung Mario Tremblay loose on a breakaway and Tremblay tied the score.Seconds after Tremblay&rsquo;s score, Naslund broke loose. He skated all the way in on Barrasso but the young netminder blocked his point-blank shot.&ldquo;That was a big save,&rdquo; Bowman pointed out. &ldquo;With a young team like ours, momentum means a lot.&rdquo;The Sabres went ahead late in the second period and then, in the final period. Barrasso made some big saves as the Canadiens put on the pressure. The Sabre rookie finished with 21 stops for the night.The teenager from Stowe, MA, will remember the first goal of that game for some time.Red Berenson, the Sabres&rsquo; assistant coach, mentioned one day that Barrasso can tell you every goal that has been scored against him this year.Barraso confirmed this.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s not a goal against me that I&rsquo;ve forgotten,&rdquo; the goalie said. &ldquo;The ones I should have stopped really stand out in my mind. I don&rsquo;t expect they will be going in by mid-season or so.&rdquo;Barrasso has had plenty of pressure on him ever since he reported to the Sabres&rsquo; training camp in Lake Placid as the club&rsquo;s No. 1 draft choice. He has been hounded by the media ever since the NHL draft day last June. He handles it all like a veteran of many years in pro hockey.On the ice, he has faced pressure galore. He started the Sabres&rsquo; first preseason game, in the Montreal Forum, which is enough to shake any rookie.He started in the first game of the regular season in Buffalo&rsquo;s Memorial Auditorium, becoming the youngest to tend goal in an NHL game since Harry Lumley went into the nets for Detroit at age 17 during World War Two.Then, on Buffalo&rsquo;s first visit to Boston, Barrasso&rsquo;s home town, the kid started in the Sabre net.He won the season opener but lost in Boston, where 40 fans&mdash;relatives and friends for whom he bought tickets&mdash;were watching.Did the pressure bother him?No, says he, he was glad to get these hurdles out of the way.&ldquo;I was glad to play in the opening game, rather than sit on the bench and watch, waiting for the chance to go out and play,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;The pressure would have built up. Instead of thinking about it, I just went out and did it.&ldquo;As to Boston, well, that was pressure plus. But I don&rsquo;t think it was the pressure that did me in. For the most part, the goals scored against me were good goals. Of course, any time a goal goes in, the goalie has to be at fault to some degree. But I don&rsquo;t think I gave up any soft ones that night.&rdquo;After the 5-3 Boston win, Barrasso did not talk to the press, members of which were, naturally, eager to question him as a Boston-area product.He received some flak from the Boston media.&ldquo;I would do it again, whether it was right or wrong,&rdquo; Barrasso has said since.&ldquo;The press doesn&rsquo;t always respect the fact that you have a personal life.&rdquo;He explained he wanted to talk to his parents and didn&rsquo;t want to hold up the bus which was taking the team to its chartered plane.Other than that occasion, however, Barrasso has handled the media&mdash;local and national&mdash;very well. He says he doesn&rsquo;t mind being pestered, aftergames and between games.&ldquo;I rather expected it,&rdquo; he mentioned, &ldquo;being a goaltender, 18, just out of high school. It does keep me busy but I enjoy dealing with the press. It lets the fans know about me and gives a rapport with me. It&rsquo;s part of the game.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0014-01

Young Goalie Barrasso Easily Handles Pressure

<div class="byline">BY RICHARD FRIEDMAN</div>NEW YORK&mdash;January came early for the Rangers this year&mdash;about a month early. That&rsquo;s how soon their widely-anticipated mid-season letdown arrived.With a 4-0 loss at home to the Chicago Black Hawks they suffered their first shutout of the season, their winless streak was extended to five games (0-4-1), they looked as lifeless as they looked since their mid-season slump last January and coach Herb Brooks was more visibly upset than he has been after any game in recent memory.What made matters worse was that their failure was more than a lack of performance. more than a strategy by the opposition to shut down their offense Or penetrate their defense, and more than breaks. From a flat pre-game skate to the final minutes of a game that had those remaining in the Garden chanting &ldquo;Wake up. Rangers, wake up,&rdquo; it was a night that had them playing like a team that had lost its confidence. A team in crisis.&ldquo;Tonight we reflected total ineptitude,&rdquo; spat Brooks. &ldquo;Our performance&mdash;or lack of performance&mdash;speaks for itself.&rdquo; Asked about the &ldquo;depth&rdquo; of a team that was playing with Barry Beck, Willie Huber and Mike Allison sidelined and Dave Maloney, Don Maloney, Ron Greschner, Reijo Ruotsalainen and Scot Kleilendorst either sick or hurting, Brooks shot back, &ldquo;Depth? Depth of heart?&rdquo;According to one source close to the team, Brooks threw a temper tantrum after the second period, the likes of which his charges have never witnessed. Then they went out and saw a 2-0 defeat turn into a 4-0 rout on two semi-breakaways in the third period.Brooks would not even discuss the question of bringing in reinforcements from Tulsa of the Central Hockey League and his closing remark about his charges&rsquo; failure to pick up the slack was, &ldquo;Maybe this is the New York Rangers&rsquo; country club.&rdquo;His team lost to a Black Hawk team that was crippled by injuries itself, that had lost to the Jersey Devils the night before, and had been winless on the road this season.&ldquo;Our game plan was to dump the puck in and we didn&rsquo;t use our heads tonight,&rdquo; said Mike Rogers.Instead, as Rogers explained, they adapted a &ldquo;you take it, no you take it&rdquo; non-strategy. &ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t have two guys in at all tonight,&rdquo; said Rogers. &ldquo;There was no one taking the body. I don&rsquo;t think we had more than half-a-dozen hits tonight.&rdquo;They practically gave Chicago goalie Murray Bannerman the night off and in front of their own goalie, a shaky Steve Weeks, their forwards gave the defenseman absolutely no support. The more sustained the booing from the Garden crowd, the more they treated the puck as if it were radioactive.There was talk of a team meeting that weekend in Detroit before they faced former teammates Ed Mio and Ron Duguay (Eddie Johnstone is sidelined following facial surgery). But what the club was lacking was a leader, especially with the catalyst Beck absent with a pulled thigh muscle.&ldquo;It was a slow-moving club out there,&rdquo; said Anders Hedberg, adding that the Rangers were lacking in confidence. &ldquo;It wasn&rsquo;t so much what they were doing. It was what we didn&rsquo;t do.&rdquo;The veteran Hedberg has survived situations before where the bottom has dropped out, but of course there are no quick solutions.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s no fun, even if you&rsquo;ve been there before,&rdquo; Hedberg said. &ldquo;How do you get in there and how do you get out of there? I don&rsquo;t know?&rdquo;Brooks held an optional practice the next day. He is known to work his teams harder when they&rsquo;re winning than when they&rsquo;re losing. He had several options open to him: juggling the forward lines, bringing in some fresh players from Tulsa, particularly to relieve the overworked defense and re-instilling the pride and confidence that was so obvious in the team early in the season.NOTE&mdash;The story on Pierre Larouche (Dec. 2) indicated he has the chance of becoming the first player in the Rangers&rsquo; history to score 50 goals. In fact, former Ranger captain Vic Hadfield, scored 50 in 1971-72.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-011160/4835700-1-eng-US/f0015-012.jpg" title="f0015-01" width="588" height="739"><figcaption class="caption-body">Herb Brooks is reported to have thrown a temper tantrum after the Black Hawk loss.</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0015-01

Rangers Look For Lost Confidence

<div class="byline">BY CHUCK MOODY</div>PITTSBURGH&mdash;Mark Taylor says he hasn&rsquo;t felt as excited in years about playing hockey as he does now.&ldquo;In Philadelphia I was just used as a specialty player&mdash;a lot of penalty killing and stuff,&rdquo; Said Taylor, who was traded by the Flyers to the Penguins in October with Ron Flockhart and Andy Brickley for Rich Sutter and an exchange of draft choices. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s nice to come to a team and feel like I&rsquo;m part of it. I feel I&rsquo;m contributing one way or another.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-02855/4835731-1-eng-US/f0015-022.jpg" title="f0015-02" width="592" height="792"><figcaption class="caption-body">Mark Taylor has been given a heavier workload with the Penguins and it&rsquo;s working well.</figcaption></div>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s giving me that competitiveness back. I think it&rsquo;s really helped my game. I haven&rsquo;t felt this excited about playing for a couple of years.&rdquo;Taylor was languishing on the bench in Philadelphia. He&rsquo;d played only one game and didn&rsquo;t register any points.In Pittsburgh, he plays a regular shift, works on the power play and kills penalties. In his first 13 games with the Penguins, Taylor scored at a point-a-game pace with eight goals and five assists. His goals came on only 22 shots, placing him third in the National Hockey League in shooting percentage at 36.4.&ldquo;I&rsquo;d always felt I could put a lot of points on the board because I did it in my past in college hockey and in junior hockey,&rdquo; said Taylor, who was the National Collegiate Athletic Association Player of the Year in 1980 when he scored 33 goals and 59 assists for the University of North Dakota. &ldquo;Now it&rsquo;s finally coming around and it&rsquo;s a good feeling.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s great to be playing on a regular basis. It&rsquo;s given me a new outlook towards the game. I just feel like I&rsquo;m more involved in the game and hopefully I can improve.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not bitter about leaving Philadelphia. It&rsquo;s just the consequences&mdash;a lot of numbers and a lot of really good hockey players.&rdquo;The 25-year-old Vancouver native was a sixth-round Flyer draft choice in 1978 but completed his collegiate career before turning pro in 1980. He scored 51 goals and 98 assists in two seasons with Philadelphia&rsquo;s Maine farm club in the American Hockey League.But the 5-foot-ll, 185-pound Taylor was used primarily as a penalty killer by the Flyers and scored only eight goals and 25 assists in 63 games for Philadelphia.Penguin coach Lou Angotti, who coached Pittsburgh&rsquo;s AHL farm team in Baltimore the last two seasons, was familiar with Taylor.&ldquo;Taylor is an excellent hockey player,&rdquo; said Angotti. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s very smart, very alert and he has good speed. We got some good reports on him and I saw him down in the minors. We knew he could score goals.&ldquo;He kills penalties very effectively. He&rsquo;s got anticipation and he reads plays very well. It just takes a little bit of instinct and he&rsquo;s got it.&rdquo;Taylor is listed as a center, but he has played all three forward positions in his career. Angotti has been using him on right wing, even though he shoots left.&ldquo;Wherever he wants me to play, wherever I can help the team, that&rsquo;s fine with me,&rdquo; said Taylor. &ldquo;I feel comfortable at center and last year in Philadelphia I had a chance to play right wing because of the numbers game.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve always said to the coach, I&rsquo;ve played all three positions some time in my life. So wherever he needs the help, that&rsquo;s where I&rsquo;ll play.&rdquo;And Taylor hasn&rsquo;t felt as excited about playing in years.PENGUIN TRACKS&mdash;Center Tim Tookey was recalled from Baltimore of the AHL to replace Dave Hannan, who suffered a strained right shoulder&hellip;Andy Brickley severely sprained his left ankle and was forced to sit out a few games &#9632;

f0015-02

Taylor Making Most Of Workload

<div class="byline">BY DAVE KING</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-05405/4835769-1-eng-US/f0016-052.jpg" title="f0016-05" width="618" height="537"></div>George Kalber and his staff at the Lake Placid National Training Center have treated us tremendously. It has really been a worthwhile time for our players and staff members. Dr. Cal Botterill met us here and he has been able to do some individual work with each of our players. We know that Cal&rsquo;s interaction with the players is a very positive step in our overall preparations for the Olympics. Cal is working on team cohesion through increased interaction.We also got some good news from the NHL. Los Angeles Kings&rsquo; general manager George Maguire has allowed us to take a look at Brock Tredway, who was playing for the New Haven Nighthawks of the American League. Brock played college hockey at Cornell and scored 54 goals in his last two college seasons. We hope that Brock is able to fit into our team.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-011025/4835762-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg" title="f0016-01" width="297" height="363"><figcaption class="caption-body">Dave King&rsquo;s Coach&rsquo;s Diary</figcaption></div><h2>December 1</h2>We beat Team USA tonight 6-4 at Battle Creek, Michigan. Although we were happy to win the game, the coaches realize that we were badly outplayed in the third period and simply hung on. The more we see of Team USA, the more we can appreciate what a good hockey club that Lou Vairo and his staff have assembled. Mario Gosselin played goal and faced 45 shots. I&rsquo;m glad that Mario played so well or we might have been embarrassed.<h2>December 2</h2>Indianapolis beat us 4-2 tonight. The coaching staff felt that maybe the players think they can beat the CHL clubs without putting as much effort into it as they do against Team USA. With the type of schedule that we have, every game is important and you can&rsquo;t afford not to be ready. It is tough to convince the players of this.<h2>December 3</h2>We beat Team USA 5-3 before 16.103 fans in Richfield, OH. What a beautiful building and facility they have here. George&rsquo;Gund, the cochairman of the board of Minnesota North Stars and the owner of this facility hosted a reception for both teams after the game. The players still can&rsquo;t get over the number of fans that Team USA attracts in its country. We play the West German national team in Edmonton (Dec. 9), Calgary (Dec. 11) and Vancouver (Dec. 12) and maybe the people of western Canada will come out and support us. I really believe with the effort our boys are putting into this program, they deserve the support of the fans.<h2>December 4</h2>Today is the last of our 13-day, seven-game road trip. With a club prepping for the Olympics, you have to be able to be on the road and play well. One benefit of this particular trip is that the players have come together a little more as a team. We have to start building continuously toward the team concept.Tulsa beat us 3-2 tonight. We have now finished with the Central Hockey League by winning seven and losing five. The Central Hockey League is an excellent development league and I&rsquo;m sure we played against many players who will be in the National League before long.Some of the players are really starting to improve and that is gratifying to us. Dave Tippett, our captain continues to play extremely well and we expected that. Two players who we are extremely pleased with are Kevin Dineen and Robin Bartel. Although they are both primarily defensemen, we have played them on the forward lines quite a bit&mdash;Dineen almost exclusively for the past two months&mdash;and they both have adapted really well. They are giving us the type of depth that we need. We moved Dave Donnelly to center and he has really responded well. We also notice that Pat Flatley&rsquo;s skating is improving every day. Pat is our leading goal scorer and an excellent comer man.Now it is back to the Saddledome and the big ice surface as we prepare for the West Germans. The West Germans have a tremendous hockey team&mdash;very few changes in the last five years&mdash;and they finished fifth in the World Championships last spring in Germany. A lot of people will get their first look at Erich Kuhnhackl, the 6-foot-6 West German scoring star. He is the West German player who could probably best play in the NHL but cannot afford to leave Germany. &#9632;

f0016-05

Team Canada Returns Home To Face Germans

<div class="byline">BY TONY GALLAGHER</div>The most mourned day in the history of the Vancouver Canucks has always been called Black Tuesday.While the hockey club has overcome that sorry day of the first draft the Canucks were involved in on June 9, 1970, the day always comes up when the history of the franchise is reviewed.This was the day the Canucks lost the spin of the wheel to the Buffalo Sabres for the right to choose first in the amateur draft that year. When Clarence Campbell awarded the Sabres&rsquo; the first pick, they took Gilbert Perreault and the Canucks were left with Dale Tallon.Overlooked throughout the 14-year skein of the Canucks was that they drafted well when the expansion players were made available. Gary Doak, their first pick, Orland Kurtenbach (2) Pat Quinn (4) and Rosaire Paiement (5) were all superb that first year for the Canucks, as they played over. 500 hockey until just before Christmas for the club&rsquo;s first coach, Hal Laycoe, now a bird-dog for the New York Islanders. Laycoe, who just recently underwent open heart surgery, had his club flying until Kurtenbach, his captain, got hurt. From there they slid a little, though they still finished with more points than the following Canuck clubs until the &lsquo;74-75 edition totalled 86 points.That winning year was magic for the Canucks and their fans, as a curly-haired goaltender named Gary Smith&mdash;obtained in a trade with Chicago for Tallon&mdash;put in a sensational season. While voters in the east totally ignored him, it can be safely said that Smith should have won the Hart trophy that year, not Bobby Clarke. Without Smith, the Canucks would likely have finished last in the Smythe Divison behind St. Louis, Chicago, Minnesota and Kansas City instead of first. He played 72 of the 80 games, earning 36 of the club&rsquo;s 38 victories. He had six shutouts and was outstanding in just about every game, including the playoffs when they took the powerful Montreal Canadiens to overtime in a fifth game before succumbing.In between those years was a series of follies which included Tom Scallen, the head of owning corporation Medicor, getting indicted on embezzelment charges and a couple of coaching changes. There was the famous revolution in Pittsburgh when the players finally had taken enough of Vic Stasiuk&rsquo;s punitive attitude.He called a practice at 7:30 in the morning and Bobby Lalonde refused to do a particular drill and the agents had to be called in to settle the situation. When Phil Maloney took over as coach with his magic way of relating to the players, the club worked like crazy for him. He was eventually promoted to coach and general manager, eventually fired himself and hired Kurtenbach as the coach. But the Maloney years behind the bench were marked by his charisma as a person. The players had not really taken a turn for the better because the drafting had been consistently poor.Don Lever had been the best of the club&rsquo;s early first round picks, but by and large the scouting was poor. In fairness to the Vancouver scouting staffs over the years, they really didn&rsquo;t have great picks. They were always sixth through 10th and never ended up with a sure-fire star.The club at least was on an even keel in terms of ownership. When it came up for sale largely as a result of the ongoings in Medicor, Frank Griffiths stepped in and rescued the city from an absentee ownership situation.At the time, the Griffiths family was aware that investing in a hockey club wasn&rsquo;t a get-rich-quick scheme. They genuinely wanted to put something back into the community where they had been so successful in the radio and television business.In fact, as the story goes, it was Frank Griffith&rsquo;s wife, Emily, who was one of the deciding factors in the family&rsquo;s assumption of the club.&ldquo;I remember my dad coming home and my mother saying we&rsquo;re going to go ahead and make&rsquo;this work and give something back to this city,&rdquo; said Arthur Griffiths, now the assistant to the chairman of the hockey club. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve never regretted the decision.&rdquo;While the club has always been kept on firm footing financially, it has never been a big money-maker. It has often made small profits, but based solely on investment returns, the Griffiths could have made better investments. They went in with their eyes open and the community spirit has been a trademark of the hockey club ever since.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-01907/4835852-1-eng-US/f0017-012.jpg" title="f0017-01" width="999" height="2015"></div>While they may have been lacklustre on the ice, as corporate citizens of Vancouver, the Canucks have been leaders. The players and management have been everywhere in the community. Their hiring policies have given breaks to many disadvantaged, but the club rarely gets recognized for the work it does which never involves sticks and pucks.The new ownership has provided a certain stability, since the blood-letting which saw Maloney removed and Jake Milford hired.Milford went with Kurtenbach one more disastrous year before bringing in Harry Neale from Hartford in 1978. In 1981-82, he took them to the Stanley Cup, although at the time Neale had been suspended and Roger Neilson was behind the bench. Neale stepped in as GM after Milford retired, but the aimiable Milford put together the mainstays of the club that did so well in that playoff series.Milford traded for Kevin McCarthy, stole Thomas Gradin out from under Chicago&rsquo;s nose and did the same to the Islanders with Richard Brodeur. In the much-maligned Dave Williams-Jerry Butler deal for Bill Derlago and Rick Vaive, they got some short-term assistance, with Williams filling the bill nicely in his first years in Vancouver. He brought in Swedes Lars Lindgren and Lars Molin, traded for Darcy Rota and Ivan Bolidrev and acquired offensive reargguard Doug Halward for a draft choice from Los Angeles. Throw in free agents Neil Belland and Gary Lupul with Colin Campbell on defense and draft choices Stan Smyl and Curt Fraser and you had the club&rsquo;s mainstays.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-02742/4835845-1-eng-US/f0017-022.jpg" title="f0017-02" width="990" height="1779"><figcaption class="caption-body">Thomas Gradin, left, centers the Vancouver Canucks&rsquo; No. 1 offensive line with Darcy Rota and team captain Stan Smyl on the wings. Sophomore scoring ace Tony Tanti, right, is helping to ease the pressure on Gradin&rsquo;s line.</figcaption></div>The Canucks defeated Calgary (their first playoff series win), Los Angeles and Chicago on the way to the Stanley Cup final, riding the crest of White Towel Fever, the memorable incident that started in the semi-finals against Chicago when coach Roger Neilson waved a white towel at the referee and his players followed suit.When the NHL took disciplinary action&mdash;hefty fines&mdash;it only served to heighten the fad and when the Canucks came home, their home crowd went wild, waving white towels.&ldquo;This is the happiest day of my life in hockey,&rdquo; said Milford the night the Canucks eliminated the Hawks in five games.This was the pinnacle of the club&rsquo;s success and Neale&rsquo;s more recent efforts have been an attempt to build on that hockey club.The history of the team also includes a uniform change, the decision to go with &lsquo;hot and dominant&rsquo; colors instead of the original white, blue and green with the stick in the middle of the jersey. It included the first Czech players legally imported into the NHL, as Ivan Hlinka was a tremendous contributor to the Cup final team and Jiri Bubla still patrols the Vancouver blueline with dignity. Recently, they became the only team in professional sports in North America to own their own plane, a Boeing-727 purchased at the cost of between $3-4 million to transport the club to its games.It perhaps hasn&rsquo;t been the most glorious history of any team in the league, but it isn&rsquo;t without lustre.With the likes of Patrik Sundstrom, Tony Tanti, Gradin, Smyl, Rota and Brodeur, the team has come a long way to make the people of Vancouver forget about &lsquo;Black Tuesday&rsquo; for good. &#9632;

f0017-01

This Edition Helps Erase ‘Black Tuesday’

<div class="byline">BY JIM CHRISTIE</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0018-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-01928/4835883-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Canuck coach Roger Neilson says he isn&rsquo;t concerned that some people see him as one-dimensional</figcaption></div>A white towel, a peeled apple, a dog named Jacques and a video recorder&mdash;landmarks and trademarks in the life of the enigmatic Roger Neilson.Six years in the National Hockey League and the best handle anyone has on the 49-year-old coach of the Vancouver Canucks is through what have been labelled his eccentricities. He is a workaholic&mdash;that is a well-established fact. Neilson pours over videotapes late at night to identify and correct his team&rsquo;s strategic errors, then holds teaching sessions with the players. He spies on the opposition with satellite dishes at the Pacific Coliseum and at his Deep Cove home, pulling in games from across the continent.He talks little of himself and once warned Toronto reporters who invited him to an Italian dinner that he would be boring company. The reporters figured they could get him away from hockey for awhile, but between the melon and the meatballs, Neilson solicited their opinion on whether George Ferguson or Errol Thompson could be turned into a checker.Neilson is not offended with people&rsquo;s perception of him as a onedimensional individual.&ldquo;Maybe they think of me as a serious type, you never really know how people think of you,&rdquo; Neilson said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve never really thought about my image. I think everyone wants to be as private as possible and I try to keep as low a profile as I can.&rdquo;He has never married, which probably is a wise choice, for it would be a rare woman who could happily share her life with a man who treads a solitary path, obsessed with doing the best job humanly possible. At times, Neilson has pushed the limits of imagination to achieve those ends.It is reflected in his training methods. As a junior coach of Peterborough Petes of the Ontario Hockey League&mdash;in 10 years his team never finished lower than third&mdash;he brought in his dog as a teaching aid to instruct forecheckers that they should not put themselves out of position by chasing a puck carrier behind the net. Even a dog knew enough to wait for the puck carrier to commit the first move. The message got through, even if the players disliked the comparison.As a minor-league baseball coach, he cooked up a scheme for picking off unsuspecting base runners. When a critical out was needed, there would be a mound conference and the coach would insert a peeled apple into the catcher&rsquo;s mitt. The catcher would then use the apple to make a wild throw to a base to coax the runner home. In reality, he would be waiting with the ball to make the tag. In the ensuing confusion, a fielder could always eat the evidence.Then, there have been instances of stretching the rules&mdash;removing the goalie and using a defenseman such as Ron Stackhouse to charge at a forward taking a penalty shot; constantly stopping play with two men short late in a game by throwing an extra skater on the ice.Neilson does things his own way. When he came to Toronto in 1977 from the Dallas Black Hawks, he had a checking system that he knew could work. Former Leaf general manager Jim Gregory believed in him enough to help him put together the types of grinders who would make it so. Fringe players such as Jimmy Jones, Jerry Butler, Tiger Williams and Pat Boutette were elevated to prominent regulars. The Leafs unloaded a top sniper in Thompson (plus a first-round pick and two second-rounders) to get a tough plodder in Dan Maloney. Innovative drills&mdash;he still gets new drills sent to him from Europe&mdash;team players and hard work made Toronto the last team to defeat New York Islanders in a playoff series.But then autocrats took over and Neilson went through the toughest part of his career. Toronto owner Harold Ballard became disenchanted and fired Neilson twice in the same season. He was not without work for long, moving down the road to the equally autrocratic Scotty Bowman.&ldquo;Scotty&rsquo;s a great hockey man, but a tough guy to work for,&rdquo; Neilson said. &ldquo;He shouldn&rsquo;t be blasted, because he does get the job done. I respect him a lot. But I&rsquo;ve never had the kind of pressure from Harry Neale in Vancouver or Jim Gregory in Toronto. They&rsquo;re easy to talk to and very open to suggestions.&rdquo;And so is Neilson. Although typecast as a defensive coach, this year&rsquo;s Canucks employ some splendid snipers in Patrik Sundstrom and Tony Tanti.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s been really gratifying,&rdquo; Neilson said. &ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t think they&rsquo;d develop this fast. We&rsquo;ve always had a good character team, with people like Stan Smyl, who ranks as a captain with the likes of Darryl Sittier and Danny Gare, and Harold Snepsts who earns respect because he works so hard for everything he gets. But now we&rsquo;ve got the high-talent guys too. We&rsquo;re not great yet but we&rsquo;re getting there.&rdquo;The greatest the Canucks ever got was the Stanley Cup final two years ago, when Canuck Fever hit the west coast city&mdash;spurred inevitably by a Neilson symbol. In the play downs against Chicago that season, Neilson objected to a call by referee Bob Myers and showed his contempt by taking a white towel and hoisting it on a stick as a flag of surrender. The indiscretion cost the club a $10,000 fine, but it became an instant hit with the fans.&ldquo;I never had any idea that it would turn out to be what it did,&rdquo; Neilson reflected. &ldquo;It certainly was an inspirational thing. There were towels everywhere.&rdquo;And there was a new entry for the Neilson compendium of oddities. &#9632;

f0018-01

Neilson: Obsessed With Winning—Any Way

<div class="byline">BY FRANK ORR</div>Earlier this season, Vancouver Canucks&rsquo; fine Swedish forward Patrik Sundstrom scored an overtime goal to beat the Hartford Whalers and Dave (Tiger) Williams was awarded an assist on the score.Williams often is needled by his mates about being a puck-hog and when Canuck general manager Harry Neale offered post-game congratulations to Sundstrom, he said: &ldquo;Patrik, did the Tiger pass the puck to you or did you lift his stick yourself and take it?&rdquo;Thus, it&rsquo;s pleasing to note that the move up to the executive suite hasn&rsquo;t dimmed Neale&rsquo;s sense of humor or his ability to produce a good line under pressure. During his coaching career from junior to college to pro hockey, Harry&rsquo;s one-liners, the majority of them deliciously self-depracating, became part of the game&rsquo;s folklore, written often and repeated by those in the game.A GM&rsquo;s post, however, is one that can weaken a man&rsquo;s wit and transform his hilarity into gloom. There are several examples of young, vibrant men with no salt and pepper in their hair who became GMs in the National Hockey League and, seemingly overnight, became white-haired old grouches in a weird variety of a blueline Alzheimer&rsquo;s disease.In his first full year on that job, Neale warded off the instant ravages that go with the job. No snowdrifts have invaded his hair, the good lines come as swiftly as ever and he has the Canucks in an upward pattern, both on the ice where the club has good potential and on the road, where the team now travels in its own aircraft. &lsquo;&ldquo;Coaching wasn&rsquo;t easy because there are so many facets to the job now,&rdquo; Neale said. &ldquo;But the GM&rsquo;s job has even more sides to it, more things to challenge you.&ldquo;I really enjoyed coaching, especially the scrap and scramble of handling the bench in games. But I had been at it for a long time and when the chance to move up came, I didn&rsquo;t hesitate.&ldquo;I took over from a good operator (Jake Milford) who I had worked under for several years and who stayed with the team (as senior vice-president). There was a good coaching staff (Roger Neilson, Ron Smith) who had worked with me and were on the same wave-length. &ldquo;Jake, Jack Gordon (assistant GM) and Larry Popein (director of personnel) all have been in the game for a lifetime and are great resource people to have around.&ldquo;There are first-rate people all through our organization, guys I know well, and that made it much easier for me. If I had become GM of a team that had people I didn&rsquo;t know, I would have had to learn how they operate along with everything else.&rdquo;Neale&rsquo;s transition from head coach to GM contained a rather unusual period of limbo that could have been handled badly. But because of Neale&rsquo;s well-adjusted approach, it was a positive occurrence.The plan was for Neale to finish out the &lsquo;81-82 season as head coach, then move up to the GM post, turning over the head coaching job to Neilson, his. No. 1 assistant.Late in the schedule, the Canucks were struggling when Neale, aided, of course, by Williams, got into a punch-up with some fans in Quebec City and was suspended. Neilson took over and the Canucks had the biggest success in their history, advancing to the Stanley Cup final against the New York Islanders.Even though the suspension ended early in the playoffs, Neilson stayed at the controls and Neale went through the playoffs as an &ldquo;advisor,&rdquo; perched in the press box.Of course, he had a nifty comment on the situation.&ldquo;If I had known the effect it would have on the team, I would have punched someone in November,&rdquo; Neale said.Neilson said that the Canucks&rsquo; &ldquo;open&rdquo; approach to doing things made the transition easy.&ldquo;When Harry, Ron and I were the coaching staff, an outsider would have had a difficult time figuring out who had what title,&rdquo; Neilson said. &ldquo;We worked very closely together and it&rsquo;s the same now that Harry is the GM.&rdquo;<blockquote class="pullQuote">Neale was a fine defenseman with the Toronto Marlboros in 1955, but postponed a try at a pro career to acquire a degree at University of Toronto.</blockquote>Bom in Sarnia, Neale, 46, was a fine junior defenseman with the Toronto Marlboros team that won the Memorial Cup in 1955 and &lsquo;56. He postponed a try at a pro career to acquire a degree from University of Toronto, where he played college hockey.After teaching history in high school, Neale coached at Ohio State University for four years, then guided Hamilton juniors. When the World Hockey Association was formed in 1972, Neale was a charter member, hired as assistant coach&mdash;to long-time friend Glen Sonmor&mdash;by the long-gone but never forgotten Minnesota Fighting Saints.Early that first season, Neale became head coach of the team for two seasons and when the Saints went down fighting, he guided the Hartford Whalers for two years before taking the Canuck job in 1978.The book of Neale lines quickly grew.During one Canuck slump, he said: &ldquo;We&rsquo;re losing at home and we can&rsquo;t win on the road. My failure as a coach is that I can&rsquo;t think of any place else to play.&rdquo;During a game, Canuck goalie Curt Ridley dove into a pile-up to smother a. loose puck and twisted both knees. Asked if he had ever seen anything like it previously, Neale replied: &ldquo;No, I haven&rsquo;t but what Curt did is pretty good. The record is three.&rdquo;Neale&rsquo;s big challenge now is to build the Canucks into a solid contender, a tough chore because the team shares the Smythe Division with the Edmonton Oilers.&ldquo;No doubt that being in a division with the Oilers dictates the approach we have to take,&rdquo; Neale said. &ldquo;To compete with them, a club needs plenty of speed and that&rsquo;s an area we&rsquo;re trying to improve. I think we&rsquo;re making progress.&rdquo;Neale made a good move in that direction with one of his first deals, a good one in which he sent winger Curt Fraser to Chicago Black Hawks for winger Tony Tanti, who was in junior hockey at the time. Tanti has been one of the NHL&rsquo;s top snipers this season and, in tandem with Sundstrom, he&rsquo;s upgraded the Canucks&rsquo; quickness.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-01874/4835914-1-eng-US/f0019-012.jpg" title="f0019-01" width="585" height="745"><figcaption class="caption-body">Harry Neale has kept the Canucks in good shape both at home and on the road.</figcaption></div>&ldquo;There are times when I feel that we almost need two teams&mdash;a fast, high-scoring roster for the season and a tight-checking, defensive team for the playoffs,&rdquo; Neale said. &ldquo;The Islanders have one roster that can do both and that&rsquo;s why they&rsquo;re champs.&rdquo;During the off-season, team public relations director Norm Jewison received a request to have four Canuck players participate in a white-water raft race in interior B.C. Neale agreed that it would be a good idea if team members were involved.&ldquo;But I get to pick the players who go,&rdquo; the Canuck GM said. &#9632;

f0019-01

Neale Manages Job With Sense Of Humor

<div class="byline">BY TONY GALLAGHER</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0020-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-01720/4835952-1-eng-US/f0020-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">John Garrett (right) kept his teammates in stitches in Quebec and he&rsquo;s kept it going since coming to the Canucks last season.</figcaption></div>VANCOUVER&mdash;Gary Lupul fractured a knuckle in a fight with Thomas Steen during a recent Canuck victory over the Winnipeg Jets and was sitting in the dressing room considering the fate of both himself and the team without him.&ldquo;Don&rsquo;t worry, Lupe,&rdquo; came a voice from the shower, &ldquo;Cheech can probably play center, too.&rdquo;Cheech, for the few cities in which John Garrett has not stopped in his 13year pro career, is a dark-haired goaltender with a great sense of humor. He also can stop pucks well, which is what he has been doing in extraordinary fashion for the Canucks this season.His record of seven wins and two losses so far this year is enough to make any goalie considered a team&rsquo;s No. 1. but he says he&rsquo;s just a partner in the firm of Garrett and Brodeur. Though his record contrasts sharply with Brodeur&rsquo;s (3-8-1), he doesn&rsquo;t consider himself No. 1, even though King Richard has had some problems this year.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve both been around long enough to know this sort of thing runs in streaks,&rdquo; Garrett said. &ldquo;Some nights you get the breaks and the other guy can&rsquo;t do anything right. It just seems we&rsquo;ve been a little more fortunate with me in the nets.&rdquo;That may have been the case until recently, but the game in Winnipeg seemed to put that on hold. Garrett was spectacular in stopping 38 or 39 shots&mdash;23 in the last period&mdash;to pace the Canucks to a flattering 4-1 road win over the Jets, only their second win away from the Coliseum this season.&ldquo;I was sharp and felt good, but it was one of those nights when everything goes right for you,&rdquo; said Garrett. &ldquo;They (Jets) didn&rsquo;t get any momentum until that questionable penalty to Doug Halward. Then they came out shooting.&rdquo;Garrett scoffs at the suggestion the players seem to put out more for him, saying it is just a matter of luck.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been on both sides of that,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;In Hartford, Greg Millen used to swear the guys played better for me, but then when I went to Quebec, I thought the guys there had better games in front of Bouchard. It doesn&rsquo;t bother Richard, I know that. We roomed together most of this year and he knows as well as I do that one of these days it will swing around. Let&rsquo;s face it, most of the time 17 of the guys couldn&rsquo;t care less who is playing goal. They don&rsquo;t even notice half the time. Richard and I sort of cheer for each other.&rdquo;Garrett&rsquo;s fine act was actually augmented by a brilliant performance from Brodeur during a win over the Los Angeles Kings, leaving coach Roger Neilson pretty happy.&ldquo;With Richard having come on so well we feel we&rsquo;ve got two outstanding goalies,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I feel I can use either one of them at any time and not give up anything. They&rsquo;re both on top of their games.&rdquo;Another favorable factor in the dual goaltending system working so well is that when both are right, they have the same style. Both are excellent stand-up goaltenders. Brodeur getting into trouble when he&rsquo;s down and not challenging, Garrett often hurting himself by staying too deep. But when they are both on top form, few teams have goaltending packages to match the Canucks.Meanwhile, the injury to Lupul has forced the Canucks to bring up lefthanded center Grant Martin from Fredericton of the American Hockey League and scour the trade market for the center they want. General manager Harry Neale has been trying to trade a defenseman for a forward for most of his term as general manager in Vancouver and he&rsquo;s still trying.Martin might be able to come in and give Vancouver some punch, as he scored 15 goals in 21 AHL games.&ldquo;If (Mark) Kirton had been the one hurt, we probably would have called up (Gerry) Minor.&rdquo; said Neilson. &ldquo;But this will be Grant&rsquo;s firt time in the NHL. This is his chance to show us what he can do.&rdquo;<h2>Player Of The Week</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-02492/4835945-1-eng-US/f0020-022.jpg" title="f0020-02" width="1089" height="1512"><figcaption class="caption-body">(Photo by Bruce Bennett)</figcaption></div>His team, the Los Angeles Kings, lost eight consecutive games, but that&rsquo;s no reason why Charlie Simmer should be ignored when it came time to select HOCKEY NEWS&rsquo; Player of the Week for the week ending Dec. 4.Simmer, the veteran winger who sustained a near career-ending injury a couple of seasons ago, scored six goals and added five assists in four games to earn Player of the Week honors. Included in his six goals was a hat trick and after 27 outings. Simmer had 17 goals and 19 assists.The Kings may be having a tough time getting their act together but Simmer certainly isn&rsquo;t. &#9632;

f0020-01

Garrett Humor, Play Still Blows ‘Em Away

<div class="byline">BY RANDY SMITH</div>HARTFORD&mdash;Ronnie Francis couldn&rsquo;t resist a smile.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a nice little trick, isn&rsquo;t it?&rdquo; he said.Hartford fans will long remember the Frank Merriwell finish that lifted the Whalers to a 4-3 overtime win against the New York Rangers. If there was a missing ingredient, coach Jack Evans couldn&rsquo;t think of it.&ldquo;A tie game, seconds left, a full house and the home team wins,&rdquo; Evans said. &ldquo;Who could ask for more?&rdquo;Officially, there were 14,817 fans, a sellout, at the Hartford Civic Center on the night that Francis and linemate Blaine Stoughton pulled a rabbit out of the hat, but as the legend grows, so will the crowd. No self-respecting Hartford fan would dare admit that he didn&rsquo;t see it.The setting was sheer Hollywood, the ending Frank Capra all the way.Here&rsquo;s what happened:With the score tied 3-3 and 11 seconds left in overtime, Francis and former Whaler Pierre Larouche lined up to take a faceoff to the right of goaltender Steve Weeks.&ldquo;Ronnie came over to the bench and asked me if he could try the play,&rdquo; Evans recalled. &ldquo;I said, &lsquo;What the heck?&rsquo; There&rsquo;s only 11 seconds left. What else are we going to do?&rdquo;<blockquote class="pullQuote">The play worked like a charm against the Rangers but the main characters suffered an agonizing delay.</blockquote>The play first was used against Detroit two years ago and gave the Whalers an unlikely tie in the waning seconds. Play-by-play man Chuck Kaiton still refers to Francis&rsquo; trick as the &ldquo;Detroit play.&rdquo;What Francis, who now works on the move in practice, does is push the puck forward, the same direction that his faceoff rival wants it to go. Francis must then elude his opponent and get the puck to Stoughton, playing possum to Francis&rsquo;, right.Against the Rangers, the play worked like a charm, but not before the main characters suffered through an agonizing delay.&ldquo;We tried it the first time, but there was a misfire,&rdquo; Francis said. &ldquo;I figured then that we were dead.&rdquo;A whistle stopped play, so Francis and Larouche lined up to do it again.&ldquo;After the first time, Pierre started laughing,&rdquo; defenseman Risto Siltanen said. &ldquo;I thought he was thinking to him-self, &lsquo;well, that play&rsquo;s never going to work.&rsquo; &ldquo;But Larouche chuckled for another reason, according to defenseman Joel Quenneville.&ldquo;I know why he laughed,&rdquo; Quenneville said. &ldquo;I flipped the puck toward the linesman and it almost hit him in the head.&rdquo;Before lining up the second time. Francis continued the charade.&ldquo;I changed my feet a little bit and signalled Joel to come in,&rdquo; Francis said. &ldquo;Of course he knew where the puck was going and it wasn&rsquo;t to him.&rdquo;Stoughton, meanwhile, was playing his own game.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s really psychological warfare, a mind game,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;You have to think what their coaches have told them to do. (Mark) Pavelich lined up next to me the first time and that&rsquo;s perfect, just what we want. It&rsquo;s his job to get to the point. All I have to do is step out of the way and let him.&ldquo;But the second time, he moved inside (Tom) Laidlaw and if he stays there, we&rsquo;re dead. There&rsquo;s no way I&rsquo;m going to get to the net. So I went in next to Pavelich and started banging sticks with him. Now he figures it&rsquo;s my job to stop him from getting to the point. When I moved back out, he moved with me. I knew then that at least we had a chance.&rdquo;When the puck was dropped, Francis pushed it forward, recaptured control and sent a centering pass to Stoughton, who tapped it in for the game-winner.&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t do anything except shovel it in,&rdquo; Stoughton said. &ldquo;My son (two-year-old, Chance) could have scored. It&rsquo;s all up to Ronnie. He&rsquo;s the one who makes or breaks the play. All I have to do is put the puck in the net. That&rsquo;s the easy part. &ldquo;Larouche, alas, was left to play the part of the unwitting fool.&ldquo;Ronnie tricked me,&rdquo; Larouche said. &ldquo;Do you know how many times I&rsquo;ve seen him pull that? And I didn&rsquo;t remember it. All those times and I didn&rsquo;t remember. I&rsquo;m a dope.&rdquo;The story will grow in time. Such is the nature of storybook finishes. And this, now-you-see-it, now-you-don&rsquo;t routine, was a dandy.&ldquo;If it works, it looks pretty,&rdquo; Francis said.Flowers bloomed all around Hartford for one night that few will forget.Only Quenneville looked at it from the Rangers&rsquo; point of view.&ldquo;They should call the cops,&rdquo; he said.WHALER SCUTTLEBUTT&mdash;Ron Francis injured his right knee in a game against Vancouver and was expected to be out 10 days. Center Ross Yates, for the third time in 17 days, was recalled from Binghamton to replace Francis&hellip;Risto Siltanen picked up his 200th NHL point on an assist in the same Vancouver game&hellip;Emile Francis, the team&rsquo;s general manager-president, received a Milestone Award for coaching 750-plus games. Gordie Howe made the presentation prior to the memorable Ranger game&hellip;Winger Ray Neufeld received a three-game suspension for involvement in a fight against the Rangers, but the league, upon reviewing films, lifted the suspension. &#9632;

Francis Uses Trickery To Beat The Rangers

<div class="byline">BY TONY GALLAGHER</div>Critics would call him a raving perfectionist, but he doesn&rsquo;t have any.Jim Robson is the voice of the Vancouver Canucks and his reputation in town is almost larger than life. &lsquo;Foster&rsquo;, as he is often called by the players, has done all but a handful of Canuck games&mdash;most of them on CKNW radio and some with Hockey Night in Canada&mdash;since the franchise came to life in 1970.After games Robson can be heard castigating himself for getting a player wrong in the early part of the second period or not understanding what somebody was thinking late in the first. He&rsquo;s dead keen on getting everything absolutely correct and his preparation for telecasts or broadcasts is legendary in Vancouver media circles. Al Davidson, the always controversial sports director at CKNW, has been calling him the best (English language) play-by-play hockey announcer in the world and he gets no arguments.Robson, who had difficulty accepting compliments until recently, gives it the old &lsquo;Aw shucks&rsquo;, when people get excited about him. But it&rsquo;s plain to see when he works, he has a very special talent for bringing the game to life by creating images with his words. In a sense, TV robs him of his biggest asset: his ability to describe the game perfectly when you can&rsquo;t see it. But he likes working on the tube and if the dollars could ever be worked out, he would like to get into television exclusively. His color man on radio is former Canuck Garry Monahan. He is in his first year in Vancouver, trying to fill the big boots left by Tom Lars-cheid, who left NW for big bucks at CFUN, the station carrying the Canadian Football League B.C. Lions&rsquo; football games.When Robson works for Hockey Night in Canada, Howie Meeker brings his enthusiastic, sometimes caustic comments along, and with the incredibly versatile Steve Armitage, the trio brings one of the best products of any description into the living rooms of B. C. and further on Saturday nights.The BCTV telecasts, of which there will be 20 this season, again feature Meeker, who always draws a strong reaction&mdash;mostly negative&mdash;which is exactly what producers are looking for. Calling the play-by-play beside him is Bernie Pascal!, who also has a wealth of experience under his belt. Pascal! has covered several world championships and Olympics, with his calling of the U.S.-Russia game in the &lsquo;80 Olympics still a vivid memory for many Canadians along the CTV network. The third man in the booth is John McKeachie, whose wit and knowledge have given him something of a cult following in Vancouver. McKeachie, whose television sportscasts are among the best prepared in North America, handles the between period interviews on the road, while that job at home is shared with Barry Houlihan, a former Lion football player.Between periods on radio, Davidson brings his large following and knowledge partly obtained by a satellite dish he has to keep Vancouver listeners abreast of other teams. When Robson is doing his thing on television, Ron Barnett fills in on play-by-play as did Jim Houghson before jumping to the Toronto market from the springboard of CKNW.At present, there are no plans to televise the Canucks on cable TV. &#9632;

Robson Fosters A Mighty Large Reputation

<div class="byline">BY TONY GALLAGHER</div>Hockey fans are inclined to become a little restless when the word potential is used to describe a hockey club. They prefer results.But this is precisely the situation the Vancouver Canucks find themselves in the midst of their 14th year of existence.They have more talent than at any time in the history of the franchise. If and when they find a way to get all the cylinders firing, the Edmonton Oilers may not be certain to advance to the Campbell Conference final.The Canucks have two proven scoring lines, with five of the six key players on the roster making up those two combinations. Center Patrik Sund-strom and right winger Tony Tanti, two relative newcomers to the league, are used with several left wing candidates to form one group, and the line centered by Thomas Gradin with right winger Stan Smyl and left winger Darcy Rota is the other trio giving coach Roger Neilson added offense.Tanti, the 20-year-old, blooming star from Toronto, is the most pleasant sight in Vancouver since the Lord created the North Shore mountains. He became the fastest Canuck ever to reach the 20-goal mark and unless he is badly hurt, he will almost certainly break Rota&rsquo;s club record of 42 goals in a season.It has always been said the Canucks simply needed that one sniper, the game breaker. It would appear Tanti is the man, though one hates to pin that pressure label on a young winger who by rights should just be getting out of junior.Acquired from Chicago last year in a deal for Curt Fraser, Tanti has reinforced Oiler general manager-coach Glen Sather&rsquo;s comment that it was the biggest trade (steal) in the league last year.Tanti, of course, set all sorts of scoring records as a junior in Oshawa, but looked a little lethargic as a pro in his first year. Obviously, he was just maturing, and the Canucks recognized this.&ldquo;I knew they were counting on me this year and that things were expected of me,&rdquo; said Tanti. &ldquo;I worked hard in the summer on my skating. 1 lost some weight and Patrik has been playing much better. And the goals have been going in for me. I got lots of chances last year and couldn&rsquo;t seem to score. This year is different.&rdquo;Sundstrom, the biggest Vancouver forward at 202 pounds, can do it all. He simply needed a year to get used to life in the National League. Having that under his belt, he has been outstanding. He draws penalties like Rembrandt. Every time he&rsquo;s on the ice, it seems he&rsquo;s beating a defender to the outside and cutting in. He can hit, score and pass extremely well, with the only improvement likely to come on faceoffs.&ldquo;Last year I started on right wing and I was not used to it here where the rinks are so narrow,&rdquo; said Sundstrom. &ldquo;I much prefer the center. On the wing, it seems there is nowhere to go. This year I&rsquo;m more relaxed. I know what to expect in the league.&rdquo;Tanti and Sundstrom have had Dave Williams on their line for the most part, though Lars Molin will likely be given a shot there when he&rsquo;s fully recovered from the fractured leg suffered near the end of last season.The other line of Gradin, Smyl and Rota is a mixture of hard work and skill.Smyl, the captain, is a leader in every sense of the word. He hits every night and can score, too (88 points in 74 games last season). Yet most eastern observers would be scandalized if you mentioned his name in the same breath with Rick Middleton.Every time Harry Neale picks up a telephone, somebody is asking for Smyl. In one candid conversation with Montreal boss Serge Savard, who was asking for &lsquo;The Steamer,&rsquo; as he is known in Vancouver, Neale is said to have quipped: &ldquo;If I make that deal, I&rsquo;ve got to go with him.&rdquo;Gradin is another player underrated by most in the league. Often he is the best player on the ice on the road, where the Swedes are supposed to have difficulty playing. He is now second on the Canucks&rsquo; all-time scoring list behind Don Lever, in only five seasons in the league. He is expected to surpass Lever later this season, especially if his line is kept intact. Like all Swedes, he skates superbly and he passes extremely well to his left, which accounts for many of Rota&rsquo;s goals. He is clearly the best player the Canucks have ever had (Tanti needs a bit more time before he can be judged fairly).Rota has found a home in Vancouver and suitable linemates since coming from Atlanta and finally parting company with Ivan Boldirev in 1979-80. His 42 goals last season shredded the myth that Rota was not a goal scorer, something even he had always disclaimed. Another fast start this year has put him in position to land at least another 35 goals if he stays healthy.Of course, the team depends heavily on Richard Brodeur in goal. If they are to get all the joints on the club oiled, he must be playing well and protected better than they have been able to manage so far in the first 25 games. Brodeur is still well thought of as a goaltender despite his higher average this year. Without him playing like King Richard of his Stanley Cup playoff form of 1982, there will be problems. Continuing improvement from Rick Lanz and more aggressvie work from Harold Snepsts would also be helpful for the Canucks, still hopeful of gaining second place in the Smythe Division and claiming the home advantage in the first round of the playoffs.The potential is there. The trick is to make it kinetic. &#9632;

Canucks Possess Abundance Of Potential

<div class="byline">BY WALT MacPEEK</div>H&B 100 YEARSLouisville HockeyEAST RUTHERFORD&mdash;You couldn&rsquo;t blame Thomas Ballantyne McVie for getting a little excited.The Devils&rsquo; zealous new coach jumped over the boards and ran out on the ice in street shoes to join his team&rsquo;s celebration after New Jersey had hung on for a 3-2 triumph over Chicago.McVie had a lot to celebrate. The Devils snapped an eight-game losing streak and a two-game losing streak under then-second coach of the season.&ldquo;I know we didn&rsquo;t win the Stanley Cup,&rdquo; Mcvie conceded. &ldquo;It was just another hockey game but it was good for our whole organization.&ldquo;I was pretty excited for our team. We&rsquo;ve been doing a lot of good things the last couple of games, but one thing we didn&rsquo;t know how to do was win.&rdquo;A check of the record book reveals that McVie hadn&rsquo;t coached an NHL victory since Oct. 17, 1980, when the Winnipeg Jets defeated&mdash;who else?&mdash;the Chicago Black Hawks 6-2 at Winnipeg.In other words, the Devils&rsquo; Nov. 29 victory ended a coaching winless streak of 27 NHL games for McVie, whose team went 0-18-7 over the 25 games which preceded his firing as Jets&rsquo; coach on Dec. 21, 1980.While most Devil players thought McVie&rsquo;s display of exuberance was appropriate, the coach felt it necessary to defend his actions to any skeptics who might not approve.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s the trouble with people today,&rdquo; McVie suggested, &ldquo;especially in the pros. They think there&rsquo;s something wrong with enthusiasm and spirit. It&rsquo;s in college sports and they think when you turn pro it shouldn&rsquo;t be there. Maybe they think it embarrasses you but I was very proud of my players.&rdquo;Chico Resch, Pat Verbeek and Jan Ludvig were three of the players with which McVie was most proud. Resch played brilliantly in goal, Verbeek tipped in a Ludvig shot for the game-winner and also assisted on a second period goal by Aaron Broten.Resch, who finished the dramatic evening with a 2-0 mark for the season against Chicago and an 0-11 log against the rest of the league, was cautious in his assessment of the injury-plagued Black Hawks.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want to say anything bad about them,&rdquo; a smiling Resch said with a wink. &ldquo;I might have to face them in the playoffs.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-01589/4836055-1-eng-US/f0024-012.jpg" title="f0024-01" width="589" height="871"><figcaption class="caption-body">Tom McVie jumped over the boards after his first win as coach of the Devils.</figcaption></div>HOT STUFF&mdash;Ironically, after Tom McVie was fired following Winnipeg&rsquo;s 1-20-7 start in 1980-81, the Jets won their next game, a 5-4 decision over the Colorado Rockies, who were coached by Billy MacMillan, the recently-deposed Devil general manager-coach&hellip;McVie said he had a visit from rookie John MacLean, who had heard rumors that he would soon be sent back to Oshawa of the Ontario Hockey League. McVie told MacLean he would watch his play closely for three games and then decide. &#9632;

f0024-01

McVie Goes Wild After Devils End Drought

<div class="byline">BY CHARLIE HALPIN</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0024-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-02425/4836086-1-eng-US/f0024-022.jpg"></div>It isn&rsquo;t every day that a 12th-place team (in total attendance last season) rises up and leads the National Hockey League in attendance for the first quarter.But that&rsquo;s the case with the rejuvenated Detroit Red Wings, who have aroused such fan support in the Motor City that the team has already set an NHL single-game crowd mark of 21,019 (Nov. 25 against Pittsburgh, if you can believe it) while inching past the Edmonton Oilers to become the new box-office leaders.Not since the memorable days of the great Red Wing teams of the early &lsquo;50s, when Detroit won the Stanley Cup four times in six years, has hockey interest been at such a peak. But it didn&rsquo;t just happen overnight.It&rsquo;s all part of the Detroit renaissance which began prior to the start of last season when the team took on a new owner, Mike Hitch, a new general manager, Jim Devellano, a new coach, Nick Polano, and a crop of promising young players.For the first time since 1966, when the Wings came within a series of winning a Stanley Cup, Detroit&rsquo;s hockey fortunes appear promising. The famine has been long. The Wings have missed the playoffs 15 times in the last 17 years. Anything the youthful Wings achieve this season will be an improvement.The Wings&rsquo; rise to the top at the box office is one of two factors contributing to the league running 75,295 ahead in attendance compared to the same point last season. The other is the move of the Calgary Flames from their old 7,242-seat arena to the spanking new Saddledome, where seating capacity is 16,764.The emergence of Detroit and Calgary as major drawing powers has changed the look of the NHL&rsquo;s top five box-office attractions considerably. Detroit has shunted Edmonton to second spot and Calgary has jumped all the way from 21st to No. 4, surpassing such perennial NHL crowd leaders as Montreal, Toronto, Philadelphia, Chicago and the New York Islanders.,In the first of four unofficial quarterly attendance reports compiled by THE HOCKEY NEWS and covering the first 10 home games of each of the 21 clubs, the NHL has attracted 2,912,089 fans. Last year, the teams drew 2,836,794 for the first 210 games.The Red Wings, who ranked 14th at this stage of the 1982-83 season, have drawn 175,635 fans. That&rsquo;s only marginally better than Edmonton, which drew its usual 174,980 and the New York Rangers, who pulled in 173,829 fans, but it put Detroit at the top of the box-office race for the first time.Devellano credits many developments for the sudden rise.&ldquo;Two things have helped us a great deal,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;The economy in this area has improved and so has our hockey club.&rdquo;But the Wings&rsquo; turnstile success goes deeper than that. The club has an ambitious new owner in Hitch, who has done a superb marketing job. Detroit fans are coming back and it has reflected in the team&rsquo;s game average at the Joe Louis Arena where 17,563 fans show up for games compared to the 10-12,000 who suffered through the lean years. With a seating capacity of 19,275, the Wings have had four sellouts.Ironically, it was a visit to Detroit on Nov. 12 by the great Wayne Gretzky and the Edmonton Oilers that put the Wings over the top as the No. 1 box-office draw. A total of 20,088 witnessed the game, the highest crowd of the season until the Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins set the league record 13 days later.Here&rsquo;s how the top 10 NHL teams rank in attendance for the first quarter: 1. Detroit, 175,635; 2. Edmonton 174,980; 3. Rangers 173,829; 4. Calgary 167,640; 5. Montreal 165,919; 6. Toronto 163,553; 7. Philadelphia 160,705; 8. Chicago 159,914; 9. Islanders 154,430 and 10. Quebec 151,192.With 12 of the 21 teams showing actual gains in attendance and the Oilers holding their own, the NHL is off to a solid start in its bid to reach and ultimately pass the 12 million crowd plateau. The league moved closer to its goal last season when 11,550,834 fans witnessed NHL games.Despite the increase in attendace-, which raised the game average to 13,867, there were also bleak spots to be considered.A total of eight NHL teams were behind &lsquo;82-83 figures, sellouts fell from 103 of a year ago to 88 and some of the crowd defecits were alarming. For example, the Pittsburgh Penguins continued to be a dismal failure at the box office and were 20,059 behind despite an improved hockey club. A similar situation existed in Washington where the competitive Caps were in arrears by 32,118. The Los Angeles Kings were down 15,125, New Jersey was 12,819 behind and was losing its touch in the Meadowlands after a sensational first year last season. Minnesota and Vancouver lost ground at the box office, too.Coming next week! Which NHL team draws best on the road? And how popular are Wayne Gretzky and the Edmonton Oilers when they&rsquo;re playing away from home?<h2>NHL First-Quarter Attendance Report &#9632;</h2>

f0024-02

Wings A Box-Office Hit

<div class="byline">BY MIKE KANE</div>H&B 100 YEARSLouisville HockeySHERBROOKE&mdash;Although he says the penalty does not fit the crime, Sherbrooke Jet goaltender Warren Skor-odenski is serving a 20-game suspension, which is believed to be the longest in the history of American Hockey League.Skorodenski, a 23-year-old Winnipeg native on loan from the Chicago Black Hawk organization, was handed the suspension by AHL president Jack Butterfield for actions following a 7-6 overtime loss to New Haven on Nov. 20 at Sherbrooke. The sentence came after Butterfield&rsquo;s eight-day investigation. Butterfield determined that Skorodenski was guilty of violating Rule 67 (a) for touching referee Dave Lynch.As a result, Skorodenski will be sidelined until Jan. 13. While no appeal is expected&mdash;though it is possible under the AHL rules&mdash;Skorodenski feels that he has been mistreated.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s not much else I can do,&rdquo; Skorodenski said. &ldquo;I guess I&rsquo;m feeling sorry for myself. For what I did I should have been penalized to a certain degree. 1 just think the 20 games is a little far out. They seem to think this is the worst thing they&rsquo;ve ever seen. I think its been blown way out of proportion.&rdquo;According to the reports filed with the league office by Lynch and supervisor of officials John Ashley, who was at the game, Skorodenski rushed Lynch, made bodily contact, then tossed him against the boards. The incident occurred seconds after New Haven won the game on a power-play goal, which was set up by a tripping penalty assessed to Skorodenski in the overtime. It nullified an emotional comeback for the Jets, who had rallied from a 6-2 deficit to force the overtime.Skorodenski remembers the encounter differently and believes that since it happened just after the Tom Lysiak incident, his penalty was made more severe. Butterfield denies that there is any connection between the two cases.&ldquo;I knew right away when I talked to Jack Butterfield the following day that he really wasn&rsquo;t paying too much attention to what I was saying,&rdquo; Skorodenski said. &ldquo;I really don&rsquo;t think it mattered what I had to say, he seemed to have his mind made up. It seemed like the league wanted to make an example of me. 1 feel that I was a victim of circumstance, partially because of the Tom Lysiak situation.&rdquo;Skorodenski protested the tripping penalty to Lynch, but returned to his crease for the faceoff. Just five seconds later, Daryl Evans scored on a rebound, ending the game.&ldquo;By then I was just furious,&rdquo; Skorodenski said. &ldquo;When we were skating off the ice we had to go through the box past the referee at the timekeeper&rsquo;s box. He was just standing there and, I don&rsquo;t know, but I thought he was grinning.&ldquo;I started yelling at him again. It was a heat of the moment thing. The league seems to think that I hit the referee or that I checked him into the boards. They say 1 hit him and pushed him twice. 1 may have, in the heat of the moment, bumped into him. I thought I had just pushed. I was tired of yelling at him. I still had my gloves on and 1 pushed him and when I did I pushed myself away from him. It&rsquo;s not hard to push someone on skates.&rdquo;Skorodenski says the league is trying to say Lynch was bruised after the bumping.&ldquo;They make it out to be such a big thing that happened and yet it was just a little push,&rdquo; Skorodenski said. &ldquo;It was a push.&rdquo;Since no videotapes of the incident were available, Butterfield had to make his ruling based on the reports of game officials present and from interviews with Skorodenski and Sherbrooke general manager Georges Guilbault.&ldquo;We felt it was a clear-cut case of a category which requires, as indicated by the supervisor and the referee, that it should be 20 games,&rdquo; AHL vicepresident Gordon Anziano said. &ldquo;He (Skorodenski) ran right into him (Lynch) at the sideboard and in the same motion grabbed him by the sweater and pushed him up against the boards or in John Ashley&rsquo;s words, &lsquo;threw him against the boards.&rsquo;&rdquo;What makes the case even more interesting is that Butterfield is not bound to assess a specific penalty. When the NHL changed Rule 67 (a) last summer to include a mandatory 20-game suspension for deliberate contact with an official, the AHL board of governors decided not to alter its rule. The governors left Butterfield with the authority to determine the penalty if the situation ever arose. He could have made the suspension as long or short as he deemed necessary.Butterfield said he followed the directives of the AHL governors and used the NHL rule only as a guideline. He pointed out that he was in a position to impose an even stiffer suspension but settled on the 20 games after taking into consideration that Skorodenski had no previous history of such offenses.AROUND THE DIVISION&mdash;Maine signed veteran center Bud Stefanski to help pump some life into its offense. Stefansld, 28, led the Springfield Indians in scoring last season with 70 points in 80 games. Stefanski will wear uniform number 77&mdash;believed to be the highest in the history of the AHL. He has always worn No. 7, but the Mariners retired that number earlier this season to honor former Mariner Wayne Schaab. Maine forward Yvan Vautour played a regular shift in two games in the same day on Nov. 26. Vautour played for the parent New Jersey Devils at the Boston Garden against the Bruins in the afternoon, jumped in his car and drove back to Portland for a Mariners&rsquo; game that night&hellip;Adirondack continued to experience manpower problems. Brad Smith and Joe Paterson were recalled to Detroit and Jody Gage was sent back from the NHL club. Those moves, coupled with injuries to Charlie Skjodt and Wayne Crawford, left Adirondack coach Bill Dineen with just nine forwards and five defensemen. Veteran Randy MacGregor was signed. Don Murdoch was also signed to a contract for the remainder of the year. Murdoch, 27, had 12 goals and 16 points in 24 games of a 25-game tryout&hellip;Nova Scotia maintained its grip on first place in the Northern Division by recording a 1-0-3 record during a road trip. Mark Holden was in goal for all three of the ties and emerged as one of the most effective goalies in the league. The Vees are 7-1-6 in their last 14 games and have not lost in their seven road games. Nova Scotia lost forward Brian Skrudland for three weeks when he broke a bone in his left ankle&hellip;Moncton defenseman Lowell Loveday suffered a broken bone in his right wrist and will miss at least six weeks. Todd Strueby is still sidelined with a shoulder injury&hellip;With the suspension to Warren Skorodenski and the recall of Mike Veisor to Winnipeg, Sherbrooke was left with just one goalie, Paul Pageau. The parent Winnipeg club then sent Veisor back as a replacement&hellip;Ron Wilson and John Gibson were recalled by Winnipeg. &#9632;

Skorodenski Believes He’s Being Lynched

<div class="byline">BY BARRY MEISEL</div>BINGHAMTON&mdash;The American Hockey League&rsquo;s highest scoring rookie wasn&rsquo;t drafted by the 21 National Hockey League teams and he still hasn&rsquo;t signed his first pro contract. But as the television commercial says, Binghamton Whaler center Roberto Lavoie is making a name for himself.The name, pronounced Li-Vwah, skates as smoothly off the tongue as the 21-year-old Frenchman does on the ice. Say it quickly&mdash;Roberto Lavoie. It&rsquo;s a can&rsquo;t miss label, sewn onto the jersey of an emerging scorer.Thirteen games ago, nobody was saying his name. After 10 games of a 25-game amateur tryout, the Petit-Saguenay, Que., native had scored just two points.Unless you&rsquo;ve played under the microscope of a 25-game tryout&mdash;in which a team has 25 games to sign a player, but may cut him anytime before&mdash;you can&rsquo;t imagine the pressure.Lavoie had felt it before, when he lasted only four games of his 25-game tryout last season before the parent Hart-ford Whalers requested he play a year of overage junior hockey for Chicoutimi of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.&ldquo;Last year, I was here for four games and only dress for two,&rdquo; he said in fractured, but vastly imrproved, English. &ldquo;After only two points in 10 games this season, I say, &lsquo;Wow. If I don&rsquo;t do more points, I never get an offer.&rsquo;&rdquo;The next game. Lavoie started &ldquo;doing&rdquo; more points. Matched with left winger Dan Fridgen and right winger Randy Pierce, he scored a goal and three assists in a 5-4 overtime win at Rochester.That game was his launching pad and he has since totalled 24 points in his last 13 games. With two games left before No. 25, Lavoie&rsquo;s only worry is which agent will help him sign his first contract.&ldquo;More confidence, that&rsquo;s why I play better,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Last year, I don&rsquo;t play much in the two games I dress. This year, I get a lot of ice on regular shift, power play, penalty killing.&rdquo;Despite scoring 57 goals and 79 assists for Chicoutimi last season, Hartford was the only team to invite the 5-foot-ll, 175-pounder to training camp this fall. Being one of the few Frenchman assigned to the AHL Whalers couldn&rsquo;t have helped.AROUND THE SOUTH&mdash;New Haven Nighthawks are calling center Warren Holmes, left winger Daryl Evans, and right winger Mark Lofthouse, the HEL-LINE, as in, &ldquo;one hell of a line.&rdquo; In three straight wins last week, Holmes scored two goals and nine assists, Evans added six goals and two assists and Lofthouse registered three goals and eight assists. Evans and Lofthouse split Player of the Week honors. With 40 points, Lofthouse tied Sherbrooke&rsquo;s Ron Wilson for the league lead. Holmes has scored or assisted on New Haven&rsquo;s last five game-winning goals. Brock Tredway has left the Hawks to try out for the Canadian Olympic Team.Rochester goalie-assistant coach Phil Myre kicked out 32 shots in a 4-0 win at Sherbrooke, only the league&rsquo;s second shutout of the season. The Amerks held the Jets without a shot in the first period. Center Claude Verret leads AHL rookies with 15 goals and 25 points and is one behind Roberto Lavoie.The division-leading Baltimore Skipjacks continue to lead the division and continue to juggle. Pittsburgh recalled defenseman Randy Boyd and forwards Rocky Saganiuk and Warren Young, and returned defenseman Bob Gladney and forwards Jim Hamilton, Paul Gardner and Kevin McClelland.St. Catharines added goalie Tim Bernhardt on loan from Calgary and released forward Ron Choules and defenseman Reid Bailey.Binghamton, which lost center Ross Yateson on emergency recall to Hartford, is reportedly interested in Bailey. Darren McKay leads all defenseman with 21 points.Michel (Bunny) Larocque passed through NHL waivers and was assigned to Springfield, giving coach Doug Sauter three goalies (Larocque, Gil Hudon and Bob Janecyk).Chicago recalled forwards Tom McMurchy and Denis Cyr from the Indians, but returned Dan Frawley and Florent Robidoux.Hershey lost defenseman Greg Theberge on emergency recall to Washington and added Eric Calder. After not playing in an overtime affair in their first 20 games, the Bears participated in four straight OT games, losing one and tying three. &#9632;

Whalers’ Leading Scorer Makes Name For Himself

<div class="byline">BY BILL PICKETT</div>Louisville HockeyINDIANAPOLIS&mdash;Tulsa coach Tom Webster was seated beside Bill Baker in the bus taking the Oilers from their hotel to a practice session at the Fairgrounds Coliseum.Webster turned to Baker and remarked: &ldquo;God, it&rsquo;s good to be on the road.&rdquo;Baker responded, &ldquo;I was just thinking the same thing.&rdquo;That, indeed, is a switch as far as most professional teams are concerned. But for the Oilers, home is not what it&rsquo;s cracked up to be&hellip;not yet in this Central Hockey League anyway.&ldquo;Disorganized,&rdquo; is the word Webster used to describe the Tulsa front-office operations which frustrated him so much that he offered his resignation a week ago to the parent New York Rangers.Webster is under contract to the Rangers, not to the Tulsa ownership. Resignation was rather a strong move to make, but Webster said it was something he had to do in an effort to make the local ownership realize the seriousness of the situation.&ldquo;I pride myself on being organized in whatever I do,&rdquo; the Tulsa mentor explained. &ldquo;I can put up with any kind of changes, but you can only make so many adjustments. Things had been adding up and it got to a point where there just was not an organization at all.&rdquo;Granted, the Tulsa plan to move into new facilities in the Pavilion at the Fair Grounds looked like a good one. The Oilers, buoyed financially by the sale of shares in the club on the Denver stock exchange and the supervision of concessions in the Pavilion, seemed to have things under control.They were scheduled to open their home season on Nov. 8 against Indianapolis but that proved to be the first big snag.It&rsquo;s history now that the Checkers were forced to sit around their hotel rooms for three days when the new equipment in the Pavilion failed to operate. The thing was, though, that the Tulsa front office played the situation day by day instead of just calling the two-game series off. Consequently, the Checkers had no ice (nor did the Oilers, of course), and took off for Denver a bit rusty from lack of skating. They dropped two straight to the Colorado Flames.&ldquo;I have nothing but respect for (Indy coach) Fred Creighton and his hockey team,&rdquo; Webster pointed out. &ldquo;They put up with the inconveniences they were subjected to and ended up having to go to Denver and lose two games there. I feel sorry for them and it was all brought on by our disorganization.&rdquo;That incident made the load a bit heavy on Webster. His team already had suffered enough inconvenience in the early going.&ldquo;Things that were supposed to have been done never got done,&rdquo; continued Webster. &ldquo;Each day was a new day in the adventures of this team. We&rsquo;d get to the rink for a scheduled practice and we&rsquo;d never know if there was going to be ice or if the Zamboni machine was going to be able to clean the ice so we could be on time. We never knew if the compressor was going to break down or if we would have the supplies we need.&rdquo;The straw which broke his back was a change in the team&rsquo;s travel schedule.&ldquo;I was not informed of it until after the game (a loss to Montana),&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;The change was for the next day&rsquo;s travel to Indianapolis.Besides the change, the team was issued one-way tickets.That was enough for Webster.&ldquo;I had to take a stand on behalf of the players,&rdquo; said Webster. &ldquo;I tried to make the people in our organization realize how difficult the situation was on the players, so I told them and the Rangers I was going to quit.&rdquo;The result of that action caused a bit more turmoil when the players were informed of Webster&rsquo;s action.&ldquo;After I told the team, they got together by themselves and decided if I quit, they quit,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We weren&rsquo;t even going to come to Indianapolis. We were just going to forfeit the game.&rdquo;At this point, Webster again considered the players. Retaliaton against them would be harmful.&ldquo;They could have been suspended and their action would have created problems for the league, so we decided to come on to Indianapolis,&rdquo; he said.Even so, Webster still didn&rsquo;t know&mdash;a day before the Oilers&rsquo; Nov. 29 game against the Checkers&mdash;whether the team would return to Tulsa for a couple of days of practice or would go on to Salt Lake for a game on Dec. 3.It&rsquo;s not a one-way reaction by Webster and the team. The coach acknowledges &ldquo;the financial obligation&rdquo; the owners and club officials have assumed.&ldquo;But we want to try to clear things up,&rdquo; he stressed.The unique thing about the situation is the Oilers have battled to an 8-4 mark on the road and were 2-2 at home during all this. Maybe that&rsquo;s why Webster and Baker agreed:&ldquo;It&rsquo;s nice to know we&rsquo;re going to be able to skate, to know we&rsquo;re going to have a good practice,&rdquo; Webster said as he and his team travelled to practice in Indianapolis.And, he added, &ldquo;The nicest part about all this is that my mind is clear so I can go out and do some teaching today.&rdquo;League president Bud Poile, informed of the situation, acknowledged, &ldquo;There have been some internal problems which have to be straightened out between Tulsa (management) and the Rangers (who own the franchise).&ldquo;The parties have an agreement and Tulsa is not meeting the requirements of the Rangers. Management problems have plagued the Tulsa organization.&rdquo;In the meantime, there&rsquo;s no place like the road for the Oilers.CHL CHAT&mdash;The first tie game of the season occurred Nov. 26 when Tim Harrer&rsquo;s power-play goal in the third period gave Salt Lake a 3-3 tie against Montana. The Magic struck for three goals in 41 seconds earlier in that period to take a 3-2 lead&hellip;Goalie Jim Craig has led the Golden Eagles to the. 500 mark for the first time this year, with a goals-against mark of 3.05 and a 6-2-1 record in his last nine outings&hellip;Montana&rsquo;s John Markell scored four goals in the Magic&rsquo;s 8-4 triumph over Tulsa&hellip;The Oilers&rsquo; Dave Barr led the league in scoring at week&rsquo;s end with 10 goals, 17 assists. Scott McLeod of Salt Lake and Jim Jackson of Colorado were a point behind. Markell was the leading goal-getter with 14, five on power plays&hellip;The Indianapolis Checkers continued to be the CHL&rsquo;s worst road team, winning but one of 11 games away from home as they got off to their poorest start (8-13-0) in five seasons. &#9632;

Webster Almost Quits Out Of Frustration

<div class="byline">BY BUD GALLMEIER</div>KALAMAZOO&mdash;The hottest team in the International Hockey League has been the K-Wings, but the standings don&rsquo;t reflect it.The Wings are fifth in the seven-team circuit and are seven points out of first place. Still, Kalamazoo was 3-0 for the week and has lost just once in their last 10 games. The Wings&rsquo; nemesis is leagueleading Milwaukee, which is equally as hot.The Admirals were 2-1-1 and their loss was the first in their last eight games. Over an 11-game span, Milwaukee has won eight, lost once and tied twice.Kalamazoo is 8-1-1 in their last 10 games. Three of the victories came on the road, while the loan loss was at home. Had the Wings been as successful at home lately as they&rsquo;ve been in the past, Milwaukee most likely would be second best. Of Kalamazoo&rsquo;s 23 points, 12 have come on the road.Rob Davies and Jim MacRae have been the offensive sparks for the Wings during the spurt. Davies has scored nine goals and 12 assists. MacRae has seven and nine in the same span. But defense has been the big difference. During the 10 games, Kalamazoo has given up just 22 goals.Veteran Georges Gagnon has been the hot goalie for the most part. A typical Gagnon performance was his effort on Nov. 24 in Fort Wayne, when he kicked out 49 of 51 shots as the Wings squeezed out a 3-2 victory. Kalamazoo fired only 17 shots, which proves quality is more important than quantity.The win in Fort Wayne was the third straight on the road for Kalamazoo. After the win in Fort Wayne, the Wings closed out the week with a pair of victories at home, nipping Milwaukee 5-4 and out-skating Peoria 5-2.Dale Yakiwchuk, the league&rsquo;s scoring champion last season, has been the spark for Milwaukee. Sidelined early by an injury, Yakiwchuk has been playing like an all-star since his return to the lineup. Over the last 12 games, Yakiwchuk has scored six goals and has been credited with 16 assists. His linemate, fleetskating Daniel Lecours, has also benifitted from Yakiwchuk&rsquo;s play. Lecours has scored 13 goals over the last 12 games.Fast finishes have been the key for the Admirals in their run for the top. The Admirals lead all teams in third-period scoring with 38 goals. On the other hand. Kalamazoo has had the best defensive record in the final period, allowing just 17 goals.PEORIA&mdash;The Prancers remain Milwaukee&rsquo;s major threat with a 1-2-0 record. All three games were on the road, with the victory at Muskegon, followed by losses at Toledo and Kalamazoo (5-4 and 5-2, respectively). For the Prancers, who finished last in their maiden voyage a year ago, the secret this year has been scoring the first goal. Peoria has scored first in 10 of its games and has won all 10. In games where the opposition has scored first, Peoria is an unhealthy 2-9-1.FORT WAYNE&mdash;Despite a winless week, the Komets remain very much in the hunt. The best the Komets could do was a 4-4 tie at home with league-leading Milwaukee. The Komets lost a 3-2 decision to Kalamazoo at home and dropped a pair on the road by identical 5-2 scores at Flint and Milwaukee.There was an encouraging development for general manager-coach Ron Ullyot. High-scoring Barry Scully, who missed 22 games with a knee injury, returned to the lineup and scored a pair of goals in the 4-4 tie with Milwaukee.TOLEDO&mdash;The two-time defending league and playoff champion also had a perfect week. The Goaldiggers weren&rsquo;t too busy, playing two games at home as the Diggers turned back Peoria 5-4 and Flint 4-2 and moved into a tie with Fort Wayne.FLINT&mdash;The Generals stayed in contention by picking up three of a possible six points with a win and a tie in three starts. Although Flint is in sixth place, the Generals have 22 points, only eight behind first-place Milwaukee. Flint&rsquo;s victory was a 5-2 romp over Fort Wayne at home. On the road, Flint tied Muks-kegon 5-5 and lost 4-2 to Toledo.MUSKEGON&mdash;The Mohawks, were 0-2-1 on the week and are winless in their their last 11 games. &#9632;

Admirals Frustrate Torrid K-Wings

<div class="byline">BY TOM BURKE</div>BOSTON&mdash;&hellip;And then there were two.As predicted, the ranks of the undefeated teams in Eastern Colleges Athletic Conference Division One quickly thinned out as the season concluded its second full week.After Dec. 4, only Boston College and New Hampshire survived unscathed. BC boasted a 6-0 overall record and a 4-0 league slate, while UNM was 3-0 in the ECAC. Harvard and Cornell both tasted their first defeat of the campaign.The Eagles pulled off a rare two-game sweep in New York&rsquo;s North Country, knocking off Clarkson 5-3 in a rugged contest, then battling St. Lawrence for nearly 70 minutes before squeezing out a 5-4 overtime win.Junior forwards were the heroes for New Hampshire in the North Country, along with sophomore goalie Scott Gordon. Third-year left winger Dave Livingston assisted on his team&rsquo;s first goal and scored its second and fifth to help break Clarkson&rsquo;s 10-game winning streak at home. Gordon made 40 saves.Another junior portsider, Jim Herlihy, beat St. Lawrence goalie Dave Kervick with just 12 seconds to play in the overtime period to lift the Eagles to the 5-4 win in a seesaw battle at Appleton Arena in the second game. Sophomore Scott Harlow had a pair of tallies for the visitors and Gordon made 34 saves to Kervick&rsquo;s 36.Earlier in the week, BC just slipped by winless Brown 4-3 in overtime. Junior Tim Mitchell&rsquo;s slapshot eluded Brown goalie Paul McCarthy at 7:36 of the extra period. BC took a 3-1 lead and dominated play early, but McCarthy kept his mates in the game and the Bruins rallied.&ldquo;I can&rsquo;t be disappointed after a game like that,&rdquo; smiled Brown coach Herb Hammond.His team has 11 freshmen skating and is lacking in scoring punch and finesse. After a year of trying to play an aggressive, freewheeling game, Hammond has changed to a more conservative philosophy in the hope of stealing a few games here and there.&ldquo;It almost worked,&rdquo; added Hammond. &ldquo;You could see BC coming down to our level as the game went on. I found out that I couldn&rsquo;t play my Plattsburgh State offense with so many young players.&rdquo;Hammond&rsquo;s strategy worked a little better a few nights later when Brown held then-unbeaten Harvard to a 4-4 tie at Meehan Auditorium. Freshman center Dan Allen scored Brown&rsquo;s first two goals and assisted on the last two against the Johns. The final one came with 1:11 to play in regulation when Tom Wallach slapped a drive from the point off goals Dick McEvoy&rsquo;s glove to tie the game.Harvard beat favored Boston University 3-1 on the Terriers&rsquo; pond a few nights earlier. Crimson goalie Grant Blair made 40 saves. BU held a territorial edge most of the way, but a three-goal burst in a span of 2:27 of the second period when Jay North, Tony Visone and Bob Wheeler all beat Cleon Daskalakis.Harvard lost 6-0 to RPI, as Darren Puppa netted his first collegiate shutout. That same evening, visiting New Hampshire dumped Providence 6-3 at Schneider Arena. Providence knocked off Boston University a week before beating UNH. Junior John Deasey borke a 3-3 tie in that one with just 1:51 to play in the game.Vermont didn&rsquo;t let the Friars get away, however, tripping down to Schneider and tying the favored PC team 3-3. Mark Litton twice gave the Catamounts the lead, but they had to come from behind to tie on a goal by Kevin Foster with 4:28 to play in regulation.Colgate continued to be inconsistent. The Raiders defeated St. Lawrence 5-3 in Hamilton as five different players scored. Senior Steve Smith&rsquo;s goal at 2:17 of the second period was the actual game winner.But then Colgate journeyed &lsquo;way up to Creno, ME, for its bi-annual visit to the Black Bears and came out with a pair of losses (7-4 and 6-2). Only the first game counted in league standings, however. Joel Steensen had a pair of scores in that contest which saw UMO jump out to a 3-0 period lead. The next evening, Paul Giacalone and Bruce Hegland each scored twice for Maine.New Hampshire blanked Cornell 5-0 in Ithaca in a relatively staid game that saw goalies Bruce Gillies and Don Fawcett each turn aside 28 shots.Cornell then made it to BU and Fawcet was once again a busy man. He made 48 saves to half that amount for Daskalakis as the Terriers, losers of their last two games, rallied from a 2-0 deficit.Northeastern had a win and a tie against Ivy foes. Dartmouth took an early two-goal lead but the Huntington Hounds bounced back on scores by Paul Fitzsimons, Stewart Emerson and Bob Averill. Averill and Brian Fahringer both ended up with a pair of scores. Later in the week at Princeton, the Tigers pulled goalie Wally McDonough and inserted an extra skater against NU. The move paid off, because Rob Schauer tied the score for Princeton with 46 seconds to play. NU had a goal disallowed in overtime and settled for a tie.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-01513/4836213-1-eng-US/f0028-012.jpg" title="f0028-01" width="581" height="1082"><figcaption class="caption-body">Vermont&rsquo;s Mark Litton scored two goals in a 3-3 tie with Providence College.</figcaption></div>Yale, which accompanied BC to the North Country, absorbed defeats of 6-1 at St. Lawrence and 4-2 at Clarkson. Mark Bonneau had four assists for the Larries, who shut down Yale&rsquo;s power play four times in the third period. At Clarkson, a five-on-three power-play goal by Yale&rsquo;s Eric Borg made it 3-2 with just under 10 minutes to play, but Clarkson held and Mike Harvey iced the game with 33 seconds to play with an empty-net goal. &#9632;

f0028-01

ECAC’s Undefeated Teams Pared To Two

<h2>Player of the week</h2>Wherever Dan Dorion has played hockey, he has scored points. And now that he&rsquo;s in his sophomore season with the Western Michigan University Mustangs of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association, it isn&rsquo;t any different.Dorion, a 5-foot-9,-180-pound center from Astoria, NY, scored three goals and added seven assists to lead the Mustangs to a two-game sweep over the University of Illinois-Chicago Flames.The 10-point effort gave Dorion, whose NHL rights are owned by the New Jersey Devils, 15 points in his last four games and earned him Player of the Week honors for the period ending Dec. 4. He also has a 16-game scoring streak intact and has 19 goals and 35 assists after 16 games this season, placing him second in CCHA scoring.At the end of the season, THE HOCKEY NEWS will select a Bauer College Player of the Year.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-02358/4836244-1-eng-US/f0028-022.jpg" title="f0028-02" width="557" height="916"><figcaption class="caption-body">DAN DORION WMU Mustangs</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0028-02

Bauer

Official publication includes rosters, coaches, athletic directors, schedules, records and location of over seventy college varsity teams in the Eastern United States. A veritable bible for coaches, players and fans. A must for the quality American & Canadian athlete wanting a college education with financial aide. Small cost for a possible four year scholarship.Price per copy&mdash;$5.50 (U.S.) or $7.00 (Canadian) including postage. Mail check to:ECAC Hockey Guide Department, P.O. Box 3, Centerville, MA, 02632 &#9632;

1983-84 ECAC HOCKEY GUIDE

<div class="byline">BY JIM SCHNEIDER</div>CHICAGO&mdash;The Central Collegiate Hockey Association was saddened by the death of Mark Nordling, a freshman center at the University of Illinois-Chicago.The 6-foot-l, 185-pound Nordling, a native of Hallock, MN, slumped to the ice during practice and was taken to Skokie Valley Hospital where he died. The cause of the death will not be known until a coroner&rsquo;s report is released in a couple of weeks.&ldquo;Mark was a super individual,&rdquo; said Flame coach Val Belmonte. &ldquo;He was an honest, warm and intelligent person and he had a fine future.&rdquo;The death of the 19-year-old Nordling hard in his hometown, according to UIC hockey sports information director Dan Currier, who contacted Hallock High School hockey coach John Bittner.&ldquo;He was a self-made athlete,&rdquo; said Bittner. &ldquo;He had the raw material, but he Had to work hard. In the ninth grade, Mark determined that he would be a Division One hockey player despite the fact he was from such a small school. His graduation class had just 31 students.&ldquo;When something like this happens in a small community, it really bites deep.&rdquo;UIC teammates wore black arm bands to honor Nordling during the weekend series against Western Michigan and teams in the CCHA had a moment of silence to honor him before the start of play.In CCHA play, defending regularseason champion Bowling Green used a 4-2, 8-6 sweep over Ohio State to vault past the Buckeyes into first place.Sweeps were in order in the league with Michigan State, Michigan and Western Michigan all coming up with a pair of wins.Michigan State swept Michigan Tech 7-2 and 6-4, while Michigan beat Lake Superior 2-1 in overtime and 4-3 to record wins No. 799 and 800 in the 62-year history of varsity hockey at Michigan. Western Michigan topped Illinois-Chicago 5-4 and 10-4.Northern Michigan and Ferris State split a pair of games in Big Rapids with the host Bulldogs winning the opener 5-3 before NMU took the second game 7-4.Miami, idle on the weekend, upset top-ranked Ohio State 4-3 in a mid-week game in Oxford. Miami&rsquo;s Bill Easdale scored two goals and assisted on a third to snap OSU&rsquo;s 13-game winning streak and Miami&rsquo;s 13-game losing streak.Western Michigan&rsquo;s Dan Dorion collected CCHA Player of the Week honors for the second straight series as he scored three goals and added seven assists for a 10-point series against Illinois-Chicago.Colin Chin scored two goals as UIC took a 3-1 lead in the emotional opener against the Broncos, but Dorion assisted on three WMU goals in a row after scoring the first one. Jeff Crossman scored two goals including the tying goal on a power play at 9:42 and Chuck Chiatto scored the winner at 16:09.Dorion scored a pair of shorthanded goals to open the scoring in the second game and he added four assists while Thrun scored two goals.John Samanski paced the Bowling Green offense in its sweep of Ohio State as he collected five points, including three goals in BG&rsquo;s 8-6 comeback win.After BG took the opener in Columbus. the Buckeyes jumped to leads of 3-0 and 5-2 scoring five goals on only 10 shots against BG&rsquo;s Wayne Collins. However, BG freshman Gary Kruzich made 26 saves after replacing Collins and earned his second win of the series.OSU&rsquo;s Paul Pooley keep his scoring streak alive at 16 as he scored two goals and added three assists in the series.Michigan State used two-goal games by Mike Donnelly in the opener and Kelly Miller in the second game to sweep Michigan Tech as Norm Foster made 41 saves in the sweep.The Huskies gaines a 2-2 tie in the opener after one period on goals by Ron Zuke and Kurt Pearson and led 2-1 after one in the second game on goals by Al Radke and Chris Cichocki. But injuries to Zuke and defenseman Brian Clark and Dave Reierson cut the MTU ranks for the series.Sophomore defenseman Greg Hudas scored his first career goal at 4:16 of overtime to give Michigan its 2-1 win over Lake Superior and co-captain Kelly McCrimmon scored a goal and assisted on two others including John Bjorkman&rsquo;s winning goal in the 800th Wolverine win.Jim Clements scored two goals to pace Ferris State in the opener against NMU and Wildcat freshman Gary Emmons scored two goals in the rematch to help gain the split. Dave Randall had a goal and three assists for NMU in the second game.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-01441/4836323-1-eng-US/f0029-012.jpg" title="f0029-01" width="582" height="838"><figcaption class="caption-body">Mark Nordling slumped to the ice during practice and later died in hospital.</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0029-01

Illinois-Chicago Mourns Death Of Nordling

<div class="byline">BY VIRG FOSS</div>MADISON&mdash;The biggest news in the Western Collegiate Athletic Conference came off the ice, not on it.The news was that the WCHA and the newly-formed Super Seven league from the East will play an interlocking schedule, effective with the 1984-85 season.The six-team WCHA and the seven-team Super Seven will play the interlocking schedule with all games counting in their respective league standings.The Super Seven consists of Providence, Boston College, Boston University, New Hampshire, Maine, Northeastem and the University of Lowell.Each school will play an intersectional schedule of two games against every school in the other league in addition to its own league schedule.For the WCHA, it means a major break from the format which has seen such rivals as Wisconsin-Minnesota and another matchups facing each other six times in regular-season play.The WCHA teams will play each other just four times in the regular season for a total of 20 games and play the members of the Super Seven twice each, for a total of 34 league games. Currently, the WCHA plays a 26-game schedule.Officials say it is the first time such an agreement for inter-league play in college athletics has ever been forged in the United States.Lou Lamoriello, athletic director at Providence College and the commissioner of the Super Seven, made the announcement of the agreement in conjunction with George Schubert, faculty representative at North Dakota and chairman of the WCHA executive committee.Meanwhile, Minnesota-Duluth stamped themselves as legitimate WCHA title contenders by marching into Madison and coming away with their first sweep ever over Wisconsin in Madi-on by virtue of 6-5 and 4-1 victories.Not only was it the first time Duluth had ever swept the Badgers in Madison, but it put an end to Wisconsin&rsquo;s nine-game winning streak which had made the Badgers the hottest team in the league.The sweep made Duluth coach Mike Sertich look like a prophet of sorts. Earlier in the week, he said, &ldquo;This is an important series for us. If we want to stay with the Big Three, we&rsquo;re going to have to do well at Wisconsin.&rdquo;Things didn&rsquo;t go well for Duluth from the start in the opening game as Wisconsin rolled to a 5-1 lead late in the second period. But Duluth battled back to tie it in regulation play, then got the winning goal from Brian Glynn 1:11 into overtime to take the 6-5 decision.The hot goaltending of rookie Rick Kosti, who was superb from late in the second period in the opener, continued in the rematch the next night.Kosti blanked Wisconsin for over 90 minutes from the second period in the opener until the final minute of the re-match as Duluth took the second game 4-1.Tom Herzig scored once and defenseman Tom Kurvers twice as Duluth raced to a 3-0 lead in the third period. Wisconsin finally dented Kosti when Paul Houck scored with 47 seconds left in the game, but Bill Watson, the WCHA&rsquo;s scoring leader, connected into an empty net in the final seconds to wrap it up for Duluth.Kosti, from Weybum, Sask., finished with 53 saves for the weekend to claim WCHA Player of the Week honors.Meanwhile, Minnesota moved into first place ahead of North Dakota when the Gophers managed a tough sweep over cellar-dwelling Colorado College in Minneapolis while North Dakota could do not better than split in a series at Denver University.At Minneapolis, sophomore forward Eric Lempe scored twice and goaltender Frank Pietrangelo made 27 saves as the Gophers won the opener 4-2. That victory, coupled with North Dakota&rsquo;s 3-2 loss at Denver that same night, pushed the Gophers one point ahead of the Sioux, who lost their third straight league game.The rematch also went to the Gophers, but not without a major struggle. Colorado College built a 3-1 lead in the second period on two goals from Tim Turner and one from Rob Doyle, all on power plays.Minnesota forged the tie on goals by Roger Bowe, Pat Micheletti and Lempe, then got the game winner with just 1:01 left in regulation play when defenseman Tom Parenteau beat Colorado College goalie Marty Wakelyn.The Gophers had to withstand an anxious minute to preserve the win when the Gophers were called for delay of game when they emptied the bench to congratulate Parenteau. After the penalty, Colorado College pulled Wakelyn for a sixth attacker and a six-on-four power play, but Minnesota goalie Mike Vacanti, who used to play for Colorado College. made five key saves in the final minute to preserve the victory. &#9632;

East’s Super League, WCHA To Compete

<h2>ECAC CONFERENCE</h2>(Standings on Mon. Dec. 5)<h3>EAST DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-01499/4836434-1-eng-US/f0030-012.jpg" title="f0030-01" width="522" height="208"></div><h3>WEST DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-02373/4836427-1-eng-US/f0030-022.jpg" title="f0030-02" width="521" height="178"></div><h3>IVY DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-03255/4836420-1-eng-US/f0030-032.jpg" title="f0030-03" width="522" height="205"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Providence 5, Boston Univ. 3Boston College 4, Brown 3Colgate 5, St. Lawrence 3Harvard 3, Boston Univ. 1New Hampshire 5, Cornell 0Northeastern 7, Dartmouth 4Vermont 3, Providence 3St. Lawrence 6, Yale 1Boston Collge 5, Clarkson 3Maine 7, Colgate 4Boston College 5, St. Lawrence 4Clarkson 4, Yale 2Harvard 4, Brown 4Boston Univ. 4, Cornell 2Northeastern 4, Princeton 4RPI 6, Harvard 0New Hampshire 6, Providence 3Maine 6, Colgate 2<h2>WCHA CONFERENCE</h2>(Standings on Fri. Dec. 9)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-04172/4836413-1-eng-US/f0030-042.jpg" title="f0030-04" width="520" height="208"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>North Dakota 5, Maine 1North Dakota 7, Maine 4Wisconsin 9, Illinois-Chicago 3Wisconsin 7, Illinois-Chicago 3Minnesota 9, U.S. Inti 3Minnesota 7, U.S. Inti 3Minn-Duluth 4, Mich Tech 3Mich Tech 4, Minn-Duluth 1W. Michigan 4, Denver 3W. Michian 3, Denver 2Minn-Duluth 6, Wisconsin 5Minn-Duluth 4, Wisconsin 1Minnesota 4, Colorado College 2Minnesota 4, Colorado College 3Denver 3, No. Dakota 2No. Dakota 6, Denver 2<h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-05111/4836406-1-eng-US/f0030-052.jpg" title="f0030-05" width="521" height="350"></div><h2>CCHA CONFERENCE</h2>(Standinas on Fri. Dec. 9)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-0685/4836399-1-eng-US/f0030-062.jpg" title="f0030-06" width="522" height="349"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Ohio State 8, Ill-Chicago 2Ohio State 9, Ill-Chicago 2Wisconsin 10, Ill-Chicago 4Mich Tech 7, Ferris State 5Mich Tech 7, Ferris State 1N. Michigan 5, L. Superior 1N. Michigan 4, L. Superior 3W. Michigan 8, Miami 3W. Michigan 6, Miami 2Mich State 6, Michigan 3Michigan 5, Mich State 3Bowling Green 6, N. Hampshire 5Bowling Green 4, N. Hampshire 3Bowling Green 5, Miami 3Bowling Green 6, Miami 3N. Michigan 5, Michigan 3Michigan 5, N. Michigan 1Mich State 8, Ferris State 2Ferris State 2, Mich State 1W. Michigan 4, Denver 3W. Michigan 3, Denver 2Min-Duluth 4, Mich Tech 3Mich Tech 4, Min-Duluth 1Wisconsin 9, Illinois-Chicago 3Wisconsin 7, Illinois-Chicago 3Miami 4, Ohio State 3Bowling Green 4, Ohio State 2Bowling Green 8, Ohio State 6Michigan 2, Lake Superior 1Michigan 4, Lake Superior 3Mich State 7, Mich Tech2 Mich State 6, Mich Tech 4Ferris State 5, N. Michigan 3N. Michigan 7, Ferris State 5W. Michigan 5, Ill-Chicago 4W. Michigan 10, Ill-Chicago 4<h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-0767/4836392-1-eng-US/f0030-072.jpg" title="f0030-07" width="527" height="465"></div><h2>ONTARIO CONFERENCE</h2>(Standings on Mon. Dec. 5)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-0858/4836385-1-eng-US/f0030-082.jpg" title="f0030-08" width="525" height="382"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Brock 4, McMaster 4Waterloo 4, Guelph 3Queen&rsquo;s 1, Western 1York 7, Brock 1Toronto 10, Windsor 6Toronto 14, Guelph 3Western 5, Laurier 1Western 5, Toronto 3Waterloo 5, McMaster 3Laurentian 7, York 3Guelph 5, Laurier 3Laurentian 9, York 2<h2>ONTARIO COLLEGES</h2>(Standings on Mon. Dec. 5)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-0950/4836378-1-eng-US/f0030-092.jpg" title="f0030-09" width="521" height="235"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Seneca 3, Centennial 0Seneca 9, Humber 2Contestoga 9, Sheridan 8Seneca 10, St. Clair 1Canadore 9, Centennial 3Canadore 4, Humber 3Seneca 7, St. Clair 2 &#9632;

f0030-01

HOW THEY STAND

<h2>JENO&rsquo;S HOLIDAY CLASSIC</h2>At Duluth, MNWed.-Fri. Dec. 28-30Minn-Duluth, Boston College, Ferris State and Lake Superior<h2>GREAT LAKES INVITATIONAL</h2>At Detroit, MlThu.-Fri. Dec. 29-30Michigan, Mich. State, Mich. Tech and Northern Michigan.<h2>I LOVE NEW YORK</h2>At Lake Placid, NYThu. Dec. 29Bowling Green vs CornellClarkson vs BrownFri. Dec. 30Consolation & championship games<h2>SYRACUSE INVITATIONAL</h2>At Syracuse, NYThu. Dec. 29Colorado vs PrincetonSt. Lawrence vs North DakotaFri. Dec. 30Consolation & championship games<h2>CODFISH BOWL</h2>UMass (Boston), Merrimack, Babson, Westfield State<h2>SCHOONER cup</h2>At Halifax, NSThu.-Fri. Dec. 29-30Ohio State, Dalhousie, Providence and Toronto<h2>AULD LANG SYNE</h2>At Hanover, NHFri. Dec. 30New Hampshire vs VermontDartmouth vs MaineSat. Dec. 31Consolation and championship games<h2>RPI INVITATIONAL</h2>At Troy, NYFri. Dec. 30Lowell vs Northern ArizonaRPI vs YaleSat. Dec. 31Consolation & championship games<h2>FIRST INTER-STATE CLASSIC</h2>At Anchorage, AlaskaThu.-Sun. Jan. 5-8North Dakota, Colorado College, Boston College,Univ. British Columbia, Alaska-Anchorage, Northeastern, Providence<h2>PHOENIX-MUTUAL CLASSIC</h2>At Hartford, CTFri. Jan. 6Yale vs ColgateVermont vs TorontoSat. Jan. 7Consolation & championship games<h2>BOWDOIN INVITATIONAL</h2>Fri.-Sat. Jan. 6-7Maine, Brown, Colby, Bowdoin<h2>BEANPOT TOURNAMENT</h2>Mon. Feb. 6Boston Univ., Boston College, Northeastern,Harvard &#9632;

TOURNAMENTS

<h2>ECAC</h2><h3>DECEMBER</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-1042/4836524-1-eng-US/f0030-102.jpg" title="f0030-10" width="550" height="750"></div><h3>JANUARY</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-1136/4836517-1-eng-US/f0030-112.jpg" title="f0030-11" width="538" height="433"></div><h2>CCHA</h2><h3>DECEMBER</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-1233/4836510-1-eng-US/f0030-122.jpg" title="f0030-12" width="549" height="641"></div><h3>JANUARY</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-1330/4836503-1-eng-US/f0030-132.jpg" title="f0030-13" width="545" height="548"></div><h2>WCHA</h2><h3>DECEMBER</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-1427/4836496-1-eng-US/f0030-142.jpg" title="f0030-14" width="541" height="698"></div><h3>JANUARY</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-1527/4836489-1-eng-US/f0030-152.jpg" title="f0030-15" width="525" height="465"></div> &#9632;

f0030-10

GAMES TO COME

<div class="byline">BY JOHN HERBERT</div>H&B 100 YEARSLouisville HockeyKINGSTON&mdash;Six months ago Tim Salmon&rsquo;s hockey career appeared to be over.Guelph Platers, an expansion franchise which finished up its first season in the Ontario Hockey League with 20 straight losses and only seven wins in 70 games, dropped Salmon from their 25-player protected list heading into the midget draft at Toronto on May 28.The reality was Salmon wasn&rsquo;t good enough for the worst team in junior., or was he?Kingston Canadian general manager Ken Slater, who remembered Salmon when he was scouting for the National Hockey League Central Scouting&rsquo; Bureau, thought otherwise. He offered Salmon one last chance, a tryout at training camp in September.The rest is history.Salmon, a 5-foot-10-inch, 175-pound center, took over the scoring lead in the OHL on his 19th birthday on Nov. 27. He had 18 goals and 38 assists for 55 points in 26 games and combines with overage right winger Kevin Conway and rookie Barry Burkholder to give Kingston one of the most explosive lines in the league.With a goal and four assists in the game, Salmon was selected OHL Player of the Week.Conway, who had 60 goals last season for Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, moved into fifth in the scoring derby with a league high 27 goals along with 19 assists for 46 points. Burkholder, a ninth-round midget pick off Mississauga Reps, has nine goals and 11 assists, pretty fair totals for a late rookie pick.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve shown confidence in him and we&rsquo;ve played him a lot,&rdquo; offered Kingston&rsquo;s first-year coach Rick Comacchia while trying to explain Salmon&rsquo;s emergence as a quality performer. &ldquo;We felt we needed somebody like Timmy to lead us as a third-year man. We don&rsquo;t have a lot of third-year men. He&rsquo;s worked very hard and proven himself.&ldquo;Ken Slater really liked him when he saw him with Central Scouting and a friend of mine who was an assistant coach in Guelph last year (Randy Nesbitt) really liked him. That was the basis of our decision.&ldquo;This year he was our leading scorer in training camp and started off well with a couple of kids. Then we got Conway and we felt we needed a left-shot center to feed the puck to Conway. We put them together.&ldquo;They just took off together.&rdquo;Salmon, who is from Manotik near Ottawa, began his vagabond junior career with Cornwall Royals in 1981-82. but was cut during training camp because the club was deep at center. Salmon returned to Hawkesbury Hawks of the Central Junior League where he scored 15 goals and 36 assists. He got another chance last fall at camp, but was dropped again before the Royals opened their exhibition series.Salmon figured he had one chance left.&ldquo;I drove straight to Guelph and asked for a tryout,&rdquo; Salmon recalled. &ldquo;I guess it took a little nerve because I didn&rsquo;t have an invitation. I went to Don McKee (the former coach) and asked him. He said he&rsquo;d give me a chance.&rdquo;He made the club and after a hassle by the Platers to get his rights from the Cornwall club he eventually was claimed on waivers for $1,000. Salmon finished up the final 53 games of the season in Guelph, producing 13 goals and 14 assists.He didn&rsquo;t fit into their plans this season.Salmon figures one reason it took him until this season to blossom into a scorer might have been the role he played in Guelph, combined with the fact he didn&rsquo;t get a chance to play on an offensive line before this season.&ldquo;They (Guelph) used me mostly on a checking line and killing penalties,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I was on the fourth line. Now I&rsquo;m getting the chance and playing with good players helps. 1 came into camp in shape, for one thing, and Rick&rsquo;s given me a chance to play. Everything&rsquo;s been great.&rdquo;Trademarks&mdash;Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds reacquired goalie Jim Samec from Guelph for $1,000 and a draft pick. The Hounds dealt Samec to the Platers on waivers a few weeks earlier. Kitchener Rangers sent overage goalie Joe Mantione to Belleville Bulls for backup goalie John McDonald and a late draft pick. Guelph acquired Robert McInnis on waivers from Kitchener for $1,000.&ldquo;I need somebody to help (Craig) Billington,&rdquo; Belleville coach Larry Mavety said, explaining why he made the move. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s played every game. He&rsquo;s dressed for (all) but one. He&rsquo;s played 23 games. That&rsquo;s too much for a kid.&rdquo;Injury report&mdash;London captain Dave Lowry was fortunate to escape serious eye injury when he was accidentally felled by a high stick in a game with Guelph. He suffered hemorrhaging in the eye and was sidelined for about a week. Lowry said he&rsquo;d wear a plastic shield, possibly for the remainder of the season. Carmine Vani. the truculent winger for the Kitchener Rangers, suffered a separated shoulder in a fight with Kingston rookie Tom Allen and will be sidelined four weeks.Going, going, gone&mdash;Kitchener Rangers appear to have lost center John Tucker for the season. Tucker did not dress for his first five games with the Buffalo Sabres, but scored four goals in the next four. &ldquo;They&rsquo;ve (Buffalo) indicated to us that he&rsquo;ll stay,&rdquo; Kitchener coach Tom Barrett reluctantly admitted. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ll have to redesign (our style) with one of the best scorers in the league away. We&rsquo;re just going to have to change our style.&rdquo;Royce hits jackpot&mdash;Guelph&rsquo;s Greg Royce found a quick source of funds to pay a $20 fine for missing the bus to Brantford for a game. He won the 50-50 draw prize of $222. Royce and teammate Steve Chiasson, who also was five minutes late for the bus, drove to Brantford for the game but were informed they couldn&rsquo;t dress.The Platers are using player-fine money to buy a new musical system for the dressing room.Almost Knighted&mdash;London Knights, trying to find some firepower, thought they had a deal lined up with Toronto Marlboros, giving up a fifth-round draft pick to get 19-year-old Jerry Peach. Peach balked and went home to the Maritimes. &#9632;

Salmon’s Spawning Offense With Canadians

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-01460/4836586-1-eng-US/f0031-012.jpg" title="f0031-01" width="308" height="372"></div>&ldquo;Where readers get together to do business&rdquo;The Classified<h2>MISCELLANEOUS</h2>WMA-NHL-AML-IHL-MINOR HOCKEY65 page pricelist of photos, media guides, cards, yearbooks, programs, pennants, pucks, game used Jerseys, equipment and much more Send cheque or m/o for $5.50 with this ad to: CANADA U.S. SPORTS INTERPRISES99 Katherine Rd. Downtvlew. Ont.Canada MSK 1JS* Free gift valued at $5.00 with this ad.SENIOR HOCKEY TEAMS 23 and over wanted to play on Long Island, N.Y. Contact Mike Harris (212) 255-3377.DEFUNCT SPORTS PRICELISTS 35 pages of media guides, yearbooks, photos, programs, pennants, decals, cards, game Jerseys and more. Includes WHA (world Hockey Association), WFl (world Football league), ABA (American Basketball), Nl (National lacrosse) and more Send cheque or m/o for 5499 to: EMPIRE SPORTS, 1947 Avenue Rued.Suite 291, Toronto, Ont MSM 4A2 NCCA Dealer &diams; Free aift and $2.50 credit on first order.<h2>TOURNAMENTS</h2>ELKS CENTRAL CANADA 20th annual pee wee hockey tournament. Feb. 23 to Feb. 26, 1984. &lsquo;A&rsquo; Event&mdash;Major Pee Wee AA teams. &lsquo;B&rsquo; Event&mdash;Pee Wee &lsquo;A&rsquo; teams. &lsquo;C&rsquo; Event&mdash;Minor Pee Wee teams. Write: Elks Hockey Tournament, P.O. Box 366, Thunder Bay, Ont. P7C 4V9. (807) 623-3200.MTHL BANTAM &ldquo;AA&rdquo; wishes tournaments-exhibition games. Ontario, Border states preferred. G. McPherson, 239 Hollyberry Trail, Willowdale, Ont., M2H 2P3 or call (416) 493-6973.<h2>AUDIO</h2>USA DEFEATS RUSSIA. Previously unreleased play-by-play of greatest Olympic thrill ever. Entire game. 60-minute audio cassettes. $1699 + $1.00 handling each. Order now. Olympic Gold, 186 E. 75th St., New York, NY 10021.<h2>COLLECTIONS</h2>PUCK COLLECTORS: Have 800 pucks to trade from WHA to Jr. A. Michael Reeve, 1222 Homuth Ave., Cambridge, Ont. N3H 2C9.COLLECTORS WILL BUY all copies of hockey magazines from 1960 through to 1970. Call (914) 446-2081 collect for Tim.<h2>PUBLICATIONS</h2>COLLEGE HOCKEY REPORT: Comprehensive NCAA coverage. One year $22.95 (U.S.) Send check, name, address, to: P.O. Box 115-Z, LeRoy, NY, 14482.<h2>PUBLICATIONS</h2>FOR SALE: Old Hockey News (plus binders) June &lsquo;69 to Oct. &lsquo;82. D. Godwin, 60 Albery Cres., Ajax, Ont., LIS 2Y3.<h2>NOVELTIES</h2>ENAMEL TRADING PINS&mdash;Baseball caps, banners, buttons, and many other products customized for teams-tournaments, momentos, etc. Catalogue available. Promotional Marketing Services, Box 1124, Fort Erie, Ontario, L2A 5N9. In USA, 81 Mill St., Buffalo, NY 14221.<h2>BOOKS</h2>GOALTENDING BY PROGRESSIONS as taught by Canadian Professional Hockey Schools. Send $5.00 to Box 487, Winnipeg, Man., R3C 2J3.<h2>MERCHANDISE</h2>SPORTS JERSEYS UNLIMITEDComplete 18 page pricelist of game worn Jerseys Leagues include Baseball, CFL-NFL-WFL NHL-WHA-NASL-NBA and more. Over 1500 satisfied customers. For complete list send cheque or m/o for $3.00 payable to: EMPIRE SPORTS, 1947 Avenue Roed, Suite 201, Toronto, Ont. M5M 4A2 NCCA Dealer&#9733; Free gift and $2.50 credit on first order.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-02325/4836579-1-eng-US/f0031-022.jpg" title="f0031-02" width="1812" height="1097"></div> &#9632;

f0031-01

<div class="byline">BY BEN KUZMA</div>H&B 100 YEARSLouisville HockeyPRINCE ALBERT&mdash;Dan Hodgson has a simple cure for a troublesome virus which inflicts second-year players. He ignores it.&ldquo;I just keep it out of my mind,&rdquo; said the Raiders&rsquo; 18-year-old scoring sensation of the dreaded sophomore jinx. &ldquo;I thought about it a bit during the summer but when hockey season came I just went out and played and forgot about it.&rdquo;What Hodgson hasn&rsquo;t forgot is how to score. After finishing ninth in league scoring last season with 130 points, earning Rookie of the Year honors and being drafted in the fifth round by the Toronto Maple Leafs, the center is picking up where he left off.Hodgson entered week 10 of the regular season with 33 goals and 53 assists for 86 points in just 27 games. The Fort McMurray, Alta., native is on course to eclipsing league standards for goals, assists and points in one season.&ldquo;I know they (records) are there but basically I don&rsquo;t think about them,&rdquo; said the5-foot-10, 170 pounder. &ldquo;I just try to play my game and don&rsquo;t do anything different or out of the ordinary. I just use my head and let the puck do the work.&rdquo;That work has led to Hodgson to take dead aim at Brian Propp&rsquo;s pointproduction record established when the Philadelphia Flyer forward was as member of the Brandon Wheat Kings.Propp finished with 194 points in the 1978-79 season. Hodgson&rsquo;s present pace would put him at least 30 points past the mark. The Raider is also on track to topping the WHL assist record of 125, estalx lished by Bruce Eakin with Saskatoon Blades in 1981-82.With a 25-point lead over Ray Ferraro of the Brandon Wheat Kings and a 33-point advantage on third-place Dale Derkatch of the Regina Pats, Hodgson is threatening to break Regina&rsquo;s string of scoring champions.The Pats have won the scoring race the past four years with Doug Wickenheiser (1979-80), Brian Varga (1980-81), Jock Callander (1981-82) and Derkatch last season.Hodgson (33 goals) and Ferraro#(36 goals) are also on course to take a crack at the WHL goal-scoring mark of 96 established by Bill Derlago. The Toronto Maple Leaf forward set the standard as a member of the 1976-77 Wheat Kings.Hodgson&rsquo;s play has helped the Raiders rebound from their rough rookie season. Prince Albert was last in the eight-team Eastern Division with a 16-55-1 mark. Now, they have a record of 14-12-1 and a share of fourth place.When Hodgson first donned a Prince Albert jersey there were no concerns or great expectations. -As a 17-year-old rookie with a new franchise, Hodgson was being looked upon to slowly improve each outing. He did just that.&ldquo;We knew he was a good player but to tell you the truth I really didn&rsquo;t see him play until he came to camp,&rdquo; said Prince Albert general manager-coach Terry Simpson. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s very good offensively. We really didn&rsquo;t know he was that good.&rdquo;&ldquo;He&rsquo;s definitely a pro prospect. He&rsquo;s got the attention of people and knows he&rsquo;s got to develop into a total hockey player. His biggest asset is he sees the whole ice. He&rsquo;s not dominant in any area of the game but he&rsquo;s smart.&rdquo;Hodgson, who usually plays between Dave Pasin and Al Stewart, has been getting a lot more attention this season. Being shadowed and checked closely has become commonplace. But does it get to him?&ldquo;You get a couple of extra shots and the players and fans are always yapping at you but it doesn&rsquo;t bother me,&rdquo; said Hodgson.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s being checked closer and he&rsquo;s got to learn to accept that,&rdquo; said Simpson. &ldquo;He shows up to play every game and doesn&rsquo;t coast. That&rsquo;s a big plus.&rdquo;Toronto has a policy of not building up its prospects. The Maple Leafs denied in-depth comment on Hodgson even though they are reportedly close to signing the center. Instead, the Leafs opted for guarded optimism.&ldquo;I think his (Hodgson&rsquo;s) stats speak for themselves, &ldquo;said a Leaf spokesman. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re just worried about what we have here in Toronto. We just want him to have another good year in Prince Albert.&ldquo;We don&rsquo;t want to put the spotlight on our drafts. We&rsquo;re just happy with the way all our drafts have been playing this season.&rdquo;Hodgson played his minor hockey in Fort McMurray and then two seasons of tier two with the British Columbia Junior Hockey League Cowichan Capitals. Hodgson was property of the defunct Spokane Flyers and played two games for the franchise as a 15-year-old in the 1980-81 campaign. Spokane folded 26 games into the following season.Prince Albert then assumed the player list and Hodgson became a Raider.WHL WEEK&mdash;Defenseman Jim Playfair has gained a lot of attention away from the NHL. Playfair, a first-round Edmonton draft in 1982, was recently dealt to Kelowna by Portland for rearguard Craig Butz (eighth-round Detroit draft of 1983). In midst of the deal, the 19-year-old Playfair was called up by Edmonton in light of a back injury to Charlie Huddy. Worried about not gaining his services for some time, Kelowna dealt Playfair&rsquo;s rights to Calgary for three players including 19-year-old defenseman Mark Fioretti&hellip;Ken Wregget of Lethbridge, leading all netminders with a 2.65 goals-against average, has been recalled by Toronto because of an injury to Rick St. Croix&hellip;Taylor Hall of Regina was tied for fourth in league scoring entering week 10 with 53 points, the same as Victoria Cougar Russ Courtnall&hellip;This week&rsquo;s Canadian Major Junior Hockey League ratings have Regina tied for fourth place. Lethbridge was sixth, Kamloops seventh and Calgary tied for ninth. Toronto is ranked first. &#9632;

Hodason Stays Ahead Of Sonhomore Jinx

<div class="byline">BY RICK MAYOH</div>LONGUEUIL&mdash;Mario Bazinet is building on the stunning success achieved by former Montreal Canadien star Jacques Lemaire last season with the expansion Chevaliers. And he&rsquo;s doing it without brawling.At this time last season, Mario Bazinet had been labelled as the scourge of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and was serving a 25-game suspension from Nov. 21 to Feb. 6&mdash;the longest in league history.Bazinet was in his third season as coach of Trois-Rivieres Draveurs and his sentence was handed down by late QMJHL president Jean Rougeau following a fight-filled game against Verdun.&ldquo;The Draveurs had no discipline and the youngsters were acting like animals once you tease them,&rdquo; Rougeau said.It was the second suspension of the season for Bazinet, who also sat out 10 games the previous year for throwing an ice cube at a referee in the playoffs.Bazinet took over the Chevalier job after Lemaire, currently an assistant coach with the Habs, guided Longueuil to the championship series before falling to Verdun. Bazinet has the Chevaliers one point ahead of last&rsquo;s pace alter 29 games and the team has given up 21 fewer goals.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think anybody expected us to do this well at this point,&rdquo; said Bazinet, who has his club in second place in the LeBel Division with an 18-11 record&mdash;12 points behind runaway Laval Voisins.&ldquo;Last year was one of the worst years of my life, a year to forget,&rdquo; Bazinet added. &ldquo;I learned quite a bit from my suspension and I would not go back to that (style).&rdquo;The 30-year-old coach from the Montreal suburb of Lasalle served a four-year apprenticeship with the Junior B Lachine Rapids, &ldquo;a tough team in a tough city,&rdquo; winning a provincial championship before joining Trois-Rivieres.&ldquo;We made the finals my first two years in Trois-Rivieres and nobody expected us to, but we didn&rsquo;t draw that well,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Then the team&rsquo;s owners expanded from seven to 25 and they wanted to change the style, to be more aggressive like when Michel Bergeron (Quebec Nordiques&rsquo; coach) was there.&ldquo;I was the one who ended up paying for it,&rdquo; Bazinet said.Longueuil owner Georges Touten, a former city alderman who lost his reelection bid by 28 votes and who oper-ated the Junior B Longueuil Sieurs, wasn&rsquo;t impressed.&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t like him before I knew him well, but now I&rsquo;m very satisfied,&rdquo; Touten said. &ldquo;He is using much the same philosophy as Jacques, maybe not quite as technical, and he is a good motivator. All of the kids like him.&rdquo;&ldquo;He (Bazinet) is definitely not the same guy as last year,&rdquo; said Claude Carrier, the league&rsquo;s assistant general-director. &ldquo;Now he&rsquo;s the boss. He works really hard and he has more confidence in himself.&rdquo;&ldquo;It takes a full effort from everybody for an entire game for us to win,&rdquo; Bazinet said. &ldquo;We don&rsquo;t have a Mario Lemieux who you can tell to come back after he scores the tying goal. &#9632;

Bazinet Cleans Up Act After Unforgettable Year

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-01474/4836679-1-eng-US/f0032-012.jpg" title="f0032-01" width="360" height="494"><figcaption class="caption-body">TIM SALMON Kingston</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-02345/4836672-1-eng-US/f0032-022.jpg" title="f0032-02" width="362" height="494"><figcaption class="caption-body">DALE DERKATCH Regina</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-03224/4836665-1-eng-US/f0032-032.jpg" title="f0032-03" width="361" height="496"></div>PELLEGRINO Longueuil<h2>ONTARIO LEAGUE</h2>The Kingston Canadians are the third stop in the Ontario Hockey League for young Tim Salmon. But as far as he&rsquo;s concerned it&rsquo;s where he wanted to be in the first place.The 19-year-old center has found his scoring touch since coming to Kingston after a sojourn in Cornwall in his rookie year and a stop in Guelph last season with the hapless Platers. A 10-point performance earned Salmon OHL Player of the Week honors as he jumped atop the league scoring.After a dismal 30-point year in 53 games with Guelph last season, the 5-foot-10, 170-pound Salmon has collected 55 points in his first 17 games as a member of the Canadians. He has 17 goals, eight of which have come on the power play.<h2>WESTERN LEAGUE</h2>Dale Derkatch is back to stay in the Western Hockey League and the Regina Pats are pleased with his return.Derkatch has terminated his stay with the Canadian Olympic team and can now concentrate on helping Regina win the league title. He took a big step in that direction last week when he amassed an unbelievable 22 scoring points in six games to win WHL Player of the Week honors for the second time this year.The tiny Regina center scored eight goals and helped set up 14 others in the six games as he climbed to third place in the scoring race with 57 points. Last season, Derkatch won the league scoring title with 179 points.<h2>QUEBEC LEAGUE</h2>If the Longueuil Cavaliers are going to win the Quebec Major Hockey League title this season they&rsquo;ll need Santino Pellegrino to do it.The 18-year-old center is the key to the Longueuil offense, not to mention defense. But despite the 5-foot-8, 165-pounder&rsquo;s heavy workload, he&rsquo;s been able to score at will. He ranks seventh and this past week he figured in seven Longueuil goals to win the nod as the QMJHL&rsquo;s Player of the Week.Pellegrino, who is already a third-year junior player even though he&rsquo;s only 18, has 58 scoring points in his first 31 games. &#9632;

f0032-01

Players of the Week

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-1541/4837273-1-eng-US/f0033-152.jpg" title="f0033-15" width="861" height="387"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-1447/4837280-1-eng-US/f0033-142.jpg" title="f0033-14" width="221" height="284"></div><h2>OVERALL LEADERS</h2><h2>TOP DEFENSEMEN</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-1635/4837266-1-eng-US/f0033-162.jpg" title="f0033-16" width="859" height="387"></div><h2>TOP ROOKIES</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-1735/4837259-1-eng-US/f0033-172.jpg" title="f0033-17" width="859" height="360"></div><h2>BOSTON</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-1830/4837252-1-eng-US/f0033-182.jpg" title="f0033-18" width="856" height="155"></div><h2>BUFFALO</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-1928/4837245-1-eng-US/f0033-192.jpg" title="f0033-19" width="857" height="155"></div><h2>CALGARY</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-2024/4837238-1-eng-US/f0033-202.jpg" title="f0033-20" width="854" height="151"></div><h2>CHICAGO</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-2122/4837231-1-eng-US/f0033-212.jpg" title="f0033-21" width="858" height="152"></div><h2>DETROIT</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-2218/4837224-1-eng-US/f0033-222.jpg" title="f0033-22" width="858" height="152"></div><h2>EDMONTON</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-2312/4837217-1-eng-US/f0033-232.jpg" title="f0033-23" width="853" height="153"></div><h2>HARTFORD</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-2412/4837210-1-eng-US/f0033-242.jpg" title="f0033-24" width="849" height="150"></div><h2>LOS ANGELES</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-2510/4837203-1-eng-US/f0033-252.jpg" title="f0033-25" width="854" height="157"></div><h2>MINNESOTA</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-269/4837196-1-eng-US/f0033-262.jpg" title="f0033-26" width="852" height="160"></div><h2>MONTREAL</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-279/4837189-1-eng-US/f0033-272.jpg" title="f0033-27" width="858" height="160"></div><h2>NEW JERSEY</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-288/4837182-1-eng-US/f0033-282.jpg" title="f0033-28" width="853" height="156"></div><h2>NY ISLANDERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-297/4837175-1-eng-US/f0033-292.jpg" title="f0033-29" width="852" height="160"></div><h2>NY RANGERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-307/4837168-1-eng-US/f0033-302.jpg" title="f0033-30" width="855" height="156"></div><h2>PHILADELPHIA</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-317/4837161-1-eng-US/f0033-312.jpg" title="f0033-31" width="855" height="156"></div><h2>PITTSBURGH</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-327/4837154-1-eng-US/f0033-322.jpg" title="f0033-32" width="855" height="152"></div><h2>QUEBEC</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-337/4837147-1-eng-US/f0033-332.jpg" title="f0033-33" width="853" height="152"></div><h2>ST. LOUIS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-347/4837140-1-eng-US/f0033-342.jpg" title="f0033-34" width="852" height="151"></div><h2>TORONTO</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-357/4837133-1-eng-US/f0033-352.jpg" title="f0033-35" width="849" height="93"></div><h2>VANCOUVER</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-365/4837126-1-eng-US/f0033-362.jpg" title="f0033-36" width="854" height="152"></div><h2>WASHINGTON</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-375/4837119-1-eng-US/f0033-372.jpg" title="f0033-37" width="852" height="151"></div><h2>WINNIPEG</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-385/4837112-1-eng-US/f0033-382.jpg" title="f0033-38" width="850" height="155"></div> &#9632;

f0033-15

EMERY TROPHY PLUS-MINUS

<h2>Mon. Nov. 28 VANCOUVER 3, RANGERS 3</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-01433/4837081-1-eng-US/f0033-012.jpg" title="f0033-01" width="543" height="820"></div><h2>PHILADELPHIA 8, CALGARY 5</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-02307/4837074-1-eng-US/f0033-022.jpg" title="f0033-02" width="548" height="996"></div><h2>PITTSBURGH 4, MINNESOTA 6</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-03217/4837067-1-eng-US/f0033-032.jpg" title="f0033-03" width="540" height="762"></div><h2>BUFFALO 5, MONTREAL 2</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-04163/4837060-1-eng-US/f0033-042.jpg" title="f0033-04" width="534" height="529"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-05132/4837053-1-eng-US/f0033-052.jpg" title="f0033-05" width="537" height="211"></div><h2>CHICAGO 2, NEW JERSEY 3</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-06107/4837046-1-eng-US/f0033-062.jpg" title="f0033-06" width="545" height="881"></div><h2>WASHINGTON 3, QUEBEC 6</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-0796/4837039-1-eng-US/f0033-072.jpg" title="f0033-07" width="543" height="851"></div><h2>WINNIPEG 6. LOS ANGELES 5</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-0880/4837032-1-eng-US/f0033-082.jpg" title="f0033-08" width="542" height="966"></div><h2>ISLANDERS 5, ST. LOUIS 5</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-0971/4837025-1-eng-US/f0033-092.jpg" title="f0033-09" width="528" height="265"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-1066/4837018-1-eng-US/f0033-102.jpg" title="f0033-10" width="538" height="525"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-1164/4837011-1-eng-US/f0033-112.jpg" title="f0033-11" width="533" height="237"></div><h2>Wed. Nov. 30 TORONTO 5, DETROIT 3</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-1263/4837004-1-eng-US/f0033-122.jpg" title="f0033-12" width="530" height="207"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-1350/4836997-1-eng-US/f0033-132.jpg" title="f0033-13" width="535" height="470"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-01439/4836990-1-eng-US/f0036-012.jpg" title="f0036-01" width="523" height="146"></div><h2>PHILADELPHIA 3, EDMONTON 3</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-02329/4836983-1-eng-US/f0036-022.jpg" title="f0036-02" width="538" height="875"></div><h2>VANCOUVER 6, HARTFORD 2</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-03257/4836976-1-eng-US/f0036-032.jpg" title="f0036-03" width="532" height="672"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-04182/4836969-1-eng-US/f0036-042.jpg" title="f0036-04" width="524" height="146"></div><h2>CHICAGO 4, RANGERS 0</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-05143/4836962-1-eng-US/f0036-052.jpg" title="f0036-05" width="528" height="581"></div><h2>Thu. Dec. 1 VANCOUVER 1, BOSTON 7</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-06121/4836955-1-eng-US/f0036-062.jpg" title="f0036-06" width="530" height="495"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-07113/4836948-1-eng-US/f0036-072.jpg" title="f0036-07" width="530" height="376"></div><h2>ISLANDERS 2 CALGARY 6</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-08108/4836941-1-eng-US/f0036-082.jpg" title="f0036-08" width="536" height="858"></div><h2>WINNIPEG 6, LOS ANGELES 5</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-09102/4836934-1-eng-US/f0036-092.jpg" title="f0036-09" width="539" height="1154"></div><h2>QUEBEC 6, MONTREAL 3</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-1099/4836927-1-eng-US/f0036-102.jpg" title="f0036-10" width="526" height="262"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-1196/4836920-1-eng-US/f0036-112.jpg" title="f0036-11" width="532" height="668"></div><h2>MINNESOTA 6, PITTSBURGH 4</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-1292/4836913-1-eng-US/f0036-122.jpg" title="f0036-12" width="530" height="1078"></div><h2>NEW JERSEY 4, WASH. 8</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-1389/4836906-1-eng-US/f0036-132.jpg" title="f0036-13" width="526" height="382"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-01388/4836899-1-eng-US/f0037-012.jpg" title="f0037-01" width="529" height="783"></div><h2>Fri. Dec. 2 ST. LOUIS 6, BUFFALO 7</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-02275/4836892-1-eng-US/f0037-022.jpg" title="f0037-02" width="523" height="87"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-03206/4836885-1-eng-US/f0037-032.jpg" title="f0037-03" width="459" height="64"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-04168/4836878-1-eng-US/f0037-042.jpg" title="f0037-04" width="435" height="89"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-05143/4836871-1-eng-US/f0037-052.jpg" title="f0037-05" width="520" height="62"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-06120/4836864-1-eng-US/f0037-062.jpg" title="f0037-06" width="524" height="62"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-1441/4836857-1-eng-US/f0038-142.jpg" title="f0038-14" width="530" height="636"></div><h2>WASH. 2, NEW JERSEY 2</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-1539/4836850-1-eng-US/f0038-152.jpg" title="f0038-15" width="534" height="895"></div><h2>Sat. Dec.3 MINNESOTA 6. BOSTON 2</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-1635/4836843-1-eng-US/f0038-162.jpg" title="f0038-16" width="520" height="121"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-1732/4836836-1-eng-US/f0038-172.jpg" title="f0038-17" width="536" height="701"></div><h2>RANGERS 4, DETROIT 2</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-1829/4836829-1-eng-US/f0038-182.jpg" title="f0038-18" width="534" height="667"></div><h2>LOS ANGELES 3, EDMONTON 7</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-1928/4836822-1-eng-US/f0038-192.jpg" title="f0038-19" width="526" height="345"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-2025/4836815-1-eng-US/f0038-202.jpg" title="f0038-20" width="531" height="610"></div><h2>ST. LOUIS 2, HARTFORD 7</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-2123/4836808-1-eng-US/f0038-212.jpg" title="f0038-21" width="542" height="896"></div><h2>CALGARY 2 MONTREAL 4</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-2221/4836801-1-eng-US/f0038-222.jpg" title="f0038-22" width="520" height="231"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-2318/4836794-1-eng-US/f0038-232.jpg" title="f0038-23" width="529" height="435"></div><h2>PHILADELPHIA 6, PITTSBURGH 3</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-2414/4836787-1-eng-US/f0038-242.jpg" title="f0038-24" width="532" height="866"></div><h2>CHICAGO 2, QUEBEC 3</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-2513/4836780-1-eng-US/f0038-252.jpg" title="f0038-25" width="522" height="432"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-2611/4836773-1-eng-US/f0038-262.jpg" title="f0038-26" width="523" height="145"></div><h2>VANCOUVER 5, TORONTO 5</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-2711/4836766-1-eng-US/f0038-272.jpg" title="f0038-27" width="532" height="926"></div><h2>MONTREAL 2, BUFFALO 6</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-288/4836759-1-eng-US/f0038-282.jpg" title="f0038-28" width="524" height="577"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-01424/4836752-1-eng-US/f0039-012.jpg" title="f0039-01" width="531" height="235"></div><h2>ISLANDERS 4, EDMONTON 2</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-02292/4836745-1-eng-US/f0039-022.jpg" title="f0039-02" width="533" height="641"></div><h2>MINNESOTA 4, RANGERS 6</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-03204/4836738-1-eng-US/f0039-032.jpg" title="f0039-03" width="539" height="873"></div><h2>DETROIT 0, NEW JERSEY 6</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-04170/4836731-1-eng-US/f0039-042.jpg" title="f0039-04" width="536" height="757"></div><h2>HARTFORD 6, PHILADELPHIA 5</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-05135/4836724-1-eng-US/f0039-052.jpg" title="f0039-05" width="540" height="1013"></div><h2>BOSTON 4, WASHINGTON 1</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-06113/4836717-1-eng-US/f0039-062.jpg" title="f0039-06" width="536" height="670"></div><h2>LOS ANGELES 5, WINNIPEG 7</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-0797/4836710-1-eng-US/f0039-072.jpg" title="f0039-07" width="543" height="1099"></div> &#9632;

f0033-01

NATIONAL LEAGUE SUMMARIES

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0034-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-01485/4837339-1-eng-US/f0034-012.jpg"></div><h2>GOALTENDING STATISTICS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-01460/4837332-1-eng-US/f0035-012.jpg" title="f0035-01" width="573" height="2117"></div><h3>GOALTENDING LEADERS</h3>GOALS AGAINST AVERAGE<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-02363/4837325-1-eng-US/f0035-022.jpg" title="f0035-02" width="551" height="295"></div><h3>MOST WINS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-03282/4837318-1-eng-US/f0035-032.jpg" title="f0035-03" width="555" height="237"></div><h3>SAVE PERCENTAGE</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-04233/4837311-1-eng-US/f0035-042.jpg" title="f0035-04" width="555" height="176"></div> &#9632;

f0034-01

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE SCORING

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0035-05" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-05188/4837370-1-eng-US/f0035-052.jpg"></div> &#9632;

f0035-05

NHL TEAM ROSTERS

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-1483/4837467-1-eng-US/f0036-142.jpg" title="f0036-14" width="492" height="356"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-1583/4837460-1-eng-US/f0036-152.jpg" title="f0036-15" width="490" height="353"></div> &#9632;

f0036-14

Top Rookies In The NHL

(Standings on Tue. Dec. 6)<h2>NORRIS DIVISION</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-1680/4837519-1-eng-US/f0036-162.jpg" title="f0036-16" width="528" height="180"></div><h2>SMYTHE DIVISION</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-1774/4837512-1-eng-US/f0036-172.jpg" title="f0036-17" width="530" height="178"></div><h2>ADAMS DIVISION</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-1870/4837505-1-eng-US/f0036-182.jpg" title="f0036-18" width="525" height="176"></div><h2>PATRICK DIVISION</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-1968/4837498-1-eng-US/f0036-192.jpg" title="f0036-19" width="528" height="205"></div><h2>GAMES COMPLETED</h2>Mon. Nov. 28Vancouver 3 at NY Rangers 3 (OT)Tue. Nov. 29Philadelphia 8 at Calgary 5Winnipeg 6 at Los Angeles 5 (OT)Pittsburgh 4 at Minnesota 6Buffalo 5 at Montreal 2Chicago 2 at New Jersey 3Washington 3 at Quebec 6NY Islanders 5 at St. Louis 5 (OT)Wed. Nov. 30Toronto 5 at Detroit 3Philadelphia 3 at Edmonton 3 (OT)Vancouver 6 at Hartford 2Chicago 4 at NY Rangers 0Thu. Dec. 1Vancouver 1 at Boston 7NY Islanders 2 at Calgary 6Winnipeg 6 at Los Angeles 5 (OT)Quebec 6 at Montreal 3Minnesota 6 at Pittsburgh 4New Jersey 4 at Washington 8Fri. Dec. 2St. Louis 6 at Buffalo 7Washington 2 at New Jersey 2 (OT)Sat. Dec. 3Minnesota 6 at Boston 2NY Rangers 4 at Detroit 2Los Angeles 3 at Edmonton 7St. Louis 2 at Hartford 7Calgary 2 at Montreal 4Philadelphia 6 at Pittsburgh 3Chicago 2 at Quebec 3Vancouver 5 at Toronto 5 (OT)Sun. Dec. 4Montreal 2 at Buffalo 6NY Islanders 4 at Edmonton 2Detroit 0 at New Jersey 6Minnesota 4 at NY Rangers 6Hartford 6 at Philadelphia 5Boston 4 at Washington 1Los Angeles 5 at Winnipeg 7 &#9632;

f0036-16

THE NHL SCOREBOARD

<h2>AT HOME</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-2064/4837599-1-eng-US/f0036-202.jpg" title="f0036-20" width="264" height="637"></div><h2>ON THE ROAD</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-2161/4837592-1-eng-US/f0036-212.jpg" title="f0036-21" width="258" height="641"></div><h2>POINTS RACE</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-2260/4837585-1-eng-US/f0036-222.jpg" title="f0036-22" width="527" height="643"></div><h2>HOW THEY DID IN LAST 10 GAMES</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-2355/4837578-1-eng-US/f0036-232.jpg" title="f0036-23" width="278" height="118"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-2452/4837571-1-eng-US/f0036-242.jpg" title="f0036-24" width="205" height="143"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-2548/4837564-1-eng-US/f0036-252.jpg" title="f0036-25" width="205" height="145"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-2645/4837557-1-eng-US/f0036-262.jpg" title="f0036-26" width="204" height="144"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-2740/4837550-1-eng-US/f0036-272.jpg" title="f0036-27" width="203" height="172"></div> &#9632;

f0036-20

HOW NHL TEAMS RATE

BOSTON&mdash;Krushelnyski 12, MacTavish 9, K. Crowder 8, 9, Fergus 11,12, Middleton 13, 14, Silk 3, Kluzak 2, 3, B. Crowder 5, McNab 7. Winning goals-MacTavish, McNab.BUFFALO&mdash;Andreychuk 6, 7,8, McKenna 4, 5,6,7,8, Perreault 16, Moller 3,4, Housley 13, Virta 2, Cloutier 11, Foligno 11, 12, Cyr 4, Tucker 5. Winning goals-Perreault, Moller, Foligno.CALGARY&mdash;Patterson 4, Nilsson 10, Beers 15,16, Hindmarch 6, Loob 9,10,11, Peplinski 3,4, Bozek 3, Risebrough 6,7. Winning goals-Bozek.CHICAGO&mdash; Larmer 14,15, Cyr 1,2, Sutter 7, Paterson 3, Ludzik 1, B. Murray 3. Winning goals&mdash;Sutter.DETROIT&mdash;Larson 7, Kisio 8,9, Yzerman 15, Lambert 3. Winning goals-none.EDMONTON&mdash;Pouzar 5, Gretzky 30, Coffey 12,13, Anderson 16,17,18, Huddy 1, Gregg 7, Kurri 26, Hughes 7, Fogolin 3. Winning goals-Gregg.HARTFORD&mdash;Stoughton 13,14,15, Robertson 1, Johnson 8, 9, 10, Crawford 9, 10, 11, Neufeld 11,12, Turgeon 11, Dupont 6, Malone 7. Winning goals-Crawford, Neufeld.LOS ANGELES&mdash;Simmer 12,13, 14, 15,16, 17, Dionne 8, 9, 10, 11, Fox 13, Wells 2, Nicholls 18, MacLellan 12, Taylor 5, Smith 2, McEwen 1, 2. Winning goals-none.MINNESOTA&mdash;McCarthy 12,13, 14,15,16, 17, Maxwell 7,8, Ciccarelli 17,18,19, 20, Bellows 13,14,15, Payne 9, Lawton 5, MacAdam 6, Plett 2, Broten 12, 13, Richter 1. Winning goals-Maxwell, Ciccarelli, McCarthy.MONTREAL&mdash;Nilan 5, 6, 7, Tremblay 7, Smith 16, 17, Chabot 2,3, Shutt 8, Lafleur 11, Lemieux 1. Winning goals-Lafleur.NEW JERSEY&mdash;Bridgman 3, Broten 6, 7, 8, Verbeek 7, 8, Meagher 1, 2,3, Larmer 5, MacMillan 3, Ludvig 9, 10. Marini 1, Gagne 4. Winning goals-Verbeek, Meagher.NY ISLANDERS&mdash;B. Sutter 14,15,16, Jonsson 4, 5, Bourne 7, 8, Goring 6, D. Sutter 4, 5, Tonelli 9. Winning goals-Tonelli.NY RANGERS&mdash;Sundstrom 10, 11, Larouche 17, 18, Don Maloney 13, McClana-han 2, Hedberg 12, Laidlaw 1, Pavelich 10, Rogers 12, 13, Beck 4, Osborne 9. Winning goals-Laidlaw, Rogers.PHILADELPHIA&mdash;Propp 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, Kerr 15, 16, 17, Rich Sutter 8, Dvorak 2, Mac-Leish 6, Ron Sutter 6,7,8, Clarke 7,8,9, Poulin 7, Eriksson 3, 4, Sinisalo 8, 9. Winning goals-MacLeish, Ron Sutter.PITTSBURGH&mdash;Taylor 11,12, Boutette 6, 7, Flockhart 7, 8, Kehoe 12, Errey 4, Hannan 2, Young 1, Bullard 16, Carlyle 2. Winning goals-none.QUEBEC&mdash;Paiement 17, 18, Cote 4, 5, Goulet 14, 15, Savard 10, A. Stastny 13, Pichette2,Hunter 13,14,15,16,Berglund8, P. Stastny 13. Winning goals-Goulet 2, Cote 1.ST. LOUIS&mdash;Federko 10,11,12,13, Turnbull 12, Chouinard 4, Mullen 8, Pettersson 7, Hickey 5, Sutter 9, Gilmour 6, 7, Ramage 8. Winning goals-none.TORONTO&mdash;Daoust 7, 8, Salming 4, 5, Vaive 18, 19, Derlago 12, McCourt 12, Anderson 14, Frycer 6. Winning goals-Vaive.VANCOUVER&mdash;Tanti 21, 22, Smyl 10, 11, Butcher 1, 2, Rota 17, 18, 19, 20, Delorme 1, Sundstrom 2, Kirton 2, Currie 2, Lanz 7. Winning goals-Smyl.WASHINGTON&mdash;Haworth 8, 9, Gartner 13, 14, 15, Jarvis 4, Christian 8, 9, Valentine 4, 5, Gustafsson 11, Currie 4, Adams 11, Laughlin 5. Winning goals-Valentine.WINNIPEG&mdash;DeBlois 10,11,12, MacLean 7, 8, 9, McBain 3, Mullen 7, Smail 8, 9, Bosch-man.14, 15, 16, Hawerchuk 8, 9, Steen 9, Arniel 8, Watters 1, Lukowich 7. Winning goals-Boschman 2, Watters 1Hat tricks&mdash;Brent Suttter (NYI), Federko (StL), Rota (Van), Anderson (Edm), Johnson (Har), 1 each.Overtime winners&mdash;Watters (Wpg), 1. &#9632;

NHL SCORERS THIS WEEK

A regular feature of the Chrysler Scoreboard each week will be the Rookie Spotlight. This week&rsquo;s profile is of New Jersey Devil winger John MacLean.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-07102/4837654-1-eng-US/f0037-072.jpg" title="f0037-07" width="553" height="933"></div>The New Jersey Devils may be going through tough times right now, but when some of their young talent develops, it&rsquo;s going to be a different story.And of all their young talent, none is as impressive as John MacLean, the 18-year-old Oshawa, Ont., native who played the past two seasons for the Oshawa Generals of the Ontario Hockey League.MacLean, a hard-working winger who can also put the puck in the net, hasn&rsquo;t gotten off to an auspicious NHL beginning, but once he settles down and plays to his capabilities, he&rsquo;s going to be a splendid NHL player and a corner-stone for the Devils&rsquo; franchise. &#9632;

f0037-07

Chrysler Rookie Award

<h2>AMERICAN LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Tue. Dec. 6)<h3>NORTHERN DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-01452/4837804-1-eng-US/f0038-012.jpg" title="f0038-01" width="526" height="206"></div><h3>SOUTHERN DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-02360/4837797-1-eng-US/f0038-022.jpg" title="f0038-02" width="529" height="238"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Mon. Nov. 28Springfield 0 at Fredericton 1Tue. Nov. 29Nova Scotia 1 at Adirondack 1Moncton 2 at St. Catharines 5Wed. Nov. 30Baltimore 7 at Hershey 4Sherbrooke 4 at Maine 6Moncton 1 at Rochester 4Thu. Dec. 1Springfield 4 at Fredericton 1Fri. Dec. 2Hershey 4 at New Haven 3Moncton 7 at Nova Scotia 6Baltimore 5 at Rochester 4Binghamton 4 at Sherbrooke 5Sat. Dec. 3Sherbrooke 3 at Adirondack 5Nova Scotia 1 at Fredericton 4New Haven 5 at Hershey 5Binghamton 2 at Maine 8Springfield 4 at Moncton 1Sun. Dec. 4Maine 4 at New Haven 5Springfield 2 at Nova Scotia 6Baltimore 3 at St. Catharines 3Fredericton 5 at Sherbrooke 6<h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-03284/4837790-1-eng-US/f0038-032.jpg" title="f0038-03" width="530" height="408"></div><h2>CENTRAL LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Tue. Dec. 6)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-04216/4837783-1-eng-US/f0038-042.jpg" title="f0038-04" width="523" height="178"></div><h2>OLYMPIC TEAMS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-05149/4837776-1-eng-US/f0038-052.jpg" title="f0038-05" width="523" height="120"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Tue. Nov. 29Tulsa 4 at Indianapolis 2Wed. Nov. 30Montana 2 at Colorado 5Fri. Dec. 2Montana 2 at Colorado 7Team Canada 2 at Indianapolis 4Tulsa 0 at Salt Lake 2Sat. Dec. 3Salt Lake 4 at Montana 5Colorado 5 at Tulsa 4Sun. Dec. 4Salt Lake 6 at Indianapolis 9Team Canada 2 at Tulsa 3<h3>OLYMPIC EXHIBITIONS</h3>Wed. Nov. 30Team Canada 6, Team USA 4Sat. Dec. 3Team Canada 5, Team USA 3<h2>ATLANTIC COAST LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Sun. Dec. 4)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-06111/4837769-1-eng-US/f0038-062.jpg" title="f0038-06" width="524" height="235"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Tue. Nov. 29Mohawk Valley 7 at Carolina 6Pine Bridge 3 at Erie 7Wed. Nov. 30Pine Bridge 4 at Mohawk Valley 3Thu. Dec. 1Erie 5 at Pine Bridge 2Fri. Dec. 2Erie 6 at Carolina 5Mohawk Valley at Nashville (ppd)Sat. Dec. 3Erie 12 at Pine Bridge 8Mohawk Valley at Nashville (ppd)<h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-0797/4837762-1-eng-US/f0038-072.jpg" title="f0038-07" width="526" height="319"></div><h2>INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Wed. Dec. 7)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-0880/4837755-1-eng-US/f0038-082.jpg" title="f0038-08" width="525" height="268"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Tue. Nov. 29Fort Wayne 2 at Milwaukee 5Wed. Nov. 30Muskegon 2 at Flint 1Thu. Dec. 1Toledo 3 at Kalamazoo 2Fri. Dec. 2Milwaukee 5 at Muskegon 5Peoria 3 at Flint 5Kalamazoo 2 at Toledo 3Sat. Dec. 3Peoria 3 at Fort Wayne 3Kalamazoo 3 at Muskegon 3Hint 4 at Toledo 7Sun. Dec. 4Milwaukee 2 at Flint 3Fort Wayne 5 at Peoria 2<h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-0970/4837748-1-eng-US/f0038-092.jpg" title="f0038-09" width="530" height="354"></div><h2>QUEBEC LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Mon. Dec. 5)<h3>LEBEL DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-1066/4837741-1-eng-US/f0038-102.jpg" title="f0038-10" width="527" height="207"></div><h3>DILIO DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-1160/4837734-1-eng-US/f0038-112.jpg" title="f0038-11" width="526" height="176"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Mon. Nov. 28St. Jean 4 at Laval 10Tue. Nov. 29Hull 7 at Longueuil 6Wed. Nov. 30Longueuil 3 at Drummondville 8Granby 4 at Hull 3Shawinigan 4 at T-Rivieres 6Chicoutimi 4 at Verdun 8Fri. Dec. 2Verdun 4 at Drummondville 5Laval 6 at Quebec 2Granby 3 at Shawinigan 5T-Rivieres 1 at St. Jean 5Sun. Dec. 4Quebec 5 at Chicoutimi 3T-Rivieres 5 at Granby 6Longueuil 2 at Hull 3St. Jean 3 at Shawinigan 5Drummondville 4 at Verdun 5<h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-1255/4837727-1-eng-US/f0038-122.jpg" title="f0038-12" width="528" height="296"></div><h2>WESTERN LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Tue. Dec. 6)<h3>EASTERN DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-1346/4837720-1-eng-US/f0038-132.jpg" title="f0038-13" width="528" height="271"></div><h3>WESTERN DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-0887/4837713-1-eng-US/f0039-082.jpg" title="f0039-08" width="533" height="209"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Tue. Nov. 29Kelowna 6 at Kamloops 8Lethbridge 7 at Winnipeg 6Portland 8 at Saskatoon 5Regina 8 at Seattle 1New Westminster 2 at Victoria 7Wed. Nov. 30Calgary 6 at Medicine Hat 13Lethbridge 6 at Brandon 3Portland 6 at Prince Albert 5Thu. Dec. 1Victoria 4 at Kelowna 1Fri. Dec. 2Portland 5 at Winnipeg 2Saskatoon 5 at Calgary 1Regina 2 at Prince Albert 6Victoria 10 at Kamloops 9Kelowna 3 at New Westminster 4Sat. Dec. 3Medicine Hat 8 at Victoria 3Portland 2 at Brandon 5Kelowna 2 at Seattle 11Sun. Dec. 4Medicine Hat 3 at New Westminster 7Saskatoon 1 at Lethbridge 2Portland 6 at Regina 5Prince Albert 3 at Calgary 7Winnipeg 5 at Brandon 4Kamloops 5 at Victoria 4<h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-0975/4837706-1-eng-US/f0039-092.jpg" title="f0039-09" width="539" height="616"></div><h2>ONTARIO LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Tue. Dec. 6)<h3>LEYDEN DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-1068/4837699-1-eng-US/f0039-102.jpg" title="f0039-10" width="534" height="236"></div><h3>EMMS DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-1160/4837692-1-eng-US/f0039-112.jpg" title="f0039-11" width="531" height="265"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Tue. Nov. 29North Bay 0 at Oshawa 6Wed. Nov. 30Brantford 3 at Belleville 2Thu. Dec. 1Sudbury 3 at Peterborough 4S.S. Marie 8 at Windsor 5Brantford 7 at Cornwall 1Kitchener 10 at North Bay 4Fri. Dec. 2North Bay 3 at Kitchener 3Brantford 1 at Ottawa 3Peterborough 3 at London 2Oshawa 4 at Kingston 7S.S. Marie 6 at Guelph 7Sudbury 1 at Toronto 5Sat. Dec. 2S.S. Marie 6 at Toronto 6Peterborogh 4 at Belleville 5Sun. Dec. 4Kitchener 6 at Oshawa 8Sudbury 4 at North Bay 3Belleville 6 at Cornwall 4London 6 at Ottawa 4Brantford 3 at Kingston 5Guelph 5 at Windsor 7<h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-1252/4837685-1-eng-US/f0039-122.jpg" title="f0039-12" width="533" height="324"></div> &#9632;

f0038-01

MINOR SCOREBOARD

<div class="byline">BY PAT LYON</div>ERIE&mdash;Playing hockey in the same city for five years doesn&rsquo;t make Carey Walker feel old, just experienced.Walker had been a standout goaltender for the Erie Blades in the Eastern Hockey League and now the Erie Golden Blades in the Atlantic Coast Hockey League.Now 26 years old, Walker doesn&rsquo;t feel that age is creeping up on him.&ldquo;In my position you can be as old as it takes as long as you still do the job,&rdquo; the Blade veteran explained. &ldquo;Things have changed a lot for me since I started here in Erie, I have a family now. Playing here is a job and that&rsquo;s what I&rsquo;m happy about, having a job.&rdquo;Walker is the remaining member of the three Erie championship clubs that ruled the Eastern Hockey League under Nick Polano, who&rsquo;s now coaching Detroit Red Wings. Stan Gulutzan, who also played a major role in the three title clubs, was dealt to Mohawk Valley and then to Nashville after a contract dispute with the front office in Erie.There are other players currently playing with the Blades who were a part of Erie&rsquo;s EHL dominance&mdash;including Jim Cowell, Nelson Burton, Pierre Lagace, Sylvain Cote and Paul Mancini&mdash;but none have been around as long as Walker.Walker is a fan favorite in Erie and a look at his statistics easily tells why. In the Blades&rsquo; three championship seapons in the EHL, the veteran netminder posted a record of 62-21-8 and he earned all-star mention last season in the ACHL for his 28-10-3 campaign.Being in one city for so many years, Walker has vivid memories of important games, including the playoffs in his first season in Erie.&ldquo;What I remember most vividly is the finals in the seventh game against Hampton in Erie,&rdquo; recalled the British Columbia native. &ldquo;We went the full distance with them and won that series 4-3 after being down three games to one. I remember that real well because the last game was at the Erie County Field House and the place was packed. We won it and the town went crazy. It&rsquo;s something I&rsquo;ll never forget.&rdquo;The Blades were hot in winning seven of eight games, but had problems gaining ground on the Thunderbirds who were even hotter.Erie stopped Pine Bridge in two road games&mdash;5-4 and 7-5&mdash;and for a night took over first place, marking the first time in nearly a year that the T-Birds hadn&rsquo;t occupied the top spot. Cowell had two goals, Darrell May recorded 41 saves in the 5-4 win and Dave Herbst had a pair in the 7-5 triumph.After a 5-1 road setback in Nashville that scissored their four-game win streak, the Blades claimed home wins over Nashville and Mohawk Valley (86 and 8-5, respectively). Ernie Boutin was hot with nine points in two games, including a one-goal, four-assist performance in the 8-6 win and two goals agains the Stars. Wayne Van Dorp registered two goals in the win over Nashville.MOHAWK VALLEY&mdash;The Stars ended a two-game slide with a 7-5 victory over Carolina. Larry Ell, Dave Lair and Rich Suwek all contributed two goals, with Mike Bloski the winning netminder.After playing early-season home games in nearby Clinton, the Stars finally moved back home after their new ice making facilities were completed. Coach Rick Ley&rsquo;s crew celebrated their homecoming by topping Nashville 6-3. Suwek and Scott Higgins each fired home two goals.The Stars also lost two road games, a 5-2 decision in Winston-Salem to the Thunderbirds along with an 8-5 setback in Erie.CAROLINA&mdash;The Thunderbirds&rsquo; offense was cruising at high speed during a five-game winning streak with kept Carolina on top of the standings. The North Carolina crew racked up 36 goals during the streak before they were stopped on a visit to Mohawk Valley.The T-Birds beat Pine Bridge 4-1, 6-5 in overtime and 10-5, Mohawk Valley 5-2 and Nashville 11-8. The Carolina players improved their statistics dramatically. Jerry Ingram, Lynn Jorgensen and Ben Laporte all contributed four points in the win over Nashville.NASHVILLE&mdash;The boys from the country music capital were finding the going a little rough after leaving the friendly confines of Nashville.In their first gruelling road trip of the season, the South Stars dropped four straight games, surrendering 37 goals in those four outings. Included in the losses were setbacks at Carolina (118), Erie (8-6 and 12-3) and Mohawk Valley (6-3). Lee Blossom had two goals and John Giftopoulos four assists in the 8-6 loss to Erie.PINE BRIDGE&mdash;While the Stars were having trouble winning on the road, the Bucks were having their problems winning at home.Mired in a seven-game losing streak. the Bucks dropped four consecutive home contests, including a pair of one-goal decisions. Pine Bridge lost 5-4 and 7-5 to Erie, 4-1 to Carolina with Steve Heittola making 42 saves in a losing cause and 6-5 in overtime to the T-Birds. &#9632;

Veteran Blade Player Does Not Feel Old

<h2>NATIONAL LEAGUE</h2>BOSTON&mdash;Steve Kasper, C, sidelined for 4-6 weeks with shoulder separation. Terry O&rsquo;Reilly, RW, back from injury list.CALGARY&mdash;Paul Reinhart, D, sidelined indefinitely with back spasms. Tim Bernhardt, G, reassigned to St. Catharines of AHL on loan. Richard Kromm, C, recalled from Calgary of WHL. Jim Jackson, RW, recalled from Colorado of CHL. Greg Meredith, RW, back from injury list and assigned to Colorado to get into playing condition.CHICAGO&mdash;Denis Cyr, RW, and Tom McMurchy, RW, both recalled from Springfield of AHL. Dan Frawley, RW, and Florent Robidoux, LW, returned to Springfield. Troy Murray, C, out indefinitely with knee injury.DETROIT&mdash;Blake Dunlop, C, signed as free agent from St. Louis. Danny Gare, RW, sidelined with bruised sternum. Ed Johnstone, RW, out of action indefinitely after undergoing surgery on a fractured cheekbone. Dwight Foster, C, sidelined with knee injury. Brad Smith, RW, and Joe Paterson, LW, recalled from Adirondack of AHL. Jody Gage, D, returned to Adirondack.EDMONTON&mdash;Ken Linseman, C, and Charlie Huddy, D, back from injury list. John Blum, D, and Ken Berry, LW, both assigned to Moncton of AHL.HARTFORD&mdash;Ross Yates, C, returned to Binghamton of AHL but later recalled after Ron Fran; cis, C, went out of action for 10 days with bruised knee. Pierre Lacroix, D, on injury list since off-season car accident, will not return to Whalers until next season.LOS ANGELES&mdash;Bob Laforest, RW, recalled from New Haven of AHL.MINNESOTA&mdash;Mark Napier, RW, returned to injury list with cut toe.MONTREAL&mdash;Pierre Mondou, C, back from injury list but aggravated bruised ribs and was sidelined once again. Claude Lemieux, LW, recalled from Verdun of the QMJHL and John Newberry, C, recalled from Nova Scotia of the AHL.NEW JERSEY&mdash;Yvon Vautour, RW, returned to Maine of AHL.NY ISLANDERS&mdash;Gord Dineen, D, recalled from Indianapolis of CHL as replacement for Gord Lane, who will be out 2-3 weeks with injury. Wayne Merrick, C, sidelined with injury.NY RANGERS&mdash;Mike Backman, RW, sent down to Tulsa of CHL. Willie Huber, D, and Mike Allison, C, returned from injury list.PHILADELPHIA&mdash;Rick MacLeish, RW, out of action for 3 weeks after breaking bone in his foot. Michel Larocque, G, assigned to Springfield of AHL.PITTSBURGH&mdash;Randy Boyd, D, Rocky Saganiuk, RW, and Troy Loney, LW, recalled from Baltimore of AHL. Dave Hannan, C, back from injury list. Barry Brickley, LW, sidelined with sprained ankle. Paul Gardner, C, Kevin McClelland, RW, Jim Hamilton, RW, and Rod Schutt, LW, assigned to Baltimore.QUEBEC&mdash;John Van Boxmeer, D, back from injury list.ST. LOUIS&mdash;John Marked, LW, recalled from Montana of CHL.TORONTO&mdash;Ken Wregget, G, recalled from Lethbridge of WHL to replace Rick St. Croix, G, who underwent knee surgery.VANCOUVER&mdash;Moe Lemay, LW, recalled from Fredericton of AHL. Marc Crawford, LW, Neil Belland, D, and Jere Gillis, LW, assigned to Fredericton. Dave Williams, LW, back in lineup after serving eight-game suspension.WASHINGTON&mdash;Dean Evason, C, returned to Portland of WHL. Darren Veitch, D, out of action for 3 weeks with knee injury.WINNIPEG&mdash;Mike Veisor, G, assigned to Sherbrooke of AHL as replacement for Warren Skorodenski, G, who was suspended by the AHL for 20 games for striking a referee.<h2>AMERICAN LEAGUE</h2>HERSHEY&mdash;Eric Calder, D, recalled from Fort Wayne of IHL.NEW HAVEN&mdash;Brock Tredway, RW, assigned to Canadian Olympic Team.ST. CATHARINES&mdash;Reid Bailey, D, released outright.<h2>CENTRAL LEAGUE</h2>INDIANAPOLIS&mdash;Lome Molleken, G, and Kevin Beaton, RW, recalled from Toledo of IHL but later returned.TULSA&mdash;Mikko Leinonen, C, placed on injury list. &#9632;

PLAYER TRANSACTIONS

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/c0004-01160/4837932-1-eng-US/c0004-012.jpg" title="C0004-01" width="332" height="316"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/c0004-0296/4837925-1-eng-US/c0004-022.jpg" title="C0004-02" width="486" height="436"></div><h2>Habs&rsquo; Pivot Pulls Early Cup Upset</h2>TORONTO&mdash;Any time you manage to beat out Guy Lafleur in the Molson Cup voting, it has to be considered an upset.Sophomore center Guy Carbonneau turned the trick on the veteran right winger when he compiled 35 points to finish atop Montreal Canadiens&rsquo; three-star balloting for the first segment of the Molson Cup. Lafleur received 25 points to finish second.Lafleur is the all-time Molson Cup winner of the past having won the Montreal voting six times since its inception in 1972.Carbonneau was the only performer to pull ahead in the six Canadian cities&rsquo; voting at the last minute and emerge as the winner. For his efforts he pockets $1,000 with Lafleur receiving $500 as runner-up.All of the other five Canadian NHL teams stuck to the form chart with Rick Vaive in Toronto, Laurie Boschman in Winnipeg, Wayne Gretzky in Edmonton, Rejean Lemelin in Calgary and Vancouver&rsquo;s Tony Tanti maintaining their point lead through to the end to pick up the $1,000 prize.Here is a city-by-city breakdown on the first segment voting:MONTREAL&mdash;Carbonneau launched his challenge to Lafleur midway in the segment and tied him at the three-quarter mark before picking up the most first-place votes to win 35-25. Goalie Rick Wamsley was third with 20.TORONTO&mdash;Vaive, who continues to be the most popular of all the Maple Leafs even when he&rsquo;s not scoring, gained 30 points but was being pushed by little Dan Daoust, who finished second ith 25 points and won $500.WINNIPEG&mdash;Boschman maintaining his new popularity image among the Jets and appeared to be pulling farther ahead as the first Molson Cup segment ended. He had an overwhelming 55 votes and was well ahead of linemate Lucien DeBlois, who had 30.CALGARY&mdash;Lemelin, the Flames&rsquo; exciting netminder, led the Flames&rsquo; three-star voting from the start and ended as the winner with 35 points. Ed Beers was second with 25 and goalie Don Edwards third with 20.EDMONTON&mdash;The incomparable Gretzky led all Oilers in the first segment with 55 points and was followed by linemate Jari Kurri, who had 40, and netminder Grant Fuhr, who was third with 30.VANCOUVER&mdash;Becoming one of the NHL&rsquo;s premier goal scorers this season has done wonders for Tony Tanti, particularly in the Molon Cup voting. He had 45 points to win the first segment prize of $1,000. Patrik Sundstrom was second with 30 and goalie Richard Brodeur third with 25.<h3>MONTREAL</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/c0004-0354/4837918-1-eng-US/c0004-032.jpg" title="C0004-03" width="473" height="190"></div><h3>TORONTO</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/c0004-0427/4837911-1-eng-US/c0004-042.jpg" title="C0004-04" width="464" height="189"></div><h3>WINNIPEG</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/c0004-0513/4837904-1-eng-US/c0004-052.jpg" title="C0004-05" width="467" height="184"></div><h3>CALGARY</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/c0004-0611/4837897-1-eng-US/c0004-062.jpg" title="C0004-06" width="473" height="190"></div><h3>EDMONTON</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/c0004-077/4837890-1-eng-US/c0004-072.jpg" title="C0004-07" width="467" height="191"></div><h3>VANCOUVER</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/c0004-084/4837883-1-eng-US/c0004-082.jpg" title="C0004-08" width="474" height="193"></div> &#9632;

Search for your favorite player or team

December 16, 1983

NHL GAMES TO COME

Blues’ Coach Trying To Avoid The Pratfalls

HOCKEY WORLD

Everyone Responded Admirably To The Test