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.

January 27, 1984

The Hockey News January 27, 1984

<div class="byline">BY BILL PICKETT</div>Louisville HockeyDENVER&mdash;One reason the Colorado Flames are at the top of the league is that Bobby Francis is back where he was a couple of years ago&mdash;at the top of the Central Hockey League scoring list.He amassed the third highest number of points (114) in the 20-year history of the league during the 1981-82 season while running off with most of the postseason hardware.The Phil Esposito Trophy was his as top scorer with 48 goals, 66 assists; the Ken McKenzie Trophy as rookie of the year; and the Tommy Ivan Trophy as most valuable player.All in all. an impressive season for the rookie out of University of New Hampshire who had spent a brief time with the ill-fated Birmingham franchise after graduation the season before.He had signed as a free agent with Calgary for the 1981-82 season and played at Oklahoma City, where his feats attracted the attention of several scouts. He started last season with the Colorado franchise but a quarter of the way into the schedule he was traded to Detroit.It wasn&rsquo;t quite what he thought the National Hockey League would be.&ldquo;Last year was difficult,&rdquo; he recalled of his tenure with the Red Wings &ldquo;It was hard, working with a team that didn&rsquo;t even know what they were doing or what you were capable of doing. They had only scouted me a couple of times.&rdquo;He was under the impression that coach Nick Polano &ldquo;wanted an offensive centerman,&rdquo; and Francis, who had scored in about 80 per cent of his pro games, thought he could fill the need.&ldquo;But they never played me on the power play. That seemed kind of contradictory to me,&rdquo; he added.&ldquo;They had seven centers and things just didn&rsquo;t work out, so they sent me to Adirondack (of the AHL) and I played for Bill Mahoney, who was coaching there then. I was in my option year and 1 talked with Jimmy D. (Devellano, Detroit general manager). They didn&rsquo;t seem to have too many big plans for me. they wouldn&rsquo;t guarantee me a contract up top.&rdquo;As a result, the 25-year-old Francis considered going to Europe this season.&ldquo;But I got with the Denver people and signed with them.&rdquo; he said.He pulled ahead of Salt Lake&rsquo;s Scott MacLeod briefly for the CHL scoring lead during the first week of 1984 as the Flames solidified their first place position with two straight overtime victories, then swept a two-game set in Indianapolis.MacLeod regained the scoring lead by two points during the second week of January, but Francis, who leads the league in assists with 34. also had 16 goals for a total of 50 points near the midpoint of the season.&ldquo;Basically,&rdquo; explained the 5-foot-9, 180-pound Colorado captain, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m working hard. I have the chance to play and to work and I&rsquo;m looking for the right opportunity. I&rsquo;d like to get back to the NHL. Maybe there&rsquo;ll be some coaching changes up there after this season that might help. I&rsquo;ll just have to wait and assess things at the end of the year.&rdquo;Last season, while Francis was at Detroit-Adirondack, the Flames led the league for much of the year, then got knocked off in the first round of the Adams Cup playoffs.Francis doesn&rsquo;t think that will happen this year.&ldquo;I wasn&rsquo;t around for the end of the season,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;There seems to be better leadership on this team. I think they had some older players who wanted to go home early last spring. But I think this year, with our combination of finesse and aggressiveness, we&rsquo;ll do well in the playoffs.&rdquo;CHL CHAT&mdash;Local ownership in Tulsa met last week with the New York Rangers&rsquo; front office and arrived at a temporary solution to the club&rsquo;s financial problems.&ldquo;We have stopped the bleeding,&rdquo; announced CHL president Bud Poile, &ldquo;but we don&rsquo;t have a complete recovery yet.&rdquo;Poile was hoping more could be accomplished during the league&rsquo;s board of governors meeting on Jan. 12 at Denver.Goaltenders made news over the last week and a half. Mike Sands of Salt Lake City was handed a 10-game suspension after the league headquarters viewed a tape of a game in which Sands &ldquo;made contact&rdquo; with a linesman while protesting what he considered a &ldquo;non-call&rdquo; by the referee. Sands is eligible to return to action Jan. 23&hellip;Tulsa&rsquo;s John Vanbiesbrouck became the third CHL goaltender to register a shutout this season. He stopped 32 shots as the Oilers blanked Montana 4-0&hellip;Chris Trinceri was called up by Salt Lake to fill in for Sands while the latter was serving his suspension&hellip;Colorado netminder Mike Vernon was recalled by Calgary and goalie Jeff Lastiwka joined Colorado from Peoria of the International League. Daryl MacLeod has joined the Montana Magic on a try out basis after completing a shorthanded season of play in Finland&hellip;Michel Galarneau had a hat trick in a 5-3 Montana victory over Salt Lake&hellip;Salt Lake&rsquo;s Dirk Graham picked up 10 points in three games to move into a tie for sixth place among CHL scorers. A former IHL scoring champion, Graham has 38 points in 23 games for the Golden Eagles. He had a hat trick in a 7-6 victory over Montana and the Magic&rsquo;s John Markell scored three times for the losing side&hellip; Chris Kontos is on loan to Tulsa from the N.Y. Rangers. &#9632;

IN THIS ISSUE

Flames’ Francis Back In Familiar Position

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0022-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-01615/4871012-1-eng-US/f0022-012.jpg"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-02352/4871005-1-eng-US/f0032-022.jpg" title="f0032-02" width="3077" height="1743"></div> &#9632;

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HOCKEY SCHOOLS…In The Province Of Ontario

<div class="byline">BY JOHN GILBERT</div>BLOOMINGTON&mdash;A continuing string of injuries reached epidemic proportions and a bit of off-ice melodrama dominated the week for the Minnesota North Stars.Of less spectacular, but extremely important. note is that the Stars won a couple of big victories over Norris Division rivals Toronto and St. Louis to inch ahead in their divisional lead.Minnesota was left hoping for a full recovery by Craig Hartsburg from major knee ligament surgery. The hope was for full, not speedy, recovery, because it will take considerable time to heal and only excellent response to post-operative therapy can bring the club&rsquo;s captain back near 100 per cent recovery by next season.So the club had to be wondering how its defense corps, already struggling against the North Stars&rsquo; large goals-against figure, would stabilize without Hartsburg.Before things got worse off the ice, they got pretty bad on it, when the Stars lost to Hartford. Mark Johnson got two goals and an assist, bringing to light one of North Star general manager Lou Nanne&rsquo;s shakiest deals of all time. Under Nanne&rsquo;s theory where there are no bad deals, this one must at least go into the &ldquo;least good&rdquo; category.Mark Johnson and Kent-Erik Andersson for Jordy Douglas and a fifth-round draft? Andersson went on to the Rangers and has played his usual game; Johnson has become captain and an outstanding goal-scorer at Hartford; Douglas went to the press box, virtually unused, and was traded last week to his hometown, Winnipeg, for Tim Trimper. If Trimper can play for the North Stars it will be some time in the future. He was assigned to Salt Lake City.At any rate, the Stars came back from that loss to Hartford to nip Toronto 5-4 in overtime in a controversial game that wasn&rsquo;t over when it was over, with apologies to Yogi Berra.Toronto came from behind to get a 4-4 tie, but referee Denis Morel was under fire from the frustrated Leafs all night. When he called Jim Korn, a Twin Cities native from Hopkins, for a penalty, Korn was ultimately ejected. In frustration, Korn threw his stick up into the air. Then his gloves. Then he pulled off his helmet as he skated toward the bench and hurled it along the ice toward Morel&rsquo;s feet. He showered and dressed and watched from near the bench.With 1:45 to go, Neal Broten and Bill Derlago got into a joust. Willi Plett came to Broten&rsquo;s-aid and threw one haymaker. At about that moment, Toronto&rsquo;s Gary Nylund was cruising toward the Leafs&rsquo; bench, but when he realized what was happening behind him, he whirled and skated back into the action, challenging Plett.Morel gave Derlago, Broten and Plett minors. Nylund received a double minor and game misconduct for leaving the bench. The North Stars contended that a player had come on for Nylund, so he was the seventh man on the ice. The Leafs insisted nobody came on for Nylund, that he was coming to the bench for a new stick and that when a North Star went from the bench to discuss Toronto&rsquo;s extra man, the Stars actually had too many men on the ice.Morel&rsquo;s sentence stood. When the Stars gained the power play 15 seconds into overtime, Broten sent Tom McCarthy in free for the winner at 0:35.Leaf assistant coach Dan Maloney and an escort of the Leafs follwed Morel to the east end door of the Met rink. When they got there, Korn and Leaf general manager Gerry McNamara were waiting for them. Accounts vary considerably as to what happened there, but from repeated viewings of videotape, it appears that as angry as McNamara was, his biggest role in the fracas that followed was in restraining Korn&mdash;no small feat. When McNamara pushed Korn off to the side and the officials escaped. Korn gave a hefty shove from behind to rink attendant Brian Regan, who went flying out of camera range.David Westby, Regan&rsquo;s boss, waded in throwing a couple of punches, before things were broken up. Several Leafs went to Korn&rsquo;s aid and some fans also became involved in the melee.North Star President John Karr termed the action by the Leafs &ldquo;unprofessional&rdquo; and threatened some form of action if the league didn&rsquo;t impose the proper penalties.The league, however, rescinded Nylund&rsquo;s penalty, indicating he hadn&rsquo;t left the bench. The league did not, however, rescind McCarthy&rsquo;s powerplay goal or the Minnesota victory.Defenseman Curt Giles suffered a sprained knee in the game and will be lost for at least a week. &#9632;

North Stars Creep Ahead In Norris

<div class="byline">BY DAVE KING</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-01446/4871356-1-eng-US/f0036-012.jpg" title="f0036-01" width="608" height="528"></div>On Jan. 9, it was our second time on national TV for the series against the Soviets and we lost another close one, 6-5 at the Forum in Montreal.This was our fifth one-goal loss in the nine games played to date. We did not play well in the first period, but more than held our own after that. Russ Courtnall, the Toronto Maple Leafs&rsquo; No. 1 pick from the &rsquo;83 draft, has really impressed in his three games with us and scored two goals and one assist tonight.The crowd was disappointing (under 5,000) and our lineup is getting a little thin. The series has been a rough one on us for injuries. Gord Sherven suffered stretched knee ligament damage in Halifax and along with Joe Grant (a broken collarbone in Kitchener) will not make the Olympics. George Servinis broken thumb is mending, but we&rsquo;re not sure whether he&rsquo;ll be available for Sarajevo either. I really feel sorry for these kids, who made a major commitment more than six months ago to play for Canada and then got hurt when the Olympics are only a month away.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-02336/4871349-1-eng-US/f0036-022.jpg" title="f0036-02" width="302" height="362"><figcaption class="caption-body">Dave King&rsquo;s Coach&rsquo;s Diary</figcaption></div><h2>Jan. 10</h2>We travel to Quebec City on Tuesday to prepare for our final game in the series Wednesday night. The Nordiques invite our team and the Soviets to a game this night at The Colisee against the Pittsburgh Penguins. We&rsquo;ve certainly had good cooperation from the various NHL clubs throughout the series.<h2>Jan. 11</h2>Finally, we break out offensively with nine goals and defeat the Soviets 9-5. It certainly is gratifying to end the series on a winning note and it will definitely help the spirit on the club when we assemble in Calgary next week for training.As we&rsquo;ve done throughout the series, we added some local talent for the game in Quebec City. Claude Gosselin and Sylvian Cote, of the Quebec Remparts, joined the team for tonight&rsquo;s game and Gosselin got our eighth goal, in the third period. Mario Gosselin (no relation) looked extremely sharp in net during the first 15 minutes of the game and we took control thereafter. The additional players also allowed us to rest Dave Donnelly, Carey Wilson and James Patrick. Only Dave Tippett, our captain, has played in each of the 52 games we&rsquo;ve contested since Sept. 4.Even though our overall series record against the Soviet team was 2-7-1, we proved competitive in all but one game and this Soviet B team is comparable in talent to both the USA and Finland, which are in our group in Sarajevo, and are the teams we must defeat in order to advance to the medal round. The crowd support, although spotty in some centers for the Soviet series, was tremendous in Calgary for both games and in Ottawa, Kitchener and Halifax, where we had sellouts. That really pumped the team up.<h2>Jan. 12</h2>Even though it&rsquo;s an off day. the team is up at five a.m. to catch a flight to Toronto, then on to Calgary and we&rsquo;ve given the players the next couple of days off. Practices are scheduled to resume on Jan. 15 and we&rsquo;ll continue with a daily morning practice at the Calgary Corral until Jan. 19, when we play the first of two final pre-Olympic i games against Team USA. The games are the 19th at the Met Centre in Bloomington and the 21st in Milwaukee.Jean Perron, George Kingston and myself met to discuss and assess the players that we added for each of the Soviet games. And there were a lot of them. Serge Trepanier, Bruce Keller. Mike Ridley, Vaughn Karpan, Sylvain Cote, Claude Gosselin, John Samanski, Don McLaughlin, Brent Jarrett, Dennis Fenske, Real Paiement, Russ Courtnall and Kirk Muller. Obviously, Courtnall and Muller are the most promising and we&rsquo;re fortunate that they&rsquo;ll be playing for Team Canada in Sarajevo. They are certainly welcome additions. The status on the others will have to await our injury list diagnosis and final confirmation of who will be available for the Olympics.There still remains the question of Olympic eligibility for several players either under contract with National Hockey League teams or who have played 10 or less games in the NHL We are trying to get it officially re solved prior to the declaration of our lineup Jan. 27th. &#9632;

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Courtnall Has Impressed Us In Three Games

&ldquo;Get going, get out of here. You start running me down, you bleep of a bleep. I don&rsquo;t want you in here. Now get the bleep out, &lsquo;cause you&rsquo;re no bleep bleep sports writer. Now just get out.&rdquo;&mdash;Toronto Maple Leaf coach Mike Nykoluk, as he forcibly removed Globe and Mail reporter Al Strachan from the Leaf dressing room on Jan. 11. See Bluelines, Page 14, and the Leaf story, 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/f0002-011198/4870080-1-eng-US/f0002-012.jpg" title="f0002-01" width="314" height="364"></div><h2>Questions, Questions</h2>A FEW QUESTIONS have popped up heading into the second half of a rather drab National Hockey League season. Oh, sure, this could be viewed as a roundabout approach to a few statements a fella wants to make.&bull; Isn&rsquo;t the NHL opening a large can of worms if it permits the use of video replays to infiltrate its officiating process? NHL vice-president of whistle-tooters Scotty Morrison says he might allow th referees to check the tapes on controversial goals but if that&rsquo;s allowed where will it end?&bull; Can you believe that Harold Ballard, owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs, hasn&rsquo;t delivered a scathing indictment of his hockey team, especially the size of his players&rsquo; hearts and the brains of the people who run the club for him, during the team&rsquo;s recent period of mediocrity?&bull; Doesn&rsquo;t Marcel Dionne deserve some sort of medal for valor because of the way he continues to produce for the Los Angeles Kings even though the team around him never improves?&bull; Isn&rsquo;t it slightly something&mdash;amusing, ridiculous, astounding, unusual&mdash;you pick the word for it, that at the 41-game mark of this season, Wayne Gretzky&rsquo;s point total (50-78-128) very likely would have cashed in any bonus clause ever written into an NHL player&rsquo;s contract for an entire season?&bull; Looking for a new subject for a hockey pool? How about one on the way New York Islanders will solve their goaltending problem&mdash;the presence of three splendid netminders in Billy Smith, Roland Melanson and Kelly Hrudey?&bull; If the Professional Hockey Writers&rsquo; Association members are as big a pack of boneheads, poltroons and chickens as Stan Fischler claims we are, why has he tried so often over the years to acquire a PHWA membership when he never has been eligible?<h2>A Few More?</h2>&bull; IS THERE ANYONE close to the game who isn&rsquo;t very happy that Charlie Simmer, one of the truly good guys, is back in top form, playing with as much smarts as anyone?&bull; Who can remember such an outbreak of injuries as this season when such teams as the Leafs, Chicago Black Hawks and Boston Bruins have had as many as seven players missing from their lineups at one time?&bull; Why is it that goalies usually are involved in weird hockey happenings? Take the Marco Baron-Doug Keans caper as an example. The Bruins didn&rsquo;t think Baron was. the man to be back-up to Pete Peeters so they signed Keans, a free agent from the Kings, for the job and he&rsquo;s done a superb job. But when the Kings hit goalie problems. who did they get in a trade? Baron, of course.&bull; When the Islanders grow tired of winning Stanley Cup crowns, which club is your pick to take over the throne room? Many folks pick Edmonton Oilers but don&rsquo;t discount Buffalo Sabres from the ranks of dominant clubs in the future. Scotty Bowman has rounded up a splendid group of young talent.&bull; Will Dave King, the coach of the Canadian Olympic team and a certain bet to be with an NHL club in the near future, encounter the same problems that the other men from college backgrounds have hit in pro hockey?<h2>And More Yet?</h2>&bull; ISN&rsquo;T THE CHAMP baseless rumor of the 198384 season the one that had Keith Allen, vice-president of Philadelphia Flyers, moving to L.A. Kings as general manager and why didn&rsquo;t the spreaders of it call him and check it out?&bull; Now, really, doesn&rsquo;t something seem very out-of-kilter in the NHL with the Montreal Canadiens in 10th place in the overall standings?&bull; Is there a bigger puzzle in the NHL than why St. Louis Blues, who own one of the best home-ice records in the league, can&rsquo;t win on the road? Usually road-losers aren&rsquo;t the physically bravest of teams but you can&rsquo;t say that about a club that has Brian Sutter, Rob Ramage, Jack Carlson, Terry Johnson and Dwight Schofield.&bull; Isn&rsquo;t it nice to know that one thing about the once-mighty Toronto Maple Leafs is No. 1 in the NHL? Their fact book (so-called) still leads the league in chuckles, laughs and grammar mistakes.&bull; The toughest job in hockey? Wayne Gretzky&rsquo;s brother, Keith, with Windsor juniors, has it.&bull; Best new name in the NHL? Marty McSorley of Pittsburgh Penguins. Broadcasters love it and hope the willing kid becomes a star.&bull; Don&rsquo;t you wish there were more golden oldies in the NHL like the three vets who passed the 1,000 game mark this season&mdash;Butch Goring, Brad Park and Darryl Sittler? &#9632;

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HOCKEY VIEWPOINT

<div class="byline">BY BOB McKENZIE</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0003-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-011217/4870111-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Buffalo Sabre Tom Barrasso&rsquo;s goals-against average is the third best in the entire National Hockey League.</figcaption></div>It was the day before the 1983 National Hockey League entry draft and a group of reporters and scouts were idling away a few moments in a Montreal hotel lobby, discussing what would unfold the next day. The name of Tom Barrasso, the New England high school goalie, came up and drew an instant reaction.&ldquo;You should see the kid handle a puck,&rdquo; said one scout.&ldquo;Aggressive,&rdquo; said another scout. &ldquo;This kid loves to mix it up.&rdquo;&ldquo;Size,&rdquo; said yet another, &ldquo;1 really like his size.&rdquo;&ldquo;Well, that&rsquo;s just great,&rdquo; said a reporter. &ldquo;You guys mentioned everything except stopping the puck. He is a goalie, isn&rsquo;t he?&rdquo;Seven months later, the question need not be asked.Tom Barrasso, 18, who was the fifth player taken in the entry draft, is the Buffalo Sabres&rsquo; No. 1 goalie. He has played in 24 games and sports a 2.89 goals-against average with a 16-52 record. His goals-against average is third best in the league, behind the Boston Bruin duo of Doug Keans and Pete Peeters.Making the jump from high school hockey to the NHL appears not to have fazed the Stow, MA, native, who, along with Detroit Red Wing rookie center Steve Yzerman, is a leading candidate for the Calder Trophy.Tom Barrasso is not shy. But if you have read or heard anything about this young man, that&rsquo;s no secret. Tom Barrasso leads the league in being called cocky. If you thought his real name was Cocky Tom Barrasso, you&rsquo;re forgiven since that is how it often appears in newspaper and magazine articles. And there have been plenty of those. Tom Barrasso is a good story. He&rsquo;s a good interview and besides all that, he gives reporters a chance to write the lead paragraph that says, &ldquo;Tom Barrasso is a great goalie. If you don&rsquo;t think so, just ask him.&rdquo;Wayne Gretzky notwithstanding, the rangy New Englander may be the best story of the 1983-84 hockey season. After all, how often does an 18-year-old goalie jump directly from high school hockey to the NHL and make a big splash when he arrives?As cocky or as confident as he may appear, even he&rsquo;s shocked by his rapid rise.&ldquo;Oh, yeah,&rdquo; he said genuinely, when asked about it, &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t think I&rsquo;d be this successful so quickly. My goals-against average is one of the best in the league. I didn&rsquo;t expect that. I rate some consideration for all-star voting. I didn&rsquo;t expect that. I knew I had the ability to play here, but I wasn&rsquo;t sure the Sabre organization would give me the chance so soon. But (Sabre general manager and coach) Scotty (Bowman) stuck his neck out for me and I had a good training camp. It&rsquo;s all taken off since then. To be honest, 1 thought it might take a little longer.&rdquo;But don&rsquo;t ever think for a moment that Barrasso was unsure of whether he had what it takes to make it as a front-line pro. Just ask his father, Tom Sr.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s got two things going for him,&rdquo; said Tom Sr. of his son. &ldquo;First, he&rsquo;s got the moves. He&rsquo;s always had them. From the time he was seven years old, you could see that he had the moves, the talent to be a good goalie. Second, he&rsquo;s got confidence. Some people call it cockiness. I don&rsquo;t know what you call it, all I know is that you better have it if you&rsquo;re going to be the best. And that&rsquo;s what Tom wants to be&mdash;the best.&rdquo;Perhaps it is Barrasso&rsquo;s burning desire to be No. 1 that rubs some people the wrong way. The most famous Barrasso story that made the rounds before he did was that the players on the U.S. Olympic team cheered when they learned Barrasso was quitting to pursue a professional career.Barrasso is asked about it, but shrugs it off.&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t want to be there (with the Olympic team) and it showed,&rdquo; Barrasso said. &ldquo;It showed in the way I practised and it showed in the way I dealt with the people there. Some of them took it personally, as well they should. I suppose. The fact is that I wanted to play pro hockey.&ldquo;Now, if someone suggested my teammates in Buffalo didn&rsquo;t like me. I&rsquo;d really resent that. I don&rsquo;t see myself as being tough to get along with. I don&rsquo;t mind being called cocky. 1 don&rsquo;t mind answering any questions a reporter has for me.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve said it before and I&rsquo;ll say it again. Anybody can call me anything they want. It just doesn&rsquo;t concern me. The only thing that matters to me is myself, my family and the 20 guys in this lockerroom.&rdquo;Barrasso is at ease with his status as a star rookie in the NHL. It is other people, he says, who have difficulty accepting it. Specifically, he says that being a standout at high school and subsequently being drafted in the first round of the NHL have caused a lot of people to be jealous of him.&ldquo;Well, let me put it this way,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;I never park my car where I can&rsquo;t see it. That was even before the draft. I came out from school once and someone had stuck an icepick through my tire. Sometimes, it would be someone using a key to scrape the paint on the side of my car.&rdquo;Tom Sr. says his son&rsquo;s success in hockey has broken up what he thought was a close friendship.&ldquo;I had a very close friend who just stopped talking to me after the draft,&rdquo; Tom Sr. said. &ldquo;His boy wasn&rsquo;t drafted as high as Tom and I guess that bothered him. We used to be very close and now he won&rsquo;t even talk to me. It&rsquo;s unfortunate. People think being successful changes you. It doesn&rsquo;t, at least not as much as being envious or jealous does. I know I&rsquo;m still the same guy I was, but I can&rsquo;t say the same for some of the people we&rsquo;ve known for years who don&rsquo;t act the same way towards us.&rdquo;What is there about Tom Barrasso that these people don&rsquo;t like?&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll tell you what it is,&rdquo; Tom Jr. said emphatically. &ldquo;They don&rsquo;t like what 1 stand for. I set out to make the Olympic team. 1 made it. I didn&rsquo;t want to play for the Olympic team. I quit. I wanted to play for the Buffalo Sabres. 1 did. It&rsquo;s kind of like I&rsquo;ve got the world in my hands. I&rsquo;m only 18 and I&rsquo;ve done everything I&rsquo;ve set out to do. I think people have a tough time dealing with that.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not going to apologize for my success. No one has ever given me anything that I haven&rsquo;t earned.&rdquo;Much of Barrasso&rsquo;s confidence comes from his close-knit family. Because Barrasso is mature far beyond his years, you forget that he is only 18 and away from home for the first time. As a result, his phone bill is of astronomical proportions.&ldquo;I probably talk to my family at least every other day,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;The first phone bill was $276. The phone company called me in mid-December and told me my bill was already up to $368.1 haven&rsquo;t got that one in yet. I&rsquo;m afraid to open it.&rdquo;Of course, Barrasso can afford such luxuries. He collected a signing bonus well in excess of $100,000 and he&rsquo;s making about $75,000 a year now, excluding bonus clauses. A $25,000 Porsche is just one outward sign of his new-found wealth.&ldquo;Everything has gone great for me,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I enjoy playing in Buffalo and I think the people of Buffalo enjoy having me play here.&ldquo;Things have been so good that I couldn&rsquo;t really pick out one or two highlights. Anyway, I don&rsquo;t think like that. For whatever reason, 1 recall the bad things. Like a loss at home to Hartford. That was my worst game this year and that&rsquo;s my most vivid memory of the season so far.&rdquo;One of the most nerve-wracking moments for the young goalie came in late November, when he made his debut at the Boston Garden in front of family and friends.&ldquo;I think he was a little confused by the entire experience,&rdquo; said Tom Sr. &ldquo;He thought, coming back home and all, he might get a pretty good reception from the fans at the Garden.&ldquo;He didn&rsquo;t (and the Sabres lost to the Bruins 5-2) and I think that took him a couple of weeks to get over.&rdquo; &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t expect to get a standing ovation,&rdquo; Tom Jr. said, &ldquo;but I didn&rsquo;t expect to get booed off the ice either. Oh well, now I know. I&rsquo;ll be that much more prepared the next time 1 go there. That&rsquo;s what it&rsquo;s all about. I&rsquo;m still learning my way around the league.&rdquo;In the meantime, he&rsquo;s looked like anything but a rookie. He&rsquo;s exhibited a grace under pressure that would make Hemingway envious. At times, due to his lanky frame and stand-up style, he reminds one of Ken Dryden. And when you realize he&rsquo;s only 18&mdash;he won&rsquo;t be 19 until March&mdash;and he played last season against New England school boys, it strikes you what an achievement he&rsquo;s made this season&mdash;not at all unlike the one that Sabre teammate Phil Housley made in his rookie campaign a year ago.&ldquo;Guys like Phil and me,&rdquo; Barrasso said, &ldquo;we&rsquo;re different from average 18 or 19-year-olds. We know exactly where we want to be and exactly what we want to do with our lives. We don&rsquo;t take all this lightly. We&rsquo;re very serious about hockey as a career. We aren&rsquo;t here just for the fun of it. We&rsquo;re professionals.&rdquo; &#9632;

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Buffalo Sabre Goalie Tom Barrasso Is Earning Rave Rookie Reviews

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 SaksCCMC, Cliff Kivell. 43 Madison Ave.,Toronto. Ontario M5R 2S2 (416) 961-5141SI BSCRIPT1ON SERVICES MANAGERPaula HeardNEWSSTAND SERVICES MANAGEREsther SumkaCIRCVIATION DEPARTMENTTaninoACCOI MING DEPARTMENTTom MoffatMan CarubiaSPECIAL PROJECTS MANAGERElaine WatkinsonADVERTISING AND EDITORIAL OFFICES85 Scarsdale Rd., Suite 100Toronto. Ontario. Canada M3B 2R2(416) 445-5702EXECUTIVE OFFICE850 Third AvenueNew York. New York10022NEWSSTAND DISTRIBUTORDistributed nationally by Disticor101 Duncan Mill Rd., Suite L4Don Mills. Ont., M3B 1Z3(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 SUBSCRIPTION 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 HOCKEY 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

<h2>Next Week</h2>Next week, we&rsquo;ll bring you the best in NHL All-Star coverage. Not only will we have the lineups for the two teams that will face off Jan. 31 at the Meadowlands in New Jersey, as chosen by the Professional Hockey Writers Association, we&rsquo;ll have THE HOCKEY NEWS&rsquo; People&rsquo;s Choice All-Star teams, as selected by our readers. You can compare the two teams and decide for yourself who did a better job&mdash;you or the PHWA.<h2>Feb. 10</h2>If you plan on following hockey at the Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, then you won&rsquo;t want to be without this issue of THE HOCKEY NEWS. We&rsquo;ll feature stories on the Soviet Union and the steps they&rsquo;ve taken to win back the gold medal, Team USA and Team Canada. Ken Dryden, the accomplished author and former star netminder of the Montreal Canadiens who will be a color commentator for ABC sports in Sarajevo, will handicap the participating teams in a special feature. We&rsquo;ll also have an excerpt from One Goal, an exciting new book about Team USA&rsquo;s miracle win in 1980. Don&rsquo;t miss it. &#9632;

COMING SOON IN THN

<div class="byline">BY RON COBB</div>ST. LOUIS&mdash;Coach Jacques Demers has a practice of throwing new players into the lineup immediately when they become members of the Blues. He considers it his way of indicating he approves of moves made by the club&rsquo;s upper management.So it was not all that surpising that Michel (Bunny) Larocque was in goal for the Blues on Jan. 7 in Montreal, two days after his contract was purchased from the Philadelphia Flyers.Larocque, a 31-year-old veteran of 11 National Hockey League seasons, hadn&rsquo;t played in a league game in 354 days and he hadn&rsquo;t practised much in the previous 16 days. But after Larocque met the Blues in Montreal on Jan. 6 and went through a brief workout, Demers made his decision.&ldquo;I talked to Bunny and he felt good,&rdquo; said Demers. &ldquo;He&rsquo;ll be ready.&rdquo;As it turned out, Larocque was ready but his teammates weren&rsquo;t. The Blues lost 5-0 to the Canadiens despite his solid performance.&ldquo;For a guy who hadn&rsquo;t played in the NHL in a year, he was great,&rdquo; said Demers.The Blues, looking for depth in goal, had been negotiating on-and-off with Larocque and the Flyers since last August. Although they never said so publicly, the Blues lost confidence in backup goalie Rick Heinz. Of the Blues&rsquo; first 41 games, Mike Liut started 33.In his eight starts, Heinz was 3-3-2 with a 4.91 goals-against average. The addition of Larocque dropped Heinz to No. 3 and raised the possibility that he wouldn&rsquo;t play again the rest of the season, barring an injury.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a little unsafe to go with two goaltedners in the NHL,&rdquo; said Ron Caron, the Blues&rsquo; vice-president and director of player personnel. &ldquo;This is to give Mike Liut the rest he needs. Each time he gets a rest he responds and plays well.&rdquo;Demers praised Heinz for his contribution but said he would have to accept his role as the No. 3 goaltender.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s had tremendous difficutly accepting being a backup to Mike Liut,&rdquo; Demers said. &ldquo;Like anybody would, he wants to play. I&rsquo;m not predecting anything, but I&rsquo;ve never seen a situation where all three goaltenders accept their roles. 1 hope this can be different.&rdquo;Liut has said several times that he prefers to make 55-60 starts a season and in an established routine.&ldquo;You have to play what they ask you to play,&rdquo; Liut said. &ldquo;What I want to do and what they want me to do are two different things. I think I play well when I&rsquo;m playing a lot but I also know that I&rsquo;ve played maybe too much at times in the last couple of years. I think I&rsquo;ve paid for it and it may even have hurt the team a little.&rdquo;Larocque expected no promises from the Blues and apparently he got none.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m here to play when they ask me to play,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not in my mind to play this game or that game. The only thing is to help the team finish high in the standings and do well in the playoffs.&rdquo;Larocque and Caron, both natives of Hull, Que., are no strangers to each other. Caron had been Montreal&rsquo;s chief scout when the Canadiens drafted Larocque sixth overall in 1972.Larocque played in four Stanley Cup champions in Montreal and he shared the Vezina trophy with Ken Dryden in 197677 through 1978-79 and with Richard Sevigny and Denis Herron in 1980-81.He was traded to Toronto late in March, &rsquo;81 and the Maple Leafs sent him to Philadelphia for Rick St. Croix in January, 1983. Larocque played in only two games for the Flyers. After he won one and lost one, the Flyers decided to go exclusively with Bob Froese until Pelle Lindbergh recovered from an injury.Larocque was free to negotiate with any other NHL team over the summer and in August he gave Caron a call. His asking price was too steep, however, and Larocque wound up with the Flyers in training camp.He played well enough in competition with Froese and Lindbergh that he was scheduled to make a start early in the season. But two days before the opener, Larocque suffered a back injury that sidelined him until Thanksgiving.He was sent to the minors for conditioning and played in five games with Springfield for the American League. He returned to Philadelphia on Dec. 20 but still hadn&rsquo;t played in a league game when the deal with the Blues went through.Larocque made his second appearance in goal for the Blues on Jan. 12 against Boston in St. Louis. He was sharp in the first period but he and his teammates fell apart in the second as Boston scored five goals and coasted to a 6-2 victory.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve got a ways to go,&rdquo; said Larocque. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m starting to feel a little better but it&rsquo;s going to take awhile.&rdquo; &#9632;

Blues Decide To Own A Piece Of Larocque

<h2>OLYMPIC PLAYERS QUIT</h2>MINNESOTA&mdash;Rich Costello and Kurt Kleinendorst have quit the U.S. Olympic team amid rumors they were about to be cut by coach Lou Vairo.Reports had circulated that both Costello and Kleinendorst had been playing poorly and were about to be dropped from the team, but Costello, who signed a contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs, said he could have stayed with the Olympic team and would have played in the Olympic Games next month in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia.Costello was acquired by the Leafs in the trade which sent Darryl Sittler to Philadelphia in January, &rsquo;82. Kleinendorst is the property of the New York Rangers, who already have Kurt&rsquo;s brother, Scot, in their minor-league system.Meanwhile, the United States has threatened to test Olympic eligibility rules as interpreted by Canada&rsquo;s Olympic hockey team. Team Canada is operating under the assumption that professional hockey players who have played less than 10 games in the NHL are eligible for the Olympics. The U.S. Olympic committee says it will challenge that interpretation, which prompted Team Canada advisor Alan Eagleson to say that Canada can rely more favorably on the Soviet Union and its policies than on the Americans. The most recent furor came about when Team Canada announced it was interested in acquiring New York Islander rookie goalie Kelly Hrudey for the Olympic Games in Sarajevo.<h2>SUSPENSION ANNOUNCED, STOPPED</h2>MONTREAL&mdash;Detroit rookie Claude Loiselle has been suspended for six games, while Toronto rookie Gary Nylund has had his suspension lifted, the league announced.Loiselle swung his stick at, but did not injure, Philadelphia&rsquo;s Bobby Clarke in a game on Jan. 7. He had already served two games when the suspension was formally announced.In Toronto, Nylund was relieved of his suspension for his part in the game between the Leafs and Minnesota North Stars on Jan. 12. Nylund was originally assessed a game misconduct and two minor penalties&mdash;the latter which resulted in a game-winning goal by Tom McCarthy of the Stars&mdash;for leaving the bench to fight. However, the Leafs protested Nylund was actually on the ice at the time and had only gone to the bench to get a new stick. Video replays later confirmed this and though the outcome of the game did not change, Nylund was allowed to play in the Leafs&rsquo; next game against Chicago on Jan. 14 in Toronto.Meanwhile, Tom Lysiak returned to the lineup against the Leafs after a 20-game suspension for intentionally knocking down linesman Ron Foyt on Oct. 30.<h2>BREWERY EYES JETS</h2>WINNIPEG&mdash;Labatt Brewing Co. Ltd. of Toronto has been looking into the possibility of buying the financially-troubled Jets.A spokesman for the brewing company said he&rsquo;s discussed the Jets&rsquo; future with city and Jet officials.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s very preliminary. There isn&rsquo;t anything that&rsquo;s very concrete,&rdquo; said Herb England, Labatt&rsquo;s general manager in the Canadian prairies. &#9632;

SLAPSHOTS

<div class="byline">BY RANDY SCHULTZ</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0005-03" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-03567/4870238-1-eng-US/f0005-032.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Dennis Hull says if he could do one thing over, he would have ended his career in Chicago.</figcaption></div>The Illinois Institute of Technology has offered the opportunity to learn to many young men and women.For Dennis Hull, it offered the opportunity to return to Chicago.Today, Hull is athletic director for IIT, a college not necessarily know for athletics and which does not have a hockey team.&ldquo;After I had retired from hockey (1978), my family and I went back to Canada so I could go back to college and get a degree,&rdquo; recalled Hull, who spent 14 seasons playing in the National Hockey League, 13 with the Chicago Black Hawks and one with the Detroit Red Wings.After receiving a degree in history from Brock University in St. Catharines, Ont., Hull went to work teaching at nearby Ridley College.&ldquo;I was teaching at Ridley when I got this call from a friend of mine at IIT,&rdquo; commented the 39-year-old Hull, a native of Pointe Anne, Ont. &ldquo;He told me about the job.&ldquo;So I sent in an application, was interviewed for the job on a Friday and took over the position the following Tuesday.&ldquo;And 1 really like the job, it&rsquo;s a challenge. We&rsquo;re a small Division Two school, but we have a good athletic propram. We compete very well on the field.&ldquo;And the one thing I&rsquo;m proud of is that over the last seven years all of our varsity athletes, both men and women, have graduated. Every one of them.&rdquo;Hull is also very proud of his hockey career. The younger brother of Hall of Famer Bobby, Dennis never asked for any favors.&ldquo;I was glad of what happened for Bobby during his playing days and for being his brother,&rdquo; said Hull, who resides with his family in Chicago. &ldquo;I knew Bobby had a great hockey talent.&ldquo;All I ever wanted was the respect from the other players and coaches on my teams and throughout the NHL. And I think I got it.&rdquo;Although he never played on a Stanley Cup-winning team, Hull has many memories of his years in the NHL.&ldquo;One of my greatest thrills came in the 1971 Stanley Cup finals against the Montreal Canadiens,&rdquo; remarked Hull. &ldquo;We came so close that year. But the Canadiens&rdquo; Ken Dryden was outstanding in goal and was the big difference in the series.&ldquo;And having the opportunity to play on Team Canada in 1972 was a great thrill as well as being a great honor.&rdquo;Hull does have one reservation about his career.&ldquo;If I had to do it over again, I would have ended by career in Chicago and not played that extra year in Detroit,&rdquo; said the former left winger. &ldquo;But things were changing in Chicago. I knew if I wasn&rsquo;t going to be a regular player, I didn&rsquo;t want to play at all there.&ldquo;Plus, I came into my final season two goals short of 300. So I figured I had that to shoot for.&ldquo;Anyhow, 300 looked better in the books than 298.&rdquo; &#9632;

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WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-011118/4870276-1-eng-US/f0005-012.jpg" title="f0005-01" width="870" height="541"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-02818/4870269-1-eng-US/f0005-022.jpg" title="f0005-02" width="901" height="550"></div> &#9632;

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BEAVER TALES

Here&rsquo;s what was happening 20 years ago this week in hockey:&bull; Goalie Terry Sawchuk of Detroit recorded his 95th career shutout in a 2-0 win over Montreal to surpass George Hainsworth on the National Hockey League all-time career shutout list.&bull; Western Hockey League president Al Leader fined coaches Bud Poile of San Fransisco and Denver&rsquo;s Rudy Pilous a total of $200. Of the $150 levied against Poile, $100 was for throwing a puck at the referee. Here&rsquo;s what was happening 15years ago this week in hockey:&bull; Boston&rsquo;s Derek Sanderson, the NHL&rsquo;s rookie of the year the season before, was hospitalized to recover from a hip injury.&bull; Rookie New York Ranger coach Bernie (Boom Boom) Geoffrion collapsed in the dressing room during a game at Oakland, the result of a low sugar count brought on by the flu and his weakened condition caused by surgery that removed most of his stomach.&bull; Thirty-two-year-old Dan Kelly, a first-year announcer with the St. Louis Blues, took over from Stu Nahan on the CBS game of the week. Kelly, who had five kids, one of whom is now broadcasting the St. Catharines Saints&rsquo; radio games, jokingly said, &ldquo;I need the money.&rdquo; In a subject related to broadcasting. Jiggs McDonald, who did the Los Angeles Kings&rsquo; games, suffered a bloody nose during a game but his partner, Ed Fitkin, came through with a much-needed handkerchief.&bull; Wren Blair replaced John Muckier as head coach of the Minnesota North Stars after the Stars lost their last eight and had gone winless in 14. &#9632;

THIS WEEK…20 Years Ago

<div class="byline">BY BOB DUFF</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0005-04" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-04381/4870355-1-eng-US/f0005-042.jpg"></div> &#9632;

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Did You Know…

1. Lester Patrick is famous for replacing an injured New York Ranger goaltender during the Stanley Cup finals in 1928. Who was the goalie?2. What is Pete Cusimano of Detroit famous for?3. Where was the home of the Toronto Maple Leafs before Maple Leaf Gardens?4. Toronto&rsquo;s John Anderson recently came within one game of equalling the team record for consecutive point-scoring games. Who holds the record?5. Which two NHL players became linesmen for a night last season when two of three officials failed to show for a New Jersey-Hartford game?6. Who was the second man to be president of the NHL?7. What is Butch Goring&rsquo;s real first name?8. Who was the only player to lead his team in scoring last season without registering at least 20 goals?<h2>Trivia Answers</h2>1. Lorne Chabot.2. Throwing octopi on the ice at games in Detroit.3. Mutual Street Arena.4. Darryl Sittier, 18 games.5. Mickey Volcan and Garry Howatt.6. Mervyn (Red) Dutton.7. Robert.8. Aaron Broten, New Jersey, 16 goals, 55 points. &#9632;

TRIVIA

<div class="byline">BY STAN FISCHLER</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-011297/4870386-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg" title="f0006-01" width="306" height="360"></div><h2>McCauley And Me</h2>I AM A confirmed addict and every year I need my fix.Now is the time.My affliction is nothing I&rsquo;m embarrassed about. Every time I go to a hockey game I go nuts watching referees. The urge to fold, spindle and mutilate them grows from October through January.Then I get the fix and I&rsquo;m all better again&mdash;for awhile.Last year the fix was supplied by Scotty Morrison, the National Hockey League boss of referees. The whole thing took about an hour and was surprisingly painless. Morrison obviously does this sort of thing a lot.Over lunch he told me in five different languages&mdash;but not Herb Brooksese&mdash;-about the terrific NHL officiating system. I left the restaurant with an urgent desire to sing a chorus of My Sweet Embraceable You to Bruce Hood, Bob Myers and Andy van Hellemond. Morrison had me believing they were the greatest officials in the world.But now I want to strangle them again. Clearly, the fix has worn off. I need a new one right away. But Morrison is out of town and I can&rsquo;t wait any longer, so I grab hold of his right-hand-zebra, John McCauley.He tells me he&rsquo;s good at referee fixes. I tell him I&rsquo;m worse than I was a year ago. It&rsquo;ll take one hell of fix to get me off their backs, but McCauley says he&rsquo;s game.&ldquo;Okay,&rdquo; he says, &ldquo;tell me what&rsquo;s bothering you about my referees?&rdquo;&ldquo;Everything.&rdquo;&ldquo;You have to be more specific than that if you expect me to help.&rdquo;SF&mdash;&ldquo;Glenn Resch of the Devils says your referees don&rsquo;t call enough interference penalties around the crease. Forwards are always messing up goalies and then you wonder why a guy like Bill Smith gets mad. Your refs are forcing goalies to take the law into their own hands. After all, John, interference is interference. Right?&rdquo;MCCAULEY&mdash;&ldquo;Wrong. It&rsquo;s not interference when one of Resch&rsquo;s defensemen pushes an opposition forward into Resch. That&rsquo;s what happens most of the time. Don&rsquo;t blame the refs for that. If you want to know the truth, Chico is biased.&rdquo;SF&mdash;&ldquo;Denis Savard of the Black Hawks says the trouble with your zebras is that they don&rsquo;t referee by the rulebook or what goes on on the ice, they ref by the score. If a club is leading 4-2 late in the game, guaranteed, they&rsquo;ll call a penalty against the team that&rsquo;s winning.&rdquo;MCCAULEY&mdash;&ldquo;Savard&rsquo;s all wet. Everybody knows you can&rsquo;t referee by the score. What really happens&mdash;and what makes Savard think it&rsquo;s going by the score&mdash;is that the discipline on the part of the winning team might break down late in the game, as happens, and penalties are called. My men ref by the situation, not by the score.&rdquo;By this time the fix is taking hold and I&rsquo;m feeling better already. But then, I suffer a sudden relapse.SF&mdash;&ldquo;John, you&rsquo;re not fooling me for a minute and you&rsquo;re not fooling (Penguin coach) Lou Angotti either. He says you assign all the mediocre refs to games involving the weaker teams and they wind up getting a shafting from these mediocre refs.&rdquo;<h2>Angotti Is Mistaken</h2>MCCAULEY&mdash;&ldquo;WE DON&rsquo;T have mediocre referees. We do have officials with less experience than others but Angotti is mistaken when he says the lower teams get the more inexperienced referees.&rdquo;SF&mdash;&ldquo;Bryan Murray of the Caps has been beefing all season that you refs have it in for certain players, like Scott Stevens of his team.&rdquo;MCCAULEY&mdash;&ldquo;Is he kidding?&rdquo;SF&mdash;&ldquo;No, he&rsquo;s not kidding. Bryan says your refs are always on Stevens&rsquo; case, giving him warnings here and warnings there. But you don&rsquo;t give other guys warnings.&rdquo;MCCAULEY&mdash;&ldquo;The only players singled out are those who deserve to be singled out. As for Stevens, he ought to feel fortunate that he&rsquo;s at least being warned. The people who do attract attention (like Stevens) deserve it.&rdquo;SF&mdash;&ldquo;But you do play favorites, John. I know a player who says referees have it in for certain teams and so do linesmen. During a fight these linesmen will hold one guy tight and let the other get loose so he can brain the first player.&rdquo;MCCAULEY&mdash;&ldquo;That&rsquo;s not the case. Our linesmen work with as much teamwork as possible so that no one is unduly hurt. If anyone is getting the upper hand in an altercation the linesmen are quick to protect the other player.&rdquo;SF&mdash;&ldquo;Some of your refs are arrogant, nasty. I watch that Kerry Fraser kid and he reminds me of Little Lord Fauntleroy with a chip on his shoulder. John, I want to belt him, so help me, I want to mow him down.&rdquo;MCCAULEY&mdash;&ldquo;He&rsquo;s one of the best young ones. If you ever took a little time to meet him you&rsquo;ll find Kerry a personable guy.&rdquo;SF&mdash;&ldquo;But Herb Brooks, who knows more about hockey than anybody in the whole wide world&mdash;and if you don&rsquo;t believe it, ask him&mdash;doesn&rsquo;t like Kerry Fraser.&rdquo;MCCAULEY&mdash;&ldquo;Whether Herb Brooks likes him or not has no bearing on young Fraser. No referee wants to be liked. He doesn&rsquo;t want to be hated either. He just wants to be respected. &ldquo;SF&mdash;&ldquo;Orval Tessier isn&rsquo;t happy with your man, Bob Myers. He says he&rsquo;d like one of your supervisors around to grade the ref the way Myers grades some of his Black Hawks. Can you help him out?&rdquo;MCCAULEY&mdash;&ldquo;We don&rsquo;t have a supervisor at every game. But if Tessier is serious 1 can arrange to have a supervisor look in at some Black Hawks games.&rdquo;SF&mdash;&ldquo;John, I&rsquo;ve been too nice to you, but now I&rsquo;m going to get tough. First of all, there&rsquo;s no way you can tell me your zebras call penalties the same way in the third period as they do in the first.&rdquo;MCCAULEY&mdash;&ldquo;I beg to differ. Our men are instructed to call a penalty in the third period if it is the same quality infraction as it was in the first. We don&rsquo;t want them to have any creations in their minds. If the situation requires a penalty, we expect them to call it.&rdquo;SF&mdash;&ldquo;You had no right to fire Greg Madill. He was better than Kerry Fraser on the best day Fraser ever had.&rdquo;MCCAULEY&rsquo;Take a look at what you wrote about Madill last season.&rdquo;<h2>A Low Blow</h2>SF&mdash;&ldquo;THAT&rsquo;S A low blow, John, /never criticized Madill. Some other creeps did. And then you go and fire him. It was a bad move. But we&rsquo;re all entitled to mistakes. Trouble is, you guys make too many of them. Why don&rsquo;t you take John Ferguson&rsquo;s advice and use videotape replays on controversial goals during the playoffs? Now that&rsquo;s a great idea.&rdquo;MCCAULEY&mdash;&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not that simple. There&rsquo;s a big question about camera angles to be considered. They vary from rink to rink. We&rsquo;ve decided not to use anything as drastic as electronics this year but we&rsquo;re looking into the possibility for the future.&rdquo;SF&mdash;&ldquo;Don&rsquo;t kid me, John. You&rsquo;ll never go to videotape because you&rsquo;re afraid of the referee&rsquo;s union.&rdquo;MCCAULEY&mdash;&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not a union, it&rsquo;s an association. Hey. let me ask you a question: Who do you think is the best referee we&rsquo;ve got?&rdquo;SF&mdash;&ldquo;Bryan Lewis. Sometimes Dave Newell. And when Herb Brooks doesn&rsquo;t like Kerry Fraser then you can bet your bottom five-spot that Fraser is the best. But wait a minute, John, I&rsquo;m asking the questions, not you. Next question: Why don&rsquo;t your refs call more interference. It hurts the flow of the game.&rdquo;MCCAULEY&mdash;&ldquo;I agree with you. There&rsquo;s more and more interference creeping into the game and we try to get as much as we can without really hampering the game. We&rsquo;re trying to cut down on the interference. Sustained action is the name of our game and we&rsquo;re working on that in a lot of ways.SF&mdash;&ldquo;John, the thing that drives everyone mad is the refs&rsquo; inconsistency. Deny that if you can.&rdquo;MCCAULEY&mdash;&ldquo;If there&rsquo;s inconsistency from period to period then the fellow&rsquo;s in trouble. If there&rsquo;s inconsistency from one referee to another that&rsquo;s a different story since no two people are alike. But they are consistent. Granted, some have different methods for handling particular situations. Some yell at them, some call a couple of penalties.&rdquo;SF&mdash;&ldquo;Can you be more specific?&rdquo;MCCAULEY&mdash;&ldquo;Each of the 840 games played in a season is different. The referee has to be able to recognize what type of hockey is being played. So we&rsquo;re calling them on an individual game basis. Sometimes a situation will occur that looks like a foul. In another game it might not be a foul. There are a lot of variables.SF&mdash;&ldquo;John, you seem to have all the answers, so tell me this: Why is everybody mad at your referees. Why does Herb Brooks get mad? Bryan Murray? Everybody?MCCAULEY&mdash;&ldquo;They (referees) make 120 decisions in a game. They&rsquo;re made under split-second conditions and these critics single out one decision out of 120 that they don&rsquo;t like. And for that the ref gets the heat. One decision and they say the guy is awful.&rdquo;SF&mdash;&ldquo;John, will you please answer my question: Why does everyone get mad at the referees?&rdquo;MCCAULEY&mdash;&ldquo;Who else are they gonna get mad at? It&rsquo;s the nature of the game. Who&rsquo;s the easiest guy to get mad at at a hockey game&mdash;the referees!&rdquo;I&rsquo;ve got to give John McCauley credit. It was one hell of a fix.And it lasted until I went to my next game. &#9632;

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ON THE CONTRARY

<div class="byline">BY REYN DAVIS</div>WINNIPEG&mdash;His battle cry was a yawn as Dave Babych slipped deeper into an abyss of slumber. Clearly, he was skating in his sleep.The crowd was low and grouchy. The din of grumblings made him even more lethargic.Impassively, he watched Greg Malone take three point-blank shots on Doug Soetaert for the Hartford Whalers&rsquo; second goal. For their third, by Doug Sulliman, he had handed a pass.Down 3-1, the Winnipeg Jets seemed headed for their 22nd loss. But a powerplay goal by Tim Young reduced the margin to winSuddenly, Babych awoke. A tremendous center-ice hit on Mike Crombeen brought the crowd to life.&ldquo;It was one of those games where someone should have just clunked me on the head and I&rsquo;d have been alright,&rdquo; said the big defenseman. &ldquo;That hit. I needed that. It woke me up a bit.&rdquo;Dale Hawerchuk scored on a brilliant individual effort, mesmerizing Ed Hospodar with a move to the inside. Now the score was tied.Forty-four seconds later, the Jets and the crowd were celebrating as Babych, the unlikely hero, banked a shot off the pads of Eddie Staniowski for the winning goal.Hawerchuk rushed to the defense of his teammate. He was wronged, he insisted, by the complaining crowd.&ldquo;The thing that gets me is that people were booing us but, let&rsquo;s face it. their goalie (Staniowski) was making some big saves,&rdquo; said Hawerchuk. &ldquo;They were on Babych. Maybe he made a bad play or two but our fans should realize that teams are always throwing the puck in his corner because he&rsquo;s out there so much.&ldquo;They are trying to play him out It&rsquo;s not as if he isn&rsquo;t trying.&rdquo;Teams used the same tactic against Bobby Orr, but he led Boston Bruins to two Stanley Cups despite it.What Hawerchuk said was true, but he must admit that Babych does lose his concentration some nights. When he does, the Jets suffer.Babych is not unique. Like his teammates. he does become uninspired when a goaltender keeps them down. Feeling cheated, they do doze.Maybe it&rsquo;s a symptom of a young team. When the goals are coming, the players and the fans are excited. When they&rsquo;re not, everyone mopes.&ldquo;We shouldn&rsquo;t let that happen.&rdquo; said Barry Long, the Jets&rsquo; coach. &ldquo;We become flat after a goalie makes big saves. We are too powerful offensively to sulk. We are only a good team if we play hard with lots of intensity. If we don&rsquo;t we are very ordinary.&rdquo;Hot goaltenders do not stump the club very often. The Jets have averaged over four goals a game.If anything, it&rsquo;s their own defensive play that has caused them to sit near or at the bottom of the Smythe Division. They were the first team to surrender 200 goals this season. Babych. the workhorse of the defense, has been at the bottom of the league with a minus-28. Doug Soetaert. who has been their best goaltender with an 8-4-4 record, is carrying a goals-against average of 4.50. Brian Hayward, who started the season as the No. I goaltender, has lost 10 games and his goals-against average is 4.73.But defense is a team thing. Laying the blame on Babych or Hayward is grossly unfair. As a group, the Jets are one of the weakest defensive tea&rsquo;ms in the league.However, they could be a product of their own environment. The Smythe Division, after all, is a Wild West shootout.BENCH BITS&mdash;The Jets are anxiously awaiting the return of Laurie Boschman and Doug Smail, their only injured players. Boschman is coming off a dislocated shoulder while Smail is skating again after stretching knee ligaments. General manager John Ferguson made an effort to attract Marc Behrend to Winnipeg for a sneak preview. But the U.S. Olympic team refused to let him go, despite the fact his Olympic eligibility would not be jeopardized by a five game tryout. Ferguson has put down a rumor that the Jets are trying to trade Morris Lukowich to New Jersey Devils for Pat Verbeek Lukowich collected his, 300th NHL. point, scoring two goals in a 7-6 overtime loss to Philadelphia Flyers. &#9632;

Big Babych Awakens From Deep Slumber

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0007-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-011157/4870441-1-eng-US/f0007-012.jpg"></div> &#9632;

f0007-01

Bookshelf

The International Hockey WeeklyFounded in 1947Published by W.C.C. Publishing Ltd.85 Scarsdale Road, #100, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M3B 2R2.<h2>Open The Doors</h2>WHEN TORONTO MAPLE Leaf coach Mike Nykoluk interrupted his usual post-game press conference on Jan. 11 at Maple Leaf Gardens to physically remove Globe and Mail reporter Al Strachan, it signalled two things.First, it demonstrated that Nykoluk, a genial man who has had no history of run-ins with anybody, never mind the media, does indeed have a breaking point.Second, and much more importantly, it emphasized a situation that, for the well-being of the National Hockey League, must be settled. That is, of course, the continuing feud between the Maple Leafs and the Globe and Mail.For those not familiar with the details of the feud, it centers primarily on the banning of Globe reporter William Houston. Houston, who wrote what seemed to be an innocuous story on since-departed Maple Leaf enforcer Paul Higgins last season, has been unable to gain admittance to the Leaf dressing room since then, on orders of general manager Gerry McNamara.The Globe has explored every reasonable avenue of appeal in attempting to get Houston back into the Leaf dressing room. It has worked through the Professional Hockey Writers Association. It has appealed to the NHL, specifically vice-president of marketing Steve Ryan. Yet every attempt by the Globe has met with no results.Which is why the Strachan-Nykoluk confrontation of Jan. 11 came about.It would appear that the entire scene was orchestrated by the Globe to draw attention to the lack of NHL action. The most obvious clue to this is that Al Strachan rarely, if ever, attends hockey games at Maple Leaf Gardens. In fact, he is prone to bragging that he never sets foot inside the building.Which is why it was slightly more than startling to see Strachan in the press box on Jan. 11. Add in the fact that he had, on Jan. 10, written a rather uncomplimentary column about Nykoluk and his method of changing lines and you can see that it was not merely coincidence. And on top of all that, Strachan was accompanied by a Globe photographer, which is hardly standard journalistic procedures for any daily newspaper. Photographers, as a rule, come to the game, shoot action shots and return to the office long before the game is over.So it says here that the Globe intentionally set up a situation, hoping that it would explode into a major controversey.It did. Nykoluk blew up, pushed Strachan out of the dressing room, shouting obscenities at him all the way. Leaf assistant coach Dan Maloney warned the photographer not to come back, lest he get his camera broken over his head.If the move was designed to get the NHL head office in New York to sit up and take notice, we&rsquo;ve seen no evidence of it so far. The Globe, before its little charade, made every effort to point out to the NHL that the Leafs are violating an NHL by-law which allows all reporters access to the dressing room.Clearly, it is a case of the Maple Leafs, headed by owner Harold Ballard, refusing to obey the laws of the league.Now, the ball is in the NHL&rsquo;s court. There is little point in climbing on a soap box with the freedom of the press speech in hand. There is no point is maligning the Professional Hockey Writers Association (it never claimed to have the power of the Teamsters or Seafarer&rsquo;s International). Also, there is no point in urging other Toronto newspapers to boycott the Maple Leafs because that would only be a disservice to their readers. No, this is simply a case that must be settled by the NHL high command.The Leafs, by shutting out reporters, are contravening league rules and for every day that the NHL sits back and does nothing, it is, in fact, condoning the action. If the NHL cannot control its members on something as simple and inalienable as the media&rsquo;s right to go to the dressing room, then it deserves all the negative publicity it&rsquo;s going to get.To borrow a phrase from Wayne Gretzky, it&rsquo;s all rather Mickey Mouse. &#9632;

<div class="byline">BY WAYNE PARRISH</div>When I was younger, I believed passionately in the miracle of reform.I reckoned that the hardened criminal, placed in a positive environment with good people, could change; that the laziest of employees, given a modicum of encouragement and incentive, could become productive; that a talented but unfulfilled athlete, given a second chance, would make the most of it.Maybe it is a sign of age or merely a concession to the cynicism of the times, but 1 do not believe those things with the same fervor anymore. In the case of the athlete, I&rsquo;m not sure I believe them at all.Against Montreal on Jan. 11, Toronto Maple Leaf defenseman Gaston Gingras, breaking unmolested out of his own end, whipped a blind pass up the middle of the ice. The puck was intercepted in the neutral zone by Ryan Walter, who swung back on a three-on-one. Walter relayed the puck to Steve Shutt, who shovelled it to Bobby Smith, whose rebound Walter swept under Rick St. Croix for the winning goal.Several years ago, when Gingras was a rookie, I saw him cost the Canadiens a game the same way. It drove you crazy to watch him back then. Owner of maybe the hardest shot in the game, he would consistently wind up at the blueline and put it five feet high and 20 feet wide. A powerful skater, he kept getting beaten by slower forwards and handled the puck in his own end as if it was a nuclear fuel rod.A gentle, friendly guy and Montreal&rsquo;s first draft choice in 1979, he was given the benefit of the doubt. The Canadiens waited a long time for him to grow out of his hapless ways. By the midway point of his fourth season, they decided he never would and dealt him to Toronto.With the Leafs, Gingras excelled last spring. He had 28 points in 45 games and was the second-best plus player on the team. But this season, Gingras has reverted to form and is among the league leaders in the minus department.If this turn of events has come as a surprise to general manager Gerry McNamara, it shouldn&rsquo;t have. The anomaly in Gingras&rsquo; career is last year&rsquo;s second half, not this year&rsquo;s first.This does not automatically make it a bad trade. The price the Leafs paid for Gingras&mdash;a second-round draft choice in 1985 or 1986&mdash;was not exorbitant and, besides, they got Dan Daoust at the same time. The fact is, the majority of NHL trades are engineered by general managers seeking to pass on their problems, or enigmas, to someone else. Rarely&mdash;the Washington-Montreal trade of a year ago comes to mind&mdash;do both teams deal players whose on-ice deportment they are completely happy with.In retrospect, it may seem naive for the Leafs to think the Canadiens would dump Gingras if there was any chance at all he could provide the defensive help they themselves so sorely lacked. But don&rsquo;t be too harsh. Most coaches and GMs wouldn&rsquo;t hold those jobs if they didn&rsquo;t think they could get out of a player what no one else could.When he was masterminding the St. Louis Blues, Emile Francis made a habit of collecting other people&rsquo;s first-round draft choices, chaps such as Ralph Klassen, Rick Lapointe, Bryan Maxwell, Blair Chapman, Mike Crombeen and Rob Ramage. All were chosen in the top five in their draft year, yet only Ramage remains, the rest having sooner or later lived up to the assessment of their original team.In some cases, the initial estimate of a player&rsquo;s talent is grossly inflated. In others, it comes down to &lsquo;attitudinal&rsquo; problems&mdash;a catch-all for players who are lazy, undisciplined, bad livers, whatever. The tag is frequently applied to Dale McCourt, whom Detroit drafted first overall in 1977. Scotty Bowman, who like Francis considers himself something of a hand at reclaiming players, acquired McCourt from Detroit in 1981. He handed him his outright release 22 months later, a course the Leafs will likely follow when this season ends.The perennial reclamation project is Pierre Larouche. The slick center is the only player in NHL history to score 50 goals for two different teams and could make it three this season. But he is considered selfish, cocky, hard to handle and mediocre defensively. Though he has 27 goals in 45 games for the Rangers, those who have given up on him feel no remorse.Francis&mdash;he may have learned his lesson&mdash;dumped Larouche soon after becoming Hartford GM last summer and while he has taken heat for it, I suspect he will be vindicated in the long run. On a team that has scored more goals than it has given up, Larouche is minus-11.The oft-cited exception to all this is Rick Middleton, who forsook his high-living ways in New York to become one of the league&rsquo;s finest players in Boston. But then, there&rsquo;s nothing like a good exception to reinforce the rule. &#9632;

So Much For The Second-Chance Theory

<h2>CUP RUNNETH OVER EDMONTON</h2>To Liz Craig in Red Deer, Alta. (Fan Forum, Nov. 11), please don&rsquo;t be disillusioned by speed and goals game after game. By the end of the 1984 Stanley Cup playoffs your coffee will be cold. Which team gave the Oilers their toughest test, short of the Islanders? Most of the good teams in the NHL reside in the Wales Conference, so it is no wonder the Oilers waltzed through the Campbell Conference easily, only to meet their overwhelming match in the finals.Which team gave the Islanders their toughest test? Don&rsquo;t look now Liz, but it was the Bruins, a team who stresses strong two-way play as opposed to speed and offense. Don&rsquo;t look at last year&rsquo;s final standings either. Those same Bruins finished with more points than the Oilers, despite facing much stiffer competition than that provided to the Oilers in the Smythe Division.I serve notice to you my Oiler fan friend, enjoy the regular season, because when the coffee cups are empty, the champions will reside in Long Island or Boston.Dennis Zehr&nbsp; London, Ont.<h2>MORE DIVISIONAL PLAY</h2>I totally agree that divisional opponents should play more often. I have an idea which makes it possible and is so basic I&rsquo;m surprised no one else has advocated it.The Norris, Smythe and Adams divisions could face teams in each of their respective divisions 12 times each season, while the Patrick teams would meet 10 times each. This could be accomplished by lopping off that odd third game against teams outside your division.We are not going to get much face recognition playing teams an average of one-and-a-half times a year anyway. So have extra-divisional opponents come into your building once a year and leave it at that.As a Black Hawk fan I would rather have the Red Wings, Leafs, Stars and Blues playing at the Stadium six times a year than two games against teams outside the division, regardless of who they are.Michel Flieger&nbsp; South Holland, IL<h2>A WHALE OF A TIME</h2>&ldquo;Break up the Whalers?&rdquo; Well, not yet, but thanks for the Nov. 25 article on the resurgence of the Hartford Whalers under general manager Emile Francis and new coach Tex Evans. This year they are showing the National Hockey League what Adams Division rivals have known for awhile: don&rsquo;t take this team lightly.As a Bruin and a (closet) Whaler fan for years, I can remember many games where the Whalers have spoiled what was usually thought of as a sure two points.With new players such as Sylvain Turgeon, Mike Zuke and Mike Crombeen and vets Blaine Stoughton and Greg Millen, this team is forcing many opponents to lick their wounds rather than their chops!James D. Amos&nbsp; Middle ton, MA &#9632;

FAN FORUM

<div class="byline">BY TOM HENSHAW</div>BOSTON&mdash;His first season as the 13th captain of the Boston Bruins hasn&rsquo;t turned out to be anything like Terry O&rsquo;Reilly hoped it would be.He has missed all but 32 games of the season, two with a pulled rib cartilege, two with complications of right knee surgery, one with a bruised right knee, the rest with a dislocated shoulderBut all that pales before the difficulties that confront O&rsquo;Reilly and his wife, Lourdes, and their infant son, Evan.Evan O&rsquo;Reilly, born last Aug. 7, suffers from an ailment with the exotic medical name of Biliary Atresia, which in layman&rsquo;s terms means a malfunction of the liver.If it can&rsquo;t be corrected by medicine or surgery, the little boy will need a rare liver transplant or he will die.The O&rsquo;Reillys, Terry and Lourdes, usually very private people, went public with their problem at a news conference at the New England Medical Center in Boston, where Evan twice underwent surgery in the first three months of his life.&ldquo;The doctors haven&rsquo;t come right out and said he needs a transplant by such and such a date,&rdquo; said O&rsquo;Reilly. &ldquo;A lot depends on his progress. But he won&rsquo;t be able to survive the way his liver is functioning now.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-011227/4870544-1-eng-US/f0009-012.jpg" title="f0009-01" width="590" height="968"><figcaption class="caption-body">Terry O&rsquo;Reilly can only wait and hope a liver transplant can be arranged for his son.</figcaption></div>&ldquo;Some kids are known to go two or three years with this problem without having a transplant, but if they start to deteriorate, a transplant is the only alternative. They don&rsquo;t like to do a transplant on a child as young as Evan if they can help it.&ldquo;If he&rsquo;s closer to a year old, or older, then the bigger he is, the stronger he is, the bigger the donated liver and the chances of success are so much better.&ldquo;I want to promote an overall awareness of the need for donors of not only livers but other organs as well. There&rsquo;s a whole bunch of little kids who need livers. It takes a lot of donations for one matchup to work.&rdquo;&ldquo;One of the problems is you have only 68 hours to transplant a liver from an accident victim to a patient. You can&rsquo;t store the organ. Then it has to &lsquo;take&rsquo; genetically. There are a lot of ifs.&ldquo;I feel that the more publicity, the better the chances are for Evan and another baby. Awareness is so very important.&rdquo;Since Evan&rsquo;s problem has been diagnosed, the O&rsquo;Reillys have become closely acquainted with Mr. and Mrs. Charles Fiske of Bridgewater, Mass., whose little girl, Jamie, underwent a successful liver transplant more than a year ago.Fiske gained national attention when he went before a pediatric convention to plead for a liver donor for Jamie.&ldquo;Charlie holds the media almost totally responsible for his daughter receiving her liver,&rdquo; said O&rsquo;Reilly. &ldquo;When he spoke at that doctors&rsquo; convention, he got national coverage and it led to a donor for Jamie.&ldquo;Their support to us and others in our situation has been invaluable.&rdquo;&ldquo;We followed in the media what Jamie Fiske went through and you never think it will happen to you,&rdquo; said Lourdes O&rsquo;Reilly.&ldquo;You have a baby, you take him home believing he&rsquo;s normal and healthy and in a few weeks you notice his eyes are yellow. You go in for a checkup, they tell you he has a problem with his liver and soon you become an expert on a disease.&rdquo;Evan was 11 weeks old when he went into the hospital for his first operation in late October. Everything worked well for awhile and then the liver began to malfunction again. He underwent surgery again last Nov. 8.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m told that the operations Evan has had have only been done for about 10 years and there&rsquo;s only a 25 per cent success rate, especially with someone so young,&rdquo; said O&rsquo;Reilly.&ldquo;We go week to week, with blood tests on a regular basis, hoping for improvement. We&rsquo;re waiting for positive news. We&rsquo;re waiting for the doctors to tell us he&rsquo;s a normal little boy.&rdquo;And if that doesn&rsquo;t happen, then all that&rsquo;s left is a transplant.&ldquo;The worst thing about it,&rdquo; said O&rsquo;Reilly, &ldquo;is if he needs a liver transplant, it&rsquo;s from another little baby who died. It&rsquo;s a pretty grim choice.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0009-01

O’Reilly Enduring Major Battle Off The Ice

<div class="byline">BY JOE FALLS</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-03662/4870613-1-eng-US/f0010-032.jpg" title="f0010-03" width="318" height="360"></div><h2>Who Is The Greatest?</h2>THE OLD ARGUMENT rages: Who is the greatest hockey player of all time?Is it still Gordie Howe? Or has Wayne Gretzky passed him already? Could it be Bobby Orr, so brilliant in his brief years for the Boston Bruins?Does anyone care to nominate Jean Beliveau, Bobby Hull or perhaps Howie Morenz? Is anybody around who can compare all of these players?What about the goaltenders? How come they never get a call when talk of the greatest is going around. Doesn&rsquo;t Terry Sawchuk fit in somewhere? What about Jacques Plante? Who did more to revolutionize goaltending than Jacques Plante, the great thespian of the Montreal Canadiens? He introduced the mask and was the first to wander outside of the crease and become an extra defenseman for the Canadiens.Does Ching Johnson fit in anywhere? What about Guy Lafleur when he was young and dashing and lighting up the rinks of the NHL? You could hardly take your eyes off him.You can never get this argument settled because beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. Some like blondes, some like brunettes and some like redheads. Some&mdash;no names please&mdash;like them all.From a personal standpoint, I was turned on more by Lafleur than any player I have ever known. In fact, when he was at his best, he was the man I wanted to be. To be so flashy for a team like the Montreal Canadiens&mdash;scoring all those goals in the historic Montreal Forum and earning the adulation of those French and Canadian people&mdash;would have been the most marvelous experience of all.<h2>Sympathy For Guy</h2>When I see my man today, struggling so hard to keep up appearances, unable to dominate the game as he once did. my heart goes out to him. I&rsquo;m sure he doesn&rsquo;t want or need my sympathy, but 1 feel for him anyway because he gave so many magnificent moments&mdash;so many memorable nights. One night I would like to sit with him over supper and thank him for all he has given me.I am being sentimental and if you are, to pick the greatest player of all time, you probably should put aside as much sentiment as possible. I may be accused of prejudice but in this winter of &rsquo;83, this is how I see it:1. Gordie Howe.2. Bobby Orr.3. Wayne Gretzky.I have followed the careers of all of these men&mdash;Howe from those early days in the late 1940s when he came up to the Red Wings as a slope-shouldered giant who seemed stronger than an ox. Orr from that very first night when he broke in against the Red Wings in a game in Boston Garden; and now Gretzky, this most marvelous young man of the Edmonton Oilers, a marvel who stirs me on TV, in the newspapers, magazines, on the radio and in person.<h2>Howe Gets The Nod</h2>Howe gets the nod because he did everything a player could do. He played the entire surface of the ice, offense and defense, he could skate, he could shoot, he could check&mdash;he could do more in one period of play than most players could do in a month.As superb as Orr was with the puck and as tricky as Gretzky is, Howe, game in and game out, could make more instinctively correct moves than anyone I ever saw play this game.He would make a dozen moves in the first period, 10 more in the second, maybe 20 more in the third period and when the scoring was over, you&rsquo;d never know it happened. We all came to expect these games from him. It was nothing to see Howe control the game night after night. It was what he always did. Some nights, when the puck was bouncing right, he was just a little more awesome than other nights.Orr was an absolute on the ice. He had even more moves than Howe and, at times, he could control the game even more than Howe. He lasted only eight seasons and he did not pass the test of the time. What boggles my mind is that today Orr would be a 35-year-old defenseman. He always seemed so eternal.This brings us to Gretzky, who could change my mind in the future. I love watching him play because he is so skilled and so dedicated. Right now it&rsquo;s impossible for me to compare his six seasons with Howe&rsquo;s 32.If young Wayne can endure a dozen seasons, it may be impossible to pick anyone else as the No. 1 player. Let&rsquo;s give him that chance. &#9632;

f0010-03

HOCKEY CORNER

<div class="byline">BY PERRY LEFKO</div>TORONTO&mdash;The week started off critically for the Leafs and ended calmly. In between, however, you had enough bizarre behavior to last a season. And when it was all over, only one thing remained constant: The Leafs were winless in the new year&mdash;0-6-1&mdash;their last victory, a 5-3 defeat of the Los Angeles Kings on New Year&rsquo;s Eve.While a TV reporter filed a story on the Leafs and entitled it. As The Leaf Turns, a more appropriate name for the wild and crazy week for Master Harold And The Boys would have been Days Of Our Lives.MONDAY&mdash;After back-to-back losses to Quebec and St. Louis, the Leafs are excused from practice. The players go bowling and then toss back a few ales and discuss their woes&hellip;Leaf president Harold Ballard is featured in a front-page article in the Wall Street Journal. Ballard refuses to be quoted in the article, sans to say, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m a miserable old bleep, you know,&rdquo;TUESDAY&mdash;Al Strachan of the Toronto Globe and Mail writes a critical revue of Leaf coach Mike Nykoluk&rsquo;s handling of his line matchups against St. Louis. Strachan, though speaking through the voices of anonymous National Hockey League coaches, does everything short of calling Nykoluk a knuckle-head.WEDNESDAY&mdash;Walt Poddubny, sidelined since Nov. 11 with a broken ankle, is awarded the Emery Award by Gordie Howe for having the best plus-minus (plus-8) on the team last season. Later that day, Poddubny skates in the pre-game warmup for the Leafs-Montreal Canadiens game but is still unable to play&hellip;Miroslav Frycer, Poddubny&rsquo;s linemate last season, reinjures his knee in a collision with Montreal&rsquo;s Craig Ludwig and is sidelined indefinitely. The Leafs lose the game 6-4.Nykoluk is addressing reporters in the dressing room after the game, when he spots Strachan&mdash;who never treads in the Leaf quarters&mdash;and the Leaf coach proceeds to push him out the door.&ldquo;Get going, get out of here,&rdquo; says the normally mild-mannered Nykoluk. &ldquo;You start running me down, you son of a bleep. Now get the bleep out &lsquo;cause you&rsquo;re no bleepin&rsquo; sportswriter. Now just get out.&rdquo;A Globe photographer takes a picture&mdash;lending speculation that the newspaper anticipated a reaction of sorts from the Leafs, who&rsquo;ve already barred the newspaper&rsquo;s regular beat reporter. Bill Houston&mdash;and Leaf assistant coach Dan Maloney asks the photographer if he got a &ldquo;good shot&rdquo; and then adds, &ldquo;If I ever see you around here again. I&rsquo;ll bust that thing over your head.&rdquo;Nykoluk, meanwhile, resumes his post-game commentary and apologizes for his outbreak though adds, &ldquo;A guy can only take so much. And what he wrote about me, I just had to do something.&rdquo;THURSDAY&mdash;Leaf owner Harold Ballard says he&rsquo;ll pay any fine the league levies against Nykoluk. &ldquo;Mike is not a violent guy. He had just been pushed so hard, he couldn&rsquo;t bear it anymore.&rdquo;&hellip;S-trachan claims Nykoluk bruised him and the Globe may sue.Rich Costello quits the U.S. Olympic team, amid speculation he was about to be axed because of poor play, and shows up with the Leafs in Minnesota&hellip;Allan Bester, on loan from Brantford Alexanders of the Ontario Hockey League to fill in for injured Leaf goalie Mike Palmateer, is given the start against Minnesota.Leaf defenseman Jim Korn throws his helmet at referee Denis Morel in the third period after he&rsquo;s given a game misconduct&hellip;Gary Nylund, another Leaf defenseman, is given a double minor and game misconduct late in the game for apparently leaving the bench to start a fight, although the Leafs protest he was actually on the ice but had just gone to the bench to get a new stick.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-011276/4870582-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg" title="f0010-01" width="590" height="830"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-02993/4870575-1-eng-US/f0010-022.jpg" title="f0010-02" width="594" height="828"><figcaption class="caption-body">Leaf coach Mike Nykoluk, left, shoved a reporter and assistant coach Dan Maloney, right, threatened a photographer.</figcaption></div>Tom McCarthy scores 35 seconds into overtime to ruin a solid effort by Bester and give the Stars a 5-4 win&hellip;Morel and the linesmen skate toward the exit, with Maloney and several Leafs in hot pursuit&hellip;Korn and Leaf general manager Gerry McNamara are waiting for the officials, when a fight breaks out between Korn and several of the North Stars&rsquo; rink officials and fans.Nykoluk says Morel admitted making a bad call and apologized&hellip;Ballard says Morel brought all the problems on himself by losing control of the game. &ldquo;Our players should have used their sticks on those fans and employees who got into the act.&rdquo;&hellip;North Star club president John Karr calls the Leaf actions, &ldquo;bush league.&rdquo;FRIDAY&mdash;The Leafs are loose at practice. Korn, a native of Minnesota, laughs off his actions of the previous night. &ldquo;No one got socked. I just dropped by to see some old friends of mine&ldquo;&hellip;North Star maintenance supervisor David Westby says he won&rsquo;t say if any punches were thrown the previous night, but &ldquo;I have a puffed-up lip. You figure it out.&rdquo;SATURDAY&mdash;League executive vice-president Brian O&rsquo;Neill agrees with the Leafs and rescinds a three-game suspension against Nylund.The Leafs play Chicago, with the Black Hawks&rsquo; Tom Lysiak in his first game back since knocking down linesman Ron Foyt on Oct. 30. Bester starts and plays on par with Murray Bannerman. The game ends 2-2 in overtime and the three stars are the two goalies and the Leafs&rsquo; Greg Terrion, who scored on an penalty shot, the second time he&rsquo;s done that this season, both against the Hawks.Nykoluk is in good spirits after the game, saying the team played well considering all the pressure they&rsquo;ve had. When informed by Poddubny that there&rsquo;s a fellow waiting for him in the corridor, Nykoluk doesn&rsquo;t recognize the man&rsquo;s name and then jokingly says, &ldquo;See if he&rsquo;s got a camera.&rdquo;&hellip;Ballard half-seriously tells a veteran reporter, &ldquo;You&rsquo;re next (to go)&rdquo; and then loudly adds. &ldquo;We (the team) would be a lot better if the bleepin&rsquo; press would get off our backs.&rdquo;Gaston Gingras, who caps off his second strong performance in as many games, says the actions in Minnesota were good, not so much because of what happened but because it &ldquo;brought the guys closer together.&rdquo;SUNDAY&mdash;A peaceful practice and all is forgotten as the Leafs prepare for their next game against Minnesota. &#9632;

f0010-01

Twas A Wild And Crazy Week For Leafs

<div class="byline">BY STEVE SIMMONS</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-021051/4870675-1-eng-US/f0012-022.jpg" title="f0012-02" width="311" height="358"></div><h2>A Tale Of Two</h2>THEIR DEBUTS WERE memorable; two 19-year-olds playing in a league before their time.They were born just two days apart back in 1961, thousands of miles away from each other. Yet, the similarities of their careers is astounding. The early promise, followed by an eventual trade, followed by more disappointment and then the cruelest of cuts, a trip to the minor leagues.That is where you will find two 22-year-olds named Brad Palmer and Kevin LaVallee playing today, four years after they began their National Hockey League careers.Brad Palmer came to the Minnesota North Stars from the Victoria Cougars as a first-round draft pick in 1980. His first NHL season was not the kind first rounders or their agents dream about. The adjustment to the NHL was difficult. So, too, was the adjustment of being sent back to junior hockey.Palmer played just 23 games that first season, scoring only four times, setting up four others.It wasn&rsquo;t until that playoff year the world of hockey began to recognize Brad Palmer.Along the Stanley Cup road of the surprising Minnesota North Stars, everything Palmer touched turned to goals. He was, like so many of those fresh North Stars rookies, the reason a team upset three clubs that finished ahead of them only to eventually lose the Stanley Cup to the Islanders.I remember the final game of the semi-finals, with Minnesota leading Calgary 3-2 in the series, and the score close. It was Palmer who made the difference. He barely stepped over the blueline, let a slapshot go that goalie Pat Riggin would not see and the net would not hold.<h2>The Second Coming</h2>IT LOOKED LIKE the second coming of Bobby Hull. So hard was Palmer&rsquo;s shot that a hot goalie could not see it and a strong mesh could not hold it. Later that night, he did it again. Palmer wound up from long range, scored, and the North Stars won.It was to be the beginning of something big. Both for Palmer and the North Stars. The Stars have since gone on to become the Montreal Expos of major league hockey. Palmer is now a Hershey Bear.What happened? Everyone found out about Brad Palmer. He had a shot, but little else. He wound up. but took too long. Goalies no longer stayed back in the net. they challenged. The goals went from-22 to six to the minors.Perhaps Minnesota recognized it first. The Stars traded Palmer in the deal that ensured Minnesota that Boston would pick Gord Kluzak in the draft, leaving Brian Bellows available. Palmer never did fit in as a Bruin. He never did adjust.He never did take advantage of his other abilities. All he ever wanted to do was shoot.&ldquo;He shoots the puck as hard as anybody but it doesn&rsquo;t much matter if they never hit the net,&rdquo; Boston boss Harry Sinden says of Palmer.&ldquo;I wish he shot it better, smarter. When he came into the league, it was easy for him. He scored a bunch of goals and then, everyone knew about him.&rdquo;&ldquo;Take a 50-goal scorer. How many goals will he score a year on long shots? Maybe 10. The rest come around the net. Palmer wasn&rsquo;t doing enough of the other things for us to keep him.&rdquo;For many winter days I would sit in the Calgary Corral and marvel at the talents of Kevin A. LaVallee. I used to think to myself, if five skills made up a hockey player, few NHL players would grade higher on a report card.Shoot. Rogie Vachon once compared his shot to Bobby Hull&rsquo;s. Skate. In his rookie season some called him the next Yvan Cournoyer. Strong. Not only is LaVallee strong on his skates, but he was never afraid to take a hit, or fight when he had to. And when he fought, he rarely lost.<h2>He Had Everything</h2>KEVIN LAVALLEE HAD everything, or so it seemed.As a 19-year-old playing part-time and learning defense for the Calgary Flames, LaVallee scored 15 goals. As a sophomore, the expected promise began to show. Splitting time between center and left wing, LaVallee scored 32 goals. The future looked bright.Then came Bob Johnson. Bob Johnson&rsquo;s doghouse is a dark and inescapable maze of confusion. LaVallee fell in and never returned. Playing the occasional shift and on a different line each and every night, LaVallee still managed 19 goals in 60 games of part-time play. He wanted out. Johnson didn&rsquo;t want him.Los Angeles Kings did.They traded Steve Bozek to Calgary for LaVallee and another minor leaguer. LaVallee was the toast of the Kings&rsquo; training camp. He was playing tough, shooting, scoring and, yes, even playing defense. Don Perry called him the best player in camp. Later, the same Don Perry would say he had no room for LaVallee.Kevin LaVallee became a New Heaven Nighthawk. What went wrong?He stopped hitting the net. He stopped scoring. Brian MacLellan didn&rsquo;t stop scoring, J.P. Kelly didn&rsquo;t stop checking. Neither did Anders Hakansson. Charlie Simmer was the lone untouchable on the left side.When given the chance, he still missed the net. Once a coach named Doug Sauter said he knew LaVallee had a hard shot because you could hear the sound it made off the glass.Kings&rsquo; general manager George Maguire says of LaVallee: &ldquo;If he fell out of bed, he&rsquo;d probably miss the floor.&rdquo;Unfortunately, that is sad. But also true. &#9632;

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THE WESTERN WORD

<div class="byline">BY RICH FRIEDMAN</div>NEW YORK&mdash;It is an irony of the Rangers&rsquo; big trade with Detroit last summer that the only player of the three former Red Wings who had not requested a trade is the man who has fit in the best with his new team and the only one playing with them at the moment.Shortly after the New Year, Mark Osborne found a niche with two playmaking forwards, Anders Hedberg and Mark Pavelich, that had him playing more assertively than he had since his arrival here. Meanwhile, the other two former Red Wings struggled. Right winger Mike Blaisdell had only five goals and six assists after 36 games and shoulder problems and was demoted to Tulsa on Jan. 12. Defenseman Willie Huber, sidelined another month with a knee injury, had not&mdash;according to many observers&mdash;used his body in a manner befitting a man his size.Osborne scored in his fifth straight game in the Rangers&rsquo; 5-4 victory over the Islanders in mid-January and added two assists to bring his statistics after 39 games to 12-14-26.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m getting back a bit of my confidence,&rdquo; said Osborne that night. &ldquo;You get a lot of opportunities playing with guys like Pav and Anders.&rdquo;Coach Herb Brooks, who had been thinking of that line combination for quite some time, pointed out that the 6-foot-2, 200-pound Osborne provides size and muscle for the two smaller forwards. But Brooks has also been searching for forwards who can put the puck past the goalie from the outside and Osborne could be the right person to do it.Blaisdell, theoretically, was another forward with firepower but he had yet to fulfill those notices. In fact, his name began to crop up in trade rumors that swirl around at about the same time Osborne emerged from weeks of inconsistent play.Blaisdell was not the only one, though; the Rangers&rsquo; wingers in general were suffering from lack of productivity as general manager Craig Patrick shook un the forwards roster by bringing up Dave Barr and Mikko Leinonen from Tulsa of the Central Hockey League.Not surprisingly, veteran center, Robbie Ftorek&mdash;who has lost more than a step and has looked pitifully slow&mdash;was sent down to Tulsa along with Blaisdell. And so, of the six players involved in last summer&rsquo;s Rangers-Red Wings trade, only two&mdash;Osborne and Ron Duguay&mdash;are in the National Hockey League. Blaisdell is in the minors and Huber, Eddie Johnstone and Ed Mio are sidelined.&ldquo;He (Osborne) is 22 years old and strong as a bull; he doesn&rsquo;t even realize how strong he is,&rdquo; said Pierre Larouche, whom Blaisdell played with for awhile along with Peter Sundstrom. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s going to be a real good hockey player. Sometimes he gets down on himself and thinks he&rsquo;s not playing well, but everybody goes through that. He&rsquo;s a perfect left wing: he&rsquo;s strong, he goes into the comers and he has a terrific shot.&rdquo;Brooks said that Osborne has &ldquo;got to be stronger in the offensive comers and in his forechecking. He&rsquo;s caught up in being too fancy. It happens to every player at some time. The whole team is like that now.&rdquo;For awhile, Osborne took too many lazy penalties such as hooking and holding but knew that the answer was to get back to old-fashioned digging in the corners and positional play. Protecting Larouche and Sundstrom&mdash;now, Pavelich and Hedberg&mdash;was a role Osborne took on, though it wasn&rsquo;t his calling.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think of myself as a protector because I&rsquo;m not the greatest of fighters,&rdquo; Osborne explained. &ldquo;I think there is that aspect of the game, but you&rsquo;ve got to finish your check and play the man and I think that is what is lacking in a number of teams.&ldquo;I look at the Islanders and they are such a well-balanced team, they have the good scorers and yet they have the Tonellis and the Sutters who will take the body and grind it out.&ldquo;In the Edmonton series last year, it was evident that Edmonton had the good skaters but I don&rsquo;t think they have enough of those forwards who will go in the comers and muck it out. I think that in that type of series, it&rsquo;s important. I view myself as that type of player.&rdquo;Playing with the Rangers, Osborne realizes the difference between a team shooting for the Stanley Cup and a team looking to make the playoffs such as the Wings.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-011249/4870644-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg" title="f0012-01" width="588" height="1052"><figcaption class="caption-body">Mark Osborne saw the Rangers&rsquo; popularity when fans flocked to a teammate&rsquo;s wedding.</figcaption></div>&ldquo;My first two years in the NHL I finished on April 4th and it&rsquo;s such a long summer, you watch it all on TV,&rdquo; Osborne said.This past summer, though, the trade to the Rangers came early enough for Osborne to take advantage of their conditioning program and he came to camp in peak shape after a summer of exercise, weight lifting, running and biking and ready to play in a town he had always liked as a visiting player.While the orientation to new surroundings did not occur overnight and had its lonely moments, Ron Greschner&rsquo;s wedding in the fall&mdash;he married fashion model Carol Alt&mdash;let Osborne see what it&rsquo;s like to play in a media-hyped, hero-crazed atmosphere.&ldquo;You get to the church and you don&rsquo;t expect to see all those kids sitting in the pews,&rdquo; Osborne said. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re wearing Ranger shirts and you&rsquo;re waiting for the wedding to begin and they are coming over to you and asking for autographs.&rdquo;But there was an on-the-ice lesson to be gained as well that day with his teammates.&ldquo;When you stick together and get to know the guys in a personal way, you start to care for each other and that affects your play on the ice as well,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s just like a family. You get a tight bunch of guys. When that happens, you can go a long way.&rdquo;A devout young man who was raised in a church-going household and considers himself a born-again Christian, Osborne finds religion the relief from the stresses of the life of a professional athlete.&ldquo;A lot of athletes like to go home and listen to music to get away from the rink,&rdquo; Osborne explains. &ldquo;I find enjoyment in reading the Bible and getting to know God in a personal way. I&rsquo;ve learned a lot from that book and hopefully what I&rsquo;ve learned I could pass on to show other people.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0012-01

Osborne Is An Irony In Ranger-Wing Trade

<div class="byline">BY BOB FACHET</div>LANDOVER&mdash;The day the Washington Capitals arrived in training camp at Hershey, PA, coach Bryan Murray inserted his new center, Dave Christian, between veteran wingers Bengt Gustafsson and Mike Gartner.The line was an immediate hit, but Murray moved Gartner elsewhere in the midst of the Capitals&rsquo; 0-7 start, as it became apparent opponents were keying on that trio and the rest of the club was unable to provide much help on the scoreboard.Eighteen goals behind last year&rsquo;s production after 42 games, the Capitals were so desperate for a few scores that in Philadelphia on Jan. 8, Murray reunited the trio. To say the move worked would be a gross understatement.Everything Gustafsson touched turned to goal as he scored five times in five official shots. Christian added a sixth score, while Gartner had to be satisfied with three assists and Flyer coach Bob McCammon&rsquo;s salute to him as the best player on the ice in Washington&rsquo;s 7-1 victory.&ldquo;After seeing the Buffalo game (a 4-2 home-ice loss the night before) and our inability to score, I decided I had to do it,&rdquo; Murray said. &ldquo;We had talked about it for a couple of weeks, but I&rsquo;ve been hesitant to put all my marbles in one basket.&ldquo;It could work, though. Besides the way that line worked, putting (Doug) Jarvis with (Bob) Gould and (Gastan) Duchesne, they seemed to move the puck well. So maybe Gould will get going, too.&rdquo;Gould, a 22-goal scorer with a plus-16 rating a year ago, had been struggling all season with only 10 goals after 42 games while his rating was a disappointing minus-11.There were no disappointments surrounding Gustafsson. however. The Swede&rsquo;s fifth season in the National Hockey League promised to be his best by far, as he led the team in scoring with 22 goals and 47 points. He was also No. 1 on the club with a plus-11 rating.Although Gustafsson hit the 20-goal mark in all four previous campaigns, with a high of 26 in 1981-82, he was repeatedly beset by nagging injuries, the result of the constant battering he was subjected to by opponents who seem to feel Swedes are like Scandinavian firewood&mdash;good targets for chopping.Gustafsson had seen so many good signs turn to bad that he refused to get excited about his five-goal performance, although he became only the 32nd player in NHL history to accomplish it.&ldquo;It doesn&rsquo;t matter,&rdquo; Gustafsson said afterward, more than once. &ldquo;The main thing is that we won. We lost the last game in here (9-4) and played pretty bad. We had to come back and make up for it.&ldquo;It was one of those nights when everything goes in, it goes in and goes in. It&rsquo;s just nice. It&rsquo;s not the season.&rdquo;Gustafsson&rsquo;s fifth goal was a reward for his selfless play. He tried to pass to Rod Langway on a two-on-one break, but the puck struck the stick of Doug Crossman of the Flyers and came back to Gustafsson, who poked it in.Later, with a chance to become the eighth player in history to score six in a game, he elected to pass to Craig Laughlin in a similar situation.&ldquo;It doesn&rsquo;t matter, six or five or one.&rdquo; Gustafsson said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s just that we won.&rdquo;There were a couple of interesting sidelights to GuStafsson&rsquo;s performance. The victim was Flyer goalie Pelle Lindbergh, a onetime junior teammate of Gustafsson&rsquo;s in Sweden. Lindbergh was subbing for Bob Froese, who was idled with flu.The only other Swede to score five goals in an NHL game was Willy Lindstrom, who did it for Winnipeg two years ago, also against the Flyers in the Spectrum. Christian was playing for the Jets at the time.&ldquo;After the second period, when I had three goals, Dave told me, &lsquo;You have to get five, too,&rdquo; &ldquo;Gustafsson said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s easy to say. I didn&rsquo;t expect to do it.&rdquo;Gustafsson&rsquo;s only other NHL hat trick came seven games earlier, on Dec. 23, against the New York Islanders. &#9632;

Murray Puts All His Marbles In One Basket

<div class="byline">BY STAN FISCHLER</div>National Hockey League prexy John Ziegler and Maple Leaf boss Harold Ballard are on a collision course over the Leafs&rsquo; rough treatment of Toronto Globe and Mail reporters. Ziegler will demand that Ballard enforce league bylaws guaranteeing access to club dressing room. &ldquo;Harold is violating a league rule,&rdquo; an NHL exec tells BLUELINES, &ldquo;and we mean to enforce it.&rdquo; Globe reporter Bill Houston has been banned since last season. Most recently Globe columnist Al Strachan was forcibly removed from the dressing room by Toronto coach Mike Nykoluk, who said, &ldquo;Get going, get out of here. You start running me down, you bleep of a bleep. I don&rsquo;t want you in here. Now get the bleep out, &lsquo;cause you&rsquo;re no bleep bleep sports writer. Now just get out.&rdquo; Strachan tells BLUELINES, &ldquo;I was bruised a bit and I think the paper will look into some legal action.&rdquo; Meanwhile, Globe and Mail sports editor Paul Palango continues to pressure the NHL to lean on Ballard. &ldquo;We intend to make the NHL observe its own bylaws,&rdquo; Palango tells BLUELINES. &ldquo;The league is contravening its own rules and showing that it can&rsquo;t control its own members.&rdquo; As a sop to Palango, NHL veep Steve Ryan invited Palango to meet the governors at the All-Star conference. Strachan and Houston are getting solid support from dissident Professional Hockey Writers Association member Rod Beaton, who is disgusted with chicken-hearted PHWA behavior and league ineptitude in braking Ballard. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m running for vice president of the PHWA,&rdquo; Beaton tells BLUELINES.Insiders expect Gulf and Western to eventually raze Madison Square Garden and erect a highly-profitable office tower. Even with major tax breaks, the Garden is a fiscal loser. Few realists expect G&W to honor its 10-year commitment to keep the Rangers in the Garden. However, Ranger fans need not fear. The likely scenario is for a deal to be cut whereby a new Garden is built&mdash;with state funds at the site of the convention center, just a few blocks from the present MSG&hellip;Chico Resch&rsquo;s superior goaltending in adverse conditions stimulates continued trade talk. The buzz is that no transaction will happen until just before the trade deadline. Edmonton remains a likely destination. One exchange bruited about has Grant Fuhr, Dave Hunter and a third-string Oiler to Jersey for Resch&hellip;Dave Maloney-for-Wayne Gretzky. That deal was forced on NBC TV host David Letterman. Originally the NBC gabber hoped to have Gretzky do a score-on-me stunt at Rockefeller Center rink. Gretzky nixed the idea and Letterman was forced to show a rerun instead. He then approached Maloney and the Ranger defenseman faced Letterman, wearing pads and all, in a comedy stint&hellip;Art Ross&rsquo; son, John, will accept the Lester Patrick Trophy on behalf of his late dad. It will be presented by Hall of Famer and ex-Bruin Milt Schmidt&hellip;From inside the officiating sanctum comes word that zebra-advisor Frank Udvari straightened out young ref Bob Hall. The info is that Hall, according to some, had a chip on his shoulder and Udvari, a Hall of Famer ex-ref, informed Hall he wouldn&rsquo;t last in the NHL with such an attitude. Apparently, Hall got the message&hellip;A veteran broadcaster opines that Serge Savard blew it when he unloaded young, French-Canadian defenseman Gilbert Delorme&hellip;The Penguins are getting raves for their popular Boys of Winter ad campaign which explores the human side of the players. An example: rookie Bob Errey talks about his first stickhandling experience. &ldquo;The first time I stepped on, I fell down and started crying and got off the ice and said, &lsquo;Dad, I&rsquo;m not playing hockey anymore.&rsquo;&rdquo; The Pens&rsquo; marketing director pegs the campaign at $150,000 in cash and ad tradeoffs. On the ice the Penguins, according to reliable reports, are rent with difficulties beyond ability. Veterans are sniping at coach Lou Angotti from behind and Randy Carlyle&rsquo;s captaincy is being questioned&hellip;Ref Kerry Fraser was asked why he gave Bruin coach Gerry Cheevers a bench minor. &ldquo;1 may be a (bleep) poor referee,&rdquo; says Fraser, &ldquo;but I&rsquo;m no (bleep). When he called me that 1 had to give him two minutes!&rdquo;Agent Art Kaminsky collaborated with Boston Globe reporter John Powers on a new book, One Goal, A Chronicle of the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team.&rdquo; About his client, Herb Brooks, he writes: &ldquo;He&rsquo;d grown up working-class on the east side of St. Paul, the son of an insurance underwriter and the only thing that frightened him was failure. &ldquo;&hellip;Another attempt at player-vs.-press intimidation was rebuffed in*Vancouver when Tiger Williams tossed Vancouver Province reporter Mike Gasher out of the dressing room in protest over an item that displeased Tiger. &ldquo;I went into their room the very next day,&rdquo; Gasher tells BLUELINES, &ldquo;and Williams said nothing. Everything is back to normal.&rdquo; Gasher credits colleague Tony Gallagher for straightening out the Canuck management before there was any Toronto-type trouble. &ldquo;If they did try to keep me out,&rdquo; Gasher says, &ldquo;the bleep really would have hit the fan.&rdquo;&hellip;Face-off ace Doug Jarvis says linesmen are becoming stricter with their puck-dropping technique. &ldquo;They don&rsquo;t allow as much cheating,&rdquo; says Jarvis&hellip;Reijo Ruotsalainen stiffed the New York media after scoring a big winning goal for the Rangers. He remained hidden in the club&rsquo;s off-limits lounge while writers watched their deadlines approaching. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s true he didn&rsquo;t come out of the locker room,&rdquo; says Ranger p.r. director Vince Casey, &ldquo;but I don&rsquo;t think the Rangers have a Steve (never talk to the press) Carlton on our hands.&rdquo; &#9632;

BLUELINES

<div class="byline">BY ERIC DUHATSCHEK</div>CALGARY&mdash;The modest expectations placed on Hakan Loob appear almost too modest now.Calgary Flames, conscious of how difficult it can be for a European player to adapt to the National Hockey League, tried to downplay their newest acquisition when he arrived for September&rsquo;s training camp.In one breath, general manager Cliff Fletcher called Loob the &ldquo;Gretzky of Sweden&rdquo; for his prodigious scoring accomplishments (42 goals, 34 assists in 36 games) last season. In another, he cautioned that one could not expect too much too soon.&ldquo;I look at it this way: I hope he&rsquo;s upgraded our team by one player.&rdquo; said Fletcher. &ldquo;If he can replace the weakest player on our club and do a job for us, then our hockey team&rsquo;s a better team as a result.&rdquo;Halfway through his first NHL season, Loob has done what Fletcher asked him to do and more: He replaced the team&rsquo;s weakest player by becoming one of its strongest.His 19 goals tied him with left winger Eddy Beers for the club lead. With 11 goals in 15 games, he was the runner-up to Steve Yzerman of the Detroit Red Wings as the league&rsquo;s rookie of the month for December. Perhaps most significantly, he led the Flames in even-strength goals, which is why coach Bob Johnson finally put him on the power play.The goal he scored Jan. 1 against the Winnipeg Jets was his first with the man advantage.The ex-carpenter, ex-soldier from Karlstad, Sweden has made a name and a home for himself in Calgary.&ldquo;They say it takes one year to adapt, but I can&rsquo;t understand that,&rdquo; said Loob, in perfect English. &ldquo;Why would you fit in better after one year? Why can&rsquo;t you fit in right away? If the team has 25 good guys. I don&rsquo;t see a problem.&ldquo;You know. I came over here and I wanted to play. 1 didn&rsquo;t think about how many goals I would have by Christmas. I wanted to play a regular shift. That&rsquo;s a start.&rdquo;&ldquo;Optimistically. I thought 30 goals from him at the start of the season,&rdquo; said coach Bob Johnson. &ldquo;Now, I&rsquo;m expecting 40. I see better days ahead for him. He&rsquo;s been around the circuit once. He&rsquo;s going to be getting more time on the power play. He&rsquo;s going to get a lot of chances to score goals.&rdquo;.Many people waited for Loob to have the same trouble adjusting to the North American game that Patrik Sundstrom had last season in Vancouver. Now the same people are waiting for Loob to have the mid-season slump that Peter Stastny had his first season in Quebec, a slump Stastny blamed on the rigors of the NHL&rsquo;s schedule and travel.Many people waited for Loob to have trouble adjusting to the North American game that plagued Patrik Sundstrom last season in Vancouver.Neither precedent seems to apply to the effervescent 23-year-old who, until September, had been in North America exactly once&mdash;on a holiday in Florida. Without this prior knowledge, one would have thought Loob had been reared on hot dogs and Happy Days.Loob calls this his &ldquo;first year as a professional.&rdquo; The three yeas he spent with Farjestads, he considered himself a part-time player.&ldquo;You can&rsquo;t play hockey full-time in Sweden.&rdquo; said Loob. &ldquo;If, you play Thursday, you&rsquo;re free the whole day and if it&rsquo;s a road game, you take Friday off too. If you practise at 2 p.m., that&rsquo;s a half day, too. I would say it&rsquo;s 50 per cent work, 50 per cent hockey.&rdquo;Until he found his second career&mdash;hockey&mdash;Loob was an apprentice carpenter and not a very good one, he said.In training camp, Johnson put Loob on a line with center Mike Eaves. Until Eaves injured his foot against the Boston Bruins, the two had been a constant in a season of injuries and fluctuating lines. Originally, Jim Jackson was the left winger with the unit, but Johnson wanted a big, strong man (&ldquo;a Clark Gillies type&rdquo;) to play with the smurfs. Beers complements the two perfectly, making the unlikely trio&mdash;Beers, a free agent; Eaves, a Minnesota castoff; and Loob, a ninth-round draft choice&mdash;the team&rsquo;s most consistent line. Loob gives his linemates the ultimate compliment: they think like Swedes.&ldquo;We play the same kind of hockey,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We like to play in the enemy&rsquo;s end. I think we&rsquo;re fast getting out of our end. We don&rsquo;t make it difficult for each other. Whatever the other teams give you, you&rsquo;ve got to take. I think we take what they give us. It makes it easy.&rdquo; &#9632;

Loob Adapts To The NHL Ahead Of Flame Schedule

<div class="byline">BY NEIL MILBERT</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0015-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-011165/4870778-1-eng-US/f0015-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">When Black Hawk center Tom Lysiak returned to the lineup, he praised the support he received from the Chicago management.</figcaption></div>CHICAGO&mdash;Tom Lysiak feels &ldquo;like a jerk&rdquo; for all the commotion he has caused, but the Black Hawks&rsquo; star center, who ended a 20-game suspension when he played against the Maple Leafs in Toronto on Jan. 14, also feels &ldquo;a little bitter.&rdquo;He doesn&rsquo;t believe the crime of tripping linesman Ron Foyt warrants the punishment that he received from the National Hockey League under Rule 67.&ldquo;I stole a loaf of bread,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;Should I get life imprisonment?&ldquo;I deserved something but not that. It wasn&rsquo;t a just penalty.&ldquo;I was given about five minutes to make my appeal. I&rsquo;m a little bitter about the way the league handled it.&rdquo;&lsquo;I was given about five minutes to make my appeal.&rsquo;When the suspension was announced, Lysiak sued the league because there was no provision for an appeal. He did so with the advice and consent of Hawk president Bill Wirtz, chairman of the league&rsquo;s board of governors, and general manager Bob Pulford.&ldquo;They worked hours and hours to help prepare my case&rdquo; recal1s Lysiak. &ldquo;They backed me every inch of the way. I wish every player on the club had the insight that I now have about the people who run our team.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not because of him (Foyt) that 1 feel like a jerk because of what happened. It&rsquo;s because of the way I feel about myself and about our team.&ldquo;I wish I hadn&rsquo;t dropped my charges. If I hadn&rsquo;t I probably could have got something in writing that it would be reduced.&rdquo;The voting wasn&rsquo;t announced. According to informed sources, it was close, 11 in favor of upholding the suspension and nine against. Because the incident involved one of his players, Wirtz was unable to vote.The action Lysiak took against Foyt in the Oct. 30 game against Hartford was alien to the fine reputation he had established in his 11 years in the National Hockey League. He has the tools to be a fighter but not the temperament. The few fights he had in the NHL are a source of embarrassment to him.Lysiak says he holds no malice toward the writers and broadcasters who villified him.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s their opinion that Foyt could have been seriously hurt, but it&rsquo;s pot a fact,&rdquo; he insists. &ldquo;I knew I wasn&rsquo;t going to hurt the guy by doing what I did.&ldquo;Sure. I think he has it in for me. He keeps throwing me out of faceoffs. He did it several times (in an earlier game) against St. Louis and he kept doing it that night against Hartford.&rdquo;Lysiak was thrown out of a faceoff just before tripping Foyt. The incident took place on the ensuing draw after the puck had been dropped.&ldquo;Greg Malone came back with his stick and hit my stick. Greg should have been the one kicked out of the faceoff.&rdquo; Lysiak says. &ldquo;But he (Foyt) said: &lsquo;White (uniform), you&rsquo;re out.&rsquo;&ldquo;And, like afool. I said to myself: &lsquo;I&rsquo;ll show you!&rsquo; I didn&rsquo;t know about Rule 67.&ldquo;But it must have been him, not me, who was wrong. When I kept playing (under a temporary injunction), I kept doing what I always do on faceoffs and the other linesmen hardly ever bothered me. When they did. I had no complaints.&ldquo;It can&rsquo;t be that all the other linesmen in the league keep making mistakes and he keeps doing the right thing.&rdquo;HAWK TALK&mdash;During the suspension, Tom Lysiak continued practising with the team. At home games he scouted the opposition from the press box, helping assistant coach Cliff Koroll provide information for Orval Tessier behind the bench. Lysiak also has had injury problems this season. He missed the last two weeks of the exhibition season because of a back ailment and his last two games under the injunction because of a hip injury. Jeff Larmer, younger brother of the Hawks&rsquo; outstanding right winger Steve Larmer. was acquired from New Jersey on Jan. 12 for veteran right winger Tim Higgins, who&rsquo;d asked to be traded earlier in the season. Tessier coached Jeff in 1980-81 when both were with Kitchener of the Ontario Hockey League. &ldquo;Jeff is so similar to Steve it&rsquo;s unbelievable,&rdquo; said Tessier. &ldquo;Brian Bellows was the best player I had at Kitchener but Jeff was the smartest I can play him on either wing, which makes it nice.&rdquo; The long-range plans call for Jeff to work on right wing on the line with Troy Murray and Curt Fraser after Fraser comes back to the lineup following knee surgery in early November. Against Toronto, Larmer played one wing, with Lysiak patrolling the other flank. Ken Yaremchuk centered the line and it was easily the Hawks&rsquo; best of the night&hellip;Steve Ludzik was involved in a spectacular collision with Leaf rookie goalie Allan Bester in the third period. Ludzik crashed into the petite Leaf netminder at full speed and Bester banged the back of his head into the post. Bester had a bump on the back of his head as a souvenir of the occasion. The Leafs are currently using magnetic goal posts which seem to breakaway with little force, but on this occasion, Bester&mdash;and Ludzik&mdash;are probably grateful the posts budge so easily&hellip;When the Leafs&rsquo; Greg Terrion scored on Murray Bannerman in the third period, it marked the second time this season that he&rsquo;s beaten a Hawk goalie with a penalty shot. In the Leafs&rsquo; home opener this season, Terrion beat Tony Esposito on a penalty shot in a shootout affair that ended 10-8 in the Leafs&rsquo; favor. Esposito played against Pittsburgh on Jan. 14 and shut out the Pens 2-0 to record his 76th career shutout and the first of the season. The 40-year-old veteran is seventh on the NHL&rsquo;s all-time shutout list and leads among active goalies&hellip;Al Secord may resume skating soon, but his pulled abdominal muscle injury could shelve him for the season. &#9632;

f0015-01

Lysiak Back With Hawks After Long Suspension

<div class="byline">BY DICK JOHNSTON</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0016-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-011030/4870809-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Veteran Sabre center Gil Perreault is back in scoring form and has accumulated 10 points in the Sabres&rsquo; last three games.</figcaption></div>BUFFALO&mdash;That&rsquo;s the way it goes, in this league. Gil Perreault has a six-point game and Wayne Gretzky has an eight-pointer on the same night and gets the headlines again.Perreault&rsquo;s six-point performance, in the Sabres&rsquo; 9-4 victory over the Winnipeg Jets, signalled the return to form of Buffalo&rsquo;s Gil and Phil Show, an act that bothered many a National Hockey League team last season and earlier this campaign.While the veteran Perreault was scoring a goal and assisting on five against the Jets, Phil Housley, the Sabres&rsquo; versatile 19-year-old defenseman, was scoring two goals and assisting on two.In fact, on this night, it was the Gil and Phil Show, plus Buddy. Real (Buddy) Cloutier scored the hat trick for the second time in three games.Their contributions to the trio&rsquo;s 13 points in the Winnipeg game gave Housley nine points in his last three games. Perreault, 10 and Cloutier, seven.The next time the Sabres played, a 4-2 triumph over the Washington Capitals on the road. Perreault had a goal and an assist. The following game, at home against Montreal, Housley had a goal and two assists. He set up Perreault for the game-winning goal in the third period.However, in the Sabres&rsquo; next outing, a Friday the 13th affair against the Edmonton Oilers, bad luck prevailed as the Gil and Phil Show came to an abrupt end when Housley suffered a shoulder injury in the second period and had to leave the game. At the time of this writing, it is not known how serious the injury to Housley is, nor how long, if at all, he will be sidelined. The only thing certain is that the Sabres cannot afford to miss their talented rearguard-forward for any length of time. He is simply to valuable to the team&rsquo;s offense.&ldquo;We feel Phil is a better defenseman,&rdquo; assistant coach Red Berenson mentioned before Housley&rsquo;s injury, &ldquo;especially in our small rink. He can see the whole rink in front of him when he&rsquo;s at defense. Then he spots the holes and can hurry to them to get the puck for a break.&ldquo;And on defense Phil is so valuable to our club getting the puck out of our end. Sometimes, when he isn&rsquo;t scoring, it gives him a lift to play up front for awhile.&rdquo;Housley didn&rsquo;t have a point in seven games and scored only one goal in 11 games and Perreault was goalless in 11 games.Housley had been in a scoring slump&mdash;and so had Perreault&mdash;until each picked up three assists in an 8-5 win over Quebec at the end of December.Housley failed to draw a point in seven games and scored only one goal in 11 games. Perreault went 11 games without a goal.However, Perreault will take assists as graciously as goals.&ldquo;It definitely means as much to me to get an assist as to get a goal,&rdquo; Perreault said. &ldquo;When you get an assist it means the team scores, right? Yes. I feel pretty good right now. I wish that every night would be like this.&rdquo;Even with his scoring drought, Perreault was doing pretty well in his 14th NHL season. Two games into the second half of the season he was tied for 12th in the league scoring race, with 21 goals and 35 assists for 56 points. He also was tied for second in game-winning goals with six.He may be slowing up a bit but he still can stickhandle with seeming magic and still brings the crowd to its feet with rink-long dashes.Perreault&rsquo;s back occasionally bothers him and he has had minor knee trouble so coach Scotty Bowman tries to get him to skip practice now and then. &ldquo;But he doesn&rsquo;t want to do it,&rdquo; the coach noted.His five assists in the Winnipeg game tied his own team record for assists in one game. He had that many twice before.The six points gave Perreault his biggest scoring night of the season. He had five points earlier in a 6-5 loss in overtime to Detroit.In February, 1976, against the old California Seals, Perreault had seven points, his all-time high.ICE CHIPS&mdash;The win against Washington stretched the Sabres&rsquo; winning streak on the road to five games, one under the club record set in 1976&hellip;The win over Montreal gave veteran goaltender Bob Sauve three straight and five, plus a tie, against one defeat in his last seven starts. He gave up only 21 goals in those seven games&hellip;Phil Housley was tied with Denis Potvin for the scoring lead among defensemen in the Prince of Wales Conference, after 42 games. The only defenseman ahead of their 48 points was Edmonton&rsquo;s Paul Coffey. &#9632;

f0016-01

Sabre Gil And Phil Show Stopped After Brief Run

<div class="byline">BY BOB DONNELLY</div>QUEBEC&mdash;Although he is only 26, left winger Alain Cote is already a veteran with the Nordiques.When Quebec recently sent defenseman Wally Weir down to the Fredericton Express, Cote became the sole Nordique player representative of the World Hockey Association era. Cote is currently in his sixth season with Quebec and, except for brief stints in Hampton, Syracuse and Rochester, he has been a regular with the Nordiques during that time.Cote is used by Nordique coach Michel Bergeron as a defensive specialist, killing penalties and playing on the checking line. He is one player Bergeron feels he can count on. While some of the more talented Nordiques have found themselves benched, Cote always gets his ice time. He now has the confidence to play regularly in the National Hockey League and although he can&rsquo;t turn on the jets like Michel Goulet, he gets the job done.The 5-foot-10, 200-pound Cote has never scored more than 15 goals in one NHL season, but Bergeron continues to use him a lot. Cote has played often with Peter Stastny in the last two seasons and now Peter&rsquo;s brother, Marian, has become the third member of that line.&ldquo;I am not any more nervous when I am playing with Peter or with others,&rdquo; said Cote. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t put extra pressure or my-self by thinking I must score often to do my part. Peter and Marian will do most of the forechecking and I will stay back most of the time. One advantage, of course, is that I get my share of scoring chances just being on the same line as Peter.&rdquo;Born in Matane, Que., Cote played his junior hockey in Chicoutimi of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Originally drafted by Quebec in the WHA days, his NHL rights belonged to Montreal. He was reclaimed by the Canadiens when the Nordiques joined the NHL but they did not protect him and Quebec got him back in the expansion draft. That was four years ago and he had already played a year with the Nordiques.Cote received loads of credit for his defensive efforts with Quebec, often compared to Bob Gainey in Montreal, but his role is clearly not a flamboyant one.&ldquo;I really don&rsquo;t think much about individual honors.&rdquo; he says, &ldquo;I am most happy when we are winning and when 1 am doing my job well. I mean that. I enjoy killing penalties and being on the ice in the critical last minutes of a close game. That is when my checking is important. On the other hand, a goal now and then is naturally appreciated.&rdquo;He had eight goals in the first half of the 1983-84 season for Quebec this year, only slightly ahead of his best year when he notched 15 in the NHL. He says he would like to hit 20 and stay there.Cote is one of the players who will always make himself available to the media, win or lose. He will tell you his thoughts on the game, even after a disappointing loss which would send most players to the showers.Because Cote has been with the Nordiques for a few years, he is in a good position to comment on the changes he has seen in the team.&ldquo;The biggest improvement now is that there are no individualists left and no one is forever complaining, for whatever reason,&rdquo; Cote said. &ldquo;Our team spirit was hurt by the conflicts between Real Cloutier and Michel Bergeron. Now that is over. We have improved considerably on defense and good defensive play comes only with good team effort.&rdquo; &#9632;

Cote Keeps WHA Days Tied To Nordiques

<div class="byline">BY DICK CHUBEY</div>EDMONTON&mdash;There was a simple explanation to the fill-the-net mandess that has come with the New Year.No, it had nothing to do with a full moon. The next scheduled congregation of neighborhood mutts baying at the lunar body wasn&rsquo;t slated until Jan. 18.It&rsquo;s unlikely one could even attribute this nonsense to either Mount St. Helen or&mdash;it saddens one to report&mdash;Canadian prime minister Pierre Trudeau&hellip;generally the link to everything abnormal in the true North strong and free.Edmonton Oilers had only themselves to condemn for the combined converted touchdown (21-14) conquest of the Calgary Flames and Minnesota North Stars in the Puck Bowl. After all, it was the Oilers who went out and stunned the National Hockey and far-spread regions of the free world by blanking Boston Bruins 2-0 on Dec. 30.It&rsquo;s like you can&rsquo;t convert someone into something he isn&rsquo;t. Not overnight. Not cold turkey. Don&rsquo;t they strap junkies in padded cells when they attempt to kick the habit?<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-01932/4870864-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg" title="f0018-01" width="592" height="908"><figcaption class="caption-body">Left winger Mark Messier says defense is no longer a term limited to six players.</figcaption></div>So the Oilers came off the insanity of the Boston binge with back-to-back 9-6 and 12-8 triumphs in Calgary and at home to Minnesota, respectively. Attribute them to withdrawal symptoms.&ldquo;We must have shocked the system with the Boston game,&rdquo; chortled assistant coach John Muckier as practice sessions for days afterwards continued to center on the search for an explanation.&lsquo;I guess we were just making up for playing 60 disciplined minutes. It was a matter of getting too far ahead too early.&rsquo;&ldquo;I guess we were just making up for playing 60 disciplined minutes.&rdquo; joked center Kenny Linseman, then turning serious. &ldquo;It was a matter of getting too far ahead too early.&rdquo;Muckier agreed to a degree.&ldquo;In Calgary, we got a big lead (6-1) too soon. But. the game here&hellip;How can you figure it?&rdquo; continued Muckier, who opted to draw a parallel to baseball.&ldquo;I can remember going to a ball game. involving the Yankees and Red Sox. Each team used their ace starter, but neither of &rsquo;em got by the first inning. The game wound up something like 1514&hellip;&rdquo;Excuse me for interrupting, Muck, but this is ice hockey, isn&rsquo;t it?&ldquo;Crazy things happen&hellip;. I think it was just meant to be that way on that particular night,&rdquo; shrugged Muckier. &ldquo;No matter what you did or said wasn&rsquo;t going to turn it around. But, if scoring goals is entertainment, this one was certainly entertaining from a spectator&rsquo;s point of view.&rdquo;Throughout their limited careers, the young Oilers couldn&rsquo;t come up with anything to top the Minnesota lampoonery. Willy Lindstrom, the Oilers elder statesman at 32. could remember being on the triumphant end of an 16-4 junior mismatch in Sweden. Wayne Gretzky popped six goals one night as Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds ambushed current North Star Keith Acton and Peterborough Petes 16-3 back in 1977-78.Muckier, however, came up with one that can be ranked alongside&mdash;perhaps even beyond&mdash;the craziness of the North Stars&rsquo; visit.Of course, we have to go back 30 years&hellip;Windsor Spitfires, with Muckier&rsquo; on defense, were playing the highly-regarded Toronto Marlboros. Windsor rallied in the third period to tie the game at 4-4, sending it into overtime. Not sudden-death, but a full 10 minutes of OT.The final tally: Windsor 4, Toronto 12.The goalie for Windsor? Making his junior A debut was Dennis Riggin&mdash;one and the same former Edmonton Flyer standout during the days of the old minor professional Western League and father of Washington Capitals&rsquo; netminder Pat Riggin.But, never mind the days of Bee Hive Corn Syrup, hoola hoops. Dixie Cup tops, crew-cuts and full-length Jackie Parker photos in Weekend Magazine.The question remains: Will sanity prevail in the Oilers&rsquo; own end as they continue through the merry month of January that has seen unseasonably high temperatures in these parts?&ldquo;You would think with six goals in Calgary (6-1) and five here (5-2), we would have been able to put the games out of reach,&rdquo; said left winger Mark Messier, who scored twice against the Flames and then followed with six assists vs. Minnesota the following night. &ldquo;I really don&rsquo;t know what to say about it. But I know one thing: I&rsquo;m not taking a negative viewpoint.&ldquo;Everybody is always coming down on our defense, but defense on our team isn&rsquo;t a six-man word anymore. It&rsquo;s 20 guys, including the goaltenders.&ldquo;Sure, we don&rsquo;t have six Denis Potvins back there, but it makes no difference. The only way they can do their job is if the forwards help out. And. we&rsquo;re getting there.&ldquo;There was a time when we could only play our game, but we&rsquo;re getting to a point where we can adjust and beat teams at their own game. We proved that against Boston.&rdquo;IN THE CREASE&mdash;The Oilers came out of the two wild &rsquo;n woolly games with a couple of injuries. Dave Semenko suffered a sprained knee in Calgary and Saddledome fans cheered as the big winger hobbled off the ice, causing general manager-coach Glen Sather to frown, &ldquo;It made me embarrassed to be an Albertan.&rdquo; Semenko will be out at least two weeks. Jari Kurri pulled a groin., Dave Lumley has resumed skating after suffering ligament damage to his right knee on Dec. 13. &#9632;

f0018-01

Sanity(?) Prevails Again For Crazy Oilers

<div class="byline">BY GLENN COLE</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0019-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-01877/4870895-1-eng-US/f0019-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Rick Wamsley said the Habs should bring up six defensemen and four forward lines instead of always blaming the goalies.</figcaption></div>MONTREAL&mdash;Steve Penney is going to have his chance to occupy the Canadiens&rsquo; goaltending hot seat.&ldquo;We can&rsquo;t keep on going the same way we have,&rdquo; said coach Bob Berry. &ldquo;Every time one of our goaltenders appears ready to handle the No. 1 job, we have to start all over again.&ldquo;A good goaltender is just as important as a 50-goal scorer.&rdquo;So, Penney, who has been more or less the workhorse with the Nova Scotia Voyageurs. is being brought up by the Canadiens in the hopes that the ex-Shawinigan junior star will provide the type of steady goaltending management feels that Rick Wamsley and Richard Sevigny have not given.Wamsley returned to the Canadiens&rsquo; lineup on Jan. 5 after Sevigny started in nine consecutive games and was blown out 9-5 in Quebec City three days into the new year. Wamsley held Detroit to one goal, shut out St. Louis, gave up a soft goal in a 4-3 loss at Buffalo, defeated Toronto 6-4 and gave up a pair of soft goals in a 7-3 loss to the New York Islanders.Sevigny returned to play against the New Jersey Devils and lost 3-1. prompting the recall of Penney.&ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s wrong to blame the goaltender when the team in front of him gets just one goal,&rdquo; Wamsley told a handful of reporters once the announcement was made about Penney. &ldquo;Maybe they should think of recalling six defensemen and four forward lines.&rdquo;Sevigny, who is in the option year of his contract, was also upset with the news noting that &ldquo;it&rsquo;s always like this in Montreal. When the team loses, they always blame the goaltenders.&rdquo;Penney becomes the 33rd player to slip on a Canadien jersey this season and the fourth goaltender. Greg Moffett was the Canadiens No. 3 man when the preseason finished but he&rsquo;s been plagued by a damaged hamstring for much of this season and is hurt again.A native of Ste. Foy, Que., Penney is in his third season as a professional. He spent the first two years with Flint of the International Hockey League and has been with the Voyageurs for most of this season because Moffett was kept by the Canadiens in the first two weeks of National Hockey League play and then Moffett was injured.The recall comes just a few days after Vladislav Tretiak&rsquo;s possible appearance in a Montreal uniform was raised again. Members of the touring Soviet Union selects are convinced that Tretiak has an agreement to come to Montreal once the 1984 Winter Olympics are completed in Sarajevo.Managing director Serge Savard still says he is confident that Tretiak will be wearing a Canadiens&rsquo; uniform &ldquo;sometime in 1984.&rdquo;&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not going to worry about that,&rdquo; said Wamsley. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m just going to go out and do my job.&rdquo;It is obvious that the Canadiens&rsquo; goaltending isn&rsquo;t at the same level as it was when Ken Dryden was playing here, but then again, the play in front of the netminders is not as good as it was when Savard was playing or even after he left.Larry Robinson, who is still regarded as the team&rsquo;s No. 1 defenseman, gave away a critical goal to the Islanders&rsquo; Billy Carroll early in the third period at the Nassau County Coliseum. Twelve seconds later. Bill Root accidentally set up Duane Sutter for the Islanders&rsquo; sixth goal.In the game against New Jersey, the Canadiens&rsquo; forwards seldom threatened Devils&rsquo; goaltender Glenn Resch until about a minute before Mats Naslund tied the game at 16:00 of the third periods.Just 92 seconds later, Jan Ludvig shot the Devils back into the lead after intercepting a pass from Guy Lafleur about 10 feet inside the Montreal blueline. The shot which beat Sevigny was low, although not particularly hard.There are some problems up front, too. Perry Turnbull has scored just one goal in 11 games since coming from St. Louis and Bobby Smith is in the throes of a 13-game goalless string, his longest in his NHL career.Obviously, there are more problems than the Canadiens&rsquo; goaltending, but at least management thinks it has a solution for that.IN PASSING&mdash;Larry Robinson on the possible coming of Vladislav Tretiak: &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not sure he is going to be better than what we have. I don&rsquo;t think the Soviets would let him go if they felt he still had some value to them.&rdquo;&hellip;Guy Lafleur owns the team&rsquo;s worst plus-minus figure at minus-16 while Steve Shutt has a minus-14. Alfie Turcotte suffered a pulled muscle in his thigh against New Jersey and missed the last half of the game&hellip;The Canadiens have only won five times against teams with .500 records or better&mdash;three against Quebec, one against Boston and Minnesota&hellip;Perry Turnbull escaped suspension when the NHL office ruled that referee Bob Hall applied the wrong rule when penalizing Turnbull and Jerry Korb when they came off the bench to fight. &#9632;

f0019-01

A Penney For The Habs’ Goalie Thoughts

<div class="byline">BY TIM MORIARTY</div>LONG ISLAND&mdash;His hair is red and his eyes are blue and. according to teammate Bryan Trottier, he&rsquo;s true and true. But Greg Gilbert has one fault. &ldquo;He still doesn&rsquo;t shoot enough,&rdquo; Trottier said.Gilbert is working on that, though. The 21-year-old winger totalled four shots in a recent game against the Devils and two went behind Chico Resch to spark the Islanders to a 4-2 victory. Two nights later, Gilbert converted one of two shots in the Isles&rsquo; 7-3 victory over the Canadiens.Resch was genuinely impressed by Gilbert.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s pretty good around the net, isn&rsquo;t he?&rdquo; the former Islander goalie said. &ldquo;That first one he got against us was a kinda slam-dunk.&rdquo;Gilbert was cutting through the slot in the first period when Trottier, who had the puck behind the net, passed it in front. Gilbert took the pass while moving to the net and shot quickly. The puck flew past Resch on his glove side.Gilbert&rsquo;s second of the game&mdash;and 16th of the season&mdash;sealed the Isles&rsquo; victory. He started and finished the play, picking up a rebound in the Islanders&rsquo; end and passing it to Mike Bossy near the redline. Bossy gave it back to Gilbert, who slipped around the defenseman Joe Cirella of the Devils and fired a shot from low in the left faceoff circle that Resch failed to handle.&ldquo;He made a nice move on that one.&rdquo; Resch admitted.Gilbert thought so too but he declined to gloat about it.&ldquo;Actually, I meant to go for the far side and it went over Chico,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been lucky lately.&rdquo;He also has been good. He had a mere five goals in his first 33 games, then coach Al Arbour moved him into the No. 1 line with Bossy and Trottier. Gilbert responded by scoring 12 goals in his next 12 games.&ldquo;Gibby is having fun and we&rsquo;re having fun playing with him,&rdquo; Trottier said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s getting good position when he moves in the net. And when there&rsquo;s a loose puck, he&rsquo;s the first on it.&rdquo;Gilbert credits most of his success to is linemates.&ldquo;Boss and Trots have helped a lot.&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;They&rsquo;ve been giving me tips on positioning and they&rsquo;ve also helped me relax.&rdquo;Gilbert was named the top defensive forward in the Ontario Hockey League while playing for the Toronto Marlboros in 1981-82, his final season in junior hockey. He still found time to total 108 points on 41 goals and 67 assists that season.&ldquo;I still feel I&rsquo;m a defensive-minded player,&rdquo; Gilbert said.Bob Bourne has watched Gilbert&rsquo;s progress this season and marvelled at it.&ldquo;Gibby has become an all-round player,&rdquo; the veteran left winger said. &ldquo;When I first saw him I knew he was a typical Islander player. Up and down his wing, you know. Now he&rsquo;s developing into a better-than-average scorer.&ldquo;I would use one word to describe Greg Gilbert. No, make that two words: sound and solid.&rdquo;Gilbert was not the only hot Islander. Bossy scored the 400th goal of his NHL career and added two assists in the Islanders&rsquo; 4-2 victory over the Rangers. The splurge enabled Bossy to extend his point-scoring streak to 19 consecutive games, a personal high. The club record of 25 games was set by Trottier during the 1981-82 season.Butch Goring, filling in&rsquo; for the sore-kneed Trottier, and Denis Potvin also had a goal and two assists in the Isles&rsquo; impressive win over the Rangers. The Islanders played that game without their two top centers, Trottier and Brent Sutter, and wingers John Tonelli and Anders Kallur.Trottier sprained his left knee in a collision with Montreal&rsquo;s Alfie Turcotte. Sutter bruised the knuckles of his right hand in a fight with Guy Carbonneau of the Canadiens, then developed an infection in the hand that forced him out of the lineup. Tonelli had been sidelined since Jan. 3 with a sprained right knee and Kallur suffered a pulled muscle in his back against the Devils.ON THE ISLE&mdash;Denis Potvin was given a police escort out of Nassau Coliseum after the Ranger game because of a death threat. The switchboard operator at the Coliseum reported that she received a call from an anonymous male who said. &ldquo;; I don&rsquo;t like Potvin&hellip;I&rsquo;m going to shoot him.&rdquo;&hellip; Dave King, coach of the Canadian Olympic team, asked the Islanders for permission to add goalie Kelly Hrudey to his squad. General manager Bill Torrey said he would not object, but questions were raised regarding Hrudey&rsquo;s elibigility. for he had already appeared in 10 games with the Islanders.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-01728/4870926-1-eng-US/f0020-012.jpg" title="f0020-01" width="588" height="890"><figcaption class="caption-body">Islander Greg Gilbert is adding offense to his defensive repertoire.</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0020-01

Gilbert Has A Fun Time With Isles

<div class="byline">BY HOWARD BERGER</div>The dictionary defines the word camp as &ldquo;a recreational place in the country for the vacationers, especially children.&rdquo;It defines the word school as &ldquo;a place or institution for teaching and learning.&rdquo;Therein lies the major differences between the various summer hockey programs available for youngsters (and oldsters) in Canada and the U.S. The key word is recreation. While day programs and overnight residence programs offer similar hockey instruction, overnight camps provide youngsters with a broader range of activities.&ldquo;For a youngster who can handle being away from his family and home for a week or two, I strongly recommend the camp atmosphere,&rdquo; explains one instructor. &ldquo;First of all, it winds up being a vacation of sorts for the kid and it also enables him to concentrate totally on hockey for the time period he&rsquo;s enrolled.&ldquo;The day student goes home at 5 p.m. and gets involved again with his outside interests, which can detract from the benefits of his instruction. The resident, however, will be totally confined to hockey and I feel he&rsquo;ll be receiving more for his money as a result.&rdquo;There are several reputable hockey programs across North America which offer both daytime and resident alternatives.From 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., the day and resident students are mixed and they take part in the same activities. Evenings, though, provide the resident students with an authentic camp atmosphere.&ldquo;We schedule a variety of evening programs for the kids and they really seem to enjoy them,&rdquo; says the instructor. &ldquo;Our particular camp happens to be close to a small town and once or twice a week, we&rsquo;ll bus the kids into town to run around and play arcade games or see a movie&hellip;things they can&rsquo;t do in the country.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s all very well supervised and it enables the kids to explore some outside interests while remaining in their same instructional groups.&rdquo;Most of the evening recreational programs, however, are held on campus.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ll have little things like talent show, etc.,&rdquo; says the instuctor. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ll rent various hockey films&mdash;like the Canada Cup or old Stanley Cup films&mdash;and we&rsquo;ll show them to the students. We also provide them with enough free time just to talk with a friend or write a letter home. It&rsquo;s a nice atmosphere.&rdquo;Another major benefit of the resident program is the comraderie generated by rooming with a group of youngsters for a one-or two-week period.&ldquo;I think that might be the most beneficial part of our entire program,&rdquo; insists the instructor. &ldquo;We have so many friendships that start at our camp and wind up lasting for many years. Just recently, one of our students from St. Louis phoned and said he&rsquo;d lost the address of a friend he had met who lived in Toronto. They had been writing back and forth since the end of the summer.&ldquo;There are also a number of bantam and peewee hockey tournaments that take place across the country during the winter months and we find that friends who meet at our school will billet one another during these tournaments.&ldquo;It makes it a lot more fun than staying at a hotel when you&rsquo;re far away from home.&rdquo;The big attraction at any hockey camp is the skating rink and overnight students are frequently afforded the opportunity to gain some extra ice time.&ldquo;The students get three hours ice time during the day (90 minutes in the morning, 90 in the afternoon),&rdquo; says the instructor. &ldquo;Both sessions are quite regimented in terms of instructional content so the resident students like to get back on the ice at night and just have a hack game of shinny.&ldquo;We try to make the rink available to them as often as possible.&rdquo;The resident students awake bright and early. After breakfast, they&rsquo;re joined by the day pupils and from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., it&rsquo;s a busy day.The class sessions are broken down into two categories: those geared towards advance students and minor students. The advance students, who pay a higher stipend, are divided in groups of no more than 25 while the minor class will sometimes consist of up to 40 students.&ldquo;The advance group is usually made up of older kids who know the basics of the game and are interested in learning more strategical aspects,&rdquo; explains a camp director. &ldquo;The actual instruction is a bit more intense and the groups are smaller in order to facilitate greater individual attention. That&rsquo;s why it costs a little more.&rdquo;A typical day at a hockey camp begins with a 90-minute, on-ice instructional session, immediately following breakfast. After skating, the group will be split in half for videotape and lecture sessions. In the videotape sessions, each boy will be looked at individually and will be advised, first-hand, of his flaws.The lecture material will differ&mdash;once again&mdash;according to the minor or advance classes. While the minor students will be learning about how to care for hockey equipment, their elder counterparts will be reviewing power plays as well as offensive and defensive systems. Then it&rsquo;s time for lunch&mdash;for everyone.&ldquo;The videotape and lecture sessions are absolutely invaluable.&rdquo; says an instructor. &ldquo;Actually, we encourage not only the students, but their parents to get involved in these as well. It gives mom and dad a better idea of what their son is learning and it teaches them a little about the game.&rdquo;Occasionally, however, parents can be a hinderance.&ldquo;While we like to have the parents attend the various sessions, we ask them not get involved or interfere with the instructors,&rdquo; says an instructor. &ldquo;Every so often, a father will pull his son over during an on-ice session and we&rsquo;ll have to ask him politely to coach his kid during the winter.&ldquo;Generally, though, we don&rsquo;t have too many problems.&rdquo;After lunch, the students rest up before participating in their daily conditioning programs. These involve a series of calisthenics as well as weight training.&ldquo;The weight training is mostly optional and it is done by making use of a circuit program.&rdquo; says an instructor. &ldquo;At our particular school, we have a weight-training system that was set up by Ted Sator, who is now assistant coach with Philadelphia Flyers. The kids really seem to like it and it goes a long way towards developing and maintaining body and muscle tone.&rdquo;After the conditioning workout, it&rsquo;s back to the ice for another 90-minute session.&ldquo;The afternoon skates are usually spent applying the skills worked on in the morning to game situations,&rdquo; explains the instructor. &ldquo;The boys will scrimmage and they will be videotaped for study the following morning.&rdquo;At most hockey schools, instruction for players of all positions is received at the same time. Several facilities, however, do provide specialized instruction for goaltenders.When the afternoon skate is over, the day students dress and return home while the residents rest up for the night&rsquo;s activities, which begin after a hearty dinner.For the school best suited for your youngster, the camp directors suggest you go right to the source.&ldquo;You&rsquo;ve got to talk to your boy and find out what he&rsquo;s interested in,&rdquo; says a director. &ldquo;If you find he&rsquo;s absolutely wild about making hockey a career eventually&mdash;and you feel he&rsquo;s capable of functioning away from home for an extended period&mdash;the residence camp is his best bet.&ldquo;It&rsquo;ll get him away from his normal everyday routine for awhile and he&rsquo;ll be able to concentrate fully on hockey.&ldquo;Conversely, if your boy just wants to improve a skill or two and he isn&rsquo;t engrossed in making hockey a living, the day school may be sufficient for him. Especially if he&rsquo;s tentative about sleeping away from home. He&rsquo;ll get the same instruction as the resident student during the day and he&rsquo;ll be able to see his familiar surroundings at night.&rdquo;Another contributing factor, of course, is cost. Obviously, the day schools are slightly cheaper&mdash;ranging between $150 and $175 per week. Resident programs usually range between $325 and $375 per week, in accordance to the age of your son.Several facilities offer adult hockey programs which cost around $325 per week for day students and $395 for residents. One school even offers a camp for midget-aged players who are overlooked in the junior hockey draft.The school brings in a large number of junior A coaches for one last look at a player they may have missed the previous season. This session is held the second-last week of August and it costs $475.Finally, an Ontario-based camp offers week-long sessions for professional hockey players at a cost of $595 (usually picked up by the player&rsquo;s NHL team). It enables the pro athletes to work on refining weak points of their game and it has attracted such notables over the years as Chicago&rsquo;s Al Secord, Islanders&rsquo; goalie Roland Melanson and Vancouver&rsquo;s super rookie Tony Tanti. &#9632;

Camps Provide Wide Array Of Activities

<div class="byline">BY HOWARD BERGER</div>While North Americans were reluctant at first to acknowledge they had been usurped by their overseas counterparts and recognize they had taken a back seat in the teaching and development of hockey&rsquo;s basic skills, coaches on this side of the big pond are currently relying on European techniques to regain some lost ground.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s probably the biggest change we&rsquo;ve noticed at our hockey school over the past five or six years,&rdquo; says a school director. &ldquo;The influx of excellent European talent in the National Hockey League has made a great impact on all of us and&mdash;as hockey school instructors&mdash;we feel some pressure each summer to ensure that our students grasp the basics of the game.&rdquo;As a result, a great deal more specializing has worked its way into hockey schools over the years.&ldquo;Parents, these days, want to be absolutely sure their children are getting their absolute money&rsquo;s worth at hockey schools,&rdquo; explains the director. &ldquo;It used to be they were satisfied so long as their boy was merely having a good time. But, with the tight buck nowadays, they want to be assured their children will be learning a large amount about the game of hockey.&rdquo;This has been accomplished by increasing the number of hours working on skill development. Several years back, many hockey schools did little more than provide ice time for shinny-type scrimmages. But, as summertime fees have escalated, so has the demand for specialized training.&ldquo;When parents spend the big buck these days, they want to see their child improve in one or two particular aspects of his game,&rdquo; continues the director. &ldquo;We get many letters enclosed with applications stating specific weaknesses in a camper&rsquo;s game. It could be his shot, his stickhandling skill or his skating ability.&ldquo;Either way, parents strongly request that we work on those particular areas with their boys and we&rsquo;ve had to realign many of our programs to accommodate their wishes.&rdquo;Videotaping has become a popular means of pointing out strengths and weaknesses.Videotaping has become one of the more novelty forms of reviewing a player&rsquo;s strengths and weaknesses.&ldquo;We find the older a boy gets, the more he learns to appreciate the videotape sessions,&rdquo; notices an instructor. &ldquo;The younger guys get more of a kick out of seeing themselves on TV than anything else but the midget-aged players really seem to milk it for all its worth. They realize videotape has become the most effective off-ice tool for learing the basics.&rdquo;In past years, videotaping was confined mostly to scrimmages&mdash;enabling students to see how they function in game situations&mdash;but, as the need for specializing has increased, so has the use of videotape.&ldquo;Nowadays, if a boy is having trouble, say, turning to his right, we&rsquo;ll videotape him individually during an instruction session and show him later exactly what he&rsquo;s doing wrong,&rdquo; explains the director. &ldquo;And, we&rsquo;ll keep his videotapes in order to show him the progress he is or isn&rsquo;t making on a daily basis.&ldquo;Inevitably, when the boy gets back on the ice the next day, he&rsquo;ll refer back to what he saw on the tape and. hopefully, try to improve his flaw. It usually works.&rdquo;Off-ice physical conditioning is another crucial aspect of the European system&mdash;especially dry-land training. Yet, many of the hockey instructors in this land don&rsquo;t believe that type of exercise should be regimented daily.&ldquo;The thing we want our players to avoid most is waiting until they arrive there to get into shape,&rdquo; says an instructor. &ldquo;We try our best to instill the fact they should arrive at camp as physically fit as possible. That way. they don&rsquo;t have to waste time and money reaching the necessary fitness level to get the most out of their training.&rdquo;This is especially important for older players.&ldquo;Guys that are 12 years old and up definitely should come to camp with as much flexibility in their muscles as possible,&rdquo; advises the instructor. &ldquo;When you get above 12 years of age, your muscles become heavier and bulkier and they must be well stretched before you begin skating full stride. You always want to prevent nagging type of injuries like hamstring pulls that are quite prevalent in pre-adulthood.&ldquo;Younger guys, in the eight to 11 age group, can usually bend like rubber with a minimum of preparation, but even they should ensure they come to camp reasonably fit.&rdquo;Along with injury prevention, physical fitness is, once again, good, sound ecomonics.&ldquo;We can&rsquo;t go around giving refunds to students who injure themselves early in a particular session.&rdquo; says a camp director from Ontario. &ldquo;We had a kid come to our camp last year from Newfoundland who obviously ignored his training program. During his first ice session, he went like a Banshee warrior and he pulled a muscle in the back of his leg.&ldquo;He had signed up for three weeks and he couldn&rsquo;t go back on the ice during the first week. He tried it again midway through the second week and he still couldn&rsquo;t skate. So. he had to go home. It was a real shame and. in his case, a collossal waste of money.&rdquo;A final change most hockey schools have adopted evolves around the teaching of recreational sports.&ldquo;We still offer swimming and tennis but purely for recreational purposes.&rdquo; says a director. &ldquo;We used to include teaching these sports as part of our daily schedule but we found it took away from the real purpose the boys were here for: hockey instruction.&ldquo;Nowadays, if parents want their children to participate in a full range of activities. we recommend they send them to conventional summer camps. Hockey schools have become much more designed towards those boys serious about learning all they can about the game.&rdquo; &#9632;

European Influence Makes A Great Impact

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HOCKEY SCHOOLS…In Eastern United States

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0025-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-01520/4871098-1-eng-US/f0025-012.jpg"></div>with ROGER NEILSON Coach, Vancouver CanucksNow, you can have a superb holiday while you learn from the best in the game.The Trinity Hockey School combines the very best teaching available in hockey today with a sports-oriented holiday for boys from 8-15.Located on the beautiful campus of Trinity College School, 65 miles east of Toronto, the school enjoys unparalleled facilities including:&bull; its own hockey arena on-campus&bull; nine playing fields, for soccer, etc.&bull; six tennis courts &bull; two gyms&bull; four squash courts &bull; swimming pool&bull; a Universal Gym for weight training&bull; video tape facilities&bull; excellent residencesCoaching is under the direction of Roger Neilson, coach of the N.H.L. Vancouver Canucks. Most of the coaches are active players in the N.H.L. and W.H.A. and each has played under or coached with Roger Neilson in the past.The school is grouped into three divisions: Junior, Senior and Advanced, based on age, size and skating ability. Each boy will have two on-ice sessions per day, one of which will be individual instruction in basics and drills, the other a game with emphasis on fundamentals and fun. Special instruction will be provided to goaltenders.Unlike many schools, Trinity limits each session to no more than 30 skaters since Roger is convinced this is the optimum number for effective instruction. Video tape facilities (7 foot screen) provide each boy with an opportunity to study and analyse his play.A full off-ice program is also provided including soccer, tennis, swimming, squash, floor hockey and softball. Qualified instructors and counsellors will coach boys in the techniques of each sport and round robin tournaments will be held throughout each session.Roger Neilson-Hockey Director&bull; Head coach, Vancouver Canucks&bull; Former Head coach, Buffalo Sabres&bull; Former Head coach, Toronto Maple Leafs&bull; Former coach, Dallas-Central League&bull; Chief Scout for Ontario for Montreal Canadiens(3years)&bull; Minor and Junior coach (10 years)&bull; High school teacher for 14 yearsCoaches in 1983 were:&bull; Keith ActonMinnesota North Stars&bull; Colin CampbellDetroit Red Wings&bull; Ed Chadwick,Scout Edmonton Oilers&bull; Marc CrawfordVancouver Canucks&bull; John GarrettVancouver Canucks&bull; Paul GardnerPittsburgh Penguins&bull; Doug HalwardVancouver Canucks&bull; Doug JarvisMontreal Canadiens&bull; Jimmy JonesToronto Maple Leafs&bull; Mike KeenanU. of T. Blues&bull; Mark KirtonVancouver Canucks&bull; Greg MillenHartford Whalers&bull; Garry MonahanToronto Maple Leafs&bull; Ron Smith, CoachVancouver Canucks &#9632;

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TRINITY HOCKEY SCHOOL

<div class="byline">BY HOWARD BERGER</div>Thanks, mostly, to our slumping economic times, operating a summer hockey program is becoming more of a challenge each year.Several factors have greatly increased the competition between reputable schools across North America&mdash;to the point where directors must be on their toes year round in order to ensure a prosperous summer season.Highlighting the difficulties are:&bull; The Canadian dollar exchange rate.&bull; Lack of enrolment during early-summer sessions.&bull; Ever-rising operating costs, especially at residence schools.&bull; Lack of enrolment in youngest age groups.&bull; A decreasing number of reputable programs.&bull; An overall decline in minor hockey registration.Schools in the United States&mdash;of which there are several excellent ones, especially in the northeast&mdash;have experienced large and disconcerting declines in the enrolment of Canadian students. The decrease is directly attributed to the exchange rate between Canadian and American dollars.The Canadian buck is worth only about 80 cents when it crosses the border and the 20 per cent penalty is keeping the northerners in their native land.&ldquo;Three or four years ago, we had virtually a 50-50 split between Canadian and American students,&rdquo; recalls a U.S. camp director. &ldquo;But last summer, almost 80 per cent of our enrolment was American. Other than counting on our reputation and quality of program, there isn&rsquo;t really much we can do about enticing Canadians back to our school,&rdquo;One American camp has taken a promotional step it hopes will lure Canadian students to its program. The camp has worked out an agreement with a sporting goods manufacturer that&rsquo;ll see each resident student receive a free set of protective hockey gear.&ldquo;Last year, we had a Canadian rate and a U.S. rate, which turned out to be a pain in the butt for all those concerned, especially the bank,&rdquo; explains the director. &ldquo;The rates fluctuated crazily from day to day and we didn&rsquo;t know if we were coming or going. So this year, we&rsquo;ve instituted a standard American rate and Canadians who attend our school will just have to make their cheques payable in U.S. funds.&rdquo; Camps on both sides of the border are finding it increasingly difficult to fill their enrolment for their earliest sessions (first two weeks of July).&ldquo;This holds true particularly for kids who are serious about making a future out of hockey and especially those who play minor hockey throughout the winter and early spring months,&rdquo; explains a director. &ldquo;They seem to find that July is too close to the end of their season and not close enough to the beginning of the next.&ldquo;As a result, most students like to attend the later sessions and we&rsquo;ve been over-loaded the past couple of years during the month of August. It&rsquo;s really a problem.&rdquo;In order to adjust, most camps are now reserving the latter sessions for older age groups&mdash;kids who are playing a higher level of minor hockey. That way, they can get in their valuable pre-season skating at a time they feel is most crucial to their training.The younge age groups&mdash;such as atoms (8-10)&mdash;now have ice reserved for them during early-summer sessions but most camps are still finding it difficult to attract the youngsters.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s purely economics,&rdquo; says a director. &ldquo;With the tight dollar these days, the parents of an eight-year-old boy don&rsquo;t feel it&rsquo;s feasible to send him to camp for more than one week. At that age, they don&rsquo;t feel he needs the intense training a 12- and 13-year-old requires and, as a result, we&rsquo;ve had trouble attracting the younger ones.&rdquo;The parents feel the atom-aged campers should enjoy a more balanced program of recreational activities and they&rsquo;re more apt to send their kids to conventional camps that, in many cases, exclude hockey instruction.&ldquo;At least that&rsquo;s the way it&rsquo;s been the past few years,&rdquo; says an instructor. &ldquo;Several years ago, when the buck went a little further, we were filled to capacity in every age group. But, it certainly isn&rsquo;t like that anymore.&rdquo;A more conventional excuse for enrolment dropoffs can simply be rising fees. It costs more each year to send a boy to hockey school. Ever-rising operating costs force the annual fee hikes.&ldquo;Everything goes up&mdash;food, salaries, energy and maintenance costs&mdash;to run the arenas and we have to hike our enrolment fees accordingly,&rdquo; reasons a camp director. &ldquo;As a result, there are more and more parents who can no longer afford to send their children to hockey camps.&rdquo;&ldquo;That&rsquo;s mostly true for the overnight camps. Supervisory staff is getting quite expensive and many parents are sending their kids to day hockey programs where the main costs evolve around booking ice time at the arena.&rdquo;The most important credential for any hockey school these days is a vaunted reputation. Many fly-by-night schools have been forced into bankruptcy by the tough economy and only the fittest survive in the current market. It makes for some pretty heated competition.&ldquo;These days, good established camps feel pressure from other good established camps,&rdquo; says a director. &ldquo;Back in the early-expansion era (late &rsquo;60s and early &rsquo;70s)&mdash;especially after the World Hockey Association came into being&mdash;there was a larger market for pro hockey players and every kid&rsquo;s parents were thinking of million-dollar contracts.&ldquo;Prospective entrepreneurs jumped on the bandwagon and hundreds of hockey schools popped up all over the place. Generally, they were ripoffs and they frequently advertised falsely. Thus, they lasted one or two years before going belly-up.&rdquo;&ldquo;Nowadays, most schools you see have been in existence for at least five years and they survive on the quality of their programs. I don&rsquo;t know of any new camps that have opened in the past three summers.&rdquo;The rising costs of equipment have also contributed to a decline in general camp enrolment as well as a decrease in minor hockey registration during the winter months.&ldquo;Hockey&rsquo;s an expensive sport to get into nowadays,&rdquo; says a director. &ldquo;A decent pair of skates costs $100 and a good stick is up around $21. So, we&rsquo;re finding it more and more of a challenge to attract kids to our school.&ldquo;It keeps us busy round the clock.&rdquo; &#9632;

Economy Puts A Challenge On Enrolment

<div class="byline">BY HOWARD BERGER</div>Anytime you send your child away from home for an extended period, it&rsquo;s important that he be fully insured against injury or illness.Participating in a physically-demanding sport on a daily basis makes hockey school insurance doubly crucial.Medical protection for players is accepted differently in Canada and the United States. Americans visiting Canada-based schools will be asked to purchase something known as Visitors to Canada insurance. The low-cost insurance&mdash;about four to five dollars&mdash;guarantees the player emergency medical protection throughout his stay at the facility and is to be enclosed along with the application and medical forms.This insurance is, by the way, tax deductible.Canadian players attending American based schools rely on their own particular insurance companies for protection. Parents are asked to forward their family policies along with the camp application. Should your boy become ill or injured, you will receive the medical bills and will then turn them over to your insurance company for compensation.&ldquo;We haven&rsquo;t had any problems with that system over the years,&rdquo; says an American camp director. &ldquo;It saves a lot of aggravation and the insurance companies are always very cooperative.&rdquo;All U.S.-based camps strongly advise Canadian citizens to ensure their children are covered before they arrive. No camp will refuse the application of someone who isn&rsquo;t insured, but it&rsquo;s inadvisable to follow this route.&ldquo;If a boy is injured and he doesn&rsquo;t have insurance, the costs immediately revert to the parents or guardians and it can be pretty steep at times.&rsquo;&ldquo;If a boy is injured and he doesn&rsquo;t have insurance, the costs immediately revert to the parents or guardians and they can be pretty steep at times,&rdquo; says the director. &ldquo;So, we strongly recommend that every boy is protected when he comes to camp.&rdquo;When attending a camp in your native country, the medical plan in your particular state or province is usually acceptable. For instance, campers in Ontario are automatically covered by OHIP while many U.S.-based campers rely on Blue Cross coverage.All hockey schools protect themselves and their employees from liabilities in a waiver claim that can be found near the bottom of any application form. This totally removes any responsibility for injury or illness from those who work at the facility.In addition, all hockey school employees are covered against potential negligence that may result in law suits, although these conflicts rarely, if ever, occur.Registration policies are also very important and they should be reviewed carefully before forwarding applications to any camp.Camps that have varied programs offer them on a first-come first-serve basis which means the earlier you get your application in to a popular facility, the better. Most camps request a minimum 50 per cent deposit before June 1st and no registration will be guaranteed until the balance of payment is received. Outstanding balances after June 1st are usually subject to cancellation without notice, along with an administrative processing charge (fancy word for penalty) of 10 per cent of the registration fee.Very few hockey schools offer an open refund policy, unless a program revision occurs. For instance, if your boy signs up for a goaltending program and the camp is forced to scrap it, he&rsquo;ll have the option of accepting a full refund or a transfer into another program.Otherwise, cancellations&mdash;of which most are for medical reasons&mdash;result in all monies deposited being credited towards the tuition fee for the following year. In special cases where a credit does not apply (moving out of the country before the following summer, for example), refunds may be awarded at the school&rsquo;s discretion.In these cases, a 25 per cent administration fee (penalty) will be charged. &#9632;

Insurance Mau Be Best Form Of Protection

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0028-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-01519/4871201-1-eng-US/f0028-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">(Photo by Bruce Bennett)</figcaption></div>Wayne Gretzky and Mike Bossy will continue to score and get the accolades, but that doesn&rsquo;t stop Boston Bruin right winger Rick Middleton from chugging right along.Nifty, as he is known, came up with four goals and three assists in three games to earn HOCKEY NEWS&rsquo; Player of the Week honors for the period ending Jan. 15.Included among those goals were two game winners as the Bruins went 3-0 for the week. In 44 games this season, Middleton had 28 goals and 26 assists. &#9632;

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Player Of The Week

<div class="byline">BY JAY GREENBERG</div>PHILADELPHIA&mdash;In the first game of the rest of their lives, the Flyers rallied from a 3-1 deficit and tied the Nordiques 3-3 on Brian Propp&rsquo;s goal with 1:59 left. The New York Rangers, who beat the Flyers for the eighth straight time in the preceeding game, may still look like their 1984 executioners, but January is far too early to take them out and shoot them.The struggle&mdash;four games now without a victory&mdash;goes on, but on a clear night when they force a pretty good Quebec team to hold on for a tie at home, they can still see forever.The 1983-84 Flyers may ultimately be caught on a two-on-one at center ice, trying to both slow down time and hurry it in the same year. But forecasts of their eventual decline to mediocrity remain premature.If you include the technicality of Bob Froese playing only 24 games a year ago, the Flyers now have seven rookies taking regular shifts. The tightrope they walk involves taking maybe one or two last shots with Bobby Clarke, Darryl Sittler and Bill Barber while hoping their kids grow up fast enough to make it work sooner and not just later.Their current 5-9-4 record against winning teams, does not forecast victory this spring. And yet is any year which adds a Dave Poulin and a Ron Sutter a loss?General manager-coach Bob McCammon is going with three rookie centers. Thirteen NHL games haven&rsquo;t told us much about Len Hachborn, although three goals and three assists in the last six games he&rsquo;s played in the bigs is not an uncompromising start. Poulin and Sutter, however, have For Real already stamped all over them.In Quebec, when most of the Flyers were functioning well, those two kids may have been the best players on the ice. Sutter set up Darryl Sittler for a power-play goal and hounded the Nordiques all over the ice. Poulin got a step on Normand Rochefort for the breakaway that Propp rebounded into the tying goal. It was Poulin&rsquo;s second assist of the night, but he wasn&rsquo;t finished yet. In the overtime. he also forced three Quebec giveaways, one of which Tim Kerr missed by inches of turning into the winner.There are nights Sutter looks like a rookie; others he looks like the rookie of the year. But that&rsquo;s no surprise: The Flyers invested the fourth pick of the 1982 draft in the kid and are only beginning to get what they fully expected.Poulin is an absolute revelation.&ldquo;Look at the top five draft picks from the last two years,&rdquo; Bobby Clarke said. &ldquo;Are many of them doing more for their teams than Davey is doing for us?&rdquo;So far, statistically at least, Minnesota&rsquo;s Brian Bellows and Detroit&rsquo;s Steve Yzerman are. Hartford&rsquo;s Sylvain Turgeon has 38 points to Poulin&rsquo;s 36. And a horse of a different position, Buffalo goalie Tom Barrasso, has been excellent, too. But the point is all these players were forecast for stardom. Poulin is an absolute bolt from the blue, a free agent who attracted only a phone call after finishing up his career at Notre Dame.It was a tryout with the Hartford Whalers. And the Flyers can kiss not only Poulin, but their scouts on their backsides that Poulin didn&rsquo;t go.They can also hug Ted Sator. If Sator never diagrams a funcitonal X or O or adds a quicker start to Glen Cochrane&rsquo;s stride, they are forever in their new assistant coach&rsquo;s debt for bringing Poulin with him from Sweden.Sator, upon the recommendation of Michigan state coach Ron Mason, offered Poulin a contract with his Rogle team in Sweden. The First Division is the Swedish equivalent of the American League, but the money looked better to Poulin than a no-guarantee walk-on with Hartford.Poulin scored 62 points in 32 games with Rogle last year. McCammon, impressed with Sator&rsquo;s power-skating instruction at the Flyer rookie camp in September, 1982, made plans to hire him when his contract ran out. In the mean-time. he used Sator as a European birddog.Flyer scout Jerry Melnyk stopped by to see Sator on a trip last winter. Yeah, Sator knew of a couple of Swedes for him to check out. He also knew of a Canadian on his own team that he knew could play in the National Hockey League.&ldquo;Quebec&rsquo;s Swedish scout wanted to sign him,&rdquo; Sator said. &ldquo;Bill Dineen, then a Hartford scout, was with us and kicking the carpet, because the Whalers wouldn&rsquo;t sign him.&rdquo;The Flyers did and sent him to Maine. When he scored 16 points in 16 games while the Flyers groped through March, they decided to bring him up for a look the last weekend of the season. Poulin scored two goals on his first two NHL shots in a game at Toronto. He also scored two more and was the Flyers&rsquo; best player in their desultory three-straight loss to the Rangers.Still, many have flashed in the pan, and when Poulin came to camp this year, the Flyers were still wary whether the guy could really cook. After a summer of working out with Bobby Clarke, Poulin blew every Flyer but Mark Taylor away in the physical testing at the opening of camp. He played so well so early, that Ron Flockhart turned into trade bait for Rich Sutter.Poulin has scored in all but 12 of the Flyers 44 games this year. He has centered Brian Propp to 24 goals and Tim Kerr to 29. Both should be Wales Conference all-stars and are on a pace for their best NHL seasons.Poulin has 11 goals and 25 assists himself. is quick, strong and a relentless forechecker. What the Flyers have really done, one year later, is replace Ken Linseman.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not a bad comparison,&rdquo; McCammon said. &ldquo;End to end, Kenny might be faster and he has that superior hand speed, but Dave gets off the mark just as fast and is just as effective a forechecker without being the irritant Kenny is.&ldquo;He&rsquo;ll make rookie defensive mistakes, but he&rsquo;s much more defensively aware than Kenny. I&rsquo;m not knocking Linseman. Glen Sather, after the Winnipeg series last year, asked how we could ever trade a guy like that. We did it for one reason&mdash;to get Mark Howe, who was the second-best defenseman in the. league last year.&ldquo;And now Poulin comes along and enables us to move Flockhart. And we still look as strong as ever up the middle.&ldquo;We hope Bobby Clarke can still play a lot of years for us. but when he makes that decision, well, you no longer wonder what in the world we&rsquo;ll ever do without him.&ldquo;Poulin and Sutter are good players now. I don&rsquo;t think there&rsquo;s much question that in a year or so they&rsquo;ll be consistent 80-90 point scorers.&ldquo;And they&rsquo;ll be tremendous with more experience. We have a lot of rookies but the number doesn&rsquo;t necessarily mean you&rsquo;re going to go anywhere with them. &#9632;

Poulin, Sutter Are Rookies For The Future

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HOCKEY SCHOOLS…In Western Canada

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HOCKEY SCHOOLS…In Western United States

<div class="byline">BY HOWARD BERGER</div>Organization&hellip;It&rsquo;s the key to success in any venture and a well-organized mom or dad will make life a whole lot easier for their youngster as he prepares to attend hockey camp.Obviously, if your boy is about to attend a resident-overnight camp, he&rsquo;ll need to be fully prepared for all situations before he walks out the door. If he&rsquo;s going to day camp, minor adjustments can be made at home each night, although he&rsquo;ll need to be ready for all of his activities between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.Back to the resident camper&hellip;If your child is about to embark on a two-week stay away from home, there are a number of items he&rsquo;ll need in order to function properly on and off the ice. Most hockey schools include a handy equipment checklist with their application forms and parents are advised to make a thorough rundown of these lists.If your child is going to go on a two-week stay away from home, there are a number of items he&rsquo;ll need to function properly on and off the ice. Most hockey schools include a checklist with their application forms.Of course, a full range of tight-fitting protective gear is mandatory at all hockey schools and is imperative to prevent your boy from injury during on-ice sessions. The following items of equipment should be included:&bull; Skates (very important they fit precisely; buy them from someone who knows what he&rsquo;s talking about).&bull; Shoulder pads.&bull; Hockey gloves.&bull; Garter belt.&bull; Two pairs of long underwear or two undershirts.&bull; Hockey helmet (once again, proper fit is very important).&bull; Mouth guard (mandatory and imperative).&bull; Hockey sticks (usually available for purchase at the camp).&bull; Elbow pads.&bull; Hockey pants.&bull; Hockey socks.&bull; Shin guards.&bull; Athletic support and cup.&bull; Extra socks for skates.Most hockey schools provide campers with complimentary over-garments bearing the camp&rsquo;s colors and logo on the front. Check beforehand to ensure that your boy&rsquo;s camp offers this item and be sure to enclose something similar if it doesn&rsquo;t.Depending on the camp&rsquo;s curriculum, you may also want to send along a baseball glove and tennis racquet. As well, miscellaneous items such as writing pap er, a pen or pencil (for letters home) and, if so desired, a watch, may be included.When packing clothes for your child, try to be practical.Too many parents pack as if they&rsquo;re sending their children off to war for three years. Those heavy, awkward metal trunks are far more of a burden than they&rsquo;re worth and, in most cases, totally unnecessary. A medium-sized duffel bag should suffice in containing enough clothing for a two-or three-week stay and your boy will appreciate not having to lug around a 40-pound box.A well-known hockey school advises that you include the following:&bull; Two pair of pyjamas.&bull; Six pair of socks.&bull; Four or five pair of underwear.&bull; Two pair of shorts.&bull; Six pair of socks.&bull; Three or four shirts.&bull; One light sweater.&bull; Two pair of long pants (one semi-dressy for social functions at night).&bull; One bathing suit.&bull; A light jacket.&bull; At least three towels.&bull; One pair of running shoes.&bull; Three or four T-shirts.&bull; A sweat suit (if your prefer).&bull; A gym bag (also optional).Apart from clothing and equipment, you should be sure your child is in possession of any medical items he may require or medical identification bracelets. All hockey camps require you to fill out medical forms with its applications so that camp staff is familiar with any potential problems that may arise.All camps have 24-hour emergency medical service at hand and a qualified staff trainer and doctor are always on call.Day students must be sure they possess the same items of hockey equipment as resident campers and, in most cases, a box lunch is required each day. Some camps provide hot lunches for day students at their facilities but this is not a rule and it should be checked out beforehand.Finally, it is important to arrange transportation to and from most day schools, although some do provide bus pick-up and drop-off service. Again, this should be checked out well in advance. &#9632;

Preparation Begins, Ends With Checklist

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HOCKEY SCHOOLS…In Quebec& The Maritimes

<div class="byline">BY LOU VAIRO</div>After several good days of practice following our home game with the University of Minnesota Gophers, Team USA travelled to Madison, WI, for a pair of games with the University of Wisconsin Badgers.We flew to Madison the morning of the Friday game and bypassed a morning skate. The players went to the hotel for some rest while I attended the Blue Line Club luncheon. The room was jam-packed with Wisconsin supporters. I have to admire those fans for their support of the Badgers and hockey in general. The luncheon gave us my first opportunity to publicly congratulate coach Jeff Sauer on his team&rsquo;s national championship victory last season.That night we did not play well, but former Badger Marc Behrend was good in goal and we won 4-1. Our players have not played with much enthusiasm of late. They seem to be holding back, as if afraid to get hurt this close to the Olympic Games. It is aggravating to the coaching staff, but we think it is normal. Everyone is looking forward to what is now only weeks away.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-03264/4871394-1-eng-US/f0036-032.jpg" title="f0036-03" width="306" height="358"><figcaption class="caption-body">Lou Vairo&rsquo;s Coach&rsquo;s Corner</figcaption></div>We though the team would be much better in the second game of the series and we were. Over the last two periods of the game (a 4-2 loss), we outshot Wisconsin 34-11, including half a dozen clean breakaways. But their goalie, Gary Baxter, played exceptionally well and they took advantage of a high percentage of their scoring chances.We are hoping our two coming games with Canada will reactivate the team.In practice, we continue to work very hard. We are concerning ourselves with our specialty teams. The staff is studying films of our games against Canada and Finland, as well as films of the other teams in our Olympic division. Dave Peterson and Art Berglund have provided us with excellent scouting reports from the Izvestia tournament.Before putting together our specialty team tactics we wanted to see what our opponents were doing. We will base our tactics on what we see them doing. This has created new enthusiasm in our practices because the boys are learning new things. We will not use these new tactics in games until we get to Europe, but there are no secrets in hockey, anyway. It will all come down to execution at Sarajevo.Tern USA has received requests from NHL teams for players whose rights are owned by those teams. We have denied those requests for several reasons. First, all of the players will be available on a full-time basis in about five weeks. The players have made commitments to our team which they should be allowed to honor to completion.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-04189/4871387-1-eng-US/f0036-042.jpg" title="f0036-04" width="584" height="830"><figcaption class="caption-body">Team USA goalie Marc Behrend came up with a strong game against Wisconsin.</figcaption></div>I don&rsquo;t think we are being selfish in wanting to keep our team together as we prepare for our Olympic competition. It would be unforgivable for player to be hurt while playing for another team. And, very important to remember, the teams own the players&rsquo; rights, not the players!I have respected the decisions of all the players who have decided to turn pro and the teams that signed then and wished them luck. I think our players should get the same respect and our team the same consideration.The U.S. Olympic hockey team is important to all Americans. We have responsibility to our country and its hockey program to put the best team on the ice at Sarajevo that we can. The American public has come out in record numbers to support us with enthusiasm and strong financial backing. We owe it to all America to be the best we can be.Again, let me say the NHL has been extremely supportive of our program but we don&rsquo;t view ourselves as a farm system. We are an elite team entering elite competition. &#9632;

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Responsibility To Our Country Comes First

<div class="byline">BY CHUCK MOODY</div>PITTSBURGH&mdash;The Penguins have continued their losing ways this season, but for the team&rsquo;s best player, center Mike Bullard, this year has been going much better than last.Bullard missed training camp and the first 20 games last year because of mononucleosis. But in the 57 game he played, he tallied 22 goals and 22 assists.&ldquo;I was disapointed because I felt that if 1 hadn&rsquo;t had the injury, I would have had myself a pretty good year,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;But I was kind of pleased with my stats considering I didn&rsquo;t really get going until the end of January.&rdquo;With the possible exception of Pierre Larouche, Bullard has been Pittsburgh&rsquo;s most successful first-round draft choice. The Penguins selected Bullard in 1980 from the Brantford Alexanders of the Ontario Hockey League, where he scored 113 goals and 144 assists in his final 108 games.The Ottawa native set the club record for goals by a rookie in 1981-82 with 36 and he also led the National Hockey League in shooting percentage that season at 25.5.Bullard scored two goals during his first game this year and through his first 38 games tallied 24 goals and 20 assists. He appears sure to be the Penguins&rsquo; representative in the NHL All-Star game.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been working hard the past couple of months,&rdquo; said Bullard. &ldquo;Lou&rsquo;s (coach Lou Angotti) showed the confidence in me. He plays me all the time. Any time a coach shows a lot of confidence in you, it&rsquo;s going to help your game.&ldquo;Lou puts me on the power play, he puts me on the odd time on the penalty killing, plus playing a regular shift. I&rsquo;m getting 30 minutes, 35 minutes a game, and it helps.&ldquo;I came to training camp this year and I was healthy. 1 had a little injury in camp, but I kind of shook that off. I&rsquo;ve been keeping in pretty good shape and trying to stay away from the injuries. So far it&rsquo;s been good to me and I hope it stays out through the whole year. &ldquo;&ldquo;We&rsquo;re just happy to have him on our team,&rdquo; Angotti said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s got a great attitude, he&rsquo;s got a great sense of humor and he&rsquo;s well appreciated by his teammates. I think that&rsquo;s very important. Mike&rsquo;s not the kind of guy who gives you a bad impression.&rdquo;While leading the team in scoring. Bullard also had one of the worst plus-minus figures (minus 19 through 37 games). But that, in part, could be attributed to the inordinate amount of ice time he receives each game.Angotti has increased Bullard&rsquo;s defensive chores.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t even think he realizes just how much talent he has,&rdquo; Angotti said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s responded really well to responsibilities in his own end. I&rsquo;m patient with him there because 1 know that he has good hockey sense in that area.&ldquo;I had a talk with him in training camp and he wants to be an all-around player. That can only enhance his career in terms of longevity. Some players, if they lose anything offensively, still have a value to a hockey team. And I think Mike realizes that.&rdquo;Bullard lists former Montreal Canadien great Jean Beliveau as the player he would like to emulate. The 22-year-old bachelor feels the Penguins are starting to turn things around.&ldquo;We&rsquo;d go in spurts,&rdquo; Bullard said of his team&rsquo;s season. &ldquo;We&rsquo;d play well for awhile, then we&rsquo;d start to play bad. These last couple of games, we&rsquo;ve been playing some really good hockey.&ldquo;The guys are real loose and we&rsquo;re working hard in practice, having fun out there, which is a big thing in hockey. If you&rsquo;re having fun, plus working hard, it takes the pressure off you.&ldquo;Louie&rsquo;s loosened up and he&rsquo;s having fun out there and he&rsquo;s working us. Guys like to play for a person like that. The guys are really getting together now and we&rsquo;re going to make our move.&rdquo;Bullard owns a home in Pittsburgh and is active in the community. He kept a suburban baseball team from going under last summer by contributing money for equipment.&ldquo;I have a couple of friends in South Park and I was out one night with them before I went back home for the summer,&rdquo; he recalled. &ldquo;They were telling me how they weren&rsquo;t going to have a baseball team. I said, &lsquo;Well, here, I&rsquo;ll give you $500 and maybe that&rsquo;ll start your team.&rsquo; They didn&rsquo;t believe me, so I gave them a check and they started off the team and had a pretty good year.&rdquo; &#9632;

Plus-Minus Stats Belie Value Of Bullard

<div class="byline">BY VARTAN KUPELIAN</div>DETROIT&mdash;On the day of the 1983 National Hockey League entry draft, general manager Jimmy Devellano called his No. 1 pick, Steve Yzerman, the cornerstone of his efforts to rebuild the Red Wings. But nobody, not even Jimmy D., expected so much so soon from the 18-year-old center.&ldquo;If somebody would have said he&rsquo;d have this many goals halfway through the season, who would have believed it?&rdquo; said coach Nick Polano. &ldquo;Jimmy and I had him penciled in for 20 goals this season. To say we&rsquo;re happy is, well, understating it.&rdquo;Yzerman is having a splendid rookie season, good enough to become the first Red Wing since goaltender Roger Crozier in 1965 to win the Calder Trophy as the NHL&rsquo;s rookie of the year.In 43 games, Yzerman had 25 goals and 22 assists for 48 points. The&rsquo; NHL record for most goals by a rookie&mdash;Mike Bossy&rsquo;s 53&mdash;is within range, as is Peter Stastny&rsquo;s rookie record for most points, 109. Besides leading all rookie scorers, Yzerman is second among all players in shooting percentage. 33.5.&ldquo;It just means he&rsquo;s a natural, gifted scorer,&rdquo; Polano said of that statistic.Without much doubt, Yzerman is the best thing to happen to the Red Wing organization in many years. Polano believes Yzerman deserves a spot in the All-Star game.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll tell you why&mdash;his point production,&rdquo; Polano said. &ldquo;I can just picture him. He&rsquo;d look good in that game. He wouldn&rsquo;t be at all out of place with all those great players.&rdquo;Yzerman said his only goal this season was to stick with the Wings.&ldquo;I wasn&rsquo;t thinking about 40 games down the road,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I was just thinking about the next day.&ldquo;I think I can play better. I&rsquo;m not playing that well right now. The hardest adjustment is to move it quicker, the pace is a lot quicker. And they&rsquo;re always tying you up here. I don&rsquo;t know how Gretzky does it. He always slips away. Guys are always trying to tie him up and still he always gets away.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s no reason I can&rsquo;t get 25 goals in the second half. I&rsquo;ll take it game-bygame but it&rsquo;s more important to scrape a few victories than to count the goals. I&rsquo;ll just try to keep improving and learning.&rdquo;His most recent lesson came from the very best&mdash;Gretzky&mdash;in a 7-3 Edmonton victory.Meanwhile, the Wings got themselves into a rut, losing four straight&mdash;the last three at home, including a 7-2 loss to Boston.The game marked veteran defenseman Brad Park&rsquo;s first meeting against his former teammates. Park left Boston as a free agent after last season to sign with the Wings.&ldquo;I had to repress the urge to talk to &rsquo;em during the game,&rdquo; Park said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s tough when you know 15, 16 of the guys. I was racking my brain trying to remember their strengths and weaknesses. I think it&rsquo;ll be more emotional when I play against them in Boston, because of the crowd.&rdquo;WING NOTES&mdash;Veteran Rick MacLeish, 34, was acquired from the Philadelphia Flyers for future considerations.&ldquo;They (the Flyers) had the option after 40 games of deciding what they wanted to do with me,&rdquo; said MacLeish. who was a mainstay on Philadelphia&rsquo;s Stanley Cup teams of the mid-&rsquo;70s. &#9632;

Yzerman Surpasses All The Expectations

<div class="byline">BY RANDY SMITH</div>Louisville HockeyHARTFORD&mdash;Traded three times before turning 25, Joel Quenneville is looking for someplace to call home.He may have found it in Hartford.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve really enjoyed this season,&rdquo; said Quenneville, a 6-foot-l, 195-pound defenseman who has been one of the Whalers&rsquo; nicest surprises. &ldquo;I like the team. I&rsquo;ve got a great bunch of guys. And I like the coach. I like the ice time I&rsquo;ve been getting. And I like playing with Risto (Siltanen). We complement each other.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-01459/4871473-1-eng-US/f0038-012.jpg" title="f0038-01" width="594" height="860"><figcaption class="caption-body">Joel Quennevile thought Hartford would be a situation similar to the one in New Jersey.</figcaption></div>Siltanen carries the puck, while Quenneville pretty much stays at home, something he&rsquo;s been without really since being selected by Toronto 21st overall in the 1978 draft.Quenneville has taken some lumps in his pro career, first with the Leafs, then with Colorado-New Jersey and finally with Hartford, but he learned all about hard times before that.&ldquo;I played on maybe the worst junior team ever,&rdquo; said the Windsor native. &ldquo;It was the first year that Windsor had a team in the OHA and we won something like 12 of 66 games. I&rsquo;ll never forget one game, we allowed 81 shots. Can you believe that? We lost 12-4 and our goaltender played great.&rdquo;But there are two sides to playing on a bad team. Quenneville hardly ever left the ice and so he grew as a player.&ldquo;Wayne Maxner had me for three years and he really showed a lot of confidence in me,&rdquo; Quenneville said. &ldquo;I was playing 40 minutes a game and in my second year, I really improved.&rdquo;By Quenneville&rsquo;s draft year, people knew who he was. In his final junior season, he scored 27 goals and 103 points, fancy numbers for a defenseman.Selected by the Leafs, Quenneville played 16 games before joining Toronto.&ldquo;I really thought I had a good rookie year,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It was a treat playing next to Borje Salming. That was my last playoff year.&rdquo;Quenneville said that he was &ldquo;shocked&rdquo; when the Leafs traded him along with Lanny MacDonald to Colorado for Wilf Paiement and Pat Hickey. Quenneville played 244 games with Colorado and then New Jersey, but his initial impression never wore off.&ldquo;In three-and-a-half years, I played with more players than a 10-year veteran,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;They just kept moving players in and out. One year I had at least 40 different teammates. If there was light at the end of the tunnel, I couldn&rsquo;t see it.&rdquo;Quenneville&rsquo;s career took a rather bizarre twist in the summer of 1983. First he was traded to Calgary.&ldquo;My first reaction was good, I&rsquo;ll be on a playoff team again, and I&rsquo;ll be back with Lanny, who&rsquo;s a good friend,&rdquo; he said.Two weeks later, Quenneville was traded again, this time from Calgary to Hartford along with Richie Dunn for Mickey Volcan.&ldquo;At first I thought, oh no, not another place like New Jersey,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;But when I got here, I discovered you really can&rsquo;t compare Hartford to Jersey. There&rsquo;s talent and some depth. Right off the bat, I could see that there was hope here, anyway.&rdquo;Quenneville has distinguished himself by being consistent. His ice time has increased as the season has gone along and he&rsquo;s usually on when the game is being decided.&ldquo;Joe L,&rdquo; said coach Jack (Tex) Evans, who has turned Quenneville&rsquo;s name into a two-syllable word, &ldquo;has been one of our strongest defensemen. He and Chris (Kotsopoulos) have been our two strongest players defensively. I use him to kill penalties and in the last minute. He&rsquo;s played some of his best hockey in clutch situations.&rdquo;Evans relationship with Quenneville is a bit closer than the usual player-coach relationship.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll tell you who Joe L reminds me of,&rdquo; Evans said. &ldquo;Me, when I played. Except that I could skate better, but that&rsquo;s a technicality.&rdquo;Quenneville&rsquo;s career cries out for some stability.The only bad part about Hartford is our division,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Let&rsquo;s be honest. It&rsquo;s tough.&rdquo;But so is Quenneville, a honest player who goes as hard as he can for as long as he can. No one can ask for more, a tidbit that has not been lost on Quenneville&rsquo;s teammates who genuinely like and respect the 25-year-old newcomer.&ldquo;Quennie&rsquo;s helped us a lot,&rdquo; Kotsopoulos said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a good defensive defenseman who does his job. Plus, he&rsquo;s a good guy.&rdquo;Quenneville hasn&rsquo;t bought a house in Hartford yet, but each week, he&rsquo;s getting closer to finding a home.WHALER SCUTTLEBUTT&mdash;Left winger Dan Bourbonnais, up from Binghamton, showed four points, all assists, in his first four games. Defenseman Reid Bailey also has been recalled from Bingo&hellip;Sylvain Turgeon, through 41 games, had 15 power play goals, just one shy of the team record set by Blaine Stoughton and Gordie Howe. &#9632;

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Coach Evans Praises Joe L For Strong Play

<div class="byline">BY TONY GALLAGHER</div>VANCOUVER&mdash;Normally when a team has won only one game in its last nine, there is considerable distress among everyone concerned.Not with the Canucks. They&rsquo;re not worried about that because they have a far greater problem. They hadn&rsquo;t scored in three games and their stretch without a goal in 208 minutes, four seconds is generally believed to be a modem record.The old league record set by the Chicago Black Hawks of the 1928-29 season is eight games without a goal, but in today&rsquo;s era of goals by the bushel, certainly being shutout three in a row and stretching the string to over 10 periods is a remarkably dubious achievement.The last time the Canucks scored a goal was at 16:56 of the second period in a game against the Los Angeles Kings when Moe Lemay pulled the trigger in a 3-3 tie.Following that were three straight 2-0 losses. The first was in Minnesota, where the Canucks scarcely had a scoring opportunity and fully deserved to be shut out. The next night in Chicago, goalie Murray Bannerman&mdash;formerly Vancouver property&mdash;made some brilliant saves in the third period to protect a 1-0 lead which became 2-0 with an empty-net goal in the last minute. In that game, Stan Smyl and Patrik Sundstrom had great chances to not only break the hex but get a tie and acquire some badly-needed road points.The next night in St. Louis against Mike Liut, Vancouver had its best chances in the first period before settling into another two-period slumber.&ldquo;At this rate, we&rsquo;re going to miss the playoffs and win the Vezina,&rdquo; said coach Roger Neilson after the Blues&rsquo; loss.John Garrett, the third straight Canuck goalie to lose 2-0, said, &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a mental block. We just don&rsquo;t seem to deserve to score.&rdquo;The drought has brought some controversy to the city with just about every newsman in TV and radio making some crack about the problem. Former Vancouver goalie Cesare Maniago even got into the act, calling it &ldquo;amazing.&rdquo;&ldquo;The goalie should say to the forwards, &lsquo;Never mind me. I&rsquo;ll take care of the goal. You guys go and get one,&rsquo;&rdquo; Maniago advised. &ldquo;Because the longer it goes on like this, the more difficult it gets.&rdquo;While there has been discomfort about the club, general manager Harry Neale claims he isn&rsquo;t about to push the panic button.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m trying hard to make a trade but I don&rsquo;t see any reason to move a player who can help us for someone who isn&rsquo;t going to play for us next year,&rdquo; said Neale.Center Thomas Gradin believed the team is playing too defensively.&ldquo;For sure when you&rsquo;re not scoring, you have to push forward and not forget about defense but think much more about creating plays,&rdquo; he said.&ldquo;The worse thing about this is earlier in the year when we were scoring all those goals, we couldn&rsquo;t keep it out of our own net,&rdquo; said Neilson. &ldquo;Now, it&rsquo;s exactly the opposite.&rdquo;Captain Smyl, who generally says what he thinks, believes the problem is not one of lack of effort but bad luck and a hex.&ldquo;I know we are working hard enough, I can see the effort from the bench,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I still feel very good about the players we have in this room. I&rsquo;m happier with this group than any other group of players we&rsquo;ve had since the Stanley Cup final.&rdquo;Meanwhile, the Canucks are still carrying three goaltenders, all of them playing incredibly well given the circumstances. Garrett&rsquo;s game in St. Louis was his first start in five weeks and he was as sharp as he&rsquo;s been all year. &#9632;

Canucks Can’t Buy Themselves A Goal

<div class="byline">BY RICK SADOWSKI</div>LOS ANGELES&mdash;Is Marco Baron the goaltender who will lead the Kings to the promised land&mdash;in this case, into second place in the Smythe Division?The Kings, who already tried five different goaltenders in the past two years, acquired the 24-year-old Baron from Boston on Jan. 3 in exchange for minor-league right winger Bob Laforest hand he came through in splendid fashion in his debut, a 7-1 victory over Calgary four nights later.&ldquo;I thought he played great,&rdquo; coach Don Perry said after Baron turned back 26 shots and limited a Kings&rsquo; opponent to under two goals for the first time all year. &ldquo;He came up with some really big saves. If he can play like this all the time&hellip;&rdquo;Goaltending coach Rogie Vachon was just as pleased. The Kings acquired Baron&mdash;his understudy for two years in Boston&mdash;on his recommendation and the newcomer made him look good.&ldquo;When I was in Boston, he was the best goaltender there two years in a row and he was the first one sent down.&rdquo; said Vachon, who retired following the 198182 season.Vachon played in 38 games that year, posting a 3.66 goals-against average; Baron worked in a team-high 44 games and had a 3.44 average, yet he didn&rsquo;t play at all in the playoffs. Mike Moffat was in goal for 11 of the Bruins&rsquo; 12 post-season games.&ldquo;They were very high on Moffat,&rdquo; Vachon said. &ldquo;Obviously. Marco and management did not get along very well. But I&rsquo;m very high on the guy. I think he can play.&rdquo;Baron, Boston&rsquo;s sixth-round draft choice in 1979. had been playing for Moncton of the American Hockey League for all of this season after former King Doug Keans won the back-up job behind All-Star Pete Peeters.Baron played in 16 games with the Alpines and had a 3.16 average, sixth-best in the AHL, after missing a month with a groin pull.&ldquo;This year in camp, I think my status was kind of settled,&rdquo; Baron said. &ldquo;I think they knew what they had in mind for me all along.&ldquo;I had a chance to be the back-up and I thought things had gone fairly well, but I only played in one exhibition game&mdash;we won&mdash;and I didn&rsquo;t play in any more games after that.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s hard for me to make a judgment on what they had in mind, but I had kind of given up hope. And my wife (Sylvie) just had our first baby three weeks ago (a son, Matthew), so I&rsquo;ve been preoccupied with that. I haven&rsquo;t had much time to think about the Bruins.&rdquo;Baron said his relationship with Boston coach Gerry Cheevers&mdash;another former goaltender of some note&mdash;was good, but that he had encountered some difficulty when Cheevers tried to alter his style.&ldquo;Rogie won&rsquo;t change your style,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;but he&rsquo;ll tell you small things that will complement your style. I think that&rsquo;s the way it should be.&ldquo;I come out of my net quite a bit, maybe too much at time, and I tend to butterfly&rsquo; on shots in close. But this year I&rsquo;ve been trying to stand up more and challenge the shooters.&ldquo;All I want now is a chance.&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Sometimes a change of scenery is a good thing and I&rsquo;m very, very happy about this trade.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m sure being with Rogie again will help quite a bit. We played together for over a year and he was great. I used to tell everyone what a good instructor he is, which is only natural because he was one of the best, if not the best, goaltender ever to play this game.&rdquo;One other thing: Baron said he prefers to see &ldquo;lots of shots,&rdquo; that they &ldquo;force me to concentrate and keep me in the game.&rdquo;Looks like Baron has come to the right team.KING NOTEBOOK&mdash;Right winger Ken Houston, who had missed 16 straight games with a sprained right knee, returned to the lineup on Jan. 7&hellip;Defenseman Jay Wells has missed nine straight with a sprained right ankle&hellip;Center Wes Jarvis suffered a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee and was expected to miss at least a week&hellip;The Kings are in the process of buying out the two years remaining on goaltender Mario Lessard&rsquo;s contract. Lessard, who had played in only five games with New Haven after being sent down on Nov. 8, is back at his Sherbrooke. Que., home.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-01431/4871528-1-eng-US/f0039-012.jpg" title="f0039-01" width="597" height="808"><figcaption class="caption-body">Marco Baron admitted his mind had been more concerned with the birth of his baby boy.</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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Vachon Gives Baron New Home With Kings

<div class="byline">BY WALT MacPEEK</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0040-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-01192/4871559-1-eng-US/f0040-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">A year ago, Hector Marini was on his way to the All-Star game. Now, he&rsquo;s been sent to Maine of the American League.</figcaption></div>EAST RUTHERFORD&mdash;What a difference a year makes. Or, sometimes, what a difference a coaching change can make.A year ago, Hector Marini owned three of the New Jersey Devils&rsquo; eight game-winning goals and was headed for an appearance in the National Hockey League All-Star game at Nassau Coliseum. Less than a month before the Devils were to host the 1984 All-Star game, Marini learned that he had been placed on non-recallable waivers.Marini&rsquo;s demotion to Maine of the American Hockey League was not the only move the Devils announced on Jan. 9 as general manager Max McNab announced &ldquo;an end to the moratorium&rdquo; on personnel changes.Having completed a re-evaluation of their personnel, McNab and assistant GM-coach Tom McVie are apparently ready to put their own stamp on the Devils.McNab&rsquo;s first free-agent purchase was goalie Steve Baker, a former Ranger who had failed in recent tryouts with Hartford and Boston. Among other things, the move seemed to be an acknowledgement that the Devils had lost their bid to sign free-agent goalie Bob Mason of the U.S. Olympic team.Mason had indicated earlier this season that he was leaning toward the Devils but the firing of GM-coach Billy Mac-Millan eliminated New Jersey&rsquo;s edge and the Washington Capitals have since become the favorite.Baker, who signed a Maine contract, is still young (26). has a lifetime NHL record of 20-20-11 and is extremely anxious to come back to the New York metropolitan area to show the Rangers that they were wrong to let him go.The differences in approach between MacMillan and the McNab-McVie management team are so drastic that player values have changed drastically over the last two months.While MacMillan may have been guilty of giving the Devils&rsquo; young players too much responsibility too soon, McVie has displayed the opposite tendencies. He plays only a small group of the more dependable veterans over the final 20 or 30 minutes as though the Devils were battling for a playoff spot.As a result, a number of the more promising young Devils, have become forgotten players when the ice time really matters. In fact, one of these players, Jeff Larmer, was dealt to Chicago for veteran winger Tim Higgins.Even more surprising has been the sudden fall from grace of a large group of ex-Islanders and others who were associated closely with MacMillan. In the difficult and insecure world of National Hockey League coaches, a little &ldquo;Empire building&rdquo; is not at all unusual but it is nevertheless strange to see veteran defensemen such as Bob Lorimer and Dave Lewis pushed into the background for no apparent reason.Among others feeling the push was Don Lever, who was stripped of his captaincy by McVie on Jan. 9 without any real explanation.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t imagine Donnie feels tremendous about it, but that&rsquo;s life,&rdquo; McVie declared. &ldquo;If I&rsquo;ve made some waves, too bad. That&rsquo;s the way I want it.&ldquo;I have not one bad thing to say about Don Lever as captain, but I want Mel as my captain and he has accepted the responsibility.&rdquo;Lever not only lost his captaincy, but, appears to have forfeited his spot on a line with Bobby MacMillan and Bridgman in favor of Paul Gagne, who has become McVie&rsquo;s &ldquo;special project.&rdquo;With Lever out with an injury, the Bridgman line sparked the Devils to back-to-back, 3-1 and 7-4 victories over Pittsburgh.In their first four games as a unit, the Bridgman line collected seven goals and nine assists.MacMillan, the former coach&rsquo;s younger brother, has accounted for four goals and two assists and McVie seems to relish the fact that the veteran has been more productive since he took over.&ldquo;I knew Bobby was far from finished the first game I saw,&rdquo; claims McVie. &ldquo;They (older brother Billy) had him playing center. 1 have no comment about that.&rdquo;And then, of course, McVie makes the comment he does not have: &ldquo;1 saw him score 80 goals playing right wing,&rdquo; the new Devil coach recalls pointedly.HOT STUFF&mdash;Hector Marini exits with two goals and two assists in 32 games. A year ago at this time, Hector had collected 13 goals and 14 assists for 27 points, including three game-winning goals and two-game-tying goals. Even under Bill MacMillan, however, he fell off during the second half of lost season and was benched a lot early this season. Sixteen of this 17 goals last season came after his All-Star appearance at Nassau Coliseum. He was chosen as a replacement right winger by his former coach, Al Arbour, after being recommended by MacMillan for his strong first half effort. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s in my best interests to get out of here,&rdquo; Marini said after being put on waivers. &ldquo;It has been eating away at me, not playing. I never really got a chance after Tommie got here.&rdquo;&hellip;Steve Baker is a big (6-foot-3, 200 pounds) confident goalie who says he has matured a great deal since his rookie season (1979-80). He was the Rangers&rsquo; fourth-round choice in the 1977 draft. Last season, Baker was 0-1-0 with the Rangers but, at the time of the Devils&rsquo; purchase, held the distinction of being the last goalie to prevent Wayne Gretzky from notching a point (a 3-1 loss to Edmonton on March 11, 1983). &#9632;

f0040-01

Marini Becomes Victim Of McVie’s Purge

<div class="byline">BY BARRY MEISEL</div>Louisville HockeyHERSHEY&mdash;Pat Riggin needed work and the Bears happily obliged in the goalie&rsquo;s American Hockey League debut, a 4-2 victory over the Binghamton Whalers that prevented them from leapfrogging over the Bears and out of the Southern Division cellar.Hershey was forced to defend two five-on-three power plays, a five-minute power play and three other shorthanded situations. Although Riggin allowed two Ross Yates&rsquo; power-play goals, he stopped Binghamton&rsquo;s other 32 shots to earn his first victory this season.The 21 National Hockey League general managers didn&rsquo;t see Riggin&rsquo;s name on the waiver wire because the 24-year-old agreed to the demotion, a maximum of two weeks labor on the Washington Capitals&rsquo; AHL farm. Riggin, who last played a minor-league game for the 1979-80 Birmingham Bulls of the CHL, was 0-8-2 for Washington this season with a bloated 4.69 goals-against average.&ldquo;I okayed it, I haven&rsquo;t been waived,&rdquo; Riggin said of his reassignment, after Hershey stopped Binghamton for the fifth time in five games this season. &ldquo;The way I feel, I need to play some games. Like right now, I&rsquo;m really tired. I thought I&rsquo;d be ready to play, but after sitting for about a month, I realize I could use a couple of games.&rdquo;Four times this season the last-place Whalers climbed to within one point of the sixth-place Bears. Each time, Hershey came up with victories&mdash;two over Binghamton&mdash;to hold onto sixth. The 42 win lifted the Bears to within two points of fifth-place St. Catharines and five of fourth-place New Haven.Binghamton, which has maintained a stronghold on the Southern basement since the first week of the season, threatened Hershey before, but the Bears won at Nova Scotia, at Baltimore and home-and-home against the Whalers.&ldquo;They were right on our butts,&rdquo; said defenseman Larry Melnyk after the 4-2 win. &ldquo;We figured we&rsquo;d better get going. And we wanted to play well in front of our fans.&rdquo;With good reason. Before Riggin&rsquo;s premiere performance, the Bears were 1-6-4 in their last 11 games at Hersheypark Arena. Riggin ended that slump with superb netminding and an assist on the winning goal late in the second period.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know what&rsquo;s going to happen,&rdquo; the goalie said afterwards. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s up to the Caps. I just want to work hard. I don&rsquo;t believe I&rsquo;m a minor-league goalie, but I worked myself into a minor-league situation.&rdquo;AROUND THE SOUTH&mdash;Hershey lost forward Bryan Erickson and defenseman Darren Veitch to Washington, left winger Geoff Courtnall to Boston and defenseman Brian Curran for the season with a hairline fracture of the ankle.Ross Yates extended his consecutive game point-scoring streak to 19 on the Whalers&rsquo; five-day, four-game road trip, in which they went 1-3. The AHL record is 28, set by teammate Bob Sullivan two seasons ago. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s so far off. I&rsquo;m not thinking about it,&rdquo; Yates said. &ldquo;Talk to me if it gets to 24, 25.&rdquo; Binghamton, without forwards Randy Pierce (broken thumb), Dan Bourbonnais (in Hartford) and defensemen Reid Bailey (in Hartford), Jeff Brownschidle (broken wrist) and Darren McKay (concussion), lost defenseman Tom Cronin during a 6-3 loss at Rochester with a severely lacerated nose. Binghamton played its final two games of the trip with only 15 skaters. The one win came&mdash;where else?&mdash;in St. Catharines&rsquo; Garden City Arena. Yates scored a goal and two assists in the final period to key a 5-3 come-from-behind triumph. The Whalers have won seven straight over the Saints in St. Catharines and are 7-1 lifetime. The win was goalie Paul Flicker&rsquo;s first since Nov. 3, snapping an 0-8-1 winless streak.&ldquo;They just bring out the worst in us,&rdquo; was coach Doug Carpenter&rsquo;s explanation for the hex the Whalers have over the Saints, who have little trouble beating Binghamton in the Broome County Arena. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think it&rsquo;s psychological,&rdquo; Carpenter added. &ldquo;We just don&rsquo;t come up with the good effort against them here.&rdquo; The Binghamton jinx cost the Saints goalie Nick Ricci, who pulled a hamstring and will be out two weeks, and defenseman Craig Muni, who&rsquo;ll miss a minimum of two weeks with a partially separated shoulder. Despite losing twice at home to Binghamton in seven days, St. Catharines pulled to within three points of fourth by winning three other contests. Goalie Bruce Dowie was promoted from Muskegon of the International League to replace Ricci. Right winger Frank Nigro was sent down by Toronto.An AHL season-high crown of 8,835 poured into the Baltimore Civic Center on Sports Bag Night to see the division-leading Skipjacks continue their mastery of the Rochester Amerks. Paul Gardner scored a goal and two assists and Jim Ralph stopped 29 of 31 shots top key the 4-2 win, Baltimore&rsquo;s fifth in seven meets with Rochester.In the loss to Baltimore, Amerk coach Joe Crozier protested the width of Ralph&rsquo;s goalie stick. Ralph was penalized after his stick was found to be one-quarter inch too wide, but it took 10 minutes for the game to resume because the Baltimore trainers had to fetch a legal stick.The Springfield Indians extended their winning streak to five and pulled to within four points of Rochester with a 4-2 win at Adirondack. &#9632;

Caps’ Riggin Makes Return To The Minors

<div class="byline">BY MIKE KANE</div>GLENS FALLS&mdash;While their numbers on the power play, penalty killing and goals for and against would lead you to think otherwise, the Adirondack Red Wings are very much in the thick of the competitive Northern Division race.Despite having given up 22 more power-play goals than they have scored and holding just a five-goal edge over their opponents in the first 42 games of the season, the Red Wings are in the midst of the finest season in their five-year history. Coach Bill Dineen has had to contend with some staggering manpower problems along the way, but has guided the Wings to a 20-15-7 record that has them in second place in the division, four points behind Fredericton and two ahead of Nova Scotia and Moncton.Dineen has shown through the first half of the season that four years in scouting haven&rsquo;t robbed him of the skills he had developed as the highly-successful coach of the Houston Aeros in the WHA during the &rsquo;70s. He has molded a group of veterans and rookies into a team that is a terror at the Glens Falls Civic Center and has shown signs that it may be able to win on the road.Although he doesn&rsquo;t discount talent as an important element in the team&rsquo;s success to date. Dineen points to another item first.&ldquo;Attitude has so much to do with it,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I think the new guys coming in, (Andre) St. Laurent, (Bob) Manno and now (Barry) Melrose, their attitudes have been excellent. I think that has been a big factor. Even when we were shorthanded, nobody got down.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been in the situation before, not here, and I think attitude is such a big part of it. If the overall attitude of your club is good, it certainly is a big factor in your percentage of winning. You can have all of the talent in the world, but if you don&rsquo;t have the attitude, you&rsquo;re going to have problems. &ldquo;Among the obstacles Dineen has had to hurdle in the first three months of the season have been injuries and recalls. They have combined to leave Adirondack shorthanded for all but about five of the first 42 games. For much of the time, Adirondack has been two or three men short, but the situation reached a crisis stage around Christmas when just 14 skaters and one goalie were available for a game at Binghamton. Curiously enough, the Wings twice held two-goal leads in the game and had to settle for a 6-6 tie.Since the start of the season, Randy Ladouceur, Jody Gage, Joe Paterson, Brad Smith, Claude Loiselle and Corrado Micalef have been called up to Detroit and Charlie Skjodt, Derek Smith, Dennis Polonich and Randy MacGregor have suffered injuries that have kept them out of the lineup for at least two weeks. Gage and Brad Smith have been returned, St. Laurent, Manno and Melrose have been sent down from Detroit and MacGregor and Skjodt are now off the injured list. After 31 consecutive games playing shorthanded, the Wings now have a full lineup. When Derek Smith (finger) and Polonich (shoulder) are able to come back, probably near the end of hte month, the Wings will actually have an excess of players.Dineen will need the horses if he is to keep the Wings in a challenging position in the second half of the season. They face the prospect of playing 22 of their final 38 games on the road, a place where they&rsquo;ve won just four and tied three in the first 18 games of the season. Finding a way to win away from the Civic Center is Dineen&rsquo;s biggest concern.&ldquo;I think more than anything is the importance of winning on the road,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s going to be a big factor in where we end up.&rdquo;Gage, Don Murdoch and Gerard Gallant lead the balanced Adirondack attack. In 35 games, Gage has scored 19 goals and 36 points. Murdoch has a team-high 21 goals and 35 points in 42 games, while Gallant, a rookie left winger, has scored 10 goals and 32 points in 42 games. St. Laurent and Manno have been big contributors since joining the Wings just before Christmas. In 12 games, St. Laurent has seven goals and 18 points and Manno has five goals and 16 assists.Balance has been Dineen&rsquo;s favorite word since the start of the season and it accurately describes his club. So far, everyone has had a hand in the success&mdash;and in the failures. Dineen says its hard to put a finger on exactly what makes the Wings go.&ldquo;They&rsquo;ve varied at different parts of the year,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;like Loiselle&rsquo;s line (with Murdoch and Gallant) was going so well just before he left. Then, of course, St. Laurent and Manno came down and picked it up. Our goaltending has been good, I&rsquo;m satisfied with that, and our defense has played well.&ldquo;The way I&rsquo;m thinking, we should be way out front in first place, but there have been some circumstances involved.&rdquo;AROUND THE DIVISION&mdash;Springfield goalie Gil Hudon turned in a brilliant 51-save effort on Jan. 11 that carried the Indians to a 4-2 win over Adirondack at the Glens Falls Civic Center. It was Adirondack&rsquo;s first home loss since a 5-3 setback against Nova Scotia on Nov. 23., ending the streak the Wings went 7-0-3. Overall, they are 16-4-4 at home&hellip;The Sherbrooke Jets have been having all kinds of trouble on the road and have lost 16 straight. Adirondack and Sherbrooke hold the season-high streaks for home-ice success and road failure, respectively. Sherbrooke&rsquo;s last road win occurred Oct. 16 at New&rsquo; Haven&hellip;Goalie Brian Ford was reassigned to Fredericton from Quebec. To make room for Ford, who beat New Haven 7-3 in his first game back, the Express returned Michel Dufour to Milwaukee of the International League. Jean-Francois Sauve has been Fredericton&rsquo;s big gun, averaging two points a game. Garth Butcher has returned to the Express lineup after missing a month with an ankle injury&hellip;Sherbrooke will lose defenseman Steven Fletcher for three games through an automatic suspension. Michel Lanouette has joined the Jets from Winston-Salem of the Atlantic Coast League&hellip;Nova Scotia snapped a five-game losing streak by defeating New Haven 6-3. Whitney Richardson has signed with the Vees&hellip;Ray Cote and Tom Gorence were recalled from Moncton by Edmonton and veteran Tom Rowe is sidelined with a pinched nerve in his neck&hellip;Maine has been having problems winning lately and has been unable to make up any ground on the top four teams. The Mariners received forward Hector Marini on loan from New Jersey. The Devils also signed former Ranger goalie Steve Baker and sent him to Maine. Like most of the other teams in the division, the Mariners have been shorthanded. That situation may be remedied this month when Yvan Joly, Mike Stothers and Carmine Cirella return from the injured list. &#9632;

Wings Keep On Rolling With The Right Attitude

<div class="byline">BY BUD GALLMEIER</div>INDIANAPOLIS&mdash;The International Hockey League has added eight players for the league&rsquo;s all-star game against the U.S. Olympic team on Jan. 17 in Kalamazoo.Three are from Peoria (defenseman Steve Harrison, center Grant Rezansoff and right winger Ian Maclnnis); two from Flint (center Tony Fiore and left winger Pierre Giroux) and Muskegon (left wingers Scott Gruhl and Neil Hawryliw); and one from Kalamazoo (defenseman Scott McGeown).Bill Inglis of Toledo and J. P. LeBlanc of Kalamazoo will coach.As the all-star break approached, Fort Wayne was playing its best hockey of the season. The Komets reeled off three victories in a row, including an overtime thriller at Kalamazoo. The second of Doug Rigler&rsquo;s two goals gave the Komets a 7-6 triumph.The Komets continued to generate a lot of offense as they whipped first-place Milwaukee 8-2 and 7-1 in home games. Fort Wayne has lost just once in the last five games. The streak gives the Komets a cushion as they play three straight on the road.MILWAUKEE&mdash;The Admirals are suffering through a mid-season slump but continue to skate ahead of the pack. Milwaukee lost three straight during the week, snapping the skid with a 5-2 win over Peoria. Two of the losses were on the road, 6-3 at Flint and 8-2 at Fort Wayne. Returning home, the Admirals continued to misfire, losing 6-3 to Kalamazoo.TOLEDO&mdash;The Goaldiggers also had troubles on the road, starting with a 9-2 blowout in Muskegon and ending in a 5-1 loss in Flint. In between, the Diggers won a pair of home games, beating Peoria 6-4 and Flint 6-3. Dave Falken-berg notched a hat trick over Peoria.FLINT&mdash;The Generals also enjoyed a .500 week. Point-wise, it was a alittle better. Flint picked up five of a possible eight points, as the Generals salvaged a point in a 6-5 overtime loss to Kalamazoo. The week featured a 6-3 win over Milwaukee and a 5-1 romp over Toledo. The other loss was 6-3 in Toledo.PEORIA&mdash;The Prancers continued to have trouble winning just once in three outings. The loan victory was a 6-4 win over Muskegon which gave Peoria an even split in a two-game series. The Mohawks won the first game 7-2. Other losses were 6-4 at Toledo and 5-2 at Milwaukee.KALAMAZOO&mdash;The K-Wings found the secret to winning on the road again, posting a pair of victories.MUSKEGON&mdash;The Mohawks have suddenly become an explosive hockey team. The last-place Hawks erupted for 20 goals in three gams during the week and posted a pair of victories while dropping one. &#9632;

Eight Players Are Added For IHL’s All-Star Game

<div class="byline">BY JIM SCHNEIDER</div>BIG RAPIDS&mdash;League-leading Bowling Green used a three-goal weekend by junior center Dan Kane to beat Ferris State 5-2 and tie 5-5 to gain ground on both Ohio State and Michigan State in Central Collegiate Hockey Association action.Ferris State jumped to a 2-0 lead against BG in the opener with Graham Craig and Paul Couture scoring the goals, but the score was 2-2 after two periods with Wayne Wilson and Dave Randerson scoring the goals.Kane scored the winner at 4:29 of the third period on the power play, with George Roll and John Samanski adding insurance.The rematch was a game of streaks with the host Bulldogs taking leads of 2-1 and 5-4 before the Falcons tied the game on Kane&rsquo;s second goal of the game at 17:07 of the third period, assisted by Garry Galley and Mike Pikul. Jim File had three assists in the second game for Ferris State and freshman Ray Zabel scored his first career goal.In other league action, Ohio State and Michigan State split a showdown series in Columbus with the host Buckeyes winning the opener 4-2 on the strength of a three-goal first period, while the Spartans gained the split with a 5-3 win on three goals in the third period of the second game.Miami divided a pair of games at home with Michigan Tech winning 7-4 after a 6-5 MTU win in the opener. Michigan topped Illinois-Chicago 3-2 to gain a split after UIC won the opener 4-2 and Western Michigan beat Northern Michigan 42 in the second game after host NMU took an 8-7 win in the opener.In non-league play, Allan Butler scored four goals to lead Lake Superior to a 6-1,5-4 sweep of Michigan-Dearborn.Lyle Phair gave Michigan State a 1-0 lead in the opener at Ohio State, but Andy Browne tied the game midway through the first period and then the Pooley brothers, Paul and Perry, scored 12 seconds apart to give OSU a 3-1 lead. Dave Kobryn pushed the led to 4-1 before MSU&rsquo;s Tom Anastos closed out the scoring with the second period powerplay goal. OSU&rsquo;s John Dougan made 39 saves in the win, but faced just 23 shots in the rematch, making 19 saves.MSU&rsquo;s freshman defenseman Don McSween scored two goals in the rematch with a shorthanded goal at 13:01 of the first period and he scored the winning goal at 6:38 of the third period to snap a 3-3 tie.OSU&rsquo;s Paul Pooley, although limited to three points in the series, did extend his point-scoring streak to 41 games.Miami&rsquo;s Greg Lukas scored three goals and added five assists for an eight-point series against Michigan Tech to earn CCHA player of the week honors.Michigan Tech won the opener 6-5 as freshman Dave Roach made 49 saves. Miami had its power play working, scoring four times in just five goals with Mark Maroste&rsquo;s second goal snapping a 5-5 tie at 18:59 of the third period.Tech grabbed a 3-1 lead in the first period of the second game, but the host Redskins scored six of the final seven goals of the game for the win with Lukas and John Ciotti each scoring two goals. Lukas collected his 100th career point during the opener.Illinois-Chicago jumped to a 3-0 lead in the first period of the opener against Michigan on goals by Ray Staszak, Greg Hooper an Daryl Seltenreich and the Flames held on as goalie Jim Hickey made 25 saves. Hickey started as a replacement for the injured Jon Whelen.The Wolverines battled back to win the second game with six regulars out of the lineup and just three lines available for the game. UIC took leads of 1-0 and 2-1 in the first period on goals by Seltenreich and Mike Rucinski, but Dave McIntyre and Doug May, who played left wing in the opener and defense in the second game, scored the tying goals for Michigan. Freshman right winger Dan Goff scored his first caeer goal, assisted by his brother Pat Goff and Chris Seychel at 6:24 of the third period and the Wolverines held on behind Mark Chiamp&rsquo;s 27 saves.Western Michigan jumped to a 4-2 lead in the opener at Northern Michigan, but the host Wildcats scored six goals in the second period with Gary Emmons and Dave Mogush collecting hat tricks to take the game 8-7 despite a hat trick by WMU&rsquo;s Dan Dorion.The first period of the second game was goalless and NMU took second-period leads of 1-0 and 2-1, but the Broncos gained the win scoring three powerplay goals as Stu Burnie scored the game-winning goal.CCHA NOTES&mdash;OSU&rsquo;s Paul Pooley now has a point in 41 straight games, while WMU&rsquo;s Dan Dorion has scored in 29 straight games. Dorion&rsquo;s streak in 1983-84 is 26 games, while Pooley&rsquo;s current streak is 24 games. &#9632;

Kane Has Bowling Green Hot On The Trail

When playoff time rolls around in the Eastern Colleges Athletic Conference, the University of New Hampshire figures to be a force, thanks in part to junior goalie Bruce Gillies.Gillies posted three impressive victories for the period ending Jan. 17 to earn the nod as the Bauer College Player of the Week.Gillies made 43 saves in a win over Clarkson; 45 saves in a win over St. Lawrence and 28 saves in a victory over RPI.He&rsquo;s one big reason why the University of New Hampshire has a 6-0 record in league play and should challenge once the playoffs get underway.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-01157/4871710-1-eng-US/f0043-012.jpg" title="f0043-01" width="572" height="676"><figcaption class="caption-body">BRUCE GILLIES New Hampshire</figcaption></div>At the end of the season, THE HOCKEY NEWS will select a Bauer College Player of the Year. &#9632;

f0043-01

Bauer Player of the week

<h2>CCHA CONFERENCE</h2>(Standings on Fri. Jan. 20)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-01146/4871804-1-eng-US/f0044-012.jpg" title="f0044-01" width="556" height="348"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Denver 9, Ill-Chicago 7Denver 7, Ill-Chicago 3Miami 3, Minnesota 3Minnesota 8, Miami 2Wisconsin 2, N. Michigan 1Wisconsin 5, N. Michigan 4Miami 6, Minn-Duluth 2Bowling Green 8, Michigan 2Michigan 6, Bowling Green 5Ferris State 4, W. Michigan 4Ferris State 7, W. Michigan 3Ill-Chicago 6, Mich Tech 1Mich Tech 6, Ill-Chicago 4Mich State 9, Miami 1Mich State 9, Miami 3Ohio State 8, Lake Superior 2Ohio State 5, Lake Superior 4Bowling Green 5, Ferris State 2Bowling Green 5. Ferris State 5Ill-Chicago 4, Michigan 2Michigan 3, Ill-Chicago 2Ohio State 4, Mich. State 2Mich. State 5, Ohio State 2Michigan Tech 6, Miami 5Miami 7, Michigan Tech 4N. Michigan 8, W. Michigan 7W. Michigan 4, N. Michigan 2Lake Superior 6, Mich-Dearborn 1Lake Superior 5, Mich-Dearborn 4<h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-0298/4871797-1-eng-US/f0044-022.jpg" title="f0044-02" width="552" height="354"></div><h2>WCHA CONFERENCE</h2>(Standings on Fri. Jan. 20)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-0363/4871790-1-eng-US/f0044-032.jpg" title="f0044-03" width="552" height="206"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>North Dakota 6, Denver 5North Dakota 7, Denver 6Min-Duluth 7, Wisconsin 1Min-Duluth 6, Wisconsin 4Colorado Coll. 4, Minnesota 3Minnesota 4, Colorado Coll. 1<h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-0449/4871783-1-eng-US/f0044-042.jpg" title="f0044-04" width="554" height="266"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-0540/4871776-1-eng-US/f0044-052.jpg" title="f0044-05" width="544" height="121"></div><h2>ECAC CONFERENCE</h2>(Standings on Tue. Jan. 17)<h3>EAST DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-0633/4871769-1-eng-US/f0044-062.jpg" title="f0044-06" width="549" height="204"></div><h3>WEST DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-0731/4871762-1-eng-US/f0044-072.jpg" title="f0044-07" width="543" height="174"></div><h3>IVY DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-0823/4871755-1-eng-US/f0044-082.jpg" title="f0044-08" width="551" height="196"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Northeastern 9, Boston College 4Colgate 7, Brown 2RPI 5, Clarkson 2Cornell 6, Harvard 5Princeton 9, Yale 2Boston University 3, Maine 2Providence 2, Boston College 1Cornell 6. Princeton 4Maine 5, Harvard 4Boston College 6, Princeton 5Providence 5, Yale 1Boston Univ. 6, No. Arizona 5Colgate 7, Union 4Cornell 6, Princeton 4Dartmouth 5, Maine 2Boston Coll. 3, Harvard 1RPI 12, Lowell 3St. Lawrence 7, Vermont 1No. Arizona 6, New Hampshire 4Clarkson, Princeton 2Lowell 4, No. Arizona 3St. Lawrence 4, Harvard 3Clarkson 4, Harvard 1Cornell 6, Providence 5RPI 9, Dartmouth 2Boston Univ. 5, Princeton 2Brown 5, Northeastern 3N. Hampshire 5, Clarkson 3Vermont 6, Dartmouth 4Boston College 4, Boston Univ. 3N. Hampshire 5, St. Lawrence 4Yale 3, Colgate 0RPI 6, Maine 3Harvard 2, Providence 0Army 5, Trinity 1Boston Collge 3, Cornell 1Clarkson 4, Vermont 2Boston Univ. 2, Colgate 1Brown 7, Cornell 2Dartmouth 4, Yale 3Lowell 6, Maine 2N. Hampshire 2, RPI 1Northeastern 9, St. Lawrence 8Army 6, Merrimack 2St. Lawrence 6, Dartmouth 3Bowdoin 4, N. Hampshire 3<h3>TOURNAMENT RESULTS</h3>JENO&rsquo;S HOLIDAY CLASSICLake Superior 4, Min-Duluth 3Boston College 9, Ferris State 6Boston College 6, Lake Superior 4Min-Duluth 7, Ferris State 2Lake Superior 5, Ferris State 5Boston College 6, Min-Duluth 4(Boston College won tournament)GREAT LAKES INVITATIONALMich State 5, N. Michigan 1Mich Tech 5, Michigan 4ConsolationN. Michigan 5, Michigan 3ChampionshipMich State 6, Mich Tech 2(Mich State wins tournament)<h3>FIRST INTER-STATE CLASSIC</h3>Northeastern 5, UBC 2North Dakota 4, Boston College 3Anchorage-Alaska 8, Colo. College 3Dalhousie 13, Japan Selects 1Boston College 4, UBC 3Colo. College 10, Japan Selects 2UBC 6, Japan Selects 2Boston College 4, Colo. College 3Dalhousie 7, Northeastern 4Semi-finalsNorth Dakota 8, Northeastern 5Anchorage-Alaska 5, Dalhousie 2FinalsNorth Dakota 3, Anchorage-Alaska 2(North Dakota wins tournament)<h2>ONTARIO CONFERENCE</h2>(Standings on Mon. Jan. 16)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-0923/4871748-1-eng-US/f0044-092.jpg" title="f0044-09" width="555" height="409"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Toronto 3, Laurentian 3Ryerson 6, McMaster 4Windsor 12, RMC 5Western 9, Laurentian 6Brock 12, Ryerson 2Laurentian 6, Western 2RMC 5, Windsor 3McMaster 3, Guelph 2Toronto 15, Ryerson 3Guelph 8, Waterloo 4Toronto 8, York 1Laurentian 3, McMaster 2Laurier 5, Queen&rsquo;s 3Western 8, Brock 1Laurier 4, RMC 1Laurentian 6, McMaster 4Queen&rsquo;s 7, Waterloo 2Windsor 7, Brock 7Guelph 12, Ryerson 2Waterloo 6, RMC 5York 8, Windsor 5<h2>ONTARIO COLLEGES</h2>(Standings on Mon. Jan. 16)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-1022/4871741-1-eng-US/f0044-102.jpg" title="f0044-10" width="548" height="230"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Seneca 5, Centennial 0Sheridan 7, Conestoga 5Seneca 8, Sheridan 4Seneca 17, Canadore 2Sheridan 5, Humber 3St. Clair 6, Centennial 5Canadore 6, Conestoga 5Humber 6, St. Clair 2 &#9632;

f0044-01

HOW THEY STAND

<h2>ECAC</h2><h3>JANUARY</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-1116/4871877-1-eng-US/f0044-112.jpg" title="f0044-11" width="584" height="1146"></div><h3>FEBRUARY</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-1214/4871870-1-eng-US/f0044-122.jpg" title="f0044-12" width="580" height="912"></div><h2>CCHA</h2><h3>JANUARY</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-1312/4871863-1-eng-US/f0044-132.jpg" title="f0044-13" width="560" height="94"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-1411/4871856-1-eng-US/f0044-142.jpg" title="f0044-14" width="560" height="650"></div><h3>FEBRUARY</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-1512/4871849-1-eng-US/f0044-152.jpg" title="f0044-15" width="564" height="712"></div><h2>WCHA</h2><h3>JANUARY</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-1611/4871842-1-eng-US/f0044-162.jpg" title="f0044-16" width="554" height="354"></div><h3>FEBRUARY</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-1711/4871835-1-eng-US/f0044-172.jpg" title="f0044-17" width="560" height="572"></div> &#9632;

f0044-11

GAMES TO COME

<div class="byline">BY TOM BURKE</div>BOSTON&mdash;The big game. We&rsquo;re seeing it more and more as the ECAC Division One playoff chase kicks into high gear. In figuring playoff seedings, of course, a win against the league leader doesn&rsquo;t mean much more than win a against the 17th-place club. Still, these big games mean something and give us a taste of things to come in post season.The University of New Hampshire, a team that almost everybody overlooked in pre-season, has an anemic 5-6-1 non-league record. But the Wildcats are still perfect at 6-0 in ECAC play after an amazing week against three strong contenders. First the Cats polished off Clarkson 5-3 in Potsdam. They trailed 3-0 and didn&rsquo;t get a goal until freshman James Richmond beat Jamie Falle with 45 seconds to play in the second period.The third frame was all UNH, with Richmond, Paul Barton, Scott Ellison and Ken Chisholm all scoring. Chisholm&rsquo;s goal was into an empty cage, vacated by Falle, who&rsquo;d made 24 saves to 43 for UNH&rsquo;s junior goalie Bruce Gillies. A big question mark coming into the campaign, Gillies has been superb in playing all but two of UNH&rsquo;s contests.The next night down the road in Canton, Gillies stopped 45 St. Lawrence shots and the &lsquo;Cats won 5-4. Shane Skid-more and Mark Doherty tallied within a span of 52 seconds midway through the third period to give UNH a 5-2 lead and a bit of breathing room. The Larries&rsquo; comeback, with Mike Geary and Dave Saunders each scoring their second goals of the game, fell short.RPI hit town two nights after taking Maine 6-3 in Orono, paced by a Marty Dallman hat trick. The Engineers were 17-2 overall and a solid 6-1 in the league, but RPI nipped them 2-1 before a capacity throng of 3,838 in Snively Arena. Peter Douris, a freshman right winger, scored unassisted at 5:07 of the second period, then added the game winner at 3:50 of the third. RPI&rsquo;s red-hot sophomore duo of John Carter and Adam Oates combined for the Engineer&rsquo;s only score.New Hampshire is far from a cinch to win the ECAC East, with both Boston College and Boston University hot on its heels. But once again it looks as though Charlie Holt, the wily dean of ECAC mentors, has put together a crazy bunch that is the treat of the year for hockey nuts.BC and BU were involved in the week&rsquo;s other big game and they battled almost all the way through overtime before Tim Mitchell slipped behind the Terrier defense, took a feed from Kevin Houle and pushed the puck past Cleon Daskalaskis for a 4-3 BC triumph. It was BC&rsquo;s sixth overtime win in seven such games.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re going to get even better,&rdquo; said BC captain Ed Rauseo.He tied the score off a made scramble in front of Deskalaskis with 4:59 to play.&ldquo;It seems like sometimes we&rsquo;re playing just well enough to win. We haven&rsquo;t peaked yet.&rdquo;BC sophomore goalie Scott Gordon made 38 saves to Daskalaskis&rsquo; 35. Two nights later in Ithaca, he and Cornell freshman Jim Edmands each had only 18 saves in a tight checking affair won 3-1 by BC to raise their overall mark to 16-3 and the league slate to 9-2. Power-play goals by Bill McDonough and Scott Harlow gave the Eagles a lead they never relinquished in the second period.BU kept pace with a visit to old nemesis Colgate that night, taking home a 2-1 win from Starr Rink. Colgate took the lead on a Steve Smith rebound goal midway through the first frame, but Paul Gerlitz tied the count with a second left in the period. At 9:51 of the second. Cesare Carlacci scored the game winner to raise the Terriers&rsquo; overall record to 14-4 and 6-3 in the league.Speaking of nemesis, Harvard continued its hex over Providence with a 2-0 blanking of the Friars at Schneider Arena. Sophomore Tim Smith had the only goal the Johns needed at 12:10 of the second period. Grant Blair held the Friars off with 40 saves. The win sent Harvard into exam break with a 5-6-1 league mark, just behind Ivy Division leader Cornell.After the loss to BC, the Red were stunned 7-2 the next night by lowly Brown. One of the league&rsquo;s forgotten teams, Brown upset Northeastern 5-3 earlier in the week. By virtue of the two wins, Herb Hammond&rsquo;s Bears climbed all the way to third place in the Ivy Division. Against Northeastern, they mustered only 19 shots on Tim Marshall, but five of them went in. Scores by Bobby Jones, Jim White and Paul Salem gave Brown a 4-2 lead in the second period, but the clincher didn&rsquo;t come until 4:26 remained in the game when Tom Roberts beat Marshall with a 25 footer.At Ithaca, Brown grabbed a 3-0 lead in the second period, let Cornell score a pair to get back in, then rammed home four unanswered scores in the third frame. Seven different players scored for Brown and Paul McCarthy made 34 saves.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m beginning to think that scorers are born in heaven,&rdquo; said Clarkson coach Bill O&rsquo;Flaherty after his team ran out of gas in the loss to New Hampshire. &ldquo;We haven&rsquo;t been able to finish off, even though we&rsquo;ve had the shooting advantage in most of our games. We don&rsquo;t have the prolific scorer this year.&rdquo;Clarkson eked out a 4-2 win against Vermont at Potsdam, but it took an empty-net goal by Pat Haramis, his second of the game, to ice it with 15 seconds to play. Mike Harvey also had two goals for the Knights, who raised their league slate to 6-4, not too far back of RPI in the ECAC West. Clarkson is right in the thick of things, as always.The perennially-tight ECAC West contracted even further as Vermont overcame a 4-1 Dartmouth lead to take a 6-4 decision in Burlington despite 40 saves by Jeff Bower. The win brought UVM out of the division cellar to 1-4-1 and a shade above Colgate, whose two losses dropped them to 3-4. In addition to BU, Yale shocked the Raiders with a 3-0 whitewash in New Haven, paced by freshman Bob Kudelski&rsquo;s two goals. Yale, thus, became the last Eastern team to creak into the win column.St. Lawrence also lost a pair. After UNH, the Larries journeyed to Boston and dropped a ragtag 9-8 match at North-eastern. The Huntington Hounds built a 9-4 lead against two Larrie goalies by 1:50 of the third period, but Paul Castron, Don Vaughn, Bill Gerrie, and Mike Hynes all scored between 7:09 and 12:51 to make it 9-8. NU woke up and regrouped, aided by some alleged unwhistled penalties, to hold the Larries at bay.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-01122/4871908-1-eng-US/f0045-012.jpg" title="f0045-01" width="591" height="1060"><figcaption class="caption-body">Charlie Holt has another contending team at the University of New Hampshire.</figcaption></div>Dartmouth edged Yale 4-3 in Hanover in a game that ended with a brawl and three-game disqualifications for each side. &#9632;

f0045-01

ECAC Big Games Give Post-Season Taste

<div class="byline">BY VIRG FOSS</div>DULUTH&mdash;How about them &lsquo;Dawgs!That&rsquo;s the word around the Western-Collegiate Hockey Association now that Minnesota-Duluth has taken the league by storm.The Bulldogs ran their winning streak in the WCHA to nine in the last 10 games by polishing off defending national champion Wisconsin twice in Duluth, MN, to remain just three games behind league-leading North Dakota in the WCHA race. Now they&rsquo;re just three back and in good position to win the WCHA race with 10 games to play. The Bulldogs have the most favorable schedule remaining of any WCHA contender, with six of their last 10 games at home, including two against North Dakota.Bill Watson is still the hottest of the Bulldogs. The sophomore winger from Pine Falls, Man., had a goal and three assists as the Bulldogs hammered Wisconsin 7-1 in the series opener in Duluth. Watson went into the series with 12 goals and 23 assists in 14 league games, which gave him a 10-point lead in the WCHA scoring race over teammate Tom Kurvers, a defenseman.Another sophomore forward. Matt Christiansen, paced Duluth in the 7-1 victory with two goals to back the solid goaltending of freshman Rick Kosti.Duluth had to scramble from behind to complete the sweep after Wisconsin rallied from a 3-0 deficit to take a 4-3 lead early in the third period in the rematch in Duluth. Bob Lakso, Tom Herzig and Kurvers scored to give Duluth a 3-0 lead in the second period, but Wisconsin came roaring back on goals by Ted Pearson. Tony Granato and Jim Johannsen to tie the game. Just 20 seconds after Johannson scored to create the tie, Dave Maley popped in another goal for the Badgers to give Wisconsin a 4-3 lead with 13 minutes remaining in the game.Then it was time for the red-hot Bulldogs to get going and they did. Kurvers got his second goal of the game with nine minutes left to tie it at 4-4. The freshman forward got the game-winning goal on a breakaway by freshman forward Brian Johnson with three minutes left in the game. Ironically, it was the first league goal of the season for Johnson, from Silver Bay, MN. Lakso added an insurance goal with 16 seconds remaining, scoring into an empty net to wrap it up for the Bulldogs.Meanwhile, North Dakota struggled at home in winning for the 13th time in 14 games in Grand Forks, including 12 straight wins. The Sioux, missing three of their top defensemen in Rick Zombo, Glen Klotz and Brad Berry because of injuries, were hard pressed to down Denver University 6-5 and 7-6 (in overtime) to protect their slim lead over the Bull-dogs.The Sioux carried a 3-1 lead into the third period in the opener, only to see Denver charge back to tie it at 3-3 on goals by Dave Berry and Jim Leavins, one of the hardest shooters in the league. After North Dakota&rsquo;s Scott Sandelin and Denver&rsquo;s Dave Berry exchanged goals, senior wingers Dan Brennan and Steve Palmiscno countered for the Sioux to offset a goal by Denver&rsquo;s Dave Anderson with three minutes remaining. Palmiscno had two goals in the game and collected an assist to run his goal production to five in just six games since becoming scholastically eligible for the second semester.What lift Denver appeared to get from the third-period comeback in the series opener seemed to disappear in the re-match as North Dakota built a 6-2 lead going into the third period in the second game of the series as Perry Nakonechny, Mickey Krampotich, Bill Claviter, Chris Jensen, Brennan and Palmiscno provided the firepower for the Sioux to provide the makings for a runaway.But the Sioux appeared to tire in the third period and Denver came roaring back with four goals in five minutes to tie it at 6-6 on goals by John McMillan. Grant Dion, Anderson and Berry. Denver totally owned the third period, out-shooting the Sioux 35-17 and having numerous chances to collect the tying goal.The Pioneers couldn&rsquo;t get the seventh goal by Sioux goalie Jon Casey, however, and the Sioux regrouped enough to force the game into overtime.Junior winger Jim Archibald pulled it out for the Sioux with a wicked slapshot with 3:30 left in overtime that beat Denver goalie Chris Olson low to the glove side for his fifth game-winning goal of the year to give the Sioux a 7-6 victory. Even so, it marked the fifth game in a row that the Sioux have blown a lead of two goals or more in the second period or later, not a good sign for a team trying to win their third national championship in five years. But if the Sioux can get their injured defensemen back soon, they still may be able to hold off the charging Bulldogs of Duluth and defending league champion Minnesota, which is still just five points out of first place.Minnesota slipped to five points back by splitting a series with Colorado College in Colorado. Freshman forward Scott Schneider&rsquo;s goal just 50 seconds into overtime gave Colorado College a 4-3 win in the opener, capping a rally by the Tigers that saw them come from a 3-1 deficit to force the overtime.Minnesota prevailed 4-1 in the rematch. however, despite falling behind 1-0 just 41 seconds into the game on Dan Dolan&rsquo;s goal. Minnesota rebounded on two goals by defenseman Tony Kellin and singles by Wally Chapman and Tom Rothstein to salvage the split.With 10 league games remaining, the Bulldogs of Duluth have an edge in scheduling. The Bulldogs play North Dakota, Colorado College and Wisconsin at home and have two games each on the road at Minnesota and Colorado College.Unless someone finds a way to cool off the Bulldogs, the could skate to their first WCHA title ever with a lineup sprinkled with rookies. That says a lot about the coaching of Mike Sertich, who has done wonders with the Bulldogs ever since taking over the job after spending years as an assistant coach at the school. &#9632;

How About A Bone For Those Hot ‘Dawgs

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-147/4872337-1-eng-US/f0047-142.jpg" title="f0047-14" width="336" height="442"></div>&ldquo;Where readers get together to do business&rdquo;<h2>MISCEL ANFOUS</h2>WHA-NHL ANL-IHL-MINOR HOCKEY 65 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 ENTERPRISES99 Katherine Rd. Downsview, Ont Canada M3K 1J5* Free gift valued at $5.00 with this ad.AHL HOCKEY CARDS: Springfield Indians, 25-card set, $3.50 ppd. Card Collectors Closet, Box 983, Springfield, MA, 01101.DEFUNCT SPORTS PRICELISTS 55 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 $4.99 to: EMPIRE SPORTS, 1947 Avenue Road, I Suite 201, Toronto, Ont M5M 4A2. NCCA Dealer* Free gift and $2.50 credit on first order.FREE. OUR ALL new 1984 collector&rsquo;s catalog. Baseball & hockey sets, souvenirs & collectibles. Send your name & address (print clearly) to: Phil&rsquo;s Sports Collections, P.O. Box 27, Cheltenham, PA, 19012.<h2>MERCHANDISE</h2>SPORTS JERSEYS UNLIMITED complete 18 page pricelist of game worn Jerseys leagues Include BasePall, CFI-NFI-WFL-NHl-WHA-NASL-NBA and more Over 1500 satisfied customers. For complete list send cheque or m/o for $5.00 payable to:EMPIRE SPORTS. 1947 Road. Suite 201, Toronto. Ont M5M 4A2. NCCA Dealer* Free gift and $2.50 credit on first order.<h2>BOOKS</h2>GOALTENDING BY PROGRESSIONS as taught by Canadian Professional Hockey Schools. Send $5.00 to Box 487, Winnipeg, Man., R3C 2J3.<h2>TOURNAMENTS</h2>ELKS CENTRAL CANADA 20th annual pee wee hockey tournament. Feb. 23 to Feb. 26, 1984. &lsquo;A&rsquo; Event-Major Pee Wee AA teams. &lsquo;B&rsquo; Event-Pee Wee &lsquo;A&rsquo; teams. &lsquo;C&rsquo; Event-Minor Pee Wee teams. Write: Elks Hockey Tournament, P.O. Box 366, Thunder Bay, Ont. P7C 4V9. (807) 623-3200.<h2>EQUIPMENT</h2>TORONTO HOCKEY REPAIR; Specializing in the repairs of goalie pads, extend goalie pads 1&rdquo; to 6&rdquo;, shorten pads, add rolls, repalm gloves, blockers, catchers and more. We assess team repairs. Free brochure on request. 15 Perth, Toronto, Ont., M6R 2C1. Phone (416) 533-1791.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-157/4872330-1-eng-US/f0047-152.jpg" title="f0047-15" width="1840" height="1119"></div> &#9632;

f0047-14

The Classified

<h2>Mon. Jan. 9 EDMONTON 7, DETROIT 3</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-01141/4872299-1-eng-US/f0047-012.jpg" title="f0047-01" width="568" height="934"></div><h2>Tue. Jan. 10 HARTFORD 6, MINNESOTA 3</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-0294/4872292-1-eng-US/f0047-022.jpg" title="f0047-02" width="566" height="994"></div><h2>NEW JERSEY 2, ISLANDERS 4</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-0363/4872285-1-eng-US/f0047-032.jpg" title="f0047-03" width="566" height="240"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-0453/4872278-1-eng-US/f0047-042.jpg" title="f0047-04" width="596" height="506"></div><h2>PITTSBURGH 1, QUEBEC 7</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-0537/4872271-1-eng-US/f0047-052.jpg" title="f0047-05" width="598" height="972"></div><h2>VANCOUVER 0, ST. LOUIS 2</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-0627/4872264-1-eng-US/f0047-062.jpg" title="f0047-06" width="592" height="646"></div><h2>Wed. Jan. 11 PHILADELPHIA 2, BUFFALO 6</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-0723/4872257-1-eng-US/f0047-072.jpg" title="f0047-07" width="594" height="126"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-0813/4872250-1-eng-US/f0047-082.jpg" title="f0047-08" width="596" height="736"></div><h2>WINNIPEG 5, CALGARY 9</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-0911/4872243-1-eng-US/f0047-092.jpg" title="f0047-09" width="594" height="182"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-108/4872236-1-eng-US/f0047-102.jpg" title="f0047-10" width="598" height="848"></div><h2>EDMONTON 5, CHICAGO 3</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-117/4872229-1-eng-US/f0047-112.jpg" title="f0047-11" width="598" height="90"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-127/4872222-1-eng-US/f0047-122.jpg" title="f0047-12" width="566" height="794"></div><h2>BOSTON 7, DETROIT 2</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-137/4872215-1-eng-US/f0047-132.jpg" title="f0047-13" width="566" height="94"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0052-11/4872208-1-eng-US/f0052-112.jpg" title="f0052-11" width="560" height="792"></div><h2>WASH. 4, LOS ANGELES 2</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0052-12/4872201-1-eng-US/f0052-122.jpg" title="f0052-12" width="564" height="762"></div><h2>MONTREAL 6, TORONTO 4</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0052-13/4872194-1-eng-US/f0052-132.jpg" title="f0052-13" width="562" height="158"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0052-14/4872187-1-eng-US/f0052-142.jpg" title="f0052-14" width="582" height="814"></div><h2>Thu. Jan. 12 TORONTO 4, MINNESOTA 5</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0052-15/4872180-1-eng-US/f0052-152.jpg" title="f0052-15" width="580" height="950"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0052-16/4872173-1-eng-US/f0052-162.jpg" title="f0052-16" width="582" height="270"></div><h2>QUEBEC 4, NEW JERSEY 1</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0052-17/4872166-1-eng-US/f0052-172.jpg" title="f0052-17" width="586" height="640"></div><h2>MONTREAL 3, ISLANDERS 7</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0052-18/4872159-1-eng-US/f0052-182.jpg" title="f0052-18" width="596" height="788"></div><h2>RANGERS 2, PHILADELPHIA 1</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0052-19/4872152-1-eng-US/f0052-192.jpg" title="f0052-19" width="594" height="584"></div><h2>BOSTON 6, ST. LOUIS 2</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0052-20/4872145-1-eng-US/f0052-202.jpg" title="f0052-20" width="592" height="902"></div><h2>EDMONTON 1, BUFFALO 3</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0052-21/4872138-1-eng-US/f0052-212.jpg" title="f0052-21" width="592" height="180"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0052-22/4872131-1-eng-US/f0052-222.jpg" title="f0052-22" width="546" height="466"></div><h2>HARTFORD 3, CALGARY 3</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0052-23/4872124-1-eng-US/f0052-232.jpg" title="f0052-23" width="552" height="730"></div><h2>LOS ANGELES 7, WINNIPEG 7</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0052-24/4872117-1-eng-US/f0052-242.jpg" title="f0052-24" width="562" height="548"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0053-144/4872110-1-eng-US/f0053-142.jpg" title="f0053-14" width="552" height="702"></div><h2>WASHINGTON 6, VANCOUVER 4</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0053-154/4872103-1-eng-US/f0053-152.jpg" title="f0053-15" width="562" height="90"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0053-163/4872096-1-eng-US/f0053-162.jpg" title="f0053-16" width="590" height="820"></div><h2>Sat. Jan. 14 PITTSBURGH 3, BOSTON 7</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0054-01109/4872089-1-eng-US/f0054-012.jpg" title="f0054-01" width="540" height="896"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0054-0261/4872082-1-eng-US/f0054-022.jpg" title="f0054-02" width="586" height="94"></div><h2>BUFFALO 2, DETROIT 1</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0054-0338/4872075-1-eng-US/f0054-032.jpg" title="f0054-03" width="592" height="64"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0054-0425/4872068-1-eng-US/f0054-042.jpg" title="f0054-04" width="590" height="96"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0054-0516/4872061-1-eng-US/f0054-052.jpg" title="f0054-05" width="558" height="92"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0055-01102/4872054-1-eng-US/f0055-012.jpg" title="f0055-01" width="560" height="382"></div><h2>NEW JERSEY 3, MONTREAL 1</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0055-0269/4872047-1-eng-US/f0055-022.jpg" title="f0055-02" width="550" height="616"></div><h2>RANGERS 2, ISLANDERS 4</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0055-0345/4872040-1-eng-US/f0055-032.jpg" title="f0055-03" width="564" height="738"></div><h2>PHILADELPHIA 3, QUEBEC 3</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0055-0434/4872033-1-eng-US/f0055-042.jpg" title="f0055-04" width="558" height="102"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0055-0521/4872026-1-eng-US/f0055-052.jpg" title="f0055-05" width="596" height="830"></div><h2>MINNESOTA 4, ST. LOUIS 2</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0055-0613/4872019-1-eng-US/f0055-062.jpg" title="f0055-06" width="588" height="560"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0055-078/4872012-1-eng-US/f0055-072.jpg" title="f0055-07" width="600" height="184"></div><h2>CHICAGO 2, TORONTO 2</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0055-085/4872005-1-eng-US/f0055-082.jpg" title="f0055-08" width="578" height="708"></div><h2>WASHINGTON 2, CALGARY 3</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0055-094/4871998-1-eng-US/f0055-092.jpg" title="f0055-09" width="584" height="764"></div><h2>PITTSBURGH 0, CHICAGO 2</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0055-102/4871991-1-eng-US/f0055-102.jpg" title="f0055-10" width="590" height="532"></div><h2>EDMONTON 5, NEW JERSEY 4</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0055-112/4871984-1-eng-US/f0055-112.jpg" title="f0055-11" width="594" height="388"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0055-122/4871977-1-eng-US/f0055-122.jpg" title="f0055-12" width="580" height="590"></div><h2>HARTFORD 0, VANCOUVER 5</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0055-132/4871970-1-eng-US/f0055-132.jpg" title="f0055-13" width="582" height="590"></div><h2>LOS ANGELES 4, WINNIPEG 4</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0055-142/4871963-1-eng-US/f0055-142.jpg" title="f0055-14" width="588" height="1002"></div> &#9632;

f0047-01

NATIONAL LEAGUE SUMMARIES

<div class="byline">BY JOHN HERBERT</div>Louisville HockeyDETROIT&mdash;It wasn&rsquo;t all systems go after all for Detroit Compuware&rsquo;s bid for an Ontario Hockey League franchise.Despite the earlier withdrawal of a bid by its only challenger from a Niagara Falls group, the Compuware computer software company&rsquo;s hockey division, headed by former Detroit Red Wing goaltender Jim Rutherford, did not get the expansion franchise it had been seeking the past three months.Their application was turned down at a full governors meeting in Toronto on Jan. 7.More of that later.The other major news around the OHL, as the trade deadline expired on Jan. 12, came out of Sudbury as the Wolves made their fourth coaching change in four years, firing Billy Harris, saying pressure from players, management and fans forced the change. He was replaced by ex-London captain Andy Spruce, who, after a pro career, was coaching Petrolia Jets of the Western Junior B League.Other big news was the trade that didn&rsquo;t materialize which would have sent Guelph star Kirk Muller to one of several contending clubs who made offers. Plater owner Joe Holody was unsuccessful in 11th-hour talks with Ottawa, Oshawa and Brantford.There was also a pre-game brawl the same night in Sault Ste. Marie featuring players from the Greyhounds and Kitchener Rangers and a bench-clearing melee late in the second period. The brawl left three Kitchener players facing criminal charges and another&mdash;Carmen Vani&mdash;sent to hospital with a separated shoulder. Kitchener&rsquo;s John Tucker, Dave Bruce and Mike Stevens were charged with obstructing justice after an incident in which players were shouting obscenities at the fans. Bruce and Stevens weren&rsquo;t dressed, but came to the bench when police intervened.The pre-game brawl began after Kitchener&rsquo;s Wayne Presley crossed center ice to go after a puck in the Kitchener zone. After an exchange of words with the Hounds&rsquo; captain, Rick Tocchet, Presley was crosschecked to the ice.Referee Bill Prisniak called 18 majors, nine game misconducts and two double game misconducts, most coming when the bench emptied in the second with Kitchener&rsquo;s Matt Dajia leading the charge.Ten players drew automatic suspensions, five from each team.The Rangers were in Sudbury the next night for Spruce&rsquo;s debut.&ldquo;I felt the team wasn&rsquo;t progressing.&rdquo; general manager Joe Drago told Morris Dalla Costa of the London Free Press.&ldquo;We had no drive, no motivation at all,&rdquo; Drago said. &ldquo;I still feel we have a chance to make the playoffs. We were under a lot of pressure to make a change. No one was going. You won&rsquo;t meet a nicer man than Billy Harris, but he wasn&rsquo;t doing anything with the hockey club.&rdquo;Meanwhile, Compuware officials were surprised and disappointed by their rejection as OHL governors voted against their own expansion committee&rsquo;s recommendation, which had been appointed in October to study the Compuware application and hockey program.League commissioner Dave Branch announced the governors&rsquo; decision, saying Compuware made no solid guarantee that it would go ahead and build the 6,200-seat arena in Pontiac, MI. near the Silverdome that Compuware president Peter Karmanos said he would build.&ldquo;I felt in talking to the governors it would be close but we&rsquo;d get it,&rdquo; said Rutherford, who was appointed director of hockey operations shortly after Karmanos filed his application.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t have the answer but in my mind it&rsquo;s unfortunate they would turn down a man like Peter Karmanos who has done so much for hockey in our community and for what he&rsquo;s willing to sacrifice in time and money to make it work.&ldquo;It doesn&rsquo;t make sense from a business point of view they wouldn&rsquo;t want a man like that in the league.&rdquo;Karmanos, who operates Compuware Systems of Birmingham. MI, the second largest computer software company in United States and sponsors the highly-successful 18-team Compuware hockey division, promised to build an $8-million arena after being granted the franchise. In his bid, Karmanos also promised to refurbish the Oak Park, MI, Arena&mdash;boosting seating capacity to 2,700&mdash;where the new team would operate for its first season.The Compuware group&rsquo;s hopes took a rise when the Niagara Falls group headed by Sam McMaster, general manager of Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, announced time had run out and withdrew its application. Earlier, the OHL had said it planned to add a 16th team and that left Compuware the only remaining applicant.Compuware seemed home free when the expansion committee consisting of the commissioner and governors Jim McAuley of the Greyhounds, Dr. Robert Vaughan of Belleville Bulls, Drago of Sudbury and Earl Montagano of Ottawa 67s tabled a report endorsing the application.The rest of the governors felt otherwise and Compuware fell short of obtaining the necessary 12 out of 15 votes because of the arena uncertainties.Rutherford said that Karmanos had made a &ldquo;financial guarantee&rdquo; that it would be built.&ldquo;We wouldn&rsquo;t want to stay there (in Oak Park) any more than the league wants us to play there,&rdquo; he said.Branch said the &ldquo;financial guarantee&rdquo; amounted to a penalty Compuware was willing to pay.&ldquo;The governors felt there was no firm committment to build the facility,&rdquo; the commissioner added. &ldquo;That seems to be the single, largest stumbling block in the eyes of the many governors. The governors didn&rsquo;t feel that was an appropriate way to do business. They felt you have a building or you don&rsquo;t play.&rdquo;The next move Rutherford said was for Compuware officials to sit down and study the situation. There has been speculation that Karmanos might now try to purchase an existing franchise.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0048-01115/4872368-1-eng-US/f0048-012.jpg" title="f0048-01" width="576" height="816"><figcaption class="caption-body">League commissioner David Branch spoke on behalf of the governors who rejected the bid.</figcaption></div>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know,&rdquo; Rutherford said. &ldquo;At no time did we talk about options. My feeling is we offered as much as we could. To go back next year, that&rsquo;s a long ways away. I don&rsquo;t see that we can offer more or a better package.&rdquo;On The Tube&mdash;While the season moved into its second half, the OHL Game of the Week on Global swung into full gear with Sudbury and Brantford opening the 10-game seies on Jan. 14. Jim Hughson, who got his junior experience calling Brandon Wheat Kings games on radio and now does Toronto Maple Leaf mid-week games on TV, heads the television crew. Global newsman Mike Anscombe. who was play-byplay man last year, replaces Bryan Smith as host. Ex-Peterborough coach Gary Green is providing the color commentary. &#9632;

f0048-01

League Rejects Compuware Bid Because Building Not Guaranteed

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0048-0278/4872413-1-eng-US/f0048-022.jpg" title="f0048-02" width="556" height="524"><figcaption class="caption-body">WAYNE GROULX S.S. Marie</figcaption></div><h2>ONTARIO LEAGUE</h2>Wayne Groulx of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds has his sights set on the National Hockey League and judging by his performance this season in the Ontario Hockey League he isn&rsquo;t far away from making it.Drafted by the Quebec Nordiques in the eighth round in 1983, Groulx has set out to win the league&rsquo;s individual scoring crown to prove he&rsquo;s ready for a shot at the big time. In two games, the 18-year-old scored 10 points, including six goals, to win the nod as the OHL&rsquo;s player of the week.Groulx now has 87 scoring points.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0048-0352/4872406-1-eng-US/f0048-032.jpg" title="f0048-03" width="558" height="528"><figcaption class="caption-body">TAYLOR HALL Regina</figcaption></div><h2>WESTERN LEAGUE</h2>The Vancouver Canucks have been waiting patiently for Taylor Hall to develop into a prospect for the NHL and this could be the year he&rsquo;s going to make it.The 5-foot-11.185-pound right winger who was selected in the sixth round of the 1981 draft by Vancouver has already surpassed his 1982-83 goal production and is certain to eclipse his overall point total as well. Hall collected seven points in three games, including a hat trick, for Regina to win the honor of being named the Western Hockey League&rsquo;s player of the week.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0048-0442/4872399-1-eng-US/f0048-042.jpg" title="f0048-04" width="556" height="522"><figcaption class="caption-body">MARIO LEMIEUX Laval</figcaption></div><h2>QUEBEC LEAGUE</h2>Super scorer Mario Lemieux continues to break existing Quebec Major Junior Hockey League records with his phenomenal scoring pace.The brilliant 18-year-old Laval center counted 10 points in his last three games to not only become the QHL&rsquo;s player of the week but also stretch his point scoring streak to 46 games and break Pat LaFontaine&rsquo;s mark of 43 set last season.The fabulous Quebec Leaguer now has scored 82 goals and amassed 90 assists for 172 points in only 46 games, tops in the nation.At the end of the season. THE HOCKEY NEWS will select a Micron Junior Player of the Year &#9632;

f0048-02

MICRON JUNIOR PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

<div class="byline">BY BEN KUZMA</div>Louisville HockeyPORTLAND&mdash;Brian Shaw had it all figured out.The Portland Winter Hawks&rsquo; respected general manager had. what was thought to be, the right recipe for Western Hockey League success. It went something like this:1. Start with a nucleus of proven veterans.2. Add a generous helping of talented rookies.3. Gently blend and provide proper rising time.4. Enjoy another Memorial Cup feast.As good as Shaw&rsquo;s recipe sounded at the start of the season, it&rsquo;s safe to say the batter is missing a few key ingredients. They can be found in Chicago. Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver.The Winter Hawks&rsquo; talented veteran ranks have been decimated this season by National Hockey League.The most recent loss was center Alfie Turcotte, a first-rounder, recalled by the Montreal Canadiens. Previous to that deletion, Shaw had to wave good-bye to Cam Neely, Richard Kromm and Ken Yaremchuk&mdash;three more flashy forwards with enough moves to turn opposition coaches green with envy.Neely, another first-rounder, has caught on with the Vancouver Canucks while Kromm, the second-round pick of Calgary in 1982, is with the Flames and Yaremchuk, plucked in the first-round of 1982 by Chicago, is with the injury-riddled Hawks. The four combined for 510 points last season.Randy Heath, another scooter, had a brief stint with the Canadian Olympic team before returning to Portland in early January. Heath, who had 151 points last season, also played for the national Junior team at the world championships.The loss of firepower is the prime reason the Winter Hawks were eight points behind front-running Kamloops Oilers in Jan. 10 standings and battling to stay ahead of the Victoria Cougars and New Westminster Bruins. While some relish the successful Winter Hawks having problems, it&rsquo;s a &ldquo;serious problem&rdquo; Shaw said.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not only hurting us but it&rsquo;s hurting the rest of the league,&rdquo; said Shaw. &ldquo;We went into Victoria, which has been good rivalry, and only drew 2,400. We usually draw 3,500.&ldquo;Take any team in the NHL and take away four of its best players and you&rsquo;re left with a mediocre hockey team and not a good draw.&rdquo;Portland started the season averaging 7.000 fans for home dates. Once players started getting the call and losses piled up, attendance continued to dip to an average of 5,700 for the most prominent junior operation.&ldquo;Some people don&rsquo;t want to go when you&rsquo;re not winning,&rdquo; said Shaw. &ldquo;You kind of get concerned when your own fans start staying away. Thank God we sold as many season tickets (1,700) as we did.&rdquo;Shaw expected to lose Yaremchuk and Neely this season, but not Kromm and Turcotte.&ldquo;What irks me more than anything else is NHL franchises are paying up to $1 million to keep farm clubs and can&rsquo;t take players from the farm clubs because they don&rsquo;t want to disrupt them,&rdquo; said Shaw. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s exactly what they&rsquo;re doing to the juniors.&rdquo;Shaw doesn&rsquo;t mind when players get the call and play up because of a genuine injury problem. It&rsquo;s the bench-warming that gets to him.&ldquo;If a boy is good enough to play in the NHL he should be there. We (the Winter Hawks) have always lost an underage player, but it took Kromm seven weeks to get in his 10 games.&ldquo;I do believe the NHL knows of the plight of junior hockey,&rdquo; added Shaw, who doesn&rsquo;t hold much hope for his stars returning; &ldquo;We thought last year when the recalls went from 53 to 21 that the problem would be reduced but in fact it&rsquo;s increased. It&rsquo;s time to do something.&rdquo;Shaw said it&rsquo;s the timing which hurts most.The present agreement between the NHL and the juniors allows NHL clubs to recall any players drafted in the second or later rounds before Nov. 15. First-round picks and goaltenders can be recalled before Jan. 5 while signed players get the nod whenever an injury situation arises.&ldquo;Timing is important,&rdquo; said Shaw. &ldquo;If I had known Nov. 1 that I wasn&rsquo;t going to get Turcotte back I could have done something about it.&rdquo;Recall is expected to be the main point of contention when the NHL and juniors negotiate their next working agreementShaw and coach Ken Hodge were so confident there was an excess of talent they completed a major pre-season transaction with Brandon Wheat Kings.Veterans Ray Ferraro and Brad Duggan were part of a five-for-two deal with Brandon to acquire highly-touted 17-year-old center Blaine Chrest from Estevan Bruins of the Saskatchewan Amateur Junior Hockey League.Chrest is back in Estevan slowly recovering from a broken collarbone. Ferraro is chasing two WHL scoring marks and as of Jan. 10 was first in league scoring with 105 points, including a league-leading 65 goals. Bill Derlago, a former Wheat King, holds the league mark with 96 goals established in the 1976-77 season.&ldquo;We would have kept them if we didn&rsquo;t think we&rsquo;d lose more than two players,&rdquo; said Shaw.WHL WEEK&mdash;Ray Ferraro finally climbed past Prince Albert&rsquo;s Dan Hodgson in the scoring race. Hodgson was second as of Jan. 10 with 104 points while Taylor Hall and Dale Derkatch of Regina were next in line with 88 and 79 points, respectively. Dean Evason of Kamloops was fifth with 72 points while Cam Plante of Brandon had 70 and Mark Lamb of Medicine Hat and Ken Quinney of Calgary with 69 points each. Dave Pasin of Prince Albert had 66 points while Doug Kyle of Saskatoon. Cliff Ronning of New Westminster and Byron Lomow of Brandon all had 65 points.Ken Wregget of Lethbridge continued to lead all goalies with a 2.62 goals-against average. Jamie Reeve of Regina was at 3.72 while Blair McGregor of Medicine Hat was at 3.88.Regina tied for second place in Jan. 10 Canadian Major Junior Hockey League top 10 ratings with a .756 winning percentage. Lethbridge was fourth at .718 while Kamloops was sixth (.658) and Medicine Hat ninth (.577). Toronto of the Ontario Hockey League was first with a .833 percentage.Kamloops reacquired left winger Jim Camazzola from Seattle in a four-for-one trade. Camazzola, 19th in league scoring last season with 115 points, was returned to Kamloops for forward Kelly Para and affiliates Russ Goglin, Brent Muehlmuer an Richard Fry.New Westminster released overage forward Troy Farkvam and replaced the club&rsquo;s second-leading scorer with another 20-year-old, Kevin Griffin.Brandon and Medicine Hat were levied fines as a result of a Jan. 7 brawl. Brandon was fined $500 and Medicine Hat $250 while five players received suspensions. Brandon&rsquo;s Boyd Lomow received four games for leaving the penalty box and physically abusing an official while John Zakowski received two games and Rob Ordman one game. Medicine Hat&rsquo;s Don Herczeg got two games and Al Conroy one. &#9632;

NHL Call-Ups Cripple Winter Hawk Cause

<div class="byline">BY RICK MAYOH</div>HULL&mdash;The Olympiques made the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League&rsquo;s most sensational trade at the trading deadline, shipping their two best-known veterans to Chicoutimi Sagueneens for three little-known youngsters.Rugged 6-foot-l, 200-pound left winger Joel Baillargeon and slick 5-foot-11, 170-pound center Patrick Emond&mdash;sixth-round picks by the Winnipeg Jets and Pittsburgh Penguins, respectively&mdash;were sent to the Sags for center-left winger Mario Ouellet, 18, center Joe Fog-lietta, 17. and right winger Gilles Proulx. 17.Baillargeon, 19, a tough crease man from a famous family of strongmen, led the 10th-place Olympiques in scoring at various points in the season. He was third with 29 goals and 25 assists for 54 points in 39 games when the deal was made with ninth-place Chicoutimi.He got off to a strong start this season but was attempting to adopt a fancier style and was lagging recently. He said he&rsquo;ll probably go back to his old style, which had impressed Winnipeg.Emond scored 44 goals and 69 assists for 113 points in 69 games last season and was ranked as high as sixth in the league by the National Hockey League&rsquo;s Central Scouting Bureau.He was fourth on the team this season, with 18 goals and 34 assists for 52 points in 42 games and never really got going, although he said he had been working harder in the past month.&ldquo;People may say we gave up too much to get these players,&rdquo; said Hull coach Michel Morin. &ldquo;But we gave up two recognized players and got three good, but unrecognized ones, who will help us in the short and long terms.&ldquo;Ouellet is an aggressive Dale Hunter-style player who can play it rough, intelligent and score (14-23-37 in 40 games). He has a temper and makes things happen, which we need.&rdquo;Morin drafted Ouellet when he was the Sags&rsquo; coach two years ago and the center played for Chicoutimi last season (21-3556 in 65 games). Foglietta, 5-foot-9, 165 pounds, and Proulx, a 5-foot-11 185-pounder. are rookies.&ldquo;Foglietta is a speedster who may need some work defensively and Proulx is a hard worker and good skater who works the boards well,&rdquo; Morin said. &ldquo;We need a different style of player and all three are fairly aggressive. Some players were just waiting for things to happen.&rdquo;&ldquo;We were looking for players to help us right now,&rdquo; said first-year Chicoutimi coach Michel Parizeau, an 11-year pro best known as a center with the World Hockey Associaion Quebec Nordiques.&ldquo;We were missing a guy who will go where there&rsquo;s traffic and we needed a-smart center who can work with wingers. They&rsquo;ll probably play with the Heroux brothers.&rdquo;Left winger Alain Heroux was Montreal Canadiens&rsquo; top draft pick two years ago and right winger Yves was Quebec Nordiques&rsquo; second pick-last year.NOTES&mdash;With his first QMJHL record tucked away, Laval Voisin Mario Lemieux relaxed and scored five goals against Hull.The 6-foot-3, 191-pound center charged past last season&rsquo;s consecutive point-scoring record of U.S. Olympian and former Verdun Junior Pat LaFontaine, picking up an assist in his 44th straight game in Chicoutimi.In the following game in Hull, he was playing keep-away with the Olympiques by the end of a 10-1 romp.&ldquo;This takes a lot of pressure off me and should help the team,&rdquo; Lemieux said. &ldquo;Now we can go back to the way we were playing. I have reached my objective and I am happy because LaFontaine is a good player.&rdquo;Lemieux has scored 82 goals and 90 assists in 46 games. Guy Lafleur scored 95 goals and Pierre Larouche had 100 assists at the same point in their record setting campaigns.QMJHL assistant general-director Claude Carrier and vice-president John Horman visited Plattsburgh recently to investigate an expansion bid in the northern New York center. &#9632;

Olympiques Make Surprising Swap

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0050-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0050-01113/4872513-1-eng-US/f0050-012.jpg"></div><h2>GOALTENDING STATISTICS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0051-0195/4872506-1-eng-US/f0051-012.jpg" title="f0051-01" width="585" height="2430"></div><h2>GOALTENDING LEADERS</h2><h3>GOALS AGAINST AVERAGE</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0051-0270/4872499-1-eng-US/f0051-022.jpg" title="f0051-02" width="540" height="210"></div><h3>MOST WINS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0051-0347/4872492-1-eng-US/f0051-032.jpg" title="f0051-03" width="538" height="212"></div> &#9632;

f0050-01

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE SCORING

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0051-04" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0051-0439/4872544-1-eng-US/f0051-042.jpg"></div> &#9632;

f0051-04

NHL TEAM ROSTERS

<h2>JANUARY</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0051-0524/4872610-1-eng-US/f0051-052.jpg" title="f0051-05" width="520" height="452"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0051-0620/4872603-1-eng-US/f0051-062.jpg" title="f0051-06" width="532" height="498"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0051-0714/4872596-1-eng-US/f0051-072.jpg" title="f0051-07" width="518" height="498"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0051-087/4872589-1-eng-US/f0051-082.jpg" title="f0051-08" width="514" height="493"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0051-097/4872582-1-eng-US/f0051-092.jpg" title="f0051-09" width="503" height="148"></div><h2>FEBRUARY</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0051-105/4872575-1-eng-US/f0051-102.jpg" title="f0051-10" width="530" height="294"></div> &#9632;

f0051-05

NHL GAMES TO COME

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0052-10" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0052-10/4872819-1-eng-US/f0052-102.jpg"></div> &#9632;

f0052-10

NHL MINOR LEAGUE AFFILIATIONS

<h2>AMERICAN LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Wed. Jan. 18)<h3>NORTHERN DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0052-01102/4872788-1-eng-US/f0052-012.jpg" title="f0052-01" width="538" height="202"></div><h3>SOUTHERN DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0052-0261/4872781-1-eng-US/f0052-022.jpg" title="f0052-02" width="542" height="236"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Mon. Jan. 9New Haven 3 at Fredericton 7Tue. Jan. 10Binghamton 5 at St. Catharines 3Wed. Jan. 11Springfield 4 at Adirondack 2Binghamton 2 at Hershey 4Moncton 3 at Maine 2Baltimore 9 at New Haven 4Fredericton 7 at Nova Scotia 5Fri. Jan. 13Moncton 1 at New Haven 6St. Catharines 6 at Rochester 7Adirondack 8 at Sherbrooke 3Baltimore 4 at Springfield 5Sat. Jan. 14Sherbrooke 4 at Adirondack 6Rochester 2 at Binghamton 5Nova Scotia 3 at Fredericton 5St. Catharines 3 at Hershey 5Baltimore 4 at Maine 2Moncton 3 at Springfield 3Sun. Jan. 15Hershey 2 at Binghamton 2Springfield 3 at Maine 3Moncton 2 at New Haven 6Fredericton 5 at Nova Scotia 3Adirondack 3 at Rochester 5Baltimore 4 at Sherbrooke 1<h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0052-0336/4872774-1-eng-US/f0052-032.jpg" title="f0052-03" width="544" height="322"></div><h2>INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Tue. Jan. 17)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0052-0427/4872767-1-eng-US/f0052-042.jpg" title="f0052-04" width="542" height="270"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Mon. Jan. 9Kalamazoo at Milwaukee 3Wed. Jan. 11Muskegon 1 at Fort Wayne 7Toledo 1 at Flint 5Peoria 2 at Milwaukee 5Thu. Jan. 12Milwaukee 1 at Kalamazoo 6Fri. Jan. 13Fort Wayne 5 at Muskegon 2Flint 3 at Toledo 0Kalamazoo 6 at Peoria 2Sat. Jan. 14Milwaukee 6 at Muskegon 5Flint 4 at Kalamazoo 10Fort Wayne 4 at Toledo 3Sun. Jan. 15Milwaukee 4 at Peoria 5<h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0052-0518/4872760-1-eng-US/f0052-052.jpg" title="f0052-05" width="552" height="356"></div><h2>CENTRAL LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Mon. Jan. 16)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0052-0612/4872753-1-eng-US/f0052-062.jpg" title="f0052-06" width="544" height="190"></div><h2>OLYMPIC TEAMS</h2>(Final Standings)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0052-078/4872746-1-eng-US/f0052-072.jpg" title="f0052-07" width="536" height="92"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Wed. Jan. 11Montana 4 at Team USA 3Indianapolis 6 at Salt Lake 3Tulsa 5 at Colorado 6Fri. Jan. 13Colorado 8 at Montana 6Indianapolis 5 at Salt Lake 2Team USA 0 at Tulsa 2Sat. Jan. 14Sun. Jan. 15Indianapolis 6 at Montana 4Salt Lake 2 at Team USA 6<h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0052-082/4872739-1-eng-US/f0052-082.jpg" title="f0052-08" width="544" height="320"></div><h2>ATLANTIC COAST LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Sun. Jan. 15)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0052-09/4872732-1-eng-US/f0052-092.jpg" title="f0052-09" width="544" height="204"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Sun. Jan. 8Mohawk Valley 1 at Carolina 2Pine Bridge 7 at Erie 9Tue. Jan. 10Mohawk Valley 8 at Virginia 5Wed. Jan. 11Pine Bridge 8 at Mohawk Valley 6Thu. Jan. 12Pine Bridge 2 at Erie 4Carolina 5 at Virginia 13Fri. Jan. 13Erie 1 at Mohawk Valley 8Pine Bridge 1 at Virginia 9Sat. Jan. 14Erie 5 at Mohawk Valley 3Virginia 4 at Pine Bridge 6Sun. Jan. 15Mohawk Valley 3 at Carolina 8Virginia 3 at Erie 7<h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0053-01109/4872725-1-eng-US/f0053-012.jpg" title="f0053-01" width="566" height="330"></div><h2>ONTARIO LAGUE</h2>(Standings on Tue. Jan. 17)<h3>LEYDEN DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0053-0274/4872718-1-eng-US/f0053-022.jpg" title="f0053-02" width="556" height="236"></div><h3>EMMS DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0053-0345/4872711-1-eng-US/f0053-032.jpg" title="f0053-03" width="542" height="261"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Tue. Jan. 10Belleville 8 at Toronto 3Kitchener 0 at S.S. Marie 3Kingston 5 at London 6Wed. Jan. 11Kitchener 7 at Sudbury 4North Bay 4 at Bellevlle 6Thu. Jan. 12Kingston 10 at Peterborough 9Ottawa 1 at Windsor 2North Bay 1 at Cornwall 5Fri. Jan. 13Sudbury 6 at Kitchener 13Ottawa 2 at London 5S.S. Marie 2 at Guelph 5Bellville 4 at Oshawa 8North Bay 5 at Kingston 4Sat. Jan. 14Cornwall 3 at Belleville 5Peterborough 5 at Toronto 4S.S. Marie 6 at Windsor 7Sudbury 2 at Brantford 9Sun. Jan. 15Kingston 6 at Toronto 9Sudbury 5 at Oshawa 8London 3 at North Bay 2Kitchener 11 at Cornwall 6Peterborough 5 at Brantford 10Ottawa 7 at Guelph 2<h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0053-0438/4872704-1-eng-US/f0053-042.jpg" title="f0053-04" width="564" height="320"></div><h2>WESTERN LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Tue. Jan. 17)<h3>EASTERN DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0053-0523/4872697-1-eng-US/f0053-052.jpg" title="f0053-05" width="552" height="266"></div><h3>WESTERN DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0053-0618/4872690-1-eng-US/f0053-062.jpg" title="f0053-06" width="548" height="204"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Tue. Jan. 10Lethbridge 2 at Prince Albert 8Kelowna 3 at Victoria 4Winnipeg 2 at Brandon 8Wed. Jan. 11Seattle 2 at Kelowna 4Regina 3 at Medicine Hat 4Lethbridge 2 at Saskatoon 4Kamloops 8 at Portland 7Thu. Jan. 12Seattle 2 at New Westminster EFri. Jan. 13Regina 3 at Lethbridge 0Kamloops 4 at Seattle 6Winnipeg 0 at Prince Albert 11Sat. Jan. 14Kelowna 3 at Medicine Hat 10Portland 4 at Victoria 5Saskatoon 5 at Winnipeg 3Regina 5 at Calgary 7Kamloops 3 at New Westminster 5Sun. Jan. 15Kelowna 2 at Lethbridge 3Saskatoon 4 at Brandon 8<h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0053-0711/4872683-1-eng-US/f0053-072.jpg" title="f0053-07" width="548" height="676"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0053-086/4872676-1-eng-US/f0053-082.jpg" title="f0053-08" width="544" height="156"></div><h2>QUEBEC LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Mon. Jan. 16)<h3>LEBEL DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0053-095/4872669-1-eng-US/f0053-092.jpg" title="f0053-09" width="548" height="206"></div><h3>DILIO DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0053-105/4872662-1-eng-US/f0053-102.jpg" title="f0053-10" width="542" height="176"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Mon. Jan. 9Chicoutimi 2 at Laval 9Quebec 4 at Shawinigan 3Tue. Jan. 10Granby 3 at Longueuil 5Wed. Jan. 11Verdun 5 at Drummondville 6St. Jean 6 at Hull 5Fri. Jan. 13Shawinigan 3 at Chicoutimi 4Granby 5 at Drummondville 3Laval 9 at Quebec 5Longueuil 5 at St. Jean 4Hull 5 at T-Rivieres 4Sun. Jan. 15T-Rivieres 3 at Drummondville 7Longueuil 4 at Granby 1Verdun 9 at Hull 1St. Jean 14 at Quebec 6Chicoutimi 5 at Shawinigan 7<h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0053-115/4872655-1-eng-US/f0053-112.jpg" title="f0053-11" width="552" height="328"></div><h2>ONTARIO SENIOR LEGUE</h2>(Standings on Mon. Jan. 16)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0053-125/4872648-1-eng-US/f0053-122.jpg" title="f0053-12" width="550" height="356"></div><h2>USSR vs TEAM CANADA</h2>(Final Standings)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0053-134/4872641-1-eng-US/f0053-132.jpg" title="f0053-13" width="554" height="116"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>USSR 4, Team Canada 3USSR 4, Team Canada 2USSR 4, Team Canada 3USSR 7, Team Canada 2USSR 7, Team Canada 5Team Canada 5, USSR 2Team Canada 6, USSR 6USSR 6, Team Canada 5Team Canada 9, USSR 5 &#9632;

f0052-01

MINOR SCOREBOARD

<div class="byline">BY PAT LYON</div>SPRUCE PINE&mdash;Former Buffalo Sabre standout Don Luce became the second coaching casualty of the season when he was relieved of his duties with the Pine Bridge Bucks.Luce, in his first professional coaching job, was fired after the Bucks were mired in last place with a 4-13 record. The Bucks brass turned over the coaching reins to former Hershey Bear Frank Perkins. The new mentor became one of the youngest coaches in professional hockey at age 23.After spending two years with Hershey, the Washington Capitals did not renew his contract and he opted to retire and work in Colorado where he also was playing senior hockey.Pine Bridge first contacted Perkins about playing and being an assistant coach with the club, but he told them he wasn&rsquo;t interested. Asked if he would be interested just in coaching, Perkins instructed them he would be and after a short waiting period he took over for the departed Luce.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s interesting, exciting and a lot of work,&rdquo; said Perkins Of his new job. &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t think I would be in this position this early. I talked to my other coaches just casual talk about coaching and I did some coaching in junior B and worked in training camp with junior teams. This opportunity came up and I felt it was something I had to take.&ldquo;My contract with Washington expired and they merged with Boston for a farm team in Hershey. I didn&rsquo;t want to go to a camp without a contract, it was kind of frustrating the last couple of years and the change I thought would do me good.&rdquo;Pine Bridge has undergone plenty of changes since Perkins took over the helm. With experience lacking, he picked up Tom Madson and Mike Brisebois from last year&rsquo;s championship team in Carolina and he has since added Mark Pettegrove, Rick Harris and goalie Dave Jamieson.&ldquo;We lack experience, especially on our forward ranks,&rdquo; stressed Perkins. &ldquo;If I find somebody that I think will better the hockey team, changes will be made. We&rsquo;re in last place and you just don&rsquo;t sit in last place, changes have to be made.&rdquo;LEAGUE WRAPUP&mdash;Rosters for the remainder of the year were reduced to 12 forwards and two goalies&hellip;Former Toronto Maple Leaf enforcer Paul Higgins, who is on the injured list of the Pine Bridge Bucks, will be given a 10-game tryout by the Sherbrooke Jets of the American Hockey League once his shoulder heals&hellip;Mohawk Valley coach Rick Ley named player Rich Suwek as an assistant coach for the club. Suwek will assist at practices and during games and will continue with his on-ice duties as captain of the team. Bo Tucker was added to the Stars&rsquo; roster while Scott Higgins. Keith Wright and Steve Lyons were released&hellip;Erie&rsquo;s Michel Cote returned to the lineup after a shoulder injury but then returned with two straight hat trick performances against Pine Bridge. Goalie Carey Walker recorded his 100th regular-season win&hellip;The Nashville South Stars finally settled into their new home in Salem, VA. The South Stars are now know as the Virginia Lancers and are owned by Salem businessman Henry Brabham. &#9632;

Bucks Give Rookie Coach Luce The Boot

BOSTON&mdash;Geoff Courtnall. LW, recalled from Hershey of AHL. Greg Johnston, RW, returned to Toronto of OHL. Jim Schoenfeld, D, back from injury list.BUFFALO&mdash;Dave Fenyves, D, and Mai Davis, RW, recalled from Rochester of AHL. Phil Housley, D, sidelined with shoulder injury. Hannu Virta, D, also on injury list.CALGARY&mdash;Rejean Lemelin, G, back from injury list. Mike Vernon, G, returned to Colorado of CHL.CHICAGO&mdash;Denis Savard, C, sidelined for 2 weeks with broken nose. Randy Boyd, D, Behn Wilson, D, and Troy Murray, C, all back from injury list. Tom Lysiak, C, and Jack O&rsquo;Callahan, D, returned to lineup after completing NHL suspensions. Don Dietrich, D, and Perry Pelensky, RW, returned to Springfield of AHL. Jim Ralph. G, assigned to Baltimore of AHL on loan.DETROIT&mdash;Murray Craven, C, returned to Medicine Hat of WHL. Claude Loiselle, C, suspended for six games by the NHL for sticks winging. Eddie Mio, G, sidelined indefinitely with pulled hamstring muscle. Dwight Foster, C, and Brad Smith, RW, both backfrom injury list. Smith assigned to Adirondack of AHL.EDMONTON&mdash;Jarri Kurri, RW, back from injury list.LOS ANGELES&mdash;Ken Houston, RW, back from injury list. Marcel Dionne, C, sidelined indefinitely with sprained ankle. Wes Jarvis,&rsquo; C, out of action with strained knee. Warren Holmes, C, recalled from New Haven of AHL.MINNESOTA&mdash;Jordy Douglas, LW, traded to Winnipeg for Tim Trimper, LW. North Stars sent Trimper to Salt Lake of CHL. Randy Velischek, D, and Craig Levie, D, both recalled from Salt Lake of CHL.NEW JERSEY&mdash;Jeff Larmer, LW, traded to RW, sent to Maine of AHL. Steve Baker, G, signed as free agent and assigned to Maine. Mel Bridgman, LW, named new team captain replacing Don Lever, LW.NY ISLANDERS&mdash;Bryan Trottier, C, sidelined indefinitely with strained knee ligaments.NY RANGERS&mdash;Dave Barr, RW, and Mikko Leinonen, C, recalled from Tulsa of CHL. Mike Blaisdell, RW, and Robbie Ftorek, C, both sent to Tulsa as replacements. Kent-Erik Andersson, RW, sidelined for 2-3 weeks with broken rib. Pierre Larouche, C, back from injury list.PHILADELPHIA&mdash;Len Hachborn, C, recalled from Springfield of AHL. Rick MacLeish, RW, traded to Detroit for undisclosed amount of cash. Miroslav Dvorak, D, back from injury list.PITTSBURGH&mdash;Todd Charlesworth, D, recalled from Baltimore of AHL.QUEBEC&mdash;lohn Van Boxmeer, D, and Wally Weir, D, both assigned to Fredericton of AHL. J.F. Sauve, C, recalled from Fredericton. Michel Dufour, G, recalled from Milwaukee of IHL and reassigned to Fredericton. Dave Pichette, D, sidelined with injury. Tony McKegney, RW, back from injury list.TORONTO&mdash;Rich Costello, RW, quit U.S. Olympic team and was signed to NJ-IL contract by the Leafs. Miroslav Frycer, RW, out of action indefinitely with knee injury. Jim Korn, D, and John Anderson, LW, both back from injury list.VANCOUVER&mdash;Jiri Bubla, D, back from injury list.WASHINGTON&mdash;Pat Riggin, G, assigned to Hershey of AHL. Dave Parro, G, recalled from Hershey as standby replacement. Bryan Erickson, LW, and Darren Veitch, D, also re-<h2>AMERICAN LEAGUE</h2>ADIRONDACK&mdash;Mike Corrigan, RW, and Mark Laforest, G, recalled from Kalamazoo of IHLBALTIMORE&mdash;Georges Gagnon, G, recalled from Kalamazoo of IHL and later returned. Brian Lundberg, D, recalled from Muskegon of IHL. Bob Gladney, D, sidelined for rest of season with eye injury.FREDERICTON&mdash;Richard Turmel, D, sent to Milwaukee of IHL.HERSHEY&mdash;Mark Evans, G, signed to pro tryout.MAINE&mdash;Paul Mercier, D, Bud Stefanski, C, and Al Hill, RW, all signed to contracts and added to roster. Yvan Joly, RW, signed as free agent from European hockey. Brent Shaw, RW, recalled from Muskegon of IHL.NOVA SCOTIA&mdash;Steve Marengere, D, left team to play in Switzerland. Greg Moffett, G, returned to lineup after missing 28 games with injury. Guy Pigeon, RW, recalled from Quebec of QMJHL for tryout and later returned. Whitney Richardson, LW, released but later restored to roster.ROCHESTER&mdash;Randy Cunneyworth, C, sidelined for 12 weeks with broken thumb. Geordie Robertson, Rw, and Chris Langevin, LW, out with knee injuries. Tom St. James, C, signed to pro tryout. Jeff Eatough, RW, added to roster.SHERBROOKE&mdash;Paul Higgins, RW, signed to pro tryout after he recovers from knee injury. Warren Skorodenski, G, returned to lineup after completing 20-game suspension.<h2>CENTRAL LEAGUE</h2>MONTANA&mdash;Mike Kouwenhoven, RW, signed as free agent.SALT LAKE&mdash;Rob Tudor, RW, signed as free agent from European hockey. Terry Tait, RW, &#9632;

PLAYER TRANSACTIONS

The Los Angeles Kings are hoping that once defenseman Mike Heidt serves a brief apprenticeship&mdash;he&rsquo;s currently with the New Haven Nighthawks of the American League&mdash;he&rsquo;ll solve a lot of their blueline woes.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0054-0611/4872898-1-eng-US/f0054-062.jpg" title="f0054-06" width="550" height="1114"></div>They have good reason for optimism since the 20-year-old was a star with the Calgary Wranglers of the Western Hockey League before graduating to the pro ranks. He started the season with the Kings and was sent to New Haven to improve his game.However, if he plays up to his potential, it won&rsquo;t be long before this rookie is back on the Kings&rsquo; blueline. &#9632;

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January 27, 1984

Flames’ Francis Back In Familiar Position

HOCKEY SCHOOLS…In The Province Of Ontario

North Stars Creep Ahead In Norris

Courtnall Has Impressed Us In Three Games