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.

March 23, 1984

The Hockey News March 23, 1984

<div class="byline">BY REYN DAVIS</div>WINNIPEG&mdash;The man who said he would never trade his first-round draft choice has.Putting now ahead of later. Jet general manager John Ferguson has acquired one of the National Hockey League&rsquo;s higher-profile defensemen, Randy Carlyle, from the Pittsburgh Penguins for his 1984 first-round draft choice, plus a player to be named later.While he was announcing his decision in his Los Angeles hotel suite, the phone rang. It was Harry Sinden of the Boston Bruins and, while he hated to interrupt the party, all he wanted was Carlyle.Ferguson listened to his pitch on the eve of the trading deadline.&ldquo;Harry just offered me one of his top forwards for Carlyle,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I like the guy, I really do. But I can&rsquo;t go back on my word. I needed a defenseman and I got one of the best in hockey. I&rsquo;m not budging.&rdquo;Sinden was offering 23-year-old Mike Krushelnyski, a center, who at 6-foot-2, 200 pounds would have looked good in a Jet uniform.No fewer than five teams were trying to pry Carlyle out of the grasp of Pittsburgh GM Eddie Johnston. The group included Quebec Nordiques, Calgary Flames and the Bruins.What made Ferguson&rsquo;s offer more attractive? For one thing, his position in the draft would have been higher than the other interested clubs. And the player to be named later could be a former second-round pick.The decision to sweeten the pitch for Carlyle was prompted by an injury that could deprive the Jets of Dave Babych&rsquo;s services until the end of the schedule. Babych, a workhorse, went down with a shoulder separation in Detroit.Carlyle, however, hadn&rsquo;t played for a month. A knee injury, his inactivity and a penchant for putting on weight left him less than ideally suited for a major workload.But the Jets were glad to have the 1981 winner of the Norris Trophy. Only 27, he should be in his prime with many more years ahead of him.Eighteen hours later, he arrived. He played every third shift, set up a goal, directed the power play, ruled the comers and fed a steady diet of passes to forwards who were flying.Still, the trade had come as a shock.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not easy to swallow,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I made a lot of good friends in Pittsburgh and only a month ago we had our first child, a boy. It&rsquo;s definitely going to be difficult for them at first.&rdquo;He had heard rumblings of a trade over a month ago. But he wasn&rsquo;t aware of renewed interest.&ldquo;I guess I should have known,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;When the trading deadline approaches, anything can happen. That&rsquo;s how I got to Pittsburgh and that&rsquo;s how I left.&rdquo;Regarded as one of the slickest defensemen in the NHL, Carlyle anchored the Penguins&rsquo; power play which set the NHL record with 99 goals during the 1981-82 season.But he saw their system plagerized.&ldquo;When it was diagramed in detail on the front page of the Globe and Mail, you knew others would have it, too,&rdquo; he said.The past two seasons in Pittsburgh were a disaster. People were blamed and his name has been mentioned.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want to bum my bridges in Pittsburgh, but around there they have been pointing their fingers in a lot of directions lately,&rdquo; he said.Carlyle cringes when people describe Pittsburgh as a great sports town.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s supposed to be a hard-hat town but people are leaving hockey for indoor soccer,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;The Steelers are still very big, but the Pirates don&rsquo;t draw that well. For a hockey player it was hard to see only four to five thousand fans at our games. But make one mistake and you&rsquo;d swear there were 15, 000 of them.&rdquo;Carlyle now finds himself in the thick of a race for a prime playoff spot. Every game has meaning now.&ldquo;I&rsquo;d rather go to Winnipeg and let the chips fall where they may,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I know I&rsquo;m joining a team that&rsquo;s on the rise. As far as I&rsquo;m concerned, the sky&rsquo;s the limit.&rdquo;BENCH BITS&mdash;An NHL record that has been tied 19 times since 1942 was broken on March 6 when Dale Hawerchuk collected five assists in one period while the Jets were beating Los Angeles Kings 7-3. The record of four assists in one period was originally set by Buddy O&rsquo;Connor of Montreal Canadiens. Since then, it had been tied by such greats as Doug Bentley, Billy Mosienko, Phil Waston, J.C. Tremblay, Bobby Orr, Mike Bossy and Wayne Gretzky. Hawerchuk drew assists on a pair of goals by both Paul MacLean and Morris Lukowich and one by Wade Campbell during a frantic second period when the Jets opened up a 6-2 lead. &#9632;

IN THIS ISSUE

Ferguson Got Defenseman He Wanted…

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Louisville Snigger®

<div class="byline">BY RANDY SMITH</div>HARTFORD&mdash;With general managerpresident Emile Francis proclaiming that &ldquo;maybe September has come early,&rdquo; the Whalers bolstered their roster by adding three defensemen and one forward within less than a week.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-01731/4884776-1-eng-US/f0020-012.jpg" title="f0020-01" width="568" height="610"><figcaption class="caption-body">Mark Fusco grew up in Massachusetts and played his first game against the Bruins.</figcaption></div>Francis, well aware that the Whalers can expect lean pickin&rsquo;s in this year&rsquo;s draft with but one choice in the first five rounds, signed free-agent Olympians Mark Fusco and Dave Tippett, traded for Scot Kleinendorst and picked up Jack Brownschidle on waivers from St. Louis.Tippett arrives hailed as a defensive forward, while Fusco, Kleinendorst and Brownschidle swell the Whalers&rsquo; defensive corps to nine.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll stockpile defensemen any time I can,&rdquo; said Francis, who claimed Brownschidle for $12, 500 within hours of spotting his former employee&rsquo;s name on the waiver list. &ldquo;I had been talking to St. Louis and then all of a sudden, he&rsquo;s on the list. Jack&rsquo;s a first-class kid and a great team man.&rdquo;He&rsquo;s also 28.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m glad to have him,&rdquo; Francis said. Brownschidle played seven seasons with St. Louis and appeared in 455 games with 36-156-192 totals and 132 penalty minutes.Kleinendorst arrived from the New York Rangers in exchange for Blaine Stoughton, the Whalers&rsquo; all-time leading goal scorer. He remains sidelined with a groin pull.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s young (24) and he&rsquo;ll get better,&rdquo; Francis said. &ldquo;What he needs most is playing time.&rdquo;Fusco, a U.S. Olympian who holds a degree in economics from Harvard University, grew up in Wobum, MA. In fairy-tale fashion, he launched his career in Boston against the Bruins.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s something I&rsquo;ll never forget,&rdquo; said Fusco, who scored an assist in his first NHL game and added two more in his second. &ldquo;To start in your hometown is special.&rdquo;&ldquo;I thought I could do it,&rdquo; said Fusco after his NHL baptism. &ldquo;With the Olympic team, we only played exhibition games against the NHL teams, but toward the end there, they all had their gunners. I did all right then, so I thought I could do all right as a pro. There&rsquo;s always a question until you do it.&rdquo;Tippett is smallish, but possesses major-league dash.&ldquo;The thing that&rsquo;s important about Mark and Dave is that both are winners,&rdquo; Francis said. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re just the sort of young men we want in this organization.&rdquo;Neither Fusco nor Tippett, who started his pro career in Boston, too, looked out of place in their NHL debut.With only Montreal&rsquo;s first-round choice, the Whalers are admittedly scrambling. But Francis is doing his best to replenish the roster with the avenues that remain open. He denies any trades are looming, merely that the battle for jobs has begun.&ldquo;Just say that maybe September has come early,&rdquo; he said.WHALER SCUTTLEBUTT&mdash;The Whalers have tied or set 31 team records this season, including most power-play goals and road wins. Twenty-three of those records were set in an 11-0 win over Edmonton&hellip;Mark Johnson, the team&rsquo;s leading scorer, scored one goal and added an assist before leaving in the second period in a 3-3 tie at Boston. &ldquo;I lost my peripheral vision,&rdquo; Johnson said. &ldquo;It was scary.&rdquo; His problem was diagnosed as a pulled muscle on the side of his head and he returned after missing one game, his first of the year&hellip;Four players&mdash;Joel Quenneville. Mike Zuke, Bobby Crawford and Ray Neufeld&mdash;have appeared in all games to date. Neufeld was the lone Whaler to appear in all 80 a year ago. The Whalers went 7-5-1 in February, their first winning month since Dec., 1980&hellip;Mike Crombeen remains out with a broken bone in his hand. Randy Pierce, up from Binghamton, sat out a game after taking a shot in the foot.. Torrie Robertson scored his first NHL hat trick in a 6-4 win over the Bruins. He also picked up four minor penalties. &ldquo;Torrie was either sitting in the box or scoring goals,&rdquo; Ed Hospodar said. Robertson&rsquo;s performance drew a standing ovation from his team-mates&hellip;Greg Millen enjoyed a 7-2-2 stretch with a 3.00 goals-against average. &#9632;

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Francis Continues To Fatten The Whalers

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Top Rookies In The NHL

<div class="image-hero"><img title="Cover-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/cover-01793/4886570-1-eng-US/cover-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">GORD KLUZAK (Photo by Steve Babineau)</figcaption></div>Black Hawks Won&rsquo;t Let Tony O Go&mdash;Page 12Oilers Open Vault To Sign Messier&mdash;Page 13Lake Placid Gears Up For NCAA Finals&mdash;Page 26The Ups And Downs Of Coach Dave King&mdash;Page 12 &#9632;

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COMING ON STRONG FOR THE BOSTON BRUINS

<div class="byline">FRANK ORR S</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-011201/4883748-1-eng-US/f0002-012.jpg" title="f0002-01" width="314" height="364"></div><h2>Late-Season Doctor</h2>&ldquo;AH, DOCTOR, ORR, I need a session with a learned PhD of the Puck like yourself to cope with the stretch-run symbiosis and the pre-playoff psychosis. Things seem a trifle cloudy in the grand old game.&rdquo;&ldquo;It&rsquo;s your lucky day, my dear chap. I&rsquo;ve been on sabbatical in Sarajevo, doing advance study on the Tikhonov theory and I also read the Tretiak treatise when I was there. Very interesting stuff to defuzzify the mind for the annual spring run for Lord Stanley&rsquo;s battered old spittoon, as the sports writers say.&rdquo;&ldquo;The Tikhonov theory? The Tretiak treatise? I never heard of them. Could you explain?&rdquo;&ldquo;Quite simple, really. Those two chaps are involved with the hockey team of the Soviet Union, which won another Olympic gold medal this year. Victor Tikhonov is the coach of the squad and in an exclusive interview, he told me the secrets of his success.&rdquo;&ldquo;Are they applicable to the National Hockey League?&rdquo;&ldquo;Not really. Tikhonov has a little advantage over an NHL coach. Many of his players are in the USSR army and when he threatens to demote them to the farm, he really means it. That&rsquo;s a collective farm near Leningrad. The best an NHL coach can do is to threaten a demotion to Halifax or Binghamton. It isn&rsquo;t quite the same. Close, but not quite.&rdquo;&ldquo;What&rsquo;s the Tretiak treatise?&rdquo;&ldquo;That&rsquo;s the secret of playing goal as revealed by the man many consider to be the best in the world.&rdquo;<h2>Secret Is The Shots</h2>&ldquo;HOW DOES HE&nbsp;do it?&rdquo;&ldquo;Simple, really. The secret is to be goalie on a team that gives the opposition only three or four scoring chances and a dozen shots a game.&rdquo;&ldquo;Do you think Tretiak will ever play for the Montreal Canadiens?&rdquo;&ldquo;He&rsquo;ll be a Canadien at about the time there&rsquo;s an election in the USSR in which the Republican and Democratic parties compete.&rdquo;&ldquo;Didn&rsquo;t all the nonsense about eligibility for the Olympics upset you?&rdquo;&ldquo;Heavens, no! The doctor isn&rsquo;t upset by the examination of important sociological issues. It was an interesting confrontation between the defenders of truth, justice and the preservation of idealism from the U.S., aided by their Finnish counterparts, against the threat of the crass Canadians, who would taint the Olympic ideal by their win-at-all-costs approach with players from the American Hockey League.&rdquo;&ldquo;Why did the Olympic people feel so strongly about players who had played even one game in the NHL?&rdquo;&ldquo;Everyone in the world knows how bad a man must be to stoop to playing in the NHL. Good heavens, the U.S. would prefer to have players who know Art Kaminsky on their team to those who had suited up in the NHL. After all, NHL teams, or some of them, anyway, have beer in the dressing room after games. NHL players have been spotted on Crescent Street in Montreal. If you were a hockey player from Norway or Austria, would you want your mother to know you had shared the ice with fellows that bad.&rdquo;<h2>Eagle&rsquo;s Secret Project</h2>&ldquo;WHY WOULD ALAN&nbsp;Eagleson try to get such players into the Olympics?&rdquo;&ldquo;Eagleson has a secret project. He figures that if he could be executivedirector of the Soviet Players&rsquo; Association, it would be a big feather in his cap.&ldquo;Enough about that silly international hockey, Doc! What about the Stanley Cup playoffs? Do you think it&rsquo;s really fair that New York Islanders were able to add players like Pat Flatley and Pat LaFontaine just before the playoffs?&rdquo;No, it&rsquo;s just another indication of what a bad sport Bill Torrey, the Islander general manager, really is. If he had any sense of sport, he wouldn&rsquo;t have signed those two after the Olympics to give the other teams a better chance of beating his team.&ldquo;I couldn&rsquo;t believe that there weren&rsquo;t more deals at the trading deadline. Have NHL GMs lost their nerve?&rdquo;&ldquo;Nobody wants to horse-trade these days in hockey. They only want to draft-trade, not swapping bodies the way they did in the good old days in the NHL. I think John Ziegler could become a big hockey hero by passing a rule that every team must trade four bodies a season or lose its first-round draft choice. That way, trading deadline day would be fun.&rdquo;&ldquo;Oh, doctor, I&rsquo;m glad we had this chat. I can face the spring with my head up.&rdquo;&ldquo;You&rsquo;re welcome! Always glad to clear up the issues of importance.&rdquo; &#9632;

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HOCKEY VIEWPOINT

<div class="byline">BY TOM HENSHAW</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0003-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-011220/4883779-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg"></div>When the floundering Boston Bruins were scratching and clawing for a point or two against the Hartford Whalers recently, a total of 10 players played virtually every minute of the last period and the overtime.The all-star four, Ray Bourque, Mike O&rsquo;Connell, Rick Middleton and Barry Pederson, were on the ice constantly.Not far behind were Keith Crowder, Mike Krushelnyski, Tom Fergus&mdash;and Gord Kluzak.Gord Kluzak? The name is familiar. Say, wasn&rsquo;t he the No. 1 choice in the whole 1982 entry draft, the one who fell flat on his face while other rookies such as Brian Bellows, Phil Housley, Scott Stevens and Steve Larmer were drawing raves and votes for the Calder Trophy?Indeed he was. But not anymore-.A season or so behind schedule, Kluzak is emerging as a key player for the Bruins, under siege by injury and the born-again Buffalo Sabres, as they battle to the wire for position in the 1984 playoffs.&ldquo;Gordie Kluzak is just now becoming the hockey player we all thought he would be,&rdquo; said Bruin coach Gerry Cheevers after Kluzak, who was billed as an offense-minded defenseman, scored his eighth goal of the season and picked up two assists and the first star in a 4-3 victory over the Quebec Nordiques on March 3.Kluzak was not only taking a regular shift on defense, he was playing left wing on the power play with Middleton and Pederson, stationing his 6-foot-4, 220-pound bulk right in front of the net and giving enemy goalies a stiff neck trying to see around him.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s all a matter of confidence,&rdquo; Kluzak said, echoing the words of a hundred other hockey players as they have moved from rookie to journeyman to star. That confidence has been carefully nurtured by the Bruins&rsquo; brass.&ldquo;The five-man rotation that we went to earlier in the season was really good for me,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;With that setup, I played right defense as well as left defense and that&rsquo;s a confidence builder.&ldquo;Things seem to be opening up for me offensively, too. When I&rsquo;m involved offensively I can play much stronger game. Offense is the fun part of the game. Defense is rewarding but it&rsquo;s not as enjoyable. I&rsquo;ve been seeing the plays better. I&rsquo;m seeing the openings better and I want to build off that..<blockquote class="pullQuote">Playing forward on the Bruins&rsquo; power play has given Kluzak a chance to carry the puck and gain more confidence.</blockquote>I played center and wing on the power play in junior. Doing that again gives me more confi-dence because I&rsquo;m skating with the puck more when I&rsquo;m on the power play.&ldquo;But playing in front of the net is new to me. I create sort of a screen. It gives the other guys room to operate. Our idea is to outnumber them in front, to converge on the net. O&rsquo;C and Ray have great shots and if they have a guy worrying about me it gives us a three-on-two in front.&rdquo;If the rapid development of Kluzak in the second season of his National Hockey League career can be traced to any one particular game or day, it probably would be Dec. 3, 1983, in Boston Garden when he scored both goals in a 6-2 loss to Minnesota. They were his second and third goals of the season and the third and fourth of his NHL career.&ldquo;It was a confidence-builder just to see the puck go in the net,&rdquo; he said a few days later after firing another score against Montreal.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve had my opportunities, but they just haven&rsquo;t gone in the net. Once you see it go in you seem to think a little more positively. You seem to think, &lsquo;Geez, put it in the net, not at the net, in the net.&rsquo; That&rsquo;s what I started to think a little bit when I got the goals against Minnesota.&rdquo;<blockquote class="pullQuote">For awhile, it looked as though Minnesota North Star Brian Bellows would be Kluzak&rsquo;s career-long nemesis.</blockquote>Although Kluzak says there is no rivalry between the two, the Minnesota game was satisfying in that it brought him face to face with Brian Bellows and he emerged with at least a standoff in individual stats. For awhile, it looked like Bellows would be Kluzak&rsquo;s career-long nemesis.Before the 1982 draft. Bellows was touted as the best choice since Denis Potvin was No. 1 in 1973, a genuine franchise builder. Kluzak was No. 2 or 3 at best, possibly lower since he had just had surgery for tom ligaments in his left knee. But Boston general manager Harry Sinden, who had just traded a front-line defenseman (Brad McCrimmon) for a front-line goalie (Pete Peeters), was more in the market for a defender than a franchise.There were hostile mutterings among Bruin fans as Bellows lived up to expectations with 35 goals in his rookie season and Kluzak floundered.&ldquo;I thought I started out well in the first 12 games,&rdquo; said Kluzak. &ldquo;I was fairly happy with my play and I was learning different things. Then I hurt my right groin on the very last shift in Montreal and I missed almost a month.&rdquo;Then he got the flu with a fever up to 104 degrees and he lost more than 10 pounds, which weakened him considerbly. When he returned, he suffered a slight tear in his left groin and it was Christmas before he really got straightened out physically. By that time Cheevers had set up a defensive rotation that couldn&rsquo;t be broken, so Kluzak played a little left wing and a little de-fense.&ldquo;Being a fourth-line left wing or an extra defenseman was tough,&rdquo; said Kluzak. &ldquo;I reached a point where I went to the coach and asked to be sent back to junior. It was a time of crucial development and I didn&rsquo;t think I could afford not playing.&rdquo;Injuries to Mike Milbury and Randy Hillier, however, gave Kluzak an opportunity in the playoffs and he made the most of it.&ldquo;The only good part of the season was the playoffs,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I was able to contribute something when the club needed it most. I made my mistakes in the playoffs, but I felt like I was part of the team, like I was needed. That was the motivation to work extra hard during the summer.&rdquo;&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve matured a lot since last season. I&rsquo;m much more comfortable in the city and I&rsquo;m much more comfortable around the team. I feel so much more one of the guys.&ldquo;Guy Lapointe, Mike Milbury and Jim Schoenfeld have helped me a lot. They&rsquo;ve got years of experience and I&rsquo;ve got the benefit of learning from them. They feel I&rsquo;m improving. I know I still have a long way to go but what they say gives me confidence.&rdquo;Kluzak was barely 18 when he was drafted by the Bruins. Now he&rsquo;s just turned 20, some say going on 30. Playing with the Bruins has been a maturing experience in more ways than one. There has been Normand Leveille&rsquo;s near fatal stroke, the critical illness of Terry O&rsquo;Reilly&rsquo;s infant son, Evan, and Craig MacTavish&rsquo;s unfortunate auto accident.&ldquo;It helps you to keep things in perspective as far as the unreal world we live in playing profes-sional hockey,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Hockey is important and you work as hard as you can at it, but life is certainly bigger than hockey and when things like that happen it makes you sit back and realize it.&ldquo;You see Normand and all the people involved that are so strong through their ordeals and it gives you strength to appreciate what you have. I don&rsquo;t think it affects your hockey. But it affects you as&rsquo; a person. And, in the long run, that&rsquo;s the most important thing.&rdquo; &#9632;

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GORD KLUZAK

THE INTERNATIONAL HOCKEY WEEKLYFounded in 1947 by Kenneth W. McKenziePUBLISHERDean HeineCONTROLLERTony DobranowskiEDITOR IN CHIEFBob McKenzieEDITORIAL DIRECTORCharlie HalpinASSISTANT EDITORPerry LefkoCONTRIBUTING EDITORSStan Fischler, Frank OrrADVERTISING SALES MANAGERRandy GreenADVERTISING SERVICES MANAGEREsther SumkaADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVESCanadian Consumer Product Sales:CCMC, Cliff Kivell, 287 MacPherson Ave.Toronto, Ontario M4V 1A4(416) 928-2909SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES MANAGERPaula HeardNEWSSTAND SERVICES MANAGEREsther SumkaCIRCUIATION DEPARTMENTKathy NikiesRosanne TaninoACCOUNTING DEPARTMENTTom MoffatMary CarubiaSPECIAL PROJECTS MANAGERHughes MarketingHockey News Bookshelf(416) 499-8227ADVERTISING AND EDITORIAL OFFICES85 Scarsdale Rd.. Suite 100Toronto, Ontario, CanadaM3B 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 well 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 ADDRESSCHANGES 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>In next week&rsquo;s issue, the cover story will detail the search for happiness being conducted by a pair of St. Louis Blues&mdash;Rob Ramage and Doug Wickenheiser&mdash;who have had to live up to the billing and pressure that goes with being a No. 1 entry draft selection.And we&rsquo;ll also have a mini-section on the state of the player agent business in hockey today. Perhaps it&rsquo;s time to shatter a few myths about player agents and that&rsquo;s exactly what this special feature will do.<h2>April 6</h2>The Buffalo Sabres are one of several legitimate Stanley Cup contenders this season and we&rsquo;ll take an in-depth look at one of their most underrated performers&mdash;Mike Foligno.Foligno rarely gets the exposure some of his teammates enjoy, but he plays an important role in the success of the Adams Division team.We&rsquo;ll also have a special section on Career Counselling. It will be aimed primarily at teenage hockey players who are forced to make important decisions at a young age. We&rsquo;ll present as much factual information as possible about the various routes that can be taken to a pro career. Don&rsquo;t miss it. &#9632;

COMING SOON IN THN

<div class="byline">BY JOHN GILBERT</div>BLOOMINGTON&mdash;It was almost getting to the point where Brad Maxwell was a perennial rookie.Maxwell broke in with the North Stars by scoring 57 points in his first year, a sizzling number for a defenseman from the New Westminster Bruins.But instead of taking a direct route to National Hockey League stardom in Minnesota, Maxwell was something of an emigma: brilliant with his puckhandling, pinpoint passing and willingness and ability to fight, but erratic with what seemed to be wavering intensity.Each year the spots of brilliance made those who appreciated Maxwell&rsquo;s boundless potential assume he was on the verge of becoming a star.This year, Maxwell finally seems to have found that level.&ldquo;This is my best year,&rdquo; Maxwell said. &ldquo;By far.&rdquo;Maxwell doesn&rsquo;t judge his season by points, but those points are interesting. Maxwell had 63 for the season after the North Stars strung together consecutive victories over Chicago, Detroit, New York Rangers and Philadelphia.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think I&rsquo;ve been over 48 points since my first year,&rdquo; said Maxwell. &ldquo;When Bill Mahoney came in as coach this season he gave me a lot of confidence.&ldquo;Ever since I was in junior, it seems the more I carry the puck offensively, the better I play defensively. That doesn&rsquo;t seem logical, but it just seems that when I rush the puck a lot, I&rsquo;m more involved in the game.&rdquo;Maxwell&rsquo;s point total puts him ahead of all defensemen in the Norris Division.Maxwell was a part of a couple of altercations against Chicago and Detroit. In one, some of the Stars wouldn&rsquo;t leave the scene of trouble, and in the other, Dave Richter and Maxwell led a charge off the bench when Eddie Johnstone of Detroit high-sticked Curt Giles in the face, breaking a tooth and cutting his chin.The Stars were fined $5, 000 apiece for those incidents but they may have been signs that the North Stars, right now, are healthier as a team than ever in their history.&ldquo;You used to have to kick guys off the bench on this team,&rdquo; said Maxwell. &ldquo;Now, everybody wanted to go help out. Some of the changes we&rsquo;ve made have really changed the personality of the team.&ldquo;Woody (Keith Acton) and Napes (Mark Napier) have added a lot since coming from Montreal. And now we&rsquo;ve got Paul Holmgren. Homer is such a great leader and so intense out there, it rubs off on everybody.&rdquo;Holmgren joked that, at 28, he was put on a line with George Ferguson and Al MacAdam, both 31, just to make him feel young. But that line shut down, in order, the Denis Savard line, Steve Yze-man&rsquo;s unit, Pierre Larouche&rsquo;s line and the Dave Poulin line in the four consecutive wins and scored a few goals besides.&ldquo;The physical ability has always been there with this team,&rdquo; Maxwell said. &ldquo;We just feel a lot closer together now. So many people tell us we&rsquo;re good but we don&rsquo;t work hard all the time. In the last few games we have.&ldquo;We have no passengers now. Used to be eight or 10 guys would be working and sometimes that would be enough to win. But now everybody&rsquo;s going.&ldquo;The year we went to the Stanley Cup finals, we weren&rsquo;t playing well until we started the playoffs in Boston. So it may not be that we&rsquo;re coming together too late. It might be just at the right time.&rdquo;STAR NOTES&mdash;Craig Levie was called up for the sixth time this season. He has responded by playing well whenever injuries have required his recall but he knows he probably won&rsquo;t be here for the whole season.. Tom Hirsch, the 6-foot-4 U.S. Olympian and hometown hero in Minneapolis, signed a contract and made an immediate impression with his size and agility&hellip;Defenseman Dave Jensen and forward Scott Bjugstad were sent down to Salt Lake City before they finished the 10 games of their tryout agreements. They have signed, but general manager Lou Nanne wants to keep them on a tryout basis so that he can have an extra year before he has to protect them. &#9632;

Stars, Maxwell Get It Together

<div class="byline">BY JAY GREENBERG</div>PHILADELPHIA&mdash;The problem with Bob McCammon is not his coaching, which is generally competent but open to some criticism, nor his general managership, which, while off to a promising start, is far too young to judge.The problem is McCammon&rsquo;s image. Victimized by some bad timing and some unfortunate newspaper headline writing, McCammon&rsquo;s already-strained relationship with the Flyer constituency sunk to a dangerous new low last week when he ordered the flu-ridden Bobby Clarke to take a six-game rest. This, coming on the heels of the unpopular Paul Holmgren trade and an honest mistake in the manner in which was Holmgren was informed, brought an almost frightening wave of hysteria over the Spectrum.The truth is that Clarke was dragging and knows it, despite what he said publicly. At the time McCammon announced that Clarke would sit out the next five games and vacation in Florida, he had already sat in the press box for one game and voiced his frustration. When he restated it the next day, all hell broke loose.Clarke said he wasn&rsquo;t tired, but that he was tired of arguing about it and that it would be wrong to make a big deal out of it at this point of the season.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s like arguing with your wife,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;You can&rsquo;t win.&rdquo; He did go on to expand about a team meeting held a week before in which he carried back to McCammon some of his teammates&rsquo; concern that his excitability behind the bench might be having a negative effect on a youth-ridden lineup. This, too, was nothing new; Clarke had volunteered this information following the Flyers&rsquo; victory in Edmonton the week before.&ldquo;I think Cagey (McCammon) is doing a better job,&rdquo; Clarke said at the time.He meant that McCammon had taken the criticism contructively and appeared to be offering a compliment.But when Clarke expanded on this five days later, the writer put anger in his voice where there was little and the headline in the paper read, Discontent In The Flyers&rsquo; Ranks.When McCammon announced before the game the following night at the Nassau Coliseum that Clarke would sit out five more games and that upon his return three other Flyer veterans&mdash;Darryl Sit-tler, Miro Dvorak and Bill Barber&mdash;would also take a four-game hiatus, the fallout was little short of a witch hunt.The truth? The extension to Clarke&rsquo;s rest was already decided upon before the story appeared. It was than suggested, ridiculously, that Clarke was being punished for his criticism and that some kind of dark power struggle for control of the team after Clarke retired was already underway.The truth? Clarke doesn&rsquo;t want to be coach or general manager of the Flyers. He wants to keep playing. And if he doesn&rsquo;t come back from Florida playing better than when he left, McCammon really has problems. With three rookie centers&mdash;Dave Poulin, Ron Sutter and Len Hachborn&mdash;playing well, Clarke is going to have to come to grips with a lesser role for next season.McCammon is not challenging Clarke. On the contrary, he would consider him an invaluable help if Clarke can accept playing less and contributing more. At the time of his enforced rest, he had 11 points in the last 25 games. A lingering viral infection which at one point had Clarke spitting up blood, has no doubt had an effect. But Clarke is also 34 years old and is unwilling to face his mortality.It would undoubtedly be a public relations disaster for the Flyers to allow Clarke to finish his career elsewhere. And he had already said he wouldn&rsquo;t.So is there really any problem? Yes, a big one, considering the signs and gross distemper of the Spectrum fans. Here is a case of coach learning from a mistake he made last year when he was justifiably criticized for taking a tired Clarke and Sittler into the playoffs to a first-round, three-straight doom. In a closely-matched Patrick Division race, the Flyers, considering their age in key spots, just don&rsquo;t see any great edge in finishing first or fourth. They learned the hard way just how hollow their 106 points and Patrick Division title turned out to be a year ago.The villain is the NHL for not providing a better regular-season reward, not McCammon for weighing the alternatives and trying to think ahead.Winning a round of the playoffs this year would help a little, but one wonders if anything short of a Stanley Cup would get the monkey off McCammon&rsquo;s back. In the eyes of the fans, he simply cannot do anything right.Early indications are that McCammon&rsquo;s first moves as GM have been good ones. He got Doug Crossman and a No. 2 draft pick for a Behn Wilson, who has done nothing in Chicago to prove the Flyers made a mistake. He coaxed Thomas Eriksson, a leading candidate for the All-Rookie team, back from Sweden. He dealt Holmgren, who while tremendously popular and a wonderful team man, has limited years left, for a winger, Paul Guay, who has some promise and a No. 3 pick. Rich Sutter, acquired from Pittsburgh, looks like just a tradeoff for what Mark Taylor could have done in a variety of roles this year, but Sutter fills a Holmgren role and the Flyers think he will get better.McCammon also found a bright, young assistant coach in Ted Sator, whose recommendation led to the signing of Dave Poulin. The Flyers are 14-points off last year&rsquo;s pace and will go into this year&rsquo;s playoffs as an underdog against any of their three possible opponents. But it&rsquo;s easy to forget how much they have changed from a year ago&mdash;there are eight rookies playing regularly. This may be a case of having to take a few steps backwards to take some forward in future seasons. Any year which produces a Poulin, Ron Sutter, Len Hachbom, Eriksson and Crossman is hardly indicative of a team in decline.And yet the GM is backed up against a wall. The most prudent move, both for McCammon&rsquo;s survival and the club&rsquo;s general welfare and public perception, would be to elevate Sator to coach next year and for McCammon to become a full-time GM. This will get him off the day-to-day firing line and clear the air, so that the full fruits of his long-term plans will be left in the sun to grow. &#9632;

McCammon Sits On The Flyer Hotseat

<h2>GLOBE REPORTERS ON PROBATION</h2>TORONTO&mdash;Reporters from the Toronto Globe and Mail, banned from the Maple Leaf Gardens press box since Jan. 18. were readmitted on March 11.Maple Leaf owner Harold Ballard, who has been feuding with the newspaper over the nature of its coverage of the Maple Leafs, sent a letter to Globee sports editor Paul Palango informing him that the Globe &ldquo;beat&rdquo; reporters would be allowed in the press box but they would be on &ldquo;probation.&rdquo;Ballard refused to let Globe employees into the press box after the NHL forced him to allow reporters William Houston and Al Strachan into the Leaf dressing room. The league has no jurisdiction over the press box.Ballard said press-box privileges would be revoked if the Globe laun-ched any &ldquo;witch hunts.&rdquo; Palango said the paper will continue to cover the Leafs as it sees fit.<h2>NHL LOSES IN COURT</h2>OTTAWA&mdash;National Hockey League owners will be forced to turn over their financial records to a Canadian federal anti-combines inquiry which is investigating the sale of the St. Louis Blues, the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled.The high court refused to grant an appeal by the NHL owners that would have prevented the anti-combines branch of the consumer and corporate affairs department from seizing their financial records.The government is looking into whether the NHL&rsquo;s 21 club owners are involved in a monopoly situation. The investigation stems from last year&rsquo;s refusal by the league to allow a group from Saskatoon, Sask., to purchase the Blues from Ralston Purina of St. Louis.<h2>OILER GM CHARGED</h2>VANCOUVER&mdash;Edmonton Oiler general manager-coach Glen Sather will appear in provincial court here on April 6 to answer charges of assaulting a 70-year-old spectator during a National Hockey League game.James Elliott of Vancouver told police that the 40-year-old Sather struck him on the head during an Oiler game against the Canucks at the Pacific Coliseum on Dec. 28.The charge&rsquo;s maximum penalty is six months in jail and a $500 fine.<h2>RANGER COACH FINED</h2>NEW YORK&mdash;Ranger coach Herb Brooks has been assessed a $1, 000 fine by the league for an incident during a Jan. 20 game with Pittsburgh at Madison Square Garden.NHL president John A. Ziegler, Jr. said Brooks was fined for throwing a stick into an aisle behind the Rangers&rsquo; bench.Brooks threw the stick at a fan who was harrassing him.<h2>MacTAVISH PLEADS INNOCENT</h2>BOSTON&mdash;Bruin forward Craig MacTavish pleaded innocent on Mar. 7 to vehicular charges issued by a grand jury investigating the death of a woman on Jan. 25.Kim Radley. 26, of Newfield, MA, died four days after the car she was driving was rammed by another vehicle. Radley suffered head injuries following the accident and never regained consciousness.The 25-year-old MacTavish was released on his own recognizance and returned to the Bruins&rsquo; roster after he recoverd from head injuries.A pre-trial date has been set for Mar. 27, although MacTavish is not obligated to appear. The Bruins are playing in Quebec against the Nordiques that night. &#9632;

SLAPSHOTS

Here&rsquo;s what was happening 20 years ago this week in hockey:&bull; Walter Brown, president of the Boston Bruins and Boston Garden, announced plans to televise the National Hockey League Stanley Cup playoffs on close-circuit television at the Garden.&bull; Yvan Coumoyer and Bobby Orr were the only two unanimous choices on the Ontario Hockey Association all-star team. Coumoyer, the outstanding right winger for the Montreal Junior Canadiens, topped the league in goals with 63. Orr, the 15-year-old scoring sensation with Oshawa, set a record for goals by a defenseman with 30.Here&rsquo;s what was happening 15 years ago this week in hockey:&bull; Rod Gilbert moved to fifth place on the New York Rangers&rsquo; all-time scoring list with his 369th point.&bull; Alex Delvecchio became the NHL&rsquo;s third 1, 000-point man, joining teammate Gordie Howe and Montreal&rsquo;s Jean Beliveau.&bull; Minnesota&rsquo;s Danny Grant tied and later broke Bernie Geoffrion&rsquo;s rookie record for goals (30).&bull; Marcel Dionne of St. Catharines set an OHA rookie record of 100 points, on 37 goals and 63 assists.&bull; Hershey Bear center Mike Nykoluk achieved a milestone when he notched his 700th point. &#9632;

THIS WEEK…20 Years Ago

<div class="byline">BY RANDY SCHULTZ</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-011121/4883982-1-eng-US/f0005-012.jpg" title="f0005-01" width="613" height="580"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-02821/4883975-1-eng-US/f0005-022.jpg" title="f0005-02" width="376" height="581"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-03570/4883968-1-eng-US/f0005-032.jpg" title="f0005-03" width="373" height="577"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-04383/4883961-1-eng-US/f0005-042.jpg" title="f0005-04" width="388" height="580"></div>Physical pain has always been a part of the National Hockey League. Unfortunately for former NHL star Mickey Redmond, physical pain is still a constant reminder of his hockey career.The pain is the result of a back injury which permanently damaged a nerve connecting his right leg and forced him to retire from the NHL in 1976 at the age of 28.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll have problems with my right leg for as long as I live,&rdquo; said the 36-year-old Redmond. &ldquo;There are days when that leg is numb from the knee down. It gets tired very quickly if I walk on it too much. And I have many sleepless nights because it hurts so much.&rdquo;Life wasn&rsquo;t always so painful for the Kirkland, Ont., native, who spent nine seasons in the NHL with the Montreal Canadiens and Detroit Red Wings.Redmond was only 19 when he broke into the NHL with the Canadiens in 1967, but had to wait his turn before earning a chance to play regularly.&ldquo;Like every Canadian boy that&rsquo;s ever wanted to play hockey, my dream was to play for either the Canadiens or the (Toronto) Maple Leafs,&rdquo; said Redmond. &ldquo;They had a tremendous team when I joined them and I took full advantage of the opportunity.&ldquo;I learned as much as I could from such veterans as Claude Provost, Henri Richard, Jean Beliveau and J.C. Trembley.&rdquo;One of Redmond&rsquo;s most memorable goals came as a member of the Canadiens on April 13, 1969 when he scored an overtime goal against Boston goalie Ed Johnston to give the Habs a 2-0 lead in their playoff semi-final.&ldquo;I had been on the bench all night before getting the call to take my first shift,&rdquo; Redmond said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll always remember it because the Canadiens were going for their second Stanley Cup championship in a row.&ldquo;And being on those two championship teams was a thrill that nobody can ever take away from me.&rdquo;During the 1970-71 season he was traded to the Red Wings and followed with two 50-plus-goal seasons.Redmond began feeling back pains in October, &lsquo;74, following his 51-goal season. At first he ignored the pain and continued to play. But eventually the sleepless nights and walking problems were too much to bear.Doctors discovered a ruptured disc in Redmond&rsquo;s back and surgery was performed in 1975 in hopes of correcting the problem. But it didn&rsquo;t help.&ldquo;The operation had not been done in time,&rdquo; Redmond said.Following further examination in the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, doctors discovered permanent nerve damage had been done to his right leg.Finally realizing that he would never have full use of his right leg again, Redmond retired from hockey following the 1976 season.&ldquo;I had always been able to score goals, even as a youngster,&rdquo; said Redmond, who now resides with his wife and family in Franklin, ML &ldquo;But I was still developing my shot, even before I was injured.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-05257/4883954-1-eng-US/f0005-052.jpg" title="f0005-05" width="597" height="807"><figcaption class="caption-body">Mickey Redmond is still bothered by a back injury that cut short his career in 1976.</figcaption></div>&ldquo;Of course, I was fortunate to play with two good centers while I was with the Red Wings&mdash;Alex Delvecchio and Bill Hogaboam. They fed me a lot of good scoring passes.&ldquo;But not making the playoffs with the Red Wings was my biggest disappointment. We came close a couple of times, but we always seemed to fall short.&rdquo;Today, Redmond works as a representative for a steel company in Detroit, MI. He is also a color commentator for Hockey Night in Canada telecasts and co-owns a restaurant and lounge, Redmonds, in Boston, MA, with his brother Dick, a former Bruin defenseman. &#9632;

f0005-01

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

<div class="byline">BY BOB DUFF</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0005-06" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-06145/4884037-1-eng-US/f0005-062.jpg"></div>that the NHL teams that have made the playoffs for the most consecutive years are: &#9632;

f0005-06

Did You Know…

1. Where is the United States Hockey Hall of Fame located?2. Which current NHL coach played defense for the WHA&rsquo;s Philadelphia Blazers?3. Who played on the Montreal Maroons&rsquo; famed &ldquo;S&rdquo; line?4. Who played right wing on Montreal&rsquo;s fabled &ldquo;Punch&rdquo; line before Maurice Richard?5. Who was the first captain of the Atlanta Flames?6. Who were the players on the New York Rangers&rsquo; G.A.G. line?7. What Montreal Canadien forward suffered career-ending head injuries in a car accident following the 1934-35 season?8. Name the fifth player in the deal which saw Boston send Phil Esposito and Carol Vadnais to the Rangers for Brad Park and Jean Ratelle?9. Who was the last brother combination to play for the Toronto Maple Leafs?10. When was the most recent scoreless tie in the NHL?<h2>Trivia Answers</h2>1. Eveleth, Minnesota.2. Nick Polano.3. Babe Siebert, Nels Stewart and Hooley Smith.4. Joe Benoit.5. Keith McCreary.6. Rod Gilbert, Vic Hadfield and Jean Ratelle.7. Nels Crutchfield.8. Joe Zanussi.9. Barry and Brian Cullen (1958-59).10. Buffalo and Quebec, Feb. 5, 1983. &#9632;

TRIVIA

<div class="byline">BY STAN FISCHLER</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-011300/4884068-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg" title="f0006-01" width="303" height="352"></div><h2>The Harry Mummery Award</h2>AS YOU AND John Ziegler know, I am constantly trying to improve the National Hockey League. Usually, I keep my ideas to myself but this one is too good to contain. So, I give you The Harry Mummery Award.Yes, it is time for the NHL to produce a new trophy. The problem is, the league has exhausted all good trophy reasons. After the Selke (best defensive forward), they ran out of ideas and to prove it, the NHL hasn&rsquo;t come up with a new prize in seven years.The Harry Mummery Award will fill that void. It will be the NHL&rsquo;s first off-ice trophy&mdash;and the biggest, standing six feet tall and weighing more than 200 pounds. It will be presented annually to the biggest eater in big-league hockey.Ah, you must be thinking, why call it The Harry Mummery Award? Why not? Harry was the biggest eater in NHL history, bar none.Playing defense for the Montreal Canadiens in the early days of the franchise, 258-pound Harry could eat a team right off the profit ledger as Hab owner George Kennedy discovered during the 1916-17 season.When Harry arrived in Montreal from Brandon, Man., in 1916, he promptly handed Kennedy a bill for $107&mdash;today that would be about $1, 000&mdash;which accounted for his dining car expenses alone. Of course, Kennedy couldn&rsquo;t believe anyone could eat that much so he asked Mummery to enumerate.&ldquo;I had six meals a day,&rdquo; Harry said, &ldquo;a few side dishes and a quart of ice cream with every meal.&rdquo;&ldquo;You don&rsquo;t expect me to pay for the ice cream, too,&rdquo; Kennedy demanded.Mummery lifted his blimpish figure out of the seat and pointed a warning finger at his boss. Kennedy thought he was about to be attacked but all Mummery wanted to assault was another steak.&ldquo;George,&rdquo; Harry demanded. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m getting hungry. And I&rsquo;m going to charge it to the club if you don&rsquo;t pay up pretty soon.&rdquo;Kennedy paid and Mummery played. In fact, he played well and ate even better. Thus, the Harry Mummery Award.Now comes the tough part. Is there a Harry Mummery in the NHL today? Is there any big-leaguer who comes even close to six-meal-a-day Harry?These are difficult questions to answer but the Fischler Agricultural Team (FAT) crisscrossed the NHL in search of a latter-day Mummery. We interviewed players on every team and have come up with some interesting contenders. The nominations and their choices follow:RANDY CARLYLE&mdash;&ldquo;He eats all the time,&rdquo; says former teammate Russ Anderson of round-faced Randy.RICK GREEN&mdash;&ldquo;One night, when we played together on the Caps,&rdquo; says Wes Jcrvis, &ldquo;we stopped at the Colorado Mining Co. restaurant. Rick ate three full-sized, plate-sized pieces of prime rib. It was All You Could Eat Night and he did!&rdquo;DARYL EVANS&mdash;&ldquo;Daryl has six helpings of everything,&rdquo; says Bernie Nicholls, speaking first-hand. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s the biggest eater I ever saw. His specialty is an eight-egg omelette with everything in them.&rdquo; (Terry Ruskowski says Evans eats 10-egg omelettes!)MIKE MILBURY&mdash;&ldquo;When I coached the Bruins and we played in Pittsburgh, we&rsquo;d go out for a few beers and dinner after a game,&rdquo; says Don Cherry. &ldquo;The dinner usually would consist of a long fish sandwich. Mike would eat four of them.&rdquo;TERRY O&rsquo;REILLY&mdash;&ldquo;Taz only qualifies if there&rsquo;s a Sloppy Eater category,&rdquo; insists Jim Schoenfeld. &ldquo;It isn&rsquo;t that Taz is a big eater, but he sure is a sloppy one. His food gets all over his face, but none gets in his mouth.&rdquo;LARRY PLAYFAIR&mdash;&ldquo;He&rsquo;s the only man I know who can consume eight salads at one sitting,&rdquo; offers Mike Foligno, a frequent witness.DAVE ANDREYCHUK&mdash;&ldquo;When we have a cookout,&rdquo; says Phil Housley, &ldquo;everyone brings a T-bone but Dave comes in with a family steak.&rdquo; Mike Ramsey adds: &ldquo;I watched Dave eat three Whoppers, a large order of french fries and a chocolate shake.&rdquo; Adds Housley: &ldquo;And he did it in 10 minutes.&rdquo;JIM PEPLINSKI&mdash;&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve seen him clean out two or three buffet tables,&rdquo; says Kevin Lavallee. &ldquo;He eats everything that isn&rsquo;t moving&mdash;and a few things that are!&rdquo;MARK OSBORNE&mdash;&ldquo;I lived with him for awhile this season,&rdquo; claims Mike Blaisdell, &ldquo;and he almost ate everything in my refrigerator. He must have a high metabolism because he eats anything he can get his hands on.&rdquo;These, therefore, are the top candidates for the first annual Harry Mummery Award. Nominations will be accepted until playoff time and the winner will be announced during the finals. But let&rsquo;s get something straight right now: not even the winner of the trophy can compare to Harry Mummery, himself. One more Harry story:On the afternoon of a game, Harry would consume a fullcourse meal along with his teammates and then have another round of food immediately before the opening faceoff.Since this schedule of eating was not part of the approved NHL procedure, Mummery had to improvise his second dinner. He simply headed for the nearest butcher shop, purchased a steak and brought it to the arena. Harry would then head for the basement, grab a coal shovel and broil his steak over the furnace fire.Top that Mike Milbury and you get The Harry Mummery Award for life.<h2>Fotiu&rsquo;s Follies</h2>BY POPULAR DEMAND, we bring you the 1984 version of Nick Fotiu&rsquo;s Follies (or why no one should ever turn his back on the tallest Greek-Italian hockey player from Staten Island).When we last looked, Nicky was busy dumping garbage on John Davidson&rsquo;s car. That was prank number 1243 in the Fotiu catalogue. Here are the latest entries:No. 1244: Victim, Scot Kleinendorst (now with Hartford). Scot was waiting in the boarding lounge at Kennedy Airport, minding his own business (a mistake when Fotiu is around). Nicky stealthily crept up behind Kleinendorst. unhooked a chain from a nearby barricade and clipped it to the back of Kleinen-dorst&rsquo;s coat, which Scot was wearing at the time (mistake number two). When the boarding announcement was made, Kleinendorst got to his feet and began walking toward the plane entrance. So did several barricades that had been attached to him. Fotiu&rsquo;s laugh clocked a 20 on the Stanford University seismograph.No. 1245: Victim, Mike Allison. Allison mistakenly thought he could one-up Fotiu at the conclusion of the flight. He secretly obtained Nicky&rsquo;s luggage and hid it with one of the stewardesses. &ldquo;Give Mr. Fotiu the bags as soon as (he) starts looking for it,&rdquo; Allison told the stewardess.Unknown to Mike, Nicky got wind of the plot, found his luggage and then hid it elsewhere. But when the plane landed, he pretended that he couldn&rsquo;t find his valise.Allison then confessed to the prank. &ldquo;Okay,&rdquo; said Nicky. &ldquo;Now go find my bags.&rdquo; Allison looked and looked and looked and, of course, never found them. Meanwhile, Nicky retrieved his bag and took off in a cab.<h2>30-Second Third Degree</h2>DAVE ANDREYCHUK, WILL you please take the stand?Q: How do you feel about Scotty Bowman?ANDREYCHUK: He&rsquo;s a pretty hard man to talk to&mdash;strictly business. But as long as you perform, things are going to be&hellip;you&rsquo;ve just got to try to do your best all the time and he&rsquo;ll be on your side all the time. If there is something I have to talk about with him, I wouldn&rsquo;t hesitate. He&rsquo;s a man who understands and will talk to you about anything.Q: What about his alleged tantrums between periods?ANDREYCHUK: There have been some but he only does it when it&rsquo;s needed. When the team&rsquo;s going bad, there is no reason why he shouldn&rsquo;t. Throwing a tantrum is his way of trying to get us going. I&rsquo;m happy he&rsquo;s coaching me. He&rsquo;s brought me a long way.Q: Why are the Sabres a better team than they were last year?ANDREYCHUK: Our play on the road and our goaltending has been superb. We&rsquo;re coming into our own and realize we have a decent team.Q: Who are the Sabres&rsquo; leaders?ANDREYCHUK: Craig Ramsay, Gil Perreault and Bob Sauve.Q: It seems that you&rsquo;re coming into your own as a superior player?ANDREYCHUK: It&rsquo;s more the team playing well and, of course, I am playing more. Being on good lines didn&rsquo;t hurt. I&rsquo;m working hard and trying to feed my wingers. Everything is combined to lift my confidence level and what happens is that I begin to do things that I don&rsquo;t normally do and it has a positive snowballing effect. The club wins and this, in turn, keeps things going good for me. &#9632;

f0006-01

ON THE CONTRARY

<div class="byline">BY RONN COBB</div>ST. LOUIS&mdash;Was that Rick Heinz beating the Minnesota North Stars in back-to-back games and then the Philadelphia Flyers or was it a ghost?Take a look at his eyes, they&rsquo;re kind of glazed over. He is smiling all the time. This is not the Rick Heinz whom we came to love and ignore.Maybe he worked out a deal with the devil&mdash;he sure had plenty of time to negotiate. For 51 days, he was the Blues&rsquo; forgotten goaltender.Died: Jan. 5, 1984.Born again: Feb. 25, 1984.Even in his first life, things were not all rosy for Heinz. Playing behind Mike Liut, he started only eight of the Blues&rsquo; first 41 games this season. But he knew what his role was and he fulfilled it capably, posting a 3-3-2 record.But then came his death notice. On Jan. 5, the Blues acquired Bunny Larocque from the Flyers. Heinz became the third goaltender in a two-goaltender system.From Jan. 7 to Feb. 16, Larocque started five games. The Blues lost all five and he gave up 31 goals. Nobody was saying that Larocque had been awful, but a chance is a chance.And so, when Liut went down with a strained knee ligament on Feb. 23, the call went out to Rick What&rsquo;s-His-Name.The Blues had lost five straight games and were sinking fast in the Norris Division when Heinz faced the Nordiques in Quebec on Feb. 25. Eight days later, the Blues and Heinz were back in business. After a tie and loss to Quebec in back-to-back games, the Blues swept a home-and-home series with Minnesota and then beat the Flyers in St. Louis.Heinz was loving every minute of it. After each of the victories in St. Louis, he dusted off his repertoire of fistshaking and leg-kicking as he skated off the ice.&ldquo;If you sat out two months, you&rsquo;d be a hot dog too,&rdquo; he said.Heinz wasn&rsquo;t just along for the ride in the Blues&rsquo; 3-1-1 week. He was a major factor. His rise from the ashes overshadowed excellent performances in the five games by center Bernie Federko, who had five goals and five assists; right winger Joe Mullen, who had four goals and five assists; and left winger Brian Sutter, with three goals and four assists.&ldquo;I feel great&hellip;wonderful,&rdquo; Heinz said after he had launched his return with the tie against Quebec. &ldquo;I thought my season was over and maybe my career, too.&ldquo;To come out and help the guys when they were in a jam, it&rsquo;s great. It makes you feel like you belong.&rdquo;Said coach Jacques Demers: &ldquo;For a guy who wasn&rsquo;t supposed to be playing for the Blues anymore, he&rsquo;s been more than overwhelming.&rdquo;It&rsquo;s funny how things work out sometimes.&ldquo;You play behind a great goaltender like Mike Liut, you don&rsquo;t expect to play a whole lot,&rdquo; Heinz said. &ldquo;But still, 51 days was a little tough.&ldquo;But as long as I was able to show up every day, I just treated it like I was part of the team. I didn&rsquo;t change my style. I didn&rsquo;t mope; I didn&rsquo;t complain. I tried to remain my happy-go-lucky self.&ldquo;I was at practice 30 minutes early every day for the guys who weren&rsquo;t in the lineup. I worked my tail off constantly. Even though I couldn&rsquo;t see the light at the end of the tunnel, I didn&rsquo;t lose my composure. After all that work, I think the coaches finally notices after two months. I think they liked my attitude as a team player.&rdquo;BLUENOTES&mdash;Dave Barr, whom the Blues acquired in the deal for Larry Patey and the rights to U.S. Olympian Bob Brooke, took Patey&rsquo;s center spot in the Blues&rsquo; lineup. The Blues opted to trade Brooke&rsquo;s rights after deciding that they didn&rsquo;t want to meet his contract demands&hellip;The Blues called up winger Perry Ganchar and defenseman Jim Pavese from Montana of the CHL and reassigned center Dan Wood and Alain Lemieux from Montana to Springfield of the AHL and defenseman Alain Vigneault to Maine of the AHL. &#9632;

Heinz Rises From The Grave For The Blues

The International Hockey WeeklyFounded in 1947Published by W.C.C. Publishing Ltd.85 Scarsdale Road, #100, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M3B 2R2.<h2>The Integrity Question</h2>BOB BUTERA should know better. As president of the New Jersey Devils, a team struggling for respectability, he has not appreciated slurs being directed at his National Hockey League club.A case in point was Wayne Gretzky&rsquo;s now infamous &ldquo;Mickey Mouse&rdquo; barb. Another incident was the spoof of a pop single, The Safety Dance, by a New Jersey area disc jockey, who wrote words to the effect that the Devils would be better off losing for the rest of the season so they could get the No. 1 pick in the 1984 entry draft.Having your integrity questioned is not one of the better ways to wake up to a day, especially for a team such as the Devils, who have been hopelessly out of the playoff picture for most of the regular season.Having said all that, it&rsquo;s difficult to comprehend why Butera would turn around and cast aspersions on the integrity of the Pittsburgh Penguin organization.Butera, quoted in the Newark Star-Ledger, made comments to the effect that he couldn&rsquo;t understand why the Penguins have played so poorly and he hoped that they wouldn&rsquo;t play poorly on purpose in an effort to get the No. 1 pick in the 1984 entry draft.Naturally, the Penguin management flipped out when they learned of Butera&rsquo;s comments. Butera, meanwhile, said it was much ado about nothing and that he never meant to question anybody&rsquo;s integrity.But we&rsquo;re afraid that doesn&rsquo;t wash. Butera&rsquo;s comments, which can be found on Page 16 of this issue, clearly plant seeds of doubt as to the Penguins&rsquo; integrity. He falls short of calling them quitters, but certainly suggests, in a roundabout way, that the notion isn&rsquo;t out of the question.For that to be the case, the Penguin players would have to have thrown in the towel. Perhaps some of them have, out of frustration, but most of the players are in a position of having to prove themselves and start earning a spot on next year&rsquo;s club. After all, if you were a Penguin player, would you intentionally play poorly so the team could get the No. 1 pick in next year&rsquo;s entry draft?Perhaps we are a little bit naive, but isn&rsquo;t it conceivable that the majority of Penguin players don&rsquo;t give a damn where the team drafts next year? Many of them may not be around to see the new rookie sensation come in.Butera&rsquo;s other flaw is that any team can be accused of such indiscretions. Example: The Devils recently played in Maple Leaf Gardens and totally dominated the Maple Leafs for the first half of the game. They led by a couple of goals in the second period and appeared on their way to an easy victory. But the Leafs bounced back, the Devils collapsed and Toronto won 8-4. A cynic could easily suggest that the Devils folded intentionally because they want to finish in last place overall.That cynic would be wrong. So is Bob Butera.The Devils didn&rsquo;t like it when a disc jockey poked fun at them and, in jest, questioned their integrity and credibility. You would think that Butera would have known better than to say anything that could be remotely construed as questioning the integrity of another NHL club.After all, he&rsquo;s been on the receiving end and he knows the weight of the punches. He owes the Penguins and the game of hockey an apology.<h2>Equal Rights</h2>GLOBE AND MAIL reporters, who have been persona non grata in the Maple Leaf Gardens press box for much of this season, were finally allowed back in on March 11. While it&rsquo;s too early to say that the distasteful feud between the Maple Leafs and the Globe is over and forgotten, it&rsquo;s good to see the most immediate problem resolved.However, that should not stop the NHL governors from rewriting the rules regarding media relations. The governors would do well to establish legislation that guarantees equal access to the dressing room and press box for all accredited media. That would help to prevent any future media-club confrontations, which only serve to give the game a bad name. &#9632;

<div class="byline">BY WAYNE PARRISH</div><h2>Maybe Hamilton Doesn&rsquo;t Need Harold Ballard</h2>If you&rsquo;ve been following the disaster that is the Pittsburgh Penguins, you may have noticed it is rapidly closing in on the crisis stage.Forget the team&rsquo;s last-place standing in the National Hockey League. The Penguins accomplished that much last year, though this year&rsquo;s numbers&mdash;14 wins, 34 points&mdash;are even more woeful. But there is another set of more condemning numbers, numbers like 3, 812, 3, 599 and 3, 844.Those are the attendance figures for three of the last four Penguin home games. The question that arises is how much longer will construction magnate Edward DeBartolo continue underwriting the sort of losses those numbers foster? The Penguins lost $3.5 million last year, will blow another $5 million this and while that may be a drop in DeBartolo&rsquo;s corporate bucket, there has to be a point where the irritation factor kicks in. As Doug Mitchell, the new Canadian Football League commissioner, put it the other day: &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been in the racehorse business long enough to know you can lose money for only so long before it gets boring.&rdquo;Now, from Steeltown, U.S.A., swing your sights north to Steeltown, Canada. At the comer of York and Bay in downtown Hamilton, a new 18, 000-seat arena is becoming more of a reality with each day. It will be completed by the early summer of 1985, a shining jewel to seductively beckon a footloose NHL team.Given that the NHL board of governors is on record as opposing further expansion, how does one go about getting a team into a perfect facility ideally situated in the hockey hotbed of Southern Ontario? Well, I can paint you a scenario where the Hamilton Tigers are facing off at the Vic Copps Arena on Oct. 10, 1985 and the largest hurdle, Harold Ballard, is left shouting into the wind.The scenario is based on two courtroom contests: a) Raider owner Al Davis&rsquo; successful lawsuit against the National Football League for trying to thwart his moving the Raiders from Oakland to Los Angeles, and b) the NHL&rsquo;s current litigation battle over its refusal last year to allow Ralston Purina to sell the St. Louis Blues to Saskatoon interests. Together, these developments have created a climate in which the NHL might well perceive its hands to be tied in the same manner as the NFL now feels its are.All along, the main hurdle to an NHL team in Hamilton has been Ballard&rsquo;s territorial rights, which extend at a 50-mile radius around Toronto&rsquo;s city limits. He started out several years ago by demanding $10 million to waive those rights. More recently, he&rsquo;s insisted on trading them for a renovation of Ivor Wynne Stadium or a new facility for his Hamilton Tiger-Cats. The improvements Ballard seeks would cost the city of Hamilton a minimum $12 million.But in the wake of the recent developments, there is now a line of thinking that says Ballard would have no claim at all.Davis&rsquo; suit, filed under U.S. anti-combines law, resulted in a damages award of $49 million. This sets no legal precedent outside the U.S. and Canadian anti-trust and anti-combines laws are much weaker than south of the border. But I think it&rsquo;s reasonable to expect the NHL, especially if the courts find in favor of Ralston Purina to follow the lead of the NFL, which 10 days ago announced a &lsquo;hands off policy on franchise shifts because of the Raider decision.NHL president John Ziegler denies this. In his position he has to. But in supporting his view, he mentions that the key point in the Raider suit was the fact Davis was moving his team into an area inhabited by another team, the Rams. &ldquo;The (NFL) rule was being used to prevent a team from moving into the territory of another team&mdash;it was that anti-competitive effect that the court ruled against,&rdquo; says Ziegler.Which, of course, would be precisely the issue if DeBartolo moved the Penguins to Hamilton or sold the club to Hamilton interests without first appeasing Ballard. NHL Players&rsquo; Association head Alan Eagleson, presented with the above scenario, says, &ldquo;All of the issues plus the anti-trust factor would be very much in favor of someone being able to do that&hellip;the atmosphere is right, if someone was bold enough to do it, it could work.&rdquo;Two lawyers more familiar with Canadian anti-trust legislation disagreed on the potential impact the other day; one said the Davis decision wouldn&rsquo;t change ay-thing, the other thought it would. Much, of course, depends on the outcome of the Ralston Purina case. If the NHL loses there, it would almost certainly have to back down on the whole issue and the Penguins, or another troubled NHL team, could be on their way to Hamilton the next day.Still, it&rsquo;s refreshing to think the fate of NHL hockey in Hamilton may not be solely in Harold Ballard&rsquo;s hands after all.This column originally appeared in the March 11 edition of the Toronto Star. &#9632;

SOME OTHER VIEWS

<h2>FULL OF FISCHLER</h2>Well, Stan Fischler got one thing right in his March 2 column&mdash;he has lost touch with the hockey world and he does need some guidance, especially concerning Olympian John Harrington and a quote Fischler ran in his column.Harrington stated that the team should have been more concerned with what was going on on the ice at the Olympics than trying to please everybody with appearances and that there wasn&rsquo;t enough criticism. For that, True Blue Stan jumped all over the hapless Olympian, charging him with spreading vicious lies by way of &ldquo;stil-letto in the back&rdquo; quotes like the above. He said Harrington was &ldquo;full of applesauce.&rdquo; Well, Mr. Fischler, I think you&rsquo;re full of something else.Have you ever heard of a post mortem? It occurs after the fact and usually tries to get to the underlying reasons behind that fact. Harrington was merely trying to evaluate the team as he saw it and the coaches as he saw them&mdash;apparently that&rsquo;s a capital crime to True Blue Stan.Fischler beefs about how Harrington didn&rsquo;t speak out sooner and then after the Games were over, labels Harrington as &ldquo;a big talker&rdquo; and &ldquo;Mr. Big Shot.&rdquo; Well, Stan, how much bravery does it take to make a statement like that? Gee, isn&rsquo;t it fun to kick people when they&rsquo;re down? -Fischler never tells us exactly why Harrington said what he said&mdash;he&rsquo;s too busy crucifying him to worry about trivial matters like that. Perhaps Harrington was trying to preserve team unity. Perhaps he was trying to avoid dissension by making such a comment before the Games. Of course, this is speculation, but it&rsquo;s more than True Blue Stan seems to be willing to offer.Perhaps the most galling thing about Fischler&rsquo;s article was that Harrington is right in what he says. Whether Stan Fischler is willing to admit it or not, Lou Vairo got outcoached at Sarajevo.John Harrington, I am proud to stand in your comer. You are right for saying what you believe and what you believe is equally correct. Stan Fischler wields the stillet-to, stabbing you and the rest of the 1984 Olympians in the back for daring to believe that you might have done better.Jeff Papas Minnetouka, MN<h2>NOT MERRY ON CHERRY</h2>I&rsquo;m sick and tired of hearing Don Cherry on hockey telecasts praise the Boston Bruins when they are not even playing in the game he&rsquo;s broadcasting. It seems the way he talks about his days with the Bruins, 21 guys on his team won the most valuable player award at one time or another.He&rsquo;s always comparing other players to either the current day Bruins or the Bruins he had when he was their coach. There&rsquo;s not one telecast where he doesn&rsquo;t mention the Bruins, old or new, at least 10 times.If these guys were and are so great, I mean the epitome of all forwards, defensemen, and goaltenders, why isn&rsquo;t Don Cherry wearing a Stanley Cup ring?Michael Masse London. Ont. &#9632;

FAN FORUM

<div class="byline">BY RICH FRIEDMAN</div>NEW YORK&mdash;For Ranger general manager Craig Patrick, it was a dream; for coach Herb Brooks it may be a nightmare.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m extremely happy this day has arrived,&rdquo; Patrick said at the press conference heralding the arrival of Larry Patey, Bob Brooke, Dave Gagner and James Patrick, just a week after the acquisition of Blaine Stoughton. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve been waiting for a day like this for a long, long time.&rdquo;Coach Herb Brooks, faced with a surplus of players at all positions, said, &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know what we&rsquo;re going to do.&rdquo; Then he added, only partly in jest, &ldquo;We might just start training camp again.&rdquo;Considering how dreadfully the Rangers have played since their last-minute loss to the Islanders at Nassau Coliseum on Jan. 18, that might not be a bad idea.Gagner, a 19-year-old center with the Brantford Alexanders of the Ontario League, will remain with his junior club. Brooke, a graduate of Yale University who played on the U.S. Olympic team, and Patey will vie for spots with the Rangers.The signing of Patrick, the much-awaited defenseman from the Canadian Olympic team and former University of North Dakota all-American, took place after &ldquo;tough&rdquo; negotiations, according to his agent, Herb Pinder. However, once he and Craig Patrick, who&rsquo;s not related to the younger Patrick, laid their cards on the table, a final agreement took only a few days to complete.&ldquo;What was achieved in the time involved was remarkable,&rdquo; he said.Pinder would not reveal terms of his client&rsquo;s contract, but it was a multi-year deal, reportedly for four years plus an option starting at more than $100, 000 a year. One source placed its total value in the $1 million range.James Patrick skated with the Rangers at their Rye, NY, practice rink that morning and stepped into the lineup two days later, as expected, in Minnesota.&ldquo;I was more comfortable and so were the Rangers with the idea of my starting on the road,&rdquo; he said at the press conference. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve heard from people about how tough the Garden fans can be.&rdquo;He competes with seven other defensemen who have more NHL experience, a situation that could be explosive if it isn&rsquo;t handled with sensitivity.&ldquo;The guys were really super; they all welcomed me,&rdquo; he reported. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s great to be on the ice; I haven&rsquo;t played in two weeks. I found the workout to be rough considering I haven&rsquo;t played in awhile.&rdquo;Patrick is also stepping into a situation that could include much pressure, considering how the team has been playing.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not putting any pressure on myself; I&rsquo;m not here to change the team,&rdquo; he insisted. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m just one of 25 guys.&rdquo;Or 27, considering that the Rangers were far over the limit.&ldquo;There are several teams six or seven players over the limit. I&rsquo;m comfortable carrying that many,&rdquo; the Ranger GM said.As for speculation that the Rangers would lose James Patrick via free agency if he were not signed within 180 days of the end of the Olympics, the defenseman said, &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve wanted to play with the Rangers all along. The free agency role was just an issue and there was nothing there. I&rsquo;m just happy that I&rsquo;m not in a situation where I&rsquo;m the only one coming in. The only pressure I&rsquo;m putting on myself is going out and working my hardest every day.&rdquo;The Rangers were outshot, 20-5, by the North Stars in the first period and the 6-3 loss was their fourth in a row. Captain Barry Beck, apparently still suffering from a recent groin injury and skating slowly at times, moved quickly after the game when he stormed past waiting re-porters.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m going back to the hotel to think over what we can do,&rdquo; said Beck.Although he prefers to lead by actions rather than words. Beck has shown in the past that he is capable of bringing the team together and helping them air their anxieties, fears, differences and whatever else is keeping them from playing to their potential. For the Rangers sake, it was imperative as the season entered its final weeks that someone bring them together.NOTES&mdash;Several Ranger players and staffers were honored by the New York chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers Association at a luncheon before the press conference. The Good Guy Award, for cooperation with the media, went to Pierre Larouche. The Jerry Mitchell Award, for service to New York hockey, went to Ranger equipment man and longtime Met League coach Tommy Horvath. Among the players he coached were the Mullen Brothers, the Blues&rsquo; Joe Mullen and the Jets&rsquo; Brian Mullen. The Al Laney award for service to hockey went to Ranger broadcaster Phil Esposito. And the Toots Shor Crumb Bum Award, for service to the youngsters of New York, went to Dave and Don Maloney, who run suburban hockey schools. Dave Maloney got off the line of the day when he referred to the recent holdup in Paris in which guns were held to the heads of James Patrick and Mark Morrison (now with the Rangers&rsquo; CHL team). &ldquo;I just want to make clear it wasn&rsquo;t me.&rdquo; &#9632;

Slumping Rangers Have Surplus Of Players

<div class="byline">BY BOB FACHET</div>LANDOVER&mdash;Bob Carpenter was looking forward to the Washington Capitals&rsquo; playoff push after some remarkable performances during February and March that erased much of the dis-appointment of a dreadful start.A dazzling effort in a 4-2 victory over Hartford on March 7 left Carpenter with some notable statistics. He had scored a point in eight straight games, including seven goals and six assists, and had recorded at least one goal in five straight, with his two-goal effort destroying the New York Rangers in a key contest for second place.The triumph over the Whalers was Washington&rsquo;s fourth in a row and during the brief stretch, the line of Carpenter, Alan Haworth and Bryan Erickson accounted for 10 goals.Carpenter had recorded a plus-17 rating while on the ice for only three opposition goals over a 19-game period starting Jan. 27, a remarkable feat for a man long criticized as a liability defensively.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s playing harder and defensively he&rsquo;s more responsible,&rdquo; said coach Bryan Murray. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s carrying the puck up the middle more and he&rsquo;s attacking the blueline better. Before, he would cross the redline and shoot the puck in. Now he&rsquo;s waiting and making the defensemen commit themselves. He&rsquo;s made some fine plays.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s playing as well as at any stage this year. He&rsquo;s like the Bobby Carpenter we were watching in training camp, a dominant player who is taking control out there. At camp, we could see him getting 45 or 50 goals. If he plays like this a full season, there&rsquo;s no doubt about it. &ldquo;Despite his recent heroics, Carpenter had only 24 goals with 11 games remaining. In the Capitals&rsquo; first 20 games, he scored just twice and he agreed that he shouldn&rsquo;t have played in those 20 at all following a dislocated shoulder suffered in an exhibition-game fight with Pitt-sburgh&rsquo;s Marty McSorley.&ldquo;I was stupid to play with the bad shoulder, but that&rsquo;s history,&rdquo; Carpenter said. &ldquo;I thought I could do it and I was wrong. It still pinches me a little sometimes even now and I put a couple of extra pads on it and I&rsquo;m watching it.&ldquo;The worst part was that I was pressing after the shoulder was pretty well healed, because I hadn&rsquo;t done much earlier. I owe a lot to Bryan (Murray). He let me play when things were going bad and he knew I knew they were bad, so he didn&rsquo;t keep telling me about it.&ldquo;Now I feel really good. The team&rsquo;s playing well and when we&rsquo;re really taking it to teams is in the third period. We haven&rsquo;t lost too many third periods. It&rsquo;s like a playoff game if we go into the third period one goal down or tied. We don&rsquo;t want to give up anything and we know we&rsquo;ll get one sooner or later.&rdquo;While other players were gasping in the late-season doldrums. Carpenter was flying. He attributed his superb condition to a lot of hard work last summer.&ldquo;I run 10 to 15 miles a day during the summer and it helps my stamina and gives me more strength in the legs,&rdquo; Carpenter said. &ldquo;It really helps toward the end of the years. I feel better now than in January or February.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m also taking a couple of programs at Providence in the summer, working on aerobic capacity. A lot of guys steer away from that stuff, but I think it&rsquo;s proven right for me.&rdquo;The second-place battle with the Rangers was tied 1-1 when Carpenter took charge, first scoring on a power play then tallying 42 seconds later. The two goals contributed to the 5-1 win and leapfrogged the Caps over New York into second place,The Capitals were hanging onto a 3-2 third-period lead over a tough Hartford team when Carpenter wrapped it up. He crossed the Whalers&rsquo; blueline, evaded three defenders and, just as goalie Greg Millen came out to meet him, dished the puck off to Erickson for an empty-nettapin.&ldquo;Bobby made a great play and he had another great game,&rdquo; enthused Erickson. &ldquo;The way he&rsquo;s skating, our line just has to look good.&rdquo; &#9632;

Carpenter Looks Like He’s Ready

<div class="byline">BY DICK JOHNSTON</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0010-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-011279/4884274-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Larry Playfair sports a shiner from one of his many fights, but the Sabre behemoth prefers to be singled out for his toughness. (Photo by Robert Shaver)</figcaption></div>BUFFALO&mdash;There he was, 6-foot-4, 220-pound defenseman Larry Playfair, playing left wing.The Sabres were playing the Quebec Nordiques in an important Adams Division game and the Sabres had lost five straight games. Their division lead was shrinking fast.Coach Scotty Bowman, never one to stand pat when things are going wrong, shook up his forward lines. He teamed Playfair with Real Cloutier and Mike Foligno to create a big hefty aggressive line.And on the power play. Bowman had Playfair up front with 6-foot-2, 195-pound Lindy Ruff and Foligno, who is a rough, tough 6-foot-2, 195 pounds.It worked. The Sabres got only one goal but that was enough to tie and end a losing streak. The goal came on a power play, with Paul Cyr scoring from the point.&ldquo;The idea was to get the puck back to the point and plug the front of the net,&rdquo; Cyr said. &ldquo;Playfair and Ruff made a good screen in front when I shot. The goalie couldn&rsquo;t see me.&rdquo;The next game, Playfair was back at defense as Bowman changed his lines again. The Sabres finally won and broke out of a scoring slump with a rash of goals. They beat the Canadiens 8-3 in Montreal Forum.Unfortunately, the wins cost a dear price as Gil Perreault, the Sabres&rsquo; veteran captain and leading scorer, is out indefinitely after suffering muscle spasms in his back, which forced him to miss part of the Nordique game and the Hab game.Cyr, who was beginning to become the scoring threat he was expected to be when he was a first-round draft pick in 1982, suffered a fractured left index finger in the Montreal game and will be sidelined for from two to three weeks. Kitchener Ranger scoring ace John Tucker was recalled to replace Cyr.Playfair, meanwhile, is really starting to play with his accustomed dominating self. While he didn&rsquo;t earn a point on any of the three power-play goals scored against the Habs, he created havoc with his presence up front.Playfair is one of those guys for whom the phrase &ldquo;he comes to play&rdquo; was invented. He doesn&rsquo;t worry where he plays, as long as he plays.He does a solid, hard-working consistent job every game.When he suffered a chipped bone in his right elbow during the second game of the Adams Division finals against Boston last spring, his absence had a major effect on the outcome. He missed the rest of the series and the Sabres missed Larry Playfair.He is known as the Sabres&rsquo; enforcer, the guy who always is there to help out whenever an opponent takes liberties with any of his teammates.Playfair is respected as one of the best fighters in the National Hockey League. Maybe the best.He doesn&rsquo;t cherish the reputation.&ldquo;Fighting is part of hockey, at least it is at this time,&rdquo; the big guy said once after a picture of him engaging in fisticuffs was on the front of the local sports page. &ldquo;I wish they wouldn&rsquo;t use pictures of fights as though the fights were the feature of the game. It gives kids the wrong impression.&rdquo;He realizes he earned his ticket to the NHL because he is big and tough but he would rather be known as a good, consistent defenseman than an enforcer.&ldquo;Personally, I hate the role of the enforcer,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;When I&rsquo;m finished with my hockey career, I don&rsquo;t want people saying, &lsquo;He wasn&rsquo;t a bad defenseman but all he could do was fight.&rsquo; I want it to be, &lsquo;Yeah, he was a tough hockey player, alright, but he also was a pretty good defenseman.&rsquo;&ldquo;He is proving to be just that. The Sabres are up near the top of the league in goals-against average and Playfair is one of six regular defensemen who has helped keep the goals-against down.He doesn&rsquo;t score often but he has come through with some key goals among the five he scored in his first 68 games.Mainly, though, Playfair worries about doing a good defensive job.&ldquo;After a game, if I have moved the puck out of our end well and have made good passes, I&rsquo;m satisfied,&rdquo; he said. &#9632;

f0010-01

Sabre Enforcer Prefers Tough-Guv Label

<div class="byline">BY JOE FALLS</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-02996/4884305-1-eng-US/f0010-022.jpg" title="f0010-02" width="304" height="352"></div><h2>Hall Of Fame Greats</h2>IT&rsquo;S GREAT TO be a Hall of Famer. I know. I&rsquo;m in the University of Michigan media Hall of Fame.Admittedly, it&rsquo;s the only Hall of Fame I&rsquo;ve made so far, but you don&rsquo;t go around turning down Hall of Fames. You never know when anyone else will ask.The way you get into the University of Michigan media Hall of Fame is to show up for the football games. You don&rsquo;t have to write well or anything like that&mdash;just be there long enough and don&rsquo;t spill anything on the floor and they&rsquo;ll give you a plaque and put your name up on the wall in the back of the press box.Which, of course, brings us around to the Hockey Hall of Fame. I love some of the people in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Some I don&rsquo;t know; some I never heard of.But for the ones I do know, here are some impressions from a University of Michigan media Hall of Famer:LORD STANLEY&mdash;Lord. I wonder if he knows what they&rsquo;ve done with his name. I&rsquo;ll say this for the old Governor-General of Canada: He had a great beard.CONN SMYTHE&mdash;I always thought I&rsquo;d like to play the power play and have him on my side all night long.FRANK SELKE&mdash;Wouldn&rsquo;t you love to look behind those wire-rimmed glasses to see what&rsquo;s inside that head?JAMES D. NORRIS&mdash;I always thought he should be taking part in those fights in Chicago Stadium instead of promoting them.<h2>Hail To The Commissioner</h2>CLARENCE CAMPBELL&mdash;THE only commissioner in captivity who answered his own phone. You&rsquo;d call his office in Montreal and the voice would say: &ldquo;Campbell here.&rdquo; I hope you are feeling well. sir.BRUCE NORRIS&mdash;As soon as I find out what he did to get into Hockey&rsquo;s Hall of Fame, I&rsquo;11 let you know. Maybe he did it by going to University of Michigan Football games.RED STOREY&mdash;If he&rsquo;s in, where is Gertie Gravelle?DIT CLAPPER&mdash;A guy in my neighborhood has one of Clapper&rsquo;s old jerseys hanging in his restaurant. I love it when people don&rsquo;t know who Dit Clapper was.AUREL JOLIAT&mdash;I just love saying his name: &ldquo;AW&mdash;rell Jo&mdash;LEE&mdash;at.&rdquo;ART ROSS&mdash;You&rsquo;ve got to love the man who designed the hockey net. Did he think to paint it red, too?GEORGES VEZINA&mdash;Every time I write his name, I expect a copy editor to take the off his first name.EDDIE SHORE&mdash;I would give one year of my life to see Eddie Shore play one game.NEWSY LALONDE&mdash;What a great nickname. He is the only Newsy Lalonde in the history of any sport. I see him as a little pest, bothering everyone on the ice. If I&rsquo;m wrong, don&rsquo;t tell me.BILL COOK&mdash;Whenever I think of Bill Cook, I think of Bun Cook. Whenever I think of Bun Cook. I think of Bill Cook. I think they look exactly alike.<h2>How Tiny Was He?</h2>TINY THOMPSON&mdash;SOMETHING tells me he was tiny.SYL APPS&mdash;I can still hear Foster Hewitt: &ldquo;Apps over the blueline, into the corner, out to Drillon. He shoots, he scores!&rdquo;JOE PRIMEAU&mdash;I see stripes on his shoulders, stripes on his arms, strips on his legs. The Maple Leafs had great uniforms in the old days.SYD HOWE&mdash;I remember calling his home once to interview him for a story and his wife answering the phone and saying Syd couldn&rsquo;t talk. She said he was afflicted by cancer. It was one of the saddest days of my life.RED HORNER&mdash;I think he was one of the nastiest players ever. Wouldn&rsquo;t you have loved to see him go into the comer with Black Jack Stewart or Jimmie Orlando?BABE PRATT&mdash;He brightened those war years in ways he&rsquo;ll never know. Wherever you are. Babe, I owe you the best dinner money can buy.BILL COWLEY&mdash;My man. My main man. That high forehead and that bird-like hair, he could stickhandle his way through a department store at Christmas time and not touch a single shopper.COONEY WEILAND&mdash;What great names: Newsy Lalonde, Hooley Smith, Boom Boom Geoffrion. Toe Blake, Hap Day, Turk Broda, Eddie Goodfellow, Cyclone Taylor, Cooney Weiland&hellip;How does hockey do it? &#9632;

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HOCKEY CORNER

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0011-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-011173/4884336-1-eng-US/f0011-012.jpg"></div> &#9632;

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The Hockey News BookShelf

<div class="byline">BY NEIL MILBERT</div>CHICAGO&mdash;Goaltender Tony Esposito failed to persuade Black Hawk president Bill Wirtz to terminate his contract on the eve of the trading deadline.Had Esposito been released, he could have signed as a free agent with another National Hockey League team.Undoubtedly, he would have been picked up by Minnesota general manager Lou Nanne, who grew up with Esposito in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., and has remained a close friend.Bypassing Hawk GM Bob Pulford, Esposito made his request when he spoke with Wirtz at length during a benefit for Maryville, a suburban Chicago orphanage.&ldquo;Tony&rsquo;s recent record doesn&rsquo;t preclude the possibility of him being the outstanding player in the playoffs for ourselves or someone else,&rdquo; said Wirtz. &ldquo;My brother Michael, (the Hawks&rsquo; vice-president) and I are in complete agreement on this. No way will Tony go at this time.&ldquo;I owe it to our team and our fans. Why take a chance that Tony would sign with Minnesota and then be the one to eliminate us from the playoffs? I&rsquo;ve seen him show time and time again that he&rsquo;s one of the greatest goaltenders in the game.&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t sign him to a month-to-month contract. I signed him for the year. If we were out of the playoffs and he had a chance to go to a contender in another division I might look at it differently.&ldquo;This summer, when Tony&rsquo;s contract expires, if he still wishes to leave, he&rsquo;s free to go.&rdquo;&ldquo;I definitely think I&rsquo;m going to play next year,&rdquo; said Esposito. &ldquo;Unfortunately, under the present circumstances, I don&rsquo;t think it will be in Chicago. To be effective I have to play.&ldquo;It was nice of him (Wirtz) to say those things and I hope I do get the chance to make a contribution. I&rsquo;ll do my best. What more can I say?&rdquo;If Esposito returns next season he probably will be wearing the uniform of the North Stars, the Hawks&rsquo; arch-rivals.The Hawks still would have a glut of goalies. Murray Bannerman has been a Campbell Conference all-star the last two years; rookie Bob Janecyk is a two-time American League all-star; and Warren Skorodenski and Jim Ralph are outstanding prospects still in the American League.If the Hawks were to protect Bannerman and Esposito again in next season&rsquo;s waiver draft, they would likely lose Janecyk or Skorodenski. (Ralph is ineligible for the waiver draft because this is only his second season of pro hockey).Nanne expressed an interest in signing Esposito as a free-agent without compensation last summer before he agreed to his current one-year contract with the Hawks.&ldquo;I can&rsquo;t say anything,&rdquo; Nanne replied when asked about the possibility of making another bid. &ldquo;That would be tampering and that&rsquo;s against the rules.&rdquo;However, it&rsquo;s no secret that Gordon Gund, co-chairman of the board of the North Stars, holds Esposito in esteem because of his work as president of the NHL Players&rsquo; Association.&ldquo;Tony will be an NHL general manager within two years after he retires and I intend to help him find a job,&rdquo; said Gund. &ldquo;He is one of the sharpest men the Players&rsquo; Association has ever had.&rdquo;Esposito, who will turn 41 on April 23, is the league&rsquo;s oldest player. He has recorded 76 shutouts in his 15-year career, more than any active goaltender, and ranks seventh on the all-time list.Throughout his career he has thrived on work, an average of 61 games per year prior to this season.But this year coach Orval Tessier has used him sparingly and Esposito has had a hard time adjusting to the lightened load. At the trading deadline, he had a goals-against average of 4.82, a 5-10-3 record, and a save percentage of .858.His last appearance was in a 4-3 loss to Hartford on Feb. 5 and his only triumph since November was his 2-0 conquest of Pittsburgh on Jan. 15.Last month Janecyk was promoted from the minors and has taken over as Bannerman&rsquo;s understudy. Tessier admitted that fitting in Janecyk while the Hawks are battling to make the playoffs might force Esposito to play the role of a spectator for the rest of the season.&ldquo;I see eye-to-eye with Orval on the goal tending situation,&rdquo; said Wirtz. &ldquo;We have to make the playoffs and we have an all-star goaltender in Bannerman so he should play as much as he can.&ldquo;Janecyk has been a great goalie in the minors and the time has come for him to get his chance in the NHL. We saw what he could do when he beat Buffalo, which is one of the finest teams in the league.&ldquo;But the season isn&rsquo;t over. Who knows what will happen in this last month and in the playoffs. It may turn out that Tony will fly after having this much rest; he may make the difference.&ldquo;I still think we can be a Stanley Cup contender. I don&rsquo;t give any credence to the people who say the players won&rsquo;t play for our coach in the playoffs. They&rsquo;re not playing for the coach or the Wirtz family. They&rsquo;re playing for themselves and I believe professional pride will take precedence over everything else.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-011252/4884367-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg" title="f0012-01" width="592" height="718"><figcaption class="caption-body">Veteran Hawk goalie Tony Esposito could be wearing a Minnesota uniform next season.</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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Esposito Will Hang Tough With The Hawks

<div class="byline">BY STEVE SIMMONS</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-021054/4884398-1-eng-US/f0012-022.jpg" title="f0012-02" width="306" height="358"></div><h2>King&rsquo;s Tarnished Crown</h2>DAVE KING SITS behind his desk, trying to look relaxed. He is wearing a red Team USA sweater, which offers contrast to his newly sprouted grey hairs.&ldquo;I can wear this sweater now,&rdquo; he says, then smiles. &ldquo;If we hadn&rsquo;t beat them I&rsquo;d never wear it.&ldquo;I guess you could say it&rsquo;s like the old gunmen. It&rsquo;s a notch on the belt.&rdquo;It is late on a Thursday afternoon and the atmosphere in the Hockey Canada office is different than it was a month ago. The tension, which couldn&rsquo;t have been cut with hockey sticks, is gone.There are smiles on the faces of King and his assistant coaches Jean Perron and George Kingston. But the smile on King&rsquo;s face is misleading. It&rsquo;s awkward and unnatural.The past six months, as Lou Vairo would no doubt attest, has been an eye-opening experience for those involved in icing a team at the Winter Olympics. Dave King learned about the pressures, about the media, about a country divided by languages. He learned what it was like to be in the fish-bowl. He won&rsquo;t say it, so I will: I don&rsquo;t think he liked it much.He was, for a brief period, the Olympic hero. Canada had defeated the U.S. and Finland and all the other countries it was supposed to defeat. Then came the string of shutouts and all was forgotten. He was a mere mortal after all. He could teach his players everything but to score.Then, the skeletons began to come out of his closet.Mario Gosselin, the perky goaltender, was no doubt manipulated into saying King has something against French Canadians. It was your classic Francophone-Anglophone conflict. The Quebec media thrives on such conflicts. King had been through it before. He doesn&rsquo;t speak French. Perhaps it&rsquo;s easier that way.<h2>Egg On Goose&rsquo;s Face</h2>GOSSELIN FAILED TO point out, that he, a Frenchman of all things, played ahead of an Englishman named Darren Eliot. His compatriot, defenseman Jean Jacques Daigneault, played behind an English-speaking Craig Redmond. Daigneault is talented but undisciplined. Redmond, not as flashy, fit more into King&rsquo;s defensive system.So much for prejudice.Other problems have since surfaced. Following the Olympics, team Canada joureyed to Paris for a brief tournament. King went with the impression his team had gone to win. The team went with other thoughts. After six difficult months of training, the players thought it was time for fun.Perhaps it was.In Team Canada&rsquo;s final game against Czechoslovakia, King was upset with the way the team was playing. He told his team so, loudly. Very loudly. Somewhat rudely.Some say he tore up the dressing room. He denies it. Some say he went too far. He defends himself.But the end of Team Canada, a time that should have been a proud period of reminiscing, turned sour because of the dour demure of the coach.&ldquo;The end really stands out in my mind,&rdquo; says Dave Donnelly, a Canadian forward now with the Boston Bruins. &ldquo;Everyone was saying their goodbyes and shaking hands, (but) Dave didn&rsquo;t say anything to anyone. The players really reacted to that.&ldquo;I think it left a very bad feeling.&rdquo;King believes he was just acting predictably. He says the players should not have expected something different.&ldquo;I think some players left thinking I was really a jerk,&rdquo; King says. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t change. I&rsquo;m the same guy all the time. In Paris, I wasn&rsquo;tasking them to go through a wall. I was just asking them to not play foolishly.&rdquo;<h2>Bucked Tradition</h2>BUCKING TRADITION, KING did not walk from stall to stall in the dressing room to congratulate his players individually for a job well done over a six-month period.&ldquo;We met with them in Sarajevo,&rdquo; King says of his actions. &ldquo;We talked to them. If anyone wanted to say something to us, we were on the same plane going in.&rdquo;By then, the damage had been done. Young Canadians who had sacrificed a period of their lives to play in the Olympics, expected something more. Perhaps with good reason.&ldquo;I think too many players were left with bad feelings,&rdquo; said Carey Wilson, Team Canada&rsquo;s leading scorer, now a Calgary Flame. &ldquo;The coaches were very upset. Many were upset at them.&ldquo;It was tough to take the reaction in Paris. We had worked hard for six months and it was over. We were tourists by then, not hockey players. We just wanted to go out and have some fun.&rdquo;Said Donnelly: &ldquo;The complaining of the players all season long took away from the reason we were with the national team. The guys were always bickering about the coaches. It got a little too tiresome.&rdquo;Both Donnelly and Wilson admitted one thing: both benefited from King&rsquo;s coaching.At times, they didn&rsquo;t appreciate his methods.So what&rsquo;s in King&rsquo;s future?He has three options.1) Return to coach at University of Saskatchewan; 2) Remain with Team Canada in the same capacity through the 1988 Olympics in Calgary; 3) Turn pro.It seems unlikely he&rsquo;ll return to Saskatchewan, despite what he says. It&rsquo;s also unlikely he&rsquo;ll turn pro for two reasons. First, there hasn&rsquo;t been any offers. Second, it&rsquo;s not his style.The betting here is King will return with the national program, which becomes an ongoing program with or without him.&ldquo;I have to make a decision in about a month,&rdquo; he said.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve never been a big fan of having a lot of money. My lifestyle is the most important thing in my life. It&rsquo;s very simple, really. I&rsquo;m a simple person.&ldquo;I want to look at all three options closely before deciding anything.&rdquo; &#9632;

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THE WESTERN WORD

<div class="byline">BY DICK CHUBEY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0013-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-011183/4884429-1-eng-US/f0013-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Edmonton native Mark Messier has struck it rich and aborted free agency by signing a long-term deal with the Oilers. (Photo by Bruce Bennett)</figcaption></div>EDMONTON&mdash;Any illusions that Mark Messier might test the potentially-lucrative waters of National Hockey League free agency were abruptly put to an end Mar. 1.The setting was at a hotel and the occasion was the Edmonton Oilers&rsquo; Junior Achievement dinner&mdash;an annual charitable affair of frivolity that is the personal brainchild of owner Peter Pocklington. Like most banquets of its kind, the news value that normally emits from the dinner is virtually negligible.A handful of local radio jocks even excused themselves after dessert to slip home and catch Hill Street Blues on the tube or perform some task about equally as stimulating.So it caught die-hard media types in the audience totally by surprise when Pocklington, during his brief address that normally centers on his advocacy towards free-enterprise, disclosed Messier had been re-signed to a new five-year contract. Deadlines rapidly closing in, scribes scampered to telephones to forewarn unsuspecting editors to reserve space.This, you understand, wasn&rsquo;t your run-of-the-mill signing.In significance in Oiler history, it ranks only behind the re-negotiating of Wayne Gretzky&rsquo;s contract two years earlier.Not only has Messier nailed down the NHL&rsquo;s first all-star team left-wing berth the past two seasons, but the 205-pound 23-year-old would have presented an imposing figure on the free-agency market come June. Last summer, New Yorkbased agent Art Kaminsky lumped him with Gretzky and New York Islanders&rsquo; right winger Mike Bossy as the only players who could &ldquo;run past compensation&rdquo; where free-agency is concerned.In other words, opposing general managers would part with whatever necessary to have one of those three multitalented performers.Although Pocklington wasn&rsquo;t about to disclose financial figures involved, he admitted Messier would be the highest-paid left winger in the NHL.&ldquo;Likely, there&rsquo;s no doubt about that.. but he&rsquo;s now a center,&rdquo; grinned Pocklington, referring to the fact Messier was moved to center Feb. 15 and has been there ever since.Speculation has the new contract running as high as $350, 000 annually, a considerable hike from the $70, 000 escalating deal he signed in 1979 following a brief holdout period.&ldquo;I wouldn&rsquo;t want the figures to be revealed because we have a couple of other guys to negotiate with,&rdquo; admitted Pocklington.Oiler general manager-coach Glen Sather and Pocklington have yet to sign high-scoring defenseman Paul Coffey, who will merit considerable attention for the Norris Trophy, and Glenn Anderson, the former Canadian Olympic player who really made his presence felt last year in the playoffs. Both are in the option years of their contracts. Sather has also indicated he wants to sign right winger Pat Hughes, while all-star right winger Jari Kurri will be entering the option year of his contract next season.Before this season, Messier stressed he wanted to remain in Edmonton and also keep contract talks private. He was, therefore, highly disturbed back in early January when he read a quote attributed to himself in the St. Paul Sunday Pioneer Press indicating he wanted out of Edmonton.&ldquo;I&rsquo;d like to play in the United States,&rdquo; he was quoted as saying. &ldquo;Boston or New York would be ideal places to play&rdquo;Messier reacted in anger to the statement.&ldquo;It bleeps me off when things like that are written,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;How can something like that be written without talking to me?&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve never thought about leaving Edmonton. I&rsquo;m from Edmonton and I&rsquo;d like to start and finish my career here. I&rsquo;d be a fool to want to leave the way things have gone for me and the team during the last five years.&rdquo;The writer of the piece subsequently apologized to Messier.Leaving had never crossed Messier&rsquo;s mind&ldquo;I would have signed for 10 years if I could have,&rdquo; said the 205-pounder. &ldquo;I feel fortunate to play on a team that has a chance to win a Stanley Cup. I also like the camaraderie of this team. I&rsquo;ve looked at good players who have gone on to lesser teams and I didn&rsquo;t want that.&rdquo;With three days between games, the Oilers conducted a team picture session on March 1. Following the photography engagement, Messier was summoned to Sather&rsquo;s office where a conference call, also involving Pocklington, was placed to his Montreal-based agent, Norm Ca-plan.&ldquo;We just seemed to come to terms,&rdquo; smiled Messier. &ldquo;1 don&rsquo;t know why it happened today, but we had been close for some time. I never really felt a whole lot of pressure about it. I guess the good part is that it was kept out of the press for the most part.&rdquo;At least until Pocklington gave his after-dinner spiel. &#9632;

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Oiler Owner Digs Deep To Keep Messier Around

<div class="byline">BY STAN FISCHLER</div>The future of the Central Hockey League will be settled in June. On the one hand, leaders such as Flyer general manager Bob McCammon tell BLUELINES that the CHL should be scrapped with the leftover teams merged with the International League. Asked about the fate of Salt Lake City, McCammon says: &ldquo;Because of its geographic position, it may have to be left out.&rdquo; Others such as North Star GM Lou Nanne believe a reconstituted CHL could materialize in cities with solid buildings. These include Cincinnati, Louisville and Kansas City. &ldquo;There have even been inquiries from Tucson and Phoenix,&rdquo; Nanne tells BLUELINES. &ldquo;The question is whether enough NHL clubs desire a Central League team. If the CHL is going to survive, it will need at least six clubs.&rdquo; The Blues are eyeing Omaha, where there&rsquo;s a groundswell of hockey interest and an ice heritage dating back to the early 1940&rsquo;s. Some insiders charge that the CHL has not been sufficiently aggressive in selling hockey and CHL prexy Bud Poile&rsquo;s laid-back role is questioned&hellip;The Canadiens and Flyers are leading a behind-the-scenes move to alter the playoff system. Flyer prexy Jay Snider has devised a plan with the top finishers meeting the bottom playoff clubs. But this is opposed by Lou Nanne, who favors the present system&hellip;An east coast NHL GM predicts Seattle-Tacoma will get a major-league team in the not-too-distant future. &ldquo;We need a club in the Northwest,&rdquo; he says, &ldquo;and we&rsquo;ll have one there soon. It&rsquo;s the only place left for us to try in the U.S.&rdquo; The Seattle Times carried a banner headline, IT MAY BE AWHILE, BUT NHL IS ON ITS WAY in a recent issue adding: &ldquo;Economics and geography dictate that the Northwest will get a team.&rdquo; Hard-nosed NHL types tell BLUELINES that expectations for a team in Washington state is more wishful thinking now than anything. &ldquo;They&rsquo;ve got to find someone with $10 million for a franchise,&rdquo; one NHL governor says. &ldquo;A possibility is the Weyerhauser conglomerate. Right now it&rsquo;s backing the indoor soccer team in Tacoma. If they get tired of indoor soccer, that&rsquo;s the owner the NHL would like to have.&rdquo; Dallas, which has a magnificent arena, is also mentioned by some NHL biggies as a potential franchise. According to a report from Texas, the Black Hawks and Blues will play an exhibition in Dallas in September to test the reaction to NHL hockey.Despite the Sarajevo shellacking, U.S. Olympic coach Lou Vairo has received a sympathetic press in the States, mostly because of his candor and refusal to dispense sour grapes in defeat. Even his dad, Lou Vairo, Sr., got raves after a TV appearance where he defended those who criticized his son. &ldquo;This is a great country,&rdquo; says Vairo, Sr., &ldquo;because we allow people to write whatever they want. If they wanted to criticize Lou, that&rsquo;s their privilege. He can take it.&rdquo;&hellip;When someone mentions to an NHL biggie that the Penguins&rsquo; sorry attendance might inspire owner Edward DeBartolo to move his franchise elsewhere, the boss pipes up: &ldquo;He has to give us two years notice&mdash;and he hasn&rsquo;t.&rdquo;&hellip;Abrupt resignation of Janet Halligan from the Ranger press corps just before playoffs subtracts 40 years ofknowledge from the Blueshirt p.r. office. Her hubby, John Halligan, who moved to the NHL earlier in the season, had put in two decades with the Blueshirts, just a bit more than Janet. The rush is on to fill her slot&hellip;In an off-the-record conversation with a prominent general sports columnist, former Madison Square Garden boss Sonny Werblin reportedly confessed that Fred Shero never would have been canned as Ranger GM-coach but for a powerful, relatively anti-Shero article in one of the New York papers in which Shero&rsquo;s alleged &ldquo;drinking&rdquo; problem was grossly exaggerated. &ldquo;That,&rdquo; Werblin reportedly told the columnist,&rdquo; cost him his job. &ldquo;&hellip;Normand Leveille&rsquo;s improvement is so pronounced that one onlooker at the recent Masters of Hockey game in Boston watched Leveille in animated conversation and then observed: &ldquo;If you didn&rsquo;t know he had a disability and just watched him, I don&rsquo;t think you&rsquo;d know there was anything wrong with him.&rdquo;Harry Ornest is the second NHL owner to be profiled in the Wall Street Journal this season; Harold Ballard was the first. Unlike Ballard, who refused to talk to the reporter, Omest spoke freely, predicting the St. Louis club has a &ldquo;very, very good chance of making an operating profit next season.&rdquo;&hellip;After carefully scouting the Washington Caps, a Smythe Division coach opines, &ldquo;They&rsquo;re the best club in the league without the puck.&rdquo;&hellip;Reports that the Flames were interested in luring a Czech coach to Calgary were fiction. The truth is the Flames are interested in Czech players. One theory on the coach-to-Calgary story is that it was planted by a Calgary writer with a Quebec scribe&hellip;Although Mike Nykoluk retains the head coach title, the word around the league is that Toronto&rsquo;s coach-in-reality is Dan Maloney. One who knows the Leafs operation well observes: &ldquo;(Harold) Ballard rarely fires anyone; he just waits until their contract runs out.&rdquo;&hellip;The Leafs came very close to trading Borje Salming just before the trade deadline. Quebec made a concerted effort to get him and Calgary also offered a package. Leafs were tempted, but backed off at the last moment&hellip;Jerry Buss continues to spray out brushfire reports that he&rsquo;ll sell the Kings and offers good arguments&mdash;pay-TV, Kings come as part of the Lakers package&mdash;to convince skeptics. But Buss is blamed for allowing his club to suffer through one of the worst schedules in the league.&rdquo;&hellip;Mario Marois has depressed post-game dressing room visitors with his surly behavior even after wins. &#9632;

BLUELINES

<div class="byline">BY PERRY LEFKO</div>TORONTO&mdash;It didn&rsquo;t take the Maple Leafs long to come down to earth after beating Detroit 4-3 in overtime in their biggest win of the season. Less than half an hour later, St. Louis beat New Jersey in overtime to preserve its five-point lead over the Leafs in the race for the final playoff spot in the Norris Division.A little more than 24 hours later, the Leafs had reason to celebrate again when Los Angeles beat Chicago 4-3 and kept the Leafs within four points of the Hawks, who dropped one point behind St. Louis.This isn&rsquo;t life in the fast lane, but it surely is enough to make you lose your mind. Then again, this is keeping right in line with a season which has been anything but noroal.The Leafs realize they have to win as many games as they can in this stretch, though a little help from some other teams certainly wouldn&rsquo;t hurt. In the parlance of sport, it&rsquo;s known as &ldquo;playing by the scoreboard.&rdquo;&ldquo;We have to win and we do need a little help,&rdquo; said goalie Allan Bester, who has started the last 17 games since earning a promotion from Brantford of the Ontario Hockey League. &ldquo;If we win the next 10 games in a row, we&rsquo;re not going to need any help. But we know we&rsquo;re going to drop one or two here and there, so we&rsquo;re going to need help from other teams.&rdquo;Another alternative may be for the Leafs to take the advice of Russ Courtnail. the splendid rookie who has nine points in the seven games he&rsquo;s played since taking the big step from Victoria of the Western League to the Leafs. Courtnail said he doesn&rsquo;t pay any attention to the division race.&ldquo;I couldn&rsquo;t even tell you how far behind we are,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I just go out and try to win the game.&rdquo;Two days before their big victory over Detroit, the Leafs lost 9-5 against the New York Islanders and there was talk the next day the Leafs threw in the towel before they took to the ice. Against the Wings, whom the Leafs were 4-2-0 in the six previous games this season, Toronto knew they could win, although most of the players suffered a case of the shakes before the start of the game.&ldquo;It was a do-or-die situation.&rdquo; Courtnail said, &ldquo;All the guys were a little nervous.&rdquo;But the fact Detroit seemed certain of a playoff position worked in the Leafs&rsquo; favor.&ldquo;Maybe they thought they had a playoff spot locked up and we were hoping they were,&rdquo; Bester said. &ldquo;There was no way they were going to take this one away from us. We wanted the game bad and we ended up with it.&rdquo;The Leafs entered the third period with a 3-1 lead and then the plucky Wings kept chipping away and eventually tied it. It had all the appearances of the Leafs&rsquo; 5-4 loss to Chicago on March 4 when they squandered a 4-1 lead in the final period, but Gavin&rsquo;s overtime goal gave the Leafs their first win in 11 games in OT.Gavin took a pass from Borje Salming and easily outfooted the Wing defense.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a set play, the fastbreak,&rdquo; Gavin said.His sweater hanging apart from the others in the dressing room as if it had been retired&mdash;&rdquo;That was Satch&rsquo;s (assistant coach Dan Maloney) idea&rdquo;&mdash;Gavin was asked when he last scored in overtime.&ldquo;It was my last year with the Marlies,&rdquo; Gavin recalled to his last season of junior hockey with the Toronto Marl-boros three years ago.The fact Gavin scored the gamewinner came as a surprise to just about everyone&mdash;even Gavin.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve had some tough luck,&rdquo; said Gavin, who entered the game with the sum total of seven goals and 17 assists in 69 games.Leaf coach Mike Nykoluk, who&rsquo;s been supportive of Gavin all season, was surprised it was Gavin who scored but not the manner it which it came.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a good checking forward, he&rsquo;s got good speed and we try to get him to use his speed as much as we can because he can blow around someone when he uses it,&rdquo; Nykoluk said. &ldquo;Who knows, maybe he&rsquo;ll turn out to be a 30-goal scorer next season.&rdquo;LEAFLETS&mdash;Western Hockey League president Ed Chynoweth intervened when the Leafs attempted to recall goalie Ken Wregget from Lethbridge of the WHL on the day of the trading deadline. The Leafs dispatched defenseman Dave Parrish and goalie Rick St. Croix to the minors and then tried to bring up Wregget on emergency recall (Mike Palmateer is nursing a knee injury). But Chynoweth told National Hockey League executive vice-president Brian O&rsquo;Neill that it was a &ldquo;flagrant transgression&rdquo; of the emergency recall rule and O&rsquo;Neill prevented the move. There is also some concern surrounding the signing of Russ Courtnail, the Leafs&rsquo; No. 1 draft choice from Victoria Cougars last summer. While the Leafs announced the signing of Courtnall in August, Chynoweth said they erred in not registering the contract with the NHE. Chynoweth is collecting evidence to send to O&rsquo;Neill to suggest the Leafs contravened the rule that allows teams to bring up first-rounders after Jan. 10 if they&rsquo;re signed. The Leafs, however, claim they didn&rsquo;t sign Courtnail until after he played in the Olympics last month. &#9632;

Leafs Watch Scoreboard In Frenetic Norris Battle

<div class="byline">BY TIM MORIARTY</div>LONG ISLAND&mdash;On the night that Olympians Pat LaFontaine and Pat Flatley made their Nassau Coliseum debuts, Clark Gillies scored a goal. It broke a 1-1 tie and propelled the Islanders to a 5-2 victory over the Flyers.It also may have been one of the most important goals in Gillies&rsquo; career.Here&rsquo;s why:Until he scored that goal, the veteran left winger was in a real funk. He had been goalless in 10 games when he was benched for the first time in his career at Winnipeg Feb. 29. Three nights later, the Islanders played the Maple Leafs at Toronto and Gillies again watched the game from the stands.Gillies did not object to the two-game benching. In fact, he welcomed the rest, which appeared to rejuvenate him. He played what he termed &ldquo;a good basic game, a boring game&rdquo; in his return against the Flyers, then added another goal in his next game against the Maple Leafs at the Coliseum.There were many Islander watchers who figured general manager Bill Torrey would unload Gillies before the trading deadline.&ldquo;I had heard that kind of talk before,&rdquo; Gillies said, &ldquo;but I have learned not to pay attention to it.&rdquo;However, the trading deadline came and went and Gillies was still an Islander.Torrey claimed no consideration was given to trading Gillies, who is in the first year of a five-year contract.&ldquo;Sure Clarkie has been down on himself, but his presence is important to this team.&rdquo; Torrey said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s important in the dressing room because the guys look up to him.&rdquo;Sixteen Islanders have served on all four Stanley Cup championship teams. There were no trades, so all 16 now have a chance to be in on that Drive For Five. Gillies feels that&rsquo;s the way it should be.&ldquo;I think everybody who has been here for the four Cups should get a chance to go for the fifth,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It would be unfair if those guys weren&rsquo;t given that chance.&rdquo;Meanwhile, the new kids on the Isles&rsquo; block, LaFontaine and Flatley, were helping to keep the team in first place in the Patrick Division. After six games, LaFontaine had amassed 11 points with seven goals (on 21 shots) and four assists; Flatley had two goals and four assists.LaFontaine scored twice and Flatley had one goal in the Isles&rsquo; 9-5 victory over the Maple Leafs. Neither scored in the Isles&rsquo; 5-4 loss the Flames in overtime. The following night, LaFontaine scored once and was named the star of the game as the Islanders outlasted the Penguins 6-4 at Pittsburgh.Coach Al Arbour had no complaints about the play of his newcomers, but he was concerned about some of his veterans.Arbour rested Bob Boume during the loss to Calgary. The coach then shook up his forward lines for the game at Pittsburgh. Bourne was moved from left wing to right wing on a line with LaFontaine and John Tonelli. Bob Nystrom was shifted from right wing to left wing on a line with Butch Goring and Duane Sutter.&ldquo;I want to see how people do in different situations,&rdquo; said Arbour, a noted line tinkerer.The coach also has been giving defensemen Ken Morrow and Dave Langevin occasional rests because of the lingering effects of knee surgery.ON THE ISLE&mdash;Bryan Trottier, who set up three goals against the Flames, became the first Islander with 600 career assists&hellip;In their back-to-back games against the Maple Leafs and the Flames, the Isles permitted a total of only 38 shots but 10 goals&hellip;Stefan Persson played in his 500th NHL game against the Maple Leafs&hellip;The Isles have not lost a season series to the Leafs since 1976-77&hellip;Dave Langevin was plus-four against the Penguins, raising his season total to plus-23. Denis Potvin leads the Isles&rsquo; defensemen with plus-46. &#9632;

Gillies Comes Back With Important Goal

<div class="byline">BY TONY GALLAGHER</div>VANCOUVER&mdash;For most of February and March of last season, the line of Thomas Gradin, Stan Smyl and Darcy Rota carried the Canucks.For many individual reasons, those three players have had slightly sub-par years to date. Their performances haven&rsquo;t been poor, just not quite up to expectations after last year.But a new trio has come into the limelight of late and as always, it includes the duo of Patrik Sundstrom and Tony Tanti.Most of the season these two have played together with Tanti on the right side of Sundstrom or to his forehand side. He was getting the puck lots and scoring by the bushel.Tanti&rsquo;s scoring may have dropped off a touch lately, but the third member of the line has more than picked up the difference.Cam Neely, an 18-year-old winger drafted in the first round by the Canucks last season, has come onto the line, giving Vancouver a tremendously bright future when the ages of the three are considered. Neely is a big, right-handed shooting digger and he has forced Tanti over to the left side, a place he&rsquo;d rather not be. But given the success of the line, a team player like Tanti isn&rsquo;t going to complain.The culmination of the line&rsquo;s success came when the high-flying Sundstrom was named player of the week in the league with his three goals and nine assists on a four-game road trip which saw Vancouver win in Washington, Pittsburgh and New York.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s going to be a great line for us in the future,&rdquo; said club director of player personnel Larry Popein. &ldquo;They are all young and aggressive with lots of skill. They can all score.&rdquo;Indeed the line seems to get better every time out.Every time Sundstrom touches the puck lately he&rsquo;s turning it into a scoring opportunity. With Tanti&rsquo;s sniping and forechecking ability and Neely&rsquo;s strength and positioning, the line seems to produce most evenings despite the constant attention of the checking lines.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not all Sunny (Sundstrom) carrying the puck that makes the line go,&rdquo; says Vancouver associate coach Ron Smith. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s Tony dipping and diving and forechecking like crazy and it&rsquo;s Cam crashing and grinding. When they&rsquo;re all doing their thing, it really goes. Even with two of the three going you&rsquo;ve got a pretty effective group.&rdquo;Tanti just broke the club record for goals by a right winger which was 38, formerly held by Smyl. Tanti and Sundstrom are closing in on Smyl&rsquo;s record of points, a rather modest total of 88 for a season. In fact, if Sundstrom continues his present pace, he&rsquo;ll become the first Vancouver player ever to bag 100 points.Meanwhile, the Vancouver defense is beginning to gain some consistency as big Harold Snepsts plays his best hockey, Rick Lanz continues his offensive output and Doug Lidster begins to feel his way in the National Hockey League.Lidster joined the club from the Canadian Olympic team and has fit in well with his ability to move the puck out of his own end. He&rsquo;s big, right-handed and quick, although he will still have some adjustments to make both from international and the college levels.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t find any problem with the pace of the game in this league, but the forecheckers seem to get on you quite a bit quicker than in Europe because of the size of the rink,&rdquo; said Lidster, who&rsquo;s from one of B.C.&rsquo;s larger interior communities, Kamloops. &lsquo;I&rsquo;ve got work to do without the puck, but everything seemed to go pretty well the first while.&rdquo;Another member of the backline, Doug Halward, continues to fight through some of the worst luck any Canuck player has had recently. He&rsquo;s had four serious injuries this season, including a fractured bone in his foot which kept him out 20 games. The latest bad luck came in a game against Toronto in which a skate came up and cut him right across the throat, nicking his thyroid gland.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s about as close as you can come without anything serious happening,&rdquo; said Vancouver club doctor Ross Davidson.Halward played two games later.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-011033/4884532-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg" title="f0016-01" width="586" height="794"><figcaption class="caption-body">First-round pick Cam Neely gives the Canucks a big, solid winger who digs in the corners.</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0016-01

Neely Works Way Onto Top Line

<div class="byline">BY RICH CHERE</div>EAST RUTHERFORD&mdash;For an organization which was outraged by Wayne Gretzky&rsquo;s &ldquo;Mickey Mouse&rdquo; comments less than four months earlier, the New Jersey Devils seemed to be the last team which would become involved in a controversy with another National Hockey League organization.Yet it happened when Devil president Bob Butera infuriated the Pittsburgh Penguins when he implied that the Pens might be more interested in securing the No. 1 pick in June&rsquo;s entry draft rather than winning hockey games.Butera has denied that his comments in Newark Star-Ledger implied any wrongdoing on Pittsburgh&rsquo;s part. But those comments will be reviewed by Penguin general manager Eddie Johnston. The furious Johnston will then decide if he will lodge a formal complaint with NHL president John Ziegler.&ldquo;What he (Butera) said was shocking, totally uncalled for and an insult to our organization,&rdquo; Johnston said. &ldquo;To say something like that, to even think it, is unbelievable. I was told what he said and when I see the story I&rsquo;ll send it to Mr. Ziegler.&rdquo;Butera, who was most outspoken when Gretzky criticized the Devils back in November, never directly criticized the Penguins. But his remarks got the message across:&ldquo;It&rsquo;s very obvious to us that (Mario) Lemieux is going to be the first pick, be it by us or Pittsburgh.&rdquo; Butera said.&ldquo;I noticed in their last two games (a 9-5 loss to Vancouver on Feb. 19 and a 9-1 shelling by Washington the following night) they got bombed whereas our last several games, except for the Islanders&rsquo; game in which they beat us well, we&rsquo;ve been in up until the end. We&rsquo;re trying to win every game and I hope Pittsburgh is, too.&ldquo;But I don&rsquo;t understand it. They have tremendous talent on that team. I think. They have two really good scorers (Mike Bullard and Rick Kehoe, who&rsquo;s out for the season with a virus) and they have (Ron) Flockhart, (Mark) Taylor and (Andy) Brickley who they got from the Flyers. Each of them can play anywhere. Taylor is a super all-around player, Flockhart is an exciting player offensively and Brickley has always been a scorer and he&rsquo;s proven it with them. They have (Randy) Carlyle (who&rsquo;s since been traded to Winnipeg) and their goaltending is not bad. It&rsquo;s a mystery to me. I think they&rsquo;re a better team than they&rsquo;re showing.&rdquo;The Devils, of course, are hoping to land Lemieux in the draft, but Pittsburgh fell behind New Jersey in the Patrick Division standings.&ldquo;I hope they&rsquo;re doing the same thing we&rsquo;re doing,&rdquo; added Butera. &ldquo;I mean there&rsquo;s no way we&rsquo;re going to start teaching our players how to lose because ever since Tommie (McVie) came in here we&rsquo;ve been trying to teach them how to win. And they&rsquo;ve done reasonably well. If we were in either of those two western divisions we&rsquo;d be a playoff contender.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not sure what Pittsburgh&rsquo;s approach is and I don&rsquo;t want to label anyone. I don&rsquo;t want to be presumptuous. All I can say is we&rsquo;re trying to win every single game. We&rsquo;re treating every game like it&rsquo;s a playoff game&hellip;&rdquo;The Penguins, however, treated Butera&rsquo;s remarks like a knife in the back. Two days after those comments were published, Pittsburgh came to the Meadowlands Arena to face the Devils. After a 6-5 New Jersey victory. Penguin coach Lou Angotti erupted. He chased down McVie after the game and then fumed when approached by reporters.&ldquo;After what Gretzky said about that organization they hit the ceiling and yet this guy (Butera) turns around and makes a statement like that,&rdquo; said Angotti. &ldquo;How could you even plant a seed like that? It&rsquo;s so hypocritical, it&rsquo;s a joke! Gretzky calls that organization Mickey Mouse and they hit the ceiling. Yet they didn&rsquo;t even take the courtesy to look at our roster and all the problems we&rsquo;ve been having. We have eight rookies in our lineup&mdash;they have two&mdash;and we&rsquo;ve lost countless guys to injuries. The whole thing that gets me is how can anyone in that organization say something about us?&ldquo;Bob Butera has no class,&rdquo; added Angotti. &ldquo;What he said was a disgrace. We would never criticize their organization. You saw the game (on March 6). Do you think we&rsquo;re trying to throw the game? We&rsquo;ve lost enough games in Pittsburgh.&rdquo;When Johnston indicated he may take action with the league, Butera replied: &ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s much ado about nothing. They can choose to interpret my remarks however they want, but it wasn&rsquo;t intended to imply a lack of integrity on their part. I thought what I said was fairly innocuous. I wasn&rsquo;t alleging in any fashion that they&rsquo;re trying to lose games. Pittsburgh is a fine organization and I respect them.&rdquo;As for the parallel to Gretzky&rsquo;s comments and his own, Butera said: &ldquo;Wayne Gretzky called us a Mickey Mouse operation. I didn&rsquo;t accuse anybody.&rdquo;No doubt the rivalry between these two organizations has just begun to smolder.HOT STUFF&mdash;Veteran Garry Howatt and rookie Rocky Trottier were called up under emergency conditions late last week when Paul Gagne (shoulder) and Rick Meagher (knee) suffered injuries. &#9632;

Butera Comments Spell Trouble

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-01913/4884649-1-eng-US/f0017-012.jpg" title="f0017-01" width="333" height="436"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-02745/4884642-1-eng-US/f0017-022.jpg" title="f0017-02" width="1181" height="608"></div><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, repaint gloves, blockers, catchers and more. We assess team repairs. Free brochure on request. 15 Perth, Toronto, Ont., M6R 2C1. Phone (416) 533-1791.<h2>MERCHANDISE</h2>SPORTS JIRSIYS UNLIMITID Complete 18 page pricelist of game worn jerseys Leagues include Baseball. CFL.-NFL-WFL-NHL-WHA-NASL NBA and more Over 1500 satisfied customers For complete list send cheque or m/o for $3 00 payable to:EMPIRE SPORTS, 1947 Avenue RoadSuita 201, Toronto. Ont. M6M 4A2. NCCA DealerFree gift and $2.50 credit onfit st order.<h2>WURNAMENTS</h2>FLORIDA HOCKEY; Enjoy a sunshine holiday plus exhibition games arranged with Senior A or Oldtimers teams. For more information contact: Rosaire Paiement, Coral Plaza Hotel. 2701 North Federal Hwy., Ft. Lauderdale, FL, 33306. (305) 565-6656.<h2>MISCELLANEOUS</h2>WHA-NHL-ANL-IHL-MINOR HOCKEY65 page pricelist of photos media guides, cards, yearbooks, programs, pennants, pucks, game used jerseys equipment and much more. Send cheque or m/o for $5 50 with this ad to:CANADA U.S. SPORTS ENTERPRISES99 Katherine Rd. Downsview, OntCanada MSK 1J5Free gift valued at $5.00 with this ad.BE THE STAR on your own bubble gum cards. Write: Big League Cards, 2424 McDonald St. Regina, Sask. S4N 2Z3.VICTORIA COUGARS PLAYER cards, 1983-84. Set of 22, $6 each ppd. 3 sets, $16 ppd. Squires Sports, #49-560 Johnson St., Victoria, B.C., V8W3C6.DEFUNCT SPORTS PRICELISTS55 pages of media guides, yearbooks, photos programs, pennants, decals, cards, game Jerseys and more includes WHA (world Hockey Association), WFL (world Football League), aba I (American Basketball). NL (National Lacrosse) and more. Send cheque or m/o for $4.99 to:EMPIRE SPORTS, 1947 Avenue Road.Suite 201, Toronto, Ont M5M 4A2. NCCA Dealer.Free gift and $2.50 credit on first order.FOR SALE: MONCTON Alpines 1983-84 police cards $4.50; Esso 1983 $4.50; AHL coloured 4x6 $1.00. SWAPS, P.O., Box 216, Oromocto, N.B., E2V 2G5.<h2>OLD NHL PICTURES</h2>From 1945 to 1967. Over 1000 pictures available. For checklist, send $3.00 to: Photos de la LNH de 1945 a 1967&mdash;plus de &ldquo;1000&rdquo; photos differentes&mdash;Pour lisle do joueurs dispouibtes: envoyer $3.00 a: Photos Danher, C.P. 39. Anse Ste Anne des Monts. Que.. Canada. GOE 180.<h2>SPORTS SHOW</h2>Empire Sports Inc., 3rd annual sports collectors show and sale at Ramada Inn 400-401, &lsquo;677 Wilson Ave. (Jane & Wilson) on Sunday, March 25 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Special Quests. Call Empire (416) 782-8681 or (416) 782-2428<h2>AUDIO</h2>CANADA RUSSIA 1972 entire eighth game on VHS or Beta. & W, generally good. $95 ppd. Squires Sports, #49-560 Johnson St., Victoria, B.C., V8W 3C6.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-03578/4884635-1-eng-US/f0017-032.jpg" title="f0017-03" width="1798" height="1102"></div> &#9632;

f0017-01

The Classified

<div class="byline">BY CHUCK MOODY</div>PITTSBURGH&mdash;Despite the differences he had with Randy Carlyle, Penguin general manager Eddie Johnston refused to badmouth him when the former Norris Trophy winner and first-team all-star left for Winnipeg.&ldquo;The guy&rsquo;s not only represented us first class, but he&rsquo;s represented the city of Pittsburgh first class,&rdquo; Johnston said after trading Carlyle to the Jets for Winnipeg&rsquo;s first-round choice in June&rsquo;s entry draft and future considerations.&ldquo;You hate to lose a guy like we have, but when you have the opportunity to make a deal like we have, we felt we were obligated to make it. I think it&rsquo;s a good deal for both clubs.&rdquo;Johnston&rsquo;s deal on the day before the National Hockey League trading deadline gives Pittsburgh three selections in the first round of the draft, the first time in the franchise&rsquo;s 17-year history it will have more than one first-round pick. The Penguins have their own, which will be first or second overall, Winnipeg&rsquo;s and Philadelphia&rsquo;s. The Flyers&rsquo; pick was obtained last October in the Rich Sutter deal.&ldquo;Look at a team like Buffalo,&rdquo; Johnston said. &ldquo;They got three first-round picks for the last two years and they were able to turn their hockey club around. The clubs that have been successful are the clubs that have been able to stockpile a couple of first-round draft choices.&ldquo;We feel right now that we&rsquo;ll start anew. We&rsquo;ve got some very good young hockey players on our club now. And if we can fill a spot here and a spot there and draft very well this year, then we figure that this is what we have to do to turn our franchise around.&rdquo;Johnston built his offense around Carlyle the first season he coached the Penguins in 1980-81. Carlyle responded with 16 goals and 67 assists and won the Norris Trophy.The 27-year-old&rsquo;s offensive statistics had slipped each successive season. This year, playing under new coach Lou Angotti&rsquo;s more conservative style, Carlyle had only three goals and 20 assists in 50 games. He had missed 14 games with a knee injury and was scheduled to return to action the night of the trade.Carlyle came to Pittsburgh in June 1978 from the Toronto Maple Leafs with forward George Ferguson in a trade for defenseman Dave Burrows. After being informed of the Winnipeg trade, he left immediately to join the Jets in Los Angeles, where he assisted on a goal in his first game against the Kings. A week before the deal, Carlyle had talked about the trade rumors.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s how I came here, through a trade,&rdquo; Carlyle said. &ldquo;Maybe that&rsquo;s the way I&rsquo;m going to leave here. Trading is part of the game. You have to accept that when you get into it. It&rsquo;s something that I&rsquo;m sure no player really welcomes, but it&rsquo;s all part of the game. You have to put those things out of your mind and just go and do your job.&ldquo;At times this year I&rsquo;ve been very inconsistent. I think that I owe it maybe to the Penguin management to become a much better hockey player than I have been this year.&rdquo;Carlyle had been the Penguin captain since he replaced Orest Kindrachuk midway through the 1980-81 season.&ldquo;The thing I can say about Randy Carlyle is that he&rsquo;s always worked very hard,&rdquo; Angotti said. &ldquo;But it&rsquo;s been a rough year for him. It&rsquo;s been a rough year for a lot of our players. He&rsquo;s struggled for the better year of the year. Our whole team&rsquo;s struggled.&ldquo;You can&rsquo;t put that much pressure on one or two guys and expect them to carry the team. We went with younger defensemen at the start of the year and put a lot of pressure on him. His effort was there. He works hard every game and every practice. But for him and a number of other players, hard work didn&rsquo;t seem to get anything done.&rdquo;Angotti says the Penguins must take advantage of their three first-round draft choices if they are going to turn the team around.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve used excuses for a long time,&rdquo; he admitted. &ldquo;Now we&rsquo;re going into the draft with a very good chance of having two of the top six or seven picks. You can&rsquo;t ask for anything more than that with Philadelphia&rsquo;s (choice).&ldquo;Let&rsquo;s put our cards on the table now. We&rsquo;ve been using the excuse that we&rsquo;ve never had first-round picks or late-round picks. We haven&rsquo;t had too many sleepers, either. If this doesn&rsquo;t excite our scouts now to go out and really beat the bushes&hellip;we&rsquo;re not going to have this opportunity too many times after this.&rdquo;PENGUIN TRACKS&mdash;Lou Angotti said Pat Boutette will serve as captain for the remainder of the season. &#9632;

…So Johnston’s Fat On The Draft

<div class="byline">BY ERIC DUHATSCHEK</div>Louisville HockeyH&B 100 YEARSCALGARY&mdash;The only thing missing was the medal.Carey Wilson began his National Hockey League career the way he ended his amateur career&mdash;with panache. With impact. With a key goal.On his second shift, on his first shot, Wilson slapped a 35-footer past Philadelphia goaltender Bob Froese. It wasn&rsquo;t a great goal, but it was his first NHL goal and when the Flames went on to defeat the Flyers for the first time in three years, the fact that it went in was all that mattered.Until Wilson signed with the Flames, his main claim to fame had occurred in Sarajevo during Canada&rsquo;s opening game of the 1984 Olympics. Wilson&rsquo;s three goals were the difference in Canada&rsquo;s 4-2 win over the U.S., a victory that effectively put an end to any hopes the Americans had of duplicating 1980&rsquo;s gold-medal performance.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s nice to get the first one out of the way,&rdquo; said Wilson, who admitted to some opening-night jitters. &ldquo;I found I was was tiring out by doing a lot of unnecessary running around. I&rsquo;ve got to adjust to a straight up-and-down game.&ldquo;It was my first NHL game, but not my first against the pros. It sure meant more than the other games. Why? Because it&rsquo;s my first league game in close to a year. It meant something to win the game. It meant two points. The other games, we were playing to improve, not necessarily to win.&rdquo;&ldquo;Wouldn&rsquo;t you be nervous?&rdquo; said coach Bob Johnson. &ldquo;His parents were here. It was his first game in the NHL. As fate would have it, his first shot goes in. It&rsquo;s like in baseball. How often do you hear of a rookie stepping up and hitting a home run his first time at the plate?&rdquo;Integrating Wilson into the Flames&rsquo; lineup is not posing a major problem. His first move took Wilson down the hall, from dressing room No. 4 in the Olympic Saddledome to dressing room No. 7. His second move took him down the street from one major 4th St. hotel to another. The third move, barring injuries, will take Wilson from center to left wing. Only time will tell how the move works out.Wilson made his NHL debut on the left side of a line with Dan Quinn at center and Kent Nilsson on right wing. When an eye injury knocked Mike Eaves out of the game, Wilson replaced him between Eddy Beers and Hakan Loob.Wilson said he did not anticipate too many problems adapting from Olympic coach Dave King&rsquo;s system to Johnson&rsquo;s.&ldquo;Everybody&rsquo;s playing pretty much the same system&mdash;smart, sensible, nomistake hockey,&rdquo; said Wilson. &ldquo;I prefer playing center, but these days, once that puck is dropped, you go all over except to pick up the wings anyway. Aside from not taking faceoffs, it won&rsquo;t be a whole lot different.&rdquo;Wilson is no stranger to the Flames or to Calgary. He played one season of junior hockey here in 1978-79. He spent a week with the Flames at Christmas in 1982 during the break in the Finnish schedule. In the past season, Calgary was the Canadian Olympic team&rsquo;s home-away-from-home.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m more at home here,&rdquo; said Wilson. &ldquo;1 don&rsquo;t have to adjust in that sense. They&rsquo;ve seen me around. I&rsquo;ve seen them around. It&rsquo;s not like stepping onto a totally new club.&rdquo;As far as the travel goes, Wilson said playing with Team Canada will prepare him for the Hames&rsquo; gruelling schedule.&ldquo;We had a season of away games,&rdquo; said Wilson. &ldquo;They say players always play better at home. If that&rsquo;s the case, it&rsquo;s going to help me a lot because we didn&rsquo;t have any real home games.&rdquo;Wilson decided not to turn pro in 1980, his draft year, choosing instead to study pre-med at Dartmouth. He put it off again in 1982 by playing in Finland, thus retaining his amateur status.Now his pro career is the No. 1 priority, said Wilson.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m one year short of my undergrad degree in chemistry and one course short in premed,&rdquo; said Wilson. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll get that one year in the summer and then take it from there. I&rsquo;ll decide then if I feel energetic enough to pursue a career in medicine.&rdquo; &#9632;

Wilson Fits Like A Glove With The Flames

<div class="byline">BY VARTAN KUPELIAN</div>DETROIT&mdash;Paul Woods waltzed around the question, looked up and finally said:&ldquo;It&rsquo;s been so long since we&rsquo;ve been in the playoffs, I want to be absolutely sure we&rsquo;re in before I start believing it.&rdquo;Believe it.The Wings are on the verge of making the National Hockey League playoffs for the first time since the 1977-78 season. That&rsquo;s no idle threat.The Wings knocked off the St. Louis Blues twice in a home-and-home set&mdash;3-1 in St. Louis and 8-3 in Detroit&mdash;to move into second place in the Norris Division, three points ahead of Chicago, with 10 games left in the regular season.Jacques Demers, coach of the division-rival Blues, believes it.&ldquo;They&rsquo;re in,&rdquo; Demers said after the Wings polished off. the Blues.Still, the Wings remained in a posture that would be best described as cautiously optimistic.&ldquo;I feel the same way I did last week,&rdquo; coach Nick Polano said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re taking it game-by-game. We had a meeting last month to talk about that very thing, that we had to approach each and every game separately. That&rsquo;s what we&rsquo;ve done and that&rsquo;s what we&rsquo;ve got to keep doing.&ldquo;When somebody says we&rsquo;re in, that makes me more nervous than I already am.&rdquo;After Ivan Boldirev and Dwight Foster (both shoulder injuries) joined John Ogrodnick on the injured list, it appeared as though the Wings might have some trouble down the stretch. Not so. The victories over St. Louis made the Wings three for four, a stretch which began with a 6-1 victory over Winnipeg and followed by a 5-1 loss in Minnesota.&ldquo;We just keep coming up with these big efforts,&rdquo; said Danny Gare, the team captain who was instrumental in the victory in St. Louis.Veteran defenseman Brad Park gave the Wings a big lift in the Winnipeg game. He set up two goals&mdash;the tying and winning goals&mdash;to break Bobby Orr&rsquo;s NHL record for most assists by a defenseman. Park&rsquo;s timing was flawless.He didn&rsquo;t waste the milestone goals, drawing the record-tying 645th on Ed Johnstone&rsquo;s goal and breaking Orr&rsquo;s mark with No. 645 on Reed Larson&rsquo;s goal.&ldquo;It feels pretty good,&rdquo; said Park, who received a standing ovation from the Joe Louis Arena crowd. &ldquo;They came at an opportune time. We bounced back, came up big and it will do a lot for the confidence.&rdquo;It did.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s one thing about our team,&rdquo; Polano said. &ldquo;They always play hard, give 100 per cent. I&rsquo;m really proud of them today, that they were able to go out and win without the big guns.&rdquo;Park has given the Wings a big season.&ldquo;He means pretty well everything to us,&rdquo; said rookie Lane Lambert. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s great on the power play. People say he&rsquo;s slow but he&rsquo;s got more smarts than any player I&rsquo;ve ever seen.&rdquo;Just look at what Park&rsquo;s done to the power play. With three power-play goals against St. Louis, the Wings ran their total to 72&mdash;a stark improvement over the 37 last season when they were the worst in the NHL.The Wings made the most of their 19 shots and the power play produced the first three goals&mdash;by Johnstone, Ron Duguay and Larson. The last four goals&mdash;by Larson, Kelly Kisio, Larson again and Steve Yzerman&mdash;came on successive shots late in the second period and early in the third against St. Louis goaltender Rick Heinz.Goalie Greg Stefan ran his personal streak to 8-1-1.&ldquo;We were very sluggish in the first period,&rdquo; Polano said. &ldquo;Stef was unbelievable. They had 15 shots and seven good scoring chances. They easily could have had a four-goal lead.&ldquo;But we forced the play in the second period, they took some penalties and our power play went to work. When we got the lead, we went back to our close-checking play of late and even that created some scoring opportunities.&rdquo;Larson, who scored his 18th and 19th goals and is on schedule to extend his string of 20-goal seasons to five&mdash;Bobby Orr and Denis Potvin are the only other defensemen to do that&mdash;said the Blues, uncharacteristically, tried to bully the Wings.&ldquo;They weren&rsquo;t the same St. Louis team we&rsquo;ve seen in the past,&rdquo; Larson said. &ldquo;They were way off their game&hellip;they were running at us. We&rsquo;re not a team that can be intimidated, if that&rsquo;s what they thought.&rdquo;WING WIRE&mdash;Ron Duguay scored in four straight games to raise his total to 29 goals, the second best in his seven NHL seasons&hellip;Ivan Boldirev drew his 800th NHL point on Brad Park&rsquo;s 200th NHL goal. Problem: Who gets the puck? &ldquo;We&rsquo;ll cut it in half,&rdquo; Park said&hellip;With four home games left, the Wings needed just 5, 000 fans to set an all-time Detroit attendance record. &#9632;

Wings Not Out Of The Woods Yet

<div class="byline">BY BOB DONNELLY</div>QUEBEC&mdash;The Nordiques are having their best season ever in the National Hockey League with 84 points and 11 games remaining in the regular schedule, but the the question is, how high can they go?&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want to start thinking of 95 or 96 points or anything like that,&rdquo; coach Michel Bergeron said. &ldquo;We are happy that we have set a record and we will continue to play it one game at a time. We have been very consistent defensively and I will say that we have our sights set on more victories before the season ends.&rdquo;General manager Maurice Filion predicted between 90 and 95 points this season for Quebec and if the Nords maintain their play of late, he&rsquo;ll have his wish.Quebec has become one of the top teams in the league defensively, equal to the Bruins and Sabres, and Bergeron can now count on three solid netminders to do the job. Three goaltenders is not in their long-range plans, but Dan Bouchard, Clint Malarchuk and newcomer Mario Gosselin are content for now.Bergeron has been using all three goalies and since none was traded before the Mar. 6 deadline, it is now certain all three will finish the season with Quebec.The Nordiques went undefeated in their five starts since the arrival of Gosselin.The Nordiques are looking.forward to the playoffs and for once it will not be considered an upset if they win in the opening round and do well.&ldquo;The solid two-way hockey we are playing right now is great preparation for the playoffs,&rdquo; Bergeron said after the Nordiques defeated Calgary 4-3 for a team record 37th win. &ldquo;I am very satisfied with the efforts of my players. I will rest some people before the playoffs start by letting them skip a practice now and then, but I don&rsquo;t want anyone letting up in the games.&rdquo;With Anton and Marian Stastny missing a few starts (Anton with a sore back and Marian suffering the effects of his shoulder separation from last season) Bergeron was happy to see Louis Sleigher back in the lineup. Sleigher missed six weeks because of knee injury and his aggressiveness was evident as soon as he returned to the roster. He also scored twice and set up another to lead Quebec over Calgary.&ldquo;His game is to be aggressive and he plays it well,&rdquo; said Bergeron. &ldquo;He controls the puck along the boards, he plays it tough and he is a great forechecker. Dale Hunter had one of his best games in weeks as soon as Sleigher returned.&rdquo;Sleigher is just one example of the depth Quebec seems to have this season that was not evident in the past. Even with two or three regulars out of the lineup, Bergeron can go with three solid lines. Paul Gillis has been a revelation and with the return of Andre Savard, the Nordiques have their four centers once again.&ldquo;I think that 95 points is certainly reachable,&rdquo; said team captain Mario Marois, a leader for Quebec on the ice as well as in the dressing room. &ldquo;We are now in the top six teams in the league and even if that doesn&rsquo;t give us much in the playoffs if we finish third in the Adams Division, we will have shown that we worked hard all year.&rdquo;Added Wilf Paiement: &ldquo;We have been really strong defensively, giving up only eight goals in five games, and the same time we have been scoring when we needed it. I know we can keep it up and you can be sure that we will surprise a few people in the playoffs.&rdquo; &#9632;

Dream Season For Filion Not Out Of The Question

<div class="byline">BY GLENN COLE</div>MONTREAL&mdash;Craig Ludwig was not about to let a little bit of pain in his left shoulder get in his way.Ludwig, the No. 2 defenseman on the Canadiens behind Larry Robinson, showed Hab observers and fans his courage and character when he continued to play and keep his modest iron-man streak alive.Ludwig joined the Habs last season from the University of North Dakota and played in his 150th consecutive game March 10 against the Boston Bruins, despite a badly bruised shoulder suffered in Edmonton six nights earlier.&ldquo;I just knocked the puck off somebody&rsquo;s stick and I kept going, hitting my left shoulder in the face of the boards,&rdquo; said Ludwig, who was injured in the second period of a 6-1 loss to the Oilers. &ldquo;I hit the bottom, where the boards don&rsquo;t give and the shoulder felt okay although it was a little sore. I took one more shift but I couldn&rsquo;t shoot.&rdquo;On that extra shift, Ludwing broke up a potential breakaway, but returned to the Hab bench and hastily returned to the dressing room. He stayed there until his teammates joined him at the end of the second period and went out and basically opened and closed the door to the players&rsquo; bench for much of the third period as coach Jacques Lemaire chose not to send him back out on the ice.&ldquo;After I came back and I knocked the puck off the guy&rsquo;s stick, I reached out and it felt as if my arm had come off&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I had to get off. When I extended my arm like that, the pain started.&rdquo;When Ludwig got up the next day, he had trouble putting his shoes and socks on and was squirming on the Canadiens&rsquo; flight home from Edmonton.The next day, just hours before the Canadiens were scheduled to meet the Buffalo Sabres, Ludwig was still having difficulty and it looked as though he wouldn&rsquo;t be able to play.Ludwig suited up, in fact, and was one of the few Canadiens showing any spunk and, predicatably, Buffalo won 8-3 for their seventh win over Montreal in as many starts this season.&ldquo;I can take a hit with this thing,&rdquo; Ludwig said. &ldquo;I can play defense. I can pass the puck, but I can&rsquo;t shoot it. Against Buffalo, I&rsquo;ve had as many shots in a game as I&rsquo;ve ever had. A slapshot is definitely out of the question for now and while I can take a wristshot, there is nothing on it. When I take the wristshot, the shoulder is kind of sore.&ldquo;I wanted to play against Buffalo and they left it up to me. I told them what I could and couldn&rsquo;t do and they told me to go ahead and try it.&rdquo;With Rick Green and Ric Nattress already sidelined, the Canadiens could ill afford to have another player on the injury list and Ludwig knew it. He was paired with Bill Kitchen, recently recalled from the minors to replace Nattress for the games against Calgary, Edmonton and Buffalo.Ludwig is one of the few Canadiens to play in all the team&rsquo;s games the last two seasons. He is a valuable asset, particularly because of his ability to remain calm in cool situations, such as penalty killing.Ludwig, a native of Eagle River. WI, was chosen to pair with Chris Chelios, the U.S. Olympian who made his debut against Hartford on Mar. 8.&ldquo;Craig helped me out a lot,&rdquo; said Chelios, who missed a week of practise when team doctors put a cast on his injured right ankle.Chelios played a regular shift, killed penalties and was a regular on the right point on the Canadiens&rsquo; power play. The Canadiens did not score a power-play goal against the Whalers, but Chelios unleashed two good shots against goalie Greg Millen and drew a positive reaction from the critical Forum fans.&ldquo;I just hope to play consistent hockey,&rdquo; Chelios added. &ldquo;Defensively, there is always room for improvement. I&rsquo;ve got to work on my defense and I&rsquo;m sure every player does.&ldquo;Craig and Larry (Robinson) talked to me a lot even when I wasn&rsquo;t practising last week. Playing with Craig was a big help.&rdquo;The Canadiens&rsquo; 3-2 victory over Hartford was their seventh victory in eight games and enabled them to take 15 of a possible 16 points from their Adams Division opponents. It&rsquo;s the difference between the Canadiens being in fourth position instead of fifth place. &#9632;

Habs’ Ludwig Refuses To Succumb To Pain

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0020-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-02497/4884807-1-eng-US/f0020-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">(Photo by Robert Shaver)</figcaption></div>The Quebec Nordiques are the kind of team that no one wants to meet in the Stanley Cup playoffs. One of the reasons why is left winger Michel Goulet, who scored three goals and six assists in four games to earn THE HOCKEY NEWS&rsquo; player-of-the-week award for the period ending Mar. 11.Goulet, who is considered by many to be the best left winger in the NHL, had a hat trick in one game and counted one game-winning goal.After 66 games, he had 54 goals and 55 assists for 109 points, second only to Wayne Gretzky, who had 189. &#9632;

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Player Of The Week

<div class="byline">BY RICK SADOWSKI</div>LOS ANGELES&mdash;The long-awaited appearance of veteran defenseman Fred Barrett is the silver lining in an otherwise King season shaped like a dark cloud.Barrett, 34, had been part of the preseason trade with Minnesota which brought Steve Christoff to the Kings and sent Dave Lewis to New Jersey, via the North Stars.But rather than relocate his family from Bloomington, MN. Barrett had retired. Five months later, he changed his mind and made his debut against Boston, which the Kings lost 4-3 in overtime.The I2-year veteran skated a regular shift and also killed penalties and didn&rsquo;t look at all like a guy who hadn&rsquo;t played in a regular-season game for over a year.No question he would have helped had he been here all season.&ldquo;He came in and played well,&rdquo; Bernie Nicholls said. &ldquo;He took the man out and he stood his ground. It&rsquo;s hard to believe he&rsquo;s been out for so long.&rdquo;Barrett was obviously pleased, perhaps pleasantly surprised, with his performance.&ldquo;I felt pretty good,&rdquo; he said smiling. &ldquo;I think I only got winded once. I didn&rsquo;t know what to expect, but I felt fine so I kept on going.&ldquo;I also found out I can still take a check. That was some hit,&rdquo; Barrett said, referring to a crunching bodycheck he took in the first period, courtesy of Bruce Crowder.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-01540/4884838-1-eng-US/f0021-012.jpg" title="f0021-01" width="588" height="780"><figcaption class="caption-body">Fred Barrett joined the Kings after originally deciding to retire when traded by Minnesota.</figcaption></div>Barrett kept himself in shape by working out with the North Stars and with Minnesota physical therapist Tom Copeland and decided to give it another shot for a few reasons.&ldquo;The timing was a factor,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I knew I&rsquo;d only be away from home for a month, plus (King assistant coach) Mike Murphy and I go all the way back to junior and he was very convincing.&ldquo;Also, how I play will answer a lot of questions about myself. If I feel I can contribute something and the Kings are interested, playing here next year will be a possibility.&rdquo;Meanwhile the Kings&rsquo; Stanley Cup playoff hopes are fading like a pair of very cheap jeans, though the team is trying to look at things on the bright side, trying to figure out how it could possibly avoid being kept out of the post-season tournament for the second year in a row.Not an easy task, considering they were 10 points behind the Winnipeg Jets for the final Smythe Division playoff spot and Jets had four games in hand.The problems were manifested during a four-game swing which began with a 9-1 shellacking in Calgary&mdash;the Kings&rsquo; worst defeat of the season&mdash;and continued with the overtime loss in Boston.&ldquo;When things go bad they really go bad,&rdquo; a dejected Nicholls said after the Kings blew a 3-2 lead against the Bruins with only 30 seconds left in regulation time.&ldquo;We do everything so well and we still can&rsquo;t win. Boy, this is tough.&rdquo;Battling back from a 2-0 deficit, the Kings got consecutive goals from Anders Hakansson, Jim Fox and J.P. Kelly&mdash;and superb goaltending from Markus Mattsson&mdash;to grab a third-period lead for the first time in over a week, only to see it slip away in the end.Rick Middleton was the culprit, scoring the tying goal on a deflection with 30 seconds left, then winning it in overtime with just 1: 44 to go.To be sure, overtime hasn&rsquo;t been kind to the Kings, who were 1-3-12 in extrasession games, meaning the new rule had cost them two valuable points in the standings.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s great for the fans and the players get pumped up. too,&rdquo; King captain Terry Ruskowski said following the loss to the Bruins, &ldquo;but I sure wish we hadn&rsquo;t had to play overtime tonight.&rdquo;KING NOTEBOOK&mdash;Canadian Olympic team back-up goaltender Darren Eliot agreed to terms and was assigned to New Haven. A sixth-round pick in the 1980 draft, the 22-year-old Eliot was expected to finish out the season in the minors, then get along look in training camp next year&hellip;Bernie Nicholls, playing four weeks with his fractured jaw wired shut, was scheduled to see the doctor when the Kings returned home. He was to find out then whether he&rsquo;d have to play two more weeks with the wires or whether they&rsquo;d be removed. &#9632;

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Murphy Inspires Barrett To Join The Kings

<div class="byline">BY BARRY MEISEL</div>Louisville HockeyH&B 100 YEARSBALTIMORE&mdash;The major-league baseball team won the world championship. The National Football League team, a Maryland institution since 1950, has been showered with financial incentives since threatening to abandon the city. Even the Major Indoor Soccer League team is a Blast.The fraternity of Orioles, Colts, Blast and NBA Washington Bullets has seen the emergence of the Baltimore Skipjacks, a minor-league team in a majorleague city that happens to be dominating the American Hockey League in its second season of existence.The Clippers lived in Baltimore from 1962-76, but the AHL didn&rsquo;t return until last season. The Skipjacks were bom, missed the Southern Division playoffs by one point, and vowed to return.And they have. Faced with an unfavorable league schedule, a horrible Civic Center menu of playing dates and the woeful Pittsburgh Penguins as their National Hockey League affiliate, the Skipjacks have dominated the South and are on the verge of clinching first place.With a 40-18-10 record, the &lsquo;Jacks lead second-place Rochester by 14 points with 12 games to play. Coach Gene Ubriaco&rsquo;s team is shooting for the AHL&rsquo;s best overall record, which will guarantee home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs. Fredericton, the Northern leader, has 83 points.Some guarantee. In another bitter irony for a franchise constantly getting it shoved down their throats, the Skipjacks can&rsquo;t play at home from April 30-May 13. A United Methodist convention, booked in 1979, will force Baltimore&rsquo;s hockey team to vie for its first Calder Cup in the Hersheypark Arena.Through it all, the &lsquo;Jacks refuse to lose.Despite the less than attractive dates, the &lsquo;Jacks are averaging 3, 442 fans per game at the Baltimore Civic Center. That&rsquo;s seventh in the 13-team league.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re really treated as second-class citizens,&rdquo; says Ubriaco, Baltimore&rsquo;s frank and likeable coach. &ldquo;Hopefully, when this season is over, the Civic Center will start treating its sports franchises with a little more respect.&rdquo;&ldquo;Honestly, the biggest thing about this season, the biggest surprise, was how quickly our players got together. That had a lot to do with us getting out of the box. We had good rookies coming in, we brought in some of our own people (from Birmingham, of the Central League, where Ubriaco previously coached), and we had some people from last year who had something to prove after missing the playoffs by one point.The &lsquo;Jacks don&rsquo;t have a prayer among the top 20 in scoring. Their leading point producer is rookie defenseman Tom Thornbury. But they have a good blend of ingredients: Two-way veterans such as Paul Gardner, Steve Carlson and Warren Young; a rugged defense anchored by Thornbury, Phil Bourque and Bennett Wolf; a scorer in sophomore center Mitch Lamoureux.And goaltending. Roberto Romano was the AHL&rsquo;s hottest goalie when the Penguins called, but he&rsquo;s back. He&rsquo;s 194-1 with a 3.41 goals-against average. Teamed with Jim Ralph, on loan from Chicago, the pair will allow Ubriaco sound sleep throughout the Calder Cup tournament.&ldquo;Goaltending is 75 per cent of your hockey team,&rdquo; the coach syas. &ldquo;Let&rsquo;s put it this way. Goalies are like coaches. They don&rsquo;t win you games, but they can cost you. I think our goaltending is as good as anybody&rsquo;s, that&rsquo;s for sure.&rdquo;Thornbury was recalled by Pittsburgh under emergency conditions, but he&rsquo;ll be back for the playoffs. Bourque won&rsquo;t. He broke a bone in his left foot and will be sidelined eight weeks.&ldquo;Boy, we&rsquo;ll miss him,&rdquo; Ubriaco said.Because of Civic Center commitments, the Skipjacks start and finish their season on the road. Baltimore&rsquo;s last eight games are away from home. Combined with the lack of a season-ending battle for playoff position, Ubriaco must guard against complacency heading into the playoffs.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s a concern,&rdquo; he admits. &ldquo;But it&rsquo;s better than being in the middle of the pack fighting for our lives. Right now I don&rsquo;t see a problem. We&rsquo;re going great.&ldquo;But I&rsquo;ll tell you something. Everybody in the South has gotten stronger. The playoffs are a whole different story. A good hockey team is going to come out of this division, whoever it is.&rdquo;AROUND THE SOUTH&mdash;The story of the week was Clear Day, one of the most eventful in past seasons considering the elimination of the European invasion.The 22-man Clear Day rosters, which had to be filed with the AHL office by March 6, regulate those who are eligible for the Calder Cup playoffs. The rosters may only be altered when emergency conditions&mdash;injuries, NHL call-ups&mdash;occur. Amateurs from the junior leagues. or players in leagues lower than the AHL (IHL and ACHL, for example) are the only ones allowed to be added after the clear day period.Pittsburgh returned Romano and defenseman Greg Tebbutt. Baltimore was expected to add left winger Gary Rissling, but did not. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re not making any changes,&rdquo; Gene Ubriaco said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re going with the guys who got us here, because they gave us everything.&rdquo;Rochester, which has won seven of nine to grab a six-point second-place lead over Springfield and St. Catharines, added defenseman Jim Wiemer, one of the heroes of the Amerks&rsquo; 1983 Calder Cup championship. Wiemer, who spent all season in the NHL with Buffalo, is a 6-foot-4, 197-pound offensive defenseman who&rsquo;ll add toughness and a bullet of a shot from the left point. The Amerks released veteran Rick Hampton, called up center Clint Fehr from Peoria of the IHL and kept rookies Bob Bodak and Tom St. James on amateur tryouts.St. Catharines added defenseman Dave Farrish, one of the key cogs in the New Brunswick Hawks&rsquo; 1982 Calder Cup championship. Farrish, who was assigned by Toronto, was the &lsquo;82 winner of the Eddie Shore Plaque as the league&rsquo;s best defenseman. The Maple Leafs also assigned goaltender Rick St. Croix. Rookie goalie Bruce Dowie and forward-defenseman Ron Zanussi were not included on the Clear Day roster, but Dowie was later recalled by Toronto along with defenseman Bob McGill under emergency conditions.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-01618/4884869-1-eng-US/f0022-012.jpg" title="f0022-01" width="580" height="866"><figcaption class="caption-body">Skipjack coach Gene Ubriaco wants more respect from the Civic Center operators.</figcaption></div>Springfield, which lost defenseman Don Dietrich on emergency recall to Chicago and left winger Ross Fitzpatrick for three weeks with a broken wrist, added rookie defenseman Andre Villeneuve from the Philadelphia Flyers, right winger Denis Cyr from the Black Hawks and forwards Dan Wood and Alain Lemieux on loan from St. Louis. Villeneuve, the 6-foot-l, 170-pounder, has been recovering from a broken leg. Wood, who played for the Canadian Olympic hockey team, and Lemieux were playing for Montana of the CHL.New Haven, six points behind the Saints and Indians in fifth, are not likely to unseat either for fourth because the Nighthawks have played five more games. The parent Los Angeles Kings bolstered coach Nick Beverley&rsquo;s lineup by adding veteran defenseman Mike McEwen Goalie Gary Laskoski was removed from the Clear Day roster, leaving Mike Blake and rookie Darren Eliot.Hershey added defenseman Peter Dineen on loan from Moncton after the parent Boston Bruins traded defenseman Larry Melnyk to Edmonton for John Blum. Melnyk reported to Moncton, but Blum was allowed to remain in Moncton on loan by Boston. To make up for that loss, Edmonton agreed to loan Dineen to Hershey. Washington goalie Al Jensen, returning from a back injury, was assigned to Hershey for conditioning purposes.Binghamton lost left winger Steve Stoyanovich for the season with a broken ankle. &#9632;

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‘Jacks Are Better In The Southern Despite Being Dealt Terrible Hand

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0023-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-01559/4884900-1-eng-US/f0023-012.jpg"></div> &#9632;

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<div class="byline">BY MIKE KANE</div>FREDERICTON&mdash;Defense was the name of the game Earl Jessiman wanted to play when he took over the Express coaching job last fall. With his team on the verge of wrapping up its second straight Northern Division title, Jessiman appears to have made the right choice.With 10 games left in the regular season, the Express held a seven-point lead over Adirondack and a commanding 12-point advantage over third-place Nova Scotia. Barring a total collapse in the final three weeks of the season&mdash;during which the team plays seven of its last eight games at home&mdash;the Express are going to earn another Oke Trophy, the symbol of supemacy in the Northern Division.Although the Express have been in the driver&rsquo;s seat since early in January, the road to the championship hasn&rsquo;t been a smooth one. Jessiman, the 28-year-old former Brandon University coach, succeeded popular Jacques Demers when Demers was named to coach the St. Louis Blues and found out rather quickly that being the farm team of two National Hockey League teams&mdash;Quebec and Vancouver&mdash;can have its advantages and some rather serious drawbacks. Naturally, with two sources for players, the talent pool can be quite deep and make the minor league coach&rsquo;s job all that much easier. But when both teams make moves in concert, it can produce a little confusion.Jessiman has seen both sides of the story this season, but the strict attention to his defensive program has allowed him to adjust to the unfamiliar situation of having 48 different players&mdash;including five goaltenders&mdash;wear the blue and grey Express uniforms this season. That defensive approach has allowed just 241 goals in 70 games and kept the Express in every game.&ldquo;I think I&rsquo;ve developed a pride in the players in their defensive play and that&rsquo;s reflected in our goals against,&rdquo; Jessiman said. &ldquo;We went through a little bit of a bad time there, a few games, but we&rsquo;re at about 3.30 goals against, which in pro hockey is usually unheard of. At the start of the year, we set a number of team objectives and one of them was no more than 3.5 goals against per game. We&rsquo;re under that right now. We&rsquo;re hoping that we&rsquo;re going to reach that objective and I think if we do reach that objective we&rsquo;ll be in first place.&rdquo;With players such as John Van Boxmeer, Jean-Francois Sauve, Frank Caprice, Rick LaPointe and Jere Gillis all in the lineup at the same time, the Express are as talented and experienced as any team in the league. Injuries and recalls have combined to split that group up most of the time, but the Express have stayed on course, Jessiman believes, with the help of a less-heralded contingent of players.&ldquo;Probably the main reason I would say we are in first place right now is that when we were very short staffed on players, not only in numbers but in talent,&rdquo; Jessiman said. &ldquo;We had an awful lot of young guys that really worked hard. We played well enough as a team and were team-oriented enough that we at least played .500 hockey. We never really set it as a team objective during those hard times, but playing .500 hockey kept us in the pack, kept us the third or fourth spot. Nobody started to run away with it (early in the season) other than Novy (Nova Scotia) for awhile there. I think that was the key point in the season for us, to weather that storm, and then we started to get some bodies back.&rdquo;While all the shuffling was going on, though, there has been a reliable core of players in residence that Jessiman has been able to count on.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve had about 10 players, like Mike Eagles, Mike Hough, Bruce Holloway and Michel Bolduc,&rdquo; Jessiman said. &ldquo;Those guys are the ones who have been with us all year, they haven&rsquo;t been moved up or down, and it&rsquo;s been a solid bunch of guys. And looking back, a lot of the guys that have really helped us weather the storm have been the young kids. They have played very inspirational hockey for us and have done a great job to actually play above their heads when they&rsquo;ve had to. When the pressure was there and they had to go out on the power play when they hadn&rsquo;t played it all year, they did the job. They did an adequate job, well enough for us to stay at .500 hockey.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s what we&rsquo;re going through right now. We&rsquo;ve only been playing .500 hockey the last three weeks, but we&rsquo;ve got a lot of guys injured and a lot of guys out right now. It&rsquo;s been tough on us. We&rsquo;ve been fortunate that every game we lose Adirondack seems to lose. That&rsquo;s saved us.&rdquo;However, with the prospect of getting Gerry Minor, Garth Butcher, Claude Julien and Stu Kulak back from injuries before the playoffs and the possibility of regaining Sauve, Caprice and LaPointe from the parent clubs, spring could be a very pleasant time of the year for Jessiman and the Express.AROUND THE DIVISION&mdash;Veteran goaltender Ed Mio turned in a strong performance for Adirondack in a 4-3 win over Fredericton on March 7 at Glens Falls. Mio, making his first appearance since injuring his left hamstring on Jan. 7, was sent down by the parent Detroit Red Wings for a week of conditioning. Ted Speers scored the game-winner with 56 seconds to play. In that game, Andre St. Laurent scored on a penalty shot against Fredericton goalie Brian Ford&hellip;There was very little activity on the Clear Day deadline for freezing AHL rosters. The only player that the Wings might get from Detroit is goaltender Corrado Micalef, who has been on emergency recall since Feb. 4&hellip;Moncton added defenseman Larry Melnyk through a trade between the parent Edmonton Oilers and the Boston Bruins. The deal was a swap of defensemen John Blum and Peter Dineen from Moncton for Melnyk, who has been playing with Hershey. Dineen was moved to Hershey, but Moncton will keep Blum for the rest of the season on loan. The Alpines also sent Shawn Dineen and Paul Miller to Milwaukee of the IHL&hellip;Maine picked up defensemen Alain Vigneault on loan from the St. Louis Blues when the Blues pulled five players out of Montana in the CHL&hellip;Veteran left winger Dave Orleski rejoined the Nova Scotia roster after being released in November.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-01595/4884931-1-eng-US/f0024-012.jpg" title="f0024-01" width="558" height="870"><figcaption class="caption-body">Mike Eagles has been one of the young players who&rsquo;ve kept the Express together.</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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Defense Has Been Express’ Offense

<div class="byline">BY BUD GALLMEIER</div>FLINT&mdash;If it weren&rsquo;t for the red-hot Fort Wayne Komets, the streaking Flint Generals would be the talk of the International Hockey League&mdash;certainly they&rsquo;re the talk around here.Despite an outbreak of injuries, which has permitted coach Dennis Desrosiers the luxury of a regular lineup just three times since Dec. 20, Flint has secured a playoff position and is making a run for second place.The Generals rode a five-game winning streak into Fort Wayne but the streak ended in a 3-2 loss. It marked the third straight time Flint lost to the Komets by that score.Despite the loss in Fort Wayne, Desrosiers wasn&rsquo;t too disappointed.Since the first of the year, Flint has been the second hottest team in the league. Including the loss in Fort Wayne, Flint&rsquo;s record since January is 15-10-1.Before losing the 3-2 heartbreaker in Fort Wayne, Flint ran its streak to five with a 3-2 win over Kalamazoo and an 8-2 romp over Milwaukee. Lawrie Nisker, celebrating his return to the lineup following nine days on the injury list, scored the winning goal against Kalamazoo. Bemie Gallant notched his first hat trick of the season against Milwaukee. The five-game winning streak is Flint&rsquo;s longest since November, &lsquo;81, when the Generals also had a run of five.FORT WAYNE&mdash;The Komets are making winning routine. The current winning streak hit 12 with four more victories, including a pair on the road. The Komets have won six straight on the road and six straight at home.The streak is the longest in the league this season, surpassing Toledo&rsquo;s 10-game spurt. The league record is 14, established by the Komets in 1959-60 and tied during the &lsquo;60-61 season by the old Minneapolis Millers.The Komets lead second-place Toledo and Milwaukee by 13 points with 17 games to play. Rob Motz has provided most of the offensive spark during the current streak with nine goals in the last six games and leads the league with 42 markers. Teammate Wally Schreiber is the point leader with 90.The Komets opened the week with a pair of road wins, blanking Muskegon 6-0 and winning 4-2 at Peoria. The Komets returned home to beat Toledo 6-2 and nip Flint 3-2.MILWAUKEE&mdash;The Admirals returned from a five-game road swing a little weary and dropped a 3-1 decision to Kalamazoo. On the road, Milwaukee had only one win in five games, 6-1 in Peoria. Losses were at Toledo, Kalamazoo (twice) and Flint.The Admirals have the schedule in their favor the rest of the way. Of the final 17 games, 11 are at home. Also, Milwaukee added some offensive punch by obtaining veteran right winger Barry Scully, a three-time goal-scoring champion, from Muskegon. Scully scored 11 goals in the 17 games he played for Muskegon since being picked up on waivers from Fort Wayne. Scully, who helped Toledo win the Turner Cup in &lsquo;78, scored 60 or more goals for three straight seasons in Fort Wayne.TOLEDO&mdash;The Goaldiggers also had a little trouble on home ice. Kalamazoo surprised the Goaldiggers 5-3, following a 5-1 loss to Toledo in Kalamazoo. Toledo regrouped to nip Milwaukee 3-2 and then went on the road where they lost 6-2 in Fort Wayne.KALAMAZOO&mdash;The K-Wings are also making a run at second place. Sparked by a rare win in Toledo, the Wings won three of four on the road to boost their point total to 67.The lone loss was a 3-2 thriller in Flint.In addition to the 5-3 win at Toledo, the K-Wings won 5-2 at Muskegon and 3-1 in Milwaukee.PEORIA&mdash;The Prancers kept their faint playoff hopes alive by ending an eight-game losing streak with an 9-5 win over hapless Muskegon. The victory was Peoria&rsquo;s 25th of the season, which matches their total for last year, their first in the league. Before beating Muskegon, Peoria lost 4-2, its eighth straight defeat.MUSKEGON&mdash;Things keep getting worse for the Mohawks. Despite playing two of three games at home, Muskegon came up empty again. The Mohawks lost three straight, raising their season loss total to 46. Muskegon has won just 16 games.Fort Wayne opened the week with a 6-0 shutout, the second time the Komets have blanked the Mohawks in Muskegon this season. Kalamazoo beat Muskegon 6-2 and the Mohawks then went on the road to Peoria, where they lost 9-5. &#9632;

The Generals Are The Talk Of The Town

<div class="byline">BY BILL PICKETT</div>Louisville HockeyH&B 100 YEARSDENVER&mdash;Things could be worse for coach Tom Webster&rsquo;s Oilers.For one thing, they still could be in Tulsa where, earlier this season, they didn&rsquo;t know from one day to the next whether there would be ice for practice or whether the building would be open to them.Now, however, trainer Al Bryant says, &ldquo;We&rsquo;re in better shape now than we have been all year, really, as far as facilities are concerned.&rdquo;The Oilers are operating out of Denver&mdash;a travelling show, as it were, with no place to call home and no white jerseys. The latter may change, though. When the New York Rangers pulled the franchise out of Tulsa in February, jerseys and stockings were left behind. As a result, the Rangers quickly came up with new uniforms for the Oilers which included only the blue road colors. After all. a team that had no home ice would have no use for the whites.For the playoffs, though, the Oilers may get some white shirts. Although they won&rsquo;t be playing host to any playoff games, they still may be designated the home team in its appropriate share of the games, according to league president Bud Poile. Of course, they could still claim the home status and play in blues.For now, though, trainer Bryant points out the team is using the facilities at Denver University &ldquo;and everything we need is right there. We&rsquo;ve got a place to practice and secure our equipment, so we&rsquo;re in good shape. We have a home there now of sorts. We use their place and it&rsquo;s just like we have our own facility.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re probably better off now than we have been all year.&rdquo;It was still the first week of March, but Bryant explained the Oilers would have but three more trips out of Denver&mdash;two to Salt Lake City and one to Billings.&ldquo;And for the games against Colorado in McNichols Arena,&rdquo; he continued, &ldquo;we just have to bring the gear down the highway. Colorado doesn&rsquo;t always have McNichols for practice, so they come to Denver University at times. We just stay there, the equipment is there, practice is there, so we&rsquo;re in good shape.&rdquo;If things are easier for Bryant as far as securing his equipment and getting the team laundry taken care of, it&rsquo;s a bit of a different story for veteran winger Cam Connor.The 29-year-old Connor is married and his wife and four-year-old son remained in Tulsa when the Oilers hit the road.&ldquo;It has increased our telephone bill,&rdquo; Connor said, &ldquo;but my son is in school there and my wife wanted to keep him there, so now we&rsquo;re staying in touch by phoning each other.&rdquo;He&rsquo;s doing his own cooking.&ldquo;It saves money,&rdquo; he said.Actually, he and his roommates take turns doing the cooking.&ldquo;We cooked up a turkey the other day because it lasts a long time,&rdquo; Connor said.He&rsquo;s without a car, of course, and admits the situation is difficult for the family.&ldquo;The circumstances all season have been bad for family life overall,&rdquo; Connor said. &ldquo;Even the first few months in Tulsa were bad. We had to travel two and a half hours hours to find a place to practise sometimes and stay overnight then. It&rsquo;s been a really bad year.&rdquo;Being away from home affects the single players less.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not too bad for the single guy, I guess it&rsquo;s harder on the married guy, especially those who have children,&rdquo; said Jim Malone.The 21-year-old Malone said the team &ldquo;is staying at a motel, a kind of place for travellers who are staying a week or a month.&rdquo;Malone is doing his own cooking, also, but that&rsquo;s not so much different from his schedule in Tulsa.&ldquo;I shared an apartment in Tulsa and we were doing our own cooking there,&rdquo; he said.&ldquo;New York (the Rangers) picked up the leases on our apartments in Tulsa and paid our moving expenses to Denver,&rdquo; Malone said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s hasn&rsquo;t been bad for the single guys.&rdquo;As far as the squad as a whole is concerned, playing on the road hasn&rsquo;t hurt that much. The Oilers were 12-8-3 in Tulsa and nearly as good on the travel portion of their schedule. They are 2024-2 on foreign ice for the year, even after dropping two and tying one in Indianapolis.No one is speculating at the moment where the Oilers&mdash;or at least the Rangers&rsquo; franchise&mdash;might be next season. But one question does come to mind: Should the Oilers win the Adams Cup, which is highly possible, where will it be displayed next season?CHL CHAT&mdash;Montana Magic owner Larry Gordon got approval from the league to postpone a March 6 game with Colorado until March 19 in Billings, citing &ldquo;a shortage of players and financial problems.&rdquo;League boss Bud Poile gave Gordon a few days to clear up the situation. The move apparently was precipitated when St. Louis recalled Jim Pavese and Perry Ganchar from Montana and reassigned three other players.Alain Lemieux and Dan Wood were sent on loan to Springfield of the AHL; Alain Vigneault was placed on loan to Maine of the AHL. It also was reported six players under contract to Gordon voted not to play until they were paid. As this issue went to press, the future of the Magic did not look good. If Gordon fails to pay those six players and cannot add others to the roster, the CHL will be losing another franchise.Goaltender Kelly Hrudey was recalled by the New York Islanders after a two-week conditioning stint with Indianapolis during which time he compiled a 3-2-1 record and a 3.41 goals-against mark. For his two victories and a tie against the Oilers he was named CHL player of the week&hellip;Mike Vernon, the league&rsquo;s No. 2 goaltender behind John Vanbiesbrouck of the Oilers, was returned to Colorado by Calgary.The Oilers lost their leading scorer, Dave Barr, when he was traded to St. Louis for Larry Patey and Bob Brooke. Barr had 28 goals and 37 assists in 51 outings and was seventh in the CHL scoring race, the only Oiler included in the top 10&hellip;Three Olympic players have been assigned to CHL teams in the last week. Mark Morrison of Team Canada was assigned to the Oilers and Minnesota sent U.S. team members David Jensen, a defenseman, and forward Scott Bjugstad to Salt Lake&hellip;Defensemen Gord Dineen and Paul Boutilier were recalled by the Islanders after a brief stay in Indianapolis&hellip;Bob Hess, who failed in his attempts to join Hartford after playing in Europe last season, has joined Indianapolis. Hess formerly played with Salt Lake City&hellip;Minnesota returned defenseman Craig Levie to Salt Lake.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-01522/4884986-1-eng-US/f0025-012.jpg" title="f0025-01" width="580" height="700"><figcaption class="caption-body">Cam Connor is running up a phone bill while his family re-mains behind in Tulsa. (Photo by Bruce Bennett)</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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Transformed Oilers Feel At Home In Denver

<div class="byline">BY TOM BOGGIE</div>The scenic village of Lake Placid, NY, the site of one of the most dramatic hockey games in the history of the sport&mdash;the Miracle on Ice by the United States Olympic team in 1980&mdash;will once again become the center of the amateur hockey world when it is host to the 1984 NCAA Division One championships.While it&rsquo;s not an ordinary practice for an organizing committee to root for a particular team to get to the Final Four, the people at Lake Placid are quietly hoping that either ECAC regular-season champion Renssalaer Polytechnic Institute or perennial ECAC power Clarkson are among the teams competing at the Olympic Arena on March 22-24. The appearance of either one of those teams would practically guarantee the financial success of the 1984 championships.The NCAA championships haven&rsquo;t been held at Lake Placid since 1970, when Ned Harkness, who is now head of the Olympic Regional Development Authority in Lake Placid, guided Cornell to the championship. When Lake Placid applied for the tournament last year at the NCAA convention, it was again Harkness&rsquo; presence that made the difference.&ldquo;This was before the Olympic Authority took over management of the facilities in Lake Placid,&rdquo; said Don Krone, director of public relations for the tournament. &ldquo;He attended the NCAA meetings with the people from Lake Placid and I&rsquo;m certain Ned&rsquo;s presence played a big part in getting the tournament here.&rdquo;Although the Olympic Arena has a number of hockey games each season, nothing can compare to being host of the NCAA championships.&ldquo;It takes a lot of work,&rdquo; admitted Krone. &ldquo;Number one, you have to make it known that you have the event. Then you have to work out things like housing and ticket arrangements. We are also doing some extra things, like coaches&rsquo; clinics running simultaneously with the tournament, a hockey products display and of course, a banquet.&rdquo;The coaches&rsquo; clinics will be one of the highlights of the three-day affair, as it will include Jeff Sauer of Wisconsin, Charlie Holt of New Hampshire, Jerry York of Bowling Green, Mike McShane of St. Lawrence, Bill O&rsquo;Flaherty of Clarkson and Bill Cleary of Harvard. In addition, people from the Olympic training staff will conduct seminars in training and sports medicine, which will be free of charge.Krone said that the entire budget for the tournament is in excess of $ 100, 000, so it&rsquo;s obvious why the committee would like to see a big drawing card at Lake Placid.Asked if RPI would help push the tournament into the black. Krone said, &ldquo;It would be extremely beneficial.&rdquo;He added that 50 to 60 per cent of the 8, 000 tickets have already been sold and 25 per cent are being held for the four teams which reach the Final Four.&ldquo;If we have a team like RPI or Clarkson involved, it would really help,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;RPI has indicated that, in the event they are fortunate enough to get here, they anticipate a demand of around 2, 000 tickets (1, 500 over the normal allotment for each school).One of the major problems facing Lake Placid for the tournament will be housing. Fans like to lock up housing before knowing which teams are in the final four and if their team doesn&rsquo;t go, then they cancel their reservations. For that reason, many of the hotels in Lake Placid are demanding full payment two weeks in advance. But Krone stated that the local Chamber of Commerce will be working with the hotel management in the last two before the tournament to accommodate as many fans as possible.Not only will the eyes of college hockey be focused on Lake Placid, but the NHL will be swarming around the Olympic Arena, looking for future draft choices. Krone said that every team in the NHL will be represented at the tournament.&ldquo;Last summer we had one person whose only job was to contact all the NHL teams in advance to make sure they had seats and accommodations,&rdquo; said Krone. &ldquo;We want to make sure everyone will be taken care of.&rdquo;While it&rsquo;s hard to predict which teams will advance to Lake Placid, the tournament committee could very well get its wish and have RPI at the tournament. RPI, said to be a year away by coach Mike Addesa in pre-season, ran roughshod through the ECAC this winter, winning the regular-season championship with a 17-3 record and compiling a 30-4 mark prior to last weekend&rsquo;s ECAC Championships at the Boston Garden.Wisconsin may not be so lucky, as the Badgers were reduced to wild card status after losing in the semi-finals of the WCHA tournament. But with teams such as Bowling Green, the regular-season CCHA champion, WCHA regularseason champ Minnesota-Duluth and always tough North Dakota and both BU and BC looming as very good possibilities to make their way to Lake Placid, the tournament will be worthy of the name national championships.And Lake Placid will be worthy of the honor of being host to the greatest spectacle in college hockey.&ldquo;One thing in our favor is that by having the U.S.-USSR game, we&rsquo;ve already had a basic dry run in terms of housing a huge crowd and a lot of media,&rdquo; said Krone.Clarkson and St. Lawrence will serve as the host schools of the tournament. &#9632;

Lake Placid Opens Its Doors For NCAA

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-01546/4885048-1-eng-US/f0026-012.jpg" title="f0026-01" width="586" height="1164"><figcaption class="caption-body">Ohio State scoring ace Paul Pooley is one of two award finalists from the CCHA.</figcaption></div>The 10 finalists for the fourth annual Hobey Baker Award, U.S. college hockey&rsquo;s equivalent of the Heisman Trophy, have been selected and the winner will be announced on March 23.The award is named after a Princeton University hockey great of the early 1900&rsquo;s and is sponsored by the Decathlon Athletic Club in Bloomington, MN, where the winner will be honored at a dinner on Apr. 1. The Mar. 23 announcement will be made at a news conference in Lake Placid, NY, the site of the 1984 NCAA hockey championships.The 10 finalists were determined in balloting by Division One, Two and Three coaches. The selections now go to a committee composed of daily newspaper representatives, monthly magazine representatives, members of the electronic media, hockey scouts, NCAA coaches and representatives of the Amateur Hockey Association of the United States.The candidates must exhibit outstanding character in all phases of the game, be full-time students and show strength of character, both on and off the ice.Here are the 10 Hobey Baker finalists and capsule reports on each:JON CASEY: The University of North Dakota goalie, from Grand Rapids, MN, is the Fighting Sioux&rsquo; nominee for All-America honors this season. He&rsquo;s been a three-year regular for the Sioux and had the lowest goals-against average in the WCHA in both his sophomore and junior seasons. He was edged for that honor this season by Minnesota-Duluth&rsquo;s Rick Kosti. Kosti posted a 2.9257 mark to Casey&rsquo;s 2.9268.Casey played in 32.7 games for the Sioux, posting a 23-8-2 record and a season goals-against mark of 3.03. For his career, he has played in 72.7 games, posted a 2.83 goals-against mark and a career save percentage of .913.CLEON DASK ALAKIS: The Boston University goalie is a senior from Canton, MA, who posted a 2.74 goals-against record enroute to a 23-8 record for the resurgent Terriers. BU was a close third in the 17-team ECAC Division One race, and they often had difficulty scoring goals while piling up the wins. When this happened, Cleon usually kept the enemy at bay until BU scratched out a goal or two.PAUL DONATO: The senior center from Arlington, MA, led ECAC Division Two in scoring and took Babson College to the championship game on March 7, defeating Bowdoin College 4-1.DAN DORION: The 6-foot, 185-pound Western Michigan sophomore has led the Broncos in scoring the past two seasons, scoring 31 points as a freshman and 89 as a sophomore. He entered the CCHA finals with single season team records for goals (41), assists (48) and points (89), breaking records set by current Philadelphia Flyer Ross Fitzpatrick. He is the only player in the CCHA to have a point in every game in a season and, heading into the CCHA finals, led the nation in scoring.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-02386/4885041-1-eng-US/f0026-022.jpg" title="f0026-02" width="582" height="1162"><figcaption class="caption-body">Boston University&rsquo;s Cleon Daska-lakis provided his team with great goaltending.</figcaption></div>TOM KURVERS: The University of Minnesota-Duluth defenseman from Bloomington Jefferson High School in Minneapolis, broke a number of Bulldog records. He broke the record held by Minnesota North Stars&rsquo; defenseman Curt Giles for most goals, assists and points in a career and is the first Minnesota-Duluth player to compile more than 50 assists in a season. Kurvers currently has 52 assists to go with 16 goals through 37 games for the Bulldogs.In his four years at Minnesota-Duluth, Kurvers has played in 158 games and picked up 41 goals and 143 assists for 184 points.He&rsquo;s Duluth&rsquo;s seventh leading scorer overall and his 158 games played is the most ever for a Bulldog player. His 143 assists ties the school record set by Dan Lempe.GATES ORLANDO: The senior center from LaSalle, Que., was saddled with the burden of leading a Providence College team that was rebuilding and didn&rsquo;t make it past the first round of the playoffs.Orlando led his team in scoring with 25 goals and 30 assists. It was his second-lowest point output in four years, but 1983-84 may still have been his best campaign. He did not have the strong supporting cast he enjoyed in his first three seasons at PC, and he served as mentor to many new players under a new head coach.JOEL OTTO: The center from Elk River, MN, is the top scorer for unbeaten Bemidji State, which has won 27 straight games this season and is in the running for the NCAA Division Two championship.Otto has 25 goals and 41 assists for 66 points in 27 games for the Beavers this season.For his career, Otto has played in 117 games and picked up 82 goals and 113 assists for 195 points.Bemidji State is in search of its first unbeaten season ever in hockey.PAUL POOLEY: The 6-foot, 176-pound Ohio State senior center from Exeter, Ont., led the CCHA in scoring this season with 32 goals and 63 assists in 39 games. His 95 points set an OSU record for most points in a season. Heading into the CCHA finals, he needed just one point to tie CCHA career scoring record of 270, set by Bowling Green&rsquo;s Brian Hills.Pooley, who has to be considered&rdquo;a leading candidate for the Baker Award, kills penalties, plays the power play and takes a regular shift. He was a late cut of the Canadian Olympic hockey team and had a 42-game scoring streak, which was snapped in January.JEAN ROY; The senior defenseman from Lewiston, ME, piled up a record 35 assists in leading Bowdoin to the ECAC Division Two championship.STEVE SMITH: The senior center from Peterborough, Ont., was in much the same position as Orlando, except with Colgate. He logged more ice time than any other Colgate player, taking his regular shift, killing penalties and working the power play. Colgate had five senior forwards and not much depth behind them, but they managed to slip into eighth place and give RP1 a good tussle in the quarter-finals before bowing out. Smith was ninth in league scoring with 32 points in league games, and he checked in second in overall team scoring with 60 points, just one behind Gerard Waslen. Smith, 5-foot-8, 160 pounds, rarely took a penalty. &#9632;

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Hobey Baker Up For Grabs

TORONTO&mdash;Another college hockey season is nearing an end, which means it is time to give credit where credit is due. Therefore, THE HOCKEY NEWS presents the allstar teams and awards winners for the three major U.S. college leagues.The WCHA, EC AC and CCHA had some fine young talent on display this season. Here, then, are the creme de la creme of U.S. college hockey:<h2>WCHA</h2><h3>GOAL</h3>Jon Casey(North Dakota)<h3>DEFENSE</h3>Tom Kurvers(Duluth)Jim Leavins(Denver)<h3>FORWARDS</h3>Bill Watson(Duluth)Dan Brennan(North Dakota)Tom Rothstein(Minnesota)<h3>MVP</h3>Tom Kurvers(Duluth)<h3>ROOKIE</h3>Rick Kosti(Duluth goalie)<h3>COACH</h3>Mike Sertich(Duluth)<h2>CCHA</h2><h3>GOAL</h3>John Dougan(Ohio State)<h3>DEFENSE</h3>Garry Galley(Bowling Green)Dan McFall(Michigan State)<h3>FORWARDS</h3>Paul Pooley(Ohio State)Dan Dorion(Western Michigan)Dan Kane(Bowling Green)<h3>MVP</h3>Paul Pooley(Ohio State)<h3>ROOKIE</h3>Gary Emmons(Northern Michigan)Bill Shibicky(Michigan State)<h3>COACH</h3>Bill Wilkinson(Western Michigan)<h2>ECAC</h2><h3>GOAL</h3>Cleon Daskalakis(Boston University)<h3>DEFENSE</h3>Jim Chisholm(Boston College)T.J. Connolly(Boston University)Bob Armstrong(Clarkson)<h3>FORWARDS</h3>Gates Orlando(Providence College)Steve Smith(Colgate)Bob Armstrong(Clarkson)<h3>MVP</h3>Cleon Daskalakis(Boston University)<h3>ROOKIE</h3>John Cullen(Boston University)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-01520/4885135-1-eng-US/f0027-012.jpg" title="f0027-01" width="592" height="812"><figcaption class="caption-body">JON CASEY</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-02336/4885128-1-eng-US/f0027-022.jpg" title="f0027-02" width="594" height="812"><figcaption class="caption-body">TOM KURVERS</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-03219/4885121-1-eng-US/f0027-032.jpg" title="f0027-03" width="590" height="812"><figcaption class="caption-body">JIM LEAVINS</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-04152/4885114-1-eng-US/f0027-042.jpg" title="f0027-04" width="586" height="810"><figcaption class="caption-body">KEVIN FOSTER</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-05109/4885107-1-eng-US/f0027-052.jpg" title="f0027-05" width="581" height="810"><figcaption class="caption-body">GARRY GALLEY</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-0689/4885100-1-eng-US/f0027-062.jpg" title="f0027-06" width="586" height="809"><figcaption class="caption-body">STEVE SMITH</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-0968/4885093-1-eng-US/f0027-092.jpg" title="f0027-09" width="586" height="814"><figcaption class="caption-body">BILL WATSON</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-0869/4885086-1-eng-US/f0027-082.jpg" title="f0027-08" width="584" height="808"><figcaption class="caption-body">DAN BRENNAN</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-0774/4885079-1-eng-US/f0027-072.jpg" title="f0027-07" width="582" height="812"><figcaption class="caption-body">TOM ROTHSTEIN</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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And The All-Stars Are…

<div class="byline">BY TOM BURKE</div>BOSTON&mdash;It&rsquo;s hard to believe, but true. When RPI&rsquo;s hockey team hit Boston for their second trip to the ECAC Division One semi-finals in 23 years, they still had something to prove.At 30-4 and all four losses by a single goal, the Engineers were the runaway best in the league and the most impressive team since the dominant Boston University squads of a decade ago. Yet they didn&rsquo;t have a single player on the first All-East team. Their excellent freshman goaltender, Darren Puppa, was passed over as rookie of the year. They were hungry. They were up. They didn&rsquo;t need the eloquence of coach Mike Addesa, who&rsquo;s brought the club from mediocrity to power in the best five-year plan since Joe Stalin&rsquo;s.And RPI went out and did it, beating Clarkson University 5-4 and Boston University 5-2 to take its first Division playoff title ever. Both the Knights and the Terriers were worthy opponents, giving the men from Troy all they could handle until superior talent wore them down.The power-play units and penalty killers had a lot to say about the outcome. RPI&rsquo;s forwards, particularly sophomores Adam Oates and John Carter, are throw-backs to the pre-facemask era when swift and accurate passing coupled with strong position play made for a better game. The attacking penalty killers, freshmen Neil Hemberg and Terry Butryn, didn&rsquo;t score any shorthanded goals but they yielded only one power-play tally themselves.Both games were tied early in the third period. In the semi-final, Clarkson enjoyed the upper hand initially and bottled the RPI defense corps up effectively. Engineer defensemen Pierre Langevin and Ken Hammond, both juniors, were sitting out with injuries. Some first-time jitters at the Garden were also evident and Jim O&rsquo;Meara and Ted Cline both beat Puppa from in close by the 8: 06 mark.On the next rush, the Knights nearly had another goal, buzzing through the crease, whacking the puck off fallen bodies, retrieving it and trying again. Somehow, Puppa eventually froze it and about six minutes later, Carter drove a slap shot through traffic on the power play. Jamie Faile got a little piece of the puck, but RPI was on the board and the panic was over.The pileup and freeze was one turning point, according to Puppa. The next came in the last minute of play with Clarkson leading 4-3. Hemberg and Bob DiFronio had scored on power plays and Jim Harvey and Pat O&rsquo;Brien countered for Clarkson. Breaking out of the RPI zone up center, Carter took a perfect feed from Oates, who&rsquo;d beaten a defender to the puck at the baords. Carter charged in alone and beat Faile to tie the game heading into the second intermission.The third period belonged largely to RPI and the fourth line got the winning goal at 8: 08 when Kraig Neinhuis angled a pass from the left circle across the top of the crease to Trini Iturralde. The freshman banged it home. Though Clarkson nearly scored with 15 seconds to go, the game belonged to RPI.In the title game, it was RPI&rsquo;s turn to come back and hand tough until they yielded in the end. Once again RPI&rsquo;s fourth line had the game-winner. Neinhuis rapped home a big rebound of a slapshot by Iturralde after aggressive forechecking pried the puck free in the BU end. The goal broke a 2-2 tie at the 10: 31 mark.Oates intercepted a pass to the point a minute and a half later and went in alone to deke Cleon Daskalakis and widen the margin to two. Then at 16: 56 he was on the doorstep again to shove home a rebound on the power play after a couple of Daskalakis saves.The championship game was a bruising affair and the Engineers were again the beneficiaries of man-advantage situations. They were two-for-two on first period power plays, with Carter and DiFronio converting, while BU was zero for three. Finally at 3: 53 of the second, Ed Lowney batted home a waist-high rebound with BU a man up and early in the third he fed John Cullen for the tying goal off a two-on-one break.For a couple of minutes, BU had a good territorial edge and referee Pierre Belanger eased up slightly on his close calling of infractions. After Neinhuis&rsquo; goal, BU still pressed and Oates was able to anticipate the feed back to the point in his own zone and go winging away for the clincher.BU survived a strong Boston College comeback in their semi-final match. It was reminiscent of the team&rsquo;s first round Beanpot Tournament game a month ago. By 3: 57 of the third frame, the Terriers had a 4-1 edge. Then Scott Harlow and Bob Sweeney bore in on Daskalakis for unassisted goals, Sweeney&rsquo;s coming at 15: 17. BU&rsquo;s Denis LaGarde sprung loose for a two-on-one rush and tallied at 15: 52, but Ed Rauseo narrowed the gap to one again with a power-play score at 17: 32. Cullen&rsquo;s empty-net goal with 44 seconds to play finally settled things.In the consolation game, Clarkson edged BC 3-1 as both teams prepared to head west for the NCAA quarter-finals. &#9632;

RPI Rolls Along To Its First Championship

The Western Michigan Broncos didn&rsquo;t win the Central Collegiate Hockey Association title&mdash;they lost 5-0 to the Michigan State Spartans in the championship game&mdash;but it wasn&rsquo;t because they didn&rsquo;t get outstanding netminding from junior goalie Glenn Healy.The 21-year-old from Pickering, Ont., made 60 saves in two games of the CCHA finals at Joe Louis Arena, earning the Outstanding Player award in the four-team tourney and also THE HOCKEY NEWS&rsquo; college player of the week for the period ending Mar.Healy set a CCHA record this season by making 1, 180 saves. He finished the season with a goals-against average of 3.93.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-01522/4885214-1-eng-US/f0028-012.jpg" title="f0028-01" width="556" height="688"><figcaption class="caption-body">GLENN HEALLY WMU</figcaption></div>At the end of the season, THE HOCKEY NEWS will select a Bauer College Player of the Year. &#9632;

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Bauer Player of the week

<div class="byline">BY VIRG FOSS</div>MINNEAPOLIS&mdash;Minnesota-Duluth, the best team in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association during the regular season, proved its success was no fluke in the league playoffs.The Bulldogs ran away from North Dakota 12-6 in the two-game, total-goals finals in Minneapolis to win the WCHA playoff title and with it home ice for the first round of the NCAA quarter-finals.The only thing wrong with a totalgoals series is that a blowout in the first game can destroy the interest in the second game.That&rsquo;s what happened in Minneapolis as Duluth whipped North Dakota 8-1 in the opening game before the Sioux came back to win the rematch 5-4.That sets the stage for the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division One tournament, to be held on four different campus locations March 16-17. From the West, Michigan State is seeded No. 1 with Duluth seeded second, Bowling Green third and North Dakota four. From the East, RPI is seeded first, followed in order by Boston University, Clarkson and Boston College.First-round pairings in the quarterfinals have North Dakota (28-10-2) at RPI (32-4), Clarkson (26-10-2) at Minnesota-Duluth (27-10-2), Boston College (26-11) at Michigan State (31-9) and Bowling Green (28-7-2) at Boston University (27-10-1), all two-game, totalgoals series.The four winners advance to Lake Placid, NY, for the Final Four and the crowning of a new champion, since defending champion Wisconsin was ousted in the second round of the WCHA playoffs by Duluth.Duluth, which had never won the WCHA championship until this year, now goes in quest of its first NCAA championship as well.Any of the 7, 000-plus fans who saw the Bulldogs perform in Minneapolis each night has to like the chances of Duluth, which has come on strong under the coaching of Mike Sertich.Duluth was awesome in the opening game. It played with all the flair and drive of the Stanley Cup champion New York Islanders in handing the Sioux their most lopsided loss in two years.Until Steve Palmiscno scored a shorthanded goal for the Sioux with 1: 46 left in the game, Duluth had held opponents goalless for 144 minutes and four seconds dating back to its series with Wisconsin the previous week.And in that span, Duluth ran off 19 unanswered goals against Wisconsin and North Dakota until Palmiscno scored a fluke goal from behind the Duluth net on a soft centering pass that deflected off Duluth goalie Rick Kosti and flopped into the net.&ldquo;It was like an avalanche,&rdquo; UND coach Gino Gasparini said. &ldquo;Once it gets rolling, how do you stop it?&rdquo;Balanced Duluth, which had lost just once in 17 previous games, collected two goals from Bob Lakso and one a piece from Skeeter Moore, Mark Baron, Bill Watson, Tom Herzig, Dan May and Bill Mason.&ldquo;There was no question Duluth was the better team today,&rdquo; Gasparini said. &ldquo;They outskated, outworked and outhustled us. We just got beat. We got our butts kicked good.&rdquo;The Sioux did some kicking of their own in the rematch. There was no way the Sioux could win the series after falling seven goals behind after the first half of the series, but the Sioux did have something to prove&mdash;that they could play excellent hockey.They did exactly that in beating Duluth as freshman goalie Greg Strome, making just his fifth start of the season, played well, making 32 saves.Freshman center Perry Berezan had two goals for North Dakota, which jumped on Duluth for quick goals by Brian Williams and Chris Jensen to cut Duluth&rsquo;s margin to five goals in the series.Any thoughts UND had of a monumental comeback died when Matt Christensen scored twice and Tom Kur-vers once to put Duluth on top 3-2. Berezan knotted the game at 3-3 after two periods and then Berezan and Dan Brennan sandwiched goals around one by Duluth&rsquo;s May to win it for the Sioux. Brennan&rsquo;s goal, set up on a pass from Berezan, came with 1: 48 to play for the margin of victory.&ldquo;This was a matter of healing of our wounded pride,&rdquo; Gasparini said. &ldquo;We took a licking Saturday. Today, we showed a lot of character in coming back like we did. I&rsquo;m very proud of our kids today.&rdquo;North Dakota is one of the few teams that has enjoyed some degree of success against Duluth this season. In six games, the Sioux have won three, lost two and tied one.If they do meet again, as Sertich speculates they will, it would be in the first game of the Final Four in Lake Placid, with the winner advancing into the championship game.In the 36 previous NCAA tournaments, the winner has come out of the WCHA 29 times. &#9632;

Duluth Leaves No Doubt They’re Best Of The West

<div class="byline">BY JIM SCHNEIDER</div>DETROIT&mdash;Western Michigan&rsquo;s Glenn Healy won the hearts of the crowd, but Michigan State skated to its third consecutive Central Collegiate Hockey Association playoff championship in front of 17, 515 fans in Detroit&rsquo;s Joe Louis Arena.The Spartans, 32-10, knocked off Ohio State 8-1 in the semi-finals and blanked upstart Western Michigan 5-0 in the championship game.WMU&rsquo;s Healy was named the Outstanding Player in the tournament as he made 90 saves in two nights, including an amazing record-setting total of 60 saves in the 4-3 double overtime victory over regular-season champion Bowling Green.The championship, the fifth straight for the Spartans in Munn Arena East, the nickname for Joe Louis Arena in East Lansing, provided Michigan State with home ice in the NCAA regionals. MSU was named the No. 1 seed in the West and the Spartans will play host to Boston College, 25-11, in a two-game, totalgoals series March 17-18.Regular-season champion Bowling Green, 31-7-2, was seeded No. 3 in the West and will play its two-game, totalgoals series at Boston University, which is 26-10.The two CCHA entries could find themselves meeting in the NCAA finals in Lake Placid on March 23.Ohio State beat Bowling Green 3-2 in overtime in the consolation game.Ron Mason&rsquo;s Michigan State club scored in every period of the tournament with senior Newell Brown and junior Gord Flegel, both named, to the alltournament squad, leading the offense with three goals each.However, while the Spartans were scoring 13 goals in two nights in front of a total of 28, 350, the key to the championship, as usual, was the defense.Freshman goalie Norm Foster allowed just one goal in two games as he made 47 saves as the defense corps led by seniors Jeff Eisley and David Taylor kept the potent OSU and WMU offenses at bay.In the opener, Mike Donnelly put the Spartans on the scoreboard at 5: 20 of the first period and the score reached 8-0 in the third period before OSU&rsquo;s John Mowatt snapped Foster&rsquo;s shutout bid at 9: 59. The Spartans used four power-play goals to double its margin after taking a 4-0 lead early in the second period.Co-captain Brown scored his 17th and 18th goals for a 2-0 lead in the championship game and Flegel&rsquo;s power-play goal at 13: 17 of the second period moved the margin to 3-0 against the tired Broncos.MSU&rsquo;s Dale Krentz netted the 23rd Spartan shorthanded goal of the season at 5: 58 of the third period and defenseman Eisley closed out the scoring in the championship game at 18: 38.Bowling Green jumped to a 2-0 lead in the semi-finals against Western Michigan on goals by defenseman Dave Ellett and winger Gino Cavallini, but Bill Wilkinson&rsquo;s Broncos tied the score after two periods on goals by Rob Bryden and Troy Thrun.Stuart Bumie gave Western Michigan its first lead with his 26th goal, but Ellett tied the score while BG enjoyed a twoman advantage at 16: 58 of the final period.Healy was brilliant during the contest as BG held a 63-35 edge in shots. BG&rsquo;s Wayne Collins made several awesome saves himself while playing for the first time in six weeks after bouncing back from a hamstring injury.The Falcons outshot WMU 12-4 in the first overtime period and it was Glenn Johannesen, the lone Bronco senior, who scored the winner at 6: 39 of the second overtime assisted by Lance Johnston and Jim Culhane.Sophomore Dan Dorion had two assists against BG to run his scoring streak to 44 games, but it was snapped in the championship game by Michigan State.In fact, Michigan State blanked both Dorion and OSU&rsquo;s Paul Pooley, the two CCHA finalists for the Hobey Baker Award.Pooley collected just one assist in the tournament, but that was an important one for the CCHA player of the year. The assist was Pooley&rsquo;s 96th point of the season to tie the CCHA overall record for points in a season. It was also his 156th career assist to set a new CCHA record and his 270th career point, which to tie the record set by BG&rsquo;s two-time AllAmerican Brian Hills.Dorion finishes his season with 91 points, setting school records for goals (41), assists (50) and points.George Roll gave BG a 1-0 lead in the consolation game, but OSU took a 2-1 lead on second period goals by Don Perkins and Bob Napierala.BG&rsquo;s Ellett tied the game at 18: 55 of the third period, his third goal of the weekend. Defenseman Garry Galley assisted on all three Ellett goals.Dave Beaudin scored the winner for OSU assisted by Perry Pooley at 4: 33 of overtime as Bob Krautsak made 34 saves for the win. BG freshman Gary Kruzich made 25 saves in the loss.NOTES&mdash;All-tournament selections include MSU&rsquo;s Norm Foster in goal, BG&rsquo;s Dave Ellett and MSU&rsquo;s Jeff Eisley on defense and MSU&rsquo;s Gord Flegel and Newell Brown along with WMU&rsquo;s Dan Dorion at forward&hellip;OSU&rsquo;s Paul Pooley and BG&rsquo;s Tim Hack were named to the CCHA All-Academic team for the third straight season&hellip;Perry Pooley, OSU; Kelly Miller, MSU; Doug Harris, Michigan Tech and Randy Merrifield, Ferris State were also on the academic squad&hellip;Six of 10 goals scored by MSU&rsquo;s Dale Krentz have been shorthanded. &#9632;

Spartans Rack Up Yet Another CCHA Title

<h2>NCAA PLAYOFFS</h2><h3>Semifinals</h3>Fri-Sat. Mar.16-17North Dakota at RPIClarkson at Min-DuluthBoston College at Mich StateBowling Green at Boston Univ(Two-game total-goals series)<h2>ECAC CONFERENCE</h2><h3>PLAYOFF GAMES Semifinals</h3>Boston Univ. 6, Boston College 4RPI 5, Clarkson 4ConsolationClarkson 3, Boston College 1ChampionshipRPI 5, Boston Univ. 2<h2>CCHA CONFERENCE</h2><h3>PLAYOFF GAMES Semifinals</h3>Mich State 8, Ohio State 1W. Michigan 5, Bowling Green 4ConsolationOhio State 3, Bowling Green 2ChampionshipMich State 5, W. Michigan 0<h2>WCHA CONFERENCE</h2><h3>PLAYOFF GAMES Finals</h3>Min-Duluth 8, No. Dakota 1No. Dakota 5, Min-Duluth 4(Min-Duluth wins two-game total-goal series 12-6)<h2>ECAC CONFERENCE</h2>(Final Standings)<h3>EAST DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-01506/4885381-1-eng-US/f0030-012.jpg" title="f0030-01" width="540" height="203"></div><h3>WEST DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-02379/4885374-1-eng-US/f0030-022.jpg" title="f0030-02" width="540" height="170"></div><h3>IVY DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-03261/4885367-1-eng-US/f0030-032.jpg" title="f0030-03" width="541" height="200"></div><h3>INDEPENDENTS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-04177/4885360-1-eng-US/f0030-042.jpg" title="f0030-04" width="548" height="89"></div><h3>PLAYOFF GAMES Quarter-finals</h3>RPI 8, Colgate 5RPI 5, Colgate 3(RPI wins best-of-three series 2-0)Boston College 6, Providence 3Providence 5, Boston College 3Boston College 1, Providence 0(Boston College wins best-of-three series 2-1)N. Hampshire 8, Boston Univ. 3Boston Univ. 5, N. Hampshire 2Boston Univ. 1, N. Hampshire 0(Boston Univ, wins best-of-three series 2-1)Clarkson 3, Harvard 1Clarkson 2, Harvard 2(Clarkson wins best-of-three series 1-0 one game tied)<h2>CCHA CONFERENCE</h2>(Final Standings)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-05115/4885353-1-eng-US/f0030-052.jpg" title="f0030-05" width="547" height="347"></div><h3>PLAYOFF GAMES Quarter-finals</h3>Bowling Green 7, L. Superior 3L. Superior 7, Bowling Green 6(Bowling Green wins two-game total-goals series 13-10)Ohio State 5, Ferris State 2Ohio State 6, Ferrie State 1(Ohio State wins two-game total-goals series 11-3)Mich State 5, Mich Tech 3Mich State 3, Mich Tech 1(Mich State wins two-game total-goals series 8-4)W. Michigan 3, N. Michigan 2W. Michigan 4, N. Michigan 4(W. Michigan wins two-game total-goals series 7-6)<h3>FINAL SCORING LEADERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-0689/4885346-1-eng-US/f0030-062.jpg" title="f0030-06" width="545" height="997"></div><h2>WCHA CONFERENCE</h2>(Final Standings)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-0771/4885339-1-eng-US/f0030-072.jpg" title="f0030-07" width="542" height="202"></div><h3>PLAYOFF GAMES Semi-Finals</h3>Minn-Duluth 6, Wisconsin 3Minn-Duluth 9, Wisconsin 0(Minn-Duluth wins two-game total-goals series 15-3)North Dakota 4, Minnesota 3North Dakota 5, Minnesota 4(North Dakota wins two-game total goals series 9-7)<h3>FINAL SCORING LEADERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-0862/4885332-1-eng-US/f0030-082.jpg" title="f0030-08" width="552" height="1348"></div><h2>ECAC CONFERENCE</h2><h3>DIVISION II PLAYOFFS East Division</h3>Bowdoin 6, UMass 4Norwich 7, Merrimack 4Colby 3, NE College 2Babson 6, Salem State 2<h3>Semifinals</h3>Babson 3, Norwich 1Bowdoin 4, Colby 3<h3>Finals</h3>Babson 4, Bowdoin 1<h3>West Division</h3>RIT 7, Hamilton 0Plattsburgh 6, Elmira 1Union 6, No. Adams 4Oswego 9, Potsdam 2<h3>Semifinals</h3>RIT 6, Plattsburgh 2Union 5, Oswego 3<h3>Finals</h3>RIT 3, Union 1<h2>CANADIAN COLLEGES</h2><h3>INTER-UNIVERSITY PLAYOFFS</h3>Toronto 3, New Brunswick 2Toronto 5, New Brunswick 2(Toronto wins best-of-three series 2-0)Alberta 4, Manitoba 2Alberta 7, Manitoba 1(Alberta wins best-of-three series 2-0)<h2>QUEBEC CONFERENCE</h2><h3>Finals</h3>Concordia 5, Ottawa 2Concordia 6, Ottawa 3Concordia 6, Ottawa 4(Concordia wins best-of-five series 3-0)<h3>CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT</h3>Fri-Sat. Mar. 16-17Toronto vs Trois-RivieresConcordia vs Alberta<h3>Finals</h3>Sun. March 18Sudden-deathchampionship game at Trois-Rivieres, Que.<h2>CANADIAN COLLEGES</h2><h3>ONTARIO CONFERENCE Semi-finals</h3>Toronto 7, Guelph 2Toronto 13, Guelph 4(Toronto wins best-of-three series 2-0)Laurier 8, Western 5Western 6, Laurier 3Western 3, Laurier 2(Western wins best-of-three series 2-1)<h3>Finals</h3>Toronto 2, Western 1Toronto 5, Western 3(Toronto wins best-of-three series 2-0)<h2>ATLANTIC CONFERENCE</h2><h3>Semi-finals</h3>Acadia 5, New Brunswick 4New Brunswick 5, Acadia 1New Brunswick 8, Acadia 2(New Brunswick wins best-of-three series 2-1)<h3>Finals</h3>New Brunswick 4, Moncton 3New Brunwick 5, Moncton 3New Brunswick wins(best-of-three series 2-0)<h2>GREAT PLAINS CONFERENCE</h2><h3>Finals</h3>Brandon 8, Manitoba 4Manitoba 9, Brandon 5Manitoba 8, Brandon 5(Manitoba wins best-of-three series 2-1)<h2>CANADA WEST CONFERENCE</h2><h3>Finals</h3>Alberta 4, Saskatchewan 2Alberta 9, Saskatchewan 2(Alberta wins best-of-three series 2-0)<h2>ONTARIO CONFERENCE</h2>(Final Standings)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-0954/4885325-1-eng-US/f0030-092.jpg" title="f0030-09" width="547" height="408"></div><h2>QUEBEC CONFERENCE</h2>(Final Standings)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-1046/4885318-1-eng-US/f0030-102.jpg" title="f0030-10" width="544" height="174"></div><h2>CANADA WEST CONFERENCE</h2>(Final Standings)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-1140/4885311-1-eng-US/f0030-112.jpg" title="f0030-11" width="539" height="153"></div><h2>GREAT PLAINS CONFERENCE</h2>(Final Standings)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-1237/4885304-1-eng-US/f0030-122.jpg" title="f0030-12" width="548" height="180"></div><h2>ONTARIO COLLEGES</h2><h3>Finals</h3>Seneca 7, Canadore 2(Seneca leads best-of-three series 1-0<h2>NCHA CONFERENCE</h2>(Final Standings)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-1334/4885297-1-eng-US/f0030-132.jpg" title="f0030-13" width="544" height="264"></div><h3>FINAL SCORING LEADERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-1431/4885290-1-eng-US/f0030-142.jpg" title="f0030-14" width="550" height="356"></div><h2>WEST PENN CONFERENCE</h2>(Standings on Wed. Feb. 29)<h3>GREATER PITT DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-1531/4885283-1-eng-US/f0030-152.jpg" title="f0030-15" width="541" height="177"></div><h3>WEST PENN DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-1625/4885276-1-eng-US/f0030-162.jpg" title="f0030-16" width="542" height="175"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Duquesne 10, Slippery Rock 3West Virginia 13, Bethany 4Gannon 13, Allegheny 2Indiana 7, West Virginia 6Duquesne 9, Wheeling 1Carnegie 7, Allegheny 2Bethany 7, Duquesne 4<h2>ONTARIO SENIOR LEAGUE</h2><h3>PLAYOFFS Quarter-Finals</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-1725/4885269-1-eng-US/f0030-172.jpg" title="f0030-17" width="547" height="466"></div> &#9632;

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HOW THEY STAND

<div class="byline">BY JOHN HERBERT</div>Louisville HockeyH&B 100 YEARSKITCHENER&mdash;While Ranger general manager-coach Tom Barrett was worrying about the effects of losing John Tucker to the Buffalo Sabres for the second time this season, some of the other coaches were livening up the Ontario Hockey League with their antics.In Cornwall, Josh Guevremont was suggesting Oshawa ace David Gans had &ldquo;Cornwall flu&rdquo; for skipping a game.In Sault Ste. Marie, London coach Don Boyd ordered his club on to the bus in full equipment after a 9-0 loss to the Soo Greyhounds.In Oshawa, the Peterborough-Oshawa hostilities came to a head when everyone, including head coaches Dick Todd of the Petes and Paul Theriault of the Generals, got involved in a brawl which spread into the corridor.In North Bay, Bert Templeton was trying to hold off the Windsor Spitfires to earn the final playoff slot after sending home key players Mark LaVarre, Jim Hunter and Curtis Collin because of rule violations.The major news came out of Kitchener as the Sabres announced they were recalling Tucker, a move which came at an inopportune time in the season for the Rangers.The Rangers and Ottawa 67s were in a late-season battle for first place overall in the standings. Kitchener held a sevenpoint lead but played two more games when Buffalo GM-coach Scotty Bowman called Barrett to say the Sabres required an emergency replacement for Paul Cyr who suffered a broken thumb. Cyr will be in a cast for at least three weeks. The regular-season champion earns an automatic bye into the Memorial Cup and becomes the host city for the national championsip in May.The Rangers also carried a 23-game winning streak when Tucker departed.The Rangers might have had reason to fear the worst, losing out to Ottawa.Kitchener opened the season with 14 wins and one loss, but slumped as soon as Tucker went to the Sabres. Tucker played in only 10 games the first time he was called up by the Sabres, scoring five goals. He watched 19 games from the press box, which didn&rsquo;t sit well with the Kitchener management. When Tucker returned. Kitchener lost once, then rolled to 23 straight wins. In 39 games, Tucker compiled 100 points, including 40 goals.Barrett said there was little he could do to prevent losing his star player because the National Hockey League agreement with the Canadian Major Junior Hockey League permits recall of juniors at any time of the season under emergency conditions.&ldquo;Anything I would say would be uncomplimentary so I won&rsquo;t say anything,&rdquo; Barrett said.Bowman said he has been holding off calling up Tucker. He said if Cyr was only going to be out for a game or two, he would have patched his lineup by shifting wingers.Bowman also said he told the Rangers early in the season that they were fortunate to have had Tucker for as long as they did. He said his organization has shown some compassion leaving Tucker in junior as long as it has while other clubs, not nearly as strong as Kitchener&rsquo;s, have had to make do without key players. Brantford has been without Allan Bester and Dave Gagner for extended periods. Peterborough has played all season without forwards Bob Errey and Steve Yzerman.&ldquo;I said to Tom that Danny Quinn is playing like a wild man in Calgary and I think Tucker can do as well for us,&rdquo; Bowman said.Quinn was recalled about two months ago from Belleville Bulls.&ldquo;We were going to bring him up earlier,&rdquo; Bowman added. &ldquo;We should have brought him up on the weekend (March 2-4), but they had three games. I made it very clear to Kitchener when we called Tucker up the first time I didn&rsquo;t think he could play there this year. But we weren&rsquo;t playing John enough and we felt it wasn&rsquo;t right.&rdquo;&ldquo;The only thing I can say is there is an agreement between the NHL and junior operators and the agreement has to be honored,&rdquo; Barrett said. &ldquo;If somebody&rsquo;s not happy with the agreement, they&rsquo;re going to have to change it.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s several junior operators in the same boat. Somebody wiser than me drew it up.&rdquo;Ranger president Bob Stacey said his club would have to &ldquo;live up to terms of the agreement until a further agreement is made.&rdquo;&ldquo;I guess you&rsquo;ve got to look at it that it&rsquo;s the breaks,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Scotty Bowman must see something in John Tucker. You certainly want to see that he plays (not ride the bench) again. That is their decision. There is an agreement and they can take him up and the coach will decide whether he plays or doesn&rsquo;t. He can&rsquo;t get better in the press box.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s no use getting bitter over something that&rsquo;s part of the game. Your feelings could be hurt, but you&rsquo;ve got to look at it that it&rsquo;s a great thing for any kid to go up&hellip;as long as he plays. In junior hockey, we&rsquo;ve got to live with it. They&rsquo;re (the NHL) the ones who help the league out by paying.&rdquo;&ldquo;You&rsquo;re damned if you do and damned if you don&rsquo;t,&rdquo; Bowman said, meaning his club needs Tucker as much as Kitchener does.&ldquo;I ran junior clubs so I know what it&rsquo;s all about.&rdquo;Meanwhile, in Sault Ste. Marie, the Knights suffered what Boyd called the club&rsquo;s worst defeat of the season. They were allowed a quick stop in the dressing room to remove their skates before boarding the bus back to their hotel. Boyd figures his club played like a minor hockey team so he thought it fair to treat them as such.&ldquo;They played like minor hockey players tonight,&rdquo; Boyd told Steve Buist of the Sault Star, &ldquo;so now they&rsquo;ll go home and shower, just like minor hockey players do.&rdquo;Two nights later, the Knights lost 4-2 in Sudbury.Gans, a top candidate for the Red Tilson Memorial Trophy as the OHL&rsquo;s most valuable player with 55 goals and 71 assists after 65 games, produced three goals and an assist in a 4-2 win for Oshawa over the Royals. A week earlier, Guevremont had suggested that Gans missed a game in Cornwall because he was suffering from &ldquo;Cornwall flu.&rdquo; Gans said he missed it because of mig-raine headaches.&ldquo;I wanted to score a couple of goals to keep him quiet,&rdquo; Gans said.The same night in Peterborough, Pete center Doug Evans became the club&rsquo;s all-time point leader with a goal and three assists in a win over London. The point gave Evans 111 for the season and 289 in his four-year career, one more than the record set by Doug Jarvis, now with the Washington Capitals.Evans first gained notoriety in the OHL as a 148-pound instigator who would take on all comers and once had an off-ice fight with ex-Oshawa coach Bill Laforge, a battle which netted Evans a 10-game suspension. That game also turned out to be the last game Laforge coached in the OHL.The hostilities between the clubs surfaced March 6.As players from the Petes and Gens battled on the ice, the coaches, Todd and Theriault, exchanged pleasantries while standing at the ends of their adjoining benches. First reports indicated Todd lunged at Theriault and players stepped in. Theriault ripped a new suit. Nothing more developed between the coaches but the players continued their battle until it spilled under the stands.Oshawa&rsquo;s Mike Stern and Petes&rsquo; Bruce Shoebottom were involved in that altercation.Referee John Willsie called 130 minutes in penalties in the brawl and ejected seven players.Todd said reports of a clash with Theriault were not accurate.&ldquo;I never got within five feet of him.&rdquo; Todd said. &ldquo;Theriault took his jacket off as a gesture.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-01470/4885412-1-eng-US/f0031-012.jpg" title="f0031-01" width="584" height="866"><figcaption class="caption-body">John Tucker has been recalled again by Buffalo, but his junior club isn&rsquo;t happy about it.</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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Rangers Bemoan Loss Of Offensive Star

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-02330/4885457-1-eng-US/f0031-022.jpg" title="f0031-02" width="552" height="516"><figcaption class="caption-body">RICK TOCCHET S.S. Marie</figcaption></div><h2>ONTARIO LEAGUE</h2>Rick Tocchet of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds is no shrinking violet on the ice and for that reason he could find himself in the National Hockey League one day with the Philadelphia Flyers.The NHL team drafted Tocchet in 1983 because he fits the Flyer mould&mdash;aggressive with the ability to score goals. Tocchet fired five of them in one game for the Greyhounds to win the nod as the OHL player of the week.The third-highest penalized player in the league with 201 minutes, the 19-year-old, 195-pound right winger is also among the OHL&rsquo;s top 10 scorers with 103 points.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-03243/4885450-1-eng-US/f0031-032.jpg" title="f0031-03" width="556" height="514"><figcaption class="caption-body">AL STEWART Prince Albert</figcaption></div><h2>WESTERN LEAGUE</h2>The New Jersey Devils had AI Stewart of Prince Albert in mind when they looked at their 18th-place standing among the NHL&rsquo;s-shorthanded goal scoring teams.The Devils drafted Stewart in 1983 and if nothing else he should improve their record when he joins the NHL team. Stewart was named the WHL player of the week after he scored six goals in five games, four of them shorthanded, to set a new league record.Stewart has 14 shorthanded goals, eclipsing the mark of 12 set by Don Kozak back in 1970-71. The Devils have only four in 66 games this year.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-04179/4885443-1-eng-US/f0031-042.jpg" title="f0031-04" width="552" height="517"><figcaption class="caption-body">YVES LAPOINTE St. Jean</figcaption></div><h2>QUEBEC LEAGUE</h2>The Vancouver Canucks haven&rsquo;t given up hope Yves Lapointe will make it to the NHL one day, although last season they had their doubts as he was plagued by injuries and dressed for only eights games. This season, however, he&rsquo;s starting to make the Canucks believers with 38 goals and 40 assists in 78 games.Lapointe was selected the QHL player of the week after totalling eight points and helping St. Jean win three straight on the road.Lapointe, who was Vancouver&rsquo;s No. 2 draft choice in 1982, is a big junior, at 6-foot-4, 215 pounds.At the end of the current season, THE HOCKEY NEWS will select a Micron Junior Player of the Year. &#9632;

f0031-02

MICRON JUNIOR PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

<div class="byline">BY BEN KUZMA</div>Louisville HockeyH&B 100 YEARSLETHBRIDGE&mdash;When they cross the finish line it might take a photo finish to settle the issue in a hectic race for playoff positions in the Eastern Division of the Western Hockey League.With three weeks remaining in the regular-season schedule, the run for supremacy has never been tighter. Only the hapless Winnipeg Warriors were lagging behind a torrid drive for the wire in the eight-team division. What the stretch drive has produced in the quest of six playoff spots is sellout crowds and plenty of fine tuning for post-season play.&ldquo;You have a bad weekend and you can drop from first to third or fourth,&rdquo; said coach John Chapman of the defending league champion Lethbridge Broncos. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a pretty tight race and it sure makes for exciting games each time out. Most of the teams are doing well at the gate, too.&rdquo;The top five teams were separated by only nine points, while Calgary Wranglers and Saskatoon Blades were in a desperate struggle for the final playoff spot with the Wranglers ahead by four points as of March 5.&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t think it would be this tight after the way the season started,&rdquo; said Chapman. &ldquo;Regina and us were pulling away but we had both had a bad January and in February everybody closed in on us. We lost a lot of four-point games.&rdquo;&ldquo;We can&rsquo;t remember a year where seven teams on any given night were capable of beating each other,&rdquo; said WHL executive assistant Richard Doerk-sen. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve always had good battles but never with so many teams. Even in the Western Division it&rsquo;s going to be very interesting to see who gets the final two playoff spots.&rdquo;In the Western Division, the Kamloops Oilers clinched first place Feb. 28. But from there the race for three remaining playoff spots in the six-team division is also tight. New Westminster Bruins appear to have nailed down one spot with 66 points but Victoria Cougars, Portland and Seattle are separated by only seven points with the Cougars at 60 and the Breakers at 53.Back in Lethbridge, Chapman is wary of division rivals but won&rsquo;t count out his club. Remember, it was the Broncos who got off to an atrocious start last season only to enjoy the last laugh on the rest of the division. Pre-season polls had Regina the team to beat with Medicine Hat rated the dark-horse entry.&ldquo;I&rsquo;d never bet against my own club,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re the dark horse in this division because we lost 350-400 goals from last year. I don&rsquo;t think anybody picked us to be where we are.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got a pretty good mixture,&rdquo; added Chapman. &ldquo;It might sound funny in junior hockey but we have a generation gap on this team. &ldquo;We have nine 16-year-olds and seven of them are forwards. We have some experience on defense and of course we have Ken Wregget in goal.&rdquo;A controversy surrounding Wregget arose when the Toronto Maple Leafs, who own his National Hockey League rights, attempted to call him up on an emergency basis, but were prevented from doing so by the NHL. The Leafs sent goalie Rick St. Croix to the minors and with Mike Palmateer sidelined with an injured knee, Toronto exercised the right to recall a player from junior. But WHL president Ed Chynoweth intervened on the Broncos&rsquo; behalf, claiming the Leafs violated the rules by creating the emergency.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s ludicrous, it&rsquo;s disappointing, it&rsquo;s disheartening and I can&rsquo;t believe you can&rsquo;t have more concern for somebody 10 days away from the playoffs,&rdquo; Chynoweth said. &ldquo;For Lethbridge to lose Ken Wregget would be devastating both in terms of wins and losses and financially.&rdquo;If defense is the best offense then the Broncos could raise even more eyebrows in the playoffs. Wregget&rsquo;s 3.25 goals-against average is tops in the WHL while teammate Shawn Oswald is fourth at 4.10. And the Broncos have also allowed the fewest goals.&ldquo;We think we can get by this year and we&rsquo;ll have 17 players back next year with two 20-year-olds,&rdquo; said Chapman. &ldquo;This was a rebuilding year for us but if Wregget can do the job we&rsquo;ll be tough. Whoever gets the best goaltending in this division will win it and Wregget is the best in the league.&ldquo;Let&rsquo;s face it,&rdquo; added Chapman. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re not going to get much offensively in the playoffs. But our defense is the best in the league.&rdquo;Wregget played five games for the Toronto Maple Leafs this season and was also a member of the national junior team at the world championships. Although the 19-year-old Medley, Alta., native suffered from an unexpected case of letdown in returning to junior, Chapman said the netminder is the reason the Broncos have been able to survive with their kiddie corps up front.&ldquo;The big thing with Kenny is that when he returned from the world junior tournament he played here the next night,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;He never got away from the rink for seven to 10 days like the other guys. But I&rsquo;ve never questioned his attitude.&rdquo;If the Broncos are to repeat as WHL champions they have some high hurdles to clear. Regina has big offensive weapons while Medicine Hat might just possess the best offensive punch in the league. Brandon has been red-hot in the second half. &#9632;

Broncos Buck Recall To Aid Playoff Hopes

<div class="byline">BY RICK MAYOH</div>ST. JEAN&mdash;A season of hard work is producing results at just the right time for the Beavers.The Beavers beat the Olympiques 7-6 in Hull to move into a seventh-place tie with the Chicoutimi Sagueneens in the scramble for the eighth and final playoff berth. The Beavers have eight wins and a tie in the last nine games.&ldquo;We visited Parliament (where the Canadian federal government assembles) before the game and we were as asleep as they were,&rdquo; said St. Jean coach Yvan Gingras. &ldquo;But it&rsquo;s very gratifying to see things come together. We&rsquo;ve had a lot of injuries and a lot of problems.&rdquo;&ldquo;They&rsquo;re just about the hottest team in the league,&rdquo; said Shawinigan Cataractes&rsquo; coach Ron Lapointe, locked in a four-point battle of his own for third place with the Quebec Remparts and Longueuil Chevaliers. &ldquo;I think they&rsquo;re going to finish in sixth place, ahead of both Drummondville and Chicoutimi.&rdquo;The Beavers trail sixth-place Drummondville Voltigeurs by only two points and have the schedule working for them, finishing with home games against Longueuil, Chicoutimi, Verdun and Granby.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s an edge, we can give a hammer shot at the right time,&rdquo; said Gingras, on sabbatical from his position as elite program coordinator for the Quebec Ice Hockey Federation.&ldquo;We definitely think we can catch Drummondville,&rdquo; Gingras said. &ldquo;We have a game in hand on them and they&rsquo;ve been undisciplined on and off the ice.&rdquo;And what about Granby, three points back?&ldquo;We&rsquo;re worried about them. They&rsquo;re big and fast and they try hard.&rdquo;Hull (23-44-0) and Trois-Rivieres Draveurs (22-43-2) are out of the running, tied for 10th with 42 points and three games remaining.Although St. Jean has the most potent offense in the league, next to regular-season champion Laval Voisins, its defense is ranked seventh in the 11-team circuit.Shaky goaltending in the first half was largely responsible. The team has dropped 12 games by one goal and six more by two with an empty-net goal.But the acquisition of veteran goalkeeper Michel Campeau from Verdun has looked better and better since Christmas.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve put a lot of pressure on him because I know he reacts well to it,&rdquo; Gingrassaid. &ldquo;He has superb reflexes and he&rsquo;s in the game. He made three big saves at the end to beat Hull. Our concentration wasn&rsquo;t there but we never quit and won the game.&rdquo;Campeau, a 6-foot-1, 160-pound native of St. Janvier who turned 20 recently, picked up valuable experience in Verdun&rsquo;s march to the Memorial Cup tournament last year.&ldquo;We have a very young team, a team of the future,&rdquo; Gingras said. &ldquo;We don&rsquo;t match lines, we want everybody to be able to check. I&rsquo;m sure it&rsquo;s cost us a lot of games but it has built confidence and everybody can do it now.&ldquo;We tried to build a team with no superstars and it&rsquo;s tough. There is no Mario Lemieux who makes you feel you are better than you are. But the season is there to prepare for the playoffs and we&rsquo;re used to living with pressure. It means nothing if you finish second or eighth.&rdquo;The Beavers scoring is evenly distributed. Luc Marengere with 51 goals and 101 points leads the club, followed by Marc Chamard (40 and 89), Denis Daze (30 and 87) and Yves Lapointe (44 and 85).They have improved on last year&rsquo;s road record by eight points with 10 wins and three ties and have been playing better defensively in the second half.Gingras coached Sorel Eperviers for two years and Chicoutimi for four more before taking on his job at the federation, where he is designing a development program for elite players from the minor to major junior levels, based on a regional concept.His return to coaching after six years with the federation has left him with a difficult decision.&ldquo;I want to coach,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Ideally, I&rsquo;d like to coach the junior national team and stay with the federation.&rdquo;He cites the 1976-77 season with Chicoutimi as his most memorable.&ldquo;We finished in second place in the general standings, one point behind Quebec after losing the last game to them 7-5.&ldquo;We met Montreal in an eight-point final and we were down 7-1. Then we came back to tie the series 7-7 and lost the last game 3-2 before 10, 000 fans at the Forum on a shot from the red line.&rdquo;-Along the way, Gingras has coached Mario Tremblay, Pierre Mondou and Guy Carbonneau, now with the Montreal Canadiens, Alain Cote and Louis Sleigher, with the Quebec Nordiques, Pierre Larouche, with the New York Rangers, and Alan Haworth, with the Washington Capitals.NOTES&mdash;Time is running out for Mario Lemieux&rsquo;s run at the QMJHL record book. With four games left, he had 118 goals and 140 assists for a record 258 points, including a record point run of 61 games. He needs 12 goals and 17 assists to match the individual records of Guy Lafleur and Pierre Larouche. &#9632;

Beavers Gnawing Away At Post-Season Invitation

BOSTON&mdash;John Blum, D, recalled from Moncton of AHL.BUFFALO&mdash;Paul Cyr, LW, sidelined indefinitely with broken finger. John Tucker, C, recalled from Kitchener of OHL. Jim Wiemer, D, assigned to Rochester of AHL. Gilbert Perreault, C, sidelined with back spasms. Gates Orlando, RW, signed froo Providence College to 10-game trial.CALGARY&mdash;Steve Bozek, LW, and Tony Stiles, D, back from injury list.CHICAGO&mdash;Doug Wilson, D, sidelined indefinitely with head injury. Denis Cyr, RW, assigned to Springfield of AHL. Tom Lysiak, C, back from injury list. Don Dietrich, D, and Tom McMurchy, LW, recalled from Springfield.DETROIT&mdash;Ivan Boldirev, LW, and Dwight Foster, C, back from injury list.EDMONTON&mdash;Pat Conacher, C, assigned to Moncton of AHL. John Blum, D, traded to Boston for Larry Melnyk, D. Oilers moved Melnyk from Hershey to Moncton. Oilers recalled Peter Dineen from Moncton and sent him to Hershey on loan to complete deal. Oilers also acquired NHL rights to Risto Jalo, C, of Finland from Boston for future considerations.LOS ANGELES&mdash;Mike McEwen, D, assigned to New Haven of AHL.MINNESOTA&mdash;Craig Levie, D, recalled from Salt Lake of CHL.MONTREAL&mdash;Steve Penney, G, recalled from Nova Scotia of AHL. Ryan Walter, LW, and Chris Chelios, D, back from injury list.NEW JERSEY&mdash;Rocky Trottier, C, recalled from Medicine Hat of WHL. Garry Howatt, LW, recalled from Maine of AHL. Rick Meagher, C, sidelined with stretched knee ligaments. Paul Gagne, LW, out with shoulder injury.NY ISLANDERS&mdash;Kelly Hrudey, G, Paul Boutilier, D, and Gord Dineen, D, recalled from Indianapolis of CHL.NY RANGERS&mdash;Ron Scott, G, assigned to Oilers of CHL. Jim Patrick, D, and Dave Gagner, C, signed from Canadian Olympic team. Gagner returned to Brantford of OHL for rest of season. Bob Brooke, RW, signed from U.S. Olympic team after Rangers traded Dave Barr, RW, and future considerations to St. Louis for Brooke&rsquo;s NHL rights and Jim Patey, C.PHILADELPHIA&mdash;Bobby Clarke, C, sidelined for at least five games after Flyers sent him to Florida to recuperate from severe case of flu. Paul Guay, RW, signed from U.S. Olympic team. Andre Villeneuve, D, recovered from broken leg suffered in training camp, and assigned to Springfield of AHL.PITTSBURGH&mdash;Randy Carlyle, D, traded to Winnipeg for first round draft pick in 1984 and future considerations. Vince Tremblay, G, and Tom Thornbury, D, recalled from Baltimore of AHL. Greg Tebbutt, D, returned to Baltimore. Michel Dion, G, sidelined for rest of season with knee injury. Bryan Maxwell, D, back from injury list.QUEBEC&mdash;Randy Moller, D, Andre Savard, C, and Paul Gillis, C, back from injury list. Marian Stastny, RW, sidelined indefinitely with shoulder injury. Anton Stastny, LW, out with back injury.ST. LOUIS&mdash;Jim Pavese, D, and Perry Gan-char, RW, recalled from Montana of CHL. Perry Anderson, LW, sidelined indefinitely with fractured bone in his foot. Mike Liut, G, back from injury list. Dan Wood, RW, and Alain Lemieux, C, recalled from Montana and reassigned to Springfield of AHL. Alain Vigneault, D, recalled from Montana and sent to Maine of AHL.TORONTO&mdash;Bruce Dowie, G, and Bob McGill, D, recalled from St. Catharines of AHL. Rick St. Croix, G, and Dave Farrish, D, assigned to St. Catharines. Miroslav Frycer, RW, out for rest of season with shoulder injury. Gary Leeman, D, and Gaston Gingras, D, back from injury list.VANCOUVER&mdash;Doug Halward, D, Darcy Rota, LW, and Thomas Gradin, C, back from injury list.WASHINGTON&mdash;Al Jensen, G, back from injury list and assigned to Hershey of AHL for conditioning.WINNIPEG&mdash;David Babych, D, sidelined for 3-4 weeks with shoulder injury. Randy Carlyle, D, sidelined indefinitely with knee injury.<h2>AMERICAN LEAGUE</h2>BALTIMORE&mdash;Phil Bourque, D, sidelined for remainder of season with broken bone in his foot.BINGHAMTON&mdash;Steve Stoyanovich, LW, out for rest of season with broken ankle.MONCTON&mdash;Jeff Crawford, RW, released outright. Shawn Dineen, D, and Paul Miller, C, sent to Milwaukee of IHL.NOVA SCOTIA&mdash;Dave Orleski, LW, resigned after being released earlier in season.ROCHESTER&mdash;Rick Hampton, D, released outright. Jeff Eatough, RW, returned to Flint of IHL. Clint Fehr, C, recalled from Peoria of IHL. Tom St. James, RW, signed to pro trial.SPRINGFIELD&mdash;Ross Fitzpatrick, LW, sidelined for 3-4 weeks with broken wrist.<h2>CENTRAL LEAGUE</h2>COLORADO&mdash;Jeff Lastiwka, G, and Keith Knight, C, recalled from Peoria of IHL. &#9632;

PLAYER TRANSACTIONS

<h2>Mon. March 5 DETROIT 1, MINNESOTA 5</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-01440/4885921-1-eng-US/f0033-012.jpg" title="f0033-01" width="564" height="910"></div><h2>WASHINGTON 5, PITTSBURGH 2</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-02313/4885914-1-eng-US/f0033-022.jpg" title="f0033-02" width="558" height="786"></div><h2>Tue. March 6 WINNIPEG 7, LOS ANGELES 3</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-03222/4885907-1-eng-US/f0033-032.jpg" title="f0033-03" width="570" height="106"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-04168/4885900-1-eng-US/f0033-042.jpg" title="f0033-04" width="592" height="906"></div><h2>BUFFALO 8, MONTREAL 3</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-05137/4885893-1-eng-US/f0033-052.jpg" title="f0033-05" width="595" height="1024"></div><h2>PITTSBURGH 5, NEW JERSEY 6</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-06112/4885886-1-eng-US/f0033-062.jpg" title="f0033-06" width="601" height="470"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-07101/4885879-1-eng-US/f0033-072.jpg" title="f0033-07" width="608" height="519"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-0884/4885872-1-eng-US/f0033-082.jpg" title="f0033-08" width="560" height="94"></div><h2>PHILAD. 2, ISLANDERS 5</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-0975/4885865-1-eng-US/f0033-092.jpg" title="f0033-09" width="562" height="340"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-01449/4885858-1-eng-US/f0036-012.jpg" title="f0036-01" width="562" height="673"></div><h2>CALGARY 3, QUEBEC 4</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-02339/4885851-1-eng-US/f0036-022.jpg" title="f0036-02" width="568" height="852"></div><h2>DETROIT 3, ST. LOUIS 1</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-03267/4885844-1-eng-US/f0036-032.jpg" title="f0036-03" width="566" height="209"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-04192/4885837-1-eng-US/f0036-042.jpg" title="f0036-04" width="591" height="534"></div><h2>Wed. March 7 CHICAGO 4, EDMONTON 7</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-05151/4885830-1-eng-US/f0036-052.jpg" title="f0036-05" width="588" height="746"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-06129/4885823-1-eng-US/f0036-062.jpg" title="f0036-06" width="603" height="212"></div><h2>RANGERS 3, MINNESOTA 6</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-07121/4885816-1-eng-US/f0036-072.jpg" title="f0036-07" width="596" height="882"></div><h2>NEW JERSEY 4, TORONTO 8</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-08116/4885809-1-eng-US/f0036-082.jpg" title="f0036-08" width="580" height="940"></div><h2>HARTFORD 2, WASHINGTON 4</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-09110/4885802-1-eng-US/f0036-092.jpg" title="f0036-09" width="592" height="566"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-10107/4885795-1-eng-US/f0036-102.jpg" title="f0036-10" width="576" height="156"></div><h2>Thu. March 8 CALGARY 2, BOSTON 3</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-11104/4885788-1-eng-US/f0036-112.jpg" title="f0036-11" width="584" height="672"></div><h2>ST. LOUIS 3, DETROIT 6</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-12100/4885781-1-eng-US/f0036-122.jpg" title="f0036-12" width="584" height="936"></div><h2>HARTFORD 2, MONTREAL 3</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-1397/4885774-1-eng-US/f0036-132.jpg" title="f0036-13" width="586" height="276"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-01397/4885767-1-eng-US/f0037-012.jpg" title="f0037-01" width="542" height="476"></div><h2>TORONTO 5, ISLANDERS 9</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-02283/4885760-1-eng-US/f0037-022.jpg" title="f0037-02" width="540" height="451"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-03213/4885753-1-eng-US/f0037-032.jpg" title="f0037-03" width="606" height="96"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-04175/4885746-1-eng-US/f0037-042.jpg" title="f0037-04" width="599" height="99"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-05150/4885739-1-eng-US/f0037-052.jpg" title="f0037-05" width="602" height="98"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-06127/4885732-1-eng-US/f0037-062.jpg" title="f0037-06" width="530" height="92"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-1448/4885725-1-eng-US/f0038-142.jpg" title="f0038-14" width="561" height="358"></div><h2>LOS ANGELES 1, PHILAD. 4</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-1546/4885718-1-eng-US/f0038-152.jpg" title="f0038-15" width="563" height="965"></div><h2>QUEBEC 8, PITTSBURGH 6</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-1642/4885711-1-eng-US/f0038-162.jpg" title="f0038-16" width="556" height="328"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-1739/4885704-1-eng-US/f0038-172.jpg" title="f0038-17" width="578" height="874"></div><h2>Fri. March 9 LOS ANGELES 3, BUFFALO 7</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-1836/4885697-1-eng-US/f0038-182.jpg" title="f0038-18" width="585" height="837"></div><h2>QUEBEC 3, WASHINGTON 5</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-1934/4885690-1-eng-US/f0038-192.jpg" title="f0038-19" width="555" height="849"></div><h2>RANGERS 6, WINNIPEG 5</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-2031/4885683-1-eng-US/f0038-202.jpg" title="f0038-20" width="563" height="842"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-2129/4885676-1-eng-US/f0038-212.jpg" title="f0038-21" width="578" height="268"></div><h2>CHICAGO 3, VANCOUVER 4</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-2227/4885669-1-eng-US/f0038-222.jpg" title="f0038-22" width="592" height="179"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-2324/4885662-1-eng-US/f0038-232.jpg" title="f0038-23" width="552" height="446"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-01434/4885655-1-eng-US/f0039-012.jpg" title="f0039-01" width="566" height="176"></div><h2>Sat. March 10 RANGERS 3, EDMONTON 2</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-02301/4885648-1-eng-US/f0039-022.jpg" title="f0039-02" width="560" height="738"></div><h2>PHILAD. 3, MINNESOTA 4</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-03213/4885641-1-eng-US/f0039-032.jpg" title="f0039-03" width="562" height="792"></div><h2>BOSTON 4, MONTREAL 2</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-04179/4885634-1-eng-US/f0039-042.jpg" title="f0039-04" width="562" height="504"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-05144/4885627-1-eng-US/f0039-052.jpg" title="f0039-05" width="598" height="232"></div><h2>CALGARY 5, ISLANDERS 4</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-06122/4885620-1-eng-US/f0039-062.jpg" title="f0039-06" width="598" height="907"></div><h2>NEW JERSEY 5, ST. LOUIS 6</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-07106/4885613-1-eng-US/f0039-072.jpg" title="f0039-07" width="595" height="1003"></div><h2>DETROIT 3, TORONTO 4</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-0896/4885606-1-eng-US/f0039-082.jpg" title="f0039-08" width="590" height="150"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-0984/4885599-1-eng-US/f0039-092.jpg" title="f0039-09" width="594" height="686"></div><h2>Sun. March 11 WASHINGTON 2, BOSTON 1</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-1075/4885592-1-eng-US/f0039-102.jpg" title="f0039-10" width="588" height="618"></div><h2>HARTFORD 3, BUFFALO 4</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-1167/4885585-1-eng-US/f0039-112.jpg" title="f0039-11" width="588" height="802"></div><h2>VANCOUVER 2, EDMONTON 12</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-1259/4885578-1-eng-US/f0039-122.jpg" title="f0039-12" width="558" height="126"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-1352/4885571-1-eng-US/f0039-132.jpg" title="f0039-13" width="594" height="830"></div><h2>CHICAGO 3, LOS ANGELES 4</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-1448/4885564-1-eng-US/f0039-142.jpg" title="f0039-14" width="590" height="818"></div><h2>CALGARY 2, PHILADELPHIA 3</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-1543/4885557-1-eng-US/f0039-152.jpg" title="f0039-15" width="592" height="478"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-1638/4885550-1-eng-US/f0039-162.jpg" title="f0039-16" width="552" height="194"></div><h2>ISLANDERS 6, PITTSBURGH 4</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-1733/4885543-1-eng-US/f0039-172.jpg" title="f0039-17" width="552" height="880"></div><h2>QUEBEC 5, WINNIPEG 6</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-1826/4885536-1-eng-US/f0039-182.jpg" title="f0039-18" width="554" height="1058"></div> &#9632;

f0033-01

NATIONAL LEAGUE SUMMARIES

<h2>AMERICAN LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Tue. March 13)<h3>NORTHERN DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-1070/4886148-1-eng-US/f0033-102.jpg" title="f0033-10" width="544" height="206"></div><h3>SOUTHERN DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-1168/4886141-1-eng-US/f0033-112.jpg" title="f0033-11" width="552" height="240"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Wed. March 7Fredericton 3 at Adirondack 4Hershey 3 at Baltimore 6Springfield 2 at Maine 8Nova Scotia 2 at Moncton 2New Haven 7 at Sherbrooke 5Thu. March 8Rochester 3 at St. Catharines 2Fri. March 9Hershey 4 at New Haven 6St. Catharines 6 at Rochester 4Fredericton 6 at Sherbrooke 3Binghamton 3 at Springfield 5Sat. March 10Baltimore 7 at Binghamton 5Nova Scotia 4 at Hershey 7Adirondack 3 at Maine 3Fredericton 3 at Moncton 4Sun. March 11Maine 4 at Adirondack 2Nova Scotia 2 at Baltmore 7Sherbrooke 5 at Binghamton 1Moncton 1 at Fredericton 3St. Catharines 4 at New Haven 3Springfield 7 at Rochester 8<h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-1267/4886134-1-eng-US/f0033-122.jpg" title="f0033-12" width="560" height="324"></div><h2>ATLANTIC COAST LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Tue. March 13)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-1354/4886127-1-eng-US/f0033-132.jpg" title="f0033-13" width="547" height="205"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Sun. March 4Carolina 4 at Erie 7Pine Bridge at Virginia (ppd)Tue. March 6Virgnia 3 at Carolina 6Mohawk Valley 6 at Erie 6Wed. March 7Mohawk Valley 8 at Virginia 5Thu. March 8Virginia 2 at Carolina 10Mohawk Valley 2 at Pine Bridge 8Fri. March 9Pine Bridge 4 at Carolina 8Erie 5 at Virginia 3Sat. March 10Erie 2 at Virginia 4Carolina 6 at Pine Bridge 5Sun. March 11Erie 0 at Carolina 5Pine Bridge 5 at Virginia 7<h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-1451/4886120-1-eng-US/f0033-142.jpg" title="f0033-14" width="548" height="120"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-1545/4886113-1-eng-US/f0033-152.jpg" title="f0033-15" width="539" height="177"></div><h2>CENTRAL LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Tue. March 13)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-1639/4886106-1-eng-US/f0033-162.jpg" title="f0033-16" width="542" height="170"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Tue. March 6Oilers 5 at Indianapolis 4Colorado at Montana (ppd)Fri. March 9Colorado 3 at Indianapolis 11Sat. March 10Colorado 4 at Indianapolis 2Sun. March 11Salt Lake 8 at Montana 6<h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-1739/4886099-1-eng-US/f0033-172.jpg" title="f0033-17" width="549" height="289"></div><h2>INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Mon. March 12)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-1834/4886092-1-eng-US/f0033-182.jpg" title="f0033-18" width="544" height="264"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Tue. March 6Kalamazoo 3 at Milwaukee 1Wed. March 7Flint 2 at Fort Wayne 3Thu. March 8Kalamazoo 5 at Toledo 3Peoria 2 at Milwaukee 9Fri. March 9Muskegon 1 at Kalamazoo 6Flint 2 at Peoria 4Sat. March 10Flint 3 at Muskegon 4Milwaukee 6 at Kalamazoo 4Fort Wayne 2 at Toledo 5Sun. March 11Muskegon 1 at Fort Wayne 5Milwaukee 5 at Flint 5Toledo 4 at Peoria 5<h2>ONTARIO LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Tue. March 13)<h3>LEYDEN DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-01462/4886085-1-eng-US/f0038-012.jpg" title="f0038-01" width="538" height="232"></div><h3>EMMS DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-02367/4886078-1-eng-US/f0038-022.jpg" title="f0038-02" width="536" height="263"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Tue. March 6London 2 at Sudbury 4Peterborough 3 at Oshawa 6Kitchener 5 at Kingston 1Wed. March 7Toronto 5 at Belleville 3Thu. March 8Oshawa 4 at Peterborough 5Guelph 4 at Winsor 8North Bay 1 at Brantford 3Fri. March 9Cornwall 4 at S.S. Marie 6Brantford 6 at Sudbury 3Windsor 8 at Kitchener 10North Bay 1 at London 6Kingston 2 at Ottawa 5Toronto 8 at Guelph 3Sat. March 10Cornwall 5 at Sudbury 4Kingston 3 at Belleville 4Guelph 6 at Toronto 4Ottawa 1 at Peterborough 1Sun. March 11Cornwall 4 at North Bay 8Kingston 4 at Toronto 10Belleville 3 at Oshawa 0Windsor 5 at London 6Peterborough 6 at Ottawa 5Brantford 4 at S.S. Marie 1<h2>QUEBEC LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Mon. March 12)<h3>LEBEL DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-03291/4886071-1-eng-US/f0038-032.jpg" title="f0038-03" width="544" height="202"></div><h3>DILIO DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-04223/4886064-1-eng-US/f0038-042.jpg" title="f0038-04" width="535" height="174"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Mon. March 5T-Rivieres 3 at Laval 10Tue. March 6Drummondville 3 at Chicoutimi 6Hull 8 at Longueuil 11Wed. March 7Quebec 6 at Granby 9St. Jean 7 at Hull 6Verdun 11 at T-Rivieres 7Fri. March 9Laval 6 at Chicoutimi 4Granby 5 at Drummondville 6Shawinigan 6 at Quebec 3Longueuil 6 at St. Jean 3Sun. March 11Verdun 2 at Granby 4T-Rivieres 3 at Hull 6Laval 4 at Shawinigan 10Chicoutimi at St. Jean (ppd)<h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-05156/4886057-1-eng-US/f0038-052.jpg" title="f0038-05" width="548" height="325"></div><h2>WESTERN LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Mon. March 12)<h3>EASTERN DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-06118/4886050-1-eng-US/f0038-062.jpg" title="f0038-06" width="543" height="261"></div><h3>WESTERN DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-07104/4886043-1-eng-US/f0038-072.jpg" title="f0038-07" width="553" height="204"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Tue. March 6Winnipeg 1 at Saskatoon 7Kamloops 10 at Seattle 11Lethbridge 5 at Calgary 2Wed. March 7Medicine Hat 7 at Calgary 3Brandon 4 at Regina 10Winnipeg 1 at Prince Albert 13Thu. Merch 8Victoria 2 at Medicine Hat 6Portland 4 at Kamloops 10Brandon 9 at Saskatoon 0Seattle 5 at New Westminster 4Fri. March 9Portland 11 at Kelowna 6Winnipeg 4 at Regina 16Victoria 2 at Calgary 4Sat. March 10Lethbridge 5 at Medicine Hat 3Seattle 4 at Kelowna 2Prince Albert 7 at Winnipeg 3Sun. March 11Victoria 2 at Lethbridge 9New Westminster 2 at Portland 7Saskatoon 1 at Regina 7Seattle 3 at Kamloops 7Prince Albert 6 at Brandon 8<h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-0887/4886036-1-eng-US/f0038-082.jpg" title="f0038-08" width="554" height="326"></div><h2>UNITED STATES LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Wed. Feb. 29)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-0977/4886029-1-eng-US/f0038-092.jpg" title="f0038-09" width="548" height="298"></div><h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-1073/4886022-1-eng-US/f0038-102.jpg" title="f0038-10" width="554" height="320"></div><h2>CENTRAL SENIOR LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Mon. Feb. 26)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-1167/4886015-1-eng-US/f0038-112.jpg" title="f0038-11" width="538" height="238"></div><h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-1262/4886008-1-eng-US/f0038-122.jpg" title="f0038-12" width="546" height="324"></div><h2>NEW ENGLAND JUNIOR</h2>(Standings on Fri. March 2)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-1353/4886001-1-eng-US/f0038-132.jpg" title="f0038-13" width="544" height="214"></div><h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-1922/4885994-1-eng-US/f0039-192.jpg" title="f0039-19" width="547" height="266"></div><h2>ALBERTA JUNIOR LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Thu. March 1)<h3>NORTH DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-2021/4885987-1-eng-US/f0039-202.jpg" title="f0039-20" width="541" height="145"></div><h3>SOUTH DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-2120/4885980-1-eng-US/f0039-212.jpg" title="f0039-21" width="547" height="149"></div><h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-2218/4885973-1-eng-US/f0039-222.jpg" title="f0039-22" width="546" height="322"></div><h2>U.S. METRO JUNIOR</h2>(Standings on Wed. Feb. 29)<h3>ATLANTIC CONFERENCE</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-2317/4885966-1-eng-US/f0039-232.jpg" title="f0039-23" width="543" height="174"></div><h3>NEW YORK CONFERENCE</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-2414/4885959-1-eng-US/f0039-242.jpg" title="f0039-24" width="539" height="178"></div><h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-2512/4885952-1-eng-US/f0039-252.jpg" title="f0039-25" width="542" height="267"></div> &#9632;

f0033-10

MINOR SCOREBOARD

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0034-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-01496/4886231-1-eng-US/f0034-012.jpg"></div><h2>GOALTENDING STATISTICS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-01470/4886224-1-eng-US/f0035-012.jpg" title="f0035-01" width="552" height="2710"></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/f0035-02373/4886217-1-eng-US/f0035-022.jpg" title="f0035-02" width="551" height="232"></div><h3>MOST WINS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-03291/4886210-1-eng-US/f0035-032.jpg" title="f0035-03" width="531" height="261"></div><h3>SAVE PERCENTAGE</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-04242/4886203-1-eng-US/f0035-042.jpg" title="f0035-04" width="531" height="231"></div> &#9632;

f0034-01

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE SCORING

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0035-05" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-05197/4886262-1-eng-US/f0035-052.jpg"></div> &#9632;

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NHL TEAM ROSTERS

<h2>MARCH</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-06178/4886314-1-eng-US/f0035-062.jpg" title="f0035-06" width="516" height="429"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-07167/4886307-1-eng-US/f0035-072.jpg" title="f0035-07" width="521" height="493"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-08147/4886300-1-eng-US/f0035-082.jpg" title="f0035-08" width="511" height="484"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-09140/4886293-1-eng-US/f0035-092.jpg" title="f0035-09" width="520" height="486"></div> &#9632;

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NHL GAMES TO COME

<h2>NORRIS DIVISION</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-1687/4886428-1-eng-US/f0036-162.jpg" title="f0036-16" width="541" height="174"></div><h2>SMYTHE DIVISION</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-1781/4886421-1-eng-US/f0036-172.jpg" title="f0036-17" width="544" height="179"></div><h2>ADAMS DIVISION</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-1877/4886414-1-eng-US/f0036-182.jpg" title="f0036-18" width="543" height="176"></div><h2>PATRICK DIVISION</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-1975/4886407-1-eng-US/f0036-192.jpg" title="f0036-19" width="536" height="202"></div><h2>GAMES COMPLETED</h2>Mon. March 5Detroit 1 at Minnesota 5Washington 5 at Pittsburgh 2Tue. March 6Washington 5 at Los Angeles 3Buffalo 8 at Montreal 3Pittsburgh 5 at New Jersey 6Philadelphia 2 at NY Islanders 5Calgary 3 at Quebec 4Detroit 3 at St. Louis 1Wed. March 7Chicago 4 at Edmonton 7NY Rangers 3 at Minnesota 6New Jersey 4 at Toronto 8Winnipeg 3 at Vancouver 4Hartford 2 at Washington 4Thu. March 8Calgary 2 at Boston 3St. Louis 3 at Detroit 6Hartford 2 at Montreal 3Toronto 5 at NY Islanders 9Los Angeles 1 at Philadelphia 4Quebec 8 at Pittsburgh 6Fri. March 9Los Angeles 3 at Buffalo 7Chicago 3 at Vancouver 4 (OT)Quebec 3 at Washington 5NY Rangers 6 at Winnipeg 5 (OT)Sat. March 10NY Rangers 3 at Edmonton 2Philadelphia 3 at Minnesota 4Boston 4 at Montreal 2Calgary 5 at NY Islanders 4 (OT)New Jersey 5 at St. Louis 6 (OT)Detroit 3 at Toronto 4 (OT)Sun. March 11Washington 2 at Boston 1Hartford 3 at Buffalo 4Vancouer 2 at Edmonton 12Chicago 3 at Los Angeles 4Calgary 2 at Philadelphia 3NY Islanders 6 at Pittsburgh 4Quebec 5 at Winnipeg 6 (OT) &#9632;

f0036-16

THE NHL SCOREBOARD

<h2>AT HOME</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-2071/4886508-1-eng-US/f0036-202.jpg" title="f0036-20" width="268" height="637"></div><h2>ON THE ROAD</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-2167/4886501-1-eng-US/f0036-212.jpg" title="f0036-21" width="266" height="645"></div><h2>POINTS RACE</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-2266/4886494-1-eng-US/f0036-222.jpg" title="f0036-22" width="536" height="643"></div><h2>WHAT THEY DID IN THEIR LAST 10 GAMES</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-2360/4886487-1-eng-US/f0036-232.jpg" title="f0036-23" width="205" height="148"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-2456/4886480-1-eng-US/f0036-242.jpg" title="f0036-24" width="200" height="148"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-2552/4886473-1-eng-US/f0036-252.jpg" title="f0036-25" width="201" height="147"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-2649/4886466-1-eng-US/f0036-262.jpg" title="f0036-26" width="194" height="148"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-2742/4886459-1-eng-US/f0036-272.jpg" title="f0036-27" width="199" height="175"></div> &#9632;

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HOW NHL TEAMS RATE

BOSTON&mdash;Krushelnyski 23, Donnelly 2, K. Crowder 18, Middleton 42, 43, O&rsquo;Connell 17, O&rsquo;Reilly 12, Nill 12. Winning goals-K. Crowder, Middleton.BUFFALO&mdash;Andreychuk 34, Hamel 15, 16, 17, Foligno 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, Cloutier 24, McKenna 17, 18, Housley 27, 28, 29, Ramsey 8, 9, Patrick 1, Ruff 11, Winning goalsCloutier, Ruff, Foligno.CALGARY&mdash;Tambellini 12, 13, Beers 35, Patterson 12, 13, Bozek 7, 8, Peplinski 10, 11, Eaves 12, 13, Loob 26. Winning goals-Eaves.CHICAGO&mdash;Gardner 24, Feamster 6, S. L&auml;rmer 29, 30, 31, J. Larmer 13, Savard 33, Lysiak 11, Preston 9, Sutter 16. Winning goals-None.DETROIT&mdash;Duguay 27, 28, 29, Gare 11, Kisio 19, 20, Johnstone 12, Larson 18, 19, 20, Smith 3, Yzerman 33, Lambert 17. Winning goals-Gare, Smith.EDMONTON&mdash;Coffey 34, 35, Anderson 44, 45, Lindstrom 28, McClelland 8, Kurri 43, 44, 45, 46, 67, 48, Messier 28, 29, 30, 31, Gretzky 79, 80, 81, Hunter 21, Semenko 5. Winning goals-McClelland, Semenko.HARTFORD&mdash;Siltanen 12, 13, Pierce 3, Crawford 30, 31, 32, Turgeon 36. Winning goals-None.LOS ANGELES&mdash;Ruskowski 6, Simmer 37, MacLellan 23, 24, Dionne 32 33, Fox 26, Nicholls 38, 39, Chorney 3, Hakansson 14. Winning goals-Hakansson.MINNESOTA&mdash;McCarthy 34, 35, 36, Payne 23, Bellows 36, 37, Ferguson 6, Levie 6, Broten 25, 26, Plett 12, Napier 13, MacAdam 17, Acton 19. Winning goals-Broten, McCarthy, Bellows.MONTREAL&mdash;Robinson 8, 9, Root 4, Gainey 14, Turnbull 19, 2, Tremblay 14, Nilan 16. Winning goals-Tremblay.NEW JERSEY&mdash;Gagne 13, 14, Vautour 3, Bridgman 18, 19, 20, Hoffmeyer4, McAdam 8, 9. Higgins 14, MacMillan 14, 15, Ludvig 20, Verbeek 18, Trottier 1. Winning goals-McAdam.NY ISLANDERS&mdash;Nystrom 14, 15, Gillies 11, 12, Bossy 42, 43, 44, 45 LaFontaine 4, 5, 6, 7, Bourne 15, 16, 16, Flatley 3, Potvin 18, 19, B. Sutter 29, Trottier 34, Gilbert 27, Goring 21, 22, Persson 9, D. Sutter 17. Winning goals-Bossy 2, Potvin 1.NY RANGERS&mdash;Osborne 20, 21 Fotiu 7, Larouche 44, Pavelich 20, 21, Andersson 5 Hedberg 25, 26, 27, Brooke 1, Stoughton 26. Winning goals-Osborne, Stoughton.PHILADELPHIA&mdash;Propp 32, 33 Sittler 24, Hachborn 7, 8, Howe 16, Kerr 46, 47, Poulin 22, 23, Marsh 3, Cochrane 6. Winning goals-Hachborn, Cochrane.PITTSBURGH&mdash;Schmidt 2, 3, Shedden 17, Errey7, 8, Rissling 3 Brickley 14, 15, Taylor 19, Flockhart 23, Boutette 12, O&rsquo;Regan 4, Thorn-bury 1. Winning goals-none.QUEBEC&mdash;Paiement 37, 38, Sleigher 14, 15, Cote 12, 13, Goulet 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, Gillis 6, Sauve 6, Marois 11, Hunter 23, Rochefort 2, P. Stastny 37, 38, 39. Winning goals-Sleigher, Goulet.ST. LOUIS&mdash;Wilson 5, Chouinard 10, Feder-ko 36, 37, Gilmour 20, 21, Pettersson 23, Pawlawski 8, Ramage 12, 13. Winning goals-Ramage.TORONTO&mdash;Korn 6, 7, 8, Poddubny 6, 7, Stewart 2, Derlago 32, Daoust 18, Vaive 46, 47, 48, Courtnail 1, 2, Terrion 13, McCourt 17, 18, Gavin 8. Winning goals-Korn, Gavin.VANCOUVER&mdash;Gradin 18, Williams 14, Tanti 40, 41, Smyl 23, Rota 27, Lemay 9, 10, Lanz 18, Neely 15. Winning goals-Tanti, Lanz.WASHINGTON&mdash;Duchesne 13, 14, 15, Carpenter 23, 24, Gartner 34, Murphy 13, Laughlin 19, Gould 16, 17, Erickson 8, 9, Currie 10, 11, 12, Haworth 22. Winning goals-Gartner, Currie, Haworth.WINNIPEG&mdash;MacLean 34, 35, 36, Lukowich 21, 22, 23, 24, Campbell 6, Mantha 14, 15 Mullen 17, Smail 16, Hawerchuk 29, 30, 31, McBain 9, 10, Boschman 24, 25, Douglas 5, DeBlois 31. Winning goals-MacLean, Hawer-chuk.Hat tricks&mdash;Kurri (Edm) 2; McCarthy (Min), MacLean (Wpg), Korn (Tor), Messier (Edm), Goulet (Que), I each.Overtime winners&mdash;Osborne (NYR), Lanz (Van), Eaves (Cal), Ramage (StL), Gavin (Tor), Hawerchuk (Wpg), Foligno (Buf)Penalty shot goals&mdash;Dionne (LA). &#9632;

NHL SCORERS THIS WEEK

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-07108/4886539-1-eng-US/f0037-072.jpg" title="f0037-07" width="535" height="1241"></div>Winnipeg Jet defenseman Jim Kyte, a first-round pick two years ago, may never establish himself as a great scorer or playmaker. But in 47 games this season, he&rsquo;s earned a reputation as one of the toughest players in the NHL.The Ottawa native, who played his junior hockey with the Cornwall Royals, had just one goal and two assists after seeing limited ice time in 47 NHL games this season. But the 6-foot-5, 210-pounder can keep the front of the net clear and that&rsquo;s what John Ferguson wanted when he drafted Kyte.Since he&rsquo;s only 19, Kyte will be expected to develop into a more complete player in the coming years. &#9632;

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