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 30, 1984

The Hockey News March 30, 1984

<div class="byline">BY DICK BEDDOES</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-021056/4892732-1-eng-US/f0012-022.jpg" title="f0012-02" width="305" height="358"></div><h2>A Vote For Ornest</h2>THE HOCKEY NEWS, as the game&rsquo;s publication of record, will choose the coach and executive of the waning season in the National Hockey League.For coach, any number qualify as candidates, all from the Wales Conference.Ah, there, Bryan Murray of Washington, Gerald Cheevers of Boston, Alger Arbour of the New York Islanders, William Scott Bowman of Buffalo.For executive, a fair number qualify, all from the Wales as well.Take a bow in the primaries David Poile of Washington, Harry Sinden of Boston, William Torrey of the Islanders, Mr. Bowman of Buffalo.If THE HOCKEY NEWS was also choosing owner of the year, it says here that one name should lead all the rest. Harry Ornest of the St. Louis Blues.High on the list of items that hold no interest whatsoever for the hockey fan is the identity of the team&rsquo;s owner.Nobody has yet bought a ticket to see the team president arrive in his seat, sit down and fold his hands across his abdomen.To the fan, the most sincere and amiable sportsman is an unmitigated jerk if his team doesn&rsquo;t win and the most&rsquo; miserable skinflint alive is a credit to his race if he owns a champion.<h2>Owner Is Most Important</h2>IT SHOULDN&rsquo;T BE that way, for if the fan paused to reflect he would realize that the most important person in any organization is the guy behind the owner&rsquo;s desk.Coaches come and defensemen go and across the years a team succeeds or fails because of the policies dictated by the chap who owns the store. The history of every NHL team demonstrates that this is so.No effort will be made in this space to measure Harry Ornest&rsquo;s dark-haired sconce for a halo or to fit his tailored shoulders with wings. Chances are that he is as prone to folly as any of us.But it says here that if we were selecting the owner of the year, Ornest is one of the very few NHL proprietors to whom THE HOCKEY NEWS could, in conscience, accord this recognition. All he did this season was save the game in St. Louis.The franchise was dead and partially decomposed, with the remains about to be shipped to Saskatoon, when Ornest made the deal which kept the Blues in St. Louis. Involved was $3-million of his own money, proof that he is no tinhorn.The NHL, presided over by John Ziegler, was glad enough to be bailed out by Ornest, but not to the extent of rendering him any favors.No junior draft choices, for example, were saved for St. Louis because Ornest did not save the Blues until five weeks after the draft.<h2>No Favors Given</h2>NO SPECIAL FAVORS were advanced to St. Louis in scheduling. On three occasions this dreary winter, the Blues have played four games in five nights.In one span, the Blues played 10 games in almost 15 days (the almost takes into account afternoon affairs), seven on the road.Perhaps that couldn&rsquo;t be helped, given the geographical fact that St. Louis sits in the middle of the United States instead of on the east coast.On the east coast, there is a cozy Patrick Division consisting of the New York Rangers, the Islanders, Philadelphia Flyers, Washington, New Jersey and Pittsburgh. That makes the Patrick the Brief Case Division; get on a train or bus, ride for an hour or two, play a game, take a return ride and you are back in your own bed, all on the same day.Ornest will not make money in St. Louis this season. He needs to double his season-ticket sales from the current 6,000 to 12,000 to reach a break-even position. He needs more revenue from radio and television.I believe he will survive to make St. Louis thrive. He has already given life to the Pittsburgh functionary, Paul Martha, who said in effect that Ornest was doing it with mirrors.Anybody who knows Ornest as long as some of us have, from the days when we were kids scuffling on open-air rinks in Edmonton, knows how thoughtless Mr. Martha was. Ornest does not come to lose.By the way, is Pittsburgh still in the league? The Penguins are so far below sea level, they are impossible to see with the naked eye. &#9632;

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IN THIS ISSUE

BEDCLOTHES

<h2>Top Rookies In The NHL</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-1878/4894444-1-eng-US/f0036-182.jpg" title="f0036-18" width="528" height="355"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-1976/4894437-1-eng-US/f0036-192.jpg" title="f0036-19" width="525" height="355"></div> &#9632;

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NATIONAL LEAGUE SUMMARIES

<h2>AMERICAN LEAGUE (Standings on Mon. March 19</h2><h3>NORTHERN DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-01463/4894837-1-eng-US/f0038-012.jpg" title="f0038-01" width="536" height="212"></div><h3>SOUTHERN DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-02368/4894830-1-eng-US/f0038-022.jpg" title="f0038-02" width="541" height="240"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Tue. March 13Springfield 2 at St. Catharines 4Moncton 1 at Sherbrooke 2Wed. March 14Moncton 1 at Adirondack 1Sherbrooke 3 at Baltimore 7St. Catharines 4 at Hershey 1New Haven 4 at Maine 5Rochester 3 at Nova Scotia 1Thu. March 15Rochester 3 at Fredericton 2Fri. March 16St Catharines 4 at Baltimore 2New Haven 3 at Binghamton 4Maine 5 at Springfield 8Sat. March 17New Haven 4 at Adirondack 8St. Catharines 6 at Binghamton 7Rochester 4 at Fredericton 3Sherbrooke 5 at Hershey 7Moncton 2 at Maine 3Baltimore 3 at Springfield 2Sun. March 18Adirondack 7 at Maine 4Rochester 4 at Moncton 1Baltimore 4 at Nova Scotia 2<h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-03292/4894823-1-eng-US/f0038-032.jpg" title="f0038-03" width="538" height="385"></div><h2>CENTRAL LEAGUE (Standings on Tue. March 20)</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-04224/4894816-1-eng-US/f0038-042.jpg" title="f0038-04" width="536" height="177"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Tue. March 13Salt Lake 5 at Montana 1Wed. March 14Oilers 4 at Salt Lake 2Fri. March 16Montana 3 at Indianapolis 5Oilers 3 at Salt Lake 11Sat. March 17Oilers 4 at Colorado 2Montana 3 at Indianapolis 7Sun. March 18Colorado 3 at Montana 3<h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-05157/4894809-1-eng-US/f0038-052.jpg" title="f0038-05" width="537" height="300"></div><h2>INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE (Standings on Mon. March 19)</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-06119/4894802-1-eng-US/f0038-062.jpg" title="f0038-06" width="533" height="267"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Mon. March 12Toledo 4 at Milwaukee 8Tue. March 13Fort Wayne 2 at Peoria 2Wed. March 14Milwaukee 2 at Fort Wayne 7Muskegon 1 at Toledo 1Fri. March 16Toledo 1 at Kalamazoo 4Sat March 17Toledo 0 at Fort Wayne 4Milwaukee 9 at Muskegon 4Hint 5 at Kalamazoo 5Sun. March 18Kalamazoo 1 at Fort Wayne 4Hint 3 at Muskegon 1Peoria 1 at Toledo 6<h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-07105/4894795-1-eng-US/f0038-072.jpg" title="f0038-07" width="543" height="354"></div><h2>ATLANTIC COAST LEAGUE (Standings on Sun. March 18)</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-0888/4894788-1-eng-US/f0038-082.jpg" title="f0038-08" width="533" height="208"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Tue. March 13Carolina 5 at Mohawk Valley 5Wed. March 14Pine Bridge 5 at Erie 14Thu. March 15Carolina 6 at Mohawk Valley 5Fri. March 16Virginia 4 at Erie 5Mohawk Valley 4 at Pine Bridge 3Sat. March 17Virginia 5 at Erie 3Mohawk Valley 10 at Pine Bridge 6<h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-0978/4894781-1-eng-US/f0038-092.jpg" title="f0038-09" width="540" height="321"></div><h2>ONTARIO SENIOR LEAGUE</h2><h3>PLAYOFFS Quarterfinals</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-1074/4894774-1-eng-US/f0038-102.jpg" title="f0038-10" width="536" height="353"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-1168/4894767-1-eng-US/f0038-112.jpg" title="f0038-11" width="532" height="120"></div><h3>Semifinals</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-1263/4894760-1-eng-US/f0038-122.jpg" title="f0038-12" width="534" height="239"></div><h2>ONTARIO LEAGUE (Final Standings)</h2><h3>LEYDEN DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-1354/4894753-1-eng-US/f0038-132.jpg" title="f0038-13" width="535" height="237"></div><h3>EMMS DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-1449/4894746-1-eng-US/f0038-142.jpg" title="f0038-14" width="538" height="268"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Tue. March 13Ottawa 3 at Toronto 1London 0 at Brantford 10Wed. March 14Peterborough 1 at Belleville 8Thu. March 15Cornwall 4 at Peterborough 12London 3 at Windsor 4Ottawa 2 at Brantford 5S.S. Marie 1 at North Bay 5Fri. March 16Brantford 4 at Kitchener 6Guelph 3 at London 1S.S. Marie 6 at Sudbury 3Ottawa 6 at Kingston 5Toronto 6 at Oshawa 4Sat March 17Cornwall 5 at Belleville 8Kitchener 1 at Peterborough 5Sun. March 18Peterborough 5 at Toronto 4Belleville 4 at Oshawa 5Sudbury 3 at S.S. Marie 10London 2 at Kitchener 6Cornwall 6 at Kingston 4Windsor 7 at Guelph 8(End of regular schedule)<h3>FINAL SCORING LEADERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-1547/4894739-1-eng-US/f0038-152.jpg" title="f0038-15" width="536" height="321"></div><h2>WESTERN LEAGUE (Standings on Tue. March 20)</h2><h3>EASTERN DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-1643/4894732-1-eng-US/f0038-162.jpg" title="f0038-16" width="537" height="263"></div><h3>WESTERN DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-1740/4894725-1-eng-US/f0038-172.jpg" title="f0038-17" width="536" height="204"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Mon. March 12Winnipeg 9 at Brandon 11Tue. March 13Lethbridge 8 at Winnipeg 1Regina 2 at Saskatoon 4Kelowna 1 at Seattle 5Wed. March 14Calgary 2 at Medicine Hat 7Lethbridge 2 at Brandon 5Kelowna 4 at Portland 14Saskatoon 7 at Prince Albert 11Thu. March 15Portland 7 at Victoria 6Kamloops 8 at Kelowna 2Calgary 7 at Winnipeg 2Fri. March 16Medicine Hat 2 at Regina 10Calgary 3 at Brandon 8Seattle 3 at New Westminster 7Sat. March 17Medicine Hat 8 at Prince Albert 2Portland 6 at Seattle 8Saskatoon 6 at Winnipeg 0Kamloops 7 at Victoria 4 Sun. March 18Calgary 2 at Lethbridge 3Victoria 8 at Portland 7Saskatoon 4 at Brandon 6Regina 10 at Winnipeg 0Kamloops 5 at New Westminster 6<h2>QUEBEC LEAGUE (Final Standings)</h2><h3>LEBEL DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-1837/4894718-1-eng-US/f0038-182.jpg" title="f0038-18" width="533" height="206"></div><h3>DILIO DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-1935/4894711-1-eng-US/f0038-192.jpg" title="f0038-19" width="535" height="178"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Mon. March 12Chicoutimi 2 at St Jean 4Quebec 4 at Laval 9Tue. March 13Drummondville 6 at Longueuil 5Wed. March 14Shawinlgan 3 at Hull 6Longueuil 4 at Laval 16Quebec 4 at T-Rivieres 8Fri. March 16T-Rivieres 3 at Drummondville 8Chicoutimi 2 at Quebec 3Hull 3 at Shawinlgan 9Granby 7 at St Joan 5Longueuil 7 at Verdun 3(End of regular schedule}<h3>FINAL SCORING LEADERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-2032/4894704-1-eng-US/f0038-202.jpg" title="f0038-20" width="536" height="323"></div><h3>PLAYOFF GAMES Quarterfinals</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-2130/4894697-1-eng-US/f0038-212.jpg" title="f0038-21" width="533" height="119"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Sun. March 18St Joan 6 at Verdun 11<h2>SASKATCHEWAN JUNIOR</h2>(Final Standings)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-2228/4894690-1-eng-US/f0038-222.jpg" title="f0038-22" width="537" height="292"></div><h3>FINAL SCORING LEADERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-2325/4894683-1-eng-US/f0038-232.jpg" title="f0038-23" width="533" height="292"></div><h2>ALBERTA JUNIOR LEAGUE</h2>(Final Standings)<h3>NORTH DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-2420/4894676-1-eng-US/f0038-242.jpg" title="f0038-24" width="530" height="147"></div><h3>SOUTH DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-2519/4894669-1-eng-US/f0038-252.jpg" title="f0038-25" width="533" height="150"></div><h3>FINAL SCORING LEADERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-2616/4894662-1-eng-US/f0038-262.jpg" title="f0038-26" width="537" height="290"></div> &#9632;

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MINOR SCOREBOARD

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-01448/4893609-1-eng-US/f0029-012.jpg" title="f0029-01" width="341" height="446"></div><h2>MISCELLANEOUS</h2>WHA-NHL-AHL-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 HNTRRPRISHSKatherine Rd. Downsview, Ont Canada MSK US* Free gift valued at $3.00 with this ad.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-02312/4893602-1-eng-US/f0029-022.jpg" title="f0029-02" width="576" height="340"></div><h3>DEFUNCT SPORTS PRICELISTS</h3>55 pages of media guides, yearbooks, photos, programs, pennants, decals, cards, game jerseys and more, includes WHA (world Hockey Association), WFL (World Football League). ABA (American Basketball), nl (National Lacrosse) and more, send cheque or m/o for $4.99 to: EMPIRE SPORTS, 1M7 Avenue Road, Suh. 201, Toronto, Ont M5M 4A2. NCCA Dealer.Free gift and $2.50 credit on first order.<h2>MISCELLANEOUS</h2>BE THE STAR on your own bubble gum cards. Write: Big League Cards, 2424 McDonald St. Regina, Sask. S4N 2Z3.<h3>OLD NHL PICTURES</h3>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 liste de joueurs dispouibles; envoyer $3.00 a:Photos Danher, C.P. 39, Anse Ste Anne des Monts, Que., Canada, GOE 1B0.<h2>TOURNAMENTS</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) 565-6658.<h2>AUDIO</h2>USA DEFEATS RUSSIA. Previously unreleased play-by-play of greatest Olympic thrill ever. Entire game. 60-minute audio cassettes. $16.99 + $1.00 handling each. Order now. Olympic Gold, 186 E. 75th St., New York, NY 10021.<h2>PUBLICATIONS</h2>SPORTS ADDRESSES: All North America, World teams $2.75 any league list, $1.00 per club. Guaranteed. Send to: R8iR, 1045 East 39 Ave., Vancouver, B.C., V5W 1K9.<h2>NOVELTIES</h2>ENAMEL TRADING PINS-Baseball caps, banners, buttons, and many other products customized for teams-tournaments, momentos, etc.Catalogue available. Promotional Marketing Services, Box 1124, FortErie, Ontario, L2A 5N9. In USA, 81 Mill St., Buffalo, NY 14221.<h2>MERCHANDISE</h2>SPORTS JIRSIYS UNLIMITEDComplete 18 page pricelist of game worn Jerseys, leagues include Baseball, CFL-NFL-WFL-NHL-WHA-NASL-NBA end more Over 1500 satisfied customers. For complete list send cheque of m/o for $5.00 payable to: EMPIRE SPORTS. 1M7 Avanue Road.Suita 201. Toronto. Ont M5M 4A2. NCCA Dealer * Free gift and $2.50 credit on first order.THE HOCKEY NEWS: CLASSIFIED ORDER FORMWrite copy here. Rates 15 words or less, 1 time $20.00,3 times $16.65,10 times $15.00,20 times $14.00,30 times $13.00. For each word over 15 limit add following per word: 1 time $1.50,3 times $1.25,10 times $1.05,20 times $0.90,30 times $0.75.For a box borderaround ad, add 1 time $10.00,3 times $7.00,10 times $5.50,20 times $4.25,30 times $3.50. Please note rates are PER INSERTION. For information and rates for classified box advertising or display classified, write or call EstherSumka at THE HOCKEY NEWS (416) 445-5702Payment must accompany all orders. No agency commission allowed. Ads requesting funds for services, catalogues or lists must send samples. Check appropriate classified category:<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-03201/4893595-1-eng-US/f0029-032.jpg" title="f0029-03" width="1836" height="1123"></div> &#9632;

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The Classified

<div class="image-hero"><img title="Cover-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/cover-01795/4894868-1-eng-US/cover-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Doug Wickenheiser And Rob Ramage Look For Happiness With The Blues (Photos by Bruce Bennett)</figcaption></div>Player Agents: The Good, The Bad And The Ugly&mdash;Page 16Boston Bruins Aim To Avoid The One Liners&mdash;Page 12Introducing The Coin-Operated Skate Sharpener&mdash;Page 8 &#9632;

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THE SPIRIT OF ST. LOUIS

<div class="byline">FRANK ORR&#x2019;S</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-011203/4892127-1-eng-US/f0002-012.jpg" title="f0002-01" width="309" height="364"></div><h2>New Deal Needed</h2>IF YOU WERE the owner of a major junior hockey franchise these days, you would be tempted to sell it and invest in something stable, like a chicken farm.At least, on a chicken farm, you can keep the roosters until they&rsquo;re big enough to crow, which is the antithesis of how things are in junior hockey.In the hockey scheme of things, as soon as the rooster is big enough to strut around the farm yard, he&rsquo;s hauled off to the big farm, often before he&rsquo;s mature enough to handle that company.If you&rsquo;re the owner of the big farm, you counter the small farmer&rsquo;s complaints by saying you bought the eggs and paid a good price for them so why shouldn&rsquo;t you be able to grab the roosters any time you feel like it.Hockey has a problem right now. A major problem. It&rsquo;s called the underage draft. National Hockey League teams claim players, from junior hockey as young as 17 and give them every chance to earn major-league employment.Often, the NHL clubs reach into the junior ranks during the season and haul up the drafted players, which creates chaos for the chaps trying to operate the junior team. There&rsquo;s been an attempt to bring some sort of order to the process but it hasn&rsquo;t done much good. The junior operators are browned off at the whole system right now.<h2>Pros And Cons</h2>THE PROS AND juniors are trying to reach some sort of agreement on a new deal, which would bring at least a semblance of order to the process. But, as an NHL man said recently: &ldquo;Anything we do is going to be a patchwork sort of arrangement. Unless the whole structure of hockey is changed, neither side will be happy with what&rsquo;s worked out.&rdquo;The junior operators really were worked up this month at a move attempted by the Toronto Maple Leafs, who tried to call up goalie Ken Wreggett from Lethbridge Broncos of the Western League.The Leafs already were trying to make the playoffs with a junior-age goalie. Allan Bester from the Brantford Alexanders, as their main man. Mike Palmateer was sidelined with an injury.When the Leafs sent back-up Rick St. Croix to the minors at the trading deadline, they tried to declare an injury emergency because of Palmateer&rsquo;s knee problems and summon Wreggett from Lethbridge to replace him.The juniors hollered and the NHL blocked the promotion. The Leafs simply laughed it off as something they tried that didn&rsquo;t work.When Paul Cyr, the Buffalo Sabres&rsquo; winger, was injured, the Sabres didn&rsquo;t go to their pro farm team, Rochester Americans of the American League, for a replacement. They went to Kitchener Rangers and promoted John Tucker, who had a whirl with the NHL club earlier in the season.<h2>Depends On Cyr</h2>IF PERREAULT RECOVERS, Tucker will go back to the junior team. But if he&rsquo;s out for an extended period, the Rangers&rsquo; Memorial Cup chances will be lessened considerably. So will the opportunity for the junior franchise to turn a profit this season.At the same time, if the Sabres feel he&rsquo;s the best man to replace Cyr and keep the team in the hunt for first place in the Adams Division, well, there&rsquo;s a little bit at stake from their standpoint, too.The juniors, in search of stability, would like a tightening of the rules governing the recall of junior players. Important in that is a stiff deadline, preferably as early in the season as possible, for the NHL clubs to decide on the retention or return of the drafted players. That way the junior team would have a better chance of having a stable roster.Of course, the NHL clubs&rsquo; view is that they pay a good price for the draftees and they should be able to call up the teenage players at any time.Because it seems that NHL clubs summon more players from junior hockey than they do from their minor pro farm teams, perhaps a combination of the two is an answer. Many NHL clubs find that the sponsorship of an American or Central League farm team to be a very costly item.Perhaps an involvement in the sponsorship of junior hockey by the NHL teams, the way it was in the long ago six-team days, is the way to go. Maybe each NHL club should finance a development club of players from 18 to 22, which would play a light enough schedule to allow plenty of instruction. &#9632;

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HOCKEY VIEWPOINT

&ldquo;If Al Capone came walking into my office today and told me he was representing one of my players, I&rsquo;d be sitting down with Al Capone. &ldquo;&mdash;New York Islander general manager William Torrey, commenting on pro hockey&rsquo;s acceptance of player agents. Special feature on Page 16. &#9632;

Quote Of The Week

They were deemed messiahs and expected to lead their chosen teams to the holy land. But no matter how hard they tried, their staffs always pointed to mirages.Eventually, the people who worshipped them like gods realized they were dancing to a golden calf and that&rsquo;s when they were sent packing to St. Louis, a biblical destination unlike any other, a land where Cardinals are more religious than Popes.Ladies and gentleman, without much more adieu we give you Doug Wickenheiser and Rob Ramage, two young gents who&rsquo;ve carried the label, &ldquo;Franchise&rdquo; on the backs of their sweaters only to have those same sweaters returned because the size did not fit the build-up.They are attempting to rise from the ashes and play with the, confidence they so often looked for like a holy grail. Ramage played in the 1983-84 All-Star game as the Blues&rsquo; representative, while Wickenheiser, albeit slowly, is starting to show some signs of coming around.Four years ago, a 5-foot-10, 170-pound whirling dervish named Denis Savard, one third of the Montreal Juniors&rsquo; Trois Denis line, was tearing up the Quebec League right before the Montreal Canadiens&rsquo; eyes. He could skate, he could score, he could entertain. He was a Francophone. He looked like another Henri Richard, the Pocket Rocket.But the Habs, who had just won the Stanley Cup the season before, had other ideas with regard to who would best serve them.In the Western Hockey League, a 6-foot-l, 200 pounder named Doug Wickenheiser was rewriting the WHL record books with the Regina Pats. Watching him was Ron Caron, the Canadiens&rsquo; director of player personnel. Caron, known as The Professor, saw Wickenheiser as the next Jean Beliveau.There are those who would suggest the decay of the Canadiens&rsquo; franchise began with the departure of wily Sam Pollock, the managing director who grew old but never too old to fool an opposing general manager. Others would say it started that draft day in June of 1980 when Irving Grundman, on the advice of The Professor, took Wickenheiser No. 1 overall, ahead of David Babych (Winnipeg) and Savard (Chicago).Wickenheiser would admit then that he was &ldquo;happy&rdquo; to be going to Montreal. The pressure was there, to be certain, &ldquo;but there is pressure just playing in this league.&rdquo;Atlas had an easier time. All he had to do was carry the weight of the world on his shoulder; Wickenheiser battled the ghosts of Stanley Cups and countless comparisons to one of the greatest players&mdash;Beliveau&mdash;who ever laced on a pair of skates.It didn&rsquo;t help matters that coach Claude Ruel, a traditionalist of the old school, believed rookies should be heard in the press box but not seen on the ice.Wickhenheiser showed flashes of potential but when he continued to waiver, the Canadiens had enough and sent him to St. Louis on Jan. 8, 1984, with defenseman Gilbert Delorme and rookie winger Greg Paslawski in exchange for Perry Turnbull, another first rounder who only occasionally flirted out of mediocrity.&ldquo;It would be wrong to blame anybody but me,&rdquo; says Wickenheiser, who was rated No. 1 on more teams&rsquo; draft lists in 1980 than they would care to remember. &ldquo;I just didn&rsquo;t play consistently well. I&rsquo;d have little spurts. Last year, I got off to a real good start and then went into a slump and couldn&rsquo;t get out of it. I think it would be overstating it to say that it was a tremendous relief to get out of Montreal.&ldquo;The comparisons to Savard came up every once in awhile in the press, but they weren&rsquo;t as constant as a lot of people think. I had a lot of friends in Montreal and wanted to stay there and live up to the promise everyone says I have.&rdquo;The year was 1978 and Johnny Bassett, son of of former Toronto Maple Leaf owner John Bassett, stunned the hockey world by signing six underage juniors to play for the Birmingham Bulls of the World Hockey Association. The Baby Bulls, as they were called, included Pat Riggin, Gaston Gingras, Craig Hartsburg, Rick Vaive, Michel Goulet and Rob Ramage, a defenseman from the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League.&ldquo;We were all kids out of junior and we&rsquo;d all been making $60-70 a week,&rdquo; Ramage said. &ldquo;We were going away from home the first time and we were all very naive. We just went around with our eyes wide open and it was a heck of an experience. There was no real pressure on us.&ldquo;We were kids. If we failed, they would say, &lsquo;Well, they were kids.&rsquo; We couldn&rsquo;t lose.&rdquo;Ramage totalled 12 goals and 26 assists and 165 minutes in penalties that season, the last for the WHA. In the summer of 1979, the Colorado Rockies made him the No. 1 overall pick.He was a kid no more. He was expected to carry a crumbling franchise. He had all the tools: good wheels, a hard shot and an aggressive mean streak. But he never hit his peak with the Rockies.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s pressure on any No. 1 draft choice,&rdquo; Ramage recalled. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think mine, however, was quite as tough as what Doug went through in Montreal. I was expected to lift a weak team, but it was Denver and the press and fan attention just wasn&rsquo;t there. In a different way, though, it was hard. It was very depressing playing in front of small crowds and every year worrying about whether the franchise was going to be around next season.&ldquo;So, I get traded to the Blues (from New Jersey in June of 1982 for two first-round picks), they have a press conference to introduce me and what&rsquo;s the first thing I say? How great it is to finally come to a stable franchise. Then I bought a home, the sure kiss of death.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-011222/4892189-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg" title="f0003-01" width="961" height="1831"><figcaption class="caption-body">Doug Wickenheiser left friends behind in Montreal, but admits the trade was &ldquo;the best thing for me.&rdquo; (Photos by Bruce Bennett)</figcaption></div>Ralston Purina, the pet-food people who bought the Blues from Sidney Salomon, Jr., as a civic gesture in 1977, altered their thinking on losing propositions. Suddenly, the Blues became a liability that wasn&rsquo;t worth holding on to. It started the St. Louis soap opera: Here today, gone tomorrow? That tomorrow was almost in Saskatoon.For months, the St. Louis saga unfolded, the jokes about Saskatoon reached new heights and the team continued to play amid uncertainty whether they&rsquo;d be disbanded or moved to Saskatoon.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think there&rsquo;s any question it affected the team&rsquo;s play,&rdquo; Ramage said. &ldquo;There was no attention to how well or poorly we played. Everything, everywhere we went, was about us and Saskatoon. I had already been through this once and I think forthat reason, it affected me a little less than some of the other guys.&ldquo;You reach a point where you just say, &lsquo;What will be, will be, and it&rsquo;s out of my hands. Sell another house, buy a fur coat and move on.&rsquo;&ldquo;There seemed to be only two alternatives for awhile: move or have the team disperse. I would rather have had us stay intact and move.&rsquo;?The NHL rejected the Saskatoon bid, the league took control of the team and in the summer, California businessman Harry Ornest purchased the team and brought in Caron as his manager and Jacques Demers as his coach.For the Blues, Saskatoon is a thing of the past; Ramage is very much in the team&rsquo;s present and, undoubtedly, their future, too. His presence at the All-Star game confirmed his ability as an outstanding defenseman and the Blues will not even wince that they surrendered their first-round picks in the &rsquo;82 and &rsquo;83 drafts to obtain him.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s our quarterback,&rdquo; said Demers. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s done everything we&rsquo;ve asked of him to do and more. In fact, we&rsquo;ve put so much of a load on him that&rsquo;s why we made the deal to get Dave Pichette from Quebec. I think that will take a little pressure off Ramage.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-021009/4892182-1-eng-US/f0003-022.jpg" title="f0003-02" width="968" height="1956"><figcaption class="caption-body">Rob Ramage had a hard time adjusting to Colorado after a year in the World Hockey Association.</figcaption></div>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s been playing 25-30 as much as 35 minutes a game. He was a very deserving All-Star. From what I understand, he didn&rsquo;t get off to a great start last year. But he came on and played well in the playoffs.&rdquo;After years of struggling with the Rockies and the countless stories and queries about this &ldquo;potential&rdquo; he was said to have, Rob Ramage has obviously arrived. At 25, his best years are still to come.The 1983-84 season is almost over and the Blues, a team which didn&rsquo;t even have any representatives at the draft table, appear to be headed for the playoffs. Granted, it&rsquo;s only the Norris Division, but playoffs are playoffs and an extra home game or two helps to pay the bills.The big shooters such as Bernie Federko, Brian Sutter and Joe Mullen, along with the steady play of Ramage and netminder Mike Liut, will ultimately decide how far the Blues go in the playoffs. Where does Doug Wickenheiser fit in?If this were a fairy tale, Wickenheiser would be on the No. 1 line, displaying the form that made him such an attractive commodity in 1980. But he hasn&rsquo;t taken St. Louis by storm. That isn&rsquo;t to say he has flopped, but he&rsquo;s a long way from staking a permanent place in the Blues&rsquo; lineup.Meanwhile, the atmosphere in St. Louis is more conducive to development than the high-pressure scene in Montreal.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s a lot of pressure on any No. 1 draft choice and in Montreal, it&rsquo;s that much greater,&rdquo; Demers said of Wickenheiser. &ldquo;Here, he seems so much more relaxed. He can make a mistake and I&rsquo;ll leave him out there or he won&rsquo;t miss the next shift.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think he&rsquo;ll ever be a 50-goal scorer or a superstar, but I do think he&rsquo;ll be a solid player who will hold a job for several years.&ldquo;Our penalty killing has improved a lot and he&rsquo;s been a big part of that.&rdquo;In St. Louis, where Doug Wickenheiser can be Doug Wickenheiser, not Jean Beliveau, where he&rsquo;s had time to think over the trade, time to settle down, he can look at the past and put it all into perspective.&ldquo;Now that I&rsquo;m here, though, it was probably the best thing for me,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It helps to know you can make a mistake and you&rsquo;re still going to play. It&rsquo;s not my primary motivation, but I do feel something towards Mr. Caron for sticking his neck out again to get me.&ldquo;Everyone says I cost him his job in Montreal and it&rsquo;s another reason to want to do well.&rdquo; &#9632;

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Wickenheiser And Ramage Aim To Rekindle The Spirit In St. Louis

<div class="byline">BY BOB FACHET</div>LANDOVER&mdash;One of the keys to the Washington Capitals&rsquo; status as the National Hockey League&rsquo;s top defensive team is the avoidance of penalties with the 72-game total of 1,131 minutes ranking 17th. Even more important is the manner in which the Capitals kill off what penalties they do incur.Having yielded only 39 extra-man scores in 271 chances, for 85.6 per cent efficiency, the Capitals were No. 1 in the penalty-killing department by two full percentage points over runnerup Boston.Much of the credit must go to Doug Jarvis, who has studied opponents&rsquo; power plays on film, and Rod Lang way, who rarely leaves the ice when Washington is shorthanded. Credit should also be given to coach Bryan Murray, who changed the club&rsquo;s penalty-killing philosophy.&ldquo;When I came into the league (in 1981), I didn&rsquo;t think most teams played aggressively,&rdquo; Murray said. &ldquo;They would just pick up the wings and play a passive box.&ldquo;We try to be aggressive and force them to make a perfect play or keep turning it over. One bad pass out of five and you&rsquo;ve got the puck. Our aim is to get the stick on it and get it out of the zone.&ldquo;The key to good penalty killing is skating, especially quickness. You don&rsquo;t have to be a super skater. You do have to have a willingness to play a solid checking game, to be aggressive.&ldquo;You want a guy who is really responsible, who puts the team and the situation ahead of the individual. We play a shut-the-door type, rather than gambling for shorthanded goals.&rdquo;The Capitals&rsquo; forward pairings at a manpower disadvantage put Jarvis with Gaetan Duchesne and Glen Currie with Bob Gould. If one of that quartet is in the penalty box, Dave Christian is the fill-in.Besides his other duties, Jarvis usually is called upon to take any faceoffs in the Washington end during shorthanded situations. He is a master in both that phase of the game and in devising methods of breaking up opponents&rsquo; patterns.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been editing tapes and building a library, so when we play teams again, we have something to go on,&rdquo; Jarvis said. &ldquo;The easier thing to observe is the opponents&rsquo; power play, because it&rsquo;s a structural thing. Most penalty killing is a kind of anticipation-reaction, no set thing. You react to what they do and hopefully complement each other as to how you react.&ldquo;You do as much forechecking as you can and you play as aggressively as you can, but you don&rsquo;t want to get caught on a three-on-two. It&rsquo;s great to buzz around their end, but one pass and you&rsquo;re caught. You have to be careful before you make a move offensively.&rdquo;Jarvis&rsquo; partner, Duchesne, ranks as one of the league&rsquo;s most underrated players. He is exceptionally strong and he is a superb skater, the result of power-skating training while earning a referee&rsquo;s card as a youngster.&ldquo;Gaetan Duchesne is a strong skater with a big heart,&rdquo; Murray said. &ldquo;He wants to be a player, he works hard and he&rsquo;s conscientious. He&rsquo;ll make some mistakes, but his work habits are such that he&rsquo;ll be much better as a result.&rdquo;Currie possesses the quickest reflexes of the four and makes deft use of his stick to deflect opposing passes.&ldquo;Glen Currie is no bigger or taller than anyone else, but he has a great reach,&rdquo; Murray said. &ldquo;He forces a guy into a quick pass, then gets his stick right on it. He can stop and start very quickly.&rdquo;As for Gould, Murray said, &ldquo;He&rsquo;s not extremely quick, but he&rsquo;s strong and he&rsquo;s a very intelligent player. He reads the play well. He&rsquo;s better than the others offensively and he puts pressure on the point men if they make a mistake.&rdquo;There is no doubt, however, that the Capitals&rsquo; success revolves around Jarvis.&ldquo;With the character he has, Doug Jarvis exemplifies the type of person who puts the team ahead of the individual,&rdquo; Murray said. &ldquo;He will sacrifice the body and take a check every time to be sure the puck gets out of the zone.&rdquo;For a last word, here is Scotty Bowman, who had Jarvis in Montreal during four Stanley Cup-winning seasons: &ldquo;If you really want to understand Doug Jarvis&rsquo; value, just remember that Montreal was always on top of the league in penalty killing when he was there. Washington&rsquo;s No. 1 now.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-011258/4892220-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg" title="f0004-01" width="581" height="798"><figcaption class="caption-body">Doug Jarvis had compiled a library of videotapes of opposing teams&rsquo; power plays.</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0004-01

Jarvis Keys Caps’ Penalty Killing

THE INTERNATIONAL HOCKEY WEEKLY Founded in 1947 by Kenneth W. McKenziePUBLISHERDean HeineCONTROLLERTony DobranowskiEDITOR IN CHIEFBob McKenzieEDITORIAL DIRECTORCharlie HalpinASSISTANT EDITORPerry LefkoCONTRIBUTING EDITORSStan Fischler, Frank OrrADVERTISING SALES MANAGERRandv GreenADVERTISING SERVICES MANAGEREsther SumkaADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVESCanadian Consumer Product Sales:CCMC, Cliff Kiveil, 287 MacPherson Ave.Toronto, Ontario M4V 1A4(416) 928-2909SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES MANAGERPaula HeardNEWSSTAND SERVICES MANAGEREsther SumkaCIRCULATION DEPARTMENTKathy NikiesRosanne TaninoACCOSTING DEPARTMENTTom MoffatMary CarubiaSPECIAL PROJECTS MANAGERHughes MarketingHockey News Bookshelf(416) 499-8227ADVERTISING AND EDITORIAL OFFICESMS 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 all Canadian and Foreign subscription orders to THE HOCKEY NEWS, P.O. Box 13055, Postal Station &lsquo;A&rsquo;, Toronto, Ont. M5W IV7. 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 3B 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 our next issue, the cover story will take a look at one of the most underrated players in the National Hockey League&mdash;Buffalo Sabre Mike Foligno&mdash;and how he contributes to a team that many believe will challenge for the Stanley Cup this season.We&rsquo;ll also bring you up to date on who&rsquo;s feuding with who. Pro hockey has a multitude of Hatfields and McCoys running around and we&rsquo;ll have the lowdown on feuds in hockey.And we&rsquo;ll also have a story on career counselling, a feature that will provide much of the necessary information a teenage hockey player needs to make one of the most important decisions of his life.All that and more. Don&rsquo;t miss it!<h2>April 13</h2>This issue heralds the end of the regular season. We&rsquo;ll have complete NHL scoring statistics for every NHL player. Plus, we&rsquo;ll preview the playoffs with first-round match-ups and a story on the New York Islanders&rsquo; bid to win five consecutive Stanley Cups and stake their claim in hockey history. &#9632;

COMING SOON IN THN

<div class="byline">BY RICH FRIEDMAN</div>NEW YORK&mdash;This is the third year of Mike Allison&rsquo;s sophomore jinx, the legacy of his traumatized knees, and for a time this winter it was beginning to appear endless.&ldquo;The last couple of years have been frustrating for Red with all the injuries,&rdquo; coach Herb Brooks said after Allison set up the first goal and scored the last one in the Rangers&rsquo; 6-3 victory over the Flyers at Madison Square Garden. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s been playing well of late, getting back in the lineup. That alone gets him up.&rdquo;As his role has evolved from offensive threat to defensive specialist, Allison has helped bring out the best in a variety of linemates. Generally, he and Kent-Erik Andersson have skated with whomever is the Rangers&rsquo; 12th forward, be it Mikko Leinonen, Rob McClanahan, or Nick Fotiu, and on occasion Don Maloney.The Flyer game was an exception. That night, Allison skated with two Swedes, Jan Erixon and Peter Sundstrom, the latter of whom broke out of a slump with two goals.Allison fed Sundstrom from short range on the first one.&ldquo;I couldn&rsquo;t have scored from that far out,&rdquo; he deadpanned later.But in a more sober moment, the 6-foot, 200-pounder spoke of his evolution from scoring goals to preventing them.&ldquo;I was always a checker and a digger,&rdquo; Allison said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t have the confidence handling the puck like I did last year. I don&rsquo;t bear down in front of the net like a I used to either.&rdquo;But he has compensated with other contributions. Against the Oilers three nights earlier in Edmonton, he won two key faceoffs late in the game. Allison has been one of the most reliable faceoff men for the Rangers this season and their weakness in that department was one of the reasons they acquired Larry Patey from St. Louis.The presence of yet another center on the Rangers&rsquo; crowded roster is just one factor in Allison&rsquo;s improved play. The overall competition has brought out the best in the team as a whole lately.Allison, Mark Osborne and Fotiu are the three larger players who&rsquo;ve been playing more physical, taking the pressure off the smaller players.Fotiu, another part-time Allison linemate, has been playing the best hockey of his career. He has been going for the net, scoring with accurate wristshots and blazing slapshots, avoiding being suckered into taking penalties, and muscling the puck out of the comers.Most of the Rangers have been victims of the numbers game necessitated by a roster crowded with half-a-dozen extra skaters. Allison is no exception but for him just being healthy enough to play is a plus.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a good feeling not to be injured,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;This year has gone by quickly for a change. I love being out there, there&rsquo;s no doubt about it.&rdquo;Last season, left behind in Rye to skate himself back into shape while the Rangers went west on a road trip, he composed a poem about how much he missed the guys. When they returned, he read it to them at practice as they gathered around him and banged their sticks on the ice in appreciation. A morale leader, relentless practical joker and source of one-liners, Allison is well-liked by his teammates.His goal against the Flyers was his eighth of the season, a far cry from his rookie year, when he burst upon the scene as a 19-year-old with an offensive explosion that saw him score 26 goals and set Ranger rookie records for assists (38) and points (64), both later broken by Mark Pavelich.He appeared in just 48 games in his injury-plagued sophomore year and missed 33 games in 1982-83 with knee injuries before being sidelined again this season for 23 games.The Rangers&rsquo; win in Edmonton, which Allison helped cement by winning those late faceoffs, was followed by their victory the next night in Winnipeg. Before that, they had been winless in five (0-41).They made it three in a row by beating the Flyers when they returned to the Garden, but more significantly they awakened their long-dormant offensive explosiveness and decisively beat a team for the first time in weeks.Late in the second period, they trailed 3-1 before scoring the last three goals of the game. &#9632;

Rangers’ Big Red Has A New Role

<div class="byline">BY STAN FISCHLER</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-011302/4892323-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg" title="f0006-01" width="308" height="359"></div><h2>The Ruinous Agents</h2>BILLY MARTIN, THE sometime Yankee manager, says player agents are ruining baseball. I have an urge to say player agents have ruined hockey.But I don&rsquo;t dare because 500 players will come off the bench and hit me in the back of the head with their wallets.Those wallets are heavy with green because of agents such as Al Eagleson (the original), Art Kaminsky (The Eagle&rsquo;s Pursuer) and Gus Badali, a man whom Wayne Gretzky put in business after The Gretz put Brantford, Ont., on the map.It is fashionable to wish agents were off the map because in less than 15 years they have cost owners and fans a bazzilion dollars.In addition to ballooning bankbooks, agents have fattened some heads along the way. (Fat-headed players are those who believe teamsmanship is spelled MEmanship.)&ldquo;Some agents I have very little respect for,&rdquo; says Oiler boss Glen Sather, who deals with them as often as he breathes.But then again, I can also say there are some general managers for whom I have very little respect. (Actually, it&rsquo;s only one; the large fellow in Toronto who enjoys jerking around journalists.)There are good agents and there are crumb-bums in the business. Some of the latter have gone bye-bye, while others are still functioning. Agenting is not what I would call a funnybunny business; especially when it comes to client-stealing, which often seems to be the most vital and venal part of the operation.Agent power has grown to a point where some reps actually appear to interfere in the operation of certain teams. (I get the impression that an agent would gladly pick up the phone and berate a general manager about the use of his client.)Just for the heck of it, I picked up the phone and called agent Steve Freyer, who works for a reputable Boston outfit called Sports Advisors Group. Freyer handles Ray Bourque, among other Bruins, and is asked about sticking his nose into Bruin business.&ldquo;It would be out-of-bounds for me to complain to ownership about the use of my client,&rdquo; says Freyer. &ldquo;But that does not preclude the possibility of going to the front office and saying, &lsquo;Why don&rsquo;t you work out a trade?&rsquo; if it happens that my client wants to play elsewhere.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s nothing new. I&rsquo;m sure that players on the Athens Olympians did the same thing in Ancient Greece.&rdquo;Freyer is relatively new to a business that in 1970 was the private duchy of Alan Eagleson, the Ayatollah of Agents. With Bobby Orr in one pocket and the NHL Players&rsquo; Association in the other, Eagleson gave the impression that there was no more need for another NHL agent than there was for another major hockey league. Considering The Eagle&rsquo;s power at the time, it&rsquo;s hard to imagine that a revolutionary guard such as Art Kaminsky could successfully intrude on Eagleson&rsquo;s private turf and become a major force in the early &rsquo;70s.<h2>Kaminsky Used Cronyism</h2>CRONYISM WAS KAMINSKY&rsquo;S ultimate weapon. At Cornell University he had dined with super-goalie Ken Dryden. Their friendship did not stop when Dryden became super-duper-goalie for the Canadiens. When Dryden needed an agent he didn&rsquo;t call Pal Al. It was Smart Art who answered the phone.&ldquo;I was fortunate,&rdquo; says Smart Art, whose stable of clients is larger than the population of Monaco. &ldquo;I worked for Ken Dryden so people figured 1 had to be a good agent&mdash;based on Dryden&rsquo;s track record.&rdquo;And how does a player find an honest agent?&ldquo;The single most important thing to look for,&rdquo; says Kaminsky, &ldquo;is the track record.&rdquo;Track records are not printed in the daily newspapers. Indictments of agents sometimes are and agents, even the very best, understand that their image as a group is not up there with Saint Francis of Asissi.&ldquo;Many fans hold us in contempt,&rdquo; Freyer allows, &ldquo;and that&rsquo;s a shame. Unfortunately, there&rsquo;s some validity in their feeling. There are people in our profession who are not particularly honorable or ethical. Some guys will negotiate a contract for a player and then disappear for four years.&ldquo;In our firm, we negotiate a contract but we&rsquo;re also financial managers. We pay the players&rsquo; bills, work out budgets for them so that when they leave the game they have something left.&rdquo;And how does a player find an honest agent?&ldquo;There are three ways,&rdquo; says Freyer, &ldquo;but only two work in the NHL. The first way is to ask general managers and coaches who have dealt with them. The second way is to ask players on the team. They&rsquo;ll know the good and bad points of the guys they&rsquo;ve used.&ldquo;The third way, which works in the NFL but not the NHL, is to have the Players&rsquo; Association in a position to advise. The NFL even sanctions agents and it should be done in the NHL but Eagleson has opposed it.&rdquo;<h2>Burke Thinks He&rsquo;s Honest</h2>SIMILAR TO FREYER, Brian Burke considers himself an honest agent. He was an honest player at Providence College and later the Maine Mariners. (He had to be honest to survive with Bob McCammon behind the bench.) Now Burke represents Pete Peeters and Dave Poulin, which is not a bad parlay for starters.And how, pray tell, does a young whippersnapper such as Burke wind up with a Vezina Trophy-winner like Peeters?&ldquo;Peeters and I had been teammates in Maine,&rdquo; says Burke. &ldquo;Pete had been with Eagleson and wasn&rsquo;t happy with him so he came to me.&rdquo;In the vicious agent-vs.-agent business every angle must be played to get a customer and keep him. One of Burke&rsquo;s weapons is the &ldquo;anti-percentage push.&rdquo; Whereas his competitors extract their 10 per cent&mdash;or whatever&mdash;from the contract, Burke only charges by the hour. He says the player gets a better deal that way.&ldquo;Percentage billing is a farce and bears no relation to the work that&rsquo;s performed,&rdquo; Burke insists. &ldquo;If I were a player I wouldn&rsquo;t even consider it. The way to go is by the hourly rate.&rdquo;Hourly, schmourly, managers couldn&rsquo;t care less. What bugs GMs are those buttinsky agents who seem to know more team secrets than James Bond or the stickboy. And maybe, more than even the managers themselves.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s concern that agents play too large a role,&rdquo; Burke admits, &ldquo;but there are times when an agent may have to intrude; like when players have personality conflicts with managers or coaches. Let&rsquo;s say a player is doing his job, working his tail off and still ends up riding the pine. That&rsquo;s the point where an honest agent has to get involved.&rdquo;So, how does a player find an honest agent?&ldquo;Through references,&rdquo; answers Burke. &ldquo;What it comes down to is a referral from somebody who&rsquo;s had a good experience and can say of his agent, &lsquo;This guy is honest.&rsquo; At least 90 per cent of the time, that&rsquo;s the way it happens.&ldquo;Or you&rsquo;ll get a coach like Herbie Brooks who&rsquo;ll know an agent and who hears that one of his players is looking so he&rsquo;ll steer him to the agent.&rdquo;<h2>Clarke Did It Differently</h2>THAT ROUTE WAS never plied by Flyer captain Bobby Clarke. He doesn&rsquo;t believe in agents, doesn&rsquo;t have one and never had one in years of big-league hockey. If Bobby Clarke doesn&rsquo;t need one, why should anyone else?&ldquo;I know of instances,&rdquo; says Burke, &ldquo;where management has gone out of its way to hurt a player, to end his career prematurely, to bench him, to fine him. There are numerous cases where, if an agent didn&rsquo;t get involved, the player would have suffered dramatically.&ldquo;Let&rsquo;s say a star player is injured, but the team wants him back before the injury is fully healed. The player is under terrific pressure to return although he fears that another injury could end his career. That&rsquo;s where the player and his agent have to tell the team he&rsquo;s not ready.&rdquo;A relative newcomer, Burke is not an immediate threat to any of the major power brokers. But the balance of power shifts from time to time as Eagleson can attest.One major change in Eagleson&rsquo;s power base was the defection of Bobby Orr, his foremost client, and Bill Watters, who was to Eagleson what George Bush is to Ronald Reagan.&ldquo;When Watters left,&rdquo; says Kaminsky, &ldquo;Eagleson&rsquo;s list of clients was reduced by 75 per cent. It was a major defection. Right now we represent more clients than Eagleson but, then again, a lot of agents do. Alan is getting too old to run around. In fact, he seems happier pruning his tree.&rdquo;When Smart Art discusses Pal Al it is as if he is talking about a respected enemy general who has just been promoted to the rank of field marshall.&ldquo;Alan may have fewer clients,&rdquo; Kaminsky adds, &ldquo;but his fingers are in more pies than anyone elses.&rdquo;So if you think agents are ruining hockey&mdash;or making the game better than ever&mdash;send your letters to R. Alan Eagleson, not to me.&ldquo;When it comes to overall influence on the game,&rdquo; Kaminsky concludes, &ldquo;Eagleson is at the top. Ahead of them all&mdash;and that includes John Ziegler!&rdquo;<h2>Playoff Pain</h2>THERE ISN&rsquo;T AN analgesic on the market that can soothe the pain I&rsquo;m suffering over the NHL&rsquo;s present playoff system. In two words: it stinks.This is not my recent brilliant discovery. Such wonderful insight was provided a year ago by Bob (No Hyprocrite He) McCammon after his first-place-finishing Flyers were placed in a convenient three-game playoff compactor by the Rangers and came out in the public&rsquo;s eye flatter than a counterfeit silver doller. &ldquo;First place,&rdquo; says McCammon, &ldquo;should be the most important thing you shoot for. But the way it&rsquo;s laid out, it doesn&rsquo;t mean that much.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0006-01

ON THE CONTRARY

<div class="byline">BY REYN DAVIS</div>WINNIPEG&mdash;Mention overtime and some teams cringe. Palms sweat and hearts flutter. The prospect of euphoric joy is risked by deep despair, a gamble that gives coaches ulcers.Can a team become accustomed to sudden-death overtime?&ldquo;I think so,&rdquo; said Jet coach Barry Long. &ldquo;It doesn&rsquo;t bother us at all. We have been involved in so many overtimes, it is actually welcomed. I think you can learn to handle the drama of overtime if you are involved often enough.&rdquo;Twenty-two times would seem to be adequate. The Jets have gone through the exercise more often than any other National Hockey League team.And they have fared remarkably well.Of their 22 overtime games, only five have ended in defeat while seven have resulted in victories and 10 others remained tied after the five-minute, sudden-death period.In one 30-hour span recently, they won two overtime games&mdash;nipping Quebec Nordiques 6-5 and Toronto Maple Leafs 8-7.The losses affected the two losing coaches differently. Michel Bergeron of Quebec was speechless. He locked himself in a room and stayed there until the press had left.Mike Nykoluk of Toronto, perhaps hardened by so many losses this season, handled the situation calmly, despite the fact the winning goal appeared to be bunted into the net off the right foot of Paul MacLean.&ldquo;There is nothing we can do about it now,&rdquo; said Nykoluk, who could hardly agree with referee Ron Wicks&rsquo; decision to let the goal stand.It was MacLean&rsquo;s third winning goal in overtime this season. The big right winger from Antigonish, N.S., has beaten New York Islanders and Pittsburgh with goals in overtime.In typical MacLean fashion, none was pretty. He swatted a rolling puck through the legs of Billy Smith on Dec. 30, then punched a shot behind Michel Dion as he wandered out of his net on Jan. 20.The goal in Toronto saw him jam the net to put away a rebound of a deflection off a pass from Dale Hawerchuk.MacLean&rsquo;s goal in Toronto was his 38th, a club high, as he drove toward his first 40-goal season.MacLean had missed the previous two games for the Jets because of a knee injury, first reared to be serious. &ldquo;It felt about 170 per cent of a what it should,&rdquo; he said, following the Jets&rsquo; ninth consecutive victory over Toronto.The Jets&rsquo; other winning goals in overtime have been scored by Lucien DeBlois, Tim Watters, Doug Smail and Hawerchuk.In almost every instance, the Jets have had to stage comebacks to force overtime.&ldquo;It seems we don&rsquo;t play our best hockey until we are trying to catch up,&rdquo; said Long. &ldquo;In some cases, we blow early leads. We don&rsquo;t seem to be able to stand prosperity. But we always battle back.&rdquo; &#9632;

There’s No Time Like Overtime For Jets

<div class="byline">BY ERIC DUHATSCHEK</div>CALGARY-The Flames found Colin Patterson because of Jim Laing.Typical, really. Laing was a high draft choice, a third-round selection in 1982 and, in Calgary&rsquo;s mind, a genuine pro prospect. Patterson was a management student playing hockey on the side. The link was Clarkson College. When the Flames scouted Clarkson last year, it became clear that Laing was a long way away from the National Hockey League. That did not stop them from coming back. Another player, a 6-foot-2 right winger who considered hockey as a means to an end&mdash;his education&mdash;intrigued them.Patterson was a free agent. In his draft year, 1979, he missed almost three months with a severe case of food poisoning. Not that it mattered much. In 1979, Patterson was a Royal York Royal (in Toronto) and no one was all that interested in drafting tier two players anyway.It was not an auspicious story&mdash;until now.Patterson, the Flames&rsquo; rookie right winger, is making a big impression on coach Bob Johnson. Playing alongside Doug Risebrough and fellow rookie Richard Kromm, the unlikely unit has given the team a bonafide checking line.In Calgary&rsquo;s last eastern road trip of the season, Patterson and his mates faced six of the top 11 leading scorers in the league and played them to a standstill.In Quebec, Patterson shadowed the high-scoring Michel Goulet. Goulet did not score. Patterson did.In Boston, Patterson&rsquo;s line played against the Barry Pederson-Rick Middleton unit: the Bruins line scored once, Patterson assisted on two Calgary goals.On Long Island, Patterson&rsquo;s line faced Bryan Trottier and Mike Bossy. Each unit scored once against the other, Patterson&rsquo;s second-period goal negating Greg Gilbert&rsquo;s.In Philadelphia ironically, they gave one goal to Glen Cochrane and failed to score themselves.Patterson, the team&rsquo;s plus-minus leader, came out of a gruelling week of play against the leading scorers on the league&rsquo;s top teams neither a minus nor a plus. He was even&mdash;a quiet but significant achievement on the kind of trip the Flames had.&ldquo;Colin knows the game well,&rdquo; said Doug Risebrough, Patterson&rsquo;s center. &ldquo;He has a good grasp of what makes him successful and he doesn&rsquo;t stray too far from it. Because he&rsquo;s a defensive specialist, anything else he does is a bonus. People underestimate his offensive abilities. If he had been cast in the other (offensive) role, then maybe he would be out of his element.&ldquo;That plus-minus is an impressive stat, especially considering who he plays against.&rdquo;One of the little-known facts about Patterson is that he is a world-class lacrosse player. He won a bronze medal with the Canadian national team at the world championships in Baltimore a few years back. He also went to a Mann Cup final with the Brampton Excelsiors.&ldquo;Lacrosse helped,&rdquo; said Patterson, when asked how he became a defensive specialist overnight. &ldquo;In hockey, I always scored goals and played the power play. In lacrosse, I always played defense. The same defensive principles apply to both games, especially in manto-man coverage.&rdquo;Patterson&rsquo;s season had a peculiar beginning with three teams releasing him before the end of training camp&mdash;Calgary twice and the Canadian Olympic team once.He began the year in Colorado and when Jamie Hislop suffered what appeared to be a serious knee injury Oct. 22, the Flames called up Patterson. Hislop returned four games later, but Patterson could not be budged from the lineup. He missed six games with a shoulder separation in December and the rest of the time he has been Riseb-rough&rsquo;s right winger.Part of Patterson&rsquo;s success stems from an easy-going attitude on dealing with life in the NHL. No starry-eyed wonder for him. He is here to play, not watch.&ldquo;I was in awe a little when I came up,&rdquo; said Patterson. &ldquo;Like the first game against the Islanders, I said to myself: &lsquo;There&rsquo;s Bossy. I&rsquo;ve heard of him.&rsquo; It didn&rsquo;t take long to get over that. I was still worried about my own position.&ldquo;Becoming a defensive player, that kind of evolved. Actually, the coach said he would like me to be a total player for the team. Now that I&rsquo;ve got the defensive part, I&rsquo;d like to get the offensive part down better.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-011161/4892378-1-eng-US/f0007-012.jpg" title="f0007-01" width="560" height="862"><figcaption class="caption-body">Defensive specialist Colin Patterson used hockey as a means to complete his education. (Photo by Bruce Bennett)</figcaption></div>&ldquo;You need your Colin Pattersons to win, but you need your aces too. It&rsquo;s the combination that makes us successful. If it&rsquo;s all defense, you tie 0-0 a lot.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0007-01

Patterson Has The Lacrosse Touch

<div class="byline">BY TONY GALLAGHER</div>VANCOUVER&mdash;The Canucks have been beaten before. Heaven knows they&rsquo;re not exactly the juggernaut Soviet Red Army or even the Boston Bruins. But 12-2?The whole city was buzzing after the hot Canucks strolled into Edmonton and took the night off against the Oilers and were smoked by the largest margin of defeat in the team history. They had given up 12 goals before, but that was nine years ago in Atlanta, with a team not generally considered to have the talent this one does.But as most rational people pointed out, losing 12-2 is the same as losing 3-2 and in some cases it can be better.As Don Cherry would say the day after the game, &ldquo;When you lose 3-2, everyone says, &lsquo;Aw, heck we played a good game.&rsquo; When you lose 12-2, you know you need improvement.&rdquo;Indeed, while Wayne Gretzky and Jari Kurri seemed to be on an eternal two-on-one break, the Canucks were perhaps thinking they may have played the perfect possum going into the playoffs. It was the last meeting between the clubs during the regular season and unless Vancouver can finish in third place in the Smythe Division, it&rsquo;s sure to strike the Oilers in the opening round of the playoffs.&ldquo;It depends on what we do with an embarrassment like this,&rdquo; said Canuck general manager-coach Harry Neale. &ldquo;We can use it to our advantage and take out our feelings on Pittsburgh and our next opponents or we can go into the tank. I think if we don&rsquo;t have a strong reaction to this kind of a loss, we&rsquo;ve got a real problem.&rdquo;The loss came shockingly on the heels of the most successful stint of the year for Vancouver, as they were going for their fourth win in a row and had lost only once in their previous eight games.&ldquo;It was no fun to play in a game like that,&rdquo; said veteran goalie John Garrett, who certainly has the mental strength and experience to shrug off a game like that. &ldquo;It was certainly no fun to be at the back of it like I was. We got off poorly and before long we were making plumbers like (Dave) Lumley into goal scorers. And once Gretzky and Messier get motoring, well you&rsquo;re done.&rdquo;Garrett saw his goals-against average jump nearly a half a goal on the evening, but he knows what happens in the next few weeks is most crucial.Neale, who has a coaching record of. 500 since he took over for Roger Neilson after another loss to the Oilers in Edmonton in January, claims part of the problem was his coaching.&ldquo;I guess I didn&rsquo;t get around to getting them up emotionally,&rdquo; said Neale. &ldquo;I know I can do it, but I don&rsquo;t think I should have to be screaming every night and coming up with a song and dance. We talked about the things they do, but I didn&rsquo;t think I had to remaind them we were playing Edmonton. I thought they would see that on the ice.&rdquo;The more positive part of the week was the continuing excellent play of Thomas Gradin.Meanwhile, Richard Brodeur hasn&rsquo;t played goal for over three weeks now as Neale seems content with both Garrett and Frank Caprice. Despite the lack of playing time, Brodeur hasn&rsquo;t made any public complaints. &bull; &#9632;

Canuck Ambush Worst In Years

The International Hockey Weekly Founded in 1947Published by W.C.C. Publishing Ltd 85 Scarsdale Road, #100, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M3B 2R2.<h2>The Players&rsquo; Job</h2>ON PAGE 16, there is a story which takes a look at the issue of making hockey player agents accountable to some sort of regulatory body, setting out perhaps a code of ethics.The basic idea is a good one. The player agent business in hockey is virtually uncontrolled and isolated incidents of unscrupulous agents absconding with their clients&rsquo; funds have popped up from time to time. These usually result in disaster for a number of pro hockey players. As the saying goes, though, one incident is too many.Unfortunately, the waters in this area have become muddied since the movement has been spearheaded by Rich Winter, a 27-year-old Edmonton lawyer.Even if you give the benefit of the doubt, as far as sincerity is concerned, to Winter, it&rsquo;s clear that he is not the person to lead this crusade.The reasons are simple.First, he has a vested interest. He is a player agent, who is looking to expand his clientele. Even if his intentions are honorable, he leaves himself and his crusade wide open to charges that he&rsquo;s promoting himself more than the cause.Second, in an interview with THE HOCKEY NEWS, Winter revealed that he and his associates have evidence of misdealings. &ldquo;If push comes to shove,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;we will disclose that agents are ripping clients off for substantial amounts of money.&rdquo;This comment shows beyond the shadow of a doubt that Winter&rsquo;s concern is not for the game of hockey. If it was, then Mr. Winter would immediately make public any charges of wrong-doing and wouldn&rsquo;t be using it as a threat against agents who don&rsquo;t happen to subscribe to his proposals. First and foremost, if his allegations are true, he&rsquo;s betraying the players who may be getting ripped off. Second, he is casting aspersions on the integrity of everybody in the hockey player agent business.No, the impetus for any regulating of the agents must come from the players. They have the most to gain or lose.We have no qualms about Winter trying to sell the players on his idea, but when he starts using high-handed tactics such as threatening to disclose instances of wrongdoing unless people cooperate with him, then there comes a point when we must speak out against his efforts, however honorable the actual proposal may be.If the players are interested, they would do well to form a committee to research the subject and see what, if anything, can be done to improve and safeguard the business of player representation in professional hockey. &#9632;

WE ARE PLEASED to announce that with this issue (No. 26, March 30, 1984) our computer service department will switch from the 37-issue publication year to the new 40-issue term. This will provide our readers with three additional issues each year.As a result, the expiration date for subscriptions will change. For example, if your current expiry is February, your new expiry will now be January. Of course, you will receive the full number of issues you have ordered.Rather than printing single issues in July and August, and just two issues in September, we will now publish two issues in both July and August and three issues in September.This expansion of service to our readers will allow us to cover the NHL entry draft, the Canada Cup, NHL training camps and many other subjects in the detail they deserve.We are pleased to be able to offer this expanded service to you and hope you will continue to enjoy receiving THE HOCKEY NEWS more frequently.If you have any questions about your subscription or its new expiration date, please do not hesitate to contact Paula Heard, Subscription Services Manager, at THE HOCKEY NEWS, 85 Scarsdale Rd., Suite 100, Don Mills, Ont. M3B 2R2 or phone (416) 445-5702. &#9632;

A Message To Our Subscribers

<div class="byline">BY BOB MCKENZIE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-011246/4892481-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg" title="f0008-01" width="333" height="376"></div>The kid, skates slung across his shoulder, walks into the local sporting goods store and his thoughts drift to the game he will play that night. It&rsquo;s an important game&mdash;first place is on the line&mdash;and he doesn&rsquo;t want to leave anything to chance.That&rsquo;s why he&rsquo;s at the store to pick up some tape and get his skates sharpened. He&rsquo;s been coming to the same place now for three years and the same guy&mdash;everybody calls him Pops&mdash;has been there to take his skates. On this day, he looks at the face behind the counter and it&rsquo;s not Pops. He hesitatingly hands over his skates and asks, &ldquo;Where&rsquo;s Pops?&rdquo;&ldquo;He&rsquo;s not feeling too well today,&rdquo; the young fellow behind the counter replies as he takes the skates and heads into the back room to start up the sharpening machine.As the kid hears the blade against the grindstone and the orange sparks fly, an overwhelming feeling of apprehension sweeps through him. No one other than Pops, he realizes, has sharpened his skates in three years. Would this new guy do a good job? Of course he would. After all, how difficult can it be to sharpen a pair of skates?That night, in the game for first place, he found out. The first time he tried to push off, the blade didn&rsquo;t catch the ice. His foot slipped out from under him and he spra wled. One of his skates had no edge on it.When the game started, he was sitting at the end of the players&rsquo; bench, his skates off, waiting for his father to return from the arena&rsquo;s skate sharpener. To say the kid was distraught was an understatement. What was supposed to be a perfect game was ruined. He missed almost all of the first period and when he finally got his skates back on, his mind wasn&rsquo;t on the game.All because Pops took the day off.Getting a pair of skates sharpened is one of the most mundane tasks in the world&mdash;until someone does a bad job. Then, suddenly, that seemingly simple exercise of getting an edge put on a metal blade becomes the most important part of a player&rsquo;s pre-game preparation.Everyone has a tale to tell about skate sharpening. If you&rsquo;re the mother or father of a young hockey player, it means waiting around while you watch the queue of 15 pairs slowly shrink. Or maybe it&rsquo;s so busy you have to leave the skates for a few hours and come back later. Any player, such as the kid in the scenario above, will tell you how devastating it is to step on the ice and find out your skates aren&rsquo;t right.Well, if Lionel Conn has his way, getting a pair of skates sharpened will soon become one of the most convenient and foolproof exercises known to a hockey player or his parents.It&rsquo;s called the Universal Skate Sharpener and Conn, a 45-year-old Alberta entrepeneur, believes this computer-controlled device that looks like a refrigerator will revolutionize the world of skate sharpening.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s time has come,&rdquo; says Conn, who has invested $4 million and more than 10 years in the project. &ldquo;In the not-too-distant future, you&rsquo;ll be able to go a local gas station or the comer store and get your skates sharpened automatically, the same grind every time.&rdquo;Before you see Conn&rsquo;s machine in action, it&rsquo;s easy to be skeptical. But after he gives you his sales pitch, you see the machine perform and read the long list of endorsements he has received, you come away believing that his vision isn&rsquo;t out of the question.He already has three test machines operating in Calgary, one at an Imperial Oil service station and two others at two Canadian Tire stores. He says they are an unequivocal success. Last fall, the Edmonton Oilers and Canadian Olympic team used the Universal Skate Sharpener at their training camps.On the wall of the room displaying his machine at a Toronto hotel are enlarged copies of letters from Canadian Tire manager Peter Brill, Edmonton Oiler GM-coach Glen Sather, the Oiler trainers. Oilers Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Willy Lindstrom and Pat Hughes, New York Ranger coach Herb Brooks, Pittsburgh Penguin general manager Eddie Johnston and Bobby Orr. All wholeheartedly endorse the quality of the Universal machine and the letters from Brooks and On-request consideration for Universal Skate Sharpening franchises, when they become available.The coin-operated machine was designed by engineer Al Consay, a 63-year-old colleague of Conn. The apparent simplicity of the machine belies the many years of arduous work Consay and Conn have put in.It is about the size of a refrigerator. Once the proper amount of money has been inserted, a door slides open, revealing the chamber where the skate is to be placed. The skate blade fits into a slot and once the blade breaks a beam of light, the skate is clamped into position with 5,000 pounds of pressure, straightening the blade.The consumer then presses a button for either figure skate or hockey skate and whether a regular or extra grind is desired. The door closes and the skate chamber moves over a spinning grindstone, one pass forward and one pass on the return. Water, spiked with a rust inhibitor, washes over the blade while the grindstone does its work. This produces a &ldquo;cold&rdquo; grind as opposed to the traditional &ldquo;hot&rdquo; grind, which eliminates the filthy black dust associated with skate sharpening. The whole process takes about 20 to 30 seconds per skate and can be watched through a window on the side of the machine.He says his primary motivation for producing the machine was &ldquo;profit&rdquo;&mdash;he&rsquo;s not shy about that&mdash;but that since it has taken so long to come up with something that really works, he admits it&rsquo;s become an obsession of sorts.&ldquo;So many people have told me it could never be done,&rdquo; Conn says. &ldquo;I want to show them that they&rsquo;re wrong. Thirty years ago, no one could imagine CocaCola coming in cans out of a vending machine. Now tell me where you can find an old soda fountain?&rdquo;A year down the road, with the Universal Skate Sharpener in full production, Conn sees today&rsquo;s manual skate sharpening machines joining the soda fountain on the scrap heap. He envisions his machines across the continent in a multitude of accessible locations.It looks like Pops might be out a job. &#9632;

f0008-01

EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK

<h2>OILER FANS FEEL CHEATED</h2>We went to a funeral today. It was a closed-casket because the deceased was so tom and tattered. Our deardeparted had been in bad shape for a year and a half but we had hoped that someone, somehow could save one of the closest friends to us. The mourners did not wear black. They wore red, white and blue, the deceased&rsquo;s favorite colors.The death we speak of is the loss of our Tulsa Ice Oiler hockey team. It&rsquo;s fate was left in the hands of few to the detriment of many. Those of us who are loyal hockey fans feel we were cheated out of the most wonderful bunch of hard-pushing guys we&rsquo;ve seen in years. We felt so close to the Adams Cup we could almost taste it. Then we felt it slip through our fingers and crash into little bitty pieces. The tears we have shed would have overflowed that Cup.To top it off, we get nothing but lies and run-arounds about who or what killed off our chances to keep our team. The newspapers print and then contradict. The television and radio stations say nothing. They act as if we never existed. We feel that management betrayed us and our trust in them, to adequately operate our hockey team in such a manner as would have made all of Tulsa proud.We hope that this situation will not end-here. We realize that the parent New York Ranger organization could do nothing to right all the wrongs that had been committed. However, we also hope that they will not sour on Tulsa because of a few bad apples. We are proud of the Rangers and we appreciate all of their efforts to keep hockey in Tulsa. We still hold hopes of being able to have them once again as our parent club.We hope that this letter will raise questions in the minds of those who never questioned and will bring answers to those of us who desperately hope for answers.Mrs. Shon Shaw&nbsp; Tulsa. OK &#9632;

FAN FORUM

<div class="byline">BY TIM MORIARTY</div>LONG ISLAND&mdash;Bob Bourne is Mr. Nice Guy of the New York Islanders. Friendly, polite co-operative. Those are some of his major characteristics.About the only thing that used to bother the 29-year-old forward was the question he always faced after a two-goal game: &ldquo;Have you ever had a hat trick?&rdquo;Bourne would grimace, bite his lower lip and, in a soft voice, say: &ldquo;No, I haven&rsquo;t.&rdquo;It took Bob Bourne 699 National Hockey League games to do it, but he finally turned the hat trick. It was his three goals&mdash;-all in the second period&mdash;that powered the Islanders to a 5-1 victory over the Devils at the Meadowlands Arena.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a nice feeling to get it over with,&rdquo; Bourne said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s been a thorn in my side for a long time., In the past, if I got two goals in a game and we won, I was happy. But people would come up to me and say &lsquo;Gee, too bad you didn&rsquo;t get die hat.&rsquo; I didn&rsquo;t want to hear that.&rdquo;Bourne&rsquo;s first hat trick was fashioned with three different goals. He scored the first while the Islanders and Devils were at evenstrength, the second during a power play and the third while the Islanders were shorthanded. All were scored against former Islander Chico Resch.Tomas Jonsson set up Bourne&rsquo;s third goal by giving him the puck on a breakaway.&ldquo;I heard Bob yell and I knew he never had a hat trick, so passed it to him,&rdquo; Jonsson said.It was then Bourne vs. Resch.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve had a few breakaways against Chico and usually shoot over the top (of the net),&rdquo; Bourne said.But not this time. Bourne pulled the trigger and his rising shot flew into the upper left comer of the net.Bourne scored all three goals while using one of defenseman Stefan Persson&rsquo;s sticks.&ldquo;During the noon skate, I broke my stick,&rdquo; Bourne explained. &ldquo;Stef was sitting next to me, so I grabbed his stick. It felt good, so I decided to try it in a game.&rdquo;Before the game, Bourne said he was using the borrowed the stick when Dave Langevin suggested he switch from black to white tape. Bourne went along with the suggestion.&ldquo;It worked,&rdquo; he said with a smile.&ldquo;I&rsquo; ve seen guys getting hat tricks and I&rsquo;d figure I should get one, too,&rdquo; said Bourne, a 10-year veteran of the Islanders. &ldquo;I hope I don&rsquo;t have to wait 10 years for another one.&rdquo;In recent games, coach Al Arbour has used Bourne at left wing on a line with Brent and Duane Sutter. They played together in last year&rsquo;s playoffs and Bourne emerged as the Islanders&rsquo; leading scorer with eight goals and 26 points.&ldquo;We have to show more intensity than we showed against the Capitals,&rdquo; Bourne said after the Isles lost 2-1 to Washington Caps, in a game which might be billed as a playoff preview. &ldquo;For us to win, experience or not, we have to work hard from the start. I was disappointed with our play against the Capitals.&rdquo;Arbour was disappointed with the Islanders&rsquo; 5-4 loss to the Whalers the following night at Hartford.&ldquo;When you need six goals to win a hockey game, that tells you something right there,&rdquo; Arboursaid. &ldquo;We&rsquo;d better straighten things out now before it gets too late.&rdquo;.It was getting late. The Islanders&rsquo; lead over the second-place Capitals in the Patrick Division had dwindled to one point with two weeks remaining in the regular season.ON THE ISLE&mdash;Denis Potvin established an NHL record for defensemen when he registered his eighth 20-goal season&hellip;Three other Islanders reached milestones: Billy Smith (500 games), Bryan Trottier (600 assists) and Bobby Nystrom (500 point-s)&hellip;Pat Flatley bruised his right ankle blocking a shot against the Devils, but didn&rsquo;t miss a game. &#9632;

Isles’ Bourne Finally Pulls The Hat Trick

<div class="byline">BY JAY GREENBERG</div>PHILADELPHIA&mdash;If there has ever been such a thing as a good year for rebuilding, the Flyers may have picked the worst.The fans wanted affirmation that last year&rsquo;s 106-point team was really that good and retribution for last year&rsquo;s playoffs. They don&rsquo;t want a 26-year-old team president telling them to be patient, nor do they trust the coach who blew the playoffs last year to make the necessary changes.This Flyer season has no label and thus no handle by which to rationalize it. They are rebuilding with eight rookies (nine if you count Bob Froese) and another new young face in Doug Crossman, yet they still have four key players over 30 years old. The team is up, it is down. The best it could possibly do by winning its seven remaining games is finish six points behind what it did a year ago. Therefore, it must be underachieving.With two weeks to go before the playoffs, it is a fine line the Flyers are walking. They have to win while they rebuild and the same Patrick Division which both challenges and measures their growth does not allow them much room to fail. They will go into the first round an underdog to either Washington or the Islanders and yet no one is going to be satisfied with just a good showing.Nonetheless, the evidence is irrefutable that whatever happens in April will not tie the organization&rsquo;s success or failure in one neat package. Winning a round will take a little of the pressure off, but it&rsquo;s the next two seasons that will determine whether this regime can keep this club in Stanley Cup contention.Like it or not, 1983-84 is a rebuilding year.&ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t anticipate this many changes,&rdquo; said general manager-coach Bob McCammon. &ldquo;We were sure we wanted to work in Ron Sutter and Thomas Eriksson and Doug Crossman and take a look to see if the Dave Poulin we saw in last year&rsquo;s playoffs was for real. And then, of course you see what else might come up in the way of a deal. But we never would have anticipated nine new players.&rdquo;The Flyers did not know that Rich Sutter would become available. Nor could they forsee a marginal late-round draft choice named Len Hachbom setting the American League on fire and demanding a shot.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-011231/4892560-1-eng-US/f0009-012.jpg" title="f0009-01" width="582" height="668"><figcaption class="caption-body">Flyer general manager-coach Bob McCammon admits he didn&rsquo;t expect so many changes.</figcaption></div>In other circumstances, under a more popular regime, the talent the Flyers have turned over this year would be cause for celebration. For starters, they have almost completely overhauled their center position with Ron Sutter, Poulin and Hachbom and thus left themselves in position to carry on the winning after the retirement of Bobby Clarke.Add Eriksson, whose flashes of brilliance in his rookie season portend an excellent career, and the development of Bob Froese, who is still technically a rookie, and the Flyers have come up with five kids whom they can win with for a long time.Rich Sutter, Paul Guay and Daryl Stanley also look like players who can fill roles. So, how, despite the club&rsquo;s slip to third place in a division which contains four of the league&rsquo;s top eight clubs, have the Flyers declined?There are nights it looks that way. Two games in four days with the Rangers were litmus paper that turned up two different colors. In New York, the Flyers blew their 11th two-goal lead of the season and lost 6-3 to the Rangers. Rookies made key mistakes on five of the Ranger goals.Three days later at the Spectrum, a bad pass by Hachbom and a giveaway by Rich Sutter put the Flyers into a 2-1 hole that grew to 4-1. And then the same kids roared back to produce three of the four third-period goals that produced a buoying 6-4 victory.Of course, two goals by the rejuvenated Bobby Clarke helped too. McCammon has sent Bill Barber, Miro Dvorak and Darryl Sittler on a four-game vacation, because he&rsquo;s going to need everything his veterans have to beat either the defending champion Islanders or the efficient defensive Washington team. You can argue the value of that strategy or whether McCammon&rsquo;s constant lineup juggling has gotten the best possible use of his personnel.But evidence that the Flyers are winning and losing with their kids is irrefutable. Their home record, since midJanuary is 11-2-2. They are 3-9-1 on the road in that same period. This disparity is a classic sign of immaturity.So are the blown leads, particularly the ones on the road. On the other hand, the Flyers have come from behind 12 times in the third period this year to gain five victories and seven ties.Typically, it was a lot of the same kids who put them in the hole against the Rangers that bailed them out.McCammon made some unorthodox moves, benching 48-goal scorer Tim Kerr in the third period and moving Bobby Clarke to left wing with Len Hachbom. It made little sense, trailing by two goals to have your leading goal scorer on the bench, but it worked. Guay, who had replaced Kerr on the Poulin-Brian Propp Une, set up Stanley for the winning goal.And Hachborn, who has totalled 16 points in 12 games since coming off a knee injury, set up both of Clarke&rsquo;s third-period goals.&ldquo;It can&rsquo;t be St. Patrick&rsquo;s Day for everybody,&rdquo; McCammon said. &ldquo;Things weren&rsquo;t going to Timmy and I wanted to use as much speed as possible to put pressure on the Ranger defense.&rdquo;Kerr refused to comment.The victory, only the Flyers&rsquo; second in their last 11 meetings with the Rangers, put them in the driver&rsquo;s seat for third place. The Flyers have a one-point lead over the Rangers and a slightly easier final seven games.Third place is no great prize. The Caps&rsquo; 2-1 victory at the Nassau Coliseum last weekend gives them a real shot at finishing first. If both races go to the wire, no team can pick its opponent by angling for a higher or lower finish.ICEBERGS&mdash;Glen Cochrane underwent arthroscopic knee surgery and will be lost for the season. Cochrane had been playing with two separate fractures of the kneecap for the last two weeks. &#9632;

f0009-01

Flyers Walking Fine Line With New, Young Look

<div class="byline">BY DICK CHUBEY</div>EDMONTON&mdash;What you sees is what you gets&hellip;Pardon the slang, but that&rsquo;s the way it is.The only brisk trading done back on March 6 concerned the Gulf Oil-Chevron merger.The Oilers? Forget it, save a minorleague shift and a deal on the European front that may have future ramifications.The National Hockey League? Uh, uh. All squawk, but no serious talk. The trading deadline came and went with all the bustle of a Mexican siesta.&ldquo;A lot of guys were afraid to make a major deal,&rdquo; reasoned Oiler general manager-coach Glen Sather, shut out for the first time in five years. &ldquo;I guess they were worried if it didn&rsquo;t work out, they&rsquo;d have egg on their faces. Some people didn&rsquo;t even know who we have in the minors.&ldquo;I offered our first-round (draft) pick to two or three teams (Los Angeles Kings and Toronto Maple Leafs, to name a couple), but they didn&rsquo;t think that was enough. They wanted our first pick two years in a row.&rdquo;Sather&rsquo;s philosophy is trading your No. 1 choice once is bad enough. Twice would be unpardonable.&ldquo;This team was built on first-round picks and young players,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;You don&rsquo;t want to start trading away your future.&rdquo;Right winger Pat Hughes, who become an Oiler at the trading deadline three years back, blamed the inactivity of the past couple of years on Sam Pollock, the former Montreal Canadiens&rsquo; GM who took far too many teams for a ride in the early and mid &rsquo;70s, fleecing first-round drafts in exchange for journeymen.<blockquote class="pullQuote">&rsquo;For years he screwed everybody so badly, that now they won&rsquo;t deal.&rsquo;</blockquote>&ldquo;For years he screwed everybody so badly,&rdquo; said Hughes, an ex-Canadien, &ldquo;that now they won&rsquo;t deal. Now all GMs use Sammy Pollock as a model&hellip;and they&rsquo;re afraid to deal.&rdquo;Thus, if the Oilers are going to bring the Stanley Cup to Edmonton, the task will be the responsibility of the present 21-man crew. Collegian Gord Sherven and Finn Raimo Summanen, a couple of forwards, will probably be part of the playoff picture next month, but their roles are primarily as insurance in case of injury.&ldquo;I told our guys I wasn&rsquo;t going to make a deal that would upset the nucleus of our team,&rdquo; said Sather. &ldquo;Even the guys who&rsquo;ll come in won&rsquo;t knock anybody out of the lineup unless because of injury. If you just throw some new guy in, that screws up the chemistry of the team.&rdquo;The onus, as it&rsquo;s always been, is up to those on hand. Can the Oilers do it?&ldquo;Noquestion, we&rsquo;ve been first overall all season long, haven&rsquo;t we?&rdquo; said captain Wayne Gretzky, adding the earlier acquisitions of center Kevin McClelland and versatile Rick Chartraw have proven highly beneficial to the Oilers&rsquo; cause. &ldquo;McClelland&rsquo;s a tough, young kid and Chartraw has the experience of playing on four Stanley Cup winners. I think Slats (Sather) figures we can win with this team. If he didn&rsquo;t, he would have made a trade.&rdquo;Should the Oilers prove to be successful come May, they&rsquo;ll have to do it without home-ice advantage in the final. As the season wound down, the Smythe Division held a substantial edge in games played with the Norris. The same is true for the Adams and the Patrick. And that&rsquo;s the criteria as far conference finals are concerned. However, the Wales Conference held an advantage over the Campbell for the odd game in the championship series. Thus, if the Oilers are again to reach the Stanley Cup final, they won&rsquo;t have the benefit of home-ice advantage on their side.Gretzky isn&rsquo;t complaining.&ldquo;If we&rsquo;re fortunate to again make the final,&rdquo; said the NHL&rsquo;s center of attention, &ldquo;starting on the road could be a blessing. There&rsquo;s a lot of hoopla at home and we may be more relaxed on the road.&rdquo;Veteran defenseman Lee Fogolin agreed.&ldquo;That first game meant a lot last year,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not taking anything away from the Islanders, but by rights, we should have won it 3-1 or 4-1 (the Isles won 2-0 with the second goal into an empty net). In that case, we could have won the series, or it could have gone seven games. But when we lost that first game, we started pressing and we weren&rsquo;t as calm as we should have been. But that&rsquo;s all something we can chalk up to the experience of being there before.&rdquo;Fogolin, however, cautioned that the Oilers take the playoffs one series at a time&mdash;not to overlook the remainder of the regular season.Glenn Anderson seconded the motion.&ldquo;As much experience as we gained from the finals last year, the most learning experience was losing in the first round to L.A. (in 1981),&rdquo; said Anderson. &ldquo;We learned how much we don&rsquo;t want that to happen again. What we have to learn from going to the final last year is what is takes to become a champion.&rdquo;Yep, Sather&rsquo;ll dance with the one what brung him. &#9632;

Sather Won’t Tamper With Oiler Chemistry

<div class="byline">BILL FLEISCHMAN&#x2019;S</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-011281/4892615-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg" title="f0010-01" width="305" height="355"></div><h2>The Potomac Powerhouse</h2>YOU COULD TRY using binoculars, but you won&rsquo;t find any Washington Capitals among the National Hockey League scoring leaders. Norris Trophy winner Rod Langway is Washington&rsquo;s only All-Star.Yet, the Capitals are suddenly a serious Stanley Cup contender. Since their puzzling winless start in the first seven games of the season, the Capitals have soared with the league&rsquo;s second-best record.Defense, of course, is a major reason the Capitals are included with the New York Islanders, Edmonton. Buffalo, Boston, Minnesota and New York Rangers as the NHL&rsquo;s best. Al (First Half) Jensen and Pat (Second Half) Riggin have given the Caps the best goaltending in the league. Another reason is excellent coaching. Brian Murray has convinced the Caps that winning hockey is played at both ends of the ice. You either play Murray&rsquo;s way or you are pointed in one of two directions: Hershey, where the Caps&rsquo; AHL farm club operates in sweet-smelling splendor, or the nearest airport.Another reason for Washington&rsquo;s success is more subtle. Fans and the media feast on scoring stars. The Stanley Cup sinners of the last decade have had their great scorers, but Philadelphia, Montreal and the Islanders also had other important ingredients&mdash;superb role players and ideal team chemistry. Terry Crisp, Simon Nolet, Ed Van Impe, Joe Watson, Doug Risebrough, Mario Tremblay, Doug Jarvis, Butch Goring, Garry Howatt, Dave Langevin and Gord Lane are names that come to mind when classic role players are discussed. None of these guys were expected to score 40 goals, but, as their coaches and teammates would whisper in your ear, you don&rsquo;t win championships without them.&ldquo;We have excellent role players and that&rsquo;s one of the key reasons for our success,&rdquo; said David Poile, the Capitals&rsquo; shrewd, young (despite all the gray hair) general manager. &ldquo;Do we have the most talented team? I don&rsquo;t think so, but we seem to play well as a team. The pieces all seem to fit.&rdquo;<h2>Jarvis In Starring Role</h2>DOUG JARVIS HEADS Washington&rsquo;s role players, the guys who check, win key faceoffs and care as much about assists as scoring goals. Jarvis is assisted by Glen Currie, Gaetan Duchesne, Dave Shand and Timo Blomqvist.Washington wouldn&rsquo;t be where it is if its roster consisted of only checkers and defensive defensemen. Dave Christian, Mike Gartner and Bengt Gustafsson provide the vital scoring, supported by Bob Carpenter, Alan Haworth. Craig Laughlin and Larry Murphy, whom Los Angeles Kings&rsquo; fans will recall is the young defenseman who brought a &ldquo;One Way&rdquo; street sign onto the ice. King coaches could have hit Murphy with Mr. T and Murphy would still be skating full steam into the defensive zone. With Washington, offense is still Murphy&rsquo;s strength, but Poile, Murray and his assistant, brother Terry, see the Peterborough product paying more attention in his own zone.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve seen continual improvement in him.&rdquo; Poile said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s typical of a lot of young players that we have I in that he has a lot of highs and lows. All we want from him is consistency. Having him paired with Rod Langway has worked out really good. He&rsquo;s killing penalties, which he never did before.&rdquo;Besides victories and fans, Poile has tried to find an identity for the Capitals. Perhaps the first step is to focus on his goaltenders. As is often the case, Riggin and Jensen are opposite personalities. Riggin&rsquo;s confidence needle wavers near brash while Jensen is the quiet type.&ldquo;Riggin comes from a hockey family and he&rsquo;s very competitive,&rdquo; saids Poile. &ldquo;Jensen is the underdog type. A year ago, when I just got the job, we came to training camp and I shuttled him right to Hershey. As everybody else had, I said he was a minor-league goal tender.&rdquo;Not advancing to the NHL after three years in the then-talent-thin Detroit system tends to stamp a guy &ldquo;minor leaguer.&rdquo;<h2>All-Star Goalies</h2>&ldquo;BUT HE FOUGHT his way back in a quiet fashion,&rdquo; Poile said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a very dedicated, hard-I working kid. He&rsquo;s turned himself into an All-Star goaltender. This might be an interesting year: We could have the first All-Star goaltender in the first half of the season and the first All-Star in the second half.&rdquo;The good news about the success of Jensen, Riggin and the Capitals is that the fans in the Washington area are beginning to notice. Although some media people still resist the Caps&rsquo; presence, the crowds, coverage and interest are up. After the Caps crushed Edmonton (minus Gretzky) last month, the story topped the Washington Post&rsquo;s sports section. One of the Post&rsquo;s columnists even took in the game. In an area where the Redskins are kings and hockey must compete with Georgetown and Maryland basketball, the Capitals have muscled into the picture.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve made really good progress,&rdquo; Poile said. &ldquo;We all want it to happen faster than it&rsquo;s probably practical. But you don&rsquo;t undo in less than two years what was done in eight previous years. People have longer memories that that.&rdquo;What the Capitals did in last year&rsquo;s playoffs should still be prominent in people&rsquo;s memories. Participating in the Stanley Cup tournament for the first time, the Caps lost to the champion Islanders in four games. But Washington&rsquo;s victory was at Nassau Coliseum and, when the series concluded, the Caps were thinking, &ldquo;Hey, we can play on the same level as these guys.&rdquo;The Islanders, Washington, Rangers and Philadelphia are close enough in the standings to throw a Stanley Cup banner over all four. Surviving the first round in this division will be a grind. But if the Capitals advance, playoff fever will sweep the Potomac.&ldquo;The Islanders are 27 National Hockey League players deep,&rdquo; Poile said, &ldquo;and, with the additions they&rsquo;ve made, I think their club is as good as it&rsquo;s ever been. The Rangers, Philadelphia and ourselves you could throw in a hat, but you have to put the Islanders on a pedestal above the others. But, we&rsquo;re excited about our chances. We know we have to make progress in this area (playoffs).&rdquo;After the Capitals ended their 0-7 start, Poile broke out the champagne in the locker room as a tension-breaker. Imagine what the Capitals&rsquo; room will be like after they win their first playoff series. Wear raincoats. &#9632;

f0010-01

HOCKEY WORLD

<div class="byline">BY RANDY SCHULTZ</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-011174/4892646-1-eng-US/f0011-012.jpg" title="f0011-01" width="583" height="931"><figcaption class="caption-body">Gil Perreault says he felt like he had a knife in him when he first felt something wrong.</figcaption></div>BUFFALO&mdash;Gil Perreault, center and captain of the Sabres, skates alone at the team&rsquo;s practice rink, located in nearby Wheatfield.He is soon joined on the ice by teammate Paul Cyr. With the rest of their teammates on a road trip, Perreault and Cyr, both with injuries, will spend this particular day skating by themselves for one hour.Perreault has been sidelined with muscle spasms in his back since March 4. It has been a demoralizing type of injury for the 33-year-old Sabre veteran.&ldquo;It has been very frustrating,&rdquo; said Perreault, now in his 14th season in the National Hockey League. &ldquo;Everything was going so good for me this season. I had never been happier.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve had back problems before, but never like this one. The night I got this one (in a game here against the Quebec Nordiques) it felt like someone had put a knife through me.&ldquo;I had just made a sharp turn when it hit me. It just cut right into my breathing, making it difficult to breathe.&rdquo;Over two weeks later, Perreault is still having problems.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m still in a lot of pain,&rdquo; said Perreault, who has 31 goals and 87 points in 68 games this season. &ldquo;I can&rsquo;t move quick. My lower back is too weak.&ldquo;My right side has a lot of pain. When I&rsquo;m practising and I try shooting too fast, I&rsquo;m in pain.&ldquo;For now I&rsquo;m trying not to think about it too much if I can help it.&rdquo;One thing that Perreault is thinking about is the playoffs, which begin April 4.&ldquo;You definitely want to be a part of it,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I hope to be back by that time.&ldquo;But I want to be in the best shape I can be in. For a player my age, I have to stay in good shape to be able to keep up with these other younger guys.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s what it is so frustrating about my injury. I had been in the best shape I have ever been in this year. I worked out over the summer and kept my weight down. And now this happens.&rdquo;But Perreault looks at life optimistically.&ldquo;The team has had and is still having a good year,&rdquo; said Perreault. &ldquo;Wehaveall had a good time, winning and all.&ldquo;Now we must look ahead to the playoffs and continue with the same winning attitude. I just hope I can contribute on the ice in some way.&rdquo;SABRE STUFF&mdash;Paul Cyr, who suffered a fractured right index finger in a recent game against the Montreal Canadiens, will be sidelined at least another week., Phil Housley broke the team record, held by John Van Boxmeer, for most points in one season by a defenseman when he scored his 70th point. He also became the youngest defenseman in history to score 30 goals and broke the previous mark held by Bobby Orr&hellip;The Sabres have broken the club record for most road wins in one season (26), set in 1974-75 and 1976-77. &#9632;

f0011-01

Perreault Feels A Frustrating Pain

<div class="byline">BY GLENN COLE</div>MONTREAL&mdash;For the first time in his 10-year National Hockey League career, Mario Tremblay was forced to watch a game from the sidelines because of a league suspension.The feisty Canadien right winger was assessed an automatic three-game suspension by the league when game officials ruled he was the first to leave the bench during a third-period, benchclearing brawl in Minnesota on March 12.&ldquo;I am very diasppointed with the decision,&rdquo; Tremblay said. &ldquo;I was sure in my mind that I was not the first man to leave the bench for the scene of the fight.&ldquo;Minnesota was making a line change. The three guys on the bench went on the ice, but the line which was on the ice never made it to the bench. They went right back to where the action was. When I saw that, I-followed them.&rdquo;The action was just inside the Minnesota blueline and involved Montreal right winger Chris Nilan and Minnesota&rsquo;s Willi Plett, who slashed Nilan across the back after Nilan had taken a shot wide of the Minnesota goal. Nilan was hurt on the play and had to be helped to his feet by Gaetan Lefebvre, the Canadiens&rsquo; assistant therapist.Once Nilan regained himself, he went after the Minnesota player and jabbed at him with the blade of his stick, resulting in a major penalty call from referee Bob Hall. Then all hell broke loose as both benches cleared.&ldquo;When I jumped on the ice, I think there were 10 Minnesota players against six of us,&rdquo; Tremblay said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know on which point the officials made their decision. There is no sense for me to criticize the NHL decision.&rdquo;Videotape replays showed the Canadiens with at least eight men on the ice&mdash;Nilan, Kent Carlson, Craig Ludwig, Chris Chelios, Bobby Smith, John Chabot, Mike McPhee and Guy Lafleur&mdash;when the benches cleared.Lafleur was there because he had helped Lefebvre on to the ice to come to Nilan&rsquo;s aid.When the on-ice battles were over, Hall ejected six players&mdash;Nilan, Carlson, Tremblay and McPhee of the Canadiens and Plett and Paul Holmgren of the North Stars. Holmgren was involved in two fights against Carlson and had his nose broken in the process.&ldquo;It was between Plett and Chris (Nilan), but then Holmgren came in and dropped his gloves and tried to get at Chris,&rdquo; Carlson said. &ldquo;(Brian) Bellows grabbed me and was telling him to switch and to go with Smith and let me go with Holmgren. Finally we switched and I could see that Holmgren was trying to get back around to Chris. I stayed with him and then our last fight started.&rdquo;What the Canadiens missed was that Hall didn&rsquo;t even out the penalty. The slash by Plett went uncalled, yet Nilan was nailed with a five-minute spearing major and Tremblay got the double minor for being tagged as the first to leave the bench.&ldquo;Bob Hall is ranked 12th among the officials in the league and I can see why,&rdquo; said the normally placid Hab coach Jacques Lemaire. &ldquo;He really put us in a hole with his handling of the situation.&rdquo;The Canadiens asked the NHL to review the tapes of the bench-clearing incident, but they could not prove that Tremblay was not the first player to leave the bench as reported by the official scorer to Hall. The North Stars scored two goals during the ensuing power play, then tied the score with 30 seconds to play before Tom McCarthy&rsquo;s third goal of the night won it.It was the first overtime defeat for the Canadiens this season and came on the same rink on which they recorded their only overtime victory back on Oct. 20 when Doug Wickenheiser decided the issue.The loss was the 34th for the Canadiens this season, a club record. The previous mark was 33 set during the 1939-40 season in a 48-game schedule.One might have thought that loss No. 35 would have come in the Canadiens&rsquo; next outing against the Edmonton Oilers, but Montreal prevailed 3-2 over the sluggish Oilers.Bob Gainey scored the game-winning goal with 19 seconds remaining on a setup from Larry Robinson. It was one of the more satisfying victories for the Canadiens this year as they limited the free-skating Oilers to just 20 shots against Rick Wamsley. Wayne Gretzky, who had an assist in the contest, was held shotless.IN PASSING&mdash;Larry Landon and John Newberry were recalled from the Nova Scotia Voyageurs. Landon was called up the day before the Edmonton game when Nilan was sidelined with back spasms while Newberry, who played two games for Montreal in December, got the call when Alfie Turcotte&rsquo;s bruised right knee was not strong enough to allow him to play&hellip;Former Canadien Keith Acton did not want to speak to any of his former teammates before the Canadiens-Minnesota affair, the first meeting between the two teams since the Oct. 29 trade. Nilan caught up with Acton as he was leaving the rink after the Minnesota mid-morning skate&hellip;The Canadiens honored Olympic speed-skating gold medalist Gaetan Boucher before the Edmonton game&hellip;Pierre Mondou had the cast replaced on his broken left hand. He is gone for the regular season&hellip;Mark Hunter, who underwent arthoscopic surgery March 1, has resumed skating and may be able to play during the final week of the season. &#9632;

Canadiens’ Feisty Winger Watches From The Wings

<div class="byline">BY TOM HENSHAW</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-011254/4892701-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg" title="f0012-01" width="590" height="1020"><figcaption class="caption-body">Center Barry Pederson reached the 100-point figure for the second consecutive season. (Photo by Diane Sobelewski)</figcaption></div>BOSTON&mdash;Last year, the Bruins rode to the best record over the National Hockey League season on the wings of one big line&mdash;Rick Middleton (49 goals), Barry Pederson (46) and Mike Krushnelyski (23).But the New York Islanders shut down the big line in the semi-final series. Middleton had three goals, Pederson four and Krushelnyski three in the six games. There was no one to take up the slack.This year, as the NHL season winds down to its usual frantic finish, the Bruins are casting about themselves for a line to go along with the Middleton-Pederson matchup.After 71 games, Middleton had 44 goals and Pederson had 29. Their left winger, Dave Donnelly, had only two but he didn&rsquo;t join the team until March 1, after the Olympics were over.No one else on the team had more than 25 and one of the 25-goal scorers was a defenseman, Ray Bourque.&ldquo;The idea is that the Pederson-Middleton line is no good unless you have another line to compensate if it&rsquo;s shut down,&rdquo; said coach Gerry Cheevers.&ldquo;Actually, to win a series or make a drive for the championship, you need all three or four lines going. You can&rsquo;t afford to have anyone slacking off. But two lines are absolutely necessary.&rdquo;Cheevers can hark back to the days of the Bruins&rsquo; 1970 and 1972 Stanley Cup winners when the trio of Phil Esposito-Ken Hodge-Wayne Cashman drew the publicity but the John Bucyk-Fred Stanfield-Johnny McKenzie troika did more than their share around the net.The Bruins are hoping that the combination of Craig MacTavish, Tom Fergus and Keith Crowder will prove to be the big line of the 1984 playoffs that will take some of the heat off Middleton and Pederson.Put together in late February when Crowder and Fergus returned from knee injuries and MacTavish came back from his auto accident, the line accounted for a goal in a 3-1 win at Buffalo, the tying goal in a 3-3 standoff with Hartford, and the winning goal in a 3-2 decision over Calgary.&ldquo;I love playing with Keith,&rdquo; said MacTavish. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a grinder. I like to play the grinder style. Tommy&rsquo;s more of a finesse player, so Keith and I can get on them and force them into making some mistakes. Tommy, with that shot and the ability to stickhandle, is going to get some goals. I think we complement each other as a line.&rdquo;Sounds like Bucyk talking about Stanfield and McKenzie, doesn&rsquo;t it? The Bruins hope so.The Bruins were gearing up for the playoffs in other ways, too. For one thing, they were tightening up on their defense which, in the middle of the season, had yielded seven goals to Quebec, seven to Montreal, six to Detroit and Toronto (twice), seven to Buffalo and five to Hartford. Hardly a playoff pace.As of March 15, following a solid 4-2 victory over the Red Wings in Detroit, the Bruins&rsquo; defense had allowed only eight goals in the last four games with Pete Peeters, who had missed 14 games in goal with a series of ailments, set to play the rest of the way.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re getting guys back from injuries and some positive things are starting to happen,&rdquo; said Pederson, who scored two assists against Detroit to bring him to 100 points for the second straight season.&ldquo;The key is no one is tired. With guys coming back, we&rsquo;ve got fresh people out there all the time. The power play especially is working better because the guys have fresh legs.&rdquo;At the time, the Bruins had only four players on the injury list: Steve Kasper and Jim Schoenfeld with shoulder ailments, and Dave Silk and rookie Nevin Markwart with sprained knees.In an effort to bolster the Boston defense when Mike Milbury missed a game with a bruised knee, general manager Harry Sinden dealt defenseman Larry Melnyk, who had four years to prove himself, to the Edmonton Oilers for defenseman John Blum.Blum made his Bruins debut March 11 in a 2-1 loss to Washington and got a nod of approval from Cheevers.&ldquo;He played a very basic game, which is what you might expect in that situation,&rdquo; said the coach. &ldquo;He moved the puck quite well and he showed good instinct on when to pinch along the boards.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0012-01

Middleton, Pederson Still Looking for Help

<div class="byline">BY PERRY LEFKO</div>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve never been on a team with this many injuries. Sometimes I think I started it. &ldquo;&mdash;Gary Nylund, on the season-ending injury to Borje Salming.TORONTO&mdash;The Leafs have used injuries as a crutch for their feeble showing all season long, but if they don&rsquo;t make the playoffs&mdash;and their uninspired play of late dictates that they won&rsquo;t&mdash;their latest debilitation will be the decisive blow.Borje Salming, the 33-year-old defenseman who earned the nickname King when he was a star player in the &rsquo;70s, is through for the season with a broken kneecap.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s the worst injury, being the type of player he is and the time of year,&rdquo; said Leaf captain Rick Vaive on the loss of Salming.Following the Leafs&rsquo; 5-3 loss in Hartford, a Leaf official figured the team had missed 296 games because of injuries or sicknesses, which he said puts them in a even race with Chicago for the teams who&rsquo;ve been hurt the worst.Worse than the injuries is the team&rsquo;s lack of replacements, so much so that it&rsquo;s been forced to play under the player limit.Salming suffered his injury in the third period of a 7-6 overtime loss against Winnipeg, in a move which brought to memory the days when he ranked among the best in the league at his position. He blocked a shot by 6-foot-4, 220-pound Jet defenseman Wade Campbell in the third period and at first he lay crumpled on the ice, then staunchly made his way to the bench. He played the balance of the game&mdash;with a noticeable gait&mdash;and a large ice pack on his knee after the game partially indicated the damage. X-rays the following day confirmed it.While Salming has had an off year and has consistently been among the leaders in the minus category, his value to the team cannot be overlooked. Aside from providing leadership and experience both in the dressing room and on the ice, it&rsquo;s a proven factor the Leafs cannot win without his services. In the games he&rsquo;s missed the last two seasons, the best the Leafs have done is tie.Even when Darryl Sittler was a Leaf, his absence did not mean half as much as Salming&rsquo;s. Some have questioned why Salming never took over as captain after Sittler was traded in &rsquo;82&mdash;the fact he&rsquo;s prone to arguing calls by referees and has maintained a low profile away from the ice are but two reasons for that&mdash;but there&rsquo;s no question he is invaluable to the team.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a lot of the heart, he&rsquo;s a lot of the drive, he&rsquo;s a lot of the puckhandling, he&rsquo;s a lot of everything,&rdquo; Nylund said.Salming&rsquo;s name had come up several times this season in trade rumors. The first time was after the All-Star break, when Leaf owner Harold Ballard quashed suggestions he would trade Salming to Quebec for a reported package involving the Stastny brothers, Anton and Marian, and Dale Hunter.&ldquo;I wouldn&rsquo;t trade Salming for the entire Quebec team,&rdquo; Ballard said, citing Salming&rsquo;s loyalty in his 11 years as a Leaf as another reason.On the day of the NHL trading deadline, several teams&mdash;Edmonton, Calgary and Quebec&mdash;pitched for Salming but the Leafs didn&rsquo;t budge.Aside from his annual sinus problems, Salming&rsquo;s last serious injury dates back to the quarter-finals of the 1977-78 Stanley Cup playoffs, when Lome Henning accidentally stuck him in the eye with his stick and Salming missed the balance of the series. The Leafs won that series, partly because of the emergence of Ian Turnbull, but the Leaf team of this season and the one six years back are divided by a quality which can easily be defined as character.The present Leaf defense, for one, is primarily a collection of retreads. Jim Benning, a 20-year-old who&rsquo;s playing the best hockey of his three-year career, cannot be expected to fill Salming&rsquo;s void. Bill Stewart, who came to the Leafs as a walk-on in training camp, has been struggling after returning from an assortment of injuries. Bob McGill and Dave Farrish are emergency replacements from the minors, the latter having started off the season with the team but never regaining the form he showed after being called up from the minors midway through last season. Dave Hutchison was plucked from the retired scrapyard in January and he&rsquo;ll probably be there once the season is over.The Leafs originally planned to go with seven defenseman and rest them on an alternate basis, but rookie Gary Leeman drew the seat in the press box more often than the others, even though he had better offensive skills than the others.Of the seven who started off on defense, three (if you count Gaston Gingras) are playing forward and one is through for the season. Meanwhile Dave Shand, demoted to the minors at the beginning of the season despite a respectable showing in the playoffs, is an integral part of the Washington defense, after being traded for minor-leaguer Lee Norwood.For McGill, whose poor play the last two seasons gave every reason he&rsquo;d be banished for good from this team, Salming&rsquo;s injury gives him a second chance, though the circumstances aren&rsquo;t exactly to his liking.&ldquo;Sure it will mean other guys will play more, but I don&rsquo;t think it&rsquo;s the time of the season you should be worrying about getting more ice time,&rdquo; McGill said.Nylund, who returned in December after two knee opertions in his rookie season but admitted to having a difficult time working alongside Salming, sees this as a time for the team to pull together.&ldquo;My defense partner has to do a little bit more and I&rsquo;m going to have to do a little bit more,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;But it&rsquo;s not going to be any one guy that&rsquo;s going to do it all.&rdquo;For Vaive, the Leaf captain who scored two goals in a 3-3 overtime tie with Minnesota to record his third consecutive 50-goal season, it&rsquo;s pressure, but no more than he&rsquo;s faced all season.&ldquo;I know that I have to score goals. If I don&rsquo;t score, chances are that we&rsquo;re not going to win,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;With Borje out, everyone&rsquo;s going to have do that much more.&rdquo; &#9632;

Leafs Are In A Bind With Injury To Borje

<div class="byline">BY VARTAN KUPELIAN</div>DETROIT&mdash;Nick Polano&rsquo;s chief concern during the off-season was the Red Wing offense. During the 1982-83 National Hockey League season, the Wings had just two forwards, John Ogrodnick and Danny Gare, with 20 or more goals.So Polano fretted and fidgeted while he and general manager Jimmy Devella-no went about the business of seeking a solution.They did their homework well.The Wings already have six players with 20 or more goals this Season and four with 70 or more points, double last year&rsquo;s total in that category.With 10 games left in the regular season, this was the rundown: John Ogrodnick (out for the season with a broken left wrist), 42 goals, 80 assists; Steve Yzer-man, 33 goals, 74points; Ron Duguay 29 goals, 70 points; Ivan Boldirev, 27, goals, 70 points; and Reed Larson and Kelly Kisio each with 20 goals.Ogrodnick and Larson are the only players among the six who started last season with Detroit. Boldirev and Kisio were acquired during the 1982-83 season and Duguay in the big off-season deal with the New York Rangers. In addition, the presence of Brad Park has rescued the power play&mdash;which was the worst in the NHL last season. It ranked 10th going into the final few weeks of the season.The Wings have another newcomer who could possibly join the 20-goal circle with a big finish. He&rsquo;s Lane Lambert, the rookie right winger.Yzerman and Lambert are Devellano&rsquo;s two prize choices from the 1983 entry draft. Of course, Yzerman, who led all NHL rookies in scoring with 74 points and is among the front-runners for rookie honors, was the Wings&rsquo; No. 1 draft choice, a highly-touted junior star at Peterborough who made the transition to professional hockey without missing a stride.It wasn&rsquo;t quite the same for Lambert, the club&rsquo;s second-round pick&mdash;25th overall. He was brought along slowly and used sparingly in the early weeks of the season.It took Lambert, a 5-foot-ll, 175-pounder from Melfort, Sask., two months to make the adjustment. The opportunity to play came when injuries knocked two of the Wings&rsquo; veteran right wingers, Danny Gare and Ed Johnstone, out of the lineup.Lambert was ready and once the chance presented itself, he began to make up for lost time. He had 17 goals&mdash;including six in the last dozen games&mdash;and with 10 games left.In addition to finding the range with his shots, Lambert is establishing a reputation around the league as a 19-year-old with a quick temper and quick fists.Lambert&rsquo;s not shy about throwing his weight around and if that ruffles some feelings and instigates extracurricular activities, that&rsquo;s fine with him.He has 95 minutes in penalties, including a dozen majors for fighting, many of them against NHL heavyweights.Lambert said the fisticuffs are just a by-product of his style.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m just trying to play the way I did in junior,&rdquo; said Lambert, who played with Saskatoon Blades of the Western Hockey League a season ago, scoring 59 goals and picking up 126 penalty minutes.&ldquo;I have toplay my game, that&rsquo;s checking and working, and try to help the team make the playoffs. As for the fighting, that just happens. They like to test rookies and if you let them get away with it, they&rsquo;ll rule you.&rdquo;Lambert said the turning point in his development came in a game against St. Louis on Nov. 23 at Joe Louis Arena.&ldquo;It was when I first started playing on a line with Kelly Kisio and Ivan Boldirev,&rdquo; Lambert said. &ldquo;I could have had three goals that night. All I got was an assist, but that was the first time I felt comfortable and confident. Then we played Pittsbugh back-to-back and I scored once in each game.&rdquo; &#9632;

Lambert Nears 20-Goal Circle

<div class="byline">BY STAN FISCHLER</div>Normand Leveille has begun skating again in secret sessions at a Montreal area rink&hellip;Bill LaForge is said to have the inside track for Vancouver&rsquo;s coaching opening when Harry Neale vacates the bench spot next fall. With excellent junior credentials, LaForge has been operating the Kamloops Oilers of the Western Hockey League on a high level&hellip;The bizarre Los Angeles hockey scenario may take an even zanier twist after the season. According to one report, owner Jerry Buss will remove himself from any hockey dealings, handing that role to Rogie Vachon, who&rsquo;ll move from general manager to president. Roger Neilson then would become GM, leaving an ideal opening for Bob Berry to return as coach&hellip;Among the many letters dispatched to U. S. Olympic coach Lou Vairo was one from a grade school girl who scribbled: &ldquo;Your team stinks but we still love you! &ldquo;&hellip;Despite their impotence against the Oilers during the regular season, some Flames figure they can take the Gretzky bunch in the playoffs. The Flames figure if Rejean Lemelin were playing in a major media city he&rsquo;d be fingered as the NHL&rsquo;s top goalie&hellip;A grandfather for the second time. Bob Johnson says he expects to keep the hockey lineage alive in the family into the next generation. Johnson will be operating several hockey schools this summer including one in Anchorage, AL. He says Lou Vairo got a bum rap from the media after the Olympic defeats. &ldquo;At the very best,&rdquo; Johnson tells BLUELINES, &ldquo;I figured the U.S. could get a bronze medal; no more. &ldquo;&hellip;Rumors about the Whalers dropping their Binghamton (NY) farm team were scotched by Hartford boss Emile Francis&hellip;Harry Neale figures the Bruins have a good shot at the Stanley Cup. Bob Johnson agrees. Neale&rsquo;s favorite Bruin is Terry O&rsquo;Reilly, whom he lauds as &ldquo;a champion.&rdquo;&hellip;A Whaler flight&mdash;eventually aborted&mdash;to Montreal was so turbulent Marty Howe said, &ldquo;I never want to get on another plane.&rdquo;The Whalers&rsquo; Blaine Stoughton-for-Scot Kleinendorst deal has stirred some discontent among the Connecticut press. Hartford Courant columnist Jerry Trecker zings: &ldquo;One cannot help but be stunned by the penchant this organization has for disposing of proven talent without getting quality in return.&rdquo; An anonymous Whaler adds: &ldquo;It&rsquo;s almost as bad as getting air for Pierre Larouche.&rdquo; A Whaler official says the negative-thinking Hartford media has misread the deal&hellip;The doctor who operated on Fred Shero for his stomach cancer last summer once had been a minor-league hockey player in Shawinigan Falls, Que., (now known as Shawinigan) where Shero began his coaching career. Reflecting on it now, Shero opines: &ldquo;I&rsquo;d sooner trust a doctor who&rsquo;s an ex-hockey player than an ex-anything else!&rdquo;&hellip;Eddie Johnston, a former Bruin goalie, is asked how he&rsquo;d stop Rick (Nifty) Middleton if the latter zeroed in on him for a breakaway. &ldquo;Like this,&rdquo; says E.J. who then covers both eyes with his hands&hellip;Phil Esposito caused a stir in the final seconds of a Rangers-North Stars telecast when he publicly blasted New York&rsquo;s Mikko Leinonen for quitting on the final play of the game. Although the Rangers trailed by three goals and it would have been impossible to score more than one in the time left, Esposito roasted the Finn for going through the motions&hellip;The Oilers figure to be the next NHL club to get sky boxes. Some members of the Edmonton media believe Peter Pocklington&rsquo;s threat to move the Oilers to another city was merely a lobbying effort to have the Northlands Coliseum brass add the lucrative sky boxes&hellip;Islander coach Al Arbour is asked how he solves the problem of the two Pats&mdash;LaFontaine and Flatley&mdash;when it comes time to send one of them on the ice. &ldquo;I call one of them Pat,&rdquo; explains Arbour, &ldquo;and the other Flat.&rdquo;&hellip;Don Maloney has replaced Ron Duguay in the New York gossip columns. Columnist Liz Smith of the Daily News caught Dandy Don at the Waldorf with fetching Toni Palazzo who says of the younger Maloney: &ldquo;He&rsquo;s my main man!&rdquo;According to NHL insiders, the USA Network is now the favorite to retain the Game of the Week contract over rival ESPN&hellip;The Sabres, who haven&rsquo;t hiked ticket prices for four years, figure to raise the tab next season&hellip;Having weathered dozens of trade rumors about his goalie Chico Resch, Devil GM Max McNab tells BLUELINES why no deal was made for the popular netminder: &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got tremendous professionalism in a key spot. At times (during the season) it was the only salvation for our sanity.&rdquo; McNab discounts Resch&rsquo;s age (35) as a factor to be considered in a possible decline in the goalie&rsquo;s ability. &ldquo;Johnny Bower is in the Hall of Fame,&rdquo; adds McNab, &ldquo;and he didn&rsquo;t reach his peak, winning Stanley Cups for the Maple Leafs, until he was in this thirties. If Chico is going to be another Johnny Bower, we want the ad vantage.&rdquo;&hellip;Mike Eaves, who found a new life with the Flames, says his parents may not know until this day about &ldquo;secret&rdquo; hockey games that took place in their living room when he was a kid. &ldquo;When my folks went out for the evening,&rdquo; Eaves tells BLUELINES, &ldquo;we&rsquo;d take the lamps and other movable fixtures in the living room, put them somewhere out of danger and then play hockey all night until we heard their car pulling into the driveway. Then, we&rsquo;d quickly put everything back in place, tum on the TV and pretend that nothing ever happened. As far as I knew, they never found out. &ldquo;&hellip;Buffalo News sports editor Larry Felser argues that after Wayne Gretzky, the NHL&rsquo;s most-valuable player is Gil Perreault. &ldquo;The Sabres,&rdquo; Felser explains, &ldquo;could be one of the best two or three sports teams in western New York history and Perreault is the impetus.&rdquo; &#9632;

BLUELINES

<div class="byline">BY NEIL MILBERT</div>CHICAGO&mdash;This is a special kind of hockey season for the Larmer brothers, Steve and Jeff. They&rsquo;re actually getting to know one another, on and off the ice.Steve was bom in Peterborough, Ont., on June 16, 1961. Jeff came into the world in the same city on Oct 10, 1962. Physically, they resemble one another and artistically, Jeffs game is a replica of Steve&rsquo;s.But until January, when Jeff was traded to Chicago from New Jersey for Tim Higgins, the Larmer brothers were strangers on the ice.&ldquo;The last time we played together regularly probably was when we were little kids before we were in peewee,&rdquo; Jeff said. &ldquo;Steve always played one year ahead of his age group.&ldquo;In junior hockey, we played against one another in the Ontario League. He was with Niagara Falls and I was with Kitchener. The only time 1 really remember playing with him was once in our league&rsquo;s All-Star game.&rdquo;During the summers, Jeff stayed in Kitchener, while Steve went back home to Peterborough from Niagara Falls.&ldquo;We kind of went our own way,&rdquo; Jeff said. &ldquo;Steve is more conservative and settled down. He&rsquo;s quiet; I&rsquo;m the talker. I hardly ever hung around with him before 1 came here.&ldquo;It isn&rsquo;t that we didn&rsquo;t like one another or anything; it&rsquo;s just the way things worked out. I never compared myself to him or idolized him or tried to imitate his style. I guess we&rsquo;re just programmed the same way.&rdquo;Steve was drafted 120th overall by the Hawks in 1980. The next year, Jeff was chosen 129th overall by Colorado, before the Rockies crumbled and rose again in New Jersey.Steve had 55 goals and 78 assists in his best year of junior hockey, the same season in which Jeff scored 54 goals and assisted on 54.Before Orval Tessier came to the Black Hawks, he coached both Larmers. He had Jeff on his Kitchener powerhouse that also included Brian Bellows. The next season, Steve broke into pro hockey with Tessier at New Brunswick. It was an auspicious debut for both. Steve was a second-team American League All-Star and Tessier guided the club to the regular-season and playoff championships.&ldquo;I knew they were very similar players from having coached against Steve,&rdquo; recalled Tessier. &ldquo;But I didn&rsquo;t realize how similar until 1 had Steve on my team that year in Moncton.&ldquo;They&rsquo;re deceptively good skaters and they&rsquo;re very intelligent hockey players. Bellows was the best player 1 had on that team in Kitchener, but Jeff was the smartest.&rdquo;Hawk general manager Bob Pulford said if it hadn&rsquo;t been for Tessier, Steve probably would have spent last season back in the minors instead of becoming the National Hockey League&rsquo;s rookie of the year.&ldquo;He didn&rsquo;t look to be a good hockey player,&rdquo; Pulford said. &ldquo;If Orval hadn&rsquo;t had the insight from having coached him, he might not even have gotten his chance. Now, we realize the kind of player Steve is and we think Jeff is going to tum out the same way.&rdquo;Both Larmers shoot from the left side but prefer right wing, the off wing in hockey vernacular. Steve is riveted to the right side but Jeff has played both wings in his two months with the Hawks.Adjusting to his new environment has been relatively easy for Jeff&mdash;except for one thing.&ldquo;The only thing that&rsquo;s strange is living so close to my brother and seeing him day and night,&rdquo; said Jeff. &ldquo;That took some getting used to.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-011233/4892842-1-eng-US/f0014-012.jpg" title="f0014-01" width="581" height="839"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-02982/4892835-1-eng-US/f0014-022.jpg" title="f0014-02" width="577" height="840"><figcaption class="caption-body">Steve (left) is one year older than Jeff (right), but the only time the two brothers played together was before they were peewees.</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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Black Hawk Brother Act Are Strangers On The Ice

<div class="byline">BY BOB DONNELLY</div>QUEBEC&mdash;It happened after the Nordiques&rsquo; second consecutive loss in overtime. Michel Bergeron was asked if he still thought his team could catch Boston and second place in the Adams Division.&ldquo;Is that the only question you have?&rdquo; barked the Nordique coach at the reporter facing him.Bergeron then paused a moment to regain his composure. It had been a very bad week for his team.&ldquo;It will be difficult, yes very difficult,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Considering the games we have left all I can say is that is will be really hard.&rdquo;A loss in overtime always hurts, but it is even worse when you blow a lead late in a game, as the Nords managed to do not once, but twice. Quebec suffered identical 6-5 losses to Winnipeg on the road and to Edmonton at home, both games ending in overtime. Both times the Nordiques also gave up a goal late in the third period.&ldquo;And to think that it was our own team president (Marcel Aubut) who is responsible for getting the five-minute overtime period in the league,&rdquo; Bergeron said. &ldquo;Now we can&rsquo;t win a game all year. They say that the breaks are supposed to even out in the long run, well I hope that works to our advantage in the playoffs.&rdquo;Quebec had a 0-4-8 won-lost-tied record after 12 overtime games this season, unable to win one in the extra period and losing four points in the standings with the four losses.&ldquo;At least we had a few chances to win it for once,&rdquo; said Peter Stastny after the loss to the Oilers. &ldquo;It seems that when a game is tied, we tend to sit back rather than go for the victory. You can&rsquo;t win playing that way.&rdquo;Rookie Paul Gillis and veteran Wilf Paiement failed to capitalize on good scoring opportunities for Quebec.In the Edmonton game, Peter Stastny singlehandedly gave Quebec a 6-5 lead in the third period with a burst of speed around the Oiler net and a sensational score. But the Nordiques then gave up a shorthanded goal to defenseman Paul Coffey, who also got the winner in overtime.&ldquo;That was a real disaster giving up a goal while we were on the power play,&rdquo; Bergeron lamented. &ldquo;And to think that I even had two regular defensemen (Mario Marois and Pat Price) out there just to prevent such a possibility. We controlled Wayne Gretzky fairly well (one powerplay goal and one assist) but there is a lot more to the Oilers than just him, that&rsquo;s for sure.&rdquo;After playing such strong defense all season long, after closing to within one goal of Buffalo and Boston in the goals-against department, the Nordiques fell apart in early March, giving up 23 goals in a four-game span. The bonus of having three starters in goal also disappeared.Rookie Mario Gosselin went down with a bad knee (stretched ligaments) on the road in Pittsburgh during his third National Hockey League start. He won his two previous games. He is out for the season unless the Nordiques reach at least the second round of the playoffs.Dan Bouchard lost his cool once again in a game against Washington on the road and got himself ejected from the game for jumping into a brawl. Bouchard has not been as consistent through late February and into March as he was earlier this season.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-011168/4892873-1-eng-US/f0015-012.jpg" title="f0015-01" width="574" height="709"><figcaption class="caption-body">Nordique coach Michel Bergeron is having a hard time living with the overtime rule.</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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Nordiques Mau Rue Overtime Rule

<div class="byline">BY RANDY SMITH</div>HARTFORD&mdash;Torrie Robertson is a Streetcar Named Desire.Blessed with something less than extraordinary skills, Robertson has compensated by squeezing an extraordinary heart into a rambunctious 5-foot-11,185-pound frame. To him, the game of hockey has never been a mystery. You go as hard as you can for as long as you can and ask no quarter.In football, he&rsquo;d play on the specialty team. In basketball he&rsquo;d be the first on the floor in pursuit of a loose ball. In baseball he&rsquo;d take a pitch in the ribs to reach base.The quality that Robertson has to offer is called courage.&ldquo;We need Torrie in the lineup,&rdquo; defenseman Chris Kotsopoulos said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re a better team with him.&rdquo;The statistics bear out that assessment.In games in which Robertson hasn&rsquo;t played, the Whalers are 2-7-4.In essence, this is Robertson&rsquo;s first full National Hockey League season. Drafted in the third round. 55th overall, by Washington in the 1980 draft, Robertson played three games in the NHL his first season, 54 the next and five the following year. Arriving in Hartford just before the start of the year in exchange for Greg Adams, Robertson will surpass his NHL total of 62 games this season. Through 58 games with the Whalers, Robertson had seven goals, 18 points and a team-leading 167 penalty minutes.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-02856/4892904-1-eng-US/f0015-022.jpg" title="f0015-02" width="584" height="911"><figcaption class="caption-body">Torrie Robertson knows the appearance of a talented left could cost jeopardize his job.</figcaption></div>He has proven that he belongs.After netting his first NHL hat trick against the Boston Bruins, Robertson was treated to some rare accolades from teammates, comments that came from the heart minus the customary whipped cream.&ldquo;I swear when Torrie got the hat, tears almost come to my eyes,&rdquo; goaltender Greg Millen said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m really happy for him. All the guys are.&rdquo;&ldquo;Torrie was either sitting in the penalty box or scoring goals,&rdquo; defenseman Ed Hospodar said. &ldquo;The perfect game.&rdquo;&ldquo;Torrie&rsquo;s been holding back on us,&rdquo; coach Jack Evans cracked. &ldquo;Maybe we should put him on the power play.&rdquo;Robertson bristles whenever he hears suggestions that he provides only muscle.&ldquo;I got over 100 points in my last year of junior,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not saying that I&rsquo;m a goal scorer, but I think I can play.&rdquo;Robertson needed a chance to show his stuff and he got it this year, being aligned next to center Greg Malone and right winger Bobby Crawford. The trio, with Crawford leading the way, has accounted for 55 goals and 120 points, credible figures for a third line.&ldquo;We all have jobs to do and we all know what those are,&rdquo; Robertson said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s been a good year. I hope somebody remembers come next year.&rdquo;Robertson is one of those players who&rsquo;s always wary of his job. Should a couple of talented left wingers land in Hartford, they could cost Roberson his spot in the roster, and he knows it.&ldquo;Players like me have got to run,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;So we shove a couple of guys in practice, that&rsquo;s just part of it. I enjoy it. All of us know it&rsquo;s not going to last forever.&rdquo;&lsquo;There should be a place for players such as Robertson, one who has never shortchanged the game and who never will.WHALER SCUTTLEBUTT&mdash;Mike Crombeen (broken hand) and Scot Kleinendorst (groin pull) remain sidelined indefinitely&hellip;Ed Hospodar missed three games with a knee problem, while Richie Dunn and Danny Bourbonnais have been the odd men out. The Whalers currently are carrying 25 players, five over the limit&hellip;Rookie Sylvain Tureon needs to hit 47 goals to become the second all-time leading first-year scorer. He had 37 with 10 games left-&hellip;The Whalers fired a team record 65 shots, including 32 in the second period, in a 5-3 win over Toronto. The previous record of 54 had been set earlier in the year against the Leafs. &#9632;

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Courage Keeps Robertson In Whaler Lineup

<div class="byline">BY BOB MCKENZIE</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0016-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-011035/4892942-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">(Illustration by Ted Michener)</figcaption></div>If ever you wanted to measure how far player agents have come in the sometimes neanderthal world of professional hockey, you need only compare the comments of two of the greatest general managers in the history of the game.&ldquo;If he can&rsquo;t play hockey,&rdquo; Toronto Maple Leaf general manager Punch Imlach said in 1966 of the game&rsquo;s first player agent, Alan Eagleson, &ldquo;I won&rsquo;t talk to him.&rdquo;&ldquo;If Al Capone came walking into my office today and told me he was representing one of my players,&rdquo; said William Torrey, as his New York Islanders prepared for a run at their fifth consecutive Stanley Cup, &ldquo;I&rsquo;d be sitting down with Al Capone.&rdquo;Player agents. Love &rsquo;em or loathe &rsquo;em, they&rsquo;re as much a part of the game today as the players.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s kind of hard to believe, isn&rsquo;t it,&rdquo; says Eagleson, who 18 years ago, with equal amounts of bravado, guile and the good, old fashioned Protestant work ethic, negotiated unchartered waters to become the first hockey player agent.&ldquo;I remember getting the door slammed in my face. I had to pass notes under the door. But those days are over.&rdquo;Indeed they are. The Eddie Shores, Hap Emms and Punch Imlachs, the men who didn&rsquo;t want to open their doors to talk with the new species, are gone, replaced by a breed of hockey men who have to come to understand and often appreciate the need for player representation.&ldquo;For a long time,&rdquo; says Arthur Kaminsky, a New York City lawyer whose firm represents about 30 per cent (130) of all National Hockey League players, &ldquo;people kept asking if agents were good for the game.&ldquo;That question is a waste of time now. We&rsquo;re here. We&rsquo;re part of the fabric of the game. It can&rsquo;t operate without us.&rdquo;Gone are the days of Norm Caplan, Kaminsky&rsquo;s Montreal-based partner, going into a prairie rink and having his life threatened. Gone are the days of Gus Badali, the man who represents Wayne Gretzky, being told he wasn&rsquo;t allowed to venture into junior hockey arenas in Ontario.Every person who makes a living as a player agent owes something to Eagleson, who used 1966, the year he represented Carl Brewer, Bobby Orr and a group of disgruntled Springfield Indians, as the the wedge to keep the door open. A year later, with his formation of the National Hockey League Players&rsquo; Association, Eagleson kicked the damn door down and the game, for better or worse, has never been the same.&ldquo;Alan Eagleson did it (player representation) before anyone else; did it well and still does it well.The words belong to Bill Watters, who used to be a high school teacher from Orillia and is now No. 2, behind the Kaminsky-Caplan duo, in terms of the number of NHL players represented (80).He used to be Eagleson&rsquo;s right-hand man. But a bitter falling out in 1979 over the amount of fees being paid by the players&mdash;Watters thought they were too high&mdash;has left them close to being mortal enemies. Still, Watters gives credit where credit is due.&ldquo;Alan Eagleson taught me the business,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;I owe what I have today to Alan Eagleson. Far be it for me to say anything different.&rdquo;The agent is a fascinating study in human beas a guy who lives with a telephone to his ear. Behavior. There have been good agents and there have been bad agents. Some players have been ripped off and lost their life savings. Some players have a veritable fortune and will never wont for anything. So, you can see, it&rsquo;s difficult to generalize on the subject of agents.You are, however, safe if you describe an agent keeps Ma Bell and AT&T in business with bills that resemble the gross national product of Lichtenstein. When he&rsquo;s not on the blower, he&rsquo;s on a plane. He likes to talk, quite often about himself, and if there is one thing that he doesn&rsquo;t lack, it&rsquo;s confidence.But there is a definite stigma attached to the word. There is a definite stereotype of the profession. Neither may be altogether fair.&ldquo;What is it we are called?,&rdquo; asks Montreal-based agent Pierre Lacroix, who represents Mike Bossy, the Stastny brothers and 16 other NHLers. &ldquo;Percentage collectors? Flesh peddlers?&ldquo;Because it is such a competitive business, not everyone operates the same. Maybe if we could put in people&rsquo;s minds that we aren&rsquo;t all like that. That would be nice.&rdquo;Perhaps it is time to dispel a few myths about agents.For example, unless you plan on absconding with your clients&rsquo; money, it is not a get-rich-quick scheme.<blockquote class="pullQuote">&lsquo;There are 500 players in the NHL earning an average of $100,000 a year. That&rsquo;s $50 million on total salaries.&rsquo;</blockquote>&ldquo;Think about if,&rdquo; says Caplan. &ldquo;There are 500 players in the NHL earning an average annual salary of $100,000. That&rsquo;s $50 million on total NHL salaries. Since five per cent is the average agent&rsquo;s fee, no more than $2.5 million is up for grabs each year.&ldquo;There are, of course, a number of agents competing for those dollars. What people don&rsquo;t realize is that our operating costs are very high. You have to pay for staff, travel, promotion, accounting, tax preparation. Our phone bill for the year is $100,000.&rdquo;This is not say we should be holding a tag day for agents. A number of them make a comfortable living at it, but the point is that they&rsquo;ve had to invest a great deal of time, effort and money before they get their return.&ldquo;People look at Wayne Gretzky&rsquo;s $l-million-a-year contract,&rdquo; says Badali, who lives in Toronto but spends at least 18 days out of every month on the road, servicing his 30 NHL clients.&ldquo;Everybody figures I get 10 per cent. Well, I don&rsquo;t. I get five per cent. And it&rsquo;s over the life of the contract, not up front in a lump sum. My travel and entertainment expenses for a year are more than $100,000. I put an awful lot of that five per cent back into the company.&rdquo;&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a half million dollar business (annually),&rdquo; Watters says. &ldquo;You don&rsquo;t make your first nickel until after you have $500,000 in revenue. My phone bill is almost $60,000 a year.&rdquo;&ldquo;You don&rsquo;t really make any money until a client signs a second contract,&rdquo; says Richard Box, who works out of the Toronto office of Sports Administration, which has 20 NHL clients as well as Montreal Expo catcher Gary Carter.Kaminsky says if money was the sole factor for being a hockey player agent, he would stick to negotiating baseball contracts. In fact, Kaminsky&rsquo;s 35 baseball clients almost net his company as much as their 130 NHL clients.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s no question there&rsquo;s more money in representing baseball players,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;But we enjoy hockey. It&rsquo;s that simple.&rdquo;Another myth, which has been touched on is that of the &ldquo;10-per-center&rdquo; tag. It just doesn&rsquo;t bear up under any examination.Depending upon the services provided&mdash;they run the gamut from contract negotiation to financial planning to marketing (for the select few hockey players in a position to capitalize on their name or the game)&mdash;the fees vary. Examples: Watters charges three per cent for a contract negotiation and up to six per cent for a full-service deal. Badali charges five per cent.The 10 per cent label probably is a result of the Eagleson influence. Because he was the most prominent player agent&mdash;Eagleson now represents only 40 to 50 NHL players and spends only 20 per cent of his time on the agent business&mdash;his figures were mistakenly taken as the industry standard. His full-service rates are six per cent for a rookie, eight per cent for a Toronto area non-rookie and 10 per cent for a non-rookie outside of Toronto.Many agents do not even charge on a percentage basis.Brian Burke, a Boston lawyer who represents Bruin Pete Peeters among others, and Larry Kelly, an Ottawa lawyer who represents Calgary rookie star Danny Quinn, are both well respected as tough negotiators and decent fellows in the agent business. They bill their clients on a hourly basis.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s the only fair way to do it,&rdquo; maintains Burke.&ldquo;It certainly saves the client a lot of money,&rdquo; adds Kelly. &ldquo;You&rsquo;re just billing him the same as any other client for services rendered by your law firm.&rdquo;Don Meehan, a Toronto lawyer who has burst on the scene iti the last couple of years and garnered his fair share of clients, including Islander ace Pat LaFontaine, considered charging an hourly rate, but opted for a five per cent figure.&ldquo;For the amount of time that I&rsquo;d be spending on the client,&rdquo; he says, &ldquo;I believe the percentage is preferable to the hourly rate.&rdquo;And what of the age-old question that hangs around the agent business&mdash;is it necessary for an agent to be a lawyer?Here&rsquo;s a sampling of responses from the agents.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-01936/4892935-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg" title="f0018-01" width="596" height="877"><figcaption class="caption-body">The practise of representing hockey players began almost 20 years ago with Alan Eagleson.</figcaption></div>&ldquo;Yes, I think so,&rdquo; says Eagleson, a lawyer.&ldquo;No, not at all,&rdquo; says Burke, another lawyer. &ldquo;Bill Watters and Gus Badali are clearly professionals who are successful in their field. Anyone who says they can&rsquo;t do the job, well, that&rsquo;s just crazy.&rdquo;&ldquo;No, it&rsquo;s not essential,&rdquo; says Caplan, a lawyer. &ldquo;I think it helps sometimes, but the main thing is that you are a knowledgable professional. Bill Watters is an example.&rdquo;&ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; says Kaminsky, a lawyer. &ldquo;Lawyers are accountable to law societies or the bar and it gives a client that much more security.&rdquo;&ldquo;No,&rdquo; says Watters, not a lawyer. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve only let a lawyer tamper with one of my contracts once and that contract is now in litigation.&rdquo;&ldquo;No,&rdquo; says Badali, not a lawyer. &ldquo;When I went to court with the John Tonelli case, I won. I&rsquo;m not a lawyer but if I need one, I get a good one.&rdquo;&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not absolutely essential,&rdquo; says Kelly, a lawyer. &ldquo;It may be preferable, though.&rdquo;&ldquo;No, not at all,&rdquo; says Box, not a &bull; lawyer. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s more important to know the business well. If being a lawyer is so important in contract negotiations, then why don&rsquo;t the NHL teams have lawyers negotiate for them. General managers are not lawyers and they&rsquo;re negotiating on behalf of the team, not just one client.&rdquo;&ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s preferable but not essential,&rdquo; says Meehan, a lawyer.Because there are unscrupulous agents out there, because some of the business practices aren&rsquo;t exactly above board and because the competition is so fierce, agents will continue to be stereotyped. The stigma will not soon evaporate.The fact of the matter of is that the agent business sometimes does get dirty. The agents are often the first to admit it, though they always qualify the admission that it&rsquo;s the other guy that should be watched.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s like anything else,&rdquo; says Edmonton Oiler general manager Glen Sather. &ldquo;There are good guys and bad guys. I think most of them are good. I&rsquo;m impressed at how creative some of them are and how much they do to make sure a player has his future taken care of.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t always agree with the way they operate but then they probably don&rsquo;t always agree with the way we (general managers) operate either.&rdquo;Perhaps Eagleson, due to his pioneer efforts in the business, should get the next-to-last word on it all.&ldquo;All things considered,&rdquo; he says, &ldquo;the agents today are pretty good.&ldquo;We all take our shots at each other, we may not agree with the way the other guy operates but the bottom line is that a core of us have stood the test of time. If you&rsquo;re a crook in this business, you just don&rsquo;t last.&rdquo;Alan Eagleson to Al Capone. Punch Imlach and the dinosaurs of his era probably wished they had gone up against 01&rsquo; Scarface. &#9632;

f0016-01

Love ’Em Or Loathe ’Em, They’re As Much A Part Of The Game Today As The Players

<div class="byline">BY BOB MCKENZIE</div>To regulate or not to regulate, that is the question. In other words, should the virtually unpoliced hockey player agent business be responsible to a governing body that would lay down some rigid ground rules on everything from a code of ethics to fee schedules?It&rsquo;s a hot topic for discussion these days, thanks largely to the efforts of Rich Winter, a 27-year-old Edmonton lawyer who has burst onto the hockey player agent scene with both guns blazing.In less than seven months. Winter, who boldly bills himself as chairman of the Professional Hockey Committee of the Association of Representatives of Professional Athletes, has managed to do what few others would have thought possible&mdash;get arch rival agents Alan Eagleson and Art Kaminsky on the same wavelength.Eagleson and Kaminsky, who normally wouldn&rsquo;t see eye to eye if they were joined at the naval, are united in their utter contempt for Winter. They are not alone.Undaunted, the ambitious Edmontonian is convinced he has a master plan to make the world of hockey player agents a better place to be. His task, a momentous one, is to convince the National Hockey League Players&rsquo; Association, headed by Eagleson, that its best interests would be served by accepting his plan.Winter&rsquo;s proposal, a 20-page epic entitled Ethics And Agents: A New Game Plan and copyrighted, expresses grave concerns about the state of the hockey player agent industry, especially in terms of financial management and career planning. He advocates that the NHLPA get involved in:&bull; supplying information to aid amateur and pro players in making the selection of an agent.&bull; promote the quality of player representation by developing an agents&rsquo; association with a strict code of ethics.&bull; monitoring the relationship between its members and their agents so as to avoid any players losing their life savings to unscrupulous agents.Actually, Winter is not fighting this battle alone. David Forbes, who played six seasons in the National Hockey League with Boston and Washington and is now a financial planner in Los Angeles, and Ron Salcer, a Los Angeles agent who has several clients on the Kings, are part of the triumvirate that is promoting Winter&rsquo;s Ethics And Agents.&ldquo;Eventually,&rdquo; says Winter, &ldquo;I may give up. If the players don&rsquo;t want it, I&rsquo;m not going to shove it down their throats. But it&rsquo;ll take me a lot longer to go away than it would most people.&rdquo;All of which means Winter is prepared to step into the ring and battle the Eagle, a scrap that few people relish and even fewer walk away from as a winner. But the big difference this time is that Eagleson&rsquo;s comer is filled with guys who normally would like to see him TKO&rsquo;d in the first round.Kaminsky, the New York City attorney, and his Montreal-based partner, Norm Caplan, who represent more NHL players than any other firm, charge that Winter&rsquo;s efforts are a poorly-disguised attempt at self promotion; that his interest isn&rsquo;t in improving the agent business so much as it is a way for him to quickly make a name for himself.Caplan, in a letter to Winter, writes: &ldquo;(your proposal) contains some very good ideas but it serves your selfish interests&hellip;I am astounded at your gall in assuming the position of chairman of a committee, which basically has no authority and no basis for existence.&rdquo;Kaminsky, in his letter to Winter, writes: &ldquo;(the proposal is) a rather absurd attempt at selfpromotion&hellip;If you have no qualifications (with regard to the hockey player agent business), then I suppose we can simply treat your proposal as a rather lengthy academic exercise.&rdquo;Bill Watters of Branada Sports Management, which is second only to the Kaminsky-Caplan partnership in number of NHL clients represented, says he &ldquo;doesn&rsquo;t envy Rich Winter&rsquo;s position.&ldquo;Some of his ideas have merit, but Rich Winter is the wrong guy to be putting it all together,&rdquo; Watters adds.Eagleson, meanwhile, calls Winter a &ldquo;neophyte.&rdquo; In one letter to him, Eagleson states, &ldquo;I am not the least bit interested in your proposal.&rdquo;Winter countered with a letter giving Eagleson &ldquo;one last opportunity to respond in a constructive way.&ldquo;In the event I do not hear back from you,&rdquo; Winter writes,&rdquo;&hellip;I will proceed to go ahead with our plan to do all we can have the policies we propose implemented. That unfortunately will include some rather unflattering disclosures concerning yourself.&rdquo;Eagleson, shrugging off the apparent threat, says he has discussed Winter&rsquo;s proposal with the NHLPA player reps and has been advised to take no further steps until the matter can be fully discussed at the association&rsquo;s meeting in June.&ldquo;This guy is a joke,&rdquo; says Eagleson. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve given him everything he asks for. We have kept a pretty good eye on ourselves over the years. We can do it (regulating) internally.&rdquo;That, however, is where Eagleson and his colleagues in the player agent business assume their old adversary positions and the question of Rich Winter&rsquo;s involvement gets tossed out the window in favor of a more pressing concern: Does the hockey player agent business require some form of regulation?Eagleson obviously thinks not. Other agents and NHL general managers say yes.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s no question it (a regulatory body) is badly overdue,&rdquo; says Herb Pinder, a Saskatoonbased agent who represents Dave (Tiger) Williams among others.&ldquo;But it should come from the Players&rsquo; Association and the Eagle obviously would rather not get involved. He&rsquo;s not there to help the players. I don&rsquo;t think he&rsquo;s doing enough for the players. But the players keep the Eagle and they must be satisfied.&rdquo;&ldquo;As Executive Director of the NHLPA, Eagleson is obliged to provide protection for the players,&rdquo; says Boston Bruin general manager Hany Sinden. &ldquo;Picking the wrong agent can ruin a guy&rsquo;s life. Sure, I&rsquo;d like to see some sort of code of ethics. But it&rsquo;s got to come from the NHLPA.&rdquo;&ldquo;I&rsquo;d love to see the NHLPA set something up,&rdquo; says Edmonton Oiler general manager-coach Glen Sather, whose sentiments are echoed by Washington Capital GM David Poile.&ldquo;I know the National Football League has some very interesting things set up with regard to registering agents,&rdquo; Poile says. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m waiting to see some information on it. As for hockey, I&rsquo;m very interested and in favor of anything that will smooth the relationship between an agent and the player and the agent and team management.&rdquo;The NFLPA has 25 pages of regulations governing contract advisors (agents). And the regulations pack a big punch&mdash;which explicitly cover everything from a code of conduct to maximum fees to appeal procedures&mdash;because an agent must be registered with the NFLPA before he can negotiate a contract with an NFL team.&ldquo;Our collective bargaining agreement says the clubs must negotiate only with the NFLPA or its agents,&rdquo; says Doug Allen, assistant to the association&rsquo;s Executive Director. &ldquo;So we are in a position of authority.&rdquo;The regulations, which were fully implemented in September, 1983, cover only contract negotiations. Financial management and career planning are not covered. About 1,200 agents have registered with the NFLPA and 600 are either certified or provisionally certified.&ldquo;We don&rsquo;t claim to have a perfect system,&rdquo; Allen says,&rdquo; but we want to do as much as possible to prevent questionable agents from preying on younger players. We&rsquo;re telling agents that if they screw up, they&rsquo;re accountable for their actions.&rdquo;Larry Kelly, an Ottawa, Ont., lawyer who represents 15 players in the NHL and has negotiated an NFL contract for a football client, is an advocate of the system.&ldquo;The NFLPA was very helpful in my work with my client,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;Because I was new to it (football negotiation), I wasn&rsquo;t as sure as to what was a good contract. I went to the New York Giant player rep who had salary information for other players in the league and found out we had done very well for ourselves in the negotiations.&rdquo;While many hockey agents point to the NFLPA system as a great model, Kaminsky isn&rsquo;t convinced it really works where it counts&mdash;weeding out unscrupulous agents.&ldquo;The NFLPA can&rsquo;t conduct a thorough enough investigation,&rdquo; Kaminsky says. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s like gun registration. You can make things difficult for the honest citizen and the crook just goes ahead and breaks the law.&rdquo;Eagleson says the NHLPA has to be careful not to put itself in a position where it could be open to law suits.&ldquo;If we endorse an agent and he rips off a client,&rdquo; Eagleson says, &ldquo;that player might tum around and sue us because we endorsed this guy. And if an agent is refused an endorsement, he might try to sue us for discrimination. Besides, you can&rsquo;t legislate morality and ethics.&rdquo;Many of the suggestions from the agents are included in one form or another in Winter&rsquo;s proposal. Winter, who represents just one NHL player (Dave Lewis), maintains criticisms aimed at him only indicate that his proposal has some merit.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s time the NHLPA takes a stand on this,&rdquo; Winter says. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re going to gain support from the players and get this going.&rdquo;Watters disagrees.&ldquo;I agree the NHLPA should be the governing body for anything like that,&rdquo; he says, &ldquo;but as long as Alan Eagleson, an agent, is the head of it, it&rsquo;s simply not going to happen. That isn&rsquo;t to say Eagleson should be removed&hellip;that&rsquo;s just the way it is. Agents are not going to confide in the NHLPA as long as another agent is running the show. &#9632;

THE GREAT DEBATE:

<div class="byline">BY SAM McMANIS</div>It all began in East Rutherford, NJ, 11 years ago for Dave Lewis. Actually, it started on the other side of the Hudson River back in 1973 when Lewis broke into the National Hockey League with the New York Islanders.But it feels like the same place to Lewis. He&rsquo;s pretty much starting over.Starting over with a new team, the New Jersey Devils, after being traded from the Los Angeles Kings to Minnesota and then to New Jersey two days before the start of the season. The Devils are one of the NHL&rsquo;s worst teams, just like the Islanders were in Lewis&rsquo; first few years. Only this time the 30-year-old Lewis is one of the veterans hoping to hang on to a spot rather than a rookie on his way up.And starting over financially, having lost his life savings&mdash;reportedly $100,000&mdash;when his agent allegedly falsely invested and absconded with money the former King captain gave him two years ago. Ten years of saving pension money and planning for life after hockey were wiped away in less than a year.Now, as he&rsquo;s fighting to keep playing as long as hockey will have him, Lewis thinks back to time as a teenager when he told his wife he&rsquo;d play just 10 years and retire to a small farming community outside his hometown of Saskatoon, Sask. Lewis thought he had it all worked out. Ten years would give him time to enjoy a lucrative hockey career&mdash;maybe win a couple Stanley Cup championships&mdash;and invest enough of his money to be comfortable.Call it The Canadian Dream.&ldquo;I guess I was naive when I told my wife that,&rdquo; Lewis said, &ldquo;but all I ever wanted to do was play 10 years.&rdquo;But the 10-year plan is gone and so is his dream of an easy life in Saskatoon. Lewis has to keep playing. He needs the money.Last December, he and five other NHL players filed a $ 1.3-million civil suit in British Columbia accusing player-agent Peter Spencer of embezzlement, mismanagement of funds and fraud. The suit alleges that Spencer used the players&rsquo; money, which he was supposed to invest for them, for his own benefit and absconded with players&rsquo; paychecks.Spencer, whose whereabouts were unknown for much of the past year, has been arrested but is out on bail and scheduled to appear in British Columbia&rsquo;s supreme court early this summer in connection with the case. The judge said Spencer is not to leave the province of Alberta. Still, Lewis speculated that neither he nor the other players&mdash;Quebec&rsquo;s Pat Price, Edmonton&rsquo;s Ron Lowe and Dave Semenko, Washington&rsquo;s Doug Hicks and Detroit&rsquo;s Danny Gare&mdash;will see their money again.Lewis says he&rsquo;s lost about $100,000&mdash;the least amount of any of the other players affected&mdash;and he&rsquo;s scrambling to pay overdue tax bills and business expenses incurred after Spencer took over as Lewis&rsquo; financial advisor three years ago.&ldquo;The biggest thing we&rsquo;ve had to deal with,&rdquo; Lewis said, &ldquo;is the income tax problems. He (Spencer) had done our taxes for us but he never sent them in. Now we have late charges, interest and penalties. We were still getting statements from our 1980 taxes this winter. We couldn&rsquo;t believe it.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s been very trying and difficult. It&rsquo;s depleted most of our cash just to cover the debts. At times, we were wondering how we were going to make our house payments. We&rsquo;re making it, though. I tried to earn some income during the summer.&rdquo;Lewis, who is married with two young children and is in the process of selling his house in the San Fernando Valley, makes about $100,000 a year (a contract he signed four years ago with the Kings) but that isn&rsquo;t enough to meet the unexpected expenses. So, last summer, he and a childhood friend Bob Bourne (a center with the Islanders), opened a patio furniture company in the San Fernando Valley with a store in Saskatoon.&ldquo;Dave and I spent every day at the store,&rdquo; Bourne said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re rookies at this, but the company looks like it&rsquo;s going to be bigger and better than expected. Dave really needs this because he only has two or three years left to make money in hockey. Dave will rebound from it. He&rsquo;s that type of guy.&rdquo;For awhile, however, Lewis had scant reason for optimism. Last spring, before he left Los Angeles for the summer in Saskatoon, Lewis even considered selling season tickets for the Kings, but didn&rsquo;t go through with it. In Saskatoon, he also worked at a hockey school and had several speaking engagements. Anything to bring in extra cash.Lewis says everything will work out, but one thing he won&rsquo;t be able to come to terms with is the gnawing feeling that someone he trusted manipulated him out of his savings.&ldquo;If some guy is smart enough, he&rsquo;ll find a way to manipulate you without you knowing it,&rdquo; Lewis said. &ldquo;It doesn&rsquo;t matter how big you are. You see Hollywood people getting burned for money all the time. And they&rsquo;ve been around. They should know.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s what everyone says. You&rsquo;re older. You should know. It should happen to a younger guy just in the league. But it didn&rsquo;t. I&rsquo;m a 10-year veteran.&rdquo;Lewis grew up in Kindersley, near Saskatoon, where he learned to play hockey and learned to be what he thought was a good judge of character.But, at 19, Lewis left home and spent the next 10 years in big cities&mdash;New York, then Los Angeles. He had to deal with agents and talk big contracts, which he acknowledges he didn&rsquo;t fully understand.His first souring experience with an agent occurred in 1979 during contract negotiations with the Islanders. Lewis said he thought agent Art Kaminsky could have negotiated a better deal for him, but took the easy way out. He refused to pay Kaminsky his commission and Kaminsky took him to court and won $27,000.Shortly thereafter, Lewis was traded to the Kings. While he was looking for another agent, he met Spencer in the fall of 1981 at Pat Price&rsquo;s wedding. Spencer was Price&rsquo;s best man and Price recom-mended him, Lewis said.&ldquo;Pat told me he had done very well financially with Spencer and I should talk with him,&rdquo; Lewis said. &ldquo;I did and was told things I later found out were untrue. I was told (by Spencer) that he was a lawyer and he wasn&rsquo;t. I was told he had clients such as doctors and lawyers in Vancouver and he didn&rsquo;t. I basically went on Pat Price&rsquo;s word. I trusted Pat. That was one mistake I made&mdash;a character mistake with Spencer. I judged Spencer on face value, which I thought I was pretty good at.&rdquo;Lewis claims Spencer promised to pay $10,000 of the $27,000 he owed to Kaminsky.&ldquo;That seemed like a good gesture at the time,&rdquo; Lewis said.Lewis said he never paid.Then, Lewis said, he took about $100,000 out of three personal accounts&mdash;a market fund, savings certificates and a pension&mdash;and gave it to Spencer in Canada. He said the money was supposed to sit in a Canadian bank account and draw interest, earning a higher yield because of the foreign currency exchange rate. But Spencer, Lewis charges, literally took the money into his own hands.&ldquo;First, in the spring of 1982, Spencer took out a $25,000 lump sum from my account and made an investment in a group in Calgary,&rdquo; Lewis said. &ldquo;Well, one day it was in Calgary, the next in Edmonton. The story got confused. It was some sort of mall development, but it turned out to be a bogus company&hellip;I didn&rsquo;t find out about the withdrawal from the account until six months after it happened.&ldquo;He told me he had to act fast and just forgot to tell me. That was when I first started wondering about what was going on. But he showed me what were supposed to be official papers. Once the hockey season was over (1982), my wife and I went to Calgary to meet with him and he couldn&rsquo;t account for any of my money. So, from there on, I started talking to lawyers and accountants and started the lawsuit. I told the other players to beware and, later, we got together and filed the $1.3-million lawsuit.&rdquo;Lewis&rsquo; problems didn&rsquo;t end with the suit, which was filed last December. He not only had to pay the taxes with interest, but penalties for late filing. Loans to cover previous bills were due and he wondered where he&rsquo;d find the money.Sometimes, he said, he would lie awake at night and worry. At King games, he said, he often found himself thinking about his personal losses rather than the team&rsquo;s losses.&ldquo;It was very traumatic,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;You lose a little confidence in your judgment and it affects your overall attitude. You feel you can judge character and then this happens and you think your character isn&rsquo;t as good as you thought. I didn&rsquo;t have a good season and I don&rsquo;t want to blame it on this situation. But I&rsquo;m not a robot and it affected my concentration.&rdquo;Lewis said he wants to put his problems behind him and think ahead to continuing his career with the Devils, but he&rsquo;s willing to talk about them in the hope it might help other players in dealing with agents. During the offseason, Lewis spoke at a sports law seminar at Pepper-dine and is working on a plan with the National Hockey League Players&rsquo; Association to educate young players about the specifics of contracts and negotiations.&ldquo;What they should do is put it down on paper,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;What&rsquo;s a contract? What are deferred payments? What&rsquo;s a bonus? What&rsquo;s a hidden tax? What&rsquo;s an annuity? Agents say they&rsquo;ll tell you those things, but I think it&rsquo;s good to tell the kids that before they get drafted.&ldquo;I mean, a 19-year-old kid coming out of a rural Canadian town who has to go to a big city like New York or L. A. puts his trust in one individual to pay his bills and negotiate a contract. He can make some big mistakes.&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t know a lot of these terms when I broke in. But I certainly know an awful lot now.&rdquo; &bull;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-01915/4892997-1-eng-US/f0017-012.jpg" title="f0017-01" width="980" height="1108"><figcaption class="caption-body">Dave Lewis&rsquo; off-ice problems spilled over onto the ice and he did not have a good season with the Kings.</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0017-01

Pick The Wrong Agent And You Could Be Picking Up The Pieces Of Your Life. Just Ask Dave Lewis.

<div class="byline">BY BOB MCKENZIE</div>Selecting the proper agent to represent you could be one of the most important decisions of your life. That&rsquo;s why it&rsquo;s a good idea to sit down before you make any commitment and come up with some sort of game plan.In an effort to help you with this endeavor, THE HOCKEY NEWS has come up with this general outline which offers some insights into the process of picking a representative who is right for you.Of course, there are no guarantees in this business. Perhaps the best motto is &ldquo;Buyer Beware&rdquo; because you&rsquo;re purchasing a service which is often difficult to evaluate. But the more homework you do in advance to making a commitment, the less likely you are to be surprised at what may happen in the future.&bull; Find out who the agents are. Ask your parents for help. Talk to teammates and opposing players who have had contact with agents. Talk to coaches. general managers or anyone else who is involved in the game and get them to recommend several agents.&bull; Contact these agents. Let them know you are interested in obtaining representation. Set up interview appointments&mdash;preferably in your own home or someplace that you are comfortable&mdash;with any agents interested in representing you.&bull; Be sure that your parents and anyone else whose opinion and judgment you value are present when the interviews take place. The primary function of the first interview is to get to know the agent. If you don&rsquo;t feel comfortable with the agent, if there is something you don&rsquo;t like about him, then he&rsquo;s not the one for you.Ask lots of questions. Find out what services the agent provides. Find out how much he charges for these services. Find out about his background, what education he has and what professional experience he has. Ask for references. Ask specific, to-the-point questions. Have your parents take notes. Don&rsquo;t be shy. When the agent finishes supplying all this information verbally to you, ask him to put it all in writing, including specifics about fees and services and what he expects from you in terms of commitment.&bull; You should now have in your possession written proposals from the agents you have spoken to. Check out their references. You and your parents should also have impressions of them from the interviews. It&rsquo;s time to compare. Compare their fees and services. Compare their personalities. Make a short list of the two or three agents you and your parents are most interested in obtaining as a representative. Contact the finalists and ask for an appointment at their place of work.&bull; Use this appointment to see their place of work. Meet the staff there. If you have any other questions or concerns, voice them at this time. Tell the agent you have narrowed your selection down to two or three finalists. Use this interview to decide if you are completely comfortable with the man who will be looking out for your best interests.&bull; It&rsquo;s time to make a decision. This doesn&rsquo;t have to be made overnight. If you&rsquo;re not sure, take your time. The agents aren&rsquo;t going anywhere. Sit down with your parents. Respect their opinions. Parents should also respect their son&rsquo;s opinions. Pick one and hope everything will work out the way you expect it to.&bull; Inform the agent you&rsquo;ve selected that he&rsquo;s your man. Send a letter to all other agents you contacted. Thank them for their time and effort; tell them you opted for John Doe. If they follow that up with a phone call asking the specifics of why they lost out, simply say that after weighing everything, it was felt John Doe would best serve your interests. If an agent continues to bother you about it, you know you made a wise choice in not picking him.&bull; Do not sign a legally-binding contract with your agent until he has negotiated a pro hockey contract for you. In the months proceeding the negotiation or signing of that hockey contract, it is okay to sign a letter that states John Doe is your representative until you advise otherwise. This acts as insurance against unscrupulous agents who may claim to be working on your behalf; it can be used to let the hockey community know who represents you and it also lets your agent know you have made a commitment to him. He&rsquo;ll do the same for you.Aside from these steps, there are a few other things players and parents should remember at all times:&bull; Obtaining the services of an agent does not guarantee you success as a hockey player. Beware of agents who say they can influence how high you are drafted. They&rsquo;re not only lying, they&rsquo;re insulting the intelligence of NHL general managers.&bull; Agents cannot skate, stickhandle or score, even if they say they can. So before you blame the agent for a career that isn&rsquo;t panning out, take a look in the mirror or at the circumstances.&bull; Agents who devote most of their sales pitch to running down their competition obviously don&rsquo;t have much worthwhile to say about themselves and their own company. Beware.&bull; The agent-player relationship is founded on trust. If another agent approaches you and says your agent isn&rsquo;t doing a good job for you, don&rsquo;t jump to any conclusions until you&rsquo;ve checked it out with your agent. Also, don&rsquo;t mislead an agent into thinking you&rsquo;re committed to him when you&rsquo;re not. Tell him you will give him written notification of when he may begin acting on your be-half. This will also prevent an agent from automatically assuming he&rsquo;s representing you.And, finally, be careful out there&hellip; &#9632;

The Guide To Selecting A Player Agent

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0020-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-01732/4893076-1-eng-US/f0020-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">(Photo by Bruce Bennett)</figcaption></div>Paul Coffey is only the third defenseman in National Hockey League history to reach the 100-point mark and this week he padded that stat with three goals and eight assists to the NHL player-of-the-week honors.Coffey, who may well gamer the Norris Trophy as the league&rsquo;s top defenseman with his amazing season, moved to second place in the Oiler scoring behind Wayne Gretzky with his 11-point week.Coffey scored his third game winner of the season in the Oilers&rsquo; 6-5 win over Quebec. He has 38 goals&mdash;including 14 power-play markers&mdash;and 79 assists for 117 points in 75 games. &#9632;

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Player Of The Week

<div class="byline">BY RICH CHERE</div>EAST RUTHERFORD&mdash;Maybe it&rsquo;s the Tom Me Vie influence. Or perhaps the New Jersey Devils are growing tired of being dumped on by the rest of the National Hockey League. In any case, the Devils have become fighting mad while leaving the Pittsburgh Penguins behind in the Patrick Division cellar.Over the course of five games in nine days, New Jersey players became involved in six notable incidents which either decided the outcome of games or went to the NHL office for review. Both Chico Resch and Phil Russell finished last week $100 poorer while Resch awaited word from executive vice-president Brian O&rsquo;Neill about possible disciplinary action.Consider the following:&bull; Jan Ludvig, who became the team&rsquo;s first 20-goal scorer this season, brutally outpunched Pittsburgh&rsquo;s Greg Hotham on March 6 and broke the Penguin player&rsquo;s nose. Pat Verbeek also outslugged Gary Rissling and the Devils came alive for a 6-5 victory.&bull; Four nights later, Resch stopped 51 of 57 St. Louis shots, but lost the game in sudden death overtime when Rob Ramage scored while Brian Sutter hooked Resch. The always mild-tempered Resch threw his stick into the boards after the 6-5 defeat, tossed his goalkeeper&rsquo;s glove and skated toward referee Bob Hall with a few choice words. The episode resulted in a game misconduct penalty, an automatic $100 fine and a review of the incident by the league.&bull; On March 13, the Devils were involved in a 2-1 game with the Islanders at the Meadowlands Arena when Tim Higgins hooked Greg Gilbert breaking in on goal. The hook drew blood over Gilbert&rsquo;s right eye and Higgins was given a five-minute major by referee Denis Morel for high-sticking. The Islanders scored twice on the power play and marched to a 5-1 victory.&bull; Finally, the Devils put a dent in Washington&rsquo;s hopes of finishing first in the Patrick Division on March 14 when former Cap Ron Low stopped 43 of 46 shots in a 3-3 tie. Before it went into the books, however, Garry Howatt slugged it out with Rod Langway (taking Washington&rsquo;s key weapon to the box with him for five minutes), Verbeek drew a total of 12 minutes in penalties in an overtime battle and Russell argued a holding penalty with referee Kerry Fraser which also resulted in a game misconduct with Russell bumping Fraser. If Fraser had chosen to involve Rule 67 for deliberately abusing an official, Russell could have faced a suspension. Instead, O&rsquo;Neill chose no action other than &ldquo;a straight misconduct fine of $100.&rdquo;The newly-found aggressiveness can be traced back to McVie and the example of captain Mel Bridgman, who has returned to his successful form of the past. But the most intriguing incident was the argument involving Resch, Sutter and Hall in St. Louis.The incident occurred at 3:09 of sudden-death overtime following a Bob Hoffmeyer penalty. Ramage fired a shot from the right point which found the left side of the net while Sutter hooked Resch. Chico erupted as the red light went on and the Blues registered their third overtime triumph over the Devils this season.&ldquo;Sutter leaves the ice saying, &lsquo;I did everything I could to win. Even if it&rsquo;s illegal.&rsquo; He&rsquo;s laughing at me,&rdquo; said an angry Resch. &ldquo;It bugs me. Sutter was hooking my stick as Ramage took his shot. As a result, I had to throw my feet to the right. I was off-balance, awkward. I had no chance to stop that shot.&ldquo;I had warned Hall because he&rsquo;d (Sutter) done it to me in the third period. That&rsquo;s what made me so mad. In the paper the next day, Sutter sort of admitted he did it. He said he swung at the puck and hit my stick. It&rsquo;s the same thing as if a baseball player was trying to hit a pitch and there was someone behind him poking or pulling his bat. He&rsquo;ll never hit the ball. I don&rsquo;t expect Hall to make the call in a 6-1 game, but in that situation it was the call to make.&rdquo;It will take more than that incident to turn Resch into a Billy Smith-type goalie, but the Devils&rsquo; netminder did issue a warning to Sutter for next season.&ldquo;This isn&rsquo;t a threat, but next year when we play St. Louis, if Brian does one thing, that&rsquo;s it,&rdquo; said Chico. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not going to hit him across the head or anything, but I&rsquo;ll hit him. Smitty&rsquo;s been doing it for years. People sometimes criticize Smitty but you expect the ref to call the interference. If a policeman is watching a robbery you expect him to intervene.&rdquo;While Resch awaited O&rsquo;Neill&rsquo;s decision (no suspension was likely according to assistant director of officiating John McCauley), McVie spoke of the event.&ldquo;You&rsquo;ve got to love Sutter for that I&rsquo;d love to have him because guys like that win hockey games.&rdquo; said McVie. &ldquo;Goalies I&rsquo;ve played with and Billy Smith would&rsquo;ve looked after their game. But Chico is Chico. You are what you are. Chico, being the nice human being that he is, should&rsquo;ve whacked him.&rdquo;&ldquo;There&rsquo;s a fine line how far you take it,&rdquo; answered Resch. &ldquo;I can break someone&rsquo;s ankle and get two minutes or else I can get a little carried away (like he did) and get a gross misconduct. Now I can see a goalie getting so upset he would inadvertantly strike someone where he shouldn&rsquo;t.&rdquo;Even Resch changed his outlook. The Devils, it seems, are turning mean.HOT STUFF&mdash;Rocky Trottier had a successful one-game stay with Devils, scoring a goal and an assist in St. Louis before returning to Medicine Hat of the Western Hockey League&hellip;Chico Resch suffered his 12th career loss against the Islanders (0-12-1) and vowed: &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not retiring until I beat that. I&rsquo;m going to beat them one of these times.&rdquo;Glenn Merkosky has skated on line with Yvon Vautour and Dave Cameron since a March 13 recall from Maine of the American League&hellip;The Devils&rsquo; last 11 opponents had a chance to finish first in standings. &ldquo;A lot of people looked at our schedule and saw losses,&rdquo; noted Mel Bridgman. &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t even know the last 11 games were very tough. &#9632;

Chico And The Men Are In Fighting Mood

<div class="byline">BY JOHN GILBERT</div>BLOOMINGTON&mdash;The Minnesota North Stars came into March like a lion and one of the reasons could be that Mr. April is getting an early start.Steve Payne gets heckled by his teammates as Mr. April, a tag that has stuck with him since his scoring sprees in the Stanley Cup Playoffs three and four years back. It is also a fact that saving his best for April has resulted in painfully shortterm requirements the last two years.Payne has had a decent enough season, with 27 goals and 29 assists. But Payne, all his teammates agree, could be a 50-goal scorer if he could ever channel his abilities and his size and strength into 80 games of full intensity.Payne has been asked about it so much, he has a stock answer about how it&rsquo;s possible to be intense for every game of a long season, how he thinks he&rsquo;s doing fine and how he hopes to be at a peak come playoffs.But now, on a line with Mark Napier centered by rookie Brian Lawton, Payne has come alive at left wing. He&rsquo;s making more consistent use of his size in the takeout department and his shots are starting to find the back of the net.The North Stars have gone on their longest unbeaten stretch of the seaso (60-2) to virtually clinch the Norris Division title. Payne and Lawton each got a goal and Napier had a goal and two assists in a 4-3 victory at Detroit the day before the club returned home against Quebec.Then Payne got two, Lawton one and Napier three assists in a 5-5 tie, meaning the trio had figured in six goals out of nine in two days.&ldquo;I think I&rsquo;ve been playing a lot better for the last six or seven weeks,&rdquo; said Payne. &ldquo;Ever since I was in the doghouse. I guess I deserved it, but it was a new experience for me and it woke me up.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know if I&rsquo;m playing any more aggressive, you sort of have to go the way the game is going. When it gets physical, I&rsquo;m just trying to take advantage of it.&ldquo;I guess I&rsquo;m more effective that way, holding off a guy in the comer or making room in front of the net. I thought I played good, but both my linemates played better. We only played three games together and we didn&rsquo;t get anything in the first game, then we all got about five points the next two.&ldquo;Brian is just getting comfortable after coming back from an injury, but our whole line has played well together and we&rsquo;re having good fortune.&rdquo;As the Stars stretched their unbeaten streak, they showed off incredible cepth, depth that may be unexcelled in the NHL. Against Quebec, for example, the press box contained a pretty fair unit.Many teams would love to be able to send out a line of Neal Broten at center with Brian Bellows and Dino Ciccarelli or Paul Holmgren on the wings. And Lars Lindgren and Dave Ricther on defense. Those six were upstairs, either recovering from minor injuries or getting a few days of rest for the final rush to playoffs.&ldquo;You gotta have the bodies,&rdquo; said Payne. &ldquo;That just shows how many good players we&rsquo;ve got. You never know how much depth you&rsquo;ll need.&rdquo;Players such as Craig Levie, Dave Jensen, Tom Hirsch, Dirk Graham, Tim Coulis, plus Dennis Maruk and Brent Ashton, who had been spending considerable press-box time, all turned in strong performances when called upon.The checking line of George Ferguson centering Al MacAdam and Ashton, in place of Holmgren, continued to play extremely well, harnessing the Stastny line. Peter Stastny scored the tying goal with only 2:48 remaining and Payne accepted full blame for a stunning two-on-on for Peter Stastny and Michel Goulet.&ldquo;I was at center ice and I tried to make a play to Napes,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I guess the guys thought I was going to dump it in and they went to the bench for a change. They picked off my pass and we got caught.&rdquo;Oh well, there&rsquo;s time to polish up those details before April. &#9632;

North Stars’ Mr. April Finds Playoff Form

<div class="byline">BY RON COBB</div>Louisville Hockey<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-01619/4893131-1-eng-US/f0022-012.jpg" title="f0022-01" width="579" height="765"><figcaption class="caption-body">Rik Wilson has been getting rave reviews for the last two months for his play.</figcaption></div>ST. LOUIS&mdash;This is the story of Rik Wilson&rsquo;s third season in the National Hockey League and it has a happy ending.But the ending wouldn&rsquo;t be so happy if the beginning and middle weren&rsquo;t sad.Wilson reported to the Blues&rsquo; training camp last September with the hope that this would be the season which he lived up to the expectations the Blues had for him when they drafted him 12th overall in the 1980 draft.Having turned 21 less than three months before training camp opened, he figured his time had come. On a team with new ownership, a new front office and a new head coach, Wilson looked forward to starting fresh and earning a spot on right defense.Wilson wanted to get off to a good start, but so did the new ownership, the new front office and the new head coach. As the season unfolded. Wilson began to see less and less playing time as coach Jacques Demers relied more and more on his veterans.By mid-season, Wilson was on the outside looking in. In January, the Blues sent him to Montana of the Central League to shake off the rust that had accumulated over weeks of sitting and watching his teammates play. In Montana, Wilson&rsquo;s morale hit a new low.But it was at about that time that the Blues were making a transition. With no 1983 draft choices and virtually no hope of contending for the Stanley Cup this season, the club decided that its only logical course of action was to build for the future.Demers declared that when Wilson returned from two weeks with Montana, he would be a fixture in the Blues&rsquo; lineup. Let&rsquo;s find out if Wilson can play, he said.That&rsquo;s how quickly Wilson&rsquo;s life changed. On Jan. 26, a week or so after he&rsquo;s returned to the Blues, he showed up at a mid-morning practice flashing a wedding band. Early that morning, he and Christine Monk of St. Louis had been married in a small ceremony.For the last two months, the rejuvenated Wilson has been getting strong reviews for his solid play on the blueline. His improvement was cited as a primary reason that the Blues traded veteran defenseman Andre Dore to Quebec.Demers says the Blues are set for the future at right defense with Wilson, 21; Gilbert Delorme, 21; and Rob Ramage, 25.&ldquo;We had to play him or lose him,&rdquo; Demers said of Wilson. &ldquo;We had to find room for him.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s no question that he&rsquo;s playing like a No. 1 draft choice. He&rsquo;s polished his defensive game. He&rsquo;s a listener and he&rsquo;s eager to learn.&ldquo;When I came here, I didn&rsquo;t know what Rik could do and he had no real experience. We had new ownership and it was important to start well. So I went with experienced players to put some points in the bank and Rik paid the price.&rdquo;Wilson had come to the Blues as an offensive-minded defenseman who averaged more than point a game with Kingston of the Ontario Hockey League. But as a 180-pound rookie, he had problems defensively and the Blues wanted him to add some muscle.Wilson took the advice seriously. He put muscle on top of muscle and now he&rsquo;s a hulk at 6-foot, 205 pounds.He has become confident enough in the defensive ability that he has opened offensively. His two goals and three assists in six games early in March are an indication that he is becoming more involved in the offensive end.&ldquo;It makes you feel like you&rsquo;re contri-&rsquo; buting to the team,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;My numbers bothered me to some extent until now. I feel a lot more comfortable. I&rsquo;m not afraid to take a chance.&rdquo;The Blues are happy now that they took a chance on Wilson.BLUENOTES&mdash;Rob Ramage picked up his mail after a 6-5 victory over &lsquo;New Jersey on March 10 and found a package with the name Resch in the upper lefthand comer. Inside were baby outfits for the Ramages&rsquo; first child, two-week-old Tamara. Ramage and his wife are friends of Devil goalie Chico Resch and his spouse from their days together with the Colorado Rockies. &#9632;

f0022-01

Wilson Becomes Fixture For Blues

<div class="byline">BY RICK SADOWSKI</div>LOS ANGELES&mdash;-It began innocently enough, with a 6-3 loss to Boston at the Forum.Then came Vancouver and Calgary back to back, followed by Boston again, Pittsburgh, New Jersey, Winnipeg, Philadelphia, Buffalo&hellip;Anyway you counted them, the losses added up to 10&mdash;as in 10 straight&mdash;a Kings&rsquo; club record that all but eliminated them from the Stanley Cup playoff picture for the second year in a row.&ldquo;Maybe,&rdquo; a frank Dave Taylor was saying, &ldquo;we have to face up to the fact that this team is not that good, that we need some drastic changes.&rdquo;To be sure, more than a few jobs seemed to be in jeopardy as the season wound down to its final three weeks, with the Kings&mdash;as they had done the year before&mdash;playing out the string.&ldquo;Whether we make it or not,&rdquo; Taylor said, &ldquo;a lot of guys are fighting for jobs now. I&rsquo;m sure management is going.to make changes. There should be a lot of incentive.&rdquo;Years of mismanagement had taken its toll&mdash;again&mdash;but at least the Kings will have a No. 1 draft pick for a change, most likely the third overall, behind Pittsburgh and New Jersey.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s getting to the point now where, we need a miracle,&rdquo; said coach Roger Neilson, &ldquo;ft looks like the rest of the year for us will be to assess the team in terms of ability and character, making sure we do a good job in the draft.&ldquo;When the season is over, we&rsquo;re going to have to make some decisions, figure out which players have to be moved.&ldquo;Right now (assistant coach) Mike Murphy and I are concentrating on the team and (general manager) Rogie (Vachon) is assessing things from the other angle. Mike and Rogie have been talking to (New Haven coach) Nick Beverley about players down there.&rdquo;It was a wait-until-next-year theme again, but the Kings didn&rsquo;t wait to make their first move, sending veteran defenseman Mike McEwen to New Haven for the purpose of getting a better look at youngster Dean Kennedy.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re counting on him for next year,&rdquo; Murphy said, &ldquo;and this was one way of making sure he gets some playing time.&rdquo;Marcel Dionne who&rsquo;s seen this act all too often, resigned himself to another early summer, to another year without a glimmer of hope for a Stanley Cup ring.&ldquo;When you&rsquo;re struggling the way we are&hellip;you try and the puck&rsquo;s just not there,&rdquo; he said, staring at his sore left ankle which was immersed in a bucket of ice. &ldquo;You forecheck and the puck comes out.&ldquo;What&rsquo;s the last game we won?&rdquo;Dionne was told three weeks ago, in Minnesota, and he looked down at his ankle, which has been bothering him for three months.&ldquo;I wish I could help a lot more,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;but it&rsquo;s tough. I&rsquo;ll keep on playing, though, no matter what. I don&rsquo;t think I&rsquo;ll hurt it again, it&rsquo;s just stiff.&rdquo;Just like the Kings.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve sure had a lot of chances this year and we kept on letting them slip away,&rdquo; Taylor said unhappily, &ldquo;ft seems like we lost every big game.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s very discouraging. Did I think this could happen two years in a row? I didn&rsquo;t think it would happen last year. Twice in a row., and it doesn&rsquo;t feel any better this time.&rdquo; &#9632;

Jobs In Jeopardy For King Players

<div class="byline">BY CHUCK MOODY</div>PITTSBURGH&mdash;The last time Tim Hrynewich played in the National Hockey League he had shoulder-length curly, blond hair, the type that attracts legions of teenage girls.The 20-year-old left winger is back for his second stint in the NHL, but gone are the long, blond curls, courtesy of his initiation to professional hockey.&ldquo;It was an initiation in Baltimore in October,&rdquo; said Hrynewich about his new hairstyle, which was given to him by his teammates in the American Hockey League, &ldquo;ft was all bristles. Shears and a razor and your head is like a beard. That&rsquo;s part of hockey.&rdquo;Hrynewich was Pittsburgh&rsquo;s second-round draft choice in 1982 from the Sudbury Wolves of the Ontario Hockey League. He made the Penguins in training camp last season, but he scored only two goals and three assists in 30 games and was returned to junior.&ldquo;Last year I played regular for about the first 15 games,&rdquo; Hrynewich said, &ldquo;then all of a sudden I was sitting on the bench. That&rsquo;s kind of tough. I think it did me good to go back to junior. I had 21 goals in 23 games. That&rsquo;s what they wanted me to do, score goals. It helped.&rdquo;This season, new Penguin coach Lou Angotti is looking for Hrynewich to create scoring chances for his linemates rather than himself. Angotti placed Hrynewich on a line with high-scorers Mike Bullard and Rick Kehoe after he was recalled from Baltimore.&ldquo;The reason why I played Hrynewich is because I want him to check so he can create some openings for Bullard and Kehoe,&rdquo; said Angotti. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t care if Timmy doesn&rsquo;t score a goal the rest of the time he&rsquo;s here if he can create four or five good opportunities for both Bullard and Kehoe.&ldquo;He might pick up a few goals here and there, but by checking he&rsquo;s going to create some opportunities. And if we get the other guy that&rsquo;s playing with him to do that, he&rsquo;s going to create some opportunities for him.&rdquo;Hrynewich scored two goals and one assist in his first eight games for Pittsburgh after registering 13 goals and 17 assists in 52 games in Baltimore.&ldquo;They&rsquo;re two scorers and I&rsquo;m a lot more of a checker&mdash;up and down,&rdquo; Hrynewich said about Bullard and Kehoe, who was injured and replaced on the line by Mark Taylor. &ldquo;Maybe that&rsquo;s why Louie put me there, to help the offense. We played well together. Hopefully, we&rsquo;ll keep going well and get a few more goals.&rdquo;The Leamington, Ont., native admits he was beginning to wonder whether he would ever be recalled. The Penguins used 44 players before they summoned him.&ldquo;I was starting to wonder because all kinds of guys were getting chances and I was there in Baltimore,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;But finally I&rsquo;ve got my chance now and I hope to play well and stick.&rdquo;The 5-foot-ll, 187-pounder says he was disappointed somewhat by not making the Penguins in training camp.&ldquo;I thought I had a mediocre camp,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I scored a few goals. I just did my job&mdash;up and down my wing. My man didn&rsquo;t really score. They sent me to Baltimore. Maybe they figured I needed a little polishing up on my offense, a little more confidence.&ldquo;I was a little upset that I didn&rsquo;t stick. That&rsquo;s only natural. You go down there and work hard and hope to get back up. I had bad luck in Baltimore. I had a slightly separated shoulder and it took me awhile to get over it.&rdquo;Baltimore coach Glen Ubriaco worked with Hrynewich to improve his offensive skills.&ldquo;I think my defense is okay,&rdquo; Hrynewich said, &ldquo;but he was always on me to hold on to the puck, to shoot the puck in their end and get more shots on goal. Make a few plays and keep your head up. Offense was basically what he helped me with.&ldquo;I had a bad start in Baltimore. Just building up slowly you gain a lot of confidence. Hopefully, I&rsquo;m ready now to stay up here.&rdquo;Quite a few teenage girls are hoping so, too.PENGUIN TRACKS&mdash;Rick Kehoe was having circulation problems in a shoulder and was placed in traction in a hospital. Left winger Ted Bulley was recalled from Baltimore. He had eight goals and 13 assists in 34 games with the Skipjacks. Rookie goaltender Roberto Romano was returned to Baltimore to help the first-place Skipjacks in the AHL&rsquo;s stretch run. Romano was in goal for Pittsburgh&rsquo;s only six wins since Dec. 13 when he was sent down. &#9632;

Penguin Player Bristling At Chance To Play Again

<div class="byline">BY MIKE KANE</div>Louisville HockeyMONCTON&mdash;With his team slowly skidding out of contention for a playoff berth in late February, Alpine coach Doug Messier went looking for help from a man who couldn&rsquo;t shoot a puck, deliver a check or stop a shot.In an unusual, but not completely original move, Messier asked to have the parent Edmonton Oilers send special assignments scout Larry Kish in to assist in the Alpines&rsquo; drive to earn a spot in the Calder Cup playoffs. In effect, Messier, who also doubles as the Alpines&rsquo; general manager, stepped aside to let Kish, the former Hartford Whaler coach, run the club.The two men formed a partnership that has both providing input and that teamwork has kept the Alpines in the hunt despite a rash of injuries to key players. With nine games left in the season, the Alpines had a 28-35-8 record and trailed the fourth-place Maine Mariners by five points and the third-place Nova Scotia Voyageurs by seven. Included in the final nine games are two with the Mariners and two with the Vees.Kish, who joined the Edmonton organization last summer after being fired in Hartford, is a veteran of a number of seasons coaching in the AHL. During this season, he worked closely with Messier by scouting opponents and watching Alpine games played in the U.S. Since taking over as coach, Kish has guided the Alpines to a 3-5-2 record. Four of the five losses were by one goal.&ldquo;Doug and I got along very well together and he just felt maybe he wanted to use whatever would be available to him through the organization and he asked me if I would come down,&rdquo; Kish said. &ldquo;Then he and Glen (Sather, Edmonton&rsquo;s GM-coach) talked about it and Glen thought that if in fact it would help make a difference to come down.&ldquo;When I got there, I watched the first game up in the stands and then we ran the practice the next couple of days. Then he said, &lsquo;I think I&rsquo;d like to have you go behind the bench for awhile.&rsquo; I&rsquo;ve been behind the bench since.&ldquo;Doug is still on the ice with me in practice and we share ideas and discuss lineups and players. It&rsquo;s not a one-sided deal, it&rsquo;s really a two-sided thing. For Doug, he seems to think it&rsquo;s been fruitful, and for me. I&rsquo;m just trying to help. That&rsquo;s what it&rsquo;s all about. The organization is very conscientious that way and they are very tightly-knit in terms of management. I think its been a good thing and if we could make the playoffs that would be great.&rdquo;After a strong showing in January that boosted them to the fifth-best record in the 13-team league, the Alpines sagged badly in February under the weight of the loss of key players by recall and injuries.&ldquo;We had gone 6-5-2 in January and we had (Tom) Gorrence gone and (Ray) Cote gone and (Tom) Rowe out and (Ken) Berry was gone for awhile and I thought the team played really well,&rdquo; Messier said. &ldquo;We got into February and we just weren&rsquo;t able, with the lack of scoring, to sustain it.&ldquo;All of a sudden at the end of February we started to get Cote back and Gorence back and Pat Conacher was coming and I thought we should use any help we could get to help to turn it around. I phoned Glen and said I thought it would be a good idea.&ldquo;I thought by getting Larry in with another pair of eyes and another hockey guy to sit down and talk about what we could do to change it was good for the organization.&rdquo;Kish and Messier still have to deal with injury problems that have kept Gorence (knee), Reg Kerr (knee) and Rowe (neck) out of lineup. Rowe returned to action for the first time since early February on March 14 at Glen Falls and scored the goal that helped the Alpines secure a 1-1 tie with the Red Wings. With Rowe back in the lineup, the Alpines have a proven goal-scorer that should be able to pump some life into a listless attack. Defensively, the Alpines have been strong all season; they&rsquo;ve just had trouble scoring goals, which seems to be a rather curious deficiency for the farm team of the high-scoring Oilers.Messier is confident that he made the right decision to ask for Kish&rsquo;s help and is pleased with the results thus far.&ldquo;We wanted to do anything we could to help the whole situation and to get Larry to come in I thought would do that,&rdquo; Messier said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s been a big help this year with pre-scouting so I didn&rsquo;t feel threatened and I asked for him because we had a good relationship. I think in pro sports it happens a lot and it should happen more. Whatever occupation you&rsquo;re in, help is valuable.&rdquo;AROUND THE DIVISION&mdash;Veteran goalie Ed Mio completed his four-game conditioning stint with Adirondack with a 1-1-2 record and a 2.64 goals-against record. Mio is making a comeback from a severely pulled hamstring muscle he suffered in a game with Detroit Red Wings against the Philadelphia Flyers on Jan. 7. The point gained in the tie with Moncton gave the second-place Wings 78 points, the most in the five-year history of the franchise. Center Andre St. Laurent has scored at least a point in 37 of the 43 games he&rsquo;s played for Adirondack this season. He stands second in team scoring with 22 goals and 56 points&hellip;Maine continues to plow through its opponents at a. 786 clip. The Mariners are 10-2-2 in their last 14 games and are threatening to move past Nova Scotia into third place. The Mariners have three games in hand on the Wings, a team they trail by nine points, and still have a shot at second place. Maine added former Canadian Olympic team defenseman Bruce Driver on loan from New Jersey and signed former Springfield Indian Randy Wilson. Wilson scored 46 goals in 36 games in Switzerland this season&hellip;Fredericton is on the verge of clinching first place in the division. The Express play seven of their final eight games at home&hellip;Moncton forward Bart Yachimec leads the AHL with seven game-winning goals&hellip;Sherbrooke forward Claude Larose moved to the top of the AHL scoring list with 99 points. He has 44 goals and 55 assists. Teammate Murray Eaves also has a shot at a 100-point season. In 67 games, Eaves has scored 40 goals and 93 points. The Jets tied their win output of 22 last year with a 2-1 victory over Moncton and that gave them 45 points, one better than last year.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-01596/4893210-1-eng-US/f0024-012.jpg" title="f0024-01" width="574" height="1049"><figcaption class="caption-body">Larry Kish coached the Hartford Whalers before joining the Edmonton organization. (Photo by Diane Sobelewski)</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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Messier Hands Over Job To Kish In Unusual But Not Original Move

<div class="byline">BY BARRY MEISEL</div>ST. CATHARINES&mdash;How would you like to be Saint coach Doug Carpenter, trying to remain loyal to the parent Toronto Maple Leafs while knowing damned well that the worse they do, the better his team&rsquo;s chances.If the major-league team that pays his salary makes the Stanley Cup playoffs, his Southern Division club will likely make a first-round exit from the Calder Cup competition.If it doesn&rsquo;t, the bounty that will make its way from Toronto to St. Catharines might be enough to help the Saints surprise some people.St. Catharines, which has forged into third place in the American Hockey League South and is pressing Rochester for second, lost defensemen Dave Farrish and Bob McGill to the Maple Leafs on emergency recall, probably for the balance of the season.If the Leafs make the playoffs, Farrish and McGill will stay. If they don&rsquo;t&mdash;and it appears they won&rsquo;t&mdash;they&rsquo;ll be back.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s a big if,&rdquo; Carpenter said with a laugh. &ldquo;There are so many variables. But that&rsquo;s just the way it is.&rdquo;The way it has been for the Saints&mdash;other than one 90-foot goal that could cost them second place&mdash;is superb. In their last 28 games, the Saints&rsquo; 19-7-2 record is the best in the South, better even than Baltimore&rsquo;s.The Saints are 8-3-1 at home, but a most impressive 11-4-1 on the road.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re a better road team than a home team for some reason,&rdquo; Carpenter said.One of the three Garden City Arena losses was a 3-2 overtime decision to the Amerks, who lead the Saints by six point. With seven seconds left in overtime, Bruce Boudreau won a faceoff back to defenseman Garry Lariviere, who dumped the puck off the boards and into the Amerk zone.Defenseman Dave Fenyves picked the puck up, skated over the redline as the clock ticked down, wound up from the red line., and beat goalie Tim Bernhardt.The green light signalling the period buzzer lit before the red goal light, but referee Jerry Pateman allowed the goal. It cost the Saints a vital two points&mdash;the one they should have had for the tie and the extra one they allowed the Amerks to add.&ldquo;Nobody really knows it if went in on time,&rdquo; Carpenter said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re talking half seconds. It was that close. I looked at the video and we used a stopwatch to time it. You couldn&rsquo;t tell.&rdquo;Bernhardt, who has played so well this season since coming to the Saints on loan by the Calgary Flames, and Carpenter never mentioned the goal gain.&ldquo;He probably looked up at the clock,&rdquo; Carpenter speculated. &ldquo;But I never discussed it with him. There was no need to talk about it. He knew it went in.&rdquo;Veteran goalie Rick St. Croix came down from Toronto on Clear Day and immediately gave the Saints a superb one-two goaltending punch. Bernhardt was rested after playing 15 straight games and St. Croix came in to split a home-and-home series with Rochester, nip New Haven in overtime and down visiting Springfield. He stopped 116 of 125 shots and was named AHL player of the week.&ldquo;My plan now, although it can change, is I&rsquo;ll probably alternate them the rest of the way,&rdquo; Carpenter said.Trailing 3-0 at New Haven, the Saints picked up two crucial points. Gary Yaremchuk scored late in the second period and midway through the third, Mike Kaszycki tied the game with 8:08 remaining, and Bruce Boudreau won it with 1:37 left in overtime, on a feed from Kaszycki.&ldquo;There are still many games to play,&rdquo; said Carpenter, who went through last season&rsquo;s March madness. &ldquo;A lot can happen.&rdquo;AROUND THE SOUTH&mdash;A terribly unbalanced schedule left New Haven coach Nick Beverley&rsquo;s club far ahead of all others in games played, so although they trail Springfield by four points for the fourth and final playoff berth, their chances turned slim after blowing two three-goal leads. The Nighthawks have six games left, the Indians 11.After winning five straight, New Haven lost to St. Catharines. Three nights later, the Nighthawks built a 3-0 lead at Maine but lost 5-4. &ldquo;Same old bugaboos,&rdquo; said Beverley. &ldquo;Individual breakdowns. It seems we don&rsquo;t have the character as a team to overcome these things. One mistake and everybody seems to fall off the wagon.&rdquo;Springfield&rsquo;s players keep falling off the wagon, but coach Doug Sauter is trying to hold on to the Tribe&rsquo;s reservation for the playoffs. The Indians, who have spent much of the season undermanned, were forced to go with 16 skaters after Chicago recalled forwards Florent Robidoux and Tom McMurchy under emergency conditions. Bob Mormina was lost for two weeks with a pulled groin and Jeff Smith&rsquo;s hip injury has made him doubtful the rest of the season. They did add Steve Taylor, a Philadelphia draft pick via Providence College. The Indians have lost five of six, including a wild 8-7 overtime shootout at Rochester. Alain Lemieux failed on a penalty shot against Phil Myre in that game.Seven wins in a row have Baltimore breezing into next month&rsquo;s playoffs. The Skipjacks expected 7,000 in the Civic Center for their next home game, but they couldn&rsquo;t have clinched first place. Three points will do it. The seven-game winning streak, a team record, is only four short of the AHL record set in 1943-44 by the Cleveland Barons. The Skipjacks are also shooting for the AHL record for goals in a season, set last year by Rochester with 389. With 348, the &lsquo;Jacks need 41 in their last nine games. Goalie Roberto Romano is 6-0 since returning from Pittsburgh on Feb. 24. Paul Gardner (24 points in his last 15 games) and Jim Hamilton (21 in his last 15) have paced an awesome, but balanced, scoring barrage.The Amerks won four of five, including overtime wins over St. Catharines and Springfield, to pull six points ahead of the Saints. Jim Wiemer, recently demoted from Buffalo, scored the overtime goal in the 8-7 win over the Indians at 1:35. Right winger Mal Davis scored his 50th and 51st goals of the season to tie the Amerk record set in 1973-74 by Murray Kuntz. Davis is six goals from the AHL record set last season by Baltimore&rsquo;s Mitch Lamoureux. The Amerks lost rugged forward Val James for the season after knee surgery, but added forward Gates Orlando, a 1981 l0th-round Sabre draft pick who played collegiately at Providence.Hershey exchanged goalies with parent Washington, losing Al Jensen, who was down for conditioning purposes, and adding Bob Mason, a member of the U.S. Olympic team.Binghamton, three points from playoff elimination, lost 5-1 at home to Sherbrooke in a battle of last-place teams and first-place scorers. Ross Yates was outscored, two points to none, by Claude Larose, who leads 99-97 in the scoring race. &#9632;

Divided Loyalties Affect Saints’ Coach

<h2>THREE MORE NET 50</h2>MONTREAL&mdash;Toronto&rsquo;s Rick Vaive, Pittsburgh&rsquo;s Mike Bullard and Edmonton&rsquo;s Jari Kurri are the newest members of the 50-goal club.Vaive, the Leaf captain, scored two goals in a 3-3 tie with Minnesota March 14 to reach the 50-goal mark for the third consecutive season. That same night in Los Angeles, Bullard got his 50th, the first time he&rsquo;s reached that plateau, in a 7-6 loss to the Kings. The next night, Kurri became a 50-goal man, his first time also, in a 3-2 loss to Montreal.Vaive and Kurri join the Oilers&rsquo; Wayne Gretzky and Quebec&rsquo;s Michel Goulet as the only other players who&rsquo;ve totalled 50 this season.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s very gratifying for me,&rdquo; Vaive said of his accomplishment. &ldquo;A lot of people felt my first 50-goal season was a fluke. When 1 got 50 a second time, some of them still weren&rsquo;t convinced. I think they&rsquo;re convinced now.&rdquo;<h2>PLAYOFF SCHEDULE ANNOUNCED</h2>MONTREAL&mdash;The National Hockey League playoffs begin on April 4, but it will come down to the wire as to which teams will battle one another.Only Edmonton and Minnesota have clinched first place, but there&rsquo;s still a battle both in the Oilers&rsquo; and North Stars&rsquo; divisions (Smythe and Norris, respectively) and the other two (Patrick and Adams).The top four teams in each division will begin a best-of-five preliminary-round playoff series on April 4, with the winners advancing to a best-of-seven division final (Norris vs. Smythe for the Campbell Conference crown and Adams vs. Patrick for the Prince of Wales crown).The conference champions meet in a best-of-seven final for the Stanley Cup with the Wales representive gaining the extra home game as a result of an alternating basis between the two conferences each season.Total prize money for both the regular season and playoffs has been increased by more than $630,000 to $2,549,400.<h2>KEENAN WINS AGAIN</h2>QUEBEC&mdash;Mike Keenan obviously knew what he was doing when he left the Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League for the University of Toronto Blues.Keenan, who won the AHL Calder Cup last season, guided the Blues to their 10th Canadian Interuniversity Athletic Union championship, with a 9-1 romp over the Concordia Stingers.Keenan played for the Blues under coach Tom Watt, who coached them to their other nine championships before heading for the National Hockey League.&ldquo;Ten or 11 years ago, I won the Univesity Cup under coach Tom Watt,&rdquo; Keenan said. &ldquo;The perceptions have changed since then, naturally, but, hopefully, the champagne will taste the same.&rdquo;<h2>FINNS ARE BEST OLDTIMERS</h2>MUNICH&mdash;The Finnish oldtimer team gained a revenge when it beat the defending champion Canadian team from Metro Toronto to win the recent world championships here.The Finns, who lost to the Metro Toronto team in the championship game last season, won the final game 9-6.The Canadians started the decisive game minus two regulars and then lost two more, Claire Alexander and Dennis Hextall, on second-period disqualifications.The Canadians were ahead 3-2 when Alexander, the former Toronto Maple Leaf and Vancouver Canuck defenseman, was thrown out.Former Leaf and Boston Bruin forward Mike (Shaky) Walton was one of the tournament&rsquo;s all-stars.The 1985 tournament is in Nice, France. &#9632;

SLAPSHOTS

<div class="byline">BY RANDY SCHULTZ</div>Although he played seven more seasons and 400 more games than Bobby Orr, former National Hockey League defenseman Terry Harper scored 235 fewer goals than the Hall of Famer.Known more as a defensive defenseman who patrolled the comers and in front of the net, Harper played 19 seasons (1962-1981) in the National Hockey League for the Montreal Canadiens, Los Angeles Kings, Detroit Red Wings, St. Louis Blues and Colorado Rockies.&ldquo;For me, having a good year was scoring two or three goals,&rdquo; Harper said. &ldquo;A great year was when 1 got five or six.&ldquo;The one big reason Montreal brought me up at the beginning of my career was because of my defensive skills. I was very strong at the defensive end of the game.&rdquo;For Harper, some of his best years were spent with the Canadiens. In 10 seasons (1962-1971) with Montreal, he played on five Stanley Cup championship teams.The coach for the Canadiens during most of that time was Hector (Toe) Blake, a man Harper respected very highly.&ldquo;To me, Toe was above the rest of the coaches at that time,&rdquo; recalled Harper, a native of Regina, Sask. &ldquo;He always put so much planning into the games he coached.&ldquo;And he knew just how to treat each player on the team. We were all individuals to him and he treated us all individually.&rdquo;Following the 1971-72 season, Harper was traded to the Kings, a move which he engineered himself.&ldquo;That was about the time that the World Hockey Association was starting up,&rdquo; said Harper, who played on four NHL All-Star teams. &ldquo;The Quebec Nordiques had offered me a contract to play with them so I was ready to jump to the new league.&ldquo;Plus, I couldn&rsquo;t get along with the new Canadiens&rsquo; coach at the time, Scotty Bowman. His way of coaching and my way of thinking didn&rsquo;t match.&ldquo;When the Canadiens front office heard that, they came to me and wanted to know if I wanted to be traded from the Canadiens to another team in the NHL.&ldquo;They let me pick the city, which turned out to be Los Angeles. It was one of the best moves I ever made.&ldquo;I loved Los Angeles. To me it was perfect for hockey because of the weather. It was always mild and warm.&rdquo;Today, Harper is self-employed and lives in Colorado Springs, CO. His company name is Network Banker, a financial counselling and planning service for businesses and individuals.&ldquo;I really don&rsquo;t follow the game that much at all,&rdquo; said Harper, who flies a single engine six-seater plane in his spare time. &ldquo;I think I got out of the game because of the same reasons Blake got out.&ldquo;He saw changes happening in the game that he really didn&rsquo;t like so he figured it was time to get out.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m the same way. There are a lot of things 1 don&rsquo;t like about the game today, especially things like a defenseman playing good defense. I just don&rsquo;t see it.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-02356/4893296-1-eng-US/f0025-022.jpg" title="f0025-02" width="579" height="888"><figcaption class="caption-body">Former Canadien Terry Harper figured he had a great season if he scored five or six goals.</figcaption></div>&ldquo;I think that the game has lost a lot of its depth. Now teams just seem to go out and score goals and not play defense.&ldquo;And with the exception of a few coaches, like Bowman, I don&rsquo;t think that much thinking or planning goes into the game today because of the less number of times teams play one another.&ldquo;But that&rsquo;s hockey today. I may not agree with it, but that&rsquo;s the way the game is.&rdquo;<h2>BEAVER TALES</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-01524/4893289-1-eng-US/f0025-012.jpg" title="f0025-01" width="1751" height="583"></div> &#9632;

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WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

<h2>Here&rsquo;s what was happening 20 years ago this week in hockey:</h2>&bull; Montreal won the regular-season race by one point over Chicago, led by the play of goalie Charlie Hodge in the stretch drive. Chicago, meanwhile, finished with a league-record 1,116 penalty minutes. And the NHL set a league record for attendance of 2,850,000, bettering the previous mark by more than 150,000.&bull; Boston Bruins&rsquo; president Walter Brown had to scrap his idea of televising the Stanley Cup playoffs on closed-circuit television because of the staggering cost.&bull; Wilder Larochelle, a former Montreal Canadien in the days of the great Howie Morenz, died at age 58.<h2>Here&rsquo;s what was happening 15 years ago this week in hockey:</h2>&bull; Norm Ferguson of Oakland broke Danny Grant&rsquo;s rookie goal-scoring record with his 33rd. Grant, however, was the fans&rsquo; choice as the top rookie in THE HOCKEY NEWS&rsquo; 22nd annual All-Star poll. Phil Esposito of Boston was voted as the most valuable player in the league and the center on the first All-Star team. Joining Esposito on the first team were. goalie Glenn Hall of St. Louis, defensemen Bobby Orr of Boston and Tim Horton of Toronto, left winger Bobby Hull of Chicago and right winger Gordie Howe of Detroit.&bull; The first week of the World Hockey Championships in Sweden concluded with the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia and Sweden tied. They were followed by Canada, the Finland and the U.S. &#9632;

THIS WEEK…20 Years Ago

<div class="byline">BY BOB DUFF</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0025-03" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-03239/4893375-1-eng-US/f0025-032.jpg"></div>that the most goals scored by one NHL team in one season are: &#9632;

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Did You Know…

1. Name the St. Louis Blues&rsquo; defenseman who died in a 1977 motorcyle accident?2. Who wore No. 6 for the Detroit Red Wings before it was retired?3. Name the brother combination that played together with two different NHL teams?4. Who played on Chicago&rsquo;s Scooter line?5. RPI finished first in the ECAC West this season. What does RPI stand for and what is the team nickname?6. What former NHL goaltender scored a goal in a 1970-71 CHL game?7. Who was the first winner of the Hart Trophy?8. Who is the only remaining active NHL player that was a member of the 1972 Stanley Cup winner?9. Who was the first scoring champion of the WHA?10. What active NHL player was the California Golden Seals&rsquo; leading scorer in 1975-76. the team&rsquo;s last year of existence?<h2>Trivia Answers</h2>1. Bob Gassoff.2. Larry Aurie.3. Doug and Max Bentley (Rangers and Chicago).4. Ab McDonald, Stan Mikita, Ken Wharram.5. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Engineers.6. Michel Plasse.7. Frank Nighbor, Ottawa.8. Terry O&rsquo;Reilly.9. Andre Lacroix.10. Wavne Merrick. &#9632;

TRIVIA

<div class="byline">BY BILL PICKETT</div>Louisville HockeyINDIANAPOLIS&mdash;As the Central League season wound down in mid-March. Indianapolis center Garth MacGuigan was looking for his 150th goal as a member of the Checkers and he had six games in which to get the task done.That milestone would give him an average of 30 goals a season since he moved with the franchise from Fort Worth in the 1979-80 season and would place him well ahead of any Indianapolis player in the Checkers&rsquo; record book.It also would push his total to four more than the 191-goal mark set during a CHL career by Norman Dennis and keep MacGuigan close on the heels of Salt Lake&rsquo;s Rob Tudor for the all-time record.Tudor had 196 career goals after the second week of March and he and MacGuigan were scheduled to go head to head in four of the last six games of the year&mdash;two in Salt Lake and two in Indianapolis.MacGuigan&rsquo;s bid to reach the top of the league list isn&rsquo;t surprising, considering the 28-year-old center has few places to add his name in the Checkers&rsquo; record book.After five seasons in Indianapolis, the 6-foot, 190-pound forward owns six of eight all-time records for the franchise and, had he not been recalled earlier this season by the New York Islanders, would be tied for a seventh mark.The native of Charlottetown, P.E.I., is the career statistics leader for Indianapolis in goals (149), assists (169), total points (345), power-play goals (43), first goals (26) and game-winners (24).He has played in 379 games in the Indianapolis colors, three less than teammate Kevin Devine over five seasons, and is also second to Devine in penalty minutes.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s nice to have your name in the record book,&rdquo; MacGuigan admitted, &ldquo;but I really don&rsquo;t care whether or not I go to the top of the list in penalty minutes.&rdquo;His pro career began with Muskegon of the International League in 1976, following his selection by the Islanders in the third round of that year&rsquo;s draft. He played one game at Fort Worth of the CHL that season and two more full years, helping the former Texans franchise to the Adams Cup in 1978. He has, of course, added two more championship rings with Indianapolis.The two-time CHL All-Star acknowledges it has been &ldquo;an up and down season for the team. I feel I&rsquo;ve played okay, but maybe I could play a little better than I have lately. We have to try to get things together for the playoffs.&rdquo;The Checkers are battling Salt Lake for third place, in which case they would face the homeless Oilers in the first Adams Cup playoff round. As things stand, that would put the entire series in Indianapolis, although league president Bud Poile has indicated there&rsquo;s been interest from Cincinnati to be host to a couple of the Oilers&rsquo; home contests.MacGuigan isn&rsquo;t certain how much longer he&rsquo;ll keep adding to his career marks in Indianapolis, not to mention the CHL. As far as next season is concerned, he said, &ldquo;The situation looks like it will depend on whether the Islanders have a full team or split a team with someone else. &lsquo;&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve heard that idea mentioned.&ldquo;If they share a team somewhere, I doubt if I&rsquo;ll be back with them. They have a lot of players under contract. If they go with a whole team on their own, I might be back.&rdquo;Much of that decision by the Islanders will be based on what happens&mdash;or what is likelv to happen&mdash;to the CHL after this season.&ldquo;I hope they keep the league going,&rdquo; said MacGuigan. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a good league and hopefully they can come up with six or seven teams for next season. Right now, you get kind of tired of seeing the same teams so often, with only five in the league. It gets tiresome playing against the same team all the time.&rdquo;Whatever happens, the rugged lefthander has left his mark for amazing consistency in his wake. If the Checkers and the CHL continue, he&rsquo;ll most likely be around to add to his records. If there is no CHL and if the parent Islanders move the franchise from Indianapolis, there&rsquo;ll be no one around to erase MacGuigan&rsquo;s name from the history books.CHL CHAT&mdash;Montana has restructured its ownership and the club will finish the season under new management.The former minority partnership directed by Ron Littlechild has purchased complete control of the franchise, removing president-general manager Larry Gordon from his responsibilities as director of the franchise.Coach Bryon Baltimore&rsquo;s roster was down to 14 players after St. Louis had recalled five players just before the deadline for reassignment. Baltimore was hoping to fill his roster for the remainder of the season.Indianapolis scored a team-record seven goals in the third period to beat Colorado 11-3, but the Flames came back with a 4-2 triumph the following night to move within six games of the regular-season championship. Any combination of six Colorado wins and-or Oiler losses would clinch the title for Colorado.Salt Lake rookie Scott MacLeod moved into a tie for the scoring lead with Bruce Eakin of Colorado. Each has 88 points; MacLeod with 32 goals, Eakin with 29., Montana&rsquo;s John Markell continues to lead the goals race with 38. Red Laurence of Indianapolis has 33&hellip;The Checkers&rsquo; Mark Hamway scored his first pro hat trick in an 11-3 victory over Colorado&hellip;Center Keith Knight was returned on loan from Colorado to Peoria of the IHL&hellip;Defenseman Bob Hess has signed a CHL contract with Indianapolis. The Checkers&rsquo; Bruce Affleck suffered two broken ribs and a collapsed lung in a game against the Oilers and is expected to be lost for the remainder of the year. He is recovering and says he is &ldquo;resting comfortably&rdquo; in an Indianapolis hospital. He is expected to be released March 15.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-01547/4893406-1-eng-US/f0026-012.jpg" title="f0026-01" width="584" height="800"><figcaption class="caption-body">Garth MacGuigan owns a multitude of Indianapolis Checker scoring records.</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0026-01

MacGuigan Eyes League Records And Future Of Team Next Season

<div class="byline">BY BUD GALLMEIER</div>Louisville HockeySAGINAW&mdash;The Gears are apparently being resurrected and their chances of rejoining the International League look good.Extinct for 11 months, the Gears could be part of the league next season if current plans organized by local business-&lsquo;man Leo Loiacano, Jr., materialize. Loiacono, a Saginaw realtor, hopes to purchase the bankrupt franchise from Frank Vaydik, the court-appointed trustee.Talking about his plans, Loiacano told the Saginaw News, &ldquo;He&rsquo;s (Vaydik) been very cooperative and positive that we will be able to get the sales through the courts.&rdquo;Loiacano heads a group of five investors who want to bring hockey back here.Terms of the expected sales were not disclosed but the asking price is believed to be $100,000. Wren Blair, who organized the Gears when they were part of the IHL, has been contacted about filling the position of management consultant under the new ownership and he&rsquo;d be responsible for all hockey business, from obtaining a lease with the Civic Center to the hiring of a coach.Meanwhile, the race for the five playoff positions heats up as the season winds toward a finish. Milwaukee, back home again following a lengthy road trip, has solidifed its hold on second place and is setting its sight on frontrunning Fort Wayne. The Admirals have gone four games without a loss and have cut the 13-point Komet lead to nine. The two teams meet one another four more times, two at home and two on the road.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve broken out of a bit of a slump,&rdquo; said center Fred Berry, who scored a hat trick in an 8-4 Milwaukee romp over Toledo.Before dumping the Goaldiggers, the Ads whipped Peoria 9-2 at home, won 6-4 at Kalamazoo and tied the Generals 5-5 in Flint.FORT WAYNE&mdash;The Komet winning streak ended at 12 with a 5-2 loss in Toledo. The defeat also snapped a six-game road winning streak, which started with a 4-3 overtime win in Peoria.Following the loss to Toledo, the Komets bounced back with a 5-1 win over Muskegon as Dan Sanscartier returned in goal at home for the first time since Jan. 28. Rookie Darren Jensen has appeared in 46 of the 68 Komet games and leads the league with a 2.80 goals-against average.After Muskegon, the Komets went on the road again and tied Peoria 2-2.TOLEDO&mdash;The 5-2 win over Fort Wayne was the high spot for the Goaldiggers&mdash;the only one. Before beating the Komets, Toledo lost a 5-3 decision at home to Kalamazoo and after beating Fort Wayne, it suffered two straight losses on the road. Toledo blew a 3-1 lead at Milwaukee and lost 8-4. The Diggers had a 4-2 lead at Peoria but lost 5-4 in overtime.KALAMAZOO&mdash;The K-Wings are also on a roll. Kalamazoo completed a successful road swing with a 5-3 win in Toledo and followed that with a 6-1 romp over Muskegon, vaulting them into fourth place, ahead of Flint. The win at Toledo was Kalamazoo&rsquo;s fourth in a five-game road trip.But all good things come to an end. Following the win over Muskegon, the K-Wings were bombed 6-4 by Milwaukee at home. The Wings, at one point, scored two goals in nine seconds by Steve Banois, a K-Wing record.FLINT&mdash;The Generals have cooled off a bit and have paid the price. They slipped to fifth place as they managed just one point durung the week with a 5-5 tie at home against Milwaukee. In the other start, Flint lost 4-2 at Peoria.PEORIA&mdash;The Prancers kept their flickering playoff hopes alive by picking up a pair of victories, both at home. They beat Flint 4-2 and Toledo 5-4 in overtime. The Prancers also picked up a point with a 2-2 overtime tie against Fort Wayne. On the road, Peoria lost 9-2 at Milwaukee.MUSKEGON&mdash;The Mohawks slipped farther behind the pack with two more losses, both on the road. The offense managed just a pair of goals in losing 6-1 in Kalamazoo and Fort Wayne 5-1. &#9632;

Gears Are In Motion For Possible Rebirth

<div class="byline">BY PAT LYON</div>SPRUCE PINE&mdash;Rob Clavette thought every thing was going great, but then he ot the shock of his hockey life.Playing for the second-place Erie Golden Blades, Clavette was leading the league in scoring when he was suddenly traded by Erie to the last-place Pine &bull;Bridge Bucks.While that&rsquo;s not exactly like being banished to Siberia, it was still hard for Clavette to accept. But after a few weeks, his bitterness has subsided and he&rsquo;s enjoying his best professional season.&ldquo;I was bitter for awhile, but then I figured there was nothing I could do about it and I wanted to finish the season,&rdquo; he said.Pine Bridge faced an uphill battle trying to gain a playoff spot, which has made the game interesting for Clavette and helped in his adjustment of playing for the Bucks.Clavette&rsquo;s experience has also paid off for the young squad. &ldquo;We have a lot of young guys on the team and we make some fundamental mistakes,&rdquo; he explained. &ldquo;I see a lot of things and I try to point them out to some of the other players.&rdquo;Player-coach Frank Perkins feels Clavette added something that the team desperately needed.&ldquo;Rob has experience and can score. but what we really lacked was a righthanded shot that could score and he filled that role,&rdquo; said Perkins.Clavette was hoping that his best season in the Atlantic Coast League would enable him to move up the hockey ladder next year.Meanwhile, injuries on defense have forced Perkins to play the back line.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve played a little defense and it&rsquo;s nice because I don&rsquo;t have to skate as much,&rdquo; joked the Buck coach. &ldquo;You really see a different aspect of the game playing back there.&rdquo;AROUND THE LEAGUE&mdash;Erie acquired defenseman Darren Yankovsky from Pine Bridge as compensation for Rob Clavette., Mohawk Valley&rsquo;s Dave Lair became the second player to score 50 goals this season. Center-left winger Tony Trase joined the Stars and scored a goal in his first game. Trase returned to the United States after playing in France&hellip;Virginia&rsquo;s Lee Blossom became the first 50 goal scorer of the season&hellip;Carolina is playing with a full lineup for the first time in weeks with Dave Watson, Jerry Ingram. Greg Squires and Lynn Jorgenson all coming off the injured list. After two straight losses to Pine Bridge. Rick Dudley returned behind the bench. &#9632;

Clavette No Longer Bucks Trade

<div class="byline">BY TOM BURKE</div>BOSTON&mdash;Make the score, opposition four, ECAC zero.Since Clarkson and Boston College fared no better on the road against Minnesota-Duluth and Michigan State, respectively, the ECAC failed to send a representative to the NCAA Final Four for the second time in three years.Bowling Green&rsquo;s second-night win not only snapped a four-game Falcon losing skein, it was Jerry York&rsquo;s first win in 10 tries against BU coach Jack Parker in his 12 years as coach of Clarkson and BG. York, predictably, was ecstatic.&ldquo;We had a good first period last night, then we just tailed off,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We knew that tonight we had to just play smarter, tougher and get better goaltending.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think that BU really believed the series was still in doubt after last night. That probably worked to our advantage. We knew we had to make up a goal at a time early, then worry about winning it.&rdquo;BG actually took a brief lead in the series, running up a 4-0 count the second night before BU freshman Ed Lowney tied the series score at 12:25 of the second period. Lowney and classmate John Cullen forced a turnover in the neutral zone and worked a breakaway on frosh goalie Gary Kruzich. It was a Falcon mistake that was a rarity after several similar goals the previous night.Gary Galley and Dave Ellett, both defensemen, each flipped home loose pucks from the BU doorstep and had BG leading 2-0 in the first six minutes of play. Tim Hack and Jamie Wansbrough notched second-period markers before Lowney&rsquo;s series equallizer. A bigger, slower but more physical team, the Falcons checked the Terriers effectively and forced more turnovers in the second game.The first night&rsquo;s story was quite different, even though BG had a 1-0 lead on a Gino Cavallini goal after one period. Lowney scored twice in the second frame, bracketing singles by Chuck Sullivan and Kevin Mutch. Only a pair of BG goals 12 seconds apart late in the period kept the final spread manageable. In the end, the flurry was the key, even though the Terriers dominated the rest of the first contest.BU had several chances to win in the overtime. The best came in the fourth minute of play when a centering shot rolled between Kruzich&rsquo;s skate and the post, slid along the goalline, and out the other side of the crease. A minute later, Pikul settled things.Up at Troy, the big RPI guns were strangely silent except for Marty Dall-man, who had his team&rsquo;s final score in the 5-4 loss in the opener and scored both goals in the 4-2 loss. Casey turned away 49 Engineer drives, with the Engineers&rsquo; shot margin 21-3 in the second period. But they only managed one goal in that frame, John Carter from Adam Oates. It was the only score of the series for those prolific sophomores, a bad omen for RPI.Casey had 38 saves in the second game. His RPI counterpart, Darren Puppa, stopped 22 and 21 shots, respectively, fewer than half of Casey&rsquo;s. What hadn&rsquo;t happened to the Engineers all season finally happened&mdash;the offense couldn&rsquo;t come up with the goals and the defense couldn&rsquo;t hold off a determined foe. At 32-5, RPI finished up with the best percentage in the nation but had nowhere to go.Five different players scored for North Dakota in the opener. After Dallman&rsquo;s goal at 2:18 of the third period, RPI led 4-3. But Steve Palmiscno and Jim Archibald erased the edge in a hurry, each taking feeds close in on Puppa and whipping high shots to the right corner at 8:36 and 9:03.The Sioux never trailed in the second game. Chris Jensen scored on a 15-foot* wrist shot at 8:41 of the first period, just two seconds before a Sioux power play expired. He also had the empty-net clincher with a minute to go, but the real crusher was Gord Sherven&rsquo;s 25-footer just 36 seconds into the final period, making the game score 3-1.RPI hadn&rsquo;t lost at home in over a year. It had won 26 straight contests at Hous ton Field House, but the no-nonsenseWCHA runner-up was too much to handle. Gasparini skated three lines to RPI&rsquo;s four and instructed his charges to shoot high on Puppa. Both strategies worked* The Sioux didn&rsquo;t return home to Grand Forks, instead hopping a bus for the two hour ride up into the Adirondacks. The big hoedown, held out East, had no eastern partygoers once again.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-01523/4893485-1-eng-US/f0028-012.jpg" title="f0028-01" width="575" height="880"><figcaption class="caption-body">Bowling Green coach Jerry York(above) beat Jack Parker for the first time in 10 tries.</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0028-01

The Party’s All Over In The ECAC With All Four Teams Losing Out

North Dakota senior goalie Jon Casey showed why he is a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award as the college player of the year by back-stopping the Sioux to an upset of RPI and earning an invitation to the NCAA Final Four tournament.Casey, a native of Grand Rapids, MN, made 87 saves to help UMD snap a 25-game home-ice winning streak at RPI and earn the college player-of-the-week honors.Casey, a senior, finished second in WCHA goals-against average by a fraction of a point and is the Sioux&rsquo;s nominee for All-American honors.At the end of the season, THE HOCKEY NEWS will select a Bauer College Player of the Year.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-02366/4893516-1-eng-US/f0028-022.jpg" title="f0028-02" width="551" height="797"><figcaption class="caption-body">JON CASEY UND</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0028-02

Bauer Player of the week

<div class="byline">BY TOM BURKE</div>DULUTH&mdash;The Boat Show was over at the Arena and the Bulldogs were glad to be back home. Forced to go to Minneapolis to play as &ldquo;home&rdquo; team for the previous weekend&rsquo;s WCHA finals against North Dakota, UMD blasted the Sioux away on total goals and were seeded as the second Western entry on the NCAA quarters.Third-place Clarkson gave the home team all it could handle, even after dropping the opener 6-2. The Golden Knights won the next game 6-3 with a tremendous third-period surge, but they fell just a goal short, giving the Western teams a clean sweep in this year&rsquo;s quarterfinals.Things looked quite good for UMD at the start of the third period of the re-match. The score of the game was 2-2 and the series margin was still comfortable four. Goals by Skeeter Moore and Norm Maclver had offset Clarkson tallies by Ted Cline and Charlie Meitner. Things seemed well in hand at that point.At 3:33 of the third period, Derek Ray beat Rick Kosti. Still no cause for concern.But at 5:25, when Fretz connected, it was time for nail biting.Almost 10 minutes passed and the Port City rooters began to relax. Brian Johnson gave them more rooting material at 14:37, scoring with an assist to Tom Kurvers. The margin was three, overall.But Clarkson wouldn&rsquo;t quit. Cline bagged his second of the game at 16:57. Clarkson coach Bill O&rsquo;Flaherty pulled goalie Jamie Falle with a little less than two minutes to play and Bob Armstrong, the All-American defenseman, connected with 1:01 to play. The natives were getting nervous.Falle came back out with 44 seconds to play, but the Knights couldn&rsquo;t connect for the equalizer. Johnson&rsquo;s goal, which hadn&rsquo;t seemed all that big at the time, stood up as the winning marker.Like the first tilt, this one featured relatively few shots on goal. Falle had 28 saves and Kosti 24. In the opener, Falle stopped 18 shots and Kosti 26. But UMD lost little time in building up a big lead that first game, a lead that eventually made the difference.Bill Watson, the WCHA&rsquo;s leading scorer, got his team onto the board at 18 seconds of the second period. He later added the fourth goal of the period after Moore and Kurvers tallied. Matt Christiansen upped the count to 5-0 on a power play at 7:19 of the third period before Gord Sharpe finally broke the ice at 14:26.Johnson, a freshman from nearby Silver Bay, once again had his team&rsquo;s final score of the game, at 15:13, another goal that would prove pivotal 24 hours later. With 2:41 to play, Clarkson&rsquo;s Bob Lenney closed out the game&rsquo;s scoring when each club had a man in the penalty box.Like most of the East&rsquo;s teams, Clarkson had trouble in the goal-scoring department this year. The Knights solved their scoring frustrations just a little too late, but their gritty try made for the best showing yet by an Eastern visitor in the NCAA quarterfinals since the current system began three years ago. &#9632;

Bulldogs Put The Bite On Golden Knights

<h2>NATIONAL LEAGUE</h2>BUFFALO&mdash;Gates Orlando, RW, assigned to Rochester of AHL on 10-game pro trial.CALGARY&mdash;Tony Stiles, D, sent to Colora-do of CHL.CHICAGO&mdash;Flo Robidoux, C, recalled from Springfield of AHL. Bruce Cassidy, D, recalled from Ottawa of OHL and Tony Camazzola, RW, recalled from Kamloops of WHL. Both players returned to their junior teams.DETROIT&mdash;Eddie Mio, D, recalled from Adirondack of AHL.MINNESOTA&mdash;David Jensen, D, Dirk Gra-ham, RW, and Tim Coulis, LW, all recalled from Salt Lake of CHL. Paul Holmgren, RW, sidelined with shoulder injury. Dave Richter, D, out with pulled stomach muscles.MONTREAL&mdash;Mario Tremblay, RW, side lined for three games after being suspended by the NHL. Larry Landon, RW, and John Newberry, RW, both recalled from Nova Scotia of AHL. Alfie Turcotte, C, sidelined with bruised knee. Bill Root, D, sidelined indefinitely with shoulder separation. Chris Nilan, RW, back from injury list.NEW JERSEY&mdash;Rocky Trottier, C, returned to Medicine Hat of WHL. Bruce Driver, D, assigned to Maine of AHL. Glenn Merkosky, C, recalled from Maine.NY RANGERS&mdash;Pierre Larouche, C, side-lined with sprained knee.PHILADELPHIA&mdash;Bobby Clarke, C, back in lineup after recuperating from the flu. Steve Taylor, RW, signed to pro contract from Providence College and assigned to Springfield of AHL.PITTSBURGH&mdash;Greg Hotham, D, back from injury list.QUEBEC&mdash;Mario Gosselin, G, sidelined for rest of season with sprained knee. Louis Sleigher, RW, out for week with ankle injury. Dale Hunter, C, sidelined for three games after being suspended by the NHL. Blake Wesley, D, Marian Stastny, RW, and Anton Stastny, LW, back from injury list.TORONTO&mdash;Gary Yaremchuk, RW, and Dave Farrish, D, recalled from St. Catharines of AHL. Yaremchuk later returned. Borje Salming, D, out for rest of season with broken kneecap. Bill Derlago, C, and Gary Leeman, D, back from injury list. Gaston Gingras, D, sidelined with sinus condition.WASHINGTON&mdash;Al Jensen, G, and Darren Veitch, D, recalled from Hershey of AHL. Bob Mason, G, sent to Hershey as replacement for Jensen, who was later sidelined with knee injury.WINNIPEG&mdash;Jordy Douglas, RW, and Tim Young, C, back from injury list.<h2>AMERICAN LEAGUE</h2>MAINE&mdash;Randy Wilson, RW, signed as free agent from Europe.SPRINGFIELD&mdash;Bobby Mormina, RW, out for two weeks with pulled groin. Jeff Smith, RW, sidelined for rest of season with hip injury. &#9632;

PLAYER TRANSACTIONS

<h2>NCAA PLAYOFFS</h2>QuarterfinalsNorth Dakota 5, RPI 4North Dakota 4, RPI 2(North Dakota wins two-game total-goals series 9-6)Boston Univ. 6, Bowling Green 3Bowling Green 5, Boston Univ. 1(Bowling Green wins two-game total-goal series 8-7)Minnesota-Duluth 6, Clarkson 2Clarkson 6. Minnesota-Duluth 3(Minnesota-Duluth wins two-game total goals series 9-8)Mich State 6, Boston College 2Mich State 7, Boston College 5(Michigan State wins two-game total-goal series 13-7)SemifinalsThu. March 22Minn-Duluth vs North DakotaFri. March 23Bowling Green vs Michigan StateSat March 24Consolation & championship games.(All games sudden-death at Lake Placid, NY)<h2>ECAC CONFERENCE</h2><h3>PLAYOFF GAMES</h3>SemifinalsBoston Univ. 6, Boston College 4RH 5, Clarkson 4ConsolationClarkson 3, Boston College 1ChampionshipRPI 5, Boston Univ. 2<h3>CCHA CONFERENCE</h3>PLAYOFF GAMESSemifinalsMich State 8, Ohio State 1W. Michigan 5, Bowling Groen 4ConsolationOhio State 3, Bowling Green 2ChampionshipMich State 5, W. Michigan 0<h3>WCHA CONFERENCE</h3>PLAYOFF GAMESFinalsMin-Duluth 8, No. Dakota 1No. Dakota 5, Min-Duluth 4(Min-Duluth wins two-game total-goal series12-6)<h2>ECAC CONFERENCE (Final Standings)</h2><h3>EAST DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-01508/4893766-1-eng-US/f0030-012.jpg" title="f0030-01" width="533" height="211"></div><h3>WEST DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-02380/4893759-1-eng-US/f0030-022.jpg" title="f0030-02" width="528" height="180"></div><h3>IVY DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-03262/4893752-1-eng-US/f0030-032.jpg" title="f0030-03" width="528" height="208"></div><h3>INDEPENDENTS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-04178/4893745-1-eng-US/f0030-042.jpg" title="f0030-04" width="527" height="93"></div><h3>FINAL SCORING LEADERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-05116/4893738-1-eng-US/f0030-052.jpg" title="f0030-05" width="539" height="652"></div><h2>CCHA CONFERENCE (Final Standings)</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-0690/4893731-1-eng-US/f0030-062.jpg" title="f0030-06" width="525" height="353"></div><h3>FINAL SCORING LEADERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-0772/4893724-1-eng-US/f0030-072.jpg" title="f0030-07" width="540" height="1005"></div><h2>WCHA CONFERENCE (Final Standings)</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-0863/4893717-1-eng-US/f0030-082.jpg" title="f0030-08" width="530" height="208"></div><h3>FINALSCORING LEADERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-0955/4893710-1-eng-US/f0030-092.jpg" title="f0030-09" width="538" height="1352"></div><h3>ECAC CONFERENCE</h3>DIVISION II PLAYOFFSEast DivisionBowdoin 6, UMass 4Norwich 7, Merrimack 4Colby 3, NE College 2Babson 6, Salem State 2SemifinalsBabson 3, Norwich 1Bowdoin 4, Colby 3FinalsBabson 4, Bowdoin 1West DivisionRIT 7, Hamilton 0Plattsburgh 6, Elmira 1Union 6, No. Adams 4Oswego 9, Potsdam 2SemifinalsRIT 6, Plattsburgh 2Union 5, Oswego 3FinalsRIT 3, Union 1<h3>CANADIAN COLLEGES</h3>SemifinalsToronto 8, Trois-Rivieres 3Toronto 6, Trois-Rivieres 1(Toronto wins best-of-three series 2-0)Concordia 2, Alberta 2Concordia 5, Alberta 3(Concordia wins best-of-three series 1-0, one tied)FinalsToronto 9, Concordia 1(Toronto wins championship)<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)<h3>QUEBEC CONFERENCE</h3>FinalsConcordia 5, Ottawa 2Concordia 6, Ottawa 3Concordia 6, Ottawa 4(Concordia wins best-of-five series 3-0)<h3>ONTARIO CONFERENCE</h3>Semi-finalsToronto 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)FinalsToronto 2, Western 1Toronto 5, Western 3(Toronto wins best-of-three series 2-0)<h3>ATLANTIC CONFERENCE</h3>Semi-finalsAcadia 5, New Brunswick 4New Brunswick 5, Acadia 1New Brunswick 8, Acadia 2(New Brunswick winsbest-of-three series 2-1)FinalsNew Brunswick 4, Moncton 3New Brunwick 5, Moncton 3New Brunswick wins(best-of-three series 2-0)<h3>GREAT PLAINS CONFERENCE</h3>FinalsBrandon 8, Manitoba 4Manitoba 9, Brandon 5Manitoba 8, Brandon 5(Manitoba wins best-of-three series 2-1)<h3>CANADA WEST CONFERENCE</h3>FinalsAlberta 4, Saskatchewan 2Alberta 9, Saskatchewan 2(Alberta wins best-of-three series 2-0)<h3>ONTARIO COLLEGES</h3>FinalsSeneca 7, Canadore 2Seneca 10, Canadore 2(Seneca 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/f0030-1047/4893703-1-eng-US/f0030-102.jpg" title="f0030-10" width="534" height="414"></div><h2>QUEBEC CONFERENCE</h2>(Final Standings)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-1141/4893696-1-eng-US/f0030-112.jpg" title="f0030-11" width="533" height="178"></div><h2>CANADA WEST CONFERENCE</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-1238/4893689-1-eng-US/f0030-122.jpg" title="f0030-12" width="534" 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/f0030-1335/4893682-1-eng-US/f0030-132.jpg" title="f0030-13" width="530" height="182"></div><h3>INDEPENDENT</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-1432/4893675-1-eng-US/f0030-142.jpg" title="f0030-14" width="533" height="63"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>No. Arizona 5, US Inti 0No. Arizona 5, US Inti 4No. Arizona 10, US Inti 3US Inti 6, No. Arizona 4(End of schedule)<h2>FINAL SCORING LEADERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-1532/4893668-1-eng-US/f0030-152.jpg" title="f0030-15" width="534" height="386"></div><h2>NCHA CONFERENCE</h2>(Final Standings<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-1626/4893661-1-eng-US/f0030-162.jpg" title="f0030-16" width="531" height="267"></div><h3>FINAL SCORING LEADERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-1726/4893654-1-eng-US/f0030-172.jpg" title="f0030-17" width="532" height="357"></div><h2>WEST PENN CONFERENCE</h2>(Final Standings)<h3>GREATER PITT DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-1823/4893647-1-eng-US/f0030-182.jpg" title="f0030-18" width="530" height="178"></div><h3>WEST PENN DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-1918/4893640-1-eng-US/f0030-192.jpg" title="f0030-19" width="534" height="179"></div><h3>PLAYOFF GAMES</h3>Duquesne 9, West Virginia 4Indiana 5, Slippery Rock 3Semi-finalsGannon 4, Indiana 3Duquesne 4, Carnegie 3FinalsDuquesne 7, Gannon 5(Duquesne wins championship) &#9632;

f0030-01

HOW THEY STAND

<div class="byline">BY JOHN HERBERT</div>Louisville HockeyLONDON&mdash;People are saying Don Boyd has done a good job with the Knights&rsquo; young club this season in the Ontario Hockey League, guiding it to a fourth-place finish in the Emms Division with 11 rookies.But what about Richard (Skip) Cummins, who has been at his side every day at practice and on the bench for every game throughout the regular season?Skip Cummins is a 27-year-old from London who slipped behind the Knights&rsquo; bench at the start of the season and has gone about his work without much notice or fanfare, like many of the assistants around the OHL. Last year he was an assistant with St. Thomas Pests of the Western Junior B League and before that coached minor teams in Greater London.Overnight, the OHL seems to have become a spawning ground for assistants.A few years ago there were few, if any.Cummins, a salesman, devotes all his spare time to the club operations. He is one the most involved if not the most. involved assistant in the OHL in day-to-day operations of a franchise and is learning from the grass roots about the OHL so that some day he might land a full-time job.He&rsquo;s also unbeaten as a head coach.The opening night of the season in Windsor. Cummins was thrust unexpectedly into the head coaching role as Boyd sat out a one-game suspension for a bench-clearing altercation in a preseason game. The Knights won the opener. Ordinarily, Cummins is in charge of the rotation of defensemen and his jovial nature allows him to backslap and keep spirits high on the bench while the more high-strung and emotionally-intense Boyd directs his energy at what&rsquo;s going on out on the ice.&ldquo;I think when you are a general manager and coach you can&rsquo;t do it all,&rdquo; said Boyd, who is in his first year after a half-season last winter as head coach of Regina Pats of the Western Hockey League. Before that, Boyd was an assistant at the University of North Dakota.&ldquo;You need someone who can work hard and with you. Skip&rsquo;s experience in coaching was important. He also knew the system and the people of London. He had experience in St. Thomas and was able to step up and handle junior (OHL) hockey. I knew him when I was in London before (as a player for London Kings). I knew I could trust him and 1 knew things would be done right.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s put a total involvement into it. He&rsquo;s put all his spare time into the hockey club. He&rsquo;s always there and you can count on him. In times of crisis, he&rsquo;s there to lean on. In the final analysis, he treats the club like it&rsquo;s his own. He wants to put something into the program. We&rsquo;re compatible in what we&rsquo;re trying to do. He wants to make sure things are done right and he doesn&rsquo;t treat the job like he&rsquo;s here today and gone tomorrow.&rdquo;From a purely selfish standpoint, Cummins wouldn&rsquo;t mind being gone tomorrow.&ldquo;I&rsquo;d like to move on to major junior A ranks somewhere,&rdquo; Cummins said. &ldquo;I feel with the year under Don I&rsquo;m more rounded as a coach. I&rsquo;ve been spending a lot of time learning all the angles from Don and Bill (Long, the Knights&rsquo; president) about how a junior A club operates.Many junior teams have them now, these silent, seldom-quoted assistant coaches.Some are well-known hockey men who dabble part-time but with little apparent interest in uprooting and taking over a full-time job elsewhere. Some already have tried it such as Brantford Alexanders&rsquo; Ken Gratton, who along with Warren Bechard are assistants to Dave Draper. Gratton had coaching jobs in Brantford and Sudbury but is back in his hometown working and coaching the junior Bs and assisting the Alexanders.Former goalies seem to be among the favorites and most-sought-after assistants. Marv Edwards, who has a trailer park in Havelock, has joined North Bay Centennials. Ex-London National Gerry Desjardins drives in from Ottawa, where he sells heavy machinery, to Cornwall two or three times a month to help Josh Guevremont. Ian Young, who is vicepresident of finance and administration for Enterprise Property Group in Toronto, is helping out Oshawa Generals goalies, a team he played for until losing an eye on a Mickey Redmond slapshot in 1967. Ex-goalies Les Binkley, who scouts for Winnipeg, and Ed Chadwick, who is an Edmonton scout, have helped out in Belleville along with part-owner Wayne Gretzky.Cornwall has another assistant, 25-year-old Greg Prymack, who was a toolmaker in his hometown of Windsor. He gave it up to take a job in Cornwall this season to administer affairs of the Huron Hockey School head office. Toronto Marlies have Chris Mefoff, a former Marlie and Toronto Toro, to work with defenseman and generally act as a sounding board and buffer for head coach Tom Martin.Guelph Platers have Mike Mahoney, a 45-year-old liquor salesman, who played junior A for the old Guelph Biltmore Madhatters and pro for many years with Hershey Bears. Over the years, Mahoney has coached intermediate, junior B and tier two clubs but because of his work is unable to take on a junior A team fulltime.Another former defenseman, Jim Dorey, has settled in his hometown of Kingston after a long pro career and sells insurance. Dorey, because of his commitment to his job, works only home games and joins Rick Comacchia back of the bench for the third period of home games.Soo Greyhounds are breaking in young Tony Butorac as an assistant to Terry Crisp. Butorac, a former player who had 60 goals for the Hounds a couple years back but didn&rsquo;t cut it as a pro, is trying to get solid footing in coaching and hopes some day to advance to a headcoaching position.In addition to Young, the Generals have recently added Dave Chambers to help out Paul Theriault. Chambers, a teacher at York, coached Toronto Marl-boros for one season along with Italy&rsquo;s national team. Ottawa&rsquo;s Brian Kilrea, one of the most successful coachings&rsquo; in the OHL, counts heavily on his assistant Gordie Hamilton, who ran the club for a few games at Christmas when Kilrea took Canada&rsquo;s junior team overseas for the world tourney. Peterborough has taken on Jacques Martin, who took a leave from a teaching position to join up with Dick Todd.Windsor&rsquo;s new coach Wayne Maxner, who is spending much time scouting lately, is relying on Dave Perpich, coach of the Windsor Royals junior B club, to help out when he&rsquo;s away.The only team at present without an assistant, or a helper, is the Sudbury Wolves.In The Stretch&mdash;As the season wound down in its final week, the battle for first overall and an exemption into the Memorial Cup tourney as host city raged between Ottawa 67s and the John Tuckerless Kitchener Rangers. The Rangers held a 102-100 points lead going into the final weekend. Meanwhile, Dave Gagner is looking better and better as he fits into Brantford Alexanders system of play. He helped the A&rsquo;s beat Sault Ste. Marie 4-1 and London 10-0 a couple nights later. Brantford has a solid grip on second over the Soo in the Emms Division, a finish which would give them a first-round playoff bye.Windsor Spitfires and North Bay Centennials were also battling it out for fifth and sixth in the standings.In the Leyden group, Toronto Marlie were fighting a challenge from Peterborough Petes for second spot and the bye.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-01472/4893797-1-eng-US/f0031-012.jpg" title="f0031-01" width="580" height="876"><figcaption class="caption-body">London&rsquo;s Skip Cummins doesn&rsquo;t mind admitting he&rsquo;d like to be-come a head coach.</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0031-01

Ontario League Assistant Coaches Take Quiet Role Behind The Bench

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-02332/4893842-1-eng-US/f0031-022.jpg" title="f0031-02" width="551" height="566"><figcaption class="caption-body">STEVE THOMAS Toronto</figcaption></div><h2>ONTARIO LEAGUE</h2>Steve Thomas is one of those overage junior players still looking for a chance to be drafted by the National Hockey League.The 20-year-old right winger of the Toronto Marlboros was passed over in the 1983 draft mainly because of a lack of scoring, but he&rsquo;s making up for it this year. In the Marlboros&rsquo; recent 10-4 rout of Kingston, he scored six goals and assisted on the other four to win the nod as the OHL player of the week.With 50 goals in 67 games, Thomas has improved his draft chances.At the end of the current season, THE HOCKEY NEWS will select a Micron Junior Player of the Year.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-03245/4893835-1-eng-US/f0031-032.jpg" title="f0031-03" width="561" height="567"><figcaption class="caption-body">RAY FERRARO Brandon</figcaption></div><h2>WESTERN LEAGUE</h2>The Hartford Whalers are eagerly awaiting the arrival of Ray Ferraro next season.The 19-year-old Brandon Wheat King center is now the most prolific goal scorer in Western Hockey League history. Ferraro collected eight goals in his last four games giving him 100 for the year to break Bill Derlago&rsquo;s record of 96. It also helped him win the selection as the WHL player of the week.Ferraro, who was drafted by Hartford in 1982 and is a top candidate for league most-valuable player honors.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-04181/4893828-1-eng-US/f0031-042.jpg" title="f0031-04" width="540" height="562"><figcaption class="caption-body">MARIO LEMIEUX Laval</figcaption></div><h2>QUEBEC LEAGUE</h2>Looking more and more like a junio version of Wayne Gretzky, sensationa Mario Lemieux of Laval scored hi 133rd goal and 281st point of the sea son to break two more Quebec Majo Junior Hockey League records.The 6-foot-4 Laval center, who notched 14 goals and eights in his las three games, was named the QHL&rsquo; player of the week for the eighth time he proceeded to remove the names of such illustrious QMJHL grads as GuyLafleur and Pierre Larouche from the record book. &#9632;

f0031-02

MICRON JUNIOR PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

<div class="byline">BY BEN KUZMA</div>Louisville HockeyBRANDON&mdash;Excuse Ray Ferraro is there&rsquo;s a persistent twinkle in his eye and smile on his lips.The 19-year-old Wheat King center, considered expendable in a pre-season Western Hockey League trade with the Portland Winter Hawks, is enjoying the last laugh on the defending Memorial Cup champions. Ferraro notched a hat trick March 11 to break Bill Derlago&rsquo;s regular-season record of 96 goals.The 5-foot-10, 175-pound Ferraro pushed his goal total to 98 with the three-goal performance and hit the 100-goal plateau the next night. Ferraro, who leads WHL scoring with 180 points, has also broken the mark for most powerplay goals in a season. Derlago held that mark at 37. Ferraro is also 14 points shy of the league record for total points set in 1978-79 by Brian Propp.&ldquo;What disappointed me the most is I thought they (the Winter Hawks) were looking for defensemen because we lost three last season.&rdquo; said Ferraro, who had 90 points including 41 goals in the 198283 season. &ldquo;When I found out they traded for a center it didn&rsquo;t make me that happy&mdash;I was a little angry. It makes me feel better the trade didn&rsquo;t work out for Portland.&rdquo;Ferraro and defenseman Brad Duggan were two veteran Winter Hawks dealt to Brandon in a multi-player swap for highly-touted 17-year-old center Blaine Chrest. He was eventually injured and returned to tier two.&ldquo;I was glad to get out of the shadow of Yaremchuk (Ken) and Turcotte (Alfie),&rdquo; said Ferraro. &ldquo;They are really good players but I wasn&rsquo;t getting much ice time.&rdquo;Ferraro was hesitant at heading east but some thoughtful prodding by his parents landed the Trail, B.C., native in Brandon.&ldquo;The biggest concern is it (Brandon) was far away and I didn&rsquo;t know whether it would be to my advantage to go there,&rdquo; said Ferraro, who initially wanted to be dealt to a club closer to home, either Kelowna or Victoria. &ldquo;I was pretty concerned. I was going to give it until Christmas but it didn&rsquo;t take long to see we had the makings of a good team.&rdquo;The Wheat Kings, who finished seventh in the eight-team Eastern Division last season, were locked in a struggle for second place with a 40-25-2 record-three back of Medicine Hat.Ferraro is a big key to the turnaround.&ldquo;I remember Jack (coach Sangster) telling me when we got him that he could score 70 goals,&rdquo; said Brandon general manager Les Jackson. &ldquo;We never expected him to get this many. As far as we&rsquo;re concerned he brought a winning attitude. He&rsquo;s a perfect gentleman and he&rsquo;s just excellent to have around.&rdquo;The more Ferarro began enjoying his surroundings, the more pressure started to mount. It didn&rsquo;t take the media long to pick up on Ferraro taking a shot at the goal-scoring mark established by Derlago, a former Wheat King.&ldquo;The history of the organization with all its snipers helped when I came back here, but it also added a little bit of added pressure,&rdquo; said Ferraro. &ldquo;When I had 30 goals someone noticed I was on Derlago&rsquo;s pace. Right from 17 games into the season I was chasing the record. In the paper they had a graph, my goals were on left and Billy D&rsquo;s on the right.&ldquo;I had some sleepless nights. It&rsquo;s sometimes hard to believe the way everything went in the net for me. I got everything I needed, it&rsquo;s turned out to be a great year.&rdquo;Ferraro has had plenty to remember this season.&ldquo;When Portland played here I had a great game and got a couple of goals, I&rsquo;ll certainly remember that,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;When I had seven goals against Prince Albert to tie a record, that was a thrill and of course so was the night I broke Derlago&rsquo;s record.&rdquo;Ferraro, drafted by the Hartford Whalers in the fifth round two years ago, believes Sangster has made him a better all-round player. Sangster, who coached in Seattle last season, has done an admirable job in Brandon and is expected to gamer several votes for coach-of-the-year honors.&ldquo;Jack is actually an easy guy to get along with,&rdquo; said Ferraro. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve worked hard since the outset and Jack has had me doing things like kill penalties. He&rsquo;s stressed defense and it&rsquo;s really helped me out. I think I&rsquo;m a better player in my own end too.&ldquo;My forte is moving the puck. I don&rsquo;t know if I can be physical because of my size. My job is to move the puck to my wingers.&rdquo;As far as pro aspirations are concerned, Ferraro hopes to crack Hartford&rsquo;s lineup next season.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m sure they (Whalers) have been watching me,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;They told me they were going to leave me in junior this year and they&rsquo;ve been true to their word. They&rsquo;re pretty solid up the middle and they signed Dave Tippett off the (Canadian) Olympic team so I&rsquo;ll just wait for camp.&rdquo;WHL WEEK&mdash;Brandon and Regina received fines and suspension resulting from a second-period brawl March 7. Regina was fined $1,250 and Brandon $750 while Wheat King general manager Les Jackson was fined $1,000 and suspended indefinitely for his actions. Regina&rsquo;s Stu Grimson and Ron Hextali of Brandon were suspended eight games each while Brandon&rsquo;s Brad Wells and Regina&rsquo;s Jamie Reeve got four games apiece.Dan Hodgson of Prince Albert was second in scoring with 174 points. Dale Derkatch of Regina was third with 143 while Dean Evason of Kamloops was fourth with 131 points and Taylor Hall of Regina fifth at 130 points. Cam Plante of Brandon had 129 while Mark Lamb of Medicine Hat and rookie Cliff Ronning of New Westminster had 125 points each. Rounding out the top 10 were Dave Pasin of Prince Albert with 119 points and Ken Quinney of Calgary with 114.Al Stewart of Prince Albert snapped a long-standing WHL record for shorthanded goals, eclipsing the 12 collected by Don Kozak during the 1970-71 season with Edmonton Oil Kings. Stewart has 14 shorthanded tallies. Plante is two assists shy of equalling Jim Benning&rsquo;s mark for assists by defensemen. The former Winter Hawk rearguard had 111 in 1980-81.Kamloops was the top-rated WHL club in weekly Canadian Major Junior Hockey League ratings. Kamloops was rated fourth with a winning percentage of. 691. Regina was fifth at. 669 while Medicine Hat was eighth (.634), Lethbridge ninth (.612) and Brandon 10th (.606). &#9632;

Ferraro Enjoys The Last Laugh On Portland

<div class="byline">BY RICK MAYOH</div>LAVAL&mdash;With only one game left, Mario Lemieux went right to work on Guy Lafleur&rsquo;s Quebec Major Junior Hockey League goal-scoring record, striking on his first two shifts.By the time the regular-season champion Voisins (54-16) thrashed the Longueuil Chevaliers 16-4 before a sellout crowd of 3,500, the 6-foot-3, 200-pound center added goals 130,131,132 and 133 to surpass Lafleur&rsquo;s 130-goal mark set in 1970-71 with the Quebec Remparts.Lemieux assisted on five other goals for an 11-point performance, his most productive of the 70-game season, and wound up with a record 282 points on 133 goals and 149 assists.And as if surpassing Lafleur wasn&rsquo;t enough&mdash;even though it took him eight games more than Lafleur&mdash;the Great Gretzky and Edmonton Oiler teammate Paul Coffey were right there with congratulations.&ldquo;I got a standing ovation and the fans threw paper all over the ice, it was great,&rdquo; said Lemieux, touted as the National Hockey League&rsquo;s first draft pick in June. &ldquo;We went to the dressing room for about 10 minutes while the ice was cleared and Wayne came down. He left after the record was broken and I understand Guy Lafleur is sending a telegram.&ldquo;I thought I had a chance at it because the rest of the guys really wanted me to get it,&rdquo; said the 18-year-old Montreal native. &ldquo;They played a big part in the record.&rdquo;&ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t think he would be able to score four points a night,&rdquo; said Voisin owner and general manager Claude Four-nel. &ldquo;But he did it with two points to spare. Unbelievable. It was something to witness. &bull;&ldquo;He came to the rink early and we spent about an hour together. He was ready, you could see it in his face.&rdquo;&ldquo;After watching him for one period, I can tell you he&rsquo;s going to be a good pro,&rdquo; Gretzky said. &ldquo;He has a soft touch with the puck and moves it well&mdash;if you can do that you can play in the NHL.&rdquo;Lafleur said the Candiens need a player such as Lemieux, noting that he is the type of player who could play his entire career in Montreal.&ldquo;I haven&rsquo;t seen him play, but I&rsquo;ve heard a lot about him,&rdquo; Lafleur said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m told he&rsquo;s a great puck handler and an excellent shot. He&rsquo;s also big and strong and that&rsquo;s the kind of player the team needs.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s one of the top juniors and he deserves the record. I don&rsquo;t feel shy about him beating my record, I&rsquo;m very happy for him.&rdquo;Lemieux&rsquo;s remarkable finish capped a remarkable season. He scored at least one point in 61 consecutive games and set a major junior record. His 282-point total easily broke Pierre Larouche&rsquo;s record of 251, set in 61 games with the 1973-74 Sorel Eperviers.He missed Larouche&rsquo;s single-season assist mark by eight, but is the league&rsquo;s career leader with 315, six more than the previous mark of Denis Savard, when he played with the Montreal Juniors.Lemieux surpassed Mike Bossy and brothers Sylvain and Jacques Locas into second place on the career points list with 562, six behind Normand Dupont.His 247 career goals place him sixth behind Bossy (291), Dupont (278), Jacques Locas (269), Norm Aubin (258) and Sylvain Locas (254).But he accumulated his points in only three seasons, at least one or two full seasons less than those ahead of him.Lemieux fired three goals and seven assists against Chicoutimi Sagueneens on Feb. 20. He also had three eight-point games and five seven-point nights.&ldquo;On the 131st goal, I won a faceoff and tried to pass to Jacques Goyette but the puck hit his skate and bounced back to me,&rdquo; Lemieux said. &ldquo;I just fired it at the net and it hit the post and went in.&rdquo;Goyette, second in league scoring, notched four goals and three assists to wind up with 76 goals and 93 assists.&ldquo;A year and a half ago, he was playing junior B,&rdquo; Fournel said. &ldquo;We knew Mario would score a lot of points but he has been one of my biggest surprises.&rdquo; &#9632;

Lemieux Finishes Season In Flurry

<h2>Wed. March 7 WINNIPEG 3, VANCOUVER 4</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-01442/4894264-1-eng-US/f0033-012.jpg" title="f0033-01" width="534" height="790"></div><h2>Mon. March 12 MONTREAL 6, MINNESOTA 7</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-02315/4894257-1-eng-US/f0033-022.jpg" title="f0033-02" width="534" height="1287"></div><h2>WINNIPEG 8, TORONTO 7</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-03224/4894250-1-eng-US/f0033-032.jpg" title="f0033-03" width="530" height="1078"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-04170/4894243-1-eng-US/f0033-042.jpg" title="f0033-04" width="530" height="294"></div><h2>Tue. March 13 ISLANDERS 5, NEW JERSEY 1</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-05139/4894236-1-eng-US/f0033-052.jpg" title="f0033-05" width="537" height="736"></div><h2>EDMONTON 6, QUEBEC 5</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-06114/4894229-1-eng-US/f0033-062.jpg" title="f0033-06" width="543" height="1069"></div><h2>HARTFORD 0, ST. LOUIS 2</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-07103/4894222-1-eng-US/f0033-072.jpg" title="f0033-07" width="536" height="563"></div><h2>PITTSBURGH 3, VANCOUVER 4</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-0885/4894215-1-eng-US/f0033-082.jpg" title="f0033-08" width="535" height="471"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-0976/4894208-1-eng-US/f0033-092.jpg" title="f0033-09" width="530" height="321"></div><h2>Wed. March 14 BUFFALO 4, CALGARY 2</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-1071/4894201-1-eng-US/f0033-102.jpg" title="f0033-10" width="520" height="269"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-01450/4894194-1-eng-US/f0036-012.jpg" title="f0036-01" width="527" height="470"></div><h2>BOSTON 4, DETROIT 2</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-02340/4894187-1-eng-US/f0036-022.jpg" title="f0036-02" width="537" height="880"></div><h2>PITTSBURGH 6, L. ANGELES 7</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-03268/4894180-1-eng-US/f0036-032.jpg" title="f0036-03" width="521" height="353"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-04193/4894173-1-eng-US/f0036-042.jpg" title="f0036-04" width="532" height="730"></div><h2>NEW JERSEY 3, WASH. 3</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-05152/4894166-1-eng-US/f0036-052.jpg" title="f0036-05" width="532" height="555"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-06130/4894159-1-eng-US/f0036-062.jpg" title="f0036-06" width="524" height="436"></div><h2>PHILADELPHIA 3, RANGERS 6</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-07122/4894152-1-eng-US/f0036-072.jpg" title="f0036-07" width="530" height="726"></div><h2>MINNESOTA 3, TORONTO 3</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-08117/4894145-1-eng-US/f0036-082.jpg" title="f0036-08" width="537" height="956"></div><h2>CHICAGO 4, WINNIPEG 6</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-09111/4894138-1-eng-US/f0036-092.jpg" title="f0036-09" width="523" height="464"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-10108/4894131-1-eng-US/f0036-102.jpg" title="f0036-10" width="531" height="441"></div><h2>Thu. March 15 TORONTO 3, HARTFORD 5</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-11105/4894124-1-eng-US/f0036-112.jpg" title="f0036-11" width="534" height="697"></div><h2>EDMONTON 2, MONTREAL 3</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-12101/4894117-1-eng-US/f0036-122.jpg" title="f0036-12" width="528" height="667"></div><h2>BOSTON 3, PHILADELPHIA 6</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-1398/4894110-1-eng-US/f0036-132.jpg" title="f0036-13" width="520" height="210"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-01398/4894103-1-eng-US/f0037-012.jpg" title="f0037-01" width="541" height="970"></div><h2>DETROIT 3, ST. LOUIS 5</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-02284/4894096-1-eng-US/f0037-022.jpg" title="f0037-02" width="502" height="63"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-03214/4894089-1-eng-US/f0037-032.jpg" title="f0037-03" width="528" height="96"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-04176/4894082-1-eng-US/f0037-042.jpg" title="f0037-04" width="533" height="93"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-05151/4894075-1-eng-US/f0037-052.jpg" title="f0037-05" width="483" height="65"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-2715/4894068-1-eng-US/f0038-272.jpg" title="f0038-27" width="536" height="441"></div><h2>Fri. March 16 CHICAGO 5, CALGARY 6</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-2811/4894061-1-eng-US/f0038-282.jpg" title="f0038-28" width="539" height="819"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-297/4894054-1-eng-US/f0038-292.jpg" title="f0038-29" width="542" height="209"></div><h2>LOS ANGELES 4, WINNIPEG 5</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-303/4894047-1-eng-US/f0038-302.jpg" title="f0038-30" width="544" height="875"></div><h2>Sat. March 17 NEW JERSEY 5, BOSTON 3</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-313/4894040-1-eng-US/f0038-312.jpg" title="f0038-31" width="534" height="180"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-323/4894033-1-eng-US/f0038-322.jpg" title="f0038-32" width="544" height="739"></div><h2>MINNESOTA 4, DETROIT 3</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-333/4894026-1-eng-US/f0038-332.jpg" title="f0038-33" width="535" height="561"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-01435/4894019-1-eng-US/f0039-012.jpg" title="f0039-01" width="539" height="272"></div><h2>LOS ANGELES 1, EDMONTON 9</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-02302/4894012-1-eng-US/f0039-022.jpg" title="f0039-02" width="547" height="941"></div><h2>PITTSBURGH 4, HARTFORD 2</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-03214/4894005-1-eng-US/f0039-032.jpg" title="f0039-03" width="543" height="709"></div><h2>TORONTO 1, MONTREAL 6</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-04180/4893998-1-eng-US/f0039-042.jpg" title="f0039-04" width="535" height="445"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-05145/4893991-1-eng-US/f0039-052.jpg" title="f0039-05" width="535" height="269"></div><h2>WASHINGTON 2, ISLANDERS 1</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-06123/4893984-1-eng-US/f0039-062.jpg" title="f0039-06" width="542" height="681"></div><h2>RANGERS 4, PHILADELPHIA 6</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-07107/4893977-1-eng-US/f0039-072.jpg" title="f0039-07" width="546" height="852"></div><h2>QUEBEC 6, ST. LOUIS 4</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-0897/4893970-1-eng-US/f0039-082.jpg" title="f0039-08" width="537" height="645"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-0985/4893963-1-eng-US/f0039-092.jpg" title="f0039-09" width="538" height="212"></div><h2>BUFFALO 5, VANCOUVER 2</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-1076/4893956-1-eng-US/f0039-102.jpg" title="f0039-10" width="549" height="734"></div><h2>Sun. March 18 BUFFALO 3, EDMONTON 4</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-1168/4893949-1-eng-US/f0039-112.jpg" title="f0039-11" width="536" height="791"></div><h2>ISLANDERS 4, HARTFORD 5</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-1260/4893942-1-eng-US/f0039-122.jpg" title="f0039-12" width="541" height="780"></div><h2>QUEBEC 5, MINNESOTA 5</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-1353/4893935-1-eng-US/f0039-132.jpg" title="f0039-13" width="543" height="998"></div><h2>ST. LOUIS 5, WASHINGTON 3</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-1449/4893928-1-eng-US/f0039-142.jpg" title="f0039-14" width="548" height="846"></div><h2>CALGARY 4, WINNIPEG 3</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-1544/4893921-1-eng-US/f0039-152.jpg" title="f0039-15" width="545" height="940"></div> &#9632;

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<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0034-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-01498/4894323-1-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/f0035-01472/4894316-1-eng-US/f0035-012.jpg" title="f0035-01" width="585" height="2759"></div><h2>GOALTENDING LEADERS GOALS AGAINST AVERAGE</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-02375/4894309-1-eng-US/f0035-022.jpg" title="f0035-02" width="557" height="240"></div><h2>MOST WINS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-03293/4894302-1-eng-US/f0035-032.jpg" title="f0035-03" width="554" height="239"></div><h2>SAVE PERCENTAGE</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-04244/4894295-1-eng-US/f0035-042.jpg" title="f0035-04" width="554" height="237"></div> &#9632;

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NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE SCORING

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0035-05" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-05199/4894354-1-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/f0035-06180/4894406-1-eng-US/f0035-062.jpg" title="f0035-06" width="505" height="430"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-07169/4894399-1-eng-US/f0035-072.jpg" title="f0035-07" width="511" height="485"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-08149/4894392-1-eng-US/f0035-082.jpg" title="f0035-08" width="502" height="499"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-09142/4894385-1-eng-US/f0035-092.jpg" title="f0035-09" width="503" height="494"></div> &#9632;

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NHL GAMES TO COME

BOSTON&mdash;Bourque 25,26,27, Krushelnyski 24, 25, Middleton 44, Pederson 30,31, Hillier 3, K. Crowder 19. Winning goalsMiddleton.BUFFALO&mdash;Foligno 30,31, Tucker 6, Korab 2, Hamel 18,19, Ramsay 9, Virta 5, 6, Ruff 12, McKenna 19, Housley 30. Winning goals-Korab, Foligno.CALGARY&mdash;Nilsson 28, 29, Loob 27, 28, Quinn 15, 16, Beers 36, Risebrough 21, 22, Kromm 10, Jackson 6, Eaves 14. Winning goals-Loob, Risebrough.CHICAGO&mdash;Lysiak 12,13, J. Larmer 14, 15, Sutter 17, 18, Dupont 1, Gardner 25, Preston 10. Winning goals-none.DETROIT&mdash;Yzerman 35,35, Boldirev 28,29, Aubry 2, 3, Duguay 30, Larson 21. Winning goals-none.EDMONTON&mdash;Gretzky 82, 83, Lindstrom 21,22, Kurri 49,50, Semenko 6, Coffey 36,37, 38, Messier 32,33,34,35, Anderson 46,47,48, McClelland 9, Linseman 18, Hughes 26, Hunter 22. Winning goals-Coffey, Messier, McClelland.HARTFORD&mdash;Currie 11, Crawford 33, Pierce 3,4, 5, Neufeld 24, Turgeon 37,38, 39, Siltanen 14, Johnson 33, 34. Winning goalsNeufeld, Johnson.LOS ANGELES&mdash;Nicholls 40, Christoff 8, Fox 27, Barrett 1,2, Taylor 17,18, Simmer 38, 39, 40, Hardy 7, Dionne 34. Winning goals-Hardy.MINNESOTA&mdash;Payne 24, 25,26, 27, Broten 27, Napier 14, 15, 16, McCarthy 37, 38, 39, Maruk 16, Bellows 38, MacAdam 18, Roberts 6, 7, Lawton 8, 9, Plett 13. Winning goals-McCarthy, Lawton.MONTREAL&mdash;Gainey 15,16, 17, Walter 20, Chabot 14, 15, Naslund 27, Smith 27, 28, McPhee 1, 2, 3, Carbonneau 24, Carlson 2, Ludwig 6. Winning goals-Gainey, Carlson.NEW JERSEY&mdash;Brumwell 6, Higgins 15,16, 17, Lewis 2, Bridgman 21, 22, MacMillan 16, Cirella 11. Winning goals-Higgins.NY ISLANDERS&mdash;Potvin 20, Bourne 17, 18, 19, Trottier 35,36, LaFontaine 8,9, Tonelli 25, Gilbert 28. Winning goals-Bourne.NY RANGERS&mdash;Sundstrom 21, 22, Pave-lich 22, Ruotsalainen 19, Greschner 12, Allison 8, Patey 1, Beck 9, Rogers 22, Patrick 1. Winning goals-Ruotsalainen.PHILADELPHIA&mdash;Poulin 24, 25, 26, 27, Sittler 25, Ericksson 10, Cochrane 9, Kerr 48, Rich Sutter 12, Ron Sutter 16, 17, Clarke 15, 16, Stanley 1, Allison 6. Winning goals-Cochrane, Stanley.PITTSBURGH&mdash;Lowe 1, Flockhart 25, Fox 2, Errey 9, Shedden 18, 19, Bullard 49, 50, McCarthy 6, Boutette 13, Roulston 15, Brickley 17, Taylor 21. Winning goals-Brickley.QUEBEC&mdash;Gillis 7, 8, Cote 14, 15, 16, A. Stastny 20,21, P. Stastny 40,41,42, M. Stastny 19, Sauve 7, 8, Savard 18, 19, McKegney 21. Winning goals-Savard.ST. LOUIS&mdash;Pettersson 24,25,26, Hickey 8, Gilmour 22, 23, Mullen 33, 34, 35, 36. Bothwell 2, Ramage 4, Sutter 30, 31, Federko 38, Chouinard 11. Winning goals-Pettersson 2, Sutter 1.TORONTO&mdash;Poddubny 8,9,10, Courtnall 3, Korn 9, 10, Gavin 9,10, Vaive 49, 50, Derlago 33, 34, 35, Terrion 14. Winning goals-none.VANCOUVER&mdash;Molin 6, Lemay 11, Tanti 42, Bubla 5, Gradin 19, Sundstrom 36. Winning goals-Bubla.WASHINGTON&mdash;Veitch 5,6, Gartner 35,36, Gustafsson 32, Langway 9, Erickson 10, Carpenter 25. Winning goals-Langway.WINNIPEG&mdash;Douglas 6, Mullen 18, 19, 20, Smail 17,18,19, MacLean 37,38,39,40, Steen 17,18,19, Lukowich 25,26, Hawerchuk 32,33, DeBlois 32, Boschman 26, Mantha 16, Young 15. Winning goals-MacLean, Hawerchuk, Mantha.Hat tricks&mdash;McCarthy (Min), Poddubny (Tor), Bourne (NYI), Anderson (Edm), 1 each.Overtime winners&mdash;McCarthy (Min), MacLean (Woo). Coffev (Edm). 1 each. &#9632;

NHL SCORERS THIS WEEK

(Standings on Mon. March 19) CAMPBELL CONFERENCE<h2>NORRIS DIVISION</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-1492/4894520-1-eng-US/f0036-142.jpg" title="f0036-14" width="532" height="180"></div><h2>SMYTHE DIVISION</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-1591/4894513-1-eng-US/f0036-152.jpg" title="f0036-15" width="528" height="180"></div><h2>WALES CONFERENCE</h2><h3>ADAMS DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-1688/4894506-1-eng-US/f0036-162.jpg" title="f0036-16" width="524" height="178"></div><h3>PATRICK DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-1782/4894499-1-eng-US/f0036-172.jpg" title="f0036-17" width="521" height="208"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Mon. March 12Montreal 6 at Minnesota 7 (OT)Winnipeg 8 at Toronto 7 (OT)Tue. March 13NY Islanders 5 at New Jersey 1Edmonton 6 at Detroit 5 (OT)Pittsburgh 3 at Vancouver 4Hartford 0 at St. Louis 2Wed. March 14Buffalo 4 at Calgary 2Boston 4 at Detroit 2Pittsburgh 6 at Los Angeles 7New Jersey 3 at Washington 3 (OT)Philadelphia 3 at NY Rangers 6Minnesota 3 at Toronto 3 (OT)Chicago 4 at Winnipeg 6Thu. March 15Toronto 3 at Hartford 5Edmonton 2 at Montreal 3Boston 3 at Philadelphia 6Detroit 3 at St. Louis 5Fri. March 16Chicago 5 at Calgary 6Los Angeles 4 at Winnipeg 5Sat. March 17New Jersey 5 at Boston 3Minnesota 4 at Detroit 3Los Angeles 1 at Edmonton 9Pittsburgh 4 at Hartford 2Toronto 1 at Montreal 6Washington 2 at NY Islanders 1NY Rangers 4 at Philadelphia 6Quebec 6 at St. Louis 4Buffalo 5 at Vancouver 2Sun. March 18Buffalo 3 at Edmonton 4NY Islanders 4 at Hartford 5Quebec 5 at Minnesota 5 (OT)St. Louis 5 at Washington 3Calgary 4 at Winnipeg 3 &#9632;

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THE NHL SCOREBOARD

<h2>AT HOME</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-2072/4894600-1-eng-US/f0036-202.jpg" title="f0036-20" width="265" height="637"></div><h2>ON THE ROAD</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-2168/4894593-1-eng-US/f0036-212.jpg" title="f0036-21" width="258" height="636"></div><h2>POINTS RACE</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-2267/4894586-1-eng-US/f0036-222.jpg" title="f0036-22" width="523" height="639"></div><h2>WHAT THEY DID IN THIER LAST 10 GAMES</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-2361/4894579-1-eng-US/f0036-232.jpg" title="f0036-23" width="195" height="145"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-2457/4894572-1-eng-US/f0036-242.jpg" title="f0036-24" width="190" height="142"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-2553/4894565-1-eng-US/f0036-252.jpg" title="f0036-25" width="190" height="143"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-2650/4894558-1-eng-US/f0036-262.jpg" title="f0036-26" width="187" height="143"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-2743/4894551-1-eng-US/f0036-272.jpg" title="f0036-27" width="193" height="171"></div> &#9632;

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HOW NHL TEAMS RATE

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-06128/4894631-1-eng-US/f0037-062.jpg" title="f0037-06" width="554" height="1023"></div>Calgary Flames have made tremendous strides since the new year and one of the differences can be pinpointed to the mighty Quinn, 18-year-old center Dan Quinn.Since the Flames elevated Quinn from Belleville Bulls of the Ontario Hockey League, the Ottawa, Ont., native has been one of their best players.Quinn, the Flames&rsquo; first-round pick last June, has 16 goals and 30 assists in 47 games&mdash;almost a point-a-game&mdash;and should garner some votes for rookie of the year, although the fact he&rsquo;s missed almost half of the season will surely hurt his chances.The 5-foot-10, 170-pound Quinn, who was the NHL&rsquo;s rookie of the month in February, leads a Calgary brigade of freshman who are creating a fire in the Flames. &#9632;

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March 30, 1984

BEDCLOTHES

NATIONAL LEAGUE SUMMARIES

MINOR SCOREBOARD

The Classified