The Hockey News has been providing the most comprehensive coverage of the world of hockey since 1947. In each issue, you'll find news, features and opinions about the NHL and leagues across North America and the world.

April 19, 1985

The Hockey News April 19, 1985

<div class="byline">BY NEIL MILBERT</div><h2>CHICAGO BLACK HAWKS</h2><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-01677/5186744-1-eng-US/f0022-012.jpg" title="f0022-01" width="128" height="114"></div>CHICAGO-&ldquo;He&rsquo;d have made a great schoolteacher,&rdquo; suggested Chicago Black Hawk defenseman Bob Murray. &ldquo;He cares, he has patience and he gets you to believe in yourself.&rdquo;The world of education&rsquo;s loss is hockey&rsquo;s gain. Instead of becoming a school teacher, Bub Pulford grew up to be general manager and coach of the Black Hawks.As GM, Pulford built a good team. As coach of that team, he may have the ability to make it a great one in the playoffs.&ldquo;Now that I see him coaching, I realize that he put the reins on himself when he was just our general manager,&rdquo; said defenseman Behn Wilson, who came to Chicago in June, 1983 in a trade with Philadelphia. &ldquo;Now I see why everybody considers him such a great coach.&ldquo;Two things make him great. Number one, he&rsquo;s really positive, so you want to work hard in practice and play hard in games to repay him. Number two, his intensity and dedication as a coach rubs off on everybody else. He lets you make mistakes. He doesn&rsquo;t yell and get you upset. He will talk to you about the mistake and work with you in practice on it.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s no one else to give credit to for the change in our team. It&rsquo;s him. It&rsquo;s his coaching.&rdquo;Although Pulford is the GM by choice, he&rsquo;s the coach only because he feels he&rsquo;s been forced into it. The job is a tailor-made hairshirt that he has kept in the closet ever since the summer of 1979 when he quit coaching &ldquo;forever&rdquo; to concentrate on his work as GM.&ldquo;Forever&rdquo; turned out to be a little more than two-and-a-half years.In February, 1982, with the Hawks in distress, Pulford took over from Keith Magnuson and proceeded to direct them to the Stanley Cup semi-finals.But that summer he hired Orval Tessier and announced with a smile: &ldquo;I fired myself. I&rsquo;ve found a better coach.&rdquo;Again &ldquo;forever&rdquo; lasted for two-and-a-half years. On Feb. 3, the Hawks lost their fourth consecutive game to fall eight points behind the St. Louis Blues, who were turning the Norris Division race into a potential runaway.Pulford gritted his teeth, told Tessier &ldquo;I&rsquo;m sorry,&rdquo; and the following morning told the team that he had returned to coaching.For the remainder of the season the Hawks had a record of 16-7-4, one of the best in the league.But now the final exams are at hand for Pulford&rsquo;s pupils. He is trying to make 1982 and 1983 repeat themselves with a bit of judicious editing. This time he wants the season to extend one series beyond the Stanley Cup semi-finals.The players seem to be on the same wavelength.&ldquo;He has been there before as a player, so you listen,&rdquo; said defenseman Jack O&rsquo;Callahan, alluding to the four Stanley Cup championship teams Pulford played for in Toronto in the &rsquo;60s.&ldquo;Pully is a very intense person and it really carries over. When he comes in, you know how much he&rsquo;s into the game. Game in and game out he doesn&rsquo;t change. He has confidence in his talent and he knows people will make mistakes. All he demands is effort.&rdquo;Ken Yaremchuk, the 21-year-old forward who is in his second NHL season after being Pulford&rsquo;s first-round draft choice in 1982, will vouch for that.&ldquo;He puts confidence in you,&rdquo; said Yaremchuk. &ldquo;I remember last month against Minnesota, I was skating with the puck and lost it and we lost the game because I did.&ldquo;Afterward, Mr. Pulford came up to me and said, &lsquo;Kenny, you&rsquo;re going to make a million mistakes like that before your career is over. Forget about it.&rsquo;&rdquo;HAWK TALK&mdash;The Hawks missed by a neck in their attempt to catch St. Louis in the Norris race. They were eliminated from first place on the second-last day of the season after playing to 2-2 tie in a Detroit matinee. St. Louis defeated Minnesota 4-3 that night to obtain an insurmountable three-point advantage. The Detroit game was a heartbreaker. Brad Park scored the winning goal with only 11 seconds left in regulation time&hellip;The following night goalie Murray Bannerman came off the disabled list to play in only his second game since March 17 and was brilliant in beating the New York Rangers 3-1. &#9632;</div>

f0022-01

IN THIS ISSUE

Hawk Players Give Pulford Passing Grade

<div class="byline">BY PAT LYON</div>WINSTON SALEM&mdash;Playing in the Atlantic Coast Hockey League playoff championship series is becoming a habit for the Carolina Thunderbirds.The Thunderbirds moved into the championship series for the third consecutive season as they easily disposed of the Virginia Lancers 4-0 in their best-of-seven semifinal series. Carolina set a playoff record, outscoring the Lancers 41-16 over the four-game set.Carolina will meet the winner of the Erie Golden Blades-Pine Bridge Bucks series, which was deadlocked at two games each.&ldquo;I thought we would win, but I didn&rsquo;t think we would win that easily,&rdquo; said Carolina coach Rick Dudley. &ldquo;We played both ends of the ice really well and Virginia really didn&rsquo;t have that many quality chances.&rdquo;The Thunderbirds constantly found themselves with five and six-goal leads during the series and no hockey team is going to win many games trying to make up deficits like that.Rookie Joe Currans led the T-Bird attack with 13 points in the series, including four goals. Brian Carroll collected 12 points, Kim Elliot had 10 and Dave Watson nine. Carroll was named player-of-the-week for his eight-goal performance in the semifinal. Bernie Chivarelli, with six goals and 10 points, was the top scorer for the Lancers.Virginia was playing without coach Ed Starkey, who was suspended by commissioner Ray Miron for conduct detrimental to the league. The Lancers also lost their top goaltender, Carey Walker, to injuries after the first game. John Tortorella served as player-coach in Starkey&rsquo;s absence.Carolina won its first playoff championship two years ago, when they topped Mohawk Valley in four straight games, but last year the T-Birds were demolished by the Blades in a five-game championship series.Dudley has no preference fo a championship opponent.&ldquo;From a crowd standpoint,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;I guess we would rather play Erie because they are a better draw and I know we would both get good crowds, but from a travel standpoint, Pine Bridge would be a better opponent since they are just under 100 miles away from us. Right now we&rsquo;re just trying to prepare for both teams.&rdquo;The Blades captured second place and the home-ice advantage for the first round of the playoffs, but they were forced out of their building and lost the extra home game when the Ice Capades came to town. &#9632;

T-Birds Reach The Final For Third Time In A Row

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-02482/5186775-1-eng-US/f0022-022.jpg" title="f0022-02" width="404" height="452"><figcaption class="caption-body">Steve Simmons</figcaption></div>FOR THE FIRST time ever, fans will be voting for THE HOCKEY NEWS awards. But what you didn&rsquo;t know is that the first, and perhaps last, abridged and unabridged version of the semi-silly Simmons&rsquo; Awards are being presented in this issue.Neither THE HOCKEY NEWS, nor its contributors, can take responsibility for these awards&mdash;nor would they want to.And the winners for 1984-85, the year that was. The envelope please&hellip;THE WHAT&rsquo;S WRONG WITH DALE HAWERCHUK AWARD? goes to Dale Hawerchuk of the Winnipeg Jets for not having to answer that question once during the NHL season. Nothing was wrong with Hawerchuk. which was a story in itself, and left bored columnists with nothing to write before a Jets&rsquo; game except a rejuvenation of Randy Carlyle piece, which mandatorily appeared in every newspaper in North America.THE BRIAN O&rsquo;NEILL JUSTICE IS SERVED AWARD goes to Doug Risebrough of the Calgary Flames. The feisty Risebrough was suspended for six games following the Stanley Cup playoffs for his attempt to behead Glenn Anderson. Risebrough sat out the first six, then the next 54 games, proving once again that NHL justice is served, once in a while.THE SIBERIA AWARD goes to Scott Bowman, the coach and general manager of the Buffalo Sabres. Scott, you may remember, shipped one-time star forward Real (Buddy) Cloutier to Flint of the International League. An anonymous IHL coach said of the demotion of the sometimes moody, sometimes lazy Cloutier, &ldquo;That was as far away as Scotty could send him.&rdquo;THE JIMMY THE GREEK AWARD, for worst prediction, goes to former Vancouver coach Bill LaForge, who said before the season: &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t see why we can&rsquo;t win 50 games.&rdquo; LaForge was fired in November. The Canucks did manage to not lose 50 games. Runnerup in the category is Toronto captain Rick Vaive, who figured the Leafs would finish in first place. Also in the runnerup category is myself, for prematurely firing Harry Neale and naming his successor. Neale, when last we heard, was still employed and figured to be such for at least another year.THE I&rsquo;M NOT SUPPOSED TO BE NOTICED AWARD goes to Buffalo defenseman Bill Hajt, who was noticed. Hajt was noticed when he was added by Al Arbour to the Wales Conference All-Star team, then noticed again when he dislocated his shoulder just days before the game, thus missing his chance for glory for the second time in his career.THE BOY HAVE I FOOLED THEM AWARD goes to New Jersey defenseman Phil Russell, who spent a long and arduous evening in a Calgary bar &ldquo;discussing defensive strategies&rdquo; and was called upon the next day to play in the NHL All-Star game when Brad Marsh was snowed in in Toronto. Said Russell: I&rsquo;ve fooled the people for 13 years, surely I can do it for one more game.&rdquo;THE DAVE BRANCH LONG MEMORY AWARD goes to Dave Branch, commissioner of the Ontario Hockey League. Branch, who suspended Bill LaForge so many seasons ago&mdash;a suspension LaForge never served&mdash;suspended him again this season and this time the suspension is being served. Keep it up, Dave. Brian O&rsquo;Neill should have such a long memory.THE BERNHARD GOETZ &lsquo;I SNAPPED&rsquo; AWARD goes to Mark Messier of the Edmonton Oilers. Goetz, that man of New York subway fame, claimed he &ldquo;snapped.&rdquo; Messier&rsquo;s crime could never be placed in the same category when he cold-cocked Calgary&rsquo;s Jamie Macoun, so don&rsquo;t take the analogy too seriously, but his explanation was similar. &ldquo;I snapped,&rdquo; said Messier. And, in between, Macoun&rsquo;s jaw snapped.THE TORONTO AWARD, as best hockey city, goes to Philadelphia. Toronto used to have the best team, the best writers, everything. Now, Philadelphia had the best team over the regular season, an NCAA basketball champion and surely the best hockey writers anywhere. On any given day, a fix of Al Morganti, Jay Greenberg with a twist of Mark Whicker serves any reader well. Hey, this is a serious award. I&rsquo;d allowed one, aren&rsquo;t I?THE PETE PEETERS CURSE AWARD goes to Gerry Cheevers, the deposed coach of the Boston Bruins. A past winner of the award is Pat Quinn, who was axed from his post as the Flyers&rsquo; coach because of Peeters&rsquo; strange play in goal. Some say Cheevers was the latest victim of the curse of Pete.THE HERE WE GO AGAIN AWARD to Roland Melanson, who sulked as a member of a goaltending triumvirate with the New York Islanders, then was granted a reprieve&mdash;a trade. The only problem was that Melanson was traded to Minnesota, a team that would also also employ three goalies. Rollie the goalie and many others couldn&rsquo;t understand why the Stars would give up a first-round pick for a netminder they weren&rsquo;t going to play.THE BOY ARE THESE TEAMS BAD AWARD goes collectively to members of the New York Rangers and Minnesota North Stars. In fact, this award should not be claimed by both teams. Upon first-round elimination, which is inevitable, the two teams should play off in a seven-game series to determine the award winner. Herb Brooks could coach both teams. &#9632;

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The First And Maybe Last Awards By Steve Simmons

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0020-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-02536/5186713-1-eng-US/f0020-022.jpg"></div>St. Louis Blue winger Joe Mullen scored four goals, including one game-winner, and added five assists in four games to earn THE HOCKEY NEWS&rsquo; NHL Player-of-the-Week honors for the period ending April 7.Mullen finished the regular season with 40 goals and 52 assists for 92 points in 79 games. &#9632;

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Player Of The Week

In the April 26 issue of THE HOCKEY NEWS, we will present our Comeback Players of the Year.We&rsquo;ll be selecting one goaltender, one defenseman and one forward, all of whom used the 1984-85 National Hockey League season to re-establish themselves as front-line players after less than stellar performances in the past.Who are they? You&rsquo;ll have to wait and see next week.And in addition to the Comeback Players of the Year, we&rsquo;ll have all the first-round playoff action, including capsule reports on each game, complete summaries and scoring statistics.Plus all the other news and views, including updates on what&rsquo;s happening with the non-playoff teams.Don&rsquo;t miss it.<h2>QUOTE OF THE WEEK</h2>&ldquo;Not even my kids will believe this.&rdquo;&mdash; New York Islander goalie Billy Smith on being presented with a &ldquo;Good Guy&rdquo; award by the media.. &#9632;

NEXT WEEK IN THN

<div class="byline">BY TOM McMILLAN</div>&ldquo;Here come the Penguins, so noble and strongIs this a contender&mdash;what has gone wrong?Loss after loss, we are mired next to lastEver digressing back into the past. &ldquo;&mdash;from Ode to the Penguins, distributed at the Civic Arena, circa 1973.It has been 18 years now that the Pittsburgh Penguins have skated in circles and made themselves dizzy, and nothing has changed much, except the color of the uniforms. The uniforms are black now. They used to be blue. There is something very peculiar about the history of the Penguins and its connection with black and blue.This is a team that falls down a lot, and sometimes it gets up, and sometimes it doesn&rsquo;t. At the end of this season, it was 24-51-5 for 53 points, and it is not going to the playoffs for the third straight spring, and frowns are everywhere.&ldquo;Ode to the Penguins&rdquo; would seem hauntingly appropriate if not for the presence of Mario Lemieux, the 19-year-old center.Lemieux is the hope, the way out of this mess. He was the No. 1 pick overall in the 1984 entry draft, and the Penguins, who had finished last twice, built a marketing campaign and a future around him. It was asked if he could save the Penguins and Lemieux answered with one of the top three rookie seasons in NHL history (43 goal, 57 assists for 100 points), although he could not salvage the Penguins all by himself.After a relatively nice start&mdash;17-19-4 for 38 points at the season&rsquo;s midway point&mdash;the Pens retreated into history, going weeks between victories, skidding into the Patrick Division cellar. Even with Lemieux and his xx points, even with a healthy jump in home attendance, rumors abounded that the team would move to Hamilton, Ont.The rumors were denied, scoffed at. There was a momentary scare when Edward J. DeBartolo, Jr., who serves the Penguins in no official capacity except as son of the owner, said his father, Edward Sr., might be wise to evaluate selling the team.&ldquo;But as far as I&rsquo;m concerned, we&rsquo;ll be here next year,&rdquo; said Eddie Johnston, the Penguins&rsquo; second-year general manager. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s all just speculation in the media. We feel we&rsquo;ve got stability with the DeBartoios.&rdquo;It is because of Lemieux and the team&rsquo;s early-season competence that Penguin attendance climbed more than 3,000 per game over the 198384 figure of 6,838. Still, the second-half swoon&mdash;7-32-1 since a 4-3 win over Edmonton on Jan. 12&mdash;has distilled much of the joy. There was talk of tension between Mike Bullard and Lemieux. Bullard, a 51-goal scorer last year, was in and out of trade rumors, and he faced a drunk driving charge after a January accident in a Pittsburgh suburb. Injuries hit the team at every position. Reports in a French-language newspaper in Montreal had Lemieux second-guessing coach Bob Berry, although Lemieux issued denials In March, Roberto Romano, 22, the team&rsquo;s &ldquo;goaltender of the future,&rdquo; according to Johnston, said he was retiring from hockey.&ldquo;There have been some disappointments,&rdquo; said Johnston, whose team finished with only 38 points last year. &ldquo;The injuries killed us. We don&rsquo;t have much depth. Roberto&hellip; we&rsquo;re hoping that&rsquo;s not a final decision.&ldquo;But we&rsquo;ve got a bonafide superstar now, someone to build on. There were people who said we shouldn&rsquo;t draft Lemieux last year. Where are they now? We&rsquo;ve made improvements. We&rsquo;re getting one of the best defensemen in Europe (Ville Siren of Finland, whose rights were acquired in a trade with Hartford), and we&rsquo;re looking forward to the draft. I really think we&rsquo;re headed in the right direction.&rdquo; &#9632;

Penguins Waddle In The ‘Right Direction’”

<div class="byline">BY AL MORGANTI</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-011292/5185769-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg" title="f0003-01" width="726" height="934"><figcaption class="caption-body">Rookie NHL coach Mike Keenan</figcaption></div><h2>PHILADELPHIA FLYERS</h2><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-011326/5185776-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg" title="f0012-01" width="143" height="108"></div>There were more than a few teams around the National Hockey League who thought this was going to be the season the Philadelphia Flyers finally got what was coming to them.It was supposed to be the season that they were finally going to be made to pay for all the atrocities of the past; the season when an orange and black jersey would mean nothing special.In short, with Bob Clarke retired, Bill Barber finished due to injury, and Darryl Sittler traded, 1984-85 would be the season in which the Philadelphia Flyers fell back with the rest of the pack.Within the Patrick Division, there was lots of grinning in New York and the Penguins and Devils were licking their chops. This was going to be it, after more than a dozen years at or near the top, the Flyers were due to &ldquo;get theirs.&rdquo;As it turned out, the Flyers got theirs all right&mdash;and then some. Let&rsquo;s see, they got first place in the Patrick Division. They set a club record with 11 consecutive victories. They only lost four games over the season at the Spectrum. They finished with the best overall record in the NHL.When the season began, some people even suggested that the Penguins or Devils might even sneak past the Flyers into the final playoff spot. The simple fact of the matter is that it only took the Flyers until Jan. 13, just 43 games into the season, to accumulate as many points as the Penguins or Devils would over the entire campaign.And they did this with a rookie coach, Mike Keenan, a first-year general manager, Clarke, and with four rookies highlighting the youngest team&mdash;which averaged just 24.4 years old&mdash;in the club&rsquo;s 18-year history.If you want to get some idea of just how new the team was, consider that the absence of Clarke and Barber indicated the team&rsquo;s final and complete break from the back-to-back Stanley Cup championships of the mid 1970s. Even more shocking than that, only one player&mdash;Brian Propp&mdash;remained from the 1979-80 team of just five seasons ago which set an NHL record with 35 consecutive games without a loss and reached the Stanley Cup finals.I&rsquo;m sure some people expected us to tumble,&rdquo; said Clarke, &ldquo;but it&rsquo;s not something I would have heard about. I mean, you know, nobody&rsquo;s gonna call you up and tell you they think your team is gonna slip.&rdquo;</div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-021055/5185762-1-eng-US/f0003-022.jpg" title="f0003-02" width="1654" height="1052"><figcaption class="caption-body">has found a winning combination with veterans such as Tim Kerr</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-03688/5185755-1-eng-US/f0003-032.jpg" title="f0003-03" width="728" height="1064"><figcaption class="caption-body">and Brian Propp</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-04392/5185748-1-eng-US/f0003-042.jpg" title="f0003-04" width="566" height="600"><figcaption class="caption-body">and young players such as Murray Craven</figcaption></div>Then again, there was certainly nobody calling up and telling Clarke his team was going to be the surprise of the season.Even more than that, this swirl of success isn&rsquo;t likely to be a one-year spurt. With rookies such as Peter Zezel, Derrick Smith and Rick Tocchet and a lineup laced with 12 first-or-second-year players, the Flyers appear to have set themselves up to continue their presence among the top clubs in the NHL. &ldquo;The kids obviously have to keep working,&rdquo; said Clarke.&rdquo; You know, we&rsquo;re not going to win anything in the future based on what we&rsquo;ve accomplished this season. But, yes, it is a good base to build upon.&ldquo;More than even our record, I think the impotant thing is that these kids have learned a winning attitude very quickly. They&rsquo;ve learned how to win and they&rsquo;ve learned that they&rsquo;re expected to win.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s important. Think of how many players come into this league and go through a career never having played with a team which has instilled that winning attitude in them. It&rsquo;s important, you come to expect it of yourself.&ldquo;The other important thing to remember is that our veteran players are not that old either. In fact, a lot of them should be just starting to hit their prime.&rdquo;Consider: the team captain, Dave Poulin, is just 26, as is Propp, a perennial all-star left winger. The club&rsquo;s leading scorer, Tim Kerr, who has scored more than 52 goals in each of the past two seasons is just 25, as are defensemen Doug Crossman and Thomas Eriksson. And the team&rsquo;s plusminus leader, defenseman Brad McCrimmon, is only 26.Even Brad Marsh, who appears to be the Flyers &ldquo;old man&rdquo; on defense, has just reached his 27th birthday, and Mark Howe won&rsquo;t reach his 30th birthday until after the season.The youth even extends to goal, where Pelle Lindbergh, who led the NHL in games played and wins this past season, will turn 26 next month. And Bob Froese, the &ldquo;back-up&rdquo; who has the stats which would make him the No. 1 guy on almost any other roster, will turn 27 during the summer. When you add those figures in with the fact that Murray Craven is only 21 and the Sutter twins, Rich and Ron&mdash;the future team leader&mdash;oare only 21, you can see that the Flyers&rsquo; strength lies in the future.&ldquo;We figured we were going to make youth work for us instead of against us,&rdquo; said Clarke. &ldquo;When we decided to go with youth, we figured we might as well go all the way with youth.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s one of the major reasons I made the trade with Detroit for Murray Craven. It was tough losing Darryl (Sittler) and I knew we&rsquo;d hear a lot about how we&rsquo;d miss his experience. Still, we made an organizational decision to go with youth.&ldquo;It was a new start. I was new in my position, we had a new coach, a new captain. We wanted to emphasize a new beginning.&rdquo;The really impressive aspect of the whole matter is that the Flyers&rsquo;&ldquo;new start&rdquo; isn&rsquo;t exactly rising out of the ashes. Although the club has suffered through three consecutive first-round disasters, losing nine consecutive games, the Flyers never really slipped from the upper echelon of the NHL.For the past few seasons the Flyers remained among the elite due to a combination of free-agent signings, and the resolve of players such as Clarke, Barber, Sittler and Paul Holmgren, who was traded two seasons ago. The Flyers used the free-agent route to sign Kerr, Poulin, Froese and Ilkka Sinisalo.It was the infusion of that talent, along with the grit of the veterans, which kept the Flyers from sinking. They even managed to put together a 95-point season last year.However, the aging process cannot be reversed, and the club knew it was living on borrowed time.When the season was over, general manager-coach Bob McCammon was asked to give up his reins as coach. He responded by also giving up the reins as general manager and the new beginning was on its way.Although McCammon was by far the least popular coach in Flyers&rsquo; history, at least part of the team&rsquo;s success this season is due to the seeds he planted during his brief tenure as the club&rsquo;s general manager.McCammon restructured the Flyers&rsquo; scouting system and was at the helm during the 1983 draft in which the club scooped up Zezel, Tocchet and Smith. He was also responsible for bringing Poulin over from Sweden as a free agent, and then convincing Ted Sator to join the club as an assistant coach.&ldquo;When I took over,&rdquo; said Clarke, &ldquo;I was taking over a house pretty much in order. All the ground work was done for me.&ldquo;The scouting situation had already been taken care of, the draft picks were coming along. I walked into a pretty organized situation. The wheels were already in motion.&rdquo;And from the looks of things, the wheels appear pointed in a road to a future Stanley Cup. &#9632;

f0003-01

Impressive Flyers Will Only Get Better

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-021225/5185831-1-eng-US/f0004-022.jpg" title="f0004-02" width="372" height="430"><figcaption class="caption-body">Frank Orr</figcaption></div>A few idle thoughts, pot-shots and not-so-hots on a National Hockey League season that should give birth to some excellent playoffs.&bull; Don&rsquo;t tell me that participation by large numbers of Edmonton Oilers and Washington Capitals in the Canada Cup tournament, which meant a mid-July start to the hockey season, didn&rsquo;t have an influence on the woe those teams had late in the schedule.&bull; Small bet for spring: The only people who will complain about the length of the playoffs and the number of teams in the Cup tournament will be those who attend the games on expense accounts. The folks who buy the tickets to watch their teams perform in late May won&rsquo;t complain at all.&bull; Encouraging aspect in the 1984-85 NHL season: The Wave, that classic example of tiny brains from baseball crowds, never caught on in the NHL, despite the efforts of a few dolts to try to get it started in some arenas.&bull; Why do so many people who should know better poor-mouth Jan Kurri, the wonderful Oiler winger, who&rsquo;s one of the superb skills in the game?&bull; Although Kurri&rsquo;s detractors will disagree, selecting between Kurri and Mike Bossy of the New York Islanders for the No. 1 right winger spot is a very difficult, close-to-impossible, task.&bull; Good news, awful news deptartment, concerning two good people and their knees&mdash;Toronto Maple Leaf defenseman Gary Nylund overcame two seasons of hell with knee problems to show some of his promise and Doug Wickenheiser of St. Louis Blues, who went through several years of hell for other reasons, showed his potential, then suffered a horrendous knee injury in an off-ice occurrence.&bull; Why is it that players who must fill the enforcer role often are fine chaps, often the most insightful players in the game?&bull; Marriage made in heaven! Harold Ballard as owner of the absolute worst team in big-league hockey!&bull; A big reason for the Philadelphia Flyers&rsquo; strong finish to the schedule was the amount of pure skill on the roster and the coaching staff&rsquo;s development of it. In many games late in the term, when a situation came up that demanded the &ldquo;skill&rdquo; play, the accurate pass, the right shot, to execute positively, the Flyers could deliver it.&bull; A player of superb skill who has demonstrated it this season is Flyer forward Ilkka Sinisalo, who was on his way to the Chicago Black Hawks in a deal for some grinder late in the &rsquo;83-84 season when the Hawks backed out.&bull; Remember that the Flyers used the &rsquo;83 draft to pick Peter Zezel (No. 41), Derrick Smith (No. 44) and Rick Tocchet (No. 121) and tell me that the &rsquo;85 crop doesn&rsquo;t have much in it after the first dozen or so picks.&bull; Glen Sonmor of the Minnesota North Stars will be the only NHL coach this season who can honestly say: &ldquo;This bloody team tried but it couldn&rsquo;t drive me to drink.&rdquo;&bull; Good little men! Mike Rogers and Danny Gare played with Jerry Holland for Calgary juniors on one of the great &ldquo;half-pint&rdquo; lines in teenage puck history. Rogers and Gare appeared to be in career termination stages with the New York Rangers and Detroit Red Wings, respectively, but the little men have both had good seasons.&bull; In a never-ending series of Maple Leaf, mindboggling nonsense, has there been anything as weird as the owner-management-coach efforts to render the team&rsquo;s best player, winger Rick Vaive, useless to the organization?&bull; Unnecessary cheap shot: Phil Esposito calling Leaf defenseman Borje Salming a &ldquo;quitter&rdquo; on a Ranger telecast.&bull; A point to consider when selecting the coach of the year in the NHL: Hockey people claim that coaching ability shows up best in a team&rsquo;s specialty units, its power-play goals for and shorthanded goals against, and that should be included in assessing Pat Quinn&rsquo;s excellent work this season.&bull; Point made! When the Red Wings signed defenseman Brad Park in 1983, his hope was to help the team get into the playoffs in two consecutive seasons. The Wings have accomplished that, the first back-to-back Cup participation for the franchise in 20 years and a record 17 consecutive playoff finishes for Park, one of the truly good folks ever to grace the game. &#9632;

f0004-02

Something To Consider In Playoffs

<div class="byline">BY BOB FACHET</div><h2>WASHINGTON CAPITALS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-031045/5185862-1-eng-US/f0004-032.jpg" title="f0004-03" width="161" height="90"></div>LANDOVER&mdash;When the National Hockey League was hammering out its merger with the World Hockey Association in 1979, it was forced to resolve several major demands. To gain the Washington Capitals&rsquo; vote, it accepted a minor one, the transfer of the Capitals from the Norris Division to the Patrick Division.More than one governor considered the request by Peter O&rsquo;Malley, Washington&rsquo;s counsel and former team president, bordering on insanity. In the Norris, the Capitals at least had passed Detroit and were reasonably competitive with Pittsburgh and Los Angeles. The Patrick was the NHL&rsquo;s strongest division, with the weakest of the four teams posting 90 points in 1978-79. The Capitals had 63.Since the NHL was about to embark on a balanced schedule, a spot in the Patrick Division only figured to guarantee the Capitals a perpetual position at the bottom of the standings. O&rsquo;Malley, however, realized the balanced schedule was a stopgap measure and rising travel costs would be paired with teams that would guarantee low travel costs and high identity at the box office.For years the Capitals seemed like the most snakebitten team in sports history. During the two years of a balanced schedule, with only the division champions guaranteed playoff spots and the others selected on the basis of overall play, the Capitals finished 17th each time, losing out to Edmonton by two points in 197980 and Toronto by one in 1980-81.Both finishes were difficult to accept. On April 3, 1980, the Capitals went into Philadelphia needing a victory to wrap up their first playoff berth. Leading 2-0 late in the second period against a Philly club that had clinched a spot and was going through the motions, the Capitals saw everything go up in smoke when Gary Rissling ran Bob Kelly into the boards and ignited the Flyers, who angrily roared back to win 4-2.On April 5, 1981, the Captials crushed Detroit 7-2 and sat around listening to the broadcast of Toronto&rsquo;s game at Quebec. The Nordiques were heavily favored but the Maple Leafs won and it was another case of wait-till-next-year.Next year brought a minor shuffling of the teams, with Calgary moving out of the Patrick Division and being replaced by Pittsburgh. For the first time, playoff berths were decided within the division. Naturally, the Capitals wound up fifth. Under the old formula, they would have been among the top 16.The arrival of Rod Langway and friends lifed the Capitals into the NHL&rsquo;s upper echelon in 1982-83, as they ranked eighth overall with 94 points. But all that resulted was a first-round elimination by the New York Islanders.Last season Washington moved higher, to fifth place overall and 101 points. After a three-game sweep of Philadelphia. the Capitals once again were knocked out of the playoffs by the Islanders.This season, after briefly flirting with the top spot in the Patrick, the Capitals slipped into second behind Philadelphia and Edmonton. Once again they found the Islanders barring their path to greater accomplishment. Were there regrets, perhaps, about that request to join the powerful Patrick in 1979?&ldquo;There&rsquo;s no question that we&rsquo;ll have a tough, very physical series against the Islanders,&rdquo; said coach Bryan Murray.Division made things difficult on the ice, it was a boon at the ticket office. The Capitals, whose best previous average attendance was 12,376 in 1982-83, averaged more than 14,000 this season. All three games against the Islanders were sellouts of 18,130. In four meetings with the Flyers, Washington averaged 17,918.CAPPING IT OFF&mdash;Mike Gartner became the first Capital to reach 500 points when he scored the game winner in a 4-3 victory over the Islanders&hellip;Goalie Al Jensen posted a 6-2 record in March. Pat Riggin, the mainstay most of the season, was winless in six. &#9632;

f0004-03

Caps Want To End Patrick Plight

<div class="byline">BY Bob Duff</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-011195/5185917-1-eng-US/f0005-012.jpg" title="f0005-01" width="388" height="448"></div>Q. Where is Pine Bridge of the Atlantic Coast Hockey League located? I can&rsquo;t find a town by that name anywhere in an atlas?Robert J. LaneEssington, PAA. Well, those of you who have spent hours searching for Pine Bridge in an atlas have been wasting your time, because there is no such place. The Pine Bridge Bucks of the Atlantic Coast League are based in Spruce Pine, NC.Spruce Pine is roughly 100 miles west of Winston-Salem and about 20 miles from the Tennesee border. It has a population of 2,282 (1980 census).You can contact the club at:Pine Bridge BucksBox 129, Pine Bridge ColiseumSpruce Pine, NC, 28777Q. With NHL players such as Tom Barrasso, Brian Lawton and Bobby Carpenter making the jump straight out of U.S. high school hockey, I was wondering what the top producing Canadian high schools are?Mike SandsLackawanna, NYA. High school hockey is not as popular in Canada as it is south of the border, but there are two Canadian schools that produced a number of recent NHL draft products.Henry Carr H.S. in Toronto was the first Canadian high school to have a player taken in the NHL draft when the Toronto Maple Leafs picked Paul Higgins in 1980. He had an undistinguished NHL career, registering no points and 152 penalty minutes in 25 games.More recently, Henry Carr has produced the following draft picks. In 1983, there was goaltender Bob Essensa (Winnipeg) and left winger Rob Bryden (Montreal). In the 1984 draft, Philadelphia claimed right winger Scott Mellanby, Edmonton took left winger Richard Lambert and Washington grabbed defenseman Paul Cavallini.Pat Flatley, the New York Islanders&rsquo; top pick in 1982, is a Henry Carr alumnus.The other high school of note is Notre Dame in Wilcox, Sask. Although their players are not eventually drafted until their junior or college days, such current NHLers as Gord Sherven, Gary Leeman, Lyndon Byers and Gord Kluzak are all Notre Dame products. As well, defenseman Wendel Clark of the Western Hockey League Saskatoon Blades, who may go first overall in the 1985 NHL entry draft, previously played at Notre Dame.If you want your question answered, write to:ASK THE DUFFER115 3rd Avenue South, 316Saskatoon, Sask.Canada, S7K 1L7All letters will be read, but only those published will be answered. Personal responses are not possible. &#9632;

f0005-01

ASK THE DUFFER

Here&rsquo;s what was happening 20 years ago this week in hockey:&bull; The Chicago Black Hawks&rsquo; chairman James Norris and general manager Tommy Ivan announced that Billy Reay would be rehired as coach of the Black Hawks for the 1965-66 season.&bull; The AHL&rsquo;s Rochester Americans moved into the Calder Cup finals by disposing of the Quebec Aces in five games. The Amerks were to play either the Hershey Bears or the Buffalo Bisons for the AHL title.Here&rsquo;s what was happening 15 years ago this week in hockey:&bull; Boston&rsquo;s Bobby Orr finished the regular season with 120 points (33 goals, 87 assists) to give him both the seasonal record for points by a defenseman, and the Art Ross Trophy, as the league&rsquo;s highest scorer for 1969-70.&bull; One year before they were scheduled to enter the NHL as a franchise, the Vancouver Canucks had already sold 7,000 seats for the 15,039-seat Pacific Coliseum, earning a profit of $1.6 million. &#9632;

THIS WEEK… 20 Years Ago

1. What former NHL defenseman appeared in the 1965 film None But The Brave, which starred Frank Sinatra?2. What NHL goaltender registered the first shutout of the 1984-85 season?3. Name the last player to take over in net for a goaltender during an NHL game?4. Name the former Toronto Maple Leaf defenseman that made the CIAU all-star team this season?5. Who recently scored the Philadelphia Flyers&rsquo; 5,000th goal?6. Name the first player ever picked by the Winnipeg Jets in the NHL entry draft?7. What NHL team failed to register a victory in its first 15 games of the 1984-85 season?8. Which New York Ranger player recently registered his 250th career point?9. Where will the 1985-86 NHL AllStar game be played?10. What two players did Quebec receive as compensation for St. Louis&rsquo; signing of coach Jacques Demers?Answers in next week&rsquo;s issue.<h2>Last Week&rsquo;s Trivia Answers</h2>1. George Parsons. 2. SamGellard. 4. Emile. 4. Minnesota FightingSaints. 5. Blaine Stoughton. 6. Doug Lecuyer. 7. Detroit. 8. Billy Burch. 9. Hy Buller. 10. Ted Lindsay and Gordie Howe. &#9632;

TRIVIA

<div class="byline">BY RANDY SCHULTZ</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-02878/5186003-1-eng-US/f0005-022.jpg" title="f0005-02" width="386" height="446"><figcaption class="caption-body">WHERE ARE THEY NOW?BY Randy Schultz</figcaption></div>Free agency is almost an unheard of item in the National Hockey League. Unlike their baseball counterpart, hockey has very little player movement from team-to-team because of the players&rsquo; association agreement with the owners.But like anything, there is always an exception to the rule. That exception is Andre Lacroix.Lacroix played six uneventful seasons in the NHL with the Philadelphia Flyers, Chicago Black Hawks and Hartford Whalers (1967-72, 1979-80).It was his seven seasons in the old World Hockey Association where Lacroix gained stardom, both on the ice and off. During that time span he was a free agent not once, but four times. That is something even baseball&rsquo;s Reggie Jackson hasn&rsquo;t been able to accomplish.In all, Lacroix played for the Philadelphia Blazers, New Jersey Knights, San Diego Mariners, Houston Aeros and New England Whalers.&lsquo;&lsquo;I originally signed with the Blazers in the city where my major league (career) began,&rdquo; recalled Lacroix, who won the W.D. Hunter Trophy as the WHA scoring leader in 1973 and 1975. &ldquo;But I had a special clause written into my contract with them.&ldquo;It stated that if the team moved I could become a free agent. So when the Blazers moved to Vancouver I became a free agent.&ldquo;At that time I had thoughts of going to play for the New York Blades. I signed with them but then they moved to New Jersey. That went defunct and I became a free agent again.&ldquo;I then went to San Diego. When that team went under I became a free agent again. I signed with New England, which later became known as the Hartford Whalers.&rdquo;Amazingly enough, despite playing for different teams and different linemates, Lacroix never lost his scoring touch while in the WHA. By the time the WHA went out of business, Lacroix set league records for most games played, most career points, most career assists, most assists by a player in a season and most points in a season by a center.&ldquo;It seemed like I always had good wingers to complement me,&rdquo; said Lacroix, who was named a WHA first-team All-Star in 1973, 1974 and 1975. &ldquo;I had Wayne Rivers in New Jersey and San Diego, Danny Lawson in Philly and Norm Ferguson in New Jersey and San Diego.&rdquo;The greatest thrill for Lacroix came in 1974, when he was named French-Canadian Athlete of the Year.&ldquo;I was in the WHA at the time and I never expected to win the award,&rdquo; said Lacroix, a native of Lauzon, Que. &ldquo;I was going up against guys like Guy Lafleur and Marcel Dionne as one of the three finalists. It was a great thrill to win this honor over two great players like them.&rdquo;Today, the 39-year-old Lacroix owns three sporting goods stores in the Hartford area. He is also a radio color commentator for all Hartford Whaler home broadcasts.Although he never played on a championship team in either the NHL or WHA, Lacroix is still proud of his accomplishments.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t regret jumping to the WHA,&rdquo; said Lacroix, who lives with his family in the Hartford area. &ldquo;The WHA was very good to me.&ldquo;My goal in hockey was to someday get 100 assists in a season. I did that in San Diego (1974-75, with 106 assists and 147 points). To me that was like hitting .400 in baseball.&ldquo;The other thing I treasure is that I own most of the WHA&rsquo;s scoring records, especially the one for most points in a career. It&rsquo;s not like Gordie Howe did in the NHL, but it&rsquo;s something nobody can ever take away from me.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-03613/5185996-1-eng-US/f0005-032.jpg" title="f0005-03" width="1161" height="740"><figcaption class="caption-body">Andre Lacroix accomplished his hockey goal by totalling 100 assists with San Diego of the World Hockey Association.</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0005-02

Lacroix Took Advantage Of Free Agency Route

<div class="byline">BY BOB DUFF</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0005-04" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-04405/5186034-1-eng-US/f0005-042.jpg"></div>that the worst minus rating by a player for one NHL season, excluding 1984-85, is: &#9632;

f0005-04

Did You Know…

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-011377/5186065-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg" title="f0006-01" width="388" height="448"><figcaption class="caption-body">Stan Fischler&rsquo;s ON THE CONTRARY</figcaption></div>Little did you know that it&rsquo;s Turn The Clock Ahead Time.Ten years to be specific. We are now in 1995 and aave decided to see which of those characters from the 1984-85 season have made it to The Hockey Hall of Fame. And here they are:GUY LAFLEUR&mdash;A Rocket Richard, a Howie Morenz, he was not, but for five precious years he was what Wayne Gretzky is today&mdash;almost.MARCEL DIONNE&mdash;His numbers are so remarkable it&rsquo;s criminal that he was buried so long in Los Angeles. Had he played alongside Bobby Orr, he&rsquo;d have scored more than Phil Esposito.DENIS POTVIN&mdash;He was the first player around which a franchise was built and the first to help create a dynasty and four consecutive Stanley Cups for the New York Islanders.LARRY ROBINSON&mdash;Strength, skill and leadership during Scotty Bowman&rsquo;s four-Cup reign in Montreal were Robbie&rsquo;s contributions. And they&rsquo;re still being felt.BRYAN TROTTIER&mdash;The best two-way center of the late &rsquo;70s and &rsquo;80s was an integral cog in the Isles&rsquo; juggernaut.BRAD PARK&mdash;So he never played for a Cup-winner, so he wasn&rsquo;t better than Bobby Orr, but because he was second to Orr for so long, he rates it on that alone.MIKE BOSSY&mdash;Even Rocket Richard admits that Bossy was the Rocket Richard of the 1977-85 era. Even Wayne Gretzky admits that Bossy has the fastest&mdash;and best&mdash;release of any non-Finnish shooter.WAYNE GRETZKY&mdash;Fill in as you wish.HALL OF SHAME&mdash;I&rsquo;m really angry at the National Hockey League Hall of Fame Committee (HFC).Another year has gone by (with many a dream and many a sigh) and the HFC is about to botch things up again.It is going to overlook the man who, more than anyone, should be carried into the Hall of Fame in a sedan chair. I mean the most underrated forward to play professional hockey between the years 432 B.C. and 1985&mdash;the one and only Bert Olmstead, ex of the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs.Of course, those who preside over the selections for ice immortality will scoff&mdash;while failing their annual eye tests&mdash;and dismiss Olmstead out of hand. &ldquo;Bert Olmstead,&rdquo; they&rsquo;ll say, &ldquo;why he never scored more than 20 goals in a season.&rdquo;That&rsquo;s what cheeses me off. They miss the point. They have the misguided notion that when you&rsquo;re picking forwards, points and only points are the thing.Nuts to that I say. Enough already with those scorers who wouldn&rsquo;t know a backcheck from a Ukranian laundryman. Olmstead was the quintessential worker. He did as much for the Montreal Canadiens Stanley Cup champions (&rsquo;53, &rsquo;56, &rsquo;57 and &rsquo;58) as Jean Beliveau and more for Toronto&rsquo;s Stanley Cup champions than Frank Mahovlich.Olmstead sniffed pucks out of the corners the way anteaters inhale their breakfast, lunch and dinner.&ldquo;Olmstead was a professional,&rdquo; says Punch Imlach, who had Olmstead on his Toronto club. &ldquo;He recognized the way things were and the way they had to be. He was a leader in the dressing room and I wanted him on my side.&rdquo;Bert would ferret out a puck at the risk of having his head reduced to oatmeal by an enemy stick and one night it almost was.The Canadiens were playing the Rangers in Madison Square Garden during the reign of emperor Lou Fontinato. Louie had his this curious notion that the comers behind the Rangers&rsquo; net belonged to him by rule of eminent domain. Violators were punishable by a hit in the head. On this night, Olmstead was doing his anteater routine and Fontinato spied him from 30 feet away.Louie thundered across the rink until he was five feet from Olmstead. Then he went into orbit, stick upraised in the approved kill-him-with-a-crosscheck position. Splat. Olmstead&rsquo;s head rang like the belfrey in St. Patrick&rsquo;s Cathedral. Fontinato&rsquo;s stick split in half, an event which surprised Louie less than the fact that Olmstead blandly came away with the puck and delivered his usual impeccable centering pass. Score another for the Lunchpail A.C.Bert also qualifies as one of the six toughest teammates of all-time as any of his teammates will attest. Once he had the misfortune of skating on the same line with Eddie Shack, who indiscriminately roamed his wing like one of those Coney Island bumper cars. One night the astigmatic Shack accidently flattened his buddy Olmstead. When they got to the bench, Dirty Bertie grabbed Shack&rsquo;s royal blue Maple Leaf jersey in his hands. Then, he delivered a message that could even be heard in South Carolina: &ldquo;What color is it, Eddie, what color is it?&rdquo; as he pulled a fistful of Eddie&rsquo;s shirt out in front of him.&ldquo;Blue,&rdquo; said Shack.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s right,&rdquo; said Olmstead, &ldquo;it&rsquo;s blue. Stay clear of it, Eddie, for Pete&rsquo;s sake! Stay clear of blue!&rdquo;Olmstead was the kind of player&mdash;similar to Bob Gainey in his heyday with the Canadiens&mdash;who was more appreciated by players than critics.&ldquo;He makes the club,&rdquo; Jacques Plante once said of Olmstead while Bert was on the Toronto Maple Leafs. &ldquo;Bert never stops working.&rdquo;&ldquo;Olmstead is all brains and fight,&rdquo; said Muzz Patrick, then the general manager of the Rangers.What I&rsquo;m getting at is this, those high falootin&rsquo; Hall of Famers such as Beliveau, Mahovlich and Richard would have been in Nowheresville without an honest workman such as Olmstead.Bertie belongs in the Hall of Fame, but alas he won&rsquo;t get in. If you can tell me the last time the HFC inducted an honest workman such as Olmstead I&rsquo;ll give you a carton of Goldenberg&rsquo;s Peanut Chews.WHITHER THE WHALERS&mdash;Another season has passed without a playoff team in Hartford, and that screws my head up something awful.None of us who study history expected the Whalers to make the playoffs, because they almost never do. That&rsquo;s a historical fact that makes people in Hartford hysterical, especially those who own the Aetna Life Insurance Company (which owns the wallowing Whalers).On the other hand there was something strange about this year&rsquo;s edition: the players mistakenly thought the All-Star break extended all the way from December through February&mdash;and nobody bothered to tell them differently. The Whalers started the season so strong Scott Bowman told me that even he was worried about them. And they finished so forcefully the Rangers were thanking John Ziegler for not letting them in the Patrick Division.But what about the other part of the season&mdash;the real part when Emile Francis&rsquo; outfit was so sorrowfully stinko?There are two ways of looking at the Whalers&mdash;the skeptical and the hopeful. The skeptic says the late-season victory run was less meaningful than meets the eye.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s easy to play hockey when you&rsquo;re just trying to impress a general manager and a coach,&rdquo; says the Blues&rsquo; coach Jacques Demers. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s no pressure.&rdquo;Once the Whalers had faded from playoff view, they were wonderful, beating everyone from the Oilers to the Blues. The optimist says this is a portent of things to come.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re building,&rdquo; says Whaler boss Howard Baldwin. &ldquo;The. future is with the young players and they&rsquo;ve started to come through for us.&rdquo;Baldwin says it&rsquo;s time to reassess a couple of Whaler deals that inspired some kicks in the groin from the media. One was Blaine Stoughton for Scot Kleinendorst, the other Pierre Larouche to the Rangers for carbon dioxide.Stoughton has done nothing but collect money from the Rangers while contributing zero. Kleinendorst has played admirably for the Whalers. Larouche scored 48 goals for the Rangers last season but has done less this year.&ldquo;Larouche has screwed up the chemistry on every team he&rsquo;s played for,&rdquo; says Baldwin. &ldquo;The Rangers can&rsquo;t give him away.&rdquo;Which is well and bad, but what about the Whalers and their future under the Francis regime?The Cat says he will rise or fall with coach Jack Evans. Francis has assumed the same me-against-them posture with the press that he did in New York. He can get away with it when he&rsquo;s winning but, so far, he&rsquo;s hasn&rsquo;t won anything in the two years he&rsquo;s been in Hartford and the sands are filtering through the hour-glass.Francis is getting paid a hell of a lot of money to put together a winner.So far he hasn&rsquo;t come close to doing what Bob Clarke (Bob McCammon) has done in Philadelphia; Ron Caron in St. Louis; Rogie Vachon in L.A.; David Poile in Washington or John Ferguson in Winnipeg. 1&rsquo;11 buy Baldwin&rsquo;s line that he needs more time. Like one more year. At a time when Boston, Quebec, Montreal and Buffalo all are rebuilding, the Whalers ought to be able to make a better mark for themselves.Says Baldwin: &ldquo;When you think about it, who has a good track record in the league? You&rsquo;ve got to judge our team against something else. The way to improve is through the hard core. It hasn&rsquo;t been done here in the past but now we&rsquo;re finally doing it. So what happens, the media dumps all over us. We gotta go with the plan we have&mdash;with the kids&mdash;and it&rsquo;ll work.&rdquo;30-SECOND THIRD DEGREE&mdash;Pelle Lindbergh of the Philadelphia Flyers, will you please take the stand:Q.&mdash;Who inspired you to become a goaltender?LINDBERGH&mdash;The Canadian Olympic team once had a goalie named Seth Martin and, after watching him, I became fascinated with his mask. I wanted to have one just like his and it all went from there. When I was six, we moved to a suburb near Stockholm. All of my friends who I played hockey with were three of four years older than me. Since they were bigger, I wound up in the net. That didn&rsquo;t bother me; I wanted to be like goaltenders I saw on television.Q.&mdash;Pick out two of your early heroes, one Swedish, one from the NHL.LINDBERGH&mdash;The first was Leif Holmquist, a Swedish goalie who came over here to play, but also was with the Swedish national team. He was really big in Sweden. But from the time I was 12 my hero was Bernie Parent. He&rsquo;s been my idol ever since. &#9632;

f0006-01

Hall Of Famers 10 Years Down The Road

<h2>HOCKEY NOTEBOOK</h2>Harry Neale has been fired by the Canucks, according to unofficial reports out of Vancouver as this issue was going to press.The report had the Canucks informing Neale, who still has two years left to go on his contract with the team, he could look for another job, and that they had someone else in mind for the job. Buffalo Sabre general manager-coach Scott Bowman is believed to be that someone.Neale, who assumed the coaching duties on top of his managing duties after he fired Bill LaForge 20 games into the season, was expected to clear the air about his future in a press conference.New Jersey Devils&rsquo; rookie coach Doug Carpenter has been appointed GM-coach of Team Canada for the world championships in Prague April 17.Carpenter will be assisted by University of Toronto head coach Tom Watt and Vancouver assistant coach Ron Smith.&ldquo;Doug proved his coaching ability during the past season with the Devils and I&rsquo;m sure that club will continue to improve in the future under Doug&rsquo;s direction,&rdquo; said Alan Eagleson, chairman of Hockey Canada&rsquo;s international committee.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m proud to be named managercoach of Team Canada,&rdquo; Carpenter said. &ldquo;The world championships will give me an opportunity to coach against some of the best hockey teams in the world.&rdquo;Carpenter will be without the services of the Hartford Whalers&rsquo; goalie Mike Liut and left winger Sylvain Turgeon, both of whom are injured.Meanwhile, North Americans will be in the dark as far as the tournament being broadcast on TV is concerned, the Toronto Sun&rsquo;s&nbsp;George Gross reports. The reason is exorbitant last-minute increases in the television rights by European right holders.&ldquo;We would have loved to show the key games from Prague, but it would have to make business sense,&rdquo; said Johnny Esaw, vice-president of the CTV Network, which had been expected to carry the games in North America.Former New York Ranger and 1980 Olympic gold-medal coach Herb Brooks may be coaching at his alma-mater, the University of Minnesota, next season.Brooks, who may also be in line to coach the Minnesota North Stars next season, said he will soon make his decision.Paul Giel, the university&rsquo;s athletic director, said the contract of cunent coach Brad Buetow will not be renewed and that Brooks would be the top candidate if he applied for the job.In other college news, Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) recently won its second National Collegiate Athletic Association Division 111 championship in three years by beating Bemidji State 5-1 in the final. RIT rookie netminder Chet Hallice was voted the tournament&rsquo;s Most Valuable Player.Pittsburgh Penguins have signed freeagent goalie Jeff Cooper of Colgate University. Cooper had six career shutouts and was a second-team all-star.Team Canada, a group of collegians, juniors and ex-pros under the guidance of Canada&rsquo;s Olympic coach Dave King, finished fourth in the five-team Pravda Cup in Leningrad.Team Canada failed to win a game in five starts against the national B teams of the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, Sweden and Finland.Canada&rsquo;s lone point in the tournament came in a 4-4 tie with Finland. &#9632;

Neale Fired By Canucks, Report Suggests

<div class="byline">BY RICH FRIEDMAN</div><h2>NEW YORK RANGERS</h2><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-011226/5186120-1-eng-US/f0007-012.jpg" title="f0007-01" width="122" height="118"></div>NEW YORK&mdash;On a night when the New York Rangers set a bench-mark for futility, they gave the term &ldquo;backing into the playoffs&rdquo; a whole new meaning.Their 2-1 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 78 was their 43rd loss of the regular season, the most in the 59-year history of the club.Equally as pertinent was that it was their seventh loss in seven games to the team they were to meet in the opening round of the playoffs.The game did little to answer the hour&rsquo;s million-dollar question: whether the Rangers would be able to continue the playoff hex over the Flyers that had seen them win their previous six post-season games between the two. three in an opening-round sweep in 1983 and the final three in a four-game, opening-round victory the previous year.It was a funny kind of game, a playoff game in score only, as the intensity of post-season play was superceded by the caginess of two teams feeling each other out and unwilling to show what they really had in store for each other come April 10.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s a pretty good analysis, there was a lot of that going on tonight,&rdquo; said defenseman James Patrick of the &ldquo;feeling out.&rdquo;&ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t want it to happen, it&rsquo;s just the way the game progressed. They make a one-goal game seem larger than any other team we play.&rdquo;Which is why keeping the Flyers off the scoreboard is essential.&ldquo;If we can hold them to two goals a game,&rdquo; said Tom Laidlaw, acting as captain in place of the injured Barry Beck, &ldquo;it&rsquo;ll be a big feather in our caps.&rdquo;Both goalies played well: Bob Froese, who had shut out the Rangers 3-0 three days earlier and had given them just one goal in six periods, and John Vanbies-brouck, who had been the first Ranger to receive the Fan Club&rsquo;s new rookie-of-the-year award in a pre-game ceremony.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a matter of getting on the board first.&rdquo; Vanbiesbrouck claimed. &ldquo;Somehow, we&rsquo;re gonna find their leak and then we&rsquo;re gonna get &rsquo;em.&rdquo;Which is nice talk if they can back it up. On this night they could not, falling behind 2-0 before Anders Hedberg put them on the scoreboard in the second period, a fitting touch since he was playing his last regular-season game at Madison Square Garden, having previously set his retirement for this spring.In that pre-game ceremony, Hedberg received a standing ovation when Beck presented him with a pewter bowl inscribed with the name of every player who had worn a Ranger uniform during Hedberg&rsquo;s seven years in New York.Hedberg was one of the &ldquo;Smurfs&rdquo;&mdash;a nickname unwisely pinned on the Rangers by then Flyer coach Bob McCammon&mdash;who helped the Rangers turn the other cheek and beat Philadelphia in three consecutive games in 1983.&lsquo;&lsquo;They have to live with the memories of bad playoffs against us, and we have to live with the memory of the bad season,&rdquo; said Hedberg.However, these Flyers are a young team that bears little resemblance to the easy pickings of 1982 and 1983, while the Rangers must bear the stigma of a regular season that was a disgrace.&ldquo;I realize this whole season has been disastrous for us. especially the seven losses to the Flyers,&rdquo; Ranger general manager Craig Patrick admitted, &ldquo;but we have to forget the negative and get ready for the new season.&rdquo;Mark Pavelich, another of the &ldquo;Smurfs&rdquo; of 1983, was brutally honest after the 5-4 win over the Penguins in Game 74 that all but eliminated Pittsburgh. The Rangers had taken a 5-2 lead, only to give up two goals in 41 seconds late in the second period and had to hold on for dear life for victory.&ldquo;It was two points, but I thought it was a terrible hockey game, that&rsquo;s all,&rdquo; said Pavelich, who had responded well, on the ice, after an admonishment by the GM the week before in Detroit.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not proud of this season,&rdquo; Pavelich continued. &ldquo;In fact, I&rsquo;m really embarrassed by it. This was our usual game&mdash;I&rsquo;ve seen it go 30 times like that.&rdquo;NOTES&mdash;In years past, the Rangers have received post-season lifts from players who have come out of nowhere, such as George McPhee, who was brought up from Tulsa for the 1983 playoffs. This year it could be Kelly Miller, a 1982 draft pick who was signed to a tryout for the final five regular-season games after four years at Michigan State. He looked mobile and played with enthusiasm. The team&rsquo;s injury situation would help determine whether or not the Rangers would keep him for the playoffs. Late-season injuries included Jan Erixon (bruised foot), Pierre Larouche (wrist, and bruised tailbone), Ron Greschner (bruised shoulder), Barry Beck (aggravated shoulder). Willie Huber and Robbie Ftorek (knees).Other award winners at the final regular-season home game were goalie Glen Hanlon (Alumni Association Star-of-the-Game award), rookie Tomas Sandstrom (West Side Association of Commerce MVP) and Reijo Ruotsalainen (Players&rsquo; Player Award). Anders Hedberg and Mike Rogers shared the Fan Club&rsquo;s Frank Boucher Award as most popular players on and off the ice. Hedberg&rsquo;s wife. Gun-Marie, presented a check to the New York State Federation on Child Abuse and Neglect. The team&rsquo;s recent fashion show raised $80,000 for that cause. &#9632;</div>

f0007-01

Rangers Looking For Third Fiyer Downfall

The International Hockey Weekly Founded in 1947Published by W.C.C. Publishing Ltd85 Scarsdale Road, #100, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M3B 2R2.THE NHL&rsquo;Ssecond season is underway and as certain as a player will hoist the venerable old mug for the obligatory victory spin around the ice, there will soon be criticism of the method used to arrive at a winner.For example, when one of either the Calgary Flames or Winnipeg Jets&mdash;two of the NHL&rsquo;s more competitive squads&mdash;is sidelined by the other in the first round, there will, of course, be cries of injustice of a system that shelves a good team while a weaker team&mdash;St. Louis, Chicago, Detroit and Minnesota, take your pick&mdash;continues in pursuit of the Cup.Why the system is so is perfectly clear. It makes good business and economic sense for the NHL to emphasize regional rivalries within the four-division format. NHL president John Ziegler explained this in last week&rsquo;s THN and went on to add that, from that point of view, the system is working quite well.Of course, as long as there is a competitive imbalance amongst the divisions&mdash;i.e., the Norris being substantially weaker than either of the other three (Smythe, Adams and Patrick)&mdash;good teams are going to be knocked out early while clearly inferior squads will go an extra round or two.But hey, that&rsquo;s life in the NHL (and major league baseball for that matter. Just check out the imbalance between the American League East and West Divisions). Because hockey&rsquo;s playoff system works well, from a business point of view (98 per cent capacity), it&rsquo;s not about to be changed.So, why bother ranting and raving about something which a) isn&rsquo;t going to be overhauled, and b) the fans, by their strong attendance, seem to be endorsing.Really, if there&rsquo;s one thing that should be altered, it&rsquo;s that the first-round series&mdash;currently best-of-five affairs&mdash;should be lengthened to seven games.The owners pushed for this earlier this season, but the NHL Players&rsquo; Association put off all disucssion on it, saying that it may be a consideration in the next collective bargaining agreement.Extending the first series to seven games would be a help to strong teams playing weak teams. Weak teams can luck out in a five-game series, but to do it in seven is another matter entirely.It may not solve all the perceived problems of the playoff format, but it&rsquo;s one more step in making sure that the &ldquo;best team&rdquo; emerges from a first-round match-up. &#9632;

A Seven-Game Stretch

<h2>FAN FORUM</h2>Let your voice be heard! Send your comments to Fan Forum. THE HOCKEY NEWS, 85 Scarsdale Rd., Suite 100, Don Mills, Ont., Canada M3B 2R2.PLEASE TRY TO remember that&mdash;however small our percentage may be&mdash;there are women among your readers. I am writing to give you the news that some of us are more interested in following the game than in becoming pinups for male fans. I can&rsquo;t begin to express my disgust at the cover of your March 29 Collectibles Craze issue, which featured two women wearing high-heeled pumps and, it seemed, nothing else but hockey jerseys.I have gotten used to routine sexist comments like Bill Fleischman&rsquo;s reference to Warren Young&rsquo;s search for &ldquo;a few attractive &lsquo;guest&rsquo; cooks.&rdquo; And I am accustomed to seeing women display uniforms as negligees in ads for jerseys and equipment. But your cover was just too much. Please try to have some respect for your readers&mdash;men as well as women&mdash;who would rather see your cover stories illustrated in an intelligent and relevant manner.Carolyn KitchFort Lee, NJ&hellip;OR MARKET A POSTERYou should capitalize on your (March 29) cover feature and use the shot to market a poster for collectors. Although I question the selection of team &ldquo;sweaters,&rdquo; the quality of legs is excellent.Dave BasehorsePittsburgh, PANO RECOGNITION FOR FLYERSAn open letter to: Glen Sather, Al Arbour and all columnists at THN and the hockey media in general.First, Glen and Al, thanks for overlooking Brian Propp for Canada Cup and All-Star recognition, he should be well rested and his excellent two-way play and penalty killing should be obvious to all in the league.Next, all you expert columnists, I find it difficult to believe the absence of Mark Howe and/or Brad McCrimmon in Norris Trophy talk. McCrimmon is finally playing up to his potential and there is no mention for most-improved or comeback player of the year.While this selection will be a little more difficult the Selke Trophy could either go to Propp, Ron Sutter or Dave Poulin. While Propp&rsquo;s stats are most obvious, Ron Sutter has the necessary stats as put forth in For Argument&rsquo;s Sake putting in clutch goals while also guarding against the league&rsquo;s top scorers. Poulin could also be a MVP for his team, his enthusiasm, leadership, penaltykilling, forechecking have been the heart of the Flyers&rsquo; season so far. Hopefully Stan Fischler&rsquo;s predicition about the Flyers and Rangers playoff series will be proven wrong.Finally to all you refs that can read, give the Flyers a break. Yo refs of modern hockey are too soft. You are still penalyzing the Flyers for their play of years past.Paul TarditiBeach Haven, NJ<h2>RIGHTS WORK BOTH WAYS</h2>I applaud Dan Maloney&rsquo;s actions. I think he was right in forbidding women reporters into the Maple Leafs&rsquo; dressing room. Why should feminists&rsquo; views be forced upon others? If a guy has a conviction that women and men should not meet and talk to each other in the nude then that conviction should be respected.The Rockettes and Chris Evert, like the Maple Leafs, are in the entertainment business. I do not know of instances where male reporters were allowed in their dressing rooms, nor should they be, unless these people agree to it. If they don&rsquo;t agree then alternative arrangements should be made.Robert CicchiniUniversity Park, PA<h2>INDIANS TARNISH GAME</h2>Recently I attended an American Hockey League game in Springfield, MA. The opposing team was the Sherbrooke Canadiens. The so-called fans of the Indians concentrated on heckling the Canadiens throughout the entire game, rather than cheering for their team. I realize that everyone has the right to say whatever he or she wants to but this crowd was the most inconsiderate, racist group of &ldquo;people&rdquo; I have ever seen. Race should not be the determining factor in judging a hockey player. People should base their opinions on the overall ability of the player.Unfortunatley, the Indians&rsquo; players chose to go after a certain player as soon as the game ended, much to the delight of the jeering fans. It really is sad when the players lower themselves to the fans&rsquo; level of immaturity. This game was an insult to the game of hockey, yet it is a typical game in Springfield.I suggest that no NHL franchise should have a team in Springfield. There must be a city where the people appreciate the game of hockey, maybe in Worcester, MA.Janet MayotteQuinebaug, CT. &#9632;

Can The ‘Pinup’ Covers

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-011311/5186199-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg" title="f0008-01" width="392" height="447"><figcaption class="caption-body">Bob McKenzie&rsquo;sEditor&rsquo;s Notebook</figcaption></div>A few random thoughts on the eve of what should be an exciting set of Stanley Cup playoffs:&bull; Ironic, isn&rsquo;t it, that the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens meet again this spring, except that this time Montreal won the regular season Adams Division title and Boston gets its chance to be a playoff underdog and shoot for an upset to avenge last year&rsquo;s three-game sweep at the hands of the fourth-place Habs.But I&rsquo;ll be awfully surprised if the Bruins can do it. That view stems, at least in part, from an incident in the final regular season game (April 6 at the Montreal Forum, a 4-4 overtime tie that assured the Habs of first place in the Division) between the two teams.Rookie Bruin netminder Cleon Daskalakis came out to smother a loose puck and Montreal tough guy Chris Nilan crashed into him, leaving the goalie a little worse for wear. No Bruin even went after Nilan, and on playoff eve you&rsquo;d expect that sort of thing to lead to mass mayhem, with the Bruins establishing the playoff ground rules and protecting their turf.That it didn&rsquo;t happen suggests the Bruins aren&rsquo;t so big or bad any more, at least not big or bad enough to dismiss a strong, physical Canadien club.&bull; Speaking of mayhem, many of the first-, and for that matter, possible second-round matchups have the potential to get the pacifists up in arms.In spite of the Bruins&rsquo; lack of aggression on the Nilan-Daskalakis incident, that series should be rather brutal. And Washington against the New York Islanders is another where physical intimidation will be a factor.Out west, Calgary and Winnipeg could engage in something of a war.In the second round, possible series such as Montreal against Quebec, Philadelphia (assuming they dispose of the New York Rangers) against either Washington or the Islanders, Edmonton (assuming they beat Los Angeles) against either Calgary or Winnipeg, are the kind of confrontations that could produce what has come to be known as &ldquo;old-time hockey.&rdquo;If violence becomes an overriding influence in the playoffs, you can, depending upon your deep-rooted sociological preferences, either thank or blame the playoff format, which emphasizes regional rivalries that are nurtured all season long.&bull; Whether it&rsquo;s fair or not is a moot point, but don&rsquo;t you think that if sophomore netminder Tom Barrasso fails to lead the Buffalo Sabres past the Quebec Nordiques in the playoffs, his ability to win when it counts will be questioned?Barrasso was spectacular all through the 1983-84 season, only to come up flat in the playoffs a year ago as Quebec ushered out the Sabres in three straight. Then, in the Canada Cup, Barrasso played incredibly well until the crucial semi-final game against Sweden, when he pulled himself in the first period after being shelled.Now, Barrasso has put together another fine regular season, but that could easily be forgot ten if he doesn&rsquo;t produce in the playoffs.&bull; When Carling O&rsquo;Keefe and CTV joined forces to create a second national hockey network in Canada, competing on an equal basis with the established Hockey Night in Canada, it was predicted that the fans would be the big winner.This spring&rsquo;s playoff coverage is a case in point. Carling O&rsquo;Keefe won&rsquo;t be presenting any of the first-round matchups, though it might have been nice to have access to the Washington-Islander series, but it will begin coverage in the second round.That means Canadian hockey fans will have a choice of watching, say, the Philadelphia Flyers against the Caps or Isles instead of the regional coverage in the east (usually involving Montreal) or the west (usually involving Edmonton).&bull; Wouldn&rsquo;t it be nice if play-by-play man Danny Gallivan would come out of retirment just for the Stanley Cup playoffs.Somehow, there&rsquo;s something incongruous about having the Montreal Canadiens in the playoffs, but no Gallivanisms to go along with them. &#9632;

f0008-01

Habs And Bruins Engage In Role Reversal

<div class="byline">BY RON COBB</div><h2>ST. LOUIS BLUES</h2><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-011284/5186230-1-eng-US/f0009-012.jpg" title="f0009-01" width="130" height="117"></div>ST. LOUIS&mdash;The St. Louis Blues won the Norris Division regular season title the hard way, but in the end that made it all the more satisfying.An eight-point lead the Blues had on Chicago on March 18 shrunk to two points going into the last two days of the regular season. The reasons? The Blues slumped to 2-8-1 while the Black Hawks surged to 5-3-1.And so, the final weekend shaped up like this: The Blues would finish with games at Minnesota and home against Detroit, while Chicago finished with games at Detroit and home against the New York Rangers. If the race ended in a tie, the Black Hawks would be champions based on more victories.Although Chicago gained only a tie at Detroit in an afternoon game April 6, things looked bleak for the Blues when they fell behind the North Stars 3-0 that night.But the Blues, led by unlikely heroes Dave Barr, Denis Cyr and Craig Levie, rallied for a 4-3 victory that clinched the division title and set up a first-round playoff series against Minnesota.</div><div style="clear: both;"></div><blockquote class="pullQuote">&ldquo;I think the way we won kind of epitomizes the way the season has gone. We showed a lot of character all season and tonight typified that&rdquo;</blockquote>&ldquo;I think the way we won kind of epitomizes the way the season has gone,&rdquo; said defenseman Rod Ramage. &ldquo;We showed a lot of character all season and tonight typified that.&rdquo;Cyr got the rally going with a second-period goal, his fourth in six games since being called up from the International League on March 25.Barr cut the lead to 3-2 at 8:10 of the third period. Levie, a defenseman claimed from the North Stars last fall in the waiver draft, tied the score at 12:18 and Barr scored the game-winner at 15:12.&ldquo;Some guys on the team get a lot of attention, and I&rsquo;m one of them,&rdquo; said Ramage. &ldquo;But the unsung heroes won the game for us tonight.&rdquo;The division title is the fifth for the Blues in their 18-years in the NHL and their first since 1980-81.Champagne flowed in the Blues&rsquo; dressing room after the clinching victory.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s one of the biggest thrills of my life,&rdquo; Barr said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not so often you win a division when you&rsquo;re picked to finish fourth or fifth.&rdquo;In a pre-season poll of 20 correspondents of THE HOCKEY NEWS, three had predicted fifth place for the Blues and most of the rest picked them for fourth.The Blues&rsquo; title was largely attributable to their success against Campbell Conference teams. They were 9-4-2 against the Smythe Division and 20-8-4 in the Norris.&ldquo;This is something the whole organization should be proud of, said coach Jacques Demers. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s an old saying that nice guys finish last, but I think I&rsquo;m a pretty good guy to my players, and if you treat them right, they&rsquo;ll respect you and go out and play for you.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve got to give all the credit to the players and the great help I got from (assistant coach) Barclay Plager.&rdquo;Demers had begun to fear that some of the Blues&rsquo; young players were feeling the pressure down the stretch. During the slump, the team scored only 14 goals in eight games.&ldquo;Nothing&rsquo;s been easy for us,&rdquo; said goalie Rick Wamsley. &ldquo;Everybody in the league knows we&rsquo;ve been having trouble scoring goals.&rdquo;In the season&rsquo;s last week, however, the Blues beat New Jersey 8-4, rallied with three late goals in a 5-4 loss to the New York Rangers, rallied again against Minnesota and then closed out the season with a 6-5 overtime win against Detroit.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re proving that we can turn it on and get some goals,&rdquo; said captain Brian Sutter. &ldquo;If we get behind, we&rsquo;re going to work our butts off to come back.&rdquo;By snapping a winless streak on the road at eight games with the victory at Minnesota, the Blues tied a club record with their 16th road victory of the season.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s been a long regular season,&rdquo; said defenseman Terry Johnson, &ldquo;and the fun&rsquo;s going to start now. It&rsquo;s good to get It&rsquo;s this out of the way and so we can get our minds on one thing.&rdquo;BLUENOTES&mdash;Center Bernie Federko finished the season with 103 points, his third 100-plus season. Right winger Joe Mullen scored two goals against Detroit, including the gamewinner in overtime, to reach the 40-goal mark. He scored 41 last season. &#9632;

f0009-01

Blues Win Norris Division The Hard Way

In the mighty Wales Conference, it is truly a case of survival of the fittest. This is the conference where a lack of depth or a few injuries to key personnel can spell the difference between going all the way or being shelved in the preliminary round.This spring, five Wales teams&mdash;Philadelphia, Montreal, Washington, Quebec and Buffalo&mdash;have to be considered legitimate contenders for the Conference title.Teams such as the Boston Bruins and New York Islanders, two clubs which are getting a little long in the tooth and weakened by a rash of injuries to key players, can&lsquo;t be considered favorites to take the crown, but they are good enough, certainly experienced enough, to be considered factors.In fact, in this tough conference, there is only one pretender, that being the New York Rangers, a team that fell victim to an overwhelming injury bug and team turmoil that resulted in the Bring of coach Herb Brooks.These rankings are based on a club&rsquo;s ability to win the Conference championship and, of course, the spread between No. I and No. 5 is minimal.The only real upsets would be if the Rangers were to win a series or the Bruins or Islanders were to win their divisions.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-011352/5186317-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg" title="f0010-01" width="544" height="374"></div>1. There&rsquo;s something wrong here.Take a look at the Philadelphia Flyer lineup and you seriously have to ask yourself if you&rsquo;re looking at the No.-1 rated team not only in the Wales Conference, but all of hockey.But there&rsquo;s not much question that, on the basis of the regular season and the final few weeks, in particular, the Flyers are for real and until otherwise proven, they&rsquo;re the top outfit.Swedish netminder Pelle Lindbergh, who has been spectacular this season, and Bob Froese give the Flyers an excellent one-two punch in net.Defensively, the rejuvenations of Mark Howe, Brad McCrimmon, the team&rsquo;s plusminus leader, and Brad Marsh have led the way. The supporting cast includes Doug Crossman, Thomas Eriksson, Miro Dvorak, Ed Hospodar and Steve Smith, a former No. 1 pick who was just recently recalled from the minors.Up front is where the amazing transformation has taken place. Veterans Tim Kerr and Brian Propp lead the way, but a whole cast of first- and second-year pros&mdash;Ron and Rich Sutter, Rick Tocchet, team captain Dave Poulin, Derrick Smith, Peter Zezel, Murray Craven, Todd Bergen, Len Hachborn&mdash;have shouldered much of the load, too. The offense is rounded out by Lindsay Carson, Ilkka Sinisalo and Dave Brown.CONCLUSION: The Flyers have the goaltending, defense, cohesion and momentum to go all the way. If there&rsquo;s a weakness, it&rsquo;s their inexperience, especially up front. But the youngsters have played well for rookie NHL coach Mike Keenan and there&rsquo;s no reason to think they won&rsquo;t continue to do so in the playoffs.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-021039/5186310-1-eng-US/f0010-022.jpg" title="f0010-02" width="558" height="382"></div>2. So much for the element of surprise.A year ago, the fourth-place Canadiens ambushed the first-place Boston Bruins and Quebec Nordiques to win the Adams Division playoff crown before falling to the New York Islanders in a tough six-game Wales Conference final.This year, the first-place Habs will surprise nobody. But that doesn&rsquo;t mean they aren&rsquo;t serious threats to take the conference championship.As long as they continue to get steady net-minding from Steve Penney&mdash;he hasn&rsquo;t let them down all season&mdash;and the Habs continue to play coach Jacques Lemaire disciplined defensive style of play, it&rsquo;s possible they could be bound for the Stanley Cup finals.As he did a year ago, Lemaire will likely go with four defensemen&mdash;Larry Robinson, Petr Svoboda, Chris Chelios and Craig Ludwig&mdash;with Rick Green and Tom Kurvers supplying relief help. How these players perform will decide how far the Habs will go.Up front, the Canadiens are big and strong, but slightly anemic offensively. Pierre Mondou between Mats Naslund and Mario Tremblay is the top offensive unit. Ryan Walter between Mark Hunter and Mike McPhee and Guy Carbonneau between Chris Nilan and Bob Gainey provide two crack defensive units. Bobby Smith, Alfie Turcotte, Ron Flockhart and rookie Steve Rooney round out the cast.CONCLUSION: The Habs get the edge over competitive rivals Washington, Quebec and Buffalo because they&rsquo;re more consistent and they&rsquo;ve shown an ability to win when it counts. As long as Penney and team discipline prevail, Montreal&rsquo;s offensive shortcomings are minimized.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-03678/5186303-1-eng-US/f0010-032.jpg" title="f0010-03" width="554" height="306"></div>3. If the Washington Capitals put all the pieces of their game together, then they&rsquo;re definitely the type of team which should be considered a favorite to win the Wales Conference playoffs. After all, strong defense is what the playoffs are all about.But so is execution and the fact of the matter is that the Caps have struggled to a .500 mark since the All-Star break. That explains their No. 3 ranking here and perhaps we&rsquo;re being a bit generous.And then there is the question of goal-tending.Heading into the playoffs, neither Pat Riggin nor Al Jensen had shown much spark down the stretch drive.One would expect that a defensive corps consisting of Rod Langway, Scott Stevens, Darren Veitch, Mike McEwen, Larry Murphy, Peter Andersson, David Shand, Timo Blomqvist and No. 1 draft pick Kevin Hatcher, called up from junior, would be more than able to get the job done. But, late in the season, they were turning in inconsistent efforts.As were the forwards&mdash;Greg Adams-Bob Carpenter-Mike Gartner; Bengt Gustafsson-Dave Christian-Alan Haworth; Gaeten Duchesne-Doug Jarvis-Bob Gould plus extras Craig Laughlin, Gary Sampson, Mikko Leinonen, Mark Taylor and Lou Franceschetti&mdash;who seemed a step slower than they were before the All-Star break.CONCLUSION: Maybe the Caps are feeling the effects of the Canada Cup syndrome. Whatever it is, they&rsquo;d better shape up or they&rsquo;ll be sent packing by the Islanders in the first round. Mind you, a total recovery isn&rsquo;t out of the question, either.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-04491/5186296-1-eng-US/f0010-042.jpg" title="f0010-04" width="527" height="512"></div>4. All that prevents the Quebec Nordiques from being considered legitimate Stanley Cup contenders is their inability to beat the Montreal Canadiens on a consistent basis.Well&hellip;there are a few other reasons.While the Nordiques have three capable National Hockey League goaltenders&mdash;veterans Dan Bouchard and Richard Sevigny plus rookie Mario Gosselin&mdash;it&rsquo;s difficult to say who&rsquo;ll get the nod. And really, neither of the three provided consistently good goalkeeping in the stretch drive.Still, any one of them is capable of getting hot for the playoffs.Defensively, the Nordiques are a little suspect, though a group that includes Mario Marois, Pat Price, Normand Rochefort, Bruce Bell, Mike Moller, Brad Maxwell and Blake Wesley seems to rise to the occasion come playoff time.The Nordiques&rsquo; strength, as has always been the case, is offense. Michel Goulet, Peter Stastny and Dale Hunter are outstanding players and they&rsquo;re ably supported by Alain Lemieux, Anton Stastny, Brent Ashton, Paul Gillis, Alain-Cote, Marian Stastny, J.F. Sauve, the power-play specialist, and Mark Kumpel.This is a team that can be very difficult to beat if it gets on a roll. And it&rsquo;s certainly a team that you don&rsquo;t want to play catch-up with.CONCLUSION: The Nordiques have enough firepower, muscle and discipline to take the Buffalo Sabres in the first round of the playoffs. Goaltending, though, remains a question mark. And until the Nords can beat their arch-rivals from Montreal more often, they can&rsquo;t be rated as a favorite to get out of the Adams Division.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-05372/5186289-1-eng-US/f0010-052.jpg" title="f0010-05" width="516" height="496"></div>5. When a team has an outstanding net-minder such as Tom Barrasso, the best coach in hockey in Scott Bowman and a good mix of players who understand what it means to play both ends of the rink, you have to feel a little guilty about ranking them fifth in the Wales Conference.But the Sabres, for all their apparent strengths, seem to be missing an elusive ingredient. It&rsquo;s called winning under pressure.The Sabres, it seems, keep finding ways to lose games that they need to win. It happened in last year&rsquo;s stretch drive, when they blew first place in the Adams Division, and then in the playoffs when they were swept by the Nordiques.This season, on the final night of the season, they blew a game to the Canadiens that could have assured them of home-ice against Quebec in the first round.Still, they&rsquo;ve got all the moving parts of a championship team, starting with the one-two punch of Barrasso and Bob Sauve in goal. Defense, with Mike Ramsey, Dave Fenyves, Larry Playfair, Dave Maloney, Hannu Virta, Bill Hajt and Jim Schoenfeld, is experienced and strong.Gilbert Perreault, John Tucker, Ric Seiling, Gates Orlando, Lindy Ruff, Phil Housley, Brent Peterson, Mike Foligno, Sean McKenna, Gilles Hamel, Craig Ramsay, Paul Cyr and Mai Davis are a collection of forwards with good skills and experience, although they&rsquo;re a little light on offensive punch.CONCLUSION: The absence of injured Dave Andreychuk for the first round weakens an already suspect offense, but you&rsquo;ve got to take a Scott Bowman-coached team deadly serious in the playoffs.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-011234/5186282-1-eng-US/f0011-012.jpg" title="f0011-01" width="3030" height="1574"><figcaption class="caption-body">The Road To The Stanley Cup</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-02934/5186275-1-eng-US/f0011-022.jpg" title="f0011-02" width="543" height="518"></div>6. If we felt guilty for ranking the Sabres fifth, what word can we use to describe our feeling after rating the once-mighty New York Islanders sixth? Shame, perhaps.But the Islanders, another year older and susceptible to injuries to key players, did not look good in the regular season. And, while they were expected to have everybody, except winger Greg Gilbert, back in the lineup for the playoffs, their chances of going all the way seemed remote.Of course, if veteran goalie Billy Smith, the best money goaltender in hockey, gets hot, then this form chart goes out the window. If Smitty falters, Kelly Hrudey provides capable backup.Defensively, the Isles need Denis Potvin to return to form after a poor regular season. Ken Morrow, Tomas Jonsson, Stefan Persson, Paul Boutilier, Gerald Diduck, Gord Dineen and Dave Langevin round out a defensive unit that has been inconsistent and injury plagued.Up front, a healthy Brent Sutter between John Tonelli and Mike Bossy is imperative. And Bryan Trottier must rebound from a mediocre season. Then, the Isles need big efforts from veterans Clark Gillies, Bob Bourne, Anders Kallur, Duane Sutter and Bob Nystrom along with youngsters Patrick Flatley and Pat LaFontaine.Having Al Arbour behind the bench is worth a few bonus points.CONCLUSION: The Isles, if everything falls into place, may prey on the faltering Capitals in the opening round, experience and pride being key factors. But it would take an extraordinary effort to get past Philly for the Division crown.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-03687/5186268-1-eng-US/f0011-032.jpg" title="f0011-03" width="511" height="506"></div>7. This has not been a stellar season for the Boston Bruins. And for the same reason that the team dropped from first to fourth in the Adams Division, they&rsquo;ll be expected to beat a hasty retteat in the playoffs.Injuries to key personnel have crippled the Bruins&rsquo; playoff hopes.If high-scoring center Barry Pederson, out most of the season after arm surgery, and defenseman Gord Kluzak, out all season after knee surgery, were healthy and able to make significant contributions, then the Bruins would have to be rated higher and given a fair shot of at least representing the Adams Division.But they&rsquo;re just too thin on talent to take a real run at it, which is not to say they won&rsquo;t give the Canadiens all they can handle in the first round of the playoffs.Unlike a year ago, they&rsquo;re under no pressure. If Doug Keans or Pete Peeters come up with good goalkeeping, it could get interesting.But the Bruins&rsquo; blueline corps&mdash;Raymond Bourque, Mike O&rsquo;Connell, Mike Milbury, Frank Simonetti, John Blum, Mats Thelin and Brian Curran&mdash;isn&rsquo;t deep enough to play consistently with the contenders.Up front, Pederson&rsquo;s absence has hurt Rick Middleton&rsquo;s production, though the addition of Charlie Simmer, Ken Linseman, Butch Goring, Morris Lukowich and Dave Reid has helped a little. Other forwards include Geoff Courtnail, Keith Crowder, Louis Sleigher, Tom Fergus, Steve Kasper and Terry O&rsquo;Reilly.CONCLUSION: The battered-up Bruins are a study in determination and positive thinking. They could play spoiler&mdash;don&rsquo;t ever dismiss them as pretenders&mdash;but neither are they contenders for the Conference championship.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-04550/5186261-1-eng-US/f0011-042.jpg" title="f0011-04" width="515" height="499"></div>8. Regardless of how the New York Rangers have fared during the regular season, playoff hockey seems to bring out the best in the Blueshirts. It happened last spring when they extended the Islanders to five games in an exciting preliminary round and it happened in previous years when they dumped high-flying Philadelphia teams.So much for the history lesson.Don&rsquo;t expect the Rangers to be going anywhere this spring, except maybe the golf course.Aside from the fact the Rangers have played some absolutely terrible hockey this year, a number of key players are either injured or coming off serious injuries that caused them to miss much of the regular season.Combine the two and it explains why they&rsquo;re not given much chance of advancing beyond the first round against Philadelphia, although were the Rangers to win the first game it could get all sorts of skeletons rattling around in the closet.Glen Hanlon and John Vanbiesbrouck give the Rangers adequate goaltending. Defense, minus injured captain Barry Beck and possibly Ron Greschner and Willie Huber, is suspect with a cast headed by Tom Laidlaw, Grant Ledyard, James Patrick and Steve Richmond.Up front, key forwards include Mark Pavelich, Mike Rogers, Reijo Ruotsalainen, Pierre Larouche, if he&rsquo;s healthy, Anders Hedberg, who is retiring, Tomas Sandstrom, Don Maloney, Mark Osborne, Patrik Sundstrom and Jan Erixon.CONCLUSION: The Rangers are, without any question, pretenders. With fewer injuries and less turmoil, they could have been a factor. But not this spring. &#9632;

f0010-01

Rating The Wales Contenders, Pretenders

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-021108/5186348-1-eng-US/f0012-022.jpg" title="f0012-02" width="412" height="450"><figcaption class="caption-body">Joe Falls</figcaption></div>MY FAVORITE KIND of sportswriter is the guy who goes to a pro football game on Sunday afternoon and complains about all the delays for television commercials. He sits in the press box and says things like, &ldquo;They&rsquo;re ruining the game. Whey don&rsquo;t they let them play? TV is a menace to society,&rdquo; and then, on Monday night, he sits in his home and enjoys a pro game&mdash;free of charge&mdash;and never offers a word of complaint.In other words, these guys like to have it both ways. They like to knock TV, but they also like to enjoy it.I have never considered TV a menace in my job, even when I trip over three cables in the crowded dressing room. I don&rsquo;t even mind it when they push in front of me with their microphones or block my view with their cameras. I figure they&rsquo;ve got a job to do, just as I do, and I&rsquo;m just glad I am not burdened by all of that equipment. Those cameras look heavy.Our noses get out of joint because they make so much money in television and they become such stars with the public.That hasn&rsquo;t bothered me, either, because I figure if you&rsquo;ve got to be good-looking to be a success, it&rsquo;s not the kind of thing I want to get involved in.What I&rsquo;m saying is that I&rsquo;m a sportswriter and I don&rsquo;t object to TV. Even if I did, it&rsquo;s not going to go away, so I may as well enjoy it as much as possible. I also try to use it to my advantage, answering questions in my newspaper that they can&rsquo;t do on their television screens.The ABC-TV network can send a cast of thousands to the Olympics and cover every facet of the games, but there is one thing they can&rsquo;t have. They can&rsquo;t have my mind.This brings us around to the city of El Paso, TX, and why anyone would want to live there when they can&rsquo;t pick up Hockey Night in Canada? This is the best time of the year. We get playoff games two or three times a week on the tube. I can&rsquo;t imagine anyone being in a place where they can&rsquo;t see the playoffs on TV.Hockey on television is a great way to spend an evening and I don&rsquo;t get it when people tell me the puck is so small they can&rsquo;t see it on their screens.Well, the puck is small. You can&rsquo;t do much about that. You wouldn&rsquo;t want them playing with a beach ball. The puck is small even when you&rsquo;re at the games and sometimes it goes into the net and you can&rsquo;t see it. It bounces off skates, sticks, arms, legs&mdash;even butts&mdash;and the light is on before you know it.Okay, okay, hockey isn&rsquo;t perfect, but neither is Joan Collins, but who complains? When this game is played well, and I mean those end-to-end games that the playoffs seem to produce, there is nothing finer in the world, unless it&rsquo;s a com beef sandwich on a poppy seed roll.But, ah, you can have both when you watch Hockey Night in Canada&mdash;corn beef and Barry Beck&mdash;and I guess that&rsquo;s what this whole column is about. It is one more love letter to my friends in Canada who produce such beautiful entertainment for us.If I were to say what sets Hockey Night in Canada apart from all other telecasts. I&rsquo;d say it&rsquo;s the fact they put the game first and everything else second, even their broadcasters. They emphasize the reporting end of it and cool it with the glitz. That&rsquo;s a tradition that has been passed down for years. Thank heaven they&rsquo;re smart enough to recognize the value of this approach.They analyze the game for us and give us their opinions&mdash;thank you, Mr. Cherry&mdash;but their presentations are impartial ones. They give us credit for having some understanding of the game.What I like most is that they&rsquo;re not yelling at us all the time, trying to get our attention through the volume of their voices. They are doing a quiet, professional job. They come prepared and give it to us in a very intelligent manner. And it doesn&rsquo;t matter if they&rsquo;re good looking or not, even though you must admit that Dick Irvin has become something of a sex symbol. &#9632;

f0012-02

Hockey At Its Best Is On Canadian TV

<div class="byline">BY TIM MORIARTY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-02917/5186379-1-eng-US/f0013-022.jpg" title="f0013-02" width="544" height="750"><figcaption class="caption-body">Islander netminder Bill Smith received the Good-Guy Award for his cooperation with the media.</figcaption></div><h2>NEW YORK ISLANDERS</h2><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-011251/5186386-1-eng-US/f0013-012.jpg" title="f0013-01" width="128" height="123"></div>LONG ISLAND&mdash;It happened on April Fools Day, so many people considered it an enormous joke.However, members of the Long Island chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers&rsquo; Association were quite serious when they presented their 1985 &ldquo;Good Guy&rdquo; award to Bill Smith, the terror of the crease.&ldquo;Not even my kids will believe this,&rdquo; the New York Islanders&rsquo; goalie said when he received the large, handsome trophy that accompanies the award at a luncheon held in Westbury.The presentation was made by Doug Gould of the New York Post, the chapter president, who acknowledged that some media people outside New York might not understand or know the real Bill Smith.&ldquo;This award is for cooperation with the press.&rdquo; Gould said. &ldquo;And Bill Smith is certainly cooperative with us. He&rsquo;s honest, he&rsquo;s good copy and he&rsquo;s always there.&rdquo;In his acceptance speech. Smith admitted he didn&rsquo;t always understand the New York media, nor did he attract too much attention.&ldquo;Chico (Resch) was here then,&rdquo; Smith said. &ldquo;I love the guy, but he was the talker and I felt I didn&rsquo;t always get a fair shake from you people. But I got to know you better and now I&rsquo;d getting a fair shake.&rdquo;</div><div style="clear: both;"></div>Denis Potvin, a past recipient of the &ldquo;Good Guy&rdquo; award, was a guest at the lucheon, and the veteran defenseman and team captain recalled two incidents involving Smith.&ldquo;The first one happened at my first training camp with the team in Peterborough (Ont.) in 1973,&rdquo; Potvin said. &ldquo;We had a scrimmage and I was playing on the same squad with Smitty. Somebody came at me with the puck and I started to back up on Smitty. Well, he came out of his net and took the legs out from under me and I went down, hitting my head on the ice.&ldquo;I wound up in a hospital with a concussion. When I came out, I figured Smitty would be kind to the rookie and maybe even apologize. All he said was, &ldquo;Hey, don&rsquo;t back up on me anymore. That was Smitty.&rdquo;Potvin also remembered an incident involving Ernie Hicke and Smith.&ldquo;This happened during my rookie year, too,&rdquo; Potvin said. &ldquo;We wre practising in Atlanta&mdash;the Flames were there then&mdash;and Smitty kept telling us to &lsquo;shoot the puck just like you would in a game.&rsquo; But he also warned us about shooting high.&ldquo;Hicke, who had a great shot, got a couple up high and Smitty got mad as hell. He went after Ernie and threw a couple of punches at him.&rdquo;Smith laughed when asked about the Hicke incident.&ldquo;Yeah, Ernie got a couple up high and after the third one he wound up on his butt,&rdquo; Smith said.Potvin has noticed a change in Smith in recent years. A change for the better.&ldquo;Smitty is more open now,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a lot closer to all the guys on the team.&rdquo;But one thing hasn&rsquo;t changed.&ldquo;Smitty is still a great competitor,&rdquo; Potvin said. &ldquo;He loves a challenge. He meets it head-on.&rdquo;One challenge is Washington in the opening round of the playoffs, and Smith admitted he &ldquo;was a little leery&rdquo; about it.&ldquo;The way things have gone this season&hellip;well, you know, we&rsquo;ve had our problems.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0013-02

Smith Surprised To Win ‘Good-Guy’ Award

<div class="byline">BY STAN FISCHLER</div>Will the National Hockey League dump its Montreal office? If I you believe Montreal Gazette columnist Tim Burke, it&rsquo;ll I happen in two years when the league&rsquo;s lease on its Sun Life I Building offices run out. However, NHL prexy John Ziegler denies the I suggestion. &ldquo;Burke is dealing in his own pipe dreams,&rdquo; Ziegler tells I BLUELINES. &ldquo;We (the board of governors) discussed consolidating the I offices in Toronto but it got little support and there has been no discussion I since about moving the office.&rdquo;&hellip;Hockey-hungry citizens of Dallas, I Seattle, et al shouldn&rsquo;t get their hopes up over the NHL&rsquo;s coming expansion study. Ziegler tells BLUELINES that &ldquo;sites will not be a subject.&rdquo; for I the committee. &ldquo;What they&rsquo;re going to do,&rdquo; says Ziegler, &ldquo;is report back I on the question of whetherthe league is in a position to expand. It will deal I with the available talent.&rdquo; The prez says that sites will only be discussed I if&mdash;several months down the line&mdash;the committee says &lsquo;&lsquo;the league should I think about expansion.&rsquo;&rsquo;&hellip;One of the biggest analyses of the Devils&rsquo; I chronic failure is offered by Bill McLaughlin of the Asbury Park Press. I &ldquo;The club has a fear of. success,&rdquo; says McLaughlin. &ldquo;Every time they I drew close to a playoff berth, they got blown away. &ldquo;&hellip; Whaler governor I Howard Baldwin will propose a playoff alteration at the league meeting in I June. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m going to suggest that the top three teams in each division I qualify for the playoffs,&rdquo; Baldwin tells BLUELINES, &ldquo;and the other four I teams be selected by wild card.&rdquo;Billy Smith downplays recycled reports that he&rsquo;s angry with Wayne Gretzky. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve always said Wayne is a real gentleman off the ice, but I nobody prints it. If I walk into a bar and see Wayne, he&rsquo;s the guy I go over I and have a drink with. The only thing I said about Wayne was that he kept I going to the referees and complaining. He hasn&rsquo;t done that against us this I year. When he was checked, he just skated away like he should.&rdquo;&hellip;Tim Harrer, ex-U of Minnesota all-American, quit the International League&rsquo;s Toledo Goaldiggers. Harrer wasn&rsquo;t too pleased after teammate Chris McSorley bit off the tip of an opponent&rsquo;s nose during a fight. The victim needed 46 stitches and a skin graft. &ldquo;To me that&rsquo;s not hockey,&rdquo; says I Harrer&hellip;Tiger Williams says the best thing that could happen to the NHL would be a final between one of the New York teams and his Kings. &lsquo;&lsquo;They may not like it in Edmonton, but nothing would do more good for hockey than an east and a west coast U.S. team playing for the Cup,&rdquo; Williams tells BLUELINES. Tiger reveals why he chose Vancouver scribe James Lawton to do his autobiography. &ldquo;I wanted someone I could manipulate,&rdquo; says Williams. &ldquo;I also like the way he wrote about soccer and other sports. It&rsquo;s the way I would have liked to write if I could write.&rdquo;&hellip;Nordique coach Michel Bergeron reveals that he&rsquo;s tri-lingual (French, English and Slovak). &ldquo;But when I get mad,&rdquo; Bergeron tells BLUELIMES, &ldquo;I curse in French; it&rsquo;s easier.&rdquo;&hellip;Peter Markle, director of the new film, Youngblood, played professionally in the Intenational League. The film has a hockey theme and features former Black Hawk Eric Nesterenko&hellip;Ranger TV color commentator Phil Esposito caused a stir during the Leafs&rsquo; last visit to New York, accusing Borje Salming of going out for a sandwich when he left the ice during the game. Advised of the comment, Salming shot back that Espo is jealous that he&rsquo;s not playing anymore.St. Louis ace Bernie Federko twits his former boss Emile Francis for botching up the Blues&rsquo; defense when Francis dealt for Scott Campbell in 1981. Campbell evolved into one of the busts of the decade. The Jets got Bryan Maxwell, Ed Staniowski and Paul MacLean. &ldquo;We lost three good players with nothing to show in return,&rdquo; says Federko. &ldquo;That really hurt us.&rdquo; Federko also says Francis erred in dealing defenseman Joe Micheletti. &ldquo;He was our point man on the power play when we had one of the best power plays in the league.&rdquo;&hellip;Islander goalie Billy Smith on rookie Patrick Flatley&rsquo;s attempt at growing a beard: I&rsquo;m giving him a month&rsquo;s head start and I&rsquo;m still going to catch him.&rdquo;&hellip;Leaf assistant coach John Brophy disagrees with club policy forbidding women scribes in the dressing room. &ldquo;If it were up to me,&rdquo; says Brophy, I&rsquo;d let them in.&rdquo;&hellip;Union boss Al Eagleson says a number of the old guard NHL owners empathize with his bargaining demands for a new Players&rsquo; Association contract. &ldquo;The senior people know where I&rsquo;m coming from and where I&rsquo;m heading,&rdquo; Eagleson-tells BLUELINES. &ldquo;But if push comes to shove I can be as big a bleep as anyone.&rdquo;&hellip;The expanded NHL entry draft scouting guide, which will be available to the media during the Cup finals, will include a U.S. college section. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ll have the top six to eight college conferences,&rdquo; says Larry Brooks, the Devils&rsquo; p.r. boss and editor of the guide. The guide, incidentally, will not be for sale.The Black Hawks&rsquo; Denis Savard figures he should have had more points this year. &ldquo;Luck goes with being successful,&rdquo; says Savard, &ldquo;and I haven&rsquo;t been very lucky.&rdquo;&hellip;At least one Jersey scribe questions whether Lou Vairo will come back with the Devils next season. One source says Vairo may choose to return to Colorado&hellip;There are hints that the Rangers parent, the Gulf and Western Corporation, will unload the club before next season. The conglomerate has been divesting itself of some properties&hellip;Herb Brooks has been telling pals that the most heartening phone call he received since getting the hook on Broadway was from former rival Al Arbour of the Islanders. Arbour told him to keep his chin up. &ldquo;I told him I hope I never have to repay the favor,&rdquo; savs Brooks. &#9632;

BLUELINES

<div class="byline">BY DICK CHUBEY</div><h2>EDMONTON OILERS</h2><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-011302/5186441-1-eng-US/f0014-012.jpg" title="f0014-01" width="129" height="116"></div>EDMONTON&mdash;So, you figured Paul Coffey&rsquo;s 126-point promenade from 1983-84 was a one-shot undertaking, a career National Hockey League campaign that should be preserved in formaldehyde?As the current campaign came to a conclusion, Coffey failed to duplicate last year&rsquo;s incredible scoring finish that saw him accumulate 48 points (13 goals, 35 assists) over the Edmonton Oilers&rsquo; final 22 games.But, he certainly didn&rsquo;t miss by much&hellip;In his bid to become the NHL&rsquo;s highest-scoring defenseman since the heydays of Bobby Orr with the Boston Bruins, the fluid-skating Coffey has gone about this particular task in a highly-efficient manner. The night of Jan. 18 in Vancouver he accumulated four assists to surpass the career 400-point plateau just past the midway point of his fifth NHL season. Over the Oilers&rsquo; final 35 games, only on four occasions was he held pointless as his goal production grew from 17 to 37 and his point output more than doubled from 55 to 121. That left him three goals and five points shy of last season&rsquo;s mark.Six of his final seven games were something else.The slumping defending Stanley Cup champions ventured east for a five game coast-to-coast safari in which Coffey went on a 17-point scoring rampage&mdash;the ramifications of which were widespread.First of all, the struggling Oilers were lifted&mdash;at least temporarily&mdash;from a skid that lasted through the final two months of the season. During one four-game spread, Coffey picked up eight goals and seven assists and earned player-of-the-week honors in the NHL.The question then became: Did Coffey sufficiently impress enough Eastern media to net him the votes required to win the Norris Trophy?After Coffey picked up two goals&mdash;including an absolutely brilliant marker to knot the game at 5-5&mdash;and assisted on Dave Hunter&rsquo;s winner as the Oilers topped the Islanders 7-5 on Long Island, Oiler general manager-coach Glen Sather deadpanned: &ldquo;Bobby Orr never played like Paul did tonight. He was absolutely unreal&mdash;both offensively and defensively. Just on this performance, if he doesn&rsquo;t win the Norris Trophy, there&rsquo;s no justice in this league.&rdquo;After scoring a goal in Boston the following night, Coffey was to enjoy the most productive night of his career in Hartford&mdash;two goals, six points and a plus-six in effeciency rating. Trouble is, there wasn&rsquo;t a great deal of help to go around, and the Oilers were outgunned 8-7 by the Whalers.Still, only two defensemen ever scored more points in one game&mdash;Tom Bladon had eight (four goals, four assists) for the 1977-78 Philadelphia Flyers and Orr seven (three and four) for the &rsquo;73-74 Bruins.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s hard to imagine a guy getting eight points,&rdquo; said Coffey in a silent Oiler dressing room afterwards. &ldquo;He must have been luckier than I was tonight. Still, scoring six points and losing isn&rsquo;t a great feeling. It would have been a lot better if we would have won 7-1.Two days later in a matinee in Chicago, they settled for 7-3 win and you-know-who repeated as the first star. Coffey popped three goals during Edmon ton&rsquo;s five-goal third period, and also drew two assists in the game.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a shoo-in for the Norris,&rdquo; spouted Sather of the award Coffey lost by 101 voting points last year to Rod Langway of the Washington Capitals. &ldquo;In fact, they should give him two Norris Trophys. The guys who didn&rsquo;t vote for him last year should vote for him twice this year to make up. And, that&rsquo;s not to take anything from Langway&hellip;&rdquo;&ldquo;Yeah, nothing all right,&rdquo; chipped in assistant coach Ted Green, Orr&rsquo;s former defense partner. &ldquo;Nothing but the Norris Trophy.&rdquo;The Oilers closed their 3-2 road trip with a 6-4 triumph in Los Angeles and Coffey picked up another two assists. Then came another five-point, first-star night (one goal, four assists) during a 5-5 tie with the archrival Calgary Flames on April 5, as the Oilers squandererd leads of 3-0, 4-1 and 5-3.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s a lot of talk about how we have to worry about Calgary, Los Angeles and everyone else,&rdquo; said Coffey, &ldquo;but the team we have to be most concerned with is the Edmonton Oilers. If we play as well as we can, we can beat anyone.&rdquo;The following night the Oilers concluded the season by not playing as well as they could and losing 6-5 to the Winnipeg Jets. Coffey was cool, loo, limited to one assist and assessed a &ldquo;phantom&rdquo; spearing major with 2:19 remaining&mdash;a minute after Dave Semenko pulled the Oilers to within one goal. Even the victim, Perry Turnbull, was somewhat astonished by the call.&ldquo;I was surprised it was called,&rdquo; said Turnbull, after the Jets sewed up second place in the Smythe Division with their third consecutive win over Edmontion. &ldquo;He didn&rsquo;t even touch me with the stick.It was a pretty critical time to call it.&rdquo;Coffey enjoyed yet another vintage campaign, but the sour note on which it ended for the team had him most concerned.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve talked for five-and-a-half weeks about getting it turned around for the playoffs,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Well, we&rsquo;ve got our backs to the wall. I know we&rsquo;re better than we&rsquo;ve been defensively. I don&rsquo;t know what it is, lack of concentration or what. But all the marbles will be on the line (in the playoffs).&rdquo; &#9632;</div>

f0014-01

Coffey’s Hot At The End, But Oilers On Low Boil

<div class="byline">BY REYN DAVIS</div><h2>WINNIPEG JETS</h2><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-011223/5186472-1-eng-US/f0015-012.jpg" title="f0015-01" width="111" height="112"></div>WINNIPEG&mdash;A hard slap shot taken by Behn Wilson was sizzling as it came up the boards on the other side of the Chicago Black Hawks&rsquo; power play.As it flew by Doug Wilson, at the other point, Dale Hawerchuk slipped into high gear. Across the ice he dashed, seized the puck, then doubled back, twisting as he came through the crease, spilling Warren Skorodenski and ignoring Steve Larmer.Never losing control, Hawerchuk calmly reached back and flipped a backhand shot over the fallen Skorodenski for his 50th goal of the season.&ldquo;How many guys get their 50th goal like that?&rdquo; said Bill Sutherland, an assistant coach of the Winnipeg Jets. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s got to be one of the prettiest I&rsquo;ve ever seen. You don&rsquo;t see them like that anymore.&rdquo;The shorthanded goal by Hawerchuk prompted a long standing ovation by the capacity crowd that has grown to expect the scintillating from him, their dimpled darling.In doing so, the 21-year-old center has become the first member of the Jets to score 50 goals in the National Hockey League. And why not?As a rookie, he became the first member of the team to accumulate 100 points&mdash;a feat he has repeated twice, including this year when he has rewritten club records for goals, power-play goals, assists and points.While he has warranted the lion&rsquo;s share of the attention by rising to the upper echelons of the NHL&rsquo;s scoring leaders, he has almost resisted any discussion of himself or his accomplishments in lieu of the kind of season the Jets are having.&ldquo;We are winning and that&rsquo;s all that&rsquo;s important,&rdquo; he said, noting the Jets&rsquo; ascent to fourth in the NHL&rsquo;s overall standings. Buoyed by a 10-1-2 month of March, an 11-game unbeaten streak and 21 victories on the road, the Jets have climbed into the 90s after a 73-point season in 1983-84.Typical of Hawerchuk was his reaction after his 50th goal.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t care if it was pretty or not,&rdquo; he said. I&rsquo;m not one to savor it. I&rsquo;ll take them any way I can.&rdquo;However, in anticipation of the goal, Hawerchuk taped the game on his television set with full intentions of sending it to his father, Ed, an employee of General Motors in Oshawa.The Jets intend to place the stick in a showcase in the arena.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know what his priorities are&mdash;personal or team accomplishments,&rdquo; said his coach, Barry Long. &ldquo;But I know this: He wants things badly. And one of those things is a Stanley Cup, and that would be a team accomplishment.&rdquo;Most agree the team&rsquo;s captaincy has suited Hawerchuk well. But there were grave doubts for awhile.&ldquo;I thought, at first, he might be too young,&rdquo; said Paul MacLean, the only right winger Hawerchuk has ever had since turning pro. &ldquo;But the C helped his maturity. It worked in a positive way. It told him they expected him to be the team leader, and he responded.&rdquo;Long worried, too. A former captain himself, he knew what a distraction it could be.&ldquo;I worried that he would worry too much,&rdquo; said Long. &ldquo;I was a skeptic. But he handled the responsibilities well. And I have to think Randy Carlyle helped.&ldquo;He and Randy are close. Randy encourages him, sees that he doesn&rsquo;t get down on himself. He&rsquo;s had a lot to do with the positive attitude of Dale this year.&rdquo;On only 14 occasions has Hawerchuk failed to register at least a point this season. He&rsquo;s had two five-point games, collecting three goals and two assists in a 6-4 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Dec. 14 and totalling two goals and three assists in a 5-5 tie with Vancouver Canucks on Feb.8.All told, he had three hat tricks, during a 7-4 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Jan. 4 and in a 7-6 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Jan. 21.His longest points streak is 16 games, a club record. His quietest stretch was spent over the Christmas holidays when he managed only one point, a goal, in five games. Not surprisingly, the Jets didn&rsquo;t win any of them.Last summer. Hawerchuk said he felt he was capable of collecting 135 points.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think 135 points is beyond me,&rdquo; he said with two games to go, at which time he had 127.&ldquo;I asked him for 100 points,&rdquo; said Long, &ldquo;anything more is a bonus. Next year I won&rsquo;t be asking him for 150. I&rsquo;ll take 100 again. I&rsquo;m not asking for more. But I know he&rsquo;ll give more in other respects just because he&rsquo;s Dale Hawerchuk.&rdquo;Hawerchuk and his linemates, MacLean and Brian Mullen, have had one nickname&mdash;the Life Line. For much of the season, they carried the bulk of the load. Even today they have accounted for 35 per cent of the Jets&rsquo; goals.When one is gone, the line languishes.&ldquo;Dale is the perfectionist,&rdquo; said Mullen. &ldquo;Anything he does must be accomplished. He is 100 per cent or nothing.&ldquo;As a line, I think the reason we do so well is because we are so close off the ice. We are buddies.&rdquo;One of his teammates, Scott Amiel, was a teammate going back to junior days in Cornwall. While Hawerchuk was selected first overall in the 1981 draft, Arniel was selected first in the second round.&lsquo;&lsquo;The big difference in the season he is having is the fact he got off to a good start, right off the bat,&rdquo; said Amiel. &ldquo;Other years he didn&rsquo;t get going until Christmas. But he&rsquo;s scored points consistently, all year long.&rdquo;At 20-game intervals, Hawerchuk has had 12-19-31, 12-17-29 and 12-24-36, while his final quota has been his strongest once again.There are those who wonder if Hawerchuk will even establish himself as the best between Wayne Gretzky and the rest of the league.&ldquo;As long as Jari Kurri and Gretzky are together, I can&rsquo;t see anybody slipping in between them,&rdquo; said Rick Bowness, an assistant coach. &ldquo;I think Kurri is exceptional. What would happen if Dale had Kurri?&rdquo;MacLean dreads the thought. Noted as a grinding right winger with a nice touch, MacLean is on the verge of his first 100-point season. Speed and finesse are not his forte, but he offers Hawerchuk a modicum of protection, a linemate who can create havoc in front of the net and a person who performs at his best in the clutch.And he is also his spokesman.&ldquo;When people recognize him as a superstar, he&rsquo;ll be even better,&rdquo; said MacLean. &ldquo;Only in Winnipeg does he get the superstar treatment now. But that&rsquo;s going to change in a hurry.&rdquo; &#9632;</div>

f0015-01

Hawerchuk Comes Of Age With 50th Goal

<div class="byline">BY DENIS GIBBONS</div>Discouraged by its lack of success against the Soviet Union and embarrassed by its failure to qualify for the playoffs in the 1984 Canada Cup, Czechoslovakia will be trying to save face when it plays host to he World Hockey Championships, April 17 to May 3.Once considered a sure-fire contender or top honors in every international competition they entered, the Czechoslovaks have taken on the appearance of a run-of-the-mill European side and now tave trouble beating even outsiders like Finland and West Germany.&ldquo;Motivation has got to be the big problem for the Czechs,&rdquo; says Canadian Olympic team coach Dave King.&ldquo;They&rsquo;ve been beaten by the Soviets so many times.&rdquo;King also believes many of the best Czech players have their minds elsewhere&mdash;namely in the rinks of the NHL clubs which have drafted them over the last three years.Normally productive forwards such as Jiri Lala, Vladimir Ruzicka and Dusan Pasek failed to pick up a single scoring point in five Canada Cup matches, and coach Ludek Bukac was in a rage, claiming his players were being harrassed by officials of NHL clubs.But Bukac himself is a declared candidate for an NHL coaching job and King suggests that isn&rsquo;t improving the mental attitude of players who have been drafted but have yet to receive Czech Ice Hockey Federation approval to emigrate.The Czechs showed some signs of getting up off the carpet when they gained a win and a tie in a three-game exhibition series on home ice against the Soviets in mid-December. But 10 days later, they were easily beaten 5-0 by their archrivals at the Izvestia Tournament in Moscow.Dukla Jihlava, the Czech Army club on which the national team is built, looked lethargic when it lost 6-2 to Schwennigan of the German Federal League and had to settle for second place behind a collection of Canadian amateurs at the prestigious Spengler Cup in Switzerland. Then in February, the Finnish national team, which failed to qualify for the Canada Cup because of a sixthplace finish at the 1983 world championships, flew to Prague and upset the Czech nationals 8-6 in the newly renovated Julius Fucik Sports Hall.Soviet Elite League games, piped into Czechoslovakia on a new Russian-language television station, have created more interest among Czech fans this year than matches in the Czech First Division.Still, there have been some positive developments on the Czech hockey scene. Jiri Kralik, a 33-year-old veteran of three world championships and two Olympics, starred in goal forGottwaldov and may return to the national team roster for the world championships after missing the Canada Cup.And despite the apparent complacency among some of its established players, Czechslovakia continues to produce excellent young talent. The Czech national junior (under 20) team won a silver medal at the world championships in Finland with five wins and two ties in seven games, and the CSSR junior (under 18) squad won the gold medal in the Four Nations Cup in February.Petr Rosol, Vladimir Kames and Petr Klima, a trio of 20-year-olds, showed plenty of promise when they made their national team debut at the Canada Cup. Only one Czech line, made up of sharpshooters Vincent Lukac, Igor Liba and Ladislav Svozil, was better.But to win the gold medal, even on home ice in Prague, the Czechs will need stupendous efforts from these units, plus a return to form by Lala. Ruzicka and Pasek. Otherwise, with the Soviets, Canada, Sweden and Finland all icing strong teams, a silver or bronze is the best they can hope for.Darius Rusnak, a high-scoring forward from Bratislava who was absent from the Canada Cup because of an injury, should be back in harness and 23-year-old Miroslav Ihnacak, younger brother of Toronto Maple Leaf center Peter, deserves a spot on the national team after finishing among the leading scorers with his club VSZ Kosice. But because of Peter&rsquo;s defection in 1982, Miro will likely be overlooked again.In an effort to improve a mediocre defense. Bukac has been testing new players, most notably Petr Slanina, a 6-foot-1, 190-pounder from Kosice who has already been drafted by the Leafs.The Soviets, meanwhile, will be stronger than ever with defenseman Vyacheslav Fetisov and winger Nikolai Drozdetski, arguably the best two players in Europe, back in uniform.Both were injured at the European Cup club team competition in Italy last August and were unavailable for the Canada Cup.Soviet coach Viktor Tikhonov has demoted winger Aleksander Kozhevnikov to the national B team after he played below par at the Canada Cup, and Sergei Mylnikov, 27, has replaced Aleksandr Tyzhnykh as backup goalie for Vladimir Myshkin.Tyzhnykh bore the heavy burden of replacing the great Vladislav Tretiak in goal for the Moscow Red Army Club. And when Moscow Dynamo beat the Army squad 5-4 and 7-4 in the first half of the Soviet Elite League schedule, Tyzhnykh also shouldered most of the blame.Dynamo held first place for the first 38 games of the 40-game season. But when the two clubs met for the sixth time in Moscow on March 16, Army finally moved ahead with a surprising 11-1 rout. Army clinched its 28th Soviet championship three nights later with a 6-4 victory over Sokol Kiev in the final game of the schedule.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-011100/5186503-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg" title="f0016-01" width="550" height="697"><figcaption class="caption-body">Forward Darius Rusnak should be back in the lineup after missing the Canada Cup.</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0016-01

Czechs Need Good Home Show

<div class="byline">BY GEORGE JEPSON</div>The only certainty for Team USA as it heads into the World Championships in Prague was that National Hockey League professionals would eventually blend with a group of talented collegians to represent America&rsquo;s hockey interests.After that, nothing was clear.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s just a dilemma,&rdquo; said Team USA general manager Art Berglund of a situation that Canadians have become all too familiar with. &ldquo;You don&rsquo;t know what players you&rsquo;re going to have. Naturally we know the quality of our players and we hope they&rsquo;ll be part of this program, but until the tournament begins we won&rsquo;t know.&rdquo;Ready or not, the U.S. had to declare a lineup before its first game against the Soviet Union.Selecting a national squad for the April 17-May 5 event was foremost on the minds of Berglund and coach Dave Peterson, who was an assistant coach to Lou Vairo for the 1984 U.S. Olympic team, but their options were limited, particularly regarding the availability of NHL players involved in the early rounds of the Stanley Cup playoffs.So a nucleus of college players was put together to supplement the NHLers who would join Team USA just prior to the tournament. During February and March, Peterson scouted college teams seeking specific characteristics in players.&ldquo;You&rsquo;re looking for good, strong skaters and good, physical strength, especially upper body strength,&rdquo; said Peterson. &ldquo;For instance, a kid like Dan Dorion from Western Michigan, who is a good, strong skater and we feel plays bigger than his actual size&hellip;a Kelly Miller (from Michigan State)&hellip;kids of this type&rdquo;Other collegians under consideration included: forwards Corey Millen, Rick Erdall and Pat Michelletti (Minnesota), Tim Thomas and Tony Granato (Wisconsin), Tom Anastos (Michigan State), Scott Fusco (Harvard), John Carter (RPI), Kevin Stevens (Boston College) and Matt Christensen (Minnesota-Duluth); defensemen Dan McFall (Michigan State), Jim Johnson (Minnesota-Duluth), Gary Suter (Wisconsin) and Peter Taglianetti (Providence); and goalkeeper Chris Terreri (Providence).Millen and Fusco played for the 1984 U.S. Olympic hockey team in Sarajevo, giving them experience in international competition. Thomas was cut from the U.S. squad just before the Winter Games.Team USA flew to Munich, West Germany on April 8 for a week of training with a limited roster stocked heavily with college players hoping to make the tournament lineup and accompany the team to Prague. Two games against the West German nationals were scheduled.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re only taking a small team,&rdquo; said Berglund. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re not going to take a whole team, cut 10 guys and replace them with 10. No player has a commitment for Prague and the world championships. Absolutely none.&rdquo;And all the while, speculation continued on which players would make up the NHL component of the U.S. squad.Certainly entering the world championships with players such as Tom Barrasso, Bobby Carpenter. Rod Langway, Mark Pavelich, Ken Morrow, Trottier and Howe would bolster America&rsquo;s cause, but Berglund and Peterson can only wait and hope.The prospect of going into Prague with a mixture of young, relatively inexperienced college players and uniting them with professionals did not trouble Berglund.&ldquo;Our pros respect our college players,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Not having our best doesn&rsquo;t concern me as long as we have a good team. It&rsquo;s always difficult to determine who is the best. Will they be the best that week?&ldquo;You get a program together, you compete and hope your players perform well. It&rsquo;s a world hockey tournament&hellip;we&rsquo;re part of the international hockey community.The Soviet Union won the last Group A World Championship in 1983 in West Germany, while Team USA took the Group B title in Japan, thus returning to Group A this year seeded eighth. Team seeds are based on their finish in the previous tournament.&ldquo;If we can improve our position, then we&rsquo;ll have a better schedule in the next world tournament and hopefully improve our position again,&rdquo; said Peterson.Team USA faced a tough opening assignment against the top-seeded Russians. Peterson picked the Soviet Union as the pre-tournament favorite and offered perspectives on the other competing teams.&ldquo;The Swedish team probably has the most talent after the Russians,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;But the tournament is being played in Czechoslovakia, so you have to give them an edge. And then, of course, you&rsquo;ve got the Canadians and Finns. The West Germans played well in the Canada Cup. East Germany, we don&rsquo;t know very much about at this point.&rdquo; &#9632;

Team USA Uncertain Of Players

<div class="byline">BY JIM CHRISTIE</div>Every year about this time, Alan Eagleson grabs his broom and sweeps through the dank basements of the National Hockey League&rsquo;s four divisions, seeking gems amid the rubble. The mission is always the same&mdash;find those willing souls who will give up an early summer break in order to represent Canada at the world hockey championships.It might seem strange to many that our candidate for the championship of the world is culled from the cellars. Why not, one asks, give this opportunity for international experience over to Dave King and his fledgling 1988 Olympians? In fact, the matter has been brought up at Hockey Canada&rsquo;s International Committee level.The answer, in Eagleson&rsquo;s eyes, is a simple one. It goes back to a promise that he made to the International Ice Hockey Federation when the 1976 Canada Cup was sanctioned. In order to get the chance to play the NHL&rsquo;s top pros against the Soviet Union&rsquo;s best every four years, Eagleson made the concession that the best possible Canadian team would attend the annual world championship. In 1985, that means a team comprised of members of the Vancouver Canucks, Toronto Maple Leafs, Hartford Whalers, Pittsburgh Penguins and Hartford Whalers.Even NHL cellar residents are deemed better than King&rsquo;s current collection of collegians.&ldquo;That was my trade-off when we got the Canada Cup,&rdquo; explained Eagleson, Hockey Canada&rsquo;s chief negotiator in international affairs and executive director of the NHL Players&rsquo; Association.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think we can, in all conscience, make the move to send our Olympic kids and still honor the agreement to send our best possible team.&ldquo;If I could prove to Gunther Sabetzky (president of the IIHF) that Dave King&rsquo;s team is as good as one made up of NHL players, it would be a different story. But I can&rsquo;t sell him a bale of hay and tell him it&rsquo;s a bale of wheat.&rdquo;This is not to say that Eagleson holds King&rsquo;s Olympic project in low esteem. He&rsquo;d be only too happy to have the Calgary-based Olympians flash credentials that showed they were ready for the world championships.&ldquo;In 1983, we tried using some of the Olympians in conjunction with NHL players,&rdquo; the Eagle said. &ldquo;Pat Flatley (now with the Islanders), Gord Sherven (Minnesota) and James Patrick (New York Rangers) were good, but they weren&rsquo;t the stars of that team.&ldquo;As we go on and there&rsquo;s an Olympic team in being, we run a chance of using their players, but for now, we can&rsquo;t risk relegation to the B pool. That happened to the Americans a few years ago.&ldquo;Our Olympians certainly won&rsquo;t lack for international experience. The team that went to Sarajevo for the 1984 Olympics had some 50 international games. If, by the spring of 1987, they were good enough to go to a world championship, I&rsquo;d be the first one to shout hooray.&rdquo;Eagleson considers it more likely that the 1987 world championship representatives could be made up with an even split of Olympians and NHL veterans.That is a far cry from the days when the world team was made up almost exclusively of Eagleson clients. But it must be remembered that it was always Eagleson&rsquo;s neck that was on the line if the team was a total flop. He took the risk of getting the country back into big-time international hockey after years of pouting in isolation.Canada withdrew from world championship play in the &rsquo;60s as a power play to get professional players eligible for international and Olympic play. It was a costly way of pointing out that the IIHF and International Olympic Committee were fostering hypocrisy by allowing the Soviet and Czechoslovakian full-time hockey players to label themselves as amateurs.Ultimately, the IIHF realized that a world championship or Olympics without Canadian participation was a sham.Moreover, the 1972 Summit Series between Canada and the Soviet Union displayed to the IIHF that its game had fabulous box-office appeal if the right guests were invited.Now, as 1988 approaches, with the Olympics to be staged in Calgary, even the stodgy old IOC has deemed it legal for pro players up to the age of 23 to take part. Hockey, spurred by Eagleson, is doing its part toward a really open Olympic Games. The world championships have been politically important in advancing that cause.King has made it clear that he isn&rsquo;t certain how much of a boon it is to have players available up to the age of 23. It might allow for a greater potential pool of talent, but the Olympic coach can&rsquo;t be certain that young pros will be made available for the team at least six weeks in advance of the 1988 Olympics. That&rsquo;s the lead-in time he&rsquo;d like to have.&ldquo;The NHL is a business and they&rsquo;ll do their own thing,&rdquo; King says. &ldquo;This causes a lot of young kids coming up through our program to be concerned that they might be replaced by pros at the end of the line, after dedicating themselves for three or four years.&ldquo;No question, the admission of pros will help to some degree, but it&rsquo;s an open question as to how much it will help. Sometimes, I think we&rsquo;re spinning our wheels a bit.&rdquo;Eagleson sees King&rsquo;s Olympic program and the NHL enjoying a symbiotic relationship&mdash;if he can convince owners that it is ultimately in their advantage to keep young players under contract in King&rsquo;s stable.&ldquo;They&rsquo;ll learn far more playing international matches under King and be much more mature when they get to the NHL,&rdquo; Eagleson says. &ldquo;Certainly, it&rsquo;s better than going back to the junior ranks or languishing in the minors somewhere. There&rsquo;s already proof of that in the NHL. Players like Carey Wilson (Calgary) and Flatley were able to step right into the lineup with top teams. Fourteen players off the 1984 Canadian Olympic team got NHL contracts.&rdquo; &#9632;

Playoff Dropouts Still Canada’s No. 1 Team

THIS IS THE last chance to be wrong before the playoffs, so here goes:The Oilers are still the obvious favorites, despite the way they played the last month of the season. But they don&rsquo;t have the straight path to the finals they had the last two years so they can&rsquo;t use the first few rounds to build themselves up to the right mood. This time, it&rsquo;s going to be a lot tougher.I don&rsquo;t think Los Angeles will beat the Oilers, but the Kings will take more out of the champions than Winnipeg did in the first round the last two years. And either Winnipeg or Calgary is Strong enough to take advantage of that against Edmonton in the second round.If duty didn&rsquo;t call elsewhere, the first-round series I&rsquo;d most like to see is Calgary-Winnipeg. Two rising teams in a make-or-break-your-season first-round-match. Well, a matchup like this doesn&rsquo;t even happen in the. Patrick Division anymore.A pick? Winnipeg has home ice, Calgary has the more proven goalie in Reggie Lemelin and a two-year regularseason domination over the Jets. Sometimes that means everything, sometimes it means absolutely nothing. This time it will mean just enough for the Flames to squeeze by.After seeing the Black Hawks two weeks before the end of the season, I&rsquo;d be very surprised it they aren&rsquo;t the team to come out of the Norris Division. The Hawks are finally healthy, have always been talented and Bob Pulford appears to have them pointed in the right direction.The Islanders are proud, but they are old and have so many health questions going into the playoffs. The voice of experience says never count those guys out, but I&rsquo;ve got to go with Washington. It turns out they didn&rsquo;t improve this year, but the Isles clearly slipped back and last year&rsquo;s series was a lot closer than the Isles&rsquo; 4-1 victory would indicate. If Pat Riggin or Al Jensen play better than they did a year ago, I just don&rsquo;t think the Isles can overcome all the things that have eroded them.There has to be a better pick to reach the finals than Philadelphia. But where is it? The Flyers have exactly six players who have ever won a playoff series and only two&mdash;Brian Propp and Tim Kerr&mdash;who have done it in a Flyer uniform.You just don&rsquo;t go from not winning a playoff series in three years to the finals in one season. But who in the Wales Conference looks clearly better than Philadelphia?The Adams Division does not have a class team. Any one of four could put it together at the right time and go for a ride. But despite Buffalo&rsquo;s flaws, I still like the Sabres. With Quebec, Montreal and Buffalo appearing to be about even, the Sabres have the one intimidating goalie in the division, Tom Barrasso. They also have the coach, Scotty Bowman, most likely to think of something that can make a difference.The Rangers, no matter how average they&rsquo;ve looked during the regular season, have always either beaten somebody or given the Islanders hell, but as the season waned, New York appeared to have all the enthusiasm of a team on its way to the dentist.The Flyers, remembering the past, would have had plenty of reason to worry about the first round had the Rangers done something against them in four head-to-head meetings the last three weeks of the season. Instead, the Rangers appeared to be resigned to three games of root canal work beginning April 10.And, oh yeah:&bull; I like Doug Wilson for the Norris Trophy. He&rsquo;s not the bedrock that Rod Langway is, and he doesn&rsquo;t get the points like Paul Cottey or Kay Bourque, out ne nas put both parts together better than any of them this year.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-02752/5186613-1-eng-US/f0018-022.jpg" title="f0018-02" width="408" height="545"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jay Greenberg</figcaption></div>Langway has had a good season, but not like the last two. You could even make a case for Scott Stevens as the Caps&rsquo; best defenseman.&bull; Langway would have made a Best Defensive Defenseman award redundant the last two years, but I still think there should be one. Yeah, yeah, there are already too many trophies, but let me be the 1,373rd person to wonder why a league that honors a best defensive forward doesn&rsquo;t have a similar award for a defenseman. If one guy, like Langway, deserves both the Norris and the defensive defenseman award some year, then so be it.&bull; Executive of the Year? John Ferguson by a simple equation. Fergie has made the most moves which have produced the most improvement in one team.&bull; Coach of the Year? Jacques Demers is the nicest man in the whole world and he&rsquo;s made a little go a long way. But until Doug Wickenheiser went down, the Blues were relatively injury-free. I still think of them as a fair-to-good team that, because it had its act together, was able to take advantage of bad years by the North Stars and Black Hawks.It&rsquo;s hard to argue with Mike Keenan, who had the relatively inexperienced Flyers in the race for the league&rsquo;s best record. There&rsquo;s no question that Keenan&rsquo;s team matured a year ahead of schedule because of his coaching.But neither should it be forgotten that Keenan walked into a set-up situation. The more you see the Flyers, the more you realize how much talent they have. He also inherited a team that, while perhaps frustrated with recent playoff failures, has always had a winning attitude and tradition.Pat Quinn, on the other hand took over a morgue and has done some fast CPR. I&rsquo;ve long quarelled with the broadcasters for turning their award into one for the Most Improved Team and too often overlooking an Al Arbour or a Scotty Bowman. These are established masters who have had to pull strings to keep good teams motivated and on top.Almost every time a team shoots up 20 or more points in the standings, you can point to a high draft like Dale Hawerchuk or a dramatic trade acquisition like a Rod Langway as a key reason. Barry Long has done wonderfully with the Jets but Randy Carlyle made a huge difference and a lot of the key Winnipeg players were also ready to mature.Not so with the Kings. They&rsquo;ve picked up two goalies who were better than what they had and rookies such as Craig Redmond and Garry Galley have chipped in, but otherwise, it&rsquo;s the same Los Angeles team that had 59 points a year ago. That&rsquo;s coaching. I&rsquo;ve got to go with Quinn. &#9632;

f0018-02

A Last-Minute Look IntoThe Playoff Crystal Ball

<div class="byline">BY PERRY LEFKO</div><h2>TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS</h2><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-011001/5186582-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg" title="f0018-01" width="144" height="148"></div>TORONTO&mdash;Of Ice And Men, the satiric play about Toronto Maple Leaf owner Harold Ballard and his players, closed after only a three-week run. Soon thereafter, the real Maple Leaf season finished.Hockey and theatre critics will have a real chore deciding which one was worse.Certainly, the real Maple Leaf season will go down in team history as the absolute worst. Proof of that is the 52 losses and 48 points. The 20 wins, which wouldn&rsquo;t have been as &ldquo;high&rdquo; as it is without a post-Christmas (albeit shortlived) spurt, ties a previous low.And, oh yes, the Leafs finished 21st overall for the 1984-85 season, which some people are flopping (because that was what the Leafs season was) to mean 21 st best.The only good thing to happen to the Leafs in the stretch&mdash;aside from guaranteeing themselves the first pick overall in the 1985 entry draft&mdash;was John Ander son&rsquo;s record for consecutive games with at least one goal (10). This is the same Anderson who was benched as late as March 16 for not giving a total effort. Anderson, whose closing drive gave him his fourth consecutive 30-goal season but fell five short of his best-ever total (37), will now spend the extended off-season wondering where and for whom he play next season. Ballard has done just about everything possible to publicly humiliate Anderson, whose good humor allowed him to display a happy exterior&mdash;at times&mdash;but who probably took more than a few jokes home With him to his wife and newly-born boy.Then there&rsquo;s Rick Vaive, who may be recalled as the erstwhile captain. Vaive has admitted for the last few months this has been a &ldquo;bad&rdquo; year, and by that he could be going as far back as the Canada Cup training camp, when Chris Nilan, of Team USA, decked him in the hall of the Montreal Forum. But that blow only nicked his skin; Ballard&rsquo;s blows, including a recent one in which he blamed most of the season on the 25-year-old captain, cut much deeper than the surface.Ballard, you may recall, said last season that Vaive, who registered his third consecutive 50-plus goal season, wouldn&rsquo;t have been nearly as effective in the six-team era. This season, Ballard&rsquo;s appraisals of Vaive have been much more acidic.Then again, Ballard was recently quoted in the Toronto Sun as saying Gerry McNamara, his general manager, topped the list of all GMs.Ballard, himself, tops the blarney list, so one learns to take everything he says with a shaker of salt and a few tequilas.Anyway, there will undoubtedly be several changes in the Leaf lineup for next season. The last few games, compounded by injuries, afforded McNamara and Maloney the opportunity to see some would-be prospects in game situations. Derek Laxdal, a strapping 6-foot-1, 177-pound right winger from the Brandon Wheat Kings, played a few games with the Leafs&rsquo; farm club in St. Catharines and a few more with the parent team. He didn&rsquo;t register a point&mdash;though he did total 100 with the Wheat Kings&mdash;but he covered his wing and came close on a few scoring opportunities.Todd Gill, the Leafs&rsquo; second-round pick in 1984, levelled Ric Seiling of Buffalo with a solid, open-ice check which left the Sabre winger in a daze. Look for Gill, a tough and talented kid, to add more of the same next season with the Leafs.Steve Thomas,, a good candidate for rookie-of-the-year honors in the American League, has size (5-foot-10) working against him but should merit consideration come training camp.As for the rest of the young hopefuls&mdash;and the older ones, too&mdash;there is expected to be more than a few jobs for the taking come September.If there&rsquo;s any doubt about that, check the 1984-85 standings or the Leaf fact book for proof. Both are excellent references for a season which stunk like a skunk.LEAFLETS&mdash;From the rumor mill, comes TV commentator Dick Beddoes&rsquo; revelation that a &ldquo;source that should know&rdquo; claims Winnipeg general manager John Ferguson could wind up in Toronto in the same capacity next season if owner Harold Ballard is willing to meet his price&mdash;$50,000 a season&hellip;Beddoes&rsquo; station, CHCH in Hamilton, in conjunction with the Toronto Sun allowed fans to vote for who they feel the Leafs should pick first in the June entry draft. Wendel Clark of Saskatoon, who is expected to be the pick, topped the other two choices, Michigan State center Craig Simpson and London Knight winger Jim Sandlak, respectively&hellip;Bill Derlago, with 31 goals in an abbreviated season due to injury, finished first in the Leafs&rsquo; Molson Cup voting&hellip;Rookie Allan Bester played the final two games of the season after he was called up from St. Catharines, which by the way, played its final game of the season with only 11 skaters. &#9632;</div>

f0018-01

This Leaf Season Is A Bad Play On Words

<div class="byline">BY RANDY SMITH</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-02693/5186644-1-eng-US/f0019-022.jpg" title="f0019-02" width="551" height="778"><figcaption class="caption-body">Steve Weeks has been playing superbly since the Whalers gave him a regular opportunity.</figcaption></div><h2>HARTFORD WHALERS</h2><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-01932/5186651-1-eng-US/f0019-012.jpg" title="f0019-01" width="127" height="116"></div>HARTFORD&mdash;Whenever an athlete experiences a bad run of cards, and in the end endures and prevails, it makes for a nice story. But when that athlete is a good soldier, such as Steve Weeks, it makes for an even better one.From Dec. 5 to Jan. 27, a span of 22 games, the Hartford Whalers redefined Weeks&rsquo; role as backup goaltender. All they essentially asked him to do was show up, while starting Greg Millen played in 22 straight and posted a 9-11-2 record.They were going to make the playoffs, you see, and as their chances gradually diminished, they kept turning to their No. 1 stopper, Millen. There were spots, even logical spots, to throw Weeks in, to give Millen a break, but coach Jack Evans was reluctant to decide when or where. So, Millen played and Weeks watched.Weeks naturally lost all of his sharpness and only part of his mind and was shipped to Binghamton of the American League to regain his form. He did so, willingly, and played five games in the AHL, winning them all.Since his return, he has sparkled, compiling a 7-5-2 record with a goals-against average of just over 3.00. The Whalers&rsquo; late-season 7-0-2 stretch that included seven straight wins, a club record, can be traced in large part to the contributions of rookies Kevin Dineen, Ulf Samuelsson and Ray Ferraro, and Mike Liut and Weeks. The backup has played.One of his victories was a 3-2 decision over Millen and the St. Louis Blues in Hartford.&ldquo;I couldn&rsquo;t be happier for Steve Weeks,&rdquo; Millen said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s the same Steve Weeks who couldn&rsquo;t play in the league three months ago. The only reason I played 22 in a row is because they (Evans and the Whalers) didn&rsquo;t think Weeksy could play. I wonder what they think now.&rdquo;</div><div style="clear: both;"></div>Weeks was acquired last summer from the New York Rangers for a guaranteed 1986 third-round draft pick that would become a second-rounder should Weeks win 25 games in two seasons. He had nine, with one start left this year.After supporting Millen, something Weeks did both personally and professionally, he is doing the same thing with Liut. He&rsquo;s a player&rsquo;s player.&ldquo;Looking back, sitting out and the bad games were the low points, Weeks said. &ldquo;I kept working in practice and all that stuff, but nobody likes to sit. I remember the blowout in Montreal (9-3) and the 7-0 job (to Chicago). The thrashings were the low points.&ldquo;But you have to believe in yourself. I never really lost my confidence. I just did what I was told, ft&rsquo;s not my decision. All I could do was cheer for those 22 straight.&ldquo;I feel more a part of the team now. It&rsquo;s fun again.&rdquo;Teammates have stood behind Weeks, saying that he was a player even when they saw him work in practice.&ldquo;Weeksy has mad the big save,&rdquo; Ronnie Francis said. &ldquo;So has Lutey (Liut). We&rsquo;re still an inexperienced team, and even when we were winning we&rsquo;d break down from time to time. That&rsquo;s when the goaltender has to come up big. They have and we&rsquo;ve been able to recover.&rdquo;Weeks, who turns 27 in June, was drafted in the 11 th round of the 1978 draft after four years at Northern Michigan. He played 49 games with New York in 1981-82 as the No. 1 goaltender, but slipped into a secondary role thereafter.With an abundance of goaltenders, the Rangers made Weeks available. He knows what his role is in Hartford, that he will be asked to caddie for Liut, just as he caddied for Millen. All he is expected to do is be ready every time that his number rings.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a matter of perspective,&rdquo; Weeks said. &ldquo;You can&rsquo;t forget that this is a kid&rsquo;s game. When you make this game fun, it makes a world of difference. It&rsquo;s so much easier. I&rsquo;m playing games with the guys in practice these days and trying to relax. Things have been a bit looser lately because we&rsquo;ve got nothing to lose, but ideally, this is the way it should work.&ldquo;You can just see the kids gaining confidence. Everything looks real positive going into next year.&rdquo;Ask other athletes to go through what Weeks did this year, and chances are there would be enough horror stories to scare away future backup goaltenders. But Weeks isn&rsquo;t any other athlete. He understands his role and the game, and is proving that he can whip both.No matter what cards he&rsquo;s dealt. &#9632;

f0019-02

Weeks Making The Best Of A Bad Hand

<div class="byline">BY GLENN COLE</div><h2>MONTREAL CANADIENS</h2><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-01790/5186682-1-eng-US/f0020-012.jpg" title="f0020-01" width="143" height="98"></div>MONTREAL&mdash;Chris Chelios remembers a year ago when he played in his first Stanley Cup playoff series.&ldquo;When I came to the club players were telling me that anytime a player comes to a team he&rsquo;s viewed as a savior,&rdquo; he said.&ldquo;I just wanted to do well and break into the lineup. There is pressure everywhere I guess, but I didn&rsquo;t feel there was any extra on me.&rdquo;Nor does Chelios feel there will be any extra burden laid upon him in postseason play this spring. The Canadiens, who finished first in the Adams Division, are matched against fourth-place Boston in the opening round, a reversal of roles of a year ago for the two teams.Unlike last season, Chelios is not a raw rookie. He is being counted on by coach Jacques Lemaire to be a leader in postseason play just as he was during the regular season.For the most part, Chelios was paired with fellow American Tom Kurvers until Lemaire split them March 21 in a game against Washington. Craig Ludwig, the crunching bodychecker on the Canadiens&rsquo; defense, was the new partner for the smooth-skating, offensive-minded Chelios. Since Ludwig and Chelios became partners they have averaged anywhere between 22 and 30 minutes ice time per game, with both entrusted to play on the team&rsquo;s No. 1 penalty-killing unit.&ldquo;Two minutes before the game against Washington, coach Lemaire told me I would be playing with Craig,&rdquo; Chelios said. &ldquo;Tom and I were playing pretty well this year but we&rsquo;re both rookies and sometimes we got caught out of position. It doesn&rsquo;t matter who we play with because we are all used to each other from last year.&rdquo;The Canadiens went into the final week of the regular schedule with games against the other top teams in their Adams division. Montreal moved a step closer to clinching first place by demolishing Quebec 7-1 on April 4 and officially had the title wrapped up two nights later when Quebec lost 2-1 in Hartford and the Canadiens tied Boston 4-4. The 5-4 victory over Buffalo wrapped up the regular season and, in the process, destroyed the Sabres&rsquo; chances for gaining second place in the Adams Division and home-ice advantage in their series with Quebec.While the Canadiens were satisfied with their first-place finish, they realized that all the positive vibes could be eliminated if they did not perform well in the playoffs.&ldquo;Everybody worked hard since the start of the season, and we knew we could finish in first,&rdquo; said Guy Carbonneau. &ldquo;It was not an easy year because we had our share of injuries like anyone else. We should be proud of what we&rsquo;ve done.&rdquo;For his part, Ludwig felt that it was a shame that the Canadiens wouldn&rsquo;t have much time to celebrate their regular-season conquest with the playoffs being so close to the end of the season.&ldquo;But it&rsquo;s still quite a feeling to finish first, especially when you consider the fact we are playing in one of the strongest divisions in the league,&rdquo; Ludwig said.When the playoffs started, the Canadiens were missing veteran right winger Lucien DeBlois, who suffered a rib injury in the decisive victory over Quebec.Providence College left winger Steve Rooney may gain some playing time. Rooney, who joined the Canadiens just in time for the game against Quebec, scored his first NHL goal on the final night of the season in Buffalo.Center Pierre Mondou, who suffered an eye injury March 9 in a game against Hartford, may be back sooner than expected. It was originally felt Mondou would miss the first round of the playoffs but he was given the go-ahead to play in the final week of the regular season.So the Canadiens were relatively healthy physically and mentally as the series against the Bruins got underway. To a man, the players knew the Bruins would be no pushover and Chelios spoke for the group, noting what it had to do.&lsquo;&lsquo;Getting out of our division is going to be tough,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;The other teams know that we are capable of beating them and going further than we did last season. We have to bump and grind. If we stick toour game plan, we will be successful.&rdquo;IN PASSING&mdash;Kent Carlson, sent down to Sherbrooke March 12, was in a Montreal hospital while the Canadiens were wrapping up their division championship. Carlson suffered a back injury in the final week of the American Hockey League schedule while Sherbrooke was trying to clinch a playoff spot&hellip;Craig Ludwig was selected as the Canadiens&rsquo; fourth star, awarded annually to the player who seldom gains recognition in the three-star selections but still makes a solid contribution&hellip;Goaltender Steve Penney was the winner of the Molson Cup three-star selection for the season. &#9632;</div>

f0020-01

Chelios Doesn’t Feel He Has To Be Savior

<div class="byline">BY JOHN GILBERT</div><h2>MINNESOTA NORTH STARS</h2><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-01613/5186806-1-eng-US/f0023-012.jpg" title="f0023-01" width="133" height="115"></div>BLOOMINGTON&mdash;You could call it arrogance, false bravado, outright foolishness, the refusal to accept 80 games as reality or, if you believe in miracles, you could call it accurate.What we&rsquo;re talking about is the Minnesota North Stars&rsquo; confidence that they can whip the St. Louis Blues and go on to astonishing heights in the Stanley Cup playoffs.Everybody in the Stars&rsquo; orgnization looks upon St. Louis as faltering, with Doug Wickenheiser sidelined with a knee injury and Mike Liut traded to Hartford. They also look upon Chicago as sizzling, since it closed to within three points of the Blues at the finish, and sported a 16-7-4 record with Bob Pulford behind the bench. Therefore, everybody would rather play St. Louis than Chicago.Now, nobody is saying that the Stars threw any games to assure themselves of fourth place in the Norris Division. In fact, if anybody was going to make that charge, he could have summoned up dozens of games and accused the Stars of throwing the season.But the Stars won one only of the eight games between the two this season, showing a 1-2-1 record at Met Center and 0-4 at the Arena in St. Louis.The most incredible thing, though, was that the confidence they displayed in the Met Center dressing room after the Stars&rsquo; last game of the regular season, against the Blues coincidentally.The Stars played solid, two-way hockey for two periods and had a 3-1 lead. Then came the third period, which saw St. Louis total 15 shots compared to only four by Minnesota, and the Blues won 4-3.Season over. Bravado not over, even though the Stars finished 24 points behind the first-place Blues and 26 points behind their total of a year ago.Can the North Stars rise up in the playoffs and suddenly play consistent, three-period games after winning only 25 of 80 regular-season games?&ldquo;You&rsquo;ve got to think we&rsquo;ll have reason to continue to play the way we started this game,&rdquo; said coach Glen Sonmor, sounding more hopeful than certain. &ldquo;What our players don&rsquo;t seem to understand is that wanting more goals is not always the way to get more goals. They can&rsquo;t see that playing well in your own end gets you goals.&ldquo;We get three goals by playing well in our end, then we start moving, but looking over our shoulders for a pass. They start to guess their way out of our own end. When we do that, we don&rsquo;t get to their end.&rdquo;Sonmor, a frustrated team man, acknowledges that St. Louis doesn&rsquo;t have the big-name manpower to scare opponents. But he points out the Blues&rsquo; biggest asset is tenacity and team character, two things Sonmor prizes highly and two things that are the biggest question marks on this Minnesota club.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re going to have to play more of the guys who exhibit that, if we want to win,&rdquo; Sonmor said.Sonmor&rsquo;s hopes are bolstered by the return of Paul Holmgren, Tony McKegney and captain Craig Hartsburg, who&rsquo;ve all had extended periods on the injury list. &#9632;</div>

f0023-01

North Stars Won’t Sing The Playoff Blues

<div class="byline">BY BOB DONNELLY</div>Louisville HockeyLouisville Hockey<h2>QUEBEC NORDIQUES</h2><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-01659/5186837-1-eng-US/f0024-012.jpg" title="f0024-01" width="124" height="113"></div>QUEBEC CITY&mdash;Veteran Quebec Nordique defenseman Pat Price has been around the National Hockey League long enough to know what it takes to be successful in the playoffs.&ldquo;Good goaltending is worth 70 per cent of a team&rsquo;s success in the playoffs,&rdquo; said Price, whose pro career began in 1975-76. &ldquo;Good goaltending and specialty teams make the difference. These are the keys to any team&rsquo;s success in the playoffs.&rdquo;For the Nordiques, goaltending is something of a puzzle, because the team uses three&mdash;one of the few in the league that does&mdash;and all are capable of playing. The question is, which one?Buffalo Sabre general manager-coach Scott Bowman says he thinks the Nordiques will use veteran Dan Bouchard in the playoffs, but everyone else in Quebec remains skeptical about his chances. Bouchard played very little the final two months of the regular season, and although he has been impressive at times in the playoffs, he has never been able to take a team all the way.This leaves the door open for rookie Mario Gosselin, who is coach Michel Bergeron and the fans&rsquo; favorite at home, and Richard Sevigny, who played consistently in the stretch.The goaltending situation, however, is not nearly as confusing as the Nordiques&rsquo; lacklustre power play. With one of the best offensive machines in the league, the Nords&rsquo; power play is only average overall and terrible at home.&ldquo;I can&rsquo;t understand how sometimes it works so well and other nigts it doesn&rsquo;t work it all,&rdquo; said Brad Maxwell, who mans the point on the power play.Typical of what Maxwell is talking about is the Nordiques&rsquo; failure to convert any of their chances in four power-play attempts against Buffalo, then cash in on three of five against Boston two days later.Bergeron has tried just about everyone at the blue line. One of his problems is dealing with two styles. The Stastny brothers&mdash;Peter, Anton and Marian&mdash;always work for the perfect shot, a tip-in for a sure goal. Dale Hunter and others crowd the net causing interference.Jean-Francois Sauve, whose play is almost limited to the power play, has his own theory about how to improve it.&ldquo;The only way we can be successful is if we outwork the defenders and go for the good shot,&rdquo; Sauve says.While he may not play that much, Sauve understands why.&ldquo;With a team like Quebec that has a lot of depth at center (Peter Stastny-Hunter-Paul Gillis), I know I can&rsquo;t expect to play a regular shift in every game but overall I am satisfied with my play this year,&rdquo; said Sauve. &ldquo;The key for me is to be ready when my time comes, and when I can score an important goal on&rsquo; occasion, then all the better.&rdquo;A new addition to the Quebec power play has been Alain Lemieux at the point.&ldquo;He is a smart player and he knows what to do with the puck,&rdquo; said Bergeron. &ldquo;Guys like Jean-Francois, Peter (Stastny), Michel (Goulet) and Alain are always thinking ahead. They control the puck on the ice and that&rsquo;s what we need for our power play.&rdquo; &#9632;</div>

f0024-01

Nordiques Know What They Need To Win

<div class="byline">BY RANDY SCHULTZ</div><h2>BUFFALO SABRES</h2><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-02462/5186868-1-eng-US/f0024-022.jpg" title="f0024-02" width="120" height="110"></div>BUFFALO&mdash;The series between the Buffalo Sabres and Quebec Nordiques is being viewed by many as an instant replay of last season&rsquo;s opening round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.That one saw the Nordiques sweep the Sabres in three consecutive games.Statistically speaking, this series doesn&rsquo;t add up in the Sabres&rsquo; favor. In their season series, the Nordiques held a 4-3-1 edge over the Sabres, although Buffalo had a 3-0-1 record at home.On the road it was a different story with no wins and four losses.That is why the Sabres would have preferred to open their series against Quebec at home instead of on the road. But by losing 5-4 to the Montreal Canadiens on the final night of the regular season, combined with the Nordiques&rsquo; 4-1 win over Hartford, the Sabres found themselves one point behind Quebec in the Adams Division standings and forced to open the playoffs on the road.The key to the Sabres&rsquo; attack will be the goaltending of Tom Barrasso, who comes into the playoffs after being out of action fora week. Barrasso was hospitalized on April 2 with an allergic reaction on his lower left leg and did not dress for the final three regular-season games.Another uncertainty is center Dave Andreychuk, who has been sidelined since March 21 with an undisplaced fracture of the collarbone. Andreychuk, who led the Sabres in goals this season with 31, was still a question mark as far as his availablity for the first round of the playoffs is concerned.There&rsquo;s a lot riding against the Sabres, but general manager-coach Scott Bowman isn&rsquo;t worried.&ldquo;In the playoffs, you start fresh,&rdquo; said Bowman. &ldquo;It doesn&rsquo;t matter what you did during the regular season. You don&rsquo;t have that much time to prepare for the playoffs. You just have to go out there and play hockey.&ldquo;For us, it&rsquo;s not like we don&rsquo;t know who our opponent is. We played them eight times during the regular season, including twice within the last two weeks. I think we match up pretty well against the Nordiques. All the games we have played against them this season have been tough.&rdquo;Defenseman Bill Hajt is another positive thinker.&ldquo;We definitely are coming into the playoffs in a better frame of mind than last year,&rdquo; said Hajt. &ldquo;Although we haven&rsquo;t won in their building, we haven&rsquo;t lost at home here either. But we&rsquo;re more positive in our attitude about them be cause we have beaten them this season.&ldquo;We know that they have several dynamo players, like Michel Goulet who can score from almost anywhere on the ice.&ldquo;And you can&rsquo;t forget a player like Dale Hunter either. He&rsquo;s really a good, clutch player for them. He&rsquo;s dangerous when it comes to scoring clutch goals for the Nordiques. You have to play very hard against him.&ldquo;If the Nordiques do have a weakness it is their defense. We just have to take advantage of that. That will be one big part of our game plan.&ldquo;You have to exploit that part of their game in order to beat them. But it won&rsquo;t be easy.&rdquo; &#9632;</div>

f0024-02

Sabres Hoping History Won’t Repeat Itself

<div class="byline">BY TOM HENSHAW</div><h2>BOSTON BRUINS</h2><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-03315/5186899-1-eng-US/f0024-032.jpg" title="f0024-03" width="113" height="110"></div>BOSTON&mdash;General manager-coach Harry Sinden was asked which of three Adams Division rivals he preferred to meet in the opening round in the best-of-five Stanley Cup playoff series.&ldquo;Well, we have a terrible time against Buffalo, Montreal and Quebec,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;If there is someone else available&hellip;&rdquo;As it turned out, the Bruins&rsquo; opening-round opponent was the Montreal Canadiens, whom they have not beaten in 15 playoff series dating back to 1942-43, when Franklin Roosevelt was president of the United States and Mackenzie King was prime minister of Canada.It was the reverse of last season&rsquo;s form chart when the fourth-place Canadiens dumped the first-place Bruins in three consecutive games. This year the Bruins finished fourth and Montreal won the Adams Division title.But what happened in the past didn&rsquo;t matter to Sinden.&ldquo;This division is made up of four teams who, in one year, switched from first place to fourth and from fourth place to first,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;For that reason I wouldn&rsquo;t pick one team over another.&ldquo;It depends, if Peter Stastny gets hurt or if Larry Robinson doesn&rsquo;t play well, then Quebec and Montreal are in troble. If Tom Barrasso isn&rsquo;t playing up to form in goal, then it&rsquo;s Buffalo.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s just that way. We haven&rsquo;t had Barry Pederson or Gordie Kluzak all season. It makes a difference, we&rsquo;re that close in this division.&ldquo;One thing about the playoffs, everything is equal.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s the only time in the season when I nobody played the night before, first place isn&rsquo;t at stake for one team and not the other. Everybody plays the same amount of games in a week, so you&rsquo;re facing a team that&rsquo;s subject to the same conditions you are.&rdquo;Sinden noted that Montreal, Buffalo and Quebec battled down to the second last game of the season before first place was decided, while the Bruins were out of contention for almost the entire last month.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s the difference in the playoffs: You&rsquo;ve got to understand that it isn&rsquo;t the same,&rdquo; Sinden said. &ldquo;If someone asks you to take a walk around the block for a million dollars, you&rsquo;re going to make it. But if they just say, &lsquo;Take a walk around the block,&rsquo; maybe you won&rsquo;t go.&rdquo;The big mystery around Boston Garden on the eve of the playoffs was the identity of the goaltender who would start in the Bruins&rsquo; net.Would it be Pete Peeters, the veteran with 40 playoff games under his belt and who played every minute of every postseason game for the Bruins in the past two years but who has lost more games than he won this year and has a goals-against average that soared to more than 3.50?.Or would it be Doug Keans, who has played only 72 minutes in parts of three playoff games with the Los Angeles Kings, but who finished the current season with a 16-6-3 record and 3.28 average? &#9632;</div>

f0024-03

Bruins Are Primed For Presidential Task

<div class="byline">BY RICH CHERE</div><h2>NEW JERSEY DEVILS</h2><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-01608/5186930-1-eng-US/f0026-012.jpg" title="f0026-01" width="100" height="84"></div>EAST RUTHERFORD&mdash;In the press box at St. Louis Arena, opposing scouts couldn&rsquo;t believe their eyes. Cliff Koroll of Chicago couldn&rsquo;t remember seeing such a bold move so early in a National Hockey League game and the St. Louis fans buzzed with anticipation.Just seven-and-a-half minutes into the third period of New Jersey&rsquo;s April 2 clash with the Blues, goaltender Chico Resch was leaving the ice to give the desperate Devils six attackers and an empty net. This is how the Devils&rsquo; quest for a Patrick Division playoff spot finally came to an end.For a time, the strategy seemed to stun the Blues, who couldn&rsquo;t find the empty net or connect on a pass that wasn&rsquo;t offside. The Devils, who had stick-saves from Jan Ludvig, Joe Cirella and Pat Verbeek, actually scored a goal to cut a 7-2 deficit into a four-goal disadvantage, but there was no miracle comeback in the cards.&ldquo;We had to win, if we lose we&rsquo;re out of it, and we were down by five goals,&rdquo; explained coach Doug Carpenter after his team had been eliminated from a playoff position in its 77th game. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s the only way I know of to get back into the game. It&rsquo;s a situation where that type of thing throws off the opposition. They&rsquo;re not used to seeing it.&rdquo;Carpenter recalled reading back in January where a college coach pulled his goalie early when trailing by five goals. The team came back and tied the game, eventually winning it.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s been done before, many times,&rdquo; said Carpenter. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve done it in the playoffs. Unfortunately, we had many opportunities and did not capitalize except that one time (a goal by Tim Higgins more than two minutes after Resch left).&rdquo;Few people expected the Devils to remain in the playoff hunt until the final four games of the regular season. Of course, they received plenty of help from the Rangers and Penguins, but the Devils still surprised many.It was an eight-game losing streak beginning on March 10 in Winnipeg&mdash;New Jersey&rsquo;s longest losing streak of the season&mdash;that killed the Devils.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not just a one-game affair,&rdquo; said Dave Lewis, after the loss in St. Louis. &ldquo;It was probably three weeks that finished us, but when you go through the whole season right down to the end it&rsquo;s disappointing when it&rsquo;s finally over.&ldquo;During the last three or four weeks, we were right on the edge of becoming something or not,&rdquo; Lewis added. &ldquo;We went right to the edge, and came up short. If we&rsquo;d have won our games, we would be there, because of the Rangers and Penguins. That&rsquo;s what is so frustrating.&rdquo;&ldquo;It was really a month ago where we really lost it,&rdquo; confirmed Resch. &ldquo;When you&rsquo;re a team always playing on the edge, every game was a battle for us. Eventually it takes its toll. I&rsquo;m trying to analyze it. Working so hard to stay in it, I think we may have gotten burned out. For three quarters of the season, we overachieved. Eventually it does even out.&rdquo;The Devils snapped their eight-game slide by beating Washington and Pittsburgh, with Ron Low in goal both nights, but they needed to win all four remaining games and the Rangers to lose all four of their&rsquo;s to sneak in.When they fell behind by five goals in St. Louis, Carpenter made his desperation move. Resch spent a total of 6:55 out of his net until Perry Anderson finally scored into the empty net at 15:04.&ldquo;Coming back was remote, but in that situation, what do you have to lose?&rdquo; asked Resch. &ldquo;We got one and hit the post, which would have been two.&rdquo;&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve never been involved in a game where that&rsquo;s happened,&rdquo; admitted Doug Sulliman. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve only heard of it. Doug tried everything from a coaching standpoint and the players tried everything on the ice.&rdquo;They just didn&rsquo;t have quite what it takes all season.HOT STUFF&mdash;Bruce Driver reinjured his surgically repaired left knee when he took a two-hander from Pat Hickey of the Blues&hellip;The Devils&rsquo; March 30 victory over Pittsburgh tied the franchise record of 22 victories in a season, held by the 1980-81 Colorado Rockies&hellip;Coach Doug Carpenter and assistant Lou Vairo have not spoken with chairman John McMullen regarding contracts for next season. &#9632;</div>

f0026-01

Desperation Move Not Enough For Devils

<div class="byline">BY TONY GALLAGHER</div><h2>VANCOUVER CANUCKS</h2><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-03347/5186992-1-eng-US/f0026-032.jpg" title="f0026-03" width="104" height="99"></div>VANCOUVER&mdash;It has been difficult season for the Vancouver Canucks. They had no idea they were going to be finishing in the cellar of the Smythe Division when the season began and even less knowledge the games would become meaningless by Dec. 1.But there have been some good points. Along with the improvement of Cam Neely and the discovery of defenseman Doug Lidster, the best thing to happen to the Canucks this year may be Petri Skriko.The rookie Finnish winger scored the winning goal in the Canucks&rsquo; 3-2 victory over the Minnesota North Stars March 31, and should total many more before his National Hockey League career is over. He gets chances by the dozen, and for a European in his first year, this is quite delightful. When he gets used to the league, the 80-game schedule and leams to relax when he gets in close, he&rsquo;ll have more than 21 goals by next April Fools Day.But there was a time this season when he had reason to sweat. The Canucks have him on an odd contract where they could kiss him goodbye at the end of this season if they didn&rsquo;t feel he was working out. And when he wasn&rsquo;t playing, it looked as thou ch that might happen.&ldquo;I was on the fourth line and playing one or two shifts a period and nobody said why,&rdquo; said Skriko. &ldquo;Nobody told me why I wasn&rsquo;t playing or why I wasn&rsquo;t able to help the team.&ldquo;I was sitting and I felt, &lsquo;Why don&rsquo;t they let me try to help.&rsquo; And I was worried because of my contract. Then, the night the Islanders were here (Dec. 3) I scored on a breakaway and all the doors opened. I was playing lots then and getting my chances. Now I find, while I&rsquo;m working, the puck comes to you. Goals are funny over here. You work and the puck just comes.&rdquo;Skriko will certainly not be tossed aside as a free agent without compensation after this season. His winning goal against Minnesota was typical of the speed and moves he has and improvement seems certain.&ldquo;We should have played him more,&rdquo; said general manager-coach Harry Neale. &ldquo;He was on the fourth line when I took over as coach and he stayed there (with Gary Lupul and Peter McNab) because the other wingers were going well. He gets the scoring chances and so do the players on his line. His assist total is very deceiving.&rdquo;Skriko missed the first seven games of the season with a broken thumb and didn&rsquo;t get any significant ice time until the fateful night against the Islanders.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want to put any extra pressure on myself for next year, but I think I can score more,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s been a long year for everyone, but it&rsquo;s been learning for me.&rdquo;Skriko&rsquo;s chief problem with the NHL seems to be the increased physical activity in the defensive zone. At 175 pounds, he finds it a little more difficult to stay with some of the bigger wingers he may have to cover. But what he lacks physically, he seems to make up for with speed and scoring ability.&ldquo;What I like about him is that when he has the puck he challenges the defenseman just about every time up the ice,&rdquo; said Canuck associate coach Ron Smith, who may be seeing some action as an assistant with Team Canada at the world championships. &ldquo;Petri&rsquo;s not the most physical guy in the game, but I think he&rsquo;ll score some goals in this league.&rdquo;Skriko has been playing much of the last two months with Mark Kirton at center and Stan Smyl on the right wing, and he provides the line with a certain balance. Kirton, a defensive specialist who has been surprising with 17 goals this year, and Smyl take care of the defense while Skriko gives the line some sting in the offensive end. &#9632;</div>

f0026-03

Skriko’s Scoring Should Keep Him With Canucks

<div class="byline">BY CHUCK MOODY</div><h2>PITTSBURGH PENGUINS</h2><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-02422/5186961-1-eng-US/f0026-022.jpg" title="f0026-02" width="132" height="104"></div>PITTSBURGH&mdash;There are two types of personalities in the National Hockey League&mdash;those who can accept the ups and downs of professional hockey and those who can&rsquo;t. Roberto Romano apparently belongs to the latter group.Proclaiming that he&rsquo;s &ldquo;tired of the whole lifestyle,&rdquo; the Pittsburgh Penguins&rsquo; 22-year-old rookie goaltender said he&rsquo;s retiring from professional hockey.Late in the &rsquo;84-85 season, Romano informed Penguin general manager Eddie Johnston that he intends to join a wine distribution company in Baltimore, where the Penguins&rsquo; American League farm club is located.&ldquo;I just got tired of the whole lifestyle, a lot of travelling and a lot of everything else,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I think this is my last season.&ldquo;Hockey, to me, is not my life. You&rsquo;ve got to have the right type of attitude, and I don&rsquo;t. There are too many ups and downs.&rdquo;Those ups and downs, no doubt, have been caused by the Penguins&rsquo; rollercoaster season.&ldquo;Playing on a team like the Penguins, there are a lot of emotional ups and downs,&rdquo; Romano admitted.Romano&rsquo;s last game before announcing his retirement was against the Boston Bruins. He gave up three goals on the first six shots before being replaced.&ldquo;I think the reason why I haven&rsquo;t been playing well lately is I didn&rsquo;t have my head in it,&rdquo; Romano said.Pittsburgh signed the 5-foot-6, 170-pound Romano as a free agent in December, 1982. The native of Montreal was a first team all-star for the Hull Olympiques of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League in his final season but he was bypassed in the National Hockey League entry draft.Romano was assigned to Baltimore to start the season but was recalled in late November when Michel Dion was sent to the minors to regain his confidence. In his first 31 games, Romano registered a 9-17-2 record, a 4.42 goals-against average and one shutout.Johnston, a former NHL goaltender, believes Romano will reconsider his decision to retire.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think he&rsquo;s going to retire.&rdquo; said Johnston. &ldquo;He went through a period where he wasn&rsquo;t winning games. He&rsquo;s a young kid and he got frustrated. Every goalkeeper goes through that.&ldquo;I think he&rsquo;s just on a downer. I expect him to be back.&rdquo;Romano didn&rsquo;t expect coach Bob Berry to play him a great deal after he made his announcement.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think it would be fair to the team if he did play me, not while we were still in a playoff run,&rdquo; Romano said. I&rsquo;m not sure if I can go in and give the kind of performance they derserve.&ldquo;I consider myself as a third goal tender.&rdquo;Romarto had been considered by management as the Penguins&rsquo; goaltender of the future. Pittsburgh has three other net-minders in their organization, veteran Denis Herron, rookie Brian Ford and Dion.Romano admitted he would reconsider his decision in the off season.&ldquo;I might feel different about it in the summertime,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I might decide I&rsquo;d really like to come back.&ldquo;Whether they&rsquo;re going to accept that or not, I don&rsquo;t know. I don&rsquo;t know if it would be fair to them or the team.&ldquo;But I do think this has been my last season. I might regret it in the future, or my life might be happier.&rdquo;PENGUIN TRACKS&mdash;Rookie defenseman Doug Bodger underwent surgery to remove a bone chip near a joint in his left big toe and missed the last weeks of the season. Bodger. the second of Pittsburgh&rsquo;s three first-round draft picks last summer, suffered the injury when he was checked into the boards during a game against Philadelphia&hellip;Ticket price increases, averaging about two dollars, have been announced for next season. The announcement is another indication the Penguins will play in Pittsburgh again next season and not Hamilton, Ont. Individual game prices for next season will run from a high of $18 to a low of $8. The increases will bring the Penguins more in line with other ticket prices around the NHL and allow the team to investigate the free agent and European talent market, said marketing director Paul Steigerwald. &#9632;</div>

f0026-02

Romano Grows Tired Of Hockey Lifestyle

<div class="byline">BY ERIC DUHATSCHEK</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-02369/5187023-1-eng-US/f0027-022.jpg" title="f0027-02" width="563" height="840"><figcaption class="caption-body">Lanny McDonald is expected to return for Game Three against the Winnipeg Jets.</figcaption></div><h2>CALGARY FLAMES</h2><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-01572/5187030-1-eng-US/f0027-012.jpg" title="f0027-01" width="138" height="114"></div>CALGARY&mdash;First, the bad news.Lanny McDonald, the Calgary Flames&rsquo; co-captain and one of the team&rsquo;s chief scoring threats, will not be ready for the opening game of the playoff series against the Winnipeg Jets.McDonald&rsquo;s knee injury is healing on schedule, but his schedule and the playoff schedule do not exactly match.The good news, from a Flames&rsquo; perspective, is that McDonald expects to be back for the third game of the series.Aside from all the intangible things his presence in the lineup provides, McDonald scores at a Gretzky-like pace whenever he faces the Jets.In five games this year, he had five goals and two assists. Last year, he had seven goals in seven games and the year beofre, nine goals in eight games. McDonald&rsquo;s production may have slipped against other National Hockey League teams, but against the Jets, he is the Flames not-so-secret-weapon.McDonald&rsquo;s injury-filled regular season ended on March 3 when the Quebec Nordiques&rsquo; Dale Hunter fell on his knee. He suffered a second-degree tear and had his knee placed in a cast. Later, he exchanged his plaster cast for a splint cast which allowed him to begin rehabilitating his knee. In the last week of the regular season, doctors finally gave him permission to begin skating again.&ldquo;Realistically, trying to be honest, I don&rsquo;t think I can be ready for the first game,&rdquo; said McDonald. &ldquo;But I have no doubt that I can be ready for the third game. They said I&rsquo;d be looking at four to five weeks. Four weeks was the end of the season, so basically I&rsquo;m on schedule. It&rsquo;s come a long way the last few days, so I like my chances.&rdquo;The prospect of McDonald&rsquo;s return midway through the first round could provide a spark for the Flames&mdash;if the team needs a lift at that time. Of all the teams with 300 or more man-games lost to injuries, the Flames were the only club to survive withouth a noticeable impact on its point total. In fact, the replacement parts&mdash;rookies such as Gino Cavallini, Joel Otto, Neil Sheehy, Perry Berezan&mdash;were so good that their presence probably helped the team to its best-ever regular season standing.&ldquo;My thoughts on that are the injuries made everybody stronger,&rdquo;said McDonald. &ldquo;With guys going in and out of the lineup all the time, it made everyone play harder. Nobody could afford to take a night off. It even made the veterans play better or at least at the top of their games. You&rsquo;re right, we might not have been any further ahead had we had everybody healthy. The only advantage might have been for the sake of continuity. We haven&rsquo;t had set lines all year.&rdquo;The other injured players&mdash;Allan Maclnnis and Colin Patterson&mdash;both returned in the second-last week of the regular season. Maclnnis and Patterson played the final game of the Kings-Flames&rsquo; series, but were held out of the critical showdown between the Jets and Flames on March 31. Coach Bob Johnson did not think their conditioning would hold up through 60 minutes of fast-paced hockey. He may have been right.Maclnnis and Patterson spent the last week of the season trying to get into playoff shape. For Patterson especially, his second knee injury following on the heels of a serious wrist injury ruined a season that started out so promisingly. Earlier in the year, Patterson was in the top 20 in scoring and close to the team lead in plus-minus.&ldquo;I thought I&rsquo;d go injury-free this year,&rdquo; admitted Patterson.&rdquo;I hadn&rsquo;t had many injuries in my career until last year. But it&rsquo;s all part of the game. Maybe I&rsquo;ll go injury-free next year.&rdquo;IN BRIEF&mdash;An ankle injury to Reggie Lemelin allowed Don Edwards to get two rare starts in against the Kings. He won both. In the second game, Edwards stopped 31 shots to record his first shutout in almost two years. Coach Bob Johnson was happy to see Edwards regain his form, but indicated he would stick with Lemelin against the Jets. After a 4-4 tie on March 31, Lemelin had a 9-0-4 record against the Jets over the past two years&hellip;Mike Eaves, who bruised his ribs against the Jets on the second last weekend of the regular season, is the Flames&rsquo; nominee for the Masterton Trophy.</div><div style="clear: both;"> &#9632;</div>

f0027-02

McDonald Aiming To Ground Jets

<div class="byline">BY RICK SADOWSKI</div><h2>LOS ANGELES KINGS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-03240/5187061-1-eng-US/f0027-032.jpg" title="f0027-03" width="171" height="106"></div>LOS ANGELES&mdash;Regardless of how well the Los Angeles Kings fare in the Stanley Cup plaoffs, no one can take away their good showing in the regular season.After all, this was a team that hadn&rsquo;t made it to the playoffs in the last two seasons and few predicted them to make it any further this one.But they made great strides under the direction of general manager Rogie Vachon and coach Pat Quinn. They improved by 23 points over last season&rsquo;s dismal 23-44-13 performance and showed signs that good times are ahead.&ldquo;We exceeded the goals we had set at the start of the year,&rdquo; said Quinn. &ldquo;We wanted to finish .500 and we wanted to make the playoffs. And after the way we started (0-6-3), it&rsquo;s a credit to the players for battling back the way they did.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve made the first step on the road to becoming a good hockey club. It&rsquo;ll be tougher from here because our division is so tough, but our long-range goal is to make it to the upper six and become a legitimate contender.&ldquo;One good lesson,&rdquo; Quinn added, &ldquo;lies ahead in our first playoff series.&rdquo;Ah yes, the playoffs. The reward for a good Showing in the regular season. Some would say it&rsquo;s&rsquo;more of a punishment than a reward for the Kings, who meet the Stanley Cup champion Edmonton Oilers in the first round, but history is on L.A.&rsquo;s side.It was back in 1981-82, when the Kings were rightfully expected to be the victims of a nice and easy three-game sweep at the hands of the Oilers, who had an edge of 48 points in the regular-season standings.Only things didn&rsquo;t exactly turn out that way in what proved to be one of the most stunning upsets in Stanley Cup playoff history and the most memorable playoff series in King history.Getting a split in the first two ganmes in Edmonton&mdash;winning Game One by a 10-8 margin&mdash;the Kings returned to the Forum to stage the greatest single-game comeback in playoff history in Game Three, overcoming a 5-0 deficit in the third period to capture a 6-5 win in overtime.The Kings lost the fourth game, but won the decisive fifth 7-4 in Edmonton. They lost to Vancouver in the Smythe Division finals in five games, but for one glorious week, hockey had taken center stage in Los Angeles.This King team is a much stronger unit, having finished the 1984-85 season with a 34-32-14 record, scoring a club record 339 goals and allowing 50 fewer than the club record 379 of the previous year.But they are still underdogs, and this time the Kings don&rsquo;t expect to catch the Oilers off guard.&ldquo;I know we&rsquo;re not going to surprise them,&rdquo; coach Pat Quinn said. &ldquo;They&rsquo;ve said publicly that they&rsquo;re going to teach us a lesson. It all goes back to the way they were unprepared to meet the Kings&rsquo; team of that time. It was probably a painful lesson they had to learn.&rdquo;Only eight Kings remain from that series: Marcel Dionne, Bernie Nicholls, Dave Taylor, Jim Fox, Mark Hardy, Doug Smith, J.P. Kelly and Jay Wells.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s not a whole lot of guys left,&rdquo; said Taylor, who finished the season with 41 goals, equalling his totals of the past two injury-racked seasons combined. &ldquo;But I think the moral support of the people of L.A. who remember will help.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0027-03

Kings Have Good Reason To Be Proud Of Season

<div class="byline">BY DICK BAKER</div>Louisville HockeyLouisville HockeySPRINGFIELD&mdash;The puck and the buck stop in the same place&mdash;at least in the Southern Division of the American Hockey League.Great goaltending is expected to be the most noteworthy asset for three of the post-season participants.Baltimore&rsquo;s Jon Casey, Springfield&rsquo;s Mike Sands and Binghamton&rsquo;s Peter Sidorkiewicz were being counted on to help their respective teams advance to the second round.In Rochester, the Amerks, who lost a gem in Jacques Cloutier with an early-season injury, were hoping that former Toronto Maple Leaf netminder Vince Tremblay, just back from an injury, could come through in the clutch.Despite being in his sixth pro season, Tremblay has appeared in only one pro playoff game&mdash;in his rookie seson as a member of the New Brunswick Hawks. He gave up four goals in 42 minutes.In his first 29 games of the season, Tremblay had a 12-10-7 record and 3.80 goals-against average. Meanwhile, Cloutier was 10-2-1 with a 2.69 mark. Mike Craig, who had plenty of action the second half of the campaign, was 11-7-3 with a 3.69 GAA.With the expected edge in goal and their late-season, record-setting winning streak, the Skipjacks were favored to upend the Amerks.Meanwhile, Binghamton, headed by 50-goal scorer Paul Gardner, was a slight favorite to knock off Springfield, which slumped badly at the season&rsquo;s end.Sands, plus the return of wingers Alan Kerr and Dale Henry from the parent New York Islanders, gave Indian fans plenty of reason for optimism. The Whalers, although loaded with talent, were also playing without a handful of key people who had been recalled by Hartford late in the year, including Ray Ferraro, Paul MacDermid and Paul fention.Baltimore had a 5-3-2 record against Rochester during the regular season. Binghamton won five of six from Springfield.DOWN SOUTH&mdash;The Whalers and Indians opened their best-of-seven series April 10 at Binghamton&hellip;The Whalers set an new-all-time record for most wins (23) in one season on the road with an 8-4 victory over the St. Catharines Saints, March 31. The now-defunct Cincinnati Swords won 22 during the 1972-73 season. Baltimore has also been strong on the road this season with a 20-13-5 mark, only four less points that Binghamton&hellip;With Mike Sands serving a three-game suspension and backup Lorne Molleken out with a combination of the flu and a death in the family, Springfield was forced to go with 20-year-old Shawn Kilroy as an emergency starter against Nova Scotia March 30. Kilroy posted a 4-3 victory over the Oilers. Bruce Landon, the Indians&rsquo; 35-year-old general manager, dressed as the backup. Landon, who hadn&rsquo;t played in a pro game since 1977, once starred for the Whalers of the World Hockey Association. Kilroy had been with Fredericton for two games earlier in the season and had played for three International League teams&mdash;Kalamazoo, Peoria and Flint. Kilroy had a tough time in a subsequent game against the Golden Flames in Moncton, yielding 10 goals&hellip;Getting few penalty minutes had little to do with the eventual outcome of the Southern Division standings. The least penalized teams were St. Catharines (last place) and Binghamton (first place)&hellip;The talk that started in Vancouver of a possible all west coast minor league is not feared in the AHL. &ldquo;What do you do with Edmonton&rsquo;s franchise,&rdquo; asked AHL vice president Gordie Anziano. &ldquo;What do you do with the one that Los Angeles owns? These teams have a lot of money tied up.&rdquo;Anziano pointed out that such a league would have only four or five teams. &ldquo;The same teams would be playing each other all the time,&rdquo; said Anziano. &ldquo;Also, they&rsquo;re going to have to cover the cost of officials going out to the west coast.&rsquo;&rsquo;&hellip;Investors in Utica, NY, are interested in an AHL franchise. The problem is finding NHL sponsorship. If Chicago goes into Halifax as expected, that leaves only St. Louis as a potential candidate to be the No. 1 supplier for an AHL team. &#9632;

Southern Will Showcase Good Goaltending

<div class="byline">BY MIKE KANE</div>GLENS FALLS&mdash;Welcome to the Northern Division, where nothing, absolutley nothing, can be taken for granted.For example:&bull; With four days remaining in the regular season, all six teams were still in the running for a playoff berth.&bull; Just six points separated the second-place Fredericton Express from the sixth-place Moncton Golden Flames.&bull; Maine clinched its fourth division title by losing its fourth straight game and fifth in its last sixth.054 With one day remaining in the season, Adirondack held down third place and a playoff position, but when it was all over they were in fifth and on the outside looking in.Get the picture?The Wings wound up their schedule with an 8-3 loss to Binghamton on April 5, giving them 78 points after 80 games. Meanwhile, Nova Scotia sat at 76 points and Sherbrooke was at 74, but each team had two games remaining. The next night, on April 6, Nova Scotia lost 2-1 to Fredericton, but Sherbrooke whipped Moncton 8-5, leaving the Oilers and Canadiens with 78 points, one less than Adirondack.But both of them still had a game remaining. Nova Scotia beat Moncton 4-1 and Sherbrooke edged Springfield 5-4, launching them both to a one-point lead over the Red Wings, who could do little but watch their season come to an end.Nova Scotia&rsquo;s earlier loss at home to Sherbrooke allowed the Mariners to clinch the division title even though they were losing at Glens Falls.&ldquo;From the neck down, there&rsquo;s not a damn thing wrong with us,&rdquo; Maine coach Tom McVie said. &ldquo;In fact, I would say we&rsquo;re probably in the most tremendous shape any guy has been in his whole career. We&rsquo;ve really been into the weight program, the physical training and the on-ice stuff. Above the neck, mentally, we&rsquo;re not there.&rdquo;Nova Scotia, a team that was in the division cellar in mid-February, put together an 8-6-1 record in March, built mainly by good work on the road, including four of the first five on a seven-game road trip. Consecutive losses at Springfield on the final two days of the swing ultimately ended the team&rsquo;s chances of overtaking the Mariners.&ldquo;If I had to single out one area, for maybe the first time all season long we&rsquo;ve gotten pretty consistent goaltending,&rdquo; Nova Scotia coach Larry Kish said. &ldquo;I think that&rsquo;s been the difference. Especially when we were on the road both Mark Holden and Marco Baron played very, very well for us. We had, of course, a great road trip.&rdquo;Bill Dineen&rsquo;s Wings ran into problems on March 15 at Sherbrooke, three days after Tiger Williams was traded by Detroit to Los Angeles. The club lost seven of its next eight games and moved from a position where it was in the running for first place to a scramble for one of the final two playoff berths.&ldquo;I knew a month ago it was far from over and I tried to make people aware of it and nobody seemed to want to believe me,&rdquo; Dineen said. I&rsquo;m not the eternal pessimist but I believe it when I see it and until it&rsquo;s secure, I wouldn&rsquo;t believe it.&ldquo;It was beyond anybody&rsquo;s wildest dreams that we could be in this position. All of a sudden we woke up one morning and the dream came true.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s funny, you go 160 days and all of a sudden the last three days really count.&rdquo;AROUND THE DIVISION&mdash;Injuries have put Nova Scotia&rsquo;s Norm Aubin (ribs), Bart Yachimec (knee) and Dean Hopkins (thigh) out of the lineup. Defenseman Larry Melnyk was recalled by Edmonton. The Oilers picked up Simon Wheeldon, a center chosen by Edmonton in the 1984 draft. He scored 50 goals for the Victoria Cougars in the WHL this season&hellip;Fredericton won three of four games to move into second place. The Express won two of three against Moncton and knocked off Springfield. Winger Craig Coxe picked up a three-game suspension for coming out of the penalty box to join a fight in one of the games with Moncton. Jimmy Mann was recalled by the Nordiques and defenseman Gord Donnelly may be recalled for the playoffs. Steve Finn, who joined the Express after his junior season with Laval ended, has been pressed into duty because defenseman Andy Schliebener (ribs), Claude Julien (back) and Dave Shaw have been injured. &#9632;

Wings Odd-Team Out In Northern

<div class="byline">BY BILL PICKETT</div>Louisville HockeyLouisville HockeyKALAMAZOO&mdash;Coach Bill Inglis was hard-pressed for an answer. His Kalamazoo Wings temporarily moved into first place in the East Division of the International Hockey League&mdash;the first time since the second week of the season the K-Wings enjoyed such success&mdash;but Inglis couldn&rsquo;t explain how it&rsquo;s happened.&ldquo;If I knew exactly what has turned things around I&rsquo;d bottle it and sell it,&rdquo; Inglis said.Kalamazoo posted a 12-3-0 record in March, with back-to-back wins over the Indianapolis Checkers on the final two days of the month, moving the K-Wings ahead of division-leading Muskegon Lumberjacks. However, Muskegon edged Salt Lake 6-5 on April Fools Day to reclaim the top spot.A total effort has certainly helped the K-Wings, trailing Muskegon by 11 points as late as late as March 4, vault ahead in the standings.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve been getting the scoring,&rdquo; Inglis said, &ldquo;but the defense has played much better lately and that has been a big help. We don&rsquo;t want to get into any shootouts with anyone. The team has been playing well-disciplined hockey.&rdquo;The scoring has been provided by center Brent Jarrett and wingers Dave Michayluk and Kevin Schamehom.&ldquo;That combination has been skating together for a long time,&rdquo; Inglis said. &ldquo;They can all skate well and they all can handle the puck. They make it difficult on defenses.&rdquo;In the two weekend triumphs over Indianapolis, the trio totalled 16 points. Two of those points were goals number 62 and 63 for Michayluk, giving him an 11-goal lead over Muskegon&rsquo;s Scott Gruhl in that department.Michayluk is also the league leader in power-play goals (14), is tied with Paul Lawless of Salt Lake for first goals (eight) and is second to Gruhl in game-winners (Gruhl has 10, Michayluk nine).Meanwhile, in the West, Peoria maintained its lead&mdash;and the league lead with 94 points&mdash;followed by Fort Wayne and Salt Lake City.Milwaukee Admirals, who have occupied the fifth spot in the West most of the season, dropped three games in a row, including a 7-3 setback at Indianapolis, and faced the rugged task of making up 10 points on the Checkers heading into the final two weeks of the regular season.Peoria travelled to Flint March 30 and the two teams deadlocked in a goalless duo, which hasn&rsquo;t happened in the league since Dec. 14, 1975.Flint had the advantage in shots for the game (28-24), but Rick Heinz refused to back down. Rick Knickle, in goal for Flint, was just as efficient at the other end of the ice.The shutout was the second of the season for Heinz, who lowered his league-best goals-against average to 3.09. He&rsquo;s 21-11-4. It also was the second shutout for Knickle, who is 15-10-2 with a 3.40 GAA.The Generals failed to score in their next outing, as Fort Wayne blanked them 5-0, with Pokey Reddick earning the shutout. It was the second straight win for Reddick (2-1-1), who had beaten Indianapolis 6-3 earlier in the week 6-3.The Indianapolis Checkers, under new head coach Moe Bartoli, continued to slide and fell below the .500 mark at home (17-19-2) with losses to Fort Wayne and Kalamazoo.Bartoli obvserved the team for three games (all losses) before making any moves.&ldquo;I may move a couple of guys around, change a couple of line combinations in an attempt to get more goals,&rdquo; he said.The Checkers are the lowest-scoring team in the league.&ldquo;These guys are trying,&rdquo; he added. &ldquo;They don&rsquo;t want to lose. We&rsquo;ll just get through the season then we&rsquo;ll see what happens in the playoffs.&ldquo;Anything can happen then.&rdquo; &#9632;

K-Wings Keeping Close Eye On Muskegon

<div class="byline">BY JOHN HERBERT</div>Louisville HockeyLouisville HockeyTORONTO&mdash;There is no feeling quite like missing the playoffs&mdash;unless it&rsquo;s losing money running franchises in the Ontario Hockey League.Joe Holody knows it all too well.So does Sudbury&rsquo;s director of operations, Joe Drago, and his other partners who have shared in ownership of the franchise.It&rsquo;s the same story in Kingston. Not only does it hurt, it&rsquo;s costly with no playoff gates to boost smaller revenues from small crowds in the arenas of the lower-placed teams in the regular season. Just about every hockey club and owner has experienced it, but the Guelph Platers, Kingston Canadians and Sudbury Wolves have felt it a little more the past few seasons. Those franchises are hoping to regroup, using the midget draft as one possible means, and come back strongly next season to chase the elusive playoff dream.First the Guelph situation.The Platers, who joined the Canadian Major Junior League the same season as Prince Albert Raiders, have missed the Emms Division playoffs for three consecutive years. Prince Albert, on the other hand, stepped right up from being a successful Tier 11 operation, as were the Platers, into being a quality team in the Western League. Ironically, the Raiders and Platers met for the national Tier II championship four seasons ago.While the Platers missed the playoffs this season, the Raiders won the WHL regular-season title.In Guelph, Joe Holody is expected to look for a coach to join with his son, Rob, who finished up as interim general manager-coach with assistant Mike Mahoney, after Joe Contini was fired late in the season. Alex Campagnaro, 65, who was hospitalized during the season and was replaced on an interim basis by the younger Holody, is expected to retire. Scout Jim Tye is retiring after a long and successful career.The Platers are now accepting applications for both jobs.&ldquo;Until the draft, we&rsquo;ll probably leave it status quo,&rdquo; Joe Holody said. &ldquo;Rob&rsquo;s just filing the applications and reading them. He&rsquo;s getting phone calls, too.&ldquo;He asked me what he should do. It&rsquo;s up to him.&rdquo;The senior Holody, who said his club&rsquo;s losses should be lower than last year&rsquo;s $49,000, doesn&rsquo;t know exactly what it will take to get his team winning with some regularity and into the playoffs. The Platers drew an average of 1,500 and developed some good young players, including last year&rsquo;s first pick, Guy Larose, who, along with Mike Murray, gives the Platers two solid centers who will probably top the 100-point mark in scoring next season.Kingston is also undecided after finishing dead last in the Leyden group for the third successive season.Late in the season, the Canadians dumped Rick Comacchia as coach, restructured the titles of the executives, left GM Ken Slater&rsquo;s future in limbo and installed Jim Dorey as coach for the remainder of the season. Comacchia is relocating back in Toronto, but is going into sales for a Toronto business.Dorey could be back in some ownership capacity, but will not coach. His younger brother, Roger, is rumored to be the new coach.&ldquo;I&rsquo;d just going along doing what I&rsquo;d supposed to do,&rdquo; said Slater, whose contract expires June 30.The saddest story is that the Wolves missed the playoffs for the fourth straight season and actually had two fewer points. They wound up with 37 to tie Kingston for dead last overall and earned the first draft position for the second year in a row with the fewest wins.Drago, who is one of 14 owners in the Sudbury franchise, has been catching most of the heat for his club&rsquo;s showing. Yet he goes about the business of running his hockey club, watching the games from the lofty Sudbury press box and ignoring the shouts of &ldquo;Jump, Joe, jump,&rdquo; from the local supporters.&ldquo;You expect that when you&rsquo;re the most visible,&rdquo; said Drago. &ldquo;But we aren&rsquo;t going to quit. We need to get a new breed of players in here. And this year we started to do that. Sudbury is still a good hockey town.&rdquo;The team lost between &ldquo;$ 125,000 to&rsquo;$135,000,&rdquo; this year. Drago wants to keep the team in Sudbury, but said &ldquo;you just can&rsquo;t continue to lose money.&rdquo;&ldquo;If we got a good enough offer for the team, we&rsquo;d have to seriously consider it even if it is from someone out of town,&rdquo; said Drago, who went on to say they never would have considered selling to outside interests two years ago. &ldquo;But I think we are starting to come around. We&rsquo;ve lost a lot of games by one goal and the players are starting to realize that when they come to Sudbury they are treated well.&ldquo;I have to admit that several of the owners aren&rsquo;t happy with what is going on but, hopefully, they&rsquo;ll sell their share to someone else. We want to keep hockey here.&rdquo;Drago stated they&rsquo;ve received only one inquiry for the actual sale of the club and that came from an &ldquo;anonymous phone call from Sault Ste. Marie. We don&rsquo;t deal with anonymous phone calls from anyone.&rdquo;Drago didn&rsquo;t expound on what the asking price is but reports indicate the club could be bought for about $450,000. The Wolve owners may also want all outstanding debts picked up by the purchaser.&ldquo;I think next year will be the important year.&rdquo; said Drago. &ldquo;If we can turn things around then the team will be fine.&rdquo;Stability is one thing the Wolves need and the rehiring of coach Andy Spruce would have been the first step in that direction. But Spruce said he won&rsquo;t be re-hired after the owners held a special meeting on March 30. He said the team is accepting applications for the dual role of GM-coach but that the job wasn&rsquo;t offered to him.&ldquo;In essence, I&rsquo;ve been fired,&rdquo; Spruce said. &ldquo;What else is there to make of it?&rdquo;Drago would like to see Spruce return but he isn&rsquo;t the only owner. &#9632;

Ontario League Dregs Dream Of Playoffs

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-01518/5187226-1-eng-US/f0031-012.jpg" title="f0031-01" width="532" height="551"><figcaption class="caption-body">ROB NICHOLSNorth Bay</figcaption></div><h2>ONTARIO LEAGUE</h2>The North Bay Centennials failed to survive the first round of the Ontario Hockey League playoffs but it wasn&rsquo;t the fault of left winger Rob Nichols.The 1983 Philadelphia Flyers&rsquo; draft pick turned in a prolific eight-game scoring performance to win the nod as the OHL Player of the Week, even though it didn&rsquo;t save the Centennials from elimination at the hands of the Hamilton Steelhawks.Nichols collected 10 goals and 13 assists for 23 points in the eight games to top all playoff scorers.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-02357/5187219-1-eng-US/f0031-022.jpg" title="f0031-02" width="524" height="552"><figcaption class="caption-body">DOUG TRAPPRegina</figcaption></div><h2>WESTERN LEAGUE</h2>The Regina Pats breezed through the opening round of the Western Hockey League playoffs by eliminating Saskatoon in three consecutive games as Doug Trapp provided the offensive punch.Trapp won the honor of WHL Player of the Week by collecting nine scoring points in three games as Regina outscored Saskatoon 28-11.The six-foot, 180-pound left winger, drafted by the Buffalo Sabres in 1984, scored six times against Saskatoon to spark Regina&rsquo;s playoff sweep.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-03262/5187212-1-eng-US/f0031-032.jpg" title="f0031-03" width="516" height="550"><figcaption class="caption-body">SERGIO MOMESSOShawinigan</figcaption></div><h2>QUEBEC LEAGUE</h2>Sergio Momesso finished with the fourth highest points in the Quebec Hockey League after the regular season closed, and the Shawinigan ace hasn&rsquo;t slowed up his production with the playoffs on.Momesso, picked by Montreal Canadiens in the 1983 draft, counted 13 scoring points in Shawinigan&rsquo;s four-game sweep of the Quebec Remparts to become the QHL&rsquo;s Player of the Week.The 6-foot-3, 200-pound center collected seven goals in the four games.At the end of the current season. THE HOCKEY NEWS will select a Micron Junior Player of the Year. &#9632;

f0031-01

JUNIOR PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

<div class="byline">BY BEN KUZMA</div>Louisville HockeyLouisville HockeyPRINCE ALBERT&mdash;Talk about your centers of attention. Although they perform in different cities in different divisions and are different kinds of players, Prince Albert Raiders&rsquo; Dan Hodgson and New Westminster Bruins&rsquo; Cliff Ronning are very similar in one respect.They command the Western Hockey League spotlight. The centers are vying for the WHL&rsquo;s entry for Canadian Major Junior Hockey League player-of-the-year honors. And that shouldn&rsquo;t be surprising because Hodgson, who captained Canada&rsquo;s world championship junior team, has been chasing Ronning all season in the scoring race.The 19-year-old Ronning, 5-foot-8, 170 pounds, set a new scoring standard by collecting 197 points on 89 goals and 108 assists in 70 games, eclipsing the previous mark of 194, established by Brian Propp with the Brandon Wheat Kings in 1978-79. Ronning is a seventh-round St. Louis Blues&rsquo; draft pick.Hodgson wasn&rsquo;t far behind, finishing with 182 points in 64 games with 70 goals and a league-high 112 assists.<blockquote class="pullQuote">&lsquo;I think we&rsquo;re ready to respond to the challenge. Nobody likes to come to Prince Albert, that&rsquo;s for sure.&rsquo;</blockquote>Both the Raiders and Bruins are expected to enjoy varying degrees of postseason success. New Westminster is favored to advance to the Western Division final against the highly-touted Kamloops Blazers. But it&rsquo;s the Raiders, who topped all CMJHL clubs this season with a .826 winning percentage based on a 58-11-3 mark, who are supposed to go all the way.The third-year club has been dubbed the post-season favorite in the WHL. putting even more pressure on the shoulders of Hodgson, who will lead the first-place Raiders against the fourth-place Calgary Wranglers in Prince Albert&rsquo;s first postseason test. Calgary earlier eliminated the Lethbridge Broncos 3-1 in a best-of-five preliminary series.&ldquo;It (pressure) is something I don&rsquo;t think about,&rdquo; said the 19-year-old Hodgson. &ldquo;I think we&rsquo;re ready to respond to the challenge.&ldquo;Nobody likes to come to Prince Albert, that&rsquo;s for sure. Calgary is a good team and works hard. It&rsquo;s not going to be easy. But if we play in the series like we can, we should come out on top.&ldquo;I think a Regina-Prince Albert series would be the most interesting one,&rdquo; added Hodgson of a possible division final matchup should the defending Eastern Division champion Pats eliminate the Medicine Hat Tigers in the other semifinal series.&ldquo;They (Pats) beat us the last two times and, of course, they have (Dale) Derkatch back from Europe.&rdquo;How the Raiders do in the race to the Memorial Cup will depend on how the entire team performs. But Hodgson is definitely the spark which ignites the club.Prince Albert coach Terry Simpson, who coached the national junior team to its gold medal in Finland, has seen a big change in Hodgson&rsquo;s play.&ldquo;I think where I saw the most improvement was last summer,&rdquo; said Simpson. &ldquo;He was a lot more intense about what was going on. Playing with the national team gave him more confidence and to be selected captain gave him more confidence, too. He doesn&rsquo;t lack confidence but the experience helps him.&ldquo;Of course, Hodgson is important. He quarterbacks the power play and obviously the other teams have to spend time watching him. His linemates (Tony Grenier and Dave Pasin) combine well and the line has the potential to score on any shift.I&rsquo;ve become a big backer of Hodgson over the last year but it hasn&rsquo;t always been that way. I know how hard he&rsquo;s worked to improve his game. He has to work on his speed and get bigger and stronger, but I think he can play in the National Hockey League.&rdquo;Hodgson, 5-foot-10, 175 pounds, is a fifth-round Toronto Maple Leaf draft pick. The Fort McMurray, Alta., native believes his time has come to make the jump to the pro ranks.I&rsquo;m looking forward to next season,&rdquo; said Hodgson. I&rsquo;m very optimistic about making Toronto. I feel I can always improve my skating and I would definitely like to put on 10 more pounds. I think my strength is when I get the puck I hang onto to it long enough to get good shots. I&rsquo;d say 65 of my 70 goals were from the hash marks in.&rdquo;Simpson said Hodgson can play in the NHL if used properly.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s not a more intelligent player in the WHL,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;If they (Leafs) put him with the proper people he&rsquo;ll do okay. His strength is his puckhandling ability. He isn&rsquo;t going to go out and bang guys around. Last year they had him at right wing incamp. You&rsquo;ve got to grind it on the wing. You put him (Hodgson) in the boxing ring and he isn&rsquo;t a guy I&rsquo;d bet on.&rdquo;WHL WEEK&mdash;Regina advanced to the Eastern Division semifinals against Medicine Hat by sweeping Saskatoon in a best-of-five preliminary-round matchup. Regina won 5-4 in overtime, 17-3 and 6-4. The 17-3 game set a league record for most playoff goals by one team in a game and tied another for most goals by two teams&hellip;Calgary advanced to the other Eastern Division semifinal against Prince Albert by taking Lethbridge 3-1 in the other best-of-five preliminary matchup. Calgary, won the opener 9-5 then lost 8-5 before rebounding for 5-1 and 4-2 victories&hellip;New Westminster took command of its Western Division best-of-nine quarterfinal matchup with Kelowna, chalking up a 5-3 win with 5-4 and 6-5 overtime decisions&hellip;Defending league-champion Kamloops got off on the right foot in its Western Division best-of-nine semifinal series with Portland. Kamloops won the first two games by 9-3 and 7-4 scores. &#9632;

Hodgson Is Raiders’ Center Of Attention

<div class="byline">BY RICK MAYOH</div>HULL&mdash;The long and twisted saga of the Memorial Cup&rsquo;s search for a home has ended.&ldquo;We have accepted the proposal of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League that the first two games be held in Shawinigan and the remainder of the games in Drummondville,&rdquo; said Ed Chynoweth, president of the Canadian Major Junior Hockey League.The last major obstacle before the sites could be approved concerned television coverage.Shawinigan was originally chosen as the site on the basis of a league resolution awarding the tournament to the QMJHL&rsquo;s regular-season champion.CTV is broadcasting the championship game nationally and an agreement in principle had been reached with The Sports Network (TSN) to televise the remaining games, Chynoweth said.But both networks found Shawinigan&rsquo;s 2,700-seat Municipal Auditorium unsuitable because of the interference of support beams.&ldquo;TSN has graciously bowed out of televising the first two games and it&rsquo;s certainly through their cooperation and understanding that we&rsquo;ve been able to work this thing out,&rdquo; said Chynoweth from Toronto, where the CMJHL, an umbrella body representing the Ontario, Quebec and Western Leagues, met to solve the thorny problem of where to stage the national major junior championship.&ldquo;If they had wanted to hold us to our original agreement, we would have had a problem. We re very thankful.&rdquo;Chynoweth said the headquarters for the round-robin tournament, May 11-18, will be in Drummondville, about an hour&rsquo;s drive east of Montreal. The OHL and WHL champions will commute to Shawinigan. about an hour&rsquo;s drive north of Drummondville to take on the QMJHL regular-season champion Shawinigan Cataractes in the first two games.A fourth team will be involved in the competition if the Cats do not win the QMJHL playoffs. Dr. Guy Morissette of Hull said Chynoweth, who is also president of the WHL, and Dave Branch, commissioner of the OHL, agreed to the proposal at a CMJHL meeting on March 18.Morissette publicly announced that the site was set and that the agreement was conditional on the approval of TSN. But then Chynoweth and Branch said they had agreed only to consider the proposal.&ldquo;It was unfortunate we got ourselves into that box,&rdquo; Chynoweth said. &ldquo;What&rsquo;s happened has happened. We&rsquo;re going to be positive about it. Dave Branch and myself will be going to see the facilities and give as much assistance as we can. The schedule will be finalized in the next couple of weeks.&rdquo;Chynoweth said a lesson has been learned from all the confusion over the Quebec site.&ldquo;We will have a post-mortem as soon as it&rsquo;s all over and set up some criteria for the Memorial Cup,&rdquo; he said.Shawinigan had the right to choose an alternate site and the QMJHL investigated Drummondville, Chicoutimi and the Montreal Forum.Shawinigan asked to hold the entire tournament without television and then the league reached its compromise position.Chynoweth said this is the first time the opportunity has arisen to have all of the Cup games televised.&ldquo;TSN understood we had an internal problem we had to work out,&rdquo; Chynoweth said.If four teams arc involved, there will likely be television coverage every night except the opening night.Chynoweth said signing a contract with TSN is now a matter of &ldquo;crossing the t&rsquo;s and dotting the i&rsquo;s.&rdquo;The Marcel Dionne Centre in Drummondville, a city with a population of about 45,000, has a seating capacity of 3,200, which can be increased to 5,100 with standing room.Shawinigan&rsquo;s Municipal Auditorium has a standing-room capacity of about 4.800. The city has a greater population of about 55,000.The eighth-place Quebec Remparts and fifth-place Hull Olympiques are the QMJHL&rsquo;s first playoff casualties.Shawinigan dispatched the Remparts in four consecutive games in the quarterfinal series by scores of 5-3, 6-1,8-3 and 7-5. Sergio Momesso (7-6-13) and Marc Damphousse (4-6-10) led the way offensively and are second and third, respectively, in playoff scoring.Fourth-place Verdun Junior Canadiens received 11 goals and five assists from winger Claude Lemieux while eliminating the Olympiques in five games. Verdun took a 3-0 lead in the series with 9-2, 6-2 and 7-2 victories, dropped the fourth game 6-4 in Hull and advanced to the semifinal with a 7-1 win back in Verdun. &#9632;

Memorial Cup Finally Finds Home

<h2>Tue. Apr. 2</h2>BOSTON 4, QUEBEC 6<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-01492/5187683-1-eng-US/f0033-012.jpg" title="f0033-01" width="552" height="1000"></div>HARTFORD 1, BUFFALO 2<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-02347/5187676-1-eng-US/f0033-022.jpg" title="f0033-02" width="546" height="708"></div>PITTSBURGH 3, ISLANDERS 4<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-03248/5187669-1-eng-US/f0033-032.jpg" title="f0033-03" width="542" height="91"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-04191/5187662-1-eng-US/f0033-042.jpg" title="f0033-04" width="564" height="762"></div>PHILADELPHIA 2, RANGERS 1<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-05158/5187655-1-eng-US/f0033-052.jpg" title="f0033-05" width="538" height="736"></div>NEW JERSEY 4, ST. LOUIS 8<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-06132/5187648-1-eng-US/f0033-062.jpg" title="f0033-06" width="534" height="381"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-07119/5187641-1-eng-US/f0033-072.jpg" title="f0033-07" width="547" height="706"></div>EDMONTON 6, LOS ANGELES 4<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-0899/5187634-1-eng-US/f0033-082.jpg" title="f0033-08" width="566" height="868"></div><h2>Wed. Apr. 3</h2>NEW JERSEY 0, CHICAGO 5<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-0987/5187627-1-eng-US/f0033-092.jpg" title="f0033-09" width="560" height="616"></div>DETROIT 3. PITTSBURGH 2<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-1082/5187620-1-eng-US/f0033-102.jpg" title="f0033-10" width="548" height="705"></div>TORONTO 7, MINNESOTA 9<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-1178/5187613-1-eng-US/f0033-112.jpg" title="f0033-11" width="536" height="180"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-1277/5187606-1-eng-US/f0033-122.jpg" title="f0033-12" width="542" height="1192"></div>VANCOUVER 3, CALGARY 5<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-1362/5187599-1-eng-US/f0033-132.jpg" title="f0033-13" width="536" height="387"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-2130/5187592-1-eng-US/f0035-212.jpg" title="f0035-21" width="542" height="284"></div><h2>Thu. Apr. 4</h2>BUFFALO 3, BOSTON 5<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-2224/5187585-1-eng-US/f0035-222.jpg" title="f0035-22" width="549" height="834"></div>WASHINGTON 0, HARTFORD 2<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-2324/5187578-1-eng-US/f0035-232.jpg" title="f0035-23" width="546" height="649"></div>QUEBEC 1, MONTREAL 7<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-2421/5187571-1-eng-US/f0035-242.jpg" title="f0035-24" width="549" height="559"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-2520/5187564-1-eng-US/f0035-252.jpg" title="f0035-25" width="546" height="377"></div>ISLANDERS 0, PHILAD. 3<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-2619/5187557-1-eng-US/f0035-262.jpg" title="f0035-26" width="553" height="640"></div>RANGERS 5, ST. LOUIS 4<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-2716/5187550-1-eng-US/f0035-272.jpg" title="f0035-27" width="545" height="178"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-2816/5187543-1-eng-US/f0035-282.jpg" title="f0035-28" width="564" height="769"></div><h2>Fri. Apr. 5</h2>CALGARY 5, EDMONTON 5<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-2916/5187536-1-eng-US/f0035-292.jpg" title="f0035-29" width="537" height="440"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-3016/5187529-1-eng-US/f0035-302.jpg" title="f0035-30" width="552" height="758"></div>L. ANGELES 4, VANCOUVER 3<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-3116/5187522-1-eng-US/f0035-312.jpg" title="f0035-31" width="551" height="460"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-01506/5187515-1-eng-US/f0036-012.jpg" title="f0036-01" width="562" height="378"></div><h2>Sat. Apr. 6</h2>BOSTON 4, MONTREAL 4<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-02380/5187508-1-eng-US/f0036-022.jpg" title="f0036-02" width="573" height="1078"></div>QUEBEC 1, HARTFORD 2<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-03304/5187501-1-eng-US/f0036-032.jpg" title="f0036-03" width="513" height="88"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-04223/5187494-1-eng-US/f0036-042.jpg" title="f0036-04" width="560" height="646"></div>BUFFALO 5, TORONTO 2<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-05178/5187487-1-eng-US/f0036-052.jpg" title="f0036-05" width="586" height="524"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-06156/5187480-1-eng-US/f0036-062.jpg" title="f0036-06" width="542" height="233"></div>N. JERSEY 5, ISLANDERS 5<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-07148/5187473-1-eng-US/f0036-072.jpg" title="f0036-07" width="584" height="972"></div>WASH. 7, PITTSBURGH 4<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-08143/5187466-1-eng-US/f0036-082.jpg" title="f0036-08" width="550" height="880"></div>CHICAGO 2, DETROIT 2<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-09137/5187459-1-eng-US/f0036-092.jpg" title="f0036-09" width="562" height="615"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-10134/5187452-1-eng-US/f0036-102.jpg" title="f0036-10" width="552" height="181"></div>ST. LOUIS 4, MINNESOTA 3<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-11130/5187445-1-eng-US/f0036-112.jpg" title="f0036-11" width="558" height="739"></div>WINNIPEG 6, EDMONTON 5<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-12125/5187438-1-eng-US/f0036-122.jpg" title="f0036-12" width="566" height="962"></div>VANCOUVER 4, L. ANGELES 4<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-13122/5187431-1-eng-US/f0036-132.jpg" title="f0036-13" width="572" height="934"></div><h2>Sun. Apr. 7</h2>TORONTO 1, BOSTON 5<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-14115/5187424-1-eng-US/f0036-142.jpg" title="f0036-14" width="554" height="320"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-15114/5187417-1-eng-US/f0036-152.jpg" title="f0036-15" width="539" height="226"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-01439/5187410-1-eng-US/f0037-012.jpg" title="f0037-01" width="538" height="152"></div>HARTFORD 1, QUEBEC 4<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-02316/5187403-1-eng-US/f0037-022.jpg" title="f0037-02" width="538" height="139"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-03243/5187396-1-eng-US/f0037-032.jpg" title="f0037-03" width="558" height="381"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-04200/5187389-1-eng-US/f0037-042.jpg" title="f0037-04" width="543" height="370"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-05174/5187382-1-eng-US/f0037-052.jpg" title="f0037-05" width="548" height="147"></div>MONTREAL 5, BUFFALO 4<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-06150/5187375-1-eng-US/f0037-062.jpg" title="f0037-06" width="540" height="184"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-07128/5187368-1-eng-US/f0037-072.jpg" title="f0037-07" width="532" height="330"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-01482/5187361-1-eng-US/f0039-012.jpg" title="f0039-01" width="547" height="406"></div>RANGERS 1, CHICAGO 3<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-02332/5187354-1-eng-US/f0039-022.jpg" title="f0039-02" width="554" height="411"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-03239/5187347-1-eng-US/f0039-032.jpg" title="f0039-03" width="551" height="295"></div>PHILAD. 6, NEW JERSEY 1<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-04196/5187340-1-eng-US/f0039-042.jpg" title="f0039-04" width="546" height="787"></div>PITTSBURGH 3, WASH. 7<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-05159/5187333-1-eng-US/f0039-052.jpg" title="f0039-05" width="548" height="1021"></div>DETROIT 5, ST. LOUIS 6<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-06135/5187326-1-eng-US/f0039-062.jpg" title="f0039-06" width="540" height="1111"></div>WINNIPEG 4, CALGARY 4<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-07119/5187319-1-eng-US/f0039-072.jpg" title="f0039-07" width="541" height="187"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-08107/5187312-1-eng-US/f0039-082.jpg" title="f0039-08" width="552" height="442"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-0995/5187305-1-eng-US/f0039-092.jpg" title="f0039-09" width="545" height="444"></div> &#9632;

f0033-01

NATIONAL LEAGUE SUMMARIES

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-02438/5188043-1-eng-US/f0034-022.jpg" title="f0034-02" width="729" height="1011"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-01561/5188050-1-eng-US/f0034-012.jpg" title="f0034-01" width="119" height="119"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><h2>BOSTON BRUINS</h2><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-03338/5188036-1-eng-US/f0034-032.jpg" title="f0034-03" width="118" height="117"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><h2>BUFFALO SABRES</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-04242/5188029-1-eng-US/f0034-042.jpg" title="f0034-04" width="738" height="916"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-05187/5188022-1-eng-US/f0034-052.jpg" title="f0034-05" width="137" height="121"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><h2>CALGARY FLAMES</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-06160/5188015-1-eng-US/f0034-062.jpg" title="f0034-06" width="732" height="808"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-07147/5188008-1-eng-US/f0034-072.jpg" title="f0034-07" width="135" height="118"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><h2>CHICAGO BLACK HAWKS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-08138/5188001-1-eng-US/f0034-082.jpg" title="f0034-08" width="725" height="309"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-09125/5187994-1-eng-US/f0034-092.jpg" title="f0034-09" width="728" height="516"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-10122/5187987-1-eng-US/f0034-102.jpg" title="f0034-10" width="146" height="98"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><h2>DETROIT RED WINGS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-11113/5187980-1-eng-US/f0034-112.jpg" title="f0034-11" width="723" height="864"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-12109/5187973-1-eng-US/f0034-122.jpg" title="f0034-12" width="124" height="116"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><h2>EDMONTON OILERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-13100/5187966-1-eng-US/f0034-132.jpg" title="f0034-13" width="730" height="915"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-1496/5187959-1-eng-US/f0034-142.jpg" title="f0034-14" width="135" height="118"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><h2>HARTFORD WHALERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-1592/5187952-1-eng-US/f0034-152.jpg" title="f0034-15" width="726" height="883"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-1691/5187945-1-eng-US/f0034-162.jpg" title="f0034-16" width="725" height="160"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-1784/5187938-1-eng-US/f0034-172.jpg" title="f0034-17" width="185" height="114"></div><h2>LOS ANGELES KINGS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-1880/5187931-1-eng-US/f0034-182.jpg" title="f0034-18" width="726" height="871"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-1976/5187924-1-eng-US/f0034-192.jpg" title="f0034-19" width="139" height="122"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><h2>MINNESOTA NORTH STARS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-2067/5187917-1-eng-US/f0034-202.jpg" title="f0034-20" width="734" height="1270"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-2157/5187910-1-eng-US/f0034-212.jpg" title="f0034-21" width="147" height="93"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><h2>MONTREAL CANADIENS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-2252/5187903-1-eng-US/f0034-222.jpg" title="f0034-22" width="741" height="919"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-2349/5187896-1-eng-US/f0034-232.jpg" title="f0034-23" width="101" height="93"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><h2>NEW JERSEY DEVILS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-2444/5187889-1-eng-US/f0034-242.jpg" title="f0034-24" width="738" height="820"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-2535/5187882-1-eng-US/f0034-252.jpg" title="f0034-25" width="136" height="130"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><h2>NEW YORK ISLANDERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-2628/5187875-1-eng-US/f0034-262.jpg" title="f0034-26" width="722" height="862"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-2723/5187868-1-eng-US/f0034-272.jpg" title="f0034-27" width="122" height="125"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><h2>NEW YORK RANGERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-2816/5187861-1-eng-US/f0034-282.jpg" title="f0034-28" width="728" height="460"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-01530/5187854-1-eng-US/f0035-012.jpg" title="f0035-01" width="716" height="530"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-02422/5187847-1-eng-US/f0035-022.jpg" title="f0035-02" width="143" height="104"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><h2>PHILADELPHIA FLYERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-03335/5187840-1-eng-US/f0035-032.jpg" title="f0035-03" width="722" height="806"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-04275/5187833-1-eng-US/f0035-042.jpg" title="f0035-04" width="132" height="125"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div>PITTSBURGH PENGUINS<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-05226/5187826-1-eng-US/f0035-052.jpg" title="f0035-05" width="732" height="606"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-06206/5187819-1-eng-US/f0035-062.jpg" title="f0035-06" width="712" height="528"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-07194/5187812-1-eng-US/f0035-072.jpg" title="f0035-07" width="127" height="116"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><h2>QUEBEC NORDIQUES</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-08173/5187805-1-eng-US/f0035-082.jpg" title="f0035-08" width="737" height="955"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-09164/5187798-1-eng-US/f0035-092.jpg" title="f0035-09" width="131" height="124"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><h2>ST. LOUIS BLUES</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-10143/5187791-1-eng-US/f0035-102.jpg" title="f0035-10" width="714" height="496"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-11131/5187784-1-eng-US/f0035-112.jpg" title="f0035-11" width="712" height="307"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-12115/5187777-1-eng-US/f0035-122.jpg" title="f0035-12" width="148" height="144"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><h2>TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-13101/5187770-1-eng-US/f0035-132.jpg" title="f0035-13" width="723" height="1011"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-1483/5187763-1-eng-US/f0035-142.jpg" title="f0035-14" width="112" height="103"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><h2>VANCOUVER CANUCKS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-1573/5187756-1-eng-US/f0035-152.jpg" title="f0035-15" width="714" height="626"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-1667/5187749-1-eng-US/f0035-162.jpg" title="f0035-16" width="726" height="256"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-1751/5187742-1-eng-US/f0035-172.jpg" title="f0035-17" width="159" height="88"></div><h2>WASHINGTON CAPITALS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-1844/5187735-1-eng-US/f0035-182.jpg" title="f0035-18" width="729" height="853"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-1939/5187728-1-eng-US/f0035-192.jpg" title="f0035-19" width="123" height="113"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><h2>WINNIPEG JETS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-2036/5187721-1-eng-US/f0035-202.jpg" title="f0035-20" width="711" height="826"></div><h2>Top Scorers</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-2914/5187714-1-eng-US/f0034-292.jpg" title="f0034-29" width="742" height="794"></div> &#9632;

f0034-02

FINAL NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE SCORING FOR 1984-85 SEASON

(Final Standings)<h2>CAMPBELL CONFERENCE</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-16111/5188095-1-eng-US/f0036-162.jpg" title="f0036-16" width="554" height="420"></div><h2>WALES CONFERENCE</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-17105/5188088-1-eng-US/f0036-172.jpg" title="f0036-17" width="555" height="448"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Tue. Apr. 2Boston 4 at Quebec 6Hartford 1 at Buffalo 2Pittsburgh 3 at NY Islanders 4Philadelphia 2 at NY Rangers 1New Jersey 4 at St. Louis 8Edmonton 6 at Los Angeles 4Wed. Apr. 3New Jersey 0 at Chicago 5Detroit 3 at Pittsburgh 2Toronto 7 at Minnesota 9Vancouver 3 at Calgary 5Thu. Apr. 4Buffalo 3 at Boston 5Washington 0 at Hartford 2Quebec 1 at Montreal 7NY Islanders 0 at Philadelphia 3NY Rangers 5 at St. Louis 4Fri. Apr. 5Calgary 5 at Edmonton 5 (OT)Los Angeles 4 at Vancouver 3Sat. Apr. 6Boston 4 at Montreal 4 (OT)Quebec 1 at Hartford 2Buffalo 5 at Toronto 2New Jersey 5 at NY Islanders 5 (OT)Washington 7 at Pittsburgh 4Chicago 2 at Detroit 2 (OT)St. Louis 4 at Minnesota 3Winnipeg 6 at Edmonton 5Vancouver 4 at Los Angeles 4 (OT)Sun. Apr. 7Toronto 1 at Boston 5Hartford 1 at Quebec 4Montreal 5 at Buffalo 4NY Rangers 1 at Chicago 3Philadelphia 6 at New Jersey 1Pittsburgh 3 at Washington 7Detroit 5 at St. Louis 6 {OT)Winnipeg 4 at Calgary 4 (OT)(End of regular schedule)<h2>FINAL POINTS RACE</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-18100/5188081-1-eng-US/f0036-182.jpg" title="f0036-18" width="562" height="648"></div>(*-Missed post-season playoffs) &#9632;

f0036-16

THE NHL SCOREBOARD

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-1998/5188133-1-eng-US/f0036-192.jpg" title="f0036-19" width="555" height="368"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-2093/5188126-1-eng-US/f0036-202.jpg" title="f0036-20" width="555" height="364"></div> &#9632;

f0036-19

National League Rookie Leaders

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-08105/5188164-1-eng-US/f0037-082.jpg" title="f0037-08" width="510" height="1519"></div>In the closing weeks of the National Hockey League regular season, the Hartford Whalers enjoyed a great deal of success. Much of this can be attributed to the fact that the Whalers were out of the playoff race and didn&rsquo;t face any pressure.But some of the credit has to go to rookie defenseman Ulf Samuelsson, the hard-nosed native of Leksands, Sweden, who played impressively since being called up from Binghamton of the American League.The 6-foot-1, 187-pounder, who was Hartford&rsquo;s fourth choice, 67th overall, in the 1982 NHL entry draft, played in 41 games, scoring twice and adding six assists to go along with a plus-minus rating of minus-8.But the 21-year-old exhibited some fine skills and a willingness to mix it up, qualities which should help land him a starting spot with the Whalers next fall. &#9632;

f0037-08

Chrysler Rookie Spotlight

<h2>AMERICAN LEAGUE</h2>(Final Standings)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-01512/5188321-1-eng-US/f0038-012.jpg" title="f0038-01" width="558" height="506"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Tue. Apr. 2Springfield 2 at Fredericton 5Wed. Apr. 3Maine 2 at Adirondack 4Springfield 6 at Moncton 10Sherbrooke 5 at New Haven 3Binghamton 5 at St. Catharines 4Thu. Apr. 4Adirondack 4 at Baltimore 3Moncton 4 at Fredericton 4Hershey 4 at St. Catharines 1Fri. Apr. 5Adirondack 3 at Binghamton 8Baltimore 2 at New Haven 5Sherbrooke 3 at Nova Scotia 7Hershey 4 at Rochester 4Maine 5 at Springfield 4Sat. Apr. 6Nova Scotia 1 at Fredericton 2Baltimore 4 at Hershey 1Binghamton 3 at Maine 3Sherbrooke 8 at Moncton 5Rochester 3 at St Catharines 7New Haven 3 at Springfield 5Sun. Apr. 7Moncton 1 at Nova Scotia 4St Catharines 3 at Rochester 13Springfield 4 at Sherbrooke 5(End of regular schedule)<h3>FINAL SCORING LEADERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-02404/5188314-1-eng-US/f0038-022.jpg" title="f0038-02" width="546" height="358"></div><h2>INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE</h2>(Standings on Mon. Apr. 8)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-03325/5188307-1-eng-US/f0038-032.jpg" title="f0038-03" width="550" height="383"></div>(Teams get point for overtime loss)<h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Mon. Apr. 1Muskegon 6 at Salt Lake 5Wed. Apr. 3Salt Lake 3 at Flint 2Kalamazoo 2 at Toledo 1Indianapolis 3 at Milwaukee 5Fort Wayne 1 at Muskegon 4Thu. Apr. 4Mdwaukee 4 at Peoria 5Fri. Apr. 5Muskegon 6 at Kalamazoo 4Hint 4 at Toledo 7Indianapolis 4 at Milwaukee 3Salt Lake 3 at Peoria 5Sat Apr. 6Toledo 4 at Fort Wayne 6Peoria 1 at Muskegon 3Indianapolis 2 at Hint 3Salt Lake 2 at Kalamazoo 2Sun. Apr. 7Milwaukee 1 at Indianapolis 7Muskegon 7 at Fort Wayne 2Peoria 7 at Toledo 1<h3>LEADING SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-04247/5188300-1-eng-US/f0038-042.jpg" title="f0038-04" width="549" height="329"></div><h2>ATLANTIC COAST LEAGUE</h2>PLAYOFFSSemi-Finals<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-05172/5188293-1-eng-US/f0038-052.jpg" title="f0038-05" width="552" height="94"></div>(Erie wins best-of-seven series 4-2)<h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Thu. Mar. 28Pine Bridge 2 at Erie 6Fri. Mar. 29Pine Bridge 5 at Erie 3Sat. Mar 30Pine Bridge 2 at Erie 3Tue. Apr. 2Erie 3 at Pine Bridge 4Thu. Apr. 4Erie 5 at Pine Bridge 2Fri. Apr. 5Erie 5 at Pine Bridge 4<h3>Finals</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-06134/5188286-1-eng-US/f0038-062.jpg" title="f0038-06" width="553" height="94"></div>(Carolina leads best-of-seven series 1-0)<h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Sat. Apr. 6Erie 2 at Carolina 3<h3>GAMES TO COME</h3>Mon. Apr. 8Erie at CarolinaTue. Apr. 9Carolina at ErieWed. Apr. 10Carolina at ErieTue. Apr. 16Erie at CarolinaThu. Apr. 18Carolina at ErieSat. Apr. 20Erie at Carolina<h3>LEADING PLAYOFF SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-07120/5188279-1-eng-US/f0038-072.jpg" title="f0038-07" width="550" height="300"></div><h2>ONTARIO LEAGUE</h2>PLAYOFFSSemi-Finals<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-08103/5188272-1-eng-US/f0038-082.jpg" title="f0038-08" width="535" height="91"></div>(Belleville leads six-point series 4-2)<h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Wed. Apr. 3Cornwall 3 at Belleville 2Thu. Apr. 4Belleville 9 at Cornwall 5Sat. Apr. 6Cornwall 1 at Belleville 5<h3>GAMES TO COME</h3>Mon. Apr. 8Belleville at CornwallWed. Apr. 10Cornwall at BellevilleThu. Apr. 11Belleville at CornwallQuarter-Finals<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-0992/5188265-1-eng-US/f0038-092.jpg" title="f0038-09" width="559" height="93"></div>(Hamilton wins eight-point series 9-7)Mon. Apr. 1North Bay 3 at Hamilton 4Semi-Finals<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-1088/5188258-1-eng-US/f0038-102.jpg" title="f0038-10" width="552" height="100"></div>(Hamilton leads six-point series 4-2<h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Tue. Apr. 2Hamilton 5 at London 3Thu. Apr. 4London 6 at Hamilton 8Fri. Apr. 5Hamilton 3 at London 7<h3>GAMES TO COME</h3>Tue. Apr. 9London at HamiltonWed. Apr. 10Hamilton at LondonThu. Apr. 11London at Hamilton<h2>WESTERN LEAGUE</h2>PLAYOFFSSemi-Finals<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-1182/5188251-1-eng-US/f0038-112.jpg" title="f0038-11" width="548" height="94"></div>(Prince Albert wins best-of-seven series 4-0)<h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Wed. Apr. 3Calgary 2 at Prince Albert 9Thu. Apr. 4Calgary 1 at Prince Albert 8Sat. Apr. 6Prince Albert 8 at Calgary 6Sun. Apr. 7Prince Albert 6 at Calgary 2<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-1276/5188244-1-eng-US/f0038-122.jpg" title="f0038-12" width="553" height="95"></div>(Medicine Hat leads best-of-seven series 3-1)<h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Tue. Apr. 2Regina 2 at Medicine Hat 3Wed. Apr. 3Regina 3 at Medicine Hat 5Fri. Apr. 5Medicine Hat 4 at Regina 3Sun. Apr. 7Medicine Hat 3 at Regina 4<h3>GAMES TO COME</h3>Tue. Apr. 9Regina at Medicine HatThu. Apr. 11Medicine Hat at ReginaSat. Apr. 13Regina at Medicine Hat<h3>WESTERN DIVISION</h3>Semi-Finals<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-1367/5188237-1-eng-US/f0038-132.jpg" title="f0038-13" width="553" height="97"></div>(Kamloops wins best-of-nine series 5-1<h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Thu. Mar. 28Portland 3 at Kamloops 9Fri. Mar. 29Portland 4 at Kamloops 7Mon. Apr. 1Kamloops 3 at Portland 4Wed. Apr. 3Kamloops 4 at Portland 3Fri. Apr. 5Portland 3 at Kamloops 13Sat. Apr. 6Kamloops 6 at Portland 1<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-1460/5188230-1-eng-US/f0038-142.jpg" title="f0038-14" width="563" height="90"></div>(New Westminster wins best-of-nine series 5-1)<h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Thu. Mar. 28Kelowna 3 at New Westminster 5Fri. Mar. 29Kelowna 4 at New Westminster 5Sun. Mar. 31New Westminster 6 at Kelowna 5Mon. Apr. 1New Westminster 4 at Kelowna 6Thu. Apr. 4Kelowna 1 at New Westminster 6Fri. Apr. 5New Westminster 4 at Kelowna 3<h2>QUEBEC LEAGUE</h2>PLAYOFFSQuarter-Finals<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-1558/5188223-1-eng-US/f0038-152.jpg" title="f0038-15" width="542" height="91"></div>(Shawinigan wins best-of-seven series 4-0)<h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Sun. Mar. 24Quebec 3 at Shawinigan 5Mon. Mar. 25Shawinigan 6 at Quebec 1Fri. Mar. 29Quebec 1 at Shawinigan 8Mon. Apr. 1Shawinigan 7 at Quebec 5<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-1654/5188216-1-eng-US/f0038-162.jpg" title="f0038-16" width="546" height="90"></div>(Chicoutimi wins best-of-seven series 4-1)<h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Mon. Mar. 25St. Jean 2 at Chicoutimi 5Fri. Mar. 29Chicoutimi 3 at St. Jean 5Sun. Mar. 31St Jean 5 at Chicoutimi 8Wed. Apr. 3Chicoutimi 7 at St Jean 3Fri. Apr. 5St. Jean 5 at Chicoutimi 7<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-1750/5188209-1-eng-US/f0038-172.jpg" title="f0038-17" width="549" height="96"></div>(Drummondville wins best-of-seven series 4-3)<h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Sun. Mar. 24T-Rivieres 7 at Drummondvilie 5Wed. Mar. 27Drummondvilie 2 at T-Rivieres 3Fri. Mar. 29T-Rivieres 5 at Drummondvilie 4Sun. Mar. 31Drummondvilie 7 at T-Rivieres 6Wed. Apr. 3T-Rivieres 4 at Drummondvilie 6Sat. Apr. 6Drummondvilie 6 at T-Rivieres 3Sun. Apr. 7T-Rivieres 2 at Drummondvilie 4<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-1846/5188202-1-eng-US/f0038-182.jpg" title="f0038-18" width="566" height="90"></div>(Verdun wins best-of-seven series 4-1)<h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Sun. Mar. 24Hull 2 at Verdun 9Wed. Mar. 27Verdun 6 at Hull 2Fri. Mar. 29Hull 2 at Verdun 7Sun. Mar. 31Verdun 4 at Hull 6Mon. Apr. 1Hutt 1 at Verdun 7<h2>PRAVDA CUP</h2>(Final Standings)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-1944/5188195-1-eng-US/f0038-192.jpg" title="f0038-19" width="550" height="179"></div><h3>GAMES COMPLETED</h3>Canada 4, Finland 4Soviets defeated Sweden(score unavailable)Czechoslovakia 5, Canada 3Soviets 11, Finland 5Sweden 4, Czechoslovakia 2Sweden 5, Finland 0Soviets 5, Canada 1Czechs defeated Finland(score unavailable)Sweden 4, Canada 2Soviets 3, Czechoslovakia 1(Soviet Union wins cup) &#9632;

f0038-01

MINOR SCOREBOARD

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0039-10" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-1085/5188352-1-eng-US/f0039-102.jpg"></div> &#9632;

f0039-10

Final NHL Goaltending

<h2>CAMPBELL CONFERENCE</h2>Semi-FinalsNORRIS DIVISION<h3>MINNESOTA vs ST LOUIS</h3>Wed. Apr. 10 at St. LouisThu. Apr. 11 at St. LouisSat. Apr. 13 at MinnesotaSun. Apr. 14 at MinnesotaTue. Apr. 16 at St. Louis<h3>DETROIT vs CHICAGO</h3>Wed. Apr. 10 at ChicagoThu. Apr. 11 at ChicagoSat. Apr. 13 at DetroitSun. Apr. 14 at DetroitTue. Apr. 16 at ChicagoSMYTHE DIVISION<h3>LOS ANGELES vs EDMONTON</h3>Wed. Apr. 10 at EdmontonThu. Apr. 11 at EdmontonSat. Apr. 13 at Los AngelesSun. Apr. 14 at Los AngelesTue. Apr. 16 at Edmonton<h3>CALGARY vs WINNIPEG</h3>Wed. Apr. 10 at WinnipegThu. Apr. 11 at WinnipegSat. Apr. 13 at CalgarySun. Apr. 14 at CalgaryTue. Apr. 16 at Winnipeg(All first-round division playoff series best-of-five)DIVISION FINALSGame 1 Thu. Apr. 18Game 2 Sat. or Sun. Apr. 20-21Game 3 Tue. Apr. 23Game 4 Thu. Apr. 25Game 5 Sat. or Sun. Apr. 27-28Game 6 Tue. Apr. 30Game 7 Thu. May 1(All second- and third-round playoff series best-of-seven)<h2>WALES CONFERENCE</h2>Semi-FinalsADAMS DIVISION<h3>BOSTON vs MONTREAL</h3>Wed. Apr. 10 at MontrealThu. Apr. 11 at MontrealSat. Apr. 13 at BostonSun. Apr. 14 at BostonTue. Apr. 16 at Montreal<h3>BUFFALO vs QUEBEC</h3>Wed. Apr. 10 at QuebecThu. Apr. 11 at QuebecSat. Apr. 13 at BuffaloSun. Apr. 14 at BuffaloTue. Apr. 16 at QuebecPATRICK DIVISION<h3>NY RANGERS vs PHILADELPHIA</h3>Wed. Apr. 10 at PhiladelphiaThu. Apr. 11 at PhiladelphiaSat. Apr. 13 at New YorkSun. Apr. 14 at New YorkTue. Apr. 16 at Philadelphia<h3>NY ISLANDERS vs WASHINGTON</h3>Wed. Apr. 10 at WashingtonThu. Apr. 11 at WashingtonSat. Apr. 13 at New YorkSun. Apr. 14 at New YorkTue. Apr. 16 at Washington<h3>CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS</h3>Game 1 Sat. or Sun. May 4-5Game 2 Tue. May 7Game 3 Thu. May 9Game 4 Sat. or Sun. May 11-12Game 5 Tue. May 14Game 6 Thu. May 16Game 7 Sat. or Sun. May 18-19<h3>STANLEY CUP FINALS</h3>Game 1 Tue. May 21Game 2 Thu. May 23Game 3 Sat. or Sun. May 25-26Game 4 Tue. May 28Game 5 Thu. May 30Game 6 Sat. or Sun. June 1-2Game 7 Tue. June 4(Final series best-of-seven with home ice advantage to Wales Conference) &#9632;

Stanley Cup Playoff Dates

<div class="byline">BY VARTAN KUPELIAN</div><h2>DETROIT RED WINGS</h2><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/c0004-01188/5188407-1-eng-US/c0004-012.jpg" title="C0004-01" width="149" height="99"></div>DETROIT&mdash;Steve Yzerman did and didn&rsquo;t have a good season.If that sounds confusing, then allow for a little explanation. The final regular-season statistics show Yzerman, the 19-year-old, second-year professional, with a total of 89 points, two better than his output last season. His 59 assists tied him with Gordie Howe for the second-most in that category in the 59-year history of the Wings. Only Marcel Dionne, with 74, had more.But it hasn&rsquo;t been the kind of season Yzerman, or his followers, anticipated after his brilliant rookie campaign. Even Yzerman knows he could have played better.Even so, Yzerman will be a pivotal performer for the Wings in their openin-ground playoff match against Chicago.A little more than a week before the regular season ended, Yzerman broke out of a mini slump by scoring three goals&mdash;Nos. 27, 28 and 29&mdash;in the Wings&rsquo; 9-3 romp over Toronto.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m looser now,&rdquo; Yzerman said after the game. I&rsquo;ll be going into the playoffs on a little high and that&rsquo;s better than going in during a slump and worrying about a lot of things.&rdquo;&ldquo;I&rsquo;d still not playing like I can,&rdquo; he added, his tone suggesting that he feels he&rsquo;s getting closer to his accustomed level.&ldquo;I&rsquo;d shooting the puck more now, I wasn&rsquo;t before. I was hesitating, delaying that extra half-second.&rdquo;It was Yzerman&rsquo;s second career hat trick, both against the Leafs.&ldquo;The other was last year, that was nine-to-something, too,&rdquo; he said.The score was 9-2.Yzerman scored six goals in eight games against the Leafs this season, after netting eight last year against Toronto. A lot of NHL players do well against the Leafs.&ldquo;They weren&rsquo;t pretty,&rdquo; Yzerman said of his three goals. &ldquo;But I&rsquo;ll take &rsquo;em/It was nice to see &rsquo;em go in. There was a sigh of relief. Granted, they came late in the game (third period), but I&rsquo;ll take &rsquo;em.&ldquo;When the second one went in (from deep in the comer), I figured it was just one of those nights that a couple were going to go in. I haven&rsquo;t had one of those (games) in a long time. Hopefully now they&rsquo;ll start to go in.&rdquo;Of the Wings&rsquo; series with Chicago, Yzerman said: &ldquo;Chicago is a tough building to play in, with the crowd and the foghorn. With the fans behind them, (Denis) Savard gets pumped up.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve outplayed Chicago, but that&rsquo;s not indicative of what can happen because we outplayed St. Louis last season and lost to them in the playoffs.&rdquo;In either case, the Wings accomplished a very important goal.&ldquo;We wanted to finish third.&rdquo; said captain Danny Gare. &ldquo;It was very positive to finish as high as last year.&rdquo; &#9632;</div>

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April 19, 1985

Hawk Players Give Pulford Passing Grade

T-Birds Reach The Final For Third Time In A Row

The First And Maybe Last Awards By Steve Simmons

Player Of The Week