Search for your favorite player or team
© The Hockey News. All rights reserved. Any and all material on this website cannot be used, reproduced, or distributed without prior written permission from Roustan Media Ltd. For more information, please see our Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.
April 4, 1986
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.
As ‘Gus’ Goes, So Go The Capitals
LANDOVER—As the Washington Capitals were defeating the Philadelphia Flyers 6-5 to creep back within one point of the Patrick Division lead, Bengt Gustafsson absorbed a crunching check from the Flyers’ Dave Brown. Instead of seeking solace at the bench, Gustafsson stayed on the ice and a few moments later it was his turn. Gustafsson, 6-feet and 192 pounds, leveled the 6-foot-5, 205-pound Brown. “There goes the Europeans’ reputation,” cracked the Capitals’ television announcer, Mike Fornes. If that reputation means shunning the comers and skating away from tough guys, Gustafsson destroyed it a long time ago. The Swede has a history of dealing solid checks to off-balance opponents and one of his best came earlier this season in Edmonton, when he jarred Dave Semenko. Gustafsson is a superb two-way forward and perhaps the principal detraction…
QUAKER STATE ROOKIE PROFILES
You can forgive Boston Bruins’ coach Butch Goring if he should crow about good things coming in small packages. Because he should, if he’s talking about Bruin rookie Randy Burridge. Burridge, an eighth-round draft pick (157th overall) in the 1985 draft, had 16 goals, 37 points and was second only to Rick Middleton on the Bruins in plus-minus ratings after 47 games with the Bruins. The 5-foot-9 left winger has been with the Bruins since November 15. Brought up from the Peterborough Petes of the Ontario League, Burridge stayed with the Bruins after a five-game tryout, and worked hard to stay with the team. He is eligible to return to the Petes should the Memorial Cup contender’s season end before Boston’s. “He plays with the same intensity I did,” said Goring. “He’s aggressive and…
This Henning’s Magic Show A Hit With The North Stars
“THIS TEAM HAS character,” said its coach. And it wasn’t the coach of the Flyers, Capitals or Oilers talking. Nor the coach of the Flames or Bruins or Whalers. Not even the puffing coach of the Penguins. These words came from Lome Henning, the man behind the Minnesota North Stars’ bench. The North Stars have had characters—but character? What’s next for Lome Henning, stand-up comedy? A spot on the Carson show? Late Night with Lome? But it’s true. Or so it seems. And it’s most disturbing for those of us who have made a living poking fun at the NHL team most suited to poke fun at. My days of poking fun at the North Stars are over. For now. There is nothing terribly funny about the North Stars’ anymore. They’re playing well. They’re well coached. Even Lou Nanne…
Less Is More-More Or Less
The first thing you should know is that Igor Dmitrev has a pretty good working knowledge of the English language, not to mention the intricacies of hockey in the Soviet Union. So when the coach of the Moscow Selects, who just wound up an eight-game tour of Canada, responded with, at first, a blank stare, then a quizzical glance and finally a look of total incomprehension, it wasn’t because the words put to him were foreign. It was the concept he had difficulty grasping. Size, apparently, is a North American preoccupation. It certainly isn’t in the Soviet Union. How else can you explain the presence of so many “small” players on the Soviet Union’s top club team—Central Army? Igor Larionov is 5-foot-9, 155 pounds; Vladimir Krutov, 5-foot-9, 180; Sergei Makarov, 5-foot-8, 165; Mikhail Varnakov, 5-foot-9,…
Made possible with the support of
