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.

October 23, 1987

The Hockey News October 23, 1987

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0038-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-01557/5410431-1-eng-US/f0038-012.jpg"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-01526/5410424-1-eng-US/f0039-012.jpg" title="f0039-01" width="3103" height="3231"></div> &#9632;

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Departments

NHL STATISTICAL REPORT

<div class="byline">BY MIKE PERRICONE</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0036-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-02412/5410262-1-eng-US/f0036-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Former Capital Bob Mason put too much pressure on himself in the Blackhawk opener, but rebounded against the Flyers.</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-01551/5410269-1-eng-US/f0036-012.jpg" title="f0036-01" width="181" height="139"></div>CHICAGO&mdash;Don&rsquo;t get too high or too low. It was Bob Mason&rsquo;s advice to himself, and good advice for the Chicago Blackhawks to follow.Mason, the former Washington Capital signed by the Hawks to a $1 million free agent contract, vindicated himself with 33 saves as the Hawks beat the Philadelphia Flyers at Chicago Stadium for their first victory of the season.&ldquo;I needed a good game and the team was looking for a good game,&rdquo; Mason said. &ldquo;This night was as good as any night to start things off.&rdquo;In his Hawk debut three nights earlier, Mason gave up seven goals to Toronto. That game was the focus of intense interest due to the off-season trade that saw Rick Vaive, Steve Thomas and Bob McGill join Chicago in exchange for Al Secord and Ed Olczyk.&ldquo;He moved much better,&rdquo; Hawks&rsquo; coach Bob Murdoch said of Mason&rsquo;s effort against Philadelphia. &ldquo;He had the jitters that first game. He put too much pressure on himself. He was going to be the savior, coming over to our team. He was gonna do it by himself.&rdquo;Mason said he overcame his opening night case of nerves.&ldquo;I was thinking about too many things the other night,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I wasn&rsquo;t thinking hockey.&ldquo;I think I was a little more relaxed (against the Flyers). That first game was so built-up, there was a lot of hype about the trade and opening night. Obviously, I put a lot of pressure on myself.&rdquo;The Hawks put pressure on themselves by looking like their old selves in their first two losses. They gave up 13 goals to Washington and Toronto, as Mason and rookie Darren Pang were buried by shots from the slot.&ldquo;I think we made a concerted effort to plug up the middle in our zone,&rdquo; said Vaive after the Philadelphia game. &ldquo;In the first two games, something like 11 of the 13 goals were scored right from the slot.&rdquo;Vaive, who had only two goals by December of last season, had four after two-goal efforts against Washington and Philadelphia.NOTES&mdash;Rookie center Brian Noonan made his NHL debut with a goal and assist against Toronto&hellip;Goaltender Murray Bannerman, who was waiting for his first start of the season, is wearing the lightweight leg pads introduced by Boston netminder Reggie Lemelin&hellip;Another hot-starting Hawk was center Troy Murray, who had a goal and five assists in the first three games. Murray also had regained the hard-checking form that won him the Seike Trophy as best defensive forward in 1985-86&hellip;The Hawks were 17th in penalty-killing and last on power plays last year but things were improving. Chicago gave up just two power-play goals in 15 shorthanded situations in the first three games, an 86.7 percentage. The power play connected four times in 15 tries, or 26.7 per cent.<h2>TRANSACTIONS</h2>Oct. 7: Jim Playfair, D, Mark LaVarre, RW, and Bill Watson, LW, assigned to Saginaw.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Denis Savard, Troy Murray, Brian Noonan, Mike Stapleton, Steve Ludzik.LW&mdash;Dan Vincelette, Everett Sani-pass, David Mackey.RW&mdash;Steve Larmer, Rick Vaive, Wayne Presley, Duane Sutter.LD&mdash;Doug Wilson, Behn Wilson, Marc Bergevin, Dave Manson, Glen Cochrane.RD&mdash;Bob McGill, Keith Brown, Bob Murray.G&mdash;Murray Bannerman, Bob Mason, Darren Pang.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Steve Thomas, LW, pulled stomach muscle, day-to-day.Curt Fraser, LW, bruised ribs, day-today.Gary Nylund, RD, bruised elbow, day-to-day. &#9632;

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Vindication Is Mason’s After A Poor Starti

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-03267/5410362-1-eng-US/f0037-032.jpg" title="f0037-03" width="371" height="445"><figcaption class="caption-body">Bruce Hood</figcaption></div>Q: In your column of May 29th, you said that a penalty shot would count as a power-play goal if the scoring team was on the power play when the penalty shot was taken, Suppose the scoring team is shorthanded when the penalty shot is awarded. Would the penalty-shot goal then count as a shorthanded goal?Joseph Wyatt, Camden, N.J.A: Yes, it would. The same regulations apply.Q: In reply to a question, you stated in your May 15 column that if the puck deflects into the net off an official, the goal would count. However, in my rulebook, it states that a puck deflected directly into the net by an official would be disallowed. Has this rule been changed, or did you make a mistake?John Charvat, Lynbrook. N. Y.A: It was a mistake. A goal cannot be deflected directly into the goal off of an official.In answering the question originally, I was attempting to indicate that the officials are part of the play and if the puck deflects off one of them, that&rsquo;s part of the game&mdash;though the players don&rsquo;t think so, judging by their comments when a pass hits the ref and is redirected!One night when I was refereeing in the NHL, a pass from the sideboards deflected off my skates onto the stick of an attacking player. He scored, it counted and I got roasted.Q: After an IHL game between the Fort Wayne Komets and Salt Lake Golden Eagles last year, the referee implied he didn&rsquo;t call a delay-of-game penalty after the puck was deliberately flipped into the stands because he did not want Salt Lake to be shorthanded two players. Why would the referee not make the automatic call in that instance? Is it common practice to not call a delay-of-game penalty when a team is already shorthanded?Mike Chesky, Fort Wayne, Ind.A: No, it isn&rsquo;t common practice but a referee will use a wider latitude in calling a second penalty. Sometimes too wide, of course. But even though you refer to the penalty being automatic, there is still a line of judgment involved and it is that which separates the best officials from the rest.It you want your questions answered, write to:ASK THE REFEREE16 Martin StreetMilton, Ont.L9T 2P9All questions will be considered, but only those published will be answered. Personal responses are not possible. &#9632;

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ASK THE REFEREE

<div class="byline">BY KEVIN JOHNSTON</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-04462/5408922-1-eng-US/f0012-042.jpg" title="f0012-04" width="177" height="136"></div>QUEBEC CITY&mdash;Andre Savard passed his first NHL coaching test with flying colors, when his Quebec Nordiques beat divisional rivals Hartford and Boston in their first two regular-season games.The rookie head coach was as relieved as excited&mdash;thankful to get a good start on shaking the shadow left behind by Michel Bergeron.The two men couldn&rsquo;t be more different. And Savard is sick of hearing the New York Ranger coach&rsquo;s name.Even though two wins early on don&rsquo;t mean much they have done a world of good for Savard. And the fans liked what they saw.Savard&rsquo;s system&mdash;with the exception of the second period against the Bruins&mdash;worked well. Two scoring lines, two checking lines and six defensemen were working in the manner of Savard&rsquo;s idea of a close-to-perfect hockey team&mdash;the Philadelphia Flyers.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m going to use all my personnel,&rdquo;, he said. &ldquo;No one&rsquo;s going to spend a whole game on the bench. I won&rsquo;t use everyone in the same manner, but all my players will get to play.&rdquo;In the Nords&rsquo; first game against the Whalers, in Hartford, Mario Gosselin showed that hot goaltending can help fill in the gaps, while a team learns a new system. He stopped everything except one Sylvain Turgeon shot. Quebec spoiled the Whalers&rsquo; banner night by beating the hometown favorites 5-1.For the Nords to go well, Peter Stastny (1-5-6) and Michel Goulet (33-6) have to perform. And they did. Stastny was playing like a youngster, while Goulet showed signs of rejoining the 50-goal club after missing by one goal last year.The Nordiques were both good and lucky. In their 6-5 overtime victory against Boston, they took an early 3-0 lead but slowed up considerably.The Bruins then took over but it was Randy Moller&rsquo;s screen shot that ended matters in the fourth period.For Savard, the two wins confirmed his optimistic approach to the new season.&ldquo;All the experts did was look at the players we lost,&rdquo; Savard said. &ldquo;But they forgot all the good players we still have and the new ones we put our hands on&mdash;players like Alan Haworth, Gaetan Duchesne, Jeff Jackson, Terry Carkner and Tommy Albelin. And our youngsters are more experienced. So things aren&rsquo;t looking down. They&rsquo;re really looking up.&rdquo;NOTES&mdash;Though Andre Savard said he&rsquo;s using everybody, right winger Anton Stastny remained out of action. Stastny didn&rsquo;t dress for the first two games&hellip;Savard has opted to keep eight defensemen. Steven Finn, who is suffering from iron deficiency, and young Stephane Guerard. who still has a year of junior eligibility remaining. sat out the first two games-&hellip;Guerard&rsquo;s junior coach, Jacques Gregoire of Shawinigan, fumed at the Nordiques&rsquo; decision to keep his player in Quebec&hellip;Newcomer Stu Kulak, picked up from the Rangers in the waiver draft, played against Hartford and Boston&hellip;Savard was using Jason Lafreniere on right wing on a line with Peter Stastny and Jeff Jackson.<h2>TRANSACTIONS</h2>Oct. 5: Ken Quinney, LW, sent to Fredericton.Oct. 7: Alain Cote, LW, signed two-year-plus-option contract. Michel Goulet, LW, signed long-term contract.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Peter Stastny, Alan Haworth, Paul Gillis, Mike Eagles.LW&mdash;Jeff Jackson, Michel Goulet, Gaetan Duchesne, Alain Cote, Mike Hough.RW&mdash;Jason Lafreniere, Lane Lambert, Gord Donnelly, Stu Kulak, Anton Stastny.LD&mdash;Terry Carkner, Stephane Guerard, Normand Rochefort, Steven Finn.RD&mdash;Jeff Brown, Randy Moller, Tommy Albelin, Robert Picard.G&mdash;Mario Gosselin, Mario Brunetta, Richard Sevigny.<h3>INJURIES</h3>David Latta, LW, separated shoulder, indefinite. &#9632;

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Two Wins Boost Savard’s Confidence

The NHL is off and running&mdash;each of the21 teams already with its sights set firmly on playoff positions. We&rsquo;ll tell you about the early-season surprises and disappointments, the highs and lows.We&rsquo;ll also tell you about the American and International Leagues, plus the major junior leagues in Ontario, Quebec and Western Canada.Keep an eye out for our early line on the 1988 entry draft. NHL teams are scouring the globe in search of hockey players. We&rsquo;ll tell you which ones they&rsquo;re looking at, and you can follow their progress throughout the season.For fans of Canadian university hockey, we offer our annual preview. This year there are three conferences&mdash;Canada West, Ontario and Atlantic.Don&rsquo;t miss all this and much, much more. &#9632;

IN THIS ISSUE

NEXT WEEK

Mike Doran celebrated his 43rd birthday on Oct. 12.The celebration was subdued. Judy, his wife, arrived at Riverdale Hospital in Toronto, taking along Boston brownies and ice cream&hellip;and fed him while Mike Doran lay in the hospital bed he spends day after endless day.Doran has been a prisoner of his own body since Nov. 1, 1984, the day his car skidded off a highway into a roadside pole. He was the Winnipeg Jets&rsquo; director of player personnel and he was on his way to scout a game.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-011344/5408374-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg" title="f0003-01" width="340" height="466"><figcaption class="caption-body">Steve Dryden</figcaption></div>&ldquo;He was supposed to go to Philadelphia to see the team,&rdquo; remembered Judy, &ldquo;but at the last minute he changed his mind. He wanted to see some kid in Peterborough (Ont.).&rdquo;Mike Doran, as well-liked and well-respected as anybody in the hockey business, hit black ice, fought to regain control but lost the battle when his car came upon a small patch of oil. He was comatose for five months.&ldquo;Michael is severely brain-damaged from the accident,&rdquo; said Judy, matter-of-factly. She is a resilient woman who knows more about medicine than she ever wanted to.&ldquo;He has quadripresis. He&rsquo;s not a quadriplegic. The difference is quadriplegia is a spinal cord (injury). Michael has no spinal cord damage.&ldquo;He is brain-damaged which prevents him from sending messages down to the rest of his body, although in the last three months he has begun, for the first time, to send messages to the right side of his body.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s a ray of hope.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-021090/5408367-1-eng-US/f0003-022.jpg" title="f0003-02" width="699" height="923"><figcaption class="caption-body">The NHL&rsquo;s John McCauley, above, was encouraged by Rick Paterson&rsquo;s first officiating.</figcaption></div>There is also reality and the Doran family, Judy and three grown-up children, has learned to accommodate it&mdash;if not appreciate its harshness.&ldquo;We want to give him every opportunity we can and open every day for him,&rdquo; said Judy, who almost lost Michael last year when tendon surgery tested his remaining strength. &ldquo;We know we are not going to have Michael back as we had him before but that doesn&rsquo;t mean you drop your responsibility.&ldquo;Our responsibility, as a family, is to give him the best quality of life we can.&rdquo;Others are helping, most notably Winnipeg Jet governor and president Barry Shenkarow. Michael had a year to run on his contract when the accident happened. Judy has since been put on what may well be a lifetime contract.&ldquo;I cannot tell you how wonderful Mr. Shenkarow is,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;I know he already has wings and a halo waiting for him. He has taken a tremendous worry and responsibility off my shoulders.&rdquo;Doran was Jet general manager John Ferguson&rsquo;s closest advisor. He was with Ferguson in New York, and later joined him in Winnipeg.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think you&rsquo;d ever find a guy who didn&rsquo;t think he was a great scout, not just a good scout,&rdquo; said Paul Henry, scouting co-ordinator for the Canadian Olympic team and a friend of Doran.He was, said Henry, just as good a guy. Maybe better.Doran, who cannot speak but communicates with Judy through occasional words, sounds and movements, is still very much in the thoughts of many. Some&mdash;Ed Olczyk&rsquo;s family in Chicago, for instance&mdash;keep in contact regularly. Judy cannot remember the last time a month went by without the Olczyks sending a card.It is Judy, however, who is there. All the time.&ldquo;He understands everything,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;He understands hockey trades. He understands that Ed Olczyk is going to be playing in Toronto this year, instead of Chicago.&ldquo;He knows his family. He gets upset about a lot of things because he can&rsquo;t participate. If you can imagine being trapped inside a body that will not do what you want it to do and (not) be able to speak&mdash;yet you can understand everything that is happening.&ldquo;Can you imagine the frustration. I try. I lie in bed some nights and deliberately will not move but I cannot even begin to conceive how difficult it must be for him.&rdquo;Mike Doran&rsquo;s 43rd birthday fell on Thanksgiving Day in Canada. Judy has given him something to be thankful for. So has he to her.&ldquo;I think I&rsquo;ve got something to be thankful for&mdash;he&rsquo;s alive,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;One-tenth of Michael is more than 100 per cent of a lot of people.&rdquo;<h2>Recruited Referee-Rick Paterson</h2>An industrious forward who has made a professional career out of killing penalties may well be handing them out shortly.Rick Paterson is playing for the Saginaw Blackhawks this year, his last in professional hockey.It&rsquo;s his 10th since leaving behind junior hockey, and his first in the minors since 1980-81, the season he split between the American League and Chicago.Now, Paterson is in the International League with the Blackhawks&rsquo; No. 1 farm team. He&rsquo;s there to help out the younger players, and begin carving out a new career for himself.Paterson was approached by the NHL during the off-season. Jim Gregory, vice president hockey operations, asked him if he&rsquo;d be interested in becoming a referee. The NHL would like more players to consider becoming referees, believing they have an inherent understanding and feeling for the game. Paterson expressed enough interest for the NHL to send him to Bruce Hood&rsquo;s referee school at the University of Guelph (Ont.).&ldquo;It was eye-opening,&rdquo; said Paterson, a 29-year-old checking specialist. &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t realize how much was involved.&rdquo;John McCauley, director of NHL officiating, went up to see Paterson handle some games.&ldquo;He certainly didn&rsquo;t look out of place from a mechanics and position point of view but he had to get over the fact he&rsquo;s not a spectator,&rdquo; said McCauley. &ldquo;(Sometimes) He&rsquo;d be watching the game and all of a sudden he&rsquo;d realize what he was doing.&rdquo;The NHL was encouraged, however, and would like him to take time this year to try some officiating. It likes the way Paul Stewart has turned out. The former WHA and NHL badman has reformed and is now among the league&rsquo;s brightest officiating prospects. His background has enabled him to accelerate the learning process. (Ed. Note&mdash;See Stan Fischler on page 10 for profile of Stewart.)<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-03706/5408360-1-eng-US/f0003-032.jpg" title="f0003-03" width="1477" height="1871"><figcaption class="caption-body">Rick Paterson (right), checking Minnesota&rsquo;s Craig Hartsburg, may well make the transition from player to official if all works out as planned.</figcaption></div>Paterson is enthusiastic about undergoing a similar transformation. But his clean-and-rinse cycle won&rsquo;t have to be as complete as that of Stewart, who earned 241 penalty minutes in 40 WHA games during the 1977-78 season.The Blackhawk, who produced 14 goals during his best season, has 136 career penalty minutes in 430 NHL games.&ldquo;All I&rsquo;ve been doing,&rdquo; said Paterson, &ldquo;is pretty well kill penalties. If I start taking penalties then we&rsquo;re down two men.&rdquo;He&rsquo;s anxious to try on a striped shirt after years of wearing an Indian head on his jersey.&ldquo;It seems like a good career. I don&rsquo;t know why more players don&rsquo;t get into it,&rdquo; said Paterson. &ldquo;Part of the reason might be the abuse we give them.&rdquo;McCauley laughs when he remembers what the Kingston, Ont., native told him after his baptism in Guelph.&ldquo;At the end of the week,&rdquo; recalled McCauley, &ldquo;he said that he&rsquo;d never yell at a referee again.&rdquo;The IHL season had yet to begin, but so far Paterson had kept his word.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve had a few exhibition games,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;and I didn&rsquo;t yell at them. We had a few staring matches, though.&rdquo;<h2>&lsquo;Shadow-Boxing&rsquo;-Pierre Larouche</h2>Quote of the week:&ldquo;The last time I fought I was shadow-boxing&hellip;and I lost.&rdquo;&mdash;Pierre Larouche, after a fight with Pittsburgh&rsquo;s Dave Hannan, page 9. &#9632;

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Progress Continues But Ever So Slowly For Accident Victim

<div class="byline">BY KARLO BERKOVICH Editorial Staff</div>Vancouver Canucks winning the Stanley Cup? Stranger things have happened, but Harrah&rsquo;s Race and Sports Book in Reno, Nev., says the odds are 100-to-1 against it happening.The favorites, not surprisingly, are the defending-champion Edmonton Oilers at 2-1, followed closely by the Philadelphia Flyers at 5-2.The Oilers were even heavier favorites at 3-2 before defenseman Paul Coffey and center Mark Messier staged training camp holdouts over contract disputes. Messier has since returned, signing a six-year contract, but Coffey remained out of the Oilers&rsquo; uniform.The Montreal Canadiens and Calgary Flames are both listed at 5-1, Hartford Whalers at 7-1, Detroit Red Wings 12-1, and Winnipeg Jets and New York Islanders 15-1. The Islanders were 10-1 choices before the team&rsquo;s announcement that Mike Bossy is not included in their plans this year because of a chronic back problem.Other odds include the Washington Capitals at 16-1, St. Louis Blues 20-1, New York Rangers and Boston Bruins 25-1, Quebec Nordiques 30-1, Toronto Maple Leafs 35-1, Buffalo Sabres 45-1, Los Angeles Kings and Chicago Blackhawks 50-1, Minnesota North Stars 60-1, and New Jersey Devils 75-1.Hockey betting is up at Harrah&rsquo;s, though it still trails far behind NFL football, major league baseball and NBA basketball. According to a Harrah&rsquo;s spokesperson, on a scale of one to 10, NFL betting rates a 10, baseball and basketball a six, and hockey a two.<h2>PEERLESS POLLSTERS</h2>On page 13 of this issue, THN lists the predictions of its 21 NHL correspondents and THN Editor-in-Chief Bob McKenzie.The Edmonton Oilers are the heavy favorites of our forecasters.Sports Illustrated and Sport both lean toward the Oilers for the Stanley Cup. Inside Sports says the Montreal Canadiens will triumph.THN has St. Louis, Montreal, Edmonton and Philadelphia winning their regular-season divisions. SI tabs Detroit, Hartford, Edmonton and Philadelphia, Sport picks Detroit, Montreal, Edmonton and Philadelphia and IS takes Minnesota, Montreal, Edmonton and Philadelphia.<h2>DARLING FILLS IN</h2>Buffalo Sabres&rsquo; radio and TV play-by-play man Ted Darling was sent to the Ontario League recently. No, he wasn&rsquo;t demoted&mdash;just filling in for his ailing son-in-law.Darling, 52, the voice of the Sabres since their inception 17 years ago, called two Cornwall Royal games as a favor to Fred Pletsch, who was in hospital having an appendectomy. Pietsch is married to Darling&rsquo;s daughter Kelly.Darling, who worked Eastern Professional League games in the 1960s before graduating to the Sabres, called Cornwall&rsquo;s games Oct. 2 in Guelph and Oct. 4 in Kitchener.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-011368/5408412-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg" title="f0004-01" width="583" height="1063"><figcaption class="caption-body">Court cases involving Pat Quinn, above, and Brian Spencer heard opening arguments.</figcaption></div>&ldquo;I never did junior hockey, though Kitchener did have a team in the EPHL, also called the Rangers,&rdquo; said Darling. &ldquo;What I found most interesting was watching the draft picks. You could see they were a step ahead of the rest.&rdquo;Darling wasn&rsquo;t a step behind, though, despite being unfamiliar with OHL players and having only an hour to review team lineups before the first game.&ldquo;I listened to both games and it was obvious on Sunday (Oct. 4) that he knew the players,&rdquo; said Pietsch, now back behind the microphone along with color man Thom Racine.<h2>A DIFFERENT POOL</h2>Penalty-minute pools are becoming more and more popular.The object is to pick a team that will total the most penalty minutes. That makes the likes of Tim Hunter of Calgary (361 PIM), Tiger Williams of Los Angeles (358), the New York Islanders&rsquo; Brian Curran (356) and Detroit&rsquo;s Joe Kocur (276) in demand.New talent to watch? Try Philadelphia rookie defenseman Mike Stothers, who totalled 48 PIM in seven pre-season games. That works out to a nice, round 560 over 80 games. The NHL record of 472 is held by former Flyer badman Dave Schultz.Another up-and-comer, should he ever make the NHL, is Kevin Evans, who had a pro-record 648 PIM with the International League&rsquo;s Kalamazoo Wings last season. The previous mark was held by Chris McSorley (brother of Edmonton Oiler Marty) who had 546 for Toledo of the IHL in 1985-86. The 5-foot-l 1, 195-pound Evans, 22, played 73 games on left wing and had 58 majors, eight misconducts and 12 game misconducts. The Peterborough, Ont., native also scored 19 goals and 31 assists.Evans, who attended the Minnesota North Stars&rsquo; training camp but is back in Kalamazoo, is the brother of St. Louis Blues&rsquo; left winger Doug Evans. Doug had 91 PIM in 53 games with the Blues.<h2>BITS AND PIECES</h2>Thanks largely to New York Ranger GM Phil Esposito, who made four trades, the NHL had a busy summer. A total of 22 transactions were completed between June 1 and Sept. 30. During the same period in 1986. there were 12 transactions.Ratings for the Canada Cup on CTV were sky-high. The third game of the best-of-three Canada-Soviet final drew 4.9 million viewers. The second game drew 3.9 million and the opener 3.1 million.Two experimental rules were rejected by general managers after a preseason trial. The first permitted a player to direct the puck to a teammate with his gloved hand, while the second called for a whistle and faceoff outside the blue line when a player skated through the opposing goalie&rsquo;s crease.A qote to remember. Pittsburgh coach Pierre Creamer on why he doesn&rsquo;t join his players in flexibility exercises: &ldquo;The coach cannot stretch. He stretches only his head when he tries something different.&rdquo;<h2>COURT CASES</h2>&bull; There is no evidence linking Brian Spencer to the 1982 shooting death of Michael James Dalfo, Spencer&rsquo;s lawyer Barry Weinstein said Aug. 9 in opening testimony at the murder trial of the former NHLer began in a West Palm Beach, Fla. courtroom.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-021259/5408405-1-eng-US/f0004-022.jpg" title="f0004-02" width="1197" height="1117"><figcaption class="caption-body">New York Ranger GM Phil Esposito, left, with Pierre Larouche, was involved in four of the 22 NHL deals in a busy summer.</figcaption></div>Weinstein testified that the only footprints found near Dalfo&rsquo;s body belonged to Diane Delena, Spencer&rsquo;s former girlfriend. An FBI expert testified that dirt removed from a pair of Delena&rsquo;s shoes matched the soil found near Dalfo&rsquo;s body. None of Spencer&rsquo;s shoes were tested.&bull; In Vancouver, Canucks&rsquo; majority owner Frank Griffiths said in British Columbia Supreme Court that paying Pat Quinn a signing bonus while he was still under contract to coach the Los Angeles Kings was &ldquo;a matter of common business practice.&rdquo; Quinn was to receive $ 100,000, and was paid $65,000 on Jan. 2, 1987.NHL president John Ziegler, who fined the Canucks and Kings a total of $440,000 and barred Quinn from coaching until 1990-91, testified the signing of a future contract threatened the integrity of the league. The Canucks are seeking to have their fine of $310,000 and the coaching ban of Quinn lifted. &#9632;

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Canucks Are Longest Of Longshots

<div class="byline">BY DAVE MOLINARI</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0005-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-011249/5408443-1-eng-US/f0005-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">In the afterglow of Mario Lemieux&rsquo;s sensational Canada Cup performance, there is hope that he can finally lead the Penguins into the playoffs.</figcaption></div>There is no assurance the Pittsburgh Penguins will make the playoffs this season, but they almost assuredly have made hockey history.Think of it. This is the team that:&bull; Makes it necessary to establish rules governing the use of rubber duckies in the training-room whirlpool.&bull; Compels the coaching staff to replace curfew bed checks with bedtime stories.&bull; Forces management to check the child labor laws in every state and province in which the team plays.&bull; Has the option of placing pabulum alongside the pasta at pre-game meals.An over-reaction? Perhaps&hellip;but barely. Consider the reaction of rookie center Rob Brown, when he learned THE HOCKEY NEWS was preparing this article:&ldquo;What&rsquo;s it going to be called, &lsquo;Nursery School?&rsquo; &ldquo;The baby boom has finally made it to Western Pennsylvania. Venture into the bowels of the Civic Arena and what you&rsquo;ll see looks as much like a day-care center as a locker room.<blockquote class="pullQuote">&lsquo;We have some young guys who want to play in the NHL. That&rsquo;s a big change.&rsquo;&mdash;Lemieux</blockquote>The Penguins had 29 players&mdash;including six sidelined by injuries&mdash;on their roster when they opened this season, 11 of whom were not on the team last year.Of those, only Charlie Simmer, Wilf Paiement and Jimmy Mann had substantial NHL experience.The other eight&mdash;goalie Frank Pietrangelo, 22, forwards Brown, 19, Brad Aitken, 19, Mark Kachowski, 22, Risto Kurkinen, 24, and Dave McLIwain, 20, and defensemen Chris Joseph, 18, and Zarley Zalapski, 19&mdash;are rookies.Brown and Zalapski missed the start of the season with a broken finger and back spasms, respectively, so let&rsquo;s have no more of that ugly talk about an epidemic of diaper rash.Zalapski&rsquo;s ailment is far the more serious. He has been told to rest his back completely for at least two months. (See story on page 11.)The promise embodied by players such as Brown, McLIwain, Joseph and Zalapski is such that this tired franchise has been given an injection of optimism unlike any seen in its first 20 years.&ldquo;We have some young guys who want to make the team, want to play in the NHL,&rdquo; said center Mario Lemieux, still a babe himself at 22. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s a big change from other years.&rdquo;&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a welcome thing to see some new talent,&rdquo; said defenseman Moe Mantha, a veritable fossil at age 26. &ldquo;The young guys have lived up to what they&rsquo;re supposed to be.&rdquo;Whether the rookies realize their perceived potential remains conjecture, but if nothing else, they will be remembered as part of one of the more complete roster revisions in recent memory.Of the 26 players on the Penguins&rsquo; roster for their season-opening 5-4 victory over the Washington Capitals last October, 11 were gone by the time the Penguins began this season.Of the 20 who actually dressed for that game, 13 remain.Even general manager Eddie Johnston, the man who oversaw the restructuring of this team, has been overwhelmed by the magnitude of the changes.&ldquo;We were looking for three or four (new) players. This many players, no.&rdquo;The Penguins&rsquo; plethora of changes extended outside the locker room, too. Coach Bob Berry and assistant Jim Roberts were fired after last season, when the Penguins missed the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season.They were replaced by Pierre Creamer and assistants Clement Jodoin and Rick Kehoe. It should surprise no one to learn all three are coaching in the NHL for the first time.The off-season purge of players and other personnel was to be expected, given the Penguins&rsquo; protracted absence from the playoffs.Even though the team has made steady progress since the tragicomedy of its 38-point season in 1983-84, there was a danger of becoming stagnant and settling to the bottom of the Patrick Division forever.&ldquo;Things had gotten a lot stale,&rdquo; right winger Craig Simpson said. &ldquo;We had some older guys who were accustomed to losing.&rdquo;The newcomers have been absorbed into the fabric of the team almost as quickly as they were inserted in the lineup. They were received without rancor by the veterans, even those whose employment was imperiled by their presence.The Penguins&rsquo; changes haven&rsquo;t been confined to personnel, as Creamer shuffled the lineup like a blackjack dealer during the preseason.He experimented liberally, blending exotic ingredients in an effort to cook up a contender.The change that figures to have the most enduring impact, however, is the shift of Simpson from center to right wing on a line with Lemieux and Simmer.Berry used him there occasionally last season, but the 20-year-old Simpson, who is already in his third NHL season, found that experience to be slightly less pleasant than a tax audit.This year, however, he has slipped into the position as if it were a favorite old pair of skates.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s mainly because it&rsquo;s not a shock to me now,&rdquo; Simpson said. &ldquo;When I went there last year, I had never played wing at all for any length of time.&ldquo;I gained a lot of experience on the wing last year and I just feel a lot more confidence in my play, overall, and it&rsquo;s made the adjustment easier.&rdquo;Dan Frawley is facing an significant adjustment, too, although there is no reason to believe he will move from right wing.Creamer circumvented all pre-season speculation by naming Frawley&mdash;not Lemieux or Dan Quinn&mdash;his captain.Frawley is a player of modest skills&mdash;he had a career-high 14 goals last season&mdash;who tosses around words as if they were manhole covers.What he does, however, is report for work every day with a diligence and work ethic that would be the envy of a Puritan.Should leading by example not suffice, Frawley said, he is ready to string together a few inspirational sentences.&ldquo;If something has to be said, I&rsquo;ll say it. That won&rsquo;t be a problem.&rdquo;Neither, apparently, will the Penguins&rsquo; defense, where young players such as Doug Bodger, Ville Siren and Jim Johnson form the nucleus of a unit which is evolving into one of the NHL&rsquo;s best.&ldquo;Our defense is coming of age now,&rdquo; Johnston said. &ldquo;Bodger had a hell of a camp and he&rsquo;s taken a leadership role.&rdquo;Part of that leadership role comes in the form of playing with Joseph, whose superb offensive skills enabled him to move directly from the Western League to the NHL.While the Penguins were pleased to get him in the first round of the entry draft, they were nothing less than ecstatic after seeing him in training camp.<blockquote class="pullQuote">&lsquo;He&rsquo;s going to get stronger. I think you&rsquo;ll see a great player in Chris Joseph.&rsquo;&mdash;Creamer</blockquote>That&rsquo;s mostly because Joseph does not act his age&mdash;he turned 18 on Sept. 10&mdash;particularly when he is handling the puck.That he made the Penguins so quickly is due largely to his offensive skills, for Joseph&rsquo;s play in the defensive zone is, at best, suspect.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s normal for an 18-year-old player to be weak defensively,&rdquo; Creamer said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s going to grow up. He&rsquo;s going to get stronger.&ldquo;But when he is 21 years old? Or 22? I think you&rsquo;re going to see a great hockey player in Chris Joseph.&rdquo;Still, the Penguins are only projecting greatness for Joseph. They are absolutely expecting it from Lemieux because, despite the influx of promising prospects, he remains the unquestioned foundation of the franchise.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got to keep the big guy healthy,&rdquo; Johnston said. &ldquo;After the Canada Cup, I think he can pretty well carry us.&rdquo;Lemieux&rsquo;s play in the Canada Cup&mdash;where he erased any lingering doubts about his status as one of the planet&rsquo;s premier players&mdash;figures to have ancillary benefits for the Penguins.Lemieux did not simply play five exhibition games during the pre-season; he attacked them with an intensity seen only sporadically during his first three seasons.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s just overflowing with confidence,&rdquo; Simpson said.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve learned how to win,&rdquo; Lemieux said.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s being accepted now as one of the great players in the world,&rdquo; Johnston said. &ldquo;There was some doubt&mdash;especially in Canada&mdash;about Mario, that he was lazy, but those doubts are all gone now.&rdquo;Lemieux has understandably impressed&mdash;but apparently not intimidated&mdash;the newcomers who are witnessing his majesty and magic for the first time.Similarly, they are aware of the Penguins&rsquo; longstanding legacy of mediocrity. But for them, it is a source of inspiration, not concern. &#9632;

f0005-01

Pittsburgh’s Baby Boomers

IT&rsquo;S EARLY, But you only get so many chances to be wrong, so you gotta take your shots when the opportunity of a new season presents itself:I liked the Flyers&rsquo; chances to win the Stanley Cup this year until they traded Brad McCrimmon. Then I liked the Oilers again until I realized just how many problems the champions had and how all those great draft picks that made them a power appear to have dried up.So then I kind of liked Calgary. But then I started thinking about how the Flames are sort of going through a transition, what with a new coach and the necessity of kids like Joe Nieuwendyk and Gary Roberts coming up big.So I looked at Hartford. Boy, I really liked the Whalers but I wondered if they are big enough and strong enough and mature enough to win four series. It must have been puppy love. Like momma always said, if it&rsquo;s true love, it will last. Those Whalers are going to have to earn my affection.Problem is, I&rsquo;m running out of somebody to like. I really wanted to put my arms around Montreal, but they need a scorer or two, a kid defenseman to come along and still have to straighten out their goaltending. In other words the Habs, as usual, look good on the beach, but they can&rsquo;t cook. And why would you want to marry a team like that?I concede the possibility that I might eventually like Washington because every change the Caps have made over the last 10 months looks like a good one. But we are still talking about a team that has never advanced beyond its own division in the playoffs, and never won a regular-season division championship.The Caps are kind of like the girl next door. Maybe someday you&rsquo;ll wake up and realize she&rsquo;s become a real looker, but right now her mother is nagging you take her out. You don&rsquo;t want to hurt her feelings, but you&rsquo;re looking for something better.I don&rsquo;t really want to like the Jets until they put two good years back to back. I&rsquo;m looking for a more mature relationship. I would like the Kings, if anybody in Los Angeles did. I like Jacques Demers but when his team starts to play I would like to take a nap.So, sad to say, I begin the 1987-88 season looking for love. I have been jilted by a season with no clear-cut favorite. If pushed. I&rsquo;ll go with the Flyers, because I think they have more good players, places five through 18, on their roster, than anybody else. But I think they took an awful chance trading a tested defenseman for a draft choice when they appear ready in every other way to win.What else don&rsquo;t I like about this new season? Plenty:The idea of Mike Bossy just kind of fading away without a last hurrah.The condition of the Bruins. Harry Sinden is like a bad check, he keeps finding a way to bounce back, but you have to wonder this time. The defense should be okay and Reggie Lemelin might have a good year left, but who is going to score? If a few things go right in Quebec and Buffalo, the Bruins could miss the playoffs.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-011431/5408474-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg" title="f0006-01" width="336" height="467"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jay Greenberg</figcaption></div>The waiver draft. It was a reflection on the direction of the game that almost all the players taken were tough guys. This brings to mind a philosophical question. Just suppose they took fighting out of the game completely. Would teams, instead, use the 18th or 19th places on their rosters for a smallish player with some skills, and would the game be better off for it? Just asking.The move Chicago made with Toronto. The real problem, defense, has not been addressed.The move Toronto made with Chicago. The real problem, defense, has not been addressed.So what do I like? A few things:For rookie of the year? Calgary&rsquo;s Nieuwendyk, New Jersey&rsquo;s Brendan Shanahan, Quebec&rsquo;s Tommy Albelin, Winnipeg&rsquo;s Roger Ohman.For guys who will emerge this season as impact players? Paul Lawless, Mikko Makela, Scott Mellanby, Kevin Hatcher, Brian Benning.For the first coach to be fired? Doug Carpenter, not because he does a bad job but because a new regime bringing in a lot of new players will sooner or later bring in a new coach, too.As a team that has overrated what it has? Los Angeles. Bobby Carpenter, one supposes, is the key, but you have to stop people from scoring, too.As a team that knows exactly what it has and gets the most out of it? Detroit.As a team where a new coach can make the most impact? Minnesota.As a division where it is easiest for a new coach to make an impact? The Norris.As the best short-term brainstorm of the offseason? Washington&rsquo;s trade with Quebec. Even if Dale Hunter doesn&rsquo;t come all the way back, the Caps are ahead because they got a goalie who was better than what they had. Gaetan Duchesne and Alan Haworth are nice players, but the truth is there are a lot of guys like them.As the move that could finally put the Penguins in the playoffs? They&rsquo;re only one away and Phil Esposito could make it any time now.As the nicest surprise of the pre-season? It looks like Brian Sutter is going to be able to play again.As the silliest waste of time and energy since Dwight Mathiasen? The Canucks&rsquo; involvement with the Soviets. Do they actually think it&rsquo;s going to get them anything more than a marginal player or a good one well past his prime?As a general rule? Readers who don&rsquo;t save prediction columns to remind you how stupid you are. &#9632;

f0006-01

Columnists

Penguins One Espo Trade From Playoffs

<div class="byline">BY AL MORGANTI</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-03665/5408505-1-eng-US/f0006-032.jpg" title="f0006-03" width="579" height="1142"><figcaption class="caption-body">Rick Tocchet started the season on the injury list with a knee injury.</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-021023/5408512-1-eng-US/f0006-022.jpg" title="f0006-02" width="177" height="135"></div>PHILADELPHIA&mdash;For most of the pre-season, talk concerning the Philadelphia Flyers centered around players who would not be around.Like, &ldquo;How are the Flyers going to be able to win without the injured Tim Kerr, the suspended Ron Hextall, and the traded Brad McCrimmon?&rdquo;Matters were made worse just before the season opened, when Rick Tocchet, one of the Flyers&rsquo; Canada Cup heroes, suffered a knee injury.However, when the banners did unfurl at the Spectrum to open the season (banners for the Patrick Division and Wales Conference championships), some new faces grabbed the spotlight.Goalie Mark Laforest, rookie defenseman Kerry Huffman and rookie forward Magnus Roupe all starred in a 2-2 season-opening tie with the Montreal Canadiens.&ldquo;This was a tough situation for a new goalie,&rdquo; said Flyers&rsquo; coach Mike Keenan, &ldquo;and I thought Mark Laforest handled a pressure situation very well.&rdquo;Laforest made 22 saves, while Huffman assisted on both Flyer goals, including a crucial go-ahead marker by Roupe in the third period. Keenan had uncharacteristically climbed out on a limb before the season began, predicting that Roupe&rsquo;s work ethic would make him an instant hit with the Spectrum crowd.Sure enough, by the end of the very first night, the Spectrum crowd was cheering &ldquo;ROO-pay, ROO-pay, ROO-pay,&rdquo; to honor the Swede.&ldquo;I thought Magnus would be a fan favorite,&rdquo; said Keenan, &ldquo;not just from what I saw at training camp, but also from what I saw of him at the Canada Cup (where he played for Team Sweden). When he&rsquo;s on the ice, things happen.&rdquo;Roupe&rsquo;s goal, which gave the Flyers a 2-1 lead, was scored during a power play&mdash;another indication of Keenan&rsquo;s faith in the rookie. That could be temporary, however. With Kerr likely out of the lineup until early 1988, the Flyers will be auditioning a variety of man-advantage combinations.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s going to be a much different power play than people are used to seeing from us,&rdquo; said Flyer assistant coach E. J. McGuire. &ldquo;I think the key will be motion. There is going to be a lot of motion.&rdquo;The flow-and-motion game worked in the Flyers&rsquo; second game, when they scored two power-play goals during a 5-4 win at Minnesota. One night later, the power play was O-for-5 in the Flyers&rsquo; first loss of the season, 5-3 at Chicago.NOTES&mdash;The Flyers got some bad news when they learned that Tim Kerr&rsquo;s injured left shoulder had become so badly infected that it required an arthroscopic procedure to clear it up. Kerr, who lost almost 20 pounds due to the infection, and is still taking an intravenous solution, is now not expected back until well after Christmas&hellip;On the day of the season opener, the Flyers dedicated an eight-foot bronze statue of Kate Smith. It sits just outside the Spectrum&hellip;The Flyers added 201 new seats to the building, upping the capacity to 17,423.<h2>TRANSACTIONS</h2>Oct. 6: Glen Seabrooke, C, Don Nachbaur, C, and John Kemp, G, sent to Hershey.Oct. 8: Ron Hextall, G, began eight-game league suspension.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Pelle Eklund, Dave Poulin, Ron Sutter, Peter Zezel.RW&mdash;Dave Brown, Brian Dobbin, Scott Mellanby, Ilkka Sinisalo.LW&mdash;Lindsay Carson, Murray Craven, Brian Propp, Magnus Roupe, Derrick Smith.LD&mdash;Mark Howe, Kerry Huffman, Brad Marsh, Mike Stothers.RD&mdash;Doug Crossman, J.J. Daigneault, Kjell Samuelsson.G&mdash;Mark Laforest, Wendell Young.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Rick Tocchet, RW, sprained medial collateral ligament in left knee, Oct. 15.Tim Kerr, RW, multiple surgery on left shoulder, indefinite. &#9632;

f0006-03

Flyers’ Replacement Parts Fit In Just Fine

<div class="byline">BY BOB FACHET</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-02899/5408543-1-eng-US/f0007-022.jpg" title="f0007-02" width="577" height="922"><figcaption class="caption-body">Mike Gartner was scoring goals at a torrid pace three games into the season.</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-011276/5408550-1-eng-US/f0007-012.jpg" title="f0007-01" width="178" height="136"></div>LANDOVER, Md.&mdash;Mike Gartner was in a slump.After scoring two goals in the Washington Capitals&rsquo; opening game and three in the home opener, Gartner was limited to one in game three. That reduced his seasonal projection from 200 goals to 160.Gartner laughed at such references. He was laughing a lot, because the same shots that clipped a goalpost or hit a goaltender in the backside last season were keeping red lights flashing ais fall.Gartner, remember, did not record his sixth goal a year ago until Nov. 29, in Washington&rsquo;s 25th game. He reached the midpoint of the season with 10 before putting on a remarkable rush to finish with 41.&ldquo;I tried just as hard last year and I had just as many chances, but the puck wasn&rsquo;t going in.&rdquo; Gartner said. &ldquo;Now it&rsquo;s like the puck has eyes and heads right into the openings.&rdquo;Some of Gartner&rsquo;s success can be credited to his new center. Dale Hunter, and some to his amazing speed, which makes it difficult for defenders to line him up.&ldquo;Dale is a hard-working, unselfish player, the kind of guy who is best suited to me,&rdquo; said Gartner. &ldquo;He&rsquo;ll get me the puck a lot and I&rsquo;m a scorer, so I need it.&rdquo;When the Capitals spent four days at Lake Placid, N.Y. during the preseason. they conducted a number of conditioning tests. Gartner&rsquo;s time of 36.6 seconds for the 300-yard shuttle surpassed any of his teammates by more than l-&frac12; seconds.&ldquo;Mike was by far the fastest of our 60 players,&rdquo; said assistant coach Terry Murray. &ldquo;A second in something like this is a tremendous difference.&rdquo;&ldquo;I feel I have a good jump, but whether I&rsquo;m a step faster, I can&rsquo;t say,&rdquo; said Gartner, whose playing weight has dropped from 188 to 185 pounds. &ldquo;Playing in the Canada Cup at such a high pace would tend to make you faster.&rdquo;Playing for the Canadian team that beat the Soviets in a marvelous three-game final could make a player blase about the NHL&rsquo;s 80-game regular season. But Gartner appears to have avoided that potential mental trap.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a legitimate concern and something I&rsquo;ve thought about,&rdquo; Gartner said. &ldquo;But I&rsquo;m pretty excited about the season. I want to do well and I want the team to do well. From a conditioning standpoint, without question I feel in midseason form. And from a confidence standpoint, the Canada Cup helped quite a lot.&rdquo;NOTES&mdash;Mike Gartner became the second recipient of the Dan McCoubrey Good Guy Award, presented by the Washington chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers&rsquo; Association to a player who has contributed to the community. Gaetan Duchesne, now with Quebec, was the first winner&hellip;Gartner&rsquo;s hat trick in the 6-4 victory over Chicago was the 12th of his career. Craig Laughlin scored twice in the same game and briefly was awarded a first career hat trick. The goal was eventually credited to Gartner&hellip;Coach Bryan Murray became embroiled, verbally and physically, in an off-ice dispute at Buffalo with linesman Ron Asselstine, who intervened when Murray was questioning a bench minor penalty called by referee Bill McCreary&hellip;Losses in Boston and Buffalo gave the Capitals a 1-2 start. They have never been above .500 after three games.<h2>TRANSACTIONS</h2>Oct. 6: Assigned Tony Kellin, D, to Binghamton.Oct. 8: Signed free agents Cleon Daskalakis, G, and Mike Richard, C, assigned them to Binghamton.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Bengt Gustafsson, Dale Hunter, Kelly Miller, Michal Pivonka.LW&mdash;Mike Ridley, Greg Adams, Peter Sundstrom, Lou Franceschetti, David Jensen.RW&mdash;Dave Christian, Mike Gartner, Craig Laughlin, Ed Kastelic.LD&mdash;Rod Langway, Scott Stevens, Paul Cavallini.RD&mdash;Larry Murphy, Greg Smith, Garry Galley.G&mdash;Clint Malarchuk, Pete Peeters.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Bob Gould, C, hairline fracture of right foot, day-to-day.Kevin Hatcher, D, torn cartilage in left knee, Oct. 27.John Barrett, D, fractured left kneecap, indefinite. &#9632;

f0007-02

Gartner Turning The Light On For Capitals

<div class="byline">BY BARRY MEISEL</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-03610/5408581-1-eng-US/f0007-032.jpg" title="f0007-03" width="178" height="136"></div>UNIONDALE, N.Y.&mdash;The experiment worked during the exhibition season, so the Islanders have decided that on Nassau Coliseum game days, they will turn morning into night.No longer will coach Terry Simpson&rsquo;s team report to the rink at 10 a.m. for the traditional morning skate, as do 20 other NHL teams. This season, or at least until the innovative idea is evaluted again midway through the year, the Isles&rsquo; morning skate will start at 6 p.m.&ldquo;It was kind of a group decision,&rdquo; said trainer Craig Smith, who first proposed the idea to coach Terry Simpson a year ago. &ldquo;Trainers have talked about this for a long time.&rdquo;Morning skates are born out of a coach&rsquo;s desire to get his team out of bed early on the day of a game: A brief workout at 10 or 10:30, full meal at noon or 1 p.m., an afternoon nap, report to the rink no later than two hours before the game.The Islanders&rsquo; new schedule for 8 p.m. games:5:15 p.m.&mdash;Deadline for reporting to dressing room.5:30-5:45&mdash;Stretch.6:00-6:15&mdash;On ice.6:15-6:30&mdash;Free time.6:30-6:45&mdash;Meeting.6:45-7:20&mdash;Free time.7:20-7:35&mdash;Pre-game skate.8:05&mdash;Opening face-off.&ldquo;When you get up in the morning, skate, then eat a big lunch and go to bed, what does that do for you?&rdquo; Smith said, in a critique of the accepted routine. &ldquo;One big sleep is much more beneficial than two little sleeps. Now our players can spend more time with their families, take care of some chores during the day and come to the rink fresh.&rdquo;<blockquote class="pullQuote">&lsquo;&hellip;you don&rsquo;t have to come to the rink twice.&rsquo;&mdash;Smith</blockquote>&ldquo;Let&rsquo;s face it,&rdquo; Simpson added. &ldquo;In an 80-game schedule, how many players think about the game all day long anyway? This way they can have part of the day to themselves and when they get to the rink, they can take more time to prepare.&rdquo;The Islanders were 20-15-5 at the Coliseum last season, their worst home record since 1973-74. They hope that this approach improves their home performance, but that is not the primary reason why the change was made.It was made because Smith is convinced that this method is physiologically more sound.&ldquo;The &lsquo;morning&rsquo; skate will consist of a flexibility program, some loosening up, warm-up skating in both directions and shots at &lsquo;shooter tutors&rsquo; (net inserts that leave corners open for shots),&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;The goalies will be on the ice, but only in sweats.&rdquo;Might there be a danger of some players tiring late in the game after all this skating? Smith: &ldquo;If they are, they shouldn&rsquo;t be playing professional hockey. This is not a strenuous practice, just a light tune-up.&rdquo;Might some players get &ldquo;cold&rdquo; between the first skate and the opening face-off?&ldquo;We don&rsquo;t think so,&rdquo; Smith said. &ldquo;You won&rsquo;t get any colder skating for 15 minutes then you would eating a big meal, taking a three-hour nap after a morning skate, and then driving to the arena.&rdquo;Does he foresee any problems?&ldquo;Just one thing,&rdquo; Smith said. &ldquo;Players have routines. It will take getting used to. But everyone I&rsquo;ve talked to likes it because you don&rsquo;t have to come to the rink twice.&rdquo;Smith actually wanted to institute the system last year, but agreed that Simpson&rsquo;s rookie year was not the time for radical change. Now, he said, the Islanders are ready.&ldquo;I can&rsquo;t see any reason why this won&rsquo;t work,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I really can&rsquo;t.&rdquo;NOTES&mdash;A 4-1 win at Los Angeles and a 7-1 romp at Vancouver marked the Isles&rsquo; first 2-0-0 opening since 1980-81 and their first unblemished road trip in more than two years. It was some start: The Isles never trailed in either game, made no costly positional mistakes, outscored the Kings and Canucks 7-0 in third period, killed all 12 penalties and went 5-for-14 on power plays&hellip;Denis Potvin&rsquo;s 1987-88 farewell tour began in Vancouver. The Canucks presented the avid fisherman with a rod and reel and all-expense-paid salmon-fishing vacation to Campbell River, B.C&hellip;Former Washington training staff assistant Craig Veydig has joined Craig Smith and Jim Pickard<h2>TRANSACTIONS</h2>Oct. 7: Ari Haanpaa, LW, and Dale Henry, LW, sent to Springfield. Brent Sutter, C, voted team captain. Bryan Trottier, C, and Steve Konroyd, D, named alternate captains.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Bryan Trottier, Brent Sutter, Pat LaFontaine, Bob Bassen.LW&mdash;Rich Kromm, Randy Wood, Derek King, Greg Gilbert, Brad Lauer.RW&mdash;Mikko Makela, Patrick Flatley, Alan Kerr, Brad Dalgarno.LD&mdash;Steve Konroyd, Ken Morrow, Gerald Diduck.RD&mdash;Denis Potvin, Tomas Jonsson, Gord Dineen, Ken Leiter.G&mdash;Kelly Hrudey, Billy Smith.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Brian Curran, D, bruised left thigh, day-to-day. &#9632;

f0007-03

Isles Can Sleep In On Game Day

<h2>TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE&hellip;</h2>1. What NHL team drafted Pittsburgh center Warren Young?2. What player was a member of Stanley Cup winners with Montreal in 1964-65 and 1978-79?3. Who won the 1965-66 Conn Smythe Trophy, despite the fact his team lost the Stanley Cup final series?4. Name the only men to score Stanley Cup-winning goals and coach Stanley Cup-winning teams.5. What Edmonton Oiler had three hat-tricks in the 1982-83 Stanley Cup playoffs?6. How many Stanley Cup-winning goals did Gordie Howe score?7. What team was the losing Stanley Cup finalist in 1937-38,193839, and 1939-40?8. Where did Vancouver&rsquo;s Greg Adams play college hockey?9. Montreal farmhand Alfie Turcotte&rsquo;s hometown is immortalized in song. Name it.10. Which Minnesota North Star defenseman played for Davos of the Swiss League?<h2>ANSWERS TO THE QUIZ</h2>1. California. 2. Yvan Cournoyer. 3. Roger Crozier. 4. Toe Blake, Frank Boucher. 5. Mark Messier. 6. One. 7. Toronto Maple Leafs. 8. Northern Arizonz. 9. Gary, Ind. 10. Ron Wilson. BONUS ANSWER: Gilles Villemure.<h2>BONUS QUESTION</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-04428/5408612-1-eng-US/f0007-042.jpg" title="f0007-04" width="554" height="936"></div>BONUS: He shared the Vezina Trophy in 1971, while playing for the New York Rangers. &#9632;

f0007-04

THN HOCKEY TRIVIA

ISN&rsquo;T IT A shame that a respected journalist such as Steve Dryden couldn&rsquo;t give our Canadian guys the true credit they deserved in his cover story (THN, Oct. 2) on the Canada Cup.Here was a team that had only been together a short while, and overcame not only a lack of familiarity, but also numerous injuries to defeat the Soviet Union.Rather than exhibiting the well-known Canadian penchants for humility and inferiority, Dryden should be relishing the fact Canada won. If he feels more comfortable ref-bashing and making excuses, he should get a green card. He and his crybaby tactics fit right in south of the border!Eric Kay, Phelpston, Ont.<h2>SOVIETS GOT BURNED</h2>I&rsquo;m writing about the 3-3 tie between Canada and the Soviet Union in the round-robin Canada Cup game played Sept. 6.In following NHL games for almost 20 years, one thing I&rsquo;ve learned is that the best team deserves to win.On Sept. 6, the Soviets were the best team and should have won.But who is that (referee) Mike Noeth character, anyway? What was he doing there? Team Canada had five power plays and the Soviets not one.Two more things which I didn&rsquo;t understand: How come a player like Dino Ciccarelli did not play in the Canada Cup, or Rendez-vous &rsquo;87? And how come a dirty player like Claude Lemieux did play in both of those international events?Yann Le Hors, St. Pierre and Miquelon, Fr.<h2>TOO VIOLENT?</h2>As a more-than-avid hockey fan, I can&rsquo;t help but chuckle at the spate of beanball wars that erupted in major-league baseball this season, following on the heels of basketball&rsquo;s pugnacious playoffs. Certain weekly sports magazines have consistently railed against hockey violence in the past decade, while pontificating about the relative safety of baseball and basketball.Evidently that&rsquo;s all changing now. Why, only the other day, I went to a boxing match and a baseball game broke out&hellip;George W. Cox, Jr., Myrtle Beach. S.C.<h2>FLYER FAN FOREVER</h2>In reference to Dave Molinari&rsquo;s column headlined &lsquo;Character Witnesses Abound When Flyers Do Their Thing&rsquo; (THN. Sept. 18):As hard as it is following hockey in the South, I manage to keep up pretty well, thanks to THN and cable TV coverage of the Stanley Cup playoffs.If the Philadelphia Flyers didn&rsquo;t display character throughout the playoffs, including game seven of the Stanley Cup finals, I guess I had my head in the so-called &ldquo;pair of hockey socks that haven&rsquo;t been washed in three months&rdquo; that Mr. Molinari referred to.The Philadelphia Flyers gave hockey fans one of the best Stanley Cup finals in recent years.As far as game seven goes, does losing one game to the Oilers, in their building, show a lack of character? I don&rsquo;t think so! The Flyers showed hockey fans across North America what hard work, determination, and a never-say-die attitude can do for a team confronted with a more talented opponent. If you ask me, the definition of character is the Philadelphia Flyers.I guess the problem is that Mr. Molinari has been covering the Pittsburgh Penguins too long, and has never really learned the meaning of character.Stephen W. Langish, Ladson. S.C.Let your voice be heard. Send your comments to Fan Forum, THE HOCKEY NEWS, 85 Scarsdale Rd., Suite 100, Don Mills, Ont. M3B 2R2. THN reserves the right to edit submissions. &#9632;

Referee-Bashing Writing Discredits Team Canada

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0008-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-011364/5408667-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg"></div> &#9632;

f0008-01

Elston

I HARDLY QUALIFY as an impartial observer, but I can tell you that this season, THE HOCKEY NEWS will be better than ever before.At least, better than anything we&rsquo;ve done in the five years and change that I&rsquo;ve been editor-in-chief.Ultimately, though, you will be the judge of that.I say all this as a preface to informing you of the numerous improvements we&rsquo;ve instituted with this issue and will continue to add over the course of the 1987-88 season.Consider this, then, as your orientation kit for the coming year:NHL REPORTS: The team-by-team stories are back, but conveniently grouped by division and conference.And, each weekly NHL team report will now feature an information box that includes detailed transactions, injury reports and rosters.Due to the restructuring of our deadlines and copy flow, you&rsquo;ll notice that the content of all NHL team reports will be more current and relevant than ever before.COLUMNISTS: Regulars Stan Fischler, Frank Orr, Jay Greenberg, Steve Simmons, Barry Meisel and Dave Molinari are back, joined by newcomers Eric Duhatschek and Randy Smith.The additions of Duhatschek, based in Calgary, and Smith, in Hartford, provide yet another dimension to an already established all-star cast.Fischler and Greenberg will appear each week, the others rotating on a bi-weekly basis, giving you unprecedented variety.Al Strachan, who had appeared as a biweekly columnist, will move to a monthly schedule to allow him to do what he does best&mdash;provide in-depth backgrounder features.MINOR PRO REPORT: Corny as it may sound, it&rsquo;s both bigger and better. Each week you&rsquo;ll find an in-depth feature on either the American or International League.Plus, there are separate notebooks focussing on the AHL Northern Division, AHL Southern Division and IHL.MAJOR JUNIOR REPORT: Ditto.Each week you&rsquo;ll get a feature-length story on a subject of relevance to major junior hockey fans in Canada. Then, you&rsquo;ll be able to peruse notebooks on all three leagues&mdash;Western, Ontario and Quebec.COLLEGE REPORT: It&rsquo;s been made more concise, clear and lively, keeping you abreast of all that is happening in the four U.S. college leagues as well as the Canadian university scene.INTERNATIONAL REPORT: In the weeks to come, we will unveil a regular weekly feature, dealing with all the news and issues from abroad&mdash;the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, Sweden, Finland and other hockey-playing nations across the world. There will also be an added emphasis on statistical reports from those nations.STATISTICS: We aim to beef up this area with a regular weekly appearance of the Numbers Game (previously a bi-weekly item), featuring the analysis of THN numbers-cruncher Murray Townsend. Plus, we will continue to publish the most complete set of NHL statistics available anywhere.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-021120/5408698-1-eng-US/f0008-022.jpg" title="f0008-02" width="394" height="442"><figcaption class="caption-body">Bob McKenzie</figcaption></div>When you add it all up, what you have is a greater emphasis on presenting more diverse information in a more readable and entertaining package.So, as you&rsquo;ll see, the changes to THN this season are plentiful. But one thing hasn&rsquo;t changed and never will.We&rsquo;re still in the business of providing you with the most informative and entertaining hockey publication in the world.We&rsquo;re optimistic you&rsquo;ll respond favorably to the new look and feel of THN.Why?Because the majority of these changes were suggested by the most knowledgable experts in the field.Our readers. &#9632;

f0008-02

A 1987-88 Orientation Kit For THN Readers

<div class="byline">BY WALT MacPEEK</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-011323/5408729-1-eng-US/f0009-012.jpg" title="f0009-01" width="175" height="136"></div>NEW YORK&mdash;A year ago, the Philadelphia Flyers told Bob Froese to take a hike. This fall, the New York Rangers have relied on him so desperately that coach Michel Bergeron has already joked that his teammates owe him a vacation.Although the Rangers began their 62nd season with a tie and a victory, Froese faced 43 shots in the opening night 4-4 draw with Pittsburgh and 46 shots in a 6-2 victory at Hartford.&ldquo;Our guys should send Bobby Froese to Florida for a rest,&rdquo; Bergeron chirped after a sloppy Ranger checking job at Hartford. &ldquo;He has covered up for a lot of mistakes but no goalie can keep that up forever.&ldquo;If we don&rsquo;t start playing better defensively,&rdquo; New York&rsquo;s new coach declared, &ldquo;we&rsquo;re going to be in trouble.&rdquo;While no one could question the wisdom of Bergeron&rsquo;s observations, Froese blamed some of his teammates&rsquo; difficulties on early-season unfamiliarity.&ldquo;A lot of guys didn&rsquo;t really play together that much in the pre-season,&rdquo; Froese noted, without specifically referring to general manager Phil Esposito&rsquo;s revolving-door personnel moves.Using Esposito&rsquo;s &ldquo;turn every negative into a positive&rdquo; philosophy, Froese found a plus in his team&rsquo;s wide-open offensive style.&ldquo;What encourages me,&rdquo; Froese explained, &ldquo;is that we&rsquo;ve fallen behind in both games and fought back both times. That seems to be a characteristic of this group; we did it all through the pre-season, too.&rdquo;With John Vanbiesbrouck sidelined by a fractured jaw, Froese&rsquo;s spectacular start gave Bergeron some time to make adjustments without the added pressure losing creates.Despite heavy media criticism that Esposito&rsquo;s wheeling and dealing had left the Rangers without enough muscle, many veterans began the season with surprisingly upbeat pronouncements.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re going to challenge for first place,&rdquo; predicted center-right winger Ron Duguay.Esposito, who said he was disappointed to lose Stu Kulak (to Quebec) in the waiver draft, but figured on losing Willi Plett (to Boston), didn&rsquo;t go quite as far as Duguay or Larouche.&ldquo;I would hope we&rsquo;d be very competitive with the Flyers and Caps,&rdquo; Esposito said, &ldquo;but our priority is to make the playoffs. If we got 85 points and made the playoffs, I&rsquo;d be very happy with that.&rdquo;Although Esposito and Bergeron appeared to get along extremely well throughout the pre-season, there seemed to be a touch of annoyance in the coach&rsquo;s voice when the GM traded defenseman Jay Caufield and center Dave Gagner to Minnesota for defensemen Paul Boutilier and Jari Gron-strand on Oct. 6.&ldquo;He (Esposito) told me, &lsquo;Michel, no more trades&rsquo; and I believed him,&rdquo; Bergeron said. &ldquo;He told the players, too. Except&hellip;&rdquo;The GM shrugged it off as a failure to communicate clearly.&ldquo;I never said that,&rdquo; Esposito claimed. &ldquo;I told them, &lsquo;This is our team.&rsquo; Never say never.&rdquo;NOTES&mdash;Following Barry Beck&rsquo;s career-threatening shoulder injury, the big defenseman did his disappearing act, again, and there was confusion over his status even as to the Rangers&rsquo; contractual obligations&hellip;John Vanbiesbrouck suffered his injury in practice when hit by a shot off the stick of Tomas Sandstrom&hellip;Pierre Larouche shocked the Pittsburgh Penguins, Madison Square Garden fans and teammates by punching out Dave Hannan in the opener. &ldquo;The last time I fought,&rdquo; Larouche recalled, &ldquo;I was shadow-boxing&hellip;and I lost.&rdquo;<h2>TRANSACTIONS</h2>Oct. 6: Jeff Caufield, RW, and Dave Gagner, C-LW, traded to Minnesota for Paul Boutilier, D, and Jari Gronstrand, D. Assigned Boutilier and Gronstrand to Denver.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Ulf Dahlen, Marcel Dionne, Kelly Kisio, Pierre Larouche.LW&mdash;Jan Erixon, John Ogrodnick, Don Maloney, Brian Mullen, Walt Poddubny.RW&mdash;Lucien DeBlois, Ron Duguay, Tomas Sandstrom, Gord Walker.LD&mdash;Curt Giles, Willie Huber, Dave Pichette, David Shaw.RD&mdash;Bruce Bell, Ron Greschner, Larry Melnyk, James Patrick.G&mdash;Bob Froese, Ron Scott.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Barry Beck, D, strained left shoulder, indefinite.John Vanbiesbrouck, G, non-displaced fracture of jaw, indefinite. &#9632;

f0009-01

Cool Goaltender Froese Keeps Rangers Hot

Can you believe a National Hockey League referee who regularly quotes William Shakespeare?Is it possible for one of pro hockey&rsquo;s &ldquo;bad guys&rdquo; to become one of the NHL&rsquo;s best whistle-blowers?Can the grandson of former National League baseball umpire Bill Stewart&mdash;he also coached the Blackhawks to the 1938 Stanley Cup&mdash;emerge as one of big-league hockey&rsquo;s most arresting characters?If the name happens to be Paul Stewart, the answer is affirmative on all three counts.Stewart, all 6-foot-l, 205 pounds and 33 years of him, has already handled four Canada Cup games and won raves on both sides of the Atlantic. Jim Gregory and John McCauley, his NHL bosses, praised him and there was an added bonus&mdash;in Russian.&ldquo;The Soviet linesman (Mikhail Galinovsky), who had been on standby when I handled one of the Canada-Russia games, came over to me after the game and hugged me,&rdquo; Stewart recalls. &ldquo;Then, he added. &lsquo;Nyet problemski.&rsquo; That was a high point in my career.&rdquo;Actually, there are two Paul Stewart careers. The current one, in which he&rsquo;s a law enforcement officer, and the one that began in the early 1970s after he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and became a notorious lawbreaker on ice.Stewart&rsquo;s first professional employer was Binghamton of the old North American League. His first shift was memorable.&ldquo;I got an assist on a goal,&rdquo; he says with a medium-rare Boston accent, &ldquo;and then the other team&rsquo;s tough guy challenged me and I got 23 stitches over my right eye. The doctor told me I was finished for the night, but I said, &lsquo;I&rsquo;m going back out. This might be my last game.&rsquo; I always played as if it was my last game. And the way I played, it always could have been.&rdquo;As advertised, Stewart did return&mdash;again and again and again. He totalled six years in the minors&mdash;&rdquo;11 teams and 18 apartments&rdquo;&mdash;with WHA stints at Edmonton and Cincinnati before reaching the NHL with Quebec.&ldquo;The Nordiques signed me when the WHA folded and paid me over $50,000 and said I did the job. I didn&rsquo;t win every fight, but I was the only guy on the team fighting.&rdquo;When Stewart&rsquo;s NHL career ended in 1980 he began one of the most curious journeys imaginable, considering that he&rsquo;s now back in the bigs as a whistle-tooter. His first job was at a Massachusetts radio station where, among other things, he played host to a sports talk show. That done, he became a high school teacher (Latin, French). From the school system, he went to the police department in Yarmouth, Mass., then sold cars and, later, advertising.&ldquo;With all those jobs,&rdquo; Stewart remembers, &ldquo;I felt like a person away from where I should be&mdash;at a hockey rink, where I was happiest. Teaching and broadcasting and all that, I felt I wasn&rsquo;t being true to myself.&rdquo;To say hockey is in his blood is like saying Mario Lemieux has moves. His father helped launch the hockey program at Notre Dame and previously had been the Blackhawk stickboy when Paul&rsquo;s grandfather coached in Chicago.Paul&rsquo;s return to hockey was at the amateur officiating level. He did well and got a push from his colleagues.&ldquo;My brother officials felt I was the perfect candidate to switch over to refereeing so I called Scotty Morrison (former NHL referee director) for an audition and they sent me to a ref school.&rdquo;With the NHL&rsquo;s encouragement, Stewart climbed on the ladder and, slowly moved up.&ldquo;In my first year,&rdquo; he recalls, &ldquo;I worked the Atlantic Coast League, worked junior hockey, high school and some college. I did 154 games and 138,000 miles. I started to pay my dues. The next year I worked the IHL, WHL and AHL, on road trips for 37 days and home for two, back out for 29. Plus, I got a lot of encouragement from the NHL staff.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-011403/5408760-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg" title="f0010-01" width="331" height="443"><figcaption class="caption-body">Stan Fischler</figcaption></div>The transition from bad guy to good guy came easily to Stewart.&ldquo;What did Shakespeare say, &lsquo;All the world is a stage and its people merely players.&rsquo; Well, I&rsquo;m just fillling another aspect of the major drama. I don&rsquo;t look at my turnabout as incredulously as the uninformed public. I&rsquo;ve always felt that my whole life has been geared to, &lsquo;Nothing is impossible.&rsquo; When people ask me &lsquo;Why?&rsquo; I say, &lsquo;Why not?&rsquo;&rdquo;Stewart&rsquo;s past includes an array of colorful stories. The Edmonton Journal, for instance, recounted an anecdote about Stewart fighting three Bruins one night at Boston Garden, getting tossed out of the game and then tossing his skates in the Charles River to signify the end of his playing career. Reminded of the episode. Stewart offers a slight amendment.&ldquo;What I did was a symbolic gesture (throwing away the skates) in that I had accomplished what I set out to do in my own mind and what others had informed me was impossible (playing in the NHL) to do.&rdquo;Then, in his second season at Binghamton, he a struck referee, between periods, after he had been cut by a highstick and no penalty was called by the official. He served an eight-game suspension.There were times when it appeared impossible for Stewart to make it to the NHL referee corps.&ldquo;The lowest point I ever had,&rdquo; he says, &ldquo;was in the American League and I made a mistake on a wrong interpretation. It cost the team the game and I offered my resignation to the league the next day. I felt very badly about it because I had one thing in my heart and that was to be fair to both clubs. Through a mistake, I had been unfair.&rdquo;Despite the blunder, Stewart was backed by the NHL&rsquo;s McCauley and Bryan Lewis. More important, he resolved to go on and make himself better.&ldquo;I did what I had done as a player&mdash;I got knocked down and I said, &lsquo;Well, I&rsquo;m going to get back up; I&rsquo;m going to show that these mistakes are not going to happen again.&rsquo; &ldquo;Because of Stewart&rsquo;s familiarity with the penalty box&mdash;he earned 241 minutes in only 40 WHA games with Cincy in 1977-78&mdash;Stewart&rsquo;s past remains a source of needling to contemporary players. One night, Paul was being bugged by Ranger captain Ron Greschner, whose wife is alluring actress-model Carol Alt. After listening to Greschner&rsquo;s filibuster. Stewart inquired: &ldquo;Does your wife have a sister?&rdquo;Listening to the calm, thoughtful Stewart, one is hard-pressed to recall that this chap was the holy terror of the WHA a decade ago, and the subject of many a tale about fistic prowess. One of the best involves his debut with Binghamton when Bill Goldthorpe was the club&rsquo;s enforcer. The two met in a bar after Stewart&rsquo;s first game whereupon Goldthorpe informed Stewart that there was only room on the team for one muscleman. They decided to settle the matter outside.&ldquo;I picked Goldthorpe up above my head, threw, him to the ground and explained very carefully to him that we were teammates. There were no more problems after that.&rdquo;There should be no problems for Paul Stewart&mdash;NHL referee. He&rsquo;s a winner who figures to be around a long time. How long? He pauses momentarily and then produces the answer:&ldquo;I&rsquo;d like them to have to cut my skates off!&rdquo; &#9632;

f0010-01

Referee Fighting The Good Fight Now

<div class="byline">BY RICH CHERE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-021075/5408791-1-eng-US/f0010-022.jpg" title="f0010-02" width="179" height="134"></div>&ldquo;Teams will be a little less excited about running us with Jim Korn around.&rdquo;&mdash;Goalie Alain Chevrier, July 21.EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J&mdash;Maybe opposing NHL clubs are a little less excited about it, but they are still &ldquo;running&rdquo; New Jersey Devil goaltenders without fear of retaliation.When Toronto&rsquo;s Russ Courtnall hit Bob Sauve near the blue line at Maple Leaf Gardens Oct. 10, New Jersey didn&rsquo;t just lose a backup goalie for 10 days with a partial shoulder separation.More importantly, perhaps, the Devils also lost some respect around the league, since their pre-season threats of standing up for their own players were not carried out.<blockquote class="pullQuote">&lsquo;I should&rsquo;ve given him (Courtnall) a good one.&rsquo;&mdash;Wolanin</blockquote>&ldquo;There&rsquo;s no excuse. We should&rsquo;ve done something,&rdquo; admitted defenseman Craig Wolanin. &ldquo;I had a shot at him (Courtnall) in the end. I should&rsquo;ve given him a good one, but it&rsquo;s a long season.&rdquo;&ldquo;Yes it was a cheap shot,&rdquo; added coach Doug Carpenter, &ldquo;He got run over. But it was difficult time to settle a score. It was 2-2, we had a power play and were back in the horse race, (after trailing 2-0).&rdquo;True, the Devils were smart enough to not put themselves behind the eightball in a game they eventually lost, 5-2, but what about later in the contest?&ldquo;Later in the game the score is 3-2. We&rsquo;re still in the game,&rdquo; said Carpenter. &ldquo;Whether you do or don&rsquo;t retaliate, you&rsquo;re caught between a rock and a hard place. I wasn&rsquo;t disappointed that we didn&rsquo;t retaliate. What was disappointing was the fact that it was a 2-2 game and then Toronto dominated the third period.&rdquo;Not only did Courtnall run Sauve at 16:05 of the second period, sending the veteran goalie sprawling in pain, but Toronto&rsquo;s Al Secord later knocked his replacement, Alain Chevrier, over.Chevrier has long complained about such treatment, but Sauve got a painful taste of it when he skated almost to the blue line to clear the puck.&ldquo;I couldn&rsquo;t see him (Courtnall). I had my head down as I shot the puck. Then I got hit hard. Very hard,&rdquo; said the former Chicago Blackhawk, who the Devils signed as a free agent. &ldquo;For a guy to hit you that hard, something is fishy. I&rsquo;d have to see the film, but I&rsquo;m sure he could&rsquo;ve gotten out of the way. There&rsquo;s no need for that. The puck was already out of the zone.&rdquo;Sauve&rsquo;s injury meant the return of Craig Billington from the Devils&rsquo; American League farm team in Utica, N.Y. Billington, 21, was demoted on Sept. 29 without a legitimate chance in training camp and commented: &ldquo;To say I&rsquo;m disappointed would be a terrible understatement. Mr. Lamoriello (Lou, the general manager) said he hadn&rsquo;t seen me play very much. I personally wish I could&rsquo;ve gotten into a few exhibition games so he could&rsquo;ve seen me play, but what could I do? I couldn&rsquo;t put myself in.&rdquo;NOTES&mdash;Devils&rsquo; top draft pick Brendan Shanahan, who had assists in his first two NHL games, got his first NHL point by assisting on Pat Verbeek&rsquo;s third-period goal in a 6-3 opening-night triumph over the Penguins Oct. 9 in New Jersey. The following night Shanahan played center, his favored position, when Mark Johnson did not make the trip because of a knee injury. Shanahan centered a line with George McPhee and Jim Korn on the wings&hellip;Johnson was stopped by Penguin goalie Pat Riggin on a penalty shot in the opener&hellip;Devils killed 10 straight Pittsburgh power plays, a total of 21:39 shorthanded. That was encouraging for a team that finished 20th in penalty-killing last season&hellip;David Maley, Anders Carlsson, Perry Anderson, Randy Velischek and Marc Laniel did not dress in the first two games.<h2>TRANSACTIONS</h2>Oct. 6: Steve Richmond, D, Dan Dorion, C, assigned to to Utica of AHL; Neil Brady, C, to Medicine Hat.Oct. 7: George McPhee, LW, obtained from Winnipeg for fourthround 1989 draft choice.Oct. 12: Craig Billington, G, recalled from Utica.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C: Anders Carlsson, Claude Loiselle, Kirk Muller, Patrik Sundstrom.LW: George McPhee, Perry Anderson, Andy Brickley, Aaron Broten, Doug Sulliman, David Maley,RW: Jim Korn, Doug Brown, John MacLean, Brendan Shanahan, Pat Verbeek.LD: Ken Daneyko, Bruce Driver, Tom Kurvers, Craig Wolanin.RD: Joe Cirella, Marc Laniel, Randy Velischek, Jack O&rsquo;Callahan.G: Alain Chevrier, Craig Billington.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Bob Sauve, G, partially separated shoulder, Oct. 20.Mark Johnson, C, strained left knee, day-to-day.Al Stewart, LW, hernia surgery, indefinite.Gord Mark, D, fractured fifth knuckle on right hand, indefinite. &#9632;

f0010-02

Saintly Devils Decide To Turn Other Cheek

<div class="byline">BY DAVE MOLINARI</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-011280/5408822-1-eng-US/f0011-012.jpg" title="f0011-01" width="175" height="135"></div>PITTSBURGH&mdash;The cause of his injury is unclear.But for defenseman Zarley Zalapski, the ramifications of his back injury are disturbingly clear: His introduction to the NHL ended even before it began, and it is questionable whether he will be able to realize his dream of playing for Canada at the Calgary Olympics in February.Dr. Chuck Stone, the Penguins&rsquo; orthopedic surgeon, diagnosed the back ailment, which had troubled Zalapski for several weeks, as spondylolisthesis.That is a deterioration of the bony structure of the spine&mdash;the same problem which required off-season surgery for Penguin defenseman Norm Schmidt.Penguin officials, however, said Zalapski&rsquo;s problem is not as serious as Schmidt&rsquo;s and surgery is not planned.He is, however, expected to be sidelined for at least two months&mdash;and conceivably longer. He will wear a back brace for at least one month, before doctors break the brace and re-evaluate his condition.With the start of the Olympics about four months away, it is easy to see why Zalapski&rsquo;s participation is a matter of conjecture.While he clings to the hope of playing in the Games&mdash;a dream he has nurtured since before the Penguins took him with the No. 4 choice in the 1986 entry draft&mdash;Zalapski said he will not mortgage his professional career for a possible medal.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want to push the injury so (far) I make it worse and jeopardize my chances for the future. I&rsquo;ve got three or four months to go, so hopefully the injury will repair itself in that time.&rdquo;Zalapski went from Pittsburgh to his home in Leduc, Alta., for what was expected to be several months of rest and recuperation.He tentatively planned to take a few college courses during his time off&mdash;and to consult some physicians about his condition.&ldquo;I think I&rsquo;m going to go to a few doctors and get it checked out. I don&rsquo;t question the opinion here, but I just want to get some other ideas on the subject.&rdquo;While those additional medical opinions might give Zalapski new insights into his problem, the source of his injury probably never will be determined.It was first manifested in back spasms during the warm-up before an exhibition game Oct. 2 at the Civic Arena.<blockquote class="pullQuote">&lsquo;I don&rsquo;t want to push the injury.&rsquo;&mdash;Zalapski</blockquote>Zalapski was pulled from the lineup that night, and did not practise or play with the Penguins again before his ailment was diagnosed.&ldquo;I can&rsquo;t remember taking any heavy hits or anything like that,&rdquo; Zalapski said. &ldquo;I think it may have just been a combination of a lot of games and a short summer, that sort of thing.&rdquo;The pain in his back made it obvious to Zalapski he had something greater than the bumps and bruises inherent in his profession. But he did not expect to find out he had a problem of such monumental magnitude.&ldquo;I certainly didn&rsquo;t think it would be anything at this level (of severity),&rdquo; Zalapski said. &ldquo;But what can you do? It&rsquo;s just something that happened.&rdquo;And so Zalapski again departed Pittsburgh without playing so much as an exhibition game at the Civic Arena.He played four pre-season games with the Penguins last fall, all on the road. This year, he joined the team after its Sept. 18 home game against Hartford and was pulled from the lineup shortly before the start of the other home game.Before being injured, Zalapski had been scheduled to play at least eight regular-season games with the Penguins, then decide whether to remain with them or go back to Team Canada.&ldquo;It seems like I&rsquo;m kind of going around in circles,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I came here expecting to play some league games and it just didn&rsquo;t work out.&rdquo;Of far more enduring importance, of course, is whether&mdash;not when&mdash;Zalapski will be able to play again.Preliminary indications were the condition would have no long-term repercussions, although any such evaluation must be delayed, pending further examinations in coming months.&ldquo;Hopefully, I can recover fully,&rdquo; Zalapski said,&rdquo; and the amount of time it takes me to recover isn&rsquo;t a long time.&ldquo;Hopefully, it won&rsquo;t take longer than a couple of months or so.&rdquo;NOTES&mdash;Despite the presence of Charlie Simmer, the Penguins&rsquo; power play sputtered badly in the first two games. It produced two goals on eight chances against New York, none on 10 tries in a 6-3 loss to New Jersey the next night.<h2>TRANSACTIONS</h2>Oct. 6: Chris Joseph, D, signed for three years and an option.Oct. 7: Scott Gruhl, LW, sent to Muskegon.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Mario Lemieux, Dan Quinn, Dave McLIwain, Chris Kontos.LW&mdash;Charlie Simmer, Randy Cunneyworth, Mark Kachowski, Brad Aitken, Risto Kurkinen.RW&mdash;Craig Simpson, Wilf Paiement, Dan Frawley, Dave Hannan.LD&mdash;Doug Bodger, Ville Siren, Jim Johnson, Chris Dahlquist.RD&mdash;Chris Joseph, Moe Mantha, Rod Buskas.G&mdash;Pat Riggin, Gilles Meloche, Frank Pietrangelo.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Rob Brown, C, broken finger, day-today.Bob Errey, LW, sprained right wrist, day-to-day.Randy Hillier, D, hip muscle, indefinite.Troy Loney, LW, sprained knee, indefinite.Jimmy Mann, RW, elbow surgery, indefinite.Zarley Zalapski, D, back spasms, indefinite. &#9632;

f0011-01

Back Ailment Forces Zalapski To Sidelines

A NATIONAL HOCKEY League team does everything possible to make itself strong through good management, solid scouting of players, patient development of its talent and those shrewd little management moves that give a club an edge.Now, if those features produce a contender that plays good, entertaining hockey, it should earn the respect of opponents and perhaps motivate the &ldquo;emulation factor&rdquo; in which other teams try to duplicate the things that have made the top clubs strong.Unfortunately, the NHL simply doesn&rsquo;t work that way. The league never raises the bridge; it usually lowers the water. Any team that uses intelligence or diligence to find even a minute edge can expect an attempt to install legislation that will take it away.Think not? Well, recall what the NHL did to Philadelphia Flyers in the 1970s after they had mauled and brawled their way to two Stanley Cup crowns. The NHL passed rules that worked against gang war, including what one old cynic claimed was coach Fred Shero&rsquo;s greatest contribution to the game, the third-man-in rule.Okay! Okay! Just kidding with that one, folks. That was one time the NHL reacted positively to the reasons for one team&rsquo;s dominance.Another example of a rule change to nullify a feature that gave one club a large advantage occurred during the &rsquo;50s when the Montreal Canadiens owned an awesome power play. As a result of their finding the players to staff a splendid extra-man attack and drilling them to a high level of efficiency, the Canadiens forced the change in the rules that allowed a player serving a minor penalty to return when an opposition goal was scored.There&rsquo;s no need to prowl the history books to discover another example of this sorry approach to handling the great teams. In recent years, two rule changes have been aimed directly at the Edmonton Oilers.Through the &rsquo;80s as they climbed towards the pinnacle, the Oilers didn&rsquo;t have an awesome power play. But they more than made up for that when each team was reduced to four skaters by coincidental minor penalties. The forward duos of Wayne Gretzky and Jari Kurri, Mark Messier and Glenn Anderson, with Paul Coffey on defense, had the skill and mobility to take advantage of the wide-open spaces.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-011378/5408853-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg" title="f0012-01" width="376" height="426"><figcaption class="caption-body">Frank Orr</figcaption></div>But the NHL did the valiant thing. They passed a rule to all but eliminate the four-on-four. When coincidental minors are called, the teams stay at full strength.&ldquo;Typical NHL move because they tore down the good team instead of trying to build themselves up,&rdquo; snorted Oiler boss Glen Sather. &ldquo;It was definitely &lsquo;the Oiler rule&rsquo; because we had the players to be good in four-on-four.&rdquo;Now, the NHL has done it again and again, it&rsquo;s a rule aimed at the Oilers. Edmonton acquired the NHL rights to defenseman Reijo Ruotsalainen, who spent most of last season in Europe but joined the Oilers at the roster deadline and played a role of some importance in the Oilers&rsquo; advance to the Cup.Recently, league owners acted to stop players who move from Europe to NHL teams late in the season, by making them subject to the waiver process. A player can no longer go directly to the team which holds its NHL rights. Unless, of course, that team is in last place and has the first claim.If a team is smart enough to upgrade its roster and produce a more entertaining variety of hockey, why should it be penalized? That&rsquo;s easy to answer. Because the NHL has never been accused of thinking on the broad spectrum. &#9632;

f0012-01

NHL Lowers Water, Doesn’t Raise The Bridge

<div class="byline">BY GLENN COLE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-03770/5408884-1-eng-US/f0012-032.jpg" title="f0012-03" width="581" height="845"><figcaption class="caption-body">Talented winger Stephane Richer was dominant for Montreal in the early going.</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-021149/5408891-1-eng-US/f0012-022.jpg" title="f0012-02" width="178" height="135"></div>MONTREAL&mdash;A line formed late in training camp was the Montreal Canadiens&rsquo; most effective in early-season action.Still looking for the right combination to put some punch into an attack that finished 19th overall last year, coach Jean Perron put left winger Mats Naslund on a line with center Shayne Corson and right winger Stephane Richer.The move sparked Naslund, who fell off to 80 points last year after 110 in 1985-86.&ldquo;I like the idea of playing with Stephane and Shayne,&rdquo; said the diminutive Swedish left winger, who set a personal high with a five-assist performance in the Canadiens&rsquo; home-opening 6-3 victory over the Buffalo Sabres. The outburst fell one assist shy of the team record of six, set by Elmer Lach in 1943.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not a goal-scorer, but a playmaker.&rdquo; Naslund added. &ldquo;I like setting up goals, but I&rsquo;m not a sniper.&rdquo;In fact, Naslund did not even get a shot on goal, as the Canadiens disposed of the Sabres on Forum ice for the eighth consecutive time.Unlike the Canadiens&rsquo; season opening 2-2 tie in Philadelphia, the first home game was a no-hitter. That allowed Naslund and friends time to set up and maneuver.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s kind of nice to have a night off from the rough stuff and bruises and so on,&rdquo; Naslund said. &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t mind it.&rdquo;Richer, who was shifted to the right side from his natural center position, had a couple of goals, both set up by Naslund. He looked like the Stephane Richer everyone has been expecting to see.&ldquo;If he plays like that all season, he could finish the season with 80 points,&rdquo; Naslund said. &ldquo;But don&rsquo;t forget, every athlete goes through highs and lows during a season.&rdquo;Richer has been careful with his words since training camp got under way. He does not want to say anything he may regret, as he has in the past. He just wants to play consistently.&ldquo;Getting the goals was important for our line,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;If I score a goal, it&rsquo;s a plus for the team. I just want to do my job, that&rsquo;s all.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s good for the confidence of our line.&rdquo;Thanks mostly to Naslund, Richer found himself with a plethora of scoring opportunities.&ldquo;Mats told me before the game to be sharp on my side,&rdquo; Richer said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know how many chances I had to score. Every time Mats had the puck, it seemed as though I was open. We had a lot of time to make our plays and to shoot.&rdquo;Perron was pleased with Richer&rsquo;s performance.&ldquo;I liked what Richer did in the opening game in Philadelphia as well,&rdquo; the coach said. &ldquo;He was involved, he was hitting. It&rsquo;s a good sign.&rdquo;It&rsquo;s early yet, but if Naslund can continue to keep Richer up to that level of play, then the long-criticized Canadiens&rsquo; offense may produce more goals. So might the long-criticized Richer, who left the team briefly after a demotion to the American League last year.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m going to do what they tell me to do,&rdquo; Richersaid. &ldquo;Three years ago, I was physically ready for the NHL, not mentally. This year it&rsquo;s different.&rdquo;NOTES&mdash;The Canadiens are 4416-11 in home openers&hellip;Defenseman Mathieu Schneider, the Canadiens&rsquo; fourth choice, 44th overall, played in both the season opener and home opener while defenseman Scott Sandelin was a designated sitter&hellip;Chris Chelios played his 200th career game against the Sabres.<h2>TRANSACTIONS</h2>Oct. 5: Andre Villeneuve, defenseman, sent to Sherbrooke.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Shayne Corson, Bobby Smith, Guy Carbonneau, Brian Skrudland.LW&mdash;Mats Naslund, Bob Gainey, Mike McPhee, Sergio Momesso.RW&mdash;Stephane Richer, Claude Lemieux, Kjell Dahlin, Chris Nilan, John Kordic.LD&mdash;Craig Ludwig, Peter Svoboda, Mathieu Schneider.RD&mdash;Chris Chelios, Rick Green, Gaston Gingras, Scott Sandelin.G&mdash;Patrick Roy, Brian Hayward.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Ryan Walter, LW, bruised ribs, day-to-day.Mike Lalor, D, inflamed right ankle, indefinite.Larry Robinson, D, broken right tibia, indefinite. &#9632;

f0012-03

Richer, Naslund, Corson Shining As Linemates

The Edmonton Oilers will sweep through the Campbell Conference and win their third Stanley Cup in four years, predicts THN&rsquo;s blue-ribbon panel of 21 contributors and editor-in-chief Bob McKenzie.The Oilers were the unanimous choice to top the Smythe Division standings, and were near-unanimous to represent the Campbell Conference in the Stanley Cup. (Brave soul Al Morganti of Philadelphia picked the Minnesota North Stars.)The Oilers were the choice of 16 to win the Stanley Cup, while the Philadelphia Flyers got four votes and the Montreal Canadiens two.So stop yawning already. There are some mild surprises in this survey, which includes the opinions of our correspondents in each NHL city and McKenzie.For instance: the Winnipeg Jets are an overwhelming favorite to finish second in the Smythe Division, behind the Oilers. The Calgary Flames&rsquo; recruitment of defenseman Brad McCrimmon failed to sway our forecasters&mdash;Winnipeg was the choice for second place on 16 of 22 ballots, Calgary on the other six.The Los Angeles Kings and Vancouver Canucks are expected to bring up the rear in the Smythe.As for the Norris Division, has anyone got a three-sided coin? That&rsquo;s how close our forecasters see the race between the St. Louis Blues, Detroit Red Wings and last year&rsquo;s playoff non-qualifiers, the Minnesota North Stars.The three teams split 20 of 22 first-place votes (the other two went to the Chicago Blackhawks), with St. Louis edging Minnesota and Detroit, 8-7-5. The Blackhawks are expected to finish somewhere in playoff country by all but four voters, while the Toronto Maple Leafs were tagged for last&mdash;16 of the 22 had them in fifth.The tightest two-horse race is expected in the Adams. Eleven voters picked Hartford first and Montreal second, as a joint entry. The other 11 picked Montreal first, but only 10 of those chose Hartford for second. Eric Duhatschek of Calgary cast the inadvertent tie-breaker, by choosing Hartford third, behind the Quebec Nordiques.The Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres and Nordiques were picked to follow, in that order.It&rsquo;s the Flyers&rsquo; year&mdash;again&mdash;in the Patrick Division, according to 16 of our 22. The Washington Capitals garnered the other six pennant votes and another 14 for second place, while the New York Islanders were a strong third choice.Possibly inspired by the brilliant play of Mario Lemieux in the Canada Cup, 15 voters picked the Pittsburgh Penguins to make the playoffs. The New York Rangers, on the other hand, were expected to falter under hyperactive general manager Phil Esposito and fall out of the money. The New Jersey Devils were picked for last by 17 writers.One final prognostication: Most of the forecasters will try to deny their predictions at season&rsquo;s end. &#9632;

Oilers The Choice Of THN Forecasters

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0013-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-011299/5409012-1-eng-US/f0013-012.jpg"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-02946/5409005-1-eng-US/f0013-022.jpg" title="f0013-02" width="3014" height="2042"></div><h2>CAMPBELL CONFERENCE</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-03749/5408998-1-eng-US/f0013-032.jpg" title="f0013-03" width="715" height="267"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-04650/5408991-1-eng-US/f0013-042.jpg" title="f0013-04" width="718" height="273"></div><h2>WALES CONFERENCE</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-05529/5408984-1-eng-US/f0013-052.jpg" title="f0013-05" width="726" height="264"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-06443/5408977-1-eng-US/f0013-062.jpg" title="f0013-06" width="799" height="309"></div> &#9632;

f0013-01

How NHL Writers Foresee Division Races

<div class="byline">BY STAN FISCHLER</div>The talk among some Edmonton media chaps is that the Oilers&rsquo; fiscal hullabaloo is rooted in an alleged hefty raise that boss Glen Sather received this year. Buzz among the newshounds is that Slats&rsquo; new deal supposedly would be kept under wraps. However some stickhandlers apparently got wind of it and the lettuce hit the fan&hellip;Mike Keenan would prefer that it be kept secret but the supposedly insensitive coach was especially generous to his Team Canada trainers&hellip;The way Phil Esposito sees it, Ed Olczyk was in a no-win situation being a native Chicagoan, breaking in with Blackhawks. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s always tougher in your own hometown,&rdquo; Espo tells BLUELINES. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s why the Mullen boys&mdash;Joey and Brian, both from Manhattan&mdash;were lucky not starting their careers in New York. There are too many distractions for a young boy starting in his own city.&rdquo;Bypassed by Team Sweden coach Tommy Sandlin, Ulf Samuelsson of the Whalers indicates he&rsquo;ll tell Sandlin where to get off if he&rsquo;s asked to represent Sweden in the future. &ldquo;Just wait until next time if they ask me to play,&rdquo; warns Samuelsson. Sandlin concedes that he erred in leaving Ulf out of the Canada Cup competition&hellip;If an eight-game NHL-Soviet series is arranged for 1990 along the lines of the 1972 series, the four North American matches would be split-two in Canada and two in the United States. Most likely sites are New York City, Philadelphia, Montreal and Toronto. The hitch is, however, the Soviets are currently not welcome at The Spectrum in Philadelphia or Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-011355/5409050-1-eng-US/f0014-012.jpg" title="f0014-01" width="360" height="574"><figcaption class="caption-body">Ulf Samuelsson</figcaption></div>Wendel Clark&rsquo;s kid brother, Kerry, raised a few hackles during exhibition games with the Islanders before being sent back to Saskatoon. After scoring a goal, Clark would do a routine which seemed to taunt the victimized goalie. Kerry calls it &ldquo;a trademark.&rdquo; He adds that he does it &ldquo;to be a little aggravating.&rdquo;&hellip;A well-placed NHL insider tells BLUELINES that the teams most opposed to expansion are those in the east and those that most favor growth are Smythe Division clubs &ldquo;so that they can place more teams on the West Coast.&rdquo;&hellip;A little-known study compiled by the Vancouver Canucks on stopping the Oilers points out that Wayne Gretzky&rsquo;s first passing option is to Paul Coffey. If Coffey is covered, the pass then goes to Jari Kurri.ESPN&rsquo;s future relationship with the NHL is cloudy, to say the least. The three-year, $24-million contract that ESPN has with the league ends after this season&rsquo;s playoffs and the network&rsquo;s president is playing it cozy about the future NHL-ESPN link. One league source suggests that the USA Network, which had the NHL contract before ESPN, might get back into the picture for 1988-89. &ldquo;If ESPN has big success with football, it could become less interested in hockey,&rdquo; the man tells BLUELINES, &ldquo;and that could lead to a switch to the USA group.&rdquo;&hellip;One of the best-kept secrets in hockey is the huge player package former Canadien GM Sam Pollock offered his Islanders&rsquo; counterpart, Bill Torrey, for shoo-in No. 1 pick Denis Potvin prior to the 1973 draft. &ldquo;Sam walked me around the Mount Royal Hotel&mdash;that&rsquo;s one big square block&mdash;not one but four times before we went inside for the draft,&rdquo; Torrey tells BLUELINES. &ldquo;Each time around, Sam sweetened the pot but I&rsquo;ve never revealed whom he offered me. The only time I&rsquo;ll go public with those names is when I write my autobiography.&rdquo;The Blackhawks checked out Adam Creighton of the Sabres with a trade in mind and then backed off, considering him too slow for their purposes. Hawks also were interested in the Flames&rsquo; Perry Berezan but an injury changed their mind on that one&hellip;Retired Louis Sleigher on the Bruins: &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve never seen (such) closeness, the support these guys give to each other.&rdquo;&hellip;New York sculptor Marc Mellon required a year to complete the eight-foot bronze statue of the late Kate Smith, which stands outside The Spectrum. The renowned warbler made four live appearances before Flyer games, singing her trademark &ldquo;God Bless America&rdquo; each time. Before this season began, the Flyers were 58-9-2 during games in which the song was played.Ranger asst, coach Charles Thiffault, Michel Bergeron&rsquo;s aide in Quebec who followed him to New York, has become popular for his oft-smiling ways. Bilingual Charlie was asked by an English-speaking TV interviewer to express his joy at being with the Rangers&mdash;in French. After saying his piece, Thiffault asked the TV man to play the tape back for him. Then, he burst out laughing. &ldquo;I mistakenly said (in French), &lsquo;I&rsquo;m happy to be with Nordiques.&rsquo;&rdquo;&hellip;National Football League owners, furious with their players&rsquo; union, have become so desperate for labor peace, at least one resorted to asking how hockey Owners co-exist so amicably with the stickhandlers&rsquo; union.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-021059/5409043-1-eng-US/f0014-022.jpg" title="f0014-02" width="358" height="582"><figcaption class="caption-body">Adam Creighton</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0014-01

Sather’s Contract Root Of Problem?

<div class="byline">BY RANDY SMITH</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-03743/5409081-1-eng-US/f0014-032.jpg" title="f0014-03" width="178" height="130"></div>HARTFORD&mdash;Doug Jarvis&rsquo; streak ended with neither a bang nor a whimper.So much for glory days.&ldquo;The reality of my situation with the Hartford Whalers this year is that I wasn&rsquo;t going to play 80 games,&rdquo; said Jarvis, unemotionally. &ldquo;Jack Evans discussed it with me in training camp before the waiver draft. He told me he&rsquo;d be spelling me now and again.&rdquo;Without the fanfare befitting an all-time NHL consecutive game streak of 964&mdash;a streak that spanned 12 seasons and two games&mdash;Jarvis quietly sat down Oct. 11 in Boston.With the Whalers playing their third game in four nights, Evans told Jarvis that Brent Peterson would replace him.&ldquo;As a player, on the ice is where I want to be,&rdquo; Jarvis said. &ldquo;But I knew it wasn&rsquo;t going to be an 80-game year for me.&rdquo;The announcement came shortly before the game and caused nary a ripple among the Boston Garden crowd:&ldquo;Scratch No. 27, Doug Jarvis.&rdquo;The last time Jarvis missed a game, he was 19.&ldquo;It was my middle year of junior at Peterborough, I think,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I had a concussion. I missed one game.&rdquo;Little did Jarvis realize he wouldn&rsquo;t miss another until he was 32.&ldquo;The whole thing was a totally positive experience for me,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s nothing negative attached to it. I&rsquo;m grateful for the number of games I put up. A lot of guys would be happy if they put together a string of 300 or 500.&rdquo;When Rick Peckham, the Whalers&rsquo; TV play-by-play man, learned the streak was about to end, he asked Jarvis if he would be his between-periods guest in the press box.&ldquo;Sure,&rdquo; said Jarvis. &ldquo;But where&rsquo;s the press box?&rdquo;Those who love hockey must be growing tired of reading what a backward sport it is. But the manner in which Jarvis&rsquo; streak came to end was totally, well, backward. There was no official announcement, no press conference, no press release, no chance for the public to show its appreciation for the &lsquo;Ironman,&rsquo; who snapped Garry Unger&rsquo;s record of 914 Dec. 26 in Hartford.Bang the drum slowly.Jarvis scored 20 goals and 48 points&mdash;his career highs&mdash;for Montreal in 1981-82. Though he has never produced eye-opening offensive totals, there is little else the 5-foot-9. 175-pound Brantford, Ont., native hasn&rsquo;t done.He played on four straight Stanley Cup champions with the Canadiens from 1976-79, won the Seike Trophy for the NHL&rsquo;s top defensive forward with Washington in 1983-84, and earned the Bill Masterton Trophy for perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey with the Whalers last season.He collected his 400th career point last March and played in his 100th playoff game last April.And through it all, he never took a night off.&ldquo;Doug Jarvis played one of the toughest positions in the game and he did it for 12 years,&rdquo; said Dave Tippett, Jarvis&rsquo; left winger for the last 139 games of the streak. &ldquo;He was always on the ice in the critical spots. He took faceoffs, killed penalties and checked the other team&rsquo;s big line when we were ahead by a goal.&ldquo;Not many guys in the world can do what he does, and he&rsquo;s done it for 12 years without missing a single game. He is respected all around the league.&rdquo;Jarvis was exposed in the waiver draft and went unclaimed. When the Whalers took Peterson from Vancouver, the fate of the streak was all but sealed.&ldquo;Doug&rsquo;s play has fallen off in the last two years late in the season,&rdquo; Evans said. &ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s because I&rsquo;ve overused him. I thought it was time I began spotting him.&rdquo;Jarvis harbored no thoughts of retirement, however.&ldquo;As far as I&rsquo;m concerned. I&rsquo;m still a player,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I want to be out there every night. That&rsquo;s my nature. That&rsquo;s me.&rdquo;NOTES&mdash;The Whalers got off to an unexpectedly slow start, losing their first three games by a combined score of 16-5&mdash;including a whitewash of 130 over the last two periods&hellip;A well-chronicled &ldquo;team on the rise,&rdquo; the Whalers were 27-28-2 in their last 57 games, including playoffs. In their previous 59, they were 36-16-7&hellip;Left winger Paul Lawless on his scoring woes: &ldquo;I couldn&rsquo;t bury a dead dog right now.&rdquo;&hellip;Mike Liut suffered back spasms in the Boston game and was replaced in the third period. He said he would be out for &ldquo;about a week.&rdquo;<h2>TRANSACTIONS</h2>Oct. 5: Mark Reeds, RW, traded to St. Louis for a 1989 third-round draft pick.Oct. 6: Mike Millar, RW, demoted to Binghamton.Oct. 8: Peter Sidorkiewicz, G, demoted to Binghamton after clearing waivers.Oct. 12: Sidorkiewicz recalled from Binghamton.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Ron Francis, Dean Evason, Ray Ferraro, Doug Jarvis, Brent Peterson.LW&mdash;Paul Lawless, Sylvain Turgeon, John Anderson, Dave Tippett.RW&mdash;Kevin Dineen, Stewart Gavin, Mark Reeds, Paul MacDermid, Shane Churla.LD&mdash;Joel Quenneville, Dana Murzyn, Randy Ladouceur.RD&mdash;Dave Babych, Ulf Samuelsson, Scot Kleinendorst, Sylvain Cote.G&mdash;Steve Weeks, Peter Sidorkiewicz.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Torrie Robertson, LW, broken leg, indefinite.Mike Liut, back spasms, day-to-day. &#9632;

f0014-03

Jarvis Ironman Mark Ends 36 Contests Shy Of 1,000

The Edmonton Oilers&rsquo; training staff of Barrie Stafford and Peter Millar have introduced a new hockey training product to the hockey world called the &ldquo;Shooter Tutor&rdquo;.Stafford felt that there was a definite need for their product because players wishing to work on the development and accuracy of their shots after practice had nothing to shoot at. With the &ldquo;Shooter Tutor&rdquo; they not only have a target but the &ldquo;Shooter Tutor&rdquo; also gives out rebounds, very similar to the way they would come off an actual goaltender.As far as durability is concerned the Oilers have spent countless hours trying to put a puck through the &ldquo;Shooter Tutor&rdquo; vinyl fabric, thereby attempting to purposely damage it, but to no avail.The &ldquo;Shooter Tutor&rdquo; was also tested for durability by the &ldquo;Boni&rdquo; puck shooting machine in weather conditions of-25 degrees celcius and speeds of up to 100 mph. In all, 2,000 plus shots were taken and it withstood them all. They are so confident of their product that they are offering a two-year warranty on the pro model for normal wear.The idea of having part of the net blocked off for shooting accuracy is not new. For years hockey players have been put-ting plywood or panels over the net while leaving holes to shoot through. What is new is that the &ldquo;Shooter Tutor&rdquo; is portable, and it rolls up into a bundle 3&rdquo; &times; 4&rsquo; weighing 10 lbs.It is an &ldquo;On The Spot&rdquo; goalie made of PVC (poly vinyl chloride) which is the strongest vinyl material of its kind. Installs and removes from a net in seconds and gives natural type rebounds on all shots missing the five designated holes.The &ldquo;Shooter Tutor&rdquo; can be used in practice to develop quick releases, slap shots, flip shots, and even aids coaches to get their players to drive to the net for rebounds.&ldquo;Shooter Tutor&rdquo; was designed and developed primarily for the benefit of the skating players. This is not to imply that goaltenders are excluded. With today&rsquo;s expectations of better skating and shooting goalies, they, too, can work out with a &ldquo;Shooter Tutor&rdquo; in skating, stick handling and shooting exercises.The &ldquo;Shooter Tutor&rdquo; is now being used by all 21 NHL teams and was used daily by the Edmonton Oilers during the 86-87 season. Wayne Gretzky, endorses &ldquo;Shooter Tutor&rdquo; 100% and feels it will be a great aid to coaches and players alike no matter what the age or calibre of hockey played.This unique hockey training innovation is the invention of Larry Burden, Hugh Newell and Larry Hofmann, and the product of Intech Marketing, a company owned and operated by Oilers&rsquo; staff members Barry Stafford and Peter Millar along with Burden.There are four models now available:&ldquo;Shooter Tutor&rdquo; Pro model for teams and players over 12.&ldquo;Shooter Tutor&rdquo; 2 model for regulation size nets for teams and children under 12.&ldquo;Shooter Tutor&rdquo; 2 Junior designed for home use and fits all small nets.&ldquo;Shooter Tutor&rdquo;-ET designed for ringette.&ldquo;Shooter Tutor&rdquo; Inc. management would like to establish that their&rsquo;s is the original and authentic product of this art. They would like all to know this and not be confused with any other similar intended product on the market.&ldquo;Shooter Tutor&rdquo; has been patented in Canada and other countries. &#9632;

SHOOTER TUTOR

f0016-01

Keeping Your Eyes And Ears Close To NHL Action

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0018-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-011046/5409174-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Wendel Clark and the Toronto Maple Leafs can be seen 32 times on network television. Hockey Night In Canada and The Sports Network provide coverage.</figcaption></div><h2>HNIC</h2>Hockey Night in Canada is back for its 35th season on CBC.Produced in association with Ohlmeyer Communications, HNIC began a 26-week schedule of Saturday night games Oct. 10. It will be followed by playoff coverage beginning the second week of April.Last season, HNIC averaged about two million viewers for Saturday regular-season games, and playoff audiences peaked at 4.2 million for the Stanley Cup final between Edmonton and Philadelphia.The scheduling of regional home broadcasts means there are often three games carried live and simultaneously in different parts of the country.Of the seven Canadian teams, only Carling O&rsquo;Keefe Breweries-owned Quebec Nordiques are not televised from their home arena during the regular season.The Ohlmeyer package is produced in conjunction with Molson Breweries.HNIC&rsquo;s broadcast team features play-byplay men Bob Cole, Dick Irvin, Don Wittman and Chris Cuthbert&mdash;who doubles as a pregame and intermission host. Other hosts are Steve Armitage, Ron MacLean and Brian McFarlane.John Garrett, Harry Neale, and former NHL coach and general manager Scott Bowman provide color commentary, while the flamboyant Don Cherry adds his own unique style to the Coach&rsquo;s Comer intermission feature.Hosts Lionel Duval and Jean Page anchor Le Soiree du Hockey&rsquo;s French-language coverage of the Montreal Canadiens on Radio-Canada. Richard Garneau is the play-by-play man with Gilles Tremblay providing color commentary.Games: Oct. 10 Buffalo at Montreal; New Jersey at Toronto; Winnipeg at Calgary; New York Islanders at Vancouver; Oct. 17 Boston at Edmonton; Pittsburgh at Montreal; Detroit at Toronto; Oct. 24 Montreal at Washington; Minnesota at Toronto; Oct. 31 Boston at Montreal; Chicago at Toronto; Nov. 7 St. Louis at Toronto; Philadelphia at Montreal; Nov. 14 Chicago at Montreal; Nov. 21 Los Angeles at Toronto; New Jersey at Montreal; Pittsburgh at Calgary; Nov. 28 Hartford at Toronto; Montreal at Winnipeg; Dec. 5 Los Angeles at Montreal; Toronto at Edmonton; Dec. 12 New York Rangers at Toronto; Detroit at Montreal; Edmonton at Vancouver; Dec. 19 Hartford at Edmonton; Buffalo at Montreal; Chicago at Toronto; Dec. 26 Montreal at Toronto; Minnesota at Winnipeg; Edmonton at Calgary; Jan. 2 Buffalo at Toronto; Philadelphia at Vancouver; Jan. 9 Philadelphia at Montreal; New York Islanders at Edmonton; Jan. 16 Pittsburgh at Toronto; New York Rangers at Montreal; Jan. 23 Chicago at Toronto; Pittsburgh at Montreal; Jan. 30 Montreal at New York Islanders; Detroit at Toronto; Feb. 6 Detroit at Montreal; Feb. 13 Hartford at Montreal; Boston at Vancouver; Philadelphia at Toronto; Feb. 20 Quebec at Montreal; Feb. 27 St. Louis at Toronto; Winnipeg at Montreal; March 5 Winnipeg at Toronto; Edmonton at Calgary; March 12 Chicago at Toronto; Hartford at Montreal; Edmonton at Vancouver; March 19 Chicago at Montreal; New York Rangers at Toronto; March 26 Vancouver at Calgary; April 2 Buffalo at Montreal; Detroit at Toronto.<h2>TSN</h2>Canada&rsquo;s national pay-TV channel has loaded up on Canadian teams for its 40-game regular-season schedule. The Sports Network will also cover division semi-final playoff games.The two oldest Canadian teams&mdash;the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens&mdash;combine for 19 appearances, with the Maple Leafs appearing 11 times.The defending Stanley Cup-champion Edmonton Oilers are featured four times, the Calgary Flames six, Winnipeg Jets five, Quebec Nordiques three times and the Vancouver Canucks once.Hockey night on TSN falls on Mondays (22 games) and Thursdays (17 games), and once on Friday&mdash;Dec. 18 between Winnipeg and Edmonton.TSN&rsquo;s broadcast team includes play-by-play man Jim Hughson, analyst Gary Green, and special guest analysts&mdash;including Howie Meeker&mdash;each week.Complementing TSN&rsquo;s Monday coverage this season is THE HOCKEY NEWS, a hockey magazine show produced in conjunction with THN. The half-hour program debuted Oct. 12 and will be seen each Monday night at 7 p.m., eastern time. Hosted by Jim Van Home, the show will include highlights of weekend action, interviews, profiles, statistics, and a segment featuring Bob McKenzie, Editor-In-Chief of THE HOCKEY NEWS.TSN, which has 1,079,000 subscribers across Canada, attracted an average audience of 259,000 for NHL hockey last season.Games: Oct. 15 New York Islanders at Philadelphia; Oct. 19 Minnesota at Montreal; Oct. 26 Calgary at Montreal; Oct. 29 Toronto at Pittsburgh; Nov. 2 St. Louis at Montreal; Nov. 9 Toronto at Montreal; Nov. 12 Winnipeg at New Jersey; Nov. 16 Hartford at Montreal; Nov. 23 New Jersey at Calgary; Nov. 26 Winnipeg at Boston; Nov. 30 Boston at Montreal; Dec. 7 Detroit at Toronto; Dec. 10 New York Rangers at Philadelphia; Dec. 14 Detroit at New York Rangers; Dec. 17 Vancouver at Boston; Dec. 18 Winnipeg at Edmonton; Dec. 21 Minnesota at Toronto; Dec. 28 Washington at Toronto; Dec. 31 Philadelphia at Calgary; Jan. 4 Edmonton at Boston; Jan. 7 St. Louis at Philadelphia; Jan. 11 Washington at Edmonton; Jan. 14 Quebec at New York Islanders; Jan. 18 Toronto at Detroit; Jan. 25 Calgary at Toronto; Jan. 28 Quebec at Boston; Feb. 1 St. Louis at Toronto; Feb. 4 Toronto at Philadelphia; Feb. 11 New York Islanders at Toronto; Feb. 18 New York Islanders at Philadelphia; Feb. 22 Toronto at Minnesota; Feb. 25 Hartford at Boston; Feb. 29 St. Louis at New York Rangers; March 7 Edmonton at Winnipeg; March 14 Montreal at Minnesota; March 17 Chicago at Philadelphia; March 21 Calgary at Montreal; March 24 Winnipeg at Boston; March 28 St. Louis at Calgary; March 31 Quebec at Philadelphia.<h2>ESPN</h2>Good matchups mean good ratings, so ESPN (Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is using that strategy in its NHL coverage this season.An average of 1,113,000 homes tuned in to each game of the 1987 Stanley Cup final, an improvement of 62 per cent over ratings from the less attractive Montreal-Calgary final a year earlier.An average of 642,000 homes tuned in throughout the 1987 playoffs, while an average of 369,000 homes viewed regular-season games. ESPN has 43.4 million subscribers in the United States.With those numbers in mind, ESPN will select each of its more than 30 regular-season games this year a week in advance in order to ensure the best possible matchup. ESPN will also televise the All-Star Game from St. Louis on Feb. 9, and as many as 40 Stanley Cup playoff games, including live coverage of the entire final series.Two regular-season games were confirmed&mdash;including Boston at Los Angeles on Oct. 15. Other confirmed dates were Oct. 15 and 27, Nov. 3, 10, 17, and Dec. 1.Mike Emrick and Tom Mees share play-byplay duties on the ESPN broadcast team, with former NHLer Bill Clement providing color commentary. John Saunders is host of ESPN&rsquo;s studio wraparound program of scores, highlights, and breaking news.ESPN is in the third year of a three-year contract with the NHL. No new contract talks have been held.<h2>GLOBAL</h2>Global TV, which debuted last season with coverage of the Campbell Conference championship and shared the Stanley Cup finals with Hockey Night In Canada, has added four regular-season games in March, and the division finals to its schedule.Viewership peaked at an estimated 3,657,000 for game four of the seven-game Stanley Cup showdown. Its average playoff audience was 819,000.The four regular-season matchups will be announced in the new year. Global&rsquo;s broadcast crew last season was comprised of former HNIC host Dave Hodge and analyst John Davidson, play-by-play man Dan Kelly, and host Jim Tatti. The announcing crew for this season was unconfirmed.The Global Television Network is available throughout the province of Ontario. An ad-hoc hookup of independent stations is used for coast-to-coast coverage in Canada. &#9632;

f0018-01

Taking A Look At What The Networks Televise

<div class="byline">BY JIM KELLEY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0019-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-01970/5409205-1-eng-US/f0019-012.jpg"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-02719/5409212-1-eng-US/f0019-022.jpg" title="f0019-02" width="177" height="132"></div>BUFFALO&mdash;Three games into their first full season under head coach Ted Sator, the Buffalo Sabres showed themselves to be, well, interesting.They opened the season by playing the Minnesota North Stars to a 2-2 tie. Then they lost a semi-blowout at Montreal (6-3), after which Hockey Night In Canada&rsquo;s Don Cherry vilified them as the worst team in hockey&mdash;and said No. 1 draft pick Pierre Turgeon should be back in junior hockey. Then the Sabres came home to edge the Washington Capitals 6-5, in a wild game that had Memorial Auditorium fans rocking in the aisles.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know how the fans feel about us, but I know I sure do get excited watching this team,&rdquo; Sator said after the Washington victory.He had good reason.Opening week featured three games in four nights and the Sabres showed three different faces in each of them.They battled the Stars in a close-to-the-vest match in which they were, at different times, a dominating and dominated team. The lost to the Canadiens in a game in which their usually reliable goaltending&mdash;with help from some inexperienced defensemen&mdash;fell apart. They beat the Capitals in a game during which they put six different scorers on the scoresheet. That was an almost-unheard-of occurrence last season.&ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t know how good we would be when we broke camp, but we knew we wanted to win some games,&rdquo; said center John Tucker. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got a lot of guys here who are sick of losing and want to do something about it.&rdquo;Perhaps stung by Cherry&rsquo;s remarks, or maybe just motivated by the fact that no matter what league he has played in, he just hasn&rsquo;t been shut out three games running, Turgeon was quick to make his presence felt.Sator started him on the right side with Tucker and Andreychuk&mdash;two of the team&rsquo;s more proficient scorers, who have played together almost since they broke into the league.The line was effective most of the night and, had Turgeon not been thinking more like a centerman than a winger, he might also have had his first goal.&ldquo;I think he might even be a little too unselfish,&rdquo; said Tucker. &ldquo;A couple of times I was looking to set him up, but he was always looking to make it a better play. I think he would have had a goal or two had he just taken the shot.&rdquo;On the play that produced Turgeon&rsquo;s first point, the Sabres were on the power play. Andreychuk took the puck over the line. He was knocked down just above the right face-off circle, but Turgeon picked up the loose puck and went deep into the comer. He turned, sidestepped an onrushing Capital, stickhandled until Andreychuk regained his footing, and fired a pass right on to the blade of Andreychuk&rsquo;s stick. There was never any doubt.NOTES&mdash;John Tucker scored a goal in each of the games against Minnesota and Washington. He had not played a regular-season game since undergoing back surgery last Feburary&hellip;Tom Barrasso was the Sabre goaltender in the first two games of the season. He was sharp against the North Stars, but was beaten for four first-period goals against the Canadiens. Jacques Cloutier got the win against Washington.<h2>TRANSACTIONS</h2>Oct 5: Mikael Andersson, C, Paul Brydges, C, Jeff Capello, LW, Mike Hartman, RW, Ken Priestlay, C, Andy Ristau, RW, Mark Ferner, 0, and Bob Halkidis, D, all assigned to Rochester.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Christian Ruuttu, John Tucker, Pierre Turgeon, Doug Smith, Adam Creighton.LW&mdash;Paul Cyr, Lindy Ruff, Dave Andreychuk, Mark Napier, Clark Gillies.RW&mdash;Scott Arniel, Mike Foligno, Kevin Maguire.LD&mdash;Phil Housley, Steve Dykstra, Shawn Anderson.RD&mdash;Calle Johansson, Ed Hospodar, Mike Ramsey, Uwe Krupp.G&mdash;Tom Barrasso, Jacques Cloutier.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Joe Reekie, D, shoulder, Oct. 13.Daren Puppa, G, fractured left index finger, indefinite.Jan Ludvig, RW, sprained knee, indefinite.Ray Sheppard, RW, sprained ankle, indefinite. &#9632;

f0019-01

Sabres A Team Of Changing Faces

Jason Tauritz is a seven-year-old just starting his hockey career. He recently completed a two-week session at the Florida Ice Hockey Camp in Orlando.The native of Boca Raton, Fla., learned hockey skills and participated in dryland training and nutrition seminars at the camp, which attracted hockey players from around the world.Jason got involved in the game in April, 1987 when he skated for the first time at the Lighthouse Point Skating Rink in Boca Raton. The first time his blades touched the ice, he had found his sport, and quickly progressed from leisure skating to playing hockey at twice-weekly clinics.One of Jason&rsquo;s favorite souvenirs from the Orlando camp is a Canadian flag, which he proudly displays on his bedroom wall.Jason is looking forward to joining the local hockey league at the Lighthouse Rink this fall. His goal is to become the best hockey player in Florida, move to Canada, and become a professional hockey player.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-03494/5409243-1-eng-US/f0019-032.jpg" title="f0019-03" width="545" height="968"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jason Tauritz</figcaption></div>You or someone you know can be part of the TITAN-JOFA Minor Hockey Showcase. Just send a photograph, along with biographical information (age, height, weight, team, coach&rsquo;s name, school and grade, as well as favorite NHL team and player) to: TITAN-JOFA SHOWCASE, C/O THE HOCKEY NEWS, 85 Scarsdale Rd., Suite 100, Don Mills, Ont. All entries submitted will be eligible for selection as THN/TITAN-JOFA Minor Hockey Player of the Year. &#9632;

f0019-03

PLAYER OF WEEK

<h2>OCTOBER</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-04397/5409302-1-eng-US/f0019-042.jpg" title="f0019-04" width="610" height="1016"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-05327/5409295-1-eng-US/f0019-052.jpg" title="f0019-05" width="604" height="1074"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-06253/5409288-1-eng-US/f0019-062.jpg" title="f0019-06" width="598" height="308"></div><h2>NOVEMBER</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-07221/5409281-1-eng-US/f0019-072.jpg" title="f0019-07" width="614" height="712"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-08204/5409274-1-eng-US/f0019-082.jpg" title="f0019-08" width="642" height="1072"></div> &#9632;

f0019-04

NATIONAL LEAGUE SCHEDULE

<div class="byline">BY TOM HENSHAW</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-01835/5409333-1-eng-US/f0020-012.jpg" title="f0020-01" width="585" height="993"><figcaption class="caption-body">The arrival of Willi Plett from the Rangers adds toughness to the Bruins.</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-02562/5409340-1-eng-US/f0020-022.jpg" title="f0020-02" width="177" height="136"></div>BOSTON&mdash;Any doubts about the kind of hockey team the Boston Bruins are building were dispelled with the acquisition of Willi Plett, the second-highest collector of penalty minutes among active players.The Big Bad Bruins of a brighter and earlier day are on the way back, and the change showed in Boston&rsquo;s season opener, a 4-3 victory over the Washington Capitals.&ldquo;You&rsquo;re always shooting for something like that especially the way things have evolved in the Adams Division,&rdquo; said general manager Harry Sinden. &ldquo;You have to play that aggressive hockey style.&rdquo;The change was obvious to the 13,014 fans who attended the first game. They saved their biggest hand for Plett, who was picked up in waiver draft from the New York Rangers for $2,500. He responded by taking the first penalty (roughing, at 5:04 of the first period) and scoring the first goal, on a power play at 19:09.&ldquo;We played a great brand of hockey,&rdquo; enthused coach Terry O&rsquo;Reilly, who played that way during his active days. &ldquo;It was hard-hitting but clean. We threw hard, clean checks going after the puck.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s the way we have to play. That&rsquo;s the way winning teams play. They play physically but under control. not (like) the bully on the beach. That&rsquo;s the way we want to play.&rdquo;Plett, a 32-year-old right winger whose 2,402 penalty minutes entering this season were second only to the 3,873 compiled by Los Angeles&rsquo; Dave (Tiger) Williams, agreed with his new coach.&ldquo;Terry O&rsquo;Reilly and I kind of look at the game the same way,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;He appreciates the way I play. I know I appreciated the way he played. I played against him a lot of years.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not a matter of fighting. The last couple of years I reached the point where I go out and play my game, go into the corners and bump. You don&rsquo;t find too many players who want to go with me and make a name for themselves.&rdquo;<blockquote class="pullQuote">&lsquo;It&rsquo;s not a matter of fighting. The last couple of years I reached the point where I go out and play my game, go into the corners and bump.&rsquo;&mdash;Plett</blockquote>One of those who likes the new Big Bad Bruins style is goalie Doug Keans, who was the victim of some unretaliated over-aggression by Montreal&rsquo;s Claude Lemieux during last spring&rsquo;s Stanley Cup playoffs.&ldquo;That was a touchy situation because it was a one-goal game at the time,&rdquo; said Keans. &ldquo;Everybody was afraid to take a penalty. He didn&rsquo;t hurt me. It didn&rsquo;t bother me.&ldquo;But I don&rsquo;t know what would happen this year if anybody did it. We&rsquo;re going to play tougher and it&rsquo;s a change for the good.&rdquo;NOTES&mdash;Concern was expressed when defenseman Gordie Kluzak sat out the third game of the season with a slight sprain of his knee, the one that was operated on during the summer.&ldquo;He tweaked his knee in little bits, and we thought we&rsquo;d rest him.&rdquo; said Terry O&rsquo;Reilly. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s a word for a real light sprain. It should be all right&rdquo;&hellip;Holdout defenseman Reed Larson agreed to a one-year contract and practised for the first time Oct. 6. He won&rsquo;t play for a while as he builds up bicep muscles in his left arm, which was injured in a June auto accident and is at about 50 percent strength, O&rsquo;Reilly said&hellip;Goalie Bill Ranford, 20, was sent to Maine, but the Bruins have not given up on him. &ldquo;Billy&rsquo;s very young and, as far as this organization is concerned, he&rsquo;s the future in the nets,&rdquo; said O&rsquo;Reilly.<h2>TRANSACTIONS</h2>Oct. 5: Sent Bill Ranford, G, Roberto Romano, G, and Dave Pasin, RW, to Maine.Oct. 6: Signed Reed Larson, LD, to a one-year contract.Oct. 7: Sent Greg Johnston, C, and Alain Cote, LD, to Maine.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Ken Linseman, Bob Sweeney, Steve Kasper, Bill O&rsquo;Dwyer.LW&mdash;Geoff Courtnall, Rick Middleton, Kraig Nienhuis, Jay Miller, Randy Burridge.RW&mdash;Cam Neely, Keith Crowder, Nevin Markwart, Willi Plett.LD&mdash;Glen Wesley, Alan Pedersen, John Blum.RD&mdash;Ray Bourque, Michael Thelven, Frank Simmonetti.G&mdash;Reggie Lemelin, Doug Keans.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Tom Lehmann, C, sprained left knee, Nov. 12-26.Lyndon Byers, RW, sprained right knee, Oct. 29-Nov. 5.Tom McCarthy, C, strained hamstring, Oct. 15.Gord Kluzak, LD, slight sprain of left knee, day-to-day. &#9632;

f0020-01

Big Bad Bruins Make Comeback In Boston

UNDER THE SAME glaring lights, before the same reporters and photographers, in the same panelled reception room, behind the same podium, the worlds of two future Hall-of-Famers from the same dynasty veered in drastically different directions.On Sept. 25, a smiling Denis Potvin announced that this would be his 15th and last season. On Oct. 5, a melancholy Mike Bossy said this couldn&rsquo;t be his 11th and final season.Potvin, the three-time Norris Trophy winner who broke all of Bobby Orr&rsquo;s career scoring records for defensemen, also agreed to hand back the captaincy he had held since 1979-80, the year the Islanders won the first of their four Stanley Cups.He was prepared to complete the option year of his contract, valued somewhere between $550,000 and $600,000, and move on to the real world: His wife, two kids, a job selling commerical real estate. This would be a year to relax, he figured, a year to just go out and play without the pressures of being captain, a year to remind everybody that they had seen one of the greatest defensemen ever to play this game.&ldquo;There was a strange feeling from within that I&rsquo;ve done just about everything I could do here,&rdquo; Potvin said on his day. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want to play one season too many and I hope you all won&rsquo;t remind me in the spring that I did.&rdquo;GM Bill Torrey smiled. Potvin smiled. It was clean, tidy and professional, just the way Potvin wanted it to be.Bossy hasn&rsquo;t been so lucky.This was supposed to be his final season. He said it in 1982 and he said it in 1984 and he said it last season. But then his back started bothering him. And it got worse. And he played only 63 games. And he didn&rsquo;t score 50 goals. Over the summer, he couldn&rsquo;t even play a comfortable round of golf.The fifth-highest goal-scorer in NHL history had been stopped on the charts at 573 goals&mdash;and now, 600, which seemed like a lock two seasons ago, looked very far away. Especially when Bossy woke up each morning feeling just as badly as he did the night before, and the week before, and the month before.From doctor to doctor he hopped. X-rays, CAT scans, Magnetic Resonancy Imaging tests, myelograms. Bossy has seen the inside of enough clinics to finish his first year of med school. All he learned, however, was that his back wasn&rsquo;t getting better.Bossy&rsquo;s day was draped with unanswered questions. He wasn&rsquo;t announcing his retirement&mdash;just that he, the team, and the doctors agreed that his career would be put on hold until his back was well again.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-03392/5409371-1-eng-US/f0020-032.jpg" title="f0020-03" width="384" height="472"><figcaption class="caption-body">Barry Meisel</figcaption></div>&ldquo;We&rsquo;re not anticipating that he will return for the 198788 season,&rdquo; Torrey said. &ldquo;We have to get Michael&rsquo;s health back to that of a normal person walking the street. Only at that time would we consider any future options.&rdquo;Bossy, who&rsquo;ll earn $700,000 on the last year of his contract, said he now understands he may never be able to play again. But he&rsquo;s an optimist, so he hasn&rsquo;t dwelled on that.He mentioned no timetable for a physical therapy program that he will start soon. He never bluntly said he wants to play next year but, by not retiring, the implication was apparent.So was the uncomfortable expression on his face.Torrey explained that the physicians finally found some abnormalities in Bossy&rsquo;s spine, some deterioration of two discs. Surgery was not recommended because there was no guarantee of success. The rehabilitation program Bossy will undergo left nobody overly optimistic, either. Not even Bossy.Sadly, his day showed that he would not be ending his marvellous career on his own terms.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m just taking it day by day now,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I haven&rsquo;t given anything down the road any thought. I can&rsquo;t. I don&rsquo;t know what will happen with my back.&rdquo;Torrey looked like a million bucks on Denis&rsquo; day. He stood proudly, like a doting father. Even his bow tie seemed to smile.&ldquo;On one hand, this day is tinged with a little bit of sadness,&rdquo; the GM said. &ldquo;On the other hand, when you think of how it all started and over so many years what he&rsquo;s accomplished, you can&rsquo;t be sad.&rdquo;Torrey appeared worn and tired at Bossy&rsquo;s press conference. He wore no joy on his face, he wore no tie. There was a stain on his white sweater.He never even found the time to shave. &#9632;

f0020-03

The End Is Drawing Near For Future Hall-of-Famers

<div class="byline">BY ERIC DUHATSCHEK</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-01623/5409402-1-eng-US/f0021-012.jpg" title="f0021-01" width="176" height="134"></div>CALGARY&mdash;In September, when the first verdict came in on the Calgary Flames, it began:There&rsquo;s potential&hellip;but it may take time to make the transition from excoach Bob Johnson to new coach Terry Crisp.Under Crisp, the Flames scrapped some of the Johnson&rsquo;s theories in favor of a style that put a premium on forechecking and aggressive, physical play.In the first week of the schedule, the reviews were mixed. The Flames began with one of their most decisive home-openers in history, dropping Detroit 5-1. Then they followed with an equally convincing 5-1 loss to Winnipeg.Team captain Jim Peplinski acknowledged that it may be a while before the Flames adapt to Crisp&rsquo;s system.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think transition&rsquo;s the right word,&rdquo; said Peplinski, &ldquo;but I think any time you have a new boss come in, he&rsquo;s interested in implementing his own ideas. I think there&rsquo;s a period of adjustment, especially when you had the same coach here for five years.&ldquo;You&rsquo;re doing things on the ice that come naturally because you&rsquo;ve practised them for so long. Now the system changes and even if it&rsquo;s only a small change, things happen on the ice that you react to&mdash;and you react to the thing you&rsquo;ve been trained to do. So it takes a while before you start doing things by instinct.&rdquo;Crisp says that&rsquo;s to be expected.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a new system and we&rsquo;re still making little mistakes,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;In this league, little mistakes end up with the red light on. They&rsquo;re thinking, &lsquo;I&rsquo;m supposed to be in. No I&rsquo;m not. Crispy. Badger. Crispy. Badger. Then, poof. It&rsquo;s in the net.&rsquo;&ldquo;So it&rsquo;s going to take time. But they&rsquo;re trying and working at it and eventually it&rsquo;ll be there.&rdquo;Rookie center Joe Nieuwendyk, who spent the final month with the Flames last season, described it as a different system, &ldquo;but one that shows signs that it&rsquo;s going to work. It&rsquo;s aggressive and conservative. Two guys go in really hard, but the third guy is always up really high.&rdquo;One of the Flames&rsquo; more important goals is to overcome their divisional rivals, Winnipeg. The Jets defeated the Flames 10 times last season&mdash;six regular-season games, four playoff&mdash;and again in their first meeting this year.Even if the Flames did get 95 points a year ago, losing to Winnipeg put a premature end to the season.Peplinski said the way people focussed on their playoff loss was perhaps understandable.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s the way it is. There&rsquo;s been years where the team hasn&rsquo;t done as well in the regular season and you have a good playoffs and everything&rsquo;s forgotten.&ldquo;But with the way things finished last year, you&rsquo;re left with a bad feeling for the summer.&rdquo;NOTES&mdash;Jim Peplinski started his own season much faster than a year ago, when it took him 21 games to score his first goal. Peplinski managed his first fewer than nine minutes into the season opener&hellip;The Flames lost center Joel Otto late in their opener, in a collision with Red Wings&rsquo; defenseman Lee Norwood. Otto will miss between four and six weeks because of strained knee ligaments&hellip;Rookie defenseman Brian Glynn, who scored only twice in his final season of junior, recorded his first NHL goal against the Red Wings. He had his father in attendance for the game. &ldquo;I couldn&rsquo;t have written a better script if I&rsquo;d tried,&rdquo; he said&hellip;Defenseman Paul Reinhart was forced to miss the Flame-Jet game because of back spasms. With Gary Suter suspended, the Flames were forced to press right winger Tim Hunter into service on defense, replacing Reinhart.<h2>TRANSACTIONS</h2>Oct. 6: Kevan Guy, D, and Ken Sabourin, D, demoted to Salt Lake.Oct. 8: Gary Suter, D, began serving four-game league suspension.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Mike Bullard, Joe Nieuwendyk, Carey Wilson, Perry Berezan,LW&mdash;Jim Peplinski, John Tonelli, Colin Patterson, Gary Roberts, Steve Bozek.RW&mdash;Joey Mullen, Hakan Loob, Tim Hunter, Lanny McDonald, Brett Hull.LD&mdash;Brian Glynn, Ric Nattress, Neil Sheehy.RD&mdash;Al Maclnnis, Paul Reinhart, Brad McCrimmon.G&mdash;Mike Vernon, Doug Dadswell.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Jamie Macoun, D, damaged arm and shoulder nerves, indefinite.Joel Otto, C, strained right knee ligaments, Nov. 15. &#9632;

f0021-01

Flames Still Adjusting To Life Under Crisp

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-01725/5409433-1-eng-US/f0022-012.jpg" title="f0022-01" width="173" height="176"></div>When the Calgary Flames make a promise, you can take it to the bank.The NHL team said it would lend a helping hand to its Olympic Saddledome co-tenant, the Canadian Olympic team. So it gift-wrapped promising-but-unproven center Brian Bradley.In nine games with the Olympic team, Bradley had eight goals and four assists. He was one of the dominant figures during a recent nine-game series with NHL teams.&ldquo;The acquisition of Brian certainly was good for our hockey team,&rdquo; said assistant coach Guy Charron. &ldquo;We knew he&rsquo;d be able to contribute some offense.&rdquo;The best part of the deal is that Bradley belongs to the team right through the Olympics. Calgary will continue to pay his salary.Bradley, 22, joined the team in Calgary, Sept. 19, fora 5-4 victory over the Flames. The Olympians beat New Jersey 5-3 two nights later, then dropped three games on consecutive nights to New Jersey, Buffalo and Montreal.The exhausted club rested for five days, then took a sip of the right tonic&mdash;another game against Calgary, and another win. Bradley fired one of the goals as the Olympians triumphed 6-4 in the Sept. 29 contest. A 5-2 victory over Minnesota followed the next night, and a 1-1 tie with Winnipeg concluded the tour on Oct. 1.When the club resumed play with an exhibition game against the Adirondack Red Wings Oct. 7 in Lake Placid, N.Y., Bradley was ready again. He scored a goal and an assist as the Olympians won 5-3. The two-game visit to Lake Placid ended with a 4-2 loss against the U.S. Olympic team Oct. 10.The 5-foot-9, 163-pound Bradley has been described as too small for the NHL. In his two seasons as a pro, he has spent more time in the Flames&rsquo; farm system (79 games) than in the NHL (45).&ldquo;It&rsquo;s very difficult to know why a certain player is not able to play on a regular basis in the NHL,&rdquo; Charron said. &ldquo;Over the last couple of years, Brian has been looking for an opportunity to show everyone what he can do.&rdquo;Bradley was playing on a line with left winger Wally Schreiber and right winger Vaughn Karpan. In 22 games, Schreiber was second on the team with 18 points on six goals and 12 assists.Center Marc Habscheid led with 25 points on 13 goals and 12 assists.While Bradley had the most immediate impact on the Olympic team, goalie Andy Moog will probably mean as much or more in the long run. Moog, who joined the team after contract negotiations with the Edmonton Oilers bogged down, played sparingly in his first few games with the team.Coach Dave King recognized that Moog had to be brought along slowly, to compensate for the netminder missing training camp. The ex-Oiler had played in three games, splitting 30-minute stints with the other Olympian netminder, Sean Burke.In his first 90 minutes of action, Moog posted a 1-0-0 record, 3.33 goals-against average and .900 save percentage. &#9632;

f0022-01

Ex-Flame Bradley On Fire For Olympic Team

<div class="byline">BY TONY GALLAGHER</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-01651/5409464-1-eng-US/f0023-012.jpg" title="f0023-01" width="179" height="132"></div>VANCOUVER&mdash;The Vancouver Canucks experienced boom and bust in their first two regular-season games, but the biggest bonus came off the ice.The team acquired two players in the waiver draft who can help immediately. Center Doug Wickenheiser, a former No. 1 overall draft pick (Montreal, 1980) was picked up from St. Louis, via Hartford. Defenseman Randy Boyd also joined the Canucks, from the New York Islanders.Wickenheiser, whose rights were owned by three teams in a span of 20 minutes, was coming off an abysmal year (13-15-28). But the 26-year-old center showed he felt right at home in Vanouver, scoring a goal in the Canucks&rsquo; opening 8-2 win over his old teammates.&ldquo;I guess I needed a new team the way things were going in St. Louis,&rdquo; said Wickenheiser. &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t seem to have much concentration last year. I don&rsquo;t know what day it happened or even what time of year, it&rsquo;s just that I wasn&rsquo;t all that happy there anymore. I wasn&rsquo;t having any fun anymore. I just hope I can tum things around here.&rdquo;President and general manager Pat Quinn, who watched his new team turn around and promptly drop a 7-1 home decision to the New York Islanders, has his own theory on Wickenheiser.&ldquo;I think one of the problems with him is that there was such high expectations of him offensively when he was selected No. 1 (overall) by Montreal in the draft,&rdquo; said Quinn. &lsquo;Perhaps he didn&rsquo;t meet the expectations others forecast for him and it may have cast a shadow on part of his career.&rdquo;The Blues were making noises going into training camp that Wickenheiser didn&rsquo;t fit into their plans. After the waiver draft, St. Louis general manager Ron Caron had a few words of advice for him.&ldquo;He said I had a chance here because the franchise itself was getting itself turned around,&rdquo; said Wickenheiser. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re going in the right direction and I can be part of helping it.&rdquo;That is precisely what the Canucks will want from Wickenheiser, who is big enough (6-foot-l, 200 pounds) to go out in defensive situations against the likes of Mark Messier or Joel Otto. He&rsquo;ll be the third center behind Barry Pederson and Greg Adams. Adams, an off-season acquisition from the New Jersey Devils, got the Vancouver segment of his career off to an exceptional start opening night.He banged in four goals as the Canucks gained their most lopsided opening-night victory in the 18-year history of the franchise. Adams became just the fifth player in club history to have a four-goal night.The euphoria came to a painful end two nights later against the Islanders.NOTES&mdash;Right winger Jim Sandlak, who sat out many games last season under coach Tom Watt, found himself in coach Bob McCammon&rsquo;s doghouse. He sat out the first two Canuck games&hellip;Also sitting out the first two games were center Steve Tambellini and defenseman Jim Benning&hellip;The Canucks must open well to push for the playoffs. Seven of their first 10 games are at home&hellip;Other Vancouver players to have four-goal games were Rick Blight (also on an opening night, Oct. 6, 1976), Rosaire Paiement (Feb. 9, 1971) and Bobby Schmautz (twice&mdash;Nov. 19, 1972 and Dec. 30, 1972).<h2>TRANSACTIONS</h2>Oct. 8: Craig Coxe, LW, suspended for three games by league.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Barry Pederson, Greg Adams, Dan Woodley, Doug Wickenheiser, Steve Tambellini.LW&mdash;Raimo Summanen, Dave Lowry, John LeBlanc, Craig Coxe.RW&mdash;Jim Sandlak, Stan Smyl, Tony Tanti, David Bruce, Rich Sutter.LD&mdash;Jim Benning, Doug Lidster, Randy Boyd, Daryl Stanley.RD&mdash;Ian Kidd, Garth Butcher, Michel Petit, Dave Richter.G&mdash;Richard Brodeur, Kirk McLean, Frank Caprice.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Petri Skriko, LW, bruised knee, Oct. 17. &#9632;

f0023-01

Wick Burns Brightly In Vancouver’s Opener

<div class="byline">BY DICK CHUBEY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-01705/5409502-1-eng-US/f0024-012.jpg" title="f0024-01" width="594" height="1465"><figcaption class="caption-body">Canada Cup standout Mark Messier agreed to lucrative deal with the Oilers.</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-02495/5409509-1-eng-US/f0024-022.jpg" title="f0024-02" width="179" height="132"></div>EDMONTON&mdash;Slowly but surely, the prodigal sons were coming home.Only defenseman Paul Coffey remained at large, sitting at his parents&rsquo; home in Toronto, seeking a healthy raise on his $280,000-per-year contract.Two other Edmonton holdouts&mdash;left winger Mike Krushelnyski and center Mark Messier&mdash;reached 11th-hour contract agreements and were in the lineup as the Oilers opened their ninth NHL campaign.Krushelnyski&rsquo;s 6-foot-2 frame was the first to enter the Oilers&rsquo; office. The 27-year-old parachuted into town from his off-season residence in Montreal and signed the morning prior to the opener.<blockquote class="pullQuote">&lsquo;We&rsquo;ve resolved&hellip;why I wanted to be traded.&rsquo;&mdash;Krushelnyski</blockquote>The biggest news came later that day when Messier and his father Doug, who&rsquo;s been acting as the pugnacious centre&rsquo;s agent, held a two-hour meeting with manager-coach Glen Sather and Oilers&rsquo; owner Peter Pocklington.&ldquo;Mark&rsquo;s an Edmonton Oiler,&rdquo; Doug Messier told The Edmonton Sun after the meeting, although official announcement that Messier&rsquo;s contract had been extended to six years with a healthy raise didn&rsquo;t come until a press conference the following morning.&ldquo;In terms of people in hockey, THE HOCKEY NEWS placed Mark in the top five in the world, and in the top two or three in the NHL,&rdquo; the elder Messier said. &ldquo;They&rsquo;ve (the Oilers) come up with something that on a par with that.&rdquo;The younger Messier, who had three goals in the Oilers&rsquo; first two games, admitted he had no intentions of leaving his hometown.&ldquo;It was a matter of getting it done,&rdquo; said Messier, whose $320,000 salary was presumed to be bumped to more than $600,000. &ldquo;Both sides knew we&rsquo;d come to an agreement. I didn&rsquo;t want to go anywhere else.&rdquo;The Oilers seconded the motion.&ldquo;This contract will virtually make Mark an Oiler from the start to the finish of his career,&rdquo; Sather said, &ldquo;although I hope he&rsquo;s not finished at age 32.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-03332/5409495-1-eng-US/f0024-032.jpg" title="f0024-03" width="2479" height="1893"></div>Sather, however, said Messier&rsquo;s $250-per-day fine&mdash;retroactive to Sept. 25&mdash;stood.Krushelnyski&rsquo;s beef with the Oilers was over his lack of ice time. The 27-year-old was the fourth-line center during the second half of last season, working behind Gretzky, Messier and Craig MacTavish. He was moved back to left wing to start this season and was given additional work on the power play.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve resolved the problem (concerning) why I wanted to be traded,&rdquo; Krushelnyski said, &ldquo;and we&rsquo;ve concluded the agreement with a satisfactory salary.&rdquo;The same cannot be said of Coffey, who reached a stalemate in his attempt to have his contract renegotiated. He was suspended Sept. 23 to the tune of $250 per day, and now he&rsquo;s losing game salaries as well.&ldquo;It is a big deal losing the money,&rdquo; said Coffey, who refuses to rejoin the team despite Sather&rsquo;s insistence that they negotiate while he works. &ldquo;But there&rsquo;s nothing I can do about it&mdash;I&rsquo;ve gone this long&hellip;&rdquo;NOTES&mdash;The Oilers have offered veteran left winger Nick Fotiu a job as player-assistant coach with their Nova Scotia farm team. Fotiu returned to his home in Cape Cod (Mass.) to ponder the matter, although Glen Sather wasn&rsquo;t optimistic the 35-year-old would accept the post&hellip;Veteran goal-tender Don Edwards was sent to Nova Scotia for two weeks for game conditioning purposes. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t consider it an insult,&rdquo; explained the 32-year-old, who played senior hockey with the Allan Cup-champion Brantford Mott&rsquo;s Clamatos last season. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s an opportunity, and a lot more than I had in Toronto last year. If I would have had that sort of honesty in Toronto, maybe I wouldn&rsquo;t have had to sit out a year.&rdquo;<h2>TRANSACTIONS</h2>Oct. 5: Mark Lamb, C, acquired on waivers from Detroit.Oct. 6: Warren Skorodenski, G, demoted to Nova Scotia.Oct. 7: Don Edwards, G, demoted to Nova Scotia for two weeks.Oct. 10: Scott Metcalfe, LW, demoted to Nova Scotia.<h3>ROSTERS</h3>C&mdash;Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Craig MacTavish, Kevin McClelland, Mark Lamb.LW&mdash;Esa Tikkanen, Mike Krushelnyski, Dave Hunter, Kelly Buchberger, Steve Graves.RW&mdash;Jari Kurri, Glenn Anderson, Marty McSorley, Normand Lacombe.LD&mdash;Kevin Lowe, Steve Smith, Jim Ennis.RD&mdash;Charlie Huddy, Jeff Beukeboom, John Miner.G&mdash;Grant Fuhr, Daryl Reaugh.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Craig Muni, D, stretched ankle ligaments, day-to-day. &#9632;

f0024-01

Messier Returns Richer For The Experience

<div class="byline">BY GRANT McGINNIS</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-01618/5409540-1-eng-US/f0025-012.jpg" title="f0025-01" width="180" height="136"></div>WINNIPEG&mdash;The trend is not a positive one, but that doesn&rsquo;t worry Dave Ellett.The Winnipeg defenseman. who signed a new multi-year contract on the eve of the NHL season, knows hockey pundits expect the Jets to take a nosedive this year. The club has, after all, established a good-year, bad-year pattern. If history holds, the Jets will drop substantially in this year&rsquo;s NHL standings.But Ellett. like his teammates, has figured the Jets arc about to break the pattern.&ldquo;Whenever you have a season like we did last year, there&rsquo;s always that pressure to come back and have the same kind of year or a better year.&rdquo; Ellett said. &ldquo;Coming off a year like last year, though, there&rsquo;s only reason to feel optimistic.&rdquo;The Jets gained 29 points in the Smythe Division standings over the 1985-86 season, finishing with 88 points, third in the division, sixth overall. Since the arrival of Dale Hawerchuk brought the Jets respectability in 1981. Winnipeg has shown a frustrating inability to build on its previous year&rsquo;s gains.But this time around, the lineup is virtually unchanged, a factor the 23-year-old Bowling Green University product contends will break the jinx.&ldquo;I think last year, there were certainly a lot of question marks,&rdquo; said the Cleveland-born Ellett. &ldquo;There were a lot of new faces, trades made and a new coach. We were coming off a terrible year and a lot of things were up in the air.&ldquo;There haven&rsquo;t been that many changes this year. I just think we had too many positive things happen last year to let it all go away.&rdquo;Some changes have been made. Rookies Pat Elynuik and Iain Duncan have been added, and Hannu Jarvenpaa returns from knee surgery. Peter Taglianetti cracked the roster, while Brian Mullen and Perry Turnbull were traded away.Despite Winnipeg&rsquo;s obvious credentials, pre-season forecasters seem to be placing some credence in the yo-yo syndrome. Several have picked the Jets for fourth in the Smythe Division behind Edmonton, Calgary and even Dos Angeles.&ldquo;I guess they&rsquo;re experts,&rdquo; Ellett said with a grin. &ldquo;We just have to go out and prove them wrong.&rdquo;<blockquote class="pullQuote">&lsquo;&hellip;I guess it would be my turn to be a leader back there.&rsquo;&mdash;Ellett</blockquote>If the Jets are to do any proving, the steady, 6-foot-l, 200-pound blueliner will have to continue the type of play which earned him a new contract.Ellett has blossomed in his three seasons in Winnipeg. The fourth-round (75th overall) draft choice in 1982 seldom makes a mistake in his own zone, is used on the power play and penaltykilling units, and finished plus-19 last year.It is generally accepted around the Winnipeg Arena that he is heir-apparent to current Jet defensive leaders Randy Carlyle and Mario Marois.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s good to hearthat,&rdquo; Ellett said, &ldquo;but I think that Randy and Mario are going to be around the Winnipeg Jets for a few more years. By the time they retire. I&rsquo;ll have been around the league for probably seven or eight years by then and I guess it would be my turn to be a leader back there.&rdquo;But he doesn&rsquo;t have to wait to be important. Winnipeg coach Dan Maloney was thrilled to have Ellett signed going into the season, and the defenseman proved his worth again in an opening-night 5-1 win over the Flames in Calgary.&ldquo;Dave Ellett is a big part of this hockey team.&rdquo; Maloney said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s an integral part of the attack as well as the defense, penalty-killing and power play. To have his situation straightened out is very good.&rdquo;NOTES&mdash;Injured left winger Doug Smail (knee surgery) resumed skating with the team&hellip;Feisty Finnish winger Hannu Jarvenpaa, who played 20 games with the Jets before a knee injury ended his rookie season a year ago, was on the club&rsquo;s big line with Dale Hawerchuk and Paul MacLean&hellip;Swedish rookie Roger Ohman came to the Jets as a converted left winger, but one game back on defense (a 1-1 tie with the Canadian Olympic team) convinced Winnipeg management that the blue line is where Ohman belongs. He was sent to Moncton of the American League for seasoning.<h2>TRANSACTIONS</h2>Oct. 6: Craig Endean, LW, returned to Regina; Peter Douris, RW, and Bob Essensa, G, assigned to Moncton.Oct. 7: George McPhee, LW, traded to New Jersey Devils for fourth-round draft pick.Oct. 8: Dave Ellett, D, signed to multi-year contract; Paul MacLean, RW, signed one-year contract after arbitration hearing.Oct. 9: Roger Ohman, D, assigned to Moncton of AHL.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Dale Hawerchuk, Laurie Bosch-man, Ron Wilson, Thomas Steen.LW&mdash;Gilles Hamel, Steve Rooney, Hannu Jarvenpaa, lain Duncan.RW&mdash;Paul MacLean, Jim Nill, Jan Ingman, Andrew McBain, Ray Neufeld, Pat Elynuik.LD&mdash;Dave Ellett, Jim Kyte, Tim Watters, Brad Berry.RD&mdash;Randy Carlyle, Mario Marois, Peter Taglianetti.G&mdash;Daniel Berthiaume, Eldon Reddick.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Fredrik Olausson, D, shoulder surgery, Dec. 1.Doug Smail, LW, arthroscopic knee surgery, Oct. 19. &#9632;

f0025-01

Jets Will Break Yo-Yo Pattern, Ellett Says

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0026-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-01656/5409571-1-eng-US/f0026-012.jpg"></div> &#9632;

f0026-01

SPEND A LITTLE GET A LOT

<div class="byline">BY RICK SADOWSKI</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-02400/5409602-1-eng-US/f0027-022.jpg" title="f0027-02" width="584" height="853"><figcaption class="caption-body">Bernie Nicholls, above, blamed Doug Gilmour for breaking his finger.</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-01609/5409609-1-eng-US/f0027-012.jpg" title="f0027-01" width="179" height="131"></div>LOS ANGELES&mdash;Things couldn&rsquo;t have gone much worse for the Los Angeles Kings during the regular season&rsquo;s first week.They failed to win an opener for the seventh consecutive season and gave up a club record-tying five power-play goals in a 9-2 shellacking at the hands of the Edmonton Oilers.Even more costly were injuries to center Bernie Nicholls, who fractured his left index finger in three places, and to defenseman Tom Laidlaw, who sprained the medial collateral ligament in his right knee.Nicholls was expected to miss between three and four weeks. The Kings weren&rsquo;t certain how long Laidlaw, injured in the first period against Edmonton, would be sidelined.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know how bad it is,&rdquo; coach Mike Murphy said of Laidlaw&rsquo;s knee. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a competitive guy and he wouldn&rsquo;t have left if he had been able to play. I&rsquo;m sure it&rsquo;s going to be for a while.&rdquo;Knowing how long they would be without Nicholls, who has averaged 37 goals and 85 points in five full NHL seasons, didn&rsquo;t ease the pain.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s terrible. It&rsquo;s really going to hurt us,&rdquo; said sophomore Jimmy Carson, who included his first NHL hattrick among four goals in the first three games. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not saying the other guys can&rsquo;t fill in for him. but you always miss a guy like that.&rdquo;Nicholls, hurt in the first period of a 4-2 win over the St. Louis Blues&mdash;even when the Kings won, they lost&mdash;said he was slashed by Doug Gilmour, though no penalty was called.&ldquo;I was skating up the middle and he slashed me on the hand.&rdquo; Said Nicholls, who had played in 267 consecutive games. &ldquo;Basically. I&rsquo;ll just have to start all over again. If it&rsquo;s going to happen. I guess I&rsquo;d just as soon it happen in the beginning of the season than toward the end.&rdquo;On the positive side, the Kings have several possible fill-ins for Nicholls. Centers Carson, Bob Bourne. Tim Tookey. and rookies Bob Kudelski and Dan Gratton will try to take up the slack, along with center-winger Bobby Carpenter.The Kings also had injury troubles on defense. Though they were carrying 10 blueliners. Larry Playfair, Grant Ledyard and rookie Petr Prajsler were unable to play. With Laidlaw out. the Kings could only dress six blueliners.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ll find a way to win,&rdquo; Murphy insisted. We&rsquo;ve got some good, young players here who will get an opportunity to play.&rdquo;Murphy, beginning his first season as head coach, had said that following the win over the Blues. Twenty-four hours later, after the embarrassing loss to the Oilers, he was saying something else.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think it could get much worse,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m disappointed. We didn&rsquo;t appear to be physically ready or mentally ready.&rdquo;The Kings finished last in the league killing penalties a year ago, but stopped 10 of 11 disadvantages in the first two games. Then disaster struck in the form of Wayne Gretzky and Co. Edmonton scored four power-play goals in seven chances, and added a shorthanded goal by Glenn Anderson, who scored three times.And so the Kings&rsquo; penchant for poor starts continued. After starting with records of 0-6-3, 1-8 and 3-10-1 the last three years, Los Angeles dropped two of their first three games, with seven of the next nine scheduled for the road. They won only 11 away from home last year.A 4-1 opening-night defeat&mdash;the visiting New York Islanders scored three unanswered goals in the third period&mdash;left the Kings 0-4-3 in openers since 1980-81.NOTES&mdash;Six rookies made the team: Defensemen Wayne McBean and Petr Prajsler; goalie Glenn Healy; center Dan Gratton; and wingers Craig Duncanson and Bob Kudelski&hellip;The Kings, notorious for dealing No. 1 picks in the past, began the season with nine former first-rounders on the squad&hellip;Dave Taylor, Joe Paterson and Mark Hardy had bit parts in an episode of the ABC-TV sitcom. Who&rsquo;s the Boss?. It aired two nights before the opener&hellip;Jim Fox was elected player rep, replacing Taylor&hellip;Vaclav Nedomansky, who played six years in the NHL. was hired to help Czech defector Petr Prajsler adjust&hellip;Long Beach Press-Telegram sports writer Don Merry, who covered hockey and football, died of cancer at 48. He had covered a Kings&rsquo; pre-season game only one week before losing his long and courageous battle.<h2>TRANSACTIONS</h2>Oct. 7: Brian Wilks, C, assigned to New Haven.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Bob Bourne, Jimmy Carson, Dan Gratton. Tim Tookey.LW&mdash;Bobby Carpenter, Craig Duncanson, Luc Robitaille, Phil Sykes, Dave Williams.RW&mdash;Bryan Erickson, Jim Fox, Bob Kudelski, Sean McKenna; Dave Taylor.LD&mdash;Wayne McBean, Craig Redmond, Jay Wells.LD&mdash;Steve Duchesne, Mark Hardy, Ed Kennedy.G&mdash;Roland Melanson, Glenn Healy.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Larry Playfair, D, reconstructive knee surgery, Dec. 1.Bernie Nicholls, C, broken finger, Nov. 1.Grant Ledyard, D, sprained ankle, indefinite.Tom Laidlaw, D, sprained knee ligament, indefinite.Petr Prajsler, D, pulled groin, day-today.Joe Paterson, LW, pulled groin, day-to-day. &#9632;

f0027-02

Things Go From Bad To Worse For Kings

News item: Calgary Flame defenseman Gary Suter is suspended 10 games for high-sticking Soviet forward Andrei Lomakin in a Sept. 4 Canada Cup game.Pandora never boxed herself in the way Brian O&rsquo;Neill did with his ruling on the Suter case.Everything about the decision smacks of shortsightedness&mdash;its timing; its severity; its long-term repercussions.For openers, why begin now? If the NHL was prepared to discipline its players for their actions in international tournaments, why didn&rsquo;t O&rsquo;Neill, the NHL&rsquo;s executive vice-president, begin with Mark Messier&rsquo;s elbow slam against Soviet forward Vladimir Kovin in the 1984 Canada Cup?Why isn&rsquo;t Ron Hextall doing more time for his two-hander against Sylvain Turgeon? Why didn&rsquo;t O&rsquo;Neill intervene in last year&rsquo;s World Championships when Soviet referee Nikolai Morozov pushed Buffalo Sabres&rsquo; right winger Mike Foligno and Foligno pushed back?To be consistent with his decision on the Suter case, O&rsquo;Neill must police every international tournament involving players under NHL contract&mdash;the World Championships, World Jr. Championships, European championships, Izvestia tournament, and Olympics, for example&mdash;from now on.Canada&rsquo;s Olympic hockey team uses more than half-a-dozen players on loan from the NHL. Could they be suspended if something ugly happens during the Izvestia tournament? What if Czechoslovakia&rsquo;s Jiri Hrdina, now under contract to the Flames, were to chop somebody down during the Olympics? In theory, he should be subject to the same discipline Suter received.Unless the NHL introduces a rule change to cover the matter, O&rsquo;Neill could be drowning in a sea of videotape by next March.News Item: Andy Moog joins Team IGA, which immediately assigns him to Canada&rsquo;s Olympic hockey team.And you thought NHL free agency was a sham? That collusion wasn&rsquo;t limited to major league baseball?Consider the case of one Andy Moog, a member of three Stanley Cup championship teams with Edmonton Oilers and a bona fide NHL free agent.The man they called Peach spent four fruitless months trying to get a serious offer from one of 20 NHL teams this summer. Whenever he came close to signing&mdash;both the Pittsburgh Penguins and Vancouver Canucks were said to be ready to come up with the necessary money and compensation&mdash;Oiler general manager Glen Sather backed the opposition off, threatening to match any offer, sign Moog himself, then trade him elsewhere.That&rsquo;s called the right of first refusal, even if it interferes with Moog&rsquo;s right to find employment outside of Edmonton&mdash;something you can hardly blame him for.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-03259/5409640-1-eng-US/f0027-032.jpg" title="f0027-03" width="386" height="451"><figcaption class="caption-body">Eric Duhatschek</figcaption></div>So Moog did what every normal, red-blooded Canadian would do. He signed with his local food store: One way, no trade, no cut, no more worries about who&rsquo;s bringing home the bacon.The men who dreamed up the innovative stunt were Moog&rsquo;s agent, Herb Pinder, and Wayne Gretzky&rsquo;s agent, Mike Barnett of CorpSport. In the past, Moog had acted as a spokesman for the stores, something to keep him busy on those long playoff nights when Grant Fuhr did most of the goalkeeping.Moog&rsquo;s job will involve public appearances and endorsements and advertising, but he doesn&rsquo;t need to punch a clock: &ldquo;They let me play hockey on the side.&rdquo;Said Pinder: &ldquo;I think we&rsquo;re breaking new ground here. The Olympics are driven by corporate sponsorship. They were successful in L.A. because of corporate involvement.&ldquo;This is just a different way of doing things. IGA said, &lsquo;We&rsquo;ve been involved with Andy for years, we like him as a person, it&rsquo;s our chance to help the cause.&rsquo; If it pays off for them, maybe other companies will do it, too.&rdquo;Sather described Moog&rsquo;s decision as hasty, saying that if his reluctant goaltender had shown more patience, some accommodation could have been worked out.&ldquo;How do we know that?&rdquo; asked Pinder. &ldquo;That may be true, but how do we know that? I told Glen Sather six to eight weeks before that Andy would be playing hockey and it could be with the Olympic team.&ldquo;Andy&rsquo;s first choice today is to play on Canada&rsquo;s Olympic hockey team. IGA made it financially possible. Everything else, he wants to do. He wants to play for his country. He&rsquo;s going to be on the firing line, literally and figuratively, which he hasn&rsquo;t been when it&rsquo;s mattered the last few seasons. That&rsquo;s what he wants, the challenge. It&rsquo;s once in a lifetime, then in five months, it&rsquo;s gone.&rdquo;And when it&rsquo;s gone and the Oilers refuse to trade him?&ldquo;Then I go to work for IGA,&rdquo; said Moog.Bagging groceries, no doubt. &#9632;

f0027-03

Suter’s Suspension Smacks Of NHL Shortsightedness

<div class="byline">BY MIKE KANE</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0028-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-02444/5409671-1-eng-US/f0028-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Richie Dunn will get lots of exposure playing in Rochester, where the Amerks drew over 300,000 fans and were on television 14 times last season.</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-01629/5409678-1-eng-US/f0028-012.jpg" title="f0028-01" width="178" height="135"></div>In the city where George Eastman created a photographic empire, George Bergantz is operating what is regarded as a picture perfect minor-league hockey franchise.Under Bergantz&rsquo;s stewardship as general manager, the Rochester Americans have, er, developed into the American League&rsquo;s premier team of the 1980s. Since the 1981-82 season, the Amerks have:&bull; Led the league in average points per season, with 92.1.&bull; Finished behind only Binghamton, 42.5 to 42.2, in average number of victories per season.&bull; Won two Southern Division titles and finished second twice.&bull; Reached the Calder Cup playoff finals three times and won two championships, one of them last season.&bull; Led the league in attendance five straight years, 1982-83 through 1986-87.The string of league-leading attendance figures is sure to increase to six this season. A week before the AHL season opened, the Amerks&rsquo; season-ticket sales were in excess of 3,500. That is by far the highest season-ticket base in the 14-team league. By contrast, Adirondack, which has long been among the best season-ticket sellers, will start its ninth season with approximately 2,500 subscribers.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a 20 percent increase and it&rsquo;s fantastic,&rdquo; says Bergantz, 37, the Amerks&rsquo; general manager since 1979.Bergantz left the Buffalo Sabres&rsquo; organization after seven years to take the top management position with the Amerks. At that time, the club, which joined the AHL in 1956, was in the midst of a box-office slump. In 1979, the Amerks ended their working agreement with the Boston Bruins and became affiliated with the Sabres.&ldquo;The last year of the Boston affiliation was just horrible,&rdquo; says Rick Peckham, now the play-by-play announcer of Hartford Whaler games on SportsChannel New England. Peckham was the Amerks&rsquo; broadcaster from 197778 through 1982-83. &ldquo;All of the good players, the Gordie Clarks and Rick Adduonos, had their contracts terminated after the previous season. We really didn&rsquo;t have that much there the next year, and the fans sensed it and didn&rsquo;t come out and support the team.&rdquo;Total attendance dropped 44,000 to 141,923, as the Amerks fell from second overall to second last.The association with Buffalo&mdash;located 70 miles west of Rochester in the western part of upstate New York&mdash;was a logical one, but it took time to blossom.&ldquo;The fans really didn&rsquo;t embrace Buffalo right off the bat,&rdquo; Peckham says. &ldquo;It was a struggle getting the team on the ice going, as well. It was the same time that Scotty Bowman came in and he was shifting his personnel through the organization, trying to get his end of things going.&ldquo;It was a real hodge-podge the first couple of years, but things started to take shape about 1981-82. The fans saw a team that was more stable, more successful. They are very sophisticated there and they started to come out.&rdquo;In 1982, the Sabres took complete control when they purchased the Amerks&rsquo; franchise from a consortium of Rochester businessmen. Bergantz remained with the club in the same position, but was asked to approach the job from a different perspective.&ldquo;We were told to start looking two to three years down the road to where you want to be, and to start long-term thinking as opposed to the shorter term. Don&rsquo;t worry so much about the next gate. Worry about what you&rsquo;re going to do to make the Rochester Americans a major factor in the market three years from now, and what steps you need along the way to get there. That&rsquo;s the kind of thing that has helped us be able to have the luxury, in effect, to look long term at what we want to accomplish.&rdquo;The results have been most satisfying. From an average attendance of 4,933 in 1981-82, the Amerks climbed to an average crowd of 6,390 in 1984-85. Last season, they drew 242,160, an average of 6,054. There were 12 sellouts at the 6,973-seat War Memorial Auditorium. In the playoffs, the Amerks drew an average crowd of 7,541 over nine home dates.Popular? The Amerks drew more than 310,000 last season, even though seven regular-season and seven playoff games were televised live in prime time by WHEC-TV, the CBS affiliate. Most of the games televised were played on the road. The unprecedented exposure, by minor-league standards, has helped elevate the team&rsquo;s already-high profile in the community.The audience that Bergantz and the Amerks reach is upscale and accustomed to spending money on professional sports. During the past 35 years, National Basketball Association and North American Soccer League franchises have operated in Rochester. The Rochester Red Wings of the Class AAA International Baseball League have been a fixture for 60 years.&ldquo;This town has always supported all of its teams fairly well,&rdquo; Smith says. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a good sports market. There&rsquo;s also a fairly high disposable income here. I think that&rsquo;s got something to do with it.&rdquo;Rochester is the home to Eastman Kodak, Xerox and Bauch & Lomb, among other large companies.Recent surveys have shown that 40 per cent of Amerk fans attending games at the War Memorial have household incomes in excess of $51,000.Still, Bergantz has to sell the product. The Sabres have done their part with a good mix of older and younger players. NHL regulars such as Steve Dykstra, Jacques Cloutier, Sean McKenna and Randy Cunneyworth played on the Amerks&rsquo; championship team in 1983. Prospects Daren Puppa, Uwe Krupp, Bob Logan and Ray Sheppard filled important roles last year.The Amerks haven&rsquo;t forgotten their past, either. Last year, seven past American greats&mdash;coach Joe Crozier, goalie Bob Perreault, defensemen Al Arbour and Darryl Sly, and forwards Bronco Horvath, Dick Gamble and Red Armstrong&mdash;plus Democrat and Chronicle reporter Hans Tanner&mdash;were the inaugural inductees to the Amerks&rsquo; Hall of Fame. This year, three more&mdash;defenseman-coach Don Cherry, goalie Gerry Cheevers and forward Gerry Eh-man&mdash;will be honored on Oct. 23.&ldquo;The old story,&rdquo; said Cherry, a 10-year Amerk before his illustrious AHL-NHL coaching career began, &ldquo;was that if you couldn&rsquo;t play in the National Hockey League, the place to play was Rochester.&rdquo;Now, due in large part to the efforts of Bergantz, it is again. &#9632;

f0028-02

The Minors

Amerks Fan-tastic Franchise

<div class="byline">&#x2014;Mike Kane</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-03317/5409709-1-eng-US/f0028-032.jpg" title="f0028-03" width="178" height="130"></div>After toiling in minor pro hockey for seven years, Tim Tookey has landed in a no-lose situation.Thanks to a squabble over his NHL rights, Tookey is a member of the Los Angeles Kings&mdash;with the knowledge that, if he is returned to the American League, it will be to the Philadelphia Flyers&rsquo; farm team, the Hershey Bears.Confused? You should be.The controversy started Oct. 5, when Los Angeles claimed Tookey, 27, from the Philadelphia Flyers&rsquo; list of unprotected players in the annual NHL waiver draft. It picked up speed the next afternoon when the Kings told Tookey to report to New Haven, their AHL affiliate.When the Kings put Tookey on the 48-hour waiver list (an NHL requirement for teams demoting veteran players), the Flyers put in a claim. Just before the end of the waiver period, the Kings recalled Tookey and told him to report to L.A.Hershey coach John Paddock doesn&rsquo;t mind losing the AHL scoring champion (124 points) and league MVP to an NHL team, but he&rsquo;s darned if he&rsquo;ll give up Tookey&rsquo;s AHL rights.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re going to guarantee that he&rsquo;s going to stay in the National League or he&rsquo;s going to play in Hershey,&rdquo; said Paddock.<h2>MUSICAL ROSTERS</h2>Several other Southern Division teams were affected by the waiver draft.Veteran Rochester defenseman Dave Fenyves was selected by Philadelphia from the Buffalo Sabres&rsquo; unprotected list. Fenyves, the MVP in the playoffs last season, was assigned to Hershey.Binghamton lost veteran defenseman Bill Root, when the St. Louis Blues took him from Hartford.Winger Kevin Maguire, who played in 51 games for Newmarket last season, was taken from Toronto&rsquo;s list by the Buffalo Sabres.After the waiver draft, the Adirondack Red Wings said goodbye to center Mark Lamb. who was claimed by the Edmonton Oilers.<h2>DEVILS GET THREE</h2>Utica&rsquo;s roster was firmed up when the parent New Jersey Devils assigned left winger Chris Cichocki, right winger Dan Dorion and defenseman Steve Richmond to Tom McVie&rsquo;s club&hellip;Baltimore, the only independent team in the league, received 10 players from the Quebec Nordiques, including veteran right winger Doug Shedden and goaltender Scott Gordon. The Skipjacks also have veteran defenseman Greg Tebbutt in camp, who won the Eddie Shore Plaque as top rearguard in 198283, while a member of the Skipjacks&hellip;Brad Shaw, the league&rsquo;s top defenseman last season, was returned to Binghamton by Hartford. &#9632;

f0028-03

Kings Took Tookey, But Bears Want Him

<div class="byline">BY PAUL ABRAMOWITZ</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-02375/5409740-1-eng-US/f0029-022.jpg" title="f0029-02" width="594" height="1543"><figcaption class="caption-body">Marc Crawford is doubling up as player/associate coach with the Fredericton Express.</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-01542/5409747-1-eng-US/f0029-012.jpg" title="f0029-01" width="182" height="139"></div>Ten years of Maine Mariner history have undergone a facelift. And local fans are complaining about the results.For the first time since they entered the American League, the Mariners will sport colors other than black and orange. The Mariners adopted those colors when the Philadelphia Flyers moved their farm team there in 1977, and kept them when the New Jersey Devils took over in 1983.But now Portland is Boston Bruin country, so the uniforms have been hanged to black and yellow, and the walls of the Civic Center have been painted the same colors.Included in the redecoration are the championship banners and the five retired jerseys that hang from the ceiling. The once black-and-orange banner and jerseys have been redone in black and yellow by Mariner owner Ed Anderson.&ldquo;We made a cognizant decision to change our colors,&rdquo; Anderson said. &ldquo;Do you stop short somewhere, or be consistent and go all the way?&rdquo;Some fans feel Anderson has gone too far. They feel as if their cherished history has been erased. Petitions, to change the banners back to black and orange, were signed by hundreds of fans before the season began.&ldquo;Sure, tradition is nice,&rdquo; Anderson said, &ldquo;but when an organization (Philadelphia) turns its back on a community and goes to Springfield and sells the team to New Jersey, so much for tradition.&ldquo;And when the Devils do the same thing, so much for tradition. Our loyalties are to the Boston Bruins. Without them, the color (here) would be black.&rdquo;But by changing the colors, it appears to some fans that the Bruin organization is taking credit for wonderful feats of years past. In reality, the last time a Boston farm team won a Calder Cup was in 1969, when it helped supply Hershey with some players.<h2>OILERS ARE IN</h2>In last week&rsquo;s AHL Preview, THN mistakenly labelled Nova Scotia the Voyageurs. They&rsquo;ve been the Oilers, an Edmonton farm club, since the 1984-85 season. We were thinking of the old-time Voyageurs&mdash;who were in existence from 1969 to 1984.<h2>GOALIES GALORE</h2>The Northern Division has four goaltenders who started last season in the NHL. New Haven received two from Los Angeles, Al Jensen and Bob Janecyk. Bill Ranford was sent to Maine by Boston, and Steve Penney finally arrived in Moncton after balking for a few days after being assigned by Winnipeg. Janecyk was a first-team all star in the AHL with New Brunswick in 1981-82 and then with Springfield in &rsquo;82-83.<h2>FISTIC EXPRESS</h2>Add a name to the division&rsquo;s tough-guy roll call. Left winger Jacques Mailhot started the season with the Fredericton Express.He played the last three seasons in the Republican League, a Quebec senior league. His bio says he had 720 penalty minutes in 36 games last season, but according to coach Ron Lapointe, the reports are exaggerated. Actually, Mailhot collected 706 over his three-year career in the league, which is a hefty number nonetheless.The Mariners got their much-needed muscleman when left winger Mike Stevens was sent to Boston&rsquo;s farm team for future considerations. Stevens is the younger brother of Washington Capitals&rsquo; rock-solid defenseman Scott Stevens.<h2>HABS GET HELP</h2>Sherbrooke became the team to beat in the division when they received last-minute help from Montreal, which sent down goalie Vincent Riendeau. As a rookie last season, Riendeau led the Canadiens to the Northern title with a 26-14-0 record and 2.89 goals-against average. In the playoffs, however, he was 8-5 with a 3.80 average.<h2>SCOTIA BOY HOME</h2>Shawn MacKenzie, born in Bedford, N.S., is getting a chance to play near home for the first time in his career. With Edmonton&rsquo;s goaltending situation scrambled, Mackenzie has a good shot at earning a spot on the Nova Scotia roster after coming to camp on a tryout&hellip;Marc Crawford is serving as player/associate coach at Fredericton. He will report to his bosses in Vancouver on how the Canuck prospects are faring&hellip;The Mariners signed veteran center Len Hachborn, who is playing in Austria. Hachborn will join the Mariners in late January after his season in Europe is over. &#9632;

f0029-02

Mariner Fans Aren’t Mellow About Yellow

<div class="byline">BY BOB WAGNER</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0030-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-02452/5409778-1-eng-US/f0030-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Warren Young, above, had one big goal-scoring season with the Pittsburgh Penguins and is a key veteran for coach Rick Ley&rsquo;s Muskegon Lumberjacks.</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-01621/5409785-1-eng-US/f0030-012.jpg" title="f0030-01" width="158" height="139"></div>Only one thing is certain as the &ldquo;new-look&rdquo; International League opens its 1987-88 season: There will be a new division champion in the West.The Fort Wayne Komets, winners of the West and the Huber Trophy for the best overall record the last two seasons, have changed divisions to make room for the new Colorado Rangers.With more returning players than any other club in the nine-city league, Fort Wayne ranks a slight edge over the Muskegon Lumberjacks. In the West, the Peoria Rivermen are the favorites over a veteran Milwaukee Admiral team.Six teams in the IHL have been designated as No. 1 affiliates by National Hockey League clubs. The three that are not&mdash;Fort Wayne, Milwaukee and the Flint Spirits&mdash;will be havens for leftover free agents.For the purposes of our preview, &lsquo;veterans&rsquo; are considered those with professional experience, not necessarily experience with the IHL team they&rsquo;re playing on this year. Due to space limiations, we can&rsquo;t list all of their &rsquo;86-87 teams.Teams are listed in order of predicted finish, with last season&rsquo;s records in parentheses:<h2>EAST DIVISION FORT WAYNE KOMETS (48-26-8)</h2>Coach: Rob Laird. GM: Bob Chase.NHL Affiliates: Washington Capitals, Winnipeg Jets.Key Veterans: Goalie Alain Raymond (3.30 goals-against average last season); left wingers Mike Lekun and Todd Strueby; centers Colin Chin (33-42-75 at Fort Wayne), Rod Matechuk, Claude Dumas and Todd Bjork-strand, who was 33-47-80 with Indianapolis; right wingers Paul Couture, Derek Ray and Bobby Curtis; defensemen Jim Burton, Craig Channell, Dan Ryder, Darrell Moise, Don Perkins.Newcomers: Right winger Robin Bawa (5756-113) from Kamloops; center Rob Murray and defenseman Larry Shaw, both of Peterborough; defenseman Bill Houlder, North Bay; left winger Mike Maurice of Kingston, and left winger-center Steve Hollett of Sault Ste Marie.Outlook: If the Komets can talk their top two scorers, Steve Salvucci and Ron Leef, out of retirement, they could be headed for a Turner Cup playoff championship.<h2>MUSKEGON LUMBERJACKS (47-30-5)</h2>Coach: Rick Ley. GM: Larry Gordon.NHL Affiliate: Pittsburgh Penguins.Key Veterans: Goalie Jeff Cooper (3.00); left wingers Dave Michayluk (45-54-101), Warren Young (one-time 40-goal man for the Penguins), and Carl Mokosak (228 PIM with Baltimore); center Jock Callander, who shared the IHL scoring title at 54-82-136; right winger Dwight Mathiasen; defensemen Pat Mayer and Dave Goertz.Newcomers: Right winger Lee Giffin, 3169-100 at Oshawa; defenseman Randy Taylor, 38 points in 34 games at Harvard; center Steve Gotaas of Prince Albert (53-55-108); left winger Brad Aitken of Sault Ste. Marie; defense-man Jim Paek of Oshawa.Outlook: Strong goaltending with Cooper, who had the lowest GAA in IHL last season, and a power-scoring duo in Callander and Michayluk.<h2>FLINT SPIRITS (42-33-7)</h2>Coach-GM: Rick Dudley.NHL Affiliates: Detroit Red Wings, Philadelphia Flyers, Vancouver Canucks, Buffalo Sabres.Key Veterans: Goalie Ray LeBlanc (3.90); mean left wingers Mel Hewitt (307 PIM with Salt Lake), Rob Nichols (357 PIM with Kalamazoo), Marc Magnan (353 PIM with Indianapolis); right wingers Jim Egerton (52-47-99 with Flint) and Brian Carroll; defenseman Don Waddell.Newcomers: Goalie Mark Reimer (3.46 with Saskatoon); former Canadian national team left winger Darren Lowe.Outlook: Magnan, Nichols and Hewitt will make this one tough team in 1987-88.<h2>KALAMAZOO WINGS (36-38-8)</h2>Coach: John Marks. GM: Bill Inglis.NHL Affiliate: Minnesota North Stars.Key Veterans: Goalie Mike Sands of Springfield; left wingers Kevin Evans, with an outrageous 648 penalty minutes last year, and George Servinis (41-54-95 with Indianapolis); centers Bill Terry and Randy Smith; right wingers Jim Archibald and Pat Micheletti; defensemen Dave Emerson, Emanuel Viveiros and Todd Carlisle.Newcomers: Three top collegians&mdash;center Ken Hodge of Boston College, Michigan State all-American right winger Mitch Messier, and center Rick Boh of Colorado College; center Stephane Roy of Granby; Bowling Green defenseman Brian McKee; goalie Darin MacInnis of Regina.Outlook: Performance of rookies will determine direction of the club.<h2>SAGINAW HAWKS (44-32-6)</h2>Coach-GM: Dennis Desrosiers.NHL Affiliates: Chicago Blackhawks (primary), Montreal Canadiens.Key Veterans: Left winger Guy Jacob; centers Brad MacGregor, Mike Rucinski, exBlackhawk Rick Paterson, Bill Gardner; right wingers Glenn Greenough and Victor Posa (203 PIM); defenseman Bruce Cassidy.Newcomers: Goalie Ed Belfour (2.37 GAA), second-team all-American who led North Dakota to 1987 NCAA championship.Outlook: The team is still in its formative stages as it becomes the No. 1 affiliate of Blackhawks.<h2>WEST DIVISION PEORIA RIVERMEN (31-42-9)</h2>Coach-GM: Pat Kelly.NHL Affiliates: St. Louis Blues (primary), New York Islanders.Key Veterans: Goalie Darrell May (3.75); left wingers Doug Evans and Charlie Meitner; centers Grant Rezansoff, Denis Cyr, Ron Handy (55-80-135 with Indianapolis), Tim Ferguson; right winger Michael Dark; defenseman Mike Posavad.Newcomers: Goalie Pat Jablonski (3.30 at Windsor); center-right winger Ray Savard of Regina; tough left winger Darin Smith, the Blues&rsquo; fourth-round pick out of North Bay.Outlook: Kelly stresses defense but he is loaded with offense, heavy on the left side and at center.<h2>MILWAUKEE ADMIRALS (41-37-4)</h2>Coach: Kevin Willison. GM: Phil Wittliff.NHL Affiliates: Edmonton Oilers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins and Hartford Whalers.Key Veterans: Goalie Rob Holland; forwards Bob Lakso (39-55-94 at Indianapolis), Gord Stafford, Tom St. James, Claude Noel, Darcy Roy, Neil Meadmore, Kevin Schamehom, Andy Cozzi, Bobby Simpson; defensemen Darren McKay, Todd Carnelley, Grant Dion, Randy Turnbull, Bruce Howes.Newcomers: Center Ally Cook, 13-29-42 in 39 games at Michigan Tech.Outlook: The Admirals have reaped a huge free-agent harvest, leaving little room for rookies. Depth and experience should keep them in contention.<h2>SALT LAKE GOLDEN EAGLES (39-31-12)</h2>Coach: Paul Baxter. GM: Marc Amicone.NHL Affiliate: Calgary Flames.Key Veterans: Goalie Grant Blair; left winger Bob Bodak; center Randy Bucyk from Sherbrooke; right wingers Rich Chernomaz (62 points in 58 games at Maine), Moncton captain Peter Bakovic; defensemen Mike Mersch and Darren McCutcheon.Newcomers: Left winger Stu Grimson of Manitoba; center Jeff Wenaas from the Memorial Cup-champion Medicine Hat Tigers; right winger Steve MacS wain, 31-29-60 in 48 games for the University of Minnesota.Outlook: Only Blair and Mersch return from last year&rsquo;s top club, as the Eagles become Calgary&rsquo;s top farm.<h2>COLORADO RANGERS (New team)</h2>Coach: Pete Mahovlich. GM: Greg Ahbe.NHL Affiliate: New York Rangers.Key Veterans: Left wingers Mike Donnelly (27-34-61 for New Haven) and Jeff Brubaker; centers Simon Wheeldon and Mike Siltala; right winger Rod Talkowski; defensemen Norm MacIver, Scott Smith and Jeff Crossman; ACHL refugee Don Herczeg (141 PIM in 16 games).Newcomers: Goalie Drago Adam, a second-team all-star with New Westminster; defenseman Mark Tinordi of the Calgary Wranglers; left winger Larry Bernard of Seattle; right winger Jim Latos of Portland; right wingers Paul Jerrard of Lake Superior State and Todd Ely, from the University of Regina; center Steve Nemeth, who split his season between Kamloops and the Canadian national team.Outlook: A mixture of veterans, rookies form this new IHL club, but the overall result will not be strong enough to contend. &#9632;

f0030-02

New IHL Tough To Call

<h2>OCTOBER</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-01567/5409879-1-eng-US/f0031-012.jpg" title="f0031-01" width="526" height="958"></div><h2>NOVEMBER</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-02394/5409872-1-eng-US/f0031-022.jpg" title="f0031-02" width="512" height="1577"></div><h2>DECEMBER</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-03290/5409865-1-eng-US/f0031-032.jpg" title="f0031-03" width="526" height="1639"></div><h2>JANUARY</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-04216/5409858-1-eng-US/f0031-042.jpg" title="f0031-04" width="520" height="884"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-05171/5409851-1-eng-US/f0031-052.jpg" title="f0031-05" width="512" height="586"></div><h2>FEBRUARY</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-06137/5409844-1-eng-US/f0031-062.jpg" title="f0031-06" width="512" height="1655"></div><h2>MARCH</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-07118/5409837-1-eng-US/f0031-072.jpg" title="f0031-07" width="496" height="268"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-08105/5409830-1-eng-US/f0031-082.jpg" title="f0031-08" width="514" height="1120"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-0991/5409823-1-eng-US/f0031-092.jpg" title="f0031-09" width="502" height="296"></div><h2>APRIL</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-1078/5409816-1-eng-US/f0031-102.jpg" title="f0031-10" width="516" height="782"></div> &#9632;

f0031-01

IHL SCHEDULE

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-1165/5409917-1-eng-US/f0031-112.jpg" title="f0031-11" width="872" height="716"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-1243/5409910-1-eng-US/f0031-122.jpg" title="f0031-12" width="892" height="718"></div> &#9632;

f0031-11

IHL STARTING TIMES

<div class="byline">BY GREGG DRINNAN</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0032-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-01598/5409955-1-eng-US/f0032-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">The death of four Swift Current Broncos in a bus accident last Dec. 30 has weighed heavily on coach Graham James (inset). just as Brad Hornung&rsquo;s spinal injury has been a large burden on Regina Pat coach Doug Sauter (below).</figcaption></div>They are both employed by Western League teams, both named &ldquo;coach-general managers.&rdquo; But that&rsquo;s where the similarity seems to end.Doug Sauter of the Regina Pats would love to win every game 1-0. Goaltending and defense, aggressive play. Rock-&rsquo;em-sock-&rsquo;em hockey is the name of his game.Graham James of the Swift Current Broncos loves firewagon hockey. Skate, skate, skate, outshoot and outscore the opposition. Run-and-gun is the name of his game.But although the two men favor vastly different styles, they are united by a common, inseparable bond. Both have faced the difficult task of rebuilding a team in the aftermath of tragedy.On Dec. 30, James survived a bus crash that killed four of his players, as the Broncos were on their way to Regina for a game.On March 1, Sauter watched in horror as Pats&rsquo; center Brad Hornung crashed head-first into the end boards of the Agridome, after absorbing a check from behind. The resultant spinal injury left the player quadriplegic.Both coaches had a difficult time, struggling to keep their heads during the agonizing personal periods of aftershock.Sauter initially blamed himself for Hornung&rsquo;s injury. For a long time, he maintained the player should never have been on the ice.&ldquo;Any time, when you&rsquo;re coach and one of your players gets hit, you&rsquo;re responsible for them as players,&rdquo; Sauter says. &ldquo;At that time, I think it hit me&hellip;I&rsquo;d been coaching for 14 years and I guess maybe I was lucky. It was the first traumatic experience that has happened. It took a week and there&rsquo;s no doubt I thought about quitting and I thought about redoing a lot of things. But life goes on.&rdquo;And Sauter continues to coach. He says he will, as always, try to ice an aggressive hockey team, but adds there will be more attention paid to certain aspects of the game.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got to respect the rules on hitting from behind or blindsiding,&rdquo; he explains. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re the same thing in my mind. I do not like it when a player blindsides another, hits him in the numbers or hits him from some angle from where he can&rsquo;t see him coming. I&rsquo;ve always been kind of strict in that regard. I don&rsquo;t like to see it done, even when my player is doing it.&rdquo;The Hornung injury may not have changed Sauter the coach, but it has changed Sauter the man. Sauter used to be quick with a joke, a one-liner, a chuckle or a laugh. Today, though he has maintained his sense of humor and still enjoys life, his attitude is more subdued.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s because of that,&rdquo; he admits. &ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s a great lesson in life. Even talking about it now&hellip;I have trouble talking about it. You find out in life that life itself is a lot more important than a game. I think you put your values in the right direction. I think I&rsquo;m going to be more of a players&rsquo; coach. I hope I&rsquo;m going to be able to spend more time individually with players, be a little lighter.&rdquo;James, too, says he changed more as a person than coach during his period of adjustment to the deaths of Trent Kresse, Scott Kruger, Chris Mantyka and Brent Ruff.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not sure (the accident) changed me as a coach,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve always tried to have respect for the players. You have to be mean at times, you have to exert discipline at times. I&rsquo;ve always tried to be fair to the players. I don&rsquo;t know if the accident affected me that way, made me feel more sympathetic toward them, because I always felt they were young and deserved respect.&rdquo;But Graham James, the man, has changed.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m like everybody else,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s always been the other guy that these things happen to. I&rsquo;m a little bit nervous when we get on the (new) bus. When the bus goes around a corner, I think about those things. There aren&rsquo;t many days that go by&mdash;and I think the players echo this&mdash;that we don&rsquo;t think about those things.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s affected me as a person, inwardly. I don&rsquo;t know that I&rsquo;m acting any differently or anything like that, but it certainly affected me and has made me a little bit more appreciative of day-to-day living.&rdquo;James has a special feeling for two of this year&rsquo;s new Broncos, 19-year-old twins Trevor and Darren Kruger. They were brothers of the late Scott Kruger.On the ice, the Kruger brothers join their teammates in support of James&rsquo; wide-open style, perhaps the most exciting in the WHL. The coach says he couldn&rsquo;t play it any other way.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-02438/5409948-1-eng-US/f0032-022.jpg" title="f0032-02" width="708" height="1270"></div>&ldquo;I prefer to play the way we play,&rdquo; he says, &ldquo;especially at this level more than Tier II. You have to be entertaining. I really think that&rsquo;s the bottom line. We&rsquo;d like to get our goals-against down, but I enjoy watching our team play. It&rsquo;s fun to watch, and that makes the season better for everybody, the fans included.&rdquo;Sauter, like James, must live with the memory of a terrible accident. But unlike his Swift Current counterpart, he has a living reminder&mdash;Hornung himself. The coach visits his former charge as often as possible, at Regina&rsquo;s Wascana Rehabilitation Center. Often, says Sauter, it&rdquo; is Hornung who reassures him, rather than the other way around.&ldquo;His life is beginning over again,&rdquo; Sauter says. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s only been seven months and he&rsquo;s got a whole life to live ahead of him. I hope that Brad is able to put something back into hockey.&rdquo;One possible contribution is as an assistant coach with the Pats. Hornung could edit videotape by means of a computerized, voice-activated system, Sauter says.&ldquo;He was a very studious guy and that&rsquo;s why I think he&rsquo;ll make a very good coach,&rdquo; Sauter adds. &ldquo;He concentrated, he studied. I truly believe that he&rsquo;ll be able to help somewhere along the line.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0032-01

The Juniors

The Aftermath Of Tragedy

<div class="byline">BY RANDY RUSSON</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-02378/5409986-1-eng-US/f0033-022.jpg" title="f0033-02" width="579" height="843"><figcaption class="caption-body">Brian Kilrea, above, was surprised when walk-on defenseman Rob Boldon stuck around.</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-01534/5409993-1-eng-US/f0033-012.jpg" title="f0033-01" width="178" height="135"></div>Sometimes Central Scouting misses its man.At least in the opinion of Ottawa 67&rsquo;s coach and general manager Brian Kilrea.&ldquo;I still can&rsquo;t believe they didn&rsquo;t have this guy rated,&rdquo; said Kilrea of Rob Boldon, a rookie defenseman from Fredericton, N.B., who not only has made the OHL club as a walk-on, but is taking a regular turn and playing on the penalty-killing unit.With six returning defensemen. the 67&rsquo;s weren&rsquo;t looking for help on the blue line. But when former NHLer Danny Grant, now in private business in Fredericton, called and recommended the 17-year-old Boldon, Kilrea decided to take a look.&ldquo;He came to camp and looked good right away,&rdquo; said Kilrea of the 6-foot, 185-pound Boldon, who was not taken through 22 rounds of this year&rsquo;s OHL midget priority selections draft. &ldquo;I kept waiting for him to falter and he didn&rsquo;t. Finally, I said to him, &lsquo;Son, you&rsquo;ve got a place to play.&rsquo; And I tore up his return ticket to Fredericton.&rdquo;<h2>ROYALS STRIKE OUT</h2>Two Cornwall Royal home games&mdash;Oct. 8 against the Kitchener Rangers and Oct. 11 against the Hamilton Steelhawks&mdash;were cancelled after city council locked out arena workers at the Cornwall Civic Complex at midnight, Oct. 6.The workers, members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), assumed a legal strike position in August and had been working without a contract.The city offered to keep the arena open, using part-time workers. But the Royals declined, fearing picket-line violence.The cancelled games will be rescheduled on mutually agreed-upon dates. Tickets for the Oct. 8 and 11 contests will be honored then.<h2>SORE IN THE SOO</h2>When London beat the Greyhounds 4-3 in Sault Ste. Marie on Oct. 3, Knights&rsquo; coach and general manager Wayne Maxner criticized Greyhound coach Don Boyd after the game.Maxner said Boyd sent enforcer Brian Hoard after his top defenseman, Jim Sprott, in the first period.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s obvious what he (Boyd) was trying to do,&rdquo; fumed Maxner. &ldquo;He was trying to play the old game of intimidation. Well, if that&rsquo;s Boyd&rsquo;s style, fine and well. I mean, that was my style once, too&hellip;in 1975.&ldquo;Hockey&rsquo;s changed a lot since then. Maybe someone should tell Don. His strategy is a bit outdated. Maybe that&rsquo;s what&rsquo;s wrong with his team.&rdquo;After the loss to London, the Soo was 1-5, including an 0-3 record on home ice. London was 5-1.<h2>NEVER TOO LATE</h2>At 19, and after a series of ups and downs, Piero Greco is beginning his first full season with the Toronto Marlboros.A 20th-round draft pick of the Sudbury Wolves in 1985, Greco was released by the OHL club after playing in parts of just two games.Last season, the lowly Wolves again gave him a look only to drop him again.The 5-foot-7, 160-pounder Greco then surfaced in Belleville where he played in 11 games for the Bulls, posting a 2-4 record and 5.79 goals-against-average.But when the Bulls picked up overage netminder Alan Perry, Greco became expendable and was dispatched to Toronto for future considerations.The fifth goaltender the Marlies used last year became the finest. Greco was the only Toronto goaltender to post a .500 record (6-6-1) and had a 5.26 GAA. He missed the last three games of the season and his absence was felt. Without Greco, Toronto surrendered 27 goals and blew a four-point lead over the Cornwall Royals, who snared the final playoff spot in the Leyden Division by two points.Greco started this year with road wins over the Guelph Platers (42 saves in a 7-3 win) and Oshawa Generals, allowing just six goals.<h2>DEFENSIVE DELIGHTS</h2>The defending OHL-champion Generals are emphasizing team defense to compensate for the loss of four defensemen&mdash;Gord Murphy, Jim Paek, Shane Doyle and Petri Matikainen&mdash;to graduation. A fifth veteran, Marc Laniel, was playing as an underage with the New Jersey Devils.&ldquo;The kids have been playing well and we&rsquo;ve got good two-way forwards who understand the word backcheck,&rdquo; said coach Paul Theriault.The Generals, with only Dean Morton and Mike Short back on defense, won two of their first three games. The greatest number of shots on goal they&rsquo;d allowed was 22.<h2>BELLAND BACK</h2>Brad Belland, whose jaw was broken by teammate Craig Duncan-son at a social gathering last season, has returned to the Cornwall Royals as an overager&hellip;Sudbury Wolves dealt defenseman Phil Paquette, 18, and left winger Mike Siefker, 19, to the Guelph Platers for 19-year-old right winger Robb Graham. &#9632;

f0033-02

Ottawa’s Fredericton Flash Failed To Falter

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-03273/5410038-1-eng-US/f0033-032.jpg" title="f0033-03" width="367" height="462"><figcaption class="caption-body">TYLER LARTER Sault Ste. Marie</figcaption></div><h2>ONTARIO LEAGUE</h2>The Soo Greyhounds have been slow getting off the mark but it hasn&rsquo;t deterred Tyler Larter.The 1987 Washington draft choice counted eight points in his three games, two of which the Soo lost, to become the OHL&rsquo;s Player of the Week. Larter had 17 points in his first eight games despite the Greyhounds losing seven of nine.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-04213/5410031-1-eng-US/f0033-042.jpg" title="f0033-04" width="367" height="460"><figcaption class="caption-body">DALE MARQUETTE Brandon</figcaption></div><h2>WESTERN LEAGUE</h2>The Brandon Wheat Kings are on the move in the early season race and so is Dale Marquette.The 19-year-old left winger was chosen WHL Player of the Week after he assisted on seven goals in Brandon&rsquo;s 12-7 rout of Swift Current. The feat tied a league record. Marquette had 11 points in his first six games.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-05177/5410024-1-eng-US/f0033-052.jpg" title="f0033-05" width="371" height="464"><figcaption class="caption-body">TERRY MacLEAN Trois-Rivieres</figcaption></div><h2>QUEBEC LEAGUE</h2>Terry MacLean&rsquo;s hot hand sparked Trois-Rivieres Draveurs to two wins in three starts.The 6-foot-1, 180-pound center collected three goals and 11 assists for 14 points in four games to get the nod as QMJHL Player of the Week. MacLean, a St. Louis draft pick, had two five-point games.At the end of the current season, THE HOCKEY NEWS will select a Micron Junior Player of the Year. &#9632;

f0033-03

MICRON JUNIOR PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

<div class="byline">BY RICK MAYOH</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-01611/5410069-1-eng-US/f0034-012.jpg" title="f0034-01" width="178" height="133"></div>Right winger Daniel Shank made a strong impression during his first game with the Hull Olympiques, even though he had only one practice behind him.The 20-year-old Longueuil native assisted on four goals and was the second star of a 7-1 win over Verdun.Shank was in the middle of a second-period melee which saw Jr. Canadien coach Richard Liboiron ejected. Liboiron reached over the boards and grabbed Shank while the latter grappled with Verdun rookie defenseman Martin Charrois, 17. Verdun general manager Carol Vadnais said Liboiron was only trying to protect his player.Hull signed Shank and center Marc Saumier (Raymond&rsquo;s brother) as its overage players.Shank scored 26 goals and 43 assists for 69 points in 46 games last season, and had 325 penalty minutes. He started the &rsquo;86-87 season with Laval and then commuted the 240-mile round trip to Hull on a daily basis, for the month of January.Saumier scored 39 goals and 49 assists for 88 points and had 250 penalty minutes for the defending league-champion Longueuil Chevaliers last year.The Olympiques acquired the Hull native during the summer in a trade for Quebec Nordique second-round right winger, Jean-Marc Routhier, 19.<h2>TRADE WORKING OUT</h2>Laval Titan general manager Jocelyn Guevremont is delighted with the way a summer trade with the Trois-Rivieres Draveurs is turning out.Laval was off to a 5-1-1 start, due in large part to the play of goaltender Alain Dubeau and center-left winger Claude Lapointe.The Titan obtained Dubeau, 19, Lapointe, 18, and a third-round draft pick from Trois-Rivieres, with which they selected defenseman Patrice Brisebois, 16. In return, the Draveurs received rugged right winger Raymond Saumier, 18, left winger Mike Gober, 20, defenseman Eric Gobeil, 19, and a second-round pick with which they claimed 17-year-old defenseman Eric Charron.Lapointe scored 47 goals and 57 assists for 104 points with Trois-Rivieres last season.The Draveurs haven&rsquo;t been as fortunate. Gobeil has decided to pitch in the Pittsburgh Pirates&rsquo; organization. Gober suffered a broken pelvis in a car accident in May. The injury hasn&rsquo;t healed properly and doctors say it may take six months to two years to do so.<h2>SEEKING TRADE</h2>Jacques Gregoire, the Shawinigan Cataractes&rsquo; coach and general manager, was looking to make a trade after the Quebec Nordiques decided to keep the Cats&rsquo; star defenseman, Stephane Guerard.Guerard, 19, a 6-foot-2, 195-pounder, was the Nordiques&rsquo; second-round pick in the 1986 NHL entry draft.&ldquo;Quebec felt it would be best for Stephane to train with (Nordiques&rsquo; assistant coach) Guy Lapointe and start the season with them,&rdquo; Gregoire said. &ldquo;I think he&rsquo;ll come back at the end of October.&rdquo;<h2>BETTER START</h2>The Verdun Jr. Canadiens struggled through a 14-55-1 season last year, so general manager Carol Vadnais is happy with this year&rsquo;s 4-5 start.Except for his goaltending.&ldquo;We seem to start each game by giving up a bad goal,&rdquo; Vadnais said.The Jr. Habs have Jean-Claude Bergeron, 18, Eric Bohemier, 20, and Alain Harvey, 18, in net. &#9632;

f0034-01

Coach Lends Helping Hand To Jr. Canadien

<div class="byline">BY GREGG DRINNAN</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-02471/5410100-1-eng-US/f0034-022.jpg" title="f0034-02" width="179" height="130"></div>The Western League could be looking at a franchise in the Tri-Cities area of Washington state next season.Ron Dixon, owner of the New Westminster Bruins, is expected to turn sod this month on a multi-million dollar development in the Tri-Cities of Kennewick, Richland and Pasco, which have a total population of over 100,000.A $7 million arena in Kennewick is included in development plans, as well as a hotel and shopping mall. The arena is expected to be completed in time for the 1988-89 hockey season.But the Bruins will not be moving south of the border, Dixon stressed.In June, the WHL board of governors said it would look favorably upon the placing of a franchise in the Tri-Cities area. But a serious examination of the issue will only take place once a building is completed.<h2>GROUCHY GOALTENDER</h2>Veteran Moose Jaw Warrior goaltender Glen Seymour took his pads and went home because team management wouldn&rsquo;t guarantee he&rsquo;d play 75 per cent of the team&rsquo;s games.Seymour stormed off the ice at a practice and requested a trade to a West Division team. Warrior general manager Harvey Roy was looking to move Seymour, and said that the goalie&rsquo;s attitude had changed since he returned from the St. Louis Blues&rsquo; training camp.The Warriors opened the season with Dean Kuntz, who posted a 4.78 goals-against-average in 25 games last season, and rookie Scott Ironside between the pipes.<h2>ANOTHER KORDIC</h2>Montreal Canadiens&rsquo; defenseman and former WHLer John Kordic is one of the NHL&rsquo;s leading heavyweights, and his brother is following in his footsteps.Defenseman Dan Kordic, 16, earned a fighting major in his first regular-season game with the Medicine Hat Tigers. The 6-foot-4, 200-pound Dan is no little brother to 6-foot-l, 190-pound John, and by all reports is just as tough, though he needs to work on his skating.<h2>OUT WITH INJURY</h2>Defenseman Pat Pylypuik will be out of the Lethbridge Hurricanes&rsquo; lineup for two months after his left eye was cut by a stick during practice. Pylypuik, 17, was wearing a half visor but the stick got under the protective, shield. He&rsquo;s skating with the Calgary Buffaloes midget AAA team until the injury heals completely. Doctors say the prognosis is good&hellip;Prince Albert lost defenseman Gord Kruppke for six weeks with ligament damage in his left knee, though surgery isn&rsquo;t necessary. &#9632;

f0034-02

No Plans To Move New Westminster

<div class="byline">&#x2014;Tom Boggie</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-01576/5410131-1-eng-US/f0035-012.jpg" title="f0035-01" width="180" height="129"></div>Defenseman Brad James isn&rsquo;t playing hockey this winter, but that doesn&rsquo;t mean he won&rsquo;t be getting in his licks.For the last two years, James patrolled the blue line at Clarkson University. He showed great poise as a freshman defenseman and surprised the coaching staff by leading the defensive unit in scoring with 10 points (two goals, eight assists) during his rookie season.He was just as steady last year, playing in 29 of 31 games and again scoring 10 points (4-6). But the native of Hannawa Fall, N.Y., who played both football and hockey for the Potsdam High School Sandstoners before going to Northwood Prep in Lake Placid to concentrate on hockey, has transferred to rival St. Lawrence.Because he has to Sit out a season before playing hockey for the Saints, he&rsquo;s gone back to football for the 1987 season to stay active.The 6-foot, 185-pound James is listed as the Saints&rsquo; backup punter and reserve wide receiver. But he&rsquo;s getting his licks playing on the Saints&rsquo; specialty teams.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s been playing on kickoff and punt receiving teams,&rdquo; said St. Lawrence sports information director Wally Johnson. &ldquo;He had one of the best hits I&rsquo;ve ever seen in the Canisius game. If he had been playing his normal sport, he would have received at least two minutes.&rdquo;When James again becomes eligible to play hockey for the 1988-89 season, it&rsquo;s going to be Ba case of perfect timing. The Saints will be losing three of their best defensemen at the end of the current season.<h2>LeCLAIR IMPRESSES</h2>Another freshman who was impressive in pre-season camp was John LeClair at Vermont. LeClair, a native of St. Albans, Vt., was the 33rd player drafted last summer, chosen by the Montreal Canadiens. He&rsquo;s already been pencilled in as the center on Vermont&rsquo;s second line, where he&rsquo;ll probably be teamed up with veteran Duke Stump. Stump missed all of the 1986-87 season after having shoulder surgery.<h2>MISSING FROM ACTION</h2>Among the missing at RPI this winter will be defenseman Matt Lanza, who has transferred to New Hampshire&hellip;With the addition of Mark Green, Clarkson now has five players who have been drafted by the NHL. &#9632;

f0035-01

The Colleges

Hockey Player Big Hit In Football

<div class="byline">&#x2014;Bill Crawford</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0035-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-02455/5410162-1-eng-US/f0035-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Coach Gino Gasparini, with five WCHA championships and three national titles to his credit, is the stuff of legends at North Dakota.</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-03362/5410169-1-eng-US/f0035-032.jpg" title="f0035-03" width="180" height="134"></div>With teams shifted into overdrive to start the Central Collegiate Hockey Association season, the Michigan Wolverines lamented a major injury that could have a bearing on their play in the season&rsquo;s first half.Michigan will be minus highly-touted left winger Bryan Deasley, who broke his left ankle hustling down a flight of stairs leading from the rink. He&rsquo;s not expected back until the U.S. Thanksgiving in late November.Deasley, a first-round draft choice of the Calgary Flames (19th overall), is one of Michigan&rsquo;s most imposing forwards, at 6-foot-2 and 205 pounds. He had 13 goals as a freshman and was considered a real force for Red Berenson&rsquo;s club.The Wolverines are happy with the play of left winger Don Stone, who played for the Detroit Falcons last year. Stone didn&rsquo;t score in the annual intra-squad game, but did assist on a pair of Brad McCaughey goals and was thwarted on several close chances of his own.Goalie Mike Rossi left the Wolverines&rsquo; camp instead of playing fourth-string behind sophomore Warren Sharples, and returnees Tim Makris and Glen Neary.<h2>TOP MSU FROSH OUT</h2>The Michigan State Spartans have also lost a top player to injury.Promising newcomer Pat Murray, who scored 34 goals and 75 assists last year with the Stratford (Ont.) Cullitons, cracked a bone in his left foot in practice. He&rsquo;ll be out until at least mid-November.Undaunted, the Spartans remained quietly confident through camp that they could live up their No. 1 pre-season billing, as predicted by CCHA coaches.<h2>NEW REFEREE SUPERVISOR</h2>Referee Brian Hart is hanging up his blades and assuming the position of supervisor of officials. Meanwhile, ex-supervisor Dennis Parish has returned to the league as an active referee&hellip;Two former BG assistant coaches have moved to other schools&mdash;Wayne Wilson as an assistant at New Hampshire, and Kevin Mann as an assistant at Illinois-Chicago&hellip;The Pro-Am Sports Network (PASS), which televises a game of the week in the CCHA, will also feature a half-hour pre-game show, featuring interviews and updates from around the league. &#9632;

f0035-02

Freshman Sidelined

<div class="byline">&#x2014;Virg Foss</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-04294/5410200-1-eng-US/f0035-042.jpg" title="f0035-04" width="178" height="131"></div>As Dean Anderson goes, so goes the Wisconsin hockey team.At least that&rsquo;s the opinion of Badger coach Jeff Sauer, who said the senior goalie from Oshawa, Ont., may play every game this season.It&rsquo;s a rarity for a goalie at any level to do that, certainly so in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, where teams play back-to-back weekend nights all season long.Anderson&rsquo;s ironman role comes about because of several factors. First, junior Mike Richter, who started 36 of Wisconsin&rsquo;s 42 games last season, is with the U.S. Olympic team.Second, two goalies Wisconsin recruited were lost&mdash;one for academic reasons, and the other, Al Fritsinger, to a scholarship offer from Minnesota.That leaves only Anderson and a handful of walk-ons to fill the crucial goaltending position.But Sauer isn&rsquo;t worried: &ldquo;I&rsquo;m confident Anderson can do the job,&rdquo; Sauer said. &ldquo;People forget that several years ago (1984-85), he played in more games (36) and won more games (21) than any goalie in school history.&rdquo;Anderson had off-ice problems last year, including a fine for a minor assault charge, that helped cut down his playing time. He played in just nine games, finishing with a 4-2 won-lost record and .874 save percentage.So a return to his freshman form is a necessity if Wisconsin is to battle for any honors. As a rookie, Anderson had a 21-13 win-loss record and a 4.29 goals-against average.<h2>BUILDING REPUTATION</h2>Even though he couldn&rsquo;t come to terms with the Chicago Blackhawks, don&rsquo;t count North Dakota coach Gino Gasparini out of the running for other NHL jobs.&ldquo;Every coach has the inner drive to be the best, to coach at the highest level possible,&rdquo; Gasparini said. &ldquo;If you don&rsquo;t, you&rsquo;re in the wrong business.&rdquo;In the meantime, he&rsquo;s content to build up his credentials at UND.In his nine years as head coach of the Fighting Sioux, Gasparini&rsquo;s teams have won three NCAA Division I championships, earned five Western Collegiate Hockey Association championships and made five trips to the NCAA Final Four. &#9632;

f0035-04

Anderson Key Man

<div class="byline">&#x2014;Larry Mahoney</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-05243/5410231-1-eng-US/f0035-052.jpg" title="f0035-05" width="179" height="135"></div>Hockey East has adopted the fourth different playoff format of its four-year existence.Like last year&rsquo;s arrangement, the teams that finish first and second during the regular season will receive quarter-final byes and the last-place team will not be involved.This year, however, the third- and fourth-place teams will play host to the fifth- and sixth-place teams, respectively, in two-game, total-goals series set for March 4 and 5. Last year, the quarter-final round featured single elimination.Then, instead of a four-team, single-elimination tournament at a neutral site&mdash;which has been the case all three previous years&mdash;the quarter-final winners will travel to play the top two regular-season finishers in a pair of two-game, total-goals series, March 8 and 9.The regular-season champ will entertain the lowest-seeded survivor and the No. 2 team will await the higher-seeded survivor.The semi-final winners will square off in the Hockey East championship game at Boston Garden on Monday, March 14.<h2>NO EASY WINS</h2>Providence College coach Mike McShane, a former assistant coach at Dartmouth and head coach at St. Lawrence, said there is a significant difference between the talent level in Hockey East and the Eastern College Athletic Conference.&ldquo;My last year&rsquo;s team would have finished in the middle of the pack in the ECAC,&rdquo; said McShane, whose Friars finished sixth in the seven-team Hockey East with a 7-22-3 record.&ldquo;A team with hearts and guts can get you someplace in the other league, continued McShane. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s pretty tough to do in this league. You have to have talent and you have to have experience.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0035-05

New Plan…Again

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0036-03" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-03333/5410300-1-eng-US/f0036-032.jpg"></div> &#9632;

f0036-03

The Hockey News Classified (416) 445-5702

<div class="byline">BY KEITH GAVE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-01479/5410331-1-eng-US/f0037-012.jpg" title="f0037-01" width="179" height="131"></div>DETROIT&mdash;Steve Martinson has fought his way to the NHL&mdash;literally.Undrafted, unheralded, and virtually unknown when he came to training camp, Martinson auditioned for a job as enforcer and won it on what coach Jacques Demers described as &ldquo;guts and determination.&rdquo;Demers invited veteran defenseman Dwight Schofield, 31, to camp with every intention of signing him. But after the Wings coach concluded that Martinson was not only a younger but more willing pugilist, Schofield was offered only a minor-league contract with no guarantees of playing in the NHL. He declined.Martinson, 26, tells a fascinating story about how he made it to Detroit. It begins at a bar in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., in February of 1987, and a chance meeting with Marian and Mike Hitch, the Wings&rsquo; owners.A career minor-leaguer at the time. Martinson was between jobs. His contract had just been bought out by the Philadelphia Flyers, who had signed him as a free agent to play with Hershey of the American League.So he took a holiday in the sun, wondering whether his hockey career might be over.The chance encounter with the Wings&rsquo; owners, Martinson recalled, occurred at a tavern named, appropriately enough, the Penalty Box Lounge, owned by former NHLer Rosie Paiement. Paiement&rsquo;s place is an oasis for hockey fans tired of all the sun and bikinis, who thirst for a cold beer and hunger for the sound of bodies crashing the boards. On this night, the Ilitchs were watching the Wings play Minnesota on satellite TV.Martinson, a Minnesota native who played for St. Cloud State, and the Ilitchs reminisced about the Calder Cup finals of the previous season, when Adirondack beat Hershey in six games. Marian Hitch didn&rsquo;t remember much about the Hershey players, except for the guy who kept beating up the Adirondack players.The guy was Martinson.&ldquo;I told them I had been watching Adirondack play, and that I thought they could use an aggressive player,&rdquo; Martinson said.Hitch volunteered to phone Adirondack coach Bill Dineen, and when his vacation was over, Martinson made his own call to Dineen. As luck would have it, Adirondack was short of players. Dineen invited him for a tryout.Martinson played the final 14 games for Adirondack, finishing with a goal, an assist, and 78 penalty minutes. In 11 playoff games, he scored two goals and spent 108 minutes in the penalty box. In 154 games over the past four seasons Martinson rolled up 895 penalty minutes, including 432 in 69 regular-season games with Hershey in 1985-86.Such statistics may have gone overlooked had it not been for a rather auspicious debut at Joe Louis Arena. In an exhibition game against Toronto, Martinson challenged notorious tough guy Dave Semenko three times and held his own on each occasion. He came away with an ugly shiner around his right eye&mdash;and a heap of respect from Jacques Demers.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s obvious the guy&rsquo;s a gamer,&rdquo; Demers said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s still here because of guts and determination.&ldquo;I had no idea who he was when training camp started. And under normal circumstances, he&rsquo;d be in Adirondack right now&hellip;&ldquo;But you never know. Joe Kocur and Bob Probert (the club&rsquo;s resident enforcers) have not always played up to what we want. We can no longer depend on guys like that who aren&rsquo;t going to be totally committed to hockey.&rdquo;The kicker to Martinson&rsquo;s story is that when he&rsquo;s asked to play hockey, he&rsquo;s not bad. In his NHL debut against Edmonton, he scored a goal in Detroit&rsquo;s 4-1 victory after the Oilers raised their third Stanley Cup banner.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll do whatever it takes,&rdquo; he said.&ldquo;When I get on the ice, I&rsquo;ll do anything they want.&rdquo;NOTES&mdash;For the sixth straight year, Red Wing general manager Jim Devellano passed each time Detroit&rsquo;s turn came in the waiver draft&hellip;Detroit started the season with 25 players after reassigning right winger Mark Kumpel and defenseman Doug Houda to Adirondack and releasing defenseman Dwight Schofield.<h2>TRANSACTIONS</h2>None.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Steve Yzerman, Adam Oates, Shawn Burr, John Chabot.LW&mdash;Gerard Gallant, Petr Klima, Brent Ashton, Mel Bridgman, Steve Martinson.RW&mdash;Bob Probert, Dave Barr, Tim Higgins, Joe Murphy, Adam Graves.LD&mdash;Gilbert Delorme, Dave Lewis, Darren Veitch, Rick Zombo.RD&mdash;Lee Norwood, Doug Halward, Mike O&rsquo;Connell, Steve Chiasson.G&mdash;Greg Stefan, Glen Hanlon.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Joe Kocur, RW, sore right elbow, day-to-dayHarold Snepsts, D, rehabilitation from surgery to right shoulder, Dec, 1. &#9632;

f0037-01

Martinson Made Most Of Chance Meeting

<div class="byline">BY JERRY ZGODA</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-02349/5410393-1-eng-US/f0037-022.jpg" title="f0037-02" width="179" height="134"></div>BLOOMINGTON&mdash;Like Brian Lawton before him, Dave Archibald has an opportunity to play in two prestigious places&mdash;the Olympics or the NHL.Unlike Lawton, the decision on where to go is not his. Lawton, the first player taken in the 1983 entry draft, elected to sign an NHL contract four years ago while most of his peers went the Olympic route.Now, with new rules that allow professionals to compete in the Olympics, North Star general manager Lou Nanne will decide whether Archibald, a 6-foot-1, 193-pound center, stays or joins the Canadian Olympic team.&ldquo;If I think he is going to help us, he&rsquo;s staying here,&rdquo; Nanne said.The early returns still are trickling in, but an educated guess, based on two factors, is that Archibald will remain with the Stars. The first factor is center Dennis Manik&rsquo;s foot surgery, which will keep him sidelined for three months. The second is Archibald&rsquo;s performance in his NHL debut Oct. 10&mdash;he scored two goals in the second game of the season, a 5-4 loss to Philadelphia at Met Center.Archibald whipped a backhander into the upper right comer early in the second period for his first NHL goal and seven minutes later, he swiped the puck out of the air baseball-style for his second career goal. Both goals tied the game.&ldquo;One game doesn&rsquo;t make a career, but it was a nice way to start,&rdquo; said Archibald.The NHL-or-Olympics choice isn&rsquo;t his, but, of course, Archibald has a preference.&ldquo;Whenever you get the chance to play in the NHL, that&rsquo;s what you want to do,&rdquo; said Archibald, 18. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s what I&rsquo;ve wanted to do since I saw Bobby Orr on television when I was four.&rdquo;But what about the thinking that a season with the Olympic team will better prepare a player for the leap to the big leagues? Many scouts felt Lawton wouldn&rsquo;t have struggled as much he did in his first couple seasons had he played for Team USA in the 1984 Games at Sarajevo, Yugoslavia.Archibald said past experience has taught him not to fear a challenge. He is one of only a chosen few ever to break into major junior at age 14. He played a few games with the Portland Winter Hawks of the Western League that season and then was faced with a decision&mdash;should he play Tier II, a step below, or was he ready to leave his Chiliwack, B.C., home and play a full season with the big boys in the WHL?&ldquo;I thought Tier 11 might be the better way to do it, but then I figured, &lsquo;If you can play at that (major junior) level, play a lot and if you have a good coach who can teach you a lot, why not?&rsquo;&rdquo; said Archibald. &ldquo;It was no problem physically or mentally. But when you&rsquo;re that young maybe it&rsquo;s a bit of mistake to leave your friends and family. But it definitely helped my game. Now, I&rsquo;m older and I&rsquo;d like to think I can play at this level. I feel comfortable and I&rsquo;m not afraid to go out there. To be successful in anything, you have to think you can do it.&rdquo;Archibald also could be returned to his Portland junior team, but Nanne said he has ruled out that option.Ditto, said Archibald. Some scouts cooled on Archibald last season, even though he went from 64 points in 198586 to 50 goals and 107 points in 65 games. But he admits that he was bored playing his fourth season of junior.&ldquo;Last year, I was just looking forward more or less to the chance to play in the NHL,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It wasn&rsquo;t that I was 100 percent better than everyone else in the league. But after riding those buses (nine hours to British Columbia, 16 hours to Alberta), you want to move on to better things. I&rsquo;m afraid of airplanes, but I&rsquo;d still rather take a one-hour flight than a 16-hour bus ride.&rdquo;<h2>TRANSACTIONS</h2>Oct. 5: Dino Ciccarelli, RW, suspended for first three games of regular season for pushing linesman Mark Pare in exhibition game at Chicago.Oct. 6: Jari Gronstrand, D, and Paul Boutilier, D, traded to the New York Rangers for Jay Caufield, RW, and Dave Gagner, C. Gagner sent to Kalamazoo of the IHL.Oct. 9: Raimo Helminen, C, returned to Finland rather than report to Kalamazoo.Oct. 10: Caufield assigned to Kalamazoo.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Neal Broten, Brian Lawton, Keith Acton, Dave Archibald, Richard Zemlack.LW&mdash;Scott Bjugstad, Brian MacLellan, Basil McRae, Terry Ruskowski.RW&mdash;Dino Ciccarelli, Brian Bellows, Bob Brooke. Larry DePalma, Warren Babe.LD&mdash;Craig Hartsburg, Frantisek Musil, Gordie Roberts, Al Tuer.RD&mdash;Bob Rouse, Mike Berger, Ron Wilson, Pat Price.G&mdash;G: Don Beaupre, Kari Takko.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Dennis Maruk, C, surgery to repair severed foot tendons, Jan. 15.Dirk Graham, RW, torn knee cartilage, day-to-day.Larry DePalma, RW, wrist injury, indefinite.Steve Payne, LW, recovering from knee surgery, indefinite.Tom Hirsch, D, recovering from shoulder surgery, indefinite. &#9632;

f0037-02

Early Returns Favoring NHL, Not Olympics, For Archibald

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0040-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-01253/5410462-1-eng-US/f0040-012.jpg"></div> &#9632;

f0040-01

SCOREBOARD

<h2>Thu. Oct. 8</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-02167/5410577-1-eng-US/f0040-022.jpg" title="f0040-02" width="578" height="1643"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-03117/5410570-1-eng-US/f0040-032.jpg" title="f0040-03" width="570" height="1681"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-0490/5410563-1-eng-US/f0040-042.jpg" title="f0040-04" width="572" height="1685"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-0572/5410556-1-eng-US/f0040-052.jpg" title="f0040-05" width="572" height="1681"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-0660/5410549-1-eng-US/f0040-062.jpg" title="f0040-06" width="552" height="186"></div><h2>Fri. Oct. 9</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-0754/5410542-1-eng-US/f0040-072.jpg" title="f0040-07" width="562" height="1457"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-02135/5410535-1-eng-US/f0041-022.jpg" title="f0041-02" width="549" height="150"></div><h2>Sat. Oct. 10</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-0394/5410528-1-eng-US/f0041-032.jpg" title="f0041-03" width="577" height="1859"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-0478/5410521-1-eng-US/f0041-042.jpg" title="f0041-04" width="573" height="2053"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-0566/5410514-1-eng-US/f0041-052.jpg" title="f0041-05" width="579" height="2058"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-0659/5410507-1-eng-US/f0041-062.jpg" title="f0041-06" width="556" height="969"></div><h2>Sun. Oct. 11</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-0752/5410500-1-eng-US/f0041-072.jpg" title="f0041-07" width="556" height="1045"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-0843/5410493-1-eng-US/f0041-082.jpg" title="f0041-08" width="576" height="2059"></div> &#9632;

f0040-02

NHL SUMMARIES

<div class="byline">BY JEFF GORDON</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-01209/5410608-1-eng-US/f0041-012.jpg" title="f0041-01" width="178" height="135"></div>ST. LOUIS&mdash;After nine pre-season games and two regular-season games, the St. Louis Blues were 1-9-1&mdash;hardly a pace expected of the defending Norris Division champions.Why? Because they were an inoffensive bunch, scoring just 2.4 goals a game and converting only 16.9 per cent of their power plays.With the return of Brian Sutter and the addition of Tony McKegney and Perry Turnbull at left wing, this was supposed to be a more explosive team. But getting the new players to mesh th the old was taking some time.The Blues, who had the NHL&rsquo;s fourth-best power play last season with a 24.4 conversion rate, were 0-for-10 with the man advantage in 8-2 and 4-2 losses at Vancouver and Los Angeles, respectively.&ldquo;It was chaos out there,&rdquo; right winger Mark Hunter said after the disastrous opener.&ldquo;We went through the pre-season without scoring,&rdquo; center Bernie Federko said. &ldquo;We got two goals one night and two goals the next night. That&rsquo;s not good enough to win, unless you&rsquo;re checking the other team into the ice&mdash;which we&rsquo;re not.&rdquo;The Blues&rsquo; scoring units just weren&rsquo;t clicking; the timing, crispness and organization weren&rsquo;t there.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s just not working,&rdquo; Federko said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re trying new people and we have to get organized. Our game is to carry the puck in and create some plays&mdash;three-on-twos, three-on-threes. That&rsquo;s our game.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re too scrambly. You have to have control out there. The spacing was too great. We didn&rsquo;t make the easy plays.&rdquo;Blues&rsquo; coach Jacques Martin has reunited left winger Sutter with Gilmour and right winger Paslawski. Gilmour, who started slowly on offense during three of his four seasons, seemed to be pressing. He and his wingers kept missing connections.&ldquo;It really just takes one good shift to get going,&rdquo; Gilmour said.McKegney is the new left winger on the Federko-Hunter line. He scored against the Kings, but it came off defenseman Tim Bothwell&rsquo;s steal and assist. He didn&rsquo;t mesh particularly well with Federko&rsquo;s change-of-pace carries into the attacking zone.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m used to going in hard, going in wide and forcing the play,&rdquo; McKegney said. &ldquo;With Bernie, you have to wait and then go.&rdquo;The Blues&rsquo; disjointed play in even-strength situations carried over to the power play, which was further hindered by the absence of defenseman Brian Benning.A pulled groin muscle limited Benning to five ineffective exhibition games, and the injury forced him to miss the first two games of the regular season. With him missing from the left point, Swedish import Robert Nordmark filled in with mixed results.Nordmark put a couple of big shots on the net, but he is not Benning&rsquo;s equal in quarterbacking the attack.&ldquo;It&rsquo;ll be nice to get Brian Benning back on the power play,&rdquo; Federko said. &ldquo;Nobody else we have is able to play that left point like him.&rdquo;During that 4-2 loss to the Kings, the Blues got nothing done during a four-minute power play at a critical juncture in the game.&ldquo;Look at our situation last season,&rdquo; Martin said. &ldquo;When we had a situation like that, we would have been able to capitalize. The difference was our inability to score on the power play.&rdquo;NOTES&mdash;Defenseman Kent Carlson. who is on a rehabilitation assignment at Peoria, probably won&rsquo;t return to the Blues until mid-November. General manager Ron Caron said Carlson has cleared procedural waivers and will be assigned to the Rivermen before their opener. Carlson needs to work off the rust from a year&rsquo;s disability following back surgery&hellip;Enforcer Todd Ewen, hindered by an ankle sprain, played in just one of the first 11 pre-season and regular-season games&hellip;Rookie center Tony Hrkac scored in the last two preseason games and again in the second game of the season. His play made Doug Wickenheiser expendable in the waiver draft&mdash;Wickenheiser ended up in Vancouver via Hartford&mdash;and he has edged Cliff Ronning for the fourth center job&hellip;Caron traded right winger Mark Reeds to Hartford for a third-round pick in the 1989 entry draft, to give Ewen. Herb Raglan and Jocelyn Lemieux more playing time. Defenseman Bill Root, acquired from Hartford in the waiver draft, didn&rsquo;t join the team for its first two games. Caron wanted to take another look at defensemen Larry Trader and Robert Dirk before deciding who to demote.<h2>TRANSACTIONS</h2>Oct. 5: Mark Reeds, RW, traded to Hartford for a third-round draft pick in 1989Oct. 6: Rob Whistle, D, sent to Peoria.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Bernie Federko, Doug Gilmour, Rick Meagher, Tony Hrkac, Cliff Ronning.LW&mdash;Brian Sutter, Tony McKegney, Gino Cavallini, Perry Turnbull. Ron Flockhart.RW&mdash;Mark Hunter, Greg Paslawski, Herb Raglan, Jocelyn Lemieux, Herb Raglan.LD&mdash;Tim Bothwell. Jim Pavese. Larry Trader, Robert Dirk, Brian Benning.RD&mdash;Rob Ramage, Charlie Bourgeois, Robert Nordmark, Bill Root.G&mdash;Greg Millen, Rick Wamsley.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Brian Benning, D, pulled groin, day-to-day.Todd Ewen, RW, ankle sprain, day-to-day. &#9632;

f0041-01

Blues’ Scoring Punch Needs A Little Spiking

<div class="byline">BY MURRAY TOWNSEND</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0042-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-02153/5410646-1-eng-US/f0042-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Coach Dan Maloney will be working toward keeping his Jets from falling off after great improvement last season.</figcaption></div>Statistics show that dramatically reversing team fortunes over the space of one season is not only difficult, but not necessarily desirable.Only nine teams in the history of the NHL, for instance, have turned losing seasons into quality follow-up seasons of 90 or more points.A difference of 20 points between two seasons can be considered a dramatic rise or drop but since the last expansion eight years ago, that has only occurred 25 times. That means 85 per cent of the time a team&rsquo;s record fluctuates less than that.A big rise in point production for one season doesn&rsquo;t guarantee a long-term change in a team&rsquo;s quality. On eight occasions (32 per cent) a 20-point increase one season preceded a 20-point loss the next.Only twice (10 per cent) has a jump of 20 points been the forerunner of further improvement the following year. Likewise, only twice (10 per cent) has a 20-point loss resulted in a team losing more ground the following year.Detroit and Winnipeg are the only teams heading into this season that improved by 20 points last year. The odds tell us Detroit and Winnipeg are more likely to fall back than continue to move forward this season.Similarly, Washington and Quebec, which experienced drops of 21 and 20, respectively, can be expected to improve because the principle works in reverse.History, then, suggests the rise and fall of team fortunes are founded on an evolutionary process over several years, not just a single season of extraordinarily good or bad play.Unlike other sports where a team&rsquo;s fortunes can be turned around in one day at the draft table, NHL teams draft for potential and the chances of weak teams landing saviors are much less than in the days of the 20-year-old draft. Few players can contribute to NHL teams as 18-year-olds.Good teams have the ability to work players in slowly, providing experience they need to become a part of the nucleus. Montreal and Philadelphia have done that very successfully and that has helped them stay at the top. Poor teams must deal with impatient fans and can&rsquo;t afford the luxuries that time provides.The result is: The rich get richer and poor get poorer. Boston, Philadelphia and the Islanders are on streaks of 20, 15, and 13 winning seasons in a row, respectively. Norris Division-champion Detroit is on a losing streak of 14 seasons, followed by New Jersey (13) and Vancouver (11).The accompanying chart reflects the long-term fortunes of all 21 NHL teams.Current winning (W) and losing (L) season streaks are listed in the first and second columns, the longest winning (LW) and losing (LL) season streaks in team history in the third and fourth.<h2>Season Winning/Losing Streaks</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-01216/5410639-1-eng-US/f0042-012.jpg" title="f0042-01" width="1156" height="748"></div> &#9632;

f0042-02

Building Teams A Deliberate Process

<div class="byline">BY STEVE DRYDEN Associate Editor</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-03116/5410677-1-eng-US/f0042-032.jpg" title="f0042-03" width="592" height="714"><figcaption class="caption-body">Leaf defenseman Al lafrate opened the season with six points in two games.</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-0490/5410684-1-eng-US/f0042-042.jpg" title="f0042-04" width="184" height="150"></div>TORONTO&mdash;Upon the gifted are placed the greatest expectations.It is not enough, then, that Al lafrate has been merely ordinary during the first three years of his NHL career.More, much more, has been expected. And the 21-year-old defenseman might be ready to deliver&mdash;at least in part.Two games into the new season, lafrate had two goals and four assists for a share of the league scoring lead. He was also plus-seven. It was no coincidence that Toronto was 2-0.&ldquo;Iafrate is just now finding out how to (move the puck),&rdquo; said Leaf coach John Brophy after lafrate scored the winning and insurance goals in a 5-2 win over New Jersey. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s his fourth year in the league and he understands what he has to do if he&rsquo;s going to star.&rdquo;Make the most of his enormous speed, to begin with. Few NHLers can match lafrate stride for stride. Few, also, are as big as the 6-foot-3, 215-pounder.&ldquo;People expect really big things of me,&rdquo; said lafrate. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know if it will ever happen. Nobody can really tell. There are always a lot of doubters out there.&ldquo;If you don&rsquo;t play up to expectations, they say, &lsquo;He&rsquo;s not going to be as good as he should be.&rsquo; You just gotta try and be as good as you can.&rdquo;For the final segment of last season, all of this year&rsquo;s pre-season and two regular-season games, lafrate had been very good.He earned two assists in the Leafs&rsquo; season-opening 7-5 win over Chicago and added two goals and two assists against the Devils. It was the first four-point game of his career.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s the best defenseman in the league,&rdquo; said partner Borje Salming.An overstatement for sure, but not beyond the realm of possibility for the player chosen fourth overall in the 1984 entry draft.Mind you, lafrate has always been tough to figure out.After a good rookie season, the former U.S. Olympian reported to camp in 1985 weighing 241 pounds. It seemed a strange thing to do.So, too, was his decision not to accept an invitation to Team USA&rsquo;s Canada Cup training camp this year. He was widely criticized, not for failing to represent his country but for not taking the opportunity to improve himself as a player.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m sure it would have been a great experience for me to be there,&rdquo; said lafrate. &ldquo;But I didn&rsquo;t think it would help me defensively to be there. I&rsquo;m sure they looked at my speed and that was the main reason they wanted me.&rdquo; lafrate&rsquo;s decided his first loyalty, the Leafs, would be better served if he worked out by himself and concentrated on weightlifting, increasing his quickness and a defense-first philosophy.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m a lot more intense that I used to be and more physical,&rdquo; explained the Livonia, Mich., native. &ldquo;When you&rsquo;re a defenseman and you make your living in front of the net, you can&rsquo;t let guys (stand around). You&rsquo;ve got to hit them. You can&rsquo;t be laying on the ground.&rdquo;lafrate is expected to contribute more than on defense.His speed and physical presence has the potential of adding a whole new dimension to the Leafs&rsquo; attack. He also has a better-than-average shot. lafrate&rsquo;s second goal against New Jersey overpowered goalie Alain Chevrier, who couldn&rsquo;t hold onto his slap shot.Not since Salming was at his best in the late 1970s have the Leafs had an offensive threat from the blue line. Last year, Todd Gill was the Leafs&rsquo; leading scorer among defensemen with just four goals and 27 assists. His 31 points were the lowest of any team-leading defenseman in the league, lafrate had 30 points.He seems certain to do better this year. The Leafs, in fact, are counting on it.NOTES&mdash;Sophomore left winger Vincent Damphousse, a disappointment throughout training camp, sat out the first game and was used sparingly in game two&hellip;None of the participants in the Maple Leaf-Blackhawk trade&mdash;Toronto&rsquo;s Al Secord and Ed Olczyk, nor Chicago&rsquo;s Rick Vaive, Steve Thomas and Bob McGill&mdash;scored when the teams met on opening night. Secord and McGill, however, did fight, as usual&hellip;Rookie Luke Richardson was paired with veteran Chris Kotsopoulos&hellip;Ben Johnson of Toronto, holder of the 100-metre world record, dropped the puck at Maple Leaf Gardens for the home-opener against New Jersey&hellip;The devil might have made him do it. That&rsquo;s one explanation for Russ Courtnall steamrolling New Jersey goalie Bob Sauve, Sauve, whose shoulder was partially separated in the collision, had just cleared a loose puck near the blue line when Courtnall hit him.<h2>TRANSACTIONS</h2>Oct. 6: Miroslav Ihnacak, RW, and Dale Degray, D, sent to Newmarket.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Tom Fergus, Russ Courtnall, Dan Daoust, Peter Ihnacak, Ken Yaremchuk, Greg Terrion.LW&mdash;Al Secord, Wendel Clark, Mark Osborne, Dave Semenko, Vincent Damphousse.RW&mdash;Mirko Frycer, Ed Olczyk, Gary Leeman.LD&mdash;Borje Salming, Todd Gill, Luke Richardson.RD&mdash;Al lafrate, Rick Lanz, Chris Kotsopoulos.G&mdash;Ken Wregget, Allan Bester.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Mike Allison, RW, back, day-to-day.Brad Smith, RW, back spasms, indefinite. &#9632;

f0042-03

Potential-Packed lafrate Off To Great Start

<div class="byline">BY LARRY HUMBER</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0043-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-01213/5410715-1-eng-US/f0043-012.jpg"></div><h2>ACROSS:</h2>1. Number worn by Ken Linseman, but by few other NHLers (8).5. First name of NHL coach nicknamed &lsquo;Slats&rsquo; (4).9. Nickname of 1976 Conn Smythe Trophy winner, Reg Leach (5).10. Was home of WHL Bruins (7).11. Punch Imlach&rsquo;s first book, Hockey Is A (6).12. Kansas City Scouts&rsquo; only captain, now a Nordique scout (5).14. NHL executive vice-president (6).16. First name of only back-to-back Conn Smythe Trophy winner (6).19. Mr. Pocklington (5).21. Is outstanding (6).24. Birthplace of Flyers&rsquo; Mark Howe (7).25. Ex-Nordique Siltanen (5).26. One who frequents hockey arenas,&mdash;rat (4).27. Rick Wamsley and Denis Herron were first winners of this trophy (8).<h2>DOWN:</h2>1. One of Derek Sanderson&rsquo;s nicknames (4).2. Michigan-born Maple Leaf (7).3. Give medical attention to (5).4. Number retired by Canucks, last worn by Wayne Maki (6).6. Where Mario Lemieux played junior hockey (5).7. Number worn by late Bill Masterton (8).13. Was involved in a pre-game brawl during last year&rsquo;s playoffs (8).15. He and Mike O&rsquo;Connell switched teams in March, 1986 (6).17. Incident involving this former Oiler earned Ron Hextall an eight-game suspension (7).18. Decide (6).20. Wayne Gretzky&rsquo;s lumber (5).22. Blues&rsquo; general manager, Ron (5).23. Bruins&rsquo; first coach, a trophy bears his name (4).Crossword solution in Classified Section on page 36. &#9632;

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October 23, 1987

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