Search for your favorite player or team
© The Hockey News. All rights reserved. Any and all material on this website cannot be used, reproduced, or distributed without prior written permission from Roustan Media Ltd. For more information, please see our Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.
November 27, 1987
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.
NHL Logic—A Contradiction In Terms
BEAR WITH ME, because it’s not easy getting something straight while working within a warped thought process. But these, for our purposes, seem to be the relevant names, actions and numbers: Don Murdoch and Ric Nattress, possession of illegal drugs, 40-game suspensions. Borje Salming, admission of using illegal drugs a decade or so earlier, eight games. Dave Brown, assault with a deadly weapon, 15 games. That all makes sense, doesn’t it? Naturally, it’s difficult to draw a parallel between such diverse offenses. Kind of like comparing spoiled oranges to rotten apples. The NHL’s logic—and isn’t that a delightful contradiction in terms?—apparently is that Murdoch, Nattress and Salming had to be punished severely because they violated the laws of the world outside hockey. That is a key distinction from the Brown case. After all, hitting people in the head…
Passing The Torch
When goalies Norm Foster and Bob Essensa graduated together from Michigan State last spring, Spartan fans began to fret. They needn’t have worried. Coach Ron Mason came up with the freshman duo of Jamie Stewart and Jason Muzzatti, both of whom appear worthy successors to Foster and Essensa. “Not a day has gone by that I haven’t heard their names,” Muzzatti said. ‘‘It does put pressure on us to live up to what they did, but all we can do is be ourselves and hope we do the job.” So far, so good. Through 10 league games, the Spartans were in first place with a 7-2-1 record. Muzzatti had a league-leading 2.52 goals-against average, while Stewart stood second at 2.60. YOUTHFUL STARS The Spartans and WMU Broncos are succeeding with youth. MSU’s only seniors are…
Stick Foulers Face Tough Suspensions
The Ontario Universities Athletic Association’s new hard-line stand on stick-related fouls is “having the desired effect,” said conference convenor Dave Copp. A new rule calls for immediate ejecon of a player who receives three tinor penalties in a game for slashing, high-sticking or cross-checking. The ejection carries an automatic one-game suspension. A subesequent occurrence carries a two-game suspension. If it happens a third time, the player will be suspended for the remainder of the season. The rule is similar to college basketball’s foul system, where a player with five fouls is ejected from the game. STINGERS SHARP One of the early-season surprises is the rejuvenated team from Concordia. After falling on hard times in recent years, the Stingers have shown signs of returning to their former glory. Five games into this year, the team that…
Shanahan Earns First Goal During A Memorable Week
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J.—It’s been said that talkative Brendan Shanahan must have kissed the Blarney Stone. Well, he took it one step further when he scored his first National Hockey League goal. The New Jersey Devil rookie forward planted a kiss on teammate Claude Loiselle. “I knew I was going to kiss the guy who assisted me on my first goal,” said Shanahan. “I don’t know if Claudie noticed it, but 1 gave him a big wet one right on the cheek.” Loiselle noticed it and so did everyone else. In his most newsworthy week since being drafted second overall in last June’s entry draft, Shanahan scored his first goal, Nov. 10, to help New Jersey defeat the New York Rangers 3-2, in his first-ever visit to Madison Square Garden. ft Three days later, on Friday…
Made possible with the support of
