Blades Keep Scoring Touch Over Holidays

The Saskatoon Blades weren’t dulled by the Western League’s weeklong Christmas break. On Dec. 20, the Blades blew out the Lethbridge Hurricanes 81 in Saskatoon to move into a firstplace tie with the Prince Albert Raiders atop the East Division. A week later, they returned to action and thumped the visiting Moose Jaw Warriors 115 to take sole possession of top spot with a 22132 record. The Raiders (21112) held three games in hand. Saskatoon was the WHL’s secondhighest scoring team, with 196 goals compared to West Divisionleading Kamloops’ 199. The victory over Moose Jaw improved the Blades’ record at the Saskatoon Arena to 161. The club is scheduled to move from the 3,304seat Arena to Saskatchewan Place, a new 8,000seat facility, in midFebruary. ALL IN THE FAMILY Brian Sakic was left to carry the…

Young Star Rising In Whalers’ View

HARTFORD—One of Jack Evans favorite adjectives is “young.” He refers to his players sometimes as “Young Cote” or “Young Millar.” A joke making the rounds in the Hartford Whalers’ locker room concerns what Evans might call Scott Young, the organization’s top prospect—”Young Young?” It won’t matter what Evans calls Young, according to general manager Emile Francis, because the 11 th overall draft pick in 1986 is a cinch to play for the Whalers. “He’s a very good hockey player,” said Francis, who has watched Young on the U.S. Olympic team. “He’s got such good mobility that they’re using him on defense. He also plays the point on all power plays, so that’s something that’s going to be good for us down the road.” In 39 games, the 6-foot-l, 200-pounder had eight goals and 39…

The Hockey News Classified

Bauer’s university performers OF THE WEEK

The Calgary forward was named the most valuable player of the Dinosaur Invitational tournament. Houlder scored two goals and seven assists in three games to lead the Dinosaurs to the championship. The Moncton forward scored three goals and one assist to lead his team to an 82 rout of St. Thomas in a nonleague game. Moncton and St. Thomas returned to league action the first week of January. Ken Minello scored three goals and two assists for five points as Windsor beat the powerful York Yeomen 72 in a game played during the Calgary Dinosaur Invitational tournament. Performers of the week for the period Dec. 28Jan. 3.…