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.

November 24, 1989

The Hockey News November 24, 1989

Nov. 22, 1972: In a 10-4 win over the St. Louis Blues, the Pittsburgh Penguins set an NHL record for the quickest five consecutive goals. Five different players scored in a span of two minutes and seven seconds in the third period. The goals, all against goaltender Wayne Stephenson, were scored by Bryan Hextall, Jean Pronovost, Al McDonough, Ken Schinkel and Ron Schock.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-021003/5750857-1-eng-US/f0009-022.jpg" title="f0009-02" width="561" height="405"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jean Pronovost</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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IN THIS ISSUE

FLASHBACK

In the Dec. 1 issue of The Hockey News, we&rsquo;ll present Part 2 of our feature on expansion in the National Hockey League.Next week&rsquo;s focus will be on the cities most likely to be considered for expansion and the pros and cons of each, according to the criteria likely to be set by NHL governors.In addition to that, we will also examine the awakening of a division. Don&rsquo;t look now, but the Norris (a.k.a. the Snorris, Porous and Bore-Us) Division is showing signs of emerging as home to some top-quality hockey. Mike Keenan&rsquo;s Chicago Blackhawks, Brian Sutter&rsquo;s St. Louis Blues and Pierre Page&rsquo;s Minnesota North Stars are three good reasons why the joke is no longer on the Norris.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-011281/5750461-1-eng-US/f0002-012.jpg" title="f0002-01" width="543" height="1411"><figcaption class="caption-body">Pierre Page</figcaption></div>Don&rsquo;t miss all that and more in next week&rsquo;s Dec. 1 issue of The Hockey News. &#9632;

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NEXT ISSUE

<div class="byline">BY WALT MacPEEK</div>Tony Granato came into this season intent on proving he wasn&rsquo;t a one-year wonder.And if the first quarter of his second season was any indication, he was meeting his objective with a great amount of success. Although his goal total was down from nine to four after the first 18 games, his 16 points were ahead of the 9-4-13 totals he posted at the same juncture last season.Granato was also pleasing coach Roger Neilson with his alert defense and clever playmaking. The 5-foot-10, 175-pound former University of Wisconsin star was leading the Rangers in plus-minus rating (plus-10) and was tied with James Patrick for the team lead in assists with 12.&ldquo;Tony brings a lot of positive energy and enthusiasm to the rink,&rdquo; Neilson noted. &ldquo;He uses his speed to do so many things well that he doesn&rsquo;t have to score 36 goals to make a big contribution.&rdquo;But Granato did score 36 last season, 31 over the first 48 games, and was a major reason why the Rangers fashioned a 26-15-7 record over that span.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s no doubt I&rsquo;d like to be scoring a few more goals,&rdquo; said Granato after notching two assists in a 4-2 victory over the Islanders Nov. 12, &ldquo;but I&rsquo;m not getting too frustrated because we&rsquo;re winning and I feel I&rsquo;m doing some other things to help.&rdquo;Patrolling right wing on a line with rookie center Darren Turcotte, Granato picked up eight of his first 12 assists on goals by Turcotte.&ldquo;Playing with Tony has helped me a lot both on and off the ice,&rdquo; said Turcotte, who led the team with 12 goals. &ldquo;His speed complements my style.&rdquo;Granato and last year&rsquo;s Calder Trophy winner, Brian Leetch, have been asked to make a fast jump from first-year pro to veteran because so many of the Rangers&rsquo; most experienced players have been sidelined by injuries.&ldquo;One big difference so far this year,&rdquo; Granato said, looking back on last season&rsquo;s March collapse, &ldquo;is that people like Troy Mallette, Kris King, Lindy Ruff and Miloslav Horava have come in and done terrific jobs when we&rsquo;ve lost Carey Wilson, Kelly Kisio, Chris Nilan and David Shaw.&rdquo;Granato said he hoped for a much stronger second half for both himself and the entire team. So far, Neilson had not overused him the way former Rangers&rsquo; coach Michel Bergeron did at times last season.&ldquo;I think my legs are starting to come back a little,&rdquo; said Granato, who believed he over-reacted to last season&rsquo;s poor second half by concenttating too much on endurance work over the summer.One positive change for Granato has been his ability to leave the game at the rink.&ldquo;I think one reason I slowed down late last season was because hockey dominated my thoughts, pretty much 24 hours a day,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;d come home from a game and watch tapes or other games. This year, I&rsquo;ve got a wife (Linda) and a new son (Michael Anthony, bom Oct. 17) and it has helped me to relax and be fresher when it is time to go and play.&rdquo;<h2>N.Y. RANGERS</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Nov. 7: Mike Richter, G, assigned to Hint (IHL).<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Darren Turcotte, Mark Janssens, Troy Mallette, David Archibald.LW&mdash;John Ogrodnick, Brian Mullen, Kris King, Lindy Ruff.RW&mdash;Tony Granato, Tomas Sandstrom, Jan Erixon, Ulf Dahlen, Rudy Poeschek.LD&mdash;Mark Hardy, Ron Greschner, Miloslav Horava.RD&mdash;Brian Leetch, James Patrick, Randy Moller.G&mdash;John Vanbiesbrouck, Bob Froese.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Paul Cyr, C, knee surgery, Dec. 1.Kelly Klsio, C, severely bruised left thigh, indefinite.Corey Millen, C, sprained left knee, Dec. 1.Chris Nilan, RW, fractured right forearm, indefinite.Normand Rochefort, D, knee surgery, Dec. 1.David Shaw, D, dislocated right shoulder, Nov. 20.Carey Wilson, C, sprained left knee, indefinite.<h3>LEADERS</h3>G&mdash;Turcotte, 12. A&mdash;Granato, Patrick, 12. P&mdash;Turcotte. 20. PIM&mdash;Nilan, 50. &#9632;

THE NHL

GRANATO LAYS SOPHOMORE JINX TO REST

<div class="byline">BY PAUL ABRAMOWITZ</div>Mike Millar picked the right time to score his first hat trick of the season.Millar scored his third goal of the night in overtime Nov. 5, leading the Maine Mariners past the Springfield Indians 4-3. That gave him 12 goals in 12 games and American League player-of-the-week honors.The performance was witnessed by Boston Bruins&rsquo; coach Mike Milbury and earned Millar an invitation to practise with the Bruins, although they hadn&rsquo;t officially recalled him.&ldquo;We saw him (Milbury) up there,&rdquo; Millar said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s kind of hard to miss when he sits right up there across from the bench. The guys knew he was up there.&rdquo;Millar is a natural goal-scorer. In 157 AHL games with Binghamton, Baltimore and Maine, he had 136 goals.The Caps traded Millar to the Bruins in October for center Alfie Turcotte. After one game with Boston, Millar was sent to Maine to get in shape.&ldquo;It wasn&rsquo;t his fault,&rdquo; said Mariners&rsquo; coach Rick Bowness. &ldquo;They (the Caps) took him over to Russia (for training camp) and they didn&rsquo;t use him. You can&rsquo;t get in game shape when you&rsquo;re not playing.&rdquo;Millar had just three goals in his first seven games with the Mariners, but then got hot and started a five-game goal streak that was interrupted by his audition with the Bruins.&ldquo;I was in Washington since Aug. 14,&rdquo; said Millar, originally drafted by Hartford in the sixth round in 1984. &ldquo;They told me I was going to be on the team and we went over to Sweden and Russia and I didn&rsquo;t get a lot of ice time. It was more like a holiday for me over there.&rdquo;<h2>TWO OR THREE?</h2>Halifax goalie Mario Brunetta received a two-game suspension from the AHL for making an obscene gesture to the crowd at the Broome County Arena, after a 5-4 win at Binghamton Nov. 3.Brunetta actually ended up sitting out three games, partially because of a mix-up in communication. When the Citadels left Binghamton, they understood Brunetta&rsquo;s penalty to be a gross misconduct, an infraction which carries with it no suspension. After they left, however, referee Richard Trottier decided to invoke rule 68a, which calls for an automatic two-game suspension for making a rude gesture to the crowd.The Citadels, unaware of the change, arrived in Adirondack the next night to find out Brunetta was suspended and they needed a back-up goalie. Coach Robbie Ftorek called AHL president Jack Butterfield, who gave the Citadels permission to use Brunetta Nov. 4 in Adirondack.The Citadels then decided to appeal the suspension and played Brunetta in Utica Nov. 5. Butterfield upheld the suspension. That meant the Citadels had run afoul of a new AHL rule which says when appeals to suspensions are overruled, the player in question must serve his original term, plus the number of games played during the appeal.Butterfield said since he gave permission for Brunetta to play Nov. 4 against Adirondack, that game would not count, making the final length of the suspension three games. If that game had been played after the Citadels appealed the suspension, Brunetta would have been forced to miss four games.Brunetta is eligible to return to the Citadels&rsquo; lineup Nov. 17 in Moncton.<h2>SURE WIN</h2>Move over, Kate Smith&mdash;the Moncton Hawks have found their own good-luck charm, Al Hughes. Hughes, father of Hawk left winger Brent Hughes, lives in Vancouver and has seen Brent play 18 times in the past three seasons. The Hawks are 18-0 in those games. The most recent victories with Al in the stands were 5-1 over Hershey Nov. 4 and 2-1 over New Haven Nov. 5, extending the Hawks&rsquo; winning streak to four games&hellip;The New Haven Nighthawks and Springfield Indians both lost veteran defensemen. New Haven&rsquo;s Dale DeGray went home to the Toronto area rather than continue with the Nigthhawks. Springfield&rsquo;s Bill Berg told Indians&rsquo; coach Jim Roberts he didn&rsquo;t want to play any more, about two hours before the start of a Nov. 4 game with Newmarket. &#9632;

OVERTIME IS MILLAR TIME FOR MARINERS

Don&rsquo;t tell me the NHL is going to expand again. It&rsquo;s taken the NHL years to reach parity&mdash;a euphemism for &lsquo;recovery after a disaster&rsquo;&mdash;since the last expansion. Remember all the boring hockey we had to endure?Has anybody considered contraction? The NHL could relegate the four worst NHL teams to the American League. Then, the team that ends up in first place at the end of the AHL season could switch places with the last-place NHL team.Let&rsquo;s try to keep the excitement in hockey and the greed out.F. M. Butterworth&nbsp;Rochester. Minn.<h2>FIRE STAN</h2>When is THN going to do every hockey fan in Canada a favor and fire Stan Fischler?His constant downgrading of Hamilton as a viable expansion site is motivated only by the fact it is in Canada, not in the United States. With the exception of the northern states, hockey doesn&rsquo;t sell in the U.S. because it is dominated by non-Americans.Stan, if you ever get the chance to travel outside the center of the universe (New York), you may be surprised to find that &ldquo;villages&rdquo; like Hamilton are big-league cities with first-class&rsquo; facilities and knowledgeable hockey fans.Scott Cullion&nbsp;Chetwynd. B.C.<h2>WAYNE&rsquo;S HART</h2>After watching the Pittsburgh Penguins play the Toronto Maple Leafs on television Oct. 25 and being present at the Montreal Forum Oct. 28 to see the Penguins play the Canadiens, there remains no doubt in my mind as to why Wayne Gretzky won the NHL&rsquo;s most valuable player award last season.Mario Lemieux will never approach Gretzky&rsquo;s stature, as he appears to be coasting this season. Regardless of how many points Lemieux gets, the fact remains that Gretzky has more &ldquo;Hart.&rdquo;Marc Balzamo&nbsp;Nepean, Ont. (Ed. Note&mdash;See Steve Dryden&rsquo;s column, page 18.)<h2>NICE TRY</h2>In the Oct. 20 issue of THN, NHL vice president of broadcasting, Joel Nixon, was quoted as saying, &ldquo;For those who have (SportsChannel America), it&rsquo;s been the greatest thing. They&rsquo;ve never seen so many games so well done.&rdquo;Wishful thinking. Speak for yourself, Joel. Where do you get the authority to form an opinion for all us viewers, especially when the majority of viewer response has been negative and contradictory to your statement?I thought ESPN did a much more professional job. The NHL was getting the better job from them, regard less of the money. You can&rsquo;t sell to the public what they can&rsquo;t see.Andy Clarke&nbsp;Rochester, N. Y.<h2>BOGUS STAT</h2>I think the plus-minus ranking of players is the most useless statistic to come along in years.For instance, Tom Fergus of the Toronto Maple Leafs finished at minus-38 (in 1988-89) while Doug Gilmour of the Calgary Flames finished at plus-45.If Fergus were in Gilmour&rsquo;s place, he would have been at least plus-10 because of the talented players around him.Clark Piercey&nbsp;Mt. Pearl, Nfld.<h2>GO FOR TANTI</h2>I think Boston Bruins&rsquo; general manager Harry Sinden should spend a little money on a top-notch goalscorer who has the intensity to go to the net, like Tony Tanti of the Vancouver Canucks.The acquisition of a player like Tanti could take a load off Cam Neely, Craig Janney and Bob Carpenter.Kenny John HarringtonGreat Notch, N.H.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-011434/5750516-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg" title="f0003-01" width="565" height="634"></div><h2>I PREDICT&hellip;</h2>I&rsquo;m getting a little tired of reading about the &ldquo;overrated Wayne Gretzky,&rdquo; &ldquo;buy-it-all McNall&rdquo; and us dumb Los Angeles Kings&rsquo; fans who don&rsquo;t know the blueline from the beach.Some predictions:1. More than one kid from Southern California youth hockey will be playing for Canadian NHL fans within the next three to five years.2. Other teams will soon be trying to &ldquo;buy&rdquo; the Stanley Cup back from Bruce McNall.3. People will admit to themselves that Gretzky is the greatest player ever to have played the game. There is no argument now.Brian Mandley&nbsp;Los Angeles, Calif.Make your feelings known. Send your comments to:&nbsp;Letters, The Hockey News,&rsquo;85 Scarsdale Rd., Suite 100, Don Mills, Ont., M3B 2R2.&nbsp;Include home and business phone numbers. THN reserves the right to edit submissions. &#9632;

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DEPARTMENTS

FORGET EXPANSION, THINK CONTRACTION

<div class="byline">BOB McKENZIE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-021160/5750547-1-eng-US/f0003-022.jpg" title="f0003-02" width="521" height="607"></div>Don Meehan represents about 65 NHL players, more than any other agent in the game today.But the 38-year-old Toronto lawyer is contemplating a move that could increase that number to, oh, about 500. Just one thing&mdash;he&rsquo;d no longer be a player agent.He&rsquo;d be the new executive director of the NHL Players&rsquo; Association, succeeding Alan Eagleson in one of hockey&rsquo;s most powerful offices.Actually, were it to happen. Meehan would start out as deputy executive director. But no later than the fall of 1991, when the new Collective Bargaining Agreement is reached between the NHL and NHLPA. The Eagle would step aside as head man of the union he led to formation in 1967. And Meehan would take over.The scenario is not out of the realm of possibility. There are obstacles, to be sure. Meehan must decide if he wants the job. If so, the NHLPA membership must decide if it wants him from the slate of candidates available. But, given the significant quantity of players he already represents, he has a head start on almost any other candidate.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m giving it some very serious consideration,&rdquo; Meehan says. &ldquo;It would be a challenging position, but I have to decide if I&rsquo;m prepared to give up my business, which I&rsquo;ve built up from nothing. To be honest, I don&rsquo;t know what I&rsquo;ll do.&rdquo;We won&rsquo;t have to wait long to find out. A short list of possible Eagleson successors will likely be presented to the NHLPA&rsquo;s six-man search committee Dec. 18 in New York City.The committee consists of Kevin Dineen, Bobby Smith, Bryan Trottier, Dean Kennedy, Gerald Diduck and Randy Moller.Pulling all the pieces of this puzzle together is the task of Keith McLean, managing partner of Price Waterhouse&rsquo;s executive search firm. He and his staff are currently canvassing the hockey community to determine potential candidates. Then they&rsquo;ll conduct investigations to work up the short list&mdash;not likely to include more than five candidates&mdash;for presentation to the committee.Price Waterhouse was retained by the union after a summer player revolt led to reduced powers and a limited future for the embattled Eagleson.&ldquo;The plan is have the search committee interview four or five candidates Dec. 18 in New York,&rdquo; McLean says, &ldquo;I&rsquo;d like to think that the committee will decide that day on one, maybe two. candidates for recommendation to the membership. Hopefully, by no later than early in the new year, the matter could be resolved entirely and the deputy executive director would be in place.&rdquo;Price Waterhouse will only supply the candidates. The decision on who gets the job, which pays between $ 100,000 and $200,000 annually, rests on a vote of the union&rsquo;s 21 player reps and its five-man executive.Meehan isn&rsquo;t the only prominent agent considering the NHLPA leadership. Bill Watters, who has scaled down his rep business in recent years, is another viable candidate being talked up by many. The 46-year-old former teacher first learned the agency business under Eagleson, but broke away in 1980 to form his own firm.Although two dramatically different personalities, Meehan and Watters do share one trait. Neither is eager to put himself in a position where he may be perceived as a loser. That&rsquo;s why both have expressed guarded interest, but have made no commitments. They&rsquo;ll conduct investigations of their own to make sure they&rsquo;ve got a decent shot at the post and only then will they publicly admit their intentions.Of course, Eagleson&rsquo;s successor could be someone other than Meehan or Watters. McLean says there is no shortage of. quality candidates.But with just more than a month until the search committee meets in New York, a wise wager would be that either Meehan or Watters, or perhaps both, will be there when the race is down to two men. &#9632;

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COLUMNS

CONTINUING SEARCH FOR EAGLESON’S SUCCESSOR

&#9632; Helmut Balderis and Guy Lafleur. A couple of golden oldies made their mark on the weekend of Nov. 11-12. Balderis, the 37-year-old Soviet on the Minnesota North Stars, scored two goals in a 6-3 win over Toronto at the Met Center. A night earlier, Lafleur, 38, scored career goal No. 544 to tie Maurice Richard for eighth on the NHL&rsquo;s all-time list.&#9632; The Chicago Blackhawks. Many fans of Original Six clubs haven&rsquo;t had much to cheer about in recent years. But Mike Keenan&rsquo;s Hawks, with a 14-6-1 record, were atop the NHL&rsquo;s overall standings and playing the brand of hockey that gets the venerable Stadium rocking to its foundation.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-03753/5750585-1-eng-US/f0003-032.jpg" title="f0003-03" width="371" height="362"></div>&#9632; zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Excuse us. Must have nodded off while waiting for NHL president John Ziegler to rule on the iffy trading of Pete Peeters and Keith Acton to Winnipeg, then back again to Philadelphia. We&rsquo;re into Week Six of our Waiver Avoidance Investigation Deal watch.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-04419/5750578-1-eng-US/f0003-042.jpg" title="f0003-04" width="369" height="368"></div>&#9632; The NHL drug policy. It doesn&rsquo;t have one. &ldquo;If you use drugs, you lose your right to play in the league&rdquo; is not a policy. It&rsquo;s a sentiment, which can change at the whim of one man. Ziegler shouldn&rsquo;t be criticized for opening the door for Bob Probert&rsquo;s return; he should be castigated for never clearly defining exactly what Probert&rsquo;s punishment was. &#9632;

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CHEERS JEERS

Official NHL SponsorOfficial Cars and TrucksALL STAR BALLOTING AVAILABLE AT CHRYSLER CANADA DEALERS<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-011437/5750616-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg" title="f0004-01" width="554" height="803"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jon Casey</figcaption></div>MONTREAL&mdash;Goaltender Jon Casey of the Minnesota North Stars, who posted three consecutive wins, a 1.98 goals-against-average and a .936 save percentage, was named the Chrysler Canada Performer of the Week for the period ending Nov. 12. Casey, the National Hockey League&rsquo;s leading goaltender in wins (9), second in save percentage (.913) and fourth in average (2.72), edged center Pierre Turgeon of the Buffalo Sabres and goaltender Alain Chevrier of the Chicago Blackhawks to capture the award.The Chrysler Canada division of Chrysler Motors and Dodge will donate $500 to the youth hockey organization of each performer&rsquo;s choice. The Chrysler Canada division of Chrysler Motors and Dodge also sponsor the Performer of the Month and Performer of the Year Awards, for which the latter receives the Dodge vehicle of his choice. In four years, Chrysler Canada and Dodge have contributed more than $180,000 to youth hockey associations across North America.Casey, a 27-year-old native of Grand Rapids, Minnesota, began the week with a 2-1 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs (Nov. 6), before leading his club to a 5-1 victory over the Detroit Red Wings (Nov. 9). He then led his club to a 3-2 overtime win over the Calgary Flames (Nov. 11) in which he turned away 33 shots. The following night he concluded the week with a 6-3 win over Toronto (Nov. 12). Casey, last year&rsquo;s runner-up for the Trico Goaltending Award with a .900 season save percentage, has compiled a 9-3-1 record this season and has led his club to a .639 winning percentage for sixth place in the overall standings. &#9632;

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NHL PERFORMER OF THE WEEK

<div class="byline">BY STAN FISCHLER</div>The NHL will have a tough decision to make when NBC-TV execs present a revolutionary idea for televising the 1990 All-Star Game. A network source reveals that NBC will ask for wireless midget microphones to be attached to specific players, to be worn throughout the match. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re fascinated about the possibility of, say, a Wayne Gretzky, skating in on a breakaway against John Vanbiesbrouck and hearing Beezer chirping,&rdquo; says the source. Players have been &ldquo;miked&rdquo; before but not in an All-Star Game. The league fear is that too many expletives will cause more image harm than good&hellip;Hamilton interests have stepped up their pitch to woo both Toronto (Harold Ballard) and Buffalo (Seymour Knox) franchise owners to their side in the coming expansion assault. One insider whispers that the Hamiltonians believe Ballard can be successfully romanced, but the Sabres&rsquo; high command will put up stiff opposition. Gerry Patterson, who heads the Hamilton lobby effort, is said to have met quietly with Knox to win his support. A huge indemnity&mdash;similar to that paid by the New Jersey Devils to the New York teams&mdash;will be demanded, but Hamilton sources say they can handle it.<h2>BOSSY SAYS NO</h2>Since 38-year-old Guy Lafleur often has been the best player on any given night for Les Nordiques, coach Michel Bergeron says he&rsquo;d love to talk Mike Bossy out of retirement and back on the ice. Bossy, who handles French-language broadcasts for Quebec TV and travels with the team, insists an NHL comeback at age 35 is the farthest thing from his mind. His chronically ailing back still bothers him. &ldquo;And I&rsquo;ve given up taking treatments for it,&rdquo; Bossy adds.. Although salary disclosure will be okayed by the NHL Players&rsquo; Association, the Canadiens can&rsquo;t be too tickled about it. In their own team vote, the Habs voted 14-12 against allowing public knowledge of paychecks&hellip;The feeling among those close to the Caps is that they are going out of their way to be discreet about the Soviet preseason trip. &ldquo;They actually feel that it was the training camp from hell,&rdquo; says one Washington tipster&hellip;California record company owner Brian Slagel is talking about having the Kings&rsquo; Ken Baumgartner press a record with a heavy metal band&hellip;One of the continent&rsquo;s most unusual stick-handlers is 10-year-old Zach Roth of Aspen, Colorado. Roth was born with a birth defect that left him with a left arm which stops at the elbow, while his right hand has only two fingers and a thumb. Nonetheless, he has managed to play hockey since he was five years old. The Devils.&rsquo; Mark Johnson instructed Roth last summer at his hockey school.<h2>HARLEM HOCKEY</h2>The Rangers, who were upstaged by the Kings in their own Central Park, Manhattan, backyard last year, won&rsquo;t let it happen again this year. The Blueshirts will be backing the &ldquo;Hockey In Harlem&rdquo; program, starting with a bash on Nov. 27. Among the attractions scheduled is an appearance by Carol Alt, actress wife of veteran Ranger defenseman Ron Greschner&hellip;The Canucks&rsquo; renaissance is reflected by their improved performance at the gate. Season-ticket sales have climbed to 10,245 up from last year&rsquo;s 6,800. The club selected 10,245 as a cutoff point and now is trying to eliminate the scalping problem, although there are no effective laws to do so. The Canucks figure they can average more than 15,000 fans per game this season&hellip;Brett Hull&rsquo;s play&mdash;especially his skating speed&mdash;has improved since he lost eight pounds during the off-season, but the Blues&rsquo; right winger says he has no idea how he shed the suet.<h2>CALLING EX-BLUES</h2>Ex-Blues&rsquo; trainer Norm Mackie is putting together an alumni association of former St. Louis stick-handlers. He&rsquo;s received letters from 50 onetime players and adds, &ldquo;Forty-six of them want to play hockey.&rdquo; Alumni games will be played this year, and a major alumni shindig will tie in with the Blues&rsquo; 25th anniversary in 1992&hellip;Rookie Sabres&rsquo; coach Rick Dudley remembers his roots but it sometimes gives him the shudders, especially when he recalls coaching Winston-Salem in the Atlantic Coast League. &ldquo;I was driving the team in an old bus,&rdquo; says Dudley, &ldquo;and was doing 60 miles an hour on Highway 81 in the Virginia mountains, when the steering failed and we slid to the right. We crashed through an exit sign as I pumped every brake we had. The extra lane saved our lives.&rdquo; Without that lane. Dudley, his bus and the Thunderbirds would have careened over a 250-foot cliff.<h2>ANIMAL LOVER</h2>The Flames&rsquo; Jamie Macoun shouldn&rsquo;t mind if fans call him &ldquo;Animal.&rdquo; The defenseman co-owns two Calgary shops called &ldquo;Animals, Animals,&rdquo; which specializes in stuffed pigs, bears, etc. &ldquo;I got into it a couple of years back when I had the injury (nerve damage in his arm, the result of a car accident),&rdquo; explains. &ldquo;While I was recuperating I received a lot of stuffed animals from fans. They reminded me of my younger years when I was a child and I had a lot of stuffed animals. I always liked them.&rdquo;&hellip;NHL owners Jeremy Jacobs (Bruins) and Edward DeBartolo Sr. (Penguins) made the annual listing of America&rsquo;s 400 richest people in Forbes magazine. DeBartolo rings in at $ 1.4 billion but he made his fortune outside of sports, whereas Jacobs&rsquo; ($625 million) bucks come exclusively from athletics. &#9632;

ALL-STARS COULD BE WIRED FOR SOUND

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0005-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-011339/5750678-1-eng-US/f0005-012.jpg"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-02975/5750671-1-eng-US/f0005-022.jpg" title="f0005-02" width="549" height="1186"></div><h2>SCOTT STEVENS</h2>Born: April 1, 1964. Kitchener, Ont. Height: 6-foot-1. Weight: 215 pounds. Team: Washington Capitals. Position: Defense. Acquired: Washington&rsquo;s first choice, fifth overall in 1982 entry draft.Career Highlight: Winning the Memorial Cup with the Kitchener Rangers in 1982 and winning a silver medal with Team Canada in the 1989 World Championships.Boyhood Heroes: &ldquo;Growing up close to Toronto, I always admired Darryl Sittler and Borje Salming.&rdquo;Most Respected Opponent: &ldquo;Steve Yzerman of the Detroit Red Wings. Last year at the World Championships, we all got Team Canada watches. There was this kid from Sweden who had a bad ankle and he gave the kid his watch. I thought that showed a lot of class.&rdquo;Most Embarrassing Moment: &ldquo;It was at my first exhibition game at the Capital Centre in 1982. We were playing the Flyers and after the first period I accidently went to the Flyers&rsquo; bench, (Flyer coach) Bob McCammon just said, &lsquo;You only wish you were playing for us.&rsquo;&rdquo;Nickname: Bammer.Most Memorable Body Check: &ldquo;One time I hit Gary Rissling when he was with Pittsburgh and I was really scared; I thought I killed him. After about five minutes, he got up and said he was going to get me. I thought that was kind of strange.&rdquo;Favorite Visiting Cities: &ldquo;Montreal is a great place to play and L.A. is nice because of the great weather and the palm trees.&rdquo;Favorite Restaurant: The Cheesecake Factory in Los Angeles.Career Disappointment: &ldquo;The fact that we&rsquo;ve never made it past the second round of the playoffs.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0005-01

PRO FILE

<div class="byline">BY THN STAFF</div>Edmonton player agent Rich Winter has launched three lawsuits totalling almost $1 million against Edmonton Oilers&rsquo; goalie Grant Fuhr, Oilers&rsquo; general manager Glen Sather and four other defendants.Winter, who formerly represented Fuhr, was seeking $186,000 for negiotiating Fuhr&rsquo;s recent $4-million contract with the Oilers and an additional $237,837.26 for negotiating Fuhr&rsquo;s endorsements.He was claiming additional damages of $500,000 for alleged defamation from Fuhr, Sather, Grant Fuhr Marketing Corporation, G. Brent Gawne, G. Brent Gawne and Associates, and PFC Financial Ltd.Winter was suing Sather for $50,000, for an assault which allegedly occured Nov. 27, 1987 at the Northlands Coliseum.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s regrettable it got to this point,&rdquo; said Winter. &ldquo;I want the truth out.&rdquo;Winter claimed Sather punched him twice in the chest and hit him on the shoulder with a suitcase.&ldquo;I wonder why it took so long,&rdquo; said Sather, in response to Winter&rsquo;s assault suit.<h2>LINDROS RULE</h2>Eric Lindros will almost certainly be playing in the Ontario League in 1990.The OHL Board of Governors amended a restrictive trading by-law Nov. 13, with the result that Lindros&mdash;the most highly-touted 16-year-old since Mario Lemieux&mdash;will be allowed to play for a team other than the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds.The Greyhounds made Lindros the No. 1 overall pick in the 1989 midget draft. He refused to report, and chose instead to join the Detroit Compuware team in the Tier II North American Junior League.Until the board&rsquo;s meeting, teams were not allowed to trade their first-round choices during the season following the draft. At the meeting, the governors voted unanimously to allow teams to trade first-rounders between Jan. 1 and 10 of the next season.Now the Greyhounds will be able to trade his rights.OHL commissioner Dave Branch said the Lindros situation was a large factor in the rule change, but not the only one.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think there&rsquo;s any question it&rsquo;s the Eric Lindros rule in that that is what it will be referred to,&rdquo; said Branch. &ldquo;But I think Eric Lindros highlighted to our people that the old rule was counterproductive in terms of attracting players to our league.&rdquo;Lindros will have completed his high school honors diploma requirements by Christmas. He was planning on returning home to play for York University in Toronto.&ldquo;Eric is thrilled. It&rsquo;s what he&rsquo;s always wanted,&rdquo; said Lindros&rsquo; mother, Bonnie. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve paid the price and things are looking up right now.&ldquo;I would say the chances of him playing in the OHL in January are pretty well 100 per cent.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-011521/5750709-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg" title="f0006-01" width="546" height="948"><figcaption class="caption-body">Grant Fuhr, above, is being sued by former agent Rich Winter.</figcaption></div><h2>TOUGH GAME</h2>A study by Ohio University exercise physiologist Frederick C. Hagerman determined hockey is the most difficult sport to play. The results, which appear in the November &rsquo;89 issue of American Health Magazine, show hockey to be the most difficult of the 11 professional sports analyzed.Hockey, baseball, football, basketball, soccer, boxing, tennis, golf, auto racing, horse racing and bowling were assessed in six categories&mdash;required agility, endurance, eye-hand-foot coordination, flexibility, speed and strength. The sports were rated in each category on a scale from one to five, with five being the most difficult.Hockey scored the highest with a rating of 25 out of 30. Perfect fives were scored in agility, eye-hand-foot coordination, speed and strength. Soccer ranked second at 24, followed by tennis, boxing and basketball at 23.<h2>DRUG CHARGES</h2>The International Ice Hockey Federation wants the Soviets to respond to Igor Larionov&rsquo;s claim there was drug use on the Soviet national team.Larionov, in his recently published book, The Front Line Rebels, said Soviet hockey players and laboratory workers collaborated to fool drug testers at the 1986 world championships in Moscow by hiding urine specimens behind toilets. Larionov said he and teammates Viacheslav Fetisov, Sergei Makarov, Vladimir Krutov and Alexei Kasatonov were not part of the scheme.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a question for the Soviet Ice Hockey Federation to answer,&rdquo; said Roman Neumayer, technical director of the IIHF. &ldquo;It is a charge against them. They have to clear it up.&rdquo;Murray Costello, Canadian Amateur Hockey Association president, requested the IIHF investigate the matter.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re not looking for a redis-tribution of the medals,&rdquo; Costello said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;d like to know if this type of thing is going on. We&rsquo;d like to know what we&rsquo;re up against.&rdquo;<h2>KORHARSKI OUT</h2>Referee Don Koharski was expected to miss at least one game and probably more as a result of an on-ice injury.Koharski had to be carried off the ice on a stretcher after being struck in the right leg by a Kjell Samuelsson shot in the second period of a Nov. 11 game at New Jersey between the Devils and Philadelphia. The Flyers won the game 7-5.Linesman Ron Finn took over as referee as Koharski was taken to hospital for X-rays.Koharski was to officiate the Nov. 16 game in Boston between the Bruins and the Montreal Canadiens but he was removed from the assignment. NHL director of officiating Bryan Lewis said there was a possibility Koharski would have to miss more games to recover.<h2>POOR BOYS</h2>While the NHL has probably never been in better financial shape, it is still the poorest of the four major team sports.The main thing keeping hockey below the financial level of baseball, football and basketball is its much smaller television revenue.The NHL is in the second year of a three-year, $51-million deal with SportsChannel America which gives each team an average of $810,000 a season.The other three sports get considerably more TV revenue for their teams. Each football team will receive an average of $17 million per season. In baseball, each team will earn an average of $14 million a season beginning next year. In basketball, each team will get $5.6 million a season once the sport&rsquo;s new TV contract begins next season.<h3>DATEBOOK</h3>Dec. 4-Jan. 9, 1990: Each NHL team plays one of four louring Soviet National League clubs in Super Series &rsquo;89-90. The visiting teams are Central Red Army, Moscow Dynamo, khimik Voskresensk and the Soviet Wings.Dec. 7-9: NHL Board of Governors meetings. Palm Beach, Fla.Dec. 11: Los Angeles Kings at Montreal Canadiens. Former Habs&rsquo; star Larry Robinson makes his first appearance at the Montreal Forum as a member of the Los Angeles Kings. &#9632;

f0006-01

WINTER RAGES IN EDMONTON AS AGENT SUES FUHR, SATHER AND OTHERS

<div class="byline">BY RAND SIMON AND BOB McKENZIE</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0007-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-011364/5750740-1-eng-US/f0007-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">The Quebec Nordiques and Hartford Whalers were two of four ex-WHA teams to join the NHL In 1979. All four have prospered, especially the Edmonton Oilers.</figcaption></div>On the eve of the 1990s, the National Hockey League is ready to face its future.And all signs point to expansion.The NHL board of governors will convene Dec. 7-9 in Palm Beach, Fla., for its final meeting of the decade. The major item on the agenda is growth.&ldquo;I believe we will have (expansion),&rdquo; NHL president John Ziegler said in late October. &ldquo;The question(s) of who, where and how many, will come&hellip;after we make the decision (whether to expand).&rdquo;The NHL&rsquo;s 10-member Market and Analysis Committee&mdash;co-chaired by Ziegler and chairman of the board Bill Wirtz&mdash;will meet Dec. 6. One day later, it will unveil its report and recommendations to the board.The ultimate decision rests with the 21 governors. Sixteen votes are required for any expansion motion to pass. Given Ziegler&rsquo;s public pronouncements&mdash;he&rsquo;s never been one to talk out of turn&mdash;it&rsquo;s clear the league will commit to growth for the first time in 10 years. Only the timing remains to be determined.Ziegler described the December board meeting as &ldquo;where they (governors) will say, &lsquo;Yes or no, or let&rsquo;s meet again.&rsquo;&rdquo;Calgary general manager Cliff Fletcher said expecting a December vote on expansion may be premature. &ldquo;I would hazard an intelligent guess that nothing will be voted on (in December),&rdquo; Fletcher said. &ldquo;That will wait until June (at the NHL congress in Vancouver).&rdquo;Jets&rsquo; governor Barry Shenkarow was quoted in the Winnipeg Free Press as saying the expansion committee&mdash;of which he is a member&mdash;would come out in favor of adding teams. He later backtracked, and said the report was not yet finished. He claimed his personal view of expansion was confused with the committee&rsquo;s recommendation.Hockey&rsquo;s last expansion was in 1979, when four survivors of the World Hockey Association (Edmonton, Hartford, Quebec and Winnipeg) were absorbed to form the current 21-team loop. The National Basketball Association, which has added four new teams in the past two seasons, has been the only major North American sports league to expand during the 1980s.The decision to expand, assuming it is made in December, will only intensify excitement in a number of North American cities. More than 30, from tiny Port Hope, Ont. (just east of Toronto) to the San Francisco Bay area, have expressed interest in obtaining an NHL franchise. Inquiries have also been made from the Soviet Union and Sweden, though there is no interest at this time in expanding beyond the continent.Many cities have already established committees and full-time lobbyists to improve their chances of receiving franchises. They will undoubtedly converge on Palm Beach looking for answers to several pertinent questions, among them: When will the NHL expand? By how many teams? To what regions? At what cost? Where will the players come from? What criteria must be met?These and other questions have all been considered in broad terms. Here are some of the preliminary answers:&#9632; There isn&rsquo;t likely to be a new NHL franchise active until the 1992-93 season.&ldquo;We know it will not be 1990,&rdquo; said Ziegler. &ldquo;I think 1991 is a question mark because we have very important collective bargaining negotiations (with the Players&rsquo; Association). I would guess 1992 would probably be the earliest.&rdquo;&#9632; The early-line consensus on the number of teams to be added is three, though it&rsquo;s questionable whether all would enter the league in the same season. One could be added in each of three successive years or, perhaps, one every other year.Ziegler envisions a 24-team league, with four six-team divisions. Others have different notions.&ldquo;At one end of the spectrum,&rdquo; said Ziegler, &ldquo;there are some people who would say that they&rsquo;d like to look forward, over the next 10 years, to seven teams. We&rsquo;d have four divisions of seven or something. There are some who are very conservative who say, &lsquo;Let&rsquo;s move very slowly and let&rsquo;s only look at one team.&rsquo; Somewhere in between there, I think between one and three teams, is more realistic.&rdquo;&#9632; The emphasis will be on adding franchises in the United States, specifically the west.Another team in California, to reduce the Los Angeles Kings&rsquo; travel burden, is seen as essential. Kings&rsquo; owner Bruce McNall has said that&rsquo;s his preference and it&rsquo;s a view shared by many.San Diego, San Jose, San Francisco, Oakland, Sacramento and Anaheim have all indicated interest. &ldquo;Los Angeles stands out there pretty much all by itself,&rdquo; said Ziegler, &ldquo;and we need another anchor out there for it.&rdquo;U.S. expansion may be at the expense of Canadian growth. By expanding into a major California market, as well as the Pacific northwest (i.e. Seattle) and/or southern states (i.e. Texas, Florida or Georgia), hockey would become a more national sport in the U.S.&mdash;the foundation for a network television deal.Canadian cities, such as Saskatoon, Hamilton and Ottawa, will be dismayed there is no strong movement afoot to maintain the 2-to-1 ratio of American versus Canadian teams. It&rsquo;s not inconceivable all three teams would be American.&ldquo;The 2-to-1 ratio has not been discussed,&rdquo; Shenkarow said. &ldquo;My personal opinion is, I don&rsquo;t think there&rsquo;s any reason to have a set ratio. What&rsquo;s equally important is to look at the geography of the league vis-a-vis teams in the west. Having traveled in the Smythe Division, it&rsquo;s important to get more teams out west.&rdquo;&#9632; The going rate for an expansion franchise is pegged at anywhere from $30 million to $50 million. Existing NHL teams are believed to want at least $1 million (U.S.) each&mdash;and quite likely more&mdash;for every club admitted.&#9632; The opening up of the Soviet Union is a factor in how expansion clubs will be staffed. So will an easing of restrictions on Czechoslovak players.But, for the most part, expansion will mean opportunities for players buried in the minors. And, of course, there will be an expansion draft. In the NBA, each established club was permitted to protect eight players and couldn&rsquo;t lose more than one in the expansion draft. The NHL might opt for a two-goalie, 12-14 skater protected list with maximum losses of two or three players per club.&ldquo;Each year it appears to me that there are more and more good players coming in,&rdquo; Ziegler said. &ldquo;This year, for the first time, we have opened up a whole new talent pool&mdash;Soviet players. But I think for the immediate future, there is enough talent to handle expansion.&rdquo;Washington GM David Poile is on the league&rsquo;s Player Availability Committee, which was scheduled to meet in advance of the governors. Poile said the committee won&rsquo;t get together now until after the December meeting.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ll get some direction from those meetings,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Right now there&rsquo;s nothing to comment on because no one knows anything.&rdquo;&#9632; The league will judge expansion candidates on a wide variety of criteria, including: strong ownership potential; market size, especially as it pertains to television; hockey background and/or familiarity; competition from other sports; proximity to other NHL cities; and arena facilities.It&rsquo;s not so important to have an existing arena in place now as it is to be able to construct one with the key elements&mdash;large capacity (18,000 to 20,000); state-of-the-art broadcast facilities; a favorable lease or ownership arrangement to include parking and concessions; and lots of luxury boxes for corporate customers.&ldquo;Some buildings might already be obsolete&hellip;&rdquo; Ziegler said. &ldquo;You have to think in terms of a total entertainment picture, not just a place where hockey games are played.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0007-01

HERE WE GROW AGAIN?

<div class="byline">BY BARRY MEISEL</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0008-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-011451/5750771-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">John Vanbiesbrouck was benched in the &rsquo;89 Stanley Cup playoffs, but the new regime in New York has restored him as the Rangers&rsquo; No. 1 goalie.</figcaption></div>In this, the National Hockey League&rsquo;s age of instant gratification, it&rsquo;s not who you are, but what have you done for me tomorrow? Grant Fuhr&rsquo;s appendectomy and Ron Hextall&rsquo;s O&rsquo;Neillectomy created a void at the top of the goaltending talent pile.Who&rsquo;s the best today? Patrick Roy? Mike Vernon? Kelly Hrudey? Kirk McLean?Hey, what about John Vanbiesbrouck? Rendered irrelevant last April by former New York Ranger general manager Phil Esposito and all but pointed toward Detroit last May, a sudden about-face by the supremely confident 1986 Vezina Trophy winner is one of the main reasons why the Rangers are the league&rsquo;s early-season surprise.Armed with a new three-year, $1.15-million contract, courtesy of new GM Neil Smith, Vanbiesbrouck is rebounding quite nicely from the indignity of a Stanley Cup benching. He&rsquo;s doing that courtesy of new coach Roger Neilson, who keeps calling his No. 34.And he has done it without once uttering an &ldquo;I told you so&rdquo; in the direction of his ousted boss.A few years ago, he might have.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s cocky. He&rsquo;s been described as outspoken,&rdquo; says Vanbiesbrouck&rsquo;s older and humbler partner, Bob Froese. &ldquo;But he&rsquo;s very pro-team. He just enjoys the limelight and the pressure that goes with it.&rdquo;Vanbiesbrouck has been in the NHL since 1984-85, but he&rsquo;s only 26 years old. He is learning when to stand up and say he&rsquo;s The Man and when to shut up and quietly stop 28 of 29 shots.It&rsquo;s called maturity.&ldquo;Like this article,&rdquo; he explains. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want to offend everybody. Because if I stand up in the room, slap my stick down, and say &lsquo;C&rsquo;mon guys, we&rsquo;ve got to get going,&rsquo; everything could be shoved back in my face because &lsquo;Hey, John. You&rsquo;ve got to do your job.&rsquo;&ldquo;That&rsquo;s happened to me in the past. I&rsquo;ve gotten up and said something, and in the next game what happens? I let in a couple of bad goals and I feel like crap for a week.&rdquo;When Esposito made the ridiculous leap behind the Rangers&rsquo; bench last April Fool&rsquo;s Day by firing coach Michel Bergeron, Vanbiesbrouck wasn&rsquo;t even considered the best goalie on the team.Vanbiesbrouck&rsquo;s 1988-89 season started in June with a scare. Five days before his son Ian was bom, while he was fiddling with a VCR camera and rushing to get ready for a childbirth class with wife Rosalinde, he put his left (catching) hand through a glass table.He severed three tendons and lacerated his ulnar nerve. He was expected to be sidelined until December. But successful microsurgery and diligent rehabilitation got him ready for opening night.Vanbiesbrouck was 25-13-4 on March 1. The Rangers were first in the Patrick Division. A month and one 3-12-0 slump later, the Rangers were third, Bergeron was gone, and coach Esposito asked Vanbiesbrouck to watch Games 1 and 2 of their playoff series versus Pittsburgh.&ldquo;I thought Phil had second-guessed the whole organization, but me personally,&rdquo; Vanbiesbrouck says. &ldquo;He lost his faith in me. And I don&rsquo;t think he ever thought that I was ever his No. I goaltender, because he made the trade for Bob Froese. Each one of his trades was his little gem. He told me &lsquo;You&rsquo;re the No. 1 guy.&rsquo; But I know inside himself he wanted to make his deals look good.&rdquo;Froese played well in Game 1, a 3-1 loss, and deserved a second start. On the morning of Game 2 in Pittsburgh, Esposito told Vanbiesbrouck he wanted rookie Mike Richter to dress as Froese&rsquo;s backup.Vanbiesbrouck talked Esposito out of it.&ldquo;I said, &lsquo;I don&rsquo;t want to be up in the stands.&rsquo; He said, &lsquo;I want you to be like a scout.&rsquo; I said, &lsquo;I&rsquo;m not paid to be a scout. I want to be on the bench.&rsquo; I just wanted to be in the room. I thought maybe I could help vocally. I envisioned myself as a leader on the team. I played a lot of games, I was there in the success and I was there when we failed. I was ready to stand up for myself.&rdquo;Vanbiesbrouck relieved Froese in that 7-4 loss, and lost Game 3 (5-3) at Madison Square Garden. Esposito then chose Game 4 for Richter&rsquo;s NHL debut. Froese backed up. Vanbiesbrouck watched the bitter end to the Rangers&rsquo; most promising season since 1986 on a TV in the players&rsquo; lounge.&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t try talk him out of it,&rdquo; Vanbiesbrouck says. &ldquo;Because of Mike. I didn&rsquo;t want to take a chance away from him. I knew what the feeling was. It was a no-win situation.&rdquo;Vanbiesbrouck was born and raised in Detroit. He played his junior hockey for the Sault St. Marie Greyhounds of the Ontario League. He didn&rsquo;t want to be traded to the Red Wings last summer, but was prepared for Esposito to make the move. Did the rumors affect his confidence?&ldquo;Absolutely not. I thought it would have been their loss. I know what I can do for this team. That&rsquo;s the confidence I carry when I Play&rdquo;Vanbiesbrouck had set a goal of winning a Stanley Cup with the Rangers soon after he was drafted in 1981. It was a thirst whetted by 1986, when, in his second full season, he carried the Rangers to the semifinals.When Garden sports boss Jack Diller fired Esposito and hired Smith after the season, Vanbiesbrouck correctly figured he&rsquo;d get the chance to regain his No. 1 job. He vowed to focus only on training camp, not on duplicating the start of 1988-89 or the end of 1986.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s all in how you perceive things,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;The year after I won (the Vezina), we made the trade for Bobby (Froese). I didn&rsquo;t feel threatened by that, but I felt&hellip;I didn&rsquo;t know what to feel. I don&rsquo;t want to offend Bob, but I didn&rsquo;t think we had to improve that area.&rdquo;Vanbiesbrouck occasionally gets bitten by his need to lead. Last season he grew too feisty, too aggressive, too hyperactive with the puck. He tried to play goalie, goon and stickhandling defenseman all at once.<blockquote class="pullQuote">&lsquo;YOU HAVE TO PROVE IT EVERY YEAR, EVERY GAME.&rsquo;</blockquote>Yes, it was his confidence at work. It was also his insatiable desire to win.&ldquo;Coming out of junior I didn&rsquo;t realize how much you have to dwell on winning as the bottom line. You can ask anybody who&rsquo;s played the game. If they&rsquo;re happy when they lose, then they&rsquo;re a loser.&rdquo;This season he&rsquo;s kept relatively quiet. He is playing superbly behind a defense he praises every game. He isn&rsquo;t flopping, isn&rsquo;t handling the puck as much, hasn&rsquo;t taken a bad penalty.So where does he stand among his peers?&ldquo;I like talking about being in the top part of the league, but I have to prove it. I can&rsquo;t tell you that I think I&rsquo;m the best goalie or I think I&rsquo;m in the top five. I&rsquo;ve proven that I won the Vezina Trophy, but you have to be consistent. You have to prove it every year, every game.&ldquo;I watch Hextall. I watch Hrudey, I watch Fuhr, McLean and (Sean) Burke. Even though they&rsquo;re my peers, I learn from watching them. I don&rsquo;t try to emulate them at all, but I just learn about how they go about their jobs.&ldquo;What do I think guys watch me do? I don&rsquo;t think I have a patent on anything special. But I think I catch the puck well. I make pad saves well. I feel that I&rsquo;m standing up a lot more. I feel right now more well-rounded in all aspects of the game.&rdquo;But who&rsquo;s the best?&ldquo;Right now? Wow, that&rsquo;s pressure. If I had to pick one, right now, to start a team? Definitely Hextall. Then Pat Roy. Fuhr. Mike Vernon. Then probably Kelly (Hrudey).&ldquo;Where would I put me? I&rsquo;d leave that to you. I&rsquo;d like to make a nice cherry on top of that list.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0008-01

VANBIESBROUCK

<div class="byline">STAN FISCHLER</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-011401/5750802-1-eng-US/f0009-012.jpg" title="f0009-01" width="484" height="623"></div>I&rsquo;ve been meaning to write this column for about a dozen years but Thanksgiving Day seems to come up so fast it&rsquo;s over before I remember. Well, Canadian Thanksgiving is over but the American version will soon be here. That tells me I can finally make good on my resolution and give some genuine thanks.When a guy makes his living in hockey, he has to have a lot of people cooperating in various ways to make it all work and to make it worthwhile. With that in mind, I am ever grateful for hockey players as a group. Friends of mine who cover baseball, football and basketball tell me those sports are filled with egomaniacal spoiled brats who expect a $ 100 gift certificate just to give you the time of day. There are some creeps in the hockey fraternity, but compared to other big-time athletes, they lead all leagues in being down-to-earth approachable and, as their leader Wayne Gretzky has demonstrated, just plain nice.Me, I&rsquo;ve always liked the lesser stars. That&rsquo;s why I&rsquo;m grateful there&rsquo;s a Harold Snepsts around; a big lug with a bigger grin and an even bigger heart. You want to hug the lug every time you talk to him because he&rsquo;s such a warm, involved and real person.Ryan Walter is another you don&rsquo;t hear about all that much but, brother, is he ever a winner as a person. Talk to Ryan and you automatically come away feeling at least 10-per-cent better than you did before you sat down with him. He&rsquo;s just that kind of guy.I am, believe it or not, grateful, for the guys I&rsquo;ve feuded with over the years&mdash;because each and every one of them has at least had the decency to sit down and talk and, in most cases, patch things up. I&rsquo;m thinking of fellows like Guy Lafleur, Mike Liut, Marcel Dionne, Glen Sather and Michel Bergeron, to name a few.I am grateful Wayne Gretzky&rsquo;s head has not grown in proportion to his points scored.Much as they infuriate me from whistle to whistle, I am grateful the league is well-sprinkled with good-guy zebras like Kerry Fraser, Paul Stewart, Kevin Collins and, yes, even Denis Morel.You bet I&rsquo;m grateful for Rod Langway, Brad Marsh, Al Secord, Craig MacTavish, Randy Carlyle, Guy Lafleur, Doug Wilson and Harold Snepsts (again) for their resolute refusal to don dopey-looking helmets and keep more personality in the game.I am grateful that, at their age, Lafleur, Ron Greschner, Bryan Trottier, Larry Robinson and Rod Langway are still playing respectably.I am grateful Harold Ballard is in charge of the Toronto Maple Leafs. And nothing else.We don&rsquo;t see each other any more but I&rsquo;m grateful to have had Phil Esposito in my backyard to provide some of the most stimulating interviews since Muhammad Ali.I am grateful for Mario Lemieux and Pat LaFontaine. Period.Also Alan Eagleson. Period.And Kevin Lowe. Period. Not to mention Don Cherry.Cinderella teams always make me feel good so I am eternally grateful to the 1988 Devils and last season&rsquo;s Blackhawks for their 12th-hour heroics.Managers are depicted as standoffish characters but not so in hockey. I am grateful for the likes of Eddie Johnston, Jimmy Devellano, Bill Torrey, Harry Sinden, Cliff Fletcher, David Poile, Ron Caron, Bob Clarke, Tony Esposito, Pat Quinn, Jack Ferreira, Serge Savard, Lou Lamoriello and Gerry Meehan, to name a few.And I&rsquo;m grateful that even though nobody could replace Phil Esposito, his replacement Neil Smith is approachable, talkative, funny (just look at his suits) and good for hockey.I am grateful the spirit of hockey induces a young 80-year-old off-ice official like Arthur Reichert to show up and work every single Madison Square Garden game because he loves it.Ditto Jack Rafferty, who hasn&rsquo;t missed an Islander game since Day 1 in 1972.I am grateful Bryan Lewis and his supervisors are trying to improve officiating and are even thinking about video replay&mdash;but I wish they&rsquo;d hurry up.I am grateful Al Strachan does not live in my zip code.I am grateful there are still some players who figure it&rsquo;s just plain stupid to shoot the puck from center ice into the comer or the rink and would rather stickhandle or pass over the blue line.Although I know where Ed and Jay Snider are coming from, I am grateful to be able to watch a Sergei Makarov, Slava Fetisov and some of those other classy Soviets more than just in exhibition games.Finally, if you haven&rsquo;t figured it out by now, I&rsquo;m grateful I&rsquo;m in the hockey business. &#9632;

f0009-01

THANKS FOR MAKING HOCKEY SO SPECIAL

<h2>RED WINGS</h2>During a recent plane trip from Minneapolis to Toronto, the Wings had a brief layover in Milwaukee. There, a man in his early 20s boarded the plane and immediately recognized the band of players as a hockey team. &ldquo;IHL?&rdquo; the guy asked, inquiring if they were an International League team. &ldquo;No, NHL,&rdquo; grumbled Wings&rsquo; alternate captain Gerard Gallant. &ldquo;But if we don&rsquo;t shape up, we could wind up in the IHL.&rdquo;&hellip;Coach Jacques Demers disputed the assessment by some NHL scouts his team was left with a glaring lack of speed after the trade that sent Petr Klima, the team&rsquo;s fastest skater, and Joe Murphy, another speedster, to Edmonton. &ldquo;We never had much speed,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;The only guy we had was Klima. He had blazing speed. Murphy was fast, but we never used him that much. &ldquo;&hellip; As Demers was leaving the bench at the end of the first period of the Rangers&rsquo; game, his team down 3-1, a man yelled at him. &ldquo;He called me a bleeping a,&rdquo; Demers said.&ldquo;And he was with a lady. He shouldn&rsquo;t talk like that.&rdquo; Demers made three attempts to climb the first step into the stands toward the man. Each time, he was pulled back by two Garden security men.<h2>MAPLE LEAFS</h2>The day after Ed Olczyk was reported as saying he expected to be traded (Nov. 7), coach Doug Carpenter told Olczyk and the rest of the Leafs in a closed-door meeting if anyone wanted to leave, they knew where the door was. &ldquo;No one player is bigger than the team,&rdquo; Carpenter said afterwards. Olczyk admitted later he was wrong in airing his beefs, that it was done in frustration over his lack of production thus far this season. &ldquo;I want to play here and I wan to contribute, that&rsquo;s all,&rdquo; said Olczyk. &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t tell me you&rsquo;re good, show me,&rdquo; was Carpenter&rsquo;s response. Olczyk backed his words with a two-goal outing against Detroit Nov. 11, his second two-goal game of the season&hellip;Allan Bester gave the Leafs a brief reprieve from their netminding woes by allowing just four goals in three consecutive outings, but was then shelled for six goals in the first 25 minutes of a 6-3 loss to Minnesota Nov. 12&hellip;Right winger Daniel Marois, who had an eight-game point streak snapped in the 4-2 win over Detroit, suffered a slightly dislocated left shoulder the following night against the North Stars&hellip;Rob Ramage&rsquo;s goal in a 4-1 win over Philadelphia Nov. 9 gave him four on the season, one more than he had all of last season with Calgary.<h2>NORTH STARS</h2>Jon Casey lowered his goals-against average from 3.55 to 2.72 and improved his save percentage from .886 to .913 in five starts from Nov. 4 to Nov. 12. Casey (9-2-2) gave up only eight goals in the five games, for a 1.58 GAA. He was named the NHL&rsquo;s player of the week for the period ending Nov. 12&hellip;The Stars, who reduced their goals against by 71 from 1987-88 to last season, allowed 21 fewer goals than they did a season ago, through the first 18 games. They scored 15 more than they did at this point last season, and were 14 points ahead of last season&rsquo;s pace&hellip;Neal Broten was one goal shy of200 for his career and one point short of 600 heading into the Stars&rsquo; Nov. 15 game at New Jersey.<h2>BLACKHAWKS</h2>In less than a week, the Hawks lost two defensemen to injury. First, Bob McGill suffered a broken cheekbone fighting Shane Churla in a game Nov. 4 against Minnesota. Three games later, Trent Yawney suffered a bruised kidney Nov. 11 against the Islanders. Rookie defenseman Cam Russell was recalled from Indianapolis to fill in&hellip; In six wins between Oct. 31 and Nov. 12, the Hawks came from behind each time. &ldquo;When you have the resiliency to come back from a deficit on more than one occasion, it shows mental toughness and fitness,&rdquo; said coach Mike Keenan. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t like to do it often, but if you can win and learn at the same time it&rsquo;s all the better.&rdquo;&hellip;When the Hawks beat Hartford Nov. 12, it was their seventh straight victory at home and ninth of the season. They won only 16 games in Chicago Stadium last season&hellip;Adam Creighton had 16 points after 21 games, but only two on the road.<h2>BLUES</h2>Goaltender Greg Millen record the 200th victory of his career in the Blues&rsquo; 8-3 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins Nov. 11. He became only the 30th goalie in NHL history to reach the milestone. &ldquo;I haven&rsquo;t thought much about it,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;The most important thing was to win the game. I feel when you have a chance to play as long as I have, you&rsquo;re going to reach some milestones.&rdquo; Millen, in his 12th season, has a career record of 200-259-84&hellip;At his current pace of 17.5 victories per season, Millen would have to play 12 more seasons after this one&mdash;until the year 2002&mdash;to reach all-time leader Terry Sawchuk, who won 435 games in 21 seasons with Detroit, Boston, Toronto, Los Angeles and the New York Rangers-&hellip;Five of Brett Hull&rsquo;s 15 goals and nine of-his 24 points have come against the Penguins, against whom the Blues have scored 17 of their 60 goals&hellip; Adam Oates had a five-game point-scoring streak through Nov. 11, with four goals and six assists&hellip;The Blues honored the late Dan Kelly, their longtime broadcaster, in pregame ceremonies Nov. 11, hanging a banner on the north end of The Arena with his name and a shamrock similar to the patches on the Blues&rsquo; uniforms. The banner hangs next to those commemorating the retired numbers of Barclay Plager, Bob Gassoff and Brian Sutter. &#9632;

WINGS MISTAKEN FOR IHL TEAM

<div class="byline">BY MARK HARDING</div>The Hockey Scouting Report doesn&rsquo;t mince words when analyzing Toronto Maple Leafs&rsquo; defenseman Al lafrate.&ldquo;Iafrate is probably the league&rsquo;s biggest enigma,&rdquo; write co-authors Jiggs McDonald and Michael Berger.&ldquo;The gap between his talent and the application of same is huge.&ldquo;His concentration is erratic at best and his dedication to playing to his potential is somewhere beneath that. Maybe Iafrate just isn&rsquo;t as talented as he has been made out to be.&rdquo;The 23-year-old rearguard is the first to admit his career has been a rollercoaster ride with more valleys than peaks.Last season was the ultimate in lows. Iafrate&rsquo;s marital problems made him a distracted and disturbed player. His 33 points led Leaf defensemen, but were far below expectations.The Dearborn, Mich., native wants to do more than just erase the memory of last season and the personal turmoil which caused him to miss 15 games. He wants to put his career into high gear.&ldquo;I wouldn&rsquo;t say my last five years as a Leaf have been a waste, but I would agree that I haven&rsquo;t yet lived up to my potential,&rdquo; saad lafrate, who led Leaf defenders with six goals and 18 points after 19 games.lafrate said there has been only one season in which he has justified the Leafs making him their first pick, No. 4 overall in the 1984 entry draft. That was 1987-88, when he tied lan Turnbull&rsquo;s club record for goals by a defenseman with 22 and was named to the Campbell Conference all-star squad.&ldquo;Consistency&rsquo;s the name of the game and I haven&rsquo;t been very consistent over my career,&rdquo; he admitted. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s something I want to become.&rdquo;Last season, the Leafs tied Quebec for last overall in goals scored. This season, lafrate has worked to help improve that offense. So far, so good, as evidenced by the Leafs&rsquo; 82 goals after 19 games, second only to Calgary&rsquo;s 89.But coach Doug Carpenter would be more pleased if the Leafs, who won eight of 12 games before losing 6-3 to Minnesota Nov. 12, could cut down on their goals against. After 19 games, the 9-10-0 Leafs gave up 88 goals, the most in the league.That has left lafrate in a a quandary when he&rsquo;s had the puck on his stick&mdash;to go or not to go?&ldquo;He (Carpenter) has basically told me to pick my spots, and I&rsquo;m learning when the situation&rsquo;s right and when it&rsquo;s not,&rdquo; said lafrate.lafrate has gambled on a good season. He decided to play out the option year of his contract rather than haggle over a new deal with the numbers of last season (13-20-33) hanging over his head.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s pressure, sure, but it&rsquo;s a good kind of pressure, proving yourself,&rdquo; said the 6-foot-3, 220-pounder.Iafrate said as long as he can look at the other members of his draft class and feel as though he&rsquo;s doing as well or better, he&rsquo;ll be content. But given the quality of the nine defensemen drafted in the first round in 1984&mdash;including Petr Svoboda, Doug Bodger, Terry Carkner and Kevin Hatcher&mdash;lafrate will have his hands full keeping pace.&ldquo;That was a great draft year for defensemen and it was an honor for me to be picked by Toronto ahead of all those other guys,&rdquo; lafrate said. &ldquo;I want to show they were right in doing it.&rdquo;<h2>TORONTO</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>None.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Ed Olczyk, Tom Fergus, Dave Hannan, Dan Daoust.LW&mdash;Mark Osborne, Vincent Damphousse, Dave Reid, John McIntyre.RW&mdash;Gary Leeman, Lou Franceschetti, John Kordic.LD&mdash;Brad Marsh, Todd Gill, Luke Richardson, Brian Curran, Darryl Shannon.RD&mdash;Al lafrate, Rob Ramage, Tom Kurvers.G&mdash;Allan Bester, Mark Laforest.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Wendel Clark, LW, bruised left knee, day-to-day.Daniel Marois, RW, slightly dislocated left shoulder, day-to-day<h3>LEADERS</h3>G&mdash;Marois, 12. A&mdash;Damphousse, 15. P&mdash;Marois. 25. PIM&mdash;Kordic, 61. &#9632;

IAFRATE VOWS TO PROVE HE CAN BE CONSISTENT

<div class="byline">BY KEITH GAVE</div>Convicted drug smuggler Bob Probert, currently serving a 90-day sentence in a federal prison, could be back in the Red Wings&rsquo; lineup as early as March 5, under terms of a ruling by NHL president John Ziegler.On Nov. 8, Ziegler announced Probert&rsquo;s previously indefinite expulsion would run until Feb. 7, 1990, the day he is scheduled to finish a 90-day federal prison sentence at a facility in Rochester, Minn. The expulsion will then be reduced to a suspension that will extend to Nov. 7, 1990. But it could be commuted to conclude March 5, the one-year anniversary of Probert&rsquo;s expulsion from the NHL and two days after the date in 1988 he was arrested for smuggling a packet of cocaine into the United States across the Windsor-Detroit Tunnel.Ziegler met with Probert and Wings&rsquo; officials for two hours in a Dearborn, Mich., hotel and came away impressed with Probert&rsquo;s commitment to rehabilitation, saying he believed &ldquo;Mr. Probert stands a very good chance of becoming a responsible citizen.&ldquo;Even so, with illegal drugs we accept no excuse. If you are involved with illegal drugs you will be suspended. This has been the league&rsquo;s policy for over 11 years. It has been endorsed by ownership and the Players&rsquo; Association. This policy must be applied.&ldquo;In reaching this decision, I am not unmindful that Mr. Probert has paid a very severe price to this date. He will have lost in excess of $200,000 in salary, and will have to expend upwards of $90,000 in legal fees.&rdquo;Not to mention the nearly eight months Probert spent in a rehabilitation center 50 miles north of Detroit, and the three-month term in the Minnesota prison he began Nov. 7.&ldquo;It is indeed a heavy price to indulge in illegal drugs,&rdquo; Ziegler said, &ldquo;and should once again serve as a clear warning to all our employees, &lsquo;If you are invovled with illegal drugs, you will be suspended.&rsquo;&rdquo;Ziegler said a copy of his ruling would be sent to every NHL player.Probert&rsquo;s suspension could be commuted if he fulfils terms of a three-year federal probation, Ziegler said, adding the Wings must formally request Probert be reinstated and represent to the NHL Probert has honored the probation and &ldquo;any condition the club itself might impose,&rdquo; such as drug testing.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re very pleased,&rdquo; coach Jacques Demers said, before learning Ziegler had ordered all officials of every NHL club not to comment on the ruling. &ldquo;He (Probert) means a lot to our hockey club.&ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t know how much time Bob would be out. Now we know it&rsquo;s one year. We will have a month to get him in shape if everything else goes all right for him.&rdquo;The most important hurdle Probert must now clear is with U.S. Immigration officials. An immigration judge will rule some time in December whether Probert will be deported or allowed to leave the country voluntarily, which would hasten his chances of returning to work in the United States.&ldquo;From what we hear from his counsellors, he&rsquo;s made such great progress in his personal life,&rdquo; Demers said. &ldquo;If that continues on, there is the possibility Bob Probert can play hockey in March.&rdquo;<h2>DETROIT</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>None.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Steve Yzerman, Jimmy Carson, Bernie Federko, John Chabot.LW&mdash;Gerard Gallant, Shawn Burr, Torrie Robertson.RW&mdash;Joey Kocur, Marc Habscheid. Brent Fedyk, Kevin McClelland, Dave Barr, Daniel Shank.LD&mdash;Steve Chiasson, Borje Salming, John Mokosak.RD&mdash;Rick Zombo, Mike O&rsquo;Connell, Doug Houda.G&mdash;Glen Hanlon, Greg Stefan.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Tony McKegney, LW, groin pull, indefinite.Jim Niti, RW, groin pull, day-to-day.Lee Norwood, D, hip pointer, day-to-day.<h3>LEADERS</h3>G&mdash;Yzerman, 9. A&mdash;Yzerman, 17. P&mdash;Yzerman. 26. PIM&mdash;Gallant, 54 &#9632;

PROBERT COULD BE PLAYING IN NHL BY MARCH

<div class="byline">BY TIM SASSONE</div>The last thing Steve Larmer wants is to be the center of attention.The Chicago Blackhawks&rsquo; right winger doesn&rsquo;t say much in the dressing room, preferring to let his play on the ice do the talking.Like it or not, Larmer was beginning to draw some attention when he scored only four goals in the Hawks&rsquo; first 18 games.But quicker than the flash of a red light. Larmer came out of his slump. He scored ft - goals in the Hawks&rsquo; next three games, including two game-winners. Larmer had back-to-back two-goal games, Nov. 11 in a 5-3 win over the Islanders and Nov. 12 in a 4-2 victory over Hartford.The goals were welcome to the Hawks, who have come to depend on Larmer&rsquo;s offense through the years. In seven seasons in the NHL he&rsquo;s averaged 38 goals, and has gone over the 40 mark four times. He has never scored fewer than 28 goals in a season. He had 276 goals in 588 games.&ldquo;It was only a matter of time before a player the calibre of Steve Larmer came out of his mini-scoring slump,&rdquo; said coach Mike Keenan.&ldquo;I was thinking about it a little,&rdquo; Larmer said. &ldquo;It was just a lack of concentration at the net. I was thinking &lsquo;Pass&rsquo; instead of &lsquo;Shoot,&rsquo; and it was getting me in trouble.&rdquo;As Larmer began to shoot a little more, he also found his luck changed.&ldquo;I think I&rsquo;ve always been getting my chances. They&rsquo;re just starting to go in now,&rdquo; Larmer said. &ldquo;Earlier they were going off posts, or legs, or sticks, or missing the net by inches or feet. I&rsquo;m just concentrating on hitting the net a little more.&rdquo;&ldquo;He knows he has to shoot the puck to score,&rdquo; Keenan said. &ldquo;The big thing with him is he reads the play so well.&rdquo;All five of Larmer&rsquo;s goals in his three-game streak were set up by linemate Denis Savard, who also found it a struggle to score goals. Savard had six in the first 21 games.&ldquo;We (Savard and Larmer) have been playing good games; we just haven&rsquo;t found ways to score,&rdquo; Savard said. &ldquo;I know they need us to score to win games, but with everyone else playing so well it hasn&rsquo;t been that important.&rdquo;Greg Gilbert, whc plays left wing with Savard and Larmer most of the time, said the team is better when his linemates are on their game.&ldquo;When Savvy and Larms are dangling with the puck, we get things going,&rdquo; Gilbert said. &ldquo;When Denis is on it opens everything up and gives us a chance to go to the net.&rdquo;Larmer&rsquo;s slow start in the goal department didn&rsquo;t affect the rest of his game. He continued to be one of the Hawks&rsquo; best defensive forwards and penalty killers.And he never misses a game. The Nov. 12 game against Hartford was his 581st straight, moving him past John Wilson into fifth place on the NHL&rsquo;s all-time consecutive games list.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know what it is,&rdquo; Larmer said. &ldquo;Everyone gets bumps and bruises, and you play with them. I just keep taking it one game at a time and see where it goes.&rdquo;<h2>CHICAGO</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Nov. 12: Cam Russell, D. recalled from Indianapolis (IHL).<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Denis Savard, Troy Murray, Adam Creighton, Jeremy RoenickLW&mdash;Greg Gilbert, Steve Thomas, Mike Hudson, Wayne Van Dorp, Al SecordRW&mdash;Steve Larmer Dirk Graham, Wayne Presley, Duane Sutter, Brian Noonan.LD&mdash;Doug Wilson, Steve Konroyd, Cam Russell, RD&mdash;Dave Manson. Keith Brown. Bob Murray, G&mdash;Jacques Cloutier, Alain Chevrier.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Bob McGill, D, broken cheekbone, Nov. 22.Darren Pang, G, left knee surgery, out for season.Trent Yawney, D, bruised kidney, indefinite<h3>LEADERS</h3>G&mdash;T. Murray, 12. A&mdash;Savard, 18. P&mdash;T. Murray, 25. PIM&mdash;Van Dorp. 62. &#9632;

IRONMAN LARMER BREAKS OUT OF SCORING SLUMP

<div class="byline">BY DAVE LUECKING</div>Less than an hour after the St. Louis Blues traded defenseman Brian Benning tq the Los Angeles Kings Nov. 10 for a third-round draft choice in 1991, he made a scheduled autograph session.It was a strange scene, a Los Angeles King making a public appearance co-sponsored by the St. Louis Blues and a soda company. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t look at it like that.&rdquo; Benning said, explaining he didn&rsquo;t want to back out at the last minute.&ldquo;He showed a lot of professionalism,&rdquo; said goaltender Greg Millen.Benning didn&rsquo;t play in his last 19 days with the Blues, making for some uncomfortable times in the dressing room. He was on the roster, but not really part of the team. He practised but never played.&ldquo;He knew something was going to happen, but he didn&rsquo;t sulk,&rdquo; Millen said.Benning put on a happy face, just as he did the night of the trade, keeping the autograph session lighthearted and fun, not mentioning the Kings or the fact he had been traded.One youngster asked for an autographed picture for his teacher. &ldquo;Is this for extra brownie points? Are you in the doghouse, too?&rdquo; Benning asked.Blues&rsquo; coach Brion Sutter repeatedly denied Benning fell into disfavor with him, but there appeared to be no other explanation for Benning&rsquo;s long stretches between games.Benning, the Blues&rsquo; first pick in 1984, had not played since St. Louis&rsquo; 6-1 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers Oct. 24. He sat out the first game of the season, played the next seven and didn&rsquo;t play again. In the seven games he did sit out, the Blues won four and tied three.Benning, 23, knew his days as a Blue were numbered.&ldquo;You can only sit out so long before you can read the writing on the wall.&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It was tough for me. My first two years, I was a big part of the team until last year and now.&ldquo;I feel I can play and contribute.&rdquo;It became obvious a long time ago he could no longer play with the Blues, even though he led the team&rsquo;s defensemen in scoring the last three seasons with 49, 37 and 34 points. His offensive style did not fit into the Blues&rsquo; defensive scheme. He was considered a defensive liability, and the coaches ran out of patience.He had a goal and an assist in seven games, but was benched after a minus-3 performance against the Flyers.&ldquo;It became apparent that Brian did not fit into our style of play and future plans,&rdquo; general manager Ron Caron said. &ldquo;He will certainly recover his offensive skills with Los Angeles.&rdquo;Benning declined comment about Sutter, but said he was grateful to Caron for &ldquo;bringing me to St. Louis, for four great years and for moving me to a team suited to my style of play.&rdquo;He&rsquo;ll also play on the same team as Wayne Gretzky, his hero when he was a youngster in Edmonton.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m looking forward to that,&rdquo; Benning said. &ldquo;I just want to do my best.&rdquo;Benning did his best at hiding the trade during his appearance, until a man came in and said he had heard on the radio Benning had been traded.&ldquo;Yeah, but don&rsquo;t tell nobody,&rdquo; Benning said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a secret.&rdquo;<h2>ST. LOUIS</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Nov. 7: Kelly Chase, RW, recalled from Peoria (IHL).Nov. 10: Robert Dirk, D, assigned to Peoria. Brian Benning, D, traded to Los Angeles for a third-round pick in the 1991 entry draft.Nov. 13: Tony Twist, D, and Doug Evans, LW, recalled from Peoria.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Peter Zezel, Adam Oates, Rick Meagher, Tony Hrkac.LW&mdash;Dave Lowry, Rod Brin&rsquo;Amour, Sergio Momesso, Gino Cavallini, Doug Evans.RW&mdash;Brett Hull, Paul MacLean, Steve Tuttle, Kelly Chase.LD&mdash;Mike Lalor, Gordie Roberts, Glen Featherstone, Tony Twist.RD&mdash;Paul Cavallini, Tom Tilley, Randy Skarda.G&mdash;Greg Millen, Vincent Riendeau.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Todd Ewen, RW, broken bone in right hand, Nov. 19-26.Herb Raglan, RW, broken right wrist, indefinite.<h3>LEADERS</h3>G&mdash;Hull, 15. A&mdash;Oates, 17. P&mdash;Hull, 24. PIM&mdash; Lowry, 29. &#9632;

BENNING SIGNS OFF WITHOUT A BLUE NOTE

<div class="byline">BY GARY OLSON</div>Neal Broten has built his career pass by pass, but now he&rsquo;s being asked to pass on the pass and shoot more.Can the character actor take the leading role?&ldquo;If Neal shoots like he should, he&rsquo;ll be the all-around player we think he can be,&rdquo; Minnesota North Stars&rsquo; coach Pierre Page said. &ldquo;There aren&rsquo;t too many players who can play defense and offense, but he can. Among our penalty killers he&rsquo;s either No. 1 or No. 2.&ldquo;If you look at (Montreal assistant general manager) Jacques Lemaire&rsquo;s criteria for an NHL player&mdash;one who can skate, shoot, has hockey sense and drive&mdash;it&rsquo;s almost like he&rsquo;s describing Neal Broten.&ldquo;Neal&rsquo;s intensity has always been pointed toward making a play but now we&rsquo;d like him to focus some of that intensity on taking a shot.&rdquo;As of Nov. 14, Broten was one goal short of 200 for his career and one assist away from 400&mdash;a perfect reflection of a nine-season, 577-game career with the North Stars&mdash;two assists for every goal.Broten was the North Stars&rsquo; scoring leader through 18 games with six goals and 18 assists. He was also the center between left winger Brian Bellows and right winger Mike Gartner on the Stars&rsquo; top scoring line, one of the quickest in hockey.&ldquo;You can tell Neal&rsquo;s excited again,&rdquo; assistant coach and former teammate Craig Hartsburg said. &ldquo;The combination of injuries and the team&rsquo;s struggle the last few seasons had taken some of the fun out of the game.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s playing as well now as he ever has and he&rsquo;s doing it at both ends of the ice. Neal doesn&rsquo;t get much credit for the work he does in our end but he&rsquo;s one of our best defensive forwards.&rdquo;An assortment of injuries&mdash;most associated with a severely injured shoulder&mdash;cost Broten most of the 1986-87 and &rsquo;87-88 seasons. A year ago, for the first time in his career, Broten was on the trading block as the team struggled at the start.&ldquo;Hockey&rsquo;s a business only if you think of it as a business,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;If you think it&rsquo;s fun, it&rsquo;s fun.&ldquo;Even after nine years, I still have fun. I don&rsquo;t like getting cross-checked or slashed&mdash;I hate that&mdash;but I love the 1-on-l confrontations in the corners, at both ends of the ice. I feel good and I feel strong. I&rsquo;m having fun again.&rdquo;Broten turns 30 Nov. 29, but he hasn&rsquo;t looked far enough ahead to see the end of his career. He said he&rsquo;ll play as long as his legs feel strong. There aren&rsquo;t many players quicker.&ldquo;It takes all my energy to play the game the way I play it,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;If part of my body doesn&rsquo;t feel right, it&rsquo;s hard to play the way I can.&ldquo;I love to be on the ice and the more I play, the stronger I feel. Sure, there are games when it feels like I&rsquo;m dragging a plow, but there are other games when everything feels great.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t feel any pressure anymore. After Bobby Smith was traded (October, 1983), I felt pressure because Dino (Ciccarelli) and I were the only guys scoring for a while. Now, we have a lot of guys who can score goals.&rdquo;But not many who can pass like Broten.<h2>MINNESOTA</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Nov. 9: Rob Zettler, D, recalled from Kalamazoo (IHL).<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Neal Broten, Mike Modano, Dave Gagner, Bob Brooke.LW&mdash;Brian Bellows, Basil McRae, Perry Berezan, Curt Fraser.RW&mdash;Mike Gartner, Clark Donatelli. Stewart Gavin. Helmut Balderis.LD&mdash;Ville Siren, Mark Tinordi, Rob Zettler, Neil Wilkinson, Ken Leiter, Frantisek Musil.RD&mdash;Larry Murphy, Shawn Chambers, Curt Giles.G&mdash;Jon Casey, Kari Takko.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Shane Churla, RW, bruised right hand, day-to-day.Gaetan Duchesne, LW, sprained right knee, indefinite.Dave Mackey, LW, tom right thumb ligaments, Nov. 27-Dec. 4.Frantisek Musil, D, back spasms, day-to-day.Nell Wilkinson, D, bruised left instep, day-to-day.<h3>LEADERS</h3>G&mdash;Bellows, 13, A&mdash;Broten, 18. P&mdash;Broten. 24. PIM&mdash;Churla, 55 &#9632;

BROTEN’S ROLE: SHOOT MORE, PASS LESS

<div class="byline">BARRY MEISEL</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-011361/5751008-1-eng-US/f0013-012.jpg" title="f0013-01" width="505" height="632"></div>Who invented the sorry notion that coaches are hired to be fired? It must have been some insecure general manager who, in his heart of hearts, couldn&rsquo;t differentiate between his team&rsquo;s assets and its elbow pads.While it&rsquo;s true certain coaches are right only for certain teams, the best coaches, like the best players, fit into any system. Al Arbour hasn&rsquo;t lasted 16 seasons because Bill Torrey gets him players he can teach. Al Arbour has lasted 16 seasons because he can teach whomever Bill Torrey gets (which these days isn&rsquo;t much).But GMs get antsy because their owners get antsy because the fans get antsy. More often than not, a short-sighted view obscures the proper long-term approach. If Jim Schoenfeld was not the right man to coach the Devils on Nov. 6, the day Lou Lamoriello fired him, how was he the right man to coach the Devils on Jan. 26, 1988, the day Lamoriello fired Doug Carpenter and hired him?To be fair, let&rsquo;s allow for the possibility that some personality conflict festered behind New Jersey&rsquo;s closed executive doors. But if the Lamoriello-Schoenfeld marriage was severed by irreconcilable differences, it was a pretty well-kept secret. Lamoriello simply said he didn&rsquo;t like the direction in which the Devils were going, which is about as vacuous a statement as a GM can make.Was Schoenfeld a good coach or a bad coach? He was a supremely confident man whom many saw as arrogant. He was a very motivated man, which rubbed off on some of his impressionable players. He was a very demanding man, which turned off some of his softer players. He was a very spirited man, a carryover from his playing days with Buffalo, Detroit and Boston.He assumed control of the Devils with 30 games to go in the 1987-88 season, Lamoriello&rsquo;s first season as GM. He won his first three games, lost eight of his next 12, then had Sean Burke, whom the Devils drafted when Lamoriello was still athletic director at Providence College, thrown in his lap. The Devils finished 10-4-1, won their last five, and squeezed the Rangers and Penguins out of the playoffs on the final night of the season.So Schoenfeld was a good coach.The suddenly macho Devils bullied the Patrick Division-winning Islanders out of the first round in six games. Then they eliminated the cursed Capitals in seven games to reach the Final Four.So Schoenfeld was a great coach. It didn&rsquo;t matter that the Bruins halted Cinderella&rsquo;s carriage ride in the seventh game of the Wales Conference finals. Schoenfeld had done what his GM asked.He won, baby.Then came 1988-89. Throughout Cinderella&rsquo;s 27-41-12 season after, Mr. Motivator constantly complained that his team had lost its hunger, its work ethic. The Devils dropped into fifth place Nov. 29 and didn&rsquo;t budge.So Schoenfeld was not such a great coach.Lamoriello decided to take action. He traded Pat Verbeek to Hartford for Sylvain Turgeon. He traded Joe Cirella and Claude Loiselle to Quebec for Walt Poddubny. He signed free-agent Finn Reijo Ruotsalainen. He imported Soviet defensemen Viacheslav Fetisov and Sergei Starikov.In one sweeping summer he turned the Devils from a mucking, grinding, grit-your-teeth crew to the United Nations on speed skates. And then he gave his coach 14 games to get it right. Henry Kissinger would have needed more time.The Devils were second in the Patrick with a record of 6-6-2. What atrocity had Schoenfeld committed? Well Fetisov wasn&rsquo;t playing like &ldquo;the Soviets&rsquo; Bobby Orr,&rdquo; so Schoenfeld benched him for parts of two games and sat him out of another.And you know how it is when the high-priced talent doesn&rsquo;t produce what&rsquo;s expected. The guy behind the bench gets blamed.So Schoenfeld is an ex-coach, replaced by an assistant, John Cunniff, whom Lamoriello hired last summer. Lamoriello emphatically denied that Cunniff was hired so he could pull the trigger on Schoenfeld whenever he wanted, but it sure looks that way.Lamoriello fired Schoenfeld less than two years after he hired him. That speaks volumes more about the GM&rsquo;s ability to manage the Devils than 6-6-2 says about Schoenfeld&rsquo;s ability to coach.Lamoriello was no more a genius in 1987-88 than he was a dummy in 1988-89. He is simply another supremely confident executive with a plan that needs time to work.He&rsquo;s the GM, so he automatically gets time. His cushion got a little warm in October, so he bought himself more time by firing the guy who helped him win in the first place.One way or the other, for hiring him or firing him, he doesn&rsquo;t sound too shrewd to me. &#9632;

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LAMORIELLO NO SMARTER FOR FIRING SCHOENFELD

<h2>NORDIQUES</h2>Guy Lafleur&rsquo;s game-winning goal against the Canucks Nov. 11 was the 544th of his career, tying him with Maurice Richard for eighth on the all-time goal scoring list&hellip;Peter Stastny was selected the Nordiques&rsquo; offensive player of the first quarter. Stastny passed Jacques Lemaire, to move into 41st place on the all-time goal list with his 367th goal against the Islanders Nov. 9&hellip;Strange but true: Jeff Brown and the Nordiques were to begin contract negotiations&hellip;Rumors have been circulating the Nordiques will soon send Soviet goalie Sergei Mylnikov to Halifax of the American League. As of Nov. 13, Mylnikov has appeared in just two games with the Nords&hellip;Paul Gillis continued to recover well from Guillain&mdash;Barre syndrome. He scored once Nov. 8 in the 6-3 loss to New Jersey and twice the next night in the 7-5 win over the Islanders.<h2>WHALERS</h2>The Whalers tied a franchise record by winning four consecutive road games, but couldn&rsquo;t break the mark&mdash;they lost 4-2 in Chicago Nov. 12&mdash;set in March 1986. Heading into the game against the Blackhawks, the Whalers had won games in New Jersey (Oct. 26), Boston (Oct. 28), Detroit (Nov. 3) and Winnipeg (Nov. 10)&hellip;Whalers&rsquo; GM Ed Johnston has had his eye on struggling Craig Simpson of the Edmonton Oilers, but didn&rsquo;t think a trade was imminent. &ldquo;I&rsquo;d be surprised if Slats (Edmonton GM Glen Sather) will trade him,&rdquo; said Johnston&hellip;Johnston on the early-season plight of his former Pittsburgh Penguins: &ldquo;Basically, I don&rsquo;t give a (expletive deleted).&rdquo;&hellip;The Whalers were pleased with the progress of injured defenseman Ulf Samuelsson. Samuelsson, who underwent knee surgery in August, was originally scheduled to be out until January, but the Whalers were confident he&rsquo;d be back in the lineup by early December.<h2>BRUINS</h2>After missing the first 14 games of the season recovering from surgery to correct a circulatory problem, Ken Linseman returned to the Bruins&rsquo; line-up Nov. 9 against the Edmonton Oilers. In the 6-2 win, Linseman netted a goal and an assist&hellip;Cam Neely was forced to leave the Edmonton game in the first period after suffering a right knee bruise. It wasn&rsquo;t believed to be serious, although he did miss a game in Washington the next night&hellip; Defenseman-tumed-forward Greg Hawgood netted two goals in his first three games at center. &ldquo;This is still in the experimental stage, but it&rsquo;s looked good,&rdquo; said coach Mike Milbury. &ldquo;Right now, I see no reason to back off from it.&rdquo;&hellip;Bob Sweeney scored his first career hat trick in the win over Edmonton&hellip;Left winger Bob Joyce had no points after 13 games-&hellip;Defenseman Ray Bourque had been held scoreless in just three of the Bruins&rsquo; first 16 games this season.<h2>CANADIENS</h2>Canadiens&rsquo; coach Pat Bums had a run-in with Presse Canadienne reporter Guy Robillard after the Canadiens tied the Blues 1-1 in St. Louis Nov. 9. Bums had to be restrained from going after the reporter on the team bus after Robillard had complained to press relations officer Michele Lapointe that Burns was being uncooperative. Robillard wanted to find out why Jean-Jacques Daigneault was not being used on the point on the power play. Bums told Robillard on the bus that it was his job to coach the team, not that of the reporter&hellip;Russ Courtnall snapped out of a goal-scoring slump by banking two shots off the skates of former teammate Mike Lalor in a 3-3 tie against St. Louis Nov. 6 at Montreal. &ldquo;So much for the slapshot,&rdquo; joked Courtnall, who scored Montreal&rsquo;s lone goal in the draw at St. Louis and added two in a 5-4 loss to the Kings Nov. 11&hellip;There are rumblings Rick Green, who retired from the Canadiens before naming camp, misses his paycheck and wants to return. The word is Green wants to play, but not with the Canadiens, who really don&rsquo;t have a place for him anyway&hellip;Defenseman Donald Dufresne returned to the Canadiens&rsquo; lineup Nov. 8 against the Rangers after being sidelined more than a month with a shoulder separation suffered Oct. 5 in the Canadiens&rsquo; season opener at Hartford&hellip;Finnish defenseman Jyrki Lumme sat out all three games of the Canadiens&rsquo; road trip to New York, St. Louis and Los Angeles.<h2>SABRES</h2>Sabres&rsquo;defenseman Phil Housley, off to a slow start this season, had points in each of four games from Nov. 5 to Nov. 12, scoring three goals and five assists&hellip;Defenseman Doug Bodger, back after missing nearly two weeks with a knee sprain, had two points in each of his two starts since returning&hellip;Pierre Turgeon continued his climb through the league scoring ranks with three straight multiple-point games from Nov. 8 to Nov. 12. Turgeon had multiple-point outings in five of his last eight games and nine of 18 games this season&hellip; Alexandr Mogilny brought the house down with a stunning powerplay goal against the Vancouver Canucks Nov. 10 and former Soviet national team teammates Igor Larionov and Vladimir Krutov. &ldquo;Wasn&rsquo;t much,&rdquo; kidded Bodger, &ldquo;all he did was go through three guys and beat the goalie.&rdquo;&hellip; Sabres&rsquo; coach Rick Dudley on Mike Ramsey: &ldquo;I think he&rsquo;s the best defensive defenseman in the National Hockey League. I&rsquo;d like to see somebody show me better.&rdquo; Ramsey missed the Edmonton game (a 6-5 Sabres&rsquo; win Nov. 12) with a hand injury. &#9632;

THE FLOWER TIES THE ROCKET

A center for three NHL clubs between 1958 and 1971, Earl Ingarfield, 55, now lives in Lethbridge, Alta., and is a scout in the New York Islanders&rsquo; organization. The first position player chosen in the 1967 expansion draft (by Pittsburgh), Ingarfield says being picked was inevitable: &ldquo;I knew the Rangers weren&rsquo;t going to protect me, but I really enjoyed my time in Pittsburgh.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-02983/5751063-1-eng-US/f0013-022.jpg" title="f0013-02" width="533" height="393"><figcaption class="caption-body">Earl Ingarfield</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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THEN & NOW

<div class="byline">BY KEVIN JOHNSTON</div>It&rsquo;s not hard to overlook Ron Tugnutt.After all, the 22-year-old Scarborough. Ont., native is the smallest Quebec Nordique at 5-foot-11, 155 pounds.But the Nordiques have begun to recognize the goalie&rsquo;s contribution; his play has been one of the few positive notes in the team&rsquo;s largely negative start.After 18 games, Tugnutt was 5-6-0 with a 3.45 goals-against average. The team was winless when he wasn&rsquo;t the goalie of record (0-6-1) and had an overall GAA of 4.31.Tugnutt was named the Nordiques&rsquo; top defensive player of the season&rsquo;s first quarter. And his workload will likely increase, since coach Michel Bergeron likes to go with his hottest goalie.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m the type of player who thrives when he plays often. I want to play as many games as possible,&rdquo; said Tugnutt.Bergeron said Tugnutt will remain the No. 1 goaltender until he plays his way out of the role. Previously, the coach had been reluctant to choose a top goaltender from his trio of Tugnutt, Stephane Fiset and Sergei Mylnikov.Despite the off-season claims by general manager Martin Madden that Tugnutt was No. 1, Fiset was in goal Oct. 5, when the season began for the Nordiques in Buffalo.&ldquo;I never told you guys, but I know you had guessed it,&rdquo; said Tugnutt. &ldquo;I was very disappointed when Michel gave the nod to Stephane, I thought I should have started the season opener.&rdquo;But he didn&rsquo;t, and that gave him incentive to convince Bergeron he was the team&rsquo;s best goalie.&ldquo;I knew that I had to fight for my job,&rdquo; said Tugnutt.Now, Tugnutt must prove he&rsquo;s up to the workload.&ldquo;I know I&rsquo;m not the biggest or the strongest goalie in the NHL,&rdquo; said Tugnutt. &ldquo;but I&rsquo;m convinced I can hold my own. The schedule is not that heavy. There nearly always seems to be a day off between games. And I&rsquo;m in good physical condition. So I don&rsquo;t foresee any major problems in the future.&rdquo;Tugnutt is a fan favorite, in part because of his love for the city. Unlike many non-French-speaking Nordiques, he has frequently expressed a liking for life in Quebec City.<h2>QUEBEC</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Nov. 6: Bryan Fogarty, D, liro Jarvi, LW, and Jaroslav Sevcik, LW, recalled from Halifax (AHL).Nov. 8: Mark Vermette, RW, recalled from Halifax.Nov. 9: Jean-Marc Routhier, RW, recalled from Halifax.Nov. 11: Routhier assigned to Halifax.Nov. 13: Routhier recalled from Halifax.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;&mdash;Peter Stastny, Joe Sakic, Ken McRae, Lucien Deblois.LW&mdash;Jeff Jackson, Jaroslav Sevcik, lira Jarvi.RW&mdash;Guy Lafleur, Marc Fortier, Daniel Dore, Mark Vermette, Jean-Marc Routhier.LD&mdash;Bryan Fogarty, Jari Gronstrand, Steven Finn. Robert Picard.RD&mdash;Joe Cirella, Jeff Brown.G&mdash;Ron Tugnutt, Stephane Fiset, Sergei Mylnikov.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Michel Goulet, LW, sprained right ankle, indefinite.Stephane Guerard. D, right knee sprain, indefinite.Mike Hough, LW, left shoulder sprain, day-to-day.Darin Kimble. RW, bruised ribs, day-to-day.David Latta. LW, left knee sprain, indefinite.Curtis Leschyshyn, D, left knee bruise, day-to-dayClaude Loiselle, C, left shoulder sprain, day-to-day.Mario Marois, D, right shoulder bruise, day-to-day.Michel Petit, D, sprained back, day-to-day.<h3>LEADERS</h3>G&mdash;Stastny, 12. A&mdash;Stastny, 15. P&mdash; Stastny, 27. PIM&mdash;Dore, 49. &#9632;

TUGNUTT EARNS THE JOB OF NO. 1 GOALTENDER

<div class="byline">BY KAREN GUREGIAN</div>The Boston Bruins had the least productive offense in the league, with just 42 goals to their credit after 14 games.On Nov. 4, Milbury put together a makeshift line of Bobby Carpenter at center. Randy Burridge on left wing and Bob Sweeney on right wing.In their first three games (3-3 tie with Buffalo Nov. 4. 6-2 win over Edmonton Nov. 9 and 5-3 win over Washington Nov. 10), the line accounted for 13 points. Sweeney and Carpenter had three goals each and Burridge scored twice. Sweeney and Burridge also had two assists each in the three games.&ldquo;They&rsquo;re really getting to be a good line.&rdquo; Milbury said. &ldquo;You don&rsquo;t know when you throw a line together if they will feel good playing together. But on this line, they are finding each other on the ice.&rdquo;Sweeney netted his first career hat trick in the victory over the Oilers.&ldquo;He is playing unbelievable hockey.&rdquo; Ray Bourque said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve never seen him play as well as he has The past few weeks.&rdquo;With the hat trick. Sweeney upped his season&rsquo;s goal total to five.And Carpenter scored a pair of goals against Washington.&ldquo;I think Bobby has had a great start to the season,&rdquo; Milbury said. &ldquo;When he&rsquo;s involved physically, he&rsquo;s a really good player for us. If he can start lighting it up again, that will make the burden easier for everyone else.&rdquo;The burden was created with the absence of center Ken Linseman for the first 14 games of the season. And it was aggravated by the current absence of center Craig Janney, not expected to return until sometime in December because of a groin injury.The only player who had been scoring with any consistency was Cam Neely, but he was forced out of the lineup with a knee injury in the Edmonton game.So Milbury called for more production out of guys like Sweeney, Carpenter and Burridge. who weren&rsquo;t putting the puck in the net with any regularity.Together, they&rsquo;ve done the job.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know what it is.&rdquo; said Burridge. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re just clicking real well. I think maybe it all comes down to confidence. If you say to yourself you can score, you&rsquo;ll go out there thinking you can.&rdquo;Milbury told his players the only way to score is to take shots.&lsquo;The coaches have been after me to shoot more.&rdquo; Sweeney said. &ldquo;I tend to like to try to make a better play to take the defenseman down. In the long run, though, it&rsquo;s better to just shoot.&rdquo;<h2>BOSTON</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Nov. 9: Ron Hoover, C, assigned to Maine (AHL).Nov. 10: Stephane Quintal, D, assigned to Maine for conditioning, Mike Millar, RW, recalled from Maine.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Bob Carpenter, Ken Linseman, Andy Brickley, Greg Hawgood.LW&mdash;Randy Burridge, Bob Joyce, Robert Cimetta, John Carter.RW&mdash;Bob Sweeney, Mike Millar, Lyndorf Byers, Bob Gould.RD&mdash;Ray Bourque, Garry Galley, Jim Wiemer.LD&mdash;Glen Wesley, Allen Pedersen Don Sweeney.G&mdash;Reggie Lemelin, Andy Moog.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Craig Janney, C, right groin pull, indefinite.Gord Kluzak, D, left knee surgery, indefinite.Nevin Markwart, RW, dislocated left shoulder, day-to-day.Cam Neely, RW, bruised right knee, day-to-day.Michael Thelven D, right knee surgery, indefinite.<h3>LEADERS</h3>G&mdash;Neely, 10. A&mdash;Bourque. 23. P&mdash;Bourque. 24 PIM&mdash;Byers, 31 &#9632;

MAKESHIFT LINE TAKES CHARGE

<div class="byline">BY JEFF JACOBS</div>Dave Tippett was in a joking mood.The surgery performed on his right thumb, he said, may have loosened some concrete in his hand and improved his scoring touch.On Nov. 10 in Winnipeg, the left winger slammed the winning goal past Jets&rsquo; goalie Daniel Berthiaume with 2:39 left to lead the Whalers to their fourth successive road win.If it hadn&rsquo;t hurt so much, Tippett would have given the thumbs-up sign and had a good chuckle.In only his second game back from the injury, Tippett played the rebound of a Dean Evason shot off the rear boards and scored the decisive goal of a 4-2 victory over the Jets. But on the final shift, when Mike Tomlak scored his first NHL goal into an empty net, Tippett felt a bad twinge in the thumb that was operated upon Oct. 9.&ldquo;I jammed it on the last shift. I was a little worried,&rdquo; Tippett said. &ldquo;It was throbbing the same way as when I hurt it bad. But they came in and checked it and the tendon is still attached and everything.&ldquo;I hope it&rsquo;s okay. Just a bump, right?&rdquo;The next morning on the flight to Chicago, Tippett&rsquo;s thumb was fat and swollen. Still, he was in the lineup for the 4-2 loss to the Blackhawks Nov. 12.&ldquo;Tippy&rsquo;s not coming out of the lineup, even if I have to administer the injections myself,&rdquo; said coach Rick Ley. &ldquo;We need guys like him. He&rsquo;s a winner.&rdquo;To say Tippett is willing to play hurt is a gross understatement. He&rsquo;s like one of those soldiers in a &lsquo;B&rsquo; war movie who gets rattled with bullets and keeps charging.He once played with a broken left thumb.And he played with his nose broken in five places, after it was hit by a shot in practice.Prior to Oct. 8, when he sat out a game against Quebec because of the thumb injury, Tippett had never missed an NHL contest. He had appeared in 419 in a row.The injury occurred opening night, Oct. 5, against the Montreal Canadiens. Tippett ripped tendon from bone in his right thumb when he fell in pile of bodies.That would have been it for most other guys. Tippett, however, said nothing publicly about his thumb and played the entire second game of the season against Minnesota Oct. 7.&ldquo;But I couldn&rsquo;t hold the stick. It was no use playing if I couldn&rsquo;t help the team,&rdquo; Tippett said. &ldquo;Part of my thumb was going one way and part of it was going the other. I had no control.&rdquo;The tendon was repaired, a pin inserted and a huge cast was placed on his hand.Nobody was quite sure if the cast needed to be that big or it was the team physicians&rsquo; way of making sure Tippett didn&rsquo;t try to sneak back into the lineup too soon.His teammates know that wouldn&rsquo;t be beyond Tippett.&ldquo;Do teams get their money&rsquo;s worth out of Tippett or what?&rdquo; said Kevin Dineen. &ldquo;His work ethic and dedication are incredible.&rdquo;<h2>HARTFORD</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Nov. 6: Steve Dykstra, D, recalled from Binghamton (AHL).<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Dean Evason, Ray Ferraro, Ron Francis, Mike Tomlak.LW&mdash;Pat Verbeek, Mikael Andersson, Dave Tippett, Chris Govedaris, Marc Laforge, Brian Lawton.RW&mdash;Paul MacDermid, Scott Young, Kevin Dineen, Jody Hull, Ed Kastelic.LD&mdash;Joel Quenneville, Steve Dykstra, Adam Burt, Grant Jennings.RD&mdash;Dave Babych, Randy Ladouceur.G&mdash;Mike Liut, Peter Sidorkiewicz.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Sylvain Cote. D, broken toe, indefinite.Ulf Samuelsson, D, knee surgery, indefinite.Brad Shaw, D, back spasms, day-to-day.<h3>LEADERS</h3>G&mdash;Verbeek, 12. A&mdash;Francis, 17. P&mdash;Francis, 26. PIM&mdash;Verbeek, 54. &#9632;

TIPPETT ALL THUMBS, BUT NOT AROUND NET

Jamie Hartman is an eight-year-old right winger for the minor novice AAA team of the Brantford (Ont.) Minor Hockey Association.The 4-foot-5, 56-pounder is in his fourth year of organized hockey. Last season, he had 30 goals and 15 assists in 18 games with his Brantford team.Jamie sharpened his hockey skills last summmer by attending a hockey school which was coached in part by Keith Gretzky of the International League&rsquo;s Phoenix Roadrunners. Keith&rsquo;s brother Wayne is Jamie&rsquo;s favorite NHL player. Jamie&rsquo;s favorite team is Gretzky&rsquo;s Los Angeles Kings.A Grade 2 student at Princess Elizabeth School in Brantford, Jamie spends his summers camping, fishing and playing soccer.Coached by Keith Proctor, Jamie enjoys nothing more than going to the arena for practices and games. When he&rsquo;s not at the arena, he can always be found in the middle of a neighborhood road hockey game.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-011213/5751166-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg" title="f0016-01" width="563" height="1231"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jamie Hartman</figcaption></div>You or someone you know can be part of the JOFA-TITAN Minor Hockey Showcase. Just send a photograph (non-returnable), along with biographical information (age, height, weight, team, coach&rsquo;s name, school and grade, as well as favorite NHL team and player) to JOFA-TITAN SHOWCASE, c/o The Hockey News, 85 Scarsdale Rd., Suite 100, Don Mills, Ont. All entries submitted will be eligible for selection as THN/JOFA-TITAN Minor Hockey Player of the Year. &#9632;

f0016-01

PLAYER OF WEEK

<div class="byline">BY GLENN COLE</div>Two Montreal Canadiens, not used to spending time on the injury list, were going through some very frustrating times.Left winger Mike McPhee and center Brian Skrudland averaged 74 and 73 games per season, respectively, in their careers with the Habs. But this season, they&rsquo;ve been healthy enough to only play two games each.McPhee, suffering from a tom abdominal muscle, hoped to be back in the Canadiens&rsquo; lineup as they embarked on a three-game, four-night road trip in the second week of November. The veteran skated with his teammates the morning of their 3-2 victory over the New York Rangers Nov. 8 at Madison Square Garden.He was all set to play the following night in St. Louis, but instead found himself en route back to Montreal, wondering if he would have to join the latest trend in the NHL to have an operation to repair the tom muscle.No one was certain when McPhee would be ready to play again. It was suspected he hit a rut in the ice at Madison Square Garden, further aggravating the injury.While all of this was happening, Skrudland&mdash;McPhee&rsquo;s best friend on the Canadiens&mdash;was skating by himself, hoping the pain in his sprained right ankle would go away.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s been more than a month that I have been out of action,&rdquo; said Skrudland. &ldquo;There are still some things that I have to work on. When it comes down to the bump-and-grind part of it and the pushing and shoving, the timing isn&rsquo;t there and hopefully it will be soon.&rdquo;There were some occasions when Skrudland&rsquo;s appeared ready to play, but his ailing ankle&mdash;which was sprained Oct. 7 in the Canadiens&rsquo; home opener against Buffalo&mdash;just wasn&rsquo;t strong enough for the Canadiens to take him on the road trip. The Canadiens tied St. Louis 1-1 Nov. 1 and lost 5-4 to the Los Angeles Kings two nights later.&ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s better to wait another week than come back a few days early and then get knocked out again for a couple of weeks. This has been a long, tough month for me. I certainly want to get back into action as soon as I can but I want to make sure I am going to be healthy.&rdquo;Both Skrudland and McPhee have been durable performers for the Canadiens in recent seasons. Their roles are basically to be grinding forwards.To a degree, rookie right winger Tom Chorske filled that role. But, after a good pre-season, Chorske struggled and, despite the Canadiens&rsquo; rash of injuries, was assigned to Sherbrooke of the American League Nov. 7.Skrudland hoped his return would come Nov. 15.&ldquo;I have never had a problem like this before,&rdquo; said Skrudland, who had two goals in his two games. &ldquo;With ligaments, they say it&rsquo;s four to six weeks. Every day I seemed to be getting better. But it got down to a point where I was trying to skate and couldn&rsquo;t go all out.&ldquo;Your ankles and your feet are what it is all about in this game. I just don&rsquo;t want one errant pass or a slash to put me back awhile.&rdquo;<h2>MONTREAL</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Nov. 6: Donald Dufresne, D, recalled from Sherbrooke (AHL).Nov. 7: Tom Chorske, RW, assigned to Sherbrooke. Ed Cristofoli, LW, recalled from Sherbrooke.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Brent Gilchrist, Guy Carbonneau, Bobby Smith, Stephan Lebeau.LW&mdash;Ryan Walter, Shayne Corson, Mats Naslund, Ed Cristofoli.RW&mdash;Russ Courtnall, Stephane Richer, Mike Keane, Jocelyn Lemieux.LD&mdash;Craig Ludwig, Sylvain Lefebvre, Donald Dufresne, Jyrki Lumme.RD&mdash;Chris Chelios, Petr Svoboda, Jean-Jacques Daigneault.G&mdash;Patrick Roy, Brian Hayward.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Eric Desjardins, D, groin pull, day-to-day.Claude Lemieux, RW, torn abdominal muscle, indefinite.Mike McPhee, LW, torn abdominal muscle, indefinite.Brian Skrudland, C, sprained right ankle, day-to-day.<h3>LEADERS</h3>G&mdash;Corson, Richer, Courtnall, 8. A&mdash;Richer, 14. P&mdash;Richer, 22. PIM&mdash;Chelios, 48. &#9632;

FRUSTRATION SETS IN FOR DEPENDABLE PAIR

<div class="byline">BY JIM KELLEY</div>How hot can an NHL team get? Look no further than the Buffalo Sabres.The Adams Division-leading Sabres have been the hottest team in the league through the early part of November.The Sabres put together a 5-0-1 streak, which included a 4-3 win at Montreal Nov. 2, and a 3-3 tie from two goals down Nov. 4 at Boston. Then the Sabres came home the next night to defeat the Los Angeles Kings 5-3, followed by a 6-3 win Nov. 8 at Hartford, a 4-2 win Nov. 10 against Vancouver and a 6-5 win Nov. 12 against Edmonton.The perfect start to November enabled the Sabres to push their unbeaten streak to eight games (7-0-1). They have not lost at Memorial Auditorium this season (8-0-1). Their four losses are the fewest of any team in the league and their 12-4-2 record was, by percentage (.722), the NHL&rsquo;s best.&ldquo;They&rsquo;re really believing in themselves,&rdquo; coach Rick Dudley said after the win at Hartford. &ldquo;They now approach every game like they should win it. It doesn&rsquo;t matter where it is. Once you get that kind of attitude, you&rsquo;re going to go a long way. We seem to get people to come up big every night.&rdquo;And while it&rsquo;s still early in the season, the once lowly Sabres and their near-gaudy record are begining to get some respect.&ldquo;In our division they look like the team to beat,&rdquo; Montreal Canadiens&rsquo; left winger Ryan Walter said, after the Sabres won in the Montreal Forum.The Sabres received similar kudos from the Whalers, several of whom said the team was the best they&rsquo;ve played this season.The most noticeable difference between the Sabres this season from last is when they play poorly, they still manage to win.A case in point was the Vancouver game, when the Sabres were off-stride all night and still pulled out the victory. An even more dramatic case was the Edmonton game, when the Sabres were outplayed badly (outshot 37-28), but won when left winger Dave Andreychuk scored with one second left in regulation time.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-011067/5751221-1-eng-US/f0017-012.jpg" title="f0017-01" width="563" height="863"><figcaption class="caption-body">Clint Malarchuk&rsquo;s Sabres can play poorly and still win.</figcaption></div>Andreychuk and linemates Mike Foligno and Pierre Turgeon had been victims of the Oilers&rsquo; offense all evening. They were on for three Edmonton goals, including the final two that allowed the Oilers to move from a 5-3 deficit to a 5-5 tie.&ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t play real well defensively,&rdquo; said Andreychuk. &ldquo;All three goals we gave up were because we were running around in our own end. I&rsquo;m just glad I had a chance to come back and win it for the team.&rdquo;&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a sign of a winner,&rdquo; said Sabres&rsquo; goaltender Clint Malarchuk.<h2>BUFFALO</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>None.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Pierre Turgeon, Christian Ruuttu, Dave Snuggerud, Jeff Parker, John Tucker.LW&mdash;Dave Andreychuk, Alexandr Mogilny, Mike Hartman, Robert RayRW&mdash;Mike Foligno, Rick Vaive, Kevin Maguire, Scott Arniel, Ray SheppardLD&mdash;Doug Bodger, Grant Ledyard, Larry Playfair, Shawn Anderson.RD&mdash;Phil Housley, Dean Kennedy, Uwe Krupp, Grant Ledyard.G&mdash;Daren Puppa, Clint Malarchuk.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Benoit Hogue, C, broken cheekbone, indefinite.Mike Ramsey, D, hand contusion, day-to-day.<h3>LEADERS</h3>G&mdash;Andreychuk, 12, A&mdash;Turgeon. 21. P&mdash;Turgeon, 29. PIM&mdash;Hartman, 58 &#9632;

f0017-01

RED-HOT SABRES CHARGE TO TOP OF ADAMS DIVISION

<div class="byline">STEVE DRYDEN</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-011111/5751252-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg" title="f0018-01" width="503" height="617"></div>Nobody expects Mario Lemieux to be perfect. It&rsquo;s just that in recent years, he has played that way a majority of the time.Jean Beliveau used to complain that no matter what he did, people expected more. If he scored three goals, fans wondered why he didn&rsquo;t get four. If he got four, they wanted five.We must be careful not to make Lemieux a victim of his own excellence. In turn, he must be careful not to fall too short of that mark.This year, there has been a shortfall.In his first 13 games last season, the Pittsburgh superstar had 18 goals and 41 points. Through 13 games this season, he had six goals and 21 points. (Five of those points&mdash;including two empty-net goals&mdash;came in one game against the Toronto Maple Leafs.)Nobody expected Lemieux to match that record-setting 252-point pace again, but nobody expected he would be on a 129-point pace, either. A mere 100-plus points just isn&rsquo;t enough for Lemieux. Superhuman standards are set for superhuman players.Lemieux picked it up, with three goals and six assists in his next four games&mdash;giving him 29 points in 17 games. Yet, something has been amiss, as evidenced by the Penguins&rsquo; dreadful 5-10-2 record. Lemieux complained of fatigue, and feared the worst. Something had to be wrong. So he submitted to a battery of hospital tests. They revealed nothing out of the ordinary.Maybe Lemieux and his teammates should have submitted to a lie detector test. Because from afar, it sure seems that they have been lying down on the job. Those close to the Penguins believe they have had enough of coach Gene Ubriaco and his line juggling, and will do whatever is necessary to get him fired.On Nov. 13, it wasn&rsquo;t Lemieux who needed medical attention. It was Ubriaco. He was in critical condition, clinging to life as an NHL coach. His future looked bleak.In the days before, blood tests were conducted to see if Lemieux had any physical disorders. None were found. A cynic, remembering questions raised in the past about Lemieux&rsquo;s sense of commitment, might suggest No. 66 has a heart ailment.Hart checks the last two years have been unnecessary. He was the best player both seasons. Even if he didn&rsquo;t get the league MVP award last year. He should have. Lemieux won the scoring championship by 31 points over Wayne Gretzky. No other player has ever won a scoring title more decisively&mdash;except Gretzky, who holds the record of 79.Yet, Lemieux was shunned in MVP voting. Go figure.Even this year, with Lemieux off to a bad start, Gretzky had only six more points than Lemieux, and No. 99 had played 18 games to Lemieux&rsquo;s 17. Nobody suggested Gretzky was underachieving. Call it a double standard.Somehow, Lemieux&rsquo;s points have seemed less inspired. More importantly, Gretzky doesn&rsquo;t have a reputation for floating. Lemieux earned one early in his career. But ever since establishing himself as the best goal-scorer in the world at Canada Cup &rsquo;87, Lemieux had put to rest accusations he was among the most buoyant players in the league.Or so we thought.This has not been an extraordinary year for superstars, or scoring. Through 174 games, goals were down from the same point last season (1,327 to 1,257). That&rsquo;s a five-per-cent reduction, which represents a large statistical drop. The league is getting better, the pack more powerful in pursuit of the best players.Lemieux, Gretzky and Steve Yzerman have been ordinary by their standards, Denis Savard fair and Dale Hawerchuk very disappointing.Lemieux should be the best player in the league. With his size and talent, not even Gretzky should be able to compete now. But temperament continues to be a factor. He has the head and hands to be awesome all the time. Now, Lemieux must demonstrate he has the heart.Lemieux has been no more guilty of subpar play than some of the other stars&mdash;most prominently Paul Coffey, Dan Quinn and Rob Brown. But Lemieux is the captain, the leader, and must be held most accountable. Of course, he is not alone. Coffey had just 12 points in 17 games, Quinn 14 in 17, and Brown five goals in 17. Coffey had more than 100 points last season, Brown too (including 49 goals), and Quinn earned in excess of 90 points. Their limited production and that of others have undermined Ubriaco. So, apparently, has the coach&rsquo;s own performance.If, however, the players are trying to torpedo their coach, there can be no excuses. Regardless of how competent or incompetent Ubriaco might be, no greater good can be served by players compromising their credibility. The players would only be cheating themselves, their team, and most significantly, their fans. &#9632;

f0018-01

PENGUINS SHOULD FACE LIE DETECTOR TEST

With six goals in his first 15 games. Guy Lafleur was on target to score 32 for the Quebec Nordiques this season. Should he accomplish that feat, it would represent his greatest output since the 1979-80 season, when he scored 50 and was a first-team all-star right winger for the Montreal Canadiens.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-02837/5751283-1-eng-US/f0018-022.jpg" title="f0018-02" width="708" height="409"><figcaption class="caption-body">Guy Lafleur</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0018-02

NUMBERS

<h2>PENGUINS</h2>All concerned vehemently denied a report in the New York Post that suggested center Mario Lemieux demanded to be traded unless coach Gene Ubriaco was fired. Lemieux, who moved into a posh new house in suburban Mt. Lebanon several months ago, said he could not imagine any circumstances that would move him to request a trade. &ldquo;Not at all,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve made my home in Pittsburgh the last couple of years, so I want to stay in Pittsburgh as long as I can.&rdquo;&hellip;Lemieux underwent a series of blood tests to determine if there was a medical explanation for his sluggish play in the first six weeks of the season. All results were negative&hellip;GM Tony Esposito denied a rumor he considered a deal that would send left winger Kevin Stevens to Boston for defenseman/center Greg Hawgood.<h2>RANGERS</h2>The Rangers finally abandoned their three-goalie system on Nov. 7 when unbeaten rookie Mike Richter (1-0-1) was sent to Flint (IHL). &ldquo;We want him to get ice time,&rdquo; said coach Roger Neilson, &ldquo;and our other two goalies (John Vanbiesbrouck and Bob Froese) played so well. The team got off to such a good start that we couldn&rsquo;t find as much work for him as we wanted to.&rdquo; Richter registered an 8-0 shutout against Milwaukee in his Flint debut Nov. 10&hellip;Defenseman Brian Leetch was happy the Rangers played 12 of their first 16 games at home, where they were 7-2-3. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve gotten some points under our belt and we&lsquo;ve gained some confidence,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;If we were going on the road (for eight of their next 10) without most of those 17 points, then you might look back and say we had too many home games early-.&rdquo;&hellip;When Leetch risked an icing by firing a 120-foot shot into an open net to finish in a 4-2 victory over the Islanders on Nov. 12, Neilson was asked if it was the proper play. &ldquo;If you&rsquo;re Brian Leetch it is,&rdquo; Neilson replied.<h2>DEVILS</h2>The addition of ex-scout Tim Burke as an assistant coach gave the Devils the league&rsquo;s only all-American and all-New England management team with GM Lou Lamoriello (Providence, R.I.), head coach John Cunniff (South Boston, Mass.), Burke (Concord, Mass.) and goalie coach Bob Bellemore (Smithfield, R.L)&hellip;Viacheslav Fetisov was angered by reports he was at the root of Jim Schoenfeld&rsquo;s firing. &ldquo;I am not happy Jim was fired. I didn&rsquo;t have any problems with Jim,&rdquo; said Fetisov. &ldquo;I haven&rsquo;t been here long enough to cause any problems. The Devils play 14 games, Fetisov does not play in one game. That&rsquo;s why the coach gets fired? That&rsquo;s crazy.&rdquo;&hellip;The Devils hired Barry Jones, director of ice operations for the Spectrum in Philadelphia, as an independent contractor to study the poor ice at the Meadowlands Arena. New Jersey has had the worst ice in the NHL this season&hellip;Ken Daneyko, recently paired with Fetisov, had the first two-goal game of his NHL career Nov. 8 in a 6-3 win over Quebec.<h2>ISLANDERS</h2>Defenseman Rich Pilon was released from Winthrop University Hospital in Mineola, N.Y., Nov. 10, but it may be weeks before the extent of the injury to his right eye is known. Pilon was struck in the eye by a shot by Detroit&rsquo;s Brent Fedyk Nov. 4. Because of fluid and blood in the eye, his retina could not be fully examined. Doctors do know that Pilon does not have a detached retina&hellip;Coach Al Arbour found the one bright spot during the Islanders&rsquo; lean times. &ldquo;The good thing is the teams in front of us aren&rsquo;t doing much better, so if we can put a few (wins) together we&rsquo;ll be right in the middle of things,&rdquo; he said. After a 4-2 loss to the Rangers Nov. 12, the Isles had lost five in a row and were 1-7-2 in their past 10 games.<h2>FLYERS</h2>Defenseman Gord Murphy, who collected only 68 minutes in penalties last season, was given high-sticking majors and automatic ejections in two consecutive games. The first infraction came Nov. 9 against Toronto&rsquo;s Gary Leeman. Two days later he was called for the same penalty against John MacLean of the Devils. The result was a one-game suspension, which he served Nov. 12&hellip;Right winger Scott Mellanby was practising with the club, but still had trouble shooting. Mellanby suffered nerve and tendon damage in his left arm during a brawl this summer at an Ontario resort. While management was projecting Mellanby&rsquo;s return around Christmas, some observers felt he could be back by early December.<h2>CAPITALS</h2>Defenseman Scott Stevens&rsquo; consecutive-game streak ended at 222 Nov. 11, when he chose to be with his wife, Donna, during the birth of the couple&rsquo;s first child, 7-pound, 11-ounce daughter Catelin Helena&hellip; The Capitals lost to the Edmonton Oilers 5-3 that night, ending a string of six straight home-ice victories over Edmonton, dating back to 1984&hellip;Washington, 25-12-3 at home last season for the best mark in the Patrick Division, was stumbling along at 3-4-2 this year at the Capital Centre&hellip;Goalie Don Beaupre played all 10 of the Capitals&rsquo; games from Oct. 23 to Nov. 11, prompting a switch of backups. Bob Mason was dispatched to Baltimore for playing time and Jim Hrivnak was summoned to Washington. With the Skipjacks, Hrivnak was 5-2-0 with a 3.36 goals-against average. &#9632;

LEMIEUX DENIES TRADE RUMORS

<div class="byline">BY RICH CHERE</div>One of John Cunniff&rsquo;s first challenges as head coach of the New Jersey Devils was to revive a pair of struggling forwards.In the case of Kirk Muller, it meant getting him healthy from a viral infection which has made breathing difficult and has sapped his energy since training camp.For Sylvain Turgeon, it meant making him happy after five dismal weeks under Jim Schoenfeld.Cunniff&rsquo;s solution was reuniting Turgeon with former Hartford teammate Mark Johnson, while moving Muller from center to left wing on the Johnson-Turgeon unit.The immediate result was new life for Muller and Turgeon. Although the Devils went 1-1-1 in Cunniff&rsquo;s first three games, Turgeon exploded with three goals and three assists while Muller had four assists. During the span, Muller was also having his sinuses drained.&ldquo;I want Kirk and Sly to take off, and Mark is an intelligent player who can help them,&rdquo; explained Cunniff, who was a Whalers&rsquo; assistant coach when Turgeon and Johnson were teammates in Hartford. &ldquo;I think Kirk and Sly were uptight.&rdquo;&ldquo;The difference (between Schoenfeld and Cunniff) is John gives you a lot more responsibility as a hockey player,&rdquo; said Muller. &ldquo;I was just too tight and it&rsquo;s been hurting my game. I think with this new line arrangement I&rsquo;ll get back to playing the way I did in juniors. John wants us to be an offensive type line, an explosive line. Right now I&rsquo;m happy at left wing because, with all this sinus stuff, I&rsquo;m still short-winded. Playing with Mark and Turgeon, two great players, I can adapt to the wing.&rdquo;Muller&rsquo;s biggest hurdle this season has been the viral infection which traveled from his chest during training camp to his sinuses.In his worst start in six NHL seasons, the 23-year-old captain scored just one goal in his first 13 games.&ldquo;I have problems with my breathing. I almost feel like I don&rsquo;t have enough air coming in. It&rsquo;s almost like asthma. It makes me short-winded,&rdquo; said Muller. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been trying to fight it. When you push yourself, your body usually gets that second wind. I&rsquo;ve been waiting for my body to kick in and it hasn&rsquo;t.&rdquo;Muller started the season centering a line with Turgeon at left wing and longtime linemate Aaron Broten on the right side.Turgeon did not score a goal in Schoenfeld&rsquo;s last nine games. During that time, Muller went seven straight games without a goal and Broten had just one goal in Schoenfeld&rsquo;s final seven games.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s worn me down the last couple of weeks. I&rsquo;ve lost my zip. I don&rsquo;t have that extra jump,&rdquo; Muller said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been able to play, I think, just average. I haven&rsquo;t been able to accelerate, so I&rsquo;ve been playing more conservatively.&rdquo;Schoenfeld broke up that line in his final game behind the Devils&rsquo; bench, Nov. 4 in Calgary. Cunniff has since made his own change.&ldquo;I was pumped for this season,&rdquo; said Muller. &ldquo;Even throughout camp I was pumped. I wanted to regain my self-confidence and take it from there. I did more training during the offseason than ever before. But I caught some kind of bug and started feeling it in training camp.&rdquo;Muller was hoping his new line would help him forget a poor start and convince Devils&rsquo; general manager Lou Lamoriello to cool any trade talks involving the former No. 1 draft choice. Rumors had Muller on the block, perhaps headed to Toronto for Gary Leeman or Ed Olczyk.<h2>NEW JERSEY</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Nov. 7: Tim Burke, scout, named assistant coach.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Patrik Sundstrom, Mark Johnson, Janne Ojanen, Neil Brady.LW&mdash;Brendan Shanahan, Kirk Muller, Dave Maley, Jim Korn.RW&mdash;John MacLean, Sylvain Turgeon, Doug Brown, Aaron Broten, Peter Sundstrom.LD&mdash;Ken Daneyko, Tommy Albelin, Randy Velischek, Sergei Starikov.RD&mdash;Viacheslav Fetisov, Craig Wolanin, Reijo Ruotsalainen.G&mdash;Sean Burke, Chris Terreri.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Walt Poddubny, LW, recurring back strain, day-to-day.Bruce Driver. D, lower back strain, day-to-day.<h3>LEADERS</h3>G&mdash;MacLean, Shanahan, 9. A&mdash;Patrik Sundstrom. 14. P&mdash;Shanahan. 21. PIM&mdash;Maley, 60. &#9632;

CUNIFF’S FIRST TASK: GET MULLER, TURGEON ON TRACK

<div class="byline">BY DAVE MOLINARI</div>A lot of people were stunned when the Pittsburgh Penguins staggered through the first 17 games of the season, winning just five times and dropping near the bottom of the Patrick Division.That&rsquo;s why almost no one was taken aback when it looked as if coach Gene Ubriaco was about to lose his job.Even Ubriaco, who replaced Pierre Creamer as coach after the 1987-88 season, recognized the link between winning and job security&mdash;and realized why he had so little as the season entered its seventh week.&ldquo;I think we all know that if we don&rsquo;t win that it (a job) is always in danger,&rdquo; Ubriaco said.There was even speculation the job of Tony Esposito, who replaced Eddie Johnston as general manager April 14, 1988, could be in jeopardy, although most indications were it would be spared.But there was much less chance Esposito would be spared the anger of owner Edward DeBartolo, whose early-morning phone calls to employees when the team is struggling are the stuff of legend around the Civic Arena.&ldquo;All I know is I have to get things rolling here,&rdquo; Esposito said. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s no secret to it. We have to win. That&rsquo;s the bottom line in pro sports.&ldquo;Eve been in the business long enough to know we have to turn this around. And now.&rdquo;Discontent with Ubriaco began to spread through the dressing room last season, but intensified when the Penguins stumbled after a 3-2-1 start this season. They followed with a 2-8-1 stretch which featured what defenseman Randy Hillier described as &ldquo;absolutely God-awful&rdquo; hockey.&lsquo;You re paid to win, Ubriaco said. &ldquo;And I understand that.&rdquo;The reasons behind the Penguins&rsquo; 5-10-2 start were even more numerous than their losses. The most obvious was the overall sluggishness of their play, which some players privately attributed to their unhappiness with Ubriaco.Then there was the power play, which set an NHL record with 119 goals last season but was on a pace to score 66 in &rsquo;89-90. It had allowed a league-high six shorthanded goals.The penalty-killing was even worse. It was functioning at a success rate of about 70 percent and was the lowest-rated unit in the NHL.Factor in a couple of critical injuries&mdash;like the ones expected to keep Tom Barrasso and Zarley Zalapski out of the lineup for about six weeks each&mdash;and you had the makings of a season about to go sour.<h2>PITTSBURGH</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Nov. 12: Jamie Leach. RW. and Mark Kachowski. LW, recalled from Muskegon (IHL). Dave Capuano. C. assigned to Muskegon<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Mario Lemieux, Dan Quinn. John Cullen. Mark Recchi.LW&mdash;Bob Errey. Phil Bourque. Kevin Stevens, Mark Kachowski, Troy Loney.RW&mdash;Rob Brown. Andrew McBain. Jock Callander. Jamie Leach. Jay Caufield.LD&mdash;Paul Coffey, Jim Johnson, Chris Dahlquist, Jim KyteRD&mdash;Randy Hillier, Gilbert Delorme, Gord Dineen, G&mdash;Wendell Young. Frank Pietrangelo.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Tom Barrasso, G. wrist surgery, indefinite.Randy Gilhen, C, sprained knee, indefinite.Zartey Zalapski, D. broken collarbone, indefinite.<h3>LEADERS</h3>G&mdash;Lemieux, 9. A&mdash;Lemieux, 21. P&mdash;Lemieux, 30. PIM&mdash;Loney. 45. &#9632;

UBRIACO TAKES BLAME FOR HAPLESS START

<div class="byline">BY AL MORGANTI</div>After taking three of four points in a weekend series with the New Jersey Devils, the Philadelphia Flyers were not a happy team.And that was a good sign.The Flyers came out of the two-game set with a 7-5 win Nov. 11 and a 3-3 tie the next night. Most struggling teams would be content with those results but, after the tie. the Flyers felt they had blown a chance at a sweep. The Devils&rsquo; Janne Ojanen scored the tying goal with 1:15 to play.In the late stages of the game it looked as though the Flyers secured a victory in what was an extremely entertaining and well-played game. Both goalies, the Devils&rsquo; Sean Burke and the Flyers&rsquo; Bruce Hoffort, came up with big stops at crucial moments.&ldquo;Games like this, we should win,&rdquo; said left winger Murray Craven, who had a goal and an assist in the match.&ldquo;We should win games like this,&rdquo; echoed right winger Rick Tocchet. &ldquo;I think we&rsquo;re all really upset we didn&rsquo;t get all four points.&rdquo;Everyone, that is, except coach Paul Holmgren. Just three days earlier. Holmgren read a quiet version of the riot act to his players following a 4-1 loss to Toronto. But after the Devil series, he was quite pleased.&ldquo;We looked determined, and we came up with strong efforts in both games,&rdquo; said Holmgren. &ldquo;I know the players will be disappointed, but I could see real strong efforts, and that is very important.&rdquo;Holmgren considered the strong effort important after watching his team give up three third-period goals during the loss to the Leafs at the Spectrum. It was after that game that Holmgren said the Flyers&rsquo; four-game unbeaten streak (3-01) had been more of a mirage than good team play.&ldquo;We played one strong game in that stretch,&rdquo; said Holmgren, &ldquo;and then we got some breaks, and got some points in sloppy games.&rdquo;In a show of confidence, Holmgren elected to give Hoffort his first NHL start against the Devils Nov. 11, instead of using veteran goalie Pete Peeters.The result was a sloppy 7-5 victory, in which Ron Sutter and Tocchet had two goals and two assists each.The next night, Hoffort was back in goal. &ldquo;He was winning,&rdquo; said Holmgren, &ldquo;so I stuck with him.&rdquo;<h2>PHILADELPHIA</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Nov. 8: Mark Freer, C. assigned to Herhey (AHL).Nov. 9: Jeff Harding, RW. assigned to Hershey.Nov. 11: Don Biggs, C, recalled from Hershey.Nov. 12: Jiri Latal, D, recalled from Hershey. Gord Murphy, D, received one-game suspension for second high-stick violation of season, in Nov. 11 game. Served suspension Nov. 14.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Ron Sutter, Keith Acton, Tony Horacek, Don Biggs.LW&mdash;Murray Craven, Brian Propp, Pelle Eklund, Craig Berube, Doug Sulliman.RW&mdash;Rick Tocchet, Tim Kerr, Mike Bullard, LD&mdash;Mark Howe, Jay Wells, Terry Carkner.RD&mdash;Kjell Samuelsson, Gord Murphy, Jeff Chychrun, Kerry Huffman, Jiri Latal.G&mdash;Pete Peeters, Bruce Hoffort.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Ron Hextall, G, pulled groin muscle, day-to-day.Scott Mellanby, surgery on left arm, indefinite.Dave Poulin, C, broken left thumb, indefinite.Derrick Smith, LW, sprained right ankle. Nov. 20.Ken Wregget, G. torn hamstring, Dec. 4<h3>LEADERS</h3>G&mdash;Tocchet, Bullard, 10. A&mdash;Craven, 13. P&mdash;Tocchet, 19. PIM&mdash;Berube, 55. &#9632;

THREE-POINT WEEKEND BRINGS LITTLE JOY

<div class="byline">BY SHERRY ROSS</div>On the eve of his 21 st birthday, Mark Fitzpatrick was probably wondering why he&rsquo;d been bom to play goal.A 4-2 loss to the New York Rangers Nov. 12 was the most frustrating to date of the Islander goalie&rsquo;s six-game winless steak (0-5-1). He was sensational in facing 26 shots in the second period&mdash;one shy of the Islanders&rsquo; record for a period. He kept the Islanders in the game as they killed off a 5-on-3 power play for 1:46. But again, Fitzpatrick lost.The winning goal was typical of Fitzpatrick&rsquo;s recent run of bad luck. Teammate Bryan Trottier nearly blocked a shot by Mark Janssens but the puck deflected to Ranger left winger Jan Erixon in the slot. As Lindy Ruff distracted Fitzpatrick in front of the net Erixon wristed it past the goalie.Fitzpatrick could only shake his head after the game. He faced 44 shots, the most he said he could ever remember seeing in an NHL game, and stopped 41 (the Rangers scored an empty-net goal after he was pulled).&ldquo;The goalie is probably the only player in sports who can steal a game from the other team,&rdquo; Fitzpatrick said. &ldquo;I wish I could have made 43 of 44 saves. Unfortunately I didn&rsquo;t, and we lost.&rdquo;In his five losses during the streak, the Islanders were outscored 18-8. Not counting empty-net goals, two losses were by one goal, and the Islanders were shut out in another loss.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s hard on the brain to keep on losing one-goal games,&rdquo; Fitzpatrick said. &ldquo;I feel I&rsquo;m playing well, but the puck&rsquo;s just not going our way and it&rsquo;s definitely not going my way. I&rsquo;m in a groove where you keep working and still nothing is happening. I guess I&rsquo;m going to have to get a shutout to get my next win.&rdquo;Fitzpatrick&rsquo;s first and (through Nov. 12) only victory of the season came Oct. 11 in Los Angeles against his former King teammates. A second-round draft choice of the Kings in 1987, Fitzpatrick was acquired by the Islanders with defensemen Wayne McBean and Doug Crossman in the Feb. 22 trade for goalie Kelly Hrudey.Facing the Kings was emotional in more ways than one. Fitzpatrick, who backstopped the Medicine Hat Tigers to Memorial Cup championships in 1987 and 1988, bounced between the Kings and their farm team in New Haven in his rookie season of 1988-89. But during his brief (17 games) tenure with the Kings, he lived with Wayne Gretzky and his family.&ldquo;I had been called up while the team was on an East Coast trip, and when we got back to L.A., he asked me where I was staying. I told him I was in a hotel, by myself, and he asked if I would like to stay with him,&rdquo; Fitzpatrick recalled. &ldquo;I was kind of shocked. I lived with him for about a month and it&rsquo;s an experience I&rsquo;ll never forget.&ldquo;I was in awe of him all the time. I suppose everyone has their idol in life, and I idolized Wayne. We would drive to the rink together and have our pre-game meals together. It was an honor to play with him.&rdquo;Gretzky did get one goal on Fitzpatrick, on a power play, but the goalie came away with a 7-4 win.<h2>N.Y. ISLES</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Nov. 10: Marc Bergevin, 0, Rob DiMaio, C, and Tom Fitzgerald, C, assigned to Springfield (AHL).Nov. 12: DiMaio recalled from Springfield.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Bryan Trottier, Pat LaFontaine, Rob DiMaio, Gilles Thibaudeau.LW&mdash;David Volek, Don Maloney, Randy Wood, Dave Chyzowski, Brad Lauer.RW&mdash;Patrick Flatley, Mikko Makela, Alan Kerr, Mick Vukota.LD&mdash;Jeff Norton, Joe Reekie, Gary Nylund.RD&mdash;Gerald Diduck, Doug Crossman, Chris Pryor.G&mdash;Mark Fitzpatrick, Glenn Healy.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Dean Chynoweth, D, strained right thumb ligaments, day-to-day.Rich Pilon, D, Contused and lacerated right eye, indefinite.Brent Sutter, C, back spasms, day-to-day.<h3>LEADERS</h3>G&mdash;LaFontaine, 13. A&mdash;Norton, 14. P&mdash;8212;LaFontaine, 19 PIM&mdash;Vukota. 51 &#9632;

LUCK OF THE IRISH ELUDES FITZPATRICK

<div class="byline">BY BOB FACHET</div>In eight of his nine previous NHL seasons. Dale Hunter has finished with at least 200 minutes in penalties. He missed 34 games with a broken leg in 1986-87 and settled for 135 minutes.So it was no surprise to see that Hunter, with 60 minutes in 18 games, was on target for another 200-plus season. It was something of a surprise. however, that Hunter also appeared headed toward something he never has been able to accomplish, a 30-goal season.With eight goals and 17 points, Hunter led the Washington Capitals in both departments. Throw in a lot of winning faceoffs and some hustling defensive play and Hunter, who played his 700th NHL game Nov. 11, was probably the brightest light in another dim start for the Capitals. After scoring a goal in the Capitals&rsquo; 5-3 loss to the Edmonton Oilers Nov. 11, Hunter was just 10 goals shy of 200 for his career, and nine points short of 600.Two factors contributed to Hunter&rsquo;s solid showing. First was the increased ice time he received in the absence of Bengt Gustafsson, who chose to return to Sweden. Second was his good health; last season he had a difficult first half after suffering a broken thumb in a pre-season game.&ldquo;Dale is getting more ice time with Gus gone and he has a little higher role on a regular basis.&rdquo; said coach Bryan Murray. &ldquo;I usually come back with his line after a penalty-killing situation and he&rsquo;s seeing a fair amount of time on the power play. He benefits from the extra ice time and a little more important role.&rdquo;Hunter, a man of few words, agreed the increased playing time gave him more opportunity to shine.&ldquo;With Gus here. I didn&rsquo;t get so much ice time.&rdquo; said Hunter, who led the team in scoring from opening night. &ldquo;I feel good and since I&rsquo;m used more. I feel needed more. Somebody has to do the job. why hot me?&ldquo;Once you get on a roll, you feel good. Maybe I&rsquo;m skating good be cause the overall feeling is a good one. I&rsquo;m happy here and getting to play more makes it even better.&rdquo;Murray kept Hunter and left winger Geoff Courtnall together most of the time, while trying a variety of right wingers.&ldquo;Hunts is a great guy to play with,&rdquo; Courtnall said. &ldquo;He works so hard every shift. He&rsquo;s making plays, shooting with confidence. He keeps you involved every game.&ldquo;He runs around and stirs things up out there, besides making plays. He draws everybody toward him in the neutral zone, one way or another, and then he dumps the puck off.&rdquo;Yvon Corriveau has been used with Courtnall and Hunter on occasion, and he may have cemented the spot by scoring three times in a pair of 5-3 home-ice losses to Boston (Nov. 10) and Edmonton. Courtnall had three assists in the defeat against the Bruins.The losses left the Capitals three games below .500 (6-9-3). In each game, Washington was rocked on its heels from the start and never held a lead.&ldquo;The key for us is to score the first goal,&rdquo; Hunter said. &ldquo;We play a good defensive game and we can hold on to a lead, but we&rsquo;ve always had trouble scoring goals. We&rsquo;re not good at playing catch-up.&rdquo;<h2>WASHINGTON</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Nov. 10: Jim Hrivnak, G, recalled from Baltimore (AHL), Bob Mason, G, and Bill Houlder, D, assigned to Baltimore.Nov. 11: Houlder recalled from Baltimore.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Mike Ridley, Dale Hunter, Michal Pivonka, Rob Murray.LW&mdash;Kelly Miller, Geoff Courtnall, Dave Christian. Nick Kypreos. Doug Wickenheiser.RW&mdash;Steve Leach, Yvon Corriveau, Dino Ciccarelli, Alan May.LD&mdash;Scott Stevens, Rod Langway, Calle Johansson, Bill Houlder.RD&mdash;Bob Rouse, Neil Sheehy, Kevin Hatcher.G&mdash;Don Beaupre, Jim Hrivnak.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Scot Kleinendorst, D, torn ligament in left knee, indefinite.<h3>LEADERS</h3>G&mdash;Hunter, 8. A&mdash;Stevens. 11. P&mdash;Hunter, 17. PIM&mdash;May, 62. &#9632;

HUSTLING HUNTER SEEKS ELUSIVE PREY

<div class="byline">BY PAUL ABRAMOWITZ</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0024-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-01775/5751482-1-eng-US/f0024-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Nick Fotiu&rsquo;s comeback with the New Haven Nighthawks was temporarily set back by a rib injury. The New York City native is expected to provide leadership on the team.</figcaption></div>Just when the great Gordie Howe comeback rumor had finally died down, one of his former NHL teammates came out of retirement at age 37.Nick Fotiu played with Howe in Hartford during the 1979-80 season, but that&rsquo;s where the comparison ends. Mr. Hockey is the NHL&rsquo;s all-time leader in games played (1,767) and goals (801). Old Nick managed just 60 goals in 646 NHL games.But when the American League New Haven Nighthawks signed Fotiu Oct. 30, they weren&rsquo;t after his scoring touch. They were after character and experience, two qualities the New York City native has in abundance. His age is no factor, team officials say.&ldquo;The only people who have said he&rsquo;s too old is the New York Rangers,&rdquo; says Larry Rausch, Fotiu&rsquo;s New York-based agent. Plans for Fotiu to attend the Rangers&rsquo; camp fell through a couple of weeks before camp started.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m sure there are a lot of other people who have said it,&rdquo; Rausch says. &ldquo;A lot of the fans have said it.&ldquo;But prior to telling the Rangers he&rsquo;d like to go to camp with them this year, he talked with two or three hockey people who know him very well. He asked what they thought and what their opinion was. They told him that he wasn&rsquo;t too old if he still has the fire and the enthusiasm.&rdquo;It&rsquo;s hard to imagine Fotiu without either. He. is the original &ldquo;hometown boy makes good&rdquo; success story. He grew up in Staten Island and, in 1976-77, became the first local ever to play for the Rangers, a team he used to watch from the cheap seats at Madison Square Garden.His rugged style of play and fearlessness made him a cult hero in his eight seasons as a Ranger. He also regularly stayed out after the pre-game warm-up and skated around the rink, tossing pucks to fans. Chants of &ldquo;We Want Nick&rdquo; would erupt from the Garden when an opposing player would physically take advantage of a Ranger on the ice. One tap on the shoulder by the coach would bring Fotiu hopping over the boards, prompting a roar from the crowd.Those days are gone. Or are they?&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not coming down here to score 100 goals or to beat up the whole league,&rdquo; says Fotiu, who played for the Nighthawks in 197778 and &rsquo;85-86 when they were affiliated with the Rangers. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m just going to do the best I can to help the organization and that&rsquo;s what I like doing. I like working with the kids.&ldquo;Helping the kids down here is the whole idea. I&rsquo;m going to try and give them direction. The team isn&rsquo;t doing too well. I&rsquo;m just trying to help out.&rdquo;He&rsquo;s not there to undermine coach Marcel Comeau or playing/assistant coach Tim Bothwell. He&rsquo;s there to play and be a strong influence in the dressing room.There&rsquo;s no doubt he can do the latter. But some may wonder what he has to offer on the ice at an age that makes him older than some coaches in the league.&ldquo;Hey, they said I&rsquo;d never play hockey,&rdquo; Fotiu says. &ldquo;They said I&rsquo;d never do it and I made a career out of it.&ldquo;Then they said I&rsquo;d never play more than two years and I played 10. In 1986 I hurt my knee and they said it&rsquo;s all over&mdash;and that year I played in the Stanley Cup finals (11 games with Calgary).&ldquo;You are never too old. Hockey is what I always wanted to do. I have to come down here and help these guys. I&rsquo;ve always started out at the bottom and nothing has ever come easy for me. So why should it come easy for me right now?&rdquo;Fotiu made it to the Rangers as a fighter. He later honed his playing skills, but the reputation followed him. Is he concerned some young player, trying to make a name for himself, will challenge him?&ldquo;If that happens I&rsquo;ll deal with it,&rdquo; says Fotiu, who collected 1,362 penalty minutes in his NHL career. &ldquo;I dealt with it my whole career. I&rsquo;m not worried about it.&ldquo;I have nothing to lose, but he has everything to lose. I&rsquo;m 37. If somebody wants to try me, let them try me. That doesn&rsquo;t bother me. I grew up in New York and I faced everything at 17 traveling the streets of New York. Do you think some kid from another team is going to bother me? Forget about it.&rdquo;The Nighthawks, a young team off to a 3-13-0 start, need his experience and enthusiasm.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a big and tough winger,&rdquo; says Nighthawks&rsquo; GM Pat Hickey, who played with Fotiu in New York in the late &rsquo;70s. &ldquo;He makes things happen. But he also knows how to interact with veterans and kids.&ldquo;We want to create enthusiasm and peak at 7:30 right after the national anthem goes off. Not at 10:15 in the morning skate. And he knows the preparation that goes into it. He&rsquo;ll add a little life and spunk, that&rsquo;s for sure.&rdquo;Fotiu should also put some extra people in the seats at the New Haven Coliseum, where the Nighthawks have averaged just below 3,000 fans a game. Hickey says he&rsquo;s hoping that happens, too, but insists it had nothing to do with bringing Fotiu to New Haven.Fotiu has yet to play a home game, and the debut may be delayed. On the second shift of his first game, Nov. 3 at Springfield, Fotiu tore cartilage in his rib cage and was expected to miss at least a week.&ldquo;Up until then I was really looking forward to it,&rdquo; Fotiu says. &ldquo;It was a freak thing. Maybe I was too emotional, too excited.&rdquo;Maybe, but those are two ingredients the Nighthawks are hoping Fotiu brings to the rink.&ldquo;The goal isn&rsquo;t to start a 10-year career, obviously,&rdquo; Rausch says. &ldquo;Physically, I think, Nick is capable of playing this year and next year. I guess what we&rsquo;re hoping to do is prove his value in both playing and non-playing capacity.&ldquo;I guess what it really boils down to is New Haven had a need and Nicky had a need, and the two just meshed at the same time and same place. Where it goes no one knows.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0024-01

NICK OF TIME

It&rsquo;s been a bumpy road, but Rocky Trottier appears to have his hockey career back on course.Trottier, a first-round pick of the New Jersey Devils in 1982, eighth overall, is with the Hershey Bears on an American League tryout, after playing the last two seasons in Europe.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a fresh start coming back,&rdquo; says Trottier, who played last season in West Germany and the season before in Sweden. &ldquo;So far it&rsquo;s going good. Hopefully if I do good enough, I&rsquo;ll last the whole year.&rdquo;Trottier, a natural right winger, has played all three forward positions for the injury-riddled Bears. In 14 games, he had five goals and eight points; one of his goals was a game-winner.&ldquo;With him going over to Europe, maybe most people probably just didn&rsquo;t know where he was or if he had quit hockey,&rdquo; says Bears&rsquo; coach Kevin McCarthy.&ldquo;I guess if you go over to Europe for any length of time, people tend to forget about you a bit. It&rsquo;s the old saying&hellip;out of sight, out of mind.&rdquo;That&rsquo;s probably the way Bryan Trottier&rsquo;s younger brother would have preferred it when he went. Rocky&rsquo;s first four seasons of pro hockey did not go smoothly.&ldquo;When I was here before I wasn&rsquo;t doing exactly that great,&rdquo; says Trottier, 25. &ldquo;They just knew me from my older brother. And they expected a lot because I was a high draft pick. I tried to be my own player but I think they were kind of looking at the name before they were looking at me.&rdquo;Trottier&rsquo;s last season in the Devils&rsquo; organization was 1986-87, when he spent the entire season with the Maine Mariners. In 77 games, he scored just nine goals.Trottier wanted to return to West Germany this season, but he said the team (Fussen, for whom he scored 30 goals and 50 asssists in 40 games) had money problems and couldn&rsquo;t afford him. So Trottier called around to NHL teams for a tryout and hooked on with the Philadelphia Flyers, the Bears&rsquo; parent club.&ldquo;When I went to Europe it brought the fun back into it,&rdquo; Trottier says. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not as serious over there and it was fun and it helped me.&rdquo;&mdash;Paul Abramowitz &#9632;

ROCKY II: TROTTIER’S BACK

<div class="byline">BY DAVE GARLICK AND RAND SIMON</div>It&rsquo;s only fitting the International League&rsquo;s hottest line is centered by the league&rsquo;s hottest rookie.Center Tim Sweeney, left winger Stephane Matteau and right winger Marc Bureau scored 21 points in four games since the line was put together by Salt Lake Golden Eagles&rsquo; coach Bobby Francis for the Oct. 30 game against Phoenix.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re really clicking as a line,&rdquo; said Sweeney, who had six goals and 11 assists in 13 games. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re playing pretty well, though I&rsquo;ve missed a lot of chances to put the puck in the net.&rdquo;A second-team all-American at Boston College, Sweeney has made a successful adjustment to the pro game.&ldquo;In college, there were two or three guys a team who were big; here, everyone&rsquo;s big,&rdquo; said the 5-foot-11, 180-pound Sweeney. &ldquo;Also, the IHL is a step faster than college.&rdquo;But Sweeney and his linemates were having little trouble keeping up. Bureau was the IHL player of the week for the period ending Nov. 5, with seven goals and three assists. Matteau, also a rookie, got off to a slow start but had six assists in the four games&mdash;all Salt Lake victories&mdash;with Sweeney and Bureau as linemates.The team was on top of the West Division standings with a record of 7-3-3.&ldquo;We had gone with the same lines for a while and were getting a little stale,&rdquo; said Francis. &ldquo;We needed to create a line that could take some of the scoring load off Rich Chernomaz. All three players are skilled offensively.&ldquo;We thought in order to be successful this season we&rsquo;d need to get good production from Tim Sweeney. He creates a lot of chances both for himself and his teammates. He&rsquo;s also a key guy on the power play.&rdquo;Sweeney, 22, was hoping to use his time in Salt Lake to impress the parent Calgary Flames and follow in the footsteps of last season&rsquo;s hot rookie, Paul Ranhelm, now a regular with the Flames.&ldquo;I need to get some experience here,&rdquo; said Sweeney. &ldquo;There are some things in Salt Lake that I can improve on, like getting stronger along the boards.&ldquo;It can get frustrating sometimes down here because I don&rsquo;t really know what their (the Flames&rsquo;) plans are for me. Right now I&rsquo;m just hoping for the team and myself to do well and things will take care of themselves.&rdquo;<h2>HOME AT LAST</h2>Professional hockey finally returned to Phoenix after a 10-year abscence.With the Roadrunners living up to their name and opening the season on a nine-game road trip, the Nov. I game against Milwaukee was the first pro game in the Arizona city since the old Phoenix Roadrunners played in the Pacific League in 1979.The Roadrunners came home for a five-game homestand and averaged 5,045 fans in War Memorial Coliseum. The largest crowd was for the home opener, when 8,939 saw the Roadrunners lose 4-3 to Milwaukee.The Roadrunners split the four remaining games on the homestand, beating Milwaukee 4-1 Nov. 2 and Muskegon 2-1 Nov. 7 and losing to Salt Lake 5-2 Nov. 4 and Muskegon 4-2 Nov. 8.<h2>SPIRITED PLAY</h2>The Flint Spirits played an uncharacteristically sound defensive game, downing Fort Wayne 3-2 Nov. 5. As of Nov. 6, Spirit goalies Rick Knickle and Scott Brower had the worst goals-against average in the league at 5.18 and the lowest save percentage in the IHL at .840 (Knickle was .856, Brower .798). The pair faced a league-high 463 shots in 14 games (seven wins, seven losses), slightly more than 33 a game. That&rsquo;s not surprising, since coach Paul Theriault advocates a run-and-gun style of play. &ldquo;I can&rsquo;t say I&rsquo;m unhappy,&rdquo; said Theriault. &ldquo;We have a lot of work to do. We can get better and we have gotten better. It takes a while to get a defensive pattern down. Our players are learning each other. We&rsquo;re going to keep working and get the shots down.&rdquo;&hellip;Muskegon&rsquo;s Oct. 22 game in Peoria, which was postponed because the Lumberjacks&rsquo; bus broke down, has been rescheduled for Feb. 20. &#9632;

HOT ROOKIE HAS EAGLES FLYING

<div class="byline">BY MIKE KANE</div>In two weeks, Jim Hrivnak accomplished what he failed to do all of last season&mdash;establish himself as a goaltending prospect in the Washington Capitals&rsquo; system.The recall of Bob Mason by Washington Oct. 24 left Hrivnak and fellow rookie Shawn Simpson as the Baltimore Skipjacks&rsquo; goalies. Hrivnak 21 made the most of his opportunity, compiling a 4-2-0 record, including a shutout win over Springfield.It was a welcome turnaround in fortunes. Two days after Christmas last year, Hrivnak found he had failed a course and had fallen below Merrimack College&rsquo;s minimum standard for athletics by 5/100ths of a point. Since he had lost his eligibility for the final semester of his senior year, Hrivnak signed with the Capitals, who had picked him in the third round in the 1986 entry draft. He was assigned to Baltimore.The Baltimore experience was a nightmare compared to his academic problems. He finished with a 1-8-0 record and a 6.57 goals-against average.&ldquo;I had a rough time,&rdquo; Hrivnak said. &ldquo;I thought I played all right, but&hellip;something wasn&rsquo;t there that I was used to having. I&rsquo;m not sure why. I played a few good games, but every game it seemed like I let in a bad goal.&rdquo;Hrivnak wasn&rsquo;t used to failing. During his 3&frac12; seasons at Merrimack he was a star in the ECAC&rsquo;s Division II. He was impressive enough to be the second goaltender taken in the &rsquo;86 draft. The Caps had chosen Simpson one pick earlier.&ldquo;It was kind of a shock. It was a big difference,&rdquo; Hrivnak said. &ldquo;I knew it was a good league, but when I started to play things weren&rsquo;t bouncing my way.&rdquo;Baltimore coach Terry Murray said last season&rsquo;s stats are of no consequence.&ldquo;Last year when he came in we did it for an introduction to pro hockey more than anything else,&rdquo; Murray said.In eight games so far this season, the 6-foot-2, 195-pounder compiled a 5-2-0 record and a 3.36 GAA.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s easier to come at the beginning of the season and start with everybody at the same time than coming in halfway through,&rdquo; Hrivnak said.<h2>HEPATITIS ALERT</h2>The Rochester Americans were concerned with shots of a different kind Nov. 6-7. All team members, the trainers and coaches, received injections to protect themselves from hepatitis.Coach John Van Boxmeer and trainer J.C. Ihrig became aware that an employee of a Rochester restaurant where they had eaten had come down with the highly infectious disease. Although only Van Boxmeer and Ihrig were required to take the shots, it was decided no one should be left at risk.<h2>SUPER DAVE</h2>Philadelphia trainer Dave &ldquo;Sudsy&rdquo; Settlemyre returned to the professional goaltending ranks Nov. 5 after a 10-year absence, when he served as Marc D&rsquo;Amour&rsquo;s backup in a 4-1 loss at Sherbrooke.Settlemyre, 38, was pressed into service when injuries to Ken Wregget and Ron Hextail left the Flyers with one healthy goaltender, Pete Peeters. Rookie Bruce Hoffort was promoted to be Peeters&rsquo; backup against the Islanders.Settlemyre was willing to play, but never got the opportunity to lower his career AHL goals-against average of 60.00, the highest in Mariners&rsquo; history. Settlemyre, then the Mariners&rsquo; trainer, appeared in one game during the 197980 season and allowed a goal in the one minute he played. Settlemyre last played in earnest from 1974 to &rsquo;77, when he was backup goalie and trainer for the Philadelphia Firebirds of the North American League.<h2>STAR-ING</h2>Peter Ing was named the first star as he won his first start with Newmarket Nov. 7, making 31 saves in a 4-1 victory over Binghamton. Ing, who signed a contract with the parent Toronto Maple Leafs Nov. 4, was playing as an overager with London of the Ontario League. The Leafs signed Ing, their third-round draft pick in 1988, after Jeff Reese suffered a knee injury Oct. 23 that will keep him out of the lineup two months&hellip;Adirondack center Glenn Merkosky picked up his 298th and 299th career assists Nov. 4, in his 600th AHL game&hellip;Rochester defenseman Don McSween was off to a great start. He had eight goals and 15 points in 14 games, and a plus-12 rating. &#9632;

HRIVNAK GETS PASSING GRADE IN BALTIMORE

<div class="byline">BY KEN CAMPBELL</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0026-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-01729/5751623-1-eng-US/f0026-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Oshawa Generals&rsquo; captain lain Fraser, acquired in a 1986 trade with Cornwall, led the team in scoring early in the 1989-90 season.</figcaption></div>On the morning of May 3, Sherry Bassin woke up and realized he needed a change in his life.The general manager of the Oshawa Generals promptly got in his car and drove down to the office of owner John Humphreys.&ldquo;John,&rdquo; said Bassin, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m resigning.&rdquo;&ldquo;Are you sure?&rdquo; said Humphreys.&ldquo;Yeah,&rdquo; said Bassin.And just like that, the dismantling of one of the most stable and successful front offices in hockey began. Bassin, a 13-year institution with the team, later joined the struggling Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds as director of operations and part owner. Late in the summer, he took the Generals&rsquo; director of scouting, David Mayville, with him.And two weeks before training camp, head coach Paul Theriault finally responded to pro overtures. He ended his nine-year association with the Generals, joining the New York Rangers&rsquo; organization as head coach of their International League affiliate, the Flint Spirits.The consensus was that Oshawa would suffer because of the losses in the front office. The consensus was wrong.The Generals were in first place overall of the Ontario League with a record of 12-2-2. More importantly, they were proving they could indeed survive&mdash;and even flourish&mdash;without the Theriault-Bassin axis.Former head scout Frank Jay took over as director of hockey operations. Rick Comacchia, who apprenticed four years under Theriault, stepped into the head-coaching role. Scott Clark took over the business operations and the Generals hired Jim Cherry away from the Cornwall Royals as head scout.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think you ever expect a start like this, so it is a surprise,&rdquo; says Jay, a local public school teacher who also scouts for the New Jersey Devils. &ldquo;But I did know we would have a good, solid hockey club. I think that&rsquo;s a tribute to both the coaching staff and-the people that were running things here before.&rdquo;&ldquo;You&rsquo;d have to be stupid to be around people like Sherry and Paul and not learn a lot,&rdquo; says Comacchia. &ldquo;Paul and I worked great together. But I think that while he made me better, I made him a better coach, too.&rdquo;A former head coach of the Kingston Canadians, Comacchia has stuck to the basics of solid defense but has also allowed the Generals more creativity on offense.&ldquo;Everyone pretty much knew what to expect with Rick because we knew him so well,&rdquo; says third-year center Jarrod Skalde. &ldquo;Rick has stressed the defensive game but I think he&rsquo;s also opened things up a little more.&rdquo;And in the process, he and the new management team are scoring big points with the Generals&rsquo; fans. Jay, who wasthe team&rsquo;s head scout for 10 years before leaving the Generals for the Devils in 1986, doesn&rsquo;t want to distance himself from the Bassin years as much as he wants to distance himself from the limelight.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m Frank Jay, I&rsquo;m not Sherry Bassin,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;And the less attention that&rsquo;s on me, the better. I&rsquo;d prefer it if there was no attention at all.&rdquo;He also makes another thing clear: He has no intentions of rivaling Bassin&rsquo;s years of service to the team.&ldquo;If it had been any other organization but the Oshawa Generals, I sure wouldn&rsquo;t be here right now,&rdquo; says Jay. &ldquo;I love the Oshawa Generals and I love the OHL. That&rsquo;s the reason why I&rsquo;m here.&rdquo;Bassin loved the Generals, too, but he and Theriault wore out their welcome with Humphreys. Although Humphreys and Bassin are business partners in several other projects in Oshawa, relations became strained between the two last season. And while Humphreys never publicly threatened to fire either Bassin or Theriault, their departures alleviated a potentially volatile situation.&ldquo;Ever since they left, I think there&rsquo;s been a breath of fresh air,&rsquo;* says Humphreys. &ldquo;I think the people here were getting a little tired of the old regime, quite frankly.&rdquo;Those close to the scene say Humphreys wanted more control of the team and that likely would have conflicted with Bassin&rsquo;s plans. Humphreys was also reportedly concerned that Bassin was spreading his talents too thin.A lawyer by trade, Bassin teaches law at Durham College and provides the color commentary for the OHL&rsquo;s televised game of the week. He was often unavailable during the crucial halfway point of the season because he was involved with the World Junior Championships as either an administrator or broadcaster.The Generals are the only team in the Canadian League to play .500 or better every season in the 1980s. They currently stand third behind the Peterborough Petes and the Medicine Hat Tigers in winning percentage from 1980-81 to this season (see chart below).But in junior hockey, playoff performance often determines whether the accountant writes the balance sheet in red or black ink.Things came to a head last season when the Generals lost in the first round of the playoffs to an inferior Ottawa 67&rsquo;s team. The season before, the Generals were one minute away from a playoff sweep over the 67&rsquo;s, only to lose four consecutive games. They advanced to the Memorial Cup final in 1982 and 1987, but were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs every other year of the 1980s.The Generals have benefited from shrewd scouting, as evidenced by this year&rsquo;s roster.When the Generals took Skalde in the first round of the 1987 draft, people wondered aloud why the team would pick a player rated in the 12th round by OHL Central Scouting. Last June, New Jersey drafted him 26th overall and this season he had 13 goals and 13 assists in 15 games. Right winger Mike Craig was taken in the fifth round of that draft, as was defenseman Paul O&rsquo;Hagan. Defenseman Craig Donaldson was taken in the 11th round. In 1988, center Dale Craigwell was taken in the seventh round. All are solid contributors to the team this season.Overage center Iain Fraser, who led the team with 18 goals and 15 assists, was acquired in a trade from the Cornwall Royals in 1986. Kevin Butt, who was third in the league with a 3.15 goals-against average, was signed as a free agent last season.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s too early to tell right now what this team can do. Right now we&rsquo;re trying to challenge ourselves to get better,&rdquo; says Comacchia. &ldquo;And I think we&rsquo;re finding out just how good we can be.&rdquo;So is everyone else&mdash;but that&rsquo;s nothing new for the Oshawa Generals.<h2>CHL TEAMS&rsquo; PERFORMANCE IN THE &rsquo;80s</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-02499/5751616-1-eng-US/f0026-022.jpg" title="f0026-02" width="1088" height="746"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-03403/5751609-1-eng-US/f0026-032.jpg" title="f0026-03" width="1078" height="742"></div> &#9632;

f0026-01

GENERALS MOTOR

<div class="byline">BY VANCE OLIVER</div>The Western League is getting tough with traded players who refuse to report to their new teams.The league created a special suspension list in mid-October, after a rash of traded players refused to report to their new teams. The suspension, which removes the player from a team&rsquo;s 50-player protected list but still makes him property of the team, will be honored by the four Tier II leagues in western Canada. The suspension must be requested by the player&rsquo;s new team.The first player to receive the new suspension was overage right winger Jackson Penney, who was traded from the Victoria Cougars to the Prince Albert Raiders for 19-year-old left winger Terry Bendera Oct. 23.Raiders&rsquo; general manager-coach Terry Simpson asked the league to suspend Penney when he refused to report. Penney finally reported to the Raiders Nov. 1.Defenseman Scott Farrell, 19, was also affected by the new rule. Traded from the Spokane Chiefs to the Lethbridge Hurricanes Oct. 30 for left winger Colin Gregor, 19, Farrell arrived in Lethbridge Nov. 6&mdash;but only after Hurricanes&rsquo; GM Wayne Simpson threatened to place him under league suspension.The prospect of suspension didn&rsquo;t stop three other players from refusing to report to their new teams Nov. 3. The Victoria Cougars sent left winger Len Jorgenson and center Dave Schute, both 18, to the Brandon Wheat Kings for defenseman Pat Mullin, 17, and center Martin Smith. 18. Schute was then dealt to the Medicine Hat Tigers for defenseman Bart Cote, 19.But Jorgenson, Mullin, and Smith refused to report to their respective teams. Smith had a brief change of heart and played for the Cougars in a 5-3 loss to the Moose Jaw Warriors Nov. 7. But after the game, he left for his home in North Battleford, Sask., to ponder his future.The teams hadn&rsquo;t yet requested the players be suspended, but it was an option open to them.&ldquo;We want to be fair with the players,&rdquo; said WHL president Ed Chynoweth. &ldquo;But the day that we put ourselves into the position that players can dictate where they want to play, we might as well just fold our tent.&rdquo;Saskatoon Blades&rsquo; GM Daryl Lubiniecki said he agrees with the new rule, even though his team had not yet been affected.&ldquo;They seem to be doing it (holding out) in the NHL, with (Jimmy) Carson not wanting to play in Edmonton and going to Detroit,&rdquo; Lubiniecki said. &ldquo;But I don&rsquo;t think we should be giving in to them.&ldquo;Kids like that should sit and rot.&rdquo;<h2>NUMBERS GAME</h2>WHL teams had to declare their three permitted 20-year-old (overage) players Nov. 1, meaning roster cuts had to be made.The Medicine Hat Tigers released center Kent Dochuk, who had two goals and three assists in eight games.The Prince Albert Raiders cut right winger Steve Young. Young, who was dealt to Prince Albert by Moose Jaw Oct. 6, signed with the Portland Winter Hawks Nov. 3.<h2>BOGDEN A BLADE</h2>The Saskatoon Blades added 19-year-old right winger Shane Bogden to their roster Nov. 7.Bogden, who had one goal and five assists in seven games, was sent home to Edmonton by the Regina Pats Oct. 13 after missing two team-imposed curfews. He was given his outright release Oct. 20.The 6-foot-4, 200-pounder missed curfew after a 10-8 win over the Lethbridge Hurricanes Oct. 11. Bogden was left out of the Pats&rsquo; line-up for the season opener Sept. 29 because he broke curfew during the Desert Invitational Classic, a pre-season tournament in Kennewick, Wash. &#9632;

LEAGUE GETS TOUGH WITH TRADE-DODGERS

<div class="byline">BY KEN CAMPBELL AND RANDY RUSSON</div>Ontario League commissioner Dave Branch said the league will not take any action against Kitchener Rangers&rsquo; left winger Rob Sangster, in connection with an incident which occurred Oct. 31.During a game between the London Knights and the Rangers, Knights&rsquo; rookie left winger Scott McKay suffered a spinal cord concussion after an apparent cross-check during a 7-4 London win. McKay, who was taken to hospital by ambulance, was expected to return Nov. 17 and will need to wear a neck brace.Knights&rsquo; coach Wayne Maxner, who didn&rsquo;t see the incident, sent a video tape of the incident to Branch. Branch announced the decision Nov. 9.&ldquo;The tape didn&rsquo;t suggest Rob Sangster made the hit with an attempt to injure or with maliciousness,&rdquo; said Branch. &ldquo;There was contact and there was contact from behind, but in my opinion, the tape didn&rsquo;t prove the i manner in which contact was made.<h2>OHL</h2>&ldquo;The referee (Jim Houston) did not see it, the officials&rsquo; supervisor (Sam Siskel) did not see it and the coaches did not see it.&rdquo;Maxner said he felt the tape proved conclusively that Sangster crosschecked McKay from behind.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s Mr. Branch&rsquo;s decision and we&rsquo;ll have to live with it,&rdquo; said Maxner. &ldquo;I guess McKay just slipped on the ice and now he&rsquo;s out three weeks with a cracked neck.&rdquo;<h2>BACK HOME</h2>Kitchener Rangers&rsquo; rookie right winger Tom Gemmell left the team Oct. 7 over a lack of ice time.Gemmell, 19, had eight goals and five assists in 18 games but had only one point in his last five. Playing behind right wingers Shayne Stevenson, Steven Rice and Richard Borgo, Gemmell said he grew increasingly frustrated by sitting on the bench.&ldquo;I wasn&rsquo;t happy there,&rdquo; said Gemmell, a native of Moncton, N.B. &ldquo;I wasn&rsquo;t playing very much and I knew that as a 19-year-old, I wasn&rsquo;t going to get drafted sitting on the bench.&rdquo;Rangers&rsquo; coach Joe McDonnell said the 6-foot, 180-pounder started off well with the team but found increasingly difficult to endure the physical style of the OHL.&ldquo;He had six goals in 10 exhibition games and eight points in his first eight regular-season games but I think teams started to check him more and he had trouble adapting,&rdquo; said McDonnell. &ldquo;In this league you have to be able to take the checks to be successful.&rdquo;Gemmell, a 10th round choice in the 1989 entry draft, joined the Moncton Classics Tier II team Nov. 8. Last year with that team, he had 53 goals and 47 assists in 39 games.<h2>ING GONE</h2>The London Knights were left without their No. 1 goalie when overage goaltender Peter Ing agreed to terms with the Toronto Maple Leafs Nov. 3.Ing, who had a 6-2-0 record and a 3.83 goals-against average with the Knights, joined the Leafs&rsquo; American League farm team in Newmarket for their 4-1 win over the Binghamton Whalers Nov. 7.On Nov. 3, the Knights recalled 19-year-old Pat Tenpenny, whom they earlier waived. Tenpenny had a 2-0-0 record and a 3.80 GA A when he was waived. They also have 18-year-old Sean Basillio who had a 3-2-0 with a 4.40 GAA as Ing&rsquo;s backup-&hellip;The Belleville Bulls&rsquo; Sept. 23 home game against the Ottawa 67&rsquo;s, which was postponed because of a city employees&rsquo; strike, will be played Nov. 29. An Oct. 10 game between the Windsor Spitfires and London in Windsor, which was postponed because of a blackout, will be played in its entirety Nov. 28. &#9632;

LEAGUE WON’T SUSPEND SANGSTER

<div class="byline">BY HERB ZURKOWSKY</div>It was feast or famine for the Drummondville Voltigeurs early in the Quebec League season.After setting a league record for futility by losing 14 consecutive games to start the season, the Volts won four in a row and five of six. They were primed to escape last place at the expense of the Granby Bisons.The previous record for losses to start a season was 10, set by the Cornwall Royals in 1970-71 and tied by the Shawinigan Cataractes in 1977-78.&ldquo;Hockey is crazy,&rdquo; said 20-year-old center Steve Chartrand, whose seven-goal performance gave the Volts their first win, a 9-1 victory over Victoriaville on Oct. 27. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re playing good now and the puck is rolling for us. We&rsquo;re playing with intensity for three periods and never let down. &ldquo;The streak gave the Volts 10 points and put them only two behind 10th-place Granby.<h2>IN MEMORIAM</h2>Although he was a Laval Titan for only a short time, the late Neil Carnes received the highest honor the team could give when it retired his No. 19 sweater in a ceremony Nov. 3.The ceremony was held before the Titan&rsquo;s 5-4 loss to the St-Hyacinthe Laser Nov. 3.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-01705/5751702-1-eng-US/f0028-012.jpg" title="f0028-01" width="547" height="715"><figcaption class="caption-body">Alain Tardif needed surgery to correct a shoulder injury.</figcaption></div>Carnes, an 18-year-old center-left winger, was killed last summer in a motorcycle accident near his Plymouth, Mich., home.The Montreal Canadiens&rsquo; third-round draft choice in 1988 was traded to the Titan last February by the Verdun Junior Canadiens, who transferred to St-Hyacinthe this season.In 13 regular-season games for Laval, Carnes scored three goals and 12 assists, but was at his best in the playoffs as the Titan won the QMJHL championship. He went 9-9-18 in 10 games and had eight points in four Memorial Cup games. He was selected the tournament&rsquo;s all-star left winger.&ldquo;He became a Laval Titan instantly,&rdquo; said Titan owner and governor Jean-Claude Morissette. &ldquo;I always felt like he had been here for a couple of years. He was really a Titan.&rdquo;Carnes&rsquo; Laval sweater, as well as the No. 86 he wore for two seasons in Verdun, were sent to his family, who politely declined Morissette&rsquo;s invitation to attend the ceremony.Carnes became the third Laval player to have his sweater retired, joining Mike Bossy (17) and Mario Lemieux (66).<h2>TARDIF OUT</h2>Victoriaville Tigres&rsquo; captain Alain Tardif underwent surgery to repair a chronic dislocated left shoulder Nov. 6 and was expected to be out of the lineup two months.Tardif, a 20-year-old right winger, had the shoulder pop out during a 5-4 loss to Hull Nov. 3. After that game, team officials decided it would be best for Tardif to undergo surgery.At the time, Tardif had nine goals and 18 assists in 18 games.&ldquo;It has to be done and it&rsquo;s better off doing it now than to keep waiting,&rdquo; said Tigres&rsquo; coach Guy Chouinard. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s our captain and team leader. He has a lot of heart. We&rsquo;re going to miss him in the room as well as on the ice, but maybe someone else will pick up the slack.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0028-01

VOLTS CHARGED UP BY FOUR-GAME WIN STREAK

Saskatchewan Huskies&rsquo; goalie Kelly Hitchins, who played four seasons of junior hockey in the Western League, said the biggest adjustment he&rsquo;s had to make is going from a 72-game junior schedule to a 28-game Canada West schedule.&ldquo;You only play once a week, so sometimes it&rsquo;s hard to get up for games,&rdquo; said Hitchins, who was 2-2 after the first month with a 3.48 GAA. &ldquo;But it&rsquo;s a much looser atmosphere here. It&rsquo;s more individual in junior. Here, it&rsquo;s more of a team game.&rdquo;Hitchins, 20, who collected a Memorial Cup ring with Medicine Hat in 1986-87, said he decided to go to school this year because he &ldquo;was getting tired of riding the buses.&rdquo;<h2>CWUAA</h2>Brandon Bobcat goalie Doug Roach of Padockwood, Sask., faced 105 shots in a two-game series against Calgary Nov. 3 and 4. Both were losses (6-3 and 5-4), but in the Nov. 4 game Roach carried his team into overtime, stopping 50 Dino blasts&hellip;The&rsquo;WHL, which already pays a portion of former players&rsquo; post secondary education, has introduced a graduate-of-the-month club in Canada West. Third-year Alberta center and former Victoria Cougar Adam Morrison was the inaugural winner. He received a $500 scholarship for his performance in October.&mdash;Mark Spector<h2>OUAA</h2>The Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks are finding 11 is a lucky number this season.The Hawks, one of two teams in the Ontario Universities Athletic Association to get off to a 4-0 start, have scored 11 goals in three of the four games&mdash;defeating Western 11-2, and Toronto and Laurentian both 11-1.The two hottest players were Mike Maurice (8-7-15) and Greg Puhalski (6-6-12).Having won the conference championship last season, Laurier&rsquo;s strong start was not unexpected. The OUAA&rsquo;s other undefeated team, York, was something of a surprise. The defending national champions lost eight regulars (including captain Bill Maguire and goalie Mark Apple-whaite) from last year&rsquo;s squad. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s still early,&rdquo; said York coach Graham Wise, &ldquo;but we&rsquo;re getting a solid team effort. We&rsquo;re a pretty young team and the players have come to play-.&rdquo;&hellip;Trois-Rivieres has been a bear pit to visiting teams in recent seasons, but the Patriotes managed just a 2-2-1 split in a season-opening five-game homestand.&mdash;Claude Scilley<h2>AUAA</h2>Second-year goaltender Rick Poirier predicted his St. Thomas Tommies would challenge defending conference champion Moncton for top spot this season.Poirier said the Tommies, who lost 6-5 to the Blue Eagles in the season opener Oct. 28, &ldquo;have a better team than Moncton does and we shouldn&rsquo;t lose to them. We have a better team player for player.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re not looking to finish third or second in this league. We&rsquo;re looking to win it. We&rsquo;ve seen Moncton and we&rsquo;ve seen UPEI and we know we&rsquo;re better than they are.&rdquo;The Tommies made Poirier look good by sweeping Cape Breton (9-4 Nov. 3) and St. Francis (4-2 Nov. 4), while the Blue Eagles suffered their first loss of the season, 5-4 to UPEI on Nov. 5.After a promising start to the season, the Cape Breton Capers fell back in the pack.The Capers, who beat Acadia and Dalhousie Oct. 28 and 29 to begin the campaign, lost their next three games. They were beaten 7-5 by St. Francis on Nov. 1, fell 9-4 to St. Thomas Nov. 3 and lost 8-2 to New Brunswick Nov. 4.&mdash;Bill Hunt &#9632;

SHORT SCHEDULE A BIG CHANGE

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0029-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-01610/5751757-1-eng-US/f0029-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">The Seabury triplets of Stoneham, Mass&mdash;Craig, left, Glenn, center, and Brian&mdash;have been playing as linemates since high school, but Lowell was the only Division I college willing to take the three of them as a unit.</figcaption></div>Lowell Chiefs&rsquo; fans shouldn&rsquo;t be alarmed if they start seeing triple this season. There&rsquo;s a logical explanation.Freshmen Craig. Glenn and Brian Seabury&mdash;who wear numbers 2, 3 and 4 respectively&mdash;are triplets and linemates.The Seaburys, 19, received limited ice time in the early going. They saw action in only one of the team&rsquo;s first four matches but, if Chiefs&rsquo; coach Bill Riley&rsquo;s assessment is correct, it won&rsquo;t be long before the brothers from Stoneham, Mass., make their mark on Hockey East.&ldquo;They really play the body effectively, they&rsquo;ve got a lot of hockey sense and they move the puck real well together,&rdquo; said Riley.Glenn, center of the line that has been together since the triplets were 14, was the first born and the biggest at 6-foot-2, 190 pounds. He said the brothers&rsquo; differences and similarities both work to make the line effective.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m more of the physical player, Craig is the stick-handler and the scorer and Brian is the best skater among us,&rdquo; said Glenn.<h2>HOCKEY EAST</h2>While his brothers agree, Brian and Craig say there are times when being close has its drawbacks.&ldquo;We usually know where each other is going to be on the ice,&rdquo; said Brian, a 6-foot-1, 175-pound right winger. &ldquo;But sometimes we argue and it takes away from what we&rsquo;re doing.&rdquo;&ldquo;Sometimes we criticize each other a little too much,&rdquo; said left winger Craig, the youngest and smallest (5-foot-10, 168 pounds). &ldquo;But I don&rsquo;t think we&rsquo;re as good individually as we are as a line.&rdquo;That inbred closeness created some problems when it came time to decide on a college program. While they all wanted to attend the same school, most recruiters were apprehensive about keeping them together as a line.&ldquo;We were recruited by a lot of Division II schools,&rdquo; said Craig, &ldquo;but Lowell was the only Division I school that would take a chance on the three of us together.&rdquo;The New Hampshire Wildcats suffered a big loss when junior right winger Chris Winnes fractured his left ankle in a 6-3 win over Merrimack Nov. 1.Winnes, who had two goals and one assist in two games, was expected to be sidelined for at least two months.Winnes was playing on UNH&rsquo;s top line with sophomore center Joe Flanagan and sophomore left winger Scott Morrow.The trio combined for four goals and five assists before Winnes went down midway through the game.&mdash;Larry Mahoney<h2>ECAC</h2>St. Lawrence Saints&rsquo; coach Joe Marsh was afraid he&rsquo;d be icing Team Donut in 1989-90.The Saints were overloaded on the wings, but he knew he had to come up with some solid centers to contend for the Eastern College Athletic Conference title.Of the returning forwards, only senior Martyn Ball was a true center. Senior Doug Murray had been switched to the middle when Jamie Baker broke his leg early last season, but Marsh had every intention of putting Murray back on the wing this season.When the Saints kicked off their ECAC league schedule, freshmen were centering two of the Saints&rsquo; lines&mdash;and centering them well.Greg Carvel, a native of Canton, N.Y., who prepped at Hotchkiss School, found himself between seniors Joe Day and Murray. John Massoud, who played right wing at North wood Prep in Lake Placid, N.Y., last season, took control of the third line, with sophomore Martin Lacroix and senior Kevin Wright as his wingers.Harvard coach Bill Cleary was happy to have defenseman Kevan Melrose back, even if it&rsquo;s only for a half a season.Harvard had petitioned the NCAA to grant Melrose, who came to Harvard in 1987 as a transfer from North Dakota, an extra season of eligibility.Because Melrose spent 1&frac12; months with the Canadian national team in 1986-87, Cleary asked for an Olympic waiver. But the NCAA granted Melrose eligibility for only one term; he can play for the Crimson until January.&mdash;Tom Boggie<h2>CCHA</h2>Lake Superior State senior Dan Keczmer rates as one of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association&rsquo;s better defensemen. But five years ago, it appeared his hockey career was over.In the summer of 1984, the 6-foot-1, 190 pound native of Utica, Mich., broke his back in a BMX bicycle racing accident.&ldquo;They told me I&rsquo;d never be able to play contact sports again,&rdquo; said Keczmer, who scored three goals and 26 assists in 46 games in 1988-89. After eight games this season he was 4-1-5.The injury caused Kezcmer, now 21, to miss two years of hockey. But eventually, he snuck out and started skating again with a local midget team.For the second week in a row, Michigan State senior center Kip Miller was named CCHA Player of the Week. In games against Western Michigan Nov. 3 and 4, Miller had five goals and three assists, earning him the honor for the period ending Nov. 5. The Spartans swept the Broncos 6-4 and 5-4.The previous weekend. Miller had three goals and five assists in 6-2 and 14-1 poundings of Illinois-Chicago. After eight games this season, he was 13-10-23.After allowing several questionable goals in an 8-2 home loss to Lake Superior Nov. 3, Illinois-Chicago senior goalie Dave DePinto found himself watching from the stands the following night.DePinto was 0-6-0 with a 7.64 goals-against average and .813 save percentage (219 shots, 178 saves) at the time of his benching. Last season, his 3.63 GAA and 21-12-4 record were good enough to earn him second-team CCHA all-star honors.&mdash;Matt Carlson<h2>WCHA</h2>Second-year Colorado College coach Brad Buetow bucked conventional wisdom and found early success in the 1989-90 Western Collegiate Hockey Association season.The Tigers were off to one of their best starts in history, winning five of their first eight games.All of their wins came at Broadmoor World Arena, an ancient, shoebox-sized rink in Colorado Springs. In the two previous seasons, Colorado College was 7-29-3 at home.Given the 187-feet-by-84-feet dimensions of the rink, conventional coaching philosophy dictates using big, strong players to cluteh and grab, and neutralize opponents.But Buetow has gone in the opposite direction. His current team focuses on quickness and speed, led by 5-foot-8, 170-pound right winger Steve Strunk, 5-foot-9, 170-pound center John Mooney, 5-foot-9, 170-pound defenseman Brian Bethard and 5-foot-10,185-pound center Grant Block.A series of injuries to key defensemen put Northern Michigan&rsquo;s chances of capturing the league title in serious jeopardy.In a series against North Dakota Oct. 20-21, the Wildcats lost the services of Pete Podrasky and Phil Soukoroff indefinitely after both sustained sprained right knees.It got worse during a series at Colorado College Nov. 3-4, when Brad Werenka and Phil Neururer went down, also with sprained right knees.That left sophomore Lou Melone as the only experienced blueliner available.&mdash;Andy Baggot &#9632;

f0029-01

TRIPLE THREAT

<h2>STANDINGS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-01682/5752068-1-eng-US/f0032-012.jpg" title="f0032-01" width="981" height="893"></div><h2>RESULTS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-02492/5752061-1-eng-US/f0032-022.jpg" title="f0032-02" width="479" height="821"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-03337/5752054-1-eng-US/f0032-032.jpg" title="f0032-03" width="467" height="175"></div><h2>POINTS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-04219/5752047-1-eng-US/f0032-042.jpg" title="f0032-04" width="471" height="582"></div><h2>FUTURE GAMES</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-05150/5752040-1-eng-US/f0032-052.jpg" title="f0032-05" width="347" height="738"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-06119/5752033-1-eng-US/f0032-062.jpg" title="f0032-06" width="360" height="736"></div><h2>HOME-ROAD RECORDS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-0799/5752026-1-eng-US/f0032-072.jpg" title="f0032-07" width="983" height="257"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-0886/5752019-1-eng-US/f0032-082.jpg" title="f0032-08" width="1003" height="627"></div><h2>DIVISIONAL RECORDS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-0974/5752012-1-eng-US/f0032-092.jpg" title="f0032-09" width="994" height="816"></div><h2>TEAM POWER PLAY</h2>(ADV) TOTAL ADVANTAGES (PPGF) POWER-PLAY GOALS FOR (PCT) ARRIVED BY DIVIDING NUMBER OF POWER-PLAY GOALS BY TOTAL ADVANTAGES<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-1069/5752005-1-eng-US/f0032-102.jpg" title="f0032-10" width="1002" height="627"></div><h2>TEAM PENALTY KILLING</h2>(TSH) TOTAL TIMES SHORT-HANDED (PPGA) POWER-PLAY GOALS AGAINST (PCT) ARRIVED BY DIVIDING - TIMES SHORT MINUS POWER-PLAY GOALS AGAINST - BY TIMES SHORT<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-1162/5751998-1-eng-US/f0032-112.jpg" title="f0032-11" width="982" height="629"></div><h2>TEAM PENALTIES</h2>(GP) GAMES PLAYED (PEN) TOTAL PENALTY MINUTES INCLUDING BENCH MINUTES (BMI) TOTAL BENCH MINOR MINUTES (AVG) AVERAGE PENALTY MINUTES/GAME ARRIVED BY DIVIDING TOTAL PENALTY MINUTES BY GAMES PLAYED<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-1261/5751991-1-eng-US/f0032-122.jpg" title="f0032-12" width="469" height="343"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-1356/5751984-1-eng-US/f0032-132.jpg" title="f0032-13" width="459" height="361"></div><h2>LEADING SCORERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-1452/5751977-1-eng-US/f0032-142.jpg" title="f0032-14" width="979" height="623"></div><h2>INDIVIDUAL LEADERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-1546/5751970-1-eng-US/f0032-152.jpg" title="f0032-15" width="979" height="855"></div><h2>LEADING DEFENSEMEN</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-1644/5751963-1-eng-US/f0032-162.jpg" title="f0032-16" width="980" height="340"></div><h2>LEADING ROOKIES</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-1736/5751956-1-eng-US/f0032-172.jpg" title="f0032-17" width="972" height="308"></div><h2>TEAM-BY-TEAM SCORING</h2><h3>BOSTON BRUINS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-01605/5751949-1-eng-US/f0033-012.jpg" title="f0033-01" width="987" height="711"></div><h3>BUFFALO SABRES</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-02429/5751942-1-eng-US/f0033-022.jpg" title="f0033-02" width="996" height="698"></div><h3>CALGARY FLAMES</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-03311/5751935-1-eng-US/f0033-032.jpg" title="f0033-03" width="976" height="658"></div><h3>CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-04248/5751928-1-eng-US/f0033-042.jpg" title="f0033-04" width="996" height="662"></div><h3>DETROIT RED WINGS</h3><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-05203/5751921-1-eng-US/f0033-052.jpg" title="f0033-05" width="1002" height="759"></div><h3>EDMONTON OILERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-06171/5751914-1-eng-US/f0033-062.jpg" title="f0033-06" width="1013" height="763"></div><h3>HARTFORD WHALERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-07154/5751907-1-eng-US/f0033-072.jpg" title="f0033-07" width="999" height="648"></div><h3>LOS ANGELES KINGS</h3><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-08129/5751900-1-eng-US/f0033-082.jpg" title="f0033-08" width="1009" height="677"></div><h3>MINNESOTA NORTH STARS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-09112/5751893-1-eng-US/f0033-092.jpg" title="f0033-09" width="999" height="740"></div><h3>MONTREAL CANADIENS</h3><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-10104/5751886-1-eng-US/f0033-102.jpg" title="f0033-10" width="1006" height="702"></div><h3>NEW JERSEY DEVILS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-11100/5751879-1-eng-US/f0033-112.jpg" title="f0033-11" width="993" height="659"></div><h3>NEW YORK ISLANDERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-1296/5751872-1-eng-US/f0033-122.jpg" title="f0033-12" width="1002" height="735"></div><h3>NEW YORK RANGERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-01689/5751865-1-eng-US/f0034-012.jpg" title="f0034-01" width="985" height="739"></div><h3>PHILADELPHIA FLYERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-02520/5751858-1-eng-US/f0034-022.jpg" title="f0034-02" width="979" height="837"></div><h3>PITTSBURGH PENGUINS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-03405/5751851-1-eng-US/f0034-032.jpg" title="f0034-03" width="976" height="680"></div><h3>QUEBEC NORDIQUES</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-04302/5751844-1-eng-US/f0034-042.jpg" title="f0034-04" width="985" height="767"></div><h3>ST. LOUIS BLUES</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-05237/5751837-1-eng-US/f0034-052.jpg" title="f0034-05" width="978" height="135"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-06205/5751830-1-eng-US/f0034-062.jpg" title="f0034-06" width="990" height="520"></div><h3>TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-07189/5751823-1-eng-US/f0034-072.jpg" title="f0034-07" width="984" height="711"></div><h3>VANCOUVER CANUCKS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-08178/5751816-1-eng-US/f0034-082.jpg" title="f0034-08" width="991" height="701"></div><h3>WASHINGTON CAPITALS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-09164/5751809-1-eng-US/f0034-092.jpg" title="f0034-09" width="980" height="602"></div><h3>WINNIPEG JETS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-10159/5751802-1-eng-US/f0034-102.jpg" title="f0034-10" width="999" height="679"></div><h2>GOALTENDING</h2>ALL GOALS AGAINST A TEAM IN ANY GAME ARE CHARGED TO THE GOALTENDER OF THAT GAME FOR PURPOSES OF AWARDING THE BILL JENNINGS TROPHYWON-LOST-TIED RECORD IS BASED UPON WHICH GOALTENDER WAS PLAYING WHEN THE WINNING OR TYING GOAL WAS SCORED<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-11149/5751795-1-eng-US/f0034-112.jpg" title="f0034-11" width="975" height="2478"></div><h2>GOALTENDING LEADERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-12145/5751788-1-eng-US/f0034-122.jpg" title="f0034-12" width="967" height="830"></div> &#9632;

f0032-01

NHL STATISTICAL REPORT

f0035-01

NHL SUMMARIES

ALL LEAGUE STANDINGSAS OF MON., NOV. 13<h2>AHL</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-01626/5752732-1-eng-US/f0038-012.jpg" title="f0038-01" width="581" height="1778"></div><h2>IHL</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-02485/5752725-1-eng-US/f0038-022.jpg" title="f0038-02" width="629" height="1460"></div><h2>OHL</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-03392/5752718-1-eng-US/f0038-032.jpg" title="f0038-03" width="611" height="1747"></div><h2>WHL</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-04303/5752711-1-eng-US/f0038-042.jpg" title="f0038-04" width="595" height="1565"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-05221/5752704-1-eng-US/f0038-052.jpg" title="f0038-05" width="592" height="191"></div><h2>QMJHL</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-06182/5752697-1-eng-US/f0038-062.jpg" title="f0038-06" width="577" height="1409"></div><h2>CCHA</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-07168/5752690-1-eng-US/f0038-072.jpg" title="f0038-07" width="583" height="1238"></div><h2>HOCKEY EAST</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-08145/5752683-1-eng-US/f0038-082.jpg" title="f0038-08" width="584" height="393"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-09132/5752676-1-eng-US/f0038-092.jpg" title="f0038-09" width="582" height="764"></div><h2>ECAC</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-10118/5752669-1-eng-US/f0038-102.jpg" title="f0038-10" width="610" height="1164"></div><h2>WCHA</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-11111/5752662-1-eng-US/f0038-112.jpg" title="f0038-11" width="588" height="1078"></div><h2>CWUAA</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-12102/5752655-1-eng-US/f0038-122.jpg" title="f0038-12" width="597" height="237"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-1392/5752648-1-eng-US/f0038-132.jpg" title="f0038-13" width="588" height="838"></div><h2>OUAA</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-1485/5752641-1-eng-US/f0038-142.jpg" title="f0038-14" width="607" height="1355"></div><h2>AUAA</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-1580/5752634-1-eng-US/f0038-152.jpg" title="f0038-15" width="589" height="1120"></div> &#9632;

f0038-01

SCOREBOARD

<div class="byline">BY DAVE MOLINARI</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-01591/5752763-1-eng-US/f0039-012.jpg" title="f0039-01" width="473" height="636"></div>When you live in the East, you keep hearing about this collision of ill-tempered giants out West eight times every season. They call it The Battle of Alberta.It&rsquo;s supposed to be the kind of rivalry that makes Montreal-Quebec look like a family outing, an Islanders-Rangers game no more rowdy than a church social.The story goes that when the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers get together, you don&rsquo;t bother adding up the goals until the body count is complete. The flashpoint, we have always been told, is the opening faceoff.Study the stories over the years, and look at the game summaries, an&rsquo;d you begin to think the folks out West are understating things. You don&rsquo;t doubt that one of those games will eventually produce penalty minutes in quadruple figures. Perhaps in the first period.After all, this is the rivalry that former Oilers&rsquo; defenseman Don Jackson described to the Calgary Sun as &ldquo;one of the best in the history of sports.&rdquo; The one Bob Murdoch said &ldquo;bordered on hate&rdquo; and whose games &ldquo;were a match of manhood.&rdquo;The one that Flames&rsquo; assistant coach Paul Baxter said causes &ldquo;a tremendous amount of bitterness&rdquo; to well up inside of him when he reviews videotapes of games gone by. The one that prompted ex-Oilers&rsquo; enforcer Dave Semenko to observe that &ldquo;When you went into a game and knew it was 99.9 per cent certain before they dropped a puck that you were going to have to fight a particular guy. Nothing else mattered.&rdquo;Whew. All of that could give you the impression these teams don&rsquo;t care a whole lot for each other. That winning the game is nice, but surviving the war is paramount.Well, let this be proof you can&rsquo;t believe everything you read (which gives it something in common with anything I write). Or hear. Or see.I have been to The Battle, or at least one skirmish, and all was quiet on the Western Front. The only thing that approximated warfare was the Flames&rsquo; almost unconditional surrender in a 5-2 loss at Northlands Coliseum earlier this month.Referee Terry Gregson called 52 minutes in penalties that night, not many more than you&rsquo;d expect when, say, the Minnesota North Stars and Winnipeg Jets get together. There was one&mdash;count it. one&mdash;fight. Ten whole minutes worth of majors split between Dana Murzyn and Kelly Buchberger.The thug of the game was Joe Nieuwendyk, who ran completely amok and got&mdash;gasp&mdash;three minors. What&rsquo;s more, Nieuwendyk was a repeat offender. Gregson nailed him for holding at 6:53 of the first period, then had to do it again at 14:18. Geez, how wicked can you get?Not that anyone should be surprised. Just last season Nieuwendyk gooned his way to 40 penalty minutes and was still allowed to take a regular shift, despite scoring only 51 goals. Why is there still room in the game for guys like that?Joey Mullen, last season&rsquo;s winner of the Lady Byng Trophy, was pretty much out of control, too, and he also had to pay big-time for it. Gregson gave him a minor for interference and could easily have called him for hooking later in the game. Oh, the carnage of it all.Maybe it should have been a tip-off when the stat sheet listed goals, assists, shots, special teams, penalties and plus-minus, but there was no category for &ldquo;vital organs extracted without permission.&rdquo;But perhaps the best hint of the evening&rsquo;s tranquility could be found on the lineup cards. Specifically, by the names that weren&rsquo;t on them. The Oilers&rsquo; all-time penalty minute leader, Kevin McClelland, had been dispatched to the Detroit Red Wings in the Jimmy Carson trade the day before. Tim Hunter, the NHL&rsquo;s penalty minute leader in &rsquo;88-89 with 375, was serving a 10-game suspension. Dave Brown was scratched and Jim Peplinski was newly retired.Times, it seems, are changing, so maybe the rivalry should get a new name, too. Something like &ldquo;The Polite Disagreement on the Prairies&rdquo; or &ldquo;The Dignified Difference of Opinions in Alberta.&rdquo;Then again, Hunter will be back soon. Brown can always be inserted in the Oilers&rsquo; lineup. There&rsquo;s a 6-foot-5, 224-pound gentleman on Edmonton&rsquo;s depth chart named Mike Ware who has &ldquo;creating havoc&rdquo; listed near the top of his resume. You have to figure that somewhere in Calgary&rsquo;s system is a fellow who is quite adept at throwing his knuckles when he&rsquo;s not dragging them.So maybe it&rsquo;s a little premature to relegate The Battle of Alberta to its place in the history books. The cease-fire could end at any time. &#9632;

f0039-01

ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT

<h2>CANUCKS</h2>Igor Larionov spoke out on whether veteran Soviet players should be eligible for the Calder Trophy. &ldquo;Of course we are not rookies,&rdquo; Larionov said. &ldquo;We have played many times in the Canada Cup, Super Series and world championships. The Calder Trophy is for young players. The only trophy I&rsquo;m interested in is the Stanley Cup.&rdquo; Montreal GM Serge Savard is lobbying to have the Soviet bloc excluded from NHL rookie-of-the-year consideration&hellip;Brian Burke, director of hockey operations, and chief scout Mike Penny left Canada Nov. 10 on a six-game scouting trip to Scandinavia. Of particular interest is 21-year-old Swedish defenseman Leif Rohlin, the Canucks&rsquo; second choice in the 1988 entry draft. There is a good possibility Rohlin will be with the Canucks next season&hellip;Daryl Stanley looked to have lost his fighting spirit until he returned to his hometown and dressed for a Nov. 8 game in Winnipeg against the Jets. Stanley, who didn&rsquo;t dress for nine of the Canucks&rsquo; first 15 games, dropped Peter Taglinaetti with a flurry of punches in the first period, then tangled with rookie defenseman Shawn Cronin at the end of a long shift, earning a draw.<h2>KINGS</h2>The Kings acquired defenseman Brian Benning, 23, from the Blues Nov. 10 in exchange for a third-round pick in the 1991 draft. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a very talented player&rdquo; said GM Rogie Vachon. &ldquo;From what I could see, he didn&rsquo;t fit the St. Louis style of shooting the puck in and chasing it. We like to hold on to the puck. He will fit in well for our team. He&rsquo;ll play on the power play. He&rsquo;s pretty mobile with the puck.&rdquo; Benning hadn&rsquo;t dressed for seven straight games in St. Louis. He had one goal and one assist. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a new life,&rdquo; Benning said. &ldquo;I just want to make the most of this.&rdquo;&hellip;Vachon said he had some interest in dealing for defenseman Rick Green, who retired from the Montreal Canadiens Aug. 31 but has indicated he wouldn&rsquo;t mind playing again. &ldquo;If Rick is serious and the price is right, we might have to think about it,&rdquo; Vachon said of Green, 33.<h2>FLAMES</h2>Four Flames&rsquo; players&mdash;Joe Nieuwendyk, Gary Roberts, Al Maclnnis and Gary Suter&mdash;went to CBS Televsion City in Beverly Hills to watch a taping of the soap opera The Young and The Restless before a game with the Kings Nov. 8. The players received the invitation from actor John O&rsquo;Hurley, who plays the character Dr. Granger on the show. Nieuwendyk met him two weeks earlier following a 5-0 win in Los Angeles Oct. 25. While there, they stayed for the Pat Sajak Show and were introduced to a national television audience during the program. Said Maclnnis: &ldquo;When you travel as much as we do, when you&rsquo;re in hotel rooms as much as we are, you tend to get into soap operas. It was really neat to meet those people. They were very good to us.&rdquo;&hellip;Ric Nattress scored his 100th career point on Roberts&rsquo; 15th goal of the season Nov. 7 in L.A. Nattress asked Roberts to retrieve the puck as a souvenir, only to hear the public address announcer describe it as an unassisted goal. The call was corrected before game&rsquo;s end.<h2>OILERS</h2>A bad back hampered Swedish rookie Peter Eriksson, forcing him to miss two games. &ldquo;I think it stems from the knee he injured in training camp,&rdquo; said coach John Muckier. &ldquo;He was compensating for his knee and his back ended up hurt.&rdquo;&hellip;Big right winger Mike Ware, whose weight has gone from 208 to 224 pounds in the two months he&rsquo;s been on a weightlifting program designed by co-coach Ted Green, was shipped to Cape Breton. &ldquo;I think he&rsquo;ll be a pretty good player on an NHL level. He&rsquo;s worked hard and shown such dedication, but he&rsquo;s gotta play. With (Dave) Brown here, we just don&rsquo;t have room for Mike at this time,&rdquo; explained Muckier&hellip;Five years had passed since the Edmonton Oilers last won at the Capital Centre where they had been beaten six times in a row. The 5-3 win Nov. 11 was the first for the Oilers since Nov. 9, 1984&mdash;the night they stretched their unbeaten streak at the start of the season to an NHL record 15 straight games (12-03). Esa Tikkanen&rsquo;s winning goal was No. 100 of his career.<h2>JETS</h2>Bob Essensa got the call from Moncton Nov. 9 and quickly made the most of it. The 24-year-old goaltender, who replaced Tom Draper as Daniel Berthiaume&rsquo;s backup in Winnipeg. earned his first start Nov. 12 and won 3-2 over Calgary. &ldquo;Yeah, I&rsquo;m not complaining at all,&rdquo; he said after stopping 29 shots. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a tough scenario. I couldn&rsquo;t think of a tougher one than going against the Calgary Flames after they&rsquo;ve come off a loss (3-2, Nov. 11 against Minnesota), but I think things went fairly well.&rdquo; Essensa, who was named the game&rsquo;s first star, had the best goals-against average in the American League (2.51) at the time of his recall. He&rsquo;s now 3-1 against Calgary, including a 1-0 shutout last February&hellip;The way Bob Murdoch figured it, his team&rsquo;s 3-2 victory over Vancouver Nov. 8 was well-deserved. The Jets won it on Greg Paslawski&rsquo;s goal 46 seconds into overtime, a wobbly point shot that bounced in off three Canucks. &ldquo;Well, if you remember back to the first game of the season when we had three goals called back (against the New York Rangers) I said over the course of the year these things balance out,&rdquo; Murdoch said with a smile. &ldquo;I told you at that time if we get three breaks we&rsquo;ll consider ourselves lucky. &#9632;

LARIONOV SAYS NYET TO CALDER

&hellip;New York Ranger right winger Tomas Sandstrom, often called the &ldquo;dirtiest Swede&rdquo; in hockey, was actually born in Finland? Sandstrom was bom Sept. 4, 1964. in the city of Jakobstad, but moved to Sweden with his family as a youngster. He played four seasons with Brynas of the Swedish First Division before joining the Rangers in 1984-85.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-02415/5752818-1-eng-US/f0039-022.jpg" title="f0039-02" width="976" height="523"><figcaption class="caption-body">Tomas Sandstrom, left, with Brian Leetch.</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0039-02

DID YOU KNOW…

<div class="byline">BY DICK CHUBEY</div>Just when the Edmonton Oilers appeared to have their offensive problems solved, a latt-second goal pushed them to three games under .500.&ldquo;It doesn&rsquo;t get any tougher than this,&rdquo; coach John Muckier said of an incredible 6-5 loss in Buffalo Nov. 12. Dave Andreychuk scored the winner at 19:59 of the third period.&ldquo;You play well enough to win and you lose with one second to go. If you can think of a tougher way to lose, I don&rsquo;t want to experience it. It ranks right up there with the Gretzky game.&rdquo;Not a nice reminder, considering the Oilers returned home Nov. 13 from their 1-3-0 eastern road trip (they were 6-9-4 overall) to face the Los Angeles Kings Nov. 15. It was the first game between the teams since the Oct. 15 game when Gretzky scored the dramatic goal to break Gordie Howe&rsquo;s career point-scoring record. That goal also erased a 4-3 Oilers&rsquo; lead with 53 seconds left. Gretzky then scored the winner in overtime.&ldquo;This would have been a whole lot better if we would have won,&rdquo; said Glenn Anderson after the Oilers had overcome deficits of 2-0 and 5-3 against the Sabres. &ldquo;It (expletive deleted) me off. No (expletive deleted) way that should have happened.&rdquo;Mark Messier was also ticked off by the defeat to the Sabres.&ldquo;A loss is a loss, it doesn&rsquo;t matter if it&rsquo;s 9-2 or 3-2,&rdquo; said Messier, who took a regular shift despite twisting a knee 10 minutes into a 5-3 win the night before in Washington. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s no good way to lose.&rdquo;Some are just worse than others?&ldquo;Not as far as I&rsquo;m concerned.&rdquo;Over the years, the least of the Oilers&rsquo; problems has been offense. In the mid-1980s, they scored more than 400 goals in five straight seasons (and won two of their four Stanley Cups). No other team in NHL history has scored 400 goals even once.Those, of course, were the glory years. But lately the well has run dry. During a three-game losing stretch that ended with the win over the Capitals, the Oilers managed only four goals.&ldquo;The goal-scorers have got to start scoring,&rdquo; said Muckier. &ldquo;When your first two lines aren&rsquo;t scoring, you&rsquo;re not going to win too many games. They were the people who were carrying the team through a period of time, but all of a sudden it stopped.&rdquo;After bouncing the Stanley Cup champion Calgary Flames 5-2 Nov. 3, the Oilers were beaten 3-1 at home the next night, by the struggling Pittsburgh Penguins. The Hames posted a 5-1 win Nov. 6 in Calgary, then the Oilers were crushed 6-2 in Boston Nov. 9.One bright spot for the Oilers was the play of right winger Jari Kurri. In the game against Buffalo, he ended a four-game slump by scoring twice, while Messier and Craig Simpson also scored. Foot soldier Craig MacTavish, who struck for two goals in Washington, also scored.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think Buffalo will ever be outplayed like that and still win the game,&rdquo; said Muckier. &ldquo;From the first period on, Buffalo was protecting the net and back on their heels. But when you&rsquo;re playing well like Buffalo has been (8-0-1 at home), you get the breaks.&ldquo;Our side is struggling for everything we can get.&rdquo;<h2>EDMONTON</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Nov. 9: Mike Ware, RW, assigned to Cape Breton (AHL).<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Mark Messier, Craig MacTavish, EsaTikkanen, Adam Graves, Mark Lamb.LW&mdash;Craig Simpson, Petr Klima, Martin Gelinas, Joe Murphy.RW&mdash;Jari Kurri, Glenn Anderson, Kelly Buchberger, Normand Lacombe, Peter Eriksson, Dave Brown.LD&mdash;Kevin Lowe, Steve Smith, Geoff Smith.RD&mdash;Craig Muni, Jeff Beukeboom, Charlie Huddy.G&mdash;Grant Fuhr, Bill Ranford.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Randy Gregg, D, pulled leg muscle.<h3>LEADERS</h3>G&mdash;Kurri, 13. A&mdash;Messier, 19. P&mdash;Messier, 31. PIM&mdash;Buchberger, 53. &#9632;

WELL HAS RUN DRY OF OFFENSIVE PUNCH

<div class="byline">BY MIKE BEAMISH</div>The Vancouver Canucks thought they had assumed a new identity, but the same old problem plagued them early in 1989-90: Hard work, no finish.A three-game road trip to Winnipeg, Buffalo and Quebec resurrected the lack of scoring punch that plagued the Canucks last season, when they scored the fewest goals in the NHL.All indications were the 1989-90 season would be different, if for no other reason than the presence of Soviet sharpshooters Vladimir Krutov and Igor Larionov in the lineup.The road show that ended Nov. 11 with a 3-2 loss to the Quebec Nordiques did little to show things have changed a great deal. After 18 games, the Canucks had 65 goals for an average of 3.61 per game. Last season, they scored 251 in 80 games for an average of 3.13.&ldquo;I think we&rsquo;ve been working very hard, but things just don&rsquo;t go our way,&rdquo; said left winger Petri Skriko, who missed an open net in the dying seconds against Quebec. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know what the answer is. We&rsquo;ve been playing well enough but we just can&rsquo;t find a way to win.&rdquo;&ldquo;The bottom line is you can&rsquo;t win scoring two goals a game,&rdquo; said Brian Bradley.The Canucks lost 4-2 to the Buffalo Sabres Nov. 10, and 3-2 in Winnipeg at the start of the trip, Nov. 8.The Canucks posted a 7-5-1 record in October but dropped to 8-9-1 after a 1-4-0 mark in November. Their 17 points were the same number they had after 18 games last season.&ldquo;They were three games, with any luck, we could have won,&rdquo; said Canuck coach Bob McCammon. &ldquo;These guys&mdash;the Skrikos and the (Tony) Tantis&mdash;are on the team because they can score. And when they don&rsquo;t, it hurts.&rdquo;Special teams were hurting.Canuck penalty killers were burned three times against the Sabres, and on Guy Lafleur&rsquo;s winning goal in Quebec. Meanwhile, the Vancouver power play barely registered a pulse. Playing with an extra man, the Canucks were shut out in all three games. Covering five games and 20 chances, the Canucks scored just once.To compound the woes, Paul Reinhart, who started off the season at a Wayne Gretzky-like scoring pace, suffered a sprained ankle in the Quebec game and was expected to be out of the lineup for up to two weeks. Reinhart had five goals and 16 assists in 18 games. But he had only six assists in his last 12 games.General manager Pat Quinn, in a between-periods radio interview, berated referee Ron Hoggarth, saying Hoggarth ignored the careless way in which Paul Gillis of the Nordiques tripped up Reinhart while the two were racing for the puck. Reinhart, in an attempt to get an icing call, crashed heavily into the boards when Gillis&rsquo; stick took his skates out from under him.There was no penalty called.&ldquo;Players are vulnerable, coaches are vulnerable, managers are vulnerable, but referees can get away with making bad decisions and nothing is done about it,&rdquo; Quinn said. &ldquo;And it doesn&rsquo;t do any good to send a (video) tape to the league because the referees will just use it against you next time. The supervisors back them up every time because they&rsquo;re former officials them-sevles. It&rsquo;s a buddy system.&rdquo;<h2>VANCOUVER</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Nov. 10: Kevan Guy, D, recalled from Milwaukee (IHL).<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Igor Larionov, Brian Bradley. Trevor Linden, Steve Bozek, Craig Coxe.LW&mdash;Greg Adams, Petri Skriko, Vladimir Krutov, Daryl Stanley.RW&mdash;Tony Tanti, Stan Smyl, Jim Sandlak, Rich Sutter.LD&mdash;Larry Melnyk, Harold Snepsts, Kevan Guy.RD&mdash;Garth Butcher, Doug Lidster, Rod Buskas.G&mdash;Kirk McLean, Steve Weeks.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Jim Benning, D, groin pull, day-to-day.Robert Nordmark, D, strained back muscles, day-to-day.Barry Pederson. C, dislocated thumb, indefinite. Paul Reinhart, D, sprained ankle, indefinite.Doug Smith, RW, groin tear, indefinite.<h3>ROSTER</h3>G&mdash;Adams, 10. A&mdash;Reinhart, 16. P&mdash;Reinhart, 21. PIM&mdash;Butcher, 31. &#9632;

HARD WORK ALONE ISN’T LEADING TO WINS

<div class="byline">BY GRANT McGINNIS</div>It didn&rsquo;t take long for the questions to begin. But it took Dale Hawerchuk more than two weeks to answer.That&rsquo;s how long the Winnipeg Jets&rsquo; all-time leading scorer went without recording a point. For some players, that would be disturbing. But for a guy with a career average of 105 points a season, it was downright terrifying.&ldquo;After I got my first goal I felt 100-per-cent better,&rdquo; Hawerchuk said. &ldquo;It just all of a sudden felt like my legs were fresher than they had ever been. It goes to show you that sometimes this game is more mental than physical.&rdquo;The goal, which came in a 4-2 loss to Hartford Nov. 10, ended a slump that began after Hawerchuk&rsquo;s three-point night Oct. 25 against Washington.Scoring opportunities came and went and, instead of stylishly burying them as he&rsquo;s done for nine seasons in the NHL, Hawerchuk was fanning, shooting wide or missing high. The frustration was obvious. For the first time in his career, Hawerchuk&rsquo;s confidence was in doubt.But when he finished off Greg Paslawski&rsquo;s perfect pass at 10:09 of the second period against Hartford, Hawerchuk was rejuvenated. He followed that five minutes later by forcing a turnover in the Whalers&rsquo; zone and beating Mike Liut with a terrific deke.It was precisely what he needed.Hawerchuk finished the night with five shots on goal, rung one off the crossbar in the third period and was dominant. Only Liut prevented a Winnipeg win.&ldquo;It didn&rsquo;t take the IQ of a genius to figure out I was in a slump. All you had to do was look at the numbers,&rdquo; said Hawerchuk. &ldquo;But I knew I was playing well and getting the chances. I knew if I kept working hard, sooner or later I would break through. I&rsquo;m glad it came now instead of next week.&rdquo;It was easily Hawerchuk&rsquo;s finest game of the season, perhaps his best in two seasons.Along with the return of his scoring touch came improved defensive play. He was skating with more vigor and producing more scoring opportunities.Jets&rsquo; coach Bob Murdoch was saying all along Hawerchuk would start to score. He said he wasn&rsquo;t worried but the relief was obvious on his face, too.&ldquo;He played well. He&rsquo;s a pretty good hockey player. I would expect that you&rsquo;re going to see some pretty good hockey from him in the next little while,&rdquo; Murdoch said confidently.Two nights later, Hawerchuk added an assist on a brilliant power-play setup of Paslawski in a 3-2 win over Calgary. The three points gave Hawerchuk just 13 in 17 games. That 19-goal, 61-point pace marks his worst start ever.Coming off a 96-point season, the second lowest production of his career, Hawerchuk saw his ice time reduced more than 20 percent under Murdoch. The Winnipeg power play was off to a sluggish start and that also affected him.But the resurgence of trade rumors were premature.Hawerchuk maintained he&rsquo;s content in Winnipeg and has done his utmost not to rock the boat under what is quickly becoming a very popular regime.&ldquo;Your confidence comes back and it&rsquo;s a weight off your shoulders,&rdquo;he said. &ldquo;I feel like I can go out and start scoring again. Hopefully that&rsquo;s going to happen. That&rsquo;s where the mental part of the game kicks in. As much as we&rsquo;re all professionals, sometimes you just need that kind of boost and no matter who you are it&rsquo;s going to help you.&rdquo;<h2>WINNIPEG</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Nov. 8: Brent Hughes. LW, recalled from Moncton (AHL).Nov. 9: Bob Essensa, G, recalled from Moncton, lam Duncan, LW, and Tom Draper. G, assigned to Moncton.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Dale Hawerchuk. Thomas Steen, Laurie Boschman, Dave McLIwain.LW&mdash;Randy Cunneyworth. Doug Smail, Brent Ashton, Brent Hughes.RW&mdash;Greg Paslawski. Pat Elynuik, Paul Fenton, Gord Donnelly.LD&mdash;Dave Ellett, Brad Berry, Shawn Cronin, Peter Taglianetti.RD&mdash;Fredrik Olausson, Moe Mantha, Teppo Numminen.G&mdash;Daniel Berthiaume, Bob Essensa.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Randy Carlyle, D. bruised knee, day-to-day.Mark Kumpel, RW, sprained left ankle, day-to-day.<h3>LEADERS</h3>G&mdash;Elynuik. 8. A&mdash;Steen, 12. P&mdash;Elynuik, Steen, 16. PIM&mdash;Cronin, 60. &#9632;

HAWERCHUK REGAINS LOST SCORING TOUCH

<div class="byline">BY RICK SADOWSKI</div>The Los Angeles Kings were wondering if they would ever win another game at home, or if they would ever register more shots on goal than an opponent&mdash;at home or away.On Nov. 11, the Kings did both in a 5-4 victory over the Montreal Canadiens. That snapped a four-game losing streak&mdash;their longest since a seven-game skid in December, 1987. The victory also lifted the Kings&rsquo; record to 8-10-0 and gave them a tie for third&mdash;or last&mdash;place in the Smythe Division.It was the Kings&rsquo; first win on Great Western Forum ice since a 5-0 shutout of Detroit Oct. 8. They outshot the Canadiens 30-29, the first time they&rsquo;d outshot an opponent since a 5-4 overtime win in Edmonton Oct. 15. That stretch covered 12 games.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-01255/5752921-1-eng-US/f0041-012.jpg" title="f0041-01" width="559" height="652"><figcaption class="caption-body">Mike Krushelnyski scored in his first game in five weeks.</figcaption></div>&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve been losing and losing,&rdquo; said Mike Allison, whose first goal since last spring&rsquo;s playoffs snapped a 4-4 tie with six minutes to play. &ldquo;We definitely had to have a win whether we deserved it or not. I think we deserved it.&rdquo;Four nights earlier, the Kings blew a 4-1 lead in a 5-4 loss to the Calgary Flames, and the game against Montreal appeared headed for a similar ending.Leading 4-1 heading to the third period, the Kings inexplicably unraveled again, giving up three goals in a five-minute span.But this time, they held on.&ldquo;You get those (negative) thoughts going through your mind when the lead starts to vanish,&rdquo; said coach Tom Webster. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m surprised, with the veterans we have on this hockey club, that we seem to put ourselves in a panic situation instead of doing the same things that got us the lead in the first place. Hopefully, we can build on this.&rdquo;The game marked the return of left winger Mike Krushelnyski to the lineup. Out since breaking his left wrist Oct. 5, Krushelnyski skated on a line with Allison and Wayne Gretzky. He scored a first-period goal and assisted on Allison&rsquo;s game-winner.The unit contributed six points, with Gretzky registering three assists.The Kings also received strong goaltending from Mario Gosselin, who made his home debut. It was the first time since Feb. 20 of last season a Kings&rsquo; goalie other than Kelly Hrudey won a game at the Forum.&ldquo;It was good to win for the fans here,&rdquo; Gosselin said. &ldquo;Plus, it was on TV (on Hockey Night in Canada) back in Canada. It was the first time my mother has seen me play with the Kings.&ldquo;This was a big game for us. To beat a team as good as Montreal has to give us a lot of confidence.&rdquo;<h2>LOS ANGELES</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Nov. 10: Brian Benning, D, acquired from St. Louis for third-round draft pick in 1991.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Wayne Gretzky, Bernie Nicholls, Steve Kasper, Hubie McDonough.LW&mdash;Mike Krushelnyski, Luc Robitaille, John Tonelli, Jay Miller, Craig Duncanson.RW&mdash;Mike Allison, Dave Taylor, Robert Kudelski, Mikael Lindholm, Jimmy Fox.LD&mdash;Larry Robinson, Tim Watters, Brian Benning, Ken Baumgartner.RD&mdash;Steve Duchesne, Tom Laidlaw, Marty McSorley, Petr Prajsler.G&mdash;Kelly Hrudey, Mario Gosselin.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Barry Beck, D, bruised thumb, day-to-day.Keith Crowder, RW, cervical strain, day-to-day.<h3>LEADERS</h3>G&mdash;Nicholls, 12. A&mdash;Gretzky, 25. P&mdash; Gretzky. 35. PIM&mdash;Miller, 50. &#9632;

f0041-01

FINALLY, FORUM KIND TO KINGS AGAIN

<div class="byline">BY JEFF JACOBS</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-01274/5752952-1-eng-US/f0043-012.jpg" title="f0043-01" width="312" height="486"></div>On Nov. 8, 1989, NHL President John Ziegler announced that Bob Probert&rsquo;s expulsion from the NHL will end Feb. 7, 1990, when the former Detroit Red Wings&rsquo; left winger is freed from the Federal Medical Center in Rochester, Minn.&mdash;the same prison that houses former TV evangelist Jim Bakker.Ziegler ordered Probert&rsquo;s suspension could last until Nov. 4, 1990, but may be commuted to March 4 if the Detroit Red Wings request early reinstatement and show that Probert has honored his probation.I do not count myself among the gratuitous Ziegler bashers in the NHL media, but this decision is extremely disappointing.Probert was arrested March 2, 1989 at the Windsor-Detroit line with cocaine in his underwear. He pleaded guilty to importing cocaine and admitting it was for his own use. He also has admitted he is an alcoholic. His list of brushes with the law and disciplinary problems with the Red Wings are almost too numerous to document.The NHL doesn&rsquo;t have a drug-treatment plan. All it has is Ziegler&rsquo;s rhetoric: &ldquo;If you do drugs, we don&rsquo;t want you.&rdquo;There are two valid points of view here:1. The NHL should set up a disciplinary code that gets tougher with an individual&rsquo;s increasing problems and couple it with a comprehensive league-wide treatment program. Call it the bleeding-heart liberal plan.2. The NHL should also be tough. Be unrelenting. If you get caught with drugs and go to prison, don&rsquo;t expect to play in the NHL. Call it the arch-conservative view. After seeing the destruction cocaine has caused in our society, most of us have become less and less forgiving.In this case, Ziegler shows up neither as an understanding, compassionate man nor a tough disciplinarian.He shows up as a weak-kneed tough guy&mdash;a living and breathing contradiction.&ldquo;In reaching this decision, I am not unmindful that Mr. Probert has paid a very serve price to this date,&rdquo; Ziegler said. &ldquo;He will have lost in excess of $200,000 in salary and will have had to expend upwards of $90,000 in legal fees.&rdquo;This is typical Ziegler. He is known to weigh even the most personal issues in terms of dollars.On Feb. 27, 1980. the Hartford Whalers retired John McKenzie&rsquo;s No. 19.With all due respect to McKenzie, that number has no business hanging in the Civic Center rafters.McKenzie played 189 games for the Whalers, barely more than two seasons. As a man past his 40th birthday, he scored 57 goals with the club.Howard Baldwin, the Whalers&rsquo; former managing general partner and the man responsible for retiring McKenzie&rsquo;s number, now calls it &ldquo;one of my impulse moves&rdquo; and admits candidly the decision is open to second-guessing.It sure is.Baldwin, however, defends his move for this reason: At a time when the World Hockey Association and NHL were at war and many players seized the moment to dog it and collect their paychecks, McKenzie continued to &ldquo;bust his ass&rdquo; every night.But praising McKenzie&rsquo;s excellent work ethic in words is quite different from retiring his number.Hockey is not religion. Sports are not war. But retiring a number should be something special. It is a sport&rsquo;s version of canonization. It is the ultimate medal of honor.That&rsquo;s why there should be no room for debating whether a player&rsquo;s number should be retired. It should be absolutely clear or not done at all.New owner Richard Gordon says, as a possible solution, he is considering making McKenzie&rsquo;s 19 a retired WHA number&mdash;since he never played with the Whalers in the NHL&mdash;and activating No. 19 for NHL play.It would be a good move.Jeff Jacobs covers the Whalers for the Hartford Courant and will appear in this space monthly. &#9632;

f0043-01

A WEAK-KNEED TOUGH GUY

<div class="byline">BY MURRAY TOWNSEND</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0043-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-02204/5753011-1-eng-US/f0043-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">All eyes are fixed on the puck as Montreal goaltender Rogie Vachon tries to prevent Pittsburgh&rsquo;s Paul Andrea from getting a rebound in this 1967-68 game. Andrea, a right winger, played for three expansion teams (Pittsburgh, California and Buffalo) in his four NHL seasons.</figcaption></div>It&rsquo;s getting more difficult for players to graduate from junior or college ranks directly to the NHL without doing time in the minor leagues.For goalies, it&rsquo;s almost impossible.There were only six goalies who started a game in the NHL this season without playing a minor pro game. Of those six, three had experience in comaparable leagues. Mike Liut played two seasons in the WHA, Sean Burke played two years with the Canadian national team and Sergei Mylnikov played 13 seasons in the Soviet Elite League.<h2>MINOR DETAIL</h2><h3>100 OR MORE MINOR-PRO GAMES</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-03173/5753004-1-eng-US/f0043-032.jpg" title="f0043-03" width="883" height="503"></div><h3>10 OR FEWER MINOR-PRO GAMES</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-04122/5752997-1-eng-US/f0043-042.jpg" title="f0043-04" width="905" height="375"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-05109/5752990-1-eng-US/f0043-052.jpg" title="f0043-05" width="887" height="136"></div><h2>PICKING WINNERS</h2>Conventional wisdom says NHL teams are most successful when they build through the draft. If that is the case, it&rsquo;s reasonable to assume more teams would have a higher percentage of their own draft picks playing for them than is actually the case. But of 533 NHL draftees still on big-league rosters as of Nov. 3, fewer than half were playing for the teams which drafted them.<h3>DRAFTEES WITH TEAM</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-0689/5752983-1-eng-US/f0043-062.jpg" title="f0043-06" width="906" height="961"></div>*listed on official stats on rosters as of Nov. 3; includes players from supplemental draft. &#9632;

f0043-02

THE NUMBERS GAME DOING TIME IN THE MINORS

<div class="byline">BY ERIC DUHATSCHEK</div>When Al Maclnnis went to salary arbitration in the offseason he knew it would mean two things.First, it gave him the opportunity to become the Calgary Flames&rsquo; highest-paid player.Second, it meant he would have to put together an excellent 1989-90 season.Maclnnis&rsquo; first wish was granted when arbitrator Joe Kane made him the richest Flame. The defenseman will receive an estimated $500,000 this season, but it&rsquo;s only a one-year contract.So his agent, Don Meehan, and Flames&rsquo; general manager Cliff Fletcher will go at it again next summer.Maclnnis, meanwhile, was providing Meehan with some leverage at the bargaining table.In his seventh season, Maclnnis was off to his fastest start ever. After 20 games, he posted 5-19-24 totals and anchored the Flames&rsquo; No. 1 power-play unit.His three assists Nov. 8 in a 5-4 win over Los Angeles gave him 19 for the year and 337 for his career, the most in franchise history.Guy Chouinard previously held the record of 336. Paul Reinhart had 335 assists and Kent Nilsson 333.&ldquo;I was looking through the fact book one day on the plane, but it didn&rsquo;t dawn on my until after the game,&rdquo; said Maclnnis. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a very nice thing to have happen. What can I say? They&rsquo;ve had a lot of great players here&mdash;Chouinard, Nilsson. It&rsquo;s an honor to be the franchise assist leader. The good thing is I&rsquo;m only 26 years old. Hopefully, I have a few more years to go.&rdquo;Maclnnis was having an excellent year, despite a couple of off-ice problems. Not only did he become involved in the team&rsquo;s first-ever salary dispute, he will go to trial in February on charges of aggravated assault, stemming from a bar fight last July.In the past, Maclnnis might have been affected by his off-ice problems. This year, a more mature Maclnnis has been able to separate what happens on the ice from what happens off.&ldquo;As far as the incident in the summer goes, obviously it&rsquo;s going to court in February,&rdquo; said Maclnnis. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re not guilty, so that&rsquo;s why it&rsquo;s not bothering me much.&ldquo;As for the arbitration, my agent kept telling me: &lsquo;Don&rsquo;t worry about the off-ice things, just play.&rsquo; It&rsquo;s easy to say, but it&rsquo;s always in the back of your mind.&rdquo;Maclnnis has been good defensively and exceptional offensively.&ldquo;What I want to do is be consistent, stay healthy and work hard. If I can do all those things, things will fall in place.&rdquo;As of Nov. 13, the Flames had won four of their last seven. Some of their early-season difficulties&mdash;indifferent play, too many goals against&mdash;were slowly disappearing.&ldquo;The biggest thing is we had a pretty tough schedule,&rdquo; said Maclnnis. &ldquo;We had a tougher schedule than people realize, what with going to Russia in training camp and then going on that long (six-game, two-week) road trip to start the season.&ldquo;Our record now (10-6-4) is pretty respectable. If I&rsquo;m not mistaken, it could be the fastest start we&rsquo;ve ever had.&rdquo;Not quite.The Flames were 13-4-3 a year ago after 20 games, and finished the season with a team-record 117 points.<h2>CALGARY</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Nov. 13: Tim Hunter, RW, serving 10-game NHL suspension. Eligible to return Nov. 21.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Joe Nieuwendyk, Doug Gilmour, Joel Otto, Theoren Fleury.LW&mdash;Gary Roberts. Colin Patterson. Paul Ranheim, Brian MacLellan, Sergei Priakin.RW&mdash;Sergei Makarov, Joe Mullen, Mark Hunter, Jiri Hrdina, Jonas BergqvistLD&mdash;Gary Suter, Jamie Macoun, Dana Murzyn, Roger Johansson.RD&mdash;Al Maclnnis, Brad McCrimmon, Ric Nattress.G&mdash;Mike Vernon, Rick Wamsley.<h3>INJURIES</h3>None.<h3>LEADERS</h3>G&mdash;Roberts, Nieuwendyk, 15. A&mdash; Makarov, 23. P&mdash;Nieuwendyk, 30 PIM&mdash; Murzyn, 51. &#9632;

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November 24, 1989

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